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BENGALURU: India is observing a sudden boon in mobile wallet usage among tech-addicts. Whether it is mobile recharge, bill payments, or online shopping, users are more inclined to use these services considering the discounts and offers related.
Observing this user shift towards digital transactions and leveraging wide merchant network and an on tap customer base, traditional banks such as ICICI, HDFC, AXIS, and SBI have launched their own payment systems experimenting in this space the past year, reports Joel Rebello & Pratik Bhakta, ET.
It is interesting to observe that these banks already control nearly 40 percent of Indian banking assets. Having launched new payment platforms, the banks are taking on the battle with established mobile wallet companies to prevent customers from moving their money to newly emerging non-bank companies. SBIs Buddy, ICICI's Pockets, HDFC Bank's PayZapp and Axis' Lime are among the banking products fighting competition with non-banking wallets such as PayTM, Freecharge, and Mobikwik.
While mobile wallets such as PayTM are spending millions on sponsoring and advertising to get their brand ahead of the competition, the banks holds advantage of existing brand value that cut their marketing costs. Utilizing technology partners in innovation is also keeping the implementation costs low for the banks such as SBI.
For PayZapp users, HDFC Bank is offering attractive discounts leveraging the bank's merchant and customer base. Further, the bank plans to facilitate all forms of transactions that the customer uses. While, in the physical world, the user can use the credit card and the debit card, in the mobile world he can use HDFC wallet. The bank looks forward to replicate its offline success in online modes as well. At present, HDFC bank leads card based transactions with a network on 3 lakh POS terminals.
However, the wallet companies consider banks initiatives less of a threat. The reason proposed is the inability of the banks in ensuring required attention in this sector. According to them, the banks are excellent settlement engines, but when it comes to user experience, wallet companies have been able to train 123 million people over the last five years to make digital transactions without glitches.
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New Delhi: As part of its holistic new approach towards cyber security, Finland-based online security and privacy company F-Secure has released its flagship endpoint security solution that will provide a better web security for businesses.
The "Protection Service for Business" includes new web security (endpoint security) features and a redesigned management portal that is much more efficient for administrators, the company said in a statement.
Endpoint security refers to a methodology of protecting the corporate network when accessed via remote devices such as laptops or other wireless and mobile devices.
"Our approach with 'Protection Service for Business' is based on the fact that there is no one silver bullet to keep a business safe. There is not just one technology that will do the job every time," said Samu Konttinen, executive vice president, corporate security at F-Secure.
"Cyber threats use various attack methods and vectors, and businesses need a host of technologies that work together, backing each other up to protect the enterprise. With Protection Service for Business, all the components are together in one package," Konttinen added.
The new service, which will be offered as a managed service through reseller partners, is a completely redesigned cloud-enabled management portal that is much more intuitive to use.
Customers and partners will notice quicker, more efficient management, with better user flows and fewer clicks.
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BRUSSELS: The United Nations is risking its relevance in the absence of a strong and structured response to terrorism, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has warned.
In an address to Indian diaspora in Belgium on Wednesday night, Modi regretted that the world had not come up with a proportionate response to terror despite the huge threat it posed to humanity.
"The world has failed to understand the threat of this hideous monster," he told the euphoric Indian crowd at the Brussels Expo here, finding fault with countries which differentiated between "good terrorism" and "bad terrorism".
Modi explained how how India had been battling terrorism for the last 40 years. "When we raised our concern, we were told it is a mere law and order problem -- until 9/11 happened. And when the earth shook beneath their feet, they began to understand what terrorism is," he said, speaking days after terror attacks in the Belgian capital killed more than 30 people, including an Indian techie.
He, however, said that the UN had not been able to fully understand this "new challenge of the new era".
"The United Nations knows everything about a war and how to stop it. But if you ask about terrorism, even the UN doesn't know. The world body of such a grand stature has failed to perform its responsibility," he said.
He said that India had been requesting the UN for years to come up with a resolution that defines "who a terrorist is and which country is a terrorist nation".
"I don't know when this will happen but the way situations are changing, it won't be too late when this organisation will become irrelevant."
He said India had never bowed to terrorism and will never do so and offered "deepest" condolences for the March 22 Brussels terror bombings.
He recalled the global Sufi conference held recently in New Delhi where scholars from the Muslim world denounced terrorism.
He said this approach was essential to stop radicalization and a right atmosphere had to be created to end terror.
He said he had spoken to many world leaders and emphasized "the need to delink religion from terror".
"No religion teaches terrorism," he said as he wound up his busy Belgian trip. Modi has left for Washington and will later fly to Saudi Arabia.
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WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama opened a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping with a promise of candid discussion over Beijing's alleged military buildup in the South China Sea.
"We will have candid exchanges about areas where we have differences, issues like human rights, cyber and maritime issues," Obama said as he sat across the conference table from his Chinese counterpart.
US officials have expressed concern that China's actions in the South China Sea are not consistent with Xi's pledge at the White House last year not to pursue militarization of the hotly contested and strategically vital waterway.
China claims virtually all the South China Sea despite conflicting claims by Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwanand the Philippines, and has built up artificial islands in the area in recent months, including some with airstrips.
"We do continue to be concerned about militarization in the South China Sea," said senior Obama foreign policy aide Ben Rhodes ahead of the meeting with Xi.
"We certainly have seen developments, reports that are not consistent with commitments to avoid and to non-militarize the South China Sea."
"This will be certainly an important topic of conversation between the two presidents."
Washington has since October carried out two high-profile "freedom of navigation" operations in which it sailed warships within 12 nautical miles of islets claimed by China.
Xi spoke of the need to avoid misunderstandings and big disruptions in the "major power relations" between the two countries.
But state-run news agency Xinhua cited the Chinese leader as saying that "China will not accept any behavior under the disguise of freedom of navigation that violates its sovereignty and damages its security interests."
Obama and Xi also discussed pressure on North Korea, which in January detonated a nuclear device and launched a long- range rocket a month later, prompting UN sanctions backed by bothBeijing and Washington.
"Of great importance to both of us is North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons, which threatens the security and stability of the region," said Obama.
"President Xi and I are both committed to the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula and the full implementation of UN sanctions."
"We are going to discuss how we can discourage actions like nuclear missile tests that escalate tensions and violate international obligations.
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BANGALORE: I wanted to write something after engineering but I didnt get the right platform. If I would have found some sponsors, I would have been the best poet this world has seen. No! These are not the quotes uttered by great personalities. These are mere excuses that we give when someone asks why didnt you follow your dream to be a writer? Off-course we could have been one of the better writers but we didnt have the zeal! Humans have proved time and time again how mighty willpower and passion are! You and I may have failed, but there are many miracle humans who have made their life applause-worthy! One such miracle man is Haldhar Nag, a barely-literate Indian Word-Smith! (Credits: India.com News Desk). A 3rd standard drop-out, Nag has 5 PhD scholars have written their theses on him. Not only that, this year he was awarded one of the highest civilian honors Padma Shri by President Pranab Mukherjee!
Born in a poor family of Ghens in Bargarh district of Odisha, Nag is also known as Lok kabi Ratna for his 20 epics and numerous poems in Kosli language. Nag studied in school only till class 3 as he had to drop out of school due to his fathers sad demise. He was only 10 years old then. He had to help his mother in sustaining the family and thus Nag started to work as a dishwasher at a local sweet shop. This continued for 2 years, after which he was taken as a cook in the high school by the village head.
For 16 years, Nag continued to work as a cook but soon, a number of schools came up in his area. Seeing the opportunity to start a business, Nag approached a banker and got Rs 1,000 loan to start a small shop selling stationeries and eatables for school students. Apart from selling stationeries and eatables, Nag started to pen down some poems as well. It was during this time that he wrote his first poem Dhodo Bargachh (The Old Banyan Tree) which even got published in the local magazine. It was no looking back for Nag after that as he got recognition which encouraged him to write more.
He remembers whatever he writes and has been reciting them. You just need to mention the name or subject. He never misses anything. Now he attends at least three to four programmes every day to recite his poems, told a close associate of the poet to TOI. His tremendous contribution towards the Sambalpuri-Kosli language movement and Kosli literature made the government of India award him with Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in 2016. Nag rates the youngsters of Kosli very high as all of them have huge interest towards poetry and writing. Although he thinks that a very few of them have the art to give their inner feelings, the shape of a poem but still he says in a proud tone, Everyone Here is a Poet!.
A decorated poet, a known figure and a Padma Shri, Nag has achieved plenty in his life but nothing has changed his style of living! He still leads an austere life and can always be seen in a white dhoti and a vest, without any footwear. One can only imagine that how someone can be so focused on what he does, that he forgets what he wears! As was famously quoted by Mark Twain Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society. Well, Mr. Twain, this Indian is way beyond your envision! Sambalpur University, located at Sambalpur in Odisha has announced that it will come out with a compilation of Haldhar Nags Creations! The book will be a part of the syllabus of university and will be named as Haldhar Granthabali-2.
Even if the story of this barely literate word-smith makes us to bow down and salute him but what we should learn from his story is it doesnt matter whether you are born with a golden spoon or in a corporate hospital, it doesnt matter whether you have talent or not, and it doesnt matter whether you are a PhD holder or a high school drop out! All what matters is whether you have that passion and excitement or not! The passions that drives you crazy! The passion that you cant live without! The passion that gives you sleepless nights!
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WASHINGTON: The White House announced Thursday that it will provideUkraine with $335 million more in security assistance.
The announcement came after a meeting between USVice-President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Washington.
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The aid is vital to a country that has faced an acute economic and security crisis since Russia annexedCrimea in 2014 and fomented a separatist revolt in Ukraine's east.
While Washington has looked to support Ukraine's pro-western government, it has also been concerned by rampant corruption in Kiev.
Thursday's announcement comes after Ukraine's parliament sacked the country's chief prosecutor over his alleged attempts to stall high-profile corruption investigations.
According to the White House, Biden told Poroshenko more money could be on the way.
"The vice president welcomed the efforts of President Poroshenko to form a stable, reform-oriented government, and stressed that this step, as well as the enactment of needed reforms, are critical to unlocking international economic assistance, including the third $1 billion US loan guarantee."
In May of last year the US signed its second $1 billion loan guarantee deal for Ukraine, aimed at helping it surmount the Russia-backed insurgency and rebuild its tattered economy.
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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- For richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, Alice Austen and her lifelong partner Gertrude Tate were among the greatest love stories of their time.
During the austere Victorian era, there was no word for the relationship they had, which some today might call queer.
Still, they had a devotion that spanned decades, a support for one another's interests and professions and the ability to make someone ordinary look positively glamorous through the eyes of love.
While Austen herself once said she was "too good to marry" a man, she was indeed married for more than 50 years to Tate -- for lack of a better term -- said Lillian Faderman, a Lesbian and LGBT historian.
Faderman, author of The Gay Revolution, was among the panel of national experts who gathered at the Whitney Museum in Manhattan Thursday night to present their findings on Staten Island's rebellious feminist Victorian photographer.
The panel discussion, "New Eyes on Alice Austen" was the result of a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. It brought together five scholars to reinterpret some of the overlooked aspects of Austen's history -- from her relationship with Tate to her scientific approach to photography.
The scholars came up with some exciting findings and discussed Austen's sexuality in more certain terms than ever before.
They painted a picture of Austen as a woman who preferred studying popular mechanics over artistic photographic techniques; who was obsessed with the idea that a woman could be mobile; who wasn't afraid to fix her own bike.
In addition to Faderman, panelists included Sarah Kate Gillespie, curator of American art at the Georgia Museum of Art, Richard Meyer, a Stanford University art history professor, Lara Vapnek a history professor at St. John's University and Laura Wexler, a professor of women's, gender, and sexuality studies at Yale University.
The experts looked at archived photos by Austen, many of which focused on what Wexler called the "queerness of domesticity." Austen and her female friends dressed up as men for photographs, they posed in risque positions and showed off just how much fun they were having together.
The conversation among these nationally-renowned scholars in the setting of one of the country's most distinguished contemporary art museums served to reintroduce Austen to the world as a queer icon and rebellious historical figure.
Their research brought to the forefront what had previously been mostly unspoken: Before Austen and Tate moved in together, Tate's sister called their relationship "wrong devotion." When Austen died in 1952, Tate was referred to as nothing more than a friend. In the 1990s, the Alice Austen House drew criticism from the LGBT community for not acknowledging Austen and Tate's relationship.
But with more research, it's now possible to "communicate a more nuanced and deeper understanding of what their relationship represents, especially given the historical time that they were together," said Janice Monger, the Alice Austen House's Executive Director.
Or, as Meyer suggested, it's less about labels like "lesbian," and more about the qualities her queerness brought to her photographs.
"Now we can finally talk about it without stigma," Faderman said, to the applause of a sold-out auditorium.
If the drone drama "Eye in the Sky" is trying to stress the point that there are no easy answers in war, then its mission can be considered accomplished. If, on the other hand, it is trying to say something insightful, something we don't already know, then it's considerably less of a success.
That's not to say director Gavin Hood's message movie is without its moments of drama and suspense. It also boasts an impressive cast that includes an Oscar winner (Helen Mirren, of "The Queen"); an Oscar nominee (Barkhad Abdi, of "Captain Phillips"); a three-time Emmy winner (Aaron Paul, of "Breaking Bad"); and a Golden Globe winner (Alan Rickman), in one of his last big-screen roles before his death in January. All help breathe life into the film's otherwise barely developed characters.
But while the fast-starting "Eye in the Sky" feels both timely and important -- and knows it -- it doesn't really add much to the debate over the use of drones in America's ongoing war on terror. Instead, between its moments of genuine tension, it spins its wheels and talks the issue to death. By the time it arrives at its poignant conclusion, precious little has been gained intellectually.
What Hood ("Ender's Game," "X-Men Origins: Wolverine") and company try to do with their film is put viewers in the shoes of the high-ranking military and government officials who must make life-or-death decisions in the fog of war, and often with less-than-perfect intelligence. For audiences, the prevailing question becomes, "What would you do?"
In this case, Mirren plays the British military commander of a joint U.S.-British drone mission targeting a group of operatives of the terrorist group Al-Shabab in Nairobi, Kenya. She's in constant contact with Rickman, a military liaison to Britain's civilian government leaders who must sign off on any complications or irregularities should they occur. (Which, of course, they do.)
She's also in contact with Paul, who plays an American Air Force member piloting the mission from an air-conditioned bunker at Creech Air Force Base in the Nevada desert.
While they're all a world away from one another, they share the same central goal, which on the surface is pretty cut and dried: kill the bad guys. But it's not quite that simple. It rarely is.
Turns out, they've been tracking this particular group of baddies -- which, just to complicate matters, includes a radicalized American and a radicalized British citizen -- for years now. Finally, though, thanks to no small amount of persistence, they've got a bead on their most-wanted suspects. What's more, they've apparently done so just in the nick of time to thwart a potentially catastrophic pair of suicide bombings.
(Also helping: miniature remote control cameras, one resembling a songbird and another disguised a beetle, that help them go behind enemy lines and literally peek into the bad guys' windows. If you're anything like me, these gadgets will strike you as ridiculous Hollywood inventions, but it turns out -- somewhat awesomely, somewhat frighteningly -- that they are inspired by real tools in various stages of development.)
But just as Mirren gives the no-brainer of an order to loose a drone-mounted Hellfire missile at the bad guys' urban hideout, a young girl walks into the blast zone and begins selling bread. Thus the film's central moral tangle: Is the very real risk of a civilian death acceptable if it also means they will be saving counting other lives?
Of course, it shouldn't matter if it's an innocent child or an innocent adult. An innocent life is an innocent life. In that regard, there's a certain shameless lack of subtlety to the use by Hood's film of a sweet little girl as its central narrative device. Movies are, by their very nature, a mass manipulation of an audience's emotion, but they work better if they do their manipulation invisibly, which isn't exactly the case here.
But even if audiences are aware that they're being manipulated by "Eye in the Sky," it doesn't make the situation at hand any less complicated. That's because there is no binary, yes-or-no answer. Rather, there are a wealth of hypotheticals and contingencies to consider, and Hood's film attempts to talk through all of them. And talk. And talk.
Despite the occasional outbreak of tension, it all ends up becoming repetitive as "Eye in the Sky" gets bogged down in the morality of it all, spinning its wheels for long stretches.
Maybe that's part of the point. In one scene, Mirren's character chides a colleague for his heming and hawing. "It's obvious to anyone not trying to avoid making a decision," she snaps.
He's not the only one. There's a lot of hemming, hawing and general CYA-ing going on as character after character tries to squirm out of making the tough call. It's hard to blame them. At the same time, it also makes it hard to stay fully invested in the story.
Last week, moviegoers saw the release of the action-thriller "London Has Fallen," which also includes the use of drone warfare as a narrative element. The difference between that film and "Eye in the Sky" is that "London Has Fallen" puts an emphasis on kinetic energy and shows absolutely no interest in slowing down to explore the moral ambiguities of drone warfare. "Eye in the Sky," on the other hand, errs in the opposite direction.
Maybe one day we'll get a film that manages to balance both with equally deftness.
___________
EYE IN THE SKY
2 stars, out of 5
Snapshot: Helen Mirren stars with Alan Rickman, in one of his last performances before his death in January, in a drone-war drama about an officer in charge of an operation targeting terrorists in Kenya.
Cast
: Mirren, Rickman, Aaron Paul, Barkhad Abdi, Phoebe Fox.
Director
: Gavin Hood.
Rating
: R for some violent images and language.
Running time
: 1 hour 42 minutes.
Editor's note: This story was originally published in the Staten Island Advance on June 8, 2003.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- On a cold winter's night in 1975, a young nurse named Dorothy Daly was driving her usual route up Richmond Hill Road to her job at St. Vincent's Hospital, when she nearly mowed down a dark figure that had emerged from the woods.
She screamed, hit the brakes and blasted the horn, but the two-legged creature simply came to an eerie standstill in the middle of road. There it stood, captive in her headlights less than six feet away. Stupefied, she began to shake. As it slowly turned in her direction, she realized this person was no person at all.
Ms. Daly's account matches those of thousands of people around the world who have witnessed what they thought was the unexplainable. But in the eyes of many, her description -- a docile creature about six feet tall with long arms, covered from head to toe in thick, dark hair with very long hair hanging from its head -- could mean only one thing.
Ms. Daly saw the fugitive species known as Bigfoot.
Since that night she has tried to forget, and until recently has been successful. But two months ago, a Staten Islander named Tom Modern wrote an article in the New York Press weekly newspaper about his hunt for the creature, known by Native Americans as Sasquatch -- derived from an Indian word meaning "wild man." In it he describes tracks and other signs left behind in the swamplands, creek beds and dense woods of the Greenbelt.
Dorothy Daly believes she saw the mysterious Bigfoot late one night in 1975.
THE WINTER OF 1975
Sitting safely in her beachfront home in Great Kills one recent afternoon, the now-retired nurse cast her memory back to that night in Richmond.
"My first thought was some stupid kid was in a Halloween costume," she said. "I yelled, but this thing didn't hear me -- or didn't seem to." Then, as if shrugging off a pesky child, "it just kind of loped off in the direction of the (St. Andrew's) church cemetery," she said.
When she got to work that night, Ms. Daly repeated the same four words to her co-workers: "I know I'm sane."
Divorced and busy raising two children at the time, Ms. Daly did not report the experience right away. "I filed it in the 'Who knows?' department," she recalled. "It wasn't trying to scare me, it didn't bother me. It seemed more that I bothered it, quite frankly."
What made her finally report it was finding out about two other sightings reported in the previous month, December of 1974, in the same area surrounding Historic Richmond Town.
Two cousins, Philip Vivolo, 12, and Frank Pizzolato, 11, were walking up a small, wooded hill that jutted out of a river bed one late afternoon when they heard a roar, as reported in 1975 by Robert Warth, president of the New Jersey-based Society for Investigation of the Unexplained. When they turned, they saw a hairy creature standing about six feet tall at the foot of the hill looking up at them with its arms raised.
The incident caused a stir. The Advance reported at the time that "six police squad cars, an Emergency Services Unit and a police helicopter led a two-hour hunt." It quoted Vivolo, now in his 40s and living in New Jersey, saying, "I looked down from the hill and I saw this bear. ... I looked at him for about 10 seconds. I saw his snoot and the rest of his body. ... He was standing on two legs." The police found nothing, and Vivolo came home "ghost white," said his mother after the incident.
The church pastor told Ms. Daly about the second sighting. A young couple had seen such a bipedal beast walk by when they were sitting in their car late one night in the church parking lot. He told her not to feel bad, she recalled, and remembered him telling her, "We believe you."
BELIEVERS
When it comes to Bigfoot, such faith is a rare commodity.
It runs deep, however, in Tom Modern.
"I'm learning to recognize the remains and evidence they leave behind," said the 39-year-old writer who moved to the Island in 1994. "I'm finding (the evidence) in several areas, areas I thought it would be unlikely to find them in, like Great Kills Park."
The tenaciously elusive Bigfoot travels along creek beds when possible, so the sediment will wash away his tracks, said Modern. The amateur sleuth led the Advance to one place he thinks the primate roams -- exactly where Ms. Daly saw him that cold January night.
On the southeastern outskirts of LaTourette Park, surrounding the Church of St. Andrew, Richmond Creek runs through woods and swampland. The hours Modern has spent bushwhacking through the dense foliage -- he even camped there for several nights -- has convinced him that we share the Greenbelt hinterland with the great beast.
"I believe they've always been here -- long after the Indians left the land," he said.
After the April snowfall, he said he found prints matching the size and curvature of Bigfoot's in the woods on both sides of Richmond Hill Road, indicating it took the same passage it made in front of an unsuspecting Ms. Daly.
One of the prints appeared on a wooden plank stretching across the creek, pointing in the direction of the stream itself as if the creature was walking its length instead of crossing its width. He measured the track to be 15 1/2 inches long and 6 1/4 inches wide at the top.
On a recent afternoon, Modern exuded an air of cool objectivity as he pointed to spots high on a thick tree trunk that looked to have been persistently rubbed. He fingered two spacious, circular patches of broken reeds carved out of a sea of towering cattails, as if animals had romped there. His enthusiasm peeked through when he spotted a nearby muddy spot by the creek bed where a cluster of tracks appeared to be coming out of the stream and disappearing into the thick carpet of bulrush in La Tourette's wetlands.
EVIDENCE OR IMAGINATION?
While Modern believes such evidence is easy to miss, especially if you're not looking for it, many who routinely trek through the Island's woods laugh at the notion that they share the terrain with Sasquatch.
Tom O'Connell, supervisory park ranger at Gateway National Recreation Area, Great Kills Park, said what Modern sees as evidence is easily explained away. "My staff are all over this place, every inch of it," he said. "It doesn't make sense that there would be anything abnormal and none of us would have seen it." The matted down reeds Modern saw in Great Kills park, for example, "could have been where we piled brush," said O'Connell.
Many people skeptical of a Staten Island Bigfoot, however, leave open the possibility that the primate exists in the Pacific Northwest, where researchers say the species -- numbered at between 2,000 and 3,000 in North America -- is concentrated.
"In the Pacific Northwest, it could be possible," said Ed Johnson, science curator at the Staten Island Institute of Arts and Sciences. "There are hundreds of thousands of acres of uninhabited territory. Something like that could live there and escape notice for a number of years," he said. "But on Staten Island? I have to tell you, no."
Most scientists agree that if conclusive evidence, such as skeletal remains, has still not been found after decades of searching, Bigfoot is about as real as Big Bird.
If new mammals are continually being discovered throughout the world, asked Dr. Jeffrey Schwartz, a University of Pittsburgh professor of physical anthropology who specializes in primate and human evolution, how can the supposedly largest animal on two legs be so elusive?
"As much as I will keep my mind open, the fact that they haven't even found this thing is odd to say the least, in terms of the rash of discoveries of new animals that has been going on," he said.
A March, 2003 article in the American Museum of Natural History's publication "Natural History Magazine," reported that in the last decade, scientists have discovered "three species of birds, 19 species of amphibians, 16 species of reptiles, and, just since the year 2000, at least 29 species of fish and 516 species of invertebrate." It went on to list recent discoveries including a "barking deer," a "yellow pig" and a species of rabbit, and added: "Those findings alone are remarkable; after hundreds of years of systematic biology, who would have thought that large or medium-size mammals would remain to be described?"
A huge blow came to believers late in 2002, after the death of Ray Wallace, the man who coined the term Bigfoot in 1958 after one of his employees found the beast's prints in the forest of northern California. His family revealed that he faked the tracks using a set of carved wood feet.
THE SEARCH CONTINUES
A minor setback, said Bigfoot's pursuers.
Indeed, the search for Sasquatch has always been part myth, part science, and the gap between them may be closing. As dedicated amateurs amass a body of evidence, including hairs, plaster casts of prints and reported sightings, an increasing number of respected scientists -- including gorilla expert Jane Goodall -- are insisting it is time to take a closer look.
One piece of persuasive evidence, named the Skookum Cast, was discovered in southern Washington in September 2000 by researchers from the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization, which calls itself "the only scientific organization probing the Bigfoot/Sasquatch mystery."
It is being hailed as the first documented body imprint of the hairy giant, made while he lay in the mud by a pond to eat some fruit. The team first investigating it included two anthropology professors and a wildlife biologist. Especially impressive was the enormous size and authenticity of the Achilles' tendon.
As long as such plausible clues are uncovered and credible witnesses report sightings, the search will continue.
Eric Altman, director of the Pennsylvania Bigfoot Society, said the most recent report he received was April 13, when three farmers out on a walk one evening saw a light brown creature walk toward them in a cornfield. Last year, Altman said, his group received about 15 reported sightings.
"Most sightings are accidental," he said. "It's like winning the lottery. Most people who have them have never believed in (Bigfoot) before. One day, there they are, and it's happened to them."
Might it happen again on Staten Island? Consider the scarcely seen white-tail deer. Another self-proclaimed skeptic, Richard Buegler, president of the Protectors of Pine Oak Woods on Staten Island, admitted, "We know we have deer out there and very few people see them. It's amazing that an animal like that can exist and not be seen. Some people even say they don't believe there's deer on the Island."
Though her memory has faded slightly, Ms. Daly's conviction about what happened that night 30 years ago has not. "I know what I saw," she said, visibly shaken after having tried to forget the experience for three decades.
Like most other people who have reported sightings -- often with great hesitation for fear of ridicule -- Ms. Daly does not believe in Bigfoot, and said she does not scare easily. And like others, she has trouble reconciling her skepticism with what she saw.
"It sounds illogical, but this thing was very real to me," she said. "I saw the eyes. They were glinting at me."
Ms. Daly would like nothing more than to forget those eyes. "If it was going to see anyone in the world, it would see Dot Daly on her way to work -- that's my luck," she said. "Wherever it is, I hope it stays there."
-- This story was written by Heidi J. Shrager.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A construction worker was caught receiving more than $16,000 in unemployment benefits for more than four years while on the job, authorities allege.
Kenneth Jennings, 52, was working at 10 different construction companies when he allegedly collected $16,296.25 in weekly unemployment benefits from August 2009 to February 2014, according to the criminal complaint.
Jennings provided his social security number, address and date of birth to the New York State Department of Labor through phone and Internet applications, and had the money sent to several different addresses, police said.
The defendant was arrested Monday and charged with third-degree grand larceny, a felony, and falsifying business records in the first degree, the complaint says.
His next court appearance is May 23, according to online records.
Jennings' Legal Aid attorney was not immediately available for comment.
p1 ferry15
New York Water Taxi provided temporary ferry service on the South Shore, from Great Kills to Manhattan, after Hurricane Sandy.
(Staten Island Advance/Irving Silverstein)
CITY HALL -- Private operators will largely set the course in bringing fast ferry to the South Shore, though how exactly that might happen is still unclear.
Staten Island elected officials and members of the de Blasio administration met with six ferry operators at City Hall on Friday to map out opportunities and logistical challenges in expanding service to and from the borough.
"I don't think we broke any new ground," Borough President James Oddo said. "But I think it was very productive to have all of the stakeholders together in the room and agree upon a new process to start vetting this idea."
While many questions remain, officials and operators left the meeting with the notion of what needs to happen next to determine if a South Shore ferry is even feasible. They must first figure out where ferry docks could go on the South Shore and then estimate how many Islanders would potentially use them before a business plan could be made.
Ridership numbers will vary depending on locations and -- because this is Staten Island -- nearby parking spaces. Operators are expected to visit the South Shore with officials soon to come up with some potential sites, hopefully sometime in April.
The operators, Oddo, South Shore Councilman Joseph Borelli, Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen and representatives from the Economic Development Corporation were joined at the meeting by Perth Amboy Mayor Wilda Diaz to discuss if a ferry from New Jersey might also be part of any potential routes.
QUESTIONS REMAIN
Whether the city would provide an operating subsidy or funding for capital and infrastructure costs hasn't been worked out.
That's because the prospect of city money would depend on the total bill and how many riders the ferry is expected to serve.
"We need the operators to say that this could be a viable option on a regular basis and once we get that commitment we can go to the city and say we deserve a subsidy equal to Far Rockaway or parts of Brooklyn," Borelli said.
The city estimates that there's about 300 potential riders during morning peak rush hours if there were two different South Shore route landing locations. That's based on a 2013 analysis by the Economic Development Corporation that local elected officials dispute because the number of stops increased ride time.
"We discussed logistical challenges to bringing ferry service to the South Shore, including those related to ridership, cost and available infrastructure," de Blasio spokesman Austin Finan said of the meeting. "None of these issues changes the fact that Staten Islanders face challenges to their commutes, which is why we remain committed to working collaboratively with all invested parties to pursue creative solutions."
FEW PIER POSSIBILITIES
Expanding the ferry network to the South Shore would require further review of ridership numbers.
Mayor Bill de Blasio's proposed fast ferry system for New York City.
That estimate is critical because the number of riders would not only affect frequency of service, but how many ferry boats are necessary and the size of nearby parking lots that need to be sited or even constructed. All of that would impact operational and capital costs.
Another element: there's a drawbridge in New Jersey that will be under construction soon, so many residents of the growing Perth Amboy and nearby areas may also ride the ferry if given the option.
Siting the ferry starting point is tricky.
"There's very few options because, in order to meet the critical mass needed of riders, you have to provide parking," Borelli said.
How much dredging is needed and how big the pier would have to be are other factor, as well as other navigational issues. Operators insisted at the meeting that consistent ferry service couldn't be provided along the West Shore because of boat traffic.
The thought is that a South Shore fast ferry would drop off at Pier 11, where all routes on Mayor Bill de Blasio's new "citywide" system will go.
A South Shore connection wouldn't necessarily be part of the system, but a Stapleton ferry was included in an unfunded and unscheduled future phase.
Staten Islanders are perplexed by that proposed location because the neighborhood is already well-serviced by the Staten Island Railway and the free ferry in St. George.
Oddo and Borelli told the administration there are options on the North Shore east of the Bayonne Bridge that would serve a greater number of riders. Close enough to the highway, Mid-Island and South Shore residents may drive north to take a different ferry.
"I am not happy to be last in line," Oddo said, adding, "This is a big experiment, they're going to see what works and what doesn't work."
NWS SCHOOLS.JPG
Borough President James Oddo, center, is pictured with staff and School Construction Authority (SCA) members during a meeting in his office. Oddo, together with City Council Minority Leader Steve Matteo (R-Mid-Island) has been trying to help SCA find an appropriate site on the West Shore for a new public school. The two are appealing to West Shore property owners who may be willing to sell to the city. (Staten Island Advance)
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- If you own property on the West Shore large enough to build a new school, Borough President James Oddo and City Council Minority Leader Steven Matteo (R-Mid-Island) want to hear from you.
During a recent pow-wow with School Construction Authority (SCA) and Department of Education (DOE) officials, Oddo and Matteo discussed Mid-Island school seats, both funded and unfunded. They identified 456 public school seats slated for the West Shore, within Matteo's 50th Council District.
The city is now trying to find an appropriate location to build a new school to accommodate the seats.
One site, which was not immediately identified, is being eyed in Travis, but according to Oddo, there may be logistical problems with the property. For this reason, Oddo and Matteo said, they are reaching out to to determine whether there are property owners who may be able to work with the city to help fill this need through sale of property.
"These seats for the West Shore are funded, which means the last remaining hurdle is to secure an appropriate location to build a new school," said Oddo.
"Do you own property on the West Shore that could be turned into a school to educate generations of Staten Islanders? If the answer is yes, we really want to hear from you."
"The West Shore has always been a popular destination for families with children because of its excellent schools, but we have to continue to expand our capacity to prevent overcrowding and ensure we maintain those high standards," Matteo said.
"Property owners willing to sell to the city so we can build a new school will be helping the community as well as themselves," he said
For purposes of the SCA, the West Shore school seats need to be sited in the communities of either Travis, Bloomfield, Chelsea, Heartland Village, Bulls Head, Willowbrook, or New Springville.
Potential school sites can be sent to sites@nycsca.org.
BX004_73BE_9.JPG
Precious Beginnings at 464 Hoyt Ave., a daycare facility in West Brighton, has been shuttered by the state.
(Advance photo: Jan Somma-Hammel)
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A West Brighton day care center that was closed by the state has filed a lawsuit against a mother and daughter alleging they improperly made child-abuse claims against the facility to police, in front of clients and also online and via social media.
Christine Lyons and her mother, co-owner Diane Lyons, of Precious Beginnings at 464 Hoyt Ave., accuse former employee Evelyn Epperson and her mother, Julie Kaous, both of West Brighton, of defamation in the lawsuit filed on Tuesday in state Supreme Court in St. George by attorney Keith Casella.
Epperson worked as an assistant at the day care from January until March 16, the lawsuit says.
The New York State Office of Children and Family Services suspended and revoked Christine Lyons' group family day care license on March 16 for allegedly having unqualified staff and too many children in the care of the facility. The owners are in the process of appealing the closure.
The lawsuit says that the NYPD responded to Precious Beginnings at about 4:30 p.m. on March 15 to "investigate a 911 call wherein the caller reported that children were being abused."
The lawsuit claims that the NYPD officers investigated the business, examined the children and left after they "determined that the allegations were unfounded."
Less than a half hour later, at about 4:56 p.m., Kaous arrived at Precious Beginnings and made "false and defamatory statements" in front of employees and parents of other children, the suit alleges.
During that confrontation, the lawsuit claims that Kaous accused one of the owners of being a child abuser who belonged in prison for beating, punching, slapping and slamming children into walls. She also said children's mouths were taped shut and they were locked in closets and children were force-fed until they vomited or starved, the lawsuit claims.
The mother then allegedly used her mobile phone to call the police back to the day care.
Later, the lawsuit maintains, the mother and daughter began posting similar complaints against the day care providers on their personal Facebook pages and also a Facebook page for Staten Island parents.
According to the lawsuit, a Facebook post by Kaous read:
"Please do not take your children back yes they were being neglected and abused please message me... the day care is still open your kids are in danger!! Please I beg you contact me my daughter can tell you what was done to your child by the owners another worker. The breaking point yesterday was abuse of an autistic child."
Kaous, under the user name Truth beacon, also posted defamatory comments on an article about the day care closure on March 18 on SILive.com, the lawsuit alleges.
"I'm going to break cover and say this I am the mother of the whistleblower employee," the comment read, according to the lawsuit. "That day terrible abuse was done to a child involving him being shoved into a wall and force fed until he vomits. The day care used corporal punishment popped babies in the mouths and screamed in their faces, exercised excessive timeout."
The lawsuit claims that the statements of Epperson and Kaous caused Precious Beginnings to suffer "grievous economic loss," and caused it to go out of business after nearly eight years of operation.
Christine and Diane Lyons have been employed in the day care industry for over 15 years.
The lawsuit claims that prior to the dust-up with the mother and daughter, the Lyons "ran a successful daycare business and garnered a good reputation in the community for being a safe and reliable provider of child care on Staten Island."
Epperson and Kaous stand by their allegations against Lyons, saying "[We] didn't say anything that wasn't true, we have evidence. We just wanted parents to know what was happening and to get their kids out of there."
Epperson and Kaous plan to seek an attorney regarding the lawsuit.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- While voters in the two major parties in New York seem to prefer Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton for the primaries in New York next month, according to a new poll, they are disliked when compared to the other candidates in their respective parties when all types of voters are considered.
Trump leads among Republicans with 56 percent support in the poll, followed by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz at 20 percent and Ohio Gov. John Kasich with 19 percent.
Clinton beats Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders 54-42 percent.
But Trump has low favorability ratings -- only 30 percent of those polled view him favorably and 65 percent unfavorably, and Clinton gets a 45/49 percent rating. But they're leading their respective packs of candidates, while both Kasich and Sanders have positive favorability ratings, 43/18 and 54/30, respectively. Cruz has the lowest favorability rating, 26/57.
What does that say about us New Yorkers? That we appreciate the nicer guys in Kasich and Sanders but when all is said and done we prefer the disliked candidates of Trump and Clinton?
Granted, when asked "who would you vote for in the primary?" the question was posed to only Democrats or only Republicans depending on whether the candidate being asked about was a Democrat or Republican.
Voters from both parties, as well as independent voters, were included in the favorability question.
Trump's 30 percent overall favorability rating is broken down as: 68 percent of Republicans polled view him favorably, 8 percent of Democrats and 30 percent of independents.
For Clinton's 45 percent overall favorability rating, 78 percent of Democrats view her favorably, 7 percent of Republicans and 33 percent of independents.
For Kasich's 43 percent overall rating, 59 percent of Republicans polled view him favorably, 31 percent of Democrats and 48 percent of independents. But 38 percent of all polled opted for the "haven't heard enough" about the candidate to answer, much higher than Trump and Clinton.
For Sanders' 54 percent overall rating, 74 percent of Democrats polled viewed him favorably, 18 percent of Republicans and 56 percent of independents. For Sanders, 15 percent said they need to know more.
For Clinton, 4 percent said they hadn't heard enough about her to answer, and 3 percent gave that answer for Trump.
Some refused to answer the favorability questions.
One could argue that if more people knew more about Sanders and Kasich that they would view them unfavorably, but given the positive numbers among those who do know them, chances are the two would only increase their favorability.
Barring some unforeseen campaign-changing events, Kasich and Sanders won't be the nominees. They will lose out to the other members of their party with lower favorability ratings.
One could argue that since Trump and Clinton got better favorability ratings from their own party members, it makes sense they would win over Kasich and Sanders.
But considering independents will make or break the election, their opinions should be taken into consideration.
It could just be the old adage is true: nice guys do finish last.
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context: ... 21: %method> 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: %perl> 28:
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(0x5612f022de50)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 948 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f029ddb8)', '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(0x5612f022de50)') 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(0x5612f029ddb8)') 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(0x5612f00d8430)') 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(0x5612f029ddb8)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f029ddb8)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612ee50bb50)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x5612f020dd80)') called at (eval 592) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x5612f020dd80)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0
System error
error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.
context: ... 21: %method> 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: %perl> 28: 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(0x5612f01e9618)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 948 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f01b48b0)', '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(0x5612f01e9618)') 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(0x5612f01b48b0)') 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(0x5612f01b9620)') 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(0x5612f01b48b0)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f01b48b0)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612ee50bd00)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x5612f01ff7e0)') called at (eval 592) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x5612f01ff7e0)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0
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error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.
context: ... 21: %method> 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: %perl> 28: 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(0x5612f02185d8)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 948 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f029e628)', '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(0x5612f02185d8)') 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(0x5612f029e628)') 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(0x5612f026d188)') 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(0x5612f029e628)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f029e628)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612ee50c4e0)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x5612f0265cc8)') called at (eval 592) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x5612f0265cc8)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0
China's official factory gauge has unexpectedly rebounded, suggesting the government's fiscal and monetary stimulus may be kicking in.
The manufacturing purchasing managers index rose to 50.2 in March, compared with a median estimate of 49.4 in a Bloomberg News survey of economists. The non-manufacturing PMI rose to 53.8 from 52.7 in February.
China's manufacturing sector showed unexpected strength in March. Credit:AP
Top officials at the National People's Congress last month unveiled a record fiscal deficit and pledged to accelerate restructuring of bloated state-owned industries to meet their 6.5 percent to 7 percent expansion target for this year. Monetary authorities have flagged more room to act if growth falters.
"Growth may bottom out soon," Frederic Neumann, co-head of Asian economic research at??HSBC Holdings Plc in Hong Kong, wrote in a note ahead of the release. "The NPC made clear to us that there will be more fiscal support this year and room to increase it further if necessary, coupled with an easing bias by the PBOC."
Flinders Mines chairman Robert Kennedy says Todd Corporation's $38 million takeover offer undervalues the company by at least $26 million, and has urged shareholders to take no action while the board considers other "strategic alternatives".
A subsidiary of Todd Corporation, a private company backed by New Zealand's billionaire Todd family, made an off-market takeover bid in March for the iron ore hopeful, which offers Flinders shareholders 1.3 cash a share.
Todd Corporation is offering Flinders Mines shareholders 1.3 a share.
Todd has been interested in Flinders' key asset, the Pilbara Iron Ore Project (PIOP) in Western Australia, for a number of years. In 2014 and 2015 it was involved in an alliance agreement focused on the project's development before seeking an option to acquire the project in 2015.
In a letter to shareholders on Friday, Mr Kennedy said the board was reviewing the latest offer in the context of other options available to the company.
Dozens of low-paid Chinese workers on a large state government project have not received any wages for more than two months, in the latest case of foreign worker mistreatment in Australia.
The Chinese plasterers and carpenters have worked for weeks on the $630 million Bendigo Hospital project without pay after Melbourne-based fit-out subcontractor Asset Interiors collapsed and went into administration.
Chinese workers protesting out the front of Lend Lease in Docklands over unpaid wages. Credit:Simon O'Dwyer
The affected employees, more than 50 in total, are mainly Chinese migrants and are understood to be on a variety of visas.
A Fairfax Media investigation last October uncovered extensive exploitation of Chinese workers in Australia. It surveyed more than 1000 jobs advertised on Mandarin-language websites, including many construction jobs, and found a widespread "black economy" with 80 per cent paying illegally low rates.
NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance has finally cleared the way for school students to travel for free on Sydney's inner-west light rail line, more than two years after the government approved a detailed report into the matter.
Documents obtained by Labor show Mr Constance signed off in January on allowing students to travel on trams between Central Station and Dulwich Hill in the inner west from July.
Opposition transport spokeswoman Jodi McKay accused the government of "sitting on its hands" for years while parents have had to pay for their children to use the light rail.
"Why are we still waiting given the minister has signed off on it? In the meantime, parents are paying full fare for their children to travel on light rail," she said.
Kim also strengthened a crackdown on mobile phones smuggled from China, deploying more soldiers and modern surveillance devices along the border to jam signals or trace them to those using the banned phones. Choi Hyun-joon, a North Korean defector in Seoul who hired a middleman in China to help him connect with relatives, checks text messages on his mobile phone. Credit:New York Times In a 57-page report titled "Connection Denied", Amnesty International said this month that North Koreans caught making calls on the phones could face criminal charges. If they call someone in South Korea or other countries labelled enemies, they could face charges of treason as well as incarceration in prison camps. "Nothing can ever justify people being thrown in detention for trying to fulfill a basic human need - to connect with their family and friends," said Arnold Fang, the author of the report, which relied on interviews with experts and 17 recent defectors from North Korea. Kim's clampdown on phones linked to Chinese mobile networks also heightens the risk for those who help bring news about his totalitarian country to the outside world. North Koreans use the phones to talk or send text messages and even photos to reporters and activists in South Korea and elsewhere.
If they are caught by officials from the North, bribes are virtually the only way to avoid prison, or worse. "When my sources call me, they shut the doors of the house and keep a lookout outside," said Kang Mi-jin, a reporter for Daily NK, a news website based in Seoul that focuses on the North. "I tell them to have a place to quickly hide their phone and carry bribe money, usually 2000 Chinese yuan, with them, always. It can decide whether they live or die." Thanks to her sources in North Korea, Kang, 48, broke some of the most talked-about news on Kim's secretive government in recent years. She was the first to report that Kim's wife, Ri Sol Ju, was pregnant in 2012 and that the leader was limping in 2014 because of ankle surgery. "The people I talked to in the North are thirsty for outside news - asking as many questions of me as I do of them," said Kang, herself a defector. "They want to know how defectors live in the South, how much a South Korean worker makes a month, whether it's really true that South Korean housewives have so many pieces of clothes they throw some away." North Korea runs its own mobile phone network. Started in 2008 as a joint venture with the Egyptian company Orascom, the network, Koryolink, has more than 3 million subscribers. But it does not allow international calls. For ordinary citizens, landline calls are monitored and mostly confined to domestic connections.
Internet access is also restricted to foreign visitors and a select elite. North Koreans are also not permitted to exchange letters, emails or telephone calls with people in South Korea. Thus, for ordinary North Koreans, virtually the only means of communicating directly with outsiders is to travel to the border with China and use mobile phones. North Korean traders began using mobile phones during a famine in the 1990s to help illegally bring food and other goods from China. But North Koreans who have fled to the South since the famine also started hiring smugglers to send Chinese phones and SIM cards to relatives left behind. Defectors and Amnesty International said the illicit trade in Chinese mobile phones in the North was growing. In 2008, Choi Hyun Joon, 51, a North Korean defector in Seoul, hired a middleman in China. The middleman called his contact in North Korea on his Chinese mobile phone and told him to find Choi's daughter, Choi Ji Woo, in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital.
It took two months for the middleman to get his daughter to the border for a call with Choi. He first had to forge a travel permit for her; in North Korea, travel from town to town is closely monitored. Later, Choi wired his daughter 8 million won, or $8700, in a transaction made possible by the Chinese mobile phone. Each year, defectors in South Korea send millions of dollars to their families in the North through intermediaries in China and North Korea who use Chinese mobile phones to arrange the transactions. By the time the money reached her, the sum had shrunk by half, the rest deducted as "brokers' fees" for the middlemen. "You lose 30 to 50 per cent of the money, but still it is the only way to send money to our loved ones," said Choi, who managed to get his daughter out in 2010. Ju remembered the day that the middleman her father had hired appeared at a workers' restaurant in Chongjin, a port city in northeast North Korea, where she was working in 2009.
Andrew Barr says Australia still faces fundamental structural problems for the funding of health and education, despite securing an additional $50 million from the federal government for Canberra's hospitals.
Speaking after the Council of Australian Governments meeting with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and state leaders on Friday, Mr Barr said a side agreement for the ACT would see between $50 million and $55 million extra for hospitals over three years, clawing back some of the cuts made in the Abbott government's 2014 budget.
ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr will see his pay rise to $299,000 on July 1. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
The money comes as part of a national cap on hospital activity across the state and territories, rather than as a block grant. Mr Barr said the ACT deal would ensure against bigger states such as NSW and Victoria eating up all of the national funding through dramatic increases in procedures and admissions.
Increases in funding from the federal government will climb from about 4 per cent to about 6.5 per cent year on year.
It was a moment of inattention from an 87-year-old driver as he moved off from a give way sign that caused him to collide with a black scooter, a court has heard. The first time the driver saw the scooter was as it hit the side of his grey sedan, and after he had already given way to two other vehicles while waiting at the sign in Isaacs. The 55-year-old rider told the court, through a victim impact statement read out by the prosecutor, how he had replayed the accident in his mind several thousand times. "It felt like I was in the air for a long time before I hit the ground," the statement read. "My life has changed forever."
He suffered a fractured pelvis, multiple fractures though his left leg and foot, and a metal plate and 30 staples now held his leg together, the court heard. The victim's surgeon had told him how in the past, the damage was bad enough that doctors would have amputated his leg, the court heard. He was in pain every day and would need physiotherapy for another year after the accident last June. He said he was now "socially isolated" and relied on a walking stick and on other people for his mobility, a fact that embarrassed him. He used to walk 80 kilometres a week in his job at a hospital, but now he was unable to move enough to work and he was constantly worried about the future. The driver's defence lawyer told the court the driver was "deeply remorseful" and "mortified" by the injuries caused to the victim. He had cooperated fully with police and pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity, his lawyer said. But Magistrate Bernadette Boss said the driver had failed to properly look out for other vehicles, and now a member of the community had lost some of the "lustre" of his life. She noted the driver's "excellent character" and unblemished driving record.
Nearly seven years after Trio Capital Group collapsed do-it-yourself investors who were victims of the biggest superannuation fraud in Australian history have had their hopes of taxpayer funded compensation dashed.
The news comes as the government concluded that its two main financial system regulators - the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority - were not derelict in their duties.
Trio Capital investors attend a forum after its collapse Credit:David Tease
To date the government has provided $71.7 million in compensation to those who were invested in the fraudulent wealth management firm via regulated institutions.
Over 6,000 investors were affected. The government provided $55 million to the more than 5000 of those investors who were invested through their APRA-regulated super fund.
Has BHP Billiton already ticked off one of the key conditions of its landmark 15-year compensation deal with the Brazilian government in the wake of its deadly dam disaster?
The deal, forged just four weeks ago, required that BHP and Vale restore the affected communities and the River Doce back to the condition they were in right before the catastrophic rupturing of a tailings dam at their iron ore joint venture, Samarco.
Rescue workers search for victims at the site where the town of Bento Rodrigues stood. Credit:AP
But overnight Thursday, Samarco said tests showed the condition of the Doce River and the mouth of the Atlantic Ocean were very similar to that before the deadly dam disaster on November 5 last year, citing government data.
Samarco said based on data from 84 monitoring points, "the Doce River today presents conditions which are very similar to those that existed prior to the rupture of the Fundao dam".
He appears to have signed documents making the payment to a United Arab Emirates firm, Asian Global Projects and Trading, to guarantee the supply of steel to the Australian construction giant at "preferred and commercially beneficial" prices. No steel was ever supplied and Fairfax Media has obtained documents revealing the Dubai company that received the money has engaged in bribery and money laundering. Primary said it not only knew that Mr Gregg was under investigation at the time the company appointed him CEO in February 2015, but "remains comfortable with the performance and conduct of Mr Gregg since he was appointed". "As there is an ongoing investigation in progress, it is not appropriate for us to comment further on the matter raised in the media articles," the company said. Mr Gregg threatened legal action against Fairfax Media and reporter Nick McKenzie. Mr Gregg denied he had broken any laws and claimed the story was incorrect. Fairfax Media responded to Mr Gregg's lawyer, saying the story was accurate and Mr Gregg had declined repeated requests to respond to specific questions about the $15 million payment. Fairfax Media can now separately reveal that executives of Sydney private company Sinclair Knight Merz are under police investigation for alleged illegal payments made prior to 2012.
The company was sanctioned by the World Bank in 2013 over illicit payments made in Asia, but a source has now said the alleged activities may not have been fully known to the World Bank at the time. A source with intimate knowledge of the company's operations says at least one Australian manager appears to have encouraged bribery. SKM was acquired in late 2013 by US engineering giant Jacobs, whose spokesman confirmed this week that the company was under investigation and said he was "confident that all reportable matters have been disclosed to authorities and are being dealt with appropriately". Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said revelations of Australian companies' involvement in bribery and corruption were "tremendously alarming", while Justice Minister Michael Keenan said the government was committed to fighting corporate graft. It is understood Mr Keenan is pushing his coalition colleagues to support the beefing up of the nation's anti-corporate corruption regime. Mr Shorten said on Friday: "I'm grateful for the lid being ripped off some of those carryings on of multinational companies engaging in global bribery."
"When it comes to anti-corruption, Mr Turnbull's always out there bashing the unions, but he's been disappointingly silent on the conduct of Australian multinationals engaged in global bribery." Later this month, Labor and independent senator Nick Xenophon are planning to use a Senate inquiry to grill the allegedly corrupt Australian executives exposed in the Unaoil scandal. In the latest revelations to emerge from the trove of Unaoil's email traffic, Fairfax Media has discovered the deep involvement of a number of well-known Asian companies who worked with Unaoil. The emails reveal corruption inside Malaysia's national oil company Petronas, as well as South Korean titans Hyundai and Samsung, and even the Chinese government giant Sinopec. The oil industry's biggest ever scandal has also exposed Asian conglomerates Yokogawa of Japan, South Korea's ISU, Singapore's Keppel and Malaysian firm Ranhill. The emails show some Asian executives are enthusiastic participants in graft, underscoring the pervasive culture of corruption across the region. It's an alarming proposition as Asian companies develop into some of the most powerful and influential players in global business.
In one email, Korean ISU vice president Joon Lee, writing from a private address, urged Unaoil to bring cash to a meeting to pay a senior Libyan government official who could help ISU win a construction contract. "You are requested to come to see him as you told me at a hotel I suggest to you with around 20,000 Eruo [euro] at this visit," the email to Unaoil said. The leaked files show a senior Samsung manager, in cahoots with executives from Hyundai, agreeing to pay bribes worth millions of dollars to rig oil-refinery contracts in Algeria. Unaoil also corrupted senior figures inside Malaysia's Petronas, paying kickbacks to secure their help to award contracts to Unaoil's clients on a major oil field in Iraq. In China, the files reveal that a senior manager from Sinopec subsidiary ZPEB demanded kickbacks from Unaoil in return for getting Sinopec to work with the corrupt Monaco firm.
London may still have the most billionaires in the world, but millionaires are becoming less keen on the UK's capital city, according to data out this week.
Wealth research firm New World Wealth released its "Millionaire Migration" report on Wednesday, which charts the movements of millionaires around the globe. Sydney topped the list with an inflow of about 4000 millionaires in 2015, a 4 per cent growth. There are now 95,400 millionaires living in the city.
Increasingly, Sydney's self-narrative is about perfection and fear. Credit:Peter Braig
Melbourne came second with an inflow of 3000 millionaires to make 66,800 living there. The Middle East is also hugely popular with millionaires. Tel Aviv in Israel and Dubai came in at third and fourth respectively.
This chart shows the top seven global cities with the biggest millionaire inflow in 2015:
When Cyclone Winston hit Fiji recently it was devastating. But in the north of the main island of Viti Levu the damage was indiscriminate: one resort would be demolished, while another was left untouched.
Still, there was some good news. The country's major tourism areas were largely unaffected. Today, regions like Denarau, the Coral Coast, the Mamanucas and the Yasawas are fully operational an important fact given the industry is Fiji's major employer.
Head of Tourism Fiji in Australia Carlah Walton says visiting is a great way to help Fiji's economy after Cyclone Winston.
"The person who serves your breakfast with that big bula smile may come from a devastated village. They leave their families to work so they can send money home where crops have been devastated and homes flattened," says regional director (Australia) for Tourism Fiji, Carlah Walton.
Walton came to tourism via an unlikely career path; she started out as a police officer.
Peak stupid: British passenger Ben Innes gets the "best selfie ever" with a hijacker. Innes has also said he was trying to get a closer look at the trigger attached to the belt. But his primary motivation for the picture was clear. "If would be the best selfie you could ever send to your mates better than anything you'd ever get on a night out or on a holiday." Putting aside the facts that the bomb turned out to be a fake and Mustafa was a lovesick ex-husband, not a terrorist, the hijacker selfie generated mixed reactions. Security types have deemed it reckless, while friends chortled at Innes' "wild" nature.
Meanwhile, his mother Pauline pedantically and irrelevantly noted, "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." This is not some hyperbolic scene in a Monty Python caper. It is real life. And it is a symptom of our modern malaise. Because as wacky as it was, there was something inevitable about the picture Innes took with the hijacker. The selfie or "me" snap has become our natural, default response to anything that we do, see or become involved in. We take photos and put them online so we can show all our friends, colleagues, families, fans.
I post therefore I am. Everyone from world leaders to Australian politicians, the mega famous and the mega ordinary does it. In 2014, Google estimated that Android users alone take 93 million selfies a day. A British survey last year suggested young women spend five hours a week taking pictures of themselves (it did not look at the rates for young men). We now have "celebrities" who are famous just for the selfies they put on platforms like Instagram. And as we saw this week, selfies regularly generate news in and of themselves. Along with Innes' efforts, we also learned the Royal National Park has seen fit to introduce fines to stop people trying to take dangerous photos of themselves on Wedding Cake Rock.
The take home message is: "do not risk your life for a photograph." And there was another instalment to the Kim Kardashian kanon, with Kim posting a topless selfie with model/actress Emily Ratajkowski, middle fingers extended. (The two were protesting the backlash over another nudie selfie Kim posted recently, arguing that women shouldn't be shamed for their sexuality.) Indeed, it's been argued that the selfie is a wonderful thing, as it gives people control over the image they present to the world. That they can be flattering, empowering and fun. And humans have always sought to mark their territory and existence. Whether it be Renaissance-era self portraiture, stern-faced daguerreotypes, casual Polaroids or simple "I wuz 'ere" graffiti accompanied by one's initials. But somewhere in between the invention of the smartphone camera and the selfie stick, the selfie caboose ran off the rails.
Years before social media came along, US cultural historian Leo Braudy wrote about the history of fame in his book The Frenzy of Renown. Charting a course from ancient Greece to the 1990s, he observed that "as each new medium of fame appears, the human image it conveys is intensified and the number of individuals celebrated expands". He adds that while not everyone can be famous, "much of our daily experience tells us that we should if we possibly can, because it is the best ... way to be". Braudy continues that particularly in Western society, fame has become interlinked with the search for personal freedom, because it is supposed to free us from "powerless anonymity". Constantly posting images of ourselves online offers what seems like an easy antidote to anonymity. It promises proof of our special identities and personal brands.
Last week I was in chocolate-box Vienna retracing my grandmother's footsteps as she fled the Nazis. It was a bittersweet voyage. It turns out that in modern-day Austria, traces of my grandmother's community are still being defaced. In short, Nazism didn't die with the Nazis.
Neo-Nazi and Islamic fundamentalist cells may be sprouting up throughout 21st century Europe. But what of Adolf Hitler's henchmen immediately after the war? Well, it seems one of the Fuhrer's favourites did an amazing volte-face.
Rafael "Rafi" Eitan, pictured in 1980 when he was an Israeli army chief, this week revealed the Mossad had hired former top Nazi Otto Skorzeny to achieve some of its goals. Credit:AP
The tale of Otto Skorzeny, a notorious SS officer known as "Hitler's commando", was already astonishing. A strapping 1.93 metres, this Reich Adonis, adorned with university fencing scars running down his left cheek, was handpicked to rescue Mussolini from captivity in 1942 in a glider raid on a remote ski resort, which he accomplished without a shot being fired. A Nazi hero was born.
After the war, however, he knew he was a dead man walking. Especially with the indefatigable Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal in hot pursuit. So how on earth did this uber Hitlerite live to the age of 67, dying in comfort in Madrid in 1975? Simple. He started working for Mossad.
Furthermore, Iran's support for the Assad regime has assisted it to kill almost 500,000 Syrians. The atrocities committed by Assad and his supporters, including Iran and Hezbollah, have in turn been ISIS' major recruiting tool.
While Zarif may be moderate compared to Iran's previous president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, he would not have attained his lofty position without loyalty to the regime and its ideology. Foremost in that ideology is the drive to spread its Islamic revolution by any means necessary. To that end, Iran is the world's foremost state sponsor of terrorism, with terror groups it funds, arms and directs including Hezbollah, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Shi'ite death squads in Iraq and Yemen's Houthi rebels.
For example, in opening remarks at his March 15 joint press conference with Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, he claimed, "We all need to co-operate together to fight IS and extremism."
Australia recently hosted Iranian Foreign Minister Dr Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Islamic Republic's urbane and seemingly moderate face. However, charm and a lovely accent do not make someone a moderate. In fact analysis of his various comments while here reveals much about the unchanged nature of Iran's brutal expansionist regime, and its hypocrisy.
Zarif also professed to being happy human rights were discussed, claiming that they should be approached "more seriously", rather than becoming "an instrument of political pressure." Iran's human rights record has, if anything, worsened under "moderate" President Hassan Rouhani, with more than 1000 people executed there last year alone, and continuing abuse of gays, women and religious minorities. Yet Zarif dismisses any serious concerns as "an instrument of political pressure."
In the next breath, he said Iran is "the only serious country in the region that holds elections." In fact, the vetting of any genuine moderates and the ultimate power of the Supreme Leader mean Iran's elections are only slightly more meaningful than the Clayton's elections staged by Syria, Egypt and other autocracies. Further, tellingly, Zarif was hinting he regards Israel as not being a "serious" country given it definitely is in the region and holds elections.
On Iran's missiles, he claimed that they were only for defence, and said Iran has made a commitment that it "will not use force except in self-defence." It may be true that Iran's armed forces have seldom openly attacked other countries. Instead it trains, equips and supplies terrorist proxies to act on its behalf. Indeed, in late 2014, Alireza Zakani, an Iranian parliamentarian close to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was able to claim that four Arab capitals Damascus, Baghdad, Beirut and Yemen's Sana'a had fallen into Iran's hands through these methods. The constant regime calls for Israel's destruction, and the fact that missiles in the recent tests were emblazoned with the message "Israel must be wiped out", written in Hebrew, demonstrate Iran's real focus.
Zarif denied the missile tests had breached UN Resolution 2231, which gives effect to the nuclear deal, in part because the resolution only bans the testing of missiles "designed to be capable not capable of carrying nuclear warheads." He argued that as Iran has no nuclear warheads and does not design missiles to carry what it doesn't have, 2231 does not apply.
This is pure misdirection. He is interpreting 2231 to bluntly assert that it permits Iran to test fire missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads until Iran actually has nuclear warheads. If so, not only is the nuclear deal even weaker than thought, 2231 actually strengthens Iran's ability to build nuclear weapons delivery systems, rather than restricting it as intended by the drafters.
Most immigrants experience a yearning for their homeland. Cultural identity is tied to our place of birth, so whether the decision to leave is made freely or one's hand is forced, the impact is profound. Stories are told about the faraway places, the people, the rituals. The desire to reconnect often manifests itself through traditions held fast in the adopted country. Food,music, expressions and celebrations emulate those of the mother country.
So what happens when that homeland has become a place filled with horror, a nightmarish representation of all that is evil? For many Jewish Australians, that is exactly how they see Poland. Concentration camps such as Auschwitz are synonymous with the eastern European nation that was invaded by the Nazis in World War II. Entire families were murdered. Others endured unspeakable treatment.
Two peasant women of Orla. Credit:Arnold Zable
Before the war, Poland was home to the largest number of Jews in Europe. More than 90 per cent were killed. The Holocaust effectively obscured about 1000 years of Jewish tradition in Poland. Can we talk about Poland?, a new exhibition at Melbourne's Jewish Museum, aims to uncover some of that history and to allow discussion of the conflicted relationship many survivors and their descendants have with their former homeland.
Rebecca Forgasz, director of the Jewish Museum, has been wanting to hold an exhibition about Poland for some time. "So many Jews in Melbourne who are Holocaust survivors and the children and grandchildren of Holocaust survivors have their roots in Poland, and alongside that comes a very mixed lot of emotions about Poland."
State and territory leaders have rejected a push toward "competitive federalism" by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull that would have allowed states to levy their own portion of the nation's income tax take.
The decision is a major loss for the government, coming just two days after Mr Turnbull announced the proposal, pitching it as "the most fundamental reform to the federation in generations" and "the only way that we can genuinely reform our federation". The plan was also spruiked by several government frontbenchers including Treasurer Scott Morrison.
"There was not a consensus among the states and territories to support further consideration of the proposal that would enable states to levy income tax on their own behalf," Mr Turnbull announced on Friday after the Council of Australian Governments meeting in Canberra.
"I wondered how her head processed that. It looked like torture." Sarah is far from alone when it comes to raising a child in an age when pornography is just a few clicks away. Gone are the days when kids' exposure to explicit material involved a cheeky peek at an older sibling's Playboy collection. Or a curious perusal of a parental copy of the Joy of Sex. Pornography is available in abundance on the internet. And the internet is everywhere, meaning young children and teenagers are easily able to access free, hardcore content if they want to - and even if they don't. According to research released by the Office of the Children's eSafety Commissioner in February, Australian teenagers are going online more often, on a broader range of devices and with increased use late at night. For example, in 2011 less than a quarter of teenagers used a smartphone, as of June 2015, 80 per cent did.
One thing that experts do agree on, however, is that when it comes to young people's exposure to pornography, it a case of "when" not "if". Even a few years ago, a child's access to the internet would have been limited to the home desktop, now they may have access through phones, tablets and laptops. And if they don't have access, their friends do. As the Australian Medical Association notes: "It is now a reality that children and young people are increasingly coming into contact with internet content designed for adults." The 2011 AU Kids Online Study found that of the 9-16 year-olds surveyed, 44 per cent said they had seen sexual images in the past 12 months. Almost 30 per cent said they had seen sexual images online. Younger children were less likely to have seen images on the internet, with 11 per cent of 9-10 year-olds reporting they had seen sexual images online, compared to 56 per cent of 15-16 year-olds. This comes amid general concerns about the trend towards more violent and misogynist pornography and its continued lack of condom use. As US anti-porn activist Gail Dines writes in her book Pornland: "Images have now become so extreme that what used to be considered hardcore is now mainstream pornography. "Youth today, especially boys, are catapulted into a never-ending universe of ravaged anuses, distended vaginas, and semen-smeared faces."
Late last year, a multi-party group of conservative Senators launched a parliamentary inquiry into the issue. At the time, former Labor senator Joe Bullock (who quit Parliament in March), told the Senate: "Exposure to pornography has measurable negative effects of brain development and behavioural outcomes." The inquiry has since been inundated with submissions from teachers, doctors, researchers and voters expressing serious concerns. The Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia said teachers were overwhelmingly reporting that young people were being prematurely sexualised. The AMA said that there is a "strong link" between online porn and risky behaviour in adolescence. This includes "earlier and more diverse sexual practice that can result in adverse sexual and mental health outcomes". Victorian sex educator Margaret Buttriss reported that she had spoken to children as young as four who had seen pornography by accident, while child protection expert Freda Briggs warned that children can become addicted to pornography and "rape younger children". But other experts have cautioned that more research is needed before definitive conclusions can be drawn.
The Royal Australasian College of Physicians has stressed that studies are needed on the kinds of porn Australian children and teenagers are accessing and how this is affecting their social and romantic relationships. The Melbourne-based Burnet Institute says that while pornography use is "associated" with some harms - particularly when people watch violent porn and watch it regularly - there is "little evidence" to say it causes harms in adolescents and young adults. It also notes there is "very little robust research internationally or in Australia" that look at pornography's use and harms among children. One thing that experts do agree on, however, is that when it comes to young people's exposure to pornography, it is a case of "when" not "if". "You can't hide from this," Children's eSafety Commissioner, Alastair MacGibbon says.
"The simple reality is, a child - either by accident or design - will gain access to this type of material." While there are pushes for increased filtering of the internet, MacGibbon says this is not the silver-bullet solution. Filters can be effective when installed on home and school systems for smaller children, but older children can usually get around them. Overwhelmingly, the Senate inquiry has heard of the need for more educational support to help young people deal with what they may encounter online. MacGibbon notes that many of the parents he talks to feel helpless or "disempowered" when it comes to their children's internet use. Kids are notoriously ahead of their parents when it comes to technology know-how. However, he stresses parents can (and should) make a difference. Some of this simply involves asking their children to tell them about the apps and devices they use - and to teach them how to use them. For younger children, it is also possible to "watch over their shoulder" when they are online.
But a large part also comes down to parents talking to their kids about sex, porn, relationships and ethics. "While these conversations are tough, if you don't have them, [kids] are going to be finding out about this stuff without your guidance and love and advice," he says. MacGibbon also notes it needs to be done "earlier than people think", adding the need for this to be in an age-appropriate fashion. For example, while a conversation with a teenager might centre around how pornography does not depict "real" sex, the message to a younger child might be "if you see something you don't understand or makes you scared, or uncomfortable, come and chat to me". Wollongong University associate professor Michael Flood - whose research includes pornography and male sexuality - adds there is an important safety element to talking to children early on.
"Maintaining children's sexual ignorance fosters sexual abuse," he says. "Young people who know their sexual rights and responsibilities are more likely to speak up when they are being forced into sex, and they are less likely to abuse others." Macquarie University's Catharine Lumby, has recently interviewed 13-17 year olds about where they get their information from about sex, as part of an Australian Research Council grant. The focus groups revealed only about 20 per cent of teenagers would talk to their parents about sex. "That is really frightening to me," the professor of media says. "That means it's all left to the school."
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, accused not so long ago of being a ditherer, launched a one man Festival of Dangerous Ideas this week.
After announcing a plan to allow states to levy income tax for the first time since World War II, he followed by saying the federal government should stop funding public schools.
As political dynamite goes, it doesn't come any more explosive.
Jaimen Hudson and his girlfriend, Jess Fotheringham, at Twilight Beach, Esperance. Credit:Edwina Pickles As a teenager, Hudson loved good gear; he'd go through catalogues and pick out flash fishing and diving equipment. "He kept us poor there for a while," says his mother, Lesley. Before the accident, Hudson was developing an interest in photography. Afterwards, he thought that a drone might allow him to continue to pursue photography. With a mere 540,000 YouTube views, his other stand-out drone video Dolphin Haze is only a minnow. Still, it's something to see. Hudson was on the verandah of the family home overlooking West Beach when he saw the pod come around the point. "See," he says, pointing at a computer screen. He's in his wheelchair at a desk in the TV room of the house in which he grew up and which he now shares with his girlfriend, Jess Fotheringham, and his father, Peter. It's a boy's-own pleasure palace, a place hung with motocross memorabilia and limited-edition skateboard decks, and accessorised with guitars and a home bar. A photo taken from Hudon's drone. Credit:Jaimen Hudson "See," says Hudson, "the little baby one there." He's pointing at one of the dolphins. "That little one, he goes for ages." On and on, the baby swims. And as the wave picks up "Open up the oceans, jump on in," sings Sydney band Sticky Fingers the dolphins ride its arc then explode out the back. "It's the first time I'd ever filmed any bloody dolphins; it was like the best day of my life, I reckon."
Hudson has also "droned" cows in a paddock. The cows weren't happy about it and took fright. Another time, Jess drove him to meet his mates surfing at a remote beach. When he couldn't find them, he sent up the drone to see where they were. (They'd forgotten to let him know they'd gone to a different beach.) Other days they'll "chuck me in the car and drive me out to the beach and I'll get some footage of them surfing". He doesn't actually long to be in the water with his buddies. This is what he thinks: If he hadn't had the accident, he wouldn't have got a drone, and he wouldn't have created a video that his nanna in England saw on the news, and millions around the world saw on YouTube. "It's given me my own thing, in a way," he says of the drone. "So it's pretty cool, eh." IF JAIMEN HUDSON hadn't flown over the handlebars of his Honda while out with friends looking for jumps in the dunes at Wylie Bay east of Esperance on January 27, 2008, he might have been just another bloke. Now, though, he has a far more distinctive identity the "quadriplegic with a quad-copter", as his Instagram bio read for a while, with the addendum: "Yes, I did write that to milk sympathy likes." "He's a local celeb," says Fotheringham, a Canadian-born massage therapist and yoga teacher who came to work at the local beauty parlour in late 2012 and stayed. Everyone knows his story and his videos. "It's good for him," she says. Hudson's head doesn't quite make the height of the bar at the town's Pier Hotel. People who stop to greet him have to lean over to shake his hand and slap his back. "He's cool, yeah," says a barmaid at the hotel. "You see him around," says a man with a schooner.
Before that afternoon in 2008, Hudson had been through far more dramatic accidents but had walked away from them with nothing more than shredded skin. "When he ended up a quadriplegic, it wasn't fair," says Lesley, who for years spent her Sundays watching her motocross-mad son race at the local Shark Lake circuit. "It wasn't as though he was a reckless rider." Hudson describes the last dune he rode over as "a 40 or 50 foot double, so nothing massive". He thinks he took off from it too slowly, "probably not fully committing". He remembers the feeling as he landed on his helmeted head awkwardly and it pushed towards his chest. "I felt an unusual sensation go through my body; it felt like an electric shock." He asked his friend Cameron Matthews, "Where are my arms?" "They're beside your head," Matthews replied. Hudson is in his lounge room as he reaches into memory for details. He starts to cry. Fotheringham is beside him and pats his arm, whispering encouragement. "I don't know why I'm crying, I never cry when I talk about this." He remembers that it started to rain while he lay in the dunes. His friend held a bush over him so his face didn't get wet. "You never really think the worst," says Matthews, who remembers another mate who'd had an accident and had to go to Perth and ended up all right. "But it was the worst." FOR HUDSON, the accident's immediate aftermath is a dreamscape: being pulled from an SES vehicle to be stretchered over rough sections of the dunes on the trip back to the waiting ambulance in the car park. The night in Esperance Hospital with his father by his side, waiting for weather to settle so he could be airlifted out. "I'm not going to have a catheter, am I?" he asked a doctor. When he reached Perth, seeing his mother's face. She had just raced up the highway from Busselton, where she had been staying with her parents following a recent separation from Hudson's father. "That'll live with me forever," Hudson says. "That I put them through that much torment." So many worries: "Can you see if I have any underwear on?" is the first thing he said to his only sibling, Chelsea, when she arrived at the hospital in Perth. When Chelsea, who is three years older, said he didn't, he said, "F, that means everyone from Esperance to here has seen me naked." Doctors had cut away some of his clothing, but there was still more to go. "I heard them having a talk about cutting my gear off but I'd just spent, like, $900 on these motorbike boots and I was like, 'You can't cut the boots off!' "
He was in intensive care for 17 days. On the 10th day, there was an operation to fuse his spinal cord using a metal plate, screws and bone from his hip. Soon after that, his lungs collapsed. "I think it was pretty touch-and-go there for a while." He has a vague recollection of another patient's cry through the fog "Let him take me!" On the 17th day, he was transferred to a Perth rehabilitation hospital to learn all about his new life. For a long time, he was horizontal. Then, inch by inch, Hudson resumed life in the vertical. From his armpits down, his muscles were disconnected from his brain's electrical impulses. He had biceps movement, but his triceps muscles were lifeless. It meant he could, eventually, feed himself, use a computer and a phone, and reach out to take a hand. It meant he couldn't lift himself from his wheelchair or pull on a sweater. One day in spring, when he was finally able to sit upright, his parents and sister pushed him out of the hospital to a little park nearby. He was thin and pale and had lost 12 kilograms through his winter of confinement. Through tears, he talked about how the world had been at his feet. He'd wanted to work in the family business since he was a kid and had been about to start a course to get his commercial diving licence. He'd just bought his dream car a purple V6 Holden ute. "We all had a cry that day," says Lesley. "He was just distraught we were all distraught. I guess it was a realisation what his life would be from then on. Poor kid, he did go through some bad times." DURING HIS ANNUAL family-and-friends holiday in Bali, Hudson likes to float in the pool in an inflatable rubber ring. Sometimes, he has frangipani flowers behind his ears. With the water taking his weight, he might sip a cocktail. He shows me a video on his phone of his friends tossing him into the pool. It took a while for him to get into the water. For the first few trips to Bali after the accident, he would retreat to the hotel room. He didn't want people to see his body and its wasted muscles and the belly that comes too easily in their absence. He didn't want people thinking, "Look at this retard in the floatie tube." He'd always cared about how he looked it was embarrassing how many outfits he'd try on before he went out. "Honestly," he says, "it was like being a girl." Now, though, he doesn't care what people think and he loves being in the water. It's like having a pool wheelchair.
It was his girlfriend who thought an inflatable ring might get him into the water and took it with them on their first trip to Bali together, in 2013. Jess Fotheringham didn't know Hudson when he had legs that worked. In late 2012, soon after she'd moved to Esperance, a friend introduced her to the young man in the wheelchair. She briefly thought about what he might be like if he'd not suffered the injury "Oh my goodness, what would he be doing? He'd be travelling, [he'd] have all these girls" but her first impressions were more powerful than thoughts about what an upright Jaimen Hudson might be like. "I was blown away," says Fotheringham, who is strikingly pretty, with a yogi's lean body. "He's just so charismatic and carries himself so well and has such a presence. I guess I was attracted to him from the get-go." Hudson hadn't talked about it to anyone but quietly, sadly, he had resigned himself to the fact that any sort of romantic life was out of the question: "I was robbed of my teen years; I was taken down in my prime." He's laughing as he pulls out the cliches, but it was tough. His mates were getting girls and he was being put to bed by a carer. Some girls made advances, but he wasn't interested. "Just because I was in a wheelchair didn't mean I dropped my standards." And then, a few weeks after meeting Fotheringham, he kissed her, on New Year's Eve 2012. "Jess is just so happy all the time, you know; she's such a free-spirited little hippie." From the start, though, he set some rules. "I was very adamant that I didn't want her helping me do anything. I want her to be my girlfriend, not my carer." The couple live together in the Hudson family home, but they've bought a block of land in the same street and hope to start building later this year. They like the industrial look; they want something "boxy and modern". And they're planning for the future in other ways, too: in a Perth freezer, there's a tube of Hudson's semen. In the year or so after the accident, his mother convinced him it was a smart investment. "We always joke that he's cluckier than I am," says Fotheringham, who is 31. "He'll be an amazing dad one day."
Speaking from the black carpet at the film's first screening on Thursday night in Sydney, the 49-year-old, best known for directing and acting in the Iron Man blockbusters, said he changed the snake Kaa from male to female, and had the character voiced by his long-time friend and colleague, Scarlett Johansson, for a better balance in genders.
With Idris Elba, Bill Murray, Christopher Walken and Ben Kingsley, the star-studded line-up for the Disney live-action remake of The Jungle Book was mostly made up of men. But actor and director Jon Favreau wanted to ensure the highly anticipated film was a reflection of our changing times, so set about amending the 1967 animated original.
"When the stories were originally written, most of the characters were male and when Walt Disney did his version, the one prominent female character wasn't really included that much, which is Raksha, that figures much more heavily into the Kipling stories and now it's a different time, and it seems unbalanced to have all male characters and we wanted to make a version of The Jungle Book for our generation," he said when asked by AAP.
Why Jon Favreau created a role for Scarlett Johansson in The Jungle Book. Credit:Sarah Dunn/2016 Disney Enterprises
The Swingers writer and star believes Hollywood is a more positive place for women despite the criticism over the sexist pay gap and women comprising 12 per cent of protagonists in the top-grossing films of 2014.
"What's nice now in Hollywood is that there's a real open mind to casting people who are best for the role and people aren't held back in the way that they were decades ago, and I think that's a good chapter in our history," he said.
Despite Favreau's reputation as one of the top directors in the film industry, there was one star who was harder to pin down than the others for the Rudyard Kipling tale.
The headquarters of the Monaco-based oil company Unaoil and the homes of its executives have been raided by police in the wake of revelations in recent days that it has systematically corrupted the global oil industry.
In a statement, the Monaco government said it was helping British authorities investigate the "vast corruption scandal" revealed in recent days by Fairfax Media and The Huffington Post.
Police moved after Fairfax Media broke the story late on Wednesday that Unaoil and its owners, the Ahsani family, used multi-million dollar commissions to bribe corrupt governments in oil rich states to win contracts for large western firms such as Rolls-Royce, Halliburton and Australia's Leighton Offshore.
According to the NSW Liberal Party donation returns for 2012-13, Anthony Pratt, chairman of Visy Industries and a resident of Kew, is recorded as having donated $20,000 to assist the council elections.
It might seem odd, but three Victorians were the biggest donors to the 2012 local government elections in NSW.
Melburnian Lindsay Fox donated $10,000 to the Liberals' local government campaign. Credit:Jesse Marlow
The NSW Electoral Commission's dispute with the NSW Liberal Party has highlighted how differences between federal and state donations regimes can be exploited to channel donations that might be prohibited.
But similar inconsistencies between state and local government donations laws mean the system can be gamed by the political parties. With local government elections scheduled for September this year, there are calls for urgent reform..
For example, donations to state political parties in NSW were capped at $5000 a person in 2010 but the cap does not apply to donations for local government elections. This clearly opens up potential for larger donations to be earmarked for local government. The Herald is not suggesting that any of these three Victorian donors was avoiding the cap. Mr Fox is known to be an admirer of Christine Forster, sister of the former prime minister, Tony Abbott, and a councillor on City of Sydney. A spokesman said he made the donation in 2012 in support of her campaign. Mr Pratt did not respond to queries and Ms Davis could not be located.
The other major issue with local government donations is that parties are allowed to consolidate all fundraising through the state office, with the result that the "disclosures" are a miasma of information that cannot be traced to individual councillors or municipalities. The same can be done with expenditure.
Four children are without their parents after a young couple's marriage ended in a horrible, bloody tragedy.
On Thursday night, the Peniamina siblings had a mother and father to care for them in their Kippa Ring home, north of Brisbane.
Sandra Peniamina died after receiving multiple stab wounds.
By morning, their 29-year-old mum Sandra was dead on the driveway in Queensland's latest alleged domestic violence tragedy and their father Arona was under police guard in hospital, charged with her murder.
If the 35-year-old New Zealand citizen is convicted, he faces a lengthy jail term and the possibility of being sent back permanently under mandatory deportation laws for foreigners.
Queensland's Environment Minister is trying a new "softly-softly" approach to encourage Queenslanders owning historic homes and buildings to "re-adapt them", rather than selling them to developers for demolition.
In the past two years Queensland has seen a rash of interesting older properties lost; the Bonded Stores Buildings in Margaret Street, the historic Belvedere house opposite Musgrave Park with homes in Highgate Hill threatened.
Centenary Pool, Spring Hill. Designed by architect James Birrell and part of Brisbane's modernist age that has remained and not been demolished.
Others have been preserved including the old Dental School in Turbot Street, while part of the old Police Barracks at Petrie Terrace have been adaptively re-used as a cinema and retail complex.
Environment Minister Dr Steven Miles wants to take a "softly-softly" approach after learning many of the 100 Brisbane buildings featured in a Hot Modernism architecture book launched last year have been demolished.
An American mission worker who flew into Brisbane from Fiji with more than 4kg of ice hidden in his suitcase has lost an appeal against his conviction.
David William Banker, 72, had tried to argue that a third party could have planted the 4.177kg of pure methylamphetamine, or ice, at a Fijian hotel or at Nadi Airport.
A man has argued that somebody planted 4kg of drugs in his luggage in Fiji. Credit:Jim Rice
But the Queensland Court of Appeal dismissed the US citizen's appeal and refused his bid to challenge his 12-year prison sentence, saying the concealment of the drugs in the suitcase was quite sophisticated.
"The modifications made to it in order to conceal the drugs were substantial," the judgment said.
Archaeologist Dr Melanie Fillios from the School of Humanities and Professor Paul Tacon from Griffith University looked at genetics and archaeology to find out the exact timing of the dingo's introduction.
"We don't know if the dingoes came through early agriculturalists, hunter-gatherers or sea-faring traders," Dr Fillos said.
People from South Sulawesi in Indonesia probably brought the dingo to Australia.
"But after looking at recent genetic studies of dingo origins we have managed to narrow down a list of potential groups who could have been responsible for their introduction."
Those five different groups were: Indian mariners, Lapita peoples, a Timor group, Taiwanese peoples and Toalean hunter-gatherer peoples from Sulawesi.
For some, the Mic Drop sounded like the perfect passive-aggressive office behaviour. But this is April Fool's Day, the worst day of the year and a fertile ground for hoaxes, which are so numerous that many news organisations are live-blogging them.
"Simply reply to any email using the new 'Send + Mic Drop' button. Everyone will get your message, but that's the last you'll ever hear about it. Yes, even if folks try to respond, you won't see it," said a Gmail blog post about the feature.
The feature was called the Mic Drop, and it was billed as a way to have the last word in long email chains by sending a GIF of a regal-looking Minion character literally dropping a microphone.
Gmail, a pioneer in the grand tradition of elaborate April Fool's Day jokes, scrambled on Friday to undo its latest one after disgruntled users complained that they had accidentally sent photos of mic-dropping Minions, the little yellow creatures from the movie Despicable Me, to their business contacts.
Many unsuspecting Gmail users were simply not in the mood for Minions. Since the Mic Drop button was placed a little too close to the Send button, users lamented their misfiring of the cartoon character when dealing with bosses and co-workers.
"I just sent off an email with my resume to the first person who wanted to interview me in months," one user posted in a Google Help forum. " I clicked the wrong button and sent it with the mic drop. Well, I guess I'm not getting that job. Words cannot describe how pissed off I am right now. I'm actually shaking. One click, ONE CLICK and I lost the job. Goddamnit. Not funny, google. I'm going to go cry now."
Another said he had lost his job thanks to the Mic Drop button. "I am a writer and had a deadline to meet. I sent my articles to my boss and never heard back from her. I inadvertently sent the email using the "Mic Drop" send button.There were corrections that needed to be made on my articles and I never received her replies. My boss took offence to the Mic Drop animation and assumed that I didn't reply to her because I thought her input was petty (hence the Mic Drop). I just woke up to a very angry voicemail from her which is how I found out about this "hilarious" prank."
"Unfortunately some of my very intelligent friends are senior engineers in Google," one incensed user named Yihsun Lin wrote in Gmail's product forum. "I almost picked up the phone and shout at them because of this stupid creation made me sound so rude to one important customer when I made a mistake to click this stupid button."
Another user named Connie Mitchell wrote: "If I wanted juvenile prank crap on my computer I would be on Facebook wasting time." (Facebook is a high-traffic zone for Minions and the people who love them.)
Supreme Court chief Justice Marilyn Warren could be courting trouble with the bench, after issuing an edict that judges in Victoria's highest courts will no longer wear wigs from May 1.
A symbol of austere traditions harking back to 17th-century society, horsehair wigs have been a feature of Victorian courts since the 1860s.
Hair-raising idea: wigs could soon be a thing of the past in the Supreme Court. Credit:James Davies
It's understood Chief Judge Peter Kidd is considering following the Supreme Court's lead, but only if he wins the support of County Court judges.
But some County Court judges are actively resisting the move to modernise their judicial attire out of concern that if judges' wigs are seen as an anachronism, traditional gowns could follow suit and judges could literally be de-robed.
A New Zealand pensioner accused of smuggling six kilograms of cocaine into Australia has made a brief court appearance in Perth.
Roy Arbon, 66, was chasing "a large sum of money" a woman offered him if he made the two-day trip to South America, Fairfax Media previously reported.
Mr Arbon's friends say he has previously fallen victim to multiple online scams. Credit:Laura Basham/Fairfax NZ
He paid $4000 for flights to meet two Nigerian men in Brazil who gave him the bag he later took to Perth, which friends say he thought contained only clothing but was allegedly lined with cocaine.
Mr Arbon appeared at Perth Magistrates Court on Friday via video link from Casuarina, where he has remained since his arrest.
US President Barack Obama is urging world leaders to be on guard against heightened suspicions that "madmen" in terrorist groups like the so-called Islamic State wanted to acquire a nuclear weapon or to devise their own 'dirty bombs'.
Speaking on Friday at a nuclear security summit in Washington, Mr Obama warned of a persistent and evolving threat of nuclear terrorism "We cannot be complacent," he told more than 50 national delegations.
Acknowledging that al-Qaeda had long sought to acquire nuclear weapons and that there were suspicions that IS attackers in France and Belgium were similarly bent, Mr Obama said: "There is no doubt that if these madmen ever got their hands on a nuclear bomb or nuclear material, they would certainly use it to kill as many innocent people as possible it would change our world."
Ankara: Turkey has illegally returned thousands of Syrians to their war-torn homeland in recent months, highlighting the dangers for migrants sent back from Europe under a deal to come into effect next week, Amnesty International says.
Turkey agreed with the EU this month to take back all migrants and refugees who cross illegally to Greece in exchange for financial aid, faster visa-free travel for Turks and slightly accelerated EU membership talks.
Migrant children wait by the fence on the Greek side of the border to enter Macedonia in March. Credit:AP
But the legality of the deal hinges on Turkey being a safe country of asylum, which Amnesty said in its report on Friday was clearly not the case.
North Korea conducted a fourth nuclear test in January and launched a long-range rocket in February. The South Korean military said on Friday that North Korea had fired a missile into the sea off its east coast.
So Se Pyong, North Korea's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, denounced the huge joint US-South Korean military exercises taking place which he said were aimed at "decapitation of the supreme leadership of the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea)" and conquering Pyongyang.
Geneva: North Korea will pursue its nuclear and ballistic missile programme in defiance of the United States and its allies, a top Pyongyang envoy said on Friday, adding that a state of "semi-war" now existed on the divided Korean peninsula.
"If the United States continues, then we have to make the counter-measures also. So we have to develop, and we have to make more deterrence, nuclear deterrence," Mr So, who is also North Korea's envoy to the UN-sponsored Conference on Disarmament, said in an interview with Reuters.
South Korean TV reports a North Korean surface-to-air missile launch into waters off its east coast on April 1. Credit:Woohae Cho/Getty Images
"Simultaneous policy is the policy of my country, and my party also, meaning nuclear production and economic development," he said, referring to the twin aims of the policy course of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un which is expected to be endorsed at a congress of the ruling Workers' Party in May, the first in 36 years.
Mr So said he had no information about the latest missile firing or about South Korean allegations that his country was disrupting GPS signal reception which Seoul says has forced some boats to return to port amid heightened tensions.
"They (Seoul) are making too many manipulations, too many false reports," he said.
Jakarta: It could be the end of the road for one of the few beneficiaries of Jakarta's traffic-snarled streets paid hitchhikers known as "jockeys" with the capital to trial overturning its three-people-to-a-car policy.
Twenty-four years ago, Jakarta introduced a rule banning cars with fewer than three occupants from using main roads during peak hours.
The policy aimed to ease the the city's notorious traffic congestion.
National League for Democracy supporters line up to show their support for their leader. Credit:Getty Images "Some foreign commentators have even labelled her a 'democratic dictator" in the making, who may precipitate the very crises she is trying to avoid," Selth wrote in the Nikkei Asian Review. "This may be stretching the point, but there would be serious consequences if Ms Suu Kyi cannot keep her party, the armed forces and the Myanmar people in the boat as she leads them into unchartered waters." Myanmar commander-in-chief General Min Aung Hlaing says he won't deal directly with Aung Sun Suu Kyi. Credit:AP Larry Jagan, a prominent Yangon-based commentator and analyst, said Suu Kyi's selection for 21 cabinet posts did not inspire confidence.
"They are all over 60, relatively unknown, with limited management experience and will follow Suu Kyi's lead unquestionably," he said. Suu Kyi is the only woman minister. An insider says the signs are good for the new government, despite Myanmar having been corrupted by years of mismanagement. Credit:Getty Images Jagan said many of the cabinet members are former academics and public servants who will be cautious and careful in their policy approaches and changes. "They will be acceptable to the existing bureaucrats and won't rock the boat," he said. Win Min, an independent Myanmar analyst, said that although the physical transfer of power has been successful the longer-term transition to a more genuine democracy is still being resolved.
He said the relationship between Suu Kyi and the powerful armed forces chief Min Aung Hlaing has emerged as the single most important element in a smooth transition. The military blocked Suu Kyi from becoming president and retained a quarter of seats in parliament. It also gets to appoint four key defence and security ministers, installed a hardline general as senior vice-president and, only days before the government was sworn in, delivered a blunt message that it remains in charge. "The Tatmadaw [military] has to be present as the leading role in national politics with regards to the ways we stand along the history and critical situations of the country," senior general Min Aung Hlaing told 10,000 troops on a parade ground in the capital Naypyitaw, adding that a lack of rule of law and armed insurgencies "could lead to chaotic democracy". Under the constitution, the army chief can take over in times of crisis. Suu Kyi was notably absent from the parade on Armed Forces Day, the most important event on the military's calendar, and has not responded publicly to the remarks.
And General Min Aung Hlaing has made clear in recent days he won't deal directly with Suu Kyi and will communicate only with the president. Melissa Crouch from the University of New South Wales, who is researching a book on constitutional change in Myanmar, said the stability of Suu Kyi's government would depend on it respecting the military's role. "As long as the government can convince the military of its loyalty and that it is not a threat to its reserved domains of power, then I don't think it will hinder the NLD," she said. But on Wednesday after being sworn in as Suu Kyi's handpicked president, Htin Kyaw, 69, pledged to amend a military-drafted constitution to meet "democratic standards," a clear reference to allowing Suu Kyi to be president instead. "I deeply want to implement and fulfil the will of the people," he said in a brief but defiant speech.
Thailand-based Myanmar expert Bertil Lintner said expectations for Suu Kyi's government are unrealistically high as her government attempts to end wars with ethnic border armies, repair a shattered economy and collapsed education system, end corruption, cut bureaucratic red tape and help lift millions of people out of poverty. "Because of the powers handed to the military under the constitution we're going to have a very popular civilian government with very little powers," he said. Lintner said it would be difficult for Suu Kyi to run the country "above" the president, as she has declared she will do, and to administer four key ministries at the same time. "And still, Suu Kyi has to deal with the military, and if the military says no, it's no, not matter she wants to do," he said. Professor Sean Turnell, an Australian expert from Macquarie University, who is well-connected in Myanmar, said he is cognisant that an enormous weight of hope and expectations has descended on Suu Kyi and her government but he remains confident they can pull it off.
He said reforms from the outgoing quasi-civilian government of president Thein Sein flowed overwhelmingly to people within or connected to the then ruling regime. "In rural Myanmar life for many actually became harder during the Sein Thein years, as rising prices, land seizures and a more aggressive commercial culture made life for people that extra bit more difficult," he said. Turnell said Suu Kyi's government would increase spending on social areas, particularly health and education, which have been shockingly neglected, bringing substantial economic benefits. Janelle Saffin, a former federal and NSW Labor MP, has worked for years to help build-up Myanmar's democratic organisations. She is now an influential insider with access to key figures after many trips to the country and has also become friends with The Lady. Saffin insists the signs are good for the new government, despite the country being bankrupted and corrupted by years of military rule and mismanagement.
PHILIPSBURG:---The Permanent Committee of Kingdom Affairs and Inter-Parliamentary Relations (CKAIR), will meet on April 4 in an in camera session.
The closed door CKAIR Committee meeting is scheduled for Monday at 2.00pm in the General Assembly Chamber of the House at Wilhelmina Straat #1 in Philipsburg.
The agenda is a discussion on further procedural steps to be taken in preparation of the Inter-Parliamentary Kingdom Consultation that will take place in The Hague, the Netherlands from May 31-
This one got lopsided in a hurry, and that was just what Notre Dame needed
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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.
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Supermassive black holes at the heart of merging galaxies will circle closer and closer until they come together, releasing a titanic wave of energy. The process may help explain how black holes get so huge to begin with.
Julie Comerford has built a career searching for galaxies that contain not one, but two supermassive black holes light-devouring monsters that have masses millions or billions of times that of the sun. So far, the count is up to 12.
"The mergers of two supermassive black holes is second only to the Big Bang as the most energetic phenomena in the universe," Comerford, an astrophysicist at the University of Colorado, Boulder, told Space.com. Yet that titanic, violent dance essential to galaxy growth and evolution has not been spotted very often.
Each galaxy has a supermassive black hole at its core. When two galaxies merge, the two central black holes circle faster and faster, coming closer and closer until they merge into one as well. Once light crosses the threshold of a black hole, it can never escape, but galactic sleuths like Comerford have spent years looking for other kinds of evidence revealing those monster black holes headed for a cataclysmic collision. [The Strangest Black Holes in the Universe]
Black holes are strange regions where gravity is strong enough to bend light, warp space and distort time. [ See how black holes work in this SPACE.com infographic .] (Image credit: Karl Tate, SPACE.com contributor)
Relatively small "stellar mass" black holes form when a huge star dies in a supernova explosion and its core collapses. A black hole can grow as more mass falls into it, but nobody can fully explain how the supermassive ones lurking at the cores of galaxies are able to get so enormous the one at the center of the Milky Way has a mass 4 million times that of the sun, and it's comparatively small. The process of two galaxies merging could explain this extraordinary growth.
"One theory is that maybe a lot of the black hole mass growth actually occurs during galaxy mergers, because that's when all this gas is being slammed together and funneled towards a black hole so there's a lot of fuel available for the black hole to eat and build up its mass," Comerford said.
Solving the growth mystery promises to reveal insight into how galaxies, and the black holes at their hearts, grow and change over time. Plus, it should help hone scientists' newly proven powers of detecting gravitational waves.
Searching for light
The ultralarge black holes at the centers of galaxies don't let any light slip out, but pairs of structures so massive leave their mark on the environment around them in other ways. For one thing, they're always at the hearts of merging galaxies.
"The Milky Way just has one central big sphere of stars, so it would not be a good candidate for one of these potential double black holes," Comerford said. "We're looking for things that look different from the usual galaxies that you see images of, like a normal spiral galaxy or elliptical galaxy that's not what we want. [We want] the ones that look like they're two merging spheres of stars."
That merging process also puts a lot of extra material in the path of each of the black holes, which can gain whirling "accretion disks" of dust around them that glow brightly andemit jets of energy. Supermassive black holes with that kind of ultrabright beacon are called quasars, and they're far from invisible in fact, they often outshine the galaxies that surround them.
This artist's concept illustrates a quasar, or feeding black hole, similar to APM 08279+5255, where astronomers discovered huge amounts of water vapor. Gas and dust likely form a torus around the central black hole, with clouds of charged gas above and below. (Image credit: NASA/ESA )
Comerford first started searching for these double-black-hole galaxies when she was in graduate school. Her group first recognized the black holes by the unusual spectrum of light their host galaxies emit, as measured in big survey studies like the Sloan Digital Sky Survey.
Galaxies with a quasar at their center a supermassive black hole taking in large quantities of material emit a narrow band of radiation that's very bright. But the galaxies Comerford was looking for were more complex: Instead of a nice, tall peak indicating the intense glow emitted by the quasar, she saw two peaks one slightly redder and one slightly bluer.
The two peaks showed that there were two significant light sources in the system: one moving toward Earth and one moving away. By following up with an X-ray or radio telescope, or with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope looking in visible light, she could verify that those two light sources were embedded in a merging set of galaxies. [Black Holes' Jets Herald Galaxies' Mergers (Video)]
Comerford's systematic search could find supermassive black holes that are around 3,000 light-years away from each other that's about 1/8 the distance from Earth's solar system to the center of the galaxy and that are orbiting one another at about 500,000 mph (800,000 kph). Looking straight at such systems, it might be impossible to distinguish the two quasars from each other because they'd be too close together, so the wavelengths of light emitted provided a crucial first clue.
More recently, because of the increasing amount of Hubble galaxy imagery available, Comerford has started relying on visual images to pinpoint the supermassive black hole pairs. First, she finds quasar activity in telescope data, and then she checks with a Hubble image of the galaxy to see if it looks like it might be two merging galaxies, with two tight cores of stars that might each surround a supermassive black hole. Finally, she follows up with higher-resolution infrared or radio telescopes to try and distinguish whether there are two separate quasars there.
Diagrams of 30 merging galaxies. The edges show signal strength from carbon monoxide, while colors show where the gas is moving. Red represents gas moving away from Earth, and blue moving towards. (Image credit: ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/SMA/CARMA/IRAM/J. Ueda et al.)
"There may be one [supermassive black hole pair] in every something like a thousand to a million galaxies," Sarah Spolaor, a researcher at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in New Mexico, told Space.com. "The chance of just finding one by chance is pretty low, but if you have a sky catalog of thousands upon thousands of galaxies, then you're much more likely to see that kind of weird-looking one that you think, 'What is that?' and it's maybe a binary black hole."
The growing mystery
Researchers know that supermassive black holes are intimately tied to the galaxies surrounding them. There's one at every galaxy's heart, and the galaxy's size is reflected in the size of the black hole. Even early galaxies, born close to the beginning of the universe, show that correlation. Finding black hole mergers can help solve the mystery of how those black holes got so big, so early in the universe's history. Plus, even the existence of quasars at all, which can only form once black holes get massive enough, raises questions.
"Why are we doing this stamp collecting?" Comerford said. "There's scientific questions that we want to answer, and that is one of the big ones: how do black holes get enough gas in the first place to become a quasar?"
Researchers know that black holes at the center of merging galaxies ultimately form into one larger supermassive black hole, but it's unclear whether that's the whole picture.
"Galaxy mergers are definitely an effective way to get supermassive black holes to grow," said Scott Barrows, an astronomer also at the University of Colorado, Boulder. "But how important is this process relative to other processes that could just be happening in a galaxy that's not interacting?" Barrows said. "There's not a good consensus on how this works as of yet," he told Space.com.
Barrows' own research searches for supermassive black hole systems where only one black hole has bloomed into a quasar an indicator, he said, that the black holes are uneven; one is growing faster than the other and taking in more material kicked up in the merger. That uneven matchup could help scientists understand exactly what role the events play in growing black holes and the galaxies surrounding them. [Gallery: 65 All-Time Great Galaxy Hits]
Besides solving that mystery, a better understanding of the epic systems should reveal more about the overall universe's evolution, researchers say.
"Supermassive black holes are thought to play a huge role in how the universe evolves," Spolaor said. "They are the most massive compact single objects in the universe."
Do the wave
When two black holes finally merge, they set off an intense clap of energy that should be released as gravitational waves ripples in space-time that are caused by superenergetic events.
Gravitational waves were measured for the first time in February, and were traced back to the merging of two small black holes, each of which contained about 30 times the mass of the sun. Supermassive black hole mergers should give off a much more powerful signal.
"Once you have a population of these close double black holes, you can make predictions about how long they'll take to merge, or what the gravitational wave signatures they produce will be like," Comerford said. "That's the other angle. [On] the one side, we're learning about how black holes grow and build up their mass, and then the other angle is these are the black hole pairs that we know of that are the closest to merging and creating gravitational waves." [Stirred, Not Shaken - How Colliding Black Holes Make Waves (Video)]
This artists illustration shows gravitational waves created by two merging black holes. (Image credit: Swinburne Astronomy Productions)
Spolaor uses supersensitive radio telescopes to hunt for double black hole systems as part of her research into pulsar timing, a process that measures tiny changes to certain celestial bodies to detect gravitational waves moving through space. Knowing where double black hole systems are, and physical properties about the circling giants, can help her narrow down what types of gravitational wave signals to search for from the systems.
Scientists have already found one invisible interaction with gravitational waves, and one day, gravitational wave measurements will point out many of the universe's wildest interactions. But for now, it's up to researchers to interpret what light makes it over from those powerful, chaotic systems.
"When something like Hubble is observing one of my galaxies, I like to look up where the orbit of Hubble is," Comerford said. "I like to find out when it's passing overhead, where I am. So I go outside, and I look at Hubble while it's looking at one of my galaxies that's how I commune with it. But then, I have to be patient and wait until at least the next day to see what the data actually looks like."
Email Sarah Lewin at slewin@space.com or follow her @SarahExplains. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) lost contact with the Hitomi satellite on March 26, 2016, at the same time debris was seen near the satellite's orbit. The satellite is intended to investigate high-energy phenomena in the universe.
Elizabeth Tasker, an astrophysicist at Hokkaido University in Japan. Elizabeth received her doctorate in astrophysics from the University of Oxford and a Master in Science in theoretical physics from Durham University. Her articles on astronomy and space science have appeared in a range of publications, including Scientific American, Astronomy Magazine, Nautilus and The Conversation. You can follow her on twitter @girlandkat. Tasker contributed this article to Space.com's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.
At 4:40 p.m. JST (07:40 GMT) on Saturday, March 26, scientists at the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) waited to communicate with the five-week-old X-ray space observatory Hitomi. They were met with silence.
The prospect of losing a spacecraft is the nightmare of every space scientist. Each mission is painstakingly selected for its potential for scientific discovery. Even more than cost, the loss of the observatory's knowledge is a terrible blow. And for Hitomi, the science stakes have never been higher.
At the edge of black holes
Hitomi's name comes from the Japanese word for "eye pupil." But unlike our eyes that focus visible light, Hitomi's four telescopes focus X-ray radiation. X-rays have far shorter wavelengths than visible light, corresponding to a much higher energy. To gain the energy needed to emit X-rays, gas must become extremely hot, with temperatures exceeding millions of degrees. This lets X-rays probe for the most violent events in the universe.
Facts about Hitomi, the JAXA satellite that fell silent shortly after orbiting Earth in early 2016. See our full infographic about Japan's Hitomi X-ray astronomy satellite here (Image credit: by Karl Tate, Infographics Artist)
Buried in the center of nearly every galaxy is a supermassive black hole. The gravitational pull from these cosmic beasts, millions to billions of times the size of our sun, whips the encircling gas to incredible temperatures and bathes the galaxy in X-ray radiation.
This region of black hole and gas is known as an active galactic nucleus (AGN), and it is the site of the most extreme conditions in the universe. The highest-energy X-rays are emitted close to the black hole's edge. These reflect off of the surrounding material, producing a spread of wavelengths through the X-ray range that depends on the structure of the gas.
This structure has intrigued astrophysicists for more than 40 years. The energy emitted from AGN strongly affects the evolution of the galaxy, while the motion of gas is a test bed for physics at its limits. Understanding these processes requires knowing the gas conditions that are revealed in the radiation. With four X-ray telescopes and a gamma-ray detector for even shorter wavelengths, Hitomi is sensitive to radiation in wavelengths from 4 to 0.002-nanometers. This combination of a wide wavelength range and extreme sensitivity surpasses previous satellites' abilities to probe the innermost mysteries of the AGN.
The flagship instrument
Hitomi's flagship instrument is a spectrometer to measure the strength of X-rays at different wavelengths. This is equivalent to measuring the intensity of colors in visible light. Called the soft X-ray spectrometer (SXS), this instrument is 50 times more sensitive than instruments on previous missions to the differences in X-rays emitted by sources that stretch across huge areas.
One such source is galaxy clusters. Containing hundreds to thousands of individual galaxies, these extended structures are full of hot gas. And even more intriguing, they might contain a signature of the most elusive puzzle in astrophysics: dark matter.
Dark matter makes up roughly 84 percent of all the matter in the universe, yet nobody knows what it is. While dark matter does not emit radiation, one possibility is that it's a particle that decays into X-rays. Such decay would be rare, but a huge galaxy cluster could contain enough events to produce a detectable signature. Possible detections have been reported in the past two years, but are these really from elusive dark matter?
Tesla Jeltema, an astronomer at the University of California, Santa Cruz, is skeptical. She believes the detection is most likely from more regular particles, such as hot potassium or sulfur.
The two options can be distinguished, but an accurate measurement of the X-ray wavelength from Hitomi's SXS is needed.
In a cruel twist of fate, the SXS on Hitomi is the fifth attempt at such an instrument. A similar design was initially considered for two NASA missions, but the plans were scrapped. The spectrometer then became part of the JAXA ASTRO-E mission, but a failure during launch sent the satellite into the ocean. It finally flew on the replacement mission, ASTRO-EII, which became the Suzaku satellite once in space. Despite Suzaku's success over 15 years of operation, the spectrometer failed to collect data due to a leak in the coolant.
It is a chronology that belongs in a science fiction book, if anyone would be heartless enough to write such a tale.
A lost conversation?
Since communications with Hitomi failed on Saturday, the news has been limited and speculative. Observations from ground stations ominously confirmed the presence of debris around the satellite's position. However, JAXA have received a fleeting signal four times since the debris was seen, raising hopes that the satellite is not completely inactive.
If you're a topical expert researcher, business leader, author or innovator and would like to contribute an op-ed piece, email us here (Image credit: SPACE.com)
The SXS had previously been operating well over the past month, and scientists have yet to review all of that data. Although the amount of data is small compared to what would have been collected over the planned three years of the mission, there could be interesting results in the pipeline. However, whether a partial recovery of Hitomi is ultimately possible may not be known for a while.
The loss of Hitomi would be a hard hit for X-ray astronomy. No current telescope can replicate its data because it was the only observatory to have the groundbreaking SXS instrument and access to the range in wavelengths at that sensitivity. The current X-ray satellites also lack Hitomi's versatility or were launched in the late 1990s, making the duration of their remaining operation time uncertain.
The next planned mission is the European Space Agency's Athena telescope, which is due to launch in 2028. This leaves a sizable hole in time to be filled with old technology. Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, told Space.com that "The loss of Hitomi (would) leave a big gap in the world's capability."
The need for Hitomi was further increased by the announcement in February of a gravitational wave detection from merging black holes. Future events will need matching radiation observations to further test Einstein's predictions for the nature of space itself. However, the astronomy community may have to hold out for a miracle.
Follow all of the Expert Voices issues and debates and become part of the discussion on Facebook, Twitter and Google+. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. This version of the article was originally published on Space.com.
Analog Watch Co.'s Lunar Watch, made from a solid piece of moon rock, ships on April 1 or does it?
"Own a Sizeable Chunk of the Moon with This Lunar Watch."
That was Gizmodo's headline Thursday morning (Mar. 31), leading to an article about Analog Watch Co.'s new Lunar Watch, "made of a solid piece of genuine moon rock."
And it is not just any old lunar meteorite, either; this moon rock was returned to Earth by the Russians. [50 Years Ago: First Close-Up Photo of Moon's Surface (Video)]
"What justifies [Analog's Lunar Watch] $27,500 price tag is a housing made from a solid piece of 4.5-billion-year-old moon rock collected from our lunar neighbor back in 1974 by the Soviet's Luna probe," described the Gawker design and technology blog, citing the Philadelphia watchmaker's website.
Limited to 25 watches, a high profile article like Gizmodo's could easily lead to the Analog Lunar Watch quickly selling out, were it not for one small problem: the offer was more lunatic than lunar-tock.
"Update: We Got Fooled," Gizmodo added to its headline just 16 minutes after the story was published. "This watch is totally fake."
April Fools
"It is, in fact, a joke," wrote Scott Hughes, a marketing and accounts manager at the Analog Watch Co., in an email to collectSPACE on Wednesday (Mar. 30). "We had put it on our website and will be promoting it through the week until we announce the joke on Friday."
"You'll note the ship date on the product is April 1," he added.
Sure enough, if you try to purchase the made-out-of-moon-rock watch on Analog's website, you are presented with a screen stating, "April Fools. We Gotcha!"
"Who doesn't love a little fun on April Fools Day?" the Analog website reads.
Besides perhaps Gizmodo's editors? Maybe many of the space collectors who've long desired a piece of the moon.
Analog Watch Co. advertises that each Lunar Watch is handcrafted and built over 4 months in Switzerland in a limited quantity of 25 units." (Image credit: Analog Watch Co.)
Made-up mission
Even without clicking the "Add to Cart" button, those who remember their Soviet space history might be able to tick off several reasons why the moon watch was more likely to be made out of green cheese.
To begin, there is the matter of the mission. Analog states that its source material, obtained from the Russian federal space agency, was "collected from the surface of the moon by the Soviet Luna probe in 1974."
The former USSR did indeed launch three Luna missions that robotically-returned lunar material to Earth, but those flights Luna 16, Luna 20 and Luna 24 were carried out in 1970, 1972 and 1976. No mission, whether Soviet or American, returned moon rocks in 1974 (NASA's last lunar landing was in December 1972).
Even if one assumed that Analog got the year wrong, there is still the matter of the amount of moon rock needed to make a "41mm genuine olivine basalt moon rock case," let alone 25 of them.
Unlike NASA's astronauts, who brought back a total of 842 pounds (382 kg) of lunar material, the Soviet Luna probes collected just 301 grams (0.66 pounds or 0.3 kg) of mostly moon soil (regolith) and pebbles.
And then there is the price: $27,500 per Lunar Watch.
Outside of the lunar meteorite market, there are not many (legal) examples by which to base the going rate for moon rock. But the single instance we do have is spot on for this case.
Three very small samples (0.2 grams) of Luna 16-returned lunar soil were sold by Sotheby's for $442,500 in 1993.
If the Analog Lunar Watch was real, it would be the steal of the century. Instead, it is more like fool's gold.
Watch a video about Analog Watch Co.s Lunar Watch at collectSPACE.
Follow collectSPACE.com on Facebook and on Twitter at @collectSPACE. Copyright 2016 collectSPACE.com. All rights reserved.
The last of the Shuttle-Centaur stages is loaded onto a trailer at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama for its move to NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland.
A last-of-its-kind rocket stage that was left over from a cancelled, controversial chapter in NASA's space shuttle history is hitting the road for Cleveland.
The Centaur-G Prime liquid-fueled upper stage, which was built in the 1980s to launch with a robotic probe inside the space shuttle's payload bay, was hoisted by a large crane onto a wheeled trailer at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama on Wednesday (March 30). The 30-foot-long (9 meter) artifact had been on exhibit adjacent to the museum's full-size space shuttle model, Pathfinder.
"The Centaur is being moved from here to [NASA's] Glenn Research Center in Ohio, where it will be restored and put on display," stated Tim Hall, the vice president for business and media initiatives at the rocket center. "Glenn managed the Shuttle-Centaur program." [NASA's Space Shuttles: Where Are They Now?]
"This is the 75th anniversary of Glenn Research Center, so the timing for us works out really well," David DeFelice, the community relations and artifacts manager at Glenn, said. 'We're planning to have an open house May 21 and 22, so we'll be able to have it here and set up for folks to be able to take it in."
Artists concept of the Centaur-G Prime with NASA's Galileo probe being deployed from the space shuttle in Earth orbit. (Image credit: NASA)
Originally scheduled to fly in 1986, the Centaur-G's use on board the space shuttle was cancelled after the Challenger accident that year. At the time of the tragedy, two Centaur-G Prime stages were in preparation to launch with NASA's Ulysses and Galileo planetary spacecraft to study the Sun and Jupiter, respectively.
A cryogenic liquid-fueled stage, the Centaur was deemed to be too much of a risk to launch on the space shuttle lest another in-flight emergency occur. Although safety precautions had been in place, the program was shelved in favor of a solid-fueled upper stage, which was later used to launch Ulysses and Galileo on the shuttle.
"The Shuttle-Centaur required a lot of complex equipment and was filled with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen that would have been troublesome to maintain in the payload bay throughout launch and on-orbit operations and posed a greater risk than traditional solid propellant stages," said Ed Stewart, director of exhibits and curation at the Space & Rocket Center.
One of the Centaur-G Prime stages built for the shuttle is believed to have been modified for the launch of NASA's Cassini probe to Saturn atop a Titan IVB rocket in 1997.
The Space and Rocket Center had labeled the Centaur-G now being moved as a mockup, though there is some data that points to it being the other stage originally built for the program. Glenn Research Center's records identify it being a high-fidelity ground test article.
The Centaur-G Prime was exhibited in Huntsville courtesy of General Dynamics, the contractor for the stage, and the nearby NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, which had the responsibility of qualifying the hardware. Glenn Research Center (formerly Lewis), where the stage is now bound for display, developed the Centaur stage, which first launched atop an Atlas rocket in 1963.
"We're going to put it in front of our administration building, near the main gate," said DeFelice. "It is a good prominent viewing spot for one of the most significant artifacts and projects that we have had over the years, and that is the overall Centaur program."
Work to move the Centaur began earlier in March but was delayed as the center needed to arrange for a larger crane to hoist the 14,000-pound (6,350 kg) artifact. In addition to the stage itself, the CISS or Centaur Integrated Support Structure that would have held the stage in the shuttle's payload bay is also being shipped to Ohio.
The Centaur-G and CISS are expected to arrive in Ohio by early to mid-next week.
"We are honored to have shared the Centaur story," said Stewart. "The rocket center is one of the nation's premiere space museums and we believe the Centaur helped us tell the shuttle story in a powerful way."
See more photos of the Shuttle-Centaur being moved onto its transport at collectSPACE.
Follow collectSPACE.com on Facebook and on Twitter at @collectSPACE. Copyright 2016 collectSPACE.com. All rights reserved.
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Star of the globally successful Game of Thrones series, Kit Harrington, joined the sofa and spoke to Jonathan about being naked on stage, meeting the Duchess of Cornwall and insisting that his character, Jon Snow, is no longer alive in the popular fantasy series.Kit - who is most famous for his role as Jon Snow in Game of Thrones - responded to rumours that his character is not dead and will return to the new series of the fantasy drama television series.Kit said that everywhere he goes, people ask him if his character was killed at the end of the last series.Theres a guy at my Sainsburys I go to, I love this man. Hes very dear to my heart. He sees me come in and he goes straight to the till and he bars everyone else, he flicks them across until I get there and he goes You aint dead is it? And Im like I am dead. And he goes, Nah, you aint dead, I know and Im like, How do you know? Im dead. And he goes, Youd be crying if you were dead and this happens everytime I go in. I think he thinks Id be weeping in the street for the rest of my life that Im not in Game of Thrones anymore he explained.When Jonathan asked: How do you keep the secrets that you must know about the show going forward, how do you manage to get through it without giving that away? There must be a few close people you can talk to?Kit replied: I am no longer involved in the show so any secrets that are with the show I dont actually know anymore, so it becomes very easy Jonathan. Youre looking at me like you dont believe me. Its going to be so relieving when people actually see the show and realise that I dont come back.When Jonathan mentioned about Kit filming in Belfast as Jon Snow recently, Kit said: I was playing a corpse. I was there for a little bit, I was there for about a month or two months, it was spread over a bit and I was playing a corpse.Jonathan joked, Yeah, because when youre lying dead youve got to film for a couple of monthsTo which Kit responded: I wont tell you how many episodes Im lying dead but its enough that I was out there for quite a while. Its going to be so satisfying when you see it and you realise that I was telling the truth the whole time, he smirked.Kit said its not only fans of the show who ask him about whether his character is dead or not, he said famous people - and even the royals - are also interested to know: I get this from everybody. Me and my brother got invited to Wimbledon as you do and a Royal was hosting, we didnt know which Royal it was and it was the Duchess of Cornwall and she was hosting it and we got sat with her, me and my brother, and she leant over the table and said Are you dead? No word of a lie, he laughed.Jonathan and Kit played a game, The Stone of Truth where Kit had to put his hand in the mouth of The Stone of Truth and could get a small shock depending on the quality of his answer to Jonathans questions about Game of Thrones.Watch the full interview on THE JONATHAN ROSS SHOW, SATURDAY 02 APRIL, 9.35PM ON ITV
Marvels Iron Fist has found its female lead and shes also from HBOs Game of Thrones!Jessica Henwick has landed the coveted role of martial arts expert Colleen Wing in the Netflix series. A martial arts expert running her own dojo, Colleen will serve as an invaluable ally to Iron Fist, a.k.a. Danny Rand (Finn Jones), as he returns to his life in New York.In the Marvel comics, her Iron Fist character is a saumari who first appears in Marvel Premiere #19 as one of Dannys first friends after he left Kun-Lun.Iron Fist will open with billionaire Rand returning to New York City after being missing for years: He fights against the criminal element corrupting New York City with his incredible kung-fu mastery and ability to summon the awesome power of the fiery Iron Fist. Iron Fist will mark the fourth Marvel and Netflix collaboration after Daredevil, Jessica Jones and the upcoming Luke Cage, and is from showrunner Scott Buck (Dexter). No premiere date has yet been set.
MONDAY, APRIL 18SEASON FINALEPaula Needs to Get Over Josh! (8:00-9:00 p.m. ET) (TV-14, L) (HDTV)LEA SALONGA GUEST STARS Rebeccas (Rachel Bloom) relationships are tested as she tries to navigate her friendship with Paula (Donna Lynne Champlin), her history with Josh (Vincent Rodriguez III) and her connection with Greg (Santino Fontana). While at Joshs sister Jaymas (guest star Tess Paras) wedding, Rebeccas world is turned upside down. Pete Gardner and Vella Lovell also star. Aline Brosh McKenna directed the episode written by Rene Gube (#118). Original airdate 4/18/2016.Chapter Forty (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET) (Content Rating TBD) (HDTV)THE AFTERMATH With Jane (Gina Rodriguez) and Xo (Andrea Navedo) still dealing with the fallout from Janes bachelorette party, Jane is now left with finding someone to watch Mateo. When Michael (Brett Dier) volunteers to help everything is perfect until Mateo does something for the first time in front of Rafael (Justin Baldoni), upsetting him. Rogelio (Jaime Camil) gets in trouble with the network executives when he uses the crew for his own use, so he turns to his favorite writer Dina (guest star Judy Reyes) to help fix the problem. Meanwhile, someone is causing problems for Petra (Yael Grobglas) at the Marbella and in her personal life. Ivonne Coll also stars. Anna Mastro directed the episode written by Jessica OToole & Amy Rardin. (#218) Original airdate 4/18/2016.TUESDAY, APRIL 19Versus Zoom (8:00-9:00 p.m. ET) (TV-14, V) (HDTV)BARRY IS READY TO FACE ZOOM; HUNTER ZOLOMANS STORY IS REVEALED Equipped with the tachyon device, Barry (Grant Gustin) believes he is fast enough to stop Zoom (guest star Teddy Sears) and wants to open the breaches to catch him. Harry (Tom Cavanagh) strongly advises against that plan but after Barry convinces him, Harry reveals that Cisco (Carlos Valdes) has the power to re-open the breach. Meanwhile, Hunter Zolomans (Teddy Sears) painful story on Earth-2 is revealed. Stefan Pleszcynski directed the episode written by Joe Peracchio & David Kob (#218). Original airdate 4/19/2016.SERIES PREMIEREPilot (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET) (TV-14, LV) (HDTV)SERIES PREMIERE When a mysterious and deadly epidemic breaks out in Atlanta, a vast urban quarantine is quickly enforced. Trying to keep the peace on the streets is police officer Lex Carnahan (David Gyasi), who has quickly risen through the ranks of the Atlanta PD. But Lexs job becomes even harder when he learns that his longtime girlfriend, Jana (Christina Moses), and his best friend and fellow officer Jake (Chris Wood), are trapped within the cordoned area. Also quarantined within viral ground zero is 17-year-old Teresa (Hanna Mangan Lawrence), who is eight months pregnant and now separated from her boyfriend on the other side; Katie Frank (Kristen Gutoskie), an elementary school teacher now placed on lockdown with her entire class, including her young son; and CDC researcher Dr. Victor Cannerts (George Young), the doctor who initially made the controversial call to quarantine the area, and who is now racing to find a cure for the virus. On the outside, Dr. Sabine Lommers (Claudia Black) leads the government efforts to contain the outbreak, and asks for Lexs help in enforcing the cordon which grows increasingly difficult as the public trust deteriorates. David Nutter directed the episode written by Julie Plec (#101). Original airdate 4/19/2016.WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20ARROWTaken (8:00-9:00 p.m. ET) (TV-14, LV) (HDTV)VIXEN JOINS TEAM ARROW Oliver (Stephen Amell) realizes he needs help battling Darhk (guest star Neal McDonough) so he calls in an old friend Vixen (guest star Megalyn E.K.). Using her magical ability to summon animal powers, Vixen gets a lock on Darhks location and the team goes to war. Meanwhile, Thea (Willa Holland) has a heart-to-heart talk with Malcolm (John Barrowman). Gregory Smith directed the episode with story by Marc Guggenheim and teleplay by Keto Shimizu & Brian Ford Sullivan (#415). Original airdate 2/24/2016.SUPERNATURALBeyond the Mat (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET) (TV-14, DLV) (HDTV)WWE CHAMPION MIKE THE MIZ MIZANIN GUEST STARS Dean (Jensen Ackles) sees an obituary notice for a wrestler he and Sam (Jared Padalecki) used to watch when they were kids. Deciding they need a break from tracking the Darkness, the brothers decide to attend the funeral to pay their respects. The funeral is full of wrestlers, including Shawn Harley (guest star Mike The Miz Mizanin), a hot shot new wrestler with a fiery temper who pushes everyones buttons, and veteran wrestler Gunner Lawless (guest star Aleks Paunovic). Sam and Dean attend the next match to re-live one of their fondest childhood memories but when another wrestler turns up dead, play time quickly turns to work. Jerry Wanek directed the episode written by John Bring & Andrew Dabb (#1115). Original airdate 2/24/2016.THURSDAY, APRIL 21Last Refuge (8:00-9:00 p.m. ET) (TV-14, LV) (HDTV)RIPS BACKSTORY IS REVEALED The team is targeted by The Pilgrim (guest star Faye Kingslee), a deadly assassin who wants to erase the Legends from the timeline by killing their younger, non-superhero selves. As a protective countermeasure, Rip (Arthur Darvill) decides Sara (Caity Lotz), Snart (Wentworth Miller), Rory (Dominic Purcell), Professor Stein (Victor Garber) and Jax (Franz Drameh) need to kidnap their past selves first before The Pilgrim gets to them. Coming face-to-face with the younger versions of themselves proves to be both a physical and emotional challenge for certain members of the team who would rather forget their past. Rip tells them he has a refuge for their precious cargo an orphanage that raises future Time Masters and where he himself grew up. Rachel Talalay directed the episode written by Chris Fedak & Matthew Maala (#112). Original airdate 4/21/2016.Demons (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET) (TV-14, DLSV) (HDTV)JAHA RETURNS TO POLIS Jaha (Isaiah Washington) returns to Polis, and Murphy (Richard Harmon) has a surprise encounter. Meanwhile, Octavia (Marie Avgeropoulos) uncovers a clue. Bob Morley, Devon Bostick, Lindsey Morgan and Christopher Larkin also star. P.J. Pesce directed the episode written by Justin Juel Gillmer (#312). Original airdate 4/21/2016.FRIDAY, APRIL 22Time, As a Symptom (8:00-9:00 p.m. ET) (Content Rating TBD) (HDTV)THE TEAM WORKS WITH RAYNA TO SAVE BONNIES LIFE When Enzos (Michael Malarkey) efforts to protect Bonnie (Kat Graham) end up putting her life in jeopardy, they learn that Rayna (guest star Leslie Anne-Huff) may hold the key to her survival. With time running out and Rayna at the reins, Enzo and Bonnie reluctantly team up with Damon (Ian Somerhalder), who is desperate to save Bonnies life and to repair their broken friendship. Elsewhere, when Stefan (Paul Wesley) travels to Dallas and comes face to face with Alaric (Matt Davis), tensions escalate and they are forced to confront the fallout from Stefans absence in Carolines (Candice King) life. Finally, Enzo learns The Armorys true motives behind their search for Bonnie. Chris Grismer directed the episode with teleplay by Holly Brix and story by Matthew DAmbrosio (#719). Original airdate 4/22/2016.CONTAINMENTPilot (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET) (TV-14, LV) (HDTV)SERIES PREMIERE When a mysterious and deadly epidemic breaks out in Atlanta, a vast urban quarantine is quickly enforced. Trying to keep the peace on the streets is police officer Lex Carnahan (David Gyasi), who has quickly risen through the ranks of the Atlanta PD. But Lexs job becomes even harder when he learns that his longtime girlfriend, Jana (Christina Moses), and his best friend and fellow officer Jake (Chris Wood), are trapped within the cordoned area. Also quarantined within viral ground zero is 17-year-old Teresa (Hanna Mangan Lawrence), who is eight months pregnant and now separated from her boyfriend on the other side; Katie Frank (Kristen Gutoskie), an elementary school teacher now placed on lockdown with her entire class, including her young son; and CDC researcher Dr. Victor Cannerts (George Young), the doctor who initially made the controversial call to quarantine the area, and who is now racing to find a cure for the virus. On the outside, Dr. Sabine Lommers (Claudia Black) leads the government efforts to contain the outbreak, and asks for Lexs help in enforcing the cordon which grows increasingly difficult as the public trust deteriorates. David Nutter directed the episode written by Julie Plec (#101). Original airdate 4/19/2016.
The team at the University of British Columbia Animal Welfare Program, who carried out the study, hope that the results will promote awareness amongst veterinarians and producers of the relevant science, regulations and pain management protocols, as well as address misconceptions surrounding pain management.
The study took place over 18 months and is the first to include non-industry stakeholders in an interactive manner. Of the 354 participants comprised of farm workers, dairy producers, veterinarians, students, animal advocates and those with no involvement with the dairy industry, support for providing pain relief when disbudding and dehorning was consistent across all the groups.
Disbudding and dehorning are common management practices on dairy farms performed to reduce the likelihood of injury to cattle and farm workers. Disbudding destroys the horn-producing cells and is usually done using a hot iron or caustic paste. Dehorning entails the cutting away of the horn and is usually done surgically, using a mechanical gouger, wire or saw. Previous studies have shown that, regardless of which procedure is used and when it is carried out, all forms of disbudding and dehorning are probably painful.
Dr Marina von Keyserlingk from the Faculty of Land and Food Systems at the University of British Columbia is one of the co-authors of the study. She said: Despite evidence that these procedures are painful, and the availability of effective means of pain relief, use of pain mitigation remains low in many parts of the world.
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STAMFORD One of the side effects of the Great Recession is wearing off for Connecticuts employers this year after the state finished paying off a $1.2 billion federal loan that covered unemployment insurance benefits.
Employers will see their average cost per employee drop to $42 from $189 to cover their Federal Unemployment Tax Act expenses.
Its a big drop, said Jack Condlin, president of the Stamford Chamber of Commerce. Thats a good thing because its never good when the state borrows money to run its operations.
Fred Laist, who owns The Fez on Summer Street, recently hired a cook to join his staff of 15 at the Moroccan-themed eatery and will pay about $2,200 less in federal unemployment taxes this year.
Laist said employees are the ones who get shortchanged when taxes rise.
You set up a business; you have a labor budget, Laist said. If your taxes are higher, you are paying the labor less. At the end of the day, there is only so much revenue coming into a business. If you have to pay more taxes, then there is less available to attract better talent.
More Information By the numbers 5.5% February unemployment rate 9.2% Highest unemployment rate in 2010 See More Collapse
The unemployment trust fund was cleaned out in 2009 when 9 percent of workers in the state were jobless. The state turned to the federal government to finance as many as 175,000 benefit payments that were issued each week.
More than $2 billion in unemployment benefits shored up the states economy in 2010, and the federal government required states to raise money to repay the loans through an unemployment-tax hike.
Employers will also stop paying back $85 million in interest on the loan through an additional special assessment that began in 2011.
Obviously, this is a very positive sign with some real financial benefit, said Scott Gilefsky, who leads Ernst & Youngs state and local tax practice from his Stamford office.
Economic indicator
While few of his clients are likely to add staff based on a yearly savings of $147 per employee, Gilefsky views the loan payoff as a positive sign for the overall health of the states economy.
Most businesses would say, Thats helpful, but if I multiply it even by 1,000 employees, thats not moving too much of my bottom line, he said. Its more Connecticut is moving in the right direction.
More than 30 states had loans to the federal government, said Carl Guzzardi, unemployment insurance tax director for the Connecticut Department of Labor.
Connecticuts load was paid off March 24. California, Kentucky, Ohio and the Virgin Islands still owe money.
Employers are going to see a substantial drop in their federal taxes because our loan is repaid, Guzzardi said. Thats the good news. In the long term, while our loan is repaid, the fund is still not healthy.
Guzzardi said the fund needs to build a $1.2 billion surplus to be ready to weather the next downturn.
Connecticut has recovered about three-quarters of the jobs lost during the recession.
That works out to a recovery of 91,200 of the 119,100 jobs lost between March 2008 and February 2010, according to the DOL. Connecticut employers need to add 27,900 jobs for a full recovery.
During the six years since the recovery started, the state has averaged more than 1,200 new jobs each month.
Connecticut added 5,000 jobs in February, bringing the unemployment rate to 5.5 percent, down from 6 percent a year before.
System reform
Laist, a Stamford resident, remains concerned about the future of the employment picture in the state and in his city with General Electric leaving for Massachusetts and large commercial tenants like UBS emptying their buildings.
Its certainly good news they managed to pay off their debts, he said. They dont seem to be pushing for significant economic advancement and getting new employers into the state.
Employers who call the Connecticut Business & Industry Association every January to inquire about the extra taxes will be glad to see them go, said Eric Gjede, an assistant counsel with CBIA.
Its good that weve finally, after eight years, paid down our federal debt, Gjede said. We need to make the benefit reforms at the state level to make sure this doesnt happen again.
CBIA is supporting a bill that reforms the states unemployment system in four ways, including by raising the minimum annual earnings requirement to qualify for unemployment to $2,000 from $600 the third-lowest earnings requirement in the U.S. More than 30 states require between $2,000 and $5,000 in earnings, according to CBIA.
The threshold hasnt changed since 1967, Gjede said.
The bill also calls for a freeze to the maximum benefit for three years and requiring beneficiaries to post their resumes online by the sixth week of receiving benefits in order to receive checks in weeks 7 through 26.
Rhode Island did that, and people were back to work one week quicker, Gjede said.
The bill proposes using the entire years salary when calculating benefits instead of just the two highest quarters, which Gjede said disproportionately favors seasonal workers.
Little simple reforms like this would have massive savings for employers over time, he said.
Julie.alterio@scni.com; 203-964-2263
T rading screens were lit up by Drax as buyers flocked to the power firm in search of stocks not glowing red.
The FTSE 250 company said it expects profits for this year to be near the top end of analyst forecasts after a contract win with National Grid.
Drax, which owns the power station of the same name in North Yorkshire, said it agreed terms with National Grid for certain ancillary services starting this month for the next year, but did not elaborate on the deal. The most optimistic number-crunchers in the Square Mile were expecting it to book an annual profit of 161 million.
Chief executive Dorothy Thompson said: At a time when many power stations are closing, this contract recognises the supportive role Drax continues to play in providing secure and dependable electricity to the UK.
The shares fired up 3.6p to 275.7p, making it one of the safer bets on the mid-cap index which reflected the hesitant mood ahead of the keenly-awaited US jobs report for March an important health-check for the worlds largest economy.
After the roller-coaster first three months of this year which left investors feeling nauseous, the FTSE 100 started the second quarter down 63.19 points or 1% at 6111.71.
Concerns are mounting that the luxury property bubble in the capital is about to burst and Berkeley Group, off 14% this year, has fallen victim to hedge funds hoping to profit from a possible pop. Short-sellers continued to circle the company, with Marshall Wace increasing its bet against the shares this week. The London-based fund manager is now borrowing 0.91% of stock in effect a 40 million wager that the stock, down another 25p at 3193p today, will keep falling.
Shares in car dealer Inchcape, down 23p to 700.5p, went into reverse as Berenberg suggested the VW emissions scandal is denting sales in the UK.
The broker warned that sales of Volkswagen cars, which fill a fifth of Inchcapes outlets on these shores, are down 13.5% so far this year.
Dublin-based banana firm Fyffes, listed on the junior market, branched out into mushrooms with a 78 million deal for Highline Produce, Canadas biggest mushroom business. Fyffes shares were 3.45p sweeter at 113.2p.
AIMs get-rich-quick addicts were left ruing their faith in Ascent Resources. The European gas minnow, which had made punters seven times their money last week after Cadogan Petroleum revealed its takeover interest, crashed 4.09p or 69% today to 1.88p as its suitor walked away from a deal.
T he effectiveness of this countrys efforts to stop young Britons being attracted by the false lure of extremism is called into renewed question today by two worrying developments.
The first is the disclosure in a report by the Henry Jackson Societys Student Rights project that the number of events at London universities involving radical speakers with potentially inflammatory views has risen, despite the introduction of legal duty requiring institutions to stop people from being drawn into terrorism.
The second is the publication of research showing that most of the public believe the Prevent strategy set up by ministers to counter jihadist ideology is failing.
Neither finding is encouraging on a day when the Prime Minister has announced an extra 1,500 armed police nationwide in response to the threat of a Paris- or Brussels- style terrorist attack happening here. Firing back when terrorists strike is necessary but stopping people joining their ranks in the first place is a far better solution. To achieve this, universities must contribute, particularly in London from where several former students, including Jihadi John Mohammed Emwazi, have gone on to commit or attempt terrorist outrages.
In response to the rise in radical speakers, institutions insist that adequate checks are being carried out, while citing the need to protect free speech and Britains tradition of intellectual inquiry.
This newspaper too believes in open debate and accepts that those with distasteful views should, in general, be allowed a platform, if only so that their flawed arguments can be exposed. But todays report suggests that on too many occasions, the events hosted by universities were one-sided. That is unsatisfactory and potentially dangerous and must be addressed.
Beyond academia, further challenges remain to be tackled if the Governments Prevent strategy is to overcome public doubts and achieve more success in the face of Islamic State social media propaganda.
Here, the apparent willingness of more Muslim families to alert the authorities over concerns about radicalisation offers much hope. Ministers undoubtedly have more to do. But ultimately, it is Britains people who must win this battle of ideas and stifle the vile intolerance of the terrorists.
Londons A-level task
The revelation today that inner London teenagers perform worse in gaining the top A-level grades than those elsewhere in the country is a surprising blot on this citys impressive school performance.
The New Schools Network, which has uncovered this fact, points out that free schools do better but offers no other explanation as to why the students, who outscore their rivals when at GCSE, fall back after 16.
Teachers should take note, however. Their efforts in delivering outstanding results for younger children merit a gold star. Another awaits if they can bring similar success at A-level.
Saving the elephants
Despite greater awareness of the need to safeguard Africas elephants, these wondrous animals remain under grave threat from poachers.
Staggeringly, 100,000 have been killed for their ivory in the past three years.
Later this month, the Kenyan government will burn 105 tonnes of illegally poached tusks to send a message that this trade must stop.
The burning will follow a historic gathering of African leaders convened by Kenya in partnership with Space for Giants, the charity that campaigns to stop the illegal killing of elephants. We hope giant strides can be made to protect this most gracious creature.
Having just shown his third collection under the Gucci label - exactly a year on from his first - to overwhelming critical acclaim, Alessandro Michele has firmly cemented his position as a world leader in fashion.
Speaking to Porter magazine for their summer issue, the designer described his direction for the Italian fashion house as eccentric, colourful, romantic and languid.
These are the clothes to give you the freedom to choose who you are. The way you dress is really how you feel."
"I want men and women to feel authentic and free in the expression of themselves.
Gucci at Milan Fashion Week AW16 1 /40 Gucci at Milan Fashion Week AW16 Gucci Models walk the AW16 runway Olycom SPA/Rex Gucci Models walk the AW16 runway Gucci Runway details Gucci Runway details Gucci A model walks the AW16 runway Gucci Models walk the AW16 runway Gucci Models walk the AW16 runway Gucci Models walk the AW16 runway Gucci A model walks the AW16 runway Gucci A model walks the AW16 runway Gucci A model walks the AW16 runway Gucci A model walks the AW16 runway Gucci A model walks the AW16 runway Gucci A model walks the AW16 runway Gucci Models walk the AW16 runway Gucci A model walks the AW16 runway Gucci Models walk the AW16 runway Gucci A model walks the AW16 runway Gucci A model walks the AW16 runway Gucci Models walk the AW16 runway Gucci A model walks the AW16 runway Gucci A model walks the AW16 runway Gucci A model walks the AW16 runway Gucci A model walks the AW16 runway Gucci A model walks the AW16 runway Gucci A model walks the AW16 runway Gucci A model walks the AW16 runway Gucci A model walks the AW16 runway Gucci A model walks the AW16 runway Gucci Elizabeth Olsen arriving at the Gucci show Livio Valerio/Rex
Speaking of fashions evolution to become a more personal venture, Michele made note of peoples nonconformist desires when it comes to personal style.
In recent years, fashion has taken itself as inspiration, and it has been stimulated only by itself. We decided that fashion was something slick, perfect, symmetric, but now people feel the desire to express their individuality and they dont want to fit the mold anymore.
For such an immediate success story, it could be hard to believe that this 42-year-old Rome-born man has the quiet modesty of someone far less influential. Recalling their first meeting, Florence Welch - one of Micheles numerous style devotees spoke of his reserve.
Florence Welch wearing Gucci with Michele / Drew Jarrett/courtesy Porter magazine
I was obsessed with what Alessandro was doing from the start, so we arranged to meet for the first time in New York early last year, after I heard that hed been listening to one of my songs, What Kind of Man, while he was drawing his collection.
But we got confused he went to my hotel to meet me and I went to his hotel to meet him, and we passed each other on the street. I was wearing red flares and a tasseled vest covered in pompoms, and he was in a very elegant trench with lots of jewelry and his long, flowing, Renaissance hair.
We clocked each other, but werent totally sure if it was who we thought it was, so both kept walking. When we did meet, the first thing we said was, Oh, it was you!
Bel Powley wearing Gucci / Drew Jarrett/courtesy Porter magazine
And while the genius behind the $12.4 billion luxury house somehow harnesses the very meaning of humility, Michele lacks no confidence in his creative prowess - indulging his loyal fans in fresh ideas as he pushes the fashion boundaries.
Everyone has been so obsessed with good taste recently that it makes me think: why cant things just be a little bit tacky or wrong, but in a great way?, asked actress Chloe Sevigny (above).
Thats what the new Gucci is playing to it has a sense of humor and doesnt care what anyone thinks of it.
Rachel Feinstein wearing Gucci / Drew Jarrett/courtesy Porter magazine
Fellow actress Bel Powley also spoke of her appreciation for Micheles ability to create the unusual, recounting last November when she attended the Gotham Independent Film Awards.
It was my first time at the awards and I didnt realize that it was a really chic event."
"Almost every other woman there was wearing black. I was literally the opposite and stood out, but in the best way.
Citing his aesthetic as glamorous but in a way Ive never seen before, artist Rachel Feinstein spoke of the designers old-soul quality and positive spirituality as a refreshing and exactly what people need in a world that has been so crazy recently.
And while many may still see 'fashion' as simply clothing and nothing more, Florence Welch believes the designer has used his honed craft in such a powerful way that he has created his own world.
He is dream-weaving, she says, but it works in reality.
Porter's summer issue is available from April 1 / Porter magazine
To see the full feature read the latest issue of Porter, on sale globally on Friday April 1.
Also available as a digital edition or go to portersubscription.com
I ts undeniable that the majority of us are Ben & Jerrys lovers, and whether you prefer Phish Food, Cookie Dough or Chocolate Fudge Brownie, your chance to get a free cone is quickly approaching.
On April 12 Ben & Jerrys will host their annual Free Cone Day. Its quite self-explanatory. All you need to do is find one of their scoop shops to claim your free cone.
The initiative dates back to 1979 in Burlington, Vermont, when a petrol station turned Ben & Jerrys scoop shop wanted to say thanks to the local community for supporting their ice cream company.
The celebration has run ever since, and last year saw Ben & Jerrys give away over 1 million scoops of free ice cream.
Now, just make sure April 12 is in your diary.
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.
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A s the weather begins to turn mild, the heat of new restaurants opening begins to rise. And there's something for everyone, whether you prefer the Mexican heat or the Scandinavian cool.
This month's newbies include a more central outpost of Ealing favourite Santa Maria Pizzeria, a spin-off from The Dairy, a refurbished gastropub and street food settling down.
Browse our gallery above to see whats new and where. Whether youre venturing around Liverpool Street or wanting a pit-stop in Marylebone, weve got it covered.
For more of the top spots to visit this April, check out our guide to the top 25 brunches in London, and where to take your date if youre looking for a romantic restaurant.
If youre looking at saving the world, why not take a look at our best right-on restaurants, or if youre looking for a simple solution, check out our best grilled cheese toasties guide.
Whatever food you prefer, make sure you explore London with our guide to new restaurants opening this month.
See our guide to all the best food in London.
This content has been provided by OpenTable.
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S herlock stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Andrew Scott almost ended up playing Hamlet at the same time at theatres only a few miles apart, according to the boss of the Almeida Theatre.
Scott, arch-villain Moriarty to Cumberbatchs detective Holmes in the hit BBC show, will instead play Shakespeares tragic hero next year after fears the show could be overshadowed by the Hollywood actors performance.
Rupert Goold, artistic director of the north London theatre, said Scott would play the part very differently from his television co-star, whose run in the play at the Barbican was a sell-out success.
He said: At one point we were thinking of going head to head. In the end we decided to put some space between them. It felt like when Benedict was on it was the biggest ship in the fleet.
I think Benedict had a kind of princeliness to his Hamlet. He manifests a beautiful intelligence that is all his own, but Andrew is a very different energy and the production will reflect that.
Andrew has something a little more playful.
Goold himself will direct another of the Islington theatres new Shakespeare productions, Richard III, with Ralph Fiennes as the king and Vanessa Redgrave as widowed Queen Margaret.
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W illiam Shakespeare is being digitally resurrected so people can interact with a life-sized 3D version of the Bard beamed beside them.
The augmented reality commission for a government agency marks this years 400th anniversary of Shakespeares death.
Its creator, Inde, has already put life-sized digital dinosaurs and jaguars into shopping centres and beamed an alien avatar into a London Comic Con to dance with passers-by.
Unlike virtual reality, which requires an all-immersive headset, augmented reality places digital 3D objects and characters into real life on a big screen or smartphone.
Three dimensional: the digital William Shakespeare
To get the effect, aliens, dinosaurs, polar bears, whales or any other digital content are first shot in 3D. Then the character is laid over a screen and people in-shot are tracked by cameras to give the impression of everything in one place.
Alex Poulson, chief executive of AR firm Inde, believes AR-enabled glasses could even bring the streets of old London to life with historical characters and long-since demolished buildings.
Mr Poulson said: Were working to bring Shakespeare back, because its the 400th anniversary of his death this year, so youll actually meet him.
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I ts the 200th anniversary of Charlotte Brontes birth this April, and to mark it Tracy Chevalier has put together this collection of commissioned stories in which 21 leading fiction writers all women respond to the most famous line in Brontes most famous novel.
When Jane Eyre says Reader, I married him at the conclusion of her stormy story its both triumphant and comically terse but no simple happy ending. Not surprisingly, many of the stories here revolve around marriage and weddings, notably Tessa Hadleys terrific opener, My Mothers Wedding, Namwali Serpells Double Men and Jane Gardams melancholic Its a Mans Life, Ladies.
Some riff on the novel itself, with a wonderfully witty version from Helen Dunmore, as told by Grace Poole (She may marry Mr R. She may take him for all that there is left in him. She will never stop him dead and make him tremble all over, as I did, before he ever touched me). Francine Prose imagines Janes marriage being deliberately scuppered by her dream man and Salley Vickers also looks beyond the supposedly happy ending, but this time in the character of Mr Rochester, burdened with guilt towards his first wife and regretting his manipulation by the nutty governess.
Kirsty Gunn takes things a stage further: her Mr Rochester is a dangerous dog who needs sympathetic training, while Emma Donoghue takes a real person, Minnie Benson, and looks at her strange marriage in terms of suppressed sexuality. Susan Hill (who has not read Jane Eyre) also chooses to fictionalise a real life, writing about Wallis Simpson and the difficulty of being the object of a consuming love.
Perhaps she could have benefited from the precis given by one of the characters in Chevaliers own story, Dorset Gap a Jane Eyre obsessive who explains that the story is about a governess full of inner strength who marries a completely inappropriate man. Oh. Right her would-be suitor says hesistantly. Later, he charms her by misquoting the famous line as Reader, she married me, closing the gap between them, but only, one feels, temporarily.
Chevalier likens her challenge to a stone thrown in a pond, with some of the ripples moving quite far from the epicentre; certainly, if they werent included in this book, youd have trouble connecting several of the stories with Jane Eyre at all. Evie Wylds atmospheric Behind the Mountain needs an explicit nudge in the final paragraph to remind the reader of any connection, while Elif Shafaks story A Migrating Bird has a similarly eliptical relation. But the context does the trick and its quite amazing to see the quality of work on show. Lionel Shrivers The Self-Seeding Sycamore would be an asset to any collection, and Elizabeth McCrackens Robinson Crusoe at the Waterpark is simply one of the best short stories Ive read in ages.
More book reviews 1 /24 More book reviews Recovery by Russell Brand Will Russells brand of self-help prove quite so addictive? By Nicholas Lezard. Read review A Life in Questions by Jeremy Paxman Paxo refuses to answer all the really good questions, says David Sexton. Read review Politics: Between: The Extremes by Nick Clegg The basis of this book makes it impossible not to warm to Clegg, says Melanie McDonagh. Read review Serious Sweet by A L Kennedy Thank heavens for London in this tale of self-obsessed lovers. Read review The Last Royal Rebel: The Life and Death of James, Duke of Monmouth by Anna Keay Born a kings b****** and destined for a traitors death. Read review Man Up: Boys, Men and Breaking the Male Rules by Rebecca Asher Getting to the bottom of why boys will be boys. Read review The Course of Love by Alain de Botton A philosophical novel that does run smooth, says Johanna Thomas-Corr. Read review The Tree Climbers Guide: Adventures in the Urban Canopy by Jack Cooke How I gave this book a proper test and ended up with a broken ankle. Read review Reader, I Married Him: Stories Inspired by Jane Eyre Brontes classic tale in the imaginations of other writers, says Claire Harman. Read review Moranifesto by Caitlin Moran Caitlin comes clean about politics the world according to our funniest feminist. By Rosamund Urwin. Read review Spark Joy An Illustrated Guide to the Japanese Art of Tidying by Marie Kondo Theres no messing wih Marie, says Katie Law. Read review Cockfosters Stories by Helen Simpson After 50, a womans life gets better not worse. By Katie Law. Read review Stalins Englishman: The Lives of Guy Burgess by Andrew Lownie Joker in the spying pack. By Richard Bassett. Read review Even Dogs in the Wild by Ian Rankin The darkness that lies at the heart of the novel is offset by a lightness of touch, says Mark Sanderson. Read review Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink by Elvis Costello Elvis proves not quite so lyrical on the page, says Nick Curtis. Read review The Importance of Elsewhere: Philip Larkins Photographs by Richard Bradford His poetry paints better pictures than any camera, says David Sexton. Read review Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith Morality wins out over macabre murders, says Melanie McDonagh. Read review The Grownup by Gillian Flynn Calling all Flynnies: the con girl whos like gone girl. Read review
Chevalier has been appointed to lead the Bronte Parsonage Museums bicentenary celebrations this year and the success of this book owes much to her enthusiasm and pulling power. The pulling power of Charlotte Bronte, too, whose great book paved the way for more women to write and be published, as Chevalier says in her introduction, evoking the extraordinary scenes in the dining room at Haworth Parsonage in the 1840s as all three Brontes read and discussed their now-classic novels. Women just didnt do that back in the 19th century; well, not in groups anyway, and perhaps the fact that the Brontes had each other made their amazing flowering happen in the first place. Reader, I Married Him celebrates that sense of sisterhood every bit as much as it does stalwart Charlotte herself.
Charlotte Bronte: A Life by Claire Harman will be published in paperback by Penguin on April 7 at 9.99.
Australian lifestyle brands are making waves in the UK.
Typo arrives here this month (April 4), initially as on online destination at typo.com with plans to open stores across the country.
Quirky gifts, stationery, homeware, tech and travel accessories are designed in-house by the Geelong based creative team.
We arent your typical gift retailer. We're a bit irreverent, a bit naughty and we always put our Typo twist on our products, pushing the boundaries of design that we know will resonate well with our UK customers so they can personalise their space whether they are at home, at work or on the move, says creative manager Luke Slattery.
Look out for the light boxes, printed stools and colourful throws, with prices starting at a very reasonable 15 for these pieces.
Meanwhile, mud australia, the Sydney-based company which produces hand-crafted ceramics in Limoges porcelain, goes from strength to strength (mudaustralia.com). Following a stand-alone store near Londons Marble Arch, an edited collection of tableware is now available in the Oxford Street shop and online at Selfridges (Selfridges.com).
A range has been curated for the department store with the intention of mixing and matching layers of colour and shape, blending style with a minimalist aesthetic and functionality with an artisan finish. The popular pale pastel tones of milk, dust and mist are accompanied by four additional fashion colours which will change seasonally
The mud craftsmen make each item in Australia. The technique that goes into the pieces is intensive and, after firing, the exterior has a vitrified stone-like surface that becomes smooth in contrast to the high-shine of the clear glazed interior. There is something so satisfying about the shape of this crockery. Pick up a latte cup for 25 or a noodle bowl for 32.
London's best design shops 1 /26 London's best design shops Minimalist Mint in Knightsbridge Inge Clemente Essentials Labour and Wait in Shoreditch All of the lights Tom Dixon Studio in Portobello Dock Scandinavian dream Skandium has shops in Knightsbridge and Marylebone Beauty meets practicality SCP in Shoreditch East End cool The lighting area at SCP in Shoreditch Quirky objects A display at Aria in Barnsbury, north London Louis Little Eclectic You'll find contemporary furnishings alongside vintage pieces in Aria in Barnsbury Louis Little Something a little different Aria in Islington Louis Little Utilitarian cool Labour and Wait in Shoreditch Personal touch Lizzie Evans, founder of Smug in Islington Lizzie Evans, founder of Smug - press image Unique shopping experience Jasper Morrison in Hoxton Jasper Morrison in Hoxton - press image Full of quirky pieces Retrouvius in Kensal Green Eccentric Jimmie Martin in Kensington Jimmie Martin Scandi-style Triangle in Clapton Triangle in Clapton - press image Trendy Monologue shop in Shoreditch Bold patterns House of Hackney Shop in Shoreditch Anthony Crolla
Feelgood Designs, an Australian manufacturer which bridges the gap between design and production, is now stocked at SCP (scp.co.uk).
With a particular passion for rattan and timber, Feelgood works with emerging designers, as well as established names, to create a line-up of classic, contemporary and iconic designs.
For a timeless find, check out the shell-shaped C317 chair which was the brainchild of Japanese designer Yuzuru Yamakawa as part of her C collection in 1965. The lounge chair is crafted from natural rattan in a woven shell shape that sits on a black powdercoat frame.
Sheridan Australias Spring/Summer collection also hits the right notes. The design team travelled to Tasmania to look deeper into the history of the brand including the home of founder Claudio Alcorso.
The natural landscape, rich hues and textural oddities are reflected in the intricately woven Beadmore collection while the artists in the Sheridan Sydney Design Studio have used watercolour painting, sun printing, line drawings and etchings for the Painted by Hand line (from 25, sheridanaustralia.co.uk).
Our friends down under are on top of the home trends.
Follow Amira Hashish on Twitter @amiranews and Instagram @thedesigneditor.
Its a thankless job, Zaha Hadid once complained to me, you are doing it day and night and nobody ever thanks you. For an architect with such a tough-nut reputation not least when she hung up on a hostile grilling about her ethics on Radio 4s Today programme last September Hadid, who died of a heart attack yesterday in Miami, aged 65, could be vulnerable, funny and kind beneath her trademark Issey Miyake pleated armour.
Yes, she could fly into rages and had been known, in her early days at least, to smash an underlings architectural model while letting loose a stream of invective. But in a male architect that might simply be called perfectionism. And, however flawed, she was a visionary, one of the outstanding designers of her generation who anticipated the age of digital architecture before computers were even capable of implementing the new aesthetic she dreamed of. Yet she was virtually without work until the mid-Nineties.
Hadid was born in 1950 in Baghdad to a wealthy political family and studied maths at university in Beirut before moving to London to study at the Architectural Association. In 1980 she opened her first office in Clerkenwell and exploded onto the architectural scene in 1983 with her winning scheme for the Peak Club in Hong Kong. The dynamic painted forms, influenced by Russian Suprematism, depicted an architecture that was a calculated riposte to white-cube Modernism.
But the project remained unbuilt as did a depressingly large number of her early schemes. However prize money, a coterie of adoring interns, her stalwart practice partner Patrik Schumacher and her determination kept her going and she tackled projects that traditional architects would have frowned upon, including a stage set for Pet Shop Boys and the Mind Zone in the Millennium Dome.
London Aquatics Centre / Rex
Eventually, as the software was developed that could turn a complex curve on a computer screen into a laser-cut metal panel, the bigger commissions came her way. In London, always her home despite her prodigious globetrotting, these number the Aquatics Centre for the 2012 Olympics, the Evelyn Grace Academy in Brixton (which won the 2011 Stirling Prize), the Magazine restaurant at the Serpentine Gallery and the Mathematics Gallery at the Science Museum, which opens this December. Londons engineering prowess was also key to making her work buildable.
Hadids buildings werent without their critics; the price of innovation, perhaps. But we must thank her for shaking up architecture. Shes the only woman to have won architectures Nobel the Pritzker Prize and just this year she was named as the first woman to win the RIBAs Royal Gold Medal in her own right. Im not one of the boys, she once conceded. I couldnt have got work through schmoozing. Im not part of the network. It felt as if she was only just getting into her stride when she died. Im expected to want everything to be nice, and to be nice myself, she told me. A very English thing. I dont design nice buildings, she added. I dont like them.
Zaha Hadid Architecture & Design - In pictures 1 /10 Zaha Hadid Architecture & Design - In pictures London Aquatics Centre, London Rex Zaha Hadid's Evelyn Grace Academy In Brixton, London Rex Serpentine Sackler Gallery and The Magazine cafeteria by architect Zaha Hadid Rex Jockey Club Innovation Tower, Hong Kong. View Of East Facade From Hong Kong Polytechnic University Campus Rex A long time exposure shows the ski jumping hill designed by Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid in Innsbruck, Austria Dominic Ebenbichler/Reuters Galaxy Soho, Beijing, China. Zaha Hadid, 2012. Elevated View Of Complex With Landscaped Green And Cityscape Rex Lingkong SOHO in Shanghai was designed by Zaha Hadid and is famous for its strange look Rex Interior view of the Maxxi, the new Museum of the 21st Century Arts during an architectural preview in Rome. The museum was designed by British Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid Alessandro Di Meo/EPA
Tributes to Zaha Hadid
Norman Foster
I am devastated by the loss of Zaha Hadid and cannot comprehend the enormity of her passing away. I became very close to her as a friend and colleague in parallel with my deep respect for her as an architect of immense stature and global significance.
She was one of the very few architects as friends who was invited to my 80th birthday party in London last year. By a strange coincidence some days ago I received an email from one of her clients someone she had designed a home for. With great pride he sent me about twenty pairs of images. Each pair showed the visualisation that Zaha presented and the reality as finally built. It was a beautiful juxtaposition of what Zaha promised and what she delivered. I was so looking forward to sharing with her these intimate insights. Tragically that will never happen.
It was Zahas triumph to go beyond the beautiful graphic visions of her sculptural approach to architecture into reality that so upset some of her critics. She was an individual of great courage, conviction and tenacity. It is rare to find these qualities tied to a free creative spirit. That is why her loss is so profound and her example so inspirational. And, besides, she was my dear friend.
Boris Johnson
Zaha Hadid was an inspiration, her work was a cultural cornerstone of British architecture and design. The Aquatics Centre, Zahas innovative, groundbreaking contribution to the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, is just one part of a legacy jigsaw that spans the globe. She put Stratford and the growth of east London at the centre of global design, showcasing the best of British to the world. Her work will live on in her designs, but the loss of such a unique talent is immense.
Julia Peyton-Jones and Hans Ulrich Obrist
We were devastated to hear the news of the tragic, untimely death of our friend and long-term collaborator Zaha Hadid who was a Trustee of the Serpentine Galleries from 1996. Her contribution to architecture as a pioneer and visionary cannot be overstated.
Zaha Hadid was also a great artist and she leaves an extraordinary body of work not only as a built form but also paintings and drawings where she often explored the ideas that would later be transformed into architecture. Drawing was at the very heart of her work. We are honoured to have collaborated with her on numerous occasions and her loss will be deeply felt by us and the world over.
The athletics running track at Evelyn Grace Academy, Brixton / Alamy
Ian Blatchford
We have been working closely with Dame Zaha on our new 5 million Mathematics gallery, which will be the first permanent public exhibition in the world to be designed by Zaha Hadid Architects.
Her sculptural designs set a new standard when it comes to crystallising abstract mathematical thinking into beautiful physical forms.
We will redouble our efforts to work with her practice to realise her designs for Mathematics so that it will provide a lasting tribute to her genius when it opens this year.
Zaha worked closely with my colleague, Director of Masterplan, Karen Livingstone, who was struck by way she talked openly and warmly about the influence of the Science Museum during a visit as a little girl, with her parents, and how, for Dame Zaha, maths was taught as a way of life.
But Dame Zaha also complained to us about the stereotype that girls cant do sciences and it was striking that, during one visit to the Science Museum, she acknowledged that, even for her, the gender gap remains an issue, and she said that was particularly so in Britain . She has been a beacon of inspiration for young women everywhere and told us I do notice now when I go out to give a talk somewhere there are many girls who come to me. They want to be reassured that they actually can break that barrier and also do it with confidence.
Roca London Gallery / View Pictures/UIG via Getty Images
Amanda Levete
I feel immensely privileged to have known Zaha as a very dear and loyal friend and one of the most extraordinary talents of our time. She was an inspiration. she shifted the culture of architecture. When my son was very young Zaha showed him how to write his name in Arabic. It was the moment I realised the genesis of her remarkable architectural language. She was an extraordinary role model for women. She was fearless and a trailblazer her work was brave and radical. Despite sometimes feeling misunderstood, she was widely celebrated and rightly so.
Nigel Coates
Im speechless at the loss of Zaha Hadid, as a friend and as an inspiration. We knew each other for over 40 years. As students and then tutors at the Architectural Association in the mid-1970s, neither Zaha nor I realised that we were living and working in a golden age. Zahas courage and resolution were there from the beginning. She wouldnt let anybody, including her mentor Rem Koolhaas, stand in her way. Her vision was already evident in her graduation project - a planetary system of Modernist blocks that cut across the grain of central London in a Suprematist storm. She went on to make architecture levitate. Despite these special powers, I best remember intimate dinners in her little mews house in Kensington. Shed roll up her designs and tilt the drawing board as a makeshift dining table on which to serve an expertly prepared Iraqi lamb and rice extravaganza. She demanded loyalty and dedication, but would provide the same in spades. I will miss her dearly.
Donna Karan
I admired Zaha enormously - as a foremost leader in architecture, a creative visionary and as a woman I called my friend. Her spirit, passion and brilliance were evident in everything she did. Her uncompromising devotion to her art, the lessons she taught us all, and the extraordinary vision she brought to all that she did. life. She was unique inside and outside. Whether it was how she dressed or the remarkable buildings she created and put out there to the world, Zaha left a lasting impression that will not be forgotten. To me, Zaha was a woman and an artist of her timeand yet she was very much ahead of it too.
Serpentine Sackler Gallery / Oli Scarff/Getty Images
Matthew Williamson
She was a true visionary and created some wonderful pieces which will live on in her name. Its such a sad loss.
Thomas Heatherwick
Losing Zaha is an utter tragedy. It took so many years for her to find a way to build her visionary ideas - and then finally, once she began, she became so prolific.
Creating entirely new visual languages and relentlessly pushing forward the way we think about designing buildings, she made us other designers re-evaluate what we were doing, again and again.
She also had this amazing personal duality; at the same time an immensely powerful presence at the pinnacle of her profession, she was also generous and reached-out to give encouragement to us and many others to keep working experimentally.
The real sadness is not knowing what she would have invented and built next in the coming decades.
The new Maths Gallery at the Science Museum / Zaha Hadid Architects
Tessa Jowell
Zaha transformed the world of architecture; she changed London. Her Aquatic Centre was the iconic building of the 2012 Games, its image was beamed around the world to billions. She wanted two waves on the roof, and I had to tell her that we could only afford one. She was quite cross, but this was a building she really wanted to do.
You can see her flair and original approach in all her buildings. To paraphrase Christopher Wrens epitaph, her legacy is all around. If you want to remember her, just look at the power and self-confidence of her designs, and the social legacy of the Olympic Park.
She wanted buildings to be at the service of the local community, and designed the Evelyn Grace Academy school in Brixton.
We became good friends; we were both made Dames at the same time. We used to giggle about it, and how surprised we were that such a thing had happened to us. She and I often alluded to her being a woman in male world, with a bit of eye rolling.
She was a towering figure and dressed with great flair and self-confidence, although I felt she was more shy than her flamboyant appearance would suggest. Even when she was sitting quietly as often she did, you would know she was there. She had the most extraordinary presence.
Terence Conran
Zaha was one of the most original architects in the UK and a great talent. She was always ebullient and charming.
Laura Lee
Maggies was honoured that the design for Maggies Fife was Zahas first permanent structure in the UK. Since then the Centres striking design has offered an uplifting environment to people with cancer and their family and friends.
Rogers Stirk Harbour & Partners
Zaha changed the global perception of what is possible through architecture.
Peter Murray
I got to know Zaha when she won the competition for a building on The Peak in Hong Kong in 1982 and in 1995 commissioned her first UK building - albeit a temporary one - which was a stand for Blueprint magazine at the Interbuild exhibition in Birmingham. The zig-zag steel structure was sold to a Welsh landowner as a garden pavilion. Its probably still there, if a bit rusty, and worth a small fortune today. In 2015 I presented her with the New Londoner of the Year Award in recognition of her contribution to the capitals cultural life and to the role of women in architecture. I hoped it might also lead to some more work for her in London but have yet to see any evidence of that. Zaha changed the way we look at buildings and the way we make them. She created recognisable icons in cities around the world and in doing so reinforced Londons cultural reputation. Today London is a global hub for construction and design skills and this is in no small part due to the fact that Zaha made it her home.
Piers Gough
From her student days at the Architectural Association it was wildly clear that she was an absolute genius at designing three dimensional forms and spaces. She graduated, won competitions with phenomenal paintings as well as drawings but didn't yet see them built. Undaunted she kept imagining more and more extreme and complex concepts moving from jagged constructivist to swooping baroque as computers, and very bright architects to work them, joined her office. Prophet without early honour, she was eventually lionised abroad and started build to magnificently. Not just the great cultural and sports buildings but thrilling versions of more prosaic residential, schools, and offices. The swooningly beautiful and theatrical manifestations of her audacious imagination were also detailed and built to perfection. A great legacy. But we have tragically lost one of the worlds greatest architects at the height of her prodigious powers and will always wonder what would yet have been.
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T he spotlight is firmly on San Sebastian, one of this years joint European Capitals of Culture. The coastal city is home to no fewer than seven three-Michelin-starred restaurants and has one of the highest densities of Michelin stars per square metre in the world. The restaurants below offer a flavour of northern Spains Basque country.
Alameda
This family-run restaurant in the French border town of Hondarribia uses local, homegrown products to help protect and support local food culture and traditions. The Head Chef is the talented Gorka Tazpartegi, who serves up one-Michelin-starred food in the impressive dining hall. The fish is caught daily, but dont miss the roasted beef tenderloin with Idiazabal cheese.
00 34 943 642789, restaurantealameda.net
Arzak
Chefs Elena and Juan Mari continue to push the boundaries of Spanish cuisine, turning food into art, at this three-Michelin-starred destination. Its no wonder it is included in the Worlds 50 Best Restaurants list. The pair were a huge influence when I began writing my book on Basque cuisine; a visit to this San Sebastian landmark will be one of the best food experiences you will ever have.
00 34 943 27 84 65, arzak.info
Bar Nestor
One of my favourite places in San Sebastian is Bar Nestor, in the old part of the city. They sell only three things padron peppers, tomato salad and txuleton steak. Be prepared to wait for your table as its very popular. The restaurant has a long history, having opened in 1980. It serves the best steak in San Sebastian and is well worth the queue.
00 34 943 424873, barnestor.com
Influential: Juan Mari Arzak at the kitchen in his three-Michelin starred restaurant / Alamy
Bodegon Donostiarra
I go to Bodegon Donostiarra for the chicken wings and tortilla; the last time I went they were better than ever. The tomato salad is also amazing its secret is probably the Manzanilla Cacerena olive oil. This San Sebastian terrace is the perfect place to enjoy the Basque sunshine with a beer, cider or txakoli wine.
00 34 943 011380, bodegadonostiarra.com
La Cuchara de San Telmo
One of my favourite places in San Sebastian; the suckling pig is a must-try. The skin is golden and crispy, while the meat will melt in your mouth. Im also inspired by the tomato soup, served cold with jamon and Idiazabal cheese. They wont give you the recipe but you should have a go at making your own.
00 34 943 441655, lacucharadesantelmo.com
Basque: Spanish Recipes from San Sebastian and Beyond by Jose Pizarro is published by Hardie Grant, 25.
Jose will also be serving a selection of dishes from the book at his restaurants throughout April (josepizarro.com).
P rison officials have launched a probe tonight after an inmate was killed at a jail in Surrey.
The Prison Service said it was investigating after 25-year-old Madala Washington was found dead at Coldingley Prison in Woking on Friday.
Surrey Police were called to the category C prison shortly after 1pm following reports of a serious assault on an inmate.
A police spokesman said: Detectives are carrying out urgent inquiries to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident."
The death comes amid mounting concerns of increased violence in UK prisons.
Last year, 257 people died in custody including eight murders, the highest recorded since records began in 1978.
Steve Gillan, general secretary of the Prison Officers Association, said: "We do not comment on ongoing police investigation, but generally there has been an increase in violence, and indeed homicides, in our prisons.
"We believe that is due to the lack of prison officers - some 7,000 have been made redundant since 2010.
"Our prisons are a more violent place than they have been. It is tragic that someone has lost their life."
Coldingley is a category C training prison, where inmates are considered unlikely to escape but cannot be trusted in open conditions.
It can accommodate around 500 prisoners in its five wings, with inmates mainly kept in single cells.
A Prison Service spokesman said an investigation will be conducted by the independent Prisons and Probation Ombudsman.
T his is the shocking moment a thug punched a woman in the face in a row over parking.
The 49-year-old, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, is knocked to the ground with one blow in the vicious attack in Hornchurch, east London.
Her jaw was fractured in four places. Victim Heather Smith said she had never known pain like it.
CCTV footage captured by security cameras outside her business on Ardleigh Green Road recorded the entire encounter.
It shows two men pull up outside the pair's cleaning supplies store Ardleigh Green in a dark-coloured hatchback.
Mrs Smith and her business partner Keith Edwards, 53, confront the men as they exit the car to tell them they cant park where theyve stopped.
Punch: The attacker lands the brutal blow on his victim
A scuffle breaks out between Mr Edwards and one of the men, who tears his victims glasses from his face.
Mrs Smith intervenes in an effort to pull the thug away by his hoodie. As she does so she appears to swipe at the back of head while he stands by the drivers side door of the car.
The man responds by swinging a fierce blow at her face which sends her tumbling on to the concrete.
Mrs Smith, a retired Maths teacher, said: Keith and I were going out to lunch when he nearly ran us over and drove across the pavement where there are a lot of mothers with pushchairs.
And then obviously I saw him attack Keith. He also made threats with extremely bad language.
He threatened to run Keith over and then he turned on me.
He hit me in the face and the next thing I know I was flying through the air.
I knew immediately he had broken my jaw Id never known pain like it.
She added the attack has left her scarred and unwilling to leave the house despite being on the mend after a three-hour operation at Queens Hospital following the incident on March 16.
The high-quality CCTV, which the business had installed just three months ago, then shows Mr Edwards almost being knocked over by the door of the car when he tries to stop the pair getting away.
Mr Edwards said: I never saw him hit her. I thought he pushed her over.
But when I found out I was horrified.
He added: I was confused by the anger he showed at a defenceless middle-aged lady.
Im disgusted that someone would show that much aggression, and then didnt really care but just drove off.
He has personally offered a 1,000 reward for information leading to a successful prosecution, and police are also appealing for information about the attack.
A spokeswoman said: Police in Havering were called to Ardleigh Green Road, Hornchurch at 12:17hrs on Wednesday, 16 March following reports of an assault.
Officers attended and found a woman in her forties suffering from facial injuries.
She was taken by London Ambulance Service to an east London hospital where she was treated for a broken jaw. She has now been discharged.
No arrests have been made. Enquires are ongoing.
Contact police on 101, quoting reference 5404462/16, with any information.
A teenager who stabbed a 17-year-old boy to death with a fearsome "Zombie Killer" machete is facing jail for manslaughter today.
The hooded killer used the deadly weapon to attack Stefan Appleton, stabbing him through the heart just yards away from a children's playground.
The teenage victim, a promising college student, had tried to get away but tripped and fell over as the killer approached.
He then escaped on the back of a moped, bragging by shouting out the name of his gang as the bike sped away.
Stefan, who just moments earlier had been playing with his friends in the park, died from his wounds less than two hours later.
The 17-year-old killer was today cleared of murder but convicted at the Old Bailey of Stefan's manslaughter, having pleaded not guilty to both charges.
He was just 16 at the time of the attack, which happened in Nightingale Park, Islington, on June 10 last year.
A second 17-year-old, the moped driver, also denied murder and manslaughter and was cleared by the jury after more than 14 hours of deliberations.
The stabbing was carried out using the notorious "Zombie Killer" knife, a machete-like weapon with a serrated blade - inspired by horror movies and increasingly popular with teenage gang members.
The suspect was seen leaving the scene of the attack in Islington on a moped
The government has promised to consider a ban on the weapons, but they remain on sale online for as little as 5 each.
Prosecutor Simon Denison QC told the trial: "Another tragic waste of a young life in this city, taken by a knife.
"But this was not the sort of small kitchen knife that is so often so foolishly carried by young people and then is used in a moment of madness.
"This was a weapon with no legitimate purpose. It is called a Zombie Killer, which sounds as if it should be a toy, but it is anything but.
Police at the scene of the killing in Caldy Walk, outside Nightingale Park / JEREMY SELWYN
"It was a very big knife like a machete, and in the wrong hands it was a deadly weapon. That is the type of knife that was used to kill Stefan Appleton."
The attack was part of a turf war, the jury heard, and was carried out by a member of the Red Pitch gang.
The killer, who cannot be identified due to his age, went to the park on a stolen moped.
Stefan and his friends were playing a game of "pound up" throwing coins against a wall - while young children played nearby on the swings and slides, the court heard.
"That peaceful scene was shattered and Stefan Appleton's young life was suddenly and violently ended", said Mr Denison.
The teen jumped off the moped and pulled out the knife, running towards Stefan and his friends who turned and fled.
However, Stefan tripped over a low fence and fell to the ground where he was stabbed through the heart and chest.
The teenager got up and tried to run away again but had been fatally injured and collapsed after just a few steps.
The teenage killer, who denied carrying out the attack, did not react as the verdicts were delivered.
He will be sentenced on April 21.
A co-defendant, 16, denied and was acquitted of conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm.
A teenage tearaway who wrecked a stolen car by crashing into a tree while on a joyride around east London has been locked up for six months.
Alfie Kench, 19, crashed the Mini Countryman two days after it had been stolen from owner Patricia Walshs home.
He had been to a rave the night before and was intoxicated when he smashed into a tree in Rothbury Road, Hackney Wick, in the early hours of April 6 last year.
Kench, from Eltham, fled the scene but admitted at trial he was behind the wheel at the time. He denied aggravated vehicle taking but was convicted by an Old Bailey jury last month.
The teenager has achieved local notoriety since the crash, after being issued with an Asbo last November banning him from McDonalds in Eltham.
Kench and two friends were ordered not to see each other and stopped from visiting Kidbrooke Village after terrorising the area with their behaviour.
Recorder Michael Brompton QC yesterday ordered Kench, who was already serving two suspended sentences, to spend six months in a young offenders institute.
T eenagers taking A-levels at inner London schools do worse than their peers elsewhere in England despite outperforming them at earlier stages of education, research suggests.
Pupils at London schools have typically done better than the rest of the country in recent years, but data from the New Schools Network indicates this trend may have reversed for A-levels.
Figures based on Department for Education data suggest that, although London children perform significantly above average when aged 11 to 16, their performance tails off at A-level.
The research reveals that only one in eight pupils in inner London passed three A-levels at grades AAB last year, compared with one in six pupils across England, meaning that at A-level, inner-London pupils lag behind the countrywide average by more than three percentage points.
But at GCSE and primary school levels, inner London pupils perform much better than the national average.
Across London as a whole, A-level performance is the same as the national average, despite exceptional performance in earlier education.
The New Schools Network released the data with education website SchoolDash. It said that of the 10 regions, pupils in the East of England scored highest, with 17.6 per cent getting AAB grades, followed by the South-East (17.4 per cent) and outer London (17.3 per cent).
Inner London pupils were bottom, at just 12.8 per cent, behind the West Midlands (13.7 per cent) and North-East (13 per cent).
Nick Timothy, director of New Schools Network, said: By this measure, inner London is falling behind all other regions in the country, including those in the North, contrary to typical trends in educational achievement.
This analysis shows that despite improvements at key stage 2 and GCSE, we cannot afford to take our foot off the pedal if London is to continue being an educational success story. He added that free schools for 16- to 19-year-olds were outperforming all other types of state school in A-level results.
In London, 11 students at the Kings College London Mathematics School received Oxbridge offers, eight pupils at the London Academy of Excellence and 10 at Harris Westminster Sixth Form. @_AnnaDavis
U niversities in London were today accused of failing in their legal duty to combat extremism on campus amid an increase in events involving radical speakers.
A report found 27 events featuring speakers with extremist views during the first four months of the academic year a rise of seven in 12 months.
Most went ahead with no one on the platform to offer an alternative view, said the Henry Jackson Societys Student Rights project.
Participants included speakers who have stated homosexuality is unnatural and those who fight against community ... should be killed.
One was invited despite saying previously that the Jews are evil and that a man wanting to marry Muslim women should be executed if he did not pray.
The findings come despite the introduction last year of new legislation requiring universities to comply with the Governments Prevent programme for tackling extremism.
The legislation was prompted by the terror activities of ex-London students including Mohammed Emwazi, dubbed Jihadi John, before a US air strike killed him and underpants bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab.
Student Rights said: Too many institutions are still allowing events that feature extreme or intolerant speak- ers to go ahead without ensuring adequate challenge.
Those it named as having held in- appropriate events include Londons School of Oriental and African Studies, Kings College, Kingston University, the Institute of Education and University College London.
The report says claims by speakers included assertions that the Prevent policy was part of a racist white supremacist agenda and that terrorist atrocities had been fabricated.
It says one campus speaker accused the security agencies of harassing Muslims, using the cases of Emwazi and Lee Rigbys killer Michael Adebolajo to support his allegation.
Another was South African politician Julius Malema convicted of hate speech for saying a rape victim must have had a nice time and for his campaign song Shoot The Boer.
Speakers have also included former Guantanamo detainee Moazzem Begg, now a director of the campaign group Cage which opposes the Governments counter-terrorism programme.
The report says campuses have begun to respond to the legal duty but warns that progress is frustratingly slow.
Student Rights director Rupert Sutton said: Given the history of UK campus radicalisation, university action hasnt been good enough. Institutions must ensure at minimum that any extreme speakers invited there face balanced platforms and robust challenge.
The Higher Education Funding College for England is responsible for monitoring universities compliance with their new legal duty to prevent extremism.
It has given most institutions until today to submit the policies and procedures they will use to achieve this.
Any university which fails to comply can be referred to the Home Secre- tary, who has the power to order it to obey the law.
Campus chiefs today said they comply with the new law and are committed to protecting students from radicalisation while maintaining open debate.
A new east London pop-up cafe called London Eau is to sell water from the River Thames.
London Eau will offer a variety of flavours from the capitals river, including Limehouse, Lambeth and London Bridge, claiming to offer an exclusive opportunity to drink in the history of the city.
Launching on April 15 in an east London location to yet be confirmed, the start-up claims to offer nature and nutrients that really make up the character of our city.
Business founder Thomas Lafoulle, who was born in Paris but now lives in Shoreditch, said: if its that energising, creative boost you need, wed recommend Limehouse.
Water from the London Bridge range is probably more for when youre not quite feeling yourself and you need a classic little kick or buzz.
And if youre if need of something thatll make you feel calm and laidback, take some Lambeth.
Prices for the range start at 6.75 a glass, although London Eau assures the first 50 visitors to the cafe will be able to taste a sample for free before purchasing.
The business pledges to be ethical, says Mr Lafoulle, by swapping plastic bottles that often pollute the river for reusable glass jars.
He said: We dont just source our water locally we also think its important to take care of the local environment.
London Eau will also take an alternative approach to promoting its products, by advertising the pop-up with handmade posters and avoiding the tired and too obvious social media.
Mr Lafoulle says he was inspired by his younger sister Aprils drawing from a school trip of the capitals river.
In response to this story, Thames Water chief executive Martin Baggs said, "While we welcome the opening of market competition, we still consider Thames Water to be of far better quality and exceptional value."
Midday Update: Happy April Fools' Day! Did you fall for any of these stories today?
This video was filmed at the Artisan Gluten Free Bakery in Islington.
T he Law giveth, and the Law taketh away. Last night it was announced that Doughty Street barrister Martha Spurrier will be putting her wig and Ede & Ravenscroft gown into storage and replacing the outgoing Shami Chakrabarti as director of civil liberties council Liberty. But what would Shami do next? Replace the Spurrier-shaped hole left in the legal profession.
Yesterday legal news website The Lawyer announced Chakrabartis next step: she will join 39 Essex Chambers as a door tenant, a barrister who will work from premises beyond the chambers themselves. The chambers is also home to Justine Thornton QC and wife of Ed Miliband.
The move marks something of a homecoming for Chakrabarti, who completed her pupillage there way back in 1994. She left to work as a barrister for the Home Office in 1996, before heading to Liberty in 2001, but announced her resignation earlier this year. She promised to stay until a replacement was found, and with Spurriers start date now pencilled in for May, she can now step down from the institution where her work has earned her the moniker as the most dangerous woman in Britain. Before she was dethroned by Nicola Sturgeon, that is.
It is a pleasure and privilege to return to where I learned my law and began my career, says Shami in a statement sent out by the chambers. Lawyers face unfair attacks but a chambers that produces advocates on both sides of vital disputes and so many senior judges well represents the Rule of Law.
Legal Cheek has already raised its online eyebrows: 39 Essex Chambers is known more for working with high-net worth corporations rather than on civil rights.
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Mark Carney may be known for being a silver fox as well as Governor of the Bank of England but it turns out that he also has a great sense of humour and style. Reporting from Blackstones John Studzinskis 60th birthday in Venice, the FT revealed that he had made a special speech on the first night. Carney surprised the crowd by appearing in bohemian gypsy attire. The Londoner does encourage readers with pictures to get in touch.
Cross-Channel political carousel is a blur
French newspapers have called Jeremy Corbyn a retired teacher who loves Hezbollah, socialism and grandad jumpers but what do our neighbours make of his politics? Speaking to the Jewish Chronicle, Frances most famous philosopher exposed his theory on how politics on both sides of the Channel mirror each other.
Jeremy Corbyn is hard to imagine in France, Bernard-Henri Levy said. Twenty years ago we had a lot of Corbyns and you had Tony Blair. Now its the reverse. Blair is [French PM] Manuel Valls, and you have Corbyn. Who could Francois Hollande be? Well-meaning but clumsy and not liked enough ... whats French for Neil Kinnock?
Is three mileage in a cerebral Bond?
To the Century Club on Shaftesbury Avenue last night for the launch of Curtain Call, a collection of behind-the-scenes photographs from the West End put together by photographer Matt Humphrey and actor John Schwab. Some of Londons favourite thespians arrived last night to raise a glass: David Suchet, nominated for an Olivier Award for playing Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest, and Guys and Dolls actress Sophie Thompson were in an ebulliant mood, as was sharp-cheekboned actor Ed Stoppard, pictured, son of playwright Sir Tom Stoppard.
Ed recently starred in Home Fires, a drama which paled in comparison to other saucier shows now offered in the primetime slot. There was a time when Sunday was a holy day, he laughed, but those days are gone. God, what night is there not sex on TV? In the age of Kim Kardashian you cant get too exercised about two consenting adults having sex.
That said, he considers the possibility of bedding a few Bond girls as beyond his dramatic reach. Im 5ft 9in, Jewish, I dont do my own stunts, Im short-sighted in my right eye and I dont look that good in a tux. But, he adds, they could go for a more cerebral Bond, where instead of punching people and shoving them he would bore them into submission with anecdotes. Then I could be in with a chance.
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We dont do April Fools we abide by the noon cut-off but that doesnt stop people sending in ideas. Back Heathrow sent one claiming archaeologists had found a giant chalk elephant figure in the hills near Gatwick, along the lines of the Wiltshire white horses. Perhaps Gatwick should find a pterodactyl nest on their site, showing its always been a major flying hub?
Small sizes are everything
Farewell to Ronnie Corbett, who passed away yesterday. Tributes have poured in from the world of showbusiness but he will be particularly missed by Jermyn Street tailors New & Lingwood.
He always came to us for socks and shoes because we always carry a size six-and-a-half in store, a spokesman for the shop said yesterday. He liked a chestnut loafer, with a colourful sock, and he loved our cashmere jumpers in orange or yellow or green: never anything dowdy.
Corbetts size, however, made buying suits difficult. He wouldnt have bought off the rack, always bespoke, the rep said. Hed be very amusing about how hard he was to fit suits for, a one-time employee added. Which was true: making cubed-shaped suits was tricky.
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Modern retelling of the day: to celebrate April Fools, the Paris Metro has temporarily renamed the Telegraphe station #TWEET.
M illions of UK workers will today receive a pay rise today as the Governments new national living wage of 7.20 comes into force.
Unions welcomed the new hourly rate for adults over 25 - increasing by 50p from 6.70 - but said it was not fair that younger workers were missing out.
Business groups warned that firms' paybills would rise.
The Government's aim is to increase the rate to 9 an hour by 2020, which would affect an estimated nine million workers.
Research by the Resolution Foundation found that one in seven workers in London are set to benefit, while in the Midlands, Wales and Yorkshire and the Humber that figure rises to one in four employees.
What it means for you Only those aged 25 and over will benefit. The lower rate of 6.70 will still apply to workers aged 21-25. Four and a half million people are set to receive boosted pay packets in 2016 thanks to the change, according to the Resolution Foundation. But just one in seven Londoners will benefit, compared to one in four in areas such as the Midlands and Wales. This is because the cost of living in the capital means many are already better paid than elsewhere in the UK. Unemployment is expected to rise by 60,000 nationwide over the next four years as employers are forced to make savings to pay for the wage hike, according to the independent Office for Budget Responsibility. Workers paid cash in hand, such as the self-employed, will rely on good will of employers to match the rate. The new wage is separate from the voluntary London Living Wage, which is set at 9.40 an hour by the Living Wage Foundation. Some employers in the capital already pay this higher rate.
The Government said the new rate will mean a 900 cash increase for a full-time worker on the current national minimum wage.
Chancellor George Osborne said: "The national living wage will play a central role in moving Britain to a higher wage, lower tax, lower welfare economy.
"It will also mark the end of the gender pay gap for some of our lowest paid and hardest working people."But Labours Owen Smith, shadow work and pensions secretary, said it was cruel sleight of hand to introduce a living wage at the same time as making cuts to benefits such as tax credits.
"While this higher minimum wage for the over-25s is welcome, it will feel like an act of deception for the two million families set to lose 1,600 a year through cuts to in-work support, he said.
TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said: "Britain desperately needs a pay rise, and this increase is good news for those aged 25 or older.
"But the Government must ensure that younger workers are not left behind. 21-24-year-olds will not be seeing an increase [on Friday]. This is not fair.
Helen Barnard, head of analysis at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, welcomed the living wage as an important step towards a high-wage, low-welfare economy.
"However, on its own it won't do a great deal for poverty, she said.
That's partly because many workers with low hourly pay live in households with quite high overall incomes.
The British Chamber of Commerce warned the move would lead to a rise in companies pay bills, while the Confederation of British Industrys Josh Hardie said: "Companies are committed to raising prosperity and living standards, but for wage increases to be sustainable they must go hand-in-hand with productivity growth.
Around 2,300 employers have already signed up to the higher voluntary living wage of 9.40 an hour in London and 8.25 for the rest of the UK.
Katherine Chapman, director of the Living Wage Foundation said: "Today's new legal minimum is an important step forward in tackling low pay in the UK. The landscape on low pay has shifted. This is down to the employers we work with who have over the past 10 years voluntarily chosen to pay beyond the minimum wage rates set by Government.
D avid Camerons flagship strategy to stop Britons becoming extremists suffered an embarrassing blow today as research reveals only a tiny percentage of people think it is working.
The Prevent policy is a key part of the Governments counter-terrorism efforts, with teachers, lecturers, social workers, prison officers and NHS managers under a legal obligation to report signs of radicalisation.
However, the poll found just four per cent of the public believe current measures are effective, while 19 per cent had no idea the Government even had an anti-radicalisation strategy.
BMG Research statisticians were so surprised by the findings that they ran the poll twice to check them. Director Dr Michael Turner said: The Government is clearly doing a poor job communicating any progress of its strategy to the wider public.
Ministers revamped the Prevent programme last year, introducing the new duty to tackle extremism on all state bodies, including schools.
Bella Sankey, director of policy for human rights group Liberty, said the poll was a damning indictment of Prevent, which she branded clumsy and offensive. She said: The Government has had no qualms dismissing the valid concerns of human rights campaigners, teachers and religious groups, but the British public will prove harder to brush off.
Shadow home secretary Andy Burnham said the Governments approach was clumsy at best and highly divisive at worst.
He added: This is the biggest challenge of our times but [the BMG poll] shows that the Prime Minister is failing to rise to it. He said Prevent needs a wholesale rethink.
BMG polled 1,511 adults, of whom 55 per cent did not think anti-radicalisation efforts were working. It follows a call by the UKs terror watchdog for an independent review of Prevent.
Security minister John Hayes said more than 400,000 people have been trained to recognise the signs of radicalisation. On top of this, there have been more than 4,000 referrals, with hundreds of people at risk of being drawn into terrorism accepting voluntary support.
C ontroversial politician and Celebrity Big Brother housemate Winston McKenzie has been barred from standing in the Mayoral election because he missed the deadline to file his paperwork.
The former boxer, who has stood twice in the past as a parliamentary candidate for Ukip and also ran for Ukip party leader, was hoping to stand as the English Democrat candidate for mayor.
Mr McKenzie - has previously been a member of the Labour Party, Liberal Democrats, and the Conservative Party - left Ukip of his own accord to join the English Democrats last year.
However, officials confirmed today that Mr McKenzie's named would not be on the official ballot as his nomination papers were not properly completed before the deadline.
The 62-year-old, from Croydon, also submitted paperwork that was invalid, as it contained signatures that also appeared on other candidates' nomination ballot papers, London Elects said.
A spokeswoman for London Elects added: "The nominations process for Mayor of London candidates opened on March 21 and closed at 4pm on March 31.
"London Elects encouraged all prospective candidates to contact them within good time to discuss the process and to give advice on the paperwork required. This was made very clear to all who had shown an interest in the nominations process.
"The English Democrats prospective candidate for Mayor of London, Winston McKenzie, met with London Elects for the first time at 13.45 on March 31 2016. At that time, the paperwork was incomplete.
London Mayor Election 2016: Peter Whittle
"Mr McKenzie was given the opportunity to resolve matters by the 4pm legal deadline.
"Mr McKenzie and his agent did not submit all the paperwork by the 4pm deadline. Upon inspection, the incomplete forms contained errors which would have invalidated the nomination - in the form of duplicate signatures from other candidates nomination papers.
"Electoral law is explicit and the rules must be applied in all cases."
An English Democrats spokesman said: "The hurdles to stand in the London Mayoralty have deliberately been made more difficult than for any other elected position in the whole country.
"This has been done by the British political establishment deliberately to frustrate democracy and to maintain their grip on power.
"To stand the cost is phenomenal at 20,000 and the form filling is a daunting task for those whose campaign coffers are not filled by big business or big donors. Three-hundred-and-thirty electors' signatures have to be collected, 10 from each of the 33 London boroughs and if even one of those is a duplicate then a candidate will be prevented from standing."
Mr McKenzie added: "Just like another Winston said in sterner times I also say 'We shall never surrender'. I shall fight on because Englands Cause is too important to be given up whatever the hurdles that must be overcome!"
A boy was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after discovering on television that his Paratrooper father had been killed by the Taliban.
Lance Corporal Tommy Brown, who was serving with a special forces unit, died in a bomb blast in Helmand in 2009.
His wife tried to keep the news secret to spare their son, now 11, but he found out while watching a TV report on Christmas Eve.
Lance Corporal Browns widow told The Sun: I remember him crying saying, Can Santa bring my daddy back, I dont want any presents, I just want my daddy.
He was treated by NHS child mental health teams and the family was helped by charity Scottys Little Soldiers.
T his picture has fuelled speculation a couple were caught having sex in a park in broad daylight.
The pair were captured by a shocked witness just yards from a childrens playground in Dartford, Kent.
The image sparked outrage when it was posted on Facebook with the caption: "Ew couple having sex in Dartford."
One Facebook user wrote: Someone should've chucked some cold water over them, things where obviously getting a little heated.
Someone should've called the police, they'd of come and arrested them.
Another posted: I would have gone over and had a right go and told them quite before I called police dirty scum bags have respect it's a kids park.
A Kent Police spokesman told the Standard officers were not aware of the incident.
B ritish people are on course to the fattest in Europe as new research showed almost two fifths of us will be obese within 10 years.
Analysis by Imperial College London published in The Lancet medical journal showed that, by the year 2025, 38 per cent of women and men will be considered obese if current trends continue.
It means Britain will have Europe's highest proportion of fat women and the joint most fat men, alongside Lithuania and Ireland.
Health experts have warned the rates can only be addressed with action from Government, including policies like the sugar tax.
Professor Neena Modi, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said: "These results are a stark reminder to Government of the work that still must be done to combat obesity.
"This is an international problem, and worldwide joined-up thinking is needed to make progress.
"The UK can be a world leader in tackling obesity and the Government's upcoming Children's Obesity Strategy provides a good opportunity to be that leader.
"The recent announcement of a sugar tax is a welcome start. We look forward to seeing a rigorous evaluation of its impact so that other countries can benefit from this excellent UK example."
Global figures showed there were 641 million people classified as obese in 2014, up from just 105 million in 1975.
If that upward trend continues, 21 per cent of the world's women and 18 per cent of men will be obese by 2025. By the same year, 6 per cent of men and 9 per cent of women will be severely obese, putting their health at risk.
China had the largest number of obese people in the world - 43.2 million men and 46.4 million women. The US had the second highest figure.
By contrast, in southern Asia, almost a quarter of the population were still underweight, and in central and east Africa more than 15 per cent of men and 12 per cent of women weighed too little.
Professor Majid Ezzati, who led the research based on pooled data from almost 1,700 population studies and 186 countries, said: "Over the past 40 years, we have changed from a world in which underweight prevalence was more than double that of obesity, to one in which more people are obese than underweight.
"If present trends continue, not only will the world not meet the obesity target of halting the rise in the prevalence of obesity at its 2010 level by 2025, but more women will be severely obese than underweight by 2025.
"To avoid an epidemic of severe obesity, new policies that can slow down and stop the worldwide increase in body weight must be implemented quickly and rigorously evaluated, including smart food policies and improved health-care training."
Additional reporting by the Press Association.
S herlock Holmes actor Douglas Wilmer has died at the age of 96.
The actor, who donned the famous deerstalker and picked up the clay pipe in the 1960s, died in hospital in Ipswich on Thursday after suffering from pneumonia.
His death was confirmed by the Sherlock Holmes Society of London.
Spokesman Roger Johnson said: He was a great actor, he was a gentleman, he had had a long and distinguished career.
Aside from his starring role as the fictional detective, Mr Wilmer was best known as a supporting actor.
Writer and actor Mark Gatiss, who portrays Sherlocks older brother Mycroft in the BBC series, paid tribute by sharing a photograph of himself with Mr Wilmer on Twitter.
He wrote: An honour to have known dear Douglas Wilmer. A Sherlock for all seasons.The work was something, the man was all. RIP"
Mr Wilmer first appeared as Sherlock Holmes in 1964, with Nigel Stock as his Watson.
He was replaced in the lead by Peter Cushing but retained affection for Sherlock throughout his career.
He also had parts in Jason And The Argonauts, Patton, and The Golden Voyage Of Sinbad, during his career across film and television.
F irefighters tonight tackled two fires at Winchester prison.
Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service said it had sent four fire engines to the category B prison just after 8pm on Friday.
According to reports, crews extinguished two "small fires" in two cells and no-one was injured.
A crew manager of Winchester fire station told the Daily Echo: "It was two small fires in two different cells, a person started one of the small fires while we were there.
"There were no injuries and everyone was fine and we cleared out the smoke."
Firefighters have now left the scene.
T his huge stockpile of poached ivory will soon become the single biggest haul ever to be burned.
On April 30, in a ceremony organised by the Kenyan government, the 105 tonnes of tusks currently under round-the-block armed guard in Nairobi will go up in flames.
It will follow The Giants Club Summit, a historic gathering of African heads of state dedicated to averting the elephant poaching crisis, and it signals Kenyas commitment to ending the blight of poaching.
The countrys environment secretary, Professor Judi Wakhungu, said, Kenya is once again boldly leading the way by demonstrating ivory must be put beyond economic use by burning our entire stockpile.
[The burn] is evidence of our zero tolerance approach towards poaching and illegal wildlife trade. Kenyas wildlife is a major contributor to not only our economic wealth but also our national pride and heritage. The time to ensure its preservation is now.
Last year, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta burned 15 tonnes of tusks in what was considered to be the largest such destruction of ivory the 10ft pyre was reduced to ash over several days. This months burning will be seven times bigger.
The plight of African elephants is growing ever more severe. In the past three years 100,000 have been killed by poachers. Proceeds from the illegal wildlife trade support other criminal activities, armed conflict and terrorism. Rangers have been killed and injured in their hundreds trying to protect animals from poachers, and experts have warned that if current rates of decline continue extinction could be only decades away for Africas elephants.
The burning questions When was the first ivory burn? In 1989 President Daniel arap Moi of Kenya burned 12 tonnes of ivory in Nairobi National Park, telling the press I appeal to people all over the world to stop buying ivory. Why burn ivory? Apart from the powerful symbolism of seeing large stockpiles go up in flames, burning has become more popular because it is expensive to guard them. Ivory worth millions must be kept in secure facilities with 24-hour guards, seen as a burden by many countries. But doesnt burning increase the value of ivory in circulation? Some experts have argued that taking ivory out of circulation reduces supply, and risks making trafficking and poaching more lucrative. Detractors of the method say it has had negligible impact on the illegal trade. Is there any empirical evidence of the effects of burning? There is little empirical evidence. Most advocates talk instead of sending out a message. They believe getting rid of state-owned stockpiles removes any reason for poachers, traders, speculators and consumers to believe the legal ivory trade will be reinstated. What are the practical challenges of burning ivory? It is surprisingly difficult prolonged exposure to extremely high temperatures is needed to ensure total destruction. It can take up to a week for a large pyre to be reduced to ash. For this reason, some countries, notably the US and the Philippines, favour crushing as a method of disposal.
The Giants Club Summit was an-nounced by Mr Kenyatta in the Evening Standard in February. Conservationists, business leaders and celebrities will join heads of state at the meeting in Kenya on April 29 and 30. It is being hosted by Mr Kenyatta in partnership with wildlife charity Space for Giants, whose patron is the Standards proprietor Evgeny Lebedev. He said the gathering would achieve real progress in securing a future for Africas elephants.
National leaders invited to attend include the presidents of Liberia, Chad and Tanzania and the prime minister of Ethiopia. It will be the first time African heads of state will have met on African soil with the express purpose of saving their continents elephants.
They aim to find a lasting solution to the poaching crisis by agreeing frontline protection measures, boosting international agreements to combat the ivory trade and funding conservation efforts.
The Giants Club was founded by the presidents of Botswana, Gabon, Kenya and Uganda and is backed by the Standard. Its objective is to bring together business leaders, politicians and philanthropists to provide the political will and financial resources to secure Africas remaining elephant populations and the landscapes on which they depend.
'We must save these magnificent animals' - Evgeny Lebedev
Stacked unceremoniously in a strip-lit stock-room, its hard to fathom the wanton slaughter that this stockpile represents. For every pair of tusks, an elephant died a violent death, machine-gunned or poisoned by criminal gangs desperate for the fleeting riches ivory can bring.
Africas elephants face a perilous future. Tens of thousands are being killed every year. As Prince William recently warned, theres real danger our children and grandchildren will not know this magnificent creature in the wild unless we act now.
The Giants Club Summit answers the Princes call to action. Convened by the Kenyan government in partnership with Space For Giants, this historic gathering of business leaders, conservationists and heads of state will see real progress in securing a future for Africas elephants.
To underline its commitment to combating poaching, the Kenyan government will follow this momentous event with the biggest ivory burn ever staged. To burn ivory is to send a signal: never will the Kenyan state profit from this illegal trade. Never will it countenance the short-sighted robbery of Africas wildlife, identity and future economic prospects.
As President Kenyatta wrote in this paper, Kenya and Africa depend on natural resources for tourism and a stable economy. Africas elephants, it must be realised, are worth far more alive than dead. We preside over their destruction at our peril.
Evgeny Lebedev is proprietor of the Evening Standard
A n explosion rocked part of central Paris today, injuring up to five people, following an apparent gas leak at an apartment building.
Pictures on social media showed thick clouds of black smoke billowing into the air after the incident in the city's 6th arrondissement at around 12pm local time.
Local journalist Wiliam Molinie tweeted that five people may have been injured in the blast, including two firefighters.
French media reported the blast had ripped apart the upper floors of a building on Berite Street and was believed to have been caused by a gas stove.
It was claimed fire crews had been called to a blaze in a ground floor apartment before the blast.
One witness told Le Parisien newspaper: "Firefighters were there for an hour and a half trying to intervene in a nearby building to extinguish a fire on the ground floor, when a huge explosion vibrated the whole neighborhood.
"It's terrible I saw several firefighters taken away on stretchers."
A secutiy perimeter was set up around the damaged building, with images showing fire crews standing amid the debris.
A n Australian woman who was allegedly drugged and raped after a pub crawl in Seoul is involved in an extraordinary public battle with police in South Korea.
Airdre Mattner says she was attacked during a night out last September. She claims police were dismissive and failed to carry out tests. Police have claimed her story is one-sided.
Ms Mattner is trying to bring a lawsuit in Britain, where she believes her alleged attacker may live, and is raising money to help cover her legal costs, the BBC reported.
She said she attended a hospital with a police unit that specialised in sexual violence cases the day after the alleged incident in a district of Seoul popular with tourists because of its nightlife.
She says officers placed too much emphasis on the amount of alcohol she had consumed and the fact that she had gone out alone even though the pub crawl was an organised event.
Ms Mattner, who works in Japan as an English teacher, said she had only consumed three drinks and was not drunk when she started feeling strange. She believes her drink was spiked.
She said she remembers travelling in a taxi with a man and woke up naked in a hotel room.
The man she says raped her later tried to add her as a friend on Facebook.
Ms Mattner said she forwarded the mans photograph to police, but was told he was not a suspect as records showed he was not in South Korea at the time.
Translations of medical records seen by the BBC suggested DNA evidence was not collected, although the police officer who investigated the case disputed this, and denied that he had been unwilling to pursue the inquiry.
He said Ms Mattner had been unable to remember details of the attack and that a drug test came out as negative.
Ms Mattner said 16 other women had contacted her to share similar experiences in South Korea since she waived her right to anonymity and her case became known.
R epublicans desperate to stop Donald Trumps march to the partys nomination for president are counting on Tuesdays key primary to derail him.
The New York billionaire, who has attracted a storm of criticism over his U-turn on abortion, is having one of the worst weeks of his 2016 campaign.
He now faces a challenge in Wisconsin, a state already sceptical about his politics. A big loss for Mr Trump would cut his chances of securing the delegates he needs to clinch the nomination before Julys national convention.
It could also offer new hope to his leading rival, Ted Cruz, and outside groups that see Mr Trump as a threat to the future of the Republican Party. Texas senator Mr Cruz said: The choice Wisconsin makes is going to have repercussions for a long time to come.
Mr Trumps view is rosier: If we win Wisconsin, its pretty much over.
But almost nothing has gone right for the property mogul, 69, since the state stepped into the primary spotlight.
The trouble began on Tuesday, hours before his first campaign stop, when Wisconsins two-term governor, Scott Walker, threw his support behind Mr Cruz, 45. Later, Mr Trumps campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, was charged with assaulting a female reporter at a rally.
Then, Mr Trump was forced into a U-turn on an assertion that if abortion were illegal, there should be some form of punishment for women who have the procedure. His comments managed to unite both sides of the debate in opposition to his statement. Two groups backing Democrat Hillary Clinton, Planned Parenthood and Priorities USA, joined forces for an advert featuring his words, and calling him dangerous.
A week before the northern states primary, a poll run by Marquette University Law School showed Mr Trump lagging behind Mr Cruz by about 10 points a dramatic fall for the candidate who led in the same poll last month.
If Mr Cruz sweeps all the delegates in Wisconsin, Mr Trump will need to win 57 per cent of the remaining delegates in other states to collect the 1,237 he needs to clinch the nomination. So far, he has won 48 per cent of all delegates awarded.
Wisconsin offers 42 delegates. But its stature in Republican politics and its position on the calendar no other state votes until Mr Trumps home state of New York on April 19 have elevated its importance.
Frontrunner Mrs Clinton holds a formidable lead among delegates in Wisconsin but opponent Bernie Sanders hopes a series of victories in the west might turn into a springboard for a win there.
M ore than 10 years after playing God, Morgan Freeman has gone in search of him.
The actor, whose new television series explores the existence of God, has even picked a favourite faith Zoroastrianism.
Freeman, 78, looked into Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism and Islam while filming six-episode documentary series The Story of God for the National Geographic Channel. But he found himself most drawn to Zoroastrianism, the worlds oldest monotheistic religion, which was founded by the Iranian prophet Zoroaster 3,500 years ago.
The star, pictured, played God in 2003 film Bruce Almighty alongside Jim Carrey. He said: Zoroastrianism rests on three principles of existence: to have good thoughts, to say good words and to do good deeds. We all strive to live at that level. People outside that circle of existence we call criminals.
He visited nearly 20 cities in five continents for the series, including Rome where he tried and failed to interview Pope Francis. He said: We went to the Vatican but he [the Pope] happened not to be in Chambers at the time. That would have been a fascinating conversation, particularly with this Pope.
He said: I was not raised in religion. I was raised pretty much agnostic ... for me God exists. But why does God exist and what is God? We didnt answer that but we asked the questions.
Best TV dramas 2016 1 /38 Best TV dramas 2016 The Missing The addictive and twisty second series of the BBC's crime anthology series BBC/New Pictures/Robert Viglasky Dark Angel Joanne Froggatt stared as Victorian mass murderer Mary Ann Cotton in this ITV drama ITV Close to the Enemy Stephen Poliakoff's post-war drama thriller BBC/Little Island Pictures Ordinary Lies The BBC anthology drama returns with more twisted tales BBC/Red Productions/Adrian Rogers The Night Of Riz Ahmed stars in HBO's critically acclaimed crime mini-series HBO Cold Feet The classic ITV comedy-drama returns - and it's just as good as it ever was ITV Victoria ITV have given Poldark some stiff competition with this period drama about a young Queen Victoria ITV Poldark The BBC's hit drama returns with more brooding, and less naked scything BBC/Robert Viglasky One of Us The BBC kept everyone guessing with this claustrophobic four-part whodunit Ripper Street The fan-favourite Victorian police drama returned for Series 4 BBC/Tiger Aspect 2016/Bernard Walsh The Secret Agent Toby Jones led the cast in the BBC's Joseph Conrad adaptation BBC/World Productions/Mark Mainz/Matt Burlem The Living and the Dead The BBC's gothic romance debuted in full on iPlayer BBC Preacher AMC's adaptation of Garth Ennis' cult comic book is available week-by-week on Amazon Prime Amazon / AMC Versailles A raunchy royal romp around the court of King Louis XIV, spicing up Wednesdays on BBC Two Canal +/ BBC Locked Up The Spanish prison drama came to the UK thanks to Channel 4's Walter Presents series Channel 4 / Global Series Peaky Blinders The Birmingham-set gangster thriller was more popular than ever in its third series BBC/Caryn Mandabach Productions Ltd/Tiger Aspect/Robert Viglasky The A Word The BBC gave us a nuanced and emotional take on autism BBC/Fifty Fathoms Marcella Anna Friel stars in ITV's British take on the Scandi-noir thriller ITV Grantchester James Norton is back as the crime-solving vicar ITV / Lovely Day Stag The comedy-thriller from the team behind The Wrong Mans is both hilarious and chilling BBC/Des Willie/Hal Shinnie/Matt Burlem Vinyl Martin Scorsese and Mick Jagger present a glossy drama about the Seventies music industry HBO American Crime Story: The People vs OJ Simpson Cuba Gooding Jr leads an all-star cast in a dramatic re-telling of the 'trial of century' BBC/Fox Happy Valley Sarah Lancashire returned as Sgt Catherine Cawood for a second series of the gritty crime thriller BBC/Red Productions/Ben Blackall The X Files Mulder and Scully return for a brand new set of mysteries War and Peace The BBC's epic adaptation of the Russian literary classic BBC/Mitch Jenkins Call the Midwife The BBC period drama moved into the Sixties for Series 5 BBC/Neal Street Productions/Sophie Mutevelian Dickensian Charles Dickens' most famous characters collide in this historical soap BBC Jericho ITV's British western set in the wilds of Yorkshire Silent Witness The hugely popular detective drama returns for a 19th series
The Story Of God with Morgan Freeman, Sunday at 8pm on the National Geographic Channel.
A Gordon man intends to pursue a lawsuit against the Chadron American Legion post, according to documents provided to the Star-Herald.
Rudy Butch Stanko joined a Chadron man, Joseph Applegarth, in claiming that the American Legion Post 12 had violated his First Amendment rights when legion officials banned Applegarth from the Chadron post, notifying him via a letter. In a letter by an American Legion official, Darrell Marshal, of Chadron, stated that American Legion took issue with writings that Applegarth had published in Stankos newspaper, The Stampede, about veterans.
On March 2, Applegarth and Stanko filed a motion in Dawes County District Court seeking a temporary and permanent injunction against Marshal and the American Legion Post 12 and five unnamed defendants. The American Legion Post filed to have the case moved to U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska, where it is currently pending.
Stanko said that the letter implied that he had been banned from the facility for his political beliefs. However, an attorney for the American Legion post has said in filings that Stankos name does not appear on the letter, is not referenced and the letter was not intended for Stanko. The letter was personally sent to Applegarth at his home address, informing him that the American Legion had voted to ban him from the facility and would not use his services as a septic pumper. He also rents portable restrooms.
...That (banning Applegarth) is their right to choose and in no ways gives rise to the Plaintiffs having a claim against them under the Nebraska statute, American Legion attorney Amy Patras says in a brief to the court supporting a motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
The American Legion, legally known as Bill Dowling Post No. 12 American Legion Building Association, is a private, non-profit corporation, made up of private individuals and Stanko does not have a real claim and is not a real party to the lawsuit, Patras says in the motion to dismiss.
Applegarth filed a motion to dismiss his complaint in a letter to the court on March 24, which was received by the court on March 28.
Stanko has filed a motion to have the trial in the case moved to North Platte, indicating that all parties are from western Nebraska and asks that jurors be selected from the rural area where the violations occurred, and not from a metropolitan environment and in an environment alien to all parties. The filing was mailed on March 29. The case had been set for trial in December.
In an email, Patras said, We will continue to defend our Legion and its Commander as they have done nothing wrong. We would also like to thank everyone for their support.
Stanko has not replied, as of press time, to emails requesting comment.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Black Hills Health Care System (BHHCS) and the Veterans Upward Bound program at Western Nebraska Community College will host a Veterans Stand Down event on April 12 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The focus of Veterans Stand Down is to reach out to Veterans by connecting them to benefits, information and on-the-spot services. Services that will be provided are food, clothing, community housing referrals, medical treatment, readjustment counseling, dental screenings, free haircuts, employment and spiritual services to name a few.
The Nebraska Panhandle is fortunate to have so many organizations that can offer assistance, said WNCC Veterans Upward Bound Assistant Director and Military and Veterans Affairs Director Chris Wolf. This is a great opportunity for veterans of all ages to come and see what is available for them in the Panhandle. We will offer a free lunch from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and will have the VA Mobile Vets Center from Cheyenne VA Medical on site. We encourage all veterans to come and visit us.
Participants in the event will include: VetSET Nebraska, Bellevue University Military Service Center, Nebraska Department of Labor, SSVF, Nebraska National Guard, and Supportive Services for Veterans and Families.
Veterans Stand Down will be in the Harms Advanced Technology Center located at 2620 College Park in Scottsbluff. Guests are asked to use the south entrance of the building.
For more information about Veterans Stand Down contact Chris Wolf at wolfc@wncc.edu or at 308.635.6042.
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Friday, 01 April 2016 17:42:55 (GMT+3) | Istanbul
China 's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) has announced that it has imposed preliminary antidumping (AD) duty on grain-oriented flat rolled electrical steel (GOES) imports from Japan, South Korea and the European Union (EU). Accordingly, the preliminary antidumping duties range from 14.5 percent to 46.3 percent.
The MOC stated that the mentioned imports from Japan, South Korea and the EU caused substantial damage to the domestic industry.
The products subject to preliminary AD duty currently fall under Customs Tariff Statistics Position Numbers 7225.11.00 and 7226.11.00.
The Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC), the executive body of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) which includes Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia and Armenia, has announced that it has decided to impose antidumping (AD) duty on rebar imports from Ukraine
Friday, 01 April 2016 16:55:16 (GMT+3) | Shanghai
During the week ending April, pre-painted galvanized iron (PPGI) quotations in the Chinese domestic market have moved on an uptrend, while transaction activity has been at decent levels. Average PPGI prices in the local Chinese market are presented in the following table.
During the given week, PPGI inventories held by most traders have been at relatively low levels, resulting in higher prices for PPGI products. Some traders have also said that rising costs for PPGI production constitute another factor contributing to higher prices. It is thought that PPGI prices in the Chinese domestic market will likely move sideways in the coming week as market players will be more cautious when increased PPGI supply starts to arrive in the market.
Product name Spec. Category City Steel plant/origin Price (RMB/mt) Price ($/mt) Weekly change (RMB/mt) Thick color coated coils 0.476 mm x 1,000 x C CGCC Shanghai NewDaZhong 5,500 850 0 Guangzhou Huamei 4,900 757 50 Boxing Guanzhou 4,000 618 0 Average - 4,800 742 16 Thin color coated coils 0.426 mm x 1,000 x C CGCC Shanghai NewDaZhong 5,750 889 0 Guangzhou Huamei 5,000 773 50 Average - 5,375 831 25
17 percent VAT is included in all prices and all prices are ex-warehouse.
$1 = RMB 6.47
Friday, 01 April 2016 12:09:38 (GMT+3) | Istanbul
Inquiries for Turkish merchant bar in the export markets have increased slightly, while actual demand for Turkish merchant bar exports is still at low levels. During the past two weeks, export offers from Turkish merchant bar producers have remained unchanged and are currently at the levels given in the table. However, in the coming period Turkish producers are expected to increase their merchant bar export prices in line with higher costs caused by the rises seen in import scrap and billet quotations this week.
Product Price ($/mt) Angle 430-440 IPN-UPN 440-450 Flat bar 450-460 IPE 440-450
All prices are on FOB basis and for April shipment.
Anbang Insurance Group Co.'s unexpected withdrawal this week of its $14 billion offer to acquire Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. is a wider blow to the unprecedented drive by Chinese companies to acquire North American and European assets.
From semiconductors and industrial equipment, to financial services and real estate, China's insatiable appetite for Western companies has pushed the country's outbound cross-border M&A to $101.1 billion year-to-date, nearly surpassing the full-year record of $109.5 billion set last year.
Yet Anbang's abrupt move, which came after Starwood said on Monday that the Chinese insurer's latest offer was "reasonably likely" to be superior to a cash-and-stock deal with Marriott International Inc., added fuel to concerns that many Chinese companies may not be able to deliver on their acquisition expectations.
"To succeed in the U.S., Chinese companies will have to adapt to American styles of governance and transparency. It will be difficult to close mega deals without a more open style, so we may see more modest deals until China changes," said Erik Gordon, a professor at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business.
To be sure, the largest M&A deal of this year thus far globally is by a Chinese company: China National Chemical Corp.'s agreement to acquire Swiss seeds and pesticides group Syngenta for $43 billion.
Several Chinese companies, however, are having trouble convincing Western peers that they are a credible M&A counterparty.
Earlier this week, for example, U.S. gene-sequencing products maker Affymetrix Inc. rejected an offer by some of its former executives that was financed by a Chinese investment firm, even though they offered more money than an existing deal with Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., on the basis of financing and regulatory risks.
Fairchild Semiconductor International Inc. said in February it had rejected an acquisition offer from China Resources Microelectronics Ltd and Hua Capital Management Co. Ltd., citing concerns over the U.S. approval process. Instead, it went ahead with a deal to sell itself to U.S. peer ON Semiconductor for $2.4 billion.
Anbang's case could make corporate boards in the United States and Europe more skeptical about the ability and motives of Chinese buyers, investment bankers and lawyers said.
'THEY TOLD US WHAT THEY TOLD THE MARKET'
Starwood had declared Anbang's previous $78 per share cash offer superior to Marriott's on March 18. This meant that Starwood deemed it to be fully financed, and that it expected it to clear the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, an interagency panel that reviews deals to ensure they do not harm national security.
Marriott, however, raised its bid on March 21, and Starwood responded with a new $82.75 bid disclosed on March 28. Anbang was expected to firm up that offer in order for Starwood to deem it superior.
Anbang said on Thursday that it withdrew its offer due to "market considerations," without elaborating. One of Anbang's private equity partners, Primavera Capital Ltd chairman Fred Hu, said Anbang walked away to avoid a protracted bidding war, even though Marriott had not disclosed a higher offer.
"We have little independent insight into what happened, but based on what Starwood has told us, Anbang did not deliver the same kinds of undertakings or arrangements that would have allowed the Starwood board to conclude that they were credible at $82.75," Marriott Chief Executive Arne Sorenson told investors and analysts on a conference call.
Anbang became concerned that Starwood had no intention of declaring its latest offer superior and was stalling for time for Marriott to come in with a new offer, according a source close to Anbang's consortium.
Sources close to Starwood, however, said Anbang did not deliver the assurances on financing its latest offer it had said it would on Monday, and had since had no communication with Starwood until its withdrawal on Thursday.
Chinese financial magazine Caixin reported last month that China's insurance regulator would likely reject a bid by Anbang to buy Starwood, since it would put the insurer's offshore assets above a 15-percent threshold for overseas investments.
"(Anbang) told us what they told the market, (that their withdrawal was due to) the market considerations," Starwood Chief Executive Thomas Mangas told the same conference call.
Defending Starwood decision to declare Anbang's first bid as superior, Mangas said he had found both Anbang and its chairman Wu Xiaohu to be "very credible."
"They moved mountains to persuade our board. They moved quickly and were incredibly shrewd in how they worked with us to get a deal done quickly," Mangas said.
CUPERTINO, Calif. Apple turned 40 on Friday, and it's a very different company from the audacious startup that Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak launched in a Silicon Valley garage in 1976.
Today, the maker of iPhones and Mac computers is the world's most valuable public corporation, with 100,000 employees and a new, multi-billion dollar headquarters in Cupertino, California, set to open next year. But despite its astounding financials Apple reported $53 billion in profit on $233 billion in sales last year some critics have suggested Apple's best years are behind it, as it has struggled to come up with new products and match the phenomenal success it has had in recent years.
Not surprisingly, longtime employees like software vice president Guy "Bud" Tribble disagree.
"We still think we're going to change the world," said Tribble, one of a half-dozen Apple staffers selected by the company to briefly reminisce with reporters this week. Tribble started with Apple in 1980 and worked on the original Macintosh team. He added: "We had no idea back then that Apple would grow to the size that it is."
The company now boasts that more than 1 billion Apple devices iPods, iPhones, iPads, Macs and Apple Watches are in regular use around the world. Those products are widely admired and imitated. But Apple depends on the iPhone for two-thirds of its revenue. And after selling a record number of iPhones last year, analysts say sales are leveling off and may even decline this year.
As it enters middle age, Apple may find it difficult to maintain its leadership in the industry. Some experts say it's getting harder to come up with new advances to distinguish Apple's products from those of its competitors.
"Apple is still as good as it used to be, but everyone else has gotten better than they used to be," said James McQuivey, a tech analyst with Forrester Research.
He cited longtime rival Microsoft, once viewed as an industry laggard, but now credited with pioneering tablet computers with detachable keyboards a category even Apple is embracing with the business-oriented iPad Pro. By contrast, he noted, Apple's latest iPhone is a downsized version of earlier models.
Longtime staffers said Apple still has the zeal to create revolutionary products.
"We've done this more times than anybody else," said Greg Joswiak, a 30-year employee and vice president for product marketing. He listed the iPod, iPhone, iPad, iTunes and the company's online App Store, the new Apple Watch and recent initiatives to create new health-tracking and medical-research apps for the iPhone and Watch.
Apple is widely believed to be exploring new businesses, from electric cars to virtual reality, but analysts say developing products in those categories could take years.
"We want to go into new industries ... and really challenge the status quo," said Divya Nag, a former medical researcher and entrepreneur hired in 2014 to work on Apple's health projects. Always secretive about specific plans, Apple declined to provide Nag's job title. Her resume shows a track record of helping win FDA approval for new medical inventions.
Apple's growth hasn't been smooth. Jobs was forced out in the 1990s, leading to a revolving door for chief executives until he returned in 1997, as the company he co-founded was on the brink of collapse. "There was a time when you were worried about keeping engineers here," said Cheryl Thomas, a vice president for software engineering who joined Apple in 1989.
And in 2000, when the dot-com bubble burst, Joswiak said Jobs refused to cut spending when competitors were tightening their belts. Joswiak said Jobs pledged to "invest in ourselves more than ever before. We then suffered through 11 straight quarters" of dismal financial returns.
Jobs' death from cancer in 2011 led to the elevation of current CEO Tim Cook, who's intense but softer spoken. Trimble credits Cook with maintaining Apple's focus on quality products, even as Cook has taken his own path in running the company.
Far more than Jobs, Cook uses his prominence to speak out on social issues, from global warming to civil rights and individual privacy. He recently challenged the U.S. government in a high-stakes legal dispute over an encrypted iPhone used by an extremist killer. While that drew criticism from top Justice Department officials and GOP presidential contender Donald Trump, Joswiak said he was proud of Apple for taking what he considers a principled stand.
Apple remains one of the most sought-after brands. BAV Consulting, a firm that tracks brand reputation, said that after reaching a low in 2001, just before the iPod came out, Apple is now in the top 1 percent of American brands. And it's in the top 2 percent of brands "being worth paying more for" which means it can get away with charging more for its products, according to BAV.
Even at 40, the company hasn't lost its passion, Thomas said. She said she wanted to work there since seeing the famous 1984 Macintosh commercial, in which a young woman hurls a hammer at the giant image of a Big Brother figure.
The idea of joining what was then a tech upstart didn't sit well with her father, a career IBM scientist, who advised Thomas: "You need to think with your head and not your heart."
But Thomas said: "I thought with my heart."
WASHINGTON A problem that has prevented Boeing Co.'s KC-46A tanker aircraft from transferring fuel to a C-17 transport plane may delay a Pentagon decision approving low-rate production of the new tanker in May, the U.S. Air Force said on Thursday.
"We don't yet know the schedule impact to the planned May Milestone C decision, but the problem is well understood and we don't expect an extended delay," said Air Force spokesman Daryl Mayer.
Mayer said the issue arose during testing of the refueling boom that is used to transfer fuel from the 767-based tanker aircraft to a C-17 transport plane, also built by Boeing.
The issue marks another setback for the Boeing program, which has run into delays due to wiring issues and other problems. However the program's projected cost dropped by $3.5 billion to $48.2 billion in a Pentagon report to Congress.
Mayer said the Boeing and Air Force flight test team recorded higher-than-expected boom axial loads during testing of the tanker's ability to offload fuel to a C-17 cargo plane.
Boeing spokesman Todd Blecher said Boeing was looking at ways to resolve the issue.
"We expected to find items like this in development test and we are evaluating system changes to improve boom response. Over the coming weeks, we will have a better understanding of program impacts, if any," Blecher said.
Boeing and the Air Force expect to know about a possible delay in the Pentagon's low-rate production decision after the company tests its proposed fix for the issue in mid-April, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The company must also still refuel an A-10 aircraft. It has successfully refueled F-16, F/A-18 and AV-8B fighter jets, and has been refueled itself by a KC-10 tanker during the testing required to begin low-rate production.
Boeing and Air Force officials say they still expect Boeing to meet its August 2017 delivery date for the first 18 refueling planes, despite a report by the Pentagon's Contract Management Agency which said Boeing may miss that date by seven months.
A revised schedule for the program included in the Pentagon's annual weapons report foresees a six-month delay in combat testing of the new aircraft to April 2017, and a six-month delay in the full-rate production decision to March 2018.
The report also said Israel had requested pricing for four, six or eight KC-46A tankers in September, and the Air Force responded to the request in December.
TUPELO, Miss. The remaining 185 stores of Hancock Fabrics will close, bringing an end to the fabrics and crafts retailer that was founded in Tupelo in 1957.
On Thursday, the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reported the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware approved the sale of the stores to Great American Group, which had offered about $65 million for the company's assets.
Great American was deemed to have the "highest and best" offer by the court.
The store closures will begin soon, and procedures have been put in place, allowing their liquidation to begin as soon as possible.
"To maximize the value of the purchased assets, and to reduce the amount of post-debtor-in-possession financing borne by the debtors, it is essential that the sale occur within the time constraints set forth in the agency agreement, as extended by the bid procedures order. Time is of the essence in consummating the sale," the order said.
Great American already had begun the process of closing 70 stores identified as under-performing locations by Hancock, which filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in early February. Those 70 stores included locations in St. Peters and Fairview Heights. Two other area stores, in Kirkwood and Hazelwood, will be affected by the latest closings.
Hancock and its creditors had hoped to attract a bidder that would keep the company running, but were unable to do so.
Great American, which had helped Hancock liquidate more than 170 stores during Hancock's 2007 Chapter 11 reorganization, had provided a backup bid.
The store closing sales will include merchandise as well as furniture, fixtures and equipment. Great American is allowed to abandon any site in "broom-clean" condition after the liquidation sales period.
In addition, Great American is authorized to advertise the liquidation sales as a "going out of business," ''store closing," ''sale on everything," ''everything must go" or similar-themed sale, the court said.
Great American also will have the final say on which Hancock employees it will keep to help with the store closings. The court order says they will remain Hancock employees, but if Great American decides not to use an employee, it must give Hancock a seven-day notice.
Prior to its Chapter 11 filing in February, Hancock employed about 4,500 people at its stores.
Great American also will pay retention bonuses to key employees, up to 10 percent of base salary, who don't voluntarily leave or are terminated for cause.
A former boardinghouse in St. Louis that played a role in the birth of the countrys largest electrical union is being transformed into a $6 million museum by local members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
In 1891, lineman Henry Miller and other St. Louisans unsatisfied with high mortality rates and low pay for electrical workers formed a national labor union known as the National Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, said the IBEWs spokesman Mark Brueggenjohann.
The union that ultimately became the IBEW is now based in Washington and has 725,000 active and retired workers.
The whole idea of the IBEW was started in St. Louis, Brueggenjohann said.
Miller was living at the brick boardinghouse, at 2728 Franklin Avenue (now Martin Luther King Drive), just west of downtown, where the unions founding 10 delegates met and held their first convention.
Within the first year under Millers leadership as president, locals were chartered in Chicago, Philadelphia, New York, and other cities. Miller died in a work-related accident in 1896.
IBEW Local 1, which has 4,800 active members in St. Louis and 2,000 retirees, last year bought the building for $53,680. Construction is underway to create a replica of Millers room on the second floor and a bar on the ground level. The bar, built from wood taken from the buildings floor joists, will allow electricians to have a beer on the same spot the unions founders met.
Pride in their trade and remembering the history of their union drove the museum project.
Well be able to walk on the same floors and touch the walls where it all started, said Tim Murray, a Local 1 business representative.
On an adjacent lot, a Founders Park will soon be added with 10 utility poles. Lights will illuminate statutes of linemen on each of the poles representing the unions founders. To pay for the project, electricians from around the U.S. and Canada are donating funds to have personalized bricks or granite benches added in the park with their name or local union.
On Thursday, workers were scraping off old mortar from bricks taken from elsewhere in the building that will replace a facade added in the 1920s thats being removed.
While the project is preserving some old materials, the interior is being wired with modern features, including LED lighting that will serve as a showcase for electricians work, said supervisor Dale Roth of Sachs Electric, the projects general contractor.
Other contractors working on the renovation include Miller & Maack General Contractors, mechanical contractor Murphy Co., St. Charles Brick Co. and B & K Tuckpointing Co.
Construction is slated to be completed in September when thousands of IBEW delegates meet in St. Louis for the unions convention commemorating its 125th anniversary. When completed, the museum will be open to the public for tours.
Members of IBEW Local 1 first became aware of the building three years ago and dug up archival documents confirming Millers address. The building had been vacant for years.
Local 1s business manager Frank Jacobs said its lucky the building survived, since neighboring buildings on the block, which is in the JeffVanderLou neighborhood, have since been torn down.
There are not a lot of preserved buildings nearby, Jacobs said. Were very fortunate to have this piece of our history available to be preserved.
The union plans to use the property for meetings and events for its local members and retirees and for union electricians from around the country to visit.
The International Brotherhood has a lot of members who travel across the country both for work and vacations and they can make this a stopping point, Jacobs said.
Electricians from around the country have already begun stopping by the construction site to take a look. Floor support beams that will later be covered show dozens of signatures from IBEW workers who visited the property in recent months, including Marc Flynn from Local 40 in California, and a bumper sticker from Local 1439 in St. Louis that reads: We keep the lights on.
Tuesdays municipal elections across Missouri are being conducted in an ethics-free zone.
That is to say that the body that is supposed to monitor candidates spending and actions to make sure they dont run afoul of the law is unable to do its job.
Its been that way since March 15 when the terms of three members of the Missouri Ethics Commission ended. The ethics commission is unique among boards and commissions in the state in that commissioners cant serve beyond their term. There are six commissioners on the Missouri Ethics Commission and by law, four of them are needed to hold meetings and take action.
With only three members, it cant do its job.
In a state such as Missouri, where there are few ethics laws anyway, and where the Missouri Legislature seems unwilling to pass tougher laws to police itself, that may not seem like a big deal. But this is what it means:
Nobody is watching how campaign money is being spent before Tuesdays elections. Well, actually, people are watching, but those who might think they have seen wrongdoing have no place to turn.
To the extent there are any cases that come under a specific deadline, those cases would essentially go away, said James Klahr, executive director of the ethics commission.
People who call the commission inquiring about filing a complaint regarding the April 5 election are being told not to bother. Theres nothing the commission can do.
Think the school board crossed the line in supporting a bond issue increase? Or the council member running for re-election is stealing somebody elses signs? Want the state to follow the money going to questionable committees or find out what happened to those reports that arent filed on time? Or what about the $2 million Rex Sinquefield is spending to defeat the earnings taxes in St. Louis and Kansas City? Want the ethics police to watch for shenanigans?
Too bad.
So who is to blame for this anomaly?
Much of the blame must fall to Gov. Jay Nixon. The governor appoints commissioners to the ethics commission, and Nixon didnt nominate any replacements for the outgoing commissioners until March 14, the day before three members terms expired. Even if the Senate were in the mood to act quickly, there would have been a lapse in the ethics commissions ability to do its job.
As it happened, the Senate went on spring break shortly after Nixon appointed two people to the commission. The nominees will need approval of the gubernatorial appointments committee and then the full Senate. Senate president pro tem Ron Richard, R-Joplin, is the chairman of the appointments committee and he hasnt scheduled the proposed ethics commissioners for a vote. The earliest that could happen would come too late to hear any complaints about the April 5 election.
Were hopeful that the Senate will act on the two pending nominations expeditiously, said Nixon spokesman Scott Holste.
A spokesman for Richard said that once he became aware of the lack of a quorum on the ethics commission, he made it clear that Nixons appointees would be moved through the Senate confirmation process quickly.
Of course, Richard alone cant guarantee that will happen.
This isnt the first time this has happened.
In 2006, when Gov. Matt Blunt was in charge, the ethics commission lost a quorum this same time of year, jeopardizing the ability to file and hear complaints on the April municipal elections then.
The lack of a quorum also means that if any candidate fails to file a personal financial disclosure as required by law the penalty is being knocked off the ballot he or she gets a pass.
The ethics commission is not open for business.
There is a certain poetry to this happening, this year in particular.
In response to the moral failings of some of its members, and embarrassing coverage about lawmakers taking advantage of freebies from lobbyists, Speaker of the House Todd Richardson, R-Poplar Bluff, promised swift action on ethics legislation this year. The House, indeed, passed a few bills. One of them would stop future lawmakers from maintaining campaign accounts after they leave office, and from putting money in those campaign accounts into high-interest investments, as former speaker-turned-lobbyist Steve Tilley has done. Its a good idea. But in perfect Missouri Legislative form: It is written in such a way that is has zero effect on the one guy Tilley who inspired it. The House passed a cooling off period before lawmakers could become lobbyists, as Congress has. The Senate killed it.
Neither body even considered addressing the real ethical scourge in the state: unlimited campaign donations with no transparency requirements.
So, the ethics bills languish in the Senate, and even if they move, their effect will be minimal.
Missouri remains the Wild, Wild West of ethics laws in the country, the only state in the nation with this unholy triumvirate: no limit on gifts between lobbyists and lawmakers, no waiting period for lawmakers to become lobbyists, and no limit on the amount of money individuals or corporations can give to people running for office.
Now its also, quite possibly, the only state in the nation with an ethics commission unable to do its job.
ST. LOUIS The Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, ruled Tuesday that a disabled grandmother from Bonne Terre should be taken off probation and relieved of any outstanding fees and costs associated with her drug and forgery cases.
After pleading guilty to the crimes in 2011, Linda Parrott, 56, was put on probation for five years. A St. Francois County court ordered her to pay $5,500 in restitution and a $10,000 board bill for spending 232 days in the St. Francois County Jail, as well as other costs.
Circuit Court Judge Sandra Martinez revoked Parrotts probation for failure to pay the tab in full by June 2015.
There was no way she was going to be able to pay all that, said Parrotts public defender, Ryan Martin. The amount is way too much for the amount she makes.
The three-judge panel of the state appeals court agreed with that argument.
It appears (Parrott) could be placed on a never-ending merry-go-round of having her probation revoked and being placed on a new term of probation until these amounts are paid, Appeals Court Judge Sherri B. Sullivan wrote in her ruling. Of course, that is not permitted by Missouri law.
Judges Mary Kathryn Hoff and Robert G. Dowd Jr. concurred.
According to the ruling, Parrott said she was supporting two granddaughters in her care on a monthly income of $724 in disability checks. More than 40 percent of her income over the four-year repayment period in question would have been needed to satisfy it.
Still, a repayment plan of $125 a month was set up with the court. Though Parrott missed several monthly payments, a fee report mentioned in the ruling indicated that she satisfied every one of those missed payments, generally in the weeks or months afterwards.
But the repayment plan was never on target since it was drafted.
The establishment and continuation of this arrangement suggest (Parrotts) probation violation and revocation was a foregone conclusion, Sullivan wrote.
In addition, the appeals court agreed with Parrotts argument that Judge Martinez no longer had jurisdiction to revoke Parrotts probation because she should no longer be on it, due to accrued earned compliance credits for good behavior.
Of particular concern here is (Judge Martinezs) assertion that a probationer cannot earn compliance credits if she owes outstanding restitution or court costs, regardless of payment conditions ordered, Sullivan wrote.
(The judges) position effectively bars indigent probationers from obtaining statutory credits available to more affluent probationers.
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.
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Fayre customers Sean Edwards and his wife Suzi with David Owen and Jude Bowley from the Shakespeare Hospice.
Visitors to Stratford Antiques and Interiors (SA&I) were treated to a nostalgic trip back in time last week as the business hosted a vintage fayre in aid of the Shakespeare Hospice.
Around 700 people turned up during the event on Friday and Saturday, raising an impressive 2595 for the charity.
There was much to keep people occupied at the fayre with a range of stalls specialising in antiques, traditional sweets, architectural salvage and painted furniture.
There were also family-friendly performances from international burlesque performer Missy Malone, who showcased her balloon pop act and Britains leading pin-up model Kitten Von Mew, who performed a classic fan dance and did 1940s singing.
Adorabell, a local glamping business, provided a glamourous area for the performers to get changed in their bell tent.
Children were entertained with a colouring competition and Easter treasure hunt, while Budgens in Bidford donated a range of Easter treats for the day.
Claire Frame, who organised the fayre on behalf of the owners of Stratford Antiques and Interiors, Richard and Zoe Biggs, said: We certainly got a lot of good feedback from the businesses and visitors. This is the first event we have planned and its the first that Stratford Antiques and Interiors has hosted, I think overall it was a success.
Friday was definitely a better day because of the weather and I think we raised a good amount for the hospice.
A spokesperson for the Shakespeare Hospice said: Were really pleased with how the event went and that so many people came out to support it.
Transaction Reduces Citi Holdings Assets by $2.5 Billion
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Citigroup announced today that a subsidiary of Swiss Re Life & Health America Inc. (Swiss Re), replaced Prime Reinsurance Company, Inc. (Prime Re) as Primerica Life Insurance Companys reinsurer on a coinsurance agreement covering a block of term life insurance policies that were in force on December 18, 2009. The transaction closed today and resulted in a reduction of approximately $2.5 billion of assets from Citi Holdings balance sheet. Prime Re, a subsidiary of Citigroup Inc., is reported by Citigroup as a part of Citi Holdings, which consists of businesses and portfolios of assets that Citigroup has determined are not central to its core franchise.
The coinsurance agreement represented the majority of Citigroups remaining reinsurance activities with Primerica, Inc. (Primerica) following Primericas initial public offering and ultimate separation from Citigroup. Following the transaction, Primerica Life Insurance Company will continue to conduct business with Prime Re and certain other Citigroup affiliated reinsurers on other reinsurance agreements executed prior to Primericas IPO.
Swiss Re Americas President and CEO J. Eric Smith said, This transaction underscores Swiss Res continued commitment to strengthening our relationship with Primerica. We look forward to extending our business partnership with Primerica and Citigroup.
Primerica CFO Alison Rand said, We are delighted to expand our relationship with Swiss Re in an arrangement that affords us substantially the same or better protections and collateralization as our prior reinsurance transaction with Prime Re and Citi.
Citi Holdings CEO Francesco Vanni dArchirafi said, This transaction represents another key step for Citi Holdings. We appreciate our long-standing productive relationship with Primerica and Swiss Re.
Since its creation, Citigroup has reduced assets in Citi Holdings by more than $700 billion. As of December 31, 2015, Citi Holdings assets represented approximately 4 percent of total Citigroup assets, down from a peak of about 40 percent.
Citigroups Institutional Clients Group advised Citigroup on this transaction. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP served as legal advisor to Citigroup. DLA Piper LLP (US) served as legal advisor to Primerica.
About Citi
Citi, the leading global bank, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management.
Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com | Twitter: @Citi | YouTube: www.youtube.com/citi | Blog: http://blog.citigroup.com | Facebook: www.facebook.com/citi | LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/citi
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160331006575/en/
Citi
Media:
Jennifer Lowney, 212-793-3141
or
Investors:
Susan Kendall, 212-559-2718
or
Fixed Income Investors:
Peter Kapp, 212-559-5091
Source: Citigroup
ATLANTA, April 1, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, more than 300 local, state, and federal government officials; health experts; and non-government partners are gathering at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to prepare for the likelihood of mosquito-borne transmission of the Zika virus in some parts of the continental United States. The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, and American Samoa already are experiencing active Zika transmission.
Hosted by CDC, the one-day Zika Action Plan Summit brings together officials from local, state and federal jurisdictions, as well as non-government organizations, to help ensure a coordinated response to the mosquito-borne illness linked to the devastating birth defect microcephaly. The summit aims to identify gaps in readiness and provide technical support to states in the development of Zika action plans that will allow their jurisdictions to effectively prepare for and respond to active Zika transmission they may experience.
"The mosquitoes that carry Zika virus are already active in U.S. territories, hundreds of travelers with Zika have already returned to the continental U.S., and we could well see clusters of Zika virus in the continental U.S. in the coming months. Urgent action is needed, especially to minimize the risk of exposure during pregnancy," said CDC Director Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. "Everyone has a role to play. With federal support, state and local leaders and their community partners will develop a comprehensive action plan to fight Zika in their communities."
Summit attendees will hear the latest scientific knowledge about Zika, including implications for pregnant women and strategies for mosquito control. The meeting also includes opportunities to learn about best communications practices; identify possible gaps in preparedness and response at the federal, state, and local levels; and help begin to address those gaps, including through the refinement of draft Zika action plans. Representatives from state and local jurisdictions will meet with experts to get technical assistance and guidance on their Zika action plans.
"The Administration is coordinating a whole-of-government effort to ensure that we are taking all available steps to prepare for Zika and work together with state, local, tribal, and territorial officials to protect Americans," said Amy Pope, J.D., White House Deputy Homeland Security Advisor and Deputy Assistant to the President. "That's why President Obama has requested $1.9 billion to prepare for, detect, and respond to any potential Zika outbreaks here at home, and limit the spread in other countries."
Presenters will include CDC experts on Zika's risk to pregnant women and their fetuses, identification and diagnosis of Zika, mosquito control, and what local and state leaders can do. Representatives from Florida, New York City, Texas, and Puerto Rico will discuss state and local response to other mosquito-borne diseases, including chikungunya, dengue, and West Nile virus.
Also today, CDC released a Vital Signs report with information that reinforces previous CDC guidance and suggested actions that pregnant women and their partners can take to prevent Zika virus infection during pregnancy. The Vital Signs report describes what the U.S. government is doing, what state and local public health agencies and healthcare providers can do, and what can be done to prevent mosquito bites that potentially spread Zika. The report also includes an updated map of the U.S. with the latest available information on where the mosquitoes that can transmit the virus have been found.
Zika virus disease is caused by Zika virus that is spread to people primarily through the bite of infected Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes, though Aedes aegypti are more likely to spread Zika. Sexual transmission also has been documented. There is currently no vaccine or treatment for Zika. The most common symptoms of Zika are fever, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis (red eyes). In previous outbreaks, the illness has typically been mild with symptoms lasting for several days to a week after being bitten by an infected mosquito. However, mounting evidence links Zika virus infection in pregnant women with a serious birth defect of the brain called microcephaly. Zika also has been linked to Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS), an uncommon sickness of the nervous system in which a person's immune system damages the nerve cells, causing muscle weakness and sometimes paralysis.
Portions of the Zika Action Plan Summit are available via live webcast. For more information about the webcast or summit, visit: http://www.cdc.gov/zap/index.html.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
CDC works 24/7 protecting America's health, safety and security. Whether diseases start at home or abroad, are curable or preventable, chronic or acute, stem from human error or deliberate attack, CDC is committed to respond to America's most pressing health challenges.
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SOURCE Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
NEW HAVEN, Conn., April 1, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A new television commercial from the Knights of Columbus began airing nationwide yesterday, highlighting the ongoing needs faced by Christian victims of genocide in the Middle East. Following, the State Department's recent designation that Christian and other religious minorities face genocide at the hands of ISIS, the U.S. has joined the international consensus on the issue.
However, the commercial points out that persecution and displacement have not abated and the victims remain in dire need of assistance. It quotes Secretary of State John Kerry's March 17 declaration that a genocide is taking place, and that ISIS is "killing Christians because they are Christians."
But as important as the declaration is, the Knights of Columbus makes clear in the ad that the real needs of the people there continue.
"The attacks continue," says the commercial's narrator. "Christians are still being kidnapped, killed and sold into slavery. Relief efforts are sorely needed your help is sorely needed."
The Knights' commercial concludes with an appeal by Father Douglas Bazi, who heads the Mar Elia refugee center in Kurdistan, and who was himself kidnapped and tortured by terrorists in Iraq. In the commercial, Fr. Bazi notes: "Genocide is an easy word compared to what's happened to my people." He then adds a plea to the viewers:" Help my people and save my people."
The Knights of Columbus began its Christian Refugee Relief Fund in 2014 to aid persecuted Christians and other religious minorities, especially those in Iraq and Syria. To date, nearly $10 million has been raised to provide housing, food, medical aid, education and general relief.
"While we applaud and welcome the genocide designation, it is now vital that we redouble our efforts to assist those who have faced this attempt at exterminating them. The survival of the individuals affected, and of Christianity as a whole in the region, depends in large measure on not turning away now, thinking that ISIS will soon conform to the norms of the international community," said Knights CEO Carl Anderson.
In addition to raising funds, the Knights of Columbus has worked to raise awareness of the persecution via engagement with the media and a petition drive urging the State Department to declare a genocide. The petition drew nearly 150,000 signatures in the days prior to Kerry's announcement.
His rationale for the designation reflected many of the points urged by the Knights and the group In Defense of Christians in its nearly 300-page report made public on March 10.
In testimony in December on Capitol Hill, Supreme Knight Anderson laid out the dangerous, genocidal conditions faced by Christians and others, even within UN refugee camps. Anderson also led a March 10 news conference along with religious leaders, scholars and other experts, pressing for the genocide designation. Four days later, he applauded the unanimous passage by the House of Representatives calling for the genocide declaration and later credited Secretary Kerry for reaching the same conclusion.
The Knights of Columbus is the world's largest Catholic fraternal organization, with nearly 1.9 million members worldwide, and it is one of the most active charitable organizations in the United States. The Knights set a new record for charitable giving in its last fraternal year with donations of more than $173.5 million and 71.5 million hours of service to charitable causes, much of it raised and donated by its more than 15,000 councils.
Additional information is available at www.christiansatrisk.org
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SOURCE Knights of Columbus
SEATTLE, WA -- (Marketwired) -- 04/01/16 -- Today, PayScale, Inc., the leader in cloud compensation data and software for businesses and individuals, released the Q1 2016 PayScale Index which tracks quarterly and annual trends in compensation and also provides a U.S. national wage forecast for the coming quarter. In the first quarter of 2015, U.S. annual wage growth was largely positive with growth for various industries ranging from 4.6 percent (transportation jobs) to -2.2 percent (marketing and advertising Jobs). However, overall wage growth was still tepid, as quarterly growth in Q1 was 0.2 percent and annual growth was 1.8 percent. The PayScale Index predicts wage growth in Q2 2016 will experience a slight downtick of -0.2 percent, resulting in annual wage growth of 2.0 percent.
"Most measures for Q1 2016 show positive wage growth across many industries and job families," said Katie Bardaro, Lead Economist at PayScale. "However, most of the data from the Q1 Index reports less than three percent annual wage growth which means, overall, wage growth for most jobs in the U.S. still remains relatively flat."
Key findings in the Q1 2016 PayScale Index
Tech centers experienced strong growth: Metros with a high prevalence of STEM workers performed well this quarter, with Seattle topping the list of metros for annual wage growth at 3.6 percent and quarterly wage growth of 1.8 percent. Other STEM heavy metros did well this quarter as well: Minneapolis had the second highest annual growth at 2.6 percent and San Francisco tied for third with 2.4 percent. Wage growth in these metros may be driven by an increase in the number of data-focused positions -- such as data scientists, data mining engineers or business intelligence analysts -- which have experienced very strong wage growth over the last few quarters.
Wages continue to rise for transportation jobs: Once again, transportation jobs topped the list for the highest annual wage growth at 4.6 percent; more than a full percentage higher than the next job family, installation, maintenance and repair jobs. Similarly, the transportation industry also had a strong quarter for annual wage growth at 2.4 percent.
Wages for mining, oil and gas exploration dipped in Q1: After some wage recovery in Q4 2015, wages once again fell in Q1 2016, dropping 1.8 percent from Q4 2015 for an annual decrease of 0.7 percent; the lowest of any industry. Being an oil city, Houston was at the bottom of the metro list for annual wage growth with 0.0 percent growth. In addition, quarterly wages in the city dropped by 1.4 percent, which was the lowest of any metro.
Highlights for U.S. metro wage growth include: The top five U.S. metro areas experiencing the most annual wage growth were: Seattle, WA (3.6 percent) Minneapolis, MN (2.6 percent) Detroit, MI (2.4 percent) San Francisco, CA (2.4 percent) Atlanta, GA (1.9 percent) The three U.S. metros experiencing the least growth in annual wages were: New York, NY (0.7 percent) Phoenix, AZ (0.6 percent) Houston, TX (0.0 percent)
Positive Canadian wage growth: Similar to the U.S., most measures showed annual positive wage growth in Canada. The exception was the oil city of Edmonton where quarterly wages fell 1.4 percent and annual wage growth was down 0.8 percent.
Flat wage growth in the United Kingdom: Quarterly wage growth in Q1 2016 experienced a slight increase of 0.1 percent, which resulted in annual wage growth of 1.8 percent. Wages in the U.K. grew by 9.9 percent since 2006, tied with the U.S. and lagging behind Canada (12.1 percent).
Wages still buy less today than in 2006: Real wages are down 6.5 percent since 2006, reflecting an improvement over the past three years during which real wages reached a low of more than 8 percent. PayScale real wages are calculated by analyzing nominal wage growth and the average change in price of a fixed basket of goods and services.
To view the entire interactive Q1 2016 PayScale Index which reflects wage trends across various industries, job categories, company sizes and major metros, please visit: http://www.payscale.com/payscale-index.
About The PayScale Index: The PayScale Index follows changes in total cash compensation for full-time, private industry employees in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. The PayScale Index also includes:
A forecast of the National U.S. PayScale Index for Q2 2016
A PayScale Real Wage Index, which tracks changes in wages adjusted for inflation since 2006
For more information on The PayScale Index, please visit the methodology and FAQ pages.
About PayScale: Cloud software, crowdsourced data and unique algorithms power the world's largest real-time database of rich salary profiles giving PayScale the unique ability to provide employees and employers alike immediate visibility into the right pay for any position. PayScale's cloud compensation software is used by more than 3,500 customers including Bloomberg BNA, Cummins, Warby Parker, Clemson University and Signature HealthCARE. For more information, please visit: www.payscale.com or follow PayScale on Twitter: http://twitter.com/payscale.
Press Contact: Phyllis McNeice Email: [email protected] Tel: 206-954-1481
Source: PayScale
GRAND CAYMAN, CAYMAN ISLANDS -- (Marketwired) -- 04/01/16 -- Tethys Petroleum Limited (TSX: TPL)(LSE: TPL) ("Tethys" or the "Company") announces the grant of options under the Company's Long-Term Stock Incentive Plan ("LTSIP").
Grant of options pursuant to the LTSIP
The Company announces in accordance with the provisions of DTR 3 that each of the persons set out below, each being a Person Discharging Managerial Responsibility ("PDMR") of the Company (and together representing all of the PDMRs of the Company for the purposes of DTR 3), has today been granted the following options over ordinary shares of US$0.10 each in the capital of the Company pursuant to the LTSIP:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- Number of ordinary shares over which Exercise Name of options price PDMR granted (GBP) Vesting Expiry date --------------------------------------------------------------------------- John Bell 2,362,500 2.5p Date of completion of The fifth anniversary the Placing of the date of ------------------------------ completion of the David 433,125 2.5p Placing, or the tenth Henderson anniversary of the ------------------------------ date of grant (if James 433,125 2.5p earlier). Rawls ------------------------------ David 433,125 2.5p Roberts --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Julian 1,968,750 2.5p One-third of the The fifth anniversary Hammond Shares over which it of the date of ------------------------------ was granted on the completion of the Clive 1,487,500 2.5p date of completion of Placing, or the tenth Oliver the Placing; One-third anniversary of the ------------------------------ of the shares on the date of grant (if Alexander 433,125 first anniversary of earlier). Abramov the date of completion ------------------------------ of placing; and One- William 433,125 2.5p third of the shares on Wells the second anniversary ------------------------------ of the date of Adeola 433,125 2.5p completion of placing. Ogunsemi ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
'Placing' is defined as a transaction where Olisol Petroleum Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Olisol Investments Limited, or such other investor, subscribes for such number which brings significant funding into the Company.
Where the price per Share at which the Placing occurs is higher than the Exercise Price set out above then the Exercise Price shall automatically be adjusted to the Placing price and in any event where the par value of a Share on the date of exercise of this Option is higher than the Exercise Price as set out above, the Exercise Price shall automatically be adjusted to such par value.
As a result of the above, the PDMRs hold options over the following (aggregate) numbers of ordinary shares of the Company:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name of PDMR Aggregate number of ordinary Percentage of total issued shares over which options ordinary shares of the granted Company ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- John Bell 4,712,500 1.3% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Julian Hammond 3,363,750 0.9% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Clive Oliver 2,427,500 0.6% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alexander Abramov 433,125 0.1% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- James Rawls 800,625 0.2% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- David Henderson 680,625 0.2% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Adeola Ogunsemi 433,125 0.1% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- David Roberts 680,625 0.2% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- William Wells 433,125 0.1% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contacts: Tethys Petroleum Limited Clive Oliver Corporate Secretary +44 207 821 6128 [email protected] www.tethyspetroleum.com
Source: Tethys Petroleum Limited
Multi Service Aviations MSA Pay app wins Monarch Innovation Award from Barlow Research
MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- MSA Pay, the first mobile payment app in the general aviation space, was named Most Innovative Product in the 2016 Monarch Innovation Awards, announced Friday. The tool from U.S. Bank Multi Service Aviation was honored by Barlow Research for uniqueness, value, stickiness, ease of use and wow factor, according to the Monarch judges.
This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160401005609/en/
Barlow created the Monarch Awards in 2007 to honor innovation in the financial services industry. The awards recognize financial institutions that provide the most innovative products to business customers and risk takers who promote innovation in their organizations.
The Monarch Awards are highly respected, due to their rigorous judging standards, said U.S. Bank Chief Innovation Officer Dominic Venturo. We are honored to receive this recognition for MSA Pay, which is bringing the efficiencies of paperless payment to business aviation pilots and their service providers.
Electronic invoicing via MSA Pay frees pilots to focus on passengers rather than paper work. Prior to landing, pilots can notify a fixed-base operator (FBO) of their arrival details and desired services, such as fuel, aircraft cleaning and catering. When services are complete and the plane is ready, the FBO notifies the pilot and sends an invoice. Once approved, the app emails a copy of the invoice to the pilot and to the pilots back office for final processing.
MSA Pays simple and secure paperless payment process grew directly from pilot feedback about what matters to them, said U.S. Bank Corporate Payment Systems President Jeff Jones. We are grateful to Barlow Research and to the Monarch judges for recognizing the creativity and customer insight applied by our team to bring this product to life.
The app is currently available for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch through the Apple App Store and will be added to Google Play later this year.
The U.S. Bank Multi Service Aviation Card has been a leading card for aviation fuel and related services for more than 30 years. The card runs on the closed-loop Multi Service Aviation merchant acceptance Network that reaches around the world. U.S. Bank Multi Service Aviation helps organizations pay for aviation-related services, leverage discount fuel contracts, manage monthly aviation expenses and pay invoices online from anywhere while providing merchants with flexible and comprehensive processing solutions. Find more information at usbpayment.com/aviation-solutions.
About U.S. Bank (www.usbank.com)Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp (USB), with $422 billion in assets as of December 31, 2015, is the parent company of U.S. Bank National Association, the fifth largest commercial bank in the United States. The Company operates 3,133 banking offices in 25 states and 4,936 ATMs and provides a comprehensive line of banking, investment, mortgage, trust and payment services products to consumers, businesses and institutions.
2016 U.S. Bank National Association. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160401005609/en/
U.S. Bank Corporate Communications
Bill Brady, 612-303-0731
[email protected]
or
Barlow Research
Emily Kaliska, 763-253-1817
[email protected]
Source: U.S. Bank
NEW YORK, April 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Eco Laundry Company has secured a landmark, world-first deal with the Mars One Mission, which will see it become the first laundry and dry cleaning business outside planet Earth.
The company's founder, CEO Phillipe Christodoulou, known to be an amateur space enthusiast, said he was "grateful to Mars Ones CEO and co-founder Bas Lansdorp for helping to make this epic dream a reality."
Rigorously selected members of The Eco Laundry Company team will begin training on April 1, 2017, alongside other astronauts from the Mars One Mission. Their duty will be to clean all clothing and bedding, as well as expertly deal with tough red dirt stains on the team's space suits.
Revolutionary 3D-printed technology will be used to build multiple industrial washing machines in the habitation module (hab), which will draw water from beneath the surface of the Martian soil, gently cleaning the garments utilizing USDA-certified organic soap, a freeze-dried powder version of what is currently used in the young and innovative company's Chelsea location in New York City.
The Eco Laundry Company will work with NASA to receive training on how to 3D-print and maintain the custom-designed machines in addition to undergoing all psychological and technical training from the Mars One Mission. "Doing the Laundry is stressful enough on the pale blue dot, but it's really going to be stressful on the red planet and our team need to be mentally prepared for a lifetime of donkey work", said Christodoulou.
"Here on Earth, our motto is Wash Pants, Save The World. It's going to be a lot of fun to be able to change it to Wash Pants, Save The Galaxy" said The Eco Laundry Company's President and Co-Owner, Jean Calleja.
In 2016, The Eco Laundry Company launched its franchise program in New York City and the tri-state area. "It's still mind blowing to think that in 2026 we will have a franchise on another planet" said Calleja. "It's really just out of this world".
Christodoulou said, "While we are thrilled to have been selected to go to Mars as "pioneers of eco-friendly laundry" from planet Earth, making sure that our cleaning crew arrive to the red planet safely is our number one priority."
"A lot of people are asking how such a young company could secure such a large scale and ambitious deal. The truth is that none of it would have been possible without the influence of my role model Sir Richard Branson, who was not only my inspiration to go after NASA and the Mars One Mission, but who has been an incredibly constant motivational force in my own entrepreneurial journey, even though he may not know it" said Christodoulou.
The Eco Laundry Company looks forward to celebrating April Fool's Day... in space!
Founded in 2010, The Eco Laundry Company is an eco-friendly laundry and dry cleaning company that believes in leaving a positive footprint in the world. Commitment to sustainability and environmental stewardship are built into the DNA of their business model. The world's first laundry company to be certified B Corporation, The Eco Laundry Company's wash-and-fold uses non-toxic, biodegradable products and energy efficient machines, and their dry cleaning process is a non-perchloroethylene (perc.) alternative to traditional dry cleaning. With locations in Buenos Aires, Argentina and New York City, The Eco Laundry Company has franchise opportunities available for qualified candidates.
Visit www.EcoLaundryCompany.com for more information.
Press Contact:
Ali Yen [email protected]
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160331/350300LOGO
To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/world-first-the-eco-laundry-company-secures-deal-to-establish-cleaning-services-on-mars-in-2026-300244614.html
SOURCE The Eco Laundry Company
BEIRUT (Reuters) - At least 23 people were killed and dozens wounded in Syrian government air strikes on a rebel-held suburb of Damascus on Thursday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said.
The strikes killed at least four children and some civil defense personnel in the town of Deir al-Asafir in Eastern Ghouta, where around 2,700 families live, the British-based Observatory said.
"All through the ceasefire clashes have continued in Eastern Ghouta and regime forces have advanced...they are now less than 2 km from the Deir al-Asafir area," Observatory director Rami Abdulrahman said. "They are trying to surround Deir al-Asafir."
A temporary truce introduced over a month ago has greatly reduced violence in Syria but it excludes groups such as Islamic State and the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front.
The eastern districts of Damascus are controlled by different factions, including rebel forces covered by the truce as well as Nusra Front.
The Observatory and rebel group Jaish al-Islam reported clashes between government forces and rebels and air strikes on the northeast edge of Damascus between Jobar and Douma on Wednesday.
"In Douma air strikes completely destroyed one of the town's mosques in a direct hit," a Jaish al-Islam statement said.
Jaish al-Islam is one of the biggest rebel factions fighting President Bashar al-Assad in western Syria and an influential member of the main Saudi-backed opposition council, the High Negotiations Committee.
(Reporting by Lisa Barrington; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
The corporate logo of financial firm Morgan Stanley is pictured on the company's world headquarters in the Manhattan borough of New York City, January 20, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Segar
By Jonathan Stempel
(Reuters) - The state of California sued Morgan Stanley on Friday, accusing the bank of hiding the risks of complex mortgage debt and other securities it sold, causing big losses for the state's public pension funds, CalPERS and CalSTRS.
Kamala Harris, the state attorney general, said Morgan Stanley concealed or downplayed the risks of toxic residential mortgage-backed securities and "structured investment vehicles" it marketed from 2004 to 2007, sometimes encouraging credit rating agencies to award unjustifiably high ratings.
She said the bank's conduct reflected "a culture of greed and deception" that fueled the 2008 financial crisis and caused the California Public Employees' Retirement System and California State Teachers Retirement System to lose hundreds of millions of dollars.
California accused Morgan Stanley of violating the state's False Claims Act and various state securities laws. It seeks a variety of damages plus civil fines. The lawsuit was filed in the state superior court in San Francisco.
Morgan Stanley said it believes the lawsuit has no merit.
"The securities at issue were marketed and sold to sophisticated institutional investors and their performance has been consistent with the sector as a whole," it said. "It is also worth noting that the alleged victim in this case elected not to pursue its own lawsuit against the firm."
CalPERS had previously recovered hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements with agencies such as McGraw Hill Financial Inc's Standard & Poor's and Moody's Corp's Moody's Investors Service over alleged inflated ratings.
Among the securities over which CalPERS sued was Cheyne, a structured investment vehicle that failed in 2007.
A large portion of Friday's lawsuit challenges Morgan Stanley's conduct in marketing the Cheyne SIV.
Shares of Morgan Stanley closed up 52 cents at $25.53 in Friday trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
The case is California v. Morgan Stanley et al, Superior Court of California, San Francisco County, No. CGC16-551238.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Dan Grebler)
Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s (TEPCO) tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is illuminated for decommissioning operation in the dusk in Okuma town, Fukushima prefecture, Japan, in this aerial view photo taken by Kyodo March 10, 2016, a day b
By Aaron Sheldrick and Osamu Tsukimori
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's utilities are reserving capacity for nuclear power on their grids even though all but two of the nation's reactors remain closed with little prospect of many others restarting, according to a Reuters survey.
The practice risks complicating the biggest overhaul in the history of Japan's power industry that starts on Friday and is based on outdated concepts for grids in an age of renewable energy and flexible electricity systems, critics say.
Japan has the technological capacity to handle the surge in renewable supplies like solar, which have been added since the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011 led to the closure of Japan's reactors.
Utilities argue renewable supplies are unreliable but experts say their transmission grids can accommodate both nuclear and increases in so-called green energy and both are needed to cut greenhouse emissions.
Nuclear units, along with hydroelectric dams and geothermal generation, has the highest ranking on the grid under what is known as "priority dispatch," meaning under normal conditions reactors are the last to be shut down when power demand falls as it fluctuates throughout the day.
Hydroelectric accounts for less than 10 percent of Japan's electricity supply and geothermal almost nothing, while nuclear contributed nearly a third before Fukushima but a tiny proportion now.
Tokyo Electric Power <9501.T>, the operator of the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, for example, is reserving grid capacity for its Fukushima Daini plant nearby. It sits close to the exclusion zone created by the radioactive fallout from the disaster and is widely forecast to be permanently closed.
"It is up to us to decide whether to scrap Fukushima Daini plant," said Tepco spokesman Kohji Sakakibara.
Capacity is held in reserve for all of the utilities' power plants, nuclear or otherwise, in case needed in periods of high demand, the companies said.
Utilities also argue that new capacity must be added on grids to accommodate significant new additions to power generation, such as large-scale wind farms and solar parks. But their critics say that lower cost technological innovations will overcome these issues.
"Electric power companies hindering use of existing transmission capacity drives up prices and the cost of power supply," said Tomas Kaberger, a professor of energy policy at Chalmers University in Sweden and chairman of billionaire Masayoshi Son's Japan Renewable Institute.
"If economic competition is to happen, this regulated dispatch should be replaced by a bid and ask spot-market solution," said Kaberger, who is also a former Director General of the Swedish Energy Agency.
The earthquake and tsunami of 2011 ended plans to make nuclear account for 50 percent of electricity supply.
Five years later, only two reactors out of 42 technically operable units are running and, after a court ordered shut down of another operating plant this month, the future has become even cloudier.
(This version of the story makes clear in first paragraph that only two of Japan's reactors are operating)
(Reporting by Aaron Sheldrick and Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Bill Tarrant)
Peru's presidential candidate Veronika Mendoza of 'Frente Amplio' party gives a speech during an event to introduce her team, in Lima, March 28, 2016. REUTERS/Mariana Bazo
By Mitra Taj and Teresa Cespedes
LIMA (Reuters) - A leftist congresswoman promising "radical change" and a new constitution to weaken the business elite has shaken up Peru's presidential race, previously seen as a shoo-in for a fifth straight conservative government.
Veronika Mendoza, 35, surged five points in a poll by Datum Internacional on Friday, putting her in a statistical dead-heat with investor-favorite Pedro Pablo Kuczynski for second place in the April 10 election.
Nine candidates - nearly all free-market advocates - have been vying for the coveted runner-up position behind the race's longtime favorite, 40-year-old Keiko Fujimori, who is not expected to secure the more than 50 percent of votes needed to win outright.
Fujimori, the daughter of imprisoned former President Alberto Fujimori, faces rising opposition that could make her vulnerable in an expected June runoff.
Kuczynski, a 77-year-old former World Bank economist, would likely "abstain" from endorsing either of the two women should they wind up facing one another in a second-round vote, his economic adviser Alfredo Thorne said by phone.
If elected, Mendoza would become Peru's first leftist president in decades, at a time when voters in other South American countries have turned their backs on an anti-capitalist tide led by late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
Peru is set to outpace China as the world's second biggest copper supplier this year as a batch of new mining projects power an economic recovery from a sharp slowdown in 2014.
Mendoza has promised to tighten environmental supervision of mining companies and would halt a scheduled lowering of the corporate tax rate. She has proposed ditching Peru's constitution for one that enshrines access to water as a right, protects the environment and weakens a "corrupt" business elite.
Her economic adviser, Pedro Francke, said she would name a new central bank president to lower interest rates and ask officials in the investor-friendly finance ministry to "pack their bags."
Her running mate, former priest Marco Arana, is best known in Peru for rallying opposition to two major mining projects that were derailed by protests in recent years.
"We want deep and true change, we want radical change," Mendoza said earlier this week.
But Mendoza has denied that she would govern in the mold of Venezuela and has called for a new Latin American left that envisions an active role for private investments.
SPOOKING MARKETS
Mendoza faces an uphill battle in Peru, where many are wary of upsetting a long stretch of robust economic fundamentals with unorthodox policies, just as the end of a decade-long mining boom complicates the country's growth outlook.
She was seen as 10 points behind center-right Fujimori if the two faced each other in a June runoff, according to Datum. Other recent polls showed a smaller gap.
If she did win, she would likely have a hard time pushing her reforms through a Congress that will likely be dominated by members of Fujimori's party.
Mendoza was the only leading candidate to climb in the Datum survey. Lima's select stock index closed 2.7 percent lower after the news and the sol currency dropped 1.3 percent before curbing its losses.
A Mendoza-Fujimori second-round scenario "would likely spook financial markets," said Franco Uccelli with J.P. Morgan.
Mendoza was trailing in polls a month ago and has been riding a wave of voter anger after two of Fujimori's rivals were thrown out of the race in a move that has cast a shadow over the legitimacy of this year's elections.
Many Peruvians believe Fujimori has been unfairly favored by the country's electoral authorities after they cleared her of vote-buying allegations.
Mendoza's surge was reminiscent of President Ollanta Humala's surprise rise leading up to 2011 elections, when he campaigned on promises to make sure more benefited from the country's vast mineral wealth. Humala's administration ends July 28 and he is constitutionally barred from seeking a second consecutive term.
About 14 percent of voters are still undecided in Peru, where casting a ballot is mandatory. The Datum survey, conducted March 28-30, had a margin of error of 2.5 percentage points.
(Reporting by Mitra Taj and Teresa Cespedes; Writing by Mitra Taj; Editing by W Simon and Alistair Bell)
European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs Pierre Moscovici speaks during a news conference with Portugal's Finance minister Mario Centeno (not pictured) in Lisbon, Portugal March 10, 2016. REUTERS/Rafael Marchante
By Sarah White and Carlos Ruano
MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's next government seems certain to be hamstrung by tough spending restrictions after the country missed its 2015 public deficit target by almost a full percentage point, far more than expected.
Months of fruitless coalition talks following inconclusive national elections in December have left it in political limbo, and on Thursday public finances also took a turn for the worse.
The deficit reached 5.16 percent of economic output, the acting treasury ministry said, well beyond the 4.2 percent target agreed with the European Commission and the 4.8 percent Brussels had forecast.
Economic Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said in a statement the data confirmed the EU executive's concerns about Spain's finances, which it would assess fully in May.
Spain's acting government is hoping to persuade Brussels it can get close to the 2016 deficit target of 2.8 percent via stricter controls on regional finances and by leveraging a strong economic recovery.
Acting Economy Minister Luis de Guindos told reporters in Paris that 2016's budget, passed last year by the center-right People's Party (PP), would not otherwise need amending.
But to hit the target, the next administration will have to find savings of around 25 billion euros this year, according to Reuters calculations, possibly in the form of unpopular tax hikes or social spending cuts.
Barclays said in a note it expected Spain's 2016 deficit to reach 3.8 percent, again one point wider than targeted.
"Whoever leads the next government will have to deal with the inescapable reality of further fiscal consolidation," added Antonio Barroso, economist at Teneo Intelligence.
"The Commission will probably be much more aggressive once a new administration is in place."
The unpromising state of coalition negotiations suggests that seems unlikely before a second national election takes place, probably in June.
LESS LEEWAY?
The 2015 miss also makes it harder for Spain to get leeway on the tough 2016 goal -- a stance advocated by parties currently in talks over forming a government including the Socialists, leftist Podemos ("We Can") and centrist Ciudadanos ("Citizens").
Caretaker Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy signaled in February he was also open to asking Europe for flexibility on the deficit target, and de Guindos did not rule out such a move on Thursday, saying the deficit miss opened up a period of discussion with the Commission.
"It's bad news," said Daniel Fuentes, economist at think tank AFI. "They'll get to Brussels... facing questions on whether they're making enough of an effort."
The miss is a blow for the acting PP government, perceived as the party with the firmest grasp on the economy, which assured voters in the run-up to the election Spain would come close to hitting the target.
Government finances were pushed over the limit by over-spending by regional governments, especially the eastern regions of Catalonia and Valencia, and one-off costs such as a national health bill to treat hepatitis C patients, Acting Treasury Minister Cristobal Montoro told a news conference.
Spain has whittled down the deficit since a financial crisis, after the PP wielded deep spending cuts. But the PP also brought in tax cuts before the election, and the government failed to keep within yearly limits established by Brussels throughout its term.
Including international financial aid from a 2012 banking bailout, the 2015 deficit came to 5.24 percent, confirming data from the National Statistics Institute.
(Additional reporting by Blanca Rodriguez; Writing by Sonya Dowsett; Editing by Julien Toyer and John Stonestreet)
MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Two people were killed and 15 others wounded when an explosion ripped through a mosque in the central Somalia region of Hiiraan during evening prayers on Thursday, police said.
Local residents and police said it was unlikely that militants would target a mosque and thought the blast in the central town of Beledweyne was probably an accident.
"We believe it was grenade that was accidentally dropped by those who were praying," a senior police officer, who gave his name only as Ibrahim, told Reuters from a police station near the scene.
Six people, including two Turkish nationals, were gunned down in the capital Mogadishu on Wednesday and a suicide bomber blew up an official in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland earlier on Thursday.
Beledweyne residents shared the view that the mosque blast was likely an accident.
"The mosque was not attacked but it was an accident. We have not seen mosques being attacked. If it was deliberate, all could be killed easily. There was no gunfire," said Ahmed Nur, a local elder.
Neither Somalia's al Shabaab militants nor any other group has claimed responsibility for the blast.
(Reporting by Abdi Sheikh and Feisal Omar; Writing by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Tom Heneghan)
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 6-K
REPORT OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER
PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-16 OR 15d-16 UNDER
THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the month of March, 2016
Commission File Number 001-34175
ECOPETROL S.A. (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter) N.A. (Translation of registrants name into English) COLOMBIA (Jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) Carrera 13 No. 36 24 BOGOTA D.C. COLOMBIA (Address of principal executive offices)
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F.
Form 20-F x Form 40-F
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1)
Yes No x
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7)
Yes No x
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the information contained in this form is also thereby furnishing the information to the Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Yes No x
If Yes is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to the registrant in connection with Rule 12g3-2(b): 82- N/A
ECOPETROL S.A. ANNOUNCE THE COMPOSITION OF ITS BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Ecopetrol S.A. (BVC: ECOPETROL; NYSE: EC) announces the composition of its Board of Directors as of March 31, 2016:
Representatives from the Government of Colombia:
Minister of Finance and Public Credit
Director of the National Planning Department
Independent representatives:
Gustavo Adolfo Carvajal Sinisterra
Jorge G. Pinzon Sanchez
Jaime Ardila Gomez
Carlos Cure Cure
Joaquin Moreno Uribe
Horacio Ferreira Rueda (representative from the hydrocarbons producing provinces)
Roberto Steiner Sampedro (representative of the minority shareholders)
Bogota, March 31, 2016
-----------------------------------------
Ecopetrol is the largest company in Colombia and is an integrated oil & gas company; it is among the top 50 oil companies in the world and among the four top ones in Latin America. Besides Colombia - where it generates over 60% of the national production - it has exploration and production activities in Brazil, Peru & the US (Gulf of Mexico). Ecopetrol owns the largest refinery in Colombia and most of the pipeline and multi-product pipeline network in the country, and is significantly increasing its participation in bio-fuels.
This release contains statements that may be considered forward looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934. All forward-looking statements, whether made in this release or in future filings or press releases or orally, address matters that involve risks and uncertainties, including in respect of the Companys prospects for growth and its ongoing access to capital to fund the Companys business plan, among others. Consequently, changes in the following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those included in the forward-looking statements: market prices of oil & gas, our exploration and production activities, market conditions, applicable regulations, the exchange rate, the Companys competitiveness and the performance of Colombias economy and industry, to mention a few. We do not intend, and do not assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
For further information, please contact:
Head of Corporate Finance and Investor Relations
Maria Catalina Escobar
Phone: (+571) 234 5190
E-mail: [email protected]
Media Relations (Colombia)
Jorge Mauricio Tellez
Phone: + 571-234-4329
E-mail: [email protected]
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
Ecopetrol S.A. By: /s/ Maria Fernanda Suarez Name: Maria Fernanda Suarez Title: Chief Financial Officer
Date: March 31, 2016
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION WASHINGTON, DC 20549 FORM 8-K CURRENT REPORT PURSUANT
TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 Date of report (Date of earliest event reported): March 31, 2016 IRON MOUNTAIN INCORPORATED (Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter) Delaware (State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation) 1-13045 23-2588479 (Commission File Number) (IRS Employer Identification No.) One Federal Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02110 (Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code) (617) 535-4766 (Registrants Telephone Number, Including Area Code) Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions: o Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425) o Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12) o Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b)) o Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))
Item 1.01. Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement On March 31, 2016, Iron Mountain Incorporated, or Iron Mountain, entered into an amendment, or the Amendment, to its Scheme Implementation Deed dated as of June 8, 2015, as amended, or the Recall Agreement, with Recall Holdings Limited, or Recall, pursuant to which Iron Mountain will acquire 100% of the issued share capital of Recall, or the Transaction, by way of a recommended court approved Scheme of Arrangement, or the Scheme. As a result of the Amendment, Iron Mountain has agreed to increase the threshold for sales, divestitures, holding separate or other dispositions of any assets of the records management business of Iron Mountain, Recall or any of their respective subsidiaries in the United States and Canada required to address antitrust concerns to $62 million in revenues during the twelve month period ended May 31, 2015. The above description of the Amendment is not complete and is subject to and qualified in its entirety by reference to the Recall Agreement, a copy of which is attached as Exhibit 2.1 to Iron Mountains Current Report on Form 8-K dated June 8, 2015, to the amendment to the Recall Agreement, a copy of which is attached as Exhibit 2.1 to Iron Mountains Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2015, and to the Amendment, a copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit 2.1, each of which is incorporated herein by reference. Item 7.01. Regulation FD Disclosure. On March 30, 2016 and March 31, 2016, Iron Mountain issued press releases announcing regulatory outcomes in the United States, Canada and Australia related to the Transaction and the associated changes to synergy and accretion assumptions. Iron Mountain also posted on its website an investor presentation that includes, among other matters, information relating to synergies and accretion, including Iron Mountains expanded growth plan, as well as updates to Iron Mountains 2016 guidance. Copies of the press releases are furnished as Exhibits 99.1 and 99.2 hereto and a copy of the investor presentation is furnished as Exhibit 99.3 hereto. In connection with the Transaction, the Federal Court of Sydney registry has ordered that a meeting of Recall shareholders to be held at 10:00 AM (Sydney, Australia time) on April 19, 2016 to consider and approve the Scheme and Recall will mail to Recall shareholders and has lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission a Supplementary Scheme Booklet relating to such meeting and the approval of the Scheme. Iron Mountain is furnishing the information described below which was provided to Recall shareholders in the Supplementary Scheme Booklet. If the Scheme is approved at the Recall shareholders meeting and the other conditions to closing the Transaction have been satisfied or waived, a hearing, or the Court Hearing, before the Federal Court of Australia, Sydney Registry, or the Federal Court, is expected to be held at 9:15 AM (Sydney, Australia time) on April 21, 2016. If the Scheme is approved by Recalls shareholders, but any conditions remain outstanding on the scheduled date for the Court Hearing (other than Federal Court approval of the Scheme), the Court Hearing will be held as soon as reasonably practicable after those conditions have been satisfied or waived. Assuming the Federal Court approves the Scheme, Iron Mountain expects to close the Transaction on May 2, 2016. Iron Mountain is furnishing with this Current Report on Form 8-K, or the Current Report, an unaudited pro forma consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2015, an unaudited pro forma consolidated statement of operations for the year ended December 31, 2015 and an unaudited pro forma consolidated statement of cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2015, each of which was included in the Supplementary Scheme Booklet. The unaudited pro forma consolidated balance sheet combines the consolidated balance sheets of Iron Mountain and Recall as of December 31, 2015 and gives effect to the Transaction as if it had been completed on December 31, 2015. The unaudited pro forma consolidated statement of operations and unaudited pro forma statement of cash flows combine the historical results of Iron Mountain and Recall for the twelve months ended December 31, 2015 and gives effect to the Transaction as if it occurred on January 1, 2015. As discussed below, Iron Mountain has undertaken to make the Divestments (as defined below). The unaudited pro forma consolidated financial statements do not include any impact regarding the Divestments. See below for further information about the Divestments. As previously disclosed, Iron Mountain, as part of the Transaction, sought regulatory approval of the Transaction from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, or the ACCC, the U.S. Department of Justice, or the DOJ, the Canada Competition Bureau, or the CCB, and the United Kingdom Competition and Markets Authority, or the CMA. As more fully described below, to address competition concerns raised by these regulators, Iron Mountain has agreed to divest portions of Recalls business in the United States, portions of both its and Recalls businesses in Canada and the majority of Iron Mountains records management business in Australia and to place Recalls entire business in the United Kingdom, or the UK, in a hold separate arrangement from the closing until the conclusion of the CMAs review, or the Divestments. 2
Divestments DOJ United States Divestment package On March 31, 2016, the DOJ announced its approval of the implementation of the Scheme, on the basis that the following divestments will be made by the combined company following implementation of the Scheme: Recalls records and information management facilities, including all associated tangible and intangible assets, in the following 13 U.S. cities: Buffalo, New York; Charlotte, North Carolina; Detroit, Michigan; Durham, North Carolina; Greenville/Spartanburg, South Carolina; Kansas City, Kansas/Missouri; Nashville, Tennessee; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Raleigh, North Carolina; Richmond, Virginia; San Antonio, Texas; Tulsa, Oklahoma; and San Diego, California, or collectively, the Initial U.S. Divestments; and Recalls records and information management facility in Seattle, Washington and certain of Recalls records and information management services facilities in Atlanta, Georgia, including in each case associated tangible and intangible assets, or collectively, the Seattle/Atlanta Divestments. The Initial U.S. Divestments and the Seattle/Atlanta Divestments, or collectively, the U.S. Divestments, will each be effected by way of a sale of the tangible and intangible assets associated with the relevant facilities, which include warehouse space as well as customer contracts. It is expected that Recall employees associated with the relevant facilities the subject of the U.S. Divestments will be offered continued employment on terms to be agreed with the relevant buyer. Sale Process DOJs approval of the implementation of the Scheme was granted on the basis that Iron Mountain agreed with the DOJ to (i) sell the assets subject of the Initial U.S. Divestments to a single buyer who has been approved by DOJ prior to the date of this Current Report, and (ii) to enter into a binding agreement and complete the Seattle/Atlanta Divestments following a set time from the receipt of DOJs approval of the implementation of the Scheme, unless extended by DOJ. In this regard, on March 31, 2016, Iron Mountain and Access CIG, LLC, a privately held provider of information management services throughout the United States, or Access CIG, entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement, or the Initial U.S. Agreement, pursuant to which Access CIG has agreed to acquire the Initial U.S. Divestments for approximately $80 million, subject to adjustments, or the Initial U.S. Sale. The Initial U.S. Agreement provides that, on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth therein, Access CIG will purchase the Initial U.S. Divestments. The Initial U.S. Sale is subject to customary closing conditions, and is expected to be completed shortly after the closing of the Transaction; though Iron Mountain can provide no assurances that the closing conditions will be satisfied and that the Initial U.S. Sale will close. In addition, Iron Mountain is in discussions with potential buyers for the Seattle/Atlanta Divestments. Management Pending Sale Iron Mountain and Recall have agreed to place the assets and employees subject of the U.S. Divestments in a hold separate arrangement from the date of the implementation of the Scheme, or the Implementation Date, until the U.S. Divestments are completed. Pursuant to DOJs approval, Iron Mountain and Recall are required to: Preserve, maintain, and continue to operate the assets subject of the U.S. Divestments as independent, ongoing, economically viable competitive businesses, with management, sales and operations of such 3
assets held entirely separate, distinct and apart from those of Iron Mountains other operations, and not be influenced by Iron Mountain. Use all reasonable efforts to maintain and increase the sales and revenues of the products or services produced by, provided from, or sold under assets subject of the U.S. Divestments. Provide sufficient working capital and lines and sources of credit to continue to maintain the assets subject of the U.S. Divestments. Not transfer or reassign Recalls employees with primary responsibility for the operation and management of the assets subject of the U.S. Divestments or the sale of records management services provided from the assets subject of the U.S. Divestments, except for transfer bids initiated by employees pursuant to Recalls regular, established job posting policy. Appoint, subject to DOJ approval, a person or persons to oversee the assets subject of the U.S. Divestments, and who will be responsible for Iron Mountain and Recalls compliance with this section. This person shall have complete managerial responsibility for the assets subject of the U.S. Divestments, subject to the provisions of DOJs approval. CMA United Kingdom Status of CMA Review On January 14, 2016, the CMA referred the Transaction for further investigation and report by a group of CMA panel members. The investigation and report would, among other things, determine whether the Transaction may be expected to result in a substantial lessening of competition within the relevant UK markets (which may include markets for records management services, off-site data protection services and ancillary services), or the CMA Review. The statutory deadline for completion of the CMA Review is June 29, 2016, with the provisional findings due in late April 2016. The CMA has not yet indicated whether, and if so what, remedies might be appropriate should the outcome of the CMA Review be a decision that the Transaction may be expected to result in a substantial lessening of competition within any of the relevant UK markets. Under the Enterprise Act 2002 (UK), the CMA has the power to order divestments in the UK by the combined company as an appropriate remedy. Those divestments may include the sale by the combined company of single facilities, the shares of subsidiaries that operate relevant assets or business units, or entire business units, including all associated assets and employees. The scope of any remedies ordered will depend on the geographic scope of any overlaps between the parties operations where the CMA considers there will be insufficient competition from third parties. As such, the final outcome of the CMA Review will not impact the ability of Iron Mountain and Recall to complete the implementation of the Scheme, but may impact the combined companys ongoing operations in the UK following implementation of the Scheme. As the CMA Review is ongoing, no definitive view can be given at this stage as to the outcome of the CMA Review and the scope and timing of any divestments that may be required by the CMA with respect to the combined companys UK business. Iron Mountain believes that the maximum scope of any required divestments by the combined company in the UK is unlikely to exceed operations and assets which generated 1% of the combined companys pro forma revenue for the year ended December 31, 2015. However, Iron Mountain remains confident that the CMA Review will result in divestments by the combined company in the UK significantly less than that estimated maximum. 4
Consent to Hold Separate On March 30, 2016, the CMA announced its conditional consent for the Scheme to be implemented prior to the CMAs issuance of its final decision following the CMA Review, or the CMA Consent. The completion of CMAs regulatory review of a transaction is often completed after the parties have completed the relevant transaction and, where appropriate, placed the UK business to be acquired in a hold separate arrangement agreed to by the CMA. Pursuant to the CMA Consent, Iron Mountain and Recall have agreed to place the entire Recall business located in the UK in a hold separate arrangement from or prior to the Implementation Date until the conclusion of the CMA Review (currently anticipated for June 29, 2016) and any subsequent period that might be required for the final implementation of any remedies that may be ordered by the CMA, or the Hold Separate Period. Pursuant to the CMA Consent, during the Hold Separate Period, Iron Mountain and Recall have agreed to preserve Recalls entire UK business as a separate and independent viable going concern, and to keep Recalls entire UK business operationally and financially separate from Iron Mountain. ACCC Australia Divestment Package On March 31, 2016, the ACCC announced that it will not oppose the Scheme, after accepting an undertaking from Iron Mountain pursuant to section 87B of the Australian Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth), or the ACCC Undertaking. Pursuant to the ACCC Undertaking, Iron Mountain will divest the majority of the operations of Iron Mountain Australia by way of a share sale, which effectively involves the sale of Iron Mountains Australian business other than its data management business throughout Australia and its records and information management and data management businesses in the Northern Territory of Australia, except in relation to customers who have holdings in other Australian states or territories. In this Current Report, Iron Mountains Australian businesses that are being divested and retained are referred to as the IRM Australia Divestment Business and the IRM Australia Retained Business, respectively. Pursuant to the ACCC Undertaking, Iron Mountain may only sell the IRM Australia Divestment Business to a person who is independent of the combined company and has been approved by the ACCC, or the Approved Purchaser. In addition, under the ACCC Undertaking, Iron Mountain must for a reasonable transitional period and at the option of the Approved Purchaser, ensure the continued supply by Iron Mountain to the Approved Purchaser of any services and technical assistance required by the Approved Purchaser in order for the Approved Purchaser to be established as a viable, effective, stand-alone, independent and long-term competitor in the markets for the supply of records and information management services in Australia or otherwise operate the IRM Australia Divestment Business. If the Approved Purchaser requires any such services or technical assistance, Iron Mountain will provide those services at cost under an agreement approved by the ACCC. Sale Process The ACCC Undertaking provides that Iron Mountain will sell the IRM Australia Divestment Business within a set period of time from the Implementation Date. If the sale of the IRM Australia Divestment Business is not completed within that period, Iron Mountain must appoint an independent sale agent approved by the ACCC to effect the sale of the IRM Australia Divestment Business. There is no minimum price at which the independent sale agent must sell the IRM Australia Divestment Business. As of the date of this Current Report, Iron Mountain has not yet selected a preferred purchaser of the IRM Australia Divestment Business. Once a preferred purchaser of the IRM Australia Divestment Business is identified, that preferred purchaser will be presented to the ACCC for its approval. 5
Management Pending Sale From the Implementation Date, and until the IRM Australia Divestment Business is sold to the Approved Purchaser, Iron Mountain will be required to preserve the IRM Australia Divestment Business as a separate and independently viable going concern. In addition, from the Implementation Date, and until the IRM Australia Divestment Business is sold to the Approved Purchaser, the IRM Australia Divestment Business will be managed by an independent manager selected by Iron Mountain and approved by the ACCC, or the Approved Independent Manager. During that period, the Approved Independent Manager will: have the sole authority to manage and operate the IRM Australia Divestment Business according to a separation and management plan approved by the ACCC; and be required to ensure that the IRM Australia Divestment Business is managed and operated in the ordinary course of business as a fully operational, competitive going concern and in such a way that preserves the economic viability, marketability, competitiveness and goodwill of the IRM Australia Divestment Business. Under the separation and management plan, the Approved Independent Manager will be required to separate the IRM Australia Divestment Business from the IRM Australia Retained Business (to the extent that this has not already occurred prior to the Implementation Date) and manage and operate the IRM Australia Divestment Business independently of Iron Mountain and the IRM Australia Retained Business. Any material changes to the IRM Australia Divestment Business made by the Approved Independent Manager will require the ACCCs prior approval. The Approved Independent Manager will have broad powers in performing its role, including the power to renew or replace upon expiration material contracts of the IRM Australia Divestment Business and to engage, redeploy or make redundant personnel employed by the IRM Australia Divestment Business as the Approved Independent Manager determines necessary. As of the date of this Current Report, Iron Mountain has not yet selected a preferred person to act as the independent manager of the IRM Australia Divestment Business. Iron Mountain intends to commence a process to select a preferred person to act as the independent manager of the IRM Australia Divestment Business prior to the implementation of the Scheme. Once that person is identified by Iron Mountain, they will be presented to the ACCC for its approval. Similarly, as of the date of this Current Report, Iron Mountain has not finalized a separation and management plan, and intends to commence discussions on those terms prior to implementation of the Scheme. Iron Mountain must also appoint an independent auditor to audit and report upon Iron Mountains compliance with the ACCC Undertaking. As of the date of this Current Report, Iron Mountain has not yet selected a preferred person to act as the independent auditor. Iron Mountain intends to commence a process to select a preferred person to act as the independent auditor prior to the implementation of the Scheme. Once that person is identified by Iron Mountain, they will be presented to the ACCC for its approval. CCB Canada Divestment Package On March 31, 2016, the CCB announced that it has approved the implementation of the Scheme on the basis of the registration of a Consent Agreement with Iron Mountain pursuant to sections 92 and 105 of the Competition Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-34), or the CCB Consent Agreement. 6
The CCB Consent Agreement will require the combined company to divest the following assets following implementation of the Scheme: Recalls document management services facilities, including associated tangible and intangible assets and employees, in Edmonton, Alberta and Montreal (Laval), Quebec and certain of Recalls document management services facilities, including all associated tangible and intangible assets and employees, in Calgary, Alberta and Toronto, Ontario, or the Recall Canadian Divestments; and One of Iron Mountains document management services facilities in Vancouver (Burnaby), British Columbia and two of Iron Mountains document management services facilities in Ottawa, Ontario, including associated tangible and intangible assets and employees, or the Iron Mountain Canadian Divestments. The Recall Canadian Divestments and the Iron Mountain Canadian Divestments, or collectively, the Canadian Divestments, will be effected by way of a sale of only the tangible and intangible assets associated with the relevant facilities, which include warehouse space as well as customer contracts. It is expected that Iron Mountain and Recall employees associated with the relevant facilities subject of the Canadian Divestments will be offered continued employment on terms to be agreed with the relevant buyer. Sale Process Under the CCB Consent Agreement, the assets subject of the Canadian Divestments will be acquired by a single buyer to be approved by the Commissioner of Competition, or the Commissioner. As of the date of this Current Report, Iron Mountain has not yet selected a preferred purchaser for the assets subject of the Canadian Divestments. The purchaser for the Canadian Divestments is subject to approval by the Canadian Commissioner of Competition. Management Pending Sale Pursuant to the terms of the CCB Consent Agreement, in order to preserve the business of the Canadian Divestments pending completion of the Canadian Divestments, the combined company must maintain the economic viability and marketability of the business of the Canadian Divestments, and Iron Mountain shall be required to hold the Recall Canadian Divestments separate from those of the combined companys other operations. The business of the Recall Canadian Divestments will be managed by an independent manager, or the Canadian Independent Manager, selected by Iron Mountain and approved by the Commissioner. The Canadian Independent Manager will: have the sole authority to manage and operate the business of the Recall Canadian Divestments; and be required to ensure that the business of the Recall Canadian Divestments is preserved as a separate and independently viable going concern and is kept operationally and financially separate from the combined company. As of the date of this Current Report, the Canadian Independent Manager has not been selected. Pending completion of the Canadian Divestments, the combined company must not, without the Commissioners prior written approval: create any new encumbrances on the Canadian Divestments, other than ordinary course obligations that are not due or delinquent; enter into, withdraw from, amend or otherwise take steps to alter any obligations in material contracts relating to the Canadian Divestments, except as necessary to comply with the CCB Consent Agreement; or 7
make any material changes to the Canadian Divestments, except as required to comply with the CCB Consent Agreement. Pursuant to the terms of the CCB Consent Agreement, a person will be appointed by the CCB to monitor the combined companys compliance with the CCB Consent Agreement. As of the date of this Current Report, a monitor has not been appointed. The combined company is responsible for all reasonable fees and expenses properly charged or incurred by the monitor in the course of carrying out its duties under the CCB Consent Agreement. Synergies and Accretion In June 2015 when the Scheme was first announced, Iron Mountain provided an overview of the expected benefits of the Scheme in respect of the realization of material costs savings and earnings accretion. The overview was prepared before Iron Mountain and Recall had agreed to the Divestments and was based on certain underlying assumptions regarding divestitures which should be modified due to the Divestments. Set forth below is an analysis of synergies and earnings accretion reflective of the anticipated impact of the Divestments. Synergies The Transaction is expected to create meaningful value for shareholders of both Recall and Iron Mountain through the realization of material cost savings. When the Transaction was originally announced in June 2015, Iron Mountain estimated annual net synergies of $155 million, which assumed divestitures of businesses with approximately $30 million of annual operating income before depreciation and amortization, or OIBDA, when synergies are fully realized. Based on analysis undertaken by it to the date of this Current Report, however, Iron Mountain now estimates annual net synergies as a result of the Transaction will be $105 million per annum when synergies are fully achieved. Iron Mountains updated estimated net synergies translate to approximately 4% of the combined companys pro forma 2015 operating expenses. Figure 1 Movement between original and revised net synergies The difference between these estimates is primarily due to an estimated reduction of $75 million OIBDA as a result of the anticipated Divestments, as further described below. In addition, the net synergies have been reduced by approximately $5 million due to the continued appreciation of the U.S. dollar against several foreign currencies in geographies where those synergies were expected to be realized. The estimated net synergies reflect the impact of the targeted effects of cost savings from integrating the operations, overhead savings from the consolidation of corporate and support costs, real estate benefits from increased scale of the business and potential tax favorability due to the real estate investment trust, or REIT, structure on the combined companys profitability; offset by expected impacts from pass through of benefits to customers, the impact of the Divestments, and potential customer attrition. Sensitivity analysis indicates a $10 million change in achieved synergies is expected to result in a change in Adjusted EPS (as defined below) accretion of 1.5%-2.0% in the same direction. Iron Mountain estimates that approximately 90% of these expected synergies will be achieved in the first three years following implementation of the Scheme, with approximately $80 million realized in calendar year 2017 and $100 million realized in calendar year 2018. The estimated time to achieve these expected synergies reflects the complexity of integrating two global businesses. Figure 2 Total expected net synergies ($ millions)(1) 2016 2017 2018 Synergies Fully Achieved 15 80 100 105 (1) Synergies and accretion exclude one-off costs to achieve synergies and integrate the businesses. 8
Estimates of potential net synergies available as a result of the Transaction are preliminary and will become more certain following ongoing analysis and refinement. After the implementation of the Scheme, the combined company will commence implementing arrangements to seek to achieve these expected synergies. Key areas of expected synergies Overhead
synergies Overhead synergies are expected to be achieved by implementing a number of measures, including: integrating board, management and executive teams; consolidating corporate costs and headquarters; integration of back office transactional support; and integration of reporting and IT systems. The majority of these savings are expected to be generated from consolidation of corporate and support costs. Cost of sales
synergies Cost of sales synergies are expected to be achieved by implementing a number of measures, including: staff cost savings through the elimination of duplicative functions; procurement efficiencies through scale benefits of the combined company; cost optimization at an individual facility level; and routing and other logistics optimization. Cost of sales synergies are expected to be partially offset by potential customer attrition and other potential losses. Real estate
synergies Real estate synergies are expected to be created through: consolidation of adjacent facilities; negotiation of improved terms at existing facilities; and ability to exit underperforming facilities and improve utilization across the facility network. Tax synergies Iron Mountains REIT status provides beneficial U.S. tax status for storage profits generated in the United States. Companies brought into the REIT structure can also generally repatriate storage profits to the U.S. without additional taxation. A small proportion of the total net synergies is therefore expected to be generated through tax efficiencies generated through the integration of the 9
two companies. Other potential
synergies Following implementation of the Scheme, there may be the potential for synergies to be realized beyond those identified above. These may include, but are not limited to: potential revenue benefits from the enhanced product and services cross-selling to the combined companys broadened customer base; additional reductions in real estate costs as leases for the combined companys facilities are renewed and the potential for facility consolidation in some locations arises; and enhanced capabilities to accelerate development of new solutions and services for clients given enhanced scale of the combined company. Costs to achieve expected synergies Iron Mountain anticipates a total of approximately $300 million in one-off costs to integrate the businesses and achieve the expected synergies. Approximately $220 million is expected to be treated as operating expenses and $80 million is expected to be treated as capital expenditures. The majority of these costs will be associated with the integration of the two businesses. These costs are also expected to include moving, racking and severance costs, costs related to the facilities upgrade program, REIT conversion and systems integration costs. Finally, included in these costs will also be costs to complete the Divestments on the terms agreed with the relevant regulatory authorities as well as to perform any transitional services that may be required to support the divested businesses during a reasonable transition period. Even though Iron Mountains current estimate of synergies is lower than its original estimate, Iron Mountain continues to estimate total costs to integrate the businesses and achieve the expected synergies of approximately $300 million due, in part, to uncertainty regarding the costs to complete the Divestments. Figure 3 Estimated one-off costs (including operating expenses and capital expenditures) ($ millions) 2016(1) 2017 2018 Synergies Fully Achieved 125 105 30 40 (1) 2016 numbers include integration expenses incurred in 2015. Divestments As discussed above, the Divestments will need to be made to address competition concerns raised by the ACCC, DOJ and CCB in respect of the Scheme and that may be raised by the CMA in respect of the Scheme at the conclusion of the CMA Review. The expected annual net impact of the Divestments is estimated by Iron Mountain to be a $120 million reduction of the revenue and an associated $35 million reduction of OIBDA for the combined company (or approximately 3% of the combined companys pro forma revenue and OIBDA for the year ended December 31, 2015 set forth in Exhibit 99.5 to this Current Report). In addition to the direct loss of revenue and OIBDA discussed in the immediately preceding paragraph, the Divestments are expected to result in an additional $40 million annual reduction in OIBDA for the combined company, due to a loss in potential synergies resulting from the Transaction. The aggregate reduction of $75 million 10
in annual OIBDA is reflected in the $105 million estimate of annual net synergies as a result of the Transaction described above. The proportionally higher amount of synergies expected to be lost are due to the Divestments being in markets and regions that generally have greater overlap of the Iron Mountain and Recall businesses and thus would provide more benefits from integration. As of the date of this Current Report, the Divestments the combined company may need to undertake in the UK have not been determined. Accordingly, the estimate of annual net synergies of the Scheme, as well as earnings accretion described below, reflects Iron Mountains estimate, which incorporates information provided by Recall, with respect to the impact of the Divestments that may be required in the UK. Iron Mountains estimate (which incorporates current market conditions) of the proceeds the combined company will receive in relation to the Divestments is approximately $220 million. However, there can be no assurance that the combined company will receive this amount of proceeds from the sales of the Divestments and the proceeds may be materially different from this amount. Iron Mountain estimates that for every $25 million change in proceeds, Adjusted EPS accretion will change approximately 0.3% in the same direction. Upon the successful completion of the Divestments, Iron Mountain anticipates using the net proceeds to repay outstanding borrowings under its unsecured revolving credit facility and ultimately to reinvest those proceeds in the combined companys business. Earnings accretion In June 2015 when the Scheme was first announced, earnings accretion was estimated to be approximately 25% by 2018. While the Scheme is still expected to generate meaningful earnings accretion, Iron Mountain estimates that the anticipated impact of the Divestments described above will be to reduce that estimate by approximately 570 basis points on a fully synergized basis. In addition, exposure to changes in foreign currency exchange rates will result in a further 200 basis point reduction from the initial estimate as the strengthening of the U.S. dollar against most other currencies has also impacted Recall disproportionately when compared to Iron Mountain due to Recalls higher exposure to foreign currencies. Delays in realization of the synergies is due to a delay in the expected closing of the Transaction, movements in commodity prices, updated performance and expectations in connection with completed acquisitions have impacted both businesses and have led to a 240 basis point reduction in expected accretion, resulting in a revised expectation of approximately 15.0% Adjusted EPS accretion in 2018. 11
Figure 4 2018 Adjusted EPS accretion bridge Notes 1. The 570 basis points impact of Divestments on Adjusted EPS accretion is comprised of a 300 basis points impact from incremental divested OIBDA and 270 basis points of incremental divested synergies potential including an estimated increase in proceeds from the Divestments. 2. Underlying business changes relates primarily to acquisitions completed by Iron Mountain and Recall, Iron Mountains refinancing of indebtedness, and changes in commodity prices and the performance of the businesses. 3. The 200 basis points impact of movements in foreign exchange rates is comprised of an 80 basis points impact on the combined stand-alone Iron Mountain and Recall business and a 120 basis points impact of expected synergies. 4. The estimated impact of the Delay in Deal Timing is due to a delay in the expected closing of the Transaction; it does not imply any change in the fully synergized accretion numbers. Excluding the impact of estimated non-cash purchase accounting adjustments (consisting of non-cash purchase accounting adjustments associated with (i) the accounting for Iron Mountains acquisition of Recall and (ii) the anticipated impact of the Divestments) and one-off costs to achieve the expected synergies, Iron Mountain estimates the Scheme to be 14.2% accretive to Adjusted EPS in 2017, 15.0% in 2018 and 15.6% when the $105 million per annum of expected net synergies are fully achieved. If the Scheme is implemented, Iron Mountain expects to apply purchase price accounting adjustments which are expected to result in fair value adjustments associated with Recalls tangible and intangible assets in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, or U.S. GAAP. These adjustments are expected to result in an increase in depreciation and amortization expenses of approximately $64 million per annum before considering the impact of any Divestments, which will impact the combined companys reported earnings per share. These adjustments are non-cash in nature and do not impact the fair value assessment of the Transaction. See Exhibit 99.5 to this Current Report for further details on the purchase price accounting adjustments expected as a result of the Scheme. 12
Iron Mountain also expects the Scheme to be accretive to Normalized FFO and AFFO, which are key metrics for REIT investors. Iron Mountains expected level of Adjusted EPS, Normalized FFO and AFFO accretion is set out in the charts below: Figure 5 Iron Mountain Adjusted EPS accretion(1) 2016 2017 2018 Synergies Fully Achieved (0.2)% 14.2% 15.0% 15.6% Adjusted EPS accretion, including the expected purchase price accounting adjustments, is expected to be 1.8% in 2017, 3.7% in 2018 and 6.1% on a fully synergized basis. Figure 6 Iron Mountain Normalized FFO accretion(1) 2016 2017 2018 Synergies Fully Achieved 2.8% 7.1% 6.7% 7.2% Normalized FFO accretion, including the expected purchase price accounting adjustments, is expected to be 2.2% in 2017, 2.2% in 2018 and 3.5% on a fully synergized basis. Figure 7 Iron Mountain AFFO accretion(1) 2016 2017 2018 Synergies Fully Achieved 0.9% 5.5% 5.3% 5.7% AFFO does not incorporate depreciation or amortization charges and therefore is not impacted by purchase price accounting adjustments (or the expected accounting impact of the Divestments) except as far as the incremental depreciation and amortization provides a benefit by reducing the effective taxable income. (1) Accretion estimates assume weighted average Iron Mountain shares of common stock outstanding of 267 million at year end 2016, AUD/USD exchange rate of 0.74 and an effective tax rate of approximately 19%. Accretion estimates do not include operating expenses and capital expenditures related to integration, as these are one time in nature and will be excluded from Adjusted EPS, Normalized FFO and AFFO. These assumptions represent analysis as of the date of this Current Report and are subject to change. On October 14, 2015, Iron Mountain communicated its intent to pursue additional value creating initiatives (cost optimization plan) beyond those considered for the Adjusted EPS calculations herein, including: an updated transformation program; expanded multi-year plans for developed markets, emerging markets, and adjacent businesses; and real estate portfolio expansion. Iron Mountain estimates that these initiatives will create approximately $65 million of additional earnings by 2018 and a proportional increase in Normalized FFO and AFFO (each, as defined below). These initiatives are expected to benefit Iron Mountain independent of the Transaction. Iron Mountain estimates that these initiatives will 13
increase the base earnings of Iron Mountain as well as the combined company. As a result, the estimated realized accretion of the Transaction, when Iron Mountains forecast is updated with this expanded set of initiatives (relative to the base earnings of Iron Mountain), will result in estimated accretion in 2018 in Adjusted EPS of 10%. Non-U.S. GAAP measures As part of regular reporting to their respective stockholders and shareholders, Iron Mountain and Recall disclose a number of financial measures that are not in compliance with either U.S. GAAP or the International Financial Reporting Standards, or IFRS, which they believe to be important to investors to consider when evaluating their respective financial performance and that of the combined company. These non-U.S. GAAP measures should be considered in addition to, but not as a substitute for, other measures of financial performance reported in accordance with U.S. GAAP or IFRS. The non-U.S. GAAP information referred to in this Current Report is as follows: Adjusted earnings per share, or Adjusted EPS, which is defined as reported earnings per share from continuing operations excluding: (1) (gain) loss on disposal/write-down of property, plant and equipment (excluding real estate), net; (2) (gain) on sale of real estate, net of tax; (3) intangible impairments; (4) operating expenses and capital expenditures associated with Iron Mountains proposed acquisition of Recall, including costs to complete the Transaction, including advisory and professional fees, as well as costs incurred once Iron Mountain closes the Transaction to integrate Recall into its existing operations, including moving, severance, facility upgrade, REIT conversion and system upgrade costs, or collectively, Recall Costs; (5) costs associated with Iron Mountains conversion to a REIT, excluding REIT compliance costs beginning January 1, 2014 which Iron Mountain expects to recur in future periods, or REIT Costs; (6) other expense (income), net; and (7) the tax impact of reconciling items and discrete tax items; normalized funds from operations, or Normalized FFO, which comprises net income excluding: (1) depreciation on real estate assets; (2) gain on sale of real estate, net of tax; (3) (gain) loss on disposal/write down of property, plant and equipment (excluding real estate), net; (4) intangible impairments; (5) Recall Costs; (6) REIT Costs; (7) other expense (income), net; (8) deferred income taxes and REIT tax adjustments; (9) income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax; and (10) gain (loss) on sale of discontinued operations, net of tax; and adjusted funds from operations, or AFFO, which is Normalized FFO excluding non-cash rent expense or income, plus depreciation on non-real estate assets, amortization expense (including amortization of deferred financing costs) and non-cash equity compensation expense, less maintenance capital expenditures and non-real estate investments. Key Risks Risks associated with the Divestments As described above, to address those concerns raised by regulators as part of the process to obtain the competition approvals, Iron Mountain is proposing to make the Divestments in the United States, Australia and Canada and may be required to make Divestments in the UK following conclusion of the CMA Review. The Divestments create certain risks for stockholders of the combined company following implementation of the Scheme, including the risks described below. Impact of Divestments on the Combined Company Iron Mountain has (incorporating information provided by Recall) made estimates of the expected impact of the Divestments on the combined company, including the costs to complete the Divestments, as well as the expected impact on (i) the synergies created by the Scheme, (ii) the combined companys future expected revenue, 14
and (iii) the estimated earnings accretion generated by the Scheme. However, those expected impacts and costs are uncertain and the actual impacts and costs of the Divestments on the combined company may vary from the expectations of Iron Mountain as of the date of this Current Report. Should the impacts of the Divestments on the combined company be less favorable to the combined company than expected by Iron Mountain, or the costs to complete the Divestments be more than expected by Iron Mountain, this may have an adverse effect on the combined companys performance and financial condition, particularly with respect to synergies and earnings accretion. Proceeds of Divestments Iron Mountain has (incorporating information provided by Recall) made estimates of the expected proceeds of the Divestments, which includes an estimate of the scope of the Divestments that may be required in the UK. However, sale agreements to effect the Divestments in each of Australia and Canada, and in respect of the Seattle/Atlanta Divestments in the United States, have not yet been agreed with a buyer. Similarly, as any Divestments that may be required in the UK have not yet been determined, no sale agreement has been agreed in respect of any such Divestments. Further, the costs incurred to complete the Divestments may be higher than expected by Iron Mountain as of the date of this Current Report. As such, the expected proceeds of the Divestments are uncertain and the actual net proceeds of the Divestments may differ from the net proceeds expected by Iron Mountain as of the date of this Current Report. Should the net proceeds of the Divestments be less than expected by Iron Mountain, this may have an adverse effect on the combined companys performance and financial condition, particularly with respect to synergies and earnings accretion. Terms of Australian, Canadian, Seattle/Atlanta and UK Divestments Sale agreements to effect the Divestments in each of Australia and Canada, and in respect of the Seattle/Atlanta Divestments in the United States, have not yet been agreed with a buyer. Similarly, as any Divestments that may be required in the UK have not yet been determined, no sale agreement has been agreed in respect of any such Divestments. This creates a risk that the eventual terms of those sale agreements once entered into may be less favorable to the combined company than expected by Iron Mountain as of the date of this Current Report. Should the terms of the Divestments be less favorable to the combined company than expected by Iron Mountain, this may have an adverse effect on the combined companys performance and financial condition. Completion of Divestments The completion of the Divestments in each of the United States, Australia and Canada will be subject to the conditions to completion, among other terms, set forth in the sale agreement relating to such Divestment, the satisfaction of some of which conditions will not be in the control of Iron Mountain or Recall. Similarly, once any Divestments required in the UK are determined, the sale agreement to effect those Divestments may contain conditions to completion. The satisfaction of some of those conditions to completion of the Divestments may be delayed as a result of events outside of the control of the combined company, which may have an adverse effect on the combined companys performance and financial condition. UK Divestments The CMA Review remains ongoing and no definitive view can be given at this stage as to its outcome and the scope and timing of any Divestments required by the CMA with respect to the combined companys UK business. However, the actual Divestments required by the CMA with respect to the combined companys UK business may vary from the Divestments expected by Iron Mountain and Recall as of the date of this Current Report. Should the actual Divestments required by the CMA with respect to the combined companys UK business be greater than the Divestments expected by Iron Mountain and Recall, this may have an adverse effect on the combined companys performance and financial condition, particularly with respect to synergies and earnings accretion. 15
Hold separate arrangements As described above, as part of the Divestments, Iron Mountain has agreed to, or expects to agree to, hold separate arrangements in the United States, the UK, Australia and Canada. Those hold separate arrangements limit the manner in which the combined company may operate the relevant assets and businesses the subject of the arrangements pending completion of the Divestments. Those limitations as well as costs incurred in implementing and monitoring the arrangements may have a detrimental impact on the operations of the combined company that are not subject of the Divestments. Further, a number of the hold separate arrangements involve third parties managing the relevant assets and businesses on behalf of the combined company. There is a risk that the management of those assets and businesses by such third parties may have a detrimental impact on the operations of Iron Mountain and Recall that are not the subject of the Divestments. These impacts may have an adverse effect on the combined companys performance and financial condition, particularly with respect to synergies and earnings accretion. Forward-looking Statements Certain statements contained in this Current Report may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other securities laws and be subject to the safe-harbor created by such Act. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the expected timing of the closing of the Transaction, the outcome of the regulatory review of the Transaction, the scope and timing of required divestitures, Iron Mountains financial performance outlook and shareholder returns, including after giving effect to Iron Mountains proposed acquisition of Recall, and statements regarding Iron Mountains goals, beliefs, plans and current expectations. These forward-looking statements are subject to various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors. When Iron Mountain uses words such as believes, expects, anticipates, estimates or similar expressions, it is making forward-looking statements. You should not rely upon forward-looking statements except as statements of Iron Mountains present intentions and of Iron Mountains present expectations, which may or may not occur. Although Iron Mountain believes that its forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, Iron Mountains expected results may not be achieved, and actual results may differ materially from its expectations. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ from Iron Mountains expectations include, among others: (i) Iron Mountains ability to remain qualified for taxation as a real estate investment trust for U.S. Federal income tax purposes; (ii) the adoption of alternative technologies and shifts by Iron Mountains customers to storage of data through non-paper based technologies; (iii) changes in customer preferences and demand for Iron Mountains storage and information management services; (iv) the cost to comply with current and future laws, regulations and customer demands relating to privacy issues; (v) the impact of litigation or disputes that may arise in connection with incidents in which we fail to protect Iron Mountains customers information; (vi) changes in the price for Iron Mountains storage and information management services relative to the cost of providing such storage and information management services; (vii) changes in the political and economic environments in the countries in which Iron Mountains international subsidiaries operate; (viii) Iron Mountains ability or inability to complete acquisitions on satisfactory terms and to integrate acquired companies efficiently; (ix) changes in the amount of Iron Mountains capital expenditures; (x) changes in the cost of Iron Mountains debt; (xi) the impact of alternative, more attractive investments on dividends; (xii) the cost or potential liabilities associated with real estate necessary for Iron Mountains business; (xiii) the performance of business partners upon whom we depend for technical assistance or management expertise outside the United States; and (xiv) other trends in competitive or economic conditions affecting Iron Mountains financial condition or results of operations not presently contemplated. In addition, with respect to the Transaction, Iron Mountains ability to close the Transaction in accordance with its terms and within the anticipated time period, or at all, is dependent on Iron Mountains and Recalls ability to satisfy the closing conditions for the transaction, including the receipt of Recall shareholder approval, and the benefits of the Transaction, including potential cost synergies, accretion and other synergies (including tax synergies), may not be fully realized or may take longer to realize than expected. Additional risks that may affect results are set forth in Iron Mountains filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Iron Mountains Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015, and in Recalls filings with the Australian Stock Exchange, including Recalls Annual Report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2015 and Recalls interim financial statements for the six month period ended December 31, 2015. Any forward-looking statements contained herein are based on assumptions that Iron Mountain believes to be reasonable as of the date hereof and Iron Mountain undertakes no obligation, except as required by law, to update these statements as a result of new information or future events. 16
Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits. (a) Unaudited Financial Statements of Businesses Acquired The unaudited consolidated financial statements of Recall comprising the consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2015 and the consolidated income statement for the six months ended December 31, 2015 and the notes related thereto are furnished as Exhibit 99.4 hereto. (b) Pro Forma Financial Information The unaudited pro forma consolidated balance sheet, pro forma statement of operations and pro forma cash flow statement of the combined company as of and for the year ended December 31, 2015 and the notes related thereto are furnished as Exhibit 99.5 hereto. (d) Exhibits 2.1 Amendment to Scheme Implementation Deed, dated as of March 31, 2016, by and between Iron Mountain Incorporated and Recall Holdings Limited. (Filed herewith.) 99.1 Press release dated March 30, 2016. (Furnished herewith.) 99.2 Press release dated March 31, 2016. (Furnished herewith.) 99.3 Investor Presentation dated March 31, 2016. (Furnished herewith.) 99.4 Consolidated Balance Sheet (Unaudited) as of December 31, 2015 and Consolidated Income Statement (Unaudited) of Recall for the six months ended December 31, 2015, and notes thereto. (Furnished herewith.) 99.5 Pro Forma Balance Sheet (Unaudited), Pro Forma Statement of Operations (Unaudited) and Pro Forma Cash Flow Statement (Unaudited) of the combined company as of and for the year ended December 31, 2015, and notes thereto. (Furnished herewith.) 17
SIGNATURES Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized. IRON MOUNTAIN INCORPORATED By: /s/ Ernest W. Cloutier Name: Ernest W. Cloutier Title: Executive Vice President and General Counsel Date: March 31, 2016 18
Exhibit 2.1 Recall Holdings Limited ACN 116 537 832 Level 2, 170-180 Bourke Road Alexandria NSW 2015 www.recall.com 31 March 2016 The Directors
Iron Mountain Incorporated 1 Federation Street, Boston, Massachusetts United States 02110 Dear Directors Amendments to Scheme Implementation Deed We refer to the scheme implementation deed between Recall Holdings Limited (ABN 27 116 537 832) (Recall) and Iron Mountain Incorporated (Iron Mountain) dated 8 June 2015 (the SID) and the letter dated 13 October 2015 between Recall and Iron Mountain amending the SID. Terms defined in the SID have the same meaning when used in this document. Amendments The parties agree to further amend the SID in the manner shown in the mark-up which forms Attachment 1 to this letter. Revenue Recall is aware of the Divestiture Actions that have been agreed by Iron Mountain with the Department of Justice and the Canadian Competition Bureau (Agreed Divestiture Actions) and represents and warrants to Iron Mountain that the following statements are true and correct: (a) the assets of Recall and its subsidiaries in the United States that are the subject of the Agreed Divestiture Actions, in the aggregate, generated not more than US$48 million of revenue during the twelve month period ended 31 May 2015 (after giving pro forma effect to any acquisitions occurring during such twelve month period as if they had occurred as of the first day of such trailing twelve-month period); and (b) the assets of Recall and its subsidiaries in Canada that are subject of the Agreed Divestiture Actions, in the aggregate, generated not more than US$11 million of revenue during the twelve month period ended 31 May 2015 (after giving pro forma effect to any acquisitions occurring during such twelve month period as if they had occurred as of the first day of such trailing twelve-month period). Iron Mountain represents and warrants to Recall that the assets of Iron Mountain and its subsidiaries in Canada that are subject of the Agreed Divestiture Actions, in the aggregate, generated not more than US$3 million of revenue during the twelve month period ended 31 May 2015 (after giving pro forma effect to any acquisitions occurring during such twelve month period as if they had occurred as of the first day of such trailing twelve-month period). Document Management Solutions | Secure Destruction Services | Data Protection Services
Indemnification For the avoidance of doubt, the parties hereby acknowledge and agree that the indemnification and deeds of indemnity in favour of the directors and officers of each Recall Group Member contemplated by clause 6.3 of the SID (and the related Iron Mountain undertaking provided for in clause 6.3(a) of the SID) shall apply to any and all damages, losses, claims, costs, liabilities or expenses suffered or incurred by any such director or officer in connection with, relating to or arising out of the amendments provided for in this letter (and Attachment 1 hereto). General This letter takes effect, and the parties agree to be bound by the SID as amended by this deed, from the date of this letter. Except as specifically amended by this letter, all of the terms and conditions of the SID remain in full force and effect. With effect from the date of this letter, the SID as amended by this letter is to be read as a single integrated document incorporating the amendments effected by this letter. This letter may be executed in any number of counterparts. All counterparts, taken together, constitute one instrument. A party may execute this letter by signing any counterpart. Please sign a copy of this document where indicated below to confirm that the above terms are agreed. Executed and delivered as a Deed. Executed as a deed by Iron Mountain Incorporated: /s/ William L. Meaney /s/ Ernest W. Cloutier Director Signature Director/Secretary Signature William L. Meaney Ernest W. Cloutier Print Name Print Name Executed as a deed in accordance with section 127 of the Corporations Act 2001 by Recall Holdings Limited: /s/ Doug Pertz /s/ Barry Medintz Director Signature Director/Secretary Signature Doug Pertz Barry Medintz Print Name Print Name [Signature Page to Side Letter Agreement] 2
Attachment 1 1 Definitions Clause 1.1 of the SID is amended by amending the definitions of Implementation Date and Record Date as follows: Implementation Date means the fourth fifth calendar day after the Record Date, or such other day as the parties agree. Record Date means 5pm on the fifth third Business Day after the Effective Date, or such later date as may be agreed to in writing by Iron Mountain and Recall. 2 Clause 5.4(f) Clause 5.4(f) of the SID is amended and restated as follows: (f) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Deed, Iron Mountain agrees to take (and to cause each Iron Mountain Group Member to take) as promptly as practicable any and all steps that are necessary or advisable to avoid or eliminate each and every impediment, or that may be required by any Competition Authority, and obtain all Competition Approvals under Antitrust Laws so as to enable the consummation of the Transaction as promptly as practicable (and in any event no later than the End Date), including, as promptly as practicable, proposing, negotiating, accepting, committing to and effecting, by consent decrees, hold separate orders, trusts, or otherwise (and the entry into agreements with, and submission to orders of, the relevant Competition Authority): (i) the sale, divestiture, license or disposition of such businesses, service lines and assets of Recall, Iron Mountain and their respective subsidiaries, and (ii) operational or other restrictions or limitations on Recall, Iron Mountain and their respective subsidiaries, including with respect to its or their ability to retain one or more of the businesses, service lines or assets of Recall, Iron Mountain or any of their respective subsidiaries, (any such sale, divestiture, license or disposition or operational or other restriction or limitation set forth in clause 5.4(f)(i) or 5.4(f)(i)(ii) being hereinafter referred to as a Divestiture Action), in each case as may be required in order to avoid the commencement or entry of, or to effect the dissolution of or vacate or lift, any Order that would otherwise have the effect of preventing or unreasonably delaying (having regard to the End Date) the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Deed, provided that nothing contained in this Deed shall require Iron Mountain to agree to or effect any Divestiture Action with respect to Recall or Iron Mountain, to the extent that: (A) such Divestiture Action is not conditioned upon the occurrence of the implementation of the Scheme or is effective prior to the implementation of the Scheme; or (B) such Divestiture Action, individually or in the aggregate, would require the sale, divestiture, holding separate or other disposition of any assets of the Records Management Business of Iron Mountain, Recall or any of their respective subsidiaries in the United States and Canada that, in the aggregate, generated more than US$ 30 62 million of revenue during the twelve month period prior to the date of this Deed ended 31 May 2015 (after giving pro forma effect to any acquisitions occurring during the such twelve
month period prior to the date hereof as if they had occurred as of the first day of such trailing twelve-month period) 3 Clause 5.5 Clause 5.5 of the SID is amended and restated as follows: (a) The parties acknowledge and agree that it is desirable for the Implementation Date to occur within the first 30 32 days of any given fiscal quarter of Iron Mountain, and that to achieve that timing the Second Court Date will need to be determined appropriately. (b) If, as at a particular date (the Relevant Date), all of the conditions precedent in clause 3.1 (other than clause 3.1(d)) have been satisfied or waived (or would be satisfied if the Relevant Date had been the Second Court Date), but the Relevant Date is not within the first 30 32 days of a fiscal quarter of Iron Mountain, then on and from the Relevant Date: (i) the parties will take all actions necessary to ensure that the Second Court Date is postponed so that the Implementation Date occurs in the first 30 32 days of the first fiscal quarter of Iron Mountain after the Relevant Date; (ii) each party will be taken to have waived, with effect, any conditions precedent in clause 3.1 (other than clause 3.1(d)) (subject only to a partys rights under clause 3.6 in respect of breach or non-satisfaction of a condition precedent prior to the Relevant Date); and (iii) each party will be taken to have waived, with effect, any right such party may have to terminate this Deed for material breach by the other party (other than either partys right to terminate pursuant to clause 14.1 for the other partys failure to consummate the Scheme, and subject to a partys right to terminate for a material breach by the other prior to the Relevant Date). 4 Annexure 1 Indicative Timetable The following Target Dates in Annexure 1 of the SID are amended and restated as follows: Event Target Date Scheme Meeting November 2015 April 2016 Second Court Date December 2015 April 2016 Implementation Date January 2016 May 2016 5 Annexure 2 Scheme of Arrangement 5.1 Clause 1.1 Clause 1.1 of Annexure 2 of the SID is amended and restated as follows: Implementation Date means the fourth fifth calendar day after the Record Date, or such other day as the parties agree. Record Date means 5pm on the fifth third Business Day after the Effective Date , or such later date as may be agreed to in writing by Iron Mountain and Recall.
Exhibit 99.1 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Iron Mountain Announces ACCC Approval of Proposed Undertaking in Australia and CMA Approval of Hold Separate Consent in the United Kingdom in Connection with Recall Transaction Company Continues to Expect Transaction to Close in Second Quarter of 2016 BOSTON March 30, 2016 Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE: IRM), the storage and information management services company, reports that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has completed its market testing and approved Iron Mountains proposed undertaking to divest Iron Mountains Australian business in a stock sale, excluding its local records management customers in the Northern Territory as well as its data management business (Retained Australian Business). Following the anticipated May 2, 2016 (Sydney time) closing of the acquisition of Recall Holdings Limited (Recall), Iron Mountain will transfer its Retained Australian Business to Iron Mountains combined Australian company. Also today, Iron Mountain reports that the United Kingdoms Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has approved Iron Mountains request for consent to close the anticipated acquisition of Recall prior to regulatory clearance and subject to certain hold separate commitments. Iron Mountain announced on January 14, 2016 that the CMA had referred Iron Mountains anticipated acquisition of Recall for an in-depth, Phase 2 review. Iron Mountain then requested that the CMA permit closing of the transaction prior to completion of its review, subject to Iron Mountains undertakings to place Recalls UK business in a hold separate arrangement until the CMA completes its review on June 29, 2016 and Iron Mountain has made any divestments that might be required. Iron Mountain continues to expect the transaction to result in meaningful synergies and accretion. Regulatory review and approval is a normal part of the acquisition process, and as previously disclosed, Iron Mountain has agreed to make certain divestments, if required to address competition issues including divestments of certain assets, among other possible remedies. Iron Mountain stockholders overwhelmingly approved the issuance of shares for the acquisition of Recall on November 19, 2015 and the Recall Board of Directors continues to unanimously recommend that its shareholders vote in favor of the transaction. About Iron Mountain Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE: IRM) is a leading provider of storage and information management services. The companys real estate network of more than 69 million square feet across more than 1,100 facilities in 37 countries allows it to serve customers around the world. And its solutions for records management, data management, document management, and secure shredding help organizations to lower storage costs, comply with regulations, recover from disaster, and better use their information. Founded in 1951, Iron Mountain stores and protects billions of information assets, including business documents, backup tapes, electronic files and medical data. Visit www.ironmountain.com for more information. Forward Looking Statements Certain statements contained in this communication may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other securities laws and be subject to the safe-harbor created by such Act. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the expected timing of the closing of Iron Mountains proposed acquisition of Recall, the outcome of the regulatory review of the
transaction, the scope and timing of required divestitures, Iron Mountains financial performance outlook and shareholder returns, including after giving effect to Iron Mountains proposed acquisition of Recall, and statements regarding Iron Mountains goals, beliefs, plans and current expectations. These forward-looking statements are subject to various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors. When Iron Mountain uses words such as believes, expects, anticipates, estimates or similar expressions, it is making forward-looking statements. You should not rely upon forward-looking statements except as statements of Iron Mountains present intentions and of Iron Mountains present expectations, which may or may not occur. Although Iron Mountain believes that its forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, Iron Mountains expected results may not be achieved, and actual results may differ materially from its expectations. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ from Iron Mountains expectations include, among others: (i) Iron Mountains actual dividends when paid may be materially different than Iron Mountains estimates; (ii) the cost to comply with current and future laws, regulations and customer demands relating to privacy issues; (iii) the impact of litigation or disputes that may arise in connection with incidents in which Iron Mountain fails to protect its customers information; (iv) changes in the price for Iron Mountains storage and information management services relative to the cost of providing such storage and information management services; (v) changes in customer preferences and demand for Iron Mountains storage and information management services; (vi) the adoption of alternative technologies and shifts by Iron Mountains customers to storage of data through non-paper based technologies; (vii) the cost or potential liabilities associated with real estate necessary for Iron Mountains business; (viii) the performance of business partners upon whom Iron Mountain depends for technical assistance or management expertise; (ix) changes in the political and economic environments in the countries in which Iron Mountains international subsidiaries operate; (x) changes in the cost of Iron Mountains debt; (xi) changes in the amount of Iron Mountains capital expenditures; (xii) Iron Mountains ability to remain qualified for taxation as a real estate investment trust; (xiii) Iron Mountains ability or inability to complete acquisitions on satisfactory terms and to integrate acquired companies efficiently; and (xiv) other trends in competitive or economic conditions affecting Iron Mountains financial condition or results of operations not presently contemplated. In addition, with respect to the potential Recall transaction, Iron Mountains ability to close the proposed transaction in accordance with its terms and within the anticipated time period, or at all, is dependent on Iron Mountains and Recalls ability to satisfy the closing conditions for the transaction, including the receipt of governmental and shareholder approvals, required divestitures, and the benefits of the potential Recall transaction, including potential cost synergies and other synergies (including tax synergies), may not be fully realized or may take longer to realize than expected. Additional risks and factors that may affect results are set forth in Iron Mountains filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Iron Mountains Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2015, and in Recalls filings with the Australian Stock Exchange, including Recalls Annual Report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2015 and [Recalls interim financial statements] for the 6-month period ending December 31, 2015. Any forward-looking statements contained herein are based on assumptions that Iron Mountain believes to be reasonable as of the date hereof and Iron Mountain undertakes no obligation, except as required by law, to update these statements as a result of new information or future events. Iron Mountain Contacts: US Media: Australian Media: Abernathy MacGregor Group Cato Counsel Chuck Burgess / Ian Campbell Sue Cato 212.371.5999 / 213.630.6550 +61(0) 419282319 [email protected] / [email protected] [email protected] IRM Investors: IRM Media: Melissa Marsden Christian T. Potts SVP, Investor Relations Senior Manager, Corporate Communications 617.535.8595 617.535.8721 [email protected] [email protected] 2
Exhibit 99.2 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Iron Mountain Announces Regulatory Outcomes in US and Canada; Updates Synergy and Accretion Estimates Related to Proposed Acquisition of Recall Updated Expectations Continue to Reflect Meaningful Synergies On Track for Expected Closing on May 2, 2016 Company Reiterates Expectations for Dividend Growth and Deleveraging Company Will Host Conference Call on April 1 at 8:30 am EDT to Provide Additional Detail and Update 2016 Guidance for Partial Year Contribution from Recall BOSTON March 31, 2016 Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE: IRM), the storage and information management services company, today announced outcomes with competition and antitrust regulators in the United States and Canada related to its proposed acquisition of Recall Holdings Limited (ASX: REC) by way of a Scheme of Arrangement (the Scheme) and the associated changes to synergy and accretion assumptions. As previously disclosed, the proposed acquisition was reviewed by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), the Canada Competition Bureau (CCB) and the United Kingdom (UK) Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). To address competition concerns raised by these regulators, Iron Mountain has agreed to divest portions of Recalls business in the United States, portions of both its and Recalls businesses in Canada and the majority of Iron Mountains records management business in Australia, and to place Recalls entire business in the UK in a hold separate arrangement from the closing until the conclusion of the CMAs review. Upon closing of the proposed acquisition and after giving effect to required divestitures, Iron Mountain expects to continue to provide information management services, data management services and information destruction services to the respective customers of Iron Mountain and Recall in each market and country where they collectively provide service today. United States Regulatory Approval The DOJs approval of the proposed Recall acquisition is conditioned upon Iron Mountains agreement to divest, to a single buyer pre-approved by the DOJ, Recalls records and information management facilities in the following 13 U.S. cities: Buffalo; Charlotte; Detroit; Durham; Greenville/Spartanburg; Kansas City; Nashville; Pittsburgh; Raleigh; Richmond; San Antonio; Tulsa; and San Diego. The DOJs approval is also conditioned on Iron Mountains agreement to divest, to a buyer or buyers subject to the DOJs approval, Recalls records and information management facility in Seattle and certain of Recalls records and information management facilities in Atlanta. Following implementation of the Scheme and these divestitures, Iron Mountains operations in the United States will include both Recalls and Iron Mountains existing operations in all but these 15 U.S. locations. Iron Mountain has reached an agreement to divest the assets in the 13 initial divestiture cities noted above to Access CIG, LLC, a privately held provider of information management services throughout the United States approved by the DOJ as a buyer for these divestitures, for total consideration of $80 million, subject to adjustments. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is anticipated to close shortly after the closing of the proposed Recall acquisition. In addition, Iron Mountain is in discussions with potential buyers for the facilities and related assets in Seattle and Atlanta.
Canada Regulatory Approval The CCBs approval is based upon Iron Mountains agreement to divest Recalls records and information management facilities in Edmonton and Montreal (Laval), and certain of Recalls records and information management facilities in Calgary and Toronto. In addition, Iron Mountain has agreed to divest one of its records and information management facilities in Vancouver (Burnaby) and two of its records and information management facilities in Ottawa. Following implementation of the Scheme and these divestitures, Iron Mountains operations in Canada will remain consistent with its footprint prior to implementation of the Scheme in Edmonton and Montreal, while in Calgary and Toronto, Iron Mountains operations will remain consistent with its footprint prior to implementation of the Scheme with the addition of one Recall facility and certain associated customers in Calgary and three of Recalls facilities and certain associated customers in Toronto. In Vancouver and Ottawa, Iron Mountains operations will primarily constitute all of Recalls and Iron Mountains operations as they stood prior to implementation of the Scheme with the exception of two Iron Mountain facilities in Ottawa and one Iron Mountain facility in Vancouver, along with certain associated customers. The purchaser for the Canadian divestitures is subject to approval by the Canadian Commissioner of Competition for approval. Australia Regulatory Approval As disclosed on March 30, 2016, the ACCCs decision not to oppose the Scheme is contingent on Iron Mountains undertaking to divest Iron Mountains Australian business other than its data management business throughout Australia and its records and information management and data management businesses in the Northern Territory of Australia, except in relation to customers who have holdings in other Australian states or territories (Retained IRM Australian Business). As a result, Iron Mountains operations in Australia following the implementation of the Scheme and the divestitures will primarily consist of Recalls operations as they stood prior to implementation of the Scheme and the Retained IRM Australian Business. Once Iron Mountain has selected a preferred purchaser for the Australian divestitures, it will be presented to the ACCC for approval. The proposed acquisition remains subject to approval by the Australian Foreign Investment Review Board, in respect of which a decision is expected on or before April 15, 2016. United Kingdom Regulatory Approval The statutory deadline for completion of CMAs Phase 2 Review is June 29, 2016, with the provisional findings due in late April 2016, and no definitive view can be given at this stage as to its outcome or the scope and timing of any divestitures required. On March 30, 2016, the CMA granted its conditional consent for the Scheme to be implemented prior to the issuance of its final decision following its Phase 2 Review. After completion of the CMAs review, the CMA may order divestitures of UK assets by the combined business as an appropriate remedy. However, Iron Mountain believes that the maximum scope of any divestitures required in the UK is likely to be less than operations and assets that generated 1% of the combined companies pro forma revenue for the year ended December 31, 2015. Iron Mountain remains confident that the CMA Review will result in significantly less divestitures in the UK than the estimated maximum. As a result, Iron Mountains operations in the UK are expected to consist of Iron Mountains entire UK operations as they stood prior to implementation of the Scheme and the majority of Recalls UK business. Operation of the Businesses subject to Divestiture Pending Sales Generally, in connection with the regulatory approvals, Iron Mountain has agreed to preserve the businesses pending completion of the divestitures and maintain the economic viability and marketability of the businesses as 2
independent, and to hold those businesses separate to its own business pending completion of the divestitures. In addition, from the implementation of the Scheme until the completion of the relevant divestiture, Iron Mountain has agreed that certain of the businesses subject to divestiture will be managed by an independent manager initially proposed by Iron Mountain and approved by the relevant regulatory authority, who in Australia and Canada (through a monitor appointed by the regulator) would report to the respective antitrust regulators. Updated Synergy Assumptions Reflect Divestitures and Other Changes Iron Mountains acquisition of Recall is expected to create meaningful value for shareholders of both Recall and Iron Mountain through the realization of material cost savings. Iron Mountain estimates annual net synergies as a result of the Recall acquisition will be $105 million per year when fully achieved. When the transaction was originally announced in June 2015, Iron Mountain estimated annual net synergies of $155 million, which assumed divestitures of businesses with approximately $30 million of annualized OIBDA. ($ in millions) Stabilized
(06/08/15) Stabilized
(Current) Estimated Total Gross Synergies $ 185 $ 185 Estimated OIBDA lost to Divested Revenue (15 ) (35 ) Synergies lost due to Divestiture Location (15 ) (40 ) Foreign Currency Impact (5 ) Estimated Net Synergies $ 155 $ 105 As noted in the table above, the difference between these estimates is primarily due to an estimated reduction in the total amount of annual OIBDA related to anticipated divestitures of $75 million. The $75 million consists of $35 million of divested OIBDA and $40 million reduction in annualized OIBDA due to a loss in potential synergies resulting from divestitures in geographies that generally have more overlap between Iron Mountains and Recalls businesses and would therefore provide more integration benefits. An additional $5 million reduction in annual net synergies is related to the continued appreciation of the US dollar against foreign currencies in the markets where those synergies were expected to be realized. At the present time, divestitures in the UK are uncertain, so the amount of divested OIBDA and related synergies may change, although the impact is not expected to be significant. Iron Mountain estimates that approximately 90% of these expected synergies will be achieved in the first three years following implementation of the Scheme, with approximately $80 million realized in calendar year 2017 and $100 million realized in calendar year 2018. Iron Mountain continues to estimate total costs of approximately $300 million in one-time costs to integrate the businesses, achieve the expected synergies and complete the required divestitures, with approximately $220 million expected to be treated as operating expenses and $80 million expected to be treated as capital expenditures. Updated Accretion Assuming Iron Mountains Growth Plan and Transformation Benefits Iron Mountain has previously communicated its intent to pursue additional value creating initiatives such as its transformation plan and expanded multi-year plans for developed markets, emerging markets, and adjacent businesses and real estate portfolio expansion. Iron Mountain estimates these initiatives will create approximately $60 million of additional earnings by 2018 with a proportional increase in Normalized FFO and AFFO. Therefore, 3
when Iron Mountains forecast is updated with these initiatives, the estimated realized accretion from the proposed Recall acquisition will, on a percentage basis, be lower than accretion estimates that do not include these initiatives in the base assumptions. As a result, Iron Mountain expects Adjusted EPS accretion in 2018 when giving effect to these initiatives to be 10%, as compared with 15% accretion on the same basis as the original transaction announcement in June 2015. Additional information related to accretion on the original basis can be found in Iron Mountains Current Report on Form 8-K which will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission tomorrow morning, and details related to accretion, including Iron Mountains expanded growth plan, as well as updates to Iron Mountains 2016 guidance can be found in the investor presentation available HERE. Expected Divestiture Proceeds Iron Mountain estimates it will receive approximately $220 million in proceeds from the divestitures resulting from the Scheme. However, there can be no assurance that this amount of proceeds will be received, and the proceeds may be materially different from this amount. Iron Mountain anticipates that for every $25 million change in proceeds, Adjusted EPS accretion will shift approximately 0.3% in the same direction. Upon successful completion of these divestitures, Iron Mountain anticipates using the net proceeds to repay its long term debt obligations and/or outstanding borrowings under its Revolving Credit Facility and ultimately reinvest those proceeds in the business. Regular Quarterly Dividends for Second Quarter to Include New Recall Shares Consistent with past practice and subject to approval by its Board of Directors, Iron Mountain intends to declare and pay its regular second quarterly dividend in the latter portion of the second quarter, including on shares of common stock issued to Recall shareholders in the Recall transaction, assuming the Recall transaction closes on or prior to the record date for such dividend. In addition, the company is reiterating its expectations for dividend growth and deleveraging consistent with the 2020 targets originally presented during the companys October 14, 2016 Investor Day, available HERE. Webcast and Conference Call Details Iron Mountain will host a conference call and webcast to provide additional details and discuss the transaction on: Date: Friday April 1, 2016 at 8:30 am EDT U.S. Dial in: 1-877-730-0431 or 973-453-3063 AUS Dial in: +61 2 8223 9773 or 1-800-005-989 Participant Code: 80085295 About Iron Mountain Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE: IRM) is a leading provider of storage and information management services. The companys real estate network of more than 69 million square feet across more than 1,100 facilities in 37 countries allows it to serve customers around the world. And its solutions for records management, data management, document management, and secure shredding help organizations to lower storage costs, comply with regulations, recover from disaster, and better use their information. Founded in 1951, Iron Mountain stores and protects billions of information assets, including business documents, backup tapes, electronic files and medical data. Visit www.ironmountain.com for more information. Forward Looking Statements Certain statements contained in this communication may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other securities laws and be subject to the safe-harbor created by such Act. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the expected timing of 4
the closing of Iron Mountains proposed acquisition of Recall, the outcome of the regulatory review of the transaction, the scope and timing of required divestitures, Iron Mountains financial performance outlook and shareholder returns, including after giving effect to Iron Mountains proposed acquisition of Recall, and statements regarding Iron Mountains goals, beliefs, plans and current expectations. These forward-looking statements are subject to various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors. When Iron Mountain uses words such as believes, expects, anticipates, estimates or similar expressions, it is making forward-looking statements. You should not rely upon forward-looking statements except as statements of Iron Mountains present intentions and of Iron Mountains present expectations, which may or may not occur. Although Iron Mountain believes that its forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, Iron Mountains expected results may not be achieved, and actual results may differ materially from its expectations. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ from Iron Mountains expectations include, among others: (i) Iron Mountains ability to remain qualified for taxation as a real estate investment trust for U.S. Federal income tax purposes; (ii) the adoption of alternative technologies and shifts by Iron Mountains customers to storage of data through non-paper based technologies; (iii) changes in customer preferences and demand for Iron Mountains storage and information management services; (iv) the cost to comply with current and future laws, regulations and customer demands relating to privacy issues; (v) the impact of litigation or disputes that may arise in connection with incidents in which we fail to protect Iron Mountains customers information; (vi) changes in the price for Iron Mountains storage and information management services relative to the cost of providing such storage and information management services; (vii) changes in the political and economic environments in the countries in which Iron Mountains international subsidiaries operate; (viii) Iron Mountains ability or inability to complete acquisitions on satisfactory terms and to integrate acquired companies efficiently; (ix) changes in the amount of Iron Mountains capital expenditures; (x) changes in the cost of Iron Mountains debt; (xi) the impact of alternative, more attractive investments on dividends; (xii) the cost or potential liabilities associated with real estate necessary for Iron Mountains business; (xiii) the performance of business partners upon whom we depend for technical assistance or management expertise outside the United States; and (xiv) other trends in competitive or economic conditions affecting Iron Mountains financial condition or results of operations not presently contemplated. In addition, with respect to the potential Recall transaction, Iron Mountains ability to close the proposed transaction in accordance with its terms and within the anticipated time period, or at all, is dependent on Iron Mountains and Recalls ability to satisfy the closing conditions for the transaction, including the receipt of Recall shareholder approval, and the benefits of the potential Recall transaction, including potential cost synergies, accretion and other synergies (including tax synergies), may not be fully realized or may take longer to realize than expected. Further, with respect to the sale of the assets in the 13 initial U.S. divestiture cities noted above, Iron Mountains ability to close the proposed transaction in accordance with its terms and within the anticipated time period is dependent on the ability to satisfy the closing conditions for the transaction. Additional risks that may affect results are set forth in Iron Mountains filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Iron Mountains Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015, and in Recalls filings with the Australian Stock Exchange, including Recalls Annual Report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2015 and Recalls interim financial statements for the 6-month period ended December 31, 2015. Any forward-looking statements contained herein are based on assumptions that Iron Mountain believes to be reasonable as of the date hereof and Iron Mountain undertakes no obligation, except as required by law, to update these statements as a result of new information or future events. Iron Mountain Contacts: US Media: Australian Media: Abernathy MacGregor Group Cato Counsel Chuck Burgess / Ian Campbell Sue Cato 212.371.5999 / 213.630.6550 +61(0) 419282319 [email protected] / [email protected] [email protected] IRM Investors: IRM Media: Melissa Marsden Christian T. Potts SVP, Investor Relations Senior Manager, Corporate Communications 617.535.8595 617.535.8721 [email protected] [email protected] 5
Exhibit 99.3 Recall Acquisition Updated Assumptions and View on Synergies April 1, 2016
Safe Harbor Language and Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Certain statements contained in this communication may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other securities laws and be subject to the safe-harbor created by such Act. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the expected timing of the closing of Iron Mountains proposed acquisition of Recall, the scope and timing of required divestitures, Iron Mountains financial performance outlook and shareholder returns, including after giving effect to Iron Mountains proposed acquisition of Recall, and statements regarding Iron Mountains goals, beliefs, plans and current expectations. These forward-looking statements are subject to various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors. When Iron Mountain uses words such as "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "estimates" or similar expressions, it is making forward-looking statements. You should not rely upon forward-looking statements except as statements of Iron Mountains present intentions and of Iron Mountains present expectations, which may or may not occur. The forward-looking statements are based on Iron Mountains estimates based on information available to it as of the date of this Investor Presentation. Iron Mountains expected results may not be achieved, and actual results may differ materially from its expectations. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ from Iron Mountains expectations include, among others: (i) Iron Mountains ability to remain qualified for taxation as a real estate investment trust for U.S. federal income tax purposes; (ii) the adoption of alternative technologies and shifts by Iron Mountains customers to storage of data through non-paper based technologies; (iii) changes in customer preferences and demand for Iron Mountains storage and information management services; (iv) the cost to comply with current and future laws, regulations and customer demands relating to privacy issues; (v) the impact of litigation or disputes that may arise in connection with incidents in which we fail to protect Iron Mountains customers' information; (vi) changes in the price for Iron Mountains storage and information management services relative to the cost of providing such storage and information management services; (vii) changes in the political and economic environments in the countries in which Iron Mountains international subsidiaries operate; (viii) Iron Mountains ability or inability to complete acquisitions on satisfactory terms and to integrate acquired companies efficiently; (ix) changes in the amount of Iron Mountains capital expenditures; (x) changes in the cost of Iron Mountains debt; (xi) the impact of alternative, more attractive investments on dividends; (xii) the cost or potential liabilities associated with real estate necessary for Iron Mountains business; (xiii) the performance of business partners upon whom we depend for technical assistance or management expertise outside the United States; and (xiv) other trends in competitive or economic conditions affecting Iron Mountains financial condition or results of operations not presently contemplated. In addition, with respect to the potential Recall transaction, Iron Mountains ability to close the proposed transaction in accordance with its terms and within the anticipated time period, or at all, is dependent on Iron Mountains and Recall's ability to satisfy the closing conditions for the transaction, including the receipt of Recall shareholder approval, and the benefits of the potential Recall transaction, including potential cost synergies, accretion and other synergies (including tax synergies), may not be fully realized or may take longer to realize than expected. Additional risks that may affect results are set forth in Iron Mountains filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Iron Mountains Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015, and in Recalls filings with the Australian Stock Exchange, including Recalls Annual Report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2015 and Recalls interim financial statements for the 6-month period ended December 31, 2015. Any forward-looking statements contained herein are based on assumptions that Iron Mountain believes to be reasonable as of the date hereof and Iron Mountain undertakes no obligation, except as required by law, to update these statements as a result of new information or future events. Non-GAAP Measures: Throughout this presentation, Iron Mountain will be discussing Adjusted OIBDA, Adj. EPS, Normalized FFO and AFFO, which do not conform to accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (GAAP). These non-GAAP measures are supplemental metrics designed to enhance our disclosure and to provide additional information that we believe to be important for investors to consider when evaluating our financial performance. These non-GAAP measures should be considered in addition to, but not as a substitute for, other measures of financial performance reported in accordance with GAAP, such as operating or net income (loss) or cash flows from operating activities from continuing operations (as determined in accordance with GAAP). For additional information please see the appendix of this presentation. Notice to Recall Shareholders: Notice to Recall shareholders: The information contained in this communication has not been prepared in accordance with Australian disclosure standards as they apply to scrip based mergers effected by way of scheme of arrangement. Recall shareholders are encouraged to read the Scheme Booklet and the Supplementary Scheme Booklet that has been sent to them by Recall (as released to the announcements platform of the Australian Securities Exchange by Recall on October 23, 2015 and April 1, 2016, respectively) in forming a view as to whether, and how, to vote at the Recall shareholder's meeting to be held on April 19, 2016 to consider the proposed acquisition of Recall
Police have arrested two teens following violent "incidents" at Auckland's Oakley Creek walkway.
Two teens have been arrested in relation to a crime spree at Auckland's Oakley Park where a group of Chinese students were bashed last week.
The pair, aged 15 and 18, were due to face court on a number of charges, including assault with intent to rob and aggravated robberies.
It's understood at least one of those arrested was linked to the assault of a Chinese international student last Thursday March 24.
Police said in a statement the pair were arrested over "a number of incidents at Oakley Creek in Waterview over the last month".
READ MORE: Chinese students to meet with police after rash of 'predatory gang' attacks
The 18-year-old was set to appear in the Auckland District Court on Friday on three charges of aggravated robbery and one charge of assault with intent to rob.
The 15-year-old was being prosecuted through the youth process and would appear in the Youth Court at a later date.
It followed four aggravated robberies against Asian student victims in Auckland in the space of a week.
Detective Sergeant Neil Hilton said police were focused on recovering the stolen items.
He said the matter was before the courts so they could not comment further.
A petition launched by concerned Chinese residents to make Auckland streets safer for international students has already attracted more than 7000 signatures.
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An Auckland lawyer is contesting claims he was racist over correcting an employee's grammar.
A lawyer ordered to pay $7500 compensation for racial harassment and bullying a Sudanese-born law clerk says he was only correcting his grammar.
But a decision from the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) found that John Appleby, the sole director and practitioner at Ladbrook Law in Auckland, had unfairly discriminated against his former employee, Rabah Bashir.
Appleby said on Friday he disputed the claim of racism and was due to lodge an appeal.
The case related to his former employee Bashir, who emigrated from the United Arab Emirates aged 11, graduated with a law degree from Wellington's Victoria University in 2013 and started working for Appleby in September 2013 as a law clerk.
Bashir and Appleby initially had a collegial relationship, the ERA decision said.
However that changed from June 2014 onwards, with Bashir citing several examples where Appleby and he clashed, ostensibly over Bashir's written work.
The decision said Appleby made comments to Bashir that "bilingual speakers have weaknesses in both languages" and "written English can at times be difficult for non-native speakers".
One example Appleby cited was alleged mistakes with using plurals. But ERA member Tania Tetitaha said Appleby's assertion that bilingualism affected Bashir's written English by causing him to not use correct pluralisation "made no sense."
She pointed out that Bashir had attained a high level of academic literacy in English including an NCEA merit and a law degree from Victoria University.
"His Arabic ethnicity and bilingualism did not prevent these milestone achievements. If anything his ethnic background appears to have spurred him to achieve," Tetitaha said.
Appleby admitted he was not an expert linguist nor spoke a second language himself and his research "consisted of his knowledge of the history of Arabic and Hindu people, which he colloquially described as 'Mongols rampaging across Persia,"" Tetitaha said.
Bashir was made redundant at the end of 2014 in a restructuring due to business viability.
He then took his case to the Employment Relations Authority.
Tetitaha ruled: "There was no evidential foundation for Mr Appleby to comment upon Mr Bashir's racial background including in particular his bilingualism when critiquing his work performance".
She also said: "There was evidence Mr Bashir was hurt by the respondent's behaviour".
She found there was no contributing factors to warrant the racial harassment.
However, on the claim of bullying she said there was evidence that "Mr Bashir was being somewhat belligerent at times in his dealings with Mr Appleby causing the outbursts. This was both causative and blameworthy behaviour and justifies a 25 percent reduction in compensation".
Appleby told the ERA he "failed to accept the comments were offensive and hurtful".
He said he was due to appeal the $7500 payment. "It sends a chilling message when correcting grammar leads to accusations of racism."
Bashir said on Friday he welcomed the ERA decision and hoped the long winded process had ended.
"I am not surprised that John has still not accepted his comments were unjustified," he said. "He failed to understand for two years, despite me telling him, my lawyer telling him and now the ERA telling him."
In a separate counter claim the ERA ordered Bashir had to pay Appleby for a cell phone plan that was cancelled.
It said Bashir was ordered to pay damages of $1,322 to cover the cost to Ladbrook Law Limited.
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Matt Hunt helps out at the Onewhero factory where 5000 litres of milk is re-heated to make the famous cheese.
Maturity has turned out to be an award-winning quality for Mercer Cheese.
Mercer Cheese's extra mature gouda won the artisan cheese award category, and its pecorino won the sheep cheese award category in the 2016 New Zealand Champions of Cheese Awards.
Mercer Cheese owner, Albert Alferink, learned how to make cheese in his homeland of Holland.
JOHN BOYNTON/FAIRFAX NZ Mercer Cheese owners Albert and Ineke Alferink will soon open a second cheese store in Paeroa.
He opened Mercer Cheese in 1981 and in June he'll celebrate more than 35 years in business.
Alongside his wife Ineke Alferink he runs the iconic store, while the cheese is made from the couple's home-based factory in Onewhero.
The pecorino was made from sheep milk from a sheep-factory south of Lake Taupo in 2009.
"You never know how long it will keep going so I made a lot of cheese then," Albert said.
The pecorino was stored for more than six years, while the gouda sat for three years.
Ineke said the cheeses could be "a bit like babies".
However, Albert said it's not too difficult to monitor the cheese.
"I don't go walking with them in a pram."
He said in Holland cheese could be kept for far longer.
"They had a competition a few years ago and you were not allowed to enter anything if it was under 25 years old."
The judging at the awards looked at various elements of the cheese including appearance, rind development, aroma, texture, body and flavour.
The judges marked both cheeses highly, and in particular the pecorino was faultless.
Albert said it's better to keep things simple with mature cheeses.
"I think the best and nicest way to eat cheese is on a sandwich, just a plain sandwich with butter and these mature cheeses give a lot of flavour to a sandwich."
The couple's next endeavour will be opening another cheese store in Paeroa.
Ineke said they hoped the store would run similar to the Mercer shop, with Albert busy preparing the new store's fit-out.
"We'll see how it goes and we'll do our best."
Mt Taranaki, or Pukehaupapa, at sunset as seen from Patea.
Officially known as Mt Taranaki or Mt Egmont, Taranaki's dominating geographical feature could actually be called something else altogether.
Waitara man Stu Whitehead has claimed that in ancient times the mountain was called Pukehaupapa, which translates to Ice Hill. His claim has the backing of one of the country's top historians.
Whiteheadsaid he had learnt the name Pukehaupapa at school and it had always rankled him whenever he saw reference to Taranaki or Egmont as the only official names for the mountain.
Robert Charles/FAIRFAX NZ Mt Taranaki shrouded in its usual cloud.
Taranaki-born historian Dr Danny Keenan said Whitehead's view was right in that Pukehaupapa, and also Pukeonaki, were names given to the mountain by the those who lived in the region in "ancient times".
READ MORE:
* Cultural crossroads over street names in Taranaki
* South Island 'N-word' place names could be wiped from the map
* New Waitara roads to take colonial names
* Cultural taboos on Mt Taranaki often ignored
* Editorial: A growing understanding of how to treat our maunga
These first human inhabitants of the region are commonly known as the Kahui Maunga people and it was one of their descendants who decided the mountain needed a new name, Keenan said.
Andy Jackson Mt Taranaki as seen from Urenui with the Taranaki Community Rescue Helicopter in the foreground.
"The primary tupuna (ancestor) of that period was named Rua Taranaki, who later arranged for his son Tahurangi to climb the mountain and being the first to do so, claimed the mountain now as 'Taranaki' representing the affirming of Rua Taranaki and his people over the mountain and surrounding plains," Keenan said.
The name stuck until 1770 when British explorer James Cook named the mountain after the Earl of Egmont, a man who never set foot in the region.
In May 1986, the New Zealand Geographic Board (NZGB) officially recorded Taranaki and Mt Egmont as interchangeable names for the mountain after years of controversy about what the mountain should actually be called.
Robert Charles/FAIRFAX NZ In 1986, the New Zealand Geographic Board, recorded Mt Taranaki or Mt Egmont as the official names for the region's most notable landmark.
Before that ruling there was no recognised name for the peak but it was most commonly referred to as Egmont.
The name of Taranaki's mountain remains a point of contention in the province, as while it is culturally insensitive to refer to it as Mt Egmont the practise is not uncommon.
Former Taranaki Daily News editor Lance Girling-Butcher made a decision more than 20 years ago for the landmark to only be referred to as Mt Taranaki in the newspaper, a move he said drew a fair bit of criticism at the time.
He said just before he imposed the editorial guideline, a public poll was carried out and the majority voted in favour of using Mt Egmont.
Despite the public backlash, Girling-Butcher said his decision to use Mt Taranaki was out of respect for Maori and to reflect the growing awareness of the region's cultural heritage.
"I just thought the time had come to make a change," he said.
A NZGB spokesman said the agency held no information about the name Pukehaupapa in connection with the history of the mountain.
He said anyone was entitled to lodge a request for a place name change but the application had to meet a variety of rules and criteria before it was considered by the board.
Taranaki's eight iwi groups have claim to the mountain and each have certain areas of particular importance within the national park and on the mountain itself.
Thousands of Cantabrians have earthquake claims still in limbo.
The tide of earthquake insurance claims still to go over-cap is likely to be bigger than figures suggest.
Five-and-a-half years since the start of Canterbury earthquakes, the Earthquake Commission (EQC) is ruling about 120 homes a month are over its $100,000-plus-GST liability cap.
In most cases owners have to start from scratch with private insurers to have their claims assessed.
Tim Grafton, chief executive of the Insurance Council (ICNZ), which represents insurance companies, said the numbers still going over-cap were concerning.
"This is an extremely frustrating situation for our customers to be transferred to their insurer more than five years after the event," he said.
READ MORE:
* Hundreds of quake claims still going over cap
* EQC has about 5500 shoddily repaired homes to fix
* Survey finds poor satisfaction rate with EQC
Figures from the Government and ICNZ reveal more than 25,000 homes had gone over-cap by the end of 2015. The rate is not slowing.
EQC has said 1 per cent of homeowners are yet to have their claims resolved by being paid out, repaired, or referred to private insurers. This amounts to nearly 1700 homes.
Grafton said the figure did not include other claims still with EQC the 4500 "closed" claims that were under dispute, or those with repairs under quality review.
An unknown number of homes from both groups would go over-cap, joining the queue alongside some of the claims not yet fully assessed, and those already passed to insurers.
Repairs under review included EQC's 5500 second-time repairs, where damage was poorly or inadequately done or was newly-sustained. Another 2300 homes with unconsented foundation fixes must be checked for defects.
Grafton said that as well as making life hard for homeowners, the slow progress was damaging New Zealand's reputation with reinsurers, the mainly-offshore companies who paid for the claims.
The reinsurers struggled to understand "how this can be happening so long after the events", he said.
"This is why the system needs to change in future, so insurers assess claims and can therefore get on to fix or rebuild the most damaged properties much, much sooner."
Official figures showed insurance companies were gaining traction settling over-cap claims, but at the start of year about 6500 of the 25,000 passed on by EQC were still awaiting settlement.
EQC now provided insurance companies with monthly updates on how many claims remained unresolved, and notified them when individual assessments reached 75 per cent of cap.
ICNZ made a submission to the Government as it reviewed the EQC Act, saying private insurers should handle natural disasters directly in future.
Reforms proposed in the review included having homeowners lodge claims with private insurers first, and boosting EQC's liability cap to $200,000 plus GST.
Meanwhile, Labour's Canterbury spokeswoman, Megan Woods, said the number of active complaints to EQC had risen from 556 in October to 658 at the beginning of February.
"With dodgy repairs, constant fix up jobs and growing numbers of active complaints, something is clearly wrong at EQC," she said.
"What these numbers show is that things are getting so bad even the complaints process can't keep up."
Noel David Casey, 54, has been sentenced to home detention for threatening a woman with a knife.
A drunk man who threatened to gouge out a woman's eyes and cut her throat with a knife has been allowed home detention.
Noel David Casey, 54, was sentenced to a year's home detention by the Christchurch District Court on Friday, and ordered to pay $3000 to the woman he was in a short term relationship with as emotional harm reparations.
Judge Jane Farish noted Casey accepted the relationship had "overwhelmed him".
Casey opted for a judge-alone trial where he was found guilty of two charges of assaulting a woman, one of threatening to do grievous bodily harm, two of assault with a weapon, and a charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice.
Defence counsel Karen Feltham said Casey did not recall the incidents because of his drinking a 40-year-old pattern of behaviour that began with his father in Ireland taking him to the pub at age 12 and "pouring four Guinnesses into him".
Crown prosecutor Aja Trinder said his lack of recall was not accepted. His DVD interview with the police showed him changing his explanation as he went along.
Judge Farish said the woman had found herself "suffocated and smothered" by the relationship.
When she stayed out with friends, he punched her in the face and kicked her in the leg.
It was followed by a "home invasion" where the woman turned up at Casey's home. He was drunk and holding a knife when he threatened to gouge out her eyes and slit her throat. She received some injury.
Judge Farish told Casey he "can't treat women as objects within relationships".
"You need seriously to address the way in which you handle relationships. You need to understand how a respectful relationship needs to function."
The car being driven by Etienne Saint-Armour was still accelerating when it was brought to a halt by a wire fence as it went over the tent with the three women in it.
Three European tourists involved in a real-life "horror movie" experience while camping in South Canterbury keep imagining what could have happened to them if they had set up their tent in a different way.
German tourists Nicolina Di Franco, 30, and Mariana Acar, 31, and their Dutch friend Aletta Daniels, 23, were wrapped in sleeping bags inside a tent they had pitched at a Department of Conservation campsite at Lake McGregor, near Tekapo, early on Thursday morning.
Di Franco had been last to bed after taking photos of the night sky, and heard the sound of the car next to them being started up.
SUPPLIED European tourists Nicolina Di Franco, 30, Mariana Acar, 31, and Aletta Daniels, 23 got the fright of their lives when a drunk Canadian man crashed his rental car into their tent while they slept.
The car revved several times and then the trio felt their small tent collapse under the weight of the wheels as it ran over it, Di Franco said.
Acar, who had her headphones in, found herself between the front wheels of the car. Remarkably, no-one was injured.
Only a wire fence and the tent fabric had prevented the car from accelerating further.
NORM BRUCE Lake McGregor, near Tekapo, is normally a serene spot for fishing and camping.
READ MORE: Drunk tourist crashes into tent at South Canterbury campground
"It was like in a horror movie when the bad guy comes at you with a chainsaw," Di Franco said from Nelson on Saturday.
"You're sitting there in the tent in the dark and the cold and the sound of the acceleration honestly sounded like a chainsaw and when he came through the tent the car was still accelerating.
"We just keep thinking, oh my god, what if the fence hadn't held him? He would have kept going and probably run over a whole lot of other tents too.
"Then we started thinking, oh my god, what if we had set up our tent the other way round?
"He would have driven over our heads."
With no cellphone reception at Lake McGregor, the women drove into Tekapo and phoned police.
The driver of the car, Canadian man Etienne Saint-Armour, 40, was convicted in the Timaru District Court on Friday on a charge of driving with excess breath alcohol.
Saint-Armour, who had started drinking at the campsite after finding out about the death of his father earlier in the day, blew 752 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath when breath-tested by police.
He was ordered to pay the three women $500 each in emotional harm reparation and was disqualified from driving for 12 months.
In sentencing him, Judge Joanna Maze said Saint-Armour was fortunate no-one was killed as a result of his decision to start the car.
Maze said she understood Saint-Armour was "merely moving the vehicle" and had only driven it three metres, but the way he had done had meant three people had been "very close" to serious injury, if not death.
His breath alcohol reading was high but she noted the circumstances for drinking, his immediate plea and obvious remorse.
After paying the reparation to the court, Saint-Armour was to catch a bus to Christchurch Airport to get back to Canada for his father's funeral.
Last night might have been the most scariest night of my life. I woke up while a drunk guy drove his car over our tent.... Posted by Aletta Daniels on Thursday, March 31, 2016
Di Franco said she was surprised that evidence that Saint-Armour had been driving the car earlier in the night was not presented to the court.
"I was taking photos outside and I saw him driving it around the campsite paddock a few hundred metres away," she said.
"He got it stuck and walked back past me, staggering around completely drunk, and another guy had to drive his car back to beside his tent for him.
"As soon as I heard the car start again from inside the tent I though, oh my god, I hope he's not driving again."
Di Franco said she, Acar and Daniels had been travelling together around the South Island for the past two and a half weeks, and planned to stay in New Zealand another month.
The "crazy" incident would not put them off their travels, but they had decided to throw away their broken tent, she said.
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Clayton Mitchell
New Zealand First MP
It has officially stopped being a secret that this Government is obsessed with all things American. I just wish they were as committed to the value of our Kiwi culture.
The Government is now encouraging the American inner-city model of apartment complexes.
The Governments answer to the housing crisis is to rezone and encourage corporations to build apartment buildings. It sounds practical and profitable. But what does it do to our Kiwi way of life?
Why does the Governments approach completely bypass the Kiwi dream of owning a home? What happened to the value of providing children with a backyard? One in 28 units and a communal playground will not replace what our families are losing.
The apartment builds planned for Tauranga are to be sold at prices upwards of $400,000. This keeps them in line with current market prices, which are too high for many of our families. Investors, not families, are likely to purchase them and turn them into rentals.
When we look at rental apartments in the US and UK, what we find are ghettos. Particularly in the United States, the term inner-city linked with the word apartments is synonymous to ghettos. These are the same terms the Government is using in their releases.
So, for the sake of profits and efficiency and in an embrace of all things American, the Government plans to encourage the building of ghettos in Tauranga as their answer to our housing crisis.
The alternative would be they are building luxury housing estates that would offer zero relief to the working people of Tauranga while continuing to encourage the current migration to Tauranga.
Its time to get real. Tauranga has real problems and we need real solutions. We do not need to continue to copy and paste into our country what has clearly failed in the United States and abroad.
Simon Bridges
National MP
simonbridges.co.nz
Last Thursday I spoke at the Tauranga Chamber of Commerce Business Leaders Luncheon with Mayor Stuart Crosby and Priority One chair Brett Hewlett. One of the topics of interest was infrastructure and how we have to ensure we are prepared for the future and our growing population and economy.
Since being elected in 2008, the National-led Government has committed billions of dollars for infrastructure. This is part of our wider programme to build a more competitive and productive economy that supports jobs.
Tauranga especially has benefitted from this investment, with the Tauranga Eastern Link being the most obvious example. Enabling works have also begun on the Bayfair to Baypark project, which will further relieve congestion on our roads and lead to greater productivity and efficiency.
Earlier this month Communications Minister Amy Adams announced the rollout of Ultra-Fast Broadband had been completed in Tauranga. All 39 schools are now able to connect to fibre internet, as well as businesses and households and Tauranga has one of the highest uptakes of fibre in the country.
Quality infrastructure helps give businesses confidence to invest another dollar and employ another person. Our investment in infrastructure continues to build a strong platform for growth. A more competitive and productive economy is the only way we will create jobs, boost incomes and provide the high-quality public services you and your family expect.
As your local Member of Parliament, I remain committed to ensuring Tauranga has the infrastructure it needs to continue to grow in the future.
Brian Rogers
Rogers Rabbits
www.sunlive.co.nz
Time and space: this column is a waste of both
We have some exciting science news for you this week, and remember you read it here first. Unless you are a Time Traveller, in which case you probably know this already: New Zealand changes to Night Dark Wasting Time this weekend, whereby clocks are altered to provide us with longer, cosy winter evenings.
This system was created by researchers at the Rogers Rabbits secret laboratory, to counter the effects of the evil Daylight Saving Time which was introduced by desperate dairy farmers, trying to offset the effects of shrinking Fonterra payouts, by increasing sunlight hours to make the grass grow faster.
It was probably Don Brashs idea. We may also have to blame America (often rumoured to be in cahoots with Dr Brash), because America declared the days are longer, the nights are stronger than moonshine.
To counter DLST, our intrepid researchers devised the antidote: Night Dark Wasting Time. You can all be part of this groundbreaking experiment, which should herald a new dawn, or should that be sunset, in the study of Time Travel.
Cher will be particularly pleased with this idea, because she has been pleading since the late eighties for us to Turn Back Time, if we could find a way. If shed only listened to a bit more Uriah Heep and discovered Traveller in Time shed have found all the answers in the seventies and might have avoided that unfortunate hook up with Sonny; or at least thought twice about wearing that slutty fishnet body stocking on tour.
The Rogers Rabbits theory is, if enough people turn their clock hands back simultaneously, in unison, all together, and at the same time; the combined effect of this anti-clockwise inertia will disrupt the Earths rotation, slowing it to a stop for one hour. If you have a clock with slender, lightweight hands, your contribution will be minimal.
But if you have a timepiece with large, heavy hands, such as the Green Party and their Mickey Mouse clocks, the effect will be heightened. We must take care not to go too far back in time, however, and chance the risk of ending up back in 1984 in the midst of Rogernomics. (Although Auckland would probably welcome back Cath Tizard as Mayor, knowing the rough time theyve had to endure with Len Brown).
There are other benefits of Night Dark Wasting Time. Because the nights will be longer, the Earth will cool a smidgeon* and therefore counter the effects of global warming. And we all know the curtains fade faster since DLST was foisted upon us, so there will be many excited interior decorators. Not that we want them too excited, they might start clapping and giggling and doing a gay little dance.
Before we know it, well be time warped back to Boogie Nights.
Dont worry if you cant turn back the hands of your clock. Our theory is, based on our years of scientific experimentation** is that so many people reading this column and adjusting their clocks will mean such a monumental shift in the Earths inertia, that youll be automatically upgraded to Night Dark Wasting Time, whether you want to or not!
Its a bit like getting Windows 10 when you were quite happy with a colouring book and a set of crayons. You just wanted to keep on colouring in, but everyone else in the asylum was changing, so you got dragged along for the ride.
To change manually to NDWT, turn the clock hands back one hour while you are asleep. Avoid turning the hands back while you are awake, this may result in having your sleepless time increased by an hour, making you tired and grumpy. And we know that many of you are already grumpy enough, especially those concerned about the future of your Gold Card.
Its also good time to check the batteries in your smoke alarms, and if theyre good, re-use them in a more fun appliance, such as a remote control fire starter. No, of course that is a joke and the good people at the fire service would take a very dim view of smoke alarm batteries being re-purposed for anything. Replace your smoke alarm batteries, whether they need it or not.
And dont drink and fry. There are enough bad cooks out there already, without you trying to slap together a fry up while your brain cells are toasted.
Thats all for this week
We look forward to seeing you all again in the future next week, presuming of course this weeks experiment in Time Travel goes according to plan; and you are not spun out of control into the year 1969, only to learn some disturbing facts about The Year 2525. If man is still alive.
If woman can survive.
Until then, contribute generously to our Givealittle page to help fund the editors Time Travel Retirement Project.
*Smidgeon: A technical term used by scientists to quantify the period of time that is longer than Two Shakes but shorter than a Mo.
** Years of Scientific Experimentation: A broader period of time than a smidgeon, measuring levels of commitment and faithful readershipapproximately the 15 years Rogers Rabbits has been feeding you this nonsense, still in disbelief that you doggedly read it to the end every week. Congratulations, you are officially short of something worthwhile to do.
brian@thesun.co.nz
Like on Facebook: Rogers Rabbits blog.
Transport Minister Simon Bridges has appointed Fran Wilde, Chris Ellis and Leo Lonergan, and reappointed Gill Cox, to the board of the New Zealand Transport Agency.
Ms Wilde will replace Dame Patsy Reddy as Deputy Chair of the board.
The new members have significant backgrounds in governance, leadership, regulation, decision-making and financial management, Mr Bridges says.
Combined with Mr Coxs reappointment, they ensure the board will continue to have the skills and experience needed to oversee the Governments significant investment in land transport.
I would also like to thank Dame Patsy for her work as Deputy Chair. Dame Patsy has played a crucial role in steering NZTA through the delivery of record investments in our transport network. I wish her all the best for her new role as Governor General, Mr Bridges says.
Mr Ellis, Mr Lonergan and Ms Wildes appointments are for three years and will commence on May 1. Mr Cox will serve another one year term.
NZTA is a Crown entity established in 2008 through the merger of Land Transport NZ and Transit NZ. It invests over $3 billion per year in New Zealands transport network, and is one of the Governments biggest procurers.
The board has eight members, appointed by the Minister of Transport.
NEW ZEALAND TRANSPORT AGENCY BOARD MEMBERS:
Gill Cox
A chartered accountant and director, Mr Cox has been a member of the New Zealand Transport Agency board since 1 September 2011, and chairs the boards Audit and Risk Committee.
Fran Wilde
Ms Wilde is a company director with experience in the public and private sectors. She has served as a Cabinet Minister, Mayor of Wellington, Chair of the Greater Wellington Regional Council and CEO of the New Zealand Trade Development Board.
Chris Ellis
Mr Ellis is a company director with a background in civil engineering. A former senior manager, he has directorships mainly in the heavy manufacturing and construction sectors. He brings extensive networks through his time in the construction industry.
Leo Lonergan
Currently working with two international consulting organisations, Mr Lonergan spent 36 years working for Chevron Corporation in New Zealand and internationally. Most recently he was Chief Procurement Officer, where he led Chevrons worldwide procurement and supply chain organisations with a global team of 5,000 people.
SOURCE: Office of Simon Bridges
Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy has welcomed new funding of $520,000 for the Hurunui Water Project centred around Hawarden in North Canterbury.
A reliable source of water in this very dry part of the country has major potential to increase production, grow exports and create jobs, says Mr Guy.
The funding comes from the Ministry for Primary Industries Irrigation Acceleration Fund and will help refine the scheme layout and scope the comprehensive work programme. This will help them deliver on Stage 1 in which 10,000-15,000 hectares will be irrigated.
Once complete the full scheme has the potential to irrigate 35,000 hectares of land. Around 70 per cent of that land will be used for sheep and beef production, with the other 30 per cent being for arable, dairy and other uses.
This area has been in serious drought for nearly 18 months now and the lack of a reliable water supply has been a major burden.
Through the Irrigation Acceleration Fund, MPI supports irrigation infrastructure proposals with matched funding to the stage where they are investment ready. This means they must be commercially robust and demonstrate a high level of community support.
As a Government we are strong supporters of irrigation and water storage. We have allocated $120 million to Crown Irrigation Investments Ltd over the last three years, and $25 million extra towards the IAF in last years Budget.
In 2012, 722,000 hectares of land was under irrigation, of which 115,300 hectares had received some form of Crown funding. We now have 276,500 hectares of land with Crown assisted irrigation schemes in progress, so we are on track to meet our goal of one million hectares by 2025.
A recent report by NZIER found that irrigation contributes $2.2 billion to the national economy and this has the potential to increase further.
For more information on the Irrigation Acceleration Fund, visit here: http://mpi.govt.nz/funding-and-programmes/natural-resources/irrigation-acceleration-fund/
For more information on the Hurunui Water Project, visit here: http://www.hurunuiwater.co.nz/
SOURCE: Office of Nathan Guy
Paid parental leave will be extended by two weeks as part of a raft of law changes which come into effect today.
Along with increasing parental leave to 18 weeks in total, it will also be extended to non-standard workers like casual and seasonal employees, and to people whove recently changed jobs.
The increase will be the second boost to paid parental leave after it was raised from 14 to 16 weeks on April 1, 2015.
Primary carers other than biological or adoptive parents can also apply for parental leave and payments now, which includes Home for Life carers, whangai, and grandparents raising a child in place of the childs parents.
Eligible parents of pre-term babies are also set to receive additional payments for each week their baby was born prior to the 37 week gestation period, up to a maximum of 13 weeks.
Finance Minister Bill English says these changes show all Kiwis continue to benefit from the strong, growing economy and the National-led Governments responsible policy programme.
The April 1 measures demonstrate the Governments focus on ensuring everyone shares in the gains from a growing economy.
Many of these changes are part of the Budget 2015 package to reduce hardship among children in New Zealands poorest families.
The changes also includes increasing benefit rates for families with children by $25 a week after tax which will benefit some 100,000 families with 180,000 children.
Childcare subsidy rates for 40,000 low income families will also rise from $4 to $5 an hour for up to 50 hours of childcare a week per child to reduce barriers to moving off welfare and into work
But the Government will also place stronger work expectations for beneficiary parents, explains Bill.
From April 1 we are strengthening work requirements for parents on a benefit, requiring them to be available for work when their youngest child turns three, rather than five now.
They will also be expected to find work for 20 hours a week rather than 15. The best thing we can do for these children is to get their parents into work.
Also set to rise will be adult minimum wage, which goes up from $14.55 to $15.25, an increase of 3.4 per cent. This will directly benefit 152,700 workers and increase wages throughout the economy by $75 million per year.
The starting out and training hourly wage will also go up to $12.20 an hour. This is set at 80 per cent of the adult minimum wage.
The Governments economic programme is supporting more jobs and higher incomes for New Zealand families. The average annual wage increased by 3.1 per cent in the last year to almost $58,000 and 175,000 jobs have been created in the last three years.
From today, ACC levies will be reduced by $171 million and the earners levy, which is paid by all workers, will also drop by $61 million. On July 1, there will also be $218 million of cuts to motor vehicle levies.
Superannuation and veterans pension payments will also increase by 2.7 per cent.
COMING INTO EFFECT ON APRIL 1:
The MetService has issued a severe weather warning for many areas around the country including the Eastern Bay of Plenty.
It says a complex trough is forecast to cross the country during Saturday, bringing rain to the north and west of both islands in a moist north to northeast flow.
You may have noticed Canada's unusually mild flu season this year. Thanks to the warm weather this winter, fewer Canadians took to their beds suffering from influenza, reported the Toronto Sun via the Public Health Agency of Canada. But the country did not go completely without disease. The agency's FluWatch report explained that there were hospitalizations, most of which were occupants of seniors over the age of 65.
Determining how influenza will strike every flu season is near impossible, but it's important to be prepared nonetheless. This is why Health Canada recently approved a vaccine manufactured by Toronto medical company Sanofi Pasteur specifically for adults 65 and older.
What Is Fluzone High-Dose?
The Herald News recently reported that Sanofi Pasteur's vaccine is four times as powerful as the average flu shot, and was designed for senior citizens, specifically those who need higher dosages of the drug in order to prevent getting sick. Dr. Janet McElhaney, scientific director for the Advanced Medical Research Institute of Canada explained that this vaccine has actually already been approved in the United States since 2009, however it has finally been brought to Canada as clinical trials proved the shot was 24 percent more effective in the elderly.
"It's basically a more concentrated vaccine for seniors. As we get older we get a weakened immune system, so it requires a bigger stimulus to get that same boost we need for influenza protection." she said.
Why Being Proactive About The Flu Is So Important For Seniors
Seniors wish to remain independent, especially when they are in assisted living facilities - remaining in good health is one of the best ways they can remain doing so. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the U.S. reported that seniors 65 years or older typically are at greater risk for serious complications from the flu. In fact, about 80 to 90 percent of flu-related deaths have occurred in this age bracket in recent years. Getting vaccinated therefore isn't just preventing them from getting sick, its enabling them to maintain a happy lifestyle free of health care restraints. At the end of the day, seniors need to be vigilant about how they are monitoring their own health as well as others.
Overall, seniors need to be responsible and get their flu shots. But they also need to assess their own health if they are feeling ill and seek help, otherwise they may be putting others at risk for the sickness. Finally, they must regularly wash hands, especially if they have come in to contact with someone else who is show signs of the flu. Staying healthy this flu season all about proactive prevention, people!
Michael Tellinger. :: SUR
The keynote speaker at the United Nationalities Marbella Now conference, to be held at Laude International School on April 5th, is Michael Tellinger, the South African architect of the UBUNTU liberation movement and political party. He is coming to Marbella on a mission to open hearts and minds to a movement rooted in ancient philosophies that he has brought to the modern world stage and which he describes as a utopian world of abundance for all on a planet of abundance where we express our talents infinitely and without restriction. It promotes a concept called contributionism -the transformation from a money-driven society to one driven by people where everyone contributes their talents and skills for the greater benefit of all.
World without money
Michael is the author of four books, a songwriter, scientist and explorer. In 2005, he started to promote the idea of a world without money. The idea came to him through his research into the origins of humankind and ancient human history. I realised that thousands of years ago people lived without money yet they had advanced technology that we do not understand today. Money was first introduced to humanity as a tool for enslavement and control by the elite. It made me begin to look around at the reasons for human misery and suffering, trying to find a simple solution to it all.
To Michael, humanity has become a deeply divided species. We are divided by country; by flag and religion; education; where we live; what job we have; what car we drive; what clothes we wear - the division is endless and severe. It is also the main reason why so many of us live in perpetual fear. Fear of death; fear of our neighbours; fear of the unknown; fear of cancer or disease; fear of authority; fear of losing our jobs
Moral compass
Throughout his studies of the works of the great prophets and teachers of the past, he realised that their views all emanated from a similar moral compass - to stand united, to love each other, honour each other and live in harmony with all of creation. In fact, the same values that we try to teach our children while growing up, says Michael.
But suddenly, at some mysterious moment in our lives, things change. We stop paying attention to those higher consciousness values and we fall into the routine of life, getting entangled in the daily struggle for survival. We realise that we need to earn this thing called money to be able to survive and live. How is it possible that we should need money to live on a planet that we were born on? I realised that this has nothing to do with evolution or the natural order of things and everything to do with those who control the creation and the supply of money to every single one of us. I refer to the global banking elite that have taken the world hostage. We are caught up in a silent and relentless war of economic slavery that has been so cleverly woven around us that most of us are not even aware of it.
Growth of UBUNTU
A decade on from his personal epiphany, the UBUNTU Liberation Movement, born officially in 2010, has sprouted and grown. In 2012, the UBUNTU political party was formed in South Africa and participated in the 2014 elections.
Although we did not get a seat in parliament, we achieved what we had intended - to plant a seed of consciousness in the hearts and minds of hundreds of thousands of South Africans, supported by many more millions around the world. Our actions have inspired like-minded people in many other countries to do the same and start UBUNTU parties to contest future elections with the UBUNTU manifesto and philosophy of contributionism, says Michael.
Doesnt this beg the question of why there is a need to become political, given that UBUNTU is intrinsically a movement for the people, by the people? Michaels view is simple: We must stop being afraid of politics - it is there to serve, not to enslave. Change is a long process. We need the political front to raise our credibility among the general population, to be able to reach more people through the mainstream media and also to serve as a platform of protection against possible legal action by the governing elite.
Contributionism
Scientists, engineers, farmers and ordinary people have the answers and knowledge to solve problems rapidly, says Michael. The government does not. UBUNTU seeks not to govern but rather to empower people to govern themselves in united and self-sustained communities. Imagine living in a world where everything is obtained, designed, measured, planned, manufactured, implemented, built, planted, cooked, sculpted, painted or provided for the people, by the people this is UBUNTU contributionism.
Future
So how does the founder of UBUNTU see the next three to five years? Michael remains pointedly realistic. A political victory in at least one small town or municipality is how it starts. Once we have an UBUNTU mayor in one town, implementing the philosophy and plan of action, the world will start to take note. Its impossible for capitalism and greed to survive. One drop of contributionism devours capitalism everywhere.
One might wonder how well UBUNTU will be received in Marbella, a town more known for its reputation as a playground for the rich and famous. Support for good causes is given but more often than not in money terms - money eschewed by UBUNTU. How does Michael feel about that? This is best news of all, he says. Many wealthy people are waking up, becoming conscious and want to help the right causes but are really careful who they support. There are many organisations that are fronts for the elite - that uphold the global agenda of enslavement. Most of the big charities fall into this category. It is really difficult to find a movement or cause that will truly have an impact on the planet.
I trust that the people will see that UBUNTU can be one of the main instruments of real and rapid change. By supporting UBUNTU financially they can speed up the liberation of the whole world - not just their area. The financial system has been designed to destroy everything that opposes it - always with money itself. We need to raise as much money as we can to create a new system that works without money - then it will fade away on its own.
Australian college gets an upgrade
The latest simulation training technology is now available thanks to a $1.4 mill upgrade at the Australian Maritime College (AMC), a specialist institute of the University of Tasmania.
The upgrade includes Panasonics first installation of a ultra-high resolution 4K full mission bridge simulation projection system. This upgrade provides a higher level of immersion in the simulator, AMC Centre for Maritime Simulations manager, Damien Freeman, said. The image is clearer, brighter and more colourful with less visible pixels, so the user experiences a more realistic perception of the simulated environment. AMC National Centre for Ports and Shipping director, Prof Thanasis Karlis, explained that the $660,000 projection system was part of a multi-stage upgrade, which included the installation of two 360 deg tug simulators, plus new desktop simulator software specialising in liquid cargo handling and engine room operations. These significant upgrades have allowed us to reconfigure the Centre for Maritime Simulations to meet the changing needs of our clients and students, and were pleased to be able to offer them the most advanced simulation training experience in the world, Prof Karlis said. Our facilities are used for maritime human factors research and investigation into port development, ship manoeuvring and improving ship and port safety. They also help bridge the gap between theory and practice in the training of ship Masters and deck officers. The upgraded Panasonic projector system enhances that capability and ensures AMC continues to be a leader in maritime simulation,he said. An interactive 60-inch electronic chart table has also been developed in-house to record training sessions in the ship simulator and provide clients with debriefing. The final stage of the upgrade will be the installation of a standalone touch screen engine room simulator expected to come online by the middle of this year . Freeman said that touch screen technology was a recent advance in training simulators and would allow for a more tailored experience. The advantages of having touch screen and computer displays are that you can load a variety of different engines and bring them up to do type-specific training. So the students will be virtually trained using the engines they encounter in the real world,he said.The major benefit of using simulators is they allow you to do high-risk and contingency training. If you get something wrong and the engine seizes we can just reset the exercise. You cant do that in real life.
Markets - Chinese port delays help VLCCs
With extensive delays in Chinese ports in particular continuing, events pushed charterers to fix tonnage with secure itineraries over the holidays.
This created a very bullish momentum, which has pushed rates up sharply in the MEG for all options, Fearnleys said in its weekly report. For example, MEG/East rates moved quickly to WS70 and last done was around WS80 for MEG/China route, yielding about $60,000 per day. West Africa/East followed and with a thinning list of tonnage in the East, charterers offered laycans into May, propelling the momentum further for VLCCs. Charterers did see some resistance from Suezmax owners before the holidays started. However, tonnage offering firm positions looked to fix higher than last done for WAfrica/UK-Cont-Med voyages and as a result, managed to push the rates up by WS2.5-5 points to a new fixing level. Activity picked up after the holidays with charterers working up to end of the second week in WAfrica ,although the rates remained steady at last done for the time being, Fearnleys said. The MEG saw firm numbers with a potential further upswing, as end month Basrah liftings came into play, in addition to uncertain positions in the Singapore/China range, due to bad weather and ullage problems. Rates in the North Sea and Baltic Aframax markets bounced back over the holiday period after a short-lived dip. The main reasons for rates firming again were a very busy Baltic crude programme for April and fewer vessels than normal being declared short. At time of writing (Wednesday), the list of available tonnage seemed to be in balance with the expected cargoes and rates should slide sideways in the short term, but with a slight potential to firm moving further into the third week of April fixing window. Charterers in the Med and Black Sea managed to cover their requirements before the holidays, without rates moving as much as expected. We are now seeing levels around WS115 being fixed, and as the position list is looking rather balanced, we expect the market to remain stable for the week to come, Fearnleys concluded. In other chartering news, Tsakos Energy Navigation (TEN)has confirmed charter extensions with a state oil company, believed to be FLOPEC, with profit sharing provisions for four Panamaxes. The average duration is 22 months per vessel and minimum gross revenues will amount to $65 mill, TEN said. The extensions are expected to start between April and November, 2016 upon the expiry of their existing charters and contribute, on an annualized basis, an extra $20 mill to the companys bottom line. The extension of these contracts follow our policy to increase TENs long-term employment profile as timecharter rates have finally started to reflect the strength of the spot market, Nikolas Tsakos, TEN president and CEO commented.With an average contract length of 2.7 years for the whole fleet and $1.5 bill in minimum revenues, coupled with the ability to benefit from market peaks through our flexible contracts, TEN has further secured its ability to maintain its uninterrupted dividend record going forward which, since its NYSE listing in 2002, has distributed an average of $0.75 per share per annum at a yield of 5.25%. With steady cash flows, substantial organic growth and firm cost controls TEN is attractively priced and placed for both value and yield investors, Tsakos concluded. Gener8 Maritime announced that it took delivery of the VLCC Gener8 Success on 22nd March, 2016 from Shanghai Waigoqiao Shipbuilding. She is the eighth of 21 VLCCs expected to be delivered to Gener8. Upon her delivery, the Gener8 Success entered Navig8's VL8 Pool. Mjolner was said to have fixed the 2009-built Aframax SN Claudia for two years at $23,500 per day, while PetroChina was believed to have fixed the 2010-built MR Marios G for 12 months at $18,500 per day. In the S&P market, undisclosed interests were said to have purchased the 2002-built Suezmax sisters Ganges Spirit and Yamuna Spirit for $26 mill each. The 2007-built MR Seaexpress was believed committed to unknown interests for DPP trading at $18.4 mill and the 2002-built MR Maple Express was thought sold to undisclosed interests on subjects at $12.3 mill. Leaving the fleet was the 1991-built Aframax Sriracha Master reported sold to Pakistani breakers on private terms.
New way of working highlighted
Shipowners, managers, operators, flag states and training academies took part in extensive discussions on how to create a single, shared data environment for ship, shore, traffic control and training schools.
These discussions were held during a closed forum organised by Transas at the CMA Shipping 2016 last month. This followed the launch of the Transas Harmonised Eco System of Integrated Solutions (THESIS) vision in January of this year. In launching this vision, Transas committed to developing a data infrastructure for the maritime industry, with the maritime industry, the company said. The THESIS concept will be an industry-wide, unified data system for information sharing across all sectors, enabling users to make better decisions, improve operations and deliver next generation training. It will facilitate ship operations as a co-ordinated enterprise, with ship and shore-based operations centres working together, on shared information platforms. "Transas will be able to create the environment, connect the systems and supply the tools, but the industry has to adopt the new way of working. This is why it is critical to develop the platform with the industry itself," explained Frank Coles, Transas CEO. "However, it is not just technology or a data infrastructure that needs to be developed, it is a new attitude within the maritime industry. This represents some of our biggest challenges." It was these challenges that were discussed during the inaugural closed forum. The role of the ship crew, particularly the Master and superintendent and how working relationships with onshore staff might change, were central to the debate. The gathering of industry minds also identified that the future of fleet resource management and shared responsibility is not a question of if, but rather when. It was confirmed that the provision of intelligent support and the minimisation of administrative burden are key foundations upon which any unified data system should be developed. Also, under consideration was the role of flag states and port state control. It was acknowledged that such a system could positively impact traditional practices in these fields as well as in ship operations themselves. The forum at Stamford, Connecticut was the first in a series of global industry feedback meetings and surveys that Transas will host throughout this year, the company said.
Several flag states fall foul of USCG
Thirteen countries have been removed from the US Coast Guards Qualship 21 list of performing flags.
There were 26 eligible flag states in 2015 of which 13 fell off the 2016 Qualship 21 preliminary list, according to a statement from the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) Registry. RMI obtained the information during Intertankos North American Panel meeting at the Connecticut Maritime Associations (CMAs) Shipping 2016 conference at which, Admiral Paul Thomas, Assistant Commandant for Prevention Policy, USCG presented the preliminary results. As well as RMI, other flags remaining on the list include Belgium, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Canada, Cayman Islands, Denmark, Gibraltar, Hong Kong, Japan, Republic of Korea, Switzerland, and the UK. In addition, Italy, Mexico and the Philippines were added to the 2016 Qualship 21 preliminary list. RMI claimed that it was the only flag state of the three largest to hold this status. Even though the data is preliminary, getting the news during CMA that we will continue on Qualship 21 for 12 consecutive years was timely and meant we could immediately share this information with our owners and operators in person, said Bill Gallagher, President of IRI, RMIs manager.The RMI fleet has more than 130 mill gt and more than 50% of that tonnage was represented by attendees at the CMA conference this year. Even with the growth of the registry, it is gratifying to note that we are maintaining our qualitative edge and based on the preliminary data will continue on Qualship 21 for what will now be 12 consecutive years, he concluded. The final results are to be presented in the USCGs 2016 Annual Report scheduled to be released in early summer.
West African piracy incidents continue
Four crew members of a chemical tanker kidnapped off Nigeria on 5th March, have been released and were said to be in good health, the Hellenic Coast Guard reportedly said, which was confirmed by the International Maritime Bureau (IMB).
The undisclosed owner of the chemical tanker, which was also unnamed, was said to have told the Coast Guard that the crew, including three Greek nationals and one Filipino, were freed on 28th March. The Panamanian-flagged tanker was hijacked by a group of armed pirates while the ship was underway some 32 miles Southwest of Bonny Island, Nigeria. The ship had 22 crew members and one passenger on board when the armed group boarded the tanker. The remaining crew members retreated to the citadel, escaping pirates, who left the ship shortly after boarding, taking four crew members with them. Once the pirates abandoned the vessel, the remaining crew members managed to sail the tanker to a safe port. The terms of the crews release have not been disclosed, but it is highly likely that the ship owner had to pay ransom to free his crew, local reports said. Meanwhile, five crew members were allegedly kidnapped from the 6,436 dwt tanker Sampitiki after pirates attacked the vessel offshore Niger Delta on 26th March, according to the UK-based security agency Asket. At least eight pirates boarded the chemical tanker after midnight and remained on board the vessel for four hours, after which they departed the ship with the hostages, the agency said. The 2008-built vessel was said to have reported the attack, which occurred some 30 miles off the coast of Bonga, via VHF. At the time of the incident, the Liberia-flagged tanker was in transit from Port Harcourt to Luba in Equatorial Guinea. It was now thought to be heading for Lagos.
Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in a mosquito cage at a laboratory in Cucuta, Colombia. (AP FILE PHOTO)
By Elliott Jones of TCPalm
Although there are no cases of the Zika virus on the Treasure Coast, people here are becoming more aware of the virus now that Palm Beach and Brevard county residents have contracted the disease.
"It is very likely at some point that we will (have cases)," said Doug Carlson, director of Indian River Mosquito Control.
Homeowner requests for inspections of yards have doubled in Martin County, said Carlyn Porter, acting director of Martin County Mosquito Control.
"They are not in a panic, but they are concerned."
INTERACTIVE GRAPHIC | Scroll down for more information about Zika
All of Florida's 91 Zika cases, which include five pregnant women, are people who contracted the virus while traveling overseas and were bitten by infected mosquitoes there.
Zika is passed primarily by the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which lives in Florida. Researchers haven't found Zika in Florida's mosquitoes, which live around houses, breed in small amounts of water and usually are out at dusk or dawn.
The blood-borne virus is spread by a mosquito biting an infected person and then passing that blood to another person through another mosquito bite. Mosquitoes don't pass it to each other, researchers said.
Zika also can be spread during sex by a man infected with Zika. The virus stays in semen longer than it does in blood. Scientists are researching whether Zika can cause birth defects, including abnormally small heads and brains in unborn infants.
Florida's Zika cases are concentrated in South Florida. Miami-Dade and Broward counties have a total 52 cases.
The Florida Department of Health attributes that to Miami-Dade and Broward having large populations of Latin and South American residents or those whose families reside in Zika-affected areas, said spokeswoman Mara Gambineri.
"Many people travel to visit family members or vacation, exposing themselves to the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes," said Mara Gambineri, health department spokeswoman.
Also, Florida's proximity to nations with Zika "make it reasonably more likely that we'll see travel-related cases," she said.
The virus is in 15 of Florida's 67 counties, including three of the four that surround the Treasure Coast, Palm Beach (four people), Osceola (four people) and Brevard (two people).
Treasure Coast mosquito control agencies continue checking where mosquitoes breed and keep those areas under control.
"We are monitoring and controlling the Aedes aegypti population with daily trapping, yard inspections and treatments," Porter said.
Mosquito control workers are telling people that standing water in drainage swales is not the main concern; they should be draining small water collection areas. The Aedes aegypti mosquitoes primarily breed in small containers, that can include corners of boats, boat covers, pots and in some plants where water accumulates in their leaves.
Questions?
Mosquito control agencies can answer questions about mosquitoes:
Indian River County: 772-562-2393
St. Lucie County: 772-462-1692
Martin County: 772-419-6974
Have questions about Zika and health problems: Call 855-622-6735 at the Florida Department of Health
On March 22, Capt. Alex Gorichky (left) of Local Lines charters in Merritt Island and Indian RiverKeeper Marty Baum (right) walk a shoreline of the Banana River, a part of the northern Indian River Lagoon in Brevard County, and step over dead adult redfish, also called red drum, measuring upwards of 40 inches in length. Baum said the fish probably died within the last 48 hours, and probably as a result of an algae bloom known as "Brown Tide." (MARJORIE SHROPSHIRE/CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)
By Tyler Treadway of TCPalm
The Treasure Coast is primed for a devastating die-off like the one that left at least thousands, and more likely millions, of fish belly-up in the Banana River last month.
All that's keeping the environmental catastrophe at bay: tidal inlets that flush our section of the Indian River Lagoon with clean ocean water.
So far.
Scientists say continued rain and Lake Okeechobee discharges could dump more nutrient-rich, algae bloom-producing water into the lagoon than the inlets can flush away.
"It's naive to think we couldn't get the kind of algal blooms here that led to the kind of fish kill they had up in the Banana River," said Zack Jud, a marine biologist and education director at the Florida Oceanographic Society in Stuart. "There's no reason to think we're somehow immune."
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission estimated at least tens of thousands of fish died from March 18 to 20 in the Banana River, an arm of the lagoon that stretches from the Kennedy Space Center to just north of Melbourne in Brevard County.
Several Treasure Coast scientists put the number much higher. Jud estimated tens of millions of fish were killed after an algal bloom known as brown tide died in the Banana River, and bacteria feeding on the dead algae sucked all the oxygen out of the water. With no oxygen, the fish suffocated.
Fish kills are not uncommon in the lagoon. The worst came in 2010, when prolonged cold weather killed fish in the lagoon and throughout Florida. And in 1998, a year of massive Lake O discharges, thousands of fish from 33 species died or got open lesions on their skin in the lagoon from Melbourne to Jupiter.
Brown tide is no stranger to the lagoon, either. In 2011 and 2012 it blanketed the water from Titusville to just north of Fort Pierce, killing about 47,000 acres of sea grass. The loss of sea grass is thought to have caused the deaths of numerous manatees, dolphin and brown pelicans in the northern lagoon.
The current, still-living bloom of "brown tide," aka Aureoumbra lagunensis, began in November and accelerated in January, reaching as far south as Sebastian.
Loads of nutrients
Unlike the highly populated areas around the southern lagoon, much of the Banana River is isolated. The northern section is surrounded by largely uninhabited tracts including the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
The southern section includes Port Canaveral and the town of Cocoa Beach, "but the Banana River doesn't get any runoff from the mainland, and there are no canals that empty into it," Jud said.
On the other hand, a slew of canals, creeks and ditches draining farmland and densely populated areas puts high levels of nutrients, mostly nitrogen and phosphorus, into the lagoon along the Treasure Coast.
The current Lake Okeechobee discharges alone have dumped an estimated 93,600 pounds of phosphorus and nearly 957,000 pounds of nitrogen into the St. Lucie River, a lagoon tributary, according to calculations by Stuart environmental engineer Gary Goforth. Respectively, that's the weight of a fully loaded concrete truck and two adult blue whales.
The Banana River fish kill is not related to the Lake Okeechobee discharges into the St. Lucie River and lagoon at Stuart. The discharged water doesn't go that far north.
As the weather warms, the threat of a bloom increases. Algae thrives in warm water, and warm water has less oxygen than cool water. It's no coincidence, Jud said, the fish kill occurred while the Banana River was experiencing the hottest water temperature since January: about 80 degrees, according to a Kilroy remote control water sensor installed by the Fort Pierce-based Ocean Research & Conservation Association.
"If we keep getting rain to push nutrients into the water to feed the algae, who knows what's going to happen in June, July and August," said Grant Gilmore, a Vero Beach marine biologist who's been studying fish in the Indian River Lagoon since the 1970s.
Inlet relief
With no inlet, the Banana River receives very little, if any, tidal flushing. The Sebastian, Fort Pierce and St. Lucie inlets help along the Treasure Coast, Gilmore said, but they're not enough to guarantee a clean lagoon.
"The only inlet that really flushes the lagoon is Fort Pierce," he said. "The Sebastian Inlet doesn't do it. And we know the St. Lucie Inlet can't even flush out all the Lake Okeechobee discharge water going into the St. Lucie River."
Areas of the lagoon midway between the Fort Pierce and St. Lucie inlets and Fort Pierce and Sebastian inlets get very little flushing.
"The tides move the water up and down, but they don't flush out the dirty water and replace it with clean," Jud said.
Cutting new tidal inlets or pumping in ocean water would help flush out the Mosquito Lagoon and Banana River sections of the northern Indian River Lagoon, according to a study by Gary Zarillo, a marine and environmental systems professor at Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne commissioned by the St. Johns River Water Management District.
"I'd rather spend the money on getting rid of what we're putting into the lagoon," Gilmore said. "If you're going to live along the lagoon, you can't send nasty stuff into the water. If we continue to load the lagoon with nutrients, eventually we're going to overwhelm it."
Gilmore also thinks the cause of the brown tide bloom's rapid growth and collapse needs to be determined.
"If we don't know why it happened up there," Gilmore said, "we can't say it won't happen down here."
The common theory is the bloom ran out of nutrients to eat. But Edie Widder, founder and lead scientist at ORCA, isn't so sure.
Kilroy data
The bloom crashed at several sites at the same time Sykes Creek in the Banana River and Crane Creek and Eau Gallie in the lagoon Widder determined based on data from ORCA's Kilroy remote control water sensors.
"For the bloom to use up nutrients at all those sites at the same time seems unlikely," she said.
The crash could have been caused by a virus in the blue-green algae mixed in with the brown tide, Widder suspects. The St. Lucie River had extensive, and sometimes toxic, blue-green algae blooms during Lake Okeechobee discharges in 2005 and 2013. No blooms have been reported so far this year.
"It's just a theory," she said. "I don't have enough data to prove it."
She may not have time to collect the data she needs, as her nonprofit faces a lack of funding to maintain most of its Kilroys.
The Legislature gave ORCA $2 million in 2014 to deploy 25 Kilroys in Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River and Brevard counties. The state ponied up only $250,000 of the $750,000 for annual maintenance costs in 2015 and 2016.
"It's killing me that we have to pull them (the Kilroys) out in a few months because we didn't get money to continue the program," Widder said.
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An unnamed wooden-hulled derelict vessel ran aground in August 2008 near the Crossroads and broke apart until floating chunks of the hull nearly killed boaters who collided with the parts. (FILE PHOTO)
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By Conrad Defiebre, Special to Treasure Coast Newspapers
Florida cities and counties can tap into a new $1.4 million state grant to reduce a backlog of abandoned boats that are navigational hazards.
But before the 2016-17 program launches July 1, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission must approve new rules to distribute the money.
The only statewide public hearing on those rules will be held Monday in Fort Pierce, despite the fact the Treasure Coast will benefit little, if at all.
There are only two boats in the three-county area that have been legally declared abandoned, making them subject to government removal and destruction one each in St. Lucie and Indian River, according to an FWC database. The owners of those boats either cannot be located or have been unresponsive to authorities.
Even those boats aren't posing major problems, particularly compared with the nautical havoc left by the 2004 hurricanes Frances and Jeannie.
"I don't perceive it to be that great a deal," said Jim Oppenborn, St. Lucie County's coastal engineer.
Eyesores
Derelict vessels are not to be confused with other boats that break free of their moorings, which local officials consider a temporary and easy-to-resolve problem. For example, a couple of boats that have been abandoned for a year or more in Indian River County are eyesores but not hazards, said Tim Grabenbauer, the Vero Beach Municipal Marina director and harbor master.
St. Lucie and Indian River sheriff's officials said they notify FWC about such boats, but the state has no funds to remove them, said Phil Horning, FWC's derelict vessel program administrator.
Martin County stands alone on the Treasure Coast in using boat registration money to dispose of abandoned boats quickly.
"We're proactive. We jump on them as soon as we get them," said Dave Holcomb, the county's derelict vessel coordinator. "It's not a chronic problem here."
The most recent example is a 24-foot sailboat swamped near Boy Scout Island that was removed last week. Several other small boats were hauled from the Manatee Pocket and near the Jensen Causeway earlier this year, Holcomb said.
The county also spent $24,000 to destroy the 60-foot freighter Endeavour at an Indiantown scrap yard after it ran aground in fall at the St. Lucie-Indian River crossroads, contaminating the water with diesel fuel. Federal officials picked up most of the cleanup costs, Holcomb said.
Statewide
There may be as many as 1,500 abandoned vessels in state waters, many of them sunken, the FWC estimates.
Only 315 boats in 39 counties are listed in the agency's database, a voluntary reporting tool for county and municipal authorities.
State officials hope to remove 300 boats with the $1.4 million state grant.
The backlog is most prevalent in Brevard, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties.
The FWC spent $1.55 million to remove 92 boats, mostly larger vessels, in 2008-09, which prompted many local authorities to stop working on the problem, Horning said.
Public hearing
When: 1-4 p.m. April 4
Where: St. Lucie County Commission chambers, 2300 Virginia Ave., Fort Pierce
Who: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
Why: To approve rules to distribute a $1.4 million state grant for counties to remove derelict vessels
Map key
Red dots = derelict vessels that are a hazard to navigate; yellow dots = derelict vessels that are not a hazard to navigate; pink dots = vessels identified as "at risk". Maps courtesy of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Indian River County
St. Lucie County
Martin County
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INDIANTOWN The Martin County Board of County Commissioners is seeking applications from those interested in being considered to fill vacancies on the Rural Indiantown Revitalization Advisory Board.
Members serve without compensation and must submit an application for appointment to Martin County Administration by April 22. For an application, call Martin County Administration at 772-288-5756 or email dgordon@martin.fl.us.
The Rural Indiantown Revitalization Advisory Board advises and makes recommendations to the County Commission regarding matters of economic development and commercial revitalization for the greater Indiantown area.
An applicant should be a resident living in the Revitalization Zone; financial or insurance entity located in or providing services in the Revitalization Zone; a person owning real property within the Revitalization Zone; a representative from an educational institution in the Revitalization Zone; or an at-large member. Florida law prohibits an advisory board member from doing business with its agency (the County). Section 112.313(3) and (7), Fla. Stat.
VGTI Florida (left) and Torrey Pines Institute of Molecular Studies (right). (FILE PHOTO)
By Nicole Rodriguez of TCPalm
PORT ST. LUCIE The city's fragile finances might once more jeopardize its credit rating.
Global credit scoring agency Moody's Investors Service on March 9 placed Port St. Lucie's credit rating on review for a downgrade. The review is driven by ongoing litigation and the financial fallout from the collapse of the Vaccine &Gene Therapy Institute, according to Moody's.
A credit-rating downgrade now would be the second in a year for Port St. Lucie. Moody's in June downgraded two of the city's three credit categories, citing the heightened risk the city which already was $916 million in debt might have if it assumed mortgage payments for the foundering biotech research center.
VGTI shut down four months later, on Oct. 1.
This time around, Moody's is reviewing Port St. Lucie's general-obligation, non-ad valorem and lease and guaranteed debt. Those categories now rate A1, A2 and A2, respectively. The highest rating is Aaa1, the lowest, C3.
At the same time, Standard & Poor's Rating Service has reaffirmed Port St. Lucie's credit rating for its public-service tax-revenue bonds at AA-, or stable, citing the city's "strong willingness to support all of its obligations," according to the March 24 report.
On the Moody's scale, Port St. Lucie still is at the higher end of the credit-rating spectrum.
Moody's will examine Port St. Lucie's potential to repay money owed on VGTI and other failed economic investments, the agency's Communication Strategist David Jacobson said in an email Thursday.
"The city has guaranteed a material amount of debt related to economic-development projects, and several of these projects have already invoked city support," Jacobson said. "Our review will focus on the city's ongoing ability to provide support for all of these projects while maintaining financial flexibility. Our review will also consider the likely trajectory of all city-guaranteed obligations and the city's plans for managing these liabilities."
Mayor Greg Oravec is optimistic the city will maintain its credit rating, he said in an email Thursday.
"I am hopeful that Moody's review of the actual numbers and city actions will lead it to concentrate on the facts ... and affirm our current bond ratings," Oravec said. He said he doubts the review will affect taxpayers.
City Manager Jeff Bremer did not respond to a request seeking comment. Last year, however, he said the Moody's downgrade could have a negative affect on the city's ability to borrow money.
"It could ultimately mean more money that we have to pay, " Bremer said last year.
Just this week the city said taxpayers now are on the hook for at least $8.91 million for upkeep of the VGTI facility and costs related to an ongoing lawsuit. The city had budgeted about $4.58 million for the remainder of this budget year, which runs through September.
Aside from the city's mountain of debt and failed economic ventures, Moody's analysts will explore the city's ability to pay the legal fees of VGTI's mortgage holder, which is a plaintiff in the city's lawsuit against VGTI.
The city sued VGTI almost a year ago, seeking to block the biotech-research institute from moving out of the city and to force it to make good on a $2.6 million mortgage payment. A receiver was appointed in January.
The city in 2010 borrowed $64 million for an incentive package to build and furnish VGTI's facility. VGTI was required to repay the money over 30 years with interest. In the event it couldn't cover the cost, the city was responsible.
Discharged water from Lake Okeechobee flows through the St. Lucie River in February and heads out into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Martin County. (FILE PHOTO)
I hadn't realized until recently there was a Club Med in Port St. Lucie. Which seems a little less exotic than some of the company's other locations: "Come enjoy the shopping (Walmart out on U.S. 1), the amenities (traffic) and the exotic dishes (there's a McDonald's and Little Caesar's just up the road)!"
I'm kidding, I'm sure it's nice. Although I suspect it's been less nice over the past few months, with the discharges from Lake Okeechobee flowing by the sandy beaches.
Earlier this week a report in the Sunshine State News asserted Club Med was thinking about leaving Port St. Lucie. Club Med officials now say that's not true. But you can understand how they might be concerned; since February, an avoid-water advisory has been in place because of high levels of enteric bacteria at the nearby Sandpiper Bay canoe launch. On TripAdvisor.com, several recent guests noted the resort's sailing and paddle boarding area is closed, with a notice citing bacteria in the water.
I'm thinking a riverfront resort where guests have to avoid the river wouldn't be a big hit.
And it's an indication of the financial impact of the discharges. There's no question that the environmental catastrophe is also a big economic problem.
It's not just fishing guides and bait 'n tackle shops anymore. Some local Realtors are reporting waterfront sales are falling through, because who wants to look out on brown, bacteria-fouled waters?
And imagine if you owned property along the northern Indian River Lagoon in Brevard County, where tens of thousands of fish washed up dead last month because of brown algae blooms unrelated to the discharges. What a peaceful scene that would be: You with your coffee, on a crystal clear Florida morning, gazing out some post-apocalyptic deathscape.
One scientist told Treasure Coast Newspapers this week the fish kill in Brevard County is so massive, it could "crush" the Banana River ecosystem. That couples nicely with an Associated Press story from early March headlined, "Florida coastal environments are collapsing."
Imagine the impact all this is destined to have on the state's tourism industry. "Hey honey, let's go to that place where the coastal environments are collapsing!"
As you may know, I'm the new guy in town. I try to explain Florida's environmental problems to people up north, and they don't get it. Come on, they say, it can't be that bad.
Then, over Easter, I showed them pictures of the dead fish in Brevard County, and photos of the black discharge water flowing into the azure ocean along the Treasure Coast. And I told them that things like this don't just happen in Florida they happen again, and again and again.
Maybe this leads to inertia or a sense of helplessness. You've seen it all before. None of these problems were created in a day, and there's no quick fix.
But what struck me was that it took a tea partyer from Bonita Springs, U.S. Rep. Curt Clawson, to actually propose a bill to buy land south of Lake Okeechobee in the Everglades Agricultural Area, with the goal of sending water in that direction.
Let's reiterate this: The guy who gave the tea party response to President Obama's 2015 State of the Union Address, a guy opposed to more federal spending, he's the one willing to lead a quixotic campaign to spend more taxpayer dollars to buy land.
Everyone else has talked a good game, but where are the legislative proposals? There have been a few (like the "Legacy Florida" bill backed by state Rep. Gayle Harrell and Sen. Joe Negron, which will spend up to $200 million in Amendment 1 funds on Everglades restoration, including projects benefiting the lagoon), but the point is, the grass-roots fury hardly led to a flurry of legislative activity.
One wonders if that might change were this to become a full-fledged economic disaster.
So far it's been the little guys hammered economically. But if it continues to cause problems for Realtors who in 2013 formed an alliance with the Everglades Foundation for this very reason if tourism really tumbles, if the likes of Club Med really did pull up stakes, we're talking big money.
Could that be a game-changer? Maybe not, but who knows.
After all, big money gets more attention in the halls of power than the little guy ever does.
News March 14 that a leader of a pioneering citrus family was jailed on fraud-related charges was shocking.
Ken Kennedy's arrest was as surprising as when longtime legal icon Charles Sullivan Sr., 82, was accused last year of molesting a woman in his legal office.
The two cases are quite different, but the outcomes might be the same.
Like Sullivan and his family, the Kennedys have been well known in Indian River County for decades.
In 2013, they were the 14th pioneers honored at the Heritage Center. The Kennedy citrus legacy dates to the 1850s. Freezes in Gainesville led his grandfather, John, to Gifford in 1909, when he worked for the Florida East Coast Railroad and planted his first 40-acre grove.
The other day, Ken Kennedy, 64, respectfully declined to talk about his legal issues. In a lengthy conversation with me last year, though, Kennedy expressed pride in his family's citrus legacy.
In the late 1940s, his father, Purnell, and uncle, Tom, opened a packinghouse and store on South U.S. 1 north of Fourth Street. For 50 years, it was THE place to visit for free juice and fruit samples and for a bag of grapefruit to take back up north.
On the farm and in the packinghouse, Purnell Kennedy was known for insisting on quality.
"(Dad) taste-tested every batch of juice that we made," Ken Kennedy said. "If it didn't meet his taste standards, due to an improper blend of oranges in the juice, I have seen him order our juice squeezers to dump a 1,000-gallon tank of juice down the drain."
For years, Kennedy Groves grew the best fruit in some of the best places, such as north of County Road 510 on Orchid Island.
Later, the company's land holdings yielded top dollar from home developers.
"(The Kennedys) couldn't have been better folks," Doug Bournique, executive vice president of the Indian River Citrus League, a trade organization, said Wednesday.
In fact, Ken Kennedy's son, T.P., was elected league president in 2012.
After the 2004 hurricanes, the Kennedys began to diversify the business. They bought and renovated the Sebastian Inlet Marina in Micco. They remained bullish on citrus, planting 1,300 acres.
But, like other citrus companies, the Kennedys were challenged by a crop-destroying bug.
"Due to greening, and despite spending vast amounts of dollars on nutritional sprays and (pest) control, we were unable to produce hardly any fruit off of those plantings," Ken Kennedy wrote me last year.
The company tried to diversify in other ways, too.
In the late 2000s it proposed a 7,000-acre inland port near Port St. Lucie. The selling point: Land amassed by the Kennedys and two other investors had easy access to a canal, two highways and a rail line. The port would have cost $4.5 billion and created 25,000 to 36,000 jobs.
The project never happened.
When we spoke last year, the Kennedys were trying to sell their final groves.
Now, though, Kennedy's challenges are greater than citrus. Criminal charges suggest he, as co-trustee, took advantage of his aunt's trust fund between 2010 and 2012. Aunt Clyde, wife of Tom Kennedy, died in 2013.
In a 29-page complaint, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said Kennedy used her $2.4 million account as collateral to borrow money, which he directed to his family and business. When the borrowed money was not repaid beneficiaries of her estate sued Kennedy.
It's a complicated matter, outlined well by one of our reporters, Melissa Holsman, who will continue to cover the case.
Andy Metcalf, one of Kennedy's attorneys, said the case does not belong in criminal court. His comments remind me of his early take on Sullivan: his client had done nothing illegal.
Another similarity to Sullivan's case: Kennedy's case will be prosecuted by an assistant state attorney in Brevard County. Vero Beach-area State Attorney Bruce Colton recused himself from both cases because of potential conflicts of interest. In the Kennedy case, one of Colton's investigators is related to Kennedy's late aunt.
And despite Sullivan's arrest, prosecutors declined to pursue charges.
"There was probable cause for the arrest, however, it is our decision, taking into consideration all information that might be presented at trial, that there would be no likelihood of conviction," Assistant State Attorney Julia Lynch, who is not handling Kennedy's case, said after dropping charges against Sullivan.
Some of that "information" was provided to Lynch by Sullivan's legal team after his arrest. Metcalf declined to comment about whether he'd try to meet with prosecutors in the Kennedy case. There are at least two sides to every story.
"You have one chance to present your side of the story to the prosecutor," Metcalf said after the Sullivan case. "They're there to make sure innocent people are not prosecuted."
I don't know if Kennedy exploited his elderly aunt, laundered money or committed any of the other crimes he's accused of. I do know this is not a simple case. And, like the Sullivan case, I wouldn't be surprised if Kennedy's never goes to trial.
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By Paula Dockery
What would help the economy here in Florida and throughout America?
Not throwing public resources at private industry to get them to hop from state to state. Not shutting down government or government spending. Not privatizing all government functions or subsidizing private industry.
What would help is using our tax dollars wisely by spending on building and maintaining our infrastructure. This is neither a new nor earthshaking concept. Government leaders have often turned to infrastructure projects to give the economy a needed boost or to put people to work. Now there's another reason our infrastructure is old, outdated and, in some cases, unsafe.
While unemployment is low 4.9 percent nationally and in Florida underemployment is higher and wage growth is stagnant.
Instead of government picking the winners and losers through subsidies, incentives, corporate welfare, sweetheart deals and no-bid contracts why not create opportunity through major infrastructure projects and let local businesses compete? New businesses would form and existing businesses could grow when opportunities are open to everyone.
Unfortunately, political partisanship has prevented investment in infrastructure to the degree President Barack Obama has been pushing. It's disappointing improving our infrastructure has typically been a bipartisan effort.
Can you imagine life without an interstate highway system? We can thank President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who recognized that the roads would be necessary for commerce and travel as well as national defense, by providing routes for moving military supplies and deploying troops.
Donald Trump's slogan, "Make America Great Again" while primarily disparaging current leadership speaks to our crumbling infrastructure. Trump has frequently mentioned the embarrassing condition of some major U.S. airports, comparing them to that of a third-world country.
Oh, and he wants to build a wall.
For Bernie Sanders, who talks about a rigged system that benefits the billionaires and leaves out the disappearing middle class, investing in infrastructure provides opportunities for workers. There would be a need for skilled labor as well as educators to teach the skills and vocational training.
This helps Main Street without hurting Wall Street.
Despite opposition to President Obama's stimulus spending, very few states were willing to turn down infrastructure dollars during the Great Recession. There were transportation stimulus funds for roads, bridges, sidewalks, airports and rail. These funds helped Florida in our economic recovery.
The decision to turn down $2.2 billion in federal transportation funds for high- speed rail ranks as one of Gov. Rick Scott's biggest mistakes. Consider the consequences the loss of good-paying jobs and the failure to ease congestion along Interstate 4. We lost not only the initial construction jobs, the related manufacturing jobs and the ongoing operations and maintenance jobs, but we also lost the associated development that would have spurred future job opportunities and investment in the state. What a shame.
There are other infrastructure needs in Florida outside the transportation arena.
There is no shortage of repairs, improvements and upgrades needed in our water, sewer and wastewater treatment plants. Taking on these critical projects not only prepares us for the future by using the latest technology but also may protect us from epidemics, health hazards and vulnerabilities to our life-sustaining water supply and delivery systems. It also prevents further costly damage to our natural systems springs, lakes, rivers and estuaries.
Our schools, colleges, universities, prisons, government office buildings and parks have a growing backlog of maintenance and facility needs. Just upgrading the outdated technology would create jobs, improve efficiency, enhance security and make our institutions more competitive.
The nation's electric power grid is in desperate need of capacity and modernization to address reliability problems.
Addressing our infrastructure needs requires spending.
In Florida, we throw tens of millions of dollars at corporations to relocate or expand here a questionable endeavor with questionable success. We should spend that money improving our infrastructure creating jobs and opportunities for individuals and businesses.
Instead of throwing money at senseless wars, foreign aid and rebuilding infrastructure elsewhere, why don't we invest in our own country?
Paula Dockery is a syndicated columnist who served in the Florida Legislature for 16 years as a Republican from Lakeland. She can be reached at PBDockery@gmail.com.
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Facebook apparently has been working on mobile pay and secret chat features for its Messenger app, according to a report published this week byThe Information, based on clues found in extracted software code on Messenger for iPhone.
Commands embedded in the software hint at secret conversations, similar to whats found in WhatsApp, the voice and messaging service owned by Facebook, according to the report.
Other references reportedly found in the code include commands to pay in person and pay in Messenger when picking up an item.
Since Facebook has long said it would continue to develop and support its own message app, it makes sense that it would adopt specific WhatsApp features into its own solutions, said Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT.
Mobile Piggyback
The mobile pay feature is credible as well, King told TechNewsWorld. However, it remains unclear whether Facebook would compete with Android Pay and Apple Pay directly, or if it would piggyback on one of those services.
That would require a far lower initial investment and less risk than starting its own service, and eliminate the complexities of negotiating partnerships with banks and financial services, King said.
Facebook does not intend to get into the payments business directly, but would consider partnering with other companies, CEO Mark Zuckerberg indicated during a conference call with analysts earlier this year.
On payments, the basic strategy that we have is to make it especially in a product like Messenger that, where the business interaction may be a bit more transactional, to take all the friction out of making the transactions that you need, he said.
So we dont view ourselves as a payments business. Thats not the type of company that we are. Well partner with everyone who does payments, Zuckerberg added.
Other possible additions to Messenger include shopping and delivery features, and the ability to synchronize calendars so users can update to-do lists, share articles and update their status.
Digital Assist?
The rumored features have the potential to turn Messenger into a virtual digital assistant, according to Susan Schreiner, an analyst at C4 Trends.
Potentially, it could learn our likes and dislikes, make suggestions about articles to read or e-books to purchase, she told TechNewsWorld. The Messenger app already enables you to send money to friends, so the next logical step would be using the app for in-store purchases.
Facebook would have to overcome a couple of hurdles, said Paul Teich, principal analyst at Tirias Research.
Facebook is an advertising distribution channel, he told TechNewsWorld. Mobile pay will give them more insight into personal transactions. It will be a crowded market, but they have mindshare and are on a huge number of smartphones in good buying demographics.
If the company really wants to turn the secret chat feature into a confidential experience like WhatApps, it will have to be willing to give up certain information, Teich said.
Secret chat would presumably keep no record at all of messages sent, he said. That means metadata too otherwise throwing away the message payload, but keeping data such as time and length of messages, sender and receiver.
Idea Cellular has accomplished the fastest roll-out of 4G LTE services in 100 days in the country. After the company launched its 4G services in December, it has ramped up its presence to 575 towns, thus honoring the commitment made. This successful roll-out comes as a testimony of Ideas focus towards delivering on its promise to the consumers. Currently available in over 575 towns across its 10 leading circles, Idea also becomes the first 4G broadband service provider in 250 towns out of these 575. With this Idea Cellular, is now servicing over 125 million users with its world-class 4G LTE services, built on a strong foundation of 14,000+ 4G sites across the country.
Idea also continues its successful 3G journey and has built a solid foundation of 22,000 3G cell sites since the last 2 years, adding 28,500 new sites to create an infrastructure of over 50,000 sites. Idea has expanded its 3G services on the most efficient 900 MHz band which has high-caliber transmission and propagation capabilities, to create a jam-free, high-speed, superior indoor internet coverage network providing additional data capacity to users in Delhi, and select cities of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.
Ideas 4G and 3G customers now have a better mobile telephony experience while accessing services like video telephony, mobile TV, video on demand, music downloads, online gaming, amongst many others.
Idea is the fastest growing telecom operator with an overall RMS of 18.9% as of Q3FY16 report of TRAI. Idea has 6.1 million 4G devices, nearly 6% of its subscriber base in these 10 telecom service areas, registered on its network. In comparison, on an All India basis, Idea has nearly 48.6 million customers owning 3G devices (approx. 28% of EoP) and over 9.8 million customers with 4G devices (approx. 5% of EoP).
@Technuter.com News Service
The US Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a recall of more than 100,000 Panasonic-branded battery packs that shipped with 39 models of Toshiba laptops sold between June 2011 and January 2016.
The faulty lithium-ion batteries can overheat which poses burn and fire hazards. To date, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission has received four reports of battery packs overheating and melting. Fortunately, no injuries have been reported.
The recall affects Toshiba Protege, Satellite and Tecra models sold at Office Depot, Staples and other electronics stores nationwide in addition to systems sold through Toshiba's website and at other online retailers. On average, systems ranging in price from $500 to $1,000 are most likely to be impacted by the recall. Some battery packs were also sold separately and installed by Toshiba's repair division.
The US Consumer Product Safety Commission urges users to visit Toshiba's website to download a utility to check and see if their model is impacted. Optionally, consumers can perform a manual check using the laptop and battery pack's model, part and serial numbers. Packs included in the recall have part numbers that begin with G71C (G71C*******).
If a user's system is part of the recall, they're encouraged to power off the laptop, remove the battery pack and follow the instructions to receive a free replacement battery pack. In the interim, consumers can still use the laptop by simply plugging in the AC adapter.
Roughly 91,000 batteries impacted by the recall were distributed in the US plus another 10,000 in Canada.
Back in 2013, Google launched its physical debit card that linked to users' Google Wallet accounts. The company had high hopes for the card, but it never became very popular, leading to yesterday's announcement that Google will soon kill off the product.
In a blog post, Google said that it will no longer support the Wallet Card as of June 30, and the ability to add money directly from a debit card or bank account to a Wallet Balance will cease on May 1.
Google Wallet will still exist as a peer-peer payments system. Money received from friends can be added to an existing balance, which can then be cashed out, used to pay others, or as a way of making purchases on Google Play.
Google said that, going forward, it wants to "focus on making it easier than ever to send and receive money with the Google Wallet app." The company added that it will be adding new features and a "fresh design" over the coming months.
Google is directing anyone looking for other products similar to the Wallet Card to the services provided by American Express and Simple. Any former Wallet Card users will get an added bonus for signing up to these accounts.
The decision to end the Wallet Card doesn't come as a huge surprise. As the likes of Android Pay and Apple Pay become more widespread, it seems fewer people prefer to use this kind of product.
Sony has announced the new Cyber-shot RX10 III, which comes loaded with features such as the 25x optical zoom and image stabilization.
The camera's sensor is a 1-inch Exmor RS CMOS, which can capture 20.1 megapixels snaps and shoot 4K video.
Photography enthusiasts will enjoy the versatility of the camera, as the 24-600 mm of the Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T lens is capable of delivering varying degrees of zooming. The nine-blade aperture can be stopped down at F11, with a high point of F 2.4-4.
A note on the lens: they contain eight ED glass sections, one of which is a super ED glass element, two are ED aspherical lenses and five are ED glass elements. Thanks to the Zeiss T coating, the lenses manifest very little flares or ghosting artifacts. What is more, the technical construction of the Zeiss T allows for a vivid color reproduction.
Because of its built-in optical image stabilization and minimum focusing distance 2.36 feet, the Sony RX10 III is adept at delivering macro photos of high sharpness, which can make a great impact on the viewer.
Sony touts that the in-house Optical SteadyShot system gives way to 4.5 stops of stabilization.
The response time of the autofocus is 0.09 seconds, and with 25 AF points, this makes the camera one reliable and quick gadget.
RX10 III's sensor is back-illuminated and can hit a range between ISO 64 and ISO 12,800. When looking at the shutter, its maximum speed is at 1/32,000 seconds.
Video enthusiasts will be pleased to know that Sony's camera can record slow-mo videos at 960 fps. Thanks to its DRAM chip that works in tandem with the Bionz X processor, the RX10 III can capture high-resolution footage at 14 fps.
A great plus for the camera is that the 4K video recording capability is not pixel binned. This means that the video file is actually shot at roughly the sensor's resolution, and then scaled down to 4K.
Rumors about Sony implementing 4K video recording capabilities in its cameras emerged during the summer of 2015.
Sony fans will also find that the camera also holsters microphone and headphone input. A number of video features come to support the video-making capabilities of the RX10 III: owners of the device will be able to toy with such things as S-Log2/S-Gamut, Picture Profile, Time Code and Gamma Display Assist.
The manufacturer designed the camera to be moisture and dust repellant, and equipped it with both NFC and Wi-Fi connectivity measures.
You will be able to purchase it in stores this May, at a price tag of approximately $1,500. Why so expensive, you ask?
"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," says Vice President of Digital Imaging at Sony Electronics Neal Manowitz.
The main selling point of the RX10 III appears to be its versatility. Having many features in a rather tiny volume and weight makes the device a perfect partner for a more role-dedicated DSLR camera that a professional photographer would use.
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Confirmed and suspected cases of the neurological condition microcephaly in Brazil continue to rise.
The Health Ministry revealed on March 29 that cases of the birth defect strongly linked with the mosquito-borne Zika virus now number 5,235 in the week through March 25, up from 5,200 just a week earlier.
Confirmed cases rose from 907 a week earlier to 944 while suspected cases slightly dropped to 4,291 from 4,293 over the same period.
Children born with microcephaly are characterized by smaller than normal heads, which can be attributed to the baby's brain not developing properly during pregnancy.
Microcephaly may be caused by changes in the babies' genes. Children at a higher risk of getting the condition are those born to a mother who had certain infections, such as cytomegalovirus and rubella during pregnancy, suffered from severe malnutrition, or exposed to harmful substances such as drugs, alcohol and other toxic chemicals.
The surge in microcephaly cases in Brazil, though, is strongly linked to Zika virus, which currently batters the South American country.
Although there is no definitive scientific proof that microcephaly is caused by Zika virus, many health experts believe the mosquito-borne disease is responsible for the increasing number of microcephaly in Zika-affected regions.
WHO Director-General Margaret Chan has said that patterns suggest a link between Zika and microcephaly. Initial detection of Zika is followed by cases of fetal abnormalities as pregnancies of women infected by the virus come to term.
"Concerning the link with fetal malformations, the virus has been detected in amniotic fluid. Evidence shows it can cross the placental barrier and infect the fetus. We can now conclude that Zika virus is neurotropic, preferentially affecting tissues in the brain and brain stem of the developing fetus," Chan said. "Zika has been detected in the blood, brain tissue, and cerebrospinal fluid of foetuses following miscarriage, stillbirth, or termination of pregnancy."
No local transmission of Zika has occurred yet in the U.S. albeit 273 individuals have acquired the virus after travelling to countries where it is active.
Microcephaly is supposedly a rare condition. In the U.S., estimated cases of microcephaly range from two babies per 10,000 live births to about 12 babies per 10,000 live births.
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Scientists will not stop until they find other planets just like Earth. That is why NASA gave the researchers from Penn State University the opportunity to build a $10 million next-generation planet finder, but how does it work?
The instrument, dubbed NN-Explore Exoplanet Investigations with Doppler Spectroscopy (NEID), is a cutting-edge exoplanet hunter that will be designed and built by scientist over the next three years. By 2019, the instrument will be connected to the 3.5 meters (11.5 feet) WIYN telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory based in Arizona.
What Exactly Is NEID?
The name NEID came from the Tohono O'odham word that means "to discover or visualize." The instrument aims to detect planets by the gravitational pull they exert on their stars, which is called the "wobble effect."
In the past years, scientists have been using this phenomenon in detecting exoplanets, which are planets outside of the solar system. The development of a state-of-the-art NEID will provide more detailed and improved findings compared to methods used today.
How Does It Work?
Previous NASA missions established to hunt for planets outside the solar system used the method called "transit technique." Scientists long believed that a dip in the star's brightness shows the movement of a planet around it.
NEID is based on a different method and this is where the "wobble effect" comes in. It helps a telescope on Earth detect even the tiniest movement or wobbling of a star.
If the building plan of the device will be successful, the instrument can detect movements of stars as tiny as 0.1 meters per second. This is done through the use of a spectrometer, which will measure various light components from the stellar photosphere.
Just like planets in the solar system, exoplanets goes around a host star. In cases when the planet goes around it, the star actually moves a bit. These tiny movements are what NEID aims to detect.
Still A Plan
Even if the grant was given to Penn University scientists, there is still much work to do. It's still a plan and there's no tangible device yet.
Despite this, the scientists hope that everything will go according to plan. The future findings of the team will help the American space agency's research on exoplanets.
They hope that soon, the project could pave way for the discovery of planets that closely resembles Earth.
"With the next generation of satellites, we might observe something about the atmospheres of these planets that would convince us that there is something beyond just volcanoes and rocks there. There might be something biological going on there, too," said Cullen Blake, an assistant professor at Penn University.
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Many scientists are contributing to the growing body of research that predicts rising sea levels in the future.
In a sea of climate change studies, however, it is not impossible to find a set of statistics that may oppose another.
Such is the findings of a pair of climate scientists from the United States, who suggest that an accurate prediction of rising sea levels is actually double that of the most recent estimates.
In fact, the two researchers say previous climate models underestimated the potential sea level rise over the next 100 years, as well as the melting of the Antarctic ice sheet. They believe accurate estimates could spell disaster for low-lying cities.
Looking Into The Past
Carbon dioxide emissions during the Eemian and Pliocene era are an analog for today's levels, but sea levels at that time were higher than today.
Robert DeConto and David Pollard - climate scientists from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Pennsylvania State University, respectively - used a three-dimensional ice sheet model to reconstruct the Earth as it looked during the Pliocene 3 million years ago.
They also simulated conditions during the Eemian era, only about 125,000 years in the past. Sea levels at both periods were about 20 feet to 30 feet higher than today, researchers find.
DeConto says the melting of the Greenland ice sheet can only explain a portion of the phenomenon during the Eemian and Pliocene, and that most of it must have been the result of retreat on Antarctica.
The Antarctic ice sheet will melt faster than previous estimates, and will mirror the melt rates from the Pliocene and Eemian era, the researchers say.
How so? Apparently, current predictions fail to include hydro-fracturing, a process in which meltwater on ice shelves force big chunks of ice to break off and fall into water. With hydro-fracturing, Antarctica can potentially contribute greater than a meter (39 inches) of sea level rise by 2100 if emissions continue, researchers warn.
"We are not saying this is definitely going to happen, but I think we are pointing out that there's a danger, and it should receive a lot more attention," Pollard told The New York Times.
Opposing Findings
Meanwhile, estimates from the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) say that a 0.5-meter rise over sea levels in 1990 will occur by 2100.
"Global sea level is projected to rise during the 21st century at a greater rate than during 1961 to 2003," the IPCC report suggests, saying that the rate will be at 4 millimeters (0.15 inches) per year.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) concluded in 2013 that sea level rise around the globe will rise no more and no less than 0.2 to 2 meters (0.6 feet to 6.5 feet) by 2100.
The agency refers to its "intermediate-low scenario" based on projected ocean warming of a 1.6 foot rise, which in itself is no small obstacle. A previous study revealed that this estimate alone could displace 13.1 million Americans in coastal cities.
"This could spell disaster for many low-lying cities. For example, Boston could see more than 1.5 meters [about 5 feet] of sea-level rise in the next 100 years," says DeConto. "But the good news is that an aggressive reduction in emissions will limit the risk of major Antarctic ice sheet retreat."
A Real Possibility
Pollard and DeConto, however, say that the NOAA's prediction of a 5- to 6-foot rise is a possibility that should not be shrugged off.
Eric Rignot of the University of California, Irvine, who was not involved in the study, agrees.
"People should not look at this as a futuristic scenario of things that may or may not happen. They should look at it as the tragic story we are following right now," says Rignot. "We are not there yet ... [But] with the current rate of emissions, we are heading that way."
DeConto and Pollard's findings are published in the journal Nature.
Photo : Wasif Malik | Flickr
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On March 17, antiquities ministry officials in Egypt published radar data that support the theory of hidden chambers inside King Tutankhamun's tomb. However, radar experts doubt the claims and ask for more data.
Hirokatsu Watanabe, a radar technologist from Japan, took the radar scans. The data suggested the existence of not only one, but two empty cavities just beyond the tomb's West and North walls.
The radar data also suggested the presence of organic and metallic substances, as well as door beams that further indicate the existence of doorways.
British Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves theorized that these hidden chambers may have been the lost burial site of Queen Nefertiti, King Tut's stepmother.
However, some radar specialists said the Valley of the King's geology has various natural voids. This means, radar scans will have difficulty in setting apart the archaeological features from the natural features.
According to Michele Pipan, a University of Trieste's Geosciences professor, the radar scans released by the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities reveal various features of interest. However, the scans lacked horizontal and vertical scales. These lacking elements make it hard to analyze how many feet behind the wall these features are located.
"I may only say that cavities and metals may fall within the reasonable detection range of a survey like that," said Pipan who added that she has no information on the type of interpretation procedure used by Watanabe in the study. Like other radar experts, Pipan also called for more data on radar velocity.
Recent events have taken its toll on Egypts tourism numbers. There was the 2011 revolution when then-president Hosni Mubarak was driven from power. There was also the October 2015 Islamic State groups attack on Russia's Metrojet Flight 9268, which crashed in the Sinai Desert and killed 224 on board.
Egyptologists hoped that if King Tut's tomb really holds Nefertiti's tomb, the news could help revive the suffering tourism, as well as bring income and jobs back.
Reeves, who also highlighted the drop in tourist destination prices, said that this is a good time to plan a trip to Egypt, especially for people who are greatly interested in knowing more about its ancient history. Unlike the pre-revolution years, current tourists will not get "jostled" by other tourists.
Photo: Mark Fischer | Flickr
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President Barack Obama has granted early release to 61 federal drug offenders last March 30 as part of ongoing initiatives to help those who were hit hard by the U.S. war on drugs.
The commutations were part of the clemency granted to 248 federal inmates. More than one-third of the 61 were sentenced to life imprisonment.
The president, who has vowed to address the justice systems harsh treatment of nonviolent drug offenses, will further grant clemency to inmates who satisfy the justice departments criteria that was set in 2015, according to White House officials. More than 9,000 petitions for clemency are currently pending.
Certain sentencing reform experts, however, are unimpressed.
Sixty-one grants, with over 9,000 petitions pending, is not an accomplishment to brag about, law professor Mark Osler says, citing those who remain waiting were grievously over sentenced, became self-reformed, and previously had no violence record.
The justice departments new pardon attorney, Bob Zauzmer, asserted his goal of looking at every single petition and making the proper recommendations to Obama. In January, former Pardon Attorney Deborah Leff stepped down due to frustration over lacking resources for clemency petition processing.
These clemency efforts can be traced back to 2014, when former Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. launched the initiative to grant clemency to specific nonviolent federal drug offenders. To qualify for the program, candidates should have shown good prison conduct, served a minimum of 10 years of their sentence, and have no links to organized crime and groups.
Read the full list of the 61 drug offenders with commuted sentences.
While in a panel at the National Rx Drug Abuse and heroin Summit held in Atlanta last March 29, Obama also touted initiatives to curb the opioid addiction epidemic in the country.
The series of new initiatives, which focus on the problems enhanced spread to the middle class, intends to offer easier access to drug-based treatment, widen Medicaid coverage, and improve availability of overdose-averting medications. Its centerpiece is medication-assisted treatment, which will expand the use of drugs that block opioids effects on the brain and help addicts recover.
Also part of the projected fixes is the creation of a task force to enhance access to substance use and mental health disorder treatment, as well as get medical schools onboard training students in prescribing opioid.
Obama echoed reform advocates sentiments of veering away from excessive focus on drug addict arrests. Instead, he said drug addiction should be considered a public health crisis, where experts will analyze the science and data to bring about reforms, educate the public, and reduce deaths.
The government will provide $11 million to 11 states to expand their drug-assisted treatment services, and another $11 million to distribute fast-acting opioid-blocker naloxone, the first response administered to overdosing individuals.
Photo: Simon Brass | Flickr
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Scientists from Sweden are in the process of investigating whether cats mimic its owner's accent.
To find out if cats have accents, researchers from Lund University are collecting sounds of cats that hail from the northern and southern parts of Sweden. The study hypothesizes that cat sounds would vary in melodies and tones depending on where the cats live.
In order to prove their theory, Suzanne Schotz, a phonetics researcher from Lund University gathers data from cats living in Lund, far south of Sweden and Stockholm, which is about 400 miles to the north. The collected data would be compared and analyzed if cats from the south sound different from those in the north.
The study, according to the study authors, would allow an in-depth understanding of feline communication and if they have different responses with regard to how to they are communicated to.
"Many cats and their human companions seem to develop a pidgin language in order to communicate better. We don't know whether there are similarities in the languages or whether they're specific to a cat/human pair," Schotz said.
The researchers want to find out if cats would respond differently for every voice type similar to when humans converse with babies. Most humans talk to cats using a singsong style that is high-pitched and has a greater range of rise and fall compared to a normal conversation.
To find out if there is indeed a difference, the study would include a group where human speech is varied. Researchers will then observe, using a video footage, the responses of the cats and take note of which type of voice would they readily respond to.
"If we can find that cats adopt these melodies, we may be able to help cat owners interpret these signals better," Schotz explained.
The study aims to complement previous studies that tackle cat vocalizations. A 1944 study by a New York psychologist Mildred Moelk, stated that cats have about six different types of sounds to convey different emotions ranging from confidence, anger, friendliness, pain, fear, and dissatisfaction.
Cats are increasingly becoming popular pets of choice, prompting experts to conduct human-cat interaction studies. One particular recently published study suggests that a cat parasite, Toxoplasma gondii can cause impulsive behavior.
Photo: Moyan Brenn | Flickr
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BlackBerry seems to be going through a rough patch lately, but rumors surfaced about two upcoming smartphone models allegedly landing later this year.
It should be mentioned that, in the mobile world, information leaks come in two flavors: the "solid" rumors that arrive via trusted and verified sources, and rumors that should be taken with a traditional grain of salt. The two purported BlackBerry handsets fall into the second category, so read on to learn the details.
BBCzech, a Czech website that focuses on BlackBerry developments, reports that 2016 is the year when the market will see not one, but two new BlackBerry Android smartphones. Technical details of the two handsets are flimsy, as the site gives no particular information on the specs.
However, the source claims to have valid information on the names of the phones.
The BlackBerry "Hamburg" sits in the mid-range tier and packs an important surprise: the handset will lack the iconic BlackBerry keyboard, using only a touchscreen for input. The Hamburg should arrive no later than the autumn of 2016.
The BlackBerry "Rome" is a bit different, as BBCzech notes that the device will position itself in the premium category. Rumors point out that it will follow in the steps of the BlackBerry Priv, which means that it will sport both a physical keyboard and a touchscreen.
The Rome should roll out sometime near the end of the year.
Despite having very little solid ground to work on, the two new devices are plausible. Looking at the naming alone, it shows continuity with BlackBerry's Priv, which some reports codenamed "Venice" before its launch.
Previous rumors hinted at the fact that the OEM is also working on delivering a new phone, dubbed Vienna.
BlackBerry CEO John Chen did confirm back in January that his company plans to launch at least one new Android phone this year, so this new report is not too farfetched. Until official confirmation, however, keep a dose of skepticism.
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New SMRT sequencing from Pacific Biosciences could assist researchers seeking to understand the genetic codes of primates, including gorillas. The technique could also be utilized to study the underlying causes of diseases that affect human beings, investigators report.
Single Molecule, Real-Time (SMRT) technology can be used to read long sequences of genetic code, written within genomes.
Sequencing the entire gorilla genome could assist researchers learning about the basis of language and other characteristics that separate our species from lower primates. Information may also be gleaned about diseases that affect humans, as well as actions of our nervous system and brain.
The current model of the genome of gorillas contains over 400,000 gaps, and missing data is replaced with human genetic information. Using the PacBio system, researchers were able to read 96 percent of that missing data, leaving around 16,000 gaps in the recorded data.
These gaps are the result of repeating sequences of genetic code that trick sequencing processes into breaking apart data read from a given genome. These repeated segments are common in primates, including our own species.
The DNA of a female gorilla living at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago was the subject of the unique study. Researchers who utilized SMRT technology to read the genome also took data from six other species of lowland gorillas. This allowed the team to create a reference genome for scientists seeking to understand the genetic code of several primate species.
"The genome assembly that results from using the long-read data provides a more complete picture of gene content, structural variation and repeat biology, as well as allows us to refine population genetic and evolutionary inferences," researchers wrote in an article announcing the results of their study.
With this new study, biologists now know nearly as much about the genetic structure of lowland gorillas as they do human beings and mice. Only chimpanzees possess a genetic code more similar to humans as that found in lowland gorillas, researchers report.
Some of the most important differences between the genetic codes of humans and gorillas include genes controlling the immune system, insulin regulation and reproduction.
The study filling in gaps in the gorilla genome utilizing SMRT technology from PacBio was profiled in the journal Science.
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After a comprehensive deliberation, labor unions and lawmakers in California reached a deal. The minimum wage in the state will be raised from $10 to $10.50 per hour, the highest minimum wage in the country.
The state Assembly passed the law with 48 to 26 votes while the Senate voted 26 to 12, approving the new law that will increase the minimum wage to $10.50 per hour starting next year. The maximum increase, which is expected to take effect in 2022, is expected to be signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown on April 4.
"At its core, this proposal is about fairness," said Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon, D-Los Angeles.
"This is historic, and today I am proud to be a Californian," he added.
The Plan
At present, the current minimum wage in California is $10 per hour, which is already the highest among all states. It will be increased to $10.50 per hour on Jan. 1, 2017, then to $11 in 2018, and increase $1 annually until 2022.
Companies who are running businesses with fewer than 26 employees would get an additional year to comply with the new law.
Opponents of the plan, however, think that it was rushed and did not include a larger group who negotiated the new ruling.
Assembly member Rocky Chavez, R-Oceanside, said that the law would lead to problems in the state's economy.
"This is an argument about economic justice," said Assemblyman Sebastian Ridley-Thomas, D-Los Angeles.
"Justice is not something that can be negotiated or compromised," he added, stressing that lawmakers should think of the problems encountered by working families in the state because of income inequality.
New York Plans To Do The Same
The state of New York is also planning to make the same move. Lawmakers are looking forward to negotiate over a proposal to gradually increase the minimum wage in the state.
At present, the minimum salary wage is at $9 per hour, which lawmakers are planning to increase to $15 by the end of 2018, a faster increase than what lawmakers in California approved.
The 2018 increase is eyed at New York City. The rest of the state will follow by 2021.
Photo: Tim Dorr | Flickr
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A highly-devastating bat disease called white-nose syndrome has been detected for the first time in a Northwest bat in Washington, posing a threat for the populations of flying mammals in the state and beyond.
According to the Center for Biological Diversity, the little brown bat was discovered on March 11 by hikers on a trail about 30 miles east of Seattle. It is infected by a pathogenic fungus that has already killed 6 million bats in North America.
CBD senior scientist Mollie Matteson said the event is a wake-up call for land-managers in the West to do everything they can to keep the bat disease from spiraling out of control -- before it is too late.
"It's shocking and disturbing to see this disease reach Washington and indeed the western United States," said Matteson.
Veterinarian Katherine Haman said the hikers found the bat alive, but it was very weak and unable to fly. The animal was taken to a PAWS shelter, where it died in the cage two days after.
The state's wildlife agency sent the bat to the U.S. Geological Survey's National Wildlife Health Center in Wisconsin, where scientists confirmed that the bat was indeed infected by white-nose syndrome.
The deadly disease has caused dramatic declines among populations of several bat species, including the Indiana bat, the northern long-eared bat, the tricolored bat, and the little brown bat.
Experts say it is the worst wildlife health crisis in recent years, resulting to 100 percent mortality rates among bats in affected caves.
Seven bat species have been known to be afflicted with white-nose syndrome. Unfortunately, there is no known cure.
The disease's first detection in Western U.S. represents a "game-changer," said wildlife biologist Jeremy Coleman. The closest state with a confirmed detection of the pathogenic fungus is 1,250 miles away in Nebraska.
Humans and other animals are not known to be susceptible to white-nose syndrome. Meanwhile, scientists have raised several questions: how many bats in the Northwest are infected? How long has the disease been in the state? How did it reach the state?
One possible explanation is that spelunkers and miners transported the fungus on gear or shoes, experts said.
"This disease just made a jump of more than 1,000 miles, so it's pretty reasonable to think this could be a human-caused transmission," said Matteson.
In 2010, the CBD filed a petition to close all caves and abandoned mines on federal lands as a precautionary measure. Such closures would decrease disturbance of hibernating bats.
Matteson said the news is heartbreaking because wildlife and land managers could have done more to stem the spread, such as prohibiting nonessential cave access into land caves.
"They could have passed rules requiring that no caving gear or clothing from WNS-positive states be allowed in caves in unaffected states," added Matteson.
Photo: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters | Flickr
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The United States and China will sign the Paris climate agreement on April 22, sparking hopes that the accord will enter into force this year.
The two biggest greenhouse gas emitters in the world confirmed the move on March 31 in a joint president statement, where they all urged other nations to sign the deal next month with a view of bringing the Paris Agreement into force as early as possible and fully implementing it.
After years of negotiations, representatives of almost 200 nations reached the landmark agreement last Dec. 12 to lower greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change. Before taking effect, however, the deal needs to be ratified by at least 55 countries representing at least 55 percent of global emissions.
The presidents of the two superpowers reiterated their commitments made in September last year during President Xi Jianpings state visit to Washington.
[They will] use public resources to finance and encourage the transition toward low carbon technologies as a priority, read part of the joint statement, which highlighted Chinas strengthening, for instance, of its green and low-carbon policies and control of high-carbon, high-pollution public investments.
According to both countries, they would jointly work on a global accord to curb emissions in aviation at the International Civil Aviation Organization, as well as pact to curb potent greenhouse gas HFCs this year.
Todd Stern, climate envoy to the United States who helped seal the Paris deal, said it is important to hit the threshold as soon as possible to help nations most vulnerable to climate change effects. The climate negotiator has stepped down from his role and will be replaced by Jonathan Pershing, his former deputy, by April 1.
Secretary of State John Kerry is poised to sign the agreement on behalf of the United States.
But there are a number of roadblocks along the way. The Supreme Court back in February put on hold President Barack Obamas emissions limits for power plants, which are depended on to meet the countrys commitment under the landmark deal.
The White House, however, remains optimistic that the limits will be upheld given plenty of time. According to presidential adviser Brian Deese in an AP report, tax credits for wind and solar will close the gap until the power plant emissions limit is enforced.
The United Nations has invited nations to sign the Paris deal at a ceremony to be held on April 22, which is the first day they can do so.
Photo: Presidencia de la Republica Mexicana | Flickr
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Environmental advocates on Thursday filed a lawsuit against federal health regulators in the United States, challenging the government's approval of a type of genetically-engineered salmon which will be farmed for human consumption.
The lawsuit filed by Food and Water Watch, the Center for Food Safety, Friends of the Earth and other organizations seeks to overturn the Food and Drug Administration's November approval of a modified salmon that can grow twice as fast as its counterparts in the wild.
It also seeks to block the agency's authority over a range of biotech animals currently under development, while accusing the FDA of overstepping its jurisdiction in the approval.
The genetically-modified salmon, which was developed by Intrexon Corp.-unit AquaBounty Technologies Inc., was the first engineered animal approved for human consumption.
Advocates said the agency's regulation of such technology goes beyond the scope of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, which regulates genetic alterations under provisions that cover animal drugs.
Senior Attorney George Kimbrell, representative of CFS, said congress never intended the act to cover man-made and genetically-modified animals.
A spokesperson from the FDA, however, said the agency does not comment on pending litigation.
Meanwhile, AquaBounty is confident that the FDA's approval will stand. The company's CEO Ron Stotish said the agency was transparent and thorough in the review and approval of their application.
Still, the FDA's approval process involved a limited assessment of the manufacturing environment, and that it did not evaluate the potential for genetically-modified salmon to escape from the facilities where they are grown, among other risks, the lawsuit argued.
Additionally, advocates are concerned that the approval will set a precedent for other genetically-engineered animals.
The lawsuit is the latest front in the ongoing debate over the use of GMOs in food production.
Major food companies such as General Mills are starting to roll out labels that disclose ingredients, in response to a law in Vermont that will take effect in July.
General Mills Vice President Jeff Harmening said a national solution is needed to tackle the issue of genetically-altered food. He said research shows that GMOS are not a safety concern, but it is still important to disclose information.
"At the same time, we know that some consumers are interested in knowing which products contain GMO ingredients," added Harmening.
Photo : Andrea Pokrzywinski | Flickr
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The World Health Organization (WHO) saw a scientific consensus on the link of Zika virus to microcephaly and Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS).
The latest situation report is an update to last week's WHO statement that Zika virus was "highly likely" to be the cause of the birth defects and neurological disorder. Zika virus is a mosquito-borne disease that is currently spreading across the Caribbean and Latin America.
"Based on observational, cohort and case-control studies, there is a strong scientific consensus that Zika virus is a cause of Guillain-Barre Syndrome, microcephaly and other neurological disorders," WHO said in the report update published on March 31.
Microcephaly And Other Neurological Disorders
Microcephaly is a neurological disease that can lead to the incomplete development of a baby's brain. This results in babies born with abnormally small heads and can lead to the development of severe health issues including infant death. On the other hand, GBS can cause temporary paralysis.
To date, microcephaly and other neurological disorders among newborns were reported in Brazil with 944 cases, Colombia with 32 cases, French Polynesia with eight cases, Cabo Verde with two cases, and Martinique and Panama with one case each. In the United States and Slovenia, two reported cases were traced to the individuals' recent visit to Brazil.
Thirteen countries or territories also saw an increase in GBS cases in the context of Zika virus outbreak. For instance, there is an increased number of confirmed Zika virus infections among GBS patients.
Zika Outbreaks
According to the WHO update, from Jan. 1, 2007 to March 30, 2016, there were 61 countries and territories with documented Zika virus transmissions. Out of them, only four - French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Cook Islands and Isla De Pascua in Chile - reported that their Zika virus outbreaks ended.
Six countries reported local Zika virus transmissions without the presence of known mosquito carriers, which suggested the virus was sexually transmitted. The countries included the United States, Argentina, New Zealand, France, Italy and Chile.
The Zika virus was first confirmed in the Americas in 2015. Since then, the geographical outbreak of the Zika virus has consistently widened. In the Region of the Americas, 33 countries and territories reported mosquito-borne Zika transmission. As for the Western Pacific Region, 16 countries and areas reported Zika virus cases with mosquito vectors.
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Toshiba, through the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission, has issued a recall order for over 100,000 laptop battery packs.
There are about 91,000 units of the faulty batteries in the United States, with about 10,000 more in Canada. The battery packs were installed in 39 models of the Portege, Tecra and Satellite laptop models of Toshiba, as well as sold separately and installed by the company as part of repairs.
The battery packs were included in sales through electronic stores and Toshiba's online store, from June 2011 to January 2016.
The reason behind the recall order is that the batteries carry an overheating risk, which poses burn and fire hazards to consumers.
There have been no injuries reported in relation to the defect, but Toshiba is exercising caution with the launch of the recall order. There have been four reports of the battery packs overheating and melting though.
The battery packs that are included in the recall order are those that have part numbers beginning with G71C, with the complete list of affected battery pack part numbers posted on Toshiba's website. Customers can check if their battery packs need to be replaced by entering their laptop's model part number in the Toshiba website or by downloading a utility that will check the system if the battery is being recalled.
For customers that possess the faulty battery packs, they are advised to immediately stop using the battery pack and follow Toshiba's instructions to be able to receive a replacement free of charge. In the meantime, while waiting for the replacement to arrive, customers are advised to use their laptops by plugging them into AC power.
The recall order appears to be the biggest one made by Toshiba in connection with defective batteries since it was involved in the major battery recall of Sony, which started in 2006.
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A team of space archaeologists found evidence of a new Viking Site in North America. If the new evidence is confirmed to be true, the discovery can open coastal Canada and other areas for a new era of research.
Space archeologist Sarah H. Parcak found the site using an infrared satellite imagery that searches for 'hotspots' 383 miles above the Earth. The images were eventually narrowed down to a single new site.
To date, there is only one confirmed Viking site in North America, L'Anse aux Meadows, which is located on the northern slope of the Newfoundland. The potentially new Viking site is located on Point Rosee, the southwest slope of Canada's Newfoundland Island.
"Point Rosee could reinforce that story or completely change it if the dating is different from L'Anse aux Meadows. We could end up with a much longer period of Norse activity in the New World," said Norse settlements archaeologist Douglas Bolender.
A test excavation on the site last summer unearthed a Viking type turf wall. The radiocarbon tests on the turf wall revealed it dates back to the Norse era. The initial search also discovered an iron-working hearth.
They found charcoal traces and 28 pounds of slag in the shallow pint. The evidence suggested the hearth was used to roast ore, which is the first step in the process of making iron.
The initial evidence remains circumstantial as the archeologists still cannot confirm if the hearth was actually built by the Vikings. There were other civilizations that lived on the Newfoundland Island in the past centuries. These populations include Basque fishermen and Native Americans.
Modern Day Treasure Maps
The new method already proved promising. It uses satellite technology to look for soil irregularities. These variations in soil can be due to man-made structures that lie underneath it. Parcak already used this technology to find undiscovered, ancient Egyptian sites.
Several years ago, she unearthed the location of a lighthouse near Rome and other ancient buildings. Last year, she began her Viking search.
The Point Rosee discovery will be featured in "The Vikings Uncovered" on BBC One on April 4.
Photo: Jon Jordan | Flickr
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Samsung is no stranger to Internet of Things products, but the company now threads on completely new ground with the latest Internet of Trousers.
The new lineup of smart wearable IoT-enabled fashion products starts from a simple yet complex premise: what would happen if most of your objects, including clothes, were connected to the Internet?
The collection of wearables includes (or rather centers itself on) pants that are packed with innovative functions. Not only is the design contemporary and suitable for most business and leisure attires, but the capabilities that are embedded in them also make them worth your attention.
Samsung took the first steps into integrating fashion and high tech by embedding the new garments with ARTIK Smarter Fashion chip modules. These are able to send and receive data from the Smarter Fabric Care app, leading to new and exciting opportunities.
Here are the main functions of the Internet of Trousers:
Get Up! Alert:
The sedentary lifestyle is one of today's most notable health risks. Samsung takes care of that by making use of pressure sensors that monitor the long hours that you spend sitting. When the smart pants feel you've been hunching over your computer for too long, they notify you to get up. Should you sit for more than three hours straight, expect to feel mild electrical shocks for an extra jolt of motivation.
Wi-Fly:
The embarrassing days when you could exit the restroom without zipping up are gone, thanks to this neat feature. If your fly stays open for more than three minutes, the ZipARTIK module will keep pelleting you with smartphone notifications until you take care of the issue.
Keep-Your-Pants-On Mode:
We've all been there. It's late, the bar is nearly closing, and the number of attractive strangers drops by the minute. Samsung loaded the smart pants with a Bio-Processor that checks your bio-data, meaning that your heart rate and perspiration level are on close scrutiny. Should the pants detect that you are in the "danger zone" of taking rash and impulsive decisions, you will get a hailstorm of notifications reminding you that tomorrow is another day and that beer goggles are called like that for a reason.
Fridge Lock:
So, you got home from the club and are all alone. Samsung's smart pants will make sure you don't overeat to fight off the feeling of loneliness. Thanks to the embedded ARTIK chip module, your refrigerator will lock away when your waist stretches beyond a certain limit.
The OEM mentions that it takes all liberty to modify "all functionality, features, specifications and other product information" about its Internet of Trousers.
As it is April Fools' for everyone, we can't blame them.
However, other names from the tech industry are approaching this thread in a realistic manner.
Last year, Google and Levi's Project Jacquard teamed up to provide the world with interactive clothes, a smart line of garments that sport conductive yarns and sensors discreetly embedded into buttons and seams.
The smart clothes would be capable of interacting with mobile devices. The prototypes are showing promise, both for the upcoming smart clothing sector and the industrial applications of shrinking down sensors and components.
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Microsoft's Windows Phone mobile operating system certainly isn't one of the company's strengths. No one has to tell the Microsoft that. It knows it.
A far third place from Apple's iOS and Google's Android mobile OS's, Microsoft has finally revealed that Windows Phone is no longer one of its main priorities.
Its focal points are now devices such as with Microsoft Surface 2-in-1's, it's millions-strong video gaming platform under the Xbox brand, and what seems to be a head start in the augmented reality space with its HoloLens headset.
But Microsoft isn't completely ditching its mobile platform and the smartphones that support it. For 2016, the company would rather just stick to what has actually stuck with consumers and play on its strengths.
"There's no lack of recognition to realize how important that form factor is, but for Microsoft with Windows and for our platform it's the wrong place for us to lead," shares Microsoft's Vice President for Windows and Devices, Terry Myerson.
At Microsoft's annual Build developer conference in San Francisco, the absence of Windows Phone throughout all keynotes was glaringly obvious. In fact, the only time a Windows Phone actually appeared in the midst of all the slides and videos was in a demo of Skype running on Windows 10 Mobile.
Otherwise, Apple's iOS got all the limelight. At Build, BMW and Starbucks showed all their demos on iOS devices. At best, what Microsoft did show regarding Windows Phone was that it could be turned into a computer using Windows 10 Continuum. And that's it.
What's more interesting, however, is Myerson's remarks about what he views to be the size of Windows Phone displays.
"We're fully committed to that 4-inch screen, there will be a time for it to be our focus, but right now it's part of the family but it's not the core of where I hope to generate developer interest over the next year," Myerson says.
Most Windows Phone devices, especially Windows Phone flagships like the Lumia 950, are well beyond the 4-inch screen size. Unless, of course, Microsoft is pulling an Apple and is considering an iPhone SE-sized Windows Phone in the coming future, it could make sense. A smaller, more portable phone could prove to be quite handy, especially if it can one day be hooked up to the HoloLens.
Regardless, if Microsoft isn't taking a page from Apple's playbook, it seems to be following Amazon's lead - leaving mobile phones and tablets to the established players like Apple and Google, and focusing on its strengths instead.
It's unfortunate to see Microsoft put Windows Phone on the wayside, but if it also means better products where Microsoft actually excels, then we should be all the better for it.
Photo: Karlis Dambrans | Flickr
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Since Jay-Z's company bought Tidal in early 2015, the music streaming service has had three different Chief Executive Officers in a nine month period, fired several executives and saw a possible big deal with Samsung collapse. Now, the rapper is looking for a way to hold Stockholm-based Schibsted ASA responsible for the disappointment with a lawsuit claiming he was deliberately misinformed by the company during their pre-sale discussions.
Jay-Z paid $56 million to acquire Aspiro AB, the company that created Wimp and Tidal, but he claims that Schibsted ASA gave him over-inflated subscriber numbers to secure the deal. Specifically, he was told that Tidal had more than half a million subscribers, but it turns out that was not the case at all.
The Norwegian news website Breakit was the first to report of the legal battle between the old and new owners of Tidal.
"It became clear after taking control of Tidal and conducting our own audit that the total number of subscribers was actually well below the 540,000 reported to us ... we have now served legal notice to parties involved in the sale," Tidal said in a statement.
Schibsted spokesperson Anders Rikter denied the accusations and insisted that there was complete transparency during the negotiations.
"We would like to point out that the company was listed on the stock exchange with everything that entails regarding transparent financial reporting," he said.
The discrepancy could possibly be linked to the subscription and promotional deals Aspiro AB had with other providers, which accounts for more than half of the total number of people subscribed to one or all of Aspiro's products. In short, while Schibster may have shown a correct value of more than half a million subscribers, only a portion of those subscriptions were actually for Tidal.
The records show that Aspiro had 503,000 subscribers in 2014. However, only 112,000 of those subscriptions were for Tidal. Cable, telecommunications and WiMP services offered by Aspiro share the other 391,000 subscriptions.
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Star Wars fans have longed for a live-action Star Wars show. While there was one in the works for a long time (said to have revolved around the galaxy's less-than-savory characters), when Disney acquired the franchise, it officially got the axe.
It's exactly for that reason why IGN's April Fool's Day prank is so darn cruel. Not only is it a "trailer" for a live-action Star Wars show coming to Netflix, but it's also one that stars Darth Maul.
Of course, Darth Maul is still one of the franchise's most popular characters, despite barely having any lines and being killed (sort of) in his first film appearance.
This fake trailer is every fanboy's dream come true. Even the description for the show sounds amazing.
"Live-action Star Wars makes its debut on Netflix! A mysterious, dark power is butchering those on both the light and dark side of the Force. Find out who and stream all episodes this May 4th."
That "mysterious, dark power" is, of course, Maul, whose name appears in the show's "official" title of Star Wars: Fury of Maul.
Making matters worse is just how darn convincing everything is. The special effects, the tone, the costumes, it all looks like it could be real. It's also not just IGN in on the joke, either. Even Netflix itself is playing along, hosting the trailer for the show on its official website.
While a resurrected Darth Maul did appear on the Clone Wars animated series (and most recently the Star Wars Rebels season two finale), seeing the character once more in live-action, taking his revenge on Jedi and Sith alike, sounds too good to be true because it is. Who knows? Maybe the outpouring of fans lamenting over the fact that this is all a cruel joke will cause Disney and Netflix to take notice and finally get to work on a real Star Wars live-action show. A fan can dream, at least.
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Sami Zayn will be in the biggest match of his life Sunday night, when he faces Intercontinental champion Kevin Owens, Dolph Ziggler, Zack Ryder, Sin Cara, Stardust and the Miz in a seven-man ladder match with the title on the line before a possible 100,000-plus fans at WrestleMania 32.
As if seeing if he could ward off the competition to snag rival Owen's strap wasn't enough pressure, Zayn is also pulling double duty this weekend. As already announced by William Regal, Zayn will be competing at the NXT TakeOver Dallas event Friday night against a WWE-debuting international superstar Japanese sensation Shinsuke Nakamura.
Although Nakamura signed with NXT in late February, WWE has kept its latest signee under wraps, waiting for the right moment to break him loose in front of the masses. What better platform to do just that than the weekend of the "Grandest Stage of Them All" and against a WrestleMania 32 competitor in Zayn?
From the following footage, which WWE uploaded to its YouTube account Friday, we get a glimpse of Nakamura's dynamic ring style, watching him deliver everything from a dropkick to a leaping knee drop and spinning kick with slick agility and plenty of swagger. From these highlights alone, you can see that the "King of Strong Style" has plenty of charisma, which should be on full display Friday night against Zayn.
For what it's worth, Sami is more than impressed.
"Nakamura I know exactly how gifted he is, I know how great he is, but you only get one chance at a first impression in Dallas," Zayn says in the clip. "Let's see if he's got what it takes to step up to the plate when the pressure's on."
Upon announcing Nakamura's signing with WWE, Triple H sounded as if landing the international sensation was a coup for the company.
"Talent is the lifeblood of our company, and the signing of Shinsuke Nakamura further demonstrates NXT's commitment to bringing in the best talent from all over the world," Triple H said in February. "His explosive style will make an immediate impact to an already dynamic NXT men's division."
That would especially be the case if he can get a win over Zayn.
It would be interesting to see if any of Zayn's competitors in the ladder match help Nakamura get that first victory at Sami's expense.
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Google and reportedly, Apple, aren't the only tech companies wanting a slice of the budding autonomous vehicle market.
Reuters is reporting that Amazon and Microsoft are in negotiations to supply cloud computing to HERE, a digital mapping company owned by BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi, each of which is in the self-driving development space. The three German luxury automakers bought HERE for $2.85 billion last year, and Amazon in particular is even reportedly considering buying into the company.
"Amazon would take a stake as part of a broader deal to lock them in as a provider of cloud computing services," a source with knowledge of the negotiations told Reuters.
Another source added: "Microsoft is also interested in closer ties to HERE."
BMW additionally said in a statement to Reuters: "The new owners Audi, Daimler and BMW have said from the start that they are open for new partners to join. We have noticed that there is lots of interest not only from potential partners from within the automotive industry, but also from other sectors."
HERE's mapping systems feed real-time information used to control autonomous vehicles. That mapping, along with self-driving vehicles' sensors, work together to analyze roads and traffic, while reacting to unforeseen events in real-time. The location data that HERE generates can also be shared among other map users.
Reuters says Ford, Renault and automotive supplier Continental could also purchase stakes of HERE, with the latter company having told the news agency Thursday that it will make its decision whether to invest in the mapping business within the next few months.
Amazon and Microsoft supplying cloud computing to HERE could be a welcomed activity, considering the other uphill challenges that companies in autonomous vehicle development are facing.
Earlier this week, Reuters cited a U.S. Department of Transportation estimation of about 65 percent of the country's roads being in poor condition. That could pave the way for self-driving vehicles to struggle to read poor lane markings.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk previously touched on the subject, calling faded lane markings "crazy" for his semi-autonomous vehicles to comprehend and maneuver within.
"If the lane fades, all hell breaks loose," Christoph Mertz, a research scientist at Carnegie Mellon University, told Reuters just earlier this week. "But cars have to handle these weird circumstances and have three different ways of doing things in case one fails."
Not an enviable task.
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The joke was on Google today when its April Fool's Day joke backfired on it, forcing it to remove its new "Mic Drop" feature after users complained that it messed up their business and professional relationships.
To prank its users, Google featured a new "Send + Mic Drop" button that was supposed to be seen as comical but instead left many people angry. When the user hit the new button, a Minion GIF would be inserted into the email that showed the character looking smug and dropping a microphone as if to say, "this conversation is done."
The conversation really was done, because the feature would cut off any further communication in that email thread with the recipient.
Google then pulled the gag after many users reported hitting the button by accident and not being able to get the responses for important work email. Even worse, some insulted their bosses with the GIF.
Talk about an April Fool's Day prank going wrong.
However, this isn't the first time Google played some really bad pranks on us. Here are some of the company's other bad April Fool's Day jokes.
Another Bad GIF
Interestingly enough, Google's very first April Fool's prank also featured a GIF. Back in 2000, the company released the MentalPlex, an animated image of red and blue colors hypnotizing the viewer. Google told people to think of the image of what they wanted to find.
Google then released messages on the search results page that revealed humorous errors, like "Silence voice in your head and try again," and "Please clap hands 3 times, while chanting 'I believe' and try again." It's safe to say that many people were probably left dizzy after trying it out a few times.
Google Cardboard Plastic
Google was on a roll with its pranks today. This included the announcement of its latest VR headset, Google Cardboard Plastic, which is for when "reality doesn't need the 'virtual.'" Basically, it's just a clear box so that the user can see what's going on in the world around them instead of on the screens. While many might think it's funny, the sad part is that some people might think it is real. Thanks anyway for teasing us about our latest tech obsession.
Chrome Multitask Fail
In 2012, Google had a few good pranks, like 8-bit Google Maps, but fell flat when it came to Chrome Multitask Mode. Google released a video explaining that users can save the most time possible and increase productivity by using two different mice at the same time.
Okay, so it's almost funny to watch. However, if this mode really did exist, we are sure people would not want to share the computer screen with someone else. Not to mention, it would actually decrease productivity after crashing when you wanted to shop online.
The Most Obvious, Yet Annoying Joke
We use Google for just about everything. So, how annoying would it be if we couldn't be able to read our searches for a day? This is exactly what happened in 2013 when the company launched com.elgooG, which featured everything on Google reversed. All the text then appeared backwards, making it almost impossible to read.
Google went back to normal the next day, but users can still enter in Google backwards to find the site. Still, we are sure people were left feeling really annoyed.
The company comes out with multiple pranks each year, with most of them being pretty good. This includes in 2008 when Australians got Rickrolled (home pages went to Rick Astley's song "Never Gonna Give You Up") by YouTube, and a Google Translator for communicating with animals.
Ironically, Google was able to pull one over us all when it announced Gmail back in 2004, having everyone thinking it was just an April Fool's Day prank. Looks like things have come full-circle.
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NCA asks Anonymous-linked to hand over encryption keys of seized laptops to United States authorities
The National Crime Agency (NCA) has demanded that a British computer scientist suspected of hacking into US federal computer networks and causing millions of dollars in damage, decrypts a number of devices seized by the agency back in 2013.
Lauri Love, the Anonymous linked hacker in question, was arrested in 2013 for the alleged intrusions but released afterwards; however, he was rearrested in 2015. He is currently fighting extradition to the US for hacking charges after charges revealed last year accused him of breaching the networks of the US Army, the Federal Reserve, NASA and other high-profile targets.
Love has until now refused to comply with a Section 49 RIPA notice to decrypt the devices, a refusal that carries potential jail time. However, British authorities in the on-going court proceedings have not charged Love with any crime, leading him to counter-sue in civil court for the return of his devices. The devices in question include a Samsung laptop, a Fujitsu Siemens laptop, a Compaq computer tower, an SD card, and a Western Digital hard drive. The NCA in particular wants Love to decrypt TrueCrypt files on the SD card and external drive.
The governments demands threaten to erode the right against self-incrimination, Dr. Richard Tynan of Privacy International told Ars. This is the first time we have heard of a UK agency using two different legal mechanisms to compel the decryption of data, he said. It is particularly worrisome given that no prosecution is underway against the individual [Love] and is in the context of a serious extradition case to the US. The right not to provide evidence against oneself is cherished in the US and around the world but apparently not so in the UK.
In Loves civil case, his argument is that if the police are not going to charge him with a crime, they should return his property. The problem is that the NCA are effectively arguing that any information that cannot be read and comprehended by the police has a presumption of guilt, Love told Ars in an e-mailed statement. This has clear and troubling implications for groups that handle sensitive communications or other datajournalists, advocates, activists and whistleblowers, and members of the legal profession.
An executive body of the state is saying that any information to which they are not privy cannot be owned and kept securely but instead confiscated and access denied, Love added. This is a fundamental reversal of rights and the potential for abuse is alarming.
However, the NCA said that it would not return the devices as it was unable to decrypt their contents and argues that Love should decrypt his devices in order to demonstrate that the data they contain belongs to him.
Now, court proceedings show that the agency has demanded Love hand over the passwords and encryption keys to the seized goods, according to Ars. The NCA also wants Love to provide a witness statement indicating why he is entitled to the data held on the devices which investigators believe contains pirated versions of copyrighted films, data from the Police Oracle website, and data obtained from the United States Department of Energy and the United States Senate.
Nevertheless, Tor Ekeland, Loves attorney in the US, believes that the NCAs demands have nothing to do with the ongoing civil law suit. I think they want to gain access to the information on Lauris computers in order to turn it over to the US authorities, with whom it seems to me they are plainly cooperating, he told Ars. Lauri is currently under indictment in the US, and it appears the UK government is sharing information with the US, so the question on our end is whether the UK government is violating Lauris US constitutional rights as a criminal defendant by engaging in activity that US prosecutors may not be able to do in the US.
Are the UK prosecutors acting as agents for the US in this instance? Ekeland asked. The possibility that the US government may use foreign sovereigns to do an end run around US constitutional criminal defendant protections is disturbing to me.
The FBI and Department of Justice (DoJ) claim that as part of the hacking collective Anonymous, Love has been involved in hacking into various governmental agencies, resulting in millions of dollars worth of damage. The court is set to hear arguments on the decryption demand on April 12 at Westminster Magistrates Court while the next extradition hearing set for June 28 and 29. The FBI has stated that if convicted by a US court, he could face up to 12 years in prison.
Source: Ars
Hacking redux : FBI to now hack iPhone and iPod in Arkansas murder case
Somewhere down the line, Apples prediction that helping FBI unlock the San Bernardino shooters iPhone could open a gateway for hundreds of such requests from US agencies seems to be ringing true. Many privacy advocates had warned of a situation where the US investigative agencies may demand all smartphone makers including Apple and Google to help it unlock a variety of smartphones.
Just days after the FBI announced that it had gained access to San Bernardino shooters iPhone, the agency has now agreed to help prosecutors in Arkansas unlock an iPhone and iPod belonging to two teenagers accused of killing a couple.
Faulkner County Prosecuting Attorney Cody Hiland said the FBI agreed to the request from his office and the Conway Police Department Wednesday afternoon, while a judge agreed to postpone the trial so officials could ask the FBI for assistance.
Two teenagers, Hunter Drexler, 18, and Justin Staton, 15, are accused of killing Robert and Patricia Cogdell at their home in Conway, 30 miles north of Little Rock, in July. The Cogdells had raised Staton as their grandson. Drexlers trial was moved from next week to June 27.
According to court records, a 17-year-old witness who was at the Codgells home at the time of the attack, said the murder plan had been conceived while all three were in juvenile jail together.
Justins plan was to shoot and kill his grandparents, split a large sum of money and credit cards between the three of them and then they would all run away, the boy told authorities. Justin estimated their take at $50,000 to $90,000.
An affidavit filed with the charges, revealed that Staton told officers that, after complaining to Drexler about his grandparents, Drexler suggested that he shoot them.
The FBI announced Monday that it had gained access to an iPhone belonging to Syed Rizwan Farook, who died with his wife in a gun battle with police after they killed 14 people in San Bernardino in December. They said that they did not need the Cupertino-based companys help to unlock an iPhone that belonged to Farook. Apple had refused to help authorities unlock the device, and was in a legal dispute with the FBI over the matter.
The FBI hasnt disclosed how it cracked Farooks iPhone. Authorities also havent said whether the iPhone and iPod in the Arkansas case are the same models. Also, it wasnt immediately clear if the FBI would use the same method to unlock the devices as used in the San Bernardino case.
Prosecutors already had possession of an iPhone that is believed to be Drexlers after he and two other teenagers were arrested in Texas and brought back to Arkansas after the homicides.
The officials said recorded phone conversations between Staton and other individuals suggest that he had used the iPod to communicate about the murder plans. They also claim there may be further evidence on the device.
Hiland said he could not discuss details of the murder case in Arkansas, but confirmed the FBI had agreed less than a day after the initial request.
We always appreciate their cooperation and willingness to help their local law enforcement partners, he said.
Drexler and Staton have both pleaded not guilty to capital murder, aggravated robbery and other charges in the deaths of the couple, who were both 66.
Patrick Benca, Drexlers attorney, confirmed that he was notified that the FBI had agreed to help unlock his clients phone.
Were not concerned about anything on that phone, Benca said.
Meanwhile, prosecutor Hiland said hes not concerned with setting a precedent with his case, and that he simply wants access to all the available evidence.
Our focus is on the case, he said. Our job is to seek justice.
Earn up to $150,000 if you can figure out how to hack the Pentagon
The Department of Defense yesterday announced that it would be collaborating with San Francisco-based company, HackerOne for its upcoming challenge to Hack the Pentagon.
In a statement announcing the opening of registration, Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said that the pilot program is designed to identify and resolve security vulnerabilities within DoD websites through crowdsourcing. Interested hackers can sign up for the challenge right now on the initiatives new website.
HackerOne, which is a reputable bug-bounty-as-a-service firm based out of Californias Silicon Valley along with DoD will run the Hack the Pentagon pilot program over the next several weeks.
The Hack the Pentagon bug bounty pilot will start April 18 and end by May 12, Cook said, and HackerOne will issue qualifying bounties no later than June 10. If hackers find security holes, then they earn up to $150,000 in this bug bounty program. However, the size of each payment will depend on a number of factors, the Pentagon said.
The program will target several DoD public websites which will be identified to the participants as the beginning of the challenge approaches, Cook said. Critical, mission-facing computer systems will not be involved in the program. Instead, a few of the DoDs public websites will be put to the test by whoever signs up, and they will need to undergo a background check first.
Announced by the military earlier this month, the program challenged outsiders to try and find bugs and security vulnerabilities in Pentagon systems. In a statement on Thursday, DoD said the several weeks-long program would be led by HackerOne, a reputable bug-bounty-as-a-service firm based out of Californias Silicon Valley thats used by everyone from Facebook to IBM.
This initiative will put the departments cybersecurity to the test in an innovative but responsible way, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said in a statement. I encourage hackers who want to bolster our digital defenses to join the competition and take their best shot.
HackerOne has set up a registration site for eligible participants at https://hackerone.com/hackthepentagon. Eligible participants must be a U.S. person, and must not be on the U.S. Treasury Departments Specially Designated Nationals list of people and organizations invoilved in terrorism, drug trafficking and other crimes. U.S. citizens and companies are forbidden from doing business with listed entities.
DoDs Defense Digital Service, which Carter launched in November, is leading the initiative. The DDS, an arm of the White Houses dynamic cadre of technology experts at the U.S. Digital Service, includes a small team of engineers and data experts meant to improve the departments technological agility, Cook said.
The idea to bring outsiders in to try and hack Pentagon systems is a first, though its pretty common for corporations. Hack the Pentagon is the type of bug bounty program that many private tech companies, such as Google and Microsoft, have operated for years, giving independent security researchers the green light to find vulnerabilities within their systems and report back. Its a way to find problems quicker and fix them before a malicious hacker finds their way in.
Collaboration and transparency with external finders has become essential to securing connected software on the Internet, HackerOne CEO Marten Mickos said in a statement. Embracing the hacker community is not only a watershed move by the Pentagon, among the worlds most powerful organizations, but also signals deeply promising progress for all of software security.
Samsungs crazy folding smartphone is actually happening in 2017
Believe it or not, if you are interested, you will be having the crazy foldable smartphone in your hands by 2017. According to Korean news site ETNews, Samsung will apparently start mass producing the foldable smartphone for an early 2017 release.
Samsung had in January, 2016, filed a patent suggesting that the company was working on a smartphone with foldable display tech.
In a call with investors in January, director of Samsungs Display division Lee Chang-hoon said Development of Foldable OLED is taking place according to our planWe are planning on mass-production and release this product by discussing without partners.
It seems that Chang-hoon was speaking about a foldable device which it had patented in January, 2016. Theres still no name for the foldable device yet, but ETNews believes itll have a 5-inch screen when its in smartphone mode and 7-inch tablet when you unfold the screen.
Though we have the images from Samsungs patent filings, no one has knows what the final product will look like. Actually know one even knows whether it will be full fledged smartphone. Samsung in a statement issued in August 2015 stated that , The folding-style design combined with smartphone features, including the Internet, messenger and social networking services, will add to the devices convenience.
Falling smartphone sales have forced Samsung to innovate but no one knows whether this foldable smartphone technology will click with the users.
The first time I saw Zaha Hadid was in the Patrick Cox store in Draycott Avenue, surrounded by many pairs of shoes and shop assistants. It was the early 90s, and Coxs shop was simply the place to be. I had saved hard for a pair of black patent Wannabes, but the woman opposite, dressed in Issey Miyake, clearly had more roguish tastes and rather more money. Thats Zaha Hadid, whispered my shopping companion, a young architect, in awe. Zaha pointed to one pair. I wont take these, she declared. Just pack up the rest for me.
Zaha, who died at the age of 65 on Thursday, was always a woman of expansive style. Once I got to know her a little, she loved to tell tales of rocking up to her lectures at the Architectural Association in a pink feathered coat by Chantal Thomass, the same coat she wore on a college trip to Soviet-era Moscow to learn more about the Suprematist art and architecture that so inspired her: I walked across Red Square in those feathers. I dont think theyd seen anything like it! Ive seen her appear at the opening of a bar she designed for the private club Home House in lilac metallic leggings, and at the dinner for hundreds, given in her honour in Baku, in a black satin Prada jacket encrusted with sequins.
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
Ponguleti condemns party's decision
Hyderabad, April 1 (INN): Deputy CLP leader in Telangana Legislative Council Ponguleti Sudhakar Reddy has strongly condemned the Congress party's leadership for its decision to boycott the PPT presentation made by Chief Minster K. Chandrashekar Rao on irrigation projects in Assembly on Thursday.
Speaking to media persons at Assembly Media Point on Friday, Ponguleti said that the decision to boycott presentation was taken only by four persons. Without naming them, he criticised the top leadership for taking a unilateral decision. He said that the party should have taken the views of all legislators before imposing their decision on them. He asked as to why the Congress Legislature Party meeting was not convening to discuss such an important issue. He said that the boycott has sent a wrong message among the people forcing them to believe that there was no coordination among the Congress legislators and leadership.
Ponguleti also criticised KCR for making some objectionable remarks against former Chief Minister Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy during his presentation. He said YSR was a good Chief Minister for the then united Andhra Pradesh. He said it was strange that the YSRCP MLAs, who were present in the Assembly during presentation, did not raise any objection. He alleged that the YSRCP MLAs were silent due to some hidden and personal agenda..
He claimed that the previous Congress regimes have provided irrigation facilities for 67 lakh acres of land in Telangana.
News Posted: 1 April, 2016
VHR asks party leaders to counter KCR's claims
Hyderabad, April 1 (INN): Rajya Sabha MP V. Hanumantha Rao on Friday asked the Congress leaders to do a reality check of claims being made by Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao on irrigation.
Speaking to media persons here, VHR said that the Chief Minister had promised to provide irrigation to one crore acres of land by completing all irrigation projects. However, he did not mention how he proposed to fund those projects. He also advised Congress leaders to visit all the irrigation projects' sites along with experts to cross check KCR's claims. He said if KCR has been doing real work, the Congress party should appreciate him by rising above party lines. Else, the Congress party should expose his failures.
VHR also criticised TRS Government for its failure to get funds for backward districts from the Central Government. He said that the Centre has recently given Rs. 700 crore to AP for development of backward districts. However, the Centre has completely neglected Telangana, he said.
News Posted: 1 April, 2016
KCR's presentation is a beautiful lie: Revanth
Hyderabad, April 1 (INN): Telangana Telugu Desam Legislature party leader A. Revanth Reddy on Friday described the power-point presentation on irrigation projects made by Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar in Assembly on Thursday as a bunch of "Beautiful Lies".
Speaking to media persons here, Revanth Reddy accused the Chief Minister of misleading the people of Telangana. Instead of plain talk, he used a power-point presentation to convey lies in more convincing way. For the same reason, he said that the TDP has boycotted the presentation.
Revanth Reddy said that KCR came to power by making false promises and now he is trying to cheat people by making presentations.
News Posted: 1 April, 2016
First Look: Handsome Actor Back As 'Dear Dad'
Handsome Actor Arvind Swamy, who made his Bollywood debut with Mani Ratnam's 1992 film "Roja", is returning to the Hindi film world after a long gap. His upcomg Hindi film was titled as Dear Dad and first look of the film was released today.
Dear Dad stars Arvind Swamy and Himanshu Sharma. The first look is very natural and interesting.Arvind looks absolutely handsome in a simple polo shirt and jeans and he sheds lot of weight to fit for the role.
"Dear Dad" is a bitter-sweet coming of age story involving a father-son duo - 14 year old Shivam and his 45-year-old father Nitin Swaminathan. The film is about the road trip of the father-son duo from their home in New Delhi to Boarding School in Mussorie.
News Posted: 1 April, 2016
Its easy to scoff at the anti-free-trade rhetoric emanating from the U.S. presidential campaign trail. Donald Trump keeps yelling about China, Mexico, and Japan. Bernie Sanders wont stop shouting about greedy multinational corporations. Hillary Clinton, Ted Cruz, and John Kasich are awkwardly leaning in the same direction. If youre a typical pro-trade business executive, youre tempted to ask: Were these people throwing Frisbees on the quad during Econ 101? A recent article in the National Review expressed disdain by blaming a swath of America for its own problems, attributing Trumps success to a white American underclass thats in thrall to a vicious, selfish culture whose main products are misery and used heroin needles.
Wait. Trump and Sanders may be clumsy and overly dramatic, and their solutions may be misbegotten, but theyre on to something real. New research confirms what a lot of ordinary people have been saying all along, which is that free trade, while good overall, harms workers who are exposed to low-wage competition from abroad. Ignoring this damageor pretending that its being cured through redistribution of gainsundermines the credibility of free traders and makes it harder to win trade liberalization deals.
Economists, for whatever odd reason, tend to close ranks when they talk about trade in public for fear of giving ammunition to protectionists, says Dani Rodrik, an economist at Harvards Kennedy School of Government. Theres a sense that it will feed the barbarians.
The theory of comparative advantage thats taught to college freshmen is impossibly clean: Its all about specialization. England trades its cloth for Portugals wine. Even if Portugal is slightly better at producing cloth than England is, it should focus on what its best at, winemaking. Portuguese who lose their jobs making cloth will readily find new ones making wine. Efficiency improves. Everyone wins.
Life is more complicated. For example: In times of slack global demand, countries grab more than their fair share of the available work by boosting exports and limiting imports. Perpetual trade deficits leave one country deep in hock to another, threatening its sovereignty. Financial bubbles form when deficit countries are overwhelmed by hot money inflows. Countries restrict trade for strategic reasons, such as to nurture an infant industry, to punish a rival, or to guarantee a domestic source for sensitive military hardware and software. Nation-states may not appear in intro econ, but they call the shots in the real world.
Even setting aside geopolitics, trade creates losers as well as winners. Back in 1941, economists Wolfgang Stolper and Paul Samuelson pointed out that unskilled workers in a high-wage country would suffer losses if that country opened up to imports from a low-wage nation. (The prestigious American Economic Review rejected the paper, calling it a complete sell-out to protectionists.)
American support for free trade was strong for most of the 20th century. The Stolper-Samuelson theorem was of mainly theoretical interest because most U.S. trade was with other developed nations. Besides, economic textbooks assured students that losers from trade could be compensated with a portion of societys gains. The Trade Expansion Act of 1962 was the first of a series of measures to provide government assistance to U.S. workers who lost their jobs to foreign competition. American labor unions generally supported free trade as both a creator of jobs in the export sector and a bulwark against communism.
Competition from Japan shook some unions and lawmakers faith in trade. In 1981, Japanese automakers agreed to voluntary restraints on auto exports to the U.S. to avoid possible tariffs. A deal with Japan on memory chips followed in 1986. Among economists, though, the consensus in favor of unbridled free trade remained intact. If jobs were lost, they said, it was far more likely to be from automation than from imports. As recently as 1997, Paul Krugman wrote in the Journal of Economic Literature that a country serves its own interests by pursuing free trade regardless of what other countries may do.
Theres a U.S. program for compensating people hurt by trade. It isnt effective
The rise of China did far more than Japans ascent to soften the free-trade consensus. Chinas low-wage, low-price strategy swept through American industry like a plague. Hardest hit were labor-intensive industries such as apparel, shoes, furniture, toys, and electronics. From 1990 to 2010, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, U.S. production jobs in apparel plunged from 840,000 to 118,000. If a U.S. factory couldnt match the China price, it lost the business. Economists have taken note. Krugman wrote in his New York Times column this March that while protectionism is a mistake, the elite case for ever-freer trade, the one that the public hears, is largely a scam.
David Autor, a centrist economist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has carefully documented the consequences of Chinas rise. In a working paper released in January, Autor and two other economists conclude that imports from China killed about 2.4 million U.S. jobs from 1999 to 2011. That wouldnt have been terrible if the workers had found jobs in other sectors or other cities. But many didnt. Job growth was slow, so there were few openings. Lots of laid-off factory workers were still living off benefits a decade later, reflecting a stunningly slow adjustment, wrote Autor, David Dorn, of the University of Zurich, and Gordon Hanson, of the University of California at San Diego, in their paper, The China Shock: Learning from Labor Market Adjustment to Large Changes in Trade.
Autor says he still believes in free trade, including with China. We dont want our work to be misconstrued. But he says their research did sensitize them to the human price that the U.S. has paid in exchange for low-priced goods from China. In terms of lost incomes and lost pride, Autor says, the costs loom pretty large.
Once you accept the idea that some people lose from trade, the question becomes what to do about it. Ordinary Americans are conflicted. On one hand, theres a reservoir of support for foreign trade. A Gallup poll published in February found that 58 percent of Americans see it as an opportunity, vs. 33 percent who view it as a threat. On the other hand, doubts persist. A Bloomberg national poll in March found that almost two-thirds of Americans want more restrictions on imported goods and 82 percent would be willing to pay a little bit more for American-made goods to save jobs. Democrats in Washington state gave Sanders a big primary victory on March 26 even though the state benefits enormously from free trade; it led the nation in manufacturing exports per capita last year, according to U.S. Department of Commerce data.
A 44-nation survey by Pew Research Center in 2014 found strongly positive views toward trade in developing nations, particularly Tunisia, Uganda, Vietnam, Lebanon, and Bangladesh. In contrast, half of Americans said trade destroys jobs, as did 49 percent in France, 59 percent in Italy, and 38 percent in Japan.
The libertarian position on free trade is that those who lose when barriers come down deserve nothing. They were being protected from competition; now their special deal is being taken away to save consumers money. End of story. If anything, some libertarians say, the workers should compensate consumers for the extra income they unjustly earned when the barriers were up. Where, in short, is my check from those benefiting from protectionism? Tim Worstall, a fellow of the U.K.s free-market Adam Smith Institute, wrote on his personal blog in 2011.
The U.S. Congress has rejected that harsh philosophy. In fiscal year 2014, the U.S. Department of Labor gave states $604 million for workers who were certified as having lost their jobs because of foreign competition. The funds cover career counseling, job training, allowances for job search and relocation, wage subsidies for older workers who get hired at lower pay, and weekly cash payments for people whose unemployment benefits are exhausted.
But trade adjustment assistance, as its called, is hardly a cure-all. The sums are tiny in comparison with the scale of the problem, and the success rate is low. A study for the Labor Dept. in 2012 by Mathematica Policy Research, a Princeton, N.J.-based evaluation firm, concluded that partly because of the time that participants spent in training, their earnings were actually lower than those of nonparticipants.
Questions about how to share the benefits from free trade are inseparable from broad questions about social justice. Is a trade deal bad if it kills 1,000 jobs in South Carolina but creates 10,000 in desperately poor Bangladesh? Or this: Lets say social scientists figured out how to make trade adjustment assistance effective. Would it be right for government to ramp up spending on it 100-fold from current levels, so displaced workers are truly made whole, even though thats more money out of taxpayers pockets?
Trade adjustment assistance is an awkwardly shaped government program, too broad in one respect and too narrow in another. If the objective is to right a wrong, then its too broad in that it benefits people who lose jobs even when the foreign competition is perfectly fair. If the objective is to provide a safety net, then its too narrow in that it covers only people harmed by trade. What about people who lose their jobs because of automation, tougher pollution controls, or changing consumer tastes? It seems unfair to treat those groups differently.
For logical consistency, the assistance needs to narrow or broaden. Harvards Rodrik and MITs Autor favor broadeningthat is, eliminating trade adjustment assistance as a special category and putting a safety net under all workers that doesnt depend on why they lost their jobs.
A bigger idea is to stop the chronic trade deficits from occurring in the first place. There would be fewer losers from trade and less need for assistance if deficits were small and temporary. John Maynard Keynes, the great British economist, had an idea for that in 1941. His plan would have shrunk imbalances by putting much of the responsibility for adjustment on trade-surplus countries. It would have driven them to spend and import more. Keyness plan didnt appeal to the U.S., which was generating big trade surpluses at the time, so it died. Something slightly similar has been pushed in recent years by Vladimir Masch, a Soviet-born engineer and economist who is retired from Bell Laboratories. His compensated free trade plan would have the U.S. impose separate annual limits on trade surpluses of each trading partner and charge the governments if the limits are exceeded. Unbridled globalization undermines societies and is incompatible with democracy, he writes.
Trump and Sanders are right that better trade deals are part of the solution, too. Autor et al. show that China benefited hugely from entering the World Trade Organization in 2001. Yet China has managed to restrict access to its market, closing off some sectors, such as finance, while insisting that U.S. and other foreign companies transfer technology to Chinese partners in exchange for joint manufacturing deals.
In 1911, remarkably, free trade was the populist position. It could become so again
As Sanders complains, new trade deals such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership seem aimed more at securing the interests of multinationals than creating jobs back home. In other words, supporting trade deals doesnt automatically make a chief executive a free-trade purist. My view is that there are barbarians on both sides of this issue, says Rodrik.
Thomas Palley, an economic policy adviser to the AFL-CIO, says multinationals are practicing barge economicsa moniker inspired by former General Electric CEO Jack Welch, who once said he wished he could put his factories on barges and move them to whatever country had the best conditions. With todays trade deals, says Palley, we have given the official blessing to institutionalizing the race to the bottom that barge economics produces.
This stuff isnt easy. The Pacific and Atlantic trade deals are the product of years of painstaking negotiations. A President Trump wont be able to dictate new terms to trading partners, no matter how good a dealmaker he is. The WTO would probably strike down his threatened 45 percent tariffs on Chinese imports as an unfair trade practice. Rejecting the WTOs authority could trigger a multisided tariff war that would hurt the U.S. as well as its trading partners. Whats more, if we did China-specific sanctions, the trade would just divert to Vietnam, etc., says Douglas Irwin, an economist and free-trade advocate at Dartmouth College.
A century ago, remarkably enough, free trade was the populist position. In 1911, The Tariff in Our Times, a book by the muckraking journalist Ida Tarbell, argued that high tariff walls protected capitalists, not workers. Sheltered from competition from Europe, she wrote, oligopolies could get away with selling expensive, shoddy goods in the U.S. market, harming consumers. High tariffs on wool were even keeping tuberculosis patients from getting warm woolen clothes and blankets, she wrote. She condemned congressmen who voted repeatedly for high tariffs: We have developed a politician who encourages the most dangerous kind of citizenship a democracy can knowthe panicky, grasping, idealless kind.
The world has changed a lot since then. Populists have lost their taste for free trade. But Tarbell remains correct. If the government can get over its panicky, grasping, and idealless ways and do whats right, trade can be an engine of prosperity and a weapon against entrenched economic power.
April Fool came early for the health-care industry.
A fake press release detailing pharma giant Pfizer's plans to stop raising the prices of its drugs led to the retraction of a Washington Post story in the US yesterday, after the newspaper learned the statement was a hoax.
It sounded too good to be true: Pfizer putting an end to rising drug prices. Turns out it was. Credit:Bloomberg
The bogus release, sent from an e-mail address using the name of an actual Pfizer spokesman, said the drugmaker would "cease routine price increases" and reduce the prices of its drugs in order to increase patients' access to their products.
"The story was removed because it was based on a press release that Pfizer confirmed was false and not sent by the company," Washington Post spokeswoman Shani George said.
Jailed terrorists who still pose a risk when their prison terms expire could be held indefinitely under national laws agreed to by Malcolm Turnbull and state premiers on Friday.
Mr Turnbull and state and territory leaders finalised a deal in Canberra that effectively will treat unrepentant terrorists the same as paedophiles and extreme violent offenders who, in certain cases, can already be held as a purely preventative measure after serving jail time.
The new laws, which will be drafted by the Commonwealth but adopted across all jurisdictions, are meant to address key concerns of police and security agencies about convicted terrorists from the post-9/11 era who are due to be released in coming years.
Philip "Mitch" Brailsford pictured in what he was wearing the night of the shooting. Credit:Mesa Police Department She told police she saw a case in Shaver's room that contained a gun and a dead sparrow. "Shaver told her he was on a business trip with Walmart and his job is to kill all of the birds that get inside the buildings," according to the report. Shaver's wife, Laney Sweet, said on Facebook he would travel from their Texas home to Mesa a few times per month to service pest removal stores. Brailsford's service weapon, an AR-15, was etched with the phrase 'You're f-----d'. Credit:Mesa Police Department The woman told police that Shaver and her male colleague started messing with the rifle, pointing it out the window. Her colleague later left the room.
When the officers arrived, they called Shaver on the phone and asked them to exit the room. Philip "Mitch" Brailsford pictured in what he was wearing the night of the shooting. Credit:Mesa Police Department The woman later told investigators that she heard police yell at Shaver because he was not "following protocol." She then saw police shoot him and "saw him go down," according to the report. But moments before he was killed, the woman said, he was crying, saying: "Please don't shoot." Daniel Shaver pleaded for his life in his final moments. Credit:Facebook: Daniel Shaver
Body camera footage shows that during the confrontation with police, Shaver was on the ground with his hands extended above his head, according to the report. At one point, the report stated, he tried tried to raise his body. "If you do that again, we are shooting you," an officer said, according to the report. "Do you understand?" Shaver responded: "No, please don't shoot me." Authorities said no weapon was seen on Shaver, but it was unclear whether he had one. An officer told Shaver to crawl toward them.
Sobbing, he said, "Yes, sir," and started to move. Once he reached the area where the woman's purse was, the report stated, "his left hand moved across his body and around the purse in order to crawl past it. Shaver was audibly sobbing as he crawled." The report stated that Brailsford's rifle was pointed down the hall until that point. "Brailsford then swung his rifle back toward Shaver where Shaver could be seen with his braced left hand and his right hand moving back toward his waist with his elbow raised behind him," according to the report. "Shaver's head appeared to be down with his face looking at the carpet." The report stated that "multiple voices" began to say "don't" as "Shaver's hand moved back toward the front of his body."
"Brailsford fired his first shot as Shaver's hand was moving toward the front of his body and as at least one officer was heard saying 'don't,'" according to the report. Authorities said Brailsford fired about five shots. Shaver, 26, was pronounced dead at the scene. On Tuesday, Mesa police also released Brailsford's personnel file, which was obtained by the Republic. The newspaper said it painted a picture of "a high achiever who scarcely received criticism from his employers or the public". In 2013, Brailsford spoke with the Arizona Republic when he became one of the first rookies to receive Axon body cameras during the department's push for greater security and transparency.
"I definitely think there is a benefit to start out with this so young," he said then. "It's like learning a new tool right off the bat." The Maricopa County Attorney's Office announced earlier this month that it was pursuing second-degree murder charges against Brailsford. "The use of deadly physical force by law enforcement is governed by Arizona law and is always a tragedy when the loss of life results," Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery said, according to the Arizona Republic. "After carefully reviewing the relevant facts and circumstances, we have determined that the use of deadly physical force was not justified in this instance." Brailsford told investigators that "a million things" were racing through his mind and he felt threatened when Shaver was crawling, "trying to gain a position of advantage in order to gain a better firing position on us," according to the report.
Washington: Few of them would be on the ground for more than 48 hours, but as more than 50 world leaders dropped in to the US capital on Thursday to discuss nuclear safety, more pressing issues stole the limelight.
And their interlocking complexities allowed a real-time demonstration of diplomacy at work, against the backdrop of a round of US presidential primaries in which there has been a lot of chest-beating and some off-the-wall suggestions on how to recast Washington's role on the world stage.
The key interaction was between US President Barack Obama and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. Each committed their countries to signing a climate change accord later this month and stressed that they understood each other on the need to confront the nuclear threat posed by North Korea.
Hazard reduction burns will continue over the weekend in Namadgi National Park and Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve and people with asthma, chronic respiratory or cardiac diseases have been advised to stay inside if affected by the smoke.
The ACT Parks and Conservation Service will continue three burn-offs over the weekend, including a 2324 hectare fire at Honeysuckle south of Honeysuckle Creek and Apollo Road, west of Orroral Road in the Namadgi National Park, a 461ha fire at Gibraltar Peak in Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve and a 395ha fire at Bendora Arboretum.
Hazard reduction fires will continue over the weekend near Canberra. Credit:Jeffrey Chan
A 28ha hazard reduction fire at Bendora House, at the northern end of Namadgi National Park near Bendora Road, had finished and was being patrolled on Friday night.
The large-scale burn-offs were part of the service's annual fuel reduction program to protect the Canberra community from the risk of bushfire.
ACT Women and Housing Minister Yvette Berry has welcomed a unanimous call from state governments for increased federal funding for housing and homelessness services.
Speaking after a meeting of state and territory housing and homelessness ministers in Brisbane on Thursday, Ms Berry said there was a growing demand for frontline services for women and children experiencing domestic and family violence.
ACT Minister for Women and Housing Yvette Berry says when it comes to housing affordability both levels of government need to work together. Credit:Elesa Kurtz
Before the meeting Ms Berry called for better co-operation from the Turnbull government on the issue, raising concerns the federal government could refuse to fund a renewed national agreement on homelessness services after June next year.
The current National Partnership Agreement on Homelessness includes $230 million from the federal government over two years, to be spent by the states and territories on frontline homeless services.
"Bachar and the broader Muslim community deserve better than having to endure the small-minded people that seek to promote division and hatred.
"Unfortunately, this is now a repeated pattern of behaviour that we find totally unacceptable. The club will always support Bachar and his family who add so much to the fabric of Richmond Football Club." Eddie McGuire has called for those behind the anti-Muslim banner to be banned for life. Credit:Mathew Lynn AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan said the banner, which said "Go Pies! Stop the mosques", was deeply offensive and that the AFL community would not tolerate the game being used to vilify sections of the Australian community.
"Our game has a history of egalitarianism and inclusion, and we must make sure that it continues to be a place where all Australians feel welcome," McLachlan said.
"The sentiment on that banner and the use of our game to push divisive and ignorant commentary will be rejected by our supporters and our clubs." McLachlan is due to address the media on Saturday afternoon. Taylor Adams, of the Magpies, handballs while being tackled by Dustin Martin, of the Tigers, during their match at the MCG on Friday. Credit:Getty Images
Houli has been previously targeted because of his faith. Last year, radio host John Burns apologised after it was alleged that he had described Houli as a "terrorist", although Burns said he did not recall whether he had used the slur. Collingwood has also been at the centre of pervious racism allegations. In 2013, a teenage girl became a figure of national controversy after labelling Indigenous Sydney champion Adam Goodes an "ape". The AFL is expected to act quickly after it was criticised for being too slow to act following further incidents of abuse against the now-retired Goodes. A small group of fans who were horrified by United Patriots Front's anti-Muslim banner were quick to confront the culprits on Friday night.
Keen Collingwood fan Anneke, 21, was watching the match from the Ponsford Stand with her sister when she saw the banner unfurled just after the siren sounded to signal halftime. Anneke said she immediately recognised it as the work of the far-right group, because as a member of the Socialist Alternative she had protested against them. She immediately stood up to confront them and tried to grab the banner out of their hands and was quickly joined by three young men who tried to help. Anneke said when two MCG security guards noticed the commotion they first asked her and the three other men to let go of the banner, before escorting the protesters out of the ground. "Quite a lot of people stood up and said thank-you for doing that, one guy gave me a beer," she said.
Anneke said she had been barracking for the Collingwood since her family moved to Victoria when she was in grade six and often went to games, so it was a shock to see the offensive banner. But she also regularly attended A-League matches and said she would not like the level of policing present at those events emulated in the AFL. On Friday night, Collingwood president Eddie McGuire said the people who unfurled the offensive anti-Muslim banner during the game should be banned from football for life. Those who displayed the banner were not necessarily Collingwood fans, although it did include the message "Go Pies", McGuire said. They were opportunists who had used the occasion to spread a "disgraceful" message, he said.
Far-right group the United Patriots Front identified themselves on the banner, which they rolled out during the second quarter in front of a crowd of 72,671 people. When fans pointed it out to MCG security guards they removed the culprits from the ground, but the group later posted a photo of the banner on their Facebook page. "I hope the police got their names and numbers, if they've got anything to do with our club they'll be banned," McGuire said. "Get these people and make an example of them, they should be banned for life."
McGuire said the derogatory behaviour was a societal problem. "You've got somebody running for the US election at the moment who's running on a ticket of vilification, it makes it hard," he said. "We have to knock this on the head as quickly as possible." AFL spokesman Patrick Keane later tweeted that league officials would discuss the banner with representatives of MCG security and Victoria Police. "The AFL condemns the behaviour in the strongest terms and such actions have no place in society, and not in our game," he wrote.
The Collingwood Football Club said in a statement the club was appalled by the banner and it would sever any ties with those involved if they were found to be members or linked to the club. The club is waiting on the outcome of further investigations into the matter by the AFL, MCG security and Victoria Police. A Victoria Police spokeswoman said police are working with the AFL and the MCG in relation to the matter.
AFL diversity manager Ali Fahour tweeted that there are "a minority of ignorant people still in society", in response to former St Kilda player Ahmed Saad, who said he was very disappointed to see the ignorance shown in the act. Hawthorn Football Club assistant coach Adem Yze, one of the first Muslims to play in the VFL/AFL, tweeted his disgust. "What an absolute disgrace!! Enough said!!" United Patriots Front leader Blair Cottrell recently attempted to launch a political arm to his group and in the past shared his pro-Nazi views on social media.
The head of business banking at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Adam Bennett, says the national discussion on innovation is focusing too much on technology start-ups and too little on how to drive incremental operating improvements in larger companies.
While smartphones, driverless cars, blockchain, contactless payments, 3D printers and P2P lending had been widely publicised for delivering "new-to-world" products and transformative business models, "this is a very narrow definition of innovation and limits application to the broader cross-section of businesses", Mr Bennett told an Australian Institute of Company Directors event at CBA on Thursday night.
Melbourne'scentral city will have 6,000 new apartments next year. Credit:Rebecca Hallas
He pointed to recent figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics which found 80 per cent of all innovation did not involve creating new products but adapting better processes which already exist elsewhere in a market.
"Not all innovation is about technology, fintech start-ups and new-to-world products and services, because most innovation is about doing the things we already do just better," he said.
In the weeks since Fairfax Media and Four Corners exposed evidence of unethical practices, questions stemming from the scandal have mounted and new details have emerged. Fairfax Media has received hundreds of emails from aggrieved Commonwealth and life insurance customers, many with compelling and disturbing stories of their treatment. CommInsure has provided little detail on what exactly it is doing to tackle the systemic and cultural issues at the heart of practices exposed by Fairfax Media and Four Corners and that were reported to the board by Koh. CommInsure, and the Commonwealth Bank's chief executive Ian Narev, have apologised for the treatment of individuals highlighted in the investigation such as terminally-ill father Evan Pashalis, and former CommInsure staffer and multiple sclerosis sufferer Helen Polydoropoulos. I have nothing to hide and if this comes up for debate in the court of public opinion, I'll let them decide. Dr Ben Koh
It has also pledged to update its definitions for heart attacks and rheumatoid arthritis (while only backdating them by two years), appoint a yet-to-be-named independent expert to oversee a claims review program and has added a decision-making layer to the claims process creating a panel, chaired by Troup, to consider "complex" cases. Troup at the top Troup was not long into her time in the job when Koh wrote to her, having taken the top executive role at CommInsure in April 2014, after senior roles at ING, now OnePath. She also joined the CommInsure board and had recently restructured the business. Within the medical team, there were fears that this restructure had given more power to claims managers and underwriters, at the expense of the medicos meant to independently judge the condition of customers.
Not long after he wrote to Troup, Koh contacted CommInsure's independent directors with his concerns about the restructure and conflicts of interest. He spoke with the independent chairman, Geoff Austin. He later reported the organ failure cases, and other questionable conduct, to an intermediary put in place by the CommInsure board, highlighting ethical, cultural and potentially legal failings within the life insurance business. Less than a year later, in August 2015, Koh was sacked by Troup. Before he left, he was kept in the dark about what would change, if anything, within CommInsure, as a result of his reports to the board.
Fairfax Media requested interviews to discuss CommInsure's response but they declined. Detailed questions were then submitted to Commonwealth Bank only some of which were answered. Review commissioned CommInsure did say that the board commissioned an independent review on the back of the warnings of Koh before he was sacked. But the bank refuses to say who carried out this review, what its terms of reference were and what it concluded.
"CommInsure has taken a range of actions including the benchmarking of product features, targeted review of customer claims, governance changes to enhance structural independence and additional training for claims staff, including customer empathy and professional protocols," the bank said in a statement. It did not respond to questions on who, if anyone, had been disciplined or held accountable for the failures and if so, how. CBA's legal counsel, David Cohen, revealed little about this review when he wrote to Koh in March 2016 in a reply to a letter Koh had sent Narev last August. "The review involved a well-regarded independent expert the review has been completed and the [board] has considered [its] outcomes, together with management recommendations," Cohen said. "I can assure you the [board] has taken the issues you raised seriously and is holding management to account for the implementation of those recommendations." After receiving the questions from Fairfax Media, a CommInsure spokesman said the board was now "revisiting its actions to ensure the concerns raised in the media are fully investigated.
"If more steps are needed, more will be done". Public clarity needed Pat McConnell, an honorary fellow at Macquarie University's Applied Finance Centre who spent 30 years advising banks and insurance companies on risk and regulation says the CBA board should publish the report's terms of references and conclusions, "and describe the steps taken to address 'holding management to account'. "If the Commbank board refuses to do this, the [Australian Securities and Investments Commission] should publish a summary of the conclusions as regards the firm's governance processes," he says.
It may soon have to reveal more information, possibly before a Senate hearing. The Minister for Financial Services, Kelly O'Dwyer, has called on the corporate regulator, ASIC, to investigate the allegations raised by Koh and the Fairfax Media-Four Corners investigation. The allegations are also on the radar of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, the agency responsible for making sure banks and insurers' businesses including their compliance, risk appetite, record-keeping and culture are up to scratch. APRA chairman Wayne Byers recently told a parliamentary committee that his agency did not deal face-to-face with customer complaints. "But we do look at these issues seriously and with a great deal of interest for what they tell us about an organisation and the way it operates, and the incentives that people have within organisations that might drive them to do things which are not appropriate," he said.
Incentives to perform Inappropriate incentives, of course, lay at the heart of another recent scandal that engulfed the Commonwealth Bank its financial planning scandal, in which thousands of customers were given inappropriate advice by commission-hungry financial advisers. Nest-eggs were destroyed. Lives were ruined. A compensation scheme, launched in July 2014 after the scandal was exposed by Fairfax Media, has so far paid $2 million to 157 customers. In his letter to Ian Narev, written after his sacking, Koh hearkened back to these events in a warning.
"This is a systemic issue that appears to not just be confined to the non-insurance division of Wealth Management but also in CommInsure," he wrote. "It is not just bad apples but an entrenched way of doing business. I would welcome the day a Royal Commission exposes all this and for the public to make up their own mind." Independent enough The chairman of the CommInsure board, who Koh spoke with, is Geoff Austin, a former CBA executive who worked at the bank in the early 2000s.
He joined the CommInsure board in 2013, meaning enough time had passed for him to qualify as an independent director under the APRA standards. One of his first roles at CBA was running its advice arm, as head of financial planning and advice services. Austin was put in charge of this operation in 2001, just as CBA was cranking up a plan to leverage its enormous customer base and branch network to maximise returns from its $8 billion takeover of Colonial Mutual in 2000. CBA planned to flog Colonial investment and life insurance products through its bank branches and its army of advisers including those at Commonwealth Financial Planning and its subsidiary Financial Wisdom who were incentivised with commission payments, overseas junkets and marketing allowances. A slide show from the time sets out the strategy, including the focus on promoting the young CommInsure brand after it swallowed the newly-rebranded Colonial life insurance business.
ASIC concerns Austin ran the advice division, with responsibility for compliance, training and licensing, until July 2003, when he was transferred to another part of the bank. ASIC already had concerns about the advice industry at that time. In early 2003, it conducted surveys into financial advice offered by various institutions. CBA advisers were singled out as some of the most problematic. More than a decade later, CBA's financial advice compensation scheme is still dealing with a number of cases from this period. They include that of Kevin Day, who died just on a year ago.
For Day, things turned sour in 2003, when a massive margin loan sold to him by a CBA financial planner went very wrong. He would spend years fighting the bank to get back his life savings, which were decimated by "negligent" advice from Rollo Sherriff, a now-notorious Financial Wisdom planner who worked out of Cairns. Day reported Sherriff to the bank's complaints department. He then sent letters to the regulator, key politicians and the Financial Planning Association, asking for an investigation, as well as his retirement savings restored. Bank fight
His cries for help fell on deaf ears so he hired a lawyer, alleging negligence as well as unexplained transactions, such as a loan advance of $100,000, the unauthorised transfer of funds into CBA products and a lack of disclosure of all relevant fees and commissions. The bank fought back. By June 2008, five years after complaining about Sherriff, Day had had enough and settled for a pittance. In 2014 Day tried again, when the bank was forced to open up a compensation scheme after Fairfax Media's investigation. He got a bit more money just before he died, but it was still a fraction of what was lost. CBA financial planning whistleblower Jeff Morris spoke to Day a couple of hours before he died. It was a painful call. "His daughter rang me and said Kevin wanted to say a few last words. He was distraught that the bank had fought him so hard. He couldn't believe they could be so dishonest, that after everything they had put him through they still couldn't pay up," he said.
Meanwhile, after blowing the life savings of Day and other clients, Sherriff continued at Financial Wisdom. His accreditation was withdrawn by the Financial Planning Association in October 2004 due to "inappropriate advice", but was restored five months later. In 2010, CBA filed several breach reports about him to ASIC. He declared bankruptcy the same year. Austin did not respond to an invitation to comment about his time running the advice business, the Rollo Sherriff matter or Sherriff's former clients. Managing money
Within the bank, CommInsure sits in the same division as the financial planning operations Wealth Management. But the CommInsure board is required to operate independently. "It is incumbent upon APRA to ensure that the insurance arm is, in fact, being overseen by a truly independent board and that undue pressure for profits from Commbank Wealth Management does not impact sound insurance practice," McConnell says. Laws prohibit the victimisation of whistleblowers who make disclosures to life insurance boards. Commonwealth Bank insists Koh was not sacked because he was a whistleblower. It says he was sacked because he repeatedly breached the IT policy by sending work emails to his home.
As chief medical officer some of these files contained medical and financial information. This was discovered when they investigated him, after his disclosures to the board. Koh says when he joined the company he was given permission from his then-boss to send the files due to IT system problems at CommInsure. He has filed a writ for wrongful dismissal in the Victorian County Court, stating that he informed Austin and other directors of "improper state of affairs" in November 2014 and that, two months later, CommInsure began to investigate him, alleging he forwarded confidential information to his personal email account. Brutal feedback Illustration: Simon Bosch.
Illustration: Simon Bosch This was about the same time that Dr Koh received a feedback presentation on his team. The document, obtained by Fairfax Media, and verified by Koh, was sent to the medical team in January 2015. It contained brutally-worded criticisms from claim assessors about the medical officers, and demands on how they should conduct themselves in the future. They included: "stop providing opinions where not required/requested", stop giving length opinions (keep it short and to the point), stop providing opinions beyond what is asked/scope of medical opinion, stop using medical and legal jargon, stop pushing back on informal conversations, and to start allowing case managers to pick the doctor they want to refer to." In a response to a question about whether this was appropriate, a spokesman said CommInsure expected all employees to "speak up" if they see behaviour that is fraudulent, illegal or "inconsistent with our values".
"We provide a number of different safeguards to ensure that there are no negative consequences for raising concerns." Power with claims managers Claims managers hold considerable, formal power. They ultimately determine the time it takes to assess a claim, the way a customer is treated while the claim is being assessed, and have the say on whether a claim will be paid. This is, in part, why the medical officers along with their professional ethical obligations are so important. One of their roles is to weed out insurance fraudsters, but they also serve as a check to the business-focused claims managers.
This is why the "feedback" relating to Koh and his team was so devastating. This presentation was delivered to the doctors after Koh had already warned Austin and the CommInsure board about his ethical and governance concerns. Five months later Koh was gone. He was offered a payout in return for signing a gag order, preventing him from speaking out. He refused. Loading "I have nothing to hide and if this comes up for debate in the court of public opinion, I'll let them decide," he says.
When the laws governing insurance were drafted in the 1980s, it was thought that there were enough consumer protections in the act, such as insurers' requirement to act in "utmost good faith" to protect consumers. Between the unfair terms protections in the Australian Consumer Law and the ASIC Act, every contract that a consumer is ever likely to enter is protected by unfair terms law except insurance. Put simply, insurance has been allowed to fall through the cracks. Not surprisingly, the insurers, especially the life insurers, have fought tooth and nail to protect it. Change resisted
The previous Labor federal government flagged plans to pass laws extending the ban on unfair contract terms to general insurers. The requirement to act in "utmost good faith" has proved to be of little use to consumers who end up arguing their life insurance cases before the courts. But the life insurance industry was spared this attempted reform, which failed to clear Parliament before the 2013 election. The reason is simple. During a review of the laws in 2010, the life insurance industry's lobby group, the Financial Services Council (then known as the Investment and Financial Services Association) went into lobbying overdrive to maintain the "status quo", effectively launching a scare campaign that any changes would increase costs, which would be passed on to consumers. It also warned of increased litigation. It boldly wrote: "[Life] insurance policies are not commonly a source of contract terms that could be said to be harsh and/or unfair to consumers."
Six years later, Fairfax Media and Four Corners' investigation has exposed CommInsure's use of outdated and unobtainable medical definitions in life insurance contracts. 'Hidden nasties' These definitions have disadvantaged many sick and dying consumers. CommInsure has since apologised to paid out those victims but what about the others who have been knocked back or have been waiting years for a response to their claims? John Berrill, one of the country's leading life insurance lawyers, says one of the key problems with life insurance is the "hidden nasties" in the fine print of lengthy product disclosure statements. He says other industries such as general insurance have a standard cover, which assumes terms in insurance policies are consistent with what most people understand they would be covered for or not. The life insurance industry doesn't.
It means the requirement to act in "utmost good faith" has proved to be of little use to consumers who end up arguing their life insurance cases before the courts. It's why, David Leermakers, senior policy officer at the Consumer Action Law Centre, believes the exemption from laws banning unfair contract terms should end. The former ACCC chairman Allan Fels strongly agrees. Too important for flaws When it comes to financial products, it doesn't get more "high stakes".
Life insurers, unlike general insurers, don't have an industry code of conduct further eroding the protections for consumers of their products. The industry is currently working on a code, but only after ASIC released a damning report in 2014 that found 37 per cent of advice on life insurance was in breach of the law. The industry was told to fix itself up. But it beggars belief why a mandatory code wasn't imposed and exemptions removed. The industry has been dogged with problems for years. In 1992 the then Trade Practices Commission conducted an investigation that found that "the market continues to deliver poor value for money to a high proportion of consumers, particularly in the regular premium sector of the market. "The root causes of this market failure are the serious information problems facing consumers in this market and the misleading conduct of some agents."
Still privileged position Despite this, life insurers hold the privileged position of being legally exempt from anti-discrimination laws, as long as they can back any discrimination with statistical and actuarial data. Beyondblue chairman Jeff Kennett doesn't believe they have the data, yet they continue to discriminate. In a recent interview, he said beyondblue had been trying since 2002 to get the statistical data to understand why claims are being refused. "They're collecting premiums, they know some of those premiums are going to result in claims. They know that they're going to rely on a clause of mental health where they don't have to pay up. It's unacceptable. It's discriminatory. It's hurtful because the damage isn't just about the money. It's the psychological damage they do to individuals taking on these big organisations." Kennett believes the data should be subpoenaed, analysed and a report handed own. "From that I think you'll find the use of the words 'mental illness' within an insurance policy, life, income protection, tourism, travel anything else will be substantially changed."
Former Greens leader Bob Brown has urged for the creation of an independent regulator for Tasmania's salmon farmers, saying the industry is at risk of doing similar environmental damage as mining and logging.
Mr Brown's call comes after a Senate inquiry last August found Tasmania's aquaculture industry was adequately regulated and was "inextricably linked" to the state's economic prosperity.
Bob Brown says Atlantic Salmon has become a key part of Tasmania's reputation of producing fine food. Credit:Bob Brown
But the former senator said debate over the health of a key fishery on Tasmania's west coast between two of the state's biggest fish farms was further proof an independent regulator was needed.
Huon Aquaculture says a hot summer has zapped oxygen levels in Macquarie Harbour, which is slowing fish growth and will likely lead to a reduced catch this year.
It was October 2015 and already dark at 5.30pm as I walked through the ''Harvard Yard'' with Professor Glyn Davis, vice-chancellor of Melbourne University Australia's highest ranking tertiary institution.
It was a nostalgic moment for Glyn as he talked fondly of his student days in Boston with his young wife, Margaret, who was attending MIT, later to become vice-chancellor of Monash University.
Harvard University is more than just a collection of buildings. Credit:New York Times
But to me, the Harvard Yard was just a big open space surrounded by buildings. Nevertheless, Glyn's observations weren't lost: universities can hold a special place in the heart as well as the mind.
Australia has 43 universities, and as I listened to Glyn I thought how many more universities we will need by 2050 and they can't be the same as they are today.
Defence Housing Australia has received another setback with the managers of a $50 million pilot unlisted defence housing property fund set up by rugby union legends Phil Kearns and Andrew Mehrtens being wound up.
The decision to wind up the 10-year fund after only two years has come to light at the same time as the government has revealed there is an investigation into the government business enterprise by the Australian Federal Police.
Defence Housing Australia managing director Peter Howman. Credit:Michelle Smith
The new managers of the Centric DHA Residential Property Fund, financial services house Findex, resolved to exit the fund on September 15, according to the fund's annual report.
Centric DHA Residential Property Fund No.1 held all the units in DHA Residential Property Fund No.1 which in turn owned 79 defence housing properties around Australia.
I would like to start by saying I actually welcome foreign investment in Australia, but believe measures should be taken to ensure Australians are not at a disadvantage. Australia is a desirable country to overseas investors mainly because of our stable economy, favourable weather conditions and proximity to Asia, and this year, I believe international developers will truly arrive in a big way.
I am of the firm belief that Australian residents should have, at the very least, equal opportunity when buying real estate in their own country. This is not a xenophobic standpoint; I merely want to see the same rules be applied to anyone buying in Australia irrespective of where they are from.
Douglas Driscoll, CEO, Starr Partners.
I have a few solutions for a fair foreign investment policy that gives Australians equal opportunities and this all starts with the introduction of a levy. Last year the government introduced a tax for overseas investors, but in my opinion, they should have to pay even more.
A handful of high-profile and high-net cases were intentionally made public last year to oust some illegal transactions and spook off any other unscrupulous investors, but I think these homes were just the tip of the iceberg. My question is, what about the rest of the iceberg? There is a strong suggestion that this is taking place in the upper echelon of the market and we need to take a harder look into where the money is coming from, which starts with money-laundering checks.
The corporate watchdog is closing in on failed retailer Dick Smith as it digs into the stocks write-down, profit downgrades and desperate discounting of the company's final months to build a picture of the demise of the once iconic chain.
Dick Smith receiver Ferrier Hodgson is believed to have referred a number of issues to the Australia Securities and Investments Commission and the watchdog has a large team working on its investigation.
ASIC has not received a report from the administrator, McGrath Nicol, yet but sources close to the failed retailer claim the watchdog has already reached out to a number of key parties to deepen its understanding of the issues that led to the collapse.
Former chief executive Nick Abboud has not made any public comment since stepping down as chief executive on January 11, one week after the receiver took control of the retail chain.
So if self-delusion overpowers self-interest, expect a double dissolution of July 2. And what about the High Court challenge by Family First senator Bob Day? Sure, it has more chance of success than the re-election of one of the six micro-party senators because you never know what a court might do. But that is not saying much. In reality it has little chance, despite psephologist Malcolm Mackerras' view to the contrary. Mackerras cites the constitutional provision that, "The Senate shall be composed of senators for each state, directly chosen by the people of the state, voting as one electorate." He says that any system which is not candidate-based would offend that clause. A system that permits political parties to order their candidates in a list and enables a voter to vote for that list (rather than individual candidates) would not, he suggests, be candidate-based, and therefore would result in senators not being "directly chosen". However, the High Court, in a single-judge decision, has already held valid the previous system where parties lodged preferences for every candidate (not just those of their own party) with the Electoral Commission and a voter's vote with a "1" next to that party's box would be deemed to have followed the party's order. The new system at least tells voters the order of preferences without any reference to some external ticket.
My guess is that the judges will uphold the new system. "Directly chosen" merely means not "indirectly" chosen as in the US presidential election where voters vote for an electoral college which then choses the president. Almost always the person who wins the popular vote wins the presidency. But not always. George W Bush was elected by the electoral college even though Al Gore had more votes. Any system whereby the voters vote for other people who then determine the senators would not be direct. It may be you could argue that a system whereby a voter's preferences are determined by reference to some externally lodged preference order by a political party is not one in which the senators are "directly chosen". But under the new system, the voter can work out the exact preference order on the face of the ballot paper surely, that has got to be "directly chosen". But suppose the High Court finds that the new system of parties listing their candidates is invalid. What then? Well, when the court looks at the constitutionality of a law, they go through it clause by clause. They do not necessarily wipe the whole act, rather they might well just wipe only some clauses of the act. The clause in the act which repealed the old "1" above the line system might be held valid, even it the rest of it was invalid. It would mean going back to the pre-1984 system of numbering all the squares. It could mean all sorts of mess. But I don't think the High Court will go there.
Yes, as Australians, both local and foreign born, we can resolve to improve a situation, but not always because we are responsible for it. Ascribing guilt on someone to advance a particular ideology is not wise and counter productive. The Catholic Church for example, a prime example of such tactics, has inflicted enormous damage and is definitely no longer prospering by it. Emmanuel Valaris Fingal Bay Australians can act the ostrich or join Alan Jones, Kyle Sandilands and company in making loud empty vessel noises but history cannot be denied as Waleed Aly so eloquently points out. But thankfully Australia also has historians like David Day who has demonstrated through his work (see his Claiming A Continent, 1996) that he is not afraid to challenge Australia's accepted historical narrative. For an authentic account of Australia's colonial history sensible people would know where to go.
Not the likes of Alan Jones, Sandilands and company. Rajend Naidu Glenfield Children are our future Bravo Jessica Irvine! ("It's foolish not to invest in our most undervalued stock: disadvantaged kids", March 31.) Finally someone has cut to the chase regarding the benefits of education investment. Whether or not you believe it is a government's responsibility to educate its populace, it is clearly in its best interests. An educated individual is aware, has improved confidence, less fear and more hope. A smart population is our biggest equity. Matt Mullamphy Bondi Beach
Jessica Irvine is right on the mark. Why does the Liberal Party have a problem with public education? They have been rehearsing the silly argument for some time that improving education isn't about money. The proof apparently is that the additional money that has been put into education recently hasn't been lifting results. The problem is where that money is going. While super rich schools are given embarrassing amounts of funds, there are plenty of other schools that have to fund raise money for essentials such as student stationary, classroom essentials and learning support for illiterate children. Under Malcolm Turnbull, the argument just got sillier. He wants to de-fund public education because the federal government does not employ teachers and yet he wants to continue funding private education. Give us a break. Anthony van den Broek Erskineville There is no greater satisfaction than seeing a child overcome adversity to achieve their potential and no greater reward. Sharon Read Yowie Bay
Free range farce a victory for big business Thank you for some honest commentary on the clear, legal definition of "free-range eggs" announced by Australia's consumer affairs ministers this week this definition is a clear victory for big producers at the expense of animal welfare and consumer choice ("Eggs that come from hens that don't go outside", April 1). The legally binding standard does not require that hens actually go outside. And how could they, being shoved in at 10,000 per hectare, as opposed to the 1500 per hectare stocking density recommended by animal welfare organisations, the CSIRO and consumer group Choice? Since the governments have favoured the interests of industry over all others (no surprises here), those of us who care about sourcing genuine free range eggs should do our own boycotting by consulting the Choiceguidelines and buying only from producers who deserve to use this label. Rosemary Elliott President of Sentient, The Veterinary Institute for Animal Ethics Oatley If anyone was in doubt about who runs the country, the elected government or big business, the decision to call eggs coming from 10,000 hens per hectare, free range says it all. Australia's consumer affairs ministers have turned the free range definition into a farce, at the behest of big business. It seems when big business tells our elected officials to jump the reply is how high. Gerald Borthwick Stockton
Calling the tune Congratulations to all involved at Fairfax for the Unaoil corruption story (FBI joins police in big oil investigation, April 1) . A huge story exposing a global bribery racket that involves massive multinational companies, multiple countries and countless company and government officials. Once again big business is shown to have only one true driving force: to make as much money as possible, doing whatever it takes to achieve that goal. Recent Australian business examples, such as CommInsure, the countless financial and banking services frauds and consumer rip-offs, and the tax minimisation practices of many multinational companies which were exposed in the Senate's recent inquiry, clearly show that these practices are not isolated. For the government to reduce business compliance requirements, favour self-regulation of big business, and believe that a reduction in company tax will flow on to employees, proves that it either exists in Ga-Ga land or perhaps it's a case of "he who pays the piper calls the tunes". Alan Marel North Curl Curl I visited the Cimac group website, owner of Leighton Holdings. In bold print, centre of screen were the words, "Integrity, accountability, innovation, delivery". The first two words suggest there should be no problem sorting right from wrong. Innovation and delivery suggest novel ways of passing the money. Further, was the squeaky clean "Ethics Line", a long blurb advising employees to dob in dirty dealings. All's well then! Will staff in the know step forward? Over time it would be fascinating to see if whistle-blowers find an oily pole hinders advancement.
Warren Tindall Bellingen Go back to Ithaca Poor Arthur Sinodinos, on the front page again! ("No, Senator, your request is denied", April 1). His plight reminds me of his legendary ancestor Ulysses who called it quits and returned home to his family in Ithaca after an absence of 17 years. A favourite of John Howard and Tony Abbott but dumped by Abbott, Arthur was reinstated by Malcolm Turnbull and now finds himself in the crosshairs of the NSW Electoral Commission. I am surprised he keeps hanging around the corridors of power in Canberra like he does. Surely Ithacais a much nicer place ?. When Ulysses returned even his dog Argus was waiting for him, tail wagging. Peter Skrzynecki Eastwood Although Mr. Sinodinos was deputy chairman of Australian Water Holdings at the time it made a substantial donation to the Liberal Party, he suffered a Pellian type of forgetfulness to remember it. Could it be something in the water?
James Prior Sylvania Waters How long before the Free Enterprise Foundation advocates the privatisation of the Australian Electoral Commission? Norm Neill Darlinghurst Paying extra for health What Marcus Strom fails to appreciate is that the hospital system is desperate for funding. ("You don't need private health insurance", April 1) As a private patient in a public hospital your health fund is charged and those monies go directly to the hospital for the ongoing service provided to all patients, public and private. I know this because my daughter is currently a cancer patient and is in and out of hospital regularly. At each admission extremely grateful admission staff politely request that I admit her as a private patient so they can access this important additional income stream. I pay my taxes just like everyone else but I also happily pay my health insurance because not only does it give me and my family peace of mind, it also directly helps take some of the burden from the public system. When is it time to stop being a nation of takers and for those that can, be willing to pay for a world class health system, above and beyond taxes levied by the government?
Annabelle Taylor Castle Hill The main reasons people tell me they have private health insurance is to avoid paying the Medicare levy and gain entry to a public hospital more quickly should they require a procedure. Marcus Strom is correct when he says the public health should be seen as a universal good. I am happy to pay more tax to ensure that I can receive health care when I need it in a public facility. It seems completely illogical that private health insurance is subsidised by taxpayers, leaves consumers with large out of pocket expenses and is overseen by CEOs on multimillion dollar salaries. Surely they should stand or fall on their own merits like other insurance companies. Jane Welman Earlwood Farewell Lauren and thanks It was sad to see Lauren Jackson shedding a tear or two over her decision to retire from a sport she gracefully adorned for so long ("Heartbroken Jackson bows out as game's greatest star", April 1). However, the future for her looks rosy: she could be snapped up by the media as a commentator; motherhood is on her various horizons; and ambassadorial roles will beckon, not necessarily in sport: she presents well and communicates beautifully. It has been said that, for those who are uniquely gifted, much is expected. Thanks, Lauren; not once did you let us down.
Paul Hunt Engadine Try again, Turnbull This federal government was elected on the pledge that there would be "no cuts to education, no cuts to health, no change to pensions, no change to the GST and no cuts to the ABC or SBS". ("Turnbull finds his policy footing, but questions remain", April 1.) Look at what they tried to do in 2014 (and failed, thanks to the crossbench) and now look at what they proposed and then withdrew. Good luck with your election promises, Prime Minister. Janet Simpson Glebe There was a time when Tony Abbott was Prime Minister when all the Labor Party had to do was sit around and wait; Abbott would always provide political manna from heaven. Now you could never predict what this manna was going to be; knighting a member of the Royal Family, suppositories or eating the odd raw onion, but you always knew there was going to be something. With the elevation of Malcolm Turnbull it seemed as if the political manna from heaven tap was now firmly closed. Now we have Malcolm Turnbull saying he is not going to fund public schools but will continue to fund private schools. There might still be a little bit of political manna yet to fall from heaven.
Bob Eggleton Neutral Bay If we could capture all the brain farts emanating from Canberra recently we could have a new source of energy. It may add to global warming but doesn't look like ever running out so is also sustainable. Rene Sten Vaucluse In rugby terms, giving a "hospital pass" describes the act of getting rid of the ball to someone else when you're in danger of being crushed by a big oncoming forward. Surely this same term could be applied to the (now withdrawn) desire of our Prime Minister toshift the responsibility for funding hospitals and schools from his government to the ill-prepared states. Graham Tucker Kiama
The idea of offering to return to the States the power to impose income tax is not new. Malcolm Fraser made a similar offer 35 years ago and the Commonwealth Parliament enacted legislation for the purpose. Strangely only Western Australia accepted the offer and even that State eventually chickened out. It was easier for the State governments to whingeabout the Commonwealth than to subject themselves to complaints from their residents about the higher rates of tax. Geoffrey Kolts Potts Point Perhaps we now have some clarity as to the nature of Turnbull's "Ideas Boom" the evidence suggests it is either, 1. put ideas out there without sufficient forethought (tax changes) and wait a week for them to explode in your face, and/or 2, take a place of ideas ( CSIRO, schools) and put a bomb under them, and boom! John Carr Valentine There's a school of thought which declares Malcolm Turnbull only ever wanted the moniker of PM of Australia, and not the concentrated yakka which accompanies the title. Is there a chance in hell, now he's had his turn, has been to the rarefied peak and can say for ever more, "I was once......", he might now stand aside and allow a sensible adult back into the big room?
Rosemary O'Brien Georges Hall Say what you like, I like what I like John Swanton says we can't like the Opera House and dislike a particular tapestry (Letters, April 1). Excuse me? "Can't"? We can be punished for disliking the wrong things? In 1982 Harry Seidler had the cartoonist Patrick Cook punished for drawing attention to the ugliness of his buildings. Harry's bullying spirit lives on. Paul Hardage Faulconbridge John Swanton reminds me of the "Emperor's New Clothes" in his attitude to the Le Corbusier tapestry. Indeed so does most modern art rather like a cat being let loose on a canvass dobbed with various coloured paint and producing a masterpiece.
Kevin Orr Blakehurst Tower of power redux The cartoon depicting James Packer as King Kong atop Barangaroo reminds me of the Max Gillies depiction of James' father Kerry as The Goanna on top of the Channel Nine transmitter tower crushing a helicopter from a rival news channel. It all came about in the fallout from the Costigan Commission into organised crime. Given known links between casinos and organised crime we seem to have come the full circle. Bill Gillis Hallidays Point Liking is disabled
While reading Robert Franzos' letter on Sydney schools banning laptops (Letters, April 1), I was tempted to click the Like button until I remembered I was reading the Herald as a facsimile version on my tablet. Oh the woes of technology. Roger Hallett Toowoomba (Qld) No more Ronnies And it's goodnight from him! ("British comedian Ronnie Corbett dies", smh.com.au, April 1) Allan Gibson Cherrybrook
Post script If finding political favour with Herald readers was a variety show with just one contestant, and with the Labor Party only recently showing signs of getting its groove back it often it feels like it is, you'd have to say the judges on Malcolm Turnbull's Got Talent are turning feral. Early reviews of his latest performance - a tax-reform tango that seemed wrong footed from the start - were scathing: "befuddling at best", "the silliest idea for 'tax reform' that anyone has come up with", "absurd", "more circus than bread". Anthony Horan, of Campbelltown, detected evidence of Turnbull trying the tricky solo manoeuvre known as the "captain's pick". As viewers of last season's show know, that daring move never ends well. And, indeed, whatever you call the unusual combo the Prime Minister was trying to execute, it ended badly on Friday when his dance partners, the state premiers, let him drop. He landed on his derriere with a thud, withdrawing his idea. Hard to see the judges showing any mercy in their assessments.
My final reservation was that this news does nothing to change the situation of more than 900 men in the Manus detention centre and almost 500 men, women and children who remain in the Nauru processing centre many of them at breaking point. A "Let Them Stay" rally in February. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen In one sense, the news has the potential to aggravate their sense that they are being singled out for punishment while others in identical situations, who arrived at Christmas Island on a different day or in a different boat, are able to at least begin the process of rebuilding their lives in Australia. Nor does it change the situation of the many thousands of asylum seekers in the Australian community whose claims have not yet been processed and who face years of waiting for the prospect of permanent settlement and family reunion. The assessment system is in place at Melbourne's high-security Maribyrnong immigration detention centre. Credit:Shannon Morris
So why run with the story? The case for publishing boiled down to a single word: transparency. It is remarkable that the children and their families have been released into the community and it does reflect the power of public advocacy. One of the first to speak out, the Anglican Dean of Brisbane, Peter Catt, says the story tells us something wonderful about "Australia's better angels". Just as global opinion was shaped by the haunting image of a toddler washed up on a beach in Turkey, our front-page treatment of pictures of the babies facing removal to Nauru was the catalyst for action on a national scale by religious leaders, teachers, doctors and even premiers. Will this be a fleeting, aberrant positive moment in the overwhelmingly bleak story of Australia's treatment of those who seek protection by coming on boats without an invitation? Or will it be a tipping point? But will this be a fleeting, aberrant positive moment in the overwhelmingly bleak story of Australia's treatment of those who seek protection by coming on boats without an invitation? Or will it be a tipping point? The danger is that it will be the former unless the major political parties and the key players in the debate have the appetite for a new conversation about alternatives to arbitrary and indefinite confinement of asylum seekers in poor, remote islands.
The starting point for such a conversation is for refugee advocates to accept that the total dismantling of the policies that "stopped the boats" is not an option, and for the major parties to accept that the status quo is simply unsustainable and to discard the view that compassion represents a "green light" to people smuggling. It took four years for the Howard Government to accept that indefinite detention of asylum seekers on Nauru was not an option and to agree to resettle the last of the Pacific Solution caseload. The catalyst for this decision was a report from a psychiatrist that said the asylum seekers had been suffering mental health problems "for several years" and should be removed "from this kind of environment and atmosphere of consistent hopelessness" at the earliest possible opportunity. The situation of many of those in detention on Manus, in particular, has already reached this point and it is certain to deteriorate further with moves by the PNG government to separate asylum seekers according to their refugee status with a view to releasing refugees into the community and deporting those whose protection claims are rejected. Two options so replete with dangers that they are not viable. While the picture on Nauru is far more complex, the lack of a durable solution, in the form of the prospect of permanent resettlement in a country where there is potential to rebuild broken lives, is producing the same dire mental health outcomes. So we can trundle along, hoping for small cracks of light here or there, or we can see events at home and abroad as opening the way for a new approach or, at least, a new conversation.
"Over the years Australia has really been a beacon for many good things we cite what you've done with guns here constantly," he says. "But, and I would begin the sentence with 'sadly', you have copied too much of us.
"I hope this film in Australia is a warning to be careful what you wish for when it comes to emulating the United States. Hang on to the great ideas you've got they've made you a better country; they've made you a better people. Yes, there's all these things that are wrong, all these flaws in the system, but the solution is not the kind of capitalism that America is practising."
None of this will come as a surprise to anyone who has followed Moore's work over the years, though what may shock is that this is his first feature as director since 2009's Capitalism: A Love Story.
In the new film, the 61-year-old looks a little unsteady on his legs at times, and I wonder if he has been unwell. But he deflects my question about his health with "I'm fine, thanks for asking". In February, though, he did have a health scare, coming down with a bout of pneumonia that had him in intensive care for five days.
But really, my concern is of a slightly different order. After nearly three decades spent pointing out the flaws in America the havoc wrought by globalisation in Roger & Me (1989); the bloodshed that could be averted through gun control (Bowling for Columbine, 2002); the links between the Bush and Bin Laden families in Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004); the injustices that spring from leaving healthcare to the private sector (Sicko, 2007) does he ever want to simply throw his hands up in despair?
It was the renowned English lyric tenor Ian Partridge who advised David Skewes to keep his day job. "You're a lousy musician, you sing out of tune and you'd be crazy to give up medicine," he told his young Australian student.
He was right about that third thing. Thirty-five years on, Skewes retired as director of anaesthetics at Melbourne's Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre with a parallel musical resume spanning the English National Opera to Opera Australia. He continues to pursue both passions in the role of Siegmund in two fundraising performances of Act 1 of Wagner's Die Walkure at the Melbourne Meat Market on April 22 and 23.
David Skewes was told not to give up his day job.
All artists are donating their services to Peter Mac.
wagnerforpetermac.eventbrite.com.au
Could hot water be the trigger for some of the shark attacks in NSW?
As the state grapples with yet another mauling, this time at a surf break at Bombo Beach in Kiama on the South Coast, researchers have found a unique insight into when one deadly shark species appears more likely to go on the bite.
An exhaustive study, Patterns of Occurrence of Sharks in Sydney Harbour, has found that the appetite of bull sharks (Carharhinus leucas), a species known to attack humans, appears to coincide with a rise in water temperature.
The researchers' two-year study, published in scientific journal PLOS ONE, found that, when surface water temperature rose above 23.2 degrees, bull shark catches went up, leading to speculation that "temperature may therefore directly or indirectly influence the occurrence" of the sharks.
But the scale of the change and the method of its announcement had immediately put premiers' noses out of joint.
In a clear public defeat, the ambitious plan had come and gone in the space of just three working days after being revealed by the Prime Minister in a doorstop press conference on Tuesday, albeit without any supporting documentation.
Speaking immediately after Mr Turnbull's frank admission of defeat, flanked by the other leaders, the County Liberal Party Chief Minister of the Northern Territory, Adam Giles, said: "in regards to the income tax discussion, I think we can all agree that it would have been best if that discussion came out in a different format, in a different way, and it has created some challenges to date".
In its place, leaders resolved to examine a counter-proposal closer in substance to one suggested months ago by South Australia's Labor premier Jay Weatherill.
It would see states gain direct access to a fixed percentage of the growing income tax pool, in replacement for tied or special-purpose grants from the Commonwealth. The advantage to the states would come through greater autonomy to decide their own spending, but the total proportion of revenue would remain fixed.
"The states will not be levying an income tax and the Commonwealth will not be increasing income tax," Mr Turnbull noted, "so our federation reform process has to be focused on how to work within the current fiscal envelope to achieve the best long-term solution, most efficiently, to funding our schools and hospitals."
Mr Turnbull said the new approach would provide the states with "greater financial autonomy to do their job of managing their affairs in the interests of the citizens they serve".
The threat of return to the place she says terrifies her prompts Samuel's mother to cry in the midst of an interview with Fairfax Media. Naomi, Samuel's mum, says her son is now happy and has room to play. Credit:Janie Barrett Naomi*, who has described Nauru as "hell" and "the end of the world" says she still has nightmares about her year on Nauru and will fear being sent back "until the end of our life". The difference between what she and her husband endured on Nauru and life in Sydney in the last three weeks, she says, is near impossible to describe. "There are a lot of good things. If I tell them, one by one, it will take a long time," she says.
"One is that we don't see [security] officers. We can leave when we wish. We can go shopping. We couldn't do so in detention centre." I would love to be in community and be a part of community. I'd love to be useful for Australian people. Iranian asylum seeker And Samuel? "He is very happy. He loves the food I am fixing. He didn't love the food in detention centre. Before we had only one very small room and he couldn't play. Now we have a home." Before the High Court ruled against a challenge to government's offshore detention regime, Immigration Minister Peter Dutton announced that the transfer of the babies and children to Nauru would leave just seven children in detention in Australia a number he was determined to reduce to zero.
"The majority of remaining children in detention are due to return to Nauru and the other few remaining cases are the most difficult, where there may be a security issue with the parent for example," he told The Daily Telegraph on January 18. Now he is on track to achieve his zero children in mainland objective, without sending scores of babies and children to Nauru. GetUp!'s human rights campaign director, Shen Narayanasamy, has no doubt the overwhelming reason for this is the public campaigning of thousands of people across the country. The Human Rights Law Centre's director of legal advocacy, Daniel Webb, agrees, saying the campaign mobilised new sections of the community "by making clear that, for all the white noise about borders and boats, this is actually about people". "Four months ago I sat opposite many of these people as they cried and told us of the horror of their indefinite detention, and their fears of a return to Nauru," Ms Narayanasamy says.
"We are thrilled to see Mr Turnbull take a step towards a more compassionate approach by releasing many of these people into the community." Among those still in detention is a 29-year-old Iranian who was transferred to Australia because suffered debilitating headaches on Nauru. In detention in Darwin, the headaches continue. A qualified welder and talented artist, he says: "I would love to be in community and be a part of community. I'd love to be useful for Australian people." Among those released is a Sri Lanka mother and her three sons whose boat was intercepted at sea. The family were among those held for 29 days on a Customs ship before arriving at the Cocos Islands and being transferred to Nauru last August. The mother suffered horrific burns before fleeing Sri Lanka that were aggravated by the heat and humidity of Nauru. Now she is preparing to celebrate her eldest boy's 13th birthday and is overwhelmed by the kindness of her new neighbours.
In recent times, all eyes have been fixed on West Australian Premier Colin Barnett - who could be relied on to get cranky, because he wanted more GST for his state and no one was willing to give it to him.
The conga line of premiers that arrives at Parliament House for the bi-annual meeting is also a rare chance to directly compare our political leaders.
COAG is not just a talkfest.
Attention has also focused on NSW's Mike Baird, who seemed to have smoother words and smoother solutions than his higher ranked Liberal colleague, Tony Abbott.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews listens as Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull addresses the Council of Australian Governments meeting. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
But on Friday, another leader emerged as the surprise star of COAG: Daniel Andrews.
The Victorian premier - previously consigned to the slightly awkward, unlikely leader category - was straight talking and unruffled by the pomp that accompanies big state-Commonwealth productions.
On his way inside Parliament, with speculation a swirling about Malcolm Turnbull's proposal to let the states raise income tax, Andrews deflated the excitement as effectively as a cactus on a jumping castle.
1990: Winona and Johnny Depp after their engagement. Credit:Getty Images "I remember going to a red carpet thing and getting this vintage dress and discovering my own style. I was always very into vintage. But the whole idea of taking a 20-year-old and saying, 'These are your shoes and this is how you're supposed to do this.' Let them discover it for themselves. "And things like, 'Who wore it best', are a little weird to me. I think the more you see people doing their own thing, the more you might be inspired." 2002: Entering Beverly Hills Municipal Court for her shoplifting trial. Credit:Getty Images Musing on social media takes up a lot of our talk together, and I think it's fair to say Ryder is not a fan. That said, she has tried to temper her views on it of late. "It's tricky to talk about," she says, "because I know there are lots of really positive things with sharing on the internet. But for anyone in the public eye who's kind of a private person "
What about Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat? She isn't on any of them. "I don't even know what Snapchat is. Is it like a short film that disappears?" You see, you do know. "Yes, a friend of mine was telling me at a restaurant, and someone wanted to do it, and I thought it was like an hors d'oeuvre," she says, laughing. "It's a really interesting time right now. Perhaps if I was more savvy, or maybe even ambitious, as I know there's a whole self-promotion thing, and I do get it. 2010: As ballet dancer Beth Macintyre in Black Swan. "I think my fear is that you lose control if you start to engage. I'm not anti it. I've come off as really anti in the past, and I think a lot of it is just fear. I don't really know how to use it. Everybody's been saying for
a while that eventually you're going to have to join if you want to continue working or being employable. That's the direction it's going in." They even tell Winona Ryder that? "Well, it's more something you hear and something I've talked about with other actors who are maybe not huge marquee names. If you're up for something, the financiers look to see how many followers you have, but, you know, I've never had a really business-orientated brain." 2015: In her most recent film, the biographical drama Experimenter.
Despite her career and the high-profile romances with Johnny Depp and Matt Damon along the way, her absence from the social media fray has helped to preserve her mystique. It's a quality Jacobs referenced as important, alongside her "fallen angel" quality. "I'm always drawn to anybody who acts up," he said. Ah yes, the fallen-angel period, the infamous shoplifting incident in 2001 when she was caught stealing more than $5700 of designer clothes and accessories from a Saks Fifth Avenue store in Beverly Hills. Jacobs described it as "high jinks and tomfoolery". "It was funny," he says, "because at that point I was giving her clothes constantly. So it was all over the news that she was taking four cashmere sweaters from Marc Jacobs, but she's got 20 of them already." Ryder and I don't touch on the subject. She has talked about in the past and said: "I didn't have this tremendous sense of guilt because I hadn't hurt anyone. Had I physically harmed someone or caused harm to a human being, I think it would have been an entirely different experience." I can't help feeling the whole thing was, and may still be, mortifying to her, and not just because she's such a private person, or because in any recap of her career, her court appearance garners as much of a place as her Oscar-nominated roles in The Age of Innocence and Little Women. But largely because she comes across as an earnest soul who tries so hard to do the right thing. "I would have this thing for a while where, even if I really wanted a part, if I thought somebody else was more suited, I would recommend them, and then the casting person would think I didn't want the part and it was really not the case. I never really had a competitive thing. There were certainly parts that I wanted and didn't get and that I was bummed out about. Maybe it's because I was just kind of shy. I've read articles and essays about how when a woman is ambitious, it's considered this and that. Not that it's a bad word, but I think, because I never lost a part to anybody, that I was, like" she pulls a quizzical face " 'Really?' " I take this to mean that she never lost a part to someone less deserving than her. She sent flowers to Jennifer Jason Leigh when beaten by her to a role in the Coen brothers' comedy The Hudsucker Proxy. "I was so happy for her, she's so great."
Ryder is loyal, too. Today she's dressed almost top to toe in black Marc Jacobs, except for a large black pullover that is her mother's and a Bru Na Boinne parka ("If Marc made a parka, I'd be wearing that"). So when I ask if she actually likes make-up, she pauses: "Well, this is for Marc." Then she laughs: "I'm wearing a little bit today, yes. I usually wear tinted sunscreen and that's what I'm wearing now." Ryder's family lived in a commune for three years before she was 10, and I suspect that if she'd never left, or if school had worked out better for her, she'd be just as happy living a life without fame and fortune. But school wasn't too happy and she ended up getting expelled and being taught at home for a year. "It wasn't my fault at all. In my memory, I was a very nice kid, but I think people did think I was strange.
I was good academically, but socially not so much." She was already heavily into cinema: her mother had access to film reels as she was a projectionist at a university, and they would play them against a white sheet. In that year at home, her parents enrolled her in the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco, where she got auditions, an agent, screen tests and, well, you know the rest. LIFE SEEMS CALM these days. "I've gone through some tough times in my life," she says. "And when I see pictures of myself in those times, I can see it and maybe not everyone can on a physical level. It's just so much about what's going on inside you." She is happy doing roles that are interesting to her. "I've been told you have to be continually working or you'll be irrelevant, God forbid, but life is just too short. If you can't find any joy in it, then I would so much rather just not do it." She has never married or had children, but she is dating the fashion designer Scott Mackinlay Hahn of the eco-conscious fashion brand Loomstate. Not that she'll talk about that, either. Has his presence made her more environmentally aware? "People are still using Styrofoam," she says with mock horror.
A Fairfax Media and Huffington Post investigation has uncovered an extraordinary story of bribery and corruption in the oil industry, centred on Monaco-based company Unaoil. These are some of the men who grew rich from their association with Unaoil.
THE PLAYERS
Peter Warner VP of Petrofac Ugo Bertolotto Diego Braghi Eni manager Adalberto Bestetti Siirtec Nigi Erik Vanagels Latvian front man Stuart K Steele Senior manager, Tecnicas Reunidas
That officials in graft riddled, oil producing nations are corrupt is, unfortunately, expected. But what about senior Western executives working for famous, publicly listed companies?
The biggest leak of confidential documents in the history of the oil industry has exposed the fact that suited senior executives in city offices have been breaking the law and getting away with it.
THE BRITISH EXECUTIVE - PETER WARNER
Warner, a handsome, blue-eyed international oil executive, was running his own funny money operation while serving as vice-president of Petrofac.
As a place to hide a money laundering hub, the non-descript address in the Weatherby Mansions apartment block in leafy, upmarket Earls Court, London, seems perfect.
Perhaps that is why Erik Vanagels, a Latvian front man for an Eastern European financial crime network, set up his operation there. In 2014, Vanagels, was repeatedly exposed in court cases and in the media over his links to bribery, money laundering and even arms smuggling.
But what has never been revealed is how Vanagels was also used by a seemingly respectable British businessman called Peter Warner, who was working for listed UK oil services company Petrofac.
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In October 2006, Warner, a handsome, blue-eyed international oil executive, was running his own funny money operation while serving as vice-president of Petrofac.
This first phase of this operation involved Warner hooking up with corrupt Monaco business Unaoil, which specialises in paying bribes to win government contracts for many of its clients.
The massive leak of confidential files from inside Unaoils operation shows that, to help Petrofac win contracts, Unaoil paid bribes to officials in countries including Kazakhstan, Kuwait and Iraq. It also shows Warner appears to have had an active role in managing these payments.
In early October 2006, Warner directed Unaoil to send at least $2 million to one of Vanagels front companies, via a company in the Marshall Islands, a tax haven in the Pacific Ocean.
This was phase two of Warners dealings, and seemed aimed at obscuring the true sender of the funds (Petrofac) and whoever finally pocketed them. Warner told Unaoil that Vanagels front company has been used before some time ago so is tested.
Warner also wrote that the account details are complex. He wasnt lying.
Total amount is likely to be $2MM and not $2.4MM but I have yet to get that sorted out. As usual this is last minute even though we know it has been coming.
Warner also wrote that the account details are complex. He wasnt lying. The invoice he directed Unaoil to send from the Marshall Islands listed beneficiary bank accounts in Lithuania, Austria and Germany.
More than once, Warner directed Unaoil to make confidential payments to third parties in emails that appear to use code words. Almost certainly they were made to influence those with the power to award contracts to Petrofac.
Unaoil has been good to Warner. Its business helped him build Petrofac into a FTSE 100 company. When Warner retired from Petrofac in 2014, Unaoil appointed Warner to its board.
Specific questions sent to Warner via Unaoil were not answered, although Unaoil has denied that Warner or any Unaoil director has ever engaged in corruption. Petrofac appears to have been unaware of Unaoils involvement in several of its projects featuring Warner, and says it does not condone corruption.
THE SHONKY ITALIANS - ENI
..the bad guys got away with years of bribery and corruption.
Eni is one of the biggest oil companies in the world, operating in more than 83 countries with a staff of 84,000.
The leaked files suggest some of those 84,000 are far from honest, with executives rigging contracts for the benefit of Unaoil clients on oilfields Eni manages on behalf of national governments.
The Italian police twigged to this in 2011, when they raided the homes of several Eni managers and Italian middlemen. But the investigation petered out and not a single person was charged. A few Eni managers were sacked and everything went quiet.
The leaked Unaoil files make it clear that the bad guys got away with years of bribery and corruption.
Unaoil used an incredible network of middlemen to corrupt Eni projects across the globe. Many of them operate out of London and include businessmen Stefano Borghi, Enrico Pondini, Tiziano Pirola, Ugo Bertolotto, Leonida Bortolazzo and Adalberto Bestetti.
The leaked files show each of these men receiving millions of dollars in kickbacks to get corrupt Eni managers to rig tender committees and leak tender documents labelled highly confidential.
The leaked files show Eni tenders were likely corrupted in countries including Iraq, Kazakhstan, the Congo, Algeria, Suriname and Syria.
These documents gave many of Unaoils clients a major edge over as they bid for work on the national oilfields that Eni managed, undermining efforts to award contracts to the firm that delivered the best value.
The leaked files show Eni tenders were likely corrupted in countries including Iraq, Kazakhstan, the Congo, Algeria, Suriname and Syria.
Consider this letter sent to Unaoil and Petrofacs Peter Warner in 2006 by middleman Adalberto Bestetti. In it, Bestetti, a well connected executive from another Italian company, boasts that he has delivered Petrofac a contract in Kazakhstan. Our people inside Eni changed the way to evaluate the numbers and this allowed your company to start negotiation in front, he writes.
Kindly do not forget that [Eni firm] Agip liking and approval of your company was always there supporting you in any kind of situation.
Unaoil appears to have paid Bestetti $1.7 million, to an account in Delaware, for this corrupt help.
He sends the email in hope of convincing Unaoil to use him on a second project. He writes that he can help convince Eni to give a contract to Petrofac even though Petrofac is not qualified, and that he could exert big influence inside Enis Kazakh operation.
The corrupting of certain Eni managers has gone on for years. Eni manager Diego Braghi (who was receiving bribes via middleman Stefano Borghi) rigged tender committees for Unaoils multinational clients in Kazakhstan and Iraq for seven years, according to the leaked Unaoil files. An email from 2011 describes Braghi - who told Fairfax Media and Huffington Post he was not involved in any corruption - as being part of the old team who was demanding bigger kickbacks in return for his help.
Eni subsidiary Saipem, a major oil industry player in its own right, and a host of other Italian oil service companies are also implicated in the Unaoil scandal. They paid Unaoil huge fees to help them win contracts in places such as Iraq, with the deals often involving a corrupt Eni manager like Braghi feeding a contract to an Italian company.
THE SPANIARDS AND THE FRENCH
The leaked files reveal Stuart K Steele, a senior manager at Spanish multinational Tecnicas Reunidas, was on Unaoils payroll. The files show he used his influence at Tecnicas to corruptly help some of Unaoils other clients, including by ensuring Tecnicas ran dead in a tender. He also kept the Spanish firm paying Unaoil large fees to help it win its own contracts.
Leaked files reveal Unaoil wired $300,000 as part of a loan agreement to a Monaco bank account in Steeles name. Steele could not be reached for comment.
Unaoils influence also extends to Paris, where it appears to have paid kickbacks to a senior figure in French giant Technip - payments that bought Technips help for one of Unaoils clients in Yemen.
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But Unaoils main French contact was a renowned oil industry figure with access to tender committees inside French giant Total. Like Eni, Total was hired by national governments to manage their oilfields, and the mans contacts allowed him to leak sensitive information and influence tenders in Unaoils favour in countries such as Iran.
The leaked emails show that this man, who we are not naming for legal reasons, was in the mid-2000s promised large payments by Unaoil for any Total contract he could steer to a Unaoil client.
WHAT NEXT FOR THE DIRTY EXECUTIVES?
Several executives that dealt with Unaoil appear to have broken corporate or corruption laws in any number of countries.
The files reveal a Halliburton manager using a fake email to pass on coded messages, a German executive from MAN Turbo in 2010 using Skype to discuss shonky deals and leak sensitive files, and a manager from Italys Rosetti Marino doing the same.
In other leaked emails, a Unaoil executive warns that two senior managers from Norways Aker Kvaerner probably have their phones tapped and that conversations about Unaoils work should be conducted on Skype. Another Unaoil file states that a Rolls Royce manager has agreed to be paid a kickback in return for leaking information. Unaoil also bribed an executive from Turkish joint venture GATE in return for convincing his firms to pay Unaoil huge fees.
In yet another secret Unaoil exchange, a Unaoil executive states that US defence giant Honeywell is prepared to fraudulently inflate a sub-contract in Iraq to disguise a marketing fee.
Honeywells spokesperson said the firm has no knowledge of this activity, while the other companies implicated in the Unaoil scandal have emphasised that they have strong anti-corruption policies and will investigate any wrongdoing by individual staff.
The pressure should now come onto authorities in Britain, Italy, Norway, France, the US and elsewhere to investigate the Unaoil files and bring to account those who have operated for so many years with impunity.
Asian companies such as Hyundai, Samsung, Sinopec and Petronas are household names. But they have dark secrets. In the latest in Fairfax Media and The Huffington Posts global bribery expose, these firms and more are implicated for paying kickbacks, money laundering and corruption.
As Asian companies expand their global power and influence, the Monaco-based bribe factory Unaoil has been quick to sign them up to its corrupt business model.
A trove of leaked emails from inside Unaoil show it working closely with Malaysias national oil company Petronas, as well as South Korean titans Hyundai and Samsung, and even the Chinese government giant Sinopec. The oil industrys biggest ever scandal has also exposed Asian conglomerates Yokogawa of Japan, South Koreas ISU, Singapores Keppel and Malaysian firm Ranhill.
The emails show some Asian executives are enthusiastic participants in graft, underscoring the pervasive culture of corruption across the region. Its an alarming proposition as Asian companies develop into some of the most powerful and influential players in global business.
The massive leak of files from Unaoil this week has already sparked investigations by the US Department of Justice, the FBI, Britains National Crime Agency and other authorities.
Today, we reveal how Unaoils corrupt dealings with its multinational clients has also infected the fast-growing African oil industry.
South Korean giants in Libya and Algeria
"You are requested to come to see him as you told me at a hotel I suggest to you with around 20,000 Eruo [euro] at this visit,
Thousands of leaked files reveal that managers inside South Korean conglomerates paid millions of dollars in commissions to Unaoil, which funded corruption to win major contracts in Libya and Algeria.
In one email, Korean ISU vice president Joon Lee, writing from a private address, urged Unaoil to bring cash to a meeting to pay a senior Libyan government official who could help ISU win a construction contract.
"You are requested to come to see him as you told me at a hotel I suggest to you with around 20,000 Eruo [euro] at this visit, the email to Unaoil said.
At the time, Joon Lee was not only ordering pay-offs, but pocketing his own bribes. He set up his own offshore company, the Monaco based Sun Holder, into which he agreed to receive kickbacks from Unaoil. In return he passed on confidential information he had received and also ensured the company he worked for, ISU, kept paying Unaoil as its agent. Joon Lee could not be contacted.
The leaked files also reveal that a senior Samsung manager, in cahoots with executives from Hyundai and Hanwha, agreed to pay bribes worth millions of dollars to rig oil-refinery contracts in Algeria.
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Unaoil engineered the corrupt deals. The two South Korean companies conspired to share the $1.8 billion contracts between them, even though they were apparently competing.
Stuart K. Steele, an executive from a third company, Spanish multinational Tecnicas Reunidas, was paid hundreds of thousands of dollars via offshore accounts. The cash ensured the Spanish company ran dead in the three-way bidding contest: a manoeuvre described in the emails as a tripartite agreement.
I understand your friend [from Tecnicas Reunidas] is not comfortable, if his name is specified in the agreement, an email to Unaoil from a senior Samsung executive said.
Your obligation shall be to maintain three commercial bids to be submitted and to have the contract awarded to any bidder from our place [South Korea].
Unaoil also sought to bribe officials from Algerias state-owned oil company Sonatrach.
Malaysian millions: Petronas and Ranhill
Unaoil bribed Petronas executives to rig the contract. Unaoils client was British oil services firm Petrofac.
Oil for many countries is by far the biggest game in town. Many struggling oil-producing nations hire international companies to manage their fields, hoping this will deliver the best value for their people.
The Iraqi government was hoping for such a result when it appointed the Malaysian government-owned oil company Petronas to help manage huge oil fields in Iraqs south in 2010.
Then Unaoil stepped in. Unaoil had a client that wanted to secure a large contract Petronas was overseeing. So Unaoil bribed Petronas executives to rig the contract. Unaoils client was British oil services firm Petrofac.
Leaked emails reveal that Unaoil agreed to pay millions of dollars to a Malaysian middle man who claimed he could influence a top Petronas executive and other Malaysian officials in 2010. Ill make [an] arrangement for us to see Mr [Petronas executive] when Im in Dubai, middle man Affandi Yusuf wrote to Unaoil.
As you are aware the situation is very sensitive at the moment. Ill have to meet Mr [Petronas executive] personally to make him comfortable to meet up with your team.
In a later email from Affandi, the middleman claims that, in return for the bribes, his corrupt Petronas contacts had fed us inside information from a tender committee. This ensured that Unaoils client Petrofac qualified for a large contract.
They have lived up to their obligation to get PF [Petrofac] qualified technically. According to them, PF would have been initially technically disqualified, Affandi wrote in an email in which he demanded money.
Petrofac responded that it did not condone bribery in any of its operations.
In Libya, Malaysian company Ranhill offered Unaoil $40 million to convince senior Libyan officials to award it a large housing construction contract.
And so it went. In Libya, Malaysian company Ranhill offered Unaoil $40 million to convince senior Libyan officials to award it a large housing construction contract. The leaked emails reveal Ranhill approached Unaoil after former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad had failed to convince Colonel Gaddafi to help.
Unaoil succeeded where Mahathir had failed. Unaoil paid a high ranking Libyan official, Mustafa Zarti, to assist Ranhill. The leaked files also suggest Unaoil promised a $200,000 personal kickback to a Ranhill executive if he helped Unaoil extract large commissions from the Malaysian company.
U naoil also paid up to $2 million (along with further payments for a rug and a collection of fine wines) into offshore accounts to two mysterious Algerian middle men, Tewfic Guerbato and Omar Habour. It appears these payments were made to increase Unaoils influence inside Petronas and other Asian firms.
Snaring the dragons: Unaoil in China
And then there was China. As Chinese multinationals rapidly evolved into major oil industry players, Unaoil keenly sought their business.
In 2010, Unaoil agreed to become the agent for a subsidiary of the Chinese government-controlled behemoth Sinopec. Under the deal, Unaoil would pocket 5 per cent of the value of any contract it won for the Chinese firm.
[Wang] does have some access to Sinopec and says that he has clear access to the Deputy Prime Minister, the Deputy President, and, if he wants, the Emperor"
But there was a catch. A senior manager from Sinopec subsidiary ZPEB asked for a personal kickback from Unaoil for signing the consultancy agreement.
The manager is a player, wrote Unaoils Steve Hunter to his bosses in Monaco, and asked initially for 2% to cover all the ZPEB players, then over the 3 days [they] agreed to 1%.
We will have to honour this if we want to go further. From these 3 days it became clear that the Chinese have personal agendas. [The manager] told me [they are paying bribes to] ... ZPEB man.
The corrupt senior manager is described as having powerful family connections in Sinopec, and full access to senior officials access the manager used to help Western companies.
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The corrupt manager has registered a company in US and is active agent for other Chinese business.
Unaoils Chinese ventures began in 2003, when the company teamed up with an Asian businessman called [Mr] Wang. Wang promised Unaoil access to Chinas most influential officials in return for large payments.
[Wang] does have some access to Sinopec and says that he has clear access to the Deputy Prime Minister, the Deputy President, and, if he wants, the Emperor ie. Jang Zei Ming who is the real power still in China despite giving up the Presidency, wrote Unaoil employee Peter Willimont in an internal briefing.
As our deal stands with him now, it is 50/50 with him taking care of his end and us doing our bit.
Singapore's Keppel and Japan's Yokogawa
"... The problems of working with a US or European outfit do not apply here,
Japan and Singapore are considered among the least corrupt and least corruptible countries in Asia. But Unaoils tentacles extend to multinational oil service firms in both countries.
The leaked files reveal that Unaoil was paying bribes in Kazakhstan to help Singaporean conglomerate Keppel win contracts.
A confidential 2007 Unaoil memo details its plans to help Keppel win offshore oil rig and barge contracts on the massive Kashagan oil field. Unaoil regarded Keppel as an ideal client because Keppel had lax anti-corruption controls compared with Unaoils other multinational clients. Unaoil also believed Keppel had its own connections to allegedly corrupt Kazakh government officials.
In my opinion we have a lot at stake here, apart from the $30m [in fees from Keppel] we could set-up a long term association with these guys [Keppel].... The problems of working with a US or European outfit do not apply here, a Unaoil executive wrote in a 2007 memo.
The leaked emails provide specific details of just how helpful Unaoil was to Keppel. In 2006, when Keppel was competing with French multinational Technip to win a contract to build an offshore oil rig in Kazakhstan, Unaoil used a corrupt contact codenamed small D to leak inside information on bidding strategy. Small D appears to be an Italian oil executive working with the Kazakhstan government.
Please ask small D what does [he] understand [about the bid] currently offered by the French, said one email.
Any news from little D on the outcome of the T [Technip] mtg [meeting]?? -- I need to go back to [Keppel senior manager], Unaoils Kazakhstan manager Peter Willimont wrote in yet another message.
In Japan, meanwhile, the Tokyo based electrical engineering and software giant Yokogawa had also hopped into bed with Unaoil.
Leaked emails from 2006 reveal Unaoil paying middlemen to reveal confidential information on the tender strategies of Yokogawas competitors in the middle east information that Unaoil then fed to Yokogawa.
I just had the Japs on the phone [looking for information], a Unaoil manager wrote to a middleman who was leaking them information in 2006.
Y[okogawa] France wants to visit us here next week if we have the info to review, the manager wrote in another email.
Yokogawa responded to questions saying they had never working with Unaoil.
High density suburbs in Sydney's inner-south are leading population growth as the city closes in on the 5 million mark.
The Waterloo-Beaconsfield statistical area, which takes in the Green Square district, had the city's largest population growth last financial year of 3100.
The Cobbitty-Leppington area in the city's south-west had the second largest growth with 2600.
That was up 26 per cent on a year earlier, making Cobbitty-Leppington the city's fastest-growing local statistical area.
The application for a major development at the historic Inglis horse stables in Randwick has been slammed for underestimating the amount of future traffic on surrounding roads.
The proposed development of 750 homes, shops and a park at the Newmarket site is expected to cause traffic flow to increase by about 17 per cent in 2021 during the morning peak on the already congested Barker Street.
Local residents and politicians are concerned about a major residential development proposed at the Inglis stable yards in Randwick. Credit:Dallas Kilponen
But the figure, listed in traffic modelling supporting the development application, ignores the increase in cars that will use the road under plans to close parts of nearby High Street for the construction of a terminus for the CBD and South East Rail Line.
Residents are concerned ambulances will struggle to reach the emergency department at the Prince of Wales Hospital as traffic worsens along Barker Street, although the service itself says it will not make a submission or comment on the development proposal.
The honeymoon between the Palaszczuk and Turnbull governments is well and truly over, with the Prime Minister described as making "Tony Abbott look progressive".
Queensland's appearance at the Council of Australian Governments meeting, the last before Malcolm Turnbull's government hands down its first budget, brought forward to May 3, has not gone well, with Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk claiming Mr Turnbull "underestimates" the state's needs.
After a dispute over health and education funding, relations between the Palaszczuk and Turnbull governments have gone south. Credit:Kim Stephens
Education Minister Kate Jones went further, accusing the six-month old Turnbull government of "an appalling record on education".
"Who would have thought Malcolm Turnbull would make Tony Abbott look progressive?" she said.
Tourism and Events Queensland hopes to make it rain with one of K-Pop's biggest stars shooting his latest film clip here.
Rain, real name Jung Ji Hoon, is described as the Justin Timberlake of Asia and was recently signed on by the Queensland Government to help lure South Koreans to the Sunshine State.
Korean K-Pop star Rain filmed his latest music video in Brisbane.
Part of his ambassadorial duties have been to shoot a film clip showcasing the city and the resulting music video has just dropped.
Rain filmed the clip for Marilyn Monroe while he was being hosted here in November and the results are pretty spectacular.
A Rebels bikie convicted of drug trafficking says he gained a "twisted sense of importance" from selling methylamphetamine.
Michael William Smith, 57, became a target in the anti-bikie police Operation Kilo Deakin in August 2012, while his 30-year-old son Steven was also investigated after he assisted with at least two transactions.
A father and son are guilty of trafficking methylamphetamine.
Over a 12-month period to July 2013, Michael Smith engaged in commercially-motivated methylamphetamine trafficking, including a trip to Townsville that netted him $14,900.
"During the trafficking period he sold at least $166,000 worth of methylamphetamine," crown prosecutor Caroline Marco told the Brisbane District Court on Friday.
A man has been arrested over a hit and run in the state's east that put two cyclists in hospital.
John Allen Reid was found by South Australian police at a motel in Ceduna, South Australia, overnight and arrested in relation to the hit and run in Sale last month.
Police last week issued a warrant for the 38-year-old man's arrest after two cyclists were allegedly struck by a car that failed to stop.
Mr Reid was charged with negligently causing serious injury, conduct endangering life and other traffic-related offences over the March 23 incident.
He has been detained in custody while detectives from Wellington Crime Investigation Unit travel to South Australia to seek his extradition.
We've heard of businesses starting in garages, but what about a cafe being run in a broom closet?
The back-alley space where you will find the Stand-Up Cafe used to be a 10-square-metre storage area before being converted into a thriving venture a year ago. Stretch your arms and you can touch a wall on either side.
The Stand-Up Cafe, owned and run by Daniel Chrystal (right). Credit:Joe Armao
It has a coffee machine, a couple of cabinets to store the week's beans, a small refrigerator for milk, and shelves for cups. That's about it. Proprietor and barista Daniel Chrystal said the spot was ideal.
"All we had to do was to punch the wall out and then put the concrete [counter] in [and] make it all clean and beautiful," he said. He pays about $1500 rent a week, which he says he makes back in about half a day.
A woman branded the "Christmas Grinch" for allegedly stealing presents from people's doorsteps in December has had her case adjourned until April 6.
Ashton Coverley, 26, appeared briefly in the Joondalup Magistrates Court on Friday on five stealing charges.
Charges were laid after CCTV footage emerged on social media of the pair allegedly thieving parcels from doorsteps.
She and another woman were charged by police in December a day after CCTV footage emerged on social media of the pair allegedly thieving parcels from doorsteps.
Police allege they followed delivery vans around Perth's northern suburbs before taking off with the parcels.
A motorcyclist who cast his eye over an assortment of goods put out for verge collection in Piara Waters got an unusual shock when he passed one particular house.
Ben, who did not want his surname published, was amazed to see a mountain of commercial catalogues, seemingly once destined for home delivery, outside a home on Archdale Loop in Piara Waters, south-east of Perth.
The collection of junk mail waiting to be picked from Archdale Loop in Piara Waters.
The pile measured about five metres wide, two metres back and a metre high.
There was no evidence to suggest the owners of the home were responsible the pile could have been dumped from anywhere.
Hundreds of nude photos and videos shared privately by WA women on social media have emerged on a new website.
Police are investigating the second nude photo leak, involving teenage girls as young as 14, following the discovery in February of a Google Drive folder containing up to 600 photos of 361 WA women.
That page, which featured students from two private schools, was posted and shared online but shut down within hours by WA Police.
Photos and videos on the latest website expire every two days, giving users a chance to download them.
Yet again Mr Sadr has demonstrated that he has the power to mobilise disenfranchised Shiites. Iraqi soldiers watch over a women's rally in solidarity with Sadr supporters earlier this week. Credit:AP "Our efforts have been rewarded," Mr Sadr said, calling off the protests, in a televised speech beamed from his Green Zone tent to thousands of cheering supporters gathered just beyond the zone's fortified blast walls. "We will never be humiliated!" the crowd chanted back, pumping their fists at the screen on which his speech was being broadcast before dispersing into the night, tooting horns and waving Mr Sadr's picture. A decade after he first confronted US forces, Muqtada al-Sadr has again shown his power to mobilise Shiite masses. Credit:AP
Mr Sadr headed back to his home in the southern city of Najaf in a 24-vehicle armoured convoy. Mr Abadi, in his speech to parliament, thanked Mr Sadr for his role in organising the protests that helped him formulate the proposed new government. Muqtada al-Sadr speaks to his supporters and regional and international media before entering the Green Zone on March 27. Credit:AP "Everybody comes out looking well, which was what was needed," said Sajad Jiyad of the Bayan Centre for Planning and Studies, who has advised Mr Abadi in the past. "Sadr has presented himself as an agent of reform. The prime minister kept his job and looked calm and reasonable, as if he is in charge." The deal culminated more than eight months of escalating unrest that has seen huge crowds gather in Baghdad's Tahrir Square to demand that Mr Abadi boot out corrupt ministers and abolish the practice of distributing government positions according to sectarian quotas, adopted after the US invasion in 2003.
A protester passes riot police guarding the Green Zone. Credit:AP The momentum stalled after reforms swiftly promised by the prime minister failed to materialise - until Mr Sadr stepped in. He gave Mr Abadi a 45-day ultimatum to appoint a new government, after which Sadr would order his supporters to storm the Green Zone. To underline the threat, Sadrist supporters set up a tented protest camp just beyond the Green Zone's fortified walls, echoing similar camps set up elsewhere in the region during the Arab Spring revolts - except that unlike those popular revolts, this one was underwritten by a private army. Protesters have rallied to the Sadrist cause over the issue of government corruption. Credit:AP When the deadline passed without result, instead of ordering an assault, Mr Sadr strode into the Green Zone, flanked by just a handful of aides, and declared that he was ready to sacrifice his life for the people's demands.
The soldiers, ostensibly there to keep outsiders out, embraced him. The general in charge of security knelt and kissed his hand. Mr Sadr's aides erected a tent for him. Then he took a selfie with five of his closest aides. A Sadr supporter takes time to pray at a protest camp on the edge of the Green Zone. Credit:AP The message was clear: The political elites living in luxury behind their fortified walls cannot be protected from Mr Sadr's wrath, and even the security forces could not be counted on to defend them. Mr Abadi was never Mr Sadr's target, his supporters say. Rather, they explain, the goal was to bolster Mr Abadi's wobbly hold on power by pressuring the more powerful politicians blocking Mr Abadi's reforms to acquiesce to changes that will presumably see them kicked out of their jobs. The protest turnout has reminded many of the Arab Spring protests of 2011 and 2012. Credit:AP
"What we want to do is set Abadi free from the pressures of the blocs and the parties so that he can meet the people's demands," said Hakim al-Zamili, a Sadrist member of parliament and one of the select few who accompanied Mr Sadr on his Green Zone foray. In his speech, Mr Abadi indirectly called on Mr Sadr to end the protests, which he said were burdening the security forces as they fight Islamic State, which still controls considerable territory in northern and western Iraq. "Reforms should not be allowed to impact the military and security situation," Mr Abadi said. But graft is itself a significant drain on Iraq's resources. Other Iraqi politicians, including some within Mr Abadi's Dawa Party, have pushed back against a reshuffle, fearing it could weaken the patronage networks that have sustained their wealth and influence for more than a decade. Mr Sadr's bloc accounts for only 34 of parliament's 328 MPs and may not be able to vote down Mr Abadi if other political parties decide otherwise.
Paris: Manuel Valls, the French Prime Minister, has faced embarrassment over reports that an orchestra led by his glamorous violinist wife has links to a string of murky figures, from an African dictator's right-hand man to a convicted tax fraudster.
Anne Gravoin, 50, is a classical violinist who regularly plays with veteran French rocker Johnny Hallyday and other Gallic singers, earning her the nickname of "violinist to the stars".
Manuel Valls and his wife Anne Gravoin arrive at the Elysee Palace in Paris in 2013. Credit:Getty Images
However, her reported dream was always to play with the top musicians of the classical world. "She'd had enough of being seen as a pop musician," a friend told Nouvel Obs, the weekly magazine. So when Zouhir Boudemagh, a wealthy Kuwait-based businessman, offered to put her at the helm of an "orchestra to promote peace and fraternity" three years ago, she jumped at the chance.
The puritans serve coffee from a large thermos, bracing for what promises to be a highly combustible school board meeting. At least, that's what it looks like they're preparing at the Walter Kerr Theatre, where director Ivo van Hove has mounted the highly anticipated Broadway revival of Arthur Miller's The Crucible. It's a visually striking production, laden with dynamite performances. Sure, the conceit might be a little on the nose, but when was this didactic drama ever subtle?
The play debuted on Broadway in 1953, at the height of Senator Joseph McCarthy's crusade to root out Communists from American public life. Never one for nuance, Miller attacked McCarthyism by writing a play about an actual witch hunt: the Salem trials of 1692. Audiences got the message: "I stood in the back of that theater after opening night and I saw people come by me whom I'd known for years and wouldn't say hello to me," Miller recounted in an interview with Matthew C. Roudane of the Michigan Quarterly Review. No one wanted to risk guilt by association, thereby proving Miller's point.
Of course, McCarthy was eventually censured by his Senate colleagues for his excesses, dying in disrepute in 1957. The Crucible has since been hailed as a modern masterpiece, spawning productions across the country and a Broadway revival nearly every decade (the 1980s being the only exception). The play's explosive mix of sex, religion, and politics helps explain its continued resonance.
Elizabeth Teeter, Saoirse Ronan, and Tavi Gevinson star in The Crucible.
( Jan Versweyveld)
It opens with Reverend Parris (Jason Butler Harner) fretting over his sick daughter Betty (Elizabeth Teeter). The doctor suspects her affliction is unnatural. Betty was recently seen dancing in the woods with her cousin Abigail Williams (Saoirse Ronan) and several other girls; rumors of witchcraft circulate. Parris summons demonology expert Rev. Hale (a scholarly and judicious Bill Camp) to examine Betty. Abigail decides to turn the rumors around on her enemies, specifically her former employer Elizabeth Proctor (Sophie Okonedo). Abigail had a brief affair with Elizabeth's husband, John (Ben Whishaw), leading to her dismissal. As accusations spiral out of control, Judge Hathorne (Teagle F. Bougere) and Deputy Governor Danforth (an appropriately intimidating Ciaran Hinds) arrive in Salem to preside over the subsequent trials. The accused face a difficult decision: Confess to consorting with the devil, or hang.
While Miller sought to thinly veil his critique of contemporary America in a 17th-century costume drama, van Hove (fresh off the acclaimed revival of Miller's A View From the Bridge) does the opposite, firmly placing his production here and now. Not only that, he sets it in the place a certain class of Americans is most likely to feel persecuted by the inquisition: high school. Certainly, the continued book-banning and fraught debates over student clubs are enough to justify this choice.
Scenic designer Jan Versweyveld places the action in an open institutional room that appears to have been constructed in the 1930s. Massive radiators and a blackboard dominate the upstage wall, which is covered in a few too many coats of blue paint. A stage-left modern glass partition suggests recent renovations.
Wojciech Dziedzic's adult costumes seem inspired by the Land's End catalogue: conservative slacks and pilled sweaters. The wealthy Putnams (a believably snooty Tina Benko and Thomas Jay Ryan) are naturally dressed a cut above everyone else. The girls, meanwhile, wear school uniforms.
Betty Parris (Elizabeth Teeter), Abigail Williams (Saoirse Ronan), Mary Warren (Tavi Gevinson), Susanna Walcott (Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut), and Mercy Lewis (Erin Wilhelmi) claim to have seen people with the devil in The Crucible.
( Jan Versweyveld)
Taking her cue from this aesthetic, Ronan (a recent Oscar nominee for Brooklyn) plays Abigail like the Regina George of Salem High. "I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you," she threatens the other girls in a vengeful rasp, and we absolutely believe her. When she embraces Mary Warren (Tavi Gevinson, artfully crafting a clear journey for her conflicted character) in a group hug, we cannot help but gasp at the transparency of it all.
Composer Philip Glass (who also scored the delightfully melodramatic student-teacher-affair film Notes on a Scandal) employs a conspiratorial cello to underscore Abigail's interactions with John Proctor, sending shivers down our spines. But if the music brands her a seductress, her adolescent uniform never lets us forget the adult in this situation.
For his part, the scruffy and handsome Whishaw plays a likable lecher. His moments with Okonedo are tender, conveying a marriage of many years, with all its accompanying baggage and complications. Okonedo, in her first Broadway turn since winning a Tony for A Raisin in the Sun, embodies an Elizabeth who may come off as cold, but for whom it is hard to conclude, as she does, that this is what prompted John's adultery. The truth of the matter remains shrouded in Miller's text, never fully revealed by the director's seemingly tidy staging.
Sophie Okonedo and Ben Whishaw play Elizabeth and John Proctor in The Crucible.
( Jan Versweyveld)
Van Hove is the master of visually arresting moments: The alarming third-act opening will have audience members clinging to their seats, eyes glued to the stage. That same act concludes with a gale force. Unfortunately, the beats between these set pieces often seem neglected. When the director does intercede, it regularly comes off as stagey, as when the advisers of the court vigorously circle Danforth, like flies on rotting fruit.
This may be van Hove's way of dressing up Miller's overwrought dialogue and uneconomical plot development, which causes even the strongest mountings of this play to sag. This is the best production of The Crucible I've ever seen. It is by no means a perfect drama, but as long as a crusading morality is a part of our national character, it seems destined to continue punching audiences in the gut.
AKRON, Ohio, March 31, 2016 -- A truck driver who pulled an injured motorist from a burning car has been named the 33rd Goodyear Highway Hero.
Chosen from three finalists, Julian Kaczor of Utica, N.Y., today accepted the 33rd Goodyear Highway Hero Award during the Mid-America Trucking Show, which is taking place this week in Louisville, Ky.
Kaczor was driving through Jacksonville, Fla., when a car drove past him at a high rate of speed, nearly clipping his truck. The car crashed into a construction barrier and began to emit smoke. Kaczor ran to the car as it became engulfed in flames, which he tried to extinguish. As the fire intensified, he forced the car's driver side door open, pulled the injured motorist out of the vehicle, and dragged him to safety.
"Julian acted instantly to help another person who was in need, without regard for his own well-being," said Gary Medalis, marketing director, Goodyear. "His decision to get involved exemplifies the courage and decisiveness of professional truck drivers."
As the 33rd Goodyear Highway Hero Award winner, Kaczor receives a special Highway Hero ring, a $5,000 prize and other items.
Kaczor and two other truck drivers were selected as finalists for the 33rd Goodyear Highway Hero Award. The other finalists were:
Mark Cavanagh, a driver from Hillsville, Va. Cavanagh was driving his truck through Pennsylvania when he saw another tractor-trailer drive off the road and roll down a hill. The truck's driver was thrown from the rig and was hanging from its mirror bracket by a belt. Cavanagh stopped his truck, descended down the hill, cut the injured driver's belt, and pulled him away from the damaged truck. He then stayed with the driver until help arrived.
Dorian Cole, a driver from Los Angeles, Calif. Cole was driving through the Sylmar section of Los Angeles when he saw a Los Angeles Police Department motorcycle officer collide with another motorcyclist. The impact from the collision caused the officer to hit a concrete divider. To protect the injured officer from oncoming traffic, Cole positioned his tanker truck across several highway lanes. This also gave paramedics unimpeded access to the officer.
The Goodyear Highway Hero Award winner was selected by an independent panel of trucking industry judges.
"Goodyear is proud to be the company that honors truck drivers for their heroism," said Medalis. "Each of our Highway Hero Award finalists is a hero in his own right and is truly worthy of recognition."
About The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company:
Goodyear offers The Total Solution of trusted products, a nationwide network, reliable services, and fleet management tools to help commercial trucking fleets lower their total cost of ownership. To learn more, visit www.goodyeartrucktires.com.
Car Question Or Concerns? Get Expert Advice From The Auto Lab -Saturday 8 AM
April 2, 2016
Car Question or Opinion? Call Toll Free 888-692-7234
Auto Lab is a 27 year old interactive automotive-focused New York area radio call-in show hosted by Professor Harold Wolchok. Each week a cadre of experienced hands-on automotive experts are in-studio with advice for the New York area's 12 million people, providing listeners with honest, practical and street-smart car repair and buying advice.
Auto Lab is also about the automotive industry, its history, and its culture, presenting the ideas and advice of leading college faculty, authors, and automotive practitioners in a relaxed, conversational interactive format.
http://www.theautochannel.com/cybercast/theautolab/autolab_live.asx
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Listen Live on WNYM Radio
New programs air Saturday mornings.
After listening to the first hour on WMCA, you will need to close that window and click the link to listen to the second hour on WNYM.
After listening to the first hour on WMCA, you will need to close that window and click the link to listen to the second hour on WNYM.
Listeners can hear the past 18 years of archived Auto Lab shows as simulcast on www.theautochannel.com.
Listen - Auto Lab Page (Includes Audio-on-Demand Archives, Auto Programs at Community College Database, Guests Pictures
April 2, 2016 - Car Question? Straight Answers From These In-Studio Auto Lab Experts
Harold Bendell- Major Auto
Fred Bordoff-Bronx Community College, CUNY
Tim Cacace-Master Mechanix
Libby Demarco-Broadway Sunoco
Jerry Pastore-D & J Diagnostic
Johanna Pastore-D & J Diagnostic
Joanne Porcelli, Esq
Michael Porcelli - Central Avenue Auto Repairs & I-CAR
Nicholas Prague- MTA and Rockland Community College, SUNY
April 2, 2016 - Correspondent Reports - Car Reviews, Opinion and Other Automotive News and Information
Robert Erskine, Senior European Correspondent, Suffolk England
WHAT EVER NEXT - BMW'S VISION NEXT 100
Robert Sinclair-AAA Northeast
NATIONAL AVERAGE GAS PRICE ABOVE $2 FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 2016
Sharon Sudol & John Russell, Senior Correspondents
2016 DODGE GRAND CARAVAN
Russ Rader, Vice President Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
U.S. DOT AND IIHS ANNOUNCES HISTORIC COMMITMENT OF 20 AUTOMAKERS TO MAKE AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING STANDARD ON NEW VEHICLES
Holly Reich, Automotive Journalist
2017 KIA SPORTAGE
March 2016 New-Car Transaction Prices Up 2 Percent, Increases In Incentive Spend
IRVINE, Calif., April 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The analysts at Kelley Blue Book www.kbb.com, the vehicle valuation and information source trusted and relied upon by both consumers and the automotive industry, today report the estimated average transaction price (ATP) for light vehicles in the United States was $33,666 in March 2016. New-car prices have increased by $645 (up 2 percent) from March 2015, while remaining flat from last month.
"March average transaction prices reveal continued increases for nearly every manufacturer, with the industry average up 2 percent year-over-year," said Tim Fleming, analyst for Kelley Blue Book. "While this may seem like good news for automakers and dealers, incentive spending continues to rise within the industry and offset part of this strength. Also, to afford the growing monthly payments, more consumers are financing these vehicles for 72 and 84 months, which will likely delay the purchase cycle for their next vehicle."
Segment March 2016
Transaction
Price
(Avg.)* February 2016
Transaction
Price
(Avg.)* March 2015
Transaction
Price
(Avg.)* Percent
Change
February
2016 to
March
2016* Percent
Change
March
2015 to
March
2016* Compact Car $20,237 $20,179 $20,152 0.3% 0.4% Compact SUV/Crossover $27,056 $26,980 $26,670 0.3% 1.4% Electric Vehicle $36,644 $35,544 $36,296 3.1% 1.0% Entry-level Luxury Car $40,774 $40,717 $41,117 0.1% -0.8% Full-size Car $34,505 $34,486 $33,942 0.1% 1.7% Full-size Pickup Truck $46,332 $46,328 $44,261 0.0% 4.7% Full-Size SUV/Crossover $46,525 $46,635 $45,016 -0.2% 3.4% High Performance Car $88,453 $90,863 $87,216 -2.7% 1.4% High-end Luxury Car $95,257 $95,156 $92,405 0.1% 3.1% Hybrid/Alternative Energy Car $26,772 $26,378 $25,447 1.5% 5.2% Luxury Car $57,533 $56,325 $58,305 2.1% -1.3% Luxury Compact SUV/Crossover $41,347 $41,154 $41,647 0.5% -0.7% Luxury Full-size SUV/Crossover $70,648 $70,935 $69,280 -0.4% 2.0% Luxury Mid-size SUV/Crossover $56,837 $56,924 $55,842 -0.2% 1.8% Mid-size Car $25,095 $25,126 $25,042 -0.1% 0.2% Mid-size Pickup Truck $30,045 $30,154 $28,671 -0.4% 4.8% Mid-size SUV/Crossover $34,038 $34,227 $33,265 -0.6% 2.3% Minivan/Van $32,499 $32,235 $32,691 0.8% -0.6% Sports Car $30,712 $30,685 $30,169 0.1% 1.8% Subcompact Car $17,218 $17,328 $17,462 -0.6% -1.4% Grand Total $33,666 $33,651 $33,021 0.0% 2.0% *Kelley Blue Book Average Transaction Prices do not include applied consumer incentives
Manufacturer March 2016
Transaction
Price
(Avg.)* February 2016
Transaction
Price
(Avg.)* March 2015
Transaction
Price
(Avg.)* Percent
Change
February
2016 to
March
2016* Percent
Change
March
2015 to
March
2016* American Honda (Acura, Honda) $27,567 $27,515 $27,085 0.2% 1.8% Chrysler (Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, RAM) $34,484 $34,530 $33,376 -0.1% 3.3% Ford Motor Company (Ford, Lincoln) $36,444 $36,317 $35,535 0.3% 2.6% General Motors (Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC) $38,005 $38,084 $36,944 -0.2% 2.9% Kia $24,610 $24,848 $24,275 -1.0% 1.4% Nissan North America (Nissan, Infiniti) $27,681 $27,570 $27,250 0.4% 1.6% Subaru $28,123 $28,073 $27,768 0.2% 1.3% Toyota Motor Company (Lexus, Scion, Toyota) $31,131 $31,042 $30,192 0.3% 3.1% Volkswagen Group (Audi, Volkswagen, Porsche) $37,545 $37,994 $39,342 -1.2% -4.6% Industry $33,666 $33,651 $33,021 0.0% 2.0% *Kelley Blue Book Average Transaction Prices do not include applied consumer incentives
Fiat Chrysler transaction prices had the largest percentage increase of the major automakers at 3.3 percent year-over-year growth in March 2016. The Dodge brand jumped 5 percent on strong gains from the Challenger (up 9 percent) and Charger (up 7 percent), while the RAM brand grew 5 percent on a higher mix of pricier crew cab configurations for its pickup truck. Toyota Motor Company also had a great month, increasing average transaction prices by 3.1 percent year-over-year. The Toyota brand was up 4.7 percent, with increases on every model except the discontinued Venza. The Tacoma had the largest increase at 11 percent. Additionally, Lexus was up 2.7 percent, with the new RX rising 6 percent to an average transaction price of $50,713. However, not all brands fared well.
"Volkswagen Group average transaction prices were down 4.5 percent as all of its brands fell year-over-year," said Fleming. "The Volkswagen brand fell the most, down 7 percent, as each model in its lineup was down from last year. The Jetta and Passat, two models affected by the brand's diesel crisis, both were down 9 percent."
About Kelley Blue Book (www.kbb.com)
Founded in 1926, Kelley Blue Book, The Trusted Resource, is the vehicle valuation and information source trusted and relied upon by both consumers and the automotive industry. Each week the company provides the most market-reflective values in the industry on its top-rated website KBB.com, including its famous Blue Book Trade-In Values and Fair Purchase Price, which reports what others are paying for new and used cars this week. The company also provides vehicle pricing and values through various products and services available to car dealers, auto manufacturers, finance and insurance companies, and governmental agencies. Kelley Blue Book's KBB.com ranked highest in its category for brand equity by the 2015 Harris Poll EquiTrend study and has been named Online Auto Shopping Brand of the Year for four consecutive years. Kelley Blue Book Co., Inc. is a Cox Automotive brand.
About Cox Automotive
Cox Automotive Inc. is transforming the way the world buys, sells and owns cars with industry-leading digital marketing, software, financial, wholesale and e-commerce solutions for consumers, dealers, manufacturers and the overall automotive ecosystem worldwide. Committed to open choice and dedicated to strong partnerships, the Cox Automotive family includes Autotrader, Dealer.com, Dealertrack, Kelley Blue Book, Manheim, NextGear Capital, vAuto, Xtime and a host of other brands. The global company has nearly 30,000 team members in more than 200 locations and is partner to more than 40,000 auto dealers, as well as most major automobile manufacturers, while engaging U.S. consumer car buyers with the most recognized media brands in the industry. Cox Automotive is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises Inc., an Atlanta-based company with revenues of $18 billion and approximately 55,000 employees. Cox Enterprises' other major operating subsidiaries include Cox Communications and Cox Media Group. For more information about Cox Automotive, visit www.coxautoinc.com.
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Grant advances CSUCI research Cal State Channel Islands assistant professor of computer science Scott Feister and assistant professor of mathematics Alona Kryshchenko recently received $112,480 from the National Science Foundation to continue a grant to support their research project, Enhancing Laser Based Ion Sources...
Healthcare agency recommends flu shots The Ventura County Health Care Agency offers options for the community to receive flu shots through its Ambulatory Care Clinic system, public health clinics and pop-up clinics. Although seasonal influenza viruses are detected year-round in the United States, they are...
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 01/04/2016 (2396 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
A student from Niverville Collegiate is one of 50 women nominated for a YMCA-YWCA Women of Distinction Award.
Grade 12 student Danica Cuddeford has been nominated in the Prairie Award of Promise category for her outstanding contributions to her school and community.
Described as an altruist in her biography, Cuddeford is the vice-president of her schools student council and volunteers at the personal care home in Niverville where she works with seniors. She also has a heart for children, volunteering as a Sunday school teacher and childcare worker at her church.
SUBMITTED PHOTO Danica Cuddeford
She has been involved in several extra-curricular initiatives in her school, including an environmentalist group, anti-tobacco club and volunteering to tutor her peers.
Cuddeford has also participated in the Real World Homeless Situation project, where she got a first-hand look at the plight of those who do not have a roof over their head.
She was one of six graduating high school students to be nominated for the award, which will be presented at a gala event on May 4.
Mississippi is already one of the worst states for LGBT people in America. Now, it is one signature away from not just allowing, but openly endorsing discrimination.
While public attention was squarely focused on the recent anti-LGBT law in North Carolinathe first in the country to regulate transgender peoples use of public bathrooms based on their birth certificatesthe Mississippi state legislature was busy voting on a bill that would take the state back to the Stone Age.
The bill, HB 1523, easily passed the Mississippi House and Senate and now must return to the House for some revisions before heading to Governor Phil Bryants desk. The Republican governor has said that he will review it if and when it arrives on his desk.
HB 1523 would expressly allow businesses and public employees to discriminate against LGBT people but it has been framed by its sponsor, Kim Davis superfan Representative Philip Gunn, as a protection of three sincerely held religious beliefs.
These beliefs are that marriage is between a man and a woman, sexual relations should only occur within a heterosexual marriage, and biological sex cannot be changed. Only two of these items qualify as beliefs: biological sex characteristics can be changed with hormones and surgery, and the bills definition of sex determination is scientifically inaccurate.
Based on these three beliefs, HB 1523, grants far-reaching permissions for social workers and private employers alike to deny services to LGBT people.
First and foremost, the bill grants religious organizations immunity from state punishment in the arenas of employment and housing. It also protects any individual who refuses to provide servicesincluding photography, poetry, videography, disc-jockey services and pastry artistryfor same-sex weddings. As far as proposed anti-LGBT laws go, these provisions are fairly standard.
But the bill also sanctions an extreme range of discrimination far outside the purview of religious organizations. The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has called it appalling and horrific.
HB 1523 would seemingly protect foster or adoptive parents who subject their children to dangerous conversion therapy based on the idea that they wish to raise a child based upon or in a manner consistent with a sincerely held religious belief. Like 45 other states, Mississippi does not prohibit the practice of dangerous and debunked conversion therapy techniques on minors. HB 1523, then, would only embolden parents who seek to invalidate the identity of their gay or transgender children.
Unlike the North Carolina bill, the Mississippi law does not explicitly restrict transgender peoples use of public accommodations but it does grant business, employers, and schools immunity from state action if they wish to establish sex-specific standards for their intimate facilities. This would mean that transgender peoples right to use the bathroom in the state could legally vary by employer, by school, and even by building.
The bill bars any state punishment for physicians and therapists who decline to provide transgender health care. In theory, this provision could make transgender health care even less accessible than it is at present. A recent survey of endocrinologists found that a third are unwilling to offer hormone replacement therapy for transgender patients despite the existence of Endocrine Society guidelines and clear standards of care from the World Professional Association of Transgender Health (WPATH).
If it becomes law, HB 1523 would also allow fertility clinics to deny services such as in vitro fertilization (IVF) to same-sex couples based on a sincerely held religious belief.
Finally, the bill would permit marriage clerks, judges, and magistrates to recuse themselves from providing marriage licenses to same-sex couples or solemnizing their weddings. In effect, the bill specifies that these government employees cannot be penalized by the state for refusing to do their jobs.
Not only is this bill mean-spirited, it is completely unnecessary to legalize anti-LGBT discrimination in Mississippi. Anti-LGBT discrimination is already legal in Mississippi.
The statewide non-discrimination law does not include sexual orientation or gender identity and neither does its hate crime legislation. Mississippi was the last state in the country to prohibit adoption by same-sex couples, only ending enforcement of its ban when a federal judge ruled it unconstitutional this Thursday.
In 2014, Mississippi passed a Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), which allows any organization or individual to sue over state laws that they perceive as attacks on their religious beliefs. This means that even if Mississippi were to pass legislation protecting LGBT people, it would almost certainly trigger a wave of litigation.
LGBT advocates are rallying against the bill but recent history in conservative states suggests that economic pressure would help persuade Governor Bryant to withhold his signature.
Indiana Governor Mike Pence signed an amended version of his states RFRA last April after businesses objected to the original law. Georgia Governor Nathan Deal vetoed his states anti-LGBT religious freedom bill earlier this week after substantial pressure from the NFL, the film industry, and other private interests. And since signing the North Carolina anti-LGBT law, over 90 CEOs and business leaders have called for Governor Pat McCrory and the state legislature to repeal the discriminatory legislation.
Whether such tactics would work on Governor Bryant remains to be seen. Business Insider recently ranked the Mississippi economy 46th in the country based on its high unemployment and lowest-in-the-country GDP per capita. Retaliation from the business world could severely impact an already struggling state.
As HRC President Chad Griffin said, Mississippi's economy and its reputation hang in the balance.
Long before Donald Trump and the National Enquirer forged a political alliance, the supermarket tabloid was busy telling the world stories about Trumps inability to keep his mistress to himself.
Last week, Trump publicly defended the paper, going to bat for its reputation after the Enquirer published a wannabe-blockbuster on Ted Cruz supposedly cheating on his wife.
Evidence for the allegations was scant. But that didnt stop Trump from telling everyone about the article. The National Enquirer did a story, the Republican frontrunner said on Sunday, insisting he had nothing to do with planting it, but refusing to condemn it. It was their story. It wasnt my story. It was about Ted Cruz. I have no idea whether it was right or not. They actually have a very good record of being right.
Its an odd thing to say, given how often the Enquirer published thinly sourced stories about Trumps own sex life, particularly ones about him getting cuckolded or two-timed.
TRUMP'S MISTRESS CHEATS ON DONALD WITH TOM CRUISE, a cover story, dated March 27, 1990, alleged, promising sizzling details inside. (Another issue from that same month declared that TRUMP MISTRESS IS PREGNANT, leading to Ivana Trumps heartbreak.)
The mistress in question was Marla Maples, who later became Trumps second wife.
The Enquirer followed their relationship for years, running investigative pieces like April 1994s Marla Takes Baby to Chiropractor to Stop Her Crying, which featured a picture of the couple with their bundled infant. The coverage got so invasive that the tabloid had to fight a lawsuit filed by Mapless father, Stan, who sought $12 million for defamation in 1990.
The Enquirer editors and reporters stayed on the Trump-fornication beat all through that year.
Caught! Trump & His Mistress, the tabloid reported in its May 1990 WORLD EXCLUSIVE that featured amazing photos that could cost [Trump] $billions.
In October 1991, the publication ran a headline that read Marla ruined my life, and said it would explain how Trump dumped his wife-to-be. (The couple later married in 1993). He was also reportedly near some sort of breakdown around this time, as reported in a June 1990 issue. The Enquirer alleged then that former president Richard Nixon (who Trump now has a habit of channeling on the campaign trail) had some sort of plan to save him from this downfall.
And as America entered the mid-90s, there was yet more alleged Trump cuckoldry to unveil.
Shock for Trump! read a cover story dated May 7, 1996. MARLA CAUGHT WITH HUNK when cops interrupt late night beach frolic.
This article is slightly less declarative than some of the other exclusives. The piece only strongly implies that the HUNK in question was carrying on an affair with Maples, who by then was married to Trump.
Donald Trumps wife Marla Maples was caught on a deserted South Florida beach at 4 a.m. with a young muscled hunk while her husband was out of town, the piece begins. The couple was discovered together by a stunned police officer who instantly recognized the blonde beauty. A rumpled and sandy Marla pleaded with the officer not to report the incident as her red-faced and nervous companion shuffled his feet.
Ivana will be laughing her head off, said a source familiar with the situation, the article continues.
The Enquirer identified the young man as one of Trumps Secret Service-style bodyguards, who formerly had a reputation as being the womanizing czar of spring break.
The 1996 article also makes note of Trumps presidential ambitions, stating that he was considered by some to be prime material for a run at the presidency.
The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment regarding whether this coverage was as good or reliable as the rest of the Enquirers output.
But its remarkable what a difference a quarter of a century makes: The Enquirer once gleefully reported on rumors they believed might cost The Donald a huge share of his fortune in divorce proceedings. Today, the supermarket tabloidmuch like political website Breitbart and many in cable newsis just another unit in Trumps public-relations apparatus.
The shift in the Enquirers treatment of Trump might have something to do with the real-estate moguls ability to keep friends in high places.
David Peckerwho has been the publisher of the supermarket tabloid since 1999is reportedly close friends with The Donald, and the Enquirer has routinely targeted Trumps political foes. In 2005, Trump defended his buddy, when the publication ran images of actress Cameron Diaz allegedly cheating on her then-boyfriend Justin Timberlake, prompting a threat of a lawsuit from Diazs lawyer. When they print something, its right on the button, Trump told the Daily News at the time. Cameron, one last word of advice. You may just want to avoid hugging strange men in the bushes. In 2006, a New York Post story briefly referenced that Pecker allegedly had no interest in digging for dirt on Trump.
The Republican frontrunner has also written op-eds for the publication, and has offered them exclusive interview series throughout the 2016 campaign.
Trump is a big friend of Pecker, an anonymous source told the Daily News in August, claiming that the billionaire reality TV star is now protected by the Enquirer. So no John Edwards-type investigations Some of the staff are furious. Trumps such fertile ground, and it drives them crazy to not only be staying away from it, but running puff pieces for him.
The only other presidential candidate who has earned as much truly scandalizing Enquirer coverage as a younger Trump isnot Edwards, not Jesse Jackson, not Bob DoleBill Clinton, Trumps former pal, whose libido Trump once defended and whose taste in women Trump has viciously mocked.
These people are just, I dont know, where [Clinton] met them, where he found themPaula Jones, Lewinsky, its just a really unattractive group, Trump told Fox in 1998. Im not just talking about physicalI think at least [the scandal] would be more pleasant to watch if they were like supermodels.
Trump doesnt actually need tabloid journalism to get the tawdrier details of his love life into the mainstream press. He has spent decades publicly talking about his lovers and his womanizing ways (this doesnt even include the time he talked about his penis size during a televised presidential debate), and has even suggested that such qualities would make him a good president.
The hypocrites argue that a man who loves and appreciates beautiful women and does so legally and openly shouldnt become a national leader, Trump wrote in a piece for the March 2000 issue of Gear magazine. Is there something wrong with appreciating beautiful women? Dont we want people in public office who show signs of life? I am what I am, and I make no bones about it.
According to a past incarnation of the National Enquirer, Trumps signs of life werent a qualification for public officethey were pure, juicy, money-making fodder.
BATON ROUGE, Louisiana Noahs Ark has been found and rock circles prove God created the Earth.
Thats just some of the proof Democratic state Sen. John Milkovich offered up on Tuesday to support an unconstitutional law that mandates teaching creationism in public school. (Full disclosure: I was sitting at the witness table for several earlier testimonies.) State Sen. Dan Claitor sponsored a bill to repeal one of Louisianas two creationism laws, the Balanced Treatment for Creation-Science and Evolution-Science Act, which was struck down by the Supreme Court in 1987. That hasnt stopped Louisiana lawmakers like Milkovich from supporting the ideas behind it.
Are you aware that there is an abundance of recent science that actually confirms the Genesis account of Creation? Milkovich asked Claitor during the Senate committee hearing on his law. The notion of instantaneous Creation has been validated by the scientific study of heliocentric circles in rocks.
If geology wasnt enough to sway Claitor, maybe archeology would.
Milkovich said explorers had validated the Biblical story of Creation by the archeological discovery of civilizations in the Mideast that seculars said did not exist. Milkovich claimed there is published research on the discovery of a ark or large boat on Mt. Ararat in Turkey, where Noahs Ark was said to have landed after The Flood, as proof of creationism. (No such evidence exists.)
Even if all this evidence were true, it wouldnt be enough to sway the Supreme Court, which holds that teaching creationism in public schools violates the FIrst Amendments doctrine of separation of church and state.
Milkovich has an answer for that though.
At one point it was constitutional for people to be owned, he said. Looking back on history, what the courts deemed to be constitutional or unconstitutional issomething that changes.
Then Milkovich went further, suggesting the Supreme Courts decision to remove creationism from classrooms was similar to upholding separate but equal discrimination in 1896s Plessy v. Ferguson (overturned by 1954s Brown v. Board of Education).
He also said taking God out of schools and teaching children that humans are evolved from gorillas leads to immoral behavior like premarital sex.
(Claitors bill failed by a 4-2 vote in Louisianas Senate Education Committee.)
Milkovich is just the latest in a long line of crazy Louisiana politicians. Former state Sen. Elbert Guillory voiced support for creationism based off an experience he had with a shoeless, bone shaking, semi-clothed witch doctor.
Another committee member, Sen. Mike Walsworth, who also voted against Claitors bill on Tuesday, has made a name for himself opposing evolution. During a 2012 education committee hearing, Walsworth demanded evolution supporters provide him with an experiment that proved evolution. When a local science teacher began to explain an experiment run by University of Michigan professor Richard Lenski, who froze thousands of generations of E. Coli bacteria to analyze how they changed and evolved, Walsworth asked:
They evolve into a person?
Even if Claitor had succeeded in passing his bill, it wouldnt change the fact that another Louisiana law, the Louisiana Science Education Act, allows teachers to supplement their biology curriculum with materials that critique evolution.
The Daily Beast has already covered emails that show that this law is being used by some teachers to teach creationism. According to one email I obtained from the Bossier Parish School District, in north Louisiana, students are learning the Creation point of view by reading the Book of Genesis and being given supplemental material debunking various aspects of evolution.
In his final plea for the bill, Claitor pointed out that the state already had one creationism law, and creationists didnt need to keep a second unconstitutional one on the books.
But, for Louisianas politicians, two laws are better than onejust like the animals Noah brought on his ark.
The former attorney general of Great Britain has been representing the lawyer for an alleged Russian crime family, The Daily Beast has learned, based on a tranche of email correspondence leaked online.
Lord Peter Goldsmith, who served for six years under Tony Blairs premiership and is now a senior partner at the London office of U.S. law firm Debevoise & Plimpton, was retained in March 2014 by Andrey Pavlov to act as legal advisor. Pavlov for years acted as legal counsel for Russian crime boss Dmitry Klyuev; he was also directly implicated by whistleblower Sergei Magnitsky as being an accomplice in the theft of public Russian money. Pavlov has denied all these accusations.
Goldsmithwho provided the Blair government with the legal justification for Britains participation in the 2003 Iraq Warwas tasked with helping Pavlov evade possible sanction by the European Parliament for being complicit in Magnitskys death in prison, and for the subsequent judicial cover-up and for the ongoing and continuing harassment of his mother and widow, as the text for the European parliamentary resolution stated.
Magnitsky, himself a Russian tax attorney, was found dead after being beaten by eight guards while in pretrial detention in Moscows Mastrosskaya Tishina prison in 2009, as Russias Presidential Human Rights Council found. Anti-corruption crusaders, backed by evidence compiled by Hermitage Capital, Magnitskys client, argue that the slain lawyer was framed for uncovering a series of tax frauds, collectively equaling almost $1 billion. The alleged fraud was perpetrated by Pavlovs employer, the Klyuev Group, which Sen. John McCain has called a dangerous transnational criminal organization (PDF) that has colluded with senior Russian officials to engage in bribery, fraud, embezzlement, company thefts, and other serious financial crimes. (Full disclosure: I am an uncompensated member of the advisory board of the Justice for Sergei Magnitsky Inter-Parliamentary Group.)
According to the leaked emails, Pavlov sought, in retaining Goldsmith and Debevoise, to stave off any EU sanctions list and also to respond directly to allegations made against him by William Browder, the CEO of Hermitage Capital. Browder, relying on evidence uncovered by Magnitsky, accused Pavlov of being consigliere to the organized crime syndicate responsible for raiding Hermitage Capitals offices, stealing three of its subsidiary companies, and perpetrating a $230 million tax fraud. Magnitsky was then arrested for tax evasion.
Email documents show that Debevoise arranged to contract Crosby Textor, a campaign strategy firm, to verify Browders claims and isolate those made against Pavlov, and to conduct in-depth interview(s) with [Pavlov] including asking [him] the difficult questions. In the event that the European Parliament passed a resolution naming Pavlov as a co-conspirator in Magnitskys plight, then Debevoise would represent him across all bodies of the EU governing apparatus, according to the emails.
A resolution was indeed passed in April 2014, a month after Pavlov hired Debevoise, recommending that the EU Council issue targeted sanctions against 32 members of the Klyuev Group, including Pavlov. To date, however, the Council has not made good on the parliaments recommendationsno sanctions have been issued against Pavlov or anyone else on the so-called Magnitsky List.
Goldsmiths hourly rate, according to the engagement letter he signed on behalf of Debevoise, is 960, ($1,400). Other lead counsel, Matthew Getz and Robin Loof, would get 670 ($936) and 470 ($675), respectively. Pavlov also paid the firm a retainer of 75,000 ($108,000).
In 2010 Goldsmith testified before a British inquiry that he had initially counseled the government to seek a new UN Security Council resolution authorizing military action against Saddam Husseins regime before changing his mind and deciding that UN resolution 1441, from 1991, was sufficient grounds. He strenuously denied that his volte-face owed to political pressure.
Goldsmith was unavailable for comment on this story. A media spokesman from Debevoise did not respond to The Daily Beasts request for an interview by time of publication.
The Magnitsky affair, an elaborate and extensively reported tax refund fraud, initially involved the theft, in 2007, of three subsidiary companies owned by Hermitage Fund and tasked with trading Russian energy securities. The companies were Rilend, Makhaon, and Parfenion, and they were stolen, according to evidence uncovered by Magnitsky, with the involvement of officers of Russias Interior Ministry. These officers, Major Pavel Karpov and Lt. Col. Artem Kuznetsov, had ties to Klyuev, a onetime petty crook who then recruited the very men assigned to investigate him for prior financial crimes.
Klyuev had been arrested in 1998 for beating a man he discovered exiting from his then-girlfriends apartment. Magnitsky found Russian court records showing that Klyuev had spent the early 2000s working for an investment bank and former officers in the KGB to concoct elaborate tax refunds using court judgments.
Pavlov appeared to act as consigliere to this alleged mafia, which also included officials from two Moscow tax bureaus. According to Magnitsky, Pavlovs role was contriving civil lawsuits by third parties (controlled by Klyuevs accomplices) seeking damages for purportedly breached business deals. Documentary evidence does establish that Pavlov represented parties on both sides in these interlinked lawsuits. In swift legal proceedings, sometimes lasting a mere five minutes, judges would rubber-stamp the awards asked for in full, making the defendant companies legally eligible for tax refunds based on these incurred on-paper losses.
In 2004, Klyuev was accused of trying to steal shares from a Russian iron ore company called Mikhailovsky GOK, worth $1.6 billion, through collusive lawsuits based on forged documents. Major Karpov had investigated this case, but then went to work for the chief suspect anyway. Karpov and his chief suspect Klyuev even vacationed in Larnaca, Cyprus. The man whom Karpov and his colleague ultimately identified as the mastermind behind the conspiracy was Klyuevs personal driver, who subsequently turned up deadthe official cause was heart failure. The Mikhailovsky GOK case ended with Klyuev receiving a suspended sentence while the CEO and chief accountant of Universal Savings Banka Moscow bank Klyuev ownedwere imprisoned. Records show that Karpov also traveled extensively with Pavlov, to London, Larnaca, Istanbul, and Madrid, between 2007 and 2009 despite Karpovs modest policemans salary.
Klyuev denies that Pavlov was ever his attorney, saying in an interview with Vedomosti newspaper in July 2012, I turned to him for complicated matters, and he worked jointly with me for my clients. Nevertheless, Pavlov was seen accompanying Klyuev to a meeting of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly in Monaco that same month.
Hermitage Fund was the actual owner of Rilend, Makhaon, and Parfenion, all three of which were misappropriated and re-registered in the name of a company owned by Viktor Markelov, a man convicted previously for manslaughter and described subsequently in the sentencing verdict as a sawmill worker. Hermitage says that it had no idea that its properties were involved in any litigation, much less that exorbitant judgments had been levied against them. No money from Hermitage was ever stolen apart from remaining account balances. The resulting court rulings were used to justify fraudulent refunds, which totaled $230 million. This is why the Magnitsky affair has become one of the most notorious financial scandal in Putinist Russiabecause every taxpayer is a victim.
Publicly available Russian court and legal documents seen by The Daily Beast establish that Pavlov was involved either directly or indirectly in four separate court cases related to the Hermitage Capital subsidiaries, representing either the plaintiff or defendant. In one extraordinary circumstance, Pavlov virtually represented both at the same time.
In July 2007, a company called Logos Plus sued Rilend in the Arbitration Court of St. Petersburg, claiming that Rilend had not supplied securities in Gazprom, Russias state-owned gas giant, as per a 2005 contract the two parties had signed. The contract, in fact, was a back-dated forgery because in 2005 Hermitage was still in legal possession of Rilend and had never entered into any such transaction.
The original claim sought by Logos Plus, citing a contract cancellation fee, was $152,000. Pavlov openly defended Rilend, although only in a very lax definition of the word because he consented to an increase in damages his own client would have to pay to a whopping $325 million. Logos Plus was awarded that full amount on Sept. 3, 2007.
Remarkably, Pavlov appears to have instructed the other side, too. Anton Turukhin, the lawyer for Logos Plus, later testified to Russias FBI-like Investigative Committee after Magnitsky exposed the sham:
I got acquainted with A. Pavlov in Moscow in 2006. On his request I represented the interests of Logos Plus in the court hearing at the St. Petersburg Arbitration Court. On August 27, 2007, A. Pavlov explained to me that it was necessary to go with him to the court for participation in the hearing as Plaintiff, while he would be representing the interests of the Defendant. At the meeting with A. Pavlov prior to the hearing, he gave me the lawsuit and Power of Attorney where I wrote down my details in the Power of Attorney. He then explained to me that these organizations: Logos Plus and Rilend had the same owner and doing this was necessary to improve they financial ratios and balance sheets. He also explained that I would be required to read out loud the lawsuit and that all of the explanations and the answers retired to be given to the judge would be provided by Pavlov himself.
That same monthJuly 2007Logos Plus brought a second case in St. Petersburg against a third Hermitage subsidiary, Makhaon. This time, Pavlovs wife and law partner, Yulia Mayorova, represented Makhaon, the defendant. Logos Plus again initially sought six-figure damages ($128,000) before ratcheting up its claim to $73 million. Pavlovs wife agreed on Makhaons behalf to the new figure without protest. The court awarded it on Sept. 3, 2007. The entire hearing lasted all of five minutes.
Kirill Yakovlev, the other lawyer representing Logos Plus, testified to the Investigative Committee that Pavlov had actually financed the purchase of the company from its prior ownerit was even his idea for Yakovlev to buy Logos Plus. Earlier in 2007, Yakovlev said, Pavlov approached me with the request to find for him a company that was ready for sale without any liabilities. He did not explain his reasons for the request. Executing Pavlovs request I approached my university friend Osman Adel Ali, knowing that he has a law firm Logos and that he is dealing with the registration of legal entities. Osman Adel Ali said to me that he just has a company that he is ready to sell. It was named Logos Plus. I informed Pavlov about it.
Some time later Pavlov gave me the details of a new General Director, I cant recall his name now, which I handed over to Osman Adel Ali. I paid the purchase monies for the company to Osman. Either Pavlov gave me the purchase monies or I paid them myself and he reimbursed later on, but I cannot now remember which.
Even Pavlov admitted, on the record to Investigative Committee investigator Stanislav Gordievsky, that he didnt know much about his own client or the transaction over which the latter was being taken to court. How can you explain the fact that Logos Plus was purchased in the summer of 2007? Gordievsky asked Pavlov in March 2008, according to Investigative Committee documents also leaked online and seen by The Daily Beast, and filed claims soon thereafter on behalf of this company against Parfenion, Makhaon and Rilend, based on existing contracts that had been concluded much earlier? Pavlovs response was: I didnt have an opportunity to read in detail the documents.
In a separate case, this one filed in arbitration court in Tatarstan, a company called Grand Activ sued Parfenion, another Hermitage subsidiary purloined by the Klyuev Group. The entire case was a replica of the Rilend onea Gazprom securities transaction gone badonly this time Pavlov represented the plaintiff. The legal documents, including the back-dated forged contracts, were also identical but for the names of the parties, dates, and ruble amounts. They were signed for Grand Aktiv by A. Sheshenya, even though according to Russian state registry of companies, he became director of Grand Activ only in 2007, i.e. two years after the date of the purported contract. The escalation of the claim also followed the Rilend script: Grand Activ first sought $294,000 from Parfenion. Then, again with the consent of both plaintiff and defendant, the figure was wildly inflated to $573 million. On Nov. 13, 2007, the Tatarstan court awarded it in full to Grand Activ.
Yulia Mayorova took part in a second lawsuit, this one filed by G.N. Plaksin, the general director of a company called Instar, which charged that Rilend had failed to satisfy another Gazprom securities transaction in 2005. (Plaksin is also the nominal owner and chairman of the board of Universal Savings Bank, Klyuevs bank, which Magnitsky believed housed a large portion of the $230 million tax refund. The bank was liquidated in 2008.)
Mayorova represented Rilend in this case, tried in the Arbitration Court of Moscow in October 2007. The court awarded Instar $325 million in a verdict that once again noted that the defense didnt put up a fight: The defendant appeared in the judicial session, he did not present his opinion, and he did not in essence present an objection to the demands of the statement of claim.
Hermitage Capital CEO William Browder has waged an extensive international campaign to clear his former attorneys name and bring those responsible for his arrest and death to justice, the details of which are told in his bestselling memoir Red Notice. He has successfully lobbied U.S. Congress into passing the Magnitsky Act, which annually sanctions the alleged conspirators in the $230 million tax fraud and cover-up; and is now attempting to do likewise in Europe at both the state and EU levels. Weve been fighting legal nihilism inside of Russia for many years, Browder emailed The Daily Beast in reaction to the revelation that Debevoise was representing Pavlov. Now the Russians are trying to export these practices to the West. It doesnt help that theyre finding western enablers who are willing to lend their good names.
In 2013, a Russian court convicted Magnitsky posthumously of the $230 million tax fraud in a ruling Amnesty International deemed Kafkaesque and deeply sinister. It also sentenced Browder, who was also tried in absentia on charges of tax evasion, to nine years in prison. The American-born Browder is a British citizen and lives in London. He has beaten numerous Kremlin attempts to have him extradited to Russia.
The first line of defense for establishment Republicans hoping to keep Donald Trump from carrying their partys banner this fall is to prevent him from winning the delegates in the remaining primaries this spring.
If that fails, the next plan is to deny him a win at the GOP convention in Cleveland by peeling away pledged delegates on the second or third round of balloting.
And if that fails, a group of Republicans are readying a nuclear option: running a third-party alternative in just a handful of critical swing states in order to block both Trump and likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton from gaining the necessary 270 electoral votes required to claim the White House.
In such instances, according to the 12th Amendment to the Constitution, the choosing of the next president would then fall to the House of Representatives. In the House, each state casts one vote, and considering the current Republican majority in that chamber, would give the election to this newly created third-party ticket.
Among the dozen or so Republican operatives and donors who have been strategizing about putting this plan into action, the 12th Amendment Operation has several advantages over plans to deny Trump the nomination at the GOP convention in July. Even if Trump fails to garner the 1,237 delegates needed to win before Clevelandas seems likelyRepublicans fear a massive backlash if Trump is close to achieving the delegate threshold, as also seems likely.
Although many Republicans worry that Trump on top of the ticket would lead to a wave of electoral defeatsnot just for the presidency but for down-ballot Senate, House and gubernatorial racesthere is also an acknowledgement among the Republican establishment that Trump has energized a portion of the electorate that does not often turn out in GOP primaries. And anything seen as stealing the nomination from the delegate-leader at the convention is likely to backfire.
A third-party spoiler candidacy however would not be officially sanctioned by the Republican Party, and so supporters of the plan believe it would be a chance to put a conservative Trump alternative into the White House without permanently turning off new, Trump-energized voters.
Unlike other plans to hatch a third-party campaign, which involve gathering millions of signatures to achieve 50-state ballot access as Ross Perot did in 1992, or somehow taking over an existing party, like the Libertarian Party, this 12th Amendment Operation would be relatively straightforward.
Taking as a baseline that Donald Trump is likely to win anywhere from 140 to 191 electoral votes based on his strength in the South, the upper plains and parts of the Mountain West, organizers would focus on just handful of states needed to deny Clinton 270 electoral votes. Targeting just a couple of large, electoral vote-rich statessuch as, say, Texas and Florida, or Ohio and Virginia along with a handful of smaller states like Maine, New Hampshire or Nevada, would allow organizers to avoid wasting money on costly ballot access in the rest of the nation, and would permit a campaign to target all of their resources and campaign energy in just a few places.
The most immediate task for organizers is to settle on a candidate. The current plans call for a bipartisan ticket featuring a Republican elder statesman as the presidential candidate and anti-Clinton Democrat as the vice-presidential nominee. Jim Webb, the Republican turned Democratic senator who briefly ran for president last year, has been mentioned as one down-ticket possibility, under the theory that Webb could help exploit Clintons lack of popularity among white voters and possibly help deliver Pennsylvania or Virginia. For the top of the ticket, among the names being discussed are Tom Coburn, the former Oklahoma senator seen as a senior statesman among GOP faithful, and someone who has expressed an interest in taking part in a Stop Trump effort; former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice; and James Mattis, a retired Marine general.
We realize that this is not how we would have preferred this election season to go, but there is an acknowledgment that we are living in a period without real historical precedent, said Rick Wilson, a longtime Florida-based GOP consultant whoafter helping run a pro-Marco Rubio SuperPAChas emerged as one of the leaders of the Stop Trump movement and has been helping in the 12th Amendment Operation planning.
Trump would be box office poison for Republicans and may destroy the party for the forseeable future. There is a growing anxiety and a sense that something has to be done.
Wilson declined to name who else was working on this effort, though he did say that it was around 12-15 people in the Republican firmamentconsultants, elected officials and donors.
Joel Searby, of the political polling firm Data Targeting, is also said to be spearheading the effort according to another Republican operative unaffiliated with the group.
However, among the diverse array of Republican forces aligned to halt Trump, there was some skepticism that sending the election to the House would save the country from the prospect of a Trump presidency.
It sounds incredibly complicated. Anytime you get Congress involved you never know what is going to happen, said Liz Mair, a well-connected GOP operative running a Stop Trump PAC that is focused on denying him delegates at the convention, and failing that, running a 50-state write-in campaign. If the Republican Party doesnt have the balls to deny Trump the nomination, they arent going to have the balls to do this. Look, Id vote for a piece of dried dog turd before Id vote for Trump or Hillary, but this sounds like the last, last, last, last, last, last resort.
Only once before in American history has the House of Representatives chosen the president. In 1824, despite winning the most electoral votes, Andrew Jackson failed to win a majority in a four-way race. Members of Congress selected John Quincy Adams instead, in what came to be known as The Corrupt Bargain.
JUBA, South Sudan The headlines about United Nations peacekeepers in the Central African Republic, the strife-torn neighbor here in the violent heart of the continent, are nothing short of grotesque. There are scores of allegations of child rape, including charges by one advocacy group claiming that a soldier paid four young girls to have sex with a dog.
Investigations are now under way, and as happens often in cases of alleged peacekeeper abuse, and there are many69 last year alone in the CARthe process will be long and justice dubious.
But such tales of crime by individual soldiers may actually serve to obscure the greater problem, which is the persistent failure of troops dispatched by the United Nations to perform their fundamental function: helping to reestablish order in war-torn environments where, in fact, a certain amount of force is needed to impose peace as well as to sustain it.
Now, more than 20 years after the UNs failure to stop the genocide in Rwanda and ethnic cleansing in the Balkans, we are looking once again at the prospect of massive bloodshed that the peacekeepers appear both unable and unwilling to stop.
Events in South Sudan last month offer a ready example.
Around 6 p.m. on Feb. 17, South Sudanese government soldiers began to gather outside the United Nations-protected camp in Malakal, South Sudan.
The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) could not have had more time to prepare for what was about to happen.
In September, UNMISS conducted a training exercise in Malakal that imagined security forces responding to an inter-communal conflict within the Protection of Civilians (PoC) camp that could not be initially contained.
On Feb. 8, humanitarian activists warned the head of the UN mission in Malakal that there was increased tensions between the main tribal groupsthe Dinka, Nuer, and Shilluk. A conflict of that magnitude, they said, usually ended in violence.
On the morning of Feb. 17, according to two sources who spoke on condition they not be named, leaders within the PoC warned UN leadership in Malakal that there were signs of an imminent attack.
But that same night, the Malakal camp became the scene of a wild gunfight, ethnic violence, and arson that lasted around 22 hours as South Sudanese government soldiers gathered outside the base. Dozens of people were killed.
Internal United Nations documents obtained by The Daily Beast and interviews with UN officials reveal the extent to which the organizationtasked with protecting civilians and helping to implement peacehas fallen short of its objectives, and not only here.
We have collectively failed the people of South Sudan, Jose Ramos-Horta, chair of the High-Level Panel on UN Peace Operations, wrote last June (PDF). Despite the courageous efforts of some, we have as an international community fallen short, and continue to fall short, in Burundi, Iraq, Libya, Palestine, Syria, Yemen and Ukraine, among other places.
At Malakal, an internal UN timeline shows that 30 minutes after South Sudanese government troops were first spotted outside the PoC, ethnic clashes erupted. The government soldiers, known as the SPLA, began to fire at the PoC, and the peacekeepers did little in response. As the gunfire continued into Thursday morning, peacekeepers from Rwanda abandoned their posts during a confrontation with SPLA troops at a nearby airport. When UN peacekeepers were ordered to use force to protect civilians, some UNMISS troops protested, according to UNMISS military officials.
At least 40 people died in the fighting, and around 15,000 people have been displaced after half the camp was burned to ashes.
UNMISS have been very prepared for the sort of garden variety tribal violence that we see is part of migration or cattle rustling, said Cameron Hudson, director of the Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide. But what has really thrown them for a loop is anticipating political violence that has erupted from the last two years with the SPLA, or aligned groups, as the aggressor. If the South Sudanese government want UNMISS to go, they can kick them out at any time.
As the United Nations and other organizations have begun to conduct investigations into the Malakal attack, UNMISS looks like a shell of the organization that the South Sudanese expect it to be. Many say the mission in South Sudan lacks the resources, troops, and gumption to carry out its mandate.
Such deficiencies have plagued UN peacekeeping missions for decades and around the worldbyproducts of a bloated bureaucracy that asks countries to contribute to conflicts they are not fully invested in.
We know the lessons learned, and they have been as clear as day for a long time, says Michael Barnett, a professor at George Washington University in D.C. I dont think they are real complicated, but the UN hasnt incorporated these lessons. The principle reason is that states dont have an interest in doing so.
Many officials within the United Nations have been critical of the quality of peacekeepers they have been provided, but say its their only option. In each mission, countries pledge their own troops. Since the failed peacekeeping missions in Bosnia and Rwanda, Western nations have been reluctant to contribute troops the United States only contributes about 80 peacekeepers worldwide, although that number is expected to double.
Instead, most of the UNs peacekeepers around the world come from Bangladesh (8,496), India (7,798), China (3,045), and several African countries. Little Rwanda, where peacekeeping failed so dismally, contributes 6,077 peacekeepers, according to UNs numbers.
UN officials say privately that troops from many developing nations are not as well trained as those in the West, nor are they willing to risk their lives to protect civilians. But there are no guarantees Europeans would do better, as the world saw when the Dutch blue helmets surrendered Srebrenica to war criminals in Bosnia in 1995, and thousands of people they were supposed to have protected were massacred.
The attitude on the ground today in Sudan, says one UNMISS military officer, is, I know that the UN isnt going to come and help me, Im losing a shitload of money if I have to go home, and Im not doing it for my own country. So theres a huge reluctance to risk life and limb to protect civilians.
UNMISS officials have defended the actions of their peacekeepers in Malakal, saying they were put into an impossible situation where they would have been firing on soldiers from the South Sudanese government. But, again, this sort of dilemma has become commonplace.
"Peacekeepers are not war-fighters, its not what we do, says Nick Birnback, head of public affairs at United Nations Peacekeeping in New York. We are an expression of political will that can help a fragile peace take hold, but we dont fight and win wars.
If you look at many of our large missions, particularly Mali and Somalia, he said, we are being directly targeted by a variety of groups at a level that is unprecedented in the history of peacekeeping. In Mali alone, since last September our mission gets attacked on average of about once in every 5.5 days.
As UN peacekeepers have been deployed to more civil wars and intra-state conflicts like Mali, Darfur, and South Sudan, they have found themselves increasingly targeted by troops from the host government, and are confronted by the deadly paradox that if they resist, the may simply be ordered out of the country.
UN officials and diplomats in Juba say that their mission has been deliberately undermined by the South Sudanese government from the start of the countrys civil war, which began in December 2013. But if the South Sudanese kicked the mission out altogether, they fear, millions of civilians would lose access to essential services and be unprotected.
The result can be the kind of impotence we witnessed at Malakal.
Its always for a good reason, Louise Arbour, a former United Nations high commissioner for human rights, told Foreign Policy. Its always not to aggravate the government or make sure they can stay in the game as long as possible. Thats exactly why its so important to look at the facts and start asking, Are we getting to a point where we are almost complicit with the government in our desire to maintain the delivery of services?
Here, many argue that the UN should also take a tougher approach with the government of South Sudan.
We have long urged more frequent UNMISS human-rights reporting, said Jehanne Henry, a senior researcher in Human Rights Watchs Africa division. Regular, public reporting on human-rights issues could help hold perpetrators to account.
International and humanitarian organizations are frustrated when their vehicles are denied access to certain areas. They say that they are stopped for no reason and the United Nations doesnt do all it can to defend the mission. UNMISS refuses to report publicly that its denied freedom of movement from either the government or the opposition, even though the UN collects the information, according to its spokesperson.
There is this mentality among the senior leadership at UNMISS that you do not embarrass the SPLA, said a UN official who asked to speak on the condition of anonymity. You always roll out ambivalent statements that dont directly attribute anything. UNMISS has become so placid and so beaten down that it self-censors, that it writes its own reports as if its the government. They kind of see themselves as maintaining some completely fictitious relationship that just genuinely doesnt exist.
Since the attack on the Malakal PoC, many have questioned the role of the governor of Eastern Nile State, Gen. Chol Thon. Diplomats told The Daily Beast they strongly suspect Thon bears at least partial responsibility for the Malakal PoC attack. And UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has said the massacre there could be a war crime. Yet when the head of UNMISS, Ellen Margrethe Lj, met with Thon, she was decidedly less confrontational. She paid a courtesy call to the man many believe is responsible for destroying her base.
The operative assumption that the presence of UN peacekeepers is better than nothing in South Sudan, in the Central African Republic, and other war-torn countries is still in place. But for those who hope for protection, and find instead abuse, or abandonment in moments of great danger, better than nothing is a phrase with a bitter, brutal ring to it.
A jam-packed slate of events in Brazos Valley promises something for everyone this weekend.
Theres food, theres history, theres art, and there are a handful of family festivals as well. To learn more about both newer events and long-established ones like First Friday in Downtown Bryan and Dining in the Dark, check out a complete list on the online Events Calendar.
A Texas A&M Recreation Park and Tourism Sciences class is hosting the second annual Kite Fest from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday at Wolf Pen Creek Park Festival Field. The event, which benefits Still Creek Ranch, will have kite-flying, games, face painting, bounce houses, prizes and more for free to the community. Still Creek Ranch rescues children from crisis environments and places them in family-style home environments.
Two local groups will offer different takes on Hamlet this weekend. At 7 p.m. Friday, Hidden Room Theatre will present Der Bestrafte Brudermord, a humorous retelling of Hamlet starring puppets, intended for audiences 13 and older. The event is free and is in the Amity Building, 300 W. 26th St. in Bryan. At 8 p.m. Saturday, Austins award-winning Present Company will perform an innovative, seven-person version of Hamlet based on the First Folio Text, also free and also at the Amity Building. For more information, visit lonestarfolio.tamu.edu/calendar/present-company-presents-shakespeares-hamlet/ .
Witness a World War II tank battle re-enactment featuring Sherman tanks and explore a wide range of living history exhibits from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Living History Weekend at the Museum of the American G.I., 19124 Highway 6 in College Station. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for kids, and children 5 and under are free. Sherman tank rides will also be available. For more information, visit Americangimuseum.org/events/living-history-weekend.
AggieCon 47 kicks off at noon on Friday at Brazos County Expo, 5827 Leonard Road in Bryan, and resumes Saturday at noon and Sunday at 10 a.m. The worlds largest student-run fan convention offers something for every persuasion science fiction, fantasy, anime, horror, gaming and many others and will feature panel discussions and an exhibit hall. Shuttles will run between Joe Routt Boulevard on Texas A&Ms campus and Brazos County Expo. Full Con badges are $25 for students and $40 for non-students, childrens badges (12 and under) are $15, a day badge on Friday or Saturday is $20, and a day badge on Sunday is $15. For more information, visit https://aggieconblog.wordpress.com .
Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Ted Jackson will share some of his most favorite photos and the stories of tragedy and triumph that accompany them in Ask Me if I Care at 7 p.m. Saturday in Rudder Theatre. Jacksons recounting of the stories behind the photos will serve as a reminder that we are truly our brothers keeper. The event is presented by Aggies for Christ. Tickets are $5 for students and $10 for non-students; all proceeds will be donated to International Justice Missions, which is an organization that works to free slaves. To purchase tickets, visit boxoffice.tamu.edu.
Southern Twist owner Frank Erhartic is going ahead with his plans to add dancing to the Ferrum restaurants offerings.
For several months, Erhartic has been seeking a dance hall permit from Franklin County. But, it turns out, he doesnt need one not if he refers to the location as a nightclub, rather than a dance hall.
Building official Andy Morris said a simple change in language means Erhartic can go ahead without obtaining a dance hall permit from the county.
Unlike a dance hall, a nightclub falls into the same use group of the building code as a restaurant, which means Erhartic doesnt need to make any changes or seek the countys approval to add a nightclub to the space, Morris said.
Restaurants and nightclubs are both classified as A-2 in the building code, or assembly uses intended for food and/or drink consumption. Dance halls, however, fall into group A-3, or assembly uses intended for worship, recreation or amusement.
And because the area doesnt have zoning, building code qualifications are the only ones Erhartic must meet, Morris said.
Twisted Night Club is slated to open Friday. Aside from the language, not much else about Erhartics plans has changed.
The nightclub still will be open to high school-age teens early in the evening, beginning at 6 p.m. and running to about 9 p.m., and then the 21-and-over crowd beginning at 10 p.m. There will be a break in between to ensure that the high school-age patrons have left the building at 8160 Franklin Street.
We wasted a lot of time and some money to try to go through the permit process but were excited to be able to open this thing up in April, Erhartic said. We think itll be a big hit.
The dance hall permit application was up for discussion at Franklin County Board of Supervisors meetings in January and February. Both times, supervisors raised concerns primarily about high school students accessing alcohol and declined to make a decision on the application until they had more information.
After working with an architect and the Virginia Department of Transportation, Erhartic realized there was a lot of work, much of it costly, involved in changing the use of the building from A-2 to A-3. After looking further into the building codes, Erhartic felt what he was looking to do didnt require a dance hall permit. The application was withdrawn at the March supervisors meeting.
I think a lot of the board members and the people around the county were concerned but were not really educated on what were trying to do, Erhartic said. So I think we would have had a hard time getting that permit.
Classifying the space as a nightclub rather than a dance hall didnt just eliminate the need for a permit; it also more accurately described what Erhartic was hoping to accomplish with the space.
He had been referring to the project as a dance hall because thats what the application seemed to tell him it was, Erhartic said, but he always viewed it as a nightclub.
That was our intent in the first place, was to open it as a nightclub, he said.
He said the goal is to create a safe space at the nightclub, for both high schoolers and older patrons.
The nightclub will have a separate entrance from the restaurant, and will also have security, Erhartic said.
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Gleaner staff
The Henderson Area Rapid Transit will be adding the Henderson County Fairgrounds to its stops from May 31-July 30.
The fairground stop, part of the HART Shopper Shuttle Route, was initiated due to the success of the Summer Reading Program and the Farmers Market both of which take place at the fairgrounds.
According to a news release from the Henderson County Parks and Programs Department, the fairground stop will occur on Tuesdays and Saturdays between May 31 and July 30 and have limited hours.
Officials said the bus will run hourly and make the first route from the Downtown exchange at 9:30 a.m.
However, people can access the shopper shuttle at any stop on the route with final pick-up being at 1:30 p.m. from the Henderson County Fairgrounds.
People can obtain tokens and maps at the Henderson Municipal Building or at Ohio Valley Bank, a news release said.
The cost to ride the bus is 50 cents for adults and 25 cents for children. Children under age 5 ride free, and each adult can ride with no more than three children.
Officials said clients of Audubon Area Community Services who need assistance with transportation can check with their local office for qualifying vouchers.
In addition, those WIC recipients can check with their local health department for information regarding vouchers for the Farmers Market.
This temporary shopper shuttle service to the fairgrounds has been made possible by the partnership of the Early Childhood Council, Henderson County Public Library, Henderson Fiscal Court, Henderson County Parks and Programs, Thelma B. Johnson Early Learning Center, Audubon Area Community Services, Farmer's Market, Henderson Family Court Services, Henderson County Fair Inc., Downtown Henderson Partnership, and Henderson Area Rapid Transit (HART) and the city of Henderson.
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.
DARIEN -- The American Association of University Women will host its annual Book Author Luncheon on Thursday, April 21, at 11:15 a.m. at the Woodway Country Club in Darien.
Authors Dorie Greenspan, Leslie Kerr and Heidi Pitlor will speak about and sign their books.
The event is open to the public and reservations are requested by April 8. Tickets at $65 are available by calling Dorcas Hills at (203) 966-6211 or sending a check made out to AAUWEF to 25 Shagbark Drive, New Canaan, 06840.
This luncheon benefits the Educational Opportunities Fund of AAUW, which provides more than $3.7 million in funding for more than 241 fellowships and grants to outstanding women.
Dorie Greenspan is the award-winning author of eleven cookbooks including The New York Times best sellers "Baking Chez Moi" and "Around My French Table." Her next book "Dorie's Cookies" will be published in October.
Greenspan has collaborated with many celebrated chefs including Julia Child and famous French pastry chef Pierre Herme.
Her accessible recipes and warm, personal writing style are evident in her "Everyday Dorie" newspaper column and online chat "Just Ask Dorie." She was included into the Who's Who of Food and Beverage in America and is a three-time James Beard Foundation award-winner.
Leslie Kerr's "Harriet Quimby: Flying Fair Lady" is the biography of one of the first women to fly. Harriet Quimby (1875-1912) was determined, beautiful, intelligent and forever seeking the next adventure when her life ended tragically at age 37.
A pioneer in aviation, photo-journalism, fashion design, script writing and advertising, Harriet's story has been long overdue.
Kerr, a former member of New Canaan AAUW, is a published writer, editor and educator. She teaches writing at Norwalk Community College for the Lifetime Learners Program and has led the "Resolved to Write" writing workshop at the Norwalk Public Library since January 2014.
She is the owner of LKB Associates, an editorial consulting firm in Westport.
Heidi Pitlor's novel "The Daylight Marriage" has been called fast-moving and heartbreaking. It is the story of a marriage that starts out as magical, but over the years becomes charged with resentments and unspoken desires.
After one explosive argument, the wife vanishes which leads to two complex mysteries: the whereabouts of a woman gone missing and the hidden depths of the human heart.
Pitlor, also author of "The Birthdays" is a former senior editor at Houghton Mifflin and the current annual series editor for "The Best American Short Stories." In 2015, she co-edited "100 Years of the Best American Short Stories."
AAUW's mission is to advance equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, philanthropy and research.
For more information, visit the website at newcanaan-ct.aauw.net.
To the editor:
As executive director of the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum in Norwalk, I am writing to encourage support for the important work and programs supported by Connecticut Humanities. Our state prides itself in being a major destination and a tourist attraction, and for a very good reason, among its jewels, Connecticut features many important historic sites such as the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion. The Connecticut Humanities has championed very effectively this concept and supports historic sites all across the state.
The state of Connecticut brands itself as Still Revolutionary. Connecticut Humanities supports that branding through its competitive re-granting program which funds exhibitions and programs that keep our history alive and help the State of Connecticut create jobs, enhance education and support our communities.
At the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum, we have been fortunate to have received CT Humanities funding for two recent exhibits. What is It? Technologies and Discoveries of the Victorian Era, which was a very successful exhibit for our museum and The Stairs Below, which is still ongoing and has drawn many thousands of visitors from all across the region. This exhibition highlights the Mansions original Servants Quarters, and explores themes such as immigration, social justice, economics, and the role of women in the 19th century, themes and issues that are still of great interest in todays society.
Sadly, like many historic sites, our museum is no stranger to financial neglect. 50 years ago, our great institution was nearly demolished. We must all remember that the struggle to exist and enhance our communities is not just part of our past, but also must be central to our future. To those of us in the trenches of maintaining and building better communities, it is indeed the CT Humanities that inspires us and gives us the means to continue that fight.
Susan Gilgore,
Norwalk
CAIRO The Hall County Sheriffs Department has identified the man killed in a two-vehicle accident this morning near Cairo as Arthur Klinkacek, 80, of rural Buffalo County outside Ravenna.
Klinkacek was driving a 2008 white Dodge SXT pickup, which collided with a semitrailer at the intersection of Airport Road and Highway 11, three miles south of Cairo. The pickup was eastbound on Airport Road and ran a stop sign, according to a press release from the Hall County Sheriffs Department.
The 2017 Peterbilt semitractor and trailer was being driven north on Highway 11 by Adolph Brandt, 53, of Phillips, according to the press release.
Klinkacek was pronounced dead at the scene. He was not wearing restraints at the time of the accident and was ejected from the vehicle, according to the press release.
Brandt was restrained and received minor injuries, the press release said. He was treated later at CHI Health St. Francis and released.
The accident is still under investigation.
Law enforcement was called to the scene at 8:34 a.m.
The semi was hauling corn mash from the Green Plains ethanol in plant in Wood River, Hall County Chief Deputy Chris Rea said. Some of the mash spilled onto Highway 11.
The semi wound up on its left side, pointing north, in the ditch. The pickup came to rest northwest of the intersection.
Grand Island paramedics responded to the accident, as well as the Hall County Sheriffs Department.
Highway 11 was closed for approximately five and a half hours while the contents of the trailer were removed and the roadway was cleaned. Nebraska Department of Roads assisted with the cleanup, and the Nebraska State Patrol assisted with traffic control at the scene.
The 2015 annual report for Berkshire Hathaway is now in the hands of the companys shareholders. Some of those shareholders will travel to Omaha in late April and early May to participate in the annual meeting, which last year attracted more than 40,000 people.
Again, people will have the opportunity to hear CEO Warren Buffett and his partner, Charley Munger, talk business, investments, the future of America and the world. They will also indulge in a variety of other Berkshire Hathaway activities and shopping opportunities. Given that Warren Buffett is one of the worlds most successful investors (and wealthiest people) and that the fund he manages has had an average annual gain of 20 percent since 1965, people interested in their financial future should listen when he talks.
The annual report is an impressive document. In common sense language and with considerable modesty and tributes to other people, Buffett describes the holdings of the fund as well his business strategies that have been so successful.
What should really impress people is how optimistic he is about America and its future. Contained within the pages of the annual report are comments about the current election and the future of America that we all should heed. He laments that many Americans believe that their children will not live as well as they themselves do. To quote Buffett: That view is dead wrong: The babies being born in American today are the luckiest crop in history.
With only a modest 2 percent growth in U.S. gross domestic product, per person GDP of the United States will grow from $56,000 to $76,000 in just 25 years. The economic production of the United States will continue to produce multiple technological improvements that will allow Americans to enjoy an ever more comfortable and interesting lifestyle. John D. Rockefeller, the worlds richest man in his lifetime, never lived with as much comfort as modest income people currently do.
Our modern economy continues to be more and more efficient and productive. Innovation, good management and hard work are rewarded. As always, there will be winners and losers in the economic competition, but a growing economy will benefit us all. As Buffett says in his report, for 240 years its been a terrible mistake to bet against America and now is no time to start.
Buffet is 85 years old and Munger is 92. They issue an invitation and more than 40,000 people respond. Perhaps only in America is that possible.
They believe that America is a land of opportunity and so should we. Nebraska is fortunate that Buffett has chosen to call our state home. We might add that upon his death, he plans to give the majority of his fortune to various charitable causes and has led a drive to encourage other wealthy people to do the same. What a role model to emulate!
Phillies bash Padres in wild Game 4 to move to brink of World Series
Philadelphia hit four home runs in the win, overcoming a 4-0 deficit before they even came to bat against San Diego.
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Linkedin Anthony Prabowo (The Jakarta Post) Washington DC Fri, April 1, 2016
A concept familiar to most people is that of judicial review of legislation. This process, found in the governments of many countries around the world besides Indonesia, is based on the principle that the nation's constitution is the ultimate law of the land to which all even the government itself must be subject. When any individual's rights under the constitution are threatened by the enacting or enforcing of a given law, they can call suit and have the nation's judiciary look over the legislation and determine in their reasoned opinion whether it is harmful to their constitutional rights. Laws that are found to be in violation of the constitution are then dismissed, while those found to be reasonable are upheld.
Indonesia follows this enlightened philosophy. New laws are drafted and passed by the parliament and the president, respectively, on the understanding that they will do nothing to offend the nation's constitutional principles. But when someone feels that they have failed and that their rights are being trampled, they ask the judiciary to perform its duties of judicial review, and rule on the legislation. The judiciary's decision on the matter is then final.
Good, so far. But this process, though generally wise and founded in justice, ignores the fact that a bad law can cause irreparable harm merely by being passed harm that cannot be reversed by the simple act of repealing the law. A prime example of this is international treaties.
When the president of Indonesia or his official delegates agree upon and sign a treaty with another nation, then that agreement is settled, and binding to Indonesia externally there is no undoing it. The Vienna Convention Law of Treaties has found, as a matter of international law, that treaties accepted by a nation cannot be retroactively canceled merely because they are later found to have been in violation of that nation's internal law. Although there are debates in determining the definition of the internal law, that might means that while the Indonesian judiciary is free to review the act that implements the treaties into national law, they are essentially powerless to act. If they find that a treaty contrary to Indonesian constitutional principles was agreed to, they cannot help the nation or its people. Indonesia externally remains bound to the bad treaty its constitution be damned.
One solution to this problem is an evolution of judicial review: judicial preview. Under this system, the nation's courts would not have to wait until a law were called into question in order to rule upon it. Instead, part of their duties would be to review such laws before they were even passed, and render their judgment on constitutionality. Their hands would therefore not be tied; unconstitutional laws would be struck down not after they had already caused injury, but before they even became law, and this before they had a chance to do harm.
But there is a downside to this system. One of the most important elements of Indonesian government, as in many nations, is the separation of powers to prevent undue accumulation of authority. If the judiciary has final veto power over any law proposed by the legislature, then the courts could effectively usurp the legislators power. Those drafting and signing the laws power would be diminished, and the judicial reviewers (previewers) vastly strengthened. Potentially, the courts could rise to the level of legislative dictators, preemptively deciding what is law by their own fiat, with the supposed lawmakers powerless against their will. If the legislature found itself unable to obtain judicial approval of their proposals, they could pass nothing into law.
One possible solution to this problem would be a reduction of the power of judicial preview. In this version of the system, the court would not be empowered to strike down laws before they are enacted, but rather to render a recommendation of a proposed law's constitutionality. That is, legislators would still submit their draft to the judiciary, who would then review, but even the court's most strenuous objection would not automatically kill the law. Legislators would be free to take it under advisement and either heed the court's objection, or ignore it.
Even this idea carries some risks, however. We could see a situation in which the court's gentle recommendations against a law become angry warnings, demands that the legislature not act as suggested lest the law they pass be promptly struck down by the judiciary. Fearing this, legislators would then alter their proposed legislation, cowing to the court and effectively empowering it the very problem we had hoped to avoid.
The problem of a judicial review's limited scope is a real one. Indonesia cannot tolerate being bound to international treaties that are in clear violation of its most basic constitutional protections. Yet the idea of enacting judicial preview, in which courts are essentially granted veto power over any proposed laws and become the de facto legislators themselves, is almost frightening in its potential implications for the nation's balance of power amongst its government. Limited judicial preview may be the answer, allowing courts to rule in a non-binding manner on a given law's adherence to the constitution, but carries its own dangers and again risks turning the court into a legislative tyrant.
Care must be taken in addressing this issue and devising a workable solution. Indonesia deserves no less.
***
Anthony Winza Probowo is currently a Master of Laws (LL.M) student at Georgetown University, Washington, DC.
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Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post.
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Linkedin Emerlynne Gil (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, April 1, 2016
Southeast Asian governments are increasingly restricting the work of human rights defenders, misusing a variety of laws supposedly aimed at defending national security or countering vaguely defined terrorist threats.
The UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Michel Forst, recently released his observations on the communications he sent to governments in 2015.
His observations reveal that human rights defenders in the Asia-Pacific region face increasing risks as they do their work promoting and protecting human rights, with governments continuing to disregard allegations of violations against them.
In 2015, the special rapporteur sent 66 communications to governments in the Asia-Pacific region the highest number of communications sent compared to all the other regions in the world. To add to the problem, the response rate by governments in the region was 42 percent, the second lowest next to Africas 21 percent.
The special rapporteur observed that there is a continued use of laws to criminalize the legitimate and peaceful activities of human rights defenders. He cites the use of Malaysias Sedition Act of 1948 and Thailands Computer Crimes Act to unduly limit the right to freedom of expression and opinion of human rights defenders in those countries.
He also expressed concern regarding the development of laws that negatively impact certain rights of human rights defenders, such as the rights to freedom of expression and association.
One of the most alarming manifestations of this unfortunate trend comes from Indonesia, where government officials have been citing national security to restrict human rights defenders working to protect the rights of people to be free of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
Recently, Indonesias defense minister, Ryamizard Ryacudu, said that homosexuality is a form of modern warfare, an attempt by Western nations to undermine the countrys sovereignty. This comes on the heels of comments by former information and communications minister Tifatul Sembering to kill all gay persons.
Indonesias Vice President Jusuf Kalla recently called for funding to be discontinued to a UN program that is aimed at addressing the stigma, discrimination and violence toward LGBT persons. Furthermore, there have been reports of the State Intelligence Agency urging donors to stop funding LGBT groups on the premise that they cause destabilization and insecurity in the country.
In this context, Indonesian human rights defenders are rightly concerned about a draft bill on national security that is now being discussed in the legislature. Particularly problematic is the drafts very vague definition of what would constitute a threat to national security.
In the most recent version of the bill, a threat to national security was any type of activity, whether done in Indonesia or abroad, that may endanger the nations safety, security, sovereignty and territorial integrity. A threat could also be any action that endangers the national interest, whether it is the nations ideology, politics, economy, or socio-cultural life.
As demonstrated by recent statements, it is entirely possible that such a vague and ambiguous definition would be abused in Indonesia to harass and intimidate the countrys LGBT community as a threat to national security.
Indonesia must halt the creeping return of the nasty old habit of claiming that critical or marginalized voices threaten the countrys national security. Indonesias civil society has been able to flourish in the past few years since the fall of the Suharto government and this is a sign of a growing, vibrant, confident country.
Furthermore, as ASEAN touts its economic development and looks ahead to greater integration, it must create more, not less, space for civil society.
Indonesia leads among ASEAN member states in human rights promotion and protection. It should therefore ensure that any measure meant to safeguard national security does not target people who do not conform to traditional gender roles. Measures to safeguard national security should protect all Indonesians, without exception including LGBT persons.
***
Emerlynne Gil is the senior international legal adviser for Southeast Asia for the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ). The ICJ is a global organization of judges and lawyers dedicated to promoting and protecting human rights and upholding the rule of law. She can be reached at emerlynne.gil@icj.org.
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Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post.
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Linkedin Ambara Purusottama (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, April 1, 2016
For the past decade, the declining price of oil per barrel has been a trending topic worldwide. The impact of the situation has transformed the global economy, and quite alarmingly so when the price plunged to below $30 per barrel. While some people may covet the lower price, nevertheless more are distressfully concerned that the excessive price decline will bring not benefit but disaster.
Many factors have contributed to the fall in global oil prices, but it is mainly the abundant availability of supply that is to blame for the price decline. On further exploration, there are three driving factors that affect oil oversupply technology, economics and politics.
The fracturing technology that produces shale oil in the US has the ability to multiply oil production and increase the volume of oil reserves, thus changing the course or direction of the development of global energy. With oversupply in oil production using this technology, the US has the option of flooding the global market with its oil. This action by intent is meant to suppress the rise of terrorism, especially the Islamic State (IS), which many believe is funded through the sale of oil. The abundant oil supply in the global market is expected to cull and suppress terrorist aggression, but to date, the effectiveness of this method remains questionable.
Vested interests also play a major role in the decline of oil prices. Saudi Arabia and other oil producing countries, members of OPEC, hesitate to reduce their oil production in response to the oversupply in oil. They argue that reducing oil production is no easy matter and would result in the loss of oil market share. Besides that, the measure would not necessarily curb the fall in oil price.
The slowdown in Chinas economy has also worsened the situation. Currently, China is the worlds largest economy. For years, Chinas economy has grown aggressively, but recently it has shown significant slowdown, leading to a reduction in oil demand. To put it in another way, reduction in oil demand increases the accumulation of oil supply, causing the oversupply in oil.
Concerns have heightened with the lifting of the Iranian embargo. Iran is one of the largest oil-producing countries in the world. The end of the economic sanctions will provide Iran with the opportunity to produce and export oil, adding to the oversupply, and prices will most likely drop even lower.
Initially, the oil price drop was received well as it was expected to stimulate global economic growth, which has recently slowed down. This situation should be profitable for developing countries and oil importers in pushing up their economic growth and development levels. On the contrary, the extreme drop in oil price impacts the economy negatively, as it hits the real sector.
The extreme price decline has had undesirable consequences. Several oil companies have experienced the impact of the oil price slump. Schlumberger is the first multinational company to respond to the situation by laying off its employees. No fewer than 10,000 employees around the world will lose their jobs in the near future. Several other multinational companies are preparing to do the same.
Inevitably, the oil price drop is also hitting the Indonesian economy. The price decline, which is expected to allow the Indonesias economy to breathe, poses another challenge, as this condition threatens the real sector related to the oil industry, such as coal mining, putting it in a dangerous position. Chevron Indonesia pioneers the first and initial response to this condition. Employees by the thousands are being prepared for redundancy.
Unrealistic conditions
The existing oil price no longer makes sense. Many question its economic level, and yet there is no definite answer, given the ongoing dynamics. The response of several global and domestic companies serves as an indicator of the feasibility of the price. In economic theory, if the price drops and stands below the average of the total cost, it will affect the companys activities and operations in both the short and long terms. Cost efficiency may not be effective in overcoming the resultant ongoing problems.
Indonesia faces a Catch-22 situation. Whether it decides to raise or lower oil prices, it will still not be the right move to make. The current price has made some industries no longer attractive. The price affects these industries in that they can no longer cover the emerging costs, and this destroys the Industrys structure. Tax relief, as an effort to solve the problem is no longer a valid action. The government should fully intervene to anticipate the emergence of a more distressing situation. The continuing uncertainty remains the greatest challenge.
Energy independence
The bitter truth facing Indonesia is its position as a net oil importer, without any power to determine the oil price. Energy independence ultimately has to be achieved as soon as possible; the longer Indonesia depends on oil, the deeper the country will fall into the depths of uncertainty.
It is not a simple matter for Indonesia to be free from the trap of dependency. While Indonesias energy portfolio is for the time being sufficient, the fact remains that Indonesia still depends on oil. Energy sustainability must be implanted and internalized in the peoples mindset. It is of utmost necessity to raise public awareness not to depend on fossil fuel, especially oil.
A firm decision by the government on the discontinued dependency on fossil energy should become the foundation to resolve the problem, and it should avoid decisions that provide only short-term benefits. It is of absolute necessity for the nation to develop renewable energy, which Indonesia has huge potential in. Based on the most recent data from the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, the potential for micro-hydro energy is 450 MW, biomass stands at 50 GW, solar is 4.80 kWh / m2 / day, geothermal energy is 28 GW, wind is 3-6 m / s, with 3 GW for nuclear energy, and biofuel making up the rest of potentially available energy. The oil price today makes it impossible to rely on investors as renewable energy development partners. Currently, renewable energy development is costly, making it economically unattractive given the continued decline in oil prices.
The nation should fully undertake the responsibility to develop energy, including the provision of its funding. The government has rightly highlighted the controversy of energy sustainability, but failed to follow through on implementing the steps due to weak legal support or meager protective coverage by the law. The government should quickly move to fill the existing gaps and immediately advance the program and acquire the necessary funding, especially since they can no longer use any available existing funds. This is imperative for the sake of the sustainability of national energy.
***
The writer is a Faculty Member of Prasetiya Mulya School of Business and Economics.
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Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post.
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Linkedin Aries Heru Prasetyo (The Jakarta Post) Taipei Fri, April 1, 2016
Business debates between on-line and traditional-platform taxis in Jakarta have reminded us of the concept of the sharing economy. Though the concept seems novel, it actually first appeared in 1978 when Felson and Spaeth wrote an article on collaborative consumption published by American Behavioral Scientist. The paper raised some points on how consumers should consider the idle capacity of their assets.
Provisionally, the sharing economy remains the third sector of economy, but in the wake of the great global recession of the late 90s, the term chimes all the more with current capitalism. Our society has realized how important economic fairness is in terms of transparency, honesty and accountability.
Many studies found strong evidence that the idea had grown tremendously among scholars over the past four years. In fact, it has been deployed on a business level strategy. Airbnb, TripAdvisor, Instacart and Khan Academy are among the top market leaders that have brought the concept alive.
Many have predicted that the movement will get stronger for the next few years, especially in emerging markets. Forgoing the concept will create a potential economic lag. This is why we should consider the idea carefully.
First, the internet means communication can be performed at the highest level. Proper use of smartphones allows businesses to meet their potential customers in second. As such, the elimination of distribution channels will create efficiency for all parties. Customers are no longer positioned as trading objects, but companies strategic partners, taking part in new product development. By doing this, market will get what is needed instead of what is wanted. This is true economic value.
On the other hand, the internet can provide in-time facility for customers to meet product or service users beyond borders, thereby enhancing post-purchase activity. Markets for second hand-products tend to maintain business cycles, thus creating more stable economic welfare.
Secondly, collaborative consumption is acknowledged as a new life style. The growth of GPS has given us the power to deal with time constraints. Society will be equipped with the ability to deal with resource limitation. For example, a start-up entrepreneur will benefit from crowd funding platforms, or open-source education platforms (i.e. Khan Academy, or peer to peer university), which successfully create access to knowledge for everyone. Willingness to help others will be the best fertilizer for the new movement.
Lastly, the sharing economy is proven to create better economic performance. Uber and Airbnb tripled their return in 2014-2015. This is the trigger point of why Middle Eastern funds tend to be invested in similar platforms. As we move out of the golden period of oil, more investors are looking for promising business paradigms. Even China has been targeted for the future green-land sharing economy by US and European companies.
Will Indonesia be the next target? Lets see.
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Aries Heru Prasetyo is a PhD student, College of Management, Fu Jen Catholic University, Republic of China. He is a part of research team for Taiwan industry.
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Linkedin Shiro Sato (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, April 1, 2016
It was in Bandung that the first Asian-African Conference was held in April 1955. The conference adopted the famous 10 points of declaration of promotion of world peace and cooperation, and showed the existence of Asian and African states in the field of international relations at the time. Now is time to show the strong intellectual existence of Asia and Africa in the discipline of international relations. That is, we need to go beyond a Western-centric view of international relations.
Take an example of the Western-centric view of knowledge in international relations: nationalism. The West looks on nationalism as a problem that we have to solve in order to maintain international peace and security, as nationalism was one of the causes of the two World Wars in the 20th century. Nationalism here is evaluated as negative in Western International Relations. We cannot deny this negative aspect of nationalism, but, at the same time, the evaluation of nationalism from the viewpoint of the non-West is completely different. For example, it is very difficult to deny that India could not have been independent from the British Empire without nationalism. It is, therefore, possible for us to evaluate nationalism as positive in the context of Asian international relations.
It should be kept in mind, however, that the craft of theories of non-Western international relations is NOT anti-Western international relations theory. This is very important. We should be very careful of the risk of falling into a dichotomy between the West and non-West.
We still need Western international relations theory. We really do. But it is not enough to understand and explain affairs in Asia and Africa more deeply. This is because theories of Western international relations are based on mainly Western history, philosophy and so on.
Amitav Acharya and Barry Buzan posed a stimulating question in their book entitled Non-Western International Relations Theory: why is there no non-Western international relations theory? They contended that Western international relations theory needed more voices from other parts of the world. Of course, this is not the first attempt to build theories of non-Western international relations. For example, Kevin C. Dunn and Timothy M. Shaw edited Africas Challenge to International Relations Theory. However, Acharya and Buzans book was the first to comprehensively examine the methodology and epistemology of Western international relations theory.
Since Acharya and Buzans text, IR scholars in Asia have attempted to propound their national schools of IR with an eye to the English school in the field of international relations. Several articles and books have been devoted to the study of indigenous international relations such as Chinese international relations, Japanese international relations etc. These national-based theories of IR aim to diversify the field.
But these sorts of nationalistic international relations are very dangerous in terms of intellectual hegemony. For instance, Prof. William Callahan points out that the emergence of Chinese IR implies a new type of hegemony (here, Tianxia) through the eyes of empire in the 21st century with their knowledge of Confucianism. In other words, Chinese IR theory attempts to rethink the international order by using its own terms. Hence, it might be able to say that theories of non-Western IR also risk installing hegemony. We have to keep in mind that the construction of theories of non-Western IR should not replace Western IR theory.
We need sunglasses for a much better understanding of our world, with a Western lens on one side and a non-Western lens on the other. The collaboration with Asian and African studies is expected to enrich the epistemology and methodology of IR theory. The experience and knowledge of ASEAN have the potential to open the door to building non-Western theories of IR under the name of the ASEAN way. Actually Prof. Acharya, in his book Rethinking Power, Institutions and Ideas in World Politics, has asked scholars and students of IR to look at the importance of theories of IR from the viewpoint of ASEAN. I expect that we will be able to study international relations more deeply by using non-Western theories of IR, which are made in ASEAN.
***
Dr. Shiro Sato is an exchange professor at the London School of Public Relations, Jakarta and a lecturer in international relations at the School of International Liberal Arts at Osaka International University.
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Linkedin Rouwen Lin (The Star/Asia News Network) Fri, April 1, 2016
As if the first neon-pink book cover wasnt eye-catching enough, both author and illustrator had their hearts set on a full glitter version for their second book in the #88LoveLife series.
Unfortunately, it wasnt a viable option and they had to settle for silver text on fuchsia instead. But although the book did not end up being as fabulously sparkly as the duo had envisioned, it is undeniably noticeable enough to make heads turn just by sitting pretty on the shelf.
However, the real shine lies within the pages of the book, which, like the first one, are filled with 88 quotes written by Diana Rikasari, accompanied by colourful illustrations by Dinda Puspitasari.
Inspiring quotes from one of the pages of the book.
Indonesian fashion blogger and entrepreneur Diana, 31, has a soft spot for inspirational quotes, and this shines through on her blog. While Vol. 01 is a compilation of the words of wisdom she has shared on her blog over the years, Vol. 02 is filled with quotes written exclusively for the book.
When I was working on the second book, I was in a very different place in my life compared to when I wrote the quotes for the first book. I was a new mother and was juggling life and work and family, so in many ways, the quotes reflect how I felt at that time it is a rediscovery of myself, says Diana.
She and Dinda were in Kuala Lumpur for the launch of #88 Love Life Vol. 02 which took place at the opening of the Putrajaya Inter-national Book Fair on Tuesday. The fair, organised by MPH Bookstores Bhd for the third year at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre, continues until Sunday.
This time around, it took Diana a month to complete the book.
The second book is more mature and serious, it is deeper, and also more honest and raw. I challenged myself to open up more when writing this book, she says.
Diana had never planned on publishing one book let alone two but was inspired to do the first one when she found out just how much her blog followers enjoyed reading what she wrote. As for the illustrations that are a big part of these books, well, even they were quite unplanned.
One day in 2014, Dinda sent me a fashion book she published, I liked her illustrations, so on the same day itself, I contacted her and asked if she would be interested in collaborating on a book with me. It was all very spontaneous! Diana shares.
Around 70,000 copies of #88LoveLife Vol. 01, which was published a little over a year ago, have been sold in Indonesia and Malaysia.
You would be forgiven for thinking that a book as pink and playful-looking as the #88LoveLife ones would appeal only to girls-just-wanna-have-fun types, but Diana and Dinda have noted that people from all walks of life come to their book events, from eight-year-old girls and elderly school teachers to men, even.
Despite the colour of the book cover being very girly and maybe a bit young, it turns out that both the young and old like the content.
The quotes are very universal, so I think many people can relate to them, says Diana, who is convinced that quotes have the power to change ones mood or mindset in the blink of an eye.
I think quotes are very powerful, they can make you feel better. I often feel good after writing a quote, and I hope readers feel the same way after reading it, she says.
The books are also filled with colourful illustrations by Dinda, 26, who used to work in advertising before striking out on her own as a freelance illustrator.
Illustrations in the book were done by Dinda Puspitasari.
We spent a lot of time figuring out the character of the first book before I started on the illustrations, says Dinda.
Back then, I used lots of pastels and black and white. But in the second book, my designs are bolder and more striking.
I feel that the quotes written by Diana have a more serious tone than in the earlier book, so I tried to balance that with making the illustrations bright and cheerful, explains Dinda.
The book covers are pink not because of any intent to stereotypically cater to women but simply because these two women love the colour. If there is going to be a volume three in this #88LoveLive series, you can bet that it will be in yet another shade of pink.
And Dinda, who is a lifestyle blogger, has incorporated a lot of her likes into this project, which has became a very personal undertaking for her, as it has been from the beginning for Diana.
The illustrations in this book reflect my personality and what I like. I like a lot of things, so I decided to put everything I like into the books.
Which means you will see lots of flowers, houses, ice cream and food all that is very me, but at the same time, it is also very Diana, Dinda says.
(Aside from Dianas quotes, there are a number of illustrations in the books that feature Diana with her trademark hairstyle, huge glasses, and quirky fashion sense.)
Dinda has also upped the number of illustrations in #88LoveLife Vol. 02 that feature her handwriting, as readers have expressed a liking for it, saying that it adds a personal touch.
The illustrations for the 140-page hardcover book took Dinda only two weeks to complete, which is partly due to her successfully finding a working formula for her creative process.
I start with looking for a keyword in the quote that jumps out at me, and then I come up with an idea or a concept that revolves around it, she explains.
And that just so happens to be her favourite part of the process.
I really love that I have to create so many illustrations for the book, but I have to say this is also the challenge, she laughs.
When we ask what they want to achieve with this book, Diana ponders the meaning of happiness and life. With her bubbly personality, she says, people often ask her how she seemingly manages to be happy all the time.
They ask me, Dont you have any problems? And of course I do! Having a happy life doesnt mean you dont have any problems, she says, stressing that overcoming problems builds character.
No matter how hard life gets, she adds, dont forget to be grateful and take away lessons from it.
She says of the books: I would like readers to feel like they have a friend, especially when they are feeling down. So when you are feeling bored or upset, just flip a page or two of the book and feel better.
Because everyone needs a friend, and whos to say that it cant be pink, profound and playful? Or perhaps one day if Diana and Dinda have their way even covered in glitter.
Santoso, aka Abu Wardah, and his men are hiding out on the mountains of Central Sulawesi, where thousands of police and military personnel have been deployed to hunt them down. But why has this IS-linked terrorist group not fallen yet? by Marguerite Afra Sapiie
Are you looking for death? Sr. Comr. Leo Bona Lubis, the deputy chief of Central Sulawesi Police and commander of the Tinombala Operation, asked Ruslan Sangadji, a journalist based in Palu, Central Sulawesi.
Ruslan had asked for permission to tag along with the security forces going to Mount Biru. After an exhausting journey to Poso, Central Sulawesi, stretching hundreds of kilometers, he intended to cover the hunt for the most-wanted terrorist in Indonesia, Santoso.
It had been weeks since the police left Tamanjeka, a village at the foot of Mt. Biru. They rested that day and Ruslan sat among them. He could see the top of the mountain clearly. But it was not the mountains peak that he wanted to see.
He made one last shot to ask for permission to enter the military zone from Adj. Comr. Glen, who was leading the last team of the operation. Glen commanded a small team comprising six Brigade Mobile (Brimob) and four Indonesian Military (TNI) members in a shift change.
Again Glen simply smiled and shook his head, saying that the police could not allow him to join in the eight-hour quest to ascend Mt. Biru.
Brigade Mobile (Brimob) personnel involved in the hunt for Santoso and his men board a truck. (The Jakarta Post/Ruslan Sangadji)
Its too far, man. You cant come with us. Please just return to Poso city with them, Glen said, smiling as he pointed at troopers who were throwing their rucksacks into a Brimob truck to return to base in the city.
Glen is among more than 2,500 joint security personnel comprising 1,500 police members from Densus 88 counterterrorism squad and Brimob. The remaining 1,000 members are from the Navy Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion and Special Underwater Unit. In the latest update, the Army sent fresh reinforcements consisting of 880 special agents.
If there is one thing that Glen could tell Ruslan about the operation, it would be how life-threatening it is. Deep in the humid tropical rain forest, they must think and act tactically to reach the objective, or at least to guarantee their very survival.
Food supplies often are a problem. Even though supplies are replenished every five days, the troops sometimes have to pick corn or cassava from plantations. Shooting birds is sometimes unavoidable.
We have eaten snakes too, Glen told Ruslan, laughing.
Trekking in the vast terrain of Mt. Biru, Glen's life has been intertwined with Santoso's in the last year since the first Camar Maleo Operation in 2015. Assigned to the joint police-military operation, he was summoned for the latest Tinombala Operation, which started on Jan. 10.
He has, according to the task, one primary objective: to eradicate the East Indonesia Mujahidin (MIT), a Poso-based militant group that evolved from a local branch of Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) to a staunch supporter of the Islamic State (IS), a radical Middle-East organization.
However, Glen heard more about Santoso's group in 2012, when the long-haired militant leader publicly challenged Densus 88 in a statement released by al-Qaeda-affiliated media.
He blatantly declared himself Abu Musab al-Zarqawi al-Indonesi, adopted from the name of the founder of al-Qaeda in Iraq who was killed in June 2006.
Just like other extremist groups, the MIT consists of experienced combatants and well-trained jihadists of other nationalities, such as the Uighur from China who joined in 2014.
However, most of them are locals, part of an extremist cell that kept growing even after the signing of the Malino peace treaty, which formally ended the Poso communal conflict, in 2001.
Fanatic book seller
Known by name the Abu Wardah, Santoso is a former seller of Islamic books. He is a Javanese who used to live in Tambarana, Poso. His passion for radical jihad was fueled by infamous cleric Abu Bakar Baasyir through the recording of his preaching about Muslim massacres in Chechnya and Palestine.
He first appeared as a jihadist during the religious-fueled conflict between Muslims and Christians in Poso in 2000. Santoso ignored the Malino treaty, which the government-sponsored peace treaty was signed by the two conflicting communities.
His burning anger, and desperation for revenge for Muslim casualties in Poso, drove him to become active in the Tanah Runtuh group, a local affiliate of the JI, where he mostly learned about frontline jihad. He forged his violent-version of jihad in a military training camp established by Waqalah Uhud Mantiqi III, a wing of JI in the Sulawesi-Maluku area.
Santoso played on villagers sympathies, especially in the coastal town of Poso, since some locals still held grievances over the past communal conflict as well as resentment toward security personnel for conducting heavy-handed operations in the area.
He first grabbed the polices attention in August 2004, when he was arrested for attempting to rob a truck carrying clove cigarettes with six others. He later disappeared.
Experts and officials believe that Santoso studied a radical interpretation of Islam in Ngruki, Surakarta, Central Java, as well as learned about bomb-making in Mindanao, the Philippines.
It was not until the military training camp in Jantho, Aceh, was dismantled in 2010 when Jamaah Ansharut Tauhid (JAT) entered Poso. JIs splinter cell formed by Baasyir piqued Santosos interest in making a comeback with an offensive jihad.
Indonesian Military (TNI) personnel on Santosos trail in the forest. (The Jakarta Post / Ruslan Sangadji)
He then led the newly established military unit of JAT, and later formed his own group, the MIT, with the help of followers in Poso who passionately believe that Indonesia was a land for jihad.
The group first shocked the country in 2012. Two days after the MIT declared its establishment, two dead police officers were found in a hastily dug grave in Tamanjeka village of Poso. Sporadic terror reigned afterward with sadistic murders, such as beheadings and stabbings.
In November 2014, a 50-year-old local resident named M. Fadli was found dead in front of his house in Tangkura village in Poso, with his neck slashed by a machete. Santosos gang claimed responsibility.
In Parigi Moutong regency last September, the group was reportedly involved in the murder of residents Nyoman Astika, 70, and Hengky, 50, who were found beheaded, while the body of one unidentified victim was found covered with stab wounds.
Rumor has it that all the aforementioned victims helped the police obtain information on the Santoso-led terrorist groups movements and whereabouts.
In April 2015, after a gunfight with the police took the life of Daeng Koroone of Santosos closest allies -- the group allegedly beheaded Koros father in-law. The man was accused of leaking information about the group to Densus 88. His body was found in Malino village, Central Sulawesi.
The Santoso group has zero tolerance for people thought to be police informants, even close relatives of the MIT. This punitive stance is heavily related to their guerilla strategy.
In December, Central Sulawesi Police chief Brig. Gen. Idham Azis said the police had found a hidden camp consisting of 10 huts that was believed to have been used by the MIT, located 15 kilometers from Kilo village, Poso.
Besides finding one dead body suspected to be a member of the group, five homemade weapons, explosives and male and female attire at the camp, Santoso and his group were nowhere to be found.
In January, the police raided a newly established training camp located 20 kilometers from a village where they killed one MIT member in a gunfight. But once again the group disappeared into the forest.
Local residents living at the foot of the mountain sometimes help security personnel to track the fast-moving MIT. However, the matter is a lot more complicated than it seems as not only those sympathetic to Santosos group but also those who oppose him tend to keep facts to themselves.
Papa Mirna, 34, a Tamanjeka resident, told Ruslan how the gruesome horror faced by local villagers in Poso was effective in make them remain silent about his whereabouts. Beheading is very an effective way of saying Im warning you.
Sometimes, threatening text messages and flyers warn villagers not to cooperate with the police, who they refer to as ansharut-taghut (transgressors against Allahs rule) or the enemies of Islam.
If I ignored the warning, I was told that something bad would happen to me, said Papa, who received a warning in 2013.
Tackling guerilla warfare
The police consider Santoso the most dangerous militant group leader for a reason. He is an expert in guerilla warfare, mapping, bomb-making and in utilizing every part of the forest for his cause.
There are reports that one of the 27 MIT members, which include three women from Bima, West Nusa Tenggara, and two Chinese Uighurs, is a former illegal logger who knows the forest like the back of his hand.
The MIT applies guerilla warfare by moving from one place to another, Operation Tinombala 2016 territorial head Sr. Comr. Leo Bona Lubis said.
The system has served Santosos gang very well, allowing them to elude capture. Years of experience in moving around the regions mountain and villages have enabled MIT members to identify the routes easily; they know the terrain and where to run.
Besides guerilla warfare ability, the MIT has a structured hierarchy, Central Sulawesi Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Hari Suprapto said. Santoso sits at the top, along with Basri, aka Bagong, and two Chinese Uighurs. They build external communications, arrange tactics and strategies and train frontline executors in jihadi essentials, such as bomb-making.
The second level consists of executors who stand on the front line against security officers and are mostly MIT members. Meanwhile, the third level consists of numerous supporters who often act as couriers for the MIT to deliver supplies such as clothes, food, money, weapons and bomb-making materials.
In terms of weapon supplies, the MIT is equipped with sophisticated firearms. During a shootout in August 2015 in which Bado, a MIT courier, was killed, the antiterror squad seized a number of weapons, including rifles and hand-made pipe bombs.
Among them was a Beretta M60 assault rifle, which is commonly used by the US Marine Corps to attack tanks and an M-16 rifle, which were believed to have been smuggled from the Philippines, as well as a Pindad SS1, which is the standard assault rifle of the Indonesian Military.
In winning the war against this dangerous militant group in a vast terrain that stretches for approximately 7,000 kilometers, the police and the TNI have created three main teams to perform specific duties during Tinombala Operation.
Standing on the front line for pursuit and during shootouts is the Hunting Team, comprising Densus 88, Brimob, the Armys Special Forces (Kopassus) and Navy Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion personnel.
The Guardian Team, deployed in posts around villages at the foot of the mountain and in Poso city, consists of police and military personnel who keep track of people who enter and leave the forest and to disrupt the delivery of supplies to Santoso and his group.
One of our strategies [to stop the Santoso groups movements] is to close down the supply line, not only in terms of food supplies but also weapons and ammunition, Idham Azis said.
Evidence seized at an abandoned East Indonesian Mujahidin camp is displayed by the Central Sulawesi Police in 2014. (The Jakarta Post / Ruslan Sangadji)
Last but not least, the Deradicalization Team, which counters MIT propaganda. The team involves not only police members but also religious figures from the Religious Affairs Ministry, local clerics such as Ustad Adnan Arsal who is also the Tanah Runtuh neighborhood chief, local village chiefs and pesantren (Islamic boarding school) officials.
Ibrahim, the former chairman of Al Khairat, the biggest Islamic organization in Central Sulawesi, said that while spiritual jihad existed in the Koran, violent jihad was not contextual for Indonesia.
Jihad can be done through good deeds, such as preaching or simply just working to fulfill your familys needs. And Indonesia is not a land at war. Thus, committing violent jihad in Indonesia is wrong, he said.
Looking at the armed jihad fought by the Santoso group, one can easily guess why the MIT became the first jihadist group in Indonesia to publicly pledge allegiance to IS.
The sworn allegiance has given MIT advantages in the form of massive support from Indonesian IS supporters as well as aid from the global IS organization, according to an Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) report. IPAC is a Jakarta-based think tank founded by terrorism expert Sidney Jones.
Even though none of the 27 MIT members have gone to Syria, according to Jones, Santoso has attracted three top Indonesian IS supporters currently in Syria, namely Abu Jandal, Bahrun Naim and Bahrumsyah.
The latter, who is also the commander of Khatibah Nusantara, IS Southeast Asia unit, has assisted Santoso financially by transferring funds both directly to an MIT-affiliated bank account and indirectly to the Philippines to purchase weapons for the group.
In June 2014, Santoso referred to himself as the commander of Islamic States army in Indonesia after IS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi stated that he intended to establish a caliphate. He has very likely been influenced by the IS method of jihad and uses the same tactics, such as beheadings.
The changes in global jihadist geopolitics have closely affected Indonesias militant map. The JI in Lamongan, East Java, which was behind MITs escalating power in recent years, has split into two factions.
Previously, the Lamongan jihadist cell recruited people and sent them to Poso for training, as well as connected Santoso to pro-jihad media such as al-Qaedas Global Islamic Media Front initially and then with the IS, IPAC has reported.
After the IS declared war on its rival militant group in the Middle East, al-Qaeda, some JI members turned to IS. JAT, which Santoso used to belong to, broke up when Baasyir, a lifelong supporter of al-Qaeda, suddenly changed course and pledged support for IS.
Almost 90 percent of JAT members then left and created a new anti-IS group named Jamaah Ansharusy-Syariah [JAS], counterterrorism observer Rakyan Adibrata has said.
JAS remained with the Indonesian Mujahidin Council (MMI) and senior leaders of the JI who had aligned with al-Qaeda and al-Nusra Front, the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda.
From Poso to Jakarta
Experts say there is rivalry between militant groups in Indonesia, such as the MIT, Darul Islam, JAT and Tauhid Wal Jihad, which were influenced by Amman Abdurrahman, a prominent IS figure in Indonesia.
According to the National Police, the radical cleric, who first spread takfiri (radical Wahabbi doctrine that views non-adherents as infidels) in Indonesia, has close ties to Santoso. Amman is currently detained on Nusakambangan prison island, Central Java, from where it is suspected that he oversees the movement of his followers.
The police claim that Amman was the link between Santoso and perpetrators of an attack in Jakarta on Jan. 14 that left eight people dead.
According to Idham, the bombs used in the attack on Jl. Thamrin were made from the same compounds as those used by the MIT in Poso, indicating that the men behind the attacks and the Santoso gang are affiliated.
While al-Qaeda affiliates primarily focus their attacks on Western interests, IS has declared war on anyone who refuses to follow it, even if they are fellow Muslims. In Poso, the Santoso gang call all Muslims who associate themselves with security personnel enemies.
It's interesting that most of [Santosos] recorded declaration about launching attacks on Densus 88. That is his main enemy, not foreigners, Shiite Muslims nor the TNI. There's a degree of revenge, said Jones.
Experts have said that militant attacks use different key players, as was obvious in the Thamrin attack, which had similarities to the November 2015 Paris attack, for which IS claimed responsibility.
Terror convict Fajriansyah, aka Rian, is sworn in before testifying at a hearing at the East Jakarta District Court, which invited witnesses, including convicts, to testify in a terrorism case in Poso. (The Jakarta Post/Ruslan Sangadji)
Unlike al-Qaeda, which launches mass bombings, IS affiliates choose a pattern classified as marauding terrorist firearm attacks in which a team of suicide bombers and gunmen coordinate attacks. Their equipment is simpler and cheaper, and not as easy to detect.
During a raid in Taunca village, the police found transaction documents suggesting a flow of funds from IS to the MIT. The funds were transferred to bank accounts belonging to MIT supporters or MIT-affiliated foundations, around Rp 2 million [US$ 144] per transaction, Lubis was reported as saying.
The Santoso group is considered part of global terrorist operations and it is little wonder that the government has launched a massive operation to rid the mountainous region of Poso of the MIT. Up until February, 392 Indonesians had joined IS in Syria.
National Police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti has asserted that security personnel will continue the operation until Santoso is captured, dead or alive. If the group is not stopped, it will get stronger and will turn into the insurgents like in the Philippines and Thailand, he said.
After a Feb. 28 shootout in which a suspected MIT terrorist was killed, the Santoso gang split up into small groups and headed for different mountains in the Central Sulawesi region to evade troops hunting them down.
A recent report claims that Santoso is on his own deep in forest on Mount Wuasa in Central Lore subdistrict, Poso regency. Two of his three companions have been shot dead and the third was captured recently.
Despite the number of MIT members decreasing since the beginning of Operation Tinombala in January, the notorious Santoso and his gang are still committing guerilla warfare in the name of jihad as though they are immortal.
Soldiers cross a river to reach the mountainous terrain where Santoso and his men are hiding out. (The Jakarta Post / Ruslan Sangadji)
The harsh terrain and bad weather, as well as the risk of death on the mountain, foiled Ruslan in his intention to join and report on the hunt for Santoso and his group. It is not an easy task for security personnel, or even for him as a journalist.
On his way home, Ruslan recalled that a police officer had pondered Santosos whereabouts. Is he really in the forest? Who knows, maybe he is a hotel in Bali, said the police officer.
According to Badrodin, the main difficulties in the operation are not only the harsh terrain or MITs elusiveness. It is the large number of MIT supporters that has become the main obstacle.
Even if Santoso is captured, the government will still need stay on guard against the silent supporters who may continue his violent jihad. An offensive operation maybe the key, but addressing the root cause is the only answer to the predicament. (ags)
Ruslan Sangadji in Palu, Central Sulawesi, contributed to this report.
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Linkedin Callistasia Anggun Wijaya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, April 1, 2016
Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama has dismissed claims he is using the city budget to improve his popularity prior to the Jakarta gubernatorial election next year.
Senior Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) politician Hidayat Nur Wahid said on Wednesday that the governor had spent a significant amount of city funds on his campaign.
You journalists can see, a lot of funds were not spent [last year], but now, many programs are being overstated, Hidayat said on Wednesday, adding that Jakarta was not the only region that had only spent a portion of its budget last year.
Ahok said Hidayats statement constituted slander, as he had never wasted funds from the city administration, but instead, had anticipated any possible misuse of funds when drafting the city budget late last year.
The governor said he even reduced the budget allocation to finance education assistance for students from low-income families through the Jakarta Smart Card (KJO) program this year.
"The number of KJP recipients is smaller than last year. It's because I cut the budget for the thieves. Is that a part of my campaign?" Ahok said on Thursday, adding that he had also cut funding for scholarships because funds were frequently misused.
Ahok added that his administration had also dissolved a loan program for small and medium enterprises due to unsatisfactory outcomes.
Ahok also stressed that the many child friendly integrated parks (RPTRA) that were built last year were paid for by private companies under their corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs, and not the city budget.
However, he acknowledged that his administration would build another 150 RPTRA that would be financed by the city budget. He also revealed that some projects in the pipeline, such as the construction of a hospital and Transjakarta bus corridor, as well as procurement of dump trucks and heavy equipment, would be funded by the city budget.
He also returned fire at PKS, claiming that the party was afraid to compete against him in the upcoming gubernatorial election. (bbn)
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Linkedin Callistasia Anggun Wijaya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, April 1, 2016
The lawyers of murder suspect Jessica Kumala Wongso have warned that they will sue the police if the latter ultimately fail to complete the necessary case dossier within the maximum detention period.
Jessica has been detained since Jan. 31 as the sole suspect in the murder of Wayan Mirna Salihin, who died after drinking cyanide-tainted coffee at Olivier Cafe at Grand Indonesia mall in Central Jakarta.
However, the Jakarta Prosecutors' Office has rejected Jessica's dossier because of a lack of evidence. The police now have less than 60 days to submit the complete dossier, as legally, a suspect may be detained for a maximum of 120 days for investigation purposes.
We ask the police to complete the dossier within 120 days, as set by the law. However, if the police cant prove that Jessica is guilty, we will sue the police for violating Jessicas rights, one of Jessicas lawyers, Yudi Wibowo Sukinto, told thejakartapost.com on Thursday.
The police, he continued, have acted carelessly by detaining Jessica. The prosecutors' decision to return the dossier twice shows, he said, that investigators are unable to prove her guilt.
The lengthy detention has triggered depression in Jessica, Yudi said.
Previously, former Jakarta Police chief Tito Karnavian said Jessica had a long police record in Australia and had undergone psychological treatment when studying in Australia. Her lawyers, however, have challenged the statement, as there is no Australian verdict against Jessica.
Had Jessica committed a crime, her Permanent Residence [PR[ would have been revoked by the Australian government. This has not happened, Yudi said.
Common
Separately, Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR) executive director Supriyadi Widodo Eddyono said it was common to repeatedly return a case dossier to the police, but if the detention period were reached before the dossier was complete, police would have to release the suspect.
It is common to return a case dossier to the police, and is allowed by the Criminal Law Procedures Code [KUHAP]. There are even cases in which prosecutors have returned a dossier to the police some twenty times, Supriyadi said.
Usually, dossiers are returned in cases in which the suspect faces heavy punishment; the prosecutors' office will return the dossier to the police if it believes the evidence is not sufficient as a base to file charges against the suspect.
However, Supriyadi underlined that the lawyers could not sue the police over an alleged human rights violation. According to the law, a suspect can only file a lawsuit regarding human rights violations under detention through a pretrial motion.
Jessicas pretrial motion was last month rejected by the court, which said the legal process against her was legitimate.
The only possible option, Supriyadi further said, would be to file a case through the civil court against the police if the latter were unable to complete the dossier before the end of the maximum detention period.
The camp may request some amount of compensation for material and immaterial losses through the court, he said. (ags)
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Linkedin Erika Anindita Dewi (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, April 1, 2016
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) arrested three men on Thursday, including two senior executives of a state-owned enterprise (SOE), before naming them suspects in a bribery case on Friday.
"The KPK nabbed three people at a hotel in Cawang, East Jakarta, on Thursday morning," KPK chairman Agus Rahardjo told journalists at the KPK headquarters in Jakarta on Friday.
The two SOE executives were identified only as Sudi Wantoko, a financial director, and Dandung Pamularno, a senior company manager. The third suspect was named as Marudut, from a private company.
The case is linked to efforts to interfere a corruption case being handled by the Jakarta Prosecutors Office.
The anticorruption body moved on communications between Marudut and Dandung indicating a plan to meet on Thursday. KPK investigators surveilled them as they met at a hotel at 8:20 a.m. on Thursday.
"Dandung gave money to Marudut in the men's toilet on the first floor," Agus said, adding that during the operation KPK investigators seized US$148,835 of bribe money.
Sudi, Dandung and Marudut are accused of violating the Corruption Law.
The KPK also questioned Jakarta Prosecutor's Office head Sudung Situmorang and special law assistant Tomo Sitepu as witnesses on Friday to ascertain whether they had played roles in the case.
The KPK is working together with the Attorney General's Office (AGO) on the case. (bbn)
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Linkedin thejakartapost.com (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, April 1, 2016
February has seen an increase in the number of visitors from China but a decrease in arrivals from Australia.
Chinese arrivals to Indonesia increased to 161,828 in February, up 12.5 percent from the same month last year, data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) show.
Garuda Indonesia has opened a direct flight from Denpasar to Shanghai. That affected the number of Chinese tourists visiting Indonesia, BPS head Suryamin said at the agencys headquarters on Friday.
Meanwhile, 75,331 visitors arrived from Australia in February, an 8.2 percent drop on the year.
According to the BPS data, China topped the list of countries of origin for people visiting Indonesia in February, followed by Singapore (110,261 arrivals), Malaysia (98,331), Australia (75,331) and Japan (42,186).
In total, 888,309 foreigners arrived in the archipelago in February, including 25,129 coming for work purposes. The total number marks a rise of 9.1 percent compared to 814,300 foreign arrivals in January.
In the first two months of 2016, 710,687 foreigners arrived at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali, a hike of 14.3 over the same period last year.
Meanwhile, 317,820 foreigners arrived at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten, marking a drop of 5.55 percent compared with last year.
This is important, because foreign tourists could boost the economic situation in the country. It could also impact other sectors [outside tourism] as it could create multiplier effects, Suryamin said. (vps/bbn)
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Linkedin Callistasia Anggun Wijaya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, April 1, 2016
Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama has poured invective on the lavish lifestyle of a city councilor arrested by the antigraft commission on Thursday evening over corruption allegations.
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) arrested Gerindra Party councilor Sanusi, who leads council Commission D overseeing development affairs.
In response to the arrest, Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjajaha Purnama claimed he had noticed Sanusi led a lavish lifestyle.
"His watches and cars are all worth billions [of rupiah]," he told journalists on Friday.
Ahok said he suspected that Sanusi seldom submitted wealth reports to the KPK, considering his income did not match his lifestyle, adding that Sanusi's brother Taufik might be guilty of similar failure to submit mandatory wealth reports.
"I have always been consistent in urging officials to submit their wealth reports. If you report it and prove that you pay tax, you have the right to speak out," Ahok said.
KPK officers sealed Sanusi's office, that of his brother, deputy speaker Mohamad Taufik, a CCTV monitoring room and the legislation division office.
Investigators took Sanusi to KPK headquarters for further questioning along with his car, a Jaguar.
No further details have yet emerged.
Sanusi's name was included among potential candidates to run in the 2017 gubernatorial election for Gerindra, the party that Ahok left in 2014. (rin)
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Linkedin Ayomi Amindoni (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, April 1, 2016
The construction of additional elevated roads in Semanggi, South Jakarta, is targeted to be completed in October 2017, and is expected to minimize the chronic congestion at the crowded Semanggi interchange, a construction company executive has said.
State-owned construction company PT Wijaya Karya (Wika) will kick off the groundbreaking in front of Plaza Semanggi shopping mall on April 8, following the signing of a deal worth Rp345 billion (US$26.22 million) with PT Mitra Panca Persada.
"The project will take a total of 18 months: three months for the engineering design, and 15 months for construction," Wika corporate secretary Suradi told thejakartapost.com on Friday.
The new elevated road will be built above the existing clover-shaped flyover, with a circular flyover providing access for vehicles from Blok M to Cawang without passing Jl. Gatot Soebroto, Suradi said.
The construction aims to streamline vehicles traveling from Grogol in West Jakarta to Kebayoran Baru in South Jakarta, and from Pancoran in South Jakarta to the National Monument (Monas) in Central Jakarta, he added.
"Previously, they had to take a detour. Now the trip will be more efficient and reduce congestion," he said.
The construction will be fully funded by a private developer, PT Mitra Panca Persada, as compensation for being allowed to construct a building larger than its set building floor coefficient (KLB), the standard for a building's total maximum size, in Bendungan Hilir, Central Jakarta, said Suradi.
"The company will fund the construction. Wika's role is as contractor," he went on.
Earlier, Wika Beton president director Wilfred A. Singkali said his company had been ordered by its parent company to supply materials for the construction. Despite its long track record in construction projects, the company views the project as a tough challenge. (bbn)
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Linkedin Ruslan Sangadji (The Jakarta Post) Poso, Central Sulawesi Fri, April 1, 2016
Lake Tambing in Poso, Central Sulawesi, has been temporarily closed to the public amid Operation Tinombala, a joint effort by the Indonesian Military (TNI) and police to capture the country's most-wanted terrorist Santoso and his followers.
Public access to Lake Tambing, a popular tourist attraction located in Lore Lindu National Park (TNLL), has been closed for a week, national park head Sudayatna said on Friday.
"Lake Tambing is being used as a camp for security officers during Operation Tinombala," he told thejakartapost.com.
Lake Tambing is favored by domestic and foreign visitors for its scenic views and the opportunity to see rare birds.
Just two hours drive from the provincial capital of Palu, the lake is home to 270 bird species, 30 percent of which are endemic, including the maleo.
Up to 10 foreigner researchers typically visit the lake daily.
The TNLL Center recorded that around 6,000 tourists visited Lake Tambing from January to August last year, including foreign tourists, who were mostly from the US, UK, the Netherlands, France, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and Australia.
Around 3,000 security officers have been deployed for Operation Tinombala since January to hunt down Santoso, aka Abu Wardah, and his East Indonesia Mujahidin radical group, in the forests of Poso.
The officers have shifted their search from Lore Peore and Central Lore based on information from a member of the group who was arrested by officers, suggesting that Santoso was in Wuasa Forest, North Lore subdistrict.
Central Sulawesi Police chief Brig. Gen. Rudy Sufahriadi said on Friday that Santoso's group had become separated after a shoot-out with the TNI and police.
A witness claimed that Santoso had fled to North Lore.
"A witness showed a photo of Santoso eating anoa in North Lore," Rudy said.
The police estimated that the group's members had dropped to 27 from an initial 45 as several members have died or been arrested.
Local residents in Posos Napu Valley, where the operation is also taking place, are reportedly worried about the movements of the terrorist group.
"[Normally] local people stay for up to a week in the woods to search for rattan and resin. Now they hesitate to go because they are afraid of encountering terrorists," said Lore Peore subdistrict chief M. Weku.
However, local peoples fears have begun to ease as TNI and police personnel remain in Napu to search for Santoso. Locals also often inform security personnel if they see strangers in the area. (rin)
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Linkedin Ganug Nugroho Adi (The Jakarta Post) Boyolali Fri, April 1, 2016
The Central Java Cultural Heritage Preservation Agency (BPCB) is stopping local people from conducting excavations of the temple building structure found in Boyolali in March to protect the archeological site, on which the agency will conduct research this month.
The agency is arranging the preliminary reports and recommendations of follow-up research in April, meaning the site must be free from local people conducting excavations, BPCB official Gutomo said on Friday.
The temple structure site was found in a farming area in Dukuh Gunung Wijil in the village of Girirot in Ngemplak subdistrict, Boyolali, at the end of March. There had previously been several ancient relics around the site, including two ancient yoni statues (representing vaginas) and ancient bricks. The statues have been handed over to the Central Java BPCB.
The relics were found on farms belonged to local villagers Soleh and Sumarno.
Sumarno is still currently excavating the area where the archeological goods were found, despite being asked not to by the BPCB.
"People here are curious. I keep excavating slowly, to make sure I don't damage the site," Sumarno said.
Sumarno first found an ancient rock on the 1.2 hectares of land he owns on March. 9. Not far from the first rock location, he found the ancient statues and rock relief depicting King Janaka.
Sumarno immediately reported the finding to the Boyolali Statues Museum.
From the preliminary research by the BPCB, the two statues are thought to date to around 8 AD, Gutomo said.
"This is a Nandeswara statue, but we have not identified the other one. It could be Mahakala, but we are not sure yet. We are going to conduct more research," he said.
Bricks were widely used for the construction of templesduring the moving of the ancient Hindu Mataram Kingdom in Central Java to East Java.
Temples in Central Java, Gutomo said, usually used bricks as building foundations, such as Sewu Temple in Prambanan, Klaten, Central Java, whereas other temples usually used rocks.
The finding is the first time a temple structure has been found in Ngemplak; previous archeological findings in Boyolali have mostly been found in Mojosongo and Banyudono.
"Boyolalali is a location that sees a lot of Hindu-era findings. We suspect that the findings in Ngemplak are related to other findings in Mojosongo and Banyudono," he said. (rin)
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Linkedin Liza Yosephine (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, April 1, 2016
Indonesian diplomats are being encouraged to keep up with the rapid development of technology and communication tools by exploring the use of new media in the Foreign Ministry's leadership programs.
Participants in the leadership program are now required to be active on social media throughout the whole of the training period, including broadcasting updates of activities via Twitter and Tumblr, said the director of the ministry's Senior Diplomatic School (Sesparlu), Odo Manuhutu.
Speaking during a seminar on digital diplomacy held in collaboration between the ministry and the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Odo emphasized the importance of familiarizing students with new media as a stepping stone to spur innovative ideas at work.
The public seminar on Thursday invited senior foreign ambassadors, namely German and Spanish ambassadors to Indonesia Georg Witschel and Francisco Jose Viqueira Niel, respectively.
Witschel said the life-changing progress of technology demanded an adaptive attitude to innovations in politics, diplomacy and global communication, notwithstanding the importance of using social media tools.
"Public participation has become a permanent feature of diplomatic negotiations," said Witschel, adding that interactive opportunities between citizens and governmental representatives had increased engagement among the public, who are becoming active designers and communicators of digital diplomacy.
Noting the importance of the role of media, the ambassador revealed that the German government regularly used professional consultants to maximize the production of meaningful content.
Meanwhile, Spanish Ambassador Viqueira underlined the age old importance of thinking before speaking, to which Witschel added "think before you tweet".
Inaugurated at the end of 2014, Odo has revamped the four-month long diplomatic leadership program by upholding values of public accountability.
In addition to the traditionally demanded skills of diplomacy, the future leaders of the ministry, who will eventually go on to become ambassadors, also learn coding, application making, video production and social media management, and have an appointed tweeter of the day. (ags)
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Linkedin Josh Lederman (The Jakarta Post) Washington Fri, April 1, 2016
Associated Press
Dozens of world leaders assembling Friday for a nuclear security summit will confront a disparate array of modern-day threats, ranging from government actors like North Korea to murkier groups like the Islamic State.
Frustration over the slow pace of reducing nuclear stockpiles shadowed the final day of the summit, President Barack Obama's last major push on denuclearization. Though Obama planned to tout the Iran nuclear deal as evidence of progress, the absence of key players especially Russia underscored the lack of unanimity still confronting global efforts to deter nuclear attacks.
After six years of prodding by Obama and others before him, the global stockpile of fissile material that could be used in nuclear bombs remains in the thousands of metric tons. What's more, security officials warn that the radioactive ingredients for a "dirty bomb" are alarmingly insecure in many parts of the globe.
"We have not only great urgency around the nuclear issue, but eliminating generally the scourge of terrorism," Obama said during a meeting Thursday with French President Francois Hollande, as he reflected on recent attacks in Brussels and Paris.
Obama planned to review what's been accomplished and what gaps remain during a news conference at the summit's conclusion Friday evening. Though Obama has held four such summits since taking office, there are no clear indications they will continue after his presidency ends early next year.
Ahead of the summit, fewer than half of the countries participating had agreed to secure their sources of radiological material, readily available in hospital, industrial and academic settings. Concerns about substances like cesium or cobalt getting in the wrong hands have escalated sharply following deadly attacks by IS, raising the disturbing prospect of a nuclear attack on a Western city.
In a twist on previous years, organizers scheduled a special session Friday to hone in one the threat posed to major urban areas by extremist groups that the US has said are on the hunt for nuclear materials. The White House said Obama and the other leaders would discuss a hypothetical scenario about a chain of events that could lead to nuclear terrorism.
Yet Obama planned to start off on an optimistic note, reviewing progress toward implementing the Iran deal along with other UN Security Council members that negotiated the agreement with the US The White House hoped that session would illustrate constructive ways to stop nuclear weapons from spreading to countries that shouldn't be trusted to possess them.
Critics of the deal have blasted Obama for rewarding Iran by lifting sanctions and considering easing a ban on US dollars being used in transactions with Iran. Despite Iran's worrisome ballistic missile work, the US has said Iran is meeting all its commitments to scale back its nuclear program under the deal.
As the summit opened Thursday, leaders trained their focus on North Korea, whose continued provocations have stoked concerns throughout the region. Obama discussed steps to deter further North Korean missile tests during a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. In another session with the leaders of Japan and South Korea, he called for vigorous implementation of stepped-up UN sanctions.
President Vladimir Putin of Russia, whose massive nuclear weapons stockpile is rivaled only by the US, refused to attend this year's summit. Moscow scoffed at what it deemed US efforts to control the process and take power away from international agencies. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of Pakistani, another nuclear-armed country, canceled his trip following a bombing that killed 72.
Decades after the Cold War, the threat of a nuclear war between superpowers has faded, replaced in part by concerns about IS and al-Qaeda offshoots operating in North Africa and in Yemen and Saudi Arabia. Last year, an Associated Press investigation revealed multiple attempts by smugglers to sell radioactive material to Middle East extremists.
After last year's Paris attacks, authorities searching the apartment of two brothers linked to the attacks found video of a senior official at a Belgian nuclear waste facility. The brothers were part of the Islamic State cell that went on to strike Brussels on March 22. Both died in the attacks.
___
Associated Press writers Kevin Freking and Darlene Superville contributed to this report.
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Linkedin Anton Hermansyah (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, April 1, 2016
Indonesias consumer-goods manufacturer, Unilever Indonesia Tbk, saw its net profit decline by 1.2 percent last year to Rp 5.85 trillion (US$443.2 million), despite a 5.7 percent increase in sales amid the weakening rupiah.
The company, a subsidiary of Unilever BV, was under pressure from the economic slowdown early last year. As the economy rejuvenated in the third quarter, the rupiah depreciation created additional problems that led to a decrease in exports.
"Despite the company recording 6.6 percent domestic sales growth in 2015, total sales growth was only 5.7 percent because of a fall in exports," Unilever Indonesia spokesman Sancoyo Antarikso said in Jakarta on Thursday.
Despite the increasing gross profit margin from 49.85 percent in 2014 to 51.11 percent in 2015, the company saw its operating profit margin down from 23.22 percent in 2014 to 21.76 percent in 2015 as a result of ballooning operating costs.
"It is a big challenge for the company because 55 percent of our cost comes from currency risk," Sancoyo underlined.
The company sold one of its brands - "SHE" - in March 2015, after buying it from Unilever Body Care Indonesia in 2012. Adding Rp 7.56 billion of cash to the company, it was still not enough to help increase the net profit. (ags)
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Linkedin Jeremy Au Yong (The Straits Times/ANN) Fri, April 1, 2016
Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has voiced concerns about the current American political climate in an interview with the Wall Street Journal editorial board this week, as he continued to stress that the United States leadership remains indispensable in Asia and globally.
Speaking to the American newspaper during his working visit to New York, Lee did not mince words about what he saw as an "extreme menu of choices" currently on offer in the US polls.
"You believe in your system, with checks and balances, you can have somebody who is far from ideal become the president and the system will prevent him from doing harm.
And so far, it has worked in the sense that you have had presidents who have not measured up, but after some time, well, the world comes back.
"But I do not think you have ever had such an extreme menu of choices as you have in this election, choices which are likely to end up on the ballot paper," he said, while making a passing mention of the regimes in wartime Europe.
"If you do, well, there are precedents. In Asia, you can write those off as unstable, immature democracies, but in Europe, before the war, such stress led to very extreme outcomes in Germany, in Italy and in the end, you have a very unhappy result."
And when asked about a litany of proposals made by US candidates on the campaign trail, PM Lee noted that many of them have the potential to cause serious harm to the reputation of the US.
Take for instance, the proposal from billionaire Donald Trump that the US enter into a trade war with China by imposing a 40 per cent tariff on Chinese goods being imported.
"It is hypothetical, but if you put that to any other country, those who have no choice would lie back and enjoy it. Those who have a choice will say, 'Chuck it, I cannot work on this basis'. It is not possible, because if that is how we work, seriously-entered-into undertakings can be just torn up and because the Americans are not happy, we can do it over again, then how do we conclude a new agreement? How do I know where the bottom line is?"
And the same goes for calls from Trump and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade pact to be renegotiated.
"It has been with the President personally pushing every year and every opportunity has taken us since about 2010 until now to settle and to renegotiate and reopen, you are giving more or you are asking for more? And if you are asking for more, who is going to volunteer to give? Your candidates have to face election, the Japanese prime minister faces re-election, too."
The TPP, of which Singapore is a part of, was agreed to last year, although each of the 12 countries need to have the agreement ratified by their respective domestic legislatures before it can come into force.
That process is thought to be especially difficult in the US, and Lee said he was not optimistic that it could be done.
Still, he stressed that the TPP was a critical anchor for the White House's Asia policy and said that the consequences of failure at this stage were drastic, both economically and geopolitically.
"You can say that you are rebalancing towards Asia, but is it words or is it deeds?" he asked.
"And even if, in fact, you are rebalancing towards Asia with aircraft carriers and aeroplanes, what is it in aid of?"
He added: "If America is not able to play the same game in the same league, and then your friends will say, I want to be friends with the US but to what extent can I depend on the US?
"And it is not just the small countries. I mean, the Japanese have gone out on a limb, Mr Abe, to commit, to participate in the TPP And if at the end of it all, you let him down, which next Japanese Prime Minister is going to count on you, not just on trade, but security?"
And the TPP similarly has implications on the sort of role the US can play in the South China Sea issue.
"Without that [TPP], without the interest in a broad range of mutual cooperation, America is just another country which has some claim or some assertion," he said.
Despite all the challenges, he made it clear that the US continues to have an important leadership role to play and that was not about to change in the near future.
"You will still be the leader and if you do not cooperate, nothing can be done. If you do not do climate change, there is no climate change solution for the world because unless you are committed, we cannot get the Chinese along, much less the Indians and everybody else.
"So, your role remains indispensable. Whether you are prepared to step up to that, or whether you decide to chuck it and just ignore what the consequences will be, because they come after the current presidential term, well, that, we cannot say how your political process will turn out."
Mr Lee is in the US for a week-long visit.
On Friday, he will attend the 4th Nuclear Security Summit in Washington.
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Linkedin Annisa Ihsani (The Jakarta Post) Malta Fri, April 1, 2016
Back in 2010, I was accepted on the European Masters Program in Language and Communication Technologies. It was a joint program and they assigned me to two universities: one the university I chose during registration, the other the University of Malta.
"Wheres that?" people asked me about the latter.
"It's in Malta."
"Yes, but in which country?"
"Er ... "
Not many people in Indonesia have heard of Malta. I, too, only learned of its existence through the Masters program.
Yes, I was to spend a year in a place I had never heard of. But, as it turned out, it was one of the most unforgettable years of my life.
Here are six things you need to know about Malta.
Malta is a country, located to the south of Italy.
Which country?
Well, that's not really a valid question, since Malta is a country. It is an archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea, located to the south of Italy.
There are three large islands, Malta, Gozo and Comino, as well as some small, uninhabited islands. It is the smallest country in Europe and, with around 400,000 inhabitants, one of the most densely populated.
Prepare to be enchanted
Over the course of the year, more tourists visit Malta than there are residents.
From the narrow, hilly streets of the capital city Valletta to the Blue Lagoon of Comino island, it's not hard to see why Malta is a very popular tourist destination.
Hilly streets of the capital city Valletta.
Popular filming location
In the first season of Game of Thrones, scenes were shot all over Malta. The Azure Windowa stunning rock formation in Gozowas used as a backdrop to a wedding between two characters.
Malta was also used as a filming location for movies including Popeye, Gladiator and Troy.
Loud traffic
People in Malta drive on the left, and they drive very fast and loud, honking the horn at every turn. But don't worry, priority still goes to pedestrians. Most drivers stop to let you cross the road.
People often complained about the increasing number of cars and bad traffic. Of course, coming from Jakarta, I had no idea what they were talking about.
Safe country
Though the traffic is nowhere near as bad as Jakarta, it can't be denied that there are a lot of cars for such a small place. But what surprised me was that they were often parked on the side of the road with the keys left inside, windows open, doors unlocked.
My friend once asked a Maltese if it was safe to sleep with the windows open, since her room didn't have air conditioning but she was afraid someone would climb in through the window. The Maltese responded that if that ever happened, it would be in the news for three months.
That might be an exaggeration, but it's true that Malta is considered a safe country.
The main mode of public transportation was the vintage Malta buses.
Vintage buses
When I lived there, the main mode of public transportation was the vintage Malta buses, which released black exhaust smoke and rarely ran on time. They were privately owned, and the drivers would often customize them with personal decorations like a giant cross or stickers with slogans such as True Love Never Dies.
In 2011, however, the transportation system underwent a major change. The old buses were replaced with shiny, scheduled and more environmentally friendly buses.
***
Annisa Ihsani is a writer, book nerd, and mother of one. She is the author of middle-grade novel "Teka-Teki Terakhir" (Gramedia Pustaka Utama, 2014).
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post.
If you missed Tuesdays nights candidate forum at the East River Cooperative, theres another opportunity to learn about the special election in 65th Assembly District next week. The election takes place April 19. The winning candidate will serve the remainder of Sheldon Silvers term, and then run for re-election in the fall.
Asian Americans for Equality, the Educational Alliance and Chinese American Voters Association have organized a forum at the Manny Cantor Center Wednesday night from 6:30-8:30 p.m. All four candidates are expected to attend: Alice Cancel (D), Yuh-Line Niou (Working Families Party), Lester Chang (R) and Dennis Levy (Green Party). Our own Ed Litvak will be the moderator, joined by reporters from World Journal, China Press, Sing Tao Daily and SinoVision. Well be covering issues of specific importance in Chinatown, but will also address other general topics.
The Manny Cantor Center is located at 197 East Broadway. we hope youll join us Wednesday night.
Extell Development is hoping to raise between $100 million and $200 million for the 815-unit (One Manhattan Square) project through the popular and controversial (EB-5) program, which offers foreign investors a U.S. green card in exchange for a $500,000 investment. [Real Deal]
As the luxury condo market cools, developers are delaying sales campaigns. At Ben Shaouls 196 Orchard St., for example, marketing wont start until (the building) reaches its third floor in about four months. [Crains]
The citys Department of Investigation has now issued subpoenas in the Rivington House matter. [Daily News]
The judge in Sheldon Silvers federal corruption case wants a report from prosecutors on sentences received by officials convicted in similar cases during the past five years. [Daily News]
The organization, Barrier Free Living, has agreed to pay the family of a man fatally stabbed at its East 2nd Street shelter $1.2 million. [Daily News]
Soho Houses revenues are up, but the company has a cash flow problem as it opens new clubs worldwide, including one on the Lower East Side. [Financial Times]
A sad report about the fate of a familiar hawk in Chinatown. [Goggin Photography]
State Assembly candidate Yuh-Line Niou has picked up the key endorsements of two local Democrats. In a press release from her campaign this afternoon, she announced the backing of State Sen. Daniel Squadron and Assemblyman Brian Kavanagh.
Niou is running on the Working Families Party line in the April 19 special election to succeed Sheldon Silver. Alice Cancel won the Democratic nomination in a vote by the local County Committee. She was endorsed by City Council member Rosie Mendez. But most other high-ranking Democrats have either withheld endorsements or backed Niou. Mainstream news stories have played up Cancels ties to Silver, who will be sentenced on federal corruption charges later this month.
Squadron represents sections of Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan. His 26th Senate District covers much of the same territory as the 65th Assembly District. Yuh-Line Niou has the energy, progressive ideals and focus on reform to make a big difference in the district and in Albany, said Squadron.
Kavanagh represents the 74th Assembly District, just to the north of Silvers former Lower Manhattam fiefdom. He said, Yuh-Line will be exactly the kind of legislator we need to join the fight for affordable housing, stronger rent laws and proper maintenance and security in public housing,.. We know that corrupt landlords were at the heart of the scandal that created this vacancy; we need to change the way Albany works and nothing would be more appropriate than electing a truly pro-tenant reformer to fill this seat.
One local elected official who has not yet endorsed a candidate is City Council member Margaret Chin. Nious base of support in Chinatown comes from the United Democratic Organization. That political clubs co-founder, Virginia Kee, and Council member Chin are not the best of friends. Chin is widely expected to back Gigi Li, chairperson of Community Board 3, in the regularly scheduled Democratic primary coming up in September.
I became a vegetarian when I was 14 years old for a variety of reasons, not all of them necessarily admirable or based on ethics. I was concerned for animal welfare but vegetarianism was also an easier way of hiding my brief and painful eating disorder from my parents and friends, a way to assert my 14-year-old self into a particular brand of neo-hippie fashion, and a way to manufacture an identity at a time when I wanted to stand out and be heard. Also, somewhere deep down inside me, beneath the ornament and artifice, I truly felt that eating animals was wrong.
I returned to meat when I was in college, partially because vegetarianism had suddenly gone out of fashion, replaced with higher protein diets that emphasized the importance of meat, and partially as a means of overcoming my obsession with monitoring and controlling the amount of food I ate. I am more important than a chicken or a cow, I told myself and slowly but surely weaned myself back to enjoying the pleasure of food I had once forsaken. Relearning to eat meat, for me, was an exercise in self empowerment- not self empowerment the way that many books and TV shows in America advertise or market it as a product, but empowerment in the truest sense. This was about survival. If Darwin was right and only the fittest are meant to survive on this planet, then I was going to be the fittest. I relished the feeling of eating meat, of enjoying my place in the food chain (high up there). It was a good decision. I grew healthier and stronger, and I vowed to never look back. On Yom Kippur, whem my entire family was fasting, I refused. I didnt want to fixate and focus on my eating, even in the name of God or self reflection. In my mind, this kind of reflection, of consideration for my bodys wants and needs, was sentimental and weak, a reflection of a struggle between and among myself, my belief system and the world at large, and I had emerged the victor.
In Eating Animals, Jonathan Safran Foer asks us to do just this kind of reflection. Many reviews of Eating Animals focus on the more practical concerns and issues that Foer raises about factory farming-how our farm animals are overcrowded, over medicated and sick and the implications of this for us, the people eating the animals. For Foer, these issues are important in that they reinforce the urgency with which we must recognize the horrors of factory farming, while showing us that there is nothing natural about the process of eating meat today at all.
While Foers patient and inventive way of chronicling the way eating factory-farmed meat impacts us is educational, there is nothing necessarily new about this knowledge that you couldnt find in any number of mainstream books and magazines advocating a vegetarian lifestyle. It is also not his main argument. To Foer, our ideal method for reevaluating the way we view the food we eat is through the lens of compassion. At the start of his book, Foer insists that A straightforward case for vegetarianism is worth writing but that is not what I have written here. and he is right. Eating Animals is, in many ways, a book about reflection and that means asking questions, rather than always providing answers.
The question that ultimately propels this book is whether or not in todays world, eating meat is necessary and natural, and why we, as powerful and compassionate creatures, aware of suffering, continue to allow it. Foer acknowledges that there are many potential answers to this question, not all of which include vegetarianism. He admires the few (too few in fact) family farms, that still exist in the US, and leaves himself open to the possibility that a more humane manner of raising meat is possible. For someone who presents such a thorough and devastating account of the worst of human food production, Foer is an optimist. He believes that individual choices matter and that we have the power to make these choices daily. The decision to eat or not eat factory farmed meat (which is 99% of the meat available in supermarkets in the US today) is a moral one. He says, It might sound naive to suggest that whether you order a chicken patty or a burger is a profoundly important decision. Then again, it certainly would have sounded fantastic if in the 1950s you were told that where you sat in a restaurant or on a bus could begin to uproot racism.
It is precisely these kind of sentiments that make Eating Animals polarizing, and, in some ways controversial. The world is full of too many problems, some readers and critics say, and animals are not important enough to be first on the agenda for moral thought and reflection. But Foer is not asserting that we should abandon all other causes in the interest of adopting a lifestyle which includes humane treatment for animals, merely that we extend that kind of thought to them.
It is a reasonable argument, and its a wonder that many take personal offense to the suggestion that the way we are eating is wrong. In contrast to theorists like Peter Singer, who make the accusatory arguement that the way we treat animals is a form of speciesism, Foer provides, for readers who choose to contemplate these issues, a remarkably gentle assault of information. He agrees that the food we eat, including meat, is more than just sustenance, a concept he explores by explaining the way his Grandmother, a woman who survived Nazi Europe, obsesses about food. Food, for her, is not food. It is terror, dignity, gratitude, vengeance, joyfulness, humiliation, religion, history, and, of course, love.
Eating Animals is a sensitive and brave book and as such will always be met by certain criticisms reserved for things which are sensitive and brave. People will argue that the text is interesting, but naive and idealistic, which is true I think, only if you believe that most people are not sensitive and brave. Foer, however, is optimistic, urging the importance of stories themselves, but also, and more importantly, the retelling of stories, the tremendous power and privilege of being human, of reflecting on the past and being willing to change and make ourselves better people in the future.
Not everyone will share this type of introspection. Many of us havent spent periods of our life thinking about the food we eat, where it comes from and why we eat it and for those people, the effectiveness on this text will hinge on how effectively Foer is able to demonstrate the importance of thinking about the meat industry at all. For me, Eating Animals was an opportunity to re investigate two of my earliest convictions the decision to stop eating meat and the decision to start again. Whatever I decide to do next will be entirely the same, and also an entirely different story.
David Attenborough should be no platformed by UK universities due to his exploitation of animals purely in the pursuit of his own voyeuristic gains, according to a student pressure group.
In secret documents leaked to The National Student, the Animal Rights Sympathy Exchange (A.R.S.E) claims that Attenborough s wildlife documentaries are damaging in their very nature through exploitation of their subject matter and that the veteran broadcaster has shown blatant disregard for issues of consent with regards to the animals he has spied on throughout his 60+ year career. In secret documents leaked to The National Student, the Animal Rights Sympathy Exchange (A.R.S.E) claims that Attenborough s wildlife documentaries are damaging in their very nature through exploitation of their subject matter and that the veteran broadcaster has shown blatant disregard for issues of consent with regards to the animals he has spied on throughout his 60+ year career.
In a memo to the groups committee, A.R.S.E Lead Campaigner Felicity Harpington-Wong writes, Although he has come to be regarded in some circles as a national treasure, we are staging a motion to have this term struck from every university-affiliated mention of David Attenborough from the past five years.
David Attenborough has continually exploited the animals that he bases his voyeuristic so-called documentaries on, filming them without their knowledge in a clandestine manner, with no regard to issues of consent or the emotional welfare of the animals themselves.
It is for this reason that we are also calling for him to be no-platformed by all universities who consider themselves to be ethically pliant when it comes to the very real issues of animal exploitation and disrespect in the 21st Century.
Harpington-Wong is a 29-year-old abattoir worker turned campaign manager, who has held various positions in student unions throughout the country.
She also self-identifies as a squirrel, something that she has previously said has led to years of torment from the inter-speciesist masses, whose narrow-minded politics are preventing us from making real progress for all races and species.
Before launching A.R.S.E in November 2014 she led an unsuccessful campaign to have all Quorn products removed from university campuses in the UK, in an attempt to remove the insulting appropriation and idolisation of meat-based products from venues in which vegetarian, vegan, pescetarian students should have as much right as anyone else to feel safe and comfortable.
She added that the anti-Attenborough memo will be distributed to the NUS and student media outlets in the coming weeks, and will be followed by a viral social media campaign using the hashtag #NoPeAttenborough.
A.R.S.E also hopes to receive support from animal rights charity PETA in its campaign.
David Attenborough has been awarded various honours during his career, including a CBE. He is also a Fellow of the Zoological Society of London, the Royal Society and the Society of Antiquaries.
The 89-year-old has yet to comment on the motion.
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Let it go, say Swedish police on fart case
STOCKHOLM: A Swedish woman filed a police complaint after a rejected and vindictive suitor broke wind as he stormed out of her apartment, but police found no proof of intent not a whiff and dismissed the case.
accidentscrimeculturepolicesexhumorpollutionenvironment
By AFP
Friday 1 April 2016, 11:02AM
Its impossible to prove that he wanted to pass particularly smelly wind on purpose, said a spokesman for the local Swedish police. Photo: AFP
The woman, a resident of the Laholm municipality in southern Sweden, told the online edition of daily Hallandsposten on Thursday (Mar 31) that the man had been invited into her home for coitus. Once inside she had a change of heart and turned him down. But before leaving, the disgruntled man left her with a malodorous memento. It smelled awful, she wrote in her police complaint, asking for a harassment charge to be pressed against the man, which would carry a fine or prison sentence of up to one year. Swedish police decided however to drop the case. Its impossible to prove that he wanted to pass particularly smelly wind on purpose, said a spokesman for the local police, Kenneth Persson.
Myanmar national attacked at Phuket school yesterday, to face gun charges
PHUKET: A Myanmar national who was attacked at local school yesterday (Mar 31) is set to face charges including illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition, while his friend, who managed to avoid arrest, is still on the run.
By Eakkapop Thongtub
Friday 1 April 2016, 01:00PM
Yan, 21, was attacked after he tried to shoot a local market vendor who refused to buy a sack of shellfish. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub
The man, named only as Yan, 21, had to be taken to hospital handcuffed to a hospital trolley yesterday after being assaulted by a group at the Phuket Municipal School on Phoonpol Rd. (See story here.)
Maj Rakkhet Munmuang from Phuket City Police told The Phuket News today (Apr 1) that Yan is currently being held at Phuket City Police where he is facing charges of illegal possession of firearm and ammunition, carrying firearm into a public place with out a permit and shooting in public place.
Maj Rakkhet explained that a local market vendor, Mr Somjai Usaha, 64, came forward after the incident and told them that two Myanmar men approached him at his market stall at the fresh market on Ranong Rd yesterday offering to sell him a sack of shellfish.
Mr Somjai said, They offered to sell me one sack of shellfish but I refused and they got upset. The two started to argue with me, then one of them tried to shoot me but missed.
I called for for help and the two ran away into the school grounds, he said.
I was told later that some people from the market followed them into the school and attacked them, he added.
Maj Rakkhet added, Yan later admitted that he and his friend, who we are still looking for, wanted to sell shellfish to the vendor because they need money and they got angry when the man refused to buy.
Phuket beach attack leaves two tourists injured
PHUKET: Police are looking for three youths who are alleged to have attacked four tourists on Patong Beach in the early hours of this morning (Apr 1).
violencecrimepatongpolice
By Darawan Naknakhon
Friday 1 April 2016, 06:27PM
The incident took place on Patong Beach close to the Graceland Hotel.
Lt Col Anukul Nookaid of Kathu Police was alerted of an incident at 4:30am where it was reported that three youths had had attacked four tourists on Patong Beach close to Graceland Hotel.
The victims, were named as Daniel James Wade, 20, and Ms Natasha Gibson, 21, from Australia and Anton Lukin, 30, and Ms Aleksandra Obodova, 22, from Russia.
Mr Lukin suffered an injury to his hand and was admitted to Patong Hospital, Ms Obodova suffered injuries to her left hand, right knee and abdomen and was admitted to Vachira Hospital. Both are recovering well from their injuries police have been told.
According to the police statement, the four were playing in the water when three teenagers arrived at the beach. Mr Lukin and Ms Obodova came to shore and were threatened by the youths with a knife.
The two sustained injuries whilst trying to grab the knife from the attackers.
Mr Wade and Ms Gibson tried to assist the two Russians and sustained minor injuries.
The three youths then sped away on a motorbike towards Loma Park.
Lt Col Anukul said, We are currently checking CCTV footage from the area to assist us in finding the suspects.
Social figures up in arms as body art goes corporate
PHUKET: Reaction has been swift to a new style of publicity campaign that has seen young attractive people brand their bodies with corporate tattoos, with company logos featuring prominently on their faces, foreheads and anywhere else the eyes may wander.
cultureeconomicshumor
By The Phuket News
Friday 1 April 2016, 05:00AM
Branded by design: Social figures are up in arms as youngsters rent parts of their bodies to promote corporate tattoos.
The campaign, brokered by The Sponsorship Experts - Paul Poole (South East Asia) Co., Ltd, has prompted an outpouring of complaints from concerned parents and leading university staff.
We cant have this. Its ridiculous, said one parent, who asked not to be named for fear of publicly identifying his son. How can my child go around for the rest of his life bearing a company logo on his body? he asked.
One mother, proud of her daughters assets, felt likewise. Imagine her husband on her wedding night. All he will be thinking of is [company name removed], she said.
One staffer at a respected local university told The Phuket News that faculty members had expressed sincere concern that the popularity of the body logo tattoos would skyrocket as students seek new ways paying their tuition fees.
However, Paul Poole, founder of The Sponsorship Experts - Paul Poole (South East Asia) Co., Ltd noted that the campaign was still in its infancy, and that selection of candidates was a precise process.
Prominence and corporate alignment is key, said Mr Poole. The concept is for the brand to be seen by as many people in target markets as possible.
So we have to choose the right kind of people to promote the right kind of brand, and thats what we do well... matching the right clients with the right exposure, he said.
As brand ambassadors, the people selected must physically match the representation sought by the company whose logo they will carry.
Motorbike brands are proving popular with young men, while young women taking part in the campaign are more partial to promoting womens products, explained Mr Poole. But they must match. For example, there is no point on having a tattoo of a fast-food company located on, say, an inner thigh, when any persons likely to see that logo is not likely to be thinking of a hamburger when they see it, he added.
Tour firms struggle with lack of Chinese-speaking guides
BANGKOK: The Thailand-China Tourism Association (TCTA) wants government help to solve the problem of a shortage of licensed Chinese-speaking tour guides and soaring numbers of Chinese visitors.
Chinesetourismeconomics
By Bangkok Post
Friday 1 April 2016, 12:03PM
A group of tour operators ask the government to help them solve the problem of a shortage of Chinese-speaking tour guides. Photo: Bangkok Post / Pattarachai Preechapanich
TCTA president Ronnarong Cheewinsiriamnuai said the private sector had cooperated with the government in catering for Chinese tourists, and promoting Thailand as a desirable destination. This had resulted in a sharp rise in the number of Chinese visitors to Thailand in recent years. The association expected that around 10 million Chinese would visit Thailand in 2016, up from 7.9 million in 2015 and 4.7 million each in 2014 and 2013. He said the influx of Chinese visitors had caused problems for tour operators because there was a severe shortage of Chinese-speaking tour guides. This forced some firms to illegally hire unlicensed tour guides. The association wants the government to address the problem and find ways to alleviate it. About a hundred representatives from the association submitted the request in a petition to the prime minister on Wednesday (Mar 30). Read original story here.
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The time is ripe, it seems to me, for assessing the deep change brought by the Internet era. Its ripe because, now, theres a generation grown up entirely within that era. Those of us from before the dawn of the Internet, could try to assess it but our roots were outside it and our view was skewed. For early millennials, born along with the Internet, the outlines werent as clear as they now are; they were transitional. But literal millennials, born circa 2000, are true creatures of the Internet age; their experience belongs entirely to it.
Early attempts to categorize the change tended toward wild enthusiasm (the most transforming technological event since the capture of fire, wrote John Perry Barlow in 1995) or despair (Is Google making us stupid?). A millennial I know says it was utopianism versus dystopianism.
The actual nature of the shift from mass media like newspapers or TV to the Internet was often defined as a shift from one-to-many contact (since a few writers or producers sent out their messages to a passive mass of consumers) over to many-to-many communication via social media, where everyone can produce content. Thats what led those like Barlow to hail the democratic potential of the Internet and it sounded smart at the time. In retrospect, Id say their approach concealed a lingering mass media bias toward focusing on content versus the way individuals lives are affected by the Internet experience.
Heres what I mean. Those of us from the mass media era felt TV and its ilk were pervasive. But actually those media were confined to the living room or the bar, or when we were reading. Even phones were tethered to the wall and others competed for their use. Otherwise when we were walking from place to place, for instance we were on our own, alone. We had lots of me time. True netizens, on the other hand, are never unconnected. Even as they sleep, their phones glow by their beds and they check them each time they awake during the night. They have almost no sheer me-time. Early critics said they were addicted to their cellphones. But really it was a sea-change in whats normal.
We have to beware the menace of old-fartism lurking here. Some of us tend to romanticize me-time as noble solitude where we thought deep thoughts or communed with the universe. In reality most lonely walks to work or the store were spent obsessing pointlessly about irresoluble personal issues or tight schedules. Conversely, constant connectivity can lead to fuller, more social lives; being in touch with friends at all hours can develop empathy. None of these effects are preset; but theyre two different ways of experiencing life and the world. Overall, this is a way of viewing the Internets effects existentially or anthropologically, rather than technologically and, often, moralistically.
What are the wider implications? Its hard to say. In the mass media era, the dominant social institution was the nuclear family: a fairly recent, primitive, often stifling institution (IMHO). Emotionally its almost indescribably intense. Its highly resistant to change in basic patterns; its as if it exists outside time. Friendships were limited to those you could meet, in nearby physical space, who might move away. With the Internet, the potential of friendship widened vastly. Relationships could expand in the greater time available and also deepen, perhaps counterbalancing the inertia of the family stuff. This in turn could offset the glacial sense of social or historical change that reflected family dynamics.
Might this explain anything? Well, its hard not to be struck by the accelerated pace of recent change. Advances in gay or gender rights have come far faster than those in voting rights, or civil or womens rights, ever did. This now extends to less personal issues like a minimum wage or Basic Annual Income, which have leapt onto the agenda unexpectedly. Where did the new willingness to run deficits come from? It was unspeakable just a few years ago.
Im especially intrigued by Bernie Sanders bond with millennials, and their powerful emotional stake in his campaign. Is there some kind of parental substitute here: an elder who evokes their own sense that big changes (the revolution) neednt be daunting, hopeless and inadmissible in public discourse because we now connect to the world and each other in new ways?
Rick Salutins column appears Friday. ricksalutin@ca.inter.net
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LONDON (The Deal) -- It's sunny in London Friday but the markets seem to have caught a second-quarter cold, shrugging off a better-than-expected purchasing managers index result from China to focus instead on poor figures from Japan and decidedly mixed results nearer home.
Across Europe, investors are looking to the U.S. nonfarm payrolls report for March on Friday for an indication of whether the Federal Reserve will tighten as cautiously as Chair Janet Yellen seemed to suggest this week.
In London, the FTSE 100 was off 1.19% at 6,101.3, while in Frankfurt the DAX was down 1.68% at 9,798.15. In Paris, the CAC 40 was down 1.82% at 4,305.22.
S&P 500 futures were off 0.33%.
Manufacturing growth in the U.K. disappointed for the second month running, as the Markit/chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply PMI came in at 51.0. That's better than in February and still signals expansion, but economists had been hoping for more. And uncertainty over the future of steel production in Britain and the country's continued membership of the European Union continues to weigh on sentiment.
Meanwhile, Markit's PMI outturn for the eurozone was slightly up from the previous month at 51.6, but deflationary pressures are strong across the zone, the Spanish economy's recovery showed signs of slowing and in Italy a positive PMI was undermined by a sudden increase in unemployment.
In company news, supermarket J. Sainsbury (JSAIY) dropped almost 2.5% to a low of 269.6 pence before recovering somewhat, on news that Home Retail Group agreed to its 1.2 billion ($1.7 billion) cash and shares offer. By mid-morning, Sainsbury was still down 1.4% at 272.4 pence. Home Retail itself, which sold one of two main businesses, Homebase, earlier this year and now mainly consists of the catalog-based general retail unit Argos, also declined following the announcement, falling 0.6% to 164.8 pence.
Irish banana trader Fyffes (FYFFF) rose 3.9% on its acquisition of Canadian mushroom producer Highline Produce for C$145 million ($111.2 million), a move it said would be immediately accretive to its earnings per share but would leave its net debt at less than 2.5 times Ebitda. Fyffes said it expects net debt to reduce to below twice Ebitda within two years based on the cash flows of both companies.
French luxury goods group Kering (PPRUY) dropped over 2% on the news that Hedi Slimane, creative director of fashion house Yves Saint Laurent, is to step down after four years.
Also in the French fashion world, Chinese textile group Shandong Ruyi, which is listed on the Shenzhen exchange, said it will buy French fashion retailer SMCP SAS from New York-listed private-equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) in a deal valuing the business at about 1.3 billion ($1.48 billion). KKR stands to double the cash it put into SMCP and exit with an internal rate of return of more than 20% over three years.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 plummeted 3.55% to close at 16,164.16, while the Topix index slid 3.4% to finish the day at 1,301.4. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropped 1.34% to 20,498.92, but in mainland China, the combined Shanghai and Shenzhen CSI300 bucked the trend rising after a middle of the day slump to close up 0.12% at 3,221.895.
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) stock is down by 0.89% to $466.77 in late morning trading on Friday, after the company was downgraded to "neutral" from "buy" at Goldman Sachs. The firm lowered its price target on the stock to $500 from $550.
The restaurant company was downgraded due to concerns about higher-than-expected promotional costs and customer opinions about the brand, Goldman said in a note. Chipotle stock has dropped by about 28% during the last year after cases of E. coli and norovirus were linked to the company.
"We acknowledge we are late to the downgrade at these levels; increased concerns about the cadence and costs of the comp recovery now fully offset our confidence in longer-term upside," Goldman said.
Goldman did something "unbelievable" by admitting their rating on the stock was wrong, TheStreet's Action Alerts Plus Portfolio Manager Jim Cramer says.
Additionally, Chipotle stock trading between $400 to $450 has been the "sweet spot" for the company, Cramer says.
"I think that six months from now you're not going to be thinking about this," he added. "Eighteen months from now, the numbers are going to be good. But you've got to be patient."
Separately, recently, TheStreet Ratings objectively rated this stock according to its "risk-adjusted" total return prospect over a 12-month investment horizon. Not based on the news in any given day, the rating may differ from Jim Cramer's view or that of this articles's author.
TheStreet Ratings rates this stock as a "hold" with a ratings score of C+. Among the primary strengths of the company is its respectable return on equity which we feel is likely to continue. At the same time, however, we also find weaknesses including a generally disappointing performance in the stock itself, unimpressive growth in net income and poor profit margins.
You can view the full analysis from the report here: CMG
Editors' pick: Originally published April 1.
Two veteran airline analysts reduced their outlooks for the industry, a result of a slowdown in traffic and concerns about European travel.
Deutsche Bank analyst Michael Linenberg lowered his ratings on American (AAL) , Delta (DAL) , United (UAL) and Hawaiian from buy to hold, while CRT Capital Group analyst Mike Derchin reduced estimates for American, Delta and United, in a report and a note, respectively, both released Friday morning.
Both analysts retained long-term positive outlooks, and both said they favor domestic airlines including Alaska, JetBlue, Spirit, Southwest and, in Derchin's case, Hawaiian. (Linenberg also includes SkyWest).
Linenberg said he lowered ratings on four airlines because "we have observed a slowdown in U.S. corporate profits which is a concern given that they are a leading indicator of economic activity, and therefore, could lead to reduced demand for corporate travel.
"The prevailing view is that we are in the latter stages of an economic cycle, which is typically a period of underperforming for U.S. stocks," Linenberg said, noting that April marks the 83rd month of U.S. GDP expansion, the fourth-longest expansion on record. Also, airline stocks tend to underperform during a Federal Reserve tightening cycle, he said.
Linenberg downgraded even though major airlines trade at nine times 2016 estimates, compared with a historical range of 10 to 12 times estimates, while growth airlines trade at 12 times earnings compared with a historic range of 15 to 20 times earnings. He also noted that fuel price volatility remains a risk factor.
Meanwhile, Derchin said he is worried that recent terrorist incidents in Brussels and Paris will impact passenger revenue per available seat mile on Europe routes. "We feel it reasonable to reduce our Atlantic PRASM forecast for the Big 3 for the balance of the year," he wrote. He also said the Zika virus could impact travel to Latin America.
Derchin cut his full-year earnings estimate for American to $6.32 from $7.03 a share. He includes an expense of $250 million due to American's recently announced profit-sharing plan and boost to flight attendant wages.
Additionally, Derchin cut his full-year estimate for Delta to $6.70 from $7.07 a share and cut his full-year estimate for United to $8.47 from $8.71 a share.
Linenberg, meanwhile, noted that despite the restructuring of the airline industry, which is likely to exceed last year's record operating profits, major investors seem to have lost interest in airlines.
"We have learned from our client meetings over the past several months that attractive share price valuations and pro-shareholder initiatives are not reason enough to invest in the sector, particularly the major airline names, as concerns about the US and global economy dominate the conversation," he wrote.
In premarket trading Friday, American shares were down 99 cents to $40.02. Delta shares were down 93 cents to $47.75. United shares were down 41 cents to $59.45.
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) -- General Motors Co. (GM) shares are under pressure, down by 2.39% to $30.68 on Friday after the automaker earlier today reported lower-than-expected auto sales for the month of March.
Total sales increased by 0.9% year-over-year to 252,128 vehicles, while analysts polled by Reuters expected sales of 260,500 vehicles.
Despite the total sales miss, GM's retail sales rose by 6% to 193,524 vehicles in March, a bullish sign that points toward higher profitability, USA Today reports.
Additionally, auto sales in Canada were strong for the month as Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac dealers delivered 24,498 vehicles, a 17% year-over-year growth, GM noted, adding that there was one extra selling day this year compared with March 2015.
Separately, TheStreet Ratings currently has a "Buy" rating on the stock with a letter grade of B-.
The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its compelling growth in net income, revenue growth, notable return on equity, attractive valuation levels and impressive record of earnings per share growth. We feel its strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had generally high debt management risk by most measures that we evaluated.
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: GM
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Amicus (FOLD) stock is up by 8.17% to $9.14 in early-afternoon trading on Friday, after a European regulatory panel recommended the approval of its drug for a rare genetic disorder.
If approved, the treatment would be the biopharmaceutical company's first product on the market, Bloomberg reports.
The drug, migalastat, is a pill to treat patients with Fabry disease, an inherited disease resulting from the buildup of a certain type of fat in the body's cells. The disease impacts between 5,000 and 10,000 people worldwide, according to Amicus.
JPMorgan (JPM) analyst Anupam Rama estimates that global sales of the drug will range between $350 and $400 million, of which roughly 70% could come from patients outside the U.S., TheStreet's Adam Feuerstein reports.
Amicus expects complete European approval of the drug in coming months.
Migalastat hasn't received FDA approval, as the company's plan to file for U.S. clearance was delayed in October after the FDA requested additional data, Bloomberg adds.
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide (HOT) are slipping by 4.91% to $79.33 on heavy trading volume Friday afternoon, as a group of investors led by Chinese insurer Anbang abandoned its bid to takeover the hotel company after yesterday's market close.
This clears the way for MarriottInternational (MAR) to complete its purchase of Starwood, which operates hotels such as the Westin, Sheraton, St. Regis and the W.
In November, the two hotel operators had originally agreed to a $12.2 billion merger, before Anbang emerged with an unsolicited offer, RealMoney's Tony Owusu wrote in an article yesterday.
Anbang's most recent offer was for $82.75 per share, or about $14 billion, after a bidding war with Marriott.
"We were attracted to the opportunity presented by Starwood because of its high-quality, leading global hotel brands, which met many of our acquisition criteria, including the ability to generate consistent, long-term returns over time," Anbang said in a statement cited by Reuters.
"However, due to various market considerations, the consortium has determined not to proceed further," Anbang added.
TheStreet's Jim Cramer, Portfolio Manager of the Action Alerts Plus charitable trust, commented: "The Chinese communists walk away from Starwood. Holy cow! We don't really know why. I have a theory. They got too big. They got too much publicity and the Chinese communists want to operate under the radar screen because it's an election year."
Anbang is controlled by the Chinese communist party, Cramer noted.
"My understanding is that the first Anbang deal was fully committed but the financing for the second one was sketchy so Marriott may not have fared all that badly after the synergies are taking into account. But it was a full price wrenched out for certain," Cramer added.
Shares of Marriott are dropping 5.56% to $67.22 on Friday afternoon on heavy trading volume.
Roughly 12.26 million of the company's shares changed hands so far today compared to its average volume of 4.87 million shares per day.
About 8.19 million of Starwood's shares were traded by this afternoon vs. its average volume of 5.17 million shares per day.
Separately, TheStreet Ratings Team has a "Buy" rating with a score of B on Starwood.
This is driven by a few notable strengths, which should have a greater impact than any weaknesses, and should give investors a better performance opportunity than most stocks covered.
Among the primary strengths of the company is its solid financial position based on a variety of debt and liquidity measures that we have evaluated.
The team believes its strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had somewhat weak growth in 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's author.
You can view the full analysis from the report here: HOT
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Transocean (RIG) stock is down 5.80% to $8.61 in mid-afternoon trading on Friday as oil prices plunge.
Crude oil (WTI) is falling 3.36% to $37.05 per barrel and Brent oil is slipping by 3.55% to $38.90 per barrel this afternoon, according to the CNBC.com index.
Oil prices are sliding after Saudi Arabian Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told Bloomberg that the country would only freeze oil production if Iran agrees to the proposed freeze as well.
OPEC members are considering a freeze on production in order to boost prices, which have been pressured by a global glut.
"The Saudis are now saying that they will only freeze if everyone else lines up behind the idea," Tim Evans, an energy analyst at Citi Futures Perspective, told Bloomberg. "That makes the meeting useless since the Iranians are going to continue increasing output."
Based in Switzerland, Transocean is a provider of offshore contract drilling services for oil and gas wells.
Recently, TheStreet Ratings objectively rated this stock according to its "risk-adjusted" total return prospect over a 12-month investment horizon. Not based on the news in any given day, the rating may differ from Jim Cramer's view or that of this articles's author.
TheStreet Ratings rates this stock as a "sell" with a ratings score of D+. This is driven by multiple weaknesses, which we believe should have a greater impact than any strengths, and could make it more difficult for investors to achieve positive results compared to most of the stocks we cover. Among the areas we feel are negative, one of the most important has been a generally disappointing historical performance in the stock itself.
You can view the full analysis from the report here: RIG
TheStreet's Jim Cramer has been waiting for the March labor report for most of this week. But now that we know the results (and Cramer's way to trade it), what's the co-manager of the Action Alerts PLUS portfolio looking for next week?
Cramer's got his eye on a pair of drug store companies, that being Walgreens (WBA) and Rite Aid (RAD) .
Both companies report earnings next week, with Walgreens on Tuesday and Rite Aid on Thursday. And as if the quarterly results weren't important enough, Cramer will also be waiting to hear an update on the companies' merger.
Investors need clarity on how the merger is coming, Cramer said, otherwise it might start to weigh on shares of Walgreens.
Cramer and Research Director Jack Mohr recently trimmed their position in Walgreens, because it had gotten too large for the portfolio.
If investors get clarity on the merger, Walgreens "is going to go much higher, because I think the earnings are going to be quite good," Cramer reasoned.
At the time of publication, Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS had a long position in WBA.
On Tuesday, organized labor dodged a bullet at the Supreme Court. The 4-4 vote (a tie which the late Justice Antonin Scalia almost certainly would have broken in favor of the plaintiff) left in place a 9th Circuit's decision favoring the California Teacher's Union, a result that's important mainly in the terms of what didn't happen: The justices didn't decide to gut public sector unions, not this week at least.
First a quick primer on the issue. Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association was about the practice of unions collecting so-called fair share fees from nonmembers to cover the cost of representation. The goal is to prevent free riders from getting all the benefits of collective bargaining without paying any of the associated costs (lawyers aren't cheap). These fees are typically part of the deal unions negotiate with employers.
The Friedrichs plaintiffs challenged this on the grounds that, although fair-share fees aren't supposed to pay for political advocacy, in government work all employment negotiations are political. How much a teacher gets paid relates directly to the school budget, which feeds up into the local budget and is part of a bigger political debate. As a result, any bargain is a political act, and coercing teachers to subsidize the union's lawyers is forced speech.
(This argument elides the fact that, were this were true, cashing that negotiated paycheck would also be a political act. As would using the creamer in the teacher's lounge, buying subsidized tater tots in the cafeteria, taking a sick day, etc.)
Friedrichs was what lawyers call a lampshade argument, politics draped in just enough legalese to give judges license to exercise their policy preferences. That the Supreme Court ruled in favor of fair share fees 40 years ago in Abood v. Detroit Board of Education slowed the conservative justices down not a bit.
So the question is, with a stay of execution, where do the unions go from here? There are a few things to take away.
Friedrichs isn't a loss, but it's not exactly a win either
As Professor William Gould of Stanford Law School explained, the 4-4 outcome in this case means that everyone returns to status quo ante. In this case, that means a return to well settled law that the plaintiffs were trying to overturn.
"The decision has bought both organized labor and good public policy valuable time," Gould said. "The tie is a victory. Abood remains the law; that's the long and short of it. Every circuit court of appeals that confronts this issue will be obliged to follow Abood until the Supreme Court advises us otherwise."
But -- and it's an important "but" -- the Friedrichs argument didn't actually lose.
While once rejected by the Abood court, until Tuesday no sitting justices had told us what they think of the plaintiff's argument. And Tuesday's court court was a justice short. As a result, the issue hasn't been settled so much as put on hold pending confirmation of Scalia's replacement.
"Psychologically, anyone who read the transcript of the oral argument would be emboldened to make arguments based on it," Gould said. Whether this case comes back again will depend entirely on how activists read the next justice.
The PR war will only get worse.
The story of modern American unionization has been one of a gradual slide into irrelevance. Private union membership is moribund at best, and states such as Scott Walker's Wisconsin have been aggressive and successful about crushing collective bargaining by public unions.
Public opinion, too, has struggled, especially with regard to the highly visible teacher's union. One Harvard poll found that as few as 22% of Americans think that unions "have a positive effect on schools," and the group has done itself very few favors with highly publicized battles over unpopular issues.
Labor leaders who think that their image problem, their string of political defeats and Tuesday's near miss are all unrelated are deluding themselves.
"The bigger picture of unions is one of overall decline as the core manufacturing sectors of our economy have also declined," said Professor Gunther Peck with Duke's Sanford School of Public Policy. "There's a lot of controversy about them, and one of the arguments that have been harder for them to rebut has been teachers hold a sacred trust, or fire fighters can't go on strike because you're defending public goods."
Major strikes, the biggest form of leverage for any union, are much trickier for many public unions who can just as easily be perceived as abandoning students or leaving a house to burn down. For a public which has proven receptive to the image of union members as fat cats living off obsolete deals, this only drives home the point.
It's this perception of unions as a special interest that has crippled their ability to connect with voters, Peck said. The more they look like insular organizations concerned mainly with enrichment of their own members, the more the public at large will see them as antagonists.
"For public sector unions to begin surviving better and thriving," he said, "they need to do a better job of explaining how and why their rights as union members are actually are what I'll call workplace democracy rights."
"If they're a special interest to the Democratic party and sort of to hell with everyone else, then people are going to be less interested in finding common cause with them," he added.
California will matter more than confirmation.
Even as the American Federation of Teachers described Friedrichs as "a blow to right-wing special interests," the numbers run against them. At least half of Americans, depending on the poll you read, think that teachers' unions are "hurting public education," while volumes have been written about the decline of private sector membership.
Public unions have resisted the plummet, Peck said, primarily because their industries haven't been gutted the way that manufacturing was, but as unions fade into an orange-toned relic of the 70s, even those are becoming about as cool as Caldor's and shag carpeting.
What will save the unions are wins for workers. They'll live or die by their ability to raise your wages, personally, not how hard they fight to protect their base or elect a Democrat. California's recent move to pass a $15 an hour minimum wage was a good step, assuming it works. That's the kind of ground-level victory that unions need to in the news, not giant inflatable rats or saving the job of a bad teacher.
Peck's democracy of the workplace works, as long as the rank and file believe in it. Holding off defeat in front of eight Americans was necessary. But now that the champagne has warmed and the headlines have gone stale, it's time to get to work convincing the 121 million other members of the workplace that unions still have something for them.
Otherwise Friedrichs will be remembered as just the case that delayed the inevitable.
K Panduranga Rao, left, group head of human resources and administration, and Sita, legal head of IVRCL, the company that was constructing the underpass in Kolkata, that collapsed partially on Thursday, March 31, address the media at their office in Hyderabad, India, Friday, April 1, 2016. Police detained five officials from IVRCL, contracted in 2007 to build the overpass, and sealed its Kolkata office. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar)
remaining of
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The poor engineering, rush and construction materials used in the Vivekananda Road flyover project are being blamed for the Thursday's tragedy that killed 24 people even as the death toll is feared to go up.
The construction of the flyover which first began in 2009, during CPM regime, has missed nine deadlines so far. However, last November Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee committed herself to opening of the long-delayed flyover by February 2016, which clearly did not happen.
Seemingly under the obligation to make good on its word, the Trinamool Congress government expedited the construction process to throw open the flyover for commuters before elections.
A portion of the flyover came down crashing on hundreds of pedestrians and commuters on Thursday in the busy Burrabazar area, just hours after workers had finished concretising the ill-fated portion.
"There can be many reasons for the collapse of a under construction flyover. It seems there may be some problems related to stability. There may be insufficient steel girders used or faulty placement of steel girder could have led to this collapse," Arup Guha Niyogi, a professor at Jadavpur University's civil engineering department, said.
Niyogi who specialises in structural and bridge engineering, also said there might be some defects in design and construction.
"Since the concretisation was done yesterday (Wednesday), the concrete remains in a weak state in which it has weight but has not acted as the load-bearing structure," he said.
The delay in project is also being blamed as another contributing factor to the tragedy.
Shocked at the incident, Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur (IIT-Kgp) architecture faculty Joy Sen, who is "very familiar" with the heavily-congested area, said such large-scale projects are executed in phases and if time is not taken into consideration, then it becomes risky.
"Phasing of construction and time and use of materials are interlocked. If these things are not done on time, then construction like these which are exposed to weather becomes very risky.
"They have a time schedule and you cannot delay with these projects. You need proper planning and you can't play with human lives," Sen, a professor and head of architecture & regional planning department at Ranbir and Chitra Gupta School of Infrastructure Design and Management, IIT-Kgp said.
'Act of God'
The Hyderabad-based contractor, IVRCL is now under a high-level investigation ordered by the West Bengal government. A case against the contractor has been made under sections 304, 308 and 407 of the Indian Penal Code and a local office of the company has been sealed.
A spokesperson of the construction company in question drew flak after he blamed 'God' for the tragedy.
"It is nothing but God's act," said Panduranga Rao of .
"IVRCL grieves the loss of precious lives and injuries to people and will cooperate with the authorities in investigating this accident," the IVRCL said in another statement.
The Vivekananada Flyover project in Kolkata under execution by IVRCLJ has suffered an accident caused by an under construction section falling down, it said.
"All necessary process and quality steps have been taken as per standard operating procedure and after obtaining all clearances. The collapsed section is the 60th," it said adding that in the Vivekananda Flyover project 59 sections with a total length of about 0.9 km have been completed so far.
Meanwhile, IVRCLJ, which has operations across the country, has a very troubled track record. The Andhra government in 2009 was considering blacklisting the said company based on the recommendations made by the state labour department. The Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam, in 2011, blacklisted IVRCLJ along with another company for using sub-standard materials in drinking water and sewage projects.
The then CPM government in 2008 awarded the contract to IVRCLJ to construct the 150-meter stretch Vivekananda Road flyover at a cost of Rs 164 crore, which was sanctioned under the JNNURM scheme.
Toll likely to go up
About 88 people have been injured in the incident, with many in critical conduction at hospitals. The rescue operation involving five columns of Army personnel (about 300 in number) along with NDRF, state disaster management, city police and fire brigade personnel is underway.
Authorities fear that the death toll is likely to climb up as many are still suspected to be trapped under debris.
West Bengal Governor K. N .Tripathi, who visited the spot, sought a report of the incident from the state government.
The government, meanwhile, has announced an ex-gratia compensation of Rs 5 lakh to families of dead and Rs 2 lakh to gravely injured people and Rs 1 lakh for those who suffered minor injuries.
(With input from Agencies)
Israel Electric Company (IEC) officials are less than pleased with the growing debt owed by the PA (Palestinian Authority). This is true in the eastern capital and other areas as well, including the utility companys decision to briefly cut power to Shechem and Jenin last year. Galei Tzahal (Army Radio) on Thursday morning 21 Adar-II reports that the utility company has decided to implement sanctions, signaling it is unwilling to continue under the current arrangement.
IEC on Thursday cut the supply to Yericho from 15 megawatts to 7.5 megawatts for an undetermined amount of time. The report adds that if the move does not achieve the desired results, additional steps will be taken in other PA cities including area in Yehuda and Shomron.
It is reported that today, the PA owes IEC a staging over NIS 700 million, with most of the debt being from the PA affiliated company in the eastern capital. IEC CEO Ofir Bloch in his letter to state officials explains the PA debt is placing an untenable financial burden on the companys cash flow and according to the law, the utility company must operate in a financially responsible fashion.
He points out that last time power was cut, last year, it was for two hours and 45 minutes and this led to an urgent cabinet session and that led to allocating NIS 300 million of Israeli generated PA tax funds to IEC instead of handing it over to the PA. Bloch explains the mounting debt and the cabinets decision to continue ignoring it leaves him and his colleagues wondering where this is heading.
(YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
A temporary shul in the community of Karmei Tzur was targeted by Arab vandals in February, as was reported by YWN-ISRAEL. Damage to the shul was extensive as the vandals piled sifrei kodesh in piles and set them ablaze. Among the condemnations to the hate attack was the twitter message from Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, immediately after the attack.
Less than two months later, after the item has dropped out of the news, the IDF Civil Administration arrived at the area and razed the remains of that shul which was built in memory of the Gush Etzion Kedoshim HYD. The civil administration destroyed the shul on 21 Adar-II (Wednesday night to Thursday).
Residents of the area and the community told the press we feel betrayed by the Prime Minister. They add the limud torah and tefilos will continue at that location has they have since the attack and they will not be deterred by the actions of the Civil Administration.
(YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Today, Nathan J. Diament, Executive Director for Public Policy of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, commended the issuance of final regulations by nine Executive Branch agencies protecting the religious liberties of beneficiaries of federally funded programs. The regulations formally implement a 2010 Executive Order which, in turn, was based upon recommendations made to President Obama by his Faith-Based Advisory Council. Nathan Diament served as a member of the Advisory Council.
Nathan Diament stated:
It was an honor to serve on the Presidents advisory council and work with other American faith leaders to craft recommendations now embodied in federal regulations and policy ensuring that faith-based organizations can partner with the government to deliver programs and services to our communities and receive federal funds to do so without sacrificing their religious character. Just as important, the regulations build on widespread agreement that we can and should do more to protect the religious liberty of beneficiaries and provide greater clarity and transparency about applicable church-state rules. Melissa Rogers deserves special thanks as she served as our council chairperson and has since served on the White House staff as the presidents adviser on faith-based issues and shepherded this rule-making process into reality.
The regulations finalized today make changes to current regulations, including changes that:
Require agencies to ensure that all decisions about federal financial assistance are based solely on merit, without regard to an organizations religious affiliation or lack thereof, and free from political interference, or the appearance of such interference.
Make clear that faith-based organizations are eligible to participate in federally funded social service programs on the same basis as any other private organization.
Clarify what activities can and cannot be supported with direct federal financial assistance by replacing use of the term inherently religious activities with the term explicitly religious activities and providing examples of such activities.
Prohibit organizations that receive Federal financial assistance from discriminating against beneficiaries, including denying services or benefits, based on religion, a religious belief, a refusal to hold a religious belief, or a refusal to attend or participate in a religious practice.
Require faith-based organizations that receive direct federal financial assistance for domestic social service programs to provide written notice of certain protections to beneficiaries of the program. Specifically, an organization that receives direct federal financial assistance is required to give notice to beneficiaries that the organization may not discriminate against a beneficiary based on religion, a religious belief, a refusal to hold a religious belief, or a refusal to attend or participate in a religious practice; the organization may not require a beneficiary to attend or participate in any explicitly religious activities that are offered by the organization, and any participation by the beneficiaries in those activities must be purely voluntary; the organization must separate in time or location any privately funded explicitly religious activities from activities supported by direct federal financial assistance; if a beneficiary or prospective beneficiary objects to the religious character of the organization, the organization will undertake reasonable efforts to identify and refer the beneficiary to an alternative provider to which the beneficiary does not object; and a beneficiary or prospective beneficiary may report violations of these protections, including any denials of services or benefits, to the federal agency or intermediary administering the program.
The federal agencies issuing the final regulations are: the Department of Education, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Agriculture, Agency for International Development, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Justice, Department of Labor, Department of Veterans Affairs, and Department of Health and Human Services.
(YWN World Headquarters NYC)
Deputy Minister Meir Porush sent a letter to head of the treasury Budget Department, Amir Levy, pointing out that coalition agreements with Yahadut Hatorah are not being honored.
About a month ago, Porush sent a letter which remained silent, in which he points out that Article 45 of the coalition agreement between Likud and Yahadut Hatorah, the return of funds to chareidi schools taken by Shai Piron in the previous administration, has yet to be actualized. Porush acted as he did in the hope of achieving his objective without rocking the fragile coalition that has a one-seat majority.
That letter was sent behind the radar, with discretion however, this week Porush sent a second letter, an urgent letter. According to the complex formula detailed in his letter, Porush explains the treasury owes the chareidi schools NIS 17 million.
(YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Businesses, schools and the Israeli Arab public sector was closed on Wednesday, March 30, 2016, the day that populations observes annually as Land Day. There were also protests. Land Day commemorates the deaths of six Arabs by Israeli forces in 1976 during violent protests against Israeli government land expropriations.
Events were held in the PA (Palestinian Authority) as well and during the afternoon hours, Israeli Arabs joined by Arab Members of Knesset held events in the Negev and Galil.
(YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
EJAs Rabbi Menachem Margolin calls on EU leaders and Ministers of Education in Europe to recognize Jewish holidays as official days of rest for students
Thursday, March 31st, Brussels- The European Jewish Association has called upon leaders of the European Union institutions and the European Ministers of Education to obtain the right for Jewish students to be absent from class to observe a religious day.
Following recent complains concerning examination dates coinciding with Yomim Tovim and Shabbos, students have been forced to choose between abandoning either a moral or academic obligation. As universities represent bastions of cultural diversity, they should be able to respond and cater to the needs and beliefs of their students, whatever their cultural or religious background.
Rabbi Menachem Margolin, General Director of the European Jewish Association states: Jewish people have been living in Europe for thousands of years and should have the same rights as European citizens. Even though they have adopted European values, they have not always been able to freely practice their religion. But EU guidelines now enshrine this freedom. Freedom of religion is an individual right that can be exercised by everyone everywhere and Europe should respect it.
For this reason, the European Jewish Association requests the European Union institutions leaders to support the freedom of religion and by that to recognize the right to Jewish students to be able to observe religious festivals and be excused from class without penalties.
(YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Orthodox Union Teach NYS released the following statements in praise of the budget agreement between Governor Cuomo, the New York State Senate, and the New York State Assembly for the 2016-2017 year. The budget includes a series of funding allocations that represent significant victories for the states independent and religious schools. Governor Cuomo and the State Legislature are poised to pass a budget that will expand programs that serve as critical sources of aid for nonpublic schools across the state, and have appropriated funds to create a new Office of Religious and Independent Schools that will serve New Yorks nonpublic schools for years to come.
These victories for nonpublic schools are the result of an OU Teach NYS grassroots campaign that engaged thousands of Jewish families to advocate for New Yorks yeshivas and Jewish day schools. The substantial increases in funding build on earlier wins from last year, when OU Teach NYS worked with Governor Cuomo and the State Legislature to finally deliver $250 million of long overdue payments for nonpublic schools. This aid was distributed to nonpublic schools, including Jewish day schools and yeshivas, that had previously suffered the effects of severe underfunding to state programs.
BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS:
* For the first time, New York State will create a new Office of Religious and Independent Schools and devote $2 million towards resources and grants in service of the states nonpublic and religious schools.
* Albany will also increase security grants to nonpublic schools by $20 million over the next two years, financing vital protective measures like the hiring of personnel. A total of $30 million of this allocation will be distributed over the next two years, with $15 million in 2016-17 and $15 million in 2017-18.
* Over the next two years, the Comprehensive Attendance Policy program, or CAP which provides nonpublic schools with reimbursements for tracking and enforcing student attendance is slated to receive a $60 million increase in state funding, with the first $30 million distributed this year.
By creating an office dedicated to serving students in religious schools, the state has officially recognized the vital role that nonpublic schools play in educating and enriching New Yorks children, said Allen Fagin, Executive Vice President of the Orthodox Union. This is a victory that carries historic import and meaning for New Yorks faith communities. We commend Governor Cuomo, Majority Leader Flanagan, and Speaker Heastie for their leadership in delivering a budget that strengthens nonpublic schools, and legislators across the state who served as unyielding advocates for New Yorks faith communities.
Next year, children in yeshivas and Jewish day schools across New York will be safer, smarter, and more secure, said Maury Litwack, Director of State Political Affairs for the Orthodox Union. OU Teach NYS worked tirelessly this year to advocate for the needs of our member schools, and the results are a testament to the leadership of Governor Cuomo, Senate Majority Leader Flanagan, and Speaker Heastie in fighting for the Jewish community.
We are particularly eager to work with the State Education Departments new Office of Religious and Independent Schools to find immediate, impactful ways of strengthening STEM education in nonpublic schools, continued Litwack. And after helping hundreds of nonpublic schools in New York City fund security guards earlier this year, OU Teach NYS built on this victory by urging legislators to devote an additional $20 million in nonpublic school security grants for the rest of the state because parents in New York City arent the only ones concerned for their childrens safety.
OU Teach NYS has been a critical advocate for nonpublic schools, articulating the role that they play in the states education system, said Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan. I am proud to say that this budget will strengthen nonpublic schools across the state.
OU Teach NYS made it clear to the Legislature this year that nonpublic schools needed resources to continue to thrive, said Senate Finance Committee Chair Catharine Young. Im glad they did, because todays budget is stronger for their advocacy.
Throughout this budget process, OU Teach NYS has worked on behalf of New Yorks religious schools, speaking with a powerful and meaningful voice, said Assemblywoman Nily Rozic. New Yorks faith communities play a vital role in the economy and culture of our state, and nonpublic school children deserve the same resources as their peers.
The students currently attending nonpublic schools across New York have the promise and potential to become our states future leaders, said Assemblyman Phillip Goldfeder. OU Teach NYS has fought hard to make sure these children receive the resources they need to thrive, and my colleagues and I are proud to give them our support.
New York is home to diverse, vibrant communities, both secular and religious, said Assemblyman Peter Abbate, Jr. We owe it to these communities to support every child in New York State, no matter the zip code they live in or the faith their family practices. Thank you to OU-Teach NYS for the critical work they do to ensure all of our states students have a real chance.
Nonpublic schools are an essential part of New Yorks educational landscape, providing families with the school options they need and teaching students who will go on to make a real difference in our state, said Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz. This is a community worth fighting for, and I commend OU Teach NYS for leading such an important battle.
(YWN Desk NYC)
President Barack Obama heads to law school next week to push his nomination of Judge Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court.
Obama adviser Brian Deese said Friday that Obama will return Thursday to the University of Chicago Law School to argue for Senate consideration of the appeals judges nomination. Obama taught constitutional law at the university for several years before he entered politics.
The White House and the Senate are in a standoff over how to proceed on Garland, Obamas choice to succeed the late conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, who died in February.
Republican senators insist they will hold no hearings or a confirmation vote on the nomination in a presidential election year, though some GOP lawmakers have expressed a willingness to at least meet with Garland. Republicans say the next president should get to choose the next justice. Obama insists the Senate has a constitutional responsibility and plenty of time to consider Garland.
Garland has met with mostly Democratic senators on Capitol Hill but also with Republican Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois. Next week, Garland will meet with two other Republican senators Susan Collins of Maine and John Boozman of Arkansas.
After the stop in his Chicago hometown, Obama will continue to Los Angeles for a fundraiser Thursday night. Obama also plans to headline fundraisers Friday in Los Angeles and San Francisco before he returns to Washington on Saturday, the White House said.
(AP)
A British delivery driver was convicted Friday of planning to attack American military personnel in the U.K. in a plot inspired by the Islamic State militant group.
A jury at Londons Kingston Crown Court found Junead Khan guilty of preparing an act of terrorism.
The 25-year-olds work for a pharmaceutical firm took him past several U.S. air bases in eastern England, and prosecutors said he discussed ways of targeting them with an IS militant in Syria.
Prosecutors said Khan, who was arrested in July, had exchanged online messages with a man calling himself Abu Hussain. They discussed attacking military personnel after faking a road accident.
They said Abu Hussain was British-born militant Junaid Hussain, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in the IS stronghold of Raqqa last year.
In one exchange, Khan told Hussain he had seen some soldiers driving, but I had nothing on me or wouldve (sic) got into an accident with them and made them get out the car.
Hussain replied: Thats what the brother done with Lee Rigby. Rigby was a British soldier who was run down by a car and stabbed to death by two al-Qaida-inspired attackers in 2013.
When police raided Khans home, they found an IS-style black flag and a laptop containing an article from an al-Qaida magazine entitled Make a bomb in the kitchen of your mom.
Khan and his 23-year-old uncle, Shazib Khan, were also convicted of preparing to join IS militants in Syria.
Both men will be sentenced May 13. Junead Khan faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
(AP)
The Ohio Republican Party was riding high in 2012, two years after John Kasich was elected governor and Republicans won all other statewide offices. But Kasich wanted a state party and chairman who were more helpful to him.
So the new governors team staged a campaign that targeted state central committee members, testing which ones were allies, and lining up candidates to run against them them, if necessary, to successfully take control of the party and elect a new chairman. Kasich thinks that intra-party battle experience will help him win over enough delegates to beat Donald Trump and Ted Cruz for the presidential nomination if Republicans have a contested convention in July in Cleveland.
The skills and strategies are the same, Kasich spokeswoman Emmalee Kalmbach said. Unlike Trump, who has never run a campaign before, and unlike Cruz, whos still a political novice, the Kasich team is battle-tested and knows how to run the kind of effort it takes to win the delegate contest on the convention floor.
Kasich, a distant third in delegates after winning only his home state so far, cant garner the 1,237 delegates needed for the Republican nomination in the remaining state contests. So his strategy is to stay in the race, help keep Trump or Cruz from hitting that number, and collect enough delegates to have some momentum heading into the convention.
The former congressman and two-term governor is making the case that hes best to be commander-in-chief and that only he can defeat expected Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, in a general election, citing surveys including a Quinnipiac University poll released on March 23 showing Clinton beating both Trump and Cruz and losing to him.
Kasich also has stepped up his criticism of Trump and recent comments about potentially using nuclear weapons and punishing women who receive abortions, saying the billionaire real estate mogul is unfit to be president. Hes also criticized Cruzs tax plan and call for patrolling Muslim neighborhoods after the terrorist attacks in Brussels.
The delegates really take this very seriously, Kasich said during a news conference in New York City on Thursday. They begin to realize they are making a choice that can affect the United States of America and frankly the entire world.
Kalmbach said the Kasich campaign has dozens of staff members and volunteers dedicated to the delegate-wrangling process, including longtime Republican strategists Stu Spencer and Charlie Black. They both participated in the 1976 Republican convention, when Ronald Reagan unsuccessfully challenged President Gerald Ford for the nomination.
Many of the same staff members who helped in the 2012 campaign to take control of the state party are also involved, Kalmbach said. In that fight, Kasich allies identified which members of the 66-member party committee were aligned with the governor or could be persuaded to back him, and they ran loyalists against those who werent.
In some cases, the Kasich team had multiple people talk to committee members to gauge whether their answers were consistent to test whether those who said they backed the governor were being honest.
After the election of committee members, Chairman Kevin DeWine, who had fought to keep his post, resigned when it became clear that the body was aligned with Kasich. The fight was so nasty that there were allegations of political arm-twisting by the losing side that were never substantiated.
While the presidential nomination involves 2,472 delegates and not 66 committee members, the process of gaining majority support is similar, the Kasich campaign said. In states where delegates were named before primaries or caucuses, the task is to identify who is loyal to Kasich and who could be persuaded to switch allegiances.
In states where delegates are selected at local conventions or other meetings after primaries and caucuses according to how the state voted, the key is to identify party regulars who can get named and would back Kasich.
Trump has been saying he should be the nominee if hes the clear leader in delegates, and that choosing someone else as the partys standard-bearer would disenfranchise the millions of people who voted for him in the 20 states has had already won.
The billionaire has named Republican strategist Paul Manafort, who worked on conventions for presidents Ford, Reagan, and George H.W. Bush and 1996 nominee Bob Dole, as his campaigns convention manager.
Paul Manafort, and the team I am building, bring the needed skill sets to ensure that the will of the Republican voters, not the Washington political establishment, determines who will be the nominee for the Republican Party, Trump said in a statement on March 29.
Cruz has touted his superior campaign organization and showed how effective it can be by being in a position to gain more delegates in Louisiana, despite the fact Trump carried the state, according to the Associated Press.
While most delegates will be pledged to a specific candidate at the convention in Cleveland, they will be free after the initial rounds of voting to back anyone they wish. Kasich often points out that in the 10 previous Republican conventions that were contested, the leading candidate going in was nominated only three times.
Kasich can win if there are multiple ballots at the convention because delegates bound to Trump will be mostly party regulars and elected officials who arent likely to remain loyal once they are released, Black said. While some will go to Cruz, more will opt for Kasich, he said.
Black worked for Reagan in 1976 when he tried to beat Ford for the nomination, driving throughout the Midwest and the Northeast before the convention to meet with delegates. One of the field staff members helping him that year was a 22-year-old Kasich, he said.
The key is to reach out and make friends with every delegate and never give up wooing them until they flat-out refuse to back Kasich, Black added. He recalled Fords campaign offering rides on Air Force One and visits to the White House to win over uncommitted delegates in 1976.
The advantage hell have is hell work hard, have more personal contact with a lot of these people, but also its the winnability, its the electability argument, Black said. Trumps going backwards in terms of his general election electability.
(c) 2016, Bloomberg Mark Niquette
[Written by Rabbi Moishe Lebovits]
New Sefer Volume 5 Just Released!!!!! (at your local seforim store)
Piskei Harav Belsky ztl coming very soon (reprint hard cover)
There are two aspects of early Shabbos. One is the concept of accepting Shabbos a little early throughout the year. The other applies during the spring and summer months, for the practical reason that the Shabbos seudah begins very late. Some daven Minchah the same time each Friday, at 7:00 p.m., while for others the time for Minchah fluctuates based on the time for plag haminchah.
In this article we will discuss these aspects of early Shabbos. What is the source for making early Shabbos in general all year? What are the issues with making an early Shabbos during the spring and summer months?
Adding to Shabbos All Year
Our first point is to discuss the aspect of early Shabbos all year round this is known as adding to Shabbos, or tosefes Shabbos.[1] The Gemara[2] maintains that there is an obligation dOraisa to add to Yom Kippur.[3] It then applies this to Shabbos[4] and Yom Tov as well.[5] This is how many poskim rule[6] (most say the obligation is dOraisa),[7] although many poskim understand that the Rambam was of the opinion that there is no obligation to add to Shabbos.[8] Logically, there would be no need to add to Shabbos, since Hashem rested on the seventh day and not on Friday. However, since we cannot calculate the exact end of Friday, we must add to Shabbos.[9]
It is important to point out that there is no punishment if one transgresses a Shabbos violation during this additional time, but if one adds to the Shabbos he receives a reward.[10]
Women
The obligation to add to Shabbos and Yom Tov applies to women just as much as men.[11]
Time to Add
Many earlier poskim do not mention how much time should be added to Shabbos.[12] The Shulchan Aruch[13] simply says some time.[14] Some maintain that not more than 13.5 minutes need to be added,[15] while some say twenty minutes,[16] and others a half hour.[17]
The custom of many in Yerushalayim is to light the candles forty minutes before shkiah.[18] However, others question this practice and the Sephardim do not seem to follow this custom.[19]
Lighting Eighteen Minutes before Sunset
There is a widespread custom for women to light candles eighteen minutes before shkiah.[20] The rationale for this custom is based on the opinion of the Yereiim, who holds that bein hashmashos starts before sunset.[21] As we will explain later, most of the calculations are based on three-quarters of a mil. The Yereiim holds that bein hashmashos starts three-quarters of a mil before sunset. The most extreme opinion for a mil is twenty-four minutes, and three-quarters of twenty-four is eighteen. Therefore, the custom is to refrain from work eighteen minutes before shkiah by lighting the candles.[22]
It is important to point out that men should make sure to refrain from work before shkiah and preferably at the candle lighting time.[23]
Be Careful about Doing Melachah Close to Sunset
The Aruch Hashulchan[24] says that one should be careful to accept Shabbos early in order to avoid the grave punishment for chillul Shabbos.
What Needs to Be Done
There is a discussion in the poskim as to how exactly one adds to Shabbos.[25] Some say that one can just have in mind that he is adding to Shabbos,[26] while others maintain that he must say, I am adding to Shabbos.[27] Others say this can be accomplished by saying Barchu at Maariv (see below).[28] The custom today is that when one says Mizmor Shir it is accepting Shabbos as well.[29] Others say this is accomplished by saying boi kallah at the end of Lecha Dodi.[30] This takes effect even if one recites it when it is still day outside (as long as it is after plag haminchah; see below).[31] Some say that Shabbos comes upon a person even without saying anything,[32] while others say the cessation from work prior to bein hashmashos suffices.[33]
There is an opinion in the poskim that one should not say Good Shabbos before Minchah, as this may be an acceptance of Shabbos and then he could not daven Minchah afterwards.[34] However, the custom is to permit this, since the intention is not to accept Shabbos, but is simply a nice gesture to family or friends.[35]
What Is Happening When We Add to Shabbos
Hashem can work until the last moment on Friday and then rest for Shabbos, but we cannot be so exact so we stop early. This gives us a great opportunity to actually add holiness to an otherwise mundane day.
Understanding the Different Times
The opinion of many poskim is that shkiah is when the sun sets, followed immediately by bein hashmashos.[36] The Gemara[37] says that bein hashmashos lasts for three-quarters of a mil, which we calculate at 13.5 minutes.[38] (Although there are different shiurim for a mil, we work with the basic opinion that it is eighteen minutes per mil.)[39] Another Gemara[40] says that tzeis hakochavim is four mil after shkiah, which we calculate at seventy-two minutes. These two statements are contradictory. There are two ways to resolve this contradiction, and these are the sources of todays opinions.
Many poskim, including the Shulchan Aruch,[41] answer the contradiction as follows.[42] There are two different shkios. The first shkiah is when the sun sets, but for the next three mil and a quarter (58.5 minutes) it is considered day. After this point it is considered bein hashmashos for 13.5 minutes, and when this time passes it is night. This is commonly known as the opinion of Rabbeinu Tam.
Many other poskim[43] maintain that when the sun sets it is considered shkiah. The next 13.5 minutes are the bein hashmashos period after sunset, followed by night.[44] This is commonly known as the opinion of the Gra[45] (although this opinion pre-dates the Gra). The Gra uses the famous words of chush meid, that ones intellect can tell that the sky is already dark before seventy-two minutes.[46] The Gemara that refers to seventy-two minutes was not saying it as a matter of halachah lmaaseh. In addition, it could be that all the stars are visible after seventy-two minutes,[47] but only three stars need to be seen in order for it to be night.[48] The custom in Eretz Yisrael in most places is to follow the opinion of the Gra.[49]
It could be that Rabbeinu Tam holds that nightfall is defined by three stars in the western sky, hence his opinion that it does not have a status of night until later on.
However, these calculations apply to Eretz Yisrael and Bavel[50] during the spring and autumn. The sun will set at different times during the winter and summer.[51] In addition, the location also has a big impact on these calculations.[52] For example, in New York it would make sense that bein hashmashos will last longer since we are further away from the equator. Many have the practice to keep Shabbos until forty-two minutes after shkiah; there is no source for this custom. Some maintain that the Gras opinion in New York would be about twenty-five minutes after shkiah, although in practice this is not followed. However, there are poskim who say that the time according to Rabbeinu Tam in New York would actually be earlier fifty minutes after shkiah, since the sky is full of stars and does not get any darker. (Even according to this opinion one should wait until seventy-two minutes even in New York if there is no pressing need, although it is not required.)[53]
It used to be the practice of chassidim to do melachah on Friday until 58.5 minutes after sunset.[54] Harav Aharon Kotler ztl met with the Satmar Rebbe ztl and expressed his concern that the sight of openly frum men doing melachah after sunset would cause a severe laxity in Shabbos observance in America. The outcome was that everyone started Shabbos at sunset, and the yeshivish world would accept Rabbeinu Tam on Motzaei Shabbos and wait seventy-two minutes for Shabbos to be over.[55] The custom is to hold like the opinion of Rabbeinu Tam in areas where it is a stringency unless one has a custom to follow the Gra, such as his students.[56]
On Erev Shabbos one should not do work after sunset, following the opinion of the Gra.[57]
In addition, throughout the centuries Shabbos was over 13.5 minutes after sunset, in accordance with the Gras opinion.[58] However, as mentioned before, this is not the customary practice today.[59]
Different Times
As mentioned above, there are two different opinions in regard to shkiah.
According to the Gras opinion that shkiah is sunset, one should be careful and stop doing work even a half hour before sunset,[60] since that is the time for the mitzvah of adding to Shabbos.[61] According to Rabbeinu Tam it is day for fifty-eight minutes after sunset, and that entire time is available for adding to Shabbos.
Practically speaking, we daven Maariv after sunset, and usually Mizmor Shir and Lecha Dodi as well. Therefore, it is preferable to accept Shabbos right after Minchah. How this plays out in regard to making early Shabbos we will discuss below.
However, it is common to finish Minchah after sunset. According to the Gra, when should one accept Shabbos?[62] It is possible that if one knows he will finish Minchah after sunset he should add to Shabbos in his heart (or even by saying it with his mouth)[63] before Minchah. This is permitted even though he will now daven a weekday tefillah Minchah.[64]
Introduction to Making Shabbos Early
In order to understand making early Shabbos we have to explain plag haminchah.
Plag Haminchah According to Different Opinions
One cannot accept early Shabbos until after plag haminchah.[65] Many opinions calculate plag haminchah as an hour and a half before nightfall.[66] According to these views, it is impossible make an early Shabbos in the summer, since plag is a few minutes before sunset.[67] However, some maintain that plag haminchah is an hour and fifteen minutes before shkiah.[68] This is calculated as follows: there are two different times for Minchah, six and a half hours into the day and nine and a half hours into the day. The second time is two and a half hours before shkiah. Half of that time (plag) is one and a quarter hours before shkiah.[69]
Earlier, we discussed the obligation to accept Shabbos a few minutes early, or in some cases a half hour early. In the spring and summer months many people make early Shabbos. Since we cannot make early Shabbos before plag haminchah, one should make sure that his wife does not light candles before plag.[70] Regarding the opinion that plag haminchah is one hour and a half from tzeis hakochavim, even eighteen minutes before sunset is too early.[71] Some say that we rely on those who say plag haminchah is before sunset, not tzeis hakochavim.[72]
Making Early Shabbos
The Gemara[73] says that Rav davened Maariv early on Erev Shabbos, which indicates that one may daven Maariv early on Friday. The Shulchan Aruch[74] rules that one may daven Maariv from plag haminchah on Friday.[75]
Time for Minchah and Maariv
First we must understand the end time for Minchah and the beginning time for Maariv, and then move on to the discussion of early Minchah and Maariv.
The Mishnah[76] records a dispute between the chachamim and Rebbi Yehudah.[77] The chachamim say that one can daven Minchah until night[78] (see below, but for our purpose let us say it means sunset,[79] although many say this is even afterwards).[80] However, Rebbi Yehudah holds one may daven Minchah only until plag haminchah[81] (see below). According to Rebbi Yehudah one may daven Maariv after plag haminchah[82] but not Minchah, and according to the chachamim one may only daven Maariv after night and Minchah until night.[83] Each opinion has a stringency and leniency.[84] Some poskim hold like the chachamim[85] and some say like Rebbi Yehudah.[86]
The Gemara concludes that one can do as he wishes.[87] However, this is a little vague and we will discuss this below.
During the week, most people do not daven both Minchah and Maariv between plag haminchah and sunset. However, this is an issue on Erev Shabbos.
Many poskim say that one should not daven both Minchah and Maariv between plag haminchah and sunset.[88] One should choose to follow either Rebbi Yehudah or the chachamim and not contradict himself.[89] Furthermore, one should pick one opinion and act in accordance with it all his life.[90] Since we have the practice to daven Minchah after plag haminchah, most people follow the opinion of the chachamim.[91] Nonetheless, one who did daven Minchah after plag haminchah was yotzei.[92] If we follow the chachamim, we should not daven Maariv before nightfall unless it is a pressing need.[93] Others say there is only a possible concern if one does so in the same day.[94] However, if one wishes to daven Maariv after plag haminchah one day like Rebbi Yehudah and then daven Maariv after sunset a different day like the chachamim there is no issue of contradicting himself.[95] Some maintain the custom is not to be concerned even if Minchah and Maariv are davened the same day after plag haminchah.[96]
The Aruch Hashulchan[97] explains that on Erev Shabbos we daven Maariv early for the following reason: Maariv corresponds to the korbanos that were burned on the Mizbeach during the night. Since the korban of Erev Shabbos could only be burned on Friday afternoon, we can also daven Maariv early on Friday.
Davening Maariv after plag haminchah is only permitted in a normal situation if one davened Minchah before plag.[98] Even though we typically daven Minchah after plag, we can be lenient on Erev Shabbos and daven Maariv after plag.[99]
Most shuls daven Minchah before sunset and Maariv a few minutes afterwards. This is permitted since Minchah and Maariv are not davened in the same time.[100]
Lenient Opinions
When it is difficult to form a minyan twice, there are some opinions that permit davening both Minchah and Maariv between plag haminchah and sunset.[101] The same logic would apply to making early Shabbos to avoid eating too late at night.[102] However, the Mishnah Berurah[103] says that one should still daven Maariv during bein hashmashos.[104] Elsewhere, however, the Mishnah Berurah[105] rules like the lenient opinion. Nonetheless, this is a weak leniency.[106]
Many say that the concern to daven both Minchah and Maariv between plag haminchah and sunset is not an issue since the Gemara does not come out with a clear halachah.[107]
Some maintain that since one adds onto Shabbos then it is permitted to daven Maariv after plag haminchah.[108] However, Minchah should be davened before plag haminchah.[109]
The 7:00 p.m. Minchah on Erev Shabbos
During the spring and summer months, many shuls make early Shabbos and arbitrarily set Minchah to be at 7:00 p.m.[110] Some explain the reason for this time since plag haminchah is usually not until after 7:00 p.m. Therefore, we daven then to ensure that the women will not light before plag haminchah.
Many communities are careful to daven Minchah before plag haminchah and Maariv afterwards. This follows those poskim who maintain that one should not daven both Minchah and Maariv between plag haminchah and sunset. Although one should not pick one day like one opinion and another day like a different person (according to many poskim), it is permitted on Erev Shabbos.
The issue which arises is the 7:00 p.m. Minchah. This is done for convenience so there is no need to change the time of Minchah each Friday, although it is not such an issue with todays mass communications. Most times Minchah is after plag haminchah and Maariv is in the same time frame. Even if one is lenient and davens Maariv after plag, one should make sure to daven Minchah before plag haminchah.[111]
One may be able to rely on those who say there is no concern for davening Minchah and Maariv after plag haminchah, although most do not hold like this.
The Aruch Hashulchan[112] says that this is a unique leniency for Erev Shabbos.
Some maintain that since Maariv was not instituted as an obligation, there is no set time for it.[113]
In one place the Mishnah Berurah[114] says that one should not daven Minchah and Maariv after plag haminchah on the same day, even if a need arises, while elsewhere he is lenient.[115]
If one cannot daven Minchah before plag haminchah it may be preferable to daven without a minyan before plag than with a minyan after plag.[116]
Some maintain that the time for Maariv begins at whichever point one davens Minchah after plag.[117]
A Good Rationale for Leniency for Early Minchah and Maariv
As mentioned, there are no real good leniencies to allow Minchah and Maariv after plag haminchah before sunset. However, the Shraga Hameir[118] offers the following:
When one davens Minchah after plag haminchah it is day, and then one accepts Shabbos. At this point, it is considered the next day, and it is not a contradiction from one day to the next, although for other halachos we do not hold like this.
Another possible explanation is that many times a man lights candles for Shabbos (he is not married or is not home for Shabbos). If we would require him to daven Minchah before plag haminchah, he would have to go home and light candles afterwards. Since this would be a bother for him, we allow him to daven both Minchah and Maariv after plag.[119] Others maintain that this practice is not followed.[120]
Against Early Shabbos
Some have the practice to always daven Maariv at the correct time and not early.[121] Harav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach ztl[122] was of the opinion not to make early Shabbos.[123]
Meal
According to some poskim, one who makes early Shabbos should make sure to extend his meal into the night.[124] The requirement to eat three meals is derived from the pasuk, ichluhu hayom, to eat it on Shabbos day.[125] This implies that it needs to be on Shabbos proper.[126] Others say that this is not required since by adding to Shabbos it is now considered night according to halachah.[127] The Aruch Hashulchan[128] holds that this is a pious act, but is not required according to the strict law.
It is proper to be stringent and eat a kezayis of bread when it gets dark.[129]
Some offer the option to daven Kabbalas Shabbos, eat the meal, and then daven Maariv at the later minyan. This is permitted as long as the meal does not start a half hour before shkiah.[130] However, Harav Moshe Feinstein ztl was against this, since this is an odd practice.[131]
Kiddush
One can make Kiddush on Friday after accepting early Shabbos even if it is broad daylight,[132] since it is considered Shabbos.[133]
Krias Shema
The time for reciting Krias Shema is when one lays down to sleep at night.[134] (Some maintain this is as early as eighteen minutes after shkiah,[135] but the custom is around forty-five minutes after shkiah.)[136] Some say that Krias Shema of early Shabbos is considered the correct time, and there is no need to repeat it later on.[137] However, the practice is to repeat Krias Shema[138] (preferably all three parshiyos)[139] after nightfall.[140] Although it is preferable to recite Krias Shema next to Shemoneh Esrei, since one is adding to Shabbos we lift this concern.[141]
One may not eat a meal within a half hour[142] of the proper time of reciting Krias Shema,[143] since he may be engrossed in his meal and forget to say Krias Shema.[144] The question is how this impacts those who make early Shabbos, make Kiddush, and eat before reciting Krias Shema in its proper time. It is possible that since Krias Shema was in fact recited at Maariv, albeit early, there is no issue.[145] Others suggest that we rely on Krias Shema al Hamittah.[146] Alternatively, one who makes early Shabbos usually begins his meal more than a half hour before the correct time to recite Krias Shema (at night), so there is no issue.[147] One who delayed the start of the meal until a half hour before the correct time for Krias Shema (twenty minutes after shkiah) should say Krias Shema before eating his Shabbos meal.[148] There is no need to interrupt the meal to recite Krias Shema,[149] although some have the custom to recite it during the meal.[150]
In any case, one should make sure not to miss out on the recital of Krias Shema as it is dOraisa.[151] Therefore, the gabbai should remind everybody after Maariv.[152]
U.S. commando units have been trained to seize and disable nuclear or radioactive bombs, providing a crucial last line of defense if terrorists get their hands on such weapons, according to the general in charge of the forces.
The U.S. Special Operations Command has sufficient render-safe capacity to respond to the most likely scenarios involving weapons of mass destruction under the current analysis of threats, Army General Raymond Thomas has told lawmakers.
The Pentagon rarely discusses publicly its plans to use commandos if terrorists obtain a nuclear weapon or build a dirty bomb from radioactive material. While U.S. officials say theres no sign yet that Islamic State has such a capability, the prospect was on Fridays agenda for the Nuclear Security Summit of world leaders being hosted by President Barack Obama in Washington.
Thomas described the role U.S. commandos might play in written responses to the Senate Armed Services Committee before his confirmation as head of the Special Operations Command, a post he took this week. He moved up a rung from his previous role heading the Joint Special Operations Command, directly overseeing fabled and secretive units such as the Armys Delta Force and the Navys SEAL Team 6.
Even with U.S. special forces spending significant time conducting counterterrorism operations, Thomas said those deployments havent interfered with preparations to handle a weapon of mass destruction.
Thomas said his commandos have found the proper threshold of maintaining the worlds foremost counterterrorism force for missions in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere while ensuring our counterproliferation forces, including the no-fail mission of render-safe, are manned, trained and equipped and prepared to address WMD threats as they arise.
More about the Defense Departments preparations for using commandos to disarm weapons of mass destruction can be found in the fine print of budget documents.
From fiscal 2010 to fiscal 2021, the Pentagon plans to have spent more than $1 billion equipping the Special Operations Command with a full spectrum of counterterrorism technologies developed by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, according to budget documents supporting a $103 million request for fiscal 2017.
From fiscal 2010 to 2016, the threat-reduction agency received $655 million to spend on these technologies, and its proposing about $537 million in additional funding through 2021.
The program is intended to give special forces units the tools to locate, identify, characterize, assess and attack WMD production and storage facilities with minimal-to-no collateral damage or loss of life, according to the documents. One of last years accomplishments was described as development of a precision shaped charge using a proven manufacturing process.
The Special Operations Commands embrace of the mission against weapons of mass destruction is something of a turnaround.
In 2010, Adm. Eric Olson, who then headed the command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee in written answers that the commitment of elite commandos to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq had compromised their skills to hunt worldwide for such weapons, diluting the capability.
The number of commandos available for counterproliferation was limited and their expertise was degraded by the decreased level of training, Olson said.
In March, Thomas told the panel, I will continue to use current training and exercise programs to maintain our ability to meet our mission to counter weapons of mass destruction.
He said hell also push for state-of-the-art technology and transfer as much capability as is reasonable to forward-deployed special operations units.
(c) 2016, Bloomberg Tony Capaccio
Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn) expressed disappointment after the Education Investment Tax Credit (EITC) for private and parochial schools was left out of the 2016-2017 NYS budget. Although the EITC was left out, this years budget featured several funding allocations for the states independent and religious schools.
Some of the highlights of the budget include: creating a new Office of Religious and Independent Schools and devoting $2 million towards resources and grants in services of the states nonpublic and religious schools; increasing security grants to nonpublic schools by $30 million over the next two years, with $15 million of the allocation being allotted in 2016-17; a $60 million increase in state funding over the next two years for the Comprehensive Attendance Policy program, or CAPwhich provides nonpublic schools with reimbursements for tracking and enforcing students attendance.
Im incredibly disappointed that EITC was not part of this years budget, Assemblyman Hikind said. My commitment, and the commitment of others, is to get the tax credit passed to help alleviate the financial burden, and to provide assistance to parents who send their children to private and parochial schools.
Despite being disappointed in the budget results, Hikind went on to praise Agudath Israel of America and the Catholic Conference for advocating on behalf of private and parochial schools, as well as the families of nearly 400,000 students attending these schools throughout the state.
Some fights take longer than others, Hikind added. Passing the Education Investment Tax Credit is about fairness to these thousands of parents. While we have done so much to aid these private and parochial schools, we are, unfortunately, not doing enough to aid the parents. I look forward to continuing this fight for equity.
(YWN Desk NYC)
Retreat: Anbang Insurance has walked away from its 10bn bidding war with Marriott
The relentless Chinese assault on Western firms has suffered a setback after a state-backed insurance company was forced to abandon its fierce battle to buy Sheraton owner Starwood Hotels & Resorts.
Predators from the Peoples Republic have tabled 71billion of offers for overseas firms since the start of the year.
But Chinese giant Anbang Insurance walked away from its 10billion bidding war with Marriott to land Starwood having driven the price up in one of the most aggressive takeover tussles in years.
Analysts have questioned whether this could be a turning point following reports that Chinese regulators stamped down on Anbang and was set to block its move.
The Chinese stipulate that insurance firms are not allowed to sink more than 15 per cent of funds into investments abroad and Anbang has gorged itself in recent months on foreign firms.
It splashed out 1.4billion on the New Yorks Waldorf Astoria, a US insurance firm and a stake in a South Korean life insurer.
Mobile phone customers could be paying an average of 130 per cent more than they need to for their contracts, a new report has found.
In a mystery shopping investigation by Citizens Advice, mobile phone staff were found to be recommending tariffs to 'average' phone users which cost more than double the price they could be paying.
The prices quoted to mystery shoppers also varied massively between different branches of the major phone networks.
The prices given at EE branches and via its online shop, for example, were between 10 and 50.82 for a new handset and a contract with 250 minutes, 250 texts and 200MB of data per month.
Price confusion: Mystery shoppers were quoted a huge range of different prices for contracts even though they were asking for a tariff with the same usage
The average cost of the tariff recommended to the mystery shoppers was 23.16 which is 130 per cent more than the 9.89 contract which was found by Citizens Advice when researching online.
Across a two-year contract, which is the standard length of a new contract, customers taking up the phone shop recommendation could end up overpaying by 318.
The report also showed a lack of consistency among branches of the major phone networks. All mystery shoppers gave the same information and asked for a monthly contract with a smartphone but said they weren't bothered by the make or model.
But at EE prices varied between 10 to 50.82, according to which handset was recommended, at Vodafone it was between 9.99 and 49.99, at O2 between 11.35 and 46 while at Three it was from 10 to 40.
While this is largely because of the price of handset being attached to the contract, if a consumer had chosen a top-end phone they could be overpaying by almost 980 during a two-year contract.
The average cost of the tariff recommended was 23.16 which is 130 per cent more than the 9.89 contract found online by Citizens Advice
The tariffs offered to mystery shoppers were also out of sync with what they were asking for and 40 per cent were offered contracts with 1,000 or more minutes.
Citizens Advice says there was no evidence found of miss-selling or attempts to deliberately up-sell products but it did find that a big problem with the sales process was the emphasis on the handset.
As high-end handsets tend to only be sold with expensive tariffs that have a generous inclusive allowances, it says this means shoppers often buy tariffs that significantly exceed their needs.
Over two years customers taking up the phone shop recommendation could end up overpaying by 318
When buying a phone, the cost of the phone is usually absorbed into the monthly price you pay. The charity says this means it can be hard to work out how much the handset is and how much the tariff is over the contract term.
Citizens Advice says this model of selling phones is effectively a credit agreement which is hidden in a service contract.
Gillian Guy, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice, said: 'Mobile phone customers are being saddled with unnecessarily expensive contracts.
'The focus on handset brands mean people are essentially taking out loans on expensive phones - but without being able to work out the details of the loan or whether it's value for money.'
Prices varied massively between the different providers and could mean some customers are overpaying by almost 980 for a two-year contract
It recommends four main changes to the mobile industry. These are that the price comparison websites and phone retailers selling phone contracts should let customers pick deals based on their usage, not on the type of handset they want.
There should be a move from Ofcom to help consumers understand how much their usage is and how to find a phone and a tariff to meet this.
It should work with other areas of Government to broker a voluntary agreement with mobile phone companies to separate the cost of a handset from the contract.
Consumers should also be given a full breakdown of the costs involved including, the monthly cost of the contract, the total cost of the handset, the date the handset will be repaid in full and the amount of interest, if any, which is applied.
Lastly, phone companies should review the incentives their staff offer to customers to ensure that the contracts being sold are suitable for the consumers.
Many tariffs offered didn't match up to the tariffs the mystery shoppers were asking for
An Ofcom spokesperson said: 'We expect mobile phone companies to give accurate advice and information, tailored to a customer's individual priorities and requirements.
'While we note the report found no evidence of mis-selling, we will carefully consider its findings as part of our ongoing work to improve pricing transparency and remove barriers to switching'.
The mystery shop was carried out with 350 mystery shoppers in August last year and they used in store shops, online websites and customer service phone numbers to carry out the investigation.
Guy added: 'Mobile phone customers are being saddled with unnecessarily expensive contracts.
'While we didn't find evidence of mis-selling, sales pitches were focused overwhelmingly on phone brands which meant not enough attention was paid to tariffs - which are very important.
Eight years have passed since the great financial panic and the impact is still being felt. Among Europes once robust investment banks Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank are struggling for air.
Here at home the Co-op Bank may have been skilfully saved from the knackers yard by the intervention of Andrew Bailey at the Bank of England (soon to transfer to the Financial Conduct Authority) but it is in bad shape.
Latest results show a loss of around 610million after surging bills for past sins quite a shock for a bank which markets itself under an ethical label.
Risks: The UK government, the regulators and Parliament cannot take any risks when it comes to the proposed 'merger of equals' between the London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Boerse
It must make the hedge funds who helped restore the Co-ops capital feel a little queasy. All of this pain underlines why the Government, the regulators and Parliament cannot take any risks when it comes to the proposed merger of equals between the London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Boerse.
It is, of course, not a merger of equals. Deutsche Boerse will own 56 per cent of the new entity should the deal survive the battering it is starting to take.
Slowly it is dawning on all those involved that despite the talk of creating a European powerhouse this is a deal fraught with regulatory and financial stability flaws.
t is more about the grandiosity of those that run the exchanges and short-termist, fee hungry investment bankers than anything else.
The end of over-the-counter derivatives dealing among investment banks and the retreat to recognised clearing houses such as the LSEs LCH.Clearnet and DBs Eurex is among the reasons that the transaction is lauded.
This is a large scale transfer of risk from well capitalised banks to thinly capitalised exchanges without the buffers to absorb trading losses.
Putting the two markets together doubles up on the risks, as we learnt with the Royal Bank of Scotland-ABN Amro and Lloyds-HBOS mergers. Coming at a moment when financial markets are generally short of liquidity the LSE-DB deal looks wonky.
The tide of City opinion, which saw the merger as if it were the second coming, is turning. Claims of huge IT savings are seen as heroic.
The prospect of hydra-headed management teams in Frankfurt and London is potty. There is enormous potential for a major derivatives contract going wrong and regulation and compensation falling between two stools.
If anyone wanted a better illustration of what overseas ownership can do for great British enterprises, they need look no further than Port Talbot where decisions about livelihoods and the nations economic security is in the hands of faceless directors in Mumbai.
It is encouraging that after a long silence the Treasury Select Committee is promising hearings in the next couple of weeks having started to gather evidence on the pros and cons.
The free market and EU friendly Economist magazine has come out against arguing that exchanges must be treated with even more care than the banks, which are relentlessly required to jack up their capital.
A neglectful government largely has been silent. It rarely sees an overseas takeover which it doesnt like. It would be nice to think that Whitehall and the Bank of England see the regulatory risk much more clearly than when they waived competition law to allow the disastrous coming together of Lloyds-HBOS. Lessons must be learned from the past.
Spice wars
American spice rack kings McCormick stepped up the pressure on Premier Foods this week with a higher offer of 65p and due diligence demands which are being met.
McCormick is waving the Union Jack by highlighting its stewardship of the Schwartz brand. But the current debate should be as much about finding a safe home for Premiers 50,000 pensioners in seven separate schemes as the future of Oxo, Bisto and the schoolchilds friend Ambrosia rice desserts.
Premier naturally is arguing that McCormick is doing some bottom fishing with the current offer, which takes no account of further turnaround prospects.
If Premier is going to have a foreign owner and partner, it would seem to prefer Japans noodle kings Nissin with a 17.3 per cent stake and a long-view, rather than Americas slash-and-burn capitalism.
Clearly, long suffering Premier investors are rubbing their hands at the thought of bolstering portfolios with the return of cash which they must have despaired of ever seeing again.
By selling Premier too soon and at too low a price to a foreign buyer investors could yet do a Cadbury, by corrupting brands and encouraging tax shifting.
It would be a mistake.
Healthy option
SIR Philip Hampton has hard choices ahead. He must weigh his role as chairman of GlaxoSmithKline against a new job as the nations boardroom equality czar replacing Lord Davies of Abersoch.
The announced departure of Sir Andrew Witty as chief executive of GSK has created a vacancy at the FTSE 100s fourth largest company with a value of 68.5billion.
Hampton has an opportunity to really break down equality barriers by handing the chief executives lab coat to a woman. Hot favourite must be Emma Walmsley who heads GSKs fast growing Consumer Healthcare division.
Warning: Former EU banker Christian Noyer said Brexit would mean a ban on City trading in euros
One of Europes former top bankers came under fire last night after he said the EU would move to crush City trading in its currency if Britain voted for exit in June.
Trillions of euros are traded in London every year on foreign exchange and derivatives markets.
Christian Noyer, who was a vice president of the European Central Bank and a Bank of France governor, said this would be forbidden if voters defied Brussels.
If Britain left the EU, the euro area authorities could no longer tolerate such a high proportion of financial activities involving their currency taking place abroad, he said.
It is already very difficult for euro members to accept that our currency is largely traded outside the currency area, beyond the control of the ECB.
Speaking anonymously, two current ECB officials told Reuters they agreed.
It is the latest in a string of warnings that the City would be crippled by Brexit.
But backers of Brexit said Noyers threat was little more than scaremongering.
John Mills, an economist and entrepreneur who founded consumer goods firm JML, said the same warnings were sounded when Britain refused to join the single currency.
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By Madina Toure
State Assemblyman Ron Kim (D-Flushing) is calling out Gov. Andrew Cuomo for not appointing an Asian-American to his newly formed Council on Diversity and Inclusion.
On March 18, Cuomo announced he was creating the council to bring about more hiring of minority candidates for positions in the state government workforce.
The council will be tasked with evaluating relevant data and best practices in the public and private sectors, determining obstacles and opportunities and working with state agencies to develop a Five-Year Strategic Plan for Statewide Diversity and Inclusion.
Secretary of State Nominee Rossana Rosado will serve as chairwoman of the council. The other members are state Assemblyman Marcos Crespo, chairman of the Somos el Futuro Conference; state Assemblyman Nick Perry, chairman of the NYS Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Legislative Caucus; Chief Diversity Officer Roger Rodriguez; Commissioner of Civil Service Lola Brabham; and Deputy Secretary for Labor Elizabeth de Leon Barghava.
By excluding Asian Americans in his efforts to be inclusive, Gov. Andrew Cuomo is sending a strong message to Asian Americans across the state that when it comes to diversity, Asians are still not part of the conversation, Kim said. In fact, he might as well call this initiative the New York Asian Exclusion Act.
This is not the first time Kim has been at odds with the governor on issues affecting Asian Americans.
In July, Cuomo signed into law a bill, introduced by Kim, that would close unlicensed nail salons and give trainee status to unlicensed workers after a May 2015 Times report about abuse in the nail salon industry.
Kim has accused Cuomo of extending his state of emergency three times to unilaterally take punitive measures against nail salon workers and owners.
The assemblyman said he is not surprised by the governors disdain for Asian Americans, because he has not appointed a single Asian American to his cabinet or to a commissioner-level position in New York.
Consequently, his unilaterally imposed state regulations have led to rampant scapegoating and demonization of Asian-American small business owners this year, which has led to hundreds of displaced minority workers, he continued. Rather than just showing up at Asian-American events to cut ribbons, I encourage this governor to put forth initiatives that truly embrace diversity in this state.
Cuomo said the states diversity has always been its greatest strength.
Our MWBE (minority and women-owned businesses) program has become a national model, and we are going to do the same with our hiring practices so that the states workforce reflects the strength of our communities, he said in a statement.
In 2015, minorities represented 25.7 percent of the state government workforce, up from 24.2 percent in 2010 and 23.3 percent in 2005, according to Cuomo.
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By Bill Parry
The Phagwah Parade made its triumphant return to Richmond Hill Saturday following a one-year hiatus. Last year the Hindu celebration marking the beginning of spring was canceled for the first time since 1988 because of political disputes within the organizing committee.
The future of the Indo-Caribbean spectacle was in question when two rival factions, the Hindu Parades and Festivals Committee and the Federation of Hindu Mandirs, both applied for permits to run the parade. The competing requests forced the NYPD to revoke the permit, thus canceling the parade.
The dispute landed in front of Queens Supreme Court Justice Allan Weiss, who ruled the two factions would put on a joint parade under joint sponsorship.
At the staging area at Liberty Avenue and 133rd Street, the dispute seemed forgotten as hundreds of people crammed onto floats representing different temples. The pulsating beats of Chowtal folk songs blasted from speakers and percussionists added to the sonic intensity.
Phagwah, also called Holi, is known around the world as the festival of color, in which participants and spectators celebrate the triumph of good over evil by flinging red dye, colored powders, water and flowers at each other. Thousands stood behind police barricades along the Liberty Avenue business district and cheered as the floats went by.
Many of the storefronts were selling supplies of the colored powders and canisters of baby powder for those who ran out of supplies. At one point, an overzealous participant threw a large amount of green powder directly in the face of a middle-aged woman who swung her pocketbook in retaliation, missing the mark as the celebrant scurried back to her float.
As the parade turned north onto 125th Street, residents were out in force watching from porches, rooftops and windows. At 101-18 125th St., a woman named Dianna danced with her little dog Louie.
We have him out here every year, she said. But last year he was so sad there was no parade.
Mike Rhodes was sitting on a front stoop of a nearby home belonging to his son. He made the trip from his home in Northport, L.I.
This parade is phenomenal with all of the sounds and the color, Ive never seen anything like it, Rhodes said. Yeah, we dont have anything like this in Northport. It gives you an indication of just how great this neighborhood is.
The parade ended at Phil Scooter Rizzuto Park at 125th Street and Atlantic Avenue, where members of the Caribbean Equality Project, an LGBT group that marched for the first time, greeted fellow marchers as everyone streamed onto the ball fields for an afternoon of music and dancing. Young people bombarded each other with the powders, taking a break occasionally to text on cell phones inside Ziploc bags.
Hollis resident Pearl Parasram has been coming to Richmond Hill to celebrate Phagwah for 15 years.
Its something you expect every year and look forward to every year, she said. We were so disappointed that it didnt happen last year. This is all about friendship and unity. The unity of the temples that connect for the one time a year.
Herman Singh, the director of the Hindu Parades and Festivals Committee, told the crowd they should thank God for the wonderful weather and an incident-free parade.
Were very happy to be back here for our 28th year, he said. This is an institution that will stay right here in Richmond Hill.
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.
CHRISTOPHER WALKER/TIMES RECORD NEWS The Wichita Falls Hancock Fabrics store located on Southwest Parkway is just one of the locations that will close after its parent company, Hancock Fabrics Inc., filed bankruptcy and the court approved the auction purchase by Great American Group, LLC. Going-out-of-business sales will begin April 1.
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By John Ingle of the Times Record News
Hancock Fabrics in Wichita Falls will close in the relatively near future, people associated with the chain fabric store confirmed Monday.
Neither would go on record as the company had not officially released a statement.
According to court documents, Hancock Fabrics Inc. filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware in early February. The court awarded a successful auction bid for the chain to Great American Group, LLC pending an official sale hearing Thursday. The secondary winner is a joint venture between Hilco Merchant Resources, LLC and Gordon Brothers Retail Partners, LLC.
Specific details on when the store will close or what will happen moving forward have not been released by Hancock Fabrics.
Great American Group, a subsidiary of B. Riley Finanical, said on its website it plans to sell off Hancock's more than $280 million in retail inventory. Going-out-of-business sales will begin April 1 and will continue until all retail items are sold.
"Great American Group has worked closely with Hancock Fabrics in a range of capacities over the last several years," said Scott Carpenter, president of GA's Retail Solutions division. "This has given us a deep understanding of Hancock's inventory and assets, which ultimately allowed us to prevail as the highest bidder."
Times Record News archives show Hancock Fabrics first arrived in Wichita Falls in 1968 with a location at 1508 11th St. Ironically, the grand opening for the 6,000-square-feet facility was on April 1. The store soon relocated from the 11th Street location to where it is now on Southwest Parkway and K-Mart Drive.
Another Hancock Fabric store opened in June 1973 in the Wichita West Shopping Center on Old Iowa Park Road.
SHARE Contributed image This image is by photographer Jack Milchanowski of Sunset, Texas, one of 60 artists showcasing their work at Cowboy True Friday and Saturday at the J.S. Bridwell Agricultural Center. Contributed image Cowboy True elevates cowboy art and the cowboy way of life. One of the more than 60 artists attending the event will be Dee Elliott of Mineral Wells, who painted this image of a longhorn. Contributed image Bits and spurs, trappings, leatherwork and other art created for the daily life of the cowboy are celebrated in the Cowboy True art exhibit. These spurs were created by Biggs Bird of Fort Worth. The two-day event Saturday and Sunday at the J.S. Bridwell Agricultural Center features art, chuck wagon cooks, longhorns, mounted shooters and more. Contributed image Mike Vaughn of Bowie, Texas, created these boots, the artistry of which will be celebrated at Cowboy True Friday and Saturday at the J.S. Bridwell Agricultural Center. The event aims to elevate cowboy art. Related Coverage Waggoner Ranch focus of Cowboy True photographer
By Lana Sweeten-Shults of the Times Record News
Draw!
In the Old West, it means to draw your weapon; at Cowboy True, it's more likely to mean a form of artwork, though you might just find that both meanings ring true enough at the two-day celebration of cowboy artistry.
The Kemp at the Forum-organized event Friday and Saturday at the J.S. Bridwell Agricultural Center returns for the fifth year with the same spirit and the same goal as it has since it was founded: to elevate cowboy art and celebrate the cowboy way of life.
The exhibit is different from other art exhibits in that it doesn't just embrace the typical art trappings of oil paintings, photography, sculpture and the like, but also embraces the things cowboys use in their daily lives, from boots to saddles and bits and spurs.
As it has since its beginning, the pinnacle of Cowboy True is all the artwork, and this weekend, more than 60 artists will descend on the agricultural center. They are attending not just from Texas and Oklahoma but from such states as Colorado and New Mexico, too.
Some familiar names will return to this extravaganza of cowboy art, such as Jack Milchanowski of Sunset, whose intense, high dynamic range photographs of old cowboys, nature and the like look almost too real; Jack Stevens of Iowa Park, whose sculptures of cyclists and horses dapple Wichita Falls' outdoors; Wichita Falls photographer Torin Halsey and his affinity for rickety doors and cockeyed windows battered by time; and woodcarver James McClain of Wichita Falls and his intricately assembled bowls.
The event also will welcome such names as bits-and-spurs artist Stewart Williamson of Portales, New Mexico; Morgan Mee of Fulshear, Texas, who will bring her drawings; sculptor Tom Roberts of Byers; carver Don Woodard of Denver, Colorado; and saddlemaker Seth Ward of Canyon.
Those are just a few of the artists who will display and sell their work at the event, which is packed with a slew of other activities.
Festivities begin 5:30 p.m. Friday with the free admission artist's preview party. It is a meet-and-greet affair with the artists, some of whom will be honored at an awards ceremony. Hors d'oeuvres will be served and a cash bar available, followed by a concert at 8 p.m. featuring Seth James and his wife, Jessica Murray Walker. Concert tickets are $15.
James knows about the cowboy way of life he was raised on a West Texas ranch but he also knows a little something about music. The guitar-slinger has played with the likes of Delbert McClinton and Billy Joe Shaver, and he was a member of the band The Departed with former Cross Canadian Ragweed country rocker Cody Canada.
Cowboy True gets into high gear Saturday with free admission events running from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
It's here where visitors might spy a few longhorns, namely Rampage from the Patterson's Auto Group/4P's Ranch and longhorns from Fort Griffin State Park, site of the official state herd.
Something new at Cowboy True is very old, as in Old West-fashioned mounted shooting, courtesy of the Wild West Mounted Shooters. In this equine sport, riders try to hit various targets while whooshing past on their zippy horses. Look for a match competition in the morning and a showcase in the afternoon. This particular group loves to bring the Old West to life and so wears authentic wild West duds.
Look for a photography exhibit, too. Photo subjects, naturally, will be real cowboys.
There's also a chuck wagon meal. A chuck wagon team that received the Will Rogers Cowboy Award for Chuck Wagon of the Year from Abilene will prepare a menu of chicken-fried steak and all the trimmings. Plates are $15 per person.
Kristyn Harris and Hailey Sandoz will perform at the lunch hour, from noon to 1 p.m. Saturday, so, right when you might be imbibing all that chicken-fried steak. Harris was named the Western Music Association Female Performer of the Year for 2014 and 2015, and her album, "Down the Trail," was named Western Album of the Year from the Western Music Association. Sandoz was awarded the 2015 Western Music Association Crescendo Rising Star Award and has been nominated for the Academy of Western Artists Rising Artist Award for the past two years.
They also will perform from 2 to 3:30 p.m.
Young aficionados of the cowboy way of life might drop by the Kid's Corral from noon to 2 p.m., where they can learn to be a Texas Ranger, thanks to Ranger Roy, and the CattleWomen's Association will helm hay bale roping.
Cowboy True will culminate with the $60-a-ticket Cowboy Up event, which will begin at 5:30 p.m. Saturday.
It includes a meal catered by Texas Best Meats, music by the cowboy group Prairie Moon (expect a hearty yodel or two), and a live auction.
Featured in the auction will be 20 pieces of artwork from among the attending artists selected by cowboy judges. Artists receive 75 percent of the proceeds, while the Forum will receive 25 percent. Besides the art, other items up for bidding will be a ranch dinner by Cheryl Williamson from the JC Ranch, a travel package to Oklahoma City and a Mickey Gee saddle, to name a few.
After Cowboy Up, it will be happy trails for Cowboy True until next year.
IF YOU GO
What: Cowboy True
Where: J.S. Bridwell Agricultural Center
When: Friday and Saturday
Admission: Free, though it's $15 for the Friday night Seth James concert and $60 per ticket to attend the Cowboy Up dinner and auction Saturday night. Contact: www.theforumwf.org or 766- 3347
SCHEDULE
Friday
5:30 p.m.: Free-admission artists preview party
8 p.m.: Concert by Seth James and his band, with Jessica Murray Walker ($15 per ticket)
Saturday
10 a.m.: Cowboy True opens (free admission)
Noon to 2 p.m.: Kids Corral
Noon to 1 p.m.: Music by Kristyn Harris and Hailey Sandoz
2 to 3:30 p.m.: Music by Kristyn Harris and Hailey Sandoz
5 p.m.: Event ends
5:30 p.m.: The Cowboy Up dinner and auction begins ($60 per ticket)
SHARE Sarah Johnson/Times Record News Father Peter Kavanaugh greeted twins Kevin and Eva just a week before he arrived in Wichita Falls to serve as priest at St. Benedict Orthodox Church. After settling in last October, he quickly expanded the church's activities, adding a weekly dinner and Wednesday religious education classes. The church will share its fellowship May 7 when it hosts a community barbecue. Sarah Johnson/Times Record News Father Peter Kavanagh began as priest at St. Benedict Orthodox Church in October. The son of a missionary and Harvard University graduate said he immediately sensed a "wonderful community who love God."
Peter Kavanaugh, the new priest at St. Benedict Orthodox Church, is in the midst of a preaching series called "What Does It Mean to Be Human: Encountering God in the Sacraments." In his weekly teachings, Kavanaugh will spotlight a time before denominations and divisions and before the church lost answers to life's most difficult decisions a time when there was the faith, the apostles and the undivided church.
"It's important to us Orthodox Christians to preserve intact the traditions passed down by the Apostles and preserved throughout the history of Christianity," Kavanaugh said. "The Orthodox Church was around before the Bible was established or any denominations, and has since maintained its faith unbroken. It is through these apostolic traditions that we feel we can best share a relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and accomplish his work."
Kavanaugh was ordained into the priesthood in January and arrived at St. Benedict's in October one week after his wife, Zoe, gave birth to twins.
"I came into ministry to serve God and his people," Kavanaugh said. "And that's what we're all supposed to do serve God."
The beautiful white stucco church that Kavanaugh serves was built in 1997 at 3808 Old Seymour Road. St. Benedict Orthodox Church is a Western Rite parish of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America.
"This is such a beautiful church and wonderful community who love God," Kavanaugh said.
Kavanaugh, 29, grew up in Virginia with a missionary father and started writing sermons when he was 8 years old.
"I still fought it, however," he said. "I've never had to trust God so much."
But this verse kept him going: "Pursue the kingdom of God and all else will follow."
"That verse means a lot to me," he said. "It's a vision for me."
And if Kavanaugh had a mascot, he said it would be of all things a donkey.
"If God can speak through a donkey, then he can speak through me," he said. "And I couldn't do any of it without my wife. She's my partner and companion in all of this."
Kavanaugh's father was a missionary. His parents were classical musicians and so music become a passion for him as well.
"My passions are music, art, nature and God," he said. "Although we never are as passionate about God as we should."
He studied psychology at Harvard, went to seminary in Boston and worked in geriatrics as a chaplain at an assisted living center.
Kavanaugh is excited about starting life with his young family in Wichita Falls and at St. Benedict Church.
"There is a real sense of family and desire to make their faith their life," he said. "This is not just a Sunday religion."
Kavanaugh explained that it is important for Orthodox Christians to preserve intact the traditions passed down by the Apostles and preserved throughout the history of Christianity. A verse from II Thessalonians 2:15 says "Brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which were taught, whether by word-of-mouth or by letter from us."
Kavanaugh said it is through these apostolic traditions that they feel they can best share a relationship with Jesus Christ.
"In the Book of Acts we read, 'in Antioch they were first called Christians' (11:26)," he said. "The Orthodox Church has maintained an unbroken communion with these Christians of the first century, preserving the liturgies and doctrines handed down to us. Our mission is to draw close to the Holy Trinity in worship and love, to 'put on Christ' (Galatians 2:27), and in him to be 'the light of the world' (Matthew 5:14)."
At St. Benedict, Kavanaugh said, worship is done with the entire soul and body.
"We use holy images and incense and it is very palpable," Kavanaugh said. "We are transformed into his image while worshipping."
In just a few short months as head of the church, Kavanaugh has implemented several new programs for its members. A family night meal will be served every Wednesday with religious education for adults and youth. As a way to reach out to the community, the church will host a barbecue meal May 7.
"We believe whenever two or more are gathered, there should be scripture, prayer and food," he said. "Acts 2:42-47 says 'And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers ... And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts ...' "
"It takes a whole crew to steer a boat, and there are lots of people who volunteer and are involved with the choir, food ministry and committees," Kavanaugh said.
APRIL STARR ALEXANDER
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By Patrick Johnston, patrick.johnston@timesrecordnews.com
Wichita County Jail's longest tenured inmate accepted a plea agreement in the 89th District Court Thursday afternoon.
Judge Charles Barnard sentenced April Starr Alexander, now 29, to 10 years in prison.
Alexander has been in jail since March 27, 2012 and pleaded guilty to one charge of injury to a child resulting in death.
Court documents state the cause of her 1-year-old son's death was blunt force trauma to the head and brain injury due to assault.
The arrest warrant said the child, Harley, was rushed to the emergency room after being found unresponsive on April 5, 2011. He died two days later at Cook Children's Hospital in Fort Worth.
At Cook, Harley was found to have substantial injuries to his brain due to blunt force trauma, the document stated. He was also found to have retinal hemorrhages in both eyes and his brain had swollen causing increased cranial pressure, the warrant stated.
Affidavits filed at the time claimed Alexander provided different accounts of the day's events, which were considered to be suspicious in nature.
She could also not provide a viable explanation as to how the child was injured. In a hearing earlier this month, Alexander's lawyer suggested the child's death might have been caused by an older sibling or an ex-husband and wanted files from Child Protective Services to be made available.
A trial was scheduled to begin on June 6 before Alexander accepted the plea agreement.
She has spent 1,466 days in jail awaiting trial, which will be credited against her sentence.
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By Times Record News
One of the two suspects involved in the Nov. 19 robbery of a local gun store had his bail reduced Thursday afternoon.
Judge Charles Barnard reduced the bail of Rodney Darvaun Robinson from $1 million to $500,000 at the recommendation of the district attorney's office.
Robinson's lawyers were asking for the bail to be reduced even lower to $100,000.
During the robbery of Texoma Armory Gun Shop, the store owner, Gary Barlow, exchanged gunfire with Robinson and Charles Johnson. A Feb. 5 Times Record News article said Barlow was shot five times and Johnson once.
According to an arrest affidavit:
Robinson told Wichita Falls police the plan was to distract the owner and get him to open up the gun cases, so they could steal the guns and flee. Robinson said they didn't plan to hurt anyone and the handgun they took into the store was only there as a scare tactic.
Barlow shot at Johnson when he demanded keys to the gun cases, Robinson said. When he saw Johnson fall to the floor, Robinson returned fire with Johnson's handgun he was holding, emptying the magazine before grabbing the rifle that was on display and fleeing in the vehicle.
Robinson and Johnson each face a charge of aggravated robbery and both remain in Wichita County Jail.
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James David 'JD' Alley, 54, left this earth Tuesday, March 29, 2016 and has entered God's open arms. JD was larger than life and made a lasting impression on all those he met. He could speak to a stranger as if he had known him or her for years, and any time help was needed, JD was Johnny on the Spot, never hesitating to lend a helping hand. While helping others brought JD joy, he enjoyed talking and spending time with those he loved most, his family, more than anything else.
JD's children and grandchildren were very important to him. He made sure to never miss their games, birthdays, or any other events. Along with being there for his grandchildren, JD had a great passion for auto racing with his brother and nephew and for riding motorcycles. He and his wife Lori often set out on rides on their Harleys, even making the trek to Sturgis Bike Rally in South Dakota. JD was born to James Floyd "Jim" Alley and Virginia Neoma Alley on February 7, 1962 in Wichita Falls, Texas, where he grew up and attended school at Old High. After high school, JD joined the Marine Corps. He later went on to become an electrician, even reaching Journeyman status. He was also a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Union (IBEW), Local 681. JD is preceded in death by his parents. He is survived by his wife Laura "Lori" Alley, and his four children, daughter Sylvia Looper and husband Ryan, son James Ernie Alley and Kayci Provence, daughter Wendy Lester and husband Jimmy, and son Cody Duncan, and brother Floyd Alley and wife Melinda. He is also survived by his five grandchildren: Railey and Ryder Looper and Blake, Jonas, and Airiana Lester. A funeral service will be held in the Chapel at Hampton Vaughan Funeral Home, on Monday, April 4, at 3 p.m. Burial will immediately follow at Crestview Memorial Park. The family will greet friends and relatives at a visitation on Sunday, April 3, from 3 to 5 p.m. at Hampton Vaughan Funeral Home, 1917 Archer City Highway.
Online condolences may be made at www.HamptonVaughanCrestview.com.
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Our global nuclear nightmare is back in the news, Page 1 and prime time.
And here's what is most frightening: America's leading experts, former Sens. Sam Nunn and Richard Lugar, the bipartisan partners who led the world's quarter-century battle to keep loose nukes and nuclear fuel out of terrorist hands and repeatedly warned us to do more or we'd someday regret it! have never looked more prophetic.
This week, as the world's leaders convened in Washington for the final Nuclear Security Summit of Barack Obama's presidency, they spent days pouring over a literally terrifying choice of news articles and expert reports:
NEWSBREAK: The New York Times reported that "tons of materials that terrorists could use to make small nuclear devices or dirty bombs remain deeply vulnerable to theft" despite U.S.-led efforts to safeguard them.
EXPERT REPORT: "Preventing Dirty Bombs, Fighting Weapons of Mass Disruption." A report by the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a group founded by Nunn and philanthropist Ted Turner in early 2001 to monitor security of the world's weapons of mass destruction, warned that the probability of terrorists exploding a dirty bomb with those materials was "much higher than that of an improvised nuclear device." (A dirty bomb is an ordinary explosive, packed with radioactive material that scatters when detonated and contaminates large areas.)
NEWSBREAK: Many news organizations reported Belgian officials' fears their nuclear plants are vulnerable after terrorists attacked their airport and subway. Worse yet: For years, Belgians knew they had security lapses; yet they guarded their nuclear plants only with private rent-a-cops until this year.
In 2014, a saboteur turned a valve in Belgium's Doel nuclear plant, draining 65,000 liters of oil; the turbines overheated and shut down for five months. It gets worse: Two years earlier, two workers at the same plant quit, went to Syria and fought in an Islamic State brigade alongside dozens from Belgium, including Abdelhamid Abaaoud, who led the Paris attacks.
There were a number of other nuclear facility security lapses:
This year, the computer system of the Belgian nuclear agency was hacked and had to briefly shut down.
In 2015, Belgians raided the apartment of a suspect tied to the Paris terrorists and discovered videos of a senior official of a Belgian nuclear facility.
In 2013, at the Belgian research reactor in the city of Mol, two people climbed over facility's fence, broke into a lab and stole equipment.
It was back in 1991 when Nunn, a Georgia Democrat, discovered the Soviet breakup meant Russia's nuclear arsenal could be poorly secured, he teamed up with Lugar, the Indiana Republican. Their Comprehensive Threat Reduction Act (best known as the Nunn-Lugar program) funded efforts to secure Soviet nukes and other arsenals around the world so terrorists could not get them. When Nunn and Turner formed their Nuclear Threat Initiative, I called Nunn and said I wanted to write a book and work on a TV documentary about the danger of terrorists getting some of the world's loose nukes. We figured our big problem would be convincing Americans it can happen here but after Sept. 11 of that year, that was no longer our problem. "Avoiding Armageddon," the book and PBS documentary series (I was managing editor; someone named Walter Cronkite was the narrator) recounted global security tales, beginning with a Russian nuclear thief who got away with stealing nuclear material until he tried to sell it. It also detailed nuclear facility security problems and how to fix them. I never expected I'd be writing about identical security failures in 2016.
A decade ago, Lugar became a de facto protege to a young freshman senator from Illinois. That was how Obama became a big believer in the Nunn-Lugar program that's still safeguarding the world's most vulnerable nukes. His belief in that program was one factor that seduced the Nobel folks (in a moment of embarrassingly prematurely adulation) to award its prize to Obama in the first year of his presidency.
And that brings up one final point:
Oslo, we have a problem: Nunn and Lugar have never been properly thanked by the world they helped rescue from potential nuclear catastrophe. But this October, at award time, the Nobel Peace Prize committee can finally make things right.
CHRISTOPHER WALKER/TIMES RECORD NEWS Beau Dameron points out antique ceiling tiles that he and his partners will eventually restore at their downtown retail store located at 922 Indiana Ave. The partners, who closed on the deal Friday, said putting in grocery store is their top priority to serve residents and downtown business employees alike.
SHARE CHRISTOPHER WALKER/TIMES RECORD NEWS Beau Dameron (left) and Sam Pak talk Friday afternoon after closing the purchase at 922 Indiana Ave. downtown. CHRISTOPHER WALKER/TIMES RECORD NEWS Left to right, Beau Dameron, Sam Pak and Dane Rodriguez open their downtown retail store at 922 Indiana Ave. on Friday. Dameron said the group has plans to have a grocery store and soda fountain in it to serve the downtown area.
By John Ingle of the Times Record News
A group of investors officially began their journey to restore the vibrant and dynamic legacy of Downtown Wichita Falls.
Legacy 922 LLC, comprised of Beau Dameron, Sam Pak and Dane Rodriguez, formally became owners Friday afternoon of 922 Indiana Ave., a three-story structure including the basement directly across from the Wichita Theatre. The group bought the building from area resident Bill Stewart.
Dameron, a consultant with Midland-based Pantec Pension Management, said finally owning the 21,000-square-feet building is exciting and scary at the same time. He said he is excited to get to work on bringing something to benefit the residents in the downtown area as well as those who work there.
The first step is getting a grocery store up and running on the first floor of the building.
"That's something that is obviously a need for not only the residents of downtown but the people who work downtown," he said. "It's also going to hopefully spur on more people living down here and working down here. That (a grocery store) is definitely the main priority down here."
Dameron said they have already had plumbers, engineers, electrical specialists and others in to take a look at specific components of the building. He said they've been told that 922 Indiana is one of the most solid and best-in-shape buildings in the downtown area. Now the group will begin working with architects and other specialists to formalize their plans for the facility.
Pak said there is a definite meaning behind the partnership group's name Legacy 922 LLC. He said he was part of a Wichita Falls Chamber of Commerce & Industry committee several years ago that looked at what it would take to grow Wichita Falls, and the first realization was a vibrant downtown.
He said he wants to see Downtown Wichita Falls return to that legacy of being a place to go and where generations of memories will be created.
"I would like to see a lot more things happen. I would like to see Indiana (Avenue) become Austin's Sixth Street, where you can stop, listen to live music, get something to eat and walk around," the adviser at Ameriprise Financial said. "Go visit the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame. Go have a cup of coffee at 8th Street Coffee House. Go get ice cream here. Go watch theater at Wichita Theatre; go watch a live show. That kind of environment where I know I can be entertained and fed and have all my needs met just by walking down the street."
Rodriguez, who was honorably discharged from the Air Force in 2007 at Sheppard Air Force Base, said he has had several business ventures in Wichita Falls, beginning with NuYu Teeth Whitening and as part owner of Stone Oven Pizza. The project at 922 Indiana, he said, is by far the biggest venture he's been a part of.
Like Dameron, Rodriguez said he is excited and scared at the same time, but the area prayed for rain, and the rain came. People have been praying for a vibrant downtown, he said, and the area is on the cusp of reaching that goal.
A grocery store is the perfect catalyst to push it even further along.
"It just seems like all the momentum and support it just seems like the ideal time," he said. "We've got a great opportunity. I've got some great partners and, again, a lot of support. At this point, it's one day at a time."
Dameron said they haven't set in stone a date for the grocery store and soda fountain to open because it is simply too early, but his goal is to have it open within a year and hopefully in six months.
Icelandic star comes to WAMC
The Linda, WAMC Northeast Public Radio's Performing Arts Studio on Central Avenue in Albany, in conjunction with Capital Cinema Cultural Exchange, welcomes one of Iceland's leading actors, Ingvar Eggert Sigursson, to town for a one-night screening of his 2013 film, "Of Horses and Men," at 7 p.m. Monday.
Sigursson will introduce the film and participate in a Q&A, sharing behind-the-scenes stories of acting and producing. The special screening is preceded by a 5:30 p.m. cocktail fundraiser to support the Capital Cinema Cultural Exchange's annual international filmmakers lab Sept. 22-25, which empowers independent filmmakers.
Saratoga Springs-based M.E. Altieri, who has worked in horse racing media since 2003 as a writer, editor, scriptwriter and producer, will join the post-screening discussion.
"Of Horses and Men" was Iceland's official submission for the Academy Awards' best foreign language film. It scored numerous film awards around the world and received a 100 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Tickets are free, but a donation is requested. Tickets to both the screening and VIP mixer, limited to 35 people, are $25. To reserve tickets, visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/of-horses-and-men-tickets-22669002597 For more information, call 465-5233.
O, say, can you sing?
Get your vocal cords ready and ramp up your patriotism; the Tri-City ValleyCats are hosting their sixth annual national anthem tryouts from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday on the lower level of Crossgates Mall, adjacent to the Apple Store. Registration begins at 9:30 a.m.
Jaime Roberts from 98.3 WTRY will be guest MC. The top performances will have the opportunity to perform the ''Star Spangled Banner'' at a premium fireworks night at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium in Troy.
Auditions will be conducted on a first-come, first-go basis in front of a panel of judges, who will score entries on sound quality, stage presence and song accuracy. The top five finalists will have their performances videotaped, which will be placed online for a fan vote. For information, call 629-2287.
Good artists make good "Fence"
The Arts Center of the Capital Region in Troy is calling for entries for the 2016 Fence Show, its annual members' exhibition. The show got its name when members' artwork was exhibited on the iron fence surrounding Washington Park in Troy, the original location of the Arts Center show.
All Arts Center members are invited to enter. The exhibition typically features approximately 500 pieces, displayed salon style (floor-to-ceiling). There is a separate category for young artists in grades K-12. All levels of skill and ability are represented.New this year, there will awards totaling $3,000, to be selected by the juror and staff at the arts center.
Artwork drop-off will be May 1-4. At 5:30 p.m. Thursday, May 19, the Arts Center Gala, the organization's main fundraising event, will include the Fence Awards, a sneak peak at the 2016 Fence Show, and the revealing of the artwork selected for "Fence Select."
"Fence '16" runs from May 20 through June 26; an artists' reception takes place 5-9 p.m. Friday, May 27. "Fence Select" runs from July 16 through Aug. 27; an artists' reception takes place 5-9 p.m. Friday, July 29.
For full submission and entry guidelines, visit http://www.artscenteronline.org/fence-show For more information, call 273-0552.
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Castleton-on-Hudson
Black, skull-emblazoned yard signs lined the roads leading to Maple Hill High School in Castleton-on-Hudson.
The signs were the work of "Stop the New York Fracked Gas Pipeline," a group that presented a public forum drawing an estimated 400 people to the school Thursday night.
"Two years for us fighting this, you know the clock is ticking," group co-founder Bob Connors said.
At issue is a $5 billion pipeline that would carry natural gas in a 30-inch-diameter pipe more than 400 miles from the hydro-fracking fields of Pennsylvania to northern Massachusetts and Boston.
Part of that route would take it through Schoharie County and southern Albany County before crossing the Hudson River to continue through Schodack, Nassau and Stephentown to Massachusetts.
Speakers led the crowd in a mass yell of "No new permits for fracking infrastructure," a mouthful of a phrase that stumped several in the audience.
Meanwhile, Connors stood in the hallway of the high school and passed around a plastic bucket for donations. Nearby, plates of cookies sat next to donation jars.
Houston-based developer Kinder Morgan was not represented at the forum. The energy company had held more than 100 meetings by December in an effort to promote the pipeline.
Those meetings cost between $20,000 and $25,000, Kinder Morgan Vice President Allen Fore said the one in Castleton on Dec. 17.
Thursday's anti-pipeline forum was the SNYFGP's most expensive event as it ramps up its public outreach. The group spent four times its normal budget to hold and promote the forum, Connors said.
Newspaper advertising, fliers, and 5,000 half-minute robo-calls meant the event cost $1,600 to $1,700, Connors said, and the previous 13 events cost around $300 to $400.
"We took a risk on this," Connors said, who said the group has spent around $12,000 over the span of two years.
"We're all in," Ken Stokem of SNYFGP said, adding the group had spent almost all of its funds on the forum.
One of the attendees, Ron of Schodack, walked through the hallway with a SNYFGP yard sign in his arms. The forum was his third and he said had already heard much of what was said, if not in so much detail. He said he came for support.
The sign Ron bought for $10 was his second sign. He bought one last year at another event, and the sign had faded.
Connors estimated the group sold around 60 signs Thursday night and has about 1,000 signs circulating.
The group's strategy, Connor said, is to defeat the proposal by "death through a thousand paper cuts," blocking the pipeline through legal actions and public outcry.
The result is a heightened effort to reach residents like Larry and Pat Cooper of Schodack, who came to their first meeting Thursday.
She said she learned a lot at the forum.
"This was our first event," he said.
"But it won't be our last," she said.
jlawrence@timesunion.com 518-454-5467 @jplawrence3
Albany
Joseph Felix Strevell, a former New York deputy secretary of state, was indicted this week on federal charges that accuse him of lying about his financial assets to conceal his ability to pay back more than $111,000 he admitted stealing from a state-sponsored nonprofit agency.
Strevell, 54, who pleaded guilty to federal charges in 2007 for bilking money from the former Institute for Entrepreneurship, was arrested Friday on a sealed indictment filed in U.S. District Court in Albany.
The six-count indictment charges Strevell with lying under oath two years ago when he told federal prosecutors that he gave his daughter "a couple thousand dollars" for her wedding, even though bank records showed he had given her nearly $70,000, with much of the money used for the May 2014 event. Strevell, who was being questioned about his ability to pay a court-ordered restitution to the state, also allegedly lied about where he got $75,000 that he used as a down payment for a lease-purchase agreement for a $865,000 horse farm.
Strevell moved into the sprawling Nassau farm with his daughter about three years ago. His daughter's wedding took place at the farm. When Strevell was questioned about the origin of down payment money, he told federal authorities it came from his aunt and also his mother's pension, which was false, according to the indictment.
"How much money did your mother give you?" a prosecutor asked Strevell during the interview two years ago.
"Twenty-three thousand, I believe," he answered, according to a transcript of his testimony. "She had her what do you call it, a pension, she cashed her pension in."
The cash assets and money transfers that Strevell is accused of concealing from the government flowed through two checking accounts at Pioneer Bank that were listed under a pair of private corporations Berkshire Properties Corp. and Burkshire Properties Group Corp. The corporations were controlled by Strevell and did business as "Joe's Garage," a used-car business that Strevell and his brother Chauncey operated for many years in the city of Rensselaer. Strevell also was heavily involved in the real estate trade, records show.
"Restitution is a mandatory obligation that no convicted felon should be able to walk away from," U.S. Attorney Richard S. Hartunian said in a statement Friday. "Joseph Strevell tried to shirk his restitution obligation and when my office took his deposition to find out about his ability to pay, he repeatedly lied under oath to an Assistant United States Attorney to cover his tracks. As a result, he has been indicted for perjury."
The indictment charges Strevell with five felony counts of perjury and one misdemeanor count of defaulting on his restitution obligation.
If convicted of perjury, Strevell faces a maximum of 5 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. If convicted on the misdemeanor charge, Strevell faces up to a year in prison.
At an appearance Friday before U.S. Magistrate Christian F. Hummel in U.S. District Court, Strevell was ordered released from custody pending trial.
Federal law enforcement authorities began pursuing a criminal investigation of Strevell about two years ago, not long after the Times Union published a story about Strevell's residency at the 138-acre horse farm that had been on the market for nearly $1 million before Strevell and his daughter moved into the residence with a herd of horses.
The farm was donated to Cornell University in 2011 as a gift from Joseph and Jeanette Czapluk, and Strevell and members of his family were living there under a lease-purchase agreement, according to information provided to the Times Union at the time by a real estate agent. Cornell University previously declined comment on its real estate dealings with Strevell.
Strevell was a once-politically connected barber and low-level Senate worker who rose through the ranks and was appointed a deputy secretary of state for New York from 1997 to 1999. His political connections then helped him land a $263,000-a-year job as head of the Institute for Entrepreneurship, which became scandal-plagued during Strevell's tenure. A federal criminal investigation showed Strevell fleeced the state-sponsored agency that was intended to be a small-business incubator for the State University of New York, including arranging questionable jobs for his friends and relatives. Federal prosecutors at the time of his conviction said the actual losses from Strevell's misdeeds topped $200,000.
For years following his 2009 sentencing, when Strevell was sentenced to home confinement and ordered to pay restitution, he made sporadic and often minimal monthly payments to repay the court-ordered restitution, according to court officials.
Last year, federal prosecutors in Albany subpoenaed several of Strevell's relatives, including his brother Chauncey, 43, and an accountant who had done business with Strevell. Those subpoenas were issued several months after Strevell was subpoenaed by the U.S. Attorney's office. At the time, a Justice Department spokesman said the subpoenas were related to the government's attempts to identify Strevell's financial assets.
According to court records, Strevell used the institute's money to buy items for his farm, trips for him and his family and a recreational motor home without disclosing it was his. He gave himself a $95,000 raise, falsely claiming it had been approved.
Chauncey Strevell was paid $70,000 a year as chief operating officer of the institute his brother headed from 1998 to 2001, when both left as multiple investigations of the organization were launched. The state later shut down the organization.
blyons@timesunion.com 518-454-5547 @brendan_lyonstu
Albany
After a long week in which the state budget negotiations seemed to endure multiple blockades and reversals, Gov. Andrew Cuomo gathered reporters in the Capitol's ornate Red Room at 8:30 p.m. Thursday to lay out a $147 billion fiscal plan he called "the best we have produced in decades."
He was joined by his top aides the leaders of the Legislature were too busy moving the plan through their respective houses at a breakneck pace.
The marquee item in the budget is a phased-in boost in the state's minimum wage to $15, though the path to the rate upstate will take longer and have to clear the hurdle of an annual fiscal analysis to be conducted by the state Budget Division, which the governor controls.
Under the plan, wages will begin to increase in January. New York City will reach $15 within three years, though businesses with less than 10 employees will take four years a late change in the plan seen as necessary to secure the support of the Senate Republican majority's two members from within the five boroughs. The suburban regions of Westchester County and Long Island will hit $15 within six years.
Upstate workers will receive a $12.50 wage within five years, while the remaining increases to $15 would be determined by the Budget Division after an analysis of economic conditions. In 2019, a decline in the state's economy could put the brakes on the increases outside New York City if the agency finds it necessary.
Cuomo defended the drawn-out implementation and said the plan's "calibration mechanism" similar to a device included in California's plan to reach a $15 wage, approved by lawmakers hours before Cuomo spoke is the "smartest, safest way to go about it, in my opinion."
"The goal is to get to $15," he said. " ... No one would say, 'I want to go to $15 tomorrow in upstate New York if it's going to hurt the economy, because if it hurts the economy it hurts everybody. If it hurts the economy, there are no jobs at $15."
Fast-food workers in New York have already been put on the path to a $15 rate by the governor's unilateral use of a wage board a tactic he will give up for all industries during the years of the broader wage increase.
Cuomo appeared unsure on the impact the new law would have on fast-food workers.
While advocates for the wage increase were generally positive, others expressed disappointment on what they saw as the shortchanging of upstate.
"When upstate workers are condemned to poverty, our state's economy can never thrive," said Karen Scharff, executive director of Citizen Action. "New York City's workers won a major victory with a guaranteed raise to $15. But this deal shows how out of touch our state's leaders are with the needs of upstate's economy."
Greg Biryla of the pro-business group Unshackle Upstate said the budget "imposes additional burdens and challenges for employers especially those in upstate communities" and "will ensure that New York's business climate will remain one of the worst in the nation, even as our tax burden remains among the highest in the nation."
Cuomo's other major progressive agenda item, the creation of an employee-funded family and medical leave program, will also become reality in the budget. Paid for by a weekly tax taken from workers' paychecks starting at 70 cents, rising to $1.47 beginning in 2018, the plan will allow workers to take up to 12 weeks of leave at two-thirds of their pay when fully implemented in 2021.
The plan also includes an income tax cut estimated at $4.2 billion that Cuomo said would aid 6 million taxpayers with incomes up to $300,000 for married couple filing jointly.
Education funding will see a $1.5 billion increase this year (an increase of 6.5 percent over last year), while $100 million will be devoted to a program to turn the state's lowest-performing schools into "community schools" an extension of Cuomo's previous efforts to see those schools put into turnaround through receivership.
SUNY's "rational tuition" increase plan will take a pause after five years of cost increases for students, with tuition frozen this year. The system will receive $85 million in funds to cover the lost revenue, plus $300 million for its capital plan.
The state Department of Transportation will see $27 billion to fund its multi-year infrastructure plan, with a focus on upstate roads and bridges an attempt to balance out a similar investment in state funds for downstate transportation projects that are part of the MTA's capital plan. The state also will fund a Penn Station redevelopment project and a revamp of LaGuardia Airport.
As previously promised by Cuomo, the City of Albany will receive a $12.5 million advance on the state's future payments in lieu of taxes on the Empire State Plaza, funds sorely needed to close the city's budget gap.
As the clocked ticked toward the start of the state's new fiscal year on Friday, it seemed unlikely the Legislature would have time to print, read, debate and pass the tall stack of budget bills that had remained unseen throughout the day. Senate Republican Majority Leader John Flanagan's statement touted it as "a sixth consecutive on-time budget," though that seemed overly optimistic.
When the first budget bills made up largely of non-controversial spending came up for votes in both houses Thursday afternoon, members of the legislative minorities who were frozen out of the negotiation denounced the opaque process. On the floor of the Assembly, Glenville Republican Jim Tedisco sought details on the still-unknown elements of the budget plan from Democrat Denny Farrell, chair of the chamber's Ways & Means Committee, who referred Tedisco to details that had been reported in the media in recent days.
"You want me to read the newspapers to find out what's in the budget?," asked an incredulous Tedisco. "That's beyond the pale."
Another Assembly Republican, David DiPietro, promised to keep his assessment brief, and did not disappoint.
"This budget is crap," he said.
cseiler@timesunion.com 518-454-5619 @CaseySeiler
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TROY A bench warrant was issued Friday for Adam Rupeka, the self-styled police watchdog who was charged with sexually abusing a 15-year-old girl, after he failed to show up for a court appearance on Friday.
Judge Chris Maier signed the warrant after there was no sign of Rupeka during the morning court session.
Rupeka and his girlfriend Jennifer Ogburn have implied on social media that they've fled to Canada. City police said they have learned the duo is indeed outside the area.
Troy police generally do not pursue people who flee out of state to avoid misdemeanor charges.
Rupeka does not have a lawyer, according to court records.
Ogburn, who was arrested with Rupeka on March 26, did not appear for a court appointment earlier in the week and an arrest warrant was issued for her.
Rupeka has posted videos on Facebook that say police have targeted him for his efforts to expose their misconduct.
Rupeka and Ogburn face misdemeanor counts of endangering the welfare of a child, sexual abuse and forcible touching. They were sent to Rensselaer County Jail released on $5,000 bail each.
"I am now on the run for my life and this is all because of everything I've exposed of police doing," Rupeka said in a video posted Monday on YouTube and his Facebook page, Capital District Cop Block.
"As soon as I get to another safe location, I'll make an update to let everybody know what's going on."
A day later, Rupeka posted a video showing snow and water. He spoke about crossing the Canadian border.
In May, Rupeka, 36, caught the public's attention when he flashed his middle finger at a Saratoga Springs Police Officer Nathan Baker while driving in the city and videotaped the officer pepper-spraying him. The officer's action followed Rupeka's refusal to get out of his car without hearing what he was being charged with. Rupeka received a $50,000 settlement, and Baker resigned.
In September, State Police said Rupeka operated a drone equipped with a camera that crashed into a chimney at the state Capitol. He was charged with reckless endangerment but Albany City Court Judge Rachel Kretser dismissed the charges on March 17.
Appleton, Wis.
It was a question sure to come up at some point in the Republican primary campaign.
"What should the law be on abortion?" asked MSNBC's Chris Matthews to Donald Trump at a town hall event in Wisconsin.
"Should the woman be punished for having an abortion?" Matthews pressed. "This is not something you can dodge."
Trump's bungled response an awkward, extended attempt to evade the question, followed by an answer that, yes, "there has to be some form of punishment" prompted a backlash that managed to unite abortion rights activists and opponents.
And it also brought an unprecedented reversal from the notoriously unapologetic candidate less than a week before Wisconsin's important primary.
The episode demonstrated the extent to which Trump has glossed over the rigorous policy preparation that is fundamental to most presidential campaigns, underscoring the risks of the billionaire businessman's winging-it approach as he inches closer to the Republican nomination.
"Well, bear in mind I don't believe that he was warned that that question was coming" and didn't have a chance to really think about it, said Ben Carson, a former Trump rival who has since endorsed him, in an interview with CNN.
He should have, said political professionals.
"When you're just winging it, that's what happens," said Kevin Madden, a veteran of 2012 nominee Mitt Romney's campaign. "Running for president, it's not a take-home exam."
And this wasn't the first time Trump's approach has gotten him in trouble.
He raised eyebrows during a debate when he appeared unfamiliar with the concept of the nuclear triad, an oversight his opponents happily pointed out.
At a town hall on CNN earlier this week, Trump appeared to falter when asked to name what he believed were the top three priorities of the federal government. Among his answers: health care and education. Trump has vowed to repeal President Barack Obama's landmark health care law and gut the budget of the Department of Education.
The lack of preparation extends beyond policy. This week, Trump called into a series of radio stations in Wisconsin, apparently unaware the interviews were likely to be combative.
At the end of a remarkable interview in which he compared Trump's behavior to that of "a 12-year-old bully on the playground," WTMJ-AM's Charlie Sykes asked Trump if he was aware he'd called into someone unabashedly opposed to his candidacy.
"That I didn't know," Trump said.
During a recent rally in Vienna, Ohio, Trump delivered his usual indictment of the North American Free Trade Agreement and blasted American companies that have shipped jobs overseas.
But he seemed unaware that Chevrolet, which builds the Chevy Cruze sedan in nearby Lordstown, had recently announced that it was planning to build its 2017 hatchback model in Mexico. It was the kind of local knowledge that requires research and legwork, and could have helped Trump connect with his audience and others in the state.
For most presidential candidates, especially those new to it all, getting up to speed on the intricacies of domestic and foreign policy is a process that begins early.
While Trump's campaign did not respond Thursday to questions about the kind of briefings he receives, it's clear he has done things differently.
The hike had been invigorating invigorating, as in just this side of grueling. A 6-mile ascent into Mount Aspiring National Park had brought us to an overlook of Routeburn Falls, a thundering multilevel cascade of crystalline water (standard for New Zealand) jumping from the rock face above our heads and rushing into the deep valley below us. There we could see the Routeburn River winding through the high-shouldered Humboldt Mountains on its way to Lake Wakatipu.
We were breathless not only because of the impressive scenery but because we had run out of time. Sights along the Routeburn Track earlier in the day had slowed us down, and in order to see the falls, we had sprinted the last mile up the steep trail. We were sweating, struggling for air and, most importantly, feeling that the extra effort had been completely worth it.
Other than the danger of overextending yourself, hiking New Zealand's abundance of trails is almost never disappointing. In fact, if you come all this way and don't take advantage of them, you've truly missed out.
And the Kiwis work hard to make hiking attractive. The maintenance on the trails we hiked was impressive: crushed-rock trail beds; comfortable clearance even in the most dense areas of the beech- and fern-dominated rain forests; boardwalks that meander over wetlands; and well-built, if sometimes unnerving, suspension bridges that span the roiling creeks.
More Information If you go Hiking: Track and trail information can be found at doc.govt.nz You can also make hut and campsite reservations through the site. See More Collapse
Richard Davies, a recreation manager for New Zealand's Department of Conservation, said about $65 million is pumped into the country's park areas annually. Much of that money is devoted to trail development and making sure they are maintained properly.
"It hasn't happened by chance," Davies said of the manicured trails. "All our staff is working on certain service standards how much vegetation is cleared, the gradient of the track, whether the watercourses are bridged or not. We can provide a really consistent service. Wherever you go in the country you get a similar experience."
From our hikes in the Bay of Islands on the North Island, to the southern regions of Fiordland National Park on the South Island, we found this to be true.
And there is good reason for the effort. The spectacular scenery this island nation has to offer is unsurpassed. Director Peter Jackson didn't just film his J.R.R. Tolkien epics here because he didn't want to leave his home country. The vertical landscapes, whether they anchor themselves in mountain rivers, broad lakes or the Pacific Ocean, perfectly lend themselves to fantasy.
What we were seeing often felt unreal: The knife-edged ridges on the mountains, the steep faces of which are frequently laced with waterfalls. The dense, verdant forests filled with calling birds and towering giant ferns that make you feel as if you've stumbled into some prehistoric world. The glittering lakes, where the water is so clear you can see the bottom until reflection gets in your way many yards from shore.
All of these, and more, make this a country of constant surprises. And hiking is one of the best ways to see it.
Originally, we had planned to backpack some of the trails, throwing our lot in with a largely younger crowd frequently seen not only on the trails but in the cities and by the sides of the roads, their thumbs extended. But when my girlfriend broke her arm four days before we were due to fly out of Los Angeles International Airport, we had to alter our itinerary. Nevertheless, she was determined not to be slowed down, and we got in plenty of trail time and plenty of those wonderful surprises.
What we call hiking, folks here refer to as trekking or tramping, and it's a bit different than what we're used to in the United States. There aren't many places on the popular trails where you can head out into the wilderness and plunk your tent down when you think you've found a good campsite.
On many trails, you can set up camp only in designated campgrounds. On some, trekkers can only stay overnight in huts, many of which are rather primitive. Davies said the oldest one his agency manages was built in the 1860s by early farmers. Some, such as the one at Routeburn Falls, are relatively new and while it is a dormitory the bunked beds are partitioned off in a way that provides a moderate degree of privacy.
New Zealand's most famous trail, the Milford Track in Fiordland, is also its most restrictive. Both ends of the track are accessible primarily by ferry. Hikers can only do the route in one direction, and you have to have a permit or be with a guide to access the trail at all. Reservations are hard to come by. When I looked in October, shortly after we decided to travel to New Zealand, there were no reservations available until April.
Davies said the coveted spots usually get booked a year ahead of time. He didn't know the exact timetable but said reservations for the 2016-17 season would soon open.
Booking campsites and huts is required on the more popular trails. January weekday spots for the Routeburn Track, perhaps the next most popular after the Milford Track, were still available when I checked in late November. But if you go during New Zealand's summer, January to April, there is plenty of competition, especially for space in the huts. There are cancellation penalties, but you are best off booking as early as possible.
However, there are other options. On less popular trails, huts are often available on a first-come, first-served basis and, according to Davies, you can camp wherever you find a good spot. If you venture onto some of these trails, don't expect the carefully tended paths of the major tracks.
"We have many that are essentially just a few markers," Davies said. "Every park or piece of land has trails like that. They tend to be not advertised as much."
But choosing the "advanced" or "expert" category on the conservation department's website will direct you to such trails.
We may tackle some of those next time around. But on this trip we found ourselves on some of the more popular routes.
We started our South Island trip in Nelson, a quiet town but one with enough restaurants to make it interesting. After an overnight stay at the very comfortable Bretton's Retreat bed and breakfast amid the vineyards of nearby Brightwater, we took a 45-minute drive to Lake Rotoiti, one of the Nelson Lakes.
Here there are several trails around the lake and up adjoining valleys. We took one of two steep trails to the top of Mount Roberts, a 3,800-foot climb, where there was a spectacular view of the lake below and of the steep slopes of the St. Arnaud Mountains to the south.
Trail distances in New Zealand's parks are typically measured in time rather than distance. We found the times to be pretty liberal estimates. The Mount Roberts loop is listed at five hours. We finished in 31/2 without pushing it.
Our drive for the remainder of the day took us through the Marlborough region, famous for its wineries and its distinctive sauvignon blancs, and down the picturesque east coastline, where we saw ample numbers of surfers and sea lions, to Kaikoura. The seaside village is known for its crayfish, or spiny lobster, and ocean excursions to see whales or swim with wild dolphins.
One of the things we had hoped to see was Mount Cook, New Zealand's highest peak, in its Southern Alps. So the following day, we drove through the busy city of Christchurch and miles of green farmland to reach the tiny resort town of Lake Tekapo.
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Along the way, we stopped at the occasional roadside stand to buy blueberries, peaches and, of course, kiwi. We were surprised to discover that the quality and price of the produce was pretty comparable in the supermarkets. And while the cost was a bit higher than in the States, we did not run into the exorbitant prices we'd been warned about. The same held true for hotel rates and dining out.
We left Lake Tekapo in the morning rain. The weather hadn't improved much by the time we had skirted the shores of glacier-fed Lake Pukaki with its steel gray surface, and reached the trail leading into the Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park. An hour's hike took us over roaring streams and along the base of cliff faces cut with waterfalls. When we reached the trail's end at the milky Hooker Lake, the clouds had only slightly lifted and offered us only occasional glimpses of the shoulders of Mount Cook. Nevertheless, the scenery was stunning.
New Zealand's weather can be dicey, even in summer. These are, after all, rain forests that we were hiking through. They're called rain forests for a reason.
Three days later, when we were trekking along the southern end of the 30-mile-long Routeburn Track, we took a detour to Key Summit. There we were perched above a dramatic landscape. I know this because it said so in large letters on the sign in front of us. It was one of those sloped metal signs that depict the view before you, labeling all of the important geographic features.
To our left was Mount Christina or, to the Maori, Te Taumata o Hinepipiwai. Far below, cradled in a glacial cirque, was Lake Marian. Wrapped in a drizzling fog whiteout, we could see none of it.
There was nothing else to do.
I took a picture of the sign.
Fortunately, this was the exception. Though we dealt with overcast skies on many of the days we were in New Zealand, the clouds often added to the landscape, rather than detracting from it. They were part of the experience.
But, as if bestowing a parting gift upon us, the following day was sunny. We had returned to the North Island and had started our final day with a hike on the coast directly west of Auckland, above Mercer Bay, where the coastline rivals Big Sur's.
At one headland stands a carving of the Maori maiden Hinerangi, who married a young chieftain but lost him at sea. Legend says she died on this spot of a broken heart, looking out to sea, hoping for the return of her love. Her face is said to appear on a nearby cliff side.
I wasn't able to pick out her features, but that hardly diminished the beauty of the place. Nor did her sad tale dampen my enthusiasm or appreciation for what we had experienced along the trails we tramped in New Zealand.
Tim Lewis is on paid leave from his job as county jail warden. His wife, Debra Lewis, is also on paid leave from her job as a county assessment office clerk.
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To celebrate the release of his brand new mixtape, 93 KFC Rotisserie GOLD, homegrown rap talent Ivan Ooze has announced a huge national headline tour that will take him across the country to showcase his latest release.
Part of a new vanguard of talented young Australian hip-hop artists, Ooze has managed to rack up an impressive resume in his short time on the scene, including a recent support slot with legendary hip-hop crew Wu-Tang Clan.
Ooze got 2016 off to a spectacular start with an acclaimed performance at Beyond The Valley over NYE, which he followed up with the Wu-Tang Clan tour, during which he hit the studio with none other than Ghostface Killah for a collab.
Meanwhile, 93 KFC Rotisserie GOLD is set to elevate Oozes profile even further. Serving as the follow-up to 2015s The Social Alien, its the next chapter of whats becoming one of the most promising careers in Aussie hip-hop.
Ivan Ooze National Tour Dates
Saturday, 23rd April 2016
The Grass Is Greener, Cairns
Tickets: Ivan Ooze
Saturday, 30th April 2016
Groovin The Moo, Bendigo
Tickets: Ivan Ooze
Thursday, 12th May 2016
Jimmys Den, Perth
Tickets: Ivan Ooze
Friday, 13th May 2016
Arcade Nightclub, Joondalup
Tickets: Ivan Ooze
Saturday, 14th May 2016
Rocket Bar, Adelaide
Tickets: Ivan Ooze
Thursday, 19th May 2016
Black Bear Lodge, Brisbane
Tickets: Ivan Ooze
Friday, 20th May 2016
Agenda Nightclub, Toowoomba
Tickets: Ivan Ooze
Saturday, 21st May 2016
Flinders Social, Townsville
Tickets: Ivan Ooze
Friday, 27th May 2016
Karova Lounge, Ballarat
Tickets: Ivan Ooze
Saturday, 28th May 2016
Northcote Social Club, Melbourne
Tickets: Ivan Ooze
Thursday, 2nd June 2016
Rad, Wollongong
Tickets: Ivan Ooze
Friday, 3th June 2016
Newtown Social Club, Sydney
Tickets: Ivan Ooze
Saturday, 4th June 2016
The Small Ballroom, Newcastle (U18) day
Tickets: Ivan Ooze
Saturday, 4th June 2016
The Small Ballroom, Newcastle night
Tickets: Ivan Ooze
Celebate Kansas City Gay Wedding Cake And Single-Terminal Airport Ruckus Tonight!!!
Once again we consider the Kansas City GOLD STANDARD of political discourse and the important topics that this town's chattering class talks.
Check it:
"Mike Shanin interviews Mindy Corporon, President of SevenDays, about creating a ripple of positive change after the Jewish Community Center shooting which claimed the lives of her father and son. Jason Grill, Mary Anne Murray Simons, Pat McInerney and Ron Freeman discuss proposed changes to Kansas school funding, the potential impact of Missouri's Religious Freedom amendment and the future of KCI."
There's a lot to consider on this evening's show but for the most part we notice that these opinions are all relatively safe, well-considered but still kinda bland and not representative of how people really talk when they aren't getting paid by the word.
You decide . . .
CFRG /MO sues KCRTA for sunshine law violations on the Streetcar expansion
"Today in the circuit court of Jackson County, Missouri at Kansas City, Citizens for Responsible Government / Missouri (CFRG/MO) sued the Kansas City Regional Transit Alliance (KCRTA) for documents relating to the expansion of the Kansas City Missouri Streetcar.
"It is CFRG / MOs position KCRTA has refused to turn over documents which are public records. We believe the taxpayers / voters are entitled to this information."
In the ongoing fight over transparency in local government, here's the latest power play . . .Remember thatand now the battle to keep documents secret has become a matter for the courts.Developing . . .
FRIDAY, April 1, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- Most people who search the Internet for e-cigarettes are shopping for the products -- not looking to quit smoking, a new study reveals.
In fact, researchers found that less than 1 percent of millions of Google searches on the topic were focused on smoking cessation or the health effects of vaping.
"The e-cigarette industry, the media, and the vaping community have promoted the notion that e-cigarettes are an effective device for quitting smoking, yet what we're seeing is that there are very few people searching for information about that," said the study's senior author, Rebecca S. Williams. She is a researcher at the University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center and Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention.
"They are more commonly searching for terms like 'buy,' 'shop,' or 'sale,' " she added in a news release from the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, which published the findings March 31.
As the popularity of e-cigarettes has surged over the past 10 years, doctors and health experts have scrambled to understand the habits and motivation of the people using the products.
Researchers from the University of North Carolina center and San Diego State University analyzed Google search trends related to electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) between 2009 and 2014.
They found the number of ENDS-related searches surged from 1,545,000 in 2010 to 8,498,000 searches in 2014. The investigation also revealed a dramatic increase in the use of search terms like "vape" and "vaping."
Meanwhile, searches related to quitting smoking or vaping health are on the decline, the study showed. Only 3 percent of all ENDS searches in 2013 and 2 percent of searches in 2014 included terms related to the risks or health effects of vaping with e-cigarettes.
"ENDS are the first tobacco product born in the online age," study investigator John Ayers, a professor at San Diego State University's Graduate School of Public Health, said in the journal news release. "Examining the content of searches can reveal the searcher's thoughts, and continued analysis of Google search trends may fill some knowledge gaps and outline agendas for follow-up survey-based surveillance."
When the study began in 2009, ENDS searches were mainly concentrated in a handful of states, including Florida, Nevada, and Texas. By 2014, ENDS searchers were distributed across the United States. The researchers noted, however, they were less common on the East coast.
"Individuals in the U.S. often endorse ENDS as smoking-cessation aids, and some surveys suggest that many believe using ENDS will help them quit combustible cigarettes," said Williams. "But in the privacy of their own home, it appears that searches for 'ENDS and cessation' are infrequent."
The researchers suggested their findings could shed some light on the habits and forces driving people to use e-cigarettes. They added that Google searches may provide important clues that could help lawmakers and health officials formulate public health policy in the future.
More information
The U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse provides more information on e-cigarettes.
Park University Makes Full Commitment to Norrington Center Relocation
Never
Going
and we have no intention of letting anyone down
Check these excited remarks from. Now read one the most finely crafted pressers we haveseen . . .Parkville, Mo.April 1, 2016 before has a Carnegie Library building in the U.S. been relocated, but that is the historic task Park University currently faces following the possible discovery of an extension of the Renner Historic Site during the renovation of Norrington Center on the Universitys Parkville Campus.into this project, we knew it would have a tremendous impact on Park University, but we could never have imagined that we would also add to the scientific record, said Greg Gunderson, Ph.D., Park University president.To give you a sense of the scope of the project, the renovation process has involved the complete demolition and rebuilding of the 11,000-square foot interior, including removal of a four-story library stacks addition to allow conversion to uniform floor elevations throughout the building.Up to the present time, no other Carnegie Library building in the country has ever undergone a complete relocation of the entire physical plant of the building.During the initial excavation for the outdoor commons area, there were a few minor discrepancies observed between the expected alignment of the exposed areas of the Island Creek Shale and what was uncovered. After comparing the dig site and surrounding areas to an initial survey byof Stock Aitken Waterman Consultants, it was determined that the most reasonable course of action was to halt construction and relocate Norrington Center a short distance up the hill onto the Farley Limestone Member.We have been fortunate to date in avoiding any major delays in the interior construction, said Brandon Moles, superintendent for J.E. Dunn Construction. The opportunity for us to embrace this challenge is exciting,.Although such an extensive relocation process is a complex endeavor, Helix Architecture + Designs lead architect on the project, Michael Heule, remains confident that the current team can successfully deliver the project in the established schedule.Although a project of this scope has never been completed for a Carnegie Library, we believe our design and construction team has the expertise to keep the historic fabric intact throughout the relocation and renovation, said Heule. We are confident that the entire team can rise to the challenge. Even with these obstacles, we would never abandon the project.With the interior renovations nearly complete, preparations are now underway to reinforce the buildings limestone exterior. The reinforcement will allow Norrington Center to be lifted completely intact and then moved 230 feet to the east. Once the building is placed on its new foundation, the finishing touches will be put on the interior and Parkswill return to Norrington Center, approximately 30 years after moving to the Universitys Mabee Learning Center/Academic Underground.Even with the relocation, Norrington Center is projected to be open on May 1, in time for students to use the building during finals week. The building will also hostevent on Tuesday, May 17.For more information about the relocation process, @ParkUniversity
"Only the Christian teachings can lead the actions of those who hold the fate of mankind in their hands," Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos said
Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos discussed the conflict in Syria and bilateral issues in a meeting with Israels Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, in the last day of his official two-day visit to the country.
According to the presidency, the meeting, which lasted more than an hour, also focused on the issue of migration towards Europe through Greece, as well the terrorist activity of the Islamic State. Pavlopoulos and Netanyahu also discussed the activities of the Greek-Israeli High Level Cooperation Council, and the trilateral cooperation between Greece, Cyprus and Israel on energy.
Earlier, in a visit to the Patriarchate in Jerusalem, Pavlopoulos said the EU must assume its responsibilities on the refugee issue. "The European Union must assume its responsibilities towards humanity and treat refugees with solidarity and love," he stated in a meeting with the Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos.
The messages sent by the Jerusalem Patriarchate, through the Christian teachings and the coexistence, are significant for the EU that is at a critical crossroads," Pavlopoulos underlined and added: "Only the Christian teachings can lead the actions of those who hold the fate of mankind in their hands."
Patriarch Theofilos proclaimed him a member of the Crusader Order of the Holy Sepulcher and presented him with the Grande Cross of the Order. Pavlopoulos reciprocated by presenting the Patriarch with the Grande Cross of the Order of the Saviour, the highest honour that can be bestowed by the Hellenic Republic.
Meeting with Reuven Rivlin
"Europe needs to address the refugee issue in terms of humanity," Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos on Wednesday said at a meeting with his Israeli counterpart Reuven Rivlin at the presidential mansion in Jerusalem.
"Europe must never again become a 'dark continent' and it must fight against any kind of xenophobia and racism, including anti-Semitism," noted the President.
Pavlopoulos underlined that the Middle East is experiencing hard times because of the crises, the war, violent extremism and terrorism. "Europe and the entire civilized world are determined to crack down on terrorism, treating the jihadist terrorists as servants of a new kind of barbarism. But the refugee issue needs to be treated in terms of humanity," he stated.
In 2016 Greece and Israel complete 26 years of diplomatic relations, Pavlopoulos said, which today "have acquired a dynamic momentum and have achieved a steady progress and substantial deepening of cooperation in all sectors" ...
"Together the two countries can contribute to the restoration of stability in the Middle East and the promotion of an inclusive regional cooperation and help in consolidating the human and democratic values in the region. We also have to meet the new needs of our times, which require the support of all of us to consolidate and promote peace, stability, development and prosperity," the Greek President stressed.
In response, the Israeli President explained that the two countries are not just friends, but they are rather close to each other. Mr. Rivlin further stressed that the so-called Islamic State group, the chaos in Syria and overall conflicts in the Middle East must be tackled jointly.
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
Athens-Attica & Argosaronic Hotel Association (AHA) announced that Athens hotels have been seeing their occupancy numbers deteriorating from last fall till February 2016
Private house rentals in Attica directly threaten the occupancy of Athenian hotels.
Athens-Attica & Argosaronic Hotel Association (AHA) announced that Athens hotels have been seeing their occupancy numbers deteriorating from last fall till February 2016.
According to their data, a steady decrease is evident all throughout the autumn of 2015, by 3.8 percent in September, 6.1 percent in October and 4.6 percent in November, with February showing a 1.2 percent fall.
The hoteliers compared these findings with the rising arrival figures from Athens International Airport and concluded that the decline is due to visitors switching to private rentals, such as those offered by Airbnb, from recognized hotels.
As their research clearly demonstrates, from 2014 onwards, the rift between international arrivals at Athens Airport and Athens hotels occupancy widened, and since September 2015, it has achieved rather alarming proportions.
They, therefore, decided to join their colleagues across Greece in voicing their opposition against the Greek governments recent decision to legalize p2p accommodation services, labelling it as unfair competition since the legal framework pertaining to these vacation rentals is ambiguous.
Consequently, they urged the authorities to revamp this decision and impose a new legal, institutional and fiscal framework that does not facilitate uneven market conditions, at the expense of the legitimate and licensed sector, thus safeguarding state revenues, employment and customers' safety.
Koukaki in Airbnb list with 800% growth
The success of the private rentals sector in Athens is also confirmed by Airbnb's data showing that central Koukaki neighbourhood is among the platform's "16 neighbourhoods to travel to in 2016".
The firm analysed the travel patterns of more than 40 million guests in 2015 and selected neighbourhoods in cities that have gained momentum in the past year.
Areas in Asian countries came top of the list, led by Chuo-ku in Osaka, Japan, known for its historic castle and street food.
More adventurous guests
The research also found that Airbnb guests are among the more adventurous in the travel sphere.
Not only does this boost business to local coffee shops and small businesses that havent benefitted from tourism in the past, it also helps people to experience cities through a true local lens, said Chip Conley, head of hospitality at Airbnb.
When an Airbnb traveler heads to Hammerbrook in Hamburg or Brickfields in Kuala Lumpur, with the help of hosts, they are able to see these places through eyes of a local, and embrace the culture in a completely new way.
The 16 Neighbourhoods to Visit in 2016:
Chuo-ku in Osaka, Japan - 7000% Growth
Banglampoo in Bangkok, Thailand - 1230% Growth
Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - 1200% Growth
Capucins in Bordeaux, France - 960% Growth
Koukaki in Athens, Greece - 800% growth
Triana in Seville, Spain - 770% growth
Hammerbrook in Hamburg, Germany - 415% growth
Kaneohe on Oahu, US - 320% Growth
Meireles in Fortaleza, Brazil - 285% Growth
Roma Sur in Mexico City, Mexico - 275% Growth
Oak Lawn in Dallas, US - 260% Growth
Poncey-Highland in Atlanta, GA - 240% Growth
District VII in Budapest, Hungary - 145% Growth
The Bukit Peninsula, Bali - 130% growth
Richmond in Melbourne, Australia - 126% Growth
Constitucion in Buenos Aires, Argentina - 125% growth
Airbnb analysed the travel to local communities that took place over 2015, across regions, countries, metros, and down to neighbourhoods.
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
FRIDAY, April 1, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- A high body mass index (BMI) in infancy may predict which children are likely to be obese at age 6 years, scientists say.
"Our study shows that growth patterns in children who become severely obese by 6 years of age differ from normal-weight children as young as 4 to 6 months of age," said the study lead investigator, Dr. Allison Smego. She is a pediatric endocrinology fellow at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.
BMI is a measure of body fat based on height and weight. This tool isn't routinely used on children younger than 2 years, but the researchers hope their findings will change that.
For the study, they examined electronic health records of 480 severely obese children between 2 and 6 years in the Cincinnati area. These children had a BMI above the 99th percentile.
Children with a BMI at or above the 85th percentile for their age and gender are considered overweight. Those with a BMI at the 95th percentile or higher are considered obese.
The researchers also analyzed the records of nearly 800 kids between 2 and 6 years old who were at a healthy weight and had a BMI between the 5th and 75th percentiles.
The study showed that BMI began to shift in different directions among infants in the two groups as early as 4 months old. The researchers noted that most of the obese children were black and from low-income households.
To confirm their findings, the researchers repeated their study in a third group of nearly 2,650 children in Colorado. This trial, which involved more Hispanic children, showed that a BMI above the 85th percentile at least tripled the likelihood that a child would struggle with severe obesity by the age of 6 years.
The study authors concluded that a BMI above the 85th percentile at 6, 12 or 18 months of age was a strong predictor of severe obesity by the age of 6 years.
The study's findings were expected to be presented Friday at the Endocrine Society's annual meeting, in Boston. Until published in a peer-reviewed medical journal, data and conclusions presented at meetings are usually considered preliminary.
"Based on our findings, we recommend that pediatricians routinely measure BMI at infant well-child assessments beginning at 6 months, identify high-risk infants with BMI above the 85th percentile, and focus additional counseling and education regarding healthy lifestyle toward the families of these children," Smego said in a news release from the Endocrine Society.
"It might take the pediatrician a minute to look at BMI, yet it gives them a wealth of knowledge about how their patient is growing," Smego added.
More information
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides more on childhood obesity.
Calvin Borel, following several minutes of hugs and high-fives from fellow jockeys, valets, and jocks room attendants, finally made it to his locker following his victory aboard Rachel Alexandra in the Preakness Stakes. He raised both hands and slammed them down on his bench, then let out a short single shriek and said, That is a runnin mother! Poetry comes in all forms of expression, and Borel and Rachel were pure poetry that day.
Borel, who announced his retirement this week, will always be known for winning the Kentucky Derby three times in four years; the only jockey ever to accomplish that feat.
But he also will be known as the only jockey to win the Kentucky Derby and then take off the Derby winner in the Preakness in order to ride a filly. Although that normally would seem like a bold, and perhaps foolish move, the truth is, no one was surprised in the slightest at his decision. The reason for that is pretty simple. The filly he chose to ride at Pimlico was Rachel Alexandra, on whom he had just won the Kentucky Oaks by a staggering 20 1/4 lengths, eased up the entire length of the stretch. Preceding that were easy scores in the Fantasy Stakes, Fair Grounds Oaks, Martha Washington Stakes, and Golden Rod Stakes. Since Borel first started riding her, she won five consecutive stakes by an average margin of 8 1/2 lengths.
But something happened after the Kentucky Oaks that would cause him many hours of anguish. Rachel Alexandra was sold and turned over to trainer Steve Asmussen, whose main rider was Robby Albarado.
Borel had his Derby winner, Mine That Bird, locked up for the Preakness, but when he found out Rachel was being pointed for the second leg of the Triple Crown, so many thoughts started swirling around in his head.
Am I going to keep the mount on Rachel? Am I actually going to have to take off the Kentucky Derby winner, who still had a chance to sweep the Triple Crown, especially after his explosive victory at Churchill Downs that shocked the racing world?
It would be arguably the most unorthodox action ever taken by a Kentucky Derby-winning jockey. But there was one factor that explained such a bold move. He was in love with Rachel Alexandra.
Calvin has always been in love with this filly, his wife Lisa said at the time. She was all he kept talking about after he started riding her. Then when she was sold after the Kentucky Oaks and Calvin didnt know if hed be riding her in the Preakness or if Steve would go to his main rider, Robby Albarado, he kept having dreams about her and talking in his sleep. Hed blurt out, Filly boys Baltimore I dont know lead Robby.
The drama had begun five days after the Kentucky Derby, when majority owner Jess Jackson announced he and Harold McCormick had purchased Rachel Alexandra from breeder/owner Dolphus Morrison and Mike Lauffer, and planned to run her in the Preakness. That news was received with trepidation by Borel, who was well aware Albarado was Asmussens go-to rider, having ridden two-time Horse of the Year Curlin for the same connections.
Borel heard about the sale the same day he received the check for his winners share of the Kentucky Derby purse. The following morning, he went to Asmussens barn to let him know he would love to stay on Rachel Alexandra.
He would have torn up the check if it meant he could ride Rachel back, Lisa said. Hes been in love with her since the first time he rode her. Money doesnt mean that much to Calvin; he just loves riding horses and winning races.
When Asmussen and Jackson offered Borel the Preakness mount on Rachel, he followed his heart and gave up the mount on the Derby winner to ride the best horse he has ever ridden. All he had to do now was break the news to Mine That Birds trainer Chip Woolley, who, while disappointed, understood Borels decision and quickly secured the services of Mike Smith for the Preakness.
History will show that Rachel, breaking from the 13-post, rushed to the lead, then battled on the front end before opening up on the field and winning by one length over a fast-closing Mine That Bird, becoming the first filly to win the Preakness in 85 years and the first horse to win the Preakness from as far out as the 13-post.
Borel was effusive in his joy, as he led Rachel back, saluting the fans, who gave him a rousing ovation, as he rose in the saddle and pointed to Lisa in the grandstand; something he always did after a big victory. In the jocks room, his agent Jerry Hissam received a phone call from Chip Woolley asking him to congratulate Calvin for him.
Getting dressed, Borels biggest decision was trying to decide which Rachel Alexandra hat to wear. When the replay of the race came on, Borel watched the start with keen interest, pointing out how his filly was compromised when she ducked out. But once she got into her rhythm, Borel began riding her all over again, shouting go, big momma at the screen.
Lisa explained why Calvin would point to her. Hes telling me, I told you so; I told you I could do it she said. Hes saying, If you want something bad enough, go out and get it.
Borel was known for wearing his emotions on his sleeve, bursting into tears after a race or getting choked up talking about his parents, both of whom are deceased. Borel was seen after the Kentucky Derby throwing rose petals up toward the heavens.
Calvin is a very emotional person, Lisa said at the time. He lives and breathes this. To achieve the thing he wants most in life brings him to tears. His parents never told him no. They never insisted he stay in school or that hed never make it as a rider. They always told him, If you want to be a jockey then do it. You have the talent and if you work hard enough and keep your eyes focused on it there is nothing in this world you cant achieve. Do what makes you happy, even it means riding $5,000 horses the rest of your life.
Borel has endured the hard life of a jockey. He began flipping (inducing vomiting after eating in order to maintain his weight) when he was 15 and only stopped in 2006 after undergoing surgery on his wrist. During his career, he broke 34 bones in his body; he had a plate in his right wrist, secured by eight screws; he had his spleen removed, and he had plastic ribs on one side of his rib cage.
Hes been busted up so many times, yet he still always goes for that hole, said Hissam following the Preakness. Hes amazing. After winning the Oaks on Friday and the Derby on Saturday, he worked two horses on Sunday morning. He never complains and thats why the Good Lord has blessed him. We havent had two cross words in 19 years. Add seven years to that number.
Following a 19 3/4-length stroll in the park in the Mother Goose Stakes, in which she ran the 1 1/8 miles in a sizzling 1:46 1/5, despite being eased up the entire length of the stretch, Rachel faced the boys again in the Haskell Invitational.
She demonstrated her true greatness by coasting through the slop to annihilate Belmont Stakes winner Summer Bird by six lengths in 1:47 1/5, a fifth of a second off the stakes record and two-fifths off the track record set by Spend a Buck.
As Rachel opened up in the stretch and flew past the finish line, Lisa stood by the rail motionless, her hands up against her cheeks. Then it all sank in and the tears began streaming down her face.
Its amazing, she said, barely able to speak. I never thought Calvin would ever get a horse like this. Im more emotional this time because I wanted this one so badly for her.
A short while later, Lisa was able to gather her thoughts. I think I have my emotions in check now, she said. You just cant believe she does the things she does. Your jaw drops, because its not supposed to be that easy. For Calvin to wind up on a horse like this, who theyll be talking about 30 years from now, is unbelievable.
Hes just crazy about her. After the Mother Goose, we went out to dinner and had a bottle of wine, and we were laughing, and I said, So, is it me or Rachel? It was like Sophies Choice. If I had to leave or you had to get off Rachel, which would it be? He thought about it for a few seconds and said, Dont make me choose.
Borels career is over, burning a path along the rail at Churchill Downs that carried him to three Kentucky Derby victories and the nickname Bo-rail. Rachel went on to defeat older males in a gut-wrenching stretch run in the Woodward Stakes, in which Borel had to paste her a number of times with the whip, and, like the horses who took turns looking her in the eye that day, she was never the same. But what will be remembered is her indomitable courage that day and the deafening cheers upon her return that had the old Saratoga grandstand shaking like it never shook before.
Retired to Stonestreet Farm, Rachel had to undergo serious abdominal surgery, suffering an infection after producing a 140-pound filly by Bernardini. Rachel survived and her filly, later named Rachels Valentina, went on to capture the grade I Spinaway Stakes at Saratoga and finishing second to the brilliant undefeated filly Songbird in the Breeders Cup Juvenile Fillies. Also at that Saratoga meet, Rachels first foal, Jesss Dream, made his career debut and rallied from 18 lengths back to win by a length in an excellent 1:49 for the 1 1/8 miles
Borel continued to ride, but after winning his third Kentucky Derby the following year, he never came close to that amazing run from 2007 to 2010. Despite his three Derby victories, Borels name will forever be linked to Rachel Alexandra, in what truly was a love affair.
The U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center was recognized with the Keepin it Fresh and New Award at the Hershey Harrisburg Visitors Bureau Partner in Tourism Platinum Award Ceremony held on March 31.
The award was presented to Jack Leighow, Director of the Centers Museum for the Vietnam Exhibit Courage, Commitment, and Fear, which opened in November 2015.
The Military Heritage Foundation, doing business as the Army Heritage Center Foundation, is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) that funds the construction of the public components of the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center the Visitor and Education Center (VEC) and the Army Heritage Center. As the phased construction program is completed, the foundation transfers these facilities to the Army to operate, staff, and maintain, as part of the center. The foundation will then focus on margin of excellence support to meet the needs of educational programs and other activities at USAHEC where federal funds are inadequate or unavailable.
The Foundation completed its Voices of the Past capital campaign in 2010, with the construction of Phase One of the Visitor and Education Center, a key component of the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center campus. Opened to the public on May 20, 2011, the Visitor and Education Center is the focal point for the campus, containing the first large exhibit gallery and hosting educational activities.
The Foundation is now seeking grants and donations for its Build on Success Campaign to construct Phase Two of the Visitor and Education Center and to create an endowment to sustain and enhance educational programs.
India, US ink MoU for setting up LIGO observatory in India
Published: April 1, 2016
India has signed a memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the United States for setting up Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) in India. LIGO is a large-scale physics experiment and observatory to detect gravitational waves.
The MoU was signed in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington.
Key facts
The agreement was signed between the USs National Science Foundation (NSF) and Indias Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and Department of Science and Technology (DST).
As part of the agreement, the scientists of DAE, DST and NSF will form a Joint Oversight Group (JOG) for better coordination of the project.
Background
Earlier in February 2016, the Union Cabinet had approved Rs 1200 crores for the LIGO India project. It will be third LIGO interferometer in the world and it is expected to be functional by 2023. It will significantly improve the ability of scientists to pinpoint the sources of gravitational waves and analyse the signals.
Presently there are twin LIGO Observatories at Hanford, Washington, and Livingston, Louisiana. They are funded by the US National Science Foundation (NSF) and were conceived, built, and are operated by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Caltech.
Month: Current Affairs - April, 2016
Topics: Current Affairs 2016 Gravitational Waves India-US Science and Technology
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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.
Gran Canaria Info is Gran Canaria's largest website and social media platform and receives 6000 unique visitors per day.
(TRAVPR.COM) SPAIN - April 1st, 2016 - Gran Canaria Info is Gran Canaria's largest website and social media platform and receives 6000 unique visitors per day.
Added to its social media reach of 50,000 people per day, Gran Canaria Info is the destination's top English-language source of information for visitors.
Website
Gran-Canaria-Info.com received 5800 unique visitors per day during March 2016.
The figure is consistent with our growing monthly traffic and the website now receives over 2.100,000 unique visitors per year.
Our largest source of traffic was the Google search tool which accounts for 70% of traffic.
Our audience is focused in the United Kingdom, Spain (including tourists actually in Gran Canaria), Scandinavia, Holland, and Germany. 61% of our Google traffic was from Northern Europe and a further 21% from Southern Europe.
Facebook was by far the largest source of social media traffic driving 90% of social media traffic.
Social Media
Facebook
Our Facebook page now has over 21,000 fans and attracted over 2400 new fans during March.
81% of our audience viewed the page on a mobile device.
Our posts reached over 600,000 people during March 2016 and our Facebook videos were viewed 175,000 times.
Over 200,000 actively engaged with our posts by liking, commenting or sharing them.
Other Social Media
Twitter: Our Tweets earned over 100,000 impressions during March 2016. Over 4000 people clicked through to view our profile. We now have 3800 Twitter followers.
Instagram: Our account now has 5400 Instagram followers and added almost 500 new followers in March 2016. Each post receives an average of 230 likes.
Gran Canaria's largest platform
Our web traffic and social media reach makes Gran Canaria Info the largest and most effective digital advertising platform for Gran Canaria-focused businesses.
We reach Gran Canaria visitors during the planning phase of their holiday and while they are actually on the island (our traffic spikes on cloudy days).
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10-year-old Jordan Reeves designed her own custom-made sparkle canon prosthetic limb, magic ensues.
Call me inspired.
Earlier this year, a 10-year-old girl from Columbia, Missouri was invited to attend the Superhero Cyborgs program in San Francisco. When she found out she was going, Jordan Reeves was elated. "I was like, 'Wow, I cant believe Im actually doing this,'" she says.
The program is a workshop hosted by nonprofit KIDmob and 3-D software firm Autodesk, explains Jessice Hullinger at Fast Company. It creates a place where kids with upper-limb differences meet and work with professional engineers to design and then create prosthetics that go beyond the reach of the norm; they are given the chance to build the superhero body parts conjured up by their wildest imaginings.
"Basically, if they could design the prosthetic or body modification of their dreams in a superhero context, what would that look like?" asks Sarah ORourke, a senior product marketing manager with Autodesk.
Jordan was born with a left arm that ends just above the elbow. The superhero power of her dreams? An arm that shoots glitter. And thus, Project Unicorn was hatched: a five-barrel sparkle sprinkler that sprays a coruscating cloud.
Over five days Jordan and the other five children in the workshop worked with engineers using Autodesks 3-D design tools to test their prototypes. By the end of the program, Jordan had developed a working 3D-printed prototype (below).
Born Just Right/YouTube/Screen capture
"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," says KIDmob co-director Kate Ganim. "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."
While the prototype doesnt quite deliver a villain-stopping sparkle kapow just yet Jordan says the sparkles "just kinda spill out" the kids all get to work with a mentor for another six months to improve their designs. Jordans mentor, Sam Hobish, is working on getting more oomph behind the sparkle spray. And beyond Project Unicorn, he is also helping her design a more practical arm that can perform beyond shimmer duties.
"I plan to work until we get something she really likes," Hobish says. "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."
Weve seen 3D printing put to use in so many novel (and helpful) ways from hermit crab shells to moon bases. And now we can add a sparkle-shooting superhero arm for a girl who can subdue evil with the tug of a string. High-tech meets rainbow-power, what could be better than that?
And you can keep up with Jordan and her family on the blog Born Just Right.
Via Fast Company
Kachhabali becomes first liquor-free village in Rajasthan
Published: April 1, 2016
Kachhabali village in Bhim tehsil of Rajsamand district has become the first in Rajasthan to liquor-free village.
The village achieved this feat after villagers voted to close down its lone liquor shop to stop alcohol sale in village in the referendum by 67.11%.
The referendum was conducted by the excise department of the state. It is for the first time the provision of the Rajasthan Excise Act, 1975, that provides for the closure of a country liquor shop, was invoked.
Under this provision of the Act, 51% of all registered voters not just those present and voting should opt to close down the shop.
Prior to conducting the poll, at least 20% of the voters of the Gram Panchayat or municipal Ward must seek a referendum on the issue in a letter to the district collector.
Month: Current Affairs - April, 2016
Topics: Alcohol Alcohol Ban Current Affairs 2016 Places in News Rajasthan
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Outcomes of 13th India-EU Summit
Published: March 31, 2016
The 13th edition of India-European Union Summit was held on in Brussels, capital of Belgium.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi represented Indian side in the summit. While the European Union (EU) was represented by President of the European Council, Donald Tusk and President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker.
The 13th summit laid out concrete priority actions for the strategic bilateral partnership in areas like trade and investment, climate, energy, water and migration in the next five years.
Key Outcomes
EU-India Agenda for Action 2020: Both sides endorsed the agenda to concrete the road-map for the EU-India Strategic Partnership for the next five years.
Both sides endorsed the agenda to concrete the road-map for the EU-India Strategic Partnership for the next five years. EU-India Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA): Both sides agreed to further the negotiations on early conclusion of the BTIA.
Both sides agreed to further the negotiations on early conclusion of the BTIA. Terrorism: Both sides adopted a Joint Declaration on Counter-terrorism to step up cooperation to counter radicalisation and violent extremism.
Both sides adopted a Joint Declaration on Counter-terrorism to step up cooperation to counter radicalisation and violent extremism. It will also allow jointly countering the flow of sources of terrorist financing, Foreign Terrorist Fighters and arms supply.
Loan assistance to Lucknow Metro : The European Investment Bank (EIB) agreed to lend loan of 450 million Euros for the construction of the first metro line in Lucknow.
: The European Investment Bank (EIB) agreed to lend loan of 450 million Euros for the construction of the first metro line in Lucknow. G20 Skills Strategy: Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to implement the G20 Skills Strategy and also expressed their intention to organise a high level skills seminar.
Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to implement the G20 Skills Strategy and also expressed their intention to organise a high level skills seminar. India-EU Water Partnership: The Joint Declaration was adopted in this regard to enhance cooperation on environment issues, including on the Clean Ganga and Clean India flagship programmes.
The Joint Declaration was adopted in this regard to enhance cooperation on environment issues, including on the Clean Ganga and Clean India flagship programmes. India-EU Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement: Both sides agreed to extend this agreement until 2020 to boost innovation and research in India and Europe.
Both sides agreed to extend this agreement until 2020 to boost innovation and research in India and Europe. Common Agenda on Migration and Mobility: Both sides agreed to establish this agenda in order to enhance involvement of citizens in the strategic partnership.
Both sides agreed to establish this agenda in order to enhance involvement of citizens in the strategic partnership. Arbitration procedure on the Italian Marines: Both sides expressed their confidence in solving the marine case currently underway in the framework of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Note: The EU-India strategic partnership was launched in 2004. The last summit i.e. 12th edition was held in 2012 in New Delhi.
Month: Current Affairs - March, 2016
Topics: Current Affairs 2016 Energy India-EU India-International Relations Terrorism Trade
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Nikhila Pant Dhawan
Tribune News Service
Bathinda, April 1
A district-level camp aiming to spread awareness among the farmers about sowing of the paddy crop and crop rotation was organised here today by the Agriculture Department in association with Agricultural Technology Management Agency (Atma).
Chief Parliamentary Secretary Sarup Chand Singla was the chief guest at the training camp. He inspected the exhibitions put up by various departments at the mela and appreciated their efforts.
Addressing the farmers, the CPS exhorted the farmers to increase their income by indulging in trade associated with farming.
Additional Deputy Commissioner Parampal Kaur Sidhu inaugurated the camp. In her address, she requested the farmers to adopt modern techniques in agriculture to save time and increase income.
She said modern techniques ensured more output with comparatively lesser inputs, thereby improving the financial condition of the farmers.
Joint director of the Agriculture Department, Punjab, Des Raj Kataria said with the efforts of the state government, nearly 98 per cent of the total land being used for agricultural purposes was covered under the Irrigation Department.
He said Punjab, which was also known as the food bowl of the country, contributed 35-40 per cent rice and 45-50 per cent wheat to the countrys central pool.
Elaborating on the groundwater level situation in the state, he requested the farmers to increase the area under crops, which required lesser irrigation as compared to other crops.
The state government is in the process of ensuring timely procurement and payment of the wheat crop and also for timely availability of fertilizers and other medicines for the paddy crop, he added.
District agriculture officer Dr Nachhtar Singh Aulakh asked the farmers to sow the cotton seeds of varieties that Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) had recommended.
He said the farmers should not get entrapped in false claims of certain cotton seeds available in the market that are generally said to be whitefly resistant.
No such variety of whitefly resistant cotton exists and if someone claims to have seeds of such variety, the claims are false, he added.
He appealed to the farmers to buy seeds from certified dealers and take a permanent bill of the purchase that should have a lot number of the bill mentioned on it.
He urged the farmers not to throw away the bills and even the bags after using them.
He informed the farmers that there were three land laboratories and one mobile laboratory in Bathinda, which offered micro-nutrients testing facility and the farmers must avail of this facility to improve the quality and quantity of the produce in their fields.
Dr Aulakh requested the farmers not to burn the stubble of wheat and paddy crops and save the environment from getting polluted.
Deputy director of agriculture (pulses) Dr Parmeshwar Singh addressed the farmers and asked them to opt crop rotation and sow pulses in their fields to increase the quality of soil.
Director of the Regional Research Station of PAU in Bathinda, Dr Paramjit Singh, and others also addressed the farmers during the camp.
From a sickening Gods act remark to making it a little less offensive by describing the tragedy as an accident, the construction company responsible for the Kolkata flyover, IVRCL, has revealed a reality. That it was woefully inadequate to undertake the task. Civil engineering projects, unless they are pioneering experiments such as the J&K railway, are not supposed to spring surprises, least of all accidents. The location of the project was indeed a challenge, but that only called for that much more care. Shrugging of shoulders cannot be allowed to pass, as is common. The Uphaar Cinema tragedy was one of the exceptional major incidents in which the owners bore at least some punishment, however little or delayed.
The Hyderabad-based company may turn out to be entirely responsible for the collapse, but it is the political executive of West Bengal that is responsible for pushing the apparently underequipped firm into that crucial role. When IVRCL was awarded the contract by the CPM government in 2009, there were indications that the company was financially not sound. Subsequently there were repeated instances of it floundering in finances as well as the ability to build, yet the TMC government saw no reason to act against it. Instead, debt restructuring was arranged. Amidst such a management chaos, it would be hard to imagine how the company could have maintained the required supervisory standards. For a project that continues intermittently for seven years, the government of the day has to be responsible for each of its stages. Construction companies routinely violate safety conditions laid down in contracts. With big money involved, it is not a coincidence that they are also among the top loan defaulters.
The disaster response seen in Kolkata was vigorous, even if not effective given the crowded area. That, of course, should lead to questions on the viability of the project in terms of location. A true test of the response, however, would be in terms of what action follows vis-a-vis other major projects in the country. The entire safety regulation set-up needs a recast.
Saurabh Malik
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, April 1
In a major embarrassment for the Haryana Government, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has made it clear that it would mull over the Chief Secretarys conduct. The development took place in a contempt-of-court case hovering around the selection of Assistant Professors.
Additional Chief Secretary Vijay Vardhan and Haryana Public Service Commission former secretary Bhupinder Singh have been held guilty of contempt in the case. They have been directed by Justice Rajesh Bindal to appear before the Bench on April 11 for quantum of sentence.
The contempt petition was filed by Sunil Kumar against Vijay Vardhan and other respondents alleging violation of High Court orders. The court in February, 2014, had directed the commission to make recommendations by October, 2014. The state was thereafter asked to complete the process of appointments by December 31, 2014.
Acting on an application filed by the commission, the deadline was extended to February 15, 2015. Argument of the commission that the state had directed to keep the selection process on hold was rejected, specifically noticing that communication in this regard would not be applicable to court directions.
But the requisition sent by the state to the Commission was withdrawn. A fresh advertisement was published in the newspaper, but only on the date the matter was to be taken up.
Justice Bindal asserted Vardhan in his affidavit tendered an unconditional and unqualified apology for the delay in the appointment of Assistant Professors due to the reasons beyond his control. Meaning thereby, the violation of the directions issued by this court is admitted.
Justice Bindal added: From the facts and contents of the affidavit of Vijay Vardhan, Additional Chief Secretary to the Government of Haryana, it is established that the deponent thought it appropriate to follow the letter issued by the Chief Secretary, Haryana, over and above the courts order and instead of proceeding with the selection, had withdrawn the requisition sent to the commission.
But the case in hand is not simple in nature in which there is only delay in compliance of the order. It is deliberate non-compliance of the order where the deponent considered himself to the bound by the letter written by the Chief Secretary and not by the court order. It is nothing else but wilful non-compliance of the Court order. Conduct of the Chief Secretary, Haryana, shall be considered on the next date of hearing, Justice Bindal asserted.
Tribune News Service
Jammu, April 1
Chief of the Army Staff General Dalbir Singh Suhag today visited Siachen to review the situation following recent avalanches in which 12 soldiers and a porter were killed.
The Army Chief visited the sites where soldiers lost their lives at Siachen in the recent avalanches. He interacted with the soldiers serving at Siachen and commended them for their outstanding work in difficult conditions. He exhorted them to be careful of the threats of avalanches, said defence spokesperson Col SD Goswami.
The Army Chief also met the porters who maintain the posts in difficult conditions at Siachen.
General Dalbir Singh was accompanied by Northern Command chief Lt Gen DS Hooda and 14 Corps Commander Lt Gen SK Patyal.
On March 25, two soldiers on patrol duty were buried under an avalanche in the Turtuk area of western Siachen.
A porter died on February 27 when he fell into a 200-foot-deep crevasse in Siachens northern glacier.
His body was found 130-foot-deep after the rescue teams cut through frozen snow and ice.
On February 3, 10 soldiers were buried under a major avalanche which wiped out an Army post on Siachen Glacier. While nine of the soldiers were found dead, Lance Naik Hanamanthappa Koppad, buried under 25 feet of snow, was found alive in a critical condition six days after the avalanche had hit the Sonam post.
Lance Naik Hanamanthappa, however, succumbed to hypothermia among other ailments at Research and Referral Hospital in New Delhi on February 11.
Following the death of nine soldiers on February 3, Pakistans High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit had suggested withdrawal of Indian and Pakistani armies from the strategic glacier.
Tribune News Service
Jammu, April 1
Thick security blanket was laid in the University of Jammu (JU) ahead of Vice-President of India Mohammad Hamid Ansaris visit to the institution in connection with the 16th convocation of the varsity at General Zorawar Singh Auditorium tomorrow.
Ansari would deliver the convocation address, while the Chancellor of Jammu University and Governor of the state NN Vohra would confer the Degree of Doctor of Laws (Honoris Causa) on Chief Justice of India (CJI) TS Thakur, who hails from Ramban district of the state.
The venue of the convocation has been sealed and made out of bound for public, while all the vehicles entering the campus are being thoroughly checked.
The auditorium has been taken over by the security personnel and nobody is being allowed to enter its premises. Besides, all vehicles entering the campus are being thoroughly checked to ensure smooth conduct of the convocation, a senior officer of the university said.
In order to review security arrangements in view of the Vice-Presidents visit, Director General of Police (DGP), J&K, K Rajendra Kumar chaired a high-level meeting at the Police Headquarters (PHQ) here today.
Rajendra directed the officers to ensure implementation of joint mechanism chalked out with other security agencies to make the Vice-Presidents visit successful. He said while putting in place the security arrangements, coordination with the university authorities and other agencies concerned should be ensured. During the meeting, officers briefed the DGP about the security and deployment plan put in place during the visit of the VVIP to Jammu University.
He asked the officers to utilise the security gadgets, including CCTV cameras, en route the visit and the venues. A comprehensive communication network will be established to coordinate between the agencies involved in the security of the VVIP, he said.
The DGP asked the officers to share inputs regarding the activities of suspicious elements and ensure required preventive measures to foil any ill-designs of such elements. He also asked for high alertness in the border areas to curb any undesired activity by miscreants.
The traffic police have also announced traffic restrictions and diversions on some routes connecting the city. No traffic will be allowed on the route from Technical Airport, Army Gate, Satwari, Green Belt, Bahu Plaza, Police Headquarters and Gujjar Nagar bridge via Zorawar Singh auditorium. There will be no vehicular movement from Bikram Chowk to Panama Chowk and vice-versa during the visit of VVIPs, a traffic police official said.
A total of 192 eligible candidates, including 88 for medals (both graduate and postgraduate courses) and 104 PhD degree holders for the year-2014 have been shortlisted for attending the convocation. The list has been finalised and only 65 meritorious candidates and 59 PhD holders, who have applied for the convocation, will now be awarded medals and degrees, respectively, during the convocation, a university official said.
In October 2014, the Governor had asked the Vice Chancellors of the state universities to organise convocations on an annual basis. He had observed that convocations were being held on irregular basis causing avoidable inconveniences to the passing-out students.
New Delhi, April 1
Indian investigators will visit Pakistan to take forward the probe into the terror attack on the strategic IAF base in Pathankot in the aftermath of Pakistan JITs visit to India.
Dates for the visit will be worked out later, Director-General of NIA Sharad Kumar told reporters here at the end of five days of discussions with Pakistani Joint Investigation Team (JIT) which returned today.
We expressed that a team of National Investigation Agency (NIA) could be sent to Pakistan for a probe in that country, since conspiracy has been hatched in that country. They welcomed the idea and the dates will be worked out later, he said.
Kumar said the NIA presented the JIT with concrete evidence against the office-bearers of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) who conspired in the attack and the handlers of the terrorists who facilitated and guided them.
The NIA also sought voice samples of some senior office-bearers of the JeM, he said without naming anyone. However, NIA sources said they had sought voice samples of Jaish chief Maulana Masood Azhar, his brother Abdul Rauf and Khayyam Babbar, mother of one of killed Jaish terrorist identified as Nasir Hussain as he had called her before launching the attack in Pathankot.
Kumar also said that it had asked for a DNA sample of the mother of the terrorist.
The NIA briefed the JIT on investigations in the case.
The terror attack executed by the Jaish on January 2, 2016, in Pathankot left seven security personnel dead. Four terrorists were also killed in the gun battle.
The Pakistan JIT, headed by Additional Inspector-General of Police, Counter-Terrorism Department, Muhammad Tahir Rai and also including ISIs Lt Col Tanvir Ahmed, in turn, shared with the NIA the results of investigations carried out by them so far in Pakistan.
The interaction with JIT was held in accordance with terms of reference mutually agreed on the basis of reciprocity. The Pakistan JIT assured us of their full cooperation and promised to execute the LR which has been received by them, he said.
The JIT, which arrived here on March 27, interacted on the Pathankot case with NIA officials which included a visit to the IAF base, where they were shown the scene of crime as well as the location from where the terrorists sneaked in and hid.
They also visited the spot where Ikagar Singhs vehicle was snatched, where he was murdered, and the spot from where the terrorists hijacked the SUV of SP Salwinder Singh, Kumar said, adding the route taken by the terrorists was also shown to the JIT.
These are part of the standard legal procedure of investigation followed in both nations, he said.
On JITs request, the NIA provided certified copies of postmortem reports, call data record, DNA reports of four terrorists and the seizure memo of articles from the scene of crime.
The Pakistan JIT was given access to 16 witnesses, including Salwinder Singh, his cook, Rajesh Verma and some witnesses as per agreed terms of reference and extant legal provisions.
The JIT informed us that they were collecting admissible evidence outside Pakistan under the provision of Section 188 of the CrPC of Pakistan, that will legally enable them to be used in prosecution, he said.
The JIT was also requested to verify the various articles seized from the terrorists including arms and ammunition as mentioned in the Letters Rogatory sent earlier to Pakistan.
The NIA shared with the JIT the identity and the address of the four terrorists and requested that the JIT confirm the same. PTI
New Delhi, April 1
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju today slammed China for blocking India's bid at the UN for a ban on Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammud chief Masood Azhar, saying the government will take appropriate action.
"What China has done (in the UN), was not good. Ministry of External Affairs will take an appropriate action. Whatever action is required, we will take," he told reporters here when asked about yesterday's development at the United Nations.
The Union Minister of State for Home hails from Arunachal Pradesh bordering China.
Yesterday, China had requested the UN Committee, which is considering a ban on the JeM chief, to keep on hold the designation.
After the terror attack on the Pathankot airbase on January 2, India in February wrote to the UN calling for immediate action to list Azhar under the Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee.
The submission was armed with strong evidence of the outfit's terror activities and its role in the Pathankot attack that killed seven Indian military personnel.
India also told the UN Sanctions Committee that not listing Azhar would expose it and other countries in South Asia to threats from the terror group and its leader. PTI
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New Delhi, April 1
Give us details of presidential reference on Punjab Termination of Agreements Act, 2004, and Sultej-Yamuna Link Canal and why it was made, Punjab Government told the Centre in the Supreme Court on Friday.
"This reference is of fundamental importance. It is important for Union of India to explain why reference has been made by it. We want to know what we have to answer," senior advocate Rajeev Dhawan, who was representing Punjab, told a five-judge constitution bench headed by Justice AR Dave.
"This case has come from Centre and not from Haryana. We would like to see the views of Union."
With regard to Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Delhi, the question of quantum of water also arise. It has to be seen whether it is in violation of Article 262 (adjudication of disputes relating to waters of inter State rivers or river valleys) of the Constitution, he said.
Senior advocate Ram Jethmalani who was also representing the Punjab Government said the bench should consider preliminary objections in the case and on the Haryana's applications in the case, on which the court has already passed an interim order.
The five-judge bench that also had Justices PC Ghose, Shiva Kirti Singh, AK Goel and Amitava Roy allowed Jethmalani to share the note on the preliminary objections with the parties.
The Central Government claims it has maintained a neutral stand on a dispute that primarily involves neighbours Punjab and Haryana.
On March 14, Punjab Assembly passed the Punjab Sutlej-Yamuna Link Canal (Rehabilitation and Re-vesting of Proprietary Rights) Bill, which sanctions returning some 5,300 acres of land acquired in Punjab for the 122-km canal back to farmers, inviting protests from Haryana. Ninety-two kilometre of the 122 is in Haryana.
The Supreme Court ordered the disputing states to maintain status quo on March 17. PTI
Lahore, April 1
Pakistans Sikh religious body today elected a caretaker president after its first chief Sham Singh died this week.
Tara Singh was elected the caretaker pardhan at a meeting of the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee here. Tara Singh, who is in his 40s, is the youngest member of the 10-member PSGPC.
All other nine-members of the committee unanimously elected Tara Singh, a graduate from Sindh province who has business interests in cotton trading. The meeting was called to elect the successor of Sham Singh, who died of brain hemorrhage on Sunday. Sham Singh was elected the first president of the PSGPC after it was established by Pakistan government in 1998.
He was re-elected for several other terms, including in 2015, and has been credited with changing the face of Sikh shrines in Pakistan. PTI
Tribune News Service
Dehradun, April 1
The BJP and the nine Congress rebels are likely to table the no-confidence motion against Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal and Deputy Speaker Anusuiya Prasad Maikhuri in case there is a floor test in the Legislative Assembly in future.
On March 18, besides demanding voting on the Appropriation Bill in the Assembly, the nine rebel Congress MLAs had also submitted a letter of no-confidence motion against the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker to the Secretary of the Vidhan Sabha. A written communique was also submitted to the Governor.
Now that the 14 days period to act upon the no-confidence motion against the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker has elapsed, the nine rebel Congress MLAS can easily demand the tabling of the motion in case there is a floor test.
It is indeed a big relief to the rebel MLAs as the motion can be tabled and in case it receives support in the House, both Kunjwal and Maikhuri can be removed, making things easier for the Opposition. In that case, a neutral Protem will have to be appointed to preside over the House, said Munna Singh Chauhan, BJP spokesperson.
Tribune News Service
Dehradun, April 1
Jewellers held a protest rally in support of their demands here today. They are protesting against the Central Governments budget proposal to make PAN card mandatory for every purchase of Rs 2 lakh and above.
The protesters under the aegis of Swarnkar Sangh gathered at the Dhamawala market and took out the rally that passed through Paltan Bazaar.
They raised slogans against Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and the Central Government. The police placed barricades at Clock Tower and arrested them when they were heading towards Raj Bhavan.
Meanwhile, Communist Party of India (Marxist) leaders have extended their support to Swarnkar Sanghs proposed one-day statewide bandh scheduled for April 4.
Rajendra Purohit, SS Sajjwan, Veerandra Bhandari, Lekhraj, Anant Akash and Gagan Garg were present during the protest.
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, April 1
China has once again blocked Indias bid to ban the mastermind of the Pathankot terror attacks and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief, Masood Azhar, at the United Nations. Besides, it once again reiterated its support to Pakistan.
What China has done (in the UN) was not good. The Ministry of External Affairs will take an appropriate action. Whatever action is required, we will take, Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju said, responding to Chinas actions.
India had written to the UN in February after the attack on the Indian Air Force base on January 2. India also submitted evidence to prove the terror activities of the JeM and its leader and had called for immediate action to list Azhar under the al-Qaida Sanctions Committee.
Indias submission was considered by the Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate (CTED) for technical aspects of the evidence provided. The technical team with the support of the United States, United Kingdom and France had sent the evidence to all members, sources said. All were told that if there are no objections, the designation will be announced after the expiry of the deadline, sources added.
Washington, April 1
The US and Saudi Arabia on Thursday imposed sanction jointly on four individuals and two organisations, aiming to disrupt terrorism fundraising operations in South Asia and the Middle East, according to the US Treasury Department.
The joint action targeted James Alexander McLintock and his Pakistan-based Al-Rahmah Welfare Organisation, Abdul Aziz Nuristani and his Pakistan-based Jamia Asariya Madrassa, Treasury said in a press release, adding that the other two people sanctioned are Naveed Qamar and Muhammad Ijaz Safarash, according to Xinhua.
The Treasury said these organisations and individuals provide money for Al Qaeda, the Taliban, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and other Afghan extremist groups, and the sanctioned have ties across Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia.
It also said that McLintock and his organisation have provided funding to extremists under the false guise of helping orphans.
The sanctions freeze any property they have within US jurisdiction and bans Americans from doing business with them.
"From terrorising local populations to exploiting charities and religious institutions, Al Qaeda, the Taliban, and Lashkar-e-Tayyiba have a long history of inflicting violence on Americans and our allies throughout South Asia and the Middle East," said Adam J. Szubin, acting under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence. IANS
Washington, April 1
The United States, Republic of Korea and Japan have vowed to deter and defend against North Korean nuclear threats and stand united in fighting global terrorism and Islamic State.
US President Barack Obama hosted a trilateral summit meeting with South Korean President Park Geun-Hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington DC. Asserting that the three countries share common values and a common vision for the future of the Asia Pacific, President Obama highlighted Pyongyangs nuclear activity.
Trilateral security cooperation is essential to maintaining peace and stability in north-east Asia. We are united in our efforts to deter and defend against North Korean provocations, Obama told reporters after the US-Japan-South Korea meeting. We have to work together to meet this challenge.
He also pointed out the plight of North Korea suffering because of rights abuses.
He held separate talks with President Xi Jinping of China, the closest North Korea has to an ally, and said they both wanted to see full implementation of the latest United Nations sanctions against Pyongyang. But Xi offered no sign that China was prepared to go beyond its consent to the Security Council measures imposed in early March.
Ties between Park and Abe have been frosty in the past, but the two have been brought together in recent months by shared concerns about N Korea, which conducted a fourth N-bomb test on January 6 and launched a long-range rocket in February.
Appearing later with Obama, Xi said while Washington and Beijing disagreed in some areas, they have had effective communication and coordination on North Korea.
However, China has said repeatedly that sanctions are not the solution and only a resumption of international talks can resolve the dispute.
Xi called for dialogue to denuclearise the Korean peninsula, but also said all parties should avoid doing anything to raise tensions. Agencies
Russia gives it a miss
This year, the two-day summit is attended by 53 countries and five global institutions, including United Nations and INTERPOL
Iran and N Korea are not invited, and Russia which attended the first three summits, gave it a miss due to the hosting sides unpreparedness to ensure equal rights for all its participants
IS madmen would gladly use nukes
More cooperation is needed to prevent the Islamic State groups madmen and other extremists from getting a nuclear weapon, Barack Obama warned. The threat of terrorists of using nuclear material in a dirty bomb has loomed large over the summit
Trojan Day is held twice a year to allow students to see all of what TROY has to offer.
Troy University hosted over 420 families during the semiannual Trojan Day on Saturday, Oct. 8, where prospective students were able to learn more about the University, tour the campus and see what student life might be like as a Trojan.
The day began with check in at Trojan Arena followed by an in-depth admissions, scholarship and housing presentation. After
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Photo: Wabco
LOUISVILLE, KY Wabco North America says air disc brakes are now selling at a high enough rate that it is building a plant in the United States to manufacture them instead of importing them from Germany.
The company is spending $17 million to erect the factory in Charleston, S.C., said Jon Morrison, Wabcos president, Americas, at a press briefing Thursday, just before the opening of the Mid-America Trucking Show in Louisville. Production will begin this fall, and will help bring down the cost of ADBs for truck buyers.
Air disc brakes go on 15% of new Class 8 trucks and about 10% of new trailers, he said. That reflects 60% year-over-year growth in ADB sales in the last couple of years. Penetration should rise another 5% in three to five years.
Disc brakes advantages over drum brakes include better performance, longer pad life, easier maintenance, and fewer out-of-adjustment problems that lead to citations. Millions are being used in Europe and have proven safe, reliable and economical, Morrison said, and the word is getting out here.
European truck builders adopted ADBs years ago and customers accepted them, he explained. In North America, many truck components are specified by buyers who prefer air drum brakes for their familiarity, economy and satisfactory performance. Drum brakes meet the latest federal stopping distance requirements, so have been viewed as entirely adequate.
Discs have been heavier and more costly than drums, too, but thats changing through careful design, Morrison said. The latest Wabco product is about 10 pounds per brake lighter than a typical drum brake. Prices will come down through greater volume, and the new factory in South Carolina will further lower the cost of manufacturing by shortening the supply chain.
Lower prices should bring ADBs in line with drums and encourage more sales, he said.
The Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday charged Navistar International Corp. with misleading investors about its development of an advanced technology truck engine that could be certified to meet U.S. emission standards.
Navistar, without admitting or denying the charges, reached a settlement with the SEC and agreed to pay a $7.5 million penalty.
Separately, in a complaint filed in federal court in the Northern District of Illinois, the SEC charged former Navistar CEO Daniel C. Ustian, who left the company in 2012, with misleading investors and with aiding and abetting violations by the Illinois-based Navistar. Multiple new outlets report they have been unable to get a comment from Ustian regarding the case against him.
The SEC alleges that Navistar and Ustian failed to fully disclose the companys difficulties obtaining Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) certification of a truck engine able to meet stricter EPA Clean Air Act standards that took effect in 2010.
We believe that it was time to put this matter behind us and that this settlement was in the best interests of Navistar and its stockholders. Settling this matter will avoid the expense and distraction of a potential dispute with the SEC and allow us to continue our focus on building and sustaining momentum on behalf of our shareholders, said Lyndi McMillan, external communications manager for Navistar in a statement to Truckinginfo.com.
Navistar and Ustian also are alleged to have repeatedly misled investors about Navistars development of the engine, which used exhaust-gas-recirculation (EGR) technology. Navistar later abandoned the effort and adopted the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology used by its competitors.
When public companies and top executives discuss important regulatory developments with investors, they must tell the whole truth, said Andrew J. Ceresney, director of the SECs Division of Enforcement. Here, we allege that Navistar and its former CEO misled investors about their dealings with the EPA and the likely approval of its new emissions technology."
David Glockner, director of the SECs Chicago Regional Office said, We allege that in 2011 and 2012, the EPA repeatedly raised serious concerns with Navistar about its applications to certify an engine using EGR technology and that top Navistar officials knew the company had not succeeded in developing a commercially viable engine that would meet EPA standards. Navistar and its then-CEO misled investors about these difficulties in numerous SEC filings, press releases, and public conference calls, and today we seek to hold them accountable for that misconduct.
According to the SECs order instituting a settled administrative proceeding against Navistar:
In early 2011, in an effort to reassure investors about its emissions control strategy, Navistar applied for certification of an engine it knew was not ready for production and sale even if the EPA certified it. The EPA did not approve the application and by summer 2011, Navistar decided not to pursue it any longer.
In late 2011, Navistar began preparing another application for EPA certification. Four days after a meeting in which the EPA staff told Navistar that the proposed engine did not appear to meet the certification requirements, Navistar filed its 2011 annual report on Form 10-K, which stated that it planned to apply to have the EPA certify the engine and that it believed the engine met EPAs certification requirements.
After Navistar submitted a new application in early 2012, EPA staff raised several serious concerns that it said would need to be resolved before it could approve the application. Nevertheless, in a press release and filings in March 2012, Navistar characterized the application as a 'milestone,' and in a conference call with analysts and investors, Ustian indicated that certification was proceeding in a typical timeframe and that Navistar could begin production on the engine in June 2012.
In May 2012, Navistar withdrew its January 2012 application and submitted a third one incorporating changes to lower emissions at the expense of fuel economy and other engine performance features. In a June 4, 2012 meeting, EPA staff told Navistar that it had serious concerns about this application as well and the next day informed Navistar in writing that the engine as currently designed was 'unlikely' to be certified. Despite this, Navistars June 2012 quarterly filing and conference call suggested that Navistar was unaware of any concerns by the EPA regarding the May 2012 application one of several misstatements in the filing and call regarding the application.
In July 2012, Navistar announced that it was withdrawing its application and would begin work on an engine using SCR technology.
Technology is changing the way utilities operate today and will change it even more in future, the head of Houston-based CenterPoint Energy, with operations across many states including Oklahoma, told the University of Tulsas Friends of Finance.
There is no better time than now for business to invest in technology, said Scott Prochazka, president and CEO of CenterPoint Energy, which concentrates its electric utility operations in the Houston area, but serves nearly three times as many natural gas customers spread over six states.
While coal, water and natural gas produce most electricity across the nation, the newer technologies of solar and wind power are being added to the mix just as electricity and natural gas are going into automobiles, said Prochazka.
Instead of operating independently, all these electric sources will cohere and improve the efficiency of the nations electric grid, he said.
Other technologies used by CenterPoint include:
Smart meters, for both electric and natural gas service, which provide data for timely information is so important. Of CenterPoints more than 2 million electric customers in the Houston area, only about 30 rejected installation of a smart meter.
An automated phone system CenterPoint uses to provide quicker information to customers.
A mobile natural gas detector that can be driven down a street and pinpoint gas leaks quicker than manual inspections. It is especially valuable after a natural disaster.
Technology is also used for the safety and security of the system. We have to have more data security.
The power of timely information is so important for efficiency and safety, Prochazka said.
Utilities in Texas have been deregulated, meaning there is no guaranteed return on investment and technology will vary state by state, he said.
Electricity is the only commodity with no storage capability, Prochazka said. It is sort of the holy grail of the industry.
Utilities are different than other industries in that their products are not shipped elsewhere, but sold and used by its neighbors, he said.
Natural gas is an affordable fuel and emissions have declined as the pipeline network has expanded since 1990.
Affordable utilities are a hallmark of the United States and natural gas is key to the nations security, Prochazka said.
Two area Daughters of the American Revolution chapters recently held a remembrance ceremony at the Vietnam Memorial in Broken Arrow. The Broken Arrow Creek Chapter, along with the Tulsa Chapter, placed wreaths at the memorial in a joint ceremony. Regents Nakita Moffitt, Broken Arrow Creek, and Debbie Barnes, Tulsa Chapter, led the event. March 29 was Vietnam Veterans Day, marking the end of the 50th year anniversary.
Bridge inspections in the state are not necessary following earthquakes of magnitude 4.6 or lower after researchers determined such quakes are not likely to damage transportation infrastructure, state officials said Thursday.
Officials also announced a new protocol for inspecting bridges following earthquakes of magnitude 4.7 or higher, with a wider radius of inspections proportional to the strength of the quake.
This is great news for Oklahomans concerned with the long-term effects of increased earthquakes in our state, ODOT Executive Director Mike Patterson said in a statement.
Our department has aggressively inspected bridges and infrastructure for the past few years and learned a great deal through this process about this relatively new phenomenon in our state.
Infrastructure Engineers Inc., a team of consultants that worked closely with researchers from the University of Oklahoma, validated ODOTs inspection process, the release stated.
Additionally, a yearlong study of earthquake data revealed no structural damage is occurring on bridges after tremors below magnitude 4.7, indicating that bridge inspections are unnecessary below this level.
The department will continue to inspect bridges after earthquakes, but starting at a threshold of magnitude 4.7.
The magnitude of an earthquake will determine how wide an area from the epicenter will be inspected, ODOT stated. Starting in April, crews will respond immediately to earthquakes at these new levels:
Magnitude 4.7 to 4.8: 5-mile inspection radius;
Magnitude 4.9 to 5.3: 15-mile inspection radius;
Magnitude 5.4 to 5.8: 30-mile inspection radius;
Magnitude 5.9 to 6.2: 60-mile inspection radius; and
Magnitude 6.3-plus: 120-mile inspection radius.
ODOT previously checked bridges after almost every earthquake, then adjusted later to inspect after every magnitude-3.0 event.
After consulting national experts including the California Department of Transportation, the U.S. Geological Survey and Oklahoma Geological Survey the protocol changed in mid-2014 to inspections after every magnitude-4.0 event within a 5-mile radius of the epicenter.
We were conservative in our approach to bridge inspections, but now we have the science to know with more certainty that 4.0- to 4.6-magnitude earthquakes present no danger to transportation infrastructure in the state, said Casey Shell, ODOT chief engineer.
This change in protocol allows the department to better focus its resources.
Shell said ODOT has never found any structural bridge damage in the state related to earthquakes since post-quake inspections began in 2013.
Oklahomas bridges meet federal design standards, meaning they are meant to safely withstand some degree of vibration and movement.
Another component of the $575,000 study was the creation of a post-earthquake bridge inspection manual that describes best practices in detail as well as providing a step-by-step inspection guide.
The document will be used by all ODOT bridge inspectors statewide and will be shared with other state agencies and government entities such as counties, municipalities and the Oklahoma National Guard.
A second phase of the Infrastructure Engineers Inc. study is planned to begin next fiscal year, which will create an analytical program combining ODOT bridge data and earthquake data to help plan a localized inspection route.
This will help inspectors respond more quickly and be more cost-effective while ensuring safety for motorists, officials said.
You, too, can be a diplomat.
Maybe not the kind who is shipped off to Reykjavik or Kuala Lumpur, or sips cocktails with a queen, but someone, at any rate, who improves the United States image in the rest of the world.
Citizen diplomacy, its called, and it was the subject of a daylong conference Thursday at Gilcrease Museum.
Our U.S. government cant be everywhere at every moment, said Jennifer Clinton, president of Global Ties U.S. We must continue to find ways to leverage the citizenry to build the bridges that lead to increased security, economic development, economic ties and cultural ties.
Global Ties U.S. is a private, nonprofit organization that works with 94 local affiliates to exchange programs with community leaders throughout the world. Locally, it is associated with Tulsa Global Alliance, which hosts about 350 international visitors a year through several organizations, including Global Ties and Sister Cities.
Tulsa Global Alliance teamed with Global Ties Arkansas, the U.S. State Department and Global Ties U.S. for Thursdays program, which featured training and educational sessions for adults as well as students.
Clinton said recent events and political trends have created challenges at home and abroad for those who believe America must remain engaged globally. She noted that Russia has discontinued cultural exchange programs with the United States, and that Americans are becoming increasingly leery of foreign visitors.
But, she said, showing visitors America outside of New York and Washington, D.C., gives them a better understanding of the country and vice versa.
Many are coming from small villages, and they cant relate to Washington or New York, Clinton said.
When they get into communities, they see the real heart and soul of the country. Thats why we have to have private-sector partners.
One thing we do is make sure everyone who comes here has the opportunity to have dinner in an American family home, said Bob Lieser, Tulsa Global Alliance vice president of programming. That people-to-people communication is important.
OKLAHOMA CITY House Speaker Jeff Hickman on Thursday said his caucus would not support fiscal year 2017 cuts to common education that are greater than 5 percent.
Hickmans comments came during a press availability period following the legislative session.
Hickman, R-Fairview, said it was necessary to provide clarity to school districts for planning purposes.
Some districts have indicated they will implement a reduction in force and other measures in anticipation of cuts in state funding ranging from 10 percent to 20 percent, Hickman said.
The House position is that we will not support anything greater than a 5 percent cut, and our hope is it is even less, he said.
The state expects to have $1.3 billion less to craft the fiscal year 2017 budget due to depressed energy prices, tax cuts and refusal to reduce the number of tax credits and incentives the state grants in efforts to generate economic activity.
In addition, the state is in the midst of a deepening revenue failure for the current fiscal year which has required cuts to state-appropriated agencies, including common education.
Gov. Mary Fallin and lawmakers earlier this year tapped the states Rainy Day Fund to provide $51 million for common education.
We know that some districts are anticipating cuts of as much as 15 percent in the next years budget, said Senate Pro Tem Brian Bingman, R-Sapulpa. Lawmakers understand schools cant sustain those types of cuts, which is why we wont let that happen. As weve done previously, the Senate will work to limit education funding cuts as much as possible.
Hickman said that after the Rainy Day Fund money was applied to common education, the cut for schools was 2.34 percent. Other agencies sustained cuts of 7 percent.
The maximum 5 percent cut would be based on common educations budget after Rainy Day Funds are factored back into the fiscal year 2016 budget.
State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister commended Hickmans statements on school funding.
We are encouraged House leadership recognizes the urgency of the funding situation facing common education and look forward to seeing what develops as the budget work continues, she said.
OKLAHOMA CITY Officials unveiled on Thursday the framework of a proposal to provide subsidized medical insurance to more Oklahomans.
The proposal also calls for moving thousands of people who are on Medicaid into the private market through an expansion of Insure Oklahoma.
Policymakers were quick to say this is not an expansion of Medicaid under the federal Affordable Care Act, something that has been rejected by the state of Oklahoma.
The proposal comes as a Senate panel rejected a bill to remove 110,000 people from the state Medicaid program and the state agency that administers Medicaid announced that it is considering cuts of up to 25 percent for medical providers in the program.
The state is experiencing a revenue failure for the current fiscal year and expects to have $1.3 billion less in the fiscal year 2017 budget.
Oklahoma Health Care Authority CEO Nico Gomez said Gov. Mary Fallin and others asked his agency to come up with proposals to help stabilize the states Medicaid system. The Health Care Authority is the states Medicaid agency.
Gomez met with legislative leaders and others on Thursday to discuss the proposal, dubbed the Medicaid Rebalancing Act of 2020.
The plan calls for creating a new Insure Oklahoma program option for state residents who are currently uninsured, according to the agency.
Created about a decade ago, Insure Oklahoma provides subsidized insurance. The expansion would cover adults 19 to 64 years old who have incomes below 133 percent of the federal poverty level.
They would pay premiums based on a sliding scale tied to income, Gomez said.
It would insure 175,000 Oklahomans who are currently uninsured and not in the Medicaid program, Gomez said.
It would cost the state $100 million, which would be matched with federal dollars.
The proposal also calls for moving some clients of SoonerCare, the states Medicaid program, to the private health insurance market. Those members would be eligible for federal tax credits, called advanced premium tax credits, to support the premium costs, Gomez said.
They will have the responsibility to pay for premiums or whatever co-payments are applicable, he said.
The change would move 175,000 pregnant women and children to private insurance plans and save the state $60 million, officials said.
Gomez reiterated that the plan is not an expansion of Medicaid.
We are talking about shrinking the size of SoonerCare and increasing Insure Oklahoma, Gomez said. There is no net increase to the program.
The plan would use federal funds that other states have used to expand Medicaid, but instead of expanding Medicaid, Oklahoma would create a private option, said Gene Perry, Oklahoma Policy Institute policy director.
The idea was first tried in Arkansas and has been subsequently adopted in several other states, Perry continued. The private option has been successful at dramatically reducing the uninsured rate while restraining the growth of Medicaid programs.
House Speaker Jeff Hickman, R-Fairview, said the proposal is not at all a Medicaid expansion, adding that the House would not support a plan that would add to the number of people on Medicaid.
A lot of the details of Gomezs plan have yet to be worked out, Hickman said.
While Gomez said earlier this week that the Oklahoma Health Care Authority is considering the possibility that it might have to cut Medicaid provider rates by up to 25 percent, the proposal announced Thursday calls for stabilizing provider rates and bringing them up to at least 86 percent of the Medicare fee schedule. Such a move would reduce the amount of uncompensated care for hospitals and other providers.
Officials are considering a handful of financing options that could make that possible, including increasing the tax on cigarettes by $1.50 per package and a fee assessed to health insurance providers.
If we are not able to stabilize the provider rates, then we are not going to have a very effective health-care delivery system, Gomez said. We are going to have a very damaged health-care delivery system.
About 70 fifth-graders from Patrick Henry Elementary attended Junior Achievement of Oklahomas Biztown on Thursday morning, resulting in the organization meeting a big milestone serving its 100,000th student.
JA Biztown, which opened in 2003 in Tulsa as one of only 10 facilities in the country, is designed to help fourth- through sixth-grade students connect the concepts they learn in school to a real-life business environment. The Biztown facility houses a model city where students take on jobs and roles required to run it.
Reaching our 100,000th student is quite an amazing feat for us, said Shannan Beeler, president at Junior Achievement of Oklahoma.
About 2,000 students came through Biztown that first year it opened, Beeler said.
Now, operating at its capacity, the facility sees 9,400 students come through each year. Junior Achievement serves 55,000 students a year with all its programs, including the curricula it sends into classrooms.
There are now 28 facilities throughout the country.
Beeler said Biztown gives students the opportunity to increase their work-readiness skills. The experience lets students put into practice what they are learning in the classroom.
Today, when they come, theyre going to learn that math really is important, she said.
The program is also a way to help young students look forward to what their options are after graduation, Beeler said.
Erika Johnston, 11, was assigned to the Cancer Treatment Centers of America.
I think this will be a fun day because we get an early start at life, she said.
Their jobs taught them things like how to write checks, Erika said.
So that in the real world, were not always wondering, Whats going on? she said.
Kylen Wilson, 12, was working at an engineering firm as a sales manager. For him, the most interesting thing about having a job was getting a look into the life of his mother.
I get to see what she does, Kylen said.
Sage Nichols, 11, spent the day as a financial adviser. Before the experience, she didnt even know what a financial adviser did.
It shows you how to earn money and save it and spend it wisely, Sage said.
Sage said the experience was harder than she imagined.
At the end of the event, City Councilor Connie Dodson who attended the event in honor of the milestone read a proclamation from the City Council to recognize the contributions of JA Biztown.
Then, as the student mayor was named the honorary 100,000th citizen at Biztown, balloons rained from the ceiling in celebration of the milestone.
March 27, the Tulsa World endorsed Vic Regalado for Tulsa County sheriff. He was not the World's first choice in the primary.
The World made light of $42,000 in donations to Regalado in $2,700/$5,400 (maximum allowed amounts) from individuals/couples, by employees of one company outside Tulsa County most of whom, per county assessor records, own homes valued at less than $100,000. The endorsement made no mention of Regalados knowledge about the $42,000 and the truth will not come out until well after the election, if then.
The editorial barely mentioned Regalados immigration position that he would strongly enforce immigration laws, although they are the purview of the feds. This appears to be a pandering shout-out to the Trumpsters. Regalado downplayed his remarks when visiting with the Tulsa Hispanic Chamber.
Rex Berry, Regalados opponent, was damned with faint praise by giving a hat-tip to his age, 66, and noting he has a lot of nice ideas, but has spent 17 years away from Tulsa.
We need someone who has not been part of the problem to be part of the solution. Thanks, Tulsa World.
Letters to the editor are encouraged. Send letters to letters@tulsaworld.com.
Sounding a lot like Bill Clinton, the beleaguered governor of Alabama, Robert Bentley, called a news conference on Wednesday to say in no uncertain terms that he did not have sex with that woman.
Accused of having an illicit relationship with an aide, Rebekah Caldwell Mason, he stopped short of wagging his finger. But, in another Clinton parallel, there is readily available evidence that contradicts his denials: Text messages and audio recordings made public by the Alabama Media Group and the governor's just-fired head of law enforcement, Spencer Collier.
In a separate press conference, Collier, who said Bentley was like a father to him, contradicted the governor's statement that although he may have made inappropriate remarks to a staffer, he had not participated in a "physical, sexual relationship." Hogwash is more or less what Collier said to that. He claimed that he and another official had uncovered explicit texts between Bentley and Mason, his closest and highest-paid adviser. There also are tapes made by "the family," which earlier had tried to determine whether Bentley was cheating on his wife.
The public has made an uneasy peace with the foibles of its politicians in the post-Clinton world. Character, as it's now assessed, includes sexual conduct but that isn't weighed so heavily that it blocks out every thing else. Knock out politicians for having affairs, and you might not have enough left to vote for. Lying is considered a lesser-included offense because no one willingly admits to infidelity. Politicians survive -- former Gov. Mark Sanford of Appalachian Trail fame (elected to Congress), Sen. David Vitter (who admitted to dalliances with prostitutes won re-election once, but not his bid to become Louisiana governor), and Clinton himself (shamed, impeached, but not thrown out of office).
The lines that remain are drawn at the office door or at illegality. Those who've run afoul of the current ethos crossed one or the other: Nevada Sen. John Ensign (the office) and former Gov. Eliot Spitzer (prostitutes). Former New York Congressman Anthony Weiner fits no category except utter stupidity.
The transcript of the tapes suggests that Bentley falls into both the Ensign (Mason, said Collier, was a "de facto governor") and Weiner classifications. Bentley said, "If we are going to do what we did the other day, we are going to have to lock the door." And "When I stand behind you, and I put my arms around you, and I put my hands on your breasts, and I put my hands (muffled) and just pull you real close, I love that, too." " Baby, I love you. I know we are in a difficult situation. Unless I make things as normal as possible here, it is going to be hell."
It's a certain kind of hell now as Bentley enters the first stage of a scandal. When asked about the tapes on Wednesday, he repeatedly acknowledged that his words were "inappropriate" but that's as far as it went. He explained that the love he spoke of was the love he felt for all his staff, adding, almost comically, "some more than others."
Mason is married. Bentley no longer has a spouse to stand by his side. He and his wife of 50 years divorced after he won re-election in 2014. The other lasting law of these scandals is that the other woman suffers no matter what happens to the principal, Monica Lewinsky being exhibit No. 1. Mason, however, is not going gently into someone else's scandal. The whole thing, she said in a statement, is a result of "clear, demonstrated gender bias" by Collier. "There is no way that man would have said what he did today about another man."
But Collier begs to differ: At one time, Mason was on the state payroll but how she gets paid her salary of almost $500,000 now is foggy. That could be the smoking gun. However she's paid, Mason is almost always by the governor's side. Bentley is going after Collier as if his former law-enforcement chief were his only problem and the tapes did not exist. Collier was fired, Bentley's supporters say, only after an internal review found "possible misuse of state money." Collier says he was fired because he confronted Bentley about the affair and because he refused to lie before the grand jury about a friend of Bentley's in an ethics inquiry.
The governor is sticking with his denial that it was all words -- and misinterpreted ones at that. Even so, under the "in the office" rule, he's still vulnerable and the digging has just begun. The popular governor may survive depending on what your definition of survive is. To those who watched him at the capitol on Wednesday, it was questionable whether the first deacon of the First Baptist Church of Tuscaloosa and 73-year-old grandfather survived humiliation.
Margaret Carlson is a Bloomberg View columnist.
Oklahoma Democrats MIGHT suddenly become relevant in presidential politics, and they have no one less a Republican than former Sen. Tom Coburn to thank for it.
Earlier this month, William Kristol, a leading neo-con and founder of The Weekly Standard, circulated a highly publicized memo on how conservative Republicans could stop Donald Trump from winning the Republican presidential nomination.
Failing that, Kristol reportedly has suggested running a third party Republican alternative.
Among his reported short-list candidates would be former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Coburn.
The conventional wisdom is that such a third party challenger would siphon votes away from Trump and assure Hillary Clinton of the election, but when was the last time the conventional wisdom was right about anything involving Donald Trump?
Whatever the effect of a Coburn candidacy on the final outcome, it suggests a peculiar realpolitik strategy for Oklahoma Democrats: Vote for Coburn.
This has to be the first election anyone has suggested a Yellow Dog Oklahoma Democrat would have a reason to vote for Dr. No, but its fairly obvious.
Coburn remains tremendously popular among Oklahoma Republicans. Id guess he could get himself elected to any statewide office he chose this year, including his old Senate seat. I wouldnt bet against him as candidate for president, at least in this state.
Trump, by contrast, isnt that strong in Oklahoma. He ran second to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in the March 1 Oklahoma GOP primary, and got only 130,141 votes or 28.2 percent. Cruz got 34.4 percent.
(On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton came in second and still got 9,000 more votes than Trump.)
So, say there were three people on the Oklahoma ballot: Trump, Coburn and whoever wins the Clinton-Bernie Sanders nomination battle.
First, a pretty safe assumption: Neither Clinton nor Sanders will carry the presidential election in Oklahoma. Clinton is a Clinton, and her far-more-personable husband couldnt carry the state. Sanders is a Yankee and a socialist. Fat chance.
A lot of people in Oklahoma love Bernie, and some love Hillary, and I dont mean to stick my finger in their eyes. They just arent the majority, or even close.
So, if youre an Oklahoma Democrat determined to get your man or woman elected to the White House, your better strategy might be to vote for Coburn if hes on the ballot.
A certain number of Republicans would vote for Coburn because they love him, and they want him to be president. A certain number of Republicans would vote for Coburn because they hate Trump, and dont want him to be president. A certain number of Democrats would vote for Coburn because they love him, and they want him to be president.
The remnant of Oklahoma Democratic voters those who dont want him to be president, but want Trump to be president even less could turn out to be enough to decide the Oklahoma contest. They could effectively deny Trump the states seven electoral votes.
If you want Bernie or Hillary to win, so the thinking would go, hold your nose and vote for Coburn.
Of course, that strategy could backfire in a huge way.
In a close three-person Electoral College race, seven votes could make the difference between someone winning and no one getting a majority.
If the Electoral College doesnt decide the issue, the U.S. House of Representatives chooses the next president. Each state delegation gets one vote.
As hard as it is to imagine a Clinton or a socialist winning the Oklahoma general election, its even harder to imagine the states House delegation going blue.
I dont know if their one vote would go to Trump or Coburn, but it certainly wouldnt go to Clinton or Sanders. So, if Oklahoma Democrats tried to skew the results away from Trump by voting for Coburn, they might end up making the difference that sends either Trump or Coburn to the White House.
I dont expect Coburn to run. I take him at his word when he says that his political goal now is to change the Constitution, not the players in Washington.
If he does run, I dont think a large number of Oklahoma Democrats would vote for him for any reason other than a conviction that hes the best candidate for the job.
I have faith in people to vote for the person they most want to be president, not the person they want to spoil the chances of the person they least want to be president.
Thats the right way to vote for president, the way I will.
But for some Democrats the chance to make a difference not just in this state, but in the nation, might be a very strong temptation.
They came. They saw. And, for the most part, they floated.
More than 100 students journeyed Friday to Miller Swim School, and the goal was to avoid making a big splash.
They took part in the USS Tulsa Cardboard and Duct Tape Boat Regatta.
Regatta rules: Construct a boat using only cardboard and duct tape. The boat must be able to hold at least one person, and it must be piloted the length of a pool.
Prizes were awarded in four categories (speed, aesthetics, historical merit and technical construction), but the real winner was education.
The regatta was hosted by the Tulsa Regional STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) Alliance.
Xan Black, program director, began the cardboard and duct tape regatta seven years ago when she was a physics teacher.
Faces got wet before the first regatta was launched. Black said at least one student cried every year during her time as a physics teacher.
Why were students crying?
People have called physics the perfect marriage of math and science, she said, adding that sometimes it looks more like one than another.
Its really a description of how every single thing in the universe works, so there are a ton of calculations and a lot of them are totally different than all the other calculations you have done, so there is a whole lot to grasp and sometimes that can be overwhelming for students.
Black decided to focus on one thing buoyancy and make it fun and real for students. She said people may bug out if something is hard and they dont see a point to it. But if they can put physics to actual use, they understand that its relevant.
In fact, its so relevant that if your calculations are not right, you are going in the pond, she said. Then they really, really focus on those physics calculations and they get them right and their boats float.
Black mentioned a pond because early regattas were held in a neighborhood pond before a change of venue to Miller Swim School. Because pond water is murkier than pool water, there was extra motivation to stay dry. Black said she used to ramp it up and tell students there were snapping turtles and fish in the pond.
A local TV personality contacted Black before doing a story on the inaugural regatta and said something along the lines of, So were going to come out and sink some boats?
But five or six boats were in the first regatta, according to Black, and only one of them met a watery doom.
One of them put his boat in the water, and it went straight to the bottom, she said.
Even if buoyancy calculations are correct, there are other factors. Is the boat stable? Does it have structural integrity? Are seams sealed up with duct tape?
Black said the scrawniest kid on a boat-building team is usually the superhero of the squad because guess whos going in the boat?
They dont typically pick the big football player to do that, she said.
Among boat pilots Friday was 53-pound Tristan Anderson-Harrison, a 7-year-old first-grader at Lee Elementary. Anderson-Harrison was decked out in gear, including a nautical cap and dogtags, which had been purchased at a military surplus store.
The regatta has grown exponentially since its creation. Black said a waiting list was created this year and possible entrants had to be turned away because of logistics. About 25 boats (the Metro Christian boat had a mermaid Barbie strapped on the front) participated in the 2016 regatta and, if possible, twice that number could have taken part.
Participants included elementary school, middle school, high school and home-schooled students from Tulsa and the surrounding area.
The majority of boats successfully navigated the pool. Paige Thompson, an 11-year-old from Arrowhead Elementary in Broken Arrow, was piloting a shallow boat that started to sink near the end of the trip, but she was close enough to lunge for the edge of the pool.
Bo Shaw, a student at Liberty High School, was paddling a boat that sagged low in the middle. It started taking in water, so he picked up the pace and completed the trek. I was trying, he said. I was going hard.
Sarah Collier, also from Liberty, was aboard a boat designed to look like a dragon. The boat capsized near the midway point, but it wasnt because the boat was faulty or because she did anything wrong. A paddle (propulsion devices also had to be made from cardboard and duct tape) proved too flimsy, and that led to steering problems.
Though wet and shivering, Collier agreed the regatta was more enjoyable than learning about physics from a book.
Said Collier: It was fun making it. The design was fun. It was fun racing, even though I lost and had to fall out of the boat and swim. It was fun seeing all the boats, too.
Their regatta is a testimony to the fact that we sometimes underestimate what kids can accomplish, according to Black. Conquering the regatta challenge helps kids dream bigger dreams, and perhaps that will carry over to other challenges they face as they build a bright future for themselves.
With them building that boat, they will cross a million little problems, and they will conquer all of those million little problems on the way to building this boat, Black said. So every time they successfully solve a problem, it gives them more confidence to face the next problem, whatever it is.
On Tuesday former PM John Howard joins Insight, as Port Arthur survivors and pro-gun lobbyists debate gun control.
28 April 2016 marks 20 years since the Port Arthur massacre.
On that day, a lone gunman stalked through the Tasmanian historic site and its surrounds, killing 35 people and injuring 18 others.
The incident sparked sweeping changes to Australias gun ownership laws, changes that have been mostly heralded as a ground-breaking example of effective gun control legislation.
Since the Howard Government pushed for the laws, gun-related deaths have dropped from around 600 per year in the almost 20 years prior to Port Arthur, to around 230 in 2014.
Despite the drop, firearms continue to destroy lives: Alpha Chengs father, Curtis, was killed as he left work at Parramatta police headquarters by a 15-year-old boy; Michelle Fernandos sister, suffering from mental illness, managed to get a probationary licence from a gun club before killing their father.
On the other hand, recreational gun users and farmers argue the laws are too tight, demonising and disproportionately affecting the majority of legal gun owners in the country who go through rigorous checks before obtaining a firearm.
So, is enough or too much being done to control guns in Australia? How should the current government act?
Insight tackles this highly emotional issue with special guest, former Prime Minister John Howard.
Guests include:
John Howard Former Prime Minister of Australia
Sometimes you dont have any alternative but to bring in a blanket law that catches the innocent and the responsible as well as the venal, and you have to be willing to do that.
Carol Loughton Port Arthur survivor
I thought to myself, were going to die here. This is where I die now, this is it.
Robert Brown Shooters and Fishers Party MLC (NSW)
Even though Im here advocating for firearms, I do it out of a genuine belief that the laws that were created under the National Firearms Agreement in all of the states in Australia, at that time, werent well structured. I dont think they were properly done.
Justin Noble Port Arthur survivor, former police officer
I knew the gun but I didnt know the potential of the individual straight away it was kicking in and moving people offsite, evacuating people. I was running around yelling at people to get out of sight and hide in the bush.
Alpha Cheng Alphas Father Curtis was shot outside Parramatta police headquarters
My dad often joked that he worked in the safest building in Sydney. So I guess theres some real dark irony there, but then it shows that it was never something that we were concerned about and part of that is because of the policies the Howard government brought in.
Graham Park Farmer
Instead of a consultative way, they took an approach where they effectively started to demonise firearm owners, to attack them as if they were the problem. When youre using something every day in your job or recreationally, and someone starts treating you like a potential murderer, you naturally take offence.
David Shoebridge Greens Party MLC (NSW)
What we saw was a moment of political courage and principle. Im a Greens MP and theres not much that I agree with John Howard on But what we actually saw then was a political leader doing what theyre paid to do.
Tuesday at 8.30pm on SBS.
Western Australian TV historian Ken McKay, who runs the WA TV History website has been honoured with a prestigious WA Heritage Award.
McKay was a former videotape operator who started work with TVW Channel 7 as part of the stations coverage of the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Perth.
He worked at Channel 7 until 1973 and then with the ABC until 1993.
Since retiring he has developed a website to tell and illustrate relevant stories in text, photographs and film/video footage.
The judges citation read: Film and television is an important part of our cultural heritage that has influenced and shaped modern society.
Ken, a passionate and committed individual, saw the danger of this material and its story disappearing, and has worked hard to ensure it is documented, collected and shared.
Good one, Ken.
Source: Yahoo
2:01 p.m., April 1, 2016--A daylong symposium on Friday, April 8, at the University of Delaware will focus on race and ethnicity in the Americas and will be preceded by a workshop designed especially for students on Thursday, April 7, led by the participatory group Theater of the Oppressed.
The symposium, Where You Were Never Meant to Be? is presented by UDs Latin American and Iberian Studies Program (LAIS) as part of its yearlong film and speaker series, Engaging Race and Ethnicity in the Americas.
All events, including the workshop, are open to the public without advance registration and will be held in Perkins Student Center. Receptions will follow the workshop and the symposium and are also free and open to the public.
The two-hour workshop will begin at 5 p.m. on April 7 in the Perkins Gallery. It will be led by the Theater of the Oppressed, a group that was founded in Brazil in the early 1970s to foster democratic and cooperative forms of interaction among participants.
Those attending the workshop will engage in theatrical debate, games and scenes as they uncover the many possible alternatives to real-life challenges and personal and collective human rights infringements.
Carla Guerron Montero, LAIS director and associate professor of anthropology, encouraged students to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to take part in a Theater of the Oppressed event. The group normally charges admission to its programs, but LAIS is offering the session at no charge. Attendance will be on a first-come, first-served basis, with participation limited to 40 students.
The next days symposium will be held in the Ewing Room from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., followed by a reception, and will focus on the role of race and ethnicity in academia. Faculty members from UD and institutions across the United States will participate in panel discussions, facilitated by leaders of the Race in the Americas (RITA) group.
Keynote speakers and panel moderators will be Adunni Adams and James Owen Heath, both from RITA. That group was formed in the United Kingdom to encourage interdisciplinary research and interaction among those in academia, politics and the media. It aims to embrace anyone with an interest in race who feels excluded by traditional academic discussion.
The keynote speech, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., will explore RITAs networks, research and future projects.
The morning panel discussion, from 9:15-11:15 a.m., will focus on the ways in which race is discussed by academics. Moderated by Heath, the panelists will debate if and how the academic study of race keeps pace with the ever-evolving realities of race relations and constructions.
Participants will be UD faculty members Pascha Bueno-Hansen, assistant professor of women and gender studies; Benjamin Fleury-Steiner, professor of sociology and criminal justice; Tiffany Gill, associate professor of black American studies and history; and Karen Rosenberg, professor of anthropology; and Selwyn Cudjoe, professor of Africana studies at Wellesley College, and Adrienne Dixson, associate professor of education policy, organization and leadership at the University of Illinois.
The second panel discussion, from 2-4 p.m., moderated by Adams, will examine the problems in discussing race in the Americas. The aim is to bring about an open debate on why such conversations are frustrated, encouraged or suppressed and to share strategies that can be used to promote discussion.
Panelists will be Yasser Payne, associate professor of black American studies at UD; Kevin D. Brown, the Richard S. Melvin Professor of Law at the University of Indiana; Kim Chanbonpin, associate professor at John Marshall Law School; Claudia Correa, adjunct professor at Universidade Federal de Rondonia; and Torie Weiston-Serdan, founder and executive director of the Youth Mentoring Action Network.
UD sponsors of the events include the College of Arts and Sciences; the centers for Black Culture, the Study of Diversity, and Global and Area Studies; the departments of Anthropology, Black American Studies, History, Theatre/REP, Women and Gender Studies, and Languages, Literatures and Cultures; and the schools of Education and of Public Policy and Administration.
Article by Ann Manser
3:45 p.m., April 1, 2016--The University of Delaware School of Educations spring colloquium series will continue on Tuesday afternoon, April 12, with a presentation by Elizabeth R. Howard, associate professor of bilingual education, and Graham G. Riefenbark, doctoral student, both from the University of Connecticuts Neag School of Education.
Their presentation, The Effects of Home Language Use on English and Spanish Writing Growth in the Domains of Usage, Spelling, and Punctuation, will discuss the English and Spanish writing development of bilingual students in two-way immersion programs.
The presentation will review a study in which 185 elementary school students were administered English and Spanish basic writing assessments once a year over four years, from second through fifth grades. This research revealed that students grew significantly in the areas of usage, spelling and punctuation in both languages, but the rate of growth slowed over time.
In addition, the increased use of a language at home was associated with higher writing ability in the home language in fifth grade. Students with higher levels of exposure to Spanish at home also demonstrated a faster growth rate in their English writing development than those who spoke more English at home. However, the effect of the home language in Spanish writing development was much more varied.
The presentation will begin at 1 p.m. in Room 207 of the Willard Hall Education Building. A discussion and question-and-answer period will follow at 2 p.m.
Students, faculty, and community members with interests in English, Spanish, teaching English as a second language, composition, literacy and education are encouraged to attend. This event is free, and no advance registration or RSVP is required.
For more information about the colloquium series and upcoming speakers, visit the School of Education colloquium series webpage.
About the speakers
Elizabeth R. Howard is an associate professor of bilingual education in the Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut, where she teaches graduate courses on linguistic and cultural diversity and conducts research on dual language education, biliteracy development, and the teacher preparation for work with multilingual learners.
She is a co-investigator of a federally funded research project exploring writing instruction and outcomes among English language learners and has served as principal investigator on large-scale studies of biliteracy development and dual language education.
Her books include Realizing the Vision of Two-Way Immersion: Fostering Effective Programs and Classrooms and Preparing Classroom Teachers to Succeed with Second Language Learners: Lessons from a Faculty Learning Community.
Graham G. Riefenbark is a doctoral student in the Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut and a Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need (GAANN) Fellow. His methodological interests include cross-sectional and longitudinal latent variable modeling, modern missing data estimation procedures, and invariance testing.
He has also served as lead analyst on several projects funded by the Institute of Education Sciences and the National Institutes of Health. He is currently teaching a graduate level course on quantitative programming and has delivered guest lectures and a workshop on this topic.
Article by Jessica Henderson
At a glance
Without doubt the best Turkish player of his generation, captain and playmaker Arda Turan is preparing to spearhead another EURO challenge just as he did during qualifying. Only 11 caps shy of his century, the creative left-sided midfielder joined Barcelona from Atletico last summer and, a decade on from his senior international debut, is as talismanic as ever.
EURO pedigree
Arda was just 21 when he first played at a European finals, enjoying an excellent UEFA EURO 2008. He had a key role in Turkey's 2-1 comeback victory over co-hosts Switzerland, scoring the last-minute winner. He also struck against the Czech Republic and converted his team's first penalty in the quarter-final shoot-out against Croatia. He missed the semi against Germany through suspension but had already made his mark.
What he offers
Turkeys EURO star: Arda Turan
Importance for Turkey
Arda's technique, vision and anticipation are evident to most, yet his influence and leadership are difficult to overstate. The 29-year-old has a splendid knack of taking the initiative in difficult circumstances. Had he not notched a late winner away to Kazakhstan last summer, for example, Turkey might not be heading to France. His flexibility he can play on the left or right is also a bonus for Fatih Terim. He has matured as a player since moving to Spain in 2011.
International career
Debut: Luxembourg 0-1 Turkey (16 August 2006, friendly)
Appearances: 89
Goals: 18
EURO final tournament
Appearances: 3
Goals: 2
Record: W2 D1* L0
*Ended in victory on penalties (v Croatia in UEFA EURO 2008 quarter-finals)
Hi, my name is Scott C. Waring and I wrote a few books and am currently a ESL School Owner in Taiwan. I have had my own UFO sighting up close and personal, but that's how it works right? A non believer becomes a believer when they experience their first sighting. You witnessed it, your perceptual field changes, so now you need to share it.
I created this site to help the UFO community get a little bit organized. I noticed that there was a lot of chaos when searching for UFO sighting reports, so I hope this site helps. I wanted to support those eyewitnesses who have tried to tell others about what they have seen, yet were laughed at by even closest of friends.
More and more each day the governments of the world leak bits and pieces of UFO information to the public. They have a trickle down theory in hopes of slowly getting citizens use to the idea that we are not alone in universe and never have been. The truth is being leaked drop by drop until one day we look around and find ourselves neck high in it.
The discovery of alien species in existence is the most monumental scientific event in human history, suppression of that information is a crime against humanity.
About me:
I live in Taiwan. I OWN MY OWN ENGLISH SCHOOL, AND ONCE HAD 5 SCHOOLS.
Am Former USAF at SAC base (flight line).
Age: 42
Educ: BA in Elem ed. Masters in Counseling ed.
I had two UFO sightings, (30+bus size orbs) in military and in 2012 personally saw the UFO over Taipei 101 building on New Years Day (and recored it).
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has held a meeting with representatives of the leading American companies that participate in the supplies of military goods and services to Ukraine, the presidents press service reports.
President Poroshenko thanked all those present at the meeting for the American contribution to the strengthening of Ukraines defense capacity. He also stressed the need for stepping up the bilateral cooperation to restrain the armed aggression against Ukraine in Donbas.
The Ukrainian president also noted wide opportunities for establishing the cooperation between companies of the military-industrial complex of Ukraine and the United States on various promising directions, as well as the cooperation on the production of arms and equipment, the attracting of American technologies and investments to the joint projects in Ukraine.
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One Ukrainian serviceman was killed, another eight were wounded in the ATO area in eastern Ukraine as a result of the intensified armed hostilities.
Spokesman for the Presidential Administration on the anti-terrorist operation, Colonel Andriy Lysenko said this at a briefing in Kyiv, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.
"One Ukrainian serviceman was killed, another eight were wounded as a result of the military operations over past 24 hours," Lysenko said.
He specified that one Ukrainian soldier was killed and three soldiers were wounded in Zaitseve (67km north-north-east of Donetsk) and five more soldiers were wounded near Avdiyivka (18km north of Donetsk).
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Experts of the Japan International Cooperation Agency welcomes the idea of creation of a permanent representative office in Ukraine to assist the country in the management of sea ports.
The issue was discussed at a meeting of Ukrainian Deputy Infrastructure Ministry Volodymyr Omelian with Deputy Mission Head at Japans Embassy in Ukraine Michio Harada, the ministrys press service reports.
The proposal by Volodymyr Omelian to establish the work of a permanent representative office of Japan experts has got a positive response from Mr. Michio Harada, reads the report.
The Infrastructure Ministry is expecting the next JICA mission of experts will come this April to discuss the details of the project.
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Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and U.S. President Barack Obama have held a meeting in Washington, the Ukrainian presidents press service reports.
During the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko held a meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama. The heads of states discussed the situation in Donbas and Crimea and coordinated efforts for the full implementation of the Minsk agreements by Russia, reads the report.
The presidents also discussed the issues of development of strategic partnership between Ukraine and the United States.
Special attention was paid to the need for immediate creation of a coalition and government in Ukraine aimed at reforms, the president press service reports.
President Obama confirmed the U.S. readiness to render the third $1 billion loan guarantee after the formation of a new government in Ukraine.
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Not only Dutch political parties, but also social activists are organizing campaigns for the upcoming referendum on the EU-Ukraine deal.
For example, one of these groups of supporters for the association with Ukraine became the movement StemVoor ("Vote yes").
"Our movement was formed specifically prior to the referendum last November. We are a key organization on the side of supporters, we conduct campaign events by ourselves, but we also try to coordinate the work of all other campaigns that are in favor of the deal," says StemVoor activist Michael van Hyulten.
According to him, to establish contact with voters and convince them to vote "yes" the activists use all available channels - radio commercials, social media and mass media, they even launched internet radio broadcasting.
"We use all options that are used during election campaigns to find contact with voters. In particular, with those who themselves support the deal. We want to make sure they come to the polls," said the activist.
However, the movement "against" the deal, headed primarily by the blog Geen Stijl, is actively campaigning to vote no. This features agitation in the streets, in social media, reports in the media and in debates.
"Agitation camp of those who vote "no"only partially applies to Ukraine. The arguments are anti-EU. The mood against the EU is very strong here," explains co-founder of Ukrainian Crisis Media Center Vasyl Miroshnichenko who coordinates the work of the office in the Netherlands.
But he says Ukraine gets blamed too. The opponents simplify the issues and spread myths about the deal.
UNHCR is today urging parties to the recent EU-Turkey agreement on refugees and migrants to ensure all safeguards are in place before any returns begin. This is in light of continued serious gaps in both countries.
UNHCR does not object to returns of people without protection needs and who have not asked for asylum, providing that human rights are adhered to.
Across Greece, which has been compelled to host people because of closed borders elsewhere in Europe, numerous aspects of the systems for receiving and dealing with people who may need international protection are still either not working or absent. There are currently around 51,000 refugees and migrants in the country, 5000 on the islands and 46,000 on the mainland. Recent arrivals spiked on 29th March at 766 after several days of arrivals averaging about 300 people a day.
On Lesvos, conditions have been deteriorating at the Moria "hotspot" facility, which since 20 March has been used to detain people pending a decision on deportation. There are now some 2,300 people there. This is above its stated capacity of 2,000. People are sleeping in the open, and food supply is insufficient. Anxiety and frustration is widespread. Making matters worse, many families have become separated, with family members now scattered across Greece - and presenting an additional worry should returns begin.
On Samos, at the Vathy hotspot, reception conditions have also been worsening. Sanitation is poor, there is little help available for persons with special needs, and food distributions are chaotic. There are currently up to 1,700 people staying at the Vial hotspot on Chios, which has a maximum capacity of 1,100. We are very worried about the situation there. Rioting last night left three people with stab injuries
In line with its global policy on promoting alternatives to detention, UNHCR has had to suspend services at all closed facilities, with the exception of protection monitoring and providing information on asylum procedures.
Stranded groups await relocation on the mainland
On the mainland, where people who arrived before 20 March are staying, the situation is equally difficult. Refugees and migrants are spread across some 30 sites, many awaiting the chance of relocation. Conditions at the port of Piraeus and around Eidomeni near the border with former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia are dismal.
The risk of panic and injury in these sites and others is real in the current circumstances. There have been further incidents reported in local media of fighting this week.
Without urgent further EU support, the limited capacity of the Greek asylum service to register and process asylum claims will create problems. Limited hours of registration, daily ceilings on registrations, a lack of access to the Skype system for registration set up by the Asylum Services, are at present adding to the anxiety.
In Turkey, UNHCR has requested access to people returned from Greece, to ensure people can benefit from effective international protection and to prevent risk of refoulement.
UNHCR has set out the safeguards that would be required for safe readmission from Greece to Turkey, most recently in a paper of 23 March. http://www.refworld.org/docid/56f3ee3f4.html.
Sea arrivals down in Greece, up in Italy
Sea arrivals in Greece for the first three months of 2016 are at over 150,700 albeit with lower arrivals in March http://data.unhcr.org/mediterranean/country.php?id=83.
See arrivals on the other main Mediterranean route - from North Africa to Italy -stand at 18,784. This represents a more than 80 per cent increase over the same period in 2015 (10,165 people), with March arrivals showing a four-fold increase http://data.unhcr.org/mediterranean/country.php?id=105. These are predominantly Nigerians, Gambians, Senegalese, Malians and other West African nationals. So far UNHCR is not seeing big increases in Syrians, Afghans, and Iraqis using this route. On Thursday, a boat carrying 22 Syrian and Somali nationals was reported to have arrived at Otranto in South-eastern Italy, having travelled from Greece.
To speak to a UNHCR spokesperson, please contact:
Geneva (Headquarters)
Greece
Two refugee women sit in-front of small camping tents in which they sleep near the village of Idomeni on the Greek border with the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. UNHCR/A.Zavallis
GENEVA, April 1 (UNHCR) - Urging caution, the UN Refugee Agency today called on all parties to the recent agreement between the European Union and Turkey on refugees and migrants to ensure all "safeguards" are in place before any returns from Greece to Turkey begin,
UNHCR spokesperson Melissa Fleming, stressing serious gaps still existed in both countries, declared: "UNHCR does not object to returns of people without protection needs and who have not asked for asylum, providing that human rights are adhered to."
She told a press briefing in Geneva that across Greece, which has been compelled to host people because of closed borders elsewhere in Europe, "numerous aspects of the systems for receiving and dealing with people who may need international protection were still either not working or absent."
There are currently around 51,000 refugees and migrants in the country, 5,000 on the islands and 46,000 on the mainland. Recent arrivals spiked on March 29 at 766 after several days of arrivals averaging about 300 people a day.
On the island of Lesvos, conditions have been deteriorating at the Moria "hotspot" facility, which since March 20 has been used to detain people pending a decision on deportation. There are now some 2,300 people there. This is above its stated capacity of 2,000.
"People are sleeping in the open, and food supply is insufficient. Anxiety and frustration is widespread. Making matters worse, many families have become separated, with family members now scattered across Greece - and presenting an additional worry should returns begin," Fleming declared.
On Samos island, at the Vathy "hotspot", reception conditions have also been worsening. Sanitation is poor, there is little help available for persons with special needs, and food distributions are chaotic. There are currently up to 1,700 people staying at the Vial "hotspot" on Chios, which has a maximum capacity of 1,100.
"We are very worried about the situation there. Rioting last night left three people with stab injuries," Fleming added.
In line with its global policy on promoting alternatives to detention, UNHCR has had to suspend services at all closed facilities, with the exception of protection monitoring and providing information on asylum procedures. Stranded groups await relocation on the mainland
On the mainland, where people who arrived before the March 20 accord, are staying, the situation is equally difficult. Refugees and migrants are spread across some 30 sites, many awaiting the chance of relocation.
"Conditions at the port of Piraeus and around Idomeni near the border with former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia are dismal and the risk of panic and injury in these sites and others is real in the current circumstances. There have been further incidents reported in local media of fighting this week," Fleming detailed.
Without urgent further EU support, the limited capacity of the Greek asylum service to register and process asylum claims will create problems. Limited hours of registration, daily ceilings on registrations, a lack of access to the Skype system for registration set up by the Asylum Services, are all currently adding to the anxiety.
In Turkey, UNHCR has requested access to people returned from Greece, to ensure people can benefit from effective international protection and to prevent risk of refoulement.
UNHCR has set out the safeguards that would be required for safe readmission from Greece to Turkey, most recently in a paper of 23 March. http://www.refworld.org/docid/56f3ee3f4.html.
For more information, please click here
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Wyoming Business Tips for April 10-16
A weekly look at Wyoming business questions from the Wyoming Small Business Development Center (WSBDC), part of WyomingEntrepreneur.Biz, a collection of business assistance programs at the University of Wyoming.
By James Drever, WSBDC regional director
I read that my business is at risk from cyber attacks. What are some things I should be doing to protect my business? Kendra, Laramie
Ideally, you develop a security plan, which is something we can help with.
In the meantime, you should review your data and systems to see what is most valuable, what risks you are exposed to and how you can reasonably protect what you have. Develop a plan so that if your data and/or systems are compromised, you can make sure you are up and running, and back in business as soon as possible.
An often-neglected example is having secure off-site backups for your system(s) and data. If your physical building with computers is destroyed, or maybe all your computers are taken over by ransomware, having regular backups can quickly help you recover and be back in business. Otherwise, you might have to start from scratch, meaning it might not be possible to recover all data, depending on what computers are used for in your business.
Various hacking methods gain a lot of publicity, but there is a lot you can do to protect your business. Is your software up to date? Do you have a plan in place to regularly check both your software and firmware? When was the last time you checked your router or modem to see if there was a security update?
We pay a lot of attention to hacking, but it is much easier to use social engineering, in which someone sends you an email encouraging you or your staff to click on a link or open a file that gives that person access to your computers/network.
Do you have malware/virus protection in place? Do you and your employees know how to handle suspicious emails or even phone calls? Does everyone know how to create and protect passwords or use a password manager?
As you look at your business, keep in mind that most breaches are caused internally and unintentionally. Dont forget to make sure that what you have is physically protected and, if you use outside services, make sure they and your connection to those services are secure and reliable.
Finally, is your firewall turned on? If not, turn it on.
A blog version of this article and an opportunity to post comments are available at http://wyen.biz/blog1/.
The WSBDC is a partnership of the U.S. Small Business Administration, the Wyoming Business Council and the University of Wyoming. To ask a question, call 1-800-348-5194, email wsbdc@uwyo.edu, or write 1000 E. University Ave., Dept. 3922, Laramie, WY, 82071-3922.
Yahoo Inc has revised its bylaws that allow proxy access. This gives long-time shareholders the power to place candidates on board over shareholder ballots. The revised bylaws are effective after the 2016 annual general meeting (AGM) scheduled in June or July.
The revision of bylaws at Yahoo Inc facilitates long-time shareholders power to place board candidates on ballots. As per the changes in bylaws at Yahoo Inc, a group of up to 20 shareholders with three percent stake for three years holding may nominate the greater of two directors or 20 percent of the total on the board.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reports that Yahoo shareholders may vote on whether to replace all nine board members at the annual general meeting to be held in June or July this year. Activist investor Starboard Value LP has called for a change at the web pioneer. Starboard Value has also raised voice over repeatedly failure of Yahoo's management and board from shareholders' point of view.
Starboard has nominated its full slate for directors under Yahoo's existing bylaws. However, revised bylaws that allow proxy access will not affect it, according to Patrick McGurn, Special Counsel for proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services Inc.
Fortune further adds that proxy access enables shareholders to nominate directors to run against the company's chosen slate of director nominees. The nominated directors by long-term shareholders can use its annual meeting materials. Activist investor Starboard Value LP owns 1.7 percent in Yahoo. It unveiled a proxy fight recently to thrash nine-member board of company.
Yahoo is reeling under pressure to sell its core business. Shareholders of Yahoo are pressurizing the company to offload its core business. Yahoo in February commenced auctioning the business. It has already shelved its plan to spin off its stake in Alibaba, an e-Commerce giant from China.
Other global majors have also embraced proxy access. General Electric Co, AT&T Inc, Apple Inc and Citigroup Inc have adopted it. This apart, 117 companies in the US in 2015 embraced proxy access. Starboard has mainly pressurized Yahoo management on accepting the aforementioned matter. Yahoo Chief Executive Marissa Mayer was in the process of making the company turn around or sell it.
Section 2.7 under Proxy Access for Director Nominations will begin after AGM-2016. The director to be nominated by long-term shareholders has to furnish a written questionnaire. Shareholders-proposed directors should provide details about their background, qualifications, stock ownership and independence of nominee. The details should also include representations such as certain voting commitments or third party compensation arrangements, as reported by StreetInsider.
Advisors for Yahoo negotiated with potential buyers such as Verizon Communications Inc, IAC/InterActiveCorp and Time Inc. Private equity (PE) firms such as TPG and KKR& Co also participated in the discussions with the advisors.
MetLife has won a legal case against US regulators over 'systemically important' financial institution (SIFI). A Washington court has rejected Financial Stability Oversight Counsil's (FSOC) decision to classify MetLife as SIFI. MetLife's win against the US Dodd Frank Act is considered to be a major blow to the Barack Obama-led government which is expected to appeal on this verdict.
MetLife is the largest insurer by assets. The case was considered too big to fail. The latest legal verdict against US Dodd Frank Act will have implications for the US financial system.
A Washington Court has opined that it had acted unlawfully by agreeing on tougher regulations on a systemically important financial institution. This ruling is expected to create tremors in implementation of Dodd Frank legislative reforms.
Financial Times reports that the latest verdict by a Washington court favoring MetLife may lead few more legal battles from other insurance companies deemed to be SIFIs. There are such SIFIs category insurers including American International Group (AIG) and Prudential Financial. However, the banks that have been already classified as SIFIs will have less chances of avoiding via courts. Because of the eligibility for SIFI designation is written directly into the US laws. Non-banks have different criteria altogether.
Financial Stability Oversight Council's (FSOC) members had voted nine to one favoring of designating MetLife as a SIFI. This status will pave the way to additional regulatory scrutiny and requirement of higher capital as well.
The verdict is a major breakthrough for Steven Kandarian, Chief Executive at MetLife. Kandarian said "Today's ruling validates MetLife's decision to seek judicial review. From the beginning, MetLife has said that its business model does not pose a threat to the financial stability of the United States."
Forbes further adds that MetLife's win against US Dodd Frank Act will reverberate throughout the US economy. Some banking and insurance analysts say that the US government should ensure the reduction of risk, while identifying which organization is fit for the systemically important financial institution tag. Without leverage and the maturity transformation of reserve, one can't say that an organization will fail owing to its larger size. However, the Obama government has criticized the ruling and may appeal.
US Fed Chair Janet Yellen, and Jack Lew, US Treasury Secretary, are the members of FSOC. A Treasury spokesman said "We strongly disagree with the court's decision. We are confident that FSOC's determination was lawful and will continue to defend the council's designations process vigorously."
Some economists term the US court verdict as a surprise. The Washington court rejected FSOC's attempt to tag the SIFI status to MetLife. SIFI tag is subject to more regulations by Federal Reserve.
Some opine that SIFI shouldn't simply be given to an organization just considering how big it is. For instance, Apple has a lot of money. Vanguard has over $3 trillion under management as against $878 billion of assets by MetLife. Economists suggest that the financial distress of a company that damages broader financial system should be taken into consideration for deciding on the SIFIstatus, as reported by Bloomberg view.
Washington District court found FSOC had acted unlawfully by giving MetLife an amnesty. The latest decision favoring MetLife had pushed its share price upwards, soaring over five percent.
Charles River Associates (CRA), has announced on Thursday expanding its finance practice based in Dallas through appointing James Massey as a vice president. Before joining to the global leader in rendering economic, financial and management consulting services, Mr. Massey has served a wide range of companies for 30 years.
The new vice president is experienced in rendering financial valuation as well as merger and acquisition advisory services. His client list covers S&P 500 companies, private equity firms, institutional investors, hedge funds and private equity firms. Mr. Massey has worked with clients across many sectors that includes energy, insurance, telecommunications, information technology and manufacturing/industrials, reports Business Wire.
Paul Maleh, President and Chief Executive Officer has expressed his pleasure in welcoming Mr. Massey to CRA. His financial valuation expertise and experience consulting to boards of directors, corporate clients and law firms, are expected to further strengthen CRA's Finance Practice offering, forecasts Yahoo Finance quoting Mr. Maleh.
Ever since Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister of India, investments from the US have been increasing and more over have surpassed China. The Barack Obama administration has announced that the US has increased investments in India outpacing the largest market globally. Robust Indian economy growth rate has been attracting more investments as well from the US.
The Barack Obama-led government that is outlining US policies and priorities for 2016 in South and Central Asia, has stated that much of the focus was on economic partnership. The robust growth of US investments in India was considered to be dramatic for some market observers. The US has made investments in India since May 2014, when the Narendra Modi-led NDA government has assumed charge in India, more than it put in the dragon country.
The Economic Times reports that 30 US companies invested $15 billion during the past 18 months in India. 50 more US firms are planning to invest in India to the tune of $27 billion by 2017. The foreign direct investment (FDI) from the US in India was estimated to be $28 billion in 2014. Cumulative FDI inflows into the country were $13.19 billion during April 2000 and September 2014, accounting six percent of the total FDI in India. The US is the sixth largest source of FDI for India, according to the data from US-India Business Council and US Bureau of Economic Analysis.0
Nisha Desai Biswal, US Assistant Secretary of State, said "The high-level engagements between our two countries since May of 2014 include six at the leader-level including the Nuclear Security Summit this week and we could well see more before the end of the administration."
India and China are leading in investments in renewable energy. Investments in solar power, wind power and other renewable energy capacities in developing nations have surpassed that in developed nations for the first time. Investments by developed countries fell eight percent to $130 billion as against $156 billion investments in developing countries during 2015, according to a report on 'Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2016' from United Nations (UN). China, India and Brazil have recorded a combined investment of $156 billion in renewable energy capacity in 2015, as reported by The Hindu.
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the US in September 2014. During Modi's US visit, an India-US Investment initiative was conceived with a greater focus on FDI, portfolio management, capital market development and infrastructure. US-India Infrastructure Collaboration Platform has been created with an objective of accessing North America's technology to meet India's infrastructure requirements.
Time further adds that the encouraging economic growth of India has positioned the South Asian nation beating China and the US to emerge as top global destination for FDI in Greenfield projects. According to the data from fDi Markets, a part of Financial Times, India recorded investments $3 billion higher than China and $ 4billion more than the US for Greenfield projects. The total FDI in Greenfield projects was $30 billion by June 2015.
India stood on the top position among top-10 in attracting investments in renewable energy sector. Investments in renewable energy sector rose 22 percent to $10.2 billion. US, Japan, UK, Brazil, South Africa, Mexico and Chile were among other top-10 nations in investments during 2015.
SHARE Contributed photo/Forrest Frields Photography Molly Rockey of Newbury Park, the spiritual leader of Unity of the Oaks Church in Thousand Oaks.
There are a thousand ways to pray. As a child, I was taught to kneel at my bedside for morning and evening prayers.
My grandmother, Effie, sat in a cozy little pink and cream upholstered chair to pray. That chair became my mother's in 1990.
In 2013, when my mother moved on from this life, I asked my brothers and sisters if I could take Gramma's chair home with me and all six of them said, "yes." It has become my special place to meditate and pray in the early morning.
As I sit in my prayer chair. I often think of all the people around the world who are praying with me as the sun rises.
I smile as I envision Zen monasteries with young men in orange robes and shaved heads sitting upright, stilling their minds. I bless all the people praying through their yoga practices, stretching their spines and hearts, reaching up into the new day, bending forward with arms wide open, bowing with reverence to the one God who has over 900 names. I remember the whirling dervishes in Istanbul, their prayers spiraling through the air.
I think of my Muslim brothers and sisters settling in and focusing on their first of five devout prayer sessions of the day. I feel the Catholic Masses beginning, the rising up as the priest enters and begins to pray.
I remember how in Jewish homes, where ritual turns the everyday into the sacred, children say their morning prayers in Hebrew. The African missionary sisters are whispering, "Spirit of God in the finger of morning, fill the earth, bring it to birth and blow where You will."
The Sioux chant, "Grandfather Great Spirit, fill us with the light, give us the strength to understand, and the eyes to see. Teach us to walk the soft Earth as relatives to all that live."
The Lord's Prayer circles the globe. Hindus are chanting. Prayer flags are waving. Bells are ringing and choirs are singing. Prayers are being walked on mountain paths and rise up in the smoke of incense, are written in journals, read on the Internet, listened to with ear buds, filling the universe with light and love.
My soul and Irish DNA soak up the words of John O'Donohue in his poem "Morning Offering."
"All that is eternal in me welcomes the wonder of this day, the field of brightness it creates, offering time for each thing to arise and illuminate."
What I love so much about the teachings of unity, is the special bond we have with Jesus' loving, healing message, as we also embrace universal truth teachings from all faiths. For us it is "One God, many paths." Daily I feel in my heart Jesus speaking in Matthew 18:20, "For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them." Each morning as I sit in my grandmother's and mother's chair and feel the two of them, the three of us with Jesus, I gather all the parts of my life together in prayer.
In morning's first light I connect with the prayers that fill our planet in so many diverse ways, in many languages, blessing the peacemakers, tenderly holding the homeless, hungry, imprisoned and all those that are frightened.
I hear around me a crowd of souls affirming, "May all beings everywhere be happy and free, and may the thoughts, words, and actions of my own life contribute in some way to that happiness and to that freedom for all."
The Rev. Molly Rockey is the spiritual leader of Unity of the Oaks in Thousand Oaks. Our daily devotional is The Daily Word, and our 24 hour a day prayer line, Silent Unity, is available by dialing 800-NOW-PRAY. Visit the Unity of the Oaks website at www.unityoftheoaks.org or call 496-6901. The Conejo Valley Interfaith Association meets monthly and welcomes clergy and representatives of all religious faiths.
CHUCK KIRMAN/THE STAR Anastasia Hernandez and Kenneth Yamada, criminal justice students at Moorpark College, investigate a mock crime scene. They were photographing, identifying and collecting evidence.
SHARE CHUCK KIRMAN/THE STAR Criminal justice students from Moorpark College investigate a mock crime scene in a sealed-off area of the campus. CHUCK KIRMAN/THE STAR Moorpark college students in the criminal justice class at Moorpark College investigate a mock crime scene Thursday. CHUCK KIRMAN/THE STAR Student actor Eric Yu is handcuffed at a mock crime scene as criminal justice students at Moorpark College investigate. CHUCK KIRMAN/THE STAR A mock crime scene is set up at Moorpark College as criminal justice students investigate.
By Alicia Doyle, Special to The Star
Who killed Manny Quinn?
Was it his wife? His mistress? Was it a drug deal gone wrong?
These questions and more were posed to criminal justice students Thursday at Moorpark College, where a fake crime scene was staged outdoors near the flagpole between Fountain Hall and the administration building.
"It's a murder investigation," said Nick Zingo, a criminal justice professor at the college and a retired captain with the Los Angeles Police Department.
About 45 students in Zingo's class, working in teams of five and six, were given 30 minutes to process the mock crime scene, where a mannequin with a fake bullet in its head was slumped on a park bench.
Over the next few weeks, the information the students gathered at the site will be compiled in a "murder book" that will be graded in May and will count for 30 percent of their overall grade.
"With a crime scene, they have to deal with security, evidence and listening to what witnesses are saying," Zingo said. "They have to think on their feet, and there are a lot of things they need to think about."
The scenario, acted out by drama arts students, featured Quinn's mistress, his wife, the town drunk and members of the media who intentionally breached the police tape surrounding the crime scene. They were questioned by the criminal justice students the same way witnesses would be questioned by police in a real crime.
"We have the body, a kilo of dope which is baking soda shell casings, and a fake gun hidden in the bushes," Zingo said. "We have evidence for them to find, but they have to look for it; they have to be innovative. The goal is to secure the crime scene, locate evidence and interview witnesses so they can put together what happened to Manny Quinn."
Anastasia Hernandez, a junior majoring in criminal justice, said her biggest challenge was dealing with the difficult personalities of fake witnesses, including a belligerent man who had intended to buy a kilo of cocaine from Quinn a role played to perfection by a student actor.
"Him yelling at me and trying to come in and out of the crime scene was challenging," said Hernandez, 21, of Simi Valley. "He was testing me, but you have to learn to keep your cool and follow through with your procedures."
Stephanie Vilchis, who is also majoring in criminal justice, agreed.
"I knew it wasn't real but at the same time I knew I should take it seriously and it made me a little nervous," said Vilchis, 21, of Simi Valley. "This helped me learn how to keep myself composed."
The student actors had the chance to hone their improvisational skills, including Mikki Benjamin, a theater major who portrayed Quinn's wife.
"Nick gave us the scenario and told us this is what your character knows. It really tests your improv skills because you have the information but it's not a set script," said Benjamin, 18, of Simi Valley. "It's great to learn how to get into a character so well you can answer anything."
Michelle Harris, 20, portrayed Quinn's mistress.
"I've always wanted to be in a 'who done it,' and I love murder mysteries," said Harris, a theater major who lives in West Hills. "It's an awesome experience being the actor and performing in a very different way. These students are future detectives as much as I may be a future actress."
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By Staff Reports
The Ventura Police Department will host two drug awareness community meetings this month for residents concerned about crime, safety and prevention efforts, officials said.
During these meetings, Street Crimes Detectives will be providing an in-depth presentation on the state of drug use and its effects, as well as raise awareness of drug abuse in all segments of society.
The first meeting will be held from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. April 13 in the Community Meeting room of City Hall located at 501 Poli Street. The second meeting will be held from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. April 21 at the Ventura Police Department located at 1425 Dowell Drive.
Those who plan on attending either meeting are asked to RSVP to Ashley Bautista at abautista@venturapd.org or 339-4317.
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After dozens of contests featuring cliffhangers, buzzer- beaters and a ton of flagrant fouls, we're down to the Final Four: Sanders, Clinton, Cruz and Trump. (If Kasich pulls a miracle, he'll get his own column.) The world wants to know: What are their foreign policies?
Herewith, four candidates and four schools: pacifist, internationalist, unilateralist and mercantilist.
(1) Bernie Sanders, pacifist.
His pacifism is part swords-into-plowshares utopianism, part get-thee-gone isolationism. Emblematic was the Nov. 14 Democratic debate which was supposed to focus on the economy but occurred the day after the Paris massacre. Sanders objected to starting the debate with a question about Paris. He did not prevail, however, and answered the first question with some anti-terror pablum that immediately gave way to an impassioned attack on his usual "handful of billionaires."
Sanders boasts of voting against the Iraq War. But he also voted against the 1991 Gulf War. His reaction to all such dilemmas is the same anti-imperialist/pacifist reflex: Stay away, but if we must get involved, let others lead.
That's for means. As for ends, Sanders' foreign policy objectives are invariably global and universal, beginning above all with climate change. The rest is foreign-policy-as-social-work do-goodism, most especially undoing the work of U.S. imperialism.
Don't be surprised if President Sanders hands Guantanamo Bay over to the Castros, although Alaska looks relatively safe for now.
Closest historical analog: George McGovern.
(2) Hillary Clinton, internationalist.
The "Clinton/Obama" foreign policy from Ukraine to Iran to the South China Sea has been a demonstrable failure. But in trying to figure out what President Clinton would do in the future, we need to note that she often gave contrary advice, generally more assertive and aggressive than President Obama's, that was overruled, most notably, keeping troops in Iraq beyond 2011 and early arming of the Syrian rebels.
The Libya adventure was her grand attempt at humanitarian interventionism. She's been chastened by the disaster that followed.
Her worldview is traditional, post-Vietnam liberal internationalism America as the indispensable nation, but consciously restraining its exercise of power through multilateralism and near-obsessive legalism.
Closest historical analog: the Bill Clinton foreign policy of the 1990s.
(3) Ted Cruz, unilateralist.
The most aggressive of the three contenders thus far. Wants post-Cold War U.S. leadership restored. Is prepared to take risks and act alone when necessary. Pledges to tear up the Iran deal, cement the U.S.-Israel alliance and carpet bomb the Islamic State.
Overdoes it with "carpet" it implies Dresden although it was likely just an attempt at rhetorical emphasis. He's of the school that will not delay action while waiting on feckless allies or farcical entities like the U.N.
Closest analog: Ronald Reagan.
(4) Donald Trump, mercantilist.
He promises to make America strong, for which, he explains, he must first make America rich. Treating countries like companies, he therefore promises to play turnaround artist for a foreign policy that is currently a hopeless money-losing operation in which our allies take us for fools and suck us dry.
You could put the Sanders, Clinton and Cruz foreign policies on a recognizable ideological spectrum, left to right. But not Trump's. It inhabits a different space because it lacks any geopolitical coherence. It's all about money. He sees no particular purpose for allies or foreign bases. They are simply a financial drain.
Imperial Spain roamed and ravaged the world in search of gold. Trump advocates a kinder, gentler form of wealth transfer from abroad, though equally gold-oriented.
Thus, if Japan and South Korea don't pony up more money for our troops stationed there, we go home. The possible effects on the balance of power in the Pacific Rim or on Chinese hegemonic designs don't enter into the equation.
Same for NATO. If those free-riding European leeches don't give us more money too, why stick around? Concerns about tempting Russian ambitions and/or aggression are nowhere in sight.
The one exception to this singular focus on foreign policy as a form of national enrichment is the Islamic State. Trump's goal is simple "bomb the s out of them." Yet even here he can't quite stifle his mercantilist impulses, insisting that after crushing the Islamic State, he'll keep their oil. Whatever that means.
Closest historical analog: King Philip II of Spain (1556-1598).
On Jan. 20, one of these four contenders will be sworn in as president. And one of these four approaches to the world will become the foreign policy of the United States.
Don't say you weren't warned.
Charles Krauthammer's email address is letterscharleskrauthammer.com.
In celebration of the one-year anniversary of Eyecandy Sound Lounge & Bar, Mandalay Bay, in conjunction with SpyOnVegas, presents famed hip-hop artist Tone Loc Wednesday, November 12. Tone Loc will take the stage at 11 p.m. to perform his popular hits including Wild Thing, Funky Cold Medina, I Got It Goin On and All Through the Night.
The exceptional event will feature a complimentary cocktail made with Snow Queen Vodka that will be served from 6 8 p.m. Resident DJ Presto One will keep the energy pumping as he spins the hottest in club party beats. Scantily dressed ladies of Snow Queen Vodka and Perrier Jouet Champagne will seduce the crowd while a roaming magician will entertain guests with his sleight-of-hand tricks.
Tone Loc first gained popularity with the release of his album Locd After Dark (1989), which spawned his wildly popular singles Wild Thing and Funky Cold Medina. In 1991, Tone Loc released his follow up album Cool Hand Loc with the single All Through the Night. Tone Loc also has made appearances in such films as Poetic Justice and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and lent his voice to animated films such as FernGully: The Last Rainforest and Bebes Kids.
Located in the center of Mandalay Bays casino floor, eyecandy sound lounge & bar features technology that redefines the Las Vegas nightlife experience. Featuring high-tech twists on the classic cocktail lounge, eyecandy combines interactive touch tables and a dance floor with an ever-changing landscape.
Hip-hip star Sean Kingston pumped up the crowd with an epic performance in honor of rugby weekend last night at Chateau Nightclub & Rooftop at Paris Las Vegas (Pictured: Sean Kingston and DJ Shadow Red Photo credit: Chateau Nightclub).
Photo credit: Chateau Nightclub.
The artist arrived at the club with a group of friends shortly after 1 a.m., sporting black jersey with an oversized white gold necklace complemented by a matching watch and ring. Accompanying Kingston was record producer and Love and Hip-Hop star, Mally Mall.
Photo credit: Chateau Nightclub.
Kingston wowed the audience with his performance, and even jumped atop the DJ booth to get the crowd going. After the performance, the artist showed appreciation for all his fans and the USA Sevens Rugby players before he made his way to a VIP booth, where he partied the night away under the iconic Eiffel Tower.
Kingston, best known for his hit songs, Beautiful Girls, Fire Burning and Back 2 Life, recently released a brand new single, Thank Me. The track was introduced just last week as part of his upcoming album, Redemption.
Motley Brews has teamed up with Las Vegas most inspired chefs to create an unmatched culinary experience for the 2016 Great Vegas Festival of Beer (GVFB), scheduled to take over the streets of Downtown Las Vegas on Saturday, April 9 from 3 to 7 p.m. (Photo credit: Fred Morledge / PhotoFM).
In addition to sampling 400 brews, festival goers can purchase craft beer-inspired dishes from more than a dozen of Las Vegas most revered restaurants and food trucks inside the Gastropub, including Cantina Laredo, Cousins Maine Lobster, D.O.C.G., Dragon Grille, Gals Hot Dogs, Glutton, Good & SLO, MTO Cafe, Pot Liquor, Sausagefest, Stripchezze, TruckUBarbeque and Urban Turban.
We believe that the quality of the craft beer offerings at Great Vegas should be a catalyst to the events broader experience, said Brian Chapin, founder of Motley Brews. With every great beer there is a great dish to pair. Weve seen tremendous growth in the popularity of craft beer and culinary integration, and the Great Vegas Festival of Beer brings some fantastic dishes inspired by and sometimes infused with some of the best craft beer selections in the nation.
New to this years festival, Chef Joshua Clark of The Goodwich will team up with Chef Justin Kingsley Hall of SLO-Boy to create Good & SLO, a special collaboration specifically for the Great Vegas Festival of Beer with menu items including Beyond Raimi, a coal-roasted pastrami and the ale-braised chicken, dubbed the Banh Scott.
As mouthwatering smells fill the streets of Downtown Las Vegas, guests can enjoy a variety of dishes, including Cousins Maine Lobsters Maine Lobster Roll, Connecticut Lobster Roll and Lobster Tots; D.O.C.Gs The Burger; Dragon Grilles Dragon Fries and Asian Tacos; Gluttons Beer Cheese & Pretzel Chips; MTO Cafes Hen House and Fat Elvis; Pot Liquors classic Carolina Pulled Pork Sandwich; Stripchezzes Hangover Beer Cheese made with CraftHaus beer; Sausagefests Vegetarian Sausage; TruckUBarbeques Smoked Brisket Dip; and Urban Turbans vegetarian Lemon & Herb BBQ Mushrooms.
Bringing the VIP Brewers Lounge to the next level, VIP ticketholders have the exclusive opportunity to sample dishes from Las Vegas world class chefs, Geno Bernardo of Herringbone and Stephen LaSala of Searsucker. Prepared with fresh ingredients provided by Whole Foods Market, the dishes include spring lamb straight off the rotisserie, oyster shooters on ice and poke on a bed of kelp noodles and cucumber salad.
Tourists relax on a beach on Cu Lao Cham
Cu Lao Cham comprises eight islands of different sizes with each having a different feature and thus creating a picturesque view.
It takes around 25 minutes to travel from the shore to Cu Lao Cham. When the boat comes closer to the archipelago, tourists can see primitive forests and a lot of coconut trees. Upon arrival, they can see a market near the quay selling seafood, forest vegetables and herbal medicines.
The island is home to more than 600 households with over 3,000 residents, who mostly earn a living by catching fish and vending goods.
Recognized as a world biosphere reserve by UNESCO in 2009, the archipelago has many rare and valuable flora and fauna species and historical sites connected to the development in the past of the commercial port town of Hoi An.
Tourists to Cu Lao Cham can drop by Hai Tang Pagoda, the ancient well of Cham ethnic people in Tan Hiep Commune, the temple to worship whales and the temple to worship the first people whose job was to collect birds nests on the island. They can also choose to explore the beauty of caves, islets and streams.
The gate of Hai Tang Pagoda
The ecological reserve area of Cu Lao Cham is near the quay. The place displays and preserves specimens of flora and fauna found on the island, including 499 plant species, 188 coral species, over 200 fish species and especially, long-tailed macaque and apodidae bird, which are listed in the Vietnam Red Book.
Hai Tang is an ancient pagoda without monks. It is now home to an old couple named Le Mai and Ly Thi Thanh, who make medicines from herbs and sell them to local residents. Visitors to the pagoda will be served tea prepared from forest leaves.
Around two kilometers from the pagoda is a fishing village where tourists can watch women weaving hammocks. Nguyen Thi Muon, a 90-year-old woman, has been making hammocks for sale for the past 70 years. She said hammocks are made from the bark of plane trees and it takes as long as three months to finish one. The old woman can only make a couple of hammocks a year and sell them at VND1.2 million (US$53.6) apiece.
What makes Cu Lao Cham worth visiting is its beautiful beaches where sand is white and seawater is crystal clear.
Chong is the most beautiful and pristine beach on Cu Lao Cham. There, tourists can see colorful coral reefs, schools of fish and starfishes, and rocks standing on top of one another.
Tourists can buy fresh seafood from local fishermen and ask restaurants nearby to prepare delicious dishes.
British Prime Minister David Cameron leaves 10 Downing Street in London on Mar 21, 2016. (Photo: AFP/Justin Tallis)
LONDON: Prime Minister David Cameron held crisis talks on Thursday (Mar 31) to salvage Britain's steel industry after Indian giant Tata Steel said it was putting its troubled British business up for sale, threatening 15,000 jobs.
The sale throws into doubt the future of an industry that fuelled British industrialisation and helped build its empire.
Tata's decision notably puts at risk Britain's biggest steel plant at Port Talbot in the former industrial heartland of south Wales. The facility is Wales's biggest single employer and closure would have a devastating impact on the local economy.
While Cameron said "I don't believe nationalisation is the right answer" to protect the steel industry - hit by plunging prices triggered by cheap imports from China - he vowed to explore all options to help find a new buyer after Tata's announcement on Wednesday.
"Those jobs are vital to workers' families, vital to those communities and the government will do everything it can working with the company to try and secure the future of steelmaking in Port Talbot and across our country," Cameron said after meeting ministers following his early return from holiday.
Port Talbot, a central part of the Welsh economy since 1901, is reportedly losing 1 million (1.3 million, US$1.4 million) a day in the face of high energy costs and plunging prices caused by a chronic global oversupply of steel.
"Everyone either works in Tata or knows somebody who does," said Christina Rees, a local MP for the main opposition Labour party. "For every job lost at Tata, four others will be affected in the local communities."
LITTLE CHANCE OF FINDING BUYER
Metal processing company Liberty House said it was looking at some of Tata's British assets but the group's president Sanjeev Gupta suggested it was more interested in processing plants rather than production facilities like Port Talbot.
Analysts warned Tata would struggle to offload the production plants, of which there are three in total.
"They are not going to find a buyer, because they would ask for substantial help and if they (the government) were ready to give such help, then they would have rather helped Tata," Mohan Sodhi from the Cass Business School at London's City University told AFP.
The government has been accused of turning a blind eye to Chinese dumping of steel on world markets in order to secure wider investment in Britain's economy. It rolled out the red carpet for China President Xi Jinping during a state visit last year while opposing EU plans to impose higher tariffs on Chinese steel.
"It is galling that the UK government ... has continued to block these changes in the EU - leaving the steel industry on its knees," said Gareth Stace, director of UK Steel. "The government must support the lifting of the lesser duty rule, otherwise steel manufacturing will be lost in the UK."
Compared to the United States EU import tariffs on Chinese steel imports are low, including a 16-per cent duty on Chinese cold-rolled steel, against a 236-per cent tariff by the US.
Britain is holding a tightly-fought referendum on its membership of the European Union on Jun 23.
Nigel Farage, leader of the anti-EU UK Independence Party, said the situation in Port Talbot showed that a vote to remain in the EU would mean the end of Britain's steel industry. But Cameron said it showed Britain needed to be in Europe "making sure the markets are open".
'TOTAL DISARRAY'
The steel industry's woes are the latest chapter in the demise of Britain's once-proud heavy industry in traditionally working-class regions in Scotland, Wales and the north of England.
Britain accounted for 40 per cent of the world's steel production in 1875, exporting to its empire and the United States with the northern city of Sheffield a world leader.
The industry dwindled as it lost foreign and domestic share to cheaper rivals and it has since become a politically-charged lightning rod for Britain's industrial policy.
It was nationalised by Labour in 1949, privatised by the Conservatives in 1952, nationalised by Labour in 1967 and then privatised by the Conservatives in 1987.
The government has come under fire over its response, with Labour MP Stephen Kinnock accusing it of being in "total disarray."
Business Secretary Sajid Javid was due to visit Port Talbot on Friday after having cut short a trade visit to Australia while finance minister George Osborne raised the issue with other finance ministers during talks in Paris.
Police officers gather outside the Greyhound Bus Station in Richmond, Virginia, after a shooting inside the terminal. (Photo source: Dean Hoffmeyer/Richmond Times-Dispatch via AP)
WASHINGTON: A suspected gunman has died after a shooting at a bus station in the US state of Virginia on Thursday (Mar 31) that injured three people, police said.
The suspect died in a hospital following the mid-afternoon incident in Richmond, Virginia, State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said in a statement.
A trooper he allegedly shot at the city's Greyhound bus station has been hospitalised with life-threatening injuries, she added. Two civilians were also hurt in the incident but were expected to survive. Witnesses said that police cars and ambulances rushed to the station.
Geller said the suspect pulled out a firearm when approached by the trooper and proceeded to shoot the officer. Two other troopers nearby returned fire.
Greyhound said it was closing the station until further notice and was cooperating with authorities as they investigate what happened.
Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe said in a statement that he had been in contact with the mayor of Richmond and the head of the Virginia State Police and offered any resources needed to respond to the situation.
Virginia has laws favorable to carrying guns and the National Rifle Association, the powerful pro-gun lobby, is based in the state.
The logo of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) at the organisation's headquarters in Washington, DC. (Photo: AFP/File/Saul Loeb)
WASHINGTON: Facing slowing growth in the global economy, the International Monetary Fund on Thursday (Mar 31) called for policies that support research and development to promote innovation.
"Fiscal policy can play an important role in stimulating innovation through its effects on research and development (R&D), entrepreneurship, and technology transfer," the IMF said in a report ahead of its twice-yearly meeting in Washington in April.
Among its recommendations, the IMF estimated that businesses in advanced economies should invest 40 per cent more in R&D on average than they do currently, which could in the long run increase the gross domestic product of their respective countries by 5.0 per cent, and in turn boost growth in the global economy through technology transfers.
Innovation is also a way to improve productivity amid concerns "that the global economy may be trapped in an era of mediocre growth," the report said.
"The slow growth in total factor productivity (TFP) is particularly worrisome," it said, referring to the part of output than cannot be explained by the amount of inputs, typically labor and capital, used in production.
Slow growth in TFP "explains a significant part of the overall decline in potential growth since the early 2000s in advanced economies, and more recently in emerging-market economies," warned the IMF, calling for structural reforms in labor and product markets.
According to IMF data, only 13 countries have R&D spending that is above 2.0 per cent of GDP: Australia, Denmark, Estonia, France, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Japan, South Korea, Switzerland, Sweden, the United States and French Guiana, an overseas department of France in norther South America.
Targeted budget policies may help to offset periods of weak economic growth when businesses encounter more difficulties in financing, the 188-nation institution said.
IMF experts highlighted that tax incentives for intellectual property rights, known in Europe as "box regimes," have mixed outcomes in promoting innovation and R&D.
Introduced in Ireland in the 1970s, box regimes have been adopted by 13 European countries, notably France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Britain. They are currently under discussion in the United States and India, the IMF said.
But, according to the institution's experts, they act more as a way for countries to attract revenues from patents, copyrights and trademarks than to encourage applications for intellectual property rights protection, thus innovation.
The IMF studied the impact of box regimes in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain and concluded there was no effect on R&D spending in France and Spain, while gains were seen in Belgium and the Netherlands. It cited differences in design of the box regimes as a cause of the mixed results.
Overall, the IMF said, box regimes are not an efficient way to spur R&D in part because of potential "significant" foregone tax revenues from intellectual property.
This is the third consecutive year that the Korean guitar prodigy has made a performance tour in Vietnam.
Being an excellent representative for the fingerstyle guitar genre, the 20-year-old lad from the Republic of Korea will bring forth a new, young, refined, emotional musical atmosphere with his own compositions and arrangements.
Fingersyle a new genre of solo guitar music in Vietnam, has been thriving in recent years. One simple way of describing this genre is that with only a single guitar a performer can play as if he is an entire band. Fingerstyle brings about a whole new perspective for the acoustic guitar and is currently drawing attention for the guitar-music genre from our community.
Sungha Jung has collaborated with many famous artist, not only the Republic of Korea but also over the world as well: 2NE1, G-Dragon, Kotaro Oshio, Trace Bundy, Andy McKee, Tommy Emanuel, Jason Mraz and others and had his own tour in many country: France, America, Denmark, Poland, Singapore, Japan, Thailand, China
Sungha Jung has been known and admired by Vietnamese audiences mainly for his songs on Youtube within 10 years so far. He is also the first foreign fingerstyle guitarist to perform in Vietnam.
The water flow running into the reservoirs in the region was too low, affecting electricity production in the region and irrigation. - Photo tienphong
The plants forced to halt production are Ia rang 1, Ia Lop, Ia Puch 3 and Ia Meur 3.
Other plants have had to cut production, running between two and three hours a day.
According to the Gia Lai Electricity Joint Stock Company, the company will examine and repair equipment with the plants are out of operation.
The company will also focus on dredging canals and spillways.
The water flow running into the reservoirs in the region was too low, affecting electricity production in the region and irrigation.
Most of the reservoirs have water levels five metres below the average volume in previous years. Some of them have been depleted, causing difficulties for the plants.
The plants have produced between 30 and 64 per cent of the electricity they produced in the same period last year.
Meanwhile, a report from the National Electricity Moderation Centre showed that 15 out of 51 plants left the competitive power generation market as of March 11. Hydropower plants have to prioritise to provide water for agricultural production and peoples lives in downstream areas.
Dozens of hydroelectric plants in the Central and Central Highlands regions, including those with large capacities such as Ham Thuan and Buon Tua Srah, have been running in moderation or have stopped generating electricity due to the drought.
The existing drought in the Central Highlands is expected to continue until June this year, so power generation will decrease even more as the water shortage continues.
Ngo Thi Minh Uoc, 57, will face four years behind bars while her two accomplices Nguyen Thi Tri, 58, and Nguyen Thi Be Hai, 57, will serve three years each for anti-state propaganda, under Article 88 of the Penal Code.
The sentence also included two to three years of probation and the loss of certain civil rights after the convicts complete their time in prison.
According to the case file, the women decided to carry out several illegal protests in retaliation for not receiving the anticipated response of local authorities to the issues regarding their land ownership.
Under the directions of Uoc, the three made three large flags and 51 small flags, along with banners, featuring anti-government content.
Some of the materials compared the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam with that of other political institutions in a libelous and slanderous tone.
On July 7, 2014, the trio waved their flags and banners while shouting propaganda against the state in front of the Reunification Palace and the Consulate General of the United States in Ho Chi Minh City, demanding the establishment of a new state.
After being notified and arresting the suspects, police officers carried out a search of their residences, discovering two other posters with anti-state content written in English.
Uoc, Tri, and Hai pled guilty at their trial, acknowledging their wrongdoings in the hope of a reduced sentence.
Nguyen Dinh Ngoc at his trial at the Ho Chi Minh City Peoples Court on March 30, 2016.
Photo: Tuoi Tre
In another case, 50-year-old Nguyen Dinh Ngoc, residing in District 7, Ho Chi Minh City, was condemned to four years in jail for similar conviction.
According to the indictment, Ngocs internet provider sent a document to local authorities in December 2014, reporting that the defendant had used its service to post anti-government content.
The case file showed that Ngoc had published some 22 pieces of writing on several blogs and forums, distorting and slandering the Vietnamese Party and state, after quitting his job at Ho Chi Minh City Television.
Speaking at his trial, the offender said that he committed the violations due to his dissatisfaction with several issues regarding leaders of the Party, state, and government.
As the defendant has no criminal record, has a grandmother who is a Vietnamese heroic mother, and his father has been a Party member for over 50 years, the jury decided that Ngoc would only serve four years in prison.
He will also have to spend three years of probation in his neighborhood.
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, Donald Trump participates in a CNN town hall with Anderson Cooper in the historic Riverside Theatre, Tuesday, March 29, 2016, in Milwaukee, Wis. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Technology and healthcare have always gone hand in hand, and with the health of the world in crisis at the moment through the
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Thursday that the current wave of violence against Israelis would be a lot worse if Palestinian soldiers had not intervened.
"Our security forces go into the schools to search pupils' bags and see if they have knives. You don't know this," Abbas told Israel's Channel 2 television. He said in one school, soldiers found 70 Palestinian boys and girls carrying knives.
"We took the knives and spoke to them and said, 'This is a mistake. We do not want you to kill and be killed. We want you to live and for the other side to live as well.' "
Abbas said the violence was being caused by what he said was a lack of trust and faith in a two-state solution for peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
He said he was willing to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "at any time" and that the violence would stop if peace talks resumed.
More than six months of Palestinian violence in Israel, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank has killed 28 Israelis, two Americans and an Eritrean. At least 188 Palestinians have died at the hands of Israeli police and soldiers while trying to stab Israelis or run them over with cars.
Israel has accused Palestinian leaders of inciting young Palestinians to riot and not speaking out forcefully enough against the violence.
Brazilian prosecutors have charged Joseph Safra, the worlds richest banker, in connection with an alleged scheme to reduce or waive fines on back taxes.
Prosecutors said in a statement Thursday that Safra knew about a 2014 plan by executives at Banco Safra to pay more than $4 million in bribes to government officials.
Bank executive Joao Inacio Puga, who allegedly negotiated the bribe-payment scheme, was also charged, based on recorded conversation with tax officials.
The statement said that Safra was not directly involved in the bribery negotiations, but the conversation showed that Puga reported to Safra on the scheme.
Banco Safra said in a statement that the charges filed by the Federal Prosecutors Office were unfounded, adding that the Safra Group did not offer any bribe to tax auditors and did not receive any benefits.
Safra's wealth is estimated at about $18 billion by Forbes magazine.
The military hospital in Cameroon's capital, Yaounde, is overwhelmed with wounded Cameroon and Chadian troops of the regional force currently working to rout Boko Haram from its strongholds in Nigeria and border areas. The hospital has a capacity of 200 beds, but about two times the number are seeking medical attention there.
Martin Chengwa says he collapsed after six members of his 10-person unit were killed during raids on the town of Achgachia that straddles the border with Nigeria. The 26-year-old Cameroonian soldier was rushed to the military hospital in Yaounde.
"I have a problem of just confusion because I saw some of my friends that were dead but now I am okay. I am still hoping to go back. I have been here since December, he said.
Wounded Chadian and Cameroonian soldiers
He comes here for check-ups two times a week. This hospital takes in Chadian and Cameroonian soldiers wounded in the regional fight against Boko Haram. The Nigerian militant group began carrying out attacks in Cameroon, Niger and Chad last year.
Chadian soldier Nagash Salim is here recovering from a fractured arm and an amputated leg.
He says he remembers he got shot near his chest in a Boko Haram ambush in Limani on Cameroon's border with Nigeria. He says he is surprised he is still alive.
The hospital has less than 200 beds, but more than 400 military personnel and civilians are being treated here.
Government to cover bills
Cameroonian soldier Derick Langmie says when they complained the hospital is overwhelmed, the defense minister visited to encourage them and promised that the government would settle all of their hospital bills.
"He talked much that we should have courage," he said. "My accident occurred in a place called Walash after we attacked. Two days after the attacked, my illness occurred. My treatment began from Mora [and] Maroua, and today I am in Yaounde."
Cameroon's defense minister, Joseph Beti Assomo, says soldiers whose conditions are deemed non-life-threatening have been asked to go home, returning for appointments with specialists as needed.
He says the wounded troops are proud of the work they have done and have high morale. He says they are even asking to go back to the front after their treatment. He says he has given firm instructions to hospital staff to take special care of the soldiers.
The regional four-nation force counts nearly 10,000 men. Their efforts have chased Boko Haram out of many towns of villages, but continued use of landmines and suicide bombings by insurgents have kept casualties high.
A top Cameroonian military commander says a new operation launched this week and code-named Tentacle aims to flush Boko Haram out of one the group's key remaining strongholds, the Sambisa forest. The general, Jacob Kodji, said the operation involves thousands of Cameroonian and Nigerian troops working on both sides of the border.
The United Nations Security Council could vote as early as Friday on a
French-drafted resolution that would request options for a U.N. police deployment to Burundi, diplomats said, but it was not clear if it had the support of the United States.
Council diplomats said on condition of anonymity that the United States, which has veto power as a permanent member of the council, was unhappy with vague language that asks the U.N. to work with the government of Burundi in the areas of disarmament, security and rule of law.
The United States is concerned about linking the United Nations efforts to broker peace in Burundi with the country's security forces, who have been accused of human rights abuses, one council diplomat said.
The United Nations said in January it has documented cases of Burundi's security forces gang-raping women during searches of opposition supporters' houses and heard witness testimony of mass graves.
France has asked China, the Security Council president for April, to schedule a vote on the draft resolution on Friday.
Burundi has been embroiled in political violence since President Pierre Nkurunziza said last April he would seek a third term, which his opponents said was illegal. Since then, at least 439 people have been killed and more than 250,000 have fled.
The United Nations is under growing pressure to show it can halt the bloodshed in Burundi more than two decades after the 1994 genocide of ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus by the Hutu majority in neighboring Rwanda. Rwanda and Burundi have a similar ethnic makeup.
In January, the 15-member Security Council made its second visit to the landlocked state in less than a year, where fears of an ethnic war have also led to an economic crisis. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also visited in February.
The draft council resolution would ask Ban, in consultation with the Burundi government and coordination with the African Union, to present options within 15 days for the deployment of a U.N. police contribution to increase U.N. capacity "to monitor the security situation, promote the respect of human rights and advance rule of law."
Russia's Deputy U.N. Ambassador Petr Iliichev said there was no need to send U.N. police units to do the work of the Burundian police, but "any kind of assistance that the U.N. can provide will be more than welcome."
Burundi's U.N. ambassador, Albert Shingiro, said in February that any potential U.N. help would be limited to civilian assistance in the development, or "capacity building," of the police and monitoring the border with Rwanda.
On Monday, the European Union and Greece are scheduled to begin sending migrants, including Syrians, from the Greek Isles to Turkey under a deal reached two weeks ago between the Turkish government and the EU.
The agreement aims to ease Europe's migrant crisis, but human rights advocates and leftists in Europe have protested the deal, saying it arises from xenophobia. Nationalists and others on the continent are also condemning it, saying it does little to stop the arrival of migrants and will, in effect, open up new channels for them to enter.
European Council officials say authorities will begin putting those deemed to be new, irregular migrants on ferries to Turkey as scheduled Monday as part of a deal that grants Turkey more than $3 billion in aid, eases visa restrictions for Turkish nationals, and opens new possibilities for Turkey to join the European Union.
For every Syrian refugee returned to Turkish territory, Turkey will send one Syrian refugee to the European Union for resettlement.
But the reality for thousands of migrants now living in camps on the islands of Lesbos and Chios is the prospect of never reaching Western Europe, where many hoped to build new lives far from the war and poverty they intended to escape.
'Trading human beings'
The deal has drawn strong criticism from human rights groups. Oxfam's migration policy head Sara Tesorieri said the agreement not only "fails to respect the spirit of international and EU laws, but may amount to trading human beings for political concessions."
Amnesty International and other groups say the migrants will be put in danger by being sent to Turkey, a country with a poor human rights record.
In their desperation to seal their borders, EU leaders have willfully ignored the simplest of facts: Turkey is not a safe country for Syrian refugees and is getting less safe by the day, John Dalhuisen, Amnesty Internationals director for Europe and Central Asia, said in a statement released Friday.
Last September, when photos showed the body of 3-year-old Syrian refugee Alan Kurdi washed up on a Turkish beach, Europeans rallied in support of helping the refugees. Seeing the slow responses of their governments, private citizens in Hungary, Austria and Germany showed up at camps and train stations with bags of donated clothes and food for the refugees.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel led calls for Europe to help deal with the crisis, pressing EU nations to accept quotas and absorb 160,000 new arrivals.
But the welcome turned quickly into suspicion and anxiety when migrant arrivals swelled to 1 million in 2015 alone. Sweden, long known for its liberal immigration policy, was overwhelmed by the influx and closed its doors, saying it would accept only the minimum number of people set by EU mandates.
Then came the terrorist attacks in Paris in November, and scenes of a mob of men including some migrants sexually assaulting German women in Cologne on New Year's Eve, fueling further anxiety among Europeans. That anxiety has only grown since the attacks in Brussels, which happened four days after the EU-Turkey agreement was reached.
"The heightened security concerns surrounding the Paris and Brussels attacks has understandably led to Europeans feeling far more uneasy about the migrant issue," Tom Wilson, a Middle East analyst at the Henry Jackson Society research organization in London, told VOA.
Knowledge that some of those involved in the attacks were known terrorist fighters who had reached Europe among the migrants, he said, "raises a lot of concerns about how European authorities appear to have lost control of monitoring who is actually entering the continent right now."
Slow start to deportations
The deportations from Greece are off to a slow start. Officials on Thursday told VOA many of the 2,300 EU security and migration officials who are supposed to help carry out the operation had yet to arrive in Greece. Observers expect the first ferry departures Monday will be largely symbolic and the vessels will be carrying mostly Pakistani men who are classified as economic migrants ineligible for asylum.
With a number of nations rebuffing Merkel's proposals for resettlement and governments acting swiftly to enact border control, the message that Europe is no longer open has spread home. The number of refugees arriving in Greece has dropped considerably, and officials say fewer than 5,000 migrants remain in camps in Greece.
Despite a provision in the agreement that bars those arriving after March 20 from applying for asylum, some have continued to make the dangerous journey. Of the 143,000 arriving in Greece this year, the International Organization for Migration says 460 have been killed.
In early March, at least 25 migrants drowned trying to reach Greece from Turkey. Their deaths only briefly made the news in Europe.
Diplomats and law enforcement officials say European security agencies are sharing more information and intelligence and doing it more quickly thanks in part to help from the United States.
Belgium has come under intense criticism for not doing enough to prevent last weeks bombings by Islamic State (IS) terrorists at the Zaventem airport and a metro station that killed more than 30 people and wounded hundreds more. There is a sense that the attack may have been what some counterterror analysts described as a long overdue wakeup call for European security agencies.
Its getting better, a Western diplomat told VOA on condition of anonymity, adding that there is still a very high level of concern for new terror attacks.
White House deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes told reporters in Washington on Thursday that FBI teams were on the ground in Brussels helping with the investigation, and that more cooperation was likely.
We do believe that Belgium is taking this very seriously, Rhodes said. We have had effective coordination in supporting their investigation and trying to disrupt additional plots."
U.S. law enforcement officials say teams in Brussels have, for now, largely focused on helping to examine computers and cellphones connected to the suspects in last weeks attacks.
U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch also discussed sharing resources during a meeting Thursday with Belgian Interior Minister Jan Jambon.
But others say the support has gone even further.
Removing obstacles
There is an increase in sharing with the United States, a European law enforcement official told VOA. U.S. agencies are actively supporting us.
Even before the Brussels attacks, European agencies, including Europol and its newly formed European Counter Terror Center, had been working with the U.S. to help integrate and streamline information sharing, a process that has been hampered by technical and cultural obstacles.
Thats one of the reasons we have people on-site, the European law enforcement official said, noting teams have been dispatched to both Brussels and Paris to ensure quality information is shared.
NATO, normally focused on external threats such as recent Russian aggression, has also become more active.
We are sharing more analysis, information and intelligence, a NATO official said. We are closely monitoring the security situation and remain in constant contact with the Belgian authorities.
Still, there is concern even stepped-up security and intelligence efforts will not be enough to prevent additional terror plots.
You cant address this problem just with law and war, said Haras Rafiq, managing director of the London-based Quilliam Foundation. Many of the people that so far have committed these terrorist attacks have been on the radar at some stage."
Its a very difficult task for security services that are under-resourced to monitor people 24 hours a day," he added.
The man nominated to be Iraq's new oil minister is a Kurdish petroleum geologist who could end a bitter dispute with the northern self-rule region and free up more oil exports through a pipeline to Turkey.
Nizar Saleem Numan, named as oil minister in Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's new lineup of ministers, told Reuters in an interview he was "hopeful the differences could be resolved" between Baghdad and the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG).
Should Numan's appointment be approved by parliament, "he will certainly serve to facilitate a deal with Kurds and the central government," said political analyst Hisham al-Hashimi.
"He is also a very experienced person in the oil industry and known for his integrity."
Numan, 65, is the dean of the college of planning at the University of Duhok in the Kurdish region and spent three decades at the University of Mosul, the largest city in northern Iraq, now under control of Islamic State militants.
He told Reuters that he had also worked as a consultant for oil companies in both the northern Kurdish region and the rest of Iraq.
The dispute with the Kurds involves an agreement for the KRG to transfer to Iraq's central state oil marketing company 550,000 barrels a day of crude produced in the Kurdish region, in return for a 17 percent share in the federal budget.
The Kurds, seeking more autonomy from Baghdad to export their own oil, halted all oil transfers to the Iraqi government in September 2015, instead shipping crude independently. They stopped receiving government funding, according to the outgoing oil minister Adel Abdul Mahdi.
Mahdi said in March the central government would not resume pumping crude through a Kurdish pipeline to Turkey unless it reached a financial agreement with the KRG.
Baghdad's state-run North Oil Company previously fed 150,000 barrels a day into the pipeline, which carries crude from the Kirkuk fields and other reservoirs managed by the Kurdish authorities to the Turkish port of Ceyhan on the Mediterranean Sea.
The situation has been further complicated by the presence of Islamic State militants in northern Iraq who have allowed the Kurds to expand their control over the oil producing region of Kirkuk.
Production freeze
Abadi presented his new cabinet of technocrats on Thursday and now awaits a response from parliament, which must vote on the reshuffle in the next 10 days.
Some lawmakers fear Abadi's proposals would undermine the patronage networks that have sustained the wealth and influence of Iraq's political class for more than a decade.
In his interview with Reuters late on Thursday, Numan said should his appointment be confirmed, he would also pursue sustainable development of the OPEC nation's crude reserves, which are among the world's largest.
He will take over the oil ministry at a time when Iraq and other producers are grappling with the fallout from low crude prices, which have put acute strain on Baghdad's finances.
Iraq was the source of OPEC's largest crude supply growth in 2015 with a production in excess of four million barrels per day that makes the nation the second-largest producer of the 13-member group, after Saudi Arabia.
Asked whether he expected to attend a meeting in Doha on April 17 where OPEC and non-OPEC members are set to discuss a production freeze aimed at propping up oil prices, Numan said he could not be sure until parliament ratified his nomination.
A ministry spokesman told Reuters on March 22 that Iraq planned to attend the meeting and considered the proposal of freezing output "a step in the right direction."
Thailand has broadened the powers of the military to include policing crime. The enhanced powers come as the government launches a campaign against local organized crime networks and criminal elements throughout the country.
But human rights activists have expressed concerns of potential abuse under the law.
The new orders, issued this week, allow military personnel acting as crime suppression officers to conduct searches, seize assets, suspend financial transactions and prevent suspects from travelling abroad.
More than 20 criminal activities are covered by the order, including human trafficking, fraud, defamation, gambling, immigration, prostitution, customs, loan sharking and firearm offenses.
Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan defended the special powers, saying the government needs the military personnel to compensate for shortages in the police force.
Government sources who spoke to VOA on condition of anonymity said influential people were often warned by local police before investigating officers could make an arrest. They pointed to links between local influential and criminal figures, local police and national politicians.
Prawit said a government list of influential people targeted in the crackdown includes hundreds of police and military officers. Panitan Wattanayagorn, an adviser to the deputy prime minister, said the minister has called for caution in the implementation of the orders.
This is a special power for the military to use against those Mafia [organized crime] bosses. They aim to assist or implement those powers to this list of people the police may not be able to handle effectively, Panitan said, citing comments by Prawit.
And he [Prawit] said the military should use its power cautiously. He will monitor implementation of this power closely to make sure they do not abuse the power, he told VOA.
But rights groups and law associations quickly raised concerns about the new order saying the offenses specified in the law could be used to target government critics.
Sunai Pasuk, Thailand representative for the New York-based rights group Human Rights Watch, said the order was seen as a form of martial law, potentially open to abuse.
The latest power that the military granted to its soldiers in the name of the war on Mafia is, in fact, you know, a martial law in disguise. It provides unchecked, unaccountable powers to the soldiers to carry out police duty without any oversight and they will not be held accountable for any misconduct or human rights violations that may ensue, Sunai said.
Under Thailands interim constitution, in place since the military came to power in 2014, orders issued under section 44 of the charter, which addresses issues of national security, are outside judicial review. Rights groups say this raises concern of abuse.
Gotham Arreya, a lecturer and advocate at Mahidol University, says the absence of judicial oversight is a concern. It seems that the point that Im worried about is that they can search any place without the courts permission. Im not so sure according to this order the power of the officers, the military officers could be checked by the judiciary or not. So my concern is that it gives a lot of power to these officers, Gotham said.
The new powers come as the military government is also reported to have adopted a tougher stance against politicians critical of the 2014 post-coup government and who refuse to cooperate.
The government has applied so called attitude adjustment brief detention sessions on dozens of critics, politicians, activists and academics. There has also been close monitoring of political seminars, lectures and events undertaken by the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand.
The stepped-up security measures come as the Constitution Drafting Committee this week completed a new draft charter due to go to a referendum on August 7.
If the charter is passed in the national vote, this would lead the way to planned general elections in 2017.
Indias Supreme Court is examining Islamic family laws that allow Muslim men to divorce their wives by saying three times the word talaq, which means divorce. The court action comes in response to a Muslim womans petition challenging the constitutional validity of instant divorce and polygamy.
Conservative Muslim organizations are staunchly opposing, however, any judicial scrutiny of Islamic laws that govern the community in family-related matters.
The petition was filed by a Muslim woman, Shayara Bano, who was divorced after 13 years of marriage through the so-called triple talaq system. She said that this provision treats women like chattel belonging to men and militates against modern principles of human rights and gender equality.
In her petition, Bano said there have been cases of men divorcing their wives by sending the three words over Facebook, Skype and text messages.
India has separate laws for each religion that govern marriage, succession, adoption and maintenance.
Banos plea to outlaw "triple talaq" has the strong backing of women activists who have long campaigned for a ban on the controversial practice and questioned the system that has no room for a womans voice to be heard.
This arbitrariness has a lot of impact on her. She has nothing to say in this whole process. Her opinion, her say in this matter has just no place, said Noorjehan Safia Niaz, co-founder of Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA), an organization at the forefront of demands to ban triple talaq.
Groups like the BMMA and some scholars of Sharia law call triple talaq a travesty of divorce as envisaged in the Koran. They say the word has to be pronounced over three months and accompanied by efforts at reconciliation.
The triple pronouncement of talaq in one go, as allowed in India, has been banned in many nations, including Pakistan, Iran, Indonesia and Bangladesh.
Now, calls are growing among Indian Muslim women for a well-defined Muslim law that criminalizes polygamy and unilateral divorce.
A recent study by BMMA found that more than 90 percent of Indian Muslim women want an immediate ban on oral divorce, which they said must involve negotiation. It slammed the practice as a major injustice.
A government committee that studied the status of women in India has also recommended outlawing triple talaq and said the custom makes Muslim wives extremely insecure and vulnerable.
On Monday, while hearing the petition of Shayara Bano the Supreme Court ordered the government to submit the report.
Tahir Mahmood, an expert on Islamic law, said while many women have knocked at the doors of the highest court seeking better maintenance, the latest petition tries a radically different approach. Instead of remaining content with what Muslim law has to provide, someone is saying the entire process is unconstitutional. This is something novel, he said.
However, there is strong opposition to reform of the divorce law from clerics and influential Muslim organizations, such as the powerful All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), which maintains the judiciary has no power to go into the validity of Muslim personal laws.
Syed Qasim Rasool Ilyas, a prominent member, said the AIMPLB has told the court that Islamic law is not legislated in the parliament of the country. It is prescribed by the Koran. It is a religious matter, and in religious matters, Supreme Court does not have any locus standing.
Ilyas feels the issue of triple talaq has been blown out of proportion and says the AIMPLB is carrying out a reform campaign to impose restrictions on its use and spread awareness among Muslim men. They should be properly taught, they should be properly educated, so that this type of situation should not exist, he said.
Muslim women organizations, however, question the AIMPLB for considering itself the representative of the community and say its efforts at education have had little impact.
In spite of so many women suffering, in spite of so many Muslim womens organizations wanting change, this body has not been sensitive to these demands and it is not willing to change, not willing to go along with times. Why should anybody listen to them? said Niaz.
Despite the recent judicial intervention, scholar Tahir Mahmood is skeptical about any quick headway in the campaign to outlaw triple talaq, because such a change also needs support from the government.
The community is not ready, the segment of the community which is under the influence of the Mullahs. The problem is that rulers listen to them only, they dont listen to saner voices, he said.
Not wanting to upset clerics and influential Muslim organizations, successive ruling parties have steered away from the sensitive issue. Muslims -- Indias largest religious minority -- make up 13 percent of the population and are a powerful voting bloc wooed by many parties.
Sultana Parvin is a mother of two living in Dhaka, Bangladeshs capital. She is petite, soft-spoken and wears a colorful headscarf. She is also a star information technology (IT) freelancer in Bangladesh.
In 2014, Parvin was named Bangladeshs top female freelancer in Bangladesh by BASIS, the countrys IT industry association. She has done more than 100 freelance IT jobs for clients around the world who hired her through websites such as ODesk and Fiverr.
Its been a quick rise for someone who didnt know much about computers until 2012. Parvin, 42, was a self-described housewife of 20 years who wanted to make extra money for her childrens education, but couldnt work since her family moved frequently due to her husbands military job.
She read about freelance IT jobs in newspapers and then enrolled in short IT courses in Chittagong. Twelve days after creating her profile on ODesk, she got her first job; it paid $5. A year later, Parvin earned $6,000; not a small sum in a country whose GDP per capita is about $1,000.
Parvin is just one of thousands of IT freelancers in Bangladesh who are thriving on work from clients in the U.S., Europe and other parts of the world.
Bangladesh is known for its garment industry, which employs millions. But it was the third-largest source country for freelancers for the California-based website Upwork (previously known as Elance-ODesk when two companies merged), according to a 2014 A.T. Kearney report.
There were more than 650,000 freelancers in Bangladesh registered on Upwork alone, though their skills and track records vary. In 2013, Bangladeshi freelancers on Upwork earned $21 million. That figure has only grown since then.
Freelancing is an important source of income for Bangladeshs large population of people under 25 who make up half of the countrys population of 160 million. Freelancers can work from anywhere with a reliable Internet, so the work is attractive to people in smaller cities and towns.
In Dhaka, the crowded capital, freelancers can avoid commuting for hours in notorious traffic jams. And mothers such as Parvin can work from home with flexible hours. Some enterprising freelancers have also opened businesses and hired other contractors.
"People are going for income security, not job security. Its more about having multiple streams of revenue, said Saidur Khan, a former freelancer who is now Upworks business development manager in Dhaka. Half of our freelancers want to go freelance full-time. If we nurture freelancers today, they will become entrepreneurs.
Higher skilled IT freelancers can make $9 an hour for web programming and up to $40 an hour for more advanced work. By comparison, a job in an IT call center at a big Bangladeshi mobile phone company pays around $2 an hour.
Some freelance jobs are small and take less than a day. Other contracts can last for years. Freelance IT work includes data entry, website and software design, mobile application development, graphic design, search engine optimization, social media marketing and more.
Nazmul Hossain, a 28-year-old freelancer based in the southern city of Khulna, started freelancing in 2009 when he was a college student. He taught himself IT skills through online tutorials and websites. Hossain has a university degree in genetic engineering, but job opportunities are limited in Khulna. IT freelancing has changed that.
He makes about $1,500 a month and did not have to re-locate to Dhaka or go abroad to find work.
Nowadays, I have been contributing to the economy and thats better than going abroad, said Hossain.
Yet Hossain acknowledges that Bangladeshi parents are skeptical of freelancing and would prefer their children have traditional careers. Reliable electricity and Internet can also be a challenge, especially in rural areas. Strong English language and communication skills are needed but can also be lacking for many.
There is strong demand for learning IT skills, so technical colleges and private institutes are offering more courses and workshop.
Syed Akhter Hossain heads the computer science and engineering department at Daffodil University in Dhaka. Enrollment in computer classes has mushroomed in recent years. Fewer than 100 students were studying computer science and technology at Daffodil in 2010. Today there 800 to 1,200 students enrolled each year.
But Hossain said some students dont take their studies seriously and drop out because they can make money freelancing.
This is encouraging and discouraging at the same time, he says. Freelancing is killing the thought process, added Hossain. He emphasized that there needs to be a balance between earning and learning.
Undercover Islamic State (IS) fighters in the Iraqi army gathered intelligence about a U.S. military base in northern Iraq that came under heavy IS attack resulting in the death of an American Marine last month, Kurdish sources told VOA.
We are 100 percent sure IS has informers there, said Maj. Gen. Sirwan Barzani, the Kurdish commander of the Gwer-Makhmour frontline. We are investigating the matter now and are looking for more evidence.
A U.S. Marines artillery outpost near Mosul, Firebase Bell, is the first U.S. base established in Iraq since the return of American forces to the country in 2014. The base came under heavy IS fire in recent weeks before the Pentagon made its existence public.
The IS attack in mid-March resulted in the death of U.S. Marine Staff Sgt. Louis F. Cardin of Temecula, California, and injuries to several U.S. troops.
The Pentagon did not release specifics about the base before the IS attack because it was not fully operational, according to U.S. Army Col. Steve Warren, spokesman for the U.S. military operation against IS. Warren would not comment to VOA on the Kurdish allegations of IS spies.
We take great care to protect important information, and we work closely with our Iraqi partners to do the same," he said. "We will not further publicly discuss matters of intelligence.
IS spies not new
Iraqi officials in Baghdad contacted by VOA also declined comment on the Kurdish claims. But the chief of the Iraqi Nineveh operations command in Northern Iraq near the U.S. base rejected the accusations and said there were no IS spies in his unit.
This is absolutely not true and has no basis. I dont even want to talk about it, Major General Najim Abdullah al-Jubouri said.
Kurdish leaders and Iraqi officials have a contentious political and social relationship. The Kurds operate a governing authority in northern Iraq and want independence from Baghdad. The fight against IS in northern Iraq is complicated as Kurdish and Iraqi forces have separate military units that cooperate only within limits.
Iraq legislator Shakhawan Abdullah, a Kurd who is head of the Iraqi parliamentary security and defense committee, said Baghdad has long feared IS infiltration in its military ranks.
This is not a new issue, he said. In the past IS spies inside the Iraqi army have not only provided information to IS but also have engaged in direct suicide bombing.
Abdullah said IS spies were behind a January bombing at Camp Speicher, an Iraqi military base which is a former U.S. installation. Twelve members of Iraqi security forces were killed in the incident.
Some of the soldiers were arrested by Iraqi defense ministry, and they now face a life sentence, Abdullah said of the troops linked to IS.
Iraqis with IS ties
Kurdish commanders say IS members in recent weeks infiltrated the Iraqi army and its allied Sunni militia Hashd al-Watani, stationed near Firebase Bell in Makhmour.
IS has information sources inside the Iraqi army and Sunni forces near the U.S. artillery base, said Najat Ali, the Kurdish commander of Makhmur front.
According to Ali, IS has exploited strong social and religious ties with some Iraqi soldiers who helped it obtain firsthand information on most military moves in the area.
There are Iraqi soldiers whose father, brother, or uncle is a member of IS," said Ali. "We have become very suspicious of them."
Iraqi parliament member Abdullah said IS would not have been able to locate the American base without inside information from the Iraqi army.
I have no doubt that Daesh [IS] wouldnt have been able to attack the American forces there without spies in the Iraqi army there, he said.
But Barzani, the Kurdish commander, said the Kurds dont have documents to prove the spying allegations.
IS has used drones to collect information on the area, he said. But their attack on the U.S. firebase in Makhmur was so precise and cant be only through drones. They for sure have informers there.
There are now more obese people on the planet than there are underweight people, according to a new study.
In what theyre calling the worlds biggest obesity study, researchers from Imperial College London compared global body mass indices (BMI) from almost 20 million adults from 1975 to 2014.
What they found was that over that period, global obesity rates among men tripled from 3.2 percent to 10.8 percent. For women, it more than doubled, rising from 6.4 percent to 14.9 percent.
That means that there were 266 million obese men and 375 million obese women in the world in 2014, with all humans becoming 1.5 kilograms heavier each decade since 1975.
Severe obesity is also a rising concern, with researchers finding that 2.3 percent of men and 5 percent of women are severely obese, meaning they have a BMI of over 35 kilograms per square meter.
Morbid obesity, when a persons basic activities are impaired by being overweight, affects 1 percent of men and 2 percent of women, researchers said, adding that there are now 55 million morbidly obese adults.
When looking at people who are underweight, by contrast, those rates have fallen from 14 percent to 9 percent among men and from 15 percent to 10 percent among women.
The number of people across the globe whose weight poses a serious threat to their health is greater than ever before, said Majid Ezzati, the senior author of the study from the School of Public Health at Imperial. And this epidemic of severe obesity is too extensive to be tackled with medications such as blood pressure lowering drugs or diabetes treatments alone, or with a few extra bike lanes. We need coordinated global initiatives such as looking at the price of healthy food compared to unhealthy food, or taxing high sugar and highly processed foods - to tackle this crisis.
If the obesity trend continues, researchers said, by 2025, 18 percent of the worlds men and 21 percent of the worlds women will be obese.
The study found that China has the most obese people of any country and that the U.S. has the highest number of severely obese people.
India and Bangladesh accounted for about a quarter of the worlds underweight people.
Our research has shown that over 40 years we have transitioned from a world in which underweight prevalence was more than double that of obesity, to one in which more people are obese than underweight, said Ezzati. Although it is reassuring that the number of underweight individuals has decreased over the last four decades, global obesity has reached crisis point.
The study was published in the journal The Lancet.
The International Organization for Migration reports a large number of Sub-Saharan Africans, mainly from Nigeria, Mali, Gambia, and Senegal has been arriving in Italy this year. The IOM says most of the migrants are coming from Libya on overcrowded rubber dinghies.
According to the report, at least 170,000 refugees and migrants have crossed the Mediterranean Sea from Turkey into Europe this year eight times more than the number recorded for the first three months of 2015.
While the numbers heading for Italy from Libya pale in comparison, IOM says they are growing. It says more than 18,000 migrants and refugees have arrived, an increase of more than 8,000 compared to the same period last year. It also says 90 percent of the arrivals are from Sub-Saharan Africa. None are from Syria.
IOM spokesman Joel Millman says the migration is unusual in that most of the new arrivals do not come from states experiencing conflict or famine. He says the smuggling industry is behind the so-called middle-class migration phenomenon.
Smugglers are taking advantage of the chaotic Syrian refugee crisis in Europe to cajole African customers into undertaking the dangerous trek across the Sahara desert to Libya, he added.
This is a really good time to go to Europe because of the distraction and because of the Libyan chaos have made many opportunities for the smuggling game," he said. "So, authorities in those countries sadly report lots of people were selling taxi cabs and livestock and small businesses to raise the couple thousand dollars to cross the Sahara and then get up to Libya. We see that traffic absolutely continuing this year.
Millman says many migrants who survive the dangerous journey across the Sahara receive abusive treatment from the authorities when they arrive in Libya. They also become prey to nefarious, criminal elements, which VOA reported on extensively in February.
A lot of armed individuals are shaking down Africans for money because there are no bank or money transfer system that allows them to send their earnings home, so they are carrying cash," he added. "A lot of those people end up on boats and a lot of them end up on our planes going home.
Millman says IOM regularly repatriates migrants who feel threatened and are concerned about the deteriorating security situation in Libya.
Over the past 15 months, he said, IOM has transported nearly 1,900 people, the vast majority from Africa, to their home countries.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has asked the United States for help in returning stolen Nigerian assets stashed in U.S. banks as part of his efforts to crack down on corruption, according to a statement from his office Thursday.
Buhari made the request during a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on the sidelines of a two-day nuclear security summit in Washington.
"President Buhari sought and received an assurance from Mr. Kerry that the United States government will facilitate the repatriation of all stolen Nigerian funds found within the American banking system," his office said.
Buhari told Kerry it would "greatly help our country if you assist us to recover all our stolen funds which we can establish to be within your financial system," according to the statement.
It said Kerry assured Buhari the United States would help and said U.S. officials would meet with the head of Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to discuss further cooperation.
State Department spokesman John Kirby confirmed that Kerry had offered "continued U.S. support to locate and help with tracing and investigating looted funds, as we have done for Nigeria in the past."
In 2014, the United States took control of more than $480 million that former Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha and his associates had siphoned away into banks around the world.
Washington has broad powers to track suspicious funds and enforce sanctions against individuals.
South Korean media say North Korea has fired a suspected ballistic missile off its east coast in the latest of several tests this year, signifying an increased level of tension between Pyongyang, Seoul and South Korea's Western allies.
South Korea's Yonhap news service said the surface-to-air missile launched into the Sea of Japan at midday Friday.
South Korea's Defense Ministry confirmed the report to the French news agency, but said its range and precise trajectory could not be confirmed. It said the launch came from the eastern city of Sondok.
North Korea has launched a series of apparent weapons tests since January. The United States and South Korea are in the midst of conducting their most extensive joint military exercises ever. Pyongyang says it views those exercises as a rehearsal for invasion.
Meanwhile, in Washington, U.S. President Barack Obama is presiding over an international nuclear summit where the U.S., South Korea, China and Japan have made North Korea's activities a focus of discussion.
North Korea has begun jamming GPS signals in South Korea, affecting some communications and navigation systems, and it also said Friday it is blocking a number of popular websites.
Government officials in Seoul said North Korea should immediately cease its "dangerous and reckless" jamming activity.
Many computer networks and software programs rely on signals sent from the worldwide network of global-positioning satellites. North Korea has been sending signals from ground-based transmitters on frequencies overlapping those used by GPS satellites, so the jamming did not cause any significant, widespread effect.
However, GPS problems were reported by more than 50 airliners flying over the Korean Peninsula, and they evidently affected hundreds of South Korean fishing boats, some of which returned to port as a result.
Authorities in Seoul said the jamming did not hamper ongoing U.S.-South Korean joint military exercises, which have been repeatedly denounced by the communist North.
Separately, North Korea announced officially Friday that it is blocking web pages from YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, the Voice of America and a number of South Korean media sites. It also said gambling and "sex and adult websites" have been blocked. Very few North Koreans have Internet access, but foreign residents and visitors previously have been able to access web pages with almost no overt restrictions.
More than 2 million North Koreans now are estimated to use mobile phones, but with few exceptions access to the Internet is limited to officials, technicians or others who have special permission to use it, usually under close supervision.
The restrictions will make it more difficult for visitors or foreign residents to post real-time information about the reclusive country to the outside world. The announcement added that anyone who tries to hack onto such sites, access them in an "improper" way or distribute "anti-republic data" from them will be subject to punishment under North Korean law. It did not say what the punishment would be.
In another development Friday, North Korea launched another projectile presumed to be a ballistic missile into the sea, according to the South Korean military.
The launch and other North Korean provocations are the latest in a series of threatening acts by Pyongyang, both to protest against the U.S.- South Korean exercises, and in retaliation for tough new sanctions the U.N. imposed on North Korea after its most recent nuclear test.
GPS jamming details
The South Korean Defense Ministry said it has detected disruptive radio waves being transmitted from North Koreas southwest port city Haeju, and from Mount Kumgang on the east coast.
Seoul has previously accused Pyongyang of jamming activity, especially during a period of heightened tensions in 2012. North Korea was said to be using Russian-made jamming devices at the time, but authorities in Pyongyang said all such allegations were a "sheer fabrication."
North Korea against world
U.S. President Barack Obama, South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met at the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington on Thursday to underscore their united commitment to exert increasing pressure on North Korea to abandon its nuclear program.
The tough new U.N. sanctions imposed in March are meant to cut funding to Pyongyangs nuclear arms program and to further isolate the Kim Jong Un leadership.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, who met separately with Obama at the Washington summit, said North Korea should resolve this "predicament," as he called it, by returning to international talks and giving up its nuclear weapons in return for security assurances and economic assistance.
The Kim Jong Un government has so far responded to all sides with defiance, launching numerous short and medium range missiles into the sea, ordering further nuclear tests, and threatening nuclear strikes against South Korea and the United States.
Arduous march
This week the Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the ruling Workers Party of Korea, warned the North Korean people in an editorial that the sanctions will cause severe economic pain.
We may have to go on an arduous march, a time when we will again have to eat the roots of grass, the editorial said.
Arduous march refers to the severe North Korean famine that killed over three million people in the 1990s after the Soviet Union collapsed and stopped sending economic aid, and because the communist government grossly mismanaged the countrys economy.
This time the Kim Jong Un leadership wants the people to know who to blame for any hardships to come.
It claims that the responsibility does not belong to North Korea but it belongs to the U.S. and neighboring countries, which include China this time, said Kang Chul-hwan, a North Korean defector with the center for North Korea Strategy.
To make up for shortfalls being caused by the sanctions, Pyongyang residents are reportedly being ordered to provide a kilogram of rice to state warehouses every month, and farmers are being forced to "donate" more of their crops to the military.
The North Korean economy has improved under Kim Jong Un in part because of the economic reforms he implemented that allow farmers to sell a portion of the crops they produce, and provides some industries more incentives and control to manage their production and workforce.
But North Korean mineral exports, most of which are banned under the new sanctions, and the export of North Korean labor has also helped improve overall economic conditions, even if the vast majority of earnings have gone to ruling elites and the military.
North Korea has requested nearly half a million tons of food aid from other countries. But only 17,600 tons had been donated by early February.
There is some concern that giving more food aid to North Korea would undermine the sanctions by allowing the leadership to direct more funding to develop nuclear weapons. But there is also concern that the vast majority of North Koreans already living in poverty conditions will suffer the most from these tough new international restrictions.
If the international community imposes more pressure, then it could lead to a terrible result, said Kang.
A debate over censorship of Hong Kong artists has renewed, with a request by the Hong Kong government to omit the word national from a pamphlet for a play.
The pamphlet included a biography of a producer at The Nonsensemakers, a local theater group. According to a Facebook post by the group, the Hong Kong government asked that the word national be removed from the title of the producers alma mater, the Taipei National University of the Arts.
The request sparked controversy over funding for the arts in Hong Kong, and whether arts groups come under pressure from Chinas central government.
Its becoming quite obvious. I think in the past, since 1997, there is a lot of noticeable censorship through self-censorship, and the kind of censorship through indirect means like funding, said Oscar Ho, director of the MA program in Cultural Management at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Ho says limited resources concentrate funding for arts groups that are closely tied to the government. Nine arts groups in Hong Kong receive a combined $43 million in subsidies every year. Smaller organizations, such as The Nonsensemakers, receive an average $110,000 annually.
An exhibit by a new museum earlier this year also raised questions about artistic freedom. The museum, M+, is under construction and financed entirely by public funds. Hong Kongs chief secretary, Carrie Lam, is chairwoman of the cultural district committee overseeing it.
The museum opened an exhibit of several works from its collection in February, including those of dissident Ai Wei Wei, but changed the name of the exhibit from one that had been shown overseas. On its European tour the exhibit was titled, Right is Wrong. In Hong Kong, the exhibits title was changed to M+ Sigg Collection: Four Decades of Chinese Contemporary Art.
While some in the arts community say this signifies censorship in the city, gallery owner Vincent Chan, co-owner of Hong Kongs Leo Gallery, said artists remain free to create what they want, and their depictions of the recent pro-democracy protests exemplify that. They do express their own idea in their artwork, so at the time of Occupy Central there were lots of artists out there participating, and there were quite a few artists doing work about it, Chan said.
Attacks on artistic freedom are on the rise globally, according to a report issued by Freemuse, an independent organization based in Copenhagen. The study found there were 469 cases of attacks on artistic expression last year, double the count in 2014. China led the list of offenders with 20 serious violations of artistic freedom, including censorship and detention of artists.
Mathias Woo, executive director of the arts group Zuni Icosahedron, said the pressure to censor in Hong Kong is growing, and that censorship is exerted through restricted resources, exhibit spaces and funding.
He said this censorship is tightening the space for intellectual and artistic expression. If you look at New York, London or major international cities, there are always different platforms where you can express radical ideas, and you can have intellectual debate about social issues. But in Hong Kong there is a lack of such ecology. So thats why people go to the streets. Thats why young people have to occupy the public space, said Woo.
But many in Hong Kong hope fairs such as Art Basel, which drew a record 70,000 visitors this year, and the M+ museum, will make the city a cultural destination. M+ will encompass more than 60,000 square meters in Hong Kongs Kowloon district, and is set to open in 2019.
A leading rights group in Pakistan says deaths due to violence-related incidents, including bombings and other militant attacks in the country, fell 40 percent in 2015.
In its annual report released Friday, the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) documented 4,612 deaths compared to 7,622 fatalities in the previous year.
The findings support official claims of a reduction in casualties because of successes in the army's counter-militancy operations against bases of the anti-state Pakistani Taliban near the Afghan border.
In Photos: Lahore Suicide Bombing
Photo Gallery: Pakistan Mourns Easter Suicide Bombing Victims Pakistan is mourning the victims of Easter Sunday's deadly suicide bombing in the eastern city of Lahore which targeted Christians. At least 72 people were killed including 30 children and 300 others were wounded. Share on Facebook
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Suicide bombing
The report comes after Sundays suicide bombing in a park in Lahore that killed at least 72 people, including members of the minority Christian community, who were celebrating Easter.
Speaking to reports at the launch of the report in Islamabad, HRCPs Kamran Arif told reporters his organization recorded 706 militant attacks in Pakistan, the lowest number since 2008.
Arif also said that violence against religious minorities, including Christians and Ahmadi Muslims, killed hundreds of people in Pakistan last year while discrimination and persecution forced several thousand others to leave Pakistan to seek asylum abroad.
Blasphemy laws remained an area of concern. Twenty-two people were charged under the blasphemy laws. These included 15 Muslims, four Christians and three people following the Ahmadi faith, he said.
Blasphemy
Critics have long demanded reforms in the controversial blasphemy laws, which carry the death penalty for anyone found guilty of insulting Islam and the Prophet Muhammad, saying influential people use them to settle personal disputes.
But Islamist parties are strongly opposed to any amendments and staged a four-day sit-in protest in the heart of the Pakistani capital this week to warn against attempts to change the blasphemy laws.
The demonstrators damaged government and private property during the protest and dispersed on Wednesday after receiving assurances that the government plans no changes in the laws, according rally leaders and key government ministers.
There was no immediate official reaction available to the HRCP report.
Several human rights organizations have denounced a wave of opposition arrests in the Republic of Congo. Tensions remain high in the country following the recent reelection of incumbent President Denis Sassou NGuesso, as the opposition has contested the results and called on the Congolese people for civil disobedience.
Amnesty International as well as several Congolese human rights organizations say the recent arrests of political opponents were arbitrary, and they have called on Congolese authorities to release them.
Christian Mounzeo, president of the Engagement for Peace and Human Rights Organization, said the group is asking politicians to resolve their political disagreements by political means and not through violence, curtailing freedom and arbitrary arrests.
The arrests follow the announcement last week of the reelection of incumbent President Denis Sassou NGuesso with about 60 percent of the vote in a controversial first-round poll, extending his more than 30-year rule in the Central African nation.
The opposition claims the election was rigged and it has denounced the crackdown.
Coordinator of the opposition coalition IDC-Frocad, Charles Zacharie Bowao, said the secret police cant come in somebodys home in the middle of the night, arrest him in front of his family, and take him to an unknown place and then claim this is the rule of law.
Congolese government spokesperson Thierry Moungalla told VOA that the alleged "wave" of arrests was more of a "wavelet" since it "only concerned two people" who have been accused of compromising national security.
Moungalla also said civil disobedience is not in the Congolese constitution, is therefore illegal and should be treated as such.
The poll and the announcement of the results occurred during a media blackout to prevent the opposition from releasing "illegal" results, according to the government.
But Bowao says they still intend to do just that.
"We continue to work, and we will publish our results today or tomorrow. And we will carry on civil resistance until the real results are accepted," he said.
Bowao added that some candidates are preparing to appeal the election results.
Two former senior Rwandan military officers have been sentenced to up to 21 years in jail on charges of inciting the public to cause an insurrection and of linking with exiled critics of President Paul Kagame.
Colonel Tom Byabagamba and retired Brigadier General Frank Kanyambo Rusagara were sentenced by a military court in Kigali. Byabagamba, who once headed Kagame's security detail, got 21 years and Rusagara got 20 years, one of the courts three judges said late Thursday.
The two were arrested in 2014, and the prosecutor pressed charges linking them to Patrick Karegeya, a former spy chief who opposed Kagame and was killed in 2014 in South Africa.
The prosecution also accused them of connections with another exiled Kagame opponent, former Rwandan army chief General Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa, who survived a 2010 assassination attempt in Johannesburg.
The court found Byabagamba guilty of inciting the public to insurrection, tarnishing the governments image while holding an official position, obstructing a criminal investigation and disrespecting the national flag, said the judge, Major Narcisse Cyubahiro Nsengiyumva. Rusagara similarly was found guilty of inciting and tarnishing, as well as illegally possessing firearms.
The court also found Rusagara and Byabagamba guilty of spreading the message of the Rwandan National Congress, an opposition group in South Africa whose members included Nyamwasa and Karegeya.
Byabagamba and Rusagara denied the charges throughout the trial and said they planned to appeal the sentences.
Exiled Rwandan opposition members previously accused Kagame and his government of responsibility for Karegeya's death and for attacks on Nyamwasa and other overseas-based critics.
Karegeya fled to South Africa in 2007 after allegedly plotting with Nyamwasa to overthrow Kagame.
Kagame and senior Rwandan officials have denied involvement in attacks on exiled opponents, but have called them traitors who should not expect forgiveness or pity.
The court also sentenced Rusagara's driver, retired Sergeant Francois Kabayiza, to five years in jail and a fine of 500,000 francs ($662) for obstructing a criminal investigation.
The United Nations has given Myanmar's incoming civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) 100 days to improve living conditions for the country's ethnic minority Rohingya community. But doubts remain over the new government's ability to deliver.
On Tuesday, the outgoing government lifted a nearly four-year state of emergency imposed on the volatile Rakhine state where the Rohingya are currently denied citizenship and say they are heavily persecuted.
The Rohingya are unable to travel freely in Myanmar, which is also know as Burma, and cannot marry or have children without official permission. They are also largely barred from higher education and face the constant threat of violence as Buddhist extremism gains traction.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Wednesday urged President Htin Kyaw to ensure that lifting emergency laws would translate into real improved respect for minority rights in the western state.
The NLD needs to convene an effort to end human rights abuses against all communities in Rakhine state, Phil Robertson, deputy-director for Asia at HRW, told VOA. This should involve an overhaul of regulations, policies, and actual implementation on the ground.
A big part of the problem is the 1982 citizenship law, introduced by the former junta, which stripped the Rohingya of their official status in Myanmar, also known as Burma. Since then, they have been treated as interlopers from neighboring Bangladesh. Their persecution has escalated since the country introduced democratic reforms with nearly 120,000 people still confined to filthy displacement camps.
A spokesperson for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said the situation remains dire throughout the impoverished state.
We are very concerned that the rainy season is coming up and some of these shelters could fall down, said Pierre Peron, UNOCHA's Public Information and Advocacy Officer, citing additional concerns about water, malnutrition, healthcare and livelihoods. But the situation for up to one million stateless Rohingya living [outside the camps] in Rakhine is equally much of a problem.
Some 25,000 displaced Rohingya are estimated to have returned to their villages in the past few months, but only in remote and rural areas with relatively little communal friction. The state capital, Sittwe, enforces strict segregation for its Muslim population, which has been isolated in a small ghetto fenced with barbed wire. Prospects for re-integration there are bleak.
Nearly one-tenth of the Rohingya population is estimated to have fled Myanmar since 2012, sparking a humanitarian crisis and clampdown on human trafficking in Southeast Asia last year that led to a temporary halt in the exodus. Activists fear that desperate people will again attempt to escape Myanmar by sea if the NLD does not swiftly signal a change in policy from the previous military-backed government.
There has been no boat departure at all since December, said Chris Lewa, coordinator at the Arakan Project, which monitors human trafficking networks. The main reason is the fact that Thailand is closed as a transit country and anti-trafficking campaigns are still ongoing.
Hope that Aung San Suu Kyi will bring positive changes for the Rohingya is also a factor.
People are very hopeful and positive and very happy to see a new government, said Wai Wai Nu, an ethnic Rohingya activist and former political prisoner. They think that the new government will bring justice and peace.
This is the first civilian government after 50 years so they should be able to bring positive change and end discrimination and persecution in Rakhine state, she added. These will be their main tasks for the next five years.
But others doubt that Aung San Suu Kyis government will live up to expectations.
According to Robertson, HRW has unsuccessfully pushed for a meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi to discuss the Rohingya crisis for several years. Speaking out on the issue is extremely controversial in Myanmar and so far Aung San Suu Kyi has stayed tight-lipped.
In the past we recognized that the NLD had limited ability to change policies on the Rohingya, though we did urge them to speak out publicly on this and they generally didn't do so, Robertson said. Now that the NLD has formed the government, its time for Aung San Suu Kyi and her party to say clearly what their policies will be on ending the systematic discrimination and abuse suffered by the Rohingya.
Foreign Minister Aung San Suu Kyi on Friday attended the office of the ministry for the first time in her official capacity. Aside form being the first woman to hold that position in the nation's history, she was recently selected by NLD parliamentarians to assume an additional role of "special advisor to the state." While the bill proposing the new role was approved by the upper house on Friday, military representatives have challenged the legislation, calling it unconstitutional.
On Friday, a state-run newspaper ran an editorial calling for presidential amnesty for detained students who staged protests against the country's education law. It was the first time the paper referred to the detainees as "political prisoners."
According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma), a support group to political prisoners, over 100 activists are currently imprisoned in Myanmar, and more than 400 activists have been charged under various acts.
When contacted by VOA, NLD spokesperson Win Htein said the conflict in Rakhine was one of a multitude of issues facing the country.
There are thousands of problems in our country. [The] Rakhine state problem is one of the thousands, said the Central Executive Committee member. We will [prioritize] some of the problems but I will not tell exactly what intention we have. What I can say is that we will deal with the problem as soon as possible.
The U.N.s Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Myanmar has given the leadership some three months to lift travel restrictions for the stateless group. Win Htein said the NLD was not opposed to such a move as long as they could prove their citizenship.
If they really have citizenship real citizenship we are not against their free movement inside the country, he said. But we havent decided what action we will take.
However, when pressed on the issue of Rohingya citizenship, he snapped.
Peace problem, national development and national reconciliation [are] much more important than other issues, he said. You seem to think there is only one problem in Burma. Its absurd. You are not interested in our peace process or national reconciliation or our formation of new government. Im really fed up with the foreign media.
A peaceful transition to democracy in Tunisia proved to be a rare success story of the Arab Spring, yet as one official says, "many challenges" remain for the country.
Tunisia was fortunate to have pragmatic politicians who favored compromise over confrontation. The Islamist political party Ennahda, which won the first elections after the 2011 revolution, voluntarily handed over power to a technocrat government. A strong civil society in Tunisia also helped with the move away from autocracy.
However, Faycal Gouia, Tunisia's ambassador to the United States, says his country still faces serious problems going forward.
We are facing so many challenges internally because of the terrorist attacks on Tunisia, [and] secondly because of the many problems we are facing which represent the inheritance of the former regime, especially 23 years of authoritarian regime, Gouia said. He said problems like poverty, unemployment and the huge gap between the coastal land cities and the inland spread despair among young Tunisians.
Threats from Libya
Meanwhile, Libya is a nation in chaos with two battling governments, scores of militias and a security vacuum being filled by a growing presence of the Islamic State extremist group on Tunisia's border.
Islamic State fighters took advantage of the political fragmentation in Libya to occupy the coastal city of Sirte and succeeded in bringing a large number of foreign fighters across the uncontrolled borders, said Wafa Bugaighis, Libyan charge daffaires in Washington. Intelligence estimates state that there are between 5,000 and 7,000 IS fighters in Libya."
Many of those IS fighters now in Libya hail from Tunisia itself. According to a recent report by the security consulting firm Soufan Group, up to 7,000 Tunisians have joined IS in Syria and Iraq.
The Tunisian ambassador called that an exaggeration. He added that, in any case, his country is well-prepared to prevent returning Tunisian fighters from becoming an added security threat.
Our forces are there and we are doing our best to protect the borders," he said. "We will not allow terrorists to get into Tunisia without being arrested, investigated, and for those who are really indicted in terrorism, they should be punished.
On March 7, IS fighters tried to seize Ben Guerdane, a Tunisian town just 20 miles from the border with Libya, and claim it for IS. If the extremists had succeeded, it would have given the group free movement between Tunisia and its stronghold in Libya. But Tunisian security forces prevailed in bloody fighting that left more than 50 dead.
Following repeated terrorist attacks launched by returning Tunisian fighters last year, tourism one of Tunisias major industries dropped by nearly half.
Regional, international help
Officials of Tunisia and neighboring countries recently discussed the best way to counter the security threat emanating from Libya. Gouia said the outcome of the conference was promising.
The countries agreed that solution for this crisis in Libya is to install the new government and create a republican Libyan military force that obeys the government, not the militias. he said. The other element is to gather the guns that are circulating in Libya. We are talking about 30 million weapons.
The Tunisian government hopes the arrival of Fayez al-Sarraj, the prime minister-designate of Libya's internationally recognized government, to Tripoli can be the first step toward stabilizing the country. But the rival government, which controls the capital, refused to allow him to come by air. Hours before he came ashore by ship, explosions and gunfire were heard in the city.
Even if the political and security vacuum continues in Libya, Tunisia would oppose a unilateral Western military intervention to counter the expansion of IS fighters in Libya.
Our official position is clear: Any foreign intervention in Libya is not accepted by Tunisia. The only ones who can decide on any foreign intervention are the Libyans, Gouia said.
The Tunisian ambassador added, Unless a legal government is installed in Libya and decides to allow any foreign intervention, we are opposed to any intervention in Libya.
Sand barrier
Meanwhile, Tunisia is building a wall that's designed to stem the flow of fighters and weapons. It's a sand barrier that stretches for more than 150 kilometers and is reinforced with saltwater trenches and electronic surveillance.
The U.S. Africa Command is providing Tunisia with counterterrorism training as well as improved capabilities in intelligence and electronic surveillance.
We are putting together a strategy to secure our borders, and the U.S. is very helpful in terms of training and equipment, Gouia said.
Promises unfulfilled
Many young Tunisians feel the promises of social justice and economic prosperity have not materialized after Tunisia's dictatorship was ousted in 2011. Educated Tunisians are often unemployed not only because of the post-revolution economic challenges, but also because the Tunisian economy creates fewer professional jobs.
That creates an environment of hopelessness, says General William Ward, former commander of the U.S. Africa Command, who argues that counterterrorism measures will not be enough to counter the temptation toward violence.
"We must present a scenario that opens the horizon of hope for the youth, with good governance, improving the economic and living conditions," Ward said. "As military action was a collective responsibility to counter terrorism, the global community should share the burden of sustained development in countries threatened by terrorism."
The trial of two Turkish journalists resumed Friday in Istanbul, with the two defendants facing charges of espionage and aiding a terrorist organization for their reporting that alleged the government was smuggling arms to Syria.
The closed-door trial involves Cumhuriyet newspaper editor-in-chief Can Dundar and its Ankara representative Erdem Gul. They could face sentences of life imprisonment if found guilty.
A defiant Dundar said during the hearing that on trial in this case were not him and Gul, but journalism, the right to obtain information and the right of society to have access to information. Dundar said that the case represents a confrontation between journalists on the one hand, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Turkish intelligence on the other.
"There is an error in the seating order (during the hearing). President and Turkish Intelligence versus journalists. We should have been the interrogators. They (referring to Erdogan and Turkish Intelligence) should have been the defendants, because an international crime is being tried. I think this seating order will be reversed soon and will be the way it should be. The ones who should be on trial are not us. Journalism, the right to obtain information and the right of society to have access to information, are on trial here. On the other hand, there is a crime that is trying to be hidden from the society," Dundar said.
Journalism, he added, is not a crime, and the court should therefore drop the case immediately.
Dozens of supporters at the Istanbul courthouse chanted: Free press cannot be silenced. Others had their mouths taped over in an act of protest. Yet others were holding banners reading Free press, Free society.
Dundar and Gul are accused of publishing images dating back to January 2014 of Syria-bound trucks, which the newspaper said proved Turkey was smuggling arms into that country.
The journalists were arrested in November. In February, Turkey's Constitutional Court ruled that the two men's rights had been violated, and they were released from jail. But the Istanbul court is continuing with the case and controversially ruled that all hearings be held behind closed doors.
Case seen as test of press freedom
The Turkish Hurriyet Daily News reported Friday that a group of 473 lawyers filed requests to join the case as Dundar and Guls attorneys, and were granted permission to attend the hearing.
Rights groups insist the two have done nothing wrong by covering an issue of public interest and say the charges against Dundar and Gul should be dropped.
Erol Onderoglu, the Turkey representative of the French-based group Reporters Without Borders, said the trial of Gul and Dundar marked an alarming escalation in the crackdown on press freedom in Turkey.
"This is a very serious case," he said. "Journalists are facing life sentences. They [the government] want make to examples [of the two men], to intimidate Turkish journalists who want to cover regional policies, like corruption issues, like all kinds of bad practice [by the] state security forces."
The case went to trial last Friday, but was adjourned until this week after opposition lawyers and politicians ignored the judges ruling to close the courtroom to the public.
Erdogan has taken a personal interest in the journalists' case, saying they should be severely punished. He has acknowledged that the trucks, which were stopped by Turkish gendarmerie and police officers while en route to the Syrian border, belonged to the intelligence agency and said they were carrying aid to Turkmens in Syria, fighting both President Bashar al-Assad and Islamic State militants.
Turkey has also alleged the reporters aided an Islamic movement headed by U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, an opponent of Erdogan.
U.S. President Barack Obama met Thursday with Erdogan in Washington on the sidelines of Obama's Nuclear Security Summit. Obama assured the Turkish leader of a continued U.S. commitment to Turkish security.
Separately Thursday, chaos erupted between Turkish security and protesters outside a Washington think tank, the Brookings Institute, where Erdogan was giving a speech.
Ugandas Supreme Court Thursday upheld the re-election of President Yoweri Museveni in the February 18 national poll. The court rejected a petition brought by former Prime Minister and presidential candidate Amama Mbabazi.
The electoral commission announced on February 20 that Museveni had won 60 percent of the vote to opposition challenger Kizza Besigyes 30.5 percent.
Mbabazi had asked the court to nullify the results on the grounds the electoral commission did not adhere to the countrys electoral laws. But the court noted that while there were some irregularities, they did not affect the final results of the election to justify annulment.
Retired major general Jim Muhwezi, Ugandas minister of information and national guidance, said the Supreme Court ruling confirms the choice of Ugandans when they re-elected President Museveni. The government, of course, is very happy because it has confirmed what we knew very well, that the people of Uganda had expressed their choice and President Museveni won the election by over 50 percent. So the Supreme Court has confirmed what we believe, Muhwezi said.
Muhwezi said it is up to Museveni and the opposition to heal and reunite the country now that the courts have spoken.
That is true that the responsibility is with the president and the government as it was when he took up arms and liberated this country and has done everything to bring to what it is today. It still remains his responsibility to bring everybody together. But its also the responsibility of anybody who takes upon himself to lead the people. The leader of the biggest opposition group also has the responsibility to make sure that he contributes to that process of unifying the country, Muhwezi said.
Ugandas main opposition leader and former presidential candidate, Dr. Kizza Besigye of the Forum for Democratic Change, said no process can legitimize Museveni's re-election. Besigye, who has been under house arrest for than more 40 days since the election, said the Ugandan judiciary could not have delivered an impartial ruling because its independence has been compromised.
Pretty much what I had expected and that is because of a number of reasons. First and foremost, every petition, even in the best of circumstances is faced with very many obstacles against a petitioner because a petitioner in an election has only 10 days to prepare and present a petition in court. But these are not the best circumstances. We are talking about a situation where there is heavy intimidation of the citizenry, and anybody who purports to be a witness. But over and beyond that, we have the challenge of our institutions including the courts, Besigye said.
Mbabazi, who brought the petition, told journalists after the court ruling that the struggle for democracy in Uganda will continue. The former prime minister said he will continue to pursue the idea of reforming the law so that the petitioner is given enough time to gather and present enough evidence in court.
Besigye said as a second runner up in the February 18 election, he would have been the right person to challenge the results. But he said he couldnt because Ugandan police have held him under house arrest for more than 40 days since the election.
But information Minister Muhwezi denied Besigye is under house arrest. He said the police have been constructively engaging Besigye at his home in line with Ugandas Public Order Management Act because Besigye has said he wants to defy the laws and march on Kampala city to cause violence.
If youve been following the events both before and after the election, Dr. Besigye has been declaring and saying openly that he is going to defy the laws of the country. So all the police have been doing is just keeping under surveillance because of what the police know that when Dr. Besigye moves, he wants to create crowd and cause public disorder. That is all, but hes not under house arrest. His movements are being monitored and regulated by the police, Muhwezi said.
The U.N. refugee agency is calling for safeguards before refugees and migrants are deported from Greece to Turkey as required under a deal between the European Union and Turkey. The UNHCR says measures must be taken to ensure that the human rights of all those returned are protected.
The agency is not alone in claiming safeguards are lacking. Its concerns are supported in a recent Amnesty International report, which alleges Turkey has forcibly returned thousands of refugees to Syria.
The U.N. refugee agency says it does not object to the return of people who have not asked for asylum and are not in need of international protection. However, it adds the human rights of these people also must be respected.
The agency reports 51,000 refugees and migrants are in Greece. Of them 5,000 are on the islands and the rest on the mainland. It says facilities where they are held are overcrowded, unsanitary and need to be improved quickly.
As an example, UNHCR spokeswoman Melissa Fleming noted that on the island of Lesbos, some 2,300 refugees and migrants are crammed into a detention center meant to hold 2,000 people.
People are sleeping in the open and food supply is insufficient, and anxiety and frustration are widespread. Making matters worse, there are families who have become separated. Some family members [are] in other parts of Greece, scattered across Greece and [this is] presenting an additional worry should returns begin, she said.
Sub-standard conditions, lack of information
Fleming said thousands of people on other islands, as well as on the mainland are living in sub-standard conditions. She noted that uncertainty, lack of information and the limited capacity of Greek authorities to register asylum claims are creating a chaotic situation throughout the country. She added that violence was growing as a result, citing recent events on the Greek island of Chios.
We are obviously very worried about the situation that is on Chios. And, you may have seen news reports that there were riots there last night with people who were injured with stab wounds We believe that the risk of panic and injury in these sites and others is real in the current circumstances, she said.
Fleming added the UNHCR is asking Turkish authorities for access to people returned from Greece so it can monitor their treatment and prevent anyone from being forcibly deported to their homes where their lives might be in danger.
President Barack Obama said Friday that global efforts to stop terrorists and others from using nuclear weapons were "by no means finished."
Obama wrapped up the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington by saying world leaders had made "significant and meaningful" progress over the last six years in securing stockpiles of nuclear material.
He said enough material to build 150 weapons was now safe from terrorists.
But he said nuclear arsenals in some countries were expanding and stocks of plutonium were growing.
Obama said he and the more than 50 other world leaders in Washington agreed to further strengthen nuclear facilities from cyberattacks and improve intelligence sharing to continue to make sure dangerous materials stay out of the hands of terror groups, such as Islamic State.
The president noted that more than a dozen nations had disposed of their entire supplies of highly enriched uranium and plutonium the radioactive elements necessary to build nuclear bombs.
During six years of international meetings on nuclear security including four summits, which he initiated the U.S. president said, "Weve embraced a new type of thinking and a new type of action."
"This is a perfect example of a 21st-century security challenge that no one nation can solve alone," Obama told the leaders at a plenary session of the summit broadcast worldwide. "It requires coalitions and sustained coordination across borders and institutions. And the good news is weve made significant progress.
Obama also met with a smaller gathering of the nations most closely involved in last year's nuclear agreement with Iran. He told the so-called P5+1 group the deal with Iran had "achieved a substantial success and focused on the dangers of nuclear proliferation in a real way."
He stressed, however, that "full and continued implementation" of the Iran agreement would "take the same level of cooperation" from the international community.
WATCH: Obama Meets with P5 +1 Leaders
This year's nuclear security summit has come at a time of heightened concern about the possibility that Islamic State militants could acquire nuclear materials to build "dirty bombs" that could spread deadly radioactive fallout over wide areas. North Korea's nuclear-weapons development program also has been closely studied.
Obama said the scores of nations working together on nuclear security have made "260 specific commitments to improve nuclear security," both at this year's summit and their previous sessions.
"And so far," the president reported, "three-quarters of these steps have been implemented. More than a dozen nations have removed all their highly enriched uranium and plutonium.
Once again, I am making it clear that the United States will do our part," Obama added. "Today were releasing a detailed description of the measures that our military takes to protect nuclear materials, so that other nations can improve their security and transparency as well.
"For the first time in a decade we are providing a public inventory of our stockpiles of our highly enriched uranium. ... And that inventory is one that we have reduced considerably."
North Korea
Obama has met with leaders from South Korea and Japan on the sidelines of the summit about their mutual concerns over North Korea's provocative gestures and actions.
Although there was no specific response from Pyongyang to the trilateral meeting or to Obama's separate private meeting Thursday with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the North Korean military launched another small ballistic missile into the sea early Friday, officially announced it is blocking popular Western websites and stepped up jamming of global-positioning data beamed to Earth by a network of satellites.
In Geneva, moreover, a top North Korean envoy told Reuters that Pyongyang intends to pursue its nuclear and ballistic missile program in the face of repeated warnings from the United States and other nations.
During the U.S. president's meeting with Xi, U.S. officials reported the Chinese leader said: "We want to enhance communication and coordination on the Korean nuclear issue and other regional and global issues."
Washington views Beijing, Pyongyang's ally, as key in enforcing U.N. sanctions against North Korea for its weapons development.
While some nuclear proliferation experts expressed optimism over China's verbal commitments to keeping the regime of Kim Jong Un in check, they also said China needs to safeguard its own growing nuclear capabilities.
"The United States is very grateful that China is participating," said Debra Decker of the Washington-based Stimson Center. "China is going to be a leader in the international world market for power reactors, and they may be, probably in the next 10 years, the largest possessor of nuclear power reactors.
"If China wants to go forward and say they have the best power plants and [wishes] to export them," they need to prove that they can adhere to baseline nuclear safety protocols, she added.
Robert Gallucci, the State Department's former North Korean nuclear envoy, said both nuclear and non-nuclear states in China's neighborhood have the potential to increase development capacity, and that summit attendees should pay particularly close attention to the regional proliferation of plutonium.
Franklin Miller, former National Security Council Senior Director for Defense Policy and Arms Control, said China is not interested in that dialogue.
There has been a clear reluctance on the Chinese behalf to talk," he said. "We need to factor these issues into our strategic discussions, [but] our Russian and Chinese colleagues have been less than I would say enthusiastic about engaging in those types of discussions."
The possibility of nuclear terrorism was also a key focus on Thursday, the first day of the summit.
President Obama said that in the wake of attacks in places including Brussels, there is not only great urgency around the nuclear issue but eliminating generally the scourge of terrorism.
Some of the world leaders who attended a White House summit dinner Thursday were from countries that have been directly impacted by terrorist attacks.
Slow progress
At a State Department ministerial level dinner, Secretary of State John Kerry said there have been times when nuclear security progress has been slow, and there remains an enormous amount more to do. But every step forward that we take is a step away from danger."
The U.S. and other world powers may be experiencing a heightened sense of urgency in securing nuclear material and sites from terrorists following the March 22 attacks in Brussels.
News reports say two brothers linked to the attacks were part of a plot to gain information about a Belgian nuclear facility.
"We know that terrorist organizations have the desire to get access to these raw materials and their desire to have a nuclear device," said White House foreign policy aide Ben Rhodes.
Weakest links
One U.S. lawmaker, Congressman Ed Royce, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said, "We should assume terrorists will continue to seek out the weakest links at nuclear facilities around the globe."
World leaders also are concerned about the security of nuclear materials and facilities in countries such as nuclear armed Pakistan, where a terrorist attack in Lahore on Easter Sunday killed more than 70 people.
While progress has been made since the first summit in 2010, "the overall objective of securing the most vulnerable nuclear materials in four years I don't think has been achieved," said Sharon Squassoni with the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
"There is still material out there and the material that we're talking about is highly enriched uranium," she said.
Experts say security gaps remain for several reasons: there still is no international framework to monitor nuclear materials; some countries are unwilling to open up supplies intended for commercial use, and some militaries have been unable to agree on how to deal with their nuclear material.
"If you wanted to cause a nuclear incident, you might look for the country with the most vulnerable reactors," said James Andrew Lewis, head of the Strategic Technologies Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
As the summit got under way, the White House released a statement saying the U.S. has declassified and released data on the national inventory of highly enriched uranium. It said inventories decreased from about 741 to 586 metric tons between 1996 and 2013.
For the first time in 15 years, the U.S. has declassified and released data on its inventory of highly-enriched uranium (HEU).
The data is as of September 30, 2013.
The fact sheet from the White House Press Secretary's office says from 1996 to 2013, U.S. HEU inventories decreased from 740.7 metric tons to 585.6 metric tons.This reflects a reduction of over 20 percent.
Further reductions in the inventory are ongoing according to the news release.
Some of the released data indicates that, of the inventory on September 30, 2013, 499.4 metric tons was for national security and non-national security programs like nuclear weapons and naval propulsion. The remaining amount, 41.6 metric tons was available for potential down-blend to low enriched uranium or, if not possible, disposal as low-level waste, and 44.6 metric tons was in spent reactor fuel.
In 2010, President Obama said that when the United States improves our own nuclear security and transparency, it encourages others to do the same.
The White House says the United States will provide Ukraine with an additional $335 million in security assistance.
The new aid was announced Thursday after a meeting between U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Washington.
The White House also said that Biden told Poroshenko that efforts to form a stable, reform-oriented government were critical to unlocking international economic assistance, including a third $1 billion U.S. loan guarantee.
Last May, the U.S. signed a second $1 billion loan guarantee deal for Ukraine, to help it rebuild its economy after Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 and backed a separatist insurgency in the country's eastern Donbas region.
Washington has supported Ukraine's pro-Western government but also been concerned by pervasive corruption.
Ukraine's parliament sacked the country's chief prosecutor earlier this week over his alleged attempts not to pursue high-profile corruption cases.
On a rain-soaked weekday morning in Wisconsins capital, Madison, Molly McGrath is on a mission.
Shes the national campaign coordinator for Vote Riders, a nonprofit organization committed to ensuring people can vote, and on this morning, shes giving Tammy Dotson a ride.
Their destination is the Department of Motor Vehicles, where Dotson needs to apply for an identification card, although she doesn't need it to drive.
Someone called me on the phone and told me I needed a voter's ID to vote, Dotson said.
Wisconsins primary on April 5 is the first election in the state in which residents will have to provide certain forms of identification to vote. The state's voter ID law, considered one of the strictest in the country, is in force at early polling locations in the state.
I view it as a step backwards because people are being disenfranchised by the law," McGrath said. "Were making more restrictive voting rights. Were not enhancing them.
Dotson said she believed the new law could drive potential voters away. If they've got to go through a hassle, they'll be, like, 'Forget it, Ill do it another time,' and it never happens, she said.
Challenge refused
The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear a challenge to Wisconsins voter ID law in 2015. Now, with early voting underway and the primary election on the horizon, McGraths organization is busy trying to remove obstacles for voters to get IDs. In addition to providing rides, the group is also trying to spread the word about the requirements.
When you look at the numbers, 300,000 Wisconsin registered voters do not have an ID to vote," McGrath said.
A recent Marquette University Law School poll found that 16 percent of respondents either didn't know whether they needed identification to vote or thought they didn't need to provide it, "so theres a lot of misinformation and a lot of people impacted by the law, she added.
John Sharpless, a history professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a former Republican congressional candidate, said concerns about widespread voter fraud, which helped bring about the law, were unfounded, as were concerns about voter disenfranchisement.
Its not an issue I find powerfully compelling, he said. The notion that some little old lady who has been voting since Reconstruction will not be able to vote, I think, is an exaggeration. Now there is the transition moment, and I think its going to be difficult.
Dotson said that thanks to organizations like Vote Riders working in the state ahead of the election, however, theres every reason to cast a ballot.
You can get a ride to the DMV. You can get on the bus. You can get a cab for free. So theres no excuse why you didnt come and vote, she said.
The Yves Saint Laurent fashion house announced Friday that designer Hedi Slimane is leaving and it's rethinking its ``creative organization.''
Parent company Kering, in a statement, praised Slimane's four years as creative director. CEO Francois-Henri Pinault said he was grateful to Slimane "for having set the path that the house has successfully embraced, and which will grant longevity to this legendary brand.''
The company did not name a successor or give a reason for the departure, but said it would soon announce a new creative structure.
Slimane staged an unusual, star-studded show in Los Angeles in February. His last show for Yves Saint Laurent, in Paris last month, was an ode to the big-shouldered era of Eighties disco with micro-minis and giant blue fox fur coats.
His exit comes amid upheaval within Paris' fashion industry in recent months, with Saint Laurent being the third of three major heritage houses to announce a designer departure, after Christian Dior and Lanvin.
Lanvin has named couturier Bouchra Jarrar as the new creative director, while Dior has not yet confirmed its new pick.
Slimane provoked controversy at the house when he joined in 2012, rebranding YSL ready-to-wear with the new name ``Saint Laurent Paris,'' and overhauling the label's image. Gone was the sophisticated look associated with the iconic house founder, and in its place were grunge styles modeled by adolescent-looking super-waif models.
The fashion press hated it at first. But the garments proved a huge commercial success, and his retro disco-glitter designs and floppy hats are now ubiquitous on the runway, and have caught on with many consumers.
Thursday marked the deadline set by Zimbabwe's government for all firms in the country to transfer the majority of their shares to black Zimbabweans.
State media reported Friday that companies have begun submitting plans on how they will adhere to the law, but failed to name any foreign companies that are complying.
"For the first time, we now have all the financial institutions in Zimbabwe actively submitting their plans on how they will comply, Zimbabwe's Indigenization and Economic Empowerment Minister Patrick Zhuwao told The Herald, the country's state-run newspaper.
"For the first time, we do not have any financial institution which is sitting back and saying, let us wait and see."
The law, which took effect in 2008, requires foreign companies with more than $500,000 in assets to hand over 51 percent of their shares to black nationals.
Enforcement stressed
Standard Chartered PLC and Barclays PLC are among several banks with operations in Zimbabwe. There are also a few large mining companies, like Anglo American Platinum and Impala Platinum, with operations in the country.
Zimbabwe's government had attempted to force compliance with the indigenization plan in 2014, but few companies responded. This time, Zhuwao has promised to enforce the law and said the government would revoke licenses to operate if companies fail to comply.
"The position at law is not negotiable and laws are not negotiated," Zhuwao said at a Thursday briefing. "The position at law is that companies that are non-compliant have been breaking the law."
Critics weigh in
Opposition leaders were quick to condemn new calls for enforcement, saying that it would dissuade foreign investment and weaken the country's already woeful economy.
"In the present circumstances where the whole economy is in dire straits and the majority of companies are fighting for survival, any new indigenization activity or threats are simply counterproductive," the Movement for Democratic Change, the main opposition party, said in a statement. "It's time the government faced reality and abandoned this futile exercise, which is doing nothing to take the country forward."
The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions also joined calls to abandon the indigenization plan, arguing that it would have a negative impact on workers.
Zhuwao, though, brushed off the criticisms in a recent interview with Voice of America, and said Zimbabwe needs to enforce the indigenization law to show investors it is serious when it implements new regulations.
"My view is that there is need to put finality to this issue," Zhuwao said. "So that people know that when the government of Zimbabwe puts in place a law, it will abide by that law. Now if we do not abide by the indigenization law, then how can any other investor believe that we are serious about abiding by any other law?"
The supreme organ for the coordination of security in the country, the Joint Operations Command (JOC), Friday summoned the opposition Movement for Democratic Change led by Morgan Tsvangirai and pressed the party to postpone a protest next Thursday against the alleged disappearance of $15 billion from government coffers.
The MDC-T told VOA Studio 7 it wants to hold a march to protest against the disappearance of the money earned from the mining of diamonds in Manicaland province and the general deterioration of the economic situation caused by what the party says is corruption.
Studio 7 spoke to the partys secretary general, Douglas Mwonzora who said the protest has now been penciled for April 14th in Harare.
We thought that we were going to have our march next week but we will agree to postpone it to the 14th of April we dont want to give them an excuse for anything, he said.
He said so far the police had promised that they were not going to disrupt the march but they warned them that if they dont behave and tried to stop them on the 14th they would be confronted.
Mwonzora said they were inviting people across the political divide, civic organizations and all the people who were fed up with the prevailing poverty in the country largely blamed on the government..
And we made it clear to JOC that would only call off the march if the government shows us where the $15 billion and also if the government shows us the two million jobs, he said.
A local think tank, the Zimbabwe Democracy Institute (ZDI) has released a report indicating that factionalism, not the opposition or international pressure will ultimately lead to the demise of the ruling Zanu-PF party.
In the report, titled, Elite Discohesion and Authoritarian Erosion; Zanu-PF on the Precipice, ZDI argues that, the warring parties in the ruling Zanu-PF party appear determined to decimate each other, leaving the political party severely weakened than at any point since its formation in 1963.
The group also says the entry of First Lady Grace, into mainstream Zanu PF politics in 2014, arguably heralded, what ZDI says is the summit of elite discohesion and fissures in all organs of the party including the Womens League that she leads.
The report says alleged factional wars between the Grace Mugabe-leaning Generation 40 and the Team Lacoste backing Vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa has worsened the crisis.
The ZDI says lack of a succession framework and President Robert Mugabes advanced age are now a cause for serious concern.
The report notes that Mr. Mugabe is now losing control of the party and this is reflected in factional fights involving war veterans, youths, women and the securocrats.
ZDI director Pedzisayi Ruhanya told VOA Studio 7 that with the level of infighting Zanu-PF will lose the next elections to the opposition.
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.
Harare Central Hospital intends to shut down its Outpatient Department Friday due to lack of doctors.
In a statement, the hospitals chief executive officer, a Ms. P.M. Zvavamwe, said the continued industrial action by junior resident medical officers over contracts has made the situation at the hospital unmanageable and unsafe for both doctors and patients.
The hospital said it will only be able to cover dire emergencies. Another major referral center, Mpilo Hospital shut down its Outpatient Department recently, citing the same problems.
Junior doctors, who were supposed to have started duty on the first day of March, are refusing to sign employment contracts. They are arguing that the adjusted contracts are still vague and as a result, violated their rights as workers.
The Health Services Board availed new contracts for the junior doctors with a salary package of $895 per month including allowances, but the doctors have said they will still not take the offer.
Studio 7 failed to get a comment from Harare Hospital and the Ministry of Health.
But Dr. Rutendo Bonde of the Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights said they think the decision taken by the hospital was the best option available.
It is a sad development and it is an understandable development when we consider the issues which have to do with quality of care which are being addressed by the health care workers who are working in the central hospital, Bonde said.
She said the doctor-to-patient ratio as it stands now without the junior practitioners was over-burdening middle and senior doctors resulting in poor clinical outcomes for members of the public seeking help at the affected institutions.
"The minister should have come up with a contingency plan by bringing in army doctors. Everybody knew about this contract issue since last December that the junior doctors were not going to sign the contracts," said Dr. Bonde.
The University of Minnesotas use of fetal tissue for research was back in the spotlight Thursday in the House Health and Human Services Finance Committee during a contentious debate over the ethical standards for such research.
Rep. Abigail Whelan (R-Anoka) sponsors HF2865, which would withhold $14 million in future university funding unless it establishes a fetal tissue research center to oversee the universitys use of fetal tissue and procure the tissue for research. It would be prohibited from purchasing tissue that isnt the result from the natural death of a fetus.
The bill that has 20 Republican sponsors and zero DFLers was approved 10-6 and referred to the House Higher Education Policy and Finance Committee. There is no Senate companion.
The withheld funding would be part of the $30 million appropriated by Legislature in 2015 to boost the universitys medical school. Specifically, the bill would eliminate $15 million allocated for Fiscal Year 2017, of which $1 million would be reallocated to fund the center. The remaining $14 million would be reappropriated in Fiscal Year 2018 if the center is established.
House Health and Human Services Finance Committee 3/31/16
Funding can now be used to purchase aborted fetus tissue, Whelan said.
The bill would also assert a legislative finding that the university disposed of aborted fetuses in a manner inconsistent with state regulations.
Supporters argued the bill would set a standard for university research and remove a controversial aspect without preventing fetal tissue research.
It boils down to we have strong ethical guidelines or we dont, said Rep. Glenn Gruenhagen (R-Glencoe).
Rep. Erin Murphy (DFL-St. Paul) objected to the bill, arguing it was a legislator asking to punish the university for something she thinks they did wrong.
She said the bill is troubling because it could seriously hinder research into cures for serious diseases, something many families are struggling with.
Legislative Auditor Jim Nobles testified Tuesday in the higher education committee that a review of the universitys fetal tissue research will begin in a few weeks. HF3130, a bill sponsored by Rep. Matt Dean (R-Dellwood) and held over by that committee, would request such an audit.
Each month, Boris Kachka offers nonfiction and fiction book recommendations. You should read as many of them as possible.
Kill Em and Leave: Searching for James Brown and the American Soul, by James McBride (Spiegel & Grau, April 6)
The author of the best-selling memoir The Color of Water and the award-winning novel The Good Lord Bird turns out to be the biographer of James Brown weve been waiting for. Theres some new dirt on the soul legends early life in this digressive amalgam of journalism and memoir, and more about Browns decadelong afterlife a pileup of lawsuits over a $100 million estate that should have gone to poor Southern schoolchildren years ago. But McBrides real quarry is race and poverty in a country that wants to change the subject.
Tuesday Nights in 1980, by Molly Prentiss (Scout Press, April 5)
Dropping her first novel on the wrong side of a New York nostalgia trendlet, Prentiss risks turning off readers nostalgic for a time before culture makers began ransacking the Bad Old Days. But her writing is as vivid and sensitive as the pensees of her synesthetic art-critic protagonist, whose intersection with an Argentine refugee painter sets the novel in motion. Prentisss descriptions of the eighties art world ring true on both the texture of the work and its go-go capitalist corruption. Stumbles into broadness and sentimentality are mercifully few, a small price to pay for exuberance and heart.
Consequence, by Eric Fair (Henry Holt, April 5)
A certain orange candidates savage bluster is reason enough to revisit our worst abuses in Iraq. Fair, who followed brutal orders as an Abu Ghraib interrogator, has no choice but to relive those sessions, mainly in his nightmares. His decision to assemble them into a memoir isnt necessarily heroic, but his self-lacerating moral clarity might be. Fears journey from Pennsylvania to the army, the police, government-contract work, a Christian seminary, and a heart transplant all narrated in staccato present tense fills out the picture of a good soldier doing bad work in a terrible war.
Vexation Lullaby, by Justin Tussing (Catapult, April 12)
If rock celebrities are projections of their fans fears and desires, then what Tussing has done in his second novel about an enigmatic old-timer who bears traces of Dylan and Springsteen is turn the projector around. With a perfect ear and a dry tongue, Tussing nails the ragged star Jimmy Cross and his populist poetry, but his central subjects are two men who become entangled with his never-ending tour. Peter is a lonely doctor embedded on the bus, Pennyman a fan-blogger whos forsaken his own life to stalk Crosss. Their stories converge with a sweetness that feels earned.
The Long Shadow of Small Ghosts, by Laura Tillman (Scribner, April 5)
Even fantastic true crime can descend into sensationalism in the service of reader-voyeurs. It speaks well of Tillman that her first instinct, on learning about the grisly murder of three children by a mentally unbalanced couple in Brownsville, Texas, was to look away. When she did finally dig in, her work pivoted to the larger and more important implications of the crime and its aftermath: the impact on close-knit neighbors, who consider demolishing the scene of the crime, and the consequences of jailing and executing the criminally insane.
My Struggle: Book Five, by Karl Ove Knausgaard, trans. by Don Bartlett (Archipelago, April 19)
The logorrheic Norwegian diarist is at his best when toggling between the personal and theoretical the grit of experience and the quandaries of self, the drunken escapades and the contemplation of Art. This entry in the six-book series on Knausgaards life is his most structurally conventional volume and one of his most broadly compelling. The pointillist portrait of the artist as a bumbling striver spans the 14 years he spent in Bergen finding a way to turn his calling into a craft. In previous books weve seen the callow youth and the tortured father; here is the grisly connective tissue.
The Ukrainian and Russian Notebooks, by Igort (Simon & Schuster, April 26)
Modern comics thrive on juxtaposition image against text but this journalist-illustrators devastating graphic memoir smashes together more than just words and pictures. Stalins deliberate starving of Ukraine forms the first, oral-historical half of the book; the second delves into the work of Anna Politkovskaya, the Russian journalist murdered in 2006 for reporting on atrocities in Chechnya. Connecting them is Putins invasion of Ukraine, a new episode of Russian barbarism. Igorts images can be brutal, but theyre also clever, rich in both reference and flair, hard to look at and impossible to ignore.
Hystopia, by David Means (FSG, April 19)
John F. Kennedy survives multiple assassination attempts and soldiers on into a sinister third term; so does the Vietnam War, abetted by a new drug that enfolds PTSD-suffering vets and reintroduces them into society namely a post-riot Grid in Michigan with very mixed results. Its easy to think of Oliver Stone on a psychedelic sci-fi bender, but Means, up to now a short-story writer, brings rigorous interiority to the characters enmeshed in a violent, careening plot, along with weird digressions and meta-textual flourishes reminiscent of Pynchon at his righteous angriest.
Conan. Photo: Kevin Winter/ Getty Images
Ready for another of Conan OBriens travelogues? His pre-taped Conan in Korea special airs April 9 (a Saturday!), at 11 p.m, on TBS. Though its not the late-night series first remote (Conans also been to Armenia, Cuba, and Qatar), it was the teams first time filming in East Asia. Shenanigans from the weeklong tour, which filmed in February, included a romantic appearance on a Korean drama, a trip to Seouls Noryangjin Fish Market, a DMZ visit with The Walking Deads Steven Yeun, and a J.Y. Park music video. Prep by revisiting last years Korean spa pit stop heres hoping we get that lunacy times ten.
Photo: Jan Versweyveld
According to one survey of high-school lit teachers, The Crucible by Arthur Miller is the most widely taught play, outside of Shakespeare, in American classrooms. (A Raisin in the Sun and Death of a Salesman follow.) Given the way its almost universally presented as a point-by-point mapping of the McCarthy witch hunts of the 1940s and 50s onto the actual witch trials of Puritan Salem in 1692 its probably received by most students, no less than by most theater critics, as cod-liver oil, more medicinal than entertaining. Reviews of the 1953 Broadway premiere highlighted Millers political passion and daring; the play was certainly a response to, and a kind of baiting of, the House Un-American Activities Committee. But to many, the passion was achieved at the cost of theatrical imagination. George Jean Nathan called The Crucible an honorable sermon whose sting had been disinfected with an editorial tincture.
I wonder what Nathan (and generations of American sophomores) would make of the gripping, emotional revival, directed by the Belgian avant-gardist Ivo van Hove, that opened tonight at the Walter Kerr. (Kerr himself called the play a mechanical parable that lives not in the warmth of humbly observed human souls but in the ideological heat of polemic.) They would of course recognize the story; the text has been slightly edited, with the permission of the Miller estate, but unless you recently reread it, you would hardly notice the disappearance of a few minor characters, such as the homeless woman Sarah Good. It is still a brilliant demonstration of the hysteria to which a repressive society is susceptible, as trumped-up charges of witchcraft ignite a disastrous series of betrayals.
But even on paper it is more than a demonstration. Part of the moral beauty of the play is its alertness to the ambiguities of blame for those charges: Does the trouble begin with Abigail Williams, the precocious 17-year-old caught dancing in the woods with four other girls in a manner the Puritans consider prima facie diabolical? Or is Abigail, who immediately rats on the black servant, merely an intermediary link in the chain? For as surely as the infection extends outward into the public sphere, bringing down even the towns most valued citizens, it also extends inward and backward, implicating individual relationships and psychopathology. Abigails hysteria, we quickly learn, is fundamentally romantic. Still in love with John Proctor, a married man who knew her but then cast her out, she hopes to regain his affection by eliminating the competition. She thinks to dance with me on my wifes grave, Proctor says grimly of Abigails accusations.
So is John Proctor to blame? Or, taking a step even further back, is his wife, Elizabeth? (Shes dour.) Or is the external pressure of the powerful the arriviste reverend, the imperious deputy governor who descends on Salem to conduct the trials more salient? One by one, the play tests each individual who comes into contact with the superheated situation. Some are merely venal or cowardly, but some buckle in order to protect others, and one, in a classic Miller moment, takes the high road for a low reason. It is not only the bad who behave badly, The Crucible demonstrates. Good people are inevitably implicated, if only by their attempts at passivity.
This atmosphere of contagion and moral panic obviously parallels that fomented by HUAC; Miller was inspired to write the play after his friend Elia Kazan named names in 1952. But at the same time, Millers deliberate distortions of the Salem record usually complicate rather than support the parallels. (Proctor is younger and Abigail older than their historical antecedents, presumably to activate the sexual component of the story.) Indeed, its difficult to fathom how the plot itself, with its keenly psychological bent, could be reduced so simplistically to the mere parable often seen by critics (and teachers). Certainly van Hoves production does everything possible to foreground the human questions, partly by neutralizing the exotic specifics. It is set (by Jan Versweyveld) in a schoolroom, albeit one so vast and cold it looks like a repurposed New England warehouse. Wojciech Dziedzics costumes, while by no means period, are modest enough to avoid suggesting that physical comfort and freedom are part of the world these characters inhabit. And van Hove (working with the choreographer Steven Hoggett) does wonderful things with his staging, especially of the teenage girls. They disperse and clump for warmth like bats, an image that suggests both virality and vulnerability. Through such choices we understand Millers irony that those accused of wielding demonic power are those who have none of the regular kind.
If van Hoves directorial choices generally support and enliven the text, and force us to see it fresh, its not because he has abandoned his avant-garde armamentarium. This Crucible features plenty of his signature flourishes, some more effective than others. As in his recent production of A View From the Bridge, he overdoes the mood music, here an original score by Philip Glass that gets annoying fast. Literalists may not like the intrusions of magic in the form of some nifty video and special effects; I heard some audience members complain that these effects muddied Millers argument by suggesting that witchcraft really occurred. (I wouldnt have thought a production needed to immunize itself against such an interpretation!) For me, the effects not only demonstrated the mental state of those transported by hysteria, but extended it, viscerally, to the audience. Even the arrival at the beginning of the second act of a character not mentioned in the script made sense to me as a way of reawakening our imaginations to horror. In van Hoves vision of Millers world, the distinctions between human and inhuman, between animate and inanimate, are always collapsing. When the act curtain on more than one occasion went up then quickly down before rising once more, as if by itself, it seemed to be saying to us: Look again.
On the occasions that van Hoves ideas have become problematic, its because they have replaced or obscured the interpersonal conflict that fuels most plays. In his version of The Little Foxes for New York Theatre Workshop in 2010, for instance, the formidable cast seemed entirely secondary to a concept involving live video. Thats not a problem here (nor was it in A View From the Bridge). Ben Whishaw and Sophie Okonedo, as the Proctors, give wrenching performances, shorn of vanity, as if the plays message of communal guilt had infected them personally. As the deputy governor, Ciaran Hinds does a bit of Pacino-style word swallowing but nevertheless offers a richly complicated portrait of the vanity of power. (One way The Crucible doesnt track with the Red Scare* is that this character is so much smarter than Joseph McCarthy.) In important supporting roles, Jason Butler Harner, Tina Benko, Thomas Jay Ryan, Brenda Wehle, Bill Camp, and Jim Norton all make strong impressions while being dragged down by the whirlpool of communal rage. But it seems as if van Hove could not decide how he wanted to interpret the girls. Saoirse Ronan as Abigail suggests no real excuse for her cold manipulations: She just shines with maleficence. And as Mary Warren, the girl who vacillates about the truth, Tavi Gevinson (who is just 19 herself) does not quite convince us on either side of her story.
Shes heartbreaking anyway; thats the power of Millers writing. I think the mistake critics and teachers often make about The Crucible is that they read it like a novel, and sometimes its staged that way, all bonnets and doublets. Van Hove sweeps all that away, letting us feel more strongly the role the plays overwhelming structural brilliance plays in locking us down. Its not that Miller isnt interested in characters, its that he sees society as a kind of Uber-character, and not a very magnanimous one. (HUAC revoked his passport to attend the plays 1954 London opening.) The result isnt medicinal, its terrifying, when done right. This is the first production of The Crucible Ive seen in which the devil, which is to say us collectively, is really given his due.
The Crucible is at the Walter Kerr Theater through July 17.
*This review originally misidentified the composer of the original score and contained a historical inaccuracy. We regret the errors.
Claudia Rankine onstage at the New Yorker Festival in 2015 Photo: Anna Webber/Getty Images
The roving annual conference of MFA literary culture known as AWP (for Association of Writers and Writing Programs), landed yesterday in Los Angeles. In contrast with the trade-oriented BookExpo, indie-heavy AWP is known for its vibe of support, confidence building, and opportunities to dance with purple-haired poets to a DJ set by Roxane Gay. (Sample panel: Networking for Introverts.) But Thursday evenings keynote speaker, Claudia Rankine, is better known for broadsides than bromides. Her stated topic was what keeps us uncomfortable in each others presence at the book fair, or, more specifically, what she sees as persistent racial tokenism in MFA workshops. Her most conciliatory note came at the end, and it was aimed not at the many hundreds of writers and teachers sitting rapt in the L.A. Convention Centers vast auditorium, but at the millions of people currently falling for Donald Trump.
Rankine rose to literary fame with Citizen, 2014s well-timed amalgam of poetry, essay, and Serena Williams analysis, which on the heels of Black Lives Matter achieved something extremely rare by making it onto the Times nonfiction best-seller list. There are 150,000 copies in print, a feat proudly noted before her talk last night by David St. John, the head of Rankines English department at USC. You dont hear a lot of crowing over sales figures at AWP. But as you well know thats not enough copies because every person in this country needs to read Citizen, said St. John, before imploring the audience to rise up out of your seats and greet Rankine.
Elegant and warm in a thick violet scarf and a green-embroidered shrug, Rankine opened funny, showing off slides of L.A.s best sights Randys Donuts, the Museum of Jurassic Technology, and her own lush backyard before moving on to say that even many MFA courses that have diversified student bodies have successfully tokenized a person of color, objectified, exploited and disregarded her all at once. One of her raucous applause lines: Unintentionally discriminating is as bad as intentionally discriminating because the result is the same.
By way of illustration, Rankine read out loud an email sent to her by an (anonymous) African-American student who was thinking of leaving his or her program because they were told that certain life experiences are said to belong to sociology and not to poetry, and that to write beyond the imaginations notion of normality is to write political poetry, sociology, identity politics poetry, protest poetry many labels but none of them poetry. For in order for poetry to be poetry, Rankine continued, white readers must find it relatable, and only then can it transcend its unrelatable colored writer.
Rankine is celebrated for straddling genres Citizen was nominated for National Book Critic Circle Awards in both poetry and criticism and beneath her familiar critique of the privilege of white dominance was the notion that separating writing from politics is itself an act of exclusion. When a student takes time to point this out by stating the simple facts, she said, that student is often read by white writers in positions of authority as problematic and ungrateful.
She went on to offer an example of what some of you white people could do to at least make race acknowledgment part of their worldview. She read a poem by the white poet Joshua Weiner*, Cloak, about a childhood summer day, and then his own lengthy revision (inspired by Rankine), which reinstated a black friend hed had at the time as well as the backdrop of school busing in late-70s Trenton thus turning an amorphous elegy into a many-layered political critique.
Then, unexpectedly, Rankine turned the revisionist impulse on herself. I thought about who wasnt represented in my own work, and who I had little contact with in my own life. The answer was poor working-class white people, those who were not thinking about inequities in pedagogy. So she wrote a poem about it, called Sound and Fury a portrait of the Trump voter as a cast-aside worker which she read to the silent audience in its entirety. Included was a litany of economic woes foreclosure, vanished pensions, school systems in disrepair, free trade though most in the room were probably most familiar with the last: debt. She spoke of seeing hands which assembled and packaged and built harden into a fury that cannot call power to account, because White cant strike its own structure. White cant oust its own system.
Sound and Fury concluded, In daylight this right to righteous rage doubles down the supremacy of white in this way. Rankine then ended the talk by revising herself again changing the last three words. Now they read, in our way, because racism is everyones problem even those lucky enough to experience it in poetry workshops rather than depressed factory towns or on the wrong end of a police officers gun.
* A change has been made to reflect an earlier misidentification error.
We have just gotten word from the TV gods that Netflixs Gilmore Girls revival will, in fact, end with Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladinos famously secret, pre-planned four words. (For the plainly ignorant, also how dare you: She was going to end Gilmore Girls with these four words initially, but was not a part of what was previously the final season, season seven. So nobody ever got to hear em!) This will probably be the most emotional five seconds of the Gilmore Girls revival, closely followed by every other second of the Gilmore Girls revival.
By the way, Yanic Truesdale says (brags, really) that he knows the four words, because hes read the script. Ooh lala. He cant tell us what they are, of course, but told US Weekly: I know them because I read the script! I always felt it was intriguing, like everyone else. I was like, How does she know the last four words? But when I read it, I was like, Oh, okay. That makes sense. I can see now why she knew that that would be said. So, not only do we know Gilmore Girls will end with the hallowed four words, we know that they will also be PERFECT. Wow. Try to pay attention to your self-care during your impending Gilmore Girls binge-viewing, everyone. Maybe preemptively call out of work the next day. If recovering from the emotional whirlwind of watching the Gilmore Girls revival isnt cause for a personal day, then what, is, really? (The answer is: calling off your engagement with Max Medina.)
A quick sex-ed lesson: There is good sex screaming and there is bad sex screaming. When It Hurts So Bad features two cases of the latter, unfortunately.
The first of those cases is patient-based Very Small Ashley gets injured after having sex with Very Big Chris and the other instance comes from our heroine Meredith Grey.
After Mer and Major Handsome share some very cute banter on her doorstep, he says good night with his mouth, but invite me in with his eyes and I feel all sorts of things all over my body. Thats the truest account I could ever provide you with how that scene went down.
Meredith, too, feels things all over her body, and Major Handsome ends up in her bed. We know this because the next morning, she promptly kicks him out of it. Maggie hears her sister yelling for Thorpe to get out and comes running, only to find a very confused Major Handsome standing in his underwear. Maggie and Amelia (whos crashing at the house after her troubles with Owen) arent clear on the details, but if their sister wants the hot doc out, hes out.
Meredith is physically fine, but emotionally, not so much. She refuses to talk about the night she spent with Thorpe. Instead, all she wants to do is clean. She wipes down the counters, bleaches the oven is that a thing? and when the kitchen is clean, Meredith moves to the living room. She seems particularly invigorated by an old carpet stain.
Though Maggie and Amelia are happy to oblige Mers new fondness for housekeeping, they realize that if they want to get her to open up, they need to call in the big guns: Alex Karev. Of course, Alex cancels surgeries when he hears there is a Meredith Emergency. Of course, Alex comes barreling into the house wanting to punch Major Handsome, no questions asked. Of course, Alex is the one person for whom Meredith finally stops cleaning and starts talking. This will all be very important in season 17 of Greys Anatomy, when Alex and Meredith finally admit theyve been in love with each other the whole time.
While reorganizing her closet, Meredith finds Dereks old blanket. Instead of breaking down, she wraps herself up and declares her epic cleaning sesh to be at an end. And then, she goes and makes a fire. In front of that fire, she explains to Alex that she always hated this blanket, but now its here and Derek is gone. She also confesses that her post-sex freak-out wasnt because it was terrible, it was because it wasnt terrible. It was kind of great. She wasnt ready for that.
Because Major Handsome is a gentleman, he shows up later to make sure Meredith is okay. Shes not, but at least shes honest with him. She explains that he was the first since her husband died two years ago, and that even though she wants to be ready for a new relationship, she isnt. Then theres more cute banter on the doorstep! Major Handsome is more than happy to back off, but he isnt giving up for good. Meredith is a girl worth waiting for. There goes my body again, feeling all sorts of things.
Serious question: Is Merediths doorstep the new elevator?
Merediths cleaning extravaganza isnt just a distraction for her, however. Amelia and Maggie also use it as an excuse to avoid some tough conversations with the men in their lives. Amelia hasnt spoken to Owen since she found him drunk in his trailer on his birthday. (Weve all been there!) Owen finds out Amelias hiding at Merediths and appears AT THE DOORSTEP see, the doorstep is getting all the angst these days! with a very heartfelt apology. Owen knows that Amelia has only recently gotten sober again, and his drunken behavior was thoughtless. Amelia knows he didnt do it on purpose, but she cant count on his promise that itll never happen again. Amelia is choosing herself and her sobriety.
Its a huge deal for her to make such a healthy choice, right? I think the maybe not at all finality of the breakup was a little dramatic, but it was nice to see Amelia make a smart decision for once. Im proud of her. Wait, am I growing, too?!
Maggie has the opposite problem of Amelia: She cant get her boyfriend to call her. Like, at all. DeLucas been standoffish since the two went public and when she starts listing all the ways in which hes been weird lately, Amelia, Meredith, and Alex have to inform Mags that shes getting the big ol brush-off.
Maggie confronts DeLuca. When she asks if he still wants to be with her and he hesitates, she calls the whole thing off. She doesnt have time for games. I hope DeLuca realizes that in this relationship, its all his loss. Pierce is a catch. She should mash faces with Riggs or something.
Unfortunately, the one relationship moving forward is the one no one really cares about: Callie and Penny. I feel no heat towards this pairing. In fact, my note for their first scene was, Wait, this is still happening? Not only is it still happening, it may be around for a while.
Things arent looking great when Penny tells Callie she loves her and Callie responds with a tepid thank you. Penny is worried that she and Callie arent in the same place emotionally. This becomes even more apparent when Sofia who is old enough to speak in adorable, full sentences, by the way is brought into the hospital with a gash on her head, and Penny is the only one available to treat her.
Callie gets awkward and makes up a story about not wanting Penny around Sofia yet because it makes Arizona uncomfortable. Penny quickly discovers this is a lie, and she isnt happy about it. After some prodding from Bailey, Callie admits that she loves Penny, but shes scared of moving too fast. She always moves too fast. Too fast be damned! In the end, Callie officially introduces Penny to Sofia. Penny and Callie are still on, and were all still yawning.
Over in the land of #Japril, Mama Avery is in town and were all rejoicing. Mama Avery always manages to keep things interesting. Jackson forbids his mother from interfering with April, which means she immediately does. Catherine assures April that she doesnt want to fight; she only wants to know how her ex-daughter-in-law is feeling. Before long, April opens up to Catherine in a way she still hasnt with Jackson.
Later, inspired by her conversation with Catherine, April approaches Jackson she wants to talk things out. Jackson pulls his mother aside to thank her for disregarding his wishes. It seems as though her chat with April could change everything for them. Catherine agrees: She got all the information she needs to prove April committed fraud by signing the divorce papers without disclosing that she was pregnant. Catherine is out for blood. Or, like, parental rights for Jackson.
Laughter Is the Best Medicine, Except for Real Medicine:
A historical moment: I enjoyed Jo tonight! Her gasping realization that Callie was lying to Penny was top-notch.
Why are you all exchanging looks and not words?
More stories of Stephanies sexual exploits in college, please!
Bens visual of a teacup chihuahua climbing a ladder to have sex with a German shepherd. Also, upon further research (Googling teacup chihuahua), Ive come to the conclusion that this breeding is either impossible or the chihuahua would have to be the male. Right? RIGHT?!
Did AZ seriously try to put some of the blame for betraying Aprils trust (and violating HIPAA) on Alex? I miss Sexual Renaissance Arizona. Wingman Webber would not suffer her foolery.
The Sob Scale: 0/10
No crying tonight, but there were some good sighs: Meredith opening up to Alex by the fire, Alex storming into La Casa de Grey wanting to crack Major Handsomes Skull, Alexs concern for the whereabouts of the pizza. Basically anything Alex-related. Sigh.
AUSTIN Texans in the agriculture industry are urging state lawmakers to do everything in their power to pressure Congress to lift a 55-year-old trade embargo with Cuba a move they say could dramatically bolster the fortunes of struggling wheat, rice and corn growers, cattle raisers and other industries that profited from trade with the country long ago.
Its no secret that the market conditions for agriculture are declining, Ben Scholz, a North Texas wheat farmer, told a joint Texas House committee hearing Thursday. We must do everything in our power to free up potential production.
Optimism for a breakthrough is at long-time high as President Barack Obama takes early steps to thaw relations between the countries including his landmark visit to the island last week. But unless Congress ultimately lifts the embargo, Texans will continue to lose out on major trade opportunities with a country that imports about 80 percent of its food, said experts in agriculture and trade.
Please use any influence you have with our congressmen to help us lift that, urged Keith Gray, director of Houston-based Riviana Foods, a major rice distributor.
Lawmakers said they had the industrys back and then some.
Consider us as allies. Lets lock arms together, said Rep. Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas, who was among the Texas delegation led by Gov. Greg Abbott that traveled to Cuba and met with officials last year.
Without trade restrictions, Texas agriculture exports to Cuba could reach $18.8 million each year and contribute to $43 million in annual economic activity, according to recent study by Texas A&M Universitys Center for North American Studies.
Texas, with its nearby ports, was once a leading exporter to Cuba largely of agriculture and food products in a partnership that helped produce hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars in revenue.
Michael Goudeau, a sixth-generation Wharton County cattle rancher, said his family did more business with Cuba than any other country up until 1958. But current restrictions have since dramatically reduced that trade to no live cattle and just a few shipments of semen in the past few years.
Goudeau, who also recently visited the island, said Cubans are interested in crossbreeding their stock with Texas cattle, considering them superior.
Anything well send over there will help improve their herd improve their beef industry, he said.
The Cuban-Texan relationship didnt completely end with the embargo. Trade is legal under the provisions of the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000. That allows U.S. businesses to ship a limited amount of products to Cuba for profit.
But major restrictions linger, particularly in the agriculture sector, which is not allowed to extend credit. Though the Obama administration recently moved to allow financing on some U.S. exports, the policy change did not apply to agriculture commodities.
As a result, Cuba has looked to China, France, Spain, Brazil and other countries for easier access to those products even if they offer lower quality goods than Texas or other states might.
They have to pay cash in advance, and they cant even see what theyre buying, said Luis Ribera, of the Texas A&M Center. They want U.S. products. They want quality.
Anchia said Texas lawmakers would continue to push for quicker change by passing more resolutions, writing letters and meeting with policymakers. But the rest is up to Congress, he said, noting that the Legislature passed a resolution calling for an end to the embargo as far back as 2001.
U.S. Reps. Michael Conaway, of Midland, and Ted Poe, of Humble, both Republicans, are among about two dozen cosponsors of the Cuba Agricultural Exports Act, legislation that would ease the financing restrictions. Introduced last October, it has yet to clear a House committee.
With that effort pending, the next minor development could come soon a potential Texas visit from a Cuban delegation, which would tour farms and ranches and meet with state officials.
Dee Vaughan, a corn producer in the Texas Panhandle who is working with several ag groups to bring the Cubans here, said he hopes to get confirmation within a week. How long has it been since such a visit?
Vaughan wasnt sure.
A long time, he said.
Soul singer Lee Fields and his six-piece band the Expressions will kick off the city of Wacos annual Brazos Nights concert series at 7 p.m. Friday at Indian Spring Park.
Also performing will be Austins Brown Sabbath, with its Latin-funk interpretations of Black Sabbath hits.
Concertgoers can bring lawn chairs and blankets, but tents and pets are not allowed.
For more information, visit www.brazos nightswaco.com.
Science magic show
Baylor Universitys Mayborn Museum Complex, 1300 S. University Parks Drive, will have a Sic Em Science Day from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
Baylor students will present a chemistry magic show at 1 p.m., as well as other educational activities.
Regular admission rates will apply.
For more information, visit www.mayborn museum.com.
Performing arts camp
Waco Childrens Theatre will conduct registration for its 25th annual summer performing arts camp, for youth ages 6 to 18, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Shivers and Associates, 8283 Bosque Blvd. in Woodway.
The camp, which includes classes in acting, dance, voice, art and design, as well as auditions, rehearsals and performances, will be held at Scottish Rite Library and Museum, 2801 W. Waco Drive.
Campers in kindergarten through the eighth grade will meet from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 6-19.
Teen campers will meet from 2 to 5 p.m. June 6-17 and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 20-30.
For more information, call Linda Haskett at 776-0707.
Speech competition
Waco-area Toastmaster clubs will conduct Tall Tale and International Speech competitions at 9:30 a.m. Saturday at the Texas Farm Bureau Conference Center, 7420 Fish Pond Road.
Representatives selected from eight Waco-area clubs will compete.
The competition is open to the public.
For more information, visit www.D25Toast masters.org.
Boots on the Brazos
The Arc of McLennan County will have its annual Boots on the Brazos fundraiser from 7 to 11 p.m. Saturday in the Brazos Room at the Waco Convention Center, 100 Washington Ave.
The event will include a barbecue dinner, a raffle, dancing, and live music from Billy Roy and Heart of the Night.
Tickets cost $90.
For more information, call 756-7491 or visit www.WacoArc.org.
Submit items for Briefly in printed or typed form to Briefly, P.O. Box 2588, Waco 76702-2588; fax to 757-0302; or email to goingson@wacotrib.com.
Poultry giant Pilgrims Pride has been fined $122,500 for allegedly allowing the release of anhydrous ammonia at its Waco plant in September, jeopardizing the safety of employees, the Occupational Safety & Health Administration has announced.
The U.S. Department of Labor said in a report that its OSHA unit cited Pilgrims Pride Corp. for two repeat and two serious violations.
Anhydrous ammonia can have devastating and lethal effects, said Jack Rector, OSHAs area director in Fort Worth. Had Pilgrims had the right processes in place, this ammonia release may have been prevented. We will continue to monitor the companys progress as they make much-needed improvements to equipment, procedures and training.
Most meatpacking, poultry and food processing plants use thousands of pounds of anhydrous ammonia in their refrigeration systems.
OSHA issued the two repeat citations to Pilgrims for failing to implement proper standard operating procedures with accurate information on safety systems and how they worked.
Also, OSHA claimed the companys process for analyzing hazards such as the release of anhydrous ammonia failed to address issues at the plant.
The agency cited Pilgrims for the same or similar violations at its plants in Nacogdoches in February of 2015, and in DeQueen, Arkansas, in July 2013.
OSHA also issued serious citations against Pilgrims Pride for failing to use proper methods to prevent over-pressurization and explosions in the system at the Waco plant, and for placing the control and maintenance room facilities in the engine room for ammonia refrigeration.
Pilgrims, based in Greeley, Colorado, did not respond to an email message seeking comment on OSHAs legal action and fine.
The company employs more than 100 people at its Waco facility located at 2500 E. Lake Shore Drive.
Pilgrims Pride, later shortened to Pilgrims, was founded in 1946 by Aubrey Pilgrim and his partner, Pat Johns, in Pittsburg, Texas. It continued to grow under the leadership of Lonnie Bo Pilgrim, who appeared in television advertisements wearing pilgrim garb and claiming the company would never sell a fat chicken.
The company in 2006 completed the acquisition of Atlanta-based Gold Kist for $1.1 billion in cash and the assumption of about $144 million in debt. With the addition of Gold Kist, the third-largest poultry processor in America at the time, Pilgrims became the United States leading chicken company in terms of production.
2008 bankruptcy
But with the market changes that included record-high corn prices and an oversupply of chicken, Pilgrims in 2008 filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. During its recovery, it closed plants, eliminated thousands of administrative and production jobs and refocused on becoming a market-driven company.
It emerged from bankruptcy 13 months later, having repaid all creditors in full. The Brazilian food giant JBS acquired 64 percent of Pilgrims stock in 2009.
JBS, which relocated the companys headquarters to Colorado, now controls 75 percent of the company, according to its website.
Pilgrims now has operations in 12 states and can process more than 34 million birds per week, or more than 7 billion pounds of chicken annually.
The company has been the target of at least 13 OSHA investigations since 2011 and was formally charged with eight violations during that time, Juan Rodriguez, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Labor and OSHA, said by phone Thursday. He also confirmed the action taken against the Waco facility.
Pilgrims has 15 business days from the receipt of its citations and penalties to comply with or contest the rulings.
During a two-month period last year, OSHA responded to three incidents at the Pilgrims plant in Moorefield, West Virginia, one of which involved an employee having three fingers amputated while working with a blender and another having his arm fractured by a conveyor system.
Abbott High School senior Jacob Ott and sophomore Allyson Hamilton advanced to the quarterfinal round at the UIL state cross-examination debate contest held March 14 at the University of Texas at Austin.
This was Abbotts second year to compete in cross-examination debate and its first appearance at the state competition. Ott also was selected the fourth overall speaker in Conference 1A.
Hamilton was an alternate at the district level but filled in for original team member Daylan Schulz, who had a conflict and could not participate.
Ott plans to debate competitively in college next year either at the University of Texas-Arlington or Harvard University (both have offered him admission). Hamilton plans to gain more experience in debate and take Abbott back to state next year.
Abbotts alternates were junior Zach Kallus, sophomore Meredith Moore and freshman Adriana Kellum. Moore was on the fourth-place district team with Kallus.
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Abbott High School photo
Abbott High School students Jacob Ott (left) and Allyson Hamilton reached the quarterfinals of the Conference 1A state cross-examination debate contest.
Criminal complaints and bond conditions against more than three dozen bikers who were arrested in the May 17 Twin Peaks shootout but who have not been indicted were dismissed this week as a matter of law because the term of the grand jury considering their cases expired, a Houston attorney said Friday.
As of midnight Thursday, the term of the grand jury, which had been extended by three months, expired, meaning the criminal complaints and obligations of bonds against 38 bikers technically were dismissed.
Attorney Paul Looney, who represents William and Morgan English, met with 54th State District Judge Matt Johnson, District Attorney Abel Reyna and Reynas first assistant, Michael Jarrett, Friday morning and said the Englishes, who are expecting their first baby, are no longer under the shadow of pending first-degree felony charges or onerous bond restrictions.
They are just as free of the charges as you and I are, Looney said. There are times when it really feels good to be a lawyer, and this is one of those days. They deserve to be let out of it, they are out of it and I couldnt be happier.
William English, a welder from Brenham, said Friday he was pleased to get the news. When they were arrested, the husband-and-wife bikers were wearing patches that identified them as members of a group called Distorted, officials said.
Im so excited about this because, holy crap, I cant put it into words, William English said. I really cant. Knowing that its over and we dont have to worry about it anymore is just amazing.
The district attorneys office is not precluded from seeking indictments against the 38 at a later date. But for now, they are free and clear of the charges.
Neither Reyna nor Jarrett returned phone messages left at the DAs office Friday afternoon.
The grand jury indicted 106 bikers in November and returned 48 more indictments last week, all identical documents charging bikers with engaging in organized criminal activity while acting as members of criminal street gangs.
As to the Englishes, we had an examining trial where we proved they had no evidence against them of any kind of criminal activity, Looney said. They could not stretch an indictment against the Englishes. It would be legally impossible to stretch the facts to include the Englishes, and the prosecutors acted with a lot of integrity by not even presenting them to the grand jury.
Defense attorneys for many of the bikers have argued that their clients merely were in the wrong place at the wrong time and had nothing to do with the escalating bad blood between the Bandidos and Cossacks motorcycle groups.
Prosecutors contend those indicted were there as a show of support for one or the other warring factions.
No facts
The case ended just the way we thought it would, said Clay S. Conrad, Looneys law partner. These are people who were held on $1 million bonds. The cases have all ended with a whimper, dismissed because there were no facts justifying the charges against them.
Waco attorney Jonathan Sibley represents three members of a motorcycle club called Vice Grips, a small group from Austin that builds antique motorcycles and has no affiliation to other groups, Sibley said. They include Jonathan Lopez, Theron Rhoten and Ryan Craft, who also were not indicted before the grand jurys term expired.
I am looking at the law and will be talking to the DAs office to see where we are with my guys, Sibley said. They had already modified the conditions of their bonds by lifting travel restrictions and removing their ankle monitors. But they were only there (at Twin Peaks) for the meeting. They were there for legislative purposes, looking for legislative updates on biker issues.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is stepping in with $230,000 to help Mother Neff State Park recover from last years flooding, part of $21.2 million in help going to Texas and a total of $93 million going to state and local disaster recovery efforts.
The money going to Mother Neff will help pay to clear a logjam in the Leon River and stabilize a stream bank near a bridge on State Highway 236.
Kirk Hanlin, associate chief of the USDAs Natural Resources Conservation Service, said the initiative funded by the Emergency Watershed Protection Program will help repair damaged infrastructure, including roads, bridges and drainage culverts, and also help prevent future damage.
The park was declared a disaster area in May and has been flooded nine times since then. It is one of 55 Texas sites to receive funding from the program.
To receive money, sites must be sponsored by a state, tribal or local government entity. Congress created the program to clear clogged waterways, stabilize stream banks and soils and repair water control structures.
There are generations of Texans that went here for their family picnics and family reunions, Hanlin said. You have these memories you pass down, and theyre important.
Of the parks 400 acres, about 80 have been affected by flooding. Since May, the Texas Department of Transportation has led recovery efforts. In August, workers removed 36 truckloads of silt from park roads. The park estimates a similar amount still needs to be removed.
Park Superintendent Melissa Chadwick said the affected area attracts about 16,000 people per year.
Other sponsors
About 75 percent of the money going to Mother Neff State Park is from the federal government, and the remaining 25 percent is provided by other sponsors for technical assistance, physical labor and equipment. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is the lead sponsor.
Mother Nature always bats last, and shes always undefeated, said Rodney Franklin, Region 5 state parks director. Sometimes we dont get to defeat Mother Nature, we just get to react after Mother Nature has acted.
The area near the Leon River, the original part of the park, has been closed since May 24 because of the flooding. The logjam is one of 11 on the Leon River in Coryell County.
Cleanup of the area will begin as soon as possible, said Claude Ross, a state easement specialist for the Natural Resource Conservation Service.
Im extremely thrilled and extremely thankful to the NRCS, because without their assistance, the ball wouldnt continue to roll in order to take care of this significant event that impacts Mother Neff State Park and a lot of people who come to enjoy it, Franklin said.
Last week the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case presently called Little Sisters of the Poor v. Burwell. As is widely known, the Sisters, joined by many Protestant groups, challenged the Affordable Care Acts mandate on birth control. Even though the Obama administration devised a method by which religious organizations would not have to pay for birth control coverage, religious groups still had to formally start the bypass process by filing a letter. This, the Sisters argue, made them complicit in a practice (birth control) the Catholic Church forbids.
This is the first religious liberty case the court has heard since the passing of Justice Antonin Scalia. It may very well end in a 4-4 tie, which would leave intact lower court rulings, all but one of which favored the government against the Sisters.
If that happens, conservative Christians are likely to think, Oh, how we wish that Justice Scalia would have been here for this case. One problem: He was the author of the most notorious decision regarding religious liberty in the past 50 years. And, irony of ironies, the Sisters are appealing to a law that was passed precisely to overturn Scalias infamous decision.
Oregon v. Smith (1990) was largely overlooked in all the retrospectives and eulogies for Scalia. In the many obituaries and op-eds I read after his death, not a single one mentioned the case. Yet this was easily the most significant religious liberty decision of Scalias long career. It was also the most reviled.
The Smith decision is better remembered as the Peyote case. In the 1980s, Alfred Smith and Galen Black, two members of the Native America Church, were fired from their jobs as drug counselors (of all things) for ingesting the hallucinogenic drug peyote. This was a sacramental practice of their religion, something Native Americans had embraced for centuries. Because they had been fired for violating Oregons drug laws, Smith and Black were denied unemployment benefits. They sued, claiming the denial of benefits violated their right to the free exercise of religion.
As the case wound its way through appeals, most religious liberty experts believed Smith and Black would lose at the Supreme Court. At that time, the court held to a strict scrutiny standard whenever law or government regulatory power curtailed religious practice. Moreover, a state needed to show a compelling interest whenever its otherwise neutral laws infringed on religious free exercise. This compelling interest test, as it was called, had been developed by the high court in the 1960s as a way of interpreting and applying the free exercise clause of the First Amendment. In other words, because religious freedom is not absolute (you cant engage in human sacrifice, for example), the court developed the test as a way to gauge when it was permissible to restrict religion.
The common assumption leading up to the Smith decision was that, with the war on drugs at its height, Oregon would have little difficulty showing a compelling interest for enforcing its drug laws, even when such enforcement restricted the religious practices of a Native American religious group. Many individuals and groups had used the compelling interest test to argue for a religious exemption to various laws. Only two had ever won.
This time the high court shocked everyone. Scalia and the four justices who signed on to his majority opinion not only ruled in favor of Oregon and against Smith and Black but also threw out the compelling interest test in its entirety. Making this doubly surprising, the state of Oregon had not even asked the court to reconsider compelling interest. Rather, the states attorneys seemed quite content to simply pass the test to show convincingly that Oregon had a compelling interest in enforcing its drug laws.
But Scalia argued that if people, even in theory, could be granted an exemption from an otherwise constitutional law, we were courting anarchy. If people believed a particular law violated their religious practices, he continued, they should lobby their legislature for redress rather than asking the courts to grant an exemption. From the Smith decision forward, states no longer needed to show a compelling interest for restricting religion but merely that a law or regulatory practice was generally applicable that is, not intended specifically to curtail religion.
There followed a hue and cry that united groups across the political and theological spectrum. The Christian right as well as the secular left joined in denouncing the decision. The Southern Baptist Convention joined the ACLU, as did virtually every church-state lobby group whether evangelical, liberal Protestant, Catholic, Jewish or secularist. There was a consensus that the Supreme Court had gutted the First Amendments free exercise clause, placing religious liberty at the whim of majorities in legislatures. Congress responded to the uproar by enacting a law designed to overturn the Supreme Courts decision. The Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) passed with a unanimous voice vote in the House and only three nay votes in the Senate. President Bill Clinton signed it into law in 1993.
RFRA reinstated the compelling interest test for federal, state and local governments. Not a body to take a congressional smack-down lightly, the Supreme Court responded in Boerne (TX) v. Flores (1997) by striking down the state and local provisions of RFRA but leaving intact the laws application to the federal government. Many states responded to the Boerne decision by passing their own mini-RFRA laws, as they were called.
And all this brings us back to Little Sisters of the Poor v. Burwell, which just this week saw the court press lawyers on both sides to submit additional briefs, apparently to sound out a compromise. The basis of the Little Sisters claim is the compelling interest test embedded in the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. If Scalia were alive, he likely would side with the Sisters not because he was Catholic but because he believed in deference to legislatures. Oddly, the law to which he would have deferred was passed to overturn a court decision he wrote.
Barry G. Hankins is a professor of history at Baylor University. He recently authored with Thomas Kidd Baptists in America: A History.
Country
Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Canada Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cuba, Republic of Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Dominican Republic Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Haiti, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Jamaica Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Mexico, United Mexican States Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu US Virgin Islands Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland United States Minor Outlying Islands United States of America Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Its bad enough that an outrage was perpetrated last week against the voters of Maricopa County, Arizona. 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 U.S. 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.
Some Arizona voters waited in line for up to four hours to cast their ballots on March 22. Many took to social media to document their experiences in line, even after the winners were projected.
The results, entirely predictable, were endless lines akin to those that await the release of new iPhones. Its an analogy worth thinking about, as there is no right to own an iPhone but there is a right to vote. Many people 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 residents. The day after the primary, he wrote U.S. Attorney General Loretta E. 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 also 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, Stanton said. 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 been required to be cleared with the Justice Department because Arizona was one of the states the law covered. 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.
E.J. Dionne writes about politics. He is a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution, a government professor at Georgetown University and a commentator on politics for National Public Radio, ABCs This Week and MSNBC. He is the author of Why the Right Went Wrong.
Georgia Republican Gov. Nathan Deals promised veto of state legislation whose religious liberty provisions might have allowed taxpayer-funded homeless shelters, drug-counseling centers and even hospitals to discriminate against gays provoked plenty of outrage and debate on his Facebook page this week. Deal defended his decision after numerous corporations voiced opposition to the states anti-gay bill, including the NFL, NCAA, Disney and Apple. A sampling of the comments:
Troy Heard: Thumbs up! Thank you for not destroying Georgias fastest growing industries. Your veto takes a great deal of courage and falls in line with the true teaching of Jesus love one another.
Suzanne Reed Miranda: Money is the root of all evil.
Troy Heard: So are bigotry and hatred.
John Blum: Suzanne, is that why they pass the offering plate around in church? And if money is the ultimate evil, harsher than even homosexuality, then why is any Christian even in business to begin with?
Edward Smith: Troy, you know as much about the true teachings of Jesus as a gallon of cold water that has a quarter of a bullion cube in it knows of chicken soup. You heard nothing when the word of God was being proclaimed.
David Lindner: Gay lifestyle is an industry? Who knew?
Kathy Schroeder: Jesus did say to love one another. He did not say to condone one anothers sin. Yes, do read your Bible. Nathan Deal, you are just a politician. Money is it.
Jeff DeVincent: Kathy Schroeder, please note the Bible mandates that if youre going to take one law literally, then all biblical laws must be taken literally! You dont get to pick and choose, so you best be selling off your children and abstain from shellfish!
Jennifer Lowrey: No pastor has ever been made to marry someone they dont want to. When was the last time a Catholic church married a couple of Jewish people? Never!
Melissa Rzepka Martin: Troy Heard, sorry, sir, you are wrong. God never condoned sin! And pastors shouldnt be forced to partake of anything that goes against Bible teaching or anything for that matter. Our Constitution protects our religious freedom. I remind you, sir, God is watching!
Ethan Gillespie: Hypothetical question: I am a business owner (which is real). I deny a person my services (I fix phones/tablets) because they are gay. What do you think the general public would do to me? Do you think that I (or any other business) could stay in business by denying services because someone is gay? What would my competitors do when they find out Im turning down customers? I have more faith in Georgians. Businesses would be boycotted so quick down here for denying services.
Jarvis Greene: Everyone complaining, you have a weapon your wallet. Use it. Get everyone you know to boycott Disney, the NFL, the NBA, and be sure to refuse watching any of Disneys movies that were filmed in Georgia. Time to mobilize.
Jess Lopez: Bigotry and discrimination should never be protected. No special rights for bigots and Christian radicals.
1 de abril de 2016
San Juan, P.R. Melba Acosta Febo, presidenta del Banco Gubernamental de Fomento para Puerto Rico ("BGF" o el Banco), emitio hoy las siguientes declaraciones sobre distintos rumores expresados en los medios sobre el BGF.
En la manana de hoy, han circulado rumores que durante el dia de hoy se estara presentando un proyecto de ley para cerrar el Banco y que en la tarde se estara reuniendo al personal para explicar en detalle el cierre.
Este rumor es falso y tambien es falso que se vaya a privatizar al BGF.
La informacion, ademas de incorrecta, es irresponsable con los empleados, ya que crea mucho desasosiego entre ellos y sus familias.
La gerencia del Banco se ha reunido con los empleados y les ha compartido que, ante la fragilidad de su liquidez, se estan analizando todas las opciones disponibles.
Las alternativas que se estan evaluando buscan atender la situacion fragil del Banco de manera responsable y no conllevan el despido de empleados publicos.
Entre estas alternativas, estamos en conversaciones ya hace semanas con un grupo considerable de nuestros acreedores sobre la reestructuracion de la deuda del Banco.
Igualmente, y como se ha dicho en varios documentos que se han hecho publicos, el Gobierno considera ciertas acciones adicionales, como declarar una moratoria de pago temporera, de ser necesario, y enmiendas a la ley organica del BGF para atender esta situacion.
Tambien los medios han resenado que estuve fuera de Puerto Rico.
En efecto, estuve en Londres estos pasados dias, junto a representantes de la Autoridad de Energia Electrica (AEE), en unas reuniones sobre le renovacion de las polizas de seguro tanto del BGF como de la AEE, que vencen proximamente.
Estas polizas estan al dia y se trabaja en el proceso de negociar la renovacion anual de las mismas.
Este viaje fue programado hace mas de un mes y consistio en reuniones con las companias aseguradoras de ambas instituciones, en las cuales se discutieron diversos detalles de las finanzas gubernamentales, entre ellos, el informe de Anne Krueger, el Plan de Ajuste Fiscal, la oferta publica que se les hizo a los bonistas y el status del proceso de negociacion de la restructuracion de la deuda del ELA y de la AEE.
Como he expresado publicamente en multiples ocasiones y reiterado esta misma semana, es importante que el pais entienda que la situacion fiscal del BGF, al igual que la del ELA, es una delicada debido a la crisis fiscal que atravesamos. Por ello, la Junta de Directores y la gerencia del BGF continuamos evaluando con urgencia todas las opciones disponibles para salvaguardar las finanzas publicas.
Seguimos adelantando varias iniciativas a la misma vez.
No hay decisiones finales tomadas en este momento.
---------------
Texto original:
San Juan, P.R. Today, Melba Acosta Febo, President of the Government Development Bank for Puerto Rico ("GDB" or the Bank), issued the following statement on several rumors made through the media regarding the GDB:
Rumors have spread this morning in the sense that a bill of law will be introduced today to shut down the Bank and that the personnel will be called to a meeting this afternoon to explain the shutdown in detail.
This rumor is false; it is also false that the GDB will be privatized.
In addition to being incorrect, these rumors are irresponsible towards our employees as they generate much unease among them and their families.
Bank management has met with employees and informed them that, due to the fragility of the Banks liquidity, all available options are being analyzed.
The alternatives under analysis seek to address the Banks fragile situation in a responsible manner and do not involve dismissing public employees.
Among these alternatives, for weeks we have been in conversations with a considerable group of our creditors on the restructuring of the GDB debt.
Moreover, as stated in various documents that have been publicly released, the Government is considering certain additional measures to address this situation, such as, declaring a temporary moratorium on payments, if necessary, and amending the GDB charter.
The news media have also reported that I was out of Puerto Rico.
Indeed, I was in London these last few days, together with representatives of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA), in meetings related to the renewal of the insurance policies of both the GDB and PREPA, which will expire shortly.
These policies are active, and we are working on the process of negotiating their renewal.
This trip had been scheduled over a month ago and consisted of meeting with the insurance companies for both institutions and discussing different details of the public finances, such as, the Anne Krueger report, the fiscal adjustment plan, the public offer made to bondholders and the status of the Commonwealths and PREPAs debt-restructuring negotiation processes.
As I have stated publicly on multiple occasions, including this week, it is important that everyone in Puerto Rico understand that the GDBs fiscal situation, as well as the Commonwealths fiscal situation, is delicate due to the fiscal crisis we are confronting.
For this reason, the GDBs Board of Directors and management, we continue evaluating with a sense of urgency all the available options to safeguard public finances.
We continue advancing on several initiatives simultaneously.
No final decisions have been made at this time.
The Commemorative Air Forces A-26 Invader Squadron, based within the Vintage Flying Museums hangar at Meacham International Airport in Fort Worth, Texas, has spent the winter months working hard on their Douglas A-26B Invader 41-29427. The Squadron began life in 2009, with the specific objective of getting the A-26 airworthy. Following years on the air show circuit as Spirit of Waco, the aircraft was in real need of a lot of attention. The group got her back in the air again in 2012 with help from Ezell Aviation, but as everyone in the warbird world knows, there is often much more to do once an aircraft is flying again. The aircraft is now back on the air show circuit, but during the off-season, the team in Fort Worth make the most of the down-time to progressively work through areas of the aircraft which need extra TLC
As the A-26 Invader Squadrons Maintenance Officer, Bill Gorin recently told us, We finished up the 2015 in November making every show we had a contract to appear at with the exception of the New Orleans Air Power Tour, and that was due to weather. We have been busy over the winter doing our scheduled winter maintenance. The airplane was in pretty rough shape when we got it in 2009 and we have been making big strides since then improving her reliability while trying to work in some restoration projects at the same time This winter we fixed numerous leaky push rod tube seals on the right engine, replaced the left generator, resealed the nose gear actuator, improved our intercom system and #1 VHF Com radio, resealed the left brake and installed new brake pads and installed new main aircraft batteries.
The aircraft has a new name and nose art in the works too. The aircrafts paint is in too rough a condition to warrant applying the design directly on the aircraft at present though, so the artist is creating the image on wood. The team will then scan the design, and have a transfer made, which they can then affix upon the Invaders nose. This will be a temporary measure until the Squadron has raised the funds to repaint the aircraft; never an inexpensive task. The new name and nose-art design have not been revealed yet, but this should happen soon, with the aim of helping the Squadron better tell the A-26s story, and assist in her marketing too. Anyone wishing to donate to the project should click HERE. The Squadron is always eager for volunteers to help work on the aircraft, especially those with mechanical training and skills. Please do contact them through their Facebook page HERE if you would like to become involved. The A-26s next scheduled air shows are NAS Kingsville (Corpus Christie, TX) between April 8th and 10th, and NAS Fort Worth JRB over the weekend of April 23rd/24th.
In additional news, Bill Goring added that, We welcomed our other squadron airplane home last month as well, our Beechcraft T-34B N802HV. Our out-going Squadron Leader Jim Reynolds flew it from Baker Aviation in New Smyrna, Florida to Fort Worth. Just this week I appointed Nathan Carroll the Crew Chief of N802HV. Nathan is in his early 20s and is an A&P, Private Pilot and is working on his degree in Aerospace Engineering. Nathan and the crew have some work to do on the T-34, but once its up and flying we look forward to taking it to air shows, offering flight experiences and doing formation training with it. We invite you to come out to the Vintage Flying Museum at Fort Worths Meacham Airport where we are based along side B-29 FIFI and a bunch of other cool airplanes.
WarbirdsNews wishes to thank Bill Goran for taking the time to talk to us about what the A-26 Invader Squadron is up to, and we wish them well for a successful air show season!
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Turnbull went into the meeting brandishing a poorly formed yet revolutionary idea for which he had done none of the background work required to give it a chance.
Victoria's Daniel Andrews complained that the first he knew of it was what he read in a newspaper just two days before. Other leaders said they had received a phone call from the PM around that time but that Turnbull had declined to explain his proposal beyond the most broad schematic outline.
Malcolm Turnbull after last week's politically disastrous COAG meeting. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
Yet there it was dominating the COAG agenda - a bold solution searching for a problem. And once again, its public discussion would be defined in the negative - its fate prey to the better explained and more impassioned pleas of opponents.
Giving the states income taxing powers literally came and went within a couple of days. In reform terms, it was a model of how not to succeed and to that extent, belongs on the trophy shelf with other world-beating public policy lemons from the Australia Card and Telstra's timed local telephone calls debacles in the 1980s, to Labor's 150-member citizen's assembly on climate change, and a series of botched tax reform and revenue possibilities closed off by the Coalition government, this year alone. Think GST, negative gearing "excesses", capital gains tax, and even personal income tax cuts.
To his credit, Turnbull did not duck the issue on Friday - acknowledging squarely that it had failed completely and would not return.
Uber driver Nathan Brenner - who was the first Uber driver in Victoria to be found guilty of operating a hire car without the right authority - is set to appeal.
Mr Brenner's legal team has filed documents with the County Court, almost four months after he was found guilty of two summary charges, including driving a hire car without a commercial licence or registration.
UberX driver Nathan Brenner was found guilty in December and is now appealing. Credit:Simon Schluter
The appeal, slated for May 16, is likely to be heard before the Andrews Government makes a decision on whether to legalise UberX, which allows drivers to use their private vehicles to provide taxi-like services to customers via a smartphone app.
Uber, which is believed to be paying for Mr Brenner's defence, told Fairfax Media that "no one should be penalised for providing safe, reliable rides in their city".
Tokyo: The Fukushima nuclear plant has activated an underground "wall of ice" built around the reactors, to help contain spills of contaminated water into the Pacific Ocean.
The system comprises underground pipes that will freeze the ground and create a physical barrier around the four units that were damaged by the earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011, a spokesperson for the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, has confirmed on Thursday.
The installation of the system, the cost of which was estimated at $US307 million ($400 million), has taken two years and while TEPCO presented the project in 2013, Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority, or NRA, had not approved it till now as it was analysing the safety of the project.
On Wednesday, the NRA gave the green light to the first phase of the "wall of ice", which flanks the Fukushima No.1 plant, overlooking the sea on the west.
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by Adrian Gibson
THE Free National Movement has failed in Opposition.
The FNM is on its political knees. Whilst the FNM and its leadership appears to believe that it is sauntering into electoral glory, such a formerly bright outlook now appears bleak. In recent times, I have observed and read of actions and utterances from the hierarchy of the party that are clearly disconnected from reality.
Of late, many would agree that the Opposition was given a golden ticket, encrusted in high-end yellow diamond, to becoming the next government. The revelations and attendant controversy arising from court filings involving billionaires Peter Nygard and Louis Baconwhere the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and the PLP party itself was named in various affidavits, transcripts and videosought to have been a gold mine for the FNM. If the FNM was a strong, united force worthy of being referred to as the Official Opposition, they would have amassed their political forces and forced the resignations of at least two Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Cabinet ministers, inspired Bahamians to march on Parliament and demanded accountability of their elected representatives and used this occasion to demonstrate that they are the clear alternative to the PLP. They have not done so. They blundered.
Instead, the FNM spent a brief period on offence and has been perpetually on defence ever since. In fact, the FNM has suffered a political causality as former senator and chairman Michael Pintard, a talented and forward-thinking individual, had to resign. The FNM cannot afford such losses with a little over a year left before a general election! Are we witnessing the choreographed demise of the FNM?
The current Opposition has botched every opportunity to shine, every chance to capitalize on the governing partys many scandals. Frankly, given the hobbled, weak-kneed performance of the Official Opposition thus far, members of the PLP could be photographed and recorded with their hands in the proverbial cookie jar and the FNM would still not know how to take advantage of such a political windfall in an effort to roundly oust the governing party from power.
Yesterday, former South Beach candidate and President of the Womens Association Monique Gomez was appointed to the senate to replace Michael Pintard.
Frankly, Ms Gomezs appointment might have been more readily accepted and viewed as reasonable if they followed the resignation of Heather Hunt last year. Given the fact that the FNM has been assailed by strong PLP teams in both the House of Assembly and the Senate, I expected the FNM to appoint someone to the senate who wouldve had a strong national and political presence, who could rally the partys base and effectively respond to the PLPs best hitters. I thought that the best persons to fill that vacant seat wouldve been South Beach candidate Howard Johnson, Elizabeth candidate Dr Duane Sands or former West End and Bimini candidate Pakeisha Parker. I imagine that such an appointment is to mend fences rather than put the most politically savvy persons in place.
Dont get me wrong, Ms Gomez is no doubt a loyal and dedicated FNM. However, because the FNM is going into battle, Ms Gomezs appointment hardly registers on the Richter scale. Not many people will take note of this other than sycophants who no doubt will issue the instructed fanfare.
As it stands, the FNMwith the exception of Carl Bethelalready has two ineffective senators. The FNM is already on a bad wicket and this most recent appointment is uninspiring.
The FNM has become dysfunctionally fractionated. The party does not appear to be able to unite.
The current Opposition is a cobbling of individuals with different philosophies and different interests who have staggered along all-the-while pretending to form a reasonable Opposition to a well-oiled political machine (PLP) who, though bereft of principles, understand how to win an election.
Never before have we seen such a David and Goliath like mismatch than was demonstrated when the PLP and Prime Minister Perry Christie dressed the FNM down to its underpants, whilst laughing and chuckling at the ease with which they could do so. Last weeks performance in the HOA was pathetic. What a manifestation of impotence!
The Council of the FNM has been so short-sighted, provincial and inbred in its views of the world that they have deceived themselves into believing that popularity in council automatically translates into electability. Group think and fantasy has led the council of the FNM to believe that, somehow, PLP fatigue translates into FNM support.
Whats more, there appears to be a perception that there is a global conspiracy to divide the political aspirations of what remains of the FNM and its leadership as opposed to an objective assessment of that groups performance.
The FNM unfortunately has been asleep at the wheel except for a few lively performances by Fort Charlotte MP Dr Andre Rollins, Long Island MP Loretta Butler-Turner and, occasionally, Montagu MP Richard Lightbourne. Otherwise, the Parliamentary team of the FNM could well have not bothered to show up! The impact of the others is negligible.
The performance of the Opposition over the last two weeks leaves much to be desired. They sat silently whilst private citizens are attacked behind the cloak of Parliamentary privilege.
They sat like mutes as the governing party took them off offence. Hubert Ingraham is surely no longer among their numbers!
Oh, and of course, Long Island Loretta Butler-Turner is sick (her impact is now ever so noticeable).
Quite honestly, part of the reason why the FNM finds itself in this is because it gave its best seatsthose FNM-leaning seatsto members who lack the will to fight and are over-the-hill or simply uninterested. Just think about the seats currently held by the FNM. Going forward, the FNM must secure its brain trust, it must protect its young people, it must guard its future.
The election results of 2012 (and subsequent resignation of former PM Hubert Ingraham) severely damaged the ability of the FNM to mount an effective Parliamentary voice. For whatever reason, fate was unkind.
The isolation of Hubert Ingraham is a large part of the reason the FNM finds itself in the disadvantageous position that it is in. There has been a deliberate effort to minimize the importance of the Ingraham legacy.
One cannot redefine the FNM around an approach that ignores or minimizes Mr Ingrahams contribution.
Why has he not been invited to help craft the partys strategy? Why has the best PM we have had been so unwelcomed?
The PLP brings former PM Sir Lynden Pindling out of his grave every election.
They revere him. Mr Ingraham is alive.
He is the FNMs trump card. He is the only man to have ever led that party to victory at the polls.
Why is he not sought out for advice and to steadily guide the FNM? Its a doggone shame!
Thus far, the FNM has selected some candidates who do not increase the partys chances of winning.
Some of them are undeserving of a nomination. Some of them came out of nowhere.
With exceptions, I do not believe that the public disagrees with PLP chairman Bradley Roberts assessment of many of them. Yes, there may be sleepers and we all may be shocked but, thus far, only about three or four of them are, in my opinion, worth their salt.
The FNM needs to have a come to Jesus moment with itself.
Its not about feelings. Its about restoring hope for a worried people.
As it stands, the FNM appears to be a broke, meandering and visionless party. I hope this changes..fast!
When was the last time the FNM articulated something that one felt was progressive and long-term?
Unless the FNM gets its act together, history will prove that this iteration of the Official Opposition has been the most ineffective in the last 43 years of independent governance. And thats a fact, Jack!
_________________________________________________________
First published in the The Tribune under the byline, Young Man's View, here
View Adrian Gibson's archive here
____________________________________________________
The views expressed are those of the author, and not necessarily those of WeblogBahamas.com (which has no corporate view) or its Authors.
A pair of bodies discovered in Kentucky Lake this week
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By West Kentucky Star Staff
Apr. 01, 2016 | PADUCAH, KY
By West Kentucky Star Staff Apr. 01, 2016 | 04:50 PM | PADUCAH, KY
Two Paducah men were arrested Friday, after deputies say they found drugs during a search of a McCracken County home.
On Friday detectives with the McCracken County Sheriffs Department assisted Probation and Parole with a probation compliance check at a home on Hovekamp Road, to ensure that 30-year-old Dustin Arant was still in compliance with his probation conditions.
A search of the home reportedly revealed methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia. Deputies said Arant admitted to using meth a few days prior. Arant was arrested for possession of controlled substance and drug paraphernalia.
Deputies said 35-year-old Austin Lockard was also at the home, and had an active arrest warrant. During a search, deputies said they found marijuana on Lockard. They also reportedly found cocaine and cocaine paraphernalia in the home that belonged to Lockard. Lockard was arrested for possession of cocaine, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. Lockard also had an arrest warrant out of Marshall County on a shoplifting charge.
Les Mis announced an unlikely acting debut from one the country's best-loved chefs, when they tweeted Ainsley Harriott would be moving out of the kitchen to become master of the house as Thenardier.
CASTING NEWS
Very excited to announce that the Brilliant Ainsley Harriott will be joining us as Thenardier from June pic.twitter.com/28L7ewJ4lb Les Miserables (@lesmisofficial) April 1, 2016
The Phantom of the Opera teased at a new form of audience participation by flooding the stalls to recreate the Phantom's lair. They joked: "tickets would be sold in pairs, one lying flat in a standing position, the other standing above them".
From 2017 the stalls at Her Majesty's will be flooded to offer a new immersive seating experience recreating the Phantom's underground lair. Phantom Of The Opera (@PhantomOpera) April 1, 2016
As we reported this morning, The Mousetrap announced it would be selling tickets for the next 32 years. However, they will actually be donating all profits made today, along with Londontheatre.co.uk, to Mousetrap Theatre Projects!
To celebrate our 36 year extension, @LondonTheatre will be donating all profit of tickets sold today to @MousetrapTP https://t.co/gAUlFqngiT The Mousetrap (@MousetrapLondon) April 1, 2016
You may have seen our (hilarious) article about a company gearing up to release a range of West End inspired perfumes. Well, as many of you cottoned on to, it was in fact a (brilliant) April Fool's joke. But we do think we managed to fool a few of you on Facebook and Twitter.
New perfume line inspired by musicals in the works https://t.co/vcifm5UtWl pic.twitter.com/gPP0PZsE2z WhatsOnStage (@WhatsOnStage) April 1, 2016
She may be busy touring with Breakfast at Tiffany's, but that doesn't mean Pixie Lott didn't have time to have a little fun with her Twitter followers. She tweeted this photo of her new "tattoo".
Why did I do this in Verbierpic.twitter.com/fCEYHqPEDl Pixie Lott (@PixieLott) April 1, 2016
Even the theatres got involved! The Royal Albert Hall announced partnership with CERN in Geneva to turn their corridors into a mini Large Hadron Collider, posting safety warnings around to warn passers-by to dodge the particles.
Over at The Stage, they released an article detailing a new musical to be written about their associate editor, Mark Shenton. Just how many stars do you think it would get?
And finally, this one really sounds like a prank, but it isn't. The papers reported today that Whoopi Goldberg plans to launch a line of medical marijuana products to relieve period pains. The Sister Act star said "I don't want this to be a joke"...
Full details of a new production starring West End star Kerry Ellis have been announced.
Murder Ballad follows Sara (Ellis), a New Yorker who is torn between her dangerous ex-boyfriend and her reliable husband. Set to pop-rock tunes, the show inevitably ends in tragedy.
The show will receive its UK premiere at The Arts Theatre after running at the Union Square Theatre and MTC's Studio at Stage II in New York.
The show was conceived by Jonathan Larson and two-time Susan Smith Blackburn Prize nalist Julia Jordan, with book and lyrics by Jordan and music and lyrics by Juliana Nash.
Read our interview with Kerry Ellis chatting about the new project here.
Murder Ballad will run at The Arts Theatre from 5 October (with previews from 29 Sept) to 3 December 2016.
A West End transfer has been announced for All That Fall, the Out of Joint production which is currently running at Wilton's Music Hall.
Max Stafford-Clark's production of Samuel Beckett's radio piece sees audiences blindfolded as actors move around them in a 360 degree live sound experience.
Brid Brennan, Tara Flynn, Frank Laverty and Ciaran McIntyre will return to the production with Adrian Dunbar taking over the role of Mr Rooney from Gary Lilburn.
Set in Ireland, All That Fall is one of Beckett's most naturalistic plays, inspired by boyhood memories of his native Foxrock.
Commenting on the transfer, Stafford-Clark said: "I am delighted that audiences have responded so warmly and clearly enjoyed the immersive experience. [All That Fall] is a great little play, and we look forward to being back at the Arts Theatre."
Further casting is yet to be announced.
You can read Michael Coveney's review of the Wilton's production here.
All That Fall will run at the Arts Theatre from 13 April to 14 May.
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This article was published 01/04/2016 (2396 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
OTTAWA The military ombudsman and the NDPs defence critic say they are being bombarded sometimes daily with complaints from retiring soldiers over delays in getting pension cheques a problem the countrys defence minister vows to fix.
The problem is long-standing and well-known, Harjit Sajjan said in a statement Friday.
As minister of national defence, I find this backlog to be absolutely unacceptable. he said. I am committed to fixing this problem. It wont happen overnight, but I can assure you my office and this government take this issue very seriously.
Sajjan, a former reserve force lieutenant-colonel, said hes working with the military leadership and Veterans Affairs Canada to end to the backlog once and for all.
But Gary Walbourne, the military ombudsman, says the problem will only get worse with looming changes to the federal bureaucracy.
The ombudsmans office is tracking a number of complaints from both full-time and part-time members who have waited weeks, even months to receive retirement payments.
The frustration level cannot be understated, Walbourne said in a statement posted on the Canadian Forces ombudsmans website early Friday.
In extreme cases, retiring members have been left unable to pay their mortgages or rent while awaiting their pensions. Additionally, members find themselves out-of-pocket for medical expenses while awaiting coverage to be activated as a CAF pension recipient.
The statement cited one case where a retiring soldier had to pay $12,000 while awaiting his pension and related family medical coverage to begin.
The military watchdog has tracked the issue since 2007, logging 1,300 complaints on pensions and severance-pay delays during that time and is currently getting two new cases each day.
In 2011, the auditor general examined the plight of reservists specifically and a found significant backlog in the handling of retirement pensions for part-time soldiers something the former Conservative government promised to fix.
However, the backlog and chronic, excessive delays persist, said Walbournes statement, which noted the official wait time for reservists ranges between four and 36 weeks. Regular force member reportedly wait anywhere between three to 14 weeks.
But Walbourne says cases under review in his office suggest those figures may be on the low side, because investigators are finding much longer delays.
And it can only get worse with the planned merger of National Defences pension services branch with Public Services and Procurement Canada a move thats slated to begin this month with a targeted completion of this July.
Staff will be training from April to June, in anticipation of the merger, said Walbourne.
That will obviously limit the ability of staff to tackle the existing backlog between now and the merger in July, he said.
NDP defence critic Randall Garrison said his office also receives a flood of complaints every week about the issue.
Not only is he concerned about effects of the merger, but he worries that the procurement department doesnt have the understanding of military culture needed to do the job effectively.
We have this consolidation of services coming up and every time this has happened with veterans, they get poorer service, Garrison said.
A defence official, speaking on background because of the sensitivity of the subject, said National Defence had established a special group known as a tiger team to tackle the immediate backlog, starting in mid-April.
But over the long term, the department intends to examine the process to see how it can be made more efficient from the moment a member chooses retirement.
Garrison said the most important way to improve the system would be to hire the appropriate number of staff to process the paperwork.
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This article was published 01/04/2016 (2396 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
TORONTO The recent furor over comments by Torontos outgoing deputy chief of police about cutting officers to save money focused the spotlight anew on policing costs that keep rising even as Canadas crime rate plunges and its economy sputters.
While communities across the country grapple with police budgets that in some cases are eating up to 50 per cent of their operating budgets, solutions to whats become a perennial headache have proven elusive.
Its been a very frustrating discussion or dialogue thats occurred in this country over the last couple of years, says Tom Stamatakis, head of the national association that advocates for frontline officers.
Police officers walk through the athletes' village at the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto on July 9, 2015. The recent furor over comments by Toronto's outgoing deputy chief of police about cutting officers to save money focused the spotlight anew on policing costs that keep rising even as Canada's crime rate plunges and its economy sputters. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese
Youve got a lot of people wading in with lots of opinions and personal views or biases around the whole cost-of-policing issue, but most of that dialogue is not informed by good research and evaluation.
One area of broad agreement is the lack of consensus on what constitutes cost-effective policing and how best to measure whether Canadian taxpayers are getting a solid bang for the more than 13 billion bucks they spend each year on what some see as an ever-thickening thin blue line.
Using falling crime rates to bludgeon budgets is unfair, some observers argue, because, among other things, it does little to capture how officers roles have changed over the years, or how much of an impact policing has made on the decline in crime. The lack of hard data on how police jobs have changed has left older yardsticks, such as crime rates or the number of officers per capita, as commonly used measures.
Its difficult to suggest what needs to be done if we cant even agree on what indicators need to be used, economist Livio Di Matteo said from Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ont.
Di Matteo says not much has changed since his September 2014 study for the Fraser Institute found a key cost driver to be the rising number of officers in Canada per 100,000 population. According to his analysis, per capita police expenditures rose more than 45 per cent between 1986 and 2012, while Criminal Code incidents per officer declined by almost 37 per cent.
Similarly, a report for the Macdonald-Laurier Institute in March 2014 by Christian Leuprecht, a professor at the Royal Military College of Canada, found call volumes to police remained stable between 2002 and 2012, but provincial expenditures on security grew at an average annual rate almost double the GDP growth.
While it should come as no surprise that unions would seek the best deals for their members, Leuprecht questioned why officers making upwards of $100,000 a year were performing administrative and other tasks that werent related to core policing duties.
Lets figure out what effects we want to achieve in terms of the community and how were going to achieve those effects, Leuprecht said from Berlin. Were not by and large having those conversations.
The Ontario Association of Municipalities agrees those key questions need answering. The association has been pushing for changes it says could be made immediately. Among them are fixing an arbitration system some feel consistently awards salary increases to police without regard to a communitys ability to pay, and scrapping legislative barriers to civilianizing officer functions.
We need to look at how we police our communities, association president Gary McNamara said.
Police, too, say they want that discussion. If taxpayers are ultimately their bosses, they say, those same taxpayers have to decide what they want from their police forces.
Its a question of choices, Stamatakis said from Vancouver. When youre talking about public policing, it is a service that is very much driven by the demand that exists in the community.
The cost issue bubbled up again earlier this year when Torontos former deputy chief, Peter Sloly, said his police service, with its eye-popping $1 billion budget, could cut hundreds of front-line jobs.
We run around all over the city in the most unfocused way, reacting to what you call us for, as opposed to trying to understand whats going on and putting our most important resources in the best place, the Toronto Star quoted him as saying in January.
Outrage was swift from the police union and brass alike. Sloly resigned soon after.
Stamatakis said hes not surprised by the backlash. He did, however, agree with the need for a consistent and rigorous review of internal police operations to ensure services are efficient and are deploying officers appropriately.
That really hasnt happened that frequently in Canada and thats what we need to move to. But in order to get there, you have to get away from this uninformed, singular focus just on costs without knowing the context, he said.
Although Statistics Canada has reported the number of officers across the country has fallen slightly in the past few years, Leuprecht said most attempts at cost-cutting to date have amounted to tinkering around the edges.
Despite criticism many communities are over-policed, laying off officers is not the best way to save money, he said. Instead, forces should strictly curtail hiring.
Basically, we cap authorized troop strength, he said.
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This article was published 01/04/2016 (2396 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
TORONTO Police were called to the home of Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne on Friday after protesters with the Black Lives Matter Toronto group staged a vigil outside her residence the night before and left a tent and other items on her driveway.
Sandy Hudson, a co-founder of the group, said members were outside the home after 10 p.m. for about 20 minutes and left a card with an invitation to meet with them, a wreath, wine actually an empty wine bottle filled with water, she said and cheese.
It was like, you know, here we are inviting you, this is like a warm welcome, Hudson said. It was peaceful. It was not loud in any way. It was respectful.
Wynne was not home, but the items were discovered Friday morning and it unnerved her partner, Jane Rounthwaite, the premier said.
The polices chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive unit was called in because it was not immediately known what substance was in the bottle.
The premier said she understands the passion the protesters feel about racism, but would prefer they didnt go to where she lives.
I would like for the protest to happen other places than my home and you know, quite frankly, its not just about my home, its about the neighbours as well, Wynne said at an appearance in Ottawa.
The group also left photos of Andrew Loku, a man who was fatally shot in a confrontation with Toronto police last summer, outside Wynnes home.
Ontarios police watchdog, the Special Investigations Unit, recently found that the officer who shot the hammer-wielding Loku did not exceed the range of justifiable force.
Black Lives Matter Toronto has been pushing municipally for the names of the officers involved in the incident to be released, but it also wants to raise concerns about the Special Investigations Unit with the provincial leaders, Hudson said.
They have written to the premier and Community Safety Minister Yasir Naqvi but have not heard back, Hudson said.
Its really difficult to figure out what to do when politicians dont respond to you for a serious issue, Hudson said. You can imagine what the community feels like. We appreciate that and we would hope in future when we send something out that there is a response.
Wynne said that Culture Minister Michael Coteau, who she recently appointed to establish and lead a new anti-racism directorate, will engage with the protesters.
Progressive Conservative MPP Lisa MacLeod tweeted that protesters should not have gone to Wynnes private residence.
Kathleen Wynne has an office at Queens Park and another in Don Valley West, she wrote. Protest there, lots do it. But not her family home. Just no.
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This article was published 31/03/2016 (2397 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
He was just 15 years old when he allegedly carried out a cold-blooded execution inside a popular restaurant.
Now details are emerging inside a Winnipeg courtroom about how years of hostilities between two rival street gangs were behind the deadly February 2013 attack.
William Edward Moar, 24, died from a single gunshot wound to the neck inside Johnny Gs on Main Street. The alleged gunman, who is now 18, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in a youth trial that began this week. The Crown is expected to seek an adult sentence if they get a conviction in the case, which is being heard by a judge alone.
BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS files Police officers investigate at the scene of the deadly shooting scene at Johnny Gs in February 2013.
Two adult co-accused remain before the courts on the same murder charges. Morgan Van Bone and Akech Ajak are set to begin their jury trial together in April 2017.
Moar was a member of the B-Side gang, while his accused are linked to the Mad Cowz. A witness who cant be identified under a court order testified Thursday how he was with Moar and other B-Siders at Opera nightclub when a dispute erupted. A Mad Cowz member then threw a drink at Moar, court was told.
Moar and his friends left the bar and went down the street to Johnny Gs. They were allegedly followed by the accused, who went inside and shot Moar dead as he returned to his table from the washroom.
An off-duty Winnipeg police officer told court Thursday how he was driving down Main Street when he saw a young man he believed to be black running with what appeared to be a rifle, then getting into a van and speeding off. The vehicle was later located by investigators outside a rooming house where Mad Cowz members frequented.
One of the key Crown witnesses is expected to be a friend of the alleged teen killer. The boy visited her hours after the incident, then mentioned he needed to leave the city. Police later arrested the accused in Alberta, court was told.
Police have pinpointed the start of a violent rivalry between the two gangs to Aug. 6, 2004, when a teen Mad Cowz member was accused of shooting a .357 Magnum handgun at a B-Side member in broad daylight.
Weeks later, a 14-year-old Mad Cowz member was gunned down in an act of retaliation for the shooting outside a West End crack house. Four B-side members were charged with second-degree murder for the death. Just one was ultimately convicted of manslaughter and received a six-year prison sentence.
Moar had also played a direct role in the conflict. He was one of several B-Siders convicted in the February 2009 beating of an innocent Sudanese man on Sara Avenue, mistakenly believing he was a Mad Cowz-affiliated African Mafia gang member who was caught slippin on their turf.
The savage, unprovoked attack left the victim in a permanent vegetative state and prompted the African Mafia to put a price on the heads of B-Side members who were responsible, court has previously heard.
In June 2013, a 14-year-old B-Side member shot a 17-year-old Mad Cowz gang member in the head, leaving the victim brain-damaged. The teen, who was recently convicted of attempted murder, is set to receive an adult sentence for what has been called an attempted execution. Court of Queens Bench Justice Doug Abra recently ruled the penalties under the Youth Criminal Justice Act are not sufficient, given the brutality of the crime.
Matthew McKay, whose name can be published as a result of the verdict, is expected to return to court on Friday for his sentencing hearing. The Crown has previously linked this incident to tension that was extremely high because of the Johnny Gs homicide months earlier.
If youre in someone elses territory, youre taking your life into your hands. Its almost a standing order in these groups that something is going to happen, Crown attorney Mike Desautels previously told court. This is not a one-off crime or a lone-wolf type of event. This was a pattern of long-standing issues and conflict that was regularly bloody between the two groups.
www.mikeoncrime.com
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This article was published 01/04/2016 (2396 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
A proposal to equip Winnipeg police officers with high-powered, short-barrelled rifles could be on the chopping block, the police union says.
The Winnipeg Police Association says the police service planned to purchase carbine rifles for each cruiser in light of national recommendations made following the fatal shootings that killed three Moncton, N.B., RCMP officers in June 2014 and four RCMP officers in Mayerthorpe, Alta., in 2005.
Since then, the RCMP have acquired more than 4,000 patrol carbines and ramped up training on their use, said a report the Mounties issued in February. The Winnipeg Police Service had budgeted to purchase the patrol carbines, but that may not happen as a result of a $2.45-million police-budget shortfall that requires the police service and the police board to find ways to cut costs.
Ian Smith / Vancouver Sun files RCMP officers in Surrey, B.C., carrying carbine weapons respond to a call in this 2009 photo. Many other police forces in Canada have armed officers with the military-style weapons.
It comes down to a safety issue. Currently, we have shotguns that can be used. But, ultimately, if theres a threat at a longer range, carbines are what every other service across Canada has gone to, said Maurice Sabourin, president of the Winnipeg Police Association.
There are so many hunting rifles and different firearms out there that bad guys have access to, and all we have is a shotgun and a service pistol.
If the carbines are cut from the budget, the police association may lobby the provincial governments Workplace Safety and Health Department to have the military-style guns brought in for officers safety, Sabourin said.
If the workplace safety and health division says that this is a recommendation out of Moncton (and) the service needs to follow suit with that, I think they would have to find the money in other areas, he said.
Its unknown how much the carbines and associated training would cost, although Sabourin noted training patrol officers to use the carbines would be a major expense.
Police board chairman Scott Gillingham confirmed the carbines were part of the police services equipment budget, but he didnt have an exact cost. A representative from the police service was not available for comment before deadline.
No final decision on the carbines has been made, Gillingham said, but he added some equipment purchases may have to be delayed as the police service tries to find another $1.45 million in the budget after already deciding to scrap a $1-million body camera pilot project that had been slated to begin next year.
The equipment account has been identified as one of the accounts from which the expenditure-management target of $1.45 million can be met. So deferring some equipment purchases will assist in meeting that expenditure-management target. But the chief will work with the board to identify and prioritize equipment acquisitions to determine what could be/should be purchased (and) what could be/ should be deferred, Gillingham said.
But does Winnipegs municipal police force need military-style weapons in each cruiser?
University of Manitoba criminologist Frank Cormier says no.
Theres no apparent need to have every cruiser of every officer equipped with a semi-automatic weapon, he said.
With violent crime rates on the decline and police budgets tightening across Canada, Cormier said the carbine purchase may not be feasible, especially since the city police service already has a tactical unit.
Municipal police in Saskatchewan, Calgary and Toronto, as well as the Ontario Provincial Police, have already moved forward with carbine-equipped front-line officers. But Cormier cautioned increasing militarization of police and the visibility of military-style weapons on city streets may cause a divide between officers and the public.
katie.may@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @thatkatiemay
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This article was published 31/03/2016 (2397 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
A proposed $5.7 million Promenade Tache project a pedestrian walkway along the Red River to highlight Winnipegs living room is on life support following a double blow of potential funding losses.
Last week, an approximate $1-million request for the project was dropped from the 2016 city budget. On Thursday, a spokesman for the Winnipeg Foundation, which had previously committed $1 million towards the Tree Top Lookout portion of the walkway, said the money will now probably be reallocated to another project.
We think its a great project, said foundation CEO Rick Frost. Wed like to support it. But we cant sit on $1 million for three years while the city decides if its a priority.
The proposal involves the creation of a 2.5-kilometre pedestrian walkway along the St. Boniface side of the Red River facing The Forks, from the Provencher Bridge to the Norwood Bridge.
The $1-million ask from the city was supposed to concentrate on riverbank stabilization and an upgrade on the Tache sidewalk along the Red. The Tree Top was designed to serve as a platform to look across the river to the Canadian Museum of Human Rights and Esplanade Riel Pedestrian Bridge.
Weve heard it described as Winnipegs living room, said St. Boniface city councillor Matt Allard. This view we were trying to create is often what we sell in tourism promotions.
Several St. Boniface agencies, including Provencher Biz and Old St. Boniface Residents Association, supported the project, which was also included in the citys Go to the Waterfront masterplan for future river development.
However, Allard said other riverbank stabilization projects were ranked higher on the citys list. Promenade Tache was towards the bottom of that list, Allard acknowledged.
Since the Winnipeg Foundation funding was predicated on the city approving the $1-million ask, both are now off the table.
Allard said its been difficult to approach the province and federal governments for contributions on a project that hasnt been committed to by the city.
We think its a great project. Wed like to support it. But we cant sit on $1 million for three years while the city decides if its a priority Winnipeg Foundation CEO Rick Frost
Its a chicken and egg thing, he said.
Enterprises Riel executive director Norm Gousseau called the funding fallout disappointing.
Theres more than one reason to do this, Gousseau said. People will gravitate to that area and look towards the skyline. I think its a great opportunity to see the city in a different light.
However, both Gousseau and Allard said the project isnt dead.
I think theres enough support around the council table that it will see the light of day, Gousseau said.
Im still hopeful, Allard added.
Frost said the foundation will be open to looking at funding the project if it can be revived in the next few years.
SCATLIFF + MILLER + MURRAY An artist rendition of the Tree Top Lookout that would be part of the Tache Promenade project. The $5.7 million project is in limbo after a request for $1 million was eliminated from the city budget last week.
Its the image of Winnipeg and this St. Boniface waterfront is critical, Frost said of the proposed promenade view. Improving the east side of the river is a significant priority (for the foundation).
randy.turner@freepress.mb.ca
Twitter: @randyturner15
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 01/04/2016 (2396 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Neechi Commons is outraged by Liberal leader Rana Bokharis plan to spend $20 million to create a Crown corporations fresh-food market downtown.
A fresh-food market is exactly what the Aboriginal community grocery store, restaurant, and art gallery already offers the inner city and Manitoba producers at 865 Main St. without the help of $20 million in public money, Neechi president Louise Champagne said Friday.
Really? Thats pretty insulting. Thats pretty outrageous, said Champagne, who found it amazing that Bokhari would claim her government-run market would not compete with Neechi Commons or the St. Norbert Market.
We could take that $20 million and put it to good use. Weve got a pretty heavy debt load were carrying, Champagne said. Were pretty invisible, I think. When they talk about a food desert, they ignore us.
Bokhari had earlier told reporters the Liberals would get the government into the grocery business shed open a $20 million fresh-food market downtown.
Were thinking (in) a warehouse, Bokhari said.
If she couldnt interest the private sector, Bokhari said it would run as a Crown corporation and open the space to local producers.
PHIL HOSSACK / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Neechi Commons president Louise Champagne. Thered be no packaged or canned goods, but lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, along with meat and eggs. The Liberals would have an inspector on site.
In no way is this going to replace farmers markets, nor would it compete with other community food enterprises such as Neechi Commons, but it will help attract people to live downtown while boosting her farm-to-table campaign promise to help local producers, Bokhari said.
She said the Liberals would finance the project with the money from privatizing the Liquor and Lottery Corporation, whose building could also potentially be a market site.
Ideally, the private sector would operate the market in future, Bokhari said, though, Weve been trying to get people to come in here. It just doesnt work.
But Champagne pointed out that Neechi Commons already offers everything that Bokhari envisions for the government-run market.
Weve got our Three Sisters fresh produce market here. We see ourselves as a fresh fruit regional centre that also has a wide variety of meat, fish, baked goods, jams, wild rice, all local. In season, theres a farmers market, and Neechi Commons buys whats left from the producers at days end: We see ourselves as the allies of the producers, Champagne said.
Meanwhile, while it might be counterintuitive and be a denial of the political stereotype, the NDP declared Friday that theyd prefer working with the private sector to creating an expensive Crown corporation.
Said the NDP: Another day, another confusing policy announcement from the Bokhari Liberalsand this one is no April Fools joke.
The Bokhari Liberals would sink $20 million into a government-run grocery store, but they want to privatize liquor sales and cancel the new Liquor and Lotteries headquarters that would bring hundreds of people downtown and help create the critical mass needed to sustain a grocery store, the NDP said. That just doesnt make sense and doesnt add up.
The NDP is supporting downtown development through new housing, the Winnipeg Art Gallerys Inuit Art Centre, the new headquarters for Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries and key projects like True North Square. With more people living, working and visiting downtown, its becoming a more and more attractive spot for a grocery store, and we are working with private partners to make it happen, the NDP said.
Also, Bokhari lashed out at the media Friday for continuing to raise questions about Billy Moore, the Brandon West Liberal candidate who proposed closing hospitals.
There is no fairness here, Bokhari lectured reporters Friday in old Market Square.
Greg Selinger lies every single day, yet the media accept that, said Bokhari. She said the media are OK with Fort Rouge NDP candidate Wab Kinews having posted sexist and homophobic tweets in the past and having used sexist and homophobic language in the music he performed in the past.
Bokhari said the media are OK with the alleged activities of St. Vital Conservative candidate Colleen Mayer the Winnipeg Free Press broke the story about allegations that Mayer used her St. Vital BIZ office for political purposes.
Earlier in the campaign, Bokhari had said she shares the belief of lots of people that the media ignore stories because they need money from government ads. She would not cite any stories the media allegedly ignored.
Bokhari said she first met Moore about a week ago. I dont vet candidates, she declared.
The Brandon Sun reported that Moore is a 76-year-old resident of Portage la Prairie who registered as the Brandon West candidate barely two hours before the nomination deadline.
On Thursday, Bokhari said, I had a conversation with him I can assure you it was a very stern conversation, she said. Well keep an eye on him, said Bokhari. Moore will come to Winnipeg for aggressive media training, Bokhari said, but, Im not Brian Pallister, I dont believe in putting a muzzle on my candidates.
Bokhari said its well past time that the media let the story go. Lets have boundaries on how far were going to take this, she said.
Bokhari demanded that the media stop giving her grief about Moore, who now says he suggested closing hospitals only as a way to get publicity for his campaign.
This isnt a four-day story, Bokhari said. He didnt misuse anyones money. He didnt say anything sexist, racist, or homophobic.
Bokhari appeared ready to continue letting reporters have it, but Liberal communications director Mike Brown persuaded her to leave.
nick.martin@freepress.mb.ca
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Sauk County Assistant Corporation Counsel Wendy Klicko and Sauk County District Attorney Kevin Calkins both are vying to replace retiring Sauk County Circuit Court Judge James Evenson. Voters countywide will pick between the two candidates Tuesday.
The Baraboo News Republic asked each of the candidates to answer a series of questions about themselves and the office they seek. Here are their responses.
Question: What is the most pressing issue facing Sauk Countys justice system?
Wendy Klicko: The easy answer would be to say that the heroin epidemic is the most pressing issue facing our courts. It has certainly gotten the most press lately, and I know from working with families in crisis what a critical issue it is. However, the heroin epidemic is much larger than just the justice system. Having practiced in Sauk County courts for nearly two decades and from discussions with many local citizens, I feel the most pressing issue is whether the justice system itself is accessible. A single incident can spark a family law case, a criminal case and a restraining order involving different agencies, court officials, and records databases. People are frustrated that they dont get their day in court because they dont understand how the systems overlap and often arent represented by an attorney who can explain it. Greater efficiencies in the system could remedy that.
Kevin Calkins: Caseload. Legislation constantly creates new burdens on the Courts resources; however, Sauk County has not added any additional judicial resources in over two decades. The caseload being carried by our judges makes timely scheduling of cases difficult. When a Court is told a case will likely take multiple days for trial, the Courts overburdened schedule makes it difficult to find jury trial days on the calendar for even months. My ability to handle a large caseload has been demonstrated, year after year, in an office that is understaffed with attorneys by one-third. In 2015, I was assigned 499 new cases, in 2014 584, and in 2013 687. The ability to carry a full caseload, while managing an office of 13 people, and participating in important community initiatives, makes me uniquely qualified to handle a Courts extensive caseload.
Q: How important is trial experience when it comes to a judicial candidates qualifications?
WK: Trial experience certainly will assist a judge presiding over a trial by having familiarity with the process and knowledge of the rules of evidence. I am fortunate to have more jury trial and court trial experience than most civil attorneys because my cases straddle the line between civil and criminal procedure. All of the cases that I have handled on behalf of Sauk County the past 16 years involve court proceedings. That being said, the skills needed to prosecute a case as an attorney are different than the skills needed by a judge as the fact-finder at trial.
KC: Practice makes perfect, or at least better. My extensive trial experience will make me a better trial Judge. My constant application of the Wisconsin rules of evidence, which control the admission of evidence in all types of cases presented in a courtroom, will make me better able to rule on the admissibility of evidence being presented in Court. More importantly, having prepared hundreds of cases for trial has required that I attain a thorough understanding of the law applicable to a case and a complete knowledge of the facts of the case; in the heat of a trial, there is little time to stop and research issues as they arise.
Q: What non-courtroom life experiences have helped shape your judicial philosophy and prepare you to be judge?
WK: My judicial philosophy is to respect the law, the process and the people involved. I am prepared to serve as judge because providing legal advice to all of the County Departments has given me an understanding of not only the people of Sauk County, but the issues facing our communities and the resources that exist to address them. Being involved as a parent with my childrens activities, being involved with my church and other civic organizations has done the same. Finally, Im married to a police officer, giving me a unique perspective into law enforcements experience with the justice system.
KC: In 2011, I lost my mother to cancer. That very same year, my wife was diagnosed with breast cancer, which she has survived and for which I am eternally grateful. I watched my dad care for mom that final year, and it showed me how caring, loving, and empathetic a human being could be. I try to be more like my dad every day. That years experience has impressed upon me the loss, trauma, helpless feeling, and the lack of guidance many who come before the Court suffer. It will, hopefully, make me a more understanding and better Judge.
Q: How important is a judges demeanor to his or her effectiveness?
WK: A judge must understand the law and make sound and impartial decisions, but she cannot truly be effective if the parties involved do not take heed of what she says. Common sense and respect for those appearing before her whether its a criminal defendant, parents getting divorce, or the attorneys handling the cases goes a long way in making sure that happens, as does being open-minded, reasonable, confident and measured in making decisions. Being arrogant or condescending is the surest way for a judge to be ineffective.
KC: I believe a Judges demeanor is essential to his effectiveness. I have had the privilege, over the last quarter century, of daily seeing our Judges treat parties, even difficult parties, with patience, respect and fairness. Persons coming before a Judge do not expect, or deserve, to be berated or belittled. They are seeking justice. As a Judge, treating the persons who come before me with respect and fairness, truly listening to their position, and then giving them a reasoned and well considered decision, I believe, will go a long way in satisfying their sense of justice.
Q: How might Wisconsin best combat a culture of drunken driving?
WK: We have a drunk driving problem in Wisconsin because we have a drinking problem in Wisconsin. Our acceptance of heavy drinking starts in our neighborhoods and extends up to the Capitol. Wisconsin is the only state where your first drunk driving offense isnt a crime. We need to consider whether its time to encourage our legislators to make drunk driving laws stricter. At the community level, if you cant stop people from drinking, you can at least stop them from driving. Encouraging the use of the Bar Buddies program is an important start to keeping dangerous drivers off the road.
KC: Combatting drunk driving must occur on many fronts: By law enforcement increasing patrols for OWI conduct, and letting people know such action is being taken, to discourage OWI. By communities not tolerating such conduct and reporting reckless driving conduct to law enforcement, and by providing transportation alternatives, like Bar Buddies. By the Legislature and the Justice System recognizing that persons who continue to drink and drive, multiple times, present a significant and continuing danger to public safety and fashioning dispositions which protect the public. From 2014 to 2015, the Sauk County DAs office saw a drop in OWI cases of over 20%; I believe all of the above played a part in that reduction.
The Tirupati temple is crucial for this scheme as it holds seven tonnes of the metal, equivalent to $277 million at current prices.
New Delhi: In order to make the Gold Monetisation Scheme more attractive, the government said on Friday that it will now allow investors to redeem the principal in gold at the time of maturity.
Now, for the gold deposited under Medium and Long Term government Deposits (MLTGD), the redemption of principal at maturity shall, at the option of the depositor, be either in Indian rupee equivalent of the value of deposited gold at the time of redemption or in gold, said the finance ministry. Recently, the administrative body of Sri Venkateshwara temple, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, had requested the government to allow banks to repay gold deposits made for medium and long term in metal.
Temples in India have tonnes of gold offered by devotees. The Tirupati temple is crucial for this scheme as it holds seven tonnes of the metal, equivalent to $277 million at current prices. The ministry, however, said that if redemption of the deposit is in gold, an administrative charge at a rate of 0.2 per cent of the notional redemption amount rupee will be collected from the depositor.
However, the interest accrued on MLTGD shall be calculated with reference to the value of gold in terms of Indian rupees at the time of deposit and will be paid only in cash, the finance ministry explained.
Beaver Dam High School honor chemistry students are studying a real-life crime scene scenario to determine what caused the death of a young girl with help from the Beaver Dam Police Department.
Its nice to show the students real-life experiences, Beaver Dam Police Sgt. Erik Smedema said. This puts things in perspective for them and helps them to see what the police department does. Its also good to get to the schools and work with the students to get a better rapport with them.
On Thursday, Smedema talked with the students about how the police handle crime scenes, collect evidence and showed them how to dust for fingerprints.
Beaver Dam High School sophomore Gillian Proctor said they are a unit where they are investigating a fake death scene to see how a girl died. Proctor said she hoped the fingerprinting information would help them learn if there was evidence on a window in the fake death scene.
We started the unit last week and have been slowly working on it, Proctor said. It is part of our bonding unit, so it shows how certain things react to certain things.
The students have access to a folder that had shared information on the case.
Students are analyzing crime scene data (crime reports, pictures, and autopsy reports) as well as run their own lab tests to determine how a victim died, said teacher Melissa Hemling said. The Beaver Dam Police Department is helping us make this as realistic as possible.
The students are paired in groups and the computer files were requested by certain groups, but shared with all the students, Hemling said.
The goal is to increase the students interest and to connect to real life experiences, Hemling said.
The honors chemistry students have studied the CSI unit in the past, but this is the first year that Beaver Dam Police have assisted with the unit.
We are trying to make the unit as realistic as possible, Hemling said.
The students will be assessed on their chemistry knowledge, Hemling said.
The students also have other chemistry homework and tests to complete during the project.
A California man accused of a brutal series of domestic battery incidents is now facing a charge of attempted first-degree homicide, accused of attacking an inmate in the Columbia County Jail.
Thomas Morales, 39, was arrested on March 2 when Portage police were called to a house on Volk Street to investigate a domestic situation in which a woman fled from her home, her sister calling 9-1-1.
After his arrest, Morales was held in the Columbia County Jail segregation unit. On Wednesday morning he was brought into a general population unit. That night an inmate hit the emergency alarm to call deputies to stop Morales from attacking another inmate.
He is a repeater, he was convicted of a felony in Californiafelony infliction of corporal injury to a spouse or co-habitant, said Assistant District Attorney Cliff Burdon, revisiting Morales quote to Portage police that he didnt even know anymore how many warrants he had for his arrest. He is on bond for domestic abuse strangulation where he threatened to kill the victim. And the case before the court today, it is alleged the defendant stalked his victim in jail and attacked him from behind.
When Morales was released to general population, one inmate told detectives later that he thought he saw Morales stalking the man around the unit possibly knowing him from segregation.
That night, the inmate said, Morales came up behind the man, who was making instant noodles, and without saying anything punched him in the head, then again and again.
The inmate who spoke to authorities explained that he thought he was seeing a fight and didnt want to get involved, but Morales had picked up a pencil from one of the tables and began stabbing the man with it.
I saw someone almost getting murdered today, he told the officer.
Your honor, this type of sociopathic behavior shocks the conscience, said Burdon. The state recommends $500,000 cash.
Mr. Morales definitely does qualify for public defender representation, so $500,000 may as well be $10 million to him, said defense attorney Leonie Dolch. I request it be significantly lower than that so he might have some chance of obtaining bond.
The charge is first-degree intentional attempted homicide with a 60-year prison sentence, said Judge Alan J. White. Mr. Morales apparently doesnt have a lot of concern for his freedom.
White set Morales bond at $50,000 cash in addition to his previous $7,500 cash bond, scheduling his next court hearing for May 16.
A change in leadership at Wisconsin Dells High School is coming. At Thursdays school board meeting Principal Greg Bell submitted his resignation, announcing he had accepted the job as superintendent for the Boscobel School District.
Bell has been principal for the past two school years and told the Board at Thursdays meeting while he will miss working with students, staff and administrators in the Dells, he said he is glad I can finally see my wife.
Prior to his time at Wisconsin Dells High School, Bell was the Boscobel Middle and High School principal. As he arrived in the Dells, his wife had to stay in Boscobel to attend to family members in poor health and the couple has lived apart ever since.
I appreciate the time Ive had here. I appreciate all of you. Im grateful for the time and always enjoyed working with the students Bell told the Board Thursday night.
Superintendent Terry Slack said the district is still contemplating Bells replacement. There has not been any decisions made yet and well have some more discussion about it. In the past weve posted (the position), but we will also give consideration to all of those (people) that are internal and that maybe want to switch positions.
School Board President Lisa Delmore thanked Bell for his service. Weve certainly appreciated all you have done for us and wish you much success. Vice President Holly Waterman told Bell he set the bar to a new level in the high school.
When Delmore asked for a motion to accept Bells resignation, board member Bob McClyman said with regrets I motion to accept.
Bell is scheduled to work through June 30. Slack said the goal is for the district to have a replacement named within the first two weeks of May.
There are two open seats on the Wisconsin Dells School District Board of Education for the April 5 election. Eligible voters must live within the district and can vote for candidates in both seats, regardless of where they live in the district.
Current board member Randy Gilner is resigning his position after four, three-year consecutive terms and is running unopposed by former School Board member Jesse Weaver.
Current Board President Lisa Delmores three-year term is ending. She is running for re-election and is being challenged by Jim McClyman, son of current board member Bob McClyman, whose term is not up for re-election.
The Dells Events asked all three candidates the same questions. Their answers are listed in alphabetical order.
Dells Events: What is your background? Have you ever served on the board of education?
Delmore: I am a 1996 graduate of Wisconsin Dells High School and attended North Central College where I earned my bachelors degree. I am the operations manager at Outlets at The Dells and my husband, Jeff, is self-employed as the owner of Delmore Consulting. We are blessed to have two wonderful boys, Murray, 9, and Jack, 8. I am grateful to have served on the Board of Education for three years and as president this last year.
McClyman: I am a proud 1984 graduate of Wisconsin Dells High School. I went to college and earned an associate degree in restaurant and hotel cookery and hospitality management. I have also earned a degree as an emergency medical technician paramedic and am state certified as a firefighter. I have lived in the Dells my entire life with my wife, Lisa, (also a Dells graduate) and have raised two children, a son, Andrew, who is currently a junior at UW-Madison and a daughter, Elizabeth, who will be graduating from Wisconsin Dells High School this year and will be attending UW-La Crosse next fall. I was honored to be a member of the Kilbourn Volunteer Fire Department for 16 years. I have spent the last 26 years involved in EMS and the last 11 years as a paramedic and emergency room technician at Divine Savior Healthcare in Portage. I have never had the privilege of serving on the Wisconsin Dells School Board. However, I had the desire to serve but decided to wait until I was certain that I could dedicate the time such a responsibility requires and deserves.
Weaver: Weaver, 39, is a 1995 Wisconsin Dells High graduate and a 1999 Winona State University graduate. He is currently a police officer for the Wisconsin Dells Police Department and a private business owner. He is married to Melanie and has a daughter, Claira, 10, and a son, Blake, 8. He previously served on the Wisconsin Dells School Board for nine years, two as president.
Dells Events: Do you think the community is ready for a referendum and if so what could the board do better so that it doesnt face a repeat of 2014 when two referendums failed? If no, why?
Delmore: I think our community is ready to be engaged in a conversation about facilities as a part of strategic planning. Based on the participation we experienced at the three listening sessions we learned that our community wants to be informed and participate in decisions that impact learning environments. The Board of Education has a lot of work that needs to be done before thinking about or asking our community to entertain the idea of a referendum. The facility study was conducted to inform the public and the board on the condition of the buildings, as well as the impact the current delivery system has on educational outcomes. This information is critical in developing a strategic plan for the district and identifies potential limitations we are facing educating 21st century learners. The vision of what our community believes education should look like may not be achievable in our current facilities and that is important for everyone to understand. It then becomes important to manage that expectation.
Should a referendum be appropriate for the community and district I will continue to advocate for a very transparent process that values community engagement. A facilities referendum needs to be the product of this type of process and support high-quality facilities for all students. Once we have the facilities the board and community can change focus back on educating the kids, which is our primary mission.
McClyman: Right now in the Dells School District the word referendum appears to be the worlds longest four-letter word. Whenever a referendum is mentioned, people roll their eyes and grit their teeth and stories of the failed referendums are discussed. I dont think the district is ready for another referendum at this time, unless we are able to give honest answers to their concerns. Their concerns are not only about initial building cost, but estimates of future maintenance expenses. However, I cant see how changes can be made without a referendum. I feel the last two referendums have failed because those pushing for the new school presented it poorly. All the attention was placed on the gymnasium, auditorium and a generous donation for a swimming pool. Very little was mentioned about actual education. The proposal said nothing about computer or chemistry labs, classroom sizes or how this would better prepare our students for the future.
Weaver: I believe that a referendum is inevitable, based on space needs. I realize that the word referendum would fall into the class of many four-letter words by some that feel they wouldnt benefit from such.
I would challenge all district residents to get involved now, during the discussions and planning for the future of our community. The future of our children, and ultimately our community, is far too important for ignorance and avoidance. The current board has strongly encouraged community involvement and seeks ideas to create the best possible outcome, in the interest of our children and taxpayers. I look forward to being part of this process as a Board of Education member, a parent, a graduate of Wisconsin Dells school system and as a taxpayer. The on-going referendum exploration should have a heavy focus on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math education).
Dells Events: Would you push to keep Neenah Creek Elementary or Lake Delton Elementary schools open or closed?
Delmore: Much has been discussed on the topic of whether to close Lake Delton and/or Neenah Creek Elementary Schools. In answering the question, I revert back to my original statement when running for the board three years ago: It is the role of the board to provide information to the public and allow them to make decisions through their elected officials. We are at the very beginning of that exchange of information, and on the board I will remain transparent and thoughtful throughout this process and work to provide answers to the questions posed about smaller learning environments, rural education and the costs to the district. This information is all forthcoming and we are working hard to make sure that everyones questions are heard and addressed. This is the hard work that we are challenged with. It is not the role of any individual board member to advocate for or against a school closing, but it is our collective responsibility as a board to provide the public with all of the necessary information to help them make an informed decision should a referendum be appropriate for the district and community.
McClyman: I have no desire to see any school closed. But the truth of the matter is three grade schools require more funds and staff to operate than one. If the members of our school district wish to keep them all open, they have to realize that it is going to require additional cost to them. People often say that money should not be a factor in education. Unfortunately, that is not the case. For me to support closing schools I would have to see evidence that this decision will improve learning and afford our children the best opportunities for success.
Many people in the community will be upset if a decision is made to close one or more schools and I would understand their frustration. I have seen it at recent School Board meetings. But the decision to keep open, close or to build a new school is made by the voters. The School Board can only make recommendations. I am more than willing to listen to any suggestion or options regarding our schools.
Weaver: As a child, I attended K-6 at Lake Delton Elementary School. I currently have two children attending Neenah Creek. Although we do not live in the Neenah Creek attendance area, my wife and I made the commitment to drive our children to that school. We have seen and understand the importance of small community based schools and how they aid in the educational experience. At face value and based on personal experience and observations, I do support keeping the smaller schools open. I believe in the educational value, that they provide to the students that are fortunate enough to attend them.
However, I also understand that the referendum exploration has created a divide among community members. I further understand that Lake Delton and Neenah Creek are at the root of some of the divide. I dont believe it is fair for anyone to pass judgment either for or against until all facts have been laid out by the district officials.
I passionately believe in the value of Neenah Creek not only to the development of attending children but the positive impact the school has on the Briggsville community. It truly is a community school. Overall cost and educational output MUST be established and evaluated to substantiate any further discussion to keep these buildings open or closed. The people of this district MUST formulate a vision of what the Wisconsin Dells education system should look like, based on facts and what will move our children and community forward and not dwell on the past. Society is greatly changing and what has worked the last 50 years doesnt necessarily make the best educational choices moving forward. It is imperative that ALL stakeholders get involved, stay informed, and make the best choice for the future of our community.
Dells Events: What are you priorities for the district in the upcoming school year? Why and how did you choose these?
Delmore: As a board we need to continue to move forward with the community in strategic planning. In particular, we need to continue the work with district facility planning through the process that was started this year. Although we have come a long way, we also need to continue to find ways to improve technology and get technology into our students hands. Continuing to build on our policy governance model should be an ongoing focus as a board as well.
McClyman: We need to find a better answer to overcrowding at Spring Hill and remove the eighth grade from the high school. We need to come to a decision on the future of the Lake Delton School. We need to develop a plan to attract and retain quality teachers to our district. While talking to community I have found that these are topics that are often mentioned and seem to be a common concern.
Weaver: Weaver declined to answer this question.
Dells Events: What should the board of education focus on accomplishing in the next three years?
Delmore: It is imperative that the board continues to foster higher academic standards and continues to refine and develop a strategic plan while seeking direction and input from the community. This is some of the most important work that a board can do, and over the next three years it will remain my mission to actively seek input and listen to the collective voice of the community, just as we have done with the recent public listening sessions concerning facility planning.
I am very proud of the technology infrastructure upgrades that have happened over the past few years as the modern learning environment continues to evolve. We are at a point in time when state testing being done online and the lack of access to technology is no longer an option. We need to understand how important it is to continue these efforts and to get technology into each students hands. Over the next three years, I am committed to the efforts of the district to increase the amount of technology for students and staff.
McClyman: The School Board needs to find an answer to overcrowding at Spring Hill grade school and middle school. Improve the learning environment for our Lake Delton students and create a plan for the future of Neenah Creek. At the high school we need to continue to improve our advanced placement courses so that students can earn college credits while still in high school. The board needs to also improve our technical programs for those students that may not choose a four-year college. We also need to look toward the future beyond the next three years.
Weaver: I believe that the focus of the Board of Education moving forward needs to be assuring that our students are provided with the best possible education that can be offered under current laws, regulations and funding ability. The district must have community buy-in and support. The Board of Education must provide a clear and open process of all operations and promote community involvement.
Dells Events: What do you want changed in the district to make it a better place for students to learn?
Delmore: If allowed to continue to serve and remain a part of the district leadership, I intend to continue making gains in the way of policy governance and strategic planning. Policy governance is a modern-governing style for public boards that directs the attention of the board on student learning outcomes which is the primary responsibility of a board of education. This method of governing has been academically studied and proven to have a direct impact on student achievement. Not only does policy governance set clear roles for the board, the superintendent and the community, but it allows all parties involved to be unencumbered and focused on the work at hand.
Strategic planning is equally important. A piece of that which has garnered much attention is the facility study. As we continue to work through this process and work toward a consensus about where students are going to learn and what the buildings look like, we can begin to focus on a number of other priorities the board is identifying to improve student achievement. We need to remain focused on this effort as a whole and not allow one facet, while important, to garner all of our attention.
McClyman: We need to improve the learning environment both physically and mentally. A physical example would be to improve the desks or work stations that fit the students properly. I have been told about a classroom that has been testing a style of desk with an adjustable chair so students will be more comfortable while in class. I understand that the students like these desk because they are not always readjusting to get comfortable. They are therefore able to concentrate better. We need to continue to strive to provide a safe environment for our children and to eliminate overcrowding. We also need to evaluate the teachers to assure that they have the proper subject knowledge and resources to teach classes successfully.
Weaver: The district is currently exploring a building referendum. The referendum discussion was brought to light by overcrowding of current elementary schools, as well as the middle school, where eighth-grade students have been relocated to the high school. Due to the current large class sizes at the younger class levels, enrollment numbers do show severe over-crowding of the high school in four years from now.
Space needs and overcrowding are very important. However, an equally important component is how to add needed space. The focus of that issue should be how to responsibly and efficiently maximize educational output. STEM and career readiness need to be at the top of the conversation when addressing building needs and how to shape our district moving forward if funding is approved.
Dells Events: Do you see yourself as a representative of the community or a representative of the school system?
Delmore: As president of the Board of Education, I am cognizant of my responsibility to represent both the community and the school system simultaneously. These roles go hand in hand as board members are the liaison between the stakeholders and the district. Board members are tasked with taking the information from the community and making sure that it is reflected in the values, goals and strategic plan of the district and in turn sharing information with the community on the needs of the district to exceed those expectations. The idea that the board is an us versus them on either side of the equation is counterproductive to advancing the learning outcomes for all students. Partnering together is the only way that we are able to move forward and maintain a focus on what is best for the students that we are charged with educating.
McClyman: I believe that I am a representative of the community. I feel that true strength and progress comes from the community. Success and change can only happen if you can get the support of the community behind it. The most effective way to garner support is to keep the community well informed.
Weaver: The community and school system, in my eyes, should be one. I believe the existence of each is dependent on the other. My role as a school board member is to oversee the budget and policy. The budget and policies in place should advocate for the children of our educational system with respect to the support of all district residents.
Dells Events: What leadership experiences do you possess that will allow you to be an effective board member?
Delmore: I have served in leadership positions with Families-In-Transition Support (FITS) Network, Beacon House, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) board for Sauk, Columbia, Adams and Juneau counties. I am currently serving in a governor-appointed position as the board chair of the National and Community Service Board, Serve Wisconsin, overseeing AmeriCorps funding and programming for the state. I am a 2014 graduate of Leadership Wisconsin, a two-year program focused on strengthening leadership skills. These experiences combined with my current leadership role on the Board of Education merit me another term on the board.
McClyman: While working at Divine Savior I have been selected to serve on several hospital-wide committees. I served on the safety committee dedicated to patient, guest and employee safety throughout all of Divine Savior properties. I was recently appointed to a committee dedicated to improving communication and cooperation between staff and hospital departments. This committee is to aid in improving patient experience and care at DSH. While working during critical events in the emergency room or on an ambulance it is important that I, as a leader, communicate clearly, be able to adapt to a changing situation and be willing to ask for and accept suggestions from my crew. I must also be able to stay focused at the task at hand yet be aware of changes in my surrounding environment.
Weaver: I am proud that I have already served nine years on the Wisconsin Dells Board of Education, two of which I was honored to have been chosen by my peers as the president. I also have great life experiences in leadership as a police officer and as a successful private business owner. Since the age of 4, I have spent my entire life in Wisconsin Dells and have been part of many community programs and initiatives.
Mumbai: Varun Dhawan and Urvashi Rautela were spotted up close and personal at a popular celebrity hub last night. Are they going to see in a movie together? Well, not really then what were these two doing with each other. The chemistry between the two speak volumes.
Looks like Urvashi and Varun hit it off quite well. Earlier, the two met at an award function in Dubai held recently and they seems to continue meeting in Mumbai. According to an inside informer, The duo were spotted together having a fun time on Thursday night at Triology club in Mumbai suburbs. The two even seen palling on each other.
Varun Dhawan and Urvashi Rautela at a posh club in Mumbai.
Varun Dhawan was spotted with Urvashi Rautela in Dubai.
Varun Dhawan was seen with red soar eyes as he extensively shot under water sequences for his next action flick Dishoom, while Urvashi Rautela was cheering up for India at Wankhede stadium yesterday. The two secretly made this late night plan and met at a club and were together till the wee hours.
Wits honours student inspires graduands
Successful people fail, they fail many times and they fail quickly, says Doug Anderson, speaker at a Humanities graduation ceremony on 31 March 2016.
Anderson, who received the National Order of the Baobab: Silver, from President Jacob Zuma for his work in promoting the rights of people with disabilities and orphans in 2015, was born with a spinal defect leaving him partially paraplegic from birth.
His address, which received a standing ovation, was filled with personal stories of wisdom and encouragement.
Against the odds
Andersons quirky sense of humour came out when he referred to himself as a two percenter, the odds given to him of surviving at birth. He told the graduands that he chose to never be limited by the limitations in the minds of others.
Doctors also told him that he would not be able to talk or be educated. But not only is Anderson a radio producer and presenter, he is also a journalism honours student at Wits.
Anderson has worked in radio since 2004, cutting his teeth at a community radio station, Radio Today, and in 2007 he joined Radio 2000. He was also a special contributor for television during the last couple of Paralympics. But it was a difficult journey.
Rejection and hope
You would think that after being head boy, after representing my province and country in sports, after achieving in academia that this would have counted for something in the world, but the reality of the situation for me (at least at the time) it didnt.
I studied a number of things at various institutions. I had rejection after rejection trying to get a job, said Anderson.
At school, he represented his province and country in sports, amassing 39 gold, 16 silver and five bronze medals. Anderson also excelled in leadership by serving as a head boy in 1996 at the Hope School in Johannesburg.
He said people with disabilities are often restricted to working in callcentres or as switchboard operators. Anderson said that despite being told his disability is a hindrance to employment, he persevered until he found something that he loved.
Awards
Anderson is also a qualified reflexologist, and also started various businesses during his career.
He is passionate about making a difference in the world, particularly when it comes to people with disabilities. Anderson has won numerous awards for his work with the disabled. He received the Inseta Disability Champion award two years running, the Disability International Community Role Model award, and the Hamlet Presidents Award for work in the field of intellectual disability.
You cant always control what happens to us but you can control the way you react to what happens to us. Learn to embrace change or it will embrace you. The trick to success is to get up, dress up, show up and never give up, said Anderson.
Anderson has had 42 surgeries in 38 years. He says the biggest lesson he learnt, came with operation number 40 in 2013.
A simple 40 minute procedure that went horribly wrong and left me in ICU for a month, sedated and ventilated for 10 days with two super bugs. Nearly dying, gives you a different appreciation of life. I say live more, love more, do more, be more and (the) sincerity in your intentions determine success in your life, he said.
Forecast of global trends suggest heavy headwinds for Africa
The mega-trends for the continent that will feature in the 2016 edition of the UN's Global Trends.
The US National Intelligence Council is preparing a new quadrennial edition of Global Trends, looking ahead 20 years.
The report informs the strategic thinking and planning of Americas next president-elect.
Global Trends is intended to inform US leaders. But it can be a useful reference for other countries too. This is especially so in Africa, where the financial and institutional capacity for long-term comprehensive research and analysis is lacking.
The public document can be critically assessed in terms of local interests. It is based on input from scholars, journalists, business, labour and civil society leaders in more than 35 countries, including China and Russia.
The 2012 mega-trends, and a subsequent shortlist recently offered by the councils chair Greg Treverton, are already evident across Africa. His preliminary views about which mega-trends will feature in the 2016 edition suggest Africa faces some tough headwinds.
Previous forecasts
The previous edition was prepared for Barack Obama after his re-election in 2012. It highlighted four mega-trends.
The first was an increase in individual empowerment. This would come about due to a decline in poverty, a rise in the middle class and more widely available information and communication technologies.
Second was a further diffusion of power among and within countries as emerging markets expand and rich countries age and growth slows.
Third were demographic changes brought about by urbanisation, forced migration, youth bulges and longer life expectancies.
Finally, it discussed severe strains on existing resources, access to food, energy and water as populations grow and consumption increases.
The trends evident across Africa include rapid urbanisation, the worlds fastest-growing population including a large unemployed youth bulge and migration. All are straining already scarce resources of food, energy and water.
Less obvious, but also of concern to Africa, are the trends toward individual empowerment in the north and newly affluent countries. There is also the trend of further diffusion of power within and among countries. These exacerbate partisanship, protectionism and exclusive patriotism, especially in the most powerful and prosperous countries.
The detrimental effects on African countries are likely to be further exacerbated by opposition to two important problems: overdue reform of multilateral institutions, and greater collective action to overcome widening inequities.
Whats next
Trevertons recent shortlist of immediate concerns includes several that were overlooked four years ago. They include:
Chinas economic slowdown and restructuring;
Russian assertiveness under Vladimir Putins popular, authoritarian and unpredictable leadership;
the collapse of commodity prices. This will contribute to sudden, perhaps dangerous, reversals in growth in emerging markets, notably Brazil and South Africa;
deadly twists in the Middle East turmoil and the outpouring of refugees; and
political uncertainties in the US affecting its global role.
Treverton notes that the council could not address the issue of Americas global role. Nevertheless, it is an implicit reminder of the 2016 elections global importance.
Treverton expects that, as in 2012, individual empowerment will lead the 2016 list. This will fuel demands for more accountability. It will also be accompanied by acts of violence and criminal behaviour.
The 2016 list is also expected to discuss slower growth, with more strains on scarce resources, coping with the effects of climate change, and rising inequality. It will also include mention of intensifying competition and conflict over values that lie at the heart of demands for greater freedom and equality.
There will also be mention of technological breakthroughs. This will be most notable in areas of artificial intelligence and biotechnology. Treverton compared these to information technology breakthroughs 25 years ago.
Finally, the list is expected to discuss the greater difficulties in achieving collective action among countries as a result of the other four trends.
African solutions for African problems remains a vital aspiration among elites eager to purge all remnants of colonialism. This includes practical, political and psychological. But Africa will continue to depend on economic growth in more prosperous regions to sustain commodity exports and fuel diversification and development.
Current trends and the likely revisions to in the 2016 list point to even less likelihood that the 2012 most plausible positive outcome in global scenario, Fusion, will predominate. This will further hurt Africas development prospects.
Climate change is fast becoming a human survival issue in Africa. It is the region least responsible for global warming. But it also has the fewest surplus resources to deal with its effects.
In addition, most people still depend on subsistence agriculture. A new report from the US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine links extreme weather and resulting humanitarian disasters to climate change.
Another study shows that southern Africa will experience global warming twice as hot as the global mean. This is likely to lead to famine, forced migration, and risks of deadly new pandemics as humans and animals congest and viruses spread. None will remain local problems.
Whatever scenarios actually happen, acquiring a better understanding of global trends and their local effects must become a top priority for all universities. This must take the form of interdisciplinary and problem-focused research and analysis to inform contingency planning and priorities.
John J Stremlau, Visiting Professor of International Relations, University of the Witwatersrand. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
Mumbai: Former Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh on Thursday spurred speculation when he revealed to a news channel that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is planning to propose Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan's name for being the next President of India.
The current President, Pranab Mukerjee, assumed office in July 2012 for the five-year term.
Singh also mentioned that it was he who introduced the superstar to the PM, that eventually led to Bachchan becoming the ambassador for Gujarat tourism.
When contacted, Amitabh Bachchan said, "I'm deeply humbled and touched by the thought. But I'm not worthy of such a distinguished post of responsibility. Besides no such offer or proposal has come my way yet."
He further added, "I've constantly maintained politics is not my cup of tea. That's unlikely to change. There are many other ways of making oneself useful to the country and the society besides politics."
Having said that, Amitabh Bachchan has tried his hand at politics before. He contested for the 1984 Lok Sabha elections on a Congress ticket from Allahabad constituency and won. However, he resigned as an MP after three years.
Interestingly, earlier this month, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Shatrughan Sinha was quoted saying, It will be a matter of pride if Amitabh Bachchan, a cultural icon, is made President of the country."
Shahid Kapoor tweeted, "My third with the maestro Vishal sir. So much still to learn. Fortunate and blessed to have so many chances to work under him."
Mumbai: He is gearing up for the final leg of shooting for Vishal Bhardwaj's period drama 'Rangoon' and actor Shahid Kapoor says he still has so much to learn from the director.
Shahid, whose career touched new heights after working with Bhardwaj in 'Kaminey' and 'Haider', said he considers himself fortunate for being able to work with the national-award winning director thrice.
"Kicking off the final schedule for #Rangoon today. Will wrap the film in April. My third with the maestro Vishal sir. So much still to learn. Fortunate and blessed to have so many chances to work under him," he posted on Twitter.
Kicking off the final schedule for #Rangoon today. Will wrap the film in April. My third with the maestro vishal sir. So much still to learn Shahid Kapoor (@shahidkapoor) March 31, 2016
Fortunate and blessed to have so many chances to work under him. Also #udtapunjab up next. Stuff coming up soon. Very soon. Shahid Kapoor (@shahidkapoor) March 31, 2016
'Rangoon' directed by Vishal Bhardwaj, is a classic tale that is set against the backdrop of World War II. The director who wanted to work on this subject since eight years now, promises that the film will have the musical charm of Moulin Rouge, the romance of Casablanca and the intensity of Saving Private Ryan.
In this love triangle, well see Saif playing the character of a filmmaker, Kangana as an actress from the 40s and Shahid playing the role of an army officer. The makers of Rangoon plan on releasing the film around October next year. The film is being produced by Sajid Nadiawala.
Mattachine Project unearths W&M's lost LGBTIQ history
Forgotten history Aiesha Krause-Lee '16 and Nic Querolo '16 with posters they made recreating protest signs Virginians displayed in the 1980s and 1990s. Courtesy photo
Forgotten history This fragment of a 1991 Washington Blade article, found in VCU's Cabell Library Special Collections, tipped student researchers off to W&M GALA's involvement in overturning discriminatory liquor laws in Virginia. VCU James Branch Cabell Library Special Collections
Forgotten history A 1991 W&M GALA newsletter explaining why it was joining a suit challenging Virginia's ABC laws. VCU James Branch Cabell Library Special Collections
Forgotten history An insert to a 1991 W&M GALA newsletter announcing the victory overturning ABC's discriminatory liquor laws. Swem Special Collections
Forgotten history Student researchers with faculty advisor Leisa Meyer and graduate fellow Jan Huebenthal at VCU's Cabell Library in February. Courtesy photo
Forgotten history Alex de Gala '16 working with microfilm at the Library of Virginia. Courtesy photo
Forgotten history Aiesha Krause-Lee '16, Alex de Gala '16 and Ming Siegel '16 at Swem's Special Collections. Courtesy photo Photo - of - Hide Caption
The role of William & Mary alumni in defeating anti-LGBTIQ regulations in Virginia could have been lost to history but for a group of student researchers working with the newly formed W&M Mattachine Research Project: Documenting the LGBTIQ Past in Virginia.
Up to the early 1990s, state law prohibited the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, or ABC, from issuing licenses or permits to a whole host of people prostitutes, alcoholics, narcotics users and known homosexuals among them.
It was one of the ways in which Virginia though Virginia wasnt alone in this contained gatherings, explained Leisa Meyer, faculty advisor and professor of American studies and history. It was a way of surveilling and disrupting meetings of LGBTIQ people, whether they be social or political.
In 1991, after a local Ramada Inn initially refused to issue a permit to W&M GALA, the universitys gay and lesbian alumni/ae association, for a Homecoming event, the organization joined as a plaintiff in a federal lawsuit challenging the Commonwealths discriminatory regulation. They won.
W&Ms connection to overturning the legislation was just one episode in the political history of LGBTIQ people in Virginia that the 16 students working with the W&M Mattachine Research Project unearthed over the course of the semester.
They will present the fruits of long Saturdays spent in archives here and in Richmond at 4 p.m. on Monday, April 4, in Swem Librarys first-floor research room. A reception and exhibition walk-through will follow at 5:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. RSVP here or call (757) 221-7872.
Producing, not just receiving, knowledge
The project launched this semester with a $2,500 donation from the nonprofit Mattachine Society of Washington, D.C., which conducts archival research and education programs focusing on gay and lesbian legal, political and policy history, according to its website.
I compare them to Johnny Appleseed, Meyer said, noting that the money was designed to launch the project in Virginia at William & Mary. Working nationally, the organization hopes to create a comprehensive database of materials available to the public at no cost.
The student researchers, most of whom received some course credit for participating in the project, attended two special training sessions at Swem to ready them for the inquiry one focused on using electronic resources and databases to find materials and government documents and the other introducing them to archival research and protocol.
Over the course of the semester, the students spent time researching in Swems special collections and traveled to archives and special collections at the Library of Virginia and the Virginia Commonwealth Universitys James Branch Cabell Library. They also attended the queer youth summit at the University of Richmond.
I do this work professionally and I had no idea about all of this material the students found, Meyer said. Its fabulous.
For a number of reasons, Meyer said, William & Mary was a natural fit for starting the research in this region. W&M already has a strong scholarly foundation of work considering the lives of the LGBTIQ community, both on campus and off, in the oral history Stephens Project and the Richard Cornish Endowment Fund at Swem, while the John Boswell Initiative and lecture promote scholarship on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender life in the United States and in other countries.
W&M also emphasizes substantive, meaningful research opportunities for undergraduate students, even more in the new general education College Curriculum, or COLL. COLL 300 in particular will press students to think differently about their place in the world through contact with cultures other than their own, Meyer said.
Part of the new COLL curriculum is focused on getting people away from Williamsburg a little bit to do research and to find materials that might help them think about the world in different ways, so they might produce knowledge, not simply receive it, Meyer said. This seemed like a wonderful opportunity to explore what the new curriculum will allow students to do in terms of intensive research and also in engaging with communities that are distinct from what they might find in the Williamsburg area.
The project is also enjoying remarkable support from every corner of campus, including American studies; the Boswell Initiative; gender, sexuality and womens studies; the history department; the law school; the LGBTIQ Research Fund; the Sharpe Community Scholars program through the Roy R. Charles Center for Academic Excellence and the National Institute for American History and Democracy.
History Chair Cindy Hahamovitch and former W&M Rector Jeffrey Trammell 73 have been supporters from the beginning, Meyer said. The Provosts Office and the Dean of Arts & Sciences Office helped fund a graduate fellow, while the Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity awarded the project an IDEA grant.
Swem also purchased two new databases it had been considering, prioritizing them because of student requests and their value to the project, said Martha Higgins, reference and instructive librarian. Swem now offers access to Archives of Human Sexuality and Identity: LGBTQ History and Culture Since 1940 and GenderWatch.
You cant ask for anything more, Meyer said.
We dont know whats in all these archives
Jan Huebenthal is a doctoral student in American studies and the projects graduate fellow who provided logistical assistance for the semester, launched the group on social media and designed the projects webpage.
The work has been so incredibly rewarding for me, personally and professionally, he said, noting that up to this point, his research involved cultural studies, not archival research.
The undergraduate students are diverse in their majors, but most had no prior experience in archival research or working in special collections.
Taylor Medley 17 is majoring in gender, sexuality and womens studies and public health. It was she who, while looking for information about ABC regulations at VCU, came across the first seven paragraphs of an article that had been torn out of the Washington Blade, an LGBT newspaper in Washington, D.C., announcing the defeat of the ABC restrictions on the grounds that they were discriminatory. The second-to-last sentence noted W&M GALAs involvement. What really surprised her was that she found information in Richmond, not at Swem. (Theyve since found more at Swem).
That got me thinking about how we don't know where all of this information is, Medley said. We don't know what's in all of these archives around the state and the country. Thats why this work is so important.
Ming Siegel 16 has a self-designed major of constitutional theory and history. She spent much of her time researching anti-sodomy laws, the papers of Equality Virginia and how individual politicians in Virginia responded to LGBTIQ rights issues.
Mostly she found what they expected to find, including documents on how to politically counter the Christian Right. But the big surprise for her and other researchers was finding the extent to which various religious groups in both Williamsburg and Richmond supported the LGBTIQ community with sincere outreach efforts and response to the HIV crisis.
Siegel said they also gained insight into how Virginias legislators have navigated issues of LGBTIQ equality over the past few decades.
"Politicians were clearly thinking about the issue of gay rights and had it in their minds, but they tried to balance this emerging issue of gay rights with some of their more traditional constituencies, she said. We think, especially now, that Democrats are in favor of same-sex marriage and gay rights, but back in the 90s, when the issue was still kind of new, [Democrats] had to really think about the issues and where they wanted to go with it.
There were standouts, though. Dan Delmonaco 17, a history major, helped prepare one poster for the exhibition that highlights a politician who, running in the 1980s, adopted a pro-LGBTIQ platform as a straight ally. He didnt win, Delmonaco said, but it was just interesting to see someone speaking so vocally about it, who was running for public office at that time.
Delmonaco will continue his research with a Summer Research Grant awarded by the Charles Center. In the future, Meyer hopes that the W&M Mattachine Research Project grows and includes opportunities for additional outreach and coordination with the Stephens Project. The group has already been asked to join 13 other universities in another documentation project, Queer History South, she said.
We're seeing this project as potentially paralleling the Lemon Project in terms of being an ongoing research project that allows us to not only consider William & Mary in relation to how a broader LGBTIQ community has functioned, but also in the Commonwealth and in the South, Meyer said. It's a way also of making William & Mary more visible in terms of this work, and in some ways in the vanguard of this work.
In what can be described as a major scientific breakthrough, scientists have discovered that fasting for just three days could regenerate the immune system of the human body. Whats more, this is possible even for the elderly.
This new study provides evidence that starving the body stimulates the stem cells into producing new white blood cells that can then fight off infection. Experts claim that this discovery would be extremely beneficial for people having damaged immune systems, for example, cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Scientists at the University of Southern California explain that fasting flips a regenerative switch which leads to the creation of new white blood cells thereby regenerating the immune system completely.
As part of the study, participants were asked to regularly fast for between two and four days over a six-month period, reports the Telegraph. It was found that prolonged fasting not only caused white blood cell production but also reduced the enzyme PKA, which is connected to ageing and a hormone that raises cancer risk and tumour growth.
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Cuba no longer 'dragging its heels'
?Old Havana in Cuba
Cuba is no longer dragging its heels when it comes to tourism, new figures suggest.
For decades the politically adrift Caribbean island has been uncommercialised.
But Barack Obama's visit there last week has sparked a further huge jump in the number of holidays being considered there.
Tourists are eager to explore Cuba's old school charms before it becomes westernised.
This continues the trend since December 2014. Britons have been flocking there since steps towards relaxing the long trade embargo were initiated in that month.
Trying to beat the clock
British tourists eager to explore Cuba before the chain stores roll into town can give themselves peace of mind by taking out trusted travel insurance.
This gives them protection should the unexpected happen, such as lost flight tickets or documentation, missing luggage and stolen souvenirs.
Stat attack
The stats all point to Cuba becoming increasingly popular since trade barriers started coming down during December 2014:
The Skyscanner comparison site says its British searches for Cuba jumped 48% in only 24 hours after the US president's momentous trip there
The Western & Oriental luxury holiday firm reports a 200% jump in Cuban enquiries compared to the same period last year
The US Travel Agents Organisation estimates that the number of US holidaymakers travelling to Cuba could hit as many as 1.5 million during the next decade
Patience may be required
UK tourists may have to display patience, however eager they are to get a slice of Castro's Cuba before more western influences take over.
Press Association writer Sarah Marshall says there is no guarantee that booking tomorrow will mean travellers will be able to see the old Cuba in the immediate future.
She claims this could take months in some cases as supply struggles to catch up with the growing demand.
But Cuba's expansion plan to cater for the rise in numbers is well under way.
Melia Hotels International, for example, says it will accommodate thousands more holidaymakers with three additional planned sites bringing 2,000 extra rooms.
Transgender teens are posting photos of themselves before and after their gender transition on social media sites like Twitter and Instagram. (Photo: Twitter/ @crucifalex)
Transgender people are increasingly using the power of social media in order to gain acceptance in society. After coming out videos, heres another pro-LGBT rights trend that has won the Internet. Transgender teens are using the hashtag #MomentsInTransition in order to visually document their journey towards getting their desired gender.
Transgender teens are posting photos of themselves before and after their gender transition on social media sites like Twitter and Instagram in an attempt to build their self-confidence and encourage other transgender people to share their own experiences online as well. Teenagers are sharing pictures of themselves before and after making important changes about their appearances like haircuts to even hormone therapy and surgery.
The movement has not only become popular in the online transgender community but is also garnering support from non-trans social media users as well.
Here are a few of the posts shared by transgender teens:
When you got to wear that suit to school with no makeup and asked your friends to use he/him! #MomentsInTransition pic.twitter.com/SzUwhEhLea alexander (@joshdunsays) March 31, 2016
#momentsintransition when you can finally "breathe" for the first time. pic.twitter.com/kjBUE82eML KitaNicole (@iFamoso) March 31, 2016
Areva, CEA and EDF create consultative body
01 April 2016
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Areva, EDF and the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) have launched a tripartite consultative body to "best confront the profound changes currently under way in the highly-competitive nuclear sector".
In separate statements, the three said they had decided to create the French Nuclear Platform (Plateforme France Nucleaire, PFN) "in order to developed aligned positions to meet the major challenges facing the French nuclear sector and to prepare the appropriate decisions". They said the new body would "discuss the major transversal topics for the nuclear sector in France and abroad".
The objective of the PFN is "to improve the joint effectiveness of the three entities", they said. In particular, it will "devise a shared vision of the medium- and long-term goals for the sector, which will contribute to the preparation and implementation of decisions taken by the French Presidential Nuclear Policy Council (Conseil de Politique Nucleaire)".
Six representatives of Areva, CEA and EDF - including their respective chairmen - will meet four times a year. The body's chairman will be decided on a rotating basis with a mandate lasting one year. Areva chairman Philippe Varin will be the first to chair the PFN.
By the end of 2016, the PFN will establish a working agenda that will cover current priority topics. These, the organizations said, will include the impacts on France's nuclear industry of the country's energy transition law and the industry's international strategy, which is to be drawn up with government ministries. Other issues are the review of technological options for the "new model" of the EPR reactor design, referred to as the EPR NM.
The PFN will also consider the "consolidation of relations" with small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in coordination with the French Nuclear Industry Strategic Committee (Comite Strategique de Filiere Nucleaire) and the coordination of positions on regulatory changes, particularly regarding nuclear safety requirements and objectives.
Through the PFN, the three will also work together on the future of the closed nuclear fuel cycle both in France and abroad as well as optimizing the Cigeo national repository for the disposal of intermediate- and high-level waste. They will also look at the development of decommissioning technologies and the research and development program for fourth-generation reactors.
Researched and written
by World Nuclear News
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Australia agrees to supply uranium to Ukraine
01 April 2016
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Julie Bishop, the Australian foreign minister, yesterday signed an agreement with Ukrainian energy and coal industry minister Volodymyr Demchyshyn that clears the way for Australia to export uranium to Ukraine.
Bishop and Demchyshyn at the ceremony, witnessed by Poroshenko (Image: Ukrainian Energy and Coal Industry Ministry)
The agreement was signed at the Ukrainian embassy in Washington DC during a ceremony attended by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. Bishop and Poroshenko are in the USA for the global Nuclear Security Summit being held this week in the US capital.
The Minerals Council of Australia welcomed Bishop's announcement that she would sign a cooperation agreement to supply uranium to Ukraine for use in power generation.
The Council said: "This development is another important step in responsibly growing Australia's market access for uranium exports. It comes following Australia's agreements with growing markets in the United Arab Emirates, China and India in recent years."
It said Ukraine would be added to the list of countries that have signed bilateral agreements with Australia committing them to use Australian-sourced uranium solely for peaceful purposes.
"The architecture of international cooperation, IAEA Safeguards and bilateral agreements provides the framework for Australia's supply of uranium to export markets under Treaty conditions committing those countries to use it exclusively for peaceful pruposes such as electricity generation," the Council said. "Ukraine has been and continues to be an important nuclear power generating country," it said.
It noted that Ukraine has 15 reactors generating about half of its electricity and the government plans to maintain nuclear's share in electricity production at least to 2030.
Citing the Joint Report by the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency and the IAEA, the Council said that Ukraine will go from 13.1 GWe nuclear generating capacity in 2013, to between 24.7-29.0 GWe nuclear generating capacity in 2035. This will see Ukraine's uranium requirements rise from 2480 tonnes in 2013, to between 4800-5300 tonnes per annum in 2035, it added.
"Australia holds almost a third of the world's uranium resources but currently supplies only around 10% of global production. In 2014-15 Australia exported more than 5500 tonnes of uranium generating more than half a billion dollars in export income. Access to growing Ukrainian uranium demand creates opportunities for more tonnes, more exports, and more jobs in mine construction and operations," the Council said.
For Ukraine, the agreement means additional diversity of uranium supply, it said.
The Ukrainian energy ministry said that the two countries had "confirmed their willingness to cooperate" in the field of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and their "commitment to promoting non-proliferation of nuclear weapons".
Areas of cooperation include, the ministry said: the transfer of nuclear materials; basic and applied research, and development, design, construction, operation and decommissioning of research reactors, nuclear power plants and other aspects of the nuclear fuel cycle; used nuclear fuel and radioactive waste; nuclear safety, radiation protection and environmental protection; geological and geophysical exploration, and development, production, further processing and use of uranium resources.
The newly signed document follows a "preliminary agreement" with Australia on cooperation in nuclear energy that was signed during Poroshenko's official visit to Australia in 2014, the ministry said.
Researched and written
by World Nuclear News
Related topics
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
The house owners son Karthik sustained fractures on his face and is undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Banaswadi, the police said. (Representational image)
Bengaluru: In a violent incident involving African students, two students hailing from Congo allegedly assaulted the son of their house owner, who had demanded that they vacate the house after they created nuisance in a drunken state.
This led to a heated argument and a scuffle. The house owners son Karthik sustained fractures on his face and is undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Banaswadi, the police said.
The incident happened at a house in Kulappa Circle in Kammanahalli, where the two Congolese students, studying at a private college, had rented a two-bedroom house. The students had also not paid the whole advance and not provided the identity documents, required to prepare an agreement.
The house was rented out only for two of the students, but most of the time, there were always around five to six students. Most of the time they were partying and causing nuisance, alleged the owner of the house Anand to the police. He had told the students to vacate the house at the earliest. The owner had recently locked the rear gate through which the students entered the house without the knowledge of the owner.
On Wednesday at around 11 pm, when Karthik came to know that the students have sneaked into the house, he questioned the two students. A scuffle ensued and Karthik was punched on his face twice by the students. Later the students got into their car and tried to escape, but were surrounded by the neighbours. The students then abandoned the car and fled the spot. The mob vandalized the cars windshield by pelting stones at it and dispersed only after the police reached the spot. The Banaswadi police have registered a case against the foreign students.
We have learnt that the Congolese student, who assaulted Karthik, was overstaying in the city as his visa had expired, said a senior police officer.
Messy affair
Two students hailing from Congo had rented an apartment in Kammanahalli
They had not paid the advance in full and not provided identity documents for rental agreement
Though the house was rented for two students, there were always around five to six students
The owners wanted them to vacate but they stayed put
On Wednesday a fight broke out between the students and owners son Karthik
Chandigarh: Another FIR was registered on Friday against unknown persons following a complaint by a Delhi-based resident on the alleged gangrape by Jat agitators in Sonipat district of Haryana in February.
An FIR was registered against unknown persons on the complaint of a Delhi-based man by the all-women Special Investigation Team (SIT) which was constituted to look into allegations that women commuters were pulled out of their vehicles and raped during the Jat agitation at Murthal in Sonipat district, DIG Rajshree Singh said.
Singh said the complainant told police that he was informed by a Himachal Pardesh-based family that women were dragged out of cars and taken to fields. "We were not provided with any evidence in this connection but on the basis of the complaint, an FIR has been registered under different sections against unknown persons," she said.
However, "no eye witnesses" have come forward so far, she said. Earlier, Haryana Police had registered the first FIR on the alleged gangrapes by Jat agitators.
The report was filed when a woman from Narela in north-west Delhi appeared before the SIT comprising three senior women officers, and claimed that she was raped by seven men on the night of February 22.
In her complaint, the woman had alleged that she was travelling with her minor daughter in a van when some goons stopped the vehicle near an eatery. She had said the miscreants overpowered the male passengers and gangraped her while holding her daughter hostage.
She had accused her brothers-in-law and sister-in-law to be involved in the incident. Haryana DGP, Y P Singhal had said that the inquiry committee, headed by DIG Singh and comprising two women Deputy Superintendents of Police (DSPs), Bharti Dabas and Surinder Kaur, would probe the reported incidents.
Media reports have stated that gangrapes took place in the early hours of Monday (February 22) and that up to 10 women were sexually assaulted by a group of nearly 40 hooligans during the agitation.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court had taken suo motu notice of the media reports that some women who were commuting on the Delhi-Ambala highway (NH-1) were stripped and raped by rioters during the violent Jat agitation for job quota. However, the government had filed a report in the court stating no gangrapes had taken place during the stir.
Pledge on Police Body Cameras to Cut Crime From Plaid Cymrus PCC Candidate
This article is old - Published: Friday, Apr 1st, 2016
Plaid Cymru Police and Crime Commissioner candidate for North Wales, Councillor Arfon Jones has pledged that if he is elected he will fund Body Worn Videos (BWV) for all frontline Police Officers in North Wales.
BWVs are visible cameras that officers wear attached to their chests to capture audio and video evidence when attending incidents.
The High Definition recordings can also provide independent evidence that can improve the quality of prosecution material and can reduce the reliance on a victim having to give evidence, particularly those who may be vulnerable or reluctant to attend court.
Councillor Arfon Jones said: The use of BWV are essential for frontline officers to gather the best evidence possible to protect victims and increase convictions of offenders, particularly violent offenders. A trial of BWV conducted by Essex Police and the College of Policing in 2014, found that the use of BWV identified a higher level of criminal charges in domestic incidents.
Domestic violence is totally unacceptable and we should not baulk at spending whatever is required to protect those vulnerable victims especially as seven women a month are killed by their current or ex-partners in Wales and England.
BWV use has also led to an increase in the speed of dealing with complaints against Police.
Funding of BWV should be seen as an Invest to Save scheme, it reduces costs to individual, families and society in general as well as the financial costs of policing and criminal justice.
Army Chief separately met the porters who work tirelessly to maintain the posts in difficult conditions at Siachen. (Photo: PTI)
Srinagar: Army Chief General Dalbir Singh on Thursday reviewed the situation in Siachen, the worlds highest battleground, where India and Pakistan have fought intermittently since April 1984 but which has also been the scene of many natural disasters.
Read: Siachen: Army pulls out buried soldier from 35-foot down under
The latest such incident being the avalanche that struck the region on February 3 when a huge wall of frost and snow crashed smothered a vast area including an Army camp, and killing as many as ten soldiers including a junior commissioned officer.
Last month, four soldiers were killed, two each at Turtuk, one of the gateways to Siachen, and in neighbouring Kagril sector after they were swept away by avalanches.
The Army Chief visited these sites and interacted with the soldiers serving in threatening situations.
Read: Hope dies for 10 Army soldiers buried in Siachen, PM 'salutes' their bravery
He commended them for their outstanding work in the difficult conditions at Siachen and exhorted them to be careful to the avalanche threats, defence spokesman Lt. Col. N.N. Joshi said in a statement issued here on Friday.
Read: 10 Army soldiers buried in Siachen avalanche, IAF joins rescue operation
He added that Gen. Singh separately met the porters who work tirelessly to maintain the posts at those difficult conditions in Siachen and equally exposed to the threat. The Army Chief was accompanied by the Northern Army Commander, Lt General DS Hooda and Ladakh-based 14 Corps Commander, Lt General SK Patyal.
The terrorist attacks in Paris and Brussels have led to ever-louder calls for the German army to be deployed domestically.
Based on the experiences of the Weimar Republic and the Nazi regime, Germanys Basic Law stipulates a strict division between the police and the armed forces. The first is responsible for internal, the latter for external security. Since the passage of emergency powers in May 1968, this basic principle has been continuously undermined. Nonetheless, a large-scale deployment of heavily armed soldiers on the streets of Germany, along the lines of operations currently being carried out in France and other countries, remains legally prohibited.
Not only right-wing politicians, but also the German army (Bundeswehr) itself is agitating for a constitutional amendment permitting the domestic deployment of the armed forces in cases of threats from terrorism. What this means can currently be seen in France. Just as the war against terror has served as the justification for one regime-change war after another, the threat of terrorism provides a blank check for the establishment of a police state.
On February 22, an interview appeared on the Bundeswehrs official website with constitutional lawyer and former defence minister Rupert Scholz. In it, the 78-year-old CDU (Christian Democratic Union) politician demands a change to the Basic Law so as to enable the Bundeswehr to deploy domestically to combat terrorism.
Scholz refers explicitly to France. On the issue of combatting terrorism, the police are overwhelmed in many potential danger situations, he states. For this reason, the military is for example in France deployed to combat terrorism. In my opinion, we must create a similar option in Germany, under conditions of a growing terrorist threat.
The Basic Law is, according to Scholz, today in many parts superseded. Wars are increasingly asymmetric. Military conflicts occur also within a countrys borders and are accompanied normally with terrorist attacks.
The very publication by the Bundeswehr of such an interview on its website is itself a constitutional breach, since the armed forces are obliged to be strictly neutral and leave political decisions to elected deputies and government representatives.
On this basis, the Soldiers Law prohibits members of the Bundeswehr from acting in favour or against a particular political tendency, from wearing uniforms at political events and from influencing subordinates for or against a political opinion. Such provisions evidently do not apply to the Bundeswehrs official website!
It was not accidental that Rupert Scholz was interviewed by the Bundeswehr website. He has for a long time been a leading agitator for domestic deployments. As he declares himself in the interview, he had campaigned for such a constitutional reform in the 1990s together with then interior minister Wolfgang Schauble.
In 2006, he called in Tagesspiegel for the atomic arming of the Bundeswehr so as to be able to respond to a nuclear threat by a terrorist state proportionately, meaning in an emergency situation with our own nuclear weapons.
The CDU politician taught constitutional law at different universities, and was also active in Berlin state politics and in the federal parliament (Bundestag), before Chancellor Helmut Kohl appointed him defence minister in 1988. His time in office lasted only a year and was overshadowed by a series of scandals. Scholz refused to implement a ban on low-flying military aircraft after crashes in Ramstein and Remschied had killed and injured many civilians. Strong opposition also emerged to the lengthening of military service to 18 months.
Scholz is by no means alone in his support for the domestic deployment of the military. It is backed by many CDU/CSU and Social Democratic Party (SPD politicians, while Green and Left Party politicians have distanced themselves from the proposal in a half-hearted manner, with formulations which could make their agreement possible at any time.
Green politician Agnieszka Brugger opposed Scholzs demand with the lame justification that it was merely a symbolic policy and stimulated panic. In any case, the Bundeswehr was overburdened and Scholz was, with his demand, unfairly questioning the abilities of the police.
Christina Buchholz from the Left Party declared that it could not be accepted that soldiers compensate for the lack of personnel in the public service, by which she obviously meant the police.
The attacks by terrorist Islamists serve merely as the pretext for the militarisation of domestic policy. The real target is resistance and opposition from the working class. The ruling elites have seized on every opportunity for decades to do away with the legal hurdles preventing the deployment of the military against their own population.
In May 1968, the grand coalition of CDU/CSU and SPD adopted the emergency laws during the high point of the student protests in Germany and the general strike in France, where 10 million workers downed tools, occupied factories and drove the De Gaulle regime and French capitalism to the brink of collapse.
Since then, the German government has been permitted according to the new article 87A of the Basic Law to deploy the army to combat an imminent threat to the existence or the free democratic order of the Federal Republic or a state and to combat organised and military armed insurgents.
Such a situation has not yet taken place. But the Bundeswehr has repeatedly been deployed to support the policeand not only to deal with natural disasters, but also in 2007 against G8 demonstrators in Heiligendamm. Every opportunity has been taken to further weaken the provisions of the Basic Law, including actions of the RAF terrorists of the 1970s, the 9/11 attacks in the U.S., and now the refugee crisis and the terrorist attacks in Paris and Brussels.
At the same time, the Federal Border Guard, which was previously only responsible for controlling the countrys borders, has been expanded into a federal police force, unifying military and police capabilities. Its role stretches from patrolling the external borders, to deployments against demonstrators, intelligence agency work and criminal prosecutions.
Police at Shuangyashan in Chinas northeastern province of Heilongjiang have detained more than 30 mineworkers who led large protests in early March over unpaid wages. The police crackdown points to fears in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership of social unrest amid a slowing economy and plans for mass sackings in basic industries.
The protests had erupted during the National Peoples Congress after Heilongjiang provincial governor Lu Hao told a press conference that all the workers employed by the large state-owned Longmay Mining Group had been paid in full. Banners at the protests read: We want to live, we want to eat. According to Reuters, the protests were called off after a day when the company offered to pay two months wages.
The protests were deeply embarrassing for Lu, a member of the CCP Central Committee and touted as a potential Politburo member. He was compelled to admit that he had been wrong and promised to ensure workers would be paid in full. Lu blamed the company for withholding information and promised to severely punish anyone who did so again.
As the arrests make clear, Lus main aim is to ensure that there are no more protests. A worker named Chen told Agence France Presse that miners were still owed more than 60 percent of their wages from 2014 and 2015. He declined to give his full name because of fear of reprisals. The miners dont dare protest anymore, he said.
The government has plans for mass layoffs in the coal industry. The China National Coal Association has estimated that 5,600 coal mines, more than half of all mines in China, will close in the next five years. About 1,000 mines will close this year. At the start of March, employment minister Yin Weimin said 1.3 million jobs would be axed in the coal industry.
The government has announced a 100 billion yuan ($US15.5 billion) fund to retrain and relocate sacked coal and steel workers. But Reuters reported last week that the projected costs for laying off 1.3 million coal miners alone are as much as 195 billion yuan.
The situation facing workers in the rust belt northeastern provinces, with a large number of older coal mines, is particularly dire. Longmay, the largest state-owned enterprise in Heilongjiang, announced last year it would sack 100,000 workers out of a workforce of 248,000. One worker from Hegang, also in Heilongjiang, told the Sydney Morning Herald in January: There are no prospects here... All I want is for my son to go out when hes older. There isnt much hope in this place.
Lu Hao has been tipped as a rising political star. He is the youngest provincial governor and was the youngest full member of the CCP Central Committee when appointed. Born in 1967, he was leader of the Chinese Youth League, a post also held by current Premier Li Keqiang and former President Hu Jintao. Lu was appointed at the age of 28 as the manager of a debt-ridden wool company, becoming the youngest director of a state-owned factory.
Lus success at restructuring the wool factory brought him to the attention of the CCP leadership. But one former worker told the South China Morning Post: Lu didnt manage the factory well. The factory wasnt profitable but it became a showcase for higher leaders, so it only looked good on the surface. Lu was profiled last November in the Economist, which noted his work ethic and solid record, as well as his promotion by the People s Daily and other major state-owned papers.
Lu was installed as governor of Heilongjiang in 2013, no doubt to manage the mass layoffs that were looming and to deal with the resulting social and economic dislocation. Clearly his public embarrassment at Chinas most significant annual political gathering by protesting workers could not go unanswered.
The arrests in Heilongjiang are not an isolated incident. Also in March, eight construction workers in Sichuan Province were detained and publicly shamed over a protest they organised of hundreds of workers last August to demand unpaid wages. According to the Wall Street Journal, the eight workers were charged with obstructing official business, found guilty and sentenced to jail terms of six to eight months.
The authorities sought to make an example of the workers for the crime of demanding their wages. The Langzhong Municipal Court organised a public rally where the eight were paraded on a platform in order to educate the public on how to lawfully protect their rights. Their cases were read aloud as the workers stood flanked by two police.
This spectacle provoked a popular backlash on social media. One comment declared: Dont take the public for fools. You think the people dont understand your purpose in using public sentencing? Let me tell you this: public sentiment is not to be bullied! The court subsequently removed the notice from the web site and said it was conducting an investigation.
These incidents are part of a growing wave of strikes and protests across China. According to the Hong Kong-based China Labour Bulletin, of the 2,913 protests and strikes in the past 12 months, arrests took place in 170 cases. Of these, 95 arrests were in the past six months. Eighty-one percent of the protests and strikes have been about wage arrears.
Data from the bulletins web site, which relies on social media reports, shows that since the start of this year there have been almost 800 protests and strikes. In March alone, five incidents involved more than 1,000 workers, including the protests in Shuangyashan.
At the end of the National Peoples Congress, Premier Li Keqiang claimed that structural economic reform and the elimination of huge excess capacities in basic industries would proceed without mass layoffs. The notion that millions of steel workers and coal miners are going to be absorbed in service industries, even as the economy continues to slow, is absurd. The recent arrests are a warning of the methods that the CCP will use to deal with resistance by workers to the job destruction being prepared on a mass scale.
Chicago teachers are at a crossroads in the struggle to defend their livelihoods and the right to a quality public education.
Nearly four years after the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) betrayed the 2012 strike, the Emanuel administration is stepping up its attack on the jobs, health care and pensions of educators and pressing ahead with its corporate-backed school reform agenda. This is part of the assault on public education being spearheaded nationally by the Obama administration and both big business parties.
Now with the utmost cynicism the CTU and its leaders, Karen Lewis and Jesse Sharkey, are organizing a phony one-day walkout. This is not designed to mobilize teachers and their supporters to defend public education. Instead, this stuntappropriately called on April Fools Dayis aimed at promoting the lie that Emanuel and the Democrats can be relied on to secure funding for education and social services in Illinois.
In the guise of fighting Republican Governor Bruce Rauner and demanding more revenue from Springfield, the CTU is in a de facto alliance with the very same forces that have shut scores of schools, laid off thousands of teachers and expanded for-profit charter schools. Lewis has gone so far as to ask Chicago Public Schools executives to join the CTU to demand more revenue from Rauner. Meanwhile, CPS CEO Forrest Claypool has threatened to take punitive action against teachers for an illegal strike.
Rank-and-file teachers are rightly suspicious of this action. Many have taken to social media to air their opposition, declaring that such a charade will not accomplish anything except getting teachers victimized. Others have been alienated by the pseudo-left politics of the CTU, including the promotion of the Black Lives Matter movement, which seeks to divide teachers along racial lines, as its leaders pursue positions in the political establishment.
In order to force teachers to buy into this, Lewis, Sharkey & Co. are resorting to threats and bullying. Anyone who refuses to take part in this stunt, they have warned, could be charged with strikebreaking under the CTU constitution, stripped of the right to vote on the contract and forced to pay a fine to be reinstated in the union.
But why should anyone support this fraud? The real strikebreakers and scabs are not the teachers but the CTU leadership. For 10 months, they have blocked any real struggle by teachers, despite an overwhelming strike vote. In January, the CTU bureaucrats cut a deal behind teachers' backs to giveback on pensions and impose a de facto seven percent pay cut. They were only stopped from imposing this selloutwhich Lewis called a serious offer with enforceable protections of education quality and job securitybecause rank-and-file teachers got a hold of the details of the deal and circulated them on social media. Facing a certain rebellion by teachers, the big bargaining team felt it was impossible to approve it.
After being exposed as front men for Emanuel and Claypool and still facing determined opposition, the CTU has called todays sham protest. Behind the scenes, the CTU continues to negotiate with Emanuel to impose a new round of concessions, with Sharkey declaring that everything including pension pickup is on the table.
The CTU is not opposed to the further destruction of public education. Its sole concern is getting a share of the spoils in order to defend the income and institutional interests of the union apparatus. This includes expanding the franchise into the charter schools so the CTU can secure new sources of revenue, even as public school teachers lose their jobs and pensions.
The differences between the Democrats and Republicans are entirely tactical. While the Republicans generally try to circumvent the unions to attack the working class, the Democrats understand the need to maintain the unions to suppress popular opposition to austerity and the diversion of public assets into the hands of the banks and corporations.
Allied with the Democratic Party, the CTU peddles the lie that there is no money for public education, even as the Obama administration funnels trillions to Wall Street and the Pentagon war machine.
There is a growing movement of teachers and students to defend the right to public education. Late last year, Detroit teachers organized sickouts to oppose deplorable school conditions and to demand the restorations of pay cuts and other concessions accepted by the Detroit Federation of Teachers. Teachers in the Los Angeles area also conducted sickouts and students have walked out in Boston, Chicago and Detroit to defend their teachers and oppose school cuts.
This is part of a growing resistance of workers throughout the United States and internationally to austerity. Eight years after the financial crash of 2008, which led to a historic transfer of wealth from the bottom to the criminals at the top who created the catastrophe, there is growing anti-capitalist sentiment among workers and youth, and a determination to fight.
This opposition, however, must be organized and guided by a new political strategy. The last four years have demonstrated without a doubt that the CTU does not speak for teachers but is a tool of the Emanuel administration and the worst enemies of public education. The entry into the CTU leadership of Jesse Sharkey, a leading member of the International Socialist Organization, and other pseudo-left figures from the CORE faction has not changed the anti-working class character of the CTU one iota. Moreover every one of the unions involved in the walkout has overseen deep cuts to the pay and benefits of its members.
The Socialist Equality Party calls on teachers to organize rank-and-file committees, independent of the CTU, to prepare a real struggle. These new forms of self-representation must be democratically controlled by teachers themselves and dedicated to the methods of the class struggle, not class collaboration. Such committees must appeal to the broadest sections of parents, students and working class residents of Chicago and other cities to prepare a counter-offensive to defend public education.
Above all workers must organize themselves as an independent political force and break from the Democratic Party. Whoever wins the Democratic presidential nomination, Clinton or the self-proclaimed democratic socialist Bernie Sanders, will only escalate the attack on public education. That is why the fight to defend public education requires the political mobilization of the working class, of every race and nationality, in a common struggle to take the reins of political power into our own hands. Only in this way can the dictatorship of the corporate and financial elite be broken, the ill-gotten gains of the super-rich be seized, and the economy reorganized along socialist lines to provide the trillions of dollars needed to vastly improve public education and guarantee a future free of poverty, inequality and war for the next generation.
On March 18, David North, chairman of the International Editorial Board of the World Socialist Web Site, presented the new German edition of The Frankfurt School, Postmodernism and the Politics of the Pseudo-Left: A Marxist Critique at the Book Fair in Leipzig, Germany. Following his presentation, a reporter from the newspaper Schattenblick interviewed North. The interview was published on March 29 and posted online on the Schattenblick web site. With the permission of Schattenblick, the interview is presented below. It has been translated from the original German.
Schattenblick: How would you explain to the average visitor to the Leipzig Book Fair, who has no real idea of left politics, the difference between real left and pseudo-left?
David North: I have provided in my book a concise definition of pseudo-left: The pseudo-left denotes political parties, organizations and theoretical/ideological tendencies which utilize populist slogans and democratic phrases to promote the socioeconomic interests of privileged and affluent strata of the middle class.
What I am seeking to explain is that the pseudo-left represents affluent sections of the middle class with various forms of identity politics. Their concentration on race, nationality, sexual orientation and gender is essentially bound up with conflicts within the wealthiest 10 percent of the population. Even within this privileged layer there is an unequal distribution of wealth. There is substantial dissatisfaction that the greatest portion of wealth, even within this affluent section of society, is going to the richest 1 percent.
This has led to the promotion of identity politics, including what we call in the United States affirmative action. Demands are raised for quotas, the allocation of a certain percentage of positions for designated minorities, and even, in the most extreme cases, that minority and women students be taught only by professors of their own gender and race. Demands of this sort are aimed at securing a more satisfactory distribution of wealth among the most affluent layer in society. The pursuit of these demands by so-called left organizations has nothing whatsoever to do with the struggle of the working class. The role of the pseudo-left is not understood, and that is why so many were shocked after Syriza came to power in Greece and, almost immediately, began repudiating all its former demands and promises.
Yesterday, I was given an issue of Jungen Welt [the newspaper of the Left Party in Germany]. I was struck by the fact that this issue was dedicated largely to issues related to personal sexual orientation. This is Jungen Welts focus at a time when Germany is moving rapidly toward remilitarization. As I just explained in my comments at the book launch, Germany is engaged in a new drive for world power. Isnt this the issue that a left newspaper should be concentrating on? Why are there no significant anti-war demonstrations in Germany? Why is there no organized opposition to war?
Our party in Germany has been involved in a serious political conflict over the presence of right-wing elements in the faculty of Humboldt University in Berlin. But outside of our movement, there has been hardly any public opposition to people like Professor Jorg Baberowski. He was even defended by the Left Party. [1]
When one speaks of the pseudo-left, one is referring to allies of imperialism who legitimize and support neo-colonial military operations, using human rights as a pretext. This is a left that has nothing to do with left politics as that term was understood by Marx, Engels, Lenin, Trotsky, Kautsky, Luxemburg, Liebknecht, Mehring and many other important figures in revolutionary history.
SB: In Germany there are movement activists who protest, for example, against nuclear power plants and the use of coal. They organize actions like chaining themselves to trees or railroad tracks to give expression to their opposition to existing conditions. At the same time many of them reject communism. How can one reach these people, who are sensitive to societal contradictions and want to do something to overcome them?
DN: I do not doubt the sincerity of many people who engage in protests over the issues you have referred to. I am not attacking anyone on personal grounds. But we must examine political tendencies carefully and investigate their objective social content. Protests related to environmental issues, though legitimate, do not necessarily have a clearly defined class character. Particularly in Germany, there is a long tradition of different forms of what Georg Lukacs quite accurately described as romantic anti-capitalism. [2]
Individualistic anti-capitalism, which is motivated by the manner in which the capitalist environment impinges upon personal lifestyle and concerns, is socially ungrounded. A well-known representative of this orientation was Gustav Landauer, who was an anti-Marxist anti-capitalist. [3] He specifically opposed the association of socialist politics with the mobilization of the working class as the leading and decisive revolutionary force.
What you describe in your question strikes me as an anarchistic petty-bourgeois movement. We witnessed something similar in the United States with the Occupy Wall Street movement. And what did it accomplish? Nothing! Among the problems that must be overcomewhich is deeply anchored in the outlook of many radical tendenciesis distance from and distrust of the working class.
One of the ideological consequences of the influence of Herbert Marcuse was that many radicals were infected with a deep hostility toward the working class. [4] Marcuse repeatedly stressed that the working class, especially in the United States, is a reactionary force and that workers are essentially fascistic. He understood absolutely nothing about the working class. But these anti-working class prejudices remain strong to this day.
I have been asked why, in the US primary elections, Donald Trump finds support among sections of white workers. This is the case, but it is not at all unusual to hear the same workers say that they will vote in November for either Donald Trump or Bernie Sanders. What this means is that they are looking for an alternative to the existing system. The petty-bourgeois pseudo-left that I have mentioned has absolutely nothing to say to the working class.
SB: Are there workers who are class-conscious?
DN: First of all, there is a working class, and it is an oppressed class. We should return to the classics of Marxism. The great representatives of the Marxist intelligentsia, beginning with Marx and Engels, sought to develop socialist consciousness in the working class. They understood that the working class constituted the main objective force for socialist revolution. However, as I said, the working class is oppressed, and it cannot spontaneously develop socialist theory. This will be developed in the course of serious struggles.
The difficulties of our time find expression in your question: Is there a working class? It is worth noting that in the United States the concept working class is rejected. No politician employs this concept, and this goes as well for Bernie Sanders. He talks only of the middle class. In other words, in no other land is the very existence of the working class so strenuously denied as in a country with one of the largest working class populations in the world!
This brings us back to the problem of the impact of the past defeats of the working class in Europe on the demoralization of the intellectuals. The views of the Frankfurt School, to which Marcuse belonged, expressed a deep political pessimism that led them to reject the working class. But the past defeats did not prove the non-revolutionary character of the working class. It was necessary to study the causes of the defeats. But Marcuse never examined the role of the Communist parties. He never developed a political critique of Stalinism.
SB: Is it not true that Marcuse worked with American intelligence agencies? [5]
DN: Yes. That was an expression of his pessimism.
SB: Here at the Leipzig Book Fair the concern is with literature. What is the role of culture in the outlook of Trotskyism?
DN: I am the editorial board chairman of the World Socialist Web Site. It places immense emphasis on questions relating to culture. As we see it, the political crisis is reflected in the sphere of cultureas, for example, in the very low level of contemporary cinema.
The World Socialist Web Site has just published a review today of Jonathan Franzens Purity. It is a very bad novel. The problems of politics and culture are interconnected. We wish to see a return of a genuine revolutionary realism, and that is notas one must always explainSocialist Realism or Stalinist realism. Rather, our conception of realism is one that deals with the problems of our times as they are reflected in society and politics. This is vital for film and every genre of art.
SB: You referred to Bernie Sanders, who is seeking the presidential nomination of the Democratic Party. The co-founder and former president of the Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR), Helen Caldicott, who has campaigned for decades for nuclear disarmament, said that Sanderseven if he losthas released a revolutionary potential among American youth. After the election the United States will never be as it was before. Do you share this appraisal?
DN: Sanders did not create this situation, and it was not his intention to do so. He is nothing more than an old radical, and he has many connections to left Democrats. They knew very well that there is great dissatisfaction with Hillary Clinton, to whom I have referred as The Lady Macbeth of American politics. Sanders admitted that he was troubled by the possibility of the emergence of an independent political movement on the left of the Democratic Party. That is why he offered his services as a political lightning rod. It was his aim to keep this dissatisfaction within acceptable channels, and he was absolutely stunned by the popular response. He did not at all expect that he would find support among workers. No one foresaw this possibility. But as a socialist I often encounter workers who say, Yes, I am voting for your guy. I am for him. They actually think that he is a party member.
Of course, he is nothing of the sort. But I believe that people will be more and more interested in finding out what real socialism is. American workers are not frightened by the idea of revolution. The middle class is frightened of it. But workers will want what we call in the United States, The real thing. Of course, there is a danger that if this does not emerge, a charlatan like Trump could come to power. But neither he nor any other candidates, including Sanders, have really addressed themselves to the working class.
I am convinced that people are beginning to think seriously about politics. And you can believe me that fascism will not come to power so easily in the United States. It wont be so simple for an American Hitler to take power.
Eight years ago, it was argued by many that all American workers are racists. But millions of white workers were prepared to vote for an African American if he would stand up for their interests, and they voted for Barack Obama. However, they have been completely disappointed by him. Obama has done nothing for them. He has moved ever further to the right. He has escalated drone warfare. He has undermined their medical care. But the pseudo-left supports Obama.
SB: Could you imagine an alliance between the Black protest movement, which has emerged as a result of police killings, with left forces? Perhaps something similar to the Black Panther movement?
DN: Of course there is racism, but that is, fundamentally, a class issue. There are many white youths who are murdered by the police. When it is proclaimed that Black Lives Matter, and one responds that All lives matter, then the accusation is made that one is a racist. But that is not true. Police brutality is a class issue. We do not deny that racism exists, but what are the objective foundations of racism? It serves to split the working class. That has always been the purpose of racism. What was the purpose of anti-Semitism in Germany? It was a weapon against socialism. In one of the first biographies of Hitler, the German writer Konrad Heiden explained that Hitler hated the Jews not because of Rothschild the banker, but because of Karl Marx the socialist. Anti-Semitism was a class issue.
SB: Many refugees are seeking entry into Europe. What should the European Union do?
DN: This is a problem that the working class must solve. The EU will do nothing for the refugees. It is creating Fortress Europe. The first thing that must be done is to end the wars, for which the EU and the United States are responsible. They destroyed Iraq, then Libya, and now it is Syria. They started all these wars. Why are there hundreds of thousands of refugees from Syria? Because there is a war that was started for the purpose of regime change. It was not a revolution.
When I give lectures on the subject of World War II, I often ask the students: What was the first item in the indictment of Nazi criminals at the Nurnberg Trial? Most people reply that they were placed on trial because the Nazis murdered the Jews. This is not quite accurate. The first charge against the Nazis were that they had committed crimes against peace. That is, they used war as a means of achieving political aims. Bush did that. Clinton did that. And so has Obama. They are all war criminals, and they are responsible for the refugee crisis.
As I said, the first thing is to stop the wars. Moreover, everyone should have the right to live where they wish. Care should be provided to all refugees, and they should be guaranteed decent living conditions. And placing an 80 percent surcharge tax on all private fortunes greater than $10 million should provide funding for this and other social problems.
SB: Mr. North, thank you for this discussion.
Endnotes:
[1] Jorg Baberowski, the chairman of the Department of East European studies at Berlins Humboldt University, is the most prominent defender of Ernst Nolte, the most notorious academic apologist for Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime. Baberowski, in a February 2014 interview published in Germanys mass circulation newsmagazine, Der Spiegel, stated, Hitler was not cruel. He did not want people to speak about the extermination of the Jews at his table.
[2] Georg Lukacs (1885-1971) was a Hungarian socialist and philosopher.
[3] Gustav Landauer (1871-1919) broke with the German Socialist Democratic Party in the 1890s and emerged as a major figure in the anarchist movement.
[4] Herbert Marcuse (1898-1979) was a leading representative of the Frankfurt School. After fleeing the Nazis, Marcuse came to the United States, where he became a university professor and wrote several books, including One Dimensional Man, that influenced the 1960s student movement.
[5] Marcuse, as is well known, worked for the OSS, predecessor of the CIA, during World War II.
Masses of workers and youth, 1.2 million according to union sources and 390,000 according to police, protested Thursday across France against the labour law reform of Labour Minister Myriam El Khomri. Defying the anti-democratic state of emergency imposed by President Francois Hollande and a large deployment of heavily armed riot police, high school and university students and growing layers of workers are demonstrating against the Socialist Partys (PS) austerity policies.
According to trade and student unions, there were over 200 protest marches, demonstrations, and rallies across France. They estimated that marches in Paris, Marseille, and Toulouse gathered over 100,000 people, and tens of thousands of people in Nantes, Bordeaux, and Montpellier.
According to the Education Ministry, 176 high schools were blockaded across France yesterday morning, out of the countrys 2,500 public high schools. High school student unions said their figures showed 250 high schools were blockaded. About 20 Paris high schools were closed pre-emptively by the authorities, a move that education ministry trade unionist Philippe Tournier said was unprecedented.
Dockers and port workers mobilised in Le Havre and Rouen, blocking dozens of bridges and entrances into cities, industrial zones, and ports. They were also in struggle in Marseille, alongside workers at the railways, Air France, and steelmaker Arcelor-Mittal.
Transport and mass transit were also affected by strike action. Only half of regional trains were running, and TGV high-speed train traffic was cut 25 to 50 percent in various regions of France. Orly airport in Paris was hit by strikes, and 20 percent of flights at Orly and a third of flights in Marseille were cancelled preventively.
The PS government, which had hoped that youth demonstrations against its policies would soon die down, is increasingly terrified by the rising protests. From the prime ministers residence, after a cabinet meeting, government spokesman Stephane Le Foll called on everyone to calm down. we cannot give some people the opportunity to break things or to commit acts of violence. So I am calling upon everyone to be calm, by definition, and also in order to respect the rules of the Republic. We cannot accept any violence.
In fact, the PS set up an enormous security deployment, worthy of a police state, in an attempt to intimidate opposition among workers and youth to its reactionary policies. Protest marches took place under the hostile surveillance of large contingents of heavily-armed CRS riot police and mobile gendarmes.
In Paris, many contingents of hundreds of riot police armed with heavy shields, truncheons, and tear gas grenades rapidly surrounded protest marches, particularly those of the youth. Before protests began, many plainclothes policemen could be seen gathering in huddles with riot police and gendarmes, before leaving to try to blend into the crowds.
One student told the WSWS that at his university, agents of the General Intelligence (RG) agency were attending student sit-ins, distributing their contact information, and calling on students to denounce any suspicious behaviour by their colleagues to French domestic intelligence.
Several protest marches ended in clashes with police, including in Paris, Nantes, and Rennes. In the Paris area, police arrested a dozen people for throwing projectiles. In Nantes, they used water cannon to attack protesters.
In Rennes, where 8,000 people were protesting according to initial trade union estimates, the security forces fired large quantities of tear gas. Seven policemen were reported wounded, and there were approximately 50 arrests.
After four years during which workers opposition to Hollandes austerity agenda has been suppressed by the union bureaucracies and the PS political allies, like the Left Front and the New Anti-capitalist Party, class tensions in France are assuming explosive proportions. Seventy-one percent of the population opposes the labour law reform, which would lengthen the workweek and allow the trade unions to work with the bosses to ignore provisions of the Labour Code that protect workers rights.
Masses of people attending the protests are rejecting official attempts to terrorize the movement by citing the state of emergency or the risk of terrorist atrocities, like those in Paris or Brussels, carried out by Islamist networks promoted by the NATO powers in their war for regime change in Syria.
The ruling elite has, however, no intention of seeking a compromise that would respect workers demands. Insisting on boosting French capitalisms competitiveness and driven by the deeply unstable global economic and military situation, business circles, the PS, and the unions are determined to ram through their cuts at all cost and liquidate historic social rights won by the workers.
The only way forward for workers and youth in struggle against the El Khomri law is to take the struggle out of the hands of the union bureaucracies, break with the political satellites of the PS, and to mobilise ever broader sections of the working class in struggle. This means breaking free of the purely national context, and carrying out a struggle appealing to workers internationally against the war drive, attacks on democratic rights like Hollandes state of emergency, and the austerity policies of the European Union.
Workers and youth need their own organs of struggle, free of any influence of the old parties and of the unions, which have long records of betraying and selling out social struggles. The union bureaucracy is favourable to the law, most nakedly the PS-linked French Democratic Labour Confederation (CFDT). The Stalinist General Confederation of Labour (CGT) and its allies are for their part trying to stabilise the PS government and cover for it, by calling for adjustments to the El Khomri law, to then impose it more easily.
Fearing that they will totally lose control of mass opposition if they do not call for more protests, the union bureaucracies have called new days of action for April 5 and 9.
Yesterday, CFDT number two Veronique Descacq made the grotesque claim that any retraction of the El Khomri law by the PS would be a defeat for the workers. On RTL, she said, Today we managed to get our proposals heard and we will keep talking to the parliamentarians. Some CFDT officials are in the streets, but we all have the same standpoint. We have to make our influence felt, so the text is changed and gets better.
For its part, the CGT issued a joint statement with other unions before the protest, declaring that, After the March 31 day of action, the government must respond. If it does not, the signatory organisations will invite workers and youth to debate whether to continue their actions and mobilisations in coming days, including by strikes and demonstrations.
By pushing for a halt to the protests with an invitation to debate whether or not to completely capitulate to the PS, the CGT aimed to hide that it is pursuing essentially the same policies as the PS itself.
The WSWS spoke to students and workers participating in demonstrations throughout France against proposed changes to the countrys labour law Thursday. The law, named after Labour Minister Myriam El Khomri, would lay the groundwork for slashing holiday pay, rest breaks, and other workplace protections.
A student in Marseille denounced the consequences the measure would have: The law upsets us, because it makes mass sackings easier. It gives all sorts of advantages to management and few to the workers. Already the bosses have more rights, so if we give them even more, there will be no fun at all in going to work. I am getting a technical degree so I can get a job faster, but its losing its advantages Whats the point of studying if afterwards you are just badly paid?
He warned, If they keep taking things away from us, there will be a civil war, just like people are starting to talk about. If it continues in the next few years, it will happen.
In another protest in Marseille, William, a high school student, said he opposed above all the retrogression in working conditions. I wanted to make a sign saying, 100 years ago we were cannon fodder [in World War I], now were profit fodder.
William criticised the state of emergency and the surveillance and police laws imposed by successive governments in France: Its inappropriate, the president can have anyone spied on. I think using terrorism as a pretext for the state of emergency is not justified. Even if we went in and took away ISISs territory, there would still be people to carry out terror bombings.
At Amiens, Valeo workers, high school students, and university students protested together against the labour law reform.
A student from Eduard Gant high school said that he did not believe the ruling Socialist Partys (PS) promises that the reform will also benefit workers: If the bosses become more competitive and make more profits, they will only keep them for themselves. Hollande just defends the bosses.
In Paris, the WSWS spoke to a job seeker who had decided to march in a protest against the El Khomri Law.
Asked about his opinion of the unions, he said, The problem is that the traditional unions are just with the bosses, they represent nothing today. They live for one purpose and one purpose alone: to get the maximum amount of subsidies from the state or business so their bureaucracy can survive, and they do not represent what they should, that is to say, to defend salaried and wage workers. There are many unions that no longer represent anyone at all.
He spoke out strongly against the PS. He said, It betrayed the workers, that is all it has done since the 1980s. But now they are taking it to a whole new level. They were middle-of-the-road in the 1980s, but now theyve gone over frankly to the right or even the far right with anti-democratic laws. So they represent nothing as I see it, they dont exist anymore. I think they have just shot themselves in the foot. And they are trying to attract right-wing voters, but that wont work. We need a new, real social movement that is independent of the PS.
He also insisted that, in a globalised economy, it is impossible to struggle for workers social rights just within the national context of France.
He said, We cannot try to take care of workers just in France and ignore the conditions of workers abroad. Today, the working conditions they are trying to impose on us, they exist across much of the world, or even sometimes the working conditions elsewhere are much worse. The fact that it is outside of our borders does not make it any better.
New Delhi: BJP on Friday accused Darul Uloom of "communalising" nationalism after the Islamic seminary asked Muslims to refrain from raising 'Bharat mata ki jai' slogan while its ally Shiv Sena termed it as a "new terrorism".
BJP said moderate and liberal Muslims take pride in raising nationalist slogans like this but hardliners with medieval beliefs raise such issues for their own sectarian interests.
"There is a clear attempt by some sections to communalise nationalism. There is a large section of moderate Muslims, including likes of Javed Akhtar and A R Rahman, and liberal Muslims who take pride in raising nationalist slogans.
"There are hardliners with medieval beliefs who are raising such issues for their own sectarians interests," party spokesperson G V L Narasimha Rao said.
Taking a tough stand, Sena leader and MP Sanjay Raut said not chanting 'Bharat mata ki jai' is not freedom of expression but a new terrorism and the government should nip it in the bud.
"If you are not hailing the motherland, then whom are they going to hail? They should tell us. The central government should act tough. Such things are never allowed in any other country. Not to chant 'Bharat mata ki jai' is not freedom of expression but a new terrorism," he said.
Attacking the Deoband-based seminary, Rao said it had earlier issued fatwa against photography, claiming it is unIslamic. "People reject such medieval ideas," he said.
Another BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said raising of the slogan is not worship, as contended by the seminary, but a show of patriotism.
"In patriotic passion, people raise such slogans. It is not worship but an expression of love for the country. Crores of Muslims do it. It was raised during the freedom struggle as well," he said, adding there could be difference in the language of various nationalist slogans but not in sentiments.
Europe
German Amazon staff continue dispute
Verdi, the trade union representing staff at Amazon warehouses in Germany, has called further strikes against the company in a long-running pay dispute. Amazon employees want to be paid in line with other retail workers, rather than the current situation where they are paid a lower rate in line with logistical workers.
This week, Amazon staff at a warehouse in Graben walked out along with staff at the Leipzig depot. This follows strikes at various Amazon locations across Germany last week.
Further strike by teachers in Scotland
Teachers in secondary schools in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, were on strike Wednesday and Thursday over plans by the local authority to reorganize the way schools are run. They plan to cut down the number of principal teachers and combine departments into faculties. Teachers fear the plans will increase their workloads.
The members of the Educational Institute for Scotland have already held two one-day strikes and further strikes are planned for April 26 and 27.
Museum of Wales staff walk out
Staff at the various Museum of Wales sites walked out over the Easter weekend. They are protesting plans to cut pay enhancements for weekends and bank holidays, after the Welsh government said it would cut its support grant to the museum by 4.7 percent. The workers are members of the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS).
There were no underground trips at the Big Pit National Coal Museum in Blaenavon last Friday or Monday. The National Waterfront Museum in Swansea was shut on Saturday, while the National Slate Museum in Llanberis was closed Sunday. Other museums and services were affected.
Dispute on tram system in Irish capital continues
Staff on LUAS, the light rail (tram) system operated by Transdev in Dublin, have rejected a deal brokered by the Workplace Relations Commission between the company and the Services Industrial Professional and Technical Union (SIPTU). The deal was for a pay rise of up to 18 percent over 33 months.
A planned strike on Easter Sunday and Monday went ahead, with a further strike planned for this weekend together and two further dates in April.
LUAS drivers rejected the pay offer, which was based on productivity increases and for new entrants to be paid at 10 percent below existing pay. Transdev said the proposed two-tier pay scale was agreed by SIPTU in a deal signed in 2010.
Bulgarian doctors protest health reforms
General Practitioners and doctors in private and municipal hospitals began a protest on Monday against government health reforms due to take effect today.
These involve changes to funding arrangements, which doctors say will exacerbate an already underfunded service. They are protesting against legislation which will make access to health services dependent on a fingerprint ID.
The GPs struck for one hour between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. and between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. It lasted all week, with GPs from different regions of the county taking part on different days until on Friday, all regions had taken part. There was also a two-day protest in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia.
The doctors provided emergency cover throughout their protest.
Greek workers protest more austerity measures
Greek workers organised by the Stalinist-aligned PAME trade union took part in rallies in Thessalonica on Tuesday and in Athens on Thursday. They were protesting changes in social security, taxation and foreclosures being pushed through by the Syriza-led coalition government.
The civil servants union ADEDY called for a 24-hour strike on Thursday next week, including a rally in Klafthmonos Square in Athens scheduled to begin at 11 a.m.
Walkout over pay by Portuguese postal staff
Around 75 percent of Portuguese postal workers, working for CCT, the Portuguese postal company, supported a strike call by the National Union of Workers of Post and Telecommunications Monday. They rejected the pay offer by CCT of 1.3 percent for this year. Other unions have accepted the offer. Last year, the newly privatized CCT made an $84 million profit.
Wildcat action on Finnish rail
Finnish train conductors took a 24-hour wildcat strike at 3 a.m. on Thursday. They are protesting plans by the state railways company VR, to cut 214 jobs, the proposed job cuts comes on top of 150 already announced. The strike affected long distance trains.
Striking Cypriot nurses threatened by president
Nearly 2,000 nurses, members of the PASYNO union, have been on strike since March 15. On Wednesday, Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades threatened to use agency nurses to break the strike. The nurses are seeking a pay increase to recognize their degree level qualifications.
Middle East
Protest by Jordanian airline staff
Around 200 workers protested outside Royal Jordanian (RJ) airlines headquarters in Amman Saturday. They were protesting the arbitrary sacking of Zuhair Maharmeh.
Maharmeh worked in RJs cargo department for 13 years and was sacked after posting on Facebook, criticizing the companys decision to raise health insurance premiums.
Jordanian lorry drivers protest relocation
Some drivers working for freight haulage companies in the port city of Aqaba have gone on strike over plans by their companies to relocate operations to a new site, dubbed Square 4. They say the only road to the new site is used by over 3,000 trucks a day and is known as the death road. The drivers held a protest in Aqaba Sunday.
Rally by Kuwaiti oil workers
Over 3,000 Kuwaiti oil workers gathered outside the headquarters of the Oil & Petrochemical Industries Workers Confederation (OPIWC) in Ahmadi, last Tuesday. They were protesting cuts in benefits and possible wage cuts. The state-owned Kuwaiti oil industry has around 20,000 employees.
Strike by expat Indian workers in Oman
Over 60 workers, Indian nationals, employed by a company in Oman went on strike over nonpayment of wages. They are also protesting the lack of food supply and poor living conditions.
The workers had to pay recruitment agencies in India to get the jobs. Now the company is saying it will terminate their contracts and send them back to India.
Africa
Strike by Nigerian Lottery agency workers
Workers employed by Nigerias Premier Lottery came out on strike on Wednesday in defence of their jobs. The National Union of Lottery Agents and Employees say their terms and conditions have been changed so much that the union regards the action as a termination of employment.
Premier Lottery appears to have turned on the union because it had tried to collate the details of employees, responding to directives by federal government. The company has targeted trade union officials and some other workers.
South Africa refuse worker dispute in fourth week
Four thousand workers on strike for four weeks at Pikitup Refuse Company Johannesburg South Africa have been suspended from their jobs. The strike is against Pikitup but also against the South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU) whose national leaderships recommendation was to return to work.
SAMWU is in discussions with the refuse company and says it is optimistic over an imminent settlement. The refuse workers are demanding an increase of between 20 and 40 percent in their wages to bring them into line with their counterparts at other refuse sites.
Disciplinary hearings started on Tuesday against workers defying back to work calls by the company and the union, as well of accusations of intimidation and violence.
South Africa public employees demonstrate
Civil servants demonstrated at the mayoral offices in Baviaans, Eastern Cape South Africa, over work conditions and casual labour. Workers and their families entered the mayors offices. Their demands include payment of wage arrears, for casuals who have been on the payroll for years to be put on the books, for protective clothing and for a wage increase.
In the ensuing fracas, the mayor was knocked unconscious and a man is charged to appear in court. The South African Municipal Workers Union denounced the violence as the work of criminals.
South African banana farm workers strike
The Confederation of South African Trade Unions called a strike in the province of Mpumalanga in support of 300 farm workers sacked for trying to establish a trade union.
The strike began on March 29, with COSATU predicting the province will be brought to a standstill. Three thousand farm workers went on protected strike in November last year to demand the establishment of a branch of the Food and Allied Workers Union at the Umbhaba Estate Farm, which produces bananas.
South African education employees protest over snake threat
According to the South African Times Live, education workers at Mpumalangas State education offices in Kanyamazane near Mbombela have been on strike for the last three weeks over fear of animal attacks, particularly snakes.
Black Mamba and Python snakes have occupied some of the office buildings, posing a threat to lives. They also fear the trip to work as the surrounding area is occupied by snakes and a pack of vicious dogs. The department of public works claims to have been dealing with the situation prior to the strike.
Sudanese doctors protest lack of equipment
Doctors are continuing their strike in the El Gezera state capital, Wad Medani, in Sudan. They are protesting the lack of oxygen and emergency equipment on the hospital wards. Doctors are demanding the government acts to resolve the crisis in hospitals throughout the state.
The medics are responding to emergency demands only, as the strike continues into the second week, and while they wait for the authorities to act.
Nigerian state employees give strike deadline
State employees in another Nigerian State have threatened to strike over unpaid wages. Oyo States Trade Union Congress, Nigerias Labour Congress and the Joint Negotiating Committee have given the state government until April 7 to respond, saying they cannot guarantee industrial peace beyond that date.
One of the workers demands is for the payment of five months wages. Union officials had secured a memorandum of understanding at previous meetings on a plan to resolve the grievances with the government, but these have been reneged on.
A commission of the Mexican Chamber of Deputies voted overwhelmingly on March 29 to approve an amendment to the Mexican Constitution granting the president dictatorial powers to establish a state of emergency and suspend democratic rights.
Under the proposed amendment, which will now proceed to a vote in the full chamber, Article 29 of the constitution now reads:
In cases of invasion, serious disturbances to the public peace, or anything else that places society in grave danger or conflict, the president of the United States of Mexico, with the approval of the congress or the permanent commission when congress has not been assembled, can restrict or suspend, throughout the entire country or in limited places, those rights and guarantees that are obstacles to confronting, quickly and easily, the situation.
Fearing the emergence of social opposition in the working class, the Mexican ruling class is establishing the legal framework for martial law and military dictatorship. Mexicos most basic democratic rights, including freedom of association, freedom of the press, and the right to a trial and due process, can now be subject to suspension at the request of the president and the acquiescence of a pliant legislative branch.
The law was passed with the support of all of the major Mexican political parties represented on the chambers Government Commission, including the PRI, PAN, PES, Greens, and PRD. The Citizens Movement refused to oppose the amendment while MORENA, the party of former Mexico City Mayer Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, alone voted no.
PAN deputy Ulises Ramirez Nunez said that the state of exception is necessary because terrorists have disrupted how we regulate our society. Many of those voting in favor of the change cited the events of September 11, as well as the recent terror attacks in Paris and Belgium, to justify the constitutional changes.
The claim that Mexico is under threat from ISIS, Al Qaeda, or other Islamic terrorist groups is aimed at masking the true content of the law: preparing for state repression of social opposition. Aside from dangers of terrorism, natural disasters, and plagues, the commission noted before Tuesdays vote that the law also refers to internal revolts, incursions of internal armed groups, grave threats to the peace or internal stability of the State, [and] economic crises that due to their gravity can generate altercations in the public order.
The commission also noted that the law is broad, adaptable, and capable of being applied to diverse situations that put society at risk.
The true character of the amendment is further indicated by the approval by the State of Mexico, the countrys most populous state, which surrounds the Mexican capital, government of the Atenco Law. Passed on March 17 it gives the state government the power to invoke emergency rule. The law bears its name from mass demonstrations that took place in the city of San Salvador Atenco in 2006, when the government, under then governor, now president Enrique Pena Nieto, cracked down on those protesting the polices forcible removal of farmers selling flowers from a market square. Police killed two people, arrested over 140, and sexually assaulted 26 women during the attack on demonstrators.
The amendments passage was likely secured after discussions with the US government, which has considered the option of establishing a state of emergency in Mexico for years. Cables published by Wikileaks exposed discussions between then-Mexican Secretary of Defense Guillermo Galvan and the Obama administration in October 2009 on precisely this question.
One such cable, No. 3101, was filed by US Embassy Charge dAffairs John Feely, who today retains the same position at the embassy.
Defense Secretary Galvan raised recently the possibility of invoking Article 29 of the constitution to declare a state of exception in certain areas of the country, Feely notes. If written correctly and approved by Congress, it could give the military a temporary legal cover for its activities and perhaps allow it to focus more on operations and less on its critics.
At the time, the US embassy was hesitant to support the move, writing that any benefits produced by an Article 29 state of exception would be undermined by the high political costs of such an approach. With questionable support in Congress and limited political capital, he would put at risk popular and congressional support The cable concludes by noting that the possibility of the declaration of a state of exception cannot be discounted at some future date.
The overwhelming support in the Mexican legislature for such an amendment today speaks to growing conviction amongst the Mexican ruling class and its US imperialist supervisors that the pros of establishing police state methods of rule now decisively outweigh the cons.
The intervening seven years have produced a groundswell of popular opposition to the Mexican ruling class and the Mexican military. The 2014 kidnapping and disappearance of 43 Ayotzinapa student teachers at the hands of police and gangsters in the state of Guerrero produced widespread opposition as hundreds of thousands demonstrated calling for President Pena Nieto to resign over the governments complicity in the attacks. The governments grants of immunity to military forces involved in periodic citizen massacres like the 2014 Tlatlaya massacre, in which 22 civilians were gunned down, have also generated public outcry.
Alongside the ongoing political crisis, the continuing economic downturn has created a social powder keg. Between 2007 and 2012, the number of millionaires in Mexico increased by 32 percent, while the percentage of those in poverty increased from roughly 45 percent to 55 percent within the same period. In the midst of this widening social chasm, the Mexican ruling class, working with US and European banks and corporations, is preparing to escalate its attack on public education, to privatize the state-owned Pemex oil company, and to gut the pensions and wages of Mexican oil workers.
In preparation for the outbreak of social opposition, the Obama administration has increased military and police ties to Mexico, training and arming the federal army, which already patrols the streets in Mexicos cities. According to a January 2016 report from the US Congress, military cooperation between the two countries has been increasing, as have Department of Defense training and equipment programs to support the Mexican military. In 2015, the US Northern Command trained 4,598 military personnel, up from 3,413 in FY2014. Training has included courses on information fusion, surveillance, interdiction, cybersecurity, logistics, and professional development.
The preparations for martial law taking place alongside increased collaboration between US imperialism and the Mexican armed forces are signs of the weakness of a capitalist class that can only respond to the desperate needs of workers and peasants with violence and repression.
Embattled Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has come under increasing pressure from new allegations of money laundering and corruption. An Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) television documentary screened on Monday night revealed details of large amounts of cash, previously unreported, being funnelled into one of his bank accounts.
Najib and the ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) were thrown into crisis last July when the Wall Street Journal reported that a Malaysian auditor-general investigation showed $US681 million had been transferred via various government agencies, banks and companies from the heavily-indebted state-owned 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) investment fund into Najibs personal accounts.
The money was allegedly used in part to finance the campaign of UMNO and its allies in the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition in the bitterly-contested 2013 national elections. BN received a lower vote that the opposition parties but clung onto power as a result of an electoral gerrymander.
The latest allegations were made on the ABCs Four Corners program. The news team made international headlines on March 12 after being arrested for attempting to question Najib on the large sums of money in his bank accounts. They were released the following day and told to leave Malaysia.
The report alleged that an account held by Najib under the codename of Mr X in Malaysias AmBank received a series of deposits totalling more than $US1 billion between 2011 and 2013, including the $681 million that had already been exposed.
According to Four Corners journalists who were shown documents by a high-level source: By June 26, 2012, the bank records show deposits worth $US75 million from a Saudi prince, $80 million from the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Finance and another $120 million from a shell company in the British Virgin Islands.
The prime minister received the $681 million in two payments in 2013 from another company in the British Virgin Islands, via the Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore.
The large flow of unexplained cash prompted senior AmBank officials to warn the countrys central bank governor Zeti Aziz about the transactions. The ABC team was told that at one such meeting in September 2012 Aziz refused to accept a written report and had the officials remove the copy from the central banks premises.
Four Corners interviewed Pascal Najadi, the son of AmBanks founder Hussain Najadi. Pascal Najadi explained that he had spoken to his father in 2013, who was distraught and said: My God, this prime minister, Najib, is lining his pockets. They are robbing the country. Five days later the banker was gunned down in a car park in downtown Kuala Lumpur.
Najib has defended himself inside UMNO by saying all the money he received was used to fund the campaigns of UMNO and BN candidates in key electorates in the 2013 election.
The Four Corners program featured former prime minister and UMNO leader Mahathir Mohamad, who has emerged as an outspoken critic of Najibs alleged corruption and quit the ruling party.
Mahathir represents sections of the Malay ruling elite whose business empires depend on UMNOs protectionist measures and are threatened by Najibs concessions to the demands of foreign investors for pro-market policies. The divisions in ruling circles have only been compounded by the worsening global economic crisis. Malaysia has been hit hard by falling commodity prices and falling capital inflows.
Mahathir was incensed by Najibs decision to sign up to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which he denounced as turning Malaysia into an American economic colony. The TPP is the economic arm of Washingtons anti-China pivot to Asia strategy. Mahathirs opposition effectively puts him in conflict with Najibs foreign policy tilt toward the US.
The prime ministers answer in July was to purge the government and UMNO of Mahathir supporters, end the attorney-generals office investigation of 1MDB, suppress criticism by using the Sedition Act and maintain the imprisonment of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, despite a UN call for his release.
The attorney-general appointed last July, Apandi Ali, declared Najib innocent of all allegations in January but this was undermined by international money laundering and corruption investigations started in the United States, Switzerland, France and Singapore. New allegations then emerged. On March 1 the Wall Street Journal published details that showed the international investigations had revealed that the total amount transferred into Najibs accounts exceeded $1 billion.
The response of the government to the Four Corners program has been to deny everything. On Wednesday, Communications Minister Salleh Said Keruak said the ABC had accepted Mahathirs narrative hook, line and sinker as part of the former prime ministers campaign to create a political crisis using the Western media.
The minister denied any government involvement in three murders often raised in connection to the corruption allegations, including that of state prosecutor Kevin Morais, who was killed on his way to work last September. Despite denials by Salleh, documents leaked to the Sarawak Report showed Morais had worked on the charges that sacked Attorney-General Gani Patail planned to lay against Najib before he was removed.
The fact that the government has not been able to end the crisis despite its heavy-handed tactics and that more allegations have been leaked from financial institutions closely associated with the state apparatus, points to deep rifts within ruling circles, including inside UMNO itself.
Najib has depended heavily on the support of the Obama administration since the debacle of the 2013 election. Obama has twice visited Malaysia since then and both times brushed aside Najibs anti-democratic methods and praised the regime for its closer diplomatic and military ties with the US.
The corruption allegations are having an impact, however. A former US ambassador to Malaysia told the Financial Times that theres a bit of symbolic distance between the president [Obama] and Najib that is likely to persist. Najib was not included among the 50 world leaders attending the nuclear security summit currently taking place in Washington.
Pakistans military has seized on last Sundays terrorist atrocity in Lahore to implement its longstanding plans for an antiterrorism offensive in Punjab, the countrys most populous province, and to further strengthen its authority over the countrys civilian government.
At least 72 people, including 29 children, were killed Sunday when a suicide bomber targeted a park in Lahore, Pakistans second-largest city and the capital of Punjab province. Responsibility for the bombing, which was aimed at causing maximum civilian casualties and targeted Pakistans Christian minority, has been claimed by a Pakistan Taliban splinter group, the Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (Assembly of the Free).
The militarys offensive has thus far consisted of raids and mass arrests in cities and towns across the Punjab. It involves the army, the ISI (the premier military intelligence agency), and the paramilitary Pakistan Rangers.
It was almost certainly launched by the military high command unilaterally, without informing, let alone securing the agreement of, the civilian Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz)-led government.
The IHS Janes Intelligence Review is reporting its sources confirm that just hours after the Lahore bomb blast, Army Chief General Raheel Sharif ordered regular army units and paramilitary Rangers to begin operations against Islamist militant elements in Punjab and did so without consulting either Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif or Shahbaz Sharif, the prime ministers brother and chief minister of Punjab province.
The military, not the civilian government, subsequently announced to the media that its Punjab operation was underway.
The government has since tried to present the decision to deploy the military in Punjab as jointly taken and unanimous. But this is clearly an attempt to save face and, more importantly, avoid provoking popular unease and anger over the militarys power grab and the civilian governments acquiescence.
For its part, the military wanted it to be known that it was acting independently of Sharif and the civilian authorities. The army told the media to emphasize that the orders for the Punjab operation were given directly by General Sharif and not the prime minster, reports Ahmed Rashid in a piece published on the New York Review of Books website.
The military had long been pressing for authorization to mount an offensive in the Punjab, but this was resisted by Nawaz and Shahbaz Sharif. This is because they feared the military, which is notorious for its human rights abuses, would provoke popular anger and because they were loathe to cede to the military significant authority in the province that is the power base of their party, the PML (N).
Prime Minister Sharif had been due to fly to Washington this week to attend the international Nuclear Security Summit, but canceled the trip, citing the need to respond to the Easter Sunday terror attack. At the conclusion of a high-level security meeting Monday, Prime Minster Sharif vowed to eliminate the extremist mindset and to take this war to the doors of terrorist outfits.
In the first 48 hours after the attack, the military and allied security agencies reportedly arrested 5,200 people on suspicion of terrorism and supporting the Pakistan Taliban or TPP, under the countrys draconian antiterrorism laws. However, the vast majority have been released without charge, exposing the arbitrary and fraudulent character of the military-led crackdown. According to reports, as of Tuesday evening some 216 persons remained in custody.
Sundays terrorist attack was the largest since the TPP assault on a military-supported school in Peshawar in December 2014 left 133 school children dead. Under pressure from the military, the Sharif government, with the support of the opposition parties, adopted a draconian antiterrorism National Action Plan (NAP) following the Peshawar attack. It removed the moratorium on capital punishment, expanded the states right to detain persons without charge, and concentrated extraordinary powers in the hands of the military, including the power to try civilian terrorist suspects in secret military courts.
The military used the popular outcry over the Peshawar massacre and the new powers granted it under the NAP to expand its ongoing operation in Karachi. Pakistans largest city remains under effective military occupation. While the military boasts that it has cracked down on terrorist and criminal activity, there have been numerous complaints from civilians as well as the opposition parties of gross human rights violations by the Pakistan Rangers, including disappearances, extortion, torture, extrajudicial killings and the targeting of anyone opposing their authority, including local cadre of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and MQM.
According to Reuters, by the close of 2015, 95,000 people had been arrested under the NAP, of whom the military considered just 2,000 as hard-core militant suspects.
Workers and leftists have been targeted for arrest and prosecution under the antiterrorism laws. In February, the government deployed the Rangers occupying Karachi to help the police suppress an anti-privatization strike against Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). With the government labeling the striking workers as enemies of Pakistan, the security forces opened fire on strikers demonstrating at Jinnah International Airport, killing two and injuring a dozen more.
With the Pakistan elite under pressure from the International Monetary Fund to make good on its pledge to implement a massive privatization program and other socially incendiary economic reforms, the military is increasingly asserting that it is better placed than the civilian government to uphold the class interests of the bourgeoisie.
The military has already reasserted its traditional control over foreign and national security policy. With it arrogating the power to conduct antiterrorism operations in Punjab, it is now deployed over large swathes of Pakistan, including: the countrys commercial hub and metropolis Karachi; Baluchistan, where it is combating a separatist insurgency; and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), which is home to the Pakistan Taliban.
In contrast to the venal Pakistani bourgeoisie and political establishment, among the working class there is no widespread support for the expansion of the militarys power and presence. The military, with US backing, has directly ruled Pakistan for almost half of its existence, ruthlessly suppressing the struggles of the working class and upholding semi-feudal relations in the countryside. General Pervez Musharraf, whom George W. Bush lauded as one of the USs principal allies in the war on terror, pressed forward with pro-investor reforms.
The parties of the Pakistani bourgeoisie have time and again acquiesced to the military. This is because when push comes to shove the ruling class recognizes that the military is the bulwark of Pakistans grossly unequal capitalist social order, the guarantor of their wealth against a challenge from below, and the pivot of the alliance with Washington and the Pentagon that similarly backstops their rule.
The PPP government that ruled Pakistan from 2008 to 2013 and that of Sharif which succeeded it has continued the basic policies of Musharraf, implementing IMF-dictated restructuring and supporting the US occupation of Afghanistan.
Each of these three governments supported the US war in Afghanistan by ordering the military to wage war in FATA, with its typical wanton disregard for human rights and life, and by conniving in US drone strikes that have terrorized the FATAs population and killed hundreds if not thousands of civilians.
The emergence of the TPP is the direct result of these criminal policies.
As for the extremist mindset Sharif is now vowing to eliminate, it is rooted in the Islamization campaign initiated by General Zia ul-Haq, the US-backed dictator who ruled the country from 1977 to 1988 and who was Sharifs political mentor.
Zias regime promoted Islamist reaction as a means of intimidating and dividing the Pakistani working class, while playing a key role alongside the US and Saudi Arabia in organizing and arming the Islamic fundamentalist Mujahedeen to fight the Soviet-backed government in Afghanistan. The TTP, like Al-Qaeda and Taliban, is the outcome of the predatory machinations of US imperialism and its Pakistani bourgeois satraps.
On Wednesday, county prosecutors in Minneapolis announced that they will not file charges against two police officers involved in the shooting death of 24-year-old Jamar Clark last year. Clarks shooting sparked widespread protests in Minneapolis which saw the police respond with paramilitary units to break up demonstrations and an encampment.
Prosecutors argued that forensic evidence determined that Clark was not handcuffed and that he reached for an officers gun, a standard alibi used to justify police killings. Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman told reporters at a news conference that officers Mark Ringgenberg and Dustin Schwarze struggled with Clark, who at one point had one of the officers guns.
Following the shooting Schwarze and Riggenberg were placed on non-enforcement duties.
Freeman told reporters, the officers each stated their independent fear of being shot. Accordingly, the head of the county attorneys office has concluded criminal charges are not warranted.
According to dozens of witnesses, Clark was indeed handcuffed and pinned to the ground when officers fired a round into his head on November 15. At the news conference, activists criticized the decision not to file charges and questioned why Clark was shot 61 seconds after cops arrived.
At a press conference Wednesday, Minneapolis Democratic Mayor Betsy Hodges paid lip service to the protestors and tried to calm them down with assurances that the U.S. Justice Department and the U.S. Attorneys Office are investigating the shooting. She also promised an internal police investigation to see if the officers should be held accountable.
Hodges remarked glibly, Today is a hard day for everyone in the city of Minneapolis.
Despite eyewitnesses saying that Clark was shot execution style by police, county prosecutors said evidence showed that there was no DNA inside the handcuffs, although Clarks blood was on one of the restraints. The County Attorney also said that Clark did not have any internal or external injuries on his wrists that suggested he was handcuffed.
Activists with the group Black Lives Matter confronted the prosecutor after the press conference with one member telling him, If the city burns its on your hands. The prosecutor shortly thereafter left the conference.
Minneapolis Police Chief Janee Harteau said there would be safe spaces for people to express their feelings and thoughts before ominously warning that there were contingency plans in case protests turned violent.
Neither of the police officers actions on the day of the shooting was recorded. The dash board video camera was not on since it automatically turns on when the lights and siren are used, which was not the case that day.
The officers were responding to the scene after Clark allegedly was interfering with paramedics who were trying to transport his girlfriend, RayAnn Hayes, to the hospital after he allegedly assaulted her at a party.
The police assert that Clark was resisting arrest and pinned him to the ground. According to county prosecutors, Officer Riggenberg somehow lost control of his gun and felt Clarks whole hand on his firearm. Officer Schwarze then put his gun to the edge of Clarks mouth and told him, Let go or Im gonna shoot you.
Clark, according to Schwarze, then looked directly at him and said incredibly, Im ready to die. It was at that point that officers say they feared for their lives and fatally shot Clark.
County Attorney Freeman was forced to admit that no eyewitnesses heard Clark say, Im ready to die. Clarks cousin, Cameron Clark, disputed this story with CNN saying, I feel like the story is being made up, and its all lies My cousin would never tell the cops to kill him. His life was doing good. My cousin never told me he was ready to die.
There were immediate protests following the shooting and a protest encampment was set up in the following days around the Minneapolis Police Departments 4th Precinct. Police violence was common place during the occupation with pepper spray being used against demonstrators. Four counter-demonstrators, with alleged ties to white supremacist circles, were arrested for shooting and wounding five protestors.
Texas man killed by Arizona cop in January pleaded for his life
According to a newly released police report, a Texas man fatally shot by an Arizona police officer begged for his life before he was killed. The officer has been identified as Philip Brailsford of the Mesa, Arizona Police Department, and has been charged with second-degree murder and fired.
The report detailed the body camera footage of the January 18 shooting and described the man, 26 year old Daniel Shaver, as sobbing and complying with officers who ordered him to crawl towards them. Police threatened to shoot him repeatedly if he did not comply.
One officer is described as telling him, Alright, if you make a mistake, another mistake, there is a very severe possibility you are both going to get shot. Do you understand? Shaver responded, No, please dont shoot me.
The Maricopa County Attorney determined on March 4 that the shooting was unjustified. The killing was captured on the officers body camera but has not been made public. Shavers widow, Laney Sweet, has been coerced into silence and has been asked by county prosecutors not to speak out to the media.
According to the police report, officers were called to respond to a man pointing a rifle outside the fifth floor of a hotel. The officers ordered everyone to come out of the hotel rooms and when Shaver and his wife exited they were told to get on the floor.
Shaver was told to crawl on all fours toward the officers. Shaver complied with the officers orders but made a motion toward his waistband to which Brailsford responded by firing five bullets from his gun.
According to the police report, It appeared his shorts had fallen partially down his legs at that point prompting Shaver to reach for his waist. Such a motion was similar, the report argued, to someone reaching for a weapon.
It is has since emerged that Shaver had absolutely nothing to do with the alleged man holding the gun.
Sweet posted a video on YouTube of an audio recording of county prosecutors, including County Attorney Bill Montgomery, telling her she could not speak to the media if she viewed the body camera footage.
In the recording, Montgomery instructs Sweet that, What you can certainly say is that you had the opportunity to meet with the assigned prosecutor on the case and to have your questions answered and concerns addressed and that you had the opportunity to view the video and it was very upsetting and disturbing. Thats it. Under those terms, Sweet has refused to see the body camera footage.
Prosecutors already announced a possible deal saying they would consider a plea of negligent homicide to avoid the more serious charge of second-degree murder. At most, Officer Brailsford would serve 80 percent of a 3.75 year jail sentence.
This is the third and final of three articles on the recent San Diego Latino Film Festival. See also, part one and two.
La obra del siglo (The Project of the Century) from Cuba
A number of Cuban films premiered at this years San Diego Latino Film Festival, including La obra del siglo (The Project of the Century), directed by Carlos Quintela.
Combining archival footage and a drama shot in black and white, the work tells the story of a nuclear power plant begun in Juragua, Cuba, in 1976 and finally abandoned some 20 years later, in the mid-1990s, after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The Juragua facility and surrounding town were intended to supply Cuba with energy in the face of the vicious and vindictive embargo imposed by the US and also become an important cultural center. Today, the operations lie in ruins, and the central story concerns three generations of men trying to make sense of their disappointment and loneliness.
The black-and-white imagery tends to accentuate the overall feeling conveyed by the locale todaythat of a ghost town. The only productive activity apparently associated with the area in recent decades was the planting of coconuts, shown in a clip from the 1990s. There was no economy to speak of after the project of developing nuclear powerthe industry the whole community was built forcame to a halt.
Although La obra del siglo is intelligently acted and produced, and to some extent no doubt accurately reflects certain moods in Cuba today, it is not a very satisfying effort, politically or aesthetically. The film concentrates on the minutiae of the mens lives, everything from their failed relationships to their pets. They get into fights and argue constantly. These difficulties must have something to do with their lives having been spent on a project that is rusting away and contributing nothing to society.
The filmmakers, one assumes, have something more in mind than the failure to build one power plant. Depicting the Project of the Century as lying in ruins certainly has wider implications. How much Abel Arcos (co-writer) and Quintela (co-writer and director) understand of the history and social character of the Cuban Revolution, as well as its relationship to Stalinism and imperialism, remains an issue.
A clip of Yuri Gagarin, the Soviet cosmonaut and the first human in space, is shown almost nostalgically. This imagery is contrasted with that of an apartment block in Cienfuegos, a city on Cubas southern coast, as one of the characters remarks that it looks like a rocket about to blast off. We hear rumbling and see smokeand the next shot takes in a group of workers fumigating to stop the spread of dengue fever. Cuba, it would seem, has regressed from space-age technology to fighting swamp diseases.
There is not much of a plot. The oldest man does not approve of his sons new girlfriend, the grandson misses his ex, the grandfather yells and makes everyone around him angry, etc. One of the archive clips shows him considerably younger as an actor on a television show. Better days presumably.
During a dinner shared by the three men and the sons girlfriend, the grandson gets a telephone call from the woman in his life. The conversation ends unhappily, and he throws the phone at his grandfathers most prized possessiona fish tank. A compassionate moment: instead of anyone throwing a fit, the grandfather quickly tends to his fish, while the son and girlfriend start to clean up the mess. Something comes through about the difficulties of poverty and relationships that seems to be understood by all those involved.
There are a few humorous moments: at one point, everyone thinks the old man has stopped breathing, but he is merely sound asleep. However, the overall pace and look of the film is rather gloomy, and one grows tired of the goings-on after the two-hour mark.
El Clan (The Clan) from Argentina
Argentinas El Clan (The Clan) is a fictional version of the true story of the Puccio crime family. The film, directed by Pablo Trapero (Crane World, 1999), was also the countrys submission to the Academy Awards for best foreign picture.
The Puccios were an upper-class family led by Arquimedes (Guillermo Francella). The latter was an intelligence officer in the Dirty War, the military dictatorships reign of terror against the working class in the 1970s and 1980s in which thousands of left-wing activists, trade unionists and students were disappeared and murdered as part of the CIA-orchestrated Operation Condor.
As the 1980s wear on and Argentina makes the transition toward democracy, the Puccios are forced to resort to kidnapping people from rich families and extorting them for money. Francella is effective as the fascist patriarch leading everyone in prayer and behaving in public like a good citizen and loving father. With his piercing blue eyes and calm demeanor, he looks and sounds like death.
El Clan is most effective when it highlights these contradictory traits and demonstrates how reactionary the family institution is. Alejandro (Peter Lanzani), the son, is a star rugby player who is oblivious at first to the nature of the family business. He slowly and tragically becomes involved.
It is only a matter of time before Arquimedes is caught and the other family members are arrested, as well as their accomplices. Now, Alejandro decisively turns against his father, and we see the whole family edifice come crashing down.
Although its story is intriguing and its action fast-paced and effective, El Clan as a whole feels like a missed opportunity. Director Trapero tends to brush aside the historical-political elements and emphasizes the abduction scenes, done in a sensational style to the accompaniment of rock music. This sort of thing, however, has been done to death in countless Hollywood films, and while here the events are not especially gruesome, they seem a bit tasteless at times.
The characters are not sufficiently developed, and the family drama could have made for a better movie. Certain scenes do ring true. In one, Arquimedes visits an old friend in jail, someone who was nabbed for the same types of crimes the Puccios have been carrying out. The friend asks how long the new democracy will last. He advises Arquimedes to rely on his old military contacts to avoid arrest, since in reality they still wield the power. It would seem the Puccios must have lost their military protection at some point.
Camino a La Paz (Road to La Paz), also from Argentina
The title Camino a La Paz (Road to La Paz) has two meanings: La Paz is the capital of Bolivia, but it also means peace.
The film stars Rodrigo De la Serna (The Motorcycle Diaries, 2004) as a 35-year-old unemployed man named Sebastian living with his girlfriend in Buenos Aires and jamming with his rock band. People are constantly calling the house and asking for Magellan Taxi, and Sebastian is obliged to tell them they have the wrong number.
After his girlfriend becomes pregnant and loses her job, Sebastian decides it is time to get serious. Now, when people call the house asking for a taxi, he replies, At your service! One of his regular customers is an old man named Khalil, a devout Muslim.
Camino a La Paz is humane and genuinely comical, something of a rarity.
Khalil eventually asks Sebastian to drive him to La Paz, 1,650 miles away, to visit his brother, so they can make the pilgrimage to Mecca. Khalil also needs the help of a dialysis machine and medicine to stay healthy, making the journey no small feat. The two take on additional passengers, including a stray dog and a young woman. Various twists and turns complicate what is essentially a road-trip movie, albeit a highly enjoyable one.
The scenes where Khalil worships and prays with fellow Muslims, who are no different from members of any other major religion on earth, are especially memorable. To show Muslims as human beings has sadly become something of a politically courageous act in America at present.
Although they initially cannot stand one another, Khalil and Sebastian become devoted friends before the journey is over. Khalil even dubs Sebastian a true Muslim. This may not be the most earth-shattering material, and we might have seen it before, but Camino a La Paz proves a warm and uplifting experience. The soundtrack by Vox Dei, a rock group from Argentina in the late 1960s and early 1970s, was also sublime and revelatory.
We felt this film to be the most hopeful of those we had the pleasure of seeing at the San Diego festival. Despite great differences in age, culture, religion, and nationality, and of course, socioeconomics (to a point), we are all essentially the same, Francisco Varones film argues.
And on that note, we recognize the critical value of film and art in this age of political repression and tension, and increasing authoritarianism. The best films allow us to see the world through other eyes and from different vantage points. They make us appreciate and consider the enormous complexities of other peoples lives and the difficulties they have to get through every day, and they can also suggest that another way of organizing life, more human and just, is both possible and on the horizon.
Concluded
Following an emergency meeting with cabinet ministers yesterday, British Prime Minister David Cameron said the government would not take Tata-owned steel plants into public ownership.
The talks were prompted by Tatas decision Tuesday to sell off its entire UK steel operation. The announcement threatens the jobs of 15,000 Tata workers, plus a further 25,000 in the firms supply chain.
On calls for the government to step in to aid the steel industry, Cameron stated, We are not ruling anything out, before warning, I dont believe nationalisation is the right answer.
According to the Guardian, placing plants in public ownership was seen as the least viable option during an emergency meeting between the prime minister and his ministers, with the government opposed to subsidising a loss-making operation to the tune of 1.5 billion a year.
Cameron was responding to calls by the Labour Party and trade unions for the government to take a public stake in steel manufacturing in a temporary or partial nationalisation. However, the prime minister was amenable to other calls from Labour and the unions, stating that he wanted to make sure we procure British steel for our ships and for other vital industries in the UK.
As the cabinet was meeting, Labour Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell put forward a four-point plan calling for temporary nationalisation to stabilise the steel industry, a recovery plan for the steel plants, government assistance on business rates for steel firms and for public procurement to compel the purchase of steel made in Britain for state infrastructure projects.
Later Thursday, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said Cameron has offered no solutions today to the threat to our steel industry, adding, He must act now to protect the heart of manufacturing industry and take a public stake in steel.
Cameron and Corbyn represent differing strategies of sections of the ruling elite. Neither is motivated, despite endless handwringing and furrowed brows, by a desire to defend the jobs and livelihoods of steelworkers.
Camerons position is based on the policy inaugurated by the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s, in favour of letting lame ducks fail, decimating manufacturing, privatising basic industries and encouraging the growth of speculative finance capital by deregulating the London stock market. As part of this, the previously nationalised British Steel was re-privatised in 1988.
In the three decades since, manufacturing was decimated to the extent that it now represents just 10 percent of the UK economy. Steel production now makes up just 1 percent of UK manufacturing output and 0.1 percent of the countrys economic output.
The position of Labour and the unions, and sections of business, including the British Chambers of Commerce, is based on developing protectionist measures to defend what they view as an industry critical to the interests of British imperialism under conditions of an escalating economic crisis and the eruption of trade war. McDonnell said his plan had emerged from discussions within the industry.
Stephen Kinnock, the Labour MP for Aberavon, which covers Port Talbot, was part of a union-led delegation to Mumbai earlier this week as Tata made its decision. In a Guardian article Thursday, he called for the government to grant temporary financial support interventions to help Tata Steel get through this interim period before we find a buyer and demanded that the government back the European Union in imposing tariffs on Chinese steel.
He was echoed by Daily Telegraph columnist Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, who wrote, While Washington has slapped penalties of 267pc on Chinese cold-rolled steel, the EU peashooter has so far managed just 13pc. Redcar [a steel plant] has already paid the price for this ultra-free trade ideology, and Port Talbot is about to follow.
Since the crisis broke, the trade unions have come forward as the most ardent defenders of the corporations and of British industry. Speaking to the BBC, Len McCluskey, the general secretary of the Unite union, said Britain was in an industrial crisis of enormous proportions affecting the whole of our manufacturing base.
He demanded that Cameron intervene in defence of Tata and slash their business tax rates and energy costs, as the steel producers in Germany, in France pay less than half [the business rates] as our steel producers and what were saying to the government is that they have to protect as other governments are protecting.
As well as calling for restrictions on the import of Chinese steel into the UK, McCluskey complained, Weve just used Swedish steel to build Royal Navy ships up in Scotland and that is ludicrous when we should be using our own steel.
He said the trade unions wanted to play a key role alongside the government in a steel task force to protect a foundation industry and stand up for British workers and protect industries that are going to have a huge impact on the whole of our economy.
The dispute over the steel industry, like that over the renewal of the Trident nuclear missile system, has nothing to do with defending jobs but is rather a conflict over how best to safeguard British national interests.
The crocodile tears over the fate of steelworkers are exposed by the fact that since 2008, successive Labour and Tory governments have carried out austerity leading to the destruction of hundreds of thousands of jobs in the public and private sectors. Many of these have gone in Labour-run local authorities, as councils have dutifully imposed every cut demanded by central government.
The three trade unions with members in the steel industry have, as with their predecessor, not lifted a finger in defence of a single job in the steel industry going back decades. At the beginning of the national steel strike in 1980, which was sold out and betrayed by the Iron and Steel Trades Confederation, 142,000 workers were employed in the industry. By 1988, this had been slashed to 52,000. Today just 15,000 workers remain. Since 2007, when Tata took over its UK plants, it has been able to slash a third of its workforce with the collaboration of the trade unions. Some 5,000 jobs have been axed in the industry in the past year alone.
The commitment of the unions to defending the steel corporations, in opposition to the interests of their members, was revealed this week when it was announced that a trade union/management deal, as part of Tatas already scheduled sale of its Long Products division in Scunthorpe to Greybull Capital, is almost finalised. According to Sky News, the deal includes a 3 percent pay cut in basic pay and includes transferring the 4,000 workers based at Scunthorpe from the old British Steel final salary pension scheme to a less generous defined contribution scheme.
Workers must oppose tooth and nail the nationalist programme of Labour and the trade unions. There is no progressive outcome along the road of the calls for reactionary protectionist measures to defend our industry. In a saturated globalised market, steelworkers are being laid off in vast numbers. Some 400,000 Chinese steel workers are slated to lose their jobs. Since 2008, 85,000 steelworkers have lost their jobs throughout Europe, with most of these cuts taking place in Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium and France. ThyssenKrupp, the German steel conglomerate, cut 12,000 jobs during 2008-09.
Workers in Britain, Europe and internationally must end this fratricidal race to the bottom and join together in a unified struggle to oppose all job losses and attacks on their wages and livelihoods.
6 years, 6 months ago by Scott Hardy
Accused of shooting three people Monday in Hannibal
A Hannibal man, charged in connection with the shooting of three people early Monday morning, has waived his arraignment.
19 year old Carl Emerson Junior was in Marion County Court Friday for that arraignment. Hes been charged with three counts of 1st Degree Assault and three counts of Armed Criminal Action in the shootings, which happened just before 1AM Monday at a home in the 1000 block of Fulton. Emerson is alleged to have shot two Hannibal men and a Hannibal woman during an argument. He was arrested later Monday morning after fleeing officers, who saw him walking in the 1200 block of Broadway.
Emerson is in the Marion County Jail on $300,000 bond. A date for his preliminary hearing will be set April 8th.
6 years, 6 months ago by Jim Dewey
A mailing was sent out in March from the Voter Participation Center, (VPA) in Chicago, to all non-registered voters in the State of Illinois.
Adams County Clerk Chuck Venvertloh says all Election Authorities were recently advised that a second similar mailing is going out this summer.
He says the mailing contains a letter from the VPA and a voter registration form with the name and address of each applicable Election Authority for their reference should they wish to register to vote.
Since these notices are not originating from his office, but from an outside organization, Venvertloh says some may go out to those already registered to vote, those who have moved, and those who have passed away.
All County Clerk's will process these voter registration forms that are properly completed and forwarded to their offices.
The State Board of Elections says this is a legitimate company operating as a non-government, nonprofit, and nonpartisan 501(c)(3) organization.
New Delhi: Continuing its attack on the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre, the Congress said Thursday it will go to court if the Centre issues an ordinance to authorise expenditure beyond April 1 in Uttarakhand, that is under Presidents Rule. Accusing the Centre of being not concerned about parliamentary democracy and the Constitution, the Congress said promulgation of any such ordinance will be unprecedented and unconstitutional. Amid continuing political uncertainty in the hill state, the Uttarakhand High Court had stayed the floor test in the state Assembly that was due on Thursday. The Centres petition seeking a review of the High Courts interim order on a floor test is posted for resumed hearing on April 6. Presidents Rule was imposed in the state earlier this week after the Centre cited a constitutional crisis.
In Dehradun, meanwhile, senior leaders of both the BJP and the Congress held closed-door meetings with their MLAs. The BJPs Shyam Jaju and Kailash Vijayvargiya and the Congress Ambika Soni and Sanjay Kapoor held meetings to keep their ranks intact for another week. The high court has deferred the Assembly floor test till April 7.
While Ms Soni and Mr Kapoor left Dehradun Thursday after holding detailed meetings with party MLAs and other leaders, including deposed CM Harish Rawat and PCC president Kishore Upadhyay at undisclosed venues to discuss ways to keep their house in order, Mr Jaju and Mr Vijayvargiya kept themselves closeted with MLAs in a hotel somewhere on the outskirts of the city to ward off the possibility of poaching.
Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal, taking a dig at Union Finance minister Arun Jaitley, said, I must congratulate Jaitley. It is a first to his credit. The Central government will decide whether the Budget in an Assembly is passed or not. He claimed the Budget has already been approved by the Uttarakhand Assembly and the Speaker declared so, and there has been no petition in any court against it nor has anyone approached any court.
Targeting the BJP and Centre, the Congress leader alleged that the BJP and the Central government wanted to show anyhow that the Budget was not passed on the floor of the Uttarakhand Assembly. He accused the Centre of playing this political game as part of its attempts to destabilise the state government. They swear by the Constitution, but tear it to shreds, Mr Sibal said, adding that the prorogation of the Budget Session of Parliament to enable the government to issue such an ordinance was also part of this game. They are afraid that if they bring the bill in Parliament on the matter, they will be defeated, he said.
Parliamentary affairs minister M Venkaiah Naidu said, A situation is created in a state where there is constitutional breakdown, the state could not get its Appropriations Bill passed. If the Appropriations Bill is not passed, the state employees will not get their salaries from April 1 and the development of the state will come to a standstill.
6 years, 6 months ago QPD
Savy Wray 41, Quincy for failure to yield at stop sign.
Jordan J. Dickson, 27, 1408 Spring for DWLR at 12th & Maine on 03-31-16. Cash bond
Anthony A Phillips 50, Quincy for open liquor in vehicle.
Jennifer L. Smith 36, Quincy for illegal use of cell phone while driving.
Cathy Clark 44, Quincy for failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident.
Latrice R Woods 43, Keokuk, IA for Retail Theft warrant from Chicago PD and a new charge of Retail Theft at Walmart. Lodged
John McGee 1607 Ohio reports a black Lenovo Think Pad and nylon bag were stolen from his car on 3/30.
Ashley Doane-Hudson 1635 VanBuren reports the tire on her vehicle was slashed on 3/21 while parked at the residence.
David Winfield 724 S 10th reports someone used green spray paint to cover his headlamp on his vehicle on 3/22.
Travis Eldridge 1918 Elmwood reports a package containing car parts was stolen off his porch on 3/18.
Rhonda L James (40) 2415 Drake Dr Fail to Stop at Stop Arm on School Bus at 14th & Maine NTA
Madison K Sheffler (20) 2722 Madison for Driving Under the influence, Operating Uninsured Vehicle, Improper Lane Usage and
Possession of Alcohol by Minor at 5th & Broadway NTA
William G Brewer (31) 611 N 8th for Criminal Damage to Vehicle at 611 N 8th USC
Karina M Daniel (26) 1426 Locust St for Failure to Reduce Speed to Avoid Accident at 9/State on 3/31/16. Released on PTC.
Mitchell D Lammers (20) 2442 Bradmoor for Failure to Reduce Speed to Avoid Accident at 18th & Broadway NTA
Jennifer L Frericks (42) 4607 Quail Creek Dr for Speeding at 36/E. Lake Centre on 3/31/16. Released on PTC.
Dylann M Cain (18) for Speeding at Kochs Ln and W Oakbrook PTC
Kayla L Utters (24) 1625 N 24th for Operating Uninsured Vehicle at 9th & Broadway NTA
Mercedes N Williams (23) 1515 Monroe for Speeding and Operating Uninsured Vehicle at 4th & Elm NTA
Christopher L Doyle (28) 504 1/3 S 8th for FTA-Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. He was located at his residence on 3/31/16 and released on cash bond.
Kaylynn M Sparks (23) 804 1/3 S 8th for FTA Consumption of Alcohol by minor at 804 1/3 S 8th Lodged
Gabrielle L Heflin (16) 1340 N 5th for No Valid Dl at 7th & Cedar NTA
Kyle M Kuhlmeier (32) 1725 Cherry St. for Theft Over at 820 S Front St. He was arrested on 3/31/16 and lodged.
Travis L Oenning (23) Homeless for Possession of Meth Precursors, Aggravated
Lucknow: A fatwa has been issued against chanting Bharat Mata Ki Jai in response to the various queries received by the fatwa department of Islamic seminary Daurl Uloom of Deoband, called Darul Ifta.
The fatwa states that Muslims should restrain themselves from using the slogan as Islam condemns idol worship.
The fatwa, which was issued on March 19 by the seminary, came into light after it went viral on social media on Thursday evening.
The spokesperson of the seminary, Ashraf Usmani, said, Scholars of Darul Ifta had issued fatwa in response to queries of people who sent letters along with portrait of Bharat Mata.
He explained that Bharat Mata has been portrayed as a Goddess clad in saffron clothes carrying a trident in one hand, and hence in light of the teachings of holy Quran, followers of Islam cant say Bharat Mata Ki Jai.
Usmani further clarified that Islam respects all but it cant allow worship of its Prophet in form of an idol.
Darul Ifta is a separate department in the Seminary in which scholars give their collective opinion to the queries of people in light of Quran and Hadees, and is headed by Maulana Habiburrehman Haidrabadi.
Reference ID: 06TOKYO3509
Created: 2006-06-23 08:10
Released: 2011-08-30 01:44
Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Origin: Embassy Tokyo
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DE RUEHKO #3509/01 1740810
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
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FM AMEMBASSY TOKYO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3629
INFO RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 1528
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RUEHKSO/AMCONSUL SAPPORO 8043
RUEHNAG/AMCONSUL NAGOYA 6797
RUEHOK/AMCONSUL OSAKA KOBE 0159
RUEHFK/AMCONSUL FUKUOKA 6893
RUEHNH/AMCONSUL NAHA 9505
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TOKYO 003509
SIPDIS
STATE FOR EAP/J - PLEASE PASS TO USTR MCHALE
COMMERCE FOR ITA DICKSON, LEE, AND HEINEMAN
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECPS, ECON, JP
SUBJECT: Why did Vodafone fail in Japan?
An insider's take on the failure of Japan's largest foreign
investment.
1. (SBU) Summary: Vodafone Japan's CFO blamed the failure of the UK
mobile phone operator, which was the largest foreign investment in
Japan on: 1) bad managers brought in by Vodafone who never
understood the local environment; 2) the difference in shareholder
expectations of profitability in Europe and the United States
compared to Japan; and 3) the unfair allocation of spectrum in
Japan, which made it very costly for Vodafone to operate 3-G phones
efficiently.
End Summary
------------
Background:
------------
2. (U) Vodafone sold its Japanese business (Japan's third largest
mobile phone company) to the Tokyo-based Internet company Softbank
in April 2006 for 1.75 trillion yen (about 15.4 billion U.S.
dollars). Vodafone-Japan which has about 15 million subscribers ,
had represented the largest foreign investment in Japan since
Vodafone bought J-Phone in 2001. Because Vodafone retains 400
billion yen (about USD 3.5 billion) in shares in the Japanese
company, the British parent company remains one of the largest
foreign investors in Japan.
3. (SBU) Vodafone Japan's Chief Financial officer, John Durkin, who
first came to Japan about 15 years ago and had earlier worked as CFO
for NIKE Japan, shared his views on the reasons Vodafone retreated
from the Japanese market with the embassy on June 2
---------------
Bad foreign management
---------------
4. (SBU) The most important reason, according to Durkin, was that
Vodafone brought in the wrong people to manage the company and kept
bringing in new teams to fix the problems created by the last
management team. Durkin said he had worked for five presidents in
five years at Vodafone. Worried about sinking profits in early
2005, Vodafone brought in a new management team that was
particularly dysfunctional. The British and Dutch managers were
culturally insensitive to the point of racism, Durkin asserted. The
Japanese managers and engineers were aware of the company's problems
but were discouraged from saying anything and chose to keep silent.
As a result, the company simply stopped functioning for about 9
months, according to Durkin. The entire management team -- except
for Durkin -- was fired in late 2005, but it was too late for
Vodafone to turn things around. (Note, in a previous conversation,
Durkin had talked about Vodafone's botched roll-out of its 3G phones
in Japan and the fact that the 3G handsets, which it had
successfully marketed as expensive, high-end devices in Europe, were
regarded as clunky and poorly designed by Japanese consumers. End
Note.)
-----------------------------------
Higher Foreign shareholder expectations
-----------------------------------
5. (SBU) The second problem for Vodafone was the higher expectations
of profitability from the start among U.S. and Europe shareholders
compared to Japanese shareholders. Japan was Vodafone's largest
mobile market in terms of subscribers, but compared to other markets
in which the company operated, the profit margins in Japan were very
low, about ten per cent. However, in Japan, that ten per cent
profit margin put Vodafone among the top class of Japanese
companies, Durkin claimed. Still, from early 2004 Vodafone felt
considerable pressure from shareholders to increase its
profitability or hang up on its mobile phone business in Japan.
------------------------------
Unfair allocation of Spectrum
-----------------------------
6. (SBU) Even if Vodafone had not had such serious management
problems, Vodafone Japan would have had a hard time succeeding
because of the unfair allocation of spectrum by the Japanese
government, Durkin contended. He believed that the spectrum problem
seriously hindered Vodafone's ability to grow and succeed in Japan.
Durkin explained that the 2.1ghz allotted to Vodafone was too high
for the efficient 3G wave propagation and made it difficult to
penetrate walls. Vodafone estimated it would need 25,000 base
TOKYO 00003509 002 OF 002
stations to overcome the problem. Vodafone Japan had invested 600
billion yen (about USD 5.2 billion) in upgrading its systems and had
already built 14,000 base stations at the time of its sale to
Softbank.
7. (SBU) Durkin said that Softbank needs to get access to the 800
MHz spectrum to operate efficiently, but that the Ministry of
Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) did not like Softbank's
Chief Executive Masayoshi Son, and "was not inclined to do him any
favors." Son also told him that he would like to use GSM, Durkin
added. However, MIC was giving Son, a self-made billionaire of
Korean ancestry, "a hard time", said Durkin. (Note: GSM refers to
the Global System for Mobile Communication which is the most popular
standard for mobile phones in the world and is used, for example, in
Europe, Asia, Latin America, and in the U.S. by Cingular and
T-mobile among others. End Note.)
--------------------------------------------- ---
More troubles ahead for Japan's mobile operators
--------------------------------------------- ---
8. (U) Durkin predicted that as IP (internet protocol) telephony
grows and has a greater impact on the mobile phone market, within a
few years' time companies will make most of their money in
providing content and services. Softbank, with its tie-up to Yahoo
Japan was in a good position as a content provider, he pointed out.
(Note: In May, Softbank also announced an agreement with Apple to
develop jointly cellular phone handsets that have built-in iPod
digital music players and can download songs directly from Apple's
iTunes Music Store.)
9. (U) DoCoMo, NTT's mobile phone subsidiary, would like to turn
itself into a credit card company through its "electronic wallet"
phones, claimed Durkin. (Note: In March 2006 DoCoMo teamed up with
Mizuho Bank to allow its cell phones to be used as full-fledged
credit cards. DoCoMo phones had already had the capability to work
as prepaid wireless cash cards. In May, DoCoMo bought two per cent
of Lawson, one of Japan's largest convenience store chains, another
signal of its intention to strengthen services based on cell phones
equipped with "mobile wallets," which have built-in chips for
storing electronic money and function as credit cards. These moves
are a part of DoCoMo's overall strategy of seeking new ways to make
money as its mobile phone revenues decline. End Note.)
10. (SBU) As for the future of Vodafone Japan, there is, on paper, a
Vodafone-Softbank joint venture to develop technology and content
and to invest in start-ups, and in China and India. However, the
joint venture so far remains unfunded and with only tentative plans.
As CFO, Durkin was spending most of his time handling the personnel
issues of laying off all of Vodafone Japan's management. He
expected to be one of the last employees of Vodafone Japan and
intends to leave Japan for a year in order to avoid the massive tax
headaches of a foreigner no longer working for a foreign company in
Japan.
SCHIEFFER
WWeek 2015
Find voter resources and full coverage of the Nov. 8 election at the YHR Election Center.
The Selah man accused of killing two Moneytree employees Saturday could be the first suspect in Yakima County to face a death sentence since 1989.
Yakima County Prosecuting Attorney Joe Brusic said Thursday hes weighing whether to seek a death penalty against 26-year-old Manuel Enrique Verduzco.
I am absolutely looking into it, Brusic said. I need to do my due diligence.
That includes consulting with the Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys and other prosecutors who have recently handled death penalty cases, Brusic said.
While a death-penalty trial can cost millions of dollars, Brusic said his first concern is whether there is enough evidence to convince a jury that an execution is warranted.
Marta Martinez Marta Martinez, beautiful daughter, sister, aunt and friend was taken from us too soon on March 26, 2016.
Karina Morales-Rodriguez Karina Morales-Rodriguez (27) of Toppenish passed away on Saturday March 26, 2016 in Yakima.
Verduzco was charged Wednesday with two counts of aggravated first-degree murder in the deaths of Marta Martinez, 30, and Karina Morales-Rodriguez, 27. He is also charged with first-degree burglary in connection with the killings. A trial date has yet to be set.
The bodies of both women were found Saturday morning outside the business at the corner of East Walnut and South First streets. Both died of a single gunshot to the head.
Brusics deliberations come against the backdrop of Gov. Jay Inslees moratorium on executions and a failed attempt by state prosecutors to put the death penalty up to a public vote.
Brusic said the factors in the aggravated murder charge include the deaths of more than one victim, that the killings took place during a burglary, and they were done either to cover up a crime or avoid prosecution.
Authorities have not disclosed a possible motive, but said they have not ruled out a failed robbery attempt.
In the last Yakima County death-penalty case, jurors voted 11-1 to execute Herbert Chief Rice for the 1988 deaths of two Parker residents. The deadlock resulted in a life-without-parole sentence.
Rices sentence was overturned after a 2012 Supreme Court ruling that mandatory life-without-parole sentences for juveniles were unconstitutional. Rice, who was 17 at the time of the killings, is expected to be resentenced later this year.
The last time prosecutors considered a death penalty case in Yakima County was in 2011 for the deaths of Bill Goggin, his wife, Pauline, and his mother, Bettye. After reviewing the case, then-Prosecuting Attorney Jim Hagarty said there was insufficient evidence to justify the death sentence in that case.
If Brusic decides to seek a death sentence, he said he would meet with county commissioners to discuss how to pay for the trial.
A 2015 study by Seattle University found that death penalty cases cost, on average, $1 million more than murder cases where prosecutors do not seek the death sentence.
Three recent death-penalty cases in King County cost a total of $15 million.
Part of the high costs stems from being required to provide a defendant with two attorneys certified to handle death-penalty cases. Brusic has notified the countys Department of Assigned Counsel that hes considering the death sentence.
Paul Kelley, the departments director, said outside attorneys would be needed because the department has only one death-penalty-qualified attorney on staff, who is currently unavailable.
Brusic has 30 days after Verduzcos scheduled April 11 arraignment to make a decision, but can seek an extension from the court if needed.
All executions in Washington have been on hold since February 2014, when Inslee ordered a moratorium, saying death penalty cases are inconsistently applied and most are overturned.
The use of the death penalty in this state is unequally applied, sometimes dependent on the budget of the county where the crime occurred, Inslee said.
Inslees moratorium does not commute the sentences of the nine people already sitting on death row, and Brusic said the moratorium would not stop him from seeking a death penalty.
The states prosecutors also sought to put the death penalty on the November ballot to find out if it had widespread public support. Brusic supported the measure, but said it failed in the Legislature.
Likewise, a bill to repeal the death penalty first introduced in 2015 was not brought to a vote in the past two sessions.
Since 1904, only two of the 78 men executed in the state were from Yakima County, the most recent being Roy Wright, who was executed Oct. 6, 1939, at age 19 for the murder of a Yakima car dealer.
The homicides, the fourth and fifth in the city this year, have struck an emotional chord with residents. A blessing ceremony was conducted at the site Tuesday and residents were outside the business again Thursday with signs urging a stop to violence.
An organizer, Laura Curiel, said passing motorists and others had been more than welcoming.
YAKIMA, Wash. A group seeking to build a village of tiny houses for the chronically homeless is asking the public for help in raising the
Mumbai: The state government has provided bouncers to protect doctors from attack by irate kin of patients at hospitals, Medical Education Minister Vinod Tawde told the Legislative Council Friday, an announcement termed "shocking" by the Opposition NCP.
Tawde was replying to a debate on a motion moved by Kiran Pawaskar of the NCP who raised the issue of beating up of doctors at government hospitals over allegations of improper medical care.
While speaking to reporters later, Pawaskar termed the minister's announcement as "shocking".
"The term bouncers is used in pubs, discos, and movie actors use them for self protection," he said, adding hospitals need to have trained security guards.
"There is a difference between trained security guards and government providing bouncers. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) floats tenders and gives security at its civic hospitals. But these guards need to be given training," said Pawaskar.
Earlier, moving the motion, Pawaskar drew attention to rising incidents of attacks on doctors in KEM, Nair, and Sion hospitals and pointed out that against the requirement of 210 security guards only 115 have been recruited.
Raising a supplementary query, Pawaskar also said CCTV cameras do not work at many government hospitals. He sought to know what steps were being taken to repair them.
Tawde assured the House that the vacant posts will be filled and the CCTVs will be repaired.
Meanwhile, Council Chairman Ramraje Nimbalkar directed Tawde to assign the policemen government hospitals as beat to deal with such incidents.
Nimbalkar said even in his own native village relatives of patients had beaten up doctors in the past.
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We returned from the Netherlands - Amsterdam, to be precise - a day before the terror attacks in Brussels. We spent several days in a haze of tulips and canals. In the city center, in Dam Square, we saw a man who erected a huge BDS sign, in colors of black and red, which portrayed gory sights that were described as the horrors of the Israeli occupation.
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Several Palestinians gathered around him, along with two or three women who seemed local, with keffiyehs around their necks. The crowds who crossed the plaza, who were leisurely leaning back on the stone steps under the World War II memorial, trying in vain to catch some sunshine, were completely indifferent to the exhibit of horrors in the heart of the large square. Amsterdam, it seems, was immersed in the serene quiet of the late European winter.
Then, the next day, two suicide bombers exploded in Brussels, the capital of its neighbor from the south. One bomb went off at a train station and the other at the airport, both leaving behind terrible destruction, dozens of fatalities, over a hundred wounded, great terror and anxiety, and a long list of questions that unfortunately seem to have no answers. And if there are any answers, let's face it, they are not good ones.
Two days after the terror attack in Brussels (Photo: EPA)
News commentators claimed that this attack was no surprise for the Europeans, including the Belgians, which raises the first question: If this is how they deal with an expected attack, how will they handle an attack that catches them completely by surprise? Equally as concerning is the next question: Whats next? In other words, what are the Europeans going to do, or rather, what can they do about it, if at all?
In this regard, the bottom line to the flood of words that washed over us after the attacks is that they are not going to do much, and perhaps even less than that.
We're told the Europeans have lost their killer instincts, that they have no idea how to manage wars and certainly not this kind of war. That perhaps even in this war, the third world war according to some commentators, they will have to wait for the American or Russian rescue forces to come and clean things up. They missed the boat, terrorism is already out of control. The horses - as we Israelis tend to say - have left the stables.
We're told that the attackers targeted the Brussels airport as it was easy to get past the security barriers, but terrorism will also come to Germany - despite its stringent security - and to Britain. In short, Europe is at the onset of an attack, which Israel, this time, is not the focus of. ISIS in Brussels does not delve into questions of the occupation in the West Bank and the expansion of settlements, and it also has no intention of giving the impression that this is the focus of their struggle.
A moment of silence for the dead from the terror attack (Photo: AFP)
And why is this so frustrating? Because in this case, there is despair on both sides. It is shared by those that support terrorism and those who fight it. Because this asymmetrical warfare once again works in favor of the perpetrators of terrorism, and the arsenal used to fight this war is limited despite the billions that Europe will throw at it. Because ISIS is an expression of an evil spirit that settled among the second and third generations of immigrants in Europe. And because all of the explanations of a hotbed that breeds alienation, hostility and hatred, crumble in face of the hard data that shows that a significant proportion of ISIS fighters grew up in homes that do not meet these definitions.
And it's so frustrating because there isn't really a security mechanism that can stop this evil spirit, and because difficult days are ahead for the entire world, not just for Europe. It's also frustrating that commentators, professionals and experts in the field, have so many ideas on how to eradicate terrorism. Why? The answer lies in the following story: Good neighbors visited a Polish mother. "Your daughter," they told her, "is spending time with many men." "As long as it's with many men," the Polish mother answered, "I am not worried. Let me know if she spends time with just one man." In other words, a lot actually means very little. Where there is an abundance of suggestions could it be possible that there is no solution?
Israeli citizens can now obtain a 10-year visa to China, joining a select group of nations with this privilege, which only includes the US and Canada. Chinese citizens will be entitled to obtain a parallel visa to visit Israel.
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Until recently, Israeli tourists and businesspeople who wanted to travel to China were required to obtain a onetime-use visa which only lasted the length of the visitor's stay in the country. This new visa agreement is expected to facilitate travel between China and Israel, encourage Chinese tourists to visit Israel, and save time and money. The agreement will be signed by the Vice Premier of China Liu Yandong and Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.
70 thousand Israelis visit China every year, compared to 33 thousand Chinese who visit Israel.
"This visa agreement is very important, especially since next month Hainan airlines will begin flying directly from China to Israel," Hagai Shagrir, head of the North East Asian division of the Foreign Ministry said.
Chinese Vice Primier Liu Yandong with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Photo: Haim Tzah)
"The second consideration Chinese have when deciding where to travelbesides amicable visa policiesis whether or not there are direct flights to their destination and if Chinese companies fly to these destinations. With both the air-link and improved visa access, we will be able to reach our goal of having 100 thousand Chinese tourists visit Israel within two or three years," Shagrir added.
This and other cooperation agreements between Israel and China were signed this week during the Second Israel-China innovation council meeting at the Foreign Ministry. Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong came at the head of a delegation of 80 people which included three ministers, nine deputy ministers, and 14 heads or deputy heads of Chinese universities. Benjamin Netanyahu was the head of the Israeli delegation.
Throughout the meeting, the participants received reports from various ministries regarding the progress being made in regards to cooperation between the two sides. On top of this, 13 joint agreements were signed alongside the launch of two joint projects. One of the projects is an important inter-governmental platform which the two countries implemented, and which was planned after the leaders of Israel and China met in 2014.
According to Shagrir, "The conference is the most important inter-governmental platform we have with China today."
Some of the other agreements which were signed include cooperation in the fields of education, and increased collaboration between the Health, Energy, and Agriculture Ministries of both countries. Additionally, two projects headed by the chief scientist of Israel in the Ministry of Economy, which also launched an Israeli-Chinese website for government leaders, business people, and investors from both countries.
Greek President Prokopis Pavloppoulo met with Prime Minister Bejamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Thursday to discuss the two countries' bilateral alliance and their deepening ties.
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Netanyahu began by welcoming the Greek leader, saying "I am happy that we have this enduring alliance between our two countries. We have shared values, we are two democracies, and I am sure of the continuation of our good relations. I truly believe in the cooperation between our two countries, especially in the fields of energy, tourism, innovation, and more."
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Greek President Pavloppoulo meet in Jerusalem (Photo: Kobi Gideon)
He continued, "Arab countries understand that Israel is not an enemy, but an ally in the fight against Iran and ISIS. There is a lot of importance being placed on the role that Israel plays in the region. Israel contributes to stability in the Middle East. Israel prevents an even larger wave of refugees from reaching Europe than already is coming. The world would be much different without us here."
Greek President Prokopis Pavloppoulo responded, "I wish to thank you for the assistance and the cooperation between our two countries. Israel is a western democracy. We feel close to Israel and see them as an ally."
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Greek President Pavloppoulo meet in Jerusalem (Photo: Kobi Gideon)
He then had harsh words to say regarding terrorists, saying "Terrorists are barbarians. Only together can we solve the issue of refugeesnot each country by itself."
The president then thanked Netanyahu, commenting, "We are thankful and pleased with the bilateral cooperation and government-to-government collaboration. I would like to note the positive cooperation with Cyprus, too. Our two nations will continue to work together for Europe and the region. You as Prime minister fill a very important position in our relationship."
New Delhi: India will take an appropriate action, says Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on China blocking India's bid at the UN for a ban on Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar.
"What China has done (in the UN), was not good. Ministry of External Affairs will take an appropriate action. Whatever action is required, we will take," he told reporters on Friday when asked about yesterday's development at the United Nations.
Read: China defends blocking India's UN bid to ban JeM chief Azhar
The Union Minister of State for Home hails from Arunachal Pradesh bordering China.
On Thursday, China had requested the UN Committee, which is considering a ban on the JeM chief, to keep on hold the designation.
Read: China again blocks Indias bid at UN for ban on Masood Azhar
After the terror attack on the Pathankot airbase on January 2, India in February wrote to the UN calling for immediate action to list Azhar under the al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee.
The submission was armed with strong evidence of the outfit's terror activities and its role in the Pathankot attack that killed seven Indian military personnel.
India also told the UN Sanctions Committee that not listing Azhar would expose it and other countries in South Asia to threats from the terror group and its leader.
ISTANBUL - Amnesty International said Turkey has forcibly returned hundreds of Syrian refugees to their homeland since mid-January. It said this practice exposes "fatal flaws" in an agreement between Turk and the European Union.
The organization says its research on the Turkish-Syrian border suggests that around 100 Syrians - who often have not registered in Turkey - are expelled from Turkey each day.
Advocacy groups are concerned that the deal, which aims to stem the flow of illegal migrants and goes into effect April 4, threatens the rights of asylum seekers, and they question whether Turkey is a safe country for them.
There's "great urgency" to end the scourge of terrorism following attacks in Paris and Brussels, US President Barack Obama said Thursday during a meeting with French President Francois Hollande on the sidelines of a nuclear security summit
Obama said the US and its coalition partners have seen progress in rolling back the Islamic State group's control of territory. He's also pointing to progress in forming a new government in Libya.
Hollande said both countries must do "everything" to ensure stability in Libya. He says France supports Iraq's government in its efforts to reclaim territory from IS, including the city of Mosul.
Energy and Infrastructure Minister Yuval Steinitz met with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry in Washington on Thursday in a rare meeting between senior ministers of both countries, the first in many years.
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The meeting was held on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit in the American capital and lasted an hour.
The two senior ministers discussed different regional issues, including the potential supply of Israeli gas to liquefaction and purification facilities in Egypt, and the international effort to prevent radioactive terrorism.
Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz (Photo: Olivier Fitoussi)
Steinitz and Shoukry's meeting was the result of US efforts to introduce Egypt into the regional energy treaty between Israel, Greece and Cyprus - something Israel is also interested in. The Americans also want to include Turkey in this treaty, which is viewed as an "energetic umbrella" strengthening the axis of moderate countries against Iran and ISIS.
There have been many indications of warming ties between Israel and Egypt recently. Israeli Foreign Ministry director-general Dore Gold went on an official visit to Cairo to reopen Israel's embassy there; Israeli citizen Ouda Tarabin , who was convicted of spying for Israel and spent 15 years in Egyptian prison, was released in October; a new Egyptian ambassador to Israel was appointed after three years without an ambassador; and, a month ago, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a public meeting with the new Egyptian ambassador.
In addition, senior Israeli officials often visit Cairo, including Netanyahu's envoy Yitzhak Molcho and high-ranked IDF officers, while Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi recently met with a delegation of Jewish leaders , headed by Netanyahu's associate Malcolm Hoenlein.
Israel also often authorizes Egypt to have an increased military presence in the Sinai to fight against ISIS and has been using its influence in Washington to convince public opinion and Congress to increase American military aid to Egypt.
Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he will meet with Israeli officials in April as part of the effort to improve Israeli-Turkish ties.
Erdogan also noted the terror attack in Istanbul about two weeks ago , in which three Israeli tourists were murdered, "didnt only target Israeli tourists."
Leading Ultra-Orthodox MKs fiercely attacked the High Court's ruling on Thursday that the Law of Return requires that Israel recognize private Jewish conversions performed in Orthodox communities that are not within the state conversion system
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In an unusually harsh statement, United Torah Judaism Minister Yaakov Litzman and MK Moshe Gafni said, "The Israeli public considers the devious actions of the High Court as part of a disastrous trend leading to the destruction of Israel's religion.The High Court has given its stamp of approval on the destruction of Judaism in the State of Israel."
Israel's High Court (Photo: Gil Yohanan)
Litzman and Gafni declare that they intend to demand that new legislation be passed "to preserve the Jewish people throughout the generations and the status quo on the sensitive issue of conversions. The fact the High Court wrestles control over issues that don't concern it shows disproportionate and excessive authority that defies logic. We will not allow High Court judges to determine who is Jewish in the State of Israel, in contradiction with Israel's tradition and Jewish religious heritage throughout the ages."
United Torah Judaism MK Yaakov Litzman (Photo: Motti Kimchi)
Shas, the other ultra-Orthodox party in the coalition, was furious with the ruling as well. Minister of Religious Affairs David Azulai stated, "The High Court is trying to undermine the foundation of Judaism in the State of Israel and is causing harm to the state conversion system and the Chief Rabbinate. Those who remain silent over this ruling to recognize pirate conversions should not be surprised to find hundreds of thousands of gentiles in Israel who will receive citizenship under the Law of Return as a result of a dubious industry of phony conversions. I intend to act through legislation so that conversions in Israel will be conducted only within the state's conversion system."
Israel's Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef also did not mince his words: "It's a scandal; it is inconceivable that pirate conversions that are not regulated by any governmental agency will be officially recognized."
On the other side of the political spectrum, Meretz's Zehava Galon welcomed the decision stating that it "breaks the Chief Rabbinate's monopoly." She expressed hope that this ruling will be applied to conversions from all streams of Judaism. She called it an important precedent which will help those outside the Orthodox stream be recognized as Jewish.
MK Elazar Stern (Yesh Atid) said that it was "great news for the State of Israel, for the war against assimilation and for those seeking to convert outside the dismissive system of the Chief Rabbinate. This is also great news to hundreds of Israelis who have already converted through alternative conversion courts and who will now be recognized by the state."
The Reform movement called the day of the decision "a holiday."
A military judge decided on Friday to uphold a previous ruling to releasethe Kfir Brigade soldier who shot dead an already-neutralized terrorist in Hebron to a five-day open detention, rejecting an appeal of the decision by the Military Advocate General's Office.
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Qastina Military Court Judge Lt.-Col. Ronen Shor on Thursday rejected the prosecution's request to extend the remand of the soldier and decided to release him to open detention at the Kfir Brigade's base in the Jordan Valley for the next week.
The soldier has been arrested, though not yet charged. The prosecution initially said it was a murder investigation, but on Thursday prosecutors told a court they were looking into manslaughter charges.
The military prosecution argued against the decision, saying that he is not cooperating with investigators.
The soldier being led to court (Photo: Motti Kimchi)
At first, his lawyers said the soldier was willing to conduct a reconstruction of the incident and be confronted with soldiers who testified against him - but not undergo a polygraph test.
Now, however, the prosecution says that the soldier "refuses to conduct a reconstruction of the incident or to be confronted with other witnesses (except for one soldier with whom the soldier has no real disagreement), and even stated he does not remember things reported by witnesses who were on the scene."
Chief military prosecutor Col. Sharon Zagagi-Pinhas said that "the evidence present a very clear picture of what happened, which bases the suspicions against him."
Col. Zagagi-Pinhas went on to say that "the soldier claimed several times during the investigation that the terrorist tried to reach for a knife that was 'within reach' of him, while the documentation in the video presents a different situation, in which the knife was a significant distance away from the terrorist, who was in serious condition as it is."
B'Tselem video documenting shooting incident (: . )
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"The soldier," she said, "gives evasive answers whenever confronted with the questions that arise from his version of events. The soldier's changing version raises serious doubts about the credibility of the defense's claims, to put it mildly."
"The video has nuances and it speaks for itself. The soldier's comments during the incident indicate on his state of mind and his motive. His claims that he acted of self defense constitute as suppressed testimony," Col. Zagagi-Pinhas noted. "The videos and testimony from the incident indicate that the neutralized terrorist posed no threat. However many movements the terrorist made, none of the other people at the scene, including the commanders standing next to the terrorist, were not alarmed by it and this speaks volumes."
"The soldier," she went on to say, "displayed indifference in shooting the terrorist, and did so without warning his fellow soldiers and commanders who were there."
"The soldier's comments to his commanders immediately following the shooting, according to which 'the terrorist needs to/must die,' further strengthen the suspicions and his motive," Col. Zagagi-Pinhas continued. "The soldier told his friends immediately after the incident 'my friend was stabbed and he deserves to die.'"
Prosecutor Adoram Rigler added that "The soldier's actions were measured, and did not indicate any urgency or alarm. Most of the witnesses say they did not feel they were in danger."
Rigler also addressed the claims the terrorist was wearing a coat while the weather was warm, which supports the soldier's version that he thought the attacker might be carrying an explosive belt. "Other people in Hebron were also wearing warm clothes that morning, it wasn't just the terrorist who was wearing a coat," he said.
The soldier's lawyer Eyal Beserglick responded to the prosecution's accusations, claiming that "We need to step into the soldier's shoes in real time and not in the video. This is a volatile scene of a terror attack, and there were shouting that the terrorist was still alive and had a bomb. The coat the terrorist was wearing was similar to a flak jacket, during a heat-wave. The Magen David Adom paramedics were instructed not to come near the terrorist because there was the threat of an explosive belt."
Beserglick went on to argue that "you can't keep a suspect under arrest based off mountains of speculations. The soldier didn't mean to kill or murder, but to save. A longer, full version of the video shows the only ones looking at the terrorist were the suspect and another civilian. The soldier who was wounded in the attack testified that there was concern of an explosive belt."
He also said the soldier's comments that the terrorist "must/needs to die" should not be seen as desire for revenge, but rather an indication he felt threatened.
"He was emotional in the hours after the incident. He was asked to pick up the terrorist's brain and he's a child. A child soldier but a child," Beserglick said.
Responding to the prosecution's claims that the soldier only mentioned his fear of a bomb hours after the incident, Beserglick said that while the incident was at 8am, the interrogation at the Military's Criminal Investigations Department (CID) was only conducted at 6pm and it was then that the soldier mentioned his concerns.
Judge Brig.-Gen. Doron Piles who presided over the case on Friday rebuked the defense for being inconsistent with its claims about the soldier's fear the terrorist was carrying explosives.
Judge Shor implied on Thursday that the soldier should be charged with unauthorized shooting because he was acting of his own accord, but in proximity to his commanders. But Col. Zagagi-Pinhas rejected that option, saying that the soldier's actions constitute "a forbidden act, which is basis for manslaughter charges."
The soldier's lawyer claimed on Thursday that "there are witnesses in the case who corroborate the suspect's version, according to which there was concern the terrorist was carrying explosives. We know he was not checked for explosives. There are no contradictions or questions, and his testimony can be read over 29 pages of repeated interrogations."
Controversial phone call
In an unprecedented move on Thursday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to the soldier's father, promising him a "professional and fair" investigation.
"I trust the IDF, the Chief of Staff and the investigation 100 percent and I think that you too should trust the commanders and the investigation," Netanyahu told the father, in a phone call made on the request of the family.
"I wanted to say this to you heart-to-heart. Everything you have to present do so in the framework of the investigation, which is genuine, professional and fair. I ask you to understand this, that you not think for a moment that they will not conduct the most objective and fair investigation of your son. I ask that you pass this message to your entire family," Netanyahu added.
At first, Netanyahu presented a decisive stance against the incident, saying that "what happened in Hebron is no representation of the IDF's values," but during the week softened his position.
Opposition MKs slammed Netanyahu on Thursday, with MK Omer Bar-Lev (Zionist Union) saying that behind the call "there's a dangerous and inciting message."
"Netanyahu took off his prime minister's suit and put on the unrestrained Likud activist's shirt. The prime minister cannot imply that there's room for protest against the IDF and chief of staff," Bar-Lev added.
Meretz leader Zehava Gal-On, meanwhile, said Netanyahu's "blatant attempts to influence the soldier's trial is a new record in the prime minister's disrespect to the rule of law. The prime minister's interference on behalf of a soldier over whom there's consensus in the top levels of the IDF regarding the severity of his actions is a shocking message on the moral level and a dangerous message when it comes to the rule of law."
In a new development in the the murder of 13-year-old Tair Rada a decade ago, T., another former boyfriend of the woman who allegedly confessed to killing Rada, partially confirmed the accusations against her in an exlusive interview with Ynet and called on the police and the prosecution Thursday to "reexamine the allegations in depth and reopen the case."
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A few days after the Channel 8 docuseries "Shadow of the Truth" aired a testimony by A., who claimed his ex-girlfriend confessed to him that she murdered Rada, T., who was seeing the woman up until a few months ago, told Ynet that he questioned her many times about the murder and received evasive answers.
"She never confessed to me that she committed the murder. On the other hand, she never completely denied it. I never received an unequivocal 'no' from her or a statement saying 'I did not carry that act out.' There were always stories accompanying the 'no.' I have my doubts," T. said.
T. interviewed by Ynet's Roi Yanovsky (Photo: Avihu Shapira)
T. said his ex-girlfriend was afraid that the case will be reopened or that the man convicted of the killing, Roman Zadorov, will be acquitted. "She was afraid of having to go back to the offices at the police's Central Unit, of going back to the interrogation rooms. She was afraid for a reason. It's possible she is afraid to break down and confess. She is capable of doing that. If I were to tell you that I think this is something that she is totally unable to do, I would be lying to you."
Six years after the murder, A., who was seeing the woman at the time of the murder, reported to police that his ex-girlfriend was the one who murdered Rada inside a bathroom stall at the Nofey Golan high school in Katzrin.
A.'s testimony was examined at the time by the judges of the Supreme Court, who decided not to accept his claims, while police found his version of events to be baseless. It was also claimed A.'s testimony derived of his desire to frame his former girlfriend.
On the other hand, the creators of "Shadows of the Truth" claim A. had undergone three different polygraph tests, and was found to be speaking the truth in all of them.
"Everything was very planned with her," A. told the show creators in an interview. "When we were lying in bed in the dark, we started talking in whispers. I started asking her what happened."
A. said his girlfriend is mentally unstable, loves the sight of blood, and believes there's a "she-wolf" inside of her that makes her want to cut people and see their internal organs.
In 2012, about six years after the murder, the girlfriend was hospitalized at a psychiatric institute. After three years, her roommate, Anat, committed suicide.
Anat's friend, May Peleg, recounted a story she heard from Anat. "One day Anat came to me and shared with me a story that (her roommate) told her. She told her she had a frog in her belly that was really thirsty for human blood and that she was willing to murder to quench that thirst. (The roommate) told her of an instance in which she tried to murder a friend but was caught, and said there was a case before that when she wasn't caught.
"Anat was pretty shocked by it and we were torn about what to do. Anat consulted with me on what to do, who to turn to. Unfortunately while we were still debating it, Anat left us. To me, Anat's will is an unwritten one she left me - to bring this story to an end," Peleg continued.
ISTANBUL - Turkish police detained 15 people in raids early on Friday targeting the Islamic State militant group in the western coastal province of Izmir, the private Dogan news agency reported.
Among those detained were people who fought for Islamic State in neighboring Syria and who trained others to fight for the group, it said.
Among those they had trained was a man now being sought by police in connection with bomb attacks on offices of a pro-Kurdish party in southern Turkey last year and who was regarded as a potential suicide bomber, Dogan said.
Turkish authorities say a Turkish member of Islamic State was responsible for a suicide bombing in central Istanbul on March 19 that killed three Israelis and an Iranian. That was the fourth suicide bombing in Turkey this year and the second to be blamed on Islamic State.
Counter-terror squad police launched the raids on various address in the city and seize four shotguns along with Islamic State documents and materials.
MOSCOW - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday dismissed as "dirty leaks" reports on an alleged agreement between Russia and the United States on the future of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
"Our American partners cannot publicly call into question this formula that ... only the people of Syria decide all the questions about the future of Syria," Lavrov told a news conference.
"And in these dirty leaks which distort reality we obviously see Washington's inability to force some of its allies in the region and in Europe ... to give the Syrian people a sovereign right to decide their destiny as well as who will be their leader," Lavrov added.
The Arabian newspaper al-Hayat reported on Thursday that US Secretary of State John Kerry had told several Arab countries that Russia and the US reached an understanding on the future of Syria's peace process, including Assad's departure to another country at some unspecified stage.
The Kremlin said the report was untrue.
The Permanent Mission of Israel to the UN in Geneva released a statement condemning the UN's statement regarding the Hebron shooting incident.
The statement announced that the mission "finds troubling and peculiar the statement issued on 30 March 2016 by Mr. Christof Heyns the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions regarding the death of Palestinian terrorist Abdel al-Fatah al-Sharif.
"While Israeli authorities are still investigating the mentioned case, Mr. Heyns rushes to give unfounded conclusions, and pre-judges the actions of the involved IDF soldier based on a very limited amount of information publicly available. The Permanent Mission would like to recall that a Military Police investigation into this case is still ongoing.
"As the Special Rapporteur is well aware, the Israeli legal system acts in accordance to its obligations under international law.
|The Permanent Mission of Israel to the UN in Geneva urges the Special Rapporteur to respect the ongoing judiciary procedure, and calls upon him to refrain from making similar hasty statements until full clarification surrounding this event is made.'
BERLIN - 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.
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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.
Aushwitz death camp (Photo: AP
"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.
Sitting in his antique-furnished living room in Berlin and wearing a grey woollen 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 1943, said Thomas Walther, lawyer for the joint plaintiffs in the case to be heard in Hanau.
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.
Patel has been lodged at Lajpore jail in Surat since September last. He is facing another sedition case in Ahmedabad. (Photo: PTI)
Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court on Friday issued notice to the state government on the bail plea of Patel quota agitation leader Hardik Patel in connection with the sedition case filed against him in Surat.
Patel has challenged an order of the Surat sessions court refusing him bail two weeks back. Surat police's crime branch had opposed the bail claiming that Hardik may tamper with evidence and influence the witnesses if released.
Admitting the petition on Friday, Justice A J Desai issued notice to Gujarat government, posting the matter to April 7. Patel has been lodged at Lajpore jail in Surat since September last. He is facing another sedition case in Ahmedabad. Chargesheets have been filed in both the cases.
The 22-year-old Patel leader, on October 3 last, allegedly advised a Surat-based activist from his community to kill the policemen rather than ending his life. "If you have so much courage...then go and kill a couple of policemen. Patels never commit suicide," Hardik allegedly told Vipul Desai, who had announced he would commit suicide in support of the quota agitation.
Following this, Surat crime branch lodged a case of sedition against Hardik and arrested him. Hardik's lawyer Zubin Bharda on Friday argued that he was only trying to console a friend who wanted to end his life.
What was just a friendly chat between the two friends got embroiled in controversy as tv channels telecast it, he said. Hardik's aides Ketan Patel, Chirag Patel and Dinesh Bambhaniya, who too are facing sedition charges along with Hardik in Ahmedabad, also moved the High Court on Friday for bail after not getting relief from the sessions court.
Their lawyers also submitted written undertakings wherein they promise to stay away from quota agitation if released. Justice Desai issued notice to the state government on this too and deferred the hearing to April 7.
Sometimes, it seems like our country is going in circles. Our political system is like a Ferris wheel, which, after a rotation, returns the same people to the top that were just there a bit before. Only a few years later, we're getting the same people, the same suspicions, and the same police inquiries.
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We were on top, we were at the bottom, around and around, and: Hey! Here they are again, 17 years later, Interior Minister Deri and Zionist Union leader Herzog. The first is in a criminal police investigation, and the second is in a police and Tax Authority inquiry for violating the Parties Financing Law.
What you felt when these two stories broke this week wasn't deja vu, but disgust. These stories, which are bringing us back to the late 90s, aren't doing us any good, even if it turns out that there's nothing to themthat it was all revenge from rivals and schemers. And it certainly won't do be good if it turns out that there really is something to the suspicions against our interior ministerwhose return to that position is still pending before the Supreme Courtis again immersed in criminal activity. As for Herzog, who during the Barak government was investigated in party-financing matters and who maintained his right to silence: He may be again entangled in party-financing matters.
Aryeh Deri and Isaac Herzog (Photos: Yoav Davidkovitz and AFP)
It's too early to say how these inquiries will end up. Instinctively, it seems that this cannot be. I mean, we're talking here about two intelligent, experienced, careful people. Aryeh Mahlouf Deri's return from being a convicted criminal to leading Shas and the Interior Ministry was a long journey. A long and exhausting journey that you could say is still unfinished. He is still the provisional Interior Minister, his past crimes have not yet been wiped clean, and the public has still not forgotten.
"It can't be," says the reasonable man to himself, "that this sophisticated man, who sits in the government as a level-headed, mature, responsible person, consciously crossed the line and repeated the mistakes that got him sent to prison for years."
It can't be that the Jacuzzi that featured in the first act is now starring alongside two pools and a luxurious house in Safsufa. And how can it be that a man who ran a transparent campaign in the last elections hid all his family, his children and his property?"
It just seems that all that this man is looking for these days is legitimacy. Public sympathy. Fixing all those years that he was in jail. Returning not only to the ministry from which he was sent to prison, but to the unique position that he once held in the days of Rabin and Netanyahu's first term, when he was a mover and a shaker, a modern and a moderate, a media darling that everybody wanted to be around.
In fact, he's popular in the government. At times of crises, tantrums and fights the likes of which are frequent in Netanyahu's cabinet, Deri is the calming influence who puts things back in proportion. He often comes in to order a debate that has gotten out of control. Even in the Security Cabinet, Deri's presence is sane and moderating, which is certainly welcomed by the security officials.
There is no doubt that the story landed on Deri out of the clear blue sky. Even if questions had been asked in the past about the large amount of property that he had amassed, it's doubtful if he would have thought that it would come to a police investigation - that pictures of his apartments in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and aerial photographs of his family's vacation house would be at the top of the news.
And Herzog. Our Bougie. What can I say about the leader of the opposition, who even on Wednesday spoke of the unity talks that were progressing between him and Netanyahu. By the way, there's no point in asking him about that. He'll deny it. He always denies. But the question that will be asked about his police inquiry is "Why now?" Who wanted to put out a leg for him to trip over? And, as opposed to Deri, it's conceivable that this is a targeted elimination from inside his own party.
Just dont underestimate Herzog's capacity to survive. The nerdy character that we all know is just one side of his personality. The man is a lot more impervious than he looks. And when he needs it, his toy isn't a teddy bar, but a sharp knife.
US Senator Patrick Leahey, a Democrat, called for an investigation of Israel following suspicions of "serious violations" of human rights and extrajudicial killing. These demands are in conjunction with a lawwhich Leahey himself sponsoredwhich only permits US aid to countries who uphold the values of human rights. Ten Democratic members of the US House of Representatives signed on to Leaheys letter.
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While Israel has been reveling in polls which continue to show that the American public generally supports Israel, it is also worth it to pay attention to what's happening on the fringes.
Human rights organizations and the intellectual elite are beginning to move away from Israel, and their hostility is becoming more and more open. The charge is always "human rights.
Leahey's letter cites the cases of four Palestinians whoaccording to Amnesty Internationalwere illegally executed. One of them is Sa'ad al-Atrash, who tried to stab IDF soldiers outside the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron. Amnesty International claims that he didn't have a knife and that he didn't commit any attack, and based their findings on one unsubstantiated claim.
This is interesting, as al-Atrash said himself that he was going to commit an attack, and even posted a picture of himself on Facebookknife and allbefore he went and did it.
Senator Patrick Leahey (Photo: AP)
Fadi Alon also made it into Leahey's letter, where Leahey claimed that Alon wasn't in possession of a knife. Maybe, except that he was shot and killed after he stabbed a teenage girl and tried to run away. Perhaps shooting under these circumstances constitutes an execution?
Fadi Alon posted an anti-Semitic statement on his Facebook page calling for the success of the Palestinian "martyrs." Yet Amnesty International didn't bother to check, and neither did Senator Leahey. And so, Amnesty International's deceitful letter became a demand from the Senator to open an investigation against Israel while threatening to cease aid to Israel at the same time.
Leahey's letter was sent on February 17, but the fact that it was published after the shooting in Hebron isn't coincidental. The mayhem surrounding the incident should be studied by anyone who wants to learn how to manipulate the media, because almost none of these allegations have any basis in realitythe reality being that these are two terrorists who intended to murder. They are a part of the larger wave of terror which has been taking place over the last several months, in which dozens of Israeli civilians have been murdered. A large number of the attackers were killed on the spot as well.
The entire judicial, military, and political leadership have come out and said that IDF soldiers must maintain their human decency, even in the face of this barbarous, murderous terrorism. Yet somehow, Leahey is requesting an investigation against Israel. Specifically, he accuses Netanyahu, Ya'alon, and Eisenkot. In Israel, these men are attacked from the right, while Leahey is attacking them from the left.
It's easy to guess that the Senator only released the letter to certain newspapers who have already been manipulating the media against Israel - painting murderers as heroes and Israel as murderous. A casual reader of these papers would think that Israeli soldiers regularly look for weak Palestinian civilians and slaughter them for the fun of it.
Senator Leahey's letter calling for an investigation of Israeli human rights abuses
The Senator is demanding an investigation of Israelit seems that the manipulation has worked.
It's interesting to note that when the US carries out targeted assassinationsagainst militants of course88 percent of those killed aren't actually militants. Even if Israel would carry out targeted assassinations on every terrorist who came to try to murder Israeli civilians, the attack would only be against the terrorists and not against innocent bystanders.
It's also interesting to know what this terrible offence to human rights actually is. Especially because the Head of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsy has stated in the past that the IDF's record in regards to preventing the killing of innocent bystanders during war is a lot better than the US military. However, it's clear that Leahey prefers to listen to Amnesty International over Dempsy.
Now, we must turn our attention to the issue with the soldier. Although it's abnormal, although the IDF began its investigation of the incident even before the video was released, it's worth it to get to the big picture.
The big picture is that there is a Palestinian entity which encourages terror, and refuses a solution for two states for two people. On top of this, there is Hamaspart of Global Jihadand a large part of the attacks in this wave of terror have been claimed by them. They claim the anti-Semtic ideology which they push forward. They arent working for peace. Israel isnt attacking. Israel is defending. The big picture is forgotten, is flipped upside down.
Congressional Representatives who signed Patrick Leahey's letter
In this backwords world, a US Senator demands an investigation against Israel, not against the authorities responsible for terror. All of the commendations from the prime minister, the defense minister, the IDF chief of staff, and others on the subject of the soldier in Hebron are correct. Their support is a sign of humanity and honor for every Israeli. But one gets the impression that this is the opposite, orchestrated by Israels enemies, and evidence of their successful manipulations. Leaheys letter is another example of this success.
The British newspaper the Daily Mail published an article entitled UK aid funds terrorists. Murderers, such as Ahmed Saadat and Hakim Awad receive money via the Palestinian Authority in part from British donations to the Authority under the auspices of aid. Even Mahmoud Abbas built a palace at the cost of eight million pounds, some of which came from British aid donations.
The Palestinian Authority claims that the payments to terrorists and murderers have stopped. However, the British newspaper checked and exposed that, in fact, the PA was lying. The payments to terrorists go through a different process, designed to mislead and conceal their source.
The newspaper wasnt satisfied with just publishing this informationit actually started a campaign to demand that a discussion on the matter be held in parliament.
Yet there is no need for illusionsone expose wont be enough to change the public opinion. A British representative at the Yedioth Ahronoth Conference on BDS said that 66 percent of young people in the UK believe that Israel commits war crimes. By comparison, only 52 percent of young Britons believe that the Assad regime has committed war crimes during the conflict there.
We also have to recognize Breaking the Silence for doing their part in the plot against Israel. Yet despite all of this, the investigation and campaign by the Daily Mail is a step in the right direction.
The thing is that they want to take every Israelirightist, centrist, and even leftist Zionistand make the world think theyre fascists and hooligans. Its a known goal, spreading the terrible idea that all Israelis, even the ones who sound moderate, are actually fascists. The McCarthyism of oldwhich was to label too many Americans as communistis turning into a new form of McCarthyism, labelling Israelis as fascist.
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama said that, as the Islamic State group gets squeezed in Iraq and Syria, it will "lash out" elsewhere in the world.
Obama was speaking at the close of a nuclear security summit in Washington. He said that ISIS is losing territory and its oil infrastructure and says morale among its fighters is declining.
Obama says the group is a threat to all nations. He noted that almost all the nations participating in the summit have had citizens join IS in Iraq and Syria.
The president says IS has become the world's most active extremist group.
He says the US is already seeing IS spread beyond Iraq and Syria, pointing to recent attacks in Belgium and Turkey.
This has been a long time in the making, but in our continuing pursuit to bring only the best of firearms, 2nd Amendment and defence related news to our readers, we are very excited to announce the next step in our evolution as a company.
As of 2020, Minuteman Review is now the proud owner and operator of Your Defence News, a website with a long history of breaking huge news stories and investigative journalism.
We hope you are equally as excited as us.
This means that now the teams of Minuteman can combine with the firepower of Your Defence News to stay at the absolute forefront for our readers.
Keep an eye. Big things are coming soon. We couldn't be more excited.
In the meanwhile, here are some of our most popular posts and categories to keep you busy.
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Nearly 500 local youth, mostly with wives and children, have returned from PoK via Nepal after the previous National Conference-led government announced a rehabilitation policy for their return in 2010. (Photo: Representational Image/PTI)
Srinagar: A suspected Hizbul Mujahideen militant and a former activist of the outfit who had recently returned from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir via Nepal were arrested in Kashmir at separate places, police said.
Tassaduq Rasool Shah, who was affiliated with Hizbul Mujahideen and had crossed over to PoK in 1998 for arms training, was arrested during vehicle checking in Kupwara district's Handwara area, about 80 kms from here, last night, police said.
He had recently returned home via Nepal border and was on his way to his residence when he was arrested, the officer said.
Nearly 500 local youth, mostly with wives and children, have returned from PoK via Nepal after the previous National Conference-led government announced a rehabilitation policy for their return in 2010.
In another operation, police arrested a local youth Khaki Hussain Shah, suspected to be activist of Hizbul Mujahideen, along with a grenade at Dachi village in Baramulla district on Thursday.
Kolkata: The Kolkata Police have escalated charges against builders of the collapsed flyover to murder even as hope faded Friday to find any more survivors from the rubble.
The death toll from the collapsed central Kolkata flyover rose to 25 on Friday, after emergency workers toiled through the night to find any remaining survivors trapped under huge slabs of concrete and metal girders.
Read: Flyover collapse: Safety norms violated, says expert
But the Indian Army and emergency authorities said there was little hope of finding any more survivors after pulling almost 100 people from under the rubble of the road that collapsed onto a busy street in Kolkata on Thursday, crushing cars and pedestrians.
Read: Kolkata flyover collapse: 'Bhaiya mujhe nikalo', cabbie cries for help
"The rescue operation will not stop until all the blocks of concrete and iron girders have been cleared," said deputy police commissioner Akhilesh Chaturvedi as he announced the toll had risen to 25.
Indian soldiers and rescue workers were rushed to the spot to save trapped people under the partially collapsed flyover. (Photo: AP)
Police said 39 of the more than 80 people taken to hospitals were still being treated Friday morning.
"Nearly 300 rescuers, including Army and disaster management personnel, are working around the clock to clear the rubble."
Read: Kolkata flyover collapse: It was like a bomb blast, says a victim
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) however said there was little hope of finding any more survivors under the rubble of the flyover, which had been under construction since 2009.
"The rescue operation is in its last phase. There is no possibility of finding any person alive," said S.S. Guleria, deputy inspector general of the India's National Disaster Response Force. He said workers were focused on the recovery of dead bodies and removal of the debris.
It was unclear what caused the sudden collapse, but police have registered a preliminary case against the contractor.
Read: Video captures terrifying moment the Kolkata flyover collapsed
It was not clear how many people might still be missing, possibly trapped under the debris.
An Indian rescue worker gestures beside a mangled car which was recovered from the collapsed flyover. (Photo: AP)
Smashed yellow taxis, a crushed truck, destroyed rickshaws and the bloody legs of trapped people jutted from the fallen girders and concrete. Building and other construction collapses are common in India, where regulations are poorly enforced and companies often use substandard materials.
The partially constructed overpass spanned nearly the width of the street and was designed to ease traffic through the densely crowded Burrabazaar neighborhood in the capital of the east Indian state of West Bengal. The steel girders had already been fixed, and on Thursday the concrete was poured into the framework.
Read: Kolkata flyover collapse: Commotion, despair prevail at hospitals
Within hours, as the concrete was drying, about 100 meters (300 feet) of the overpass fell, while other sections remained standing.
Indian rescue workers search for bodies inside a mangled car recovered from the partially collapsed flyover. (Photo: AP)
"There used to be a tailor who sat here on this corner. We wonder about him. A cigarettes and tobacco vendor - we knew everyone who used to stay around this crossing," resident Pankaj Jhunjhunwala said. "Until this rubbish is removed, we can't say for sure where they are or how this happened."
The state government, which is fighting for re-election in a vote that starts on Monday, pledged to take action against those found responsible.
Read: Kolkata flyover collapse an act of God, says builder
Survivors being treated at a nearby hospital described how tonnes of metal and concrete came crashing down onto the busy street without warning.
Rescue workers pull out a man from under the debris. (Photo: AP)
"The flyover collapsed in front of me. When I tried to escape, I was hit," said housewife Sabita Devi.
Hospital manager Sitaram Agarwal said many people were being treated for head and leg injuries sustained in the disaster.
Read: Kolkata flyover collapse: Rescuers sift through rubble at collapse site
But authorities initially struggled to get cranes and other large machinery through the narrow streets of Burrabazar, one of the oldest and most congested parts of the city.
Gross neglect:
An injured builder told AFP at the scene that he had been working on the structure before it collapsed and had seen bolts come out of the metal girders.
"We were cementing two iron girders for the pillars, but the girders couldn't take the weight of the cement," said 30-year-old Milan Sheikh before being taken away to hospital.
"The bolts started coming out this morning and then the flyover came crashing down."
Construction of the two-kilometre-long flyover began in 2009 (Photo: AP)
The disaster is the latest in a string of deadly construction accidents in the country, putting a question mark on safety rules and standard of materials used.
Construction of the two-kilometre-long flyover began in 2009 and was supposed to be completed within 18 months, but has suffered a series of hold-ups.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, said the government "will not spare" the contractors, Indian construction company IVRCL.
Police said they had registered preliminary cases of murder, attempt to murder and criminal conspiracy against the company, whose offices in Kolkata have been sealed by investigators.
Also read: Kolkata bridge collapse: TMC says design faults; BJP claims criminal negligence
Earlier K P Rao, a representative of IVRCL, appeared to deny any responsibility for the disaster when he told reporters it was an "act of God".
The disaster comes at a sensitive time for Banerjee, whose Trinamool Congress party is seeking re-election in the state.
Voting in the West Bengal elections begins on Monday and will be held in five phases lasting a month.
On Thursday, Banerjee blamed the previous state government under which the flyover project was started.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was in Washington at the time of the collapse, called Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to express grief at the tragedy and pledge federal support.
Read: Kolkata bridge collapse is an accident, says builder after act of God excuse
He said he was "shocked and saddened," according to a message on his Twitter account. "My thoughts are with the families of those who lost their lives in Kolkata. May the injured recover at the earliest."
With army troops and personnel from the National Disaster Response Force joining the effort, police said they expected the rescue and cleanup to be completed on Friday.
Workers in yellow hard-hats operated huge cranes, bulldozers and other equipment through the night to clear the rubble and pry apart the concrete slabs. They also used cutting torches to break up metal beams.
The operation was a "very, very challenging task," said O.P. Singh, chief of the disaster response force. Rescuers also used dogs and special cameras to find people who were trapped, he said.
"The area was very, very crowded. Motorised rickshaws, taxis ... there was a lot of traffic," one witness said.
Construction firm officials detained, case registered
Five officials of the company that was building the flyover have been detained.
Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar, who paid a visit to the mishap site, told reporters "We have detained a few officials of the construction company. We are taking action against them".
Kolkata Police has registered a case against the Hyderabad-based construction firm IVRCL under sections 304, 308 and 407 of the IPC and sealed the local office of the company.
According to another senior police official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, about seven persons, injured in yesterday's mishap, were in a very critical condition.
Asked when would the area be cleared off all the debris of concrete and iron girdles, the officer said, "the clearing at the main crossing (Ganesh Talkies crossings) will hopefully be over by today. But the rest like iron piers, iron pillars, broken concrete parts will be cleared in a step-by-step process."
The other end of the Vivekananda flyover towards the KK Tagore Street, where the metal pier, holding the bridge, was completely damaged would be cut but "a planned engineering plan is necessary for that", he said.
"It's a very congested area with buildings so close to the flyover. And most of the buildings are very old. So we must keep in mind that in order to remove the damaged portions of the flyover another mishap does not take place," he said.
Washington: India and the US on Friday signed an MoU for establishing Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) in India that will play significant role in carrying forward frontline research on various aspects of gravitational wave astronomy.
The MoU comes about a month after the Union Cabinet approved the construction of the long-awaited third LIGO interferometer.
Department of Atomic Energy Secretary Sekhar Basu and the US National Science Foundation (NSF) France Cordova signed the MoU in this regard in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and LIGO scientists here.
The construction of the long-awaited third LIGO interferometer, expected to be functional by 2023, will significantly improve the ability of scientists to pinpoint the sources of gravitational waves and analyse the signals.
Modi, who is currently in the US to attend the two-day Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) met scientists of LIGO who recently proved gravitational waves theory. He also interacted with the Indian student, scientists who were a part of the LIGO project.
Gravitational waves ripples in the fabric of space and time produced by dramatic events in the universe, such as merging black holes, and predicted as a consequence of Albert Einsteins 1915 general theory of relativity carry information about their origins and about the nature of gravity that cannot otherwise be obtained.
With their first direct detection, announced on February 11, scientists opened a new window onto the cosmos.
The twin LIGO Observatories at Hanford, Washington, and Livingston, Louisiana, are funded by the US National Science Foundation (NSF), and were conceived, built, and are operated by Caltech and MIT.
Advanced LIGO a major upgrade to the sensitivity of the instruments compared to the first generation LIGO detectors began scientific operations in September 2015.
LIGO will provide Indian researchers with the components and training to build and run the new Advanced LIGO detector, which will then be operated by the Indian team, the press statement said.
In a statement, the Union cabinet had said "LIGO-India will also bring considerable opportunities in cutting edge technology for the Indian industry" which will be responsible for the construction of the new observatories 4-km-long beam tubes.
In addition, the Cabinet statement said, "The project will motivate Indian students and young scientists to explore newer frontiers of knowledge, and will add further impetus to scientific research in the country."
Indian scientists at Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology (RRCAT) Indore have designed a special testing/prototype facility for receiving Advanced LIGO parts; have been training the teams that will install and commission the detector; and are currently cross-checking the IPR vacuum-system drawings against the Advanced LIGO detector drawings, to ensure a good fit and rapid installation for the third Advanced LIGO detector.
In addition to leading the site-selection process, the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) scientists have been setting up a computing center for current and future data. This preparation should make it possible for India to carry the project forward rapidly, it noted.
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People gather around the mangled remains of a car pulled out from under the debris at the spot where an under-construction flyover collapsed on Vivekananda Road in Kolkata. (Photo: PTI)
Hyderabad: The city-based IVRCL, which was constructing the flyover in Kolkata, a portion of which collapsed on Thursday killing 24 people, described the incident as an accident, a day after another official of the company had dubbed it as an act of God.
"An act of God was just an expression only to describe that it is under no one's control", P Sita, the construction company's legal team head, told reporters here.
An under-construction flyover in the Burrabazar area of north Kolkata collapsed on Thursday afternoon. The condition of several of the injured was critical and the death toll is likely to go up.
A portion of the ill-fated Vivekananda Setu, which has been under construction since 2009, came crashing down at around 12.35 pm at the crossing of Vivekananda Road and Rabindra Sarani in the densely-populated and congested Burrabazar area. Several people were trapped under the collapsed portion of the flyover. Many vehicles were crushed or damaged and the passengers travelling in them were killed on the spot.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) however said there was little hope of finding any more survivors under the rubble of the flyover, which had been under construction since 2009.
K Panduranga Rao, Group Head (HR & Admin) of the Hyderabad-based company had told reporters yesterday, "It's nothing but a God's act. So far in 27 years we have constructed several number of bridges...such thing (collapse) never happened,"
"We are surprised and extremely shocked. We are there to cooperate with investigation, but investigation takes time", Sita said.
Showing a photograph in the Deccan Chronicle newspaper, she said that it looked like a site of bomb blast. There were various aspects which would be looked into.
Stating that same construction materials were used in building the ongoing flyover, she asked, "Why did this happen? We are anxious to know the reasons".
Regarding the delay, another official of the company said, "78 per cent work of the flyover is over. A number of clearances have not yet come".
Meanwhile, a four-member police team from West Bengal arrived in the city on Friday as part of its probe to question officials of IVRCL after the flyover it was constructing collapsed in Kolkata.
"They have come and are doing investigation," a top police official of Hyderabad Police said.
Kolkata Police yesterday registered a case against the Hyderabad-based construction firm IVRCL under sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide) and 407 of the IPC and sealed the local office of the company engaged in flyover's construction.
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Kolkata: Death toll in the Kolkata flyover collapse rose to 24 on Friday as the army and other rescue teams battled all through the night to rescue people still trapped under the rubble.
In a tragic incident, an under-construction flyover in the Burrabazar area of north Kolkata collapsed on Thursday afternoon. The condition of several of the injured was critical and the death toll is likely to go up.
A portion of the ill-fated Vivekananda Setu, which has been under construction since 2009, came crashing down at around 12.35 pm at the crossing of Vivekananda Road and Rabindra Sarani in the densely-populated and congested Burrabazar area. Several people were trapped under the collapsed portion of the flyover. Many vehicles were crushed or damaged and the passengers travelling in them were killed on the spot.
Armymen along with Kolkata Police disaster management team, NDRF, fire fighters pulled out three more bodies from underneath the rubble of concrete in the overnight rescue operations, a police officer said. The number of people injured in the mishap, he said, was closed to 90.
"Nobody alive has been recovered... Two rambled autorickshaws apart from a few other vehicles have been pulled out. One lorry is still stuck inside... Whether there is anybody trapped inside cannot be said," he said.
Read: Kolkata flyover collapse an act of God, says builder
The West Bengal government ordered a high-level probe into the tragedy that triggered a blame game with the Opposition accusing the Mamata Banerjee government of callousness. Hitting back, the Trinamool Congress said the earlier Left Front government, under whose rule the construction of the flyover had begun in 2009, was to blame for the collapse. The company in charge of the flyovers construction called Thursdays tragedy an act of God, which triggered fury in several quarters.
I had stepped out of my home to take a glass of juice from the corner shop. When I heard the loud explosion, at first I thought it was an earthquake and then before my eyes the flyover collapsed, said Prem Prakash, a local resident.
Another eyewitness said that when the flyover collapsed over a minibus with passengers on board, several private cars, three taxis, two Matador vans and some autos came under the debris. For nearly two hours, the police, fire brigade and disaster management personnel struggled to rescue people trapped under the debris and thousands of tonnes of concrete and steel. Hundreds of local residents converged on the disaster scene and started to extend a helping hand to the victims and the local administration. The police had a tough time dispersing the mob from the spot and the CRPF was brought in to control the situation. As cranes, gas-cutting machines and JCV machines were taken to the spot, rescue operation started. Five columns of the Army were rushed to the spot, and immediately joined in the rescue efforts, with its personnel using their hands to break concrete slabs to rescue trapped people. NDRF personnel too joined in the rescue work.
There were some heart-wrenching scenes like the one where a person totally trapped and invisible from outside managed to push out his bleeding arm in a bid to attract attention. Two local people offered him a bottle of water, an eyewitness recounted. However, this person did not survive. Local residents vented their ire against the state government for sheer callousness. The workers were casting concrete slabs on the flyover since last night. They were still working when the incident occurred, a local resident said. Some alleged there were some faults in the flyovers design while others accused the construction firm of using poor quality materials to build the flyover.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who was touring Jangalmahal campaigning for the polls, cancelled her public rallies in West Midnapore and rushed back to the city in a helicopter. Earlier, chief secretary Basudeb Banerjee, home secretary Moloy De and other senior bureaucrats and police personnel had rushed to the spot to supervise the rescue and relief operations. As soon as Ms Banerjee reached the site, she took hold of a hand-held microphone and appealed to local people for cooperation. This is a huge tragedy and I want all your help and cooperation, she said. On her instructions, the chief secretary announced compensation of Rs 5 lakhs for the families of the bereaved and Rs 3 lakhs for each of those seriously injured.
Union home minister Rajnath Singh, who was touring the state campaigning for BJP candidates in Purulia district, voiced his anguish at the tragedy and ordered that Army and paramilitary forces be sent immediately for rescue operations. However, BJP spokesman Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, who was in Kolkata, held the Mamata Banerjee government responsible for the mishap. This is a clear-cut case of corruption and it must be investigated by the CBI and whoever is found guilty howsoever high and mighty he may be should be arrested immediately, Mr Naqvi said. State Congress chief Adhir Chowdhury was even more specific. I demand the arrest of state urban development minister Firhad Hakim, he said.
The chief minister, however, cleared passed the buck to her predecessor Left Front government. The construction had started in 2009, Ms Banerjee pointed out. She added: Stringent action will be taken against officials of the construction company and the others involved.
New Delhi: All tobacco products will have bolder pictorial warnings from Friday. Sorting to allay the apprehensions about the warnings, the ministry of health in their recent affidavit filed in the Rajasthan high court has firmly conveyed that 85 per cent pictorial health warnings on both sides of tobacco packets will come into force from April 1, 2016.
Earlier, the parliamentary committee on subordinate legislation, examining the provisions of Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act 2003, had in their final report said that it will be too harsh to have bolder pictorial warnings on tobacco products and had suggested the government to have a balanced approach by reducing the warnings on cigarette packets to 50 per cent on both sides of the principal display area instead of 85 per cent. Also, for the bidi industry it had asked the government to re-consider their decision to cover. However, unrelenting to the pressure, the Union health ministry has decided not to change its course and stayed firm on its notification.
The manufacturers have been told to clear their stock. All the new manufactured products will bear the new pictorial warnings from tomorrow. There is no change in the decision, said a senior official in the ministry.
Earlier, the Rajasthan high court had also ordered the government to implement its notification of having warnings covering 85 per cent of the principal display area. The government is complying with the courts order to implement the earlier notification, added the official.
The warnings were deferred in 2015, with the heath ministry putting its notification in abeyance through a corrigendum issued in March 2016, merely a few days before April 1 when the rule was supposed to come into effect, after the committee in its interim report asked for broader discussion with all the stakeholders.
Significantly, the new pictorial warnings have been supported even by the civil society groups and institutions.
In their representations sent to the Centre, nearly 80 per cent expressed their support in favour of bigger pictorial warnings.
Zee Media Bureau/Shruti Mishra
New Delhi: The steep decline in forest cover and gradual extinction of animal species is affecting all of us. It's very obvious that our home planet is on the verge of a carnage. With limited time and resources we can't save the entire planet all at once.
What we can do now is to preserve the regions that contain large varieties of endemic species of plants and animals. Scientists named such places as biodiversity hotspots.
What is biodiversity hotspot?
There are certain geographical areas on the Earth that are biologically rich but severely threatened. Such places are called biodiversity hotspots and need special protection.
Who developed this concept?
Norman Myer, a scientist, was the first person who came up with this unique idea in 1988. As per his study, to qualify as a hotspot the region must meet two strict criteria:
1. It must have 1,500 endemic species of plants.
2. It has to have lost 70% of its original vegetation .
Endemism plays an important role in identifying any hotspots. It is the degree which determines the uniqueness and irreplaceable nature of any species. This means that an endemic species are those which are found in a particular region and cannot be found anywhere else.
Conservation International formally recognizes 35 biodiversity hotspots on the Earth. These places are important for preserving the species that can have crucial impact in protecting our global diversity.
Why we need them?
The air we breathe, the food we eat, the water we drink- all comes from biodiversity. They are responsible for maintaining life on earth. In simple words, without species there would be no human societies at all. We need them for our survival.
The Amazon rain forests, Congo Basins and vast stretch of North American deserts are some of the world's highest biodiversity hotspots that are home to many biological important species.
New Delhi: After the Pakistani JIT issue, Congress on Friday latched on to the unilateral blockade imposed by China to put JeM chief Maulana Masood Azhar in al Qaeda sanctions committee of UN as yet another instance of the Modi government's "failed" policy of tackling terror.
"The blockade imposed by China at the instance of Pak has again brought out the failed policy of Modi government vis-a-vis tackling terror and ensuring international sanction against anti-India terrorist outfits or organisations as also individuals," party spokesman Abhishek Singhvi told reporters.
Targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said the "conspiratorial moves" demonstrate the "futility and also the mere optic value without any real ground achievement of the "jhoola event" at Gujarat during the visit of Chinese
President and the "impromptu and unplanned visit" for marriage reception in the family of Pakistan prime minister recently.
Besides, he said the denial of India's plea to characterise JEM and its chief Azhar as a terrorist or banned organisation and the failure to put him in the category of other terrorists organisations of al Qaeda, ISIS etc is particularly offensive since there is "overwhelming evidence" to link Maulana Masood Azhar to Pathankot terror attack.
Claiming that the entire Indian security establishment is stunned by this "huge setback", Singhvi said this is "proof of a failed government policy" on this issue, of "clumsy flip flops" of the government and the ruling party and as a negation of all the incremental accretions achieved by previous governments.
"Pakistan's reluctance to take any punitive action against Maulana Masood Azhar and JEM for several years demonstrates the complicity of the Pakistani establishment in protecting terrorists like Masood Azhar, Abdul Rauf, Kashif Jaan, Zakiur- ur-Rehman Lakhvi, Dawood Ibrahim as also organisations like JeM, LeT, Al Qaeda etc.," he said.
He lamented that on the other hand, the ISI parades K Jadhav as a certified Indian terrorist. "This strange reversal of roles has been achieved by a blundering government lacking all consistency, coherence and continuity in foreign policy which is instead marked by suo motu, knee jerk, impulsive and momentary actions and reactions, obtaining no lasting benefit for India."
"India's worst fears have come true because the Pakistani investigating team has, obediently and dutifully, done their masters bidding by giving a clean chit to Pakistan, JEM, ISI and all other well-known actors," he added.
Gandhinagar: A bill, for the establishment of a council which would work as a 'supreme body' for all key matters concerning higher education in Gujarat, was passed by the state Assembly in the absence of Congress MLAs.
On the last day of Budget Session yesterday, 'The Gujarat Higher Education Council Bill-2016', which was brought by the BJP-led state government, was passed in the absence of Congress MLAs, who were already suspended for two days by the Speaker.
The Bill for the establishment of the Council was brought on the recommendation of University Grants Commission (UGC) and Rashtriya Uchhatar Shiksha Abhiyan in 2013.
As per the recommendations, state level planning and co-ordination of higher education shall be done through state Council for Higher Education, which would work as the supreme body, said Higher and Technical Education Minister Vasuben Trivedi while presenting the Bill in the House.
As per the provisions mentioned in the Bill, the Gujarat Chief Minister would be the ex-officio president of the council, while cabinet minister for education would be appointed as vice-president while minister of state for education will serve as co-vice president.
In total, there will be 15 ex-officio members in the Council, including the CM and the two ministers. Other members include secretaries of Education, Finance, Industries and Labour department among others.
One of the key functions of the Council would be "to carry out effective monitoring of academic/administrative/financial performance of Universities and affiliated colleges and to recommend remedial measures for better performance", stated the Bill.
The Council will also have some sweeping powers to regulate higher education in the state. As per section 15 of the Bill, government, can ask universities to implement reforms suggested by the Council.
Further, "it shall be obligatory on the part of the University to implement the directions given by the state government and report the action taken to state government and the Council accordingly" stated the Bill.
"The Council would also act as a watch dog to monitor illegal and unauthorised education institutes imparting fake degrees. The Council will also make recommendations with regard to funding to universities, scholarship criteria, development of curriculum and courses, etc," the Higher Education Minister said in her speech.
Washington D.C: A team of leading doctors has welcomed a landmark report calling for radical reform of the Medical Council of India (MCI).
Dr Sanjay Nagral, a consultant surgeon at Jaslok Hospital in Mumbai, and colleagues said that the recent standing committee report to the Indian parliament "lays bare the MCI's failure to oversee quality and integrity in health services in the country."
In 2014, The BMJ launched a campaign against corruption that sparked global interest in the rampant practices of kickbacks for referrals, revenue targets in corporate hospitals, and capitation fees in private medical colleges in India.
"For those of us in the medical profession in India who have been despairing of the state of affairs, this report is a long awaited panacea," they wrote.
The MCI was established under the Indian Medical Council Act 1933 and given responsibility for maintaining standards of medical education, providing ethical oversight, maintaining the medical register, and, through amendments in 1993, sanctioning medical colleges, they explained.
It has, however, been much criticised and was temporarily dissolved in 2010 after charges of corruption.
The MCI is also guilty of inaction on numerous ethical transgressions that accompany healthcare in India and of hounding whistleblowers who have attempted to raise these problems, they added.
Its policies "have been coloured by those with vested interests, leading to a lack of uniform standards in undergraduate and postgraduate medical education and mushrooming of private medical institutions, which are run as business ventures," they argued.
The MCI has also "failed to create a rigorous transparent system for accrediting medical colleges, leading to geographical maldistribution and creation of "ghost faculties" in private medical colleges."
Dr Nagral and colleagues said that the committee "must be lauded for its thorough analysis of the state of healthcare in the country and paving the way for radical reform." But they warned that it overlooks, "the complicity of ruling politicians, many of whom own private medical colleges."
They believe that the ruling party "will have to muster strong political support to act on the committee's recommendations as this will inevitably involve hurting well entrenched and powerful interests."
And they called on "sustained pressure from the medical community, activists, civil society organisations, and the media" to avoid the report remaining "under consideration" by the health ministry forever.
"For the citizens of India strained by the dual burden of expensive and unethical healthcare, the report could be a powerful tool in their struggle to make the healthcare system deliver their needs," they concluded.
Washington: Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned global leaders from over 50 nations gathered here to discuss nuclear terrorism that state actors working with nuclear traffickers and terrorists present the greatest risk.
"Terrorism is globally networked. But, we still act only nationally to counter this threat," he said at a working dinner hosted by President Barack Obama on Thursday night to kick off the two-day Nuclear Security Summit.
Obama, who is hosting his fourth and last such summit to discuss how to prevent terrorists and other non-state actors from gaining access to nuclear materials, was flanked by Modi on the right and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the left.
Modi, who has come to the summit meeting in the shadow of Brussels and Lahore terror attacks, from the Belgian capital said, "Brussels shows us how real and immediate is the threat to nuclear security from terrorism.
"Terror has evolved. Terrorists are using 21st century technology. But our responses are rooted in the past," he said asking the leaders to focus on three contemporary features of terrorism.
"First, today's terrorism uses extreme violence as theatre. Second, we are no longer looking for a man in a cave, but we are hunting for a terrorist in a city with a computer or a smart phone.
"And third, State actors working with nuclear traffickers and terrorists present the greatest risk."
In what was seen as an unmistakable reference to Pakistan, Modi also gave a call to drop the notion that terrorism is someone else's problem and that "his" terrorist is not "my" terrorist.
"Nuclear security must remain an abiding national priority," Modi told the world leaders. "All states must completely abide by their international obligations."
"Without prevention and prosecution of acts of terrorism there is no deterrence against nuclear terrorism," he said.
"But the reach and supply chains of terrorism are global, genuine cooperation between nation states is not," lamented Modi.
India has long asked Islamabad to take action against Pakistan-based terror groups like Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), responsible for the Mumbai and Pathankot terror attacks. But the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks remain unpunished.
On the eve of the summit, India's National Security Advisor Ajit Doval discussed counter terrorism cooperation, including against LeT and JeM, with his US counterpart Susan E. Rice at the White House.
In a meeting with Doval, Secretary of State John Kerry praising "India's record of being a leader, of being responsible," told him "India has a very important role to play with respect to responsible stewardship of nuclear weapons and nuclear materials".
"And it is particularly important right now at a time when we see in the region some choices being made that may accelerate possible arms construction, which we have serious questions about," he had said in another reference to Pakistan.
The US has time and again expressed concern at Pakistan's deployment of weapon-grade nuclear weapons.
"Our concerns regarding the continuing deployment of battlefield nuclear weapons by Pakistan relate to a reality of the situation," Rose Gottemoeller, under secretary of state for arms control and international security, told reporters on the eve of the summit.
"When battlefield nuclear weapons are deployed forward, they can represent an enhanced nuclear security threat," she said.
However, Pakistan Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhary on Thursday claimed that its "modest" nuclear programme was "essentially for its defence and not to threaten anyone".
"Pakistan's nuclear installations are not only secure but the world also acknowledges that they are," he told reporters at the Pakistan embassy here. "India, on the other hand, has an ambitious nuclear programme."
Lucknow: Claiming that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was getting support of the entire country, Union Minister Kalraj Misra today alleged that Congress and Left parties were out to tarnish his image.
"The Prime Minister is getting support of everyone in the country as he had got of 6 crore people belonging to all faiths in Gujarat," the MSME minister said at the conclusion of BJP's state working committee meeting here.
"But Congress and Left parties are not able to digest this fact and are out to tarnish the image of the Prime Minister and also that of the country," Misra said.
Training his guns at former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, he said, "During the previous government our prime minister was considered as weak PM all over the world and the country was regarded as a land of scams.
"But Modi went abroad and changed this image and upheld the dignity of 125 crore Indians," Misra said.
Referring to the JNU row, he said some anarchists and members of opposition groups were trying to "destabilise" the country by raising anti-national slogans and the incident of sedition that took place there is being described as one of "freedom of expression".
Earlier, inaugurating the working committee meeting, national vice president of the party and incharge of state affairs Om Mathur said that an atmosphere of confidence has been created.
Mathur said both BSP and SP together have made Uttar Pradesh backward and people here have been made to face exploitation.
"We will have to connect with the minds and hearts of voters and will have to go till the grassroot-level to resolve their problems," Mathur said.
BJP state unit president Laxmikant Bajpai in his address said the chief minister, who holds the home portfolio, is responsible for the bad law and order and atrocities on dalits in the state.
He termed BSP President Mayawati as "vote ki saudagar".
Besides discussing the state of affairs in Uttar Pradesh under the Samajwadi Party government, corruption and bad law and order, the working committee also criticised the previous BSP government.
It passed a resolution for all round development of the state.
Deaband: Leading Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband on Friday issued a fatwa asking Muslim community members not to chant 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' as it is un-Islamic.
According to media reports, the Islamic seminary said chanting 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' is restricted as there is only one God in Islam.
''We love the country, but we believe only in one God,'' Darul Uloom Deoband said when it was asked to respond to the ongoing debate on chanting or not chanting ''Bharat Mata Ki Jai''
Interestingly, Darul Uloom Deoband had recently issued a decree asking Muslims to hoist national flag on their houses and establishments on Independence Day.
It had also appealed to them to celebrate the occasion with great spirit of patriotism.
Ashraf Usmani, spokesperson of the seminary said that "in the struggle for India's freedom, the Ulemas (Islamic religious leaders) of Darul Uloom have played prominent roles".
The call for 'Complete Independence' was "given by Darul Uloom", which later turned into the 'Purna Swaraj' movement, he said.
"From Hussain Ahmad Madani to Maulvi Ahmadulla Shah, there is a long series of those freedom fighters who laid their lives for the independence of the mother land," Usmani said.
"Darul Uloom has asked Muslims across the country to hoist the national flag on their houses and other establishments on Independence Day and also to celebrate this day with great spirit of patriotism," he said.
Reacting to the appeal, a spiritual leader of the seminary, Maulana Arshad Qasmi said, "We have advised all madrassas across the country specially to hoist the Tricolour and celebrate Independence Day and teach students about Indian freedom struggle and the country's original spirit of unity in diversity."
New Delhi: VHP on Friday condemned the fatwa by Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband asking Muslims not to chant 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' and said by doing so it is openly supporting terrorism.
VHP joint general secretary Surendra Jain said it is clear that the "radical thoughts of Deoband are the genesis of terrorism" and such people should be exposed.
"Through this edict, they have made it clear that they are openly supporting terrorism.
"This fatwa is a direct retort to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's stand that terrorism should not be linked to any religion. Now Deoband has made it clear that there is nothing wrong if jehadis massacre people in the name of religion. Such people should be exposed and only then India will be free from the curse of 'jehad'," he said.
He said the secular brigade is protecting such radicals for their own vested interests and are playing with the nation's interests.
"The secular mafia is also covering up their deeds and activities by protecting them for their own vested interests and have coined slogans like 'Hindu terrorism' while playing with the nation's interests. Probably, that is why they are creating doubts on the purity of slogans like 'Bharat mata ki jai' by opposing its chanting. Such people should be exposed," Jain said.
He said such-like people earlier opposed the chanting of 'Vande Mataram' and now are opposing the 'Bharat mata ki jai' chant which is the source of inspiration for soldiers who make supreme sacrifices while protecting the country and fighting terrorism, adding even today patriotic Indians draw inspiration from this slogan.
Darul Uloom issued the edict asking Muslims to refrain from raising the slogan as it is "akin to idol-worship" which is against the tenets of Islam.
Washington: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on said India and Canada were "made for each other" as he met his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau for the first time during which they reviewed bilateral ties including the progress on nuclear cooperation.
Prime Minister Modi and Trudeau met here on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit. This was their first meeting after Trudeau came to power last year, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said while briefing reporters on the bilateral meeting.
During today's meeting, the two leaders reviewed bilateral cooperation including progress in the nuclear energy sector.
Last year, Modi had held extensive talks with then Canadian Premier Stephen Harper after which Canada had agreed to supply 3,000 metric tonnes of uranium to energy-hungry India under a USD 254 million five-year deal to power Indian reactors.
During the meeting today, Prime Minister Modi noted that the cooperation in the nuclear energy sector was "progressing very well", Swarup said.
Last year's agreement for uranium supply came two years after protracted negotiations following the 2013 civil nuclear deal between India and Canada.
The two leaders also recalled their meeting when Modi visited Canada last year when Harper was the Prime Minister.
Modi also congratulated Trudeau on his fantastic win in the November elections.
Modi noted that there was new energy, dynamism and speed in India-Canada relationship since Trudeau assumed office.
The Prime Minister pointed out that possibilities for cooperation on the economic front were immense and the potential for economic cooperation had not been utilised, Swarup said.
Modi told Trudeau that India and Canada were "made for each other".
"The Prime Minister said Canada has all natural resources, India needs those resources. India also has human resource," Swarup said.
Trudeau also complemented Prime Minister Modi on his intervention last evening at the opening of the Nuclear Security Summit.
The Prime Minister said India has a fruitful partnership with Canada and it is progressing well.
"India is the land of Buddha and Gandhi and is committed to non-violence," Modi was quoted as saying by Swarup.
New Delhi: India has conveyed its concerns to the UK about the new British immigration law which will impact professionals earning below 35,000 pounds annually.
"Met with Minister of Immigration, UK (James Brokenshire) to raise India's concerns on UK visa fee hike for Indian techies," Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tweeted.
Sitharaman, who accompanied Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Brussels, hopped over to London to meet Brokenshire yesterday.
According to the new rule, professionals living and working in Britain on a Tier-2 visa who earn less than 35,000 pounds a year at the end of five years of their stay in the country could be deported.
The minister had recently said India has taken up similar issues concerning visa rules of the US government at the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Indian professionals are facing visa related challenges in other countries, including the US.
Indian professionals have formed the largest category of individuals issued such visas by the UK over the years.
According to the UK's Office of National Statistics, of the 55,589 Tier-2 sponsored visa applications cleared in 2014-2015, nearly 78 per cent were for Indians (31,058).
Thousands of Indians in the UK may get hit by this new law. The exact figure of those affected by the salary threshold requirements remains uncertain but it is estimated to be between 30,000 and 40,000 workers.
The visa is issued on the basis of a "certificate of sponsorship" issued to UK-based firms to hire such professionals from outside the EU and allows them a maximum stay of six years.
At the end of five years, these workers can apply for permanent residency or "Indefinite Leave to Remain" (ILR) in the UK.
But from this month, those qualifying for ILR under the five-year category must also prove they earn at least 35,000 pounds a year or face the prospect of a rejection, which means they would have to return to their home country or ultimately be deported if they refuse to leave voluntarily.
Mumbai: The number of women being trafficked from Bangladesh into Mumbai brothels is rising as part of greater migration from India`s eastern neighbour, and police and social groups need to do more to rescue and repatriate them, a charity said on Thursday.
The number of Bengali-speaking commercial sex workers in the city`s main red-light district of Kamathipura is at a record high, according to data compiled by Prerana, a non-profit focused on trafficking and sex workers.
The total includes some women from the eastern state of West Bengal.
"The increased numbers dovetail with increased migration from Bangladesh, and migrants are particularly vulnerable to traffickers," said Priti Patkar, co-founder of Prerana.
"They`re so desperate, they are easily lured by the promise of a job or a better life," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Of the 213 children of sex workers enrolled at Prerana`s night care centre in Kamathipura from 2010-15, 128 had a Bengali-speaking mother, the data showed. Similar increases have been seen in other parts of the city, Patkar said.
There were about a dozen each from the states of Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
There are more than 3 million people of Bangladeshi origin in India, according to official data. Hundreds arrive undocumented every day, often crossing the 4,000 km (2,500 mile)border with a trafficker or "agent" who preys on poor, rural communities with promises of good jobs and a better life.
Rising migration within Asia is putting growing numbers of migrants at risk of being trafficked and abused by human smuggling networks, the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said in a report last year on the criminal trade, which is worth $2 billion a year in Asia.
South Asia is the fastest-growing region for human trafficking in the world, and the second-largest after Southeast Asia, according to the UNODC.
More than 150,000 people are known to be trafficked within South Asia every year, but the trade is underground and the real number is likely to be much higher. The numbers are expected to rise as migration within Asia grows.
Trafficked Bangladeshi women in Mumbai are often too afraid and ignorant of their rights to seek help, Patkar said. They are also reluctant to bring charges against their traffickers after being rescued from the brothels.
India signed an agreement with Bangladesh last year to strengthen cooperation and information sharing and ensure speedier investigations and prosecutions of traffickers.
The agreement has made it easier to rescue and repatriate victims of trafficking, some of whom were previously treated as illegal immigrants.
"Now, there is a clear process: we take their deposition, then hand them over to an NGO there, which takes responsibility for their rehabilitation," a Mumbai police spokesman said. "This is a better outcome for the women."
This week, for the first time, a Bangladeshi trafficker was convicted on the strength of the victim`s testimony given over a video link from Dhaka, where she had been repatriated after her rescue from a brothel in Mumbai. Activists and lawyers say such depositions could help curb trafficking.
Washington D.C: Continuing his trend of taking a hard stand on terrorism in the international arena, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted that there could be no deterrence against nuclear terrorism without prevention and prosecution of acts of terrorism.
Intervening on nuclear terrorism threat at the Nuclear Security Summit dinner at the White House hosted by US President Barack Obama, the Prime Minister called to focus on three contemporary features of terrorism.
"First, today's terrorism uses extreme violence as theatre. Second, we are no longer looking for a man in a cave, but we are hunting for a terrorist in a city with a computer or a smart phone. Third, State actors working with nuclear traffickers and terrorists present the greatest risk," Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) official spokesperson Vikas Swarup quoted the Prime Minister as saying.
Lauding President Obama for putting the spotlight on Nuclear Security and for his service to the global community, Prime Minister Modi said that the deadly Brussels attack was the prime example of how real and immediate is the threat to nuclear security from terrorism.
"Terror has evolved. Terrorists are using 21st century technology. But our responses are rooted in the past. Drop the notion that terrorism is someone else's problem and that "his" terrorist is not "my" terrorist. Nuclear security must remain an abiding national priority," he said.
The Prime Minister added that the reach and supply chains of terrorism are global but the genuine cooperation between nation states is not.
Emphasising on terrorism being globally networked, the Prime Minister called on all nations to endure Obama's legacy of abiding by international obligations to counter this threat.
The Prime Minister, who is in Washington to take part in the fourth Nuclear Security Summit, earlier held bilateral talks with his New Zealand counterpart John Key.
Both leaders discussed ways and means to enhance bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
Prime Minister Modi later met a team of scientists from the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO).
A memorandum of understanding on setting up LIGO facility in India was also signed between India and the United States on the occasion.
The Prime Minister prior to beginning his official engagements earlier greeted members from the Indian community who came to see him.
Members of the Pakistan's Joint Investigation Team formed to probe into the Pathankot airbase attack, arrive at the National Investigation Agency (NIA) headquarters (Photo: PTI)
New Delhi: Indian investigators will visit Pakistan to take forward the probe into the terror attack on the strategic IAF base in Pathankot in the aftermath of Pakistan JIT's visit to India.
Dates for the visit will be be worked out later, Director General of NIA Sharad Kumar told reporters here at the end of five days of discussions with Pakistani Joint Investigation Team (JIT) which returned today.
Read: Pathankot probe: Pak JIT questions suspended SP, key witnesses
"We expressed that a team of National Investigation Agency (NIA) could be sent to Pakistan for a probe in that country since conspiracy has been hatched in that country. They welcomed the idea and the dates will be worked out later," he said.
Kumar said NIA presented the JIT with "concrete evidence" against the office bearers of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) who conspired in the attack and the handlers of the terrorists who facilitated and guided them.
"NIA also sought voice samples of some senior office bearers of JeM ," he said without naming anyone. However, NIA sources said that they had sought voice samples of Jaish chief Maulana Masood Azhar, his brother Abdul Rauf and Khayyam
Babbar, mother of one of killed Jaish terrorist identified as Nasir Hussain as he had called her before launching the attack in Pathankot.
Read: Pathankot probe: NIA asks Pakistan for voice samples of JeM chief
Kumar also said that it had asked for a DNA sample of the mother of the terrorist.
The NIA briefed the JIT on investigations in the case.
The terror attack executed by the Jaish on January 2, 2016 in Pathankot left seven security personnel dead. Four terrorists were also killed in the gunbattle.
The Pakistan JIT, headed by Additional Inspector General of Police, Counter Terrorism Department, Muhammad Tahir Rai and also including ISI's Lt Col Tanvir Ahmed, in turn, shared with NIA the results of investigations carried out by them so far in Pakistan.
"The interaction with JIT was held in accordance with terms of reference mutually agreed on the basis of reciprocity. The Pakistan JIT assured us of their full cooperation and promised to execute the LR which has been received by them," he said.
Read: Pak has agreed to India's findings on Pathankot terror attack: Government
The JIT, which arrived here on March 27, interacted on the Pathankot case with NIA officials which included a visit to the IAF base where they were shown the scene of crime as well as the location from where the terrorists sneaked in and hid.
They also visited the spot where Ikagar Singh's vehicle was snatched, where he was murdered, and the spot from where the terrorists hijacked the SUV of SP Salwinder Singh, Kumar said, adding the route taken by the terrorists was also shown to the JIT.
"These are part of the standard legal procedure of investigation followed in both nations," he said.
On JIT's request, the NIA provided certified copies of postmortem reports, call data record, DNA reports of four terrorists and the seizure memo of articles from the scene of crime.
Read: Probe team leaves Pathankot; BJP says Pak made serious effort for first time
The Pakistan JIT was given access to 16 witnesses including Salwinder Singh, his cook, Rajesh Verma and some witnesses as per agreed terms of reference and extant legal provisions.
"The JIT informed us that they were collecting admissible evidence outside Pakistan under the provision of Section 188 of the CrPC of Pakistan, that will legally enable them to be used in prosecution," he said.
JIT was also requested to verify the various articles seized from the terrorists including arms and ammunition as mentioned in the Letters Rogatory sent earlier to Pakistan.
NIA shared with JIT the identity and the address of the 4 terrorists and requested that the JIT confirm the same.
New Delhi: A five-member Pakistani Joint Investigating Team (JIT), probing the Pathankot terror attack case, on Friday concluded its visit to India even as it welcomed a decision by India's National Investigating Agency (NIA) to send a team to Pakistan as part of their investigation in the case.
Although the dates are not yet finalised, the NIA has conveyed its willingness to visit Pakistan as part of its probe in the case.
The Pakistani team on Thursday examined 13 witnesses, including former Gurdaspur SP Salwinder Singh as part of their investigation.
The NIA has reportedly handed over some more documents, including DNA reports and call details of the four terrorists killed in the attack, to the JIT.
NIA shared with Pak JIT the identity and address of four terrorists and requested that them to confirm the same, DG NIA Sharad Kumar said.
Pak JIT was requested to verify articles seized from terrorists including arms & ammunitions, he added.
Documents like post-mortem report, call details of terrorists and their DNA reports along with arms and ammunition of Pakistan found during Pathankot attack were shared with Pakistan JIT, NIA said.
On the proposal for an NIA team's visit to Pakistan, the Joint Investigating Team (JIT) has welcomed it, saying mutually convenient dates will be worked out.
The Pakistani team was given a detailed presentation on the probe conducted so far and it was taken to the crime scene in Pathankot.
It has also been handed over some more documents which included DNA report of the four terrorists killed in the 80-hour gun battle with security forces.
The team, headed by Additional Inspector General of Police, Counter Terrorism Department, Muhammad Tahir Rai and including ISI's Lt Col Tanvir Ahmed, began their day by recording the statements of witnesses in the case.
The team arrived in India on March 27.
They recorded statements of 16 witnesses, including SP Salwinder Singh, his jeweller-friend Rajesh Verma and cook Madan Gopal.
The three were kidnapped by the Pathankot attack perpetrators belonging to the banned Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed on the intervening night of December 31 and January 1.
The Pakistani JIT had asked NIA to hand over swabs of the four terrorists, identified as Nasir Hussain (Punjab province), Abu Bakar (Gujranwala) and Umar Farooq and Abdul Qayum (both from Sindh).
However, the probe agency handed over to the visitors the DNA report of the terrorists and asked them to match those with their family members.
Besides recording the statement of the three, the JIT also spoke to the caretaker of a shrine visited by Singh before he was kidnapped, policemen and residents who spotted the vehicle of the police officer after it was abandoned by the attackers.
Statements of doctors who conducted the post-mortem on the bodies were also recorded.
Karachi: Fifty-nine Indian fishermen have been arrested in Pakistan and their 10 boats seized for allegedly violating the country's territorial waters.
The fishermen were arrested by Pakistan's Maritime Security Agency (MSA) while they were fishing in Sir Creek, a disputed area on the maritime border of Sindh and Gujarat.
The MSA detained people in Karachi and handed them over to the police for legal action.
The fishermen have been taken into custody and cases have been lodged against them under section 3 and 4 of the Foreigners Act and 3 and 9 of the Fisheries Act, the Express Tribune quoted a police official as saying.
Both Indian and Pakistani fishermen are often arrested for illegal fishing since the Arabian Sea border is not clearly defined and many boats lack the technology to fix their precise location.
In two goodwill gestures last month, Pakistan freed 86 fishermen in two batches each.
Some 377 more Indian prisoners are languishing in the Malir jail out of whom 116 have to complete their sentences while the remaining 261 are undertrials.
New Delhi: Expressing disappointment over blocking of Indias bid to ban JeM chief, Ministry of External Affairs on Friday issued a statement that Pathankot Attack has shown that we continue to bear the dangerous consequences of not listing Masood Azhar.
Addressing a press conference, MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup said that it is incomprehensible that while Pakistan based JeM was listed in UNSC committee in 2001, designation of its main leader is on technical hold.
Pathankot Attack has shown that India continues to bear the dangerous consequences of not listing Masood Azhar, he said.
"It needs no emphasis that the UNSCR 1267 regime is an important building block of the UN global counter terrorism strategy that should aim to protect all member states and their citizens from the activities of terror groups such as JeM and its leader Mohamad Masood Azhar."
"Its working methods, based on the principles of unanimity and anonymity, is leading the Committee to adopt a selective approach to combating terrorism. This does not reflect well on the determination that the international community needs to display to decisively defeat the menace of terrorism," the statement said.
Further, giving out details on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his United Kingdom counterpart David Cameron, Swarup said, It was a warm meeting between both the PMs. PM Modi said ties with UK have become deeper.
PM Modi said that United Kingdom can become a major partner in the Make in India initiative especially in the defence sector. He also raised issue of tier 2 visas for ICT companies that skilled professionals should not find it tough to go to UK. To this Cameron promised to look into the matter, he added.
(With Agency inputs)
New Delhi: Indian investigators will visit Pakistan to take forward the probe into the terror attack on the strategic IAF base in Pathankot in the aftermath of Pakistan JIT's visit to India.
Dates for the visit will be be worked out later, Director General of NIA Sharad Kumar told reporters here at the end of five days of discussions with Pakistani Joint Investigation Team (JIT) which returned on Friday.
"We expressed that a team of National Investigation Agency (NIA) could be sent to Pakistan for a probe in that country since conspiracy has been hatched in that country. They welcomed the idea and the dates will be worked out later," he said.
Kumar said NIA presented the JIT with "concrete evidence" against the office bearers of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) who conspired in the attack and the handlers of the terrorists who facilitated and guided them.
"NIA also sought voice samples of some senior office bearers of JeM ," he said without naming anyone. However, NIA sources said that they had sought voice samples of Jaish chief Maulana Masood Azhar, his brother Abdul Rauf and Khayyam Babbar, mother of one of killed Jaish terrorist identified as Nasir Hussain as he had called her before launching the attack in Pathankot.
Kumar also said that it had asked for a DNA sample of the mother of the terrorist.
The NIA briefed the JIT on investigations in the case. The terror attack executed by the Jaish on January 2, 2016 in Pathankot left seven security personnel dead. Four terrorists were also killed in the gunbattle.
The Pakistan JIT, headed by Additional Inspector General of Police, Counter Terrorism Department, Muhammad Tahir Rai and also including ISI's Lt Col Tanvir Ahmed, in turn, shared with NIA the results of investigations carried out by them so far in Pakistan.
"The interaction with JIT was held in accordance with terms of reference mutually agreed on the basis of reciprocity. The Pakistan JIT assured us of their full cooperation and promised to execute the LR which has been received by them," he said.
The JIT, which arrived here on March 27, interacted on the
Pathankot case with NIA officials which included a visit to the IAF base where they were shown the scene of crime as well as the location from where the terrorists sneaked in and hid.
They also visited the spot where Ikagar Singh's vehicle was snatched, where he was murdered, and the spot from where the terrorists hijacked the SUV of SP Salwinder Singh, Kumar said, adding the route taken by the terrorists was also shown to the JIT.
"These are part of the standard legal procedure of investigation followed in both nations," he said.
On JIT's request, the NIA provided certified copies of postmortem reports, call data record, DNA reports of four terrorists and the seizure memo of articles from the scene of crime.
The Pakistan JIT was given access to 16 witnesses including Salwinder Singh, his cook, Rajesh Verma and some witnesses as per agreed terms of reference and extant legal provisions.
"The JIT informed us that they were collecting admissible evidence outside Pakistan under the provision of Section 188 of the CrPC of Pakistan, that will legally enable them to be used in prosecution," he said.
JIT was also requested to verify the various articles seized from the terrorists including arms and ammunition as mentioned in the Letters Rogatory sent earlier to Pakistan.
NIA shared with JIT the identity and the address of the 4 terrorists and requested that the JIT confirm the same.
Washington: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Friday engage with top world leaders including from Canada, Britain, Japan in a series of bilaterals here on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit, where he would outline India's roadmap and measures taken to ensure nuclear security.
He is expected to start the day with a bilateral meeting with Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau, which would be Modi's first meeting with Trudeau after he was recently elected as Canada's Prime Minister.
This would be followed by back-to-back meetings with British Prime Minister David Cameron and Argentinian President Mauricio Macri.
Cameron is meeting Modi at a time when he is facing the prospect of job loss to some 20,000 people after India's Tata Steel decided to sell its loss-making UK businesses.
After the three bilaterals, Modi would participate in the three separate sessions of the Nuclear Security Summit, which kicked off with a White House dinner last night.
The sessions are on national actions to enhance nuclear security, international and institutional actions to strengthen nuclear security and scenario-based policy discussion.
"The Prime Minister will be outlining India's roadmap, India's vision and the measures India has taken to ensure nuclear safety and security," External Affairs Ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup told reporters.
Later, Modi is scheduled to meet Switzerland President Johann N Schneider-Ammann.
He would conclude his two-day trip to Washington by meeting his close friend and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Modi arrived in the US yesterday morning for the Nuclear Security Summit being convened by US President Barack Obama and attended by leaders from more than 50 countries, with heads of state from over 20 nations.
Yesterday, the Prime Minister had a bilateral meeting with his New Zealand counterpart John Key.
At the White House dinner hosted by Obama for visiting leaders, Modi in an intervention said that without prevention and prosecution of acts of terrorism, there is no deterrence against nuclear terrorism.
"Interacted with world leaders at the NSS dinner at the White House. Shared my thoughts on the threat of nuclear terrorism," Modi tweeted late in the night on his return from dinner.
Soon after his meeting with Abe, Modi would leave for a two-day state visit to Saudi Arabia.
Washington: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday met his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau and discussed bilateral ties, their first meeting after the latter swept to power last year.
Modi and Trudeau met in Washington on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit.
"Engagements on Day 2 begin with a bilateral with PM Justin Trudeau," External Affairs Minister Vikas Swarup tweeted.
"Canadian connect...today's meetings commence with an interaction with Canada's PM Justin Trudeau. Both PMs discuss India-Canada relations," a PMO tweet said.
Last year, Prime Minister Modi had visited Canada when he held extensive talks with the then Canadian Premier Stephen Harper.
Canada had agreed to supply 3,000 metric tonnes of uranium to energy-hungry India under a USD 254 million five-year deal to power Indian reactors.
The agreement for uranium supply, which came two years after protracted negotiations following the 2013 civil nuclear deal between India and Canada, was signed after comprehensive talks Modi had with Harper in April last year.
44-year-old Trudeau carries one of the most famous names in Canadian political history. His late father was prime minister for the better part of 16 years, between 1968 and 1984.
Trudeau assumed office in November last year and surprised one and all by including four Sikh-Canadians in his Cabinet.
New Delhi: Criticising China for blocking India's bid at the United Nations (UN) for a ban on Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar, Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju on Friday said India would take appropriate action.
After the Pathankot terror attack on January 2, India had in February written to the UN, calling for immediate action to list JeM chief under the Al-Qaeda Sanction`s Committee.
However, China on Thursday requested the UN Committee, which is considering a ban on the JeM chief, to keep the ruling on hold.
The Chinese response came even as Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday claimed that Pakistan had, for the first time, acknowledged that the terror attack in Pathankot had its roots in that country.
Rajnath said Pakistan had been continuously saying that it was not involved in militant and terror activities in India, however, now Pakistan has acknowledged that the Pathankot attack, and has filed an FIR too.
The India`s submission was armed with strong evidences of the outfit`s terror activities and its role in the Pathankot attack that claimed lives of seven Indian military personnel.
India also told the UN Sanctions Committee that not listing Azhar would expose it and other South Asian countries to threats from the terror group and its leader.
Lucknow: Condemning the fatwa issued by leading Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband, Minister of State for Food Processing Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti on Friday said denying people to chant `Bharat Mata Ki Jai` slogan amounted to insulting the freedom fighters.
"It is showing the fundamentalist side of Islam. Denying `Bharat Mata Ki Jai` shows disrespect to martyrs of the country. It shows their mentality. They should understand that they are not living in Pakistan," said Jyoti.
Darul Uloom Deoband today issued a fatwa against chanting of `Bharat Mata Ki Jai`, saying that the slogan goes against the tenets of Islam."Bharat Mata, according to some Hindu sects, is a goddess and they worship her. For Muslims participating in worshiping a goddess would be un-Islamic, the fatwa said.The fatwa added, "We love our country, but we do not worship it, Islam allows worshiping only one God."
AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi had stirred a hornet`s nest by rejecting RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat`s suggestion that the young generation be taught patriotic slogans like `Bharat Mata ki Jai` stating that he won`t chant the slogan "even if a knife is put to his throat"."I don`t chant that slogan. What are you going to do Bhagwat sahab?" Owaisi had said at a public rally in Latur.
Leaders of various political parties, including the BJP and Congress, have condemned Owaisi`s stance.Prime Minister Narendra Modi was greeted with chants of `Bharat Mata Ki Jai` slogans as soon as he climbed the stage by people sitting in the audience when he went to deliver the inaugural lecture at the World Sufi Forum on March 17.
New Delhi: The United States and Saudi Arabia have put sanctions on six entities and individuals charged with funding terror organisations including Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), a media report said on Friday.
Two organisations and four individuals were targeted for supporting terror networks.
India has welcomed the decision.
The move assumes significance because it has come two days before PM Modis visit to Saudi Arabia, where he is expected to firm up security cooperation, Hindustan Times reported.
Earlier, speaking at the Nuclear Security Summit being held in Washington, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, Terrorism is globally networked. But, we still act only nationally to counter this threat.
The reach and supply chains of terrorism are global, but genuine cooperation between nation states is not.
Drop the notion that terrorism is someone elses problem and that 'his' terrorist is not 'my' terrorist.
This is the second time the US and Saudi officials have coordinated to disrupt the finances of terror groups in South Asia.
James Alexander McLintock, a Scotsman who converted to Islam, had been providing financial support to LeT through charities he controls in Pakistan and other countries, the report said citing the US treasury department.LeT through charities he controls in Pakistan and other countries, the report said citing the US treasury department.
He was named a Specially Designated Global Terrorist'' while his Pakistan-based Al-Rahmah Welfare Organisation (RWO) was designated for providing financial, material and technological support to LeT, al Qaeda and the Taliban.
McLintock, believed to be 52, is CEO of RWO, which provides funding to extremists for jihad under the false guise of helping orphans.
Abdul Aziz Nuristani has been designated for providing financial, material or technological support to Let, al Qaeda and the Taliban.
He heads the Peshawar-based Jamia Asariya.
The LeT and other groups have used Jamia Asariya as a financial conduit to bring money into Pakistan, the report said.
Another individual Naveed Qamar has held several influential positions within the LeT and supported the terror groups fundraising activities since 2004.
Qamar has been identified as a leader of the LeT, the US treasury department said. He is also linked to Jamaat-ud Dawah (JuD), a Pakistan-based terror outfit.
The report said that in 2010, Qamar had helped raise funds for a mujahideen planning attacks against Indian targets.
Another individual, Saudi Arabia-based Muhammad Ijaz Safarash has been charged with funding LeT. He has been an LeT operative for several years.
Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, accused of masterminding the 2008 Mumbai attacks, has also reportedly benefited from Safarashs financial support.
Mumbai: In a landmark verdict, the Bombay High Court on Friday declared that no law prevents women from entering places of worship. The court, in response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Vidya Bal and Nilima Varta, said there should be no gender discrimination as far as entering a place of worship is concerned.
The PIL challenged the tradition of prohibiting the entry of women inside the sanctum-sanctorum of the Shani Shingnapur temple in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra, claiming that barring women is arbitrary, illegal and in violation to the fundamental rights of a citizen that the Constitution bestows.
"After the court`s verdict, women can now enter any temple," Petitioner Nilima Vartak was quoted as saying by ANI.
"There should be no gender discrimination as far as entering a place of worship is concerned and the women have the right to exercise their religious freedom," Vartika said.
"It is very unfortunate that petitioners like us have to go to the court for enforcement of an act. A law is there so implementation has to be there," she added.
Vartika further said that the court has not just given a verdict, but has also promised implementation of its order.
"On the behalf of the Maharashtra Government, the Advocate General assured the court that the act will be implemented," she said.
On January 26, at least 400 women volunteers, mainly hailing from Pune, led by Trupti Desai, president of the Bhumata Brigade, made an unsuccessful attempt to storm the `chauthara` of the temple, but prohibited by but police stopped the marchers at Supa village, 70 kms from the temple.
The temple drew attention in November 2015 after a woman offered prayers in `breach` of the age-old practice of prohibiting entry of women. Following the incident, the temple committee had suspend seven security men and the villagers to perform purification rituals.
New Delhi: Suspended Gurdaspur SP Salwinder Singh was Thursday questioned by the Pakistani joint investigation team that is probing the Pathankot attack. Mr Singh had claimed that he, along with two others, were abducted by four or five heavily-armed terrorists near Punjabs Kolia village on the night of December 31-January 1. The terrorists had later attacked the Pathankot IAF base, in which seven security personnel were killed.
Mr Singhs questioning by the JIT is significant as the Pakistani team sought to know how the terrorists managed to enter the airbase after crossing the border and whether there was any local assistance given to them.
On Thursday, the NIA completed recording the statements of witnesses and were also handed over more documents that included DNA reports of the four terrorists killed in the 80-hour gunbattle with the security forces. The JIT in all questioned 16 witnesses, including Mr Singh, his jeweller friend Rajesh Verma and cook Madan Gopal. The three were kidnapped by the Pathankot attackers who are believed to belong to the banned Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed terror outfit.
The terrorists had allegedly dumped Mr Verma after slitting his throat and continued their journey with Mr Singh and Gopal before jettisoning them a few kilometres away from the Pathankot airbase. The terrorists entered the airbase and carried out a seige that lasted 48 hours.
The Pakistani JIT had asked the NIA to hand over swabs of four terrorists identified as Nasir Hussain (Punjab province), Abu Bakar (Gujranwala), Umar Farooq and Abdul Qayum (both from Sindh). However, the Indian agency handed over to the visitors the DNA report of the terrorists and asked them to match those with their family members, NIA sources said.
Talks are at a conclusive stage and hopefully tomorrow afternoon everything will be over, NIA director-general Sharad Kumar said. Besides recording the statements of the three, the JIT also spoke to the caretaker of a shrine visited by Mr Singh before he was kidnapped, policemen and members of the public who spotted the abandoned hijacked vehicle. The statements of a few doctors who had conducted the post-mortem were also recorded.
The Pakistani JIT is headed by Punjab provinces additional IG (counter-terrorism department) Muhammad Tahir Rai and includes the ISIs Lt. Col. Tanvir Ahmed.
Imphal: Two days after her acquittal by a Delhi court, rights activist Irom Sharmila is continuing her fast unto death in her security room in Imphal`s JN Institute of Medical Sciences, a kind of sub-jail.
As she is refusing to eat or drink anything despite the court order, her nose feeding continues.
The 42-year-old activist has declined food or drink for the last 16 years, seeking repeal of the controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act.
She was acquitted by the Patiala House Court in Delhi on Wednesday in a case of attempted suicide registered in 2006 when she undertook a fast-unto-death at Jantar Mantar in Delhi.
On arrival in Imphal on Thursday, Sharmila expressed her disappointment that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had no time to interact with her. She added that in India, "there is little meaning of democracy, and this is hampering the development."
About Judge Harvinder Singh acquitting her, Sharmila said it was a right decision and all along she has been denying the prosecution charge that she was trying to commit suicide.
"I am using fasting as a weapon to achieve my objective. It is a weapon which was used by the father of the nation (Mahatma Gandhi). I want to live, and I love my life," she said.
She had been earlier set free on two occasions on the orders of the District and Sessions court, Imphal West, as the prosecution failed to substantiate the charge of the attempted suicide.
But within hours of being released, she was rearrested as she continued fasting while other activists sat along with her. But Sharmila is now disappointed that people have virtually stopped supporting her campaign.
"I want a public opinion on whether I should continue the campaign for repealing the AFSPA from Manipur," she said afer her release in Delhi.
On another occasion, Sharmila said she would continue her fast till her demand was conceded.
All these years several leaders from the Centre and state have appealed to her to give up fasting. However, she has all along refused all such appeals.
Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh said: "We may lift the AFSPA from the rest of the state. On August 12, 2004, we had lifted it from seven assembly segments on experimental basis despite objections from some circles."
"If the insurgents intensify their violence after lifting it from the entire state, we will have to approach the Centre again to re-impose the AFSPA."
Official indications, however, are that the dwindling public support to Sharmila`s campaign is allowing the state government a sigh of relief.
Sharmila is also unhappy that police did not permit the Manipuri students in Delhi to talk to her in the court complex.
"It is denial of their fundamental rights," she said, adding the student groups in Manipur should also join the campaign which is for the protection of human rights.
She periodically appears in the court of the chief judicial magistrate, Imphal West, on charge of attempted suicide.
In Manipur too, she is refusing to furnish personal bond to get bail.
Section 309 of the Indian Penal Code permits the authorities to detain her for one year and at the end of each year she is ritually released. The state government spends over Rs.80,000 per month over her medication and nose feeding, and security.
Rio de Janeiro: Brazil's Supreme Court has handed former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva a victory, ruling against returning a corruption investigation involving the ex-leader back to a judge he accuses of unfairly targeting him.
Brazil's highest court voted 8-2 to take over the case yesterday, effectively removing the probe into Silva from Judge Sergio Moro, the lower court magistrate spearheading a corruption case centered on state-run oil company Petrobras.
Moro, a judge from the provincial backwater of Curitiba, has risen to prominence over the past two years while presiding over the Petrobras investigation that has ensnared some of Brazil's richest businessmen and top public figures from across the political spectrum.
But he was accused of partisanship earlier this month after ordering police to take Silva in for questioning in connection with the Petrobras case.
Silva's supporters say Moro is waging a crusade against the former leader and fear he could order Silva detained, a step the Supreme Court is thought much less likely to take, at least in the short term.
The full court has not yet taken up appeals of a separate injunction that prevented Silva from taking office as President Dilma Rousseff's chief of state, a post that would give him greater legal protections. Under Brazilian law, only the Supreme Court can authorise the investigation, detention and indictment of Cabinet ministers and legislators.
Silva's appointment has remained in limbo for weeks, pending a decision by the Supreme Court. The former president, who served from 2003-2010, has denied all wrongdoing.
Meanwhile yesterday, demonstrators were gathering in at least five states to support Silva and Rousseff, who is facing impeachment proceedings over accusations she violated fiscal laws. Demonstrators dressed in red, the symbol of Rousseff's left-leaning Workers' Party, were converging in the capital, Brasilia, as well as the financial center of Sao Paulo and other cities throughout the country.
Rousseff's chance of surviving impeachment effort looked slimmer after the biggest party in her governing coalition decamped earlier this week a move that also created confusion about the status of her Cabinet.
Leaders of The Brazilian Democratic Movement Party, known by the Portuguese initials PMDB, said Tuesday that all their Cabinet ministers, as well as hundreds of other federal government employees, would have to resign immediately.
But Agriculture Minister Katia Abreu, a close confidant of Rousseff, said on Twitter that she didn't plan on leaving either the government or the party. Her tweet suggested the other five PMDB Cabinet ministers held the same stand.
Brasilia: Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff`s fight against impeachment gathered speed when tens of thousands of people marched nationwide to oppose what they said was a "coup."
The rallies late Thursday were part of a concerted attempt by Rousseff to turn the tide ahead of an impeachment vote over her alleged manipulation of government accounts to disguise the depth of Brazil`s recession during her 2014 reelection.
Further boosting Rousseff, her chief ally in the spiraling political crisis -- fiery ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva -- won a major court battle that removes him from the jurisdiction of a crusading anti-corruption judge.
The peaceful demonstrators, many waving the red flags of Rousseff`s Workers` Party, gathered in 31 cities, including Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and northern centers like Recife.
The Globo news site quoted police estimates for total turnout at more than 110,000, while organizers claimed nearly 600,000. At one of the larger rallies, in Brasilia, police told AFP that at least 25,000 to 30,000 people marched.
"No to the coup," said one placard popular at the protests. "Democracy," read a large banner at the gathering in Rio, where more than 5,000 people turned out across the city some four months ahead of the 2016 Olympics.
In Sao Paulo, Brazil`s financial powerhouse, Francisco Ranieri, 50, said he had taken to the streets "because now is the moment."
"The opposition wants to push Dilma from power to end the people`s government," added Ranieri, a shopkeeper.
"Dilma is the victim of a coup," said another demonstrator, teacher Ana Cristina Bentes, 52.
Lula, the hugely influential founder of the Workers` Party and pillar of Brazil`s left, had been due to lead the Brasilia rally but cancelled at the last minute. His spokesman did not explain the change in plan.Just as protesters gathered, Lula won a significant court victory that could help boost Rousseff`s cause.
Rousseff has been counting on the well-connected ex-president to lead the fight against impeachment in Congress and reorganize her flailing administration after the main coalition to the Workers` Party quit earlier this week.
But the leftist heavyweight`s comeback has been derailed by corruption charges linked to a sprawling probe led by federal Judge Sergio Moro into a bribes and embezzlement scheme at state oil company Petrobras.
On Thursday, the Supreme Court issued an interim ruling removing the politically explosive case from Moro and putting it with the high court -- a decision expected to give Lula considerable breathing space.
It was a rare victory for Rousseff whose chances of defeating impeachment are thought to have nosedived since the collapse of her coalition.
She vigorously dismissed the impeachment drive as a trumped up campaign and on Thursday told a group of artists and academics that the accounting tricks she is accused of using illegally have always been accepted.
"If I suffer impeachment, then it means that every previous government should have been impeached too, because all of them, without exception, did the same thing," she said. "I was always respecting the law."Congress`s preliminary impeachment commission is expected to begin deliberations next Tuesday before making a recommendation mid-April.
Its recommendation is non-binding but will set the tone for a vote shortly after by the lower house, where 342 votes out of 513, or two thirds, are needed to launch an impeachment trial in the Senate.
If Rousseff manages to get more than 171 votes she would defeat the measure, but impeachment could also fail through abstentions or deputies not attending so that the 342 figure is not reached.
Until only recently Rousseff seemed likely to narrowly prevail, despite her unpopularity and the intense hostility of opponents in the increasingly divided country.
But the exit this week of the centrist PMDB from her coalition left her congressional support in tatters.
Loyalists are putting on a brave face, insisting that they can cobble together a new coalition and also target individual congressional deputies, regardless of their party`s affiliation.
With seven ministries that had been held by the PMDB and some 580 other posts to hand out, the government hopes it will be able to horse-trade for support.
The Hague: The Danish government on Friday extended random identification checks along the country`s German border until May 3, saying they were needed to deter migrants from entering the country.
"The pressure on Europe`s external borders is still high and refugee and migrant flows may rise significantly when the weather gets better," Integration Minister Inger Stojberg said in a statement.
"It is necessary to extend the border controls so that we ensure that large groups of refugees and migrants do not accumulate here in Denmark," she added.
The controls were introduced on January 4, hours after Sweden began requiring rail and ferry companies to verify the identities of people travelling from Denmark across the Oresund Strait, and have been extended four times.
Last year Denmark largely served as a transit country for migrants travelling to Sweden, which until recently had some of Europe`s most generous asylum rules.
Denmark received more than 21,000 asylum applications in 2015, a 44 percent jump from 2014, though significantly fewer than its northern neighbour, which registered 163,000 asylum applications in the same year.
The number of people seeking asylum in Denmark fell to 35 in the week ending Tuesday, the lowest number since the border checks were introduced, according to data from the Danish government.
"Asylum numbers can fluctuate considerably from day to day... It may be due to several things," Stojberg told Danish news agency Ritzau, citing bad weather conditions and border checks in Denmark and elsewhere in Europe as possible explanations.
Washington: Donald Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination, met in Washington on Thursday with the chairman of the Republican National Committee, as tensions ran high between the candidate and his party.
Although Trump had previously announced he would be in Washington for meetings, his visit to the RNC, where he met with its chairman, Reince Priebus, came as a surprise.
It followed an announcement two days ago by Trump that he would refuse to support any candidate but himself as nominee in the race for the White House.
He also announced Tuesday that he no longer felt bound by the commitment he made in September to respect the outcome of the primaries and not run as an independent in November if he does not receive the party nomination.
"I have been treated very unfairly. By basically the RNC, the Republican party, the establishment," Trump said in an interview on CNN aired Tuesday.
Details were slow to emerge about his meeting with Priebus, but CNN, citing Republican sources, reported that the discussion was about convention rules and the delegate process.
Afterwards, Trump tweeted: "Just had a very nice meeting with @Reince Priebus and the @GOP. Looking forward to bringing the Party together --- and it will happen!"
According to Politico, he also held a meeting with his new foreign policy team and rolled out a committee led by two congressmen who will spearhead attempts to garner support among Washington`s political establishment.
If Trump does not win the 1,237 delegates needed to secure his party`s nomination outright, the nominee will have to be chosen through delegate voting at the July convention in Cleveland, Ohio.
At that point, delegates would no longer be bound to vote for the candidate they were sent to represent, and Trump could risk losing the nomination.
One of his two challengers, Texas Senator Ted Cruz or Ohio Governor John Kasich, could feasibly become the party`s nominee.
The process, which is called a contested or brokered convention, is extremely rare.
To help avoid the chance of a brokered convention, Trump announced Tuesday that he had hired Republican operative Paul Manafort to manage his delegate strategy.
Manafort has worked on strategy for former US presidents Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and George HW Bush during nominating conventions.
Washington: Boosting Europe`s shaky ability to thwart jihadist attacks will be the focus at a nuclear security summit hosted by President Barack Obama in Washington on Friday, amid concerns the Islamic State group is trying to get a "dirty bomb."
The White House is worried that attacks in Paris and Brussels have exposed the inability of European intelligence agencies to deal with fighters returning from the Middle East.
On Thursday, Obama spoke of the need to increase trans-Atlantic cooperation aimed at "rooting out foreign fighters, identifying potential attacks, cutting off financing."
Fears of attack were given a nuclear edge with the discovery of 10 hours of surveillance footage recorded by Islamic State operatives of a senior Belgian nuclear scientist.
"We have had good progress in ramping up airstrikes and pressure on ISIL in Iraq and Syria," Obama foreign policy advisor Ben Rhodes said, using an alternate acronym for the IS group.
"We also believe it`s critically important that we`re working to disrupt plots, given ISIL efforts to move to more external plotting in Europe and other parts of the world."
"I think a focal point of the discussion tomorrow is going to be on what are we doing around intelligence and information sharing? How can we make sure that that`s happening as fast as possible? How can we make sure that we are aligning our respective protocols, so that we`re able to better monitor foreign fighters who may be leaving Iraq and Syria, and trying to come not just to Europe but to other countries?"
The summit opened Thursday with Obama trying to forge consensus among East Asian leaders on how to respond to Pyongyang`s recent nuclear and missile tests, which he said "escalate tensions" in the region.
In January, North Korea detonated a nuclear device and a month later launched a long-range rocket, the latest in a series of banned tests.
Obama met with the leaders of Japan and South Korea, and separately with Chinese President Xi Jinping, to make the case for increased pressure on the enigmatic North Korean regime.
"We are united in our efforts to deter and defend against North Korean provocations," Obama said after meeting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Park Geun-Hye.
That includes discussions on the deployment of THAAD -- the Theater High Altitude Area Defense System -- a sophisticated missile system to South Korea.
But the move has raised concerns in Beijing, which is unhappy at the prospect that US missiles on its doorstep will further tip the balance of power in the Pacific towards Washington.
"It in no way threatens either Chinese or Russian or other security interests in the region and will do nothing to undermine strategic stability between the United States and China," insisted Dan Kritenbrink, Obama`s top Asia adviser.This is the fourth in a series of nuclear security summits convened at Obama`s behest. With Obama leaving office next year, it may well be the last.
But it risked being overshadowed by two men who were not even there: Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Experts say Putin`s refusal to attend has made substantive reductions in fissile material -- the vast majority of which is held by the militaries of Russia and the United States -- or make leaps on safeguards almost impossible.
"This nuclear security summit is supposed to address all of the (fissile) stocks, but truth is that all they address really is a small proportion of civilian stocks," Patricia Lewis, international security research director at British think tank Chatham House told AFP.
"President Obama`s initial idea was that (the summits) would address all fissile materials, but the truth is there hasn`t really been a discussion at the official level."
Rhodes described the lack of Russian participation as "counterproductive," adding that "nobody benefits from a lack or downgrading of collaboration on issues of nuclear security."
America`s presidential election also took center stage, with questions about Trump`s suggestion that Asian allies should develop nuclear weapons.
Following the Republican frontrunner`s declaration that as president he would withdraw troops from South Korea and Japan and allow those two countries to develop nukes, Rhodes offered a scathing rebuke.
"The entire premise of American foreign policy as it relates to nuclear weapons for the last 70 years has been focused on preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons," he said.
"It would be catastrophic for the United States to shift its position and indicate that we somehow support the proliferation of nuclear weapons."
Another cloud over the summit was the controversy caused by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan`s appearance at a Washington think tank.
Erdogan faced noisy protests at the Brookings Institution, where he gave a speech defending his crackdown on Turkish media, a move that has already angered the White House.
Turkish security officials clashed with the crowd -- both sides exchanged insults and scuffled -- before local police were able to separate them.
The Turkish guards also set about the press. One aimed a chest-high kick at an American reporter attempting to film the harassment of a Turkish opposition reporter and another called a female foreign policy scholar a "whore."
Turkish security tried to prevent two Turkish journalists, one of them working for the opposition daily Zaman that has been seized by the government, from entering.
The US National Press Club lashed out at the actions, saying "Erdogan doesn`t get to export such abuse."
Washington: More cooperation is needed to prevent the Islamic State group's "madmen" and other extremists from getting a nuclear weapon, US President Barack Obama warned today as global leaders met in Washington.
The threat of terrorists of using nuclear material in a "dirty bomb" -- or even obtaining an atomic weapon -- has loomed large over the summit, punctuated by revelations that IS members tracked a Belgian nuclear scientist on video.
"ISIL has already used chemical weapons, including mustard gas, in Syria and Iraq," Obama said, using an acronym for the IS group.
"There is no doubt that if these madmen ever got their hands on a nuclear bomb or nuclear material, they most certainly would use it to continue to kill as many innocent people as possible."
The summit -- attended by dozens of world leaders and delegates -- is focused on securing global stockpiles of nuclear materials, much of it used in the medical and power industries.
Obama said about 2,000 tons of nuclear materials are stored around the world at civilian and military facilities, some of them not properly secured.
"Just the smallest amount of plutonium -- about the size of an apple -- would kill and injure hundreds of thousands of innocent people," he said.
"It would be a humanitarian, political, economic and environmental catastrophe with global ramifications for decades."
The nuclear security summit comes in the wake of attacks in Paris and Brussels that have killed dozens and exposed Europe's inability to thwart destabilising attacks or track Islamic State operatives returning from Iraq and Syria.
Evidence that individuals linked to those two atrocities videotaped a senior scientist at a Belgian nuclear facility has given the threat added nuclear weight.
Though the summit is focused on fissile stockpiles, other nuclear concerns inevitably have drawn broad attention, including North Korea and its continued testing of nuclear devices and ballistic missiles.
The reclusive nation fired another short-range missile off its east coast today, the latest in a series of North Korean missile launches during what has been an extended period of military tension on the Korean peninsula.
In January, North Korea detonated a nuclear device -- its fourth such test -- and a month later launched a long-range rocket.
The summit opened yesterday with Obama trying to forge consensus among East Asian leaders on how to respond to Pyongyang.
"We are united in our efforts to deter and defend against North Korean provocations," Obama said after meeting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Park Geun-Hye. Halfway through the closing day of the summit, delegates
described a series of incremental measures, such as enhanced cooperation between nations.
Obama and Abe announced that Japan had removed all its highly-enriched uranium and separated plutonium fuels ahead of schedule. The fissile material will be "downblended" in the United States for civilian use or eventual disposal.
Obama also used the summit as a chance to speak with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, promising candid talks over Beijing's alleged military buildup in the South China Sea.
US officials have expressed concern that China's actions in the South China Sea are inconsistent with Xi's pledge at the White House last year not to pursue militarization of the hotly contested and strategically vital waterway.
China claims virtually all the South China Sea despite conflicting claims by Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan and the Philippines, and has built up artificial islands in the area in recent months, including some with airstrips.
This is the fourth in a series of nuclear security summits convened at Obama's behest and with the president leaving office next year, it may well be the last.
But it risked being overshadowed by two men who were not even there: Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Experts say Putin's refusal to attend has made it almost impossible to achieve substantive reductions in fissile material -- the vast majority of which is held by the militaries of Russia and the United States.
"This nuclear security summit is supposed to address all of the stocks, but truth is that all they address really is a small proportion of civilian stocks," Patricia Lewis, international security research director at British think tank Chatham House, told AFP.
"President Obama's initial idea was that (the summits) would address all fissile materials, but the truth is there hasn't really been a discussion at the official level."
Obama foreign policy advisor Ben Rhodes earlier described the lack of Russian participation as "counterproductive."
America's presidential election also took center stage, with questions about Trump's suggestion that Asian allies should develop nuclear weapons.
"It would be catastrophic for the United States to shift its position and indicate that we somehow support the proliferation of nuclear weapons," Rhodes said.
Honolulu: An airliner flying from Hawaii to Japan was forced to turn back and land in Honolulu after a passenger insisted on doing yoga in the galley in defiance of the crew, an FBI spokesman said on Thursday.
Hyongtae Pae, 72, was charged in federal court on Monday with interfering with the crew of an aircraft in connection with the disturbance last Saturday aboard United Airlines flight 903 bound for Tokyo`s Narita airport.
Pae reportedly ignored crew instructions and, during meal service, headed to the galley in the back of the plane to "meditate and do yoga," according to an affidavit filed in federal court.
When his wife, who was traveling with him, tried to persuade him to sit down, Pae reportedly grew agitated, pushing her and yelling.
Several US Marines who were on the plane helped the crew escort Pae to his seat, said Federal Bureau of Investigation special agent Tom Simon, a spokesman for the agency`s Honolulu office.
"While yoga and meditation can be beneficial activities, it doesn`t negate the need to obey flight crew instructions while in the air," Simon said.
"The fact that the defendant`s alleged misconduct caused the flight to be turned around in the air gives you an idea of the seriousness of this situation," Simon said.
Pae, a retired farmer, was headed home to South Korea, via Japan, and was sleep-deprived after his first visit to Hawaii, his attorney, JT Kim, told Reuters.
"He was trying to calm himself down," Kim said. "I guess that`s why he wanted to do some yoga, to calm himself down."
A federal judge on Wednesday ordered Pae released on bail of USD 25,000, but told him to turn over his South Korean passport and stay on the island of Oahu.
If convicted, Pae faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Saudi Arabia on Sunday is part of a diplomatic effort to put pressure on arch rival Pakistan by forging ties with some of Islamabad's closest allies, Indian ruling party and government officials said.
Modi is expected to sign trade agreements, including contracts to secure investment for infrastructure projects, and offer security and military cooperation, such as training and joint exercises, the officials said.
The Indian premier's visit is just over seven months after he travelled to another Pakistan ally, the United Arab Emirates, and signed a security cooperation agreement that includes regular meetings between top security advisers.
"It's simple. We have to do everything to deal with Pakistan - use economics, strategy and emotional ties to win the hearts of Islamabad`s friends," said Ram Madhav, national general secretary of Modi`s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
Nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan have fought three wars since independence in 1947, two of them over Kashmir. New Delhi has long accused Islamabad of sponsoring a separatist movement and militancy in the Himalayan region. Pakistan denies the charge and accuses India of occupying Kashmir and fomenting trouble in its restive provinces, like Baluchistan.
New Delhi has been frustrated that often its ties with countries have been coloured by concerns about its relationship with Pakistan. One foreign ministry official said the Saudis tended to bring up Pakistan during discussions with India.
Government officials described Modis diplomatic push as an effort to "de-hyphenate" India from Pakistan, especially as New Delhi tries to play a bigger geopolitical role in Asia to counter China`s influence.
Stronger relationships with Pakistans allies can help India get a more sympathetic hearing on global and regional forums and put pressure on Islamabad to rein in militants.
On Thursday, Saudi Arabia and the United States imposed joint sanctions targeting the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba militant group blamed for the 2008 attacks in Mumbai.
In Washington on Friday, where Modi was attending a summit on nuclear security, Indian government spokesman Vikas Swarup welcomed the move.
"Countries working against terror entities - particularly entities that have targeted India repeatedly - is I think a welcome development," he told reporters.
Right Timing
Until now, Indias relationship with Saudi Arabia has been driven primarily by trade and the Indian diaspora in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia is India`s top energy supplier and home to more than 3.5 million Indian expatriates.
Over the past few years, there has been some cooperation on security between the two countries, with Riyadh deporting four most wanted fugitives to India.
Modi will look to broaden those ties, with one foreign ministry official saying healthcare, education, religious tourism and labour reforms would also be key talking points.
Still, there are limits to what New Delhi can hope to achieve. The relationship between Pakistan and the Saudis goes back decades, based in their shared Sunni Muslim heritage.
Saudi Arabia has long been a source of financial aid for Islamabad. In 2014, the Saudis gave Pakistan $1.5 billion as a "gift" to shore up its foreign reserves.
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif spent time in political exile in Saudi Arabia in the 2000s, after he was ousted in a military coup.
But Indian officials said the timing was right for Modis visit, as relations between Riyadh and Islamabad enter a rough patch.
Pakistan declined to provide ships, aircraft and troops to the Saudi-led fight to halt Iranian-allied Houthi rebels in Yemen last year. It has also sought to avoid taking sides in the escalating dispute between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
"Pakistan knows that relations with Saudi have come to a low. That doesn`t mean that India can fill that gap," said Zahid Hussain, a former newspaper editor in Pakistan. "But certainly this is part of Modi`s diplomatic offensive in the region."
United Nations: More than 100 victims have come forward in the Central African Republic with appalling new accounts of sexual abuse, including bestiality, by UN peacekeepers and French troops, the United Nations has said.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was "shocked to the core" by the allegations that emerged after a UN team traveled to south-central Kemo prefecture to interview the women and girls.
"We must face the fact that a number of troops sent to protect people instead acted with hearts of darkness," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said yesterday.
UN rights officers have so far interviewed 108 alleged victims, "the vast majority" of whom are under-age girls who were raped, sexually abused or exploited by foreign troops, he said.
UN teams received accounts that troops from France's Sangaris force coerced girls to engage in bestiality in return for small amounts of money.
AIDS-Free World, a civil society group that tracks peacekeeper sex abuse cases, said three girls told a UN rights officer that in 2014 they were tied up and undressed by a Sangaris commander inside a camp and forced to have sex with a dog.
Dujarric stressed that "the facts have not been ascertained" in what could be the most serious wave of allegations to date to hit the troubled peace mission in the Central African Republic.
France's UN Ambassador Francois Delattre and US Ambassador Samantha Power both called the allegations "sickening."
French authorities are determined to "shed full light" on the reported cases and will take "exemplary disciplinary action" if the allegations are substantiated, said Delattre.
France sent its Sangaris intervention force to the Central African Republic in December 2013 and while the troops are not part of the UN mission, they have been mandated by the Security Council to help restore peace to the country.
After the UN Security Council held a closed-door meeting on the latest allegations, US Deputy Ambassador David Pressman said they appeared to show that the abuse was "widespread and systematic."
Describing the claims as "extremely concerning", Pressman said they should be met with a "swift, full and urgent response."
UN rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein called for investigations that "leave no stone unturned."
All major terror attacks that have happened in the country were acts by terrorist groups from hostile neighbourhood, says intelligence official. (Photo: AFP)
New Delhi: India faces threats on a regular basis from "hostile neighbourhood" as well as from international terrorist organisations, which are used by some countries as "instruments" of their foreign policy, a top intelligence official said.
"Our neighbour does it, they have been doing it for a long time. The threat that we face almost on a regular basis is from hostile neighbourhood. We have Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish e Mohammed, these two organisations have been set up, have been armed and sustained to target Indian interests that includes civil aviation assets as well," Joint Intelligence Committee Chairman R N Ravi said but did not name Pakistan.
He further said the reason there was no agreed definition of terrorism internationally was because some of the countries were using "terror and terrorism as instruments" of their foreign policy.
Speaking at the function to mark the 29th anniversary of Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) here, he noted that all major terror attacks that have happened in the country were acts by terrorist groups from hostile neighbourhood.
"If you look back, all the major attacks, against Parliament, Akshardam, Mumbai and the latest in Punjab in Pathankot, all these are the act of terrorist organisations coming from hostile neighbourhood. They will also look for civil aviation targets," he said.
With regard to defining terrorism, Ravi said India would continue its efforts at various levels in the larger interest even as he noted that what the international community would do is for them to decide. When countries differentiate between good and bad terrorism, then there is a problem, he said.
Besides, Ravi said there are also threats from international terrorist organisations such as ISIS and Al Qaeda in the Indian sub-continent.
"They look at India as an opportunity for growth, spread. Their concept, their philosophy, howsoever perverted it might be, is India is an Islamic space occupied by un-Islamic people and it has to be liberated," he noted.
Ravi also mentioned that within the country also there were "theatres of conflict" such as Maoists issue and North East insurgency.
According to him, an emerging threat that is far more potent is that related to cyber security.
"Ideal security is only an ideal and efforts are being to ensure that there is optimal security," he added.
The Joint Intelligence Committee functions under the National Security Council Secretariat.
Kathmandu: Nepal has expressed serious concerns over the reference to its new Constitution that was made by the European Union and India in their joint statement issued after the 13th European Union-India Summit in Brussels.
Nepal`s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) yesterday issued a statement, saying the joint statement has hurt the sentiments of the people of Nepal.
"Against this backdrop, the EU-India Joint Statement not only hurts the sentiments of the people of Nepal but also defies the fundamental principle of non-interference in internal affairs of a country in breach of UN Charter and norms of international law," the Himalayan Times quoted MoFA statement as saying.
The MoFA also said the joint statement has defied the fundamental principle of non-interference in internal affairs of a country in breach of UN Charter and norms of international law.
Nepal strongly pointed that the Constitution making and its promulgation were essentially internal matters of a country.
The MoFA also said that Nepal promulgated the Constitution through a democratically elected Constituent Assembly and the Constitution has fully accommodated the aspirations of the people, adding that it has now moved ahead along the path of political stability and economic development.
The MoFA made it clear that promulgation of the Constitution formally concluded the nationally-driven peace process initiated in 2006 and institutionalised significant democratic gains, including federal and republican system.
"The Government and people of Nepal are fully capable of resolving their issues themselves within the framework of the constitution," it added.
The government urged all to fully respect the sovereign and democratic rights of the people of Nepal and refrain from making uncalled for statements.
Washington: Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan faced noisy protests as he confronted critics in Washington, defending his media crackdown and accusing the West of turning a blind eye to Kurdish violence.
As the Turkish leader flew in to the US capital ahead of a nuclear safety summit, news broke of another deadly bomb attack targeting police in his country's southeast, where his forces are battling Kurdish militants.
Against this backdrop his security detail was not amused to find a small group of protesters outside the Washington think tank where he was to speak, brandishing the banners of the YPG, a Kurdish militant group based in Syria.
Ankara regards the YPG as an affiliate of the PKK, Turkey's main Kurdish separatist movement, and has declared it a terrorist threat. Washington sees the YPG guerrillas as key allies in its campaign against the Islamic State group.
Just ahead of Erdogan's arrival at the Brookings Institute yesterday, Turkish security officials clashed with the crowd -- both sides exchanging insults and scuffling -- before Washington DC local police were able to separate them.
The Turkish guards also set about the press. One aimed a chest-high kick at an American reporter attempting to film the harassment of a Turkish opposition reporter, another called a female foreign policy scholar a "PKK whore."
Turkish security tried to prevent two Turkish journalists, one of them working for the opposition daily Zaman that has been seized by the government, from entering.
Brookings staff prevented Turkish officials from driving out the men, who had been invited to cover the event, amid tense scenes.
Meanwhile outside pro-Kurdish demonstrators chanted: "Erdogan, fascist" and "Erdogan, baby-killer."
But Erdogan appeared unruffled as he arrived to give a speech and answer questions, delivering a forceful address in which he ceded no ground to critics at home or abroad.
On the renewed battle with the Kurds, Erdogan was clear -- for Turkey, the PKK and the YPG are one and the same, vicious terrorists, and no better than the Islamic State group.
"Terrorists unfortunately keep attacking our country," he said. "We cannot tolerate this anymore. European countries and other countries, I hope they can see the true face of terrorists in these attacks."
Erdogan complained that, just because the YPG are fighting against the IS group with Western support, some see them as what he derisively termed "good terrorists" and complained that they have backers in Europe.
"I know people are organizing, funding meetings, and are assisting in getting arms to those organizations," he said.
Seoul: North Korea fired a missile into the sea off its east coast on Friday, the South`s military said, hours after the leaders of South Korea, Japan and the United States warned Pyongyang to end provocations or face more pressure.
The projectile was fired from a region near the North`s east coast, a South Korean military official said by telephone.
It was a short-range surface to air missile, another official at the office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, adding the military was trying to determine the range.
The launch at around 12:45 pm local time (0345 GMT) comes hours after US President Barack Obama joined South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe vowing to add pressure on the North for its recent activities.
Meeting on the sidelines of a global nuclear security summit in Washington, the three leaders recommitted their countries to each others` defense and warned they could take further steps to counter threats from Pyongyang.
Obama held separate talks with President Xi Jinping of China, the closest North Korea has to an ally, and said they both wanted to see "full implementation" of the latest UN sanctions against Pyongyang. But Xi offered no sign that Beijing was prepared to go beyond its consent to the Security Council measures imposed in early March.
The North has fired a string of rockets in recent weeks including a long-range rocket in February that launched an object in space. Leader Kim Jong Un has supervised some of the launches in defiance of UN sanctions.
North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test on Jan. 6, leading to new Security Council sanctions in early March. South Korea and the United States have imposed separate sanctions.
Earlier on Friday, South Korea said North Korea has been sending signals to disrupt GPS reception in the South, leading some shipping vessels to return to port.
Washington: US President Barack Obama met his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Washington Thursday, the White House said, amid serious tensions over press freedom and the war in Syria.
Having previously stated the pair were unlikely to hold sit-down talks -- a decision widely perceived as a snub by Washington -- the White House said the two men had in fact met on the margins of a nuclear security summit.
They discussed "US-Turkey cooperation on regional security, counterterrorism, and migration," it said.
The absence of a presidential meeting on Erdogan`s trip to the US capital had been glaring.
The two countries are meant to be close NATO allies in the thick of a fight against the Islamic State group in Syria.
But tensions have been stirred by Ankara`s attacks on Kurdish militants, some of whom are seen by Washington as the best bet for tackling IS in Iraq and northern Syria.
Turkey says the groups are linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers` Party (PKK), which has fought a long battle for Kurdish independence.
Turkish forays into northern Iraq have also strained ties.
The White House has been increasingly outspoken in recent months about threats to free speech and democracy in Turkey.
And on Thursday it restated its belief in the need for press freedom in Turkey, amid ugly scenes at an Erdogan speech in the US capital.
Ahead of Erdogan`s arrival at the Brookings Institute, Turkish security officials clashed with protestors -- both sides exchanging insults and scuffling -- before police were able to separate them.
The Turkish guards also set about the press. One aimed a chest-high kick at an American reporter attempting to film the harassment of a Turkish opposition reporter while another called a female foreign policy scholar a "whore."
The US National Press Club accused Erdogan of trying to export oppression.
As the Turkish leader flew in to Washington ahead of the nuclear safety summit, news broke of another deadly bomb attack targeting police in his country`s southeast, where his forces are battling Kurdish militants.
According to the White House, Obama "extended condolences to President Erdogan on behalf of the American people for those killed and injured in today`s terrorist attack."
He also "reaffirmed the support of the United States for Turkey`s security and our mutual struggle against terrorism."
Washington: Pakistan has sought to allay concerns about the safety of its nuclear programme maintaining that the country had never suffered a nuclear accident or breach of security.
At a news briefing here on Thursday, Pakistan's foreign secretary Aizaz Chaudhary said the impression that Islamabad`s nuclear installations were insecure was baseless, Dawn online reported on Friday.
"Pakistan's nuclear installations are not only secure but the world also acknowledges that they are," Pakistan's foreign secretary Aizaz Chaudhary said.
Chaudhary said the International Atomic Energy Agency has recorded 2,734 nuclear incidents worldwide, including five in India, but "not a single accident or breach happened in Pakistan, although our programme is 40 years old".
The foreign secretary said it was wrong to describe Pakistan`s short-range missiles or small nukes as battlefield or tactical weapons.
"Pakistan has short-range and long-range missiles, and the purpose behind both is to deter aggression," he said, adding "we want to prevent war, to prevent the space Indians created for war" by building military installations close to the Pakistani border as part of their cold start doctrine, he added.
"Calling them battlefield weapons creates a wrong perception. These are for deterrence, only and only for defence," Chaudhary said. "There is no cause for concern."
The foreign secretary said Pakistan had installed radiation monitors at all sensitive facilities and planned to install more monitors at all 72 exit and entry points in the country.
"India, on the other hand, has an ambitious nuclear programme, and an equally ambitious conventional weapons programme," he added. "We have a modest programme because we feel we have the right to defend ourselves."
Washington: A suspected gunman has died after a shooting at a bus station in the US state of Virginia that injured three people, police said.
The suspect died in a hospital following the mid-afternoon incident yesterday in Richmond, Virginia, State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said in a statement.
A trooper he allegedly shot at the city's Greyhound bus station has been hospitalised with life-threatening injuries, she added.
Two civilians were also hurt in the incident but were expected to survive.
Witnesses said that police cars and ambulances rushed to the station.
Geller said the suspect pulled out a firearm when approached by the trooper and proceeded to shoot the officer. Two other troopers nearby returned fire.
Greyhound said it was closing the station until further notice and was cooperating with authorities as they investigate what happened.
Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe said in a statement that he had been in contact with the mayor of Richmond and the head of the Virginia State Police and offered any resources needed to respond to the situation.
Virginia has laws favorable to carrying guns and the National Rifle Association, the powerful pro-gun lobby, is based in the state.
Damascus: President Bashar al-Assad has said he is willing to hold early Presidential Elections, but sharp differences over his future are still hampering efforts to resolve Syria`s five-year civil war.
The opposition has long demanded Assad step down at the beginning of any transitional period, but the regime says any talk of his removal is a "red line".
In comments to Russian state media published on Thursday, Assad said he would consider ending his current seven-year term early if that was what Syrians wanted.
"Is there popular will to hold early presidential elections? If there is, I don`t have a problem with it," Assad told RIA Novosti.
Assad was re-elected with nearly 90 percent of the vote in a June 2014 ballot that the opposition and the West decried as a "farce".
His mandate is set to end in 2021, but a peace process backed by world powers envisages UN-monitored parliamentary and presidential elections within the next 18 months.
Assad`s future -- including whether he would be allowed to run in those elections -- remains controversial.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Assad`s participation in a future government in Syria "would be a non-starter". Syria`s conflict erupted in 2011 with popular protests calling for Assad`s departure and has since evolved into a full-blown civil war drawing in regional powers.
The latest global effort to end the bloodshed has called for the regime and opposition to come together in a new transitional government.
That body would write a new constitution and hold parliamentary and presidential elections by September 2017.
Syria`s government, however, is preparing for regularly scheduled parliamentary elections next month.
Parliamentary hopefuls have already submitted their candidacies for the April 13 vote, as the current legislature`s four-year term comes to an end.
In an interview with RIA Novosti, part of which had been released a day earlier, Assad said the submissions for this election were "the largest in terms of the number of candidates".
Although Assad said Syrians both at home and abroad would be able to vote in future presidential elections, there has been no talk of absentee voting for the April polls.
Nearly five million Syrians have fled the country since the conflict began, and millions more are displaced internally.
More than 270,000 people have lost their lives.
A fragile ceasefire between Damascus and non-jihadist rebels has brought a relative lull in the fighting since February 27, despite continued accusations of violations on both sides.On Thursday, government air strikes killed at least 33 people including nine women and 12 children in a rebel bastion east of Damascus, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Two police officers were also among the dead in Deir Al-Assafir, a town in the Eastern Ghouta opposition stronghold, it said.
Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman called it "the largest ceasefire violation in Eastern Ghouta," while the United States said it was "appalled" by the strikes.
"We condemn in the strongest terms any such attacks directed at civilians," US State Department spokesman John Kirby added.
Elsewhere, air strikes carried out by unidentified planes killed 21 members of the Islamic State group in Al-Husseiniyah, southwest of Deir Ezzor city, the Observatory said.
It added that a drone strike likely by the US-led anti-IS coalition killed Abu al-Hija, a high-ranking Tunisian commander, near the jihadists` de facto capital Raqa on Wednesday.
Last week, US forces killed IS deputy leader Abd ar-Rahman Mustafa al-Qaduli. Earlier this month one of the group`s most notorious commanders, Omar al-Shishani, also died.
By Wendell Roelf NAIROBI (Reuters) - A new road and rail project cutting through a nature reserve on the outskirts of Nairobi threatens wildlife, livestock and people, conservationists said on Friday, after two lions were killed this week. Kenyan wildlife rangers shot dead a male lion named "Mohawk" on Wednesday after it strayed from Nairobi National Park and attacked and injured a resident. [nL5N1722KD] The next day rangers found the body of another lion outside the reserve, speared to death in a township south of Nairobi. Conservationists said construction work on the transport projects was affecting animal behaviour and leading more big cats to try to escape in search of quieter hunting grounds. "Before construction started in the park, the lions were not escaping, so there are indications that the noise and blasting is affecting their movements," said Robert Ndetei, species conservation manager at World Wildlife Funds Nairobi office. "If you dont plan properly, if you dont do proper environmental-impact assessments, then you are doomed to fail, and at the Nairobi National Park this could lead to more lions and other animals coming into contact with a growing human presence," Ndetei told Reuters. Nairobi National Park is home to about 35 lions. There are about 2,000 left in the whole of Kenya. Kitili Mbathi, director general of Kenya Wildlife Service, agreed that the construction work was to blame for the increasing number of lions straying from the park. "Yes, it has been disruptive but we are trying and they (the contractors) are trying to minimize the disruption," he told Reuters by phone. He said the road was nearly complete, while the main construction work on the railway should be finished in June, restoring some calm. "We have a temporary fence in certain places there, so now we will be able to put in a permanent electric fence. Eventually, when all the construction is finished, from that side of the park, we dont expect any more disruptions," he said. Mbathi said the wildlife service had increased patrols along the perimeter of the park. "A key concern is that the developer is not taking proper care to ensure there is less disturbance of the habitat while also not securing the perimeter fencing, said Lucy Waruingi, acting secretary of the Conservation Alliance of Kenya. Human settlements and activity have long been encroaching on the Nairobi National Park, which was established in 1946 and gives visitors the chance to see lions, giraffes, zebras and other wildlife against a backdrop of high-rise buildings. The road under construction will link Nairobi airport with the city centre, while the new railway line will connect the capital with port city Mombasa. Kenya's economy is expected to grow by 5.9 percent this year and by 6 percent in 2017, increasing pressure on the environment and exacerbating conflicts between humans and wildlife. Wildlife tourism is an essential foreign revenue earner for East Africas largest economy. (Additional reporting by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Andrew Roche)
[Treasury Board president Scott Brison. THE CANADIAN PRESSAdrian Wyld]
Advocates for open government are wary of the delay in the federal governments election promise to review the federal Access to Information Act.
But they welcome news from Treasury Board President Scott Brison this week that public consultations on access to information will begin next month and some initial changes can be expected this fall, though a full review of the act wont begin until 2018.
Mixed feelings, is how Tom Henheffer, executive director of Canadian Journalists for Free Expression, feels about Thursdays announcement.
That said, mixed feelings is a lot better than the constant misery of dealing with the previous government on access to information.
Updating the 30-year-old legislation was part of the Liberal election platform.
Canadians elected us with a mandate to make government more open and transparent, Brison says in a news release announcing the public consultations that will begin May 1 and continue until July.
I look forward to engaging them in these consultations as we take another step towards fulfilling our commitment to make government information open by default. We recognize that ultimately, government information belongs to the people we serve.
Henheffer says updating the outdated legislation could happen much more quickly than 2018.
Theyre not rewriting the tax code here, he tells Yahoo Canada News. The Access to Information Act is very small and very simple and to require two years to do the review, I think, is strange and it makes me wonder about whether they really are very serious about actually making the changes that need to be made. Its something they could implement very quickly.
Vincent Gogolek, executive director of the B.C. Freedom of Information and Privacy Association, says whether or not the immediate changes will be good news depends on what those changes are.
The Liberals have promised to give the federal information commissioner order-making power and expand the scope of the legislation to include ministers offices and the Prime Ministers Office.
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But there are a number of serious problems, he says.
Weve got a long list, Gogolek tells Yahoo Canada News.
In her most recent report, federal information commissioner Suzanne Legault says last year was one of the most challenging in her mandate.
Year after year, the commissioner has recommended improvements, including limiting the exemption for cabinet documents.
But the problem has only grown since then, Gogolek says.
As soon as somebody calls a record a cabinet document, nobody else ever gets to look at it, he says.
Its a black hole that needs to be closed right away, he says.
Cabinet confidence was invoked more than 3,100 times to withhold requested records in 2013-14, a 49 per cent increase from the previous year, which had already seen a 15 per cent jump from the year before that, according to the federal commissioner.
I guess cabinet was really, really, really busy, Gogolek says with a laugh.
Or maybe a lot more things are being called cabinet documents because it means nobody gets a chance to look at them; there is no review.
So long as that continues, any other changes could be mute, he suggests.
Still, there is reason for optimism, he adds.
In addition to the public consultations and the official review, the House of Commons committee on access to information and privacy and ethics will conduct hearings this year.
Henheffer agrees that the first priority is reigning in use of exemptions.
If there are loopholes in the system, then they can be abused, he says. So, it does need a wholesale review. It has to happen, but it doesnt have to take that long.
In the short term, the Liberal government can open government by simply instructing the public servants responsible for access to information that there is a culture change in the approach.
If the mantra is openness by default, they should be impressing that upon the staff and just that would be a great step in the right direction that doesnt require any legislation at all, Henheffer says.
The third gender voters are yet to get represented in the voters' list. (Photo: PTI)
Kolkata: The third gender voters are yet to come out in the open to declare their gender in voters' lists.
Out of 6.5 crore registered voters in West Bengal, a nominal 758 are from the third gender.
Election Commission officials said they have been trying their best to ensure that all voters from the category enlist themselves in a separate column.
"We are encouraging it. They can enlist as third gender both as a candidate as well as voters in the third gender category. But we have noticed that they don't want to mention third gender despite us asking them to do so," Amitjyoti Bhattacharya, Deputy Chief Electoral officer, said
Ranjita Sinha who leads Association of Transgender/Hijra in Bengal (ATHB) said social stigma prevent them from coming out in the open.
"Most members of the transgender and hijra community are forced to register themselves as male or female voters when faced with problems in getting recognition as the third sex," the activists said.
"There are many who were registered as male or female many years ago. Now, how will they change their gender in the voter id card," she asked
The EC official said the community is opening up gradually as social acceptance has increased over the years.
"We have sensitised our district officials and all presiding officers to be sensitive to the needs of the third gender during polling and in the preparation of voters list. I can assure you that there is no discrimination from our side," Bhattacharya said.
Shabina Khatoon, a transgender living in a Kolkata slum, says she is worried of taunts and harassment from other voters while standing in the queue for voting.
"People pass dirty comments and laugh at us. It is difficult to stand in a queue alone to go for vote. We'll get our rights only when the people stop discriminating against us," she said.
Transgender activists claimed there could be as much as five lakh voters from the category in the state.
Both fielded by Ram Vilas Paswans Lok Janshakti Party, two transgender candidates are contesting high-profile seats in Kolkata from Bhawanipore and Jadavpur.
Bobby Halder will contest against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee from Bhawanipore while Shankari Mandal will put up a fight at Jadavpur.
During the 2014 Lok Sabha polls it was for the first time that transgenders and eunuchs were regarded as the third gender after Election Commission recognised them as "others".
Many like Manabi Bandyopadhyay, India's first transgender college principal; however refuse to register as "others".
"I was a man who changed gender and became a woman in 2003. So I'm a transwoman and not a transgender. I've the right to self determination and so I am a woman," she says.
Bandyopadhyay has registered herself as a woman in the voters list. "Why should I go for the 'others' category," she asked.
The Business Secretary has told steel workers facing potential redundancy in South Wales that the Government is "on your side".
On a visit to Port Talbot, Sajid Javid said that steel was "absolutely vital" to the UKs industrial future.
He was forced to cut short a trip to Australia after Tata Steel (BSE: TATASTEEL.BO - news) announced it was selling its entire UK operation - and amid criticism for being on the other side of the world as the crisis took hold.
:: Business Secretary Flies Back Into Steel Storm
But Mr Javid said he had been talking to Tata for "weeks", and that the "one thing" in the company's announcement that was new was "the time-frame of the sale".
"Talk of three or four weeks wasnt what I had in mind," he said.
The Business Secretary insisted that he and Tata had been "working really hard to save this plant and make sure that we can find a new buyer that can take it forward and give it a long-term future".
After leaving a meeting with managers, union officials and employees, workers holding placards surrounded Mr Javid outside the plant.
Asked by a worker whether anyone had expressed an interest, Mr Javid said: "There will most certainly be people.
"I couldnt tell you today who they are the process is just beginning."
He told them he could not give specifics of potential buyers because of "commercial reasons", but that the Government was in their corner with steel "absolutely vital" to UK industry.
Mr Javid's visit came amid intense criticism of the Government's response to Tata's decision, which could put as many as 40,000 British jobs at risk.
Ministers have been accused of prioritising trade links with China over support for the steel industry - amid claims the UK has blocked European Union moves to impose tougher tariffs on cheap imported Chinese steel.
:: China Hits Steel Made In UK With 46% Levy
But Mr Javid said such claims "couldn't be further from the truth".
"The reality is the UK has been the leader in the EU in getting tariffs imposed where there is evidence of dumping."
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Roy Rickhuss, head of the Community union, said it was "promising" Mr Javid had now listened to steelworkers' concerns but that the Government should have been "prepared".
"I have lost count of the number of debates and discussions that we have had with government ministers over the past few years to warn them about the threat to jobs," he said.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn echoed his comments, saying: "They knew this crisis was coming and they didn't even send a minister to Mumbai to try and negotiate with Tata."
A Sky Data poll suggests 66% of people would support nationalisation - a measure David Cameron has said is "not the right answer" - with 34% against.
Sky Data interviewed a nationally representative sample of 1,001 Sky (LSE: BSY.L - news) customers by SMS on 1 April 2016. Data is weighted to the profile of the population.
For full Sky Data tables, please click here.
By Jeremy Wagstaff and Jim Finkle (Reuters) - No need for stocking masks and sawn-off shotguns. The unprecedented heist of $81 million from the U.S. account of Bangladeshs central bank is the latest among increasingly large thefts by criminals who have leveraged the speed and anonymity of hacking to revolutionize burgling banks. Hundreds of millions of dollars, and perhaps much more, have been stolen from banks and financial services companies in recent years because of this alliance of traditional and digital criminals, with many victims not reporting the thefts for fear of reputational damage. Typically, security and cyber-crime experts say, hackers break into the computer systems of financial institutions and make, or incite others to make, fraudulent transactions to pliant accounts. Organized crime then uses techniques developed over decades to launder the money, giving the alliance much higher rewards than a hold-up or bank vault robbery, with much less risk. "The internet has made it easier for criminals to get inside banks," said Shane Shook, an independent security consultant. "Criminals are moving away from consumer-targeted attacks to much more substantial bank hacks because it takes less effort to get more money." There's no evidence that old-fashioned bank robberies are in the decline. But there are increasing instances of the cyber variety of the crime. Last year, researchers at Russian security software maker Kaspersky Lab publicized the activities of the prolific Carbanak gang, which it says hacked into banks, then ordered fraudulent money transfers and also forced ATMs to spit out cash. Kaspersky estimates the group hit as many as 100 banks, with losses averaging from $2.5 million to $10 million per heist. A Turkish computer hacker pleaded guilty in a U.S. court in March to one of the most astonishing crimes in this category: "Cashing crews" pulled $40 million out of automated teller machines in 24 countries over a 10-hour period. The 2013 heist was accomplished with the precision of a Hollywood drama, thanks to hackers who breached financial networks, then inflated balances on prepaid debit cards. In another case, Russian banks lost more than $25 million over the past six months to a hacker group infecting their computers using tainted phishing emails, according to Russian security firm Group IB. The malware gave the hackers access to the banks inner network, allowing them to craft seemingly authentic transfer requests via networks including the same SWIFT messaging system used in the Bangladesh Bank attack. "It (the malware) provides remote access to the attacker. Then the attacker manually orders fraudulent transfers over SWIFT or other payment systems," said Dmitry Volkov, head of cyber intelligence for Group IB. In the Bangladesh case, the bank says unknown hackers used malware to access the central bank's computers and spoof messages to the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank. They transferred $81 million from the central bank's account at the New York Fed to Philippine banks. The funds were then passed on to casinos and handed over in cash to a junket operator in Manila, according to testimony at a senate hearing in the Philippines. A transfer of $20 million to an entity in Sri Lanka was reported as suspicious because of a spelling mistake in its name and reversed. UNREPORTED HEISTS Cyber fraud experts say they expect more big heists because the industry has yet to properly defend itself. "The fact is that most of the breaches that happen don't get reported," said Bryce Boland, chief Asia Pacific security officer of computer security company FireEye. One senior banking security executive, who declined to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said he had worked on three cases of cyber thefts that his bank clients had not reported to regulatory authorities. He said the largest involved about $20 million. In many jurisdictions, banks and financial services companies were not required to report breaches unless there's a material impact, Boland said. The definition is left vague enough so that many are not reported at all. Boland said that while 20 percent of his banking customers had been targeted in the second half of last year, FireEye had also found cases of financial services companies not realizing they had been breached, in one case leaving the attackers inside their computers for five years. An ongoing Senate hearing in the Philippines is still struggling to determine how the stolen money was laundered, with another hearing scheduled for next week. In most cases the heists go unpunished and the perpetrators remain a mystery. FireEye's Boland said the company has compiled detailed dossiers on six of the groups behind attacks on financial services companies, but he said he had less complete data on 600 other groups. Not all focus on extracting money, he added. Hackers aimed at specific institutions, often at specific individuals, and often for financially useful data - inside information on mergers and acquisitions, for example, or data that could be used to create fake credit cards. (Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
By Matt Spetalnick and David Brunnstrom WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Just as fears of nuclear terrorism are rising, U.S. President Barack Obama's drive to lock down vulnerable atomic materials worldwide seems to have lost momentum and could slow further. With less than 10 months left in office to follow through on one of his signature foreign policy initiatives, Obama will convene leaders from more than 50 countries in Washington this week for his fourth and final Nuclear Security Summit, a high-level diplomatic process that started and will end on his watch. A boycott by Russian President Vladimir Putin, apparently unwilling to join in a U.S.-dominated gathering at a time of increased tensions between Washington and Moscow, adds to doubts that the meeting will yield major results. The recent deadly militant attacks in Brussels have fueled concern that Islamic State could eventually target nuclear plants and develop radioactive dirty bombs, a topic that may well be uppermost in leaders minds as they meet. Despite significant progress by Obama in persuading dozens of countries to rid themselves of bomb-making materials or reduce and safeguard stockpiles, much of the world's plutonium and enriched uranium remains vulnerable to theft. FROM RUSSIA, NO LOVE The absence of Russia, one of the biggest atomic powers, could detract from decisions reached in Washington this week. Obama, in an opinion piece in The Washington Post, said, "Our massive Cold War nuclear arsenal is poorly suited to todays threats. The United States and Russia - which together hold more than 90 percent of the worlds nuclear weapons - should negotiate to reduce our stockpiles further." Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday Russia was skipping the summit because of a shortage of mutual cooperation in working out the agenda. While noting that Moscow had continued joint work on nuclear security, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Russia was going to miss out on an opportunity and that its no-show illustrated the degree to which Russia is isolated." Russia has chafed over U.S.-led sanctions over the Ukraine conflict. Efforts to make the world safer have also been complicated by North Koreas nuclear weapons advance and Pakistans move toward smaller, tactical nuclear weapons, which Washington fears may further destabilize an already volatile region. All of this weighs on Obamas agenda as he prepares to host world leaders on Thursday and Friday. He inaugurated the event nearly six years ago, after using a landmark speech in Prague in 2009 to lay out the goal of ridding the world of nuclear weapons as a central theme of his presidency. There is no guarantee that once Obama, the driving force behind the initiative, leaves office in January his successor will keep the issue a high priority. WHITE HOUSE TOUTS ACHIEVEMENTS BUT PROGRESS SLOWER The White House previewed the summit by touting a list of achievements in the U.S.-led effort to tie down loose bomb-grade materials, and arms control advocates commend Obama for galvanizing an international response to the problem. However, many say progress has slowed since the last summit in 2014 and countries such as Japan, India and Pakistan are preparing activities that could increase stockpiles of nuclear materials. The Nuclear Security Summits have had a positive effect, but the strategic goal of developing an effective global nuclear security system remains unachieved, the Nuclear Threat Initiative, an anti-proliferation watchdog, said in a report this month. According to the group's Nuclear Security Index, which tracks the safety of weapons-usable nuclear materials, the past two years have brought no improvement in a range of measures, including on-site physical protection, security during transport and the ability to recover lost radioactive materials. The report also said many countries' nuclear reactors were vulnerable to online attacks. Seven of 24 countries with weapons-grade material, including China and Belgium, received the lowest possible score for their facilities' cyber security. Other critics point to a lack of an agreed-upon set of international standards for nuclear security or a mechanism for keeping tabs on common sources of radioactive material often found in hospitals and medical labs. However, Laura Holgate, Obamas adviser on weapons of mass destruction, cited commitments from 30 countries at the 2014 summit to secure their most dangerous material. "The international community has made it harder than ever for terrorists to acquire nuclear weapons, and that has made us all more secure," she told reporters before the summit. "DIRTY BOMB" FEARS Two of the Brussels suicide bombers secretly filmed the daily routine of the head of Belgiums nuclear research and development program and considered an attack on a nuclear site in the country, according to Belgian media. U.S. experts are less concerned about militants obtaining nuclear weapon components than about thefts of ingredients for a low-tech dirty bomb that would use conventional explosives to disperse radioactive material and sow panic. U.S. officials said they had no doubt that Islamic State, which controls swaths of Syria and Iraq, was interested in obtaining such materials, but Holgate said U.S. authorities had no explicit indications that the group had tried to do so. More commitments from world leaders to enhance nuclear security are expected at the summit but anti-proliferation groups worry that without further meetings at the highest levels, interest could wane and improvements could backslide. (Additional reporting by Mark Hosenball and Roberta Rampton in Washington and Vladimir Soldatkin in Moscow; Editing by Don Durfee, James Dalgleish and Leslie Adler)
By Alana Wise
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama commuted prison sentences for 61 non-violent drug offenders on Wednesday and the White House said he hopes to issue more pardons and commutations during his remaining months in office.
Obama has pushed to reform the U.S. criminal justice system to reduce the number of people serving long sentences for non-violent drug crimes, a rare area where the Democratic president has garnered support from Republican lawmakers.
"It does not make sense for a non-violent drug offender to be getting 20 years, 30 years, in some cases life in prison. Thats not serving anybody," Obama said after lunch with several people whose sentences had been commuted.
Obama has now commuted 248 sentences, which the White House said was more than the previous six presidents combined. More than a third of those commuted on Wednesday were life sentences.
"Throughout the remainder of his time in office, the President is committed to continuing to issue more grants of clemency as well as to strengthening rehabilitation programs," White House counsel Neil Eggleston said in a statement.
Over a burger, Obama talked with four women and three men whose sentences were commuted about what it was like to get a second chance.
He highlighted the story of Phillip Emmert, convicted in 1992 on a charge of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
Emmert, who wiped back tears as Obama told his story, served 14 years before then-President George W. Bush commuted his sentence in 2006. Emmert got clean from drugs, took job training in prison and now maintains air-handling systems at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Iowa City, Iowa.
"It is my strong belief that by exercising these presidential powers, I have the chance to show people what a second chance can look like," Obama told reporters.
The Justice Department launched a program in April 2014 to identify prisoners serving time for crimes they were sentenced for under laws that have since been changed to carry less severe punishments.
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Applicants qualify if they have no record of violence, no significant ties to a gang or drug cartel, have been in prison at least 10 years and have demonstrated good behavior.
Efforts on Capitol Hill to change laws to reduce mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders have stalled amid the race for the Nov. 8 presidential election.
Obama said he was still hopeful Congress would act before he leaves the White House in January, praising the efforts of Republican Speaker Paul Ryan in the House of Representatives.
(Reporting by Alana Wise and Roberta Rampton; Editing by James Dalgleish)
U.S. President Barack Obama will open the second day of his final nuclear security summit in Washington, D.C. with an address to the summit's plenary session.
Terrorists will find it harder to obtain nuclear material thanks to a "key treaty" ratified by 102 nations, he said, adding that he expected the treaty to be effective soon. "Working together, our nations have made it harder for terrorists to get their hands on nuclear material," he said.
Obama kicked off the two-day summit Thursday by meeting with the leaders of Japan and South Korea, with nuclear-defiant North Korea the focus of the talks.
Obama said he is hoping the two Asian allies will help to ensure the Korean Peninsula is free of nuclear weapons.
"We are united in our efforts to deter and defend against North Korean provocations," Obama said at a press briefing, flanked by South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. "We recognized that our security is linked, and that we have to meet together to meet this challenge."
The two-day Nuclear Security Summit in the U.S. capital, a signature event in Obama's presidency, is focused this time on how to secure nuclear and radiological material from would-be terrorists.
Among the representatives for the more than 50 countries at the summit is Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who also met with Abe at a separate working lunch on Thursday. The heads of the international delegations attended a working dinner at the White House in the evening.
Nuclear terrorism is a shared concern that has been put into sharp relief following deadly attacks by the Islamic State, or ISIS, in the Middle East, Africa and Europe.
Fears about what ISIS could do with a nuclear weapon or a "dirty bomb" that combines radioactive dispersion with conventional explosives top the agenda at the summit. Obama described Park and Abe as stalwart allies on combating the militant group.
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But North Korea's recent nuclear sabre-rattling has also lent more urgency to the discussions this week.
'Shared, urgent challenge'
North Korea fired another long-range missile in February, and the isolated state also conducted its fourth nuclear test the month before.
"The additional sanctions recently imposed on Pyongyang by the United Nations Security Council show that violations have consequences," Obama wrote in an op-ed in The Washington Post published online on the eve of the summit.
On Thursday, Park said North Korea represents a "shared, urgent challenge" among Japan, South Korea and the U.S. She warned that trilateral pressure, including even tougher sanctions on the regime, would be enforced if the provocation continues.
As worrying as the North Korean threat has been, the rise of ISIS is another development that has loomed over the talks. In 2010, when the first nuclear summit opened in Washington, the group was not the international network it is today.
Cesar Jaramillo, executive director of the Ontario-based security research organization Project Ploughshares, said any terrorist organization aspires to obtain a nuclear or radiological weapon.
Last year, Belgian police seized video surveillance of a top nuclear official in Belgium from the home of a suspected ISIS conspirator with links to the killers in the November Paris attack.
"There's been intelligence about terrorists trying to acquire nuclear material, and every effort must be made by Canada and the international community to prevent that scenario," Jaramillo said.
The gravity of the prospect of nuclear terrorism is beyond dispute.
"Even if [a nuclear attack] is not considered to be imminent, the worst mistake the international community should make is to underestimate the threat because the stakes are so high," he said.
Canada to report on nuclear security efforts
Canada's prime minister has attended each of the nuclear summits since the first one in 2010. Canada, a non-nuclear weapons state, has traditionally held a strong non-proliferation and disarmament stance, and is expected to release a progress report on Friday outlining how it has spent some of the $28 million it pledged during the 2014 summit towards boosting nuclear security abroad.
Watch: Former U.S. Secretary of Defense William J. Perry imagines a nuclear scenario
Critics of the Nuclear Security Summit have said the discussions around preventing smuggling, disposing of enriched uranium and plutonium and tracking of nuclear material don't go far enough if they ignore serious consideration of complete elimination of nuclear weapons.
"The point that gets lost is it's virtually impossible to fully prevent the spread of nuclear technology in the absence of credible effort towards abolition," Jaramillo said. "There are no 'right hands' for 'wrong weapons.'"
Trudeau began the day in Washington addressing business leaders at a breakfast forum at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, then held bilateral meetings with Abe and Japanese dignitaries, as well as Argentinian President Mauricio Macri. He is expected to attend a Thursday night working dinner hosted by Obama at the White House.
More than 15,000 nuclear warheads are estimated to be in the possession of nine countries around the world, according to the Washington-based Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation.
The Fissile Materials Working Group, a policy centre dedicated to combating nuclear terrorism, says that more than 1,500 kilograms of highly enriched uranium and separated plutonium have either been recovered or eliminated since the first Nuclear Security Summit in 2010.
This is the second attachment against Sagar by ED as it earlier issued similar orders on his 14 immovable properties, four luxury cars, cash and three kg gold ornaments with a total value of Rs 3.40 crore. (Photo: PTI)
New Delhi: Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached assets worth over Rs 10 crore of two accused in connection with its money laundering probe in the 'Vyapam' scam in Madhya Pradesh.
The provisional attachment of assets order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) has been issued against Dr Vinod Bhandari, ex-chairman of Sri Aurobindo Institute of Medical Sciences (SAIMS) and Dr Jagdish Singh Sagar, an alleged mastermind of the scam.
Read: Former MP minister Laxmikant Sharma, accused in Vyapam scam, released on bail
The agency said today the Special Task Force (STF) of Madhya Pradesh Police has filed a chargesheet against Bhandari and Sagar, accusing them of collecting huge amounts from various students for their selection by dubious means, through their aide, appearing for Pre Medical Test-2012 (PMT-2012) and Pre-PG Examination-2012 conducted by VYAPAM.
The agency said its probe found that large cash deposits were made in the bank accounts of Bhandari.
Also read: Madhya Pradesh in 2015: Vyapam scam haunted Shivraj Singh Chouhan
"He could not explain those deposits during the investigation. This cash was rotated among various bank accounts of his group companies and finally utilised for purchase of properties, in his name and in the names of his family members. Accordingly, 15 acres of prime land near SAIMS, with market value of Rs 9 crore was attached under the provisions of PMLA," it said.
Similarly, it said, a number of immovable properties purchased in cash by Sagar and his family members were identified.
"He also had unexplained cash deposits in the bank accounts which were also utilised for purchase of various properties.
Read: Decoding: What Vyapam scam is all about
"Therefore, 17 acres of land at Bhindi and 135 sq mtrs of residential property at Indore with market value of Rs 1.70 crore were attached under the provisions of PMLA," it said.
This is the second attachment against Sagar by ED as it earlier issued similar orders on his 14 immovable properties, four luxury cars, cash and three kg gold ornaments with a total value of Rs 3.40 crore.
An attachment order under PMLA is aimed at depriving the accused from obtaining benefits of their alleged ill-gotten wealth and the accused can appeal against the order before the Adjudicating Authority of the said Act within 180 days.
The central probe agency's Indore zonal office had registered a criminal FIR in March, 2014 to probe alleged financial irregularities and laundering instances in the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board scam, also called 'Vyapam' in Hindi, pertaining to admission of candidates and students in professional courses and state services in alleged connivance with officials and politicians.
The agency had named former state Higher Education Minister Laxmikant Sharma and 27 others in its FIR registered after taking cognisance of a clutch of STF FIRs. CBI is alo probing the case.
By Todd Melby
MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) - Two Minneapolis police officers involved in the shooting death of a 24-year-old black man will not be charged, prosecutors said on Wednesday, because evidence showed Jamar Clark was not handcuffed and that he reached for an officer's gun.
Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman told a news conference that Clark struggled with Officers Mark Ringgenberg and Dustin Schwarze, who are white, and that he was not handcuffed and at one point had his hand on a gun.
Freeman told reporters that the officers said without the use of deadly force Clark would have taken possession of the gun. "Each stated their independent fear of being shot," he said. "Accordingly, the head of the county attorney's office has concluded criminal charges are not warranted."
Freeman made the decision not to charge the officers, bypassing use of a grand jury.
Clark's shooting came at a time of fierce national debate over the use of excessive force by police, especially against black men. Minneapolis is one of a number of U.S. cities that has seen protests over killings by police.
Activists criticized the decision not to charge the officers and said questions remained unanswered, such as why Clark was shot 61 seconds after police arrived at the scene.
The decision "sends a clear message that the Minneapolis police may act as judge, jury and executioner in interactions with unarmed black men," said Becky Dernbach, a spokeswoman for the local group Neighborhoods Organizing for Change.
On Wednesday evening, hundreds of peaceful protesters led by activists from Black Lives Matter Minneapolis converged on a central government plaza, chanting "No justice, no peace, prosecute the police," and waving signs as they marched.
The demonstrators, who filled the plaza, listened to speeches and sang songs. At one point, an organizer recalled a similar rally held in the city four years ago in memory of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black Florida teenager who was shot dead by a volunteer watchman. Later, the crowd repeatedly shouted in unison, "I am a revolutionary!"
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Freeman's remarks, interviews that had been conducted, police and autopsy reports and video related to the case were posted on his office's website on Wednesday. (http://www.hennepinattorney.org)
Fred Bruno, the attorney for Schwarze, who shot Clark, lauded the decision not to charge his client.
"The scientific evidence and objective witness statements now conclusively show that Mr. Clark was neither unarmed nor handcuffed. He had control of an officers gun. Officer Schwarze responded in accordance with his training, and as the law required him to act," Bruno said in a statement.
Bob Sicoli, Ringgenberg's attorney, said Freeman's decision was supported by evidence.
"What is a police officer supposed to do?" he said in a telephone interview. "Just imagine you're on the ground, you can't get up, somebody has your gun belt and has their hand around your gun and says something to the effect of 'I'm ready to die.' That's every police officer's worst nightmare. They had to do what they did."
Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges said she understood the anger of many residents and noted that the U.S. Justice Department and the U.S. Attorney's Office are investigating the shooting. There will then be an internal police investigation to decide if the officers should be disciplined.
"Today is a hard day for everyone in the city of Minneapolis," she told reporters.
On Nov. 15, 2015, police said they responded to a request to assist an ambulance that had been sent to north Minneapolis to treat Clark's girlfriend. Freeman said she had been assaulted by Clark.
Police said Clark was shot during a struggle after he confronted paramedics and impeded their ability help his girlfriend. Clark died the next day.
Freeman said one of the officers tried to handcuff Clark, and DNA evidence showed that in the ensuing struggle Clark got his hand on Ringgenberg's gun as they both lay on the ground.
"Nothing scares a cop more than somebody trying to take their gun," Freeman told reporters on a conference call later on Wednesday.
Some witnesses had said Clark was handcuffed or restrained on the ground when he was shot.
Freeman said Schwarze took out his gun, put it to the edge of Clark's mouth and told him to let go or he would be shot. Freeman said Clark told Schwarze, "I'm ready to die," but only the police heard the comment.
At that point, Schwarze pulled the trigger but the gun failed to fire because the slide was only partially pulled back, Freeman said. Schwarze fired again after he heard a panicked Ringgenberg urge him to shoot Clark, Freeman said.
Clark's comments were not recorded. The dash-board video camera on the patrol car did not automatically start because the lights and siren, which trigger it, had not been used due to the nature of the call, Freeman said.
Freeman said Clark's toxicology report showed a blood alcohol level of .09 and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive component in marijuana. In Minnesota, a blood alcohol level of .08 is considered driving drunk.
Black Lives Matter activist Johnetta Elzie questioned the pertinence of that information. "This has what to do with the police killing him?! Same script, different dead black body," she wrote on Twitter.
(Additional reporting by Xan Holston, Karen Pierog, Suzannah Gonzales, Anjali Athavaley and Brendan O'Brien; Writing by Ben Klayman and Eric M. Johnson; Editing by Fiona Ortiz, Bill Rigby and Leslie Adler)
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 move 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." (This story has been refiled to say 'move' instead of 'moved' in paragraph 30) (Additional reporting by Ingrid Melander; Editing by Alessandra Galloni/Janet McBride)
Rob Ford has been praised and eulogized in the days since his death.
But political opponents of the former Toronto mayor and city councillor say he did damage to his old ward, was an example of how not to govern and has left a community in much need of improvement.
Andray Domise, 2014 candidate
Andray Domise, 35, who ran unsuccessfully against Ford for a city council seat in Ward 2 Etobicoke North in October 2014, said Ford failed to bring jobs to the corner of the city that he represented before and after he was mayor.
"I'm trying to be nice, and I'm afraid I can't," Domise said. "He left a terrible legacy. Rob Ford didn't want our neighbourhood to have anything that he didn't give to the area himself.
"When someone passes away, you canonize them. He doesn't need someone else to affix a halo to his head. He did a lot of damage to the neighbourhood."
Domise, a financial planner, put his name on the ballot before Ford dropped out of the mayoralty race to run for council, following his cancer diagnosis.
Domise said he ran to bring attention to issues such as jobs and poverty in Rexdale, a neighbourhood in Ward 2, access to transit and opportunities for youth. He pushed for the Finch West light rail transit project to be connected to Humber College.
"People still say it's easier to get a gun in Rexdale than a job," he said.
Domise said he wanted to create a program called Techsdale, a kind of recreation centre where young people could learn about technology, and he is continuing to raise money through a crowdfunding campaign to launch it.
Heavy manufacturing used to provide jobs in Ward 2, but he said most of the jobs now are in education and retail, with the biggest employers being Humber College and Woodbine Centre shopping mall.
"You have to leave the neighbourhood to get a good job," he said.
Domise said it's important that the city not gloss over the negative aspects of the Ford years.
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"We don't accept that someone we like could be a bad person, racist or homophobe. But as a mature society, we have to do it. I don't understand why we have to be nice. I refuse to," he said.
Richard Feren, satirist
Richard Feren, 48, a composer and sound designer for theatre and film, penned a parody Twitter account of Ford under the handle @TOMayorFrod.
Twitter suspended the account for a day in February 2014, but reinstated it when Feren made changes to make it look less like the official Rob Ford account.
He wrote his last tweet for the account on the day Ford died and included a link to a eulogy he wrote.
Feren said Ford should be remembered as a habitual liar and a divisive figure who pitted one area of the city against another.
He said Ford, despite all the claims that he represented regular folks, was an anti-intellectual politician who routinely voted against measures that would help people, including community programs in low-income neighbourhoods, supervised injection sites and funding for arts and cultural activities.
"We need to remember the kind of discourse he encouraged and try to avoid it," he said. "He never researched anything he was trying to promote or oppose. It reminds us of how important it is to learn the details of things."
Feren said facts didn't really matter to Ford, who believed what he believed whether it was true or not. For example, he said, Ford opposed light rail lines in Toronto without knowing the exact routes they would run on, and falsely claimed that roads would be torn up for the lines.
"I'm angry that his legacy is being whitewashed," he said. "He's being held up as a hero, which he wasn't. He wasn't a great guy."
But not all political opponents offered criticism.
Munira Abukar, council candidate
Munira Abukar, 23, a community activist who also ran unsuccessfully against Ford in Ward 2 in 2014, said at the time that she felt the community had been abandoned by Ford and his brother Doug.
She said she had seen firsthand the violence that has plagued some of the ward. During the campaign, she said the area needed a community centre.
But now, Abukar says the Ford family needs a grace period in which to mourn the loss of a father, husband, brother and son.
"Regardless of where you go in our community, there are always stories about Rob Ford. That is what we should cherish about him," she said.
"We never really agreed on issues. We differed on how the community should look and the services that are needed."
She said Ford should be remembered for his tenacity, and she was reluctant to criticize him now that he is dead. "There's no time for him to make amends. Let his family have some time alone and some peace."
Domise and Abukar said they are not sure if they are going to run again and will decide once council makes a decision about how to fill the vacancy. A new councillor could be elected through a byelection or council could appoint a replacement representative.
An unmanned Russian cargo ship packed with 3 tons of supplies launched toward the International Space Station Thursday (March 31), beginning a two-day orbital delivery flight.
The Progress 63P spaceship is the third vehicle to launch to the space station in the past three weeks, and the second cargo craft to launch there in nine days. The ship's cargo includes 1,940 lbs. (880 kilograms) of propellant, 110 lbs. (50 kg) of oxygen, 926 lbs. (420 kg) of water and 3,161 lbs. (1,434 kg) of dry cargo, NASA officials said. The craft blasted off at 12:23 p.m. EDT (1623 GMT) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, and was quickly concealed by a cloudy sky as it accelerated upward.
"[It's] a flawless ascent to orbit for the Progress resupply vehicle, the second in as many weeks to head to the International Space Station, with a third resupply ship, the SpaceX Dragon cargo craft, scheduled for launch on April 8," NASA spokesperson Rob Navias reported from Mission Control Houston during a NASA TV broadcast. [The Space Station's Robotic Cargo Ship Fleet in Pictures]
The craft will make its way to the space station over the course of two days. Although Progress spacecraft normally take less than a day to reach the orbiting lab, this one will take its time in order to test upgraded systems that will also be used on the first crewed launch of the upgraded Soyuz spacecraft in June, which will bring three new faces to the space station. The supply craft is scheduled to arrive Saturday, April 2, at 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT).
Currently, the station is occupied by American astronaut Tim Kopra, British astronaut Tim Peake and Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko, all of whom have been in space for over 100 days, as well as three crewmembers who arrived just two weeks ago on a Soyuz craft: NASA astronaut Jeff Williams and cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Oleg Skripochka.
It's been a very busy time on the space station: On March 22, an Orbital ATK Cygnus supply craft, flown on United Launch Alliance's Atlas V rocket, launched to the station, carrying a record-breaking load of supplies and experiments to the station. Another Progress craft left the station yesterday to free up space for the one that just launched. Next, a commercial SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch its robotic Dragon cargo craft to the station, blasting off from Cape Canaveral at 4:43 p.m. EDT (2043 GMT) on April 8.
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Email Sarah Lewin at slewin@space.com or follow her @SarahExplains. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
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Two survivors of sexual violence from Washington, D.C., are in Winnipeg to raise awareness about sexual assault on college campuses with a book and documentary.
Annie Clark and Andrea Pino are the focus of The Hunting Ground, a documentary about sexual violence on college campuses screening in Winnipeg on Thursday night.
"I was very blamed. I was asked what I could have done differently to prevent it," Clark said about seeking support after she was assaulted.
She was 18 years old and assaulted off campus. She didn't report it to the police and went to a support program at her university.
"I knew that wasn't the right response, but I didn't know what was, so I worked the rest of my undergraduate career to try to make a better climate on campus," she said.
Pino was in second year at her university when she was assaulted. She also didn't consider reporting the incident but turned to her university for help, she said.
"I realized there was a culture that didn't really want to address sexual violence, much less sexual violence perpetrated by fellow students," she said.
Pino met Clark and realized it was up to them to come forward with their stories and change the environment for students who experience sexual violence, Pino said.
The pair founded End Rape on Campus, which provides support and education to survivors and their communities.
This week the two also held a pre-launch at McNally Robinson for their new book We Believe You, which will be released on April 12 during sexual assault awareness month.
The book features stories from 36 people of different backgrounds who experienced sexual assault on campus.
"The whole goal of it being that survivors have many different faces they are men, they are women, they are folks in between and they are people after their experiences," said Pino.
"Often the stories you do hear are people who look like me a white female, [who] was [a] college student. We were really intentional in trying to get representation for all communities," said Clark.
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The keys to ending sexual violence are early education and creating a culture that doesn't blame the victim, Clark said.
"This is the only crime in which the victim is the one that's questioned, is the one that is not believed when they come forward," she said.
"That's why we titled the book We Believe You, because that's really, if you think about it, that's really radical activism to believe a survivor in a culture that tells you to do exactly the opposite," Clark said.
EVA Manitoba and the University of Winnipeg Students' Association organized the documentary screening Thursday night at 6 p.m. in Eckhardt-Gramatte Hall at the University of Winnipeg. There will be a discussion about sexual violence after the film.
David Cameron is chairing a meeting in Downing Street to discuss the crisis in the steel industry, amid growing fears of huge job losses in the sector.
The Government has been criticised for its response to Indian conglomerate Tata's announcement that it is preparing to sell its UK assets, including the country's biggest steel plant at Port Talbot in south Wales.
Around 40,000 jobs could be lost if no buyer is found, according to an analysis by the Institute for Public Policy Research.
There was a chink of light for workers this morning as international metals group Liberty House said it would be interested in buying part of Tata's UK business but not its blast furnaces.
The company's executive chair Sanjeev Gupta said Government policies had made UK steelmaking uncompetitive compared with European rivals, who benefit from generous tax breaks.
Stephen Kinnock, the MP for workers at Port Talbot, said the government's handling of the crisis had been "a total shambles" and called for an "urgent plan" to support the industry.
He told Sky News: "Why is it that the Prime Minister seems to be reacting to this as if he didn't see it coming. They're in total disarray.
"They either don't care or they're so incompetent that they simply don't know what they're doing."
Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell told Sky Tata was pulling out of the UK because the Government had failed to take action to prevent Chinese steel dumping.
He said the Government needed to produce a plan quickly - and urged a recall of Parliament so MPs could debate the matter.
Unions have accused ministers of sending mixed messages after initially saying the Government was looking at all options to retain steelmaking before ruling out nationalisation.
:: Analysis: Why Cameron Rejected Recall Over Steel Crisis
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who visited Port Talbot on Wednesday, said he was shocked Business Secretary Sajid Javid did not believe this could be the solution.
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Mr Javid has cut short a business trip to Australia to help deal with the fallout from Tata's announcement.
The Government rejected calls from Labour to recall Parliament, a move accepted by the Welsh Assembly, which will meet next week.
Mr Javid said the steel industry was "absolutely vital for the country", adding: "I'm deeply concerned about the situation.
"I think it's absolutely clear that the UK steel industry is absolutely vital for the country and we will look at all viable options to keep steelmaking continuing in Port Talbot."
But he said he did not think nationalisation was the solution.
"At this stage, given the announcement from Tata has just come out, it's important I think we talk to them properly and understand the exact situation and we look at all viable options", Mr Javid said.
"I don't think nationalisation is going to be the solution because I think everyone would want a long-term viable solution."
The PM could raise the issue with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi when the pair attend an international summit in Washington later.
The Government is "doing everything it can" to resolve the steel crisis, but nationalisation is not the solution, David Cameron has said.
Number 10 has been criticised for its response to Indian conglomerate Tata's announcement that it is preparing to sell its UK assets, including the country's biggest steel plant at Port Talbot in South Wales.
About 40,000 British jobs could be lost if no buyer is found, according to the Institute for Public Policy Research.
Speaking after an emergency ministerial meeting in Downing Street, the PM defended his decision not to send ministers to a crunch meeting of Tata Steel (BSE: TATASTEEL.BO - news) executives in India on Tuesday - insisting the Government had worked on a plan "for months".
He said: "We're not ruling anything out - I don't believe nationalisation is the right answer.
"It (Other OTC: ITGL - news) is a difficult situation, there can be no guarantees of success because of the problems that the steel industry faces worldwide, but the Government will do everything it can to help, working with the company, working with the communities, to try to secure the future of this vital steel-making in Port Talbot and elsewhere in the UK."
He urged caution on steel tariffs, after the Government was accused of blocking measures designed to prevent steel dumping by China and other countries.
:: Analysis - Plenty Of Steel But Little Reassurance From PM
Chancellor George Osborne, in Paris for talks with other G20 finance ministers, said the Government was taking action to cut energy prices and make sure British steel is used in UK construction projects.
"We're having conversations with other governments, like I'm having here in Paris, to make sure we take action against unfair, cheap steel imports," he told Sky News.
"We are going to do everything possible and practical to help those families, to back areas like Port Talbot and to make sure the steel industry has real support going forward."
Their words were greeted with scepticism in Port Talbot, where workers said they "couldn't trust" the Government.
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Steelworker Scott Bamsey told Sky News: "We're having mixed messages. (Business minister) Anna Soubry said they wouldn't rule out nationalisation and this morning David Cameron has done a big U-turn and said he doesn't think it's an option."
Business Secretary Sajid Javid, who is returning from Sydney to deal with the crisis, is facing calls to resign after it emerged he took his teenage daughter with him on the curtailed trade trip.
His spokesman said: "We can confirm that Mr Javid's daughter accompanied him on his visit to Australia. There was no cost to the taxpayer."
Stephen Kinnock, the MP for workers at Port Talbot, said the Government's handling of the crisis had been "a total shambles" and called for an "urgent plan" to support the industry.
He told Sky News: "Why is it that the Prime Minister seems to be reacting to this as if he didn't see it coming? They're in total disarray.
"They either don't care or they're so incompetent that they simply don't know what they're doing."
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell said the Government needed to produce a plan quickly - and urged a recall of Parliament so MPs could debate the matter.
A Labour petition calling for a recall has passed the 100,000 mark in just one day, with a new signature every second.
There was a gleam of optimism for workers on Thursday morning as international metals group Liberty House said it would be interested in buying part of Tata's UK business, but not its blast furnaces.
The company's executive chair Sanjeev Gupta said Government policies had made UK steelmaking uncompetitive compared with European rivals, who benefit from generous tax breaks (Other OTC: UBGXF - news) .
By Elias Biryabarema KAMPALA (Reuters) - Uganda's Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a petition seeking nullification of President Yoweri Museveni's disputed re-election last month, clearing the way for the 71-year-old veteran leader to extend his three-decade rule. The ruling had been widely expected by political observers and the opposition in a country where the judiciary is frequently accused of bias toward the incumbent. Museveni won another five-year term in the Feb. 18 presidential election with 60 percent of the vote, but all his main opponents rejected the results, alleging widespread rigging and intimidation by security forces. Veteran opposition leader Kizza Besigye, who came second in the election with 35 percent, has been kept under virtual house arrest since polling day. On March 1 Amama Mbabazi, who came a distant third with less than 2 percent of the vote, appealed to the Supreme Court to overturn the result of the poll. He cited delays in delivering ballot materials, improper supervision of voting, bribery and interference by security forces which he said had tainted the outcome. In a judgement by nine justices, the head of the Supreme Court, Bart Katureebe, said they had found valid evidence of several malpractices including security interference with Mbabazi's campaigns and late delivery of polling materials, but declined to nullify the result. "We find that there was non-compliance with the principles of free and fair elections," he said. "But we are not satisfied that non-compliance affected the result in a substantial manner... This petition is dismissed." CRITICISM Under Uganda's electoral law someone who alleges malpractices and seeks nullification of the result of a presidential election must prove that the irregularities affected the result in a "substantial manner". Two similar petitions by Besigye in 2001 and 2006 seeking cancellation of Museveni's re-election were dismissed on the same grounds, sparking heavy criticism. Some Western governments which have lauded Museveni in the past for helping in the fight against Islamist militants in Somalia have lately criticised him for clamping down on critics and harassing the opposition. Ugandan political analyst Nicholas Ssengoba told Reuters Museveni's court victory reflected the difficulties the opposition had in gathering evidence. Soon after the petition was filed, thieves broke into two offices of Mbabazi's lawyers and stole some of the evidence. Mbabazi said the theft was probably orchestrated by the police, an allegation the government denied. "There were so many handicaps placed on Mbabazi, they couldn't do much," Ssengoba said. (Reporting by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by Gareth Jones)
The toll in the flyover collapse in Kolkata has climbed to 24 after three more bodies were recovered from underneath the piles of debris of concrete and iron girdles of the broken portion of the under-construction bridge. (Photo: AP)
Kolkata: Trinamool Congress MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay on Friday made a sensational statement that he was not only aware that there were serious flaws in the design of the Vivekananda flyover but he had also informed the Mamata Banerjee government about them. He acknowledged that the flyover should have been remodelled but it was not done because the state government would have to incur massive additional expenditure.
The West Bengal police Friday detained ten officials of Hyderabad-based construction company IVRCL, that was building Vivekananda Setu, the Kolkata flyover that collapsed on Thursday killing 24 people.
The detained include few engineers, managers and vice-president of the construction company, a Kolkata police official said.
Mr Bandopahdyay, who was campaigning for his party candidate in Birbhum on Thursday when the Girish Park flyover came crashing down, visited the site of the mishap which falls in his Kolkata North constituency.
Read: Centre orders safety review of all highway, bridge projects
The plan and design of the flyover were made during the Left regime. There were flaws in the design from the inception and the local residents had even complained about them. They were in fact opposed to the construction of this flyover. I as their elected representative had informed the state government. At one point of time it was even planned that a portion would be demolished and the flyover would be remodelled," he added.
Read: TMC, BJP spar over Kolkata flyover collapse
When asked why this was not done, Mr Bandopadhyay pointed out that by then over 50 per cent of the project was completed and therefore such a move would have entailed a huge expenditure. When asked why he did not press for a change in the design, he said: Whom am I (to persist)? I am just a peoples representative. Its the Maa Maati Maanush government.
Read: Kolkata flyover collapse: Ten IVRCL executives held
Mr Bandopadhyay also went onto read out a list of other disasters which had taken place in the city in the past to drive the point home that the flyover tragedy was not the first incident of its kind which involved heavy casualties. Disaster is not a new thing in Kolkata. There have been similar accidents in the past. It could have been more serious but is is gods grace, he added.
The West Bengal state government Friday suspended two engineers of the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority who were involved in the construction of the flyover.
It also ordered immediate inspection of the remaining portion of the flyover to ascertain its stability and safety.
Kolkata Police had registered a case on Thursday against construction firm IVRCL under sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide) and 407 of the IPC and sealed the local office of the company engaged in flyover's construction.
Meanwhile, IVRCL described the incident as accident, a day after another official of the company had dubbed it as an act of God.
"An act of God was just an expression only to describe that it is under no one's control", P Sita, the construction company's legal team head, told reporters here.
South Africa's highest court has ruled that President Jacob Zuma breached the constitution, and has ordered him to repay some of the 240m rand (11m) spent improving his private home.
The Constitutional Court has given the Treasury 60 days to decide how much Mr Zuma must pay - and then he has a further 45 days to pay the money back.
The court said that Mr Zuma had failed to "uphold, defend and respect" the constitution when he ignored the instructions of an anti-corruption watchdog to repay some of the money.
Mr Zuma says he respects the ruling and will determine the appropriate action.
The case, which has dragged on for years, has damaged Mr Zuma politically, with the opposition now repeating demands that he be removed from office.
The South African Parliament has also been criticised for flouting its obligations.
The public protector, Thuli Madonsela, released a report in 2014 saying the President and his family had "unduly benefited" from some of the upgrades at his Nkandla residence and he should repay a portion of the money.
The report made reference to non security-related improvements such as a cattle enclosure, amphitheatre, visitor centre, a chicken run and swimming pool.
Mr Zuma refused to pay any of the money back and commissioned his own report, which largely exonerated him. In that report the swimming pool was listed as a fire-fighting reservoir.
In a surprise move last month, the President did offer to pay back some of the money, when his lawyer admitted that his defence that the home improvements were security related had been wrong.
Police with riot shields were stationed outside the Johannesburg court when the ruling was made, along with an armoured vehicle and a barbed-wire barricade.
The case will put more pressure on Mr Zuma's ruling African National Congress (ANC) party ahead of mid-year provincial elections. The ANC says it respects the judgement of the court.
Mr Zuma was already under extreme pressure after abruptly dismissing his finance minister, Nhlanhla Nene, in December, a move which sent the South African currency, the rand, into a tailspin.
Admissions
Kira Debuts Online Education Portal for Admissions Teams
Kira Talent has launched a new online education portal that offers free courses designed to help college and university admissions teams improve processes from recruitment through enrollment.
The portal, called Kira University, is offering its four-week pilot course, The Master of Business School Admissions, beginning March 31, 2016, covering topics such as identifying top applicants, boosting applicant volume and improving applicant yield. The course includes weekly lessons emailed to participants, with course content from experts at LinkedIn, Hootsuite, University of Michigan, the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto and others.
Lessons included in The Master of Business School Admissions course:
Think like a Marketer;
Redesign the Admissions Process;
Assess Students Better; and
Cultivate the Best Cohort.
Kira Talent launched its video admissions platform, Kira Academic, in 2014. According to information from the company, it is drawing on its experience working with university admissions teams through Kira Talent and Kira Academic to develop these courses. "The Kira team has spent years collaborating with schools around the world to implement the Kira platform into their admissions processes," said Craig Morantz, CEO of Kira, in a prepared statement. "In doing so, we've observed what works and what doesn't and are excited to share those insights with admissions professionals who enroll in the program."
While the courses are designed to help admissions departments, Morantz believes they will ultimately benefit students as well. "By seeking better ways to assess and evaluate applicants, schools are taking steps to ensure a more transparent and holistic approach to admissions," he said in a news release. "This will help schools select the students that are the best fit for their unique programs and vice versa."
Further information about Kira University and its upcoming courses can be found on the Kira Academic site.
By Karen Lema and Andrew R.C. Marshall
MANILA (Reuters) - For Kim Wong, the Chinese casino owner in the Philippines entangled in one of the world's largest bank heists, there are two golden rules for dealing with wealthy punters: always demand to see their money, but never ask where it came from.
That seems to be what happened when he took millions of dollars from two Chinese high-rollers in February. He told a Senate hearing earlier this week the two men were responsible for transferring $81 million stolen from the Bangladesh central bank's U.S. account into the Philippines.
"In casinos we always say, 'Show your money first before you talk,'" Wong told Reuters on Friday in his first interview with an international news organization.
As for the source of that money? "You don't ask. It's disrespectful."
The 54-year-old denied any involvement in the heist. But he described one of the two high-rolling gamblers as a long-time friend from Macau who in a single week in 2014 ran up a debt of $10 million at a Manila casino. Wong acted as guarantor until it was paid off.
The other high roller was from Beijing, said Wong, adding that he barely knew him.
Neither high roller is being sought by Philippine police because no complaint has yet been filed against them. It was not known if they were still in the Philippines.
Wong gave a rare peek into a world where Chinese high rollers rack up multi-million-dollar debts at Manila casinos and life-changing sums of money change hands as casually as sticks of gum.
Since appearing at the Senate hearing, his cash-drenched profession has dominated headlines in a country where around a quarter of its 100 million people live on two dollars a day.
At Solaire, Manila's flashiest casino, the minimum bet in the VIP rooms is $5,000, or as much as a Filipino teacher earns in a year.
Wong's lawyers arrived at the Philippine central bank on Thursday to surrender a suitcase packed with $4.63 million in cash.
This fulfilled Wong's earlier vow to pay back what was left of $5 million in stolen money he had received via Philrem, a foreign exchange broker.
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Another 1 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).
Of that money, said Wong, 550 million pesos was used to buy gambling chips for clients. The rest he has promised to pay back.
"Give me 15 days to a month. I will pay," he said.
The rest of the $81 million went to Solaire casino and another junket operator, according to the AMLC complaint. In the Philippines, casinos are outside the purview of the anti-money laundering laws.
COLLEGE DROP-OUT
Dressed casually in jeans and a polo shirt and showing no signs of wealth, Wong sat in the backroom of a Chinese restaurant in Manila and spoke of his own improbable rise. A stocky bodyguard stood nearby.
Speaking mostly in slang-laden Filipino, Wong described how he was an immigrant from Hong Kong who arrived in the Philippines as a boy. He later got rich and befriended many of the country's powerful politicians - including two one-time presidential contenders.
Wong said his mother brought him to Manila when he was 11. He still holds Chinese citizenship and said his real name is Kam Sin Wong.
He lived in Manila with his father, who worked at a tobacco company owned by a wealthy grand uncle. Wong worked there too after dropping out of college and at a construction firm in the U.S. protectorate of Guam that his uncle also owned.
Wong later ran a T-shirt factory and a handful of restaurants in Manila, which allowed him to start developing a wide circle of sometimes influential friends.
He first entered the gambling industry as a junket operator at a casino resort at Clark, the former U.S. airbase north of Manila.
With partners, he raised one billion pesos to build what is now known as Eastern Hawaii Leisure Company in the sleepy town of Cagayan in the northern Philippines.
He said Eastern Hawaii is now one of Cagayan's biggest employers, with more than 1,000 local staff, plus 300 Chinese to take telephone bets from punters on the mainland, where gambling is banned.
"VERY, VERY RESOURCEFUL"
Wong also forged connections with powerful politicians, starting with Alfredo Lim, an ethnic Chinese Filipino and former Manila mayor who later ran for president.
Lito Atienza, who succeeded Lim as mayor, recalled Wong as a hardworking and "very, very resourceful" volunteer during election campaigns.
"He is industrious, always ready to serve. That is his character," Atienza told Reuters.
Wong is still close to another powerful politician and one-time presidential hopeful. Panfilo Lacson, a former senator and national police chief, calls Wong "a friend of mine"
Tuesday was not the first time Wong had been accused of dirty dealings before the Senate.
At another hearing in 2001, which probed links between senior police officers and drug traffickers, a key witness identified Wong as a boss in one of the triads, the Chinese organized crime syndicates.
Wong denied belonging to a triad, telling Reuters he had been confused with another man of the same name.
"Not Mr. Wong. Mr. Wrong!" he joked.
(Additional reporting by Manuel Mogato in Manila; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
According to reports Bihar State Beverages Corporation limited has been asked to monitor the implementation of prohibition. (Representational image)
Patna: Complete ban on liquor in rural areas was enforced from Friday onwards in Bihar. The state government destroyed tonnes of cartons and pouches filled with country liquor after Bihar assembly passed the amendment Bill unanimously on Wednesday.
Currently the state government has imposed a ban on production, sale and consumption of country made liquor only. According to reports Bihar State Beverages Corporation limited has been asked to monitor the implementation of prohibition.
The state government has also issued toll free numbers on which people can register complaints regarding violations of new excise policy. The officials said that more than 35 complaints were received on Friday after the numbers were made public.
By Yasmeen Abutaleb and Joseph Menn
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Egypt blocked Facebook Inc's Free Basics Internet service at the end of last year after the U.S. company refused to give the Egyptian government the ability to spy on users, two people familiar with the matter said.
Free Basics, launched in Egypt in October, is aimed at low-income customers, allowing anyone with a cheap computer or smartphone to create a Facebook account and access a limited set of Internet services at no charge.
The Egyptian government suspended the service on December 30 and said at the time that the mobile carrier Etisalat had only been granted a temporary permit to offer the service for two months.
Two sources with direct knowledge of discussions between Facebook and the Egyptian government said Free Basics was blocked because the company would not allow the government to circumvent the service's security to conduct surveillance. They declined to say exactly what type of access the government had demanded or what practices it wanted Facebook to change.
A spokesman for Facebook declined to comment. Etisalat did not respond to a request for comment.
Mohamed Hanafi, a spokesman for Egypt's Ministry of Communication, declined to comment specifically on the allegation about surveillance demands but cited other reasons for Free Basics to be blocked.
"The service was offered free of charge to the consumer, and the national telecommunication regulator saw the service as harmful to companies and their competitors," he said.
Free Basics, which is available in 37 countries that have large populations without reliable Internet service, is central to Facebook's global strategy. The company does not sell ads on the Free Basics version of its website and app, but it aims to reach a large group of potential users who otherwise would not be able to create Facebook accounts.
Facebook said more than 3 million Egyptians used the service before it was suspended, and 1 million of them had never had Internet access. The main Facebook site and app are still available in Egypt, which has a population of about 90 million.
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The conflict over Free Basics highlights the delicate balancing act that global Internet companies face in responding to the demands of governments while protecting the privacy of their customers, especially at a time of heightened concerns about Internet surveillance and censorship worldwide.
It represents one of the few known cases in which a global Internet company has received and rejected a government demand for special access to its network and been forced to shut down a service, Internet privacy experts say.
Free Basics has come under fire from Internet activists across the globe, most notably in India, for violating net neutrality by allowing free access to a select group of websites and businesses, thus putting others at a disadvantage.
Indian regulators issued new rules in February that effectively barred Free Basics after a two-month public consultation process.
Hanafi cited the India example in explaining Egypt's move, but there has been no public debate or regulatory proceeding over net neutrality or the competitive impact of Free Basics in Egypt.
STRONGER SECURITY
Facebook in September strengthened the security protections for Free Basics after criticism from privacy advocates that it did not do enough to prevent spying. In part, the problem was that users could not seamlessly connect over encrypted channels to the secure websites marked by addresses beginning HTTPS.
That meant that customers using web-based email might have their messages exposed. Authorities might also be able to watch who was visiting particular websites.
Now, those using the Free Basics mobile app can connect directly with encryption to secure sites. Those connecting via the Free Basics website can connect securely to Facebook, which decrypts and then re-encrypts user traffic before sending it along to partner sites.
It is not known whether the new security measures were a factor in Egypt's decision to block Free Basics. It is also not known if the government has asked other social media companies or Internet service providers for security back doors.
When Free Basics launched in Egypt, there was no mention of a temporary permit or concerns about competition or net neutrality, according to people who were involved in the discussions.
At the time of the suspension, Facebook said it was "disappointed" and hoped to "resolve (the) situation soon."
Some former Facebook employees said the company has reason to be especially vigilant in defending its customers in Egypt.
A Facebook page started in 2010 by a Google employee in Dubai about the death of an Alexandria man at the hands of police played a direct role in fomenting the protests that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak in 2011.
In January this year, amid a crackdown on dissent in the run-up to the fifth anniversary of the uprising, Egyptian security forces arrested two people for managing Facebook pages that they said were used to support the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood and encourage protest.
The two are still in jail pending investigations on charges of inciting violence and disseminating and publishing false news.
Any move to shut down Facebook completely in Egypt would likely bring a harsh popular backlash, said Ramy Raoof, a digital security researcher and consultant. But blocking Free Basics can crimp Facebook's growth among lower income people, without alienating middle-class Internet users and businesses.
"Shutting down Facebook completely is an idea that is far-fetched and would lead to great consequences," Raoof said.
(Reporting by Yasmeen Abutaleb and Joseph Menn in San Francisco; Additional reporting by Ola Noureldin and Ahmed Mohamed Hassan in Cairo; Editing by Jonathan Weber and Tiffany Wu)
SAN DIEGO, March 31, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Medical Marijuana, Inc., (OTC PINK:MJNA) is proud to announce to shareholders and the public that portfolio company HempMeds Mexico is sponsoring a cross-border effort to discuss new perspectives on cannabis and legal access in Mexico.
Former California Assembly member Lori Saldana and San Diego council member David Alvarez will join Tijuana government officials at the April 2 meeting, which will take place at the Hotel Marriott Tijuana located at Blvd. Agua Caliente 11553, col. Aviacion, Tijuana, from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Patients and government officials from Tijuana and California will also participate in the public forum.
Presenting on the rapidly evolving global cannabis industry is Dr. Stuart W. Titus, Chief Executive Officer of Medical Marijuana, Inc., who in February educated Mexican and international healthcare practitioners on cannabis anti-aging benefits in Mexico City. At the Tijuana event, Titus will explain aspects of the endocannabinoid system and the effects of cannabidiol (CBD) on a wide array of conditions expressed in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services patent 6630507 Cannabinoids as Anti-Oxidants and Neuroprotectants.
During the event, a special presentation about cannabis and human rights will feature experts explaining how Mexican families won the first-ever import permits for Medical Marijuana, Inc.s RSHO-X.
Finally Mayela Benavides, mother of Grace Elizalde, will discuss her daughters story. Elizalde advocates for the impact that cannabinoid-based therapies have and will specifically discuss the product RSHO-X, which is the first legally accessible CBD-based product in Mexico available by doctors prescription and special import permit.
Representatives from HempMeds Mexico will explain RSHO-X products specifically available to consumers with a doctors recommendation and special permit from COFEPRIS in Mexico including:
For information on RSHO-X product availability in Mexico, visit the HempMeds Mexico website at http://www.hempmeds.mx or, to speak with a HempMeds Mexico representative, contact the customer service department at:
US: 1-866-786-2440
MX: 001-883-786-2440
About HempMeds Mexico
HempMeds Mexico is a Mexico-based company, created to provide access to cannabinoid-based products including cannabidiol (CBD) hemp oil products as they become legal in the country of Mexico for the first time. Our Company is a sales, marketing and distribution company. HempMeds Mexico plans to work directly with the Mexican government to safely and legally provide access to our CBD hemp oil products. HempMeds Mexico is the first company to legally ship RSHO-XTM CBD hemp oil into Mexico. For more information, please review the companys website at: http://hempmeds.mx/.
About HempMeds
HempMeds offers mainstream marketing, sales, customer service, and logistics for the cannabis industry. HempMeds is a corporate portfolio company of Medical Marijuana, Inc. (OTC Pink:MJNA) and the Companys exclusive master distributor and contracted marketing company. In addition to handling sales and distribution, HempMeds is the communication hub for the Medical Marijuana Inc. portfolio of companies.
FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION (FDA) DISCLOSURE
These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease.
FORWARD-LOOKING DISCLAIMER
This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements and information, as defined within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and is subject to the Safe Harbor created by those sections. This material contains statements about expected future events and/or financial results that are forward-looking in nature and subject to risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements by definition involve risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Medical Marijuana, Inc. to be materially different from the statements made herein.
LEGAL DISCLOSURE
Medical Marijuana Inc. and HempMeds do not sell or distribute any products that are in violation of the United States Controlled Substances Act (US.CSA). These companies do grow, sell, and distribute hemp-based products and are involved with the federally legal distribution of medical marijuana-based products within certain international markets. Cannabidiol is a natural constituent of hemp oil.
VERO BEACH, Florida, April 01, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. (NYSE: ARR, ARR PrA and ARR PrB) (ARMOUR) and JAVELIN Mortgage Investment Corp. (NYSE:JMI) (JAVELIN) today announced that the Circuit Court for Baltimore City has denied a motion seeking to enjoin ARMOURs completion of its previously announced tender offer to purchase, through its newly formed subsidiary, JMI Acquisition Corporation (Acquisition), all of the outstanding shares of common stock of JAVELIN (JAVELIN Common Stock) for $7.18 per share in cash (the Tender Offer). The Courts order, entered in a putative class action captioned Stourbridge Investments Ltd. v. Staton, et al., (Case No. 24C16001542), denied a request for a preliminary injunction.
The tender offer price of $7.18 was calculated in accordance with the previously announced Agreement and Plan of Merger dated as of March 1, 2016, among ARMOUR, Acquisition and JAVELIN (the Merger Agreement), as 87% of the BVPS (as defined in the Merger Agreement) of JAVELIN Common Stock as of 5:00 P.M., New York City time, on Friday, March 18, 2016. The Tender Offer is being made upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Offer to Purchase dated March 7, 2016 (as amended and supplemented from time to time, the Offer to Purchase), and the related Letter of Transmittal that accompanies the Offer to Purchase, both of which have been distributed to the holders of JAVELIN Common Stock. The Tender Offer is ongoing and will expire at 11:59 P.M., New York City time, on April 1, 2016 (the Expiration Time"), unless it is extended.
Acquisition will not accept shares that are tendered in the Tender Offer unless they include greater than fifty percent (50%) of the total number of outstanding shares of JAVELIN Common Stock that are not owned immediately before the Expiration Time by ARMOUR, any of its subsidiaries or any officers or directors of ARMOUR, or JAVELIN (the Minimum Condition). The Minimum Condition is not waivable. If the Minimum Condition is satisfied and Acquisition irrevocably accepts for payment shares that are properly tendered and not withdrawn, Acquisition will subsequently be merged into JAVELIN (the Merger) in a transaction in which ARMOUR will become the sole stockholder of JAVELIN and the persons who are stockholders of JAVELIN immediately before the Merger will receive the same amount per share they would have received if they had tendered their JAVELIN stock in the Tender Offer.
The Information Agent with regard to the Tender Offer is Alliance Advisors LLC. Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company is the Depositary and Paying Agent.
Notice to Investors
This press release is not an offer to purchase, or a solicitation of sales of, JAVELIN Common Stock or any other securities. The Tender Offer is made solely by the Offer to Purchase and the related Letter of Transmittal. ARMOUR has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) a Tender Offer Statement on Schedule TO, as amended and supplemented from time to time, that includes the Offer to Purchase and the related Letter of Transmittal and other documents relating to the Tender Offer. In addition, JAVELIN has filed with the SEC a Solicitation/Recommendation Statement on Schedule 14D-9, as amended and supplemented from time to time, that describes, among other things, the unanimous recommendation of JAVELINs Board of Directors that JAVELINs stockholders tender their shares in the Tender Offer. The documents filed with the SEC contain important information, and JAVELIN stockholders are urged to read them, all amendments and supplements thereto, and the exhibits to them in their entirety in connection with their decision whether to tender their shares. Those documents can be obtained at no charge at the SECs website, www.sec.gov. In addition, copies of the Offer to Purchase, the Letter of Transmittal and other documents relating to the Tender Offer can be obtained from the Information Agent, Alliance Advisors LLC, at 200 Broadacres Drive, 3rd Floor, Bloomfield, NJ 07003, or by calling toll free (888) 991-1294 (for stockholders) or (973) 873-7721 (for banks and brokers).
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ from expectations, estimates and projections and, consequently, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Words such as expect, estimate, project, budget, forecast, anticipate, intend, plan, may, will, could, should, believes, predicts, potential, continue, and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from the expected results, including (i) that the Tender Offer may not be completed at all or on the terms described, and (ii) that the merger may not be consummated. Additional information concerning these and other risk factors are contained in the most recent filings of ARMOUR and JAVELIN with the SEC. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements concerning ARMOUR and JAVELIN are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements above. ARMOUR and JAVELIN caution readers not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. ARMOUR and JAVELIN do not undertake or accept any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect any change in their expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.
ESPOO, Finland, April 1, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nokia has filed its annual report on Form 20-F for 2015 today with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The report will be available in PDF format at http://company.nokia.com/en/investors/financial-reports/results-reports in the section entitled "Form 20-F". Shareholders may request a hard copy of the report free of charge through Nokia's internet pages.
About Nokia
Nokia is a global leader in the technologies that connect people and things. Powered by the innovation of Bell Labs and Nokia Technologies, the company is at the forefront of creating and licensing the technologies that are increasingly at the heart of our connected lives.
With state-of-the-art software, hardware and services for any type of network, Nokia is uniquely positioned to help communication service providers, governments, and large enterprises deliver on the promise of 5G, the Cloud and the Internet of Things. www.nokia.com
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Chief Minister K.Chandrasekhar Rao visits the Indur Tirumala temple at Narsingpally village in Nizamabad mandal on Friday along with wife K. Sobha and daughter K. Kavitha. Deccan chronicle
Hyderabad: After creating a record of sorts with his PowerPoint presentation in the Legislative Assembly on irrigation projects, TS Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao is aiming for another unique record.
Mr Rao is preparing the ground to personally argue before the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal headed by Justice Brijesh Kumar seeking higher share of river waters for TS.
He has held preliminary discussions with irrigation officials in this regard.
Mr Rao strongly feels that the earlier governments could not put up strong arguments before the tribunal due to which Telangana did not get a justifiable share of Krishna water.
In fact, soon after taking office as the CM of Telangana State in June 2014, Mr Rao had made a statement in the very first session of Legislative Assembly that he would personally appear before the Brijesh Kumar tribunal and put forth arguments on behalf of the state government.
The government received a communication from the Centre that the tribunal will conduct fresh hearing on Krishna water dispute this month, though the exact schedule was yet to be confirmed.
Fresh from the success of his PowerPoint presentation on Thursday, which was basically about Telangana getting a raw deal in sharing of Krishna and Godavari waters in undivided AP, Mr Rao wants to utilise the expertise he has acquired through periodic review of irrigation projects by examining Google Earth images for the past two years and argue the case on his own before the tribunal.
Mr Rao has already gathered comprehensive details on Krishna water issue for his PowerPoint presentation, which he feels would be enough to put forth arguments in favour of TS effectively.
Normally, senior advocates argue the case before the tribunal. But there is no such rule which states that only advocates should argue the case. There is scope for others too to argue the case, which the CM wants to utilise, said an official of irrigation department.
If this happens, Mr Rao would create a record by becoming the first CM in the country to argue a case on his own before a tribunal, which is likely to attract national and international attention.
TRS circles feel that it would be also politically beneficial for the party ruling the state in the coming years if the CM himself argues for Telangana's share in Krishna water. They feel that this would send a strong message that the CM and TRS are committed to safeguarding TS interests.
Officials holding a meeting with Dalits at Singaranahalli in Holenarsipur taluk of Hassan district on Friday DC
HASSAN: Police clamped prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC on Singaranahalli in Holenarsipur taluk of Hassan district on Friday after Dalits were denied entry into Basaveshwara Temple to offer prayers by members of upper castes leading to violence.
Preparations were done for holding a two-day fair starting on Friday while the chariot fest of Goddess Durgaparameshwari at Hariharapura, adjacent to Singaranahalli, was to take place on Saturday but the fair got cancelled after tension at the village over a demand by Dalits to enter Basaveshwara Temple to offer prayers.
Though, a meeting was held by the Assistant Commissioner Vijaya, Additional Superintendent of Police Shobha Rani and others to allow dalits to enter the temple, it proved unsuccessful with upper castes sticking to their decision to bar entry of Dalits.
The situation turned violent when a group of villagers pelted stones and a few others locked up officials in a room. They were freed only after SP Rahul Kumar arrived.
In the stone pelting incident, about 10 police personnel were injured. As a precautionary measure, police have clamped prohibitory orders in Singaranhalli. Additional police forces have been deployed in the village to prevent any untoward incident.
A villager told DC that Singaranahalli, Hariharapura and five other villages join together to hold the annual fair of the deity. Villagers perform pujas at Basaveshwara Temple at Singaranhalli and also at Hariharapura.
A couple of months ago, three Dalit women who had entered Basaveshwara Temple, were driven out by members of the upper castes and later, the temple was locked up only to be re-opened for giving it a coat of paint ahead of the fair.
Panduranga Rao of IVRCL along with legal adviser P. Seeta briefing the press at the head office at Banjara Hills on Friday.(Photo: DC)
Kolkata/Hyderabad: Three more bodies were pulled out from the debris of the collapsed under-construction flyover in Girish Park, taking the death toll to 24 on Friday as the Kolkata Police slapped murder charge under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against the accused executives of the Hyderabad-based construction company IVRCL and detained 10 of them for questioning in the city.
Kolkata police commissioner Rajeev Kumar confirmed of the addition of the murder charge to the case. The city police also formed a 23-member special investigation team (SIT) to probe the incident, said joint commissioner of police (crime) Debashish Boral. The SIT comprises officers from the homicide section and anti-rowdy section of the Kolkata Polices detective department (DD) headed by Mr Boral.
A four-member SIT team reached Hyderabad and sought help of the Hyderabad police to trace the firm and its officials.
Kolkata team raids IVRCL offices
A four-member police team from Kolkata arrived in Hyderabad on Friday to raid the IVRCL office and question its officials following the flyover mishap in Kolkata that claimed 25 lives on Thursday.
According to senior police officials from Hyderabad, the Kolkata police has booked a case against the firms management, including serious charges of culpable homicide. IVRCL officials have said they will cooperate with the team.
The Kolkata team raided the companys office at Banjara Hills, searching for files and documents related to IVRCLs flyover project in Kolkata, which collapsed on Thursday.
The cops are also questioning the top officials of the firm. The company management on Friday claimed that the incident was an accident and they had taken all the necessary security measures.
Kolkata police issued notices under CrPC 41 to at least eight people including HR director Panduranga Rao, director operations G.V.K. Murthy and independent Ashok Reddy, Balarami Reddy and other independent directors.
Chhedilal, a resident of Ramdas locality in Nigohan on the outskirts of Lucknow, had taken years to grow his hair and develop a Salman Khan look. (Representational image)
Lucknow: This is no April Fool joke. A wife chopped off her husbands well-groomed tresses merely because her sister kept praising his looks all the time.
Chhedilal, a resident of Ramdas locality in Nigohan on the outskirts of Lucknow, had taken years to grow his hair and develop a Salman Khan look. His look became so popular that people in the village started addressing him as Salman.
Trouble began when Chhedilals sister-in-law came to spend a few days in his house. The young girl was so impressed with his hairstyle that she went overboard praising him.
This apparently irked Chhedilals wife Roshni so much that while he was asleep, she chopped off her hair. When Chhedilal woke up and saw what his wife had done to his hair , he beat her up. The angry wife immediately ran towards the nearby railway track and announced that she was committing suicide.
The villagers ran to her rescue and pulled her back, seconds before the train could run over her. When her father came to know about the whole episode, he filed a case of harassment and abetment of suicide against Chhedilal.
It appeared to be a simple case of disagreement between a couple but snowballed into domestic violence to the extent that the wife was threatening to commit suicide. We have counselled the couple and Chhedilal apologised to Roshni for raising his hand on her. She has also withdrawn her complaint against the husband and the sister-in-law has also gone back, said Nigohan sub-inspector Balvir Singh.
Chhedilal said that, It is not my fault if my sister-in-law appreciated my hair style. The world loves Salman Khan and his hairstyle. I have been humiliated for no apparent fault of mine. And yes, I am upset at the chopping of my hairit took me years to grow them.
All the leaders have expressed full faith in the leadership of Mehbooba Mufti and have pledged support in the interest of party and people of the state, says PDP. (Photo: PTI)
Srinagar: Nearly three months after the demise of its founder and patron Mufti Sayeed, PDP is poised for restructuring, for which the office bearers resigned from their posts today, ahead of the party forming the government in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday. The office bearers resigned to pave the way for restructuring of the party.
"The office bearers of Peoples Democratic Party, general secretaries Nizamudin Bhat, Rafi Ahmad Mir, Ved Mahajan, Mehboob Iqbal and political advisor to party president Peerzada Mansoor Hussain have resigned and relinquished their offices with immediate effect," a PDP spokesman said.
Read: PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti declared Jammu & Kashmir CM candidate
"All the leaders have expressed full faith in the leadership of Mehbooba Mufti and have pledged support in the interest of party and people of the state," he added.
The party is being restructured nearly three months after the sudden demise of Mufti Sayeed, who had founded it in 1999 and was its patron when he passed away.
Also read: No new conditions from PDP accepted: BJP
Mehbooba, the PDP president who has taken full charge of the party, is all set to be sworn in as the first woman Chief Minister of the state on Monday after the three-month deadlock over government formation with the BJP ended last week.
Chennai: DMK treasurer M.K. Stalin on Thursday shut the doors on the TMC, eliminating one of the major irritants in the DMK-Congress seat sharing talks deadlocked for a week.
Emerging out of the discussions with party leader M. Karunanidhi and other senior leaders, Stalin denied that the DMK is holding negotiations with the Tamil Maanila Congress led by former Union minister G.K. Vasan. No talks are being held with TMC. Such media reports are imaginary, he said.
His denial comes a day after DMK spokesperson T.K.S. Elangovan had said the DMK saw no obstacles in admitting the TMC if the Congress itself had no objection to it.
He was reacting to Congress national secretary S. Thirunavukkarasar, who said the DMK could bring in any other party, but should not reduce the seats for Congress in that process.
The Congress leader also added The Congress led by the Nehru family is the real Congress. Several parties could exist with the suffix Congress, in an obvious reference to the TMC.
Stalins comments too showed that the DMK is in a give and take mood in the seat negotiations with the Congress and the Congress is expected to reciprocate the DMKs goodwill by coming down on its demand for higher number of seats. The state Congress leaders too are not for a confrontation with the DMK since there are not many options available for the Congress.
Against the backdrop of peasants committing suicide in large numbers because of penury, the news about millionaire farmers in India would ordinarily have been dismissed as drivel. But no, there are approximately eight lakh farmers who have declared their income in millions. So should it warm the cockles of the heart of the nation to know that there is a huge upturn in the financial condition of farmers? Is there any technological breakthrough that has revolutionised farming and increased production manifold? No. There is a big scam going on. Union finance minister Arun Jaitley has put it on record that many prominent farmers are being probed for allegedly concealing taxable income as agricultural earnings and asked the Opposition not to term it as political victimisation if their names come out.
The fact is that in the name of agricultural income, which is tax-free, black money is being laundered and taxes are being evaded. Vijay Sharma, former chief commissioner of income-tax, wanted to know under the Right to Information Act, 2005, the amount of earnings made by agriculture. The reply was astounding: Income from agriculture in 2011-12 was Rs 2,000 lakh crore, which was 20 times the gross domestic product of India. Next year (2012-13), it was six times the GDP. All figures were based on that financial years declarations made by the so-called agriculturists.
Though most Opposition leaders wanted a thorough probe, Ram Gopal Yadav, a member of the Rajya Sabha representing the Samajwadi Party, warned the government against taxing farm income.
The facts are mind-boggling. More than four lakh taxpayers claimed exemption for agricultural income in the assessment year 2014-15. The biggest beneficiaries were Kaveri Seeds, which claimed Rs 186.63 crore as exemption, and multinational Monsanto India, which claimed Rs 94.40 crore as exemption, and both earned Rs 215.36 crore and Rs 138.74 crore profit respectively before tax. It may be pertinent to mention that agro-companies growing crops are entitled to the same tax relief as individuals in states which impose no tax on agricultural income though some states do tax some kinds of farming.
The Tax Administration Reform Commission report by Parthasarathi Shome in 2014 was scathing: Agricultural income is exempt from taxation in spite of large agricultural holdings a large number of rich farmers, who earn more than salaried employees in the cities, get away with paying no tax in view of the governments lack of will to consider an agricultural income-tax. It further said, Agricultural income of non-agriculturists is being increasingly used as a conduit to avoid tax and for laundering funds, resulting in leakage to the tune of crores in revenue annually.
The Economic Survey 2016 also recommended that taxing large agriculturists would help widen taxpayer base beyond the current 5.5 per cent, or 39 million earning individuals, who pay tax. The percentage of taxpayers in Singapore is 39 per cent, US 46 per cent and New Zealand 75 per cent.
The problem is that instead of widening the tax net, the government is imposing more and more taxes on the 5.5. per cent who pay taxes. This is a kind of tax terrorism. Honest taxpayers suffer while the dishonest invent ways to hoodwink the state. The income-tax department is aware of the fraud going on. The Central Board of Direct Taxes, in a white paper on black money released in May 2012, categorically pointed out: Giving credit to agricultural income for income-tax purposes without verification of claim allows an avenue for bringing black money into the financial system as agricultural income. The question arises, what did the department do to unearth the black money?
If an honest probe is conducted, it will debunk many industrialists, political leaders and bureaucrats who are self-styled farmers. These so-called farmers either show proof of their ancestral properties in villages or buy some agricultural land and obtain forged receipts of agricultural produce having been sold to traders. Since affluent people buy agricultural land, its price goes up several notches and ordinary farmers are badly hit as they cannot afford to buy it. They also damage the country as they hardly cultivate anything and the land remains unused since their purpose is not to cultivate, but to launder black money. So-called farmers from big cities like Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Pune claimed tax exemption of over Rs 10,000 crore in 2013-14 though one wonders how much cultivable land there is in these cities.
After the enforcement of land ceiling act in different states, the land holding has come down drastically. With small holdings it is well-nigh impossible for genuine farmers to extract crores from the land.
Agriculturists need to be protected in order to protect agriculture. But agriculturists have to be sifted from pseudo-agriculturists. A huge scam has been going on in the name of annadata. It cannot be without the connivance of income-tax officials. There are provisions in the Income Tax Act, 1961, to punish those misrepresenting their income.
It may be clarified that pure agriculturists who have no other means of income do not file income-tax returns. It is only those having some other sources of income besides agriculture who file returns. So, it is all the more alarming why the assessing officers of the I-T department accepted their claims without any investigation when even a dunderhead would smell a rat. It is an irony that a relief given to peasants in order to promote agriculture is being abused like this.
It is not only a case of tax evasion but also of forgery and fraud for which there should be separate prosecution. The probe should also cover the role of income-tax officials. Rather, the I-T department should initiate vigilance inquiry against concerned officials suo moto. If taxes are paid on the exemptions claimed, it may lead to tax holiday for a few years.
UN teams received accounts that troops from France's Sangaris force coerced girls to engage in bestiality in return for small amounts of money. (Representational Image)
Bangui, Central African Republic: More than 100 victims have come forward in the Central African Republic with appalling new accounts of sexual abuse, including bestiality, by UN peacekeepers and French troops, the United Nations has said.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was "shocked to the core" by the allegations that emerged after a UN team traveled to south-central Kemo prefecture to interview the women and girls.
Read: New cases of child sex abuse by UN troops in C. Africa
"We must face the fact that a number of troops sent to protect people instead acted with hearts of darkness," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Friday.
UN rights officers have so far interviewed 108 alleged victims, "the vast majority" of whom are under-age girls who were raped, sexually abused or exploited by foreign troops, he said.
Read: Peacekeeper states 'must tackle troop sex abuse claims': UN
UN teams received accounts that troops from France's Sangaris force coerced girls to engage in bestiality in return for small amounts of money.
AIDS-Free World, a civil society group that tracks peacekeeper sex abuse cases, said three girls told a UN rights officer that in 2014 they were tied up and undressed by a Sangaris commander inside a camp and forced to have sex with a dog.
Read: UN adopts measure to tackle sex abuse by peacekeepers
Dujarric stressed that "the facts have not been ascertained" in what could be the most serious wave of allegations to date to hit the troubled peace mission in the Central African Republic.
France's UN Ambassador Francois Delattre and US Ambassador Samantha Power both called the allegations "sickening." French authorities are determined to "shed full light" on the reported cases and will take "exemplary disciplinary action" if the allegations are substantiated, said Delattre.
France sent its Sangaris intervention force to the Central African Republic in December 2013 and while the troops are not part of the UN mission, they have been mandated by the Security Council to help restore peace to the country.
After the UN Security Council held a closed-door meeting on the latest allegations, US Deputy Ambassador David Pressman said they appeared to show that the abuse was "widespread and systematic."
Describing the claims as "extremely concerning", Pressman said they should be met with a "swift, full and urgent response."
UN rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein called for investigations that "leave no stone unturned."
The absence of a presidential meeting on Erdogan's trip to the US capital had been glaring. (Photo: AP)
Washington: US President Barack Obama met his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Washington on Thursday, the White House said, amid serious tensions over press freedom and the war in Syria.
Having previously stated the pair were unlikely to hold sit-down talks -- a decision widely perceived as a snub by Washington -- the White House said the two men had in fact met on the margins of a nuclear security summit.
They discussed "US-Turkey cooperation on regional security, counterterrorism, and migration," it said.
The absence of a presidential meeting on Erdogan's trip to the US capital had been glaring.
The two countries are meant to be close NATO allies in the thick of a fight against the ISIS group in Syria.
But tensions have been stirred by Ankara's attacks on Kurdish terrorists, some of whom are seen by Washington as the best bet for tackling ISIS in Iraq and northern Syria.
Turkey says the groups are linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has fought a long battle for Kurdish independence.
Turkish forays into northern Iraq have also strained ties.
The White House has been increasingly outspoken in recent months about threats to free speech and democracy in Turkey.
And on Thursday it restated its belief in the need for press freedom in Turkey, amid ugly scenes at an Erdogan speech in the US capital.
Ahead of Erdogan's arrival at the Brookings Institute, Turkish security officials clashed with protestors -- both sides exchanging insults and scuffling -- before police were able to separate them.
The Turkish guards also set about the press. One aimed a chest-high kick at an American reporter attempting to film the harassment of a Turkish opposition reporter while another called a female foreign policy scholar a "whore."
The US National Press Club accused Erdogan of trying to export oppression.
As the Turkish leader flew in to Washington ahead of the nuclear safety summit, news broke of another deadly bomb attack targeting police in his country's southeast, where his forces are battling Kurdish militants.
According to the White House, Obama "extended condolences to President Erdogan on behalf of the American people for those killed and injured in today's terrorist attack."
He also "reaffirmed the support of the United States for Turkey's security and our mutual struggle against terrorism."
Washington: Taking a hard stand on terrorism in the international arena, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that there could be no deterrence against nuclear terrorism without prevention and prosecution of acts of terrorism.
Intervening on nuclear terrorism threat at the Nuclear Security Summit dinner at the White House hosted by US President Barack Obama, the Prime Minister called to focus on three contemporary features of terrorism.
Read: India, US sign MoU for setting up LIGO observatory in India
"First, today's terrorism uses extreme violence as theatre. Second, we are no longer looking for a man in a cave, but we are hunting for a terrorist in a city with a computer or a smart phone. Third, State actors working with nuclear traffickers and terrorists present the greatest risk," Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) official spokesperson Vikas Swarup quoted the Prime Minister as saying.
Lauding President Obama for putting the spotlight on Nuclear Security and for his service to the global community, Prime Minister Modi said that the deadly Brussels attack was the prime example of how real and immediate is the threat to nuclear security from terrorism.
Read: Nuclear materials must never fall into wrong hands: Pakistan
"Terror has evolved. Terrorists are using 21st century technology. But our responses are rooted in the past. Drop the notion that terrorism is someone else's problem and that his terrorist is not my terrorist. Nuclear security must remain an abiding national priority," he said.
The Prime Minister added that the reach and supply chains of terrorism are global but the genuine cooperation between nation states is not.
Read: UN failing to gauge dangers of terror, risks losing relevance: Modi
Emphasising on terrorism being globally networked, the Prime Minister called on all nations to endure Obama's legacy of abiding by international obligations to counter this threat.
The Prime Minister, who is in Washington to take part in the fourth Nuclear Security Summit, earlier held bilateral talks with his New Zealand counterpart John Key.
Both leaders discussed ways and means to enhance bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
Prime Minister Modi later met a team of scientists from the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO).
A memorandum of understanding on setting up LIGO facility in India was also signed between India and the United States on the occasion.
The Prime Minister prior to beginning his official engagements earlier greeted members from the Indian community who came to see him.
By Dasha Afanasieva and Tulay Karadeniz ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey has illegally returned thousands of Syrians to their war-torn homeland in recent months, highlighting dangers for migrants sent back from Europe under a deal due to take effect next week, Amnesty International said on Friday. Turkey agreed with the EU this month to take back all migrants and refugees who cross illegally to Greece in exchange for financial aid, faster visa-free travel for Turks and slightly accelerated EU membership talks. But the legality of the deal hinges on Turkey being a safe country of asylum, which the rights group said in a report was not the case. Amnesty said it was likely that several thousand refugees had been sent back to Syria in the past seven to nine weeks, flouting Turkish, EU and international law. Turkey's foreign ministry denied Syrians were being sent back against their will, while a spokesman for the European Commission said it took the allegations seriously and would raise them with Ankara. Separately, the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said it had asked for access to Syrians returned to Turkey from Greece "to ensure people can benefit from effective international protection and to prevent risk of refoulement", referring to unlawful deportations of refugees at risk of persecution. Ankara said it had maintained an open-door policy for Syrian migrants for five years and strictly abided by the "non-refoulement" principle. "None of the Syrians that have demanded protection from our country are being sent back to their country by force," a foreign ministry official told Reuters. But Amnesty said testimonies it had gathered in Turkey's southern border provinces suggested authorities had been rounding up and expelling groups of around 100 Syrian men, women and children almost daily since the middle of January. "In their desperation to seal their borders, EU leaders have wilfully ignored the simplest of facts: Turkey is not a safe country for Syrian refugees and is getting less safe by the day," said John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International's director for Europe and Central Asia. Under the deal, Turkey is supposed to be taking in migrants returned from Greece on April 4, but uncertainty remains over how many will be sent back, how they will be processed, and where they will be housed. The aim is to close the main route by which a million migrants and refugees crossed the Aegean Sea to Greece in the last year before heading north, mainly to Germany and Sweden. (Additional reporting by Gabriela Baczynska in Brussels and Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva; Editing by Nick Tattersall and John Stonestreet)
Luxor (Egypt) (AFP) - Further analysis is needed of the tomb of pharaoh Tutankhamun to determine if the resting place also contains the remains of legendary beauty Queen Nefertiti, Egypt's antiquities minister said Thursday.
Khaled al-Anani appeared to dim some of the optimism surrounding the tomb in the ancient necropolis of Luxor after his predecessor said this month that there was a "90 percent chance" of two hidden chambers possibly containing organic material at the site.
"I hope we are going to find something else, but nothing is certain at the moment," Anani told AFP outside Tutankhamun's tomb.
He was speaking as new radar tests were carried out on the mausoleum. Results are expected on Friday.
A study by renowned British archaeologist Nicholas Reeves has said that Nefertiti's tomb could be in a secret chamber adjoining Tutankhamun's final resting place in the Valley of Kings at Luxor in southern Egypt.
Reeves, professor of archaeology at the University of Arizona, believes one door of Tutankhamun's tomb could conceal the burial place of Nefertiti.
According to him, Tutankhamun, who died unexpectedly, was buried hurriedly in an underground chamber probably not intended for him.
Former antiquities minister Mamduh al-Damati said this month that preliminary scans had unearthed evidence of "two hidden rooms behind the burial chamber" of the boy king.
Anani said Thursday that analysis would determine the thickness of a possible wall behind the funerary chamber.
"There is a possibility that there is a cavity, after the latest scan. I hope we will find something... but as a scientist I need to be careful before announcing results," Anani said.
He added that if the latest scan revealed further evidence of a hidden room, a small hole could be bored through a wall and a camera inserted to discover what lay behind.
By Lisa Lambert WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat who advocates for strong financial regulation, asked U.S. securities regulators on Thursday to investigate comments made by major insurance companies about a forthcoming federal rule on retirement advice. Last month, Warren criticized Lincoln National, Jackson National Life Insurance Company, Prudential Financial and Transamerica, a unit of Aegon NV , for publicly stating that the rule requiring retirement advisers to put their clients' interests ahead of their own would hurt business while privately telling investors it would not create a major hurdle. On Thursday, she went one step further and requested the Securities and Exchange Commission to formally look into whether the statements were contradictory and ran afoul of securities laws. "Both sets of industry claims - that the proposed rule will harm them and their business model, and that the proposed rule will not harm them and their business model - cannot possibly be true. And if one these public statements is materially false, it would appear to violate long-standing interpretations of our securities laws," she wrote to SEC Chair Mary Jo White. The White House will soon publicly release the latest version of the rule, drafted by the Labor Department. The 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform law called for holding brokers who give retirement advice to a strong fiduciary standard, meaning they must act in their clients' best interest, as a way to protect retirees from buying unnecessary products that line brokers' pockets. The Labor Department had to withdraw its initial version of the rule in 2011 after complaints from members of both political parties and the financial services industry. Warren says that financial and insurance companies have warned in public that the proposed rule could drive up costs and stop them from offering retirement services such as annuities to middle- and lower-income people. But in earnings calls they have reassured investors that they will come up with new products or approaches that will minimize threats to their businesses. Responding to Warren's critique last month, most of the insurers said their public warnings did not contradict reassurances to investors that they could withstand regulatory changes. They said their companies could navigate potential disruptions but they were still concerned about the consequences for consumers seeking retirement advice. (Reporting by Lisa Lambert; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
South Africas highest court ruled Thursday that President Jacob Zuma violated the constitution when he used $15 million in state funds to upgrade his private estate.
The Constitutional Court ordered Zuma to repay the money used for non-security upgrades to his Nkandla home, including a swimming pool, chicken run, cattle enclosure, and an amphitheater. The national treasury will determine the amount owed within 60 days; Zuma has 45 days to pay following that decision.
Zuma has noted and respects the court decision, a government spokesman said in a statement.
The President appreciates and reaffirms the powers of the Constitutional Court as a final arbiter on matters of the Constitution in the Republic of South Africa, the statement said.
In 2014, South Africas public protector, Thuli Madonsela, issued a report that found funds were used for non-security renovations and recommended that Zuma repay the money. But Zuma said the public protectors recommendation was advice, not an order, and claimed other officials authorized the upgrades without his knowledge. He then ordered his own investigations conducted by the police and public-works ministries. One report described Zumas swimming pool as a reservoir to fight fire and, therefore, a security measure. Two opposition partiesEconomic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and the Democratic Alliance (DA)appealed to the Constitutional Court.
Recommended: Photos of the Week: 3/26-4/1
On Wednesday, the Constitutional Court unanimously found Zumas actions unconstitutional. The chief justice, Mogoeng Mogoeng, said by failing to comply with the remedial action, the president thus failed to uphold, comply, and respect the constitution. He described Zumas denials and investigations as substantial disregard for Madonsela.
The president may have been acting on wrong legal advice, in good faith, he added. But the illegality still stands.
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The scandal is the latest involving Zuma, who has, over the years, been accused of rape, corruption, and other misdeeds. The charges havent stuck, but the taint has. Wednesdays ruling ends a six-year saga of reports, denials, and exonerations. South Africas opposition said Wednesday they would move to impeach Zuma, who has vowed to stay in office.
Julius Malema, the leader of EF, called Wednesdays developments an opportunity for South Africa to unite and remove a criminal from office.
Parliament has failed our people he said at a news conference. Let South Africa elect honorable people who will uphold the constitution.
The DA also blamed Parliament, where Zumas ruling African National Congress holds a majority.
Indeed it has been our assertion that Parliament failed to satisfy its constitutional mandate to hold the Executive accountable to the Constitution, it said in their joint statement calling for Zumas impeachment.
Madonsela called the ruling better late than never at a press conference.
Now the Constitutional Court has confirmed I did my job properly, she said, and it is someone elses job to see what happens next.
Read more from The Atlantic:
This article was originally published on The Atlantic.
Canada had agreed to supply 3,000 metric tonnes of uranium to energy-hungry India under a USD 254 million five-year deal to power Indian reactors. (Photo: AP)
Washington: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday met his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau and discussed bilateral ties, their first meeting after the latter swept to power last year.
Modi and Trudeau met in Washington on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit.
"Engagements on Day 2 begin with a bilateral with PM Justin Trudeau," External Affairs Minister Vikas Swarup tweeted.
Read: Drop notion that his terrorist is not my terrorist: Modi at Nuclear Summit
"Canadian connect...today's meetings commence with an interaction with Canada's PM Justin Trudeau. Both PMs discuss India-Canada relations," a PMO tweet said.
Last year, Prime Minister Modi had visited Canada when he held extensive talks with the then Canadian Premier Stephen Harper.
Canada had agreed to supply 3,000 metric tonnes of uranium to energy-hungry India under a USD 254 million five-year deal to power Indian reactors.
Read: Obama says will 'take time' for Iran to rejoin global economy
The agreement for uranium supply, which came two years after protracted negotiations following the 2013 civil nuclear deal between India and Canada, was signed after comprehensive talks Modi had with Harper in April last year.
44-year-old Trudeau carries one of the most famous names in Canadian political history. His late father was prime minister for the better part of 16 years, between 1968 and 1984.
Trudeau assumed office in November last year and surprised one and all by including four Sikh-Canadians in his Cabinet.
By Gary Robertson RICHMOND, Va. (Reuters) - A Virginia state trooper who was engaged in a training exercise at a Richmond bus station died on Thursday after a man pulled out a gun and opened fire before being fatally shot by two police officers, police said. The trooper, Chad Dermyer, 37, was shot multiple times and died after being transported to an area hospital, Virginia State Police Colonel Steven Flaherty told a news conference. The gunman, who police did not identify, died after being transported to the VCU medical Center, Corinne Geller, spokeswoman for Virginia state police, told reporters. Police did not provide any information on the gunman and did not say why he was at the bus station. Police did say that "the shooter continued to be combative as police took him into custody." The suspect's firearm was recovered, Geller said. Two women inside the Greyhound bus station were also shot, but their injuries were non-life-threatening, Geller said. Police did not identify them. Dermyer, who had recently been transferred to an counter-terrorism unit, was among roughly a dozen troopers participating in a training session. Police provided no further details on the training exercise and did not say if it was part of the anti-terrorism unit. Dermyer was in uniform when he approached the man at around 2:45 p.m. EDT, police said. Dermyer joined the department in 2014, police said. He had served in the U.S. Marine Corps and is survived by his wife and two young children. Officials from the Richmond Police Department, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Marshals Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Henrico County Police, and U.S. Department of Homeland Security responded to the scene, Geller said. Greyhound, owned by FirstGroup PLC , said the station was closed until further notice and the company was actively working with authorities to provide any information needed, including video surveillance that was captured. Greyhound said in a statement that no employees were injured. (Additional reporting by Eric M. Johnson in Seattle and Melissa Fares in New York; writing by Scott Malone and Eric Beech; Editing by Mohammad Zargham and Diane Craft)
Sanaa (AFP) - Yemeni rebels have mounted a deadly counterattack against government troops advancing down the Red Sea coast from the Saudi border ahead of a planned ceasefire next month, military sources said on Thursday.
The rebels and their allies surrounded a government force that was attempting to recapture the coastal town of Midi and killed 45 loyalist troops on Tuesday and Wednesday, the sources said.
At least 15 rebels were also killed in the fighting.
Forces loyal to the internationally recognised government based in the south crossed the border from Saudi Arabia in mid-December in a bid to open up a new front in the north as offensives faltered in the centre and east.
They swiftly captured the inland town of Haradh and Midi port, but they have met heavy resistance from the rebels and their allies in the adjacent town.
Despite a Saudi-led military intervention, which is now in its second year, the Huthi Shiite rebels still control most of the Red Sea coast, including the key ports of Hodeida and Mokha.
With coalition air and ground support, forces loyal to President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi have pushed the rebels out of most of the south and made some headway in the east and northeast.
But with the support of renegade troops loyal to Hadi's ousted predecessor Ali Abdullah Saleh, the rebels have retained control of the capital Sanaa and most of the highlands of the north and centre.
The latest fighting comes as the warring parties prepare for a UN-brokered ceasefire on April 10 intended to pave the way for peace talks in Kuwait on April 18.
The planned truce was only agreed by the two sides after months of shuttle diplomacy by UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed.
Previous UN-sponsored negotiations between the rebels and the government failed to make any headway, and a ceasefire announced for December 15 was repeatedly violated and abandoned by the coalition on January 2.
- Qaeda pushed back -
There has been mounting international pressure for an end to the conflict as the civilian death toll has mounted and the humanitarian situation deteriorated.
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The seizure of several key southern cities by Al-Qaeda and the growing presence in the south of rival jihadists of the Islamic State group has also triggered international alarm.
The Sunni extremists of Al-Qaeda have exploited the focus of loyalist and coalition firepower on the Shiite rebels to expand their control across the south, even in parts of Aden, where the government has its base.
But in recent days, loyalist forces have gone on the offensive against the jihadists in the port city and the coalition has carried out a series of air strikes against Al-Qaeda in cities it has seized.
On Wednesday, troops and militia recaptured Aden's central prison and deployed across the residential neighbourhood of Mansura.
"Al-Qaeda militants have been pushed out of Mansura, and we have recaptured and secured government installations," said Aden governor Aidarus al-Zubaidi.
"We would not rule out the possibility that there are some dormant cells of Al-Qaeda in the city," he told AFP, adding that the next stage includes "pushing Al-Qaeda militants from the edges of Aden."
He said the government also intended to drive Al-Qaeda out of Huta and Zinjibar, the capitals of nearby Lahj and Abyan provinces.
Farther east, coalition warplanes struck Al-Qaeda positions overnight in Hadramawt provincial capital Mukalla, held by the jihadists since April last year, a security official said.
In Shabwa province, a US drone strike killed five suspected Al-Qaeda members in the town of Azzan on Wednesday a military official said.
There has been no let-up in the longstanding US air war against Al-Qaeda's Yemen-based branch, which it regards as the jihadist network's most dangerous.
US strikes have taken out a number of senior Al-Qaeda commanders in Yemen over the past year.
Steel Company Firefighter's Death Investigated
Nitrogen exposure is the expected cause of death for Kenny Ray Jr., 32, a fire technician/industrial firefighter for Canton, Ohio-based TimkenSteel Corporation.
Kenny Ray Jr., 32, a fire technician/industrial firefighter for Canton, Ohio-based TimkenSteel Corporation, was found dead inside the company's Faircrest plant in Canton, Ohio, on March 20, the U.S. Fire Administration and Fox8 in Cleveland reported.
USFA's fatality report said according to company officials, "Ray was checking fire extinguishers throughout the plant when members of the security team found him unresponsive in a fifth-floor elevator motor room. Nitrogen exposure is suspected as a cause in his death. The incident remains under investigation by TimkenSteel, local, state and federal authorities."
Another fire service death was recorded in Houston March 31: A cadet with the Houston Fire Department died after he collapsed while running through an obstacle course as part of a training exercise two hours earlier. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner identified him as Steven Whitfield II, 32. He had joined the department last October and was expecting to graduate from his training in June, the Houston Chronicle reported.
Pocket Sun and Leonika Sari Njoto Boedioetomo will both be in separate panels in Jakarta on 5-6 April 2016
Echelon Indonesia is just 4 days away, F-O-U-R people.
We are excited to announce that not only do we have one, but two women from Forbes 30 under 30 list. Pocket Sun, Founding Partner of SoGal Ventures representing in the Finance and Venture Capital space, while Leonika Sari Njoto Boedi Oetomo, Founder of Reblood, in the Science and Healthcare landscape.
Pocket is Founding Partner of SoGal Ventures, the first cross-border millennial VC firm led by women.
She will be part of a panel discussion on the STEER STAGE where she will be speaking on Startup Life, Featuring Female Founders and Girls In Tech.
Besides being featured on the cover of Forbes Asia as a 30 Under 30 in Venture Capital and Finance, and was named Linkedin 2015 Top 10 Voices in VC & Entrepreneurship. Previously, she founded SoGal, a fast-growing global community of diverse entrepreneurs and investors, and grew it to 4,000 members worldwide under a year. Pocket has advised and invested in dozens of startups on fundraising, talent recruitment, customer acquisition, and overseas expansion across the US and Asia.
As for Leonika, the idea of Reblood came with the realisation of the shortage of red blood cells in Indonesia. To answer the pressing issue, Leo (for short) founded her startup called Reblood on January 2015. It is an app that aims to provide solutions to increase awareness and promoting blood donation to help save more peoples lives.
As such, it is only right that Leo speak on the STEER Stage as part of a panel discussion on Empowering Indonesia Through Social Entrepreneurship And #Tech4Good.
Graduated from Information Systems major, Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember Surabaya, 22-year old Leo started her entrepreneurship journey after her participation in the MIT x Global Entrepreneurship Program at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2014. Reblood then joined Start Surabaya, a tech-incubator program initiated by KIBAR, Suara Surabaya, Spazio, and Enciety to empower the up-and-coming tech entrepreneurs in Surabaya. This program has been supported extensively by Tri Rismaharini, the current Mayor. Start Surabaya helps Reblood in many different aspects, including providing space for work, mentoring sessions by industry experts, as well as opening up doors to partnership with the right parties, such as the Red Cross.
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Got a burning question for these amazing #womenintech? Ask away in the discussions below, or head over to secure your spot to Echelon Indonesia 2016 (April 5-6, Kartika Expo Centre, Balai Kartini Jakarta) now!
The post Who run the world: Meet 2 women entrepreneurs from Forbes 30 under 30 at Echelon Indonesia appeared first on e27.
Bomb-hit Brussels Airport is on track to reopen on Sunday, a Belgian government source said, after the authorities reached a deal with police on introducing tighter security at the key travel hub following the March 22 suicide attacks. "There is an agreement," Vincent Gilles, head of the SLFP police union, told AFP after lengthy talks Friday. He said the government and the airport operator had given in to their main demand for "systematic checks" of passengers and their luggage before going through customs. The agreement removed the final obstacle standing in the way of the airport's partial resumption of services. The next step is for the government to give the formal go-ahead for the reopening. "We hope that the airport can reopen Sunday morning," a government source told AFP. The operator of Brussels Airport, whose departure hall was wrecked in last week's blasts, had said Thursday the airport was "technically ready" to resume partial services after testing new, temporary check-in facilities. But no flights were announced as police unions held up the planned reopening, threatening to go on strike unless stricter checks were imposed. Complaining about lax security in the past, they proposed using metal detectors to check all visitors before they enter the airport zone and introducing checks on cars. The airport operator warned however that such moves would create long queues outside the building that could be another target for attackers. "There aren't any European airports that apply such measures," Brussels Airport spokeswoman Florence Muls said earlier Friday. It was not immediately clear if the new security checks agreed in the deal would take place outside or inside the temporary departure hall. When Zaventem airport does reopen, it will still only be working at 20 percent capacity, the operator has warned, handling 800 to 1,000 passengers an hour. Chief executive Arnaud Feist has said it could take months to return to normal. The airport's spokeswoman Florence Muls, speaking to AFP before the deal with police was announced, also said flights would resume on Sunday at the earliest. "Once we have a formal agreement on the security measures, approved by the interior ministry, we can start calling employees and carriers can contact their passengers, this will take some time," she said. - 'Symbolically important' - A total of 32 people were killed in the coordinated Islamic State blasts on the airport and a Brussels metro station, the worst-ever attacks in the de facto capital of the European Union. As Belgium seeks to turn the page on last week's traumatic events, the reopening of the airport "is symbolically and economically important," the spokesman of Prime Minister Charles Michel told Belga news agency. Brussels Airport, which says it contributes some three billion euros ($3.4 billion) annually to the Belgian economy, has not released any figures on the financial impact of the attacks, but the ripple effects have been felt throughout the travel industry. Its top carrier Brussels Airlines has said it was losing five million euros daily in what it called the "biggest crisis" of its history. With 260 companies on-site employing some 20,000 staff overall, the airport is one of Belgium's largest employers and accounts for just under one percent of gross domestic product (GDP). Since the attacks, thousands of passengers have had to be rerouted to nearby airports in and around Belgium and hotel bookings have plummeted as tourists stay away, either out of fear or to avoid the travel disruptions. Hotel reservations in the capital have fallen by 50 percent since March 22, the Brussels Hotels Association said.
AFP News
Pro-Russian authorities on Saturday urged residents in the southern Kherson region, which Moscow claims to have annexed, to leave the main city "immediately" in the face of Kyiv's advancing counter-offensive. It comes as President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had launched 36 rockets overnight in a "massive attack" on Ukraine, following reported strikes on energy infrastructure that resulted in power outages across the country. And Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida became the latest world leader to reproach Moscow for its talk of using nuclear weapons. Kyiv's forces have been advancing along the west bank of the Dnipro river, towards the Kherson region's eponymous main city. Kherson was the first major city to fall to Moscow's troops, and retaking it would be a major prize in Ukraine's counter-offensive. In recent days, Russia has been moving residents in the region -- which Moscow claims to have annexed in September -- east to Russia, in efforts Kyiv has denounced as "deportations". "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 Dnipro river, the region's pro-Russian authorities announced on social media. A Moscow-installed official in Kherson, Kirill Stremousov, told Russian news agency Interfax on Saturday that around 25,000 people had made the crossing. Sergiy Khlan, the Ukrainian deputy head of the Kherson region, said Russians were removing property and documents from banks and the passport office as they withdrew. Ukraine's general staff said Moscow's forces had abandoned two more settlements in Kherson and were evacuating medical personnel from a third, accusing them of looting local civilians. - A 'serious threat' - Earlier Saturday, Japan's Kishida denounced Moscow's comments regarding the possible use of nuclear weapons in the Ukraine conflict. "Russia's act of threatening the use of nuclear weapons is a serious threat to the peace and security of the international community and absolutely unacceptable," he said. The 77-year period of no nuclear weapons use "must not be ended", said Kishida, speaking in Australia. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, Putin has made several thinly veiled threats about his willingness to deploy tactical nuclear weapons. Earlier this month, the European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell warned that the Russian army would be "annihilated" if Russia launched such an attack. Washington has also warned Moscow of "catastrophic" consequences should they use such weapons. Japan is the only country ever to have been hit with nuclear weapons: the US atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, which killed 140,000 people, and the second US bomb on Nagasaki, three days later, which killed 74,000 people. - 'Afraid for our lives' - At a train station in the town of Dzhankoy in the north of Crimea, a peninsula that Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014, Kherson residents were boarding a train for southern Russia, an AFP reporter saw Friday. "We are leaving Kherson because heavy shelling started there, we are afraid for our lives," said Valentina Yelkina, a pensioner travelling with her daughter. More than a million households in Ukraine have been left without electricity following Russian strikes on energy facilities across the country, the deputy head of the Ukrainian presidency Kyrylo Tymoshenko said on Saturday. Fresh Russian strikes targeted energy infrastructure in Ukraine's west, the national operator said earlier, with officials in several regions of the war-scarred country reporting power outages as winter approaches. Russians "carried out another missile attack on energy facilities of the main networks of Ukraine's western regions", Ukraine's energy operator Ukrenergo said on social media. "These are vile strikes on critical objects," said Zelensky. "The world can and must stop this terror." Power outages were reported in other parts of the country and local officials repeated calls to reduce energy use. Some parts of Ukraine have already cut their electricity use by up to 20 percent, according to Ukrenergo. "Saturday in Ukraine starts with a barrage of Russian missiles aimed at critical civilian infrastructure," Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Twitter. He once again urged Kyiv's allies to hasten the delivery of air defence systems. In the Russian Belgorod region bordering Ukraine, at least two civilians were killed in strikes on Saturday, according to the local governor Vyacheslav Gladkov. Nearly 15,000 people were left without electricity, he added. Russia last week reported a "considerable increase" in Ukrainian fire into its territory, saying attacks had largely concentrated on Belgorod region and neighbouring regions of Bryansk and Kursk. bur-imm/jj/ah
By Frank Jack Daniel HAVANA (Reuters) - When Carlos Carnero's rock band Los Kent plugged in guitars and drums to play Rolling Stones covers on Cuba's Island of Pines in the 1960s, soldiers stopped the gig at gunpoint in minutes and marched the musicians onto a boat heading back to the mainland. Now some 50 years later, Carnero is preparing to see the Stones play to a crowd of 400,000 people in Havana on Friday in the latest sign of Cuba's thaw with the West. It is the first time the British band has performed in Cuba and caps a week in which U.S. President Barack Obama made a historic visit. The Stones arrived in Cuba on Thursday. "Time changes everything," Mick Jagger said at Havana airport, when asked about a former ban on his music in Cuba. Despite the stern treatment Los Kent received in the 1960s, Carnero's instruments were not confiscated that day and his band survived to play in secret house parties. Others suffered more for their love of rock and roll, including being sent to farms in labor brigades meant to correct "ideological deviation." "They called it the music of the enemy," Carnero said, clutching dog-eared black and white photos of Los Kent as young men on stage in 1963. Hippies and rock fans faced repression in Europe and the United States too in the 1960s, but Cuba went further, banning music from artists such as the Stones, the Beatles and Elvis Presley on the radio and television after the 1959 revolution that brought Fidel Castro to power. Rock was frowned on for decades and it was only in 2000 that Los Kent were given a license to work professionally, as people of Carnero's generation reached senior positions in government. Los Kent, who got their name from a guitar brand, will play on Thursday night in a bar at the Havana Melia hotel, where the Stones are expected to stay. To get his musical fix, Carnero, now 66, secretly listened to short-wave radio stations from Florida and shared pirated copies of vinyl records brought in by diplomats' children and sailors and passed around the scene. He was excluded from college for two years because he refused to cut his long hair, despite pointing out to the authorities that heroes of the revolution like Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos sported unkempt locks. His brother was among those sent to the countryside - given the choice of farm work and abandoning his tight pants and musical taste or leaving the technical college he attended. "After two months in the countryside he decided he'd rather not continue at school and came home," said Carnero, chuckling. "It was a moral punishment, you were doing something you weren't allowed to do because somebody didn't like it," Carnero said, in a home studio where an electronic drum kit and keyboard vie for space with an acoustic guitar. Some of Cuba's leading personalities were sent to similar camps, including composer Pablo Milanes and Cardinal Jaime Ortega. Many rock musicians later left the country. Fidel Castro later regretted the censorship of music and attended the unveiling of a statue of John Lennon, one of the four Beatles, in a Havana park on the 20th anniversary of his death on Dec. 8, 2000. Carnero said Castro told him that his revolutionary government was facing huge international challenges in the 1960s as he tried to consolidate the revolution and that many in his government did not understand what the young rockers were up to. "Despite all the difficulties, I wouldn't change my youth for that of today - we had so much love for what we did that there was nothing that could stop us," Carnero said. (Reporting by Frank Jack Daniel; Editing by Andrew Hay)
US President Barack Obama also said the international community must remain united in the face of North Korea's continued provocations. (Photo: AFP) including its recent nuclear test and missile launches.
Washington: Proliferation and potential use of nuclear weapons pose the most dangerous threat to global security and peace, US President Barack Obama said today as leaders from over 50 countries started arriving in Washington to attend the Nuclear Security Summit with the sole objective of preventing terrorists from obtaining and using atomic weapons.
"Of all the threats to global security and peace, the most dangerous is the proliferation and potential use of nuclear weapons," Mr Obama said in an op-ed in The Washington
Post on the eve of the fourth Nuclear Security Summit, which among others is being attended by leaders from countries like India, Japan, China, South Korea and Brazil.
The Indian delegation is being led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"Thursday in Washington, I'll welcome more than 50 world leaders to our fourth Nuclear Security Summit to advance a central pillar of our Prague Agenda: preventing terrorists from obtaining and using a nuclear weapon," Mr Obama wrote.
"We'll review our progress, such as successfully ridding more than a dozen countries of highly enriched uranium and plutonium. Nations, including the US will make new commitments and we'll continue strengthening international treaties and institutions that underpin nuclear security," he said.
Given the continued threat posed by organisations such as the terrorist group IS, Mr Obama wrote, world leaders will also join allies and partners in reviewing their counterterrorism efforts, to prevent the world's most dangerous networks from obtaining the world's most dangerous weapons.
Mr Obama said the international community must remain united in the face of North Korea's continued provocations, including its recent nuclear test and missile launches.
The additional sanctions recently imposed on Pyongyang by the UN Security Council show that violations have consequences, he said
The US will continue working with allies and partners for the complete and verifiable denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula in a peaceful manner, he said.
"More broadly, the security of the world demands that nations - including the United States - ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and conclude a new treaty to end the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons once and for all," Mr Obama said.
Mr Obama said as the only nation ever to have used nuclear weapons, the US has a moral obligation to continue to lead the way in eliminating them.
"Still, no one nation can realise this vision alone. It must be the work of the world," said the president.
(Adds comment from 1MDB) BRUSSELS/KUALA LUMPUR, March 31 (Reuters) - Luxembourg's state prosecutor has launched a judicial inquiry into allegations of money laundering involving hundreds of millions of dollars against Malaysia's sovereign wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB). The prosecutor said on Thursday that the inquiry followed evidence that funds held by the Malaysian government in offshore accounts in Singapore, Switzerland and Luxembourg had been misused. "The investigation aims to trace the origin of four transfers in 2012 and one in at the start of 2013 for a total of several hundreds of millions of dollars," a statement from the prosecutor's office said. The allegations concerned in particular the sums paid upon the issuance of two bonds in May and October 2012. 1MDB, whose advisory board is chaired by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, has been the subject of multiple investigations over the last year by authorities in Malaysia, Switzerland, Singapore and the United States following accusations of financial mismanagement and graft. The fund said in a statement that it had not been contacted by any foreign legal authorities on any matters related to the company. Switzerland's chief prosecutor said in January that a criminal investigation into 1MDB had showed about $4 billion appeared to have been misappropriated from Malaysian state companies. Singapore said it had sequestered a large number of bank accounts as part of an investigation into possible money-laundering linked to the fund. (Reporting by Robert-Jan Bartunek and Rozanna Latiff; Editing by Tom Heneghan)
Extremist "madmen" from the Islamic State group would not hesitate to launch a catastrophic nuclear attack, US President Barack Obama warned at a global summit in Washington. Hoping to galvanize global action to prevent jihadists from getting hold of nuclear weapons or material for a "dirty bomb," Obama painted an apocalyptic picture of the impact of a nuclear terror attack. Obama, who is leaves office next January, was hosting a fourth and likely final leaders' summit aimed at reducing the risk of a nuclear holocaust. The first summit was held in Washington six years ago at Obama's behest, when the young president, fresh from winning the Nobel Peace Prize sketched out a vision of a world without nuclear weapons. Today he stands as a president on his way out, trying to complete as much of his agenda as possible while Republican front runner Donald Trump garners attention with unorthodox calls for South Korea and Japan to be nuclear armed. Such utterances, Obama said, "tell us the person who made the statements doesn't know much about foreign policy or nuclear policy or the Korean peninsula or the world generally." But Obama nodded at his own failures too, saying poor relations with Russia -- the world's other major hoarder of nukes -- had hobbled his hopes to reduce conventional nuclear stockpiles. In a characteristic power play, Russian President Vladimir Putin had pointedly boycotted the summit. "My preference would be to bring down further our nuclear arsenal," said Obama, adding that he had approached Putin in the hopes of negotiating another arms reduction treaty. "Because of the vision that he's been pursuing of emphasizing military might over development inside of Russia and diversifying the economy, we have not seen the kind of progress that I would have hoped for with Russia." Instead, Obama used the summit to push for technical measures to safeguard fissile materials and limit the civilian use of the most dangerous uranium and plutonium. He also shifted the focus on to North Korea's provocative nuclear tests, the recently agreed nuclear deal on Iran and above all the threat from the Islamic State group. That threat has loomed large over the two-day summit, amid revelations that the Islamic State group carried out video surveillance on a top Belgian nuclear scientist. "ISIL has already used chemical weapons, including mustard gas, in Syria and Iraq," Obama said, using an acronym for the Islamic State group. "There is no doubt that if these madmen ever got their hands on a nuclear bomb or nuclear material, they most certainly would use it to continue to kill as many innocent people as possible." Obama said about 2,000 tons of nuclear materials are stored around the world at civilian and military facilities, but some of them are not properly secured. "Just the smallest amount of plutonium -- about the size of an apple -- would kill and injure hundreds of thousands of innocent people," he said. "It would be a humanitarian, political, economic and environmental catastrophe with global ramifications for decades," he added. "It would change our world." The nuclear security summit comes in the wake of attacks in Paris and Brussels that have killed dozens and exposed Europe's inability to thwart destabilizing attacks or track Islamic State operatives returning from Iraq and Syria. "As ISIL is squeezed in Syria and Iraq, we can anticipate it lashing out elsewhere," he said. "We need to do even more to prevent the flow of foreign terrorist fighters." - Bellicose hermit - North Korea's decision to carry out the latest in a series of missile launches during the summit, drew yet more attention to its continued testing of nuclear devices and ballistic missiles. The summit opened Thursday with Obama trying to forge consensus among East Asian leaders on how to respond to Pyongyang. Obama also used the summit as a chance to hold "candid" talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping over Beijing's alleged military buildup in the South China Sea. US officials have expressed concern that China's actions in the South China Sea are inconsistent with Xi's pledge at the White House last year not to pursue militarization of the hotly contested and strategically vital waterway. China has argued that the pledge was narrowly focused on one portion of the contested waters. China claims virtually all the South China Sea despite conflicting claims by Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan and the Philippines, and has built up artificial islands in the area in recent months, including some with airstrips.
By Mehreen Zahra-Malik and Mubasher Bukhari LAHORE, Pakistan (Reuters) - A year ago, Wasif Masih, 16, had a narrow escape when a suicide bomber from a faction of the Pakistani Taliban blew himself up during Sunday worship outside his church in a Christian neighbourhood in the eastern city of Lahore. This past Easter Sunday, Wasif died when the same Taliban faction, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, sent another suicide bomber to a Lahore park full of families, killing 72 people including at least 29 children. Wasif was so close to the blast that the bombers head fell at his feet, his mother, Zubaida Masih, said as the family mourned at their house in Nishtar Colony, a neighbourhood with both Christian and Muslim families. "It was as if they were following him. He escaped them then but they came after him again, in the park," Masih said. "If there was better security, this wouldn't have happened." Two days after the attack, a sense of vulnerability is growing among members of the Christian community, who are calling on the government of Muslim-majority Pakistan to do more to protect them. Christians, who number around 2 million in a nation of 190 million people, have been the target of a series of attacks in recent years. Last March, suicide bombers struck Masih's Christ Church and another close by, killing at least 14 people. In 2013, a pair of suicide bombers blew themselves up outside a 130-year-old church in Peshawar after Sunday Mass, killing at least 78 people. Now the Easter attack by Jamaat-ur-Ahrar, which once swore support for Islamic State, has fuelled worries that militants in Pakistan are increasingly subscribing to the IS brand of ultra-sectarian violence against those perceived as infidels. "Terrorists didn't used to be so focused on our community. Now all their attention is on us," said Irshad Ashnaz, the Christ Church vicar. "Perhaps it's time for the government to turn their attention toward us also." "These people are roaming around freely and no one is stopping them," Ashnaz said at the church, its windows cemented over after the attack. Pope Francis condemned the attack as "hideous" and demanded that Pakistani authorities protect religious minorities. "PEOPLE WHO LIVE TO DIE" Since the attack, Pakistan's deadliest since the 2014 massacre of 134 school children at a military-run academy in Peshawar, authorities have launched a crackdown on Islamist militants in the Punjab province, the countrys richest and most populous and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's political heartland. On Tuesday, a provincial minister said authorities had detained more than 5,000 militant suspects but later released most of them. Punjab government spokesman Zaeem Qadri said the government had stepped up security at churches after the previous attacks, which was why militants had picked a park this time. He said over the past year, the government had uncovered more than 200 plots and arrested around 15,000 suspects. "Parks are public places. On a public holiday there should have been more vigilance. But there was a gap," Qadri said. Christians "are as safe as anyone else. They are as safe as any other Pakistani is." Irfan Jamil, the bishop of Lahore, said the government was trying its best. "There are people who live to live and there are people who live to die," Jamil said. "How much protection is enough protection against such people?" But he added, "There is always room for improvement. Many of us don't feel that we are secure." UNKNOWN VICTIM On Tuesday, survivors lined the wards of Jinnah hospital in Lahore. The explosion wounded more than 300 people. Above each bed is a sign that says, 'blast victim', followed by the victim's name. One bed is only marked with the word "unknown." A three-year-old boy whose lungs were punctured and eyes gouged out is struggling to breathe through a tube. Visitors have placed flowers and juice packs next to his pillow. "We don't know who he is," a nurse said as she held his hand. "Two days after the blast, no one has come looking for him." Amid the fear, many Christians called for unity and brotherhood. At a vigil on Monday in Gulshan e Iqbal park, where the bomber struck, Father Jamal Albert said the message is "whether you are Christian, Hindu, Jewish or Muslim, you are unsafe and they are trying to break down our nation, destroy our sense of oneness, our sense of being Pakistanis". He added: "Rest assured we will not be deterred by such episodes. This is our country just as much as anyone else's. In fact we are more resolved than ever to go on." (Writing by Paritosh Bansal; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
The AI Bar ensures that everyone at the bar is served in the right order
Singapore has emerged the bar capital of Asia, dominating a ranking of the region's top 50 watering holes and taking the top spot with 28 Hongkong Street.
In the inaugural edition of Asia's 50 Best Bars awards -- a spinoff of the World's 50 Best Bars -- a panel of 154 judges including high-level bartenders, bar consultants, brand ambassadors, journalists and global bar hoppers weighed in to pronounce the best drinking hotspots across Asia.
Taking the top spot is a Singapore bar famous for its discretion. Since opening in 2011, 28 Hongkong Street has built up hype by playing itself down in the manner of a secret, clandestine speakeasy.
Tucked away in a downtown thoroughfare, the bar is non-descript with nothing but the street number to identify itself: There is no awning, no flashing lights, or swanky, velvet-roped entrance.
But once inside the beige doors, the bar's swish clientele sip on $20 cocktails like the Modest Mule, made with lemongrass-laced vodka, ginger beer, lime and rosemary, and the colorfully named Whore's Bath, made with manuka honey vodka, umeshu (liqueur made with Japanese apricots) poire liqueur, lemon and Hawaiian lava salt pickled ginger.
28 Hongkong Street is an emblem of the region, editors write. A benchmark of quality across drinks and hospitality.
Overall, Singapore and Hong Kong tied with nine spots each on the list, followed by Tokyo, which scored eight spots.
But with four of the top 10 spots, including the No. 1 ranking, Singapore is the big winner this year.
The results also surprised editors, who predicted Shanghai to finish fourth after Singapore, Hong Kong and Tokyo with the number of bars represented.
Instead, Bangkok nabbed the spot with six addresses including Vesper, the city's top-ranked bar in 17th place.
Bangkok's people have a serious case of cocktail fever and, with the number of international 'tenders setting up in the city and locals opening up their own places, it is only going in one direction from here.
Here are the top 10 bars in Asia, according to Asia's 50 Best Bars:
1. 28 Hongkong Street, Singapore
2. Speak Low, Shanghai
3. High Five, Tokyo
4. Lobster Bar & Grill, Hong Kong
5. Manhattan, Singapore,
6. Quinary, Hong Kong
7. Operation Dagger, Singapore
8. Jigger & Pony, Singapore
9. Union Trading Company, Shanghai
10. Omakase + Appreciate, Kuala Lumpur
NAIROBI (Reuters) - A male lion that strayed into rush hour traffic in the Kenyan capital on Friday injured one man before being captured and taken back to a reserve that lies on the edge of the city, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) said. KWS, which manages the country's safari reserves including the Nairobi National Park on the outskirts of the capital, said its units had caught the lion after images posted on social media showed it wandering along a main road near the park. "A man who was injured by the lion (has been) taken to hospital," KWS said on its Twitter feed. KWS spokesman Paul Udoto told Kenya's NTV that the elderly man was in a stable condition after the black-maned lion attacked him when it became agitated by the hooting of car horns by passing motorists. The images on social media showed the lion walking along a grassy verge next to the busy road and past some people who looked on from behind a closed iron-bar gate. Inside Nairobi National Park, which lies on the city limits, tourists enjoy views of lions, rhinos, giraffes, zebras and other wildlife against a backdrop of high-rise buildings. Lions are occasionally spotted in the city close to the park after finding a way through fences that protect the built-up areas near the reserve. (Reporting by Humphrey Malalo; Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Gareth Jones)
Washington: In the face of mounting threats from North Korea, President Barack Obama on Friday urged closer security ties among its chief allies in Asia and increased cooperation with strategic rival China to discourage Pyongyang from further advances in nuclear weapons.
As world leaders gathered for a nuclear security summit, Obama first met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Park Geun-hye.
Together, they warned North Korea would face even tougher sanctions and more isolation if provokes again with nuclear and missile tests.
Then Obama met Chinese President Xi Jinping and both called for North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons. China agreed to implement in full the latest economic restrictions imposed by the UN Security Council against Pyongyang.
More than 50 governments and international organisations are attending the two-day summit on preventing nuclear terrorism - the last in a series of global meetings Obama has championed on the issue. The risk posed by the Islamic State group tops this year's agenda but concerns about North Korea are also commanding focus.
"Of great importance to both of us is North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons, which threatens the security and stability of the region. President Xi and I are both committed to the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula," Obama said at the start of his meeting with Xi.
"China and the US have a responsibility to work together," Xi said in his comments made to reporters via an interpreter. As for their "disputes and disagreements," the Chinese leader said the two sides could "seek active solutions through dialogue and consultation."
North Korea's fourth nuclear test in January, followed by a space a launch in February, have heralded more convergence among often-fractious powers in East Asia - at least on the need to press the government of Kim Jong Un toward disarming.
Japan and South Korea have persuasive reasons to get along. They both host US forces and are both in range of North Korean missiles. But their relations have been plagued by historical differences that date back to Japan's colonial occupation of Korea in the first half of the 20th century and its military's use of sex slaves during World War II.
But those tensions have eased some. Abe said North Korea nuclear and missile capability is a "direct and grave threat" to them all.
The US and China also released joint statements vowing robust collaboration to improve nuclear security and to implement a global climate change deal, and reported progress on the issue of cyber security.
But they were at stark odds in other areas. According to Zheng, Xi told Obama that China was "firmly opposed" to the US deploying a new missile defence system in
South Korea, saying it was against China's national security interests and would the effect the strategic balance in the region.
By Jeff Mason and Matt Spetalnick WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama joined South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday, vowing to ramp up pressure on North Korea in response to its recent nuclear and missile tests. Meeting on the sidelines of a global nuclear security summit in Washington, the three leaders recommitted their countries to each others' defense and warned they could take further steps to counter threats from Pyongyang. Obama held separate talks with President Xi Jinping of China, the closest North Korea has to an ally, and said they both wanted to see "full implementation" of the latest United Nations sanctions against Pyongyang. But Xi offered no sign that China was prepared to go beyond its consent to the Security Council measures imposed in early March. "We are united in our efforts to deter and defend against North Korean provocations," Obama told reporters after the U.S.-Japan-South Korea meeting. "We have to work together to meet this challenge." 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 in February. The United States has sought to encourage improved ties between South Korea and Japan, its two biggest allies in Asia, given worries not only about North Korea but also an increasingly assertive China. The expanded U.N. sanctions aimed at starving North Korea of funds for its nuclear and ballistic missile programs were approved in a unanimous Security Council vote on a resolution drafted by the United States and China. Even though China has signed on, doubts persist in the West on how far it will go in tightening the screws on impoverished North Korea, given China's concerns about fueling instability on its borders. Appearing later with Obama, Xi said that while Washington and Beijing disagreed in some areas, they have had "effective communication and coordination" on North Korea. However, China, considered the most capable of influencing North Korea's leadership, has said repeatedly that sanctions are not the solution and only a resumption of international talks can resolve the dispute. Six-party talks among the two Koreas, China, the United States, Japan and Russia aimed at curbing the North's nuclear ambitions collapsed in 2008. Xi called for dialogue to denuclearize the Korean peninsula, but also said all parties should avoid doing anything to raise tensions, China's foreign ministry said. He alluded to a missile defense system the United States wants to base in South Korea that China opposes, saying no party should do anything to affect the security interests of other countries or that upsets the regional strategic balance. Thursday's meetings took place as leaders from more than 50 countries gathered for a two-day summit hosted by Obama and focused on securing vulnerable atomic materials to prevent nuclear terrorism. North Korea's nuclear defiance was high on the agenda. Notably absent is Russian President Vladimir Putin, adding to doubts that a meeting without one of the world's top nuclear powers can yield major results. Despite that, a joint U.S.-China statement showed the two countries, while rivals on trade and at odds over the South China Sea, agreeing to work together to investigate and curb nuclear smuggling and to hold annual talks on the issue. 'MISGUIDED CALCULUS' Obama said he, Park and Abe had directed their teams to come up with additional steps they can take collectively against North Korea. Park said the leaders had discussed ways to force North Korea to "alter its misguided calculus" on its weapons programs, and Abe expressed a commitment to strengthening three-way security cooperation. The meeting came just days after Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump caused an uproar by suggesting that Japan and South Korea should be allowed to build their own nuclear arsenals, putting him at odds with decades of U.S. policy. Ben Rhodes, Obama's deputy national security adviser, said Trump's comments did not come up in the three leaders' discussions. But he said: "It would be catastrophic were the United States to shift its position and indicate that we support somehow the proliferation of nuclear weapons to additional countries." Obama has less than 10 months left in office to follow through on one of his signature foreign policy initiatives locking down as much of the world's nuclear materials as possible - and this week's meeting is his fourth and final Nuclear Security Summit. While progress has been made, some arms-control advocates say the process seems to have lost momentum and could slow even further once Obama leaves office in January. A boycott by Russia, apparently unwilling to join in a U.S.-dominated gathering at a time of tension between Washington and Moscow, especially over Ukraine, could detract from any decisions made at the summit. The militant attacks in Brussels on March 22 have fueled concern that Islamic State could target nuclear plants, steal material and develop radioactive "dirty bombs". Xi raised his concern about such attacks at a banquet. "As international terrorist activities have entered a new phase of increasing activity, the threat of nuclear terrorism particularly cannot be ignored," China's foreign ministry cited him as saying. (Additional reporting by Susan Heavey, Roberta Rampton, David Brunnstrom and Doina Chiacu, and Ben Blanchard and Michael Martina in BEIJING; Writing by Matt Spetalnick; Editing by Frances Kerry and Clarence Fernandez)
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BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Saudi-owned television news channel Al Arabiya shut its offices in Lebanon and dismissed 27 employees, two of its journalists said on Friday, in a sudden move that comes amid political tensions between Riyadh and Beirut. Protesters also attacked the Beirut office of Saudi-owned newspaper Asharq al-Awsat on Friday in response to a cartoon published by the paper criticising the Lebanese state. Saudi Arabia has already cut $3 billion in military aid to Lebanon after the Lebanese government failed to condemn an attack on the Saudi embassy in Tehran in January. The Sunni Gulf monarchy interpreted Lebanon's lack of public solidarity as a sign that it had become beholden to the Lebanese Shi'ite group Hezbollah, which is backed by Saudi Arabia's main regional ally Iran. "We were informed that the offices have been shut and that 27 employees have been fired," one Al Arabiya journalist said. A statement from the channel confirmed that its Beirut office had been shut, describing the move as a restructuring brought about by "challenges on the ground" and citing its concern for the safety of its employees. Lebanon's Minister of Information Ramzi Greige dismissed the suggestion of security concerns, however. "Of course there are no security grounds for closing the Al Arabiya office in Beirut. There may be political reasons for taking this step, but I dont know until I seek clarification from them," Greige told Reuters. Al Arabiya, one of the main Arabic language broadcasters in the Middle East, is part of the privately-owned Middle East Broadcasting Center (MBC). APRIL FOOL Also on Friday, protesters entered the offices of Saudi-owned newspaper Asharq al-Awsat and left papers and upturned chairs on the floor after the paper published a cartoon depicting the Lebanese flag with the words "an April fool..." written above it. Inside the flag were the words "the Lebanese state", which form a rhyming pair in Arabic. Hampered by sectarian tensions, Lebanon has a weak government and has been without a president for almost two years. The country, which is hosting just over 1 million registered refugees from the conflict in neighbouring Syria, has poor infrastructure and public services. "Al Sharq Al Awsat regrets the commotion caused by the caricature which was circulated today (Friday) and which was wrongly interpreted by some," the paper said in a statement, saying it respected Lebanon. "The cartoon aimed to cast light on the situation which the state (Lebanon) finds itself in, as a country which living a big lie caused by attempts to dominate it and distance it from its Arab environment, and to hinder the appointment of a president." (Reporting by Dominic Evans, Lisa Barrington and Laila Bassam in Beirut and Sami Aboudi in Dubai; editing by Angus MacSwan)
The FBI has agreed to help Arkansas prosecutors unlock an iPhone and iPod belonging to two teenagers accused of killing a couple.
It comes days after the agency revealed it had hacked an iPhone linked to the gunman in December's massacre in San Bernardino, California.
The Arkansas case involves teenagers Hunter Drexler and Justin Staton, who are accused of killing Robert and Patricia Cogdell.
Both have pleaded not guilty to capital murder, aggravated robbery and other charges in last July's deaths of the 66-year-old couple at their home in Conway.
Faulkner County Prosecuting Attorney Cody Hiland said the FBI had agreed to help Conway Police Department on Wednesday afternoon.
Investigators say they believe 15-year-old Staton used the iPod to communicate about his alleged plans to kill the couple, who had raised him as a grandson.
Eighteen-year-old Drexler's lawyers say they are not concerned about any material on his iPhone.
The FBI hasn't revealed how it gained access to the iPhone 5c that belonged to San Bernardino killer Syed Farook.
Apple - which refused to help the agency, citing privacy concerns - is trying to find out how the encrypted device was accessed.
A prosecutor in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, has meanwhile asked the FBI to help unlock a phone owned by a murder victim.
Mohammad Dar, 65, agreed to give up his business in Kemah, Texas, Dairy Queen said. (Photo: AP)
Houston: Pakistani-American owner, who put up anti-Hindu signs at a popular US eatery, has been forced to sell the franchise amid furore over the controversial posters that upset thousands of Indian-Americans.
Mohammad Dar, 65, agreed to give up his business in Kemah, Texas, Dairy Queen said.
"We are pleased to announce that as of Wednesday, March 30th, the DQ location in Kemah, Texas is now under new ownership and all interior and exterior signs posted by the former franchisee were immediately removed from that location," said Dean A Peters, Associate Vice President of Communications of American Dairy Queen Corporation headquartered in Minneapolis.
For the past six months, Dar's Dairy Queen restaurant posted signs bashing Hinduism as a force of racism. Some of the messages, displayed on tall panels, mentioned Hinduism specifically and accused it of being based on racism.
Dar taped more messages near the register, on the drive-through window and placed a large sign outside of the restaurant in the parking lot.
The owner told local media that he planned to leave because of a new, expensive "corporate mandate". The Hindus of Greater Houston, Hindu American Foundation and Diversity USA, welcomed a change in ownership at the Dairy Queen eatery.
"After speaking with Dairy Queen's spokesperson, we applaud Dairy Queen for taking action to move up the timing of the sale of this location in Kemah to another franchisee owner in order to have these anti-Hindu signs removed swiftly," the statement said.
"We also urge Dairy Queen to incorporate policies and procedures in their franchisee agreement to prevent such a situation from happening again," it said.
Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard told all protesting Hindu organisations including Jagan Kaul of Diversity USA, a think-tank on minority issues, in a message that "your protest efforts have paid high dividends in causing Dairy Queen to force the owner to sell his franchise".
By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The latest allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation levelled against international peacekeepers in Central African Republic elicited expressions of disgust on Thursday from top United Nations officials and senior U.S. and French diplomats. The United Nations on Wednesday said it has expanded an investigation of new allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse by foreign peacekeepers in Central African Republic (CAR) and notified authorities in France, Gabon and Burundi about the accusations against their troops. "The Secretary-General (Ban Ki-moon) is shocked to the core by the latest allegations of abuse in the Central African Republic," U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters. U.N. human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein echoed Ban's sentiments, calling the charges "sickening" and insisting the U.N. investigation "must leave no stone unturned." Dujarric said U.N. officials interviewed some 108 alleged victims, the "vast majority" of whom are minors. The "despicable, depraved and deeply disturbing" allegations concern 2013-2015. Of the 108 alleged victims, roughly 100 are children, a council diplomat told Reuters. He added that of the new allegations, one is against France and the rest are against Burundi and Gabon. There have been dozens of such accusations against peacekeepers in CAR, where MINUSCA assumed authority from African Union troops in September 2014. France has been investigating allegations against its Sangaris force, which is not under U.N. command, since last year. Burundi and Gabon will be participating in the U.N. investigation. The U.N. Security Council heard a briefing from the U.N. peacekeeping department on Thursday on the latest allegations. It issued a statement expressing "disgust" and "emphasized the need for a full and urgent investigation and that those responsible be held accountable." The Code Blue Campaign run by the advocacy group AIDS-Free World issued a statement on Wednesday citing information from interviews with victims conducted by MINUSCA, the U.N. mission in CAR. Code Blue said three victims interviewed by MINUSCA reported that in 2014, "they and a fourth girl were tied up and undressed inside a camp by a military commander from the Sangaris force and forced to have sex with a dog." U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power, currently in CAR, issued a statement describing the allegations as "sickening." "This plague of sexual abuse by peacekeepers must stop," she said after meeting with victims of abuse by peacekeepers in CAR. French Ambassador Francois Delattre said the allegations are "sickening and odious." "The French authorities are determined to shed full light on these grave allegations," he said. MINUSCA's previous head, Babacar Gaye, resigned last August and some 800 Congolese peacekeepers were repatriated last month. In December, an independent review panel accused the U.N. and its agencies of grossly mishandling allegations of child sexual abuse and rape by peacekeepers in CAR in 2013 and 2014. (Additional reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Chris Reese)
DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland's two largest parties will talk next week about how to end a political impasse sparked by inconclusive elections though a new government is probably weeks away, the leader of the main opposition party said on Thursday. Micheal Martin, head of the second-largest party Fianna Fail, told reporters he had spoken to acting prime minister Enda Kenny and they agreed to address the matter together after a sitting of parliament on Wednesday. Both are expected to fall short of the votes in that session required to elect a premier for the second time. "Just before lunchtime I rang the Taoiseach (prime minister) and we agreed that we would engage in the aftermath of that (Wednesday's vote for prime minister). I told him we were in negotiations with independents, just as he is, and when that process had concluded, we'd engage after that," Martin said. Fianna Fail and Kenny's Fine Gael are vying to secure the support of 15 independent lawmakers who have said they may back a minority government. But whoever wins the most support would remain dependent on the cooperation of the other main party. "We didn't get into that detail" about whether Fianna Fail would support a Fine Gael minority, Martin said. "I know people are anxious to know when a government is going to be formed and all of that, but I think we're some weeks away from that yet." Ireland became one of several euro zone countries with deeply fractured parliaments as voters angry that they were not benefiting from an economic recovery ousted Kenny's coalition from power without opting for a clear alternative. Fine Gael secured 50 deputies in the Feb. 26 election compared to Fianna Fail's 43, both well short of the 79 needed for a majority. All of the other parties in parliament have ruled out supporting a minority government led by either. The two historic rivals are strongly resistant to a formal tie-up and Martin again ruled out the prospect of a "grand coalition". He would not rule out the possibility of Fianna Fail backing a minority Fine Gael government from opposition. A senior Fine Gael minister said on Wednesday his party would not support a minority Fianna Fail-led government. The new government will be tasked with making sure the euro zone's fastest growing economy is more widely felt. Talks between the parties and independents have focused on how to tackle a severe shortage of housing supply, a struggling health service and how to revive economic activity in rural areas. (Reporting by Padraic Halpin Writing by Conor Humphries; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
Washington: Amidst global concerns over safety of its nuclear weapons, Pakistan Friday claimed that its "modest" nuclear programme was accident-free, unlike that of India.
Foreign Secretary of Pakistan, Aizaz Chaudhary, who is here to attend the Nuclear Security Summit hosted by US President Barack Obama, said that the International Atomic Energy Agency has recorded 2,734 nuclear incidents worldwide, including five in India, but "not a single accident or breach happened in Pakistan, although our programme is 40 years old".
Pakistan has a modest nuclear programme with "full ownership of its people, essentially for its defence and not to threaten anyone," he told reporters at the Pakistan embassy here.
"Pakistan's nuclear installations are not only secure but the world also acknowledges that they are," he said. "Pakistan has worked very hard to ensure their security."
"India, on the other hand, has an ambitious nuclear programme, and an equally ambitious conventional weapons programme," he said. "We have a modest programme because we feel we have the right to defend ourselves."
"Pakistan has short-range and long-range missiles, and the purpose behind both is to deter aggression," he said.
He said Pakistan was working with the international community to ensure the security of its nuclear installations, which were always in safe hands. "The National Command Authority, headed by the Prime Minister, is fully in charge."
He said the perception created in the media that Pakistan had the fastest-growing nuclear programme was wrong, and pointed that several studies showed that India had a bigger nuclear programme.
He said Pakistan's preparedness was tied to the threat posed by India and the deterrence varied accordingly. "If the threat level increases we have to meet that and their conventional and nuclear levels are increasing too," he said.
The US had in February expressed concern over the security of Pakistan's tactical nuclear weapons.
State Department Deputy Spokesman Mark Toner had said that the US was "concerned both about the security of those nuclear weapons, and that has been a common refrain in our discussions with Pakistan."
The issue also figured in the US presidential debates. Two days ago, Republican frontrunner Donald Trump said that a nuclear-armed Pakistan is a "very, very vital problem" and that the country needs to "get a hold of" its situation.
By David Brunnstrom and Lesley Wroughton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China said talks on Thursday between President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Barack Obama were constructive, even as the two sides remained far apart on the South China Sea and U.S. missile defence plans for South Korea. Meeting on the sidelines of a nuclear security summit in Washington, Xi and Obama agreed to step up cooperation to ensure nuclear security worldwide and to do more on cyber security. They also agreed to continue to work on a bilateral investment treaty, China's assistant foreign minister, Zheng Zeguang, told a news briefing. But Zheng made clear that China and the United States remained at odds over the contested South China Sea, where Beijing's broad territorial claims have riled its neighbours, and over U.S. missile defence plans following North Korea's recent nuclear and rocket tests. Xi told Obama that he hoped Washington would "strictly" abide by its commitment not to take a position on sovereignty issues and instead play a constructive role to maintain peace and stability, Zheng said. "The hope is that all parties will correctly view and handle the South China Sea and adopt an objective and impartial attitude ... particularly countries outside this region," he said. China's official Xinhua news agency also quoted Xi as warning that China would not accept violations of its sovereignty in the name of freedom of navigation - a reference to air and naval patrols the United States has conducted within what China considers its territorial waters. China claims most of the South China Sea, through which about $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year. Neighbours Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims. The United States says it takes no sides in the disputes but wants to ensure free navigation. It has said it will increase what it calls freedom-of-navigation operations by its Navy ships through the waters. 'RULES-BASED ORDER' Obama, speaking after an earlier meeting with the leaders of Japan and South Korea, said the three countries shared a common vision for the Asia-Pacific based on "a rules-based order in which all countries, regardless of size, act according to shared norms and shared principles," in an apparent criticism of China's pursuit of territorial claims in East Asia. U.S. officials have expressed concern that Beijing could declare an air defence identification zone, or ADIZ, in the region, as it did in the East China Sea in 2013. On Wednesday, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defence Robert Work said the United States had told China it would not recognise an exclusion zone in the South China Sea and would view such a move as "destabilising." Zheng said Xi also told Obama that China was "firmly opposed" to U.S. plans to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence, or THAAD, missile defence system in South Korea after North Korea's fourth nuclear test in January and a rocket launch into space in February. "Such deployment will undermine China's security interests and will affect this region's strategic balance," he said. The United States and South Korea began talks last month on possible THAAD deployment. China backed tough new sanctions on North Korea following its nuclear and rocket tests but complains that THAAD has a range that would extend far beyond the Korean peninsula and into China. (Reporting by David Brunnstrom and Lesley Wroughton; Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in Beijing; Editing by Don Durfee and Peter Cooney)
By Louis Charbonneau and Patricia Zengerle UNITED NATIONS/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee said on Wednesday the U.N. Security Council's refusal to respond to Iran's ballistic missile tests defied Obama administration assurances that a ban on such tests would remain in place after the Iran nuclear deal. "As many of us feared, now it appears Iran can defy those restrictions with impunity fearing no pushback from the U.N. Security Council," Republican Senator Bob Corker said, in response to a report by Reuters that diplomats suggested Iran's tests do not technically violate provisions of Security Council Resolution 2231. Corker authored legislation giving the U.S. Congress the right to review the international nuclear deal announced in July and joined other members of his party in opposing it. Many U.S. lawmakers have demanded more sanctions over the missile tests. Council diplomats told Reuters on Wednesday experts from the 15-nation body would discuss Iran's missile work on Friday. They are expected to consider the possibility of a council statement condemning the missile program, the diplomats said. Iran's recent ballistic tests involved missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons and were "inconsistent with" and "in defiance of" council resolution 2231, adopted in July, the United States, Britain, France and Germany said in a joint letter to Spanish U.N. Ambassador Roman Oyarzun Marchesi and U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon. Spain has been assigned the task of coordinating council discussions on resolution 2231. The letter said 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. The 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. Security 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. Russia, a veto-wielding permanent member, has made clear it considers compliance with the appeal in resolution 2231 to be voluntary. Tehran has also said it is under no obligation to comply with the appeal to refrain from missile work and vowed to continue developing ballistic missiles. (Reporting by Lou Charbonneau and Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Sandra Maler)
By Thomas Escritt THE HAGUE (Reuters) - U.N. judges acquitted Serbian nationalist firebrand Vojislav Seselj of war crimes and crimes against humanity on Thursday, a shock verdict that delivered a boost to his anti-EU Serbian Radical Party ahead of April elections. War victims and leaders of neighboring countries reacted with dismay to the acquittal of Seselj, who was accused of stoking murderous ethnic hatred with his fiery rhetoric during the 1990s wars that followed the break-up of federal Yugoslavia into seven successor states and killed 130,000 people. On one occasion, Seselj gave a speech to Serbian troops, telling them: "Not a single Ustasha must leave Vukovar alive," using a derogatory term for Croats in 1991 in the eastern Croatian city on the Danube River border with Serbia. But the U.N. tribunal ruled that this did not amount to incitement. It could not be ruled out that such speeches were made "in a context of conflict and were meant to boost the morale of the troops of his camp, rather than calling upon them to spare no one," said Judge Jean-Claude Antonetti, who headed a three-judge panel that voted 2-1 in favor of acquittal. At Radical Party headquarters in Belgrade, Seselj's supporters cheered the stunning outcome at the U.N. tribunal - Seselj himself had expected a 25-year sentence. Polls show his party hovering just above the 5 percent threshold it would need to return to parliament next month after four years outside. "This acquittal leaves me speechless," said Vesna Bosanac, the head of a Vukovar hospital besieged by pro-Seselj militia in 1991. "The only thing that awaits him is the judgment of God." Croatian Prime Minister Tihomir Oreskovic labeled the verdict "shameful" during a visit to Vukovar, where he laid wreaths in memory of war dead, a sentiment echoed by his Bosnian counterpart Denis Zvizdic. Munira Subasic, who lost her husband and son in the 1995 Serb massacre of 8,000 Muslim men and boys in the Bosnian town of Srebrenica, said the tribunal had rewarded "an ideology of persecution and war crimes". In a scathing and unusually strong dissent over the acquittal, one of the three judges said Seselj and his allies outside the courtroom had intimidated prosecution witnesses. "The majority sets aside all the rules of international humanitarian law," Flavia Lattanzi wrote. PRESSURE ON PRO-EU GOVERNMENT Thursday's verdict ramps up the pressure on the right-wing government of Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, once an ally of Seselj who dropped his nationalism in favor of a policy of seeking Serbia's admission to the European Union. The government is walking a tightrope at a time of growing Russian influence in southeastern Europe and risks losing votes to Seselj's camp if it is seen as too accommodating of the EU-backed ICTY, which has prosecuted mainly Serbs. Seselj, 61, is a prolific writer known for his pugnacious temper and was a close ally of late Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, who died in his U.N. tribunal cell in The Hague a decade ago before his war crimes trial could be completed. Seselj has never abandoned his ideal of a "Greater Serbia" incorporating parts of Croatia and Bosnia that Serb nationalist forces fought for after Yugoslavia's federal republics split away, and his message could yet tempt back Vucic supporters. "This panel of judges contributed to removing the taint from the Serbian people," Seselj told a news conference after the news of his acquittal. Last week, the U.N. tribunal sentenced Radovan Karadzic, former political leader of the Bosnian Serbs, to 40 years in prison for war crimes and genocide, while Ratko Mladic, the ex-Bosnian Serb military commander, remains on trial. But since Milosevic's death, the tribunal has never managed to pin legal responsibility for Bosnia's genocide on a Belgrade Serb. Seselj's acquittal also came as a blow to prosecutors at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia after the decade-long trial, the longest in the history of the ICTY. Prosecutors said they were considering appealing against the acquittal of Seselj, who has been living freely in Belgrade since 2014 after being diagnosed with terminal cancer. Still vigorous, he defied judges by re-immersing himself in politics. "With this acquittal on all the nine counts of the indictment, the arrest warrant issued by the appeals chamber is rendered moot," said Antonetti. "Vojislav Seselj is now a free man." (Additional reporting by Ivana Sekularac and Aleksandar Vasovic in Belgrade, Igor Ilic in Zagreb and Maja Zuvela in Sarajevo; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
By Thomas Escritt THE HAGUE (Reuters) - U.N. judges acquitted Serbian nationalist firebrand Vojislav Seselj of war crimes and crimes against humanity on Thursday, a shock verdict that delivered a boost to his anti-EU Serbian Radical Party ahead of April elections. War victims and leaders of neighbouring countries reacted with dismay to the acquittal of Seselj, who was accused of stoking murderous ethnic hatred with his fiery rhetoric during the 1990s wars that followed the break-up of federal Yugoslavia into seven successor states and killed 130,000 people. On one occasion, Seselj gave a speech to Serbian troops, telling them: "Not a single Ustasha must leave Vukovar alive," using a derogatory term for Croats in 1991 in the eastern Croatian city on the Danube River border with Serbia. But the U.N. tribunal ruled that this did not amount to incitement. It could not be ruled out that such speeches were made "in a context of conflict and were meant to boost the morale of the troops of his camp, rather than calling upon them to spare no one," said Judge Jean-Claude Antonetti, who headed a three-judge panel that voted 2-1 in favour of acquittal. At Radical Party headquarters in Belgrade, Seselj's supporters cheered the stunning outcome at the U.N. tribunal - Seselj himself had expected a 25-year sentence. Polls show his party hovering just above the 5 percent threshold it would need to return to parliament next month after four years outside. "This acquittal leaves me speechless," said Vesna Bosanac, the head of a Vukovar hospital besieged by pro-Seselj militia in 1991. "The only thing that awaits him is the judgment of God." Croatian Prime Minister Tihomir Oreskovic labelled the verdict "shameful" during a visit to Vukovar, where he laid wreaths in memory of war dead, a sentiment echoed by his Bosnian counterpart Denis Zvizdic. Munira Subasic, who lost her husband and son in the 1995 Serb massacre of 8,000 Muslim men and boys in the Bosnian town of Srebrenica, said the tribunal had rewarded "an ideology of persecution and war crimes". In a scathing and unusually strong dissent over the acquittal, one of the three judges said Seselj and his allies outside the courtroom had intimidated prosecution witnesses. "The majority sets aside all the rules of international humanitarian law," Flavia Lattanzi wrote. PRESSURE ON PRO-EU GOVERNMENT Thursday's verdict ramps up the pressure on the right-wing government of Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, once an ally of Seselj who dropped his nationalism in favour of a policy of seeking Serbia's admission to the European Union. The government is walking a tightrope at a time of growing Russian influence in southeastern Europe and risks losing votes to Seselj's camp if it is seen as too accommodating of the EU-backed ICTY, which has prosecuted mainly Serbs. Seselj, 61, is a prolific writer known for his pugnacious temper and was a close ally of late Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, who died in his U.N. tribunal cell in The Hague a decade ago before his war crimes trial could be completed. Seselj has never abandoned his ideal of a "Greater Serbia" incorporating parts of Croatia and Bosnia that Serb nationalist forces fought for after Yugoslavia's federal republics split away, and his message could yet tempt back Vucic supporters. "This panel of judges contributed to removing the taint from the Serbian people," Seselj told a news conference after the news of his acquittal. Last week, the U.N. tribunal sentenced Radovan Karadzic, former political leader of the Bosnian Serbs, to 40 years in prison for war crimes and genocide, while Ratko Mladic, the ex-Bosnian Serb military commander, remains on trial. But since Milosevic's death, the tribunal has never managed to pin legal responsibility for Bosnia's genocide on a Belgrade Serb. Seselj's acquittal also came as a blow to prosecutors at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia after the decade-long trial, the longest in the history of the ICTY. Prosecutors said they were considering appealing against the acquittal of Seselj, who has been living freely in Belgrade since 2014 after being diagnosed with terminal cancer. Still vigorous, he defied judges by re-immersing himself in politics. "With this acquittal on all the nine counts of the indictment, the arrest warrant issued by the appeals chamber is rendered moot," said Antonetti. "Vojislav Seselj is now a free man." (Additional reporting by Ivana Sekularac and Aleksandar Vasovic in Belgrade, Igor Ilic in Zagreb and Maja Zuvela in Sarajevo; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
A man watches a TV news program showing a file footage of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, April 1, 2016. North Korea fired a short-range missile into the sea on Friday, Seoul officials said, hours after the U.S., South Korean and Japanese leaders warned the North it will face tougher sanctions if it continues with provocations. The Korean letters at bottom read: 'Analysis, the surface-to-air missile.' (Photo: AP)
Washington: North Korea fired another short-range missile off its east coast on Friday, South Korean officials said, as global leaders met in Washington to discuss the threat of Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programme.
It was the latest in a series of North Korean missile launches during what has been an extended period of military tension on the Korean peninsula, triggered by Pyongyang's fourth nuclear test on January 6.
The launch came in the middle of the two-day nuclear security summit being hosted by President Barack Obama in Washington, at which North Korea has been the focus of the US president's talks with the leaders of China, South Korea and Japan.
The summit opened Thursday with Obama trying to forge consensus among East Asian leaders on how to respond to Pyongyang's recent nuclear and missile tests, which have seen an escalation of tensions in the region.
In January, North Korea detonated a nuclear device and a month later launched a long-range rocket, the latest in a series of banned tests.
"We are united in our efforts to deter and defend against North Korean provocations," Obama said after meeting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Park Geun-Hye.
The leaders also discussed the deployment of the sophisticated missile system THAAD -- the Theater High Altitude Area Defense System -- to South Korea.
But the move has raised concerns in Beijing, which is unhappy at the prospect of the US hardware on its doorstep, fearing these will further tip the balance of power in the Pacific towards Washington.
"It in no way threatens either Chinese or Russian or other security interests in the region and will do nothing to undermine strategic stability between the United States and China," insisted Dan Kritenbrink, Obama's top Asia adviser.
Shadows of Putin, Trump
This is the fourth in a series of nuclear security summits convened at Obama's behest and with the president leaving office next year, it may well be the last.
But it risked being overshadowed by two men who were not even there: Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Experts say Putin's refusal to attend has made substantive reductions in fissile material -- the vast majority of which is held by the militaries of Russia and the United States -- almost impossible.
"This nuclear security summit is supposed to address all of the (fissile) stocks, but truth is that all they address really is a small proportion of civilian stocks," Patricia Lewis, international security research director at British think tank Chatham House told AFP.
"President Obama's initial idea was that (the summits) would address all fissile materials, but the truth is there hasn't really been a discussion at the official level."
Obama foreign policy advisor Ben Rhodes described the lack of Russian participation as "counterproductive," adding that "nobody benefits from a lack or downgrading of collaboration on issues of nuclear security."
America's presidential election also took center stage, with questions about Trump's suggestion that Asian allies should develop nuclear weapons.
Following the Republican frontrunner's declaration that as president he would withdraw troops from South Korea and Japan and allow those two countries to develop nukes, Rhodes offered a scathing rebuke.
"The entire premise of American foreign policy as it relates to nuclear weapons for the last 70 years has been focused on preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons," he said.
"It would be catastrophic for the United States to shift its position and indicate that we somehow support the proliferation of nuclear weapons."
By Andy Bruce and Kate Holton PORT TALBOT, Wales/LONDON (Reuters) - Britain battled to save its steel industry on Wednesday after Tata Steel put its British operations up for sale, leaving thousands of jobs at risk as a result of cheap Chinese imports. The move comes less than three months before Britons vote on the country's membership of the European Union in a referendum dominated by concerns about the economy. The government said it was working to broker a deal with potential buyers after Tata Steel sought to end its almost decade-long venture in Britain, which employs 15,000 people but has been hit by high costs and Chinese competition. "This is my fourth time that I've been placed under the threat of redundancy," 51-year-old steelworker and union representative Mark Turner said outside Tata's plant in Port Talbot in Wales, Britain's biggest steel works. "If this shuts, there is nowhere else to go." The move could have an impact on Britain's closely fought June 23 vote over whether to stay in the EU. Britain's eurosceptic media have blamed Brussels for preventing London from taking greater steps to protect the industry and one of the campaign groups hoping to lead Britain out of the EU said it was "killing our steel". But supporters of EU membership said the bloc was not responsible for the industry's plight and that the EU was a big buyer of British steel. Britain's business minister Sajid Javid said he was seeking investors to take over the assets. "There are buyers out there," he said as he cut short a trade trip to Australia to return to Britain. "It might require some kind of government support and we are more than ready to look at all ways that we can provide commercial support." Javid rejected a call from the opposition Labour party for the government to take a stake in the industry. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn travelled to Port Talbot to criticise the government for not responding more strongly to the surge in imports from China. "It seems to me that too many people are not prepared to say to the Chinese government: sorry, your behaviour is not right, not fair, not proper and certainly not within the rules of the World Trade Organisation," he said. Steelmakers in Britain pay some of the highest energy costs and green taxes in the world, which, along with cheap Chinese steel imports, mean it could be hard to find a buyer. Analysts said Tata would likely struggle to find a buyer for the entire UK division but could try to sell it in parts. The sale ramps up pressure on Prime Minister David Cameron's right-leaning Conservative government, which has sought to cultivate closer ties with China. His fate already hangs in the balance over Britain's future in the EU, and his government, which is campaigning for Britain to stay in the bloc, has sought to avoid controversies during the run-up to the vote. However the Conservatives are still resented in Britain's industrial heartlands for the demise of mining and manufacturing under former prime minister Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s. A vital part of the economy through the 19th and 20th centuries, many of Britain's former steel towns have been decimated by the industry's decline since its peak in the 1970s. The Port Talbot plant, which dominates the small coastal town with its giant furnaces, still employs about 4,000 people, and Tata is one of the biggest private companies in Wales. COLLAPSING STEEL Tata Steel's problems in Britain arose almost as soon as it bought Anglo-Dutch steelmaker Corus in 2007. Industry bankers said Tata overpaid for Corus at the peak of the market. Despite heavy investment, Tata Steel struggled to compete. Cameron's government has said it is taking measures to help the steel sector but the fundamental problem remains the collapse in the price of steel, caused by overcapacity in China. Britain imported 826,000 tonnes of Chinese steel in 2015, up from 361,000 two years earlier, according to the International Steel Statistic bureau. EU diplomats say that Britain tends to vote against anti-dumping duties due to its free trade approach. Tata Steel is the second-largest steel producer in Europe. It has a crude steel production capacity of over 18 million tonnes per annum in Europe, but only 14 million is operational. Two of its three main European units, Port Talbot and Scunthorpe, are in Britain, with the rest in the Netherlands. Its share price has halved in the past five years over which it wrote down the value of its UK assets by $2.9 billion. News of the sale prompted talk amongst industry analysts and bankers of a wider consolidation of the European steel sector. Tata said it was still in talks with investment firm Greybull Capital over the sale of its British long products unit at Scunthorpe. A source close to Greybull said it was unlikely to be interested in the new assets coming to market however. ($1 = 0.6956 pounds) (Additional reporting by Clara Ferreira Marques and Promit Mukherjee in Mumbai and Paul Sandle, Freya Berry and Clara Denina in London. Editing by Stephen Coates, William Schomberg, Peter Graff and Giles Elgood)
By David Brunnstrom and Megan Cassella WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and Japan have completed the removal of all highly enriched uranium and separated plutonium fuels from Japan's Fast Critical Assembly research project that is due to be sent to South Carolina, the countries said on Friday. Announced alongside the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, the transfer makes good on a 2014 agreement at a previous non-proliferation summit to move the material from the site in Tokai Mura, Japan, to the United States, the countries said. In a joint statement, the countries said the removal furthers a mutual goal of reducing the amount of these nuclear materials held worldwide. "This is the largest single nuclear material removal in the history of this summit process, U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz told reporters. "This process will permanently remove any risk of this material falling into the wrong hands, he added. Moniz and Japan's Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Koichi Hagiuda left immediately after delivering statements at the summit and would not take questions. The shipment has stirred some controversy over its transfer to the United States, specifically to a Department of Energy site in South Carolina where leaders and environmental activists have balked at receiving the weapons-grade plutonium. Such shipments are highly sensitive because the material can be used in nuclear weapons or to make a so-called dirty bomb. Last month, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley asked the U.S. Department of Energy for the shipment to be turned back or sent elsewhere. A Japanese government spokesman declined to provide details of the shipment's status, citing security concerns. On Tuesday, Moniz called Haley and agreed to eventually store some of the plutonium now at South Carolina's Savannah River Site at a facility in New Mexico, the Associated Press reported. U.S. Energy Department representatives did not respond to a request for further details on the move. South Carolina has sued over the issue, and Haley has pledged to keep the pressure on the federal government. "We will not back down from our lawsuit until the DOE pays the $1 million a day fine they are required to under federal law," Haley said in a statement provided to Reuters. In its statement, the United States said it will now "downblend" the materials for use in civilian activities or for final disposition. The countries also said they were working to move material from another site, the Kyoto University Critical Assembly, to the United States. "This is one more important step in the ongoing program to convert research reactors to low-enriched uranium," Moniz said of the Kyoto site. (Reporting by David Brunnstrom and Megan Cassella; Writing by Susan Heavey; Editing by James Dalgleish and Diane Craft)
By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council said on Thursday it was ready to consider changes to sanctions on Libya's sovereign wealth fund once a unity government confirms it has control of it, along with the National Oil Corporation and the central bank. The 15-member council imposed an asset freeze on the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) in 2011 to prevent the government of former leader Muammar Gaddafi from spiriting away the wealth. A 2011 uprising toppled Gaddafi, but left the country in chaos. Libya's U.N. Ambassador Ibrahim Dabbashi has asked the council for a sanctions exemption on the investment authority, to halt billion-dollar losses caused by ineffective management. The LIA's total assets were valued at around $67 billion at end-December 2012. The U.N. Security Council unanimously renewed sanctions on Libya on Thursday and asked the new unity government, which emerged from a U.N.-mediated deal signed in December, to confirm "as soon as it exercises sole and effective oversight" over the LIA, National Oil Corporation and the Central Bank of Libya. The council said it was important these institutions continued to function for the benefit of all Libyans. The U.N. resolution took note of Dabbashi's request and "affirms the Security Council's readiness to consider changes, when appropriate, the asset freeze at the request of the Government of National Accord." A power vacuum that was created by two competing governments backed by militias scrambling for control of the oil-producing country has allowed Islamic State militants to gain a foothold in the North African state. Members of Libya's Presidential Council reached Tripoli on Wednesday, defying attempts to keep them out and prevent them from installing the unity government. Western powers have recognized it as Libya's sole legitimate government, but it faces opposition in east and west Libya. The U.N. Security Council expressed its determination to support the unity government. Libya's political turmoil has also left the LIA mired in a power struggle between two rival chairmen, Hassan Bouhadi and AbdulMagid Breish. A court case between the pair in London's High Court was adjourned earlier this month with the judge declaring it would be premature to rule. Ambassador Dabbashi said Breish "doesn't have any official post with LIA." He said the U.N. only recognizes Bouhadi, who was appointed as head of the fund in October 2014 by the internationally recognized government. (Reporting by Michelle Nichols; editing by Grant McCool)
A gender-neutral bathroom is seen at the University of California, Irvine in Irvine, California, in this file photo taken September 30, 2014. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/Files (Reuters)
By Colleen Jenkins
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (Reuters) - After scoring wins for same-sex marriage rights and anti-discrimination protections, U.S. equality advocacy groups now find themselves in a battle over bathrooms.
North Carolina last week became the first state to enact a law requiring transgender people to choose restrooms that match the gender on their birth certificate rather than the one with which they identify.
At least 13 other states also have considered so-called bathroom bills targeting the transgender community this year, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The measures, which have sparked heated debate between supporters and opponents about privacy and safety expectations, have had mixed results in statehouses.
"Most of these bills didnt even make it to a committee vote," said Cathryn Oakley, senior legislative counsel for the Human Rights Campaign, a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender advocacy organization. "Theyre such a bad idea, they didnt actually go anywhere."
In North Carolina, the key exception, Republican Governor Pat McCrory has defended his state's law.
"Legislation was passed to protect men, women and children when they use a public restroom, shower or locker-room," he said in a statement on Tuesday. "That is an expectation of privacy that must be honored and respected."
South Dakota's Republican governor, however, vetoed legislation earlier this month that sought to dictate what bathrooms transgender students could use in public schools. A similar bill in Tennessee appears stalled in committee, though opponents are awaiting a hearing on the matter next week.
Measures also failed last year in eight states that tried to restrict access to sex-segregated facilities based on birth gender, the National Conference of State Legislatures said.
This year's proposals are among the nearly 200 anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender bills civil rights organizations are tracking across the country, a record that is about twice as many as in 2015, Oakley said.
Story continues
BATHROOM WARS
Bathroom wars have a long history in the United States. Jim Crow laws, which enforced racial segregation on state and local levels in the South, forced African Americans to use restrooms that were separate from those used by whites into the mid-1960s.
The latest fight is unfolding along with legislation introduced after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year legalizing same-sex marriage.
Social conservatives have pushed measures allowing people to deny services to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender men and women on the grounds of religious beliefs.
Governors in Georgia and Virginia vetoed such bills this week, saying they could have allowed state-sanctioned discrimination.
North Carolina's new law goes beyond what bathrooms transgender people are allowed to use.
As part of the measure, lawmakers also established a statewide nondiscrimination policy that protects people on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin and biological sex but not gender identity and sexual orientation. The law effectively blocks local governments from passing their own anti-discrimination ordinances that include those broader protections.
That leaves the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community vulnerable to discrimination at work and public places such as hotels and restaurants, said Wake Forest University law professor Shannon Gilreath. He called the measure the most anti-gay legislation in the United States.
"Bathrooms are such a small part of it," said Gilreath, an expert on gay rights issues. "Gays and lesbians have been robbed of so much more."
McCrory said the claims that anti-discrimination protections have been eroded are untrue. North Carolina, which now faces a federal lawsuit over the law, has been the target of a "vicious, nationwide smear campaign," he said.
It is unclear how the state's bathroom provision will be enforced. The law establishes no penalties for violators, though legal experts and lawmakers suggested charges could be issued under trespassing or public nuisance statutes.
Rose Saxe, senior staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union, said state agencies, public schools and universities will have license to act as "potty police."
"Who gets asked to provide their papers before going into a bathroom is left unknown," she said.
(Reporting by Colleen Jenkins; Editing by Diane Craft)
The Independent
Tories must not return to soap opera of Partygate under Boris Johnson, warns Dominic RaabBoris Johnsons former deputy Dominic Raab has warned Conservative MPs that bringing the ex-PM back into No 10 would risk another episode of Partygate which he likened to Groundhog Day and a soap opera.Claiming to believe that Mr Johnson can eventually make a return to frontline politics, Mr Raab said: I just cant see in practice how a new prime minister ... could give the country the attention, the focus, that it needs while also giving testimony to the Commons privileges committee inquiry over Partygate.Mr Raab continued: Whether youre an arch-Boris fan, or an arch-Boris critic, I dont see how you can reconcile returning to frontline politics with that committee looming and hanging over him and oral testimony being heard.He told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: We cannot go backwards. We cant have another episode of the Groundhog Day, of the soap opera, of Partygate. We must get the country and the government moving forward.BBC Radio 4
KKR has agreed to buy into seeds provider Advanta Enterprises in a deal which values the business at about $2.25bn.
Eliza Adamson-Hopper contacted Durham Police chief Mike Barton suggesting cats would be good at listening out for danger and rescuing people from trees. (Photo: Pixabay)
London: A county police force could become the first in the UK to introduce cats in the fight against crime, after a five-year-old girl wrote to the police chief why the force only recruited dogs.
Eliza Adamson-Hopper contacted Durham Police chief Mike Barton suggesting cats would be good at listening out for danger and rescuing people from trees. She received a reply saying he would pass the idea on to an inspector.
The force has now confirmed it will consider using felines in an as-yet unspecified role, the BBC reported. Inspector Richie Allen, of the dog support unit, said: "I can confirm the force is looking into recruiting what we believe to be the first UK police cat."
Eliza, who has a cat called Mittens and a dog called Susie, wanted to know why the police use dogs but not cats.
Her mother Cheryl Adamson, from Burnopfield in County Durham, said: "Eliza has loads of questions for everyone and I don't always know the answers. We typed out a letter to the chief constable, she told us what to write, and we said she might not get a response because he is a busy man."
Eliza's letter read: "A police cat would be good as they have good ears and can listen out for danger. "Cats are good at finding their way home and could show policemen the way. Cats are good at climbing trees and hunting and could rescue people that are stuck."
Barton's reply, which included a drawing of his cat, thanked her for the suggestion.
Adamson said: "Eliza was delighted with the response, but we thought that would be the end of it. Then the inspector from the dogs unit sent her a calendar and invited her to an open day."
Geneva-based alternative asset manager Unigestion has announced the first closing on over 100m of its new private eq
Copenhagen, Denmark: The Danish government on Friday extended random identification checks along the country's German border until May 3, saying they were needed to deter migrants from entering the country.
"The pressure on Europe's external borders is still high and refugee and migrant flows may rise significantly when the weather gets better," Integration Minister Inger Stojberg said in a statement.
"It is necessary to extend the border controls so that we ensure that large groups of refugees and migrants do not accumulate here in Denmark," she added.
The controls were introduced on January 4, hours after Sweden began requiring rail and ferry companies to verify the identities of people traveling from Denmark across the Oresund Strait, and have been extended four times.
Last year Denmark largely served as a transit country for migrants traveling to Sweden, which until recently had some of Europe's most generous asylum rules.
Denmark received more than 21,000 asylum applications in 2015, a 44 percent jump from 2014, though significantly fewer than its northern neighbour, which registered 163,000 asylum applications in the same year.
The number of people seeking asylum in Denmark fell to 35 in the week ending Tuesday, the lowest number since the border checks were introduced, according to data from the Danish government.
"Asylum numbers can fluctuate considerably from day to day... It may be due to several things," Stojberg told Danish news agency Ritzau, citing bad weather conditions and border checks in Denmark and elsewhere in Europe as possible explanations.
Prosecutors said Khan, who was arrested in July, had exchanged online messages with a man calling himself Abu Hussain. They discussed attacking military personnel after faking a road accident. (Representational Image)
London: A British delivery driver was convicted on Friday of planning to attack American military personnel in the UK in a plot inspired by the Islamic State militant group.
A jury at London's Kingston Crown Court found Junead Khan guilty of preparing an act of terrorism. The 25-year-old's work for a pharmaceutical firm took him past several US air bases in eastern England, and prosecutors said he discussed ways of targeting them with an IS militant in Syria.
Prosecutors said Khan, who was arrested in July, had exchanged online messages with a man calling himself Abu Hussain. They discussed attacking military personnel after faking a road accident.
They said Abu Hussain was British-born militant Junaid Hussain, who was killed in a US drone strike in the IS stronghold of Raqqa last year.
In one exchange, Khan told Hussain he had seen some soldiers driving, "but I had nothing on me or wouldve (sic) got into an accident with them and made them get out the car."
Hussain replied: "That's what the brother done with Lee Rigby." Rigby was a British soldier who was run down by a car and stabbed to death by two al-Qaida-inspired attackers in 2013.
When police raided Khan's home, they found an IS-style black flag and a laptop containing an article from an al-Qaida magazine entitled "Make a bomb in the kitchen of your mom."
Khan and his 23-year-old uncle, Shazib Khan, were also convicted of preparing to join IS militants in Syria. Both men will be sentenced May 13. Junead Khan faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Modified On Apr 01, 2016 06:44 PM By Sumit for Honda BR-V
The Honda BR-V has fared well in the New Car Assessment Programme for Southeast Asian Countries (ASEAN NCAP) crash test by scoring five stars in the Adult Occupant Protection (AOP) and four stars in the Child Occupant Protection (COP) tests.
The compact crossover was tested for frontal offset impact and side impact. The overall score of the car was 14.79 out of 16.00 in AOP and 72 per cent safety in COP. These scores are for the BR-V equipped with Electronic Stability Control (ESC) and Seatbelt Reminder System (SBR) for occupants on the front.
Mr. Khairil Anwar, ASEAN NCAP secretary-general, expressed his skepticism over the rating as the safety features vary from market to market: It should be noted that only the BR-Vs higher variants are equipped with ESC and SBR for dual frontal occupants. Nevertheless, we are aiming for the lowest variant to be equipped with similar technologies in order for everyone to benefit from these safety features. It is to be noted that a BR-V equipped only with a standard safety kit can get a rating as low as two stars.
The BR-V scored better than the Subaru XV and the Mitsubishi Pajero Sport which scored 14.31 and 12.08 (on 16), respectively. The car has been launched in Thailand in January and was recently showcased at the Bangkok Motor Show 2016. It is likely to arrive in India in May 2016. The BR-V will borrow its engines from the Honda City and will compete with the likes of the Creta and the Duster in the domestic market (check our comparison). It is yet to be seen which safety features the Japanese carmaker will offer in the Indian version of the car.
Watch Showcase Video of Honda BR-V at Auto Expo 2016
Also Check: Honda BR-V Gallery: Do You Find it Better Than Creta?
Efforts to track down the two men, who no longer work at the hospital, were not immediately successful. (Photo: AP)
Vatican City: The Vatican said on Thursday it is investigating two former officials over claims money meant for a children's hospital was used to refurbish a cardinal's luxury apartment.
Costly work at former Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone's flat -- seeming to clash with Pope Francis's recommendations that church officials live as modestly as he -- caused a scandal when allegations emerged that the Bambino Gesu Hospital foundation had helped foot the bill.
Giuseppe Profiti, former manager at the Vatican-owned Bambino Gesu, and its ex-treasurer Massimo Spina are being investigated, Vatican press officer Greg Burke said, confirming a report in Italian magazine L'Espresso.
Efforts to track down the two men, who no longer work at the hospital, were not immediately successful.
A lawyer for Bertone, who is not being investigated, said in a statement on Thursday the cardinal had never asked for or authorised any payment from the hospital foundation relating to his apartment.
Pope Francis has made cleaning up Vatican finances a priority of his papacy, as allegations of financial crimes have continued to emerge, including two major investigations into the handling of real estate and investments opened since late 2014.
Vatican investigators are looking into allegations the former hospital managers were involved in embezzling and misusing funds, according to L'Espresso. The work on Bertone's residence cost some 422,000 euros ($481,000), the magazine reported.
Burke did not confirm the details of the L'Espresso story.
Its author, Emiliano Fittipaldi, published a book last year that included the allegations that money meant for sick children had been spent on Bertone's flat. The book, "Avarice", was also at the centre of what media dubbed a "Vatileaks" trial into the leaking of church documents.
In another case involving the Bambino Gesu, Italian media reported in June that magistrates suspected a cardinal may have diverted 30 million euros in state funds destined for the hospital to save a different church-owned institution.
Bertone said last December he would pay 150,000 euros to the Bambino Gesu (Baby Jesus in Italian), which says it is the largest paediatric hospital and research centre in Europe.
Hospital director Mariella Enoc was quoted saying at the time that Bertone had not received the money directly but wanted to make amends for "damage" suffered by the hospital.
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: A leading rights group says that deaths due to violence in Pakistan dropped 40 percent in 2015, but 4,612 people died that year in bombings and other attacks, as the government battles to contain a militant insurgency.
The report by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan was released just days after an Easter Sunday suicide bombing killed 70 people in a park in the city of Lahore, a reminder that despite improvements, rates of violence remain high in the country.
The report found that deaths due to sectarian violence declined to 272 last year, compared to 420 in 2014.
It recorded 706 militant attacks in Pakistan last year, the lowest number since 2008. An army operation in Pakistan's North Waziristan has significantly damaged militant networks.
A recent study released by the Financial Brand revealed the top priorities for financial institution (FI) marketers are: 1) Increase Wallet Share, 2) Increase Loan Growth and 3) Acquire New Customers. Given the branch has historically been a dominant tool in the FI tool belt, it would appear that these goals are challenged. In an increasingly omni-channel consumer society where branch visits are down and population per branch is low (thanks to the proliferation of branches), it would appear the deck is stacked against FIs trying to get a return on investment (ROI) from branching, while reaching its goals. This is especially true when we consider how branch use has changed.
No longer is the branch the primary channel of choice for consumer transactions. Consumers today use branches for different things than they did even 10 years ago. Branch use for depositing, withdrawing, and transferring funds is a shadow of its former self. However, when we consider what the branch IS for todaythere is more than a little light at the end of the tunnel.
According to an Ernst & Young survey, 65% of sales occur in a physical environment i.e. the branch. So for FIs looking for a ROI for branching look no further than sales and service for your key driver of success. With this shift in mindset comes the opportunity for a new result.
Marketers of brands like Apple and Disney keenly identify that brands change over time they evolve. Furthermore, they know that the brand and the business are intertwined as they seek to make emotional connections with their customers to drive sales. A good example is Coca-Cola. Cokes market cap is attributable not just to the commodity of soft drinks, but also to Cokes iconic bottle, a physical embodiment of the brand. In fact, without the Coke brand, its value is half.
FIs can learn from other retailers and develop specific strategies to get a ROI for their efforts to market their companys brand in its primary channel, the branch.
The journey begins with market research and analysis that drives to a business case for or against branch investment. Understanding the loan and deposit potential in a market can quickly start an effective narrative for branching by defining goals and expectations based on facts. Those facts frame our investment in land, building and people so we can predict with greater certainty what the future holds.
Then based on these facts, we build a plan to connect with the opportunity. Our engagement begins by tailoring the interior space to the culture and desired customer experience. The focus is on enabling bankers to easily connect with their clients. The physical identity (architecture) and signage of the branch is an extension of the culture and makes a statement to the market at large so the market knows we are different. This means we dont run the same play every time and in every community. Specifically, we dont always use teller lines, or pods, or self-service, but look at each markets components and then tailor our connection.
As we build the connective environment, we are intentional to communicate our brand message in graphics, colors and materials. Our value to the community and customer cannot be guesswork because these components drive action action taken by our employees to use these materials to cross sell, and action by the customers who are now educated on what we can offer.
Bigger banks have taken these components to heart and are leading the way on branch experience and getting great returns. In late January 2016, JD Power revealed that customer satisfaction at big banks is at an all time high, which is remarkable given the attitude of the marketplace toward big banks after the financial crisis. Big banks have learned that customer engagement in the branch is powerful and they make their value proposition clear.
The great news is we can quantify the ROI for branching using the tools mentioned above. For example, a FI in Michigan wanted to create a new customer engagement model in its community to achieve more loan opportunities. The plan included relocating a branch and remodeling a second facility with a new way of connecting, and the glue that held it together was training. The FI changed the engagement model to focus on asking questions and relationship building. They also changed their branch environment, and moved away from teller lines and used technology to automate routine activities. When the brand message became specific to the community and the FIs mission, then the culture changed. Within the first two years, the FI has grown its loan to deposit ratio from 88% to 92%.
Furthermore, a FI in the Southwest grew from $1.0 Billion to $3.5 Billion in 5 years while maintaining a ROA of 0.80 through a similar shift. The shift included a new engagement model in the branch, messaging throughout the customer experience, and a new identity to the exterior. The exterior change was important; it helped the community identify with the change. By the way, the bank quantified the business case through research before each move.
In review, FIs can reach their goals of increased wallet share, loans and customer growth in the branch by following these steps:
We are clear on what we want and whom we serve. Our customers are diverse and changing, so our channels must appeal to all generations. We tailor the message of the branch to the market, which includes doing our research and quantifying the loan and deposit opportunity upfront. Then we focus the branch experience on the opportunity. Our goal is to establish an emotional connection with our customers and community to drive results. Our focus is on engagement and inviting the community in, so we listen more and talk less.
Branch ROI can be quantified and results improved with focused strategy, tactics, and action. However, the road is vigorous and requires total attention.
Protest Against the Clinton's Prison Industrial Complex and War Machine
Date:
Saturday, April 02, 2016
Time:
6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Event Type:
Protest
Organizer/Author:
Mark
Location Details:
Sather Gate at UC Berkeley
We are calling on all members of the San Francisco Bay Area community to come out and oppose the Clinton Foundation summit at UC Berkeley on April 2st, 2016.
We must not allow the Clintons to put on a dog and pony show at the birthplace of the free speech movement. We must not pretend that they are not part of the many problems we now face today. These Clinton policies must be rejected with active protest.
We believe that the Clinton Foundation has been nothing more than the financial arm of the Clinton family which funds their pursuits for power. Despite the good efforts the organization claims to do, it spends the majority of its funds on payroll and travel. Hillary Clinton often appears to make little distinction between her own money and that of the foundations. Of the many speeches she has given to Wall Street she has accepted pay as either revenue or donations to the Clinton Foundation.
We know that Secretary Clinton has a record of supporting war and military intervention overseas. These decisions have been disastrous to Americans, particularly minorities who are overrepresented in the military due to increased advertising and recruiting from poor minority neighborhoods. Meanwhile the Clintons, via the Clinton Foundation and other means, have enriched themselves from war. The Foundation received $10 million dollars from the Saudi Arabian government a couple of years before Hillary herself signed off on a deal to sell the Saudi Arabian government over 60 Billion dollars of military weapons, the largest sale in US history. Just two months before Secretary Clinton authorized the deal, Boeing had given the Clinton Foundation $900,000 dollars (Boeing manufactured the F-15s being sold to Saudi Arabia in that arms deal).
Since then, the Saudi Arabian government has since been accused of various war crimes and human rights violations. In one attack alone, over 120 people were killed when the Saudis targeted a market place. 20 children died in that attack.
The Clintons have been directly responsible for the current incarceral state in America. The archaic 1994 Violent Crime Control ACt pushed through congress at the urging of Hillary Clinton has led to the mass incarceration of black and minority youth in America. The Clintons have sentenced millions of families across America to a life of misery and suffering. Hillarys claims that black youth are super-predators are a deep reflection of her racist past and policies. The Clintons have also benefited financially from the prison system. 39% of prison pop. is black but the black pop. is only 14% in the US. Hillary claims a desire to end mass incarceration yet she has received $130,000 from corporations that operate private for-profit prisons.
We are calling for a protest to begin at Sather Gate in UC Berkeley on April 1st, 2016 at 6:00 PM.
Join us on April 2st and be part of the movement.
Help us distribute this material on Twitter and Facebook.
#stopthewarmachine
Georgia is one of the last 7 states (the only Northern one is Ohio whose governor is
John Kasich) committing state murder of prisoners.
The right to life of 1 prisoner is the right to life of all peopleGovernor Nathan Deal Please Grant Clemency To AllGeorgia is one of only 7 states of 50 still killing prisoners Please help Georgia to change.Coca Cola & CNN Please Do Your PartPlease sign the petition asking that Governor Deal in clemency to Kenny Fults, who has been scheduled to be murdered by the state of Georgia in April.The italicized paragraph is from gfadp.org"The Georgia Department of Corrections has set yet another execution date. Kenny Fults is scheduled to be executed on April 12.Kenny is a black man who has an IQ that places him in the bottom 3% of the population. Most states have stopped executing people who are mentally disabled."After Kennys trial, it came out that at least one juror and Kennys own defense attorneys had used racial slurs against him, including calling him a little n____. This racism violated Kenny's constitutional right to a fair trial and an impartial jury. Despite this documented racism and the unconstitutionality of Kenny's jury, Georgia still plans to execute Kenny. Please support efforts to stop Kennys execution. Visit http://www.savekennyfults.com and sign his clemency petition.Also, as you know there is an execution scheduled next week, March 31, for Joshua Bishop. If youve yet to take action, please do so. You can find more information here: http://www.gfadp.org/latestnews/takeactionforjoshuabishop ."There are only 7 executing states left of 50... pleasejoin in contacting the corporations of those statesto request that they use their influence to end the scheduled April execution and all executions.Please contact the following to do their part... thank youContact:Governor Nathan Deal of Georgia contact form https://gov.georgia.gov/webf /contact-governor-domestic-formCoca Cola Phone 1.(800.438.2653) Coca Cola contact https://secure.coca-colacompany.com/ /ma/eQuery_other.shtmlCNN 1 (404) 827-1500 CNN http://edition.cnn.com/feedback http://www.gfadp.org/ Georgians For Alternatives to the Death PenaltyPicture sources: henry4school.frchange.orgcnn.comcocacola.comSee also:
CA After months of public outcry, California Families Against Solitary Confinement (CFASC) and the Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity Coalition (PHSS) have submitted a formal complaint to Juan Mendez, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, and Degrading Treatment or Punishment condemning the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitations (CDCR) jarringly noisy and disruptive security/welfare checks in Pelican Bay State Prisons Security Housing Units (PB-SHU). These checks, which started on August 2, 2015, have deprived the prisoners of sleep for eight months, amounting to what is widely recognized as a form of torture. The complaint was submitted last week, on Thursday, March 24.
One prisoner recently stated that being in PB-SHU with these checks is like a construction site all night. It is horrible. It really is torture. Another wrote, For decades, military and police forces have used extreme isolation, sleep deprivation, and constant banging/noise to cause mental/physical torment and try to break a persons mind or human will to resist questioning. These are so-called clean torture methods.The complaint to Mendez includes reports from interviews with PB-SHU prisoners conducted over a six-month period by Carol Strickman, Staff Attorney at Legal Services for Prisoners with Children. Additionally, Mendez was provided with statements by sleep experts Dr. Thomas Roth and Dr. Jamie Zeitzer, by psychiatrist Dr. Terry Kupers, and by the American Public Health Associations Jail and Prison Health Committee about the impact of sleep deprivation on mental health all who have condemned the security/welfare checks. Internationally recognized sleep expert Dr. Zeitzer explains in his October 2015 report, The negative health consequences of inadequate sleep have been extensively documented and nowhere in the literature is there a report on as severe a disruption in sleep as is occurring in the Pelican Bay SHU.My son doesnt have the energy to exercise, write, or draw nearly as much since the checks started. He used to write me letters 2-3 times a week; now maybe once a week, and only a few lines, says Grace A., a member of CFASC and whose son is in PB-SHU. He has hardly been able to sleep since early August, but is fighting to stay strong. I tell him You are not alone.Checks in PB-SHU have reportedly subjected prisoners in small concrete cells to the reverberating boom of steel unit doors opening and slamming shut, guards stomping up and downstairs through pods that echo, rattling keys and chains, striking Guard One metal pipes on cells, banging metal buttons to beep loudly at each cell, and shining flashlights into peoples eyes. The checks are done around-the-clock every half hour, 40-48 times a day, and many prisoners are reporting serious physical and psychological harm. The people suffering the security/welfare checks spend 23-24 hours a day in solitary cells, so the noise and intrusion is unavoidable. Interruption or deprivation of sleep increases risk of numerous chronic and potentially terminal conditions, including brain deterioration, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, strokes, heart attacks, and certain cancers.Pursuant to a lawsuit, Coleman v. Brown, brought against CDCR for inadequate mental health treatment, the checks have been implemented, purportedly as suicide prevention. Instead, prisoners and experts argue that the checks are causing serious debilitating psychological and physical problems.Verbena Lea from PHSS says, In the Coleman case, the federal judge, special master, attorneys , as well as the suicide expert, need to realize they were wrong and say, While we may have believed these checks would be helpful, they are causing sleep deprivation in PB-SHU. Sleep deprivation is torture, so the checks must stop.Mendez has made ongoing requests to the US government over the past four years to be allowed access into federal and state prisons. The US has denied his requests. However, Mr. Mendez did visit PB-SHU as an expert witness for prisoner plaintiffs in a recent class action lawsuit against long term solitary confinement, Ashker v. Brown. Mendezs report from that visit, along with other expert reports, significantly bolstered the case against CDCR that ultimately settled claimed by prisoners as an historic victory. The settlement has led to thousands of people being released from solitary after many years, the prohibition of indefinite solitary terms, and limits on who, why, and how long people can be put in such isolation. Regarding the sleep deprivation in PB-SHU, the complaint to Mendez states, Conditions for prisoners there have worsened since your visit in December, 2014.Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity
SAN FRANCISCO, March 31, 2016 A broad coalition of environmental, consumer and commercial and recreational fishing organizations today sued the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for approving the first-ever genetically engineered food animal, an Atlantic salmon engineered to grow quickly. The man-made salmon was created by AquaBounty Technologies, Inc. with DNA from three fish: Atlantic salmon, Pacific king salmon and Arctic ocean eelpout. This marks the first time any government in the world has approved a GE animal for commercial sale and consumption.
The plaintiff coalition, jointly represented by legal counsel from Center for Food Safety and Earthjustice, includes Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermens Associations, Institute for Fisheries Resources, Golden Gate Salmon Association, Kennebec Reborn, Friends of Merrymeeting Bay, Ecology Action Centre, Food & Water Watch, the Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the Earth, Cascadia Wildlands and Center for Food Safety.In approving the GE salmon, the FDA determined it would not require labeling of the GE fish to let consumers know what they are buying, which led Congress to call for labeling in the 2016 omnibus spending bill. The agencys approval also ignored comments from nearly 2 million people opposed to the approval because the agency failed to analyze and prevent the risks to wild salmon and the environment, as well as fishing communities, including the risk that GE salmon could escape and threaten endangered wild salmon stocks.AquaBountys GE salmon will undertake a 5,000-mile journey to reach U.S. supermarkets. The company plans to produce the GE salmon eggs on Prince Edward Island, Canada. The GE salmon will then be grown to market-size in a facility in Panama, processed into fillets, and shipped to the United States for sale. That complicated scheme is only for the initial approval, however. AquaBounty has publicly announced plans to ultimately grow its GE fish in the United States rather than Panama, and sell it around the world. Despite this the FDAs approval only considered the current plans for the far-flung facilities in Canada and Panama, leaving the risk of escape and contamination of U.S. salmon runs unstudied.The lawsuit challenges the FDAs claim that it has authority to approve and regulate GE animals as animal drugs under the 1938 Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Those provisions were meant to ensure the safety of veterinary drugs administered to treat disease in livestock and were not intended to address entirely new GE animals that can pass along their altered genes to the next generation. The approval of the GE salmon opens the door to other genetically engineered fish and shellfish, as well as chickens, cows, sheep, goats, rabbits and pigs that are reportedly in development.The lawsuit also highlights FDAs failure to protect the environment and consult wildlife agencies in its review process, as required by federal law. U.S. Atlantic salmon, and many populations of Pacific salmon, are protected by the Endangered Species Act and in danger of extinction. Salmon is a keystone species and unique runs have been treasured by residents for thousands of years. Diverse salmon runs today sustain thousands of American fishing families, and are highly valued in domestic markets as a healthy, domestic, green food.When GE salmon escape or are accidentally released into the environment, the new species could threaten wild populations by mating with endangered salmon species, outcompeting them for scarce resources and habitat, and/or introducing new diseases. Studies have shown that there is a high risk for GE organisms to escape into the natural environment, and that GE salmon can crossbreed with native fish. Transgenic contamination has become common in the GE plant context, where contamination episodes have cost U.S. farmers billions of dollars over the past decade. In wild organisms like fish, it could be even more damaging.The worlds preeminent experts on GE fish and risk assessment, as well as biologists at U.S. wildlife agencies charged with protecting fish and wildlife heavily criticized the FDA decision for failing to evaluate these impacts. FDA ignored their concerns in the final approval.Statements from counsel and plaintiff coalition:FDAs decision is as unlawful as it is irresponsible, said George Kimbrell, senior attorney for Center for Food Safety and co-counsel for the plaintiffs. This case is about protecting our fisheries and ocean ecosystems from the foreseeable harms of the first-ever GE fish, harms FDA refused to even consider, let alone prevent. But its also about the future of our food: FDA should not, and cannot, responsibly regulate this GE animal, nor any future GE animals, by treating them as drugs under a 1938 law.FDA has not answered crucial questions about the environmental risks posed by these fish or what can happen when these fish escape, said Earthjustice attorney Brettny Hardy, also co-counsel for plaintiffs. We need these answers now and the FDA must be held to a higher standard. We are talking about the mass production of a highly migratory GE fish that could threaten some of the last remaining wild salmon on the planet. This isnt the time to skimp on analysis and simply hope for the best.Atlantic salmon populations including our endangered Gulf of Maine fish are hanging on by a thread they cant afford additional threats posed by GE salmon, said Ed Friedman from Friends of Merrymeeting Bay, one of the parties who successfully petitioned to classify most Maine Atlantic salmon as endangered. The law requires agencies like FDA, who arent fisheries biologists, to get review and approval from scientists with that expertise. FDAs refusal to do this before allowing commercialization of GE salmon is not only irresponsible, it violates the law.On Prince Edward Island and across Atlantic Canada, indigenous peoples, anglers and community groups are working hard to protect and restore endangered salmon populations and rivers. Genetic contamination threatens all this work and in return there is little or no economic benefit to the region, said Mark Butler, policy director at Ecology Action Centre in Nova Scotia.Theres never been a farmed salmon that hasnt eventually escaped into the natural environment. Why should we believe that long term, these frankenfish wont be the same? asked Golden Gate Salmon Association executive director John McManus.Once they escape, you cant put these transgenic fish back in the bag. Theyre manufactured to outgrow wild salmon, and if they cross-breed, it could have irreversible impacts on the natural world, said Dune Lankard, a salmon fisherman and the Center for Biological Diversitys Alaska representative. This kind of dangerous tinkering could easily morph into a disaster for wild salmon that will be impossible to undo.FDAs action threatens and disrespects the wild salmon ecosystems, cultures and industries that are treasured here in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, said Gabriel Scott, Alaska legal director for Cascadia Wildlands. These folks think a salmon is just a packet of protein, but we in Salmon Nation know better. From Alaska to California, Americans are intimately related with diverse runs of salmon and weve learned their unique attributes and incredible value. Weve worked very hard to be good stewards of our natural heritage, and refuse to allow that to be undone by one companys irresponsible experiment.The FDA has failed to adequately examine the risks associated with transgenic salmon, said Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch. The long term effects of people eating genetically modified foods have never been adequately addressed and this GE salmon is no exception. This fish is unnecessary, so why take the risk?Its clear that the market has rejected GE salmon despite FDAs reckless approval, said Dana Perls, food and technology campaigner for Friends of the Earth. Major retailers including Costco, Safeway and Kroger wont sell it and polls show the vast majority of people dont want to eat it. Yet under this approval it wont be labeled, violating our fundamental right to know what we are feeding our families.For more information, visit: http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/issues/309/ge-fish or http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/ge_seafood Center for Biological Diversity
Giant Chavez Si! Trump No! banners lead the marches
Thousands of California farm workers will march on Sunday, April 3 in the Central, Coastal and Sonoma valleys to mark Cesar Chavezs birthday, reject Donald Trump and other anti-immigrant presidential candidates, and support state legislation ending their exclusion from overtime pay after eight hours a day.Organized by the United Farm Workers, farm workers and community supporters will take to the streets to deliver a resounding No! to Trump and remind consumers that #WeFeedYou during three separate marches in Salinas, Merced and Santa Rosa. The marches for social justice are held annually to honor the March 31 birthday of the UFW founder, now celebrated as an official holiday in California and other states. This year marchers will also denounce the anti-immigrant views of Trumps and other Republican presidential candidates, and remind them and the public who produces the food on their dinner tables.Farm workers, many undocumented, work long hours for meager wages to feed the nation and much of the world. Despite their hard work and sacrifice, theyre excluded from overtime pay after eight hours of work. During peak season, farm workers often labor 10 hours a day without overtime pay. AB 2757, by Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez, would gradually phase in standards for farm worker overtime, lowering the current 10-hour day level to the standard eight-hours. AB 2757 wold provide farm workers with the same pay other workers in the United States have received since the 1930s.Date: Sunday, April 3, 2016SALINAS: 10 a.m., starting at Cesar Chavez Community Park, 205 N. Madeira Ave., Salinas, CA 93905MERCED: 2 p.m., beginning at West 16th St. & M St., Merced, CA 95340SANTA ROSA: 2 p.m., starting at 665 Sebastopol Rd., Santa Rosa, CA 95407United Farm Workers
MARCH 21, 2016 - Government attacks on the encryption of online communication threaten human rights around the world, warned Amnesty International in a briefing published today (see PDF) as tech giant Apple challenges the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in court over an order to provide software to bypass iPhone encryption.
The briefing, Encryption: A Matter of Human Rights, which is Amnesty Internationals first official stance on encryption and human rights, says that people everywhere should be able to encrypt their communications and personal data as an essential protection of their rights to privacy and free speech.At stake in the Apple case is whether a future administration could exploit the next national moment of crisis, and use its access to our phones to target journalists, or persecute activists and minorities, said Naureen Shah, director of security and human rights at Amnesty International USA.Encryption is a basic prerequisite for privacy and free speech in the digital age. Banning encryption is like banning envelopes and curtains. It takes away a basic tool for keeping your private life private, said Sherif Elsayed-Ali, Amnesty Internationals Deputy Director for Global Issues.Governments trying to undermine encryption should think twice before they open this Pandoras Box. Weakening privacy online could have disastrous consequences for free societies, particularly for the human rights activists and journalists who hold our leaders to account.Demanding backdoors can violate human rightsThe briefing warns against attempts to make companies create a backdoor in encryption software. It says these measures violate international human rights law, because they indiscriminately undermine the security of the communications and private data of anyone using the software.In the Apple v FBI case, seeking to access the data on the particular phone in question may be legitimate. However, it is the method of accessing it which would require a company to customize its software in order to defeat its security features that risks setting the stage for the US government, and potentially other governments, to compel technology companies to modify their products to weaken or otherwise circumvent encryption.Such backdoors not only threaten online privacy, but can also have a chilling effect on the exercise of free expression and expose online communications and individuals' data to security threats such as criminals stealing credit card data.The Apple case shows what is at stake in the encryption debate. It is not just about one phone, but whether governments should be able to dictate the security of software that protects the privacy of millions of people, said Sherif Elsayed-Ali.Opening a backdoor in security for governments risks opening the door to both cyber criminals who want to hack your phone and governments around the world who want to spy on and repress critics.If the US authorities force one of the worlds biggest tech companies to make its products less secure, the danger is that governments around the world will follow suit and demand similarly intrusive powers from the hundreds of smaller companies developing privacy technology.Encryption under threatWith online censorship and surveillance a growing threat to human rights, undermining encryption could threaten the ability of people around the world to freely communicate and use the internet, such as human rights activists who challenge the authorities, journalists who uncover corruption, and lawyers holding powerful governments to account, Amnesty International said.Several countries already limit who can encrypt their communication or the strength of encryption allowed, such as Cuba, Pakistan and India. Others, such as Russia, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Pakistan and Colombia, sometimes go as far as banning it altogether.Amnesty Internationals briefing sets out limited circumstances in which encryption can be restricted, such as when restrictions are necessary to achieve a legitimate end, and are proportionate to the aim for which they are imposed.Instead of blocking encryption, Amnesty International is calling on governments to actively promote and protect online communications, including by facilitating the use of encryption tools and services, so that everyone has to means to defend themselves from unauthorized access to, theft or monitoring of their personal information, be it from foreign states, international organisations, corporations or private individuals.Amnesty International is also calling on companies to provide an adequate level of encryption to protect their personal data.Banning or undermining encryption will have one clear result: making us all less secure and undermining our privacy. Some governments are trying to limit encryption, ostensibly for security reasons, but this fails to take into account the serious ramifications that weakening encryption would have for online security. That is short-sighted and misguided, said Sherif Elsayed-Ali.Amnesty International
Whole Foods Gets Educated on Driscoll's Berry Boycott by R.Robertson
The Raging Grannies formed a Boycott Driscoll's Berries Committee after extensive study of the issue and much discussion with the national Driscolls Boycott coordinators.
While we demonstrated in front of Whole Foods in Palo Alto to raise consumer awareness, we found ourselves educating management when they came out to talk to us; they called the issue a "complex Mexico problem." However, the union that is demanding recognition from Driscoll's berries is in Washington state. (A union in San Quintin in Mexico stands in solidarity with the Washington state union Familias Unidas por la Justicia).
Employees from the produce section came out to greet us and find out what our fuss was all about. They were curious to find out about the issue and sympathetic to the cause.
The Raging Grannies formed a Boycott Driscoll's Berries Committee after extensive study of the issue and much discussion with the national Driscolls Boycott coordinators.
Today we demonstrated at Whole Foods in Palo Alto; we asked that Whole Foods pull the Driscolls label from shelves and endorse the boycott that farm workers have called on Driscoll's berries.
Whole Foods showed themselves to be woefully ill informed on the issue. In response to our inquiries a few days ago, they forwarded us a letter to consumers from their website in which they referred to the Driscoll's boycott as "a complex national issue in Mexico". However, the union that is demanding recognition from Driscoll's berries is in Washington state. (A union in San Quintin in Mexico stands in solidarity with the Washington state union Familias Unidas por la Justicia). Today, 3 Whole Foods managers got a quick lesson in distinguishing the two, and seemed surprised that Driscoll's and their supplier Sakuma Berries are refusing to negotiate a contract with a legitimate union within the US.
A contingent of Family members of Murdered and incarcerated loved ones will be traveling to Cuba for an Educational and Cultural Tour. They will be Hosted by the Cuban Federation of Women and The Cuban Institute of Friendship with the People.
SAN LEANDRO, Calif. - March 29, 2016 - PRLog -- A contingent of Family members who have lost children through Police Action have been invited for an Educational and Cultural Tour of Cuba. One of the persons invited is Anita Wills who resides in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Familes will be traveling to Cuba from all over the United States. The Contingent is being Hosted by the Federation of Cuban Women and the Cuban Institute for Friendship with the People.Ms. Wills is the Grandmother of Kerry Baxter Junior who was shot and killed in Oakland on January 16, 2011 and the Mother of Kerry Baxter Senior. Kerry Senior is serving a 66-year to life sentence for 2nd Degree Murder. Ms. Wills contends that her son was wrongfully convicted and is concerned about the mismanagement of her grandson's murder by Oakland Police. She is an Activist and Author whose latest book "A Nation of Flaws JustUs in the Homeland" details the history of Police in America as well as the shooting death of her grandson and others whose killings were not sensationalised (the book is available through Amazon.com).The Bay Area Contingent of National Stolen Lives will hold a Press Conference for The National Stolen Lives Tour in Oakland, California, April 15, 2016 from 2 pm - 3:30 pm (14th and Broadway). News Organizations are invited to attend and ask questions about the Educational and Cultural Tour to Cuba. The Tour is scheduled for April 30th - May 7th, 2016.There is a National Stolen Lives Tour donation Site at: https://www.gofundme.com/stolenlivescuba ContactNational Stolen Lives Tour - Cuba/ Anita Wills
After a series of strikes in 2013 at Sakuma Brothers Farms in Washington state, farmworkers formed a union in response to denial of lunch and rest breaks, inhumane housing conditions, wage theft, below minimum wage pay, and harassment from supervisors.
[ Women amplify the call for a global boycott of Driscolls berries at Driscolls headquarters in Watsonville, California. March 31, 2016. Photos by Bradley Allen. ]
Boycott Driscolls West Coast Tour at Driscolls HQ in Watsonville
March 31 is the birthday of Cesar Chavez. This year on that date, March 31, 2016, Familias Unidas por la Justicia (FUJ), an independent farmworker union based in Burlington, Washington, led a demonstration at Driscolls headquarters in Watsonville, California to promote the ongoing international boycott of Driscolls berries. The workers were in Watsonville as part of a month long tour throughout Oregon and California to build a boycott on the scale of the grape boycott of the 1960s that can win union contracts for berry pickers in both Washington state and San Quintin, Mexico.
Familias Unidas por la Justicia (FUJ) President Ramon Torres, rank and file union member Lazaro Matamoros, and Gloria Gracida spokesperson for the independent farmworker union in San Quintin, Mexico, demanded that Driscolls get their suppliers to negotiate union contracts with the respective independent unions and informed them that they will continue to organize a consumer boycott of the Driscolls label until this demand is met. They were joined by a group of boycott supporters from all over California, many of whom committed to organizing to support the boycott at earlier stops in the tour, including the Watsonville Brown Berets.
FUJ formed out of a series of strikes during the summer of 2013 at Sakuma Brothers Farms in response to denial of lunch and rest breaks, inhumane housing conditions, wage theft, below minimum wage pay, and harassment from supervisors. FUJ first called for a boycott of Sakuma in 2013 after signed agreements made in mediated negotiation sessions between the company and an elected committee of 11 workers were all broken by the company. In 2014 FUJ called for a boycott of Driscolls when Sakuma stopped using their own label and had workers picking directly into Driscolls flats.
The west coast tour marks a turning point from a localized fight in the state of Washington with little national media attention to an international effort of two independent farmworker unions taking on the corporate food regime and putting farmworker justice and transformation of the food system back into the minds and actions of U.S. consumers. In March of 2015, international grassroots interest in the boycott of Driscolls exploded when 80,000 farmworkers in San Quintin, Mexico launched a general strike, formed an independent union, Sindicato Independiente Nacional Democratico de Jornaleros Agricolas (SINDJA), and endorsed the consumer boycott of Driscolls. Since then the two independent unions have announced that neither will sign union contracts with their respective Driscolls suppliers unless the other union is signing a contract as well.
FUJ is an independent farmworker union in Burlington, Washington with 489 members fighting for a union contract with Sakuma Brothers Farms to ensure living wages, fair treatment, respect, and dignity of farmworkers. The unions members are indigenous people from southern Mexico whose first languages are Mixteco and Triqui.
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Bradley Allen is a reporter and photographer in the Monterey Bay area, and part of the Indybay collective. Follow him on Twitter: @BradleySA.
Twisted Sister said: Bernie wants free college education for everyone and who is going to pay for that? Not I. Click to expand...
In a highly competitive global economy, we need the best-educated workforce in the world. It is insane and counter-productive to the best interests of our country and our future, that hundreds of thousands of bright young people cannot afford to go to college, and that millions of others leave school with a mountain of debt that burdens them for decades. That shortsighted path to the future must end.
As President, Bernie Sanders will fight to make sure that every American who studies hard in school can go to college regardless of how much money their parents make and without going deeply into debt.
Only, that's not what he supports. This is:If there's some way to make that work, good. But if not, it never hurts to start from a good bargaining position. Aim high, shoot low.Bernie 2016. I can dream. A dream's not the thing, but it helps.
A guest post by Willie Jackson:
What to do about Radio New Zealand?
Last year RNZ cut its last Maori dedicated news in prime time Manu Korihi from its airwaves and not a word of criticism was directed their way in the Pakeha media world. Politicians irresponsibly also said nothing and a station that gets 35 million in taxpayers funding now not only doesnt have one Maori presenter in prime time but it doesnt have any Maori news.
Its a story I have tried to get on mainstream media particularly in the main National newspapers but none were interested in doing anything, not the Herald, Dominion or any of the Sunday weekend papers. Of course I knew the reluctance or resistance to support my request was probably based on the fact that all those outlets have virtually No Maori working for them.
So obviously they were not going to back my call for an examination of RNZs Maori policy when their situation is equally questionable. Still my campaign which is in fact a campaign that we initiated on Radio Waatea which I head and is supported by our iwi radio network has been going well. People are asking the question HOW DOES RNZ GET AWAY WITH IT?
My view is that they get away with it because no one bothers to challenge them, mainstream media dont care and politicians do nothing apart from greenlight the racist strategies that they come up with. RNZ is one of the best examples of institutionalised racism in this country. There is no other way to describe how this organisation is operating, they have had generations of tax payers dollars and they are meant to be the voice for all New Zealanders yet the Maori voice is silent and to many of our peoples stories are untold.
Recently my team at Waatea carried out an audit of RNZs Maori stories over a 12 week period. The results were alarming but even more alarming was the way RNZ tried to defend themselves. Our evaluators determined that in the 12 week period only 0.1 percent of stories were Maori focussed. RNZ rubbished our audit and said we missed some stories which was true but when they calculated what we had missed it worked out to a mere one percent. Thats how stupid and sensitive the defenders of RNZ are they try to defend the indefensible.
Paul Thompson the RNZ CEO then decided to release their new Maori policy after reluctantly acknowledging that I might have had a point over their lack of Maori content. Instead of coming up with a plan that would see more Maori stories on RNZ, his main priority for the next few years will be to train his Pakeha journalists to speak Maori. It is the most stupid and insulting Maori strategy that I have ever seen. The strategy is born out of ignorance and the belief that anything is probably better than what they have now which is nothing.
RNZ seem to think simply hiring the odd Maori journalist and getting their Pakeha journalists to pronounce Te Reo properly is all they have to do to live up to their public broadcasting obligations under the treaty but they need to come up with a Proper Maori strategy that will see Maori news and programmes go from 2 percent to at least 15 percent and they need to throw away the silly strategy that CEO Thompson has come out with. They must go back to having Maori specific news, after all they have Pacific Island news, media news, political news and farming news. In fact it seems sometimes that even native birds might have a better chance of getting a news show before Maori, given how many bird sounds we hear daily.
Once upon a time they even had Maori language segments on National Radio, but that was cut five years ago, they probably thought their Pakeha announcers who try their best but sadly cant speak Maori to save themselves were more than capable in the reo to honour their Maori language obligations. So getting te reo Maori back on air should be mandatory. And wouldnt it be great to hear a Maori presenter on one of their frontline shows. It seems incredible that in the whole 91 year history that we have not had one person deemed good enough to present a daily National Radio show.
Think about all the top Maori radio and TV presenters youve heard and seen over the years. Heres just a few of them Henare Te Ua, Derek Fox, Selwyn Muru, Julian Wilcox, Wena Harawira, Scotty and Stacey Morrison, Shane Taurima , Miriama Kamo, Mihi Forbes who is now a reporter with RNZ and of course lets not forget RNZ head of news Carol Hirschfeld has also been a TV presenter and producer.
Yet not one of those people have ever been given an opportunity to front a regular national daily show. RNZ has a colonialist BBC mind-set which discriminates against Maori presenters. Surely as we debate the merits of removing our colonial relics from the flag its time to do the same with RNZ. All people should be outraged by this shutout of Maori on our National network. I implore politicians to act, Maori are 15 percent of this countrys population and we currently get 2 percent of the action on our National station that purports to be the national voice that is not how the treaty partner should be treated.
If its not a breach of Radio New Zealands charter then it should be and if we get a zero response which is highly likely then Maori seriously need to consider a Waitangi Tribunal claim against RNZ and the government similar to the Te Reo Maori claim of 1986. I have spoken to Maori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell about this issue and he has asked the right questions. However Te Ururoa needs help and asking questions isnt going to do it, this lot need to be given clear directions in terms of their Maori strategy or they will continue with the current nonsense.
The Minister of Broadcasting Amy Adams has to act, she must recognise the discrepancies here, talk with the RNZ board and demand that RNZ change their Maori strategy to one that will see Maori properly reflected in their programming, the aim has to be 15 percent. Anything less will mean that Maori stories and Maori announcers will remain tokenistic and an afterthought. Go to the RNZ National radio website right now if you dont believe me and count how many Maori presenters they have. It is a disgrace but what will be even more shameful will be if our politicians and the RNZ Board do nothing, lets see what happens.
Hixson, TN An An Unpaid Wages lawsuit filed just yesterday (March 30, 2016) takes a well-known restaurant chain to task for allegedly forcing, or allowing, employees to work off the clock, and in so doing, paying them less than the standard minimum wage.
The(3/31/16) reports the defendant in the case is Ruby Tuesday, a franchise with no fewer than 658 locations in 44 states. The unpaid wages claim, brought by a waitress employed by Ruby Tuesday on Highway 153 in Hixson, is proposed as a class action. Lead plaintiff Charlene Craig, who remains employed by the chain, alleges that her employer maintains a culture that encourages servers and bartenders to perform sidework such as slicing lemons, filling ice bins and rolling silverware, among other functions.Not only are these tasks performed as off-the-clock work - for which the employee is not getting paid at all - but theres another issue pertaining to the mandated limitations on the amount of non-tipped work an employee earning a servers wage of $2.13 per hour can perform.To that end, a server is paid the lower wage - well below minimum - with the understanding that shortfalls are made up through tips. Federal law allows tipped staff to perform non-tipped sidework up to 20 percent of the time while continuing to be paid at the servers wage of $2.13 per hour. Any side work over that 20 percent limit is mandated under federal law to be paid at an hourly rate of at least $7.25.The plaintiffs unpaid wages attorney asserts that Craig and other tipped employees at the Ruby Tuesday chain are doing much more non-tipped sidework, exceeding the 20 percent threshold. While the employees are allegedly performing sidework, they are not available to earn tips and, thus, are underpaid.The same holds true for an employee working off the clock.The proposed class-action lawsuit would seek to represent any similarly situated employees across the 44 states in which Ruby Tuesday conducts commerce, including the state of California. That would allow servers and bartenders at Ruby Tuesday locations in the state to seek California unpaid wages.Craigs unpaid wages attorney notes that class members could be eligible for a compensation rate of $10.24 per hour, which is double the difference between the $2.13 tipped rate and the $7.25 minimum wage rate, for sidework performed beyond 20 percent of their day or week.In recent years there has been an escalation of litigation surrounding off-the-clock work, sometimes referred to as donning and doffing lawsuits, based on a host of functions often mandated by an employer without proper payment of wages. This includes, but is not limited to, having to climb into and then climb out of protective gear and clothing prior to and following a work shift; waiting in line for mandated bag checks; or being made to perform various tasks at the behest of management while off the clock - and, thus, being denied payment for such tasks.The position of many an unpaid wages claim is based upon the premise that any work or task assigned by management - or the requirement to wear protective clothing and gear that takes time to don and doff - should be duly paid.A precedent-setting off-the-clock work lawsuit in 2012 was heard by the US Supreme Court, which upheld a lower court ruling that Applebees International is required to pay full minimum wage to tipped staff performing general maintenance and preparation work more than 20 percent of the time.That Unpaid Wages lawsuit was worth $9.1 million to 5,680 current or former employees of Applebees.Ruby Tuesday, according to various reports, settled an off-the-clock work lawsuit in 2014. This latest case relates primarily to non-tipped sidework above 20 percent of a tipped employees responsibilities, which is in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.No case information was available at press time.
I have neither one.
It prevents you from understanding this incredibly simple statement: "This is as much Obama's fault as Snyder's if you want to use the same methodology."
Or you just do not want to because you have butt hurt over Obama's name being mentioned.
- HRW urges President Buhari to bring back the 300 school children kidnapped in Damasak by Boko Haram in late 2014
- The Human right group says the initial calls to report the kidnapping were ignored with locals scared of the government's response
- This is as a result of the govt's inability to discover the location of 276 schoolgirls who were taken from Chibok in April 2014
An unreported kidnap in late 2014 has been allegedly discovered. This follows an investigation by the Human Rights Watch (HRW) that Boko Haram seized hundreds of children from Damasak, a remote town in northeast Nigeria.
It was learnt that the initial calls to report the kidnapping were ignored with locals scared of the government's response.
This follows the inability of the government to discover the location of 276 schoolgirls who were taken from Chibok in April the same year, which drew worldwide condemnation and calls for action.
READ ALSO: Feature: The plight of Nigerian army widows
An unreported kidnap in late 2014 has been discovered as an investigation by the HRW shows how Boko Haram seized 300 children from Damasak.
Speaking to AFP on Wednesday, March 30, a local government administrator said some 300 children were among the 500 girls, boys and women taken from Damasak on Monday November 24, 2014.
According to the administrator, his seven-year-old child was among those abducted.
He said on the condition of anonymity: "We kept quiet on the kidnap out of fear of drawing the wrath of the government, which was already grappling with the embarrassment of the kidnap of the Chibok schoolgirls.
"Every parent was afraid to speak out.
Locals who managed to flee alerted their political representatives in the Nigerian Senate and House of Representatives but they kept mute and ignored us.
"The government didn't want the news out.
"They went to the private school and Islamic seminaries and carted away children as young as five.
"They also went into town and forcibly seized children from their mothers, children too old to be breastfed. My 16 nephews were among the children kidnapped. They were aged between five and 16.
Hundreds fled across the river that separates Damasak from Diffa in neighbouring Niger but many drowned. We returned to bury over 200 dead bodies in mass graves.
The insurgents killed more than 200 in the initial attack, which happened on market day.
READ ALSO: Bita Soldier About Boko Haram And Nigerian Army
The administrator noted that his decision to speak out publicly came after Human Rights Watch highlighted the case on Tuesday, March 29.
According to HRWs investigation, Boko Haram occupied Zanna Mobarti Primary School in Damasak in November 2014 after taking control of the town. More than 300 students were inside and, over the following months, the militants banned teaching in English and forced their captives to learn the Koran.
When soldiers from neighbouring Chad and Niger advanced on Damasak in March 2014, Boko Haram militants fled the town, taking with them the 300 schoolchildren and around 100 more women and children who were also being held captive.
HRW's senior Nigeria researcher Mausi Segun, however, said while Boko Haram's abductions could not be justified, President Muhammadu Buhari's government, in power since May last year, also had to act.
"Three hundred children have been missing for a year and yet there has been not a word from the Nigerian government," she said in a statement.
"The authorities need to wake up and find out where the Damasak children and other captives are and take urgent steps to free them."
The former president Goodluck Jonathan in March last year had denied reports of the Damasak.
According to him, there was no fresh abduction in Damasak.
But since the emergence of Boko Haram insurgency, at least 17,000 people have lost their lives in six years. This is perhaps why the US military once regarded the Islamic terrorist group as the most lethal violent extremist group in the world.
Source: Legit.ng
The Havana Tribune, a state-controlled Cuban newspaper, has added insult to injury following Fidel Castros scathing criticism of President Barack Obama upon his departure from the island. In an editorial, the title of which refers to President Obama as *****, an opinion columnist has accused him of inciting rebellion.
The article is titled *****, Tu Eres Sueco? which roughly translates to Black Man, Are You Dumb? (The idiom pretend to be a Swede means to play dumb, hence the title is literally asking, Are you Swedish?) The author, who is black, goes on to condemn President Obama for meeting with Cuban pro-democracy activists and subtly suggesting that the Cuban Revolution needed to change. Obama came, saw, but unfortunately, with the pretend gesture of lending a hand, tried to conquer, Elias Argudin writes.
[Obama] chose to criticize and subtly suggest incitations to rebellion and disorder, without caring that he was on foreign ground. Without a doubt, Obama overplayed his hand, he continues. The least I can say is, Virulo-style: *****, are you dumb?'
Virulo is a white pro-Revolution comedian.
Argudins article later accuses President Obama of presiding over a racist countrymocking the calls for freedom in Cuba by stating, Which freedomthe freedom enjoyed by white police to massacre and manhandle black people?and issue demands parroted straight from the Castro regime: the end of the genocidal embargo and giving the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, which has belonged to the United States since before Cuban independence, to the Castros.
...
Malaysia-based AirAsia, the region's biggest budget carrier by fleet size, said on Friday it plans to raise 1.0 billion ringgit ($259 million) by selling shares to help cut its debt and finance the purchase of new aircraft.
In accordance with the deal, the airliner will issue 559 million new shares to AirAsia founders -- group CEO Tony Fernandes and chairman Kamaruddin Meranun.
"The gross proceeds raised from the proposed shares issuance will be utilised for the prepayment and repayment of the AAB groups indebtedness, financing of aircraft, engines and parts... ," the company said in a regulatory filing to the Malaysian stock exchange.
CIMB Investment Bank and RHB Investment Bank will serve as principal advisors for the proposed share issue.
AirAsia said the fund raising plan was expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2016.
The budget airliner in February announced a fourth-quarter net profit of 554 million ringgit ($132 million) due to the performance of its Malaysian unit and lower fuel costs.
For the full year to December, AirAsia's profits rose to 541 million ringgit from 83 million ringgit the previous year.
At the end of 2015, AirAsia's total fleet size stood at 170 A320 aircraft, with the airline flying to around 100 destinations across more than 15 countries.
Political violence in Nigeria is growing at an alarming rate.
This trend should be a source of worry for all well-meaning Nigerians who want peace and progress for our dear country.
The electoral violence recorded in the just concluded Rivers rerun legislative elections clearly shows that all hands must be on deck to end this ugly trend in our nation.
Electoral officials have a huge role to play to stem political violence in the country by not taking sides
READ ALSO: 10 legacies Asiwaju Bola Tinubu left behind as Lagos state governor
Legit.ng lists 10 causes of political violence in Nigeria.
1. Inadequate voter education: The electoral umpire has a major task to carry out educating the voters on the dos and don'ts before, during and after elections. There must be a conscious effort to reach the voters physically to demonstrate and educate them on the need to carry out their franchise within the ambit of the law.
2. Failure of the justice system: A situation where politicians who have been indicted for electoral violence in the past are still working freely till this day tend to promote impunity among the political class, who has developed the mindset that they can get away with violent acts during the electioneering period. There is a need to look into the justice system to fashion out ways to prosecute electoral offenders.
3. Unemployment: Majority of the mass number of youths who are unemployed are a ready made army in the hands of unscrupulous politicians. The desperation of the political class to grab or retain power by all means is consistent with the desperation of some of the unemployed youths to survive at all cost.
4. Corruption: Corruption is a menace that has eaten deep in virtually all strata of the Nigerian society. Indeed, the electoral system is not free from this menace as monies constantly change hands during electioneering period to induce, silence or influence the process as the case may be.
5. Lack of internal democracy in political parties: Nigerian political parties have failed in their primary duty to re-orientate politicians within their fold on the need to play by the rules. Worst still, electoral violence is consciously or unconsciously encouraged at the party level when candidates emerge for the main elections. This is due to the flawed processes instituted internally by the parties.
6. Inadequate security: The Nigerian security agencies are most times overwhelmed by the spate of political violence that has been witnessed in the society over time. Several media reports have detailed how security personnel were on ground when these acts were committed, but look the other way because of their limitations in terms of their numbers or tools they need to carry out their duties effectively.
7. Misinterpretation of politics: Quite a lot of people in the Nigerian society believe that violence in politics is a norm. And they have unfortunately, gotten accustomed to the violence that spring up during the electionnering period. In-fact, many youths who are recruited into the private armies of politicians, already have the mindset that their duty is to cause mayhem, foment trouble, intimidate voters a d engage in a brawl with political opponents. This kind of mindset clearly shows that politics have been greatly misunderstood by the political class, the large section of the public and party followers.
8. Poverty: The mass poverty in Nigeria is capable of turning a decent man into a beast within a twinkle of an eye. The political class in the country are aware of this fact, and they use it to their advantage, knowing that getting people on their side is not a big deal, so far they can flash the cash. It is also the norm to influence voters' decisions with cash and gifts in order to gain their support.
9. Lack of democratic culture: Decades of military rule has affected the psyche of the average Nigerian and indeed Nigerian politicians. Indeed, many are still struggling to come to terms that we are now practicing democracy. Lack of democratic culture is evident in all the stages of the electioneering period from internal party wrangling, to campaign rallies, to political debates and to the interactions between politicians and the public. Efforts need to be made by civil society groups to instill democratic culture in the Nigerian populace.
10. Lack of integrity from electoral umpires: A situation where the electoral umpire clearly show bias for one group over another is a recipe for political violence. Over time, those whose duties are to conduct a free and fair have been at the fore front of electoral malpractices, which in turn results to civil disturbances by political parties that have been cheated. The onus is on electoral umpires to ensure the electoral process is credible in order to eliminate the constant cases of violence that is now associated with elections.
Source: Legit.ng
Seoul, South Korea - The future of Asias top film festival is being threatened by a bitter dispute over what organisers are calling an unacceptable political challenge to their artistic independence, with moviemakers pushing an "empty red carpet" boycott of this years event.
The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), held every October in the South Korean port of Busan, marked its 20 anniversary last year (AFP Photo/Ted Aljibe)
The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) -- held every October in the South Korean port of Busan -- marked its 20 anniversary last year, but celebrations were soured by a lingering row that has since snowballed into a full-blown crisis.
A flurry of official probes targeting its organisers and an unprecedented cut in state funding have raised serious doubts over the event's artistic and financial viability.
Artistic director Lee Yong-Kwan was forced to step down in February, even as his counterparts from other top international film festivals like Cannes and Berlin wrote an open letter warning that political pressure was threatening BIFF's future.
Organisers say they have become targets of political retaliation for screening a film in 2014 -- in defiance of state opposition -- about the government's handling of the Sewol ferry disaster.
The scathing, highly emotive documentary slammed Seoul's botched rescue efforts in the immediate aftermath of the ferry sinking in April 2014 that claimed more than 300 lives, most of them school children.
- 'Hefty price' -
"We are paying a hefty price for screening the movie that the government disliked," a BIFF spokeswoman, Kim Jung-Yun, told AFP.
"Everyone is concerned about artistic and political independence of the BIFF... this is the biggest crisis we have ever faced," Kim said.
"Diving Bell" (or "The Truth Will Not Sink With Sewol") had its world premiere at the 2014 BIFF, against the wishes of the Busan city mayor, Suh Byung-Hoo, who serves as festival chairman and who deemed the movie "too political".
The premiere went ahead after a barrage of protest from filmmakers who accused Suh of compromising the festival's independence.
But state funding was nearly halved to 800 million won ($700,000) for the 2015 event, while BIFF director Lee became the target of a series of probes by state auditors and prosecutors over the festival's financial dealings.
Lee was eventually compelled to leave in February after Suh refused to renew his contract.
- Global industry support -
The same month saw the publication of an open letter of protest to the mayor, signed by more than 100 prominent overseas cineastes including the directors of the Cannes, Berlin and Venice film festivals.
"Our concern leads us to call on you... not to damage the festival or its independence, and to stop applying political pressure to the festivals leaders and programmers," the letter said.
"The events of the past year not only threaten that independence but also put the entire future of BIFF at risk," it added.
Hundreds of South Korean actors, directors and producers have staged street rallies for months urging the authorities to back off.
"This festival is not a personal possession of state officials, but a valued cultural heritage nurtured and enjoyed by movie fans," an amalgam of Korean filmmakers' associations said in a joint statement released in March.
The group vowed to boycott the 2016 event unless the Busan city council -- a major BIFF sponsor and stakeholder -- accepts changes to the festival rules that they say would ensure its artistic independence.
- 'Empty red carpet' -
"The world will witness the empty red carpet for the first time in 20 years of BIFF's history and the audience from all over the world will stop coming to Busan for the festival anymore," the statement said.
The council rejected the ultimatum, insisting the government probes and Lee's departure had nothing to do with the controversial documentary.
"I was simply trying to overhaul the unreasonable operations of the festival that have been dominated by a few," Suh told a press conference.
"These people are trying to frame my efforts as political oppression and deceive many citizens," he said.
With the dispute showing no signs of abating, the festival organisers fear its integrity is in peril.
"For now we are trying our best to prepare for this year's event but we are afraid the crisis is greatly hurting our reputation," said spokeswoman Kim.
"Who would want to come to see a film festival with no freedom of expression?"
JLL has appointed Mariana Stamate as Head of Property Management for Romania with immediate effect. She will be responsible for coordinating JLL Romania integrated Property Management solutions for international property funds, private investors, developers, corporate owners and occupiers. Stamate has almost ten years' experience in property management and joined JLL
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WealthCap has secured the headquarters of the international trading and services group BayWa AG in its home location of Munich under the conditions of a Forward Deal. The completely revitalised commercial property with an area of around 54,000 m was purchased from BayWa AG and the project developer Competo Capital
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Going against the hopes of Indian auto industry, especially the ones who have big engined diesel models in their portfolio, the Supreme Court has extended the Delhi diesel ban until the next hearing. The ban prevents registration of diesel vehicles with engine displacement of over 2,000 cc in the NCR.
The interim ruling initially had a validity of 90 days which ended yesterday but based on the results, the SC was to decide on whether to extend it or not. The extension of the ban would affect sales of several automakers, especially Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar Land Rover, etc., whose top sellers have big displacement diesel engines.
Within the few weeks of the ban, Mahindra & Mahindra came up with a 1.99L mHawk diesel engine for its Scorpio and XUV500 to circumvent the SC ruling. Now that the ban is still on, we expect more affected car makers to resort to this route.
Not all automakers are disappointed with the apex courts move. Volvo Cars India whose portfolio is full of sub-2.0L diesel cars has nothing to complain about. Reacting to the extension, Tom von Bonsdorff, Managing Director, Volvo Auto India said:
At Volvo Cars, we always aim to provide the most efficient and environment-friendly cars across the world. All our models, including ones available in India, comply with the most stringent global emission norms which is the EURO 6 standard. From the entry-level V40 to the latest 7-seater Luxury SUV XC90 is available in India under 2L engines, In fact, the XC90 is the only full-sized Luxury SUV that is available in sub 2L engine.
When the SC came up with the ban in December 2015, Automakers argued that diesel cars are not the leading pollutants but apparently the argument was not convincing enough.
Volvo XC90 Photos
Scientists at the University of Liverpool have tracked how microscopic organisms called cyanobacteria make use of internal protein 'machines' to boost their ability to convert carbon dioxide into sugar during photosynthesis.
With global food and energy security one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century, the new findings could help inform the design and engineering of new nanotechnologies to improve crop yields and biomass production.
Cyanobacteria, often known as blue-green algae, are among the most abundant organisms in oceans and fresh water. They are similar to green plants because they can use the energy from sunlight to make their own food through photosynthesis. However, unique to cyanobacteria are intracellular structures called carboxysomes that allow them to convert carbon dioxide to sugar -- a process known as carbon fixation -- significantly more efficiently than many crops can.
Carboxysomes are made of polyhedral protein shells and contain the enzymes required for the bacteria to fix carbon during the Calvin cycle stage of photosynthesis. Little is known about how these nano-scale 'machines' are produced or how they are regulated to adjust to environmental changes, such as light intensity.
In a new study, published in Plant Physiology, researchers from the University's Institute of Integrative Biology attached fluorescent tags to carboxysomes and then used a fluorescence microscope to watch them in action within individual cells.
By experimentally altering the amount of light available during cell growth the researchers observed how cyanobacteria regulate carbon fixation activity by changing the amount of carboxysomes in cells.
The researchers also used chemical inhibitors that modify metabolism to monitor how this affects the distribution pattern of carboxysomes. They found that carboxysomes can either spread out or sit in the central line of the rod-shaped cell, depending on the redox states of electron transport pathways induced by the inhibitors.
In collaboration with Dr Steve Barrett from the University's Department of Physics, the team developed a method to statistically analyse hundreds to thousands of bacterial cells from the microscope images.
Co-author Dr Fang Huang, said: "It's exciting that through this technique we can now monitor, in real time, how bacteria modulate carboxysomes to maximise their carbon-fixing capacity. Our findings also provide some new clues about the relationship between the positioning of carboxysomes and cell metabolism."
Carboxysomes are of interest to synthetic biologists and bioengineers, who hope to find ways to utilise their energy-boosting potential in food and biofuel production.
Dr Luning Liu, lead author of the research, said: "Introducing cyanobacterial carboxysomes into plant chloroplasts could potentially improve the efficiency of photosynthesis and thereby the biomass yields.
"There's still a lot we need to learn before their potential can be exploited. At this stage, we're just starting to understand how these fascinating cellular machines work, and this study marks another important step forward in this process."
Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health contributed to a new U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that finds the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) largely unchanged from two years ago, at one in 68 children (or 1.46 percent). Boys were 4.5 times more likely to be identified with ASD than girls, an established trend. The rate is one in 42 among boys and one in 189 among girls.
ASD is a developmental disorder characterized by social and communication impairments, limited interest and repetitive behaviors. Early diagnosis and intervention are important to improving learning and skills. Rates have been rising since the 1960s, but researchers do not know how much of this rise is due to more children being diagnosed with ASD or if actual cases are increasing or a combination of both. The CDC's first prevalance report, which was released in 2007 and was based on 2000 and 2002 data, found that one in 150 children had ASD.
For this new report, the CDC collected data at 11 regional monitoring sites that are part of the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network in the following states: Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Utah, and Wisconsin. The Maryland monitoring site is based at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
"Although we did not observe a significant increase in the overall prevalence rates in the monitoring sites, we continue to see the disparity among racial and ethnic groups," says Dr. Li-Ching Lee, PhD, ScM, a psychiatric epidemiologist with the Bloomberg School's departments of Epidemiology and Mental Health, and the principal investigator for the Maryland-ADDM. "For example, in Maryland, we found that Hispanic children were less likely to be evaluated for developmental concerns and therefore less likely to be identified."
In Maryland, Lee notes, the vast majority of children (95 percent) identified with ASD had a developmental concern in their records by age three, but only 55 percent of them received a comprehensive evaluation by age three. "This lag may delay the timing for children with ASD to get diagnosed and receive needed services," Lee says.
The prevalence in Maryland was one in 55 children (1.82 percent) with one in 34 among boys and one in 161 among girls. The data were derived from health and special education records of children who were eight years old and living in Baltimore County in 2012.
This is the sixth report by the CDC's Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network (ADDM), which has used the same surveillance methods for more than a decade. Estimated prevalence rates of ASD in the U.S. reported by previous data were:
one in 68 children in the 2014 report that looked at 2010 data
one in 88 children in the 2012 report that looked at 2008 data
one in 110 children in the 2009 report that looked at 2006 data
one in 150 children in the 2007 report that looked at 2000 and 2002 data
The researchers say it is too early to tell if the overall prevalence rate has stabilized because the numbers vary widely across ADDM communities. In communities where both health and education records were reviewed, the rates are from a low of 1.24% in parts of South Carolina to a high of 2.46% in parts of New Jersey.
Some trends in the latest CDC report data remain consistent, such as the greater likelihood of boys being diagnosed with ASD. Disparities by race/ethnicity in estimated ASD prevalence, the age of earliest comprehensive evaluation and presence of a previous ASD diagnosis or classification persist. Specifically, non-white children with ASD are being identified and evaluated at a later age than non-Hispanic white children. The majority of children identified with ASD by the ADDM Network (82 percent) had a previous ASD diagnosis or a special educational classification.
The causes of autism are not completely understood; studies show that both environment and genetics may play a role. There is no known cure, and no treatment or intervention has been proven to reduce the prevalence of ASD. The CDC recommends that parents track their child's development, act quickly and get their child screened if they have a concern.
A full copy of the report, "Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder -- Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, 11 Sites, United States, 2012," is available on the CDC website here: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/65/ss/ss6503a1.htm
You can almost call it a case of love at first sight for this dog and his loyal, feathered bestie of six years. Melissa Gill lives in Santa Monica, California, and works as a digital projects manager for the Getty Research Institute. Gill adopted her 8-year-old Shetland sheepdog and keeshond mix, Jackson ...
... a year after she rescued her 10-year-old black masked lovebird, named Bird Noir.
Dodo Shows Wild Hearts Orphaned Deer Runs Back To The Wild With Her Best Friend
Yet these two friends seem as if they've been joined at the hip since forever.
Melissa Gill
"I don't quite remember when their friendship started," Gill told The Dodo. "One day I just discovered them hanging out. Every morning Bird Noir comes out of his cage and hangs out next to Jackson at the foot of our bed. Sometimes he makes a nest out of Jackson's fur. Jackson also shuttles Bird Noir around our apartment on his back."
Melissa Gill
Bird Noir even breaks out his best mating dance moves for Jackson from time to time, showing just how much he appreciates his best friend/perpetually cozy chair. Bird Noir was originally given as a gift to a woman who didn't have time to take care of him. Jackson came from a shelter in Battle Ground, Indiana, where Gill used to live.
"Adopting is very important to my husband and I because we know there are so many animals out in the world who don't have loving, permanent homes," Gill said. "We were told that [Jackson] was found wandering the woods in the area by local animal control, which is still heartbreaking to me. Jackson is an incredibly social dog that loves people, so I can't imagine that he ran away and assume that his previous owner abandoned him."
Melissa Gill
The first time Gill brought Bird Noir to the shelter to make sure the two animals would be a match, Jackson was incredibly happy to see the lovebird. Gill instantly knew that this was the start of something beautiful. After all, when Gill used to own three chickens, Jackson had no problem letting them hitch the occasional ride.
Jackson and Bird Noir now remain inseparable - and their friendship works pretty well on both ends.
Melissa Gill
Few experiences in life are more stress-inducing than a visit to the dentist's office. But one ingenious clinic knows someone who's capable of making otherwise anxious young patients actually enjoy coming in. Meet JoJo - the furriest assistant on staff at Pediatric Dentistry of Northbrook, in Illinois. Just like for her colleagues, smiles are her business.
Pediatric Dentistry of Northbrook
As a trained comfort dog, JoJo is skilled at putting people at ease. When kids come in for checkups, especially those who are very nervous or have special needs, the sweet pup is there to offer her loving presence - which is often just the right medicine. "A lot of the time, those patients would need nitrous oxide or other sedative to help them relax," clinic staffer Veronica Renteria told The Dodo. "But when JoJo comes in with them and sits in the chair, they're comforted. They can just sit and pet her as they're getting their teeth cleaned. She's does a great job with them."
Dodo Shows Soulmates Pig Loves To Launch Himself Onto His Dad's Lap
Pediatric Dentistry of Northbrook
Not only does JoJo make trips to the dentist less stressful, but she also improves the experience for everyone involved. "When the patients are very anxious or scared, they tend to move around a lot," Renteria said. "When JoJo is there, the appointments go much smoother and quicker for them. And the doctor gets to perform the work as it's meant to be done."
Pediatric Dentistry of Northbrook
As an added bonus, when JoJo's natural remedy is able to calm the jitters without the need for additional medication, it helps keeps costs down for simple procedures. Best of all, a friendly paw to hold requires no prescription.
Pediatric Dentistry of Northbrook
Pediatric Dentistry of Northbrook
JoJo is so good at her job, in fact, that after after a visit to the dentist with her around, both kids and their parents have an added incentive to come in for regular checkups.
Pediatric Dentistry of Northbrook
"A lot of the patients who normally were very apprehensive about even walking in the door now look forward to their appointments," said Renteria. "The moment you walk in, you feel very relaxed. There she is, waiting for you to pet her."
Pediatric Dentistry of Northbrook
Everyone at the clinic appreciates having JoJo around doing her important work - and she enjoys being there as well, says Renteria: "She loves coming in. She's very well trained and knows what she's doing. We all benefit from her so much."
Pediatric Dentistry of Northbrook
One of the two Vietnamese fishing boats that were intercepted off Cape York at the weekend. : Department of Immigration and Border Protection/AAP
The Vietnamese Embassy in Australia has sent a diplomatic note to Australian authorities asking them to treat a group of arrested Vietnamese fishermen humanely, said Pham Thu Hang, deputy spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry
The group of Vietnamese fishermen was caught last Sunday and accused of illegally fishing sea cucumbers from the Great Barrier Reef marine park in far north Queensland, Australia.
Two boats carrying 29 crew members were stopped by the Australian Border Force that claimed to have found 30 drums full of sea cucumbers weighing hundreds of kilograms on board.
Australian authorities towed the two boast to Cairns where the crew members were handed over to Australian government officials for prosecution.
The individuals will be transferred to immigration detention while that process is undertaken, Sunshine Coast Daily quoted a Border Force spokesman as saying.
All 29 Vietnamese fishermen and their diving gear and fishing equipment are being held for further investigations, according to the Australian Fisheries Management Authority.
To say that Mater the dog had a tough week would be, well, an understatement. Truth is, he spent most of it trapped inside a storm drain.
Mater's troubles began last Friday evening when, inexplicably, he failed to return home for dinner like usual. His owner, West Virginia native Kathy Olson, had a sneaking suspicion that something was seriously wrong - and she was right. Still, it would take nearly an entire week before she learned exactly what.
As the days passed with no sign of her dog, Olson began to think he might never be found. But then on Thursday, with the help of her neighbors who'd reported hearing the faint sound of a barking dog, Mater was finally discovered in that very tight spot underground. That's when, as the Gazette-Mail reports, they called for help.
Crews from the Pinch Volunteer Fire Department and West Virginia American Water then came to the rescue, tearing up the sidewalk to free the dog.
Here's the moment Mater's long ordeal ended.
The industry that kills whales for meat is in bed with the industry that kills foxes and minks for fur in Norway, a new investigation shows - and it's turning the stomachs of people who care about animals all over the world.
In 2014, 124 tons of whale meat (from about 75 minke whales) were delivered to the largest manufacturer of animal feed for the Norwegian fur industry, according to the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) and the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA).
Despite a 1982 international moratorium on whale hunting, Norway continues to kill hundreds of whales each year because it objects to the moratorium. Since 2012, Norway has killed more whales per year than any other whale-hunting nation - and for the past two years, the country has killed more whales than Iceland and Japan combined.
"Whaling is inherently cruel and has no place in a civilized society," said Susan Millward, executive director of AWI, in a statement. "Killing these sentient and magnificent animals to feed suffering animals on fur farms underscores why the world opposes whaling, and clearly demonstrates that Norwegians have no legitimate need for whale meat."
Jennifer Lonsdale, director of EIA, added that whaling in Norway not only defies the international ban, but "continues despite a drastic decline in demand for whale products in Norway." Lonsdale called the use of whales to feed "the equally cruel and controversial" fur industry "unacceptable."
Still, up to 880 minke whales are expected to be killed this whaling season in Norwegian waters.
Click here to learn how you can take action for animals.
China's Anbang Insurance Group has abandoned its bid for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, paving the way for Marriott International to buy the Sheraton and W hotels operator. (Toby Melville/Reuters)
Chinese firm Anbang Insurance Group on Thursday abandoned its plans to acquire Starwood Hotels & Resorts for $14 billion in cash, putting an end to a weeks-long bidding war with Marriott International.
Anbang, which is leading a group of investors, said it was pulling out due to various market considerations.
We were attracted to the opportunity presented by Starwood because of its high-quality, leading global hotel brands, which met many of our acquisition criteria, including the ability to generate consistent, long-term returns over time, the group said in a statement. The consortium of investors includes private-equity firms Primavera Capital Group in Beijing and J.C. Flowers in New York.
Anbang is a proactive global investor with deep pockets, but also financially savvy with price discipline, said Fred Hu, chairman of Primavera. This is the main reason they decided to walk away from a further escalation of the biding war with Marriott.
The surprise move comes just days after Anbang sweetened its bid for Starwood to $14 billion, or $82.75 a share in cash an offer under review that Starwood said was reasonably likely to lead to a superior proposal over Marriotts $13.6 billion bid.
After Anbangs exit, Marriott encouraged shareholders of both companies to support its offer in a vote set for April 8.
We are focused on maximizing shareholder value, and from the beginning of this process we have been steadfast in our belief that a combination with Starwood will offer the highest value to all shareholders, said Arne M. Sorenson, Marriotts chief executive.
Shares of Starwood and Marriott, based in Bethesda, Md., fell about 5 percent in after-hours trading Thursday. Starwoods stock tumbled 4.53 percent to $79.65, while Marriotts stock dropped 5 percent to $67.60.
Under Marriotts proposal, Starwood shareholders would receive $21 a share in cash and 0.8 shares of Marriott for each share of Starwood, up from its previous offer of $2 a share in cash and 0.92 shares of Marriott for each share of Starwood. If the deal is completed, it would create the worlds largest hotel company, with 1.1 million rooms.
In November, Marriott announced its plans to take over Starwood for $12.2 billion. The combined hotelier, to be based in Bethesda, would own or franchise 5,500 properties and have nearly $20 billion in annual revenue.
Sorenson said Marriott had been drawn to Starwood because of its global presence, strong rewards program and popularity among younger travelers.
It had seemed like a done deal until Anbang entered the picture two weeks ago, offering cash and derailing Marriotts plans. As a result, Marriott increased its offer and reiterated its expertise in operating a large hotel company. As negotiations dragged on, it also said it expected a merger with Starwood to save $250 million in annual costs within two years.
Weve been working intensely, since we announced this deal in November, to prepare for integration and to understand each others organizations and structures and start to think about how to meld those into one organization, Sorenson said in a call with Wall Street analysts last week.
If it goes through, the deal is expected to be done by the middle of this year.
If Starwood were to end its agreement with Marriott, the company would be obligated to pay Marriott a $450 million termination fee.
Anbang had offered few details about its plans for Starwood. The deal would have been subject to review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.Marriott had called the groups bid highly conditional.
Anbang got its start as a $75 million regional auto insurer in 2004 and has emerged as a powerhouse conglomerate with $25 billion in assets. It is one of many Chinese companies making bigbig investments in the United States. This year, Chinese companies have announced plans to buy 153 foreign companies worth $103 billion, according to Dealogic, a data research firm in New York.
The company made its first foray into U.S. hotels two years ago when it bought the Waldorf Astoria New York for $1.95 billion from Hilton Worldwide. This month Anbang paid $6.5 billion for Strategic Hotels & Resorts, a Chicago-based company that owns luxury hotels. Starwood would have marked the largest purchase of a U.S. company by a Chinese firm.
Steven Mufson in Paris contributed to this report.
With some of the countrys largest coal companies in bankruptcy, about 120,000 retired miners and their families in West Virginia could lose their pension and health care accounts. For many families in this region, this means losing their only regular source of income. (Jorge Ribas/The Washington Post)
With some of the countrys largest coal companies in bankruptcy, about 120,000 retired miners and their families in West Virginia could lose their pension and health care accounts. For many families in this region, this means losing their only regular source of income. (Jorge Ribas/The Washington Post)
A worsening financial crisis for the nations biggest coal companies is sparking concerns that U.S. taxpayers could be stuck with hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars in cleanup costs across a landscape of shuttered mines stretching from Appalachia to the northern Plains.
Worries about huge liabilities associated with hundreds of polluted mine sites have mounted as Peabody Energy, the worlds largest publicly traded coal company, was forced to appeal to creditors for an extra 30 days to pay its debts. Two of the four other biggest U.S. coal companies have declared bankruptcy in the past six months.
Under a 1977 federal law, coal companies are required to clean up mining sites when theyre shut down. But the industrys plummeting fortunes have raised questions about whether companies can fulfill their obligations to rehabilitate vast strip mines in Western states many of which are on federally owned property as well as mountaintop-removal mining sites in the East.
A number of smaller companies have defaulted or skimped on cleanup obligations, leaving behind abandoned strip mines and denuded mountains. Some are simply eyesores, unhealed scars on the landscape that can be seen for miles. Others are perpetual sources of water pollution, slowly leaking acidic and otherwise toxic wastes into streams and groundwater supplies.
Now coal giants are facing outcomes similar to those experienced by some of the smaller companies. Several are struggling to make payments on debts for ill-timed multibillion-dollar acquisitions of their rivals in recent years. On top of that, they have been financially squeezed by competition from cheap natural gas and declining U.S. and Chinese demand for coal.
Mounds of coal lie under conveyor belts at an Alpha Natural Resources plant in West Virginia. Alpha filed for bankruptcy court protection last year. (Luke Sharett/Bloomberg News)
The biggest coal companies typically pay third parties to ensure that mine sites are cleaned up in the event of financial hardship. But in recent years, many coal companies have relied on a cheaper technique called self-bonding, pledging only their own names and financial wherewithal to guarantee their cleanup obligations.
With mounting losses and debt loads, the companies do not have enough money to pay for all their obligations, and self-bonding is not worth [the] paper [its] written on, Steve Jakubowski, a bankruptcy lawyer with the firm Robbins, Salomon & Patt, said in an email. In a bankruptcy, where Alpha Natural Resources is now, a judge can decide which creditors are paid and how much and state and federal governments could be left holding the bag for reclamation costs.
There is a lot of liability out there and a lot of uncertainty, said Shannon Anderson, a lawyer with the Power River Basin Resource Council, a Wyoming nonprofit group that supports tougher rules for cleaning up mine sites.
Peabody alone has cleanup obligations of nearly $1.4 billion guaranteed by self-bonding, according to statements filed by the company last year with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Arch Coal and Alpha the nations second- and fourth-largest coal companies have self-guaranteed liabilities exceeding $485 million and $640 million, respectively, in reclamation costs.
The coal giants are currently in no condition to spend those amounts. Arch and Alpha filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last year. Peabody stock prices have fallen by more than 97 percent over the past year, and the coal behemoths market value at Thursdays closing price was less than $44.3 million. Barclays Capital said the companys debt-to-capital ratio was a towering 88 percent.
Bankruptcy restructuring could provide coal companies with a way of escaping obligations to restore land.
It wouldnt be the first time the federal government covered the costs of corporations environmental pollution. Something similar happened during the 2010 General Motors bailout, when the federal government injected money into an independent trust that took on the cleanup of about 60 contaminated sites.
Obama administration officials have voiced concern recently about the reliability of self-bonding agreements for some of the biggest coal operations in the Powder River Basin, an area that straddles the Wyoming and Montana border and contains some of the biggest coal mines in the world. The Interior Department sent a letter last month to Wyoming regulators warning that self-bonding agreements for two of Alpha Coals mines had fallen below the amount necessary to assure that the operator will faithfully comply with all rules and regulations if the company goes out of business.
In Illinois, environmental groups and industry experts are closely watching three Peabody mines with cleanup obligations of $92 million covered by self-bonding. Howard A. Learner, executive director of the Environmental Law and Policy Center, urged state officials in a blog post to force the troubled company to buy surety bonds to make sure that our taxpayers arent holding the financial bag. Selling surety bonds is similar to paying insurance premiums to cover the cleanup costs. But it might be too late for Peabody to find anyone interested in taking that risk.
If state officials dont step up now, their next step might be standing in line in the federal bankruptcy court to protect Illinois taxpayers, Learner said.
Jakubowski, the bankruptcy expert, said the coal companies will have a hard time wriggling out of cleanup costs linked to mines that continue to operate, and Anthony Young, an analyst at the Macquarie Group, a global investment banking firm, said he expects that as much as 90 percent of Peabodys mines, mostly in Wyomings Powder River Basin, will continue to operate.
But cleanup costs tied to mines that have shut down or will shut down in bankruptcy most likely those such as Alphas in the Appalachians and Midwest could end up being billed to taxpayers.
How the big coal companies got to this point is a lesson in hubris and overreach. Alpha bought rival Massey Energy for $7 billion. Arch Coal whose top executives received $8 million in bonuses the day before filing for bankruptcy, according to a report by Environment & Energys ClimateWire bought International Coal for $3.4 billion. Peabody paid $5.1 billion for Macarthur Coal. And Walter Energy bought Western Coal for $3.3 billion.
In 2011, when the merger wave picked up speed, natural gas prices were at a healthy $4 a thousand cubic feet, there was an international commodity boom and Chinas economy was speeding ahead. Now commodity prices have slumped, China has slowed and natural gas prices hover around $2 a thousand cubic feet.
I understand what management was thinking at time, Young said. Obviously, they didnt stress-test their balance sheets. It has cost people their companies and many people their jobs.
Pavel Molchanov, an energy analyst at the advisory firm Raymond James, said the entire industry is in long-term decline because of efforts to reduce coal use and slow climate change.
It really is striking that virtually every large U.S. coal producer is bankrupt or on the cusp of bankruptcy, Molchanov said.
The financial crisis highlights what environmental groups say are deep inadequacies in cleanup requirements for coal companies. Often, activists say, mining companies are simply given a pass after meeting the most rudimentary requirements to cover up open pits with dirt and rock. Some environmental groups are pressing for legislation requiring contemporaneous reclamation forcing mining companies to clean up after each phase of mining rather than waiting for the entire project to be completed.
A report last fall by the Natural Resources Defense Council said barely 10 percent of the 450 square miles of land torn up by mining in Montana, North Dakota and Wyoming met reclamation requirements for final bonding release.
States are not holding the line on what is required, said Sharon Buccino, director of the NRDCs Land and Wildlife Program. Youre left with a trashed landscape and contaminated water.
Meanwhile, because of the financial crisis, taxpayers and coal communities face the real possibility that even minimum cleanup requirements will not be met, which Buccino said is exactly why self-bonding should be limited.
We should not have to sacrifice the health of the land and its residents to the financial health of coal companies, she said.
Washington, United States - The United States turned up the heat on North Korea's nuclear program Thursday as world leaders gathered in Washington to reduce radioactive stockpiles and protect remaining inventories from terrorists.
The threat of militants getting their hands on nuclear material has gained fresh urgency since last week's attacks in Brussels, where it later emerged that two bombers had links to surveillance tape of a top official from a Belgian nuclear facility.
The latest Nuclear Security Summit saw President Barack Obama invite about 50 world leaders to Washington for the fourth and final meeting of its kind under his presidency.
Journalists attend the 2016 Nuclear Security Summit at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC on March 31, 2016 (AFP Photo/Saul Loeb)
Aside from pushing for better nuclear material safeguards, Obama wants to pressure nuclear-armed North Korea.
After meeting with South Korean and Japanese allies, Obama said there is a need to "vigilantly enforce the strong UN security measures" against Pyongyang.
In January, North Korea detonated a nuclear device and a month later launched a long-range rocket, the latest in a series of banned tests.
The White House wants to increase the economic and diplomatic cost to North Korea of ignoring international appeals to mothball its nukes.
"It is important to the entire international community to vigilantly enforce the strong UN security measures that were passed in light of some of the ballistic missile and nuclear activity that Pyongyang has been engaging in," Obama said.
The United States and South Korea have begun discussions on deployment of THAAD -- the Theater High Altitude Area Defense System, a sophisticated missile system.
This has raised concerns in Beijing, which is unhappy at the prospect that US missiles on its doorstep will further tip the balance of power in the Pacific towards Washington.
"It in no way threatens either Chinese or Russian or other security interests in the region and will do nothing to undermine strategic stability between the United States and China," insisted Dan Kritenbrink, a top Obama adviser.
- South China Sea -Obama also met with President Xi Jinping of China, opening the meeting with a promise of "candid" discussion over Beijing's suspected military buildup in the South China Sea.
US officials worry China's actions are not consistent with Xi's pledge at the White House last year not to pursue militarization of the hotly contested and strategically vital waterway.
China is seen as key to making sanctions against North Korea bite. The United States believes Beijing could more forcefully wield its influence over Pyongyang, including encouraging its Stalinist neighbor to tone down destabilizing rhetoric.
Ahead of the meeting, the White House announced that the United States and China would be among the countries signing the Paris climate accord on April 22 in New York.
Obama and Xi are expected to meet again at the G20 in China in September.
- Dirty bomb -
The specter of the Islamic State group obtaining a "dirty bomb" also loomed over the summit, and the meeting comes just days after 32 people were killed and 340 were injured in bombings at Brussels airport and the Belgian capital's metro.
The attacks featured conventional explosives, but two of the suicide bombers -- Ibrahim and Khalid El Bakraoui -- have been linked to 10 hours of video surveillance detailing the comings and goings of a senior Belgian nuclear official.
Few believe the IS group could develop a nuclear weapon, but many fear it could acquire uranium or plutonium and construct a "dirty bomb."
Such a device would not trigger a nuclear explosion but would scatter radioactive material -- with potentially devastating physiological, medical and economic effects.
Nuclear material can be found in small quantities at universities, hospitals and other facilities the world over, often not well secured.
Since the mid-1990s, almost 2,800 incidents of illicit trafficking, "unauthorized possession" or loss of nuclear materials have been recorded in an International Atomic Energy Agency database.
More than 50 heads of state were invited to the summit, but the absence of leaders from Russia, North Korea, Iran and Belarus virtually ensures gaps in the united front.
White House spokesman Ben Rhodes said Russia's decision not to attend at the highest level was a missed opportunity for Moscow, which itself faces significant threats of its own.
"Russia's lack of participation ... is, frankly, counterproductive given this is an area where we share an interest," he said. "We want Russia at the table on issues of nuclear security."
- Trump draws criticism -Though he was not at the summit, Donald Trump also drew attention after the Republican presidential frontrunner earlier suggested Asian allies should develop atomic weapons.
Trump's remarks that he would pull troops from South Korea and Japan and allow those countries to develop nukes drew a scathing rebuke from Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes.
"The entire premise of American foreign policy as it relates to nuclear weapons for the last 70 years has been focused on preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons," said Rhodes, one of Obama's closest aides.
Attention was also diverted by Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was greeted at a separate Washington event by noisy protesters, and whose body guards attacked members of the media.
Field trips were some of the best parts of being in school taking little breaks away from the daily grind to explore something or somewhere outside of your everyday experiences. Google Arts and Culture aims to capture a little bit of that magic with an app that lets you explore paintings and other artifacts up close, as well as find out more about the artists and museums around the world. Plus, theres no shushing or scolding about getting too close to the exhibits.
You can take 360-degree tours of certain cultural sites, such as the Prambanan temples in Indonesia or even Niagara Falls. (Beats going over in a barrel.) Although the list of sites to visit is far from comprehensive, there are plenty of destinations to excite your inner adventurer. In any case, its fun to go on little digital field trips during the day.
Free, for iOS and Android.
This cunning bit of cocktail-party fodder asks 100 notable persons, from actors to authors, to choose one book that changed their life: an irresistible exercise of the desert-island type. The Books That Changed My Life, edited by Bethanne Patrick, is an engaging exemplar of those gifty cheerleading-for-culture tomes that nonreaders buy for people they dont know very well brain candy for the harried, the uncommitted and the moderately curious. It doesnt hurt that a portion of the proceeds from the book will go to the literacy organization 826 National, unquestioned good guys in the literary firmament.
The collection also serves as a telling survey of the anthropology of cultural consumption and influence. What kind of books do Patricks subjects choose? Over three-quarters were published in the 20th or 21st century, with a handful coming from the 19th century. Blake and the Japanese haiku master Issa speak for the 18th century, and Homer, Plato and the Bible represent the classical and pre-modern eras.
Of the titles that can be ascribed to a single author, two thirds are by men (including Evelyn Waugh, contra Time magazine). Joyce, Beckett and Salinger show up twice each, but so does The God of Small Things, by Arundhati Roy. What this says to me, and I hope to you, writes Patrick in her foreword with winning aplomb, is that life-changing books dont come with Read Here labels attached.
Well, maybe. Patrick has done a good job of recruiting a reasonably broad crosscurrent of respondents. As a strategy, this has the benefit of being heartily inclusive, as well as broadening the collections appeal. The downside, not surprisingly, is that the essays are dramatically uneven. Many are wise and perceptive, but others sound like they were transcribed from hurried phone interviews. Several of them are vaguely horrifying: Tommy Hilfiger chooses a biography of Steve Jobs because it shows that even a brilliant maverick like Jobs makes a lot of mistakes, while Nelson DeMille cites the tonic impact of Ayn Rands lessons of individual freedom and nonreliance on government. The actor Melissa Rivers implores teachers to give Bill OReillys history books a chance, because reading this kind of stuff is how you get your students to learn!
The responses from writers carry a higher batting average. To me, the most amusing entries are the ones where Patricks subjects crankily resist the question. Amanda Foreman rejects the idea of Damascene conversions and says, with a touch of asperity, that the majority of those you have spoken to will have shaped that narrative to fit the circumstances, helpfully adding, Im not saying theyre lying. The inimitable Fran Lebowitz says, Listen, if you wanted to find out which book changed my life, you should have asked me when I was six. Fay Weldon avers, I am not fond of books as objects, and she seems not entirely fond of them as concepts or narratives, either.
Others spin the question in interesting ways. An emotionally draining encounter with a Jean Rhys novel leads Porochista Khakpour to the bracing suggestion that more people should write about the books that disturb them and unnerve them and wont let them sleep at night. Ron Charles, of The Washington Post, takes the question aggressively literally, citing Richard Russos Straight Man simply because it was the first book he reviewed professionally. Writers have never been very good at following directions.
And a number of the responses are deeply thoughtful, even moving. Yiyun Li speaks of how Turgenev brought him much closer to the real me than all the requirements in my culture to be happy. Sarah Waters writes that Angela Carters The Bloody Chamber showed her that a feminist viewpoint didnt have to be academic or prim. It could be messy. It could be frightening. And a movie producer named Caldecot Chubb goes even deeper, noting that most of life is about creating resonant narratives. . . . Few things drive me more crazy than the current locution of content. One way or another, he adds, were all in the story business.
Michael Lindgren is a writer and musician in New Jersey.
Vasks: Presence Sol Gabetta, Candida Thompson, cond. Sony Classical
When the cellist Sol Gabetta was 18 years old, she heard an intriguing piece for solo cello and voice by the Latvian composer Peteris Vasks. Years later, Gabetta found the score, tracked down the composer, invited him to the music festival she runs in Switzerland and pestered him to write her a cello concerto.
She got her wish in 2012 with Klatbutne (Presence), an arresting 35-minute work for cello and string orchestra that anchors Gabettas latest album, where shes backed by an insightful Amsterdam Sinfonietta led by Candida Thompson.
After a slow, four-minute monologue for solo cello, the concerto takes flight in luminous strings and a yearning, gently rising theme played by Gabetta with extraordinary tenderness. The second movement, an agitated scherzo with an anguished cadenza at its core, shows off Gabettas muscle and dexterity. Its final chords cry out at a level of despair reminiscent of Shostakovich.
A pastoral mood returns in the Adagio, finding Gabettas cello circling and climbing. Think Vaughan Williamss beloved The Lark Ascending but on a decidedly overcast day. Vasks says in the booklet notes that its the soul ascending into the cosmos.
Near the end, theres a surprise. Gabettas voice is heard, singing a wordless lullaby. The concerto finally evaporates in the cellos upward-spiraling glissandos.
Gabetta requested that vocal insert, as it reminded her of the Vasks piece she initially fell in love with, Gramata Cellam (The Book), which closes the album. It reminds the composer, who turns 70 in April, of Latvias Communist era.
The first of two contrasting movements opens with screaming sirens in the cellos upper register, devolving into a fevered anxiety that rarely lets up. The following Pianissimo movement breathes tranquility, with a literal singing line, again featuring wordless crooning by Gabetta.
Sandwiched in the middle is Musique du Soir, an evocative 13-minute piece for cello and organ where Gabetta is joined by her mother, Irene Timacheff-Gabetta. Elegant, long cello lines float above softly swirling pools of organ chords.
Keen listeners will hear debts to some of Vaskss musical heroes, such as Krzysztof Penderecki. Those new to him, like Gabetta was years ago, should find here music that conjures emotionally charged spaces filled with beauty and struggle.
Tom Huizenga
Mozart: Keyboard Music, Vols. 8 & 9 Kristian Bezuidenhout Harmonia Mundi Kristian Bezuidenhouts recording of Mozarts Keyboard Music, Vols. 8 & 9. (Courtesy of Harmonia Mundi)
The pianist Kristian Bezuidenhout has staked a claim to an important and well-known swath of the canonic repertory and made it entirely his own. The music he so happily interprets (or perhaps inhabits is the correct word) is the piano music of Mozart, played on modern replicas of instruments that the composer would have recognized.
These days its generally understood that even though modern pianos are more stable and have a wider dynamic range, the instruments of Mozarts time were by no means deficient in contrast, color or expressive potential.
Bezuidenhout plays these older style fortepianos, as we call them, with consummate ease and mastery. He and the fortepiano are one, and its smaller scale and more intimate soundscape seem to liberate rather than constrain him.
Born in South Africa, trained at Eastman and now living in London, Bezuidenhout will be 37 this year. He recently completed recording all of Mozarts music for solo piano, a project he began in 2009.
This latest installment maintains the sense of freshness and discovery that has characterized the project from the start.
Mozarts most unabashedly virtuosic writing often occurs in his variation sets, and Bezuidenhout has a field day with the Variations on a March by Gretry, K 352. A mercurial spontaneity keeps the ears guessing what will come next. Only the terminally somber will be able to suppress a chuckle at the antics of the Gigue in G, K 574.
Of the four sonatas here, the standout for me is Mozarts last, in D, K 576. Bezuidenhout evokes a lively exchange with a vivacious, charming conversationalist, with phrasing as natural as speech. In fine 18th-century style, we never hear the same material the same way twice. Everything is cleverly and imaginatively embellished.
When the slow movements untroubled, bucolic aria suddenly takes an ominous wrong turn into the minor key, the contrast is startling.
In the finale, as Mozart unleashes starbursts of textures each more brilliant than the last, Bezuidenhouts sense of exhilaration is contagious. Its a viscerally thrilling realization of music by a composer whose appetite for life and joy in living seem inexhaustible.
For Gods sake or maybe the devils dont mess with Abigail.
The look of feral resolve in Saoirse Ronans eyes is so intense that an audience has not a moments hesitation believing in the havoc at her fingertips in director Ivo van Hoves stunning new Broadway revival of The Crucible.
Her Abigail the teenager who sparks a reign of unholy terror among the upstanding citizens of Salem, Mass., with her accusations of witchcraft is one of the many coups in van Hoves transfixing modern-dress production, which had its official opening Thursday night at the Walter Kerr Theatre. The portrayals across the board infuse Arthur Millers 1953 drama of vengeful mass hysteria with a stomach-knotting urgency that doesnt dissipate until well after the last of the evenings wrenching twists.
Introducing to the proceedings menacing glimpses of the supernatural forces that malicious Abigail swears she has witnessed, van Hove envelops his Crucible in a kind of galvanizing negative energy. A possessed girl of the town floats; the chalk-drawn images on a blackboard dance; an untethered wolf played by a Tamaskan Dog prowls the stage. Evil is most definitely on the loose. But of what nature? Are these visions of the pure variety that can terrorize Salem into persecuting its most righteous residents? Or, much more likely, apparitions manufactured conveniently in the minds of a malevolent faction to settle all of the villages scores?
The director, who already this season has given us a sensationally primal version of Millers A View from the Bridge and a less-than-sensational fashion-forward Antigone that toured to the Kennedy Center, reaffirms with The Crucible his credentials as one of the most intriguingly imaginative engineers of the modern stage. With the indispensable aid of a longtime creative partner, set and lighting designer Jan Versweyveld, van Hove relocates the action from Salem in the 1690s to Salem today, and more precisely, to a vast, institutional room resembling a large classroom a gathering place for a community tearing itself apart. Original music by none other than that master of hypnotic tension, Philip Glass, fills the heavy air. The omnipresent score marks time to a marvelously ominous beat.
To populate a community under extreme duress, van Hove assembles a cast with refined antennae for the storys tempests and tendernesses. Led by the sublime Ben Whishaw as a John Proctor on the verge of implosion, and Sophie Okonedo, in an exceptionally heart-melting turn as his compassionate wife, Elizabeth, the actors ably inhabit Millers clearly charted moral universe. The side of the good is represented with admirable dignity and biting humor by Jim Nortons Giles Corey and Brenda Wehles Rebecca Nurse, while the troubling pieties of the hypocritical inquisitors are embodied with maddening deftness by Ciaran Hinds as deputy governor Danforth and Jason Butler Harner as the simpering local minister, Samuel Parris.
Tavi Gevinson, in the pivotal supporting role of the fickle Mary Warren, who is caught between doing whats right and saving her own neck, delivers another of the productions smartly calibrated performances. The scene in which eternally wavering Mary, pressured by Danforth and Ronans perversely persuasive Abigail, changes her testimony for a final, devastating time, not only sends the play careening to its tragic conclusion, it also sets up one of the most breathtaking visual effects by Versweyveld and video designer Tal Yarden.
The Crucible, of course, is an allegory, the story of the red-baiting McCarthy era as viewed through the prism of the Salem witch trials. By repurposing it as contemporary, van Hove allows the play to evoke other themes. Millers language, for instance, still rings with the vernacular of Colonial America, and as a result, the characters sound as if theyre the keepers of old ways the members, perhaps, of some isolated sect. An idea takes hold more powerfully on this occasion of the nefarious uses for religion as a tool of control, a notion with exquisite relevance for right now. Hindss Danforth is a masterly evocation of the political dangers of extremist convictions becoming accepted as mainstream truth.
Of all the interesting shapes van Hove dreams up for this Crucible, the most potent is an emotional one, the triangular battle of wills enacted by Whishaw, Ronan and Okonedo. Its another of Ronans looks a smile of sexual conquest at the sight of Whishaws John that foretells the frightening toll Abigail will exact. Temperamentally, the portrayal is on another planet from the lovely Irish immigrant, Eilis, she earned an Oscar nomination for playing in Brooklyn. And yet the ironclad backbone on view in her Broadway debut seems very much of a piece with that film performance.
Whishaw, also marking his first Broadway appearance, gives as compelling an account as youre likely to encounter of Johns weaknesses, as well as his decency. And Okonedo brings to Elizabeth something far more interesting than integrity; this is a woman whose suffering is of robustly human rather than reverently saintly variety.
So if your impression of The Crucible has long been yoked to that dreary homework assignment about literary devices you were given back in 11th grade, put those memories of a chore aside. Van Hoves fully-realized version puts ecstatic new flesh on the estimable bones of one of Millers greatest plays.
The Crucible, by Arthur Miller. Directed by Ivo van Hove. Music, Philip Glass; set and lighting, Jan Versweyveld; costumes, Wojciech Dziedzic; video, Tal Yarden; sound, Tom Gibbons; movement, Steven Hoggett. With Elizabeth Teeter, Jenny Jules, Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut, Tina Benko, Thomas Jay Ryan, Erin Wilhelmi, Teagle Bougere, Ray Anthony Thomas. About 2 hours, 50 minutes. Tickets, $42-$250. At Walter Kerr Theatre, 219 W. 48th St., Manhattan. Visit ticketmaster.com or call 877-250-2929.
People protest outside the North Carolina Executive Mansion in Raleigh, N.C., on March 24. Legislators decided to rein in local governments by approving a bill that prevents cities and counties from passing their own anti-discrimination rules. North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory later signed the legislation. (Emery P. Dalesio)
The bathroom is the new battleground. But then again, it has always been, in one way or another.
Throughout last week, citizens and lawmakers were debating a new North Carolina law that requires transgender individuals to use the public restrooms that correlate with the gender listed on their birth certificate. The states attorney general announced Wednesday that he would not defend it in court. The governor, who had signed the bill into law, then took to YouTube to defend it.
I signed the bill because if I didnt . . . the expectations of privacy of North Carolina citizens would have been violated, Gov. Pat McCrory said.
If LGBT rights can be thought of as a house tour, the country has clearly moved from the bedroom (anti-sodomy laws) to the kitchen (the banal domesticity of same-sex marriage laws) to the toilet. But the question of bathroom politics has never been purely about privacy, or even about public spaces. Its about the collision of those public spaces with cultural expectations at specific moments in time.
A transgender bathroom bill would not be raised in some rural parts of Africa or Asia, where there arent public bathrooms and where outdoor lavatories are part of the norm. A bathroom bill wouldnt be raised in some parts of Europe where restrooms are unisex. But the public bathroom here has regularly been a location of consternation for the puritanical, puri-panic-al United States: an American conundrum resulting from American sensibilities and American history.
[Life as Sara: What its like to be a transgender woman when youre not Caitlin Jenner]
North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper told a news conference on March 29, that his office wont defend the state's new law preventing local governments from prohibiting discrimination, calling it a national embarrassment. (Harry Lynch/News & Observer via AP)
State Rep. Tricia Ann Cotham (D-Mecklenburg) speaks on the House floor as North Carolina lawmakers gather for a special session March 23 in Raleigh. At issue was a new Charlotte ordinance set to take effect April 1 that would have given protections to transgender people to use the restroom of their gender identity. (Gerry Broome/AP)
It began, as so many things did, with the Industrial Revolution. Until the mid-19th century, all bathroom facilities were outhouses. They were meant for one occupant at a time, so no gender specifications were needed. It wasnt until the 1870s rise of post-cholera sanitation awareness that the United States began to see widespread indoor plumbing and, thus, the invention of the modern public bathroom.
About the same time, the Industrial Revolution meant that women, who had previously been expected to remain homebound, began to enter public space via the workforce. They toiled in factories and office buildings, and this rattled people the idea that women were invading what had always been the domain of men.
The solution to this problem was architectural. Building designers developed ladies-only reading rooms in libraries, ladies-only hotel lobbies, train cars, banking lines. And, in 1887, Massachusetts became the first state to enact a statute called An Act to Secure Proper Sanitary Provisions in Factories and Workshops, requiring that water closets used by females be kept separate and apart from those used by males. Ladies-only bathrooms.
There was this notion that women were subject to hysteria, that they would decompensate under stress, says Terry Kogan, a University of Utah professor who studies legal and cultural segregation by sex. Womens spaces, Kogan says, were a way of creating a haven in the public world. Gradually, all of the segregated spaces fell away except for the bathroom.
In some ways these spaces were a feminist triumph, allowing women safe spaces separate from male onlookers. But the language surrounding their invention didnt come across as liberating so much as it came across as male lawmakers fretting about what women could or could not handle. They could not, it seems, handle being near men.
Weve played with these issues for a very long time, the worry over the mixing of people, says Erika Rappaport, a University of California at Santa Barbara historian who researches the history of gender. When public bathrooms first came into existence, she says, wealthy people protested them, fearing the unseemly mingling of classes. In the 1980s, there arose a widespread concern that AIDS could be transmitted via toilet seat an erroneous public health concern that was perhaps masking the true phobia: straight people sharing restrooms with gay ones.
And, of course, the segregated bathroom was the loathsome hallmark of the Jim Crow South, where restrooms were divided not only by gender but by race, and one of the first deaths of the civil rights movement was Samuel Younge Jr., a black college student shot and killed for the crime of trying to use a whites-only bathroom. Americas greatest shame, played out on porcelain tile.
Each of these separations was couched in terms of public interest: protecting women. Protecting health. Protecting the natural orders of biology and society. In her history of public toilets, sociologist Barbara Penner writes: The fact that bathroom segregation changes according to the ruling political regime underscores that theres nothing natural about it.
[N.C. transgender bathroom ban is a national embarrassment, state attorney general says]
People protesting the controversial law outside the North Carolina Executive Mansion in Raleigh, N.C., on March 24. (Emery P. Dalesio/AP)
But here we are, all of us at the hand drier together, thinking about bathrooms again, in a way that underscores that weve never really been thinking just about bathrooms. Weve been thinking about the world changing, as it always has, before many people are ready for it to, as theyve never been ready for it.
The restroom is a place of deeply vulnerable, deeply personal, deeply private acts, played out in a public space, among strangers. Theres always been an association of seediness to the public restroom a place that plays out, if only in imagination, as a den of sneaked cigarettes, heroin needles, forbidden lipstick, forbidden liaisons. Some of those fearful associations have been more prevalent than others. When bathroom laws change, we are trying to adjust to new behaviors and evaluate new fears in a location in which we are literally caught with our pants down.
Many social scientists consider gender to be on a spectrum, with some people identifying as a mixture of both, or neither. But the bathroom remains binary. It forces people into categories. It doesnt surprise me at all that people who are fine paying lip service to trans rights in other places are not fine in the bathroom, says Laura Noren, editor of Toilet: Public Restrooms and the Politics of Sharing. The bathroom lays bare all of the fears that people might be able to gloss over with social niceties, like clothing.
Meanwhile, some citizens were pointing out that the North Carolina bill, in its efforts to protect women and children, might end up having an unexpected consequence.
Its now the law for me to share a bathroom with your wife, wrote James Sheffield on Twitter in a post that was widely shared and retweeted. Sheffield, a trans man, included a picture of himself. After several years of hormones, he has a full beard and a traditionally masculine build. He looks like a man. He lives as a man. He is a man, except that his birth certificate lists him as a woman, which will legally place him in the ladies room under the North Carolina law.
Sheffields personal history with public restrooms is fraught. Before he began his medical transition, there was a nebulous period in which he wasnt sure which restroom would cause the least disturbance to others and the least danger to himself. He remembers walking into a female restroom and a woman inside screaming at the sight of him and running out the door.
The current debate, he says, has underscored the turmoil he feels every day about bathrooms.
Amid all the discussions of privacy and comfort, transgender advocates note that the people whose bathroom experiences are filled with the most tension are often transgender individuals themselves.
What solution would make Sheffield feel most comfortable: unisex restrooms? Individual stalls in every washroom? Male restrooms that he would be welcomed into?
If I never had to use a public restroom again, thats where I would be most comfortable, he says.
Bergen, on the west coast of Norway, was built around a harbor. (Southern Lightscapes-Australia/Getty Images/Moment RF)
Norway in March with its gray skies, snow-covered countryside, icy streets and misty rains is perhaps not everyones idea of paradise, but it has its upside. In a word, you have the place more or less to yourself, or at least you dont have to share it with the raging hordes of selfie-snapping backpackers who descend on Scandinavia in the summer.
As for my husband and myself, we started in Oslo, the laid-back, friendly capital nestled among hills at the end of the Oslofjord on the countrys rugged southeast coast. From there, we took the train west to Bergen, itself built around a harbor on the semicircular sliver of land inside a bowl of mountains. Our itinerary was defined by the two talks that my husband, a university professor, was giving in each city. But the time surrounding the talks was ours to use as we wished.
Oslo is marvelously pretty, with a capacious, lively waterfront, a necklace of surrounding, heavily wooded hills (some of them skiable), and blocks and blocks of neoclassical buildings painted in soft pastels an astonishingly lovely palette that probably owed something to the gloomy, glowing early-spring sunlight. So it comes as a bit of a surprise to learn that for most of its long history (Oslo was founded in the 11th century), the place was a backwater, a poor relation to Stockholm and Copenhagen. It was not until the 1950s, a mere eye blink after its occupation by Nazi Germany, that the city remade itself as an expansive, cosmopolitan, world-class capital.
But what struck me first was not the citys beauty or even its distinctly Scandinavian charm, but how quiet the place is. Horns do not blare, radios do not scream, and pedestrians, when they talk, keep their voices at conversational level. There are no blinking billboards or road-rage face-offs (at least none that I saw). Rather, civility reigns, so much so that I kept thinking Id been swept back in time to a decade or so before my own mid-century birth.
Oslo, Norway, founded in the 11th century, was a backwater for most of its long history. It remade itself into a cosmopolitan capital in the 1950s. (Ekaterina Naumova/Alamy)
My husband being occupied, I started by wandering around on my own, street map in hand, beginning with the neighborhood surrounding our excellent, reasonably priced hotel, the Savoy. As it is only two blocks from Oslos main drag, Karl Johans Gate, which stretches from Oslos main train station on its eastern end to the impressively low-key royal palace in its public parkland on its western end, I was both in no danger of getting lost and in high danger of an attack of real estate envy. I turned right into the royal parkland, crossed it under milky-gray skies and kept going, taking in the quiet, tree-lined streets of elegant 19th-century apartment houses, breathing in the aromas coming from Oslos omnipresent coffee-pastry shops and finally stumbling into Embla Keramikk, a ceramic studio where I debated with myself for a good half-hour before deciding that it would not be wise to schlep ceramics from Oslo to Bergen to London and finally home to New Jersey. Not that I didnt want to buy, at the very least, a fanciful dog figure or, even better, a bowl with a zebras head peeking out of it.
With roofs that look like two unfurled sails, the Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art in Oslo is hard to miss. (incamerastock/Alamy Stock Photo)
From there I skirted the National Theater, with its twin statues of Henrik Ibsen and the lesser-known Bjornstjerne Bjornson (winner of the Nobel Prize in literature in 1903). I continued past the vaguely Soviet-looking, brown-brick Radhus (city hall), with its two imposing square towers, to the Akershus Fortress, dating to the Middle Ages, with its battlements, towers, ramparts, marching grounds, stables, prison grounds and cannon, and towers plus Norways Resistance Museum, commemorating the countrys World War II history. Although it was late afternoon and many buildings were about to close, I was able to walk the entire circular Fortress Trail, taking in the general sweep of the place and admiring the harbor. On the opposite side, I could see the sleek, chic shopping district of Aker Brygge, with the stunning Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art, its roofs looking like two sails fully unfurled.
As our time was short and the ferries werent running, my husband and I had to forgo a visit to Oslos Viking Ship Museum on the Bygdoy peninsula. We chose instead to walk through neighborhoods of big old solid houses to Oslos famous Frogner Park, home of the outdoor sculpture wonderland created by Gustav Vigeland.
All I can say is that you have to see it to believe it: more than 200 massive, playful, nude and very real (if not realistic) sculptures portraying human life in all its variety, cast in bronze, granite and iron. You stand there staring, jaw dropped, tears flowing. The astonishing vision, which more often than not is crawling with schoolchildren, is topped by a 20-meter-high obelisk of yearning, intertwined figures.
After Vigeland, the atmosphere, and art, of the National Gallery, a huge, 19th-century monolith of a building, seemed somewhat tame, despite the many masterpieces hanging on the walls, including some by Norways most famous artist, Edvard Munch. More on Munch later. But note that if you cant make it to either Oslos Munch Museum or Bergens KODE collection, then you kind of have to see the Munch offerings here, which dazzle. One of the artists four Screams is on display.
Oslos famous Frogner Park, an outdoor wonderland created by Gustav Vigeland, has more than 200 large, playful and nude sculptures. (Stuart P. Green)
Next stop: Bergen, which we got to on the Bergen Railway which, throughout seven hours, took us west over one of Europes highest mountain plateaus, where it climbed through thick forests of fir trees, small villages and finally, above the tree line, glaciers and rivers of ice, before descending again to what must be one of the worlds most charming urban idylls.
Like Oslo, Bergen which, by the way, is one of Europes wettest cities was dry and almost entirely tourist-free. So on my first morning there, I had the old wharf, a former center of the league of Hanseatic merchants a German trading company that operated in northern climes from about 1360 to 1760 almost entirely to myself. Now a reconstructed World Heritage Site, Bryggen, as the area is called, is the citys oldest bit, a string of pumpkin-and-tomato-painted wooden, gabled warehouses, occupied almost entirely by knickknack shops. I visited the Bryggens Museum, which was built over the remains of the citys earliest medieval settlement and portrays the story of the citys many fires and rebirths. Here, too, I visited the Hanseatic Museum, housed in two 18th-century wooden (and unheated) buildings where fish and cod-liver oil were once stored and pressed. Workers and apprentices lived there, too, running the Norwegian branch of the Hanseatic League.
Speaking of fish, I loved the Bergen Aquarium, at the end of the Nordnes peninsula, with its playful sea lions, shark tunnel, sparkling Norwegian piranhas, salmon and cod, and small, jewel-like tropical beauties. If fish dont get you going, its well worth your time to meander through the aquariums nearby neighborhoods. Seemingly storybook small wooden houses line cobblestone alleys, painted in an array of pretty pale colors and so peaceful (at least in March) that its hard to imagine that ordinary human beings eat, sleep, argue, raise children and watch TV here.
Buildings in Bryggen, the old wharf in Bergen. Bryggen is a World Heritage Site and a former center of the league of Hanseatic merchants. ( 2014 photo by Eric Piermont /Agence France-Presse via Getty Images)
It was hard to decide on one last cultural excursion, but we finally decided on KODE, four museum buildings in the heart of the city (as well as the homes of Edvard Grieg and two other composers). Unlike many of Bergens smaller tourist sites, the main KODE museums remain open all year, so we were able to take in one of the worlds largest and most important Munch collections , housed in KODE 3. Munchs works, unlike those of other world-class artists, remain almost entirely in Norway and hence are not often seen in person, in all their vibrant, richly colored and often muscularly optimistic power. The Scream? Munchs oeuvre is so much bigger and more interesting than that one iconic image, beloved by undergraduates, that I wanted to scream myself. But I controlled myself and continued on to admire the other pieces in KODE 3s collection of art from Norways late-19th-century golden age, as well as period furnishings and decorative objects.
Our final foray in Bergen had us ascending the Floyen, one of the mountains that surround the city, overlooking the city center and harbor with its bright red and yellow ships. Its usually accessible by funicular, but at the moment the railway was closed for maintenance. No matter. The steep hike, up flights of steps built into the hill and then onto public pathways, rewarded us with wow-inducing views, not to mention hearty appetites. Next stop: dinner at the Bare restaurant, located in the Radisson Blu Hotel Norge. All I will say is that, concluding a visit to a place of such astonishing natural beauty, comprising both forested mountains and endlessly sparkling fjords and sea, we had one of the best meals of our lives.
Moses is an author and painter. Find her at jenniferannemosesarts.com.
More from Travel:
Searching for the northern lights in Norway
Exploring the land of the Vikings by boat
Lund, Sweden: Viking roots, off the beaten track
This weeks best travel bargains around the globe.
Land
The National Park Service, which celebrates its centennial this year, is waiving admission fees during National Park Week. On April 16-24, nearly 130 parks will offer free entrance, including Yellowstone and Grand Teton (normally $50 for a seven-day pass for the pair), Everglades ($20 per car; valid for a week) and Shenandoah ($20 per car; good for a week). Info: nps.gov/planyourvisit/fee-free-parks-state.htm.
Amtrak has a sale on Northeast train travel this spring, with 25 percent off fares. From Washington, one-way fares on the Northeast Regional start at $39 to Philadelphia, $49 to New York and $79 to Boston. Book by April 30, at least 14 days in advance. By comparison, typical fare to New York starts at $69. In addition, on the Acela Express, save 25 percent on any destination between New Haven, Conn., and Washington when you book at least 14 days in advance for Saturday and select weeknight service. Info: amtrak.com.
Petit St. Vincent Resort, a 115-acre private island property in the southern Caribbean, is offering seven nights for the price of five for stays June 1-Aug. 15. A one-bedroom cottage, including meals, is $5,500 per couple for seven nights, a savings of $2,200. Taxes and service charges are 20 percent extra. The deal also includes drinks and boat transfers from Union Island. Book by calling 800-654-9326. Promo details: petitstvincent.com/rates/seven-for-five-summer-offer.html.
Sea
American Queen Steamboat Company has a last-minute special on four cruises in April between Portland, Ore., and Clarkston, Wash. The cruises, which include a one-night hotel stay and seven nights aboard the 223-passenger American Empress riverboat, start at $1,999 per person double, a savings of at least $1,600. You must pay in full at the time of booking. Info: 888-749-5280, americanqueensteamboatcompany.com.
With the Come Back New sale, Princess Cruises is offering shipboard credits of up to $600 on more than 300 voyages. Plus, book a suite and receive a free spa treatment. Amount of credit is based on trip length and cabin category. For example, a cruise lasting six to nine days earns $150 for two passengers in an interior or oceanview stateroom and $300 for guests in a balcony, mini-suite or suite. Passengers in a full-size suite can choose between a La Therapie hydra-lift facial and a 50-minute Swedish massage. Sample itinerary: A six-day western Caribbean cruise departing Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Nov. 27 starts at $559 per person double and $199 for the third and fourth passengers in an interior cabin. Add $110 in taxes and fees. Book by May 12 and use promo code N3A. Info: 800-774-6237, princess.com.
Air
Southwest has launched a sale on nonstop flights. For example, fly from Reagan National to Orlando for $134 round trip, including taxes. Other airlines are matching, but fares typically start at about $189. Restrictions vary by destination. For travel to Florida, for example, fly on Tuesdays and Wednesdays April 12-June 15 and Aug. 23-Nov. 2. Fourteen-day advance purchase applies. Book by April 14 at southwest.com.
Package
World Spree is offering a Best of Peru & Amazon tour starting at $3,699 per person double. The trip includes round-trip airfare from New York to Lima; three flights in Peru; 10 nights in five hotels, including two nights at the Inkaterra Reserva Amazonica lodge; 20 meals; ground transportation, including a train ride to Machu Picchu; tours with entrance fees; airport transfers; and taxes. Priced separately, the trip costs at least $4,100. For lowest rate, depart Aug. 30-Nov. 22. Book at least three weeks in advance. Info: 866-652-5656, worldspree.com.
Carol Sottili, Andrea Sachs
Submit travel deals to whatsthedeal@washpost.com. Prices were verified at press time Thursday, but deals sell out and availability is not guaranteed. Some restrictions may apply.
Kevin M. Maxwell, chief executive of Prince Georges County Public Schools, spoke to The Washington Post in mid-March about issues the Maryland school district faces following the arrest of Deonte Carraway, 22, a school volunteer accused of directing children to perform sex acts and video-recording them. Police say that there are at least 17 victims, as young as 9 years old, and that some incidents occurred at school during school hours.
Maxwell has since created a task force to look into the school systems policies and practices for safeguarding children from child sexual abuse. Here is a condensed version of The Posts 25-minute interview.
Q: When you look back now, do you feel the district did enough before this case broke? Was enough done in terms of training, prevention, reporting, supervision?
A: Theres no question at all that what happened at Judge Sylvania Woods Elementary School should not have happened. Its a very, very serious thing. Were doing absolutely everything in our power to review our policies, examine our systems, to ensure it doesnt happen again. It happened. We know that it happened.
At this juncture, the police and the FBI and the states attorney [are involved], and theres an investigation going on. And we have to respect the integrity of that investigation. But what we learn when that investigation is over will inform how we move forward.
Further, we have established a task force to look at that very question to say: What could we have done differently? What should we have done differently? What should we and will we do differently going forward? informed by that task force, which is comprised of experts from different fields related to this work.
As a father, as a grandfather, as a [resident] nearly my entire life living in this community, what happened appalls me. It shocks me. It disgusts me. And were going to do absolutely everything we can to ensure that our schools are safe and that our children are taken care of.
Q: A month later, do you look back and think you have a systemic problem or inadequacies to address?
A: We have certainly made some changes at Judge Sylvania Woods. We have assigned a new interim principal. John Brooks is a very accomplished educator. . . . Weve had our general counsel meet with all of the principals in the school district and had the principals retrain their staff. Were working with additional training for other folks. Weve trained substitute teachers. We have a bus-driver training coming up. Weve added cameras to the school, or are adding cameras to the school. . . . Some of that, as you can tell, is systemwide; some of that is at the school.
Q: Was there a problem with employee training?
A: We want to be absolutely sure that our employees understand what the expectations and requirements are our expectations and the requirements of the law. And so again, to be sure that were doing everything we can to ensure our children are safe we are retraining every employee.
Q: Do you think your district needs a code of conduct for employees that spells out whats appropriate and whats inappropriate?
A: I believe that we have procedures, we have policies, we have the law. We know that our parents want to have some additional answers, and we want to have some, too. When the task force gives us their recommendations on policies, procedures that we should change, a code of conduct . . . well look and see what the task force recommends to us. But I want to make it really, really clear that there is a mandatory legal duty under the law for employees to report [suspected child abuse].
Q: Do you think the state of your policies and procedures is adequate? Can you describe whether they are sufficient to protect children?
A: I believe they are sufficient to protect children. But I want to be absolutely sure of that. Clearly what happened at Judge Sylvania Woods Elementary School happened and I will continue to say I find it appalling. What we want this task force to do is to give us expert advice on what else we might have been able to do and certainly can do going forward to keep our children safe from harm. That is our utmost goal, the most important thing to us, and its quite personal to me, as Ive said a number of times, and we want to make sure that we are informed by everyone. Again we have policies and procedures, they have, overall, worked in our school district, but clearly what happened should not have happened. And we want the experts to give us advice on how we might be able to improve what we do.
Q: Do you have a policy, or do employees know what the limits are, in terms of spending time alone with children?
A: I believe that again, we have 20,000 employees, we have 129,000 children, and by and large I believe that people do understand their responsibilities. But again we are asking the task force to make any additional recommendations to us on how we might improve.
. . . I want to just keep going back and saying the reason we brought together some experts from outside of our school district supported by folks in our school district is to make sure we get that independent eye. . . . I think the independence of that group is really, really important. And they come from a number of different areas, and so they bring a variety of perspectives to the issues at hand. . . . We hope they will give us some really good advice on strengthening the work that were doing to protect our children.
Q: Why arent the task force meetings open to the public?
A: The concern, I think, or the conversation we had is that we want this team to get a lot done in a very short period of time. We want to make sure that at the end of the process, it is absolutely 100 percent transparent what their recommendations were. It will be a public document. But the open meetings for the most part are about decision-making bodies in public that are discussing public business.
We will provide regular updates, or Dr. [Charlene] Dukes [the task force chair] will provide regular updates. . . . And the final document will be public. But we dont want folks to have distraction to their conversations and to their work. We want to make sure that they can get the work done and that they can get the work done well, with robust conversation and lots of time studying.
Q: On another policy issue: Your volunteer services procedure is dated 1998 is that troubling to you?
A: I returned here in this role as CEO in 2013. The reason that I came back was to try to bring some stability and reform to the school district and to improve the outcomes of this school district. I would say that how the board handled its review of policies in that interim period of time is something I cant really comment on. . . . But the board does review policies and . . . has the ability to schedule the review of policies with some regularity. But its just difficult for me to speak about what happened in a period of time when I was not really affiliated with the school district.
Q: That one, just to be clear, was a procedure. Most of what relates to this case involves administrative procedures. Those get done on your level instead of the school board level?
A: They do. And again the task force is going to look at those procedures to see . . . whether it was reviewed since then and people thought it needed to be changed or whether the language from 1998 still sufficed or not. There are a lot of laws and things on the books that date back in a pretty significant way. The question is: Are they appropriate?
Q: Do you think there should be penalties for violating these policies? A lot of them dont get at that.
A: Let me be absolutely clear. When we found out about what occurred, we took immediate steps. We do that every time that there is an allegation that some wrongdoing has taken place. When this first happened, out of an abundance of caution, as Ive said publicly before, we removed the principal.
There was an allegation about a week ago or so about a teacher at Judge Sylvania Woods; we removed that teacher, pending, again, the completion of the investigation.
At the conclusion of the investigation which right now rests with the police, the FBI and the states attorneys office I will take any action appropriate because, yes, I believe there should be penalties, and there are penalties, and we will move. If people failed to protect our children the way they should have, I will take steps to be sure they are terminated from their employment and not able to work with children again.
Q: Did the school system make improvements following the 2012 Maryland State Board of Education ruling that called on school districts to put in place policies that address teacher and staff conduct toward students?
A: Again, I wasnt here and Im not sure what the board did or did not do. What, again, I think is most important to me is that this independent task force right now take a look at all of those issues related to this because it is clear that this still happened, regardless of what changes occurred. This incident still happened, and it shouldnt have happened. And so the more important question to me is what recommendations will the task force make so that we can make sure that our children are safe.
Q: Do you believe Prince Georges fell short?
A: What happened is very, very serious. What we did or didnt do, well know more about that at the end of the investigation. And I think its premature to talk about what we did or didnt do while there is an open investigation. And the answers that parents want, you want I want them, too. And when I have them, well be able to discuss them more fully.
VIRGINIA
Man dies after being injured in robbery
An Alexandria man died Friday after being injured in a robbery in Old Town on Monday, police said.
Melaku Abraha, 69, suffered a head injury during the 9:30 p.m. robbery near the 200 block of South Alfred Street, not far from his home, said Crystal Nosal, a spokeswoman for Alexandria police.
When officers arrived, Abraha was conscious, but he died days later at a hospital, police said.
Victoria St. Martin
Former deputy convicted of theft
A former Loudoun County sheriffs deputy accused of stealing more than $229,000 from the sheriffs offices asset-forfeiture program was convicted Thursday of four counts of theft, authorities said.
The verdicts against Frank Pearson, 45, resolve a case that spanned years and took a bizarre turn when the deputy claimed to have a more-than-decade-long gap in his memory.
Pearson, of Winchester, is to be sentenced June 17. Daniel Lopez, Pearsons attorney, said Pearson does not agree with the courts finding, but he does respect it, and he will pursue his appeal rights.
Matt Zapotosky
Two men stabbed in Arlington; one dies
A man was killed in Arlington on Friday night in a double stabbing, county police said.
Deputy Police Chief Daniel J. Murray said the incident occurred about 8 p.m. near Third Street and South Glebe Road, where a fight was reported.
At least one attacker stabbed two men, Murray said. The second victims wounds were not considered life-threatening, authorities said.
Clarence Williams
and Martin Weil
MARYLAND
Man fatally shot in Capitol Heights
A man was shot and killed early Friday in Capitol Heights, Prince Georges County police said.
Police said Julian Mushington, 41, of Landover was shot about 1:30 a.m. in the 7000 block of Shady Glen Terrace.
Detectives do not think the shooting was random, police said.
Perry Stein
Police are investigating the death of a 69-year-old Alexandria man who was brutally attacked during a robbery in Old Town, just blocks away from his home.
Melaku Abraha suffered a head injury during the Monday night crime, said Crystal Nosal, a spokeswoman for Alexandria police. Abraha died Friday at a local hospital, she said.
Nosal said Abraha was robbed in the area of the 200 block of South Alfred Street about 9:33 p.m. People in the area heard the attack and called authorities, she said.
When officers arrived, Abraha was conscious, but he died days later, according to a department press release.
Nosal said property was taken from Abraha during the attack, but she would not elaborate about what exactly was stolen.
His death is Alexandrias first homicide this year, she said.
Authorities ask that anyone with information about Abrahas death contact Detective Bikeramjit Gill with the Alexandria Police Department at 703-746-6751.
Jennifer Jenkins contributed to this report.
A man was shot by police and taken into custody March 28 at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center. (Photo by Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post) (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post)
Children touring Washington cowered along walls, one covering his ears, as police used hand signals to direct them to safety after a man wielded a weapon Monday inside the Capitol Visitor Center.
The account of a tense standoff lasting 10 to 15 seconds was laid out in federal court records Thursday that charged Larry Russell Dawson, 66, of Antioch, Tenn., with pointing a spring-loaded BB gun at officers at a security checkpoint before a U.S. Capitol Police officer shot him twice.
Dawson faces a federal charge of assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers or employees with a dangerous weapon as well as a federal charge of assaulting a federal law enforcement officer with a dangerous weapon after an incident that led to brief lockdowns at the White House and across the U.S. Capitol complex.
Dawson remains hospitalized in critical condition with what police described as gunshot wounds to the chest and thigh. Police had initially said he would be charged in D.C. Superior Court with assault with a deadly weapon and assault on a police officer while armed.
In arrest and search warrant affidavits, U.S. Capitol Police Special Agent Kathryn Rivera said surveillance video and witnesses described the anxious moments beginning at 2:37 p.m. after a metal detector sounded as Dawson passed through and then allegedly pulled out what appeared to be a semiautomatic handgun and pointed it at officers Quincy Brisco and Jerry Smith.
This 2004 combo photo provided by the Williamson County Sheriff's Office in Franklin, Tenn., shows Larry R. Dawson. (AP)
Backing away, Brisco drew his handgun and turned it on Dawson, and Smith also drew his weapon, Rivera said. Dawson ignored orders to drop his weapon, Rivera said.
Civilians, including children, crouched against thc CVCs walls and behind the metal-detector equipment to avoid gunfire, Rivera wrote. Officers with weapons drawn, used hand signals to usher a boy, with his hands over his ears, to safety, and a woman grabbed a child by the hand and raced with the child to crouch behind officers. Smith eventually shot Dawson twice, Rivera wrote.
Dawson will appear in U.S. District Court when he is released from the hospital and is likely to face detention.
The two counts carry a statutory maximum of 25 years and 30 years in prison, respectively, according to an announcement by U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips of the District and U.S. Capitol Police Chief Matthew R. Verderosa.
[Alleged Capitol gunman faces charges in shooting incident]
Police said they held in storage a silver 2015 Dodge Ram 1500 truck, believed to be Dawsons, and obtained a warrant to seek such evidence as firearms, BB guns, imitation firearms, receipts or paperwork for weapons or ammunition; vehicle ownership records; and possible mission statements or plans, Rivera wrote. Court records did not disclose what was found in the truck.
Dawson was familiar to Capitol Police for three protests or security issues in 2015, the affidavit states. On June 1, police barred Dawson from entering House office buildings when he tried to bring in a prohibited sign. He was stopped again June 2 for an unspecified breach of security. And Dawson was arrested Oct. 22 for disrupting lawmakers by shouting Bible verses from the House gallery and running from an officer escorting him out.
The U.S. Capitol visitors center reopened Tuesday. (Jonathan Newton / The Washington Post) (Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post)
[U.S. Capitol gun suspect has a troubled past]
Dawson was freed pending his next hearing in the alleged disruption. Dawson wrote a D.C. Superior Court judge in December, saying he would not return to court, writing, No longer will I let myself be governed by flesh and blood, but only by the Divine Love of God!!!!
Rivera, in her affidavit, said that in interviews with Capitol Police, Dawson expressed his interest in meeting with then-Speaker of the House John Boehner [R-Ohio] regarding raising the minimum wage and asserted that God had communicated with him in prayer and scripture to get him to demonstrate on minimum wage.
Besides Dawson, a female bystander sustained what police called a minor injury, Verderosa told reporters Monday. An update on her condition was not immediately available from police Thursday afternoon.
Lawmakers were mostly away for their spring recess Monday, but the incident jangled nerves after terrorist attacks in Brussels and Paris.
Police raised barricades and shut down pedestrian and vehicular traffic outside the Capitol and congressional office buildings for about an hour, and the U.S. Secret Service halted movements around the White House for a few minutes.
A former Loudoun County Sheriffs Deputy accused of stealing more than $229,000 from the offices asset forfeiture program was convicted Thursday of four counts of theft, authorities said.
The guilty verdicts against 45-year-old Frank Pearson resolve a case that spanned years and took a bizarre turn in recent months when the deputy claimed to have more than a decade-long gap in his memory.
Pearson, of Winchester, Va., faces a maximum 10-year penalty on each of the four counts at his June 17 sentencing, though it is unlikely his punishment will be nearly that high. Daniel Lopez, Pearsons attorney, said Pearson does not agree with the courts finding, but he does respect it, and he will pursue his appeal rights.
[Charged with stealing, ex-Loudoun deputy says he has memory loss]
Federal prosecutors charged Pearson with theft in 2015, alleging he embezzled money that was supposed to be deposited into an escrow account from the asset-forfeiture program. Pearson had access to the money, seized vehicles and other assets because he ran the program, according to an indictment in the case.
(Loudoun County Sheriff's Office/LOUDOUN COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE)
The indictment was the culmination of a years-long investigation that briefly became a hot-button issue in Loudoun Sheriff Mike Chapmans reelection campaign, and it took an odd twist late last year when Pearson claimed he had amnesia that prevented him from remembering the time period of the alleged crimes, or even recognizing his grown children.
Defense attorneys said that in October 2013, Pearson was taken to a hospital after Pearsons wife found him unresponsive on the bathroom floor of the familys home and that at the time Pearson said the year was 2001 and that he did not recognize friends whom he had met after that year. The theft occurred between 2010 and October 2013.
[Ex-Loudoun sheriffs deputy charged with stealing asset forfeiture money]
A judge ordered a psychological evaluation but ultimately deemed Pearson fit to stand trial. Lopez said Pearson did not raise amnesia as a defense at his trial and never intended to. He said Pearson tried to plead guilty earlier this month, but U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III would not accept the plea because Pearson couldnt affirm that the statement of facts was not true and accurate because he could not recall the events.
It was my position that this was a situation where he recognized that he did have that job, he committed those acts, but he couldnt remember, similar to someone who committed a crime during a blackout, Lopez said.
Pearson ultimately elected for a trial by judge and Ellis convicted him.
Prosecutors said they presented evidence that Pearson, who resigned amid the investigation into his conduct, embezzled money from 80 separate cases. A spokeswoman for the Loudoun County Commonwealths Attorneys office has said previously that prosecutors had to drop three alleged drug-dealing cases in which Pearson would have been a material witness.
Trooper Chad P. Dermyer, right, died on March 31 when a gunman opened fire at a bus station in Richmond. Dermyer, 37, is shown here in 2014 receiving his diploma from the Virginia State Police Academy by Col. W. Steven Flaherty.
Trooper Chad P. Dermyer, right, died on March 31 when a gunman opened fire at a bus station in Richmond. Dermyer, 37, is shown here in 2014 receiving his diploma from the Virginia State Police Academy by Col. W. Steven Flaherty. Courtesy of Virginia State Police
A Virginia State Police trooper was killed and two civilians were wounded following a shooting at a Greyhound bus station. The suspected gunman was fatally shot by police.
A Virginia State Police trooper was killed and two civilians were wounded following a shooting at a Greyhound bus station. The suspected gunman was fatally shot by police.
A Virginia State Police trooper was killed and two civilians were wounded following a shooting at a Greyhound bus station. The suspected gunman was fatally shot by police.
The gunman who fatally shot a Virginia State Police trooper inside a Greyhound bus station Thursday had 143 rounds of ammunition in one of three bags he was carrying, the state police superintendent said Friday.
The superintendent, Col. W. Steven Flaherty, said investigators do not know why the shooter, James Brown III, 34, attacked the trooper. He said Brown shot Chad P. Dermyer from inches away with a .40-caliber semiautomatic handgun that was legally purchased by someone else 13 months ago.
State and federal officials are tracing how Brown, who has a lengthy arrest record and two felony convictions in his home town of Aurora, Ill., acquired the Beretta pistol and did not say where or by whom it was first bought. Flaherty said two partially loaded 30-round magazines and two partially filled boxes of ammunition were found in one of Browns three bags.
It is unfortunate he was able to get a gun based on his history, Flaherty said. He said he did not know what prompted Brown to shoot, although his thinking might have been, Theyre going to find this ammo in my bag. But, Flaherty said, we dont know at this point, and we may never know.
Two troopers fatally shot Brown after he shot Dermyer.
The fatal encounter at the bus station left friends and colleagues grieving for an officer they recalled as a resolute public servant who never lost a foot chase, was always sharply uniformed and carried a wide smile even after back-to-back 16-hour days.
Dermyer, a 37-year-old husband and the father of two children, served in the Marine Corps and worked for two other police departments before joining the Virginia State Police in 2014.
There are a lot of dark corners in the city, and we would make it a point to go to those dark corners to help make the city a safe place, said Cyndi Grace, who partnered with Dermyer in Newport News, Va., and left the department in 2011.
He rose rapidly as a trooper from patrol assignments to the counterterrorism and criminal interdiction unit, which he joined recently. Dermyer and 16 other troopers and agents were participating in a training exercise for the unit at the bus station when he was killed.
Dermyer gained recognition for his diligence on a routine traffic stop last year that led to the discovery of the remains of a small child hidden in the vehicles trunk, closing a case that Flaherty said otherwise might have gone unsolved.
The trooper also had a share of social-media fame after rescuing a wayward dog loose on a highway in an escapade that went viral.
[Troopers save dog on interstate]
James Brown III, 34, was identified by Virginia State police as the gunman in the Trooper Chad Dermyer in Richmond. Police in Aurora Ill., released this mugshot of Brown from what the department said were his numerous arrests there. (Courtesy of Aurora Police Department/Courtesy of Aurora Police Department)
In Newport News, Grace said she and Dermyer often dissected their encounters to learn from mistakes. He is not one youd think that someone would be able to get the drop on, she said. But as tragic as this is and as horrific as it is, I know he died doing exactly what he loved. He is a hero in every sense of the word.
Funeral plans were not complete as of Friday.
At a vigil Friday night, a huge blue ribbon was displayed on the digital screen in the center of Virginia Commonwealth Universitys Siegel Center arena. Many in attendance carried single white roses.
Lt. Col. Bob Northern, the state polices deputy superintendent, greeted people as they entered the arena. Dermyer was the 62nd Virginia trooper killed in the line of duty in the departments 84-year history.
His shooting occurred about 2:45 p.m. Thursday during an exercise on how to identify suspicious activity, part of the training for the interdiction and counterterrorism unit.
Flaherty said Brown was in the terminal restaurant just off the main entrance with his bags near the restaurant entrance. Surveillance footage and other information, Flaherty said, indicate that Brown left the restaurant, walked toward his luggage and then turned away from the luggage.
Dermyer approached and within seconds, Brown turned back toward Chad. . . . He turned into him and fired multiple shots. Flaherty said the trooper was struck multiple times, and he went down. Two plainclothes troopers shot Brown, who stumbled back into the restaurant and collapsed.
Flaherty said it appeared that Brown was traveling alone on a ticket he bought in Raleigh-Durham, N.C., with stops in Richmond and the District before ending in Chicago.
On Thursday, Flaherty said Dermyer had begun to question Brown, possibly because his actions appeared suspicious. But on Friday, the superintendent said the encounter occurred faster than initially believed. He said Dermyer might have engaged Brown in small talk to try and find out what he was doing. The two of them werent together more than a few seconds.
Two female passengers in the terminal were injured in the exchange of gunfire. One is a 21-year-old from New York, who was grazed by a bullet, Flaherty said, and the other is a 47-year-old from North Carolina who was wounded. One of the injured has been identified as a member of the track team for New Yorks Binghamton University. She was released from the hospital on Friday.
Investigators said they are continuing to look into Browns criminal past. Aurora Police Lt. Jeff Wiencek said Brown was very familiar with the Aurora Police Department and vice versa.
Records with the Kane County Circuit Court indicate that Brown had been arrested numerous times in Aurora. He was sentenced to 2 1/ 2 years in prison in 2011 for aggravated domestic battery involving a pregnant woman who had taken out a restraining order against him, court records show. He was sentenced to six years in prison in 2003 for a heroin conviction. In 2001, he was charged with intent to commit murder. He pleaded guilty to a lesser felony, court records show, and was sentenced to four years in prison for discharging a firearm.
Dermyer was a Michigan native who joined the state police after serving as an officer in Newport News, from 2003 to 2007, and in Jackson, Mich., from 2008 to 2011.
Stacy Kelly, assistant chief of the Newport News police, remembered Dermyer as having a reputation as a high-producing officer who was also fair.
He was so approachable, Kelly said. He was one of the guys that would go out there and talk to people and put them at ease and didnt have any problems interacting with the community.
Dermyer, a Marine like his father, developed the core value of being a servant, said Newport News Sgt. Brad Churchill, a friend and former colleague.
When he wasnt dedicating himself to the job, he dedicated himself to his family and his wife, Michelle, and their daughter and son, Churchill said. He was always talking about how proud he was of his kids.
Julie Tate, Magda Jean-Louis and Perry Stein contributed to this report.
A 44-year-old day laborers bond was raised from $500 to $100,000 Friday, reflecting concerns that he might try to flee the area after being accused of fondling a 6-year-old girl whose mother hired him to do work at her home in Montgomery County.
The move comes after several days of legal wrangling over the terms under which the laborer, Jose Campos-Gonzalez, should be held in jail. He was arrested Monday, ordered held on $100,000 bond, had that total reduced to $500, and had it raised Friday.
I see the defendant clearly as a flight risk. Theres absolutely no question about it, District Judge Holly D. Reed said from the bench Friday.
One key factor in Reeds decision: In the five days that Campos-Gonzalez has been held in jail, he has been unable to provide a verified, local address.
The question of Campos-Gonzalezs immigration status also surfaced Friday.
During the hearing, a bailiff said that agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had shown up at the courthouse. Theyre waiting for him downstairs if hes released, the bailiff said.
The charge of third-degree sex offense against Campos-Gonzalez stems from alleged events on the evening of March 23.
A woman who lives in the countys Montgomery Village community drove to a nearby 7-Eleven to hire two day laborers to help pack her home for a move, according to police allegations filed in court. She knew the men only as Felipe and Armando, according to the records.
At her home, Felipe went upstairs to dismantle an armoire. The 6-year-old girl also was in the room. The man put his hands under her underwear and fondled her, according to the police.
He quickly apologized to the girl, prosecutors said, and he and the other worker left the house. The girl then told her mother that the man in the red shirt had fondled her, according to investigators.
Police went to the 7-Eleven and eventually concluded that Felipe was Campos-Gonzalez. He was taken in for questioning and admitted to fondling the girl, court records state, and was booked into jail, where a court commissioner set his bond for $100,000.
As is standard for defendants in Maryland, Campos-Gonzalez had his initial bond reviewed by a judge. Reed did so on Tuesday.
A Montgomery public defender put forth reasons to lower the bond: Campos-Gonzalez has no record of convictions and no record of failing to show up for court. The charges against him were, at this point, just allegations, the public defender said
And the county agency that monitors pretrial suspects said he would be a good candidate for release, providing he surrendered his passport, remained at a local address and stayed away from children.
Reed reduced Campos-Gonzalezs bond to $500 and imposed those restrictions. He said he was very reluctantly doing so.
Prosecutors moved to have the bond increased citing concerns over flight and public safety.
The state has grave concerns if the defendant is released into the public, said Assistant States Attorney Deborah Feinstein, who had called the allegations appalling.
In court Friday, Public Defender Cristina Lindsay said Campos-Gonzalez has ties to the community, with a sister who is willing to let him stay with her. Lindsay questioned the validity of what detectives described as a confession in court papers, suggesting that Campos-Gonzalez may have been coerced or had his words twisted.
Were here to argue whether this man deserves the right to enjoy his liberty, with conditions, before there has been any finding that he did anything wrong, Lindsay said.
She added that Campos-Gonzalez is scared out of his mind and wants to resolve this issue and wants to come to court.
A model of the ornament that won the White House Historical Associations 2016 design contest. The ornament is based on the first fire truck to arrive at the burning White House in 1929. (Evelyn Hockstein/For The Washington Post)
When patrolman Richard Trice broke the glass and pulled the alarm on the red Gamewell Peerless Herculite Fire Box, he sent a code etched on narrow paper streaming from a ticker-tape machine at the Districts fire headquarters building.
A single tap, called a solo. Then five taps. A pause. Then seven more.
Box 157 the private fire box alarm for 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. had sounded. It was Christmas Eve 1929, and the West Wing of the Herbert Hoover White House was on fire.
On Friday, the nonprofit White House Historical Association unveiled a Christmas tree ornament designed to resemble one of the vintage pumpers that was first to the four-alarm blaze, the most destructive since the British sacked and burned the mansion during the War of 1812.
The 2016 ornament depicts the red pumper flying the American flag with a Christmas tree in the back. It is crafted from shiny brass plates adorned with nickel and 24-karat gold.
A model of the 2016 White House Christmas ornament on display at Engine 1 on L Street NW. (Evelyn Hockstein/For The Washington Post)
Gregory M. Dean, chief of the D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department, called the fire and the response a significant moment in White House history. Stewart McLaurin, president of the historical association, called the fire an almost forgotten moment in the Hoover presidency.
The announcement was made in the bay of Engine 1 on L Street NW. The framed eight-foot-long ticker from the fire box call was displayed, along with a log book showing which engine companies are to be dispatched to the White House box alarm. In the end, 18 engines and six trucks responded.
The ornament was designed by Kayla Whelan, a student at Montserrat College of Art in Massachusetts, who won a contest sponsored by the historical association, which raises money to preserve the mansion, fund acquisitions and educate the public about the building. The parameters of the contest were broad: Design an ornament themed after the Herbert Hoover administration.
I wanted to pick something that not everyone knows about Herbert Hoover, said Whelan, 22, who is finishing up her senior year. I had to do quite a bit of research to find some interesting stories.
Whelan said she drew inspiration from past winners many had trees, and so she put a White House Christmas tree into the back of her fire engine. Whelan said hers is similar to the type of pumper used in the 1920s, and not an exact replica of the old Engine 1, a 1924 Seagrave 1,000-gallon pumper that was first on the fire scene.
The historical society has commissioned a single ornament each year since 1981, based on a president, anniversary or historic event. Last years honored President Calvin Coolidge and the first Christmas tree lighting. McLaurin said this years contest was the first open to students. A top qualifier was an ornament showing Hoover fishing. Whelans won out because it showcased not only an important event that affected the White House but also the response from the fire department that McLaurin said saved the building.
The fire was first reported at 8:09 p.m. while Hoover and the first lady were overseeing a Christmas party in the buildings main wing. A detailed historical account of the blaze is in Firehouse magazine and on its website, firehouse.com.
[Read about ornaments designer Kayla Whelan]
An office manager smelled smoke. So he, a Secret Service agent and the patrolman traced thick smoke billowing through the West Wing to the attic. The whole loft is burning up! the agent, Russell Wood, shouted, according to firehouse.com. He raced for a fire extinguisher as the patrolman ran to the alarm box. By then, the fire had spread to the interior walls. It was caused either by heat from a blocked chimney flue or defective wiring that ignited pamphlets stored in the attic.
The alarm shook the District on a quiet Christmas Eve. The Washington Post reported a frenzy as every active-duty and reserve firefighter and police officer was pressed into duty. More than 300 off-duty firefighters staffed fire houses that emptied to respond to Pennsylvania Avenue.
The Post reported that the fire failed to halt Hoovers party for the children of White House secretaries and aides. The First Lady kept her small guests in ignorance of the blaze, and saw her Christmas party through to a joyous and successful conclusion, The Post wrote. Then she took them out on the west terrace and stood watching with them while firemen fought the blaze.
[View the White House Christmas tree ornament honoring the D.C. fire department]
Firehouse.com reported that when an aide told Hoover, the executive office is on fire, the president, in stiff-upper-lip manner . . . directed the Marine Band to strike up a lively tune and then made for the West Wing.
It took 130 firefighters about two hours to extinguish the fire. Two firefighters were injured one collapsed on the roof because of smoke inhalation, and anothers face was burned in a backdraft. Hose lines stretched to hydrants five blocks away.
On Christmas Day, Fire Marshal C. G. Achstetter penned the official report the Fire Marshals Record of Fire. It read, according to firehouse.com: Address 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Structure detached brick, covered with stucco. Occupant Herbert C. Hoover.
The next Christmas, Hoover gave children who had been at the party toy firetrucks as presents. Nearly 90 years later, people can put replica trucks, which run $20.95, on their own trees.
Magda Jean-Louis contributed to this report.
Metro passengers at the McPherson Square station discuss how inconvenient it would be if their Metro line closes for six months for repairs. (Whitney Shefte/The Washington Post)
Metro passengers at the McPherson Square station discuss how inconvenient it would be if their Metro line closes for six months for repairs. (Whitney Shefte/The Washington Post)
The biggest customer service decision made by Richard Sarles when he was Metro general manager was to launch a rebuilding campaign concentrated on weekends and hours when the rail system was closed.
Five years later, his successor, Paul J. Wiedefeld, is on the verge of a similarly significant decision about whether to change the strategy.
Wiedefeld and Metro board Chairman Jack Evans got the attention of the regions leaders Wednesday when they raised the possibility that future disruptions for rebuilding may have an even greater impact on riders, potentially including much longer shutdowns on lines.
Metro is the backbone of the D.C. regions commuter system. It can be bent only so far. On Thursday, Wiedefeld made plain that he was well aware of it.
[Metro could shut entire lines for maintenance]
Commuters ride a Red Line train at Union Station. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
He issued a follow-up statement, saying in part, I want to reassure you that, while I am keeping options open on how to proceed, no decisions have been made. Moreover, any service change in the plan that could affect your commute will receive ample notice to customers, businesses, stakeholders and the region as a whole.
As board chairman, Evans is the policy guy. Wiedefeld is the one who has to figure out a strategy that will improve the safety and reliability of the national capitals subway. He expected it would take him four to six weeks to come up with a plan.
The clearest idea emerging from this weeks developments is that the leadership at Metro is so dissatisfied with the state of the rail system after five years of rebuilding that it is willing to at least consider dramatic changes.
The current strategy developed without a lot of public discussion in the aftermath of the 2009 Red Line crash. At a Metro board committee meeting in March 2011, board members did discuss the possibility of shutting entire lines. Then-board member Marcel Acosta, who had been a senior executive with the Chicago Transit Authority, said: In Chicago, we made a very difficult decision to shut down an entire rail line for two years.
Sarles said that closing a rail line would be the last place I want to go. With five years hindsight, we can see that the rebuilding program has not accomplished as much as we hoped. Planners overestimated what could be done on the weekends and in hours when the rail system was closed. And while Metro leaders often described the daunting nature of the challenge involved in rebuilding, they still underestimated it.
Meanwhile, they turned out to be overly optimistic about Metros ability to absorb the new Silver Line, which continues to test Metros ability to provide reliable service.
This history is a big reason that the new transit leaders are so open to a more aggressive approach. But one thing Sarles said in 2011 remains true. Closing a rail line is the last place you want to go.
Even transportation officials who are supportive of Wiedefeld and the idea that strategies need to change were cautious in response to the statements from the Metro leaders. Well want to see the plan, said Virginia Transportation Secretary Aubrey Layne, echoing the reaction of others.
Wiedefeld needs to find more time and space for inspections, repairs and rebuilding. But he cant just lift some other systems strategy. His must be specific to the Washington region. We have six lines. Only one, the Red Line, runs on its own set of tracks.
The Blue Line the one that Evans mentioned as a hypothetical example in discussing line shutdowns has the tracks to itself only where it passes through Arlington Cemetery. Otherwise, it is sharing track with the regular Yellow Line, the Rush Plus Yellow Line, the Orange Line and the Silver Line.
Consider also that our regional transportation system does not have much slack. Outside of the downtown core, it is often difficult to get between Metro stations. So if one set of stations is closed, there is unlikely to be a convenient alternative.
And during peak periods, there are not enough extra buses and drivers who could be deployed to carry all the displaced Metro riders.
Commuters got through the one-day shutdown for the emergency safety inspections in March because enough of them can adjust their work plans. But they still cannot make a long-term habit out of altering their commuting styles.
Wiedefeld knows that. His task is to come up with a new strategy that can speed up the rebuilding without seriously slowing the commute.
Dr. Gridlock also appears Thursday in Local Living. Comments and questions are welcome and may be used in a column, along with the writers name and home community. Write Dr. Gridlock at The Washington Post, 1301 K St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071, or email drgridlock@washpost.com.
The killer whales that spend time in the inland waters of Washington state already are tagged and tracked, photographed and measured. Researchers follow them by drone and by sea, analyzing their waste and their exhaled breath.
Now, experts want to add another layer to the exhaustive studies: individual health records for each endangered whale.
The records would take existing research on the creatures and combine it in one place. The idea is to use the data to monitor the orcas health trends individually and as a population. Its similar to people having one medical record as they move from one doctor to the next or between specialists.
Eighty-four orcas typically appear in Puget Sound from spring to fall.
The goal is to really start getting a lot of data and pull them together in a way that permits easier analysis, said Joe Gaydos, a wildlife veterinarian at the University of California at Davis and chief scientist with the SeaDoc Society, which is part of the universitys School of Veterinary Medicine. Ultimately, the real benefit of any health record is to help make [management] decisions, he added.
Female orca leaps from the water while breaching in Puget Sound west of Seattle, as seen from a federal research vessel that has been tracking the whale. (Elaine Thompson/AP)
For example, if an orca appears emaciated or is in bad shape during certain times of the year, wildlife managers can access the animals health history to see whats going on and what they can do about it, he said.
Understanding the factors that affect an orcas health will ultimately help pinpoint the key threats and how to reduce them, experts say. It will be really powerful to rule out things that arent important and focus in on whats really important, said Lynne Barre of NOAA Fisheries, which is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The project aims to pull together data on behavior, reproductive success, skin diseases and other study areas to allow for integrated analysis, she said. Scientists have enough data that they can now connect the dots to get meaningful answers, said Brad Hanson, a NOAA Fisheries wildlife biologist.
The orcas numbers have fluctuated in recent decades as they have faced threats from pollution, lack of prey and disturbance from boats. They were listed as endangered in 2005.
Many details of the health-records effort are still being worked out, but an initial database would be launched this summer using readily available information, such as sex and age, Gaydos said.
Scientists elsewhere have studied individual animals to monitor their health. Using a database of hundreds of thousands of photographs taken over decades, for example, researchers have studied the body and skin conditions of about 400 individual right whales.
Individual Puget Sound orcas are identified by unique black and white markings or variations in their fin shapes, and each whale is given a number and a name.
In the autumn of 2010, I was a newly minted PhD living in North Carolina and trying to find employment on the elusive tenure track. I juggled my search for a medical sociology position with postdoctoral research, adjunct teaching and a lively social life. My days were full but fulfilling. The first two weeks of November, however, brought leaden fatigue, and I blamed my busy schedule. Seeking respite, I booked an inexpensive silent retreat at a nearby spiritual center.
I lucked into an unusually warm weekend and spent my time strolling well-worn woodland paths and sitting in quiet meditation in a nearby grassy field. Back home after three days, I peeled off my clothes for a shower. Reflected in the bathroom mirror was a rash the shape of a bulls-eye, blooming bright red on my left hip. After dinner I developed a fever that alternately froze and scalded me. My joints turned to piercing shards of glass, and pain stabbed my left temple. My vision blurred and my eyes became so sensitive that I flinched when my husband, Kevin, turned on an overhead light.
A few minutes on Google confirmed that the bulls-eye rash was a clear sign of Lyme disease. I read that antibiotics, administered early, could zap the corkscrew-shaped bacteria and prevent their wreaking long-term havoc on a persons brain, muscles and joints.
[Rocky Mountain fever isnt limited to the Rockies, and it can kill you]
But, I learned, antibiotics dont work for everyone.
The evidence-based doctor
That night, a Sunday, I snapped a photo of my rash and emailed it to my primary-care physician lets call him Dr. 1 who embodied a rare combination of evidence-based brilliance and warm bedside manner. Within the hour, he called in a prescription for 10 days of doxycycline and emailed his administrative assistant to give me his next available appointment.
By Wednesday I was still a bit achy and tired, but I returned to work and canceled my appointment with Dr. 1. The antibiotics seemed to be working their magic.
Two days after swallowing the last peach-colored pill, I was celebrating Thanksgiving with my parents in Atlanta. Standing at my mothers kitchen sink, I noticed that my hip and knee joints throbbed and that I felt cold. When a shattering headache and hazy vision appeared over pumpkin pie, I squeezed Kevins hand and asked him to take me to the nearest urgent-care provider. There, a physician assistant proposed testing me for Lyme.
No, thank you, I said. I needed to get home to Dr. 1. As Kevin sped across two states, my fever raged, and I developed palpitations so intense that I worried my heart would give out.
Youre healthy, I reassured myself. You run 10 miles every Sunday. Maybe you just need a longer round of drugs.
Luckily, Dr. 1 could see me the following day.
Lyme mostly occurs in the northeastern states, he explained as he performed a physical exam. But weve got something down here called STARI southern tick-associated rash illness. I suspect thats what you have.
He told me hed test for Lyme and other tick-borne bacteria.
My main concern, he added, is that it might not be Lyme at all. Ten days of antibiotics should have taken care of any tick-borne illness.
I knew that Dr. 1 was quoting me the guidelines of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. But my cursory Internet research had turned up another group, the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society. This organization recommends that practitioners tailor antibiotic treatments to a patients symptoms. It also encourages higher-dose antibiotic therapy that extends beyond the disappearance of symptoms.
Which approach was better?
Confused and scared, I asked Dr. 1 for an extended course of antibiotics. He authorized 20 more days, hoping that test results would tell us more.
They did not. I tested negative for Lyme, Rocky Mountain spotted fever and ehrlichiosis all tick-borne bacterial infections.
Still, I was constantly weary and struggled to concentrate. My ever-present joint pain, headache and fuzzy vision made me feel positively geriatric at age 35.
You absolutely dont have Lyme, Dr. 1 said at a follow-up visit. You definitely did have something. The bulls-eye rash was unmistakable. But I still suspect that it was STARI, and theres no test for that.
He opposed further doxycycline. You probably caught some sort of virus in the midst of this, he said. Give it a couple of weeks. Youll likely feel better.
But I didnt.
The renegade
I pored over peer-reviewed journal articles and made inquiries among my social and professional networks. One friend called an infectious-disease specialist she knew on my behalf.
Does she claim to have post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome? he asked. Because people who do are crazy.
[Here are some ways to avoid Lyme disease]
On the Internet, I found many tales of prolonged struggles with Lyme disease. Though trajectories and curatives varied, patient success stories had a common denominator: treatment by a Lyme-literate medical doctor, or LLMD. LLMDs appeared to have no formal training or board certification related to tick-borne illnesses. Instead, they were physicians from varying specialties, dedicated to treating patients who might otherwise end up falling through the diagnostic cracks.
My Internet search also turned up Dr. 2, the only LLMD in my town. She practiced allopathic medicine but did not take insurance. She charged $400 for the first visit and $180 for follow-ups. I balked at the cost, but Kevin didnt.
Youve been sick for months, he reminded me.
At my first visit, Dr. 2 suggested two months of antibiotics, double my prior dosage.
Two months? DOUBLE the dose? But I was desperate to regain my health.
I should warn you, Dr. 2 said, youll feel much worse before you feel better. When the bacteria die, they release a toxic gas. Its called a Herxheimer reaction. Your symptoms will intensify, and youll likely have some new ones. Still, higher and longer doses of antibiotics are the only way to kill these buggers.
At first, the nausea from the higher dose kept me circling the toilet like a wobbly vulture. I also became incredibly photosensitive and developed sun poisoning on my knuckles from an afternoon of driving. I was pummeled by constant pain and fatigue.
Were killing a lot of bacteria, Dr. 2 told me at my three-month visit. The fact that you feel so awful tells me that the treatment is working.
Good, I said. I guess.
One month later, there was scant evidence of improvement. Dr. 2 added Rifampin to outsmart the bacteria. This antibiotic turned my excrement orange, destroyed my appetite and made staying awake for more than a few hours impossible. Still, she added Flagyl, a third antibiotic. I spent the next two days moaning, dry heaving and trembling on the bathroom floor. I called Dr. 2 and pleaded with her to discontinue the Flagyl. Reluctantly, she agreed.
For my next appointment, on a humid June morning, I swathed my shivering frame in fleece and hobbled into Dr. 2s waiting room. Twice, I rushed to the bathroom to retch up burning bile. While Dr. 2 weighed me I was down from 122 pounds to 108 I wept.
At the end of that visit, she handed Kevin a sheaf of scripts. There were refills of my two antibiotics and new prescriptions for an anti-nausea drug; a vile powder meant to aid in detoxification; an opioid; and an antidepressant. I refused the last two outright.
Painkillers make me puke, I said. And Im not depressed. Im sick.
For two months I lived in a pain-filled fog, constantly queasy and increasingly weak. I spent most days in bed, a pillow shielding my eyes from the blazing summer sun, comforters piled on my shrinking body.
Somehow, in the midst of my misery, my application for a postdoctoral teaching position at a nearby university was accepted. The new job started in the middle of August, but I was too feeble to climb a flight of stairs or drive a car.
Please, I begged Dr. 2. I cant do this anymore.
She wondered whether I would consider disability. I would not. She discontinued everything but the doxycycline.
That fall, buoyed by new-job joy and an increased appetite, I managed to regain nearly 10 pounds and some perspective. Against Dr. 2s advice, I stopped the remaining drug.
The expert
Though stronger off the antibiotics, I was not well. At my new job, I found myself reading, rereading and still not comprehending text that I had written myself. At the end of each workday, Id lock my office door and arrange my aching body on the floor behind my desk. After an hour sometimes two of dreamless slumber, Id stagger out to the nearly empty parking lot and drive carefully home.
A nurse practitioner friend who had witnessed my illness with growing alarm told me about another LLMD. Dr. 3 was board-certified in internal medicine and had nearly four decades of experience. His office was a five-hour drive from my home, and his waiting list nearly three months long. Like Dr. 2, he didnt take insurance.
Dr. 3s initial consult in January 2012 lasted half a day. I completed an exhaustive gamut of verbal questions, written surveys, physical and cognitive tests, and blood work. He asserted that peer-reviewed research and tests about Lyme were in their infancy but that hed had great success treating patients from all over the country.
Kevin and I left that visit $1,800 poorer but with a glimmer of hope.
At our next visit, Dr. 3 guided us through my test results.
The data were mixed. My Lyme test was deemed inconclusive, but I tested positive for two organisms that often co-occur with Lyme. Dr. 3 explained that what we call Lyme is more accurately conceptualized as a complex set of infectious agents passed to a human through the bite of a tick. Many symptoms attributed to Lyme may be the result of co-infections from organisms such as Babesia or Bartonella. These co-infections complicate the illness. Yet these microbiological monsters are rarely considered and can be difficult to detect.
Dr. 3 promised to prescribe only drugs that he felt were absolutely necessary and to take a go low, go slow treatment approach. He planned to balance Western medicine with herbal and nutritional supplements.
Its true that killing the bacteria will make you feel bad, but my job is never to let you get as ill as you did, Dr. 3 said. Allowing patients to suffer constant Herxheimer reactions was counterproductive, he said, perhaps even damaging.
Under Dr. 3s care, I slowly but steadily regained my health. At his urging, I added a range of complementary and alternative health practices. Some were free (mindfulness meditation and exercise), but most were not (copious supplements and regular acupuncture). Id love to identify a single magic bullet that improved my condition, but I cant. I credit Dr. 3s experience, patient-centered approach, reliance on multiple modes of evidence (such as regular blood work and symptom checks), and a combination of numerous therapies.
I have spent approximately $10,000 a year roughly a quarter of my pretax postdoc income-on out-of-pocket Lyme-related expenses. Fortunately, Kevins salary kept us afloat. Many tick-sick patients are not as lucky.
In May 2013, 2 1/ 2 years after that odd red rash appeared, Dr. 3 said I could begin tapering off my treatments.
I recommend that you stay on your immune-boosting supplements for another nine to 12 months, he said. But youre a different woman than when I met you.
It was true. I had my life back.
Moving forward
In 2014 the Environmental Protection Agency noted that Lyme incidence had doubled since 1991, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revised its annual estimates. In the blink of a mathematical equation, the United States went from 30,000 Lyme cases per year to 300,000.
Improved awareness and surveillance are critical to tackling this public-health problem, as are advances in research and testing. But theres a crisis of practice that must also be addressed, particularly for patients who are diagnosed with late-stage Lyme and for the CDCs estimated 10 to 20 percent of patients who like me do not fully recover after standard antibiotic treatment.
Potentially dangerous practitioners such as Dr. 2 thrive in the unregulated Wild West of Lyme care. Meanwhile, clinicians such as Dr. 3 are the medical version of a four-leaf clover. Yet both call themselves LLMDs. Standardization and board certification must be created for this designation.
And Lyme must be redefined, perhaps as a syndrome encompassing a constellation of harmful tick-borne organisms, only some of which are understood.
As anyone who has had a complicated case can attest, Lyme may not kill you, but youll wish you were dead. Until tick-borne illnesses are treated more seriously, hundreds of thousands of people will experience unnecessary and prolonged suffering.
Moloney is an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. This article was excerpted from Health Affairs, at healthaffairs.org.
In his new book, "Consequence," Eric Fair grapples with his time as a contract interrogator at Abu Ghraib prison. Here he sits down with Marine Corps veteran and author Phil Klay, who won the National Book Award for Fiction in 2014 for his short story collection, Redeployment. (Henry Holt and Company/ Metropolitan Books)
In his new book, "Consequence," Eric Fair grapples with his time as a contract interrogator at Abu Ghraib prison. Here he sits down with Marine Corps veteran and author Phil Klay, who won the National Book Award for Fiction in 2014 for his short story collection, Redeployment. (Henry Holt and Company/ Metropolitan Books)
J. Kael Weston is the author of The Mirror Test: America at War in Iraq and Afghanistan, which will be published in May. He spent seven years in Iraq and Afghanistan as a State Department official based in Baghdad, Fallujah, Sadr City, Khost and Helmand.
Eric Fair was a civilian interrogator for the U.S. military for several months in Iraq in 2004 and ever since has felt haunted by his inexcusable behavior.
In his important memoir, Consequence, Fair confronts his demons. He recognizes the things that cant be undone and writes about them with painful clarity: This is the first detainee I lay hands on. I grab him by his clothing and drag him out of his chair . . . I shove him into the wall . . . it feels good. He describes a joint interrogation of an Iraqi boy. The goal: to wrest a confession out of him. I scare him. I shout, he writes. I throw a chair. It ricochets off the wall. I call the MP [military policeman] inside and he handcuffs the boy to the iron loop in the floor. . . . He suffers. He cries.
Fairs story begins in his home town, Bethlehem, Pa. From a young age, he was a dutiful churchgoer: I grow up learning that I come from a long line of Presbyterians who valued their faith and marched off to war. His faith was tested over time as he saw fellow parishioners being judgmental and exclusionary, particularly in regard to gays.
Fairs career took many turns before he began writing. He joined the Army as an Arabic linguist and afterward spent time on the Bethlehem streets as a trainee cop. Diagnosis of a serious heart defect (cardiomyopathy) ended his prospects of becoming a full-time police officer. Despite his chronic health condition, the ex-soldier pursued ways to get to a war zone after 9/11. His language skills and Army background enabled him to be hired as an interrogator. He underwent no medical exam by the private-sector contractor anxious to get its new hires to Iraq as soon as possible. Fair also had stints at the National Security Agency, including a brief (non-interrogation) assignment in Baghdad in 2005.
"Consequence" by Eric Fair (Henry Holt)
Leaving the government, he enrolled at Princeton Theological Seminary, where he struggled with persistent doubts about the dictates of organized religion and ultimately realized that he no longer wanted to be a Presbyterian pastor. His life as an interrogator had whittled away at his religious convictions; he wrote of the experience: I cannot ask God to accompany me into the interrogation booth. In Scripture, God often works in prisons, but he is never on the side of the jailer.
Fair has a compelling, matter-of-fact voice. He never shirks responsibility or offers excuses while recounting his struggles with alcohol, marital strains and mental health. The biggest hero in a book filled with antiheroes is his stoic wife, Karin. A chemical engineer, she agreed to move many times to accommodate Fairs itinerant career and persevered through his liquor-induced rages. If she had ended their marriage, she would have been justified, Fair believes; but she stayed with him. As everything else begins to collapse, he writes, Karin steps forward to protect me. They have a baby son and decide to leave New Jersey and return to Pennsylvania, where, still together, they remake their life.
This lean, well-edited memoir gratefully leaves out politicized commentary. Fair gives us simply a record of what happened. He describes, for example, the use by 82nd Airborne soldiers of a brutal device known as the Palestinian chair. The interrogators say the Israeli military taught them how to use it during a joint training exercise. Sitting in the specially built chair, a detainee is pitched forward with his head thrust onto his chest and his hands zip-tied near the bottom of the legs. The device forces all of the detainees weight onto his thighs. Fair and a friend tried it out for themselves: Maybe its not as bad as weve made it out to be. We experiment with different positions and tell each other what hurts the most. We agree that having your hands secured to the lowest part of the chair puts the most strain on our legs. What begins as a searing burn in the calves and quads evolves into a tearing sensation in the hamstrings and lower back. You sweat, you shake, you cant breathe. It is a violent and frightening pain. Its torture.
Once your legs give out, Fair writes, you basically start to suffocate. They say everyone breaks in the chair. A mayor of Fallujah was subjected to the chair, to devastating effect. Fair observed this interrogation but did not try to stop it: This is a sin. I know it as soon as I see it. There will be no atonement for it.
In some cases, harsh interrogations got detainees to talk. Fair witnessed an Army linguist slap an Iraqi youth one solid open-handed strike to the face. It is loud and violent. . . . The young brother provides information about the men who store bomb-making materials out in their fields.
But Fair makes a much stronger case that less-severe tactics were a lot more effective. One detainee, he writes, does not want to go to Abu Ghraib. In English he says, Give me food, I have information. I return with grape juice and a piece of birthday cake from the common room. He devours them and asks for more. . . . I spend the next six hours delivering food while struggling to record all of the information he provides. It is my most productive interrogation in Iraq. . . . I have discovered weapons caches, located a mechanics shop that builds car bombs, and obtained information on the downing of an American helicopter over Fallujah.
Returning home, Fair went public with his concerns about detainee abuse. He includes some hateful email he received but also sympathetic messages. One from a Vietnam veteran begins: Welcome to the club brother. I was in the infantry in Vietnam in 1968. I murdered a [North Vietnamese] soldier who was trying to surrender. . . . Our punishment is carrying this guilt to our graves. Fair also received a laudatory note from Bill Clinton, who praised the interrogator for his courage.
Only one complaint and its not meant as a knock on Fair. In these pages we do not get a good sense of the Iraqis. That may be understandable because Fair spent a relatively short time in the country. And like many U.S. troops, he had limited or much-constrained opportunities to interact with ordinary Iraqis, especially in the early years of the war. As more Iraqi literature chronicles the Iraq War (and the war in Afghanistan), we will undoubtedly hear more from the other side, including from those subjected to our interrogations.
Fairs memoir is a welcome contrast to the detached accounts by politicians, ex-CIA bosses and retired Pentagon brass. While top officials have largely avoided confessing to their own questionable actions, Fair has taken the opposite approach. And his are brave admissions. This fact alone makes his candid account distinctive and far more commendable than the general run of war memoirs.
Years after coming home from the Iraq War, Fair is driven by his conscience: Never again should the United States conduct, excuse or cover up this kind of behavior. This book is an overdue reckoning. Its pages comprise an atrocity measured in maimed Muslim bodies and minds and the associated moral injuries to U.S. service members. Scars of the soul do not easily heal. Nor perhaps should they. No other book guides readers so honestly and so succinctly through this grim chapter in U.S. history. Echoes of our previous ill-advised war, fought in jungles instead of the desert, ring loud.
While reading Consequence I was reminded of what President Ronald Reagan wrote in a May 1988 letter to the Senate, urging ratification of the U.N. anti-torture treaty. The 40th commander in chief was unambiguous: Ratification of the Convention by the United States will clearly express United States opposition to torture, an abhorrent practice unfortunately still prevalent in the world today. The convention was ratified.
Fair viscerally conveys what can go wrong, quickly and violently, in an interrogators locked room in a war zone, making this memoir essential reading in this presidential election year as candidates vying to be the next commander in chief debate, deplore or defend torture.
China's President Xi Jinping arrives for the second plenary session of the National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. (Damir Sagolj/Reuters)
Chinas intelligence service, the Ministry of State Security, offers a snapshot of the political intrigue taking place within the regime of President Xi Jinping.
The MSS has replaced two vice ministers within the past four years, after reports of political infighting and scandal. The current minister is said to be a figurehead, with the real power held by a hard-line Xi loyalist who was drafted last year from the partys discipline commission.
This shake-up within the intelligence service mirrors Chinas broader political turmoil, stemming largely from Xis anti-corruption campaign. This effort, which began soon after Xi became Communist Party chief in 2012, has targeted prominent military, security and political figures and created what many China-watchers say is a backlash against Xi.
Recent newspaper headlines convey the unrest thats swirling in China: Grumbling mounts in China, even in the party. Is President Xi losing his grip? asked a Post news article this week. Anonymous Call for Xi to Quit Rattles Party Leaders in China, the New York Times reported. But experts caution that despite such talk, Xis hold on power probably remains firm.
The signs of internal discord come against the background of Xis attempts over the past four years to purge corrupt or disloyal officials. His instrument has been the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, headed by Wang Qishan, a member of the Politburos standing committee who is said to be Xis closest adviser.
Several independent China analysts offered an account of the upheaval within the MSS, based largely on Chinese and foreign media reports. A CIA official, asked to comment, declined.
The security ministrys recent troubles came to light with the removal of a vice minister, Lu Zhongwei, in 2012. Analysts believe he was purged after the reported arrest that year of his executive assistant, who was accused of spying for the CIA. China-watchers say that more than 350 people were investigated after the incident.
The next top MSS official to fall was Vice Minister Ma Jian. He was a solid operations officer who had been in charge of counterespionage since 2006. But Ma had close ties to Chinese business executives, such as real estate tycoon Guo Wengui, who were said to be under investigation by the discipline commission.
Ma was arrested in January 2015. When investigators swept his apartments, they are said to have found transcripts of wiretaps made secretly of Xi and other party leaders. Guo left China and may now be living in the United States, China-watchers say. In an interview last year with the South China Morning Post, Guo denied connection to any allegation involving Ma.
With Mas fall, the dominant figure remaining at the security ministry was Minister Geng Huichang, who had held the top post since August 2007. Though he remains minister, he lost the more important title of MSS party secretary last year, and he is expected to retire at 65 later this year.
The new strongman at the MSS is Chen Wenqing, who was appointed MSS party secretary last year. Hes an ex-police chief and a party disciplinarian. Experts say his new role in intelligence illustrates Xis attempt to control power.
Chens links with Xis camp are said to have been formed in Fujian Province in eastern China. Xi was a top party official there from 1985 to 2002. When Chen arrived in Fujian in 2006 as secretary of the provincial discipline committee, he bonded with Xis allies.
Chen was brought to Beijing as vice secretary of the central discipline commission in 2012. He soon became a close associate of Wang Qishan, who made the discipline commission the instrument of Xis anti-corruption drive.
Behind Chinas turmoil lies the purge of Zhou Yongkang, who oversaw intelligence, police and law enforcement and was seen as the godfather of Chinas security establishment. Zhou retired from the Politburo in 2012 and was convicted of bribery last year. Given Zhous connections throughout Chinas power structure, this move set off shock waves that continue to this day.
One example of the fallout from Zhous ouster is the case of Liang Ke, who since 2008 had headed Beijings state security bureau, the MSSs office in the capital. He was arrested in 2014 by the discipline commission; China-watchers say he was suspected of tapping Xis phones at Zhous urging.
The opposition to Xi has been an existential crisis for the regime, and thats why theyve had to spend so much time cleaning it up, says Christopher Johnson, a former CIA China analyst whos now a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. But he cautions: Reports of Xis demise are badly overstated.
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Angelica Zen is a resident physician and Alice Kuo is an associate professor of internal medicine and pediatrics at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. They see primary-care patients at the 16th Street Medicine-Pediatrics Practice in Santa Monica, Calif.
Do you have guns in the home? Its a standard question pediatricians ask patients and their parents, an entry into a conversation about storage and safety.
Of course not we dont believe in that, answered one mother who came to our practice with her 7-year-old.
Her son looked up from his iPad and grinned. But Bobbys dad has a really cool gun! Bobby showed it to me last week.
What do you mean? his mother asked. A toy gun?
No, a real one! he boasted, before returning to his game. His mother sat in wide-eyed silence.
When a Florida pediatrician asked the same question Do you have guns in the home? during a checkup in 2010, the reply from a mother of three was sharp: None of your business. She objected to the query as very invasive, complaining to her local newspaper, Whether I have a gun has nothing to do with the health of my child.
And so began whats come to be known as the Docs vs. Glocks dispute. In 2011, after a lobbying push by the National Rifle Association, Florida passed the Firearm Owners Privacy Act, restricting physicians from asking about gun ownership and from counseling about gun safety in routine appointments. Potential penalties include fines, suspension and loss of a medical license. A federal judge blocked the law as an unconstitutional restriction of doctors speech. Then an appeals court panel overturned the ruling, emphasizing patients rights to own guns and to privacy.
This Florida case is just the latest example of how the politics of guns have affected physicians ability to bring science to bear on what experts can see plainly: That gun violence is a public health issue. The full U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit is now preparing to hear the case, and legislators in at least 12 states have expressed interest in similar bills. So its worth correcting what lawmakers and the court panel misunderstand about the doctor-patient relationship and about the relevance of firearms to pediatric care in a country where more than 2 million children live in homes with unsecured guns.
First, theres the suggestion that a doctor merely asking about guns infringes on the right to bear arms, because of how much power doctors supposedly have over patients. The court panel wrote: When a patient enters a physicians examination room, the patient is in a position of relative powerlessness. The patient must place his or her trust in the physicians guidance and submit to the physicians authority. To support this contention, the court cited a 1994 law review article that describes how the doctor-patient relationship forces patients to suspend their critical faculties and limits their ability to question physicians and redirect the course of a conversation.
Most doctors nowadays would laugh at that idea. Perhaps there was a hint of truth to it in 1994 two years before WebMD went live, and when less than 12 percent of U.S. households had Internet access. But long gone are the days when whatever a doctor said was law. Today, patients and their families are active participants in their medical care. They do their Internet research and come in with long lists of questions. And they dont hesitate to make their views known, in the exam room and on Yelp, when they arent satisfied with the answers.
Rather than trying to get the parents who come to our practice to submit to our authority, we try to build partnerships with them based on mutual trust and a shared interest in the well-being of their children. Sometimes we and the parents disagree about vaccines, for instance. But we talk through their questions and concerns and try to come up with an approach everyone is comfortable with. We might settle on a plan to space out vaccinations over a longer period of time, say, but to make sure a child is caught up by kindergarten.
There appears to be no statistics keeping track of how many U.S. children fire a gun and intentionally or unintentionally harm someone. Yet, for many it feels like a month doesnt go by that we dont hear about a child pulling the trigger and killing someone with a firearm. These incidents have added fuel to the gun control debate. (Claritza Jimenez/The Washington Post)
We wouldnt instruct gun-owning families to give up their firearms, nor would we expect them to listen to us if we did. But we and the parents have a mutual interest in preventing gun accidents involving their children. Thats what we want to discuss. The point is not to pass judgment or to chastise people for their practices. It is to ensure that our patients, the children, have long, healthy lives.
Floridas law allows an exception to the restrictions on talk about guns if a doctor in good faith believes that this information is relevant to the patients medical care or safety, or the safety of others. In the latest legal brief, filed with the court on Monday, the state reiterated that doctors neednt worry about disciplinary action as long as they stick to good-faith inquiries.
What does that really mean? What if a parent, like the mother in Florida, declares that Whether I have a gun has nothing to do with the health of my child?
It would be odd if the lawmakers intended to exempt the standard pediatrician questions that motivated the law in the first place. Indeed, the court panel determined that a reading that information about firearm ownership is relevant in every case would make the law superfluous. The court interpreted relevant to mean based on some particularized information about the individual patient, for example, that the patient is suicidal or has violent tendencies.
But beyond responding to immediate warning signs, responsible doctors need to be able to counsel patients on matters that pose the greatest statistical risks to their health and well-being. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in Americans 65 years and older, so doctors talk to their elderly patients about healthy eating habits, regular exercise and smoking cessation. For children between the ages of 1 and 14, the leading cause of death is unintentional injury, a category that includes car accidents, suffocation, burns, drowning and gunshot wounds.
As pediatricians, we counsel parents about all of these issues. We explain how to properly install car seats. We caution against children playing with plastic bags. We teach about safe water temperature. We discuss safety around pools.
Gun safety is no different from any of these topics. Comprehensive numbers on gun accidents are hard to come by, in part because National Rifle Association lobbying and limited funding has deterred the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from conducting firearm research. But outside research found that in 2015, children accidentally shot themselves or someone else at least 278 times, averaging more than five times a week. By some estimates, keeping guns locked up and unloaded could prevent 70 percent of unintentional shooting deaths among children.
Sometimes parents arent aware that their gun storage practices are unsafe. During one recent appointment at our clinic, a mother said she wasnt sure if there were any guns in her home. Her father is a police officer, she said, and there might have been one or two in a closet. In a 2006 study published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, nearly a quarter of parents who reported that their children had not handled a household gun were contradicted by their children.
When doctors provide brief counseling about gun safety, families with guns are more likely to follow safe storage practices. In Florida alone this year, that counseling might have prevented the death of 6-year-old Aletha Burke, who accidentally discharged a gun she found under a sofa; it might have prevented 2-year-old Ethan Walker from shooting himself in the face with a gun he found in his grandfathers truck; it might have prevented Jamie Gilts 4-year-old son from accidentally shooting her from the back seat.
That last incident attracted national attention because Gilt (like some of the parents who object to physician questions) is a gun rights activist. And there was more than a hint of just-deserts judgment in the media coverage. Yet Another Gun Owner Gets Shot by Her Own Kid, Mother Jones reported. The Washington Post went with the headline: My 4-year-old gets jacked up to target shoot, mom brags hours before he shoots her.
If the gunshot wound had been life-threatening, or if the child had shot himself or a neighbor, youd expect the headlines to take a different tone. But even if the child didnt injure himself physically, that doesnt mean hell be unscathed. Floridas Department of Children and Families is investigating. The boy could be removed from his mother over this, or, if the family remains intact, it could be subject to years of home visits and monitoring. Shortly after the shooting, the boys grandmother told Britains Sun newspaper that he was enjoying a pancake breakfast and had no idea what he did. Yet once hes old enough to understand, he could be scarred emotionally by an episode that wasnt his fault.
Would a mother who is so ardently pro-gun have listened to a doctors counsel about gun safety? Her 4-year-old wasnt strapped into his booster seat when police arrived, suggesting a broader lack of attention to safety. Perhaps a doctors advice would have made her more mindful. Perhaps not. Either way, though, Gilt probably wouldnt be intimidated by a doctors questions. Her mother told the Sun: All the gun control people are jumping on this, but it will not change her opinion about owning guns. She is very pro gun and will not change her opinion about owning them.
Again, for us as pediatricians, the issue isnt ownership, its safety. And when were able to talk to parents about gun storage, we have the potential to save lives.
That mother who came in with her 7-year-old? She called our office a week later to report what shed learned. Apparently the boys had used a ladder to retrieve a gun kept on a high shelf in the friends garage. The mother talked to the friends father, who had no idea that the shelf was so easily accessible to them. He apologized profusely. And then he purchased a safe to lock up his gun.
outlook@washpost.com
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VLADIMIR PUTINS fondest wish is to be treated as the respected leader of a resurgent superpower. Following his invasion of Syria, many in the Obama administration and Europe appear ready to concede him that status. They ought to pause to consider the tawdry spectacle of Mr. Putins meeting last Friday with Ramzan Kadyrov, the ruler of the republic of Chechnya.
Over the past nine years, Mr. Kadyrov has established himself as an absolute despot in his Muslim republic. Like a medieval khan, he exacts tribute from Chechnyas citizens and businesses, commands a Praetorian guard that is sworn to obey him, and brutally dispatches those who oppose him not only in Chechnya, but across Russia and beyond. Mr. Kadyrov has been linked to a number of sensational political murders, including those of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, journalist Anna Politkovskaya and exiled rivals in Vienna and Dubai. He has brazenly defied Russian federal authorities, at one point ordering his men to shoot to kill any security forces that entered Chechnya without his permission.
Mr. Putins response to all this was to invite Mr. Kadyrov to a televised encounter at the Kremlin at which he praised the former warlord for becoming a good manager, reappointed him as Chechnyas president and endorsed him in an election scheduled for September. I hope that the people of Chechnya will be able to assess the worth of all you have done for the republic during the election campaign, Mr. Putin said.
There are only two ways to interpret this spectacle, and neither reflects well on Mr. Putin. Either he willingly accepts, and perhaps even directs, the tyrannical excesses and political murders of Mr. Kadyrov, who has described himself as a foot soldier of the president of Russia. Or, the Russian ruler is essentially conceding his inability to control the man who governs one of the most volatile regions of the country. Either way, Mr. Putin has sent the message that lawlessness and state violence are sanctioned elements of his regime.
Kadyrov understands that he can do anything and the response will not be a summons by the state [prosecutor], but an invitation by Putin to the Kremlin, says Ilya Yashin, a Russian opposition activist who recently issued a report on the Chechen. Ramzan Kadyrov, it concludes, now poses a real threat to Russian national security.
In an almost pathetic attempt to soften his sanction of or surrender to Mr. Kadyrov, Mr. Putin said he expected closer cooperation with federal authorities, especially in security matters. This was likely a sop to the federal spy service and interior ministry, which are often reported to be enraged by Mr. Kadyrovs state-within-a-state.
In reality, the would-be superpower statesman appears utterly unwilling, or unable, to enforce his writ on a glorified gangster. Either Mr. Putin is far weaker, and his grip on power less secure, than many in the West assume or he is complicit in acts that should disqualify him from being a strategic partner.
Remember the Republican autopsy report from the 2012 campaign, the GOPs 100-page investigation into why it lost the last presidential election and what it had to do to resurrect itself?
Donald Trump has essentially set fire to that report. Hes done the exact opposite of almost every recommendation Republican analysts said the party needed to adopt if the party wanted to survive.
Among the top recommendations, for example, was to stop alienating women.
Women are much more likely to vote than men, and when they do vote, they are much more likely to support Democrats. The autopsy report argued that the lefts recent war on women rhetoric threatened to repel female voters even further from the GOP. It, therefore, proposed several measures to draw more women into the party.
Suggestions included make a better effort at listening to female voters, directing their policy proposals at what they learn from women, and communicating that they understand what a woman who is balancing many responsibilities is going through.
Republican presidential contender Donald Trump is going after rival Ted Cruz's wife, Heidi. Here are other times he's insulted women, from Rosie O'Donnell to Hillary Clinton. (Sarah Parnass and Nicki DeMarco/The Washington Post)
Also, use Womens History Month as an opportunity to remind voters of the Republicans Party historical role in advancing the womens rights movement.
Three years later, Trump declared it Opposite Day. Or perhaps, Opposite Month.
During Womens History Month that is, March alone, Trump illustrated his (and his partys) commitment to advancing womens rights by: tweeting a demeaning photo of Heidi Cruz suggesting that shes not hot enough; impugning the character of a woman allegedly battered and bruised by Trumps campaign manager, in public and on camera; and suggesting that women who seek abortions should be punished.
If he indeed set out to destroy the second sexs confidence in himself and his party, hes succeeding.
Three-quarters of women now view Trump unfavorably, according to a new Post-ABC News poll. A separate poll, from NBC and the Wall Street Journal, found that almost half of Republican female voters said they couldnt imagine voting for Trump.
Those negative views of the leading Republican candidate appear to be bleeding into perceptions of the party itself. In late January, 51 percent of women held unfavorable views of the GOP; by mid-March, the share had jumped to 62 percent, according to polls by CNN/ORC.
Additional chapters of the report described other demographics that the GOP needed to woo. Or at least, stop ticking off.
These included blacks, Hispanics, Asians and Pacific Islanders, Indian Americans and Native Americans. Basically, all nonwhite people. Nonwhite Americans are growing as a share of the electorate, the report recognized, and it would be party suicide to assume Republicans could win elections through their traditional, shrinking, white base alone.
Likewise, the report suggested that taking a hard line on gay rights threatened to permanently repulse younger voters, who have become increasingly likely to support Democrats over the past two decades.
The pervasive mentality of writing off blocks of states or demographic votes for the Republican Party must be completely forgotten, the report declared.
It advised forming a new Growth and Opportunity Inclusion Council, which would develop a program designed to educate Republicans on the importance of developing and tailoring a message that is non-inflammatory and inclusive to all. More generally the party must emphasize . . . the importance of a welcoming, inclusive message in particular when discussing issues that relate directly to a minority group.
It also argued that the GOP must invest financial resources in Hispanic media, and pass immigration reform, like, yesterday.
Once again, Trump has done the reverse.
Rather than seeking out non-inflammatory and inclusive messages, he has accused Mexican immigrants of being predominantly criminals and rapists; adopted a racist, faux-Asian accent at a campaign rally; wavered on condemning white supremacists; vowed to ban all Muslim immigrants; and advocated rolling back nationwide same-sex marriage. Not to mention his lawsuit against the nations biggest Hispanic TV network and insistence on mass-deporting 11 million undocumented immigrants.
At this point, pretty much the only recommendation from the report that he has enthusiastically pursued is a more active social media presence. But in the meantime, hes managed to alienate almost every major constituency, including even the usually reliable Republican base of white men, poorly educated whites and white, evangelical Christians.
Of course, Trump had accomplices in his post-autopsy, re-homicide of the GOP. Party elites also ignored some of the reports other key recommendations, such as to attack corporate welfare, stop beating up on the poor, abandon stale 30-year-old policy ideas and ditch their insistence on ideological purity.
Some of their stances on these issues appear to be changing, but that may be too little, too late. How many more lives can the GOP possibly have left?
Khadija Ismayilova, a reporter for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, was convicted of several financial crimes and sentenced to 7 years in prison in a case criticized by human rights organizations. (Aziz Karimov/Associated Press)
Khadija Ismayilova is an investigative journalist and contributor to Radio Free Europe/Radio Libertys Azerbaijani service. She has been imprisoned in Azerbaijan since December 2014.
I am writing this letter from jail in Baku, Azerbaijan, where Im serving a 7 -year sentence for a crime I never committed.
I am a journalist and my only crime was to investigate high-level corruption within the government and family of Azeri President Ilham Aliyev . Aliyev inherited power from his father in 2003 and changed the constitution in 2009 so he could stay in power indefinitely. He has been called an enemy of the press by international watchdogs, while abusing other fundamental freedoms and violating peoples right to truth and decency.
Aliyev is in Washington this week to attend the Nuclear Security Summit that began Thursday. To get an invitation to this event from President Obama, he had to pardon several political prisoners. A lthough they have been released from jail, they remain confined within the country, barred from leaving, and justice has not been restored.
This is a very costly invitation for Aliyev, who for years refused to accept international pressure or criticism on this issue. His response was, always, that Azerbaijan doesnt have political prisoners. In December, Rep. Christopher H. Smith (R-N.J.) introduced the Azerbaijan Democracy Act to recognize Azerbaijans violations of human rights and freedoms and to hold individual officials accountable. It must pass.
But why were some of the political prisoners suddenly set free? What has changed?
Aliyev needed these prisoners so that in exchange for their release, he could shake hands with Obama or get a loan from the World Bank to finance his failing currency and crippled economy after the sudden fall of oil prices.
Aliyev is shamelessly trying to use political prisoners as bargaining chips to advance his foreign policy agenda. And they are supposed to be happy that they were freed.
I am happy very happy that some political prisoners have been released. But their fights, and mine, are not over. I am not a toy to be exchanged for diplomatic gain by Baku or Washington so that officials can continue to pretend that it is business as usual. We are hostages of the regime, whether we are inside or outside of prison. Freedom is my universal and constitutional right, and Aliyev failed to protect it as the head of state. I am not going to ask to be pardoned for a crime I never committed. I am free even now, in jail, and my freedom is not for sale.
So President Obama, please ask President Aliyev to stop muzzling the independent media and civil society. Ask him to explain the billions of petrodollars wasted on white-elephant projects for the benefit of a few. Ask him when he is going to hold free and fair elections. Ask him when he is going to let all the political prisoners go free. Ask him when fundamental freedoms can become a right, in practice not a gift that he can give or take away. I asked these questions, and I ended up in jail.
These are important questions. They must not go unanswered. And we will fight until justice is fully served.
This campaign season has offered an unexpected form of reality television entertainment: Watching the light of discovery and calculation in Donald Trumps eyes when he is presented with difficult policy issues, apparently for the very first time.
Abortion is the current case in point. In the late 1990s, Trump supported the legality of partial-birth abortion. For a few hours on Wednesday, he endorsed criminal sanctions against women who have abortions.
On this issue, Trump has been to the left of Harry Reid (who voted for a partial-birth abortion ban) and to the right of Mike Huckabee (who has consistently rejected punishment for women who have had abortions). And Trump is utterly incapable of defending either position. He shows no capacity for ethical reasoning balancing claims about the moral and legal value of nascent life against claims about autonomy and choice.
If that seems harsh, lets go to the transcript of MSNBCs Chris Matthews trying to corner Trump on criminalization. Asked if this is the logical consequence of pro-life views (it isnt), Trump doesnt advance an argument about religion, morality and the role of law (other than to call attention to Matthewss Catholicism). At the outset, Trump observes that people in certain parts of the Republican Party and conservative Republicans would say, Yes, they should be punished. Trump eventually embraces what he thinks a social conservative would say.
In fact, this is not the pro-life position. It is the lefts stereotype of the pro-life position. No pro-lifer would ever want to punish a woman who has chosen abortion, responded Jeanne Mancini , president of the March for Life. This is against the very nature of what we are about. We invite a woman who has gone down this route to consider paths to healing, not punishment.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump stirred up controversy when he said there should be "some sort of punishment" for women who have abortions. Here's a look back at how he "evolved" into his pro-life views. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)
Trump ended up hurting the pro-life cause by reviving a stereotype of harshness. And that was part of a pattern.
In the immigration debate, the restrictionist side makes some serious arguments for prioritizing control of the border and for an immigration system that puts greater emphasis on skills. I generally dont find such arguments compelling, but they are worth debating.
Trump has not, however, made this case in any serious or systematic way. Instead, he has embraced an anti-immigrant caricature. Illegal immigrants, he says, are disproportionately criminals and rapists. The Mexican government is purposely sending criminals across the border. When two Trump supporters beat up a homeless Hispanic man in Boston, Trump called them very passionate. He retweeted that Jeb Bush has to like the Mexican illegals because of his wife.
When Trump eventually loses as he certainly will in the primaries, at the convention or the general election the movement to restrict immigration will be left as a stereotype of exclusion and bigotry.
Trump has had a similar malignant influence on debates concerning the war against terrorism. There is no doubt that the United States and Europe face a heightened threat from returning Islamic State fighters and from homegrown terrorists inspired by the Islamic State. Additional measures will be required in the Middle East and at home to preempt these threats.
But Trump has chosen to inhabit a cruel and counterproductive parody of toughness. He calls for banning all Muslim immigrants. He would conduct the war against terrorism with war crimes, such as killing the families of terrorists. He calls Syrian refugees fleeing violence the ultimate Trojan horse. He entertains the possibility of using nuclear weapons against the Islamic State which would, of course, also kill everyone the Islamic State oppresses.
This stereotype of strength actively undermines the war against terrorism by alienating Muslim allies and cultivating mistrust in Muslim communities.
1 of 45 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad Trump captures the nations attention on the campaign trail View Photos The Republican presidential candidate dominated the Super Tuesday contests. 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.
For many of Trumps supporters, this extreme and unpredictable use of language is part of the appeal. He doesnt employ the careful words of a politician. He is so appealingly unprepared. So refreshingly ignorant. So disarmingly half-baked.
But the durability of Trumps appeal creates a conundrum for many Republicans. For decades, some of us have argued that the liberal stereotype of Republicans as extreme, dim and intolerant is inaccurate and unfair. But here is a candidate for president who fully embodies the liberal stereotype of Republicans who thinks this is the way a conservative should sound and has found support from a committed plurality of the party.
If the worst enemies of conservatism were to construct a Frankenstein figure that represents the worst elements of right-wing politics, Donald Trump would be it. But it is Republicans who are giving him life. And the damage is already deep.
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Carol Bundy is the author of The Nature of Sacrifice: The Biography of Charles Russell Lowell, Jr. 1835-1864.
Born into a world of privilege in early-19th-century Manhattan, Julia Ward had ambitions that soared far beyond her ultimate fame as the author of The Battle Hymn of the Republic. In 1843, at the age of 24, the petite, red-headed woman stepped off the conservative path her father had prepared for her and married Samuel Gridley Howe, stunningly handsome and 18 years her senior. They would become a liberal power couple admired on both sides of the Atlantic.
When they met in 1841, Howe was well on his way to being one of the great humanitarians of the 19th century. He had set off for Greece in 1824 to join Lord Byron in support of the Greek struggle for independence from the Ottoman Empire. Arriving just after Bryon died, Howe provided vital assistance to the Greek cause as a surgeon, military commander and aide to refugees. He returned to Boston in 1831 bearing medals for his service and Byrons helmet as a relic of the poet and a symbol of European romanticism. As founding director of the Perkins School for the Blind, Howe pioneered a system of communicating with blind and deaf children who had been unreachable and considered idiots. In an era when common illnesses left children both blind and deaf, Howes work redeemed hundreds if not thousands of lives.
Basking in her husbands glory did not satisfy Julia and that is what makes her interesting to Elaine Showalter, one of the founders of feminist literary theory. Julia aspired to literary greatness. Yet despite her social privilege, she was thwarted at every turn. She eventually triumphed, though not in the way she expected. In this very readable biography, Showalter portrays Julia as an exemplar of the emerging American female writer of the 19th century.
The Howe marriage was not a happy one. Beneath his glamour, Howe was an earnest man, an ascetic given to radical politics. His work among the refugees in Greece was arduous, traumatic and full of personal privation. His success with the blind and deaf involved mind-numbing drudgery. Julia had little sympathy for his self-sacrifice, seeing it as his neglect of her. For his part, Howe did not support her literary ambitions and her hunger for experience, regarding those desires as signs of her narcissism.
"The Civil Wars of Julia Ward Howe" by Elaine Showalter (Simon & Schuster)
As portrayed by Showalter, Julia fully lives up to her childhood nickname, Diva: She flashes her temper, displays a high opinion of herself, and loathes housekeeping, childbearing and child-rearing.
All the while Julia hungered for literary recognition, which came to her in 1853 with the publication of her book of poems, Passion-flowers. Skillful, powerful and new, the poems spoke in an authentic female voice, evoking the raw search for fulfillment and the hardship of an emotionally bankrupt marriage, and hinting at finding love elsewhere. She had broken all the rules, and the book became a cause celebre.
Howe learned of Passion-flowers only after its publication. Humiliated and betrayed, he reacted badly, and the marriage further deteriorated. Throwing himself into the abolitionist movement, Howe became one of the Secret Six who conspired with John Brown to launch the attack on Harpers Ferry in 1859 that augured the Civil War. Julia threw herself into her writing, producing more poetry, a few plays and returning to an unfinished novel with a hermaphroditic protagonist that she never published.
Julias lasting fame did not arise from these literary endeavors. In 1861, at the beginning of the Civil War, she accompanied her husband to Washington. Struck by the reality of war, she woke from a dream and wrote The Battle Hymn of the Republic to the tune of John Browns Body. It was adopted almost immediately by the Union Army, and after the war, it was sung even by Southerners. It remains today our singable anthem.
Showalter explains that the songs greatness lies in the combination of its subject matter Julia had abandoned the gender wars for a matter of national crisis and her new language: Instead of the ungainly feminine rhymes of her passion poems, ending in a weak syllable, her lines end in a forceful final rhyme. This was the way forward for womens literature and for the second half of Julias life.
After Howe died in 1876, Julia blossomed. Surviving for more than 30 years, she shifted her focus from artistic expression to reform. She plunged into the public sphere, which had begun to welcome women in the peace movement, the temperance cause and the campaign for the vote. There was a healthy market for ladies magazines, a considerable trade in books on womens subjects and a lecture circuit with female audiences and female speakers. Until her death in 1911, Julia Ward Howe traveled widely to lecture, published several books and served as president of many womens organizations.
A century later, her poems, plays and lectures are of mostly scholarly interest. But the Battle Hymn shows no sign of fading from the public eye. As Julia once declared: I would be human, and American and a woman. And as such, she found the immortality she craved.
Joanna Scutts, a literary critic and cultural historian, is the 2016-2017 Andrew W. Mellon Fellow in Womens History at the New-York Historical Society.
Imagine the plot of a romantic comedy: An English writer who has given up on love meets a man who asks her to move halfway across the world for him. When the hare-brained plan collapses, the writer finds herself rejected and alone in an unfamiliar city, adrift, stunned by the swift arrival and even swifter departure of everything I thought I lacked.
Thats the prologue to The Lonely City, and you might expect (or dread) the ensuing story of a woman learning to love her single state, until shes saved by a new relationship. Thankfully, Olivia Laings unusual book part memoir, part biography, part cultural criticism is less a predictable rom-com than a wonderfully melancholy meditation on modern art, urban space and the complexity of being alone.
Shuttling among a series of cramped, quirky sublets in downtown Manhattan, 30-something Laing experienced the city as artists and loners always have, by watching and endlessly walking, barely speaking and rarely interacting with other people. Silence built upon silence, until everyday objects such as the empty off-season pool in a Lower East Side park, a spectral blue space, filling at its corners with blown brown leaves became symbols of her solitude.
[Review: The Pleasure of Reading]
"The Lonely City: Adventures in the Art of Being Alone" by Olivia Laing (Picador)
Such moments give Laing the opportunity to contemplate the mystery of loneliness in science, art and the lives of some famously lonely artists, such as Andy Warhol and Edward Hopper.
Loneliness hurts us deeply: We dont know exactly where or why, but theres increasing evidence that it makes us vulnerable to disease and even early death. Yet psychological study of the condition is surprisingly sparse; Laing quotes psychiatrist Frieda Fromm-Reichmanns description of loneliness as a taboo state whose confession seems destined to cause others to turn and flee. Lonely people make others anxious, defensive and cruel, so that to be lonely is to suffer injustice on top of isolation: It feels like being hungry: like being hungry when everyone around you is readying for a feast.
In film, literature and art, however, an unmistakable glamour clings to the lonely figure at the end of the dark street, mysterious and magnetic. This ennobling is due in part to artists like Hopper, Laings first artist-subject, who trained his gaze on urban figures locked in their solitude the barflies bathed in greenish light in Nighthawks or the woman in the cloche hat who sits alone in Automat. His enduring appeal, Laing suggests, lies in the bold attention he pays to that taboo of loneliness, as if by looking, we can counter its strange, estranging spell.
Hopper was notoriously uncommunicative about the meaning of his paintings, but Laing persuasively teases out links between his life and his work. An early talent and a late bloomer, Hopper spent years dragging his portfolio all over New York in pursuit of dull commercial-illustration work, catching glimpses of warm, alluring interiors, but always from the outside. He had barely any close relationships until his late marriage to a woman he knew from art school, who became the model for all the female figures in his paintings even as he discouraged her own work. The silence of the paintings, Laing writes, becomes more toxic after the revelation of how violently he worked to suppress and check his wife.
With Warhol, Laing shows how the immigrant kid never quite at home in language or in his own body gathered fellow artists and misfits around him to fill the silence, recording their words and images on film and tape. In 1968 that carefully constructed line of defense was violently breached, by Valerie Solanass gun. Stuck as a footnote in someone elses life, Solanas is one of the few female subjects in Laings study, and her scathing SCUM Manifesto offers a way of thinking about isolation not as an emotional problem but structurally, as a social problem that particularly affects women.
But ultimately, Laing is less interested in the everyday contempt inflicted on lonely women than she is in the more extreme forms of isolation that shaped gay men such as Warhol and the artist, writer and activist David Wojnarowicz, who were hyper-alert to the gulfs between people, to how it can feel to be islanded amid a crowd. One of Wojnarowiczs signature works is Rimbaud in New York, a series of photographs taken of friends around the city wearing a mask of the poets face. The mask-wearer is at once exposed and disguised, a duality that marked the artists life as a young, poor, gay man in the city in the 1970s and 80s. Laing sees Wojnarowiczs art and his sexual encounters as related efforts to forge connections across a gulf of separation.
Laings personal experience, woven through the book, helps explain her deep connection to these artists. Raised by a mother who emerged from deep in the closet into a relationship with an unstable, alcoholic partner, Laing had a childhood marked by the same forces of disorder and repression that disrupted her subjects early lives: Alcoholism, homophobia, the suburbs, the Catholic church. Her previous book, The Trip to Echo Spring (2013), explored writers and drinking; she remains fascinated here by the reverberations of people leaving, people drinking too much, people losing control.
Laings meditation gradually gathers force into a manifesto, taking aim at the assumption of simple, unknowable mental illness to explain the life and creative work of the outsider artist Henry Darger or of Solanas or of Warhol, for that matter. Such an explanation ignores societys role in excluding those who do not fit our narratives of conformity or our romantic comedies. Without glamorizing either loneliness or the urban decay of New York in the 70s, The Lonely City builds an impassioned case for difficulty and difference, for social rebellion and the unpredictable artistic richness that can result.
Regarding the March 28 editorial On the wrong side in Maryland:
Its time to do an end run around Democrats. We need an election law that will apply to Republicans in Virginia, Democrats in Maryland and legislators in other states who continue to obstruct redistricting reform.
Sufficient words have been written about the harm of gerrymandering. Little exists in the public eye about the dirty details of actually drawing better maps. Academics agree that the process is complex and that no one standard, such as compactness, will produce maps that dont perpetuate some of the excesses of current maps. One example is housing patterns that result in unintentional gerrymandering of minorities because of clustering in compact areas.
Arizonas Supreme Court and courts in Florida, North Carolina and elsewhere have affirmed fairness as one of the standards that must be considered in redrawn maps. While defining criteria for fairness is not easy, at least one piece of software exists today that defines standards for fairness and draws districts accordingly. The software, Auto-Redistrict, is free and open to use by anyone. Maps drawn using this program produce more competitive districts and minimize county and municipal splits and wasted votes. Fairness can be programmed today. Lets do an end run around the obstructionists and promote an election law that will apply to all states and hold up in the courts.
Irma Shainberg Sheon, Silver Spring
I agree with the March 28 editorial On the wrong side in Maryland. However, Im sad to say, similar to other situations in which the benefits accrue to a few (legislators) and the costs are diffuse (in this case, to the voters), it is highly unlikely that anything will happen because of the cost-benefit imbalance.
We need some group, such as Common Cause or the League of Women Voters, to decide to make this a top priority. Even then, it may be difficult.
This situation is not at all desirable, but unless citizens decide to be single-issue voters for at least one cycle, it isnt likely to be fixed. Also, Im sad to say, the Supreme Court has decided that it is too political an issue for the justices to try to solve.
John J. Landers, Bethesda
Unlike Democrat Paul Sundell, whose March 30 letter, Ill vote Republican until Maryland ends gerrymandering, addressed unfairly drawn political districts, as a Republican, I will vote for the GOPs nominees for national offices. Like Mr. Sundell, I shall vote for Republicans to fill most state offices.
Gerrymandering in Maryland has helped place a hegemonic legion of Democrats in the legislature who, at best, relative to the total size of the state, represent only small geographic regions where progressive Democrats and union-driven state and county government employees interests are heavily concentrated. And Mr. Sundell and I agree that Maryland desperately needs a statewide plan to check the power grabs by either political party against its citizens.
John K. Lambert, Silver Spring
Nicholas Eberstadt holds the Henry Wendt Chair in Political Economy at the American Enterprise Institute.
The United States today is home to two huge but essentially invisible populations. Each of them is widely stigmatized and largely composed of people living in the shadows. The government does not know who they are, where they are or how well they are doing.
The first of these invisible tribes illegal immigrants at least has attracted more than passing comment in politics. By contrast, Americas second invisible caste is almost never mentioned. Yet this group is far larger than the unauthorized immigrant population, and it is made up almost entirely of U.S. citizens.
I refer to our vast underground army of released felons adult men and women convicted of serious criminal offenses for which they have been punished with prison time or probation, and who now form part of the general population. So hidden from public sight is this vast army, indeed, that many Americans are unaware of its existence.
Most well-informed readers know that the number of Americans behind bars has soared since the early 1980s and that the United States has a higher share of its populace in jail or prison than virtually any other country. But only a tiny fraction of Americans who have been convicted of a felony are incarcerated. Perhaps 90 percent of all sentenced felons are out of confinement and living more or less among us.
How can that be? To begin: Few felons are sent away for life. According to the Justice Departments Bureau of Justice Statistics, the average time that imprisoned first offenders serve in state penitentiaries is just more than two years. More than 600,000 convicts are released from prison every year, and despite high rates of recidivism, many do not return. In addition, many convicted felons are never confined in the first place; instead, they undergo community supervision (such as probation). Taken together, correctional release, parole and probation guarantee a steady annual flow of convicted felons into society.
What sort of totals are we talking about? Curiously, there seem to be no official estimates. Some researchers, however, have attempted to determine the approximate dimensions of this invisible population and their findings may astonish.
In two studies on the demography of what they call our criminal class, professors Christopher Uggen, Melissa Thompson and five colleagues estimate that the cohort of incarcerated and released felons in the United States had reached nearly 20 million by 2010 four times larger, in their estimate, than just 30 years earlier.
If this estimate is even roughly accurate, and if the United States total felon population has continued to grow at more or less the same tempo the researchers cited for 2004 to 2010, we would expect the number of convicted felons to surpass 23 million people this year. That would be roughly twice as high as the number of illegal immigrants in the country. And since the combined U.S. jail and prison population is about 2.2 million (including some non-felons sentenced to jail or awaiting trial there), these figures would suggest the number of non-institutionalized Americans with a felony conviction will almost certainly exceed 20 million by the end of the year.
If Americas non-institutionalized felon population today were a state, it would be the third largest in the country about the same size as Florida, and larger than New York. The adult population of this state would be the countrys second largest nearly tied with Texas. And its adult male population would be by far the nations biggest at least 5 million ahead of California. By the same token: If released felons were regarded as a minority, their numbers would well exceed the size of our Asian American population.
Given this reality, one might think policymakers would have an interest in knowing at least a little about this major segment of our population. Wrong: To judge by the data our democracy collects, the circumstances of this ex-con population are a matter of almost complete indifference to the rest of us. These individuals show up only in our statistics on crime and punishment in other words, when they run afoul of the criminal justice system.
We dont know how many children they have, their marital status, who they live with, their housing situations. We dont know their mortality rates or life expectancy, their disease and disability profile, their mental-health status. We do not know their labor force participation rates, unemployment rates, jobs by sector or wages. Apart from broad generalities, we know roughly nothing about their education patterns, skills or training.
The irony here is not that felons who have paid their debt to society have need of a largely indifferent public: It is that this same public needs them, too. We need them to succeed: as fathers and mothers, as breadwinners, as citizens as people who make the most of a second chance. Our society cant hope to flourish with 20 million modern-day outcasts in our midst.
Given its sheer scale, the task of reintegrating reformed felons has never been more important than it is today. But thanks to officialdoms statistical neglect, we havent a clue about how well this task is working. And we cant gather evidence to learn what we could do to make re-entry work better either.
Our government is perfectly capable of compiling key facts and figures about conditions for Americans with felony convictions. Some of this could be done easily, quickly and at very low cost; other aspects would take more time, money and technical effort. But its all eminently doable. All we need is the political desire and social compassion to see it done.
The senator from Vermont is Hillary Clintons rival in the contest for the Democratic presidential nomination.
The senator from Vermont is Hillary Clintons rival in the contest for the Democratic presidential nomination.
The senator from Vermont is Hillary Clintons rival in the contest for the Democratic presidential nomination.
There was a danger sign for Hillary Clinton in a dank old industrial warehouse here along the Milwaukee River. The cinder-block walls had been painted over with modernist murals bearing the likeness of Bernie Sanders. This was now a campaign field office. And the volunteers, young and old, who manned a phone bank Thursday afternoon vowed never to give up their time or, for some, even their votes to Clinton.
Would Teresa VanDoorn, 44, a homemaker who had become a familiar face at the Sanders office, support Clinton if she became the Democratic presidential nominee?
No, VanDoorn said. Voting for Hillary would be approving of the status quo and establishment and I dont approve of that. I would write Bernies name in. I consider Hillary equal to the GOP candidates, to be frank.
What about Lily Shea, 19, who has been helping Sanders ahead of Tuesdays Wisconsin primary? No, I would write Bernie in definitely, she said. I just dont trust her. Whenever I hear her talk, I get the feeling theres something else going on behind the curtains.
Then there was Patrick Doyle, 55, a Sanders true believer. Asked if he could shift his allegiance to Clinton, Doyle paused to think, then said flatly, Im going to do everything I can to make sure that doesnt happen.
The Fix's Aaron Blake breaks down what's at stake for the GOP candidates in the April 5 Wisconsin primary. (Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post)
Clinton is well on her way to the nomination. But Wisconsin a fall battleground with a celebrated tradition of progressive activism and political reform represents a phenomenon that could undermine her in the general election: She has yet to energize some parts of the liberal base or even persuade them to be comfortable with her candidacy.
Whether she prevails in Wisconsins primary or, as polls suggest is more likely, Sanders edges her here, Clinton would maintain her sizable delegate lead. To overtake her, Sanders would need blowout wins in many of the states still to vote, including New York, Pennsylvania and California.
General election polling indicates Clinton would easily defeat Republican front-runner Donald Trump in Wisconsin and other swing states. The data also suggests that the majority of Sanders supporters would vote for Clinton.
[Sanders sharpens attacks for a New York showdown with Clinton]
Yet among Sanderss most fervent backers the committed liberal activists who would be necessary in any grass-roots effort in a general election and whose votes could be decisive if the race tightens there is a strong distaste for Clinton. To them, she represents the moneyed, special-interest politics they have been fighting against.
Actress Susan Sarandon, a Sanders surrogate, gave voice to this view when she said on MSNBC a few days ago that she would consider sitting out the election if Clinton is the nominee and that a Trump presidency, in the minds of some Sanders fans, might bring about a more immediate revolution. Sanders campaign manager Jeff Weaver later distanced the campaign from Sarandons comments and said Sanders would support the Democratic nominee.
This hostility has stirred hard feelings in the Clinton orbit. At Clintons Milwaukee field office on Thursday, Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) gave a pep talk to volunteers in which he testified to the former secretary of states competence, resiliency, tenacity and grit.
As Booker wrapped up, Winifred Thrall, a 78-year-old Clinton backer, cried out, Cory! I wish that Susan Sarandon could have heard you.
In an interview later, Thrall bemoaned that so many Wisconsin progressives are backing a candidate, Sanders, who in her view has no experience nothing but calling for a revolution in the streets.
Its so upsetting, Thrall said. I have an old friend we worked on McCarthy and McGovern together, in Appleton, Wisconsin and I cant talk to her anymore because of her support of Bernie.
[For Clinton, a double-barreled fight against Trump and Sanders in N.Y.]
Wisconsins primary is important because, in many respects, the state is a microcosm of the Democratic Party nationally and has an unusually engaged electorate.
Weve got industrial, urban, rural, small towns, colleges, high tech its all here, said Democratic former governor Jim Doyle, a Clinton supporter. Eight years ago, it was a big deal when [Barack] Obama came in and beat Hillary Clinton badly here.
Tad Devine, Sanderss chief strategist, said Wisconsin is a great proxy for a candidates strength in the general election. This is a state that Democrats must have.
The primary is competitive. This weeks Marquette Law School survey, considered the states gold standard, had Sanders leading 49 percent to 45 percent. The poll shows that Sanders is leading 57 percent to 37 percent among self-identified independents part of an alarming national trend for Clinton of being unpopular with unaffiliated voters who can help swing general elections.
It will be critical for the nominee to be able to win substantially among people who lean Democratic and younger voters, and it does leave the question of whether, absent Bernie Sanders, could Hillary Clinton really rack up large margins, said Charles Franklin, a professor who oversees the Marquette Law poll.
Joe Zepecki, a Wisconsin-based communications consultant who is not working for either campaign, said independent voters pose a big challenge for Clinton. I dont think theyre going to waltz right over, he said.
Sanders has an enthusiastic base in liberal Dane County, home to the University of Wisconsin at Madison, and he also has found support in rural farming areas and manufacturing towns. He is trying to tap into the states tradition of political reform; one of his ads features a dairy farmer from his home state of Vermont testifying to Sanderss independence from special interests.
Barbara Lawton, a former lieutenant governor who backed Clinton in 2008 and is supporting Sanders now, said the Wisconsin electorate is deeply unsettled in part because of now-chronic wage stagnation. She said there was a tone deafness to Clintons campaign, given her ties to Wall Street and support for trade deals, that prevents her candidacy from resonating more with progressive Democrats.
Were really looking for someone who you can trust, Lawton said. Theres such a longing for the truth.
Much of Clintons support is concentrated in the largest city, Milwaukee, which has a sizable black population, and suburban areas. Booker, the Senates only black Democrat, spent Thursday trying to energize Clinton supporters in this citys neighborhoods.
What happens in this primary in just a few days is going to affect the trajectory of this campaign. Its going to affect the spirit of whats to come, Booker told a few dozen volunteers at Clintons storefront office on Dr. Martin Luther King Drive.
[Democrats settle in for a grueling nomination battle]
Both candidates have been advertising here and are fanning out across the state this weekend. The Clinton campaign is trying to maximize her performance in targeted congressional districts to ensure that, even if Sanders wins statewide, the two will roughly split Wisconsins 86 pledged delegates.
What were seeing this year is so classic: Theres the establishment candidate and the liberal challenger, Doyle said. Theres a long history of progressive, liberal candidates making their last stands here.
Clinton allies rejected any suggestion that a loss to Sanders in Wisconsin would reveal weaknesses that could haunt her in a general election.
The word weakness deters any kind of response from me as it relates to Hillary. There are no weaknesses, said Martha Love, a longtime African American leader from Milwaukee and a member of the Democratic National Committee. Our state will fall in line behind the Democratic candidate because the other side my gosh, my gosh, my gosh, my gosh.
Matt Flynn, a former state party chairman and a Clinton booster, echoed that view: If she loses Wisconsin and people are lackluster and arent showing any passion about her, does it mean shell struggle in the general election? No, because she is running against two of the biggest freaks in the history of American politics: Trump and [Sen. Ted] Cruz.
At Clintons Milwaukee office, volunteers said they were not worried about Sanders backers eventually joining their effort. Some said it may not take any persuasion at all.
Jill Huennekens, 46, a bartender who called Clinton my hero, said she has been making phone calls on Clintons behalf for months.
Truthfully, I cant remember one thats been Bernie or bust, she said. They tell me that they will support Hillary in November, even if they want Bernie in the primary. They say it even without my asking Dont worry, she has our support in November.
Catherine Wolfe, 59, another Clinton volunteer, said the message she tells fellow Democrats is simple: For those people looking for a revolution, all they have to do is vote for a woman, and well have a revolution.
President Obama rallied world leaders Friday to confront the growing threat of the Islamic State and defended his administrations aggressive use of airstrikes against terrorist groups outside of declared war zones.
Obama said that in recent weeks the U.S. military has stepped up attacks on terrorist training camps that have killed scores of suspected fighters aligned with al-Qaeda or the Islamic State in Libya, Yemen and Somalia.
Typically, such strikes outside of war zones like Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan have been directed at suspected terrorist leaders or other high-value targets, Obama said. The chaos in ungoverned areas of places such as Libya and Yemen have given terrorist groups more latitude to set up training facilities.
In some cases, we are seeing camps that after long periods of monitoring are involved in and directing plots that could do the United States harm or are supporting the Islamic State or al-Qaeda, Obama said.
[Pentagon: U.S. military launches airstrike on al-Shabab leader in Somalia]
Obamas remarks came at the end of a two-day Nuclear Security Summit that brought 50 world leaders to Washington to discuss ways to prevent the spread of nuclear-weapons technology and ensure that dangerous nuclear material does not fall into the hands of terrorist groups or criminal networks.
The White House added a session on counterterrorism to the summit after the attacks in Brussels last week that killed 32 people and injured more than 300. The focus on terrorist networks infused other aspects of the summit, as well, as the world leaders discussed ways to prevent militant groups from obtaining nuclear materials that could be used to make a dirty bomb that would cause far higher levels of mass casualties.
There is no doubt that if these madmen ever got their hands on a nuclear bomb or nuclear material, they would certainly use it to kill as many innocent people as possible, Obama said earlier in the day. It would change our world. . . . We cannot be complacent.
This is the presidents fourth such summit, and he used his news conference to list some of the gatherings accomplishments, which include removing all of the highly enriched uranium and plutonium from 50 facilities in more than 30 countries. The material was enough to build 150 nuclear weapons, Obama said. I know that the very technical nature of nuclear security doesnt make for flashy headlines, he conceded.
Obama was asked to respond to comments in which Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump suggested that Japan and South Korea should acquire nuclear weapons to defend themselves. The president admitted that Trumps remarks had been the subject of discussion on the sidelines of the summit and called the statements ignorant and dangerous.
[In Japan and South Korea, bewilderment Trumps suggestion they build nukes]
They tell us that person who made the statements does not know much about foreign policy or nuclear policy or the Korean Peninsula or the world generally, Obama said. I have said that people pay attention to American elections. What we do is really important to the rest of the world.
The unmistakable backdrop to the summit of world leaders was the threat posed by the Islamic State, which, even as it has lost ground in Iraq and Syria, has been able to pull off attacks in Europe, Turkey and North Africa in recent months.
The group has also spread to countries such as Libya, Afghanistan and Yemen, where Obama has responded in part by stepping up airstrikes with manned and unmanned aircraft. The president said he has pressed in his second term to institutionalize procedures designed to minimize mistakes and civilian casualties surrounding such airstrikes. Such procedures, he said, include ensuring that no women or children are in the vicinity and that the training camps are not in populated areas.
I think there has been in the past legitimate criticism that the legal architecture around drones and other kinetic strikes wasnt as precise as it should have been, and there is no doubt that civilians have been killed that should not have been, he said. Over the last several years, we have worked very hard to avoid and prevent those kinds of tragedies from taking place.
What I can say with great confidence is that our operating procedures are as rigorous as they have ever been, and there is a constant evaluation of all we do, Obama said.
The summit snarled traffic throughout the nations capital for several days and produced several notable side dramas, including an appearance at the Brookings Institution by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in which protesters clashed with the controversial leaders security detail.
Obama on Friday walked a careful line when criticizing a difficult but also essential ally in the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
There is no doubt that President Erdogan has been repeatedly elected through a democratic process, Obama said. But I think the approach that they have taken towards the press is one that could take Turkey down a path that is very troubling.
The nuclear summit was the fourth of its kind in a series launched by Obama in 2010 and aimed at ensuring the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons and reducing and securing the global stockpile of nuclear material. The White House announced a flurry of new commitments from participating nations to increase safeguards and reduce the amount of bomb-making materials.
But the summits ambition was tempered by the absence of Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin boycotted the gathering amid tensions with the United States and other Western nations over Russias annexation of Crimea in Ukraine and its support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Luke McGowan-Arnold, 18, right, leads protesters as they sing and chant before Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event in Janesville, Wis., on March 29. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
Fifteen years of community organizing had led Z! Haukeness to the lobby of the Holiday Inn Express here. Haukeness, who is 34 and transgender and prefers the them/they pronoun, wore red sneakers, white jeans and a white T-shirt printed with the phrase First They Came for Queer & Trans People.
It was a reference to the famous anti-Nazi poem about how not enough people had tried to stop Adolf Hitler when he persecuted one minority group after the next. Donald Trump was scheduled to rally in Janesville the next day. Haukeness wanted to stop him.
The locked sit-in at the Holiday Inn was aimed at forcing the cancellation of Trumps speech. The next days seven hours of marches near the rally site were aimed at making Trump supporters confront what they claimed to hate. Three hundred sixty police officers were on hand to monitor the scene.
Trump would speak and take questions in Janesville for little more than an hour. The protests around that speech lasted for 24 hours and took days of planning across several cities.
This was the post-Chicago reality of a Trump rally.
The goal of shutting down Trump and making sure his hate speech is not aired is still the goal today, Haukeness said. This is a good example of hate speech, not free speech, and you can see that from the crimes that have been born out of this.
It began at 6:30 p.m., when Haukeness and five fellow activists with Groundwork Madison, an organizing group based in the state capital and college town 30 miles northwest of Janesville, sat in a circle in the middle of the Holiday Inn lobby. They linked arms through PVC pipes that had been smothered in white tape then decorated with the slogan NO TRUMP.
For the next four hours, no one could enter the hotel without hearing or seeing protesters chanting, No hate in our state or Cancel, cancel, or going around the circle with paraphrases from the poem by Martin Niemoller, the anti-Nazi theologian.
First they came for the working class!
First they came for immigrants!
First they came for Muslims!
First they came for trans and LGBT people!
It was a surprise to hotel attendees, some of whom had been enjoying free popcorn and happy hour beers when the protest began. It was a surprise to the media, too, which had arrived to cover a separate, smaller and somewhat meek protest outside the hotel. About 50 activists, from rabbis to high- schoolers, had moved farther from the Holiday Inn whenever management asked it though they eventually scrambled inside to join Haukenesss group.
The protest ended after police gently sliced off the PVC and put everyone under arrest. After posting bail, the group reconvened at a nearby Perkins restaurant. It was unclear what they had achieved.
Other protesters said they had come for conversation. Ariela Steele, a 25-year-old native of Janesville, skipped the sit-in but arrived early for the March 29 rally. At 10:30 a.m., more than four hours before doors would open at the Janesville Conference Center, she grabbed one of the rally signs Love Trumps Hate and mingled with the hundreds of Trump voters already in line.
Its my birthday, and this is my home town, Steele said. When I first heard about this rally, I realized: I had a mental wall that shouldnt have been there. I was shocked to see Trump coming here, but then I remembered I had a right to be here, too.
Ariela Steele, 25, stands in line with Trump supporters to try to see the Republican presidential candidate speak in Janesville, Wis., on March 29. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
For the optimistic protester, the Trump rally and its counter-protest is a meeting place between the two Americas. It is not as dark not yet as the online conversation that Trump seemed to have laced with hemlock sometime last summer. After Nichole Mittness set up a Facebook page to organize protests, she watched it grow to more than 1,000 invites. She then watched as trolls churned the comments into a fever swamp, warning activists to keep their children away, promising that pro-Trump motorcycle gangs would roll in and start swinging.
There were a lot of threats against me, said Mittness, 33. But weve gotten a lot of support from these outside groups, and they planned logistics; they made sure we had peacekeepers and people on hand in case of emergency.
The outside groups were represented by people such as Haukeness, whose group is affiliated with the national Showing Up for Racial Justice. Little-known nationally, SURJ had tried to learn from and build on the disruption of Trumps March 11 rally at the University of Illinois in Chicago. On Saturday, it had held training sessions for a few dozen activists, going over the ways to bring protest materials into the rally (under clothes) and to avoid detection (do not be a person of color).
Many of the activists had already gained experience, either in the Black Lives Matter movement or in the pro-labor protests against Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) dating back to 2010.
On Tuesday, SURJ played outside and inside games, and neither was particularly successful. The main protest, tightly organized and amplified by a generator-powered megaphone, was kept away from the Trump rally lines by two plastic fences and two concrete barriers. SURJ organizers worked the crowd of about 250 people, signing up potential activists with clipboards and teaching them a series of anti-Trump chants.
Yet they were outnumbered by Trumps fans. They lined up for hours, more than 4,000 all ticketed for space in a room that might fit 1,000 people. Sometimes they asked someone to save their place, then wandered over to the protests for a conversation. One of them, 53-year old Randall Thom, saw a 23-year-old named April Lara and tried to explain to her that Mr. Trump held no animus toward Latinos.
Protesters argue with a Trump supporter before the Republican presidential candidates campaign event in Janesville, Wis., on March 29. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
Dont you want to be a legal citizen? Thom asked.
I am legal, said Lara.
Boom! said a woman wearing a hijab and pushing a stroller.
Why does he condone violence at his rallies? Lara asked.
He doesnt, said Thom, raspy but not rattled. You need to be inside the rally to understand the whole story of whats going on. I just want us to get along.
He doesnt want us to get along! Lara said.
The activists who had hoped to infiltrate the event were sniffed out and ejected often before reaching the duo of metal detectors at the conference center.
There was a strategy here, and it defeated the strategies of the activists. After Chicago, even though the scenes of chaos had apparently bolstered Trumps support, the Trump campaign had begun to rethink its scale. It held no rallies between Trumps Arizona primary victory and the Wisconsin campaign launch. In Janesville, and in events planned for the following days, the campaign had downsized to venues that fit only 1,000 or so people bigger than any other Republican candidates crowds, but making it harder for rebels to hide.
Still, the ejectors took no risks. Steele, who had clutched her anti-Trump sign during conversation after conversation with his supporters, was literally 10 feet away from the door when some Trump supporter pointed her out.
He was mocking me and degrading me, Steele said, tears running down her cheeks, her voice breaking. He said, Youre getting off this property right now. I said, Im coming to hear him speak. He said, No youre not. They turned me into a joke. They were cheering when I was pushed away.
Steele rejoined the protest, which was gathering a sort of momentum. A group of anarchists and communists from Rockford, Ill., had driven to Janesville with no extraordinary training. For a while they contented themselves with conversation; Scotty Thompson, 25, recalled how he had accepted a ride from a Trump supporter once, and they had found a common humanity.
Protesters hold signs at Donald Trumps town hall event in Janesville, Wis. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
Suddenly, one of the Rockford activists yelled cowabunga the code for new idea and a line formed at the start of the strip of road between the highway and the conference center. Fourteen people, mostly the activists from Rockford, started walking in a long oval pattern, hoisting their signs. Men held hands with men. Women linked arms with women. They all walked silently, unless provoked.
There was not much in the way of provocation. The Trump supporters in line, and a hundred or so who had shown up just to buy T-shirts, including a popular one taking aim at Hillary Clinton with the vulgarity Trump That B----, mostly watched the protesters walk by. With each lap, there were more protesters, and eventually some swapped insults, even as a Rockford organizer told the marchers to stay positive.
I love you! she yelled at Trump voters. I support you! Use your power!
The endless, looping march drew the attention of some police, but it never turned violent. Instead, shortly before Trump began speaking, there was a loud mingling of voices in the Trump line, and then a 15-year-old girl named Alex Drake was guided away. Her face was stained orange; Tia Soto, a 16-year-old holding a Black Lives Matter sign, informed reporters and gawkers that Drake had been pepper-sprayed after a scuffle.
By this point, the professional organizers had left or started to focus on punching new names into a database. The stragglers and marchers had already started to disperse.
But over the next 24 hours, the only story about the protests, the events that had put people in jail and demanded days of planning, was that an anti-Trump protester had been pepper-sprayed. It made the New York Daily News. It was illustrated at the progressive site ThinkProgress with a photo of protesters conducting a friendly conversation with Trump voters, across the double fence.
And the entire incident had occurred outside the venue. Inside, Trump was conducting a lively town hall meeting, interrupted just once. The tumult outside wouldnt be noticed until hours later. With no organization to speak of, the remaining protesters filtered between Trump voters, the mogul-candidates voice being beamed at them from speakers.
Tryston Schultz, an 18-year old from Monroe, Wis., got deeper into the crowd than anyone. He quietly held up a sign that read Bridges Not Walls, one of the less combative slogans. Yet every few minutes he had to move, after his sign was blocked by Trump supporters holding up the yard sign being distributed as consolation prizes for not getting inside.
Gimme half of your sign, one Trump voter said. Its what Bernie would want.
Ha-ha, Schultz said sarcastically. I saw that joke on Facebook last week. Its getting kind of old.
He moved closer to the venue. More Trump voters blocked his sign, though there were no cameras watching him. Finally, after he was circled by angry Trump voters, police officers ushered him out of the crowd and off the premises, where he united with his friends and made plans to volunteer as security at the next days Bernie Sanders rally in Madison.
eople walk near a shop displaying the portraits of Aung San Suu Kyi for sale on a roadside of downtown area in Yangon, Myanmar. (Lynn/EPA)
Burmas upper house of parliament approved a bill on Friday that would give Aung San Suu Kyi a powerful government role, state counselor, allowing the Nobel laureate to coordinate ministers and influence the executive.
The bill passed on the second day of Suu Kyis partys new administration and moved to the lower house for debate Monday, despite opposition from the military. It would help her circumvent a constitution written under the former junta that prevents her leading the country because her two sons are not citizens of Burma, which is also known as Myanmar, the name the junta used.
Suu Kyi, who spent years under house arrest because of her push for democracy, has described those provisions as silly and said she would rule regardless after she led her National League for Democracy (NLD) to a landslide election victory in November.
Members of parliament from the military who under the constitution hold a quarter of seats opposed the NLD bill, describing it as unconstitutional. They said the state counselor position concentrated too much power in the hands of one person and lacked checks and balances.
The provisions in the bill are tantamount to meaning the state counselor is equal to the president, which is contrary to the constitution, said Col. Myint Swe, a military member of the upper house.
Some lawmakers suggested the Constitutional Tribunal should decide on the bill.
The NLD has a majority in both houses so does not need military approval. Suu Kyis party, however, does not hold enough power to amend the constitution to allow her to serve as president. Amendments require support of more than 75 percent of lawmakers.
The international hacker who allegedly accessed personal emails and photographs belonging to the family of former president George W. Bush and whose cyber-mischief revealed that Hillary Clinton was using a private email address appeared in a U.S. court for the first time Friday.
Marcel Lehel Lazar better known by the moniker Guccifer that he is said to have affixed to the materials he stole is charged with cyber-stalking, aggravated identity theft and unauthorized access of a protected computer in a nine-count indictment filed in 2014 in federal district court in Alexandria, Va. He was extradited to the United States recently from Romania, his home country, where he had been serving a sentence for hacking.
[What you need to know about Hillary Clintons emails]
Lazar, 44, wore a black graphic T-shirt and blue jeans in a brief court appearance Friday and spoke in hushed tones with an interpreter. He confirmed through the interpreter that he wanted a court appointed lawyer and asked whom that person would be. A magistrate judge told him he would learn later.
Federal prosecutors have alleged that Lazar, a cabdriver, was responsible for a range of high-profile hacks.
According to an indictment, he accessed the email, Facebook account and other online accounts of a member of the Bush family, a former Cabinet member and a former member of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff. He then blasted messages with personal information from those accounts to media organizations or congressional staffers, according to the indictment.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Maya Song said in court Friday that the charges Lazar faces collectively carry with them a possible sentence of more than 100 years. Such a term, though, is highly unlikely. U.S. Attorney Dana Boente said in a statement released after the appearance: Mr. Lazar violated the privacy of his victims and thought he could hide behind the anonymity of the Internet. No matter where they are in the world, those who commit crimes against U.S. citizens will be held accountable for their actions, pursued by our investigators and prosecutors, and brought to justice.
In a wide-ranging, in-prison interview with journalist Matei Rosca last year, Lazar said he welcomed extradition to the United States and added, Ill plead guilty, no problem.
Of his methods, he said: Im an autodidact but not a programmer. There are 100 million programmers. I use any possible method to break electronic correspondence, including contact lists and metadata, like the NSA programs do, only thats artificial intelligence. I also use Kabballah, numerology and the occult. Jungs archetypes. Social engineering. Its not the technology but the human factor that makes the difference.
[Alleged hacker of Bush emails charged in U.S. court]
The indictment does not name any of the people whose accounts were compromised. But much of the alleged hacking was already public because the hacker shared some of the materials he had accessed with media organizations.
Former secretary of state Colin L. Powell acknowledged in 2013 that he was aware that his Facebook and personal email accounts had been breached, and the Secret Service had confirmed previously that it was investigating the theft of numerous personal emails from members of the Bush family.
Those emails briefly became the subject of gossip because they included paintings by George W. Bush, including apparent self-portraits in the shower and bath. The indictment claims that Lazar was behind both intrusions.
The revelation of Clintons private email account which occurred after Clinton stepped down as secretary of state was somewhat more roundabout.
Lazar claimed to have compromised the email account of former Bill Clinton aide Sidney Blumenthal and released memos Blumenthal sent to Hillary Clinton. Gawker noticed that the notes were directed to a private, nongovernmental email account. The New York Times later reported that Clinton exclusively used a personal account to conduct government business.
Read more:
Hacked e-mails indicate that Hillary Clinton used a domain registered the day of her Senate hearings
Secret Service investigating hack of Bush family emails
FBI probing whether political figures financial records were illicitly accessed
The mosquito-borne disease suspected of causing serious birth defects is expected to spread to all countries in the Americas except Canada and Chile and remains a global health emergency, according to the World Health Organization.
The mosquito-borne disease suspected of causing serious birth defects is expected to spread to all countries in the Americas except Canada and Chile, according to the World Health Organization.
The mosquito-borne disease suspected of causing serious birth defects is expected to spread to all countries in the Americas except Canada and Chile, according to the World Health Organization.
In several Latin American nations hit hard by the Zika epidemic, the transmission of the virus appears to have peaked, with the number of infections declining in recent weeks, according to governments in the region and the latest World Health Organization data.
The slowdown has prompted some countries, including Colombia, to significantly scale back their projections of the impact of the virus.
Epidemiologists tracking Zika warn that the downward trend appears to be limited to certain countries and should not be interpreted as a sign the epidemic has started to ebb everywhere in the Americas. It still appears to be expanding in Brazil, the epicenter of the virus, they caution.
We think it has passed the peak of transmission in some countries, like Colombia, but the outbreak is continuing, and its possible there will be a second wave of infection, Sylvain Aldighieri, head of epidemiological response at the Pan American Health Organization, said in an interview. And Zika has not reached its peak yet in Central America and the Caribbean.
Still, the latest figures raise hopes that the virus, which scientists believe is linked to fetal malformations and the potentially deadly neurological disorder known as Guillain-Barre syndrome, may not produce as many infections as initially feared.
U.S. researchers have succeeded in getting details of the Zika virus's surface. The findings could help scientists eventually develop a vaccine for the virus. (Claritza Jimenez/The Washington Post)
On Friday, U.S. health experts will convene in Atlanta for a summit convened by the White House to help state and local governments formulate Zika response plans ahead of summer, the most active season for the Aedes aegypti mosquito. The insect, the primary vector of the virus, is found in southern U.S. states along the Gulf Coast. Officials say 312 Zika cases have been confirmed in the United States so far, but those infections were acquired by travelers who visited a Zika-afflicted area, or contracted by their partners through sexual contact. Another 352 cases have ben registered in U.S. territories, primarily in Puerto Rico.
[ White House plans one-day Zika summit]
According to the most recent figures from the Pan American Health Organization, nearly 200,000 people have been infected with Zika so far across the Americas. Of those, just 4,600 cases were confirmed with laboratory testing. The rest are based on clinical diagnoses, which are considered less precise.
In Colombia, the number of infections has slowed from more than 6,000 new cases a week in early February to fewer than 3,000 per week by late March.
Our models confirm the epidemic has peaked, said Marta Lucia Ospina, director of Colombias National Health Institute. She said the government has scrapped its initial projection of 600,000 infections the country this year.
In El Salvador, the number of new Zika cases has fallen from more than 1,000 a week in early January to fewer than 100 per week in March. Honduras was tallying more than 2,000 cases weekly in early February; now the figure has dropped to fewer than 700 a week.
Health experts are not sure why Zika infections have declined in some areas. Sanitation campaigns to eliminate breeding sites may have helped in some urban hotspots, as well as increasing levels of local immunity where the virus has been circulating for months.
A worker fumigates in the Guabiraba neighborhood of Recife, Brazil, trying to destroy the habitats of Zika-carrying mosquitoes. (Matt McClain/ The Washington Post) (Matt McClain/The Washington Post)
The virus continues to move into new areas, as individuals with Zika arrive from regions where it is more prevalent. Mosquitoes bite them, become infected, and then transmit the disease to others. Areas at high elevations, such as Bogota, Colombia, and Mexico City, are not considered at risk because they are beyond the 6,500-foot limit of the Aedes mosquitos range.
Even countries with a declining number of Zika cases may still face serious fallout from the disease. Colombian authorities are monitoring more than 1,000 pregnant women who have tested positive for Zika, and about 10,000 others who reported symptoms of the virus, to see if their babies display signs of neurological damage. In Brazil, Zika is strongly suspected of causing a surge of infants born with underdeveloped brains and small heads.
Of 32 Colombian infants born since January with undersized heads, the condition known as microcephaly, eight have tested positive for Zika.
[The agonizing wait of an expectant mother with Zika: Is my baby okay?]
Hard to count
Counting Zika infections is hardly an exact science. There is no quick, commercially available test for the virus. It generally survives in the body only for a few days, and it produces few or no symptoms in the majority of patients. The quality of monitoring, information-gathering and reporting also varies widely from country to country.
[Risk of death from Zika is rare, but real]
Nor is there a cure for Zika, so many infected patients in poor areas simply prefer to lie in bed and take painkillers for a few days, rather than cope with waits at crowded at public hospitals.
Brazil has reported the biggest outbreak so far, with more than 72,000 suspected cases, but health officials think the actual number of infections is likely much higher, because Zika is often mistaken for dengue fever, and the country is in the grips of one of its worst dengue outbreaks in years.
Colombia, which experts say has much more rigorous standards for testing and reporting, has the second-highest Zika count, with nearly 56,000 cases to date. Next are Honduras, with 16,500 cases, and Venezuela, with 15,500. But WHO officials say reporting from Venezuela has been spotty because health system has suffered enormously from the countrys economic crisis.
Predicting the impact of Zika has been extremely challenging for health officials. According to Aldighieri, the initial projections were based on the spread of other viruses, like chikungunya, that are transmitted by the Aedes mosquito.
Chikungunya first appeared in the Americas in 2014, he noted, and it wasnt until earlier this year that it finally reached the southern limits of the Aedes mosquitos range in northern Argentina.
Zika has yet to reach the full extent of the Aedes mosquito's range in Brazil itself, Aldighieri notes, and the epidemic is still concentrated in the northern regions of the country where the outbreak began.
[Sex in the time of Zika]
There are 33 countries or territories in the Americas that have reported local vector-borne transmission of Zika, meaning the infection was spread by mosquitoes.
It is too early for us to determine if Zika virus disease cases and spread in the Americas peaked last month, Marc Fischer, medical epidemiologist with the vectorborne disease division of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a statement.
Changes in the numbers could be due to several factors, he said, including the adoption of different testing practices or reporting delays. It will take more time to be confident about trends in numbers of disease cases, he said.
Zika is not expected to proliferate as rapidly in the United States as it has in Latin America, where a scarcity of window screens, air conditioning and routine garbage collection in poor areas create optimal conditions for Aedes mosquitoes to thrive. The mosquitoes, which lay eggs in standing water, can breed rapidly in urban slums where residents lack running water and keep jugs and containers in their homes.
Read more
Zikas terrifying path
As Zika virus spreads, El Salvador asks women not to get pregnant until 2018
Venezuela faces worst-case scenario as Zika outbreak expands
The United States Army in Europe plans to significantly bolster its military presence in Eastern Europe, US European Command officials said on Wednesday.
By February 2017, the US military plans to maintain a permanent footprint of three combat brigades stationed on the continent. The deployments will include 250 combat vehicles, including tanks, armored personnel carriers, Bradley and Paladin Fighting Vehicles, howitzers and thousands of troops.
The 4,200-strong rotation, positioned along NATOs border with Russia, including deployments in Bulgaria, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland and Romania, will come in addition to 62,000 US personnel already stationed in Europe.
This is a big step in enhancing the Armys rotational presence and increasing their combat equipment in Europe, US General Philip Breedlove said.
This Army implementation plan continues to demonstrate our strong and balanced approach to reassuring our NATO Allies and Partners in the wake of an aggressive Russia in Eastern Europe and elsewhere, he said.
Americas regional partners will host a more frequent presence of an armored brigade with more modernized equipment in their countries, Breedlove said.
In comments Tuesday, General Breedlove called for NATO to prepare for aerial combat against Russian planes over the Baltic states. I think that the alliance does need to be ready for the air defense mission, he said. Air policing and air defense are meant for two different situations. The Baltic air policing is a peacetime mission.
The latest moves to expand the US military footprint in the East were authorized by the Obama White House in February, as part of the 2016-2017 European Reassurance Initiative (ERI).
This years ERI allocates $3.4 billion to finance the US presence in Eastern Europe, an increase of some 400 percent above the ERI budget for the previous year.
The huge increase in funding is the latest escalation of the US war preparations that have transformed Central and Eastern Europe into a virtual armed camp in the two years since the 2014 US-orchestrated coup in Ukraine.
During this period, the US steadily extended its basing arrangements and political commitments through the post-Soviet sphere.
Beginning in April 2014, the US deployed expeditionary forces of some 600 troops to all three of the Baltic states. In September 2014, President Obama affirmed that the US commitment to the defense of Estonia is unbreakable, unwavering and eternal. Last February, NATO announced plans to double its combat units stationed in Eastern Europe, including the establishment of six command centers dispersed throughout the region.
Together with these deployments, the latest wave of US military assets dispatched to Eastern Europe is designed to allow US forces to engage in large-scale war with Russia, US Undersecretary of Defense Robert Work said Wednesday. There will be a divisions worth of stuff to fight if something happens, he told the Wall Street Journal.
If push came to shove, theyd be able to come together as a cohesive unit that has trained together, with all their organic equipment, and fight. Thats a lot better than what we have right now, Work said.
There will be American equipment and people in each of these countries, US General Ben Hodges told the Journal.
The new US deployments will be equipped with a full kit of the militarys most advanced weaponry and gear, US officials say. Pentagon spokeswoman Laura Seal boasted Tuesday that the additional forces will place the most modern and capable equipment in the hands of US armored units who will train continuously in Europe.
Russian forces are already prepared to counter the confrontational patterns followed by the US and NATO, Russias Permanent Representative to NATO Alexander Grushko said in response to the US military announcements.
Moscow will take all the military measures we consider necessary in order to counterbalance this reinforced presence, Grushko said.
Certainly, well respond totally asymmetrically, Grushko said.
The anti-Russian drive is being accelerated by the role of NATOs Eastern European and Baltic members, which seek to use the growing US-Russian confrontation to militarize their own societies and repress dissent under conditions of deepening social crisis.
In an interview with the Washington Post, Polish President Andrzej Duda denounced Russia and called for a significantly increased presence of US troops on our territory. Duda called for NATO to 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, he said.
The Polish president is set to discuss a range of joint security projects with US leaders while attending the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington this week.
Dudas rhetoric aside, the military preparations of the US and its allies are anything but defensive in nature.
In reality, the US and NATO forces massing on Russias border are part of preparations for a range of military and covert-intelligence operations directed against pro-Russian political factions and against the Putin government itself, aimed at destabilizing and overthrowing pro-Russian governments using the hybrid warfare methods employed by the Western powers during the 2014 coup in Ukraine and the 2011 US-backed insurgency in Syria.
The Daily Beast
Sputnik/Gavriil Grigorov/Pool via ReutersWith dozens of newly drafted troops already dead and Russian troops laying the groundwork for a retreat from a key Ukrainian city, the Kremlin has now revealed it is hoping to give its war a second wind by making ordinary Russians feel it as much as possible.Sergei Kirienko, the first deputy chief of staff of the presidential administration, said as much Saturday in a speech to a national conference of teachers, declaring that the war the Kremlin has unti
Discover Europe's lesser-known gems.
Beyond iconic cities like Paris, London and Madrid, lesser-visited European destinations await exploration. Quaint villages, storied cities, picturesque coastlines and scenic countrysides offer less-trodden locales, away from the swarms of tourists crowding can't-miss cities across the continent. So if you're ready to get lost in breathtaking sunsets along the coast of Manarola, Italy, or take in cool, crisp air as you explore a staggering fjord in Bergen, Norway, head to these lesser-known places for a European vacation that packs in plenty of scenery and culture without the crowds.
Manarola, Italy
Manarola, a picturesque coastal retreat in Cinque Terre, Italy, offers postcard-worthy views. Candy-colored houses are surrounded by lush vineyards and fruit trees that flow down a rugged and black rock mountain facing the crystal-clear waters of a stunning lagoon. Explore the winding roads with a guided hike or a beautiful, albeit challenging, bike ride. With no cars able to navigate the narrow roads, you can enjoy a cotton candy sunset over the turquoise cove with a hearty glass of sweet Sciacchetra, a white wine commonly paired with desserts.
Riga, Latvia
With a strong countrywide initiative to rebuild the city's castles and revitalize ancient traditions, Riga is awash with a new, invigorating energy. To see the city's treasures with a local, meet the students of Riga Free Tour outside of St. Peter's Church, and enjoy a complimentary guide to the Old City's Art Nouveau architecture, urban parks like Kronvalda and churches like Riga's Cathedral. After taking a scenic stroll, indulge in the city's new wave of Nordic fare, which can be found in top restaurants like Valtera Restorans.
Kotor, Montenegro
Most tourists flock to Dubrovnik, Croatia, on cruise excursions or tours, overlooking its sister city, Kotor, Montenegro. But with fewer visitors and stunning architecture, Kotor merits its own visit. The city's 9th-century walls are flanked by imposing and rugged mountains and surround the centuries-old town, home to the impressive St. Tryphon's Cathedral. Weave through Kotor's marbled lanes to uncover its many tucked-away restaurants, hotels and charming piazzas.
Story continues
Baku, Azerbaijan
Baku may be renowned as the site of the 2016 Formula 1 Grand Prix of Europe; however, Baku is still wonderfully uncrowded. A visit will welcome you with a breathtaking mix of old and new, with modern skyscrapers like the Flame Towers skyrocketing over the dazzling Azerbaijan port, and the historic walled old city, a UNESCO World Heritage site. But in spite of Baku's recent makeover and glossy, new sheen, you won't have to look far to see barren apartment blocks, reminiscent of the area's Soviet rule, rubbing shoulders with city's cutting-edge boutiques and eateries.
Bergen, Norway
Few places are as naturally awe-inspiring as Bergen, Norway, with its vast and stunning mountain, fjord and sea views from nearly every angle. Despite being one of the area's largest cities, this seafaring retreat remains quiet most of the year, perking up to welcome summer tourists and photography groups shooting the northern lights in winter. Spend time exploring Bryggen, an old wharf, a UNESCO World Heritage site and Bergen's crown jewel. The oldest quarter in the city runs along the breathtaking shore of Vagen Harbor and features 61 brightly painted houses and buildings dating back to the 12th century. Enjoy the scenery with a fjord tour or a ride up the Flibanen funicular (a scenic railway) to the top of Mt. Flyen.
Piran, Slovenia
Gothic alleyways, breathtaking coastal views, cobblestone streets and historic architecture are a few of Piran's allures. Encompassing just slightly more than 16 square miles, you can walk this entire picturesque town in less than 30 minutes. During your trip, make sure to stop by the iconic St. George Cathedral and the Tartini Square, one of the most photographed squares in Europe thanks to its pastel-hued colors and marble stone.
Gothenburg, Sweden
Neoclassical architecture and 17th-century canals flank the tram-lined streets of Gothenburg, arguably one of Sweden's hippest cities. Known as Stockholm's quirkier sister city, Gothenburg is full of beautiful museums (think: the Gothenburg Museum of Art), delectable eateries (read: the Feskekorka fish market) and stunning natural beauty off the coast, including the island of Vrango, which contains pristine beaches and scenic nature reserves.
Lodz, Poland
Despite claiming the reigning title as the third-largest city in Poland, Lodz still charms visitors with underappreciated museums and cosmopolitan restaurants and shops. Stroll along Piotrkowska Street, one of the longest thoroughfares in Europe, to visit the more than 100 bars filled with live music, enjoy memorable meals at vibrant cafes and pop into trendy galleries. Afterward, make your way to the 74-acre Manufaktura, a refurbished industrial park now home to boutiques, shops, restaurants and a cinema.
Utrecht, Netherlands
One of the oldest cities in the Netherlands, Utrecht is a quaint and beautiful city flanked by medieval canals. In Utrecht, the canals are split level, offering a unique inside look at the city's 13th-century industrial roots juxtaposed with a bustling and modern life at street level. With a citywide focus on tourism, much of the city is going through a renaissance, including the old train station and the city's industrial park and concert hall, which are transitioning into bustling hubs filled with restaurants, shops and live music venues.
Rhodes, Greece
Although Santorini certainly has its whitewashed buildings and romantic allure and Mykonos has garnered a reputation for its party-centric nightlife, Rhodes overflows with must-see historic monuments, such as the Acropolis of Lindos and the medieval structures of Rhodes Town. Plus, the isle is rife with bustling boutiques, authentic eateries and natural wonders. During your trip, make sure to soak in the stunning views of the old city and the bay from the Tsambika Monastery, often called the Stairway to Heaven.
Earlier this month, we highlighted which global cities ranked the highest in terms of quality of life, a ranking based on a whole array of factors, including the prevalence of crime, pollution, health of the citizenry, medical and educational facilities, infrastructure, political repression, and the availability and affordability of essential goods and services.
Interestingly, not a single U.S. city on the list managed to crack the top 20. In fact, the highest ranking U.S. city - San Francisco - didn't make an appearance until the 28th spot. Occupying the top 20 spots on the list were a smattering of cities from the likes of Germany, New Zealand, Canada and Switzerland.
But if you have no intention of traveling to or living in Dusseldorf, Germany, you might naturally be wondering which large cities in the United States have the best quality of life. Well, wonder no more. Mercer, a human resources consulting firm, tabulates a "Quality of Living" ranking every year and this is how large U.S. cities stacked up in the company's 2016 report.
MUST SEE: Did you know Amazon had a special store just for cool new tech youve never heard of?
1. San Francisco
San Francisco, CA, USA
2. Boston
3. Honolulu
honolulu2
4. Chicago
chicago christmas michigan ave
5. New York City
new york city
6. Seattle
seattle
7. Los Angeles
hollwood california
8. Washington D.C.
washington dc
9. Pittsburgh
pittsburgh
10. Philadelphia
philly
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This article was originally published on BGR.com
Trump! Clinton! Is that all there is? No. Fortunately, we have other choices. A recent poll shows that if the election were held today, 11 percent of Americans would vote for a Libertarian, former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson. Thats surprising, since last election Johnson got just 1 percent of the vote. This year, hes doing better, probably because Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton hold the highest percentage of unfavorable reactions from voters in more than 30 years. I assume the Libertarian total will go higher, since most poll respondents had no opinion about Johnson. They probably dont know who he is. They can learn more by watching my Fox Business Network show April 1 and April 8. On those days, Ill air a debate among the three leading Libertarian candidates. They are Johnson, software businessman John McAfee and The Libertarian Republic founder Austin Petersen. The Party will choose its nominee at the Libertarian convention in Orlando, Florida, over Memorial Day weekend. What a relief to hear libertarian views after months of hearing Clinton and Trump talk about reducing Americans liberties. Clinton wants to raise taxes, curtail gun rights, force us all to pay for inefficient green energy, impose new regulations on just about everything, etc. Trump wants to increase spying on American citizens, put a giant wall between the U.S. and Mexico, start a ruinous trade war, etc. Libertarians want limited government, one that doesnt mess around in your personal life or try to run the economy. Gary Johnson suggests immigrants to the U.S. just first undergo a background check to make sure they arent criminals or terrorists, and then prove they have employment and can pay their taxes. Hed get rid of the complicated quotas the U.S. has on who can come here from which countries and in which professions a bureaucracy that takes the best and brightest immigrants years to navigate. Johnson has a track record. The governor cut red tape and the number of government workers in New Mexico. He vetoed 750 bills and used a line-item veto to cut thousands of other items. He lowered New Mexicos taxes and balanced the budget while remaining popular with voters. Running as a Republican, he was elected to a second term in that Democratic state. Now, as a Libertarian presidential candidate, he warns the idea that we can somehow balance the federal budget without cutting military spending and reforming entitlements is fantasy. John McAfee calls government corrupt and technologically illiterate. He says hell push a policy of privacy, freedom and technology. McAfee says, Individuals should be free to make choices for themselves and accept responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Hes had a few brushes with the law himself, including an arrest for driving under the influence, so he knows what its like to be in the governments crosshairs. Like economist Milton Friedman, he says that we cant have open borders and a big welfare state so McAfee says get rid of the welfare state and open the borders, so long as immigrants submit to being documented. He wants to reduce governments domestic role to policing disputes and otherwise let people engage in trade, including drug sales. He says our military role overseas should be reduced so that we interfere less in the affairs of other nations. Austin Petersen, like many libertarians, describes himself as fiscally conservative and socially tolerant. He proposes a 1 percent spending reduction in all government programs and a simple flat tax, and he would let young people opt out of Social Security. Like Johnson and McAfee, he wants to reduce immigration bureaucracy, the drug war and military interventions. Unlike some Libertarians, Petersen says he is pro-life. You might be surprised to hear that there is division among Libertarians on issues like abortion. This Friday and next you can watch how these candidates handle the differences. On Facebook and Twitter, viewers told me they want to know how Libertarians would reduce the welfare state, defeat terrorism and help workers cope with changes caused by global trade. Im sure the Libertarians answers will make more sense than those we hear from Trump and Clinton.
Athens (AFP) - Migrant returns from Greece to Turkey will begin on Monday under the terms of an EU deal that has worried aid groups, as Athens struggles to manage the overload of desperate people on its soil.
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Thursday confirmed the start of the returns in one of his regular televised addresses to Turks.
Under the scheme agreed with the EU, one Syrian refugee will be settled in Europe legally in return for every migrant taken back by Turkey from Greece.
"That's to say, with the one-for-one method, the number of refugees in Turkey will not increase," he said.
"And also nobody will sustain any human loss with the ambition of travelling to Europe via the Aegean Sea," he said, referring to the death of hundreds of migrants who have drowned crossing the Aegean from Turkey to the islands of EU member Greece.
"This practice will begin as of April 4," he added.
Although many of the details remained unclear, a European Commission source told AFP there was "a major engagement on the part of Greece and Turkey towards sending 500 people back on April 4, barring a last-minute problem".
Those being returned would include "Syrians who have not requested asylum, Afghans and Pakistanis," the official said, confirming it would be the first batch sent back under a deal reached between Brussels and Ankara on March 18.
EU spokeswoman Natasha Bertaud confirmed that Monday was the "target day" when those whose asylum claims had "been declared inadmissible" would be returned to Turkey.
At the same time, the EU would start resettling Syrian refugees living in camps in Turkey, she said.
A Greek government source said the returns would "most probably" occur from Chios or Lesbos -- the islands that have handled the bulk of arrivals from Turkey, and where thousands of people are currently being held in overcrowded registration centres.
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Aid groups have criticised the agreement on ethical grounds, warning that the Greek registration sites would become de facto detention centres for people slated to be sent back to Turkey after risking their lives and spending a small fortune just to reach Europe.
Philippe Leclerc, head of the UN refugee agency in Greece, said his staff wanted to ensure that "nobody is sent back without access to the asylum application procedure".
He added that currently on the island of Lesbos over a thousand people had not yet had a chance to apply and should be exempted.
- 'Readmission centre' -
In Turkey, Hurriyet daily cited officials as saying that a "readmission centre" would be set up near the coastal town of Dikili in Izmir province for those sent back from Greece.
Quoting a local official, the paper said the migrants would be processed within 24 hours and sent on to Izmir, or to refugee camps elsewhere in Turkey.
Under the agreement, all economic migrants landing on the Greek islands after March 20 face being sent back to Turkey -- although the deal calls for each case to be examined individually.
For every Syrian sent back from Greece, the EU has agreed to resettle one refugee directly from Turkey.
A high official in the Turkish government also confirmed to AFP that the returns of migrants would begin on Monday under the terms of the EU deal and that "a number of Syrians equivalent" to those sent back from Greece "will be sent legally to the EU."
For its part Greece remains cautious about the number of people who will be sent back to Turkey initially as the country is waiting for the deployment of some 2,300 European agents to carry out the details of the accord.
- 'Strong signal' -
The aim of the deal is to reduce the incentive for Syrian refugees to try tp cross to Greece in overladen smugglers' boats, encouraging them instead to stay in Turkish refugee camps to win a chance at resettlement in Europe.
Greece's deputy defence minister, Dimitris Vitsas, said the EU programme will send a "strong signal" that will cut the migration route across the Aegean Sea.
In 2015, more than a million migrants entered Europe, about half of them Syrians fleeing war.
Today over 51,000 refugees and migrants seeking to reach northern Europe are stuck in Greece, after Balkan states sealed their borders. Hundreds more continue to land on the Greek islands every day despite the EU deal.
Greek officials on Thursday began sending hundreds of migrants from Piraeus near Athens to other facilities, including the coastal town of Kyllini in the Peloponnese which is run by a Syria-born mayor.
Greece's parliament was also expected to adopt by Friday a bill bolstering its migration and asylum services, and activating a 2013 European directive which says that migrants cannot be sent to a third country where they face danger or discrimination.
By Dan Williams JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Thursday he was working to stop Palestinian knife attacks and other street violence against Israel and had offered to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to rekindle peace efforts. The remarks appeared to be an effort by the Western-backed Abbas to turn the tables on Israel, which has cast him as responsible for the diplomatic deadlock and the surge of bloodshed. Speaking to Israel's Channel 2 TV, Abbas gave rare details on his domestic security drives, a touchy matter as many Palestinians deem such moves collaboration with their enemy. "Our security forces go into the schools to search pupils' bags and see if they have knives. You don't know this," he said. "In one school, we found 70 boys and girls who were carrying knives. We took the knives and spoke to them and said: 'This is a mistake. We do not want you to kill and be killed. We want you to live, and for the other side to live as well.'" Abbas's administration and Israel coordinate security in the occupied West Bank despite the stalling two years ago of U.S.-sponsored negotiations on Palestinian statehood. Netanyahu says he is open to renewing talks and that Abbas has been avoiding these while inciting violence with his rhetoric against Israel. But Abbas told Channel 2 that the onus was on Netanyahu. "I will meet with him, at any time. And I suggested, by the way, for him to meet," the Palestinian leader said in English. Asked what became of that overture, Abbas said: "No, no - it's a secret. He can tell you about it." Netanyahu's office had no immediate response. Since October, Palestinian stabbings, car-rammings and gun ambushes have killed 28 Israelis and two U.S. citizens. At least 190 Palestinians, 129 of whom Israel says were assailants, have been killed by its forces. Many others were shot in clashes. Abbas' Palestinian Authority exercises limited self-rule in the West Bank under 1993 interim peace deals. Israeli forces now freely operate in PA areas, something Abbas described as sapping his credibility at home. He said he was willing to take action against Palestinians that Israeli intelligence deems a threat. "If he (Netanyahu) gives me responsibility and tells me that he believes in (the) two-state solution and we sit around the table to talk about (the) two-state solution, this will give my people hope, and nobody dares to go and stab or shoot or do anything here or there," Abbas said. Netanyahu has said he would favor the creation of a Palestinian state as long as Israel's terms are met such as its security needs. Whether Abbas could vouchsafe the Gaza Strip is in doubt, as it is under the de facto control of armed Hamas Islamists who oppose permanent coexistence with Israel. For his part, Netanyahu has been hazy about whether he would remove Jewish settlements in the West Bank to make way for the Palestinians. He heads a pro-settlement coalition the includes one ultra-nationalist party opposed to Palestinian statehood. (Writing by Dan Williams; Editing by Nick Macfie)
The Food and Drug Administration has approved changes to the label for mifepristone, also known as "the abortion pill," the agency said this week.
The new label says that the drug (sold under the brand name Mifeprex) can be taken later in pregnancy and at a lower dose than what was recommended on the old label. Many doctors already follow the new regimen in what's known as "off-label" use, because recent studies have shown that this regimen is safer and more effective than the protocol on the old label. But a few states, including Ohio, Texas and North Dakota, had laws that required doctors to follow the regimen on the label exactly.
"These laws compelled health care providers to use an outdated, inferior and less effective regimen," Planned Parenthood said in a statement, weighing in on the FDA's new rule. "The FDA's approval of the new Mifeprex label means that medication abortion [using drugs to end a pregnancy] can once again be provided everywhere in the U.S. in accordance with what research shows is safest and most effective," the statement said. [11 Big Fat Pregnancy Myths]
Here are the facts about mifepristone:
What is mifepristone?
Mifepristone is a medication used to induce abortion. It's taken in combination with another drug, called misoprostol, to end a pregnancy early on. The drug combination is an alternative to the surgical abortion procedure performed in a clinic, called an aspiration abortion..
How does it work?
Mifepristone blocks the action of the hormone progesterone, which is important to maintain a pregnancy. Blocking progesterone causes the lining of the uterus to break down, and ends the pregnancy, according to Planned Parenthood.
What changes did the FDA make to the mifepristone label?
The old label said that mifepristone could be taken up to 49 days after a woman's last menstrual period, but the new label says that the drug can also be taken later in pregnancy: up to 70 days after a woman's last period. The new label also lowers the dose of the medication, from 600 milligrams to 200 mg. This regimen reduces the side effects, and also the cost, of a medication abortion, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
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Finally, the new label reduces the number of appointments that a woman needs for a medication abortion from three to two. The old label said that in addition to the initial appointment needed to get a prescription for the medication, women needed to return to the doctor three days after taking mifepristone, and again 14 days after taking the drug. But the new label eliminates the appointment after three days, and says that a woman should return for follow-up with her health care provider seven to 14 days after taking the medication.
Is mifepristone the same as the morning-after pill?
No, the morning-after pill, also called emergency contraception, is taken to prevent pregnancy from occurring a short time after unprotected sex; it does not affect an established pregnancy.
What are the risks?
Common side effects of a medication abortion include nausea, weakness, fever/chills, vomiting, headache, diarrhea and dizziness, according to the FDA. Serious side effects are rare, but can include infection and hemorrhage; these occur in less than 0.5 percent of people who take the medication, the FDA said.
Follow Rachael Rettner @RachaelRettner. FollowLive Science @livescience, Facebook& Google+. Original article on Live Science.
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By Gary Robertson
RICHMOND, Va. (Reuters) - A Virginia state trooper was clinging to life after being shot at a Richmond bus station on Thursday by a gunman who was fatally wounded after two police officers returned gunfire, a state police spokeswoman said.
The trooper approached a man at around 2:45 p.m. EDT (1845 GMT) who pulled out a gun and opened fire and was being treated for "life-threatening injuries," state police spokeswoman Corinne Geller told reporters.
"A Virginia State trooper encountered a male subject just inside the entrance way of the Greyhound bus station. While he was talking to this individual, the individual pulled out a gun and shot the trooper. Two troopers standing nearby returned gunfire," Geller said. "The shooting suspect was transported to the VCU medical Center where he died Thursday afternoon."
Two other people, both civilians, suffered non-life-threatening injuries in the attack, Geller said. Greyhound said in a statement that no employees were injured.
Earlier local media reports that the trooper had died, that a second trooper had been injured and that as many as six people in total were injured in the attack were inaccurate, Geller said.
She declined to answer questions as to what may have provoked the attack or to confirm earlier reports that the police had been conducting a training exercise around the bus station at the time.
The trooper who was shot was in uniform, Geller said. The suspect's firearm had been recovered, she said.
Live television images showed the area around the bus station cordoned off with large numbers of police.
Greyhound, owned by FirstGroup PLC , said the station was closed until further notice and the company was actively working with authorities to provide any information needed, including video surveillance that was captured.
Officials from the Richmond Police Department, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), U.S. Marshals Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Henrico County Police, and U.S. Department of Homeland Security responded to the scene, Geller said.
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No other law enforcement or civilians were injured in the incident, and the shooting remained under investigation, Geller said.
Michael Bickett, who said he works directly across the street from the loading area from the buses said in a direct Twitter message. "A co-worker was eating lunch in his car when he saw Greyhound Workers and customers rushing out the side door. He figured that was a good time to get back inside."
(Additional reporting by Eric M. Johnson in Seattle and Melissa Fares in New York; writing by Scott Malone and Eric Beech; Editing by Mohammad Zargham and Diane Craft)
By Wendell Roelf NAIROBI (Reuters) - A new road and rail project cutting through a nature reserve on the outskirts of Nairobi threatens wildlife, livestock and people, conservationists said on Friday, after two lions were killed this week. Kenyan wildlife rangers shot dead a male lion named "Mohawk" on Wednesday after it strayed from Nairobi National Park and attacked and injured a resident. The next day rangers found the body of another lion outside the reserve, speared to death in a township south of Nairobi. Conservationists said construction work on the transport projects was affecting animal behavior and leading more big cats to try to escape in search of quieter hunting grounds. "Before construction started in the park, the lions were not escaping, so there are indications that the noise and blasting is affecting their movements," said Robert Ndetei, species conservation manager at World Wildlife Funds Nairobi office. "If you dont plan properly, if you dont do proper environmental-impact assessments, then you are doomed to fail, and at the Nairobi National Park this could lead to more lions and other animals coming into contact with a growing human presence," Ndetei told Reuters. Nairobi National Park is home to about 35 lions. There are about 2,000 left in the whole of Kenya. Kitili Mbathi, director general of Kenya Wildlife Service, agreed that the construction work was to blame for the increasing number of lions straying from the park. "Yes, it has been disruptive but we are trying and they (the contractors) are trying to minimize the disruption," he told Reuters by phone. He said the road was nearly complete, while the main construction work on the railway should be finished in June, restoring some calm. "We have a temporary fence in certain places there, so now we will be able to put in a permanent electric fence. Eventually, when all the construction is finished, from that side of the park, we dont expect any more disruptions," he said. Mbathi said the wildlife service had increased patrols along the perimeter of the park. "A key concern is that the developer is not taking proper care to ensure there is less disturbance of the habitat while also not securing the perimeter fencing, said Lucy Waruingi, acting secretary of the Conservation Alliance of Kenya. Human settlements and activity have long been encroaching on the Nairobi National Park, which was established in 1946 and gives visitors the chance to see lions, giraffes, zebras and other wildlife against a backdrop of high-rise buildings. The road under construction will link Nairobi airport with the city center, while the new railway line will connect the capital with port city Mombasa. Kenya's economy is expected to grow by 5.9 percent this year and by 6 percent in 2017, increasing pressure on the environment and exacerbating conflicts between humans and wildlife. Wildlife tourism is an essential foreign revenue earner for East Africas largest economy. (Additional reporting by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Andrew Roche)
Statistics show that men are more prone to suicide than women. Bill Varie/CORBIS
Suicides in Spain reached a record high in 2014 for the the third year in a row.
The National Statistics Institute (INE) reported that 3,910 individuals took their own lives, twice as many as died in road accidents.
It is also the highest number on record since 1980, when the INE began releasing this information.
The 2014 suicide figure represents a 1% increase from the previous year.
The INE also revealed that a total of 395,830 people died in Spain in 2014 (the latest year with available figures), or 5,411 more than in 2013. Of these, 96.2% died of natural causes.
Statistics show that in 2014, suicides were the main cause of unnatural death. By comparison, there were 1,873 traffic fatalities. The latter figure has been dropping since 2007, when the points-based drivers license was introduced in Spain.
By comparison, suicides have been on the rise for decades. There were 1,652 recorded cases in 1980, 2,939 in 1990 and 3,393 in the year 2000.
Santiago Duran-Sindreu, a psychiatrist who specializes in suicide cases at Sant Pau Hospital in Barcelona, is concerned about this upward curve.
It looks like this trend is here to stay, he says. Whatever the reason and saying that its the economic crisis is a very simplistic argument the increase in cases is significant enough that public agencies should get to work on prevention programs.
The data show that many more men than women ended their own lives
Unlike countries such as Norway, Sweden, Denmark or Britain, Spain does not have programs of this nature, either at the regional or national level.
Duran-Sindreu says this omission may be due to cultural factors suicide continues to be a taboo subject at all levels and geographical ones as well: until recently, Mediterranean countries had low suicide rates.
Only Catalonia has something akin to a suicide prevention program. Codigo Riesgo Suicidio, introduced in late 2015, is a protocol by which health services get in touch with patients who have attempted suicide, rather than the other way around. The idea, says Duran-Sindreu, is that this will force them to get treatment.
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The data show that many more men than women ended their own lives: of the 3,910 recorded suicide cases in 2014, 2,938 were men and 972 were women. Older people are also more prone to suicide, with a rate of 22.5 per 100,000 inhabitants in the 85-to-89 age range, compared with the overall average of 8.42.
That is the age of loss: loss of autonomy, new chronic diseases... All these factors exacerbate depressive symptoms which may lead to suicide, says Duran-Sindreu.
English version by Susana Urra.
Android 6.0 Marshmallow was announced nearly six months ago and according to Google, it has only found its way to 2.3% of Android devices so far. That... is not a lot of Android phones. Since Marshmallow has been available for six months and it's only found on less than 3% of devices, you can imagine how long it will be before Android N makes its way to end users. Google surprised us all when it released a developer preview build earlier this month, and the final build of Android N is expected to be released sometime this summer. So if trends stay true, we can expect N to become the most widely used version of Android sometime in 2018. Seriously.
That's a long time from now but if you're a somewhat savvy user, we have good news for you: You can start to use Android N's best new features on your current smartphone right now.
DON'T MISS: How to stream Star Wars: The Force Awakens tomorrow, four days before the Blu-ray releases
2014's Android 5.0 Lollipop and Android 5.1 Lollipop update currently combine to make up the most widely used version of Android in the world. If you're one of the millions of people running Android 5.0 or later on your smartphone, it's compatible with a new project called N-ify that aims to bring all of Android N's best new features to older smartphones and tablets.
That's the good news. But the bad news is that you'll have to root your phone in order to install it. If you're not sure what that means or entails, it's probably best that you stop reading now.
Since the Android N developer preview is only available for a handful of devices, a team of developers has created N-ify in an effort to bring the new software's new look and its feature set to all smartphones. The project is still in its infancy and only a few features are currently supported. The developers are active and ambitious though, and key features like Doze, Night Mode and the revamped notifications section are already in the works.
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N-ify requires you to root your device and it's packaged as an Xposed module, so you'll need to install the Xposed framework on your phone first. For more details, check out this post on the XDA Developers blog.
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More from BGR: It has begun: The FBI will unlock other iPhones in criminal investigations
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NAIROBI (Reuters) - The African Development Bank (AfDB) is ready to act as a lead arranger for financing of Kenya's planned oil pipeline to move crude from fields in the far north county of Turkana, a senior official of the bank said on Friday. Kenya and Uganda have been haggling over which route to choose for an oil export pipeline that Kenya wants to run through its territory rather than neighbouring Tanzania, where an alternate project backed by oil major Total, looks set to get the green light. [nL8N16A0IN] Officials from both countries have been crisscrossing the region, visiting facilities along the proposed routes, and holding meetings with executives of oil firms in order to reach a final decision. "Whatever comes out of this conversation, one thing is for sure Kenya will build a pipeline," said Gabriel Negatu, the Nairobi-based regional director of the AfDB. He said South Sudan would probably link up with Kenya, just based on proximity, as both countries look to pipe its oil out to the world through the proposed port of Lamu, which formed part of a broader infrastructure development plan known as the Lamu Port Southern Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) Corridor. "We at the AFDB could consider financing a pipeline through our private sector window," Negatu told Reuters. "We have said to the various parties who are interested in the pipeline that we would be happy to be the lead arranger to raise the financing for this pipeline, whichever way it goes." Resolving the pipeline route is vital in helping oil firms involved in Uganda and Kenya make a final investment decision on developing oil fields. There are no figures yet on costs, and production start dates have repeatedly been postponed, partly over pipeline considerations but also because of low oil prices. The numbers will have to make sense in the end. There are political risks and economic risks and those will have to be weighed and costed and the ultimate decision will be a sovereign decision, Negatu said. He said the bank would soon grant millions of dollars to the secretariat of the LAPSSET Corridor project, so that they could expedite the development of Lamu port, as well as road and railway infrastructure. (Reporting by Wendell Roelf; editing by Duncan Miriri and Susan Thomas)
Addis Ababa (AFP) - African Union Commission chief Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma is to step down from the 54-member bloc when her post ends in July, her spokesman said Friday, amid talk of return to politics in South Africa.
"AU Commission Chair Dlamini-Zuma didn't submit an application for a second term when the deadline closed on Thursday, 31 March," her spokesman Jacob Enoh Eben said.
Her successor to the four-year post will be appointed during the next AU summit, due in July in the Rwandan capital Kigali.
The official list of candidates is expected to be revealed later this month.
Dlamini-Zuma, 67, a South African, was the first woman to hold the AU's top job when she was elected in 2012. She beat the incumbent, Jean Ping of Gabon, in a closely fought election over several rounds of voting.
An experienced diplomat, a veteran of the fight against apartheid and a doctor by training, she has served as health, interior and foreign minister in South Africa. Her former husband is South African President Jacob Zuma.
- 'Limited and often late' -
Speculation is already rife in the corridors of the AU as to her successor.
Algerian Foreign Minister, and former AU Commissioner for Peace and Security, Ramtane Lamamra, has long been seen a possible candidate.
But SADC countries, the regional organisation in Southern Africa, appear determined to keep the role, pushing the name of Botswana's Foreign Minister, 64-year old Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi. She was a journalist before joining her government's civil service.
Dlamini-Zuma's time at the AU has been given mixed reports.
Under her tenure, the AU launched a vast development proposal for Africa, "Agenda 2063", called for better economic integration of the continent, and hosted visits by Chinese President Xi Jinping, Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and US President Barack Obama.
"It opened the debate on how Africa we want for the next 50 years," Eben said, adding her tenure has "boosted the image" of the bloc.
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- ANC leader hopeful? -
But others more cynical among the AU diplomatic corps accuse her of not having done enough, saying her rhetoric has often been late, and even then often not translated into action.
"It is a very good thing for the AU, she was never good here, she was never here anyway," said one diplomat, echoing sentiments often heard in AU corridors.
Oxfam's representative to the AU Desire Assogbavi said post offered a platform for views "to be heard across the continent", but that Dlamini-Zuma's views on key issues were "very limited and often late."
Some in South Africa, however, see her as a possible future leader of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party, to replace her ex-husband.
"Her name has been raised as one of the potential presidential candidates for the ANC," said political analyst Prince Mashele, from Pretoria-based Centre for Politics and Research (CPR) think-tank.
"I think she can be president -- anyone can. I mean, if you can have a Jacob Zuma as president, I'm sure she would do a better job. But I dont think she has anything special that would make me conclude she is the best candidate."
But she would also face a tough fight to jump from the AU top job to that of South Africa.
"She would have to lobby ANC factions and have a powerful backing within the party. You can be the most talented leader - but without the backing of a faction you will never be president. That's how it works in the ANC," Mashele added.
Johannesburg (AFP) - South African President Jacob Zuma faced a chorus of calls Friday to step down after a court ruled that he breached the constitution in a judgement that engulfed him in a fresh bout of controversy.
Zuma retains widespread loyalty within the ruling African National Congress (ANC) whose lawmakers dominate parliament, but his tarnished image has shaken the party ahead of local elections.
The main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, hailed a damning verdict by the country's top court Thursday that Zuma had violated the constitution by refusing to repay public funds spent on his private home.
"This judgement is an immense victory for democracy, for the rule of law, and for the people of South Africa," DA leader Mmusi Maimane told reporters on Friday.
"It simply cannot be business as usual when President Zuma has been found to have violated the constitution."
The party has launched impeachment proceedings against the head of state, in a move likely to fail as it would require the support of a two-thirds majority in parliament.
But the impeachment attempt is set to keep Zuma's misdeeds in the public eye ahead of municipal elections this year when the ANC risks losing control of Gauteng province, which includes Johannesburg and Pretoria.
The storm of press criticism focused on Zuma's refusal to comply with an ombudswoman's orders to repay money spent on a swimming pool, chicken run, cattle enclosure and amphitheatre at his rural homestead.
"There is only one way South Africa can escape a full-blown constitutional crisis... and that would be his resignation or dismissal," said the Sowetan newspaper.
"He has no legal or moral authority to govern."
- Loyalists fight back -
The upgrades, which were valued in 2014 at 216 million rand (then $24 million), became a symbol of alleged corruption and greed within the ANC, which has ruled since Nelson Mandela came to power in 1994 after the end of apartheid.
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Zuma loyalists fought back to defend the embattled president.
"We have learnt lessons from the judgement and wish to state it unequivocally unambiguously and categorically clearly that we firmly stand behind the ANC President," the influential ANC Women's League said in a statement.
Zuma is due to retire in 2019 when his second term in office ends.
One of the names considered a possible candidate to replace him is his ex-wife and African Union Commission chief, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.
Her spokesman on Friday confirmed that she would step down when her term ends in July, presenting an opportunity for her to return to domestic politics after leaving AU headquarters in Ethiopia.
Zuma, who remains on good terms with his former wife, on Thursday issued a brief statement saying he accepted the Constitutional Court's ruling.
His presidency has been rocked in recent months by his sacking of two finance ministers within days, and allegations that a wealthy business family had so much influence that they could appoint ministers.
Pravin Gordhan, the current finance minister, vowed Friday to oversee a "transparent, thorough and professional" procedure to determine how much Zuma would have to pay back over the home upgrades.
By Benet Koleka TIRANA (Reuters) - Albania is getting Italian help to improve security measures along its border with Greece in case migrants barred from taking the main Balkan route to the European Union try to go via Albanian territory instead, a Tirana official said on Tuesday. Under a deal being worked out, Italy would help Albania to record the biometric data of refugees entering the country and to electronically share information on their identities and the route they had taken with EU border agency Frontex and possibly Greece, the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said. The agreement is expected to be finalised when Italian Interior Minister Angelino Alfano visits Albania next week. With Macedonia and other states the so-called Western Balkan corridor route to the EU having sealed their frontiers, there has been speculation that migrants will seek out alternative routes to try to reach destinations in western Europe. Albania is cited as a possible option although there has been no sign of migrants trying it so far. Italy fears Islamist militants could slip through undetected if crowds of refugees were to enter Albania and ultimately reach Italy, according to Albanian security sources. Albanian smugglers were notorious for using speedboats to ferry would-be migrants, guns and narcotics across the Adriatic Sea to Italy, as close as 62 nautical miles (115 km) away, in the 1990s. Some drug-smuggling, especially of cannabis, still goes on today. Albanian officials are adamant however that authorities there will not permit a people-smuggling route to Italy to start up again. Speaking in Brussels last week, Alfano said he would visit Albania soon to work with authorities there to "do everything possible to prevent terrorism and illegal migration". (Reporting by Benet Koleke, additional reporting by Crispian Balmer in Rome; Editing by Adrian Croft/Mark Heinrich)
CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Alberta's left-leaning NDP government said on Tuesday the crude-producing Canadian province will not join a national securities regulator, sticking with the stance taken by the previous Conservative government. Alberta Finance Minister Joe Ceci said the province's capital markets focus around the energy sector, while those of provinces such as Ontario and Manitoba are defined by different industries, such as financial services and insurance. "Our government firmly believes that these unique financial ecosystems are best overseen by local regulators," Ceci told a news conference. The decision comes despite a statement by Canadian Finance Minister Bill Morneau in January that the federal government would follow through with efforts to set up a national security regulator to replace a patchwork of provincial bodies. So far Ontario, British Columbia, three smaller provinces and the territory of Yukon have agreed to link up with the federal government to set up a common regulator. (Reporting by Nia Williams; EDiting by Steve Orlofsky)
Finance Minister Cristobal Montoro at the press conference on Thursday. Jaime Villanueva (EL PAIS)
News that Spain missed its 2015 public deficit target by nearly a full percentage point means that the next administration will be left with a poisoned chalice, and will struggle to meet Brussels demands for spending containment.
Acting Finance Minister Cristobal Montoro announced on Thursday that Spains finances were 56.6 billion in the red last year, representing 5.16% of gross domestic product (GDP).
Spanish authorities had agreed to a 4.2% deficit with Brussels where experts had nevertheless been expecting to see something closer to 4.8%.
To keep Brussels happy, the minister said that the government will strictly enforce the Budget Stability Law
With the final figure overshooting all forecasts, the acting Popular Party (PP) government is blaming regional governments for going grossly over budget and Montoro says he will put a freeze on their spending ability.
But the scope of the adjustment up ahead the deficit target for 2016 is 2.8% means that the next government will probably have to undertake similarly unpopular measures to those introduced four years ago, when the incoming PP administration raised most taxes and slashed public health and education spending.
Compounding the trouble is the fact that Spanish political parties have been in deadlock since the inconclusive general election of December 20, which yielded a hung parliament.
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Attempts at coalition-building have so far proven fruitless, and if no governing deal is struck by May 2, parliament will be dissolved and new elections held on June 26 all of which would delay any implementation of spending cuts.
On the upside, the Spanish economy is growing this year, compared with its freefall in 2012.
Additionally, part of the 2015 imbalance was caused by one-off costs, including a national health bill for hepatitis C treatment and the discovery of previously undeclared spending by authorities in Catalonia, Valencia and Zaragoza.
A freeze on regional spending
Finance Minister Cristobal Montoro on Thursday accused the regions of being chiefly responsible for the missed EU target, as they themselves widely overshot their goal of 0.7% of economic output, coming in at 1.66% instead.
To keep Brussels happy, the minister said that the government will strictly enforce the Budget Stability Law, a piece of legislation introduced in late 2012 but partly overlooked for the sake of economic growth and job creation, said Montoro.
The fact that 2015 was an election year at the local, regional and national level also played a role, as governments were reticent to apply spending cuts that would be unpopular with taxpayers.
English version by Susana Urra.
Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney is taking on narrative moviemaking.
He is attached to direct the political thriller The Action, which will follow eight anti-war activists who stole and made public classified FBI documents that exposed J. Edgar Hoover's campaign of spying on and blackmailing troublemakers.
The Bourne Ultimatum scribe Scott Burns will pen the project, which is currently in development at Participant Media. Burns will produce the project along with Anonymous Content's Michael Sugar and Meredith Milton and Participant, with Ashley Zalta and Todd Hoffman acting as executive producers.
Gibney is the creative mind behind Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine and We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks. He currently has several documentaries in various stages of production, including one about the film industry's gender problem and jazz humorist Lord Buckley.
Gibney is repped by UTA.
See More: Watch THR's Full, Uncensored Documentary Roundtable With Alex Gibney, Michael Moore
Ive been having a running argument with Donald Trump supporters on social media. Is America poor? Rich? Somewhere in between?
Trump, the leading Republican presidential candidate, says the United States is poor, a claim I debunked in a recent story. But some readers dont buy my argument so Im digging deeper into the numbers. The basic objection comes down to one thing: A nation cant possibly be wealthy with a national debt of $19.3 trillion, or about $160,000 per U.S. household. If Washington had to pay that off all of a sudden, it couldnt possibly come up with the money. And if you cant pay your debts, you must be poor.
That logic might make sense for a family or even a business, but not necessarily for the U.S. economy as a whole. The U.S. government does, in fact, have a negative net worth. It has assets of more than $5 billion, including buildings, land, intellectual property, loans made to consumers, currency and many other things. But its liabilities are much bigger, due mostly to the national debt. On the whole, the governments net worth is - $12.3 trillion, according to the latest data from the Federal Reserve.
Americas wealth has never resided in the government, however; it resides in the private sector, which is bursting with bounty. Households, businesses and nonprofits have a combined net worth of about $98 trillion, according to the Fed. This table shows the entire net worth of the United States, including all of the nations assets and liabilities, in every sector:
Source: Federal Reserve. Figures are for year-end 2015.
Bottom line: The total net worth of the U.S. is nearly $100 trillion, give or take a few trillion due to fluctuations in the stock market and other variations. Again, that accounts for all debt, both public and private, including the $19.3 trillion Washington owes. (A methodology note explaining each category is at the bottom of this story.)
So is $100 trillion of net worth a lot of wealth? Uh, yeah. Its 165 times the value of Apple, the world's most valuable company, and 5.5 times Americas entire GDP, a portion that has risen sharply since the recession. Total net worth peaked at 5.7 times GDP in 2006, the final year of the housing boom. It bottomed out at 4.8 times GDP from 2009 through 2011, as home values fell, then turned upward in 2012 as both homes and stocks once again gained in value. Heres the ratio of total net worth to GDP since 1960:
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Source: Federal Reserve, Dept. of Commerce, Yahoo Finance
Its difficult to do apples-to-apples comparisons with other countries, but the United States ranks as one of the worlds wealthiest countries almost any way you look at it. U.S. disposable income per householdwhats left of family income after taxesis the highest in the world, and its multiples of what people earn in China and Mexico, the two bogeynations Trump frequently blames for killing American jobs. And the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development ranks the United States fourth in terms of household net worth as a percentage of disposable income, after Great Britain, Belgium and the Netherlands. That's an important measure of wealth when you account for income.
Theres one huge caveat to all these rah-rah numbers: wealth in the United States is divided very unevenly, with the rich snagging a larger portion than in virtually every other advanced nation. The U.S. has a less generous safety net than many other countries as well. Many lower-earning Americans are undoubtedly struggling, while waiting for wealth stubbornly stuck at the top to trickle down, which may never happen. When Trump says America is poor, it resonates with a lot of people who feel that way.
But if the question is whether America has the resources to pay its current and future obligations even in an emergency -- the answer is yes. It may not be possible under the current tax structure, which doesnt raise enough money to cover what the government spendsespecially with the economy growing at an anemic 2% or so. But the power to levy taxes is a remarkable tool, and it makes government finances quite different from the typical household budget.
Tax rates can and do go up, usually when theres an urgent need for government revenue and other measures arent enough. The top tax rate soared from 25% before the Great Depression to 63% in the early 1930s, to 79% in the late 1930s, and to 91% during World War II. Today the top tax rate is 39.6%, and even lower for capital gains, which mostly accrue to the wealthy. Parting with some of that $100 trillion, if ever necessary, would surely be painful for those who own it. But ruinous, no.
[Methodology: Heres some of the fine print on net worth astute readers will no doubt wonder about. The sector known as nonfinancial corporate business includes all U.S. for-profit public companies. The net worth number seems small because the market value of those companiesthe stockis mostly accounted for in the household category, under financial assets. Nonfinancial noncorporate business includes all privately owned U.S. companies. Financial business includes the banking sector, asset managers, insurance companies and other financial institutions, and its net worth is negative mainly because the loans and securities such firms issue count as liabilities, offsetting deposits and other assets. Rest of the world includes U.S. transactions by foreigners. And state and local government has a positive net worth because assets such as buildings, equipment, pension funds, and currency exceeds liabilities such as municipal debt and pension obligations. For those who want to know more, the Fed has published 47 pages of footnotes relating to these accounts.]
Rick Newmans latest book is Liberty for All: A Manifesto for Reclaiming Financial and Political Freedom. Follow him on Twitter: @rickjnewman.
Tokyo (AFP) - A region of Japan looking to use "ninja" warriors to boost tourism has made an American man the first foreigner to draw a salary for joining the ranks of the stealth assassins.
Aichi prefecture in central Japan had been seeking six full-time ninja -- the covert martial arts masters and agents of sabotage who prowled the shadows in feudal times -- and in a job posting last month said candidates of any nationality were welcome.
Of the 235 applicants eager to don the black costume of the deadly denizens of the night, an astonishing 85 percent were foreigners, and 29-year-old Chris O'Neill impressed so much during auditions that officials created an extra spot just for him.
The Tokyo-based American "will be Japan's first salaried, full-time ninja paid by a local municipality," Satoshi Adachi of the Aichi's tourism unit told AFP after O'Neill dazzled the panel with an array of acrobatic back flips.
"He was really amazing," added Adachi. "He has great acrobatic skill and the ability to speak in front of the public. He's also passionate about promoting tourism."
The new ninja squad will receive a one-year contract and earn a monthly salary of 180,000 yen ($1,600) plus bonuses. O'Neill will work alongside six Japanese colleagues, including five men and one woman.
Their duties will include performing back flips, using the trademark "shuriken" ninja star weapon and posing for photographs with tourists.
Skilled in espionage and guerrilla warfare, the creeping ninjas became hired mercenaries during the turmoil of Japan's Sengoku period between the 15th and 17th centuries and have since been immortalised in history books and period television dramas.
By Marko Phiri BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - With fish stocks declining as water levels fall in drought-hit reservoirs across the country, Zimbabwe's fish sellers and buyers are struggling to cope, raising concerns about the long-term sustainability of fisheries as a source of income and nutrition. Experts agree that climate change is having an impact on fishing, but Zimbabwe has yet to study precisely how it is affecting supplies that for years have supported thousands of families across the country. For Thandi Ncube, however, who sells fish around the densely populated townships of Bulawayo, business clearly is no longer what it used to be. "The fishermen say their catch is getting low, Ncube said. Normally she buys in bulk, mostly kapenta and bream, from fishermen just outside Bulawayo, a city where consumers have for years turned to fish as a cheaper alternative to beef and chicken. Ncube used to sell a kilogram of bream for around $3, while the same amount of beef costs up to $5. But fish is no longer available in the quantities that Ncube and her customers want. "It is all kinds of fish that we do not get anymore. I have to sell other items such as tomatoes to survive, she said. In a country where the United Nations says millions survive on less than $1 a day, the usual laws of supply and demand do not always apply: raising the price of fish risks leaving vendors with unsold perishable stock if customers cannot afford the higher prices. Rudo Sanyanga, the Africa programme director for International Rivers, a non-governmental organisation, said fish stocks normally surge in periods of high rainfall and fall when the water goes down. But downpours that pounded Bulawayo in the first half of March werent enough to significantly replenish water levels in severely depleted reservoirs and ponds, Bulawayo municipality officials said. The heavy rains were the first since last September, and the previous years rainy season was equally poor, officials say. In an update issued at the end of February, the Zimbabwe National Water Authority said reservoir levels stood at 51 percent countrywide, with Upper Ncema dam, previously a site of thriving fisheries in Matebeleland South province, almost empty at just 1.8 percent of capacity. 'DRIED UP' "Ponds that used to provide us with fish have dried up, said Thamsanqa Mloyi, a farmer in Filabusi, about 150km (90 miles) south of Bulawayo. Sanyanga believes that climatic change, as well as regular variations in the weather, are contributing to changes in fish populations. That echoes concerns voiced by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The agency said people dependent on fish as a major source of food are bearing the brunt of climate change impacts, and are seeing their incomes affected. Changes in the availability and quality of fish are also raising health risks, the FAO said. Wilson Mhlanga, a researcher at the University of Zimbabwes Lake Kariba Fisheries Research Institute, said the country needs to do more to protect its fisheries. Although Zimbabwe has laws aimed at protecting fish stocks including a $3 per kilo fine for poaching Mhlanga said they are not effective. "The challenge is the effective enforcement of this legislation, he said. More research is also needed, bringing in both the government and fishermen, to understand clearly what is happening, he said. "There is need for long-term stock assessments in rivers to base our conclusions not on anecdotal evidence but scientific research, Mhlanga said. "Another solution would be to raise awareness among populations who subsist on fisheries on the need to protect fish resources, he said. Funding for all the initiatives, however, is in short supply, he said. Sanyanga, of International Rivers, called for catchment restoration programmes to help stabilise fish stocks, but warned that the threat to fish in Zimbabwe extends beyond climate change and dwindling reservoir levels to human activity. "Over-fishing is a symptom of poverty and, at times, greed. As long as fisheries resources are common, it will be difficult to eliminate overfishing practices, she said. But without action, she said, it is probably too late to protect some of our fish populations. (Reporting by Marko Phiri; editing by James Baer and Laurie Goering :; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, climate change, women's rights, trafficking and property rights. Visit http://news.trust.org/climate)
Lilian Tintori, in Madrid in front of a photo of her husband, Leopoldo Lopez. EFE
Venezuelas opposition has begun a race against time to garner international support for a draft amnesty and national reconciliation law, approved on Tuesday by the countrys parliament, but which can be overruled by the Supreme Court. Over the next nine days, President Nicolas Maduro, who has said he does not support the proposal, will have to decide whether to promulgate the law, which would see the release of some 78 political prisoners, or send it to the Supreme Court on the grounds it is unconstitutional. Opposition leaders fear the latter option is the most likely.
Lilian Tintori, the wife of Leopoldo Lopez, along with deputies and members of his Popular Will (VP) party, which in turn is part of the Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD), the umbrella opposition organization, will be traveling throughout the country under the banner All for Liberty to rally support. We want to organize meetings in favor of passing the law. We will also be visiting neighboring countries, because this is one of the most important opportunities to get political prisoners released and for democracy to return to Venezuela, and for that to happen we need international support, said Tintori.
If President Maduro is prepared to meet with Colombian guerrillas, why cant he accept an amnesty for political prisoners Lilian Tintori
If President Maduro is prepared to meet with Colombian guerrillas, why cant he accept an amnesty for political prisoners? asked Tintori, referring to Venezuelas role in the ongoing peace process in neighboring Colombia between the government and left-wing rebels who have waged a decades-long fight. He talks about peace and freedom, but his actions show the opposite, she added.
Leopoldo Lopez is serving a 13-year sentence for staging demonstrations and other protests in a bid to bring down Maduros minority government. His wife says he is being held in solitary confinement and that the family has been subjected to harassment. She says he was transferred to hospital on Wednesday for a routine checkup, but that she was not informed. I was very upset, because I didnt know where they were taking him, she said, adding: At least he is receiving medical attention, unlike other political prisoners, who are in poor health. This is inhumane.
More information La oposicion venezolana pide el respaldo internacional a la amnistia
World leaders such as Barack Obama and Argentinian president Mauricio Macri, along with international human rights groups, have spoken out against the incarceration of political prisoners in Venezuela. The government accuses the opposition of attempting to garner international support to overthrow Maduro, whose United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) was delivered a stunning blow by voters in December legislative elections. The opposition now controls two-thirds of the 167-member legislative body with 112 seats, giving it enough parliamentary power to reform the Constitution and carry out votes of censure against the vice president and government ministers.
The opposition says it fears Maduro will appeal to the Supreme Court to throw out the amnesty proposal.
English version by Nick Lyne.
Istanbul (AFP) - Amnesty International accused Turkey on Friday of illegally forcing groups of Syrians to return to their conflict-torn country, saying the alleged expulsions showed the "fatal flaws" in a migrant deal agreed with the EU.
The claim by Amnesty comes just days before Turkey is due to start taking back migrants expelled from the EU under an accord reached last month.
The rights group said its research in the south of Turkey suggested the country was forcing around a hundred Syrians to return home on a daily basis.
Turkey -- which has taken in 2.7 million Syrian refugees since the conflict began in 2011 -- has always vehemently denied that any Syrian is forced to go home and insists its "open door" policy remains in place.
The government has yet to comment on the latest accusations from Amnesty.
"Turkish authorities have been rounding up and expelling groups of around 100 Syrian men, women and children to Syria on a near-daily basis since mid-January," Amnesty said.
Greece is due on Monday to start sending back to Turkey all migrants, including Syrians, who crossed the Aegean Sea illegally.
EU leaders hope the deal will curb the influx of migrants that has plunged Europe into its biggest refugee crisis since the end of World War II.
But Amnesty said its revelations showed Turkey was not a "safe country" for refugees.
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Thursday confirmed that under the scheme one Syrian refugee would be settled in Europe legally in return for every Syrian migrant sent back to Turkey from the Greek islands.
"In their desperation to seal their borders, EU leaders have wilfully ignored the simplest of facts: Turkey is not a safe country for Syrian refugees and is getting less safe by the day," said John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International's Director for Europe and Central Asia.
"The large-scale returns of Syrian refugees we have documented highlight the fatal flaws in the EU-Turkey deal," he added, lambasting the "EU's extended courting of Turkey".
He said it was "highly likely" that Turkey has returned several thousand refugees to Syria in the last seven to nine weeks, warning that those who are sent back under the EU-Turkey deal risk suffering the same fate.
An EU source told AFP in Athens on Thursday that 500 people were set to be sent back from Greece to Turkey on Monday, "barring a last-minute problem".
Sprout, NBCUniversal's 24-hour preschool network, has tapped Amy Friedman as senior vp programming and development.
In this role, Friedman will create and execute the network's overall content strategy and develop preschool franchises that will support both the brand and its business objectives.
Friedman joins Sprout on Friday; the announcement of her hire was made today by Frances Berwick, president of lifestyle networks at NBCUniversal, who added oversight of Sprout to her duties in February.
"Amy is extensively qualified to lead Sprout's programming as we deliver on our promise to create and acquire great content that is unique to preschool television," said Berwick. "Her track record speaks volumes - she has launched both successful series and the networks that aired them - and her sensibility and smarts make her a perfect fit for this role."
Read More: Sprout Ramps Up Original Programming With New Series 'Kody Kapow,' Three Holiday Specials, 'Ruff-Ruff' Renewal (Exclusive)
In her new role, Friedman will be responsible for the articulation of a programming vision as well as the leadership of all developmental efforts for Sprout Original Series, creating a slate of animated and live-action projects. She also will manage the production of the network's current series, including storytelling and creative, and will have oversight of the live daily morning show Sunny Side Up.
Friedman also will serve as a key member of Sprout's executive team, contributing to the strategic direction of the brand and business. She replaces Andrew Beecham, who departed the network in January.
Most recently, Friedman served as senior adviser for Scratch, Viacom's creative S.W.A.T. team, and was president of Redhead Consulting, a brand creation and content development company across all media.
She also has held senior management positions at Nickelodeon networks including Nick, Noggin and TeenNick.
No one outside the most inner circles of Game of Thrones purports to know the fate of Jon Snow except Amy Schumer.
Jon Snow is definitely alive, says the Inside Amy Schumer star in a new teaser for her returning Comedy Central series.
Why?
Because he said no to doing our show.
When the HBO show returns April 24 - the same week that Schumer's fourth season premieres on Comedy Central - Thrones fans are hoping for a resolution to the theories surrounding the fate of the fan favorite (played by Kit Harington).
In the GoT-themed promo called Schwinter Is Coming, the comedian is dressed like Khaleesi and perched atop a white horse while flanked by two men.
No, fame hasnt change me, she assures her fans. This is just the Uber that picked me up.
In a previous promo, the Trainwreck star poked fun at how shes been everywhere between seasons when she gets diagnosed as being overexposed."
Inside Amy Schumer returns to Comedy Central April 21.
Read More: Amy Schumer Diagnosed as "Overexposed in New Show Promo
By Greg Roumeliotis (Reuters) - Anbang Insurance Group Co's unexpected withdrawal this week of its $14 billion offer to acquire Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc is a wider blow to the unprecedented drive by Chinese companies to acquire North American and European assets. From semiconductors and industrial equipment, to financial services and real estate, China's insatiable appetite for Western companies has pushed the country's outbound cross-border M&A to $101.1 billion year-to-date, nearly surpassing the full-year record of $109.5 billion set last year. Yet Anbang's abrupt move, which came after Starwood said on Monday that the Chinese insurer's latest offer was "reasonably likely" to be superior to a cash-and-stock deal with Marriott International Inc, added fuel to concerns that many Chinese companies may not be able to deliver on their acquisition expectations. "To succeed in the U.S., Chinese companies will have to adapt to American styles of governance and transparency. It will be difficult to close mega deals without a more open style, so we may see more modest deals until China changes," said Erik Gordon, a professor at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business. To be sure, the largest M&A deal of this year thus far globally is by a Chinese company: China National Chemical Corp's agreement to acquire Swiss seeds and pesticides group Syngenta for $43 billion. Several Chinese companies, however, are having trouble convincing Western peers that they are a credible M&A counterparty. Earlier this week, for example, U.S. gene-sequencing products maker Affymetrix Inc rejected an offer by some of its former executives that was financed by a Chinese investment firm, even though they offered more money than an existing deal with Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc, on the basis of financing and regulatory risks. Fairchild Semiconductor International Inc said in February it had rejected an acquisition offer from China Resources Microelectronics Ltd and Hua Capital Management Co Ltd, citing concerns over the U.S. approval process. Instead, it went ahead with a deal to sell itself to U.S. peer ON Semiconductor for $2.4 billion. Anbang's case could make corporate boards in the United States and Europe more skeptical about the ability and motives of Chinese buyers, investment bankers and lawyers said. 'THEY TOLD US WHAT THEY TOLD THE MARKET' Starwood had declared Anbang's previous $78 per share cash offer superior to Marriott's on March 18. This meant that Starwood deemed it to be fully financed, and that it expected it to clear the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, an interagency panel that reviews deals to ensure they do not harm national security. Marriott, however, raised its bid on March 21, and Starwood responded with a new $82.75 bid disclosed on March 28. Anbang was expected to firm up that offer in order for Starwood to deem it superior. Anbang said on Thursday that it withdrew its offer due to "market considerations", without elaborating. One of Anbang's private equity partners, Primavera Capital Ltd chairman Fred Hu, said Anbang walked away to avoid a protracted bidding war, even though Marriott had not disclosed a higher offer. "We have little independent insight into what happened, but based on what Starwood has told us, Anbang did not deliver the same kinds of undertakings or arrangements that would have allowed the Starwood board to conclude that they were credible at $82.75," Marriott Chief Executive Arne Sorenson told investors and analysts on a conference call. Anbang became concerned that Starwood had no intention of declaring its latest offer superior and was stalling for time for Marriott to come in with a new offer, according a source close to Anbang's consortium. Sources close to Starwood, however, said Anbang did not deliver the assurances on financing its latest offer it had said it would on Monday, and had since had no communication with Starwood until its withdrawal on Thursday. Chinese financial magazine Caixin reported last month that China's insurance regulator would likely reject a bid by Anbang to buy Starwood, since it would put the insurer's offshore assets above a 15-percent threshold for overseas investments. "(Anbang) told us what they told the market, (that their withdrawal was due to) the market considerations," Starwood Chief Executive Thomas Mangas told the same conference call. Defending Starwood decision to declare Anbang's first bid as superior, Mangas said he had found both Anbang and its chairman Wu Xiaohu to be "very credible". "They moved mountains to persuade our board. They moved quickly and were incredibly shrewd in how they worked with us to get a deal done quickly," Mangas said. (Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis in New York; Editing by Nick Zieminski)
Heres a curious contrast in numbers: There have been at least 63 instances since 2012 when the government went to court seeking a tech companys help cracking into a smartphone, according to new research from the American Civil Liberties Union. Only 9 of those cases, or 14%, involve an Android device.
Yet Androids share of the U.S. smartphone market is 52%, according to comScore. So the proportion of Android devices in use is much larger than the portion the feds need help cracking into.
Do bad guys prefer iPhones? Its possible, especially since the recent controversy over accessing the iPhones of criminal suspects has shown Apples (AAPL) products to be unusually robust against hackers. But the more likely explanation is that the bad guys own Android devices in the same proportion as the general public, and the government is just a lot better at hacking into Android devices than into iPhones.
That would make sense, since Googles (GOOGL) Android system is open-source software accessible to anybody on the Internet. Open-source software typically encourages widespread adoption and makes it easy for anybody with an interest to develop applications and programs that work in conjunction with the software. Making the Android mobile operating system open-source helped Google become a big player almost overnight, even though Google never built a phone until 2008. (The first BlackBerry arrived in 1999, while the iPod, progenitor of the iPhone, debuted in 2001.)
But opening software to developers also opens it to hackers. Because the source code is open, it allows mobile forensics companies to go in and exploit it a lot more, says Patrick Siewert of Professional Digital Forensic Consulting in Henrico, Va. Well-developed mobile forensic software can access data and sometimes spit back the passcode or swipe code for an Android device.
There are many ads on the Internet for spyware and other tools that claim to be able to hack an Android device to, say, look for clues that a spouse might be cheating. Google polices the apps marketed in its app store, to make sure they dont harm Android users. But monitoring apps can be "sideloaded" from other sites Google doesnt monitor.
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An Android security features monitors apps for malware and other threats, no matter where the app comes from. But Apple exerts even more control. IPhone users can only download apps directly from Apple's app store. And Apples iOS software is proprietary, which means only Apple knows the source code. Plus, Apple controls both the hardware and software portions of an iPhone, whereas Googles Android software resides on devices produced by dozens of manufacturers. Some providers advertise spyware for iOS devices, but they either require consent of the iPhone user (think kids or employees using a company-owned phone) or work on earlier versions of the operating system. Apples iOS 9, the latest version, is considered virtually impervious to hacking.
Or was. Earlier this year, the FBI sued Apple asking for help cracking into the iPhone 5c used by one of the two shooters in last Decembers San Bernardino terrorist murders. The government has since withdrawn the suit, saying a third party helped it access the phone, which runs on iOS 9. Industry experts speculate that Cellebrite, an Israeli mobile forensics company, pulled off the hack. Cellebrite is well-known for its ability to crack into smartphones, including iPhones running on Apple's older software -- a service it offers mostly to law enforcement agencies for several thousand dollars per phone. Nobodys saying how the FBI got into the San Bernardino phone, however, and even Apple itself would like to know.
Whats clearer is that the encryption wars are intensifying. Google and the many Android phone makers are amping up their own security, while Apple will assuredly patch any holes in iOS the FBI and its contractor may have found. The hackers will counter with new breakthroughs of their own, while ordinary phone users will continue to wonder whether the good guys, or bad guysor all of themare checking out their info.
Rick Newmans latest book is Liberty for All: A Manifesto for Reclaiming Financial and Political Freedom. Follow him on Twitter: @rickjnewman.
Port Talbot (United Kingdom) (AFP) - As smoke rises from the blast furnaces of the steelworks that employ thousands in the coastal Welsh town of Port Talbot, there is little outward sign of trouble.
Workers cycle home from their shifts in the spring weather, and the only sign of anything untoward is a cluster of television crews.
But beneath the surface all is far from well after Indian owner Tata Steel announced plans to sell its assets in Britain
The announcement could prove a critical blow to Britain's once world-leading steel industry, which has been hit by a wave of layoffs and closures as producers struggle against high energy costs and plunging prices caused by a chronic global oversupply of steel.
"It wasn't totally unexpected but it was still a shock," said Alan Coombs, a representative of the Community trade union.
"I didn't think that they would be so direct in saying that they wanted to put the UK steel concern up for sale."
Tata's plans to sell its British assets include Port Talbot and works in Scunthorpe and Rotherham in England, which they say are being particularly hit by cheap steel from China.
The group had already announced hundreds of jobs would go at Port Talbot, but the decision to sell puts some 15,000 jobs at risk -- the bulk of those employed in Britain's dwindling steel industry.
The Conservative government of David Cameron called crisis talks in response and the business minister flew back early from a trade trip to Australia as unions called for state help for the sector.
The Port Talbot factory, a major Welsh employer and once a cutting-edge plant, employs 4,000 people and many more indirectly.
The owner of the cafe across from the plant says the impact of the industry's decline will hit the local economy hard.
"It's not just the steel workers... I think it will wipe out south Wales," she said.
- 'Save the steel industry' -
Behind the calm exterior, the feeling among workers is "trepidation, confusion... anger" according to Mark Turner, a steelworker and representative of the Unite union.
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"People within this workplace want to know, have they got a future, can they pay their mortgages," Turner said. "They're having to put their life on hold just in case of bad news."
The crisis has provoked anger against the British government, with critics drawing comparisons with the assistance given to the banks following the 2008 economic crisis to ask why the steel industry shouldn't get help.
There were even calls for business secretary Sajid Javid to resign after it emerged he took his daughter with him on the Australia trade trip as the Tata company board met to decide the future of its British interests in Mumbai.
For Coombs, the union representative, blame does not lie with the factory's Indian owners.
"It's hard to blame Tata with the investment they put in over the years," Coombs said.
"There is a responsibility that's got to lay at the feet of the Westminster government because they haven't supported our industry for a long period of time."
London-based magazine The Economist argued in an analysis that Britain's historical dominance of steel manufacturing was long gone and that the government should resist demands for a bailout.
"The state's energy should now be concentrated not on propping up a waning business but on helping steelworkers move onward and upward," it wrote.
"Spending to keep the plant itself in business would just prolong the inevitable."
But Coombs insists the industry has a future and that the government should provide "for a limited period, a bit of support".
"I'm convinced we can get a buyer and we can be positive and we can move forward," Coombs said.
Daniel Helson, a 20-year-old coke oven labourer, insists that the government should go further and protect the industry that is the lifeblood of the town where he was born and bred.
"Everyone knows each other outside of work. It's devastating," Helson said.
"I think we'll have to nationalise it. It has to become British Steel again. It has to be British made for British people."
LUANDA (Reuters) - Angola's population has risen to nearly 26 million from earlier estimates of around 21 million, according to the results of a 2014 census released on Thursday. The capital Luanda has the highest number of residents at over 6.9 million, while the average age of the population is 20.6 years, the National Statistics Institute (INE) said in a report. The government says accurate population statistics will help it allocate funding for key sectors of the economy such as health, education, housing, social security and infrastructure. Angola is Africa's second biggest oil exporter and crude sales account for around 95 percent of its foreign exchange earnings. Its economy has been hit by a sharp decline in oil prices since mid-2014, forcing deep cuts in public spending. The census shows the literacy rate remains low, with only 13 percent of young people aged 18-24 years completing secondary education. The labor market accounted for 40 percent of Angola's people, the INE said. (Writing by Stella Mapenzauswa; Editing by Joe Brock)
By Humeyra Pamuk and Ceyda Caglayan ISTANBUL (Reuters) - The Ankara Chief Prosecutor has launched an investigation into the Turkish unit of Swiss drugmaker Novartis, the prosecutor's office said on Friday, after allegations the company benefited from bribery. A spokeswoman for the prosecutor's office confirmed that Novartis was being investigated. She declined to give further details. Novartis has said the allegations against it were "unfounded" and based on a past complaint. The company had no further immediate comment, a spokesman said on Friday. Reuters reported this week that an anonymous whistleblower alleged the company had paid bribes through a consulting firm to secure an estimated $85 million in business advantages. Turkey's health ministry has opened a separate investigation into the allegations. A senior ministry official, Eyup Gumus, said on Friday that no problems have been seen in that initial investigation. The results of the health ministry's investigation are due to be released next week, Gumus said. Novartis shares had fallen by 3.4 percent at 1336 GMT, touching their lowest level in 2-1/2 years, and were on track for their biggest one-day drop since January. The anonymous whistleblower said Novartis had paid a government relations consultant the equivalent of $290,000 plus costs during 2013 and 2014, before the Turkish Social Security Institution launched an investigation in 2015, leading the drugmaker to end the association. The alleged benefits, which Novartis has 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. 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. (Reporting by Ceyda Caglayan and Humeyra Pamuk; Writing by David Dolan; Editing by Clelia Oziel and Alexander Smith)
The Bank of Spain has just released its quarterly report on the Spanish economy. Carlos Rosillo
The Spanish economy is slowing down. At least, that is the latest forecast from the Bank of Spain, which does not believe the governments assertion that gross domestic product (GDP) will continue to grow at a pace of around 3% this year and the next.
In Spain, the information available is consistent with a gradual, moderate slowdown in activity from the high pace of expansion sustained throughout 2015, reads the central banks quarterly economic report, released on Friday.
The report authors also note that even though their downward revision to 2.7% is moderate, the balance of risks surrounding this baseline scenario has worsened considerably in recent months.
Doubts over the future course of economic policies may have a negative bearing on private agents spending decisions
Bank of Spain quarterly report
Chief among these risks is political uncertainty, said the central lender. This concern mirrors misgivings by the European Commission regarding the stalemate in Spain, which is yet to name a new prime minister following inconclusive elections in December.
Doubts over the future course of economic policies may have a negative bearing on private agents spending decisions, especially if the current situation of uncertainty extends over time, says the report, which is part of the Bank of Spains Economic Bulletin.
The report also makes a note of geopolitical and financial market tensions at the international level, which could have an impact on Spains economy.
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In line with Brussels, the Bank of Spain is recommending that the country do more to balance its accounts and contain spending.
These developments highlight the need for economic policies to give priority both to seeing through fiscal consolidation, which is essential for maintaining confidence, and to persevering with the application of structural reforms that reduce the vulnerabilities of the Spanish economy and enable its future growth capacity to be enhanced.
If confirmed, the expected slowdown in economic growth will represent an added difficulty in the quest to reduce Spains public deficit from 5.2% of GDP in 2015.
English version by Susana Urra.
Miami (AFP) - US health officials Friday appealed again for emergency funding to fight the mosquito-borne Zika virus, after meeting resistance from Republican lawmakers who want to use money previously earmarked for Ebola.
In February, President Barack Obama's administration asked Congress for $1.9 billion to boost preparedness and response to Zika, a poorly understood virus which has been linked to a surge in birth defects in Brazil and is expected to infect hundreds of thousands of people in the US territory of Puerto Rico by year's end.
But the request has stalled in the House Appropriations Committee, where Republicans say the administration should put $2.7 billion in unspent money for fighting the Ebola virus towards Zika preparedness.
"The bottom line is, without significantly increased resources, it is going to be very difficult to do the kind of innovations we need to do rapid testing and rapid control," said Thomas Frieden, chief of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Frieden hosted a summit on the Zika virus Friday, drawing 178 representatives from health departments, dozens of non-governmental organizations and government agencies to Atlanta, along with some 2,000 people watching a webcast about the latest scientific data and prevention strategies.
He and other government officials also held a conference call with reporters to discuss the challenges of facing down the first-known mosquito-borne virus that appears to infect the fetal brain, though officials have yet to confirm whether Zika causes microcephaly, a life-long malformation in which an infant's brain is much smaller than normal.
Zika has spread quickly to more than 30 places in Latin America and the Caribbean since last year.
In the mainland United States, dozens of pregnant women have been infected after traveling to parts of the world where Zika is present and two pregnant women were infected with Zika through sex, he said.
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Asked to quantify the risk to the United States, Frieden declined to predict how many Zika cases might be seen in the continental United States in the coming months.
"We don't want to speculate about what may happen. We want to maximize out preparedness for what we can prevent from happening."
- Puerto Rico on the brink -
Even though the Zika virus was first identified in 1947, the outbreak of birth defects has taken health authorities by surprise.
Frieden said it remains unclear how to advise women about the actual risk of fetal abnormalities.
"There are just too many unknowns," he said.
Frieden has warned that Puerto Rico is on the brink of a massive Zika crisis, and may have thousands of pregnant women infected in the coming months.
The $1.9 billion requested includes $828 million for the CDC and would be used to accelerate vaccine research, develop a long-term strategy to prevent Zika, expand lab capacity and testing, boost mosquito control, and support low-income pregnant women, officials said.
There is no vaccine on the market to prevent Zika and often the virus does not cause symptoms in adults who are infected. When it does, the illness may be mild and includes fever, rash and red eyes.
In February, the House Appropriations Committee responded to Obama's request by pointing to $1.4 billion of unused Ebola funds within the Department of Health and Human Services, and another $1.3 billion unused in the Department of State and USAID coffers.
"Some in Congress have just suggested we use the money we had to fight Ebola to fight Zika," said Amy Pope, White House Deputy Homeland Security Advisor.
"Even if we take money from other pots, even if we make these very hard choices, the money we have now is not enough," she added.
"We cannot wait until we see widespread transmission in the United States before taking steps to prepare. It is just too late at that point."
Apple's new iOS 9.3 update was a pretty big upgrade considering it wasn't a major release. It packed plenty of bug fixes and at least one major security patch, but it also included some great new features like additional 3D Touch shortcuts and Night Shift. But it also included a horrible bug that has been driving users crazy since iOS 9.3 was first released, and Apple has now pushed out a new update to fix things.
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Apple on Thursday released iOS 9.3.1 for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. The update includes a few fixes but the biggest one is a fix for an issue where all links in Safari would be rendered useless. This new version of iOS remedies the situation, which actually stemmed from improper use of a few APIs but some third-party app developers.
iOS 9.3.1 is available immediately for download as an over the air (OTA) update, or it can be downloaded through iTunes on a Mac or Windows PC.
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For centuries, stories have persisted about Congress almost approving German as our official language, except for one vote by its German-speaking leader. So how close is that story to the truth?
muhlenberg
Frederick Muhlenberg
On April 1, 1789, Frederick Muhlenberg was chosen as the first speaker of the House of Representatives. Muhlenbergs father, Henry, was born in Germany, and he was considered the founder of the Lutheran Church in the Colonies.
Young Frederick was born outside of Philadelphia; he studied theology in Germany. He began his life of public service as a member of the Continental Congress. He also served as the speaker of Pennsylvanias House and led the Pennsylvania delegation that ratified the Constitution.
Muhlenberg then emerged as the preferred candidate for the speakers role as the House neared a quorum for its first meeting in 1789.
During two terms as speaker, Muhlenberg was the first person to sign the Bill of Rights, but his tie-breaking vote on the controversial Jay Treaty proved to be his undoing. Muhlenberg lost a re-election bid after that, and his national political career was over.
But his legendary role in preventing the adoption of German as the United States official language gained steam over the years.
The late German academic Willi Paul Adams published a study in 1990 that included an explanation of why so many people believed Muhlenberg acted to block a congressional resolution that would have made German the national language.
Fascinating for Germans, this imagined decision has been popularized by German authors of travel literature since the 1840s and propagated by some American teachers of German and German teachers of English who are not entirely secure in their American history, Adams wrote.
In reality, this presumed proposition was never brought to the congressional floor and a vote was never taken, he added.
Dennis Baron, professor of English and linguistics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, also tells a similar tale in an article he penned for PBSs website, after the Muhlenberg legend popped up in an Ann Landers column.
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On January 13, 1795, Congress considered a proposal, not to give German any official status, but merely to print the federal laws in German as well as English. During the debate, a motion to adjourn failed by one vote. The final vote rejecting the translation of federal laws, which took place one month later, is not recorded, Baron said, who cites two contemporary sources for the account.
Baron traces the legend to an 1847 book by Franz Loher called History and Achievements of the Germans in America, which Baron says presents a garbled though frequently cited account of what is supposed to have happened.
Adams also pointed out that just 9 percent of the early United States was German-speaking, and that the vast English-speaking majority would have had a few problems with the concept of an official language.
Colonial speakers of English fought only for their political independence. They had no stomach for an anti-English language and cultural revolution, Adams said.
Muhlenbergs role in passing the Jay Treaty with Great Britain was much more controversial than his alleged involvement in promoting the German language.
The Senate had passed the treaty by a mandatory two-thirds majority, but the House was needed to fund its provisions. Muhlenberg sided with the Federalists against an opposition led by James Madison.
In 1796, he cast the key vote in recommending the House fund the treaty. According to several accounts, Muhlenberg was stabbed by his brother-in-law several days later for that act. He survived that attack and later died in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1801.
Scott Bomboy is the editor in chief of the National Constitution Center.
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Psychologist: A sad person cannot fight (video)
On the occasion of April Fools' Day, psychologist Irna Tsaturyan advises people to laugh heartily and fully. The meaning of the day is so deep that we need to finally understand that while fooling others we should not allow them to deceive us. In order to do it, we should learn to understand and read people, she said. The psychologist suggests laughter and humour as a good remedy for everyday stress. Laughter can help us get out of sad and unhappy situations, she stressed. Asked whether Armenians can fully enjoy themselves, the psychologist said, There have been great changes in this context. Thirty years ago, we were required to be more reserved. If someone laughed he/she was not accepted as a normal person in a company. The programs that we hear and see on TV often contain low-level humour in them but they make people laugh which means these people find something suitable for them. Irna Tsaturyan says people who cannot laugh and rejoice at funny things have low self-esteem and consider them to be unlucky people. We should use joy and laughter for the right purpose. A sad person cannot fight.
By Steve Barnes
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Reuters) - A former Arkansas judge convicted of receiving bribes in exchange for lowering the damages awarded in a civil suit will appeal his 10-year prison sentence, but at taxpayer expense, officials said on Friday.
The same federal judge who last week sentenced former judge Michael Maggio, on Thursday granted the defendants motion that he be declared a pauper, court officials said. This exempts him from the standard court fees and makes him eligible for a court-appointed attorney.
Maggio, 54, a former state district judge, admitted in a plea deal reached in 2015 to receiving bribes in exchange for reducing a $5.2 million judgment in a civil negligence case against a nursing home company to $1 million, according to court papers.
The bribes, in the form of $50,000 in campaign contributions, were received between February 2013 and mid-2014.
Maggio's petition for pauper status said he had worked for minimal wages at menial jobs since being stripped of his judgeship in 2014 by the Arkansas Supreme Court in an unrelated matter and essentially had no assets other than his home and a 13-year-old automobile.
Defense attorney James Hensley Jr. said he would continue as Maggios counsel but was uncertain if he would seek payment from the court.
Federal sentencing guidelines recommend a prison term of up to 63 months in cases such as Maggios but U.S. District Judge Brian Miller of Little Rock declared the penalty inadequate and ordered Maggio to serve 120 months.
"A dirty judge is more harmful to society than a dope dealer," Miller said during sentencing, noting that he routinely orders lengthy prison terms for narcotics offenders.
Maggio was removed from office in September 2014 after admitting he disclosed information about the adoption of a child by Academy Award-winning actress Charlize Theron, which was handled by another judge in the state.
At the time Maggio was a candidate for a state appeals court.
(Reporting by Steve Barnes, writing by Jon Herskovitz, editing by Tom Brown)
(Reuters) - Array BioPharma Inc said it was abandoning a late-stage study testing its experimental ovarian cancer drug, after an interim analysis showed the trial would likely fail. The drugmaker said on Friday that the other studies of binimetinib, its lead drug, were unaffected. The drug is also being tested for use in patients with different forms of skin cancer, BRAF-mutant melanoma and NRAS-mutant melanoma. Late-stage data, announced in December, showed that advanced NRAS-mutant melanoma patients treated with binimetinib lived longer without their cancer progressing than those on standard chemotherapy. The biotechnology company regained the rights to the compound from Novartis AG in March 2015, five years after licensing it to the Swiss drugmaker. (http://bit.ly/1B7hRoH) Boulder, Colorado-based Array's stock fell about 4 percent to $2.82 in early trading on Friday. (Reporting by Natalie Grover in Bengaluru; Editing by Don Sebastian)
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.
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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.
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Guatemala City (AFP) - Julian Assange, the Wikileaks founder holed up in Ecuador's London embassy, could leave his refuge before the end of this year, a high-profile former Spanish judge who leads his legal team told AFP on Wednesday.
"We hope and we want and we believe that we will manage that," lawyer Baltasar Garzon said on the sidelines of a conference on justice and war crimes in Guatemala.
He did not give details on why he thought Assange's departure from the embassy was forthcoming, or under what conditions an exit would occur.
Garzon added that he believed Assange's "right to asylum is being violated" by Britain's insistence on arresting the fugitive Australian to hand him over to Swedish authorities for questioning related to a 2010 rape allegation.
Assange, 44, has been living in the Ecuadoran embassy since 2012. Ecuador has granted him political asylum.
Assange denies the rape charge and says he fears Sweden would send him to the United States, where he is the target of a secret US grand jury investigation linked to his website's divulging classified US military documents and diplomatic cables.
A UN panel this year concluded that Assange was being forced by Britain and Sweden to live in arbitrary detention in violation of his human rights. Britain has rejected that as "ridiculous."
Garzon said Assange's legal team was continuing to highlight the "situation of arbitrariness and deprivation of rights" suffered by their client as a result of him "defending the right of access to information."
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)
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PITTSBURGH - Valentino, a five-month-old, two-toed sloth, passed his first checkup at his new home at the National Aviary, weighing in at a healthy 3.5 pounds (1.5 kg). The baby Linnaeus sloth, which is a mammal and is related to anteaters, arrived at the aviary a few months ago after being flown from Florida, where he was born to a private breeder. Valentino has been hand raised to be comfortable around people and will be part of the aviary's education programs about rainforest species and their disappearing habitat. "He gives us a chance to talk about the needs of protecting the environment and the rainforest," said Robin Weber, the director of marketing and communication at the National Aviary. The Linnaeus sloth is found in the rainforests of South America. Adults weigh between 10 to 20 lbs (4 to 9 kg).
By Sami Aboudi MANAMA (Reuters) - The decision to revoke Taimoor Karimi's Bahraini citizenship was read out on state media late one night while he was fast asleep at his home in the capital Manama. His children woke him up to break the news. If a final appeal hearing fails next month, he will be stateless, expelled from a country where he says his ethnic Iranian family has lived for generations and donated a public park that bears its name. A Shi'ite Muslim lawyer who took part in Bahrain's pro-democracy protests in 2011 and defended prominent activists jailed afterwards, Karimi has fought the order for three years, during which he says he lost his ID, job and bank account. "I am Bahraini, down from my grandfather to my father," the 59-year-old told Reuters. "Now, I am out of work, I cannot keep a bank account or travel. What do I do?". He was one of the first 31 people whose citizenship was revoked by the Sunni-led government for what it called harm to state security in 2012, more than a year after the uprising, which was quelled with help from neighboring Saudi Arabia. The interior ministry order outlining the penalty did not say what lay behind it. The government says the measure is only used when the threat is "both present and severe" to national security of the Gulf Arab state, which, like Saudi Arabia, is a key U.S. ally. A government official, who asked not to be named, said such measures are implemented by other states in relation to terrorist threats. Bahrain, an island state of some 1.35 million people, has long faced opponents on the streets, mainly from its Shi'ite majority demanding more rights. Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid bin Abdullah al-Khalifa said in February that 17 policemen had been killed while on duty, including several by bomb attacks. REGIONAL RIVALRY Activists say the government has increasingly used administrative and legal means against its opponents and has portrayed them and the protests as part of a plot inspired by Shi'ite Iran to bring down Bahrain's Sunni monarchy. The opposition denies any influence from Tehran. Nedal Al Salman from the Bahrain Center for Human Rights said of an estimated 280 people whose citizenship had been revoked since 2012, more than 200 orders were issued in 2015 alone. They include academics, religious leaders, businessmen and former MPs, she said. Many were ethnic Iranians or Shi'ite Arabs but Sunnis have also been subject to the orders. Several have already been deported, including at least four who were expelled to Lebanon or Iraq since Feb. 21, Bahrain's al-Wasat newspaper reported on March 16. It was not immediately possible to obtain a government comment on any numbers involved or on individual cases. "All citizens affected have the right to appeal against the decision with the Kingdoms judiciary, and are entitled to legal representation in a transparent appeals procedure that falls in line with international standards of best practice," said the government official who spoke on condition she was not named. The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has criticized the removal of citizenship, which analysts say is one of several ways of controlling the opposition in Bahrain, the strategically-important home of the U.S. Fifth Fleet. Hundreds of dissidents have fled to Europe or the United States since the February 2011 protests born of the region-wide Arab Spring pro-democracy movement. The Bahrain Center for Human Rights estimates there are more than 3,000 in jail, many for taking part in what the government calls illegal gatherings, attacks on security forces or incitement of hatred of the ruling system. ORDEAL Karimi had already spent six months in jail for involvement in what authorities called "riots and incitement to hate the ruling system" before the media announcement on his citizenship. He had denied the incitement charges and defended his participation in protests, saying they were licensed. The interior ministry order revoking his citizenship was published by state news agency BNA. It cited "section C of article 10 of the citizenship law which allows citizenship to be revoked if one caused harm to state security". "The interior minister will take the necessary measures to implement that, in light of the kingdom's commitment to preserve national security and in line with the kingdom's commitments to ... the Universal Declaration of Human Rights," it said. Karimi said the justice ministry summoned him a week later and revoked his license to practise law. Authorities summoned him again a month later, he said, and withdrew his passport and the smart ID, which enables him to access public services. Since he had become a de facto foreigner, Karimi was ordered to find a sponsor who would agree to make his stay in the country legal or leave. Because he failed to do so, he was tried in court, fined 100 dinars ($265) and ordered expelled, a ruling he has been fighting in a lengthy appeal process. Then a year ago, he said banks froze his accounts. He has since survived on freelance work and assets he had accumulated during 23 years of work as a lawyer. His final appeal hearing is scheduled for April 17. If it goes against him, Karimi faces imminent expulsion and the prospect of taking his relatives into an uncertain future or leaving them behind. (Editing by William Maclean and Philippa Fletcher)
DUBAI (Reuters) - Bahrain's foreign minister said on Friday that Gulf Arab states were prepared to confront Iran over its foreign policy and Tehran should drop its support for Middle East factions. Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmed al-Khalifa also played down any difference with the United States over remarks by U.S. President Barack Obama last month telling Saudi Arabia and Iran "to find an effective way to share the neighbourhood". Ties between Bahrain and Washington remained strong, he said. Bahrain cut diplomatic relations with Iran in January, one day after Saudi Arabia severed ties with the Islamic Republic following attacks by demonstrators on its diplomatic missions in Tehran and Mashhad in response to Saudi Arabia's execution of a prominent Shi'ite Muslim cleric. "We send a message to Iran and to all its followers. We are now serious about confronting it and we have no hesitation to defend our people, states, interests and brothers in the region because this is a vital issue for us," Sheikh Khaled said in an interview with the Dubai-based al-Arabiya channel. Bahrain accuses Iran of fomenting unrest in the country and of supplying weapons to Shi'ite militants behind several bomb attacks on security forces. Iran denies the charges. Sheikh Khaled said Bahrain and other Gulf Arab states were ready to turn a new page with Iran if it changed its policies. "The main step is that Iran must completely change its foreign policy towards the countries of the region," he said. This included Iran dropping its support for the Lebanese Hezbollah organisation and other groups. Asked about Obama's remarks to The Atlantic magazine, in which he urged Saudi Arabia and Iran to work together, Sheikh Khaled said: "The issue does not carry a change in policy." (Reporting by Ali Abdelaty, writing by Sami Aboudi, editing by Angus MacSwan)
DHAKA (Reuters) - A Bangladesh court issued an arrest warrant on Wednesday for former prime minister and opposition leader Khaleda Zia over a deadly firebombing attack last year, a prosecutor said. The court also issued arrest warrants for 27 leaders and activists of Khaleda's Bangladesh Nationalist Party in connection with the petrol bomb attack on a bus during a party protest in Dhaka in January last year. "The court passed the order after accepting the charges against them," public prosecutor Shah Alam Talukdar said. Early last year, at least 120 people were killed and hundreds injured in political violence, most in petrol bomb attacks on vehicles, amid transport blockades and strikes by the opposition aimed at toppling the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Bangladeshi politics has been mired for years in rivalry between Hasina and Khaleda. Both women are related to former national leaders, and they have alternated as prime minister for most of the past two decades. Khaleda, 70, was not immediately available for comment. She and leaders of her party have denied the accusations of responsibility for the fire saying it was politically motivated. (Reporting by Ruma Paul; Editing by Robert Birsel)
Nicosia (AFP) - Bank of Cyprus, the bailed-out eurozone country's largest lender, announced plans Thursday to list its shares on the London Stock Exchange and to delist from the Athens market.
The move reflects the bank's ambitions of raising its "visibility and share liquidity" on a major European exchange, BoC said in a statement.
The announcement came on the same day that Cyprus concluded its multi-billion euro bailout programme with the European Union's rescue fund.
A major financial crisis on the Mediterranean island saw the government close banks for nearly two weeks in 2013 and impose draconian capital controls when they reopened.
In return for the 10-billion-euro ($12.3 billion) bailout, the EU and International Monetary Fund demanded the closure of Cyprus's second-biggest bank, Laiki, and a "haircut" on deposits at BoC of more than 100,000 euros.
Bank of Cyprus said a listing on the LSE would boost its profile and provide access to a "greater pool" of capital.
It intends to pursue a "premium listing", which would require it to meet extra stringent rules.
The bank said it also intends to keep its listing in Cyprus.
But the company "does not intend to maintain a listing on the Athens Exchange, as it no longer has banking operations in Greece."
The bank said it hoped to complete the London listing in the second half of 2016, adding that it was subject to meeting eligibility criteria.
"The access to a greater pool of international capital, together with greater profile and visibility in the European financial markets, will help position the group to play a key role in supporting the growth of the Cypriot economy," it said.
"Adherence to the high standards of corporate governance and transparency required for a premium listing on the LSE will further enhance the confidence of all stakeholders in the group."
New York (AFP) - The US presidential circus is barnstorming New York, where adoptive daughter Hillary Clinton and native-born sons Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders are battling to win the state's most important primary in decades.
Despite being the media and financial capital of America, New York is typically a sideshow in presidential elections, an overwhelmingly blue state whose primary typically comes too late to make a difference.
But with Republicans potentially facing a contested election and Clinton locked into a tighter race than she imagined, the 247 Democrat and 95 Republican delegates up for grabs could prove decisive.
This year, New Yorkers also have the unique choice of three candidates who consider the state their home: celebrity Manhattan tycoon Trump, Brooklyn-born Sanders and two-time senator Clinton.
With three weeks to go, polls give Clinton and Trump a thumping advantage. Clinton leads Sanders 54 to 42 percent, according to the latest Quinnipiac University survey.
Trump dominates the Republican field with 56 percent -- a double digit lead over Texas Senator Ted Cruz, who was roundly condemned for denigrating "New York values," and Ohio Governor John Kasich.
The tycoon brags of being "the most popular person that's ever lived" upstate. If he becomes the nominee, then whoever wins the Democratic ticket would pit New Yorker against New Yorker in November.
Not since Franklin D. Roosevelt has a US president claimed to come from New York. Expect wall-to-wall coverage, celebrity endorsements and Wall Street watching closely in a state home to some of the richest people in the world and the most disadvantaged in the country.
Not since the modern system of primary and caucus elections was introduced in the 1970s has the New York primary been so important for both parties, said professor Jeanne Zaino from Iona College.
"New York has never been so consequential in so many ways. It could potentially end a campaign or get us to a contested election," the political scientist told AFP.
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The only path for Sanders to win the nomination is to win Wisconsin on April 5 and sock it to Clinton in the New York primary on April 19. Anything less than a home-state victory will spell trouble for Trump.
On Wednesday, Clinton hit New York hard, stopping off at a popular cafe and addressing her fan base in Harlem, the historically African American neighborhood that has welcomed the Clintons for decades.
- Wild year -
"We know her. We love her and we cannot wait for her to be president," Senator Chuck Schumer told die-hard Clinton fans at the Apollo Theater.
Although born and raised in Illinois, Clinton moved with husband, former president Bill Clinton, to New York when they left the White House in 2001. They keep a home in Westchester, a rich suburb.
She was New York senator from 2001 to 2009. The couple's daughter Chelsea and granddaughter live in Manhattan. The Clinton Foundation is headquartered here. Her national campaign headquarters is in Brooklyn.
Wearing leather Clinton, who lost six of the seven most recent state elections to Sanders, told Harlem she was taking nothing for granted.
"It is wonderful to be back home," she told the crowd. "This is a wild election year," she said. "We will work for every vote and every part of this state."
The crowd lapped it up.
"She will be an awesome president, unlike Donald Trump who thinks that everybody should go back to their country, which is not right," said 26-year-old nursing student Kumci Duberry.
Sanders is playing catch-up. Last weekend his campaign opened an office in Brooklyn near the Gowanus canal.
On Thursday he addressed a rally in the south Bronx, one of the most disadvantaged areas in the state. He has a round table discussion on women and criminal justice scheduled in Harlem on Friday.
"If there is a very large turn out we will win," Sanders told south Bronx. "If we win in New York we are going to make it to the White House. So I urge all of you to come out and vote. Let's win."
Valeria Calderon, a 31-year-old holistic practitioner and the daughter of immigrants, denied that the 74-year-old senator from Vermont was struggling to appeal to minorities, or that he was an outsider.
He, too, was the son of an immigrant, he, too, is a northeasterner, she said.
"There's a lot of connections I feel with him," she said. "I can't really determine if New York will vote for Hillary or for Bernie... I'm hoping that it's for Bernie but there's a little bit of doubt."
Brussels (AFP) - Belgian authorities approved the extradition of Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam to France, as officials at the bomb-damaged Brussels airport said it was ready to reopen although flights would not resume immediately.
Abdeslam, the sole surviving suspect in the November attacks in Paris that killed 130 people, was arrested in Brussels on March 18 after four months on the run as Europe's most wanted man.
Four days after he was arrested, the Belgian capital was struck by coordinated Islamic State group bombings at the airport and a metro station carried out by suicide attackers with links to Abdeslam and the Paris attacks cell.
Abdeslam's lawyer said that his 26-year-old client had agreed to be transferred to France under a European arrest warrant, clearing the way for a fast-track extradition.
"What Salah Abdeslam wants to make known is that he wants to cooperate with the French authorities. These are the words he wants to make known," lawyer Cedric Moisse told reporters in Brussels.
Abdeslam's arrest was considered a rare success in Belgium's anti-terror fight, although he was found within a short distance of his family home in the Molenbeek district of the capital. He has refused to talk since the Brussels bombings.
The transfer to France should happen "within 10 days", said French justice minister Jean-Jacques Urvoas.
Belgian investigators will still be allowed to question Abdeslam in France.
He is believed to have acted as a logistics coordinator for the Paris attacks and has told investigators he was meant to carry out a suicide bombing at the Stade de France stadium but backed out.
- Police concerns at airport -
Brussels airport, closed since its departure hall was wrecked in the attacks, said it had received the go-ahead from fire services and the Belgian Civil Aviation Authority "for a partial restart of passenger flights".
"The airport is thus technically ready for a restart," it said in a statement. "However, the authorities have yet to take a formal decision on the restart date. Until Friday evening, no passenger flights will take place at Brussels Airport."
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In a bid to end the travel chaos caused by the closure of a major European air hub, hundreds of staff staged drills this week to test temporary check-in facilities as well as enhanced security measures.
Under the temporary arrangements, Zaventem airport would be able to handle 800 departing passengers per hour -- around 20 percent of normal capacity, it said.
Adding to the airport's woes, police unions threatened to go on strike if security measures are not improved ahead of the reopening.
Also Thursday, Portugal stepped up security at its airports following a message purportedly from the Islamic State group threatening attacks on Lisbon.
"Necessary security measures have been taken, including at airports," said Helena Fazenda, head of the country's internal security force, after the non-authenticated message was circulated on social media.
- Jihadist web -
Close links have emerged between the Paris and Brussels attackers, exposing a tangled web of cross-border extremist cells and triggering a series of raids and arrests in several European countries.
In the latest operation on Thursday, police and soldiers searched a wooded area in western Belgium, with authorities saying the raid was linked to a thwarted plot to attack France.
The main suspect in that case, Reda Kriket, has been charged in France with membership of a terrorist organisation after police found an arsenal of weapons and explosives at his home.
The joint French-Belgian operation by masked police and soldiers along a busy motorway lasted for several hours but Belgian prosecutors said no weapons or explosives were found and no arrests were made.
Belgian-born French citizen Abdeslam has connections to at least two of the Brussels bombers. Khalid El Bakraoui, who blew himself up at the metro, rented a flat in Brussels where Abdeslam's fingerprints were found.
One of the two airport bombers, Najim Laachraoui, drove to Hungary with Abdeslam in September.
Belgium is still searching for a suspected third attacker, the so-called "man in the hat" seen in surveillance images alongside the two airport bombers.
With no suspects in custody over the attacks, police appealed for possible images taken by members of the public.
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - A Belgian court decided on Thursday that Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam could be extradited to France, Belgium's federal prosecutors said. A lawyer for Abdeslam said earlier that Abdeslam had dropped his initial objection to being extradited and had also renewed an offer to cooperate with French authorities investigating the Nov. 13 attacks that killed 130 people. "Salah Abdeslam wishes to be transferred to the French authorities," lawyer Cedric Moisse told reporters. "He wishes to cooperate with the French authorities." Prosecutors said France and Belgium would now discuss how to proceed with the transfer, which the French Justice Ministry said should take place within the next 10 days. After his arrest in Brussels on March 18, Abdeslam answered some investigators' questions but then exercised his right to silence following the suicide bombings in Brussels on March 22 that killed 32 people. Investigators believe the attacks in Paris and Brussels were carried out by militants from the same Islamic State network. (Reporting by Gabriela Baczynska and Robert-Jan Bartunek, Editing by Alastair Macdonald and Mark Trevelyan)
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By Thomas Escritt AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - French, Germans and Britons make up the highest number of foreign fighters in the Syrian rebel ranks from European countries, but Belgium is the largest contributor in proportion to its population, a Dutch study shows. Europeans fighting alongside Islamist groups in Syria and Iraq have been high on the agenda of European security concerns for several years. Returned volunteers have been involved in attacks in Paris and Brussels over the past 18 months, including last month's bomb blasts in the Belgian capital. The study, prepared by the Hague-based International Centre for Counter-Terrorism, said European Union countries should not be complacent about their citizens leaving to fight in the Middle East, even those that have seen little such movement. "Many terrorist organizations aim to undermine tolerant and pluriform, rule-of-law based societies," the researchers wrote. "Recognition of this risk and proper policies to counter it seem to be lacking." In total, up to 4,294 Europeans had gone to fight in Syria, of whom 30 percent had since returned and 14 percent were confirmed dead. About 17 percent of them were female and 23 percent were converts to Islam. Most came from urban areas or peripheral suburbs of the continent's cities. The totals showed big differences across Europe, with Belgium, home to the attackers in both last year's Paris shootings and last month's Brussels bombings, sending 41 fighters per million population. Not only did Belgium contribute the most fighters compared to its population, but only 18 percent of them had returned, compared to 50 percent of those who had left from Denmark. Austria and Sweden followed in per capita terms. In absolute terms, France was the largest source country for fighters who had left to fight alongside Islamic State. The study counted more than 900 of them. Germany and Britain also contributed large numbers. Eastern European countries that have experienced little immigration and with small Muslim populations have contributed relatively few foreign fighters. The researchers were unable to find data for Greece and Hungary. (Reporting By Thomas Escritt; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
Brussels (AFP) - Belgium on Monday freed the sole suspect charged over last week's Islamic State attacks in Brussels that left 35 dead, raising fresh questions about the handling of the case by under-fire Belgian authorities.
Prosecutors charged Faycal C. on Saturday with "terrorist murder" and were investigating whether he was a third airport attacker who fled after his bomb did not go off, but said there was now a lack of evidence.
His release comes as a new blow to an inquiry dogged by accusations that Belgium missed a series of leads in cracking down on a jihadist network linked to the Brussels bombings as well as the November Paris attacks that killed 130 people.
Police earlier Monday released new CCTV footage of a third suspect in the March 22 Zaventem airport attack, the so-called "man in the hat" seen with the two suicide bombers.
Mourners meanwhile held emotional Easter Monday prayers at a medieval cathedral in central Brussels in memory of the 35 people killed and 340 injured in Belgium's worst ever terror attacks.
Grieving airport personnel and members of the emergency services carried trays of full of candles at the cathedral of Saints-Michel-et-Gudule, and were applauded by the congregation.
"No violence in the name of God can be tolerated," the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Malines-Brussels, Jozef de Kesel, told worshippers.
"Peace is more than just the absence of violence. There cannot be a real life together without a profound and sincere respect for others."
- 'Not substantiated' -
Belgian officials said Monday that the death toll had climbed to 35 after four people died in hospital.
The dead include four Americans as well as people from countries from China to Britain, Sweden to Peru, testament to the cosmopolitan nature of a city that is home to both the European Union and NATO.
Ninety-six remain in hospital.
Brussels is still trying to get back on its feet, with the airport saying it would carry out a test run Tuesday to see if repair work in the wrecked departure hall was satisfactory, but it could not give a firm date for resuming services.
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Belgian authorities are continuing to face criticism over whether they could have prevented the tragedy, as the links to the Paris attacks become clearer by the day.
The Belgian federal prosecutor's 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."
A source close to the inquiry told AFP: "Investigators have established that he was not the 'man in the hat'."
Belgian media had identified the man as Faycal Cheffou, who claimed to be a freelance journalist.
With the manhunt still underway, police released fresh video of a man in a hat and white jacket pushing a trolley with a large bag through the departure hall, next to suicide bombers Ibrahim El Bakraoui and Najim Laachraoui.
- European arrests -
Bomb-maker Laachraoui's DNA was found on some of the explosives used in Paris.
Ibrahim El Bakraoui's brother Khalid, who blew himself up on a Brussels metro train shortly after the airport blasts, is meanwhile believed to have rented a property linked to Paris prime suspect Salah Abdeslam.
Abdeslam was arrested in Brussels on March 18 just metres from his family home after four months on the run.
And Turkey accused Belgium last week of ignoring a clear and present danger after revealing it had deported Ibrahim El Bakraoui as a "terrorist fighter" last year after arresting him near the Syrian border.
Two Belgian ministers offered to resign after the Turkish link emerged.
Prosecutors earlier said three men arrested in raids in Belgium at the weekend had been charged with "participation in the activities of a terrorist group" but that no direct link had been established with the Brussels attacks.
In the latest piece in the puzzle of the jihadist cross-border networks, police arrested a 32-year-old Frenchman in Rotterdam Sunday on suspicion of planning a terror attack, Dutch prosecutors said.
The man is thought to have been planning an attack in France in the name of the Islamic State group along with Reda Kriket, who was detained near Paris on Thursday, a French police source told AFP.
Belgian prosecutors at the weekend also charged two men with involvement in the Kriket plot, including one shot in the leg after a dramatic stand-off at a tram stop in Brussels on Friday.
An Algerian held in Italy as part of a probe into fake ID documents used by the Paris and Brussels attackers is still being interrogated but refused to answer questions, a judicial source said.
LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Non-EU migrants wishing to live in Belgium will have to sign a statement declaring their acceptance of local values or see their residency claim rejected, a government official said, in a move campaigners fear will fuel anti-immigrant sentiment. Parliament is expected to pass the proposal to introduce a "newcomers statement" in the next few months, according to a spokesman for Belgium's secretary of state for asylum and migration, Theo Francken, who drafted the plan. People moving to Belgium for more than three months would have to sign the statement which includes a pledge to prevent and report any attempts to commit "acts of terrorism". The statement would not apply to asylum seekers and students, the spokesman said. "(Many people) are coming (to Belgium) from countries with other values," Francken's spokesman Laurent Mutambayi told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by telephone from Brussels. "If they want to build their life here in Europe (we have) no problem with that but they have to sign this statement that they accept our values," he added. Mutambayi said those who are not deemed to be integrating sufficiently will not be allowed to stay in the country. The question of integration has dominated news headlines in Europe which received more than 1 million people last year fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East and beyond. Mutambayi said last month's suicide bombings at Brussels Airport and on a metro train which killed 35 people reinforced the argument for the integration statement. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks. One of the Belgian organizations working with migrants criticized the proposal saying it was discriminatory and would fuel prejudice towards migrants. "It's an extra tool for the immigration office to keep some people out of Belgium," said Didier Vanderslycke from ORBIT, an organization working on diversity and migration. "The integration process can start when you have the residence and not when you sign a document that you will integrate. It's really a bad thing as a welcome (for) people," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. He said making would-be residents sign a declaration accepting gay rights or equality between men and women suggested that these values were not held by immigrants, and would deepen prejudice against them. (Reporting by Magdalena Mis; Editing by Katie Nguyen; 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)
COTONOU (Reuters) - Benin will deploy 150 troops next month to assist a regional task force battling Islamist militant group Boko Haram, a statement from the task force said on Tuesday. Nigeria-based Boko Haram has survived attempts by African armies to destroy it and bands of militants have stepped up attacks in the Lake Chad region, threatening regional security. The troops from Benin will act as a reserve rapid intervention force and are the last from the five countries involved in the African Union-led force to be deployed. "The Benin Republic has announced its readiness to deploy 150 military troops to the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) ... next month," a statement sent by public information officer for the MNJTF Colonel Mohammad Dole said. An official for Benin's armed forces could not immediately confirm the deployment on Tuesday. The statement did not specify where the troops would be sent. The MNJTF's headquarters is in Chad's capital N'Djamena. The 9,000-strong force already includes troops from Chad, Niger, Nigeria and Cameroon and became operational last year. Security experts say that many of the soldiers are drawn from national armies already fighting Boko Haram, however, and do not therefore increase the total number of troops. Boko Haram is thought to have killed around 15,000 people, making it the most lethal jihadist group in the world by some estimates. (Reporting by Allegresse Sasse; Writing by Emma Farge; Editing by Catherine Evans)
By Andrew M. Seaman (Reuters Health) - Will better oral health protect an aging brain? The answer isn't clear. Over the past two decades, an increasing number of studies have been looking for relationships between oral health and cognitive problems in older adults. A study earlier this year, for example, linked gum disease with faster cognitive decline in people with Alzheimer's disease (see Reuters Health story of March 15, 2016 here: http://reut.rs/1UIy5TT). The authors of a more recent review of the evidence say any such link would be important, because many older adults keep their natural teeth and over one third of people over age are cognitively impaired. "We thought it would be interesting to look at the current state of the findings," lead author Bei Wu, of Duke University's School of Nursing in Durham, North Carolina, told Reuters Health. As reported in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, Wu's team analyzed 16 studies that had tracked participants over time, plus another 40 studies that only looked at people at one point in time. Some studies found that markers of oral health, like number of teeth and presence of gum disease, were tied to rate of cognitive decline or dementia risk. But the links weren't stable in every study. Other studies found no link between oral and brain health. Also, the idea that both conditions are linked by underlying inflammation was only examined by one study that the researchers found "to be only marginally relevant." "This field is promising, but we really need to have a more rigorous studies to look into the relationship," said Wu. Wu said the idea that oral health could affect cognition is appealing, because it's something that people can modify on their own. "Having this kind of systematic review is extremely helpful for us to know what are the strengths and weaknesses of this area of research and what direction we should go in," she said. SOURCE: http://bit.ly/1UIC9U0 Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, online April 1, 2016.
By Sharon Bernstein
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Reuters) - A plan to raise California's minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2022 passed both houses of the state legislature on Thursday, putting the state on track to become the first in the nation to commit to such a large pay hike for the working poor.
The measure, incorporating a deal Governor Jerry Brown reached with labor leaders and progressive Democrats in the Legislature, was approved in the state Senate Thursday afternoon after winning approval earlier in the day in the Assembly, and now goes to Brown for his signature.
"If you work full time, your family shouldn't live in poverty," Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, a Southern California Democrat, said in support of the bill to raise the state's minimum wage from its current level of $10 per hour.
Lawmakers from the state's poorer regions said the measure could harm small businesses that are barely hanging on amid double-digit unemployment, ultimately leading to job losses.
If enacted, the bill would put California, home to one of the world's biggest economies, among a growing number of U.S. states and cities that have moved in recent years to surpass the federal minimum wage, which has remained at $7.25 an hour since 2009. A proposal to raise the minimum wage in parts of New York state to $15 was announced Thursday by Governor Andrew Cuomo and legislative leaders.
The California measure would gradually raise the state's hourly minimum wage to $15 by 2022 for large businesses and by 2023 for smaller firms.
The measure would also head off two competing ballot initiatives lacking a provision to allow the governor to suspend increases in hard economic times, a deal breaker for Brown.
The proposal sped through the legislative process after the governor's office reached a deal last week with labor unions pushing a similar minimum wage hike in the form of two ballot initiatives.
With polls showing strong support for those measures at the ballot box, Brown emphasized that a version passed through the legislature would allow lawmakers to amend it if needed over time instead of going back to voters to request amendments in expensive and uncertain campaigns.
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Moreover, the deal allows the state to opt out of minimum wage increases if the economy is doing poorly, a provision not in either of the union-backed ballot initiatives.
Even so, several moderate Democrats and most Republicans complained that it was being rushed through, and would disproportionately harm businesses in poorer parts of the state, where the cost of living is not high enough to warrant such a dramatic wage hike.
The deal reached in New York would raise wages in costly New York City to $15 in three years, but would stagger increases in other parts of the state, some to just $12.50 per hour unless further approval is granted. It still must pass the legislature, where negotiations on the details are ongoing.
(Reporting by Sharon Bernstein; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli and Andrew Hay)
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Last week, reporters got a chance to visit a service structure under construction for Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft including the "White Room," the final place astronauts will wait before blasting off.
After a long ride from NASA's Kennedy Space Center here through the wildlife refuge surrounding it, our bus full of space journalists pulled up at a construction site where engineers are putting together the Starliner's Crew Access Arm, a 44-foot (13 meters) mobile arm that will touch the tip of the rocket to let astronauts board. The craft would ride on an Atlas V rocket built by United Launch Alliance (ULA). Boeing and SpaceX have both been funded by NASA to develop spacecraft to propel astronauts to the International Space Station by 2017.
Leading the equipment tour were Boeing and ULA officials and NASA liaisons, including Boeing's director of Crew and Mission Operations, Chris Ferguson a retired NASA astronaut who piloted the first mission of the space shuttle Atlantis. [CST-100: Images of Boeing's Private Space Capsule]
"This, behind me, is the business end of it all," Ferguson told the crowd. "It's affectionately called the 'last place on Earth' for the passengers, and brings back a lot of fond memories of Pads 39A and B," he said, referring to space shuttle launch pads. "It's a little spacier than the old one, which is really nice, got a little extra room."
The white-painted room at the end of the Crew Access Arm is a key part of the mission: It keeps the inside of the spacecraft uncontaminated as ground crew work to get the astronauts situated inside the spacecraft. About an hour before launch the astronauts will be sealed into the spacecraft, but they can be brought back out in case of a long wait or if the craft is canceled due to weather. (They can also unstrap and get out on their own, if necessary.)
The engineers building the Crew Access Arm and White Room do not have access to an actual crew capsule, so they have a mock-up of the front half that can be mounted to work on the interface between the room and the spacecraft.
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If everything went according to plan on a given launch, the Crew Access Arm would swing out to the rocket more than 200 feet (61 m) in the air, acting as a bridge for the astronauts to get to the craft. Starting about 9 minutes before launch, engineers would swing the arm 120 degrees back out of the way over the course of 2 minutes. It uses hydraulic power to make that journey, said Steve Hirsch, the arm control engineer (called an ACE, he pointed out).
But in the case of an emergency, it can snap back in just 15 seconds, using a counterweight: "We use gravity that never fails to get the arm out and make sure that the arm is in a position where it can get the astronauts out," Hirsch said. [Boeing's Private Space Capsule: CST-100 (Infographic)]
While the Crew Access Arm is situated close to the ground for now, it will eventually be removed from its moorings, driven down to Space Launch Complex 41 where ULA currently stages Atlas V launches and mounted on the full Crew Access Tower. That whole process should be complete by the end of 2016, Boeing officials said. But it'll be awhile longer before the real spacecraft makes its way over as well.
"The reason that we have this test article here, the crew hatch and it is a full-scale model that ULA built is because we won't have the actual spacecraft interfacing with this equipment until two weeks before our first test launch," said Lisa Locks, Boeing's launch site integration lead. "That's when it will be installed on the launch vehicle and rolled out for the first time."
Starliner will undergo an uncrewed and crewed test launch before bringing its first astronauts to the International Space Station, ideally in 2017, NASA officials said. NASA awarded Boeing two such crew missions.
"Once we do start going to ISS, that is going to enable us to add one crewmember that will allow us to double the science capabilities that are going to be able to be performed on the ISS," said Mike Ravenscroft, the NASA commercial crew program launch site integration manager working with Boeing. "It's good to see hardware starting to come to fruition [] Once that rolls out to Pad 41 and enters the Florida skyline, we're excited about that, because that will enable us to once again launch to the ISS and the journey will begin for the crew."
"If there's nothing that brings back fond memories and the palpable feeling that work is getting done, it's seeing hardware show up on the horizon," Ferguson said.
Email Sarah Lewin at slewin@space.com or follow her @SarahExplains. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
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Montreal (AFP) - Canadian aviation giant Bombardier announced Friday it has received an order for 20 of its Challenger 350 business jets valued at about US$534 million.
The small twin-engine jet can carry up to nine passengers and fly as far as 6,000 kilometers (3,700 miles) on a single tank of fuel.
The Montreal-based company did not disclose the buyer.
Bombardier has been struggling recently in its first foray outside of business and regional passenger aircraft and into the category of medium-range, single aisle jets, with the launch of its new C Series jetliner.
The C Series is meant to go head to head with the workhorses of the aviation market, the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737.
But a lack of significant pre-sales forced the company to seek billions in government aid, while it cut thousands of jobs in order to conserve cash.
The first C Series jetliner is now expected to be delivered and go into service in June.
Sao Paulo (AFP) - Brazil construction titan Odebrecht said Friday it was selling $3.2 billion of its assets to "get through the hurricane" that is the Petrobras bribery scandal rocking it and the government.
The move was because of the group's sudden difficulty in getting access to credit after being deeply implicated in the scandal, with accusations that it paid bribes to secure two projects for the Olympic Games in Rio, company CEO Newton de Souza told the Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper.
He added that recent weakening of the Brazilian real had also taken its toll on Odebrecht's finances.
Proceeds from the asset sale this year, he said, would go to "an immediate reduction" of the group's $25 billion debt.
"We believe that this will give us peace of mind to get through the hurricane," he said.
Among the assets to be divested are a hydroelectric plant and a toll freeway in Peru, and a stake in an oil well in Angola.
De Souza took over as acting CEO and president of Odebrecht in December, replacing Marcelo Odebrecht, who last month was sentenced to 19 years in prison for paying large bribes and money laundering.
Marcelo Odebrecht was the biggest head to roll so far in the expanding Petrobras graft scandal, in which executives from Brazil's state-owned oil company allegedly conspired with construction groups to siphon off billions in dollars through inflated contracts.
De Souza said the investigation into his group is "certainly not a comfortable situation, and it makes our corporate task more difficult."
But he said the company was taking steps "to create the bases of a new cycle" in its organization.
By Anthony Boadle BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil's largest party announced on Tuesday it was leaving President Dilma Rousseff's governing coalition and pulling its members from her government, a departure that sharply raises the odds she could be impeached in a matter of months. The Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB) took just a few minutes to decide unanimously in a packed leadership meeting that its six ministers in Rousseff's Cabinet and all other party members with government appointments must resign immediately. Under Brazil's presidential system, Rousseff will remain in office but the break cripples her fight against impeachment proceedings in Congress, which could put Vice President Michel Temer, leader of the PMDB, in the presidential seat. Rousseff has denied any wrongdoing and called the impeachment efforts a coup to oust her ruling Workers' Party (PT). The opposition is pressing to impeach her for allegedly breaking budget laws to boost spending in the run-up to her 2014 re-election. Their efforts gained steam as more than 1 million Brazilians took to the streets this month to protest at the worst recession in decades and a vast corruption scandal at state oil company Petrobras that has reached the president's inner circle. "We're going to try to change the country. The economic and social crisis is very serious," Senator Romero Juca, the PMDB's first vice-president, said after the rowdy meeting in which party members chanted "Temer President" and "Out with the PT." The loss of Rousseff's main coalition partner may prompt smaller parties to abandon the government, leaving Brazil's first female president increasingly isolated as the impeachment process nears a vote in the lower house, expected in mid-April. It would be Brazil's first impeachment since former President Fernando Collor de Mello was put on trial in the Senate in 1992 for corruption. Rousseff's struggles are just a part of a broad crisis in Brazil, which was hailed until recently as one of the world's most promising developing countries alongside China, India and Russia. Brazil's economy shrank 3.8 percent last year and is on track for the worst two-year recession in more than a century, according to economists. The government is also grappling with an epidemic of the mosquito-borne Zika virus as it scrambles to prepare for the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in August. TRIP CANCELED Rousseff will seek new coalition allies and form a new government by the end of the week, her chief of staff Jaques Wagner told reporters. Rousseff canceled a trip to a nuclear security summit in Washington because of the deepening political crisis, two government officials told Reuters on Tuesday. She requires the backing of 171 members of congress - or one-third of the lower house - to block impeachment. The loss of the PMDB's 68 votes, means the PT - which has 58 members - must rely heavily on its smaller coalition partners. Including allies such as the Progressive Party (PP), the Republican Party (PR) and the Social Democratic Party (PSD), the government believes it can muster 180 votes. However, the PP will meet on Wednesday to decide whether to withdraw from the governing coalition. If the lower house backs impeachment, the Senate must then decide by a simple majority whether to put Rousseff on trial, at which point she would be temporarily suspended and Temer would become acting president. The Senate could vote on that as soon as early May. Investors weary of Rousseff's interventionist economic policies and a deepening recession have cheered the prospect of her ouster, boosting Brazil's currency 8 percent this year as the benchmark Bovespa stock index <.BVSP> rose 19 percent. However, many analysts warn that impeachment could usher in a period of political turmoil, with several senior PMDB figures also targeted by the graft investigation. Temer aides said he was ready to lead Brazil with policies restoring business confidence. Temer's plan is expected to include drastic cuts in public spending to close a fiscal deficit that cost Brazil its investment-grade credit rating. Senator Aecio Neves, leader of the main opposition Brazilian Social Democracy Party, said he and the leaders of five other opposition parties were ready to back a transitional government led by Temer. "Rousseff's government is finished. The departure of the PMDB is the last nail in the coffin of a dying government," Neves told reporters. Neves, who narrowly lost to Rousseff in the 2014 election, said within 10 days of the lower house decision the Senate would vote to suspend the president's mandate and put her on trial. However, the speaker of the Senate, PMDB Senator Renan Calheiros, said that the Supreme Court needed to set the calendar for the process in the Senate. A senior PMDB senator told Reuters this month that the government lacks the votes to win a trial there. Marina Silva, a environmentalist and political leader who came third in presidential elections in 2010 and 2014, slammed the PMDB for opportunism in severing its alliance with Rousseff's party. "In just three minutes ... the PMDB decided to jump from the government's coalition of which, for the past 13 years, it was the biggest beneficiary - without any explanation to the Brazilian people, and with no apology for being equally responsible for all the things that led to the current crisis," she said. (Additional reporting by Alonso Soto and Guillermo Parra-Bernal; Editing by Alistair Bell and Andrew Hay)
By Silvio Cascione and Guillermo Parra-Bernal BRASILIA/SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazilian prosecutors on Thursday charged Joseph Safra, the world's richest banker, in connection with an alleged scheme to pay bribes to government officials in return for waiving tax debts. In a statement, prosecutors said that Safra had knowledge of a 2014 plan by executives at his Banco Safra SA to pay 15.3 million reais ($4.2 million) in bribes to federal tax auditors. The accusation is based on tapped phone calls between Banco Safra executive Joao Inacio Puga and tax officials, the statement added. Safra, who alongside his family owns Banco Safra SA [SADEPB.UL] and a number of private-banking institutions including Switzerland's J Safra Sarasin, was not directly involved in the negotiations on the bribery plan, the statement noted. Still, the conversations showed that Puga reported to Safra on the bribery talks, prosecutors said. In a separate statement, Safra's investment holding company Safra Group said the allegations "are unfounded," adding that "there have not been any improprieties by any of the businesses of The Safra Group." No Safra Group representative "offered any inducement to any public official and the Group did not receive any benefit in the judgment of the tribunal," the Safra Group statement said. The charges filed are a follow-up of a broader police inquiry, known as "Operation Zealots," into kickbacks by companies through lobbyists. Dozens of other Brazilian firms, including steelmaker Gerdau SA , have also been under investigation for suspected kickbacks. The case is investigating whether companies bribed members of CARF, a body within the Finance Ministry that hears appeals on tax disputes, to get favorable rulings that reduced or waived the amounts owed. Over 70 industrial, agricultural, civil engineering and financial companies, including banks, are being probed in Operation Zealots. The Lebanese-Brazilian billionaire, whose fortune is estimated at about $18 billion by Forbes Magazine, controls a banking and financial conglomerate that operates in 19 countries. In addition to "Operation Zealots," Brazil has been gripped by the far-reaching corruption probe around state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA , known as Petrobras, and major engineering conglomerates in the past couple of years. ($1 = 3.5931 Brazilian reais) (Editing by W Simon and Andrew Hay)
Brasilia (AFP) - Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff's fight against impeachment gathered speed when tens of thousands of people marched nationwide to oppose what they said was a "coup."
The rallies late Thursday were part of a concerted attempt by Rousseff to turn the tide ahead of an impeachment vote over her alleged manipulation of government accounts to disguise the depth of Brazil's recession during her 2014 reelection.
Further boosting Rousseff, her chief ally in the spiraling political crisis -- fiery ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva -- won a major court battle that removes him from the jurisdiction of a crusading anti-corruption judge.
The peaceful demonstrators, many waving the red flags of Rousseff's Workers' Party, gathered in 31 cities, including Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and northern centers like Recife.
The Globo news site quoted police estimates for total turnout at more than 110,000, while organizers claimed nearly 600,000. At one of the larger rallies, in Brasilia, police told AFP that at least 25,000 to 30,000 people marched.
"No to the coup," said one placard popular at the protests. "Democracy," read a large banner at the gathering in Rio, where more than 5,000 people turned out across the city some four months ahead of the 2016 Olympics.
In Sao Paulo, Brazil's financial powerhouse, Francisco Ranieri, 50, said he had taken to the streets "because now is the moment."
"The opposition wants to push Dilma from power to end the people's government," added Ranieri, a shopkeeper.
"Dilma is the victim of a coup," said another demonstrator, teacher Ana Cristina Bentes, 52.
Lula, the hugely influential founder of the Workers' Party and pillar of Brazil's left, had been due to lead the Brasilia rally but cancelled at the last minute. His spokesman did not explain the change in plan.
- Court victory -
Just as protesters gathered, Lula won a significant court victory that could help boost Rousseff's cause.
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Rousseff has been counting on the well-connected ex-president to lead the fight against impeachment in Congress and reorganize her flailing administration after the main coalition to the Workers' Party quit earlier this week.
But the leftist heavyweight's comeback has been derailed by corruption charges linked to a sprawling probe led by federal Judge Sergio Moro into a bribes and embezzlement scheme at state oil company Petrobras.
On Thursday, the Supreme Court issued an interim ruling removing the politically explosive case from Moro and putting it with the high court -- a decision expected to give Lula considerable breathing space.
It was a rare victory for Rousseff whose chances of defeating impeachment are thought to have nosedived since the collapse of her coalition.
She vigorously dismissed the impeachment drive as a trumped up campaign and on Thursday told a group of artists and academics that the accounting tricks she is accused of using illegally have always been accepted.
"If I suffer impeachment, then it means that every previous government should have been impeached too, because all of them, without exception, did the same thing," she said. "I was always respecting the law."
- Battle for votes -
Congress's preliminary impeachment commission is expected to begin deliberations next Tuesday before making a recommendation mid-April.
Its recommendation is non-binding but will set the tone for a vote shortly after by the lower house, where 342 votes out of 513, or two thirds, are needed to launch an impeachment trial in the Senate.
If Rousseff manages to get more than 171 votes she would defeat the measure, but impeachment could also fail through abstentions or deputies not attending so that the 342 figure is not reached.
Until only recently Rousseff seemed likely to narrowly prevail, despite her unpopularity and the intense hostility of opponents in the increasingly divided country.
But the exit this week of the centrist PMDB from her coalition left her congressional support in tatters.
Loyalists are putting on a brave face, insisting that they can cobble together a new coalition and also target individual congressional deputies, regardless of their party's affiliation.
With seven ministries that had been held by the PMDB and some 580 other posts to hand out, the government hopes it will be able to horse-trade for support.
Brasilia (AFP) - Supporters of embattled Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff -- with her fiery predecessor at their head -- were taking to the streets Thursday to protest against a looming impeachment vote.
Crowds waving the red banner of the ruling Workers' Party had already begun to gather in the capital Brasilia where the main protest was due later, headed by controversial former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Rallies were also due in about 30 other cities.
Meanwhile an impeachment committee held hearings in Congress, where the full lower house is expected to vote on Rousseff's fate by mid-April. She is accused of illegally manipulating government accounts to mask the depth of Brazil's financial woes during re-election in 2014, but dismisses the case as fabricated and an attempted "coup."
The country's first female leader is scrambling to find sufficient support to defeat the impeachment vote, a task that suddenly became harder this week when the main partner in a coalition with her Workers' Party, the PMDB, pulled out and went into opposition.
On another front in the political battle engulfing Latin America's biggest country, the Supreme Court was expected to rule on whether to allow a crusading judge to pursue his explosive probe into alleged corruption by Lula.
Lula, the heaviest hitter on Brazil's left, is accused of money laundering and hiding property linked to a huge embezzlement and bribery scheme at state oil company Petrobras. He says the charges are politically motivated.
- Hunt for allies -
Congress's preliminary impeachment commission continued to hear defense arguments from Rousseff's team Thursday.
It is expected to begin deliberations next Tuesday before making a recommendation mid-April. Its recommendation is non-binding but will set the tone for a vote shortly after by the lower house, where 342 votes out of 513, or two thirds, are needed to launch an impeachment trial in the Senate.
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If Rousseff managed to get more than 171 votes she would defeat the measure, but impeachment could also fail through abstentions or deputies not attending so that the 342 figure was not reached.
Until only recently Rousseff seemed likely to narrowly prevail, despite her unpopularity and the intense hostility of opponents in the increasingly divided country.
With the PMDB's exit, the math gets far dicier, analysts say.
Loyalists are putting on a brave face, insisting that they can cobble together a new coalition and also target individual congressional deputies, regardless of their party's affiliation.
With seven ministries that had been held by the PMDB and some 580 other posts to hand out, the government hopes it will be able to horse-trade for support.
However, Rousseff's attempt to make Lula a lynchpin in that behind-the-scenes struggle has so far backfired.
Rousseff tried to make Lula a minister, saying that his huge political clout and negotiating skills were needed.
However, she was accused of trying to bring him into government so that he could gain ministerial immunity from the chief judge in the Petrobras probe, Sergio Moro.
The Supreme Court, which is due at some point to rule on whether Lula can take up his cabinet post, was set Thursday to rule separately on whether Moro can retain jurisdiction over the former president.
By Maria Carolina Marcello and Lisandra Paraguassu BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil's Supreme Court ruled on Thursday to take a corruption investigation into former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva away from a crusading federal judge, as pro-government protests across the country eased pressure on President Dilma Rousseff. Local television showed tens of thousands of supporters clad in red marching for Rousseff, who has faced growing calls for her impeachment since anti-corruption judge Sergio Moro released a wiretapped conversation of her and Lula this month. Thursday's 8-2 Supreme Court decision grants Lula and Rousseff a breather from Moro by putting Lula's case temporarily in the hands of the top court, all but 3 of whose members have been named since the ruling Workers' Party took office in 2003. Lula, Rousseff's predecessor and mentor, is under investigation for allegedly benefiting, in the form of payments and a luxury apartment, from a massive graft scheme uncovered at state-run oil company Petrobras. Rousseff is fighting impeachment over unrelated charges of irregularities in the government budget designed to favor her reelection in 2014. She could lose power as soon as May if she does not gain more support in Congress. The corruption scandal, Rousseff's Congressional weakness and a deepening economic recession have led to Brazil's worst political crisis since former President Fernando Collor de Mello resigned to avoid impeachment in 1992. Up to three million people joined a protest in favor of her ouster on March 13, the largest demonstration in decades. On Thursday, Rousseff held a rally with artists and movie stars who support her and said opponents trying to impeach her were merely trying to "give a democratic tint to a coup." Aides said her government had had some success in drawing lawmakers from smaller political parties into her government's alliance, which was shattered by the departure this month of Brazil's largest political party the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB). "The reconfiguration of the base is ongoing," Rousseff's spokesman Edinho Silva told journalists. In a sign of a potential split among the PMDB, Senate leader Renan Calheiros said his party's decision to leave the government was "foolish" and "premature." The lower house of Congress is due to vote in mid-April on whether Rousseff should stand trial in the Senate for manipulating government accounts. She is not being investigated for corruption. Her woes deepened, however, when she tried to appoint Lula to her Cabinet, which would give him some immunity from prosecution because ministers and elected officials can only be tried by the Supreme Court in Brazil. Hours after he was named, Moro released a recording of them discussing the appointment. A Supreme Court justice suspended Lula's appointment arguing that it was aimed at illegally shielding him. On Thursday, the Supreme Court overruled Moro's decision to release the recording of his call with Rousseff and said it was the only court authorized to wiretap a conversation involving the president. Several justices said the conversation should not be accepted as valid evidence when the court eventually makes a decision on whether Lula can join the cabinet. Moro could still take some parts of the Lula investigation, depending on future Supreme Court rulings and whether Lula is ultimately allowed to become a minister. Lula released a video on social media praising Thursday's protests and gathering of artists, saying the "anti-coup" movement was growing. (Additional reporting by Anthony Boadle; Writing by Caroline Stauffer; Editing by Alistair Bell and Andrew Hay)
London (AFP) - Prime Minister David Cameron held crisis talks Thursday to salvage Britain's steel industry after Indian giant Tata Steel said it was putting its business in the country up for sale, threatening 15,000 jobs.
The sale throws into doubt the future of an industry that fuelled British industrialisation and helped build its empire.
Tata's decision also puts at risk Britain's biggest steel plant at Port Talbot in the former industrial heartland of south Wales. The facility is Wales's biggest single employer and closure would have a devastating impact on the local economy.
While Cameron said "I don't believe nationalisation is the right answer" to protect the steel industry -- hit by plunging prices triggered by cheap imports from China -- he vowed to explore all options to help find a new buyer after Tata's announcement Wednesday.
"Those jobs are vital to workers' families, vital to those communities and the government will do everything it can working with the company to try and secure the future of steelmaking in Port Talbot and across our country," Cameron said after meeting ministers following his early return from holiday.
Port Talbot, a central part of the Welsh economy since 1901, is reportedly losing 1 million (1.3 million euros, $1.4 million) a day in the face of high energy costs and plunging prices caused by a chronic global oversupply of steel.
"Everyone either works in Tata or knows somebody who does," said Christina Rees, a local MP for the main opposition Labour party.
"For every job lost at Tata, four others will be affected in the local communities."
Daniel Helson, a 20-year-old who works in the town's coke ovens, said Port Talbot would "just disappear, disintegrate" if the plant closed.
"The houses will go. There'll be nothing here for anyone. Well all have to move away," he added.
- EU referendum implications -
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Cameron is also battling to avoid the situation giving fuel to campaigners who want Britain to leave the European Union in a tight referendum on June 23.
Nigel Farage, leader of the anti-EU UK Independence Party, said Port Talbot's position showed that a vote to remain in the EU would mean "the end of the steel industry in this country."
But Cameron said it highlighted that Britain needed to be in Europe "making sure the markets are open".
The government has been accused of turning a blind eye to Chinese dumping of steel on world markets in order to secure wider investment in Britain's economy.
It rolled out the red carpet for China President Xi Jinping during a state visit last year while opposing EU plans to impose higher tariffs on Chinese steel.
Compared to the United States, EU import tariffs on Chinese steel imports are low -- there is duty of 16 percent on Chinese cold-rolled steel compared to a 236 percent tariff in the US.
"It is galling that the UK government... has continued to block these changes in the EU -- leaving the steel industry on its knees," said Gareth Stace, director of UK Steel, the industry's trade association body.
"The government must support the lifting of the lesser duty rule, otherwise steel manufacturing will be lost in the UK."
- 'Not going to find a buyer' -
Metal processing company Liberty House said it was looking at some of Tata's British assets but the group's president Sanjeev Gupta suggested it was more interested in processing plants rather than production facilities like Port Talbot.
Analysts warned Tata would struggle to offload the production plants, of which there are three in total.
"They are not going to find a buyer because they would ask for substantial help and if they (the government) were ready to give such help, then they would have rather helped Tata," Mohan Sodhi from the Cass Business School at London's City University told AFP.
The steel industry's woes are the latest chapter in the demise of Britain's once-proud heavy industry in traditionally working-class regions in Scotland, Wales and the north of England.
Britain accounted for 40 percent of the world's steel production in 1875, exporting to its empire and the United States.
The industry dwindled as it lost foreign and domestic market share to cheaper rivals and it has since become a politically-charged lightning rod for Britain's industrial policy.
It was nationalised by Labour in 1949, privatised by the Conservatives in 1952, nationalised by Labour in 1967 and then privatised again by the Conservatives in 1987.
London (AFP) - The British government on Thursday issued a vehement rebuttal of a UN panel's findings that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange had been arbitrarily detained.
Published last month, the United Nations working group's non-binding legal opinion was instantly dismissed as "ridiculous" by London, which has now submitted its formal response, inviting the panel to reconsider its conclusions.
Assange faces a rape allegation in Sweden but has been inside Ecuador's embassy in London for nearly four years in a bid to avoid extradition.
The 44-year-old Australian fears that from Sweden he could be deported to the United States over WikiLeaks' release of 500,000 secret military files.
The UN panel said the detention it concluded Assange was living under had violated his human, civil and political rights.
"The working group's opinion is deeply flawed and Mr Assange has never been the subject of arbitrary detention," the Foreign Office said.
"His human rights have been protected throughout."
Anti-secrecy campaigner Assange initially spent 10 days in a London prison having been refused bail, but his detention was "absolutely in line with the relevant legislation and regulations", the statement said.
The former computer hacker's series of failed court appeals against extradition to Sweden took 18 months and "cannot be considered excessive or unfair", the rebuttal said.
"During this period he was granted bail and so cannot be considered to have been detained."
The UN panel said Assange should be able to claim compensation from Britain and Sweden.
Assange hailed the findings as a "victory", but has continued to remain in the Ecuadoran embassy.
The working group will consider Britain's response on April 18 in Geneva.
Foreign Office minister Hugo Swire said: "The original conclusions of the UN working group are inaccurate and should be reviewed.
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"We want to ensure the working group is in possession of the full facts. Our request for a review of the opinion sets those facts out clearly.
"Julian Assange has never been arbitrarily detained by the UK, and is in fact voluntarily avoiding lawful arrest by choosing to remain in the Ecuadoran embassy.
"The UK continues to have a legal obligation to extradite him to Sweden."
A hero to supporters and a dangerous egocentric to detractors, Assange founded WikiLeaks in 2006 and has been portrayed in two movies in recent years.
London (AFP) - Britain's Conservative government raised the minimum wage that is pocketed by more than a million people Friday, trumpeting it as a transformative step for the economy but winning few plaudits from employers or austerity-weary unions.
Affecting between 1.3 million and 1.8 million people according to varying estimates, the minimum gross salary for all British workers aged over 25 climbed by 7.5 percent to A7.20 ($10.36, 9.10 euros) an hour as of April 1, a pay boost that far outstrips inflation.
The pay rise, first announced by Prime Minister David Cameron's government last July, represents a complete about-turn for the Conservative party, which opposed the introduction of the minimum wage in 1999 when then prime minister Tony Blair's Labour was in power.
"The National Living Wage will play a central role in moving Britain to a higher wage, lower tax, lower welfare economy," British finance minister George Osborne said as the pay boost came into effect.
"It will also mark the end of the gender pay gap for some of our lowest paid and hardest working people."
The opposition Labour party criticised the policy as a "cruel sleight of hand", however, pointing to the government's enactment of sharp cutbacks in welfare spending.
- Stagnant wage growth -
Other nations, too, have raised minimum wages in recent years to address stagnant wage growth and inequality between rich and poor.
France lifted the minimum wage at the start of this year to almost 9.70 euros an hour.
Germany launched a minimum wage one year earlier at 8.50 euros, where it remains.
And in the United States, California plans to raise the pre-tax minimum wage to $15 per hour (13.28 euros) in a move which might be followed by other US states.
In Britain, where unemployment is relatively low at around 5.0 percent, large wage inequalities persist and London School of Economics professor Alan Manning described the new living wage as "more symbolic" than anything else.
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"It's significant but I don't think one should exaggerate its significance," he told AFP.
When Britain's Conservatives opposed the introduction of a minimum wage 17 years ago, they had feared the minimum wage would destroy jobs, Manning said.
"The minimum wage is often popular with voters who are actually quite conservative on many issues, because many of them think that if people work hard and can't earn enough to support themselves and their families, there is something wrong with... society."
However, the hourly rate of A7.20 is significantly less than the minimum pay recommended by the lobby group Living Wage Foundation, which says workers aged 18 and over should earn at least A8.25 a hour, rising to A9.40 in London where housing rents tend to be high.
"Today's new legal minimum is an important step forward in tackling low pay in the UK," said Katherine Chapman, director of the Living Wage Foundation.
"We welcome the news that millions of workers will get a pay rise. However, the job is not done when it comes to tackling low pay," she said.
About six million people earn less than the minimum level recommended by the foundation, with women, young people and part-time workers hardest hit, Chapman said.
- Key issue for voters -
Workers' representatives stressed that government cuts to welfare benefits hurt people on the bottom run of the pay ladder.
"Many people on the lowest pay are also reliant on in-work benefits, such as tax credits or housing benefits, to ensure a sufficient minimum household income," said Tim Nichols, senior media officer at the Trades Union Congress, Britain's biggest union organisation.
Employers gave a lukewarm response, too.
"Companies are committed to raising prosperity and living standards, but for wage increases to be sustainable they must go hand-in-hand with productivity growth," said Josh Hardie, deputy director-general for policy and campaigns at the business lobby group the Confederation of British Industry.
McCollum in court at the time of her arrest (Rex Pictures)
A British female drugs mule serving almost seven years for smuggling cocaine into Peru has been released from jail less than halfway through her sentence.
Michaella McCollums solicitor, Kevin Winters, said the Northern Irish woman had been placed on parole on Thursday night and he was trying to find out the terms of her release.
I can confirm Michaella has been released from jail and Im waiting to hear the outcome of the judicial process, he told the Press Association.
McCollum and Reid (Rex Pictures)
McCollum , together with Melissa Reid, from Scotland, were dubbed the Peru Two when they were caught.
They were each sentenced to six years, eight months in a Peruvian jail after being found guilty of trying to smuggle cocaine worth 1.5 million from Lima to Spain in August 2013.
Both were aged 20 at the time.
Mules. The pair in a Peruvian court (Rex Pictures)
The pair hid the drugs in food parcels in their luggage.
After their arrest they initially claimed they had been forced into carrying the drugs but later admitted their guilt.
There was no word on Reids fate.
Peru has recently passed a new law allowing for early release of prisoners but it is not known, if McCollum, from County Tyrone, has been freed or is set to finish her sentence in Northern Ireland.
CANTERBURY, England (Reuters) - A judge refused on Friday to halt the criminal damage trial of a refugee from Darfur who walked through the Channel Tunnel in one of the most dramatic attempts to reach Britain since Europe's migration crisis began. Abdul Haroun's case has prompted debate in Britain between critics who want him prosecuted to deter others from attempting the 50-km walk through the railway tunnel from France, and supporters who say he should be free to start a new life. His trial had been set for June and Judge Adele Williams ruled at Canterbury Crown Court in southeast England that it should go ahead. "Having heard legal argument, the court has ruled that the prosecution against this defendant should continue and the matter is fixed for trial on June 20," she said. Haroun, 40, was arrested in August 2015 as he neared the English end of the tunnel at Folkestone, having walked in darkness for some 12 hours, dodging passing trains along the way. He was charged with obstructing a railway. He spent five months in prison until he was granted asylum on Dec. 24 and freed on bail on Jan. 4. Thousands of migrants have been camping in squalor around Calais at the French end of the Channel Tunnel, trying to get to Britain by stowing away on trucks or trains. Haroun is the first known to have made it on foot. The operator of the Channel Tunnel, Eurotunnel, said on Thursday that extra security measures introduced last year had ended disruptions caused by migrants trying to get to Britain. (Reporting by Sarah Young; editing by Stephen Addison)
By Emma Batha LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A British man who treated his Pakistani wife as a slave was sentenced to two years on Friday following what is believed to be the first conviction in the UK for domestic servitude involving a husband and wife. "This is a ground-breaking case which demonstrates how far we have come in tackling modern-day slavery," said Crown Prosecution Service lawyer Damaris Lakin in a statement. Safraz Ahmed, 34, from London, subjected Sumara Iram to "physical and mental torture" after she moved to Britain in 2012 following an arranged marriage which both had agreed to. "She was treated with complete contempt by the defendant who responded to her requests for affection with physical assaults and verbal abuse," Lakin said. "She was isolated from the world, allowed only very restricted contact with her family and was not allowed to leave the house unaccompanied." Iram was often made to work from 5 a.m. to midnight, cooking and cleaning for her husband and members of his family. Media reports said Ahmed threw tins of cat food at his wife, sent streams of abusive text messages and once told her to jump in front of a vehicle or into a river. In one attack Ahmed broke Iram's nose. Six months later she attempted to take her life, according to media reports. Ahmed was sentenced to two years by Woolwich Crown Court after he admitted holding his wife in servitude. He received a concurrent eight-month sentence for assault. Last year Britain passed the Modern Slavery Act to crack down on traffickers and bring in measures to protect people feared at risk of being enslaved. The Home Office (interior ministry) estimates that up to 13,000 people are victims of slavery in Britain, forced to work in factories and farms, sold for sex in brothels or kept in servitude behind closed doors. (Editing by Katie Nguyen; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, which covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, corruption and climate change. Visit news.trust.org to see more stories.)
London (AFP) - A British man could face a life sentence after being found guilty on Friday of plotting to kill US servicemen based in Britain.
Junead Ahmed Khan, 25, scouted US Air Force bases in eastern England using his job as a delivery driver as cover, a London court heard.
Police found online messages between Khan and an Islamic State (IS) fighter in Syria calling himself Abu Hussain, whom prosecutors claimed was in fact British-born Junead Hussain.
He was later killed in a US drone strike in the IS stronghold of Raqa in Syria.
Khan told Hussain that he wanted to carry out an attack similar to the one on British soldier Lee Rigby, who was hacked to death by an Islamist on a London street in 2013, the trial heard.
Following his arrest last July, detectives also found pictures of Khan posing with an IS-style black flag in his bedroom.
He was convicted of preparing for an act of terrorism and on a second charge of planning to travel to Syria to join IS.
"Through early detection and prosecution of these individuals, more serious crimes have been avoided which could have had devastating consequences in the UK or Syria," said prosecutor Sue Hemming.
Khan's 23-year-old uncle Shazib Ahmed Khan was also convicted of planning to join Islamic State militants in Syria.
The crime carries a maximum term of life imprisonment, with sentencing scheduled for May 13.
Brussels (AFP) - Bomb-hit Brussels Airport is on track to reopen on Sunday, a Belgian government source said, after the authorities reached a deal with police on introducing tighter security at the key travel hub following the March 22 suicide attacks.
"There is an agreement," Vincent Gilles, head of the SLFP police union, told AFP after lengthy talks Friday.
He said the government and the airport operator had given in to their main demand for "systematic checks" of passengers and their luggage before going through customs.
The agreement removed the final obstacle standing in the way of the airport's partial resumption of services. The next step is for the government to give the formal go-ahead for the reopening.
"We hope that the airport can reopen Sunday morning," a government source told AFP.
The operator of Brussels Airport, whose departure hall was wrecked in last week's blasts, had said Thursday the airport was "technically ready" to resume partial services after testing new, temporary check-in facilities.
But no flights were announced as police unions held up the planned reopening, threatening to go on strike unless stricter checks were imposed.
Complaining about lax security in the past, they proposed using metal detectors to check all visitors before they enter the airport zone and introducing checks on cars.
The airport operator warned however that such moves would create long queues outside the building that could be another target for attackers.
"There aren't any European airports that apply such measures," Brussels Airport spokeswoman Florence Muls said earlier Friday.
It was not immediately clear if the new security checks agreed in the deal would take place outside or inside the temporary departure hall.
When Zaventem airport does reopen, it will still only be working at 20 percent capacity, the operator has warned, handling 800 to 1,000 passengers an hour. Chief executive Arnaud Feist has said it could take months to return to normal.
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The airport's spokeswoman Florence Muls, speaking to AFP before the deal with police was announced, also said flights would resume on Sunday at the earliest.
"Once we have a formal agreement on the security measures, approved by the interior ministry, we can start calling employees and carriers can contact their passengers, this will take some time," she said.
- 'Symbolically important' -
A total of 32 people were killed in the coordinated Islamic State blasts on the airport and a Brussels metro station, the worst-ever attacks in the de facto capital of the European Union.
As Belgium seeks to turn the page on last week's traumatic events, the reopening of the airport "is symbolically and economically important," the spokesman of Prime Minister Charles Michel told Belga news agency.
Brussels Airport, which says it contributes some three billion euros ($3.4 billion) annually to the Belgian economy, has not released any figures on the financial impact of the attacks, but the ripple effects have been felt throughout the travel industry.
Its top carrier Brussels Airlines has said it was losing five million euros daily in what it called the "biggest crisis" of its history.
With 260 companies on-site employing some 20,000 staff overall, the airport is one of Belgium's largest employers and accounts for just under one percent of gross domestic product (GDP).
Since the attacks, thousands of passengers have had to be rerouted to nearby airports in and around Belgium and hotel bookings have plummeted as tourists stay away, either out of fear or to avoid the travel disruptions.
Hotel reservations in the capital have fallen by 50 percent since March 22, the Brussels Hotels Association said.
By Philip Blenkinsop BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Brussels main airport is likely to reopen on Sunday after police and the government resolved a dispute over security following the March 22 bomb attacks, agreeing that all passengers would be screened on arrival. The airport has not handled passenger flights since two suspected Islamist militants carried out the suicide attacks. Those bombs and a separate one on a metro train in the city killed 35 people and wounded scores of others. The airport, whose departure hall was destroyed in the blasts, has built a temporary check-in zone, conducted tests and had declared itself ready to restart flights, with a provisional restart set for Friday evening. However, airport police threatened to strike over what they saw as lax security measures. The deadlock was only broken after talks between police union leaders and the government on Friday evening. "We have reached agreement with the prime minister and the interior minister," Jan Adam, a leader of the ACV Politie union. "I envisage that the airport would reopen on Sunday." The federal police, whose officers work in the airport, wanted passengers to be checked outside the new departure zone. But the airport authorities had said this would mean passengers waiting too long and simply shift the security threat from inside to outside the area. Adam said all passengers would be checked on arrival. Belgium's national security council, a grouping of senior ministers, police and intelligence chiefs, earlier acknowledged it could simply force police to work at the airport, but that it would be unwise to do so. "It's important to find the right balance between economic interests and security interests," Defence Minister Steven Vandeput told Belgian television. Brussels Airlines, Belgium's largest carrier and 45 percent owned by Lufthansa, has estimated the closure of its Brussels hub is costing it 5 million euros per day. The city's association of hotel operators pointed to the closed airport as one of the main reasons for a more than 50 percent drop in overnight stays up to March 28. "The outlook is bad but it depends on the complete reopening of the airport," a spokesman for the Brussels Hotel Association said. Brussels Airport is one of the largest airports in Europe, handling 23.5 million passengers and 489,000 tonnes of freight annually. It links the Belgian capital with 226 destinations worldwide through 77 different airlines. When it does reopen it is set to run at only 20 percent capacity, with some 800 passengers departing per hour. (Additional reporting by Robert-Jan Bartunek; Editing by Richard Balmforth and Angus MacSwan)
Brussels (AFP) - More than 2,000 mourners packed into Brussels' largest mosque Friday to pay their last respects to a young Belgian-Moroccan mum who was killed in the March 22 terror attacks on the city, Belgian media reported.
So many worshippers descended on the capital's Grand Mosque that prayer mats had to be laid out outside, Belga news agency said, as religious leaders inside paid an emotional tribute to the victim.
Loubna Lafquiri, who had three children and worked as a gym teacher in the Brussels neighbourhood of Schaarbeek, was killed in the suicide blast at Maalbeek metro station.
A total of 32 people were killed in the coordinated Islamic State attacks, which also struck Brussels airport.
"We are here as human beings first," one of the mourners, a young woman in a pink headscarf, told RTL television, expressing solidarity with "the victims of all faiths" who died in the attacks.
"They were mothers, sisters, fathers, brothers... it could have happened to anyone," she said.
Metro bomber Khalid El Bakraoui and the two airport bombers had all been staying at a Schaarbeek flat before blowing themselves up last week.
Lafquiri was among the first victims of the attacks to be laid to rest in Belgium. More funeral services are planned in coming days.
ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari will check the 2016 budget bill passed last week "ministry by ministry" before signing it, he said on Thursday, signaling further delays before the legislation takes effect. The budget for Africa's top oil producer has been held up for months as Buhari had to withdraw his original bill, which set spending at a record $30 billion, in January, due to an unrealistic oil price assumption and flaws in the draft. Lawmakers approved an amended bill last week that Buhari has yet to sign as parliament has so far only sent highlights of the new document to his office, a government official told Reuters on Tuesday. "Some bureaucrats removed what we put in the proposal and replaced it with what they wanted," Buhari said, according to a statement from his office. "I have to look at the bill that has been passed ... ministry by ministry, to be sure that what has been brought back for me to sign is in line with our original submission." On Thursday, the information minister said there was no rift between the executive and legislature on details of the budget. A day earlier, a senior lawmaker said parliament might need another week to work out details of the budget. Buhari hopes the bill will revive the economy but officials have left open how it would be funded. The government has said it might sell Eurobonds or sign a loan deal with China and the World Bank but no deal has emerged. Oil revenues, which make up about 70 percent of Nigeria's income, have slumped, hammering the naira currency, halting development projects and leaving budget funding uncertain. Nigeria has been trying to restart outdated refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna to end its dependency on costly fuel imports for around 80 percent of its energy needs. Three of its four state-owned refineries were closed for five months in 2015 due to maintenance issues and vandalism. On Thursday, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) said it was committed to boosting refining capacity as it opened the technical bid for the location of new refineries within the nation's existing refineries. Anibo Kragha, NNPC chief operating officer for refineries, said the open bidding exercise demonstrated the determination of the government and state oil company to increase the country's refining capacity from 445,000 barrels per day to 650,000. "The aim is to leverage on the existing facilities to fast track the take-off of the refineries as soon as possible," he said. NNPC said nine companies submitted bids. ($1 = 198.8000 naira) (Reporting by Felix Onuah and Camillus Eboh; Writing by Ulf Laessing and Alexis Akwagyiram; Editing by Tom Heneghan)
SOFIA (Reuters) - Balkan neighbors Bulgaria and Macedonia will hold joint air and land operations along their common border to ensure control of it amid an increased flow of migrants, the Bulgarian government press office said. Last week, Macedonia closed its border completely to illegal migrants after Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia announced tight new restrictions on migrant entry. Thousands of migrants have gathered on the Greek side of that country's border with Macedonia, which had been allowing small numbers of Syrians and Iraqis through but stopped this after its neighbors tightened up their policies. "Prime Minster (Boiko) Borisov and President (Gjorge) Ivanov agreed to carry out joint Bulgarian-Macedonian operations by air and land in the coming days to ensure border control," the Bulgarian press office said in a statement on Thursday. Borisov said Sofia was preparing to send humanitarian aid for the refugees in Macedonia. Bulgarian authorities did not disclose any details about the joint border operations. Last month, Bulgaria's parliament voted to let its army assist police in guarding the Black Sea state's borders to avoid a refugee influx that has overwhelmed some of its neighbors. Sofia's move coincided with tightening border controls along the main migration corridor from Greece northward through Macedonia and Serbia, raising concern that migrants fleeing war and deprivation in the Middle East and Africa may try alternate routes through Bulgaria. (Reporting by Angel Krasimirov; Editing by Tom Heneghan)
Burmas generations-long transition to democratic rule reached its apex on Tuesday after Htin Kyaw was elected president by the two houses of parliament. The 70-year-old leader was nominated to serve by his party, the National League for Democracy, after a constitutional provision by the ruling military junta barred Aung San Suu Kyi, the democracy advocate and Nobel Peace laureate, from running for office.
Kyaw, the first civilian president in 54 years, made it clear he would serve as a proxy for Suu Kyi and emphasized that after his win.Victory! he declared on Tuesday. This is sister Aung San Suu Kyis victory. Thank you.
Kyaw, the son of Min Thu Wun, a respected poet, is a childhood friend of Suu Kyi, who went to school with her. He later won a scholarship to study in the U.K.
Hes from a family thats been at the heart of Burmas [long-submerged] liberal tradition for nearly a century, Thant Myint-U, a historian, told The Guardian in a recent interview.
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But its as a loyal aide to Suu Kyi that Kyaw is best known. He ran the Daw Khin Kyi Foundation, a charity named for her late mother, and, as the BBC reported, has been frequently seen at the NLD leaders side, serving as her driver from time to time.
Despite Tuesdays milestone, some remain less optimistic about the work ahead for Myanmar.
The military continues to wield great power, the NLD has no experience managing large and complex bureaucracies, corruption remains widespread, and Myanmars relationship with China is fraught, Zoltan Barany wrote in Foreign Affairs in December.
As Kenneth Roth of Human Rights Watch noted, the second-place finisher in the election, and Kyaws top vice-president, is U Myint Swe, a former military hardliner under sanction by the United States.
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On Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry issued his congratulations to Kyaw, but not without adding this note of caution to the proceedings:
The presidential election is another important step forward in Burmas democratic transition, and we commend the people and institutions of Burma who continue to work together to ensure a peaceful transfer of power after the November 2015 elections.
Read more from The Atlantic:
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Bangui (Central African Republic) (AFP) - Voters in the Central African Republic went to the polls Thursday for the second round of the country's parliamentary election, a day after the new president was sworn in.
At his inauguration Wednesday, President Faustin-Archange Touadera vowed to "preserve peace" after three years of turmoil and violence between Christians and Muslims that has killed thousands since 2013.
Turnout for Thursday's ballot was slow in the morning, in contrast to the long lines seen at polling stations for the first round on February 14.
Many voters complained of fatigue after numerous delays, cancellations and run-off ballots in the presidential and parliamentary elections aimed at ending the spiral of inter-communal unrest that has displaced more than 400,000 people.
The violence disrupted farming, transport and public services in one of the world's poorest nations and was so serious that France -- the former colonial power -- launched a military intervention and the UN deployed a peacekeeping force.
The first round of the parliamentary vote on December 30 was cancelled by the constitutional court over various irregularities and rearranged for February 14, the same day as the first round of the presidential vote.
"First I voted in the constitutional referendum, then the first and second round of the presidential vote. Same for the cancelled first round of the parliamentary election and the re-run. I've really had enough of voting," Edgar Modale, a voter in Bangui, told AFP.
There were 85 seats up for grabs in Thursday's election, out of 140 in the country's National Assembly. Forty-five candidates were elected in the first round, while a new first round is to be held in 10 constituencies where irregularities were reported.
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)
OTTAWA (Reuters) - The pace of growth in the Canadian manufacturing sector grew for the first time in eight months in March as the weaker Canadian dollar gave exports a boost, data showed on Friday. The RBC Canadian Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' index (PMI), a measure of manufacturing business conditions, rose to a seasonally adjusted 51.5 last month from 49.4 in February. It was the highest level since December 2014 and the first time the index has been above the 50 threshold that marks growth in the sector since August of last year. The measure of new export orders rose to 53.1 from 51.9 with companies saying that the drop in the Canadian dollar had helped lift sales to U.S. clients. "The low Canadian dollar contributed to further improvement in export volumes during the first quarter of 2016 and a return to growth in the manufacturing sector," said Craig Wright, chief economist at RBC. Gauges of output and overall new orders rose as well, while the weaker loonie also lifted businesses' input prices. The report will likely add to expectations the economy fared better than anticipated in the first quarter. Canada was in a mild recession last year as the oil-exporter was hit by the drop in crude prices, but recent data has shown the economy got off to a better start in 2016. (Reporting by Leah Schnurr, Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's oil-producing province of Alberta, stymied by the U.S. decision to block the Keystone XL pipeline and by other market access problems, said on Friday it will use zeppelins to bring its products to markets around the world. Alberta's left-leaning New Democrat government used April Fools' Day to solve the problem of getting bitumen, oil and natural gas from the land-locked province without going through the long consultations and reviews that have frustrated its oil industry. In the same statement, Premier Rachel Notley said airships are both "safe and environmentally friendly." "Airship technology has advanced by leaps and bounds since the Hindenburg," she added, referencing the 1937 airship disaster that killed 36 people. The premier's office confirmed the project is an April Fools' Day joke. The provincial government said half of the 200 balloons for the airships will be made in Alberta, a stipulation that will "kickstart a nascent aerospace industry." "The first shipments to refineries in the Asia-Pacific region are expected to land in foreign markets by April 1, 2017," the Alberta government said. The province's previously booming economy has been hard hit by the global crude price slump, with companies slashing billions of dollars in capital spending and laying off tens of thousands of workers. President Barack Obama rejected TransCanada Corp's Keystone XL pipeline project to the United States last year. The fate of the company's Energy East project, to the provinces of Quebec and New Brunswick, awaits a National Energy Board's review. (Reporting by Ethan Lou; Editing by Alistair Bell)
By Amrutha Gayathri and Euan Rocha (Reuters) - Canada's Cara Operations , owner of the Swiss Chalet casual dining chain and Harvey's burger outlets, said Thursday it would buy St-Hubert BBQ, one of Quebec's largest casual dining chains, for C$537 million ($415 million), in a bid to gain a foothold in the province. The deal was cheered by analysts and investors. Shares in Cara, which went public a year ago, closed 9.4 percent higher at C$29.15 on the TSX. "Given the potential synergies that exist, not only on the cost side but also on the top-line, we believe Cara has only increased its positioning as the dominant restaurant operator in Canada, and as an attractive consolidator going forward," said Canaccord analyst Derek Dley, in a note. Cara, Canada's largest operator of full-service restaurants, had indicated it was looking to expand through acquisitions. And analysts had flagged privately held St-Hubert as one of the most likely targets for Cara, which is controlled by dealmaker Prem Watsa's Fairfax Financial Holdings . Swiss Chalet and St-Hubert are both well known for their rotisserie chicken meals, but the two chains share little geographic overlap. More than 90 percent of St-Hubert's 117 restaurants are in Quebec, where Swiss Chalet does not have a presence. St-Hubert also operates food manufacturing plants and other facilities in Quebec. "There's no retail to speak of really right now in Cara, and this team and the facilities they've got in Quebec are perfect for us and Quebec was the province we were most under-penetrated within, so we can use this to build not only more St-Hubert's in Quebec, but other restaurants too," said Fairfax President Paul Rivett. Cara has said it wants to boost revenue to $2.5 billion-$C3 billion in five to seven years, up from C$1.7 billion in 2014. The acquisition of St-Hubert, which had sales of C$620 million in 2015, will move Cara much closer to that target. The deal also gives Cara an opportunity to expand its offerings through grocery chains, including Loblaw Cos , Costco Wholesale and Metro , where St-Hubert sells products such as marinades, pot pies and seasonings. Cara said it planned to fund the deal through a credit facility, raised to C$700 million from C$150 million. It also said it will consider offering shares to eliminate or reduce the need for a two-year term loan, which is part of the credit facility. ($1 = 1.29 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by Euan Rocha in Toronto and Amrutha Gayathri in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Jonathan Oatis)
Ottawa (AFP) - Canada's smallest province of Prince Edward Island announced Thursday that surgical abortion services should be available locally by the end of the year, nearly three decades after the country legalized the procedure.
PEI Premier Wade MacLauchlan made the announcement as part of a plan for a new women's health center on the Atlantic Ocean island.
PEI was the only Canadian province that did not provide surgical abortions, instead paying for local women to go to nearby provinces for the procedure.
The new center should be able to offer medical and surgical abortions by the end of the year, MacLauchlan said.
There have been no legal restrictions on abortion in Canada since the Supreme Court in 1988 struck down a partial ban on abortions and parliament failed to enact new legislation.
However, PEI lagged behind the rest of the country in offering abortion services due to strong local opposition.
Plans for the women's health center come after threats of a lawsuit by abortion rights activists, which MacLauchlan said the province likely would lose.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau praised PEI's move, saying on Twitter that a woman's right to choose abortion "is a fundamental right in our country."
"The government of Canada reaffirms its belief that a woman should have access to reproductive health services, no matter where they live in our country."
By Fergal Smith TORONTO (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar weakened slightly against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday, turning lower on month-end transactions after strong domestic data helped drive the currency to a five-month high earlier. Month-end buying of U.S. dollars was accompanied by unwillingness to be short the greenback ahead of Friday's U.S. employment report, according to analysts. "I think this is nothing more than a month-end, quarter-end short-squeeze with a little U.S. dollar demand," said Patric Booth, head of derivatives trading at Velocity Trade. Still, the Canadian dollar ended the first quarter 6.5 percent higher than at the end of 2015. It has rallied more than 13 percent since hitting a 12-year low in January at C$1.4689, helped by recovery in crude oil prices, stabilization in financial markets and reduced expectations for Bank of Canada rate cuts. It approached key resistance between C$1.2800 and C$1.2830, according to Bipan Rai, executive director, macro strategy at CIBC Capital Markets. "The inability to close below there for today implies further consolidation to come," he added, suggesting there may be a cap on the upside for the currency. Canada's economy grew by a much larger-than-expected 0.6 percent in January. It was the fourth straight monthly gain and the biggest since July 2013. That puts the economy on track to grow much faster than the Bank of Canada's 1 percent estimate for the first quarter, according to Paul Ferley, assistant chief economist at Royal Bank of Canada. The implied probability of a rate cut this year dropped to less than 20 percent from 26 percent before the data. It was more than 50 percent at the start of the month. The Canadian dollar ended at C$1.2987 to the greenback, or 77.00 U.S. cents, weaker than Wednesday's close of C$1.2965, or 77.13 U.S. cents. The currency's weakest level of the session was C$1.3012, while it touched its strongest since Oct. 16 at C$1.2859. U.S. crude prices were down 0.47 percent at $38.14 a barrel, but still posting large monthly gains. [O/R] Canadian government bond prices were mixed across the maturity curve, with the two-year price down 2 Canadian cents to yield 0.544 percent and the benchmark 10-year falling 6 Canadian cents to yield 1.232 percent. The Canada-U.S. two-year bond spread narrowed 5.1 basis points to -18.1 basis points, its least negative since Nov. 3. Meanwhile, the 10-year spread was 6 basis points narrower at -54.5 basis points, its least negative since Oct. 20, as Canadian government bonds underperformed. (Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli and Andrew Hay)
By Rod Nickel (Reuters) - Nexgen Energy Ltd , a Canadian uranium exploration company whose stock rocketed 79 percent this month, is talking with multiple uranium producers and buyers about selling a minority stake, its chief executive said on Thursday. But the Vancouver-based company does not plan to add a partner before next year, said Chief Executive Officer Leigh Curyer, a former executive with Uranium One Investments Inc. "We're unique for an exploration company - the executives and board all have large-company experience," Curyer said in a phone interview from San Francisco. "We know where we're going." Mining explorers typically develop projects until sometime before construction, when major producers with greater capital and expertise take them over. Potential strategic investors have expressed interest since 2014, but their enthusiasm spiked this month, Curyer said. The company estimated on March 3 an initial resource at its Arrow deposit in northern Saskatchewan of 202 million pounds, much larger and higher-grade than expected. That size would make Arrow the third-largest deposit in Canada's rich Athabasca basin after two Cameco Corp mines. It does not include 2016 drilling results, which have also impressed. Nexgen has entered non-disclosure agreements with interested parties, but there is no hurry taking a partner, Curyer said. The company has C$35 million ($26.93 million) in cash, enough to fund itself to mid-2017. Nexgen's stock runup demonstrates rare investor excitement about uranium, which is stuck in a five-year slump. Brisk reactor-building in China has led to forecasts of a uranium shortfall by the end of the decade. Arrow, fully owned by Nexgen, is located in stable rock, unlike some uranium mines that are prone to flooding. "I think this will be the most profitable uranium mine the world has ever seen," said David Sadowski, analyst at Raymond James, in an interview. After several more years of drilling, permitting and studies, Arrow might start producing uranium around 2022, in time to capitalize on forecast higher demand, Curyer said. Arrow is near two other attractive uranium deposits, owned separately by Fission Uranium Corp and Areva SA , raising the possibility that one company might acquire all three. Curyer hopes that will not happen until Arrow's resource is more fully explored. "Everyone asks me, 'is someone going to take you out too early?'" he said, adding he thinks shareholders are patient. "We have the foundations of building a leading supplier of uranium on the global stage." ($1 = 1.2997 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, Manitoba; Editing by Chris Reese)
By MacDonald Dzirutwe HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's plan to win back international funding by paying compensation to white farmers forced off their land faces a major snag: the black farmers expected to stump up the cash say they don't have it. The new occupants working the land, many of who had few farming skills when they were resettled, say they can barely make ends meet, let alone pay an extra levy. Their agricultural output is a fraction of the level seen before 2000, when President Robert Mugabe - saying he sought to correct colonial injustices - introduced land reforms which led to thousands of experienced white farmers being evicted. They are also being hammered by Zimbabwe's worst drought in a quarter of a century and toiling under a stagnating economy that has seen banks reluctant to lend and cheaper food imports from the likes of South Africa undermining their businesses. "Are farmers able to pay? I will say no. Is the land being productive? I will say no again," said Victor Matemadanda, secretary general of a group representing war veterans who led the land seizure drive in 2000 and are now farmers. He told Reuters that many farmers could not even meet water and electricity bills and that it was the government's obligation - not theirs - to pay the compensation. Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union President Abdul Nyathi also said his members would not be able to pay compensation. "Most of the farmers face viability issues, the government will have to look at other ways of raising money," he added. Mugabe's land reforms have led to about 5,000 white farmers being evicted from their land by his supporters and war veterans over the past 16 years, often violently. More than a dozen farmers have been killed. The land seizures, along with allegations of vote-rigging and rights abuses - all denied by Mugabe - led to Zimbabwe being targeted by sanctions from Western donors. This compounded the economic plight of the country, which saw financing from the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and African Development Bank frozen in 1999 after it defaulted on debts. The IMF's head of mission to Zimbabwe, Domenico Fanizza, said this month that improving fiscal discipline and re-engaging the international community should be priorities for Harare. He said this would "reduce the perceived country risk premium and unlock affordable financing for the government and private sector". DIVIDED OPINION In an attempt to woo back international donors and lenders, Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa announced a package of major reforms on March 9, including the farm measure and a big reduction in public-sector wages. He said it had the full backing of Mugabe. The farm plan involves 300,000 families resettled on seized land paying an annual rent - based on the size of their farms - towards a compensation fund for those evicted. If they are unable to pay, however, it could be a major setback for the government's plans to shore up an economy that is stagnating after a deep recession in the decade to 2008, which slashed its output by nearly half, drove hundreds of thousands abroad in search of better paying jobs and has left the jobless rate at around 85 percent. The finance ministry did not respond to repeated requests for comment about the ability of farmers to pay the levy. Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor John Mangudya told Reuters that the farmers' situation should improve once the government grants them 99-year leases on their land, which he said would make it easier for them to secure financing from banks and to pay rent towards the compensation fund. All agricultural land in Zimbabwe is owned by the government and, at present, farmers have no legal claim on their farms - which they say has made banks reluctant to extend loans to buy fertilisers, seed and chemicals so they can raise output. But the government says it will imminently grant the leases. "We are saying that the land should produce, but we also know what the constraints are to increase production," said Mangudya. "That is why we need to finalize on the 99-year land lease agreements to make them bankable so that farmers have security of tenure. With that there is no reason why farmers should not be able to pay (rent)." Mugabe's land reform program is a highly emotive issue, which has divided public opinion. Supporters say it has empowered blacks while opponents see it as a partisan process that left Zimbabwe struggling to feed itself. "The land revolution was a necessity and if the economy was running very well farmers would be able to pay the rent," said Matemadanda of the war veterans' group. "The prevailing economic conditions do not allow." The land seizures have led to a steep fall in commercial agriculture output; yields for the staple maize have fallen to an average 0.5 tonnes percent per hectare from 8 tonnes in 2000 when white farmers worked the land. Mugabe acknowledged the skills of evicted white farmers last week, saying they had helped neighboring Zambia to produce excess maize, which Zimbabwe was now importing. ELECTIONS A treasury ministry circular said that compensation would be paid out of rent from black farmers who benefited from the seizures. Chinamasa has not said when farmers would be expected to start paying the rents, or at what level they would be set. When announcing the measures, he said production on black-owned farms was "scandalously low" and that the economy was under siege from the drought. The white Zimbabweans who accounted for the majority of those evicted will be compensated only for the improvements they made to the farms, while the foreign owners forced out will be paid full compensation for land and improvements, under the plan. Chinamasa said Harare broke bilateral investment agreements with other countries when it seized farms owned by foreigners. Tony Hawkins, professor of business studies at the University of Zimbabwe, said the government was "going through the motions to keep the IMF happy". "They probably want the international community to see that they are doing something," he said. "I doubt they will press with this ahead of the elections," he added, referring to the 2018 general election. Farmers are an important voting block for Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF party. Hundreds of evicted white Zimbabwean farmers are now farming in Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi and Nigeria, while others migrated to Europe, New Zealand and Australia. Hendrik Olivier, director at the formerly white-dominated Commercial Farmers Union (CFU), said the government had not yet approached evicted farmers to discuss compensation, and also cast doubt on the plan's viability. The CFU, which once boasted 4,500 farmers who produced 90 percent of Zimbabwe's export crops, including tobacco and horticulture produce until 2000, now only has 300 members. "It's a huge step forward, lets acknowledge that. In the past the government has said that it won't pay compensation," Olivier told Reuters. "But if you are talking about new farmers paying a levy, that's not gonna work, that's not gonna pay our compensation." (Editing by James Macharia and Pravin Char)
By MacDonald Dzirutwe HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's plan to win back international funding by paying compensation to white farmers forced off their land faces a major snag: the black farmers expected to stump up the cash say they don't have it. The new occupants working the land, many of who had few farming skills when they were resettled, say they can barely make ends meet, let alone pay an extra levy. Their agricultural output is a fraction of the level seen before 2000, when President Robert Mugabe - saying he sought to correct colonial injustices - introduced land reforms which led to thousands of experienced white farmers being evicted. They are also being hammered by Zimbabwe's worst drought in a quarter of a century and toiling under a stagnating economy that has seen banks reluctant to lend and cheaper food imports from the likes of South Africa undermining their businesses. "Are farmers able to pay? I will say no. Is the land being productive? I will say no again," said Victor Matemadanda, secretary general of a group representing war veterans who led the land seizure drive in 2000 and are now farmers. He told Reuters that many farmers could not even meet water and electricity bills and that it was the government's obligation - not theirs - to pay the compensation. Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union President Abdul Nyathi also said his members would not be able to pay compensation. "Most of the farmers face viability issues, the government will have to look at other ways of raising money," he added. Mugabe's land reforms have led to about 5,000 white farmers being evicted from their land by his supporters and war veterans over the past 16 years, often violently. More than a dozen farmers have been killed. The land seizures, along with allegations of vote-rigging and rights abuses - all denied by Mugabe - led to Zimbabwe being targeted by sanctions from Western donors. This compounded the economic plight of the country, which saw financing from the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and African Development Bank frozen in 1999 after it defaulted on debts. The IMF's head of mission to Zimbabwe, Domenico Fanizza, said this month that improving fiscal discipline and re-engaging the international community should be priorities for Harare. He said this would "reduce the perceived country risk premium and unlock affordable financing for the government and private sector". DIVIDED OPINION In an attempt to woo back international donors and lenders, Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa announced a package of major reforms on March 9, including the farm measure and a big reduction in public-sector wages. He said it had the full backing of Mugabe. The farm plan involves 300,000 families resettled on seized land paying an annual rent - based on the size of their farms - towards a compensation fund for those evicted. If they are unable to pay, however, it could be a major setback for the government's plans to shore up an economy that is stagnating after a deep recession in the decade to 2008, which slashed its output by nearly half, drove hundreds of thousands abroad in search of better paying jobs and has left the jobless rate at around 85 percent. The finance ministry did not respond to repeated requests for comment about the ability of farmers to pay the levy. Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor John Mangudya told Reuters that the farmers' situation should improve once the government grants them 99-year leases on their land, which he said would make it easier for them to secure financing from banks and to pay rent towards the compensation fund. All agricultural land in Zimbabwe is owned by the government and, at present, farmers have no legal claim on their farms - which they say has made banks reluctant to extend loans to buy fertilisers, seed and chemicals so they can raise output. But the government says it will imminently grant the leases. "We are saying that the land should produce, but we also know what the constraints are to increase production," said Mangudya. "That is why we need to finalise on the 99-year land lease agreements to make them bankable so that farmers have security of tenure. With that there is no reason why farmers should not be able to pay (rent)." Mugabe's land reform programme is a highly emotive issue, which has divided public opinion. Supporters say it has empowered blacks while opponents see it as a partisan process that left Zimbabwe struggling to feed itself. "The land revolution was a necessity and if the economy was running very well farmers would be able to pay the rent," said Matemadanda of the war veterans' group. "The prevailing economic conditions do not allow." The land seizures have led to a steep fall in commercial agriculture output; yields for the staple maize have fallen to an average 0.5 tonnes percent per hectare from 8 tonnes in 2000 when white farmers worked the land. Mugabe acknowledged the skills of evicted white farmers last week, saying they had helped neighbouring Zambia to produce excess maize, which Zimbabwe was now importing. ELECTIONS A treasury ministry circular said that compensation would be paid out of rent from black farmers who benefited from the seizures. Chinamasa has not said when farmers would be expected to start paying the rents, or at what level they would be set. When announcing the measures, he said production on black-owned farms was "scandalously low" and that the economy was under siege from the drought. The white Zimbabweans who accounted for the majority of those evicted will be compensated only for the improvements they made to the farms, while the foreign owners forced out will be paid full compensation for land and improvements, under the plan. Chinamasa said Harare broke bilateral investment agreements with other countries when it seized farms owned by foreigners. Tony Hawkins, professor of business studies at the University of Zimbabwe, said the government was "going through the motions to keep the IMF happy". "They probably want the international community to see that they are doing something," he said. "I doubt they will press with this ahead of the elections," he added, referring to the 2018 general election. Farmers are an important voting block for Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF party. Hundreds of evicted white Zimbabwean farmers are now farming in Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi and Nigeria, while others migrated to Europe, New Zealand and Australia. Hendrik Olivier, director at the formerly white-dominated Commercial Farmers Union (CFU), said the government had not yet approached evicted farmers to discuss compensation, and also cast doubt on the plan's viability. The CFU, which once boasted 4,500 farmers who produced 90 percent of Zimbabwe's export crops, including tobacco and horticulture produce until 2000, now only has 300 members. "It's a huge step forward, lets acknowledge that. In the past the government has said that it won't pay compensation," Olivier told Reuters. "But if you are talking about new farmers paying a levy, that's not gonna work, that's not gonna pay our compensation." (Editing by James Macharia and Pravin Char)
Vatican City (AFP) - The Vatican has opened an investigation into the financing of renovations at a luxury penthouse occupied by Italian cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the former number two in the Holy See hierarchy, officials said Thursday.
Spread across hundreds of square metres at the top of the Palazzo San Carlo and boasting a huge terrace with magnificent views over Rome, Bertone's sumptuous retirement pad has became synonymous with the kind of clerical extravagance Pope Francis has vowed to stamp out.
Now it is set to cause further embarrassment to the famously frugal pontiff after it was confirmed that a probe has been launched into how 200,000 euros' worth of the renovation costs came to be paid by a Foundation linked to Rome's Bambino Gesu (Baby Jesus) children's hospital, which is run by the Vatican.
Bertone himself is not under investigation but officials are examining the conduct of the hospital's former chairman, Giuseppe Profiti, and its former finance chief, Massimo Spina, a Vatican spokesman said.
The probe follows revelations by investigative journalist Emiliano Fittipaldi, who is one of two reporters currently on trial in a Vatican court for obtaining classified documents which provide evidence of waste, irregularities and extravagance in the Holy See's finances.
The controversial trial is currently suspended due to the ill health of one of the three Vatican officials charged alongside the journalists.
Press freedom bodies have attacked the Vatican for prosecuting journalists whose revelations have been shown to have been in the interest of the Church and its followers.
Earlier this year, Francis announced new rules for the naming of saints after Fittipaldi and his co-accused Gianluigi Nuzzi revealed how the current system could be abused to generate large profits for private companies connected to the Vatican.
The books also highlight how flats like the one occupied by Bertone are frequently let out at peppercorn rents with no system in place to decide on what basis they should be allocated.
The cardinal's apartment is frequently described as being nearly 700 square metres (7,500 square feet) in size. He insists it is less than half that and has stressed that he shares it with the three nuns who look after him and his private secretary.
By Lucien Libert and Morade Azzouz PARIS (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of workers and high-school students joined protest marches across France on Wednesday to challenge plans to loosen the country's protective labor laws that unions say favor businesses. The day of protest -- which led to scores of arrests as youths and police clashed in Paris, Lyon and Nantes -- marked the fourth such test of strength in a month for President Francois Hollande. He has been plagued by low popularity and a jobless rate that is stuck stubbornly above 10 percent little more than a year before a presidential election. Organizers said more than 1.2 million people took part. The interior ministry put the number at just under 400,000, higher numbers -- despite persistent rain -- than in some other recent protests. The three protests to date had been relatively low-key, but with rail, air traffic and utility staff among those to stop work, there was significant disruption across the country. On Thursday, Reuters TV footage showed hooded youths in Paris jumping on cars, taunting police and throwing projectiles, prompting riot police to charge some groups. Reuters reporters also witnessed clashes in France's second city Lyon and in Nantes. Police arrested more than 100 people and at least 13 officers were injured, the interior ministry said. Unions said they planned further rallies on April 5 and 9 with the hardline CGT union saying the protests would not end until the draft labor bill was withdrawn entirely. "Small employees are treated like dirt, we've had enough, (and) it's Hollande who pretends to represent the left," said Jean-Luc Gutel, a CGT representative who works in the delivery service in Paris. "The youth are told to study for years, but what for?" TRANSPORT DISRUPTED State railway SNCF said stoppages among its staff had cut some services by 40 to 50 percent on Thursday. About one in five flights were canceled at Orly airport south of Paris, the DGAC air transport authority said. French utility EDF said power output at several production units was cut after nearly 14 percent of its staff joined rallies. Under rainy skies, secondary-level school pupils also mobilized in dozens of cities alongside labor unions. At issue is a proposed overhaul of France's labor code, a set of regulations bosses claim deters recruitment. Critics say the reforms will lead to worse working conditions and more sackings. The reforms, due to be debated in parliament next week, would give employers more flexibility to agree in-house deals with employees on working time. After Communist lawmakers brandished signs in the Senate demanding the withdrawal of the text, Prime Minister Manuel Valls said many had a "distorted" view of the reform. "We have already lifted a number of concerns," he said. "The door remains open ... to work this out for companies, workers and the youth of this country." The protests come a day after Hollande, who has said he will not run for re-election if he fails to make a dent in the jobless rate, abandoned another piece of legislation - plans to strip convicted terrorists of French citizenship. That climbdown was forced on him by other lawmakers, many of them in his own camp. Hollande's government watered down the initial labor reform proposal shortly before it was unveiled this month by ditching a clause that would have capped severance pay awards. Economists fault the French system for creating a divide between older people with open-ended work contracts and first-timers condemned to move between short-term jobs. (Additional reporting by Sophie Louet; Writing by John Irish and Brian Love; Editing by Gareth Jones and John Stonestreet)
By Suzannah Gonzales
CHICAGO (Reuters) - The board in charge of choosing candidates to become Chicago's next police chief said on Friday it will not suggest any new names until it sees whether the city council changes the selection rules.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Monday ignored the board's three finalists, the result of a national search, and instead named a veteran black police supervisor as interim superintendent to lead the department.
The Democratic mayor is trying to rebuild the third-biggest U.S. city's trust in a police force facing a federal investigation and racism accusations.
The tarnished image of Chicago's police has been a political liability for Emanuel, who defied calls to resign last year after days of protests following the release of video capturing a white officer's shooting of black teenager Laquan McDonald.
That case was one of numerous fatal police shootings of unarmed African-Americans across the United States that have stirred outrage and raised questions of racial bias in policing.
The Chicago Police Board said on Friday it will take no further action until developments play out, citing media reports about possible changes by the city council to rules on appointing a police superintendent. City officials are seeking to avoid another national search for a superintendent, reports said.
"The Police Board will be taking the time that it needs to determine the best path forward with regard to the Superintendent vacancy," Lori Lightfoot, police board president, said in a statement.
Emanuel's choice for interim superintendent was Eddie Johnson, the 55-year-old head of the police department's patrol division. He is the third superintendent to lead the Chicago Police Department in less than four months.
Roderick Sawyer, a city council alderman and black caucus chairman, said he has not seen any official proposals about changing the rules regarding the selection of a superintendent.
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Sawyer said the mayor should be allowed to pick the superintendent as it is one of the most important jobs in the city. Also, taxpayers' and superintendent applicants' time and money may be wasted when the board selects candidates and the mayor eventually rejects them, he said.
Emanuel did not respond to requests for comment.
Johnson said in a department statement on Friday that he plans to meet with activists, elected officials and others to find ways to make Chicago safer.
The violent crime rate "remains unacceptably high," with murders in Chicago rising in March by 29 percent compared with March 2015, the statement said.
(Editing by Matthew Lewis)
By Suzannah Gonzales
CHICAGO (Reuters) - The Chicago police union has hired the white officer charged with fatally shooting a black teenager in 2014 as a way of helping him financially, the group's president said on Thursday.
Jason Van Dyke was charged with first-degree murder last November, more than a year after he shot Laquan McDonald 16 times. The October 2014 shooting was captured on patrol car dashboard camera videos that were released on the day Van Dyke was charged, prompting weeks of protests.
Dean Angelo, president of the Fraternal Order of Police, Chicago Lodge 7, said in a statement that Van Dyke had been hired a number of weeks ago. Van Dyke, who was suspended from the department, was in a difficult financial situation, Angelo said, adding the union would do the same for any Chicago officer.
"Due to the notoriety of the incident, the ongoing threats of harm and intimidation and other issues caused him to become completely unemployable," Angelo said. "Furthermore, after several threats against the safety of his spouse and her clients his wife was forced to shut down her family-run business; resulting in zero household income."
Local media reported that Van Dyke was hired as a janitor.
Father Michael Pfleger, a priest and social activist, told Reuters that he was outraged by the hiring.
"In my mind, this is absolutely unacceptable," Pfleger said. "This is why the bridge between police and community is so destroyed now. If I hired at my church a guy who was indicted and awaiting trail for killing a police officer, they would be tearing me up."
The former officer's attorney was unavailable on Thursday and previously referred media to the union for comment.
(Reporting by Suzannah Gonzales and Eric M. Johnson; editing by Toni Reinhold and G Crosse)
By Nidal al-Mughrabi GAZA (Reuters) - Child labor has risen sharply in Gaza, where youngsters toiling in garages and on construction sites have become breadwinners for families feeling the brunt of the Palestinian enclave's 43 percent unemployment rate. In the past five years, the number of working children between the ages of 10 and 17 has doubled to 9,700 in the territory, according to the Palestinian Bureau of Statistics. The bureau said 2,900 of those children are below the legal employment age of 15. Economists in the narrow coastal strip, home to 1.9 million Palestinians, estimate the real number of underage workers could be twice as high. The increase in Gaza goes against trends. The International Labour Organization says the worldwide number of children in labor has fallen by a third since 2000, from 246 million to 168 million, with more than a fifth in sub-Saharan Africa. At one garage in downtown Gaza, 16-year-old Mahmoud Yazji and another boy, aged 12, work nine hours a day. Mahmoud said he earns the equivalent of $13 a week; the younger boy takes home half of that. "My father makes 1,000 shekels ($258) a month. It disappears in a few days and we struggle for the rest of the month," Mahmoud said. Haitham Khzaiq, 16, quit school six months ago to sell candy apples to visitors at Gaza's newly developed seaport, a major picnic venue. He works a half-day, seven days a week, and said he earns a total of 20 shekels ($5). "We are five brothers and eight sisters. I am the oldest son and I had to work because my father is unemployed," he said. "I don't earn enough but it is better than nothing and it is better than begging people for money." A devastating 2014 war between Palestinian militants and Israel, border restrictions imposed by Israel and Egypt and the destruction of cross-border smuggling tunnels by an Egyptian government at odds with Gaza's Hamas rulers have contributed to economic hardship in the territory. AID DEPENDENCE The United Nations estimates that 80 percent of the population is aid dependent, with unemployment rising to its current level from around 35 percent five years ago. "Some people are living like kings and many others like us are hardly finding anything to eat," said 10-year-old Mohammed, who sells potato chips on the street and began working after his father, a construction laborer, lost his job. A gap is evident on the Gaza beachfront, where child vendors lugging trays of tea, coffee and snacks mingle with other children using expensive cellphones to record their family picnics. Several smart hotels overlook the port and beachfront. A Dutch-funded organization, El-Wedad Society for Community Rehabilitation, has been running a project for three years aimed at convincing families in Gaza of the importance of returning working children to the classroom. "We are very worried. We feel children's rights are being trampled on," said Naeem al-Ghalban, who heads the society. Its representatives visit the homes of working children they meet on the street and invite them to guidance sessions at the organization's headquarters. Children are taken for visits to Gaza's colleges to show them what could lie ahead if they go back to school. Ghalban said that over the past three years, some 50 working children have taken up their studies again as a result of the organization's efforts. "We have managed to persuade some families that educating their children is far better and more valuable than the little money they make," he said. (Editing by Jeffrey Heller and Richard Balmforth)
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 expressed anger on Friday about an exiled leader from the violence-prone far western Chinese region of Xinjiang receiving a rights award in the United States, saying he was a wanted criminal. Dolkun Isa, executive chairman of the Munich-based World Uyghur Congress, the leading ethnic Uighur group which advocates democracy and human rights in Xinjiang, received an award from the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation in Washington on Wednesday. China put Isa, a former student activist in Xinjiang, on a list of Uighur "terrorists" in 2003. Germany accepted his claim of refugee status and granted him a passport in 2006. Isa says he condemns all terrorism. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said Isa was a wanted man in China for crimes including murder. "The giving of this award by the relevant organization to a terrorist like Dolkun Isa who has carried out multiple crimes is to profane and sully human rights and the rule of law," Hong told a daily news briefing. The foundation said they gave him the award for leading "a movement of principled opposition to the ongoing persecution" of the Uighur people and for continuously seeking a peaceful solution with the Chinese government. The World Uyghur Congress cited Isa as saying in his acceptance speech that he rejects violence and the Uighurs are a "people of peace and development". "These principles make the Uighur issue not a Uighur problem, but a Chinese government problem, a condition generated by systematic denial of fundamental human rights and freedoms," he said. Hundreds of people have been killed in unrest in Xinjiang in the past few years. The government blames the violence on Islamist militants wanting to establish an independent state called East Turkestan for ethnic minority Uighurs, a mostly Muslim people who speak a Turkic language and hail from Xinjiang. Exiles and rights groups though say the unrest is more a reaction to repressive government policies than being organized by any cohesive militant group. China strongly denies abusing anyone's rights in Xinjiang. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Robert Birsel)
By Jonathan Cable and Wayne Cole SYDNEY, LONDON, NEW YORK (Reuters) - Activity in China's factory sector grew for the first time in nine months during March to bring a hint of spring to the global economy, although growth remained weak in Europe, and subdued in the U.S. Headlining in Asia was a rise in the official version of the Chinese Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) to 50.2, above the 50-point mark that separates growth from contraction. The private Caixin/Markit PMI found output, total new orders and output prices all returned to growth also, while a survey of the service sector surprised with its strength. "It does seem to indicate that the manufacturing sector is warming up a bit," said Raymond Yeung, senior economist at ANZ in Hong Kong. "We think there are basically two factors driving the recovery: the first is a possible acceleration in infrastructures pending. The second is a broader pickup in external demand." The relatively upbeat Chinese surveys should give some comfort to Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen who this week cited the global risks emanating from Asia as one reason to be cautious on raising U.S. interest rates. Yet, analysts still suspect more government support will be needed for the Chinese economy, especially if it wants to avoid a politically unsettling rise in unemployment. Credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's underlined the need for faster reform when it changed China's credit outlook to negative on Thursday. The economic pulse across the rest of Asia was more erratic. South Korea's PMI bounced to within a whisker of 50 in March while stronger shipments of smartphones and steel saw exports decline at the slowest pace in four months. Indonesia put an end to 17 straight months of contraction as its PMI popped up to 50.6, with output, new orders and employment all improving. Japan, however, was busy going backwards as the Markit/Nikkei PMI of 49.1 was the lowest since February 2013. That echoed a gloomy survey of manufacturers from the Bank of Japan which found sentiment at its darkest in nearly three years, a result that lopped 3.0 percent off the Nikkei <.N225>. All of which heightened pressure on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the central bank to do more to shore up the stuttering economy. "This data confirmed the very cautious stance of Japanese firms reflecting the market volatility since January. There's no signs of corporate sentiment bottoming in coming months," said Mari Iwashita, chief market economist at SMBC Friend Securities. "There's more than a 50 percent chance the BOJ will consider easing policy further this month." EUROPE IMPROVES MARGINALLY However, while euro zone factories rounded off the first quarter in slightly better shape than initially thought the growth in activity remained weak despite the deepest price-cutting since late 2009. The euro zone survey suggested manufacturing is still dragging on the wider economy. The report came soon after the European Central Bank unleashed a bold easing package in its latest attempt to spur growth and drive up inflation. Despite the price-cutting by manufacturers and ECB stimulus, Markit's PMI for the euro zone only rose to 51.6 from February's year-low of 51.2. The bloc's economy grew just 1.6 percent in 2015 and the first quarter's PMIs suggest there will be little improvement anytime soon. "The softening of forward looking components in the past two months is consistent with our scenario of a slower growth inQ2-Q3," said Apolline Menut at Barclays. Looking at the country breakdowns, growth remained weak in Germany and activity contracted in France but Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria and in particular Ireland saw robust expansions. In Britain, outside the currency bloc, manufacturing growth edged up in March from its weakest level in nearly three years, suggesting the sector will contribute little to economic growth in early 2016. AMERICAS SLIGHTLY BETTER ALSO In the U.S, the manufacturing sector improved slightly in March, even though the U.S. Labor Department reported a loss of 29,000 jobs in the sector for the month, the largest number since December 2009, despite signs of stabilization in the factory sector. Markit's U.S. manufacturing PMI for March improved slightly to 51.5, up from 51.3 in February. The employment subcomponent also edged up 52.2 from 51.8. "March data highlighted sustained growth across the U.S. manufacturing sector, but the overall pace of expansion remained subdued," Markit economist Tim Moore said. "Subdued client spending patterns within the energy sector, ongoing pressure from the strong dollar, and general uncertainty about the business outlook were cited as factors weighing on new order flows in March." An alternative report from the U.S. Institute of Supply Management (ISM) also reported its index of national factory activity rose to 51.8 from 49.5 the month before. However, the employment index fell to 48.1 from 48.5 a month earlier. Canada's manufacturing sector grew for the first time in eight months in March as the weaker Canadian dollar gave exports a boost, data showed on Friday. The RBC/Markit manufacturing PMI rose to 51.5 last month from 49.4 in February. The report will likely add to expectations the economy fared better than anticipated in the first quarter. Canada was in a mild recession last year as the oil-exporter was hit by the drop in crude prices, but recent data has shown the economy got off to a better start in 2016. Growth in Mexico's manufacturing sector picked up slightly also last month to its fastest pace in nearly a year, as a weak peso helped export orders but increased costs. Mexico's HSBC/Markit manufacturing PMI improved to 53.2 from 53.1 in February. Brazil's manufacturing crisis eased last month as a weak currency boosted exports, although the improvement was not strong enough to halt job losses. The HSBC/Markit PMI rose to 46.0 in March, up from a three-month low of 44.5 in February. "There were pockets of solid foreign demand reported, partly offsetting the weakness in the domestic market," said Markit economist Pollyana de Lima. Brazil's currency slumped last year as the economy entered a deep recession and a political crisis led ratings agencies to strip the country of its investment-grade rating. (Additional reporting by Leah Schnurr in Ottawa, Alexandra Alper in Mexico City, Silvio Cascione in Brasilia and Meredith Mazzilli in New York; editing by Jeremy Gaunt and Clive McKeef)
Beijing (AFP) - China said Friday it would impose import deposits of up to 46 percent on flat-rolled electrical steel products from the European Union, as its domestic producers face growing financial pressure.
China's commerce ministry said that it will levy anti-dumping duties on imports of Grain Oriented Flat-rolled Electrical Steel (GOES) from Japan, the South Korea and the European Union.
Importers will pay deposits ranging from 14.5 percent to 46.3 percent, after an investigation showed the regions were guilty of dumping which damages domestic Chinese industry, the ministry added in a post on its website.
The announcement came as Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron held crisis talks to salvage Britain's steel industry after Indian giant Tata Steel said it was putting its business in the country up for sale, threatening 15,000 jobs.
Tata's decision notably puts at risk Britain's biggest steel plant at Port Talbot in the former industrial heartland of south Wales. The facility is Wales' biggest single employer and closure would have a devastating impact on the local economy.
The Port Talbot plant reportedly produced grain-oriented flat-rolled steel.
China imported about 1.5 million tonnes of steel from the EU in 2014, and exported about 6.5 million tonnes of its steel to the EU, according to the World Steel Association.
Europe's steelmakers called this week for sharply higher anti-dumping tariffs to protect against a flood of cheap Chinese imports.
China's own steel sector is also reeling from the effects of massive overcapacity as its economy slows.
Beijing said this year it will slash some 1.8 million jobs in its coal and steel sectors, without giving a time frame.
Reports have said as many as five million state sector jobs could be cut in the next five years.
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.
Beijing (AFP) - China on Friday shrugged off a decision by ratings agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) to cut its outlook on the country to negative, calling on the firm to be "objective".
S&P cut its outlook from its previous assessment of "stable" on Thursday, warning that economic rebalancing away from investment towards services was taking longer than expected.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said on Friday that the country was "in the process of economic transformation" and that economic fundamentals were stable.
"We hope the relevant organisation can have a comprehensive understanding of Chinas economic development, and make an objective judgement," he added at a regular briefing.
Beijing posted its slowest economic growth in a quarter century last year as it grappled with a tough transition away from dependence on heavy industries toward a consumer-driven growth.
Fluctuations in the exchange rate and stock markets last summer and slow progress on market reforms in state-dominated sectors undermined confidence in leaders' willingness to push for change.
S&P kept its rating on Chinese sovereign bonds unchanged at AA-/A-1+.
The firm said that it could downgrade Chinese government bonds this year or next if Beijing opens the credit floodgates and pushes investment to above 40 percent of GDP in order to meet ambitious growth targets.
S&P joined fellow ratings agency Moody's, which cut its outlook on Chinese sovereign bonds earlier in March, citing increasing capital outflows and rising debt.
After the Moody's downgrade the official news agency Xinhua carried a commentary criticising the "short-sightedness" of Western ratings agencies, claiming they lacked credibility.
Ratings agencies assess debtors' ability to pay back debts.
A Chinese Communist Party member founded the country's main ratings agency, Dagong, some 20 years ago, but it has struggled to win international support.
The so-called big three agencies -- S&P, Moody's and Fitch -- were widely criticised for having given their highest ratings to debt instruments whose failure helped spark the global financial crisis in 2008.
By Ben Blanchard BEIJING (Reuters) - China has launched an unusual charm offensive to explain its first overseas naval base in Djibouti, seeking to assuage global concerns about military expansionism by portraying the move as Beijing's contribution to regional security and development. The message is in stark contrast to Beijing's more bellicose stance on the South China Sea, where its claims on a vital trade waterway have raised hackles across Asia and the United States. China has repeatedly said it does not seek a U.S.-style "hegemony" by extending its military reach, including through bases abroad. Now that it appears it may be doing precisely that, the government has been quietly briefing on its rationale for the Djibouti base and using state media to address fears of China's aims. "China is explaining it as part of the 'one road, one belt' strategy, to help link Ethiopia to the sea," said one Western diplomat who has been briefed by Chinese officials on the Djibouti base, referring to China's New Silk Road strategy. That involves opening trade corridors across continents that will help bolster the Chinese economy and connect it with the rest of the world. A $4 billion railway will connect Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa to Djibouti's new Chinese-invested port, where a military facility will be located, according to Chinese media. A second diplomat, also been briefed by China on the plans, said it was an "unusual" move by the normally secretive Chinese government to try and bring a degree of transparency to its plans. "China does not want to be seen as a threat," the diplomat said. INDIAN ALARM In a lengthy statement to Reuters, China's Defence Ministry confirmed it had communicated its intentions about Djibouti to "relevant countries and international organisations", reiterating the facility was mostly for resupply purposes for anti-piracy, humanitarian and peacekeeping operations. "What needs to be stressed is that China upholds a path of peaceful development ... and has never engaged in an arms race or military expansion. This will never change." Djibouti, which already hosts military facilities for the United States and France, has echoed Beijing's line that the base will be used for refuelling and other logistical support to fight piracy and protect trade routes. But it also says the West should not be worried if China seeks "military outposts", given that Western nations have had them for years around the world. Construction began in February in the country of fewer than a million people, striving to be an international shipping hub. Djibouti's location on the northwestern edge of the Indian Ocean has fuelled worries in India that it will become another of China's "string of pearls" of military alliances and assets ringing India, including Bangladesh, Myanmar and Sri Lanka. Indian military officials told Reuters that China's naval presence in Djibouti would add another dimension to India's military contingency planning, so far confined to land and air operations stemming from a decades-old border dispute with China across the Himalayas. Together with China's involvement in Pakistan's Gwadar port, another potential military base, the role of China's navy would be greatly enhanced and posed a threat to the Indian navy, Indian army brigadier Mandip Singh said in a paper for the government-funded Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses. "Djibouti also enables China to base its long-range naval air assets there. And these are capable of maintaining surveillance over the Arabian Sea as well as India's island territories off the Western coast," he wrote. The Western diplomat briefed on the Chinese plans added: "If I were Indian I would be very worried about what China is up to in Djibouti." A U.S. State Department spokesman said late last year: "We look forward to gaining greater clarity as to the roles and purposes of this new facility, and note that China participates in international counter piracy actions in the Gulf of Aden." STRING OF AFRICAN PEARLS More bases may be on the way, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi hinted at this month's annual meeting of parliament. There are several African ports which China and Chinese firms are helping to build and develop. Commercial in nature, they all could berth Chinese naval ships one day. One Chinese diplomatic source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the idea for the Djibouti facility came up last year when China's navy evacuated foreigners from Yemen. The Chinese frigate involved had to give most onboard supplies to those evacuated, leaving it with the problem of finding new supplies. Unlike the United States, China has no permanent resupply bases. "It's a supply facility pure and simple," the source said. With Beijing keen not to call Djibouti a military base, state-run media has reined back using the term to describe it. The Global Times, an influential tabloid, quoted Chinese experts shortly after Wang spoke as saying China was not building a military base in Djibouti, only a supply facility. Djibouti's government, meanwhile, is keen to develop military cooperation with China. "China is already well prepared to support Djibouti, to increase its military capabilities and guarantee its security," Chinese Defence Minister Chang Wanquan said during a visit to Djibouti in 2014, in comments carried on the website of Djibouti's embassy in Beijing. (Additional reporting by Megha Rajagopalan, Edmund Blair in NAIROBI, Sanjeev Miglani in NEW DELHI and David Brunnstrom in WASHINGTON; Editing by Mike Collett-White)
By Ben Blanchard BEIJING (Reuters) - China has launched an unusual charm offensive to explain its first overseas naval base in Djibouti, seeking to assuage global concerns about military expansionism by portraying the move as Beijing's contribution to regional security and development. The message is in stark contrast to Beijing's more bellicose stance on the South China Sea, where its claims on a vital trade waterway have raised hackles across Asia and the United States. China has repeatedly said it does not seek a U.S.-style "hegemony" by extending its military reach, including through bases abroad. Now that it appears it may be doing precisely that, the government has been quietly briefing on its rationale for the Djibouti base and using state media to address fears of China's aims. "China is explaining it as part of the 'one road, one belt' strategy, to help link Ethiopia to the sea," said one Western diplomat who has been briefed by Chinese officials on the Djibouti base, referring to China's New Silk Road strategy. That involves opening trade corridors across continents that will help bolster the Chinese economy and connect it with the rest of the world. A $4 billion railway will connect Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa to Djibouti's new Chinese-invested port, where a military facility will be located, according to Chinese media. A second diplomat, also been briefed by China on the plans, said it was an "unusual" move by the normally secretive Chinese government to try and bring a degree of transparency to its plans. "China does not want to be seen as a threat," the diplomat said. INDIAN ALARM In a lengthy statement to Reuters, China's Defence Ministry confirmed it had communicated its intentions about Djibouti to "relevant countries and international organizations", reiterating the facility was mostly for resupply purposes for anti-piracy, humanitarian and peacekeeping operations. "What needs to be stressed is that China upholds a path of peaceful development ... and has never engaged in an arms race or military expansion. This will never change." Djibouti, which already hosts military facilities for the United States and France, has echoed Beijing's line that the base will be used for refueling and other logistical support to fight piracy and protect trade routes. But it also says the West should not be worried if China seeks "military outposts", given that Western nations have had them for years around the world. Construction began in February in the country of fewer than a million people, striving to be an international shipping hub. Djibouti's location on the northwestern edge of the Indian Ocean has fueled worries in India that it will become another of China's "string of pearls" of military alliances and assets ringing India, including Bangladesh, Myanmar and Sri Lanka. Indian military officials told Reuters that China's naval presence in Djibouti would add another dimension to India's military contingency planning, so far confined to land and air operations stemming from a decades-old border dispute with China across the Himalayas. Together with China's involvement in Pakistan's Gwadar port, another potential military base, the role of China's navy would be greatly enhanced and posed a threat to the Indian navy, Indian army brigadier Mandip Singh said in a paper for the government-funded Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses. "Djibouti also enables China to base its long-range naval air assets there. And these are capable of maintaining surveillance over the Arabian Sea as well as India's island territories off the Western coast," he wrote. The Western diplomat briefed on the Chinese plans added: "If I were Indian I would be very worried about what China is up to in Djibouti." A U.S. State Department spokesman said late last year: "We look forward to gaining greater clarity as to the roles and purposes of this new facility, and note that China participates in international counter piracy actions in the Gulf of Aden." STRING OF AFRICAN PEARLS More bases may be on the way, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi hinted at this month's annual meeting of parliament. There are several African ports which China and Chinese firms are helping to build and develop. Commercial in nature, they all could berth Chinese naval ships one day. One Chinese diplomatic source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the idea for the Djibouti facility came up last year when China's navy evacuated foreigners from Yemen. The Chinese frigate involved had to give most onboard supplies to those evacuated, leaving it with the problem of finding new supplies. Unlike the United States, China has no permanent resupply bases. "It's a supply facility pure and simple," the source said. With Beijing keen not to call Djibouti a military base, state-run media has reined back using the term to describe it. The Global Times, an influential tabloid, quoted Chinese experts shortly after Wang spoke as saying China was not building a military base in Djibouti, only a supply facility. Djibouti's government, meanwhile, is keen to develop military cooperation with China. "China is already well prepared to support Djibouti, to increase its military capabilities and guarantee its security," Chinese Defence Minister Chang Wanquan said during a visit to Djibouti in 2014, in comments carried on the website of Djibouti's embassy in Beijing. (Additional reporting by Megha Rajagopalan, Edmund Blair in NAIROBI, Sanjeev Miglani in NEW DELHI and David Brunnstrom in WASHINGTON; Editing by Mike Collett-White)
BEIJING (Reuters) - As Taiwan prepares to usher in a new president in May, Chinese sailors this week threw flowers into the sea to mark a key but little-known victory against Nationalist forces, who fled to the island after a civil war defeat by the Communists in 1949. China's military periodically likes to remind Taiwan it still considers the island one of its strategic priorities, and in September held three days of live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. China is deeply suspicious of Taiwan president-elect Tsai Ing-wen, whose Democratic Progressive Party espouses formal independence for the self-ruled island. Tsai, who takes office in May, has pledged to maintain peace with China. Beijing has never renounced the use of force to bring under control what it considers a wayward province, and in the 1950s, in particular, the threat of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan was very real. After 1949, the Nationalists retained control of several small island groups along the coast of eastern China, from where they launched guerrilla raids into China and harassed Chinese shipping. While most were later abandoned as being too distant to protect from Taiwan, some were taken by force by the Communists, including the Yijiangshan Islands, which fell in 1955 in a crucial psychological defeat for the Nationalists. In a statement late on Monday, China's defense ministry showed pictures of sailors throwing flowers into the sea near the islands and bowing their heads in memory on the deck of a warship, ahead of next week's traditional tomb-sweeping holiday. "The naval ship Dabieshan carried out a solemn ceremony to remember the martyrs who gloriously sacrificed themselves in the battle for the Yijiangshan Islands," the ministry said. Taiwan still controls three island groups off China's southeastern province of Fujian, though these days they are tourist attractions for visitors from China, among others, besides their role as military outposts. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
Beijing (AFP) - China on Friday blasted an award given in the US to an exiled Uighur dissident as a "blasphemy against and a stain upon human rights", as President Xi Jinping visited Washington.
Xi, who was in Washington for the Nuclear Security Summit, met his US counterpart Barack Obama on Thursday amid tensions between the world's two biggest economies over the South China Sea, cyber security, rights and other issues.
A day earlier the Washington-based Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation (VOC) gave Dolkun Isa, an activist from China's Xinjiang region, an award for "his dedicated human rights advocacy".
Xinjiang is home to the mostly Muslim Uighur minority, many of whom say they face cultural and religious repression, and the area is regularly hit by violence which Beijing blames on Islamist separatists.
"That an organisation would give a terrorist like Dolkun with such an extensive criminal record an award is blasphemy against and a stain upon human rights and the rule of law, and also makes a mockery of them," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei told a regular briefing Friday.
Isa is now a German citizen and chairman of the Munich-based World Uighur Congress, which advocates for the rights of Chinese Uighurs around the globe.
Hong said he was "a red-level target wanted by Interpol and the Chinese police for his organisation and implementation of numerous bombings, robberies, killings and other serious criminal offences and violent acts", which Isa denies.
"These accusations are made to discredit my work," he said, adding that Beijing's policies had left Uighurs living in "a climate of fear and helplessness".
"I firmly advocate for a peaceful resolution to the Uighur issue and reject violence, and this threatens China," he said.
In his acceptance speech Wednesday, Isa acknowledged that the Chinese government saw him as a "terrorist" and had issued a warrant through Interpol for his arrest, leaving him unable to enter countries "vulnerable to Chinese pressure".
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VOC executive director Marion Smith hailed Isa as a "proud addition to the ranks of world leaders" in a statement.
According to its mission statement, VOC seeks to "memorialise, educate and document the grim legacy of communism around the world". On its website, it solicits donations to help "put communism on the ash heap of history".
Over the past two years, Beijing has carried out a "strike hard" campaign in Xinjiang aimed at stopping unrest that has claimed hundreds of lives. Scores of people have been sentenced to death, while hundreds have been jailed or detained on terror-related offences.
By David Brunnstrom WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China remains committed to its plans for nuclear reprocessing, its top nuclear industry official said on Thursday, despite concerns this could lead to a competitive buildup of plutonium stockpiles in Asia. "China is dedicated to the establishment of a complete nuclear fuel-cycle system," Xu Daxhe, chairman of the China Atomic Energy Authority, told reporters on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington. "When we are constructing a number of nuclear power plants in China we are also taking into consideration the development of a reprocessing capability," he added. Xu noted that China was in discussions with French firm Areva over the construction of a commercial reprocessing plant, although he added that there was still "a long way to go to complete the negotiation, both technically and commercially." Industry watchers say the two sides are still far apart in terms of a price for the multibillion-dollar project. Asked about this, Xu said, "yes, so the negotiations still have a long way to go. Speaking at a news conference earlier, Xu reiterated concerns about the size of the plutonium stockpile possessed by Japan, which plans to open its own reprocessing plant in 2018. "There is a mismatch between the current stockpile of the plutonium in Japan and its real need for development," Xu said. Japan has an estimated 50 tonnes of plutonium, enough to produce 2,000 nuclear weapons, and is building a large plant at Rokkasho in northern Japan to reprocess spent fuel from power plants, although its start has been repeatedly delayed. It has until now relied on the British and French to extract plutonium from spent uranium fuel rods, but with nearly all of its reactors shut down after the Fukushima nuclear disaster five years ago and no schedule for further restarts there is little use for the material. Japan remains an avowedly anti-nuclear-weapons state as the only country ever to have suffered a nuclear attack. However, anti-proliferation advocates worry that if it goes ahead with plans to open Rokkasho, this will raise fears about its future intentions, spurring China's plans and also encouraging South Korea to pursue reprocessing capability. U.S. concerns had been rising about the prospect of growing stockpiles of nuclear raw materials in East Asia and in mid-March, Thomas Countryman, an assistant U.S. secretary of state in charge of non-proliferation, called into question the renewal of an agreement between Washington and Tokyo that allows Japan to reprocess and produce weapons-grade plutonium. The agreement is due to be extended in 2018, but with a new U.S. administration starting in January its status is unclear. (Reporting by David Brunnstrom; Editing by James Dalgleish)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China and the United States have agreed to work together to investigate and try to stop efforts to smuggle nuclear material and on other evolving nuclear security issues, the two countries said in a joint statement at the start of a global summit. China also agreed to convert miniature neutron source reactors to use low-enriched uranium fuel at Shenzen University, and in reactors in Ghana and Nigeria, according to the statement by the two governments. (Reporting by David Brunnstrom and Lesley Wroughton; Writing by Roberta Rampton; Editing by James Dalgleish)
French ready-to-wear fashion labels Sandro, Maje and Claudie Pierlot will be taken over by China's Shandong Ruyi Technology Group under the terms of an exclusivity agreement announced late Thursday.
Hot on the heels of the announcement, French lacemaker Desseilles said Friday it is to be acquired by Chinese firm Yongsheng, in another sign of the growing Chinese presence in France's fashion industry.
In the deal for Sandro and Maje's parent company SMCP, the founder of the "accessible luxury" labels, sisters Evelyne Chetrite and Judith Milgrom, will remain minority shareholders if the deal goes through, as will their management team and the US investment fund KKR.
KKR acquired a 65-percent share of SMCP in 2013.
Shandong Ruyi gave no financial details, but the Financial Times reported this week that the deal valued the group at 1.3 billion euros ($1.5 billion), including debts.
The Chinese group will invest in SMCP "with the ambition to drive further growth and support the company's global development, including in Asia", the statement said.
SMCP sells its brands in 33 countries.
Shandong Ruyi, one of the largest textile manufacturers in China, pledged to maintain SMCP's headquarters in Paris.
On a smaller scale, high-class lacemaker Desseilles said it would be taken over by Yongsheng, following an arbitration decision by a commercial court.
Desseilles said Yongsheng's bid was chosen from the three companies in the running because it has promised to maintain the jobs of 60 of the firm's 74 employees for at least three years.
The Chinese firm also made a commitment to keep the Desseilles factory in the northern port city of Calais for at least five years.
Lacemaking has a strong tradition in Calais, whose economy has been hit hard by the presence of a large camp of refugees hoping to reach England across the Channel.
Michel Berrier, Desseilles' marketing manager, admitted that the identity of the new owners had intially created some alarm, but he insisted it was unfounded.
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"As soon as you say 'Chinese' when talking about a takeover, you get a knee-jerk reaction, but in this case the fundamental point was to maintain and develop the site in France," he told AFP.
He described Yongsheng's project as "very ambitious" and said the group wanted to tap "French expertise in lacemaking" to develop clothing for the Chinese market.
Desseilles already exports 70 percent of its production to Asia.
Berrier said Yongsheng intends to invest around 4.0 million euros ($4.5 million) in the next few years and to buy the factory, which Desseilles currently rents.
"If everything goes as planned, Desseilles will take on more staff in the next three years to meet new orders," he added.
The CIA confirmed that explosive training material was accidentally left aboard a school bus in Virginia following a K-9 training exercise last week.
Dozens of elementary and high school students in Loudoun County were aboard the bus traveling to and from school on Monday and Tuesday before the inert explosive was discovered, according to school officials.
Wayde Byard, the public information officer for Loudoun County Public Schools, said the principals for three schools (Rock Ridge High School, Buffalo Trail and Pinebrook Elementary) called the 26 affected students; the district sent an email in English and Spanish to more than 80,000 people to explain what happened.
Roughly a dozen parents from the community expressed concern, but the school district was not inundated with calls, he said.
They have been very understanding. We live in an area with a lot of federal employees, a lot of Homeland Security employees, Byard said in an interview with Yahoo News. They are very aware of the world we live in and why this is necessary. Because we understand it, doesnt mean were pleased with it. Were not.
RELATED War on terror taking a toll on bomb dog supply >>>
The explosive material was part of a training exercise with a CIA K-9 unit during spring break (March 21-24) at Briar Woods High School in Ashburn, Va. The dogs were taught to detect explosives in and around the school.
CIA employees stand on their agency's seal. (Photo: Getty)
During this exercise, part of the material fell from its container into the buss engine compartment, where it remained until Wednesday.
Kraig Troxell, the public information officer for the Loudoun County Sheriffs Office, told Yahoo News that it was found during routine maintenance of the school bus.
The CIA and Loudoun County explosive experts say the training materials are incredibly stable and the students on the bus were not in any sort of danger.
The CIA performed a full inventory Thursday morning and accounted for all of the explosive training material used during the exercise, according to a statement from the agency.
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To prevent such incidents from happening again, CIA has taken immediate steps to strengthen inventory and control procedures in its K-9 program, it reads. CIA will also conduct a thorough and independent review of CIAs K-9 training program. CIA performed a full inventory this morning and accounted for all the explosive training material used in the K-9 training program.
Later in the day, representatives from the Loudoun County Sheriffs Office, the Loudoun County Fire Marshals Office and other local government offices met with CIA officials for about two hours to discuss what went wrong and how to avoid it going forward.
They subsequently announced that this specific training exercise has been suspended until a review of all its procedures is finished.
During breaks, Byard said, the FBI, ATF, county sheriffs office and other organizations typically perform drills like these to prepare for active shooters or terrorist attacks.
We do practice this a lot. It is necessary, he said, When something like this happens, it is unfortunate, but we cant abandon it because it is the world we live in.
Athens (AFP) - Three migrants were hospitalised Friday after a brawl in a camp on the Greek "hotspot" island of Chios, the ANA news agency said, as the country prepared to begin returning migrants to Turkey under an EU deal.
The agency said police used stun grenades to restore calm during the late-night fight, which caused serious damage to the island's Vial camp, including the medical dispensary.
Pro-migrant activists said the trouble began after demonstrations Thursday evening by migrants demanding they be allowed to leave the camp.
Eight migrants were also hospitalised early Thursday after a fight between Syrians and Afghans in the overcrowded migrant camp at the Greek port of Piraeus near Athens.
Chios is one of five so-called hotspot centres set up to house and process migrants on Greek islands, which have been struggling to cope with an influx of desperate people, many fleeing the civil war in Syria.
The Vial camp houses 1,500 people at a site which has capacity for just 1,200, ANA said.
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu confirmed on Thursday that migrant returns from Greece to Turkey will begin on Monday under the terms of an EU deal.
As part of the agreement, all economic migrants landing on the Greek islands after March 20 face being sent back to Turkey -- although the deal calls for each case to be examined individually.
For every Syrian sent back from Greece, the EU has agreed to resettle one refugee directly from Turkey.
Aid groups have criticised the agreement on ethical grounds, warning that the Greek registration sites would become de facto detention centres for people slated to be sent back to Turkey after risking their lives and spending a small fortune just to reach Europe.
Over 51,000 refugees and migrants seeking to reach northern Europe are stuck in Greece, after Balkan states sealed their borders. Hundreds more continue to land on the Greek islands every day despite the EU deal.
Greece's parliament was expected to adopt by Friday a bill bolstering its migration and asylum services, and activating a 2013 European directive which says that migrants cannot be sent to a third country where they face danger or discrimination.
Landing a big role very early in your acting career is the exception to rule. For most actors even the biggest superstars on the planet it has taken years of hard work for them to make a name for themselves. And along the way, they've all taken minor roles here and there to make ends meet and hone their craft. Of course, it's always fun to look back on those roles now that they're big superstars, and we're going to have some fun right now.
DON'T MISS: I really tried, but theres just no way I can ditch my iPhone for a Galaxy S7
Airows recently compiled a great list of clips from early roles played by some of the biggest names in the business right now. In some cases you won't even recognize the actor on screen, and in others they're instantly recognizable. Whichever is the case though, there are some pretty funny ones to be found in the list.
Below you'll find five examples from the blog's collection, and there are 22 more to be found if you head over to Airows' post.
Michael B. Jordan in The Wire:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTsyFY9TESo
Megan Fox in Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen's Holiday in the Sun:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jyj_O9SoGNs
Seth Rogen in Donnie Darko:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7Rh5QS8pEk
Jessica Alba in Never Been Kissed:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bASWtVZCzE0
Denzel Washington in Carbon Copy (0:33):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4J8S49bDL8
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This article was originally published on BGR.com
CARACAS/BOGOTA (Reuters) - The Colombian government will begin formal peace talks with leftist National Liberation Army (ELN) rebels, moving the country a step closer to ending its five-decade-old conflict, the two sides said in joint statement on Wednesday. The Ecuador-based negotiations, which were announced by the leaders of the peace delegations in Caracas, Venezuela, will begin within two months. Colombia and the ELN, the Andean nation's second-largest guerrilla group, have been in preliminary talks for over two years. The group recently freed two hostages, which President Juan Manuel Santos had demanded as a condition for the start of formal talks. "Peace is a supreme asset for every democracy," the statement said, adding that the goal of the talks was to move quickly "toward national reconciliation." The two sides will work on a six-point agenda that includes the rights of victims, social justice and an end to the conflict, among other issues. Cuba, Norway, Venezuela, Chile, Brazil and Ecuador will act as guarantor nations. "It will be the end of guerrilla groups and we can all concentrate - democratically - on making our country the free, normal, modern, just and inclusive place it can and should be," Santos said during a televised address. Negotiations with the ELN are separate from those underway in Havana with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, the country's larger rebel group. Both organizations are considered terrorist groups by the United States and European Union. MISSED DEADLINE Official talks would come as approval ratings hit new lows for Santos, who replaced hard-line President Alvaro Uribe in 2010. Now an opposition senator, Uribe and his backers have harshly criticized the FARC talks, saying they will foster impunity for human rights violations. Colombia has been negotiating with the FARC for over three years. Last week, the two sides failed to reach a self-imposed deadline for a final accord. The 2,000-strong ELN has increased oil pipeline bombings in recent months and continued kidnappings, in what many saw as an attempt to pressure the government into talks. Inspired by Cuba's 1959 revolution, the ELN has battled a dozen Colombian governments since it was founded by radical Catholic priests in 1964. While many Colombians are suspicious of peace talks, they are tired of the violence that has killed more than 220,000 and displaced millions over more than half a century. (Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta, Julia Symmes Cobb and Helen Murphy in Bogota and Eyanir Chinea and Girish Gupta in Caracas; Editing by Paul Simao, Tom Brown and Bernard Orr)
CARACAS/BOGOTA (Reuters) - The Colombian government will begin formal peace talks with leftist National Liberation Army (ELN) rebels, moving the country a step closer to ending its five-decade-old conflict, the two sides said in joint statement on Wednesday. There is no start date yet for the Ecuador-based negotiations, which were announced by the leaders of the peace delegations in Caracas, Venezuela. Colombia and the ELN, the Andean nation's second-largest guerrilla group, have been in preliminary talks for over two years. The group recently freed two hostages, which President Juan Manuel Santos had demanded as a condition for the start of formal talks. "Peace is a supreme asset for every democracy," the statement said, adding that the goal of the talks was to move quickly "toward national reconciliation." The two sides will work on a six-point agenda that includes the rights of victims, social justice and an end to the conflict, among other issues. Cuba, Norway, Venezuela, Chile, Brazil and Ecuador will act as guarantor nations. "It will be the end of guerrilla groups and we can all concentrate - democratically - on making our country the free, normal, modern, just and inclusive place it can and should be," Santos said during a televised address. Negotiations with the ELN are separate from those underway in Havana with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, the country's larger rebel group. Both organizations are considered terrorist groups by the United States and European Union. MISSED DEADLINE Official talks would come as approval ratings hit new lows for Santos, who replaced hard-line President Alvaro Uribe in 2010. Now an opposition senator, Uribe and his backers have harshly criticized the FARC talks, saying they will foster impunity for human rights violations. Colombia has been negotiating with the FARC for over three years. Last week, the two sides failed to reach a self-imposed deadline for a final accord. The 2,000-strong ELN has increased oil pipeline bombings in recent months and continued kidnappings, in what many saw as an attempt to pressure the government into talks. Inspired by Cuba's 1959 revolution, the ELN has battled a dozen Colombian governments since it was founded by radical Catholic priests in 1964. While many Colombians are suspicious of peace talks, they are tired of the violence that has killed more than 220,000 and displaced millions over more than half a century. (Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta, Julia Symmes Cobb and Helen Murphy in Bogota and Eyanir Chinea and Girish Gupta in Caracas; Editing by Paul Simao and Tom Brown)
Capping off a week of announcements, including several renewals and big plans for Snapchat content, Comedy Central announced its full slate on Thursday morning.
The large lineup includes five series pickups, 10 new specials and 11 pilot orders. Among the series orders are two projects with Kevin Hart - travel series Hart in the City and an untitled showcase for up-and-coming standup performers - and standup specials starring Kurt Braunohler, Deon Cole, Pete Davidson, Joe DeRosa, Trevor Moore, Big Jay Oakerson, Dan Soder and The Goddamn Comedy Jam.
There's also a special in the works from Daily Show correspondent Jordan Klepper, two roast-centric projects from Jeff Ross and seven comedy documentaries from Drunk History and Another Period executive producer Jeremy Konner.
Among the several pilot and script deals, the most notable might be for a pilot presentation of Channing Tatum's Germany. The animated project follows a community of germs living in a Petri dish, with Tatum voicing one of the characters. Inside Amy Schumer writer Kyle Dunnigan has also signed on for a script deal, with Schumer producing.
Read More: Comedy Central Renews 'Tosh.0,' 'Drunk History' and More
Ahead of the Thursday upfront presentation for advertisers, original programming president Kent Alterman and network president Michele Ganeless spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about the latest push - and offered a status update on The Daily Show With Trevor Noah.
There are projects with Amy Schumer, Kevin Hart and Channing Tatum in your latest slate. What's the state of talent partnerships at the network?
Alterman: In most cases we already have the relationships. But we have been finding more and more big, established talent are approaching us about doing their passion projects or if they've identified emerging talent they really believe in - much in the way that Amy Poehler did with the Broad City girls here and Jason Sudeikis is doing with Tim Robinson and Sam Richardson in a show [Detroiters] that hasn't premiered yet. As we like to say, in this era of proliferation in people and content, we're still the number one brand in comedy.
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Comedy Central has been out in front showcasing black voices and more female comedians. What's the internal discussion about diversity like right now?
Alterman: We're open to everything - whether it's gender, ethnicity or sexual orientation. We love the idea comedy can be one of the greatest ways of both reflecting and processing the world. We're always out there looking for new voices in every direction.
Ganeless: We want to be a reflection of our audience. And our audience is a millennial generation, which is the most diverse yet. We're developing with talent what reflects the perspectives and voices of that generation. It's the smartest, funniest idea that always gets on the air, but we also want to make sure we're reflecting that complete audience.
What's the key messaging this upfront?
Ganeless: We have the deepest bench, the largest and most diverse portfolio of comedy content across screens and platforms. We hit our 25th anniversary on Friday, and we're still the No. 1 place to get young guys. The Daily Show With Trevor Noah is still the No. 1 show with young guys in late night. It's the No. 2 show, just behind [Jimmy] Fallon, with all millennials. And we're really proud of that.
Read More: Amy Schumer Reveals the Fate of Jon Snow in New Show Promo
What do you think of Trevor's ratings six months in?
Ganeless: We didn't want to find the next Jon Stewart. We wanted to find someone who could give a voice to the millennial point of view and who could speak to them. That's what Trevor does - not just on linear, but across all platforms. We're excited about the growth and the diversity of the audience. We're also excited about the youth of the audience. The median age of The Daily Show had crept up considerably on linear.
Alterman: It's expanded internationally more than it was when Trevor got there.
Ganeless: We're in 170 countries and territories with The Daily Show. Trevor speaks to that worldview. All of the indicators point to long-term success.
Alterman: Creatively, what we see is that Trevor keeps evolving as a host. These shows evolve as they go. People always want compare Trevor to Jon, which is perfectly fair as long as you compare his first six months to Jon's first six months. It's really becoming Trevor's show. His voice is coming through more and more.
Where are you seeing his content being consumed the most?
Ganeless: It's everywhere. That sounds cliche, but even on a full-episode basis we're getting 650,000 full episode streams per episode on Hulu and the app. There's tremendous pickup of certain pieces on Facebook, YouTube and Snapchat. It's a multiplatform approach and consumption.
Larry Wilmore is pulling a more modest audience. What's the strategy there, one year out?
Ganeless: I think the greatest thing about The Nightly Show is the platform to present an array of diverse voices. The Colbert Report, which was unique and wonderful, was one voice. Here we have an ensemble that is incredibly diverse - be it Jordan Carlos, Mike Yard, Ricky Velez or many others. It's really to be commended for the conversations it generates on social issues of great importance. Our fans are responding to that in many ways, and we are so proud to be able to contribute to that conversation.
You've made a big push with Snapchat this week. What's the pull there?
Ganeless: It's about being the top place to get young guys - be that in late night or on Snapchat. It's an incredible platform for discovery for the younger audience. Mobile is where they're spending so much of their time. It's been a tool for development and a playground for talent and a completely monetizable platform. It's exciting for advertisers to be able to say they can reach fans in a native way.
Alterman: It's been great how quickly it's resonated with our audience. It's a platform to get our existing talent out there in different ways. Also, with a show like Not Safe With Nikki Glaser, we started Quickies With Nikki months out before our premiere. That became our most successful content on Snapchat, and it was a great way to get her voice for her show months in advance of the premiere. We've used it as a laboratory for us to develop ideas with emerging talent.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and US Secretary of State John Kerry (Source: VNA)
Minh affirmed that Vietnam attaches significance to its all-round cooperation with the US, and appreciated both countries efforts to realise the agreements reached by their leaders, thus helping bring about practical benefits to their people as well as to peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world.
The Vietnamese leaders and people welcome the upcoming visit to Vietnam by President Obama, he stated, suggesting the two countries prepare well and intensify exchanges so as to reach specific agreements during this visit.
Kerry said he hopes the two countries will step up collaboration to deepen the bilateral comprehensive partnership in strategic areas, including economy, trade, investment, education, climate change response, and science and technology.
He showed his wish for the early establishment of mechanisms to intensify people-to-people exchanges, including an agreement related to the Peace Corps teaching of the English language in Vietnam.
The US will continue efforts to support Vietnam in addressing war consequences, particularly detoxifying dioxin-contaminated areas, and in improving the capacity of law enforcement and marine police forces.
He shared the negative impacts of climate change that Vietnam and other countries in the region are suffering, confirming that the US will carry out more specific measures to help Vietnam deal with drought and saltwater intrusion.
Referring to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), he said the Obama Administration appreciated Vietnams efforts in how they worked with other countries to conclude negotiations on the deal, affirming that the US is now canvassing the Parliament to approve the agreement in 2016.
The US will continue efforts to accelerate recognition of Vietnam as a market economy, and provide technical assistance for the nation during its implementation of the TPP, Kerry added.
At the talks, the two sides also exchanged opinions on the regional and international situations, including the East Sea issue.
The US affirmed that it backs efforts to ensure maritime security and safety, and that disputes should be handled through legal processes and by peaceful means on the basis of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC).
Earlier on March 30th, Deputy PM Minh received leaders from the Boeing company and the Asian Coast Development Ltd. (ACDL), during which he pledged to continue facilitating operations of foreign enterprises in Vietnam.
He asked Boeing to provide continued technical assistance to help Vietnam gain a Category 1 rating in aviation safety as soon as possible, as it will allow the country to establish a direct air route to the US.
Deputy PM Minh is in the US to attend the fourth Nuclear Security Summit./.
By Jon Herskovitz AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - A former gun industry lobbyist and budget-hawk Republicans are leading what might seem to be an unlikely hard-right campaign - trying to sway conservatives in places like Utah and Kansas that they should be the first Republican-held state in four decades to ban the death penalty. The push from the political advocacy group Conservatives Concerned about the Death Penalty and lawmakers in places such as Nebraska would have been unthinkable a few years ago when it would have been conservative heresy to end capital punishment, a program seen as bedrock issue of the law-and-order policies embraced by the party. But those leading the campaign say the death penalty is a costly, inefficient and heavily bureaucratic program that runs counter to their core conservative values of limited government. "This is not an issue just for bleeding heart liberals. This is an issue that pragmatic conservatives are getting on board with," said Marc Hyden, a coordinator of Conservatives Concerned about the Death Penalty, a network of political and social conservatives who say capital punishment does not align with their values. Republican support for the death penalty remains strong at 76 percent in 2014, but that number is down from 85 percent in 1994, according to Gallup. The conservative push against the death penalty is in its early phase but has led lawmakers in Nebraska last year to be the first Republican-dominated state in more than 40 years to approve an execution ban. The measure now needs approval from voters in November to take effect. In March, lawmakers in red-state Utah came close to passing a similar ban. "This is a bipartisan issue that anyone can get on board with," said Hyden, who served as a campaign field representative for the National Rifle Association. The death penalty is legal in 31 U.S. states. But executions have been on the decline for years, in part due to court battles and a scramble to secure execution drugs after a sales ban a few years ago imposed by mostly European manufacturers who said it was immoral for their products to be used to kill inmates. Hyden's group is expanding its efforts in Kentucky, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina and Washington to build bipartisan support in legislatures where rancor between parties has stymied scores of other bills. But despite the momentum with conservative lawmakers, gaining support among the public in Republican-controlled states may be a hurdle too high. 'NO SENSE' A death penalty repeal bill in Missouri, which has executed 86 people since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated capital punishment in 1976, was placed on this year's informal calendar, a wasteland for legislation without the votes to pass. In red-state Utah, which has nine men on death row, the Republican-led bill to end the death penalty cleared the Senate and a House committee before dying without obtaining a vote. It likely will come up again in a session next year. Utah State Senator Steve Urquhart, a Republican, said he won supporters among Senate colleagues by highlighting capital punishment's high costs, lengthy appeals and exonerations in other states, which underlined its fallibility. "The death penalty makes absolutely no sense in 2016," he said in an interview. "It costs an awful lot of money to execute a prisoner compared to holding that prisoner in jail for the rest of his or her life." A state study found that Utah pays about $1.7 million more to fund items such as appeals, public defenders and carrying out executions for death penalty convictions than it would to incarcerate the same inmate for life. But advocates of capital punishment balk at the idea that expense should be a factor when deciding punishment for the gravest crimes. "The death penalty should not be a utilitarian issue in terms of weighing the costs against the benefits but rather an issue simply of justice, of who deserves it," said Robert Blecker, a professor at New York Law School. The six states before Nebraska to abolish the death penalty since 2007 have been left-leaning or left-center Maryland, Connecticut, Illinois, New Mexico, New Jersey and New York. (Reporting by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Ben Klayman, Daniel Wallis and Bill Trott)
As we get down to Tax Day, Yahoo Finance is here to help.
Have a question about your taxes? Weve got two CPAs ready to help you. Join our live chat Tuesday, April 5, at 1 PM EST. Type your question in the box below and well do our best to get them answered. The tax pros joining us are:
Lisa Lewis, CPA at TurboTax, has more than 15 years experience in tax preparation. And Barry S. Kleiman, is a CPA and Principal at Untracht Early LLC in Florham Park, N.J. Barrys areas of expertise include individual, trust, estate, gift, and private foundation taxation and planning.
Join our live chat Tuesday, April 5 at 1pm ET.
Washington (AFP) - French President Francois Hollande and UN chief Ban Ki-moon vowed zero impunity Friday for troops accused in a Central African Republic sex scandal, as the United Nations pledged to stamp out abuse during peacekeeping missions.
The commitments came a day after the United Nations said more than 100 victims had come forward in the conflict-torn country with horrifying new accounts of sexual abuse -- including bestiality -- by UN peacekeepers and French forces.
In light of the new allegations, Hollande and the UN secretary-general "expressed the desire to establish the truth, and to reject any impunity," the French presidency said in a statement.
Speaking on the sidelines of a nuclear security summit in Washington, Hollande said that, if true, the allegations would be a "stain on France's honor."
"We cannot -- and I cannot -- accept the slightest stain on the reputation of our armed forces or of France," he said.
UN investigators have identified 108 alleged new victims, "the vast majority" of whom are under-age girls who were raped, sexually abused or exploited by foreign troops, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Thursday.
Multiple witness statements gathered by AFP at a camp in Bangui said young girls would have sex with men -- some of them soldiers -- in exchange for bread, or cash worth the equivalent of less than $1.
And AIDS-Free World, a civil society group that tracks peacekeeper sex abuse cases, said three girls told a UN rights officer that in 2014 they were tied up and undressed by a French commander inside a camp and forced to have sex with a dog.
The girls were then allegedly given about $9 in payment.
The French defense ministry says the French troops, if convicted, would face strict military discipline in addition to any criminal penalties that may be brought.
- Sectarian bloodshed -
France sent an intervention force dubbed "Sangaris" to the Central African Republic in December 2013 to help control sectarian unrest.
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They were not part of the UN mission, known as MINUSCA, but have been mandated by the Security Council to help restore peace to the country.
The UN mission took over from an African Union force in September 2014 as the country was still reeling from a wave of bloodshed.
Besides French troops, allegations have been levelled against the Burundi and Gabon contingent of the UN mission.
Dujarric said the United Nations would carry out joint investigations with Burundi and Gabon of incidents that allegedly took place between 2013 and 2015.
Herve Ladsous, the UN under-secretary for peacekeeping operations, said his organization was discussing the possibility of implementing courts-martial and DNA testing in countries where abuse occurs.
"This would show victims we are dealing with their plight," Ladsous said during a visit to Bangui, the Central African capital.
He also suggested taking DNA samples of troops about to deploy on peace missions "to facilitate paternity tests" in case of claims.
MINUSCA counts about 12,600 foreign police and soldiers, as well as more than 500 foreign civilians.
As disturbing allegations of sexual assault by troops targeting civilians mounted, Ban in August fired the mission chief, but new claims have continued to emerge.
Earlier this week, the United Nations reported two new cases of sexual abuse by Burundian and Moroccan troops, including one that involved a 14-year-old girl.
In a bid to prevent new abuses, peacekeepers are now confined to their barracks when not working.
By Steve Gorman
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A woman who was sleeping off a night of drinking on her office couch when attacked by a police dog has won reinstatement of her lawsuit challenging the San Diego police department's policy of unleashing its canines to "bite and hold" suspects during a search.
A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday reversed a lower court's dismissal of the lawsuit, which claims bite-and-hold tactics employed by police violated her constitutional protection against unreasonable search and seizures.
In a 2-1 decision, the appeals panel ruled that a reasonable jury could find that policemen called to investigate a burglar alarm the woman had set off used excessive force when they "unleashed a police dog that the officers believed was likely to rip a person's face off."
The ruling, which has implications for law enforcement across the U.S. West, allows the complaint brought by Sara Lowry to proceed to trial.
Her suit stems from an ordeal that began Feb. 11, 2010, when Lowry returned to her workplace after consuming five vodka drinks in an evening with friends and fell asleep beneath a blanket on the office couch.
Three policemen, responding to the alarm she inadvertently tripped, arrived with a police dog and found the door to Lowry's darkened second-floor office propped open.
According to an account detailed in court documents, the dog's handler shouted: "This is the San Diego Police Department! Come out now or I'm sending in a police dog! You may be bitten!"
After repeating the warning without a reply, he unleashed the dog, which ran into the office, pounced onto the couch and attacked Lowry, tearing open her upper lip.
Spotting the woman with his flashlight, the officer called the dog back to his side. But by then, Lowry was bleeding profusely from a wound that would take three stitches to close.
The handler, Sergeant Bill Nulton, later told Lowry she was "very lucky" because his dog "could have ripped your face off," according to the account.
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Nulton said in a deposition that police dogs are trained to enter a building when they are unleashed and to bite the first person they find and hold that bite until called off.
The dissenting appellate judge wrote that reinstating the suit means any officer in the nine-state Western region encompassed by the 9th Circuit who releases a police dog and follows with a flashlight in search of a suspect could "wind up in trial."
San Diego police declined comment on the case.
(Reporting by Steve Gorman; Editing by Sandra Maler)
An obscure ruling in a U.S. bankruptcy court last week should totally revolutionize the way we finance higher education in America. It probably wont. But thats only because of the strange, shortsighted way we separate student debt from all other debt.
The case concerned Lesley Campbell, a graduate of the Pace University School of Law in 2009, who took out a $15,000 bar study loan with Citibank so she could pay living expenses while preparing for the state bar exam and taking a test-prep course.
These bar study loans are ubiquitous: Financial institutions like Discover, Sallie Mae, PNC Bank and Wells Fargo offer them. Its one of the few areas of the student loan business where private lenders still dominate, after the federal government eliminated banker middlemen on undergraduate and graduate-school loans.
Related: 10 Fast and Cheap Ways to Pay Off Student Debt
Campbell failed the bar exam, and while she found a secretarial job making $49,000 a year, it was not nearly enough to finance a student debt burden that had ballooned to $300,000. So in 2014, she filed for bankruptcy.
Most of that student debt is not dischargeable in bankruptcy, thanks to Congressional changes precipitated by a false narrative that students routinely scammed the government by using bankruptcy to shed their loans. Only borrowers demonstrating undue hardship, a nearly impossible standard practically requiring proof of an inability to feed or clothe oneself, can extinguish their debt. According to The Wall Street Journal, less than 1,000 people in bankruptcy each year even try to get their student loans discharged.
However, U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Carla Craig made a distinction in the case between Campbells other student debt and the bar study loan, which after years of payments now totaled $11,000. In the opinion, Craig ruled that the bar loan did not constitute an educational benefit under the law, meaning it could be discharged.
Related: 4 Ways to Reduce Your Student Loans
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Even though Citibank required that Campbell was a law student to qualify for the loan, that does not turn an arms-length consumer credit transaction into a benefit that would make it eligible for the exemption, Craig wrote. In other words, the bar study loan shared the same characteristics as an ordinary consumer loan, regardless of whether she used it to allow her to study for a test.
The nominal reason Congress made student loans non-dischargeable was to ensure the solvency of federal loan programs. These considerations are simply not relevant when the loan at issue is a consumer loan extended by a for-profit actor, Craig concluded. As a result, Campbell is allowed to extinguish the $11,000 balance on the Citibank bar study loan as part of her bankruptcy plan.
Related: The Best Way to Get Your Student Loan Forgiven
The ruling is seismic, according to Campbells lawyer, William Brewer. It flips the script for thousands of people who our client believes have fallen victim to predatory loan practices and been told they cannot discharge these loans.
This is technically true in the case of bar study loans. However, that reflects a small portion of overall student debt, most of which is federally provided to pay for tuition and fees and living expenses, and would presumably fall under the educational benefit standard.
The question we should be asking, though, is why that standard should truly exist. The bar study loan case posits that the lending institution knew the risks when it gave the borrower the money and cannot have the loan protected just because it was related to education. But that logic applies across the board. Why should an entrepreneur whose business idea washes out or a gambler who racks up debts on his credit card playing blackjack have the ability to start over through the bankruptcy process, while a young person making a fateful decision at the age of 18 to fund their education through debt cant?
Related: Guess Who in Congress Has $100,000 in Student Loans
This is especially true when the school doesnt uphold its end of the bargain and deliver a meaningful educational experience. Ive written often about the travails of students of predatory for-profit Corinthian Colleges, who obtained worthless degrees and still have to jump through hoops to get their debt eliminated. But to say that certain classes of people dont deserve bankruptcy protections because of the way they use the loan is to deny the purpose of bankruptcy at all.
Bankruptcy laws prevent a single bad choice from destroying someones financial life forever. They allow an orderly process to pay back creditors what is available so the individual can regain some semblance of a productive life. The idea of bankruptcy as a scam perpetrated by people wanting to shirk their obligations just isnt true. Nobody wants to go into bankruptcy because its a terribly difficult process, not to mention a humiliating one. But it puts people on a better path. And we shouldnt randomly deny that to students, especially in a time of mountainous student debt burdens.
Theres credible evidence that high student debt is stunting the growth of the economy. Locking people into repaying tens of thousands of dollars with no opportunity for a fresh start hurts all of us if the economy materially suffers.
Related: Heres Why It Takes Women Longer to Pay Off Student Loans
The White House has begun to come around on this. In a fact sheet in March, the Obama administration directed the cabinet to devise recommendations for possible changes to the treatment of loans in bankruptcy proceedings, a reversal of decades of hardline stances. Bankruptcy lawyers cheered the news.
Judge Craigs ruling shows that the legal system is taking a more compassionate look at student debt. Its possible that they will find that other loans that did not deliver an educational benefit are similarly eligible for discharge in bankruptcy, including even federal loans for shady for-profit colleges. But the bankruptcy statute shielding student debt should change for all borrowers. Its wrong to force students at the beginning of their college tenure to gamble on a lifetime of debt peonage.
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The workshop is facilitated by the MOIT/GIZ energy support program under the technical development cooperation project Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (4E project) in order to assist Vietnamese Government to utilise and apply this source of energy, meeting the objectives in the Renewable Energy Development Strategy approved the Prime Minister in November 2015.
4E project is implemented by GIZ on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, in which one component is co-funded by the United States Agency for International Development and the Government of Czech Republic.
Photo: Hoang Anh
By targeting the Ministries of Industry and Trade, Planning and Investment, Agriculture and Rural Development, Natural Resources and Environment and relevant provincial Departments along the country, the workshop aims at collecting comments and ideas from participants in order to finalise the National Biomass Planning Study report as well as improve methodology on biomass planning nationwide.
The Report will be an invaluable document guiding policy makers and managers to assess the development potential, current exploration and utilization status of biomass for power generation; economic and ecological benefits for converting crude resources into end-use energy; the compatibility with national socio-economic development in order to draw up a road map for the exploration and utilisation of biomass effectively and sustainably.
Together with rapid industrialization of Vietnam, demand for power consumption is increasing. Aware of the roles and advantages of renewable energies, Vietnamese government is encouraging research, study and investment in renewable energies, among which biomass energy plays a very important role. As a developing agricultural country, Vietnam has a huge potential for power generation from biomass energy.
Therefore, if utilised effectively, biomass energy will not only reduce the dependency of Vietnam on traditional energies, reduce carbon emission and environment pollution but also directly benefits biomass producers, farmers who participate in biomass energy value chain (selling residues and agricultural and forest by-products for fuels)./.
By James Pearson PANMUNJOM, South Korea (Reuters) - In a tiny mess hall set amid pine trees and rose bushes on the heavily fortified Korean border, a lunch of steak and asparagus is served. Outside, birdsong competes with the drone of North Korean loudspeakers blaring propaganda. "This is the best restaurant in the DMZ," says Major General Mats Engman, who heads the Swedish delegation to the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission (NNSC), set up after the 1950-53 Korean War to uphold a fragile armistice in place of a peace treaty. Originally a four-nation commission including representatives on the North Korean side from Poland and the former Czechoslovakia, only the Swedes and Swiss remain, based in 1950s-era huts just metres from North Korea. The camp is staffed by five Swedish and five Swiss officers, a fraction of the 200 based there in the mid-1950s. The NNSC holds weekly meetings in a light blue hut straddling the border inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), the world's most heavily defended frontier, sharing with the North Koreans the minutes of its proceedings in a wooden mail box. "Since May 1995, they've never emptied that pigeon hole," said Swiss Major General Urs Gerber. "Their argument is they can't take mail from an organization which doesn't exist," said Gerber, who this week presided over the group's 3,500th meeting. The NNSC empties the mail box every few months to stop it overflowing. North Korea, which has long sought a peace treaty with the United States, has said the armistice is "long defunct" and, with it, the NNSC has been "forgotten in history". Isolated North Korea and the rich, democratic South are still technically at war after the 1950-53 conflict ended in the armistice, not a treaty. China and North Korea fought side-by-side against a U.S.-backed South Korea, which joined forces under the U.N. flag. U.S. troops now in South Korea are under the command of a U.S. general who also heads the United Nations Command - the only active U.N. fighting force in the world. 'GHOST ORGANIZATION' North Korea stopped recognizing the NNSC in 1995 when it expelled the Polish delegation after the Soviet Union collapsed. Two years earlier it had kicked out its Czechoslovakian delegation after the country split into Slovakia and the Czech Republic. "They call us a ghost organization," said Gerber. The only independent military body on the Korean peninsula, the NNSC has reinvented its post-Cold War self as an impartial observer to the annual U.S.-South Korea military exercises that the North complains are preparation for attack and the U.S.-South Korean side says are defensive. Through regular inspections, Swiss and Swedish officers make sure those exercises don't infringe the armistice. The NNSC also operates an education program, traveling to South Korean frontline units to lecture on the armistice that ended hostilities in 1953. And it is that document, not the Swedish, Swiss or U.S. capitals, from which the NNSC takes its orders. "Only a peace treaty or war would end our operation here," said Gerber. 'POPS IN THE FOREST' A bright red Swiss Club houses a pool table and is decorated with cow bells, while its Swedish counterpart has a fireplace and Viking helmet. In the early 1970s, before enemy soldiers were locked in a face-to-face stand-off at Panmunjom, North Korean generals would occasionally visit for a quiet drink at the Swiss Club bar. "It's like a resort here," said Engman, a Swedish air force general. "It's nice and quiet. The air is fresh". Wary of the complacency the holiday camp atmosphere can breed, NNSC staff remain on high alert to the dangers beyond the camp's perimeter fence. No independent body exists to make sure Pyongyang upholds its side of the armistice. The sound of a pop from the thick North Korean woods can be heard some nights, as a deer or wild boar treads on a landmine. This year, the biggest disturbance has been North Korean propaganda broadcasts, turned on in response to South Korean speakers after Pyongyang tested its fourth nuclear device in January in defiance of U.N. resolutions. "It's an irritation," Engman said. "It's not on the level that we can't sleep. But some nights you have to use ear plugs." (Editing by Tony Munroe and Nick Macfie)
[Fallows] suggests that the appearance of a craft brewery is one effect of community healthbut Id argue that its at least in part the cause of a communitys vitality.
Breweries are industrial operations, and theyre expensive. Beer is a mass beverage, and even making it on a brewpub scale means you have to have quite a bit of space for the brewhouse, fermentation, and storage. All that equipment costs a lot, and real estate does, too. When youre spending a quarter- or half-million dollars on equipment, you cant afford expensive commercial space. So breweries end up on the fringes, in bad parts of town where the rent is cheap. That alone is the first step of revitalization. [Emphasis in first paragraph was from Alworth. This emphasis is added by me.]
But breweries arent like the average industrial plant. They are people magnets, bringing folks in who are curious to try a pint of locally made IPA. In fairly short order, breweries can create little pockets of prosperity in cities that can (and often do) radiate out into the neighborhood. Pretty soon, other businesses see the bustle and consider moving in, too.
It doesnt hurt that breweries often find run-down parts of towns that have great buildings. Once a brewery moves in and refurbishes an old building, it reveals the innate promise of adjacent buildings to prospective renters.
Zagreb (AFP) - Croatia and Bosnia on Thursday slammed the acquittal of far-right Serb leader Vojislav Seselj on war crimes charges in a ruling that threatened to damage already fragile relations in the Balkans.
UN judges at The Hague found Seselj not guilty on all nine counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity arising from the 1990s Balkan conflicts, shocking many across the region.
Croatian leaders condemned the verdict as "shameful" and underlined their outrage by banning the 61-year-old Serbian Radical Party leader from entering the country.
The ruling was however celebrated by Seselj's supporters, some of whom drove through Srebrenica in Bosnia -- where around 8,000 Muslim men and boys were killed by Bosnian Serb forces in the war -- honking their car horns and waving flags, the town mayor told AFP.
Prosecutors alleged Seselj was behind the murder of many Croat, Muslim and other non-Serb civilians, as well as the forced deportation of "tens of thousands" from large areas of Croatia, Bosnia and Serbia, leading volunteers known as "Seselj's men".
But judges at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) declared him a free man after finding there was insufficient evidence to convict him.
- 'Committed evil' -
"Croatia cannot and will not accept this shameful verdict and we will continue to do everything we can so that justice is served," said Croatia's President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, according to the state-run HINA news agency.
Croatian Prime Minister Tihomir Oreskovic said Seselj "committed evil and did not show any remorse, neither then nor today".
Police spokeswoman Helena Biocic told AFP that Seselj was banned from entering the country because he could represent a threat to public order.
A defiant Seselj, who returned to Belgrade for cancer treatment in 2014, retorted that he did not recognise Croatia's independence but would go there "to have a walk" in Zagreb.
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"If they forbid me I'll launch a judicial procedure," he said.
Seselj served as Serbia's deputy prime minister from 1998 to 2000 and plans to stand in a general election in late April.
He said the tribunal judges had "shown that their professionalism and honour are above any political pressure" and brought "the only possible verdict".
Having spent nearly 12 years in detention at The Hague and more time awaiting a verdict, Seselj said he would seek 14 million euros ($16 million) in compensation.
- 'Defeat of justice' -
Protesting against the "defeat of justice", a few dozen civil activists rallied in Zagreb, while Bosnian Muslims also expressed anger and bewilderment.
"The verdict rightly provoked anger because a war criminal was acquitted," said Bakir Izetbegovic, the Muslim member and chairman of Bosnia's tripartite presidency.
"It is quite clear that Seselj had organized, armed, inspired and encouraged criminals to enter Bosnia and Croatia and to commit crimes and ethnic cleansing," he said.
Fikret Grabovica, who leads an association of parents whose children were killed in the war, said drily that the verdict "only lacked the judges concluding that Seselj's paramilitary units had in fact been on a peace mission in Bosnia".
Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic, once Seselj's closest ultranationalist ally, said he was "indifferent" to the news.
Jovo Bakic, a sociology professor at Belgrade University, said Seselj's acquittal would "further sharpen already strained relations" in the region.
His comments were echoed by those of Serbian activist Aleksandar Popov at the prominent Centre for Regionalism, who said the ruling was an "enormous injustice" that would likely damage regional ties.
"There have been sparks with regard to Seselj even before this, and now the situation is just going to get more complicated instead of us moving on," Popov told the N1 news channel.
Havana (AFP) - Fidel Castro laid into Barack Obama after the US president's historic visit to Cuba in a testy newspaper column Monday, saying the communist island doesn't need any "gifts from the empire."
The retired revolutionary, who has reacted tepidly to Cuba's rapprochement with the United States, scoffed at what he described as Obama's call to forgive and forget more than half a century of Cold War enmity.
"Listening to the words of the US president could give anyone a heart attack," Castro wrote in his first public reaction to the visit.
"My modest suggestion is that he think and not try to theorize about Cuban politics," said the 89-year-old leader of the 1959 Cuban Revolution, who handed power to his younger brother Raul in 2006.
He made the comments in a tortuous opinion piece headlined "Brother Obama" and published in Granma, the official newspaper of Cuba's communist party.
Obama, who met Raul but not Fidel Castro during his three-day visit last week, defied the regime's warnings not to wade into Cuba's internal affairs, meeting with anti-Castro dissidents and calling for democracy and greater freedoms.
"Voters should be able to choose their governments in free and democratic elections," he said in an unprecedented speech carried live on Cuba's tightly controlled state television.
Castro lashed out at that speech, the symbolically charged centerpiece of the first visit by a US president in 88 years.
"Obama gave a speech in which he used the most syrupy words," he wrote, recounting the long history of acrimonious relations between Havana and Washington as he defended the accomplishments of his 47-year rule.
"Nobody has any illusion that the people of this noble and selfless country will surrender glory and rights and the spiritual wealth that has come through the development of education, science and culture," Castro wrote.
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"I would also warn that we are capable of producing the food and material wealth we need with the labor and the intelligence of our people. We don't need any gifts from the empire."
- PR problem -
Obama's visit posed an awkward public relations problem for the Castro regime, juxtaposing a charismatic, 54-year-old leader known for the political brand of "change" with the octogenarian brothers who have ruled the island since 1959.
The fact that Obama is black and the Castros are white was not lost on Cubans, many of whom also have African roots, and Castro appeared to take particular umbrage both at the US president's relative youth and his description of both countries as New World nations "built in part by slaves."
"He doesn't mention that racial discrimination was erased by the Revolution, that retirement benefits and salaries for all Cubans were decreed before Mr Barack Obama was 10 years old," he wrote.
Castro remained out of sight during Obama's visit, which aimed to cement the thaw announced in December 2014 by the US president and Raul Castro, who has proven more reform-minded than his older brother.
Fidel Castro waited a month and a half to publicly give his blessing to the US-Cuban rapprochement, and then gave it only a lukewarm embrace.
Since announcing their landmark rapprochement, the United States and Cuba have reopened embassies in each other's capitals and are slowly normalizing ties.
But several thorny issues remain unsettled, including the fate of the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay, which Cuba wants back, and Washington's more than five-decade-old embargo on the island, which Obama again called on Congress to lift.
Since stepping down, Fidel Castro has spent part of his time writing reflections that occasionally appear in the communist party press.
His last public appearance was in July 2015.
Hungarian writer Imre Kertesz (Source: ABACA)
Magveto Kiado, his publisher, said that Mr. Kertesz died at 4 am on March 31st after a long illness.
He was one of the 20th centurys most influential Hungarian writers, not just through his works, but through his thoughts and worldview as well.
Kertesz was the first Hungarian to win the Nobel literature prize, though Hungarians had already won Nobel science awards.
After winning the award, he spent the better part of a decade in Berlin, where he produced his last works, and later returned to his home in Budapest. He suffered from Parkinson's disease, and rarely left his home.
When Imre Kertesz won the Nobel Prize for literature in 2002, the Swedish Nobel Academy said that he won for writing that upholds the experience of the individual in the face of a barbaric and arbitrary history./.
By Yiannis Kourtoglou LARNACA, Cyprus (Reuters) - An Egyptian man accused of hijacking a passenger plane and diverting it to Cyprus has told police he acted because he wanted to see his estranged wife and children, saying "what should one do?". The suspect, whom Cypriot and Egyptian authorities have identified as Seif Eldin Mustafa, 59, surrendered on Tuesday after commandeering a domestic Alexandria-Cairo flight with 72 passengers and crew on board. A Larnaca court on Wednesday ordered him to be held in custody for eight days on suspicion of hijacking, abduction, threatening violence, terrorism-related offences and two counts related to possession of explosives. The latter counts were connected to his claim of being strapped with explosives, even though the belt he wore is believed to be fake, a police source told Reuters. As he left the court compound in a police jeep, Mustafa stuck his hand out of an open window flashing the 'v' sign for victory. Egypt's public prosecutor has asked Cypriot authorities to hand over Mustafa, Egyptian state television reported, but a Cyprus police spokesman and a government official have said that any talk of extradition right now was premature. Mustafa took charge of the early morning flight by showing what appeared to be a belt stuffed with plastic wires and a remote control, directing the flight to the holiday island where he asked for the release of female prisoners in Egypt, and to come in contact with his Cypriot ex-wife. "When someone hasn't seen his family for 24 years and wants to see his wife and children, and the Egyptian government doesn't allow it, what should one do?," he told Cypriot police in a statement. Details of his claimed predicament were not available. All hostages were released unharmed after a six-hour standoff. The suspect allegedly commandeered the aircraft 15 minutes after takeoff from Alexandria. He approached a flight attendant and showed off the belt, attached to a remote control he held in his hand, investigating officer Andreas Lambrianou told the court. "The suspect asked all passengers and crew to hand in their passports, then gave two messages to a member of the crew, asking that the pilot be informed that he was a hijacker and wanted to land at an airport in Turkey, Greece or Cyprus, but preferably Cyprus," Lambrianou said. "In a note, he stressed that if the airplane landed on Egyptian territory he would immediately blow the plane up." In Cyprus, Mustafa dropped an envelope on the runway addressed to a Cypriot woman, later ascertained to be his ex-wife. In the letter, the suspect demanded the release of 63 female prisoners held in Egypt. (Additional reporting by Mostafa Hashem in Cairo; Writing By Michele Kambas; Editing by Tom Heneghan)
BEIRUT (Reuters) - The death toll from air strikes in the Deir al-Asafir district southeast of Damascus has risen to more than 30, mostly women and children, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the White Helmet civil defense group. The strikes on Thursday, which the Observatory monitoring group said were carried out by Syrian aircraft, came despite a month-long "cessation of hostilities" in Syria between government forces and their opponents, excluding Islamic State and al Qaeda's Nusra Front. Air strikes continued in the area on Friday. Two strikes hit the outskirts of Deir al-Asafir and at least seven hit the village of Bala, just north of Deir al-Asafir, the Observatory said. The U.S. State Department said it was appalled by the reported air strikes. "We condemn in the strongest terms any such attacks directed at civilians," spokesman John Kirby said. France condemned the attack on Friday and said it violated the truce. "This abject act is designed to terrorize the Syrian people and sap efforts by the international community to find a political solution," French Foreign Ministry spokesman Romain Nadal said. Parts of the Eastern Ghouta region east of Damascus, where Deir al-Asafir is situated, have been outside President Bashar al-Assad's control almost since the start of the uprising which erupted five years ago and descended into civil war. The area is controlled by different factions, including rebel forces covered by the truce, such as Jaish al-Islam, as well as Nusra Front. The Observatory said 12 children, nine women, a teacher and an emergency response worker were among the 33 dead in Deir al-Asafir. The "White Helmet" volunteer rescue organization said emergency worker Walid Ghourani was killed when one of its ambulances was hit. It put the death toll at 32. It released video footage of an ambulance arriving at Deir al-Asafir and a white-helmeted rescue worker, carrying a stretcher over his shoulder, rushing through a rubble-strewn alleyway towards what appeared to be the site of an explosion. It also published pictures it said showed the destruction of the White Helmet base in Deir al-Asafir, including a fuel depot. Fire hoses and gas canisters could be seen among the mounds of collapsed concrete. The Observatory said Syrian government forces have been trying to surround Deir al-Asafir, which it said is still home to 2,700 families. (Reporting by Dominic Evans and Lisa Barrington in Beirut, and John Irish in Paris, editing by Larry King)
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Denmark decided on Friday to extend temporary controls at its border with Germany by 30 days to May 3, the Ministry for Immigration, Integration and Housing said. The government first implemented temporary border controls on Jan. 4 as a reaction to similar steps from Sweden in response to an influx of migrants from the Middle East and Africa. The government still sees control as necessary to avoid accumulation of illegal immigration in Denmark, the ministry said in a statement. (Reporting by Ole Mikkelsen; Editing by Alison Williams)
Copenhagen (AFP) - The Danish government on Friday extended random identification checks along the country's German border until May 3, saying they were needed to deter migrants from entering the country.
"The pressure on Europe's external borders is still high and refugee and migrant flows may rise significantly when the weather gets better," Integration Minister Inger Stojberg said in a statement.
"It is necessary to extend the border controls so that we ensure that large groups of refugees and migrants do not accumulate here in Denmark," she added.
The controls were introduced on January 4, hours after Sweden began requiring rail and ferry companies to verify the identities of people travelling from Denmark across the Oresund Strait, and have been extended four times.
Last year Denmark largely served as a transit country for migrants travelling to Sweden, which until recently had some of Europe's most generous asylum rules.
Denmark received more than 21,000 asylum applications in 2015, a 44 percent jump from 2014, though significantly fewer than its northern neighbour, which registered 163,000 asylum applications in the same year.
The number of people seeking asylum in Denmark fell to 35 last week, the lowest number since the border checks were introduced, according to data from the Danish government.
"Asylum numbers can fluctuate considerably from day to day... It may be due to several things," Stojberg told Danish news agency Ritzau, citing bad weather conditions and border checks in Denmark and elsewhere in Europe as possible explanations.
By Philip Pullella ROME (Reuters) - Denmark overtook Switzerland as the world's happiest place, according to a report on Wednesday that urged nations regardless of wealth to tackle inequality and protect the environment. The report, prepared by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and the Earth Institute at Columbia University, showed Syria, Afghanistan and eight sub-Saharan countries as the 10 least happy places on earth to live. The top 10 this year were Denmark, Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, Finland, Canada, Netherlands, New Zealand, Australia, and Sweden. Denmark was in third place last year, behind Switzerland and Iceland. The bottom 10 were Madagascar, Tanzania, Liberia, Guinea, Rwanda, Benin, Afghanistan, Togo, Syria and Burundi. The United States came in at 13, the United Kingdom at 23, France at 32, and Italy at 50. "There is a very strong message for my country, the United States, which is very rich, has gotten a lot richer over the last 50 years, but has gotten no happier," said Professor Jeffrey Sachs, head of the SDSN and special advisor to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. While the differences between countries where people are happy and those where they are not could be scientifically measured, "we can understand why and do something about it," Sachs, one of the report's authors, told Reuters in an interview in Rome. "The message for the United States is clear. For a society that just chases money, we are chasing the wrong things. Our social fabric is deteriorating, social trust is deteriorating, faith in government is deteriorating," he said. Aiming to "survey the scientific underpinnings of measuring and understanding subjective well-being," the report, now in its fourth edition, ranks 157 countries by happiness levels using factors such as per capita gross domestic product (GDP) and healthy years of life expectancy. It also rates "having someone to count on in times of trouble" and freedom from corruption in government and business. "When countries single-mindedly pursue individual objectives, such as economic development to the neglect of social and environmental objectives, the results can be highly adverse for human wellbeing, even dangerous for survival," it said. "Many countries in recent years have achieved economic growth at the cost of sharply rising inequality, entrenched social exclusion, and grave damage to the natural environment." YARDSTICK FOR HAPPINESS The first report was issued in 2012 to support a U.N. meeting on happiness and well-being. Five countries - Bhutan, Ecuador, Scotland, United Arab Emirates and Venezuela - now have appointed Ministers of Happiness charged with promoting it as a goal of public policy. The 2016 survey showed that three countries in particular, Ireland, Iceland and Japan, were able to maintain their happiness levels despite external shocks such as the post-2007 economic crisis and the 2011 earthquake because of social support and solidarity. Sachs pointed to Costa Rica, which came in 14th and ahead of many wealthier countries, as an example of a healthy, happy society although it is not an economic powerhouse. (Reporting by Philip Pullella; Editing by Ruth Pitchford)
Disney has picked up the film rights to The Paper Magician, a book trilogy from Charlie N. Holmberg.
Allison Shearmur, who was an executive producer on the Hunger Games movies and a producer on Disney's well-regarded live-action version of Cinderella as well the upcoming Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, is on board to produce the adaptation.
On first blush, the story bears a resemblance to the Harry Potter series as it tells of a young conjurer attending a school for magicians set in a whimsical world. But the similarities end there.
The YA series centers on Ceony Twill, a young girl who is a student at the Tagis Praff School for the Magically Inclined. In this world where magicians animate manmade materials, she is disappointed that she has been demoted to learn paper magic despite her dreams of working with metal. But when an all-powerful evil magician rises and her mentor's life is on the line, she must tap into the hidden potential of her new powers.
The Paper Magician, the first book in the series, was published by 47North, an imprint of Amazon Publishing, in September 2014. The second, The Glass Magician, was released in November 2014 and the third, The Master Magician, was released last June.
Holmberg was a Trekkie as a teen and began writing Star Trek fan fiction before majoring in English at Utah's Brigham Young University.
She is repped by Eddie Gamarra at Gotham Group and Joel VanderKloot at Nelson Davis Law.
Read More: Disney Plans Live-Action Film About Snow White's Sister (Exclusive)
Djibouti (AFP) - After 17 years under his rule, few doubt Djibouti's President Ismail Omar Guelleh will fail to win a fourth term in polls next week, with a divided opposition already calling the vote a sham.
Supporters of Guelleh -- president since 1999 of the tiny but strategic former French colony whose port guards the entrance to the Red Sea and Suez Canal -- are confident of victory in the April 8 vote.
Since campaigning began on March 25 portraits of "IOG", as Guelleh is nicknamed, have lined the baking hot streets of Djibouti city, capital of the arid Horn of Africa nation of some 820,000 people, where Guelleh supporters parade in the green party colours of his Union for the Presidential Majority (known by its French acronym, UMP).
"We are optimistic, especially when we see that the opposition party is straggling", said Foreign Minister Mahamoud Ali Youssouf.
Guelleh won the last polls five years ago with 80 percent of the vote, after parliament changed the constitution in April 2010 to clear the way for a third, and now a likely fourth, term.
The main opposition group, the so-called Union for National Salvation (USN), is a collapsing coalition of opposition parties.
- Divided opposition -
Three of the seven parties that made up the USN have decided to boycott the polls entirely -- the Movement for Democratic Renewal and Development (MRD), the Republican Alliance for Democracy (ARD) and Movement for Development and Freedom (MODEL) -- while the remaining parties are fielding two competing candidates, Mohamed Daoud Chehem and Omar Elmi Khaireh.
"Our party has decided not to participate in the election because we consider it to be a sham election, the minimum requirements of transparency are not guaranteed," said MRD leader Daher Ahmed Farah.
After parliamentary elections in 2013 which Guelleh's UMP won with 49 percent amid furious opposition claims of fraud, parties had demanded the creation of an independent electoral commission, a key element of a 2014 pact to resolve a political deadlock and end street protests.
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Under that deal the opposition agreed to accept just 10 members of parliament -- instead of the 52 they claimed to have won -- in exchange for government commitments to better protection for opposition parties and the establishing of an independent election body. But the commission was not created.
"The MRD has never believed in the sincerity of this agreement," said Farah, who said the government had only wanted, "to stop the protests and demobilise the opposition."
But those who are taking part in the polls next Friday say a previous decade-long boycott -- from 2003 to the last polls in 2013 -- has only allowed the ruling party a free hand.
"We saw that we had not advanced", said presidential hopeful Chehem.
The other USN candidate, Omar Elmi Khaireh, argues there is a need for "change" after "38 years of dictatorship" since independence from Paris in 1977.
But their erstwhile USN allies suggest the real motivations of the candidates in challenging the 68-year old Guelleh are less noble.
- 'No change, no development' -
"There are other ulterior motives," suggests MRD's Farah, suggesting their taking part is to give a veneer of respectability to the elections, and that the candidates are hoping for a share of power later.
Participating in elections "is a way of legitimising the current president", added Abdillahi Zacharia, president of the Djiboutian League of Human Rights (LDDH), and also an USN member.
"This election result is locked in, it is taken for granted," he said.
Situated on one of the world's busiest shipping routes, Djibouti is already home to Camp Lemonnier, the US military headquarters on the continent used for covert, anti-terror and other operations in Yemen, Somalia and elsewhere across Africa.
France and Japan also have bases in the port, as well as European and other international navies as a base in the fight against piracy from neighbouring Somalia.
Djibouti, overwhelmingly Muslim and split between the majority Somali people and Afar, has embarked on major infrastructure projects, some backed by China which is also setting up a military base.
But while the port nation enjoys solid growth of six percent a year, according to the World Bank, unemployment is high at some 60 percent, and almost a quarter of the people live in poverty.
In the suburbs of the capital, there is deep anger towards the government, but few risk speaking out openly.
"Djibouti's youth want change... for 40 years, we have seen no change, no development,", said Beuh, one of the many frustrated unemployed in the city.
Paris (AFP) - Last season's Europa League runners-up Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk of Ukraine were handed a one-year European ban by UEFA on Thursday for breaching financial regulations.
Dnipro will sit out a season for any European tournament for which they may qualify in the next three years.
Romania's Targu Mures and Inter Baku of Azerbaijan were also handed similar sanctions. All three clubs had been ordered to clear up "late payments" by January 31.
Dnipro lost 3-2 to Sevilla in the Europa League final last year.
By Ben Hirschler LONDON (Reuters) - Philip Aubrey buys medicines for British government-funded hospitals across London, capital of the world's fifth-largest economy, but last year he struggled to secure supplies of a basic AIDS drug. He is not alone. Shortages of essential drugs, mostly generic medicines whose patents have long expired, are becoming increasingly frequent globally, prompting the World Health Organization (WHO) to suggest minimum prices may be needed to keep some products on the market. Drug shortages are due to a variety of factors from manufacturing, quality and raw material problems to unexpected spikes in demand, but such upsets are aggravated when there are few suppliers. "It can be really problematic," said Aubrey. The rise in shortages has gone hand in hand with a wave of consolidation among the companies making generic drugs - which range from global pharmaceutical giants to smaller firms in countries such as India - reducing the number of manufacturers making individual product lines. Downward pressure on generic drug prices is good news for healthcare systems in the short term, but it may fuel disruption if a supplier hits production problems. While the lack of a patent means other suppliers could also make the same drug, they would still need regulatory approval and that can take years. The result, according to experts, is a worryingly fragile supply chain, particularly for injectable medicines such as chemotherapy treatments and certain antibiotics. Benzathine penicillin, for example, a vital drug for preventing transmission of syphilis from mother to child, has been in short supply for years because of manufacturing problems, inconsistent demand and a relatively low price. "Medicines can be too cheap," said Hans Hogerzeil, professor of global health at Groningen University in the Netherlands and a former director for essential medicines at the WHO. "For a viable market model you need at least three and preferably five different manufacturers." The idea of minimum prices for certain essential medicines contrasts sharply to traditional pricing debates about how to reduce the sky-high cost of new patented drugs for diseases such as cancer and hepatitis C. Drug shortages will be discussed as a specific topic for the first time at this year's WHO World Health Assembly in May, and U.S. and European regulators told Reuters more needed to be done to address the problem. Shortages in the United States hit a peak in 2011 due to manufacturing outages, yet the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists still lists 155 products as being in short supply. The European Association of Hospital Pharmacists says more than four out of five of its members face regular shortages, while doctors in Canada have been grappling this year with tight supply of a widely-used epilepsy drug. COUNTERFEIT RISK Shortages in developing countries can go unreported for months or even years, increasing the risk of counterfeits entering the supply chain, according to Lisa Hedman, a procurement and supply chains expert at the WHO. Hedman was an author on a WHO report released earlier this year setting out possible ways to tackle the problem. These include a global notification system for supply problems, increased collaboration between regulators and potential advanced purchase commitments for priority drugs, as well as action on pricing. Low-cost generic manufacturing has produced huge benefits in increasing drug affordability but the report warned: "Too low prices, however, may drive manufacturers out of the market." Valerie Jensen, associate director of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's drug shortage program, believes global action could complement national measures, such as a new FDA policy to speed reviews of generics competing with only one other product. "We know that internationally this is a problem and we need to think of ways to address it," she said. Drug regulators themselves have limited scope for action, since while they can keep a drug off the market, they cannot require a company to make a product. "We need to sweet talk manufacturers to get them to think about best practices," said Brendan Cuddy, head of manufacturing and quality compliance at the European Medicines Agency. Brendan Shaw, assistant director general at the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations in Geneva, argues that recognising the need to keep generic drugmakers financially viable is essential. "Companies don't like stock-outs either, so it is in everyone's interest to find a way forward," he said. In London, medicines buyer Aubrey has now resolved the supply difficulties he faced over the HIV/AIDS treatment nevirapine, after one generic supplier eventually fixed its production problems, but he is still struggling to get supplies of other important drugs. These include the bladder cancer therapy BCG and even diamorphine, or heroin, the powerful painkiller sometimes given to end-stage cancer patients. As the man holding the purse strings, Aubrey needs to get a good deal on price but he worries that a couple of hundred medicines in Britain now have only one supplier. "We need a balance," he said. "Its not good news if there is a shortage and patient care is compromised." (editing by David Stamp)
Belen (Costa Rica) (AFP) - Imagine tons of stinking dung, blood and offal, tipped into a giant tub for germs to feed on.
It sounds vomit-worthy, but experts say this project at a Costa Rican slaughterhouse will help the environment -- and spare neighbors from the awful smell.
Hot weather sharpens the stench of animal waste at the El Arreo abattoir. The owners hope the environmental gains from the new system will be a lot sweeter.
Aimed at producing methane gas, it is the latest clean-energy idea in this Central American country, which is setting an example by producing nearly all its power from renewable sources.
The abattoir is launching a system to convert the waste into gas to power the site by pouring it into a big metal container called a "biodigester."
Such devices are already used in Europe but this is among the first such projects in Central America.
In goes the yucky waste that usually gets thrown away. Microbes devour it, producing methane "biogas" in the process.
"The first thing we have done is cultivate the microbes by feeding them with waste such as dung from the slaughterhouses," said Lucia Gomez of the Del Valle abattoir.
Rival companies Del Valle and El Arreo teamed up to set up the biodigester on the grounds of the El Arreo abattoir near the capital San Jose.
They jointly invested nearly $3 million dollars in a program backed by the state Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE).
"We had been looking for some time for a solution for the waste that was building up from our production process, mainly dung and blood, which cause bad smells and contamination," said Jonathan Molina, manager of the El Arreo slaughterhouse.
"We operate in a residential area and that was unpleasant for the neighbors."
They hope to start operating the biodigester next month.
Costa Rica drew world attention last year when it said it managed to generate 99 percent of the electricity for its 4.8 million people from renewables, chiefly hydropower.
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The biodigester not only generates energy but will allow the slaughterhouse to stop using fuel oil to power the site's boiler.
"When operated with the necessary safety measures, the biodigester is like a source of natural gas, but without pressure storage or gas tanks," said Carolina Hernandez, an official in the ICE's biogas program.
- Goodbye to bad smells -
Near the barns housing the herds of cows at the slaughterhouse stands a depot that stores dung, blood and offal in separate compartments.
Beside it is the biodigester, a shiny round metal structure several meters high, with a capacity of two million gallons (7.6 million liters).
A cabin next to it houses machines that regulate the operation of the system.
The man in charge of running the biodigester, Marco Sanchez, says the system is programmed to indicate how much of each waste product the bacteria need in order to make gas.
Molina hopes the biogas will cover up to 80 percent of the slaughterhouse's needs. The rest will come from regular natural gas fuel.
By not burning the waste directly, they will emit less greenhouse gas and unpleasant smells.
Hernandez says Costa Rica has 2.2 megawatts of capacity in biodigesters -- enough in theory to power hundreds of homes.
It hopes to add 1.7 megawatts of capacity when a new biogas plant run by the state Aqueducts and Sewers body starts operating.
That plant will use human waste extracted from sewage.
Monrovia (AFP) - A 30-year-old woman has died in the Liberian capital after contracting Ebola, officials said Friday, more than two months after the epidemic was declared over in the country.
"Lab results confirm a new case of Ebola virus disease in Liberia -- a 30-year-old woman who died yesterday afternoon while being transferred to a hospital in the capital Monrovia," the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a statement.
A Liberian health ministry official confirmed the case to AFP and said further details would be released later on the woman's death, with an emergency meeting convened to co-ordinate a response.
A resurgence of Ebola in a rural Guinean community has killed seven people in the past few weeks, but it is not known if the new Liberian case is linked.
The WHO said one of its teams and local experts were sent to the area near Monrovia where the woman was living and to a clinic that treated her.
They were to "begin case investigation and identification of individuals who may have been in contact," the statement said.
Liberia was the country worst hit by a two-year outbreak that saw 4,800 deaths. It discharged its last two Ebola patients from hospital in December, after which the country was monitored for 42 days before being given the all-clear.
The WHO had said on Tuesday that the Ebola outbreak in West Africa no longer constituted an international emergency, voicing confidence that remaining isolated cases in the affected countries can be contained.
But a significant number of deaths are believed to have gone unreported and "flare-ups" relating to the persistence of the virus in survivors' bodies pose ongoing challenges.
Ebola causes severe fever and muscle pain, weakness, vomiting and diarrhoea. In many cases it shuts down organs and causes unstoppable internal bleeding. Patients often succumb within days.
The virus is spread through close contact with the sweat, vomit, blood or other bodily fluids of an infected person, or the recently deceased.
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The Liberian case comes as the WHO announced it had vaccinated 800 people in Guinea in the area where Ebola symptoms were reported among a family on March 16.
The family members had contracted Ebola from "a known transmission chain and not a new chain introduced by the animal population," the WHO said.
Liberia briefly closed its border with Guinea following the announcement of new cases there, but it has subsequently reopened, several Guinean sources confirmed to AFP.
The world health body has warned that sporadic recurrences of the deadly virus -- which has claimed 11,300 lives since December 2013 -- remained a possibility.
Neighbouring Sierra Leone announced beefed-up security measures along with screening and surveillance points at all border crossings with Guinea on Thursday.
The deadliest period in the history of the feared tropical virus wrecked the economies and health systems of the three worst-hit west African nations after it emerged in southern Guinea in December 2013.
Luxor (Egypt) (AFP) - Egypt's antiquities minister said on Friday more tests were needed to determine whether there is a secret chamber in the tomb of Tutankhamun that some believe may hide Queen Nefertiti's remains.
The announcement by Khaled al-Anani at a press conference in Luxor dashed hopes that another radar scan conducted on Thursday would provide certainty on whether the ancient tomb had hidden chambers.
His predecessor Mamduh Damati had said earlier this month that there was a "90 percent chance" of two hidden chambers containing organic material, behind a wall in the ancient Egyptian boy king's tomb.
He said experts would conduct a fourth scan of the tomb in the end of April, then invite scholars for a conference to study the results in the first week of May.
"Nothing will be announced until there is a precise study," he said.
Renowned British archaeologist Nicholas Reeves, who attended the press conference, has said that Nefertiti's tomb could be in a secret chamber adjoining Tutankhamun's in the Valley of Kings necropolis at Luxor in southern Egypt.
Reeves, professor of archaeology at the University of Arizona, believes one door of Tutankhamun's tomb could conceal the burial place of Nefertiti, the wife of Tutankhamun's father.
According to him, Tutankhamun, who died unexpectedly, was entombed hurriedly in an underground chamber probably not intended for him.
Former antiquities minister Damati said this month that preliminary scans had unearthed evidence of "two hidden rooms behind the burial chamber" of the boy king.
Anani had told AFP on Thursday that analysis would determine the thickness of a possible wall behind the funerary chamber.
"There is a possibility that there is a cavity, after the latest scan. I hope we will find something... but as a scientist I need to be careful before announcing results," Anani said.
He added that if the latest scan revealed further evidence of a hidden room, a small hole could be bored through a wall and a camera inserted to discover what lay behind.
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Nefertiti played a major political and religious role in the 14th century BC.
She actively supported her husband Akhenaten -- Tutankhamun's father -- who temporarily converted ancient Egypt to monotheism by imposing the cult of sun god Aton.
Tutankhamun died aged 19 in 1324 BC after just nine years on the throne. His final resting place was discovered by another British Egyptologist, Howard Carter, in 1922.
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
Paris (AFP) - After a blistering week in which French President Francois Hollande made a humiliating U-turn on anti-terror measures and faced massive protests over labour reforms, his prospects for re-election next year look increasingly bleak.
The 61-year-old Socialist leader has staked his presidency on a pledge to rein in France's stubbornly-high unemployment, but his proposed remedy has sparked waves of often violent demonstrations.
Hundreds of thousands of workers and students braved heavy rains across the country on Thursday to protest against the reforms, seen by opponents as too pro-business.
The protests, which are set to continue this month, came a day after Hollande announced he was scrapping an initiative to strip convicted terrorists of French nationality.
In absence of an agreement between the two houses of parliament, the president was forced to humiliatingly abandon a measure he had hoped would burnish his credentials as tough on terror in the wake of November's jihadist attacks on Paris.
Thursday's polls showed the approval rating of the most unpopular president in modern French history sinking to a new low of 15 percent. Another poll on Wednesday suggested he would not even reach the second-round run-off in the May 2017 election.
"The president's popularity has fallen continuously for the past two years, but in the past few weeks there has been an acceleration in the disaffection within his own camp," said political scientist Bruno Jeanbart of the Opinionway polling institute.
- Re-election unlikely -
Only two in five of those who voted for Hollande in the first round of the 2012 vote that brought him to power still support him, Jeanbart said, describing his chance of re-election as "virtually non-existent".
In the face of robust objections from both opposition and Socialist backbenchers, Hollande was forced to abandon constitutional changes that would have allowed dual nationals convicted of terrorism to be stripped of their French citizenship.
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Polls suggested most of the country supported the plan, notably after it emerged that six of the 10 known Paris attackers had French passports.
But critics argued it would create two categories of French citizens, a sensitive issue in a country where millions hold two passports.
It even sparked the resignation of justice minister Christiane Taubira, herself a native of French Guiana.
Hollande's hopes for a signature achievement on the economic front have also been shattered.
Two weeks ago, the government bowed to pressure from the street and the Socialist Party's left flank, watering down labour reform proposals so that they apply only to large firms.
But diehard labour and student unions are piling on the pressure for the government to scrap the bill altogether, calling two more protests on April 5 and April 9.
That will set the stage for a major televised appearance on April 14 when Hollande will face the press and public, when he is expected to tout a few economic green shoots -- notably that unemployment may dip below the psychological bar of 10 percent at the end of 2016.
The figure bears little meaning however for young people, for whom joblessness is estimated at around 25 percent.
- 'Beginning of the end' -
Friday's editorials pulled no punches, with the right-leaning daily Le Figaro seeing "The beginning of the end" for Hollande, while the Paris daily Le Parisien ran the mocking headline "Yet he still believes".
But a source in Hollande's inner circle said he was not ready to throw in the towel, having overcome earlier setbacks since becoming France's first Socialist president in 17 years.
Instead, he would be "more on the offensive" and push ahead with the labour reforms, the aide said.
"The mobilisation against them is significant but not something that will make us back down," the source said.
Despite Hollande's woes, the Socialist Party was resisting calls to hold a primary to choose its candidate for 2017, Jeanbart said.
"It's not clear that (another candidate) would do better than Hollande. He could even do worse," he said.
A first-round loss for the Socialist candidate would set up a second-round contest between a rightwing candidate and far-right leader Marine Le Pen of the National Front.
That would be a repeat of the scenario in 2002 when Jacques Chirac defeated Le Pen's father Jean-Marie after the Socialist Lionel Jospin fell at the first hurdle.
Many on the left said they "held their noses" to vote for Chirac over Le Pen.
By Kshitiz Goliya (Reuters) - Energous Corp, a developer of wireless technology for charging fitness wristbands and smartphones, is in talks to license its products to at least six potential customers, its chief executive said. The company, whose transmitter can charge multiple devices without contact, plans to launch its 'Mini WattUp' transmitter later this year or early next year, hoping to grab a share of a market expected to grow seven-fold in five years. Mini WattUp works only in close proximity to a receiver, making it suited to wearable devices such as Apple Inc's Apple Watch, the Samsung Gear S2 and wristbands made by Fitbit Inc, which consume less power than smartphones. The company has signed two licensing agreements: the first in February 2015 with an unnamed consumer electronics company and the second this week with Pegatron Corp, a Taiwanese electronics company. San Jose, California-based Energous's shares rose 18 percent to a year-high on Tuesday after the company announced the Pegatron deal. The stock has risen 26 percent this year to trade at $10 on Friday. With the development of its first product nearing completion, Energous aims to sign up more partners "at the rate of one per month," Chief Executive Stephen Rizzone told Reuters. Energous, which went public in March 2014, plans to make money by licensing its technology to consumer electronics companies, chipmakers, original design manufacturers (ODMs) and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). These companies would integrate the chargers into their products and pay a fee to Energous for every device sold. "We have more interest from major consumer electronic companies, ODM, OEM and silicon companies than we can support," Rizzone said. Rizzone said Energous had reduced the cost of its transmitter and receiver to a point where it is viable for a manufacturer to include it in a product that sells for as little as $100. About 144 million wireless charging receiver units were shipped worldwide in 2015, a number that is set to exceed 1 billion by 2020, according to market research firm IHS Inc. Smartphone chargers dominate the market, in particular those using Qi wireless technology developed by the Wireless Power Consortium, a group of companies including Samsung Electronics Co Ltd. Energous is working on more powerful versions of WattUp. Scheduled for launch in the latter part of 2017, these transmitters will be able to charge at a range of 3-15 feet (0.9-4.6 meters) and should be able to charge smartphones. (Reporting by Kshitiz Goliya in Bengaluru; Editing by Don Sebastian)
By Aaron Maasho ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - An Ethiopian opposition group said on Friday that police had arrested more than 2,600 people in the last three weeks for taking part in land protests and that the government was thereby aiming to deter future protests. Plans to requisition farmland in the Oromiya region surrounding the capital for development sparked the country's worst unrest in over a decade, with rights groups and U.S.-based dissidents saying as many as 200 people may have been killed. An opposition coalition said the arrests over protests in the four months up to February came despite government assurances of clemency. Representatives of the government were not immediately available for comment. Authorities scrapped the land scheme in January and pledged not to prosecute the demonstrators, while Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn issued an apology in parliament last month saying his administration would work to address grievances over governance. Despite the pledges, the Ethiopian Federal Democratic Unity Forum (MEDREK) said 2,627 people have since been "illegally rounded up" and remain under custody. "It is an act of reprisal," MEDREK's chairman Beyene Petros told Reuters. "The whole purpose why they are increasing their witchhunt is to simply stop the public from planning or initiating any future public protest," he added. The coalition said in a statement that the arrests took place in 12 different areas of Oromiya, Ethiopia's largest region by size and population. The second-most populous nation in Africa with 90 million people, Ethiopia has long been one of the poorest countries in the world per capita, but has made strides toward industrialisation, recording some of the continent's strongest economic growth rates for a decade. But reallocating land for new developments is a thorny issue in a country where the vast majority of the population still survives on small farms. The opposition says farmers have often been forced off land and poorly compensated. (Reporting by Aaron Maasho; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
By Aaron Maasho ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - An Ethiopian opposition group said on Friday that police had arrested more than 2,600 people in the last three weeks for taking part in land protests and that the government was thereby aiming to deter future protests. Plans to requisition farmland in the Oromiya region surrounding the capital for development sparked the country's worst unrest in over a decade, with rights groups and U.S.-based dissidents saying as many as 200 people may have been killed. An opposition coalition said the arrests over protests in the four months up to February came despite government assurances of clemency. Representatives of the government were not immediately available for comment. Authorities scrapped the land scheme in January and pledged not to prosecute the demonstrators, while Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn issued an apology in parliament last month saying his administration would work to address grievances over governance. Despite the pledges, the Ethiopian Federal Democratic Unity Forum (MEDREK) said 2,627 people have since been "illegally rounded up" and remain under custody. "It is an act of reprisal," MEDREK's chairman Beyene Petros told Reuters. "The whole purpose why they are increasing their witchhunt is to simply stop the public from planning or initiating any future public protest," he added. The coalition said in a statement that the arrests took place in 12 different areas of Oromiya, Ethiopia's largest region by size and population. The second-most populous nation in Africa with 90 million people, Ethiopia has long been one of the poorest countries in the world per capita, but has made strides toward industrialization, recording some of the continent's strongest economic growth rates for a decade. But reallocating land for new developments is a thorny issue in a country where the vast majority of the population still survives on small farms. The opposition says farmers have often been forced off land and poorly compensated. (Reporting by Aaron Maasho; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
By Aaron Maasho ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopia, which plans to become a top regional electricity exporter, will soon launch a new 2,000 megawatt hydropower dam, Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said on Thursday. Under a new 2015-2020 development plan, Addis Ababa wants to raise output to 17,346 megawatts from a current capacity of just over 2,200 from hydropower, wind and geothermal sources. "The launch of this new dam will be commenced soon," Hailemariam told parliament, without giving further details.Ethiopia's bid to tap several rivers for power generation is part of plans to boost manufacturing and industrialize its agrarian economy. It already has an array of projects under construction, including the $4.1 billion Grand Renaissance Dam that will churn out 6,000 megawatts upon completion within the next five years, as well as a 1,800-megawatt Gilgel Gibe 3 Dam in its southern region. But the country's power ambitions have caused disputes in the past. Egypt - solely dependent on the Nile - has expressed concern that the Renaissance Dam will reduce the river's flow. Both countries are currently locked in discussions over the project's technical details. And rights groups in Kenya say that the Gibe 3 Dam, and a related irrigation scheme, could dramatically reduce the volume of water in its Lake Turkana. Experts put Ethiopia's hydropower potential at about 45,000 megawatts and geothermal at 5,000, while its wind power potential is believed to be Africa's third-largest behind Egypt and Morocco. Hailemariam said Ethiopia, which signed a $4 billion-deal with a U.S.-Icelandic firm in 2013 to a build a 1,000 megawatt geothermal plant which will be the country's first privately-run utility, was also in negotiations with international companies to build more power generating projects. Once Ethiopia's grand plans are complete, it wants to export power to countries in North and southern Africa and beyond. But poor rainy seasons that have left 10.2 million people requiring food aid in the country of 90 million have also had an adverse impact on existing dams, Hailemariam said. Four hydropower plants generating a total of 675 megawatts were either producing "as low as 10 percent or nothing at all" owing to low water levels, he said. (Reporting by Aaron Maasho; editing by Edith Honan and Angus MacSwan)
By Aaron Maasho ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopia, which plans to become a top regional electricity exporter, will soon launch a new 2,000 megawatt hydropower dam, Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said on Thursday. Under a new 2015-2020 development plan, Addis Ababa wants to raise output to 17,346 megawatts from a current capacity of just over 2,200 from hydropower, wind and geothermal sources. "The launch of this new dam will be commenced soon," Hailemariam told parliament, without giving further details.Ethiopia's bid to tap several rivers for power generation is part of plans to boost manufacturing and industrialise its agrarian economy. It already has an array of projects under construction, including the $4.1 billion Grand Renaissance Dam that will churn out 6,000 megawatts upon completion within the next five years, as well as a 1,800-megawatt Gilgel Gibe 3 Dam in its southern region. But the country's power ambitions have caused disputes in the past. Egypt - solely dependent on the Nile - has expressed concern that the Renaissance Dam will reduce the river's flow. Both countries are currently locked in discussions over the project's technical details. And rights groups in Kenya say that the Gibe 3 Dam, and a related irrigation scheme, could dramatically reduce the volume of water in its Lake Turkana. Experts put Ethiopia's hydropower potential at about 45,000 megawatts and geothermal at 5,000, while its wind power potential is believed to be Africa's third-largest behind Egypt and Morocco. Hailemariam said Ethiopia, which signed a $4 billion-deal with a U.S.-Icelandic firm in 2013 to a build a 1,000 megawatt geothermal plant which will be the country's first privately-run utility, was also in negotiations with international companies to build more power generating projects. Once Ethiopia's grand plans are complete, it wants to export power to countries in North and southern Africa and beyond. But poor rainy seasons that have left 10.2 million people requiring food aid in the country of 90 million have also had an adverse impact on existing dams, Hailemariam said. Four hydropower plants generating a total of 675 megawatts were either producing "as low as 10 percent or nothing at all" owing to low water levels, he said. (Reporting by Aaron Maasho; editing by Edith Honan and Angus MacSwan)
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union on Wednesday criticized Ankara for summoning Berlin's envoy over a song mocking the Turkish leader on German TV, a friction at a delicate time when the bloc counts on Turkey's help on migration under a controversial deal. Turkey's Foreign Ministry summoned Germany's ambassador over a satirical broadcast by German television station NDR, which ran a two-minute satirical song mocking Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan earlier this month. "This move doesn't seem to be in line with upholding the freedom of the press and freedom expression, which are values the EU cherishes a lot," Mina Andreeva, a spokeswoman for the European Union's executive arm, told a daily news briefing. The spokeswoman added the European Commission's head Jean-Claude Juncker "believes this moves Turkey further (away) from the EU rather than closer to us." Right groups and the West regularly criticize Ankara for its track record on human rights but the 27-nation EU has still sealed a deal with Ankara on March 18 to return all migrants and refugees reaching European shores from the Turkish coast. Berlin, the key driving force behind the Turkish deal, has said press freedom was non-negotiable in its ties with Ankara. The EU hopes the migration agreement, badly criticized by rights groups, would give it breathing space as it struggles to control an influx of people fleeing wars and poverty in the Middle East and beyond. (Reporting by Gabriela Baczynska)
By Francesco Guarascio BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union imposed sanctions on three Libyan political leaders on Friday for opposing a U.N.-backed unity government for the country, a move aimed at weakening so-called spoilers of the peace process. EU states are also considering deploying a civilian security mission in Libya to back the new unity government led by Prime Minister Fayez Seraj, an EU official said. The asset-freeze and travel ban measures were formally adopted on Thursday to take effect on Friday, two days after the members of the Libya's unity government reached Tripoli by ship, defying attempts to keep them out of the city. Fearful of derailing efforts to forge peace between Libya's two rival governments in Tripoli and Tobruk, EU governments hesitated for months before agreeing in March to move on with restrictive measures. The three men sanctioned are Nouri Abusahmain, president of Libya's General National Congress in Tripoli, Khalifa al-Ghwell, prime minister of the self-proclaimed Tripoli government, and Aguila Saleh, the president of Libya's internationally recognized parliament in Tobruk. The EU said the three played a central role in obstructing the establishment of a unity government in Libya, which has become the main conduit for refugees from North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa to leave in boats for Europe. The measures will be regularly reviewed and "can be amended to take into account developments on the ground," a spokesperson for the EU foreign affairs services said. A regular EU meeting of national political and security experts on April 5 will focus on "a future possible civilian European security and defense mission in Libya," an EU official said on Friday. EU security experts could be sent to Libya to train security forces and improve border controls, the official said, although concrete preparations for the mission would start only after Libyan authorities formally request it. Once such a request is received, it could take a few weeks for the EU experts to be deployed, the official added. In a letter sent to EU foreign ministers in March, the EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini urged them to consider "the possibility of setting up a team of 'deployable experts' on migration and security issues". EU defense and foreign affairs ministers will hold a joint meeting focused on Libya on April 18 in Luxembourg. (Reporting by Francesco Guarascio; Editing by Tom Heneghan)
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Three Libyan political leaders opposing the U.N.-backed unity government are from Friday subject to European Union's economic sanctions, the EU official journal said. Fearful of derailing peace efforts, EU governments hesitated for months before agreeing in March to move on with restrictive measures. The asset-freeze measures were formally adopted on Thursday and take effect on Friday, two days after the members of the Libya's unity government reached Tripoli by ship, defying attempts to keep them out of the city. The three men hit by the EU measures are Nouri Abusahmain, president of Libya's General National Congress in Tripoli, one of two rival parliaments; Khalifa al-Ghwell, prime minister of the self-proclaimed Tripoli government; and Aguila Saleh, the president of Libya's internationally recognised parliament. The EU official journal said they played a central role in obstructing the establishment of a unity government in Libya. (Reporting by Francesco Guarascio; Editing by Alison Williams)
Brussels (AFP) - EU member states agreed Thursday to impose sanctions on three Libyan figures for obstructing the peace process and the formation of a government of national unity in the war-torn country, sources said.
One of the sources, who asked not to be named, told AFP the sanctions comprise "a ban on travelling in the European Union and a freeze on assets in the EU, which could be effective as it seems they have assets in Malta."
"The sanctions will come into effect after they are published in the EU's Official Journal on Friday," the source said.
The source did not identify those involved but said "it is the same three names we have been talking about."
A European diplomatic source told AFP recently that EU sanctions would target the Tripoli government's prime minister Khalifa Ghweil, the head of the General National Congress Nuri Abu Sahmein, and Aguila Saleh, speaker of the Tobruk-based parliament.
US officials would not immediately say whether Washington would follow suit in imposing sanctions, but a State Department spokesman said "those trying to sabotage Libya's future will be held accountable by the Libyan people and the international community for their actions."
EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini said earlier this month the 28-nation bloc was readying sanctions amid increasing frustration that Libya's UN-backed unity government set up in December was being prevented from taking office in the capital Tripoli.
On Wednesday, prime minister designate Fayez al-Sarraj arrived in Tripoli by sea from Tunisia, along with several members of his cabinet, but the authorities in the capital told him bluntly to leave or "hand himself in."
"Those who entered illegally and secretly must surrender or turn back," Ghweil said in a televised address. "We won't leave Tripoli as long as we are not sure of the fate of our homeland."
Libya descended into chaos after the 2011 NATO-backed ouster of longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi, allowing extremists including the Islamic State group to gain a foothold in the once oil-rich country.
Since 2014, Libya has had two rival administrations after militia groups forced the government from Tripoli to seek safety in Tobruk in the east.
The UN-brokered agreement in December was to set up a new unity government but lawmakers in Tobruk initially rejected it, only to then change their minds.
(Reuters) - European regulators on Friday recommended approving with conditions Johnson & Johnson's blood cancer drug, saying they would need to evaluate additional data from two ongoing studies. The much awaited drug, called Darzalex or daratumumab, which has already been approved in the United States, offers hope to patients who have run out of options to fight multiple myeloma. The European Medicines Agency's (EMA) recommendation applies to the use of the antibody treatment in adults who have already undergone standard treatments for multiple myeloma. The EMA grants conditional approval for drugs that fill an unmet medical need for serious conditions and show early evidence of clinical benefits outweighing the risks. Multiple myeloma is a form of cancer that affects infection-fighting plasma cells in the bone marrow. It can lead to complications such as infections, fractures and kidney dysfunction. In 2012, about 39,000 people suffered from multiple myeloma in the European Union, according to the EMA. Only half of the patients diagnosed with the condition are alive after five years as they develop resistance to existing therapies. The current therapies include Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd's Velcade, Celgene Corp's Revlimid, and newer drugs such as Amgen Inc's Kyprolis and Celgene's Pomalyst. J&J's Darzalex, given as an infusion, works by helping the immune system attack cancer cells. Researchers say it is the first antibody shown to be effective against myeloma without being combined with other medicines. America's Janssen, a unit of conglomerate J&J, licensed daratumumab from Danish biotech company Genmab under an exclusive deal in 2012. Genmab said separately that it expected a final decision from the European Commission in 60 to 90 days. Analysts, on average, believe Darzalex could generate annual sales of $2.19 billion by 2020, according to data from Thomson Reuters Cortellis. The drug won early approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in November for patients who had already undergone at least three prior standard treatments. The EMA has asked for additional results from the two ongoing, late-stage studies testing the antibody in combination with standard treatments. (http://bit.ly/1Ss1HOT) Data from both studies will be given by the second half of 2017, the regulator said, adding it would weigh Darzalex's benefits and risks every year until then. (Reporting by Esha Vaish in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Anupama Dwivedi)
By Ben Hirschler LONDON (Reuters) - The world's first life-saving gene therapy for children, developed by Italian scientists and GlaxoSmithKline, has been recommended for approval in Europe, boosting the pioneering technology to fix faulty genes. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said on Friday it had endorsed the therapy, called Strimvelis, for a tiny number of children with ADA Severe Combined Immune Deficiency (ADA-SCID) for whom no matching bone marrow donor is available. Around 15 children a year are born in Europe with the ultra-rare genetic disorder, which leaves them unable to make a type of white blood cell. They rarely survive beyond two years unless their immune function is restored with a suitable bone marrow transplant. SCID is sometimes known as bubble baby disease, since children born with it have immune systems so weak they must live in germ-free environments. Strimvelis is expected to secure formal marketing authorization from the European Commission in a couple of months, making it the second gene therapy to be approved in Europe, after UniQure's Glybera, which treats a rare adult blood disorder. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has yet to approve any gene therapies but a growing number of U.S. biotech companies, such as Bluebird Bio, have products in development. Other large pharmaceutical companies are also eyeing the field, including Bristol-Myers Squibb, which has a tie-up with UniQure. MANY SETBACKS Research into gene therapy goes back a quarter of a century but the field has experienced many setbacks, including the high-profile death of an American patient in 1999 and some disastrous clinical trial results in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Now, though, optimism is building, helped by the discovery of better ways to carry replacement genes into cells. Martin Andrews, head of GlaxoSmithKline's rare diseases unit, believes the technology is proving itself, although it remains at an early stage of development. "We're on page one of chapter one of a new medicine text book," he told Reuters. A host of challenges still need to be overcome, including the complexity of delivering a product like GSK's new treatment, which requires bone marrow cells to be taken from the patient, processed and injected back. Trickiest of all may be pricing, given the tiny market for a therapy like Strimvelis. UniQure's Glybera made history in 2014 as the first drug to carry a $1 million price tag. GSK is not putting a price on its product but a source close to the company said that, if approved, Strimvelis would cost very significantly less than $1 million. GSK has several other gene therapies under development with researchers at Fondazione Telethon and Ospedale San Raffaele in Italy, including treatments for metachromatic leukodystrophy and Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome that could be submitted for regulatory approval in the next couple of years. Its Strimvelis treatment for ADA-SCID is also being lined up for submission to U.S. regulators, although Andrews said this would not happen before the end of next year. (Writing by Ben Hirschler and Martinne Geller; Editing by David Holmes)
Washington (AFP) - North Korea fired another short-range missile off its east coast on Friday, South Korean officials said, as global leaders met in Washington to discuss the threat of Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programme.
It was the latest in a series of North Korean missile launches during what has been an extended period of military tension on the Korean peninsula, triggered by Pyongyang's fourth nuclear test on January 6.
The launch came in the middle of the two-day nuclear security summit being hosted by President Barack Obama in Washington, at which North Korea has been the focus of the US president's talks with the leaders of China, South Korea and Japan.
The summit opened Thursday with Obama trying to forge consensus among East Asian leaders on how to respond to Pyongyang's recent nuclear and missile tests, which have seen an escalation of tensions in the region.
In January, North Korea detonated a nuclear device and a month later launched a long-range rocket, the latest in a series of banned tests.
"We are united in our efforts to deter and defend against North Korean provocations," Obama said after meeting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Park Geun-Hye.
The leaders also discussed the deployment of the sophisticated missile system THAAD -- the Theater High Altitude Area Defense System -- to South Korea.
But the move has raised concerns in Beijing, which is unhappy at the prospect of the US hardware on its doorstep, fearing these will further tip the balance of power in the Pacific towards Washington.
"It in no way threatens either Chinese or Russian or other security interests in the region and will do nothing to undermine strategic stability between the United States and China," insisted Dan Kritenbrink, Obama's top Asia adviser.
- Shadows of Putin, Trump -
This is the fourth in a series of nuclear security summits convened at Obama's behest and with the president leaving office next year, it may well be the last.
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But it risked being overshadowed by two men who were not even there: Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Experts say Putin's refusal to attend has made substantive reductions in fissile material -- the vast majority of which is held by the militaries of Russia and the United States -- almost impossible.
"This nuclear security summit is supposed to address all of the (fissile) stocks, but truth is that all they address really is a small proportion of civilian stocks," Patricia Lewis, international security research director at British think tank Chatham House told AFP.
"President Obama's initial idea was that (the summits) would address all fissile materials, but the truth is there hasn't really been a discussion at the official level."
Obama foreign policy advisor Ben Rhodes described the lack of Russian participation as "counterproductive," adding that "nobody benefits from a lack or downgrading of collaboration on issues of nuclear security."
America's presidential election also took center stage, with questions about Trump's suggestion that Asian allies should develop nuclear weapons.
Following the Republican frontrunner's declaration that as president he would withdraw troops from South Korea and Japan and allow those two countries to develop nukes, Rhodes offered a scathing rebuke.
"The entire premise of American foreign policy as it relates to nuclear weapons for the last 70 years has been focused on preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons," he said.
"It would be catastrophic for the United States to shift its position and indicate that we somehow support the proliferation of nuclear weapons."
When Google in early 2014 generously opened up its wallet and forked over $3.2 billion in cash for Nest Labs, it ostensibly appeared to be a brilliant, albeit expensive, acquisition. At the time, Nest was riding high on the popularity of its Nest thermostat and the Nest Protect smoke alarm. With two hit products right out of the gate, the future of Nest looked remarkably bright.
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"Theyre already delivering amazing products you can buy right nowthermostats that save energy and smoke/CO alarms that can help keep your family safe," Google CEO Larry Page enthusiastically exclaimed at the time. "We are excited to bring great experiences to more homes in more countries and fulfill their dreams!
Two and a half years later and Nest is reportedly in shambles. Recently, there have been no shortage of reports suggesting that Nest CEO Tony Fadell is something of a tyrannical boss cut from the same cloth as Steve Jobs (at his worst). Additionally, the higher-ups at Google are reportedly disappointed that Nest hasn't been able to churn out more hardware.
Piling it on, Re/Code recently published a report indicating that Nest generated $340 million in revenue last year, a figure that Google found disappointing given how much it spent to acquire the company. And looking ahead, particulars from Google's initial buyout deal with Nest suggest that the pressure for Nest to ramp up sales will only increase.
In late 2013, as Fadell negotiated the sale to the search giant, the two parties settled on two provisions. Fadell ensured that he would have an operating budget from Google; in return, Google created a significant retention clause to ensure that Nests key executives and engineers stayed aboard. That budget was set for three years, according to multiple sources familiar with the deal. Unless Alphabet agrees to continue funding Nest, that budget runs out at the end of this year. Several sources said that initial budget was around $500 million annually.
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What's more, the report adds that Nest alone has never been able to meet Google's annual revenue goals of $300 million. Indeed, the $340 million figure cited above is misleading insofar as it includes revenue related to Nest's $555 million acquisition of Dropcam, a deal that ultimately proved to be disastrous.
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After years of anticipation, Tesla later today will finally take the wraps off of the Tesla Model 3 at a special event in California. Arguably, the upcoming Model 3 unveiling represents the most highly anticipated car introduction the auto industry has seen in years, if not decades.
It's hardly an overstatement to state that the entirety of Tesla's existence has been building up to today's event. You see, the Model 3 is much more than a new electric vehicle meant to diversify Tesla's product line and serve as a quiet alternative to the Model S and the Model X. On the whole, the Model 3 represents Elon Musk's big bet that an affordably priced electric vehicle can gain a foothold among mainstream car buyers. The Model 3, from its very inception, was designed to be a car for the masses as opposed to a niche vehicle for environmentally conscious individuals with disposable income.
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What makes Tesla's Model 3 introduction all the more compelling is that the car is the culmination of a multi-year strategy that was originally put into motion in 2008, back when deliveries of the Tesla Roadster began. Indeed, Tesla's grand vision for EV domination is hardly a well-kept secret. From the very beginning, Tesla's two-pronged EV strategy was simple: 1) Use profits from the high-end Roadster to fuel development of a luxury sedan, later to be called the Model S and 2) Use profits from the Model S to fuel research and development of an affordable four-door car for the masses, aka the Model 3.
One of the many reasons why Thursday's event will be so incredibly exciting is that there's still a lot we don't know about the Model 3. Much like Apple, Tesla seems to value the 'big reveal.' That nonwithstanding, it's not as if the Model 3 is a complete mystery.
So to get you primed for Tesla's event later today, we've compiled a list detailing all of the rumors and facts surrounding the upcoming Model 3. While we'll obviously know more soon enough, the list below should help provide a good framework regarding what we can expect to see once Elon Musk triumphantly takes the stage.
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How can I watch the event?
Grab some popcorn and make sure you're well rested. The event will stream live on Tesla.com at 11:30 p.m Eastern Time. Be warned: Tesla events have a bad tendency to start late, so you may have to hang in there for a bit before the festivities kick off.
What's the Model 3 going to look like?
The biggest mystery surrounding the Model 3 is what it's going to look like. What we do know is that the Model 3 is not going to be a smaller carbon copy of the Model S. On the contrary, CEO Elon Musk said on the record that the "Model 3 won't look like other cars."
And lest you think that Musk was simply trying to build up intrigue ahead of the Model 3 launch, it's worth adding that Tesla chief designer Franz von Holzhausen, during a 2013 interview with Gigaom, said that whereas the Model S embodied more of a "ready to wear" design, the Model 3 will be more expressive and will feature a more couture design.
Now how this will manifest into the final design remains to be seen, but it stands to reason that the Model 3 will be eye-catching.
How big will the Model 3 be?
While the actual design of the car remains a closely guarded secret, the size of the car shouldn't be much of a surprise. For years, Tesla hasn't hidden the fact that the Model 3 will be approximately 20% smaller than the Model S. More recently, Tesla CTO JB Straubel indicated that the Model 3 will be similar in size to an Audi A4, a photo of which can be seen below.
audi a4
For those curious about specific measurements, the Audi A4 is 15 feet long, 4.6 feet high and about 6.6 feet wide with the side view mirrors. The Model S, in contrast, is about 16.3 feet long and 4.7 feet high.
Model 3 range will not disappoint
One of the bigger Model 3 details to keep an eye on is the vehicle's range. While it's likely that the entry-level Model 3 will sport a range of 200+ miles on a single charge, a recent report claims that an upper tier version of the vehicle will be able to go 300 miles on a single charge. That said, we can safely assume that if you want a Model 3 with 300 miles of range, you'll have to spring for a model that will cost you a bit more than the $35,000 entry price.
On a related note, there have also been reports of Tesla pushing its engineers to realize a Model 3 design with a drag coefficient lower than .2. By way of contrast, the Model S has a drag coefficient of 0.24.
An Electrek report from this past November reads:
What Im hearing internally is that CEO Elon Musk is intensely driving the engineering designers to deliver a design with a drag coefficient lower than .20 which would make it the lowest of any mass production car in the world and close to extreme vehicles like GMs EV1 and Volkswagens XL1...
How fast will the Model 3 be?
The Model 3 will be fast, but will not be as fast as the Model S. Still, for a mass market vehicle, the Model 3 will likely impress. Just yesterday, a rumor hinted that the Model 3 will be able to go from 0-60 in less than 4 seconds.
While Tesla has gone all out to turn the Model S into a speed demon, it's worth noting that raw performance wasn't the top priority for the Tesla team when designing the Model 3. As Tesla CTO JB Straubel recently intimated, Tesla with the Model 3 prioritized cost above all else.
"We don't really need more performance," Straubel said while speaking at IHS Energy CERAWeek in Houston, Texas last month.
The Model 3 will be new in every single way
Whereas the Model X was effectively built on the same platform as the Model S, the Model 3 required Tesla to start from scratch and design a new car from the ground up.
During a Q&A session that followed a talk at the University of Nevada at Reno, Straubel explained:
Most of Model 3 has to be new. With X, we were able to build on a lot of common components with S, but with Model 3 we cant do that. So were inventing a whole new platform for Model 3. Its a new battery architecture, its a new motor technology, brand new vehicle structure. Its a lot of work. This is something we started on even a few years ago. It is a brand new vehicle, and it has to be.
Will the Model 3 have a signature series? No, no it will not.
Whereas previous Tesla models were offered to users in a signature series, the Model 3, per Elon Musk himself, will not.
Let's talk price. How much is the Model 3 going to cost me?
Teslas has previously confirmed that the Model 3 will cost only $35,000, and that's before any tax breaks are taken into account.
We can confirm its $35,000 before incentives, Tesla spokeswoman Khobi Brooklyn said last month. We havent changed our minds.
Once tax subsidies are factored into the equation, some prospective buyers may only end up spending $22,000 on the Model 3. Of course, tax incentives are unique from state to state so the actual savings will vary depending on where you are.
It will feature next-gen technology
Tesla CTO JB Straubel last month stated that the Model 3 will surprise people with the level of features it includes." Further, Straubel added that the Model 3 will feature next-gen Tesla technology, perhaps alluding to some next-level auto pilot features that haven't yet hit the Model S.
Does this mean the Model 3 will be fully autonomous? Not quite, though Elon Musk does believe that such technology will be ready for primetime in as little as five years. Long term, Musk is on record as saying that "in 20 years, if you have a car that isnt autonomous, it will be like owning a horse. Youre really just owning it for sentimental reasons.
How to order one
Pre-orders for the Model 3 will begin on March 31 in Tesla stores only and will require a $1,000 reservation fee. Curious if there's a Tesla dealership in your area? You can quickly check this page and enter your location to find out.
For those who can't make it into a Tesla store on March 31, not to worry: Online reservations will begin one day later on April 1. Notably, pre-orders are going to be "global", which is to say that customers from the U.S. won't be given any preferential treatment.
Will it be safe?
Given Tesla's track record, we'll go out on a limb and say that the Model 3 will be exceedingly safe and may very well be the safest vehicle in its class once safety tests come back. You might remember that the Tesla Model S P85D performed so well during Consumer Reports testing that it literally broke the company's testing scale when it scored 103 out of 100, prompting CR to recalibrate its methodology.
Will the Model 3 ship on time? Yes, and it's going to ship in late 2017
Tesla has famously struggled to get its previous models released on time. From the Roadster to the Model S to the Model X, shipping a new car on schedule hasn't exactly proven to be Tesla's forte. Nonetheless, the company is adamant that deliveries will in fact begin in late 2017.
To this point, Bloomberg recently reported:
The firms are telling investors that Tesla is learning from the mistakes that delayed its previous launches and is on track to make the shift from producing tens of thousands of $80,000 cars to hundreds of thousands of $35,000 cars
Still, Tesla's history would suggest that only individuals who put in reservations super early will be able to get their hands on a Model 3 by 2017. More than likely, most consumers will have to wait until 2018 before their Model 3 arrives.
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By Nate Raymond
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A former executive pf QBE Insurance Group was sentenced on Thursday to 1-1/2 years in prison for conspiring to embezzle $2.6 million from the insurance company, some of which he used to buy a house and luxury vehicles.
James Shea, a former executive vice president at the Australian insurer's North American unit who was responsible for integrating its information technology systems, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer in Manhattan.
Engelmayer said Shea driven by greed, envy and a desire to make his family happy.
"You abused the position of responsibility your company entrusted you with," Engelmayer said.
Shea, who was also ordered to forfeit $1.81 million and jointly with a co-defendant pay $2.65 million in restitution to QBE, in court said he was "extremely apologetic."
"There is never a good reason for what I did," he said. "There just isn't."
Prosecutors said that from 2012 through 2013, Shea, 49, conspired with a consultant for QBE, Eugene Fallon, to submit invoices for consulting services purportedly done by two entities that in reality were never done.
As part of the scheme, Shea forged the signature of QBE North America's chief financial officer on sham contracts between the insurer and the two entities and approved invoices Fallon provided for more than $2.65 million, prosecutors said.
About $1.81 million was then funneled back to Shea, who used the money to buy a house and luxury vehicles, prosecutors said.
Both Shea and Fallon were arrested in June and pleaded guilty in November to wire fraud. Fallon has yet to be sentenced.
The case is U.S. v. Shea, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 15-cr-00546.
(Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler)
New Delhi (AFP) - A third former employee of Rajendra Pachauri has accused the ex-head of the UN climate panel of sexual harassment, after he was charged last month over a similar complaint.
The woman, who has not taken her allegations to police, says she suffered harassment when she worked at the New Delhi-based Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) which Pachauri headed until this year.
"From the beginning Pachauri would put his hands on my waist repeated times, he would hug me longer than felt comfortable, kissed me on the cheek and inquired about my private life," she said in a statement emailed to AFP on Friday by her lawyer Vrinda Grover.
"The tipping point came when he said that I should join him in his summer house outside of the city for the weekend... he made it very clear that his wife was out of town."
Her allegations, which date back to 2008, came a month after Indian police charged the 75-year-old with sexually harassing a young female employee at TERI.
The complainant, who cannot be named, accused him of repeatedly sending inappropriate emails, text and WhatsApp messages.
Pachauri, a leading voice on the dangers of global warming, denies the accusations and has said his email and phone were hacked.
His lawyer Ashish Dixit accused Grover, who also represents the complainant in the legal case against Pachauri, of waging a "prejudiced, biased campaign" against his client.
"If you are serious about such grave allegations, then go to police, take the matter to court. Why email them to media and then do nothing about it?" he told AFP.
"This is all done for publicity and media attention, nothing else."
Pachauri was forced to quit as chairman of the Nobel Prize-winning UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in February 2015 after the former employee filed her complaint with police.
Then last July TERI announced it was replacing Pachauri after a backlash over his return to work while facing the allegations, although he continued to work for the organisation until a replacement was appointed.
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The emergence in February of a second female employee who accused Pachauri of "sexually-loaded" behaviour sparked outrage over his continued presence at the organisation which put him on indefinite leave, though her complaint was not registered with police.
The latest complainant said she decided to speak out after reading an interview published in The Guardian newspaper in which Pachauri reiterated his innocence.
The police charges are due to be heard by a Delhi court on April 23.
BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Anbang Insurance Group Co walked away from its planned $14 billion offer for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc to avoid a protracted bidding war, one of the Chinese insurer's consortium partners said on Friday. In a surprise move, Anbang dropped out of the bidding for Starwood, paving the way for rival suitor Marriott International Inc to buy the Sheraton and Westin hotels operator.. Anbang had teamed up with Chinese private equity firm Primavera Capital and global buyout firm J.C. Flowers & Co, for its Starwood bid. "While attracted to Starwood's high-end global hotel portfolio, at the end of the day Anbang is a disciplined buyer," Fred Hu, Chairman of Primavera, told Reuters in an email statement. "Anbang has both the interest and the financial resources to do a deal of this size and more, but only at the right terms that make long-term financial sense," Hu, a former Goldman Sachs banker said. (Reporting by Matthew Miller; Writing by Denny Thomas; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - North Korea will pursue its nuclear and ballistic missile program in defiance of the United States and its allies, a top Pyongyang envoy said on Friday, adding that a state of "semi-war" now existed on the divided Korean peninsula. So Se Pyong, North Korea's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, denounced the huge joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises taking place which he said were aimed at "decapitation of the supreme leadership of the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea)" and conquering Pyongyang. North Korea conducted a fourth nuclear test in January and launched a long-range rocket in February. The South Korean military said on Friday that North Korea had fired a missile into the sea off its east coast. "If the United States continues, then we have to make the counter-measures also. So we have to develop, and we have to make more deterrence, nuclear deterrence," So, who is also North Korea's envoy to the U.N.-sponsored Conference on Disarmament, said in an interview with Reuters conducted in English. "Simultaneous policy is the policy of my country, and my party also, meaning nuclear production and economic development," he said, referring to the twin aims of the policy course of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un which is expected to be endorsed at a congress of the ruling Workers' Party in May, the first in 36 years. So had no information about the latest missile firing or about South Korean allegations that his country was disrupting GPS signal reception which Seoul says has forced some boats to return to port amid heightened tensions. "They (Seoul) are making too many manipulations, too many false reports," he said. U.S. President Barack Obama joined South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday in vowing to ramp up pressure on North Korea in response to its nuclear and missile tests. The three leaders recommitted their countries to each others' defense and warned they could take further steps to counter threats from Pyongyang. "Actually that summit, we call it ... a kind of propaganda," So said, dismissing the talks on securing vulnerable atomic materials to prevent nuclear terrorism. "WE ARE GOING ON OUR OWN WAY" Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday also called for dialogue to resolve the "predicament" on the Korean peninsula during a meeting with Park in Washington, Xinhua news agency said on Friday. Asked whether his reclusive country felt pressure from its ally China and other powers, So replied: "Whether they are going to do anything, we don't care. We are going on our own way. "(We are) not having dialogue and discussions on that." The Security Council unanimously passed a resolution in early March expanding U.N. sanctions aimed at starving North Korea of funds for its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. "We are going against that resolution also because that is not fair and (not just). At this point, because this is really the war now ... We are busy to deal with this semi-war status of the situation on the peninsula now." Regarding the joint military exercises being conducted by U.S. and South Korean forces, he said that 300,000 troops were taking part: "Now they open (show) their true color, meaning the decapitation of the supreme leadership of DPRK." Asked about prospects for resuming stalled six-party talks on his country's nuclear program, So replied that denuclearisation of the peninsula was no longer on the table. "If the United States stops their hostile policy towards the DPRK and comes to the peace treaty, then something (might be) different," he said. (Editing by Richard Balmforth)
By Kate Kelland LONDON (Reuters) - The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the Ebola emergency over, but action is still needed to fully develop effective vaccines and prepare the world for future outbreaks, experts said on Thursday. Great progress has been made in Ebola vaccine development in the last two years, according to a report by an international panel of infectious disease experts, but this "could grind to a halt as memories of the outbreak in West Africa begin to fade". "The job is still not done," said Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust global health charity which co-led a report on the world's progress toward Ebola immunization. "As Ebola infection rates come under control it's a huge concern that complacency sets in, attention moves to more immediate threats and Ebola vaccine development is left half-finished." The WHO said on Tuesday that West Africa's Ebola outbreak, which began in Guinea in late 2013 and killed more than 11,300 people in almost 20 months, no longer constitutes a threat to international public health. During the epidemic, a total of 13 Ebola vaccine candidates - including different combinations of shots - were tested in early- and mid-stage clinical trials. Several drugmakers, including Johnson & Johnson , Merck and GlaxoSmithKline moved potential Ebola vaccines well into the clinical trial process, and three late-stage, or so-called Phase III, trials were initiated in Africa - one each in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Trials of one vaccine, Mercks rVSV-ZEBOV, progressed far enough to show in trials that it is safe and effective, prompting GAVI, the global vaccine alliance, to buy 300,000 doses as a stockpile for use during future Ebola outbreaks. UNANSWERED QUESTIONS Yet so far, no Ebola vaccine has been submitted for regulatory review and the expert panel said there are still too many unanswered questions about Ebola vaccines. Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) at the University of Minnesota in the United States and a co-author of the report, cautioned the global health officials against believing the progress made had "solved the problem of Ebola". "The path forward is not quite so simple, and many unresolved challenges and questions remain," he said. These include gaining continuing trials to get more data on the safety and efficacy of various Ebola vaccines and engaging African public health leaders to clarify how vaccines can be used or evaluated in new outbreaks. "After the hard lessons we've learned, it would be a tragedy not to put a final stop to the current Ebola epidemic and be prepared for the next outbreak," said Farrar. (Editing by Gareth Jones)
Mexico City (AFP) - Jailed Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman suffered a setback Thursday in his battle against efforts to extradite him to the United States, authorities said.
A Mexico City court overturned Guzman's appeal seeking to block the government's request for an extradition warrant, judicial authorities said in a statement.
They cited procedural irregularities and a lack of evidence in the case brought by lawyers of Guzman, considered one of the world's most powerful drug bosses.
Guzman was captured in January after months on the run in a colorful episode involving a Mexican soap opera actress and US film star Sean Penn, who met with the drug boss in hiding.
Guzman had escaped through a hole in his jail cell's shower in July in a drama that embarrassed the government.
He faces two extradition demands by courts in California and Texas, for homicide and drug trafficking.
Mexican authorities have said the extradition process may take at least a year.
By Ernest Scheyder (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has ruled Exxon Mobil Corp must include a climate change resolution on its annual shareholder proxy, a defeat for the world's largest publicly traded oil producer, which had argued it already provides adequate carbon disclosures. In a Tuesday letter to Exxon seen by Reuters, the SEC said the oil producer cannot keep a proposal spearheaded by New York state's comptroller from a full shareholder vote at the company's annual meeting in May. If approved, the proposal would force Exxon to outline specific risks that climate change or legislation designed to curb it could pose to its ability to operate profitably. Exxon had argued that the proposal was vague and that it already publishes carbon-related information for shareholders, including a 2014 report on its website entitled, "Energy and Carbon Managing the Risks." The SEC found those reports do not go far enough. "It does not appear that Exxon Mobil's public disclosures compare favorably with the guidelines of the proposal," Justin Kisner, an attorney-adviser with the SEC, wrote to the oil producer. Exxon Mobil declined to comment on the SEC's ruling. "We'll be communicating the board's recommendations on shareholder resolutions through the proxy document next month," Exxon spokesman Alan Jeffers said. It is not uncommon for companies to give shareholders their opinion on proxy votes. It is unclear whether the proposal, though, has much chance of success. Exxon shareholders have never approved a climate change-related proposal, and last year they rejected by 79 percent a request that a climate expert be appointed to the company's board. Nevertheless, New York state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, who oversees the state's $178.3 billion pension fund, called the SEC's decision a "major victory" for shareholders. "Investors need to know if Exxon Mobil is taking necessary steps to prepare for a lower carbon future, particularly now in the wake of the Paris agreement," DiNapoli said in a statement, referring to an agreement last fall by 195 countries to rein in rising emissions that have been blamed for global warming. Environmentalists cheered the SEC's decision. "The SEC has rejected Exxon's attempt to silence investors' concerns about the very real financial risks associated with climate change," said Shanna Cleveland of Ceres, a nonprofit group that tracks environmental records of public companies. DiNapoli was joined in the SEC filing by the Church of England, the Vermont State Employees' Retirement System, the University of California Retirement Plan and the Brainerd Foundation. OTHER BATTLES The ruling from the SEC comes as Exxon fights other carbon-related battles, including an inquiry by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman into whether the company misled the public and shareholders about the risks of climate change. Exxon has hired a star attorney, Theodore V. Wells, Jr. as it fights the investigation from Schneiderman, who subpoenaed the company for a trove of records, emails and other documentation. Schneiderman has aggressively fought companies on climate issues for years. Last fall he settled an eight-year investigation with coal producer Peabody Energy to amend its climate change disclosures so that they would be more robust. Also on Wednesday, the Rockefeller Family Fund said it will divest from fossil fuels as quickly as possible and "eliminate holdings" of Exxon. Shares of Exxon barely moved after the SEC's ruling, falling 0.2 percent in after-hours trading to $83.63. (Reporting by Ernest Scheyder; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
Two years ago, the U.S. Defense Department was preparing to debut the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter at a pair of major international air shows when an engine fire aboard a single aircraft in Florida prompted the agency to ground its entire jet fleet.
The engines manufacturer, Pratt & Whitney, redesigned the part that led to the blaze and the Pentagon in recent months has been champing at the bit for a do-over at the Royal International Air Tattoo and Farnborough air shows in July.
Related: The 10 Most Expensive Weapons in the Pentagons Arsenal
However, a new Pentagon report suggests says there are still recurring manufacturing quality issues with the planes engines, according to Bloomberg.
Defects in turbine blades and electronic control systems resulted in maintenance activity to remove suspect hardware from the operational fleet, the report states. There were five engine quality incidents in August 2015.
Its unlikely that the new assessment will threaten the F-35s summertime coming-out party, though. Pratt & Whitney says it has taken action to improve quality surveillance within their manufacturing processes and manufacturing quality experts at the Pentagon have ensured fixes are in place as production of the aircraft, which has already cost the U.S. around $400 billion to develop, ramps up.
However, news of the acquisition report has to put some of the fighters supporters on edge, especially as the military branches are hoping to show off their fighters. Defense News reports that the Marine Corps is considering demonstrating a vertical takeoff with its version of the F-35 at airshows this summer.
Related: Another F-35 Glitch Requires Restarting the Radar System in Flight
The Pentagon plans to spend roughly $49 billion to buy 2,457 engines for the Lockheed Martin-manufactured aircraft. Congress has approved $6.7 billion to date for the engine and the Defense Department wants to purchase 63 more engines next year, climbing to 105 annually by 2021.
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A spokesman for Pratt & Whitney told Bloomberg that the company is investing in new production procedures and that the reliability of installed engines is exceeding 90 percent.
Should another engine incident occur, before the air shows or beyond, it would no doubt create yet more delays for the F-35 program, which is already years behind schedule. But the effort has become too big to fail in the opinion of the Pentagon, defense industry executives and Capitol Hill lawmakers, and will almost certainly continue, whatever the cost.
Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:
LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Two years after the world's worst known outbreak of Ebola was first identified, West Africa is still experiencing small flare-ups, the most recent in Guinea. The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the deadly haemorrhagic virus could resurface at any time, since it can linger in the eyes, central nervous system and bodily fluids of some survivors. Here are some key facts and figures about the epidemic, which has killed more than 11,300 people and infected 28,600, almost all in the three worst-affected nations of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone: * The epidemic began in eastern Guinea in December 2013 and swept through Liberia and Sierra Leone * The Ebola virus infected more than 28,600 people and killed 11,300 of them in the three worst affected nations - more cases and more deaths than in all previous outbreaks combined * Ebola cases were also recorded in seven other countries, including the United States, Spain and Nigeria, but on a much smaller scale, totaling 36 cases and 15 deaths * The WHO declared the West Africa Ebola outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on Aug. 8, 2014 * After a slow initial response, the WHO and nations ranging from Cuba to France poured in trained staff, field hospitals, laboratories and equipment to tackle the epidemic * On average, around 50 percent of humans infected in an outbreak die, though in past outbreaks the fatality rate has varied from 25 to 90 percent * The virus is transmitted to people from wild animals such as fruit bats and monkeys and spreads among humans through contact with bodily fluids of an infected person * Medical experts believe new cases in Liberia after it had twice been declared Ebola-free were due to sexual contact as the virus lives in semen longer than the 21-day incubation period elsewhere in the body * The worst affected countries were, at the start of the epidemic, recovering from years of conflict and instability and had weak health systems and a shortage of expertise and infrastructure * The Ebola virus first appeared in 1976 in two simultaneous outbreaks, one in Nzara, South Sudan, the other in Yambuku, Democratic Republic of Congo, in a village near the River Ebola Here are key developments in the three most severely affected countries: GUINEA * The region's outbreak began in Gueckedou, eastern Guinea in December 2013, and was first identified as being Ebola in March 2014 * Recorded more than 3,800 cases and 2,500 deaths * Declared Ebola-free in December 2015, but a flare-up was identified in March 2016 SIERRA LEONE * First case confirmed in May 2014 * Recorded about 14,100 cases and 4,000 deaths * Declared Ebola-free in November 2015 and March 2016 LIBERIA * Recorded nearly 10,700 cases and more than 4,800 deaths * Declared Ebola-free in May 2015 and September 2015, but each time a fresh cluster of cases appeared later * Declared Ebola-free in January 2016 Sources: World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Reuters News, Thomson Reuters Foundation (Reporting by Tim Pearce and Alex Whiting, Editing by Tim Pearce. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, corruption and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org)
By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Communications Commission on Thursday advanced a proposal to ensure the privacy of broadband Internet users by barring providers from collecting user data without consent. The proposed regulation from FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler won initial approval with a 3-2 vote to require broadband providers to obtain consumer consent, disclose data collection, protect personal information and report breaches -- but would not bar any data collection practices. "It's the consumers' information and the consumer should have the right to determine how it's used," Wheeler said. Broadband providers currently collect consumer data without consent and some use that data for targeted advertising, which has drawn criticism from privacy advocates. Wheeler's proposal does not prohibit Internet providers from using or sharing customer data for any purpose. The FCC would not extend the broadband provider privacy rules to sites such as Twitter, Google or Facebook, drawing the ire of providers. Republican Commissioner Ajit Pai said Thursday there is no good reason to single out broadband providers for regulations, while not regulating websites. The plan "favors one set of corporate interests over another," he said. The FCC has authority to set privacy rules after it reclassified broadband providers last year as part of new net neutrality regulations. A federal appeals court has not ruled on a challenge to that decision. A final vote on new regulations will follow a public comment period during which the FCC is asking for possible "additional or alternative paths to achieve pro-consumer, pro-privacy goals." Under the rules providers would need to tell consumers what information is being collected, how it is being used and when it will be shared. They would also be required protect data under a data security standard. Consumers would need to be notified of breaches of their data no later than 10 days after it was discovered. Ratings agency Moody's Investors Services said earlier the proposal to impose privacy restrictions on broadband providers such as Verizon Communications Inc, AT&T Inc, Comcast Corp is "credit negative." Advocacy group Free Press praised the FCC for moving ahead and said the commission must consider other issues in setting rules including "pay-for-privacy, deep-packet inspection, upselling services, competition and data security." The National Cable and Telecommunications Association urged the FCC to adopt a "technology neutral approach by treating companies with access to similar user information the same." (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Alan Crosby)
(Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Friday it was taking steps to cut inorganic arsenic levels in infant rice cereal, a primary source of arsenic exposure in infants. Exposure to inorganic arsenic in infants and pregnant women can result in decreased performance by children on developmental tests that measure speech and learning. The FDA is proposing a limit of 100 parts per billion (ppb) in the cereal, in line with the level set by the European Commission for rice intended for infants and young children. The agency said its tests found that most cereals on the market either meet or are close to the proposed level. The agency said it was not recommending that the general population change their current rice consumption patterns, but was offering targeted information for pregnant women and infants to help reduce exposure. (http://1.usa.gov/25B26bg) Infant cereal manufacturers including Abbott Laboratories, Mead Johnson Nutrition Co, Kraft Heinz Co and Nestle SA did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Influential consumer magazine Consumer Reports urged in 2012 that the United States set limits for arsenic in rice after tests on more than 60 popular products showed that most contained inorganic arsenic. (http://reut.rs/1VYGHoh) Arsenic exists in two forms, naturally occurring organic and inorganic, which is often used in feed for poultry and occasionally hogs to prevent disease. Waste from those animals can contaminate fields and waterways when it is used as fertilizer. As a result, arsenic can be found in rice, fruit, vegetables and seafood - all of which are considered healthy. Exposure to inorganic arsenic in rice and rice products causes an additional four cases of lung and bladder cancer over the lifetime of every 100,000 people in the United States, the FDA said. These cases would account for far less than 1 percent of the nation's total, the agency said. The proposed limit is open for public comment for 90 days. (Reporting by Natalie Grover in Bengaluru; Editing by Ted Kerr)
By Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK (Reuters) - FedEx Corp must face a second lawsuit claiming it shipped thousands of cartons of untaxed cigarettes in New York over roughly a decade, cheating the state and New York City out of tax revenue and undercutting their efforts to curb smoking.
In a decision made public on Friday, U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos in Manhattan rejected FedEx's bid to dismiss claims by New York State and New York City that it violated a federal anti-racketeering law and the Contraband Cigarette Trafficking Act.
Ramos said FedEx must also face claims it violated its 2006 agreement with the state, later extended nationwide, not to do business with sellers that ship cigarettes to people's homes. He dismissed two other claims related to a state public health law.
The judge rejected FedEx's argument that its alleged dealings with shippers such as "Your Kentucky Tobacco Resource," "Cigarettes for Less" and "Smokin' Joes" was too far removed from the resulting financial harm.
FedEx's alleged involvement "was precisely the conduct that led to the plaintiffs' losing tax revenue," he wrote. "The alleged scheme's entire purpose was to evade the City and State's cigarette taxing regime."
A spokesman for FedEx had no immediate comment. The office of state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Eric Proshansky, a lawyer for the city, said he was pleased with the decision.
The lawsuit covers Memphis, Tennessee-based FedEx's dealings with 21 shippers, including some associated with Native American tribes such as Shinnecock Indian Nation.
It is separate from a lawsuit by the state and city over FedEx's dealings with four other shippers.
Ramos refused to dismiss that lawsuit in March 2015, and in a separate ruling on Friday narrowed FedEx's defenses to some claims it raised.
Both lawsuits accuse FedEx of costing the state between $15 and $43.50 per carton, and the city $15 per carton, in excise taxes through illegal cigarette shipments.
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A carton usually contains 10 packs.
The state and city have also sued FedEx rival United Parcel Service Inc over cigarette shipments. In September, U.S. District Judge Katherine Forrest in Manhattan rejected UPS' bid to dismiss that lawsuit.
The case is City of New York et al v. FedEx Ground Package System Inc, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 14-08985.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
By Andrew M. Seaman (Reuters Health) - When families reject their lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) children, it dramatically increases the youths' risk for suicide. Experts hope a new film aimed at families - religious families in particular - will help ease the tensions that drive those youngsters to kill themselves. The 20-minute film, called "Families are Forever," follows the journey of a devout Mormon family whose 13-year-old son comes out as gay. The family discusses its reactions, decisions and how they reconciled their beliefs with their son's announcement. The film and supporting materials, part of a growing series, quickly get to the heart of the matter, said Caitlin Ryan, director of the Family Acceptance Project at San Francisco State University, which produced the film. "We have to give people a way to understand how . . . they can support a LGBT child even if its not in sync with their religious beliefs or cultural values" Ryan told Reuters Health. The Family Acceptance Project had previously found that LGBT youth who report high levels of family rejection are more than eight times more likely to report attempting suicide, compared to similar kids whose families don't reject them. Family acceptance of LGBT children is tied to better physical and mental health, however. The multimedia package, available in English and Spanish, is meant to help families identify and change behaviors that make their LGBT child feel rejected and to increase supportive behaviors, Ryan said. Even though parents may be engaging in rejecting behaviors out of care or concern, they are nevertheless "contributing to health risks, conflict and estrangement in the family," said Ryan. The film and its accompanying discussion guide and family education workbook were added in March to the Suicide Prevention Resource Center Best Practice Registry. Ann Hass, a senior consultant to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, told Reuters Health that the registry is a collection of research-based and peer-reviewed suicide prevention programs, selected in "a pretty rigorous process." "The addition of Caitlin Ryans work to the registry is such a step forward in terms of the ability people in communities to do some LGBT-related suicide prevention," said Hass. So far, this is the only LGBT-related program in the registry to incorporate faith-based themes. Rather than writing off religious families as culturally or socially conservative, Ryan said, "We have to understand that all of these families share some common fear and concerns and challenges." SOURCE: http://bit.ly/1SFaBes Suicide Prevention Resource Center, online March 3, 2016.
HELSINKI/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Finland's Okmetic , said on Friday that it had received a takeover offer from China's National Silicon Industry Group (NSIG) for the maker of silicon wafers used in semiconductors and analog circuits. The takeover offer is the latest example of corporate China's ambitions to snap up overseas semiconductor firms to build up its domestic chip industry. Okmetic said NSIG had offered 9.20 euros ($10.49) and a dividend of 0.65 euros per Okmetic share, which represents a premium of close to 30 percent to its closing price on Thursday. Chinese factories use over 60 percent of the world's chips annually, and in 2013 imported more chips by value than crude oil. To promote domestic development, China's government has tasked chip firms with raising revenue by more than 20 percent annually and building "a group of world-class companies" by 2030. Shanghai-based NSIG was founded last year to invest in semiconductor materials and equipment through investments in China and abroad, according to the statement. The board of Okmetic unanimously recommended shareholders accept the offer. U.S. boutique investment bank Moelis & Co is advising China's National Silicon while Swiss bank UBS Group AG is advising Okmetic. Okmetic shares were up 24 percent to 9.41 euros. ($1 = 0.8773 euros) (Reporting by Tuomas Forsell and Liana B. Baker in New York; Editing by Jason Neely and Meredith Mazzilli)
By Courtney Sherwood
PORTLAND, Ore. (Reuters) - The first month of taxable commercial sales of recreational marijuana in Oregon generated nearly $3.5 million in tax revenues, far exceeding projections, the state Department of Revenue has reported.
Oregon's marijuana tax receipts from January also surpassed the first-month tallies from recreational cannabis sales in Colorado and Washington state, the first two states to legalize general commercial distribution of pot for adults.
Colorado collected $2.9 million in taxes when recreational sales launched there in January 2014, a sum that included revenue from both recreational and medical cannabis purchases.
Washington's recreational industry, which started slow with just 18 stores licensed to sell pot, yielded $1 million in tax revenue when it debuted in August 2014.
By comparison, Oregon's 300 licensed cannabis retailers sold $13.9 million worth of marijuana in January, generating $3.48 million in taxes, according to a revenue report issued on Thursday.
The stronger-than-expected sales may have stemmed in part from the state's gradual approach to pot taxation, allowing more time for businesses to get established.
Adults over 21 have been permitted to buy marijuana from dispensaries in the state since Oct. 1, 2015, and for the first three months those retail sales were untaxed. A 25 percent sales tax went into effect on Jan. 1, although it is waived for cannabis buyers with a medical card.
Oregon's Liquor Control Commission, charged with regulating the drug, had forecast annual tax revenues of about $8 million during the first two years of legal recreational pot sales.
Although tax structures vary across the three states where pot sales are currently legal, all have earmarked funds for similar programs - schools, drug and alcohol counseling, and law enforcement.
Cannabis use remains classified as an illegal narcotic under U.S. federal law, putting the national government at odds with a growing number of states moving to legalize cannabis for medical purposes, recreational use or both.
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In Alaska, where voters legalized recreational marijuana in 2014, regulators expect stores to open by the end of this year.
Voters in the District of Columbia have legalized recreational pot as well, but a congressional budget bill passed last year bars sales of the drug until 2017 or later.
(Reporting by Courtney Sherwood; Editing by Steve Gorman and Tom Hogue)
By Mark Weinraub CHICAGO (Reuters) - The city of Flint is considering suing the state of Michigan over lead contamination in the city's drinking water, but the mayor said on Friday she still plans to work with the governor to fix the problem. Flint filed a motion of intent to sue on March 24 in the state Court of Claims, and it was reported by local media on Friday. The filing was made a day before the city's right to sue would have expired without the motion. "As the elected leader of Flint, I needed to preserve the city's right to pursue a legal remedy if it is determined a lawsuit is necessary in the future," Flint Mayor Karen Weaver said in a statement. The Detroit News said the notice said that Flint may seek monetary damages from the state for "grossly negligent oversight" by the Department of Environmental Quality. Michigan Governor Rick Snyder has been criticized for the state's poor handling of a crisis that garnered national headlines. (Reporting by Mark Weinraub; Editing by Tom Brown and Cynthia Osterman)
The death toll from a collapsed flyover in eastern India rose to 25 on Friday, after emergency workers toiled through the night to find any remaining survivors trapped under huge slabs of concrete and metal girders.
But emergency authorities said there was little hope of finding any more survivors after pulling almost 100 people from under the rubble of the road that collapsed onto a busy street in Kolkata on Thursday, crushing cars and pedestrians.
"The rescue operation will not stop until all the blocks of concrete and iron girders have been cleared," said deputy police commissioner Akhilesh Chaturvedi as he announced the toll had risen to 25.
"Nearly 300 rescuers, including army and disaster management personnel, are working around the clock to clear the rubble."
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) however said there was little hope of finding any more survivors under the rubble of the flyover, which had been under construction since 2009.
It was unclear what caused the sudden collapse, but police have registered a preliminary case against the contractor.
The state government, which is fighting for re-election in a vote that starts on Monday, pledged to take action against those found responsible.
Survivors being treated at a nearby hospital described how tonnes of metal and concrete came crashing down onto the busy street without warning.
"The flyover collapsed in front of me. When I tried to escape, I was hit," said housewife Sabita Devi.
Hospital manager Sitaram Agarwal said many people were being treated for head and leg injuries sustained in the disaster.
But authorities initially struggled to get cranes and other large machinery through the narrow streets of Burrabazar, one of the oldest and most congested parts of the city.
- 'Gross neglect' -
An injured builder told AFP at the scene that he had been working on the structure before it collapsed and had seen bolts come out of the metal girders.
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"We were cementing two iron girders for the pillars, but the girders couldn't take the weight of the cement," said 30-year-old Milan Sheikh before being taken away to hospital.
"The bolts started coming out this morning and then the flyover came crashing down."
The disaster is the latest in a string of deadly construction accidents in India, where enforcement of safety rules is weak and substandard materials are often used.
Construction of the two-kilometre-long flyover began in 2009 and was supposed to be completed within 18 months, but has suffered a series of hold-ups.
Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of West Bengal state, of which Kolkata is the capital, said the government "will not spare" the contractors, Indian construction company IVRCL.
Police said they had registered preliminary cases of murder, attempt to murder and criminal conspiracy against the company, whose offices in Kolkata have been sealed by investigators.
Earlier K.P. Rao, a representative of IVRCL, appeared to deny any responsibility for the disaster when he told reporters it was an "act of God".
The Times of India said it was "another brutal reminder of (the) shoddy quality of construction and gross neglect of public safety in our cities", calling for a thorough enquiry to determine what went wrong.
The disaster comes at a sensitive time for Banerjee, whose centre-left Trinamool Congress party is seeking re-election in the state.
Voting in the West Bengal elections begins on Monday and will be held in five phases lasting a month.
On Thursday, Banerjee blamed the previous state government under which the flyover project was started.
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - A former top official in South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) has called for President Jacob Zuma to step down after the Constitutional Court found Zuma liable for a portion of the $16 million spent on upgrades to his residence, television news ENCA reported on Thursday. "The whole country now waits with bated breath to hear whether he, and my party, the ANC, will do the right thing and relieve us of this crippling nightmare," Mathews Phosa, a former treasurer general of the party, was quoted as saying by the station. (Reporting by Mfuneko Toyana; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
- World champion Lewis Hamilton has given his explanation for the drivers decision to issue an open letter requesting a radical rethink in Formula One. The 31-year-old Briton, whose spectacular speed and bold attacking style has made him the sports biggest star, said the drivers simply wanted to be heard when it came to decision-making. "I dont have all the answers," said the Mercedes driver. "The same as you wont have all the answers - just as Bernie wont have all the answers. "For us, as drivers, we just wanted to be included a little bit." Drivers last week put their names to an open letter from the Grand Prix Drivers Association (GPDA) describing technical and sporting changes as "disruptive".
AFP
Paris (AFP) - France on Friday accused the Syrian regime of violating a fragile ceasefire in the five-year war that has devastated the country.
The French foreign ministry also accused President Bashar al-Assad's regime of trying to undermine efforts by the international community to resolve the conflict.
A spokesman said civilians had been targeted in the aerial bombardment of the Damascus suburbs by regime jets on Thursday, which left dozens dead and injured.
"This attack, which deliberately targeted civilians, shows that the regime is pursuing its actions and violating the ceasefire," spokesman Romain Nadal said.
"This abject act was intended to terrorise the Syrian people and undermine the efforts of the international community to find a political solution," he added.
UN-led talks on a peace deal are due to resume in Geneva soon, but the sides are deadlocked over the fate of Assad, whom the opposition insists must leave power before a transitional government is agreed.
Assad said in an interview Wednesday that any transitional government should include both the regime and opposition, without specifying which opposition groups should take part.
By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations Security Council asked U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday to provide options for a police deployment to Burundi, where simmering political violence has stoked fears the small African state could spiral into ethnic conflict. Burundi has been embroiled in political violence since President Pierre Nkurunziza said last April he would seek a third term, which his opponents said was illegal. Since then, at least 439 people have been killed and more than 250,000 have fled. The 15-member council unanimously adopted a French-drafted resolution after language asking the United Nations to work with the government of Burundi on disarmament was removed to appease the United States, which is a council veto power. The United States had been concerned about linking the United Nations efforts to broker peace in Burundi with the country's security forces, who have been accused of human rights abuses, one council diplomat said. The United Nations said in January it has documented cases of Burundi's security forces gang-raping women during searches of opposition supporters' houses and heard witness testimony of mass graves. The resolution asks Ban - in consultation with the Burundi government and cooperation with the African Union - to provide options within 15-days for the deployment of a U.N. "police contribution to increase the U.N. capacity to monitor the security situation, promote the respect of human rights and advance rule of law." Burundi's U.N. ambassador, Albert Shingiro, said in February that any potential U.N. help would be limited to civilian assistance in the development, or "capacity building," of the police and monitoring the border with Rwanda. The United Nations is under growing pressure to show it can halt the bloodshed in Burundi more than two decades after the 1994 genocide of ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus by the Hutu majority in neighboring Rwanda. Rwanda and Burundi have a similar ethnic makeup. The U.N. resolution "urges the government of Burundi and all parties to reject any kind of violence and condemn any public statement inciting violence or hatred" and urges the government "to respect, protect and guarantee human rights and fundamental freedoms for all." In January, the 15-member Security Council made its second visit to the landlocked state in less than a year, where fears of an ethnic war have also led to an economic crisis. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also visited in February. (Editing by Bernadette Baum and Diane Craft)
By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations Security Council could vote as early as Friday on a French-drafted resolution that would request options for a U.N. police deployment to Burundi, diplomats said, but it was not clear if it had the support of the United States. Council diplomats said on condition of anonymity that the United States, which has veto power as a permanent member of the council, was unhappy with vague language that asks the U.N. to work with the government of Burundi in the areas of disarmament, security and rule of law. The United States is concerned about linking the United Nations efforts to broker peace in Burundi with the country's security forces, who have been accused of human rights abuses, one council diplomat said. The United Nations said in January it has documented cases of Burundi's security forces gang-raping women during searches of opposition supporters' houses and heard witness testimony of mass graves. [nL8N14Z1G5] France has asked China, the Security Council president for April, to schedule a vote on the draft resolution on Friday. Burundi has been embroiled in political violence since President Pierre Nkurunziza said last April he would seek a third term, which his opponents said was illegal. Since then, at least 439 people have been killed and more than 250,000 have fled. The United Nations is under growing pressure to show it can halt the bloodshed in Burundi more than two decades after the 1994 genocide of ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus by the Hutu majority in neighboring Rwanda. Rwanda and Burundi have a similar ethnic makeup. In January, the 15-member Security Council made its second visit to the landlocked state in less than a year, where fears of an ethnic war have also led to an economic crisis. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also visited in February. The draft council resolution would ask Ban, in consultation with the Burundi government and coordination with the African Union, to present options within 15 days for the deployment of a U.N. police contribution to increase U.N. capacity "to monitor the security situation, promote the respect of human rights and advance rule of law." Russia's Deputy U.N. Ambassador Petr Iliichev said there was no need to send U.N. police units to do the work of the Burundian police, but "any kind of assistance that the U.N. can provide will be more than welcome." Burundi's U.N. ambassador, Albert Shingiro, said in February that any potential U.N. help would be limited to civilian assistance in the development, or "capacity building," of the police and monitoring the border with Rwanda. [nL2N15R2C7] (Editing by Bernadette Baum)
Bangui (Central African Republic) (AFP) - France will end its military intervention in the Central African Republic this year as it has achieved its objectives of restoring security to the country after three years of communal violence, the French defence minister said Wednesday.
"I can confirm to you the end of Operation Sangaris during the course of 2016," Jean-Yves Le Drian said in the capital Bangui.
France launched the mission in December 2013 as thousands were dying in ethnic violence between Christians and Muslims.
At the time, "the country was in the throes of civil war, torn by religious tensions, plagued by chaos, on the brink of pre-genocidal scenarios," Le Drian said. "In the space of two years, the Sangaris force restored calm and prevented the unacceptable.
"Of course everything is not resolved but we can finally see the country emerging from a long period of trouble and uncertainty", he said, speaking before French soldiers stationed at the M'Poko airport.
The CAR plunged into chaos in March 2013 when mostly Muslim Seleka rebels ousted President Francois Bozize, a Christian, and installed their leader Michel Djotodia in power for 10 months.
A transitional government was brought in under international pressure in early 2014.
Le Drian is in the country for the swearing-in on Wednesday of new President Faustin-Archange Touadera, elected in a run-off vote on February 14.
France, the former colonial power, had around 2,500 troops deployed as part of Operation Sangaris at its peak, supporting around 10,000 UN peacekeepers. But this has been reduced to about 900.
Le Drian did not indicate when the troops would be withdrawn this year.
But he said the pullout will be in parallel with the buildup of the 12,000-strong UN force, MINUSCA, and the European Union's training mission (EUTM RCA).
Around 300 French troops will remain in CAR, who will rejoin MINUSCA and take part in EUTM RCA, he said.
Some French units will also continue to provide security at the airport, and some troops based in Ivory Coast and in the Sahel region will be "ready to rapidly intervene" if necessary.
International operations in CAR have been dogged by sexual scandals after a slew of accusations of child sexual abuse against French and UN troops.
PARIS (Reuters) - Syrian government air strikes on the outskirts of Damascus that killed 33 were designed to "terrorize" the Syrian people and erode attempts to find a political solution to the conflict, French Foreign Ministry spokesman Romain Nadal said on Friday. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said earlier that the strikes on the Deir al-Asafir district southeast of the Syrian capital on Thursday had mostly killed women and children. "France condemns the air strikes carried out by the regime," Nadal told reporters in a weekly briefing. "This attack, which deliberately targeted civilians, including children, show that the regime is continuing its abuses and violating the truce. "This abject act is designed to terrorize the Syrian people and sap efforts by the international community to find a political solution." (Reporting by John Irish; Editing by James Regan)
Toulouse (France) (AFP) - France international scrum-half Rory Kockott has signed a three-year contract extension with Castres, the French Top 14 club announced on Wednesday.
South African-born Kockott, whose previous contract was due to expire in June 2017, arrived at Castres in 2011 before making his international debut for France in 2014 after qualifying through the three-year residency rule.
The 29-year-old helped Castres to the French title in 2013, with his opportunistic try making the difference as favourites Toulon were beaten 19-14.
But Castres are currently eight points outside the top six as they chase a place in the end-of-season play-offs.
Before joining Castres, Kockott played for the Sharks and Lions in Super Rugby.
Following Castres' French title he was courted by giants Toulon, the reigning three-time European champions, but after initially suggesting he would join the big-spending outfit, Kockott committed to remaining with his current employers.
Paris (AFP) - France's telecom giants Orange and Bouygues said Thursday they had pushed back a decision on whether to go ahead with the sale of Bouygues Telecom to Orange, sending Bouygues shares sharply lower.
The two rivals will now give themselves until the end of the weekend after noting that talks had not advanced enough to reach a decision by Thursday's initial target date.
Shares in Bouygues closed 3.6 percent lower at 35.85 euros on the Paris stock exchange following the announcement, while Orange shares fell 1.3 percent to 15.39.
Shares in other telecom companies also dropped.
"At its meeting of 30 March 2016, Bouygues' board of directors noted that the negotiations between Orange and Bouygues had not progressed sufficiently," Bouygues said in a statement.
"Therefore, it will meet before the end of the weekend in order to make a final decision whether to pursue the merger plan or not."
Orange also said its board had acknowledged that the "negotiations were not yet sufficiently advanced" and that it would meet again by April 3 "to examine the result of these discussions".
The valuation of the companies is thought to be one of the sticking points, several sources said.
Bouygues and Orange have been in discussions since January over a plan by Orange to take over Bouygues Telecom, a move that would reduce the number of mobile operators in France's highly-competitive market to three from four.
Any final decision on a sale would need approval by competition authorities.
Aix-en-Provence (France) (AFP) - A French appeals court on Thursday bailed two pilots pending a probe into allegations they tried to fly a cocaine-laden jet out of the Dominican Republic.
In what has become known as the "Air Cocaine" case, Pascal Fauret and Bruno Odos were sentenced to 20 years in prison for drug trafficking in the Caribbean state, but managed to escape and flee back to France.
They were arrested in March 2013 along with two other men as they were about to take off from the Dominican resort of Punta Cana.
Authorities said they were preparing to leave on a privately-hired Dassault Falcon 50 jet with 26 suitcases containing 680 kilogrammes (1,500 pounds) of cocaine.
They have been in custody in France since November 2015 where they are under official investigation.
The appeals court in the southern city of Aix-en-Provence on Thursday, however, released the pair on condition that they do not travel, work in the aviation sector or contact other suspects in the case, a judicial source told AFP.
They were also required to surrender their passports and attend their local police station once a week.
"We asked the public prosecutor to tell us what evidence they had and they could not tell us. So it is normal that they be freed, they are innocent," said one of their lawyers, Dupond-Moretti.
In October 2015 Fauret and Odos managed to flee the Dominican Republic, travelling by boat to the Franco-Dutch island of Saint Martin before flying to Martinique and then on to France.
They had appealed their conviction and the Dominican authorities did not hold them in detention pending the appeal.
The two men said they wanted to be tried in a "functional justice system" and clear their names.
They were arrested a month after arriving in France.
The two other men convicted with them, Nicolas Pisapia and Alain Castany, remain in the Dominican Republic.
Another Frenchman, aviation security expert Christophe Naudin, is awaiting trial in the Dominican Republic for allegedly helping Fauret and Odos to escape.
He was arrested in Cairo in February and extradited back to the Dominican Republic.
Johannesburg (AFP) - A runaway South African lion who may be euthanized after repeatedly escaping from a national park has been re-captured, officials said Thursday, adding that a decision would soon be made on his fate.
Sylvester the lion slipped out of the Karoo National Park in the south of the country at the weekend, triggering a major hunt for him by wildlife authorities.
He was caught after being shot with a tranquiliser dart fired from a helicopter, the South Africa National Parks authority (SANParks) announced, without saying when.
The escape was Sylvester's second in as many years. On his latest prowl he killed a cow on a private farm, local media reported.
Last year, the big cat killed 28 sheep, a cow and a kudu antelope during three weeks on the run in which he roamed for hundreds of kilometres.
The three-year-old lion was eventually caught after that breakout and fitted with a tracking collar.
After his latest escape, SANParks announced it would put him down, but then back-tracked on the decision after objections from animal lovers.
"The lion was darted from the air in difficult terrain high up in the mountains and will need to be transported in a stretcher, on foot, for three kilometres (two miles) to the nearest awaiting vehicle," SANParks said in a statement.
"The lion will be kept in the park in a boma (enclosure) until a final decision is reached on its future."
Instead of being put down, Sylvester could be moved to another national park or private game reserve, or fencing could be improved to keep him inside the Karoo park.
Wildlife officials had warned he may pose a danger to humans.
Lions were re-introduced to Karoo National Park, in Western Cape province, in 2010 after an absence of almost 170 years.
By Lisa Lambert
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lender GE Capital asked the U.S. government on Thursday to stop designating it as "too big to fail," saying it had shrunk to the point where it would not pose a major threat to the nation's financial stability if it experiences distress.
Chief Executive Officer Keith Sherin said in a statement that the General Electric Co unit no longer met the criteria for a "systemically important financial institution," a label that can trigger requirements for stricter oversight and more capital.
The application came the day after a federal judge struck down the designation of insurer MetLife Inc , but GE Capital said the two events were unrelated. The company had said in October that it hoped to apply to the Financial Stability Oversight Council, which includes the Treasury secretary and Federal Reserve chair, for "de-designation" in the first quarter.
The 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law authorized regulators to designate non-bank financial companies as systemically important, largely in response to the near-collapse of insurer American International Group Inc and the $182 billion U.S. government bailout it received during the 2008 economic meltdown.
Only four non-banks have been deemed too big to fail, and the label has prompted most to consider reorganizing to pre-empt any increased regulation. GE Capital is the first to apply to have the designation removed.
Shares of General Electric were up 0.4 percent at $31.96 in afternoon trading. The industrial conglomerate has been working to reduce GE Capital's size and said last April that it would focus on technology and manufacturing.
GE Capital, which received the systemically important label in 2013, said it had more than halved its assets to $265 billion from $549 billion at the end of 2012.
The unit said it had ended all consumer lending in the United States, reduced real estate debt by more than 75 percent, eliminated its real estate equity and cut outstanding commercial paper by almost 90 percent.
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"Our plan to change our business model, shrink the company and reduce our risk profile has been successful," Sherin said.
"SIGNIFICANTLY DE-RISKED"
The Financial Stability Oversight Council "welcomes the opportunity to evaluate developments at any designated non-bank financial company and their potential effect on financial stability," said Treasury spokesman Rob Friedlander. "There is a clear process for de-designation."
Each year the council reviews its previous designations and decides whether any changes at a company justify a rescission of the label, he said.
"Before the financial crisis, some of the largest, riskiest non-bank financial companies were not subject to adequate oversight," Friedlander added.
S&P Global Market Intelligence analyst Jim Corridore, who follows General Electric, said in a note on Thursday that he expected GE Capital's designation to be removed.
"GE Capital's transformation has significantly de-risked the company," Corridore said.
MetLife, the largest U.S. life insurer, sued after it was designated systemically important in 2014. Earlier this year, it said the "regulatory environment" and potentially large capital requirements were causing it to consider spinning off its retail business.
Meanwhile, billionaire investor Carl Icahn has pressured AIG to split into smaller companies to shed its designation.
AIG CEO Pete Hancock said on Thursday that the MetLife court decision created an opportunity for the company to seek de-designation, but it was "reserving judgment."
Prudential Financial Inc , which was designated systemically important in 2013, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
By Isabel Coles and Saif Hameed ERBIL, Iraq (Reuters) - The man nominated to be Iraq's new oil minister is a Kurdish petroleum geologist who could end a bitter dispute with the northern self-rule region and free up more oil exports through a pipeline to Turkey. Nizar Saleem Numan, named as oil minister in Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's new lineup of ministers, told Reuters in an interview he was "hopeful the differences could be resolved" between Baghdad and the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG). Should Numan's appointment be approved by parliament, "he will certainly serve to facilitate a deal with Kurds and the central government," said political analyst Hisham al-Hashimi. "He is also a very experienced person in the oil industry and known for his integrity." Numan, 65, is the dean of the college of planning at the University of Duhok in the Kurdish region and spent three decades at the University of Mosul, the largest city in northern Iraq, now under control of Islamic State militants. He told Reuters that he had also worked as a consultant for oil companies in both the northern Kurdish region and the rest of Iraq. The dispute with the Kurds involves an agreement for the KRG to transfer to Iraq's central state oil marketing company 550,000 barrels a day of crude produced in the Kurdish region, in return for a 17 percent share in the federal budget. The Kurds, seeking more autonomy from Baghdad to export their own oil, halted all oil transfers to the Iraqi government in September 2015, instead shipping crude independently. They stopped receiving government funding, according to the outgoing oil minister Adel Abdul Mahdi. Mahdi said in March the central government would not resume pumping crude through a Kurdish pipeline to Turkey unless it reached a financial agreement with the KRG. Baghdad's state-run North Oil Company previously fed 150,000 barrels a day into the pipeline, which carries crude from the Kirkuk fields and other reservoirs managed by the Kurdish authorities to the Turkish port of Ceyhan on the Mediterranean Sea. The situation has been further complicated by the presence of Islamic State militants in northern Iraq who have allowed the Kurds to expand their control over the oil producing region of Kirkuk. PRODUCTION FREEZE Abadi presented his new cabinet of technocrats on Thursday and now awaits a response from parliament, which must vote on the reshuffle in the next 10 days. . Some lawmakers fear Abadi's proposals would undermine the patronage networks that have sustained the wealth and influence of Iraq's political class for more than a decade. In his interview with Reuters late on Thursday, Numan said should his appointment be confirmed, he would also pursue sustainable development of the OPEC nation's crude reserves, which are among the world's largest. He will take over the oil ministry at a time when Iraq and other producers are grappling with the fallout from low crude prices, which have put acute strain on Baghdad's finances. Iraq was the source of OPEC's largest crude supply growth in 2015 with a production in excess of four million barrels per day that makes the nation the second-largest producer of the 13-member group, after Saudi Arabia. Asked whether he expected to attend a meeting in Doha on April 17 where OPEC and non-OPEC members are set to discuss a production freeze aimed at propping up oil prices, Numan said he could not be sure until parliament ratified his nomination. A ministry spokesman told Reuters on March 22 that Iraq planned to attend the meeting and considered the proposal of freezing output "a step in the right direction." (Writing by Maher Chmaytelli; Editing by Clelia Oziel)
ATLANTA (Reuters) - The U.S. state of Georgia executed a man on Thursday convicted of beating another man to death with a wooden closet rod in 1994, a prison spokeswoman said.
Joshua Bishop, 41, who had also admitted to being involved in a second murder, died by injection at 9:27 p.m. at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson, said Lisa Rodriguez-Presley, a spokeswoman for the Georgia Department of Corrections.
(Reporting by Eric M. Johnson in Seattle; Editing by Sandra Maler)
LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A German railway company which has introduced women-only compartments on one line said on Thursday the move was not a reaction to the New Year sex attacks in Cologne and other cities but a response to customer requests made earlier in December. Mitteldeutsche Regiobahn set aside compartments for women, children and the elderly on trains operating between Leipzig and Chemnitz in eastern Germany last week, with two compartments for the use of women and children only. "Some women wanted to have a little bit more security," a Mitteldeutsche Regiobahn spokesman told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone from Germany. He said the compartments were in the middle carriage of the train, near the train conductor's compartment. More than 600 women in several cities across Germany filed complaints ranging from sexual molestation to theft after attacks during the New Year weekend, and police investigations were focused on illegal migrants from North Africa and asylum seekers. The Mitteldeutsche Regiobahn spokesman said the company had received requests for dedicated compartments before the attacks took place, and such compartments had only been set aside on one line which did not have open carriages where all passengers sit together. Cities in several countries have brought in "women only" train carriages, buses and taxis in a bid to stem sexual harassment. The world's largest capital, Tokyo, was one of the first to introduce women-only carriages on trains, in 2000. Mexico City, Jakarta and others followed suit, and some are mulling the idea. A 2014 Thomson Reuters Foundation survey of 15 of the world's largest capitals plus New York found 70 percent of women questioned felt safer on single-sex transport. Gender experts expressed concern over its effectiveness, saying it was a short-term fix, not a way of stopping the harassment of women. (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)
Jokes and pranks of all kind can be expected on Aprils Fools Day, and "Ghostbusters" fans got their own this year when Sony said it had "successfully perfected the Proton Pack, a product designed to capture content from a parallel dimension". In a statement released as part of April Fools Day when pranks and hoaxes are played, Sony said the ghost-catching device, made famous in the popular 1984 comedy, had been in the works for more than 30 years and was "water- and slime-proof". The April Fools Day statement comes ahead of the release of the new "Ghostbusters" movie this summer.
It's a boy! Or maybe it's a girl, but either way, new research suggests that the sex of mouse babies, and perhaps the sex of human babies, may be influenced by a newfound way to deactivate ancient viral genes that have been embedded in mammal genomes for more than a million years.
In the research, the scientists looked at viral DNA that is active in the mouse genome. Viral DNA can become part of an animal's genome when a kind of virus called a retrovirus infects a cell, and slips its genes into the DNA of host cells. (The most notorious retrovirus is HIV, the virus behind AIDS.)
If a retrovirus infects a sperm or egg cell and that sperm or egg is involved in fertilization and becomes part of a person all of the person's cells will have the viral DNA, and they will pass it on to their descendants. Hence, people and animals today carry in their cells the genetic remnants of viruses that invaded the genomes of their ancestors.
In fact, more than 40 percent of the human genome may be composed of viral "leftovers," said Andrew Xiao, the senior author of the new study and a molecular biologist at the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut.
Most viral remnants are inactive. But some viral DNA "can interfere with development or health," Xiao told Live Science. And it could also accelerate mammalian evolution, he said. For example, if an organism faces changes in the climate or its food source, viral DNA may introduce variations that help the organism adapt to the change.
In the new study, the scientists found high levels of a viral remnant on the mouse X chromosome, which helps determine the sex of mice. If this viral DNA is active, X chromosomes stay active, and females and males are born at an equal ratio. However, if this viral material is silenced, X chromosomes will get deactivated, and males will be born twice as often as females, according to the findings, published in the March 31 issue of the journal Nature.
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Although it remains uncertain whether a similar mechanism influences human sex ratios, the human X chromosome also contains viral material, Xiao said. [The 9 Deadliest Viruses on Earth]
The researchers also discovered how the mouse cells deactivate the viral genetic material in order to shut down the X chromosome. Cells commonly deactivate genetic material by attaching a compound known as a methyl group to the DNA. This methyl "tag" influences genetic activity without changing the genetic sequence itself. The gene is shut down, while the sequence of A, T, G and C nucleotides remains intact.
But Xiao and his colleagues found that mouse embryo cells add a methyl tag to the nucleotide A, or adenine, to silence the viral genes. For decades, scientists thought the only way to silence a gene in mammals was to tag a C nucleotide, or cytosine.
Although scientists knew for a long time that single-celled organisms could tag the A nucleotide, "this is the first time it's been seen in mammals," said Gerd Pfeifer, a molecular biologist at the Van Andel Research Institute in Grand Rapids, Michigan, who did not take part in this research.
Aside from helping determine the sex of offspring, the viral material the researchers studied has been shown to potentially help tumor cells grow, and to be active in the brain, Xiao said. [7 Diseases You Can Learn About from a Genetic Test]
The researchers are still investigating which enzyme tags the A nucleotides. "We also want to find out how this mechanism might be involved in human health," Xiao said.
This new work revealed that this tagging of adenine is very rare in the mouse genome, only affecting "about seven out of every million adenines," Pfeifer said. Future research should further investigate whether this tagging is more common in some tissues than in others, Pfeifer added.
Follow Charles Q. Choi on Twitter @cqchoi. Follow Live Science @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Originally published on Live Science.
Copyright 2016 LiveScience, a Purch company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
By Huw Jones LONDON (Reuters) - A global task force unveiled plans on Friday for all listed companies to disclose in financial reports how climate-related risks could hit their bottom line. The planned regime will be voluntary, but companies could use it to comply with existing mandatory disclosure rules in most G20 countries on material risks to a company, including from climate change. The Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) was called for by the Group of 20 economies (G20) and set up by the G20's Financial Stability Board (FSB). The FSB is concerned that assets are being mispriced because the full extent of climate risk is not factored in, creating the risk of abrupt market corrections that could undermine financial stability. When the initiative was announced last year, it pointed to disclosures only for the financial sector, but in an initial report on Friday the TCFD flagged a much broader scope for the new regime which will be finalised by the end of this year. Disclosures would show how a company is exposed to climate risk, such as from potential physical threats like floods, or liability risks, such as if an asset manager has large holdings in fossil fuel companies that would be hit by curbs on greenhouse gas emissions. Mary Schapiro, a member of the task force and a former chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, said the aim was to help investors compare companies within sectors like agriculture, energy or finance. "We are going to be sector specific in order to make the disclosure really useful," she said. Standard disclosures may help companies avoid clashes with shareholders as seen at U.S. oil major Exxon Mobil, whose disclosures on climate change risks are being investigated. Chaired by former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, the task force said it was working on a standard for all listed companies and companies that issue securities like bonds, as well as listed and unlisted participants in the financial sector like asset managers. Schapiro said it was only possible to understand the climate risk a bank or asset manager faces if the climate risks of customers are known too. "We would be hopeful that our framework will work across the entire spectrum," Schapiro said. There are 400 climate-related disclosure regimes across the world and many are mandatory in G20 countries but lack consistency in content and publication. The disclosure would be made in company filings like annual reports to regulators and investors in a standard way. The Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGC), which represents investors managing $13 trillion, said there are significant gaps in existing disclosures. "We strongly support the focus on more standardized disclosures and forward-looking quantitative and qualitative information. Disclosure needs to form part of mainstream financial filings and annual reports, as foreseen by the task force," IIGC chief executive Stephanie Pfeifer said. (Editing by Susan Fenton)
According to Gartner, around two billion mobile phones will continue to be sold every year worldwide until 2018. Generally speaking, it expects sales of smartphones and tablets to stagnate in the coming years in mature markets such as the US, Europe, China and Japan.
Smartphones sales are expected to top 1.5 billion for the first time in 2016, 7% up on the previous year, but still the weakest growth in the sector's history. Looking at the details, sales of smartphones are predicted to continue to grow in developing countries this year (India is set to lead the way with 29% growth anticipated), but to be relatively flat in more mature markets such as North America and China (with respective growth forecasts of 0.4% and 0.7%).
The total number of mobile phones sold is expected to be in excess of 1.9 billion in 2016 and to hit the 2 billion mark in 2018.
188 million tablets in 2016
A similar trend can be seen in the tablet market, with numbers expected to more or less stagnate, depending on the year. A total of 195 million tablets were sold worldwide in 2015, a figure which is expected to drop to 188 million in 2016 and 2017 (-3.5%), then to move back up to 194 million in 2018 (+3.1%).
In contrast, a recovery is expected in the PC market, starting in 2017, despite a slight drop in 2016. A total of 289 million were sold worldwide in 2015, a figure which is expected to drop to 284 million in 2016 (-1.7%) then increase to 296 million (+4.2%) and 306 million (+3.3%). While sales of traditional PCs are expected to wane, strong momentum is expected from the premium models, with sales forecast to double in three years, from 45 million in 2015 to 90 million in 2018.
Want to relive your trip to Thailand or travel to your bucket list destination without leaving home? Google Maps has captured images of more than 150 places and landmarks across the country for armchair travelers.
Thailand is the latest country to be captured by the Google Maps Street View service, which currently stands at more than 65 countries.
The herculean task of charting the country's iconic landmarks and most stunning landscapes were given to Thai triathlete Panupong Luangsa-ard who traveled an estimated 500,000 km -- 500 km of it on foot, reported Mashable.
For two years, the trekker traipsed through rolling hills, forests, tropical beaches, strawberry plantations, rice terraces and ancient ruins carrying an 18kg-backpack to capture 360-degree panoramic footage.
Highlights include the ruins of Wat Chaiwatthanaram Temple, a mystical Buddhist temple at Ayutthaya Historical Park.
Photos also provide impressively life-like close-ups of The Sanctuary of Truth, a temple made entirely of wood outside Bangkok, and Ancient Siam, known as the world's largest outdoor museum. Shaped like the country, the park is home to more temples (The Pavilion of the Enlightened) and The Old Market Town.
Before Thailand, Google also released new images captured for Sri Lanka and South Africa.
By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A gorilla named Susie is helping provide fresh insight into the genetic similarities and differences between people and these endangered apes that are among our closest living relatives. Scientists on Thursday unveiled an upgraded version of the gorilla genome based on DNA from Susie, an 11-year-old Western lowland gorilla at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in Ohio, that fills in many gaps present in the first gorilla genetic map published in 2012. The new research revealed that gorillas and humans are slightly more closely related genetically than previously recognized, with the genomes diverging by just 1.6 percent. Only chimpanzees and bonobos are more closely related to humans. The new genome shows that some areas of genetic differences include: the immune and reproductive systems; sensory perception; the production of keratin, a key protein in the structure of hair, fingernails and skin; and the regulation of insulin, the hormone that governs blood sugar levels. "The differences between species may aid researchers in identifying regions of the human genome that are associated with higher cognition, complex language, behavior and neurological diseases," said University of Washington genetic researcher Christopher Hill, one of the lead authors of the study published in the journal Science. "Having complete and accurate reference genomes to compare allows researchers to uncover these differences," Hill added. The University of Washington lab that spearheaded the study is working to create a comprehensive catalog of genetic differences between humans and the great apes: gorillas, orangutans, chimpanzees and bonobos. Recent studies have estimated that the gorilla and human evolutionary lineages split about 12 million to 8.5 million years ago, Hill said. Gorillas, typically found in lowland and mountain tropical rainforests in central Africa, are the world's largest primates, the mammalian group that includes lemurs, monkeys, apes and humans. Adult males reach up to about 440 pounds (200 kg). Gorillas spend about half their time munching on stems, bamboo shoots and a number of fruits. Their populations are threatened by human activities such as habitat destruction and poaching for bushmeat. A blood sample from Susie while the gorilla previously lived at Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo provided the basis for the genome sequencing. (Reporting by Will Dunham; Editing by Sandra Maler)
By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A gorilla named Susie is helping provide fresh insight into the genetic similarities and differences between people and these endangered apes that are among our closest living relatives. Scientists on Thursday unveiled an upgraded version of the gorilla genome based on DNA from Susie, an 11-year-old Western lowland gorilla at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in Ohio, that fills in many gaps present in the first gorilla genetic map published in 2012. The new research revealed that gorillas and humans are slightly more closely related genetically than previously recognized, with the genomes diverging by just 1.6 percent. Only chimpanzees and bonobos are more closely related to humans. The new genome shows that some areas of genetic differences include: the immune and reproductive systems; sensory perception; the production of keratin, a key protein in the structure of hair, fingernails and skin; and the regulation of insulin, the hormone that governs blood sugar levels. "The differences between species may aid researchers in identifying regions of the human genome that are associated with higher cognition, complex language, behaviour and neurological diseases," said University of Washington genetic researcher Christopher Hill, one of the lead authors of the study published in the journal Science. "Having complete and accurate reference genomes to compare allows researchers to uncover these differences," Hill added. The University of Washington lab that spearheaded the study is working to create a comprehensive catalogue of genetic differences between humans and the great apes: gorillas, orangutans, chimpanzees and bonobos. Recent studies have estimated that the gorilla and human evolutionary lineages split about 12 million to 8.5 million years ago, Hill said. Gorillas, typically found in lowland and mountain tropical rainforests in central Africa, are the world's largest primates, the mammalian group that includes lemurs, monkeys, apes and humans. Adult males reach up to about 440 pounds (200 kg). Gorillas spend about half their time munching on stems, bamboo shoots and a number of fruits. Their populations are threatened by human activities such as habitat destruction and poaching for bushmeat. A blood sample from Susie while the gorilla previously lived at Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo provided the basis for the genome sequencing. (Reporting by Will Dunham; Editing by Sandra Maler)
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."
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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.
By Lefteris Karagiannopoulos ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek authorities on Thursday began bussing hundreds of migrants and refugees to accommodation in other parts of Greece from a port near Athens, where they have spent weeks sleeping in the open in filthy conditions. Nearly 6,000 people, most from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, have been stuck at the port of Piraeus and tensions have increasingly flared over food and phone chargers. Piraeus is about 12 km (eight miles) from central Athens. The 6,000 people in Piraeus are among at least 51,000 refugees and migrants trapped in Greece after Balkan countries shut their borders this month, preventing them from moving on to wealthier northern Europe where they hope to start a new life. By mid-morning, at least four buses had departed Piraeus for the port town of Kyllini in western Greece, some 280 km (174 miles) from Athens, where they will be housed in a former tourist complex. Families gathered at the dock as more buses were expected to be deployed. Other buses left for the cities of Ioannina and Larissa in northwestern and central Greece. Ahmad Alakk, 23, an engineering student from Homs in Syria who has been stuck in Piraeus for 10 days, said police appeared only to be allowing Syrians to board the buses. "They told us that here (in Piraeus) there are no services, no shower, nothing. (But we are) afraid to move to a place we don't know. We heard it's like a prison there, it's far away from everything," he said. "But we understand that here it's a port. This place is for tourists, not us," he added. Many tourists arriving in Athens head for the Greek islands from Piraeus. "A DECENT PLACE" Under a deal the European Union reached with Turkey this month, migrants who arrive in Greece from Turkey after March 20 are held in camps and are subject to being sent back to Turkey once their asylum claims have been processed. The people now being moved from Piraeus arrived in Greece before the March 20 cut-off date. Many migrants have been reluctant to leave Piraeus for fear that they will end up much further from the Greek-Macedonian border in case it reopens. "I believe the first group to go to Kyllini will relay the message to the rest that it's a decent place, and we won't have a problem moving (more) people there," George Kyritsis, a government spokesman, told Greek TV. Scuffles have broken out at the port, where people live in tents or on blankets in the open, with poor sanitation and little food. Windows were smashed and eight people were injured in clashes between groups of Syrians and Afghans on Wednesday night, the government said. Under the EU's deal with Ankara, for every Syrian sent back to Turkey from Greece, one Syrian will be resettled directly to Europe from Turkey. The returns are set to begin on April 4 but neither side is fully ready, with officials scrambling to be able to make at least a symbolic start as new arrivals rise with the advent of warmer weather in the Aegean. The Greek parliament is expected to vote on Friday on a bill to facilitate the implementation of the EU-Turkey deal. (Additional reporting Alkis Konstantinidis; Writing by Karolina Tagaris; Editing by Gareth Jones)
ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek lawmakers on Friday passed an asylum amendment bill needed for the implementation of a European Union agreement with Turkey for the return of refugees and migrants from Greek islands to Turkey starting on Monday. The deal aims to end the uncontrolled influx of refugees and other migrants after more than one million people crossed into Europe last year. Both Greece and Turkey had to amend their legislation to permit the start of the scheme - denounced by the U.N. refugee agency and rights groups for lacking legal safeguards - to send back all migrants who reached Greece after March 20. The bill was passed by 169 lawmakers in the 300-seat parliament. The legislation does not explicitly designate Turkey as a "safe third country" - a formula to make any mass returns legally sound. The European Commission sees this as not essential, provided rules are in place to allow people to be sent back to a "safe third country" or a "safe first country of asylum", with each case examined individually. EU officials have said the formula was devised to get around unease among lawmakers in Greece's ruling Syriza party to declare Turkey safe when it is waging a military crackdown on Kurdish separatists and is accused of curbing media freedom and judicial independence. The Greek government has said it will ensure human rights of asylum seekers are protected under international law. "A blame-game against our country is starting, that based on the new agreement we will encroach on human rights," Migration Minister Yannis Mouzalas told lawmakers before the vote. "I assure you and I believe this will relieve everyone that we will strictly adhere to human rights procedures as stipulated by international law and the Geneva Convention," he said. (Reporting by George Georgiopoulos and Karolina Tagaris; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's deputy defense minister said on Tuesday he could not confirm nor deny whether migrants who left a Greek transit camp and crossed into Macedonia on Monday had been returned back to Greece. "What I know is that any procedure will take place via the usual diplomatic means," Dimitris Vitsas told Greek TV when asked to comment on a Reuters report saying about 600 migrants had been sent back to Greece on Monday or overnight. "I'm not aware of anything further in order to confirm or deny this." (Reporting by Karolina Tagaris)
By Gabriela Baczynska and Karolina Tagaris BRUSSELS/ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece and Turkey are rushing through changes to their asylum rules in a race to implement a EU-Turkey agreement on the return of refugees and migrants from Greek islands to Turkey from next Monday, EU officials and diplomats said. Both Athens and Ankara must amend their legislation to permit the start of a scheme - denounced by the U.N. refugee agency and rights groups - to send back all migrants who crossed to Greece after March 20. The policy is meant to end the uncontrolled influx of refugees and other migrants in which more than a million people crossed into Europe last year. EU border agency Frontex will coordinate the logistics after Greek authorities decide on individual cases. An EU official said it would have ferries, police officers and other escorts ready on Monday for the short trip, most likely from the Greek island of Lesbos to Dikili in Turkey. Greece, which started evacuating hundreds of people stranded in Athens' Piraeus port on Thursday, submitted to parliament an asylum amendment bill on Wednesday. Brussels said it had assurances from Athens that it would be passed this week. But it does not explicitly designate Turkey as a "safe third country" - a formula to make any mass returns legally sound - and a senior official of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said that change did not remove its concerns about protecting the rights of asylum seekers. "Our concerns regarding legal safeguards remain unchanged and we hope that the Greek authorities will take them fully into consideration," UNHCR Europe director Vincent Cochetel said. A European Commission spokeswoman, Natasha Bertaud, said the Greek government had put to parliament "the necessary legal provisions to allow for the return to Turkey of asylum seekers whose requests have been declared inadmissible". Turkey had confirmed its intention to introduce the legal changes by the target date of April 4, she said. These include ensuring protection in line with the Geneva Convention on refugees for Syrians who are sent back there as well as those who enter Turkey from Syria. Bertaud did not say what Ankara planned to do about non-Syrian migrants. But a person familiar with EU-Turkey preparatory talks said it was doubtful whether the Turkish authorities would be willing to introduce any legal protections for non-Syrians. The UNHCR and non-government organizations have pulled out of reception camps for migrants on the Greek islands because of their opposition to detaining asylum seekers. TURKEY NOT NAMED The Greek bill does not name Turkey, but Bertaud said that was not essential provided rules were in place allowing people to be sent back to a "safe third country" or a "safe first country of asylum", and each case was examined individually. EU officials said the formula was devised to get around unease among lawmakers in Greece's ruling Syriza party at declaring Turkey safe when it is waging a military crackdown on Kurdish separatists and is accused of curbing media freedom and judicial independence. Asked why Turkey was not mentioned, Greece's alternate minister for European affairs, Nikos Xydakis, told To Kokkino radio: "It cannot be in a law, because the examination of each application for asylum will be on a case by case basis. That is the safety trigger under international refugee law. Each person is a special case." Greece sought political cover from its European Union partners at an EU-Turkey summit two weeks ago, requesting that the EU collectively declare Turkey a "safe third country". But several member states refused due to the same rights concerns. Dimitris Christopoulos, a vice president of the International Federation for Human Rights, told Reuters: "Fortunately the government did not give in to some EU member states demands. It is in the right direction that Turkey is not recognized as a safe third country in the bill." "What will happen is that Turkey will be de facto a safe country since those seeking asylum will be returned there." (Additional reporting by Michele Kambas in Athens and Dasha Afanasieva in Ankara, Writing by Paul Taylor)
Athens (AFP) - Greece's parliament on Friday adopted a law allowing for migrants who reach the Greek islands to be returned to Turkey under a controversial EU deal to stem the numbers entering the bloc.
"The law was adopted by a majority of 169 of the 276 MPs present," said Tassos Kourakis, who presided over the session.
Those voting in favour included members of the ruling majority which includes the far-left Syriza and the small nationalist Independent Greeks party (ANEL) as well as members of both opposition parties: the socialist Pasok and the centrist To Potami.
The main opposition New Democracy party voted against the law but in favour of the arrangements under the EU-Turkey agreement, while the KKE communist party and members of the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn voted against.
The law was rushed through just days before the first batch of migrants was to be returned to Turkey following a deal between Brussels and Ankara that was signed on March 18.
Under the EU agreement, all economic migrants landing on the Greek islands after March 20 face being sent back to Turkey.
And for every Syrian refugee sent back, another Syrian refugee will be resettled from Turkey to the EU, with the numbers capped at 72,000.
The idea is to reduce the incentive for Syrian refugees to board dangerous smugglers' boats to Europe, as they will have good hope of being resettled directly from refugee camps.
"Preparations are now well under way to ensure the return of persons whose asylum claims have been declared unadmissible, and those who have not claimed protection can start," European Commission spokeswoman Mina Andreeva told reporters.
The aim of the law is to introduce an EU directive which allows, under certain conditions, the return of migrants to a third country -- in this case Turkey -- as stipulated in the EU-Ankara agreement.
It also seeks to reinforce asylum services in Greece, which is struggling to cope with around 52,000 newcomers who have been stranded there since the Balkans states shut off the migrant route to northern Europe in February.
Following criticism of the deal by the UN and rights groups including Amnesty International, Greek Migration Minister Yannis Mouzalas said text included measures to ensure a two-week turnaround in asylum claims and which would ensure respect for the Geneva Convention on the protection of refugees.
"Love Live! Muse's Final Love Live! Music Forever" is the first live viewing of an anime concert in Malaysian cinema.
1 Apr Local movie distributor GSC Movies has entered The Malaysia Book of Records for holding the first live viewing of an anime concert in a cinema.
This marks the first time for an anime concert to be screened live in a Malaysian cinema.
The nine-member school idol group `s (pronounced Muse) had their "`s Final LoveLive!" concert at Tokyo Dome on 31 March and will be having another show on 1 April 2016.
Fans attending the live screening of "Love Live! Muse's Final Love Live! Music Forever" (Photo source: GSC Movies' Facebook).
The concert also included the screenings of the anime music videos and their previous concerts, as this will be the group`s last live concert performance together.
Apart from being screened live in Malaysia on 31 March and 1 April, it is also live-screened in other countries such as Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, South Korea and Taiwan.
(Photo source: GSC Movies' Facebook)
(Reuters) - Guinea and Burkina Faso plan to take back hundreds of unused mining permits for re-auction, ministers said this week, as governments try to reignite interest in the sector amid a downturn. Permits awarded in recent years that are not being used for exploration or production should be made available to other companies, the two West African countries said in separate statements this week. Both countries' mining ministries said that the changes were brought about to clean up their outdated land registries. But they also come as resource-rich African countries struggle to entice investment due to a global slump in commodities prices. In Guinea, Africa's largest bauxite producer, 142 of 2,500 permits covering bauxite, gold, diamond and uranium prospects were recently made void, the Guinean minister of mines Abdoulaye Magassouba said on Wednesday. The companies that held the licenses had been informed, one source in the ministry said. They include some bauxite blocks abandoned by major miner BHP Billiton in Boffa in the west of the country, the minister said. BHP was not available to comment. "This is a normal process when we see that licensees do not put them to use after a time defined by the law. This also helps give way to other companies," Magassouba said. In gold-producing Burkina Faso, the ministry of mines has published a list of 356 permits that have become available to lease, some dating back years. "To be able to update the register, it is important that we have a clean register from the beginning with valid research and exploitation permits," Alpha Omar Dissa, Burkina Faso's minister of mines and energy, said on Thursday. (Reporting By Saliou Samb in Conakry and Mathieu Bonkoungou in Ouagadougou; Writing by Edward McAllister; Editing by Susan Fenton)
CONAKRY (Reuters) - Guinea's Ebola coordination unit has traced an estimated 816 people who may have come into contact with victims of the disease or their corpses during a recent flare-up in a village in the country's southeast, a health official said on Monday. Guinea said on Thursday that it had discovered new cases of Ebola just hours after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared neighbouring Sierra Leone's latest outbreak over. Four people have died in the flare-up in Porokpara. "Since the start of the tracing on Saturday, we have traced 816 contacts in 107 families," Fode Tass Sylla, spokesman for the coordination unit, said on state television. "We are optimistic because everyone is motivated and cooperating." The villagers will be quarantined in their homes for 21 days, after which time, if they have not developed symptoms, they will be released, Sylla said. The world's worst Ebola outbreak on record is believed to have started in Guinea and killed about 2,500 people there by December last year when the WHO announced an end to active transmission in the country. More than 28,600 people have been infected and 11,300 have died, nearly all of them in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, since the epidemic began in December 2013. (Reporting by Saliou Samb; Writing by Joe Bavier; Editing by G Crosse, Toni Reinhold)
By Saliou Samb CONAKRY (Reuters) - Two people have tested positive for Ebola in Guinea, the government said on Thursday, hours after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared neighbouring Sierra Leone's latest outbreak was over. Four people were tested and two of them were found to have Ebola, a government agency spokesman said. They were all from Korokpara, a village where three people from the same family have died in the past few weeks from diarrhea and vomiting. "All of the sick people have been taken to the Nzerekore treatment centre," the National Coordination of the Fight against Ebola in Guinea's Fode Tass Sylla said. The world's worst recorded Ebola epidemic is believed to have started in Guinea and killed about 2,500 people by December last year, at which point the WHO said the virus was no longer being actively transmitted. More than 11,300 people have died since the outbreak began in 2013, mostly in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The WHO did warn on Thursday however that Ebola could resurface at any time, since it can linger in the eyes, central nervous system and bodily fluids of some survivors. It was not immediately clear how the villagers from Korokpara had contracted the disease but the area had previously resisted efforts to fight the illness in the initial epidemic. Government spokesman, Damantang Albert Camara, said: "Vaccines have been taken to the zone to avoid new infections. The area has been locked down." Residents and authorities remain on edge across West Africa, though in many areas procedures to combat Ebola remain lax, experts say. "Strong surveillance and emergency response capacity need to be maintained, along with rigorous hygiene practices at home and in health facilities and active community participation," WHO said in a statement released earlier on Thursday. The WHO had announced Sierra Leone has had no new cases of the virus for 42 days, twice the length of the virus's incubation period - the time that elapses between transmission of the disease and the appearance of symptoms. Sierra Leone was first declared free of Ebola transmissions in November before tests revealed one woman had died of the disease in January, the same week that the WHO had declared the region free of new transmissions of the virus. The case of Mariatu Jalloh displayed how easily Ebola can return if precautions are not taken and patients do not seek quick medical attention. Jalloh had travelled across the country and come into contact with dozens of people after contracting the illness. Family members had washed her corpse, considered dangerous since the virus remains contagious for days after death. (Additional reporting by Edward McAllister; Writing by Makini Brice; Editing by Louise Ireland)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Romanian hacker known as "Guccifer" who posted unofficial emails sent to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on the Internet was extradited from Romania and made his first court appearance in the United States on Friday. Marcel Lehel, 44, is charged in a nine-count indictment that includes three counts of gaining unauthorized access to protected computers, the U.S. Justice Department said in a statement. According to the indictment, Lehel "hacked into the email and social media accounts of high-profile victims, including a family member of two former U.S. presidents, a former U.S. Cabinet member, a former member of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff and a former presidential advisor," the statement said. It did not name the victims, but in 2013 news websites published hacked emails sent to Clinton by her former adviser Sidney Blumenthal, offering the first public clues about Clintons unconventional email arrangements and attributing the hack to Guccifer. Clinton, the front-runner in the race for the Democratic 2016 presidential nomination, has apologized for using a private email server for official business while secretary of state from 2009 to 2013. The FBI is conducting an inquiry into the arrangement. Guccifer shot to fame in 2013 after he claimed responsibility for hacking into George W. Bush's family emails and posted artwork by the former U.S. president, including self-portraits in the bathtub. He also distributed emails exchanged by former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and Corina Cretu, a Romanian member of the European Parliament, prompting Powell to deny the two had had an affair. Lehel, a cab driver by trade, was arrested in Bucharest in January 2014. He was serving a combined seven-year sentence in Romania, including a four-year term handed down in 2014 for illegally accessing email accounts of public figures. Last month, a source with Romania's DIICOT anti-organized crime and terrorism unit told Reuters that the country's top court had "approved an 18-month temporary extradition to America for the hacker." According to the U.S. indictment, Lehel "publicly released his victims private email correspondence, medical and financial information and personal photographs," the Justice Department statement said. Lehel appeared in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia. The other charges in the indictment are three counts of wire fraud, and one count each of aggravated identity theft, cyberstalking and obstruction of justice, it said. The statement did not say what punishment the charges carried. (Reporting by Washington Newsroom; Editing by Alistair Bell)
By Kieran Guilbert DAKAR (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Health workers are rushing to the site of a fresh Ebola outbreak in Guinea to bolster efforts to contain the virus and prepare for the likelihood of more cases, aid agencies said on Friday. Four people in the southern region of Nzerekore were tested on Thursday and two of them were found to have Ebola. They were all from Korokpara, a village where three people from the same family have died in recent weeks from diarrhea and vomiting. The World Health Organisation (WHO) and aid agencies have sent experts to investigate the origin of the new cases and to identify, isolate, vaccinate and monitor all of their contacts. The Alliance for International Medical Action (ALIMA) has reopened its Ebola treatment unit in Nzerekore, while the United Nations children's agency (UNICEF) is reinforcing its team in the region and providing protective equipment and medicine. "There has been a very professional and experienced response across the board," said Augustin Augier of ALIMA, which admitted the two patients, a child and his mother, to its treatment unit. "We are doing all we can to be ready to receive more cases," he said, adding that ALIMA were flying in more staff from Paris. More than 28,500 people have been infected and 11,300 have died since the world's worst recorded Ebola epidemic began in December 2013 - mostly in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. While the epidemic has come under control, experts have warned of the risk of new flare-ups, as Ebola can linger in the eyes, central nervous system and bodily fluids of survivors. The two fresh cases in Nzerekore, where the Ebola outbreak began in 2013, were reported just hours after the WHO declared neighboring Sierra Leone's latest flare-up over. Guinea had been nearing the end of a 90-day period of heightened surveillance when the fresh cases were reported - the country's first known re-emergence of Ebola after the outbreak was officially declared over there at the end of December 2015. "The heightened surveillance means mechanisms were in place and that we were vigilant and prepared to deal with the flare-up," said Guy Yogo, UNICEF's deputy representative in Guinea. "The population is now aware of the disease and listening to the guidance it receives from the authorities," Yogo added. It was not immediately clear how the villagers from Korokpara had contracted Ebola but the area had resisted efforts to fight the disease in the initial epidemic. (Reporting By Kieran Guilbert, Editing by Ros Russell; 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 news.trust.org)
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.
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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.
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Paris (AFP) - The fate of humanity if aliens were to discover Earth with its balmy climate and bountiful resources, has long been a concern for scientists -- many of whom fear the worst.
Physicist Stephen Hawking is among those to have warned that ET and his friends may be much more intelligent than us, and may view human beings as little more than troublesome bugs.
Now a pair of astronomers from Columbia University in New York have proposed an innovative method to hide our planet from prying extraterrestrial eyes -- using massive lasers.
And it's not a joke, they say.
Alien scientists, argued David Kipping and Alex Teachey, may be trying to find habitable planets using the same technique we do -- searching for a slight dip in light when a planet "transits" between the star it orbits and the telescopes watching it.
Planets do not emit their own light and, if they were visible to the naked eye, would appear as dark dots tracking across their bright stars.
But these exoplanets are too far away to see, and all our telescopes can pick up is a small decrease in the starlight emitted during transit.
If aliens spot us using this technique, Earth would be a logical target for alien settlement.
It orbits within the so-called "habitable zone" -- not too close nor too far from the Sun -- where the temperature is right for liquid water, the essence of life.
In a paper published Thursday in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) in London, Kipping and Teachey said Earth's Sun transits could be masked by shining huge lasers to cover the dip in light.
- Strange but true -
"Despite the timing, it's really not an April Fool's joke," RAS deputy executive director Robert Massey assured AFP on Friday.
"This is a serious piece of work."
Humanity's search for a planet capable of hosting life remains an academic pursuit -- there is no solar system near enough to reach without time travel.
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Since its launch in 2009, NASA's Kepler exoplanet-hunting space telescope has found thousands of candidates.
Astronomers have verified the existence of nearly 2,000 faraway worlds, but most of those orbiting in habitable zones have been gas giants.
"The transit method is presently the most successful planet discovery and characterisation tool at our disposal," wrote the duo.
"Other advanced civilisations would surely be aware of this technique..."
Within the wavelength spectrum of visible light, the transit signal could be masked with a monochromatic laser emitting about 30 million watts (MW) for 10 hours at a time, once a year.
One MW can power several hundred homes for an hour.
A universal cloak effective at all wavelengths, would require a much larger array of lasers with a total output of 250 MW, said the team.
"There is an ongoing debate as to whether we should advertise ourselves or hide from advanced civilisations potentially living on planets elsewhere in the Galaxy," Kipping said in a statement.
"Our work offers humanity a choice, at least for transit events, and we should think about what we want to do."
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.
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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.
Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton sparred in a heated confrontation with an environmental activist on Thursday over her campaign contributions from fossil fuel companies, accusing rival Bernie Sanders' campaign of "lying" about the issue.
The encounter came as Clinton was greeting voters following a rally at the State University of New York-Purchase.
"Thank you for tackling climate change," Greenpeace activist Eva Resnick-Day told Clinton. "Will you act on your word to reject fossil fuel money in the future in your campaign?"
Read more: Hillary Clinton Avoids Tough Talk on Wall Street While Taking Her Pitch in Harlem
A visibly angry Clinton wasn't having it.
Hillary Clinton Gets Testy with Climate Change Activist Over Fossil Fuel Donations
"I do not I have money from people who work for fossil fuel companies," she responded, distinguishing between contributions from energy companies themselves and those employed by them. "I am so sick of the Sanders campaign lying about me. I'm sick of it."
The background: The exchange came as Greenpeace and the Sanders campaign have hammered Clinton over contributions linked to fossil fuel companies.
A Greenpeace analysis found that Clinton's campaign and allied super PACs have received upward of $4.5 million from industry lobbyists, bundlers and other large donors linked to fossil fuel concerns.
That count excluded contributions from energy executives and rank-and-file employees. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Clinton's 2016 campaign has received $307,561 from people working in the industry. That placed Clinton behind Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who's raked in more than $1 million; former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who hauled in about $500,000; and Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, who collected more than $350,000.
But Sanders has also received contributions from industry employees, taking in $53,760.
Notably, the Vermont senator's campaign has opted to focus instead on the contributions Clinton's campaign and super PACs have received from industry lobbyists.
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"The truth is that Secretary Clinton has relied heavily on funds from lobbyists working for the oil, gas and coal industry," Sanders spokesman Michael Briggs said in a statement Thursday. "If Secretary Clinton wants to discuss this and other important issues she should stop stalling and agree to a debate in New York before the April 19 primary election."
Though Clinton won the endorsement of the League of Conservation Voters and has laid out an ambitious clean-energy agenda, her record on climate issues has been a matter of contention among many activists.
As secretary of state, Clinton said she was "inclined" to approve the Keystone XL pipeline project, which would have transported oil from Canada's tar sands to the Gulf of Mexico, though she now opposes the pipeline's construction.
Moreover, as an extensive Mother Jones investigation documented, the Clinton State Department aggressively promoted natural gas fracking globally. Sanders has called for an end to fracking, while Clinton supports it, with regulation.
NEW YORKHillary Clinton returned home on Wednesday.
Well, to be more precise, she returned to one of her homes. Over the course of her 68 years, shes had a few. There was Illinois, where she was born and raised. Then there was Arkansas, where she and her husband launched their careers and raised their only child. Theres also Washington, D.C., which you might call her professional home for most of the last 25 years and where shes owned a house for the last 15.
New York, however, is Hillary Clintons political home. The distinction is an important one both for the primary election she faces on April 19 and likely for the general election campaign shell wage in the fall. By dint of birth and unmistakable accent, her main competitors for the presidency have equal if not greater claim to favorite-son status in the Empire State. Unlike Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump, she was neither born nor raised here. But it is a place where she, and only she, has twice won statewide election.
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Clintons last victory in New York was a decade ago, and while she and Bill still reside in Westchester, her homecoming rally at the Apollo Theater in Harlem on Wednesday afternoon was a mix of reunion and reintroduction. Before she arrived, the man who in 1999 prodded her to run for Senate, Representative Charles Rangel (now 85 and about to retire) danced slowly across the stage, eliciting cheers from the older members of a crowd hes served for 45 years. Clintons shepherd and validator was New Yorks senior senator, Charles Schumer, who offered up a greatest hits of her eight years in the Senate and reminded the audience that of all the places where Bill Clinton could pick to open an office after he left the White House, he chose Harlem. (It wasn't because his wife was already running for Senate there. Definitely not that.)
She may not always tawk like we Brooklynites tawk, but when she speaks out she changes minds, she changes hearts, she moves to action, and she changes outcomes.
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Schumer played an effective surrogate, hitting hard on the theme that while Clintons unnamed opponents might talk a big game, she actually has a record of progressive victories. She delivers, Schumer said. Then the Brooklyn-born senator deliberately exaggerated his already thick accent, in a knowing nod to that other Brooklyn-born senator who now represents Vermont. She may not always tawk like we Brooklynites tawk, Schumer said as the crowd whooped, but when she speaks out she changes minds, she changes hearts, she moves to action, and she changes outcomes.
Much of the Harlem rally felt like a flashback to 2008, to a time when Bill Clinton was still the first black president and Hillary was Senator Clinton, not Secretary Clinton. Both Schumer and Clinton spent more time bashing George W. Bush than praising Barack Obama, and there was barely a mention of the four years Clinton spent globe-trotting as secretary of state. Trickle-down economics, Clinton said in one rhetorical blast from the past, made life harder for people in our state. The dramatic arc of Clintons speech centered on 9/11, which occurred just eight months after she was sworn in as senator. She recalled her efforts, working alongside Schumer, to secure recovery funds for the city and to pass the Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act. New Yorkers took a chance on me, and I will never forget that, Clinton said. There were some hard times, werent there? But we pulled together.
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She wove the attacks into her three-part test for a president: Can he or she deliver results that improve peoples lives? Can he or she keep America safe? Can he or she bring the country together? And it was here that Clinton shifted from her New York nostalgia tour to a sharpened version of her 2016 stump speech, one in which she positioned herself against Sanders on one side and Trump and Ted Cruz on the other. She hit Sanders for siding with the NRA on gun control and for touting policies that she described as impractical. Now some folks may have the luxury of holding out for the perfect, Clinton said. But a lot of Americans are hurting right now, and they can't wait for that. They need the good, and they need it today.
Most of my peers and most of my Facebook network are supporting Bernie. But Im staying strong.
She attacked Trump and Cruz for their policies on immigrants, especially Trumps call for banning Muslims from entering the country and Cruzs push for police to surveil Muslim neighborhoods. It doesnt make them sound strong, Clinton said. It makes them sound in over their head.
Itll be a winning line for Democrats nationwide, and it worked particularly well at the Apollo, where the crowd reflected the diversity not only of Harlem but of Clinton's broader coalition. If the recent polls giving Clinton a comfortable lead over Sanders are correct, she probably doesnt need to step foot in New York to win the state. But delegates in New York are awarded by congressional district, and Clinton needs to pad her margin in the city to offset rural areas where Sanders might have an advantage. Clintons campaign packed the stage behind her with young women who carried signs that said Welcome Home and who chanted, Im with her! and Madam President! But the many young faces in the Harlem crowd also highlighted Clintons challenge: In New York, the voters most likely to tilt to Sanders are ones who are scarcely old enough to remember Clintons tenure as senator.
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Michael Tosto, 26, has been backing Clinton from the start. But his friends arent. None of them. Thats the sad thing, he said after the rally. Its the brainwashing of the student loans and the revolution thing. The same was true for Sam Ackerberg, a law student from Brooklyn. Most of my peers and most of my Facebook network are supporting Bernie, he said. But Im staying strong.
As she tries to keep Sanders from threatening her delegate lead, Clinton needs supporters throughout her adopted home state to stay strong for her, too. The next primary might be in Wisconsin on Tuesday, but shes rallying even closer to home in Westchester on Thursday while Bill Clinton hold events with union members in Manhattan. Sanders will be in the South Bronx on Thursday evening, and then Clinton heads upstate to Syracuse on Friday.
Were on the right track, Clinton said as she tallied up her advantage in votes over both Sanders (2.5 million more) and Trump (1 million more) at the start of the speech. But I dont have to tell you this is a wild election year. Im not going to take anything, or anyone, for granted, she added. Its a line shes used before, but it carried extra meaning in the one state that all three of them have called home.
Read more from The Atlantic:
This article was originally published on The Atlantic.
By Jim Forsyth SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - The Alamo, the highly recognizable monument to Texas independence, will have its first major renovation in a century in a project overseen by a Philadelphia firm, officials said on Thursday. The San Antonio landmark, which began life as a Spanish colonial mission in the 1700s, was the site of the 1836 battle in which the Alamo's vastly outnumbered defenders, including such notables as Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie, were routed by Mexican forces after a 13-day siege. But the battle became a rallying point for the Texas forces, who inspired by the cry "Remember the Alamo!" defeated the Mexican army a few weeks later at the Battle of San Jacinto near modern-day Houston to secure Texas independence. The white stone-walled structure, with its distinctive curved facade, was named a World Heritage Site by the United Nations last year along with four other Spanish colonial missions that line the San Antonio River. Even though it is the most-visited tourist site in Texas, its stature has been diminished by the emergence of surrounding hotels and office towers and the clamor of city traffic. In recent years, some tourists have complained the site is unimpressive and looks like a tourist trap. "We will have no small thoughts and make no small plans," said Gene Powell, a Texas businessman who is one of the heads of the Alamo Endowment, which has been formed to raise up to $300 million in private donations to complete the ambitious project. The Texas legislature has appropriated $30 million for the facelift of the structure. The state's land commission took over its management last year with the intent to renovate the building and downtown plaza.The renovation project will be run by Philadelphia-based Preservation Design Partnership, which specializes in historic sites and buildings. It will work with Mexico City-based firm Grupo De Diseno Urbano to preserve the site's bicultural nature. "We want to go back to 1724 when this site was originally built, and honor those people and those Spanish fathers who came here representing the country of Spain and representing the Catholic Church," Powell said. (Reporting by Jim Forsyth; Writing by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Peter Cooney)
Tegucigalpa (AFP) - Honduran police backed by US agents on Friday arrested an Argentine man linked to the Sinaloa cartel, which was headed by jailed Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, a police spokesman said.
The suspect, Franco Daniel Lombardi, 45, was considered to be "the main link to the financial arm of the criminal organization in our country," spokesman Leonel Sauceda said.
Lombardi was nabbed on Roatan, a 60-kilometer (40-mile) sliver of an island located in the Caribbean off Honduras, where tourist resorts, pristine beaches and dive operations attract international travelers.
Lombardi owns a luxury restaurant on the island and other investments in Honduras and went by the nickname "El Mago" ("The Magician").
He was the target of an Interpol "red notice" requesting his arrest for suspected involvement in drug trafficking and money laundering, the police spokesman said.
He was brought by helicopter from the island to the capital Tegucigalpa where he was put in the custody of immigration officials who were verifying his status in the country.
"Later he may be deported from Honduran territory and be subject to legal proceedings in another country," Sauceda said.
The spokesman did not elaborate but Honduran media noted the involvement of US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents in Lombardi's capture and suggested he could be extradited to the United States.
One newspaper, La Prensa, said the DEA agents were dressed like tourists in sandals, shorts and backpacks as they worked to identify Lombardi before his arrest. They then returned in uniform with Honduran officers to help apprehend him.
Bogota (AFP) - New talks to end Colombia's half-century of conflict face tough challenges as the government presses for hostages to be released by a rebel group with a sprawling command structure.
Bogota says a peace deal with the leftist ELN force will depend on the guerrillas freeing captives -- but it admitted it does not know how many the group is holding.
The sensitive issue underlines the challenges facing the government as it hopes to end what is considered the last major armed conflict in the West.
The government announced Wednesday that it would launch peace talks with the National Liberation Army (ELN), Colombia's second-biggest rebel group.
"This is starting in a heated atmosphere among the public," said Angelika Rettberg, a conflict resolution specialist at the University of the Andes.
"People are skeptical about the armed groups' will to make peace and polls show there is weak support for the government."
The hostage issue threatened to pose an obstacle.
President Juan Manuel Santos insisted it was "not acceptable to proceed with peace talks with the ELN while there are people held hostage."
The ELN has released two captives in recent weeks and said after Wednesday's announcement that it would release a policeman it abducted last week.
But the government's chief negotiator, Frank Pearl, said Thursday: "We do not know exactly how many abductees the ELN is holding."
- Complex peace process -
The government hopes the talks will bring the ELN into a broader peace process alongside the country's biggest rebel force, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
The sides are trying to end what is seen as the last major armed confrontation in the West, which has killed 260,000 people since it broke out in 1964.
The ELN is a leftist group like the FARC, but they have fought as rivals for territory in a many-sided conflict that started as a peasant uprising.
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Although talks with the FARC have advanced close to a peace deal, observers warn the process with the ELN will be more complicated.
The negotiations with the ELN "are of a very different nature from the Havana process because the ELN and the FARC are very different organizations," said Santos.
Officials estimate the ELN currently has some 1,500 formal members but also countless civilian supporters.
The talks "will not be easy" as the ELN is a very decentralized guerrilla group, warned Ariel Avila of the Peace and Reconciliation Foundation.
He said the process will be complex, particularly since the ELN has called for civilian participation in the negotiations, which are due to take place in various countries acting as guarantors.
Political scientist Victor De Currea added that another challenge is dealing with the remnants of right-wing paramilitary groups that have taken part in the conflict.
Those militias were disbanded in the 2000s but the ELN and the FARC say the former paramilitaries still pose a threat, especially if the leftist groups disarm.
Disarmament is one of the still- unresolved issues in the government's talks with the FARC.
While the FARC has observed a ceasefire since last year as its own peace talks have advanced, the ELN has continued attacks.
The agreement to hold talks announced in Venezuela on Wednesday by Pearl and ELN commander Antonio Garcia does not include a cessation of hostilities.
"The ideal thing would be for the ELN to engage in a process of de-escalating the conflict, so that the violence it has committed since 2013 does not threaten the negotiations," said analyst Jorge Restrepo, director of the conflict research group CERAC.
"Repeating the same kind of negotiations while the conflict is continuing would be a mistake."
By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) - HSBC Holdings Plc has not done enough to thwart money laundering, despite making significant progress since reaching a landmark 2012 anti-money-laundering settlement with U.S. prosecutors, a federal monitor has found. The monitor "remains unable to certify that the bank's compliance program is reasonably designed and implemented to detect and prevent violations of AML and sanctions laws," U.S. Attorney Robert Capers in Brooklyn, New York said in a letter filed on Friday with the federal court there. "Although HSBC made significant progress last year, the monitor believes that the bank continues to face significant challenges," Capers added. The London-based bank has spent three years upgrading its oversight of customer transactions, after reaching a $1.92 billion settlement of U.S. Department of Justice charges tied to money laundering. Prosecutors said HSBC failed to spot suspicious activity related to Mexican and Colombian drug cartels, and handled transactions for customers in countries subject to U.S. sanctions, such as Myanmar, Cuba and Iran. As part of the settlement, HSBC entered a five-year deferred prosecution agreement and agreed to monitoring by Michael Cherkasky, the executive chairman of compliance firm Exiger and a former prosecutor. The Justice Department could prosecute HSBC or extend the monitoring if the bank fails to live up to its commitments. "HSBC remains focused on fulfilling its obligations under the DPA and implementing the most effective standards globally to combat financial crime," bank spokesman Rob Sherman said. According to Capers, Cherkasky found that HSBC in 2015 made "commendable progress" toward improving oversight, spending more than $680 million and adding 2,584 compliance personnel, and was "especially complimentary of HSBC's 'tone at the top.'" But Cherkasky also found that HSBC's monitoring and testing capabilities suffer from "immaturity," and affiliates in some countries have struggled to obtain information about customers when opening accounts or updating account profiles, Capers said. The monitor also believes "a great deal of work remains to be done" in improving technology, Capers said, and flagged instances where computer deficiencies left HSBC short of data needed to help detect high-risk transactions. Cherkasky declined to comment. His reports have been filed under seal with the Brooklyn court. HSBC and the Justice Department have appealed an order by U.S. District Judge John Gleeson to make his work public. Gleeson left the bench last month for private practice. U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly now oversees the HSBC case. The case is U.S. v. HSBC Bank USA NA et al, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York, No. 12-cr-00763. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)
Controversial Chinese tech company Huawei's next smartphone will sport a camera from premium German manufacturer Leica, it said Friday as it announced a jump in profits driven by its consumer division.
The smartphone maker in late February announced the partnership with Leica, one of the most respected names in the camera industry, in a bid to improve its premium smartphone selection.
"We are going to launch our P9 flagship phone very soon and this is a product that we worked with Leica to produce," Huawei deputy chairman Guo Ping said at a press conference held at their Shenzhen headquarters, where the company's annual results were announced.
"We need to work with the strongest partners in this area to provide the best product," Guo said, adding that the there is "fierce competition" in the consumer market.
Huawei saw net profit rise 33 percent year-on-year for 2015, reaching 36.9 billion yuan ($5.7 billion), and said revenue for the year was 395 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 37 percent.
Its consumer business grew 72.9 percent to 129.1 billion yuan, after it shipped 108 million smartphones for the year and attributed its growth to the growing influence of the Huawei brand.
The firm is one of the largest providers of network infrastructure globally, but its consumer products are less well-known outside of China.
Since its founding in 1987, Huawei has surged to become one of the world's top manufacturers of network equipment, operating in 170 countries and expanding rapidly into consumer electronics such as smartphones.
But the company has been isolated from government contracts in some countries due to security fears.
Australia last year barred Huawei from bidding to build its national broadband network, saying security agencies warned the Chinese company posed risks.
US officials also view Huawei as a security threat due to perceived close links to the Chinese government, which the company denies.
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Huawei has taken a leading position in the smartphone market in China ahead of Samsung, but its US offerings have been limited until its recent agreement to produce a Nexus phone for Google.
Huawei was tapped in late 2015 to produce the Nexus 6P, one of two handsets by Google to showcase its Android mobile operating system.
With this partnership, the Chinese tech giant is gaining new prominence that could help its efforts to win broader global consumer appeal.
At a time when Chinese firms are struggling to break the dominance of Apple and Samsung on the high end of the smartphone market, the partnership is a milestone for Huawei.
It is due to release it's newest iteration of its flagship phone in the shape of the yet-to-be-announced Huawei P9.
Huawei is not listed on any stock exchange but it releases financial information in the interest of transparency.
LONDON (Reuters) - Hundreds of possible contacts of eight people infected with Ebola in Guinea have been vaccinated with an experimental Merck vaccine to try and halt a flare-up of the deadly disease, the World Health Organization said on Friday. The United Nations health agency's office in Guinea said more than 1,000 contacts of the eight latest Ebola cases have been identified and are under medical observation. In a so-called "ring vaccination" approach, the WHO said almost 800 people have been vaccinated over the past week, including 182 who are considered to be high-risk contacts. The re-emergence of Ebola in Guinea is the first since the major outbreak in the country was declared over in December 2015. In the flare-up, there have been eight cases, seven of them fatal, since late February. The WHO said six of the dead were from three generations of the same extended family. Ebola, a hemorrhagic fever, has killed more than 11,300 people in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia since emerging in Guinea in late 2013 and causing an unprecedented 20-month-long epidemic. The WHO said earlier this week that all original chains of virus transmission had now ended, although new clusters of infections would continue to occur due to reintroductions of the virus. The Ebola virus is known to persist in the semen of male survivors for a year or more. Merck's VSV-EBOV vaccine was shown in a clinical trial last year to be highly effective in preventing Ebola infection. It has since been used in Sierra Leone to contain a flare-up. The "ring vaccination" strategy involves swiftly vaccinating anyone who has come into contact with a person infected with Ebola, as well as contacts of theirs. The WHO said it had a team of 75 staff members working in the affected areas to support the government-led response, including epidemiologists, surveillance experts and infection prevention and control experts. (Reporting by Kate Kelland, editing by Gareth Jones)
By Marcus E. Howard NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hundreds of homing pigeons kept atop a Brooklyn rowhouse were among the victims of a fire this week that displaced more than 20 families in the New York borough, fire officials and local media said on Thursday. The pigeons, prized for their long-distance racing skills, died in a Tuesday night fire that burned at least five row houses in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn. About 200 emergency personnel responded to the six-alarm blaze, according to the Fire Department of New York. The birds lived in coops on the roof of one of the damaged buildings, said Abby Hoke, 29, a neighbor who lives in a nearby building that suffered minor smoke damage. "By the time I walked outside it was fully involved in flames. You could just hear this squealing noise. That just added to the heart-wrenching of all of this," said Hoke, who is raising money for a displaced elderly neighbor. Raising homing pigeons, which have an innate ability to return to their nests, was once a popular pastime in New York City, where enthusiasts would set up coops, known as "lofts," on tenement rooftops and participate in races with other bird fanciers. Some people who keep the birds simply enjoy releasing them and watching them return. Pigeon-keeping still has a big following. The American Racing Pigeon Union has nearly 10,000 members who breed and race the birds, it said. The owner of the birds that perished in Brooklyn, identified by local media as Gil Areiliares, told the New York Post he had maintained the coop for more than 20 years. At least 500 birds perished in the blaze, the paper said. Areiliares could not be reached for comment. (Reporting by Marcus E. Howard; Editing by Frank McGurty and Cynthia Osterman)
LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - More than 400 churches in the United Kingdom plan to switch to clean energy providers for their light and heat, shifting spending of 1 million pounds ($1.4 million) to renewables from fossil fuels, two Christian charities said on Wednesday. The move is part of the Big Church Switch, an initiative launched in February by charities Christian Aid and Tearfund, which urged UK churches and households to use clean sources of energy instead of carbon-emitting fossil fuels. Their online platform connects those who sign up with energy experts, promising to find them the best renewable deal by negotiating with energy providers. "As individuals and churches we have a choice in how we treat the earth, how we spend our money, how we power our homes and our buildings," David Walker, the Anglican bishop of Manchester, said in a statement. "By creating technology which can turn wind and sunshine into clean and renewable energy, humans continue to benefit from the gift of creation. Making the most of this bountiful harvest is a common sense way for us to roll back the ravages of climate change and ensure we are taking an active role in being part of the solution." Among the 424 churches that have registered with the Big Church Switch is the world's oldest Methodist chapel, The New Room in Bristol, built by John Wesley. "We may be the oldest Methodist building in the world but that doesn't mean we have to use the polluting energy of the past," David Worthington, manager of The New Room, said in a statement. "Switching our energy provider to clean sources of power is a simple thing we can do to help the global transition to a low carbon world. If we, in a building as old as ours, can embrace the idea of renewable energy, then anyone can." Pope Francis, the leader of the 1.2 billion-member Catholic Church, has been outspoken about the need for reductions in carbon emissions to tackle climate change. He heartened environmentalists around the world in June when he urged immediate action to save the planet from the effects of climate change, declaring that the use of "highly polluting fossil fuels needs to be progressively replaced without delay." The Church of England has some 16,000 churches, while the Methodists have about 6,000 chapels. ($1 = 0.6945 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)
Budapest (AFP) - Europe has more than 900 "no-go areas" with large immigrant populations, Hungary's government claims on a hard-hitting new website aimed at drumming up opposition to an EU scheme to share out migrants around the bloc.
In these areas "with a high number of immigrants", for example in Paris, London, Stockholm or Berlin, the authorities have "little or no control" and "norms of the host society barely prevail," the site says.
Asked for the source of the information, government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs told AFP on Friday it came from "data publicly available on the Internet," without giving further details.
The website, launched this week ahead of referendum in Hungary in the second half of the year on the EU quota plan, also features a ticking clock representing a migrant entering Europe every 12 seconds.
"The mandatory European quotas increase the terrorist risk in Europe and imperils our culture," the website says.
"Illegal migrants cross the borders unchecked, so we do not know who they are and what their intentions are. We do not know how many of them are disguised as terrorists," it adds.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government voted against an EU plan in September to distribute 160,000 asylum-seekers among member states via quotas, and in December joined Slovakia in filing a legal complaint.
So far, only 1,100 have been relocated, with Hungary not taking a single one. If Hungarian voters reject the quotas in the referendum, as surveys suggest, this would be another blow for the troubled scheme.
Orban, whose hard line in the EU's migrant crisis saw him seal Hungary's southern borders, announced the referendum in February, saying Brussels has no right to "redraw Europe's cultural and religious identity."
The referendum question will ask: "Do you want the EU to prescribe the mandatory relocation of non-Hungarian citizens to Hungary without the approval of the Hungarian parliament?"
The Hague (AFP) - The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Friday urged all remaining members of the notorious Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) to lay down their arms, dismissing false rumours of deadly consequences.
Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said her office had received reports from northern Uganda that remaining LRA members were being misled by their leader Joseph Kony and told they could be tortured and killed by the court.
"It is a complete fallacy to suggest that the ICC engages in torture or killing of any individual," Bensouda said in a video message.
"Many LRA fighters are returning home and reintegrating into their communities. I urge those still in the bush to also seize any opportunity to stop fighting and return home, where you have a chance to rebuild your lives."
She also denied that the court, based in The Hague, was seeking to capture and prosecute LRA members other than Kony and his captured commander Dominic Ongwen.
"Only the cases of Joseph Kony or Dominic Ongwen are before the ICC. No other LRA member is subject to ICC proceedings," she insisted.
Bensouda again called on Kony to turn himself in to the court, where he is wanted on 33 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity including for enlisting child soldiers, rape, sexual enslavement and pillage.
She vowed her office would "continue to galvanise efforts to arrest him."
Kony's feared commander Ongwen, who surrendered early last year and was handed over to the ICC, is to go on trial at a later date on 70 charges brought by the prosecutor.
The LRA, which led a reign of terror in northern Uganda, is accused of slaughtering more than 100,000 people and abducting 60,000 children in a bloody rebellion against Kampala that began in 1986.
Over the years, the rebel group has moved freely across porous regional borders, shifting from Uganda to sow terror in southern Sudan before heading into northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, and finally crossing into southeastern Central African Republic in March 2008.
Combining religious mysticism with a bent for astute guerrilla tactics and bloodthirsty ruthlessness, Kony has turned scores of young girls into his personal sex slaves while claiming to be fighting to impose the Bible's Ten Commandments.
He remains on the run despite an intense manhunt to capture him.
By Suzannah Gonzales
CHICAGO (Reuters) - An Illinois judge on Friday said he needed more time to consider whether to free a man serving a life sentence who prosecutors say was wrongfully convicted in 2012 of kidnapping and murdering a 7-year-old girl more than 50 years ago, local reports said.
DeKalb County Circuit Court Judge William Brady continued the case of Jack McCullough of Washington state who was sentenced to life for kidnapping and murdering Maria Ridulph, court officials said.
Her death was unsolved for more than five decades after she disappeared in December 1957 while playing near her home in Sycamore, Illinois, about 65 miles west of Chicago. Her body was found four months later.
The next hearing in McCullough's case is set for April 15.
Local media said McCullough filed a request for release from prison after DeKalb County State's Attorney Richard Schmack, who completed a six-month review of evidence in the case, said last week that thousands of pages of improperly excluded police reports pointed to McCullough's innocence.
McCullough was a teenager when Ridulph went missing and was an early suspect in the case. He told investigators he was on a train from Rockford in southern Illinois to Chicago when the girl disappeared. He later joined the military, moved to Washington state and became a policeman in Lacey, a town east of Olympia.
Around 2010, McCullough's ex-girlfriend found an unused train ticket for the Rockford-to-Chicago trip and alerted authorities. McCullough was arrested in 2011 and said he was innocent.
Records show McCullough was in and around a Rockford post office when Ridulph disappeared, making a call from a pay phone and contacting a U.S. Air Force recruiting station, Schmack said in a statement.
"It is a manifest impossibility" for McCullough to have been in Sycamore when Ridulph disappeared and also make a phone call in Rockford, Schmack said.
In addition, McCullough was mistakenly identified in a photo lineup that "was suggestive in the extreme," Schmack said.
In 2012, the DeKalb County State's Attorney's office called McCullough's sentence "appropriate for a defendant who stands convicted of this brutal crime."
(Reporting by Suzannah Gonzales; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
By David Lawder WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Thursday that it has again cut its growth forecast for Nigeria as the oil exporter faces "substantial challenges" from low crude prices. In its annual review of Nigeria's economic situation, the IMF said that gross domestic product growth would slow to 2.3 percent in 2016 from an estimated 2.7 percent in 2015. In February, after IMF officials visited the country, the Fund had forecast 3.2 percent growth for Nigeria in 2016. "Key risks to the outlook include lower oil prices, shortfalls in non-oil revenues, a further deterioration in finances of state and local Governments, deepening disruptions in private sector activity due to constraints on access to foreign exchange, and resurgence in security concerns," the IMF said in a statement. It added that Nigeria's general government deficit would grow further after doubling to 3.7 percent of GDP in 2015. The IMF executive board said Nigeria needed to urgently implement policies to safeguard fiscal sustainability, reduce external imbalances and advance structural reforms that promote more inclusive growth. "Directors emphasized the critical need to raise non-oil revenues to ensure fiscal sustainability while maintaining infrastructure and social spending," the IMF said. "They urged a gradual increase in the VAT rate, further improvements in revenue administration, and a broadening of the tax base." Discussions between Nigeria and the World Bank are continuing on a possible loan or credit facility that is tied to policy reforms in the West African oil exporter, a spokesman for the Washington-based multilateral lender said on Thursday. (Reporting By David Lawder; Editing by Alistair Bell and Sandra Maler)
LILONGWE (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund will resume Malawi's $150 million extended facility programme which was suspended last year after a scandal involving abuse of state money, the country's finance minister said on Thursday. "The IMF has given us a green-light to the resumption of the programme which allows them to disburse about $30 million of the remainder of the total $150 million," Goodall Gondwe told Reuters. "The advice we get from the IMF is very important because they provide a very valuable yardstick of how we can manage our economy and we will continue doing well especially on public finance management so that we are not off track again." The IMF had suspended the programme following a scandal in which senior government officials siphoned millions of dollars from state coffers. Other international donors, led by Malawi's former colonial ruler, Britain, also halted direct aid to the southern African nation over the scandal. IMF Mission Chief Oral Williams said in a statement on Wednesday that Malawi had demonstrated a concerted effort to put the programme back on track, including improvements in public financial management. Malawi has struggled to grow its economy due to declining export earnings from tobacco and in the absence of aid, which had previously accounted for 40 percent of its budget. The IMF said it expects Malawi's economy to grow by 3 to 4 percent this year after expanding by 3 percent in 2015. But growth may be weather-dependent the Fund said, after an El Nino weather pattern triggered drought and heatwaves, threatening the staple maize and other crops. (Reporting by Mabvuto Banda; Editing by Catherine Evans)
Washington (AFP) - Facing slowing growth in the global economy, the International Monetary Fund called Thursday for policies that support research and development to promote innovation.
"Fiscal policy can play an important role in stimulating innovation through its effects on research and development (R&D), entrepreneurship, and technology transfer," the IMF said in a report ahead of its twice-yearly meeting in Washington in April.
Among its recommendations, the IMF estimated that businesses in advanced economies should invest 40 percent more in R&D on average than they do currently, which could in the long run increase the gross domestic product of their respective countries by 5.0 percent, and in turn boost growth in the global economy through technology transfers.
Innovation is also a way to improve productivity amid concerns "that the global economy may be trapped in an era of mediocre growth," the report said.
"The slow growth in total factor productivity (TFP) is particularly worrisome," it said, referring to the part of output than cannot be explained by the amount of inputs, typically labor and capital, used in production.
Slow growth in TFP "explains a significant part of the overall decline in potential growth since the early 2000s in advanced economies, and more recently in emerging-market economies," warned the IMF, calling for structural reforms in labor and product markets.
According to IMF data, only 13 countries have R&D spending that is above 2.0 percent of GDP: Australia, Denmark, Estonia, France, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Japan, South Korea, Switzerland, Sweden, the United States and French Guiana, an overseas department of France in norther South America.
Targeted budget policies may help to offset periods of weak economic growth when businesses encounter more difficulties in financing, the 188-nation institution said.
IMF experts highlighted that tax incentives for intellectual property rights, known in Europe as "box regimes," have mixed outcomes in promoting innovation and R&D.
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Introduced in Ireland in the 1970s, box regimes have been adopted by 13 European countries, notably France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Britain. They are currently under discussion in the United States and India, the IMF said.
But, according to the institution's experts, they act more as a way for countries to attract revenues from patents, copyrights and trademarks than to encourage applications for intellectual property rights protection, thus innovation.
The IMF studied the impact of box regimes in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain and concluded there was no effect on R&D spending in France and Spain, while gains were seen in Belgium and the Netherlands. It cited differences in design of the box regimes as a cause of the mixed results.
Overall, the IMF said, box regimes are not an efficient way to spur R&D in part because of potential "significant" foregone tax revenues from intellectual property.
By Louis Charbonneau and Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - China has put a hold on India's request to add the head of the Pakistani militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad to the United Nations' al Qaeda-Islamic State blacklist, U.N. diplomats said on Friday, eliciting an angry reaction from the Indian government. India accused Jaish-e-Mohammad of masterminding a fatal attack on the Pathankot air base in India in January. India had requested that its leader be added to a U.N. Security Council blacklist of groups linked to al Qaeda or Islamic State, the diplomats said, but China objected. The Kashmir-based group Jaish-e-Mohammad has already been blacklisted by the 15-nation Security Council, but not its leader, Maulana Masood Azhar, an Islamist hardliner and long-time foe of India. "We find it incomprehensible that while the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad was listed ... as far back as 2001 for its well-known terror activities and links to al Qaeda, the designation of the group's main leader, financier and motivator, has been put on a technical hold," Indian government spokesman Vikas Swarup said in Washington. "This does not reflect well on the determination that the international community needs to display to decisively defeat the menace of terrorism," he told reporters on the sidelines of a nuclear summit in the U.S. capital. It was not immediately clear why China requested that a hold be placed on the Indian request to blacklist Masood Azhar. Technical holds can be lifted and often arise when a Security Council member wants more information. But sometimes they lead to a permanent blocking of a proposed blacklisting. Asked about China's decision to place a technical hold on the proposed blacklisting of Masood Azhar, Chinese U.N. Ambassador Liu Jieyi offered no details. "Any listing would have to meet the requirements" for blacklisting, he said. Pakistani security officials have said that a special investigation team set up in Pakistan to probe the Pathankot attack found no evidence implicating Masood Azhar. If Masood Azhar was blacklisted by the U.N. Security Council, he would face a global travel ban and asset freeze. The Jan. 2 attack at Pathankot was followed by a raid on an Indian consulate in Afghanistan that has also been linked to Jaish-e-Mohammad, or the Army of Mohammad. Jaish-e-Mohammad militants are blamed for a 2001 attack on India's parliament that nearly led to a war between the nuclear-armed rivals. (Additional reporting by David Brunnstrom in Washington; Editing by Tom Brown)
By Aditya Kalra NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian cigarette makers including ITC Ltd, part-owned by British American Tobacco, suspended production on Friday over what they said was ambiguity in the government's new health warning rules for packs, a leading industry body said. Rules that mandated 85 percent of a cigarette pack's surface to be covered in health warnings, up from 20 percent, kicked in from Friday after being delayed for a year. But cigarette makers failed to comply, with packs with smaller warnings still being sold in the capital New Delhi. The Tobacco Institute of India (TII) said the industry was concerned over potential violation of health warning rules by continuing production, adding that the production halt would cost the industry $53 million a day. India was last year forced to delay implementation of stringent pack warning rules as a parliamentary panel sought time to assess how the industry would be impacted. The health ministry later decided to implement the rules from April this year, but the panel last month issued a report saying the size of warnings should be reduced to 50 percent in the interest of the industry and tobacco farmers. Health activists have criticized the panel for favoring the industry. The World Health Organization has called the debate on reducing the warnings size in India "worrisome". India's $10 billion cigarette market is dominated by ITC and Godfrey Phillips India Ltd, a partner of U.S.-based Philip Morris International. ITC declined to comment. Godfrey Phillips was not immediately available for comment. TII, which has called the new rules drastic and impractical, said the industry had written to the health ministry seeking clarification. It did not elaborate on what was ambiguous about the new rules. A senior health ministry official, who declined to be named, said the government was committed to implementing the rules. Smoking kills about 1 million people in India each year, BMJ Global Health estimates. The Canadian Cancer Society in 2014 ranked India 136th out of 198 countries that use pack warnings to deter smokers, lagging nations such as Thailand. "The industry is holding the government to ransom. There is no ambiguity in the rules," said Amit Yadav, director, southeast Asia region at Framework Convention Alliance for Tobacco Control, a group of more than 350 global organizations. (Editing by Alexander Smith and David Holmes)
By Nita Bhalla NEW DELHI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Victims of forced or bonded labor in north India can break free from exploitation if they mobilize and exercise their collective power to demand enforcement of labor protection laws and social welfare entitlements, a Harvard survey said on Thursday. The survey, which reviewed the work of local charity Manav Sansadhan Evam Mahila Vikas Sansthan (MSEMVS) in Uttar Pradesh state, found steps such as forming community groups and raising awareness of laws and government welfare schemes significantly helped to reduce debt and improve lives. "Interviews with community members highlighted MSEMVSs contribution to reducing indebtedness and threats of violence, improving wage levels and generating a sense of collective efficacy," the study by Harvard University's FXB Center for Health and Human Rights said. "The intervention also had a strong effect on food security, access to medical care, civic participation and take-up of government programs such as the national rural job creation scheme." India is home to almost half the world's 36 million slaves, according to the Global Slavery Index produced by the Australia-based Walk Free Foundation. Many are from poor rural regions who are lured with the promise of good jobs, but end up sold into domestic work, prostitution, or industries such as brick kilns, textile units or farming. In some cases, they are unpaid or held in debt bondage as security against a loan they have taken, or a debt inherited from a relative. The study, conducted in Sant Ravidas Nagar district, looked at factors such as debt, access to health and government jobs as well as number of daily meals of 1,040 families at the start of the program in 2011. This was compared with data collected from 392 families four years later. The results showed the proportion of households that had a family member in forced labor or debt bondage fell to 1.2 percent from 16.7 percent after MSEMVS had worked with them. Only 21.4 percent of families had debts after four years compared with 84.8 percent before the intervention of the charity, it added. The proportion of households that had access to the government rural job scheme increased to 69 percent from 37 percent and the number of daily meals families were having rose to 2.4 from 1.9, the survey found. The report said that MSEMVS's strategy focused on building a movement among exploited villagers, most of whom are from poor low-caste or dalit communities, who are employed in agriculture, carpets and brick industries. The approach involves residents forming community vigilance committees made up of bonded or forced laborers, which organize to secure their freedom by putting pressure on the local authority to enforce labor protection laws and provide access to social welfare schemes. "Its clear that tackling slavery has a range of socio-economic benefits a 'freedom dividend'," said Nick Grono, CEO of the Freedom Fund, which commissioned the study. "At a time when governments and international donors are looking to fast-track progress toward the new Sustainable Development Goals, this study makes a powerful case for global investment to scale these kinds of approaches." (Reporting by Nita Bhalla, editing by Tim Pearce. 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 news.trust.org)
Jakarta (AFP) - Indonesia called on China Friday to hand over a fishing boat it claims was operating illegally in its waters near the South China Sea, saying big countries should not "bully" smaller ones.
It was the latest salvo in a rare public row between the nations, which began two weeks ago when Indonesian and Chinese vessels clashed near Indonesia's Natuna Islands.
An Indonesian patrol boat had been seeking to detain a Chinese fishing vessel, which they claimed had been operating without a permit. But as they towed it to shore, Chinese coastguards appeared and rammed the captured boat, helping it to go free.
Beijing claims nearly all the South China Sea -- through which a third of the world's oil passes -- despite conflicting claims from the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei.
Indonesia does not have overlapping territorial claims with Beijing in the hotly disputed waters, but it does object to a segmented line China uses to define its claims since this overlaps Indonesia's exclusive economic zone north of the Natunas.
Indonesian Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti, who has been leading a crackdown on illegal fishing in the archipelago's vast water, on Friday demanded Beijing hand over the Chinese trawler to Indonesian authorities.
"I do believe China is a great country, with good law enforcement, and they do not back illegal fishing, even if it is done by Chinese vessels," she told AFP in an interview.
"I do believe they will honour me, by handing over this (illegal fishing) vessel."
And she added: "I think as a big country you cannot bully small countries."
The campaign against illegal fishing has seen around 200 foreign vessels detained in Indonesian waters and many have been blown up in public displays after their crews were removed.
Before the Chinese coastguards freed the fishing boat, officials succeeded in detaining eight Chinese crew members.
Pudjiastuti said Friday around three would be prosecuted, but the rest would likely be deported back to China. She would not be drawn on whether the boat would be blown up if handed over.
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There was no immediate response from the Chinese embassy in Jakarta, but Beijing has said previously the fishing boat was operating in a "traditional Chinese fishing ground".
Pudjiastuti rejected this claim, insisting it was in Indonesia's exclusive economic zone -- an area where a state has rights relating to exploration and use of marine resources.
Indonesia's defence ministry also said Friday that F-16 fighter jets would be deployed to help defend the fish-rich Natunas, in the far northwest fringe of the archipelago, part of an ongoing military build-up around the islands.
By Ben Hirschler LONDON (Reuters) - Philip Aubrey buys medicines for British government-funded hospitals across London, capital of the world's fifth-largest economy, but last year he struggled to secure supplies of a basic AIDS drug. He is not alone. Shortages of essential drugs, mostly generic medicines whose patents have long expired, are becoming increasing frequent globally, prompting the World Health Organization (WHO) to suggest minimum prices may be needed to keep some products on the market. Drug shortages are due to a variety of factors from manufacturing, quality and raw material problems to unexpected spikes in demand, but such upsets are aggravated when there are few suppliers. "It can be really problematic," said Aubrey. The rise in shortages has gone hand in hand with a wave of consolidation among the companies making generic drugs - which range from global pharmaceutical giants to smaller firms in countries such as India - reducing the number of manufacturers making individual product lines. Downward pressure on generic drug prices is good news for healthcare systems in the short term, but it may fuel disruption if a supplier hits production problems. While the lack of a patent means other suppliers could also make the same drug, they would still need regulatory approval and that can take years. The result, according to experts, is a worryingly fragile supply chain, particularly for injectable medicines such as chemotherapy treatments and certain antibiotics. Benzathine penicillin, for example, a vital drug for preventing transmission of syphilis from mother to child, has been in short supply for years because of manufacturing problems, inconsistent demand and a relatively low price. "Medicines can be too cheap," said Hans Hogerzeil, professor of global health at Groningen University in the Netherlands and a former director for essential medicines at the WHO. "For a viable market model you need at least three and preferably five different manufacturers." The idea of minimum prices for certain essential medicines contrasts sharply to traditional pricing debates about how to reduce the sky-high cost of new patented drugs for diseases such as cancer and hepatitis C. Drug shortages will be discussed as a specific topic for the first time at this year's WHO World Health Assembly in May, and U.S. and European regulators told Reuters more needed to be done to address the problem. Shortages in the United States hit a peak in 2011 due to manufacturing outages, yet the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists still lists 155 products as being in short supply. The European Association of Hospital Pharmacists says more than four out of five of its members face regular shortages, while doctors in Canada have been grappling this year with tight supply of a widely-used epilepsy drug. COUNTERFEIT RISK Shortages in developing countries can go unreported for months or even years, increasing the risk of counterfeits entering the supply chain, according to Lisa Hedman, a procurement and supply chains expert at the WHO. Hedman was an author on a WHO report released earlier this year setting out possible ways to tackle the problem. These include a global notification system for supply problems, increased collaboration between regulators and potential advanced purchase commitments for priority drugs, as well as action on pricing. Low-cost generic manufacturing has produced huge benefits in increasing drug affordability but the report warned: "Too low prices, however, may drive manufacturers out of the market." Valerie Jensen, associate director of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's drug shortage programme, believes global action could complement national measures, such as a new FDA policy to speed reviews of generics competing with only one other product. "We know that internationally this is a problem and we need to think of ways to address it," she said. Drug regulators themselves have limited scope for action, since while they can keep a drug off the market, they cannot require a company to make a product. "We need to sweet talk manufacturers to get them to think about best practices," said Brendan Cuddy, head of manufacturing and quality compliance at the European Medicines Agency. Brendan Shaw, assistant director general at the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations in Geneva, argues that recognising the need to keep generic drugmakers financially viable is essential. "Companies don't like stock-outs either, so it is in everyone's interest to find a way forward," he said. In London, medicines buyer Aubrey has now resolved the supply difficulties he faced over the HIV/AIDS treatment nevirapine, after one generic supplier eventually fixed its production problems, but he is still struggling to get supplies of other important drugs. These include the bladder cancer therapy BCG and even diamorphine, or heroin, the powerful painkiller sometimes given to end-stage cancer patients. As the man holding the purse strings, Aubrey needs to get a good deal on price but he worries that a couple of hundred medicines in Britain now have only one supplier. "We need a balance," he said. "Its not good news if there is a shortage and patient care is compromised." (editing by David Stamp)
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)
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The nominee for the post of oil minister in Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's proposed cabinet, Nizar Saleem Numan, who is a Kurd, withdrew his candidacy on Friday apparently because he had not been formally put forward by the main Kurdish groups. "Because there is no political agreement over the form of the future government, I withdraw my candidacy for the ministry of oil position," he told a news conference in Dohuk. Numan, a 65-year-old petroleum geologist, is part of the lineup of technocrats presented on Thursday by Abadi who wants the new government to focus on fighting rampant graft in the OPEC nation. Parliament must vote on the reshuffle in the next 10 days. Though Numan did not elaborate on his decision to pull out, outgoing finance minister Hoshiyar Zebari, who is also a Kurd, said Abadi's lineup lacked the formal approval of the Kurdish groups. "The Kurdish alliance has one position: we are for the respect of the Constitution and we won't allow the Kurds' representatives be imposed on us," Zebari told Reuters in a telephone interview. "Any future representation of the Kurds has to be just and fair," added Zebari, who belongs to the Kurdistan Democratic Party, one of the largest group in the Kurdish alliance coalition. Numan is the dean of the college of planning at the University of Duhok in the Kurdish region and spent three decades at the University of Mosul, the largest city in northern Iraq, now under control of Islamic State militants. (Reporting by Isabel Coles and Maher Chmaytelli; Editing by Richard Balmforth)
Baghdad (AFP) - Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr ordered his followers to end a two-week sit-in on Thursday after the country's premier proposed new ministers for a technocratic cabinet that he had demanded.
The sit-in at entrances to Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, home to Iraq's main government institutions and foreign embassies, was aimed at pressuring authorities to carry out reforms.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi had himself repeatedly called for the current cabinet of party-affiliated ministers to be replaced with technocrats, but has faced resistance from powerful blocs and their ministers, who rely on ministries for patronage and financial gain.
The end of the sit-in and the proposal of the new ministerial candidates, who will now be considered by parliament, eases political tensions that have been running high for weeks.
"End your sit-in before the gates of the Green Zone, with thanks and appreciation to you," Sadr said in televised remarks, calling on his followers to make an organised withdrawal.
The cleric said that protests after Friday prayers will continue to push for a vote on the new cabinet.
Sadr, who returned to the political spotlight after calling for the sit-in and various earlier protests, also praised the "brave step" by Abadi of proposing the new ministers at a parliamentary session earlier in the day.
The main sit-in site erupted in celebration after the announcement, with demonstrators waving flags, dancing and in some cases weeping.
- Just the beginning -
Abadi gave a sealed file containing the names of 16 ministerial candidates to parliament speaker Salim al-Juburi following a speech to lawmakers, but did not announce their names.
The defence and interior ministers will remain the same for now due to the country's ongoing battle against the Islamic State jihadist group, Abadi said.
"They were chosen on the basis of professionalism, competence, integrity and leadership ability," Abadi said of the proposed candidates.
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Parliament then voted on carrying out "complete reform" of government positions including ministers, deputies and security commanders.
The ministerial changes are to be carried out in 10 days and the other positions within a month, Juburi said.
But changing ministers and other senior officials would only be the beginning of the process, as ministries are packed with lower-level employees appointed on the basis of party and sectarian affiliation, and replacing them would face serious resistance.
Technocrat ministers would also lack the political cover afforded by party affiliation, and could face threats by armed groups opposed to the changes they propose.
Parliament voted this week to give Abadi until Thursday to present his proposed line-up, and Abadi announced on Wednesday that he would do so.
In February, the premier had called for the cabinet to undergo "fundamental" change, saying it should include "professional and technocratic figures and academics."
- Stalled reforms -
That kicked off the latest chapter in a months-long saga of Abadi proposing various reforms that parties and politicians with interests in the existing system have sought to delay or undermine.
Abadi first announced reform measures last year under pressure from protesters calling for measures to address widespread corruption and abysmal services, demands that were backed by top Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.
But the protest movement faltered, weekly attendance at Friday demonstrations dropped and little in the way of real, lasting change has been achieved so far.
Sadr, the scion of a powerful clerical family from the Shiite holy city of Najaf, later called for his supporters to protest and then stage the sit-in at the Green Zone.
Sadr had threatened that his supporters would storm the Green Zone if Abadi failed to present a line-up of technocrats.
But Sadr entered the area alone on Sunday, asking his supporters to remain outside the perimeter.
Sadr first made a name for himself at the age of 30 as a vociferous anti-American cleric who raised a rebellion and commanded a feared militia.
His influence ebbed after the 2011 US pullout but he retained strong support among the lower classes and is now casting himself as the champion of the fight against graft.
As the Internal Revenue Service works on processing 2015 tax returns, the agency said it collected a record amount last year from taxpayers.
The federal government received $3.3 trillion in gross taxes from individuals, businesses and estates, up from nearly $3.06 trillion the previous year and the largest amount since 1960, according to its 2015 Data Book.
Taxes from individual income made up more than half of what the IRS collected at $1.76 trillion, the highest amount on record, and up 9 percent from the year before. Business income taxes totaled $389.9 billionthe second-highest on record after $395.5 billion in 2007. That accounted for 11.8 percent of all tax collections and increased 10.4 percent from the prior year.
Related: Nearly $1 Billion in Unclaimed Tax Refunds Up for Grabs Until April
Employment taxes added another $1.02 trillion. The remaining $130.7 billion came from excise taxes, estate and trust income taxes, estate taxes and gift taxes.
Overall, the IRS processed 243.3 million tax returns and issued $403 billion in tax refunds last year. More than 14.5 million returns were not filed on time.
The agency audited nearly 1.4 million tax returns, or 0.7 percent of all 2014 returns. That included 0.8 percent of individual returns and 1.3 percent of corporate returns. Through the auditsboth in-person and by mailthe IRS determined those taxpayers owed $25.1 billion more in taxes. The audited taxpayers disagreed with $7.4 billion of that amount.
The IRS also handed down 40.1 million penalties worth $24.1 billion. Four out of five of the penalties went to individual, estate and trust taxpayers. Fifty-six percent failed to pay their taxes, 30 percent underpaid their estimated tax and 10 percent were delinquent in filing. Other reasons for penalties included accuracy errors, bad checks and fraud.
Related: Tax Trouble: 32 Celebrities Whove Tangled With the IRS
The agency reduced the penalty amounts for 4.2 million taxpayers, totaling $8.9 billion. Also in 2015, 67,000 taxpayers made offers to the IRS to settle their tax liabilities for less than they owed. Two out of five were accepted by the agency, totaling $204.7 million.
Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:
Jerusalem (AFP) - An Israeli soldier caught on video shooting and killing a wounded Palestinian assailant will be kept under arrest at his base until his next court appearance, a military court ruled Friday.
A new hearing of a military appeals court is scheduled for Tuesday, the army said in a statement.
The decision to place the soldier under arrest at his base is seen as less serious than holding him in a military prison.
It follows a favourable ruling on Thursday, when military prosecutors announced that the 19-year-old soldier would be investigated for manslaughter, rather than murder.
Under Israeli law, manslaughter signifies an intentional but not premeditated killing.
Video of the soldier, whose identity is under a gag order, shooting the Palestinian in the flashpoint West Bank city of Hebron on March 24 spread widely online.
Filmed by a Palestinian volunteer for Israeli rights group B'Tselem, it showed 21-year-old Abdul Fatah al-Sharif -- who along with another man had allegedly stabbed a soldier minutes earlier -- lying on the ground, apparently after being shot.
The soldier then shoots Sharif in the head without any apparent provocation.
Israel's supreme court on Thursday ruled the family of the slain Palestinian would be allowed to have a pathologist of their choosing present at his autopsy, which is expected in the coming days.
Top military and government officials have strongly condemned the soldier's behaviour, but far-right politicians and protesters have reacted angrily to his arrest and demanded his release.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a former special forces officer, appeared on Thursday evening to walk a line between backing the military justice system and showing some empathy for the tough conditions soldiers face.
Jerusalem (AFP) - An Israeli soldier caught on video shooting a wounded Palestinian assailant in the head as he lay on the ground is being investigated for manslaughter and not murder, the military said Thursday.
The lawyer for the soldier, who has not yet been charged, welcomed the prosecutors' move.
"The significance from our point of view is that, first of all, the prosecution has climbed down," Ilan Katz told army radio.
"I believe that in a short time that suspicion will also be dropped."
Under Israeli law, manslaughter signifies an intentional but not premeditated killing.
Prosecutors sought to extend the remand in military prison of the soldier, who was arrested after the March 24 shooting.
The court ruled that he should instead be confined to barracks without being locked up but after the prosecution objected, the judge ordered another hearing for Friday.
"Due to this, the soldier will remain in detention until the conclusion of tomorrow's deliberations," an army spokeswoman said in response to an AFP query.
Separately on Thursday, Israel's supreme court ruled the family of the slain Palestinian would be allowed to have a pathologist of their choosing present at his autopsy.
Top military and government officials have strongly condemned the soldier's behaviour, but far-right politicians and protesters have reacted angrily to his arrest and demanded his release.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a former special forces officer, appeared on Thursday evening to walk a line between backing the military justice system and showing some empathy for the accused, when he spoke to the soldier's father.
"I heard your words and... I understand your distress," Netanyahu's office quoted him as saying in the call, which a statement pointed out was at the request of the family.
"In recent months our soldiers have bravely and resolutely stood up in the face of terrorist attacks and murderers who set out to kill them," Netanyahu said.
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"I am convinced that the investigation will be professional and fair toward your son."
- Death threats against cameraman -
The accused soldier's identity and that of his family remain secret under a gag order, granted at the request of his lawyers.
Video of the March 24 killing in the flashpoint West Bank city of Hebron spread widely online, sparking heated political debate.
Shot by a Palestinian volunteer for Israeli rights group B'Tselem, 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 case threatens to exacerbate Israeli-Palestinian tensions amid a wave of violence that began in October.
B'Tselem said on Thursday it had asked the Israeli army and police to ensure the safety of the cameraman, Imad Abu Shamsiyeh, who lives near the site of the incident, adjacent to Jewish settlers.
"Since the footage was released, Abu Shamsiyeh and his family have already been subjected to threats of murder, stones thrown at their home, and hateful posts on Facebook. Most of this violence was instigated by Hebron settlers."
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.
A letter from 11 US lawmakers in February that has recently come to light calling on the State Department to look into allegations of possible "extrajudicial killings" by Israel has received widespread attention in the country.
Netanyahu reacted angrily to the letter, saying "where is the concern for the human rights of the many Israelis who've been murdered and maimed by these savage terrorists?"
Rome (AFP) - An Italian nurse has been arrested on suspicion of being a serial killer who administered fatal doses of a blood-thinning drug to 13 intensive care patients in less than two years.
Fausta Bonino, 56, allegedly killed the patients aged between 61 and 88 between January 2014 and September 2015 at a hospital in the Tuscan town of Piombino, local police told a press conference on Thursday.
Investigators believe that the victims, all seriously but not terminally ill, died as a result of being given strong doses of the anticoagulant drug Eparina.
"None of the victims' lives had been in danger at the time the drugs were administered," said Erasmo Fontana, one of the detectives involved in the investigation.
Marketed as Heparin in the United States and other markets, the drug is used to prevent blood clotting.
Bonino is accused of having given her victims up to 10 times the usual dose of the drug, including in certain cases where it had not been prescribed by the physicians treating the patients.
The result, police said, was to rapidly trigger multiple and irreversible internal bleeds which killed 12 of the alleged victims. The other one died from cardiac arrest.
Bonino was arrested Wednesday after a review of all the recent abnormal deaths at the hospital identified her as being the only staff member involved in every case.
The review was triggered after the unit's death rate for admitted patients spiked from 12 percent to 20 percent.
Police at Thursday's press conference said the arrest had potentially averted further deaths.
But local newspaper Il Tirreno suggested the hospital authorities may have had suspicions about Bonino early last year. The nurse was moved from the intensive care unit in October 2015 to a role in which she had no contact with patients, according to the paper.
- Depression, drink problem? -
"In the horror rankings we have reached a new peak of human misery," Health Minister Beatrice Lorenzin said in a statement on what may prove to be one of the biggest serial killings in Italy's history.
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Bonino has been imprisoned pending formal charges. Prosecutors want her to be charged with multiple homicide with a number of aggravating factors, including cruelty and neglect of her duties as a nurse and public service.
Police said that the married mother of two grown-up children had been treated for depression and Il Tirreno reported she also had problems with alcohol and prescription drugs.
Bonino's case follows that of Daniela Poggiali, a 44-year-old former nurse who received a life sentence in early March for the murder of one of the 38 patients she was initially suspected of having killed at a hospital in southern Italy.
Poggiali achieved global notoriety after it emerged she had taken "selfies" next to recently deceased patients and as a result of reports that she had given huge doses of potassium to sick people she found "annoying".
"Sadly this (the Bonino case) is not the first time that serial killings have been uncovered with a killer nurse as the protagonist," Lorenzin said. "Such action goes against every medical and ethical code.
"This latest episode shows once again the necessity of careful monitoring of the oldest and most fragile people when they trust their lives to health institutions," she added.
"We have to defend life with all our powers at every stage, including the terminal one. The defence of life is a fundamental value."
Rome (AFP) - Forensics experts from universities across Italy will help identify hundreds of victims of a 2015 shipwreck, the interior ministry said Friday, as the navy prepared to recover their bodies from the bottom of the Mediterranean.
Over 700 people drowned last April when their boat sank after a collision at sea during the crossing from north Africa. The navy has so far recovered 169 bodies from near the wreck, which lies 380 metres (around 1,245 feet) down off Libya.
The recovery of the ship -- and the majority of the bodies, still trapped inside -- is expected late next month.
Italy's missing person prefect Vittorio Piscitelli has been overseeing a project to catalogue the victims' DNA and other distinguishing features in a database to help relatives track down their missing loved ones.
Now the herculean task of identifying the dead will be given a major boost by an agreement signed with the interior and education ministries, which has already seen over 20 universities pledge their support and assets.
The current collaboration with universities in Milan, Catania, Messina and Palermo will be extended to "the entire Italian university system", with volunteers offering "skills in forensic medicine, forensic pathology and forensic genetics", the interior ministry said in a statement.
Since the first large-scale migrant wrecks off Lampedusa island in 2013, Italy has been looking at ways to establish the names of all those who perish while fleeing war, poverty or persecution in Africa, the Middle East or South Asia.
But there are no passenger lists on crossings organised by traffickers, documents are quickly destroyed in water and many people are not reported missing because relatives fear repercussions from oppressive governments.
The migrant boat, carrying as many as 800 people, sank after running into a Portuguese freighter which had raced to its rescue, the collision sending its passengers over to one side and causing the vessel to tip over.
The man accused of being the boat's captain, Tunisian Mohammed Ali Malek, was arrested after he was pulled to safety with 27 other men -- the sole survivors -- and is currently on trial in Italy on charges of multiple manslaughter.
Malek and his alleged second mate, Syrian Mahmoud Bikhit, are also accused of causing a shipwreck and people smuggling.
By Crispian Balmer ROME (Reuters) - Italy's main opposition parties said on Friday they would present a no-confidence motion in Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's government after his industry minister quit in a scandal over allegations of influence peddling. While Renzi should be able to ride out this latest of several political storms, it comes as Italy gears up for pivotal elections in June and the economy shows signs of flagging. Federica Guidi quit on Thursday, hours after phone-tapped conversations released by police appeared to show the minister assuring her partner the government would pass legislation that helped his energy business. She told Renzi in a letter she had done nothing wrong, but felt it necessary to resign. Renzi, who took office two years ago vowing to end the cronyism that has often marred Italian politics, told reporters that although Guidi had committed no crime, she had made an "inappropriate" phone call and had been right to quit. The anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, Italy's second largest party, dismissed his comments and said it would present its no confidence motion in the upper house Senate next week. "This matter calls into question the whole government ...It always puts people in charge who are in the pay of the lobbies or who are looking out for themselves," said Luigi Di Maio, one of the 5-Star's leading lights. The 5-Star and other opposition parties also called on a close Renzi ally, Maria Elena Boschi, the minister for parliamentary relations, to resign over allegations that she connived with Guidi. The phone taps show Guidi telling her partner that Boschi had assured her the amendment would pass. Boschi faced down resignation calls in December following a banking scandal that left thousands of savers out of pocket. Newspapers on Friday quoted her as saying she had no idea that Guidi even had a partner. Renzi on Friday defended the contested amendment, which was added to the 2015 budget law and benefited the whole oil and gas sector by streamlining permissioning for projects. "We are talking about a provision that brings jobs," he said during a trip to the United States. "It is sacrosanct." Government critics say the scandal could help swing an April 17 referendum on whether Italy should restrict offshore oil and gas drilling. Renzi has urged voters to abstain. The opposition hopes the ruckus will also damage the center-left at municipal elections in a number of cities in June, with the government already under pressure over the economy. Data on Friday showed unemployment hit 11.7 percent in February, a disappointment to Renzi whose cornerstone economic reform has been an overhaul of labor norms aimed at encouraging companies to take on staff. (Additional reporting by Gavin Jones and Isla Binnie; editing by John Stonestreet)
On Thursday, I got a very hard-to-get interview with the French-American journalist Jacques Hyzagi of, safe to say never again, Elle magazine.
Until this week, the New York-based Hyzagi worked fairly under the radar, contributing the occasional culture piece or personality profile to outlets like the Observer and The Guardian. But Hyzagi instantly shot to viral infamy on Wednesday when the Observer published "Elle on Earth," his 3,700-word cri de freelancer that offered readers a riveting glimpse inside the quaint mechanics of print journalism in 2016.
The primary targets of Hyzagi's enmity are Elle editor-in-chief Robbie Myers ("famous for wearing this souffle pompadour on her head," he writes) and its news editor Anne Slowey ("loud and tacky"), both of whom allegedly avoided him like the plague for months after he'd submitted a 10,000-word profile on Comme des Garcons designer Rei Kawakubo. The final version, Hyzagi says, features an introduction completely rewritten by Slowey. (They share a byline.) Along the way, however, Hyzagi manages to insult just about every power player still standing in the New York publishing world. He calls the editors of New York "bores" and David Remnick's New Yorker "very Reader's Digest meets GQ." He notes that Kawakubo was never invited to Vogue editor Anna Wintour's "insufferable annual ball at the Met" and quotes Slowey as saying that "everybody is sick and tired of f - ing Anna Wintour."
So vicious was Hyzagi's takedown that many were led to believe that he doesn't exist at all - that this glorious display of fashion-and-media-world earth-scorching must be some kind of elaborate April Fools' prank or, at the very least, a pseudonymous act of revenge. Turns out that is not the case. In this exclusive interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Hyzagi reveals himself to be exactly who he says he is: a freelancer who's had just about enough of all the BS.
Oh, and did he mention he's currently looking for a job?
People are saying you don't actually exist, that you're a hoax.
No, please. I'm real. Look, all you have to do is go to a newsstand, pick up the March issue of Elle and you'll see my byline. I think this reasoning that I'm somehow a fake, that no one would ever write something like "Elle on Earth," indicates to me that journalism as an industry is completely self-serious and self-absorbed. The piece is a joke in the sense that I'm making fun of people. I write for The Guardian. I won't die if Conde Nast doesn't hire me. And I make it quite clear in the piece that I don't like fashion at all.
But you admire Rei Kawakubo.
What she does is more art than fashion. She's not some crackpot. You live in L.A. Have you ever lived in New York?
I have. I've worked at Conde Nast, actually.
Aha! OK, then you know. Here it's all about the ever-thinning line between the marketing division and the editorial division. I'm dealing with a fashion designer in the piece, OK? I'm not writing about nuclear weaponry. It's fashion. So I have to make it funny, because these people are funny to me.
New Yorker editor David Remnick is not fashion, though. Is he funny to you?
I have no particular beef with David Remnick. But I mean, look at The New Yorker. Do you remember when Tina Brown took over that magazine? Before she arrived, each piece was 60 pages long. She arrived and the first thing she did was was cut the stories down to 10 pages. Now you have David Remnick and New Yorker stories are six pages long. The most respected magazine in America is The New Yorker - and Conde Nast owns it. That says something, that it's owned by a fashion conglomerate. The signs are everywhere. My piece in Elle, which is published by Hearst Magazines, ended up being nothing more than a manufactured infomercial.
But at the end of the day aren't fashion magazines really just there to sell fashion?
No! [Elle editor-in-chief] Robbie Myers is interested in doing other stuff. She is very intent on addressing the dangers of breast implants. It's just that everything is branded now. Over at Time Inc., the editor-in-chief position at Travel + Leisure has been filled by a guy from their marketing division, [Nathan Lump, former director of branded content at Conde Nast]. They aren't trying to cover this fact up, they're being quite brazen about it. I think what I'm saying is a platitude by now. It's just that I had never experienced it firsthand quite like this. [Elle news editor] Anne Slowey lied to me. She rewrote what I gave her. And she can't write. What she wrote is disgusting. I mean, look, I was very well paid. It's not the end of the world. I just found Rei Kawakubo fascinating. She was just 6 years old when the bombs fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. She is an artist visionary and uniquely punk in her outlook. But what Elle turned my work into - it was a puff piece. It had no edge. I just found the whole thing a very interesting look into the way they work.
After the Observer piece went viral, there was a scramble to learn as much as possible about you. But you have a very shallow social media imprint. Your first tweet only came yesterday, the day the story published.
I was getting killed on Twitter. I knew the piece would be talked about, but I didn't realize it would go viral. I had also interviewed [cartoonist] R. Crumb in The Observer recently and he had written a blog saying he objected to questions I had asked him. "What's your favorite sexual position," or something like that. So I felt I had to defend myself. I've been having a little fun with it.
And no Facebook profile, no Instagram, no LinkedIn ...
I'm not interested in Facebook and Twitter. I'm just on Twitter now to play around, and if I get into it with you on there, don't take it too personally. But as far as me not existing at all? "Nobody really knows who I am." Oh please, give me a break. All you have to do is click on my Observer byline to pull up all the pieces I've done on people like Julian Assange. I think the fact that I kicked the hornet's nest has just riled everyone up. The versions of me being described in all these reaction pieces are ridiculous, completely unrecognizable from who I really am.
Do you think it's fair to say, without having ever met you, that whoever wrote that story might come across as a bit temperamental and perhaps difficult to work with?
By difficult do you mean that I'm not going to sit there and take it up the ass? Apart from the part where I stood up that idiot Anne Slowey after she rescheduled on me many times, what exactly did I do wrong? I wrote 10,000 words for f - 's sake! I never heard from her - ever! The response I finally got from them left me completely dumbfounded. I mean, didn't they want to know if their story was going to overlap with the one I had written for The Guardian? "Oh, did you not get my emails?" I mean come on! There was overwhelming evidence that this lunatic Anne Slowey was hurt because I stood her up. The last I heard from any of them was in February. And the reason Anne lied is that she was busy rewriting [the intro] and taking my name off it. Now everybody says I'm a total bitch to work with. I knew it would come across that way. Every time you raise your voice when you're being oppressed, it's "going postal," it's "you're disgruntled."
Well, again, you could probably have made your point without dragging in the names of other magazines and editors who had nothing to do with this - people like David Remnick, Anna Wintour, Graydon Carter ...
Well. You're right. I agree with you. Maybe you didn't find it funny.
On the contrary, I found your piece very entertaining and quite funny.
And come on, Remnick is not [late New Yorker editor-in-chief] William Shawn. But you're right, I was mean about David. And he's always been quite supportive of me. I think he survived, though. I don't think he cares. What I said about Graydon Carter, though, I stand behind. He's turned Vanity Fair into an airplane magazine. He killed it, let's be real. It's so flaccid. It's just not Vanity Fair. Or take Rolling Stone. I got an interview with [Chinese artist] Ai Weiwei. He was banned from leaving China at the time. I worked six months on getting that thing. I had to negotiate with some kind of international art smuggler and make all kinds of arrangements to leave for Beijing. I'm so excited. I just want to go to China. So Rolling Stone says, "Absolutely, yes, we want the story." I'm like, fantastic! They say, "We'll give you $250 for it and it will be a short Q&A." I was like, "Are you kidding me? He's a jailed dissident artist and an internationally famous human rights symbol and you want 'a short Q&A?'" The week after that they published the University of Virginia rape thing and the editor I was dealing with was gone a few months later.
You know, from the outside, it looks to me like you took one interview and spun it off into a cottage industry. There's the Elle piece, the Guardian piece, the Observer piece and even a fourth story about Rei Kawakubo under your byline in the current issue of the British fashion magazine 10. All of them, I assume, paid you.
What's your point?
Just that if you're trying to make a case for the struggles of the freelance writer in the current media landscape, you seem to be quite skilled at both repurposing your content and getting attention. And yet you still seem intent on biting the hands that feed you.
You say I'm biting the hand that feeds me. Well, I didn't trash The Guardian, the Observer, 10. I trashed the very publication that threw me over. I was very specific in who I trashed. I mean, yes, I also attacked New York magazine, because they told me right off the bat that Kawakubo was never going to tell me anything new. There's such lethargy at that magazine. I live in New York. I know tons of people. Believe me when I say that no one reads that rag.
You're also taking some heat for the way you casually let it slip that you date models.
I prefaced that by saying that, yes, being a douche, I have dated models. Yes, it's douchey. But am I going to shoot myself in the face for that? Maybe it leads people to think I'm insecure, maybe I'm ugly. And maybe that's true. I was trying to brag a little. But that wasn't the reason I mentioned it. What are my credentials in fashion? I am an outsider looking in - that's what I was focused on. I also talk about dating a fashion editor. I said I dated a woman who is a designer for Alexander McQueen. No one talks about those. I also made the point that models brought more to fashion just by being themselves than [Vogue editor at large] Hamish Bowles ever did. Call me an idiot, but sushi? No one was eating sushi until models started doing it in the '70s in order to lose weight. You could even credit them with the Whole Foods revolution. I remember when it was all D'Agostinos. Then the first Whole Foods opened in Chelsea in 2001 and it was model central. They all wanted their spiritual grain bowls and whatever. Models have brought a lot more trends to the world than Anne Slowey ever did. But OK, I admit I wanted to brag a little about dating models. People get so freaked out whenever you mention models, you know? They're coddled and fretted over and never thought of as actual people.
How have you found yourself reacting to the responses to your piece?
First of all, there's been all this hatred hurled at me because people assume I'm French.
You aren't French?
I'm French-American. I have a French name and a French accent. But I have both French and American citizenship. Somehow that gives people the idea that I don't wash. I wash every day. Or that I'm arrogant.
Where did you grow up?
In Paris.
So how do you feel about the online reaction?
That piece on your own publication Pret-a-Reporter, that's a disgusting piece. It's a [hit] piece. "It raises some interesting questions," he writes. Well, what are the questions? He doesn't say. Who gives a shit. Nobody cares. [The post's writer, Sam Reed, is a woman.] I liked the Jezebel piece. She can write. I ripped her a new asshole on Twitter. Overall, she really went at it, though. She deconstructed the Observer piece. She attacked me, however, saying it was all motivated by the fact that I was working for women. "He can't stand to be edited by women." Had the Jezebel writer read my previous work, she would have seen that I go after the patriarchy all the time. But what Anne Slowey did was outright plagiarism. She took my ideas and slapped her name on them. Anyone who read the piece said, "Are you for real? That c - stole your ideas!" She wrote a bunch of soporific bullshit. She used the president of Comme des Garcons, who happens to be the husband of Rei Kawakubo, to translate Rei's words again after they had already been translated by my own translator. That's what I call "content branding." I have the smoking-gun email in which she says as much. "You never saw my email?" she later wrote. No, bitch, because you never sent it to me! And you use the brand guy to rework the piece. What am I, some garbage that just came off the boat?
Who would you like to interview next?
I once interviewed Ricky Gervais for the Observer. I flipped the script on him. I kicked the publicist and manager out of the room and we just went at it for two hours. We talked about shit nobody would ever talk about.
So, who would you like to interview?
I'm fascinated by movies. I would love to interview people in the film industry.
Like?
Jean-Luc Godard. Martin Scorsese. Gena Rowlands. I once tried to get an interview with Gena Rowlands. It never happened. I wasn't calling from The Hollywood Reporter, let's put it that way. Do you have a job for me?
By Alex Dobuzinskis (Reuters) - An airliner flying from Hawaii to Japan was forced to turn back and land in Honolulu after a passenger insisted on doing yoga in the galley in defiance of the crew, an FBI spokesman said on Thursday. Hyongtae Pae, 72, was charged in federal court on Monday with interfering with the crew of an aircraft in connection with the disturbance last Saturday aboard United Airlines flight 903 bound for Tokyo's Narita airport. Pae reportedly ignored crew instructions and, during meal service, headed to the galley in the back of the plane to "meditate and do yoga," according to an affidavit filed in federal court. When his wife, who was traveling with him, tried to persuade him to sit down, Pae reportedly grew agitated, pushing her and yelling. Several U.S. Marines who were on the plane helped the crew escort Pae to his seat, said Federal Bureau of Investigation special agent Tom Simon, a spokesman for the agency's Honolulu office. "While yoga and meditation can be beneficial activities, it doesn't negate the need to obey flight crew instructions while in the air," Simon said. "The fact that the defendant's alleged misconduct caused the flight to be turned around in the air gives you an idea of the seriousness of this situation," Simon said. Pae, a retired farmer, was headed home to South Korea, via Japan, and was sleep-deprived after his first visit to Hawaii, his attorney, J.T. Kim, told Reuters. "He was trying to calm himself down," Kim said. "I guess that's why he wanted to do some yoga, to calm himself down." A federal judge on Wednesday ordered Pae released on bail of $25,000, but told him to turn over his South Korean passport and stay on the island of Oahu. If convicted, Pae faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. (Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles; Editing by Sara Catania and Sandra Maler)
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)
Bamako (AFP) - A key Islamist suspect believed to head Mali's southern jihadist fighters was in detention in the capital Bamako on Thursday following his capture by special forces, security sources told AFP.
"Souleymane Keita, the top jihadist leader in the south of the country, was arrested a few days ago on the Mauritanian border, and transferred to Bamako on Wednesday," a security source said.
Keita's arrest comes as west African nations scramble to tighten security following a string of attacks against hotels and restaurants popular with foreigners that have highlighted the growing reach of jihadist groups in the region.
Keita is one of two suspected leaders of extremists operating in southern and central Mali that have been linked to the Ansar Dine group, which was one of three Islamist factions that conquered vast swathes of the country's north in 2012 before being repulsed by French troops.
A second security source told AFP that Keita's arrest near the town of Sokolo followed the capture of one of his allies a few months ago in the centre of the country.
"He was about to head to Timbuktu, probably to meet up with his mentor Iyad Ag Ghaly in the Kidal region" in north-east Mali, the source said, referring to the Tuareg leader of Ansar Dine.
Malian intelligence officials say Keita and Ag Ghaly fought side by side in 2012 in northern Mali.
When French troops stepped in to help Mali's government reconquer the area in January 2013, Keita moved south to his native region to set up a new group, the Khaled Ibn al-Walid "katiba" or combattant unit.
The group, also known as the "Ansar Dine of the South", has some 200 fighters, a Malian security source said.
- Two new jihadi groups in Mali -
Heading the Islamist push into central Mali is another jihadist commander who cut his teeth in the country's northern conflict, radical preacher Amadou Koufa, say security sources.
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He leads the Macina Liberation Front (FLM), a new group that emerged in 2015 and has claimed responsibility for a number of attacks, some targeting security forces in central Mali.
Long focused on targets in northern Mali, jihadist attacks have spread since the beginning of the year to the centre and the south.
In March 2015, Keita was accused by security services of heading a jihadist military training camp discovered outside Bamako.
He was also accused of attacks in Fakola and Misseni near the border with neighbouring Ivory Coast in 2015 as well as in Bamako.
Seven Malian jihadists arrested in August in Ivory Coast and extradited to Bamako admitted to being members of Khalid Ibn al-Walid and to taking part in several jihadist attacks, according to a source close to the case.
In the first attack of its kind in the Ivory Coast, 19 people were killed earlier this month in a gun and grenade assault on three hotels and a beach in the southeastern town of Grand-Bassam. Two Malians were arrested this week in northern Mali over the attack.
It was the third such strike in West Africa in recent months, following a November assault on a top hotel in Mali's capital which killed 20 people, most of them foreigners, and another in a Burkina Faso hotel in January which killed 30 people.
By Alex Bregman
Media mogul and writer Arianna Huffington thinks America is in a sleep crisis. She also thinks Donald Trump is a clear and present danger to the country. Huffington spoke to Yahoo Global News Anchor Katie Couric on Yahoo News Live about both of those topics, as well as her new book, The Sleep Revolution: Transforming Your Life, One Night at a Time.
Huffington told Couric that the sleep crisis stems from how Americans view work and the use of technology. She said, We began to look at sleep as something we have to give up to be productive. That is a delusion. Weve come to think that we can treat human beings like machines. Exhaustion is a slippery slope, so the effects of it catch up with you.
Many wonder if Huffington would have been as successful if she had not cut back on sleep earlier in her career. How can she tell us to work less and get more sleep? She explained to Couric that its not really about working less. You know me. Its not like Im slowing down or chilling under a mango tree. I think its [about] working smarter, because our work is not just a function of time we put into it. Its a function of the energy we put into it creative ideas. So in every respect, I think I wouldve done what Ive done with less damage to my health, my relationships and also [have] more joy.
Finally, Huffington admitted, When Im sleep deprived, I dont like myself. I dont like the person I am.
Turning to politics and the 2016 campaign, Huffington said this is definitely the craziest campaign shes every witnessed in her life.
Huffington also called Trumps previous personal Twitter attacks against her meaningless. Trump attacked Huffington in 2012 after an op-ed on the Huffington Post that called Trump moody. Trump tweeted to Huffington in response that she is unattractive both inside and out. She said she laughed about them and downplayed their significance: Compared to what he has been saying in this campaign, that is really mild.
Huffington said that much of Trumps behavior could be explained by his sleep habits. She told Couric, The symptoms of his behavior are identical to symptoms of sleep deprivation. She continued, He has said he only sleeps about four hours a night, and he sleeps with his phone because he doesnt want to be disconnected with whats happening.
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She also cited an interview that Trump had given on one hour of sleep. The interviewer asked Trump where he gets his energy. Huffington said, The question is not where do you get the energy? Its, what is it like to operate like you are drunk? Because the effect of so little sleep is like operating legally drunk.
On why Trump has resonated so much, she said, He has played to everyones worst fears.
Huffington also had harsh words for the medias coverage of Trump, I think it is going to be a very dark time in American journalism. She continued, Being allowed to phone in, even on the Sunday shows, which no other candidate was ever allowed to phone in to. Most recently, Bob Woodward interviewed him for the Washington Post, a 96-minute interview in which he didnt ask him about the three most dangerous parts of his campaign.
The first, in her view, is his proposed ban on Muslims entering the U.S. She noted, That was not a middle of the night tweet and, as you know, he rarely reads anything. Second, he was not asked about the fact that he is the only candidate that still believes that Obama was not born here; thats the equivalent of not believing that the world is round. He needs to be asked about that every time he is interviewed. Third, He continues to promote violence at his rallies. She concluded, To have somebody as revered a journalist [as] Bob Woodward conduct an interview for an hour and a half and not ask about these questions shows how lamentable is the state of American journalism.
On whether Trump will be the Republican nominee, she said, A lot will depend on what happens in Wisconsin. If Cruz wins Wisconsin, I think its going to be much harder for him to get the required number of delegates at the first ballot.
Huffington did perceive a change in the depth of Trumps media coverage last week, however. Last week there was a shift. There are more and more journalists asking him tough questions. She complemented Anderson Cooper on his comparison of Trump with a 5-year-old. She said The only problem is hes a 5-year-old maybe with his little hands on the nuclear button.
On the Democratic side, she told Couric, I think [Hillary Clinton] has the math, so right now, as we know this has been the most unpredictable campaign. Right now there is something that is exciting, I know my daughters are incredibly excited about having potentially the first woman president.
On the lack of support among younger women for Clinton, Huffington said, That is very surprising. You would have thought there would be more excitement around that. However, she explained, Young people have been so burdened by college debt [and] with a sense that the American Dream is not what it was, that they are gravitating to Bernie.
By Kaye Foley
North Carolina has been drawing national attention for new legislation that blocks cities and local governments from passing antidiscrimination measures that could protect gay and transgender people. Heres a closer look at how this law, which is seen as a major step backwards for LGBT rights, came to be.
On Feb. 22, Charlotte, N.C., passed an ordinance expanding North Carolinas antidiscrimination laws so that LGBT people would also be granted protection in places of public accommodation which, among other things, would allow transgender people to use the bathrooms of the gender they identify as. This ordinance was to go in effect on April 1.
But in response, at a special session on March 23, North Carolinas General Assembly proposed and passed the House Bill 2 (HB2) or the bathroom bill and Gov. Pat McCrory signed it into law that same night.
The new law did more than repeal the Charlotte ordinance. It made the states law on antidiscrimination which covers race, religion, national origin, color, age, biological sex and handicaps the final word. Meaning cities and local governments cant expand employment or public accommodations protections to others, such as on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
Minimum wage also falls under the states antidiscrimination law, so this law means local governments arent able to set their own minimum wages beyond the state standard.
Proponents of the new law say that Charlottes measure expanding North Carolinas antidiscrimination law was governmental overreach by the city. They also argue that this is a matter of safety for women and children in public restrooms and showers. But LGBT activists say that safety hasnt been an issue in the 18 states or the more than 100 cities where protections for gay and transgender people already exist.
The backlash to the law has been widespread, from officials from other states to dozens of North Carolina-based businesses to national corporations and organizations like ESPN, the NBA, the NCAA, as well as Hollywood filmmakers. A federal lawsuit has been filed challenging the constitutionality of the law and arguing the state could be in violation of Title IX, which would put billions of dollars of federal education funding at risk.
North Carolina isnt the only state thats been caught up in these discrimination debates. Since January, almost 200 anti-LGBT bills have been introduced in states, which many people see as reactions to last Junes Supreme Court marriage-equality ruling. Recently, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal vetoed a religious freedom bill, saying, I do not think we have to discriminate against anyone to protect the faith-based community in Georgia.
So, will this North Carolina law bolster like-minded legislators in other states or will it get stopped in its tracks? Well have to wait and see. But the next time you hear about North Carolina and the bathroom bill, at least you can say, Now I get it.
Kendall and Kylie Jenner continue to push forward with their fashion empire, creating an exclusive nine-piece capsule collection for Neiman Marcus.
The sisters have come up with the vintage-inspired line for the upmarket US retailer's #OnlyatNM program.
The pieces emulate the duo's heavily-documented personal styles, and include bold sartorial choices that remain within the realm of the classic, such as a sleeveless pleated-bodice dress crafted from poppy red silk, which is retailing for $575.
There is also a cream belted leather moto jacket retailing for $995 that emanates off-duty model style, a mid-rise leather short for $295 and a very on-trend wide leg culotte jumpsuit for $445. Additional separates include a very Kylie-esque waist tie silk midi skirt in a wrap style ($375) and a V-neck dress with a split asymmetrical hem ($495).
"The collection is sophisticated, clean and beautifully tailored," said Kendall. "We wanted to widen our range of customers by introducing a more premium clothing line. We incorporated a lot of sophisticated and versatile pieces that were simple yet chic."
The fashionable duo have been steadily growing their style brand over the past few years, often dipping into their own extensive wardrobes for inspiration. Following early capsule collections with PacSun and Topshop, the sisters finally branched out on their own this year with the launch of the first official "Kendall + Kylie" collection for Spring 2016. Focused on sharp separates and killer heels, the line's high profile New York Fashion Week debut gave an indication of the sisters' upmarket expectations -- an ambition only confirmed by the latest partnership with luxury department store Neiman Marcus. With a rumored eyewear collection in the pipeline, one thing's for sure -- the pair's influence on the fashion industry seems set to increase.
The capsule #OnlyatNM collection will launch in stores an online at neimanmarcus.com on April 7.
Kendra Wilkinson has been on television, with very little interruption, since 2005. She has no desire for that streak to end anytime soon.
Now 30 and a mother of two, Wilkinson got her first showcase during the relatively early days of docuseries when Hugh Hefner and his then-three girlfriends (Holly Madison, Bridget Marquardt and Wilkinson) opened the doors of the Playboy Mansion to E! for The Girls Next Door. Her most recent vehicle is WE TV's Kendra on Top. And with the show kicking off its fifth season on Friday, Wilkinson spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about what's changed during her long TV tenure, why she thinks it's become harder to mint new reality stars and how she's digesting the likely sale of her famous former residence.
What's changed the most for you?
I moved into the mansion at 18, and we started Girls Next Door when I was 19. I've had the same production team since day one, 11 years and 14 seasons ago. I'm extremely loyal, and so are they, but it's been such a change. Girls Next Door was all rainbows and cupcakes. Hef never wanted any drama, which I was very much for. I got in big fights at the time with my producer, because it was too happy-go-lucky. I wanted it to show some of the things that were really happening, but I didn't want to do anything that would disrespect Hef. He's a guy who wants everything positive, or he ain't going to do it.
And you feel you've been able to be more real since then?
Yeah, Kendra was on E! for four seasons. I felt like I became who I wanted to be and tell my story in a real way. I got married. I had my son. I thought it was over when E! pulled the plug, which they did in a very nice way, but WE picked me back up to continue to the story. I'm thankful, because I wasn't done. I don't think I'll ever be done. I want the cameras to follow me until the day I die. I believe God put me here to do what I'm doing. I'm kind of spiritual about it in a way.
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Do your producers know when to back off?
We've been working together for so long, they know when it's not time to ask me to do something. And I have two kids now, so we do have a lot of rules. Our kids are living pretty normal childhoods, and we're protective of that. We usually stick to a 14-hour day, five days a week.
That's a long day.
It takes months to get one half-hour of a show.
How much of the year are you with the crew?
Sometimes it's eight months out of the year. The shortest season we're doing, this one, is taking between five to six months. It's the same process as writing a memoir with a ghostwriter. It's 100 percent representative of my life, but we need editors to help it make sense for the public.
What do you think of the competition shows you've done?
I'm really grateful for those opportunities. I take what's in front of me. With Splash, I thought I could totally do that. Jump off a f - ing diving board. How hard is that? Next thing you know, I can't. Dancing With the Stars is obviously the most popular of them. I think I ended up having the 1000th dance on Dancing With the Stars. Just being able to be part of history in some D-list type of way is so cool.
I thought you were good on Dancing.
It wasn't my cup of tea, but I made the best of it. I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here ended up being my favorite show I've ever done. That and Worst Cooks in America with Rachael Ray. Being in a jungle for three weeks, that's an experience that continues to drive me. Everyone thinks that it's fake, and that they feed you, but it's all real. It was six months after giving birth to my baby girl. I didn't want to leave, but I was going through so much drama with my husband, Hank [Baskett]. It was a great time to get away and reflect on my life. I definitely came back knowing what I wanted in my life.
Why do you think it's so hard to launch new reality stars now?
We didn't have a lot of competition with The Girls Next Door. The Jersey Shore and The Real Housewives both came later. The Simple Life was one of the shows before us. I didn't know how to act, so I thought, "Do I have to act like Paris Hilton because that show is popular?" I decided just to be myself. I guess that was my character. As much as it's reality, everybody plays a character. Now networks are trying to find something different - like, are you a little person or a fat camper? - because it's all been done. Audiences pick it up when people are trying too hard, and it's hard to kick-start a story if you don't know the people. Viewers are too impatient now.
How do you feel about the Playboy Mansion being up for sale?
It's not what Hef really wants, but it's what has to happen. I hate to see that empire come to an end. It sucks. A lot of kids grow up there. It's a family-oriented place 361 days out of the year. I hoped to see my kids grow up there, go swim every weekend, but it's all coming to an end. It's time to say goodbye. That's what a lot of this season of my show is about, too.
The show comes back this week. Are you doing a lot of press right now?
I look at my schedule, and I just accept it. You almost have to meditate your way through it. The one thing you can't do is get stressed, because it will eat your energy. And then, in the blink of eye, it's over.
Do you ever leave an interview feeling like you don't get your point across?
All the time. Yesterday, Steve Harvey asked me a question about sex. I got into the answer, and halfway through it I thought, "Holy shit, I don't remember the question." I didn't even get to my point. I gave a half-answer. It's like, f - .
Read More: Playboy Mansion Hits the Market for $200 Million
Nairobi (AFP) - Kenya Airways, the east African country's struggling national airline, is to cut up to 600 jobs as part of a bid to achieve $200 million in savings, the airline said Thursday.
The reductions at the airline, partly owned by the government as well as Air France KLM, could see around 15 percent of the 4,000-strong workforce cut.
As part of efforts to improve profitability and "seek a long term sustainable financial structure", the airline said it had been forced to take "hard decisions on the aircraft we fly as well as making substantial changes on other aspects of our business."
Kenya Airways, which uses the slogan "The Pride of Africa", is one of the continent's biggest carriers, and a key airline connecting multiple nations within Africa to Europe and Asia.
"We will embark on a restructuring process that will result in approximately 600 members of staff being declared redundant or redeployed elsewhere," the statement said, adding that the cuts will begin in May.
Kenya has seen international tourist numbers dented in recent years, with some visitors scared off after attacks by the Somali-led and Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab insurgents.
NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya signed a multi-billion dollar agreement with China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) to extend the country's rail network, adding to a swathe of infrastructure deals in Africa won by Chinese firms. The first phase of a cross-country rail project in East Africa's largest economy, and thence to other countries in the region, is expected to link the Indian Ocean port of Mombasa to Nairobi from mid-2017. In December the government, seeking to reduce transport costs and boost trade, secured a $1.5 billion loan -- also from China -- to extend the track from the capital to the Rift Valley town of Naivasha. Wednesday's deal with CCCC, worth 549 billion shillings ($5.42 billion), is to extend the line from Naivasha to the town of Malaba on the Ugandan border, said Wilson Nyakera, principal secretary in Kenya's transport ministry. China has replaced the U.S. and Europe as the main trading partner for many African countries and has bankrolled projects from infrastructure to energy as part of its growing commercial and diplomatic clout on a continent with some of the fastest-growing economies. The government expected to conclude a financing agreement for the Naivasha-Malaba leg in the next six months, Nyakera said. "Even as we sign the commercial contract for the second phase we are confident that we will be able to deliver the project," Transport Minister James Macharia was quoted as saying in a Kenya Railways statement. Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan have ratified a plan for a railway connecting Mombasa to Kampala, Kigali and Juba. ($1 = 101.3000 Kenyan shillings) (Reporting by Wendell Roelf; editing by John Stonestreet)
NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenyan insurer Jubilee Holdings said on Friday its pretax profit for 2015 rose 5 percent to 4.15 billion Kenyan shillings, helped by a rise in its gross written premiums and a drop in claims. Jubilee, which also with operations in Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and Mauritius, said its gross written premiums rose to 30.16 billion shillings from 29.47 billion. Insurance is seen as a growth area in the economy of Kenya, where less than 10 percent of the population has any form of coverage. Jubilee said its net insurance benefits and claims fell to 11.57 billion shillings from 15.87 billion. Earnings per share fell to 42.7 from 43.7 shillings. Its board of directors recommended the payment of a final dividend of 7.50 shillings per share, subject to withholding tax, making it 8.50 shillings for the year. (Reporting by George Obulutsa; editing by Jason Neely)
NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya's National Bank on Thursday reported a 1.2 billion shilling ($11.9 million) pretax loss for 2015, hurt by bad loans that rose towards the end of the year, leading to a sharp increase in impairment charges. The bank said its loan impairment charges rose by 3.2 billion shillings last year, denting its overall performance. National Bank reported a pretax profit of 1.3 billion shillings in 2014. "The bank's non-performing loan portfolio increased sharply towards the end of 2015 undoing gain of 3.3 billion shillings in profit before tax reported by the bank in quarter three of 2015," it said in a statement. The bank's assets edged up 1.6 percent to 125 billion shillings in 2015 while its net loans and advances climbed 3.3 percent to 67.8 billion shillings, it said. National Bank's net interest income, however, declined by 0.4 billion shillings to 6.4 billion, due to an increase in interest expenses which rose by 50 percent to 5.9 billion shillings on account of tight liquidity in 2015. National Bank reported its financial results two days after it said its chief executive and five top managers had been placed on compulsory leave pending an internal audit. [nL5N1723X1] The central bank said on Tuesday it welcomed the board of National Bank's actions to strengthen the bank while ensuring its operations continued smoothly. Two Kenyan lenders, Imperial Bank and Dubai Bank Kenya Ltd, were placed under statutory management by the central bank last year, causing central bank Governor Patrick Njoroge to vow to tighten supervision of banks. ($1 = 101.2500 Kenyan shillings) (Editing by Edith Honan and Anand Basu)
MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Friday it hoped the Syrian government delegation would show flexibility at peace talks with the opposition. "We hope this participation (of the Damascus delegation) will continue in a constructive way ... and necessary flexibility will be displayed - of course, within possible limits," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a conference call with journalists. "These negotiations should be only inclusive ... including Kurds, to find a really lasting solution ... and to enable Syrians themselves to decide their destiny." (Reporting by Dmitry Solovyov; Editing by Alexander Winning)
Tallinn (AFP) - A Kurdish migrant to the US who became a billionaire by topping its yoghurt market on Friday called for entrepreneurs to help run refugee camps.
Hamdi Ulukaya, who makes a point of employing refugees at his US-based Chobani yoghurt factories, said business people had a role to play in managing refugee camps because organisations like the United Nations had failed to do it well.
Entrepreneurs "have to bring innovation to this area (refugee camps). What are the modern tools we can bring into the camps to make it more humane and faster?" he told delegates at the Creativity For Change Forum, part of Estonia's Tallinn Music Week.
"If you look at how people have suffered (in) these places... you would think 'why did these institutions not act in time?' That goes not only for the United Nations, but also government level, and the European Union, and NGOs...
"I've not seen so much weakness for a long time. There is so much waste. The UN is not working. It's too dysfunctional, too bureaucratic. The UN has never been so important and has never been so dysfunctional."
Ulukaya also called on people to reassess the way they looked at refugees.
"The word 'refugee' used to mean people who bring science and innovation. Now it means people who bring trouble," said Ulukaya, also the founder of refugee charity Tent.org.
"As entrepreneurs, we have to look at it from a completely different perspective. We need to completely change the system, and rebrand refugees," he said.
"We need to separate the terrorists from those who are terrorised."
Ulukaya, 43, is also a member of the Giving Pledge, a campaign intended to encourage the world's wealthiest business people to share their riches.
Launched by US billionaires Bill Gates and Warren Buffet in 2010, Richard Branson, Tim Cook, Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg are among its 143 members.
(Reuters) - Kuwait's Interior Ministry has arrested a Kuwaiti man who had lived in Britain and charged him with publishing "offensive videos and sarcastic comments" about Gulf leaders on social media, the state news agency KUNA said on Thursday. KUNA, quoting an Interior Ministry statement, said Salem Abdullah Ashtil Dossari had failed to respect Kuwait's customs and traditions in the words he used to describe leaders in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). It said he was born in 1975 and had been residing in Britain but it gave no date for when he returned to Kuwait. The ministry also accused him of openly inciting rebellion and sowing sectarian contempt, without elaborating on the content of his postings. While Kuwait allows more freedom of speech than some other Gulf Arab states, the government has said it would strike hard against dissent. In June it sentenced a prominent female human rights activist to three years in jail on charges of insulting the country's ruler, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah. The Western-allied country avoided serious unrest during the 2011 Arab uprisings but citizens held large street protests in 2012 over changes to the electoral law. (Reporting by Katie Paul; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
BISHKEK (Reuters) - Kyrgyzstan initiated a special meeting of a Russia-led regional security body on Tuesday to address tensions with its bigger neighbor Uzbekistan after a group of Uzbek armored vehicles and troops were deployed near their disputed border. The incident has not led to any violence, but underlined the strained relations between the ex-Soviet Central Asian republics and increased domestic pressure on Kyrgyz authorities to resolve frontier issues. Kyrgyzstan's foreign ministry said "an extraordinary session" of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, grouping a number of ex-Soviet republics, was held on Tuesday in Moscow and it was agreed to "monitor the situation". The CTSO will reconvene on Wednesday to discuss the matter further, the ministry said in a statement. Uzbekistan at the end of last week stationed two armored personnel carriers and about 40 soldiers in an area where its Namangan region borders Kyrgyzstan's western Jalalabad region. Kyrgyzstan, in turn, reinforced its own side of the border, which in the area in question has not been clearly or officially defined, making it a constant source of bilateral friction. Uzbekistan has since withdrawn the armored vehicles and both countries have withdrawn most of the deployed soldiers, leaving only a few border guards in the vicinity, the Kyrgyz official news agency Kabar said. Kyrgyz Prime Minister Temir Sariyev visited the Jalalabad region on Tuesday, urging worried local residents to stay calm, the government said in a statement. "We will resolve the border issues but that requires time and a diplomatic approach," it quoted him as saying. Uzbekistan's foreign ministry had no immediate comment on Tuesday. The private Uzbek news agency Novosti Uzbekistana quoted the country's Border Guard Service as saying that the reinforcement on its side of the border arose from a temporary closure of the border crossing point during road repairs. Jalalabad was hit by clashes between ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks living in the area in 2010, when the government declared a state of emergency there and sent special forces to the city. (Reporting by Olga Dzyubenko; Writing by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The latest allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation leveled against international peacekeepers in Central African Republic elicited expressions of disgust on Thursday from top United Nations officials and senior U.S. and French diplomats. The United Nations on Wednesday said it has expanded an investigation of new allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse by foreign peacekeepers in Central African Republic (CAR) and notified authorities in France, Gabon and Burundi about the accusations against their troops. "The Secretary-General (Ban Ki-moon) is shocked to the core by the latest allegations of abuse in the Central African Republic," U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters. U.N. human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein echoed Ban's sentiments, calling the charges "sickening" and insisting the U.N. investigation "must leave no stone unturned." Dujarric said U.N. officials interviewed some 108 alleged victims, the "vast majority" of whom are minors. The "despicable, depraved and deeply disturbing" allegations concern 2013-2015. Of the 108 alleged victims, roughly 100 are children, a council diplomat told Reuters. He added that of the new allegations, one is against France and the rest are against Burundi and Gabon. There have been dozens of such accusations against peacekeepers in CAR, where MINUSCA assumed authority from African Union troops in September 2014. France has been investigating allegations against its Sangaris force, which is not under U.N. command, since last year. Burundi and Gabon will be participating in the U.N. investigation. The U.N. Security Council heard a briefing from the U.N. peacekeeping department on Thursday on the latest allegations. It issued a statement expressing "disgust" and "emphasized the need for a full and urgent investigation and that those responsible be held accountable." The Code Blue Campaign run by the advocacy group AIDS-Free World issued a statement on Wednesday citing information from interviews with victims conducted by MINUSCA, the U.N. mission in CAR. Code Blue said three victims interviewed by MINUSCA reported that in 2014, "they and a fourth girl were tied up and undressed inside a camp by a military commander from the Sangaris force and forced to have sex with a dog." U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power, currently in CAR, issued a statement describing the allegations as "sickening." "This plague of sexual abuse by peacekeepers must stop," she said after meeting with victims of abuse by peacekeepers in CAR. French Ambassador Francois Delattre said the allegations are "sickening and odious." "The French authorities are determined to shed full light on these grave allegations," he said. MINUSCA's previous head, Babacar Gaye, resigned last August and some 800 Congolese peacekeepers were repatriated last month. In December, an independent review panel accused the U.N. and its agencies of grossly mishandling allegations of child sexual abuse and rape by peacekeepers in CAR in 2013 and 2014. (Additional reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Chris Reese)
By Hani Amara TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Leaders of Libya's U.N.-backed unity government ventured out onto the streets of Tripoli for the first time on Friday, amid signs of growing confidence in their bid for power. Unity government head Fayez Seraj and other members of its Presidential Council attended prayers at a mosque and met people in the main square before returning to the heavily-guarded naval compound where they have been based since arriving from Tunisia on Wednesday. Western powers are forcefully backing the unity government, hoping it will seek foreign support to confront Islamic State militants, deal with migrant flows from Libya to Europe and restore oil production to shore up Libya's economy. But the new government has failed to win backing from Libya's two rival administrations and parliaments, one pair of which is based in Tripoli and the other in the east. The head of the Tripoli-based National Salvation government, Khalifa Ghwell, has voiced strong opposition to any transfer of power, and Council members had to travel to Tripoli by ship after opponents shut down the capital's airspace. But a statement posted late on Thursday on the National Salvation government's website struck a milder tone, saying opposition would be "by peaceful and legal means without use of force or incitement to violence". "We will not cling to power," the statement said. "I demand that the revolutionaries, civil society and the senior clerics be given the opportunity to take the necessary decisions to avoid bloodshed and find a solution to the Libyan crisis." The Presidential Council faces huge challenges as it seeks to establish itself in a deeply divided country dominated by brigades of former rebels. Oil production has plunged and Islamic State has established its most important base outside Syria and Iraq. It has held meetings at the naval base with local politicians, lawmakers, bankers and businessmen as it begins its effort to take control of institutions in Tripoli and secure the backing of the capital's many armed groups. An official at the Foreign Ministry in Tripoli said security forces loyal to the Council had secured the ministry building and that the minister previously appointed by the National Salvation government had left peacefully. The situation in other ministries and government offices was not yet clear, though a spokesman for the National Oil Corporation (NOC) reiterated its support for the new government and said it was waiting for an invitation to meet Seraj. WELCOME Security in Tripoli is volatile, but the city has been mostly calm since the Council members arrived on Wednesday. There have been small demonstrations in favour of the unity government, including one attended by several hundred people in Martyr's Square on Friday. Earlier, 10 western Libyan towns and cities said they welcomed and supported the Council's arrival. "The municipalities of the western coast are conscious that this is a critical stage," they said. "We call on all Libyans to be unified in their support for the Government of National Accord." The U.N. Security Council called on the Presidential Council to "immediately begin its work in Tripoli to broaden the basis of its support and to tackle Libya's political, security, humanitarian, economic and institutional challenges, and to confront the rising threat of terrorism". The European Union has imposed asset freezes and travel bans on Ghwell and the heads of the parliaments in Tripoli and the east, citing their role in obstructing the unity government. Those sanctions took effect on Friday. "The measures today constitute a first important step in support of the government of national unity," French Foreign Ministry spokesman Romain Nadal told reporters. "We are ready to consider if needed a widening of the sanctions list to other individuals who could prevent the installation of the this government," he said. (Additional reporting by Ahmed Elumami and John Irish; Writing by Aidan Lewis; Editing by Andrew Roche)
GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - At least 19 people were killed in Guatemala after the bus they were traveling in plunged down a 200-meter (660 feet) ravine in the west of the country on Monday, emergency services said. Carlos Santizo, a spokesman for local firefighters, said the bus was going too fast when it went off the edge of the road near the town of Nahuala, some 160 km (99 miles) west of Guatemala City. Nearly all those confirmed dead in the crash were adults, including one pregnant woman, Santizo told local radio. There was one minor among the dead, he said. Between 20 and 25 people were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment, said hospital spokesman Guillermo Ordonez. (Reporting by Sofia Menchu; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
BEIRUT (Reuters) - At least 23 people were killed and dozens wounded in Syrian government air strikes on a rebel-held suburb of Damascus on Thursday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said. The strikes killed at least four children and some civil defense personnel in the town of Deir al-Asafir in Eastern Ghouta, where around 2,700 families live, the British-based Observatory said. "All through the ceasefire clashes have continued in Eastern Ghouta and regime forces have advanced...they are now less than 2 km from the Deir al-Asafir area," Observatory director Rami Abdulrahman said. "They are trying to surround Deir al-Asafir." A temporary truce introduced over a month ago has greatly reduced violence in Syria but it excludes groups such as Islamic State and the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front. The eastern districts of Damascus are controlled by different factions, including rebel forces covered by the truce as well as Nusra Front. The Observatory and rebel group Jaish al-Islam reported clashes between government forces and rebels and air strikes on the northeast edge of Damascus between Jobar and Douma on Wednesday. "In Douma air strikes completely destroyed one of the town's mosques in a direct hit," a Jaish al-Islam statement said. Jaish al-Islam is one of the biggest rebel factions fighting President Bashar al-Assad in western Syria and an influential member of the main Saudi-backed opposition council, the High Negotiations Committee. (Reporting by Lisa Barrington; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanese security forces have broken up a human trafficking network and freed 75 girls, mostly Syrians, they said were beaten and forced into prostitution. A statement by the internal security forces, published on the National News Agency, said they arrested 10 men and eight women who had been guarding the girls during raids earlier this week on nightclubs and apartments in Jounieh, north of Beirut. It said the girls had been beaten and tortured and forced into prostitution by various means including threats to publish pictures of them naked. Two members of the group, which the security forces described as the most dangerous human trafficking network in the country, were still on the run, the statement said. The five-year conflict in Syria has driven more than a million refugees into neighboring Lebanon. Many are impoverished and vulnerable. A security source said some of the girls were believed to have been lured from refugee settlements or sold to the group by other Syrians. (Reporting by Dominic Evans; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
Beirut (AFP) - Lebanon's security forces have dismantled the country's largest known sex trafficking ring and freed 75 mainly Syrian women, a security source said on Friday.
They had been raped and beaten, while some showed signs of "mutilation", a statement from the Internal Security Forces said.
"This is the largest sex trafficking ring we've uncovered since the outbreak of the Syrian war," a Lebanese security source told AFP.
Police officers in the Mount Lebanon region north of Beirut "identified and arrested a group of people who made up Lebanon's most dangerous human trafficking network", the ISF statement said.
They "rescued 75 women, most of them Syrian nationals who had been subjected to beatings and psychological and physical torture, forced to perform sexual acts and had indecent images of them taken and distributed," it said.
The ISF arrested two men and eight women guarding the apartments where the victims were kept, but two other suspects remain at large, according to the statement.
Security forces also arrested a doctor and a nurse who worked for the traffickers.
"During their interrogation, the doctor admitted to performing nearly 200 abortions" for the captive women, the ISF said in a statement.
The security source also said that "an eight-month-old baby, likely the child of one of the rescued women" was found during the raid.
Even before the Syrian conflict erupted in 2011, Syrian women had been pushed into the illicit sex trade in neighbouring Lebanon.
"However, as with any war, conflict has made Syrian women and children even more vulnerable," the security source said.
"They pay the highest price."
Stockholm (AFP) - A Swedish woman filed a police complaint after a rejected and vindictive suitor broke wind as he stormed out of her apartment, but police found no proof of intent -- not a whiff -- and dismissed the case.
The woman, a resident of the Laholm municipality in southern Sweden, told the online edition of daily Hallandsposten on Thursday that the man had been invited into her home for coitus.
Once inside she had a change of heart and turned him down. But before leaving, the disgruntled man left her with a malodorous memento.
"It smelled awful," she wrote in her police complaint, asking for a harassment charge to be pressed against the man, which would carry a fine or prison sentence of up to one year.
Swedish police decided however to drop the case.
"It's impossible to prove that he wanted to pass particularly smelly wind on purpose," said a spokesman for the local police, Kenneth Persson.
MONROVIA (Reuters) - Liberia closed its border with Guinea on Tuesday as a precaution against Ebola following at least four deaths from the virus in Guinea, Information Minister Lenn Eugene Nagbe said. The deaths have occurred since Feb. 29, while Liberia was declared free of new transmissions of the virus in January. "We have ordered the border with Guinea closed with immediate effect. The border will remain closed until the situation in Guinea improves," Nagbe told Reuters. "We are not taking any chance at all." A team of medics with protective gear had been sent to the border to improve surveillance. Ebola, a haemorrhagic fever, has killed about 11,300 people in the two countries plus Sierra Leone since late 2013 and it caused global alarm in 2014 as governments and health agencies rushed to help contain the outbreak. New cases have dwindled virtually to zero but the U.N. World Health Organization has warned of flare-ups, or emerging clusters, of new cases. (This version of the story corrects surname of the minister in para 1 and 3) (Reporting by Alphonso Toweh; Writing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
By Alphonso Toweh MONROVIA (Reuters) - A woman has died of Ebola in Liberia, months after the West African nation was declared free of the virus and weeks after neighboring Guinea also recorded a new flare-up, health officials said on Friday. The 30-year-old woman was being brought to a hospital in the capital Monrovia on Thursday after falling ill, but died before she arrived, separate statements from Liberia's health ministry and the World Health Organization (WHO) said. A health official said that she had previously been admitted to a clinic in Paynesville, just east of Monrovia. "Her blood specimens were taken and tested positive of Ebola. Investigations are ongoing to identify the source of transmission and the line-listing of contacts," the health ministry statement said. "The Ministry of Health is encouraging the citizens not to panic in the wake of the new Ebola case," it said. More than 11,300 people have died over the past two years in the world's worst Ebola epidemic, nearly all of them in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. While the WHO said this week that West Africa's Ebola outbreak no longer constitutes an international public health risk, the region has continued to see small flare-ups even after countries received the all-clear. This latest case in Liberia marks the third flare-up of Ebola virus disease since its original outbreak was declared over in May. Most recently, it was declared free of active Ebola transmission in January, having passed 42 days, twice the length of the virus's incubation period - the time between catching the disease and getting its symptoms - without a new case. Guinea announced new cases on March 17 just hours after Sierra Leone declared an end of active transmission, a fact that briefly meant that West Africa was officially free of Ebola. Liberia subsequently closed its border with Guinea, fearing the potential spread of the outbreak onto its territory. It was not immediately known whether the death in Liberia was linked to the new cases in Guinea. (Additional reporting by James Harding Giahyue; Writing by Joe Bavier; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
MONROVIA (Reuters) - A woman has died of Ebola in Liberia, months after the West African nation was declared free of the virus and weeks after neighbouring Guinea also recorded a new flare-up, health officials said on Friday. The woman was brought to a clinic in Paynesville, just east of the capital Monrovia after falling ill and was later transferred to a hospital in the city. She died on Thursday. "A young lady in her early thirties died of Ebola yesterday at the Redemption Hospital," a senior health ministry official said, adding that the government was preparing a statement on the new case. More than 11,300 people have died over the past two years in the world's worst Ebola epidemic, nearly all of them in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Liberia was declared free of active Ebola transmission in January, having passed 42 days, twice the length of the virus's incubation period - the time between catching the disease and getting its symptoms - without a new case.. While the World Health Organization said this week that West Africa's Ebola outbreak no longer constitutes an international public health risk, the region has continued to see small flare-ups even after countries received the all-clear. Guinea announced new cases on March 17 just hours after Sierra Leone declared an end of active transmission, a fact that briefly meant that West Africa was officially free of Ebola. Liberia subsequently closed its border with Guinea, fearing the potential spread of the outbreak onto its territory. It was not immediately known whether the death in Liberia was linked to the new cases in Guinea. (Reporting by Alphonso Toweh; Writing by Joe Bavier; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
United Nations (United States) (AFP) - Libya on Thursday asked the UN Security Council to allow its sovereign wealth fund to manage accounts frozen under UN sanctions and recover billions of dollars in annual losses.
Libyan Ambassador Ibrahim Dabbashi requested the exemption for the Libyan Investment Authority to allow the management of frozen assets while they remain under UN sanctions.
Dabbashi told the council he was "surprised" that there had been no response to his request outlined in a letter last week.
"This means that the council will be responsible, from now on, for all the losses recorded by the Libyan body," Dabbashi said.
"These are profits that we could have collected to the tune of $2 billion a year," he said.
Dabbashi recalled that world powers had urged Libya to protect its wealth and warned that the United Nations would lose credibility in the eyes of Libyans if it failed to help stem the losses.
Estimated at some $67 billion, the Libyan Investment authority has been described as Africa's largest sovereign wealth fund, pouring funds mostly abroad with a view to reduce Libyan reliance on oil and gas production.
Some of the assets that the LIA manages were frozen under UN sanctions in 2011 during the upheaval that followed the overthrow of Moamer Kadhafi.
Dabbashi argued that the current fund managers have no access to some of the accounts in equity portfolios to respond to market or currency fluctuations and cannot cash in bonds that have matured for re-investment.
The LIA has been dogged by leadership disputes, but Dabbashi did not address those in his comments to the council.
The UN Security Council adopted a resolution renewing some sanctions on Libya, a day after the prime minister of a UN-backed unity government arrived in Tripoli under heavy security.
The new government's arrival had been hailed by the international community as a crucial step in restoring order to Libya, which has been wracked by chaos since Kadhafi's ouster.
British Deputy Ambassador Peter Wilson said easing restrictions on the wealth fund was among the issues "that we are going to look at in due course" and stressed that support for the new leadership was crucial.
Libya has had two administrations since mid-2014 when the militia alliance overran Tripoli, setting up its own authority and forcing the internationally recognized parliament to flee to the country's remote east.
TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya's UN-backed unity government has accused authorities in Tripoli of closing down the capital's airspace to prevent it from travelling from Tunisia to start work. The unity government's Presidential Council released a statement on Monday after two days of swirling rumours 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 "terrorising 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 recognised parliament, and in Tripoli, where the prime minister of the self-declared government has warned the unity government against moving. [nL5N16O25L] 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. [nL5N16P705] 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. [nL5N16V5KY] Western powers recently recognised 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 towards Europe. (Writing by Aidan Lewis, editing by G Crosse)
By Hani Amara TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya's U.N.-backed unity government held meetings at a heavily guarded naval base in Tripoli on Thursday and a senior military official said it was working to secure state institutions in the capital. The government's leaders arrived at the base by ship from neighboring Tunisia on Wednesday in a high-risk bid to take power, after opponents prevented them from flying in by closing down Tripoli's airspace. Western powers hope the new government will request and channel foreign support to confront the Islamic State militant group, deal with migrant flows from Libya towards Europe, and restore oil production to shore up its economy. They have recognized it as Libya's sole legitimate government and called for a rapid transfer of power, but both the self-declared National Salvation government in Tripoli and the rival administration in the east have rejected this. Tripoli has been mostly calm since the new government's arrival, though a television station that supports the National Salvation government went off the air late on Wednesday and there were brief clashes close to the city center. On Thursday, members of the unity government's seven-member Presidential Council held meetings at the naval base with political supporters, local council leaders, businessmen and central bank governor Sadiq al-Kabir. Abdulrahman Taweel, a brigadier general in charge of organizing protection for the new government, described the base as "completely secured". "We are working to secure all other state institutions," he told Reuters without elaborating. "The Council is here to stay and to continue their work here in Tripoli. They will not leave except for international meetings and will return." The Presidential Council and the Government of National Accord (GNA) emerged from a deal mediated by the United Nations and signed in December to overcome an impasse that saw rival governments in Tripoli and Bayda competing for power. The political confusion in Libya since the 2011 fall of Muammar Gaddafi has allowed Islamic State to take hold in and around Sirte, Gaddafi's birthplace, and carry out attacks in several other towns and cities. NEED FOR BROADER SUPPORT Critics have questioned how the GNA would be able to start governing without winning broader support and securing a long-sought vote of approval from Libya's internationally recognized parliament in Tobruk. Tripoli is home to a complex web of armed groups, some of which formed the Libya Dawn alliance that helped the National Salvation government seize power in 2014. That alliance is now splintered and some powerful brigades have pledged support for the GNA. But others have either not declared their loyalties or said they would oppose it. Taweel did not say which brigades were working for the GNA, but said it was receiving protection from the army, military intelligence and police. He said GNA ministers originally from Tripoli were "not under threat and even move around without security". The GNA's backers argue that as it establishes a presence on the ground, armed groups and public opinion will coalesce behind it and hardline opposition will fade. "If they can get control of the country's finances, then power brokers who have been sitting on the fence will come in behind them," said a senior Western diplomat. The GNA's political adversaries have so far kept up their public opposition both in the east and in Tripoli. In a statement late on Wednesday, National Salvation government head Khalifa Ghwell called the Presidential Council "infiltrators," and said he was giving them a last chance to "leave or surrender." Libyan Grand Mufti Sadiq Al-Gharyani, an influential figure among some of Tripoli's armed groups, called for the U.N.-brokered deal to be revised and for the GNA to leave the country "before we open the door of jihad on them". The new government has, however, received the endorsement of the Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG), a semi-official armed faction that controls key eastern oil installations, some of which it has shut down amid political disputes. Libya's oil production has dropped below 400,000 barrels per day, less than a quarter of its pre-revolution level, putting increasing pressure on the country's finances. PFG spokesman Ali al-Hassi said on Thursday that it was prepared to reopen oil terminals at Zuetina, Es Sider, and Ras Lanuf, though he could not say when this might happen. The latter two ports have been repeatedly attacked and damaged by Islamic State militants. (Additional reporting by Aidan Lewis and Ahmed Elumami; Editing by Tom Heneghan, Toni Reinhold)
Luxembourg on Thursday launched a money laundering probe linked to a corruption scandal embroiling Malaysian Premier Najib Razak who is accused of using money in a state-run fund for his own purposes.
Najib, 62, has been under fire over allegations that billions of dollars were stolen from 1MDB, the now struggling state firm he founded, and his acceptance of a $681 million overseas payment.
Reports have also emerged of the luxurious lifestyles, lavish spending and jet-set travel arrangements of his family, stoking calls for his resignation.
The Luxembourg prosecutor's office said in a statement that it had launched the probe "following revelations about the alleged diversion of funds from 1MDB".
"The suit concerns money laundering of funds likely to have come from the embezzlement of public monies," it said.
It said the decision to task an examining magistrate with the probe was taken "after concrete indications" that public money had been diverted via offshore companies with accounts in Singapore, Switzerland and Luxembourg.
The probe will focus on tracking down payments made after bond issues in May and October 2012, it said.
The small duchy of Luxembourg is home to a major financial services centre, with clients worldwide.
US authorities are reportedly looking into 1MDB-related fund flows, while Swiss, British, Singaporean and Hong Kong authorities also are scrutinising them.
Najib denies any wrongdoing, saying the corruption accusations are part of an unspecified political conspiracy against him.
He has curbed investigations into the scandal and purged his ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) of critics, essentially shutting off internal party challenges.
His no-nonsense predecessor Mahatir Mohamad demanded last week that Najib return hundreds of millions of dollars that ended up in his personal bank accounts to the government.
ANTANANARIVO (Reuters) - Madagascar has scrapped recently introduced regulation which levied a $100 fee on the export of shipping containers, after miners warned it was hurting mining projects at a time when the industry struggles with falling commodity prices. The government said it was cancelling its Advance Cargo Declaration (ACD) regulations, but that it would continue work to improve security at the Indian Ocean island's ports. "The ACD pre-registrations are no longer required to exporters and importers. They therefore pay no more fees," Ulrich Andriantiana, Malagasy minister of transport, tourism and meteorology, told reporters late on Tuesday. Last month, Ambatovy, a $7 billion mining project 40 percent owned and operated by Sherritt International, said the ACD regulations would force it to close operations. Ambatovy, Madagascar's biggest foreign direct investment and one of the world's largest nickel and cobalt plants, said that due to enforcement of the ACD regulation, it had been unable to ship spare parts and raw materials, limiting its cash flow. Madagascar has struggled to attract foreign investors in recent years, with many citing bureaucracy for their reluctance to invest in the mineral-rich nation. Madagascar's mining sector has also been hurt by falling commodity prices. (Reporting by Lova Rabary; writing by Drazen Jorgic; Editing by George Obulutsa and Jason Neely)
Miami (AFP) - Women who smoke while pregnant may harm their babies by chemically altering the DNA of the developing fetus, a major study including more than 6,000 women and children found on Thursday.
Doctors have long warned women to avoid cigarettes while pregnant because smoking can lead to stillbirth, or babies born with cleft palate, lung disease, or neurobehavioral problems.
Despite these warnings, as many as 12 percent of pregnant women in the United States continue to smoke, exposing their fetuses to chemicals in cigarette smoke that pass through the barrier of the mother's placenta.
Experts have not known much about how these changes to DNA take root in the fetus, so they performed a meta-analysis of 13 prior, smaller studies, some of which had suggested links between smoking and chemical modifications to DNA, also known as methylation.
Of the 6,685 babies in the meta-analysis, 13 percent were born to mothers who smoked regularly while pregnant.
Another 25 percent had mothers who smoked occasionally while pregnant or had quit early in pregnancy.
Among the sustained smokers, researchers identified "6,073 places where the DNA was chemically modified differently" than in the newborns of non-smoking moms.
"About half of these locations could be tied to a specific gene," said the study, published in the American Journal of Human Genetics.
"Many signals tied into developmental pathways," said co-author Bonnie Joubert, an epidemiologist at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), noting that changes were seen in genes relating to lung and nervous system development, smoking-related cancers, and birth defects such as cleft lip and cleft palate.
The DNA changes were documented in samples of umbilical cord blood drawn after birth.
Such changes were less apparent in mothers who smoked less frequently during pregnancy.
A separate analysis found that some DNA modifications remained apparent in a group of hundreds of older children -- those with an average age of six -- whose mothers had smoked while pregnant.
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- 'High-impact' study -
According to Christopher Gregg, an assistant professor of neurobiology and anatomy and human genetics at the University of Utah, the study's size helps "to more effectively rule out potentially confounding factors, such as maternal age and socioeconomic status."
Gregg, who was not involved with the study, described it as having "high impact."
"It is well established that pregnant women should not smoke, but these new results reveal that smoking during pregnancy leaves a lasting mark on the genome that persists into childhood, and identifies the sites and genes in the genome that are especially susceptible to these effects," he said.
Michael Cowley, assistant professor of biological sciences at North Carolina State University, said the work takes a first stab at answering a complex question.
"Could smoking-associated epigenetic changes be impacting gene expression, potentially explaining some clinical outcomes such as reduced birth weight?" asked Cowley, who was not involved in the research.
"Whether these effects actually contribute to increased disease risk cannot be determined from this study, but this demonstration that smoking-associated epigenetic changes have functional relevance is important," he added.
"Future work will be required to demonstrate causative links between smoking-associated epigenetic changes and offspring disease, but this study provides a reliable foundation on which to build."
BAMAKO (Reuters) - Authorities in Mali have arrested two men believed to be linked to an al Qaeda attack on a beach resort town in neighbouring Ivory Coast that killed 19 people earlier this month, military officials said on Sunday. Gunmen shot swimmers and sunbathers before storming into several hotels in the town of Grand Bassam, 40 km (25 miles) from the commercial capital, Abidjan, on March 13. "The information concerning the arrests of two suspects in the north of Mali is true," said Lieutenant-Colonel Modibo Nama Traore, a military intelligence officer who said they had been picked up by gendarmes and the intelligence service. Ivory Coast announced last week it had detained 15 people in connection with the attack, which was claimed by al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), the Islamist group's North African branch. Ivorian officials named the suspected ringleader as Kounta Dallah, but said he remained at large. While Traore gave no further details of the arrests in Mali, a second intelligence officer said the two men were arrested separately on Saturday and Sunday in the towns of Goundam and Gossi in the northern Timbuktu region. "One is even Kounta's driver," the intelligence officer said, asking not to be identified. In its claim of responsibility for the Grand Bassam shooting rampage, AQIM said the attack was revenge for France's military intervention in Mali. Eleven Ivorians, including three special forces' soldiers, died in the attack. Four French citizens were killed and other foreign victims included citizens of Germany, Lebanon, Macedonia and Nigeria. Paris sent troops to its former colony in 2013 to drive out Islamist fighters who seized its desert north a year earlier. The intervention received support from Mali's regional neighbours, including Ivory Coast, which hosts a French military base. Despite the successful intervention, violence is again rising in Mali, and militants are increasingly striking farther from their traditional desert strongholds. In the months before the attack on Grand Bassam, AQIM struck hotels and restaurants in Mali's capital, Bamako, and neighbouring Burkina Faso's capital, Ouagadougou, killing dozens of civilians. (Reporting by Adama Diarra and Tiemoko Diallo; Writing by Joe Bavier; Editing by Peter Cooney)
BAMAKO (Reuters) - Authorities in Mali have arrested a man considered to be one of the main Islamist insurgent leaders operating in the south of the country, a hub for the expansion of militancy in West Africa, defense and intelligence sources said on Thursday. The intelligence services had monitored Souleymane Keita since the capture of two of his men last year. He is believed by the authorities to be an associate of Iyad Ag Ghali, head of the northern Mali Islamist group Ansar Dine. "We'd been on his trail since then (the capture of his men). And it was recently, when he attempted to come back into Mali across the border from Mauritania, that he was arrested by our men," said one intelligence officer, who asked not to be named. According to the officer, Keita had expanded Ansar Dine's operations in southern Mali. He heads a group known as the Katiba Khalid Ibn Walid, analysts say. A senior Malian defense official also confirmed Keita's capture. Ansar Dine was among a number of Islamist militant groups, some of them with ties to al Qaeda, that seized Mali's northern desert region in 2012. A French-led military intervention drove them back a year later but violence is again rising in Mali, with insurgents increasingly striking further from their traditional desert strongholds. Islamist fighters have launched a series of bold attacks on civilian targets in southern Mali and in neighboring nations since last year. Most recently, 19 people were killed when gunmen stormed the Ivory Coast beach resort town of Grand Bassam on March 13 in an attack claimed by al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, the group's North African affiliate. (Reporting by Adama Diarra; Writing by Joe Bavier; Editing by Gareth Jones)
BAMAKO (Reuters) - Authorities in Mali have arrested a man considered to be one of the main Islamist insurgent leaders operating in the south of the country, a hub for the expansion of militancy in West Africa, defence and intelligence sources said on Thursday. The intelligence services had monitored Souleymane Keita since the capture of two of his man last year. He is believed by the authorities to be an associate of Iyad Ag Ghali, head of the northern Mali Islamist group Ansar Dine. "We'd been on his trail since then (the capture of his men). And it was recently, when he attempted to come back into Mali across the border from Mauritania, that he was arrested by our men," said one intelligence officer, who asked not to be named. According to the officer, Keita had expanded Ansar Dine's operations in southern Mali. He heads a group known as the Katiba Khalid Ibn Walid, analysts say. A senior Malian defence official also confirmed Keita's capture. Ansar Dine was among a number of Islamist militant groups, some of them with ties to al Qaeda, that seized Mali's northern desert region in 2012. A French-led military intervention drove them back a year later but violence is again rising in Mali, with insurgents increasingly striking further from their traditional desert strongholds. Islamist fighters have launched a series of bold attacks on civilian targets in southern Mali and in neighbouring nations since last year. Most recently, 19 people were killed when gunmen stormed the Ivory Coast beach resort town of Grand Bassam on March 13 in an attack claimed by al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, the group's North African affiliate. (Reporting by Adama Diarra; Writing by Joe Bavier; Editing by Gareth Jones)
Ouagadougou (AFP) - 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.
"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.
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"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.
Although the government and rebels reaching a landmark peace agreement last year UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned in a report this week that insecurity is spreading in northern and central regions.
Just how bad would a Donald Trump candidacy be for the Republican Partys chances of winning the White House in 2017? The team at the University of Virginias Center for Politics threw its usual caution to the wind on Thursday and took its best guess at how the 50 states and D.C. would break when Electoral College votes are parceled out, assuming the Democrats nominate Hillary Clinton and the GOP nominates Trump. Its not a pretty picture for Republicans.
Writing on the Sabatos Crystal Ball website, Larry Sabato, Kyle Kondik, and Geoffrey Skelley summed up the results this way: Election analysts prefer close elections, but there was nothing we could do to make this one close.
Related: Seriously Now, Does Trump Really Want to Be President?
The Crystal Ball analysis shows Clinton with 347 votes (she would need 270 to win) and Trump with only 191. To be fair, the projection is caveated to within an inch of its life, and rightly so. A lot can happen in the seven months between now and Election Day.
2016 map
However, the analysis points to an uncomfortable truth for Republicans who are contending with two equally bad possibilities. A Donald Trump candidacy takes states that would normally be in play in a general election like Colorado, Florida, Virginia and Ohio and makes them Clintons to lose. But if the GOP engineers a way to deprive Trump of the nomination despite having won the largest share of the delegates in the primary, a sizable percentage of Trump voters could defect to a third-party ticket or sit out the election.
The GOP labors under a significant demographic disadvantage in presidential election years, and the electoral path to victory in a presidential race is narrow. Losing even a relatively small percentage of its voters could be enough to guarantee defeat.
A key point about the Sabato teams analysis is that in a Trump v. Clinton matchup, every single change to the map favors Clinton. The Center on Politics rates states on a seven-point scale, with Safe, Likely, and Leans ratings for each party, and a Toss-Up category in the middle. All 14 changes either moved toss-up states into the Democratic column or signified a weaker GOP hold on states in its column.
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Related: Trumps Latest Shocker: Women Should Be Punished If They Get an Abortion
Over the years weve put much emphasis on the seven super-swing states: Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio, and Virginia. While some will fall to the Democrats less readily than others, it is difficult to see any that Trump is likely to grab, they write. In fact, four normally Republican states (Arizona, Georgia, Indiana, and Missouri) would be somewhat less secure for the GOP than usual. North Carolina, which normally leans slightly to the GOP, would also be well within Clintons grasp in this election after being Mitt Romneys closest win in 2012.
Again, its a long way to November, but given Trumps current lead in delegates and recent polling showing his overwhelmingly negative numbers among the general population its hard to paint anything other than a grim picture of the GOPs chances to take over the White House in this cycle.
Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:
(Reuters) - Marriott International Inc Chief Executive Arne Sorenson said the hotel group would have loved to have agreed on a lower price for Starwood Hotel & Resorts Worldwide Inc . Speaking on CNBC a day after China's Anbang Insurance Group Co abandoned its $14 billion offer for the owner of the Sheraton and Westin brands, Sorenson said: "We would love to have (Starwood) for a billion dollars less, there's no doubt about that. But they were real with their first bid." Anbang had raised its offer for Starwood twice before withdrawing on Thursday, paving the way for Marriott to buy the company for its latest offer of $13.6 billion. Starwood and Marriott shareholders are scheduled to vote separately on the deal on April 8. (Reporting by Sweta Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Ted Kerr)
French protesters numbering in the hundreds of thousands assembled in cities across the country Thursday demonstrating against proposed labor reforms they say will diminish workers' rights.
The protests come amid a national workers' strike against the proposed policies, which will lengthen the prescribed workweek--48 hours, compared to the current 35--and allow employers to fire and hire employees with greater ease, Al Jazeera reports. The bill, to be discussed by lawmakers next month, comes in response to France's languishing economy, marked by an unemployment rate of 10% and mounting public hostility towards Socialist President Francois Hollande.
"It's shocking that a Socialist government introduced this law," one 23-year-old protester said to the Associated Press.
She was one of nearly 30,000 who gathered in the capital's streets in a demonstration that turned violent. More than 100 people were arrested after protesters lobbed paint bombs at storefronts and detonated smoke canisters as tensions with police flared.
Authorities estimate that 390,000 people participated in Thursday's protests; unions place that figure at upwards of 1 million.
This article is published in partnership with Time.com. The original version can be found here.
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PORT LOUIS (Reuters) - The environment minister of Mauritius was forced to resign on Wednesday due to corruption allegations, saying he was the victim of a conspiracy to bring down the government. Raj Dayal was asked to resign by Prime Minister Anerood Jugnauth after an audio recording, aired on a private radio station, appeared to show him asking for money from a businessman who was seeking to develop a piece of land. "Its a conspiracy against me to destabilise the government. I have decided to step down. The truth will prevail," Dayal told reporters. The prime minister's office said Dayal had been asked to step down while an inquiry is conducted by the Independent Commission Against Corruption. Graft scandals are relatively rare in Mauritius, an Indian Ocean island state some 2,000 km (1,200 miles) off the southeast coast of Africa. (Reporting by Jean Paul Arouff; Editing by Drazen Jorgic and Robin Pomeroy)
By Subrat Patnaik
(Reuters) - McDonald's Corp plans to add more than 1,000 restaurants in China over the next five years, which would make it the company's second-largest market after the United States.
The company said it would open 250 restaurants per year in China, where it currently operates more than 2,200 outlets, as it focuses on high-growth markets to boost sales.
McDonald's said it would add another 250 outlets in Hong Kong and South Korea over the same period and was seeking franchise partners in the all three markets, where it now has more than 2,800 restaurants.
"Asia still offers by far the largest long-term growth opportunity in global foodservice," Euromonitor International analyst Elizabeth Friend told Reuters.
China, Hong Kong and South Korea, along with other high-growth markets such as Russia, accounted for nearly a quarter of McDonald's total sales in 2015.
McDonald's, which converted about 470 company-owned restaurants to franchises last year, plans to franchise 95 percent of its outlets worldwide in the long-term.
More than 80 percent of its 36,000-plus restaurants are currently operated by franchisees.
Oak Brook, Illinois-based McDonald's said it was looking for partners who would "enable localized decisions on growth initiatives" in China, Hong Kong and South Korea.
McDonald's and rival Yum Brands Inc , the owner of KFC and Pizza Hut, have been facing increasing competition from cheaper local rivals, particularly in China, where they are trying to recover from food safety scares.
China, which is home to the third largest number of McDonald's restaurants, is Yum's biggest market.
Sales took a hit after Chinese regulators launched a probe into a local meat supplier in 2014 for allegedly mixing meat beyond its expiration date with fresh meat.
McDonald's will have to focus on winning back public support and tailoring its food to local flavors, while preserving some of its Western appeal, Friend said. "It's a difficult balance."
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A Reuters analysis of same-store sales data suggests McDonald's is recovering faster than Yum in China.
Researchers and consumers said there's no simple answer to explain why one is faring better than the other, but the scandals seem to have stuck to KFC much more than McDonald's in consumers' minds.
McDonald's shares, which have risen about 29 percent in the past year, rose to a record high of $126.94 in morning trading on Thursday.
(Reporting by Subrat Patnaik and Sruthi Ramakrishnan in Bengaluru; Editing by Don Sebastian and Anupama Dwivedi)
By Hani Amara TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Members of Libya's U.N.-backed Presidential Council reached Tripoli by ship on Wednesday, defying attempts to keep them out of the city and prevent them from installing a unity government. Seven members of the Council including Fayez Seraj, its head and the new government's prime minister, arrived from Tunisia at Tripoli's Abusita naval base amid tight security. The situation in Tripoli remains volatile, and hours after their arrival clashes erupted between supporters and opponents of the Council. A key TV channel that backs a separate, self-declared government in Tripoli was taken off air. A self-declared government and armed groups that back it had warned the Council and the unity government not to travel to the capital. Tripoli's airspace was closed for several hours on Sunday and Monday, a move the Council said was designed to prevent it from reaching Libya. Seraj told Reuters that the council members had traveled in a Libyan navy vessel from the Tunisian port of Sfax, a 12-hour journey. "There are challenges ahead of us, including uniting Libyans and healing divisions," he said after arriving. He later made a brief statement saying the government would release a program in the coming days. "We will work for a ceasefire across Libya, for national reconciliation and the return of displaced people, and we will seek to confront Islamic State," he said. The government of national accord (GNA) emerged from a U.N.-mediated deal signed in December aimed at ending the country's political impasse, resolving its armed conflict and tackling a growing threat from Islamic State jihadists. Western powers have recognized it as Libya's sole legitimate government, but it has faced opposition in both eastern and western Libya. Since 2014 Libya has had two competing pairs of parliaments and governments, both backed by loose alliances of armed brigades. The government in Tripoli was brought to power by armed factions that won a battle for control of the capital in 2014. Ahead of its arrival, the Council said it had negotiated a security plan with police and military forces in Tripoli, and with some armed groups. The road outside the naval base was heavily secured with checkpoints and armored vehicles on Wednesday. In the evening, however, there were clashes between the Nawasi brigade, which supports the Council, and armed opponents, said Abdulrahman Taweel, a brigadier general in charge of the Council's security. He said one Nawasi member was killed and three were wounded in the fighting, during which heavy gunfire could be heard close the seafront west of the city center. In a further sign of tension Al Nabaa, an influential Islamist leaning TV channel that backs the self-declared government, was taken off air. Once the channel stopped broadcasting a screen caption could be seen saying: "A number of youths and revolutionaries shut down the channel because it incited killing and sedition in Libya. Anyone who reopens the channel will face prosecution." The Council has called for an immediate transfer of power to the unity government, though both the Tripoli and eastern-based governments oppose this. The unity government's 18 members have so far failed to secure a vote of approval from Libya's eastern, internationally-recognized parliament, as required under the U.N.-mediated deal, and Fathi al-Mrimi, a spokesman for eastern parliament's president, said its arrival was "premature". "They have entered by force under foreign protection, and Libyans won't accept anything imposed on them by force," he told Reuters. U.N. Libya envoy Martin Kobler welcomed the Council's arrival, saying the international community was "ready to provide the required support and assistance", and that all Libyan security actors had a responsibility to ensure its safety. The EU, as well as the French, British and Italian foreign ministers also greeted the move. "We stand ready to respond positively to requests for support and assistance from the GNA to help them restore stability to Libya, rebuild the economy, fight Daesh (IS) and tackle the criminal gangs that threaten the security of Libyans and exploit illegal migrants," said British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond. (Additional reporting by Ayman al-Warfalli and Ahmed Elumami; Writing by Aidan Lewis; Editing by Richard Balmforth and Andrew Hay)
By Lisa Rapaport (Reuters Health) - Women who take hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to ease menopause symptoms such as hot flashes and night sweats may have a lower risk of blood clots if they use estrogens applied vaginally or via skin patches, a Swedish study suggests. Many women have been reluctant to use HRT to ease menopause symptoms since 2002, when the federally funded Womens Health Initiative (WHI) study linked the treatments containing man-made versions of the female hormones estrogen and progesterone to an increased risk of breast cancer, heart attacks and strokes. For the current study, researchers found that overall, estrogen-only therapy carries a lower risk of blood clots than treatment with a combination of estrogen and progestin, the synthetic version of progesterone. But there wasnt a significantly higher clot risk with combination therapy if women got estrogen from patches that deliver medicine through the skin into the bloodstream or from vaginal estrogen creams. This suggests that estrogen pills may be a bigger problem than alternative formulations, said Dr. JoAnn Pinkerton, executive director of the North American Menopause Society and a researcher at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. The risk of having a blood clot may be influenced by the type of estrogen and whether some form of progesterone is added, and if so, what type, Pinkerton, who wasnt involved in the study, said by email. Women go through menopause when they stop menstruating, which typically happens between ages 45 and 55. As the ovaries curb production of estrogen and progesterone in the years leading up to menopause, women can experience symptoms ranging from irregular periods and vaginal dryness to mood swings and insomnia. The Swedish study led by Dr. Annica Bergendal of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm analyzed data on 838 women who developed blood clots from 2003 to 2009 and a control group of 891 similar women who didnt develop clots. Women who took combined estrogen and progestin therapy had nearly triple the clot risk of women who didnt use hormones at all, researchers report in the journal Menopause. When women only used estrogen, their clot risk was 31 percent higher than taking no hormones, though there wasnt any greater risk associated with estrogen delivered vaginally or through the skin. The study is observational, and cant prove vaginal estrogen or skin patches cause fewer blood clots than alternative treatments, the authors note. Researchers also lacked data to verify the exact timing of menopause, which can influence the blood clot risk associated with HRT. Its also possible that these results dont directly contradict the WHI findings because of differences between the women in the U.S. and Swedish studies, said Dr. Michael Thomas, a womens health researcher at the University of Cincinnati Academic Health Center who wasnt involved in the study. Women in the current study were 55 years old on average, while WHI participants were typically around 63. Age differences between the Swedish and U.S. groups might explain differences in the clot risks found, Thomas said by email. Its also possible women in the U.S. study might have been more prone to obesity or other risk factors for clots that set them apart from their Swedish counterparts. SOURCE: http://bit.ly/1SpqaEt Menopause, online March 18, 2016.
A bill being fast-tracked through Finlands parliament could lead to an explosion in fishing, logging, and mining on state-managed waters and lands, which include more than 30,000 square miles of forest.
The legislation is ringing alarm bells beyond Finlands borders because it treads on the land rights of the indigenous Sami people of the European Arctic. The Finnish government manages about 90 percent of the countrys northern boreal forest, which is part of the territory the indigenous Sami people have inhabited for thousands of years.
Finlands forests are also important habitat for migratory birds and other wildlife, as well as a vast carbon storehouse crucial to blunting the worst impacts of climate change.
Sami food security and cultural survival are threatened by the proposed law, said Tiina Sanila-Aikio, president of Finlands Sami Parliament, because traditional hunting, fishing, gathering, and reindeer herding all depend on keeping broad swaths of the old-growth boreal forest intact.
Forestry is one, tourism is the second one, miningall would increase under the act, said Sanila-Aikio. These things would affect reindeer herding to the point that its not economically possible, wiping out a crucial cultural touchstone and source of food and income.
It would be a very big loss to our people, because it maintains so much of the indigenous culture, she said.
RELATED: Fatal Thaw: The Sami Fight to Preserve an Ancient Culture as the Arctic Warms
The Finnish Sami Parliament and all 56 indigenous reindeer herding cooperatives in Finland have come out against the legislation.
The Saami Council, a nongovernmental organization that represents Sami across Scandinavia, termed the bill an unprecedented land grab [that] threatens the last old-growth forests of Finnish Lapland and the Sami home area.
The center-right coalition government of Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipila, which supports the bill, is aware of Sami concerns but has not acted on them, Sanila-Aikio said.
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The national government is pushing, very aggressively, legislation that will take away the both land base and the capacity of the Sami, the checks and balances of indigenous culture, said Finnish geographer Tero Mustonen.
Mustonen is the founder of an indigenous land rights group, Snowchange Cooperative, which has advised some Sami on the restoration of fisheries and other natural resources in their traditional territory, as well as adaptation to climate change.
We are witnessing a handful of politicians pushing through legislation that will significantly weaken the Sami communities, he added. Thats something you are not supposed to be able to do in Europe.
Finland is the most heavily forested country in the European Union, with more than 75 percent of its 131,000 square miles covered in woodlands. Metsahallitus, Finlands national forest and parks agency, manages about a third of the forestland and about 5.4 million acres of inland waters.
These forests and waters are attractive targets for a country still digging out of the 2008 global financial crisis. Finlands 2015 GDP of $231 billion was 7 percent lower than in 2007, while the unemployment rate is currently around 9.5 percent, according to the BBC, compared with 6.2 percent at the start of 2008.
Forces ranging from the offshoring of forestry jobs to the collapse of the countrys high-tech sectorthe Finnish mobile phone firm Nokia saw its stock price plunge from almost $40 a share in late 2007 to under $2 in mid-2012; it has since hovered between $5 and $8 a sharehave led pundits to wonder out loud whether Finland could become the Eurozones next Greece.
Sipila won office last year on promises to bring a free marketoriented approach to reviving the Finnish economy, according to Bloomberg News, including wage cuts and fewer national holidays. He sees Finlands forests as part of a nascent bio-economy, Bloomberg reported in April, and aims for the forest-product sector, such as pulp and paper mills, to generate 100,000 jobs by 2025.
The current forest management bill would help accomplish this by shifting some of Metsahallitus forest and water management activities into a joint stock company, according to Risto Sulkava, the president of the board of the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation.
The move would mean part of the information will not be available because it is considered [a] trade secret, beyond the reach of federal transparency and public participation laws, Sulkava said in e-mail.
It would prioritize activities like lakebed gravel mining, logging, and tourist fishing over conservation-oriented nature areas, according to Sulkava. We have more than 2,000 endangered species; many of then live in these areas, he added. More euros out of the nature areas means more endangered species.
Other projects the law would faciliate include a long-sought rail connection from southern Finland to the Norwegian port city of Kirkenes, on the Barents Sea, which would link the country to growing shipping traffic across the increasingly ice-free Arctic Ocean.
It is imperative, in this period of rapid climate change in the Arctic, that these northern ecosystems are preserved intact, said Jesus Garzon, a prominent Spanish conservationist, in an open letter to the prime minister on Tuesday.
Since 1992, Garzon has led an effort to restore traditional seasonal migrations of sheep and cattle to Spains herders, a practice called transhumance that is aligned with traditional Sami reindeer herding.
The new Forestry Act needs to include clauses that provide a protective zone and mechanisms to ensure that does not undermine the opportunities to practice and foster Sami culture, Garzon said.
He also noted that Finlands old-growth boreal forests are the warm-weather habitat of many hundreds of thousands of cranes, geese, lapwings, and millions of other small birds from Finland [that winter] in Spain from October to March.
The boreal forest, which stretches around the northern part of the Northern Hemisphere, is the largest land-based ecosystem in the world, and accounts for about a third of all forests.
Logging and other development of boreal forests diminishes their capacity to store carbon and nurture biodiversity, said forest ecologist Brian Milakovsky, a consultant for the World Wildlife Fund.
Even selective logging cant ever completely emulate natural ecosystems. We need portions of the landscape that are subjected to natural disturbance regimes, without our meddling, Milakovsky said. Finland's forest ecosystems are already grappling with the aftereffects of intensive logging, he added. The Finns have a pretty significant list of species that are pretty threatened, because they are associated with forests with an old structure, including dead trees.
Logging might not turn the forest into a source of carbon, but a lot of the science shows youre better off leaving the old-growth forest alone if you want it to maximize carbon storage, he added. While managed forest, even a boreal forest, is not by any means an ecological wasteland, we cant ever really regenerate the functions and values of intact forests.
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Original article from TakePart
By Sebastien Malo NEW YORK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - The deaths of two migrants while in detention in Canada prompted calls on Thursday for policing of border authorities in the nation that has opened its doors to thousands of Syrian refugees. The back-to-back deaths of the two men highlight the need for a supervisory body to oversee the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), several human rights groups said. Chilean Francisco Astorga, 39, and Melkioro Gahungu, 64, of Burundi, were found dead less than a week apart while in the custody of Canadian immigration authorities in early March, according to several news reports. CBSA has confirmed the deaths of two detainees but not their names. The deaths followed reports of a 16-year-old Syrian asylum seeker held in solitary confinement for three weeks. Together, the incidents reignite "longstanding concerns about the lack of independent oversight for CBSA," Loly Rico, president of the Montreal-based Canadian Council for Refugees, told the media during a telephone news conference. "It is beyond unconscionable now that there continues to be no independent oversight of Canada's immigration detention facilities," said Alex Neve, secretary general of Amnesty International Canada, during the same call. "The growing number of deaths in Canadian immigration custody makes it clear that there is a terrible human cost," he said. Fourteen people have died in immigration detention in Canada since 2000, according to the End Immigration Detention Network, an advocacy group. Contacted for reaction, a CBSA spokeswoman did not provide any comment. A CBSA spokesman told the Thomson Reuters Foundation it cannot release the names of detainees who died in custody under the nation's privacy act and other laws. CBSA can arrest and detain foreign nationals without warrants if it deems they pose a threat to public safety, are a flight risk or if their identity cannot be proven, according to its website. Canada has garnered international attention for the decision under its new Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to accept more than 25,000 Syrian refugees fleeing their war-torn homeland. Last year, more than 4,000 migrants were detained by Canada's immigration services, according to government data compiled by the Canadian Council for Refugees. The number only tallies people who have been released after a legal review and not those released without such a review or those still in detention, the council said. Of all immigrant detainees in Canada, nearly a third in 2013 were held in facilities intended for criminals, a study by the University of Toronto estimated. The human rights advocates said a CBSA oversight mechanism should be independent from political interference, external to the agency and equipped with adequate legal power. CBSA is the only major law enforcement agency in Canada without any independent accountability mechanism, they said. Earlier in March, Canadian Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale's office was reported as saying the government was looking into an "appropriate review mechanism" for the agency. (Reporting by Sebastien Malo, Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org)
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A military judge absolved six of seven soldiers implicated in the killing of 22 gang members in a shootout about two years ago, according to court records released on Wednesday. The gang members were allegedly killed following a confrontation with the army in June of 2014 in Tlatlaya, on the southern fringes of the central State of Mexico. The military court acquitted the troops in October because they showed they were responding to an attack, according to the court documents, released by the human rights group Centro Prodh. The seventh soldier was convicted of disobedience and has already served a year in military prison. Three of the soldiers still remain behind bars pending a civil homicide case against them. The Inter-American Commission for Human Rights has also called on Mexico to investigate supposed extrajudicial killings, citing a separate shootout last May which killed 42 suspected gang members and one federal police officer. (Reporting by Lizbeth Diaz, writing by Anna Yukhananov; Editing by Bernard Orr)
By Letitia Stein (Reuters) - A Mississippi measure that would allow people with religious objections to deny wedding services to same-sex couples and provide wide protections for actions decried as discriminatory by gay rights advocates passed the state legislature on Friday. Opponents plan a last-ditch attempt to stop the legislation on Monday before it heads to Mississippi Republican Governor Phil Bryant, whose spokesman said he would decide whether to sign or veto it after a thorough review. Bryant previously said he did not consider the bill discriminatory, according to WLOX television in Mississippi. The fight comes after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year legalizing same-sex marriage. In a wave of state-level legislation, social conservatives have pushed measures seen as harmful to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender men and women. A new law barring transgender people in North Carolina from choosing bathrooms consistent with their gender identity has drawn wide protest, while the governors of Georgia and Virginia vetoed similar "religious liberty" bills this week. Representative Andy Gipson, a Republican sponsor of the Mississippi measure, urged his colleagues on Friday not to be intimidated by national media criticism. He highlighted a poll that showed wide support for the measure in the state. "It's time that we stand up and do the work of the people and protect the freedoms that they enjoy," he said. The bill includes provisions that go beyond same-sex marriages, according to the Human Rights Campaign, a national gay rights advocacy group that has labeled the act appalling. "We urge Governor Bryant to do the right thing - reject discrimination, and veto this harmful measure when it reaches his desk," said HRC President Chad Griffin earlier this week. The legislation would allow employers to cite religious conviction in determining workplace policies on dress code, grooming and bathroom and locker access. Foster parents would be protected in placing lesbian, gay or transgender children into controversial programs seeking to change their sexual orientation, said Ben Needham, director of HRC's "Project One America" to expand lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights in the U.S. South. He said the legislation could also permit discrimination against single mothers, for example, by religious-affiliated organizations such as homeless shelters and food pantries. Additionally, state court clerks could seek to be recused from providing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Some of Mississippi's large employers, such as Nissan North America and MGM Resorts International, have spoken out against legislation that would discriminate. (Reporting by Letitia Stein in Tampa, Fla.; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Matthew Lewis)
By Sue Britt
ST. LOUIS (Reuters) - Missouri will appeal a court ruling striking down parts of a law passed last year that limits revenue cities can raise from traffic tickets after public outcry over the effect of fines on minorities, the state's attorney general said on Tuesday.
The law, Senate Bill 5, limits the amount of revenue collected from traffic fines by St. Louis County municipalities to 12.5 percent of their annual operating revenue, while setting a 20 percent cap for the rest of the state.
The Cole County Circuit Court rejected on Monday parts of the statute having to do with St. Louis County, saying they constitute a special law in violation of the Missouri Constitution. The 20 percent provision remains in effect.
The law was put in place in the wake of unrest in the city of Ferguson after the August 2014 shooting death of unarmed black teen Michael Brown by a white police officer.
Budgets in Ferguson, a majority black city, and in other towns in Missouri, have relied heavily on traffic fines collected from residents.
"A municipality should not depend upon prosecuting its citizens in order to fund the cornerstone functions of government," Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster said in a statement.
The ruling will be appealed directly to the Missouri Supreme Court, according to Nanci Gonder, Koster's spokeswoman.
State Senator Eric Schmitt, the Republican sponsor of the bill, said in a telephone interview that the measure had attracted bipartisan support and defended the different treatment for cities in St. Louis County and elsewhere in the state.
"The reasoning for singling out St. Louis County for a lower percentage in the law was because there was a higher concentration of abuse in 14 cities in St. Louis County," Schmitt said. "There was a different level of abuse."
Patrick Green, the mayor of Normandy, one of the dozen St. Louis County municipalities that sued over the law, said the law usurped a local response to the issue.
"There was a mad rush that was careless in its approach," Green said.
(Reporting by Sue Britt; Editing by Karen Pierog and Fiona Ortiz)
PC and smartphone users tend to have a love-hate relationship with wireless networks. Its great to have Wi-Fi Internet at home, at the office, and in public places, but you still have to deal with passwords and spotty coverage. One of these headaches may soon be a thing of the past, however: The brains at MIT have now figured out how to remove password requirements from a Wi-Fi network without compromising its security.
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Researchers from the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory found a way to track and verify the identities of Wi-Fi users so they won't need to use passwords to log into networks. Essentially, the technology would assign them a certain location within a given perimeter that would act as a password for that Wi-Fi network. As long as the system determines that youre stationary within that perimeter, and, therefore, allowed to hop onto that Internet access point, you can connect to Wi-Fi without hassles.
According to the research, the Chronos system is so smart that it can tell the difference between patrons of a coffee shop and people walking outside. The router would only let those people inside the shop access the network.
Chronos counts the time it takes for data to reach the access point from the user and uses many Wi-Fi bands for measurements. Upon determining the location of the user, the router then decides whether Internet access should be granted or not.
Researchers say this technology is 20 times more accurate than existing techniques. At home, Chronos was able to identify the location of a user 94% of the time. In a coffee shop, the system could tell apart customers from users outside the store 97% of the time. In addition to securing Wi-Fi hotspots, Chronos could be used for other purposes, such as keeping drones at a certain distance from humans.
The only drawback of this particular solution is that it needs to access the location of the user at all times, making it a potential privacy annoyance.
Story continues
A demo showing Chronos follows below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJx7ewEyuzo
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This article was originally published on BGR.com
By Rupam Jain NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Saudi Arabia on Sunday is part of a diplomatic effort to put pressure on arch rival Pakistan by forging ties with some of Islamabad's closest allies, Indian ruling party and government officials said. Modi is expected to sign trade agreements, including contracts to secure investment for infrastructure projects, and offer security and military cooperation, such as training and joint exercises, the officials said. The Indian premier's visit is just over seven months after he travelled to another Pakistan ally, the United Arab Emirates, and signed a security cooperation agreement that includes regular meetings between top security advisers. "It's simple. We have to do everything to deal with Pakistan - use economics, strategy and emotional ties to win the hearts of Islamabad's friends," said Ram Madhav, national general secretary of Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan have fought three wars since independence in 1947, two of them over Kashmir. New Delhi has long accused Islamabad of sponsoring a separatist movement and militancy in the Himalayan region. Pakistan denies the charge and accuses India of occupying Kashmir and fomenting trouble in its restive provinces, like Baluchistan. New Delhi has been frustrated that often its ties with countries have been coloured by concerns about its relationship with Pakistan. One foreign ministry official said the Saudis tended to bring up Pakistan during discussions with India. Government officials described Modis diplomatic push as an effort to "de-hyphenate" India from Pakistan, especially as New Delhi tries to play a bigger geopolitical role in Asia to counter China's influence. Stronger relationships with Pakistans allies can help India get a more sympathetic hearing on global and regional forums and put pressure on Islamabad to rein in militants. On Thursday, Saudi Arabia and the United States imposed joint sanctions targeting the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba militant group blamed for the 2008 attacks in Mumbai. In Washington on Friday, where Modi was attending a summit on nuclear security, Indian government spokesman Vikas Swarup welcomed the move. "Countries working against terror entities - particularly entities that have targeted India repeatedly - is I think a welcome development," he told reporters. RIGHT TIMING Until now, Indias relationship with Saudi Arabia has been driven primarily by trade and the Indian diaspora in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia is India's top energy supplier and home to more than 3.5 million Indian expatriates. Over the past few years, there has been some cooperation on security between the two countries, with Riyadh deporting four most wanted fugitives to India. Modi will look to broaden those ties, with one foreign ministry official saying healthcare, education, religious tourism and labour reforms would also be key talking points. Still, there are limits to what New Delhi can hope to achieve. The relationship between Pakistan and the Saudis goes back decades, based in their shared Sunni Muslim heritage. Saudi Arabia has long been a source of financial aid for Islamabad. In 2014, the Saudis gave Pakistan $1.5 billion as a "gift" to shore up its foreign reserves. Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif spent time in political exile in Saudi Arabia in the 2000s, after he was ousted in a military coup. But Indian officials said the timing was right for Modis visit, as relations between Riyadh and Islamabad enter a rough patch. Pakistan declined to provide ships, aircraft and troops to the Saudi-led fight to halt Iranian-allied Houthi rebels in Yemen last year. It has also sought to avoid taking sides in the escalating dispute between Saudi Arabia and Iran. "Pakistan knows that relations with Saudi have come to a low. That doesn't mean that India can fill that gap," said Zahid Hussain, a former newspaper editor in Pakistan. "But certainly this is part of Modi's diplomatic offensive in the region." (Additional reporting by Doug Busvine in NEW DELHI, Asad Hashim and Mehreen Zahra-Malik in ISLAMABAD and David Brunnstrom in WASHINGTON; Editing by Nick Macfie and Grant McCool)
By Rupam Jain NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Saudi Arabia on Sunday is part of a diplomatic effort to put pressure on arch rival Pakistan by forging ties with some of Islamabad's closest allies, Indian ruling party and government officials said. Modi is expected to sign trade agreements, including contracts to secure investment for infrastructure projects, and offer security and military cooperation, such as training and joint exercises, the officials said. The Indian premier's visit is just over seven months after he traveled to another Pakistan ally, the United Arab Emirates, and signed a security cooperation agreement that includes regular meetings between top security advisers. "It's simple. We have to do everything to deal with Pakistan - use economics, strategy and emotional ties to win the hearts of Islamabad's friends," said Ram Madhav, national general secretary of Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan have fought three wars since independence in 1947, two of them over Kashmir. New Delhi has long accused Islamabad of sponsoring a separatist movement and militancy in the Himalayan region. Pakistan denies the charge and accuses India of occupying Kashmir and fomenting trouble in its restive provinces, like Baluchistan. New Delhi has been frustrated that often its ties with countries have been colored by concerns about its relationship with Pakistan. One foreign ministry official said the Saudis tended to bring up Pakistan during discussions with India. Government officials described Modis diplomatic push as an effort to "de-hyphenate" India from Pakistan, especially as New Delhi tries to play a bigger geopolitical role in Asia to counter China's influence. Stronger relationships with Pakistans allies can help India get a more sympathetic hearing on global and regional forums and put pressure on Islamabad to rein in militants. On Thursday, Saudi Arabia and the United States imposed joint sanctions targeting the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba militant group blamed for the 2008 attacks in Mumbai. In Washington on Friday, where Modi was attending a summit on nuclear security, Indian government spokesman Vikas Swarup welcomed the move. "Countries working against terror entities - particularly entities that have targeted India repeatedly - is I think a welcome development," he told reporters. RIGHT TIMING Until now, Indias relationship with Saudi Arabia has been driven primarily by trade and the Indian diaspora in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia is India's top energy supplier and home to more than 3.5 million Indian expatriates. Over the past few years, there has been some cooperation on security between the two countries, with Riyadh deporting four most wanted fugitives to India. Modi will look to broaden those ties, with one foreign ministry official saying healthcare, education, religious tourism and labor reforms would also be key talking points. Still, there are limits to what New Delhi can hope to achieve. The relationship between Pakistan and the Saudis goes back decades, based in their shared Sunni Muslim heritage. Saudi Arabia has long been a source of financial aid for Islamabad. In 2014, the Saudis gave Pakistan $1.5 billion as a "gift" to shore up its foreign reserves. Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif spent time in political exile in Saudi Arabia in the 2000s, after he was ousted in a military coup. But Indian officials said the timing was right for Modis visit, as relations between Riyadh and Islamabad enter a rough patch. Pakistan declined to provide ships, aircraft and troops to the Saudi-led fight to halt Iranian-allied Houthi rebels in Yemen last year. It has also sought to avoid taking sides in the escalating dispute between Saudi Arabia and Iran. "Pakistan knows that relations with Saudi have come to a low. That doesn't mean that India can fill that gap," said Zahid Hussain, a former newspaper editor in Pakistan. "But certainly this is part of Modi's diplomatic offensive in the region." (Additional reporting by Doug Busvine in NEW DELHI, Asad Hashim and Mehreen Zahra-Malik in ISLAMABAD and David Brunnstrom in WASHINGTON; Editing by Nick Macfie and Grant McCool)
CHISINAU (Reuters) - Moldova will hold a presidential election on Oct. 30, its parliament announced on Friday, the first time a new head of state will appointed by public vote since 2001. Earlier in March a court ruled in favor of having direct national elections to choose a president rather than a vote in parliament -- a concession to protesters who have been demonstrating for months against the political elite. The four-year term of the current president, Nicolae Timofti, expired in March, but he will continue to carry out his duties until his successor is sworn in. (Reporting by Alexander Tanas; Writing by Alessandra Prentice; editing by John Stonestreet)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Dozens of world leaders at a nuclear summit hosted by U.S. President Barack Obama reaffirmed their commitment to fight proliferation of nuclear weapons and materials, a communique issued Friday by the leaders said. More needs to be done to prevent non-state actors from obtaining nuclear and other radioactive materials, the communique said. "The threat of nuclear and radiological terrorism remains one of the greatest challenges to international security, and the threat is constantly evolving," it said. The summit occurred amid fears that Islamic State militants are trying to gather nuclear materials to create a dirty bomb. (Reporting by Jeff Mason and Timothy Gardner; Editing by James Dalgleish)
By Rina Chandran MUMBAI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - The number of women being trafficked from Bangladesh into Mumbai brothels is rising as part of greater migration from India's eastern neighbor, and police and social groups need to do more to rescue and repatriate them, a charity said on Thursday. The number of Bengali-speaking commercial sex workers in the city's main red-light district of Kamathipura is at a record high, according to data compiled by Prerana, a non-profit focused on trafficking and sex workers. The total includes some women from India's eastern state of West Bengal. "The increased numbers dovetail with increased migration from Bangladesh, and migrants are particularly vulnerable to traffickers," said Priti Patkar, co-founder of Prerana. "They're so desperate, they are easily lured by the promise of a job or a better life," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Of the 213 children of sex workers enrolled at Prerana's night care center in Kamathipura from 2010-15, 128 had a Bengali-speaking mother, the data showed. Similar increases have been seen in other parts of the city, Patkar said. There were about a dozen each from the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. There are more than 3 million people of Bangladeshi origin in India, according to official data. Hundreds arrive undocumented every day, often crossing the 4,000 km (2,500 mile)border with a trafficker or "agent" who preys on poor, rural communities with promises of good jobs and a better life. Rising migration within Asia is putting growing numbers of migrants at risk of being trafficked and abused by human smuggling networks, the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said in a report last year on the criminal trade, which is worth $2 billion a year in Asia. South Asia is the fastest-growing region for human trafficking in the world, and the second-largest after Southeast Asia, according to the UNODC. More than 150,000 people are known to be trafficked within South Asia every year, but the trade is underground and the real number is likely to be much higher. The numbers are expected to rise as migration within Asia grows. Trafficked Bangladeshi women in Mumbai are often too afraid and ignorant of their rights to seek help, Patkar said. They are also reluctant to bring charges against their traffickers after being rescued from the brothels. India signed an agreement with Bangladesh last year to strengthen cooperation and information sharing and ensure speedier investigations and prosecutions of traffickers. The agreement has made it easier to rescue and repatriate victims of trafficking, some of whom were previously treated as illegal immigrants. "Now, there is a clear process: we take their deposition, then hand them over to an NGO there, which takes responsibility for their rehabilitation," a Mumbai police spokesman said. "This is a better outcome for the women." This week, for the first time, a Bangladeshi trafficker was convicted on the strength of the victim's testimony given over a video link from Dhaka, where she had been repatriated after her rescue from a brothel in Mumbai. Activists and lawyers say such depositions could help curb trafficking. (Reporting by Rina Chandran, editing by Tim Pearce. 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 news.trust.org to see more stories.)
RABAT (Reuters) - Morocco has asked the United Nations to remove 84 staff members in the coming days from its Western Sahara mission after U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon made what it called unacceptable remarks about the territory in a visit to North Africa, a Moroccan official source said on Thursday. The source said the military and peacekeeping part of the mission would not be affected. A visit by Ban to Morocco is not on the agenda, the source said. Ban said he wanted Morocco and the Polisario Front, which waged a guerrilla war over the Western Sahara after Morocco took control over most of the region in 1975, to restart negotiations. A ceasefire ended fighting in 1991, but the two sides have been unable to reach an agreement since then. (Reporting by Aziz El Yaakoubi; writing by Patrick Markey; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
By Aziz El Yaakoubi RABAT (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 organise 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 recognised by some countries, mainly from the African Union, but no Western powers recognise 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. Polisario wants to hold the vote promised in the ceasefire deal on the region's fate, while Morocco says it will not offer more than autonomy for the region, rich in phosphates and possibly offshore oil and gas. (Editing by Hugh Lawson)
The Ukrainian oil and gas sector requires significant changes, the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine (the Chamber) has said in a press release.
The Chamber identified three main categories of issues which, if resolved effectively, would transform the situation in the oil and gas sector and lead to Ukraine being recognized as an attractive place for doing oil and gas business. In particular, international business community believes that further improvement of legislation on taxation of hydrocarbons production; conducting the regulatory reform and practical implementation of the Law "On Natural Gas Market."
"It is important to resolve these three issues simultaneously because they are interrelated. The practical implementation of the Law On Natural Gas Market will lead to a transparent gas market and attract investments. However, without further improvement of legislation on taxation of hydrocarbons production, even if the Law "On Natural Gas Market" implemented and regulatory reform conducted, an attractive investment environment wont be created," - commented Andy Hunder, President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine.
"White Paper on Reforms in Oil & Gas Sector" (more detailed information: http://old.chamber.ua/2016/Weekly/docs/Policy/Gas_Oil_WhitePaper_UKR.pdf) is an exclusive publication of the Chamber. The main goal of this publication is to communicate the position and vision of independent private companies, Members of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine, for oil and gas sector reform as well as priorities for 2016 to government authorities and experts.
RABAT (Reuters) - Morocco's decision to reduce United Nations staff at the Western Sahara mission is sovereign and irreversible, but the government is committed to military cooperation with the U.N. to guarantee the ceasefire there, the foreign minister said on Thursday. Morocco this month asked the U.N. to pull out more than 80 staffers and close a military liaison office after criticizing U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon for using the word "occupation" to describe Morocco's annexation of the disputed territory. "Our decision is sovereign and irreversible," Foreign Minister Salaheddine Mezouar told reporters in Rabat. He said military contacts with the U.N. mission, known as MINURSO, had not been disrupted and Morocco was committed to cooperation to ensure the continuity of the ceasefire. Morocco took over most of the territory in 1975 from colonial Spain. That started a guerrilla war with the Sahrawi people's Polisario Front who say the desert territory on Africa's northwest belongs to them. The U.N. brokered a ceasefire in 1991 and sent in its MINURSO mission, which consists of military and civilian staff, to monitor the ceasefire and organize a referendum over the region's future. But deadlock has delayed the vote for years. Mezouar said Morocco was ready for serious talks that would not ignore the reasons for the current situation. Polisario representatives say Morocco is putting a ceasefire at risk by expelling U.N. staffers and trying to scuttle the referendum, including on the question of independence. Morocco has offered an autonomy plan as the only way forward. (Reporting by Aziz El Yaakoubi; Writing by Patrick Markey; Editing by Ruth Pitchford and Mark Potter)
By Lisa Rapaport (Reuters Health) - Pregnant women now have another reason to quit smoking a new analysis links it to differences in their babies DNA that mirror alterations in adult smokers and suggest how smoking might contribute to certain birth defects. Researchers analyzed data on mothers and their newborn children to see how smoking influences DNA methylation, a chemical code along the DNA strand that controls some DNA mechanics and when genes get activated. Whether certain points along the DNA molecule are methylated or not can determine everything from eye color to a person's predisposition to certain diseases. When women smoked daily during pregnancy, researchers identified 6,073 places where their babies DNA was methylated differently from the DNA of nonsmokers infants. Many of the differences were found on or near a collection of genes related to lung and nervous system development, smoking-related cancers and birth defects such as cleft lip and palate. We already knew that smoking during pregnancy, or after the child is born, is to be avoided at all costs, said senior study author Dr. Stephanie London, deputy chief of the epidemiology branch at the National Institute of Environmental and Health Sciences in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. This study provides more evidence signals you can see at birth that are similar to signals you can see in adult smokers, London added by email. Researchers pooled results from 6,685 mothers and their newborns from studies performed around the world. Most of the women said they didnt smoke, but about 13 percent of the women were daily smokers and another 25 percent admitted to occasional smoking during pregnancy. To analyze methylation patterns in newborns DNA, researchers collected samples mainly from blood in the umbilical cord after delivery. In addition to documenting differences between the infants of nonsmokers and regular smokers, the researchers looked at a smaller group of older children and found that at least some of the smoking-related methylation differences in the children of mothers who were smokers during pregnancy persisted. While the study doesnt prove how maternal smoking may influence child development or disease, the findings suggest that DNA methylation differences might be involved in the appearance of certain birth defects or medical problems in babies born to mothers who smoke, the authors conclude in The American Journal of Human Genetics. Its possible that smoking during pregnancy might hijack systems in babies that determine how DNA is deployed and alter programs in the cells in a way that impacts future health, said Andrea Baccarelli, an environmental epigenetics researcher at Harvard University in Boston, who wasnt involved in the study. Its also possible that programs in the cells might change to adapt in response to smoking to cope with its adverse effects, Baccarelli added by email. I have likened this to a musical score, where the DNA is the score itself, Baccarelli said. You can imagine how the performers, in advance of the premier, might add marks to the score. They dont modify the score, but they modify the way the score is executed. Even if the reasons for these cellular changes arent certain, the message for patients is clear, said Paul Fowler, a director of the Institute of Medical Sciences at the University of Aberdeen in the U.K. Everybody should know by now that smoking while pregnant is bad for the baby, Fowler, who wasnt involved in the study, added by email. What this new study does is so strongly reinforce that message that there can be long-term consequences for their babies after birth. Women who dont quit before conception still have a chance to improve their babys health, noted Dr. Amanda Drake, a cardiovascular and pediatric health researcher at the University of Edinburgh and the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in the U.K. Sustained smoking leads to more effects, Drake, who wasnt involved in the study, said by email. Even if women do not stop smoking before conception, stopping smoking during pregnancy is still better than continuing throughout. SOURCE: http://bit.ly/1p2sByx The American Journal of Human Genetics, online March 31, 2016.
Vienna (AFP) - There were small signs that her son was changing: He prayed more and swapped jeans for traditional long tunics.
"But I wasn't worried. Not for one second did Syria enter my mind," Fatima Ezzarhouni told AFP.
And yet that's where the young man was headed in June 2013 when he left his home in the Belgian city of Antwerp, a day after his 18th birthday, to join militants.
Almost three years on, Ezzarhouni gets the occasional phone call from her son confirming he's still alive, but never revealing his exact location.
"I have this feeling that I will never see him again," said the 44-year-old, fending off tears.
"But at least now I know I'm not alone anymore."
Ezzarhouni is one of the newest members of a global project that fights jihadism not with soldiers, but mums.
The so-called Mother Schools teach Muslim women how to spot early signs of radicalisation in children or develop coping mechanisms if the intervention comes too late.
After completing the 10-module course, the graduates then go on to train other women.
- Race against recruiters -
The Vienna-based Women Without Borders (WWB) organisation created the initiative in close cooperation with anti-terrorism experts of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), also headquartered in the Austrian capital.
Though independent, the WWB receives funding from various Austrian ministries, the European Union and the US State Department.
"Women are so well placed to work in the security arena because this is a mission about safeguarding their families," WWB founder Edit Schlaffer told AFP.
"They are in direct competition with recruiters, those toxic influences from mosques who step in when children reach adolescence and tell them: 'You're wonderful, glory is waiting for you, join us in building the caliphate.'"
Although there are other female-run programmes targeting radicalisation in various countries, the WWB project is the only truly global one.
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The first school opened in 2012 in Tajikistan -- an Islamist breeding ground next to Afghanistan -- before branches were rolled out in other nations plagued by violence, such as Pakistan and Nigeria.
In February, WWB organised its first training session for the new initiative in Indonesia, home to the world's largest Muslim population.
Although most practise a moderate form of faith in this southeast Asian country, the Islamic State (IS) has provided a potent rallying cry for radicals. Hundreds are thought to have joined the militant group in Syria and Iraq.
"We heard from other mothers whose children were recruited by extremists. We could see what their strategies are, which is very relevant," Mother School participant Khotimun Susanti told AFP in Jakarta.
"Indonesian women are not used to speaking out... so we learnt that we need to develop this culture of openness."
Schlaffer stressed that a key part of the programme focused on current affairs.
"I've met mothers in Indonesia who thought their sons had gone off to work as foreign labourers in Syria. They had no clue where Syria was. When I told them it was a war zone, they broke down," she said.
- 'Mothers of courage' -
The project is now also taking root in Europe where terrorists have been spreading fear with a string of attacks, the latest hitting Brussels on March 22.
While schools in Austria and Belgium are already up and running, new ones will open in Britain and Sweden later this year.
Ezzarhouni said she first heard about the initiative from another Belgian mother, Saliha Ben Ali, whose 19-year-old son Sabri died in Syria three years ago.
"Sabri's radicalisation was very fast, it happened in three months and we didn't see the signs," said Ben Ali, a social worker from the city of Vilvoorde, near Brussels.
"Four days after he had left, he sent his first message: 'Please mum, don't be angry. I came here to help Syrian people because nobody helps them.'"
Both Ezzarhouni and Ben Ali recently attended a Mother Schools workshop in Vienna, which united Muslim women from around the globe to share their experiences and receive training on engaging their communities back home.
Participants included the first 15 graduates from Austria's own Mother School.
The women all belonged to the country's 30,000-strong Chechen community, which has lost dozens of young people to IS.
"It's not a secret that our community has been hit hard by the radicalisation of youth," said Maynat Kubanova, a Chechen journalist and trainer at the Austrian school.
"Parents brought their children from Chechnya to Austria to save them from war. Now they lose them to a foreign conflict. The shock sits deep. But that doesn't mean that we are without power and just have to wait for recruiters to snatch our children away."
This determination to fight what Kubanova called "an invisible enemy" was palpable among those taking part in the workshop.
At the end of the three-day gathering in Vienna, many swapped contact details and hugged each other to say goodbye.
"These women have given me hope," said Ezzarhouni.
"There are many people who see us as mothers of terrorists. But we are mothers of courage."
Myanmar military MPs on Friday said a plan to bolster Aung San Suu Kyi's power with a special advisory role was unconstitutional, as the new civilian government tussled with the army just days after taking office.
The Southeast Asian nation was dominated by the military for more than half a century until Wednesday when Suu Kyi and her pro-democracy party took power.
The Nobel laureate, whose party secured a landslide election win in November, has vowed to rule the country despite a constitutional block on her becoming president.
In a surprise early act of parliamentary business by the new government, Suu Kyi's party proposed a bill to grant her a special "state counsellor" position.
If passed it would give the 70-year-old a steering role over parliament, buttressed by the four ministerial posts she already holds in the new cabinet.
But in a sign of early turbulence between her party and the still hugely influential army, military MPs challenged the move in an upper house debate Friday that saw the bill pass its first legislative hurdle.
Colonel Myint Swe raised fears the plan would place the "president and the advisor at the same level".
"This is in opposition to the constitution. So I would like to suggest the bill be amended according to the constitution," he told lawmakers.
Another army lawmaker, Colonel Hla Win Aung, also decried the naming of Suu Kyi in the bill and warned it could "destroy" the balance of power between government branches.
The army is reserved a quarter of all parliamentary seats by a junta-era charter.
The bill passed the upper house vote but still needs approval from the lower house and combined parliament, which are similarly dominated by Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD).
NLD MP Zaw Min, chairman of the upper house bill committee, dismissed concerns that the proposal was unconstitutional, saying that judgement lies with the newly formed Constitutional Tribunal.
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"It is too early to say that the bill is in opposition to the constitution," he said, without elaborating on whether it would be referred to the tribunal.
- Hurdles ahead -
Suu Kyi is the figurehead of a near 30-year struggle to end military domination that saw her locked under house arrest for years.
She is barred from the presidency by a clause in the junta-drafted charter disqualifying those with foreign close relatives. Her two sons are British, as was her late husband.
The veteran campaigner has pledged to rule through her longtime friend Htin Kyaw, who was sworn in as president Wednesday.
She is also taking on a huge workload in his cabinet, running the foreign affairs, education, energy and president's office ministries.
The new bill does not spell out specific powers for the proposed position, but it would enable Suu Kyi to maintain sway over the legislature she had to step down from to become a minister.
It also gives her a budget and authority to conduct any meetings deemed necessary.
Dozens of NLD supporters celebrated the historic week at a street fair in downtown Yangon Friday, where they served up traditional foods and sang as loudspeakers played old campaign songs.
"This is just a welcoming party to our president elected from the people. Now Myanmar has the chance to have a brighter future through the guidance of Mother Suu," said Myo Lwin Htay, who helped organise the event through a local NLD office.
The novice government faces a tough road ahead as it strives to tackle mammoth challenges in a nation scarred by decades of repressive and economically destructive army rule.
Analysts say it will need support from the military that retains huge political influence, including control of three key ministries.
Russia and Ukraine plan to reconsider the parameters of an agreement on supplies of uranium raw materials from Ukraine to Russia after 2017, the commercial director for the International Uranium Enrichment Center (IUEC) in Irkutsk Region, Gleb Yefremov told Interfax.
He said that both the volume of shipments and price might be revised due to the changing market situation. "First of all, our agreement has a price formula that cites certain market quotes. The situation was different in 2012. The market situation has changed radically since the signing of the agreement," Yefremov said.
In order to start negotiations on shipments after 2017, the countries must complete the extension of the basic 10-year agreement on the creation of the IUEC, which expires in 2017, he said. The agreement with Ukraine signed in 2012 will be in effect until then.
Ukraine enriches its uranium concentrate at the IUEC, of which it is a member. The country annually ships about 80 tonnes of uranium concentrate under the project. The IUEC imported uranium oxide concentrate in the form of triuranium octoxide (an intermediary product in natural uranium processing) from Ukraine for the first time in September 2012. The material is used to produce fuel that is sufficient to refuel about half of the core of a reactor with capacity of 1,000 MW.
Ukraine has the right to 60,000 SWUs (separative work units, a standard measure for the cost of uranium enrichment services) per year, and it uses them completely, Yefremov added.
By Gopal Sharma KATHMANDU (Reuters) - China will allow landlocked Nepal to use its ports for trading goods with third countries, a senior official in Kathmandu said on Wednesday, potentially ending India's decades-long monopoly over the impoverished country's trading routes. A prolonged blockade of its border crossings with India last year by protesters demanding changes to a new constitution left Nepal desperately short of fuel and goods, throwing into sharp relief its dependence on routes into its southern neighbour. Nepal's prime minister K. P. Oli signed an agreement with his Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang during a visit to Beijing this week to give Nepalese traders access to land routes and ports in China, commerce ministry official Rabi Shankar Sainju said. "This is a historic agreement for Nepal," Sainju told Reuters. "This cannot be an alternative to the Indian port but it is an additional route to boost our trade." The routes and ports that Nepal, sandwiched between China and India, can use would be decided by officials from Kathmandu and Beijing soon, he said. China is vying to increase its influence in Nepal, challenging India's long-held position as the dominant outside power. Beijing this week also agreed to consider building a railway into Nepal, supply petroleum products and to start a feasibility study for a free trade agreement. Nepal, still trying to recover from two devastating earthquakes last year, adopted its first post-monarchy constitution in September hoping this would usher in peace and stability after years of conflict. But protesters blocked trucks coming in from India, leading to acute shortages. Nepal blamed New Delhi for siding with the protesters, a charge India denied. Nepal currently uses the eastern Indian port at Kolkata for trade but officials said this is has become congested. India has offered to allow Nepal use of a second port. The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry said Nepal lacked the roads and railways to reach Chinese ports located more than 3,000 kilometers (1,875 miles) from its border. "Theoretically it is a good thing. But we have to do a lot of work before we can actually use the Chinese route," senior official Bhawani Rana said. (Editing by Tommy Wilkes and Richard Balmforth)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has asked the United States for help in returning stolen Nigerian assets stashed in U.S. banks as part of his efforts to crack down on corruption, according to a statement from his office on Thursday. Buhari made the request during a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on the sidelines of a two-day nuclear security summit in Washington. "President Buhari sought and received an assurance from Mr. Kerry that the United States Government will facilitate the repatriation of all stolen Nigerian funds found within the American banking system," his office said. Buhari told Kerry it would "greatly help our country if you assist us to recover all our stolen funds which we can establish to be within your financial system," according to the statement. It said Kerry assured Buhari the United States would help and said U.S. officials would meet with the head of Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to discuss further cooperation. State Department spokesman John Kirby confirmed that Kerry had offered "continued U.S. support to locate and help with tracing and investigating looted funds, as we have done for Nigeria in the past." In 2014 the United States took control of more than $480 million that former Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha and his associates had siphoned away into banks around the world. Washington has broad powers to track suspicious funds and enforce sanctions against individuals. (Reporting by Lesley Wroughton; Editing by Tom Brown)
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - An initial investigation into the Turkish unit of Swiss drugmaker Novartis over allegations it benefited from bribery has not revealed any problems, a senior official for Turkey's health ministry said on Friday. The results of the investigation will be released next week, Eyup Gumus, undersecretary of the health ministry, told reporters in Istanbul. The ministry on Thursday said it had launched the investigation into allegations the drugmaker secured $85 million in business advantages through bribery. The Turkish unit of Novartis has said allegations against it were "unfounded" and based on a past complaint. Reuters reported this week an anonymous whistleblower has accused the company of paying bribes through a consulting firm to secure advantages worth an estimated $85 million. (This story has been corrected to change figure in second paragraph to $85 million) (Reporting by Ceyda Caglayan and Humeyra Pamuk; Writing by David Dolan; Editing by Nick Tattersall)
The total wealth of the top 100 richest Ukrainians decreased by one fourth in the past year to $20 billion, Forbes Ukraine has reported.
The decline of raw material prices, fall in sales of chemical products, slump in the engineering sector, closure of enterprises in the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) zone and the loss of the Russian sales market contributed to the decrease.
The owner of SCM Rinat Akhmetov with $2.3 billion tops the list. Co-owners of PrivatBank Ihor Kolomoisky and Hennadiy Boholiubov share the second position (with $1.3 billion each). The owner of EastOne investment and consulting group and Interpipe Corporation Victor Pinchuk is fourth with $1.2 billion. Majority shareholder in MHP agricultural holding Yuriy Kosiuk is fifth with a fortune estimated at $1 billion.
The owner of Roshen Corporation and International Investment Bank, beneficiary of Ukrprominvest-Agro and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is the sixth wealthiest Ukrainian with a fortune estimated at $858 million.
Nibulon Director General Oleksiy Vadatursky's wealth increased 50%, to $840 million.
Oleksandr Yaroslavsky, with $721 billion, is eighth richest Ukrainian, followed by Kernel Andriy Verevsky with $694 million.
Former Kyiv City Mayor Leonid Chernovetsky, who lives in Georgia, is in tenth position with $680 million.
SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea fired a missile into the sea off its east coast on Friday, the South's military said, hours after the leaders of South Korea, Japan and the United States warned Pyongyang to end provocations or face more pressure. The projectile was fired from a region near the North's east coast, a South Korean military official said by telephone. It was a short-range surface to air missile, another official at the office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, adding the military was trying to determine the range. The launch at around 12:45 p.m. local time (0345 GMT) comes hours after U.S. President Barack Obama joined South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe vowing to add pressure on the North for its recent activities. Meeting on the sidelines of a global nuclear security summit in Washington, the three leaders recommitted their countries to each others' defense and warned they could take further steps to counter threats from Pyongyang. Obama held separate talks with President Xi Jinping of China, the closest North Korea has to an ally, and said they both wanted to see "full implementation" of the latest U.N. sanctions against Pyongyang. But Xi offered no sign that Beijing was prepared to go beyond its consent to the Security Council measures imposed in early March. The North has fired a string of rockets in recent weeks including a long-range rocket in February that launched an object in space. Leader Kim Jong Un has supervised some of the launches in defiance of U.N. sanctions. North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test on Jan. 6, leading to new Security Council sanctions in early March. South Korea and the United States have imposed separate sanctions. Earlier on Friday, South Korea said North Korea has been sending signals to disrupt GPS reception in the South, leading some shipping vessels to return to port. (Reporting by Ju-min Park; Writing by Jack Kim; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea fired a missile into the sea off its east coast on Friday, the South's military said, hours after the leaders of South Korea, Japan and the United States warned Pyongyang to end provocations or face more pressure. The projectile was fired from a region near the North's east coast, a South Korean military official said by telephone. It was a short-range surface to air missile, another official at the office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, adding the military was trying to determine the range. The launch at around 12:45 p.m. local time comes hours after U.S. President Barack Obama joined South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe vowing to add pressure on the North for its recent activities. Meeting on the sidelines of a global nuclear security summit in Washington, the three leaders recommitted their countries to each others' defense and warned they could take further steps to counter threats from Pyongyang. Obama held separate talks with President Xi Jinping of China, the closest North Korea has to an ally, and said they both wanted to see "full implementation" of the latest U.N. sanctions against Pyongyang. But Xi offered no sign that Beijing was prepared to go beyond its consent to the Security Council measures imposed in early March. The North has fired a string of rockets in recent weeks including a long-range rocket in February that launched an object in space. Leader Kim Jong Un has supervised some of the launches in defiance of U.N. sanctions. North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test on Jan. 6, leading to new Security Council sanctions in early March. South Korea and the United States have imposed separate sanctions. Earlier on Friday, South Korea said North Korea has been sending signals to disrupt GPS reception in the South, leading some shipping vessels to return to port. (Reporting by Ju-min Park; Writing by Jack Kim; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
Mark Twain once noted, If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principle difference between a dog and a man. Its a lesson China is learning about its bellicose neighbor North Korea right now, a nation it has helped avoid mass starvation for years, and which is now threatening its much larger neighbor with nuclear destruction.
Having been North Koreas protector on the international stage for generations, China has recently looked increasingly reluctant to defend the excesses of the Kim family dynasty particularly with regard to its continued expansion of a nuclear weapons program that has resulted in international sanctions.
Related: US Urges North Korea to Refrain from Provocations
Beijing went along with United Nations sanctions related to the North Korean nuclear program earlier this year, and according to documents obtained by the website Daily NK, a Seoul-based organization dedicated to supplying information about the secretive North Korean regime, there has been serious backlash from North Korean leaders in Pyongyang.
The site, which has broken many stories about North Korea in the past, released a copy of what it described as a missive sent by the ruling Workers Party of Korea to its local affiliates on March 10.
Chinas decision to participate in the UNs sanctions regime, it said, is a sign that its much larger neighbor is worried that its dominant status in Northeast Asia will be challenged.
To be clear, while things arent going terribly well in China right now, Beijings military superiority over North Korea is not seriously questioned by anyone.
Related: North Korea Claims Rocket Success; South on High Alert
Not that that is stopping the North Korean government, which, the document noted, benefits from the superior leadership of our revered supreme commander Marshal Kim Jong Un.
The document demands that, all Party members and workers firmly stand up against Chinas hostile schemes, and says, not once has China been sincere towards us when our revolutionary efforts ran into challenges and struggles.
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Beijing might justly gripe about that accusation, but it will definitely not be happy with another statement reportedly coming from the party that All Party members and workers must join in soundly crushing Chinas pressuring schemes with the force of a nuclear storm for its betrayal of socialism.
Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:
Washington (AFP) - World leaders reaffirmed their commitment to keep nuclear weapons out of the hands of extremists on Friday but warned that the threat is "constantly evolving."
"More work remains to be done to prevent non-state actors from obtaining nuclear and other radioactive materials, which could be used for malicious purposes," the leaders said, in a joint statement at the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington.
US President Barack Obama invited dozens of world leaders to Washington for the summit, where they discussed action plans to secure nuclear fuel stockpiles and radioactive material that could be used in a nuclear device or a dirty bomb.
"We reaffirm our commitment to our shared goals of nuclear disarmament, nuclear non-proliferation and peaceful use of nuclear energy," the statement said.
"We commit to fostering a peaceful and stable international environment by reducing the threat of nuclear terrorism and strengthening nuclear security.
"Sustaining security improvements requires constant vigilance at all levels, and we pledge that our countries will continue to make nuclear security an enduring priority."
Annexed to the statement were five "action plans" designed to improve the coordination of member states with world bodies such at the International Atomic Energy Agency and the police agency Interpol.
By James Odato ALBANY, New York, (Reuters) - Governor Andrew Cuomo and state legislative leaders reached a deal on Thursday to raise New York state's minimum wage towards $15 per hour, but fell short of a uniform state-wide increase. The deal outlines a faster rise in New York City, but carves out a slow lane for small businesses and surrounding counties. In less prosperous areas north of the city it rises to $12.50 per hour before a state review of the law's impact. The minimum wage agreement was part of a broad budget deal that Cuomo announced late on Thursday. He said the plan included 12 weeks of paid family leave and $4.2 billion in tax cuts. The $147 billion budget caps spending growth at 2 percent. "I believe that this is the best plan the state has produced in decades," Cuomo told a news conference in the state capital, Albany. Cuomo has earmarked $100 billion in infrastructure spending in the state. The budget also increases school funding by 6.5 percent to $24.8 billion and freezes tuition at the state university system, SUNY. The minimum wage has been a controversial element in difficult budget negotiations that threatened to delay the spending plan past the start of the state's fiscal year on April 1. The agreement, including the minimum wage, still needs to get approval from lawmakers. Under the terms of the deal the minimum wage would rise from its current $9 per hour to $15 over three years in New York City starting on Dec. 31, 2016. City businesses with up to 10 employees would be given four years to implement the measure. Long Island and Westchester County around New York City would be given six years to push through the increases while the rest of the state would see the minimum wage rise to $12.50 in five years, with indexed increases to $15 possible after review. There is also a provision to suspend the increases from 2019 if economic conditions worsen. The compromise is a climb down for Cuomo and his fellow Democrats who had pushed for a $15 state-wide minimum and no carve outs for small businesses. Republicans argued that a flat statewide rate could hurt businesses in less wealthy areas. "It may not go to $15. There's no guarantee, that's the good thing," said Senator George Amedore, a Republican representing a constituency upstate, who commented on the agreement to Reuters. Phil Steck, a Democratic Party assembly member, who represents a district 165 miles (265 km) north of the city, argued that the opposite was true, and a lower minimum wage would be a blow to the upstate economy. "We have a very strapped economy in upstate New York and the surest way to ensure continued poverty is to run a low wage economy," he said. "If anything, the poorer areas of the state needed an increase in the minimum wage more." The multi-tier solution could also dampen the national drive for a $15 minimum wage that has gathered pace as Democrats mobilize their base ahead of the presidential election in November. They hailed an important victory when California Governor Jerry Brown and legislators reached an agreement on Monday to raise the state's minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2023. Cuomo said New York's "calibrated" path to raising the minimum wage could be an example for the rest of the county. "It is raising the minimum wage in a way that is responsible and a positive for the overall economy," he said. (Reporting by James Odato, Writing by Edward Krudy; Editing by Daniel Bases, Grant McCool and Clarence Fernandez)
The deficit of Ukraine's consolidated balance of payment in February 2016 totaled $74 million after a surplus of $120 million in January 2016. The deficit was $743 million in February 2015.
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) said on its website that the deficit of the current account in February reached $251 million compared to $379 million a month earlier ($373 million in February 2015).
The decline in exports slowed in February to 12% (32.6% in January), while imports decreased by 7.3% (25% in January).
Exports of goods in February 2016 reached $2.4 billion. Exports of ferrous and non-ferrous metals fell by 18.8%, mineral products (including ores) by 34.1%, engineering products by 7.6% and food by 3%.
Exports in January through February 2016 decreased by 22.2%. Exports to Asia and Russia fell most a 1.4-fold decline and a 1.6-fold decline, respectively. The share of Asia decreased to 34.1% (36.4% in January-February 2015), and the share of Russia was 6.9% (8.9%).
Exports to the EU fell by 0.7%, while its share grew to 39% (30.5%).
The NBU said that imports totaled $3.1 billion. Energy imports plunged by 44.5% (56.4% in January 2016), while non-energy imports grew by 9.6% (7.5% down in January). Imports of engineering products increased by 39.5% (4.2% in January), chemical products by 20.3% (4.9% down in January), and imports of industrial products rose by 13.6% (21.2% down in January).
Food imports remained almost unchanged (a rise of 0.4%).
The central bank said that in January through February imports of goods decreased by 15.9%. Imports from Russia dropped by 56.5%, year-over-year, and its share of total imports fell to 10% from 19.6%. Imports from the EU fell by 4.4%, while its share grew to 33.3% from 37.9%.
Net foreign borrowing in February totaled $223 million ($374 million in February 2015).
Net foreign borrowing in January through February 2016 reached $516 million ($658 million year-over-year).
Net inflow of funds to the financial account in February 2016 was $149 million, while in February 2015 outflow was $369 million.
The central bank assessed the increase in foreign direct investment by $891 million, mainly to the banking sector.
Net inflow of funds to the financial account in January through February 2016 was $909 million ($390 million year-over-year).
The net increase in foreign position of the banking system for transactions with portfolio and other investment in February was $763 million, which is linked to a decline in external liabilities.
The NBU said credit debt decreased by $198 million and off-bank cash fell by $218 million. Off-bank cash in January through February 2016 dropped by $494 million (a rise of $209 million a year ago).
Net outflow for private sector transactions was $330 million, while inflow in February 2015 was $300 million.
The central bank said that forex reserves in February 2016 totaled $13.5 billion, which is enough to cover imports for 3.6 months.
Washington (AFP) - The United States turned up the heat on North Korea's nuclear program Thursday as world leaders gathered in Washington to reduce radioactive stockpiles and protect remaining inventories from terrorists.
The threat of militants getting their hands on nuclear material has gained fresh urgency since last week's attacks in Brussels, where it later emerged that two bombers had links to surveillance tape of a top official from a Belgian nuclear facility.
The latest Nuclear Security Summit saw President Barack Obama invite about 50 world leaders to Washington for the fourth and final meeting of its kind under his presidency.
Aside from pushing for better nuclear material safeguards, Obama wants to pressure nuclear-armed North Korea.
After meeting with South Korean and Japanese allies, Obama said there is a need to "vigilantly enforce the strong UN security measures" against Pyongyang.
In January, North Korea detonated a nuclear device and a month later launched a long-range rocket, the latest in a series of banned tests.
The White House wants to increase the economic and diplomatic cost to North Korea of ignoring international appeals to mothball its nukes.
"It is important to the entire international community to vigilantly enforce the strong UN security measures that were passed in light of some of the ballistic missile and nuclear activity that Pyongyang has been engaging in," Obama said.
The United States and South Korea have begun discussions on deployment of THAAD -- the Theater High Altitude Area Defense System, a sophisticated missile system.
This has raised concerns in Beijing, which is unhappy at the prospect that US missiles on its doorstep will further tip the balance of power in the Pacific towards Washington.
"It in no way threatens either Chinese or Russian or other security interests in the region and will do nothing to undermine strategic stability between the United States and China," insisted Dan Kritenbrink, a top Obama adviser.
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- South China Sea -
Obama also met with President Xi Jinping of China, opening the meeting with a promise of "candid" discussion over Beijing's suspected military buildup in the South China Sea.
US officials worry China's actions are not consistent with Xi's pledge at the White House last year not to pursue militarization of the hotly contested and strategically vital waterway.
China is seen as key to making sanctions against North Korea bite. The United States believes Beijing could more forcefully wield its influence over Pyongyang, including encouraging its Stalinist neighbor to tone down destabilizing rhetoric.
Ahead of the meeting, the White House announced that the United States and China would be among the countries signing the Paris climate accord on April 22 in New York.
Obama and Xi are expected to meet again at the G20 in China in September.
- Dirty bomb -
The specter of the Islamic State group obtaining a "dirty bomb" also loomed over the summit, and the meeting comes just days after 32 people were killed and 340 were injured in bombings at Brussels airport and the Belgian capital's metro.
The attacks featured conventional explosives, but two of the suicide bombers -- Ibrahim and Khalid El Bakraoui -- have been linked to 10 hours of video surveillance detailing the comings and goings of a senior Belgian nuclear official.
Few believe the IS group could develop a nuclear weapon, but many fear it could acquire uranium or plutonium and construct a "dirty bomb."
Such a device would not trigger a nuclear explosion but would scatter radioactive material -- with potentially devastating physiological, medical and economic effects.
Nuclear material can be found in small quantities at universities, hospitals and other facilities the world over, often not well secured.
Since the mid-1990s, almost 2,800 incidents of illicit trafficking, "unauthorized possession" or loss of nuclear materials have been recorded in an International Atomic Energy Agency database.
More than 50 heads of state were invited to the summit, but the absence of leaders from Russia, North Korea, Iran and Belarus virtually ensures gaps in the united front.
White House spokesman Ben Rhodes said Russia's decision not to attend at the highest level was a missed opportunity for Moscow, which itself faces significant threats of its own.
"Russia's lack of participation ... is, frankly, counterproductive given this is an area where we share an interest," he said. "We want Russia at the table on issues of nuclear security."
- Trump draws criticism -
Though he was not at the summit, Donald Trump also drew attention after the Republican presidential frontrunner earlier suggested Asian allies should develop atomic weapons.
Trump's remarks that he would pull troops from South Korea and Japan and allow those countries to develop nukes drew a scathing rebuke from Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes.
"The entire premise of American foreign policy as it relates to nuclear weapons for the last 70 years has been focused on preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons," said Rhodes, one of Obama's closest aides.
Attention was also diverted by Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was greeted at a separate Washington event by noisy protesters, and whose body guards attacked members of the media.
US President Barack Obama opened a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping with a promise of candid discussion over Beijing's alleged military buildup in the South China Sea.
"We will have candid exchanges about areas where we have differences, issues like human rights, cyber and maritime issues," Obama said as he sat across the conference table from his Chinese counterpart.
US officials have expressed concern that China's actions in the South China Sea are not consistent with Xi's pledge at the White House last year not to pursue militarization of the hotly contested and strategically vital waterway.
China claims virtually all the South China Sea despite conflicting claims by Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan and the Philippines, and has built up artificial islands in the area in recent months, including some with airstrips.
"We do continue to be concerned about militarization in the South China Sea," said senior Obama foreign policy aide Ben Rhodes ahead of the meeting with Xi.
"We certainly have seen developments, reports that are not consistent with commitments to avoid and to non-militarize the South China Sea."
"This will be certainly an important topic of conversation between the two presidents."
Washington has since October carried out two high-profile "freedom of navigation" operations in which it sailed warships within 12 nautical miles of islets claimed by China.
Xi spoke of the need to avoid misunderstandings and big disruptions in the "major power relations" between the two countries.
But state-run news agency Xinhua cited the Chinese leader as saying that "China will not accept any behavior under the disguise of freedom of navigation that violates its sovereignty and damages its security interests."
- Keeping up pressure on Pyongyang -
Obama and Xi also discussed pressure on North Korea, which in January detonated a nuclear device and launched a long-range rocket a month later, prompting UN sanctions backed by both Beijing and Washington.
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"Of great importance to both of us is North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons, which threatens the security and stability of the region," said Obama.
"President Xi and I are both committed to the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and the full implementation of UN sanctions."
"We are going to discuss how we can discourage actions like nuclear missile tests that escalate tensions and violate international obligations."
The White House wants to keep up pressure on the North Korean regime, increasing the economic and diplomatic cost of ignoring international appeals to mothball its nukes.
Xinhua cited Xi as saying that the sanctions should be carried out "fully and strictly."
US officials have long believed that China could more forcefully wield its influence over Pyongyang, including encouraging its Stalinist neighbor to tone down destabilizing rhetoric.
Tensions are only expected to rise in advance of a major North Korean Communist Party Congress in North Korea in May.
The White House has begun talks with South Korea over the deployment of a missile defense system. But it has struggled to convince China that the move is only in response to Pyongyang's threats.
China fears it may be an effort to deepen US influence in the region.
"It is designed and capable only of responding to the North Korean threat," said Dan Kritenbrink, senior Asian affairs director at the National Security Council.
"It in no way threatens either Chinese or Russian or other security interests in the region and will do nothing to undermine strategic stability between the United States and China."
After the meeting the White House released a joint statement promising a series of technical measures to help boost nuclear security, including actions against nuclear smuggling and securing "radioactive sources."
By Roberta Rampton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Friday the Iran nuclear deal has been successful so far but that more work needs to be done to implement the pact and it would take time to reintegrate Iran into the global economy. Speaking after a meeting of the six world powers that reached the deal with Tehran on July 14 last year, Obama said achieving the agreement was not easy and the way forward would not be either. "Full and continued implementation is going to take the same kind of cooperation and consultation," Obama said at the Nuclear Security Summit. "This deal does remind us that when the international community stands as one we can advance our common security." Obama said the nuclear agreement, in which world powers eased economic sanctions on Iran, has produced real progress in terms of Tehran taking steps to dismantle its nuclear centrifuges and ship uranium out of the country. "It will take time for Iran to reintegrate into the global economy but Iran is already beginning to see the benefits of this deal," Obama said. Obama's comments may have been designed in part to allay unhappiness among some Iranian officials who feel the sanctions relief offered under the deal has not paid off quickly enough. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on March 10 said the Iranian economy had not yet benefited from the Western trade delegations visiting Iran, saying: "We are expecting to see some real improvements. Promises on paper have no value." One underlying reason for the Iranian frustration is the fact that non-U.S. companies that are now allowed to trade with Iran find they cannot do so without touching the U.S. financial system, which remains off limits. As a result, the United States is considering easing some sanctions to permit non-American companies to have some access to the U.S. financial system for dollar transactions involving Iran, said a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity. U.S. Republican lawmakers voiced concern this week about reports that the Obama administration might allow Iran to use the dollar in some business transactions.[nL2N1731WG] U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan on Friday urged Obama to reject any such moves. "These reports are deeply concerning, to say the least," he said in a statement. "As Iran continues to undermine the spirit of its nuclear agreement with illicit ballistic missile tests, the Obama administration is going out of its way to help Tehran reopen for business. The president should abandon this idea." In his remarks, Obama said the nuclear agreement did not resolve all of Washington's differences with Iran, including over its support for terrorism, human rights abuses and its ballistic missile program. A series of Iranian ballistic missile tests last month conducted drew international concern. "Except for limited exceptions, the U.S. trade embargo on Iran remains in place," Obama said. (Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Writing by Doina Chiacu and Arshad Mohammed; Editing by James Dalgleish)
Washington (AFP) - US President Barack Obama warned Friday it will take time for Iran to rejoin the global economy, as the country's leadership and citizens express unease that a sanctions windfall has been slow to materialize.
"It will take time for Iran to reintegrate into the global economy, but Iran is already beginning to see the benefit of this deal," Obama said at a meeting of allied countries that brokered a nuclear deal with the Islamic Republic.
The international community lifted a raft of sanctions on Iran early this year in exchange for the country curbing its controversial nuclear program.
But months on, much of Tehran's holdings abroad remain frozen, and US and European businesses are reluctant to do business with Iran for fear of getting tangled in a thicket of US regulations.
A host of non-nuclear sanctions related to terrorism sponsorship, ballistic missile programs and political crackdowns remain in place and are unlikely to be removed any time soon.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei recently accused Washington of failing to respect the terms of the nuclear agreement.
The United States has lifted sanctions "on paper," he said, "but they are using roundabout paths to prevent the Islamic Republic from achieving its targets."
"They have said they lifted the sanctions... but, in fact, they are working to prevent the lifting of sanctions from taking effect."
- Skepticism -
The limited polls that are conducted in Iran also show skepticism about the country's economic plight and America's willingness to hold up to its side of the bargain.
Three decades of sanctions have hollowed out the Iranian economy.
According to a CISSM and IranPoll.com survey released Thursday, Iranians have a less favorable impression of the country's economic situation now than they did before the deal came into effect in January.
While a majority of those polled back deeper economic engagement with the West, almost 70 percent do not believe the United States will meet its promises under the agreement.
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Obama now appears ready to take further steps toward easing Iran's economic isolation, laying the groundwork to again let Iran begin trading in dollars.
Washington could remove restrictions on US and European firms trading in dollars with Iran, lifting a significant barrier to trade.
The move is likely to come with multiple caveats however -- including limits to so-called U-turn transactions -- thanks to fierce Congressional opposition.
"As Iran continues to undermine the spirit of its nuclear agreement with illicit ballistic missile tests, the Obama administration is going out of its way to help Tehran reopen for business," said Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives Paul Ryan.
"The president should abandon this idea."
Senators Marco Rubio and Mark Kirk wrote to Treasury Secretary Jack Lew earlier this week to voice their opposition.
The pair demanded assurances that "the United States will not issue a general license authorizing 'U-turn transactions' for Iran, in which a US bank processes a transaction for a foreign financial institution on behalf of Iran while the Iranian part of the transaction does not touch the US financial system directly."
Washington (AFP) - Extremist "madmen" from the Islamic State group would not hesitate to launch a catastrophic nuclear attack, US President Barack Obama warned at a global summit in Washington.
Hoping to galvanize global action to prevent jihadists from getting hold of nuclear weapons or material for a "dirty bomb," Obama painted an apocalyptic picture of the impact of a nuclear terror attack.
Obama, who is leaves office next January, was hosting a fourth and likely final leaders' summit aimed at reducing the risk of a nuclear holocaust.
The first summit was held in Washington six years ago at Obama's behest, when the young president, fresh from winning the Nobel Peace Prize sketched out a vision of a world without nuclear weapons.
Today he stands as a president on his way out, trying to complete as much of his agenda as possible while Republican front runner Donald Trump garners attention with unorthodox calls for South Korea and Japan to be nuclear armed.
Such utterances, Obama said, "tell us the person who made the statements doesn't know much about foreign policy or nuclear policy or the Korean peninsula or the world generally."
But Obama nodded at his own failures too, saying poor relations with Russia -- the world's other major hoarder of nukes -- had hobbled his hopes to reduce conventional nuclear stockpiles.
In a characteristic power play, Russian President Vladimir Putin had pointedly boycotted the summit.
"My preference would be to bring down further our nuclear arsenal," said Obama, adding that he had approached Putin in the hopes of negotiating another arms reduction treaty.
"Because of the vision that he's been pursuing of emphasizing military might over development inside of Russia and diversifying the economy, we have not seen the kind of progress that I would have hoped for with Russia."
Instead, Obama used the summit to push for technical measures to safeguard fissile materials and limit the civilian use of the most dangerous uranium and plutonium.
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He also shifted the focus on to North Korea's provocative nuclear tests, the recently agreed nuclear deal on Iran and above all the threat from the Islamic State group.
That threat has loomed large over the two-day summit, amid revelations that the Islamic State group carried out video surveillance on a top Belgian nuclear scientist.
"ISIL has already used chemical weapons, including mustard gas, in Syria and Iraq," Obama said, using an acronym for the Islamic State group.
"There is no doubt that if these madmen ever got their hands on a nuclear bomb or nuclear material, they most certainly would use it to continue to kill as many innocent people as possible."
Obama said about 2,000 tons of nuclear materials are stored around the world at civilian and military facilities, but some of them are not properly secured.
"Just the smallest amount of plutonium -- about the size of an apple -- would kill and injure hundreds of thousands of innocent people," he said.
"It would be a humanitarian, political, economic and environmental catastrophe with global ramifications for decades," he added.
"It would change our world."
The nuclear security summit comes in the wake of attacks in Paris and Brussels that have killed dozens and exposed Europe's inability to thwart destabilizing attacks or track Islamic State operatives returning from Iraq and Syria.
"As ISIL is squeezed in Syria and Iraq, we can anticipate it lashing out elsewhere," he said.
"We need to do even more to prevent the flow of foreign terrorist fighters."
- Bellicose hermit -
North Korea's decision to carry out the latest in a series of missile launches during the summit, drew yet more attention to its continued testing of nuclear devices and ballistic missiles.
The summit opened Thursday with Obama trying to forge consensus among East Asian leaders on how to respond to Pyongyang.
Obama also used the summit as a chance to hold "candid" talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping over Beijing's alleged military buildup in the South China Sea.
US officials have expressed concern that China's actions in the South China Sea are inconsistent with Xi's pledge at the White House last year not to pursue militarization of the hotly contested and strategically vital waterway.
China has argued that the pledge was narrowly focused on one portion of the contested waters.
China claims virtually all the South China Sea despite conflicting claims by Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan and the Philippines, and has built up artificial islands in the area in recent months, including some with airstrips.
By Roberta Rampton and Jeff Mason WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama said on Friday that Donald Trump's recent comments that South Korea and Japan should acquire nuclear weapons show the leading Republican presidential candidate is not well informed on international relations. Trump told The New York Times in an interview published on Sunday that he would consider letting the countries build their own nuclear weapons, rather than having them count on U.S. protection against North Korea and China. Obama has made no secret of his disdain for the billionaire businessman, and he continued that theme with his repudiation of Trump's pronouncements. "What do the statements you mentioned tell us?" Obama told reporters at a news conference at the conclusion of a nuclear security summit. "They tell us that the person who made the statements doesn't know much about foreign policy or nuclear policy or the Korean peninsula, or the world generally." Obama said Trump's candidacy had come up as a topic with world leaders on the sidelines of the summit, and he lamented the state of the Republican race. "Even ... those countries that are used to a carnival atmosphere in their own politics want sobriety and clarity when it comes to U.S. elections because they understand the president of the United States needs to know what's going on around the world," he said. Obama took apart Trump's positions point by point. The U.S. alliance with Japan and South Korea was one of the cornerstones of America's presence in the Asia Pacific region and had underwritten peace and prosperity there, he said. The relationship had been a boon to U.S. commerce and influence in addition to preventing nuclear escalation and conflict, he added. "You don't mess with that. It is an investment that rests on the sacrifices that our men and women made back in World War II when they were fighting throughout the Pacific," Obama said. "We don't want somebody in the Oval Office who doesn't recognize how important that is." (Additional reporting by Eric Beech; Editing by Richard Chang)
Ukraine starts April with gas stocks of over 8.5 bcm
Ukraine starts April 2016 with natural gas stocks in its underground storage facilities in the amount of 8.542 billion cubic meters (bcm), Head of the public and media relations department at Ukrtransgaz Maskym Beliavsky said on his Facebook page.
He said that this is 0.8 bcm more than as of April 1, 2015.
Ukraine pumped 1.6 bcm from its underground storage facilities in March and this is 0.1 bcm less than in March 2015.
Ukraine consumed 3.5 bcm of gas in March 2016 (0.1 bcm down on March 2015). Ukrainian-produced gas in March reached 1.7 bcm (the same as in March 2015).
The country imported 0.53 bcm of gas only from Europe.
Gas transit for European consumers in March totaled 6.8 bcm and this was 2 bcm more than in March 2015.
US President Barack Obama and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping have agreed to fully implement sanctions against North Korea, in a meeting that was promptly followed by a provocative Pyongyang missile launch.
The White House said Friday that Obama and Xi agreed to "narrow differences" between the world's two major powers during a meeting the day before.
"Both leaders committed... to strengthen coordination in addressing the shared threat presented by North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missile systems," the White House said.
"Both leaders affirmed their commitment to achieving the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2270."
In January, North Korea detonated a nuclear device and a month later launched a long-range rocket, prompting the United States, China and other UN partners to implement sanctions.
Washington's efforts to build pressure on North Korea has long been a point of friction with Beijing, which provides the hermit state an economic lifeline.
The White House believes that China could do more to press North Korea into abandoning its nuclear and missile programs.
China fears that too much pressure would topple the regime, prompting instability and regional upheaval.
As if to underscore the difficult of the issue, North Korea on Thursday appeared to fire another short-range missile off its east coast.
South Korea's defense ministry said a surface-to-air missile was fired at around 12:45 pm (0345 GMT) from the eastern city of Sondok. The range and precise trajectory could not immediately be confirmed, a ministry official said.
- Forge consensus -
The launch came in the middle of the two-day nuclear security summit being hosted by Obama in Washington, at which North Korea has been the focus of the US president's talks with the leaders of China, South Korea and Japan.
The summit opened Thursday with Obama trying to forge consensus among East Asian leaders on how to respond to Pyongyang's recent nuclear and missile tests, which have seen an escalation of tensions in the region.
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"We are united in our efforts to deter and defend against North Korean provocations," Obama said after meeting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Park Geun-Hye.
The leaders also discussed the deployment of the sophisticated missile system THAAD -- the Theater High Altitude Area Defense System -- to South Korea.
But the move has raised concerns in Beijing, which is unhappy at the prospect of the US hardware on its doorstep, fearing it will further tip the balance of power in the Pacific towards Washington.
"It in no way threatens either Chinese or Russian or other security interests in the region and will do nothing to undermine strategic stability between the United States and China," insisted Dan Kritenbrink, Obama's top Asia adviser.
- Pragmatic gains -
During Obama and Xi's meeting Thursday, the White House said the two countries had agreed to sign the Paris Climate Accord and work toward a "global market-based measure for addressing greenhouse gas emissions from international aviation."
Obama and Xi have tried to use agreement on environmental issues as a ballast to stabilize relations beset by disputes over hacking of US government sites, the South China Sea and piracy.
"Both leaders reaffirmed the cyber commitments announced during President Xi's September 2015 State Visit and agreed to ensure their full implementation," said the White House.
"The President reiterated that we will continue to monitor whether Chinese actions demonstrate their adherence to the commitments."
There appeared to be less common ground over Beijing's alleged military buildup in the South China Sea.
US officials have expressed concern that China's actions are not consistent with Xi's pledge at the White House last year not to pursue militarization of the hotly contested and strategically vital waterway.
China claims virtually all the South China Sea despite conflicting claims by Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan and the Philippines, and has built up artificial islands in the area in recent months, including some with airstrips.
"The President urged China to address differences with its neighbors on maritime issues peacefully and in accordance with international law and emphasized the United States global interest in upholding freedom of navigation and overflight," the White House said.
Washington has since October carried out two high-profile "freedom of navigation" operations in which it sailed warships within 12 nautical miles of islets claimed by China.
By Kim Palmer CLEVELAND (Reuters) - The Ohio childhood home of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, available for rent in time for the Republican National Convention this summer, could have been had for $8,000 a month until Friday afternoon, when the price went up and references to the infamous criminal came down. The home where Dahmer grew up and in 1978 committed his first murder is in Bath, Ohio, 26 miles south of Cleveland, where the convention is scheduled to be held in July. The listing on a real-estate company website initially included a reference to Dahmer but on Friday that was removed and the price had been increased to $10,000 a month. Dahmer was convicted in 1992 in the murder and dismemberment of 17 boys and men, some of whom he ate, over a period of 14 years. He was beaten to death in 1994 by another prison inmate while serving 15 life terms in Wisconsin, where most of the murders took place after he moved there. The listing by Howard Hanna, the official real estate broker for the convention, had been up since February and initially included the fact that the three-bedroom, two-bathroom, 2,170-square-foot home was once occupied by Dahmer. It had described the house as a mid-century modern home with a true park-like setting. Smoking and animals okay. This is Jeffrey Dahmer's childhood home. Close to Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Montrose shopping. Easy access to I-77 highway. By Friday afternoon, the Dahmer sentence had been removed. Julia Domenick, the listing agent at Hanna, could not be reached for comment. In 1978, at age 18, Dahmer killed a teenaged hitchhiker, then dismembered and buried the body in a shallow grave behind the Bath house. Homeowner Chris Butler, a member of the Akron-based punk band The Waitresses, bought the house in 2005 for $295,000 after its history was disclosed. He could not be reached for comment. (Story corrects third paragraph to say that Dahmer was serving terms in Wisconsin, not Minnesota). (Reporting by Kim Palmer, Editing by Ben Klayman)
PATTANI, Thailand (Reuters) - Several bombs have gone off in Thailand's insurgency-plagued south killing one person and wounding dozens in a new wave of violence, the military said on Thursday. The blasts were in Pattani, one of three Muslim-majority provinces in largely Buddhist Thailand, near the Malaysian border, on Wednesday and Thursday. Resistance to central government rule has existed for decades in the area but violence picked up significantly in 2004. More than 6,500 people, including Buddhist monks, teachers, troops and separatist insurgents have been killed since then. At least 10 bombs went off in Pattani's Yaring district, including two at bank cash dispensing machines, wounding 11 policemen. A civilian man was killed after being caught in a blast near a hair-dressing shop, a military spokesman said. "The people causing the trouble want to show they are still active," said Colonel Yuthanam Phetmuang, deputy spokesman for the military's Internal Security Operations Command. No group claimed responsibility for the attacks which authorities have blamed broadly on insurgent groups. In January, the military and conflict analysts said violence in the south had fallen to its lowest level in more than a decade because of stepped up security efforts. The explosions followed multiple gun and bomb attacks this month in neighboring Narithawat province. People in the south complain of years of neglect by Bangkok. The failure of successive governments to quell the violence has fanned distrust of the state in the region, which was an independent Malay Muslim sultanate a century ago before being annexed by Thailand. Shortly after taking power in a 2014 coup, the military vowed to bring peace to the south within a year. (Reporting by Amy Sawitta Lefevre, Panarat Thepgumpanat and Surapan Boonthanom; Writing by Amy Sawitta Lefevre; Editing by Robert Birsel)
By Mathieu Rosemain, Gwenaelle Barzic and Sophie Sassard PARIS (Reuters) - Talks between Orange and Bouygues on a deal to create a dominant French telecoms operator collapsed on Friday, ending an attempt to ease a price war that has ravaged operators' margins. The failure of the proposed 10 billion euro ($11.4 billion) cash-and-share deal involving Bouygues Telecom is a blow to the two companies and the French government, which was heavily involved as it has a stake of around 23 percent in Orange. The proposed tie-up was widely seen as a make-or-break chance to reduce the number of telecoms groups to three from four and prop up profits, which have been depressed since the arrival of low-cost operator Iliad. But a stand-off between Martin Bouygues and French Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron about the clout the billionaire would have gained in the former state monopoly had weighed on the talks, sources had told Reuters earlier. "The two main reasons explaining the failure of these talks are execution risks and the general attitude of the French state," a source close to the matter told Reuters. The risks included the break-up fees involved and the conditions under which each party involved would have been able to withdraw from the deal, the source added. Orange's position as the No. 1 French telecoms operator meant that an acquisition of Bouygues Telecom would have required selling some of its assets to rivals Iliad and SFR , with which Orange held parallel negotiations. This added to the complexity of getting a deal done, sources said, as apart from Bouygues himself, the talks involved two other influential billionaires, Iliad's founder Xavier Niel and SFR's owner Patrick Drahi. "It would have been a miracle if they had come to terms," a source close to the matter said. GOING IT ALONE The failure to reach a deal, which was confirmed by both parties, leaves Bouygues Telecom to go it alone. "In a market where the possibility of consolidation is now ruled out for the long term, Bouygues Telecom will continue its standalone strategy," Bouygues, the construction-to-media conglomerate said in a statement. That could prove difficult for them, Francois Mallet, an analyst at Kepler Cheuvreux, said. "They will all be kicking themselves," Mallet said on BFM Business, adding: "The state has a big responsibility in this. The big loser is Bouygues, let's not kid ourselves." A source at the French Economy Ministry said that the main hurdle had been the risks involved in getting a deal across the line, with competition concerns a factor. "It was an extremely complex deal and there was the question of the competition authority hanging," the source told Reuters. The tie-up would have made Bouygues the second-biggest shareholder of Orange after the French state, whose stake would have been diluted. The French Economy Ministry had asked Bouygues to accept capping its potential stake in Orange for seven years, under a so-called standstill clause. It had also asked it to accept giving up for 10 years the double-voting rights Bouygues would get as a long-term investor in Orange, another source said. (Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain, Gwenaelle Barzic, Michel Rose and Sophie Sassard; Editing by David Evans and Alexander Smith)
Frunze Plant (Kharkiv), the leading Ukrainian manufacturer of fencing systems, first entered the Austrian market after shipping a batch of punched screens for Austria's Fa Biokorn.
The company said in a press release on Friday that the punched screens are of innovative design made jointly with Kharkiv National Technical University of Agriculture.
The screens are made for screening buckwheat. The holes are epicycloidal instead of triangular. The solution helps increasing screening efficiency by 40%.
The press service said that Frunze Plant is the world's only producer of these punched screens.
Fa Biokorn bought a test batch and the contract could be signed after the tests.
Frunze Plant, founded in 1885, produces screens for agriculture machinery, flooring grills, netting and fencing systems for the construction industry, elements of urban environment (waste baskets, benches), storage racks and others.
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.
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- 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.
LONDON (Reuters) - Chancellor George Osborne said he was talking to other governments about taking action to prevent the dumping of cheap steel after Britain's biggest producer Tata Steel put its operations up for sale. The British government has come in for criticism for its handling of a crisis in Britain's steel sector after Tata Steel announced it planned to exit the country in the face of cheap Chinese imports as well as high costs. Speaking from Paris where he was attending talks with other Group of 20 officials, Osborne said the government had already cut energy prices and would seek to make sure that British steel was used in British construction projects. "We're having conversations with other governments, like I'm doing here in Paris, to make sure we take action against unfair, cheap steel imports," he told Sky News television. (Reporting by Kate Holton and Stephen Addison, editing by William Schomberg)
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Standard & Poor's affirmed MTN's credit rating on Thursday, saying that although the South African company faced a $3.9 billion fine in Nigeria, its decision to hold back on dividends was positive. "We view MTN's decision to lower dividends and maintain sufficient liquidity for its normal obligations, while retaining flexibility to address the pending fine, as positive," said Standard & Poor's in a statement, adding that it had affirmed the company's long-term corporate credit ratings at BBB-. MTN, which was fined $5.2 billion by Nigerian authorities in October for failing to disconnect more than 5 million subscribers in time, earlier this month gave a downbeat outlook on future dividends as it reported full-year results. The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in December said it will reduce the fine to $3.9 billion and MTN has since shelved a legal challenge while making a payment of $250 million in "good faith" towards settling the matter. [nL8N163372] But the parliament of Africa's most populous nation, which is also MTN's largest market, last week launched an inquiry into whether the NCC was authorised to slash the fine. [nL5N16W3AV] Standard & Poor's said it kept MTN on a negative outlook as it reflects the uncertainty regarding the final fine amount. "We also note increased sovereign risk related to Nigeria and South Africa, which contribute, respectively, 35 percent and 27 percent of MTN's revenue," Standard & Poor's said. (Reporting by TJ Strydom, editing by David Evans)
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan has asked Iran to investigate the case of a suspected Indian spy who Pakistani authorities say has confessed to spying against Pakistan from Iran, according to a copy of an Interior Ministry letter to Iran obtained by Reuters on Friday. Last month, Pakistan said it had detained the suspected spy, Kulbhushan Jadhav, in the violence-plagued province of Baluchistan after he had illegally entered the country from Iran. Pakistan says Jadhav was working for India's main external intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). India has confirmed that the man was a former Indian navy official but denied the man was a spy. In video footage aired by the Pakistani government this week, Jadhav said he had set up an office in Chabahar in southeast Iran in 2003 and later worked for the Indian agency. It was not clear if Jadhav made the comments on the video tape freely or under duress. Pakistan's interior ministry, in a letter to Iran's ambassador in Islamabad, Mehdi Honardoost, said the Indian made had made "startling revelations" about an Indian spy network operating against Pakistan from Iranian soil. "His mission included spying and sabotage, in addition to fomenting insecurity and instability in the provinces of Sindh and Baluchistan," the ministry said in the letter, a copy of which was provided to Reuters by an Interior Ministry official. Pakistan asked Iran to provide information about the Indian man's activities, and the people he interacted with there, the ministry said. Honardoost was not available for comment. The Iranian embassy in Islamabad issued a statement on the Friday on the "detention of the Indian agent" and said unidentified "elements" were not happy with good ties between Iran and Pakistan and were trying to undermine them. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani visited Pakistan last week and signed an agreement to increase annual trade volumes between the two countries to $5 billion by 2021. (Reporting by Asad Hashim and Mehreen Zahra-Malik; Writing by Mehreen Zahra-Malik; Editing by Robert Birsel)
Islamabad (AFP) - Pakistan has extended a deadline for Islamist protesters to end a days-long sit-in on the streets of the capital after deploying thousands of police and paramilitary forces in a show of force Tuesday night.
Several thousand demonstrators armed with sticks have been camped at Islamabad's main Constitution Avenue close to key government buildings, including the presidency and parliament, since late Sunday.
The demonstrators, supporters of executed Islamist assassin Mumtaz Qadri, who was hanged on February 29, say they have submitted a list of demands including the execution of a female Christian blasphemy convict.
A security source had told AFP that an operation would be launched against the protesters if they did disperse by Tuesday night.
But Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan later told reporters: "If the protesters do not disperse peacefully tonight, then we will evict them in the morning in front of everyone.
"There are women and children in the protest whom they are using as human shields. There are also elderly people and if we do the operation in the night, then they might be harmed and we do not want to hurt anyone," he added.
- Deep divisions -
AFP journalists at the scene on Tuesday did not see any women or children, where the front lines of police and protesters, who numbered around 2,000, were separated by some 100 metres.
Protesters shouted religious slogans while the leaders made fiery speeches vowing to continue their sit-in.
A legal notice issued earlier to the protesters and seen by AFP accused them of attempting "to frustrate the government's drive against terrorism".
A police source said more than 5,000 security forces would be deployed, including the paramilitary Rangers and Frontier Corps with reinforcements from the Punjab police.
Army troops are already standing guard at government buildings near the site.
Qadri was hanged for killing a Punjab governor over his call for blasphemy reform, in what analysts said was a "key moment" in Pakistan's long battle against religious extremism.
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But it also exposed deep religious divisions in the conservative Muslim country of 200 million.
An estimated 25,000 supporters of Qadri forced their way into the capital Sunday from its twin-city Rawalpindi, where they had gathered to offer prayers for the former police bodyguard.
By evening they were engaged in violent clashes with police and paramilitary troops, who made heavy use of tear gas in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent them from pushing closer to the city centre.
Their demands include the execution of Asia Bibi, a Christian mother-of-five who has been on death row since she was convicted in 2010 of committing blasphemy during an argument with a Muslim woman over a bowl of water.
They are also calling for Qadri to be officially declared a "martyr" and want the immediate imposition of Sharia law.
- Crackdown in Punjab -
The protests come as Pakistan mourns the 73 people killed in Sunday's suicide attack at a park in the city of Lahore, many of them children.
Hundreds more were injured in the bombing, which targeted Christians celebrating Easter and was claimed by the Jamaat-ul-Ahrar faction of the Pakistani Taliban, whose official name is the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Authorities have conducted numerous raids since the attack, detaining more than 200 people, after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif vowed to bring those behind the carnage to justice.
"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," Punjab provincial law minister Rana Sanaullah told reporters Tuesday.
Sanaullah said police, paramilitary troops and intelligence agents had launched 56 intelligence operations in the last 24 hours in Punjab.Brazil's embattled president cancels Washington trip: state news agency
More were being carried out across the province "against sectarian militants and extremists", he said.
But Jamaat-ul-Ahrar spokesman Ehansullah Ehsan took to Twitter to deride the prime minister.
"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."
Pakistan's first Academy award winner, director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, has paid tribute to victims of the Easter bombing in the eastern city of Lahore with a short film posted to her Facebook page.
The 1.5-minute film titled "An Ode to Lahore, the Beautiful City" opens with a shot of the famous Badshahi mosque before showing images from the popular park where a Taliban suicide bomber blew himself up in an attack targeting Christians on Easter Sunday.
At least 72 people died in the blast as families enjoyed the warm spring evening, many of them children. The bomber had walked close to a play area with swings before detonating.
Chinoy, a journalist, filmmaker and activist, has won two Academy Awards for the documentaries Saving Face (2012) and A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness (2015).
Her video, posted Monday, showed old images of the play area before Sunday's devastation, as well as footage from a candle-lit vigil that took place for the victims in Lahore.
"Lahore used to teach you to make bridges in order to reach each other," a female voiceover says in Urdu as the images flit by.
"We were liberal people, we were tolerant, we wanted to live with each other, we had the freedom to speak our minds."
The film then displays news footage from Sunday's carnage, with images of ambulances arriving at the blast site.
"We deprived our city of its personality," the voice says.
Children in school uniforms are shown playing in narrow streets as they smile, before the words of the country's founding father, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, appear: "There is no power on earth that can undo Pakistan".
Sunday's attack was the worst so far this year in a country grimly accustomed to atrocities, and will further undermine fractious inter-religious ties in the Muslim-majority nation.
In 2012, the Government of Pakistan awarded Chinoy the Hilal-e-Imtiaz, the second highest civilian honour of the country.
The film can be viewed on her Facebook page at:
Jerusalem (AFP) - The Palestinian mobile phone industry lost more than $1 billion (885 million euros) in revenues in the past three years, the World Bank estimated Thursday, citing Israeli restrictions as a leading cause.
Israel limits imports of equipment by Palestinian telecoms companies, while they are unable to operate in the parts of the occupied West Bank under direct Israeli control, a World Bank report said.
As such, more than 20 percent of customers in the West Bank use Israeli providers instead.
"The sector was hindered by years of delay in mobile broadband, presence of unauthorised Israeli operators in the Palestinian market, restrictions on importing equipment, and absence of an independent regulator," said the report, entitled "Missed Opportunity for Economic Development".
Israel and the Palestinian leadership signed a deal late last year to allow 3G Internet.
"However, the Palestinian operators remain at a competitive disadvantage because Israeli operators have 3G and 4G capabilities and are able to attract higher value customers," the bank said.
It called for Israel to ease restrictions to allow the telecoms sector to grow.
"The Palestinian telecom sector has the potential to boost the economy and create job opportunities," Steen Lau Jorgensen, World Bank country director for West Bank and Gaza, wrote in the report.
"In order for that to happen, Palestinian operators should be able to access similar resources as their neighbours."
By Kinda Makiyeh DAMASCUS (Reuters) - Palmyra's renowned Temple of Bel, blown up by Islamic State last year, is not beyond repair but the full extent of damage in the ancient city could take weeks to establish because of mines laid amid the ruins, Syria's antiquities chief said. Satellite pictures taken after the 2,000-year-old temple was dynamited by the jihadi group, and other images broadcast since Syrian government forces retook the city on Sunday, show almost the entire structure collapsed in a heap of rubble. It was one of several important monuments blown up in the city last year including the temple of Baal Shamin, a victory arch and funerary towers. The city museum, home to treasured artifacts, was ransacked and statues were smashed or defaced. Despite the extensive damage, Maamoun Abdelkarim said that the Temple of Bel had not been pulverized and its foundations were largely intact. Consecrated to a Mesopotamian god, the Temple of Bel later served as a Christian church and a mosque. In an inner sanctuary, carvings showed seven planets surrounded by the signs of the zodiac, and a procession of camels and veiled women. "What was said about it all being turned to dust - it's not dust," Abdelkarim told Reuters in Damascus. "There is still a lot of the structure ... that can be reused and renovated." He was speaking before a trip to Paris where he said he would attend a meeting of the United Nations cultural agency UNESCO and seek global help to restore Palmyra. President Bashar al-Assad called on the world on Wednesday to help. Syrian military engineers were already combing the area for mines which Islamic State are suspected of leaving behind amid the ruins, he said. Russian de-mining units, using robots and sniffer dogs, have also arrived in Syria to start clearing the area, in the latest support from Moscow to Assad, its Middle Eastern ally. Russia's military intervention six months ago helped change the course of Syria's five-year-old conflict in Assad's favor, reversing last year's gains by insurgents and Western-backed rebels in northwest Syria, before assisting an assault on Palmyra opening up Syria's eastern desert to government forces. The Western response to Sunday's recapture of Palmyra has been muted. While some governments have welcomed the setback for Islamic State, they are reluctant to celebrate any victory for a president whose departure many of them demanded five years ago. TREASURE AND GOLD Islamic State has also razed Assyrian and Roman-era cities in neighboring Iraq - driven by a radical ideology which deems the region's pre-Islamic heritage as idolatrous and by the lure of profit from selling stolen artifacts. Other monuments in the oasis city, described by UNESCO as a crossroads of cultures since the dawn of humanity and a major source of interest for archaeologists, historians of the ancient world and tourists, remain including its Roman amphitheatre and long colonnaded avenue. Officials have inspected damage at Palmyra's museum, where a 15-tonne statue of a lion holding a crouching gazelle, known as the Lion of Al-Lat, was found broken in the grounds of the building, Abdelkarim said. The statue has already been restored once after it was broken up in antiquity to build another temple. Abdelkarim said 400 artifacts had been moved from the site for safekeeping before Islamic State overran Palmyra last May, but television images from the museum have shown statues defaced or broken and display cases smashed up. "Daesh were looking for treasure and gold - they thought there would be tonnes of gold. There was none, because the main articles had been moved to Damascus," he said Describing the headless or defaced carvings, Abdelkarim compared the restoration work they would undergo to the surgery performed on patients with serious burn injuries. "You undergo many surgeries and your face won't come back as it was, but you're still alive," he said. RUSSIAN DE-MINER ROBOTS The de-miners will deal with more than 180 hectares of territory, Russia's defense ministry said, citing initial estimates. The aim is to clear the historic part of the ancient city as well as residential areas. Their work is complicated by the fact that the retreating Islamic State fighters "left a large quantity of various homemade explosive devices behind them in Palmyra as well as standard mines", the ministry said. Abdelkarim said the militants had "a plan to destroy the city" but did not go through with it. In Palmyra, Islamic State carried out excavations, hunting for buried artifacts, but Abdelkarim said it was too early to say how much digging or damage they had done. "We cannot evaluate the destruction to the ruins from the criminal secret excavations ... It will take weeks to assess," he said, given that big parts of the old city are inaccessible. "We have been into the museum and to the Temple of Bel, the amphitheatre, and the colonnaded street," Abdelkarim said, adding: "But where there is sandy ground we cannot go ... because there could be mines." The overall task of clearing Palmyra, which military sources have told Russian media will involve at least 100 servicemen, is expected to take several months. Russian forces will draw on their extensive experience of de-mining in the volatile North Caucasus region where a low-level Islamist insurgency has been simmering for years. For the toughest tasks, the Russians said they would use sniffer dogs and Uran-6 de-mining robots, which can be remotely controlled from around 1 km (half a mile) and do the work of 20 de-mining experts. (Additional reporting by Andrew Osborn in Moscow; Writing by Dominic Evans, editing by Peter Millership)
State enterprise Antonov (Kyiv) has completed the large scale assembly of a new multipurpose An-132D aircraft with a load capacity of 9.2 tonnes being built in the framework of a contract with Saudi Arabia signed in April 2015, the press service of the enterprise has said.
"A tail unit has been installed on the aircraft. Thus, a fuselage, a wing and a tail unit have been assembled. We expect the supply of PW150A engines for the airplane by Pratt & Whitney Canada in April. A cooperation agreement with the Canadian company under the An-132 program was signed in October 2015," the plant said.
The prototype of a new AN-132 is to be completed by the end of 2016. After performing a series of test flights, the aircraft will be presented to potential customers in Saudi Arabia.
In parallel with the building of a demonstration copy of the aircraft, an agreement was achieved and a contract was signed with Taqnia Aeronautics at the AFED-2016 international aviation exhibition in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) in February, which is determined by the Saudi side as a manufacturing and marketing partner for the organization of a cooperative serial production of new transport An-132 aircraft.
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.
Buying a pet has always been a long-term commitment with little opportunity for second-guessing or cold feet. You may have been able to court your spouse and test-drive that Honda, but chances are you had no idea Buster was a crotch-sniffer when you first brought him home. The days of being stuck with an unwanted animal, though, may be coming to an end thanks to a new service that could revolutionize pet ownership.
The Netflix-inspired offering known as Petflix, which launches this fall, offers prospective pet owners flexibility, choice, control and personalization, says CEO Bradley Pound, who got his start repossessing farm animals for the state of Kansas.
Many customers quickly found themselves engaged in uncontrollable binge petting.
The service allows customers to swap out pets at any time, liberating owners from multiyear relationships that arent working out and providing them with a broader range of pet experiences. There has been this major paradigm shift in the way consumers shop, pay for and manage the services they choose, Pound says. And this shift has occurred everywhere except for the pet industry.
Until now.
Once just a crude college joke, Petflix allows customers to rent up to three different pets at a time, with the option of mailing pets back to convenient distribution centers, which will replace the returned pet with a new one within three to five business days. Petflix subscribers are able to choose from up to 300 species of animal, and also to specify age, size, breed and sex. The service not only allows subscribers to sample new pets without committing to ownership but also to pause the service, which facilitates lengthy vacations and prevents the need to pay a kennel to look after inconvenient animals.
Petflix is not without its skeptics, though. Early trial runs revealed that many customers quickly found themselves engaged in uncontrollable binge petting. I stayed up until four in the morning for about seven straight weeks, trying out all 29 breeds of terrier, says Karen Haberdasher, a mother of three. I havent been that tired at work since the final season of Lost.
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Still, Pound is confident that the benefits of Petflix will win over its critics. And there are many benefits, that is.
As economist Laura Markinson explains, Pets have had a free ride for far too long. She claims that Petflix not only maximizes consumer choice and flexibility, but there is no better tool for disciplining your animal than the credible threat of market exit. If your dog thinks that you are taking him on what might be his final walk, then he is going to be on his best behavior.
Which raises the question of who is to blame if a rental pet isnt behaving. In Italy, the city of Naples, for example, announced that it would start DNA testing dog waste to link it to the dogs owners. But if, as economists have long argued, there is no incentive to wash a rental car, will there be any reason for Petflix subscribers to pick up a rented animals, ahem, business?
For that at least, Pound doesnt have an answer. In fact, he changes the subject. Even animal rights advocates, he boasts, are on board with the new service. As one such activist Horace Coddle puts it, For too long humans have referred to themselves as owners of animals, treating them like chattel whose offspring can be bought and sold into further slavery.
Under Petflix, however, as Markinson points out, Animals are no longer owned; they are valued companions whose futures will be shaped by the benevolent hand of the market. These animals have the dignity that free choice affords and the responsibility that it demands.
Its hard to imagine Netflix delivering that.
Before you sign up to have your pet delivered, please refer to the date of this article. Happy April Fools Day!
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MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine police opened fire as a protest by thousands of rice farmers who lost their crops turned violent on Friday, killing one and wounding about a dozen, a leader of a farming group said. About 6,000 farmers blocked a portion of the main highway in North Cotabato province on the southern island of Mindanao, demanding government assistance after drought linked by some to El Nino hit hundreds of thousands of hectares of farmland. "Loud bursts of gunfire erupted," Norma Capuyan, leader of a farmers' group, told reporters. "There was heavy volume of fire. We ran to a church compound and the police surrounded us." A farmer died on the spot and about a dozen others were wounded in the legs and shoulders, Capuyan said, adding the police first tried to disperse them with water cannon but started shooting when they held their ground. North Cotabato Governor Emmylou Mendoza said about 20 police were wounded when the farmers attacked them with sticks and stones. She said the first shot was fired by the protesters. The police issued a statement saying it was investigating. "Any violation of national police rules and regulations shall be meted (out) with the appropriate penalty," national police spokesman Chief Superintendent Wilben Mayor said in a statement. The protest began on Wednesday when farmers barricaded the highway in Kidapawan, demanding a dialogue with the governor and the release of 15,000 sacks of rice she had promised to them as relief. The agriculture ministry said more than 300,000 hectares of farmland had been affected by drought, causing loses of about 5.3 billion pesos ($115.09 million) in rice and corn. It said the effects of El Nino were minimal. (Reporting by Manuel Mogato and Enrico dela Cruz; Editing by Nick Macfie)
MANILA (Reuters) - A woman abandoned in a central Philippine church when a baby has topped an opinion poll barely two months ahead of elections to succeed President Benigno Aquino, an independent pollster said on Friday. The May 9 election will be closely watched by investors, who fear the political succession in one of Asia's fastest growing economies could derail gains made during Aquino's six-year single term. Grace Poe, 47, was the top-ranked candidate among 28 percent of 4,000 respondents in the March 15 to 20 survey commissioned by broadcaster ABS-CBN, a week after the Supreme Court ruled she was eligible to run for president. The result cements Poe's position as front-runner to become the third woman leader of the poor Southeast Asian state. "Nearly three in 10 Filipino registered voters would elect Senator Grace Poe as the countrys next president if the May 2016 elections took place during the survey period," said Ronald Holmes, president of independent pollster Pulse Asia. The survey was the first after the court dispelled doubts over her candidacy with its ruling in her favor. A week earlier the same pollster had said Poe was in a statistical tie with a southern mayor as top contender with 26 percent. The poll result would inspire the senator to work harder, her campaign spokesman said. "The trust and confidence of the Filipino voting public fuels Senator Poe to intensify her drive to drum up interest in her platform of governance," said Rex Gatchalian. Poe had faced questions over whether she met legal requirements to run for the country's highest office, such as being a natural-born citizen with 10 years of residency, but the Supreme Court ruled in her favor on March 8. Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte was in second place with 24 percent, dropping one percentage point from a week earlier to reach a statistical tie with Vice President Jejomar Binay, who improved a point to 23 percent. Aquino's handpicked candidate, Manuel Roxas, remained in fourth place with 19 percent, losing a point from an earlier poll. Another senator, Miriam Santiago, only has 2 percent. About 4 percent of registered voters are still undecided. In power since 2010, Aquino is barred by the constitution from seeking a second term. Under his leadership, the Philippines has seen economic growth of more than 6 percent on average, its best five-year record in four decades. About 54 million of a population of 100 million are eligible to vote to choose a president, vice president and more than 18,000 local government executives and lawmakers in the general elections, which take place every six years. (Reporting by Manuel Mogato; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
The Ukrainian government on Wednesday decided to denounce the agreement on cooperation in the field of technical protection of information with the Russian government.
"We denounce it. There could not be objections here," Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk said.
The agreement was signed on June 14, 1996 in Kyiv for five years. The agreement was automatically prolonged for the new five-year periods if no side notifies on the plans to terminate the agreement six months before the expiration of the current period.
According to the document, technical protection of information is a set of measures aimed at preventing leak of data via technical channels, unauthorized access to this data and hacker attacks.
MANILA (Reuters) - A woman abandoned in a central Philippine church when a baby has topped an opinion poll barely two months ahead of elections to succeed President Benigno Aquino, an independent pollster said on Friday. The May 9 election will be closely watched by investors, who fear the political succession in one of Asia's fastest growing economies could derail gains made during Aquino's six-year single term. Grace Poe, 47, was the top-ranked candidate among 28 percent of 4,000 respondents in the March 15 to 20 survey commissioned by broadcaster ABS-CBN, a week after the Supreme Court ruled she was eligible to run for president. The result cements Poe's position as front-runner to become the third woman leader of the poor Southeast Asian state. "Nearly three in 10 Filipino registered voters would elect Senator Grace Poe as the countrys next president if the May 2016 elections took place during the survey period," said Ronald Holmes, president of independent pollster Pulse Asia. The survey was the first after the court dispelled doubts over her candidacy with its ruling in her favour. A week earlier the same pollster had said Poe was in a statistical tie with a southern mayor as top contender with 26 percent. The poll result would inspire the senator to work harder, her campaign spokesman said. "The trust and confidence of the Filipino voting public fuels Senator Poe to intensify her drive to drum up interest in her platform of governance," said Rex Gatchalian. Poe had faced questions over whether she met legal requirements to run for the country's highest office, such as being a natural-born citizen with 10 years of residency, but the Supreme Court ruled in her favour on March 8. Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte was in second place with 24 percent, dropping one percentage point from a week earlier to reach a statistical tie with Vice President Jejomar Binay, who improved a point to 23 percent. Aquino's handpicked candidate, Manuel Roxas, remained in fourth place with 19 percent, losing a point from an earlier poll. Another senator, Miriam Santiago, only has 2 percent. About 4 percent of registered voters are still undecided. In power since 2010, Aquino is barred by the constitution from seeking a second term. Under his leadership, the Philippines has seen economic growth of more than 6 percent on average, its best five-year record in four decades. About 54 million of a population of 100 million are eligible to vote to choose a president, vice president and more than 18,000 local government executives and lawmakers in the general elections, which take place every six years. (Reporting by Manuel Mogato; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
A Pittsburgh TV station cut ties with one of its longtime anchorwomen on Wednesday over a controversial Facebook post that many consider racist.
Wendy Bell, who had been with WTAE for 18 years, had speculated about the likely profiles of the gunmen who killed five adults and an unborn baby at a barbeque in Wilkinsburg, Pa., on March 9.
You needn't be a criminal profiler to draw a mental sketch of the killers who broke so many hearts two weeks ago Wednesday. I will tell you they live within 5 miles of Franklin Avenue and Ardmore Boulevard and have been hiding out since in a home likely much closer to that backyard patio than anyone thinks, she wrote on Facebook. They are young black men, likely teens or in their early 20s. They have multiple siblings from multiple fathers and their mothers work multiple jobs. These boys have been in the system before. Theyve grown up there. They know the police. Theyve been arrested.
The Facebook post from March 21 has since been taken down, but is preserved in its entirety on the Pittsburgh Tribune-Reviews website and elsewhere.
A spokesman for WTAEs parent company, Hearst Television, emailed the following statement to Yahoo News but declined to comment further:
WTAE has ended its relationship with anchor Wendy Bell. Wendys recent comments on a WTAE Facebook page were inconsistent with the companys ethics and journalistic standards.
Many people were offended by the Emmy-winning newswomans post, and characterized the views she expressed as racist and condescending. Her employer agreed.
On March 24, WTAE officially apologized for her words and sympathized with the viewers who took offense to them.
Wendy has since apologized for what she wrote and acknowledged it was insensitive. Wendy is sorry for the words she chose, and so are we. It was an egregious lack of judgment, WTAE President and General Manager Charles W. Welfertz III said on behalf of the editorial board. WTAE regrets it happened and is committed to making sure something like this doesnt happen again.
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He said WTAE would take appropriate action after a comprehensive examination of the incident.
I have removed a post that I initially placed here on Monday. I sincerely apologize for that post about the... https://t.co/SPdfljNykO Wendy Bell (@WendyBellWTAE) March 23, 2016
On the day of her dismissal, Bell told the Associated Press that she did not get a fair shake and that the story was about African-Americans being killed by other African-Americans it was not about her.
What matters is whats going on in America, and it is the death of black people in this country, she said to the wire service. I live next to three war-torn communities in the city of Pittsburgh, that I love dearly. My stories, they struck a nerve. They touched people, but its not enough. More needs to be done. The problem needs to be addressed.
Authorities have not made any arrests or publicly identified any suspects in the shooting.
Bells WTAE Facebook page has been deleted, and her bio has been removed from the stations website.
According to her now-deleted bio, Bell is originally from Calabasas, Calif., has a masters degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia and had worked for WTAE since September 1998.
DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Reuters) - The outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) on Friday claimed responsibility for a car bomb attack a day earlier that killed seven police officers and wounded 27 people in southeast Turkey's city of Diyarbakir. In a statement on its website, the PKK's armed wing said it had carried out the bombing. The attack, a day before Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu's visit to the largely Kurdish southeast, was one of the largest car bombings in months of violence in the region. Diyarbakir itself was the scene of several weeks of combat between security forces and PKK fighters in the first few months of this year. Security sources said on Friday nine people had been detained in connection with the attack, where a parked car laden with explosives was detonated as a minibus carrying police officers turned a corner on a busy street. The southeast has been wracked by violence since a ceasefire between the PKK and the government collapsed last July. The government has said it has killed thousands of militants since then, while more than 350 members of the security forces have been killed in the fighting. (Reporting by Seyhmus Cakan in Diyarbakir and Daren Butler and Ayla Jean Yackley in Istanbul, Writing by David Dolan, Editing by Angus MacSwan)
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish police detained 15 people in raids early on Friday targeting the Islamic State militant group in the western coastal province of Izmir, the private Dogan news agency reported. Among those detained were people who fought for Islamic State in neighboring Syria and who trained others to fight for the group, it said. Among those they had trained was a man now being sought by police in connection with bomb attacks on offices of a pro-Kurdish party in southern Turkey last year and who was regarded as a potential suicide bomber, Dogan said. Turkish authorities say a Turkish member of Islamic State was responsible for a suicide bombing in central Istanbul on March 19 that killed three Israelis and an Iranian. That was the fourth suicide bombing in Turkey this year and the second to be blamed on Islamic State. Counter-terror squad police launched the raids on various address in the city and seize four shotguns along with Islamic State documents and materials. On Wednesday, Turkish police detained 16 people in the southeastern province of Adiyaman on suspicion of belonging to the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front. (Writing by Daren Butler; Editing by David Dolan and Alison Williams)
(Reuters) - The slain suspect in the fatal shooting of a Virginia State Police officer during a bus station training exercise was an Illinois man with a long criminal record, authorities said on Friday.
James Brown III, 34, of Aurora, Illinois, is suspected of shooting Trooper Chad Dermyer on Thursday at Richmond's Greyhound bus station, police said.
Brown had a history of violent offenses, including gun violence, and drug violations and had served two years in prison, State Police Superintendent Colonel Steven Flaherty said.
"He has an extensive criminal history in the state of Illinois. He is known to the Aurora Police Department," he said at a news conference.
Dermyer, who was among 16 officers on an anti-terrorism training exercise, approached Brown in the station lobby. Brown walked a few feet away, pulled a .40 caliber Beretta pistol from his pants and shot Dermyer, 37, multiple times, Flaherty said.
Other officers shot Brown. Both he and Dermyer died in hospital.
Based on Brown's bus ticket, he was traveling from Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, to Chicago, Flaherty said. Police found 143 rounds of ammunition in Brown's luggage.
Flaherty said the pistol had been purchased legally 13 months before but not by Brown. Investigators are tracing the weapon to see how it had ended up in his hands.
Two women inside the bus station were also shot, but their injuries were not life-threatening, police said.
Dermyer, a Marine Corps veteran, had recently been transferred to an anti-terrorism unit.
(Reporting by Ian Simpson in Washington; Editing by Dan Grebler and James Dalgleish)
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, D.C., gave special attention to the need to establish Ukraine's reform-oriented coalition and government.
"President Obama confirmed the readiness to extend the third tranche of loan guarantees in the amount of $1 billion upon completion of the process to form a government in Ukraine," the Ukrainian leader's press service reported on Friday.
The two presidents also discussed the situation in Donbas and coordinated their efforts to secure the full implementation of the Minsk agreements, the press service said.
Among other topics, Poroshenko and Obama spoke about ways to further promote the strategic partnership between Ukraine and the United States, it said.
Belgrade (AFP) - Radical Serb leader Vojislav Seselj was acquitted Thursday on all charges arising from the 1990s Balkan conflicts in the latest verdict handed down by the UN's International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
The court has indicted 161 people, convicting 80 and acquitting 19 including Seselj while four are still on trial.
Here is a rundown of the fate of some other key players in the wars:
- Slobodan Milosevic -
Known as the "Butcher of the Balkans", Milosevic fuelled ethnic conflict and mass murder in the former Yugoslavia during his 13 years of iron rule, defying international sanctions and NATO bombs.
He was elected president of Serbia -- a constituent republic of the Yugoslav federation -- in 1990. A year later the break-up of Yugoslavia began with declarations of independence by Croatia and Slovenia.
Milosevic played a key role in supporting Serb rebels during the 1991-95 Croatian war and the 1992-95 war in Bosnia. In 1998-99 he oversaw a bloody crackdown on ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.
He was found dead in his cell in 2006 at the age of 64 while still awaiting the verdict on charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
- Radovan Karadzic -
The former Bosnian Serb political leader was found guilty on March 24, 2016 of genocide and nine other charges including extermination, deportations and hostage-taking and sentenced to 40 years in jail.
He was convicted of genocide for the 1995 Srebrenica massacre in which almost 8,000 Muslim men and boys were slaughtered, the worst bloodshed on European soil since World War II.
Karadzic, 70, is the most high-profile figure convicted over the wars that tore Yugoslavia apart.
He managed to evade arrest for 13 years until 2008 when he was arrested on a Belgrade bus, masquerading behind a bushy beard as a New Age healer.
- Ratko Mladic -
The notorious military leader of Serb rebels in Bosnia is accused of presiding over the bloody 44-month siege of Sarajevo from 1992-1996 and the Srebrenica massacre.
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After almost 16 years in hiding Mladic, 73, was arrested in Serbia in 2011 and is on trial on multiple charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The court is expected to deliver its verdict next year against Mladic, the last high-ranking Bosnian Serb to face judgement.
- Vojislav Seselj -
Seselj, 61, a Milosevic ally and hardline leader of the Serbian Radical Party, was accused by prosecutors of being behind the murder of many Croat, Muslim and other non-Serb civilians, as well as the forced deportation of "tens of thousands" from large areas of Bosnia, Croatia and Serbia.
However, the ICTY acquitted him in a surprise verdict branded "shameful" by Croatia. The judges found that although crimes were committed, Seselj had not had "hierarchial" responsibility for his paramilitary forces after they came under Serbian army control and could not be held responsible for their crimes.
The verdict clears the way for him to stand unencumbered in April's election in Serbia.
- Franjo Tudjman -
Tudjman was a fervent nationalist elected in 1990 to lead the Croatian republic, which he took out of the Yugoslav federation the following year.
The ensuing four-year war between Croatian government forces and Serb secessionists left some 20,000 people dead.
A year after Tudjman died in 1999 at the age of 77, the ICTY said he would have been indicted for war crimes had he lived.
- Alija Izetbegovic -
Bosnia's first president was a Muslim who led the country to independence in 1992 in a move that triggered the 1992-1995 war between Muslims, Serbs and Croats. In the post-war period Izetbegovic filled the Muslim seat in the tripartite presidency that also includes a Croat and a Serb. He stepped down in 2000 due to failing health and died three years later aged 78.
After his death, the ICTY said it had been investigating Serb allegations that he committed war crimes, but no charges were ever brought.
- Biljana Plavsic -
The former Bosnian Serb president -- the first woman to be convicted by the ICTY -- pleaded guilty to crimes against humanity and was sentenced to 11 years in jail in 2003.
She was found to have played a leading role in a campaign of persecution against Croats and Muslims during Bosnia's war.
Now 85, she was granted an early release in 2009.
- Ante Gotovina -
An army general considered a war hero by many Croatians for his role in the military offensive that effectively ended the war, Gotovina, 60, was indicted in 2001 for war crimes. He went into hiding but was arrested in Spain in 2005 and sentenced six years later to 24 years in jail. He was acquitted on appeal in 2012.
- Ramush Haradinaj -
Haradinaj, a wartime rebel chief of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA)and a former Kosovo prime minister, was charged with war crimes against Serb civilians during the 1998-1999 conflict in Kosovo.
The ICTY acquitted Haradinaj, 47, in 2012 but the case was marred by accusations the court had failed to protect witnesses.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Friday bemoaned the timing of an April 6 referendum in the Netherlands on a treaty on closer ties between the European Union and Ukraine saying it comes as Europe is debating its own future. "The real purpose for the internal Dutch discussion is about the future of the European Union and internal political clashes," Poroshenko told a news conference at the end of a nuclear security summit in Washington. "I think this is very dangerous for a country ... to become the victim of this discussion. This is not a timely referendum." The referendum is not binding, but most Dutch parties have said they would respect a rejection by voters, which could plunge the European Union into crisis when tensions with Russia run higher than at any time since the Cold War. Still, Poroshenko said Ukraine represented a huge trading market for Dutch and other European producers and he was confident the Dutch would support the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement in the end. Poroshenko met with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on the sidelines of the nuclear summit in Washington where the issues was discussed. At the State Department, spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau urged Dutch voters to support the association agreement, which would help spur reforms in Ukraine. "We believe the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement is critical to ensuring that Ukraine's leaders continue to make the needed and important reforms that will contribute to a more peaceful, democratic, prosperous and stable continent," she told a briefing. "It will provide new economic opportunities for the Netherlands, for Ukraine and for Europe as a whole." European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker has warned that a rejection of the treaty by Dutch voters could lead to a "continental crisis." Anti-European campaigners have argued that an association agreement with Ukraine would lead eventually to full membership for Kiev. Maintaining unity is crucial for Europe's efforts to put pressure on Moscow to help end the conflict between Ukrainian government forces and Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine that has killed more than 9,000 people since April 2014. The European Union, along with the United States, imposed economic sanctions on Russia in July 2014, targeting its energy, banking and defense sectors. Sanctions expire in July and can be extended. But countries with a closer relationship with Russia including Cyprus, Italy and Hungary could argue that if Ukraine is not abiding by the Minsk peace deal, the process no longer holds. (Reporting by Lesley Wroughton; Editing by Tom Brown)
By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - The Russian-made rocket motor that catapulted a United Launch Alliance booster toward orbit last week shut down six seconds early apparently because of a fuel system problem, the company said on Thursday, in its first explanation of the issue. The ULA Atlas 5 rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on March 22 carrying an Orbital ATK cargo ship bound for the International Space Station. The rockets Russian-made RD-180 engine shut down about six seconds early, but the boosters second-stage motor compensated for the shortfall by firing longer, ULA said in a statement. ULA is a joint venture of Lockheed Martin Corp and Boeing Co. Orbitals Cygnus cargo ship arrived at the space station on Saturday, as scheduled, despite the problem. ULA said preliminary indications pointed to a problem with the rockets first-stage fuel system and related components, but the investigation was continuing to find the root cause and identify appropriate solutions before any further flights. The U.S. Air Force, which is ULAs primary customer, is participating in the review, ULA said. The company last week delayed its next Atlas 5 launch by at least a week while analysis is underway. (Reporting by Irene Klotz; Editing by Andrea Shalal and James Dalgleish)
By Ayla Jean Yackley ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Hundreds of people including opposition politicians protested outside the trial of two prominent Turkish journalists facing life in prison on espionage charges on Friday, hours after President Tayyip Erdogan denied curbing press freedoms. Can Dundar, editor-in-chief of the Cumhuriyet newspaper, and Ankara bureau chief Erdem Gul are accused of trying to topple the government with the publication last May of a video purporting to show Turkey's state intelligence agency helping to ferry weapons into Syria by truck in 2014. Their case has brought international condemnation and raised concerns about freedom of expression in Turkey. At their first hearing a week ago, the court took the case behind closed doors and accepted Erdogan as a complainant in what critics said was a move that undermined judicial independence. "During the legal process, the president personally intervened, both as a complainant and through his repeated public statements. Turkey's judicial system is not strong enough to shrug off the dominance of this president," Muharrem Ozay, a lawyer for the two journalists, told Reuters. Erdogan has cast the newspaper's coverage as part of an attempt to undermine Turkey's global standing and has vowed that Dundar will "pay a heavy price". He has acknowledged that the trucks, which were stopped by gendarmerie and police officers en route to the Syrian border, belonged to the MIT intelligence agency and said they were carrying aid to Turkmens in Syria. Turkmen fighters are battling both Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Islamic State. Ali Seker, one of more than a dozen opposition members of parliament outside the court room, said he and his colleagues were trying to exercise their legal right to observe the case and were concerned that Gul and Dundar might be re-arrested. The court on Friday rejected the opposition applications, lawyers said. Supporters chanted "You cannot silence the free press" and "Shoulder to shoulder against fascism". The two journalists spent 92 days in jail, almost half of it in solitary confinement, before the constitutional court ruled last month that pre-trial detention was unfounded because the charges stemmed from their journalism and they were released. Erdogan said he did not respect that ruling. INTERNATIONAL CONCERN The trial comes as Turkey tries to deflect criticism from the European Union, United States and rights groups that say it is bridling a once-vibrant press. There were ugly scenes in Washington on Thursday, where Erdogan is on a visit, as his bodyguards tried to stop protesters chanting and waving banners outside the Brookings Institution think-tank where he was speaking. "Turkeys leader and his security team are guests in the United States," said Thomas Burr, president of the National Press Club. "They have no right to lay their hands on reporters or protesters or anyone else for that matter ... Erdogan doesnt get to export such abuse." In his speech at Brookings, Erdogan warned he would continue to sue critics who insult him in Turkey, while in an interview with CNN, he denied being "at war" with the press. "Espionage, do you think it is a freedom of expression or a freedom of press?" he told the broadcaster. Ahead of the trial, Dundar told Reuters he would use the hearings to refocus attention on the story that landed him in the dock, describing himself as a witness not a defendant. Erdogan has said prosecutors had no authority to order the MIT trucks be searched and that they were part of what he calls a "parallel state" run by his ally-turned-foe Fethullah Gulen, a U.S.-based Islamic cleric who the president says is bent on discrediting him and the Turkish government. The prosecutors have denied those allegations, while Gulen has denied plotting against the government. (Writing by Nick Tattersall; Editing by Gareth Jones)
Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) head Vasyl Hrytsak has confirmed the reports that one of its officers is in Russian territory, adding that the officer is staying there without any authorization, and has no access to state secrets.
"Yes, our officer is now in Russia. He went to Russia without an authorization. As early as in May 2014, if my memory serves me well, he had his access to state secrets annulled, and since late 2015, he has been at disposal. He has submitted a request for an exit permit, but it [the request] hasn't been endorsed and so he has departed there [for Russia] without permission," Hrytsak told reporters on Thursday. Such was his answer to the question if the reports that the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) had exposed a Ukrainian counterintelligence agent.
"Of course, that was not aimed to stitch the FSB up. I will explain: this person had been put out at disposal and actually had to be fired, which will be done in the near future," he said.
Earlier on Thursday, the FSB reported that an officer from Ukrainian counterintelligence had been exposed. The Russian security agency said that both the SBU and the CIA attempted to use the officer as a honey-pot in view of his possible recruitment by Russian secret services.
Washington (AFP) - New York, Seattle, California: in the battle over the US minimum wage, cities and states are taking their own initiative, making regional advances toward the goal of a $15 an hour floor.
Some cities have voted through spectacular increases, making the dream of better pay a reality for hundreds of thousands of employees in a country where the federal minimum wage level has remained unchanged at $7.25 an hour since 2009.
New York was the latest state to act. State lawmakers reached a deal Thursday with Governor Andrew Cuomo to raise the minimum wage in New York City to $15 an hour by the end of 2018.
Under the deal, the minimum will go up more slowly in the rest of the state, hitting $12.50 an hour by the end of 2020.
To close the deal, Cuomo needed to get the state's Republican-controlled senate on board.
Republicans and Democrats have generally split on the need for a national wage hike.
Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders both support an increase, differing only on the scale and timing of such a move.
The former secretary of state calls for a smaller, slower raise while the Vermont senator wants the minimum doubled.
With rare exceptions such as Mitt Romney, the presidential nominee in 2012, Republicans have generally resisted calls for an increase, citing potential job losses.
Republican control of Congress over the past five years has ensured that the federal level remained unchanged.
It's now a third below the minimum wage in France, Belgium and other wealthy European countries, taking into account the relative purchasing power in those countries, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development says.
Like many other progressive causes in a country polarized between left and right, action is taking place at the state and municipal levels.
Minimum wages in 29 states and the capital Washington have surpassed the federal level. New York has instituted $9 an hour and California, $10. Major companies in Seattle have paid $13 an hour since January 1. In New York City, fast food employees earn at least $10.50.
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A total of 18 states have voluntarily increased their minimum wages since 2013, some after holding referenda on the issue, according to the White House.
A new wave is expected in 2016.
The most significant change is brewing in California, the most populous US state, where local officials have recently agreed to progressively reach $15 an hour by 2023, a target large companies will hit even earlier.
More than a third of California's workforce would benefit from wage increases, according to a study from Berkeley University.
Clinton hailed the plan on Monday, tweeting a "big win for workers."
Sanders parried, also on Twitter. "But here's the difference," he said. "I support a $15 federal minimum wage. @HillaryClinton does not."
Her proposal calls for raising the federal level from $7.25 to $12.
- Regional Differences -
A sudden minimum wage increase would be felt differently in various regions.
In the relatively poor South, the cost of living is far lower than on the country's wealthy coasts.
Doubling restaurant employees' salaries in Mississippi would have greater effect than in San Francisco, where salaries are already higher.
New York's high cost of living also makes raising the current minimum wage more urgent there.
"You're going to have higher legislated minimum wages in urban areas versus rural areas, Northeast and California versus the deep South," Jacob Kirkegaard of Washington's Peterson Institute said.
He believes those variations will only grow.
Unions and activists are pushing for a nationwide increase nevertheless.
In real value, the federal minimum wage has fallen to around a third of its peak level in 1968.
"The $7.25 minimum wage is only about $15,000 a year for a worker, and that's not enough to support a family anywhere in the country," said Laura Huizar of the National Employment Law Project.
The government sets the poverty line for a family of three at $20,160.
It's an issue that is almost never raised in the Republican primary campaign.
Texas Senator Ted Cruz has come out against any minimum wage increase.
Ohio Governor John Kasich flirted with a "reasonable" increase in September before changing tack during a debate earlier this month.
"Well, well, wait a minute, first of all, I didn't say I was for an increase in the federal minimum wage," he said in response to a question in apparent alarm.
"If states want to do it, they ought to sit down with businesspeople and the lawmakers and figure out what will work."
Donald Trump said in November that wages were "too high," which was hurting American competitiveness.
That changed after Republicans began taking President Barack Obama to task over wage stagnation.
Trump corrected himself in December: "Wages in our country are too low."
Taipei (AFP) - It has a Facebook page, two books and its own brand of rice. A Siberian crane that landed in Taiwan after getting lost on migration over a year ago even made international headlines when it was found wandering outside a train station.
But to conservationists, the crane is known as more than just a flash-in-the-pan media star. It is a godsend in their push for environmentally friendly farming as the island's birds suffer at the hands of development and pollution.
Taiwan is a mid-point stop on one of the world's eight major migratory routes and a wintering ground for numerous waterbirds from Siberia, China, Japan and Korea on their way further south.
However, in some areas of the island waterbird numbers are down due to the destruction of habitats.
There had never been any reported sightings of the rare white crane in Taiwan until December 2014 when the crane first made the wetlands after taking a wrong turn on its migratory route.
It hit the headlines again last winter when it was found wandering around a subway station in Taipei and was returned once more to Jinshan.
The Siberian crane is on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's red list of critically endangered species with an estimated population of less than 4,000.
"I didn't expect the crane to stay. I thought it would fly away very soon," said farmer Huang Cheng-chun, whose rice and lotus field is nicknamed "little crane base" since the bird took residence there.
"When I work, the crane follows me around. It's like a friend to me. It's been helpful by eating a lot of apple snails (a pest) in the field."
As the crane helped rid them of pests, more farmers in the area agreed to go green to protect the bird's health, a boost for ecologists, who had until then been struggling to persuade them to stop using pesticides, rat poisons and herbicide.
Last year, pre-orders for "Jin Ho rice" -- which combines Jinshan and the Chinese word for crane "Ho" -- were sold out months before the harvest.
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The eco-friendly farming area in Jinshan has now expanded from 3.5 to 10 hectares.
"It's inevitable that the bird will leave," said Liao Jen-hui, director of the Taiwan Ecological Engineering Development Foundation.
"We hope that by the time it's gone, eco-friendly farming and the Jin Ho rice brand will be well established."
Thanks to safer farming methods, the Chingshui wetland now has an abundance of food for birds and more migratory flocks stopping by, including the black kite, rarely seen there previously, the foundation said.
- Disappearing habitats -
But elsewhere in Taiwan, habitat destruction caused by industrial development and pollution is taking its toll.
While the number of endangered black-faced spoonbills hit a record total of 2,060 in January this year, only 14 were seen on the northeastern coast of Yilan, half the number from 2014, the Chinese Wild Bird Federation said.
The decrease was likely linked to wetlands being converted into bed-and-breakfasts and aquaculture ponds, said Tsai Shih-peng, president of the federation.
In central Changhua county, the number of far eastern curlew has dropped from around 3,000 in 1993 to 600 in recent years since a huge coastal industrial park was set up, he added.
"There have been many cases of wetlands being filled up for economic and industrial projects that damaged the habitat, especially smaller plots that attracted less attention," added Jeff Yeh, director of the Guandu Nature Park in Taipei.
The Guandu wetland, a major wintering ground for waterbirds in northern Taiwan, was saved from being turned into a stadium in 1996 after lobbying from civil groups to protect the area.
- Cruelty to birds -
There are also new man-made threats, especially with the trend of posting image of birds on social media, said Chinese Wild Bird Federation's Tsai.
Some birdwatchers use food to lure a bird out and throw stones if it is not a rare kind. They were also seen trimming trees to expose bird nests, removing chicks from nests or chasing birds in wetlands in order to snap better shots, according to Tsai.
In one shocking case, a Japanese bush warbler, a migratory bird found in Taiwan in the winter, died after swallowing a pin believed to be used by birdwatchers to keep a worm in place so they could photograph it eating.
"These people are not interested in ornithology or conservation. They just want to take more photos of birds than their peers and get more 'liked' on their Facebook for their vanity," Tsai said.
Besides protecting the wetland habitat, promoting public awareness of conservation is a major task for the Guandu Nature Park, which operates weekend birdwatching activities as well as school field trips and guided tours to the wetland, said director Yeh.
"Having one more ally is better than having one more enemy. When one more person acknowledges our conservation concept, even if it's just not to litter, it will have some direct impact."
To open a medieval reliquary containing a saint's bones, you have to have a good reason, said Sabine Sten.
Sten is an osteoarchaeologist (a type of scientist who studiesskeletal remains from archaeological sites) at Uppsala University in Sweden. Two years ago, she got permission to open a reliquary (a container used to hold objects deemed holy) at the Uppsala Cathedral, to study the bones of Erik Jedvardsson, a medieval Swedish king turned saint.
"We have analyzed thousands of individuals from the medieval period in Sweden, but the people we lack resources from [are] the people like Erik, who have high status," Sten told Live Science. The bones hadn't been examined since 1946before the rise of radiocarbon dating and DNA tests. After a new analysis, Sten and her team announced that Erik's remains may be authentic, and could reveal more information about his healthy life and gruesome death. [Religious Mysteries: 8 Alleged Relics of Jesus]
For almost as long as Christianity has been around, Christian relics have been objects of worship, but they became increasingly popular in Europe in the Middle Ages. Churches across the continent claimed to have venerable artifacts like the foreskin of Jesus, as well as the nails and cross used in his crucifixion, and the tooth of Mary Magdalene.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, not all holy relics hold up to scientific scrutiny. For instance, a 2010 study in the journal Forensic Science International concluded that the charred relics of Joan of Arc kept in a glass bottle in France were fake (and even included some cat bone fragments). And radiocarbon dating tests showed that the two skulls in a relic shrine in Sweden thought to belong to the 14th century St. Birgitta and her daughter, Katarina, were actually separated by about 200 years one was much older, and the other much younger, than they should have been.
No historical sources from Erik's lifetime mention him. But according to texts written more than a century later, Erik led the First Swedish Crusade, spreading Christianity to the Finns, until the king was beheaded in 1160 by rebels aligned with a Danish claimant to the throne. Erik became a saint after his death, and his remains have supposedly been kept in a reliquary in Uppsala Cathedral since 1257. They were even left in place after the 16th century Reformation, in which Sweden transformed from a Catholic country into a Protestant one. [Holy Dream Team? The Most Notorious Catholic Saints]
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From the reliquary, Sten and her colleagues studied 23 bones, seemingly from the same person. (DNA test results are still pending, which would definitively confirm whether all of these bones belonged to one individual.) The radiocarbon tests, which measure the age of organic materials, were consistent with a death in 1160, the researchers said.
The analysis showed that the bones belonged to a man who died at age 35 to 40. Standing at about 5 feet 6 inches (1.7 meters) tall, he was well fed and well built, with no discernible diseases, the researchers found.
"His body is very healthy," Sten said. Compared with men in their 30s in Sweden today, Erik's bones were much stronger actually, 25 percent stronger, according to a measurement of his bone density hinting that he had a very active life.
"We can also see that he was consuming freshwater fish," Sten added, which makes sense considering that, in the 12th century, Christians had to observe more fast[ing] days in which they were not allowed to eat meat from sheep, cattle or pigs.
According to legend, Erik was attacked, tormented and beheaded by his enemies after leaving a church. The bone analysis showed that he suffered seven severe cuts on his legs, and one of his neck vertebra was cut through.
For now, Sten said she and her colleagues are still waiting on the DNA results in order to learn more about Erik's genealogy and whether he was harboring diseases that are invisible to the naked eye.
Their initial findings will be published in an upcoming issue of the Swedish journal Fornvannen.
Follow us @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on Live Science.
Copyright 2016 LiveScience, a Purch company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
The two brothers who detonated suicide bombs at an airport and subway station in Brussels this week, killing at least 31 and injuring hundreds more, had spied on a senior Belgian nuclear official in the Islamic States quest to get radioactive materials for a dirty bomb, NBC News reported Thursday.
Last month, in a story pointing out the historic vulnerabilities of Belgiums nuclear facilities, The Center for Public Integrity reported on two men caught on camera secretly recording the Belgian nuclear official.
NBC News reported that the two brothers who exploded the bombs Khalid el-Bakraoui and Ibrahim el-Bakraoui were the ones doing the taping. Their source was Claude Moniquet, a former intelligence official from France who was hired to investigate terrorist threats to nuclear targets in Europe.
The brothers saw the nuclear official as a way to gain the materials necessary to carry out an unprecedented act of terror.
Instead, they carried out a more conventional attack. Authorities have said Ibrahim el-Bakraoui, 29, detonated one of the two bombs that rocked the airport, and an hour later Khalid el-Bakraoui, 27, set off the lone bomb at a subway station.
This story is part of Nuclear Waste. A look at the worlds faltering efforts to control dangerous nuclear explosives. Click here to read more stories in this investigation.
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The footage was discovered in a home rented by Mohamed Bakkali, who was arrested on suspicion of helping to plot the Nov. 13, 2015, terrorist siege on Paris that killed 130 people and wounded hundreds more. The hours of clandestine video footage focused on a Belgian nuclear officials home in Flanders.
As the investigation progressed, surveillance cameras in the nuclear officials neighborhood showed two shadowy figures in the night retrieving a video camera hidden in a bush near the nuclear officials home before driving away in a car with its headlights off. Moniquets remarks suggest that the men shown fetching the camera were the el-Bakraoui brothers.
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The terrorist cell naively believed they could use [the nuclear official] to penetrate a lab to obtain nuclear material to make a dirty bomb, Moniquet, chief executive officer of the consulting firm European Strategic Intelligence and Security, told NBC News.
In an email to the Center for Public Integrity, Eric Van der Sijpt, a spokesman for the Belgian prosecutors office, wrote, This information can not [sic] be confirmed.
The official featured on the cells secret video works at the Belgian Nuclear Research Centre, known as SCK-CEN, in Mol, about an hours drive northeast of Brussels. He held clearance that gave him extensive access to nuclear materials and radioisotopes for medical and industrial purposes which readily lend themselves for use in a dirty bomb.
That raised concern among leaders of Belgiums nuclear program that terrorists might have seen the official they targeted as possible leverage to obtain nuclear or radiological materials.
We can imagine that the terrorists might want to kidnap someone or kidnap his family, Nele Scheerlinck, a spokeswoman for Belgiums nuclear regulatory body, told The Center for Public Integrity in February.
On April 4, the Belgian government for the first time deployed armed soldiers to guard nuclear reactors and power stations. The unarmed contract security force that historically had guarded the seven nuclear reactors and two power plants in Belgium had worried President George W. Bushs administration in 2004, diplomatic cables released by Wikileaks showed.
The U.S. supplies Belgium with highly-enriched uranium, a vital element for nuclear weapons that Belgian plants use to make radioisotopes. Then-Secretary of State Colin Powell privately warned his Belgian counterpart in 2004 that U.S. leaders were uneasy about the weak security at Belgiums nuclear sites.
Besides physical security, there has been cause for alarm about insider threats at Belgiums nuclear sites. In 2014, an act of sabotage caused millions of dollars of damage to a nuclear reactor in Doel, 56 miles west of the research center in Mol. The saboteur has not been caught, and terrorism has neither been identified nor ruled out as the motive, according to Van der Sijpt.
That same year, Belgian intelligence officials learned that 26-year-old Moroccan Ilyass Boughalab was killed in Syria fighting for the Islamic State. From 2009 to 2012, he had worked as an inspector of welding at the Doel plant. Boughalabs job gave him access to highly sensitive and vulnerable areas of the reactor.
Moniquet told NBC News the terrorists bid to access the materials necessary to create a dirty bomb failed. A bomb containing radiological materials, though far less deadly than a nuclear weapon, could trigger panic and cause billions of dollars in damage to a major city.
We know that the threat of nuclear radiological terrorism is not a theoretical risk, Miles Pomper, a senior fellow at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation said Wednesday.
Pomper was part of an expert panel from the Fissile Materials Working Group, a consortium of 80 nongovernmental organizations working to secure nuclear materials globally, that held a briefing for reporters at the National Press Club ahead of next weeks Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, D.C.
More than 50 heads of state are expected to attend, but Russia will not be represented. It will be the fourth and presumably final meeting between world leaders with the express purpose of keeping nuclear and radiological materials safe from terrorists.
The reality is, every country has an interest in making sure the countries that have these stocks protect them effectively, because the stuff could be lifted off from one place and used on the other side of the planet, Matt Bunn, a professor at Harvard University whos written more than 20 books and more than 100 articles on topics including nuclear security and terrorism. Insecure nuclear material anywhere is a threat to everyone everywhere.
The panelists were in consensus that the summits initiated by President Barack Obama have led to improved security of nuclear and radiological material around the world. But much work remains to be done, and they worry that with the end of the summits, international cooperation will lose momentum.
They also agreed that the possibility of terrorists using a dirty bomb is less a question of if, than of when.
It is nothing short of a miracle that we havent yet seen a dirty bomb in a terrorist attack, nuclear terrorism expert Andrew Bieniawski, vice president for material security and minimization at the Nuclear Threat Initiative, said. And so what happened recently in Brussels is really a warning and a wakeup call.
This story is part of Nuclear Waste. A look at the worlds faltering efforts to control dangerous nuclear explosives. Click here to read more stories in this investigation.
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Copyright 2016 The Center for Public Integrity. This story was published by The Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit, nonpartisan investigative news organization in Washington, D.C.
The referendum in the Netherlands on the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement is not against Ukraine. The Netherlands seeks to achieve its exit from the EU, the organizers of the referendum said.
"Of course, we don't care about Ukraine, you must understand," NRC Handelsblad newspaper reported, citing chairman of the organization committee and historian Arjan van Dixhoorn.
"A Nexit referendum is impossible now. We are seizing any opportunity to put relationship between the Netherlands and the EU under pressure," he said.
A member of the organization committee, Pepijn van Houwelingen, said that they were waiting for a new law on referendum for two years. They checked on the Election Commission's website what laws and international agreements could be voted at referendums. One of the first was the Chili-EU Association Agreement. He admitted that they knew about the referendum on Association with Ukraine, the vote on which was scheduled initially for June 30 and did not fall under action of the law on referendum. The referendum law will take effect on July 1. So they sent a letter to two political parties, the SP and PVV with a request to postpone the discussion. "And it happened," van Houwelingen said.
The referendum on the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement will be held in the Netherlands on April 6. The results of the referendum will be consultative in nature.
Police in Virginia responded to reports of an active shooter at a Greyhound station in Richmond on Thursday.
According to police, the suspected gunman is dead. Multiple victims, including one state trooper and two civilians, were transported to the VCU Medical Center. Follow the live blog below for the latest updates.
Budapest (AFP) - Rights groups in Hungary slammed Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government Wednesday for its "degrading treatment" of asylum-seekers and torture victims fleeing war zones, accusing it of failing to meet obligations under EU law.
"Major and systemic shortcomings" were revealed during monitoring of closed camps in Hungary between July 2014 and January 2016, according to the report presented to journalists by refugee rights groups the Cordelia Foundation and the Hungarian Helsinki Committee.
These included lack of mechanisms to identify traumatised asylum-seekers, and factors that led to "re-traumatisation" in detention like poor access to information, and medical or psychological care, as well as limitations on contact with the outside world and internal freedom of movement.
"A significant part of asylum-seekers arriving in Europe, particularly from Syria, Afghanistan, or Somalia, are torture victims," said Lilla Hardi, a psychiatrist with the Cordelia Foundation.
One asylum-seeker cited in the report said his experience in Hungary triggered "flashbacks" of his previous torture.
"If I do fall asleep, nightmares wake me up. Right after waking up, it strikes me like an electric shock that I am again in a prison, and I am terrorised that they will hurt me again," the asylum-seeker said.
Traumatised asylum-seekers should get the protection they deserve, rather than "degrading treatment and post-migration trauma", said Marta Pardavi, co-head of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee.
The report, titled "From Torture to Detention" said between 2013 and 2015 over 9,000 asylum-seekers were detained by Hungary, for periods of up to six months.
As of February 1, some 440 people were held in three detention centres in Hungary, said Gabor Gyulai, a refugee programme coordinator with the Helsinki Committee.
The government calls the centres "closed camps", but Gyulai said the facilities are were in effect "jails".
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"There are guards, dogs, camps, bars, they are locked in cells, this is detention under any standards," he said.
"Detention of first-time asylum-seekers should be used as a last resort but it has been a massively applied policy for a long time in Hungary, one of the few EU members to do so," he added.
In some cases the shortcomings were in direct contradiction with obligations under EU law to protect torture victims from degrading treatment and ensure their medical and psychological well-being, the report concluded.
Its recommendations -- including improving access to the Internet, more freedom of movement, and involving non-governmental organisations in providing care and services -- could be implemented, as the experts and funding were available, but "there is no political will to do so", according to Gyulai.
"Scapegoating asylum-seekers is part of showing voters and the world that Hungary is a tough country, it seems human suffering is not important to the government."
By Hani Amara TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Leaders of Libya's U.N.-backed unity government ventured out onto the streets of Tripoli for the first time on Friday, amid signs of growing confidence in their bid for power. Unity government head Fayez Seraj and other members of its Presidential Council attended prayers at a mosque and met people in the main square before returning to the heavily-guarded naval compound where they have been based since arriving from Tunisia on Wednesday. Western powers are forcefully backing the unity government, hoping it will seek foreign support to confront Islamic State militants, deal with migrant flows from Libya to Europe and restore oil production to shore up Libya's economy. But the new government has failed to win backing from Libya's two rival administrations and parliaments, one pair of which is based in Tripoli and the other in the east. The head of the Tripoli-based National Salvation government, Khalifa Ghwell, has voiced strong opposition to any transfer of power, and Council members had to travel to Tripoli by ship after opponents shut down the capital's airspace. But a statement posted late on Thursday on the National Salvation government's website struck a milder tone, saying opposition would be "by peaceful and legal means without use of force or incitement to violence". "We will not cling to power," the statement said. "I demand that the revolutionaries, civil society and the senior clerics be given the opportunity to take the necessary decisions to avoid bloodshed and find a solution to the Libyan crisis." The Presidential Council faces huge challenges as it seeks to establish itself in a deeply divided country dominated by brigades of former rebels. Oil production has plunged and Islamic State has established its most important base outside Syria and Iraq. It has held meetings at the naval base with local politicians, lawmakers, bankers and businessmen as it begins its effort to take control of institutions in Tripoli and secure the backing of the capital's many armed groups. An official at the Foreign Ministry in Tripoli said security forces loyal to the Council had secured the ministry building and that the minister previously appointed by the National Salvation government had left peacefully. The situation in other ministries and government offices was not yet clear, though a spokesman for the National Oil Corporation (NOC) reiterated its support for the new government and said it was waiting for an invitation to meet Seraj. WELCOME Security in Tripoli is volatile, but the city has been mostly calm since the Council members arrived on Wednesday. There have been small demonstrations in favor of the unity government, including one attended by several hundred people in Martyr's Square on Friday. Earlier, 10 western Libyan towns and cities said they welcomed and supported the Council's arrival. "The municipalities of the western coast are conscious that this is a critical stage," they said. "We call on all Libyans to be unified in their support for the Government of National Accord." The U.N. Security Council called on the Presidential Council to "immediately begin its work in Tripoli to broaden the basis of its support and to tackle Libya's political, security, humanitarian, economic and institutional challenges, and to confront the rising threat of terrorism". The European Union has imposed asset freezes and travel bans on Ghwell and the heads of the parliaments in Tripoli and the east, citing their role in obstructing the unity government. Those sanctions took effect on Friday. "The measures today constitute a first important step in support of the government of national unity," French Foreign Ministry spokesman Romain Nadal told reporters. "We are ready to consider if needed a widening of the sanctions list to other individuals who could prevent the installation of the this government," he said. (Additional reporting by Ahmed Elumami and John Irish; Writing by Aidan Lewis; Editing by Andrew Roche)
TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Tripoli's self-declared government has said it will not cling to power but will peacefully oppose a U.N.-backed unity government that arrived in the capital this week from Tunisia. Western powers hope the unity government will seek foreign support to confront the Islamic State militant group, deal with migrant flows from Libya towards Europe and restore oil production to shore up its economy. But the new government, which held its first meetings in Tripoli on Thursday at a heavily guarded naval base, has failed to win backing from Libya's two rival pairs of governments and parliaments, one based in Tripoli and one in the east. The head of the Tripoli-based National Salvation government, Khalifa Ghwell, has vehemently opposed any transfer of power. But a statement posted late on Thursday on the government's website struck a milder tone, saying opposition would be "by peaceful and legal means without use of force or incitement to violence". "We will not cling to power," the statement said. "I demand that the revolutionaries, civil society and the senior clerics be given the opportunity to take the necessary decisions to avoid bloodshed and find a solution to the Libyan crisis." In a boost for the new unity government and its leadership, or Presidential Council, 10 western Libyan towns and cities said they welcomed and supported its arrival. "The municipalities of the western coast are conscious that this is a critical stage," they said. "We call on all Libyans to be unified in their support for the Government of National Accord." The European Union has imposed asset freezes on Ghwell and the heads of the parliaments in Tripoli and the east, citing their role in obstructing the unity government. Those sanctions took effect on Friday. The new government's seven-member Presidential Council is trying to take control of institutions in Tripoli and to secure the backing of the capital's many armed groups. An official at the foreign ministry in Tripoli said security forces loyal to the Presidential Council had secured the ministry building and that the minister previously appointed by the National Salvation government had left peacefully. Tripoli has been mostly calm since the Council members arrived on Wednesday. They travelled to Tripoli by ship after opponents shut down the capital's air space to prevent them from flying in. (Writing by Aidan Lewis; Editing by Gareth Jones)
By Radu-Sorin Marinas BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Romania is planning to follow Poland and Hungary in widening its anti-terrorism laws after Islamic State attacks in Brussels, signaling growing concern among some eastern European countries over the threat of Islamist militants. None of the three countries has ever come under attack by Islamist militants and none has a sizeable Muslim population. But after the Brussels attacks killed more than 30 people and wounded dozens, the three countries appear to be getting nervous that they too could be targeted. By the end of the year, Romania is looking to expand a list of crimes to include training in militant camps and spreading propaganda and recruiting online, Liviu Codirla, a member of Romania's parliamentary committee overseeing the SRI secret service, told Reuters. Codirla's comments echoed sentiments expressed by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban who ordered the interior ministry to draw up new anti-terrorist laws shortly after the Brussels attacks. "The target of the ... bombings was Europe, not Brussels, so Hungary has to consider itself under attack even though luckily it happened outside Hungarian territory," Orban said. The proposed changes in Hungary would allow the government to access data servers of private phone and internet providers and to prioritize official communications in the event of a disruption of public systems. A draft of Poland's new anti-terrorism bill presented last week allows the state security agency to conduct surveillance of foreign suspects for up to three months without prior court approval. It allows for suspects to be held for 14 days without charges but with court approval, and for foreigners to be immediately deported if considered a threat. It also regulates the sale of pay-as-you-go SIM cards. (Writing by Wiktor Szary; Additional reporting by Luiza Ilie in Bucharest, Wiktor Szary in Warsaw, Marton Dunai and Sandor Peto in Budapest)
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in a phone conversation with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday, said militants were still crossing from Turkey into Syria across their joint border, Russia's foreign ministry said. "Lavrov once again drew attention to the Turkey-Syria border which still has holes and, according to our data, is actively being used to transfer militants via Turkey to Syria," the ministry said. Lavrov last month called for full implementation of U.N. Security Council resolutions demanding a halt to trade in oil with Islamic State and an end to "terrorists" crossing into Syria from countries, including Turkey. (Reporting by Polina Devitt; editing by Richard Balmforth)
Poroshenko calls on U.S. companies to cooperate with Ukrainian defense industry
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Washington met with representatives of leading U.S. defense industry companies that supply military-purpose commodities and services to Ukraine.
"President Poroshenko called on representatives of American companies to vigorously promote cooperation with Ukraine in the defense industry," the Ukrainian leader's press service said in a report on Thursday evening.
Poroshenko thanked those attending the meeting for the American side's important contribution to efforts to bolster Ukraine's defense potential and reiterated the need to intensify bilateral cooperation.
According to the press service, Poroshenko said there are broad opportunities to promote interaction between defense industry enterprises of Ukraine and the United States in a variety of promising areas, including "as part of cooperation in issues concerning the production of weapons and equipment, as well as involving American technologies and investment in joint projects with Ukraine."
Berlin (AFP) - Russia is running a "shadow government" in rebel-held territories of eastern Ukraine under the control of the FSB intelligence service, German newspaper Bild reported Wednesday, citing minutes from an official commission.
The report said that basic administrative functions of the cities of Donetsk and Lugansk are being run by six working groups at five Russian ministries.
The officials, who manage areas including tax law, transport infrastructure and the establishment of an electricity market, work under the auspices of the FSB and answer to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, according to the minutes cited in Bild.
"It is notable that no members of the self-declared people's republics in eastern Ukraine are on the commission," Bild said.
"They are simply informed about its findings and their political implementation."
Kozak denied the allegations, with his spokesman telling independent Russian TV channel Dojd: "We have nothing to do with that... It has never been said that Dmitry Kozak deals with any regions other than those of the Russian Federation."
The minutes derive from an October 2015 meeting of the so-called Interministerial Commission for the Provision of Humanitarian Aid for the Affected Areas of the Southeast of the Donetsk and Lugansk Regions.
Bild quoted an unnamed secret services agent as saying that the commission's work allowed the separatist regions to function as a Russian "satellite state".
Eastern Ukraine has been gripped for nearly two years in a war between government forces and pro-Moscow separatists.
Russia has repeatedly denied allegations that it has active forces in the war zone or exercises direct influence over the territories, saying it only provides humanitarian aid there.
The fighting has killed nearly 9,200 people since April 2014 and raised alarm across eastern European states about what they see as Putin's aggressive foreign policy stance.
A Western push to resolve the crisis has floundered as Ukraine and Russia have proved unable to agree on elections in the rebel-controlled areas.
Kiev has expressed fears that Russia -- already having annexed Crimea in 2014 -- may try to unsettle the country further by exerting influence over Donetsk and Lugansk within a reunified Ukraine.
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday dismissed as "dirty leaks" reports on an alleged agreement between Russia and the United States on the future of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. "Our American partners cannot publicly call into question this formula that ... only the people of Syria decide all the questions about the future of Syria," Lavrov told a news conference. "And in these dirty leaks which distort reality we obviously see Washington's inability to force some of its allies in the region and in Europe ... to give the Syrian people a sovereign right to decide their destiny as well as who will be their leader," Lavrov added. The Arabian newspaper al-Hayat reported on Thursday that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry had told several Arab countries that Russia and the U.S. reached an understanding on the future of Syria's peace process, including Assad's departure to another country at some unspecified stage. The Kremlin said the report was untrue. (Reporting by Dmitry Solovyov; Editing by Alexander Winning)
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)
By Clement Uwiringiyimana KIGALI (Reuters) - Two former senior Rwandan military officers have been sentenced to up to 21 years in jail on charges of inciting the public to cause an insurrection and links with exiled critics of President Paul Kagame. The two were arrested in 2014 and charged with what the prosecutor said was links to Patrick Karegeya, a Kagame opponent, former spy chief who was killed in 2014 in South Africa. The prosecution also accused them of having links with another exiled opponent of Kagame, former Rwandan army chief General Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa, who survived an assassination attempt in Johannesburg in 2010. The military court in Kigali handed Colonel Tom Byabagamba, who once served as the head of Kagame's security detail, 21 years in jail and 20 years to Frank Kanyambo Rusagara, a retired brigadier general. Rusagara and Byabagamba denied the charges throughout the trial. They said they planned to appeal against the sentences. The court found Byabagamba was guilty of inciting the public to insurrection, tarnishing the image of government while holding an official position, obstructing a criminal investigation and disrespect to the national flag, Major Narcisse Cyubahiro Nsengiyumva, one of the three judges giving the ruling, said late on Thursday. It also found Rusagara guilty of inciting the public to insurrection, tarnishing the image of government while holding an official position, as well as illegal possession of firearms. The court also found Rusagara and Byabagamba guilty of spreading the message of the Rwandan National Congress, an opposition group in South Africa, among whose members were Nyamwasa and Karegeya. Exiled Rwandan opposition members have in the past accused Kagame and his government of being responsible for Karegeya's death and for attacks on Nyamwasa and other overseas-based critics. Karegeya fled to South Africa in 2007 after allegedly plotting a coup against Kagame with Nyamwasa. Kagame and senior Rwandan officials have also denied any involvement attacks on exiled opponents, but have called them traitors who should not expect forgiveness or pity. The court also sentenced Rusagara's driver, retired Sergeant Francois Kabayiza, to five years in jail and a fine of 500,000 francs ($662) for obstructing a criminal investigation. ($1 = 755.0300 Rwandan francs) (Reporting by George Obulutsa; Editing by Alison Williams)
NAIROBI (Reuters) - A retired senior Rwandan politician has died in a Burundian jail where he was being held on suspicion of spying, both countries said on Thursday, adding to cross-border tensions that have increased dangerously in recent months. Jacques Bihozagara, a former Rwandan ambassador to France and Belgium and an ex-government minister, died on Wednesday in a jail in Burundi's capital Bujumbura where he had been held on espionage charges since December. "We assume he had a hypertension, and plan to carry out an autopsy today to know reasons of his death," Justice Ministry spokesman Elie Ntungwanayo said. Rwanda called the death suspicious. "Jacques Bihozagara is one of many Rwandans in Burundi who died violently or suspiciously in the past months," said Rwandan Foreign Ministry official Eugene Ngoga. In Washington, the U.S. State Department said Bihozagara's death highlighted concerns about reports of arbitrary arrests and torture in Burundi, and urged its government to allow monitors from the African Union and other organizations to investigate allegations of human rights abuses. Burundi has been in political turmoil since last April when President Pierre Nkurunziza decided to seek a third term, sparking street protests, a failed coup attempt and an exodus of refugees across the border to Rwanda. Burundi, where Nkurunziza eventually won re-election, accuses Rwanda of supporting a rebel group recruiting members in the refugee camps with the aim of bringing down the Burundian government, an accusation dismissed by Rwanda. Bihozagara was a frequent visitor to Burundi where he was said to have assets including property. (Additional reporting by Clement Uwiringiyimana in Kigali, and Washington Newsroom; Writing by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Robin Pomeroy and Sandra Maler)
The Coordination Group on operation, personnel training, and use of the Lithuanian-Polish-Ukrainian brigade LitPolUkrBrig has held a working meeting in Lublin in order to discuss the use of budget funds and deployment of staff and battalions in a series of international exercises.
Exercises under discussion included Anaconda 2016, Triple Brave 2016, and Common Challenge 2017, the press service of Ukraine's Defense Ministry reported.
The Group meets twice a year, said head of Ukrainian delegation, First Deputy Commander of High Mobility Airborne Brigade of Ukraine's Armed Forces Yuriy Sodol.
He said at such meetings the parties discuss management, budget control, and training of LitPolUkrBrig, giving further direction for development to the multinational brigade.
As reported earlier, in July 2015 Ukrainian, Lithuanian, and Polish defense ministry chiefs signed an agreement on the operation of the joint military unit - multinational brigade LitPolUkrBrig.
An opening ceremony of LitPolUkrBrig headquarters was held in Lublin (Poland) on January 25, 2016.
By Chris Arsenault TORONTO (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - To feed a growing population without destroying the world's forests, governments and companies need to harmonise rules on deforestation to stop farms or cattle ranches from moving operations into areas with weak environmental laws, researchers said on Monday. By 2030, 100 million new hectares of farm land, an area larger than Nigeria, will be needed to grow enough food for the world's growing population, said a study by Stanford University in the United States. But tighter land or environmental laws in one country can simply push deforestation into other regions, the study found, so legislation and regulations should be streamlined across large areas to balance competing interests for valuable lands. "This race to the bottom (towards regions with lax laws and enforcement) is one element of what's going on," Yann le Polain de Waroux, a researcher at Stanford University, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Large farming firms or cattle ranches also shift their operations to access cheap land or to be closer to their other investments, he said. The Gran Chaco, an area covering parts of Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay where the study was focused has been losing 6,000 square kilometres (2,317 square miles) of forests annually over the past decade, de Waroux said. Covering about 1,000,000 square kilometres, the Gran Chaco has a population of about 4 million, most of whom live in Argentina, according to the Organization of American States. Deforestation rates in the region exceeded those of the Brazilian Amazon for the first time in 2010. Based on interviews with 83 soybean and cattle farmers, researchers saw significant differences in environmental laws and levels of enforcement between the neighbouring states. Farming investment has flown into Formosa province in northern Argentina over the past five years, partially to take advantage of lax regulations on forest protection, de Waroux said. Paraguay has decent laws for preserving forests, but weak enforcement means firms are moving in to chop down the trees to expand agriculture, he said. "I think there is hope for harmonising standards among companies working in that region and working to respect the regulations that are already in place," the researcher said. Some large food companies say they are working to prevent products grown on deforested land from entering their supply chains. Unilever, Walmart and a group of other large retailers in the Consumer Goods Forum, with a combined revenue of $2.8 trillion, say they have committed to zero net deforestation in their supply chains by 2020. It remains unclear if companies will be able to meet these targets, but publicly committing to zero deforestation makes it easier for consumers to hold firms to account on the environment, de Waroux said. (Reporting By Chris Arsenault; Editing by Astrid Zweynert)
By implanting electrodes into the muscles of beetles, scientists can now precisely control how cyborg insects walk an ability that may help these bugs carry out complicated tasks, researchers said in a new study.
For decades, scientists have looked to insects for inspiration when designing robots, with the hope of learning from millions of years of evolution. After all, insects may be the most successful animals on Earth, making up about 75 percent of all animal species known to humanity.
In the past two decades, instead of attempting to create intricate robots that mimic the complexity of the insect form, researchers have tried hijacking bugs to turn them into robots themselves. Scientists can already control the flight of live moths using implanted electronics. Such cyborg insects could find a wide variety of uses, from espionage to search-and-rescue missions. [Video: It Walks! Scientists Turn Beetle Into 'Cyborg']
Although the researchers acknowledged that cyborg insects do have a number of drawbacks compared to true robots, such as limited life spans, they have several advantages, too. For example, insects are ready-made platforms, so inventors wouldn't have to devise and integrate countless tiny parts. Cyborg insects also consume about 100 times less power than robots of comparable size and do not "need complicated code to overcome obstructions" as robots do, study co-author Hirotaka Sato, a mechanical engineer at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, told Live Science. "We can just shut off our controls and let the insect overcome the obstructions by itself."
Previous research used electrical signals to spur cyborg insects to walk via electrodes wired to their antennas or brains. However, such connections could often prove unreliable, and scientists had no control over the speed or gait of the insects, the researchers said.
Instead of wiring the insects' antennas or brains, Sato and his colleagueswired the insects' muscles to control the way they walked a strategy the researchers say can improve the agility of cyborg insects toward practical applications. [Robots on the Run! 5 Bots That Can Really Move]
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Scientists experimented with Mecynorrhina torquata, a giant beetle native to central Africa that can grow to be up to 3.3 inches (8.5 centimeters) long. The researchers experimented with live male beetles purchased from a beetle company in Taiwan. (The males are the larger sex of the species.)
The scientists implanted eight pairs of electrodes in each beetle. These electrodes controlled eight muscles in the front legs of each beetle. Electrically stimulating the muscles could make the legs extend or retract, and lower or lift, the researchers said.
The scientists analyzed the natural 3D motions of the beetle legs to understand what sequences of motions normally occurred when the insects walked. Next, they developed sequences of electrical stimulation designed to precisely alter the beetles' step frequency, which, in turn, adjusted their step length and walking speed.
A future goal of this research is to control all six legs of insects, Sato said. The scientists also want to introduce systems to help monitor the positions of the cyborg insects and steer their paths toward specific targets, he added.
The scientists detailed their findings online March 30 in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface.
Follow us @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on Live Science.
Copyright 2016 LiveScience, a Purch company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
By Sebastien Malo NEW YORK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Global seas could rise nearly twice as much as previous, widely accepted estimates, according to a study published on Thursday saying low-lying cities face possible disaster by the end of the century. Sea levels could surge more than three feet (0.9 meter) by 2100 from melting Antarctic ice alone, on top of a three-foot rise already predicted, said the study by two American researchers that appeared in the science journal Nature. That same Antarctic ice melt could add nearly 50 feet (15 meters) of sea-level rise by the year 2500, it said. The earlier, commonly accepted prediction was made by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2013 estimating global sea levels rising more than three feet by 2100. "This could spell disaster for many low-lying cities," said co-author Robert DeConto, professor of geosciences at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, in a statement. Boston, for example, could see about five feet of sea level (more than 1.5 meters) at the end of the century, he said. Other low-lying cities often cited as being in jeopardy of rising sea levels include London, New York, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Sydney, Australia and Venice, Italy. The findings should sound an alarm bell for more greenhouse gas emission cuts, said co-author David Pollard, a senior scientist at Pennsylvania State University's Earth and Environmental Systems Institute. While the findings are "worst-case" possibilities, they "should be considered seriously," he said. (Reporting by Sebastien Malo, Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org)
United Nations (United States) (AFP) - The UN Security Council is expected to unanimously adopt a French draft resolution Friday that would lay the groundwork for a UN police presence to help quell violence in Burundi, diplomats said.
The council will meet at 2300 GMT for the vote that caps days of tough negotiations between France and the United States over the wording of the measure.
The draft resolution would request that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon report back to the council in 15 days with options for the deployment of the police presence.
Diplomats said they expected unanimous backing for the draft resolution after agreement was reached on a final text that addressed US objections to some provisions.
The final revised text dropped a reference to UN support for "disarmament" in Burundi -- a term that the United States saw as a potential source of problems after the Burundian government launched a crackdown to disarm opposition activists.
The draft resolution provides for the "deployment of a United Nations police contribution to increase the United Nations capacity to monitor the security situation, promote the respect of human rights and advance rule of law" in Burundi.
The text does not specify the size of the proposed police force but Russia has said that it would support a small deployment of fewer than 100 officers who could help Burundi ensure its security forces respect human rights.
The UN Security Council is under pressure to take action in Burundi where the recent slide into violence has raised fears of mass atrocities, similar to those that convulsed neighboring Rwanda.
Burundi has been in turmoil since President Pierre Nkurunziza announced plans in April to run for a third term, which he went on to win.
Violence has left more than 400 dead and driven more than 250,000 people across the border.
At a council meeting last week, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said reports of torture were on the rise since the beginning of the year and that Burundians "live in terror."
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A recent visit by UN rights officials to detention centers in the capital Bujumbura found that almost half of detainees had been tortured or ill-treated, some seriously, he said.
The draft resolution calls for beefing up the UN team of envoy Jamal Benomar, but the mandate of the enhanced political mission was not spelled out.
The measure expresses concern over reports of increased disappearances and acts of torture, but notes that killings have gone down.
Dakar (AFP) - Senegal holds a referendum Sunday on sweeping constitutional reforms, including cutting the presidential term from seven to five years.
Why is it controversial and what will the result mean for the country?
Why does the president want to reduce his own term limit?
Senegal's leader Macky Sall was elected in 2012 partly on a platform to reduce the presidential mandate from seven years to five.
His predecessor Abdoulaye Wade conceded defeat after pushing the nation into crisis with a controversial third term bid.
In March last year, Sall had said reducing his own mandate would set an example within Africa, where many leaders cling to power beyond their allotted term.
But Senegal's top court rejected his proposal this February, triggering a referendum that would allow the reforms to come into force once Sall leaves office in 2019 -- in the event of a "Yes" vote, that is.
Who are the 'No' camp?
Opposition parties and several civil society groups are urging Senegalese to vote "No", saying Sall reneged on his promise to leave office early and criticising the referendum as a cop-out.
The "No" camp has clashed sometimes violently with "Yes" supporters in a week of campaigning, with both sides alleging corruption, spreading misinformation and influence peddling against the other.
"No" activists accuse the government of misusing state funds to finance its campaign, which has seen giant "Yes" posters appear on billboards across the country.
How did the debate get so personal?
The referendum has become a Yes/No vote on Sall's popularity, eclipsing more than a dozen other proposed points of reform to the constitution.
Sall has been accused of everything from secretly manoeuvring for a third term to using the referendum as Trojan horse for gay marriage. Homosexuality is stigmatised and widely reviled in Senegal.
The president has responded to such attacks by describing them as evidence the "No" campaign has nothing of substance left to say.
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"They aren't exactly criticising my economic record," Sall quipped during the campaign.
What are the other proposed reforms?
The other proposals include a more defined role for the leader of the opposition, including the right to be consulted on matters of national security.
Independent candidates would be allowed to run in local elections for the first time, giving civil society groups a stronger platform.
Another reform states that "natural resources belong to the people", meaning that Senegalese would have the right to the proceeds of commodities or fossil fuel deposits extracted within the country enshrined in law.
Finally, the reforms propose the establishment of an advisory council to consider decentralisation and the reinforcement of checks and balances on the executive by parliament and the constitutional court.
What happens next?
Voting begins at 0800 GMT and ends at 1800 GMT on Sunday for up to five million Senegalese, though technical problems with producing voter ID cards will prevent 200,000 from exercising their democratic rights.
Partial results are expected to emerge a few hours later.
By Emma Farge ZIGUINCHOR, Senegal (Reuters) - When Sadio Gassama decided to go into medicine, he started by giving free check-ups at his mosque in Senegal's poor southern region of Casamance. Now, the 25-year-old medical student says he is treating Islamic State fighters in Libya. Until recently, many thought the peaceful, tolerant Sufi brotherhoods in countries such as Senegal could prevent more conservative and radical versions of Islam from taking hold in poorer parts of West Africa, like Mali and Niger. But security experts say Gassama's story shows how the penetration of hardline Islamic Salafism, coupled with Gulf money and militant propaganda, is aiding recruitment, even from stable and democratic Senegal. In particular, in their appeals to Africans, Islamic State propagandists are calling on doctors to make "hijrah", or pilgrimage, to their African stronghold of Sirte in Libya. Pictures posted on Gassama's Facebook page before he joined Islamic State show him hugging his young niece. Now, he is brandishing a machine gun, his name stitched on to his military uniform. Friends and family say Gassama's decision to join thousands of militants in Libya in December during the fifth year of his medical studies was sudden and unexpected. His shocked father described him as a 'humanist' motivated by a desire to help others. A former professor called him a "brilliant student, incapable of hurting anyone". But an interview with Gassama showed a darker side. Speaking from Sirte, he said he had been planning an attack in Dakar. "Senegal is lucky. I was planning to commit an attack there in the name of the Islamic State before one of their contacts helped me go to Libya," he told Reuters last month via the internet. He could not be reached subsequently. Friends said he took trucks to Libya via Mali and Niger, accompanied by another Senegalese man and paying his way with his student grant. "I left Senegal a year after embracing the ideology of the Islamic State," Gassama said. "Joining ISIS in Libya was relatively easy and accessible. I wanted to contribute to the establishment of a caliphate in Libya." Asked what he was doing there, he replied: "I am a jihadist doctor." Islamic State propaganda and security sources confirm fighters from countries including Chad, Ghana, Senegal and Nigeria are already in Libya, where the group is consolidating its presence. The number of sub-Saharan Africans is not known but they are thought to represent a minority of the 3,000-6,000 Islamic State fighters there, with most from North Africa and the Middle East. However, there are concerns more will travel there along the same desert routes migrants use to reach Europe, as Gassama did. "Libya is closer and easier to reach for some African fighters than Syria, and the political disarray there opens space for fighters to enter and operate," said Andrew Lebovich, a visiting fellow with the European Council on Foreign Relations who focuses on North Africa and the Sahel. GULF DONATIONS Across Africa's arid Sahel region, Western diplomats note an increase in conservatism, alongside tens of millions of dollars a year in charity donations from Gulf states. In Niger, some religious leaders are calling for a "re-Islamisation" against the secularism imposed by former colonial power France. This is already underway in the capital, Niamey, where some women wear the full veil and pay higher fares to avoid sharing taxis with men. Gulf-financed bodies deny links to radical groups and say their money is for charity, but local sources say it can go astray. "Contributions are intended for the poor and to build mosques but are often diverted in the wrong direction," said Bakary Sambe, director of the Timbuktu Institute and a coordinator for the Observatory on Religious Radicalism and Conflicts in Africa. This foreign money and the migration of Senegal's youth to the cities has undermined the country's Mouride brotherhood, an old-established Islamic Sufi order which preaches tolerance. In Gassama's home town of Ziguinchor, the mosque he attended in the HLM neighborhood is funded by a Kuwaiti NGO called Africa Muslims Agency. AMA director Almany Badji said it was one of more than 100 mosques it has financed in Casamance. The mosque Gassama attended at Dakar's Cheikh Anta Diop University also has Salafist leanings, Sambe said. Gassama did not say who helped him join Islamic State more than a year ago, referring only to 'guidance' in Senegal. "Through meetings with local scholars it became clear that jihad was my Muslim duty," he told Reuters. His friends and family said the only change they noticed before he left was to a more Salafist dress code. "His pants were shorter and did not reach all the way to the floor," said his father, Boucar Gassama, a retired civil servant, surrounded by Gassama's siblings in the shady courtyard of his house. "But I could not know he had been radicalized." CALLS FOR REFORM There is growing concern in West Africa about recruitment into Islamic State and other militant groups after attacks in Mali, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast. Modou Faye, Gassama's professor, says students need more guidance in reading the Koran, which is often rote-learnt at religious schools similar to one Gassama attended. Mauritania has closed several Koranic schools for security reasons, officials said. In Mali, where an Islamist insurgency is intensifying, some are calling for checks on mosques and NGOs. "We must take stock of the potential risks of collusion between civil society and terrorists, better monitor places where radicalization occurs, keep tabs on all suspect individuals like radical preachers and trace their funds," former Prime Minister Moussa Mara said. But others say labeling peaceful Islamic groups as jihadists is risky. Depriving poor communities of services such as orphanages and free study trips to Saudi Arabia could provoke a backlash. "A politician who attempts to regulate this risks losing his electorate," said Moulaye Hassane, researcher at the Institute of Research and Human Sciences and Niger's former ambassador to Saudi Arabia. "I think they are afraid." (Additional reporting by Abdoulaye Massalaki in Niamey and Diadie Ba in Dakar; editing by Giles Elgood)
By Emma Farge ZIGUINCHOR, Senegal (Reuters) - When Sadio Gassama decided to go into medicine, he started by giving free check-ups at his mosque in Senegal's poor southern region of Casamance. Now, the 25-year-old medical student says he is treating Islamic State fighters in Libya. Until recently, many thought the peaceful, tolerant Sufi brotherhoods in countries such as Senegal could prevent more conservative and radical versions of Islam from taking hold in poorer parts of West Africa, like Mali and Niger. But security experts say Gassama's story shows how the penetration of hardline Islamic Salafism, coupled with Gulf money and militant propaganda, is aiding recruitment, even from stable and democratic Senegal. In particular, in their appeals to Africans, Islamic State propagandists are calling on doctors to make "hijrah", or pilgrimage, to their African stronghold of Sirte in Libya. Pictures posted on Gassama's Facebook page before he joined Islamic State show him hugging his young niece. Now, he is brandishing a machine gun, his name stitched on to his military uniform. Friends and family say Gassama's decision to join thousands of militants in Libya in December during the fifth year of his medical studies was sudden and unexpected. His shocked father described him as a 'humanist' motivated by a desire to help others. A former professor called him a "brilliant student, incapable of hurting anyone". But an interview with Gassama showed a darker side. Speaking from Sirte, he said he had been planning an attack in Dakar. "Senegal is lucky. I was planning to commit an attack there in the name of the Islamic State before one of their contacts helped me go to Libya," he told Reuters last month via the internet. He could not be reached subsequently. Friends said he took trucks to Libya via Mali and Niger, accompanied by another Senegalese man and paying his way with his student grant. "I left Senegal a year after embracing the ideology of the Islamic State," Gassama said. "Joining ISIS in Libya was relatively easy and accessible. I wanted to contribute to the establishment of a caliphate in Libya." Asked what he was doing there, he replied: "I am a jihadist doctor." Islamic State propaganda and security sources confirm fighters from countries including Chad, Ghana, Senegal and Nigeria are already in Libya, where the group is consolidating its presence. The number of sub-Saharan Africans is not known but they are thought to represent a minority of the 3,000-6,000 Islamic State fighters there, with most from North Africa and the Middle East. However, there are concerns more will travel there along the same desert routes migrants use to reach Europe, as Gassama did. "Libya is closer and easier to reach for some African fighters than Syria, and the political disarray there opens space for fighters to enter and operate," said Andrew Lebovich, a visiting fellow with the European Council on Foreign Relations who focuses on North Africa and the Sahel. GULF DONATIONS Across Africa's arid Sahel region, Western diplomats note an increase in conservatism, alongside tens of millions of dollars a year in charity donations from Gulf states. In Niger, some religious leaders are calling for a "re-Islamisation" against the secularism imposed by former colonial power France. This is already underway in the capital, Niamey, where some women wear the full veil and pay higher fares to avoid sharing taxis with men. Gulf-financed bodies deny links to radical groups and say their money is for charity, but local sources say it can go astray. "Contributions are intended for the poor and to build mosques but are often diverted in the wrong direction," said Bakary Sambe, director of the Timbuktu Institute and a coordinator for the Observatory on Religious Radicalism and Conflicts in Africa. This foreign money and the migration of Senegal's youth to the cities has undermined the country's Mouride brotherhood, an old-established Islamic Sufi order which preaches tolerance. In Gassama's home town of Ziguinchor, the mosque he attended in the HLM neighbourhood is funded by a Kuwaiti NGO called Africa Muslims Agency. AMA director Almany Badji said it was one of more than 100 mosques it has financed in Casamance. The mosque Gassama attended at Dakar's Cheikh Anta Diop University also has Salafist leanings, Sambe said. Gassama did not say who helped him join Islamic State more than a year ago, referring only to 'guidance' in Senegal. "Through meetings with local scholars it became clear that jihad was my Muslim duty," he told Reuters. His friends and family said the only change they noticed before he left was to a more Salafist dress code. "His pants were shorter and did not reach all the way to the floor," said his father, Boucar Gassama, a retired civil servant, surrounded by Gassama's siblings in the shady courtyard of his house. "But I could not know he had been radicalised." CALLS FOR REFORM There is growing concern in West Africa about recruitment into Islamic State and other militant groups after attacks in Mali, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast. Modou Faye, Gassama's professor, says students need more guidance in reading the Koran, which is often rote-learnt at religious schools similar to one Gassama attended. Mauritania has closed several Koranic schools for security reasons, officials said. In Mali, where an Islamist insurgency is intensifying, some are calling for checks on mosques and NGOs. "We must take stock of the potential risks of collusion between civil society and terrorists, better monitor places where radicalisation occurs, keep tabs on all suspect individuals like radical preachers and trace their funds," former Prime Minister Moussa Mara said. But others say labelling peaceful Islamic groups as jihadists is risky. Depriving poor communities of services such as orphanages and free study trips to Saudi Arabia could provoke a backlash. "A politician who attempts to regulate this risks losing his electorate," said Moulaye Hassane, researcher at the Institute of Research and Human Sciences and Niger's former ambassador to Saudi Arabia. "I think they are afraid." (Additional reporting by Abdoulaye Massalaki in Niamey and Diadie Ba in Dakar; editing by Giles Elgood)
Dakar (AFP) - Senegal has voted overwhelmingly in favour of limiting presidential terms to five years, the country's interior minister said Tuesday, after a weekend referendum widely seen as a test of the president's popularity.
Interior minister Abdoulaye Daouda Diallo said that 62.9 percent voted "Yes" on constitutional reforms while 37.1 per cent voted against it.
Turnout was 40.42 percent of eligible voters, he told a press conference.
The official referendum results will be published on Friday by the country's electoral commission and require constitutional court approval.
President Macky Sall was elected in 2012 partly on a platform to reduce the presidential mandate from seven years to five.
Sall had said reducing his own mandate would set an example within Africa, where many leaders cling to power beyond their allotted term.
But Senegal's top court rejected his proposal in February, triggering the referendum to allow the reforms to come into force once Sall leaves office.
Opposition parties and several civil society groups urged a "No" vote, arguing that Sall reneged on his promise to leave office early and criticising the referendum as a cop-out.
The referendum became a de facto Yes/No vote on Sall's popularity, eclipsing more than a dozen other proposed points of reform to the constitution.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has met with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker in Washington DC to discuss investments in Ukraine.
"The head of state informed on the course of reforms in Ukraine, which provides new opportunities for the involvement of American investments in the Ukrainian economy," the Ukrainian presidential press service said.
The interlocutors also discussed the attraction of U.S. loans. The U.S. secretary of state pledged assistance in the boosting of operations of the Export-Import Bank of the United States and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) in Ukraine.
According to the report, Pritzker backed Poroshenko's initiative to create a National Investment Council with the participation of leading U.S. companies.
Belgrade (AFP) - Serbia and Russia on Friday criticised the UN war crimes tribunal, alleging bias after it convicted wartime Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic of genocide.
Judges at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) on Thursday found the wartime Bosnian Serb leader guilty on 10 charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in Bosnia's 1990s conflict.
While victims of Karadzic's crimes said his 40-year jail sentence did not go far enough, both Moscow and Belgrade suggested the Hague-based court was biased against Serbs.
"All justice that leads to the conviction of one people for crimes that were committed by everyone is selective," said Serbian Justice Minister Nikola Selakovic, reading out a statement following a government meeting on the verdict.
He said the work of the ICTY over the years had left a "bitter taste".
Karadzic is the highest-profile figure to be convicted over the wars that tore Yugoslavia apart, with several others dying before they could face justice.
Many Serbs believe the court has unfairly targeted them.
"We have said for a long time that the activity of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia is politicised," said Russia's deputy foreign minister Gennady Gatilov.
Asked if Karadzic's conviction was also politicised, he answered "Yes," Interfax news agency reported.
"Unfortunately all the cases that have been examined have been one-sided," Gatilov said, adding the court did not examine "crimes by Kosovar leaders and the military".
- Close allies -
Russian ally Serbia and Kosovo fought a war in the late 1990s and neither Moscow nor Belgrade recognise Kosovo's declaration of independence in 2008, recognised by more than 10 countries.
In 2012, Russia also criticised the ICTY's decision to clear two Croatian generals of war crimes.
Wartime Bosnian Serb leader Karadzic sentenced Thursday after being found guilty of genocide and other crimes during the 1992-95 war in Bosnia.
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Moscow has also criticised NATO's bombing of Yugoslavia, and on Friday said the UN judges at the tribunal "chose" to give the verdict against Karadzic on the 17th anniversary of the start of the bombing, on March 24 1999.
Russia's foreign ministry said Karadzic's sentence is "only the latest in the extremely harsh sentences to Serbs, carried out while other participants in the civil war in former Yugoslavia were acquitted."
The widow of Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic, who died in 2006 while on trial for war crimes at The Hague, fled to Russia in 2003 while his retired diplomat brother also lived in Russia before his death in 2013.
Karadzic, 70, was convicted of genocide for the 1995 Srebrenica massacre in which almost 8,000 Muslim men and boys were killed and their bodies dumped in mass graves by Bosnian Serb forces.
Women in Srebrenica widowed by the slaughter slammed his sentence as "inadequate".
But in Belgrade after the sentencing up to 5,000 ultranationalists chanted his name during a pre-election rally against the government, which also took aim at the tribunal.
At a memorial for victims of the 1999 bombing and again after the verdict, Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic warned against attacks on Bosnia's Serb entity, the Republika Srpska, which was founded by Karadzic.
Despite Serbia's closeness to Russia, former ultranationalist Vucic has taken a firmly pro-European stance and is keen to lead Serbia into the EU.
Bosnia's Muslim political leader, Bakir Izetbegovic, welcomed the verdict for Karadzic, while the United States said it closed "yet another painful chapter" in the story of the Yugoslav conflicts.
By Anastasia Moloney BOGOTA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - The scale of sex trafficking around illegal gold mines in parts of Latin America is "staggering," and thousands of people working there are prey to labor exploitation by organized crime groups, a think-tank said on Wednesday. "When these mines are directly controlled by criminal groups, or in areas controlled by organized crime, there is an elevated risk of human trafficking," the report by the Geneva-based organization said. "In Colombia and Peru particularly, and to a lesser extent in the other countries studied, our research uncovered numerous instances of labor trafficking and exploitation, sex trafficking and child labor." The report by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime examined the links between illegal gold mining, organized crime and human trafficking in nine countries - Peru and Colombia, the region's largest producers of illegal gold, Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador, Guyana, Mexico, Nicaragua and Venezuela. Livia Wagner, who wrote the report, said she had seen girls as young as 12 working in the brothels and bars around illegal gold mines in Madre de Dios, a vast province in Peru's Amazon jungle. "Sexual exploitation is very much prevalent in illegal mining areas, especially in Peru and Bolivia, and my impression is that the girls are getting younger and younger. The scale is staggering," Wagner, a private sector advisor at the Global Initiative, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. High gold prices from 2000 to 2010 created a gold rush and led organized crime groups to move into the multi-billion dollar illegal mining industry, especially in Peru and Colombia, the report said. It quoted Colombian police authorities as saying record gold prices and a government crackdown on cocaine trafficking had pushed the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebel group and criminal gangs to seek new revenue sources and expand into illegal mining in the past five years. MINING MORE PROFITABLE THAN DRUGS Profits from illegal mining are at least three times as high as those from drug trafficking, the Colombian government says. Though gold prices have fallen in recent years, organized crime groups are still driving the expansion of illegal gold mining, the report said. Global Initiative estimates up to 80 percent of the gold mined in Colombia is illegal, while government officials say about half of all mining operations in Colombia are illegal. In Peru's Madre de Dios province, in one mining area alone, known as Delta 1, around 2,000 sex workers were employed in 100 brothels, 60 percent of them children, according to 2010 estimates by Huarayo Association, a local campaign group. "Whenever there are large migrations of men to an area for employment, there is a high demand for sexual services, which often generates sex trafficking," the report said. Most women and girls come from poor backgrounds with little education and are easy prey for recruiters who offer them non-existent jobs as cooks and waitresses in mining camps. "The wives of miners ... (in Madre de Dios) are themselves the principal recruitment agents of new girls for the bars and brothels," the report said. Men, women and children are also found in forced labor, essentially slavery, in and around mines in Bolivia, Brazil, Nicaragua and Colombia, according to the U.S. State Department's 2015 Trafficking in Persons Report. A key reason why human trafficking flourishes in the illegal mining sector is because mines are often located in jungle areas that are hard to reach and there are few labor inspectors and police working in remote rural areas. "There's no police presence there," Wagner said. Local authorities trying to combat illegal gold mining have largely been helpless because of the power of criminal groups who corrupt officials, the report said. The governments of Peru and Colombia say clamping down on illegal mining is a top priority, and both have created special police units to tackle the problem. In the past few years, both countries have shut down thousands of mines operating without a government license and have rescued hundreds of victims of human trafficking during raids on illegal mines. (Reporting by Anastasia Moloney, editing by Tim Pearce. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, corruption and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org)
Rome (AFP) - Oil giant Shell has been dragged into a corruption probe linked to a major offshore deal in Nigeria, the company confirmed on Wednesday.
Following revelations in the Italian media, the Anglo-Dutch group said that its offices had been "visited" by anti-fraud investigators.
"We can confirm that representatives of the Dutch Financial Intelligence and Investigation Service (FIOD) and the Dutch Public Prosecutor recently visited Shell at its headquarters in The Hague," a spokesman said.
"The visit was related to OPL 245, an offshore block in Nigeria that was the subject of a series of long-standing disputes with the Federal Government of Nigeria. Shell is cooperating with the authorities and is looking into the allegations, which it takes seriously."
Italian daily Corriere della Sera reported earlier that the Dutch investigators were working in collaboration with Italian prosecutors looking into Shell and Italian energy group ENI's 2011 acquisition of joint exploitation rights to OPL245, which is estimated to contain up to nine billion barrels of crude.
Prosecutors in Milan have been investigating ENI executives involved in the deal since 2014.
Under the licensing accord, ENI made a payment to the Nigerian government of $1.09 billion to secure joint ownership while Shell, which already owned a 40-percent stake, handed over $200 million.
Most of this money was subsequently passed on to Malabu Oil and Gas, a company believed to be controlled by Chief Dan Etete, a former Nigerian Oil Minister.
In an episode that has come to be regarded as emblematic of Nigeria's problems with corruption, Etete had awarded the rights to the block to Malabu in 1998, at a time when he was close to Nigeria's then-military dictator General Sani Abacha.
The probe into ENI was triggered after an intermediary in the deal, Emeka Obi, sued Malabu in Britain's High Court and won an order that the company pay him $110 million in unpaid fees.
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ENI has always maintained that its actions in Nigeria have been beyond reproach and that all the money it had paid in Nigeria had gone directly to the government.
Shell also insisted it had not been involved in any wrongdoing. "Shell attaches the greatest importance to business integrity," a spokesman said.
"It's one of our core values and is a central tenet of the principles that govern the way we do business. All employees are expected to uphold these principles and failure to do so will result in consequences up to and including dismissal."
DAKAR (Reuters) - A recent flare-up of Ebola in Sierra Leone is over after no new transmissions of the disease were detected in the West African country, although the virus could resurface at any time, the World Health Organisation said on Thursday. Sierra Leone has had no new cases of the virus for 42 days, the WHO said, twice the length of the virus's incubation period - the time that elapses between transmission of the disease and the appearance of symptoms. The WHO said it marked a milestone in the fight against Ebola, which has cost the lives of more than 11,300 people since 2013 in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia, in the world's worst recorded outbreak of the disease. But it said that more flare-ups are possible because the virus can persist in the eyes, central nervous system and bodily fluids of some survivors. "Strong surveillance and emergency response capacity need to be maintained, along with rigorous hygiene practices at home and in health facilities and active community participation," WHO said in a statement. Sierra Leone was first declared free of Ebola transmissions in November before tests revealed one woman had died of the disease in January, the same week that the WHO had declared the region free of new transmissions of the virus. The case of Mariatu Jalloh, a female student, displayed how easily Ebola can return if precautions are not taken and patients do not seek quick medical attention. Jalloh had traveled across the country and come into contact with dozens of people after contracting the illness. Family members washed her corpse after she died, considered dangerous since the virus is contagious for days after death. Residents and authorities remain on edge across the region, though in many areas procedures to combat Ebola remain lax, experts say. At least three people from the same family have died in recent weeks from diarrhea and vomiting in a remote village in southeast Guinea, raising further concern about the disease spreading again. "There is in the same family a woman who died on 29 February and husband a week later. Their child died yesterday," said Fode Tass Sylla, spokesman for the National Coordination of the fight against Ebola in Guinea. Sylla said that it was unlikely that Ebola had caused the deaths because otherwise more would probably have been infected. He is waiting for test results from the child. Still, he was concerned that the bodies were not buried safely and the alert was not raised soon enough. "In principle, we should not have two deaths in a family without the alert is given," Sylla said. "This is why everyone is mobilized to clear up this matter." (Reporting by Edward McAllister; Additional reporting by Saliou Samb in CONAKRY; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
Russian Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin has said it is feasible to exchange Ukrainian pilot Nadia Savchenko, who was convicted for complicity in the murder two Russian journalists. He said an exchange for Russian citizens currently under arrest in Ukraine is possible.
"Certainly, justice demands that [Savchenko] serve the entire 22-year prison sentence [handed down by the court]. But if [a prisoner swap] this helps free good and honest people from Kyiv prisons, then it is possible to agree to such an exchange," Markin said on Friday.
Markin wrote in his column in the Vecherny Chelyabinsk newspaper that "there is only one option here under the law - return [Savchenko] to her native country in order to serve out her prison term there."
"It is impossible to pardon her if she does not admit her guilt and repent. In any case, granting a pardon is the Russian president's prerogative. He is the only person who can make such decisions," Markin wrote.
Kyiv will probably not require Savchenko to serve out her term, in defiance of the law and treaties, he said.
"The crisis in Ukraine will end with restoration the constitution and the cancellation of illegal decisions. So, even in this case her own fellow citizens will send Savchenko to a Ukrainian prison to finish serving her sentence. A little patience is all that is needed," Markin said.
Savchenko was sentenced to 22 years in prison last week. The verdict takes effect 10 days after sentencing. Savchenko instructed her lawyers not to appeal the verdict, hoping a political solution can be found quickly that will enable her to return to Ukraine.
Singapore's central bank confirmed Friday that it has asked a number of banks to provide information on fund flows as part of a probe into possible money-laundering related to Malaysian state firm 1MDB.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore issued a statement following a report by The Australian newspaper saying that it has asked about 40 banks with operations in the city-state to provide information on the matter.
"MAS is able to confirm that as part of its investigations into possible money-laundering and other offences in Singapore, it has been conducting a thorough review of various transactions as well as fund flows through our banking system," the central bank said.
"MAS has requested a number of financial institutions to furnish information relating to the review."
It also said it was working closely with authorities in other financial centres because of the cross-border nature of the fund flows.
"Besides any enforcement actions by the relevant authorities in Singapore for possible violations of our laws, MAS will not hesitate to take regulatory actions against financial institutions should they be found to have breached our banking rules," MAS said.
Transfers of as little as Au$50,000 ($38,365) are believed to be under scrutiny by the MAS, which is investigating whether the haul was split into small amounts in a bid to escape notice, The Australian said.
Neighbouring Malaysia has been rocked for more than a year by allegations that perhaps billions of dollars had gone missing from complex overseas transactions involving 1MDB, which is linked to Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.
Najib is under pressure to explain why he accepted hundreds of millions of dollars in mysterious overseas payments to his personal bank accounts that the Wall Street Journal said were used to fund lavish spending and payouts to political figures ahead of 2013 elections.
Najib, 62, has repeatedly denied that the money was siphoned off from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), and says he is the victim of a political conspiracy.
Singapore in February said it had seized "a large number of bank accounts" as part of investigations into 1MDB as authorities vowed not to let the city-state become a refuge for illicit funds.
US authorities are reportedly looking into 1MDB-related fund flows, while Swiss, British, Hong Kong and Luxembourg authorities are also scrutinising them.
Bangkok (AFP) - Beijing on Thursday called on Laos to bolster protection for Chinese citizens within its borders after six of its nationals were wounded by gunmen in the third attack of its kind this year.
The shooting took place north of the tourist hotspot Vang Vieng late Wednesday, when assailants opened fire on a Chinese passenger bus carrying 28 people from Kunming in southwestern China to the Laos capital Vientiane.
Six of the passengers were injured, two of them seriously, China's foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters.
"After the incident, the Chinese foreign ministry and embassy in Laos quickly launched representations to Laos, demanding Laos send military and police assistance to fully rescue the wounded... and to take concrete steps to strengthen the protection of Chinese citizens' safety," she said.
The foreign ministry batted down speculation that the victims were targeted on the basis of their nationality, despite two other similarly mysterious attacks this year that have killed three Chinese citizens and injured others in the mountainous region.
"When the criminals carried out their crimes it was not on the basis of nationality," Chua said.
The other attacks, in January and early March, prompted travel warnings from the US embassy in Vientiane.
The warning cited "the unpredictable nature of the violence and the lack of official information regarding possible motives or a Lao government response."
Laos is tightly run by its opaque Communist leaders, who bar a free press and have not offered a motive for the assaults.
The recent attacks have taken place in provinces historically home to outbreaks of insurgent violence waged by ethnic minorities against the country's repressive one-party state.
But Beijing's growing footprint in the poor nation has also stirred unease among locals in recent years.
China has invested heavily in Laos and capitalised on its bountiful water, forestry and mineral resources.
While this flood of foreign investment has fuelled impressive economic growth in the landlocked country over the past decade, the gains have not been evenly distributed and poverty remains widespread.
Normally isolated Laos will open its doors to host US President Barack Obama later this year, the culmination of its chairmanship of the ASEAN regional bloc.
By Tatiana Jancarikova BRATISLAVA (Reuters) - Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico moved closer on Monday to breaking an election stalemate after agreeing a draft of priorities for a new governing program in coalition talks with rival parties. Eight parties won seats in a March 5 election in which Fico's leftist Smer party garnered the most votes but lost its parliamentary majority, leaving the two-time prime minister with a tough task in forming a coalition among opposition factions. Fico's odds improved over the weekend when centrist party Siet (Net) and another opposition party, Most-Hid (Bridge), agreed to negotiate with him, reversing their earlier opposition. The change of heart came after the Slovak National Party (SNS) said it would not join talks on forming a broad right-wing coalition because of fears of instability. Taking a break in talks that lasted nearly nine hours, Fico said he believed he could agree on the priorities of a new governing program by Tuesday. "The result of today's long and difficult negotiations is a draft of program priorities ... that would serve as basis for cooperation of the four parties in forming a government," Fico told journalists on Monday. "We focused on program overlaps because there are four parties with different views and values. Despite long and difficult negotiations we did not find issues or questions that divide us." Fico did not give more details. The 51-year-old leader campaigned against allowing in any large numbers of migrants from the Middle East and beyond, and has sued the European Union over a decision to relocate hundreds of asylum-seekers to Slovakia. Slovakia, a euro zone country, will hold the EU's rotating presidency in the second half of the year, giving it a larger voice in formulating the bloc's agenda, including on migration. Fico's Smer party lost 34 of its current 83 seats in the election as voters responded to opposition campaigning against corruption and shortcomings in healthcare and education, while taking the same tough line on immigration. The four-party grouping would have 85 votes in the 150-seat parliament. However, three lawmakers from Siet already said they would leave the party in protest over teaming up with rival Smer, weakening Fico's coalition even before it is officially formed. Analysts say the budding coalition may clash in some areas but is likely to prove more stable than the alternative of a large center-right coalition that would have to pull in a few novice parties. "It's a crisis coalition but it would be much more stable during Slovakia's EU presidency than a coalition of six center-right parties," said Samuel Abraham, an analyst from the Bratislava International School of Liberal Arts. (Writing by Jason Hovet; Editing by Tom Brown)
Ljubljana (AFP) - Migrants hoping to trek from Greece towards northern Europe found their path blocked after a string of western Balkan nations slammed shut their borders, exacerbating a dire humanitarian situation on the Macedonian frontier.
Slovenia and Croatia, two of the countries along the route used by hundreds of thousands of people in recent months, barred entry to transiting migrants from midnight. Serbia indicated it would follow suit.
EU member Slovenia said it would make exceptions only for migrants wishing to claim asylum in the country or for those seeking entry "on humanitarian grounds and in accordance with the rules of the Schengen zone".
Prime Minister Miro Cerar said the move meant that "the (Balkan) route for illegal migrations no longer exists", while EU President Donald Tusk said on Twitter, "Irregular flows of migrants along Western Balkans route have come to an end".
"Not a question of unilateral actions but common EU28 decision... I thank Western Balkan countries for implementing part of EU's comprehensive strategy to deal with migration crisis," Tusk added.
As the 28-nation EU battles the worst migration crisis since World War II, the fresh measures ramped up the pressure on the bloc to seal a proposed deal with Turkey to ease the chaos.
- Hoping for a 'miracle' -
Austria's decision in February to cap the number of migrants passing through its territory had already led to a gradual tightening of borders through the western Balkans -- and a backlog in Greece.
"This is putting into effect what is correct, and that is the end of the 'waving through' (of migrants) which attracted so many migrants last year and was the wrong approach," Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz said.
Authorities in Greece, the main entry point into the EU across the sea from Turkey, said Wednesday that nearly 36,000 migrants were now stranded there. Police said a further 4,000 were unaccounted for.
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The UN refugee agency estimated Wednesday there were also as many as 2,000 migrants stuck in Serbia.
There are fears that some will turn to people-smugglers and try their luck getting into Albania, and from there to Italy, or into Bulgaria.
Meanwhile, more than 14,000 mainly Syrian and Iraqi refugees have camped out on the Greece-Macedonia border crossing -- many of them for weeks -- at a squalid camp.
Macedonia has not let anyone enter since Monday.
"We are hoping a miracle will happen," said Ola, a 15-year-old from war-scarred Aleppo who has lived in a tent at Idomeni with her mother and two younger brothers for two weeks.
"We thought Germany wanted us. That's why we took the boat and came here."
Greek officials on Wednesday were trying to coax refugees to leave Idomeni for migrant centres elsewhere in the country. Many are reluctant to do so, however, fearing this would mean the end of their journey north.
- Merkel's open door -
More than a million people have crossed the Aegean Sea into Greece since the start of 2015, many from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq and most aiming to reach wealthy Germany, Austria and Scandinavia.
This has caused deep divisions among EU members about how to deal with the crisis and put German Chancellor Angela Merkel under severe pressure domestically for her open-door asylum policy.
Speaking during a visit to Washington on Wednesday, Danish Foreign Minister Kristian Jensen said Merkel had underestimated how many people would arrive after "sending out invitations to refugees around the world".
But Merkel, heading for a bruising in regional German elections on Sunday, hopes that a controversial deal discussed with Turkey at an EU summit on Monday, and due to be finalised on March 17-18, will be the answer.
The accord would see Turkey, currently hosting 2.7 million refugees from the five-year-old Syrian civil war and the main springboard for migrants heading to the EU, take back all illegal migrants landing in Greece.
Ankara proposed an arrangement under which the EU would resettle one Syrian refugee from camps in Turkey in exchange for every Syrian that Turkey takes from Greece, in a bid to reduce the incentive for people to board boats for Europe.
In return though, Turkey wants six billion euros ($6.6 billion) in aid, visa-free access to Europe's passport-free Schengen zone and a speeding up of Ankara's efforts to join the EU -- demands that go too far for some.
Ljubljana (AFP) - Slovenia said on Monday it has invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to attend a World War I commemoration event in spite of Western sanctions imposed on Moscow over the Ukraine crisis.
"Our positions differ concerning some important issues but that only strengthens the need for a dialogue," President Borut Pahor said in a letter to Putin, as quoted by the Slovenian leader's office.
On July 31, Slovenia will commemorate the 100th anniversary of a World War I accident, in which dozens of Russian prisoners of war were killed in an avalanche in the northern Vrsic region.
Last year, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev attended the ceremony.
The invitation came just hours after EU foreign ministers in Brussels called for the bloc to stand up to Russia and defend core political and security interests, even while trying to find a common stance on issues such as the Syrian conflict.
The EU imposed economic sanctions against Russia for its March 2014 annexation of Crimea and suspected further intervention in eastern Ukraine, sending ties into a deep freeze reminiscent of the Cold War.
Ljubljana (AFP) - Slovenia, which this week closed its borders to migrants, will begin in April accepting refugees shared out among the European Union under its troubled quota scheme, the government said Thursday.
"This year and next some 567 refugees will be relocated to Slovenia from Italy and Greece. A first group is to arrive in April," interior ministry official Bostjan Sefic told a news conference.
"Slovenia has expressed its wish that most of the relocated refugees are families but we cannot expect only families will arrive," he said after a cabinet meeting.
The plan foresees the monthly relocation of between 40 and 50 refugees until June 2017, he said. Twenty other Syrian refugees, or two to four families, will be resettled this year from third countries.
The EU adopted a scheme in September to relocate 160,000 Syrian, Iraqi and Eritrean refugees from Greece and Italy but only 885 people have since been moved to other member states.
EU member Slovenia in recent months allowed hundreds of thousands of migrants travelling northwards through the Balkans to Greece to pass through its territory into Austria and beyond.
But on Wednesday it barred entry to all migrants except those wishing to apply for asylum in Slovenia or those with humanitarian needs or people a valid visa. Croatia and Serbia followed suit.
This followed a tightening of border controls throughout the western Balkans following Austria's decision in February to cap the number of people passing through and applying for asylum.
This has created a bottleneck of thousands of people at the Greece-Macedonia border. Brussels is pinning its hopes on a mooted deal with Turkey to stop migrants entering Greece in the first place.
By Dustin Volz (Reuters) - Some social media users raised concerns on Friday over networking forum Reddit's removal from its site of a section that told users it had never received a certain type of surveillance request from the U.S. government. The quiet change, made on Thursday, suggested that Reddit may now be being asked to hand over customer data to FBI investigators under a secretive government authority. Reddit made the change to its annual transparency report, also released Thursday, which lists a variety of requests the site has received for information on users and for removal of content. It deleted a paragraph known as a warrant canary. This paragraph stated that it had not been subject to national security letters, which are used by the FBI to conduct electronic surveillance without the need for court approval, or "any other classified request for user information." Social media users expressed concern on Twitter and on Reddit itself. "Is dissent a threat to national security?" tweeted Edward Snowden (@Snowden), a former National Security Agency contractor who leaked classified documents about U.S. surveillance programs to the media and is now exiled in Moscow. "When you ask someone 'Are you helping authorities in investigations?' and they say 'I'm not allowed to discuss that with you,' I think the question has been answered," wrote Reddit user khegiobridge. National security letters are almost always accompanied by an open-ended gag order barring companies from disclosing the contents of the demand for customer data, making it difficult for firms to openly discuss how they handle the subpoenas. That has led many companies to rely on somewhat vague warnings. "I've been advised not to say anything one way or the other," Reddit Chief Executive Officer Steve Huffman, who goes by "spez" on the site, said in a thread discussing the change. Even with the canaries, we're treading a fine line. Reddit did not respond to a request for comment. The Federal Bureau of Investigation did not respond to a request for comment. National security letters have been available as a law enforcement tool since the 1970s, but their frequency and breadth expanded dramatically under the USA Patriot Act, which was passed shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States by Islamist militants. Several thousand of the letters are now issued by the FBI every year. At one point more than 50,000 such letters were issued annually. (Additional reporting by Amy Tennery, Anjali Athavaley and Melissa Fares)
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has lodged a protest over the Russian Supreme Court's refusal to rule in favor of an appeal filed by Ukrainian citizen Valentyn Vyhovsky, who was been sentenced in Russia to 11 years in prison.
"The Foreign Ministry of Ukraine has expressed its resolute protest over the refusal of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation to rule in favor of an appeal filed by Valentyn Vyhovsky's defense team contesting the verdict of the Moscow Regional Court, which sentenced the Ukrainian to 11 years in a high-security prison," the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said.
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry demands that the Russian side repeal "the guilty verdict," it said.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry considers the trial over Vyhovsky to be "biased," it said.
The Russian Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the verdict handed down to Ukrainian citizen Valentyn Vyhovsky, who was convicted of espionage and sentenced to 11 years in a high-security prison.
The Russian Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the verdict handed down to Ukrainian citizen Valentyn Vyhovsky, who was convicted of espionage and sentenced to 11 years in a high-security prison.
Johannesburg (AFP) - South African President Jacob Zuma, who was on Thursday excoriated by the country's highest court for failing to uphold the constitution, is no stranger to scandal.
In a public humiliation, the Constitutional Court berated him over taxpayers' money spent on his private home at Nkandla -- but Zuma has ridden out many similar storms in the past.
Here are five of his biggest career controversies:
RAPE CHARGES AND AIDS
Before taking office, Zuma dismayed the nation during his trial for rape in 2006 when he told the court he had showered to avoid contracting HIV after having unprotected sex with his HIV-positive accuser.
He was head of the country's national AIDS council at the time.
Zuma claimed the sex with the 31-year-old family friend was consensual and was acquitted of rape.
But he is still mocked over the case in newspaper cartoons -- where he is often depicted with a shower nozzle sprouting from his bald head.
Nearly 20 percent of South Africans aged between 15 and 49 are HIV positive.
GUPTAGATE
As the Nkandla debacle built to a climax, its place in the headlines was overtaken by a new scandal, known as Guptagate.
It involves the president's allegedly corrupt relationship with a wealthy family of Indian immigrants headed by three brothers, Ajay, Atul and Rajesh Gupta, who have built a business empire in mining, media, technology and engineering.
Smouldering rumours of the family's undue influence on the president burst into flame in March when evidence emerged that they were alleged to have offered key government jobs to those who might help their business interests.
Deputy finance minister Mcebisi Jonas revealed that the Guptas had offered him a promotion shortly before Zuma sacked respected finance minister Nhlanhla Nene in December.
The opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) has laid corruption charges against the Guptas and Zuma's son Duduzane, who is in partnership with the family.
The president was also alleged to have allowed the family to use a military airport to fly in guests for a wedding in 2013.
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ARMS DEAL
A High Court challenge is underway to reinstate more than 700 charges of corruption against Zuma which were dropped in 2009, shortly before he became president.
The charges, which relate to a multi-billion dollar arms deal signed in 1999, when Zuma was deputy president, were dropped allegedly because of interference in the prosecution case by his political opponents.
Zuma was accused of having accepted bribes from international arms manufacturers to influence the choice of weaponry.
Zuma's advisor, Schabir Shaik, was jailed for 15 years on related charges in 2005, with the judge saying there was "overwhelming" evidence of a corrupt relationship between Shaik and Zuma.
Shaik was released on medical parole in 1999, the year Zuma became president.
OMAR AL-BASHIR
Earlier this month the South African Supreme Court of Appeal upheld a judgement that the failure by Zuma's government to arrest Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir was illegal.
Despite an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes in the conflict in Darfur, Bashir was allowed to attend a meeting of the African Union in Johannesburg last year.
The government said the fact that he was attending the summit as a head of state meant he had immunity, but the court disagreed.
Zuma escaped an impeachment attempt over the issue in parliament in September last year, when ANC lawmakers voted overwhelmingly against it.
NKANDLA
Public Protector Thuli Madonsela, the country's ombudswoman, ruled in 2014 that Zuma had "benefited unduly" from so-called security upgrades to his rural Nkandla residence in KwaZulu-Natal province, and that he should re-fund some of the money.
The work, paid for with taxpayers' money, cost $24 million and included a swimming pool, described as a fire-fighting facility, a chicken run, a cattle enclosure, an amphitheatre and a visitors' centre.
For two years, Zuma fought the order to repay some of the money and the scandal came to dominate his presidency -- with opposition lawmakers chanting "Pay back the money!" every time he appeared in parliament.
By Ed Cropley and Nqobile Dludla JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African President Jacob Zuma on Friday denied acting dishonestly in a scandal over improper state spending at his private home, after a scathing court ruling prompted calls for him to resign. The scandal is arguably the biggest yet to hit Zuma, who has fended off accusations of corruption, influence peddling and even rape since before he took office in 2009. It comes ahead of local elections that could see the ruling African National Congress (ANC) lose support. South Africa's top court on Thursday held that Zuma had failed to uphold the constitution by ignoring instructions to pay back some of the $16 million in state funds spent on renovations at his sprawling residence at Nkandla. In a televised address to the nation on Friday evening, an apparently contrite Zuma apologized and said he would pay back some of the money, as ordered. A report in 2014 identified a swimming pool, cattle enclosure, chicken run, amphitheatre and visitor center as upgrades to the compound that were not related to security and that Zuma must pay for. Early estimates suggest he will have to pay about $680,000. "I wish to emphasize that I never knowingly or deliberately set out to violate the constitution," Zuma said. "Any action that has been found not to be in keeping with the constitution happened because of a different approach and different legal advice," he said, before issuing an apology for the "frustration and confusion" caused by the scandal. Zuma, who has an earthy manner and can be combative in the political arena, looked shaken at times and his tone throughout was somber. It was a sharp contrast to his past utterances on the issue, including one in parliament where he mocked the way non-Zulu members of the house pronounced "Nkandla." Opposition parties, who have been calling for the 73-year-old to resign, dismissed his remarks. "The president is misleading South Africa. He said repeatedly he always wanted to pay. He never wanted to pay," Democratic Alliance leader Mmusi Maimane told Reuters after the televised address. WHITEWASH Analysts were also unimpressed. "It's a gutless whitewash. And it was an opportunity missed to take the country into his confidence and say I messed up and this is how we are going to deal with it," said Gary van Staden, political analyst at NKC African Economics. "It also means the politics of this will drag on, which is not good for the country because it means a period of uncertainty that we don't need," he said. The opposition has launched impeachment proceedings against Zuma but these are unlikely to be successful because of the ANC's strong majority in parliament. However, some South Africans believe the scandal could still bring Zuma down by persuading some in the ANC, which has run South Africa since the end of apartheid in 1994, to abandon him. ANC Secretary General Gwede Mantashe quashed that speculation, telling a news conference after Zuma's address that the party's top leadership was united behind its leader. He also accused the opposition of over-reacting in their calls for Zuma's impeachment, adding that the party was weary of external attempts to get it "to tear itself apart" over Nkandla. The rand , which has been pummeled since December by a string of Zuma-related scandals, was 1 percent stronger against the dollar as he started to speak but fell back as market speculation he might resign diminished. (Additional reporting by Ed Stoddard and Tiisetso Motsoeneng; editing by Giles Elgood)
Johannesburg (AFP) - President Jacob Zuma flouted the constitution in using public funds to upgrade his private residence and must repay the money, South Africa's top court ruled Thursday, sparking calls for his impeachment.
The Constitutional Court delivered a damning verdict on Zuma's conduct after a swimming pool, chicken run, cattle enclosure and amphitheatre were built at his rural homestead as so-called "security" measures.
The president had refused an ombudswoman's orders to repay money spent on the upgrades, which became a symbol of alleged corruption and greed within the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party.
Zuma "failed to uphold, defend and respect the constitution as the supreme law of the land," Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng said in a strongly-worded judgement.
The unprecedented rebuke came as Zuma fights back against separate allegations that a wealthy Indian family influenced ministerial appointments in a scandal that has rocked his government.
Zuma has also been battered by the country's sharply declining economy.
But he retains a strong grip on parliament through his dominant leadership of the ANC, and any impeachment bid looked unlikely to succeed.
Public Protector Thuli Madonsela, the country's ombudswoman, ruled in 2014 that Zuma had "benefited unduly" from the work on the Nkandla property in KwaZulu-Natal province, and that he should re-fund some of the money.
The president reacted by ordering two government investigations that cleared his name -- including a report by the police minister which concluded that the swimming pool was a fire-fighting precaution.
Mogoeng said on Thursday that Zuma "must personally pay the amount determined by the national treasury."
The work was valued in 2014 at 216 million rand (then $24 million).
"President Jacob Zuma's action amounts to a serious violation of the Constitution, and constitutes grounds for impeachment," the Democratic Alliance (DA), South Africa's main opposition party, said.
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It added that it had officially begun the process to impeach Zuma.
- Zuma weakened? -
But the ANC controls parliament after winning elections in 2014, and Zuma easily survived a no-confidence vote earlier this month.
A successful vote to impeach Zuma would require a two-thirds majority in the assembly.
The DA brought the case to court along with the far left Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party.
"We call on the president to step down with immediate effect," EFF leader Julius Malema said. "We would call upon the ANC to do the right thing and recall the president."
Opposition parties hope Thursday's ruling will bring gains in local elections this year, as frustration grows over 25 percent unemployment and grinding poverty for many black people more than 20 years after the end of apartheid.
Zuma has recently endured renewed corruption allegations after deputy finance minister Mcebisi Jonas said he was offered a promotion by the Guptas, an Indian business family said to hold huge sway over the president.
The president has faced growing criticism since he sacked two finance ministers within days in December, triggering a collapse in the rand and a major withdrawal of foreign investors.
"He enjoys less power inside the ANC than he did before firing the finance ministers in December," Aubrey Matshiqi, analyst at the Helen Suzman Foundation, told AFP.
"But the erosion in power he has suffered is not sufficient and does not constitute a direct threat yet to his position."
Zuma, 73, will have completed two terms in 2019 and is not eligible to run for president again.
But the ANC, which led the fight against white-minority rule and has ruled since Nelson Mandela became president in 1994, could replace him ahead of the vote.
Zuma issued a brief statement saying he respected the court's decision, while senior ANC figures were due to meet to discuss its implications.
"The Constitutional Court has restored hope in the constitutional dream for a man on the street to hold the government accountable," Public Protector Thuli Madonsela said after the ruling.
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)
PRETORIA (Reuters) - South Africa's finance minister said on Friday the Constitutional Court ruling ordering President Jacob Zuma to reimburse the state part of the money spent on improving his private residence showed that government institutions were functional. Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan also told a news conference that the current tough economic environment in South Africa required national cohesion. "It requires all role players to understand what national interest is; and to put that as the primary and most important thing that we need to protect so that ... we can inspire confidence in this economy," Gordhan said. (Reporting by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo; Writing by Mfuneko Toyana; Editing by Stella Mapenzauswa)
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's opposition Democratic Alliance will take any steps necessary to remove President Jacob Zuma from his post, should parliament fail to do so, its leader said on Friday. The DA said it had started proceedings to impeach Zuma after the country's highest court ruled on Thursday he had violated the Constitution by ignoring an order to repay some of the state money spent on improvements to his private home. (Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Writing by Stella Mapenzauswa; Editing by Tiisetso Motsoeneng)
By Nqobile Dludla JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African President Jacob Zuma denied acting dishonestly during a long-running scandal over improper state spending at his private Nkandla home, the day after a scathing constitutional court ruling on the saga. In a Friday evening address to the nation, Zuma said his response to a report by Public Protector Thuli Madonsela, a constitutionally mandated watchdog, ordering him to repay some of the money was "in good faith" but based on unsound legal advice. "I wish to emphasise that I never knowingly or deliberately set out to violate the constitution," Zuma said. "Any action that has been found not to be in keeping with the constitution happened because of a different approach and different legal advice," he said, before issuing an apology for the "frustration and confusion" caused by the scandal. Opposition parties, who have been calling for the 73-year-old to resign, dismissed his pronouncements as misleading. Leaders of his ruling African National Congress (ANC) party are also due to hold a news conference shortly. The opposition has launched impeachment proceedings against Zuma but these are unlikely to be successful because of the ANC's strong majority in parliament. However, some South Africans believe the scandal could still bring down the 73-year-old leader by persuading some in the ANC to abandon him. The rand, which has been pummelled since December by a string of Zuma-related scandals, was 1 percent stronger against the dollar as he started to speak but pulled back slightly as market speculation he might resign diminished. (Writing by Ed Cropley; Editing by Ed Stoddard)
SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea warned North Korea on Friday to stop disrupting GPS signal reception which it said forced some fishing boats to return to port and vowed to take action if it continued amid heightened tension over the North's nuclear and rocket tests. The South said that it had traced signals that disrupted Global Positioning Satellite reception in the South to four regions in the North close to the rivals' armed border on Thursday and again on Friday. South Korea has been on high alert against possible cyber attacks from the North, after its angry rhetoric threatening war and further weapons tests in response to new sanctions imposed last month by the U.N. Security Council and the South. "The disruptive activity is clearly a flagrant act of provocation that violates the armistice and International Telecommunication Union (ITU) rules and we urge that it stop immediately," the South's defense ministry said in a statement. ITU is the U.N. agency overseeing global telecommunication networks and technologies. The North would pay a price if it continued, the South's defense ministry said without elaborating. The reclusive North and rich, democratic South are technically still at war since their 1950-53 conflict ended in the armistice, not a peace treaty. The South's presidential office said the National Security Council met to discuss the GPS disruption and demanded the North "immediately stop the dangerous and reckless activity". Hundreds of South Korean fishing vessels off both coasts including 70 of the 332 that had left the eastern port of Sokcho on Friday returned early after suffering GPS malfunctions, media reports said, citing the coast guard. There have been no reports of air traffic disruptions, the South's transport ministry said. The North has attempted similar disruption in recent weeks, officials said. In March, South Korea's spy agency said the North had stepped up cyber attack efforts against the South, including a bid to break into a subway control system that was foiled. South Korea has previously blamed the North for cyber attacks against its nuclear power operator. The United States accused the North of a cyber attack against Sony Pictures in 2014, forcing the studio to cancel the scheduled release of a comedy film based on the fictional assassination of the country's leader. The North has denied responsibility. (Reporting by Ju-min Park and Hooyeon Kim; Editing by Jack Kim and Nick Macfie)
Vice-Premier and Culture Minister Viacheslav Kyrylenko insists on authorizing Ukraine's State TV and Radio Broadcasting Committee, customs and security agencies to withdraw all Russian-printed books with anti-Ukrainian content from sale in Ukraine.
"Legislations needs to be amended to provide state control functions to the State TV and Radio Broadcasting Committee, customs and security agencies, and other ministries to ensure the complete withdrawal of all booklets and publications of Russian origin that do not recognize Ukraine's state sovereignty and incite ethnic hatred," Kyrylenko said during the government's report in parliament on Friday.
Such draft resolutions are almost ready, he added.
Kyrylenko says that the Culture Ministry jointly with State TV and Radio Broadcasting Committee suggests the introduction of the so-called "automatic licensing" and explained the idea. "As soon as there is a report that a book published by a Russian publishing house and aimed at inciting ethnic hatred and undermining Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity has crossed the border, the produce should be seized and the publishing house should be sanctioned, and prohibited from selling its products in Ukraine."
He said a tentative list of Russian publishing houses has already been drawn up.
South Korea on Thursday sent the remains of dozens of Chinese soldiers killed during 1950-53 Korean War back to China for a final burial in their homeland.
Coffins carrying the remains of 36 soldiers -- excavated by South Korea's Defence Ministry from March to November last year -- were flown from Incheon airport to the northeastern city of Shenyang, where China has a state cemetery for its war dead.
In a separate ceremony on Monday, the remains, including bone fragments and skulls, had been placed in the coffins at a temporary mortuary in Paju, near the border with North Korea.
In 2013, South Korean President Park Geun-Hye had offered to return the bodies of the Chinese war dead as a goodwill gesture during a visit to Beijing.
Since then, Seoul has repatriated a total of 505 sets of remains, flying them back every year ahead of the annual Chinese Qingming, or tomb-sweeping, festival when many people visit and clean the graves of their ancestors.
This year's festival falls on April 4.
China fought alongside North Korea in the 1950-53 conflict -- its dramatic and crucial intervention coming after US-led forces had pushed the North Korean army into the far north of the peninsula.
Casualty figures remain disputed but Western estimates commonly cite a figure of 400,000 Chinese deaths, while Chinese sources mention a toll of about 180,000.
The bodies were initially buried in small plots scattered around the country.
In 1996, Seoul designated a special cemetery plot in Paju, just south of the heavily fortified border with North Korea, where all the remains of Chinese and North Korean soldiers still on South Korean soil could be buried together.
More than 700 North Korean soldiers are interred at Paju, but Pyongyang has ignored Seoul's offer to return them despite sporadic talks on the issue.
The site also holds the bodies of more than two dozen North Korean commandos killed in a daring but unsuccessful 1968 attack on the presidential palace in Seoul.
A North Korean agent responsible for the 1987 bombing of a South Korean airliner that killed 115 people, who committed suicide after he was captured, is also there.
United Nations (United States) (AFP) - South Sudan told the United Nations on Thursday that it expects hundreds of rebel troops to be airlifted to Juba this week, paving the way for the return of rebel leader Riek Machar.
Machar's arrival in Juba is a key step for the formation of a unity government that was agreed under a peace accord to end a brutal war which has killed tens of thousands of people over nearly 2.5 years.
South Sudan's Deputy Ambassador Joseph Moum Malok told the UN Security Council that "by the end of this week, if everything remains as planned... the entire 1,370 agreed forces will be in Juba paving the way for Dr Riek Machar to eventually come to Juba."
Machar, who was President Salva Kiir's deputy before the war, had been living in exile in Kenya and Ethiopia, but was re-appointed vice president in February.
Under the peace deal signed in August, Machar will join Kiir in a new 30-month transitional government leading to elections.
UN mission chief Ellen Margrethe Loj told the council that Machar's return to Juba to join the government "is when the hard work of rebuilding the country has to start and difficult decisions must be taken."
The United Nations is pushing Kiir and Machar to implement the peace accord despite ongoing fighting and delays.
UN aid chief Stephen O'Brien told the council that fighting was spreading despite the peace deal, with new outbreaks around Western Bahr el Ghazal, Western Equatoria, Jonglei and Malakal.
More than 150,000 people have fled their homes in the new violence that has already displaced more than two million people over the course of the war.
After winning independence from Sudan in 2011, South Sudan descended into war two years later, setting off a cycle of retaliatory killings that have split the poverty-stricken country along ethnic lines.
By Julien Toyer and Blanca Rodriguez MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's Socialist party and anti-austerity newcomer Podemos will hold talks on forming a coalition, exploring an as yet untried combination to break a deadlock that has left the country without a government since inconclusive elections in December. With the deadline for calling new elections little more than a month away, the parties' leaders -- meeting for only the second time this year -- agreed on Wednesday to start negotiating a possible deal this week. "I have seen a joint willingness to have this dialogue," Podemos' Pablo Iglesias told a news conference. "Starting this week I will roll up my sleeves and personally head Podemos' negotiating team." Iglesias also said he was ready to withdraw from any prospective coalition government if that helped secure a deal. A left-wing coalition, even if it also included the former communists of Izquierda Unida, would still be short of a parliamentary majority, and would need other parties to abstain or vote in its favor in a confidence vote, which may not be easy to achieve. A series of attempted alliances over the past 100 days involving the leading four parties have failed to end the stalemate. If there is no deal by May 2, new elections will have to be held, probably at the end of June. While Podemos believes a left-wing coalition should and could be backed by smaller parties and regional groups, the Socialists insist liberal party Ciudadanos should be part of the equation, something Iglesias does not want. Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez failed earlier this month to win the confidence of parliament when Podemos and the conservative ruling People's Party refused to back a government deal he had reached with Ciudadanos. But he said he was now more optimistic that a three-way deal could be reached. "We have a joint objective. We don't want elections (...) and we want to end the (acting) government of Mariano Rajoy," Sanchez told a news conference. "It will be complex, it's not a done deal, but we are today closer to a government of change in Spain than to repeat elections." (editing by John Stonestreet)
Attendees at a funeral mass earlier this month for Texas police officer David Hofer. The patrolman is one of 16 officers to be fatally shot this year. (Photo: Mark Lennihan/AP)
Michelle Dermyer changed her Facebook profile photo March 9 to a picture of a police badge honoring a former colleague of her husband who was gunned down on the job six years ago.
Three weeks later, its Virginia state police trooper Chad Dermyer Michelles spouse of 15 years who is being remembered.
A gunman shot the 37-year-old multiple times Thursday at a busy Richmond Greyhound station. Authorities said Dermyer had been participating in a training exercise at the bus depot when a brief encounter with the suspect quickly turned violent.
Virginia state Trooper Chad Dermyer, who was slain Thursday, and his wife, Michelle. (Facebook)
Statistics show that the average number of police officers fatally shot in the line of duty has decreased from 127 per year in the 1970s to 57 per year in the 2000s. But 2016 is off to a dreadful start.
Dermyer, a Marine veteran and father of two, is the 16th law enforcement officer to be killed by a gunman this year a 129 percent increase over the first three months of 2015, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.
Police nationwide are taking notice.
The numbers are very chilling, said Jim Pasco, executive director of the Fraternal Order of Police. Whats really scary is that these increases happen in spite of the fact that police are better trained and better equipped today. What that points to is a greater predisposition on the part of violent individuals to attack police officers.
Virginia State Police are still trying to learn what sparked Thursdays shooting at the Greyhound station. Authorities said Dermyer, who was dressed in a fatigue-style uniform and not wearing a protective vest, spoke to a man briefly before he suddenly pulled out a handgun and opened fire. Fellow troopers returned fire, wounding the gunman, who later died at a nearby hospital. On Friday, police identified Dermyers killer as James Brown III, 34, of Aurora, Ill. Brown, who reportedly had convictions for drugs and battery of a pregnant woman, has been to prison twice.
Its unfortunate these are the days were living in, where folks want to harm law enforcement, Richmond police chief Alfred Durham said at the bus station Thursday. We just want our officers to end their shifts and to go home to their families.
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Six of the 16 fatal shootings this year occurred within a matter of days in early February.
I cannot recall any time in recent years when six law enforcement professionals have been murdered by gunfire in multiple incidents in a single week, said Craig Floyd, CEO of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.
Last month, the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) a component within the U.S. Department of Justice published a research report examining the policies, training and other characteristics of police departments that have been effective in preventing firearms assaults against officers.
The researchers looked at firearms use against officers from 2007 to 2011. In addition to 148 officers being slain by guns, the paper notes that 1,014 firearms assaults resulted in injuries and 10,149 did not.
Among other things, the 60-page report recommends more reality-based training for officers, identifying high-risk calls for service and better data collection of firearms assaults.
Understanding Firearms Assaults Against Police in the US by Jason Sickles, Yahoo News
Constructing an accurate picture of U.S firearms assaults can be difficult.
The FBI publishes an annual report (Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted), but critics complain the data is incomplete and slow to publish. The most recent publication contains statistics from 2013. In 2012, more than 3,700 agencies didnt contribute data.
The data is woefully lacking in factual basis because its all voluntary participation, Pasco said. New York City, for gods sake, doesnt participate in it.
Incomplete data, the COPS report states, makes it difficult to draw inferences about trends and patterns and impacts funding decisions.
One trend that alarms law enforcement is the number of ambushes where an officer is suddenly attacked without apparent incitement. Of the 16 officers fatally shot so far in 2016, seven were considered to be ambush assaults.
Euless, Texas police Officer David Hofer proposed to his girlfriend in uniform last year. Hofer was killed March 1, 2016 in an ambush-style shooting attack. (Facebook)
The anti-police rhetoric does nothing to help law enforcement prevent crimes, Floyd said. Attacks on law enforcement officers have been launched by Islamic extremists or sovereign-citizen types with a hatred of our government; others are being carried out by mentally unstable or cold-blooded criminals who see police as the enemy. In these cases, officers are being targeted simply because of the badge that they wear and the job that they do.
The March 1 fatally shooting of Dallas-area police officer David Hofer was particularly cold-blooded. Hofer, responding to an afternoon call of possible shots fired in a city park, was telling a man hidden in a creek to show his hands when the man allegedly shot the officer fatally in mid-sentence.
The suspect, who had been released from jail three hours earlier, then engaged backup officers in an intense gun battle before being mortally wounded by police.
Hofer, painted by friends and colleagues as a cops cop, loved policing to the point he tricked his longtime girlfriend into joining him on a patrol shift so he could propose to her in uniform. The couple had been in their new home four months, and was preparing to set a wedding date when Hofer, 29, was killed.
Your genuine spirit, selflessness, unique sense of humor, and pure heart are unmatched, his finance, Marta Danylyk, said during a memorial service. You are one of a kind. You are loved. You are missed beyond meaning.
Jason Sickles is a national reporter for Yahoo News. Follow him on Twitter (@jasonsickles).
Verizon is about to make its customers very unhappy.
MacRumors obtained a memo on Thursday that outlines plans for a new $20 upgrade fee the carrier is expected to introduce next week. According to the memo, Verizon will add a new $20 flat rate fee for any smartphone upgrade on a device payment plan or purchased at full retail price.
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Here's the full memo, originally published by MacRumors:
Verizon Upgrade Fee Memo
As the memo notes, nearly everyone is going to be affected by this new fee, including customers looking to participate in Apple's iPhone Upgrade Program.
You might be wondering why Verizon is saddling its customers with a new fee. The company states in the memo that the upgrade fee will "help cover our increasing support cost associated with customers switching their devices."
As Verizon explains at the end of the memo, it isn't the only carrier charging an upgrade fee. AT&T charges $15 for every additional phone and phone upgrade on AT&T Next and Sprint charges $30 or more for upgrades. T-Mobile is the only carrier left that doesn't have an extra fee for upgrades.
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department has suspended an internal review of whether classified information was properly handled in former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's emails at the request of the FBI, a spokeswoman said on Friday. Clinton, the front-runner in the race for the Democratic Party nomination in the Nov. 8 presidential election, has apologized for using a private email server for official business while in office from 2009 to 2013 and said she did nothing wrong. The FBI is investigating the arrangement. On Jan. 29, the State Department said 22 emails sent or received by Clinton had been upgraded to top secret at U.S. intelligence agency's request and would not be made public as part of the release of thousands of Clinton's emails. It said that none of the emails was marked classified when sent. At the time, the department also said it would conduct an internal review on whether the information in the emails was classified at the time it passed through Clinton's private clintonemail.com account run on a server in her New York home. The department consulted the FBI about this in February, and in March the law enforcement agency asked the State Department to halt its inquiry. "The FBI communicated to us that we should follow our standard practice, which is to put our internal review on hold while there is an ongoing law enforcement investigation ," State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau told reporters. "The internal review is on hold, pending completion of the FBI's work," she added." We'll reassess next steps after the FBI's work is complete." The government forbids handling of classified information, which may or may not be marked that way, outside secure government-controlled channels, and sometimes prosecutes people who remove it from such channels. The government classifies information as top secret if it deems a leak could cause "exceptionally grave damage" to national security. Two judges have allowed a group suing for Clinton's records to seek sworn testimony from officials. On Tuesday, one judge said there was "evidence of government wrongdoing and bad faith" over the arrangement. (Reporting By Arshad Mohammed; editing by Grant McCool)
The sister of lawyer Yuriy Hrabovsky and his doctor have confirmed that the body found in Ukraine's Cherkassy region was Hrabovsky.
"Yuriy Hrabovsky has been identified. The procedure involved the lawyer's sister who came to Ukraine in the morning and his doctor," the Ukrainian National Bar Association wrote on Facebook.
"Unfortunately, they confirmed that it was our colleague and friend, Yuriy Hrabovsky," Ihor Cherezov, lawyer and deputy head of the Committee for the Protection of Rights and Guarantees of the Legal Profession, said.
Every formality required for the issue of a death certificate has been fulfilled, the National Bar Association said.
The death of Hrabovsky was reported in the morning of March 25. Later that day, Ukrainian Main Military Prosecutor Anatoliy Matios said Hrabovsky died a violent death - he was shot dead. He also said that a second suspected killer was arrested in Odesa region on March 24. The suspect showed the place where the lawyer was killed and buried.
Brasilia (AFP) - Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff risks being driven from office if a congressional commission decides next week to launch an impeachment trial against her.
Here is an explanation of the steps in the impeachment crisis, which comes on top of a deep recession in Latin America's biggest economy as it prepares to host the Olympic Games in August.
Run-up
Calls to impeach Rousseff first broke out last year after she was accused of fiddling government accounts. On March 17 this year lawmakers formally launched an impeachment commission after procedural obstacles were resolved.
Launch
On April 4 Rousseff's side wraps up its defense before the commission. That body is expected to make a recommendation by mid-April on whether to launch impeachment proceedings. If it does call for such a move, the motion passes to the lower house of congress for a vote. Rousseff's rivals hope that will happen by April 15.
Trial
If fewer than two thirds of the lower house approve the motion, Rousseff escapes impeachment. If two thirds approve it, the case passes to the Senate.
If a simple majority of Senators vote to impeach her, Rousseff will be ordered out of office provisionally for up to six months while an impeachment trial is held in the Senate. She would be replaced provisionally by her vice-president Michel Temer.
Judgment
After the closing arguments for and against Rousseff in the final session of the impeachment trial, senators will vote on whether to remove Rousseff from office for good. If two thirds vote to impeach her, she will be out. If not, she can return to office.
Analysts say the case may take just a few weeks to reach the Senate, but once there the proceedings could take months.
Road bumps
If the Senate launches an impeachment trial, it could be under way as Brazil hosts the Olympic Games in Rio from August 5 to 21.
The political crisis engulfing Rousseff and her allies such as predecessor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has sparked angry street protests which threaten to heat up tensions over the coming months.
Lula himself is awaiting rulings on whether he can join Rousseff's cabinet and whether he will face trial on separate corruption charges.
Diyarbakir (Turkey) (AFP) - Seven Turkish police officers were killed and at least 27 people wounded on Thursday in a bomb attack on their vehicle in the Kurdish-majority southeastern city of Diyarbakir that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned should show the world the "true face" of terror in the country.
The attack blamed on Kurdish militants took place on the eve of a rare visit by Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, whose government has waged a relentless campaign against Kurdish rebels since last summer, to central Diyarbakir on Friday.
Speaking to AFP, a regional security source said a remotely-operated car bomb went off as a police vehicle drove past the city's main bus terminal. Of the 27 wounded, 14 were civilians and 13 police.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in Washington on a hugely sensitive visit to the United States, confirmed the death toll and said the attack showed the world the true nature of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
"We cannot tolerate this any more. European countries and other countries, I hope they can see the true face of terrorists in these attacks," he said.
Erdogan has been infuriated in recent months by US backing of Kurdish militias in Syria which Ankara see as the Syrian branch of the PKK and has claimed some EU states tolerate the group on their territory.
He argued that the Kurdish rebels are as dangerous as the fighters of the Islamic State group, which has become the West's main target in Syria.
Erdogan told his audience at the Brookings Institution think tank -- where Turkish security and pro-Kurdish protesters clashed ahead of his speech -- that the whole world must come together to fight terror.
- Hundreds killed in resurgent conflict -
Ambulances rushed to the scene of the blast in Diyarbakir, where images showed the police bus reduced to a burnt-out wreck by the force of the explosion.
Meanwhile, all the windows from a nearby multi-storey building were blown out by the force of the blast, an AFP correspondent said.
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Turkish forces have been engaged in an ongoing operation against rebels from the outlawed PKK in the region that has resulted in ferocious clashes and heavy casualties on both sides.
The new upsurge of violence between the security forces and Kurdish rebels erupted in July 2015, shattering a two-and-a-half year truce.
Erdogan said this week that 355 members of the security forces had been killed in the fighting, along with 5,359 members of the PKK. It was not possible to confirm the toll on the rebel side.
Over 40,000 people have been killed since the PKK took up arms in 1984 demanding a homeland for Turkey's biggest minority. Since then, the group has pared back its demands to focus on cultural rights and a measure of autonomy.
A radical PKK offshoot, the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK), claimed responsibility for two suicide car bombings in Ankara this year that left dozens dead.
Some analysts believe members of the TAK broke away from the PKK after growing disenchanted with the group and demanding even more radical actions.
Turkish air force planes have bombed PKK hideouts in mountains across the border in northern Iraq as well as in remote areas of southeast Turkey.
Ankara has vowed to smash the PKK, and authorities have imposed curfews in several towns in the region because of the fierce clashes.
Kurdish activists have accused the government of masking the extent of the civilian toll from the fighting and also vastly exaggerating the PKK losses.
The government denies the claims, saying the operations were an essential move against the PKK which had put up barricades and dug trenches in a bid to take over Turkish urban centres.
In more bloodshed, two children aged four and six were killed in the Kurdish-dominated southern town of Cizre by explosives they had found lying in the street.
By Stephanie Nebehay and Julie Steenhuysen GENEVA/CHICAGO (Reuters) - Researchers around the world are now convinced the Zika virus can cause the birth defect microcephaly as well as Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare neurological disorder that can result in paralysis, the World Health Organization said on Thursday. The statement represented the U.N. health agency's strongest language to date on the connection between the mosquito-borne virus and the two maladies. The WHO also reported the first sign of a possible rise in microcephaly cases outside Brazil, the hardest-hit country so far in an outbreak spreading rapidly in Latin America and the Caribbean. Neighboring Colombia is investigating 32 cases of babies born with microcephaly since January, and eight of them so far have tested positive for the Zika virus, the WHO said. This number of microcephaly cases reported in Colombia so far represents an increase over the historical annual average of about 140 cases. "Based on observational, cohort and case-control studies, there is a strong scientific consensus that Zika virus is a cause of GBS (Guillain-Barre syndrome), microcephaly and other neurological disorders," the WHO said on Thursday. In its previous weekly report, the WHO had said Zika was "highly likely" to be a cause. The WHO in February declared the Zika outbreak an international health emergency, citing a "strongly suspected" relationship between Zika infection in pregnancy and microcephaly. Although Zika has not been proven conclusively to cause microcephaly in babies, evidence of a link was based on a major spike in Brazil in cases of microcephaly, defined by unusually small head size that can result in severe developmental problems. Brazil's health department this week reported 944 confirmed cases of microcephaly, and most are believed to be related to Zika infections in the mother. Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, was not surprised by the WHO's statement. "The evidence is just so overwhelming," said Hotez. He said the link to Guillain-Barre has also been pretty clear. "The only lack of clarity," Hotez said, "is the percentage of pregnant women infected with Zika who give birth to a baby with microcephaly," which appears to be much higher than what was seen in a previous outbreak in French Polynesia. While Guillain-Barre is a concern, Hotez said, "the overwhelming emphasis needs to be on preventing microcephaly in babies." In recent studies, researchers have seen evidence of the virus in brain cells of stillborn and aborted fetuses. They also have seen signs that the brain had been growing normally, but that growth was disrupted and the brain actually shrank. Scientists have been closely monitoring for possible microcephaly cases outside Brazil to rule out environmental factors in Brazil as a cause. Colombia has been following the pregnancies of women infected with Zika after seeing widespread transmission of the virus since October. The latest WHO report reflects an increase in microcephaly and other fetal abnormalities in Colombia, where 56,477 suspected cases of Zika infection have been reported, including 2,361 laboratory-confirmed cases. The two most important factors that predict where we're going to be start seeing microcephaly cases are presence of the mosquito that carries Zika virus and poverty, Hotez said. He is worried that Haiti will be hard hit. "The Gulf coast in the U.S. is similarly vulnerable." The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will convene a conference in Atlanta on Friday to prepare for a coordinated U.S. response to Zika. Health officials are girding for an increase of Zika cases, especially in southern states, as the U.S. mosquito season starts. Six countries where Zika is not known to be spreading by mosquitoes have reported locally acquired infections, probably through sexual transmission, the WHO said, naming Argentina, Chile, France, Italy, New Zealand and the United States. To date, 13 countries or territories have reported increased incidence of Guillain-Barre or laboratory confirmation of a Zika virus infection in people with the rare autoimmune disease, it added. (Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay, Julie Steenhuysen and Bill Berkrot; Editing by Will Dunham and Grant McCool)
Khartoum (AFP) - Sudanese security agents have blocked four civil society representatives from attending a meeting with diplomats in Geneva about human rights in Sudan, a coalition of rights groups said on Friday.
The meeting in Geneva on Thursday was organised by an international NGO ahead of a United Nations-led review of the human rights situation in Sudan.
"Four representatives of Sudanese civil society were intercepted by security officials at Khartoum International Airport on their way to a high level human rights meeting with diplomats which took place in Geneva on 31 March," the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) said in a joint statement with 35 international and Sudanese rights groups.
Agents from Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) stopped the individuals as they tried to travel from Khartoum to Geneva via different routes between March 23 and March 28 and confiscated their passports, the statement said.
The four were named as lawyers Salih Mahmoud Osman, professor Muawia Shaddad, civil society activist Sawsan Elshowaya, and head of the Sudanese Solidarity Committee Siddig Yousif.
NISS gave no reason for the travel bans and the rights groups urged the security services to return the passports.
"The recent flagrant actions of the NISS are symptomatic of a broader strategy to intimidate and harass human rights defenders and independent civil society actors who may be critical of the human rights situation in the country," the statement said.
Sudan's security forces have been accused of harassing and detaining rights activists, opposition politicians and journalists.
The country regularly ranks near the bottom of international human rights indexes.
President Omar al-Bashir is also wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide related to the conflict in the western Darfur region.
Bashir denies all charges by the ICC.
El Fasher (Sudan) (AFP) - Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir started a tour of Darfur on Friday ahead of a referendum on whether to keep the conflict-torn western area as five states or to create one united region.
Bashir -- who is wanted over war crimes allegations in Darfur -- said he is holding the vote under a 2011 agreement between Khartoum and some of the rebel groups that have been battling his forces for more than a decade.
The ruling National Congress Party back the five-state system but some opposition parties and Darfur insurgents have said the time is not suitable for a referendum.
"It is the people of Darfur who choose whether they want states or one region," Bashir told crowds of cheering supporters in North Darfur State capital El Fasher.
"We want all people to go to vote and participate," he said in the speech, the first on a five-day tour that will take him to every Darfur state capital before voting starts on April 11.
Darfur is home to myriad ethnic and tribal groups and it was a single region until 1994, when the government split it into North, South and West Darfur states.
Two more states, East and Central Darfur, were created in 2012.
The region erupted into conflict in 2003 when ethnic minority insurgents rebelled, complaining the region was being economically and politically marginalised by the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum.
The government mounted a counter-insurgency using regular troops, allied militia and aircraft.
The International Criminal Court indicted Bashir charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, all of which he has denied.
Some 300,000 people have been killed in the conflict and there are 2.5 million people in the region who have been forced to flee their homes, the United Nations says.
Although many insurgents have previously called for a united Darfur region with greater autonomy, they do not want a referendum now due to current unrest.
There has been heavy fighting in Darfur's Jebel Marra mountains since mid-January, with tens of thousands reported to have fled.
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But the Sudanese government is adamant the three-day referendum will go ahead.
The number of people in the western region signed up for the referendum has reached "3,583,105 out of 4,588,300 entitled to register," senior referendum commission official Adam Daleel told AFP.
The referendum was provided for under the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur signed in 2011 by the Sudanese government and the rebel Liberation and Justice Movement.
Biden to Poroshenko: Formation of new government opens possibility of additional financial support
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden has met with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and said the formation of a new government in Ukraine oriented towards cooperation with the International Monetary Fund opens possibilities for a third tranche.
"According to Joseph Biden, the formation of a new government, oriented on reforms and cooperation with the IMF, opens possibilities for providing the third loan guarantee of $1 billion, as well as for assistance of other international financial institutions," Poroshenko's press service said.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was present at the Poroshenko-Biden meeting.
The parties discussed recent developments in Donbas in the context of Russian aggression. The parties agreed that Russia needs to meet security-related conditions to implement the political provisions of the Minsk agreements.
Biden also announced a U.S. decision to provide additional $335 million for reforms of the security sector of Ukraine, in particular of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard of Ukraine and the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine.
Poroshenko and Biden also talked about possibilities of deploying an international security mission in Donbas.
The parties stressed the necessity of releasing Nadia Savchenko and urgent access of doctors to her.
They also agreed on the necessity for the sanctions against Russia to be continued until Moscow fully implements the Minsk agreements. They also discussed ways of greater engagement of the U.S. in the Minsk peace process.
Biden, in turn, reiterated the unchanging position of the United States on non-recognition of the occupation of Crimea.
The parties agreed to continue developing the strategic partnership between Ukraine and the U.S., to which of contribution there will be a visit by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to Ukraine in the near future.
CBS and Viacom are no longer facing a shareholder lawsuit over decisions related to their 92-year-old controlling stockholder Sumner Redstone.
In January, both companies were hit with a complaint in Delaware Chancery Court targeting bonus payouts and claiming that the company's top executives, including Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman and CBS CEO Leslie Moonves, and board members "put their personal loyalty to Mr. Redstone (in particular, and secondarily to [Shari] Redstone) well ahead of their loyalty and respective fiduciary duties they owe and owed to Viacom and/or CBS and their respective shareholders."
The Hollywood Reporter has learned that this shareholder lawsuit was dropped earlier this month. According to Richard Greenfield, the attorney representing the plaintiffs, "We have pursued another course of action, dealing with CBS and Viacom through other means."
Just two weeks after the shareholder lawsuit was filed, Redstone resigned as executive chairman of both CBS and Viacom, with Moonves and Dauman stepping up, respectively.
The shareholder lawsuit came in the wake of a petition in Los Angeles Superior Court made by Manuela Herzer, Redstone's longtime companion, seeking to be reinstated as his healthcare agent. In November, she claimed that Redstone was "a living ghost," being manipulated by those around him. His lawyers paint her claims as being financially motivated, but a judge refused to dismiss the lawsuit and scheduled a trial for May.
Before that happens, if the case isn't settled soon (and there is at least some chatter about the prospect of a deal), Dauman and Shari Redstone will give testimony under oath. He is scheduled to undergo a deposition in New York on Tuesday, while hers is set for Wednesday.
The Herzer litigation has caused some unease for Viacom, which has seen its share price crater around 20 percent since November, and the company faces the prospect that there will be some talk of leadership battles at the coming trial.
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The task of making healthcare decisions for Redstone was formerly earmarked for Herzer, but in November, thanks to a new healthcare directive, that responsibility fell to Dauman.
In deciding not to dismiss the Herzer case, Los Angeles Superior Court judge David Cowan wrote that it was "perplexing" and "unusual" that Redstone put Dauman ahead of his own daughter Shari, who also holds a stake in the family business. Referring to media accounts of a disagreement between Dauman and Shari Redstone related to business issues, Cowan added, "To the extent those accounts have any truth to them, the Court does not know if, with those seemingly strained relations, they can or do work together on the pressing issue of Redstone's present medical needs."
The judge also was dubious that someone in charge of a public company in New York had the time or ability to look after Redstone.
These are topics that figure to be addressed in Dauman's deposition, as well as what the Viacom chief said in a declaration concerning a visit last autumn to Redstone's home. "I found him to be engaged and attentive," stated Dauman. "Sumner and I spoke about business matters, including the upcoming Viacom board meeting."
Tripoli (AFP) - Libya's UN-backed unity government won the support Friday of guards who secure the country's key oil terminals, the latest pledge of loyalty for a cabinet facing strong opposition from rival political forces.
Libya's warring sides are under intense international pressure to cede power to prime minister-designate Fayez al-Sarraj, whose arrival in the capital on Wednesday angered a rival Tripoli-based government.
Sarraj, a businessman from Tripoli who was a member of a committee that paved the way to national dialogue, appeared Friday in public for the first time since his arrival, joining weekly prayers at a mosque in the city centre.
There are signs that allegiances are starting to shift in his favour, as a unit of guards in charge of securing installations in Libya's so-called "oil crescent" in the east of the country pledged its loyalty.
"All the oil terminals under our jurisdiction have been placed under the authority of the unity government," a guards official told AFP.
Libya has been awash with weapons since the 2011 uprising that ousted and killed longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi, with a slew of militias battling for control of its cities and oil wealth.
It has had two rival governments since mid-2014, when the Libya Dawn militia alliance overran Tripoli, forcing the internationally recognised government to flee to the east.
Oil is Libya's main natural resource, with reserves estimated at 48 billion barrels, the largest in Africa. It had a pre-revolt output capacity of about 1.6 million barrels per day, but unrest has forced a major slump in production.
Control of the oil industry is essential for the new government, which not only needs to unite the divided country but also shore up its economy.
On Thursday, 10 western cities also rallied around Sarraj's government and urged Libyans to back it, in a major blow to the unrecognised Tripoli authorities who are refusing to cede power.
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The announcement came in a statement on the official Facebook page of the Sabratha municipality near the border with Tunisia.
"The situation of the country is sad. Life is very expensive, there is no cash, and so we saw that it's time to support this government in order to start solving all of these issues," said Sabratha mayor Hussein al-Dawadi.
- 'Act of courage' -
The Tripoli administration demanded that Sarraj leave or surrender following his arrival by sea Wednesday, after airspace was closed to prevent him flying into the capital.
Sarraj and a number of his ministers joined the weekly Muslim prayer under heavy security, and worshippers gathered around him to snap pictures which they posted on Twitter.
On Thursday he met the head of Libya's Tripoli-based central bank and discussed measures to safeguard banks and tackle the country's "cash flow problem,", Sarraj's office said.
Hundreds gathered Friday in Tripoli's Martyr's Square in a show of support for Sarraj and his administration.
Waving white and Libyan flags, protesters chanted "enough with divisions, yes to the government of national accord" as onlookers applauded.
Perhaps crucially, the unity government also now has the support of the main armed group in the city, Nawasi, signalling a split within the security forces once loyal to the Tripoli authorities.
A European diplomatic source said that Sarraj had decided himself to travel by boat to Libya this week after growing frustrated with the lack of progress on peace efforts.
"It's either a headlong rush or an act of courage that changes everything," the source told AFP.
- 'Chaos aids terrorism' -
World powers are increasingly alarmed about the rise of the Islamic State jihadist group in Libya, located just 300 kilometres (185 miles) away from Europe.
IS has established a stronghold in Kadhafi's coastal hometown of Sirte and launched a wave of attacks, both against rival Libyan forces and across the border in Tunisia.
The country has also long been a stepping stone for migrants seeking to cross the Mediterranean, and in recent years traffickers have exploited the country's instability.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault on Friday urged the international community to prepare to help the unity government if asked, providing military support if necessary.
"The chaos which reigns there today aids the rapid development of terrorism. It is a direct threat to the region and to Europe," he said in comments to a French newspaper.
The European Union agreed Thursday to impose sanctions on three Libyans for obstructing the formation of Sarraj's government.
Naypyidaw (Myanmar) (AFP) - Myanmar entered a new era on Wednesday as Aung San Suu Kyi's democracy movement took power after 50 years of military domination, with a close aide of the Nobel laureate sworn in as president.
Htin Kyaw, a school friend and confidant of the democracy champion, succeeds former general Thein Sein, who ushered in reforms that transformed Myanmar from a repressive hermit state to a nation full of hope.
As Htin Kyaw took the oath of office, he hinted he would change the army-imposed constitution that has excluded his friend and mentor from the top post.
Suu Kyi, 70, is barred from becoming president by the junta-scripted constitution but has declared that she will steer the government anyway. Htin Kyaw is expected to act as her proxy.
The handover at the junta-built parliament in the capital Naypyidaw marks the final act of a prolonged transition since Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party swept elections last November.
The NLD won 80 percent of parliamentary seats, giving them a massive public mandate to rule.
They are tasked with reviving a battered economy and a society straitjacketed by the army, which ruled with an iron fist between 1962 and the start of reforms in 2011 under Thein Sein's quasi-civilian administration.
Welcoming a new age of full civilian government, the bespectacled new president pledged to be "faithful to the people of the republic of the union of Myanmar".
"I will uphold and abide by the constitution and its laws. I will carry out my responsibilities uprightly and to the best of my ability," the 69-year-old told the chamber.
- 'Democratic standards' -
In a later ceremony at the presidential palace, Thein Sein symbolically handed over to his successor as a smiling Suu Kyi looked on.
But the army is far from leaving the political scene. The military holds a quarter of all parliamentary seats and three key posts in the cabinet.
Suu Kyi, the standard-bearer of the fight for democracy, joins that same cabinet holding a clutch of positions including foreign minister.
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In a speech later in the day Htin Kyaw signalled the NLD would continue its long-stated vow to amend the constitution to bring it up to "democratic standards" -- no small order given that the military's bloc in parliament gives it an effective veto on any such change.
He gave no details.
Expectations run high among Myanmar's 51 million people but the new government faces a steep task.
Revolts still rage in ethnic minority borderlands, poverty is widespread and the military holds huge political and economic power.
Sectarian tensions and anti-Muslim sentiment have flared in recent years.
US President Barack Obama hailed an "extraordinary moment" in Myanmar's history.
"Htin Kyaws inauguration represents a historic milestone in the countrys transition to a democratically elected, civilian-led government," Obama said in a statement.
But he warned of "significant challenges going forward," including on economic development and working to securing personal freedoms for all.
The European Union welcomed Htin Kyaw's swearing in as a "new important step in the consolidation of the country's remarkable transition".
But it added: "Many challenges remain for Myanmar to become an inclusive, pluralistic and peaceful democracy."
- 'Biggest day' -
NLD lawmakers also have little practical experience of government.
Some were jailed by the junta, including most famously Suu Kyi who was held under house arrest for s total of 15 years.
But on a historic day the party faithful were undaunted by the challenges ahead.
"I'm really happy. I am also remembering my colleagues who sacrificed for this battle (for democracy)," said NLD lawmaker Aye Naing.
Among a smattering of NLD supporters outside parliament, Yin Myint May welcomed the handover. "It is the biggest day for us," she said.
"Remember we started (the democracy fight) in 1990," she added, referring to elections won in a landslide by the NLD that were ignored by the junta.
Myanmar has witnessed a staggering political change since 2011 under Thein Sein.
Investors and tourists have begun to pile in as much repression has eased, promising a better future to a public who now have access to mobile phones, cheaper cars and other coveted consumer goods.
Hundreds of political prisoners have been released and media censorship lifted. Most western sanctions have been rolled back as a reward.
Suu Kyi's administration must still maintain smooth relations with the military that locked her and many of her colleagues up for years.
As well as their guaranteed parliamentary bloc, the junta charter gives the army chief control over the home affairs, border and defence ministries -- and with it sweeping powers over the civil service.
BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Syrian opposition said on Wednesday Syria needs a transitional ruling body with full executive powers and not a participatory government under President Bashar al-Assad, responding to comments made by Assad to Russian state media. "The government, whether it's new or old, as long as it is in the presence of Bashar al-Assad, is not part of the political process," said George Sabra, a negotiator for the High Negotiations Committee (HNC) representing the Syrian opposition at Geneva peace talks. "What Bashar al-Assad is talking about has no relation to the political process," said Sabra. Asaad al-Zoubi, an HNC member, said the Syrian people and the Geneva negotiating team want "a transitional ruling body will full executive powers and authorities, including presidential authority". "Whereas the regime wants a participatory government," he said. (Reporting by Lisa Barrington; Editing by Alison Williams)
Damascus (AFP) - President Bashar al-Assad has said he is willing to hold early presidential elections, but sharp differences over his future are still hampering efforts to resolve Syria's five-year civil war.
The opposition has long demanded Assad step down at the beginning of any transitional period, but the regime says any talk of his removal is a "red line".
In comments to Russian state media published Thursday, Assad said he would consider ending his current seven-year term early if that was what Syrians wanted.
"Is there popular will to hold early presidential elections? If there is, I don't have a problem with it," Assad told RIA Novosti.
Assad was re-elected with nearly 90 percent of the vote in a June 2014 ballot that the opposition and the West decried as a "farce".
His mandate is set to end in 2021, but a peace process backed by world powers envisages UN-monitored parliamentary and presidential elections within the next 18 months.
Assad's future -- including whether he would be allowed to run in those elections -- remains controversial.
The White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Assad's participation in a future government in Syria "would be a non-starter".
- Parliamentary elections -
Syria's conflict erupted in 2011 with popular protests calling for Assad's departure and has since evolved into a full-blown civil war drawing in regional powers.
The latest global effort to end the bloodshed has called for the regime and opposition to come together in a new transitional government.
That body would write a new constitution and hold parliamentary and presidential elections by September 2017.
Syria's government, however, is preparing for regularly scheduled parliamentary elections next month.
Parliamentary hopefuls have already submitted their candidacies for the April 13 vote, as the current legislature's four-year term comes to an end.
In an interview with RIA Novosti, part of which had been released a day earlier, Assad said the submissions for this election were "the largest in terms of the number of candidates".
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Although Assad said Syrians both at home and abroad would be able to vote in future presidential elections, there has been no talk of absentee voting for the April polls.
Nearly five million Syrians have fled the country since the conflict began, and millions more are displaced internally.
More than 270,000 people have lost their lives.
A fragile ceasefire between Damascus and non-jihadist rebels has brought a relative lull in the fighting since February 27, despite continued accusations of violations on both sides.
- Air strikes kill civilians -
On Thursday, government air strikes killed at least 33 people including nine women and 12 children in a rebel bastion east of Damascus, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Two police officers were also among the dead in Deir Al-Assafir, a town in the Eastern Ghouta opposition stronghold, it said.
Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman called it "the largest ceasefire violation in Eastern Ghouta," while the United States said it was "appalled" by the strikes.
"We condemn in the strongest terms any such attacks directed at civilians," US State Department spokesman John Kirby added.
Elsewhere, air strikes carried out by unidentified planes killed 21 members of the Islamic State group in Al-Husseiniyah, southwest of Deir Ezzor city, the Observatory said.
It added that a drone strike likely by the US-led anti-IS coalition killed Abu al-Hija, a high-ranking Tunisian commander, near the jihadists' de facto capital Raqa on Wednesday.
Last week, US forces killed IS deputy leader Abd ar-Rahman Mustafa al-Qaduli. Earlier this month one of the group's most notorious commanders, Omar al-Shishani, also died.
ATO HQ: Number of attacks on Ukrainian troops in Donbas grows to 77
Illegal armed formations have attacked Ukrainian troops 77 times in the last day, including 30 times with the use of heavy weapons, the press center of the Anti-Terrorist Operation headquarter reported.
"Having focused fire from mortars and artillery system on the Ukrainian defenders, the enemy has launched 30 strong attacks, impudently using banned heavy weapons whose caliber from 82mm to 152mm," the ATO HQ wrote on Facebook on Friday morning.
The villages of Zaitseve, Mayorsk and Butivka coal mine in the Donetsk sector have repeatedly been under militant fire. ATO positions near the town of Avdiyivka were attacked 16 times with the use of cannon artillery systems, mortars, grenade launchers and small arms.
As the ATO HQ said, militants also fired at local residents in Avdiyivka's industrial areas, using heavy weapons.
The Mariupol sector also saw escalation. ATO troops near the villages of Vodiane, Talakivka, Novotroyitske, Shyrokyne, Hnutove, and the town of Maryinka were under enemy fire and militants actively used banned weapons.
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.
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.
But the islands business community has been jittery since opposition leader Tsai Ing-wen won the presidential election in January as Beijing does not trust her Democratic Progressive Party, which traditionally takes a pro-independence stance.
By Paul Lienert
DETROIT (Reuters) - Automakers have repaired or replaced only one-quarter of the estimated 29 million defective Takata Corp air bags in the United States, according to data supplied to U.S. auto safety regulators, with some companies lagging far behind others in terms of completed repairs.
As of March 11, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said automakers had replaced more than 7.5 million defective Takata inflators, which can rupture and send hot metal shards into vehicle occupants. The ruptures have been blamed for nine deaths and more than 100 injuries in the United States.
Honda Motor Co, which has been Takata's largest customer, has replaced about 5.4 million inflators - more than half of those it had recalled through December. But the automaker recalled a further 2.3 million defective inflators in February.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has replaced 736,000 inflators, about 15 percent of those it recalled, while Toyota Motor Corp has replaced 717,000, about 22 percent.
Ford Motor Co has replaced 149,500 inflators, about 21 percent of those it recalled through December, but it recalled 361,692 others in January.
BMW AG has replaced 193,300 inflators, about 21 percent, but the company recalled a further 840,000 in February. BMW has also struggled to complete repairs on driver-side inflators, with a completion rate of less than 2 percent, and recently received an extension from NHTSA.
Some smaller manufacturers, notably Mazda Motor Corp and Fuji Heavy Industries' Subaru, have completed repairs on fewer than 6 percent of their recalled inflators.
NHTSA has mandated that all manufacturers affected by the Takata air bag recalls must have a sufficient supply of replacement parts on hand this year and must complete most of those repairs by the end of 2017.
NHTSA on Thursday said it has reviewed inflator replacement plans from all the automakers and is working "to increase the manufacturers' recall completion rates."
(Reporting by Paul Lienert in Detroit; editing by Peter Cooney and David Gregorio)
By Kathryn Doyle (Reuters Health) - Promoting HIV testing on some of the same social media sites that men who have sex with men and transgender people use to meet friends and sex partners can raise testing rates in these communities, according to results of a U.S. trial. Our results are surprising because we were not sure that men and transgender persons would readily accept HIV testing information within the social media and social networking sites that some of them use, said lead author Scott D. Rhodes of Wake Forest School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. But we learned that after trust was built, they were eager for information about HIV testing and guidance about how to access testing services. We assume that people are knowledgeable about HIV and how to get tested, but thats not the case, he told Reuters Health by email. The researchers used the intervention in two online communities and posted in another two forums without the intervention for comparison. The communities, including Adam4Adam, BlackGayChat, Craigslist and Gay.com, are designed for users to meet up in person, so the researchers targeted geographic locations 200 to 330 miles apart to prevent user overlap. Within each online outlet, a health educator created a public profile and posted triggers about the importance of HIV testing, his availability to help and information on where testing services were available. The profiles were accessible to anyone and the health educator would engage with users who instant-messaged him. On Craigslist, the educator posted HIV testing information and triggers every three to four hours from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday in 2013 and 2014. The researchers offered site users $10 to complete an assessment, including information on drug and alcohol use, age, race, sexual orientation, HIV status and testing history over the previous year. More than 1,000 users completed the assessment and most declined the $10 compensation. On average users were 40 years old, almost all reported sex with at least one man and one-third reported sex with at least one woman over the last year. At the beginning of the year, about 35 percent of users in each group reported having been tested for HIV over the previous 12 months. After the intervention was complete, 64 percent of those in the intervention communities said they had been tested for HIV in the previous year compared to 40 percent of those in the control groups, as reported in Clinical Infectious Diseases. Gay and bisexual men as well as transgender women are disproportionally impacted by HIV (that is, by virtue of being a gay or bisexual man, or transgender woman, you are more likely to come in contact with HIV), and thus it is important to ensure frequent HIV testing and linkage to treatment, said Christian Grov of the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy in New York City, who was not part of the new study. These groups did respond to the social media intervention, Rhodes said. HIV testing is important for anyone who is sexually active, and the CDC recommends that all individuals get tested at least once in their lifetimes and those with risk factors get tested more frequently, he said. The intervention was easy to implement, only requiring one health professional and access to the Internet, so it could be widely implemented within social media by health departments and clinics and other organizations working to prevent HIV, he said. However, in addition to the health educators training, the health educator was skilled in building relationships with social media users, maintaining boundaries, being patient, having a sense of humor, and being comfortable networking with other organizations as well, particularly those offering HIV testing, he said. The users in this study were older and mostly white, noted Dr. Lisa Hightow-Weidman of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, who was not part of the new study. Interventions to increase testing should be designed to reach younger men who have sex with men, particularly MSM of color as they are the group most impacted by the HIV epidemic in the U.S., she said by email. SOURCE: http://bit.ly/1VTuWPY Clinical Infectious Disease, online March 14, 2016.
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.
Shockwaves rippled through British industry this week after Tata Steel said it would sell its UK business, marking a sobering failure for its Indian parent after years of exuberant Britain-bound ventures.
A string of deals since the turn of the millennium has seen Tata Group snap up a clutch of famous names including Tetley tea, luxury carmaker Jaguar Land Rover and steelmaker Corus.
The Indian colossus, which spans more than 100 companies in as many countries, also runs the St James' Court hotel near Buckingham Palace, while software giant Tata Consultancy Services supplies almost a third of the FTSE 100.
Back home, Mumbai-based Tata's brands factor daily in the lives of Indians, with products ranging from salt to trucks to watches, helping generate more than $108 billion in sales in 2014-15.
"Tata is a household name in India, it's been around for more than a hundred years, it's one of the pioneers of industry in India," said Rajrishi Singhal, Senior Geoeconomics Fellow at Gateway House think-tank in Mumbai.
Yet the group founded under British colonial rule in 1868 has hit headwinds of late, with lacklustre performances at several companies including Tata Motors, Tata Power and Tata Steel.
Ratan Tata, who took over as chairman of the family business Tata Sons, the group's holding company, in 1991, is credited with building it into a global behemoth.
The scion of the Tata dynasty embarked on a breathtaking shopping spree, acquiring assets including the United States' Eight O'Clock Coffee Co. and Daewoo Commercial Vehicle in South Korea.
At the height of Chinese steel demand in 2007, Tata paid a staggering $13.7 billion for the Anglo-Dutch steelmaker Corus Group, saddling itself with vast debt.
The following year the global financial crisis brought the world economy to its knees.
Eight years later, the recovery still looks patchy, and the steel industry is in crisis.
A sharp slowdown in China, the world's largest consumer and producer of steel, has led to a flood of cheap exports, hurting steelmakers elsewhere.
Story continues
"Historically Tata Steel was always a flagship company in the group," said Pradip Shah, Chairman of IndAsia Fund Advisors, an investment advisory firm, and a board member of Tata Investment Corporation.
"But in the last five to six years it became visible in the Tata portfolio not as a success story, but as a problem story," he told AFP.
- Company town -
Legendary industrialist and group founder Jamsetji Tata founded India's first modern steel plant in 1907, in a village that became the bustling company town of Jamshedpur.
When India started opening up its economy to foreign investment in the 1990s, leading to increased competition, the group began acquiring assets abroad to gain clout.
Since 2012 Cyrus Mistry has been at the helm, the first non-family member to hold the role of group chairman -- although he is related to the Tatas by marriage.
As it continues to expand in India's fast-growing economy and overseas, Tata says it wants to take its products to a quarter of the world's population by 2025.
Some of the group's ventures have paid off, and reaped dividends for Britain.
Luxury car brand Jaguar and SUV marque Land Rover, based in Coventry in central England, have undergone a renaissance in sales since Tata bought them from Ford in 2008 for $2.3 billion.
JLR last year announced it was investing 600 million in manufacturing more cars in the UK.
Meanwhile, Tata Consultancy Services, seen as the group's standout performer and cash cow, employs 11,000 people in the UK alone.
It has been a different story at Tata Steel, however, with one plant, Port Talbot in Wales, said to be losing 1 million a day.
Yet Wyn Grant, professor of politics at Warwick University, said Tata still retains goodwill in Britain thanks to the investment it has brought.
"I think they have a positive image of a good company, and they do not take the blame, because they are losing money, but the government does."
It's April 1st, which means that you should distrust almost anything you see on the web today. Tech companies in particular love to prank their fans by unveiling ridiculous fake products on April Fools' Day and we've rounded up some of their best efforts this year. In fact, you may have already heard about one of them: Googles Gmail Mic Drop feature, which the company quickly pulled after it reportedly cost some people their jobs. Oops!
Here are some other ones you may have missed.
DONT MISS: Google's hilarious April Fools joke backfires spectacularly
Apple
Apple may not be looking to prank anyone today, as it celebrates 40 years of being in business. Nonetheless, a pirate flag can be seen outside its headquarters in Cupertino, California (via 9to5Mac).
apple-flag-40-years
Google
The search giant has a bunch of pranks in the works today, in addition to the now-infamous Gmail Mic Drop.
google-gmail-drop-mic-april-fools-prank
In Inbox, you can use Smart Emoji replies. Just try to reply to a message and you might get something like this:
google-april-fools-inbox
The emoji revolution isnt quite done for Google. Inside Photos, youll be able to search by emoji, as long as those emoji are dogs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQtGFBbwKEk
Google Maps has a Funky Town to explore today. You can Explore Funky Town" both online and offline, and it looks something like this (via Android Police):
google-april-fools-google-maps
Furthermore, inside Google Maps, youll find a new pegman in the main interface (via Slashgear).
google-april-fools-google-maps-2
Google Cardboard fans will finally be able to explore actual reality with Cardboard Plastic. Just put it on, and youll see the entire world around you just as you would by not using it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkOuShXpoKc
Googles Nat and Lo, meanwhile, reveal that that Google's Quantum AI Lab has discovered a small ball of yarn. You know string. For cats. Check out the video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0PBXFQpIeA
Heavy Bubbles
You know the Mountain from Game of Thrones, right? You'll definitely love his Heavy Bubbles water then.
Story continues
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PtOAnZxB8s
Lexus
The automaker wants to connect man and woman to machine. Meet V-LCRO for Lexus vehicles.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxVrkqv2Bc0
Lyft
Alternative taxi app Lyft has figured out a Prank Mode ride for April Fools'. Just request a prank mode for your friends, and you might get something like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHMh0H546lY
Logitech
Miss cleaning your mouse? Logitech can help with a product revival.
Razer
Were used to seeing mostly gaming-related products from Razer. But this changes today, as the company shared details about a Project Breadwinner. Yes, its a toaster that has led lights, a Razer logo, and what look like headphone jacks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OvR1VpR1r8
Samsung
Forget the Internet of Things -- Samsung this year launched the Internet of Trousers. Thats probably because you cant have enough smart pants around the house. You can expect features like Wi-Fly, Get Up alert, and Keep-Your-Pants-On mode.
Samsung also teased a Galaxy S8 the other day, but we all know why that happened.
samsung-april-fools-internet-of-trousers
Sony
Sony has come up with an amazing prank this year. It made the first ghost-catching device, a gadget that Ghostbusters fans will appreciate. Check it out below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UWbASEi7_o
Tesla
Forget the hugely popular Tesla Model 3 thats selling like hot cakes. Tesla has a Model W for you. A wristwatch.
tesla-april-fools-model-w
T-Mobile
T-Mobile has a BingeOnUp device that lets you watch whatever you want, whenever you want to do it. Netflix and chill from everywhere and Real Reality are included.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqlU30jBDH8
Zipcar
Are you in for Selfie-Driving? Zipcars got you covered:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPopTdDARgA
Well update the list above throughout the day, so keep coming back for more tech-related April Fools' pranks.
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Ordering an Uber is a great way to get back home safely when you've had a little bit too much to drink. Unfortunately, if you get too drunk and just so happen to pass out in the backseat of your Uber, you're effectively at the mercy of your driver. While we'd like to assume that most Uber drivers in such situations would take drunken passengers straight home, one Uber passenger in the U.K. had the exact opposite experience.
In a quirky story that has made headlines across the globe (via CNN), an Uber rider in London passed out in the backseat whereupon the driver decided to test his luck and take advantage of the situation. So instead of taking the inebriated passenger straight home in what would have been a quick and painless 4-mile journey, our enterprising hero of a driver instead opted to go on a 20-mile detour before ultimately reaching the intended destination, all in an effort to rack up a more expensive trip.
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After sobering up the next morning, the Uber passenger was flabbergasted when he took a look at the route used to get him home. The photo of the route in question was posted to Twitter (with a DAAAAAAAMN UBER tagline) where it quickly began making the rounds.
When the dust settled, the rider was charged approximately $150 for what should have been a ~$22 trip back home. As you can tell below, the Uber driver took a bizarre and needlessly long circuitous route to the destination.
drunk uber route
When Uber got wind of the story, it investigated the claim and gave the rider a full refund.
Interestingly enough, this isn't the first time we've heard of an Uber passenger being taken for a ride (pardon the pun). Just last month, a man in Washington D.C. fell asleep in his Uber and was charged $171 for a 71-mile trip that should have just been 1-mile long.
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While iPhones are undoubtedly a necessity for most people, they come with a frustrating crux: a seemingly easy-to-fill storage space. Whether it's the latest Rihanna album or four different dating apps, storage is in scarce and popular demand for a busy user. Thankfully, there's a new hack that can help you save storage on your iPhone and it's effortless to go through.
Redditor eavesdroppingyou discovered that with their 16GB iPhone, if you try and rent a movie with a large file size, your phone will automatically erase some erroneous and unnecessary files you don't need. Repeat the process a few times, and you could free yourself anywhere from 1 GB to 2 GB of storage space.
The trick is to use a movie that has a large file size (in the Redditor's case, the second Lord of the Rings film, The Two Towers). Trying the process ourselves on our iPhone 6 by attempting to rent The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, storage jumped from 483 MB to 1.2 GB in one attempt.
Source: Miles Surrey/Mic
Source: Miles Surrey/Mic
Source: Miles Surrey/Mic
Try it for yourself, and reap the storage rewards.
Illegal armed formations started shelling the town of Avdiyivka with the use of mortars on Friday morning, while grenade launchers and small arms were used in other areas of Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine. Snipers were also working, the press center of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) headquarter said.
"Russian-backed mercenaries again fired mortars on the ATO positions in Avdiyivka's industrial areas at about 09:00 local time today. Attacks with the use of banned weapons are being launched with only one aim they want to provoke return fire from Ukrainian artillery systems, tanks and mortars. As per the Minsk (ceasefire) agreements, our soldiers use only small-caliber weapons," the ATO HQ wrote on Facebook.
Militants use grenade launchers of various systems, small arms and snipers in other districts of Donetsk region near the villages of Pisky (close to the ruined Donetsk airport), Luhanske, Novhorodske, and Opytne. These tactics are widely used by the enemy in other sectors those of the Mariupol and Luhansk, where militants are aimed their fire towards the village of Novotroyitske and Novozvanivka, and the fire is chaotic.
"As of 14:00 local time on Friday, there had been 20 attacks on our forces already," the ATO HQ reported.
Apple's iPhone SE hit stores today, but the company's latest 4-inch iPhone may not be enough to help offset an overall decline in iPhone sales. According to a report from Digitimes, iPhone 6s and 6s Plus demand is far lower than demand for Apple's iPhone 6 models last year. Citing sources from within Apple's supply chain, the report adds that "shipments for the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus for the second quarter of 2016 will likely be halved from those shipped in the first quarter."
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Of course, declining iPhone sales in 2016 is hardly a surprise. Even Apple conceded during its most recent earnings conference call that iPhone sales this year would likely drop for the first time in history. Still, Tim Cook tried to quell any fears that the drop-off in sales would be drastic.
"We do think iPhone units will decline in the quarter, Cook said during a January earnings conference call. We dont think that they will decline to the levels youll talk about. We arent going to project beyond the upcoming quarter.
That being the case, the release of the iPhone SE couldn't be coming at a more opportune time. As Apple recently mentioned, the company last year sold 30 million 4-inch iPhones. Additionally, more than 1/3 of all active iPhones pre-date the iPhone 6, which is to say that there's a sizable pool of iPhone 5/5c/5s users who have been waiting for a device like the iPhone SE for quite some time.
According to Digitimes, Apple's "shipment target for the SE in the second quarter is four to five million units."
While we'll have to wait and see how the iPhone SE performs, that estimate seems on the low side. Recall, a report from earlier in the week claimed that pre-orders for the device in China alone topped 3.4 million.
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By Orhan Coskun and Seyhmus Cakan ANKARA/DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Reuters) - A car bomb killed seven police officers and wounded around two dozen people in Turkey's Diyarbakir on Thursday, security sources and officials said, a day before the prime minister is due to visit the biggest city in the largely Kurdish southeast. A parked car laden with explosives was detonated by remote control as a minibus carrying the police officers turned a corner on a busy street, the sources said, adding that civilians were also among the wounded. President Tayyip Erdogan, who is on a visit to Washington for a nuclear security summit, denounced the attack, saying it showed the "ugly face" of militants "as they are cornered". "This shows terrorism's ugly face again. The determination of our security forces will, God willing, put an end" to it, Erdogan said in a speech to the Brookings Institute. He said 27 people had also been wounded in the attack. The southeast has been scorched by violence since a ceasefire between the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and the government collapsed last July. The government has said it has killed thousands of militants since then, while more than 350 members of the security forces have been killed in the fighting. Round-the-clock curfews have been instituted in parts of the southeast, where the economy also been devastated by the fighting. One of the hardest hit areas has been Diyarbakir's historic Sur district, which is encircled by UNESCO-listed, Roman-era walls. Development Minister Cevdet Yilmaz, in the area ahead of Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu's visit, said the government wanted to rebuild the region. "We are here to rebuild Diyarbakir and make it beautiful, and they want to destroy it," he said in comments broadcast live. "We will not retreat in fear." The government has announced an ambitious restoration plan for the southeast. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bomb attack. A PKK offshoot has claimed two car bomb attacks this year in the capital Ankara. The first, on February 17, targeted a military bus and killed 29 people, mostly soldiers. The second, just under a month later, killed 37 in a crowded transport hub. NATO member Turkey faces multiple security threats. As part of a U.S.-led coalition, it is fighting Islamic State in neighboring Syria and Iraq. In Istanbul this month a suicide bomber, who the government said was a member of Islamic State, killed three Israeli tourists and an Iranian. (Additional reporting by Birsen Altayli, Behiye Selin Taner, Melih Aslan, Humeyra Pamuk and Ayla Jean Yackley in Instanbul and Idrees Ali in Washington; Writing by David Dolan; Editing by Nick Tattersall and John Stonestreet)
Screenwriter-director Terry Gilliam will begin shooting his upcoming film "The Man Who Killed Don Quixote" in September, reports Screen Daily. Filming will take place in Spain and Portugal.
The movie will be produced by Paolo Branco's Alfama Films with Tornasol Films from Spain and Leopardo Films.
The screenplay, roughly based on Miguel de Cervantes's "Don Quixote", was written by Gilliam and Tony Grisoni.
It will be the third attempt of the director to shoot a movie based around the "Don Quixote" story: Gilliam began shooting a film in 2000 with Jean Rochefort and Johnny Depp but production was canceled, which was the subject of the 2002 documentary "Lost in La Mancha". Later a project saw Robert Duvall and Ewan McGregor attached as stars but funding fell through.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, John Hurt and Jack O'Connell will star in the new production.
By Tenzin Pema and Paul Lienert (Reuters) - An initial flurry of orders has put Tesla Motors' new Model 3 sedan off to a fast start, but the company may need to raise more cash if it hopes to deliver the new electric vehicle to customers on time, analysts said on Friday. Tesla's stock price bounced around $237 in afternoon trading after opening at nearly $248, the highest mark in six months. Up to Thursday's close, Tesla stock had soared 60 percent since hitting a 12-month low in February. Chief Executive Elon Musk's ambitious plans include launching the Model 3, Tesla's first mass-market car, in late 2017 and boosting the company's annual production tenfold to 500,000 by 2020. But there are concerns among some investors in Tesla, which has promised to turn profitable this year, even after the hoopla and exuberance surrounding the unveiling late on Thursday of a Model 3 prototype. On Friday, Musk said the company had taken orders for 198,000 Model 3s in the first 24 hours. Analysts questioned how long it could take to deliver those cars after the slower-than-expected launch of the company's Model X sport utility vehicle late last year. Higher-than-expected demand could mean that some customers making early reservations may not take delivery until 2019 or 2020, analysts said. Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas, a longtime Tesla booster, predicted the Silicon Valley car maker's sales will hit just under 250,000 in 2020, but maintained a bullish $333 price target on the stock. Barclays analyst Brian Johnson, with a bearish $165 price target, believes the surge of Model 3 reservations - each accompanied by a refundable $1,000 deposit - could reach 300,000 by the end of June. The higher-than-expected number of orders could "set the stage for an equity offering" after the company's first-quarter results are posted, Johnson said. Much of any additional cash raised this year will be needed for Tesla's new U.S. factories, as well as for further product development, Johnson said. While the Model 3 will have a starting price of $35,000, some analysts expect the first cars will sell for an average of $50,000-$60,000. Tesla prices its current models in several "tiers," depending on content and optional features. RBC analyst Joseph Spak, who has a $180 price target, said strong initial orders for the Model 3 could help Tesla achieve positive free cash flow - a persistent issue for the company as it has struggled to build production capacity at its Fremont plant in California and finish construction of a battery "gigafactory" near Reno, Nevada. In February, the company said it expected to be cash-flow positive in March. Tesla still faces a challenge in ramping up production for the Model 3. Spak said Tesla may not be able to fulfill many of the early orders before 2019: "Demand was never really our concern, it is more about execution and getting production up to meet demand." Tesla, established in 2003, had sold less than 110,000 vehicles in its history through December, Sanford C. Bernstein analysts noted. By the time the Model 3 goes into production, it could face stiff competition from several entrants. One key competitor is General Motors Co's Chevrolet Bolt EV, which is expected to launch later this year and also will be priced from around $35,000. Another is BMW's i3, which is slated soon for an extensive makeover, as well as a redesigned version of the Nissan Leaf that's due late next year. Underscoring investor wariness about Tesla's prospects, financial service Markit says short interest in the company's stock has been around 25 percent of shares outstanding since early in the year. Short interest is a measure of investors who expect shares to fall. (Reporting by Tenzin Pema in Bengaluru and Paul Lienert in Detroit; Editing by Ted Kerr, Meredith Mazzilli and Tom Brown)
After months of hype, Tesla finally took the wraps off its game-changing Model 3 on Thursday. The new car, which will sell starting at $35,000 before incentives, will be the cheapest all-electric car ever released. While the new car wont have all the bells and whistles of Tesla's pricier Model S and Model X cars, it will still have a lot of killer features that will make it very attractive to buyers at the $35,000 price point.
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So what can we expect from the Model 3? First, Tesla CEO Elon Musk says that the base model of the car will go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 6 seconds or less and will have a range of at least 215 miles per charge. Musk emphasized during his announcement that these numbers are the bare minimum for acceleration and range, and he said the goal is for all versions of the Model 3 to exceed them.
The Model 3 will also come with Autopilot capabilities, which means youll be able to take advantage of some of the self-driving features weve seen roll out on the Model S over the past several months. Musk also says the car can comfortably fit five adults, which is impressive given that its a fairly compact vehicle. The car also has both front and rear trunks, so it wont lack for storage space either.
Tesla says that it will start delivering the cars next year and that its already received a total of 115,000 orders for the Model 3. To support all these new Tesla drivers, the company says that its going to double its total number of available superchargers and quadruple the number of available destination chargers by the end of 2017.
Weve posted some more pictures of the Model 3 for your enjoyment below.
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After being informed 20 weeks into her pregnancy that due to complications the fetus had no chance of survival, Texas woman Taylor Mahaffey, 23, was forced to wait for it to die in the womb because of to a state law that prevented her from aborting it.
Mahaffey and her husband, Daniel, 29, are now advocating to change the law in Texas, which prohibits abortions after 20 weeks, and which they have repeatedly described as "inhumane."
The Austin-based couple went to St. David's Medical Center on March 23. "By the time we got to the hospital, [the fetus'] feet were already coming out of the womb and pushing through the cervix," Daniel wrote in a Reddit post Sunday.
Legally unable to induce the labor, which would ultimately lead to the fetus' death, the hospital sent the couple home.
"These laws made my wife feel our child struggle inside her for days," Daniel wrote in his post. "We cried ourselves to sleep every night. We spent four days in and out of the hospital waiting for nature to take its course.
"Regardless of where one stands on pro-choice vs. pro-life, I think that we can all agree that forcing a person to go through labor for a non-viable baby is cruel, inhumane and morally indefensible."
Taylor posted her own account of events Sunday on Facebook, also imploring people to advocate for a change in the law.
"Regardless if you are pro-choice or pro-life, I'm sure that we can all agree, this system isn't working," she wrote. "So please, if you have a moment, write a letter to your local reps. Tell them the truth. These laws are godless."
The legislation in question bans abortions after 20 weeks unless the mother's life is threatened, citing largely unsubstantiated claims the fetus is capable of feeling pain.
"This bill is extremely intrusive into the practice of medicine," Bradley Price, an OB-GYN at St. David's Medical Center, told the Daily Beast. Price spoke on behalf of the Texas District of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and also testified in front of the House State Affairs committee in 2013 when it was considering the bill proposal.
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Price warns the law lacks sufficient medical evidence for it to allow for "safe and proven protocols" for women.
A research paper in Clinical Review, "Fetal Pain: A Systematic Multidisciplinary Review of the Evidence," authored by four doctors and a lawyer, makes a similar argument.
"Pain perception requires conscious recognition or awareness of a noxious stimulus," the paper states. "Neither withdrawal reflexes nor hormonal stress responses to invasive procedures prove the existence of fetal pain, because they can be elicited by nonpainful stimuli and occur without conscious cortical processing."
Irrespective of the contradictory evidence, 16 states have some variant of the 20-week abortion ban.
"If you're worried about pain at 20 weeks, what about pain at 40 weeks?" Price queried. "Are we going to ask babies to go through the birth canal still? Is vaginal delivery out of the question? If you take it to an illogical conclusion, that's where you go."
h/t the Daily Beast
The Ukrainian side in the Joint Center for Control and Coordination (JCCC) regarding ceasefire issues and stabilization on the dividing line between the parties has reported that militants are fuelling the conflict in Donbas and were reluctance to pull back the weapons in line with the Minsk agreements.
In March, militants from the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR) fired weapons, which are due to be pulled back (Grad multiple rocket launchers, tanks, artillery, mortars), 734 times, firing 5,114 mines and shells against Ukrainian positions, Ukrainian JCCC representatives said.
Avdiyivka remained a focal point of armed confrontation, a hard situation persisted on the Svitlodar arch in March, the JCCC said.
"The Ukrainian JCCC side takes the surge of shell attacks on Ukrainian Armed Forces' positions in Donbas as a direct violation of accords under the Minsk agreements that may lead to the mounting of escalation and bloodshed again," Ukrainian JCCC representatives said.
A panel appointed by Thailand's military junta on Tuesday unveiled a draft constitution touted as the solution to a decade-long political crisis, but derided by critics as undemocratic and divisive.
Thailand has been controlled by the army since a 2014 coup overthrew the elected government of Yingluck Shinawatra, whose billionaire family has swept the last three elections but is hated by the Bangkok elite.
If the charter is ratified, it will perpetuate the military's influence.
A junta-appointed senate would check the powers of lawmakers for a five-year transitional period following fresh elections.
The document also enshrines a proportional voting system, a move that would likely reduce the majority held by any elected government once Thais regain the right to vote.
The drafters insist their new constitution -- the kingdom's 20th in less than a century -- will end the cycle of elections, street protests and coups.
"We see it as a return to a period where you don't have people confronting each other on the streets," Constitutional Drafting Committee spokesman Norachit Sinhaseni told reporters.
"That is what the majority of Thais want."
But critics say it is aimed squarely at breaking the Shinawatras' electoral stranglehold on the country.
The document is set to go to the public in a referendum on August 7.
However the junta has warned it will not tolerate criticism of the charter in the run-up to the vote, making debate all but impossible.
"I have laws in hand. Whoever violates those laws, legal action will be taken against them," junta chief Prayut Chan-o-Cha told reporters after the draft was unveiled.
Two opposition politicians have already been detained by the military this week for voicing criticism of the document and the junta.
- 'Expands military power' -
Paul Chambers a Thailand-based academic, said the document would in effect prolong army rule and establish a "frail democracy" easily controlled by a junta-stacked senate.
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"It is a charter which expands military and judicial power at the expense of democracy," he told AFP.
In the run-up to its unveiling the charter has been criticised by both sides of the political divide, even those who cheered the toppling of the government led by Yingluck's Pheu Thai party.
Jatuporn Prompan, a prominent leader of the Red Shirt movement loyal to the Shinawatras, hit out Tuesday.
"If they (the military) want to return democracy to Thais, (they should) return whole -- not partial -- democracy," he told AFP.
Pheu Thai's bitter rival the Democrat Party has yet to say what it will advise voters but its leader, former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, has publicly criticised the charter.
Thailand is no stranger to constitutional rewrites but these have done little to calm its turbulent politics. The general public often shrugs off the passage of a document seen as heavily biased and liable to change with the political winds.
The latest chapter in the country's long struggle with democracy began in 2006 when Thaksin Shinawatra, Yingluck's brother, was ousted by a coup.
That power grab sparked years of rival street protests and political chicanery by the Bangkok establishment.
Thaksin, who lives in self-exile to avoid a graft conviction he says is politically motivated, has pilloried the junta for bungling the economy and ruining the political landscape.
The army claims legitimacy from the revered but ailing king.
Analysts attribute the current political crisis to the monarch's ill-health and a bitter tussle for influence among competing elites once his reign ends.
By Katy Migiro NAIROBI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Thousands of people in northern Somalia may die as a result of the El Nino-related drought and a shortage of aid, and the poor rains that are forecast are likely to make things worse, the United Nations said on Thursday. Some 1.7 million people, 40 percent of the population of northern Somalia's semi-autonomous Puntland and Somaliland regions, need emergency aid, it said in a statement accompanying an appeal for $105 million in funding for Somalia up to September. Only 11 percent of its earlier $885 million appeal for Somalia in 2016 has been funded, the United Nations said. Severe drought has caused shortages of water and pasture, leading to livestock deaths and pushing many families into debt to survive, it said. "Malnutrition-related deaths have been reported in Awdal region," it said, referring to Somalia's northwestern border with Ethiopia, which has also been hard hit by drought. "Without access to emergency health services, water and sanitation, thousands of people could face death due to preventable causes." Aid agencies are finding it difficult to raise funds for millions of drought-stricken people across eastern and southern Africa, hit by the strongest El Nino weather phenomenon in decades. The drought may worsen in northern Somalia in the coming months as predictions for Somalia's main 'Gu' rainy season, from March to June, are poor, the United Nations said. "We risk a rapid and deep deterioration of the situation," the U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Somalia, Peter de Clercq, said in the statement. "The time to fund is now, to come back from the tipping point, avoid a greater crisis and avert loss of lives." Fighting between the Islamist militant group al Shabaab and authorities in Puntland has forced people to flee their homes, humanitarians to suspend aid and has pushed up staple food prices, the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWSNET) said. (Reporting by Katy Migiro, editing by Tim Pearce.; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, womens rights, trafficking, property rights and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org to see more stories.)
(Reuters) - Three Florida teenagers drowned early Thursday when the car they stole went into a pond and trapped them inside, authorities said.
"That car became a death chamber for those girls," Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said in a news conference Thursday.
The bodies of Dominique Battle, 16, Ashaunti Butler, 15, and Laniya Miller, 15, were found after the car drove into the pond around 4 a.m. EDT (0800 GMT) as the driver apparently was trying to evade police, Gualtieri said.
The deputies were not actively chasing the car and did not have their emergency lights on, Gualtieri said.
The car was stolen in St. Petersburg the night before, he said. The owner of the car told police a friend had borrowed it to give the girls a ride to a nearby park, the sheriff said.
On the way there, the friend stopped at a Walmart to buy a television, leaving the car running, and when he came outside, the girls had taken off with the car, Gualtieri said.
Hours later, the car was spotted driving with its lights off but police decided not to pursue when they couldn't pull it over, Gualtieri said. Later still, the deputies spotted the car in a cemetery and followed it but did not give chase, he said.
Then the deputies saw the car go into a pond inside the cemetery at about 35 miles per hour, he said.
"They tried to get in there and rescue those girls, and they just couldn't do it," Gualtieri said.
It is against department policy to actively pursue a nonviolent offender, he said.
Juvenile crime, especially grand theft auto, has been skyrocketing in recent years in St. Petersburg, Gualtieri said.
The three teens had, between them, seven arrests - most of them for grand theft auto, he said.
"On the eighth time, they died," Gualtieri said. "Unless we do something different, we will continue to see more lives lost. Three dead teenagers is not acceptable."
(Reporting by Karen Brooks; Editing by Alan Crosby)
Brasilia (AFP) - Herewith are the key dates in Brazil's political upheaval where intertwining crises threaten to bring down President Dilma Rousseff.
Rousseff is fighting impeachment on allegations that she illegally borrowed money to boost public spending during her 2014 re-election campaign.
On Tuesday, her situation worsened with the exit of her biggest governing coalition partner, the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB).
At the same time, Rousseff has been battered by fallout from a mammoth corruption scandal at state oil giant Petrobras, even though she has not been charged in the case.
Her main ally and predecessor, former president Inacio Lula da Silva, faces charges related to the probe, which he says are politically motivated.
-- March 4, 2016
Lula is briefly detained during a police raid linked to the Petrobras probe, prompting furious protests by supporters. Lula -- founder of the leftist Workers' Party and still highly influential despite having been out of power since 2010 -- echoes Rousseff's claim that the opposition is mounting a coup.
-- March 10
Prosecutors ask for Lula's arrest on money-laundering charges. They accuse him of "violating public order" by calling his supporters to hold mass protests.
He remains at liberty because the arrest request requires approval from a judge, but the latest twist increases the rising political temperature.
-- March 12
Rousseff's main coalition partner, the centrist PMDB, says it will decide in 30 days whether to break its alliance.
-- March 13
Huge opposition crowds protest against Rousseff.
-- March 16
Rousseff names Lula as her new chief of staff. She says she needs the political heavyweight to rescue her government, but the opposition accuses her of trying to shield him from the judge probing the Petrobas scandal, since ministers can be tried only by the Supreme Court.
Investigating Judge Sergio Moro publishes wiretapped conversations that appear to show Rousseff plotting with Lula to shield him, although the wording is ambiguous. Fresh protests erupt.
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-- March 17
Rousseff swears Lula in as chief of staff before courts order his appointment suspended. The government appeals.
Rousseff again accuses opponents of mounting a "coup."
Lawmakers relaunch impeachment proceedings against Rousseff after procedural obstacles are resolved.
-- March 23
Supreme Court Judge Teori Zavascki criticizes Moro's release of the Rousseff-Lula wiretaps.
-- March 29
The PMDB quits the government coalition. The decision, televised live, takes just three minutes to formalize, leaving Rousseff with ever less political support.
BBC has released the trailer for the 23rd season of "Top Gear" featuring Matt LeBlanc and Chris Evans.
Chris Evans will be hosting the TV motoring show with Matt LeBlanc. The trailer shows the team in the UK, US, France, Morocco and the UAE in 11 different cars.
"Top Gear" previously starred Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May. They left the show last year after an alleged altercation between Clarkson and a producer.
Season 23 of "Top Gear" will air on BBC America in May.
To view the trailer visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXJddUQWRwk&feature=youtu.be
The Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) intends to appeal the ruling of the Kyiv Dniprovsky District Court, which orders the cancellation of the ruling on the search, arrest and delivery to the court of the former People's Deputy from the Party of Regions, businessman Yuriy Ivaniuschenko.
"Indeed, there is a ruling of Dniprovsky Court judge Chaus dated April 1 to cancel the investigator's decision to put Ivaniuschenko on the wanted list, terminate the investigation, and repeal the court resolution for the arrest and delivery to the court of Ivaniuschenko. The criminal proceedings, of course, have not been closed ... Yuriy Ivaniuschenko is still suspected of committing a crime under Part 5 of Article 191," the head of the PGO special investigations department, Serhiy Horbatiuk, said on the air of 112 Ukraine TV Channel.
The PGO said the court ruling is illegal and announced the intention to appeal against it.
"We will appeal it and take all the measures to resume the search and electing a preventive measure," Horbatiuk said.
By Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump took a detour from the campaign trail on Thursday and held an unexpected meeting in Washington with Reince Priebus, the head of the Republican National Committee. It was not immediately clear what the two men discussed but the meeting came after months of tension between Trump and the party he seeks to represent in the Nov. 8 election. Trump this week abandoned a pledge to support the eventual Republican nominee if it is not him. He has also complained about the party's delegate allocation process as he seeks to win the 1,237 delegates necessary for the nomination. "Just had a very nice meeting with @Reince Priebus and the @GOP. Looking forward to bringing the Party together --- and it will happen!" Trump wrote on Twitter. Barry Bennett, an adviser to the Trump campaign, said on MSNBC that the meeting was about Trump helping the RNC raise money. "The meeting is to help the RNC," he said. Trump also met with his foreign policy team in the capital on Thursday after a series of statements by the billionaire businessman on national security issues that have drawn criticism. In recent interviews, Trump has declared the NATO alliance obsolete, described Saudi Arabia as too dependent on the United States and said Japan and South Korea may need to develop their own nuclear programs because the U.S. security umbrella is too costly to maintain. In an MSNBC town hall on Wednesday night, Trump did not rule out the potential use of nuclear weapons in Europe or the Middle East to combat Islamic State militants. "I would never take any of my cards off the table," he said. Max Boot, a conservative national security expert and member of the Council on Foreign Relations, wrote in Commentary Magazine this week that Trump is "singularly unqualified to be commander-in-chief." "With Trump in command, our enemies would have a field day Moscow and Beijing must be licking their chops at his desire to abandon U.S. allies in Europe and Asia and our friends would face mortal threats. If that isnt the single biggest threat to U.S. security, I dont know what is," Boot wrote. (Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu and Mohammed Zargham; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Alistair Bell)
For a man who prides himself on his ability to spot a good deal, Republican frontrunner Donald Trump appears to have missed out on a huge one in Louisiana. Despite winning the most votes of any GOP candidate running in the Bayou State, the author of The Art of the Deal is likely to bring fewer Louisiana delegates to the Republican nominating convention in Ohio this summer than Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who finished a few percentage points behind him.
Trumps immediate reaction to the news that he wont have the majority of the Louisiana delegation at the convention has been predictable. On Sunday, he protested that the rules are unfair, and promised a lawsuit.
Related: Ex-Trump Insider: Donald Doesnt Want to Be President
On Monday, Trump advisor Barry Bennett told MSNBC that the delegate allocation process was crooked.
Well 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.
Just to show you how unfair Republican primary politics can be, I won the State of Louisiana and get less delegates than Cruz-Lawsuit coming Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 27, 2016
Except, its really not clear that Trump is suffering from any actionable wrong. The real problem seems to be his campaigns ignorance of how the political game of delegate allocation is played in the various states.
Louisiana allocates its at-large delegates proportionally to candidates that cross a 20 percent threshold. The delegates allocated at the congressional district level are distributed proportionally with no minimum vote threshold. Based on those rules, both Trump and Cruz received 18 delegates from the state. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who has since withdrawn from the race, received five. But Rubios withdrawal released those delegate from their commitment to his candidacy. An additional five were uncommitted from the start, and thus free to vote for the candidate of their choice.
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Related: Heres Why Pennsylvania Could Swing the GOP Nomination
The Cruz campaign, recognizing the opportunity, mounted a successful effort to attract freed Rubio delegates and those who were never committed in the first place. The Trump campaign, evidently, did nothing.
What that boils down to is that, in the aftermath of Rubios withdrawal, there were 10 delegates in play in Louisiana, all free for the taking to a candidate who could, so to speak, close the deal.
What appears to have happened is that the Ted Cruz campaign recognized the opportunity and seized it, working to secure the support of the uncommitted delegates. Trump, the dealmaker, seems to have missed his chance.
Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The prospect of Japan and South Korea obtaining nuclear weapons would be incredibly destabilizing, the White House said on Wednesday, a day after leading Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said the two U.S. allies should build such weapons to deter enemies. "Mr. Trump's suggestion that somehow we should encourage our allies in South Korea to develop nuclear weapons is directly contrary to a policy that the United States has long pursued and that the international community has long supported," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters at a daily briefing. (Reporting by Roberta Rampton and Susan Heavey; Writing by Megan Cassella)
Washington (AFP) - Donald Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination, met in Washington with the chairman of the Republican National Committee, as tensions ran high between the candidate and his party.
Although Trump had previously announced he would be in Washington for meetings, his visit to the RNC, where he met with its chairman, Reince Priebus, came as a surprise.
It followed an announcement two days ago by Trump that he would refuse to support any candidate but himself as nominee in the race for the White House.
He also announced Tuesday that he no longer felt bound by the commitment he made in September to respect the outcome of the primaries and not run as an independent in November if he does not receive the party nomination.
"I have been treated very unfairly. By basically the RNC, the Republican party, the establishment," Trump said in an interview on CNN aired Tuesday.
Details were slow to emerge about his meeting with Priebus, but CNN, citing Republican sources, reported that the discussion was about convention rules and the delegate process.
Afterwards, Trump tweeted: "Just had a very nice meeting with @Reince Priebus and the @GOP. Looking forward to bringing the Party together --- and it will happen!"
According to Politico, he also held a meeting with his new foreign policy team and rolled out a committee led by two congressmen who will spearhead attempts to garner support among Washington's political establishment.
If Trump does not win the 1,237 delegates needed to secure his party's nomination outright, the nominee will have to be chosen through delegate voting at the July convention in Cleveland, Ohio.
At that point, delegates would no longer be bound to vote for the candidate they were sent to represent, and Trump could risk losing the nomination.
One of his two challengers, Texas Senator Ted Cruz or Ohio Governor John Kasich, could feasibly become the party's nominee.
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The process, which is called a contested or brokered convention, is extremely rare.
To help avoid the chance of a brokered convention, Trump announced Tuesday that he had hired Republican operative Paul Manafort to manage his delegate strategy.
Manafort has worked on strategy for former US presidents Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and George HW Bush during nominating conventions.
Paris (AFP) - As Brussels reels from an attack by Islamic State jihadists, analysts warn of a ripple effect that could further whip up populist sentiment on the continent and in the United States.
Across the Atlantic Ocean, Tuesday's bombings in the Belgian capital have provided fodder for Donald Trump's divisive electoral campaign while in Europe they risk hardening responses to the refugee crisis.
Analysts warn that at a time when unity is more crucial than ever, the attack could create divisions that will make it harder to tackle IS and the crises it has spawned.
"The risk is a spiral where our reaction to this very real threat makes matters worse, not better," said Thomas Wright, an analyst at the Brookings Institution's Centre on the United States and Europe.
So what could the fallout be from the latest IS attack?
- Refugee crisis -
Over one million refugees and migrants, nearly half of them Syrian, arrived in Europe last year alone, creating an unprecedented crisis that has created deep rifts between EU members over how to respond.
Public opinion was already hardening against the refugees as their numbers swelled, and news that jihadists may have used the migrant route to re-enter Europe has added to concerns.
Several EU countries have re-imposed border controls and limited the number of migrants they will accept, leaving thousands stuck in grim conditions at European crossings.
The attack on Brussels, which left 31 dead, was likely to make matters worse for the refugees, with Poland's Prime Minister Beata Szydlo quick to say her country would no longer take in the agreed 7,000 refugees.
"The refugee and terrorist crises are completely different topics but obviously public opinion links them," said Dominique Moisi of the French Institute for International Relations.
"The more you see terrorist activities the less you want to see refugees, which is very unfair for the refugees but this is part of the emotional response of public opinion."
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Wright said a tougher stance on migrants would do little to prevent further attacks.
"Many of these terrorists are already residents or citizens of Europe. They wouldn't be stopped by tougher migration laws," he told AFP.
- Rise of right-wing populists -
The refugee crisis and Islamic State threat have pushed voters into the arms of right-wing parties. One has already taken power in Poland, while others are experiencing a surge in support from Slovakia to Sweden, Austria to France.
The latest attack could deepen support for such parties.
"It seems like it could play into the hands of the populists and the nationalists. Their message of closing borders, of greater intolerance may have added resonance after the attacks," said Wright.
However, he said their policies would be "counterproductive".
"The answer is not to reimpose borders, target Muslim communities or pull out of the European Union -- the answer is increased co-operation between countries, engaging Muslim communities and isolating IS."
- Brexit -
Will yet another attack on European soil direct more Britons to tick the 'Leave' box in a June referendum on membership of the EU?
The eurosceptic UK Independence Party (UKIP) immediately seized upon the Brussels attacks, saying they showed that "lax border controls are a threat to our security."
"Rationally, the Brits should not leave Europe," said Moisi.
"Emotionally they may feel they want to as a kind of protest gesture against their own elites and an irrational feeling of self-protection against terrorism.
"Six months ago I would have said the British would vote to stay in Europe, today I am much less sure."
- US election -
Donald Trump credits his surprising juggernaut in the Republican presidential race to the IS attacks on Paris.
"Something happened, something called Paris," he said during a recent rally.
"This whole run took on a whole new meaning ... We need protection in our country. And all of a sudden, the poll numbers shot up."
He has used the IS threat to argue for a total ban on all Muslims entering the country. He also wants laws that permit torture of terror suspects.
Trump seized on the Brussels attacks saying anyone who tried the same in the US would "suffer greatly".
Wright said the bombings "could benefit those who are calling for closing borders, defining this as a clash of civilisations and saying Islam is the enemy."
However, he points out that the mood could change as the election shifts gears from the party primaries to candidates facing the country as a whole.
"My view is that American people are more tolerant, they want to work with other countries. They don't see Islam as the enemy."
The Foreign Ministry of Ukraine has condemned the arrival on March 30, 2016, of a group of Greek businessmen led by a member of the Council on tourism development of the municipality of Corinth, Georgios Iosifidis, in the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea and Sevastopol.
In a comment posted on the website of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, the agency points out that the visit has not been agreed with the Ukrainian side and was carried out in violation of the Ukrainian law.
"We consider such a trip of Greek citizens as a sign of disrespect of the state sovereignty of Ukraine, as an intentional neglect of the Ukrainian law and policies of Greece and the European Union concerning the non-recognition of the illegal annexation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol," the statement reads.
In this regard, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry again called on all foreign citizens to adhere to the Ukrainian law and the rules of entry into the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine and exit from it. Kyiv will respond to any violations of these rules, the ministry said.
"Ukraine also expects the appropriate reaction from the Greek authorities in response to the violation by the Greek citizens of the Ukrainian law as well as the policy of non-recognition of the attempt of annexation of Crimea, which is pursued by the EU and Greece," the ministry said.
By Steve Bittenbender LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Reuters) - Three people who claim they were assaulted at a Donald Trump rally in Louisville, Kentucky, last month have filed a lawsuit against the Republican presidential candidate, saying he "incited a riot." Molly Shah, Kashiya Nwanguma and Henry Brousseau filed the lawsuit on Thursday in Jefferson Circuit Court in Louisville, claiming that Trump's repeated calls of "get them out" at a rally at the Kentucky International Convention Center on March 1 was intended to direct his supporters to "use unwanted, harmful physical force to remove protesters, including the plaintiffs." The lawsuit also names as defendants the Trump campaign and three individuals who the plaintiffs claim assaulted them at the rally. The three plaintiffs, all Louisville residents, claim they suffered physical injuries, emotional distress and humiliation, and are seeking unspecified damages, according to the lawsuit. "Peaceful protest is an American tradition, especially in the context of presidential politics," Dan Canon, the attorney for the plaintiffs, told Reuters in a Twitter message. "But what you see all over the country, time and time again, is violence employed against protesters at Trump campaign events. These plaintiffs are saying 'enough is enough,'" The lawsuit said Trump stopped his 30-minute speech five times to point out protesters and, in most cases, told supporters to "get 'em out of here," according to the lawsuit. A spokeswoman for Trump's campaign could not be reached for comment. The lawsuit claims that Trump "incited a riot as defined under the Kentucky penal code." The individuals named as defendants are Matthew Heimbach, described in the complaint as a Trump supporter and Ohio resident who is "affiliated with the Traditionalist Worker Party, a recognized hate group"; Alvin Bamberger, 75, described as a Trump supporter and an Ohio resident; and an unknown female. According to the lawsuit, at the rally, Heimbach, who was wearing a Traditionalist Worker Party T-shirt, attacked Shah and Nwanguma. A spokesman for the Traditional Worker Party could not be reached. A website for the Traditionalist Worker Party describes it as a grassroots political organization that believes, among other things, that "European-American identity is under constant attack." The Southern Poverty Law Center, a non-profit organization that monitors groups it considers extremist, classifies the Traditionalist Worker Party as a white nationalist hate group. According to the lawsuit, Nwanguma was assaulted by numerous protesters at the rally, of whom Heimbach and Bamberger were the most aggressive. Video of Nwanguma, a 21-year-old college student, being repeatedly pushed at the convention went viral after the rally, the lawsuit said. Bamberger could not be reached immediately for comment. The lawsuit also claims that Shah was assaulted by Heimbach and that Brousseau was assaulted by the unknown female defendant. (Reporting by Steve Bittenbender; Editing by Ben Klayman and Leslie Adler)
By Anjali Athavaley NEW YORK (Reuters) - The probability that Republican front-runner Donald Trump will win his party's presidential nomination dropped sharply in the past week while the likelihood of a brokered convention to potentially choose another candidate rose, according to online predictions market PredictIt. Trump's probability of winning the nomination fell to 44 percent on Friday from 67 percent a week ago, according to the website, which is run by Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand. For Republican rival Ted Cruz, a U.S. Senator from Texas, it rose to 34 percent from 14 percent during the same period. The probability that the Republicans will have a brokered convention to decide the nominee for the Nov. 8 election jumped to 69 percent from 43 percent a week ago, according to PredictIt, an online predictions market where users place money on who they think will win the election. Many users are from the United States. Celebrity businessman Trump is facing pressure to take a more serious approach to his presidential campaign from supporters worried that a string of recent missteps and controversial comments may do lasting damage. A Cruz win in Tuesday's primary in Wisconsin would make it harder for Trump to reach the 1,237 delegates needed to clinch the nomination before the Republican national convention in July. If Trump does not win enough delegates, then the party faces the prospect of holding a contested, or brokered, convention in which party leaders try to negotiate nominating a compromise candidate. (Reporting by Anjali Athavaley; Editing by Alistair Bell)
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish authorities have detained a man suspected of killing a Russian pilot after his plane was shot down by a Turkish jet near the Syrian-Turkish border last November, Turkey's Hurriyet newspaper reported on Thursday. Russian defense officials said at the time that the pilot had managed to eject from his stricken plane only to be killed by ground fire from militants inside Syria. His navigator survived but a Russian marine was killed during the rescue mission. The incident wrecked relations between Russia and NATO member Turkey. Moscow responded with fury, calling the episode a pre-planned provocation and imposing a raft of economic sanctions in retaliation. It was not immediately clear whether the reported arrest of the man, whom Hurriyet identified as Alparslan Celik, a fighter from a Turkish-backed Turkmen brigade in Syria, had been made in connection with the killing of the pilot. Hurriyet said he was arrested in a restaurant in the Aegean coastal city of Izmir in a group of 14 people, all of whom were also detained. Turkish officials were not immediately available to confirm the report. Turkey says it shot down the Russian jet in its air space after it ignored repeated warnings. Russia says it was flying over Syria and was struck unprovoked. (Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk; Writing by Nick Tattersall; Editing by Gareth Jones)
Diyarbakir (Turkey) (AFP) - Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Friday made a rare visit to the Kurdish-dominated city of Diyarbakir, declaring he was "not scared" after an attack by rebels that killed seven police.
The car bomb attack on a police bus in Diyarbakir Thursday -- which underlined the precarious security situation in the main city in Turkey's southeast -- was claimed by the military wing of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
Turkish security forces have since the summer waged a relentless campaign to drive PKK militants out of urban centres in the southeast, leading to ferocious clashes that show no sign of abating.
Davutoglu began his visit -- which took place under heavy security -- by attending a funeral ceremony for the police killed.
In a symbolic move, he then took part in Friday prayers outside the Great Mosque in the central Sur district.
"They thought that we would be scared. But we are not scared, we will not waver and we will go right to the end," he said.
Pictures showed army snipers in position on the roof of the mosque. Davutoglu sought to make contact with the people, at one point kissing a baby.
"Perhaps they thought 'Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu will not come to Diyarbakir for fear of these attacks'. But dear people of Diyarbakir, are you scared of them?" he added.
Parts of Sur have been under curfew since the military launched a major operation against the PKK in the area on December 2, with the clashes causing widespread destruction to the historic district.
In a statement coinciding with Davutoglu's visit, the PKK's military wing, the People's Defence Forces (HPG), claimed responsibility for Thursday's bombing of the police bus.
The rebels said the attack was in revenge for the actions of the army in Sur.
The premier's visit was his first to Diyarbakir since the operation began. He last visited on the eve of November elections.
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President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said this week that 355 members of the security forces had been killed in fighting with the PKK since a two-year truce collapsed last summer.
He also claimed 5,359 members of the PKK had been killed but it was not possible to confirm that toll.
Erdogan, currently on a high-stakes visit to NATO ally the United States, said the Diyarbakir attack showed the world the true nature of the PKK.
"We cannot tolerate this any more," he said.
The PKK formally took up arms against the Turkish state in 1984 in an insurgency that initially sought an independent Kurdish state for Turkey's largest minority but which now focuses on autonomy and greater rights.
Lozhkin declares almost UAH 628,000 of income for 2015
The total revenues of head of the presidential administration of Ukraine Borys Lozhkin in 2015 amounted to UAH 627,866, as evidenced by his income statement, posted on the presidential website.
Lozhkin's wage last year totaled UAH 163,005, dividends and interest UAH 9,254, income from insurance claim fees UAH 26,354, gifts, trophies and prizes UAH 280,253. Income from the alienation of movable or immovable property comes to UAH 149,000.
In 2015, Lozhkin did not receive royalties and income from the implementation of intellectual property rights.
The presidential administration head owns a Lexus LX570 car (a 2013 model).
According to the declaration, Lozhkin has land plots of 1,201 square meters and 520 square meters, apartments (33 and 290.5 square meters), and a summer house (534.3 square meters).
The total income of his family comes to UAH 17.603 million. His family owns two cars: Audi A8 2013) and Lexus LX570 (2013).
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said an attack in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir on Thursday that killed seven people and wounded 27 showed the "ugly face" of militants "as they are cornered". "This shows terrorism's ugly face again. The determination of our security forces will, God willing, put an end" to terrorism, Erdogan said in a speech to the Brookings Institute. He is in the United States for a nuclear security summit. (Reporting by Idrees Ali in Washington and additional reporting by Ayla Jean Yackley in Istanbul; Writing by David Dolan; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
By Idrees Ali and David Rohde WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan warned on Thursday that he will continue to sue critics who insult him in Turkey, where journalists and other critics of the president have been imprisoned. He issued the admonition in Washington, a day before a hearing in Istanbul resumes in the trial of two high-profile Turkish journalists. "I would (thank) each and everyone one of those who criticize me but if they were to insult me, my lawyers will go and file a lawsuit," said Erdogan, speaking at an event on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit. A Turkish court on Friday resumes hearings in the trial of the two journalists for publishing footage that purportedly showed Turkeys intelligence agency shipping truckloads of weapons to opposition fighters in Syria in early 2014. As protesters chanted and waved banners outside, Turkish security personnel tried to block three Turkish journalists from covering the event, held at the Brookings Institution think tank. Adem Yavuz Arslan, a reporter with Ozgur Dusunce, a Turkish opposition newspaper affiliated with U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, a former Erdogan ally, said the security guards threatened him. "They said, 'We are going to kill you. You are a terrorist,'" said Arslan. A prosecutor has charged Can Dundar, editor-in-chief of Cumhuriyet, and Erdem Gul, the newspaper's Ankara bureau chief, with trying to topple the government by publishing video purporting to show Turkey's state intelligence agency helping to truck weapons to Syria in 2014. Erdogan, whose government has come under international criticism for restrictions of press freedom, has vowed Dundar will "pay a heavy price". The two journalists could face life in prison if convicted. In his speech in Washington, Erdogan said there were no journalists in jail because of their work, adding that most of the 52 journalists in Turkish prisons have been convicted on or face terrorism charges. Journalism rights groups say the government uses vague terrorism charges to silence journalists. Since becoming president in August 2014, Erdogan has filed a record 1,845 court cases against individuals for insulting him, resulting in a more than a dozen sentences, activists have said. Insulting the president carries a maximum of four years in prison in Turkey. The New York-based advocacy group Committee to Protect Journalists describes Turkey as a country of concern with at least 13 and as many 20 journalists in prison for their work. Erdogan also said the West needed to take more responsibility in dealing with Syrian refugees, accusing it of failing its commitments under international human rights accords. Even though almost all EU nations are wealthier than us, they have taken a (handful) of Syrian refugees while we have opened our doors," he said. Turkey agreed with the EU this month to take back all migrants and refugees who cross illegally to Greece in exchange for financial aid, faster visa-free travel for Turks and slightly accelerated EU membership talks. The returns are supposed to begin on April 4 under the plan, which aims to close the main route by which a million migrants and refugees poured across the Aegean Sea to Greece in the last year before heading north mainly to Germany and Sweden. Erdogan also said he expected a meeting of Turkish and Israeli officials next month to yield positive results, after the sides collaborated closely following a bomb attack in Istanbul that killed Israeli tourists. (Additional reporting by Ayla Jean Yackley; Editing by Don Durfee and David Gregorio)
Washington (AFP) - Turkish security and pro-Kurdish protesters clashed outside of a US think tank Thursday ahead of a speech there by Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Erdogan was in Washington to attend a major nuclear security summit hosted by President Barack Obama, and was giving a speech at the Brookings Institution.
Scuffles erupted as Turkish security moved to clear out about 40 protesters who had gathered outside the building carrying banners of Syria's Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and chanting "Erdogan baby killer."
A small pro-Turkish counter-demonstration also turned up at the scene, with one banner reading, "No difference between PKK and ISIS," referring to the Kurdistan Workers' Party and the Islamic State group.
A reporter with US media outlet National Public Radio was kicked by Turkish security during the scuffle, while other agents grabbed one of the effigies and ripped it up.
About 20 Washington police officers tried to separate the two sides.
Inside the event, Erdogan's security agents tried to remove at least one US-based Turkish journalist from the room, but Brookings staff intervened and he was allowed to stay.
Turkey categorizes the PYD as the Syrian branch of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has fought a decades-long insurrection against the Turkish state.
ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish warplanes carried out air strikes in northern Iraq on Friday, the military said in a statement, destroying ammunition depots and shelters in an areas where the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) has camps. Four F-16 fighters destroyed targets in the Zap region this morning, it said. Later, eight F-4 jets hit targets in the Metina region, it said. Turkey has been regularly targeting PKK camps and strongholds in mountainous northern Iraq since a 2-1/2-year-old ceasefire collapsed in July, sparking some of the worst fighting in decades between the PKK and security forces. (Reporting by Tulay Karadeniz; Writing by David Dolan; Editing by Humeyra Pamuk)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will address some Iranian concerns that it has not been able to take full advantage of sanctions relief under last year's nuclear deal but Iran must also reassure businesses, U.S. President Barack Obama said on Friday. "Some of the concerns that Iran has expressed, we are going to work with them to address," he told a news conference. "Iran so far has followed the letter of the agreement, but the spirit of the agreement involves Iran also sending signals to the world community and businesses that it is not going to be engaging in a range of provocative actions that might scare businesses off." (Reporting by Arshad Mohammed; Editing by James Dalgleish)
ROSHEN paid more than 1.3 billion hryvnias of taxes to the state budget of Ukraine in 2015
ROSHEN Confectionery Corporation is one of the largest taxpayers in Ukraine.
The total amount of taxes paid by the budget of Ukraine in 2015 amounted to UAH 1,337,212,375. Among them, state taxes and fees: UAH 1,054,722,420, taxes and fees to local budgets: UAH 110,956820, single social contribution: UAH 171,533,135.
"Our corporation is a diligent taxpayer. We regularly pay taxes, fees and other mandatory payments to the budget, local budgets and social funds of Ukraine," said Natalia Panova, Head of Public Relations and Communications. "The numbers speak for themselves. For example, in 2015, the businesses within the group of companies ROSHEN registered in Kyiv alone, transferred taxes and fees to the local budget in the amount of UAH 53,763,385. Other companies of ROSHEN transferred to local budgets of Vinnytsia, Kremenchuk and Yahotyn a total of UAH 57,193,435."
Information. The data on the following companies is presented by the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine: Subsidiary company "Confectionery Corporation "ROSHEN" ( Kyiv), PJSC "Kiev confectionery factory "Roshen" (Kyiv), PJSC "Vinnytsia Confectionery Factory" (Vinnytsia), PJSC "Vinnytsia dairy plant "Roshen" (Vinnytsia), PJSC "Kremenchug confectionary factory "Roshen" (Kremenchuk), LLC "Distribution Center "Plus" (Yahotyn), as well as the "Roshen" brand stores network (Kyiv)
1. Subsidiary company "Confectionery Corporation "ROSHEN", which is registered in Kyiv, has transferred following basic mandatory payments to the State Budget of Ukraine: UAH 948,622,843 in state taxes and fees, UAH 28,837,105 in local budgets taxes and fees, UAH 24,046,852 in unified social contribution.
2. PJSC "Kiev confectionery factory "Roshen", which is registered in Kyiv, has transferred following basic mandatory payments to the State Budget of Ukraine: UAH 63,368,522 in state taxes and fees, UAH 19,531,409 in local budgets taxes and fees, UAH 32,799,369 in unified social contribution.
3. Data on "Roshen" brand stores network taxes: UAH 19,856,824 in state taxes and fees, UAH 5,394,871 in local budgets taxes and fees, UAH 11,123,024 in unified social contribution.
4. PJSC "Vinnytsia Confectionery Factory", which is registered in Vinnytsia, has paid the following main compulsory payments: UAH 3,375,611 in state taxes and fees, UAH 35,749,220 in local budgets taxes and fees, UAH 64,916,469 in unified social contribution.
5. PJSC "Vinnytsia dairy plant "Roshen", which is registered in Vinnytsia, has paid: UAH 616,447 in state taxes and fees, UAH 5,075,179 in local budgets taxes and fees, UAH 10,104,322 in unified social contribution.
6. PJSC "Kremenchug confectionary factory "Roshen", which is registered in Kremenchuk, has paid: UAH 13,039,806 in state taxes and fees, UAH 12,586,944 in local budgets taxes and fees, UAH 21,269,346 in unified social contribution.
7. LLC "Distribution Center "Plus", which is registered in Yahotyn, has paid: UAH 5,842,367 in state taxes and fees, UAH 3,782,092 in local budgets taxes and fees, UAH 7,273,753 in unified social contribution.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is "concerned" about Israel's demolition of Arab buildings in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, a State Department spokeswoman said on Friday, adding that it raised questions about Israel's commitment to a two-state political solution to the Palestinian conflict. Israeli forces bulldozed a school in the Bedouin village of Khirbet Tana in the West Bank early in March, leaving 23 children with nowhere to study in the community overlooking the Jordan valley. The school had been built by the European Union in an effort to help the community of about 40 families. After destroying the school, the Israeli forces returned two weeks later and demolished 17 homes, 21 pens for sheep, goats and chickens, and five outhouses, according to B'tselem, an Israeli nongovernmental organization. "These actions are indicative of a damaging trend of demolitions, displacement and land confiscation," spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau told a State Department briefing. She said Washington was "concerned" and the demolitions, coupled with continuing Israeli construction and settlement activity "undermine the possibility of a two-state solution." "They also call into question the Israeli government's commitment to that two-state solution," Trudeau said. The State Department previously made similar comments. So far this year, Israeli forces have destroyed or dismantled around 400 homes and other structures across the West Bank, more than in the whole of 2015. Israeli forces also confiscated 579 acres (234 hectares) of Palestinian land near the city of Jericho in the West Bank, a step the State Department also criticized. (Reporting by David Alexander; editing by Grant McCool)
By Tom Polansek CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. health regulators are facing a lawsuit from a coalition of environmental organizations seeking to overturn the government's landmark approval of a type of genetically engineered salmon to be farmed for human consumption. The Center for Food Safety, Food and Water Watch, Friends of the Earth and other groups allege in the lawsuit, filed on Wednesday, that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) failed to consider all of the environmental risks of the fish when the agency approved it in November. The FDA also cleared the product, made by Massachusetts-based AquaBounty Technologies, without having the proper authority to regulate genetically engineered animals produced for food, according to the complaint. The agency declined to comment on the lawsuit on Thursday. Its approval of AquaBounty salmon followed a 20-year review and was the first such approval for an animal whose DNA has been scientifically modified. AquaBounty is confident the FDA's approval will stand, Chief Executive Ron Stotish said in a statement. The agency was "extraordinarily thorough and transparent in the review and approval of our application," he said. The company has said its salmon can grow to market size in half the time of conventional salmon, saving time and resources. However, the FDA approval process included "an extremely limited environmental assessment" that did not fully evaluate the potential for AquaBounty salmon to escape from the facilities where they are grown, among other risks, according to the lawsuit. The legal challenge comes as the U.S. food industry is facing increased pressure from consumers to provide more information about the use of genetically engineered ingredients. General Mills Inc and other major food companies are rolling out new disclosures on products to comply with a Vermont law that will require labels on foods made with genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. Major retailers, including Kroger Co and Target Corp, have already said they do not plan to stock AquaBounty salmon on store shelves. It is not yet available for sale. Activists worry the FDA's approval of the salmon will serve as a precedent for other genetically engineered food animals. Their lawsuit seeks to prohibit the FDA from taking further action on the fish or any other genetically engineered animal for human consumption until Congress grants an agency clear authority over such products. The case is Institute for Fisheries Resources et al v Sylvia Mathews Burwell et al, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 16-cv-01574. (Reporting by Tom Polansek; Editing by Richard Pullin and Andrew Hay)
By David Brunnstrom and Megan Cassella WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and Japan have completed the removal of all highly enriched uranium and separated plutonium fuels from Japan's Fast Critical Assembly research project that is due to be sent to South Carolina, the countries said on Friday. Announced alongside the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, the transfer makes good on a 2014 agreement at a previous non-proliferation summit to move the material from the site in Tokai Mura, Japan, to the United States, the countries said. In a joint statement, the countries said the removal furthers a mutual goal of reducing the amount of these nuclear materials held worldwide. "This is the largest single nuclear material removal in the history of this summit process, U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz told reporters. "This process will permanently remove any risk of this material falling into the wrong hands, he added. Moniz and Japan's Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Koichi Hagiuda left immediately after delivering statements at the summit and would not take questions. The shipment has stirred some controversy over its transfer to the United States, specifically to a Department of Energy site in South Carolina where leaders and environmental activists have balked at receiving the weapons-grade plutonium. Such shipments are highly sensitive because the material can be used in nuclear weapons or to make a so-called dirty bomb. Last month, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley asked the U.S. Department of Energy for the shipment to be turned back or sent elsewhere. A Japanese government spokesman declined to provide details of the shipment's status, citing security concerns. On Tuesday, Moniz called Haley and agreed to eventually store some of the plutonium now at South Carolina's Savannah River Site at a facility in New Mexico, the Associated Press reported. U.S. Energy Department representatives did not respond to a request for further details on the move. South Carolina has sued over the issue, and Haley has pledged to keep the pressure on the federal government. "We will not back down from our lawsuit until the DOE pays the $1 million a day fine they are required to under federal law," Haley said in a statement provided to Reuters. In its statement, the United States said it will now "downblend" the materials for use in civilian activities or for final disposition. The countries also said they were working to move material from another site, the Kyoto University Critical Assembly, to the United States. "This is one more important step in the ongoing programme to convert research reactors to low-enriched uranium," Moniz said of the Kyoto site. (Reporting by David Brunnstrom and Megan Cassella; Writing by Susan Heavey; Editing by James Dalgleish and Diane Craft)
By Nate Raymond
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal judge on Thursday reduced by more than two-thirds the maximum sum a Swedish woman can recover after having prevailed in a jury trial against a New York financier she accused of sexual harassment and defamation.
U.S. District Judge Paul Gardephe in Manhattan said he would grant New York Global Group CEO Benjamin Wey a new damages trial unless his former employee, Hanna Bouveng, agreed by April 10 to have her damages award cut to $5.65 million from $18 million.
In a 111-page decision, Gardephe also upheld the jury's finding of liability in the lawsuit, which accused Wey of coercing Bouveng into having sex, refusing his further advances and defaming her in a series of blog posts.
"Based on the evidence at trial, a reasonable jury could conclude that Wey's sexual advances toward plaintiff were unwelcome, and that he knew they were unwelcome," Gardephe wrote.
Wey's lawyer had no immediate comment. A lawyer for Bouveng did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In a Twitter post after the ruling, Wey declared "victory," reiterating his claims that the lawsuit amounted to "extortion."
Wey was separately indicted in September on federal securities fraud charges for engineering Chinese "reverse mergers" and then manipulating stock prices to earn tens of millions of dollars in illegal profits. He has pleaded not guilty.
The Bouveng trial garnered lurid tabloid headlines by pitting the young woman against a Wall Street financier about 20 years her senior.
At trial, lawyers for Bouveng contended that Wey had engaged in a relentless campaign of harassment after hiring her in 2013 when she was 24, buying her gifts and demanding sexual favors in return.
Bouveng's lawyers said Wey's actions led to sexual encounters before she rejected his further attempts, and that Wey fired her after discovering another man in her apartment, which he was helping to finance, in April 2014.
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After she filed her civil lawsuit, Wey wrote several disparaging articles in an online publication, TheBlot, controlled by FNL Media, a New York Global Group subsidiary. Both companies were also defendants.
Wey's lawyer, Glenn Colton, contended at trial that his client and Bouveng never had sex, and that Bouveng attempted to extort Wey after she was fired for substandard work.
The case is Bouveng v. NYG Capital LLC et al, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, No. 14-cv-5475.
(Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York, editing by G Crosse)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and its allies staged 17 strikes against Islamic State on Thursday in their latest round of daily attacks in Iraq and Syria against the militant group, the coalition leading the operations said. In Iraq, a dozen strikes near eight cities, hit six tactical units and destroyed several improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and an IED factory as well as seven vehicles and six assembly areas, the Combined Joint Task Force said in a statement on Friday. In Syria, five strikes near three cities hit three of the militants' tactical units. They also destroyed three of the groups' fighting positions, among other targets, the statement said. (Reporting by Washington newsroom)
PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - A U.N. human rights envoy on Thursday urged Cambodia to ensure judicial fairness and prevent threats and violence as political tension moves the country closer to a "dangerous tipping point". Rhona Smith, U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in Cambodia, said political rivalry had led to violence against opposition party members and disproportionate use of judicial mechanisms as attention turns towards a 2018 election. "All laws must be applied equally ... to all political parties and their members to ensure protection of the democratic space in the run up to elections," Smith told a news conference in Phnom Penh. "The political situation, which includes renewed threats, judicial proceedings and even physical beating of members of the opposition, is a worry." Cambodia has been fraught with political malaise, even as it has moved from a war-torn basket case to a promising frontier market, as rival parties bicker and Prime Minister Hun Sen prepares to face an election that could be the biggest test of his three-decade rule. The gap between his Cambodian People's Party (CPP) and the revamped opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) was narrowed in a disputed 2013 election that sparked a year-long parliamentary crisis. The two sides reached a pact but it broke down in 2015. Eleven CNRP members were jailed in July for an illegal protest and two of its lawmakers were assaulted outside parliament three months later. An arrest warrant has been issued for CNRP leader Sam Rainsy, on charges of defamation in several different cases. He is in self-imposed exile. Smith also raised concern about violence against women, forced evictions and access to healthcare and said the political climate had clearly worsened since her last visit in September. "I don't think there is any doubt that there is more tension and there are more potential human rights problems now," she said. (Reporting Phnom Penh Newsroom; Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by Robert Birsel)
By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations special envoy to Yemen on Friday welcomed a recent prisoner swap between the parties to the Yemen conflict and urged them to "engage constructively" in a new round of peace talks set to begin on April 18. Earlier this week, a Saudi-led military coalition said it had completed a prisoner swap in Yemen, exchanging nine Saudi prisoners for 109 Yemeni nationals ahead of a planned truce and peace talks aimed at ending the year-long war with Iran-allied Houthi rebels. "These initiatives reinforced the spirit of the confidence building measures recommended at the previous round of talks and there is no doubt that they can provide an important drive to the political process," U.N. envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said in a statement. "I am looking forward to the active participation of relevant parties in the talks," he added. "Yemeni delegations should seize this opportunity to provide a mechanism for a return to a peaceful and orderly transition." Ould Cheikh Ahmed said the two sides have confirmed a cessation of hostilities starting at midnight on April 10 ahead of the peace talks set to begin in Kuwait a week later. There have already been several failed attempts to defuse the conflict in Yemen, which has drawn in regional foes Saudi Arabia and Iran, and triggered a humanitarian crisis in the Arab world's poorest country. A Saudi-led coalition began a military campaign in Yemen a year ago with the aim of preventing Houthi rebels and forces loyal to Yemen's ex-President Ali Abdullah Saleh from taking control of the country. "We are planning and preparing at full speed," Ould Cheikh Ahmed said about the upcoming peace talks. "U.N. political experts have already been deployed to Sanaa and Riyadh in order to work with the delegations gearing up for the resumption of talks," he added. "Another team is on its way to Kuwait to finalize the preparations." The U.N. says more than 6,000 people, half of them civilians, have been killed since the start of the Saudi-led military intervention whose ultimate aim is to restore President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to power. Ould Cheikh Ahmed said he hoped the planned cessation of hostilities would open the door to a permanent truce. "With political will, good faith and balance, they could take this opportunity to end the conflict and pave the way toward a permanent and durable end of the war," he added. (Reporting by Louis Charbonneau, editing by G Crosse)
By Lesley Wroughton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and Nigeria on Wednesday agreed to establish working groups focused on strengthening security cooperation, the economy and tackling corruption after day-long talks at the State Department. In a joint statement, the countries said the groups would come up with a paper within a month finalizing goals. Kerry meets Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday on the sidelines of a two-day nuclear security summit in Washington involving leaders from more than 50 countries. The meetings on Wednesday were launched by Kerry and Nigerian Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama, who both acknowledged security challenges posed by Boko Haram militants in the northeast and neighboring countries, as well as tough economic times caused by a drop in oil prices. Kerry said the United States was committed to helping Nigeria tackle the Boko Haram insurgency, although he cautioned that security forces had to avoid human rights abuses even as they stepped up the fight against the jihadi group, which has pledged allegiance to Islamic State. "Under President Buhari, Nigeria has been taking the fight to Boko Haram and it has reduced Boko Harams capacity to launch full-scale attacks," Kerry said, "however, the group still remains a threat, a serious threat, to the entire region." He said in recent months U.S. military trainers were helping Nigeria's security forces improve information sharing tactics, and train and equip two infantry battalions. "Now, I want to be clear, this aid is predicated on the understanding that, even when countering a group as ruthless as Boko Haram, security forces have a duty to set the standard with respect to human rights," he cautioned, adding: "One abuse does not excuse another." U.S. cooperation with Buharis predecessor, Goodluck Jonathan, had virtually ground to a halt because of his refusal to investigate corruption and human rights abuses by the Nigerian military. On the economy, Kerry said the United States was "encouraged" by Buhari's commitment to diversify Nigeria's economy to make it less dependent on oil. But Nigeria needed to create an environment that was welcoming to investment, Kerry added. The joint statement made no mention Nigeria's foreign exchange rate, which the United States complains is too rigid and discourages investors. Senior U.S. diplomats said the issue would be raised during Wednesday's talks. Africa's top oil exporter is in the middle of an economic crisis as a slump in global oil prices has eroded public finances, hit the currency and dried up commercial banks' dollar supplies needed for basic imports. (Reporting by Lesley Wroughton; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
The two first families in China and the U.S. waved to the crowd at White House on September 25, 2015.
As the US hosts the fourth Nuclear Security Summit on Thursday and Friday, the meeting between President Barack Obama and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on the sidelines has become one of the most watched events by the US media. This is Obama's only bilateral meeting during the summit. Despite various complaints about China by sections of the US public, the arrangement of the meeting and the huge attention it has received reflect the real importance of China for the US elite.
Some US Republicans and media outlets have urged Obama to raise human rights and the South China Sea issues during the 90-minute talks with Xi. It seems that the US president always has to take some time out of the meeting to repeat old issues so as to cater to the needs of the media.
For Chinese people, the meeting between the two most important individuals in the world amounts to a top-level strategic dialogue. Given various problems between China and the US, the frequently held Xi-Obama meetings are of considerable significance as the two powers have shown their willingness to seek solutions through communication.
The posture will affect people's perception of difficult issues between the two countries and raise the prospects of world peace and stability. In fact, the Asia-Pacific strategic landscape would be much different without the frequent communication between Xi and Obama. Meetings between the top leaders of China and the US have become a key mechanism to ease the tensions in the region.
Whether Obama will raise human rights issue amounts to little compared with the significance of his talks with Xi. Although the US has not been vocal in responding to China-proposed new type of major power relationship, it is acting in a way that is different from the Cold War era.
The close economic ties between China and the US have led to the establishment of a relationship that differs from previous relationships between powers. Both countries are aware of exercising restraint and have somewhat signaled their unwillingness to move toward strategic confrontation.
Previous concerns that the China-US relationship was reaching a tipping point have also eased. The seemingly serious issue of the South China Sea assumes lesser significance in the context of the Sino-US relationship and intensive communication mechanisms. Driven by short-sightedness and vested interests, US media doesn't favor a comprehensive view of the Sino-US relationship. Yet in China, the public opinion is dominated by rational thinking on the critical relationship. The history may prove that China plays a more important role in guiding its relationship with the US out of the Thucydides Trap.
Apart from the Washington meeting, Xi and Obama may meet again at the G20 summit in September in Hangzhou, China. Their meetings are unlikely to solve every specific issue in the bilateral cooperation, but more dialogue between the two will be reassuring to the whole world.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration ordered the families of U.S. military and diplomatic personnel to leave parts of southern Turkey on Tuesday and warned U.S. citizens against travel to the region amid mounting security concerns. The Pentagon said 670 dependents of U.S. military personnel would be affected by the order to depart areas of southern Turkey, including Incirlik air base, which is used heavily in the fight against Islamic State militants. The U.S. State Department said a small number of diplomatic families would be affected but did not give numbers. The Pentagon said 100 military dependents in Ankara and Istanbul were not affected by the departure orders because of security measures in place there. State Department spokesman John Kirby said the move had been under consideration for several weeks, and was not the result of any specific threat and had nothing to do with the visit to Washington this week by top Turkish officials. Secretary of State John Kerry met Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Monday, and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan is due to attend a Nuclear Security Summit with other world leaders later in the week. Kirby said Kerry had discussed the security announcement with Cavusoglu at their meeting on Monday. "The decision to do this wasnt taken lightly. It was done after careful thought and consideration, and inter-agency coordination," Kirby told a daily briefing at the State Department. "The timing of it was completely considered independently of the Nuclear Security Summit and the visit here to Washington by Turkish officials," he added. The U.S. military's European Command said it had ordered the departure of families of personnel stationed in Adana, home of Incirlik. It said families of U.S. military personnel also had been told to leave Izmir and Mugla provinces in southeastern Turkey. "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 it had ordered the departure of family members of government workers at the U.S. Consulate in Adana. Dependents of U.S. government employees 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." (Reporting by Lesley Wroughton, Yeganeh Torbati and Washington newsroom; Editing by Bernadette Baum, Bernard Orr)
RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia and the United States imposed joint sanctions targeting the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba, the two countries announced on Thursday. The sanctions targeted four individuals and two affiliated organizations, including James Alexander McLintock and the Pakistan-based Al-Rahmah Welfare Organization, which the U.S. Treasury Department said was a front for al-Qaeda. Also listed were Abdul Aziz Nuristani, the Jamia Asariya Madrassa, Naveed Qamar and Saudi Arabia-based Muhammad Ijaz Safarash, who was accused of arranging travel documents and financial transfers for Lashkar-e-Taiba from the kingdom. The announcement marks the second time that the United States and Saudi officials have coordinated their actions to disrupt the finances of Islamist militant groups in Southeast Asia. Last April, they levied joint sanctions against Al-Furqan Foundation Welfare Trust, also based in Pakistan and Afghanistan. (Reporting by Katie Paul and Yeganeh Torbati)
By Swetha Gopinath and Joshua Schneyer
(Reuters) - As oil prices nosedived by two-thirds since 2014, a belief took hold in global energy markets that for prices to recover, many U.S. shale producers would first have to falter to allow markets to rebalance.
With U.S. oil prices now trading below $40 a barrel, the corporate casualties are already mounting. More than 50 North American oil and gas producers have entered bankruptcy since early 2015, according to a Reuters review of regulatory filings and other data. While those firms account for only about 1 percent of U.S. output, based on the analysis, that count is expected to rise. Consultant Deloitte says a third of shale producers face bankruptcy risks this year.
But a Reuters analysis has found that bankruptcies are so far having little effect on U.S. oil production, and a tendency among distressed drillers to keep their oil wells gushing belies the notion that deepening financial distress will prompt a sudden output decline or oil price rebound.
Texas-based Magnum Hunter Resources , the second-largest producer among publicly-traded companies that have filed for bankruptcy, is a case in point.
It filed for creditor protection last December, but even as the debt-laden driller scrambled to avoid that outcome, its oil and gas production rose by nearly a third between mid-2014 and late 2015, filings show.
Once in Chapter 11, its CEO Gary Evans said the bankruptcy, which injected new funds to ensure it would stay operational, could help to "position Magnum Hunter as a market leader."
The company did not respond to a request for comment for this story. However, John Castellano, a restructuring specialist at Alix Partners, said that all of the nearly 3,000 wells in which Magnum Hunter owns stakes have continued operations during its bankruptcy.
Production figures can be hard to track post-bankruptcy, but restructuring specialists say that many bankrupt drillers keep pumping oil at full tilt. Their creditors see that as the best way to recover some of what they are owed. And as many bankrupt firms seek to sell assets, operating wells are valued more than idled ones.
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"Oil companies in bankruptcy do not seem to automatically curtail production," said restructuring expert Jason Cohen, a partner at the Bracewell firm in Houston. "Lenders are willing to let them continue to produce as long as economically viable."
For most companies in bankruptcy or considering it, maximizing near-term production does make economic sense. Day-to-day well operating costs in most U.S. shale fields remain well below $40 a barrel. Bankrupt firms are also eligible for new financing that can allow them to keep pumping for some time.
50 AND COUNTING
At least 20 publicly traded companies have filed for creditor protection since the start of 2015. They held at least 95,000 barrel of oil equivalent per day (boepd) in production, according to their last disclosed annual output figures. Another 30 or so privately held companies also have gone bust, in what already is the biggest wave of North American bankruptcies since the subprime mortgage crisis.
They account for just over 1 percent of U.S. output, but the figure is set to grow with banks expected to slash credit lines to energy firms in their biannual review of borrowing limits in April.
In what could become the most high-profile reorganization in the sector, Oklahoma City-based SandRidge Energy Inc confirmed on Wednesday that it has hired advisers to review its options, including a bankruptcy filing.
About a million barrels of U.S. oil production, over a tenth of the total, is under the control of firms considered "financially challenged" estimates Rob Thummel, a portfolio manager at Tortoise Capital Advisors Llc.
Yet even if many more firms go bust, production is not expected to fall much.
"I could see (bankruptcies) as a marginal contributor to lower supply, but if you ask me could it ever move the needle, the answer is no," said Bill Costello, a portfolio manager at Westwood Holdings Group.
The reason is the remarkable gains in productivity of U.S. oil rigs in recent years. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates that a well drilled late in 2015 produces twice as much as one from late 2013.
As a result, the EIA forecasts output will only drop 7 percent this year to 8.7 million bpd, even after U.S. oil and gas producers have shed more than 100,000 jobs, slashed spending and idled 75 percent of rigs since the end of 2014.
Many bankrupt firms can sustain their output thanks to so-called debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing for operating and other expenses made available by existing creditors, banks, or private equity firms.
Magnum Hunter, for example, received $200 million in DIP funding, and so far is being run by the same management as before its bankruptcy.
Many distressed producers have also drawn down their credit facilities or skipped bond payments prior to filing to conserve cash.
Among the companies reviewed by Reuters, Swift Energy Co , Samson Resources Corp and American Eagle Energy Corp Co all chose to skip interest payments ahead of bankruptcy filings, citing ongoing talks with lenders to restructure their debt.
With operating expenses for existing U.S. shale wells between $17 and $23 per barrel, most companies can keep pumping unless oil falls below $20 per barrel, says David Zusman, chief investment officer of Talara Capital Management.
What bankrupt and financially stretched producers are unable to do is drill new wells and since output from shale wells can fall as much as 70 percent during their first year, a sustained lull in drilling would gradually erode U.S. production.
Ultimately, the number of bankruptcies may matter less than the lack of funding. The lending reviews now underway are likely to leave more companies without sufficient credit to finance new drilling, analysts say.
"We could see a 150,000-200,000 bpd fall in oil production if financially challenged producers were to slow spending," said Thummel.
(Additional reporting by Amrutha Gayathri in Bengaluru; Editing by Jonathan Leff and Tomasz Janowski)
By Jeff Mason and Matt Spetalnick WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama joined with South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday to present a united front over what he called "provocations" committed by North Korea in its recent nuclear and missile tests. Meeting on the sidelines of a global nuclear security summit in Washington, the three leaders recommitted their countries to each others defense and warned they could take further steps to counter threats from Pyongyang. Obama held separate talks with President Xi Jinping of China, the closest North Korea has to an ally, and said they both wanted to see "full implementation" of the latest United Nations sanctions against Pyongyang. But Xi offered no sign that Beijing was prepared to go beyond its consent to the Security Council measures imposed in early March. We are united in our efforts to deter and defend against North Korean provocations, Obama told reporters after the U.S.-Japan-South Korea meeting. "We have to work together to meet this challenge." 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 in February. The United States has sought to encourage improved ties between Seoul and Japan, its two biggest allies in Asia, given worries not only about North Korea but also an increasingly assertive China. The expanded U.N. sanctions aimed at starving North Korea of funds for its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs were approved in a unanimous Security Council vote on a resolution drafted by the United States and China. But even though Beijing has signed on, doubts persist in the West on how far it will go in tightening the screws on impoverished North Korea, given Chinese concerns about fueling instability on its borders. Appearing later with Obama, Xi said that while Washington and Beijing disagree in some areas, they have had "effective communication and coordination" on the North Korean issue. However, China, considered the most capable of influencing North Koreas reclusive leadership, has said repeatedly that sanctions are not the solution and only a resumption of international talks can resolve the dispute with Pyongyang. Six-party talks between the two Koreas, China, the United States, Japan and Russia aimed at curbing the North's nuclear ambitions collapsed after the last round in 2008. Thursday's meetings took place as leaders from more than 50 countries gathered in Washington for a two-day summit hosted by Obama and focused on securing vulnerable atomic materials to prevent nuclear terrorism. North Koreas nuclear defiance was also high on the agenda. Notably absent is Russian President Vladimir Putin, adding to doubts that a meeting without one of the worlds top nuclear powers present can yield major results. Despite that, a joint U.S.-China statement showed the two countries, while rivals on trade and at odds over the South China Sea, agreeing to work together to investigate and curb nuclear smuggling and to hold annual bilateral talks on the issue. 'MISGUIDED CALCULUS' Obama said he, Park and Abe had directed their teams to come up with additional steps they can take collectively against North Korea. Park said the leaders had discussed ways to force North Korea to "alter its misguided calculus" on its weapons programs, and Abe expressed a commitment to strengthening trilateral security cooperation. The meeting came just days after Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump caused an uproar by suggesting that Japan and South Korea should be allowed to build their own nuclear arsenals, putting him at odds with decades of U.S. policy. Ben Rhodes, Obamas deputy national security adviser, said Trumps comments did not come up in the three leaders discussions. But he said: It would be catastrophic were the United States to shift its position and indicate that we support somehow the proliferation of nuclear weapons to additional countries. Obama has less than 10 months left in office to follow through on one of his signature foreign policy initiatives locking down as much of the worlds dangerous nuclear materials as possible - and this week's meeting is his fourth and final Nuclear Security Summit. While progress has been made, some arms-control advocates say the diplomatic process seems to have lost momentum and could slow even further once Obama leaves office in January. A boycott by Russia, apparently unwilling to join in a U.S.-dominated gathering at a time of increased tensions between Washington and Moscow especially over the Ukraine conflict, could detract from any decisions made at the summit. The deadly militant bomb attacks in Brussels this month have fueled concern that Islamic State could eventually target nuclear plants, steal material and develop radioactive dirty bombs, a topic that may well be uppermost in leaders minds as they meet. (Additional reporting by Susan Heavey, Roberta Rampton, David Brunnstrom and Doina Chiacu; Writing by Matt Spetalnick; Editing by Frances Kerry and James Dalgleish)
Abu Dhabi (AFP) - The United Arab Emirates is transporting humanitarian aid to residents in the war-torn Libyan city of Benghazi, the Emirates Red Crescent announced on Wednesday.
The first of nine aircraft carrying food, medicine, medical supplies and other materials departed this week to Benghazi, the aid organisation said in a statement.
"This move... could not have been timelier as the humanitarian situation in Libya has deteriorated drastically over the past few months," said Emirates Red Crescent Secretary General Mohamed al-Falahi.
Libya's second city Benghazi has been the scene of months of fighting between forces allied with the internationally recognised government and Islamist militias, including the Islamic State group.
"The current move is a continuation of the UAE's aid efforts in Libya since the beginning of the crisis there," said the statement, noting that the Red Crescent had already provided aid to Libyan refugees in neighbouring Tunisia.
Libya has descended into chaos since the 2011 ousting of longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi, allowing jihadists to gain ground in the oil-rich country.
It has had two rival administrations since mid-2014 when an armed alliance overran the capital, setting up its own authority and forcing the internationally recognised parliament to flee to Libya's remote east.
Kampala (AFP) - Uganda police on Friday ended the six-week-long house arrest of an opposition leader imposed after he claimed recent presidential elections were rigged.
Second-placed Kizza Besigye, who rejected the results of the February 18 poll won by veteran President Yoweri Museveni, has been forcibly kept inside his home in the capital Kampala for 43 days.
"I have given directive that the deployment of police outside Besigye's home be withdrawn forthwith," Ugandan police chief Kale Kayihura said.
The police chief gave no explanation why the house arrest was being lifted, but on Thursday the country's Supreme Court dismissed a legal challenge to the election result and upheld Museveni's fifth-term victory.
Besigye has said his detention was designed to block him from gathering evidence of fraud in what he called a "scandalous" election.
With Besigye unable to submit a legal challenge, third-placed Amama Mbabazi -- a former prime minister who won just over one percent of the vote -- filed the suit that was rejected this week.
Museveni, in power since 1986, was declared winner with 61 percent of the vote and has rejected claims that his victory was won through cheating and fraud.
A long-standing opponent of Museveni, Besigye has been frequently jailed, accused of both treason and rape, teargassed, beaten and hospitalised over the years, but this was the longest period he had ever been under house arrest.
- Ex-spy chief bailed -
"We expect Besigye to respect the law, to stop causing trouble for people going about their private businesses," Kayihura said. "He must respect the law. If he veers off, the police is there to protect people and their property," he warned.
Also on Friday, David Sejusa, a former intelligence chief turned critic of Museveni, was granted bail after having been held in prison since January 31.
Ex-general Sejusa was once one of Uganda's top military bosses, serving as spy chief and as a close advisor to Museveni.
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"Finally, high court has given him bail. This is relief to him and family" Sejusa's lawyer David Mushabe told AFP.
"The state had frustrated his bail in the last couple of months, but this time there was no way to extend his stay in prison."
Sejusa faces multiple charges including insubordination, spreading harmful propaganda and engaging in partisan politics when still a serving military officer, all charges he denies.
He went into exile in 2013 to Britain after a confidential memo he wrote was leaked to the press, causing a political storm.
The memo claimed Museveni was grooming his son, special forces commander Muhoozi Kainerugaba, to succeed him and that those in the army opposed to the supposed succession plan risked being assassinated.
While in exile, he set up an opposition political party, returning to Uganda in 2015.
KAMPALA (Reuters) - Ugandan police will lift their blockade on the home of the President Yoweri Museveni's main rival, they said on Friday, weeks after restricting his movements when he lost an election he said was rigged. Kizza Besigye, who won 35 percent of the vote to Museveni's 60 percent, has been confined to his home since polling day on Feb. 18. He called the result a sham marred by vote rigging, bribery and intimidation by security personnel. Police accused him of inciting violence and blockaded his home in Kasangati, a suburb of the capital of Kampala. Analysts said the government feared he could have rallied mass protests aimed at toppling Museveni. Police put spiked barriers outside the property and vetted visitors, turning away leaders from his Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party and delegations of supporters. Police Chief Kale Kayihura said in a statement on Friday: "We are withdrawing the precautionary security measures we had been forced to take with respect to ... Kizza Besigye." The security restrictions on Besigye caused concern among Museveni's Western backers. The United States said the detention of opposition figures and harassment of their supporters amounted to "unacceptable activities in a free and democratic society". [ID:nL1N16K0BM] FDC official Francis Mwijukye said the lifting of Besigye's house arrest marked the start of the opposition's resurgence. "We're just getting started, we'll ramp it up ... Besigye won the election and until he's declared president we'll not rest," he said. The police decision came a day after the supreme court dismissed a petition by former prime minister Amama Mbabazi, who came a distant third in the election, for the result to be nullified, clearing the way for 71-year-old Museveni to extend his three-decade rule. [nL5N1733FE] (Reporting by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
LONDON (Reuters) - Scrapping a central register of a broad range of people working in Britain's financial sector puts consumer protection at risk, a UK finance accreditation body said on Thursday. On March 7, a new system for authorising staff at banks was introduced, known as the senior managers regime or SMR. Under this system, the Financial Conduct Authority and Bank of England vet only senior officials at banks, such as chief executives, non-executive directors who chair key committees, and heads of business units. It replaces a system where regulators authorised a far wider range of employees, such as analysts and financial advisors, all of whom appeared on the FCA's public register. In future, financial firms are responsible for "certifying" less senior staff and their names will not be on a public register. Simon Culhane, chief executive of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI), which accredits finance professionals like advisers, said the lack of a central register for less senior employees is causing concern for consumers. He said investors were calling up CISI to say that when checking on the FCA register if a financial adviser was bona fide, they now read the person is "inactive", with their approval having ended on March 6. "This, naturally, alarms the customer who thinks the adviser is not able to give advice," Culhane said in a statement. "At the very least, the wording should be changed to something less dramatic, such as no longer applicable or approval regime terminated'," he added. "The position is worse for new advisers who have never appeared on the register and never will, so when a search is done on their name, they wont even show up." The aim of SMR is to make senior individuals directly accountable for decisions in their part of the business and easier for regulators to bring them to book when something goes wrong. The FCA said it had no comment. Consumers could still call the financial firm to check on a staff member's qualifications. (Reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by Tom Heneghan)
WASHINGTON -- China and the United States on Thursday reaffirmed their commitment to jointly tackling climate change as the world's two major carbon emitters plan to ink an ambitious climate agreement next month.
According to a joint presidential statement on climate change released in Washington on Thursday, China and the United States will sign the Paris Agreement on April 22, months after the historic pact on climate change was adopted last December during the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties (COP21) in France.
China and the United States, working together and with others, have played a critical role in crafting the agreement, which was adopted by the 196 Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The agreement sets a target of holding the global average rise in temperature below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, and preferably below 1.5 degrees.
The statement said that Beijing and Washington will take their respective domestic steps in order to join the agreement at an early date this year.
The presidents further express their commitment to work together and with others to promote the full implementation of the Paris Agreement to win the fight against the climate threat, the statement said.
The latest sign of a close China-US climate cooperation came as Chinese President Xi Jinping is scheduled to meet with his US counterpart Barack Obama Thursday on the sidelines of the fourth Nuclear Security Summit in Washington.
In September 2015, the two leaders laid out a common vision for the Paris outcome during Xi's visit to Washington and also announced major domestic policy measures and cooperative initiatives to combat climate change, as well as significant progress on climate finance.
Thursday's statement said that China and the United States support a successful G20 Summit in the Chinese city of Hangzhou this year, including strong climate and clean energy outcomes, and call on the G20 countries to engage constructively in international cooperation on energy and climate change.
They also pledged to deepen and broaden the bilateral cooperation through the China-US Climate Change Working Group, the China-US Clean Energy Research Center, and other efforts.
London (AFP) - Is a new special relationship threatening an old staple of British industry? Prime Minister David Cameron's government faced damaging claims Friday that its push for closer ties with China is holding back efforts to save 15,000 steel jobs.
The row has spiralled since Wednesday, when India's Tata Steel said it was selling its UK assets. This threatens the Port Talbot steel works, Wales's biggest single employer located in an area already hit hard by the decline of heavy industry.
A glut of cheap Chinese imports is a major reason why world steel prices have plunged in recent years -- and why Port Talbot is now reportedly losing about 1 million (1.3 million euros, $1.4 million) a day.
Cameron's government faces accusations that it has blocked higher EU tariffs on Chinese steel as anger grows that an iconic British industry dating back to the 19th century that once provided 40 percent of the world's supply is now at risk.
Charles de Lusigan, a spokesman for the European Steel Association which represents European steelmakers, said Britain had opposed a European Union plan to bolster defences against cheap Chinese imports.
"They thought that if they blocked the changing and the modernisation of the trade defence instruments, that would give them favours with China," he told AFP.
The body's head, Axel Eggert, told Friday's Financial Times that Britain was "the ringleader in a blocking minority of member states" over the EU plan to ignore a key regulation when setting anti-dumping tariffs.
EU import tariffs on Chinese steel products are low, particularly compared to the United States. The EU duty on Chinese cold-rolled steel currently stands at 16 percent, compared to 236 percent in the US.
Nick Clegg, Cameron's deputy prime minister in a coalition government until last year, said finance minister George Osborne, architect of closer relations with China and Cameron's right hand man, had "put his special relationship with China above the UK's best interests."
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- 'Faustian pact' with China? -
Britain rolled out the red carpet for President Xi Jinping on a state visit last year which included a banquet hosted by Queen Elizabeth II.
This yielded trade deals worth 40 billion, including China taking a one-third stake in the troubled project to build Britain's first nuclear plant in decades at Hinkley Point in southwest England.
Osborne says he wants Britain to be China's "best partner in the West" but the alliance has long sounded alarms bells for some, over human rights as well as the economy.
"It is hard to pin down the exact moment when George Osborne's love affair with China turned into a Faustian pact," Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, the Daily Telegraph's international business editor, wrote Thursday.
While ministers have ruled out renationalising the steel industry -- privatised under Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government in 1988 -- they say they will do everything possible to support finding a new buyer.
Osborne said Friday that Britain was "leading the way" in Europe in trying to make the steel industry competitive.
"Both at home, where we are cutting taxes on energy and internationally, where we are working with others to make sure there are tariffs on unfairly cheap steel, you have got a government doing everything it can to help the steel industry," he told the BBC.
Business Secretary Sajid Javid was visiting Port Talbot Friday to try and reassure workers after returning early from a trip to Australia.
But trade unions representing the workers also say they are not impressed by the government's approach.
"So far all they have received is tea and sympathy from afar with no real concrete solutions for the industrial crisis facing the nation," said Andy Richards, Welsh secretary of Unite, Britain's biggest trade union.
Kiev (AFP) - Ukraine is on track to return to economic growth this year but its pace hinges on how the eastern separatist conflict develops and resolving a political crisis, the World Bank said Friday.
The global lending institution's regional director Qimiao Fan forecast a one-percent expansion for the former Soviet country this year and a two-percent pick-up in 2017 after a 9.9-percent contraction in 2015.
"Obviously this forecast will depend crucially on two things: first, it will depend on how the conflict will evolve in the east. We assume that the conflict will not further escalate," Fan told reporters.
"Second, and I think much more importantly, it will depend on whether reforms will continue," he added.
"The current political crisis is posing a very serious threat to that very fragile recovery and is posing a serious threat to continued economic reforms. It is very important in our view that the political crisis is resolved as quickly as possible."
Ukraine has been wracked by uncertainty about its future since Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk survived a no-confidence motion in his pro-EU government on February 16.
The vote came after President Petro Poroshenko asked Yatsenyuk to step down over the public's seeming loss of trust in his ability to tackle graft and political dominance by a handful of shadowy tycoons that have plagued Ukraine for decades.
The apparent conflict between Ukraine's two top leaders and a decision by two junior members to walk out of the coalition has paralysed the government and drawn concern from Kiev's Western allies and the International Monetary Fund.
The IMF said it will wait for Ukraine to resolve it political problems and appoint a possible new prime minister before dispensing billions of dollars in vital aid that has been frozen since last year.
The nearly two-year pro-Russian revolt in Ukraine's industrial heartland has also affected industrial production and drained financial resources that are needed for investment on funding the war.
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Kiev and its Western allies accuse Russia of orchestrating and supporting the conflict in reprisal for Ukraine's February 2014 ouster of a Moscow-backed president and decision to ally itself with Europe.
Russia denies the charges and accuses the United States of fanning months of street protests that eventually led to the former president Viktor Yanukovych's 2014 downfall.
The fighting has claimed the lives of nearly 9,200 people and driven more than 1.5 million from their homes.
Tunis (AFP) - 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.
"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.
"Terrorism poses a great threat not only in Libya and Tunisia but all around the world as we have seen in the past few days in Belgium, Iraq and Pakistan. We need a united global approach".
Belgrade (AFP) - Serbia's prime minister lashed out Friday at the UN war crimes court that tried Ultranationalist Serb leader Vojislav Seselj, accusing it of being "political" and failing to reconcile the Balkans.
Seselj was acquitted Thursday on nine charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity arising from the 1990s Balkan conflicts after "what was without a shadow of a doubt a political trial", according to Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic.
He told reporters in Belgrade that the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) at The Hague had "acted mainly as a political court, not a legal institution".
Many Serbs feel the court has unfairly targeted them in its quest to bring alleged Balkan war criminals to justice. Croats and Muslims, on the other hand, reacted angrily to Seselj's surprise acquittal.
A week before the verdict, the tribunal's judges sentenced wartime Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic to 40 years in jail for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Vucic said reconciliation had been one of the main goals of the court but "there is no doubt that The Hague tribunal has not fulfilled this goal".
"Instead the court has repeatedly hammered nails into the coffin of the sleepy Balkans, which is expected to continue in the future to deal with its past -- wars, blood and conflicts -- and do nothing else," he said.
While Seselj's supporters celebrated his acquittal, the ruling sent shock waves though much of the Balkans, with Croatia promptly banning him from entering the country.
Prosecutors had alleged Seselj was behind the murder of large numbers of Croat, Muslim and other non-Serb civilians, as well as the forced deportation of "tens of thousands" from parts of Croatia, Bosnia and Serbia during the 1990s wars.
The judges ruled that while "Seselj was driven by an ardent political ambition to create a Greater Serbia" this was in "principle a political plan, not a criminal plan".
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- 'Behave differently' -
Analysts warned the not-guilty verdict could threaten already fragile relations in the former Yugoslavia.
"No one is satisfied, no one feels that justice will be served," Croatian Serb leader Milorad Pupovac told N1 television, referring also to the court's earlier acquittal of prominent Croat and Kosovo Albanian figures.
Vucic however called on Serbs to "behave differently" to others in the region by understanding the suffering of their neighbours.
"We citizens of Serbia will probably not see others respect our (war) victims in the manner we are obliged to respect their victims," he said.
The leader of the Serbian Radical Party, 61-year-old Seselj spent nearly 12 years in detention at The Hague before returning to Serbia for cancer treatment in 2014.
He plans to stand in a general election later this month and has publicly burned EU and NATO flags, although his anti-Western and pro-Russian rhetoric hold less sway in Serbia today than Vucic's pro-European line.
The pair were once staunch ultranationalist allies until Vucic split from the Radicals.
Although Vucic criticised Seselj's trial, he said he would "strongly oppose" his politics, which "push Serbia into the past".
The Hague (AFP) - UN war crimes judges Thursday acquitted radical Serb leader Vojislav Seselj on all nine charges of committing atrocities in the 1990s Balkans wars in a surprise verdict swiftly denounced as "shameful" by Croatia
The three-judge panel found by a majority that the prosecution "had failed to prove beyond all reasonable doubt" or provide sufficient evidence that Seselj was responsible for the crimes with which he was charged.
"Vojislav Seselj is now a free man," declared French judge Jean-Claude Antonetti at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).
Some experts appeared surprised at the ruling.
"This looks to me like a collateral error on the part of the majority of the trial chamber," Goran Sluiter, professor of international law at the University of Amsterdam, told AFP.
The acquittal clears the way for the firebrand leader of the Serbian Radical Party to stand unencumbered in next month's general election in Serbia, and he welcomed the verdict as "honourable and fair."
Seselj, 61, had faced nine charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity over his unrelenting quest to unite "all Serbian lands" in a "Greater Serbia".
Prosecutors had alleged he was behind the murders of many Croat, Muslim and other non-Serb civilians, as well as the forced deportation of "tens of thousands" from large areas of Bosnia-Hercegovina, Croatia and Serbia.
- 'Confusion and ambiguities' -
But the judges by a majority said the prosecution had failed to prove "that there was a widespread and systematic attack against the non-Serb civilian population in large areas of Croatia and Bosnia Hercegovina".
And although crimes were committed, Seselj was not the "hierarchial superior" of his paramilitary forces after they came under the control of the Serbian army and therefore not responsible for what they did.
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"The totality of the evidence substantiates the fact that the purpose of sending volunteers was not to commit crimes, but to support the war effort," Antonetti said.
He slammed the prosecution case as full of "confusion" and "ambiguities," saying it failed to put events in their broader context.
The prosecution had given "at best an interpretation that hides the way the events unfolded and at worst distorts them in relation to the evidence presented to the chamber," Antonetti said.
Chief prosecutor Serge Brammertz said he was surprised by the verdict, and was considering an appeal saying many of the judges arguments were "not in line with the factual reality".
"We understand that many victims will be disappointed. We in a large part share their frustrations," he told reporters.
Seselj, who was excused from attending the judgement on medical grounds after returning to Belgrade in 2014 for treatment for colon cancer, hailed his acquittal.
"This time, after all the trials that accused innocent Serbs who received draconian sentences, two judges appeared who are honourable and fair people," he told reporters.
- 'Shameful verdict' -
Croatia's Prime Minister Tihomir Oreskovic however was dismayed. "The verdict is shameful. It is the defeat of The Hague court and the prosecution," he said.
"He is a man... who committed evil and did not show any remorse, neither then nor today."
Croatia's interior ministry told border police "to deny Seselj entry into Croatia if he appears at a border crossing," police spokeswoman Helena Biocic told AFP in Zagreb, saying he could represent a threat to public order.
In an unusually strong dissenting opinion on the war crimes chamber, judge Flavia Lattanzi said she "felt I was thrown back in time to a period in human history, centuries ago" when there was no law in times of war.
"The majority sets aside all the rules of international humanitarian law that existed before the creation of the tribunal and all the applicable law established since the inception of the tribunal."
The judgement comes exactly a week after former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic was sentenced to 40 years in jail for genocide and nine other charges by the same court.
While the judges agreed that "Seselj was driven by an ardent political ambition to create a Greater Serbia" during the Balkans wars, they ruled this was in "principle a political plan, not a criminal plan".
And they argued that "a lot of the evidence shows that the collaboration (by Seselj) was aimed at defending the Serbs and the traditional Serb territories, or at preserving Yugoslavia, not at committing the alleged crimes".
Some of Seselj's inflammatory speeches such one made in 1991 outside Vukovar, a Croatian town razed by Serb forces, "were made in a context of conflict and were meant to boost the morale of the troops... rather than calling upon them to spare no one".
Seselj gave himself up in 2003 and his trial started in 2006, but was halted only weeks later after he went on hunger strike. It was then nullified. A new trial started in late 2007 and proceeded with multiple delays until the closing arguments in March 2012.
By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - Conditions for refugees in Greece are worsening and arrival numbers rising but the safeguards needed to start returning some of them to Turkey next week are not yet in place, aid agencies said on Friday. Fighting has broken out in some crowded reception centres in Greece, which now hosts 51,000 refugees and migrants, and the system for registering asylum applications is overloaded, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said. Turkey is due to begin taking back illegal migrants from Greece on Monday under a deal with the European Union, but neither side is fully ready and any start may only be symbolic. UNHCR, which says nine in 10 of refugees arriving on rickety boats are fleeing for their lives, has voiced concern that Turkey may deport refugees en masse to Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq, where they could face persecution or violence. "We are urging parties to the recent EU-Turkey agreement on refugees and migrants to ensure all safeguards are in place before any returns begin," UNHCR spokeswoman Melissa Fleming told a Geneva news briefing. "This is in light of continued serious gaps in both countries." UNHCR wants to keep track of those returned to Turkey to ensure that standards of international protection for refugees and migrants are upheld, she said. "UNHCR has requested access to people returned from Greece to ensure (they) can benefit from effective international protection and prevent risk of ... forcible return," she said. Arrivals in Greece picked up this week amid better weather. At least 170,000 people entered Europe by sea in the first three months of 2016, over eight times that in the same period last year, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said. "There seems to be no sign of the migrant surge slowing down," IOM spokesman Joel Millman said, noting increased traffic between Libya and Italy. Some 89 people are now feared to have died in a shipwreck on Wednesday off Libya, which 31 survived, he said. Fleming reported worsening conditions on the Greek islands of Lesbos and Samos - where three people were stabbed in rioting on Thursday night - and at the Athens port of Piraeus and Idomeni at the border with Macedonia. "The risk of panic and injury in these sites and others is real," Fleming said, citing further incidents of fighting. The UNHCR is monitoring conditions at a facility at Moria, on Lesbos, where 2,300 are being held. "People are sleeping in the open and the food supply is insufficient," she said. The EU must provided greater support, as promised, to boost Greece's creaking asylum system, Fleming added. (Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Tom Heneghan)
WASHINGTON -- Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen Thursday on the sidelines of the fourth Nuclear Security Summit, calling for bigger progress in the development of bilateral ties.
"The sustained and in-depth development of the China-Denmark relations complies with the common interest of the two nations and two peoples," said Xi.
Hailing the increasingly strengthened political mutual trust and the comprehensively promoted practical cooperation between the two sides, Xi said China-Denmark relations now stand at a new historical starting point.
He called on the two sides to maintain the momentum of high-level exchanges, synergize their development strategies, boost people-to-people exchanges, promote youth exchanges and strengthen coordination in international organizations such as the United Nations.
Xi further urged the two sides to deepen cooperation in such fields as inter-connectivity, low-carbon and circular economy, medicine and food, and green development, calling for joint efforts for bigger progress this year in the development of China-Denmark comprehensive strategic partnership.
China consistently views and develops its relations with the European Union (EU) from a strategic and long-term perspective, expecting Denmark to play an active role in the development of the China-EU partnership featuring peace, growth, reform and civilization, said Xi.
China stands ready to boost cooperation with northern European countries in such fields as enterprise innovation, green development and people-to-people exchanges, Xi added.
For his part, Rasmussen said Denmark is committed to the development of its comprehensive strategic partnership with China, adding that there are great potential and opportunities for the development of bilateral ties.
Denmark is willing to make joint efforts with the Chinese side to deepen mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields at national and sub-national levels, strengthen people-to-people exchanges and enhance communication and coordination on international affairs, said the prime minister, adding that his country supports to develop closer China-Europe relationship as well as more intimate ties between China and Northern Europe.
He further noted that Denmark supports the recognition of China's full market economy status.
By Valerie Volcovici WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and China confirmed Thursday that they will sign the Paris climate change agreement in New York on April 22, a move that officials hope will help the accord enter into force this year. The world's two biggest greenhouse gas emitters issued a joint presidential statement in which they called on other countries to sign the accord next month "with a view to bringing the Paris Agreement into force as early as possible." Leaders from nearly 200 countries forged the landmark agreement to transform the world's fossil fuel-driven economy on Dec. 12 after four years of fraught negotiations. But the Paris climate agreement needs at least 55 countries representing at least 55 percent of global emissions to formally accede to it before it can enter into force. Todd Stern, the U.S. climate envoy who helped broker the deal in Paris, said hitting that threshold as soon as possible will benefit countries that are vulnerable to climate change. "The best thing that can happen for them is to get this agreement going and get it into force," he said. Stern has stepped down from his role as the chief U.S. climate negotiator. He will be replaced by his former deputy, Jonathan Pershing, on April 1. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said earlier this month that he expects 120 or more countries will sign the accord at the April 22 ceremony at its New York headquarters. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to sign on behalf of the United States. India's Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar will also attend the signing of the agreement at the United Nations headquarters, the Times of India reported last week. The U.S.-China statement also confirms that the countries will continue to cooperate on efforts to combat climate change. Both countries said they would work jointly to ensure that a global agreement to curb greenhouse gas emissions in aviation at the International Civil Aviation Organization and a pact to curb HFCs, a potent greenhouse gas, are reached this year. (Reporting By Valerie Volcovici; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
Washington (AFP) - A US regulator Thursday approved a plan to provide subsidies to low-income Americans for high-speed Internet access, saying it would help close the "digital divide."
The Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 to approve the plan, which revamps a program originally designed for telephone service that offers some $9 a month.
The FCC proposed the plan earlier this month to revise the "Lifeline" program from the 1980s, saying broadband access is essential for "full participation" in modern society.
Consumer organizations welcomed the FCC action.
"Lifeline has helped people who otherwise could not afford it obtain vital telecommunications services. Today's vote extends the program's monthly subsidy to at least partially cover broadband service in qualifying households," said Michael Copps, a former FCC commissioner who now advises the activist group Common Cause.
"This is a giant leap forward. It helps extend the awesome power of the Internet to those who need it most. School children, jobseekers, the elderly and infirm in particular will all benefit."
Phillip Berenbroick of the consumer group Public Knowledge said the new rules "will finally put the American dream of connection within reach for those struggling the most."
But the libertarian group TechFreedom said the FCC has not demonstrated it will curb fraud and abuse of the subsidy program.
TechFreedom president Berin Szoka said the program's funding from a tax on telecom services merely shifts the burden to middle-class families.
For those who qualify, he said that "if their income rises at all, they'll be ineligible for the program and suddenly have to pay not just the cost of the service, but a whopping 18 percent tax, too."
The FCC said the new plan establishes minimum standards for broadband and also will use a third party to verify eligibility in an effort to curb fraud.
It also aims to encourage a new category of "Lifeline" service providers with a streamlined entry procedure into new markets.
A separate action by the FCC calls for new privacy regulations to ensure consumers are aware of how much data is being collected on them by their Internet service providers.
Washington (AFP) - The United States and China will be among the nations signing the Paris climate agreement in New York next month, the White House announced Wednesday, ahead of a meeting between President Barack Obama and Xi Jinping.
Seeking to highlight areas of cooperation amid disputes over the South China Sea and how hard to push back on North Korea's nuclear program, the White House said both countries would take part in a signing ceremony on April 22.
The two nations will also "take their respective domestic steps in order to join the Agreement as early as possible this year," according to a US statement.
An agreement between Obama and Xi to tackle domestic carbon emissions was seen as a key ingredient of the global accord achieved at a summit last year.
The global accord sets a target of limiting global warming to "well below" 2.0 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) compared to pre-industrial levels.
But in the United States, Obama still faces a political and legal battle to meet the commitments.
The US Supreme Court has put on hold a sweeping plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fueled power plants, which was the capstone of Obama's climate reduction initiative.
Washington (AFP) - US Secretary of State John Kerry will visit Hiroshima, the Japanese city devastated by an American atomic bomb, later this month as part of preparations for the G7 summit.
Kerry will join ministers from the other members of the club of leading democracies in the city on April 10 and 11 to work on the agenda for the Group of Seven leaders' summit in May.
US officials are still considering a possible visit to Hiroshima by President Barack Obama during his trip to Japan for the meeting, but no announcement has been made.
The State Department said Kerry would make the trip after attending a ministerial meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council in Bahrain on April 8 and 9.
Japan has long urged world leaders to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki to see the horrors of the atomic bombings and join efforts to eradicate nuclear arms.
But the most senior US official to have visited Hiroshima -- which was consumed in the world's first nuclear attack on August 6, 1945 -- has been House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Last month, Japanese government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said: "The government has always called on leaders around the world to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki to see for themselves the reality of atomic bombings.
"We believe (visits) are important to boost international momentum toward achieving a world without nuclear arms."
The world's first atomic bomb killed about 140,000 people in Hiroshima, including those who survived the explosion itself but died soon after due to severe radiation exposure.
Three days later, the US military dropped a plutonium bomb on the port city of Nagasaki, killing some 74,000 people.
The bombings are controversial in the United States, where opinion remains divided over whether their use in the closing days of World War II was justified.
The United States issued a new travel warning for Laos on Monday after the latest shooting attacks against traffic on a road much used by international tourists.
Last month, Washington had already warned travellers to avoid the southeast Asian country's Xaisomboun province after roadside attacks left three dead.
Now the warning has been extended to Road 13, a major route between Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng, two of the country's most popular tourist destinations.
It cites "the unpredictable nature of the violence and the lack of official information regarding possible motives or a Lao government response."
These mystery gun attacks have killed one and injured nine, the State Department added, stressing that violence is also continuing in Xaisomboun province.
US embassy staff are banned from Road 13 from Kasi in Vientiane province to Phou Khoun junction in Luang Prabang province, 50 kilometers (31 miles) away.
Landlocked communist Laos is usually isolated, but in September it will host a summit the leaders of China, Japan, the United States and the 10-strong Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Washington (AFP) - A US F-16 warplane crashed on Tuesday while taking off from Bagram airfield in Afghanistan, an official said. The pilot ejected safely.
Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said the fighter from the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing crashed around 8:30 pm (1630 GMT).
"Coalition forces are securing the crash site. The cause of this accident will be investigated," Cook said.
The Taliban said their fighters shot down the jet, claiming that all on board had been killed. The insurgent group is well known for exaggerating battlefield claims.
Cook said there was no immediate indication the plane came down due to enemy action.
The pilot safely ejected and was recovered by coalition forces, and was being evaluated by medical personnel.
Bagram is the largest US military base in Afghanistan and is located north of Kabul.
A four-day China-Vietnam border meeting attended by the two countries' defense ministers concluded on Thursday with both sides agreeing to boost political trust and handle maritime issues properly.
Chinese Defense Minister Chang Wanquan said cooperation between the two countries' militaries was also discussed, as well as peace and stability in the border area.
Chang's Vietnamese counterpart Phung Quang Thanh said the two sides had agreed to explore methods that would be acceptable to both countries to properly handle maritime issues.
Phung Quang Thanh said the two countries will see more military exchanges in the areas of personnel training, border cooperation, academic research, UN peacekeeping, and national defense industry, among other fields.
During the event, Chinese and Vietnamese troops conducted a joint border patrol.
Washington (AFP) - The US military is currently working with "dozens" of Syrian rebels under a revamped train-and-equip program implemented after a much-criticized initiative collapsed last year, an official said Friday.
The Pentagon drew heavy fire last October after admitting its $500-million efforts to train entire units of "moderate" Syrians to fight Islamic State jihadists had floundered, with numbers of trainees falling massively short of the planned 5,000 or so.
Recruitment was slow, in particular because the rebels had to pass stringent background checks to weed out extremists and many objected to being forced to pledge to fight only the IS group and not President Bashar al-Assad's regime.
One group even handed over ammunition and other gear to a local Al-Qaeda affiliate, known as the Al-Nusra Front.
The Pentagon created a new program to replace the failed effort.
Instead of trying to pull entire rebel units from the front lines, train them and send them back again, the US military is now working with just a handful of members from each group.
"If you have a highly trained individual here, well, the man on his left and right are going to benefit from his great training," Baghdad-based US military spokesman Colonel Steve Warren told Pentagon reporters.
"For the price of training one, you've got three who are better, and maybe even more than that. So, that's kind of what we're looking at doing here."
Warren declined to say how many Syrians had been trained, saying only that it was "dozens."
Since October, the US military has also sent about 50 special operations forces into Syria to work with local militias fighting the IS group.
Much of the attention is being focused on the Syrian Democratic Forces, a largely Kurdish coalition that has scored some significant gains against IS jihadists.
The CIA has also been involved in training Syrian rebels, though the secretive agency has not officially provided any details of its efforts.
More than 270,000 people have been killed since Syria's conflict erupted in March 2011 and millions more have fled their homes.
The United States has since August 2014 been leading a coalition attacking IS jihadists -- primarily through air strikes -- in Iraq and Syria.
Phnom Penh (AFP) - An American museum on Monday returned to Cambodia a 10th-century sandstone sculpture of the Hindu god Rama decades after it was looted from a jungle temple during the kingdom's civil war.
The 62-inch-tall torso, which was stolen in the 1970s from the Koh Ker temple site near the famed Angkor Wat complex, was handed over by the Denver Art Museum at a ceremony in Phnom Penh.
The statue -- still missing its head, arms and feet -- had been in the museum's possession since 1986, the Cambodian government said in a statement.
"We are joyful with the torso of Rama returning home," Cambodian official Yim Nolson said at the ceremony, adding that the joy was tempered by the fact that the head was still missing and its whereabouts unknown.
"The royal government of Cambodia appeals to all museums and collectors around the world to follow this good example by returning the Rama's head to Cambodia," he added.
The artwork was returned to Cambodia following new research into its provenance by the museum, the government statement said.
Cambodia was once home to the mighty Khmer Empire, a Hindu-Buddhist dynasty that built what were then some of the world's mightiest cities and temples, including the famous Angkor Wat complex.
But decades of French colonialism and civil war saw vast swathes of Cambodia's architectural and religious heritage looted and sold overseas.
In more recent years the country has hunted down lost artworks and statues, many of which ended up in western museums.
While some items have been returned after negotiations, others have required legal battles.
Last year a statue of the Hindu monkey god Hanuman which had been looted from the same temple as the Rama torso was returned by the Cleveland Museum of Art.
In 2013 two other 10th-century Khmer-era statues known as the "Kneeling Attendants" were returned from the United States. They had also been taken from the same temple complex.
In January a French museum returned the head of a statue taken in 1886 during the colonial period.
An American museum on Monday returned to Cambodia a 10th-century sandstone sculpture of the Hindu god Rama decades after it was looted from a jungle temple during the kingdom's civil war.
The 62-inch-tall torso, which was stolen in the 1970s from the Koh Ker temple site near the famed Angkor Wat complex, was handed over by the Denver Art Museum at a ceremony in Phnom Penh.
The statue -- still missing its head, arms and feet -- had been in the museum's possession since 1986, the Cambodian government said in a statement.
"We are joyful with the torso of Rama returning home," Cambodian official Yim Nolson said at the ceremony, adding that the joy was tempered by the fact that the head was still missing and its whereabouts unknown.
"The royal government of Cambodia appeals to all museums and collectors around the world to follow this good example by returning the Rama's head to Cambodia," he added.
The artwork was returned to Cambodia following new research into its provenance by the museum, the government statement said.
Cambodia was once home to the mighty Khmer Empire, a Hindu-Buddhist dynasty that built what were then some of the world's mightiest cities and temples, including the famous Angkor Wat complex.
But decades of French colonialism and civil war saw vast swathes of Cambodia's architectural and religious heritage looted and sold overseas.
In more recent years the country has hunted down lost artworks and statues, many of which ended up in western museums.
While some items have been returned after negotiations, others have required legal battles.
Last year a statue of the Hindu monkey god Hanuman which had been looted from the same temple as the Rama torso was returned by the Cleveland Museum of Art.
In 2013 two other 10th-century Khmer-era statues known as the "Kneeling Attendants" were returned from the United States. They had also been taken from the same temple complex.
In January a French museum returned the head of a statue taken in 1886 during the colonial period.
Washington (AFP) - US officials on Wednesday identified the third of four Americans killed in the Brussels attacks last week as a Texas mother of four married to a US Air Force officer.
Gail Minglana Martinez, 41, was traveling with her husband, Lieutenant Colonel Kato Martinez, and their four children when she was injured in one of the suicide bombings on March 22, Texas Congressman Blake Farenthold said in a statement.
It was unclear whether she was at the Brussels airport or a central metro station that were both targeted in the attacks.
Kato Martinez and the four children were also injured in the blast. They remain hospitalized, Farenthold said without elaborating about their conditions.
Family friends said the father was in intensive care and the children recovering from burns, the Air Force Times reported.
The family was living in Brunssum, the Netherlands, where Martinez is assigned to the Joint Force Command, the newspaper reported.
"Gail was special to so many people. She blessed people's lives and made this world a better place," Minglana Martinez's brother told the paper.
Officials have not yet identified the fourth American killed in last week's bombings.
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attacks, which killed at least 35 people and left some 300 wounded.
Berlin (AFP) - US intelligence spied on talks German Chancellor Angela Merkel held with the UN chief and key European leaders, a German newspaper reported Tuesday citing classified documents released by WikiLeaks.
The US National Security Agency (NSA), which drew fire for tapping Merkel's mobile phone, also gathered information on a 2008 conversation about climate change she held with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, the Sueddeutsche Zeitung daily said.
In the exchange ahead of the Copenhagen climate summit, Merkel said the world expected the EU to take a leading role on the issue, while Ban praised Merkel's personal engagement on tackling climate change, the report said.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said in an online statement that "today we showed that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon's private meetings over how to save the planet from climate change were bugged by a country intent on protecting its largest oil companies".
German-US relations were badly strained after fugitive US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden in 2013 revealed widespread US foreign surveillance, including tapping Merkel's mobile phone.
Issues surrounding such surveillance are hotly debated in Germany, a country with raw memories of state snooping under fascist and communist dictatorships.
Wikileaks also released new documents on a 2011 meeting Merkel held with then French president Nicolas Sarkozy and then Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi.
In the meeting Merkel and Sarkozy pressured Berlusconi to reduce public debt and strengthen Italy's banking sector, reported the Sueddeutsche.
The meeting was tense and unfriendly, according to a Berlusconi advisor, who the daily said may have been the target through whom the NSA obtained the information.
Another document showed the NSA listened in on talks between Berlusconi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in which Netanyahu asked Berlusconi to help him improve relations with Washington that were strained by plans for Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem.
WikiLeaks, founded by Australian Assange in 2006, has infuriated the United States by releasing some 500,000 secret military files on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and 250,000 diplomatic cables.
Washington (AFP) - Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko expressed confidence Friday that Dutch voters next week will not reject his country's cooperation deal with the European Union.
The Netherlands is to hold a referendum on Wednesday on the accord, which puts Ukraine on the path towards eventual EU membership, after a grassroots eurosceptic campaign.
Poroshenko met Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte at the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington on Friday, and afterwards stressed the friendship between their countries.
He accused the campaigners who demanded the vote of having exploited the Ukraine question in order to strike a broader blow against the European project.
"The real purpose was an internal Dutch discussion about the future of the European Union and internal political clashes," Poroshenko told reporters.
"This is very dangerous, that a 45-million-person country could become the victim of this."
Poroshenko said Ukrainian officials were in the Netherlands to point out the benefits of welcoming a new member to the union and a large new market.
"We're absolutely sure that European integration and the implementation of our association agreement will not be stopped," he said.
The vote is seen in the Netherlands as an opportunity for the Dutch to express broader concerns about the European project, but it could have deep geopolitical consequences.
Russia, which backs separatist rebels in Ukraine's east, resents Kiev's tilt towards the West and would relish a vote to prevent it from developing ties with Brussels.
Separately, the United States also urged Dutch voters to back Ukraine.
"Like any referendum the decision is for the Dutch people," State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau said.
"But we believe that an association agreement is in the best interests of Ukraine, the Netherlands and Europe as a whole."
The accord that the Netherlands will vote on came provisionally into effect on January 1, 2014 but could still be blocked by any of the 27 EU member states.
PLA soldiers carry caskets containing remains at the airport in Shenyang on Thursday. Photos provided to China Daily and Wang Tian / For China Daily
A funeral service will be held in Shenyang, Liaoning province, on Friday morning for 36 Chinese soldiers who died in the Korean War (1950-53), after their remains were returned from South Korea the previous day.
The service at the Korean War Martyrs' Cemetery will be attended by government officials, People's Liberation Army officers and representatives from veterans' families, according to local authorities.
The 36 soldiers were members of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army. Their remains were found in South Korea over the past year and were handed over to a Chinese delegation led by Dou Yupei, vice-minister of civil affairs, at a ceremony on Thursday morning at Incheon International Airport in South Korea.
At a brief memorial service at the airport, Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Qiu Guohong placed Chinese national flags on the caskets holding the remains, before they were flown home aboard a Chinese military transport plane.
Two J-11 fighter jets of the PLA Air Force escorted the plane when it entered Chinese airspace. After the transport aircraft landed at Shenyang Xiantao International Airport, the remains were received by PLA officers in ceremonial uniforms.
Shin Bong-sup, South Korea's consul-general in Shenyang, said on Thursday: "South Korea and China were once in a war fighting each other, but that was in the past. Returning the remains will help to heal the wounds of history between the two countries and strengthen friendship among the people."
Under an agreement between China and South Korea, officials from the two countries consult each other every year on handing over remains found in South Korea.
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Vatican said on Thursday it is investigating two former officials over claims money meant for a children's hospital was used to refurbish a cardinal's luxury apartment. Costly work at former Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone's flat -- seeming to clash with Pope Francis's recommendations that church officials live as modestly as he -- caused a scandal when allegations emerged that the Bambino Gesu Hospital foundation had helped foot the bill. Giuseppe Profiti, former manager at the Vatican-owned Bambino Gesu, and its ex-treasurer Massimo Spina are being investigated, Vatican press officer Greg Burke said, confirming a report in Italian magazine L'Espresso. Efforts to track down the two men, who no longer work at the hospital, were not immediately successful. A lawyer for Bertone, who is not being investigated, said in a statement on Thursday the cardinal had never asked for or authorized any payment from the hospital foundation relating to his apartment. Pope Francis has made cleaning up Vatican finances a priority of his papacy, as allegations of financial crimes have continued to emerge, including two major investigations into the handling of real estate and investments opened since late 2014. Vatican investigators are looking into allegations the former hospital managers were involved in embezzling and misusing funds, according to L'Espresso. The work on Bertone's residence cost some 422,000 euros ($481,000), the magazine reported. Burke did not confirm the details of the L'Espresso story. Its author, Emiliano Fittipaldi, published a book last year that included the allegations that money meant for sick children had been spent on Bertone's flat. The book, "Avarice", was also at the center of what media dubbed a "Vatileaks" trial into the leaking of church documents. In another case involving the Bambino Gesu, Italian media reported in June that magistrates suspected a cardinal may have diverted 30 million euros in state funds destined for the hospital to save a different church-owned institution. Bertone said last December he would pay 150,000 euros to the Bambino Gesu (Baby Jesus in Italian), which says it is the largest pediatric hospital and research center in Europe. Hospital director Mariella Enoc was quoted saying at the time that Bertone had not received the money directly but wanted to make amends for "damage" suffered by the hospital. ($1 = 0.8779 euros) (Reporting by Isla Binnie; editing by John Stonestreet)
(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) [PDVSA.UL] pleaded guilty under seal in December to conspiracy to commit money laundering. Their pleas were unsealed by a federal judge in Houston last week. [L2N16V0Z4]
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)
(Reuters) - The city of Ferguson, Missouri, where racially charged protests erupted after a white officer fatally shot an unarmed black teenager in 2014, hired a veteran black officer from Miami to lead its embattled police department through painful reforms, officials said on Thursday.
The appointment to the helm of a predominantly white police force comes about two weeks after the Ferguson City Council agreed to reforms aimed at fixing what the U.S. government has called widespread racial bias in its department's policing of a majority black city.
The new chief, Delrish Moss, has worked patrol, undercover assignments and homicide investigations, and supervised the Miami Police Department's community and media relations during his 32-year career in law enforcement, Ferguson officials said.
"We understand the past 18 months have not been easy for everyone, but the city is now moving forward and we are excited to have Major Moss lead our police department," Mayor James Knowles said in a statement.
Moss is at least the third police chief in the St. Louis suburb of some 21,000 residents following the 2014 slaying of 18-year-old Michael Brown. Ferguson erupted into violent protests after a grand jury chose not to indict the white officer, Darren Wilson.
Brown's death was one of several killings of unarmed black men that started a nationwide debate about the use of excessive force by police, especially against minorities.
The shooting resulted in a Justice Department investigation that found Ferguson police disproportionately arrested and issued traffic citations to blacks to boost city coffers through fines, used police as a collection agency and created a culture of distrust that exploded when Wilson fatally shot Brown.
The city's reform agreement, which avoids the cost of litigating the Justice Department's claims, requires Ferguson's officers to have bias-awareness training and implement an accountability system, city officials said. The city also agreed that police must ensure that stop, search and arrest practices are not discriminatory under law.
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Thomas Jackson, who was the chief at the time of Brown's death, was criticized for the handling of the resulting protests. He resigned in March 2015. Interim Chief Andre Anderson, the city's first black police chief, resigned in December.
Officials said they had narrowed a field that started with 54 applications in a process that included panels of residents, lawmakers and law enforcement. City Manager De'Carlon Seewood made the final decision.
"(Ferguson) needs a massive recruiting drive to become more reflective of the community," Moss told the Miami Herald newspaper earlier this month.
(Reporting by Eric M. Johnson in Seattle; Editing by Brendan O'Brien and Richard Pullin)
Chinese President Xi Jinping returns to the US in late March to gather with leaders of 50 other nations at the 2016 Nuclear Security Summit.
That's good news. In these difficult and dangerous times, it's important for the US and China to work collaboratively on shared global challenges. Too often, US politicians focus on our differences with China, but in fact, the two nations already cooperate in key areas. China played an important role in the negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program. Washington and Beijing worked together in the landmark Paris Climate Summit. China also recently supported a US-led UN Security Council resolution to impose additional sanctions on North Korea.
Less talked about but also meaningful are joint China-US efforts to secure peace and fight disease in Africa. Alongside US aid to combat the 2014 Ebola outbreak, China offered generous support in cash, equipment, and personnel. West African countries, China, the US, and the UN joined forces to stop a pandemic.
Since December 2013, there has been near-constant strife in South Sudan. Again in partnership with regional African states, US and Chinese diplomats have worked together to bring the warring parties to the peace table and prevent a regional crisis. A model of constructive African-led action, backed by China and the US, is slowly emerging.
The Carter Center works in a wide array of African countries. Throughout the continent, the growing presence of China is evident. It is building roads, offering public health assistance and providing peacekeepers. While many Africans and their governments welcome Chinese engagement, some in the Africa and elsewhere have accused China of practicing neocolonialism.
It is counterproductive for those of us in the US to heap criticism on China's actions in Africa when we could do more to see that our two countries cooperate on the continent. Common interests of development, trade, anti-piracy, and counter-terrorism overlap more than they compete.
China and the US can join forces to promote development in Africa, but they can also collaborate to wage peace. The Carter Center sent missions to observe presidential elections in Guinea in 2010 and legislative elections in Cote d'Ivoire in 2011. On both occasions, China sided with the international community in holding the losing party to the electoral verdict. In December 2014, in a move supported by the US, China deployed combat troops as part of the UN peacekeeping mission to South Sudan, an indication of how seriously both countries take peace there.
During the recent Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, China's annual meeting with African countries, a number of African leaders reportedly asked Xi to become more involved in fostering peace on the continent. At a recent Carter Center conference on cooperation between Africans, Chinese, and Americans, Xi's special representative for African affairs, Zhong Jianhua, acknowledged that China is new to promoting peace in Africa. It will take time to learn new procedures and adapt to changing realities. But he said China is ready and willing to absorb from the UN and others the hard-earned lessons of the conflicts in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Rwanda, and elsewhere.
China's goodwill, such as Xi's pledge last September of $100 million to African Union peacekeeping, should receive our support. Recognizing China's burgeoning role as a player for peace in Africa would do much for the continent while building mutual respect and future collaboration between two superpowers. Peace is, after all, the ultimate win-win.
The author is the vice president for peace programs at the Carter Center.
Stockholm (AFP) - An ex-wife of Islamic State group (IS) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, with whom he had a daughter, wants to live in Europe "in freedom", she told Swedish daily Expressen in an interview published Thursday.
"I want to live in a European country, not an Arab country," Saja al-Dulaimi said in the interview filmed in Lebanon.
Dulaimi was freed several months ago from a Lebanese prison, where she had been held since 2014 with her children on suspicion of links to extremist organisations.
"I'm branded a terrorist but I'm far from all that," lamented Dulaimi.
"I want to live in freedom," the 28-year-old said, while praising Islamic Sharia law which she said provided "freedom and rights for women".
Her seven-year-old daughter, Hagar, said she wanted to go to Europe to "study." A DNA test conducted by Lebanese authorities confirmed she was Baghdadi's child.
Born into a well-heeled Iraqi family, Dulaimi said she had been married to an Iraqi member of Saddam Hussein's personal guard. They had twins together.
Widowed, she married again in 2008, on the advice of her father, to Bagdhadi.
Dulaimi described Baghdadi, who also had children from an earlier marriage, as "a normal family man" and university professor adored by his offspring.
Baghdadi was at the time fighting in the ranks of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, from which the Islamic State group was born. In 2010, he took over the reins of IS.
Washington has put a $10-million bounty on his head.
Dulaimi said she left him after just three months of marriage, when she was pregnant with their daughter.
"How he could become emir (caliph) of the most dangerous terrorist organisation in the world is a mystery," she said.
"The last conversation we had was in 2009. He asked me if I wanted to come back. But I'd made my decision," she said.
"Where is my guilt? I was married to him in 2008. We're divorced now," she said.
She has since remarried, to a Palestinian man with whom she also has a child.
By Julie Steenhuysen SAN JUAN (Reuters) - The United States faces its first real challenge with the Zika virus on the island territory of Puerto Rico, a part of the nation that is perhaps least prepared to cope with what is expected to be its worst outbreak. Zika is spreading rapidly in Puerto Rico and is expected to peak in late summer and early fall. By year's end, public health officials estimate, hundreds of thousands of people will have been infected. It is the only part of the country that is experiencing a major local outbreak, but the virus is expected to reach southern U.S. states within weeks with warmer temperatures and rising mosquito populations. Health officials from across the United States are gathering today at the headquarters of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta to outline a national strategy for combating Zika. In a measure of the concern surrounding the outbreak in Puerto Rico, CDC director Tom Frieden toured the island, meeting with top health officials and local experts last month to assess the situation first-hand. Puerto Rico is beset with problems already hampering the response: abundant mosquitoes, high levels of insecticide resistance and economic woes that have left vector control in shambles. "We don't have good surveillance" here, Frieden said in an interview at the Puerto Rican health department in San Juan during his tour. We don't have good control measures." First detected in Brazil last year, the Zika outbreak is spreading through the Americas. The World Health Organization declared a global health emergency last month because of growing evidence that Zika can cause microcephaly, a rare birth defect defined by an unusually small head. In adults, the virus has been linked to the typically rare autoimmune disorder, Guillain-Barre syndrome. EARLY LESSONS Fighting Zika in Puerto Rico is complicated by the toll of a decade-long recession. Nearly half of its 3.5 million residents live in poverty, and mosquitoes are an accepted nuisance. Puerto Rico has seen repeated outbreaks of dengue and more recently, chikungunya. Both viruses are carried by Aedes aegypti, the same species of mosquito that carries Zika. "Here in Puerto Rico, we're really starting from square one," said Audrey Lenhart, a CDC vector control expert in an interview at the CDC's Emergency Operations Center in San Juan. In its latest report, the Puerto Rican health department said there are now 350 confirmed cases of Zika infection, including 40 pregnant women. "We have a very serious combination of problems," said Dr. Alberto de la Vega, an obstetrician specializing in high-risk pregnancies at San Juan's University Hospital at the Puerto Rico Medical Center. "If you don't have access to money to buy repellent, to sleep with an air conditioner on so mosquitoes won't bite you, to have mosquito nets around you and you live in areas where there's more stagnant water, obviously you have higher risks," he said. To mitigate the risk of microcephaly among newborns, the CDC and the Puerto Rican government are distributing Zika protection kits to pregnant women that include condoms to prevent sexual transmission from an infected partner, insect repellent, bed nets and larvicide tablets for standing water that cannot be drained. De la Vega says many locals are resigned to the idea that everyone in Puerto Rico will be infected. He said he won't accept that people are "surrendering like that." NO VECTOR CONTROL Government mosquito abatement resources are scarce, with fewer than a dozen trucks equipped with insecticide sprayers. Of the municipalities that do have trucks, most are used to kill nuisance mosquitoes that bite but do not carry disease, said Manuel Lluberas, a Puerto Rico-born entomologist who works at H.D. Hudson Manufacturing, a maker of spraying equipment. Lluberas, who advises the WHO and the World Bank on vector control programs, said there are a few municipalities that spray insecticide once every seven to 10 days or once every few weeks. Spraying "needs to be done a lot more frequently to be effective, he said. Scientists at CDC's Dengue Laboratory in San Juan have been testing insecticides on mosquitoes gathered from 17 sites on the island. Frieden said in one of the experiments, mosquitoes placed in bottles coated with a commonly effective insecticide "were happily flying around." Eliminating Zika will require spraying insecticide indoors on walls, under beds, behind furniture and inside closets, where Aedes aegypti hide. So far, only two insecticides - deltamethrin and bifenthrin - are approved for indoor residual spraying, and researchers have found high levels of resistance to bifenthrin in Puerto Rico. Mosquito experts have found similar resistance in parts of Texas and California. "You find resistance in mosquitoes in one locale, and 20 miles away they are not resistant," said Joseph Conlon, technical advisor for the American Mosquito Control Association, which represents researchers, public health officials and pesticide makers. Dr. Janet McAllister, a CDC entomologist, said indoor spraying campaigns will be carried out by local contractors, who will target only areas where the mosquitoes hide instead of coating entire walls, as is typically done to control mosquitoes that carry malaria. "People would not really be coming into direct contact with those surfaces," McAllister said. She said the CDC does not plan to use experimental methods, including genetically modified mosquitoes, such as those from Intrexon's Oxitec now being tested in Brazil, or those infected with Wolbochia bacteria that prevent Zika transmission. Given the urgency of the outbreak, health officials need to focus on known methods of curbing mosquitoes "rather than doing research on things that may or may not work," she said. (Reporting by Julie Steenhuysen; Editing by Michele Gershberg and Lisa Girion)
Washington (AFP) - President Barack Obama hosts an international summit in Washington Thursday and Friday aimed at ensuring that nuclear material in the world's roughly 1,000 atomic facilities is secured.
Here is a breakdown of what's at stake:
- Large stockpiles -
Obama convened the first Nuclear Security Summit in 2010, followed by similar gatherings in Seoul in 2012 and The Hague in 2014.
The meetings focus on preventing criminals from accessing stockpiles of radioactive materials, reducing highly enriched uranium and separated plutonium, enhancing the detection of smuggling, and cybersecurity.
Considerable progress has been made, with several countries reducing or eliminating their stockpiles of nuclear material.
For example, Japan this month is returning to the United States enough plutonium to make 50 nuclear bombs.
But despite these advances, a January report by the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), a leading US nonproliferation watchdog, found basic weaknesses persist in securing the world's fissile materials.
And according to a 2015 study by the International Panel on Fissile Materials, enough plutonium and highly enriched uranium stockpiles remain to make the equivalent of 200,000 weapons of the magnitude that leveled Hiroshima in 1945.
- Narrow scope? -
The fissile materials in question do not include state-owned nuclear weapons, leading critics to say the summits are not broad enough in scope.
"This is an important mission, but it's beneath the pay grade of the 50 or 60 heads of state that are going to convene in Washington," said Bruce Blair, co-founder of anti-nuclear group Global Zero.
"We should have an agenda ... that would cover all fissile materials, civilian and military."
- New dangers -
Since the summits began, 14 nations have eliminated their fissile material stockpiles, and other countries have stepped up efforts to secure theirs.
But at the same time, other nations are ramping up their nuclear capabilities.
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Countries like Pakistan, India and North Korea have built new bombs, and experts warn these fall behind in safety standards aimed at preventing accidental detonation.
The Islamic State group has already used chemical weapons, and experts fear the jihadists are trying to secure fissile material to make a "dirty bomb." Such a device is a regular bomb, but would explode radioactive material across an area.
Highlighting the risks, Belgian police investigating the November 13 Paris terror attacks found 10 hours of video of the comings and goings of a senior Belgian nuclear official.
One agenda item at the summit will see leaders discussing a hypothetical nuclear security crisis.
- Next steps, possible outcomes -
Sharon Squassoni, director and senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies' proliferation prevention program, said the latest summit aims to consolidate progress made so far, such as seeing countries that committed to certain actions implement these.
The 2014 summit saw 35 countries sign up to various pledges -- but key players including China, India, Russia and Pakistan did not join in.
"It would be really important for those countries to sign on," Squassoni said.
Other new commitments could include greater information exchange, or the opening up of facilities to inspection by peer nations or the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Given this is the last summit under Obama, a big question will be how nations can track progress in the future and whether the United States will continue to convene such meetings under its next president.
By Joe Penney KERAWA, Cameroon (Reuters) - Adama Simila wears a knife tied to his belt by a piece of rope, his only protection against Boko Haram, the Nigerian Islamist insurgents who have repeatedly targeted his home town in remote northern Cameroon. While the threat once came from heavily armed, battle-hardened jihadists crossing from neighbouring Nigeria, today Simila knows he is more likely to die at the hands of a teenage girl strapped with explosives. "We're here to look out for suicide bombers," said the 31-year-old, a member of a local civilian defence force in the town of Kerawa. After watching its influence spread during a six-year campaign that has killed around 15,000 people according to the U.S. military, Nigeria has now united with its neighbours to stamp out Boko Haram. A regional offensive last year drove the insurgents from most of their traditional strongholds, denying them their dream of an Islamic emirate in northeastern Nigeria. An 8,700-strong regional force of troops from Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria is seeking to finish the job. Now, increasingly on the back foot, Boko Haram is retaliating with a deadly guerrilla campaign against civilians, and ordinary people like Simila have become the last line of defence. "I'm not scared. They are people, we are also people. We must die to live," said Simila, who was at the Kerawa market in September when two girls detonated themselves, killing 19 people and injuring 143 others. A nearly identical bombing at the same market followed in January. Outside Nigeria, Cameroon has been hardest hit by Boko Haram, which now operates out of bases in the Mandara Mountains, Sambisa Forest and Lake Chad -- areas straddling the borders between Cameroon, Nigeria, Chad and Niger. Since August 2014, the sect has carried out 336 attacks in Cameroon, according to the Cameroonian army, which has lost 57 of its own men while defending the north. Of 34 recorded suicide bombings killing 174 people, 80 percent were carried out by girls and young women aged 14 to 24 years. Girls abused as sex slaves by the group are psychologically damaged and therefore more vulnerable, the army says. Boko Haram also uses girls because they are thought less likely to arouse suspicion, although that may be changing now. "The goal now is to stop Boko Haram incursions into villages, stop them from planting IEDs (home-made bombs), and stop suicide bombings," said Lieutenant-Colonel Felix Tetcha, a senior officer in the army's operation against Boko Haram. Cameroon has thrown vast resources into protecting the north. In total nearly 10,000 of its troops are deployed against Boko Haram. The army's Rapid Intervention Brigade (BIR), comprised of its most professional, best equipped soldiers, patrols a high-risk 400-km (250-mile) stretch of the border with Nigeria. The U.S. military backs them with equipment, training and intelligence gathered from American drones flown out of a base in the town of Garoua. A Reuters reporter saw a small American military camp inside another BIR base in nearby Maroua. Still, the terrain is mountainous and Boko Haram has rigged many roads with explosives designed to kill soldiers. Army officers are convinced that some fighters from Boko Haram, which pledged allegiance to Islamic State last year, have been trained at IS camps in Libya. Armed incursions by Boko Haram fighters have dropped. But the army does not have enough soldiers to deploy in every town in northern Cameroon, and suicide bombers strike regularly, often several times in a single week. "The border is under control, but it's still very porous," said Lieutenant-Colonel Emile Nlate Ebale, head of operations and logistics for the BIR's mission in the north. "EVERYBODY SUFFERS IN THIS PLACE" Faced with such an asymmetrical threat, Cameroon's army has turned to so-called vigilance committees for help. As the blazing midday sun beat down on Kerawa, Bouba Ahmada walked along a dry, scrub-lined creek bed, an ancient flintlock musket slung around his neck. "Here is Cameroon, over there is Nigeria," he said, gesturing towards the abandoned homes just across the dusty expanse. "It's empty. Only Boko Haram stays there." Made up of men and boys armed with machetes, home-made rifles or bows and arrows, these self-defence forces have the blessing of the local government. They accompany the army on patrols and intelligence gathering missions, question travellers, and denounce to the military anyone deemed suspect. Last week they intercepted two female suicide bombers and handed them over to the army before they were able to detonate. [nL5N16X0ZA] "We are not 100 percent dependent on this information, but this information is crucial," said Lieutenant-Colonel Tetcha, who is not only defending Cameroon but also a growing number of Nigerians. Close to the border sits the U.N.-run Minawao camp, home to nearly 57,000 refugees who have fled Boko Haram in Nigeria. "Everybody suffers in this place," said James Zapania, a 24-year-old camp resident from Gwoza, Nigeria. "We're not worried about Boko Haram coming here, we're worried about food." Refugees like Zapania often receive a chilly welcome from suspicious local villagers, many of whom view them as collaborators or even underground Boko Haram fighters. According to one Cameroonian officer, the army has removed a number of individuals from Minawao for "activities that were not in line with the behaviour of a normal refugee". Suspicion is everywhere. And while Boko Haram infiltrators make up only a tiny portion of fleeing refugees, many, including the Cameroonian military, fear that desperation provides fertile ground for recruitment. "We need to act quickly. There are young people with no work who could be vulnerable. When people are hungry, they are easily approached," said Colonel Didier Badjeck, a Cameroonian military spokesman. (Editing by Joe Bavier and Giles Elgood)
A section of the China's ancient Grand Canal has been drained for cleaning in Hua county, Henan province lately. After news spread out that relics such as copper unicorns and gold ingots have been dug out from the river bed, local villagers spared no time to try their luck.
The Grand Canal (also known as the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal), is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the longest canal or artificial waterway in the world. The oldest parts of the canal date back to the 5th century BC.
The question of theodicy, for me (an atheist), is not so much why does god allow so much suffering? as it is what is the nature of this god you believe in?
The real contradictions I see are between the realities of the world, supposedly created and overseen by god, and the descriptions of their god by the faithful. They dont mesh. The ancient Greeks were much more honest, I think, in their depictions of their gods. Greek gods were petty, arbitrary, powerful and mean-spirited. As such, they fit the world we live in.
Christians, Muslims and Jews all describe a god that is benevolent, just, omnipotent, and omniscientwhich doesnt fit our world one bit. If youre determined to believe in a god, Zeus makes a lot more sense than the supposed Christian heavenly father.
Pennsylvania is looming as one of the real wildcards of the presidential season in terms of the outcome of its upcoming presidential primary and the role its GOP delegates will ultimately play this summer at the national convention.
Pennsylvania has become the party-switching capital of the country, with roughly 100,000 Democrats and independents switching their party affiliation to Republican and 70,000 Republicans switching to Democratic ahead of next months primary.
Related: Why a Trump Candidacy Threatens the GOP Majority in Congress
While some of this unquestionably reflects strategic maneuvering by the two parties to help nominate who they perceive as their weakest general election foe, experts say a lot of it has to do with GOP presidential frontrunner Donald Trumps widespread appeal among white, blue collar Democrats, particularly in Pittsburgh and other southwestern areas of the state.
Republican Winners of State Primaries and Caucuses | InsideGov
Earlier this year, more than 20,000 Democrats in Massachusetts changed their party registration to Republican, largely to vote for Trump, according to some state election officials. Trump scored a major victory in Massachusetts in late February, surprising many who thought he would have trouble winning in a state with more moderate Republicans.
But the party switching there pales by comparison to the magnitude of what is taking place in Pennsylvania. Terry Madonna, a professor of political science at Franklin & Marshall College in Pennsylvania, said on Monday that I dont know when weve ever had a situation in which 170,000 people shifted from one party to another or went from being an independent to a member of one or the other parties.
Trump has a good chance of winning narrowly in Pennsylvania, but that may not translate into a needed passel of delegates.
Related: Trump vs. Cruz Is Turning Into a Bare-Knuckled Bar Fight
Thats because the Pennsylvania GOP has one of the most permissive primary election laws regarding how national delegates must vote on the first ballot at the convention this summer. Unlike most other states, 54 of the 71 national delegates elected in Pennsylvania three from each of 18 congressional districts are not obliged to support the candidate who garners the most votes statewide in the April 26 primary.
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That means if Trump beats Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and Ohio Gov. John Kasich of Ohio in the primary contest, three quarters of the 71 total delegates chosen could vote for Cruz or Kasich on the first ballot if they see fit.
Trump narrowly leads Kasich, 33 percent to 30 percent, in a new Franklin and Marshall College poll, while Cruz trails with just 20 percent. In the Democratic contest, meanwhile, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton holds a substantial lead over her rival, Sen Bernie Sanders of Vermont, 53 percent to 28 percent.
"There are a reasonable number of scenarios where Pennsylvania becomes the center of a contested convention," Charlie Gerow, a Republican strategist and a candidate for national delegate, told The Morning Call newspaper in Allentown.
Related: The Five Most Endangered Senate Republicans
Pennsylvania is a big wild card in the Republican process, added Kyle Kondik, a University of Virginia political expert in an email today. Most of the delegates will go to the convention unbound and may be more inclined to back an alternative to Trump.
As for all the party-switching going on, Kondik said, Republican presidential voters who have been registered as Democrats for years finally decided to take the plunge and become an actual Republican. Many states, like Kentucky and West Virginia, have many more registered Democrats than Republicans, even though those states are reliably Republican in presidential elections, Kondik explained. Also, voters just have more interest in the Republican primary this year and are choosing to vote in it instead of the Democratic primary.
In short, Pennsylvania could end up playing an outsized role in the selection of the GOP nominee. While 17 of the 71 national delegates will be bound by the outcome of the statewide beauty contest, the remainder will be free to vote as they see fit.
Related: Trump Might Win the Nomination, but Cruz Won the GOP
Trump is likely to win the nomination and has so far collected 739 of the 1,237 delegates he will need to prevail at the convention. However, Cruz and Kasich with the backing of more establishment Republican leaders -- are aiming to deny him the crown.
A fight by Trump, Kasich and Cruz over the allegiance of the vast majority of Pennsylvania delegates could be intense in what already has become a dirty and nasty GOP presidential campaign.
Madonna recalled that former President Gerald Ford was just 150 unpledged delegates shy of the majority he needed to win the nomination over Ronald Reagan at the 1976 GOP convention. Ford ultimately prevailed on the first ballot after considerable arm-twisting.
They were negotiating with the delegates for trips on the presidential yacht, visits to the White House; they were doing everything, he said. So I think youre going to see a lot of wooing this time.
Related: For Now, Democrats Savor a Clinton-Trump Matchup this Fall
We are already seeing not only wooing but hardball politics to try to nail down delegate allegiance. Over the weekend, Trump threatened to sue Cruzs campaign for picking off 10 more of the 41 national delegates from Louisiana than he was technically entitled to after Trump won the popular vote in the March 5 primary.
Just to show you how unfair Republican primary politics can be, I won the State of Louisiana and get less delegates than Cruz-Lawsuit coming, Trump tweeted on Sunday.
Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:
Last September, you didn't have to look far to find a news article outlining how credit cards were on the cusp of a major change. On Oct. 1, 2015, banks began shifting some of the liability for charges made with counterfeit cards to retailers. To avoid being saddled with the cost of fraudulent purchases, stores would need to switch over their credit card processing terminals to read credit cards embedded with a chip.
Some predicted chaos in the checkout as consumers and retailers alike grappled with a new card processing procedure that involved inserting -- otherwise known as dipping -- a card into a reader rather than swiping it. However, it is now six months past the liability shift, and there has been little chaos or even confusion. In fact, many people don't even have a credit card with a chip yet, and those who do are just as likely to be asked to swipe their card as dip it.
[Read: 6 Things You Need to Know About the New Chip Cards.]
What happened? U.S. News spoke to three sources knowledgeable about chip cards to find out.
Remain calm: It's all going according to plan. Jack Jania, the senior vice president of global strategic alliances for digital security firm Gemalto, says the transition is going as planned. "This year, we'll easily see 600 million [chip] cards in the market," he says. "From an issuing side, EMV is well underway." EMV stands for Europay, MasterCard and Visa and is the industry term used to refer to the standards governing chip cards.
Other countries have already adopted the EMV standard, and Jania says it typically takes 36 months from the issuance of cards to nearly full adoption of chip reading technology by retailers. However, the U.S. has 18 major card processors, which could mean a slower roll-out as compared to Europe, where Jania characterizes the processing system as "monolithic." Overall, it could be six years until the U.S. reaches the point at which 75 percent of transactions are EMV-compliant.
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Stephanie Ericksen, vice president of risk products for Visa, echoes Jania's comments. "From our perspective, it does take several years for a country to transition," she says. "October 1 was the starting point."
[See: Best Credit Cards.]
Retailers say equipment certification is slowing them down. While Ericksen uses the word "encouraged" to describe the rate by which EMV cards are being adopted, retailers may be more likely to use the word frustrated. "The situation has been very frustrating for retailers and customers," says J. Craig Shearman, vice president of government affairs public relations with the National Retail Federation. "The banks made a huge deal about setting a deadline and then dropped the ball."
According to Shearman, merchants can't simply purchase new credit card terminals and begin using them immediately. Card processors must send out workers to certify the equipment first, and some retailers are stuck waiting months for that to happen. "All the card readers you see [in stores] are evidence that retailers have done their part," Shearman says. If there is any blame to be had for consumers not yet dipping cards, he says it should be laid at the feet of the card industry.
Liability, not consumer security, is the main concern. Consumers may be left scratching their heads over the lack of functional chip card readers in stores, but both retailers and card issuers say the slow transition shouldn't affect shoppers. "Consumers are always protected by zero fraud liability by Visa," Ericksen says. As a result, people aren't on the hook for charges made with a lost or stolen card, regardless of whether they are using a chip card or a card with only a magnetic strip.
On the question of liability, the issue isn't so clear-cut. Some merchants have reported a jump in chargebacks since the liability shift on October 1, and in many cases, those costs have had to be absorbed by retailers who do not have EMV-compliant systems in place. It's a situation that has some stores crying foul, particularly in instances when a merchant is waiting on certification.
That's the case with Florida-based B&R Supermarket which says it has had to shoulder the cost of $10,000 in chargebacks over a 4.5 month period. The store has filed a lawsuit against a number of card issuers and networks amid claims that the companies are purposely delaying certification of processing equipment.
Ericksen was not asked about specific legal action but did say that each processor is handling the delayed certification situation differently. While stores are supposed to have their EMV terminals turned on to avoid liability for fraudulent charges, some processors are not charging merchants if they are awaiting certification.
While retailers and card processors hash out their differences about liability, Jania says consumers should simply sit tight and wait for the rollout process to run its course. "This is normal," he says. "This is the way it happens."
Its that time of the month again. Ive got 15 minutes to kill before my interview, so I dash into the nearest CVS, tiptoe to the feminine hygiene aisle and discreetly pluck a box of tampons from the shelf. Wouldnt want anyone to know!
But my monthly cycle isnt some covert operation, says Lauren Schulte. In fact, we should be proud of our reproductive system, the 29-year-old entrepreneur tells OZY. Were sitting in a Venice Beach cafe near the headquarters of Flex, Schultes feminine hygiene startup, which sprang from San Franciscos prestigious Y Combinator Fellowship and is backed by other startup accelerators in California, including Amplify.LA. And while you might picture the woman railing against the patriarchy of periods as radical, Schulte is a perky blonde with hazel eyes and arched eyebrows who wouldnt dare burn a bra. Indeed, she tells me, she grew up in a conservative Georgia household and didnt know where her peehole was until a couple of years ago.
Schulte is part of a new breed of entrepreneurial leading ladies who are steering the charge toward a menstrual product revival, brainstorming and building the next generation of period-wear. And while theyre not going so far as to champion the free bleeding fad, their beef with tampons can be boiled down to three points: Tampons are clogging up landfills, theyre a health problem and its about time women shove all that period-shaming where the sun dont shine. The average woman uses 12,000 tampons throughout her lifetime if you stacked them up, theyd be higher than the Empire State Building.
flex hero image
FLEX pitches itself toward mess-free period sex.
Source: Flex
Schultes alternative to the tyranny of tampons is a disc-shaped, long-wear device made from food-grade material that can be worn for 12 hours (unlike tampons or pads, which typically last four to eight hours). Called Flex, it costs $15 for a pack of three, pricier than your average box of tampons. Unlike many of its competitors, though, Flex is geared specifically toward mess-free period sex, a selling point that few companies can boast and that few dare to touch. Both men and women have already done test runs, if you will, with the new product. For 33-year-old Mateo Bueno, a strategist and marketer in San Francisco whose girlfriend tried Flex a few months ago, the little disc is changing the conversation around what was formerly a do not enter zone for men. You catch women by surprise if you know something about their cycle, Bueno says.
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Schultes anti-tampon falls into step with the growing hipster resurgence of alternative feminine hygiene products, says Jennifer Conti, a gynecologist and obstetrician at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Lunapads are made of washable cloth, while the DivaCup, on the market since 2003, is an eco-friendly menstrual cup. This past year, Thinx launched with absorbent period-proof underwear. Some experts say this reset is long overdue: The modern-day tampon hasnt changed much since the 1930s, when, according to Tampax, it was inspired by the cotton plugs used in surgery. Products like Flex, which is slated to ship en masse this summer, could finally take the testosterone out of the mix: Its been awhile coming, says Kristin Crosland at Experien Group, a consulting firm. As of now, tens of thousands of people have signed up on Flexs website, says Schulte, and the company is outpacing its original projections tenfold.
Laurenschulte washburn 028
Lauren Schulte
Source: Alex Washburn / OZY
Schulte and her sisters in the menstrual-care alternatives market are trying to crack a hard nut. Theyre going head-to-head with Goliaths like Tampax, Kotex and Playtex, which hold a huge slice of the $15 billion feminine hygiene industry and are bent on maintaining the status quo. (A spokesperson for P&G, which makes Tampax, says the company embrace[s] each womens choice to use whatever product she feels works best for her. It says that its tampons are safe and subject to strict FDA review, and that toxic-shock syndrome can be occur with any product incerted into the vagina.)
Although DivaCup is carried at CVS and Thinx has sold 200,000 products, Schulte admits getting investors who are mostly male and blanch when discussing periods onboard the period product train has been tough. Plus, there are plenty of bureaucratic hurdles to clear to get Flex on shelves. Schulte is in the midst of registering with the Food and Drug Administration and undergoing biocompatibility testing to ensure safety, which is a seven-month process. Often, its like a big black box dealing with the FDA, says Crosland, who consults on her fair share of medical devices.
But even that seems unlikely to derail Schulte. As a girl, she dreamed of becoming the first female president, despite growing up in an evangelical household where, she says, feminist was an F-word. Shortly after hitting puberty, Schulte was given a promise ring, to dissuade her from premarital sex, she says. What motivates her today is not conservative sways but her eagerness to push the boundaries in the oft-ignored corners of womens health. As she puts it, its been a strange journey.
Sitting across from this feisty feminist, I cant help but stare at her uterus the one proudly displayed on her T-shirt. Its bold, its artsy and its her coat of arms as she leads the way toward the menstrual revolution. Clearly, shes not afraid of a little blood.
By Venus Wu HONG KONG (Reuters) - Like innumerable children with imaginations fired by animated films, Hong Kong product and graphic designer Ricky Ma grew up watching cartoons featuring the adventures of robots, and dreamt of building his own one day. Unlike most of the others, however, Ma has realized his childhood dream at the age of 42, by successfully constructing a life-sized robot from scratch on the balcony of his home. The fruit of his labors of a year-and-a-half, and a budget of more than $50,000, is a female robot prototype he calls the Mark 1, modeled after a Hollywood star whose name he wants to keep under wraps. It responds to a set of programed verbal commands spoken into a microphone. "I figured I should just do it when the timing is right and realize my dream. If I realize my dream, I will have no regrets in life," said Ma, who had to learn about fields completely new to him before he could build the complex gadget. Besides simple movements of its arms and legs, turning its head and bowing, Ma's robot, which has dark blonde hair and liquid eyes, and wears a gray skirt and cropped top, can create detailed facial expressions. In response to the compliment, "Mark 1, you are so beautiful", its brows and the muscles around its eyes relax, and the corners of its lips lift, creating a natural-seeming smile, and it says, "Hehe, thank you." A 3D-printed skeleton lies beneath Mark 1's silicone skin, wrapping its mechanical and electronic parts. About 70 percent of its body was created using 3D printing technology. Ma's journey of creation was a lonely one, however. He said he did not know of anyone else in the former British colony who builds humanoid robots as a hobby and few in the city understood his ambition. "During this process, a lot of people would say things like, 'Are you stupid? This takes a lot of money. Do you even know how to do it? It's really hard,'" Ma said. He adopted a trial-and-error method in which he encountered obstacles ranging from frequent burnt-out electric motors to the robot losing its balance and toppling over. "When you look at everything together, it was really difficult," said Ma, who had to master unfamiliar topics from electromechanics to programing along the way, besides learning how to fit the robot's external skin over its components. Ma, who believes the importance of robots will only grow, hopes an investor will buy his prototype, giving him the capital to build more, and wants to write a book about his experience, to help other enthusiasts. The rise of robots and artificial intelligence are among disruptive labor market changes that the World Economic Forum projects will lead to a net loss of 5.1 million jobs over the next five years. (Writing by Clarence Fernandez)
SYDNEY, Apr. 1 (Peoples Daily Online) -- The Sydney Royal Easter Show held the closing ceremony on March 30, 2016. The show is one of the Australia`s largest annual event, attracting over 85,000 attendees.
The Sydney Royal Easter Show is held in Sydney Olympic Park, for 2 weeks of agricultural competitions, animal experiences, food stalls, carnival fun and much more.
Some highlights of the Sydney Royal Easter Show:
Sheep shearing & Display: Showing insights into shearers work and lives
The Shearing Display is a daily showcase at the Sydney Royal Easter Show. The shearers show their sensational skills to the audience, and share the knowledge of the wool industry. Some lucky audiences are invited onstage to help take the clippers to a woolly sheep.
Dairy Farmers Milking Barn: Exploring how farmers make butter and skims milk
Dairy Farmers Milking Barn provides a unique experience for everyone. The event shows you how farmers care for their dairy cattle. People can watch how different dairy products such as butter are made from fresh milk. At the end of the event, people may have the chance to hand-milk cows.
Farmyard Nursery: Having an interactive experience with animals
Farmyard Nursery is an open-plan indoor paddock with many free-range animals. Farmyard friends include baby lamb, ducklings, fawns, piglets and even the donkeys. People can buy a cup of feed for just AU$1 and enjoy this special experience with those beautiful animals.
Alpacas: The most popular animal in the Easter show
The Sydney Royal Easter Show displays various kinds of animals such as dogs, pigs and horses. Among all animals, Alpaca is the most popular animal in Australia.
The Alpaca industry is an important part of agriculture in Australia. The history of the arrival of alpacas into Australia dates back to 1858 when the first shipment landed in Sydney. Nowadays, Alpacas are farmed in all states of Australia.
The District Exhibits: The culmination of a year`s hard work
You can find different types of food stalls in the Fresh Food Dome and taste the local products.
There are five creative and huge-scale district exhibit displays on the walls of the Fresh Food Dome. More than 50,000 pieces of fresh fruit, vegetables, grains, wool and other products are used to create these unique displays. The five regions are Southern, Northern, Western, Central NSW and South East Queensland. The District Exhibits shows the production and consumption and the social changes in rural and regional Australia.
The Sydney Royal Easter Show is run by the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW, promoting the agricultural achievements of Australia. It allows people to explore the rural tradition of Australia.
By Marcus E. Howard
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A woman in a headscarf who reported being slashed across the cheek by an attacker who called her a terrorist has admitted she lied, police said on Friday.
The 20-year-old woman inflicted the wound on herself and was taken to Bellevue Hospital for care, police said.
Anti-Muslim bias crimes in the United States have tripled since attacks by Islamic militants in Paris in November and shootings by Muslim extremists in San Bernardino, California, in December, say Muslim advocacy groups.
About 80 percent of the victims in such incidents are women, Council on American-Islamic Relations officials say.
At the same time, New York authorities are grappling with an uptick in stabbings and slashings, up 22 percent compared to the same period in 2015, Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said.
The most recent violence occurred Friday morning when a man was slashed in the face during an attempted robbery at a subway station near the World Trade Center. The victim suffered minor injuries, police said.
One day earlier, the woman, who has not been identified, told police that she was attacked with a sharp object as she walked near in lower Manhattan.
The woman said she was slashed across her cheek by an attacker who called her a terrorist and fled, according to police who received a 911 call at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday.
But further investigation, including a review of several surveillance cameras in the area near Wall Street, showed that the incident did not occur, said police.
"She slashed herself and recanted her initial account of the incident," said Officer Sophia Mason, a department spokeswoman.
It was not clear whether police would file any charges against the woman for making a false claim.
On March 22, Bratton said there have been 916 stabbings and slashings reported in the city since January.
In response, police have begun a separate classification for such crimes.
(Reporting by Marcus E. Howard; Editing by Barbara Goldberg and Cynthia Osterman)
In late December, 50 terrified refugees were stranded on an island off the Greek coast after their boat wrecked. One of them managed to make a phone call, and a few hours later, they were rescued by the coast guard. The call hadnt been to the coast guard, though, but to a small Berlin-based humanitarian startup youve likely never heard of.
Alarm Phone didnt even exist a year ago; today, it receives dozens of distress calls every day from boats attempting to cross the Mediterranean border. The company then contacts local search and rescue authorities. And its just one of a growing group of humanitarian startups helping migrants reach Europe safely. This DIY, grassroots response to the refugee crisis has given birth to everything from crowdsourced phrase books to emergency apps and bitcoin fundraising. It could even represent a shift in the way we approach humanitarian crises, says Gilles Carbonnier, a professor of international economics at the Graduate Institute of Geneva.
The debate about aid efficiency (or lack thereof) has been brewing for years. Yet, Carbonnier says, its the drama and urgency of the Syrian refugee crisis that may have finally set things in motion. A million souls arrived in Europe last year, but both established international nongovernmental organizations and local administrations were just scraping by to meet the most basic needs of newcomers. That created a strong sense of frustration for people, says Peter Hofstee. The 27-year-old Dutch graduate in international relations is creating a time bank to incentivize volunteers, allowing people to gift their time and skills instead of a check to refugees. Giving money is just not enough anymore, he says. People crave a more personal interaction, and they want to see the results firsthand.
Theres good to be done beyond collecting canned food, signatures and donations. Take Refugees Welcome, an initiative that pairs refugees with spare rooms.
For a new generation of tech-savvy, entrepreneurial minds, slow, bureaucratic humanitarian organizations look like inefficient dinosaurs. After all, techies know how to leverage the speed and flexibility of the digital era. Hofstees venture, for one, began as an impromptu meeting at his co-working space in Barcelona, Spain. Someone said they had to do something about the refugee situation, and a couple of months later, a team of 30 (all with other jobs as designers, writers or coders) has got a site called Beta Bank nearly ready to go and a long list of conventional NGOs interested in the service.
Story continues
Digital disrupters are also changing the fundraising game. While big NGOs still place ads showing the fear-stricken faces of children on buses, many benefactors are opting for crowdfunding money to give directly to refugees. And that may actually work better. According to Canadas Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, more than half of privately sponsored refugees reported earnings in their first year in Canada, compared with 14 percent of government-assisted refugees. Large players are starting to take notice, and to copy. In October, the powerful U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees took to Kickstarter a platform better known for sponsoring sci-fi gadgets and obscure board games to crowdfund $1.7 million in aid for refugees.
But theres good to be done beyond collecting canned food, signatures and donations. Take Refugees Welcome, an initiative that pairs refugees with spare rooms. We are not a humanitarian organization, insists Monika Pronczuk, head of the initiative in Poland. The goal, she says, isnt to just help by giving refugees free services, but to connect and empower people, which, she says, not only helps refugees integrate but also helps host communities fight bigotry.
There is some risk to the free-for-all-to-help approach. Maybe the grassroots initiatives and homegrown heroes are overlapping efforts with or diverting funds from larger institutions that could make a bigger, broader impact. Humanitarian work requires training, experience and sensitivity otherwise, aid may not reach those families who most need it, or even end up in the wrong hands altogether, says Ariane Rummery, an UNHCR spokeswoman.
And there are also many things these young, tech-savvy organizations still cant do, like effectively lobby governments to open borders, or organize blanket distribution for hundreds of thousands of people. Thats why, Carbonnier argues, the best-case scenario is not one in which big NGOs are replaced, but one in which they collaborate with these smaller, more agile agents and learn from them. UNHCR and Doctors Without Borders are already doing that, with efforts to discover and integrate better, tech-savvier ways to do what theyve done for decades. Some of the grassroots innovations show incredible promise, Rummery acknowledges. A promise, she says, the world cant afford to ignore.
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LUSAKA (Reuters) - Zambia on Thursday introduced equipment which will enable its revenue authority and other government agencies to independently verify the quality of mineral exports, a senior government official said. Treasury Secretary Fredson Yamba said in a statement that Africa's second-biggest copper producer had previously depended on what mineral exporters said through self-declaration. "In the modern age, good faith alone is not enough to guarantee that the government and the people of Zambia get their fair share of what is theirs," Yamba said. The new equipment, which will be deployed to border areas will also be used to verify the quality and quantity of minerals being moved from one mine to another, he said. (Reporting by Chris Mfula; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's government may issue treasury bills, along with imposing a land levy, to raise money to compensate evicted white farmers but the process will take a long time to settle, Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa said on Thursday. President Robert Mugabe early this month agreed to major reforms, including compensation for white farmers, as part of measures to end Zimbabwe's isolation by the West. Chinamasa told a meeting of farmers, Western ambassadors to Harare and government officials that the government would work with former white farmers to evaluate farms in order to reach an agreement on how much to pay in compensation. The government had no money now to pay the farmers and would look to taxing black farmers who benefited from the seizures to contribute towards a compensation fund, he said. "And of course it means that, in that respect, we have to start talking about treasury bills as well," Chinamasa said. Compensation would be paid to aged white farmers first while younger ones would be paid over time, he said, and Thursday's meeting was part of efforts to mend relations with the West. He declined to comment further on the issue. New farm occupants working the land, many of whom had few farming skills when they were resettled, say they can barely make ends meet, let alone pay an extra levy. Zimbabwe's land seizures, along with allegations of vote-rigging and human rights abuses - all denied by Mugabe - led to Harare being targeted with sanctions by Western donors. "Addressing compensation issues is a necessary condition to create a more favourable business climate and increase the level of confidence of foreign and domestic investors in the agriculture sector," said Philippe Van Damme, the European Union ambassador to Harare. Zimbabwe paid compensation to 240 farmers before 2008 out of the 6,214 farms that it has seized since 2000. The Southern African nation is now in the grip of a devastating drought that has left up to 4 million people facing hunger. (Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
Some questions have been raised recently about whether Chinas defense budget has hidden portions, including expenditure on hi-tech weapons systems and on research and development of military technology.
According to Yang Yujun, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense, at a press conference on Thursday, the Chinese government has incorporated all defense expenditures involving national defense development into the national budget, which was submitted to the National Peoples Congress for review.
Yang said that the defense budget in 2016 will be used for a variety of purposes.
First, it will ensure strong support of national defense and military reform, including downsizing and restructuring, adjustment of operations systems, and more.
Second, the budget will ensure ongoing investment in equipment, which means eliminating some old and obsolete equipment and gradually upgrading to later generations of defense technology.
Third, the budget will support the construction of a team of highly qualified military talent.
Fourth, it will be used to improve the training, working and living conditions of grassroots units.
Fifth, it will promote in-depth integration of the military and civilian sectors and give better support to border and coastal defense construction.
Yang explained that all these areas military reform, armaments development, talent cultivation, combat training, national defense mobilization, border and coastal defense construction and others have been taken into consideration during the development of the 2016 defense expenditure plan.
The plan was finalized according to both the goals of the military and the current national economic situation. There are no hidden portions, and the plan is designed to meet the demands of safeguarding national sovereignty and security.
US Giving Award to Terrorist Profanes and Sullies Human Rights and the Rule of Law: FM
File photo: Dolkun Isa
The Foreign Ministry of China has lodged a protest with the US State Department about Dolkun Isa, head of the World Uyghur Congress, receiving an award from a foundation in the US.
China firmly opposes applying double standards on the counter-terrorism issue, says Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hong Lei in a regular press conference on Friday, in response to question on whether or not this is another evidence that foreign country is intervening in China's domestic affairs.
Dolkun Isa is a wanted man on red notice in China and by the Interpol for severe criminal crimes and violent terrorist activities including bombing, robbery, and murder he committed in Central Asia and in China. He also provided funding and training for the terrorist organization of the East Turkistan Islamic Movement and the East Turkistan terrorists to facilitate their terrorist activities.
Terrorism challenges the bottom line of human civilization, morality, rule of order, and human rights. The giving of this award by the relevant organization to a terrorist like Dolkun Isa who has carried out multiple crimes is to profane and sully human rights and the rule of law, Hong Lei says.
Chinese Defense Ministry Spokesperson Yang Yujun reacts at a regular briefing in Beijing on Thursday, March 31, 2016. [Photo: mod.gov.cn]
China's Defense Ministry is expressing frustration at speculation it will declare an Air Defense Identification Zone in the South China Sea.
Spokesperson Yang Yujun says if an ADIZ is established in the South China Sea, it is within China's right to do so.
"We have stated our position on this many times when it comes to the establishment of an Air Defense Identification Zone in the South China Sea. What needs to be reiterated is that sovereign states have the right to set up an ADIZ. This is why there is no need for other countries to gesticulate."
The comments come a day after a US Defense Department official went on-record saying the US will not recognize such a zone in the South China Sea.
China imposed an ADIZ over the East China Sea three years ago, requiring aircraft flying through the area to identify themselves.
Meanwhile, the Chinese Defense Ministry has also confirmed the establishment of a dedicated unit to coordinate "non-war" activities overseas, such as evacuations from conflict zones.
"In recent years, as our national and military strength has increased. This has seen the Chinese military participate many times in overseas military actions to fulfill our international responsibilities and obligations."
The new "non-war" unit will be responsible for coordinating peacekeeping missions, evacuations and joint military drills.
The Chinese navy has been actively taking part in anti-piracy patrols in the waters off the Horn of Africa.
It's also been involved in the evacuation of Chinese citizens and other foreigners from conflict zones.
New legislation also allows Chinese forces to go overseas to take part in anti-terror missions.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) and his Czech counterpart Milos Zeman sign a joint statement on lifting the two countries' ties to a strategic partnership after their talks in Prague, the Czech Republic, March 29, 2016. (Xinhua/Ju Peng)
BEIJING, March 31 -- Chinese President Xi Jinping's just-concluded state visit to the Czech Republic has been widely lauded in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries and beyond.
Richard Turcsanyi, an expert from the Institute of Asian Studies at Comenius University in Slovakia, stressed the importance of the visit, the first by a Chinese president in 67 years since China and the Czech Republic established diplomatic ties.
It is also Xi's first trip to the CEE region since he assumed presidency in 2013 and his first trip to Europe this year.
"The Czech Republic could be perceived as a Chinese window to Europe," Turcsanyi was quoted by Slovak daily Pravda as saying.
Vladimir Balaz, an economist from the Slovak Academy of Sciences, said that China and the Czech Republic have signed many cooperation agreements, and that the Czech Republic would be able to carry out related cooperation with China in the future.
Sanja Vasic, director of the Center for International Economic Relations of the Belgrade Chamber of Commerce in Serbia, said Xi's visit to the Czech Republic is of great importance.
The establishment of strategic partnership between the two countries not only elevated bilateral ties, but also benefited China's cooperation with the CEE region as a whole, Vasic said.
The Czech Republic is one of China's main investment destinations in the CEE region, said Luigi Gambardella, president of ChinaEU, a business-led association headquartered in Brussels.
The Czech Republic is "hoping to finally get a bigger slice of the Chinese investment cake after long lagging behind neighbors such as Poland and Hungary," said Gambardella.
Jasna Plevnik, vice president of the Croatian think tank Geoeconomic Forum, said that Xi's state visit to the Czech Republic and the signed business and investment agreements clearly demonstrate amazing progress, and a positive transformation of relations between China and the Czech Republic, and between China and Europe, too.
Xi's visit absolutely reflected China and the Czech Republic's success in forging stronger bilateral ties through the framework of China-CEE cooperation and the Belt and Road Initiative, which are both based on the spirit of win-win cooperation, said Plevnik.
Xi's speech in Prague, with its emphasis on peace, cooperation and prosperity, sent out encouraging message to all Europeans, said Plevnik.
Xi's visit also marks the coming of a new era of deeper, peaceful economic cooperation, new jobs, and broader understanding and learning between the East and the West, Plevnik added.
Marceli Burdelski, a professor from the University of Gdansk in Poland, said that Xi's visit to the Czech Republic was a very important international event, and it was an important part of China's efforts to develop its ties with CEE countries within the framework of China-CEE cooperation, or the "16+1" mechanism.
During Xi's visit, the two countries issued a joint statement to forge a strategic partnership and inked a host of cooperation agreements, which will benefit economic development of the Czech Republic, said Burdelski.
EurActiv, an EU website, said Xi's visit to the Czech Republic serves as a good example for China-CEE cooperation.
China and the Czech Republic reached more cooperation agreements than expected during President Xi Jinpings three-day visit earlier this week. The two sides agreed to lifted their relationship to the strategic partnership level, which will help combine theCzech Republics development strategy with China-initiated Belt and Road program, said a senior Czech official who believed that the B&R initiative will bring benefits to en route countries and change the pattern of the Eurasian continent.
Jan Kohout, who is an advisor to the Czech President, said that given the different sizes of the two countries, their pragmatic cooperation should focus on local level. Southwest Chinas Sichuan Province, for example, has forged a sister-city relationship with the Moravia-Silesia region of the Czech Republic.
Direct flights linking Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan and Prague, capital of the Central European country have also been launched. The former is an ideal stopover for the 300,000 Czech people traveling to Southeast Asia for vacations every winter.
Kohout also praised Xis pledge at a roundtable talks on bilateral economic and trade cooperation to encourage enterprises from both sides to build industrial and technology parks. The first such park will soon break ground in Nymburk, a city located 45 kilometers east of Prague on the Elbe River, said Kohout, adding that the European branch of Changhong, a major Chinese consumer electronics producer, has also been situated in the city.
Bilateral collaboration on the research and development of small-sized aircraft are very successful. Nanotechnology, biotechnology and consumption electronics targeting the global market will be their new fronts, he added.
RadomillDolezal, General Director of the trade promotion agency of the Czech Republic, noted that China has huge demand for robot technology, civil aviation, energy conservation, environmental protection, new materials, medical care and agricultural machinery as its Made in China 2025 strategy aims to pursue an innovation-driven economic growth while lowering energy consumption.
These demands will create huge opportunities for foreign-funded companies including those from the Czech Republic, Dolezal commented.
Kohout also pointed out that some Westerners including the Czech people failed to understand the significance of B&R program, so he founded the Prague-based New Silk Road Institute, the only government-backed thinktank that is dedicated to the studies ofthe B&R initiative.
The initiative is an unprecedented plan themed with peace, development and win-win cooperation, said the advisor, adding that more economic growth hubs will emerge along the routes. The China-initiated proposal will bring new opportunities for en route countries and change the pattern of the Eurasia continent, he added.
Milan Tomanek, the head of Communications and Public Affairs of the Home Credit Group, a consumer finance provider in the Czech Republic, said that cooperation under the frameworkwill bring Czech and Chinese enterprises more growth chances, citing the successful example of the collaboration between his company and Chinas mobile phone manufacturers.
In addition, a strategic agreement on nuclear cooperation was also inked by Chinas CEFC Energy and China General Nuclear Power Group as well as Skoda Praha, the Czech Republic's largest power plant developer and theCzechElectrical and Electronic Association at the economic roundtable.
The cooperation, covering both technology and investment, marks the entrance of Chinese nuclear power to Europe.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (2nd R) meets with his Republic of Korea (ROK) counterpart Park Geun-hye (3rd L) on the sidelines of the fourth Nuclear Security Summit in Washington D.C., the United States, March 31, 2016. (Xinhua/Zhang Duo)
WASHINGTON, March 31 -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday met South Korean President Park Geun-hye on the sidelines of the fourth Nuclear Security Summit (NSS), exchanging views on bilateral relationship as well as the situation on the Korean Peninsula.
Hailing the development of the bilateral ties over the past 24 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, Xi said China attaches great importance to the relationship with South Korea and always makes it a priority in China's neighborhood diplomacy.
"It is our shared historic mission to maintain, consolidate and develop the China-S.Korea relations," Xi said, adding that China stands ready to strengthen cooperation with South Korea in various areas and set the bilateral relations onto a more stable and healthy track.
Xi said China and South Korea should maintain the momentum of high-level interactions, make use of the existing mechanisms of strategic communication, accommodate each other's major concerns, and respect each other's sovereignty, security and development interests.
Welcoming South Korea's participation into the Belt and Road initiative, Xi proposed the two sides speed up the alignment of their development strategies, focus on the implementation of the bilateral free trade agreement, and boost financial cooperation as well as cooperation on industrial park construction to advance economic integration in East Asia.
Xi also called for more people-to-people exchanges and closer bilateral coordination in international mechanisms.
Echoing Xi on his remarks about the bilateral ties, Park said the frequent interactions between the two presidents are a symbol indicating the significance of the S.Korea-China relationship.
Park agreed with Xi on enhancing strategic communication, economic cooperation, alignment of development strategies and people-to-people exchanges. She said South Korea attaches great importance to the ties with China and will advance the S. Korea-China strategic partnership of cooperation in a sustained manner.
Although the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue is not on the NSS agenda, the recent flare-up of tensions in Northeast Asia in the wake of the nuclear test and satellite launch by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has caused widespread concern.
During the meeting prior to the NSS, Xi told Park that China is adamant on the efforts to achieve denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, safeguard peace and stability on the peninsula, and solve relevant issues through dialogue and consultations.
China, he added, maintains that all parties concerned should fully and strictly carry out relevant UN resolutions. The UN Security Council adopted a resolution last month to curb the DPRK's nuclear and missile program following its nuclear test in January and satellite launch in February.
In his meeting with Park, Xi also stressed that dialogue and consultations represent the only right way to settle the predicament on the peninsula, and reaffirmed that Beijing stands ready to make constructive efforts for resuming dialogue within the framework of the six-party talks. The six-party talks, which involve South Korea, the DPRK, China, the United States, Russia and Japan, have been stalled since late 2008.
Park said that her country is willing to maintain close communication with China on relevant issues.
During the Xi-Park meeting, the two leaders also decided to unveil a list of programs for cultural exchanges in 2016. It includes a total of 69 programs in such areas as education, culture and youth exchanges.
China and South Korea established a joint committee for cultural exchanges, after Park visited China in 2013.
China's top nuclear official has introduced China's efforts in nuclear safety cooperation at the nuclear security summit in Washington. And the US Secretary of Energy expressed the willingness to and confidence in working with China on nuclear issues.
"During the last nuclear security summit in The Hague, President Xi Jinping proposed a 'rational, coordinated and balanced' nuclear security approach. That was a major contribution of China on world's nuclear security. The China Institute of Atomic Energy completed the conversion of the highly enriched uranium research reactor to using low enriched uranium."
"China is also working on producing low enriched uranium fuel for the Ghana reactor. We have been working with the IAEA to organize many nuclear safety seminars in more than a dozen countries in the Asia-Pacific region. More than 200 nuclear professionals were trained by us," said Xu Dazhe, chairman of China Atomic Energy Authority.
Humps of trash are seen unattended for a prolonged period of time right outside of a dormitory building in a university in Jiangxi, southeast Chinese province, on March 31, 2016. It is causing filthy smells that fill the entire hall.
Students of the dormitory cannot bear the abhorrent odor, and they posted photos of the repugnant environment online, complaining the negligence of the school that affects students lives and health.
The unit 1 of the first nuclear power plant in western China is put into operation in Fangchenggang, southwest China's Guangxi on October 25, 2015.
China General Nuclear Power Corporation announced Wednesday that it had sealed a Memorandum of Understanding in Prague on the development of nuclear and renewable energy with Czech Energy Group.
Taking the advantage of its technology and good reputation, nuclear industry has become another name card of China despite of the cut-throat competition in the world.
However, as more Chinese nuclear enterprises going global, complaints began to appear. Some foreign media questioned the safety of Chinas nuclear technology while others claiming that Chinas nuclear projects in certain countries polluted local environment.
Some even criticized that the Chinese nuclear companies are posing threats to the national security in countries they have invested. Therefore, facts speak louder than words. Chinese nuclear companies have given top priority to safety when expanding their business overseas, which in return has sharpened their competitiveness edge in global market.
For example, the designing of the Hualong One reactor, which is Chinas indigenous brand nuclear technology, has met the most stringent international standard because it is installed with sophisticated incident prevention and mitigation systems. Some of its safety standards even surpass the requirement of Generation-III nuclear technology.
Environmental protection is strictly upheld by Chinese companies. Take the China-France nuclear cooperation project as an example. Last July, both countries signed a joint statement to strengthen civil nuclear energy cooperation, vowing to share experiences on disposal of high-radiation wastes, especially the design and construction of deep geological repositories.
Moreover, the CAP 1400, the Generation-III nuclear technology system independently developed by China, is expected to land in South Africa and Turkey this year. The unit adopts the latest domestic and international standards, and meets the strictest requirement in environmental protection.
In addition, Chinese nuclear enterprises have enjoyed advantage in economic competitiveness. From a global level, Chinas nuclear power units, supported by strong manufacturing capability, prove to be the most cost-effective industry compared with their counterparts in other countries.
More countries choose to cooperate with China because they see the opportunities to promote their economic development. For instance, the Karachi Nuclear Power Plant jointly built by China and Pakistan will help address the severe power shortage in Pakistan.
Officials and scholars from African countries like South Africa and Kenya have expressed on many occasions that it is the right time for Chinese nuclear technology to enter the African market as it will increase power supply in the continent and stimulate local economy as well.
Market rules play an important role when Chinese nuclear companies go global based on their own concrete conditions and development strategy. It is a groundless accusation that some Western media criticized some Chinese companies resort to digital loopholes in their nuclear technology for future diplomatic blackmail.
When attending the opening ceremony of the 1st World Nuclear Exhibition one year ago, former French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing noted that China's nuclear power industry should have a place in the world nuclear market.
Nowadays more and more countries choose to cooperate with China in the development of nuclear energy. Technical guarantee, safety advantage and economic competitiveness, these are the reasons why Chinas nuclear industry go global smoothly.
All in all, Chinas nuclear energy industry will help create opportunities for the development of clean energy globally, and cooperation with other countries will inject more vitality into their economy through a win-win strategy.
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Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 1
By Maksim Tsurkov - Trend:
The reason for delaying the acquisition process of a 66 percent stake in Greek gas operator DESFA by the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) is the position of the European Commission, the Greek media outlets reported Apr. 1 quoting minister of environment, energy and climate change of Greece Panos Skourletis.
He said that claims by the European Commission slow down the process.
"The DESFA privatization is delayed due to the fact that the European Commission opposes the transfer of a controlling block in the gas operator to the SOCAR," said Skourletis.
He went on to add that the Greek government has no plans to privatize other energy assets.
SOCAR won a tender in December 2013 on the sale of 66-percent share in DESFA for 400 million euros. The European Commission started an inquiry into the compliance of the deal on acquisition of a stake in DESFA with the EU's regulations In November 2014. Currently, the deal is being considered by European Commission's Directorate-General for Competition.
Baku, Azerbaijan, April 1
By Anvar Mammadov - Trend:
The Azerbaijani banks buy less foreign currency through the auctions of the Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) and this is connected with the banks' and the population's low demand for dollars, Zakir Nuriyev, head of the country's Association of Banks, chairman of Rabitabank's Supervisory Board, told Trend April 1.
The sale of dollars through the CBA's auctions has sharply declined since February 2016. So, banks bought an average of $144.56 million at each auction in January. But a similar index for March was $48.23 million (almost three-fold decrease).
He said that banks mainly buy the currency, based on the needs of their customers.
"The banks do not buy foreign currency at the auction to meet their own needs in the interbank transactions," he said. "There is such a need in case of fulfilling the obligations on foreign loans or restoring foreign currency positions of the bank."
"In all other cases, the banks buy foreign currency relying on requests received from economic entities and their customers," Nuriyev said.
The head of the Azerbaijan Banks Association believes that the decrease in the volume of foreign currency sales is primarily due to a decrease in the number of applications from the bank's clients.
"Today, the amount of such requests is very small, so the banks have also reduced the amount of the purchased foreign currency," Nuriyev said. "In addition, one has to consider that the bank's customers also sell foreign currency to bank. It is the internal operation of each bank, so the data are not publicly available."
At the same time, the purchase of foreign currency in the amount exceeding the bank's own needs and the needs of the bank's clients might adversely affect the banks and lead to a breach of the requirements for foreign exchange position.
The CBA switched to the floating rate of manat on Dec.21, 2015 as a result of which the exchange rate of dollar and euro increased by 47.6 percent and 47.9 percent and stood at 1.55 and 1.685 manats, respectively.
Azerbaijan's State Oil Fund (SOFAZ) sold $1 million to one bank on April 1 during an auction held by the CBA.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 1
Trend:
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has met with Vice President of the United States Joe Biden.
Joe Biden said they attached great importance to meetings with President Ilham Aliyev, adding that these meetings contribute to expanding Azerbaijan-US cooperation and elevating relations to a new level. He said the USA resolutely supported Azerbaijan`s territorial integrity and sovereignty, adding that this was of great importance for the United States.
The U.S. Vice President said there were good opportunities for expanding the bilateral ties in all areas, particularly economy. He said the two countries enjoyed good cooperation with respect to security and peacekeeping operations. Joe Biden hailed Azerbaijan`s active participation in the international anti-terror coalition in Afghanistan. He underscored the importance of the steps taken to define opportunities for defense cooperation. He said the US fully supported Azerbaijan`s efforts to implement the Southern Gas Corridor project, noting that the country would take necessary measures in this regard.
President Ilham Aliyev said reforms were being conducted in all areas in Azerbaijan, adding that the freedom of thought, freedom of press, freedom of assembly, freedom of Internet were provided in the country. The head of state highlighted Azerbaijan`s position on the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. President Ilham Aliyev thanked the US for its firm position on the settlement of the dispute, and underlined the significance of solving the problem.
The head of state noted the importance of President Barack Obama`s stance - as president of the co-chair country - that the status quo was unacceptable. President Ilham Aliyev said the United States played a vital role in finding a peaceful and negotiated solution to the conflict. The head of state expressed Azerbaijan`s interest in strengthening cooperation with the US in political, economic and energy fields.
The sides also expressed mutual interest in maintaining strong and long-term cooperation between the two countries.
The United States Secretary of State John Kerry was present at the meeting.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr.1
Trend:
Speaker of the Hawaii House of Representatives has apologized to Azerbaijan for the resolution adopted by the House, said Azerbaijan's Consulate General in Los Angeles Apr. 1.
Joseph M. Souki, the Hawaii House of Representatives speaker signed a memorandum expressing regret over the resolution adopted March 29 on the unrecognized regime created in Azerbaijan's occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region and apologized to the Azerbaijani government and people.
In the memorandum, which was sent to Azerbaijan's Consulate General in Los Angeles, Souki notes that whereas every resolution involving foreign affairs should be sent to a committee to receive public input, the said resolution "was presented as a floor presentation - a purely ceremonial event meant to congratulate individuals and organizations".
"Therefore I sincerely apologize for the fact that the resolution did not have a chance to be vetted by our committee process before action was taken on it, and I intend to adjust our internal policies to prevent a similar occurrence," he said.
Souki also noted that the resolution does not have the effect of law in any way.
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.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr.1
By Elmira Tariverdiyeva - Trend:
Azerbaijan's participation in the Nuclear Security Summit in the US is very important in terms of counteracting the current threats for the whole South Caucasus region. During the summit, Azerbaijan raised a very serious issue related to the nuclear security of several countries in the region.
Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov met with the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Yukiya Amano and discussed the threats caused by the operation of the outdated 'Metsamor' nuclear power plant located in Armenia.
Baku, for many years, has been saying at all international platforms that the operation of 'Metsamor' plant poses a serious threat, since it was constructed with old technology and its service life has expired. Additionally, this nuclear power plant is located in the earthquake-prone region of South Caucasus and this makes its operation even more dangerous.
The accident at Japan's newest nuclear power plant in Fukushima, caused by an earthquake in 2011, led to a huge environmental disaster. It is scary to think what will happen in the case of a quite possible earthquake in Armenia, for example, similar to the one that happened in the country's Spitak city in 1988.
In September 2015, the then Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of Armenia Yervand Zakharyan said that serious work on the construction of a new nuclear power plant in the country won't be held in the coming years. It's obvious why Yerevan cannot reconstruct the old nuclear power plant - permanent financial problems and conflicts with neighbors.
The desire of the authorities to use the Metsamor nuclear power plant for many years is quite clear, considering the fact that Armenia hasn't spent a dime on its construction and hence the energy generated by the plant can be sold to the country's population for a knockdown price over a long period of time.
However, frankly speaking, one must admit that even the reconstruction wouldn't help the Armenian nuclear power plant. The plant's exploitation period has ended.
Today, all the countries in the region, including Iran, Turkey, Georgia, Russia and Azerbaijan are exposed to the threat of suffering the same fate of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, Sayano-Shushenskaya hydropower plant and the Japanese Fukushima nuclear power plant.
Rather than shut down an old Metsamor nuclear power plant, which is located in a seismic zone, the Armenian government decided to extend its service life for a few more years.
The government's decision was made despite the fact that, according to experts, the nuclear power plant could operate only until 2016 in the worst-case scenario, although the EU has been insisting on its shutdown for many years and was even ready to allocate $200 million for its conservation.
And yet, Armenia, which has recently faced multi-day protests due to an increase in energy tariffs, understands that a new expensive nuclear power plant will not cover its cost for many years to come. According to various estimates, a new unit will cost from $5 billion up to $7 billion. This is unreal money for the poor country, blocked by two of four neighboring countries.
Yerevan even took a loan worth $300 million from Russia for the reconstruction of the nuclear power plant by the Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation (Rosatom). Armenia is unlikely to find an investor willing to put up money for the project.
The reason is that the country's top officials are fully corrupted and money, as all previous tranches, will be distributed among representatives of Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan's clan and his fellow oligarchs.
Azerbaijan and other countries in the region must continue drawing attention to a huge probability of technical accidents. As a result of these accidents, the region can be subjected to radioactive contamination.
Perhaps, President Sargsyan's participation in the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington will serve as a starting point for solving the problem of the Metsamor nuclear power plant as there are no other reasons for his presence at the summit.
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Elmira Tariverdiyeva is the head of Trend Agency's Russian news service
Baku, Azerbaijan, April 1
By Anvar Mammadov - Trend:
The State Oil Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) sold $1 million to a local bank through the auction held by Azerbaijan's Central Bank (CBA) April 1, SOFAZ said April 1.
SOFAZ offered $100 million for sale through the auction, and will continue selling foreign currency through auctions in 2016.
The foreign currency is sold as part of SOFAZ's transfers to the Azerbaijani state budget, which are envisaged to stand at 7.615 billion Azerbaijani manats in 2016.
SOFAZ was established in 1999 with assets of $271 million.
As of January 1, 2016, SOFAZ assets reduced by 9.5 percent compared to 2014 ($37.1 billion) and were estimated at $33.57 billion.
Baku, Azerbaijan, April 1
Trend:
Bakcell, The First Mobile Operator and The Leading Mobile Internet Provider of Azerbaijan, continues successful cooperation with AzEduNet, the country's largest internet service provider in the field of education. Started in 2009, the cooperation between the two companies has contributed to the implementation of a number of projects.
"At that time, we were looking for a mobile operator able to offer wide network coverage and affordable rates in order to provide some 40 of our representatives in Baku and regions with mobile internet and reliable mobile communication services. Bakcell was the one which best suited to our needs among the options we have considered. We are quite happy with our choice to have Bakcell as a corporate partner in view of the fact that today, as a corporate client, we are fully satisfied with the level of services, network quality and pricing policy offered by Bakcell", says Mr. Ali Hasanov, team leader of Network Support Department of AzEduNet.
Cooperation in the corporate sector is not limited to the relationships between the mobile operator and the customer, increasingly turning into more diversified partnership. Ali Hasanov says: "In 2013, we have set a goal to connect the schools located in the most remote villages of the country, suffering from lack of telecommunications facilities, as well as children with special needs who get education in the framework of the "Distant Learning" project, to the Azerbaijan Educational Network. To implement this project, we were in desperate need of a mobile network capable of providing reliable mobile communication and advanced telecommunications solutions in the most remote areas of the country. And it was Bakcell which was able to meet the highest technical requirements of the project. Thus, we have laid the foundation for yet another successful cooperation with Bakcell".
As a result of this cooperation, more than 500 schools located in remote areas throughout the republic with limited technical possibilities were connected to the educational network with the help of 3G mobile internet provided by Bakcell.
"AzEduNet is our largest partner in the field of education. Bakcell uses individual approach to each of its corporate clients and delivers custom tailored proposals to meet their specific needs in a best possible way. We are cooperating with AzEduNet for 7 years already. As a result of our joint efforts, more than 500 schools across the country have been provided with internet access. This project was very successful, and we plan to increase the number of such schools in the future", says Mr. Fedja Hadzic, Chief Marketing and Sales Officer of Bakcell.
Bakcell, The First Mobile Operator and the Leading Mobile Internet Provider of Azerbaijan, offers a variety of products for modern mobile communications customers. Bakcell provides class leading 3G mobile internet experience in the country under the Su[email protected] brand name.
As one of the largest national non-oil investors, Bakcell today continues making large investments in the economy of Azerbaijan through its investments in state-of-the-art telecommunication technology and its people who service our customers.
Bakcell's network covers more than 99% of the population and 93% of the land area of the country (excluding occupied territories). Bakcell is a leader in innovation and it focuses on bringing the best of the mobile internet to Azerbaijanis through new partnerships and its Su[email protected] services.
For more information about Bakcell products and services, please visit www.bakcell.com or call 555.For press releases please see www.bakcell.com/az/news (or www.bakcell.com/en/news for press releases in English).
If you are not a Bakcell subscriber, but wish to find out about Bakcell and its services, please call 055 000 05 55.
AzEduNet company was established in 2004. During the first years of its activity, the company was engaged in introduction of advanced information technology and solutions to the Azerbaijani market.
Since 2008, AzEduNet takes active part in implementation of the State Program on Informatization of Education System in the Republic of Azerbaijan in 2008-2012. Under this program, AzEduNet company has created the biggest corporate network (Intranet) - Azerbaijan Educational Network. To date, the Ministry of Education and about 2 000 subordinate educational institutions, departments, universities and secondary schools were already connected to this network.
Baku, Azerbaijan, April 1
Trend:
"Bookmate", the project for book lovers launched in November last year by Azercell Telecom, leading mobile operator in the country, has made immense appeal by the subscribers. Since its launch "Bookmate" application has been downloaded over 27,000 times and number of regular users of application has exceeded 6,000.
"Bookmate" is a mobile application developed to read thousands of books in electronic devices. This service is the easiest way to find and read interesting works on phone, tablet or computer. Over 500,000 books are available in the mobile library offered by Azercell. In return to discounted subscription, Azercell subscribers may get familiar with any piece of science, classic, contemporary and business literature.
Payment from balance will enable the subscribers to access e-library easily and promptly without using any credit card. Another important point is that the readers are offered not only foreign literature, but also works of Azerbaijani authors.
One of the most important advantages of the service is that there is no need for regular internet access to use "Bookmate" library. Any added book is available anytime, anywhere, i.e. on the underground or airplane. Furthermore, it does not matter which device you have got with you - phone, tablet or computer, since the book is added to your personal library, not the device.
For the first time in the frame of "Bookmate" subscribers have been offered books in Azerbaijani, Russian, English or Turkish languages. You can get best-selling, mostly read and famous classic and contemporary works and other pieces of art in this half-a-million rich library.
Bookmate operates with both Android and iOS systems. In addition, subscribers may access www.bookmate.com and read books or download them to mobile devices.
More information about the service is available at www.azercell.com/bookmate.
Azercell Telecom LLC was founded in 1996 and since the first years sustains a leading position in the market. Azercell introduced number of technological innovations in Azerbaijan: GSM technology, advance payment mobile services, M2M,MobilBank, GPRS/EDGE (mobile internet), 24/7 Customer Care, full-time operating Azercell Express offices, mobile e-service "ASAN imza" (ASAN signature) and others. With 48,2% share of Azerbaijan's mobile market Azercell's network covers 99,8% of the country's population.
In 2015, the number of Azercell's subscribers reached 4,5 million people. In 2011 Azercell deployed 3G and in 2012 the fourth generation network - LTE in Azerbaijan. The Company is the leader of Azerbaijan's mobile communication industry and the biggest investor in the non-oil sector. Azercell is a part of TeliaSonera Group of Companies serving 186 million subscribers in 17 countries worldwide with 27,000 employees.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 1
By Elena Kosolapova - Trend:
The meeting of oil producing countries in Doha, Qatar, scheduled for April 17 won't lead to an increase in oil prices, Sergey Smirnov, the expert of the Kazakh Institute of Political Solutions, told Trend by phone Apr. 1.
"I think the negotiators are unlikely to agree on reducing oil production, they will most probably agree to freeze the current oil production volumes, as it happened in February," he said. "This won't lead to higher oil prices, but will make them stabilize."
The meeting of oil producers in Qatar on April 17 follows a gathering in February between Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Russia and Venezuela in which the quartet tentatively agreed to cap their production at January's level.
Saudi Arabia will only freeze its oil output if Iran and other major producers do so, the kingdom's deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Salman said Apr. 1
"If all countries agree to freeze production, we're ready," bin Salman said in an interview with Bloomberg. "If there is anyone that decides to raise their production, then we will not reject any opportunity that knocks on our door."
Smirnov went on to add that if all the oil producing countries are somehow able to agree to keep the oil production level, oil prices can respond to this event and rise, but then the prices will fall again and remain at the level of $40 per barrel.
The expert said that it is necessary to reduce the production for the oil price to begin increasing and the world economy growth is required to increase oil consumption, but this is not expected yet.
"The economy of the largest oil consumers is in stagnation, while oil-producing countries are not willing to reduce the production," he said.
Smirnov said that Iran will be a destabilizing factor in oil prices.
He recalled that Iran has repeatedly said that it will increase the production volumes to regain the market share that it lost following the sanctions.
"Of course, all oil producers are interested in a high oil price," he said. "But it is necessary to take into account that if the oil prices greatly increase, the Americans will once again increase the shale oil production."
"While reducing oil prices, Saudi Arabia was combating the US shale projects," he said. "So, the efforts will be made to keep the oil price at $40 per barrel, maximum $ 50 per barrel. As a result, shale production in the US will not be observed in the previous volumes."
"Moreover, the low prime cost of oil in Saudi Arabia allows working at such prices," Smirnov said.
The North Sea Brent oil price reduced up to $39.52 per barrel following Saudi Arabian Prince's statement. Previously, the price was $40.3 per barrel.
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Follow the author on Twitter:@E_Kosolapova
Baku, Azerbaijan, March 31
By Dalga Khatinoglu - Trend:
Despite a huge rise in Iran's oil exports, the pace of output growth seems to be much less than that of exports. In the meantime, the main part of oil output is expected to come from old fields rather than the new ones.
According to the latest statistics released by the International Energy Agency and Reuters surveys, Iran increased oil export to about 1.55 million barrels per day (mb/d) in March 2016 from the 2015 average export level of 1.1 mb/d.
But the country's total oil output rose by less than 300,000 b/d in February 2016 according to an OPEC monthly report released in mid-March.
Earlier, Iran said it would increase oil exports by one billion barrels per day.
The additional barrels are to come from the existing production capacity, which was shut down during the sanctions era.
On March 30, the head of the International Energy Agency Fatih Birol announced that Iran is expected to add half a million barrels of oil supply a day within one year from its existing oil fields, but developing new fields would take time.
Iran has about 30-50 million barrels of crude oil and gas condensate stored in tankers, which makes it possible for Iran to keep exports at the current level for more than half a year without an immediate need to increase the output level.
According to official documents, obtained by Trend on March 26, Iran's Oil Ministry is focused on three major green (not yet operational) oil fields, but they can only add less than 0.1 mb/d to the country's output level by late 2016.
The first phases of Yadavaran and North Azadegan fields, developed by about 97 percent, are expected to become operational by March 2017 and to produce about 0.1 mb/d of oil together.
The North and South Yaran fields have been developed by 51.5 percent and 74.6 percent so far, and production on them is not expected to start in 2016.
According to the said documents, Iran increased the ultra-light oil (gas condensate) production by 16 percent to 515,000 b/d, while the figure is expected to surpass 600,000 b/d by late March 2017.
Altogether, Iran can gradually add less than 0.2 mb/d to its oil output level from green fields and South Pars gas field before spring 2017.
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Dalga Khatinoglu is the head of Trend Agency's Iran news service, follow him on Twitter: @dalgakhatinoglu
Iranian company Sanergy is to build a gas distribution network in two Armenian towns in a project financed by the Iranian government, Reuters quoted Armenia's energy minister as saying on March 31.
Levon Iolyan told a government meeting that Iran would resume financing for the project, which was suspended in 2013, and would disburse a $2 million grant.
The project envisages construction of a gas distribution network in the towns of Megri and Agarak, not far from the border with Iran.
Iolyan said construction work, which is expected to start soon and to be completed within 6-7 months, would be monitored by Gazprom Armenia, an Armenian subsidiary of Russia's gas monopoly Gazprom.
Armenia depends on natural gas imports from Russia. It also imports some gas from Iran in a swap for electricity.
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, April 1
By Huseyn Hasanov - Trend:
Turkmenistan's Foreign Ministry hosted a meeting with a delegation of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), led by Ayaki Ito, the deputy director of the UNHCR regional bureau for Asia and Pacific.
The positive dynamics in cooperation between Turkmenistan and the UNHCR was noted during the meeting, read a message issued by Turkmen Foreign Ministry March 31.
It was also noted that Turkmenistan is conducting significant work to reduce the number of persons without citizenship.
Ayaki Ito particularly pointed out the successful results achieved by Turkmenistan in solving the problems of refugees and persons without citizenship.
More than 3,000 people, residing in the country without citizenship, were granted the citizenship in 2011 under a decree of Turkmenistan's President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.
Additionally, 786 people of various nationalities received Turkmen citizenship under a decree signed in 2014.
The Law on Refugees was signed in Turkmenistan in 1997.
Tehran, Iran, April 1
By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:
The Iranian Embassy in Pakistan has stressed friendly ties with Pakistan, stressing that media controversy over the alleged origins of an arrested spy would disturb the existing atmosphere between the two neighbor countries.
"The Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran believes spreading of such news items is the product of thinking which does not like further expansion of ties between the two countries," IRNA news agency quoted the Embassy as saying April 1.
On Thursday, Islamabad asked Tehran to hand over details of the arrested former Indian Navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav, accused of sabotage and terrorism by Pakistan.
Pakistan claimed the arrested person was affiliated to Indian intelligence services, but India dismissed the claim
Pakistan's demands from Iran follows the March 27 "video confession" by the purported Indian citizen who claimed that he was based in the Iranian port of Chabahar and wanted to disrupt the port facilities in Pakistan's Balochistan province.
The Iranian statement described the reports connecting the arrested Indian with Iran as "undignified and insulting."
On Thursday, the Pakistani media reported the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson saying that Iranian Ambassador to Pakistan Mehdi Honardoost has received a formal request to share details of the activities in Chabahar by the Indian and his alleged accomplice, Rakesh alias Rizwan.
However, Pakistan's spokesperson Nafees Zakaria announced the plan to carry out an international campaign with the help of the "video confession" and prove Indian involvement in terrorist acts being committed on Pakistani soil.
The Iranian Embassy said in its announcement that the accusations will not impact the positive views of the two countries regarding each other.
It said since independence, Pakistan had always proven itself a "trusted partner and neighbor", adding that the "western borders of Pakistan have never been threatened".
The accusations came a few days after Iranian President Hassan Rouhani paid an official visit to Pakistan during which the two countries signed numerous cooperation agreements.
Pakistani Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan described Islamabad-Tehran ties as deeply-rooted in shared cultural and religious ties, and said that nothing can prevent the two countries from boosting the level of their friendly relations, IRNA reported.
The Pakistani interior minister made the remarks in a meeting with Iranian Ambassador to Islamabad Mehdia Honardoust on Friday.
"Pakistan and Iran are tied in decades-long religious, social, cultural and political bonds," Ali Khan said, adding, "Nothing can come in the way of the bilateral brotherly relations."
The Pakistani interior minister said the momentum created by the Iranian president's recent visit should be fully utilized for further deepening the bilateral ties in diverse fields.
"The Pakistan-Iran common stance on various regional issues will deter the foes from any malice against the two countries," he added.
The Iranian ambassador, for his part, assured his country's full cooperation on all issues to ensure security and development in Pakistan and Iran.
He said that good relations between the two countries should result in tangible improvement in bilateral trade and developmental projects.
Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency Yukiya Amano in a statement announced that Iran has fulfilled its commitments beyond the agreement it has reached with the IAEA, IRNA reported.
"Iran is implementing not just its safeguards agreement with the Agency, but also its Additional Protocol. Transparency measures which go beyond Iran's obligations under its formal agreements with the IAEA have also been agreed," Amano said.
What follows is the full text of Amano's statement:
On April 1 in Washington, I met with the E3/EU+3 group of countries at the invitation of President Barack Obama of the United States of America.
I informed President Obama, as well as President Xi Jinping of China, President Francois Hollande of France, Prime Minister David Cameron of the United Kingdom, President Donald Tusk of the European Council, Secretary of State John Kerry of the United States, Federal Minister of Defence Ursula von der Leyen of Germany, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, and Ambassador Sergey Kislyak of Russia about the IAEA's verification and monitoring of Iran's nuclear-related commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
I noted that Iran is now subject to the strongest nuclear verification regime in the world. It is implementing not just its safeguards agreement with the Agency, but also its Additional Protocol. Transparency measures which go beyond Iran's obligations under its formal agreements with the IAEA have also been agreed.
The IAEA has considerable experience and expertise in nuclear verification. We can effectively fulfill our responsibilities as the eyes and ears of the world in Iran and give the international community the assurances it seeks.
I stressed that this is only the beginning of a process that will take many years. I asked the E3/EU+3 for their continued support in ensuring that the necessary funding is made available for the IAEA's JCPOA-related activities.
The JCPOA is a clear gain for nuclear verification in Iran. Considerable effort was required in order to reach this agreement. A similar and sustained effort will be required to implement it. The IAEA will continue to do its part in a factual and impartial manner.
Head of Romania Radio Ouvidio Mikulesku in a meeting with Iranian Ambassador to Bucharest Hamid Moayer called for the expansion of cooperation with Iranian state television, IRNA reported.
"Given the two countries' capacities and facilities, Tehran and Bucharest can pave the way for the expansion of mutual cooperation between Romania Radio Organization and the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB)," Mikulesku said.
"Romania Radio Organization as an independent media provides services to the 99 percent of the entire of Romania round the clock with different political, economic, cultural and social services," he added.
Mikulesku underlined that Romania Radio broadcasts for different parts of the world in 15 languages.
"The radio media communication between Romania and Iran, and the need for cooperation in this field is of high importance," he said.
Baku, Azerbaijan, April 1
By Emil Ilgar - Trend:
An Iranian police officer was gunned down by unknown people during an armed clash in Iranshahr city in the Sistan and Balouchestan province in Iran, on border with Pakistan, Fars news agency reported April 1.
According to the report, the killed policeman was the head of the Criminal Investigation Department of
Iranshahr Police.
During the mentioned armed clash a gang member was also killed.
Further, three more Iranian police officers were killed by a drug smuggler in Kazeroon city in southwestern Iran on April 1, ISNA reported.
Tehran, Iran, Apr. 1
By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:
A team of Iranian researchers are working on the early diagnosis of diseases by using molecular imaging.
The Bushehr Medical Science University team has started to use nuclear medicine and molecular imaging in the diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases, according to the team leader Dr. Majid Assadi, ISNA news agency reported Apr. 1.
The research aims at diagnosing such diseases before they are discernible through CT scan and MRI, said Assadi.
He added that the team has on agenda to test the method on other diseases, such as MS and thyroid cancer.
Iran's nuclear science and technology has been affected by years of negative outlook by Western powers, which led to the imposition of harsh sanctions on the country.
Iran says that it intends the technology only for peaceful purposes, dismissing the idea of limiting its R&D programs as an inalienable right.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Western countries of leaving Turkey alone in the fight against terror, Anadolu reported.
In an exclusive interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour in Washington, which aired Thursday night, Erdogan added that those countries had not met Ankara's expectations for intelligence-sharing.
"We were left alone by Western countries. Our intelligence-sharing expectations were never met," Erdogan said.
Turkey "has been calling for a common stance against terrorism, and many of the EU member states seem to have failed to realize the significance that this call for action deserves," he said.
Turkey has also previously called on other countries to share information on all terror organizations, including Daesh and the PKK .
The Turkish president was also asked about Ibrahim el Bakraoui, one of three suicide bombers who carried out the Brussels attacks on March 22, which killed 32 people.
A day after the blasts, Ankara revealed that he had been deported from Turkey last June after being arrested near the Syrian border.
Erdogan said that el Bakraoui was accused of being affiliated with Daesh and was deported to the Netherlands. "The decision to deport was communicated to the Netherlands and Belgium," he said.
He added that Brussels was granted additional information per its request. But, "Belgium unfortunately attached no significance to this piece of information and these incidents happened."
"We have French fighters in Daesh, we have German fighters in Daesh, we have Australian fighters in Daesh, and 22 countries out of the 90 countries feeding fighters into Daesh are EU member states," said Erdogan, explaining why Turkey needed a strong alliance with EU member states.
- Syria's territorial integrity
Erdogan also said Turkey, the U.S. and other international allies "had to work together and jointly for the protection of the territorial integrity of Syria and for the establishment of a long-lasting peace."
"I'm not in the position to allow the handing over of some parts of Syria to some terrorist organization. I would always be reminded about such a mistake should that mistake ever be made," he said.
Asked which terror organization he was referring to, Erdogan replied: "YPG, PYD... and if Daesh has an intention of that sort they will never be allowed."
The PYD, the Syrian affiliate of the PKK organization, two weeks ago declared the creation of a federation in the areas it controls in northern Syria.
The move was strongly opposed by the Syrian regime and opposition, the U.S. and Turkey.
Erdogan said that Turkey does not discriminate between a "good" and an "evil" terrorist organization. "A terrorist organization is evil and none of them should be allowed," he said.
- Islamophobia
Erdogan also addressed the issue of Islamophobia. He said he was one of the "first political leaders officially declaring that anti-Semitism is a crime" and that he awaited the same for Islamophobia.
"I expect an official declaration that Islamophobia is a crime against humanity as well," he said. "Islamophobia emerged from the Western countries and this is a challenge that we altogether have to surmount."
Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 1
By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:
Five militants of the "Islamic State" (IS, aka ISIS, ISIL or Daesh) terrorist group, including a Russian citizen Isa Tupolev, have been listed as wanted in Turkey, reports the Haberturk newspaper.
Five IS militants are preparing terrorist attacks in Turkey's large cities, the newspaper reported Apr. 1 citing sources in the country's intelligence service.
Reportedly, Syrian and Turkish nationals are also among those militants.
It was earlier reported that the "Islamic State" terrorist group plans terrorist attacks on Israeli and Russian citizens in Turkey. The plans were revealed after the arrest of 10 IS members in Turkey's Gaziantep province.
Turkey has suffered deadly terrorist attacks in recent weeks.
A car bomb attack in Ankara on March 13 killed 36. Istanbul was also targeted by a suicide attack on March 19 leaving four people dead.
Turkish authorities have accused the IS, PKK and PYD terrorist groups of committing the attacks.
Edited by EA
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Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 1
By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:
A part of Syrian refugees will be sent to Turkey from Greece on Apr. 4, the TRT Haber news channel reported Apr. 1.
About 500 Syrian refugees will come to Turkey in the first phase, while the rest of them will be sent to Turkey in mid-April.
It was earlier reported that more than 150 Syrian refugees were deported from Greece to Turkey in February.
Currently there are more than two million Syrian refugees in Turkey. Syrian refugee camps in that country accommodate about 300,000 people.
The rest of the refugees are spread throughout the provinces and cities of Turkey. In Istanbul alone, there are currently 40,000 refugees from Syria.
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Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr.1
By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:
Turkish armed forces continue the operations against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) terrorist group in the country's Diyarbakir province, read a message from the General Staff of Turkish Armed Forces Apr.1.
The operations were launched March 31 in the Diyarbakir province which was rocked by a terrorist attack on that day. A car bomb attack in Diyarbakir city killed seven policemen and injured 27 civilians.
Reportedly, 110 PKK members were eliminated in Diyarbakir province in 20 days.
Earlier, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that over 5,350 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
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Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr.1
By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:
Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has arrived in the country's Diyarbakir province that was rocked by a terrorist attack March 31, Anadolu Agency reported Apr.1.
Davutoglu is expected to take part in the funeral of those killed in the terrorist attack.
A car bomb attack in Diyarbakir city killed seven policemen and injured 27 civilians. A large-scale operation against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) terrorist group was launched in the province following the terrorist attack.
Earlier, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that over 5,350 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
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Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr.1
By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:
Head of the Turkish opposition Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), Selahattin Demirtas, can be deprived of the parliamentary immunity, Anadolu Agency reported Apr.1.
Earlier today, Turkey's Justice Ministry appealed to the parliament for depriving Demirtas and other MPs from the HDP of the parliamentary immunity.
Following the terrorist attack committed in Ankara city on Feb.17, some MPs from the Peoples' Democratic Party took part in the funeral of the suicide bomber who was a member of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) terrorist group.
Earlier, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan demanded the parliament to deprive five MPs from the HDP of the parliamentary immunity.
Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu criticized the policy of the Peoples' Democratic Party in December of 2015 and accused its members of having ties to the PKK.
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Direct flights from Turkey's southeastern city of Diyarbakir to northern Iraq will begin later this month, amid attempts to support the region's economy after anti-terrorism operations.
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu made the announcement on Friday while visiting the local branch of his ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party. He did not specify which airline would operate the new route.
Currently, indirect air connections between Diyarbakir and Erbil can take anywhere from four to 12 hours.
The direct flights from Diyarbakir to Erbil will begin April 10.
Flights from Diyarbakir to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus will start on May 1, Davutoglu said.
The prime minister said the air routes would be signs of "brotherhood".
"We are about to launch flights for our Kurdish and Turkish brothers out of Diyarbakir, which will make Diyarbakir the center of the region as well as a symbol of brotherhood," he said.
Findings Say Tencent's QQ Browser Is Unsecure: What It Means for Users
Experts found security risks in Tencent's QQ Browser. (Photo : Getty Images)
Experts warn Chinas QQ Internet Browser users of security flaws found in Tencents software that leaves their personal information vulnerable to unauthorized access.
On Tuesday, the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab revealed QQ Web Browser's unsecure database and the possible risks it poses to users' personal information.
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According to the group, Tencent's Web browser transmits information and data to servers with weak or no encryption, which means hackers can easily access them.
The warning about QQ comes after other reports that revealed similar vulnerabilities on two other Web browsers from Chinese Internet giants Alibaba and Baidu: the UC Browser and Baidu Browser.
Data Risk
During their analysis, the Citizen Lab found out that the browser still lacks security measures despite recent updates.
According to the Internet experts, they have submitted initial findings on the QQ Browser's vulnerabilities via its Security Response Center early in February.
The company responded quickly by rolling out updates on the browser's Windows and Android versions on March 14 and March 2, respectively.
However, after another set of analysis and testing, the Citizen Lab saw that even these updated versions remained unsecure from unauthorized access.
"The application collects and transmits personally identifiable data points in a manner that leaves this data vulnerable to surveillance by third parties," the group's report explained.
Furthermore, the group discovered that the deficiencies allow harmful applications such as malwares and spywares to easily enter the user's device.
"Most troubling is the fact that users would generally be unaware of these risks--unaware that such data is being collected and transmitted, and potentially unaware that a properly crafted malicious software update attack could lead to malicious code being installed on their devices," the report added.
Similar Cases
In May 2015, the same group found security vulnerabilities on Alibaba's UC Browser.
According to the report, the Citizen Lab found serious "security and privacy issues" in both the English and Chinese language versions of the UC Browser made for Android.
Some of the issues pointed out are the lack of encryption of the user's search queries, personal information and geolocation data.
Aside from that, they found that the user's private data is retained in the device where the UC Browser is used even after clearing the cache.
Last month, the Baidu Browser was subjected to the same analysis by the Citizen Lab and found similar issues with the browser's Android version 6.4.14.0 and Windows version 8.2.100.3090.
Future Implications
While all three companies emphasized that "there was no evidence that user data was ever taken," the group's findings revealed the risks for users of all three Web browsers.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the security deficiencies in all three browsers put the device's unique identifying number as well as the search terms in the address bar up for unauthorized access by third party entities, while both the Baidu and QQ Browsers put the user's PC hard drive serial number and Internet history at risk of interception.
Because of this, users like Di Jiang, a Guangzhou resident and regular Internet user, are calling for complete disclosure and explanation from the companies who manage the unsecure browsers.
"I want companies to tell me what kinds of data they collect, and why they collect," Di told WSJ.
Chinese Internet users have long criticized the use of the Great Firewall to block access to foreign sites. The system's creator was heavily mocked online when he himself got blocked by it. (Photo : Getty Images)
Chinas upcoming Internet regulations that would cut off access to foreign websites should not be a cause for worry, said the country's technology regulatory body.
The Chinese government has presented the draft of a new set of rules on Internet access that would apparently keep foreign websites from entering their domain and keep those inside the country from accessing them.
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While it may appear too strict, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology believes that it should not be a subject of concern for most, explaining that there was a misunderstanding about the regulations.
The Draft Internet Law
According to the New York Times, the drafted rules are set to regulate websites in China, requiring them to register domain names with authorities and local service providers in the country.
Furthermore, the technology ministry proposes that failure to do so would subject the website owners to fines of up to 30,000 yuan ($4,600) or face the possibility of being blocked from access in China.
"Internet service providers must not provide network access services for domain names connected to the domestic network but which are not managed by domestic domain name registration service bodies," the ministry explained in a statement posted on their official website last week.
The Misunderstanding
On Wednesday, the MIIT told Reuters that there was a "misunderstanding" about the draft rules posted on their website.
According to them, the regulations "do not involve websites that are accessed overseas, do not affect users from accessing the related Internet content and do not affect the normal development of business for overseas companies in China."
Thus, the new set of rules does not contradict global practices.
According to China Daily, the amendment will have no effect whatsoever to companies accessing the network from outside of the country.
"The draft rule asks websites that engage in network access within the borders of China to register their domain names in the country. Companies accessing network outside of the country will not be affected," the ministry explained.
Furthermore, the ministry emphasized that the posted amendments are still drafts and can be subject to change based on feedbacks gathered until April 25.
Aside from this, Long Weilian, a long-time tech blogger in China, believes that the new rule is not something to get worked up about considering that it does not require too much effort on the part of the website administrators.
"Technically, the re-registration of domain names itself is not hard. Companies can transfer their domain names from foreign registration service providers to domestic ones within a day," Long explained.
Experts also believe that the interpretation of the draft stating that the government can block all unregistered websites is very unlikely.
"It is possible, but not very likely, that this would result in a de facto block of all domains not registered in China," Mercator Institute for China Studies research associate Mareike Ohlberg told Reuters.
Baidu's Big Data Lab (BDL) is developing a system to warn of dangerous crowds by using data collected from its map app and analyzing it using big data technology. (Photo : Reuters)
A system that will give early warning of large crowds massing up in public spaces is being developed by Baidus Big Data Lab (BDL) by collecting people's queries to its map app, the Global Times reported.
As advocated by the central government, the use of big data will improve public safety, experts said, although others show concern about the security of information.
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The BDL published a report on March 22 that analyzed the 2014 Shanghai stampede which resulted in the death of 36 people and injured 49 others, during the New Year's Eve celebrations in the city's riverside Bund area.
Although it is difficult to predict the appearance of dangerous crowds since the movement of persons is "random and complex," the BDL report said that they may be able to warn of a crowd gathering up to three hours ahead.
According to the report, it is possible to tell the direction where large numbers of people are heading by collecting and analyzing the query data since people often use the Baidu map app to search for directions.
BDL's early warning system will analyze the data and measure the potential crowd risks, the report said.
"Having more than 70 percent of the market share overall in China, Baidu map has an innate advantage in tackling this problem," the report reads.
As reported by China National Radio on Saturday, March 26, Baidu said that the crowd-analysis technology is still being studied and they may share it with local governments and stadium operators in the future.
"If we can protect the privacy of users, big data is definitely helpful for public safety and anti-terrorism work," Fang Xingdong, founder of blogchina.com and a cybersecurity expert, told the Global Times.
Fang added that terrorists can be monitored by governments by looking at certain keywords using big data.
"The traditional methods of protecting public safety, which relied on manpower, were not comprehensive, and were unpredictable," Qin An, a cybersecurity expert at the Chinese Institute for Innovation and Development, told the Global Times.
"Nowadays, everyone owns a mobile phone, therefore in the time of big data, given the proper approaches and the good combination of data, it will likely be successful in providing an early warning," Fang added.
On Aug. 31, 2015, the State Council issued guidelines to boost the development of big data, based on the action framework ratified by Premier Li Keqiang that aims to establish a new model for social governance in the next five to 10 years through accurate management and multi-dimensional cooperation.
Since 2014, Guizhou Province has been developing its big data industry, with province-level big data agglomeration system involving two million servers.
However, there are problems yet to be solved, despite the significant role of big data in protecting public safety.
"Cybersecurity risks arising from the use of big data have appeared," said Wang Biao, a security expert from wooyun.org, a public third-party platform.
Wang said that information collected from users by government has become easy target for hackers to steal, while government systems usually have no powerful defensive measures to secure information.
"When we found loopholes, we reported them to the National Computer Network Emergency Response Technology Team/Coordination Center of China immediately, and the bugs are usually fixed after a short time," Wang said, "but we can't guarantee they [the websites] will not make the same mistake again."
"As big data is so new, it is still not clear which is the public area and which is the private one," Qin said.
"Users are sensitive to big data, as it is related to their privacy," Fang said, "An internationally recognized and clear rule to balance privacy and safety should be introduced, which can also avoid the abuse of big data."
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in Washington to attend the 4th Nuclear Security Summit. Xi will also meet with U.S. President Barack Obama to discuss China-U.S. ties. (Photo : Reuters)
China has shown its commitment to the safeguarding of radioactive materials around the world with the arrival of President Xi Jinping in Washington on Wednesday, March 30, to attend the fourth Nuclear Security Summit, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
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On Friday, April 1, Xi is scheduled to address the opening plenary to discuss new measures and achievements in nuclear security, as well as present the country's nuclear security policy, which also includes China's proposal to strengthen global nuclear security.
But before that, Xi is set to meet with U.S. President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the summit on Thursday, March 31, to talk on stimulating China-U.S. relationship, the report said.
The Chinese leader, who also attended the third NSS in The Hague in 2014, will confer with leaders of other countries to discuss issues of common interest.
According to the official website of the 2016 NSS, this year's summit will focus on advancing concrete improvements in nuclear security and strengthening the framework for global nuclear security.
This year, leaders and envoys from 52 countries and four international organizations are expected to join the biennial event initiated by Obama.
Beijing hopes the summit would continue to consolidate international consensus on nuclear security, promote national capacity-building, enhance international cooperation and maintain a global nuclear security culture, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Li Baodong said at a press briefing last week.
Li added that China will cooperate and work with all parties to ensure the success of the Washington summit for the establishment of an international nuclear security system based on equality, cooperation and win-win results.
Xi visited Prague before coming to Washington as part of his state visit to the Czech Republic. It was the first visit of a Chinese head of state to the country in 67 years since diplomatic ties between the two countries were established.
Perhaps the paper will be colored--or bigger--next time? Two police officers from Yibin in Sichuan Province pose for picture together with an important public message. (Photo : Weibo/Women of China)
Even some police officers are posting pictures of them holding an A4 paper, and no, theyre not actually doing the recent craze to hit the country.
Yibins police force found a better thing to do with the most famous paper right in the country: write down safety measure tips and reminders on it, have a picture of them holding it and post it for the public to see, according to Women of China.
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Yes, its not a blank piece of paper theyre holding to emphasize a certain body part; rather, they write something on it to promote public safety.
The participating police post their respective message via the official Weibo account of the Yibin police department.
One male police officer wrote and posted: When you are in danger, please call the emergency number 110.
Injecting slight humor, he followed it with: We with our wide waists will always be the people you can trust.
A slender female cop sends the following message: When driving, check if your windows and doors are locked, and don't keep valuables in your cars.
Some celebrities did a similar thing, reported Peoples Daily Online.
Guo Jingfei warned not to take calls from numbers not in someones contact list.
Qi Wei reminded not to trust anyone, even parents, when it comes to verification codes.
Yuan Shanshan echoed a similar reminder: keep PIN codes and bank account number to ones self only.
Zhang Li expressed concern over phishing websites.
If the 6-foot-tall American teenager model Molly Bair happened to be Chinese--or in China--and got hold of an A4 paper and her phone, considering her frame, she might get tempted to do the challenge.
Daily Mail said that Bair, who already walked the runway for fashion bigwigs such as Chanel, Prada and Alexander Wang, reignites row over anorexia chic.
In 2015, France voted to criminalize the hiring of models whose Body Mass Index is less than 18, according to Daily Mail.
The World Health Organization classifies a person with a BMI of less than 18.50 as underweight.
Someone with a BMI of 17.00-18.49 would be mildly thin; those with less than 16.00, severely thin.
WHO apparently doesnt use A4--or any paper, for that matter--to determine those classifications.
China and US Rally Together to Keep the World Safe from Nukes; What It Means for North Korea
World leaders gather for the 4th Nuclear Security Summit held in Washington, D.C. from March 31 to April 1, 2016. (Photo : Getty Images)
China and the United States of America pledged to a joint commitment to ensure peace via global nuclear security, revealing plans of annual dialogues involving the worlds biggest developed and developing countries.
A report from the Xinhua News Agency featured a joint agreement signed by Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Barack Obama stating the two nations' "commitment to working together" to keep international peace.
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According to the outlet, the two leaders met on the sidelines of this year's Nuclear Security Summit (NSS).
The statement revealed that the commitment entails "reducing the threat of nuclear terrorism and striving for a more inclusive, coordinated, sustainable and robust global nuclear security architecture for the common benefit and security of all."
Apparently, this includes teaming up to keep North Korea from doing anything unforgivable with their nuclear weapons.
The Joint Commitment
While history puts the two nations in different sides, China and the U.S. are presently nurturing warming relations.
In spite of difficulties, the countries from both East and West are working hard to keep good will between the two intact.
Proof of this is the recent declaration of their commitment towards removing the threat of nuclear weapons.
According to a joint statement signed by the Obama and Xi, China and the U.S. "will continue to coordinate efforts to strengthen counter nuclear smuggling capabilities and share best practices with the international community, taking full advantage of the training programs sponsored by the China Customs Training Center for Radiation Detection."
Aside from that, the two leaders also hailed "the fruitful cooperation between the two sides," particularly on improving security measures applied to radioactive materials which entails proper recovery and transport security of said resources.
Furthermore, the two countries sought to continue "strong communication and cooperation" in order to achieve total nuclear security.
North Korea
This might mean that China will be working with the U.S. to help denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the issue on North Korea's nuclear power was highlighted during the NSS.
BBC News believes that this was due to NorKor's test firing of a missile near the East coast of the peninsula just hours after the leaders of the U.S. and China met.
This as well as previous missile and bomb testing conducted by North Korea in the past few weeks are considered violations of existing U.N. sanctions and are condemned by countries attending the NSS.
The burden of implementing sanctions on Pyongyang fall onto China's shoulders because of what Obama described in February as China's "unique influence over the North Korean regime."
The Gorges is said to be the biggest of its kind in the world. The Chinese government expressed renewed concern over the dams impact to the environment. (Photo : Ali Kazi/YouTube)
Another move to alleviate the environmental problems the country is facing concerns a dam that spans the longest river in Asia and the third longest in the world.
The Yiling-based 2.4-kilometer-long, 185-meter-tall Three Gorges Dam across the Yangtze River may face closure if its operations will be proven not environmentally friendly, reported the Global Times.
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Before its completion in 2009, the dam located in Yichang, Hubei Province, was visited by then Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji in 1999, according to CNN.
Zhu said to the people behind the project: The responsibility on your shoulders is heavier than a mountain. Any carelessness or negligence will bring disaster to our future generations and cause irretrievable losses.
The countrys State Council convened in 2015 and said that the safety of the community and the environment should be considered when hydropower projects are carried out, according to the Global Times.
Xiao Yonghui, the general manager of Gangkouwan hydropower station in Xuancheng, Anhui Province, said that hydropower stations should be beneficial to both the environment and the local economy.
Hydroelectric power plants are usually located in dams. Hydroelectric power is electricity produced from generators driven by water turbines, according to Encyclopaedia Britannica.
In 2014, the Three Gorges Dam generated 98.8 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity, more than the 98.6 billion kwh generated by Itaipu Dam, located on the border between Brazil and Paraguay, in 2013, according to Xinhua.
At full power, TGD reduces coal consumption by 31 million tons per year, avoiding 100 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions, millions of tons of dust and other hazardous chemicals, said Yue Ma in Three Gorges Dam, his coursework for Physics 240 submitted to Stanford University on Nov. 26, 2010.
Yue added: It also saves the energy and cost needed to transport coal from northern China like Shanxi province to southern China.
The Three Gorges Dam blocked an estimated 10 million tons of plastic bags, bottles, animal corpses, trees, and other detritus that otherwise would have flowed out to sea, according to a 2006 article by the National Geographic News.
Jennifer Turner, coordinator of the China Environment Forum at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C., told National Geographic News that the issues concerning the Three Gorges Dam could lead to more openness in environmental policy and decision-making in China.
A user tests the functionality and features of Samsung Galaxy Note 4 before buying it. (Photo : YouTube/Marques Brownlee)
Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow has finally started rolling out to Samsung's 2014 flagship model - Samsung Galaxy S5. The Marshmallow upgrade, which was also available to Samsung's older devices such as Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy Note Edge, was first made available to South Korean users, but is now seeding to Galaxy S5 users worldwide.
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According to Ubergizmo, right after Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow was released to South Korea, Galaxy S5 users, with SM-G900L model number, in Tobago and Trinidad followed suit, receiving G900MUBU1CPC3 update to their Samsung devices. U.S. users of Samsung Galaxy S5, meanwhile, will receive the much talked about Android Marshmallow update within this month, via leading carriers such as T-Mobile, Sprint, US Cellular, AT&T and Verizon Wireless.
Galaxy S5 users can either update their smartphones to the latest Android OS via manual upgrade or OTA. Over-the-air update notification normally shows up automatically, but if users wanted to update the other way around, then they will need to manually check the update by going to About Phone > System updates > Check for update.
Before going through with the update, it is advisable for Samsung Galaxy S5 users to switch over to WiFi rather than using their data connection, as the Marshmallow update have a whooping size of 1.47GB. Although the said update is not a major one, the contributing factor why the file size is enormous is due to the added features it possessed.
Some of the new features Android M, also known as Android 6.0.1, Android Marshmallow or simply Marshmallow, will bring is the addition of Google Now on Tap, Doze mode, revamped app permissions, new fingerprint APIs for developers and Android Pay, just to name a few, Gadgets 360 reported. The Marshmallow upgrade will also bring the latest security patch update.
In the U.S., telco companies have also officially rolled out Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow to selected Samsung Galaxy series smartphones, while some are still running tests on the upgrade. According to rumors, both AT&T and T-Mobile are still testing the update, while their competitors are already seeding the update to their consumers.
As of this writing, Sprint's Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy Note 5 devices can now be upgraded to Android Marshmallow, while Verizon Wireless' Galaxy Note 5 users can now avail the software update.
Watch Samsung Galaxy S5 review video below:
ACLU To File Lawsuit For Marriage Equality (Photo : Getty Images)
Beginning April 1, same-sex pairs in Changhua County in Taiwan were allowed to register as gay couples. And it is not an April Fools Day joke because Changhua is the 8th Taiwan region to do that.
The move is seen as another step closer to legalization of gay and lesbian marriages in Taiwan, reported Global Times.
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Members of the Taiwan LGBT community who are 20 years old and above could now list their partner as family if one of the couple is from that county. The registration would not be recorded on their ID cards and is not legally valid, but if either of the pair is in an emergency, the partner could sign consent forms.
The registration could also be used for the same-sex couple to apply for allowances from public welfare of police institutions, reported ETtoday. Changhua joins Taipei, Kaohsiung, Taoyuan and Taiching in offering the registration service to gay couples.
Geng Le, CEO of Blued, a Chinese dating app for gays, said that the administration of Taiwans new leader, Tsai Ing-wen, could make Taiwan the first Asian region to legalize gay unions. Although the mainland is also providing more rights to members of the LGBT community, Geng said China could learn from what Taiwan did by first registering same-sex couples before moving into marriage recognition.
Geng noted, LGBT rights are neither an ideological nor a political issue in China. Misunderstanding or and discrimination against homosexuality is not caused by policies or laws, but by traditional mindsets and inadequate sex education. She made the comment in reference to the acceptance in January by a court in Hunan Province of a lawsuit on same-sex marriage rights filed in December by a gay man whose gay marriage registration was rejected by a Changsa civil affairs bureau.
In July 2015, Pink New reported that Taiwans government planned to draft a same-sex partnership law a month after the U.S. Supreme Court issued its landmark decision on gay marriages. Lo Ying-hsueh, the head of Taiwans judicial body, then said the proposed bill would be posted online to give the public a chance to vote on the bill freely.
In 2014, an online survey found that 68 percent of Taiwanese favor same-sex marriage. Taiwans acceptance of gays is reflected in this McDonalds commercial which has received thumbs up from various groups.
Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met with the US Democratic Party primary candidate where they spoke about bilateral relations
Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met during his visit to Washington Wendy Sherman, an adviser to the US Democratic Party's presidential primary candidate Hillary Clinton, the foreign affairs ministry announced on Thursday.
The Egyptian foreign ministry spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zeid stated that during the meeting Sherman listened to Shoukry's evaluations of political and economic developments taking place in Egypt, the country's regional and international relations, as well as the country's efforts to fight terrorism.
"The meeting reflected the mutual wish to enforce Egyptian-American relations if Hillary Clinton wins the US presidential elections," the foreign ministry statement read.
Sherman noted that she was ready to transfer any message from the Egyptian side that would enforce the US's relationship with Egypt to Hilary Clinton, Abu Zeid said in the statement.
The foreign ministry statement also noted that Shoukry previously knew Wendy Sherman from his time as Egypt's ambassador to Washington when she was the under-secretary of state for political affairs.
Sameh Shoukry is currently on a visit to the United States where Egypt is participating in the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington.
The former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton is competing against Senator Bernie Sanders in the on-going presidential primaries.
Unless one of the candidates pulls out of the race, the Democratic Party's official presidential nominee will not be decided until the party's national convention in July.
The US presidential elections will be held in November 2016.
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Cairo has said Washington is keen to help stabilise Egypt's battered economy and bolster its development plans, while stressing that there are strong ties between the two countries.
Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry held talks with his US counterpart John Kerry early Thursday on the sidelines of a global two-day nuclear security summit in Washington.
"Kerry stressed that Washington is keen to assist Egypt in the economic woes it faces," Shoukry told reporters in Washington following the talks, as quoted by state news agency MENA.
During the bilateral discussion, both leaders discussed possible US efforts to promote investment in the Egyptian market
Egypt's economy has been rocked by over five years of political tumult since the 2011 popular revolt which has scared away foreign investors and tourists.
The talks also addressed Egypt's commitment to "political, economic and social reformation pursuant to human rights principles" enshrined in its constitution.
The two senior diplomats also discussed recent developments in the region, namely the crisis in war-torn Syria.
Shoukry quashed reports of disagreements with Washington over the crisis in Syria, stressing both sides see eye to eye on the need for a "political solution" to the countrys five-year-old conflict.
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The Egyptian military has killed 65 militants in operations in the cities of Sheikh Zuweid and Rafah in North Sinai, according to an official statement released on Friday.
The military has been fighting a militant insurgency, which includes the IS-affiliated Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis, in parts of North Sinai for years. Hundreds of troops and militants have been killed in the violence.
In October, a spokesman for the Egyptian military announced that the army had gained "full control" over the areas of Arish, Rafah and Sheikh Zuweid after successful raids on "terrorist strongholds" and weapons caches.
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A flight attendant on Tuesday's hijacked EgyptAir flight was asked to take a selfie picture with the hijacker by Cypriot authorities, according to Ahram Arabic news website.
Al-Ahram reported on Friday that flight attendant Yasmine Sobol told prosecutors she had been asked to take a picture with the hijacker during the flight in order to allow the Cypriot authorities to identify him.
Egyptian Seif El-Din Mustafa hijacked EgyptAir flight 181 from Alexandria to Cairo, diverting it to Cyprus and detaining those onboard for more than seven hours.
Egyptian officials said that Mustafa, 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.
Eventually Mustafa, who claimed he was wearing an explosive belt, surrendered to Cypriot authorities. No one on board was harmed.
"The hijacker suddenly got up from his seat and gave one of the flight attendants a paper which read: 'I have an explosive belt and I demand to go to Turkey or Cyprus,' " Sobol said.
"The pilot asked me to negotiate with the hijacker after we saw the explosive belt. We asked the hijacker why Cyprus specifically and he said that he wanted to see his children," she said.
On Wednesday, Mustafa was brought before a Cypriot judge, where he said that his desire to see his children, who are in the custody of his ex-wife in Cyprus, drove him to hijack the plane.
The court ordered he be held in detention for eight days.
Cypriot police said he faces charges including hijacking, illegal possession of explosives, kidnapping and threats to commit violence.
On Thursday, Egyptian prosecution officially requested Muxstafa be extradited.
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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 UN-mediated peace talks as part of a diplomatic push launched with US-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.
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Six police officers were killed and at least 23 people wounded on Thursday in a bomb attack targeting a Turkish police vehicle in the Kurdish-majority southeastern city of Diyarbakir, a security source said.
The attack took place a day before Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, whose government has waged a relentless campaign against Kurdish rebels since last summer, was to make a rare visit to the city.
Speaking to AFP, the source said a remotely-operated car bomb went off as a police vehicle drove past the city's main bus terminal. Of the 23 wounded, nine were civilians and the rest police.
Ambulances rushed to the scene, where images showed the police bus reduced to a burnt-out wreck by the force of the blast.
Turkish forces have been engaged in an ongoing operation against rebels from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in the region that has resulted in ferocious clashes and heavy casualties on both sides.
Hundreds of security force members have been killed since the PKK resumed its more than three-decade insurgency last summer.
The new upsurge of violence between the security forces and Kurdish rebels erupted in July 2015, shattering a two-and-a-half year truce.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said this week that 355 members of the security forces had been killed in the fighting, along with 5,359 members of the PKK. It was not possible to confirm the toll on the rebel side.
Over 40,000 people have been killed since the PKK took up arms in 1984 demanding a homeland for Turkey's biggest minority. Since then, the group has pared back its demands to focus on cultural rights and a measure of autonomy.
A radical PKK offshoot, the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK), claimed responsibility for two suicide car bombings in Ankara this year that left dozens dead.
Turkish air force planes have bombed PKK hideouts in mountains across the border in northern Iraq as well as in remote areas of southeast Turkey.
Ankara has vowed to smash the PKK, and authorities have imposed curfews in several towns in the region because of the fierce clashes.
Kurdish activists have accused the government of masking the extent of the civilian toll from the fighting and also vastly exaggerating the PKK losses.
The government denies the claims, saying the operations were an essential move against the PKK which had put up barricades and dug trenches in a bid to take over Turkish urban centres.
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The Turkish army says it has no plans to stage a coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and has threatened legal action against anyone who suggests otherwise.
The rare statement aims to quash speculation over the possibility of a coup while Erdogan visits the United States. The military said on its website such "baseless news" was hurting morale in its ranks without naming specific publications.
"It is out of the question to make concessions to any illegal action outside the command structure," it said.
The Turkish army, historically seen as a defender of secular principles, has ousted three elected governments and one prime minister.
The army's was power reduced through a series of measures after Erdogan became prime minister in 2003. Erdogan is due to return to Turkey on Sunday.
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The Kremlin said on Friday it hoped the Syrian government delegation would show flexibility at peace talks with the opposition.
"We hope this participation (of the Damascus delegation) will continue in a constructive way ... and necessary flexibility will be displayed - of course, within possible limits," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a conference call with journalists.
"These negotiations should be only inclusive ... including Kurds, to find a really lasting solution ... and to enable Syrians themselves to decide their destiny."
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Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Friday made a rare visit to the Kurdish-dominated city of Diyarbakir, declaring he was "not scared" after an attack by rebels that killed seven police.
The car bomb attack on a police bus in Diyarbakir Thursday -- which underlined the precarious security situation in the main city in Turkey's southeast -- was claimed by the military wing of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
Turkish security forces have since the summer waged a relentless campaign to drive PKK militants out of urban centres in the southeast, leading to ferocious clashes that show no sign of abating.
Davutoglu began his visit -- which took place under heavy security -- by attending a funeral ceremony for the police killed.
In a symbolic move, he then took part in Friday prayers outside the Great Mosque in the central Sur district.
"They thought that we would be scared. But we are not scared, we will not waver and we will go right to the end," he said.
Pictures showed army snipers in position on the roof of the mosque. Davutoglu sought to make contact with the people, at one point kissing a baby.
"Perhaps they thought 'Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu will not come to Diyarbakir for fear of these attacks'. But dear people of Diyarbakir, are you scared of them?" he added.
Parts of Sur have been under curfew since the military launched a major operation against the PKK in the area on December 2, with the clashes causing widespread destruction to the historic district.
In a statement coinciding with Davutoglu's visit, the PKK's military wing, the People's Defence Forces (HPG), claimed responsibility for Thursday's bombing of the police bus.
The rebels said the attack was in revenge for the actions of the army in Sur.
The premier's visit was his first to Diyarbakir since the operation began. He last visited on the eve of November elections.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said this week that 355 members of the security forces had been killed in fighting with the PKK since a two-year truce collapsed last summer.
He also claimed 5,359 members of the PKK had been killed but it was not possible to confirm that toll.
Erdogan, currently on a high-stakes visit to NATO ally the United States, said the Diyarbakir attack showed the world the true nature of the PKK.
"We cannot tolerate this any more," he said.
The PKK formally took up arms against the Turkish state in 1984 in an insurgency that initially sought an independent Kurdish state for Turkey's largest minority but which now focuses on autonomy and greater rights.
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The Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya news channel has shut down its offices in Lebanon, it said on Friday, in a new sign of tensions between the kingdom and the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement.
The Beirut offices of Al-Arabiya and its sister channel Al-Hadath, which offers extensive coverage of political news, have been closed and they no longer have any correspondents in Lebanon, a spokesman told AFP.
In a statement, the Dubai-based channel said it has "restructured" its operations in Lebanon "due to the difficult circumstances and challenges on ground, and out of Al-Arabiya's concern for the safety of its own employees and those employed by its providers."
It said it would nonetheless "continue to closely cover Lebanese affairs."
The channel said it would help employees affected by the decision to find jobs elsewhere with Al-Arabiya or its providers.
Those dismissed would be given "their full legitimate rights" and "other exceptional grants".
Lebanon's National News Agency said the decision would affect 27 employees.
In the lobby of the Al-Arabiya offices in downtown Beirut, half a dozen security guards stood watching as employees left the building for the last time.
One security guard was changing the lock on the office door, an AFP photographer said.
After exiting the building, several employees stood around smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee.
One of them said they had learned of the decision to shut the Beirut offices only Friday morning.
Shiite militant group Hezbollah is the leading force in Lebanon's governing coalition but in March Saudi Arabia and the other five Gulf Arab states blacklisted it as a "terrorist" group.
The kingdom halted a $3 billion programme of military aid to Lebanon to protest what it said was "the stranglehold of Hezbollah on the state".
It also urged its citizens to leave Lebanon and avoid travelling there.
Bahrain, Qatar, and Kuwait followed with similar travel advisories, while the United Arab Emirates banned its nationals from travel to Lebanon.
The moves come against the backdrop of increased tensions with Tehran this year after demonstrators attacked the Saudi embassy in Tehran and the consulate in second city Mashhad earlier this year.
The attacks on the missions came after Saudi Arabia executed a Shiite. Later, Riyadh to cut diplomatic ties with Tehran.
Hezbollah is fighting in Syria in support of President Bashar al-Assad against Gulf-backed rebels.
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Russia is accusing three Turkish organizations of smuggling military equipment to the Islamic State group and other militant groups in Syria, in a letter to the UN Security Council released Friday.
"The main supplier of weapons and military equipment to ISIL fighters is Turkey, which is doing so through non-governmental organizations," wrote Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin in the letter dated March 18.
Churkin said the Besar foundation, the Iyilikder foundation and the Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms had sent convoys of "various supplies" to the armed groups.
Russia has repeatedly accused Turkey of backing Islamist groups opposed to Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, Moscow's ally in the five-year war.
The attacks on Turkey have grown more virulent since Ankara shot down a Russian warplane in November.
In his letter, Churkin argued that the three organizations were a front for Turkish intelligence operations in Syria.
Russia also named two companies -- Tevhid Bilisim Merkezi and Trend Limited Sirketi, both based in Sanliurfa -- that it said provided chemical components or detonating fuses to fighters in Syria.
In February, Russia failed to win UN Security Council backing for a draft resolution calling on Turkey to halt cross-border shellings in Syria.
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The UN Security Council on Friday unanimously welcomed the Libyan unity government's move to Tripoli and said it was time to cut off ties with rival administrations.
The statement came after prime minister-designate Fayez al-Sarraj made his first public appearance in the Libyan capital, two days after his arrival angered the Tripoli-based government.
The council said Sarraj's arrival in Tripoli "was an important step towards bringing stability to the country and bringing the political process back on track."
Council members renewed their appeal to world governments "to cease support to and official contact with parallel institutions that claim to be the legitimate authority but are outside of the Libyan political agreement."
Sarraj was picked by the United Nations in October to lead the new unity government, but faced much resistance from Libya's myriad political factions and armed groups.
Libya has had two rival administrations since mid-2014 when a militia alliance overran the capital, setting up its own authority and forcing the internationally recognized parliament to flee to the country's east.
After his arrival by sea on Wednesday, the Tripoli administration demanded that Sarraj leave or surrender. The rival group had denied him permission to fly into the capital.
Sarraj and a number of his ministers turned up at a Tripoli mosque for Friday prayers after winning support from 10 western cities and guards who secure the country's key oil terminals.
In the statement, the council encouraged Sarraj and his team "to immediately begin work in Tripoli to broaden the basis of its support and to tackle Libya's political, security, humanitarian, economic and institutional challenges."
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Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke on Friday with US Secretary of State John Kerry about measures that could be taken to strengthen the fragile ceasefire in Syria, the Russian ministry said.
The two top diplomats discussed taking "concrete measures aimed at strengthening the ceasefire process in Syria" which was established in late February and has generally been holding, the foreign ministry statement said in a statement.
The measures would include steps to improve access to humanitarian aid and to fight against acts of terrorism in the country.
The telephone conversation between Lavrov and Kerry "took place on April 1 at the Americans' initiative," the statement added.
Lavrov also reiterated Russia's call to close the Turkish-Syrian border which Moscow says is "actively used" to send Islamist fighters to Syria via Turkey.
This issue calls for "agreement on the necessary actions as quickly as possible, including via the UN Security Council," the statement said.
Russia has repeatedly accused Turkey of backing Islamist groups opposed to Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, Moscow's ally in the five-year war.
The ceasefire reached in late February, led by Russia and the United States, is between the Assad regime and the rebels but does not include the jihadist groups Islamic State and the Al-Nusra Front.
UN-led talks on a peace deal are due to resume in Geneva soon, but the sides are deadlocked over the fate of Assad, whom the opposition insists must leave power before a transitional government is agreed.
Assad has said that any transitional government should include both the regime and opposition, without specifying which opposition groups should take part.
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The United States moved Thursday to keep pressure on nuclear-armed North Korea and reassure China over the proposed deployment of a sophisticated anti-missile system to South Korea.
After meeting with South Korean and Japanese allies at the start of a nuclear summit in Washington, President Barack Obama said there is a need to "vigilantly enforce the strong UN security measures" against Pyongyang, following provocative nuclear and missile tests that violated several UN resolutions.
North Korea in January detonated a nuclear device and launched a long-range rocket a month later, the latest in a series of tests that have alarmed regional neighbors.
The White House wants to keep up pressure on the North Korean regime, increasing the economic and diplomatic cost of ignoring international appeals to mothball its nukes.
"The international community must remain united in the face of North Korea's continued provocations," Obama wrote in an article published on the eve of the summit.
"The additional sanctions recently imposed on Pyongyang by the United Nations Security Council show that violations have consequences."
Obama kicked off the nuclear security summit by holding discussions with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Park Geun-Hye, followed by a separate sit-down with President Xi Jinping of China.
The United States and South Korea have begun discussions on deployment of THAAD -- the Theater High Altitude Area Defense System, a sophisticated missile system.
US delegates want to reassure Beijing that such a system poses no threat to China, which fears it will deepen US influence in the region.
"It is designed and capable only of responding to the North Korean threat," said Dan Kritenbrink, senior Asian affairs director at the National Security Council.
"It in no way threatens either Chinese or Russian or other security interests in the region and will do nothing to undermine strategic stability between the United States and China."
Obama will later meet Xi, his only full bilateral meeting with the dozens of world leaders coming to Washington.
He will also hold what the White House is calling a "brief" meeting with France's President Francois Hollande.
China is seen as key to making sanctions against North Korea bite and believes China could more forcefully wield its influence over Pyongyang, including encouraging its Stalinist neighbor to tone down destabilizing rhetoric.
Tensions are only expected to rise in advance of a major Communist Party Congress in North Korea in May.
And Obama and Xi are also likely to touch on disputes in the South China Sea, where Beijing has occupied and is building on contested islands.
Washington fears the islets and atolls may be used for military purposes.
US officials see a steady series of meetings and exchanges between Obama and Xi as vital in limiting disagreements.
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Three migrants were hospitalised Friday after a brawl in a camp on the Greek island of Chios, aid groups and media said, as the country prepared to begin returning migrants to Turkey under an EU deal.
The agency said police used stun grenades to restore calm during the late-night fight -- the second such incident within two days in Greece -- which caused serious damage to the island's Vial camp, including the medical dispensary, state ANA news agency said.
Medical charity Doctors of the World (MDM) said it had pulled out of the camp to protect its staff.
"The dispensary was almost entirely destroyed and security was no longer sufficient," MDM spokesman Evgenia Thanou told AFP.
Some 700 refugees and migrants on Friday were heading towards another camp in the main town of Chios under police escort, state TV ERT said.
Pro-migrant activists said the trouble began after a demonstration Thursday evening by migrants demanding they be allowed to leave the camp.
There has been anger among migrants and criticism from aid groups over EU plans to imminently begin sending thousands of people denied asylum back to Turkey.
Eight migrants were also hospitalised early Thursday after a fight between Syrians and Afghans in the overcrowded migrant camp at the Greek port of Piraeus near Athens.
Chios is home to one of five "hotspot" centres set up to house and process migrants on the Greek islands, which have been struggling to cope with an influx of migrants, many fleeing the civil war in Syria.
The Vial camp houses 1,500 people at a site which has capacity for just 1,200, ANA said.
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu confirmed on Thursday that migrants would start being sent back from Greece to Turkey on Monday, under the terms of last month's controversial EU-Turkey deal.
Under the agreement, all irregular migrants landing on the Greek islands after March 20 face being sent back to Turkey -- although the deal calls for each case to be examined individually.
For every Syrian sent back from Greece, the EU has agreed to resettle one Syrian refugee directly from Turkey.
Over 51,000 refugees and migrants seeking to reach northern Europe are already stuck in Greece, after Balkan states sealed their borders. Hundreds more continue to land on the Greek islands on a daily basis, despite the EU deal.
Aid groups have criticised the EU-Turkey deal on ethical grounds, warning that the Greek registration sites would become de facto detention centres for people slated to be sent back to Turkey after risking their lives and spending a small fortune to try reach Europe.
They have also raised concerns over the conditions migrants face back in Turkey, which is already hosting an estimated 2.7 million Syrians, most of whom have been forced to fend for themselves given limited space in the country's refugee camps.
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South African President Jacob Zuma faced a chorus of calls Friday to step down after a court ruled that he breached the constitution in a judgement that engulfed him in a fresh bout of controversy.
Zuma retains widespread loyalty within the ruling African National Congress (ANC) whose lawmakers dominate parliament, but his tarnished image has shaken the party ahead of local elections.
The main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, hailed a damning verdict by the country's top court Thursday that Zuma had violated the constitution by refusing to repay public funds spent on his private home.
"This judgement is an immense victory for democracy, for the rule of law, and for the people of South Africa," DA leader Mmusi Maimane told reporters on Friday.
"It simply cannot be business as usual when president Zuma has been found to have violated the constitution."
The party has launched impeachment proceedings against the head of state but the move is likely to fail as it would require the support of a two-thirds majority in parliament.
But the attempt will keep Zuma's misdeeds in the public eye ahead of municipal elections later this year when the ANC risks losing control of Gauteng province, which includes the cities of Johannesburg and Pretoria.
The storm of press criticism focused on Zuma's refusal to comply with an ombudswoman's orders to repay money spent on a swimming pool, chicken run, cattle enclosure and amphitheatre at his rural homestead.
"There is only one way South Africa can escape a full-blown constitutional crisis... and that would be his resignation or dismissal," said the Sowetan newspaper.
"He has no legal or moral authority to govern."
The upgrades, which were valued in 2014 at 216 million rand (then $24 million), became a symbol of alleged corruption and greed within the ANC, which has ruled since Nelson Mandela came to power in 1994 after the end of apartheid.
But Zuma loyalists fought back to defend the president.
"We have learnt lessons from the judgement' and wish to state it unequivocally' unambiguously and categorically clearly that we firmly stand behind the ANC President," the influential ANC Women's League said in a statement.
Zuma is due to retire in 2019 when his second term in office ends.
One of the names being bandied about to replace him is his ex-wife and African Union Commission chief, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.
On Friday her spokesman Jacob Enoh Eben confirmed that she will step down from the 54-member bloc when her post ends in July, amid talk of a return to politics when she returns to South Africa from the AU headquarters in Ethiopia.
Zuma on Thursday issued a brief statement saying he accepted the Constitutional Court's ruling.
His presidency has been rocked in recent months by his sacking of two finance ministers within days, and allegations that a wealthy business family had so much influence that they could appoint ministers.
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US President Barack Obama and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping have agreed to fully implement sanctions against North Korea, in a meeting that was promptly followed by a provocative Pyongyang missile launch.
The White House said Friday that Obama and Xi agreed to "narrow differences" between the world's two major powers during a meeting the day before.
"Both leaders committed... to strengthen coordination in addressing the shared threat presented by North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missile systems," the White House said.
"Both leaders affirmed their commitment to achieving the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2270."
In January, North Korea detonated a nuclear device and a month later launched a long-range rocket, prompting the United States, China and other UN partners to implement sanctions.
Washington's efforts to build pressure on North Korea has long been a point of friction with Beijing, which provides the hermit state an economic lifeline.
The White House believes that China could do more to press North Korea into abandoning its nuclear and missile programs.
China fears that too much pressure would topple the regime, prompting instability and regional upheaval.
As if to underscore the difficult of the issue, North Korea on Thursday appeared to fire another short-range missile off its east coast.
South Korea's defense ministry said a surface-to-air missile was fired at around 12:45 pm (0345 GMT) from the eastern city of Sondok. The range and precise trajectory could not immediately be confirmed, a ministry official said.
The launch came in the middle of the two-day nuclear security summit being hosted by Obama in Washington, at which North Korea has been the focus of the US president's talks with the leaders of China, South Korea and Japan.
The summit opened Thursday with Obama trying to forge consensus among East Asian leaders on how to respond to Pyongyang's recent nuclear and missile tests, which have seen an escalation of tensions in the region.
"We are united in our efforts to deter and defend against North Korean provocations," Obama said after meeting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Park Geun-Hye.
The leaders also discussed the deployment of the sophisticated missile system THAAD -- the Theater High Altitude Area Defense System -- to South Korea.
But the move has raised concerns in Beijing, which is unhappy at the prospect of the US hardware on its doorstep, fearing it will further tip the balance of power in the Pacific towards Washington.
"It in no way threatens either Chinese or Russian or other security interests in the region and will do nothing to undermine strategic stability between the United States and China," insisted Dan Kritenbrink, Obama's top Asia adviser.
During Obama and Xi's meeting Thursday, the White House said the two countries had agreed to sign the Paris Climate Accord and work toward a "global market-based measure for addressing greenhouse gas emissions from international aviation."
Obama and Xi have tried to use agreement on environmental issues as a ballast to stabilize relations beset by disputes over hacking of US government sites, the South China Sea and piracy.
"Both leaders reaffirmed the cyber commitments announced during President Xi's September 2015 State Visit and agreed to ensure their full implementation," said the White House.
"The President reiterated that we will continue to monitor whether Chinese actions demonstrate their adherence to the commitments."
There appeared to be less common ground over Beijing's alleged military buildup in the South China Sea.
US officials have expressed concern that China's actions are not consistent with Xi's pledge at the White House last year not to pursue militarization of the hotly contested and strategically vital waterway.
China claims virtually all the South China Sea despite conflicting claims by Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan and the Philippines, and has built up artificial islands in the area in recent months, including some with airstrips.
"The President urged China to address differences with its neighbors on maritime issues peacefully and in accordance with international law and emphasized the United States global interest in upholding freedom of navigation and overflight," the White House said.
Washington has since October carried out two high-profile "freedom of navigation" operations in which it sailed warships within 12 nautical miles of islets claimed by China.
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Related US confirms Kerry will go to Hiroshima for G7 prep
The United States and Japan have completed the removal of all highly enriched uranium and separated plutonium fuels from Japan's Fast Critical Assembly research project that is due to be sent to South Carolina, the countries said on Friday.
Announced alongside the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, the transfer makes good on a 2014 agreement at a previous non-proliferation summit to move the material from the site in Tokai Mura, Japan, to the United States, the countries said.
In a joint statement, the countries said the removal furthers a mutual goal of reducing the amount of these nuclear materials held worldwide.
"This is the largest single nuclear material removal in the history of this summit process," U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz told reporters.
"This process will permanently remove any risk of this material falling into the wrong hands," he added.
Moniz and Japan's Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Koichi Hagiuda left immediately after delivering statements at the summit and would not take questions.
The shipment has stirred some controversy over its transfer to the United States, specifically to a Department of Energy site in South Carolina where leaders and environmental activists have balked at receiving the weapons-grade plutonium.
Such shipments are highly sensitive because the material can be used in nuclear weapons or to make a so-called dirty bomb.
Last month, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley asked the U.S. Department of Energy for the shipment to be turned back or sent elsewhere.
A Japanese government spokesman declined to provide details of the shipment's status, citing security concerns.
On Tuesday, Moniz called Haley and agreed to eventually store some of the plutonium now at South Carolina's Savannah River Site at a facility in New Mexico, the Associated Press reported.
U.S. Energy Department representatives did not respond to a request for further details on the move.
South Carolina has sued over the issue, and Haley has pledged to keep the pressure on the federal government.
"We will not back down from our lawsuit until the DOE pays the $1 million a day fine they are required to under federal law," Haley said in a statement provided to Reuters.
In its statement, the United States said it will now "downblend" the materials for use in civilian activities or for final disposition.
The countries also said they were working to move material from another site, the Kyoto University Critical Assembly, to the United States.
"This is one more important step in the ongoing program to convert research reactors to low-enriched uranium," Moniz said of the Kyoto site.
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The award winning 'I Am Nojoom, Age 10 and Divorced' by the Yemeni director Khadija Al-Salami has been selected to screen in the ACT Human Rights Film Festival, an event which runs between 15 April and 22 April at Colorado, USA.
The film tells the story of a 10-year-old Yemeni girl who asks a judge in Sanaa to grant her a divorce from a horrible marriage, after she was married off to prevent a public scandal after the rape of her sister.
The film is the first feature film for Yemeni director Khadija al-Salami where she tells the story of Yemens most famous child divorcee. But its also a retelling of the Paris-based filmmakers own life story.
I Am Nojoom won the Muhr Award for Best Fiction Feature from Dubai International Film Festival 2014, where it had its premiere.
ACT Human Rights Film Festival at Colorado State University is the city and states first-ever weeklong film festival dedicated to human rights documentary and narrative fiction cinema. It showcases 18 films that cover a spectrum of human rights issues, from hunger, homelessness and womens rights to the fight for democracy, GLBTQ rights in Africa and art as resistance and cultural resilience.
The majority of films selected for the first ACT film festival have been produced within the last two years and are not available in wide release.
According to the organisers, the film festival is born out of expertise in the Department of Communication Studies at Colorado State University in the area of media and visual culture. ACT, the name of the film festival, is generated from the words awaken, connect, and transform the three main objectives of the festival.
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
Palmyra's renowned Temple of Bel, blown up by Islamic State last year, is not beyond repair but the full extent of damage in the ancient city could take weeks to establish because of mines laid amid the ruins, Syria's antiquities chief said.
Satellite pictures taken after the 2,000-year-old temple was dynamited by the jihadi group, and other images broadcast since Syrian government forces retook the city on Sunday, show almost the entire structure collapsed in a heap of rubble.
It was one of several important monuments blown up in the city last year including the temple of Baal Shamin, a victory arch and funerary towers. The city museum, home to treasured artefacts, was ransacked and statues were smashed or defaced.
Despite the extensive damage, Maamoun Abdelkarim said that the Temple of Bel had not been pulverised and its foundations were largely intact.
Consecrated to a Mesopotamian god, the Temple of Bel later served as a Christian church and a mosque. In an inner sanctuary, carvings showed seven planets surrounded by the signs of the zodiac, and a procession of camels and veiled women.
"What was said about it all being turned to dust - it's not dust," Abdelkarim told Reuters in Damascus. "There is still a lot of the structure ... that can be reused and renovated."
He was speaking before a trip to Paris where he said he would attend a meeting of the United Nations cultural agency UNESCO and seek global help to restore Palmyra. President Bashar al-Assad called on the world on Wednesday to help.
Syrian military engineers were already combing the area for mines which Islamic State are suspected of leaving behind amid the ruins, he said.
Russian de-mining units, using robots and sniffer dogs, have also arrived in Syria to start clearing the area, in the latest support from Moscow to Assad, its Middle Eastern ally.
Russia's military intervention six months ago helped change the course of Syria's five-year-old conflict in Assad's favour, reversing last year's gains by insurgents and Western-backed rebels in northwest Syria, before assisting an assault on Palmyra opening up Syria's eastern desert to government forces.
The Western response to Sunday's recapture of Palmyra has been muted. While some governments have welcomed the setback for Islamic State, they are reluctant to celebrate any victory for a president whose departure many of them demanded five years ago.
Treasure and Gold
Islamic State has also razed Assyrian and Roman-era cities in neighbouring Iraq - driven by a radical ideology which deems the region's pre-Islamic heritage as idolatrous and by the lure of profit from selling stolen artefacts.
Other monuments in the oasis city, described by UNESCO as a crossroads of cultures since the dawn of humanity and a major source of interest for archaeologists, historians of the ancient world and tourists, remain including its Roman amphitheatre and long colonnaded avenue.
Officials have inspected damage at Palmyra's museum, where a 15-tonne statue of a lion holding a crouching gazelle, known as the Lion of Al-Lat, was found broken in the grounds of the building, Abdelkarim said. The statue has already been restored once after it was broken up in antiquity to build another temple.
Abdelkarim said 400 artefacts had been moved from the site for safekeeping before Islamic State overran Palmyra last May, but television images from the museum have shown statues defaced or broken and display cases smashed up.
"Daesh were looking for treasure and gold - they thought there would be tonnes of gold. There was none, because the main articles had been moved to Damascus," he said
Describing the headless or defaced carvings, Abdelkarim compared the restoration work they would undergo to the surgery performed on patients with serious burn injuries.
"You undergo many surgeries and your face won't come back as it was, but you're still alive," he said.
Russian De-Miner Robots
The de-miners will deal with more than 180 hectares of territory, Russia's defence ministry said, citing initial estimates. The aim is to clear the historic part of the ancient city as well as residential areas.
Their work is complicated by the fact that the retreating Islamic State fighters "left a large quantity of various homemade explosive devices behind them in Palmyra as well as standard mines", the ministry said.
Abdelkarim said the militants had "a plan to destroy the city" but did not go through with it.
In Palmyra, Islamic State carried out excavations, hunting for buried artefacts, but Abdelkarim said it was too early to say how much digging or damage they had done.
"We cannot evaluate the destruction to the ruins from the criminal secret excavations ... It will take weeks to assess," he said, given that big parts of the old city are inaccessible.
"We have been into the museum and to the Temple of Bel, the amphitheatre, and the colonnaded street," Abdelkarim said, adding: "But where there is sandy ground we cannot go ... because there could be mines."
The overall task of clearing Palmyra, which military sources have told Russian media will involve at least 100 servicemen, is expected to take several months.
Russian forces will draw on their extensive experience of de-mining in the volatile North Caucasus region where a low-level Islamist insurgency has been simmering for years.
For the toughest tasks, the Russians said they would use sniffer dogs and Uran-6 de-mining robots, which can be remotely controlled from around 1 km (half a mile) and do the work of 20 de-mining experts.
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
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(Beijing) Guangzhou, a major economic hub in the country, plans to sell nearly 4 million square meters of land to commercial real estate developers this year although the prices of non-residential properties in the city have gone down in the past two years due to oversupply.
Prime urban land will be sold to developers to build office buildings, shopping malls and recreational centers, a spokesman for the municipal bureau managing land resources and housing issues said at a press conference on March 31.
The amount of land designated for commercial development this year is up almost 20 percent from the 3.23 million square meters sold in 2015, local government data showed.
The supply of new office spaces in the city started surging in 2013, research from the Guangzhou Association of Real Estate, a trade body, showed. The building frenzy continued with 45 percent more office spaces added in 2014 compared to the previous year.
The price of office buildings in the city dipped in 2015 as a result of this supply glut. In 2015, the average sales price of office space in Guangzhou was 16,280 yuan per square meter, down almost one-fifth from the price in the previous year, figures from the trade body showed.
The market for other types of commercial properties has been riddled with oversupply problems since 2014. The average sales price of commercial buildings such as malls fell by almost one-tenth year-on-year to 23,059 yuan per square meter in 2015, data from the industry association showed.
Much of the land earmarked for development is inside a 10.4-square-kilometer area in the southeast of the city known as Pazhou. The local government announced plans to develop the area into a technology hub in 2014 to attract investment from software companies and e-commerce firms.
This year, the government plans to sell 25 plots in the area after adding 18 billion yuan to the city coffers in 2015 with the sale of 14 parcels of land.
E-commerce giants Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd., were among those who bought land last year, along with industrial and investment conglomerate Fosun Group, and home appliances retailer GOME Holdings Group. The four deals helped the government rake in 7.8 billion yuan.
(Beijing) The head of an online recruitment services firm made a public apology on March 31 after an employee hacked into a rival firm's email system in February.
In a letter posted on the company's official account on popular messaging app WeChat, Xu Dandan, the president of Lagou.com, said the employee was acting on his own accord when he deleted four apps developed by a competitor, Bosszhipin.com, from Apple's app store on February 19. Xu who founded the job-listing service for IT workers only said the employee did "something impropriate" in the letter.
Bosszhipin said the hacker had stolen passwords from the corporate email account and used them to take down the apps, making the company's services inaccessible to users of Apple devices for a brief period.
The company said on March 24 it had filed a lawsuit in a Beijing court against Lagou for unfair competition, asking for an unspecified amount in damages. Bosszhipin CEO Zhao Peng told Caixin that his company will not drop the case even though Lagou made an apology.
Earlier, Lagou claimed that one of the apps that went offline was deleted by Apple Inc. because it had violated the company's policies.
The two rivals have been accusing each other of engaging in unfair business practices for several months.
In February, Bosszhipin released a statement saying that a fake icon that closely mimicked the original appeared when users searched for "Boss Direct Hire," the company's flagship product on Apple's app store. It accused Laguo of rigging the search results and for planting this fake icon to lure users to the app developed by Lagou.
Lagou says Bosszhipin has been manipulating the keyword search system on Apple's app store since December in a way that users searching for services developed by other recruitment firms were all directed to the Boss Direct Hire app.
A Caixin investigation found that both companies have been trying to cannibalize clients from each other by using copy-cat logos that closely resemble the ones used by the rival company. For example, Bosszhipin has a fake entry on the app store called Lagou Recruitment, that closely resembles its competitor's popular app, and users are tricked into signing up for Bosszhipin's services through it.
The questionable tactics used by these companies to lure job-seekers are widespread in the online recruitment industry, which is estimated to grow from 3.9 billion yuan in 2015 to over 5.6 billion yuan in 2017, Beijing-based Internet research firm Sootoo.com said.
The fledgling market is dominated by three major players: 51job.com with a 23 percent stake, Zhaopin.com coming at a close second with 22.6 percent and 58.com with just shy of one-fifth of the market share.
Lagou is within the top five with 8 percent in market, and the company has been expanding aggressively since its launch in July, 2013. The company claims that 110,000 employers and over six million job-seekers are using its apps. Lagou announced on March 23 that it has raised 220 million from private investors in its latest round of fundraising.
Bosszhipin, a smaller player that entered this crowded market in 2014, said its apps have three million registered users.
(Rewritten by Li Rongde)
North Korea has been trying to disrupt air and ground traffic in the South for the fifth day running, the government said Wednesday. Aircraft taking off or landing in the Seoul metropolitan area and ships traveling off the west coast have been affected by electronic jamming signals from the North since Saturday.
The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs said that the GPS of a total of 272 airplanes had been disrupted as of 3:10 p.m. on Wednesday. They were taking off or landing at Incheon and Gimpo airports and flying over Osan and Taean, chiefly in the central region.
The signals have been disrupted since the North threatened on April 23 to take "special actions" against the South.
But the ministry said this did not disrupt aircraft navigation because they also use other navigation devices like the very-high-frequency omni-directional range (VOR) and inertial navigation system (INS) if their GPS systems are jammed.
The GPS of ships traveling off the west coast have also been disturbed, but they too can locate their positions using other devices such as radar.
Based on triangulation of the jamming waves, the Korea Communications Commission concluded that they came from the Kaesong area, a staffer said. Jamming signals continued intermittently at intervals of several hours.
"This is the third time the North has sent out jamming signals after August 2010 and March 2011," he added. The first and second time, the signals came during the joint military exercises with the U.S., but this time no such drills are underway.
Some 1,137 aircraft and 265 ships in South Korea were affected over the past three years by North Korean GPS jamming signals. The North launched three GPS jamming attacks since 2010, according to data the Central Radio Management Office submitted to Saenuri Party lawmaker Lee Jae-young.
The first jamming attack, which lasted four days from Aug. 23, 2010, originated in Kaesong, disrupting the GPS signals of 15 aircraft and one Navy ship. The second was severer. It lasted 11 days from March 4 last year, came from Kaesong and Mt. Kumgang, and disrupted the GPS of 106 aircraft and 10 ships.
Third attack was even worse, lasting 16 days from April 28 this year and affecting 1,016 aircraft and 254 ships. The signal again came from Kaesong.
The agreement is the latest victory in the drive by labor activists to raise the pay of the nation's lowest-paid workers, who are often employed in fast food restaurants or at other service jobs. The effort began with protests and marches in 2012, and has been successful in such cities as Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles. California is the first U.S. state to raise its minimum wage to the $15 level, and New York is debating a similar proposal.
The measure would raise minimum pay for the states workers in increments to $15 an hour by 2022 for large businesses, and 2023 for smaller ones. That's more than double the current national minimum of $7.25 an hour. Cities and states can set their own base wage, and California's is now $10 an hour. Governor Browns office says more than two million workers in his state are paid at that rate, and that the pay hike is "a matter of economic justice."
California Governor Jerry Brown announced the agreement between labor and legislative leaders Monday, and legislators are soon expected to pass the bill and the governor will sign it into law.
California's hike in the minimum wage to $15 an hour, to take effect over the next six years, could help more than five million workers as its effects ripple through the economy, says supporter Ken Jacobs of the Center for Labor Research and Education at the University of California, Berkeley. Business groups oppose the increase, and analysts are divided. Some say small businesses will struggle with the increase and consumers will be hit with higher prices, while others say the pay raise will boost the economy.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups say a higher minimum wage will hurt low-skilled workers by forcing companies to eliminate jobs. They say wage inequality is a complex issue that is better addressed by improving workers' skills to make them more competitive in a global marketplace.
Fast food restaurants in California could see their operating costs increase 13 percent as the raise is implemented, said analyst Shon Hiatt of the University of Southern California. He said restaurants owners have three options: raising food prices, shrinking portion sizes, or increasing automation to reduce their labor costs. He says we will likely see a combination of all three. He adds that increased costs for food production on California farms could drive up costs further, and that agricultural jobs could be lost from California to Mexico.
Analyst Ken Jacobs said the higher wage will keep worker turnover low and productivity high. In a conference call with reporters, he said the net effect will be positive, as workers pay more taxes, contribute to the economy and reduce their need for public benefits.
Others say a "one size fits all" solution does not take account of varying conditions in different communities. The state of Oregon, to the north of California, will raise its minimum wage to just under $15 by 2022 under a law signed March 2. The highest rate applies only to the major urban region of Portland, however. Mid-sized counties and rural areas will have lower minimums, which is important for communities that are struggling economically, says economist Tim Duy of the University of Oregon. He questions whether $15 an hour is "the right minimum wage for a more rural community in northeastern California?"
Lisa Scott, a home care provider for the elderly and disabled in California's rural El Dorado County, earns $11 an hour and says the increase will let her save to visit her five-year-old grandson in Arizona for the first time. Long Beach janitor Esperanza Velasquez says the pay hike will help pay a $21,000 bill for cancer surgery. Both have been active in the campaign for the wage boost.
The national minimum wage has been locked at $7.25 an hour for more than six years, and Republicans in Congress have opposed efforts to raise it, concerned about a dampening effect on the economy. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has embraced the $15 dollar minimum and Democratic hopeful Hillary Clinton supports $12 an hour as a national base.
The economic effects are far from certain, insists Tim Duy of the University of Oregon, who says "there has been so much conflicting research on ...the actual impacts." In fact, he says, "the fastest way to start a fight in an economics department is to talk about the minimum wage."
The drive for a $15 an hour minimum is spreading around the country. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has included the proposal in his annual state budget, and New York lawmakers are now debating the issue.
A bridge under construction collapsed in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata Thursday, killing at least 20 people and injuring dozens more.
Javed Ahmed Khan, disaster management minister for the state of West Bengal, said the death toll is expected to rise due to the large number of injured people.
Workers were pouring concrete when a 100-meter section of the bridge suddenly collapsed onto the crowded street below.
Search and rescue operations were under way to reach people believed to be trapped under the concrete slabs. Teams from India's National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and military personnel were brought in to aid in the rescue effort. Prior to their arrival, residents and firefighters had been trying to free those trapped, using bare hands.
"As soon as we learned about the bridge collapsing, we immediately contacted the state administration and spoke to the state relief commissioner. Immediately we dispatched two rescue teams to the spot. Fortunately both the teams were in the Rajarhat locality of Kolkata and they reached the accident spot and started their operations," NDRF Director General O.P. Singh said.
According to Singh, rescuers are now using sniffer dogs, concrete cutters and special cameras to find people trapped in the rubble. Officials said more than 70 injured people had been admitted to two hospitals in Kolkata.
The United States and China have announced they will sign the Paris climate accord in April, a step they hope will spur other countries to formally join the landmark agreement.
In a joint presidential statement, Washington and Beijing said Thursday they hope their move will help bring the Paris agreement into force "as early as possible."
The deal was crafted by nearly 200 countries in December but does not enter into force until it is signed by at least 55 countries representing 55 percent of global emissions.
The U.S. and China, the world's top greenhouse gas emitters, will join other nations in signing the bill on April 22, Earth Day, the earliest day that countries may sign the deal.
Vietnam's parliament on Thursday elected Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan as its chairwoman, making her the first woman to lead the Communist-dominated legislature.
Ngan, 61, won 95.5 percent of the votes, the National Assembly said on its website. State media reported that Ngan took the oath of office, vowing to "be completely faithful to the country, people and the Constitution."
Ngan rose from director of the finance department in her home province of Ben Tre in the southern Mekong Delta to vice chairwoman of the assembly five years ago.
Her appointment was widely expected when she was re-elected to the powerful Politburo at the Communist Party Congress in January. On Wednesday, the assembly voted to relieve chairman of the assembly Nguyen Sinh Hung of his duties.
"We will join allies and partners in reviewing our counterterrorism efforts, to prevent the world's most dangerous networks from obtaining the worlds most dangerous weapons," said Obama.
In a Washington Post opinion article, Obama said world powers would address threats posed by terrorist groups such as Islamic State.
Washington views Beijing, Pyongyang's ally, as key in enforcing UN sanctions against North Korea for its weapons development. Later, on the sidelines of the summit, the president will hold separate talks with French President Francois Hollande and Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Pyongyang was also among the focal points when Obama sat down later with Chinese President Xi Jinping. "We want to enhance communication and coordination on the Korean nuclear issue and other regional and global issues," Xi said at the top of the talks.
"We are united in our efforts to deter and defend against North Korean provocations," said Obama, following the talks.
Ahead of the summit, Obama met with South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the White House to discuss the North Korean threat in the wake of Pyongyang's January nuclear test and a long-range missile launch in February.
President Barack Obama opened his fourth and final Nuclear Security Summit in Washington on Thursday, acknowledging that the world remains imperiled by North Korea's nuclear weapons development and the possibility that the Islamic State militant group could set off radioactive bombs.
Brussels Attacks
The U.S. and other world powers may be experiencing a heightened sense of urgency in securing nuclear material and sites from terrorists, following the March 22 attacks in Brussels.
News reports have said two brothers linked to the attacks were part of a plot to gain information about a Belgian nuclear facility. "We know that terrorist organizations have the desire to get access to these raw materials and their desire to have a nuclear device," said White House foreign policy aide Ben Rhodes.
One U.S. lawmaker, Representative Ed Royce, a California Republican who is chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said, "We should assume terrorists will continue to seek out the weakest links at nuclear facilities around the globe."
World leaders are also concerned about the security of nuclear materials and facilities in countries such as nuclear-armed Pakistan, where a terrorist attack in Lahore on Easter Sunday killed more than 70 people.
Heads of state and delegations from 50 countries are attending the summit. Many of them will attend working dinners Thursday evening hosted by Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry.
Russia's Absence
However, Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has had a testy relationship with Obama since Moscow annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula two years ago, will not be attending.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was skipping the summit because of a "shortage of mutual cooperation" in setting the agenda.
But Obama said that Moscow and Washington, with 90 percent of the world's nuclear weapons, "should negotiate to reduce our stockpiles further." He said the two countries' "massive Cold War nuclear arsenal is poorly suited to today's threats."
While progress has been made since the first summit in 2010, "the overall objective of securing the most vulnerable nuclear materials in four years I don't think has been achieved," said Sharon Squassoni with the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
"There is still material out there and the material that we're talking about is highly enriched uranium," she said.
International Framework
Experts say security gaps remain for several reasons: There still is no international framework to monitor nuclear materials; some countries are unwilling to open up supplies intended for commercial use; and some militaries have been unable to agree on how to deal with their nuclear material.
"If you wanted to cause a nuclear incident, you might look for the country with the most vulnerable reactors," said James Andrew Lewis, head of the Strategic Technologies Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Britain is expected to announce at the summit that it will team up with the U.S. and European partners to exchange nuclear waste for material to be used to fight cancer.
The plan calls for London to send waste from its nuclear facilities in Scotland for processing in U.S. reactors, while the U.S. will send uranium for use in reactors controlled by the European Atomic Energy Community.
North Korea on Thursday tried to disrupt South Korean global positioning satellite signals as the leaders of the South, the U.S. and Japan met in Washington to discuss the North's nuclear program.
The disruptions could cause mobile communication devices to malfunction and affect airplanes and ships that depend on GPS.
The Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning said it issued warnings in Seoul, Incheon, Gyeonggi Province and Gangwon Province as North Korea discharged a large amounts of radio waves to jam GPS signals.
Once the jamming waves were detected at around 7:30 p.m., government officials met to assess the impact. The signals were traced to Haeju and Mt. Kumgang in North Korea.
"No damage of involving mobile communications and ships has been detected," a ministry official said. "Two airplanes experienced disruptions in signals, but their flight operations were not affected."
A government official said the North has been sending test waves since last month.
North Korean Ambassador to Burma Kim Sok-chol has been sent packing after being blacklisted by South Korea and the U.S. over his involvement in the North's illicit arms trade.
Kim left Burma on March 17 and his successor Jong Ho-bom arrived there last week, a government source here said on Thursday.
Kim is suspected of involvement in illicit arms deals in Burma by the Korea Mining Development Trading Corporation, a North Korean firm blacklisted by the UN Security Council and the U.S.
The U.S. Treasury put Kim on a special sanctions list in November last year, a first for a foreign ambassador.
Seoul also put him on a financial sanctions list of 40 individuals and 30 agencies when it announced its own North Korea sanctions on March 8.
Under a UNSC resolution from March 2, UN member states must deport any North Korean diplomat found to have been involved in illicit activities.
"It's not clear whether Kim's departure was a result of Burma implementing the UNSC resolution or of the North recalling him pre-emptively, because any diplomat is as good as dead from a professional point of view if he is put on a blacklist," a diplomatic source here said.
Burma established diplomatic relations with the North in 1975 but severed ties in 1983 after North Korean agents tried to assassinate then-President Chun Doo-hwan in Rangoon.
They restored ties in 2007, and Kim had been ambassador since then.
THAAD deployment in ROK is strategic issue instead of technical matter: FM spokesperson
2016-04-01 08:24
BEIJING, March 30 (Xinhua) -- China on Wednesday reiterated its opposition to the deployment of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), an advanced U.S. missile defense system, in the Republic of Korea (ROK).
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on Tuesday he hoped China would accept the offer to attend a technical briefing on the new missile defense system the United States wants to deploy in the ROK.
The deployment is no simple technical matter, it relates to the strategic issue of peace and stability in Northeast Asia, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei told a daily news briefing.
Hong said the THAAD missile defense system goes far beyond the defense needs of the Korean Peninsula, which will not only threat China's proper national security interests, but also harm regional strategic stability.
China hopes relevant countries can act with prudence and do more to benefit regional peace and stability, Hong said.
Chinese vice premier presents proposal to deepen China-Israel innovation cooperation
2016-04-01 08:24
JERUSALEM, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong has presented a four-point proposal to deepen and broaden cooperation between China and Israel on innovation in various fields.
Liu made the proposal while addressing the second meeting of the China-Israel Joint Committee on Innovation Cooperation in Jerusalem Tuesday. The meeting was co-chaired by Liu and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In her speech, Liu said that initial achievements have been made in bilateral pragmatic cooperation in such areas as science and technology, education, culture and health,since the joint committee successfully held its first meeting in January last year in Beijing.
China has made innovation-driven development as a national strategy and such a perception is shared by Israel, which is known for innovation, Liu said, adding that the two countries have great potential in deepening innovation cooperation.
China and Israel should further strengthen the joint committee's role in planning holistically and coordinating and constantly expand the scope of bilateral innovation cooperation, she pointed out.
The Chinese vice premier, who arrived in Israel Monday evening for a two-day visit, suggested that the two countries increase the complementarity of their innovation strategies and facilitate the incorporation of Israel's experience as a "startup nation" and its technologies into China's strategy of pursuing innovation-based growth.
Liu said that China will step up the protection of intellectual property rights, encourage local governments and enterprises to strengthen exchanges with their Israeli counterparts and establish a more fair, regulated and predictable environment for development.
Other proposals offered by Liu included setting up more industrial innovation parks in China in cooperation with the Israeli side, learning from each other's useful experience, and intensifying joint efforts in research and development.
On the same occasion, the two sides signed 13 cooperation agreements in the presence of Vice Premier Liu and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. Among them was an agreement which allows both sides to issue 10-year multiple-entry visas to each other's applicants, making China the first country to have such an arrangement with Israel.
In another major step to boost bilateral economic ties, the two sides agreed Tuesday to officially start talks on a free trade agreement, when Liu and Netanyahu met earlier Tuesday.
The genes of dreams
From:chinadaily.com.cn | 2016-04-01 10:21
Nobel Prize recipient Craig Mello speaks at a news conference in Boston in 2006. The biologist has worked with Chinese scientists for years.[Photo provided to China Daily]
Nobel-winning biologist Craig Mello tells Liu Xiangrui that the stage is set for China to play a leading role in world science.
Craig Mello, an American biologist and co-winner of the Nobel Prize in 2006, says the great thing about science is that it can break barriers and bring people of different cultural backgrounds together.
In his younger days, Mello, now 56, used to interact with many Chinese students and fellow scientists, who then visited the United States for studies or to attend seminars. One such meeting led to his friendship with Zhang Biliang, an entrepreneur who returned to China and founded the Guangzhou-based biotech company RiboBio in 2006.
Mello and Zhang have worked together since.
"Friendship really is the key (to our cooperation), and we've been collaborating closely," Mello tells China Daily during a recent visit to the southern city of Guangzhou in Guangdong province.
The professor of molecular medicine at University of Massachusetts Medical School and a member of the US National Academy of Sciences shares his Nobel Prize with Andrew Fire for their discovery of RNA interference, a genetic process.
It is an example of the RNA-guided searching mechanism that cells develop to find and regulate genetic information, quite analogous to the way we would search the Internet, Mello explains.
RNA interference allows researchers to rapidly "knock out" the expression of specific genes and define the biological functions of those genes. It also provides a potential avenue to "silence" genes that cause or contribute to diseases.
"It has huge ramifications and implications both for medicine and other fields. So it's an extremely exciting time now in genetics," Mello says.
RiboBio has been among China's early companies to develop medicines based on RNA interference.
Led by Mello, who is a scientific consultant and chairman of its scientific and strategic development commission, RiboBio has formed an international research team on RNA-based therapies.
In 2011, the company's focus on RNA silencing and relevant therapies was recognized as an innovative project by the provincial government.
Currently the company is developing RNA treatments for diseases, including liver cancer, based on such technologies. A RiboBio treatment for osteoarthritis that uses RNA technology is expected to go into clinical trials this year.
The company has created the Canton Nucleic Acids Forum, a series of recurring conferences with the initial goal of exposing Chinese scientists to the latest developments in research on nucleic acids worldwide and translating the new knowledge into practical applications everywhere.
During his brief visits to China, Mello holds discussions with the Chinese employees of RiboBio.
Craig Mello attends the 2015 Friendship Award ceremony in Beijing, where he was greeted by Premier Li Keqiang.[Photo provided to China Daily]
"The more different ideas you can bring into a discussion, the more likely you will come up with interesting solutions. That works both for the science and the business side of the company," he says.
Other than the Nobel, Mello's scientific achievements have won him many honors. Now, he holds a number of positions, including as an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in the US.
According to Mello, he developed a strong interest in science from looking for dinosaur bones with his father, a paleontologist who frequently took him on fossil-hunting tours.
"I became fascinated pursuing my curiosity about the Earth and its history," he recalls. "When you are a scientist, it becomes your job to keep asking questions your whole life. It does shape your lifestyle."
Recognized for his work in China, Mello was given the 2015 Friendship Award, a top honor for foreigners who have made significant contributions to China's social and economic development.
"I'm honored by the award. I'm very proud to be a friend of China, and hope I can give back to China in the future as our relationship continues to develop," Mello says.
"It's great that China celebrates its friendships that way. The awards bring experts into China to let the country benefit from their wisdom."
Early last year, Mello was invited to a seminar held by the Research Office of the State Council and the top administration for foreign expert affairs to seek feedback from foreigners on the Chinese government's work report.
Mello's advice to Chinese officials was: China should keep its current policy of investing in basic scientific research in areas that aren't ready for commercialization yet.
"It will have the biggest payoff down the road because the new discoveries are totally unanticipated," says Mello, noting the example of his own finding, which was the outcome of experimenting on a worm.
"You wouldn't discover it if you just tried to kill cancer in your laboratory and only worked on sick humans."
In Mello's opinion, China has all the ingredients - brain power and strong government funding for research at a time when budgets in the sector are down in other countries - to play a leading role in world science.
"Now we see many Chinese scientists coming back and succeeding here," Mello says. "I think the stage is really set for China to take a leadership role scientifically."
That's going to be a really good thing in many ways, he says, including healthy rivalry for the US.
Contact the writer at liuxiangrui@chinadaily.com.cn
Chinese Art of Silk Exhibition opened in Qatar
From:chinadaily.com.cn | 2016-04-01 12:24
Chairwoman Mayassa visits the exhibition at the Qatar Museum on March 23, 2016. [Photo/culturalink.gov.cn]
Silks from the Silk Road--Chinese Art of Silk, the second major exhibition of the China-Qatar 2016 Year of Culture, opened at the Qatar Museum on March 23.
The exhibition highlights ancient Chinese silk art and provides insight into the Silk Road. It aims to map out the history of silk and its cultural significance over thousands of years. Ninety-five silk products and modern artistic works of silk selected by the China National Silk Museum will be exhibited until May 9.
During the opening ceremony, artists demonstrated the process of silk manufacturing, which gave visitors a vivid experience of Chinese silk.
Chinese Ambassador Li Chen and Qatar Museum's Chairwoman H.E. Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani attended the ceremony.
The Silk Road was a bridge for economic and cultural exchange between East and West over 2,000 years ago. China and Qatar will hold a series of events through the cultural year.
A Chinese artist demonstrates the process of silk manufacturing at the Qatar Museum on March 23, 2016. [Photo/culturalink.gov.cn]
Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan has also criticized other ministers and the State Government over their reactions on the appointment of the Technical University Vice Chancellor.
#MLB Padres' Kim Ha-seong gets 2 hits, RBI in NLCS defeat The San Diego Padres' South Korean shortstop Kim Ha-seong had his second career postseason multihit game, though his club got pushed to the brink by the power-hitting Philadelphia ...
This year's IFTAs will have one of Ireland's leading lights - Liam Neeson - receiving a special award for his work to the Irish film industry.
The 63-year old Ballymena native will be flying in to receive the Outstanding Contribution to Industry Award at the 2016 IFTAs, which will be presented by President Michael D. Higgins. This year's ceremony takes place on Saturday, April 9th at the Mansion House, Dublin and will see the great and good of the Irish film industry on the red carpet.
Deirdre O'Kane will be on MC duties for the night with a total of 29 categories to be contested. The highlights on the night will be broadcast on TV3 on Sunday, April 10th at 9PM.
The sad news that TXFM is to close in the coming months led many to wonder what's next for the alternative music radio listeners in Dublin and beyond.
There was a rumour that Simon Maher, formerly of TXFM forerunner Phantom FM and now of 8Radio.com, was considering applying for the licence.
However, he has issued a statement saying that he had considered applying for the licence in December when it was advertised, but ultimately decided against it as it was unlikely that it would have unseated TXFM.
Since the news of TXFM's demise, however, he has urged the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland to re-advertise the Alternative Rock Licence "at the earliest opportunity". 8Radio.com currently broadcasts digitally, as well as via temporary FM frequencies in Dublin, Galway, Cork and Limerick during summer and autumn months
In other related news, it's been announced that musician Gavin Glass - who released his most recent album 'Sunday Songs' last year - will take up a new show on Radio Nova.
Glass had presented The Pick Up, a specialist roots, folk and Americana show on the station - but will now take over presenting duties on the weekly show, 'Locals Only', on Sunday nights on Nova. The show will feature the best in Irish music and Glass makes his debut this Sunday at 6pm.
Little Mix have been on their Get Weird tour for the last while, but it seems that the pressure might be starting to get to the pop group.
The girl band cancelled their two Belfast gigs yesterday as member Jesy Nelson was 'unwell and unable to perform'.
Now, footage has emerged of their gig the previous night at Dublin's 3Arena, where Nelson broke down in tears while talking about 'Little Me', a song written about body confidence.
She said: "If you're ever feeling crap about yourself, or you're not feeling confident, this is exactly why we wrote this song." As her voice started to waver, her bandmates came to comfort her as she said "I don't know what's wrong with me! I'm so emotional. Ireland, what have you done to me?"
Since Little Mix's inception, Nelson has been the member who has been bullied most about her weight and appearance.
Their next scheduled gig is at Dublin's 3Arena on April 18th, so hopefully she'll be feeling better by then.
Watch the footage via Twitter user @RyanJL below:
Irish website Kildare Now has apologised over an 'extremely insensitive' April Fool's Day article that was published on their site.
The prank article 'reported' that 'Paddy Jihaddy' had rigged a local landmark with explosives. The article also featured a photoshopped image of the Islamic State flag on top of the landmark. Many assumed it was a April Fool's prank from the site itself and it was not well received on Twitter.
Oh no... how did nobody see this was a terrible idea? https://t.co/Tdd11vL2rU Steve O'Rourke (@steveohrourke) April 1, 2016
When April Fools jokes aren't done well... https://t.co/72pxcgMrBi Eeek Will O'Callaghan (@willocallaghan) April 1, 2016
"Kildare Now would like to apologise unreservedly to everybody who was rightly offended by the article which was extremely insensitive especially in light of recent tragic events in Brussels and elsewhere," they said.
The apology which you can read in full here, explains that the article was not published by a member of the editorial team and that Kildare Now have launched an investigation into how their site was hacked.
Charlie Cox says his return as Daredevil "still feels too good to be true"
On Wednesday (30 March 2016), the European Union hosted the 13th EU-India summit. The agenda of the high-profile meeting that took place in Brussels included energy and climate, trade and investment, water management, migration and foreign and security policy. Both sides used the opportunity to also reaffirm their commitment to building stronger mutual strategic partnership. The EU was represented by President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, and President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, while India was represented by its Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi.
During the meeting, both sides endorsed the EU-India agenda for Action 2020, which will set out a concrete road map for the next five years. The agenda includes a broad range of issues, such as foreign policy in areas of mutual interest, such as Asia, Africa, Middle East/West Asia, global humanitarian issues, gender equality, security, implementation of a mechanism to facilitate investment of EU businesses in India and climate, energy and environmental issues. Climate change and sustainable development were of special importance as both sides adopted a separate declaration on clean energy and climate partnership.
At the same time, leaders also embraced the re-engagement in discussions on how to move forward the EU-India Trade and Investment Agreement negotiations and established a common agenda on migration and mobility. Moreover, both sides used the summit as an opportunity for the European Investment Bank (EIB), the worlds largest multilateral public bank, to voice its support of long-term investment in India. The EIB and India also formally agreed on a 450 million long-term loan to finance the first metro line in Lucknow, capital of Uttar Pradesh, and the bank also announced the opening of its first office on the sub-continent to ensure closer ties with public and private partners across the country. Both sides moreover adopted a joint declaration on counter-terrorism, emphasizing the need for a coordinated global response to this threat.
Foreign investors encouraged, says Premier Updated: 2016-04-01 07:41 By Zhang Yue(China Daily)
Premier Li Keqiang greets US Senator Dick Durbin, a member of a delegation organized by the Aspen Institute, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 31, 2016. [WU ZHIYI / CHINA DAILY]
Li: China will strive to make fairer market environment, boost protection of IPR
Premier Li Keqiang said China will ramp up efforts to nurture a fairer environment for market competition and will bolster intellectual property rights protection to attract more foreign investment, including from the United States.
Li made the remark during a meeting on Thursday with a US delegation organized by the Aspen Institute, a Washington-based US think tank, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
The delegation was composed of 18 US senators and members of the House of Representatives.
Li emphasized that China and the US-the world's largest developing country and the largest developed country-have far greater common interests than differences. The two need to handle differences of opinion well to maintain the steady and sound growth of Sino-US relations.
He also said that China is willing to work hard with the US to advance negotiations on a China-US bilateral investment treaty, which is expected to better benefit economic and trade activities between them.
Legislators from the US states of Illinois, Delaware, California and Nebraska shared their thoughts with Li on wide-ranging topics, such as Sino-US relations, and China's economic development and business environment. They agreed that China's development also presents opportunities for the US.
The Aspen Institute, headquartered in Washington DC, is an organization that focuses on fostering leadership and open-minded dialogue.
Xue Lan, dean of the School of Public Policy and Management at Tsinghua University who had received training at the Aspen Institute, said think tanks such as the Aspen have often visited China, yet were rarely received by Chinese leaders such as the premier.
"It is important, especially for foreign legislators, to meet with Chinese leaders so all can get a clearer understanding of the other side," Xue said.
Zhao Chen, an IPR expert at the State Intellectual Property Office of China, said protection of property rights in China requires more specific regulations in order to increase overseas investment.
"Foreign investors currently face restrictions in some trading areas that force them to find Chinese partners," Zhao said. "The creation of more comprehensive policies is needed to dispel their concerns."
McDonald's seeks strategic partners for expansion in China Updated: 2016-04-01 09:20 By Wang Zhuoqiong(China Daily)
McDonald's organizes a birthday party for children in Beijing. The company's mainland subsidiary currently operates 2,200 restaurants.[JIANG DONG / CHINA DAILY] Fast food chain plans to open further 1,000 restaurants by 2020
McDonald's China is on the lookout for strategic investment partners in the mainland to help it open another 1,000 restaurants by 2020.
"We truly believe we can create strong and sustainable growth in the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and South Korea, with a mindful introduction of strategic partners who can offer local expertise and competency, blended with the unrivaled global strength of the group, to allow accelerated, long-term growth," McDonald's President and CEO Steve Easterbrook said in an interview with China Daily in Beijing.
Steve Easterbrook, CEO and president of McDonald's
The company has appointed multinational financial services corporation Morgan Stanley to identify potential investors, who are expected to hold "majority shares" in the new sites.
The company's mainland subsidiary currently operates 2,200 restaurants, 35 percent of which are franchised. It also plans to find strategic investors in Hong Kong and South Korea.
The mainland is the company's third-largest market after the United States and Japan, but Easterbrook now expects it to jump to second by 2020. Easterbrook said he remains bullish on the China market, and open-minded to potential investors.
But he emphasized candidates should offer exceptional integrity, deep understanding of their local market, be financially stable, and have the competitive strength to grow.
Phyllis Cheung, CEO of McDonald's China, said: "With the introduction of strategic partners, we will be able to tap into the country's rich local resources, allowing investment capital to unlock our growth potential.
"We will also be able to make faster local decisions by being China-centric to achieve our goal of being the second-largest market for McDonald's."
She added the move is in line with the company's goal to increase its ratio of franchised businesses globally from the current more than 80 percent to 93 percent by 2018 and 95 percent in the long term.
McDonald's rival Yum Brands Inc, the parent of KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, announced in October it was spinning off its China business into a separate company.
An expired-meat scandal in 2014 involving Shanghai Husi FoodCo, which supplied many leading international fast-food chains, has hurt revenues at both Yum and McDonald's in the past two years, and weakened consumer confidence in the brands.
Slower growth has been felt particularly hard in first- and second-tier cities, but experts said the greatest potential for growth is in fourth- and fifth-tier cites where competition remains relatively weak.
Jason Yu, local general manger of global consumer research firm Kantar World-panel, said international fast-food chains have seen their growth flatline in the past two years, as a result of increasing consumer awareness of healthier food and liftestyles.
He said any significant transformation by McDonald's in China will only come about with hefty capital investment and locally know-how.
"Diversification and localization by McDonald's in China will demand strong local partners with consumer insight, market entry and relevant resources."
Yu said the deal is the right decision for a global company like McDonald's so it can deploy its own resources in other emerging markets where the growth could be higher.
Rail firms on track to haul the world Updated: 2016-04-01 08:31 By Zhong Nan(China Daily Europe)
Bullet trains at a factory of CRRC Qingdao Sifang Co Ltd in Qingdao, Shandong province. CSR Sifang America JV, a CRRC subsidiary, has clinched a $1.3 billion deal with the Chicago Transit Authority to supply up to 846 metro vehicles to the Midwestern city. [Photos provided to China Daily]
Chinese companies gear up to export bullet trains, rail technology and equipment, and subway cars
China Railway Rolling Stock Corp, the country's largest train-maker, plans to build bullet trains and provide other services in developed markets, including the United States and the United Kingdom, over the next five years to compete with established rivals in Europe, Japan and Canada.
Many opportunities come from the surging demand in these countries for improved railway infrastructure, passenger services and regional connectivity, as well as their desire to create jobs and new commercial areas.
Technicians examine a nearly finished bullet train at the factory.
CRRC has set a target of 30 percent growth by 2020 in its research and development ability from current levels. This is especially applicable to its three bullet train subsidiaries: CRRC Tangshan Co Ltd, CRRC Qingdao Sifang Co Ltd and CRRC Changchun Co Ltd.
Yu Weiping, vice-president of CRRC, says the company is also developing "smart trains", which will use advanced technologies that enable automatic controls of speed and interior conditions, and fault detection.
The goal is to grab a bigger share of the global market from foreign competitors, he says, adding that the company is in talks with more than 30 countries about high-speed rail projects, including the US, Russia, Brazil, Thailand, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Iran.
CRRC and its partner, China Railway Corp, the railway service provider, were selected by the Indonesian government last year to build the nation's first bullet train link. The two companies will construct a $5.5 billion line stretching 150 kilometers from the capital, Jakarta, to Bandung.
It will be China's first overseas high-speed train project and involves design and construction work, financing solutions, and operational and maintenance services.
With more than 184,000 employees and 52 subsidiaries covering industries such as signal system design and train equipment production, CRRC has already built manufacturing facilities and maintenance centers in the US, Malaysia, Turkey and Brazil.
Yu says the company is keen to contribute to a new high-speed rail culture in the US.
"With high-speed trains traveling at speeds of more than 300 km/h, it will help the US to change its ground commuting systems, which have long been dominated by automobiles," he says.
Even though China is a latecomer compared with its German and French rivals, Yu says the country's rail equipment companies have thrived thanks to cost advantages, reasonable delivery times and flexible financing models.
The Chinese government announced in September that a 370-km, high-speed railway project between Las Vegas and Los Angeles will be built by a joint venture involving China Railway Construction Corp, China Railway Corp and XpressWest Enterprises, a US passenger rail service provider.
The construction work between Nevada and California is expected to start in September, and the estimated investment is $12.7 billion.
Wang Yongzhi, chief information officer at CRRC, says the Belt and Road Initiative will also help China export more high-speed rail technologies to a number of lucrative markets during the 13th Five-Year Plan, the nation's development blueprint for 2016 to 2020.
The trade and infrastructure network, proposed by China in 2013, envisions a Silk Road Economic Belt and a 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, covering about 4.4 billion people in more than 60 countries and regions in Asia, Europe and Africa.
CRRC is also preparing to export bullet trains for a high-speed rail project in Russia that would connect Moscow to Kazan. The length of the line is expected to be about 770 km and will run through seven Russian regions with a total population of more than 25 million.
"As most countries along the initiative (routes) - especially in Central Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Eastern Europe - are planning to build high-speed rail lines or upgrade their existing railway systems, they are willing to acquire technological support from China to assist in the daily operations, maintenance, staff training and other services," Wang says.
CSR Sifang America, a CRRC subsidiary, has also secured a $1.3 billion deal with the Chicago Transit Authority to supply up to 846 metro vehicles to the city. This is the biggest railcar purchase in the agency's history.
Another CRRC subsidiary is currently building trains in Massachusetts after sealing a deal with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority to supply 284 railcars to the Boston transit system.
"This deal represents another major breakthrough for the Chinese railway vehicles in the North American market," says Wang Mengshu, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering.
He says it certainly will rouse the interest of more countries, which are keen to put their economic growth on a firmer footing through efficient transportation systems and regional connectivity.
Under the deal, the 7000 series railcars will be assembled at a purpose-built plant in Chicago, to replace the 2600 series manufactured in the 1980s.
The Chicago Transit Authority started procurement for the 7000 series deal in 2013, but the bidding gained little interest and a revised tender was launched in 2014.
CRRC made a $1.3 billion offer for 846 railcars, about $226 million lower than the bid by Canadian rival Bombardier Inc. Its $632 million base order comprises 400 cars with options for a further 446 vehicles.
The Chicago authority says the purchase will give the city one of the youngest rail fleets in the US, with the average age of a railcar dropping from 26 years in 2011 to 13 years once all the railcars are delivered, as well as saving $7 million a year in maintenance.
zhongnan@chinadaily.com.cn
Big rush for Shanghai Disney tickets Updated: 2016-04-01 08:30 By Wang Zhuoqiong(China Daily Europe)
Sales channels 'overwhelmed' as customers compete to visit new park on opening day
Disney fans desperate to visit its Shanghai theme park on opening day crashed the official website on the first day of tickets sales.
The company says the first batch of tickets for June 16 were snapped up in just five minutes after going on sale at noon on March 28, with interest so intense that online services were overwhelmed.
A flagship Disney store in the Lujiazui area of Shanghai. Provided to China Daily
"The response was tremendous," according to the Shanghai Disney Resort. "We had more than 5 million hits on our official website in less than half an hour. The volume overwhelmed our system for a short period of time, but all of our ticketing channels - official website, WeChat, Alitrip Store and Reservation Center - are operating normally."
The company did not say how many tickets were sold.
The new resort's flagship store on Alitrip, one of its authorized ticket sellers, says it sold out standard admission tickets and two-day tickets, adding that more than 20,000 tickets went in 30 minutes.
The theme park offers regular tickets for 370 yuan ($57; 50 euros) and peak-time tickets - dates in high demand - for 499 yuan. Admission for the grand opening period, June 16 to 30, costs 499 yuan.
Ben Cavender, principal at China Market Research Group, says it's good for Disney to have other channels through which to sell tickets, such as Alitrip, phone hotlines and accounts on the WeChat app.
Meanwhile, hotels at the resort have started to take bookings, with rooms at Shanghai Disneyland Hotel starting at 1,650 yuan and those at Toy Story Hotel priced at 850 yuan.
Admission charges for The Lion King, the musical show, range from 290 to 1,000 yuan.
Li Song, 32, bought tickets for three days - the opening day, one night at Disneyland Hotel, three nights at Toy Story Hotel, and a ticket for The Lion King.
"You have to be there on the first day," says Li, who has been to the Disney parks in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Paris and Anaheim, California. "I missed the opening days for other Disney parks, so I couldn't afford to miss this one."
Shanghai Disney Resort expects to receive more than 10 million visitors a year, or about 27,000 a day, according to Shanghai Shendi Group, which set up the joint venture with The Walt Disney Co.
wangzhuoqiong@ chinadaily.com.cn
A cradle of innovation Updated: 2016-04-01 08:30 By Wang Hongyi in Shanghai(China Daily Europe)
Shanghai Jiao Tong University was an early adopter of an international strategy
Internationalization of advanced education is not only the development trend of the times and a necessary process in the context of global economic integration, but also a requirement for China to cultivate the innovative talent it needs for future development.
Shanghai Jiao Tong University was one of the earliest Chinese universities to develop an internationalization strategy, and it has completed a series of bold moves over the past few years to create a multicultural campus atmosphere and develop talent with a global outlook.
Graduates from Shanghai Jiao Tong University are known for their spirit of innovation. Provided to China Daily
Brass Band of Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 1930. Scientist Qian Xuesen (first from left, sitting), who contributed to the missile and space program, was one of them. Provided to China Daily
"Shanghai Jiao Tong University is committed to cultivating top-level competitive professionals who have a global perspective and deep understanding of the multicultural workplace. In this regard, we have long been working to promote our international development," says Zhang Weimin, director of its international cooperation and exchange department.
The university has established several joint institutes through cooperation with top international higher education institutions over the past decade.
The China Europe International Business School, co-founded with the European Foundation for Management Development in 1994, has become China's leading business school.
The University of Michigan-Shanghai Jiao Tong Joint Institute has also been widely acclaimed for its success over the past 10 years and in 2014 received an Andrew Heiskell Award for Innovation in International Education, the first time an award of this caliber has been given to a Chinese university.
Other successful joint institutes include the Shanghai Jiao Tong University-ParisTech Elite Institute of Technology, established in 2012, and the University of Southern California-Shanghai Jiao Tong University Institute of Cultural and Creative Industry, established in 2014.
To develop international practices and establish benchmarks, almost every school or department at Shanghai Jiao Tong University has developed long-term partnerships with overseas institutes that are in leading positions in their own fields.
"But we don't simply reproduce or copy overseas education methods and experiences," Zhang says. "What we do is absorb international advanced teaching methods and concepts, while paying close attention to the appropriate features of China's higher education and its national conditions.
"We've created an education mode that has absorbed the essence of East and West, which helps cultivate the talent needed to meet the needs of China's economic development."
The university has a multicultural environment thanks to the large number of international students and foreign faculty members. The university receives more than 5,000 international students every year, and it has also attracted about 200 full-time foreign faculty members. In recent years, Shanghai Jiao Tong University has offered many courses in English, which have proved popular.
Since 2007, 450 world-class professors and top-tier faculty members of international standing have joined the university, and more than 250 existing faculty members have transferred to its tenure-track system.
As an important move in its development, Shanghai Jiao Tong University implemented a university-wide incentive system to motivate faculty and students in 2007, aiming to "develop a high-quality faculty comparable to that of the best Western universities by 2020".
"Establishing a high-quality faculty has been the key to building a world-class research institution," says Zhang Jie, president of Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
As the first Chinese college to join the Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise project in Singapore, Shanghai Jiao Tong University has become an international collaborator with partners such as MIT and Cambridge University. Its teachers and students are also working with counterparts at the National University of Singapore on a flagship program, Energy and Environmental Sustainability Solutions for Megacities, which is exploring the feasibility and implementation of initiatives for the sustainable development of the cities.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is also funding a project led by teachers at Shanghai Jiao Tong University that is conducting clinical trials for a combination drug for tuberculosis and HIV.
wanghongyi@chinadaily.com.cn
Lesser-known destinations beckon Updated: 2016-04-01 08:30 (China Daily Europe)
About 12.5 million Chinese visited Europe last year, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization.
Six of the world's 10 leading destinations in terms of international tourist arrivals are in Europe - France, Spain, Italy, Turkey, Germany and the United Kingdom.
However, Frantisek Reismuller, director of China operations for the European Travel Commission, says there is growing interest among Chinese visitors in less-visited European countries.
They enjoy Southern Europe's sea views and leisure, Northern Europe's nature and the northern lights, and Central Europe's cultural heritage, he says.
Inese Liepina, the Latvian embassy's first secretary in China, says the country will open a Schengen visa application center in Beijing in mid-April - its first in China. It plans to open 14 such centers nationwide within two years.
She says her government also plans to start the first direct flight between China and Latvia - between Chengdu, the Sichuan provincial capital, and Riga.
Chinese visitors love colorful Latvian cultural celebrations, Liepina says. They also visit during Christmas because Riga claims to have had the world's first decorated Christmas tree in 1510.
Chinese can also enter Montenegro using valid visas to Schengen countries, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland or the United States, according to Vatroslav Belan, first counselor in its embassy in Beijing.
Chinese tourists like to travel to as many destinations as possible during trips, so they often visit Montenegro's neighbors, Serbia and Slovenia, he says.
(China Daily European Weekly 04/01/2016 page18)
Home Credit invests $928m in China Updated: 2016-04-01 08:31 By Zhong Nan(China Daily Europe)
Czech consumer finance provider to speed up the development of its online business and increase the number of loan products
Home Credit Group, an international consumer finance provider based in the Czech Republic, will invest 6 billion yuan ($928 million; 820 million euros) in China to double its business by the end of 2017, the company's chief executive officer said on March 28.
Jiri Smejc spoke exclusively to China Daily as President Xi Jinping arrived in Prague to start an official visit to the country.
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 use 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 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, says He Jingtong, a professor of finance at Nankai University in Tianjin. This is exactly where consumer finance can be effective, he says.
"For making a profit, both domestic and global players are keen to secure more market share," he says.
zhongnan@chinadaily.com.cn
(China Daily European Weekly 04/01/2016 page25)
Rail firms on track to haul the world Updated: 2016-04-01 08:31 By Zhong Nan(China Daily Europe)
Chinese companies gear up to export bullet trains, rail technology and equipment, and subway cars
China Railway Rolling Stock Corp, the country's largest train-maker, plans to build bullet trains and provide other services in developed markets, including the United States and the United Kingdom, over the next five years to compete with established rivals in Europe, Japan and Canada.
Many opportunities come from the surging demand in these countries for improved railway infrastructure, passenger services and regional connectivity, as well as their desire to create jobs and new commercial areas.
Bullet trains at a factory of CRRC Qingdao Sifang Co Ltd in Qingdao, Shandong province. CSR Sifang America JV, a CRRC subsidiary, has clinched a $1.3 billion deal with the Chicago Transit Authority to supply up to 846 metro vehicles to the Midwestern city. Photos provided to China Daily Technicians examine a nearly finished bullet train at the factory.
CRRC has set a target of 30 percent growth by 2020 in its research and development ability from current levels. This is especially applicable to its three bullet train subsidiaries: CRRC Tangshan Co Ltd, CRRC Qingdao Sifang Co Ltd and CRRC Changchun Co Ltd.
Yu Weiping, vice-president of CRRC, says the company is also developing "smart trains", which will use advanced technologies that enable automatic controls of speed and interior conditions, and fault detection.
The goal is to grab a bigger share of the global market from foreign competitors, he says, adding that the company is in talks with more than 30 countries about high-speed rail projects, including the US, Russia, Brazil, Thailand, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Iran.
CRRC and its partner, China Railway Corp, the railway service provider, were selected by the Indonesian government last year to build the nation's first bullet train link. The two companies will construct a $5.5 billion line stretching 150 kilometers from the capital, Jakarta, to Bandung.
It will be China's first overseas high-speed train project and involves design and construction work, financing solutions, and operational and maintenance services.
With more than 184,000 employees and 52 subsidiaries covering industries such as signal system design and train equipment production, CRRC has already built manufacturing facilities and maintenance centers in the US, Malaysia, Turkey and Brazil.
Yu says the company is keen to contribute to a new high-speed rail culture in the US.
"With high-speed trains traveling at speeds of more than 300 km/h, it will help the US to change its ground commuting systems, which have long been dominated by automobiles," he says.
Even though China is a latecomer compared with its German and French rivals, Yu says the country's rail equipment companies have thrived thanks to cost advantages, reasonable delivery times and flexible financing models.
The Chinese government announced in September that a 370-km, high-speed railway project between Las Vegas and Los Angeles will be built by a joint venture involving China Railway Construction Corp, China Railway Corp and XpressWest Enterprises, a US passenger rail service provider.
The construction work between Nevada and California is expected to start in September, and the estimated investment is $12.7 billion.
Wang Yongzhi, chief information officer at CRRC, says the Belt and Road Initiative will also help China export more high-speed rail technologies to a number of lucrative markets during the 13th Five-Year Plan, the nation's development blueprint for 2016 to 2020.
The trade and infrastructure network, proposed by China in 2013, envisions a Silk Road Economic Belt and a 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, covering about 4.4 billion people in more than 60 countries and regions in Asia, Europe and Africa.
CRRC is also preparing to export bullet trains for a high-speed rail project in Russia that would connect Moscow to Kazan. The length of the line is expected to be about 770 km and will run through seven Russian regions with a total population of more than 25 million.
"As most countries along the initiative (routes) - especially in Central Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Eastern Europe - are planning to build high-speed rail lines or upgrade their existing railway systems, they are willing to acquire technological support from China to assist in the daily operations, maintenance, staff training and other services," Wang says.
CSR Sifang America, a CRRC subsidiary, has also secured a $1.3 billion deal with the Chicago Transit Authority to supply up to 846 metro vehicles to the city. This is the biggest railcar purchase in the agency's history.
Another CRRC subsidiary is currently building trains in Massachusetts after sealing a deal with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority to supply 284 railcars to the Boston transit system.
"This deal represents another major breakthrough for the Chinese railway vehicles in the North American market," says Wang Mengshu, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering.
He says it certainly will rouse the interest of more countries, which are keen to put their economic growth on a firmer footing through efficient transportation systems and regional connectivity.
Under the deal, the 7000 series railcars will be assembled at a purpose-built plant in Chicago, to replace the 2600 series manufactured in the 1980s.
The Chicago Transit Authority started procurement for the 7000 series deal in 2013, but the bidding gained little interest and a revised tender was launched in 2014.
CRRC made a $1.3 billion offer for 846 railcars, about $226 million lower than the bid by Canadian rival Bombardier Inc. Its $632 million base order comprises 400 cars with options for a further 446 vehicles.
The Chicago authority says the purchase will give the city one of the youngest rail fleets in the US, with the average age of a railcar dropping from 26 years in 2011 to 13 years once all the railcars are delivered, as well as saving $7 million a year in maintenance.
zhongnan@chinadaily.com.cn
(China Daily European Weekly 04/01/2016 page28)
Banking on the Belt and Road Updated: 2016-04-01 08:31 By Cecily Liu and Fu Jing(China Daily Europe)
Financing for Eurasian connectivity and Central and Eastern European productivity are on the agenda for Prague and Beijing, cooperation forum hears
Financial institutions from China and the Czech Republic want to turn the European country into a financial hub by supporting the production of regional goods and services, as well as projects under the Belt and Road Initiative, which aims to boost Eurasian connectivity.
Banking industry leaders talked about their intentions on March 29 at the China Czech Financial Cooperation Forum under the Belt and Road Initiative. It was held during the three-day Czech visit of President Xi Jinping, who flew to Washington on March 30 to attend the World Nuclear Security Summit. The forum was organized by the Czech National Bank and the China Banking Regulatory Commission.
Banking industry leaders gathered on March 29 at the China Czech Financial Cooperation Forum under the Belt and Road Initiative. Jiang Shan / China Daily
On the same day, three financial cooperation agreements between China and the Czech Republic were signed. The countries' financial regulators agreed to collaborate on cross-border crisis management.
In addition, the China Banking Association and the Czech Banking Association agreed to enhance knowledge-sharing, banking industry research and training. 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, says China is an important partner, not only in financial flows, but also in supervision and regulation of financial systems.
Gao Yingxin, executive vice-president of the Bank of China, says there is great potential for growth in trade and investment cooperation between China and the Czech Republic and other Central and Eastern European countries under the Belt and Road framework, which can be supported by financial services providers.
Gao says the room for financial services growth is reflected in four key areas. First are the many infrastructure projects linking China and Central and Eastern European countries that need financing.
The highly complementary comparative advantages of China and the Czech Republic are second, meaning great potential for strategic partnerships and accompanying financing. Gao says the Czech Republic's strengths include biotechnology, environmental protection technology and beer production, and China's strengths include mechatronics, chemical engineering, machine tools and high-speed railways.
Third, 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 Belt and Road countries can be supported through financial organizations.
Bank of China established a branch in Prague in September, the same year it was announced that the bank would commit 100 billion yuan ($15.4 billion; 13.6 billion euros) within three years to support Belt and Road development.
Hou Wenbo, general manager of the Prague branch, says the bank is talking with 20 to 30 companies and organizations about cooperation, and has made loans to companies working in infrastructure, technology and machine tools.
Hu Huaibang, chairman of China Development Bank, says long-term vision is crucial to Chinese financial organizations' lending strategy for projects related to the Belt and Road Initiative, because such projects often require large capital commitments at early stages and the payback period often is lengthy.
Gao says the development of innovative and comprehensive financing, renminbi internationalization, and market-driven sustainable financing are all important for financial organizations to service initiative-related projects.
China's trade and investment relationship with the Czech Republic has grown rapidly in recent years, and in 2015 bilateral trade reached $11 billion. The Czech Republic became one of the earliest CCE countries to sign an agreement with China on initiative cooperation, at the fourth Summit of China and Central and Eastern European Countries, in November 2015 in Suzhou.
Many Czech firms are also embracing new opportunities created through the initiative, including 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. Last year its new business volume reached 18.7 billion yuan.
"The Belt and Road Initiative is characterized as 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 the Chinese market," says Mel Carvill, director and board member of PPF and Home Credit.
Contact the writers through cecily.liu@chinadaily.com.cn
(China Daily European Weekly 04/01/2016 page30)
Confused debate on China's role in Africa Updated: 2016-04-01 08:31 By Andrew Moody in Pretoria(China Daily Europe)
Researcher says even congressional studies in Washington paint a false picture of the relationship
Philani Mthembu says the US is being hypocritical when it warns African leaders of the dangers of deepening relations with China when Washington itself is Beijing's largest trading partner.
The senior researcher at the Institute for Global Dialogue, a leading South African think tank, insists there cannot be one rule for Washington and another for everyone else.
Philani Mthembu says China has actually been more active in some of the sectors African countries have been wanting international players to be active in. Provided to China Daily
"This in a way is a very condescending attitude, you know, the idea that you have to warn (African) leaders about China," he says.
"The US' biggest trade partner is China. I mean, how do you tell anyone not to have strong ties with the second-largest economy in the world?"
Mthembu, highly articulate and regarded as one of Africa's rising intellectuals, was speaking at the think tank's offices in central Pretoria.
IGD, which is a partner of German foundation Friedrich Ebert Stiftung and the UK's Department for International Development, was co-founded in 1995 by then South African president Nelson Mandela.
It is sometimes referred to as the ruling African National Congress party's think tank, but Mthembu insists this is not the case.
"It's not the ANC's think tank. It is independent. It is just that its foundation had links with the ANC. Our core funding actually comes from the University of South Africa."
Mthembu's main specialization is the impact of emerging powers such as China and India and how they cooperate on development with Africa.
China channels its assistance to Africa partly through the Forum on China Africa Cooperation, which at its December summit in Johannesburg, the first to be held in Africa, tripled loans and grants assistance to the continent to $60 billion (53.6 billion euros). India held its biggest ever India-Africa forum in New Delhi in October.
Not surprisingly, Western powers have felt the need to revitalize their relationship with the continent with the European Union holding an EU-Africa Summit in Brussels and the US hosting the first-ever US-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington in 2014.
The academic says even congressional studies produced in Washington paint a false picture of the relationship between China and Africa.
"What I have found is that a lot of discussion has taken place without the empirical knowledge to back it up. There are a lot of myths such as that China is only interested in natural resources in Africa. You could make the same critique about the United States or anybody.
"The reality is that China has actually been more active in some of the sectors African countries have been wanting international players to be active in, such as construction and manufacturing, which have a real impact on people's lives."
Mthembu, who is of Zulu descent and whose parents were teachers, was brought up in a middle-class household.
"They were poor but like most of the middle class in South Africa, you can trace links in the past to missionaries. My grandmother (also a teacher) was very strict with her children. It was all education, education, education."
This has certainly been an influence on Mthembu, who studied international relations at the University of the Witwatersrand before going on to do a doctorate at Freie university in Berlin, which involved spending a term at the School of International Studies at Renmin University of China in Beijing.
He has had links with the Institute of Global Dialogue since he was an intern in 2009. He joined as a research fellow in 2014 before becoming a senior researcher in 2015.
He is also a founder of the Berlin Forum on Global Politics, an organization he launched while in Berlin.
His writings, including papers, articles and blogs, add to his reputation as a leading thinker in South Africa.
Mthembu says there is often also a confused debate about China's role on the African continent.
"It has been largely led by people's own preconceived ideas and prejudices, so people either say China is the greatest country for Africa or it is completely bad.
"None of it is informed by the realities that are taking place, the impact of (Chinese) hospitals in various villages on the local communities, the impact of road infrastructure, dams and the training programs that have been put in place. This story does not really come out."
He is concerned that with the South African economy being hit hard by the commodities recession, a false narrative is taking hold about the direction of his country.
"I would always argue with people who just want to paint it, you know, black and white. I've even heard people say South Africa is moving toward a failed state and I'm like, 'What? What are you talking about'?"
He says many commentators do not give South Africa enough credit for the difficult transition it has gone through since apartheid ended more than two decades ago.
"They forget what South Africa did in terms of managing the transition without serious conflict. There was very good leadership from all sides of the political spectrum. Then you look at poverty reduction and indicators such as access to electricity, water and heath, and all those have expanded a lot."
Some have accused South African President Jacob Zuma of pursuing the same policies as Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe with recent legislation empowering the government to take land into public ownership.
"People look and they say, 'Oh, we are going to adopt the Zimbabwe model'. That is not going to happen. Zimbabwe is more dependent on land and agriculture than South Africa. So the question of agriculture plays a lesser role here."
He says the "Africa Rising" narrative about the continent being one of the fastest growing areas of the world has taken a hit from the fall in commodity prices, but he insists there is still an emerging middle class.
"The reality is that you have a growing middle class who have more buying power than in the past. It is perhaps a vulnerable middle class. There is a joke in South Africa that the middle class is only two pay checks from falling back, but the reality is that it is still growing."
Mthembu says people are wrong to think the continent is just about resources because many manufacturing and services jobs are being created and also benefiting from the democratic dividend of a youthful population.
"If you look at the last 10 years, many of the fastest-growing economies in the world have come from Africa, and they keep changing from those that are resource rich to those that are not. Tanzania is not the most indulged in terms of natural resources but it has been among the fastest-growing and there are many other examples."
andrewmoody@chinadaily.com.cn
(China Daily European Weekly 04/01/2016 page32)
Artistic life shaped by ancient warriors Updated: 2016-04-01 08:30 By Yan Dongjie(China Daily Europe)
Daniel Krause with one of his works at the exhibition in Beijing. Yan Dongjie / China Daily
US artist who has spent half his life in China expresses his understanding of the country through sculpture
For Daniel Krause, China's Terracotta Warriors are not only one of the world's greatest pieces of art, they also embody his greatest attachment to the country.
The American artist has made dozens of bronze sculptures of ancient Chinese soldiers that were inspired by the Terracotta Warriors of the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC) in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, but they couldn't be any more different to the originals. All have their torso and body parts rearranged, some with arms under their feet, some with gaping spaces where their hearts should be.
Explaining this bold artistic stroke, Krause says: "When people look at history from specific perspectives, they understand it in ways that are very different from the original idea, and that's the artistic side I see."
Everything around him influences his sculptures. His imagination never stops running, and it interacts with everything in the world, he says.
Even as he stands facing you his mind is wandering around the room, creating shapes and improvising with the surrounding architectural forms.
He expresses his understanding of China through sculpture, and presents that to people from all over the world as an introduction to the country.
He can lay some claim to being an ideal person to do that, having spent more than half of his life in China.
He was raised in Chicago and graduated from the University of California, San Diego, before arriving in China in 1987 aged 23 to take up a graduate degree and spent the next 23 years or so in Guangdong province, eventually moving to Beijing in 2011.
"I wanted to go to the Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts for a master's degree in sculpture when I first arrived, but ended up enrolling in a graduate program at the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, because I preferred the warmer weather there."
Perhaps not surprisingly, over three decades Krause has become Chinese in many ways.
He speaks fluent Chinese, he sips Chinese tea as he works in his studio near 798 Art District in Beijing and he was a torchbearer for the Olympic Games in the city in 2008.
Over the past 20 years he has been working on a series called China on the Move, in which bronze sculptures portray people who cannot stop dancing and celebrating, and they represent everyday urban Chinese.
Although he learned how to make bronze sculptures from Chinese professors in Guangdong, his art is also deeply influenced by modern abstract 20th century Western art, he says.
Sheng Wei, the editor of China Art magazine, says: "In viewing his work there is more than just aesthetic beauty to enjoy; you also need to think a bit more deeply and understand the concepts behind it."
Krause, too, puts a premium on imagination - what lies behind his works - a matter that has weighed on him recently.
In China, students have been sitting entrance exams for the big art academies, and Krause has been busy grading candidates' paintings and drawings. He is the only non-Chinese teacher that the Institute of Art at Renmin University of China in Beijing has had as a judge, among 30.
It is a task Krause has applied himself to with mixed feelings.
"In Western countries these entrance exams are about ideas and concepts with some technique. But here, deviations are scored lower. Creativity is not weighted or scored."
At present, his sculpture exhibition Figures, Reforms, Opening Up and Development is being staged at the Jingguang Center, affiliated to the United States embassy in Beijing, and it runs until the end of May. Parts of China on the Move and Qin Warriors series are displayed.
The embassy says that these works "reflected the changes that have happened in China over the past 28 years".
"I'm so impressed with the dragon piece," says Zhu Qiran, a student at the Communication University of China. She could sense the strong Chinese elements in Krause's works, she says.
"I was born in the year of the Dragon - strong and energetic - and am fascinated by the dragon's aesthetics, which have a special place in China's history and culture."
yandongjie@chinadaily.com.cn
Prudence can help solve South China Sea issue Updated: 2016-03-31 13:34 By Jin Yongming(China Daily)
This satellite image shows the Yongshu Jiao of China's Nansha Islands. [Photo/Xinhua]
Chinas refusal to accept the arbitration initiated by the Philippines in the South China Sea issue in 2013 is entirely in accordance with the law. In 2006, China exercised its right under Article 298 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to reject compulsory arbitration on the issue.
Although the ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration on Manilas complaint will be announced later this year, a part of it has been released. And the available content of The Hague-based courts ruling has several flaws.
For one, it falsely judges the ownership of a low-tide elevation according to the UNCLOS definition, which refers to a naturally formed area of land which is surrounded by and above water at low tide but submerged at high tide. In contrast, it is international law that decides whether a low-tide elevation can be owned by a relevant coastal country, particularly when it comes to territorial acquisition. Many countries, including China and the Philippines, are yet to reach a consensus on the tidal datum, which plays a vital role in judging the ownership of low-tide elevations in the light of international law, leading to disparities over delimitations in the South China Sea.
Therefore, it would be inappropriate and unconvincing for The Hague-based court to make an arbitration tribunal decision before making clear the limitations of the UNCLOS in disputes over low-tide elevations.
It should also be noted that the United States has intensified its security-related intervention in the South China Sea issue, although it doesnt even remotely concern its national security, to push forward its pivot to Asia strategy. To strengthen its leadership in the region and fulfill its defense-oriented obligations to help allies like Manila, Washington has sought to challenge Beijings legal construction work on its own islets and reefs.
The US provocative actions over the past months, including the recent intrusions by the its guided-missile destroyers USS Lassen and USS Curtis Wilbur into the waters near Chinas islands in the South China Sea, have resulted in serious frictions between the two countries over regional maritime issues. The US is also likely to hold more joint military drills with some of its Asian allies and further bolster its military bases in the region, in the hope of consolidating its foothold in the South China Sea.
In response to Washingtons increasing provocations, particularly its warships free navigation in the waters off Chinas Xisha Islands, Beijing has exercised the utmost restraint to avoid an open conflict.
On the one hand, Beijing has to take a prudent stance on the South China Sea issue, because the baselines of some Nansha islets and reefs remain unclear even though UNCLOS allows reclamation work on its islets and reefs. On the other hand, coastal nations reserve the right to ask foreign ships availing of innocent passage to abide by relevant laws and regulations. Therefore, China and the US should hold more talks, in a bid to reach a consensus on freedom of navigation and major security issues. Should they succeed in their endeavor, other coastal countries can use some of the resultant rules to deal with similar disputes.
To better safeguard regional peace and stability, China also needs to work with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to facilitate consultations over the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea. Besides, it should make more efforts to implement the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road Initiative to deepen China-ASEAN cooperation as a counter-measure to the joint efforts of the US and the Philippines to muddle the South China Sea waters.
The author is director of the Ocean Strategy Studies Center at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.
To see the light, we need society's capital Updated: 2016-04-01 08:29 By Ed Zhang(China Daily Europe)
Keeping the middle class interested in projects at home vital to China's economic transition
It looks like 2016 will be a boring year for journalists reporting on China business. As there won't be a hard crash, what can they say about the world's second-largest economy in transition?
Perhaps, month after month, week after week, they can report only that the latest data are less than desirable, and China is still in a seemingly everlasting transition.
But investors would ask: Where is the end of this transition? There must be some signs, like some light at the end of a tunnel, of a transition that is about to move from a low-growth cycle to a high-growth cycle, mustn't there?
Just maybe, in the coming months, we'll see a new kind of competition emerge among local governments, and that may serve as an indication of China's beginning of a new growth cycle.
Investors don't like transition because it's a period of low economic growth and low yields for their money. Transition is a costly undertaking for both the government and major enterprises because there must be two different sets of outlays. There is the outlay for shutting old operations, such as closing down factories, relocating workers and selling machines to overseas buyers, and the outlay for exploring new opportunities, buying new technologies and setting up new teams.
Considering all the risks involved, either process, to dump the old or to explore the new, cannot quickly yield good returns.
The governance of the A-share market is a case in point, so is the management of many listed companies. Many reform plans have been floated, and many of them sound great. But how can they be implemented seriously in today's China? How can the regulatory officials and corporate leaders be motivated to do the right thing? No one can be sure unless people can see them not only be given orders, but also act in their own accord to do the right thing and seek the changes expected by the reform's designers.
It is precisely because transition is a costly undertaking that it is important to mobilize more money from society, rather than to just have the government print money, to pave the way for its progress.
That rich people have been diverting their savings out of the country to buy real estate and residential rights abroad, and that any slight relaxation of rules can send the housing prices in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen skyrocketing, are enough evidence of the amount of idle money in Chinese society.
The loss in China's foreign exchange reserves was nearly $1 trillion after the domestic stock market rout in the middle of last year. Although there was no need for the government to apply exchange controls immediately, the country obviously failed to direct that amount of capital to serve China's transition and help it generate better returns.
Chinese economists keep debating how to enable the country to beat the so-called middle-income trap, or the stagnation in growth that many developing countries have experienced. But there is one common feature of the countries plagued by the middle-income trap: their continuous loss of capital and top human resources to countries where they can enjoy greater freedom and realize better uses.
Keeping the middle class interested in opportunities in their homeland cannot be done by one, two or just a few state-level projects. To make China an interesting and potentially lucrative investment market, there is only one thing to do: enlist private capital, on a massive scale, in the building and the maintenance of many public projects.
Liu Shangxi, a senior researcher with the Ministry of Finance, defines public-private partnerships as a key reform that China must undertake.
The latest news is that, on a sporadic basis, such partnerships are being put into practice in large development projects in once-underdeveloped areas. Up to 170 billion yuan ($26.1 billion; 23.3 billion euros) from corporate and private investors is being used for the 1,500 or so kilometers of expressway now under construction in Southwest China's Guizhou province, according to the Chinese media.
Can such projects multiply nationwide? Can there be a competition among all provinces and all cities for such development? Can there be some showcase of this sort in the nation's political center of Beijing?
If the answer is no, then China won't be seeing light at the end of the tunnel. It still cannot say it has broken the middle-income trap because it still cannot mobilize its own society's potential financial power in building itself up.
And if the answer is yes, then investors may begin to see the end of the transition.
The author is editor-at-large of China Daily.
Contact the writer at edzhang@chinadaily.com.cn
Real partnership with EU just started unfolding Updated: 2016-04-01 08:29 By Fu Jing(China Daily Europe)
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 at 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.
Xi paid a visit to the Czech Republic, his first to a Central or Eastern European country, from March 28 to 30 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 nonmember 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 visit 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 its 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 to me 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.
Contact the writer at fujing@chinadaily.com.cn
Nuclear security always a priority for Beijing Updated: 2016-04-01 08:29 By Li Baodong(China Daily Europe)
China not only supports the maintenance of global safeguards, but has also taken and will take necessary actions for the purpose
Many state leaders are scheduled to attend at the fourth Nuclear Security Summit in Washington on March 31 and April 1 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 is also attending 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 guarantees 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 proliferation.
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. 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 United States, 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.
Flower power Updated: 2016-04-01 08:30 By Yang Feiyue and Shi Xiaofeng(China Daily Europe)
The county of wuyuan in Jiangxi province attracts tourists from around the country for blooming rapeseed in spring, and a variety of cultural and natural spots. Photos Provided to China Daily
Spring brings blooms to woo visitors to Wuyuan
Wuyuan burns bright yellow in spring. The blaze of blooming rapeseed attracts tourists to the county in northeast Jiangxi province from early March until mid-April.
Here, ancient villages are perched on terraced mountains that ignite in golden infernos of flowers and pools of emerald-green leaves.
"It's like a meteor on Earth," says Wang Zeshui, deputy director of the county tourism office.
Roughly 70 percent of the 67 square kilometers of rapeseed have blossomed since the beginning of March. And tourism has bloomed, too, he says. Travelers are flocking to explore the white farmhouses crowned with black ceramic shingles set among mountains and rivers.
The county received 15.3 million visitors last year, according to the tourism office. Arrivals since early March have risen 20 percent on the same period last year.
The county's Huangling alone has been receiving 20,000 tourists a day. It's a cliffside collection of hundreds of ancient ethnic Hui houses. They are perched on a slope that drops 100 meters.
Visitors have increased since the maiden voyage of the Hefei-Fuzhou high-speed train service in June, says Yan Xin, publicity manager for Ctrip, the Chinese online travel agency.
The link - colloquially referred to China's most beautiful railway - cut the travel time between Beijing and the county to less than seven hours, making weekend trips from the capital possible.
"Most people stay two to three days to take photos and enjoy the fresh air," Yan says. A two-day weekend trip from Shanghai to Wuyuan in late March and April currently costs about 600 yuan ($90; 80 euros) through Ctrip.
The local government has invested funds to attract visitors at other times of the year, too. It has earmarked 20 million yuan to develop homestays and expand rural tourism options, and has staged promotions to entice guests from cities along the Beijing-Fuzhou high-speed rail line.
The county is also drawing tourists from overseas. South Korean visitors have increased since Wuyuan became the sister city of Gokseong-gun in 2014. The Chinese county has also established relationships with more than 60 South Korean travel agencies.
Wuyuan faces competition from a multitude of Chinese destinations that showcase their rapessed blooms. So it has upped the ante with rides that literally elevate the experience - a cable car now goes up to a mountaintop proffering panoramic views, while even vaster horizons can be seen by helicopter and hot-air balloon. Oh, and there's a glass-bottomed bridge hundreds of meters above the ground.
Jiangling is one of China's four biggest rapeseed-blossom areas. The 66.7 sq km of blooms spill down terraced fields. Farmers plow and herd oxen in front of Hui houses, while women wash clothes in the river.
Sixiyancun integrates natural scenery and Hui architecture dating to the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. Blue-flagstone roads dissect the settlement that's set among green hills and rivers, not to mention springtime blooms.
Zheyuan offers a glimpse into an old-fashioned and unassuming lifestyle. It houses former residences of several celebrities, such as Zhan Tianyou, the "father of China's railroads", and martial arts novelist Louis Cha. It's a great place for road trips, crossing hundreds of scenic sites and antiquated hamlets.
Moon Bay features a crescent-shaped terrain surrounded by peaks and waterways. Golden flowers and green tea plants color the land around humble houses. Mist rises from the mounts, especially in the morning.
Meanwhile, Wangkou is lined with streets that are up to 1,000 years old and has ancient structures like imperial officers' residences and studies. It was once a prosperous transportation hub and has retained the architectural legacy of that era.
This legacy may reincarnate when a new high-speed rail connecting Jiujiang in Jiangxi to Quzhou in Zhejiang province is completed next year.
Marketing campaigns have already been held in areas the line passes, Wang says.
Contact the writers through yangfeiyue@chinadaily.com.cn
Confused debate on China's role in Africa Updated: 2016-04-01 08:31 By Andrew Moody in Pretoria(China Daily Europe)
Philani Mthembu says China has actually been more active in some of the sectors African countries have been wanting international players to be active in. Provided to China Daily
Researcher says even congressional studies in Washington paint a false picture of the relationship
Philani Mthembu says the US is being hypocritical when it warns African leaders of the dangers of deepening relations with China when Washington itself is Beijing's largest trading partner.
The senior researcher at the Institute for Global Dialogue, a leading South African think tank, insists there cannot be one rule for Washington and another for everyone else.
"This in a way is a very condescending attitude, you know, the idea that you have to warn (African) leaders about China," he says.
"The US' biggest trade partner is China. I mean, how do you tell anyone not to have strong ties with the second-largest economy in the world?"
Mthembu, highly articulate and regarded as one of Africa's rising intellectuals, was speaking at the think tank's offices in central Pretoria.
IGD, which is a partner of German foundation Friedrich Ebert Stiftung and the UK's Department for International Development, was co-founded in 1995 by then South African president Nelson Mandela.
It is sometimes referred to as the ruling African National Congress party's think tank, but Mthembu insists this is not the case.
"It's not the ANC's think tank. It is independent. It is just that its foundation had links with the ANC. Our core funding actually comes from the University of South Africa."
Mthembu's main specialization is the impact of emerging powers such as China and India and how they cooperate on development with Africa.
China channels its assistance to Africa partly through the Forum on China Africa Cooperation, which at its December summit in Johannesburg, the first to be held in Africa, tripled loans and grants assistance to the continent to $60 billion (53.6 billion euros). India held its biggest ever India-Africa forum in New Delhi in October.
Not surprisingly, Western powers have felt the need to revitalize their relationship with the continent with the European Union holding an EU-Africa Summit in Brussels and the US hosting the first-ever US-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington in 2014.
The academic says even congressional studies produced in Washington paint a false picture of the relationship between China and Africa.
"What I have found is that a lot of discussion has taken place without the empirical knowledge to back it up. There are a lot of myths such as that China is only interested in natural resources in Africa. You could make the same critique about the United States or anybody.
"The reality is that China has actually been more active in some of the sectors African countries have been wanting international players to be active in, such as construction and manufacturing, which have a real impact on people's lives."
Mthembu, who is of Zulu descent and whose parents were teachers, was brought up in a middle-class household.
"They were poor but like most of the middle class in South Africa, you can trace links in the past to missionaries. My grandmother (also a teacher) was very strict with her children. It was all education, education, education."
This has certainly been an influence on Mthembu, who studied international relations at the University of the Witwatersrand before going on to do a doctorate at Freie university in Berlin, which involved spending a term at the School of International Studies at Renmin University of China in Beijing.
He has had links with the Institute of Global Dialogue since he was an intern in 2009. He joined as a research fellow in 2014 before becoming a senior researcher in 2015.
He is also a founder of the Berlin Forum on Global Politics, an organization he launched while in Berlin.
His writings, including papers, articles and blogs, add to his reputation as a leading thinker in South Africa.
Mthembu says there is often also a confused debate about China's role on the African continent.
"It has been largely led by people's own preconceived ideas and prejudices, so people either say China is the greatest country for Africa or it is completely bad.
"None of it is informed by the realities that are taking place, the impact of (Chinese) hospitals in various villages on the local communities, the impact of road infrastructure, dams and the training programs that have been put in place. This story does not really come out."
He is concerned that with the South African economy being hit hard by the commodities recession, a false narrative is taking hold about the direction of his country.
"I would always argue with people who just want to paint it, you know, black and white. I've even heard people say South Africa is moving toward a failed state and I'm like, 'What? What are you talking about'?"
He says many commentators do not give South Africa enough credit for the difficult transition it has gone through since apartheid ended more than two decades ago.
"They forget what South Africa did in terms of managing the transition without serious conflict. There was very good leadership from all sides of the political spectrum. Then you look at poverty reduction and indicators such as access to electricity, water and heath, and all those have expanded a lot."
Some have accused South African President Jacob Zuma of pursuing the same policies as Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe with recent legislation empowering the government to take land into public ownership.
"People look and they say, 'Oh, we are going to adopt the Zimbabwe model'. That is not going to happen. Zimbabwe is more dependent on land and agriculture than South Africa. So the question of agriculture plays a lesser role here."
He says the "Africa Rising" narrative about the continent being one of the fastest growing areas of the world has taken a hit from the fall in commodity prices, but he insists there is still an emerging middle class.
"The reality is that you have a growing middle class who have more buying power than in the past. It is perhaps a vulnerable middle class. There is a joke in South Africa that the middle class is only two pay checks from falling back, but the reality is that it is still growing."
Mthembu says people are wrong to think the continent is just about resources because many manufacturing and services jobs are being created and also benefiting from the democratic dividend of a youthful population.
"If you look at the last 10 years, many of the fastest-growing economies in the world have come from Africa, and they keep changing from those that are resource rich to those that are not. Tanzania is not the most indulged in terms of natural resources but it has been among the fastest-growing and there are many other examples."
andrewmoody@chinadaily.com.cn
ABC(NEW YORK) -- She's just 11 years old but Mikaila Ulmer has pretty much done it all: she's met President Obama, snagged an investment on "Shark Tank" and she has a deal with Whole Foods.
Ulmer, of Austin, Texas, is founder and CEO of BeeSweet Lemonade, which sells lemonade made with flaxseed and honey. On May 2, BeeSweet Lemonade will rebrand as Me and the Bees Lemonade, the company says, as it expands its distribution and calls people of all ages and backgrounds "to make good of the stings life gives us."
This year has already started with a bang as her business expands. She just returned as a "celebrity chef" at the White House Easter Egg Roll, presenting her lemonade. And she recently announced a distribution deal with United Natural Foods.
The sixth-grader with a 9 p.m. bedtime has sold lemonade at Whole Foods since 2014, when Ulmer hosted events to educate shoppers about bees. Last April, Whole Foods gave Ulmer a low-interest "local producer loan," that allowed her to expand beyond the lemonade's original flavor. The amount of the loan hasn't been disclosed, but Whole Foods said its loans range from $1,000 to $100,000. At the time, BeeSweet Lemonade was sold in 32 Whole Foods Markets. Now it's sold in 62 Whole Foods stores in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas, and there are four flavors: mint, ginger, tea and prickly pear.
The buzz all started when Ulmer was 4 years old. That's when her family encouraged her to make a product for the Acton Children's Business Fair and Austin Lemonade Day. Around that time, her "Great Granny Helen" sent the family a 1940's cookbook, which included her recipe for flaxseed lemonade. Ulmer sweetened the recipe with honey while she learned about the role of honeybee pollination in the ecosystem.
Ulmer invests a portion of the profits from her company to Heifer International, Sustainable Food Center of Austin and Texas Beekeepers Association to help save the bees. The lemonade is made in a commercial food processing facility in Austin and Saren Foods Distributors delivers the products to stores in the Southwest region, according to her website.
One of Ulmer's first big breaks happened when she was nine years old. She and her father Theo appeared on ABC's reality show "Shark Tank" during its sixth season. They cut a deal with Fubu CEO Daymond John, giving him 25 percent of the company for $60,000. The deal was contingent that his partners could distribute the lemonade in convenience stores. Last year was full of other milestones, including meeting President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, being featured in Oprah's magazine, teaching 20 free bee workshops to more than 1,000 students and getting straight A's, according to her YouTube channel.
Copyright 2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Credit: Claude GassianHere's some exciting news for Rolling Stones fans -- Keith Richards says the band has finished recording a new album.
"[The album] is in the can," Richards tells London newspaper The Sun, adding, "although it might be a surprise to people and I cant say any more than that right now."
The guitar great says the band's previously reported recording sessions that took place in London in December yielded "a whole load of stuff." He adds, "In fact, the Stones have never cut so many tracks in such a short time. Now that's not necessarily a guarantee of a good record but there is something in the works and I'd just like to leave it up there in mystery land."
Richards also reveals to The Sun that, after recently finishing a Latin American tour that included a historic free concert in Havana, Cuba, The Stones are lining up more concerts in 2016.
"We're planning some gigs later on this year," he reports. "I take each tour as it comes and at the moment I'm still shaking Cuba off me."
First up for the band is the opening this Tuesday of Exhibitionism, an expansive exhibit celebrating the group's long career that will be housed at London's Saatchi Gallery. Keith reveals that The Rolling Stones had hoped to play a short set to mark the opening, but that was nixed by local officials.
"There was a plan to do like four or five numbers on the lawn [at the gallery] but then the Chelsea Residents Association poo-pooed that," he laments. "How generous of them."
Meanwhile, Richards tells The Sun that, despite the increasing ages of The Rolling Stones' members, the group has no plans to retire anytime soon.
"I must say the resilience of this band, all the crap that's happened to us so many times, doesn't stop the fact that we will keep going," he maintains. "Just as long as we're here, it's not even a point of honor. It's just a case of what else are you going to do?"
Copyright 2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Credit: Ross HalfinMetallica will be celebrating Record Store Day at an actual record store. The metal legends will perform at Rasputin Music in Berkeley, California, on April 16.
"Getting loud, noisy and sweaty at Rasputin's on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley transports Metallica right back to the core of its Bay Area beginnings," says drummer Lars Ulrich in a statement. "We can't wait to celebrate Record Store Day while shaking up the East Bay old-school style."
To obtain tickets to the in-store show, you need to visit Rasputin Music in Berkeley between now and April 10 to enter a raffle. Additionally, members of Metallica's Met Club can enter to win tickets via the band's website.
Metallica, who will serve as the official ambassador of Record Store Day 2016, also will release a live CD called Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite, Metallica! - Live at Le Bataclan. Paris, France - June 11th, 2003 to mark the occasion.
This August, Metallica will be playing a much bigger venue when they perform at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, the new home of the NFL's Minnesota Vikings.
Copyright 2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Discover Europe's lesser-known gems.
Beyond iconic cities like Paris, London and Madrid, lesser-visited European destinations await exploration. Quaint villages, storied cities, picturesque coastlines and scenic countrysides offer less-trodden locales, away from the swarms of tourists crowding can't-miss cities across the continent. So if you're ready to get lost in breathtaking sunsets along the coast of Manarola, Italy, or take in cool, crisp air as you explore a staggering fjord in Bergen, Norway, head to these lesser-known places for a European vacation that packs in plenty of scenery and culture without the crowds.
Manarola, Italy
Manarola, a picturesque coastal retreat in Cinque Terre, Italy, offers postcard-worthy views. Candy-colored houses are surrounded by lush vineyards and fruit trees that flow down a rugged and black rock mountain facing the crystal-clear waters of a stunning lagoon. Explore the winding roads with a guided hike or a beautiful, albeit challenging, bike ride. With no cars able to navigate the narrow roads, you can enjoy a cotton candy sunset over the turquoise cove with a hearty glass of sweet Sciacchetra, a white wine commonly paired with desserts.
Riga, Latvia
With a strong countrywide initiative to rebuild the city's castles and revitalize ancient traditions, Riga is awash with a new, invigorating energy. To see the city's treasures with a local, meet the students of Riga Free Tour outside of St. Peter's Church, and enjoy a complimentary guide to the Old City's Art Nouveau architecture, urban parks like Kronvalda and churches like Riga's Cathedral. After taking a scenic stroll, indulge in the city's new wave of Nordic fare, which can be found in top restaurants like Valtera Restorans.
Kotor, Montenegro
Most tourists flock to Dubrovnik, Croatia, on cruise excursions or tours, overlooking its sister city, Kotor, Montenegro. But with fewer visitors and stunning architecture, Kotor merits its own visit. The city's 9th-century walls are flanked by imposing and rugged mountains and surround the centuries-old town, home to the impressive St. Tryphon's Cathedral. Weave through Kotor's marbled lanes to uncover its many tucked-away restaurants, hotels and charming piazzas.
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Baku, Azerbaijan
Baku may be renowned as the site of the 2016 Formula 1 Grand Prix of Europe; however, Baku is still wonderfully uncrowded. A visit will welcome you with a breathtaking mix of old and new, with modern skyscrapers like the Flame Towers skyrocketing over the dazzling Azerbaijan port, and the historic walled old city, a UNESCO World Heritage site. But in spite of Baku's recent makeover and glossy, new sheen, you won't have to look far to see barren apartment blocks, reminiscent of the area's Soviet rule, rubbing shoulders with city's cutting-edge boutiques and eateries.
Bergen, Norway
Few places are as naturally awe-inspiring as Bergen, Norway, with its vast and stunning mountain, fjord and sea views from nearly every angle. Despite being one of the area's largest cities, this seafaring retreat remains quiet most of the year, perking up to welcome summer tourists and photography groups shooting the northern lights in winter. Spend time exploring Bryggen, an old wharf, a UNESCO World Heritage site and Bergen's crown jewel. The oldest quarter in the city runs along the breathtaking shore of Vagen Harbor and features 61 brightly painted houses and buildings dating back to the 12th century. Enjoy the scenery with a fjord tour or a ride up the Flibanen funicular (a scenic railway) to the top of Mt. Flyen.
Piran, Slovenia
Gothic alleyways, breathtaking coastal views, cobblestone streets and historic architecture are a few of Piran's allures. Encompassing just slightly more than 16 square miles, you can walk this entire picturesque town in less than 30 minutes. During your trip, make sure to stop by the iconic St. George Cathedral and the Tartini Square, one of the most photographed squares in Europe thanks to its pastel-hued colors and marble stone.
Gothenburg, Sweden
Neoclassical architecture and 17th-century canals flank the tram-lined streets of Gothenburg, arguably one of Sweden's hippest cities. Known as Stockholm's quirkier sister city, Gothenburg is full of beautiful museums (think: the Gothenburg Museum of Art), delectable eateries (read: the Feskekorka fish market) and stunning natural beauty off the coast, including the island of Vrango, which contains pristine beaches and scenic nature reserves.
Lodz, Poland
Despite claiming the reigning title as the third-largest city in Poland, Lodz still charms visitors with underappreciated museums and cosmopolitan restaurants and shops. Stroll along Piotrkowska Street, one of the longest thoroughfares in Europe, to visit the more than 100 bars filled with live music, enjoy memorable meals at vibrant cafes and pop into trendy galleries. Afterward, make your way to the 74-acre Manufaktura, a refurbished industrial park now home to boutiques, shops, restaurants and a cinema.
Utrecht, Netherlands
One of the oldest cities in the Netherlands, Utrecht is a quaint and beautiful city flanked by medieval canals. In Utrecht, the canals are split level, offering a unique inside look at the city's 13th-century industrial roots juxtaposed with a bustling and modern life at street level. With a citywide focus on tourism, much of the city is going through a renaissance, including the old train station and the city's industrial park and concert hall, which are transitioning into bustling hubs filled with restaurants, shops and live music venues.
Rhodes, Greece
Although Santorini certainly has its whitewashed buildings and romantic allure and Mykonos has garnered a reputation for its party-centric nightlife, Rhodes overflows with must-see historic monuments, such as the Acropolis of Lindos and the medieval structures of Rhodes Town. Plus, the isle is rife with bustling boutiques, authentic eateries and natural wonders. During your trip, make sure to soak in the stunning views of the old city and the bay from the Tsambika Monastery, often called the Stairway to Heaven.
More From US News & World Report
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - March 31, 2016) - Adriana Resources Inc. ("Adriana" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:ADI) announces today that Mr. Weike Peng has resigned from its Board of Directors, due to his transfer to a new role. Mr. Peng has been a valuable member of Adriana's Board of Directors as a representative of WISCO International Resource Development & Investment Limited ("WISCO").
The Board of Directors has appointed Mr. Xinting (Tony) Wang, subject to TSX-V approval, as a director to replace Mr. Peng on the Board of Directors. Mr. Wang currently serves as Chief Executive Officer and President of WISCO Canada Resources Investment Limited, based in Toronto. He is a mining engineer by profession with over 20 years of experience with operations and investment in the iron ore mining industry.
Mr. Wang has a wealth of experience in overseas mining investment and management, having served as a director of Hong Kong WISCO GUANGXIN KAM WAH Resources Limited, which managed the development of the Soalala project in Madagascar, and serves as a director of Century Global Commodities Corporation, listed on the TSX. Mr. Wang attended the XI'AN University of Technology and Architecture in China, majoring in mining engineering and subsequently the Wuhan University of Technology and Science as the mining engineering graduate student. Mr. Wang also holds a Master Business Administration degree from Ohio University, USA.
Don Charter, Chairman of Adriana commented: "We thank Mr. Peng for his valuable contributions to the Company and wish him well in his future endeavours. We welcome Mr. Wang to the Board of Directors. As CEO of WISCO Canada, Tony is very familiar with Adriana and Lac Otelnuk, and we look forward to working with him."
The Company also announces the resignation of Mr. Daniel E. Im, who is leaving his role as CFO effective March 31, 2016 to pursue other opportunities.
"The Board of Directors would like to thank Daniel for all of his contributions to Adriana during the last five years and wish him success in his future endeavours," said Michael J. Harrison, President and CEO.
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The Company has engaged Mr. Carlos Pinglo as CFO on a part-time consulting basis. Mr. Pinglo is an economist with over 20 years of senior management experience, working with both private and public companies in corporate finance, strategic planning, financial reporting, turnarounds and mergers & acquisitions. He is currently Chief Financial Officer of Carpathian Gold, and Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary of Eurotin Inc. Mr. Pinglo has previously held a number of senior finance roles, including Chief Financial Officer at both First Bauxite Corporation and Medoro Resources Ltd., Vice President, Finance at Pacific Coal Resources Ltd., Controller of both Silver Eagle Mines Inc. and Excellon Resources Inc. and a member of the Board of Directors at Mineros Nacionales S.A.
The Company continues its efforts to conserve cash and has substantially reduced general and administrative expenditures. In addition, the Company will also be moving its head office effective April 1, 2016. The new address can be found on the Company's website.
ON BEHALF OF ADRIANA RESOURCES INC.
Michael J. Harrison, President and CEO
Certain information regarding Adriana, may constitute forward-looking statements under applicable securities laws and necessarily involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Certain important risk factors could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements including, without limitation, changes in the world wide price of mineral commodities and currency fluctuations, general market conditions, the uncertainty of future profitability and access to sufficient capital. As a consequence, actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements and caution should be exercised on placing undue reliance on forward looking information.
By Peter Maushagen
MUNICH (Reuters) - Air France-KLM (AIRF.PA) is getting good traffic volume and has seen no major impact from attacks on the Brussels airport and underground system last week, its chief executive told Reuters.
The Franco-Dutch airline took a 120 million euro (96 million pounds) hit on sales in the last two months of 2015 from attacks in Paris in November, where gunmen targeted restaurant and concert goers, killing 130 people. Airline and travel stocks dropped again after the suicide bomb attacks in Brussels on March 22 that killed 32 people.
"So far we have not seen a significant impact from the Brussels event on our traffic," Air France-KLM Chief Executive Alexandre de Juniac told Reuters in an interview in Munich, though he added it was too early to say how much it could end up costing.
De Juniac said Air France-KLM was still feeling the effects of the Paris attacks and that traffic from Japan was the worst affected.
"China and the North America are still suffering a little. But these markets are recovering. Japan is not recovering," he said, adding that the carrier was keen to agree partnerships in Asia, similar to a joint venture with Delta (DAL.N) on North Atlantic routes, to boost its position there.
Still, overall, traffic volumes are good at the moment, he said, helped by the low oil price, which meant it swung to a profit for 2015.
LOW-COST GROWTH
Like rival Lufthansa (LHAG.DE), the Franco-Dutch group is expanding low-cost operations via one of its units, Transavia, a Dutch budget carrier founded in 1965 which has been wholly owned by KLM since 2003.
The group wants to expand Transavia in France, which offers a bigger domestic market than the Netherlands, but it is facing opposition from French pilots over the contracts on offer.
"We would welcome to have the same agreement for Transavia France so we could open bases in other countries," de Juniac said.
Transavia's CEO said the carrier was aiming to bring its cost base down to a level similar with rivals easyJet (EZJ.L) and IAG-owned Vueling (ICAG.L).
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"We have room for improvement. But our cost base is half of that what Air France-KLM has," Transavia CEO Mattijs ten Brink said.
It would also like to grow quickly so that it could take part in consolidation of the low-cost sector in Europe, and plans to make a decision this summer on new destinations and bases for 2017.
Lufthansa's Eurowings is aiming to overtake rivals such as Norwegian (NWC.OL) and Wizz (WIZZ.L) to become Europe's third largest low cost carrier behind Ryanair and easyJet.
"We don't have any concrete goal in terms of market position... But if we could be in the top 5 in a couple of years that would be good," ten Brink said.
(Reporting by Peter Maushagen; Writing by Victoria Bryan; Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)
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ISTANBUL (Reuters) - The Ankara Chief Prosecutor has launched an investigation into the Turkish unit of Swiss drugmaker Novartis (NOVN.S), Turkish broadcasters reported on Friday, after allegations it benefitted from bribery.
Novartis has said the allegations against it were "unfounded" and based on a past complaint. Reuters reported this week that an anonymous whistleblower accused the company of paying bribes through a consulting firm to secure an estimated $85 million in business advantages.
Turkey's health ministry has opened a separate investigation into the allegations. A senior ministry official told reporters on Friday that no problems have been seen in that initial investigation.
(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk; Writing by David Dolan; Editing by Nick Tattersall)
A sign is displayed outside a Sainsbury's store in London, in this file photograph dated December 3, 2015. REUTERS/Neil Hall
LONDON (Reuters) - British supermarket group Sainsbury's (SBRY.L) said on Friday its 1.4 billion pounds offer for Argos-owner Home Retail Group (HOME.L) had been recommended by the board of the catalogue retailer.
Sainsbury's, Britain's second biggest grocer, was left a clear run to buy Argos, which sells electricals, jewellery and other general goods, when rival suitor South Africa's Steinhoff International withdrew last month.
Home Retail shareholders will receive 0.321 new Sainsbury's shares and 55 pence in cash for each share, plus an additional cash payment of 27.8 pence from the earlier disposal of the group's other chain, Homebase, and in lieu of a final dividend, Sainsbury's said.
(Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Kate Holton)
Nonalcoholic Beverages: How Have US Consumers' Tastes Changed?
(Continued from Prior Part)
Growing demand
Unlike carbonated soft drinks, bottled water is gaining traction in the US liquid refreshment beverage market. The second-largest liquid refreshment beverage category, bottled water, recorded 7.6% volume growth in the United States in 2015 (Sources: Plasticnews, Beverage Marketing Corporation). This 2015 growth compares to 7.3% growth in 2014 and 4.7% growth in 2013.
A natural, zero-calorie, portable source of hydration without any harmful ingredients, bottled water contrasts with sugary soda beverages. These advantages are some of the things working in bottled waters favor. Per-capita bottled water consumption in the United States increased to 34 gallons in 2014 compared to 32 gallons in 2013.
An overview of bottled water category
The US bottled water market is dominated by the nonsparkling bottled water segment, which accounted for 95.8% of total 2014 bottled water volumes. Domestic sparkling water and imported bottled water accounted for 3.1% and 1.1%, respectively, of total volumes.
Premium PET is the dominant category in the nonsparkling bottled water segment. The top brands in this category include Nestles (NSRGY) Pure Life, Coca-Colas Dasani, PepsiCos (PEP) Aquafina, and Poland Spring.
Growth prospects
The bottled water category is expected to continue posting strong growth rates, supported by the continued rise in per-capita consumption. Gary Hemphill, managing director and chief operating officer of research at the Beverage Marketing Corporation, expects bottled water to surpass carbonated soft drinks by early 2017 (2. Source: Plasticnews).
Aside from the dominant nonsparkling bottled water category, theres also growing demand for sparkling bottled water. In 2014, Coca-Cola (KO) launched Dasani Sparkling, an unsweetened, zero-calorie sparkling water in four flavors. Dr Pepper Snapples (DPS) Mexican sparkling water brand, Penafiel, is one of the companys key growth drivers. Some leading brands in the sparkling bottled water category include National Beverages (FIZZ) LaCroix, Talking Rains Sparkling Ice, and Nestles Perrier. Bottled water companies are also making their products interesting by extending some product lines. For instance, National Beverages (FIZZ) LaCroix offers its line extension LaCroix Curate in several flavors, including Melon Pomelo, Kiwi Sandia, and Mure Pepino. National Beverage constitutes 3% of the PowerShares Dynamic Food & Beverage ETF (PBJ).
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Not only is bottled water a healthier choice than soda, but the US bottled water categorys future growth is also likely to be driven by growing concerns about tap water contamination. The Flint water crisis is a key example. The crisis started in April 2014, when the City of Flint, Michigan, changed its water source from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (treated water from Lake Huron and the Detroit River) to the Flint River, which was highly contaminated with lead.
Continue to Next Part
Browse this series on Market Realist:
The Odebrecht stand is pictured during the LADD Defence and Security 2015 International Exhibition in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on April 15, 2015 (AFP Photo/Vanderlei Almeida) (AFP/File)
Sao Paulo (AFP) - Brazil construction titan Odebrecht said Friday it was selling $3.2 billion of its assets to "get through the hurricane" that is the Petrobras bribery scandal rocking it and the government.
The move was because of the group's sudden difficulty in getting access to credit after being deeply implicated in the scandal, with accusations that it paid bribes to secure two projects for the Olympic Games in Rio, company CEO Newton de Souza told the Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper.
He added that recent weakening of the Brazilian real had also taken its toll on Odebrecht's finances.
Proceeds from the asset sale this year, he said, would go to "an immediate reduction" of the group's $25 billion debt.
"We believe that this will give us peace of mind to get through the hurricane," he said.
Among the assets to be divested are a hydroelectric plant and a toll freeway in Peru, and a stake in an oil well in Angola.
De Souza took over as acting CEO and president of Odebrecht in December, replacing Marcelo Odebrecht, who last month was sentenced to 19 years in prison for paying large bribes and money laundering.
Marcelo Odebrecht was the biggest head to roll so far in the expanding Petrobras graft scandal, in which executives from Brazil's state-owned oil company allegedly conspired with construction groups to siphon off billions in dollars through inflated contracts.
De Souza said the investigation into his group is "certainly not a comfortable situation, and it makes our corporate task more difficult."
But he said the company was taking steps "to create the bases of a new cycle" in its organization.
(Adds background, PMI data, table) BRASILIA, April 1 (Reuters) - Brazil's industrial output fell in February at the fastest pace in more than two years, dragged down by a further steep decline in production of durable goods such as cars and home appliances, government data showed on Friday.
Output at factories and mines fell a seasonally adjusted 2.5 percent in February from January, erasing the unexpected gains seen in January when there was a 0.4percent increase, statistics agency IBGE said.
The data marked the steepest monthly decline since December 2013, IBGE said. It was slightly worse than the median estimate in a Reuters poll of economists that had projected a decline of 2.3 percent.
Production in February retreated 9.8 percent from a year earlier.
Brazil's economy has been going through the second year of what is expected to be its worst recession in more than a century. The central bank sees the economy shrinking 3.5 percent this year following a contraction of 3.8 percent in 2015.
One ray of hope for manufacturing came in a privately conducted survey for March, which showed it contracting at a slower rate than in February.
The Purchasing Managers' Index, compiled by research firm Markit, rose to a seasonally adjusted 46.0 in March, up from a three-month low of 44.5 in February.
The headline PMI index remained well below the 50 threshold that indicates activity growth. However, new export orders rose at the fastest pace in 6-1/2 years after Brazil's currency, the real, weakened to near record lows.
(Percent change) m-m y-y Capital goods 0.3 -25.8 Intermediate goods -2.0 -8.5 Consumer goods -3.2 -8.1 Durable consumer goods -5.3 -29.3 Semi-durable and non-durable consumer -0.6 -2.0 goods Industrial output -2.5 -9.8 (Reporting by Silvio Cascione Editing by W Simon)
BRASILIA, April 1 (Reuters) - Odebrecht SA, the engineering firm at the heart of Brazil's biggest ever graft probe, has put 12 billion reais ($3.34 billion) in assets up for sale to raise capital as it grapples with rising debt, Odebrecht Chief Executive Newton de Souza told Folha de S.Paulo in an interview published on Friday.
Odebrecht is seeking to sell a hydroelectric dam and a road concession in Peru and a stake in an oil project in Angola, and has received interest for its water and sewage unit Odebrecht Ambiental, Souza said in the interview.
The 12-billion-real asset-selling program should help Odebrecht pass "through the eye of the storm," Souza was quoted by Folha de S.Paulo as saying.
Odebrecht is the largest of Brazil's major engineering firms accused of colluding to overcharge state-run oil producer Petroleo Brasileiro SA and using the excess as bribes that were funneled to ruling coalition politicians and, in some cases, opponents of President Dilma Rousseff.
The company has already cut 70,000 jobs, Souza told Folha. He declined to comment on the corruption investigations.
Odebrecht last week said it agreed to cooperate with prosecutors. Marcelo Bahia Odebrecht, the company's former chief executive officer and scion of the namesake family that controls the firm, was sentenced to 19 years in prison after being convicted of corruption and money laundering.
($1 = 3.5881 Brazilian reais) (Reporting by Silvio Cascione; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
(Add details of ruling, political context of Lula case)
BRASILIA, March 31 (Reuters) - Brazil's Supreme Court ruled on Thursday to remove a corruption investigation into former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from the jurisdiction of a lower court judge who released a wiretapped conversation of him with President Dilma Rousseff.
The 8-2 decision grants Lula a breather from crusading anti-corruption Judge Sergio Moro, putting his case temporarily in the hands of the top court, all but 3 of whose members have been named since his Workers' Party took office in 2003.
Lula is under investigation for allegedly benefiting, in the form of payments and a luxury real estate, from a massive graft scheme uncovered at state-run oil company Petrobras.
The case comes as Brazil is struggling to overcome a series of political and economic crises amid accusations of widespread corruption at high levels of government.
Lula's protegee Rousseff, herself facing possible impeachment, tried to appoint the popular former president to her Cabinet, which would give him some immunity from prosecution because ministers and elected officials can only be tried by the Supreme Court in Brazil.
Hours after he was named, Moro released a recording of them discussing the appointment. A Supreme Court justice suspended Lula's appointment arguing that it was aimed at illegally shielding him, adding to a political storm that threatens to oust Rousseff from office.
Thousands of Brazilians in 17 states and the nation's capital took to the streets on Thursday in defense of Rousseff, who is scrambling to hold together her crumbling ruling coalition as partners abandon her.
The lower house of Congress is due to vote in mid-April on whether Rousseff should stand trial in the Senate for manipulating government accounts to win re-election in 2014. She is not being investigated for corruption.
In the Lula case, the Supreme Court said it was the only court authorized to wiretap a conversation involving the president, and overruled Moro's decision to release the recording of his call with Rousseff. Several justices said the conversation should not be accepted as valid evidence when the court eventually decides on Lula's suspension.
Moro could still take some parts of the Lula investigation, depending on future Supreme Court rulings and whether Lula is ultimately allowed to take the Cabinet position.
(Reporting by Anthony Boadle; Editing by Sandra Maler and Alistair Bell)
By Jonathan Cable and Wayne Cole
SYDNEY, LONDON, NEW YORK (Reuters) - Activity in China's factory sector grew for the first time in nine months during March to bring a hint of spring to the global economy, although growth remained weak in Europe, and subdued in the U.S.
Headlining in Asia was a rise in the official version of the Chinese Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) to 50.2, above the 50-point mark that separates growth from contraction.
The private Caixin/Markit PMI found output, total new orders and output prices all returned to growth also, while a survey of the service sector surprised with its strength.
"It does seem to indicate that the manufacturing sector is warming up a bit," said Raymond Yeung, senior economist at ANZ in Hong Kong.
"We think there are basically two factors driving the recovery: the first is a possible acceleration in infrastructures pending. The second is a broader pickup in external demand."
The relatively upbeat Chinese surveys should give some comfort to Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen who this week cited the global risks emanating from Asia as one reason to be cautious on raising U.S. interest rates.
Yet, analysts still suspect more government support will be needed for the Chinese economy, especially if it wants to avoid a politically unsettling rise in unemployment.
Credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's underlined the need for faster reform when it changed China's credit outlook to negative on Thursday.
The economic pulse across the rest of Asia was more erratic. South Korea's PMI bounced to within a whisker of 50 in March while stronger shipments of smartphones and steel saw exports decline at the slowest pace in four months.
Indonesia put an end to 17 straight months of contraction as its PMI popped up to 50.6, with output, new orders and employment all improving.
Japan, however, was busy going backwards as the Markit/Nikkei PMI of 49.1 was the lowest since February 2013.
That echoed a gloomy survey of manufacturers from the Bank of Japan which found sentiment at its darkest in nearly three years, a result that lopped 3.0 percent off the Nikkei (.N225).
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All of which heightened pressure on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the central bank to do more to shore up the stuttering economy.
"This data confirmed the very cautious stance of Japanese firms reflecting the market volatility since January. There's no signs of corporate sentiment bottoming in coming months," said Mari Iwashita, chief market economist at SMBC Friend Securities.
"There's more than a 50 percent chance the BOJ will consider easing policy further this month."
EUROPE IMPROVES MARGINALLY
However, while euro zone factories rounded off the first quarter in slightly better shape than initially thought the growth in activity remained weak despite the deepest price-cutting since late 2009.
The euro zone survey suggested manufacturing is still dragging on the wider economy. The report came soon after the European Central Bank unleashed a bold easing package in its latest attempt to spur growth and drive up inflation.
Despite the price-cutting by manufacturers and ECB stimulus, Markit's PMI for the euro zone only rose to 51.6 from February's year-low of 51.2.
The bloc's economy grew just 1.6 percent in 2015 and the first quarter's PMIs suggest there will be little improvement anytime soon.
"The softening of forward looking components in the past two months is consistent with our scenario of a slower growth inQ2-Q3," said Apolline Menut at Barclays.
Looking at the country breakdowns, growth remained weak in Germany and activity contracted in France but Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria and in particular Ireland saw robust expansions.
In Britain, outside the currency bloc, manufacturing growth edged up in March from its weakest level in nearly three years, suggesting the sector will contribute little to economic growth in early 2016.
AMERICAS SLIGHTLY BETTER ALSO
In the U.S, the manufacturing sector improved slightly in March, even though the U.S. Labor Department reported a loss of 29,000 jobs in the sector for the month, the largest number since December 2009, despite signs of stabilization in the factory sector.
Markit's U.S. manufacturing PMI for March improved slightly to 51.5, up from 51.3 in February. The employment subcomponent also edged up 52.2 from 51.8.
"March data highlighted sustained growth across the U.S. manufacturing sector, but the overall pace of expansion remained subdued," Markit economist Tim Moore said.
"Subdued client spending patterns within the energy sector, ongoing pressure from the strong dollar, and general uncertainty about the business outlook were cited as factors weighing on new order flows in March."
An alternative report from the U.S. Institute of Supply Management (ISM) also reported its index of national factory activity rose to 51.8 from 49.5 the month before. However, the employment index fell to 48.1 from 48.5 a month earlier.
Canada's manufacturing sector grew for the first time in eight months in March as the weaker Canadian dollar gave exports a boost, data showed on Friday. The RBC/Markit manufacturing PMI rose to 51.5 last month from 49.4 in February.
The report will likely add to expectations the economy fared better than anticipated in the first quarter. Canada was in a mild recession last year as the oil-exporter was hit by the drop in crude prices, but recent data has shown the economy got off to a better start in 2016.
Growth in Mexico's manufacturing sector picked up slightly also last month to its fastest pace in nearly a year, as a weak peso helped export orders but increased costs. Mexico's HSBC/Markit manufacturing PMI improved to 53.2 from 53.1 in February.
Brazil's manufacturing crisis eased last month as a weak currency boosted exports, although the improvement was not strong enough to halt job losses. The HSBC/Markit PMI rose to 46.0 in March, up from a three-month low of 44.5 in February.
"There were pockets of solid foreign demand reported, partly offsetting the weakness in the domestic market," said Markit economist Pollyana de Lima.
Brazil's currency slumped last year as the economy entered a deep recession and a political crisis led ratings agencies to strip the country of its investment-grade rating.
(Additional reporting by Leah Schnurr in Ottawa, Alexandra Alper in Mexico City, Silvio Cascione in Brasilia and Meredith Mazzilli in New York; editing by Jeremy Gaunt and Clive McKeef)
(Refiles to fix spelling of Chinese official's name in paragraph 2 as Xu Dazhe, instead of Xu Daxhe)
By David Brunnstrom
WASHINGTON, March 31 (Reuters) - China remains committed to its plans for nuclear reprocessing, its top nuclear industry official said on Thursday, despite concerns this could lead to a competitive buildup of plutonium stockpiles in Asia.
"China is dedicated to the establishment of a complete nuclear fuel-cycle system," Xu Dazhe, chairman of the China Atomic Energy Authority, told reporters on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington.
"When we are constructing a number of nuclear power plants in China we are also taking into consideration the development of a reprocessing capability," he added.
Xu noted that China was in discussions with French firm Areva over the construction of a commercial reprocessing plant, although he added that there was still "a long way to go to complete the negotiation, both technically and commercially."
Industry watchers say the two sides are still far apart in terms of a price for the multibillion-dollar project. Asked about this, Xu said, "yes, so the negotiations still have a long way to go."
Speaking at a news conference earlier, Xu reiterated concerns about the size of the plutonium stockpile possessed by Japan, which plans to open its own reprocessing plant in 2018.
"There is a mismatch between the current stockpile of the plutonium in Japan and its real need for development," Xu said.
Japan has an estimated 50 tonnes of plutonium, enough to produce 2,000 nuclear weapons, and is building a large plant at Rokkasho in northern Japan to reprocess spent fuel from power plants, although its start has been repeatedly delayed.
It has until now relied on the British and French to extract plutonium from spent uranium fuel rods, but with nearly all of its reactors shut down after the Fukushima nuclear disaster five years ago and no schedule for further restarts there is little use for the material.
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Japan remains an avowedly anti-nuclear-weapons state as the only country ever to have suffered a nuclear attack. However, anti-proliferation advocates worry that if it goes ahead with plans to open Rokkasho, this will raise fears about its future intentions, spurring China's plans and also encouraging South Korea to pursue reprocessing capability.
U.S. concerns had been rising about the prospect of growing stockpiles of nuclear raw materials in East Asia and in mid-March, Thomas Countryman, an assistant U.S. secretary of state in charge of non-proliferation, called into question the renewal of an agreement between Washington and Tokyo that allows Japan to reprocess and produce weapons-grade plutonium.
The agreement is due to be extended in 2018, but with a new U.S. administration starting in January its status is unclear.
(Reporting by David Brunnstrom; Editing by James Dalgleish and Clarence Fernandez)
While Mark Zuckerberg was meeting with officials in Beijing in Shanghai two weeks ago, there was another, far less public meeting on the population aging challenge facing China going on. Both gatherings were about Chinas willingness to open its minds and policies to address the three 21st century mega-trends of population aging, connectedness and innovative technology.
We also recently saw a report that the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba is about to overtake Wal-Mart in global sales. Last years OECD workshop at Oxford on ageing and the digital economy was not just about health benefits but how the one billion of us over 60 can engage in commerce and contribute to economic growth. There is no doubt that the demographic over 60 will increasingly benefit from e-commerce.
Related: Who Gets the Most in Disability Pay? 8 Key Social Security Facts
Whatever deal Mr. Zuckerberg is making with Chinese officials, they must know that implementing their 13th Five Year Plan will require some very serious social changes. Not only must they treat their aging population differently, but they must open their economic system to the full measure of trade and investment flows that can drive economic growth.
Note the language used by Chinese President Xi Jinping to explain the profound impact of aging on their economic growth prospects: Over 15 percent of the population is 60 years old or above. The working-age population has started to decrease and the trend is continuing The new policy [of allowing two children without fines] should reduce the pressure of an aging population, increase the labor supply and promote balanced population development.
China today has well over a quarter billion people over age 60 and that number will grow to about the size of todays entire European population. Its a market if ever there was one; its also a challenge if public policy and external conditions are not ripe.
Several public policy proposals that could help ease the pressure were the subject of the Shanghai Roundtable on Active Aging held coincidentally when Zuckerberg was having his meetings in Beijing:
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1. Treat the 60+ demographic in China the same way we are increasingly doing across OECD countries -- as important consumers of product from healthcare to financial services, technology to retail. Growing proportions of this commerce is already taking place through the Internet witness the Alibaba phenomenon and this will grow over the next decades as the aging population in China reaches numbers that are equivalent to America today. Moreover, if Mick Jagger in his seventies can keep singing, how is it not obvious that old in the 21st century is to be redefined?
Related: Harsh New Penalties for Social Security Fraud Are Coming
2. Recognize the special needs of the 80+ demographic, the most rapidly growing segment of the overall population. Technology will be essential to this elder caregiving, especially if China is to meet its goals of 90 percent of this demographic aging in place at home. From telehealth and telemedicine to censors recognizing falls and measuring medicine compliance, China will have to open its borders to the best of what is produced across the globe. Free trade is essential as China confronts an aging population.
3. Like everyone else, keep people working longer the ditch retirement movement is as relevant for China as anywhere.
China is experiencing the medical and health benefits of the 20th century that lead to 21st century longevity. Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Shenyang and the rest of Chinas urban centers are joining New York, Tokyo, Berlin and Sydney where the once rare achievement of long lives is becoming the norm. Young girls and boys born in Shanghai in the 1990s are likely to see three centuries, as are our sons and daughters in the West. We increasingly understand this and more and more are beginning to plan.
What we tend not to fully appreciate is the low birth rates that have now also become a condition of 21st century life across the globe developed and developing, rich and poor, everywhere. Of course, the infamous one-baby policy has only exacerbated the huge challenges of population aging for China. All the more reason that China will have to change its ways to achieve greater openness in trade, the Internet and learning from others on productive urban development.
Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:
By Greg Roumeliotis and Matthew Miller
(Reuters) - China's Anbang Insurance Group Co said on Thursday it has abandoned its $14 billion bid for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc (HOT.N), paving the way for Marriott International Inc (MAR.O) to buy the Sheraton and Westin hotels operator.
The surprise withdrawal marks an anticlimactic end to a bidding war that had pitted Marriott's ambitions to create the world's largest lodging company, with about 5,700 hotels, against Anbang's drive to create a vast portfolio of U.S. real estate assets.
It also represents a blow to corporate China's growing ambitions to acquire U.S. assets. Anbang's acquisition of Starwood would have been the largest takeover of a U.S. company by a Chinese buyer.
"We were attracted to the opportunity presented by Starwood because of its high-quality, leading global hotel brands, which met many of our acquisition criteria, including the ability to generate consistent, long-term returns over time," Anbang said in a statement.
"However, due to various market considerations, the consortium has determined not to proceed further," Anbang added, referring to the joint bid it had put together with private equity firms J.C. Flowers & Co and Primavera Capital Ltd.
Anbang did not offer Starwood a reason for not following through on its raised offer of March 26, according to people familiar with the matter. They asked not to be identified disclosing confidential discussions.
"The reason of withdrawal is simple - Anbang isn't interested in a protracted bidding war," Fred Hu, chairman of Primavera, told Reuters in an email.
It was not immediately clear if Marriott had been planning a counterbid to Anbang's March 26 offer. Anbang has previously bowed out of smaller deals, but this is the most high-profile deal it has abandoned, people familiar with the matter said.
Starwood said on Monday that Anbang had raised its offer to almost $14 billion. Anbang had been expected to firm up that non-binding offer, so that Starwood would formally declare it superior to Marriott's.
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Anbang had already made a $13.2 billion binding and fully financed offer earlier this month, which Starwood accepted as superior. Had Marriott not counterbid on March 21, Starwood would have proceeded with the earlier Anbang offer.
Starwood said on Thursday that Anbang had withdrawn its offer "as a result of market considerations," which it did not specify. Marriott declined to provide immediate comment.
The move fueled speculation on what drove Anbang to change course, especially given that many Chinese overseas acquisitions have been encouraged by the country's authorities.
Chinese financial magazine Caixin reported earlier this month that China's insurance regulator would likely reject a bid by Anbang to buy Starwood, since it would put the insurer's offshore assets above a 15 percent threshold for overseas investments.
Should Anbang have clinched an agreement with Starwood, it would have been scrutinized by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), an interagency panel that reviews deals to ensure they do not harm national security. However, sources had said that both Starwood and Anbang believed the deal would have received CFIUS clearance.
"My guess is that Starwood wanted either a higher break-up fee, maybe a billion dollars, or a higher price from Anbang to offset the risk," said Ryan Meliker, an analyst at Canaccord Genuity Group Inc (CF.TO).
In its latest offer, Anbang's consortium had offered $82.75 per share in cash. Marriott's latest cash-and-stock offer, which was announced on March 21, is worth around $75 per share.
Starwood shareholders will also receive stock in Interval Leisure Group Inc (IILG.O), worth $6.13 per Starwood share. This is the result of a deal last year to spin off Starwood's timeshare business and combine it with Interval Leisure Group.
Starwood's shares fell 4.4 percent to $79.80 in extended trading, while Marriott shares fell 4.9 percent to $67.68. This indicates that some Marriott shareholders are disappointed that the company is moving ahead with the deal at such a high price.
GLOBAL SHOPPING SPREE
Anbang was established in 2004 as an automotive and property insurer by Chairman Wu Xiaohui, a native of China's entrepreneurial coastal city Wenzhou. The company has been leveraging its 1.65 trillion yuan ($253 billion) in assets to transform into a worldwide investor.
Anbang's major deals include last year's $1.95 billion purchase of Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York and this month's agreement to buy Strategic Hotels & Resorts Inc, from Blackstone Group LP (BX.N) for $6.5 billion. Anbang's purchase of U.S. insurer Fidelity & Guaranty Life (FGL.N) for $1.6 billion is awaiting regulatory approval.
Marriott said last week it believed it could achieve $250 million in annual cost synergies within two years after closing the deal with Starwood, up from $200 million estimated in November 2015 when it signed its original merger agreement.
Starwood and Marriott shareholders are separately scheduled to vote on the deal on April 8.
Lazard Ltd (LAZ.N) and Citigroup Global Markets Inc (C.N) are financial advisers to Starwood. Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP is its legal counsel. Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher are advising Marriott.
PJT Partners Inc (PJT.N) is Anbang's financial adviser, while Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP is its legal counsel.
(Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis in New York and Matthew Miller in Beijing; Addtional reporting by Mike Stone in New York, Ramkumar Iyer in Bengaluru and Denny Thomas in Hong Kong; Editing by Kirti Pandey, Richard Chang and Edwina Gibbs)
By Niu Shuping and David Stanway
BEIJING, April 1 (Reuters) - China's plan to let the market set corn prices is bad news for international grain exporters, but should boost the country's struggling corn processors that use the grain in products ranging from food additives to paper and textiles.
New demand from corn processing companies, as well as the feed and ethanol industries, will be vital to help China start cutting the 250 million tonnes of corn reserves built up under stockpiling policies, or more than the country can consume in a year.
In its biggest grain reforms in a decade, China said this week it will stop stockpiling corn and halt price support schemes, narrowing the gap between international and local prices and encouraging the use of local grain rather than imports of cheaper substitutes, such as sorghum and the ethanol byproduct distillers' grains (DDGS).
Food processors use corn to make starch, syrup and alcohol, but China's corn starch industry has been running losses over the past three years, with more than half of its capacity lying idle.
"It is good news for the industry," said Fan Chunyan, secretary general of the China Corn Starch Association
"More companies would raise production and become profitable and some companies may be able to export their products," said Fan, adding that utilisation rates could recover to about 70 percent, up from as low as 40 percent in recent years.
Corn starch is used to make thousands of products, including the food additives lysine and citric acid, which China once was the world's largest exporter, as well as corn syrup, which can replace natural sugar in the production of soft drinks and cakes.
Major players in the industry include COFCO Co Ltd, Global Bio-chem Technology Group Co. Ltd and the Xiwang Group.
Global agribusinesses Cargill and Wilmar International also run some corn starch joint ventures in China.
IMPORTS TO EXPORTS?
The decade-old corn stockpiling policy, which will be scrapped from the autumn, has pushed domestic corn prices up to 50 percent above international prices, saddling feed mills and food processors with higher costs.
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"Many plants were dead because of the stockpiling policy. For those which are still alive, definitely there is a chance," an executive at a corn processor in the province of Liaoning told Reuters.
The industry had been suffering losses for many years and his own company's plant had shut, said the executive, who declined to be identified.
Chinese feed mills bought a record volume of foreign feed grains in 2015, which together with corn imports, replaced more than 42 million tonnes of domestic corn production, about a quarter of annual consumption.
Beijing controls quotas on low-tariff corn imports, which encourages users in China to seek out lower priced substitutes once the quotas have been reached.
Cheap imports of cassava and cassava starch have largely been used instead of domestic corn in refineries, whose main products include ethanol and corn syrup. Chinese imports of cassava hit nearly 10 million tonnes in 2015.
"With the drop in domestic corn prices, soft-drink makers will increase their use of corn syrup to help cut costs," said Lief Chiang, an analyst with Rabobank.
The policy change will also slash feed costs for China's pig industry and boost profits of ethanol producers.
"The feed grain price drop would prolong the high breeding margins for hog breeders, which are now recovering their herds, while for the corn processing industry, some products can be competitive globally," said Chiang.
China's appetite for cheap U.S. ethanol could also wane this year as domestic companies increase production, said an official at the China Alcohol Industry Association. China imported a record volume of ethanol in 2015 due to expensive domestic corn.
"A drop in raw material prices would increase ethanol output and imports would shrink," said the official, who declined to be identified.
"China may be able to export ethanol to other countries, including South Korea and Southeast Asia, and compete with the United States and Brazil," the official added.
(Editing by Richard Pullin and Ed Davies)
* Sale is part of Serbian privatisation programme
* European steel sector suffers from over-capacity (Adds comments from Serbian prime minister, background)
By Ivana Sekularac
BELGRADE, April 1 (Reuters) - China's Hebei Iron & Steel Group has submitted the only bid for a loss-making Serbian steel mill that the government put up for sale, a government official said on Friday.
Serbia set a March 30 deadline for bids to sell the Zelezara Smederevo plant, part of its efforts to offload unprofitable state firms in accordance with its 1.2 billion euro loan deal with the International Monetary Fund.
"The privatisation commission met today at 12 p.m. (1000 GMT) and concluded there was only one bid. On Tuesday we will officially unveil the bid and have more details about it," the official, who declined to be named, told Reuters.
Hebei is bidding for the Serbian plant at a time of chronic overcapacity in the steel industry, partly caused by a glut of Chinese steel.
Britain is battling to save its steel industry after India's Tata Steel put its British operations up for sale, putting thousands of jobs at risk.
Serbia set a minimum price of 45.69 million euros ($51 million) for the plant, which employs 5,000 workers and produced 875,000 tonnes of steel in 2015.
A Hebei spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment.
Any deal would need the approval of the European Commission, as Belgrade is under pressure to stop subsidising loss-making firms as it seeks to wrap up EU membership talks by 2019.
Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, who said last October that Hebei was considering investing at least 300 million euros in expanding the plant, said on Friday that a deal to sell the plant had not yet been finalised.
"If we manage to do it, that would be very important not only for 5,000 employees in Zelezara, but also for some 10,000 people who work in the supply chain," he told a news conference.
Hebei province, where Hebei Iron & Steel is based, produces a quarter of China's steel but its mills are struggling with a huge price-sapping capacity surplus.
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The province has repeatedly urged its steel firms to shut down capacity at home and replace it with projects overseas, and this week offered more credit and policy support to steel enterprises looking to build or acquire plants overseas.
The EU has imposed anti-dumping duties on some types of Chinese steel.
Hebei Iron & Steel Group plans to build a 5 million tonne per annum project in South Africa.
The Serbian plant, which the government bought back from U.S Steel in 2012 for $1 to avert closure, posted a net loss of $113 million in 2015.
(Reporting by Ivana Sekularac, additional reporting by David Stanway in Beijing; editing by Adrian Croft and David Evans)
Hillary clinton greenpeace
Hillary Clinton had an angry confrontation with an activist who on Thursday accused her of taking money from the fossil-fuel industry.
Clinton was shaking hands with supporters following a campaign rally at SUNY Purchase when she was confronted by Greenpeace USA activist Eva Resnick-Day.
"Thank you for tackling climate change," Resnick-Day can be heard saying in a video from the interaction. "Will you act on your word to reject fossil-fuel money in the future in your campaign?"
The question clearly annoyed Clinton, who fired back at Resnick-Day, pointing her finger close to the activist's face.
"I have money from people who work for fossil-fuel companies," Clinton said, as Resnick-Day began to speak over her. "I am so sick of the Sanders campaign lying about me. I'm sick of it."
Earlier at the rally, a group of protestors interrupted Clinton's speech by shouting "She wins, we lose" in unison.
"I know the Bernie people came to say that. We're very sorry you're leaving," Clinton said as the group was being escorted out of the rally.
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan nonprofit that tracks money in politics, Clinton has received $307,561 in contributions from people in the oil and gas industry. Sanders has received $54,060 from people in the same industry, the center reports.
Watch video of the confrontation here:
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A sign is seen outside a branch of The Co-operative Bank in Brighton southern England December 16, 2014. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor
By Lawrence White and Andrew MacAskill
LONDON (Reuters) - Co-operative Bank's losses nearly doubled in 2015 and the chief executive of the British bank said on Friday it would remain unprofitable for the next two years.
The bank made a loss of 610 million pounds last year, up from 264 million pounds in 2014. It also reported an increase in conduct and legal risk charges to 193 million pounds due to additional provisions for insurance mis-selling.
"We can see at that the total bank level it is unlikely we will be profitable in 2017," Chief Executive Niall Booker told reporters on a conference call.
Co-op Bank nearly collapsed in 2013 with a 1.5 billion pound hole in its capital after losses from problem real estate loans. Bondholders ultimately took control of the bank, while its longstanding owner, the mutual Co-operative Group , became a minority holder.
Since then Booker has embarked on a turnaround plan under which the bank has cut its branch network by nearly half and sold billions of dollars worth of loans.
The bank said that despite the loss it was making progress on its turnaround, improving its core equity Tier 1 capital ratio, a key measure of financial strength, to 15.5 percent from 13 percent at the end of 2014.
But last year's loss and the low interest rate environment will mean the bank will take a year longer than expected to reach the capital strength required by regulators, the bank's Chairman Dennis Holt said in the bank's annual report.
It will also stop selling assets in its so-called Optimum portfolio that had been earmarked for disposal in a new plan that has been accepted by the Prudential Regulation Authority.
Progress on that plan has been tough, Booker said last August, when the lender's half-year loss nearly trebled amid falling income, rising costs and losses from asset sales.
Booker said on Friday that he enjoyed the challenge of the 'triage phase' of dealing with a distressed lender, but gave no indication he might stay on beyond the end of the year.
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"You don't get trauma surgeons who treat you forever," he said.
Booker's contract runs until the end of this year and the bank has not yet announced a replacement to take over the task of restoring the bank to profitability.
The bank's Chairman Holt said the bank had no update on succession planning for Booker.
(Editing by David Holmes and Jane Merriman)
A man walks into the 'W London' hotel, owned by Starwood Hotels, in Leicester Square in central London March 4, 2014. REUTERS/Toby Melville
BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Anbang Insurance Group Co walked away from its planned $14 billion offer for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc (HOT.N) to avoid a protracted bidding war, one of the Chinese insurer's consortium partners said on Friday.
In a surprise move, Anbang dropped out of the bidding for Starwood, paving the way for rival suitor Marriott International Inc (MAR.O) to buy the Sheraton and Westin hotels operator..
Anbang had teamed up with Chinese private equity firm Primavera Capital and global buyout firm J.C. Flowers & Co, for its Starwood bid.
"While attracted to Starwood's high-end global hotel portfolio, at the end of the day Anbang is a disciplined buyer," Fred Hu, Chairman of Primavera, told Reuters in an email statement.
"Anbang has both the interest and the financial resources to do a deal of this size and more, but only at the right terms that make long-term financial sense," Hu, a former Goldman Sachs (GS.N) banker said.
(Reporting by Matthew Miller; Writing by Denny Thomas; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
The Netflix logo is shown in this illustration photograph in Encinitas, California October 14, 2014. REUTERS/Mike Blake
By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Video provider Netflix did not violate any U.S. regulations when it "throttled" the picture quality for AT&T and Verizon wireless customers and the FCC has no plans to investigate, FCC chairman Tom Wheeler said on Thursday.
Wheeler said Netflix's conduct was "outside" the FCC's net neutrality rules adopted last year, because the FCC is not regulating "edge providers" or websites. Asked if the FCC had authority to investigate, Wheeler said that this "is outside the open Internet" order by the Federal Communications Commission.
Last week Netflix acknowledged degrading the picture quality for AT&T and Verizon mobile users because of data caps.
Ken McEldowney, executive director at advocacy group Consumer Action, said Netflix actions "demonstrate a complete lack of transparency with customers, but the news is also confusing: Netflix settings have long allowed users to choose their own preferred balance of picture quality vs. data usage."
He added that "most consumers that encounter video playback issues are likely to unfairly place the blame on their broadband providers."
Last week, AT&T Senior Executive Vice President Jim Cicconi criticized Netflix. "We're outraged to learn that Netflix is apparently throttling video for their AT&T customers without their knowledge or consent," Cicconi said.
Netflix didn't return a message seeking comment.
Netflix told The Wall Street Journal last week it had taken the actions for more than five years to "protect consumers from exceeding mobile data caps."
Wheeler was asked if Netflix actions were pro-consumer, but he declined to venture an opinion.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by James Dalgleish and Sandra Maler)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Japan said on Thursday a summit of Group of Seven (G7) nations it will host in May should send a clear signal that it is prepared to take steps to support the weak global economy.
Yasuhisa Kawamura, who is Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's spokesman, said weakness in Group of 20 major and emerging economies, especially in China, was expected to remain in 2016 through 2017.
Given that weakness, the G7 meeting should send a "clear message to the world so that those countries will make a contribution to the sustainable growth of the world economy," he said, speaking on the sidelines of the nuclear security summit in Washington.
He said the G7 summit should also take up "in a strategic way" issues such as global terrorism, Russia, Ukraine's conflict and the threat posed by North Korea's nuclear ambitions.
The group, which includes the United States, Italy, Germany, Japan, Britain, France, Canada and France cut Russia from the G8 in 2014 after Moscow annexed Crimea.
The International Monetary Fund forecast in January that global economic activity was uneven and likely to pick up to 3.4 percent this year and 3.6 percent in 2017, from 3.1 percent in 2015. Both forecasts for this year and next were revised downward by 0.2 percentage point.
(Reporting by Lesley Wroughton; Editing by Alan Crosby)
H&H
This week, Business Insider has teamed up with public radio's "Marketplace" for a series about the responsibility of a public company to its shareholders.
Earlier this year, we raised the issue with the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
She told us that corporate America has become enamored with what she calls "quarterly capitalism."
This idea broadly argues that American corporate executives have become more focused on seeking short-term gains in exchange for longer-term investments that will more broadly help the economy, but might not show the kind of immediate return to shareholders some investors now demand.
Said another way: American companies are no longer allowed by investors to look past their next quarterly earnings.
"I am deeply distressed about quarterly capitalism because I think it is causing businesses to make decisions that are not helping the long-term profitability of American corporations or the success of our economy," Clinton said. "And I'm on record for that going back to the time when I was a senator. So I hear that, but the facts don't bear it out."
Clinton shared with Business Insider an anecdote from her recent economic-policy speeches:
The story goes that, in one survey, corporate executives were asked if they would invest in a five- to 10-year plan that would increase the profitability of their business in exchange for "a penny" off of their share price.
The price of profits description
None of these executives said they'd do it, with Clinton adding that one exec told her they couldn't trade long-term gains for shorter-term pain because the market wouldn't allow it.
"The answer was, 'I'd be killed,'" this exec told Clinton. "'The market would kill me. Activist shareholders would kill me. So I would be spending all my time fending off this attack on me and the company I wouldn't even get to doing the work that we want to do.'"
"That's crazy," Clinton said. "That to me is not wealth creation for the long term."
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And according to Clinton, the fix lies in the law and what acting in the best interests of shareholders really entails.
"So I think we've got to look at corporate law," Clinton said.
She said:
Back in the day when I studied it there were different constituencies that were to be served, and I think there was a real wrong turn about 20 to 25 years ago when the theory began to be promoted that your highest duty, in fact some would argue, your only duty is to maximize shareholder return. I just don't buy it.
In letters to CEOs of the S&P 500 the benchmark stock index which houses America's 500 largest publicly traded companies over the last two years, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink has argued that the best path forward for their companies, the US economy, and the financial markets is to stop worrying about meeting short-term financial goals.
Fink's most recent letter called for each CEO to "lay out for shareholders each year a strategic framework for long-term value creation" as a way to attract investors and fend off the activist investors Clinton thinks pressure companies into making decisions that ultimately hurt shareholders and the broader economy.
Or as Clinton said to Business Insider:
I think there's a lot we could do that maybe would give a little more decision space to CEOs, to shareholders who want to hold for the long-term, to investors who want to be part of the long-term, that they would maybe have a little more room to withstand the pressure that is otherwise coming down on them.
"The Price of Profits," our series with Marketplace, looks at what happens when profits become a company's product. For more, visit priceofprofits.org.
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Journalists follow the presentation of Huawei's new smartphone, the Mate S, ahead of the IFA Electronics show in Berlin, Germany, September 2, 2015. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke
By Yimou Lee and Paul Carsten
HONG KONG/BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Huawei Technologies Co Ltd [HWT.UL] on Friday posted its biggest annual revenue growth since 2008, boosted by China's adoption of fourth-generation (4G) mobile technology and strong sales of smartphone worldwide.
Huawei, one of the world's largest telecom equipment makers, said total revenue rose 37 percent to 395 billion yuan ($61.10 billion) in 2015, slightly above its forecast of 390 billion yuan.
The Shenzhen-based company said it expects revenue to increase to $75 billion this year, which implies the growth rate will slow to 23 percent, according to Reuters calculations.
The company had in early 2014 targeted overall revenue of $70 billion by 2018, which translated to growth of roughly 10 percent.
Huawei forecast 2016 revenue of $30 billion for the consumer devices business, which was its fastest growing division and second-biggest revenue generator last year.
The forecast implies revenue growth in the business will slow down to about 51 percent in 2016 from about 73 percent in 2015, when the company outperformed domestic peers Lenovo Group and Xiaomi Inc [XTC.UL].
Huawei became the first Chinese handset vendor to ship more than 100 million smartphones in a year in 2015 when a 44 percent jump in its shipments defied a market slowdown.
That helped the company's net profit rise 32 percent to 36.9 billion yuan last year, from 27.9 billion yuan a year earlier.
Huawei's growth is "a direct result of strategic focus and heavy investment in our core businesses," Guo Ping, one of the company's CEOs who holds the post on a rotating basis, wrote in a statement.
Revenue in Huawei's carrier business, which competes with Sweden's Ericsson (ERICb.ST) for the top spot globally for telecommunication equipment, increased 21.4 percent in 2015 on strong demand for 4G telecommunication equipment.
The carrier business is Huawei's biggest, accounting for about 59 percent of 2015 revenue.
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The company's smallest business is the enterprise division, which builds private networks for companies and organisations. Revenue in the business rose 43.8 percent last year.
Huawei said it spent 15 percent of its revenue last year on research and development, above its guidance of 10 percent. Operating margins dipped to 11.6 percent from 11.9 percent.
Total liabilities stood at 253 billion yuan, versus total assets of 372 billion yuan, the company said.
($1 = 6.4649 yuan)
(Reporting by Yimou Lee and Paul Carsten; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Savio D'Souza)
All eyes focused today on the March jobs report, with the S&P (^GSPC) little changed after the Labor Department reported that 215,000 jobs were added last month, accompanied by moderately rising wages and an uptick in the participation rate.
But overlooked was arguably the biggest story of the day: Chinas manufacturing report. Chinas official manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) showed growth for the first time in eight months. The PMI jumped to 50.2 in March, the first time since July that it exceeded 50, the dividing line between growth and contraction.
This surprisingly strong official PMI release points to stronger growth momentum in March and was largely supported by domestic demand, especially property and infrastructure investment as a result of policy easing, said Nomuras Yang Zhao. Evidence suggests policy easing could be more aggressive than we had expected, fiscal and quasi-fiscal policy easing in particular , which means a rebound could be stronger and more lasting than we initially thought.
Last month, officials at the National Peoples Congress pledged action to meet their 6.5% to 7% GDP growth target for this year following reassurances given at the G20 meeting, according to analysts. Still, uncertainty and fears about an economic hard-landing in worlds second largest economy remain elevated for Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen.
As Deutsche Banks Torsten Slok noted earlier this week, Janet Yellen has become increasingly focused on the potential impact of the rest of the world on the US economy and Fed policy. This rang true during her latest speech at the Economic Club of New York on Tuesday, where she reasserted her dovish stance on monetary policy going forward.
Slok tallied up the frequency with which Yellen has made reference to forces like China and the rest of the world.
Looking forward however, we have to take into account the potential fallout from recent global economic and financial developments, which have been marked by bouts of turbulence since the turn of the year, Yellen said. There is a consensus that China's economy will slow in the coming years as it transitions away from investment toward consumption and from exports toward domestic sources of growth. There is much uncertainty, however, about how smoothly this transition will proceed and about the policy framework in place to manage any financial disruptions that might accompany it.
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Its worth noting that manufacturing activity has picked up in the worlds largest economy: the US.
The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) manufacturing index hit 51.8 in March, up from from 49.5 in February. Its the first time that the gauge reflected growth, exceeding 50, since August.
All of these improvements are sure to put pressure on the Fed to tighten monetary policy sooner than later.
* LatAm currencies rise to monthly highs * Mexico central bank unanimous in rate hold - minutes * Ecopetrol announces Board of Directors * Strong US jobs report unlikely to sway cautious Fed By Mike Gambale NEW YORK, April 1 (IFR) - No deals priced in LatAm primary market on Friday.
Here is a snapshot of LatAm sovereign credit spreads: SOVEREIGN 3/31 3/30 3/29 1D 10D YTD 2015/16 HIGH BARBADOS 653 648 651 5 9 49 659 (2/11/16) BRAZIL 384 378 390 6 -21 -102 542 (2/11/16) CHILE 101 98 102 3 17 15 143 (2/11/16) COLOMBIA 278 275 283 3 9 -11 412 (2/11/16) COSTA RICA 504 492 497 12 -5 -13 587 (2/11/16) DOMINICAN REP 425 429 437 -4 2 10 542 (2/11/16) ECUADOR 1101 1155 1178 -54 -38 -214 1765 (2/11/16) EL SALVADOR 670 664 664 6 2 30 840 (2/11/16) GUATEMALA 300 297 295 3 -6 -2 385 (2/11/16) JAMAICA 453 455 457 -2 -8 4 519 (2/11/15) MEXICO 199 196 201 3 5 5 278 (2/11/16) PANAMA 200 197 199 3 6 -6 272 (2/11/16) PERU 218 215 222 3 14 -13 291 (2/10/16) TRINIDAD & TOBAGO 158 153 153 5 -17 60 173 (1/15/15) URUGUAY 269 265 269 4 3 1 344 (2/11/16) VENEZUELA 3159 3089 3116 70 268 367 3713 (2/12/16) Source: Bank of America Merrill Lynch Master Index SPREAD TRENDS: One-day change shows Ecuador tighter by 54bp Seven out of 16 LatAm sovereign credits tighter YTD LATAM PIPELINE: Brazil could issue again this year if conditions allow, the treasury's interim debt coordinator Leandro Secunho said: "There is no need for new (global bond) sales, but if we see new windows of opportunity we will consider reentering the market." The sovereign sold a US$1.5bn 2026 dollar-denominated bond on March 10, tapping global markets for the first time since it lost its investment-grade rating.
Argentina named BBVA, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, JP Morgan, Santander and UBS as joint bookrunners for a possible bond sale, a source familiar with the matter told IFR.
Timing and currency not yet certain, but the deal could come in early April.
Barring objections from Congress, the sovereign is likely to try to issue up to US$15bn of bonds to help pay litigant investors.
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Colombia has mandated BBVA, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan to organize meeting with fixed-income investors in Europe to discuss opportunities in the capital markets this year.
The board of Argentine real estate developer IRSA has approved the issuance of up to US$470m of debt, according to a filing with local regulators.
The Province of Mendoza is looking to raise US$300m in both the local and international markets to refinance debt, according to local reports.
Neuquen province is contemplating a bond issue.
The United Mexican States has filed an up to US$10bn debt shelf with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Proceeds will be used for general purposes, including refinancing and the repurchase of debt.
Argentine E&P company Medanito has wrapped up roadshows ahead of a possible transaction through Itau and UBS. Expected rating is CCC+ by Fitch.
Concesion Pacifico Tres, a toll-road concession in Colombia, held a roadshow through Goldman Sachs. The company is looking to raise up to US$272m of bonds, according to Fitch, which has rated the senior secured bonds BBB-.
Pacifico Tres is jointly owned by Construcciones El Condor SA, Mario Alberto Huertas Cotes, and Constructora MECO SA. Banca de Inversion is acting as its financial advisor.
Argentina utility Pampa Energia's shareholders have approved a US$500m debt program.
Uruguay plans to raise up to US$1.5bn in bonds this year.
(Reporting By Michael Gambale; editing by Shankar Ramakrishnan)
Global Markets Take Cues from Manufacturing PMI, US Jobs Data
(Continued from Prior Part)
Latin American markets rise on positive sentiment in Brazil
Latin American markets were trading positively on April 1, 2016, at 3:00 PM ET. Market sentiment headed in a positive direction as investors prepare for an economy after Dilma Rousseff stepped down as Brazils president. Argentinas Merval Index and the Brazilian BM&F BOVESPA Index rose by 0.29% and 1.3%, respectively.
The Mexican IPC Index was trading 0.09% higher as the manufacturing PMI (purchasing managers index) released marginally higher at 53.2 against previous months number of 53.1 and forecasts of 53.0. The fall in global crude prices caused the Colombian COLCAP Index to fall by 0.45% while Chiles IPSA Select Index rose by 0.31%.
Economic releases across Brazil
The manufacturing PMI for Brazil remained in the contraction range at 46 in the month of March. However, it was higher than the previous months figures of 44.5 and estimates of 44.8, supported by increased business from overseas. Domestic demand, however, remained weak.
Industrial production declined in February by 9.8% on an annual basis versus a fall of 13.6% in January, marking the 23rd consecutive decrease in industrial production. On a monthly basis, the metric fell by 2.5% in February, a 0.4% increase from the previous month. Consumer confidence also released lower at 97.6 for March, compared to 98.7 in February, weighed down by unemployment concerns.
Impact on the market
Looking at important Latin Americafocused ETFs on April 1, the iShares MSCI Brazil Capped ETF (EWZ) rose by 2.2%. The iShares MSCI Mexico Capped ETF (EWW) was trading on a flat note at 3:00 PM ET.
Among Latin American countries, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, and Brazil are closely linked to commodity prices. The PowerShares DB Commodity Tracking ETF (DBC) fell by 1.6%. On a broad-based level, the iShares Latin America 40 ETF (ILF) rose by 0.83% while the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM) fell by 0.38%.
Browse this series on Market Realist:
By Jeremy Wagstaff and Jim Finkle
REUTERS - No need for stocking masks and sawn-off shotguns.
The unprecedented heist of $81 million from the U.S. account of Bangladeshs central bank is the latest among increasingly large thefts by criminals who have leveraged the speed and anonymity of hacking to revolutionise burgling banks.
Hundreds of millions of dollars, and perhaps much more, have been stolen from banks and financial services companies in recent years because of this alliance of traditional and digital criminals, with many victims not reporting the thefts for fear of reputational damage.
Typically, security and cyber-crime experts say, hackers break into the computer systems of financial institutions and make, or incite others to make, fraudulent transactions to pliant accounts. Organised crime then uses techniques developed over decades to launder the money, giving the alliance much higher rewards than a hold-up or bank vault robbery, with much less risk.
"The internet has made it easier for criminals to get inside banks," said Shane Shook, an independent security consultant. "Criminals are moving away from consumer-targeted attacks to much more substantial bank hacks because it takes less effort to get more money."
There's no evidence that old-fashioned bank robberies are in the decline. But there are increasing instances of the cyber variety of the crime.
Last year, researchers at Russian security software maker Kaspersky Lab publicised the activities of the prolific Carbanak gang, which it says hacked into banks, then ordered fraudulent money transfers and also forced ATMs to spit out cash. Kaspersky estimates the group hit as many as 100 banks, with losses averaging from $2.5 million to $10 million per heist.
A Turkish computer hacker pleaded guilty in a U.S. court in March to one of the most astonishing crimes in this category: "Cashing crews" pulled $40 million out of automated teller machines in 24 countries over a 10-hour period. The 2013 heist was accomplished with the precision of a Hollywood drama, thanks to hackers who breached financial networks, then inflated balances on prepaid debit cards.
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In another case, Russian banks lost more than $25 million over the past six months to a hacker group infecting their computers using tainted phishing emails, according to Russian security firm Group IB.
The malware gave the hackers access to the banks inner network, allowing them to craft seemingly authentic transfer requests via networks including the same SWIFT messaging system used in the Bangladesh Bank attack.
"It (the malware) provides remote access to the attacker. Then the attacker manually orders fraudulent transfers over SWIFT or other payment systems," said Dmitry Volkov, head of cyber intelligence for Group IB.
In the Bangladesh case, the bank says unknown hackers used malware to access the central bank's computers and spoof messages to the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank. They transferred $81 million from the central bank's account at the New York Fed to Philippine banks.
The funds were then passed on to casinos and handed over in cash to a junket operator in Manila, according to testimony at a senate hearing in the Philippines.
A transfer of $20 million to an entity in Sri Lanka was reported as suspicious because of a spelling mistake in its name and reversed.
UNREPORTED HEISTS
Cyber fraud experts say they expect more big heists because the industry has yet to properly defend itself.
"The fact is that most of the breaches that happen don't get reported," said Bryce Boland, chief Asia Pacific security officer of computer security company FireEye.
One senior banking security executive, who declined to be identified because he was not authorised to speak to the media, said he had worked on three cases of cyber thefts that his bank clients had not reported to regulatory authorities. He said the largest involved about $20 million.
In many jurisdictions, banks and financial services companies were not required to report breaches unless there's a material impact, Boland said. The definition is left vague enough so that many are not reported at all.
Boland said that while 20 percent of his banking customers had been targeted in the second half of last year, FireEye had also found cases of financial services companies not realising they had been breached, in one case leaving the attackers inside their computers for five years.
An ongoing Senate hearing in the Philippines is still struggling to determine how the stolen money was laundered, with another hearing scheduled for next week. In most cases the heists go unpunished and the perpetrators remain a mystery.
FireEye's Boland said the company has compiled detailed dossiers on six of the groups behind attacks on financial services companies, but he said he had less complete data on 600 other groups.
Not all focus on extracting money, he added. Hackers aimed at specific institutions, often at specific individuals, and often for financially useful data - inside information on mergers and acquisitions, for example, or data that could be used to create fake credit cards.
(Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
Tesla Model 3
The newly unveiled Model 3 spells out a fresh chapter in Tesla's evolution, but it won't be without risks for the electric-car maker.
Despite all of its innovation, Tesla has often been crowded out by a pretty big elephant: timing. Whether Tesla can bring a production version of the Model 3 to market on schedule in late 2017 remains to be seen.
All of Tesla's previous vehicles the Roadster, the Model S, and the Model X SUV arrived late, for various reasons.
During the unveiling on Thursday night, CEO Elon Musk expressed his hopes that the Model 3 would meet its target production date, while adding a slight caveat (emphasis ours): "I do feel fairly confident that it will be next year," he said.
People want these cars badly
Demand for Teslas has always been high, but now it has officially gone through the roof. If Model 3 preorders are any indication, the automaker has a hefty workload on its hands.
In less than 48 hours after the debut, Tesla took more than 230,000 preorders worldwide, at a time when the company operates two engineering and manufacturing facilities in California and another plant in the Netherlands.
Those Model 3 orders will multiply exponentially between now and the latter half of 2017.
And that doesn't take into account the slate of orders Tesla already has for the Models S and X.
Tesla Model 3
Building the cars
Musk argued that the Fremont, California, factory, which previously produced various General Motors and Toyota vehicles, is capable of cranking out about 500,000 vehicles a year and that's the target Tesla wants to hit by 2020.
Tesla already builds its Model S and Model X vehicles in that plant, though not quite in those six-figure quantities. The company tends to sell every car it builds, and in 2015 it delivered just over 50,000 vehicles, which was the low end of its goal.
Still, Musk seemed hopeful that his company could reach a 500,000 annual target in the next 3 1/2 years. "That's going to be, I wouldn't say straightforward, but very doable," he said Thursday.
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tesla battery gigafactory site reno nevada feb 25 2015 photo cc by nc sa 4 0 bob tregilus_100502191_l
Making the batteries
Tesla's Gigafactory plays a significant role in its quest for high-volume production.
The Reno-based battery plant will "produce more lithium-ion batteries than all other factories in the world combined, in just one location." Musk said.
The facility, which the CEO says is already operational, sets the stage for Tesla to meet the ravenous demand for its full lineup of cars as long as everything goes according to Tesla's "Top Secret Master Plan."
NOW WATCH: We went inside Elon Musk's futuristic Tesla factory filled with over 150 robots
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The logo of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is pictured at its building in Singapore February 21, 2013. REUTERS/Edgar Su/Files
SINGAPORE/SYDNEY (Reuters) - The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has asked financial institutions to provide details of any transactions linked to Malaysian state investor 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) as part of its probe into possible money-laundering in the city state.
The statement came late Thursday after The Australian newspaper reported earlier this week that it believes that Singapore's central bank has asked close to 40 banks with a presence in Singapore to provide information linked to 1MDB. The paper said flows into Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) (ANZ.AX) and National Australia Bank (NAB (NAB.AX) are believed to be among those queried.
ANZ and NAB both declined to comment.
"As part of its investigations into possible money-laundering and other offences in Singapore, (MAS) has been conducting a thorough review of various transactions as well as fund flows through our banking system," MAS said in a statement. "MAS has requested a number of financial institutions to furnish information relating to the review."
The central bank disclosed neither the number of banks involved in its review, nor the names of the Australian banks mentioned in The Australian report.
"Given the cross-border nature of these fund flows, MAS is also working closely with and seeking clarifications from relevant authorities in other financial centres," it said.
Singapore has seized a large number of bank accounts as part of an investigation into possible money-laundering linked to 1MDB. These included the bank accounts of a private banker for Swiss wealth manager BSI.
(Reporting by Saeed Azhar in SINGAPORE and Byron Kaye in SYDNEY; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)
NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - April 01, 2016) - More than 50 city and county governments from 28 states, together with The U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM), the National League of Cities (NLC), and the mayors of Dallas, Knoxville, and Orlando have signed an amicus brief explaining why the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Power Plan is critical to the safety and economic security of local communities across the United States. The brief was authored by the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School, and filed in federal court on Friday, April 1st.
The signatories represent a diverse geographic, economic, and political mix and include Miami Beach, Miami and other southeast Florida cities; Tucson; Salt Lake City; Los Angeles; San Francisco; Houston; Jersey City; Pittsburgh; and Boston. Twenty-three of the signatories are local governments within states that have joined the lawsuit against the EPA. In all, the signatories represent 51 localities -- home to more than 18 million Americans -- and more than 19,000 additional cities, villages and towns that are part of the USCM and NLC networks.
"The nation's mayors are pleased to join in the defense of the Clean Power Plan, which is an essential part of our nation's ability to respond to climate change," said Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, President of The U.S. Conference of Mayors. "This Plan will significantly cut carbon pollution from U.S. power plants; we must implement it now. Mayors know cities have the most to gain, as well as the most to lose in this debate because climate change and rising sea levels threaten the physical structure of our cities. Cities have been combating climate change for over a decade through our Mayors' Climate Protection Agreement, but we need a national response."
"Supporting the administration's Clean Power Plan efforts is not just the right thing to do, but necessary for Miamians as we fight for the very survival of our city," said Commissioner Ken Russell of Miami, Florida. "I am proud to have led the effort within Miami's government to sign on to this amicus brief and look forward to taking the lead wherever I can in combating and adapting to sea level rise."
The impact of climate change on urban areas is amplified by their dense concentrations of people, infrastructure, and commerce. More than 80 percent of Americans live in urban areas, making local governments responsible for protecting the wellbeing of an overwhelming majority of Americans.
"Cities have an essential voice to add to the legal debate over the Clean Power Plan," says Michael Burger, executive director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School. "All around the country, local governments have had to contend with the devastating impacts that sea level rise, heat waves and severe storms have on people and the infrastructure they depend on. At the same time, they have been among the first to seek innovative ways to reduce emissions and increase sources of clean energy. These cities know as well as anyone how important the Clean Power Plan is to the security and well-being of Americans, and how reasonable EPA's rule really is."
City and county governments are the first line of defense in weather disasters and climate impacts, which grow increasingly frequent and severe as greenhouse gas emissions cause the climate to change. Many cities are already experiencing -- and paying for -- damage caused by climate change. The amicus brief provides examples:
Faced with flooding propelled by rising sea levels, Miami Beach is investing $400 million in an adaptation strategy that includes pumping stations, raised roads, and seawalls. Rising seas likewise put Miami at risk for "losing insurability," and threaten drinking water supplies across southeast Florida.
The 2011 Texas heat wave not only filled hospital emergency departments in Houston but also burst pipes and water mains, draining 18 billion gallons of drinking water and with it millions in revenue for the city. Disruptive heat waves in Grand Rapids, Los Angeles and Pittsburgh have caused electricity brownouts and blackouts; in Arlington County, Evanston, Dallas, Minneapolis, and Salt Lake City they have compromised an airport runway, buckled roads and warped rails.
Cities and counties disproportionately shoulder the impact and bear the costs of continued inaction on climate change, and many are acting on their own to reduce the emissions under their direct control. However, local governments' ambition to act on climate change is limited by their lack of control over many aspects of this worldwide problem. According to the brief:
Cities' efforts to adapt to a changing climate and to mitigate its causes are highly sensitive to national policies like the Clean Power Plan, which shape national markets, steer state action, and have the largest impact on nationwide emissions Cities working to shoulder the burdens of adaptation would therefore face an ever harder -- and ever more expensive -- task in the absence of the Clean Power Plan.
The local government brief recognizes and builds on strong demand for climate action by cities and counties, which view the Clean Power Plan as a "legally necessary step toward addressing the extraordinary threat posed by climate change." In 2015, more than two dozen mayors sent a letter to President Obama urging him to "provide a path forward to make meaningful reductions in carbon pollution while preparing for the impacts of climate change." Furthermore, more than 125 U.S. cities have already committed to the Compact of Mayors, a global coalition of more than 460 mayors pledging to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, track their progress transparently and enhance their resilience to climate change. Of the 52 cities signed onto the brief, more than half are committed to the Compact.
"This amicus brief shows how cities across America are leading the way in the fight against climate change -- and how eager they are for state governments to join them," said Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg LP, three-term mayor of New York City and the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Cities and Climate Change. "Mayors are responsible for people's health and safety, and with their cities already feeling the effects of climate change, they can't afford to let ideological battles slow the great work they're doing to clean the air, strengthen local economies, and protect people from risks."
Read the full brief: https://web.law.columbia.edu/climate-change/document-login/document-access
Amicus Brief Signatories
The U.S. Conference of Mayors; The National League of Cities; ARIZONA: Tucson; CALIFORNIA: Berkeley, Los Angeles, Oakland, San Francisco, West Hollywood; COLORADO: Boulder County, Fort Collins; FLORIDA: Coral Gables, Cutler Bay, Miami, Miami Beach, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, Pinecrest, West Palm Beach; GEORGIA: Clarkston; IDAHO: Boise; ILLINOIS: Aurora, Elgin, Evanston, Highland Park; INDIANA: Bloomington, Carmel; MAINE: Portland; MASSACHUSETTS: Boston, Holyoke; MARYLAND: Baltimore; MICHIGAN: Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids; MINNESOTA: Minneapolis; MONTANA: Missoula; NEVADA: Henderson, Reno; NEW JERSEY: Hoboken, Jersey City; NEW YORK: Rochester, Syracuse; NORTH CAROLINA: Chapel Hill; OHIO: Newburgh Heights; OREGON: Eugene, Milwaukie, Portland; PENNSYLVANIA: Pittsburgh, West Chester; RHODE ISLAND: Providence; TENNESSEE: Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero; TEXAS: Houston, Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings; UTAH: Salt Lake City; VIRGINIA: Arlington County; WASHINGTON: Bellingham, King County; WISCONSIN: Madison, Washburn
Voices from the Local Government Coalition
Mayor David Bieter of Boise, Idaho
"It's well known that the best way to affect true change in policy is at the local level. There are many policies one can pursue to impact climate change, but the first order of business is being mindful about your organization's footprint and being thoughtful in how to reduce it. Being more sustainable is something local policy makers all over the globe can work toward, just as we do every day at the City of Boise. That is why we support the Clean Power Plan."
Mayor Jim Brainard of Carmel, Indiana
"Having served as mayor for over 20 years and as a lifelong Republican, I am proud to support the Clean Power Plan. There is no question that the climate is changing and we must adapt to this reality, which includes investment and programs that support the shift from coal to clean and renewable energy sources. While these are contentious issues in Indiana, I believe we cannot hide from facts and must work together to sensibly plan for our future. In Carmel, we have examined every area of city government from adding hybrid cars, investing in solar programs, creating bicycle and pedestrian facilities, and designing the city for people not cars, with the goal of making our city as environmentally friendly as possible."
Mayor Rosalynn Bliss of Grand Rapids, Michigan
"The Clean Power Plan is among the key elements in furthering the City's plans to mitigate the devastating impact of greenhouse gas emissions. Without such a critical national plan in place, our city's efforts to be more resilient -- as outlined in our sustainability plan -- would fall short."
Mayor Sylvester Turner of Houston, Texas
"Houston has made a commitment to investing in clean energy, and now uses more renewable energy than any other city in the United States," said Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner. "We are also a leader in the area of emissions reductions initiatives like our LED street light program, which is proving to be a very smart investment. As a city government entity located in the Energy Capital of the World, we understand the need to diversify our energy use and economy. Houston is well positioned to lead the country in the shift to clean energy. The Clean Power Plan provides a sensible framework for helping us to do so."
Mayor Madeline Rogero of Knoxville, Tennessee
"Clean energy jobs are some of the fastest-growing in Tennessee -- nearly triple the state's overall employment growth. There's opportunity in the Clean Power Plan to further accelerate job creation in energy efficiency and renewable energy industries. These are the energy jobs of the future. The City of Knoxville looks forward to working with state officials and utilities as they develop their plan for compliance."
Mayor Bill Peduto of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
"The Clean Power Plan presents an opportunity to strengthen the nation's economy while enhancing and preserving the environment. Pittsburgh's industrial past has helped us to understand how to prepare for and be competitive in the midst of inevitable economic shifts. There are important lessons to be learned from the 'Steel City' as we move into a clean energy future. The Clean Power Plan sets a framework for the country's essential energy transition, acknowledging that both the climate and markets are changing. From energy efficiency and optimization to finding pathways for implementation of tools such as micro-grids and district energy, cities stand as key partners for their states and the federal government."
Councilmember David Bobzien of Reno, Nevada
"The Clean Power Plan supports the City of Reno's economic revitalization strategy to lead in the renewable energy economy. It also supports our goals for creating a more sustainable future for our community. Nevada ranks first in the country in solar and geothermal resources and is well poised for meeting and exceeding the requirements of the Clean Power Plan. We are proud to join the impressive and wide ranging network of cities that also view the Clean Power Plan as of major importance to their city and citizens."
The National League of Cities (NLC) is the oldest and largest organization representing municipal governments throughout the United States. Working in partnership with 49 state municipal leagues, NLC serves as a national advocate for more than 19,000 cities, villages, and towns, representing more than 218 million Americans. Contact: Tom Martin, martin@nlc.org, 202-626-3186
The U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM), founded in 1932, is the official nonpartisan organization of all United States cities with a population of more than 30,000 people, which includes over 1,400 cities at present. Contact: Elena Temple-Webb, etemple@usmayors.org, 202-861-6719
The Sabin Center at Columbia Law School develops legal techniques to fight climate change and provides up-to-date resources on key topics in climate law and regulation. Contact: Michael Burger, michael.burger@law.columbia.edu, 212-854-2372
virginia shooting richmond
A gunman and a state trooper are dead after a shooting at a Greyhound bus station in Richmond, Virginia.
Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said in a news conference that a uniformed Virginia state trooper was talking to a man inside the station when the man drew a handgun and shot the trooper multiple times, leading two troopers nearby to return fire. The shooter died after being transported to the VCU Medical Center.
The trooper who was shot, 37-year-old Chad Dermyer, was also transported to the hospital. At a news conference on Thursday night it was announced that Dermyer had died of his injuries.
Additionally, two women were transported with non-life-threatening gunshot wounds. It was not immediately clear how they got their wounds.
A firearm was recovered at the scene.
About a dozen state troopers were at the bus station as part of a training exercise. Virginia State Police Col. W. Steven Flaherty said during the Thursday-evening news conference that the training was on criminal interdiction.
"The training encompasses looking for suspicious activity," Flaherty said, "and in today's exercise, if you see some suspicious activity, you go over and engage and have a conversation."
He continued: "That was what was taking place here, and in very early stages of the conversation is when the other subject pulled a weapon and shot [Dermyer] multiple times."
Flaherty did not have details on a potential motive or the specific circumstances under which Dermyer had approached the shooter.
In a response to a question from the press, he said it appeared the shooter and Dermyer had "casually bumped into one another" and had been speaking for a matter of roughly 30 seconds. He noted that while the shooter had a "history of charges," the state police had not yet determined what convictions he may have had.
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Greyhound announced that the station would be closed until further notice and that it would be cooperating with the investigation "and providing any information they may need, including video surveillance that was captured."
Initial reports had indicated that two troopers were among six injured, with one trooper dead, but this information was recanted at the news conference later on Thursday afternoon.
Photos from the scene showed multiple ambulances and police vehicles surrounding the bus station. NBC12's Mike Valerio reported that Virginia State Police were leading the investigation.
#BREAKING: Dozens of police vehicles on scene of active shooter situation in #RVA: https://t.co/eJikhDU7PD pic.twitter.com/kJQkI6fPH6 NBC12 WWBT Richmond (@NBC12) March 31, 2016
Update: This story initially included reports that six were injured and one state trooper was dead. This information was later recanted by a police spokeswoman at a news conference.
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ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss food group Nestle said on Friday it had not been informed by government authorities of any new health issues with its instant noodles after a newspaper reported tests had detected higher-than-permissible levels of ash in the product. "We have not received any notice from the concerned authorities about samples of Maggi noodles collected from Umesh Chandra, Barabanki. We have also not received any notice from the court and we have heard about this only from a media report," a Nestle spokesman in India said. The Wall Street Journal had cited food safety inspectors in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh as saying they had filed a lawsuit accusing Nestle of substandard practices after ash content in samples of its Maggi 2-Minute Noodles was found to exceed the legal limit. The Indian unit of the Swiss food giant had been grappling with a public relations crisis that hit sales after local regulators reported last year that some packets of the Maggi noodles contained unsafe levels of lead. Sales resumed in November. Nestle said on Friday its products were safe, adding it had come across instances in Uttar Pradesh in which standards for macaroni products were being applied for instant noodles with seasoning, which it called "erroneous and misleading". (Reporting by Devidutta Tripathy and Michael Shields, editing by David Evans)
The Bouygues Telecom company logo is seen on a shop in Marseille, France, March 31, 2016. REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier
By Mathieu Rosemain, Gwenaelle Barzic and Sophie Sassard
PARIS (Reuters) - Talks between Orange (ORAN.PA) and Bouygues (BOUY.PA) on a deal to create a dominant French telecoms operator collapsed on Friday, ending an attempt to ease a price war that has ravaged operators' margins.
The failure of the proposed 10 billion euro ($11.4 billion) cash-and-share deal involving Bouygues Telecom is a blow to the two companies and the French government, which was heavily involved as it has a stake of around 23 percent in Orange.
The proposed tie-up was widely seen as a make-or-break chance to reduce the number of telecoms groups to three from four and prop up profits, which have been depressed since the arrival of low-cost operator Iliad.
But a stand-off between Martin Bouygues and French Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron about the clout the billionaire would have gained in the former state monopoly had weighed on the talks, sources had told Reuters earlier.
"The two main reasons explaining the failure of these talks are execution risks and the general attitude of the French state," a source close to the matter told Reuters.
The risks included the break-up fees involved and the conditions under which each party involved would have been able to withdraw from the deal, the source added.
Orange's position as the No. 1 French telecoms operator meant that an acquisition of Bouygues Telecom would have required selling some of its assets to rivals Iliad (ILD.PA) and SFR (NUME.PA), with which Orange held parallel negotiations.
This added to the complexity of getting a deal done, sources said, as apart from Bouygues himself, the talks involved two other influential billionaires, Iliad's founder Xavier Niel and SFR's owner Patrick Drahi.
"It would have been a miracle if they had come to terms," a source close to the matter said.
GOING IT ALONE
The failure to reach a deal, which was confirmed by both parties, leaves Bouygues Telecom to go it alone.
"In a market where the possibility of consolidation is now ruled out for the long term, Bouygues Telecom will continue its standalone strategy," Bouygues, the construction-to-media conglomerate said in a statement.
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That could prove difficult for them, Francois Mallet, an analyst at Kepler Cheuvreux, said.
"They will all be kicking themselves," Mallet said on BFM Business, adding: "The state has a big responsibility in this. The big loser is Bouygues, let's not kid ourselves."
A source at the French Economy Ministry said that the main hurdle had been the risks involved in getting a deal across the line, with competition concerns a factor.
"It was an extremely complex deal and there was the question of the competition authority hanging," the source told Reuters.
The tie-up would have made Bouygues the second-biggest shareholder of Orange after the French state, whose stake would have been diluted.
The French Economy Ministry had asked Bouygues to accept capping its potential stake in Orange for seven years, under a so-called standstill clause.
It had also asked it to accept giving up for 10 years the double-voting rights Bouygues would get as a long-term investor in Orange, another source said.
(Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain, Gwenaelle Barzic, Michel Rose and Sophie Sassard; Editing by David Evans and Alexander Smith)
* Poland's Alior Bank buys GE's BPH for $329 mln
* Alior says ready to negotiate another takeover in Q3
* Deal helps Poland gain more control over banking sector
* Alior says to finance BPH buy with share issue income (Releads, adds CEO and analyst comments)
By Marcin Goclowski and Adrian Krajewski
WARSAW, April 1 (Reuters) - Poland's Alior Bank has agreed to buy Bank BPH from General Electric for 1.225 billion zloty ($329 million) and said it will look to make another acquisition this year after moving into the country's top 10.
Alior said on Friday it plans to finalise the purchase of BPH's core business this year, marking its largest takeover since it was forged from scratch in 2007. The deal is part of GE's plans to sell around $200 billion worth of businesses worldwide by the end of 2016.
"We will be ready for (new) negotiations in the third quarter, if anything is put up for sale," Alior's Chief Executive Officer Wojciech Sobieraj told reporters.
Alior, which is controlled by state-run insurer PZU , forms part Poland's ruling conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party's plans to regain more control over the country's banking sector, currently 60 percent foreign-owned.
PZU plans to build Poland's fifth-largest bank through Alior, which will raise its assets to 60 billion zlotys and move to the No.9 spot by assets with the BPH buy.
Sobieraj declined to comment on market speculation that Alior has set it sights on Austrian Raiffeisen's Polish unit, which is up for sale and would double its assets.
Alior plans a rights issue worth more than 1.52 billion zlotys to finance the BPH takeover, buy out minority shareholders and boost its capital. PZU has said it will buy into the issue.
Shares in the lender, which has a market capitalisation of 4.67 billion zlotys, jumped by up to 5.7 percent, with investors cheering the BPH buy. This was valued at a 0.93 price-to-book ratio, whereas the Polish banking sector average is almost 1.4.
"It is a good transaction for both Alior and PZU. From Alior's perspective, looking at synergies and price, the multiple looks reasonable," said Kamil Stolarski, an analyst with Haitong Bank.
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Alior, which ended 2015 with a net profit of 309 million zlotys, expects overall synergies of 460 million zlotys annually thanks to adding BPH.
The transaction excludes BPH's $3.9 billion mortgage portfolio and its asset management arm, which GE will retain.
($1 = 3.7289 zlotys) (Editing by Alexander Smith)
SINGAPORE/SYDNEY, April 1 (Reuters) - Singapore's central bank has asked financial institutions to provide details of any transactions linked to Malaysian state investor 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) as part of its probe into possible money-laundering in the city state.
The statement came late Thursday after The Australian newspaper reported earlier this week that it believes that the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has asked close to 40 banks with a presence in Singapore to provide information linked to 1MDB. The paper said flows into Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) and National Australia Bank (NAB are believed to be among those queried.
ANZ and NAB both declined to comment.
"As part of its investigations into possible money-laundering and other offences in Singapore, (MAS) has been conducting a thorough review of various transactions as well as fund flows through our banking system," MAS said in a statement. "MAS has requested a number of financial institutions to furnish information relating to the review."
The central bank disclosed neither the number of banks involved in its review, nor the names of the Australian banks mentioned in The Australian report.
"Given the cross-border nature of these fund flows, MAS is also working closely with and seeking clarifications from relevant authorities in other financial centres," it said.
Singapore has seized a large number of bank accounts as part of an investigation into possible money-laundering linked to 1MDB. These included the bank accounts of a private banker for Swiss wealth manager BSI.
(Reporting by Saeed Azhar in SINGAPORE and Byron Kaye in SYDNEY; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)
TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - March 31, 2016) -
NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES
Titan Medical Inc. ("Titan" or the "Company") (TMD.TO)(TITXF) is pleased to announce that it closed the previously announced public offering (the "Offering") earlier today pursuant to an agency agreement (the "Agency Agreement") dated March 24, 2016 between the Company and Bloom Burton & Co. Limited (the "Agent"). The Company sold 15,054,940 units (each, a "Unit") under the Offering at a price of CDN $1.00 per Unit for gross proceeds of CDN $15,054,940.
Each Unit consists of one common share (each, a "CommonShare") of the Company and one Common Share purchase warrant (each, a "Warrant"). Each whole Warrant entitles the holder thereof to acquire one Common Share at an exercise price of CDN $1.20 for a period of 60 months following today's date (the "Closing Date"). The Common Shares sold under the Offering will be listed and posted for trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange (the "TSX") under the symbol TMD at the opening on March 31, 2016. The Company has also received conditional approval from the TSX to list the Warrants under the symbol TMD.WT.H. Trading in the Warrants will be subject to the fulfilment of customary listing requirements and is expected to commence on or about April 1, 2016.
The Units were qualified for sale by way of a prospectus supplement dated March 24, 2016 to the Company's short form base shelf prospectus dated August 18, 2015 (together, the "Prospectus"), which has been filed in the Provinces of British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario.
The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the Offering to initiate optimization trials and cadaver labs, and for working capital and other general corporate purposes.
Roth Capital Partners acted as special selling group member in connection with the Offering.
For further details regarding the Offering, please see the Company's press releases dated March 21, 2016, March 22, 2016, and March 24, 2016, the Agency Agreement and the Prospectus, copies of which are available under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com.
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The securities described herein have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any state securities laws, and accordingly, may not be offered or sold to, or for the account or benefit of, persons in the United States or "U.S. persons," as such term is defined in Regulation S promulgated under the U.S. Securities Act ("U.S. Persons"), except in compliance with the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities requirements or pursuant to exemptions therefrom. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the Company's securities to, or for the account or benefit of, persons in the United States or U.S. Persons.
Related Party Transaction
An aggregate of 191,000 Units were issued to an insider of the Company under the Offering for gross proceeds of $191,000. The insider subscription constitutes a "related party transaction" pursuant to Multilateral Instrument 61101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61101"). In completing the insider subscription, the Company relied on the exemptions from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61101 set forth in sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(a) of MI 61101, as the aggregate value of the insider subscription does not exceed 25% of the market capitalization of the Company.
The Company did not file a material change report more than 21 days before the expected closing of the Offering due to the limited time between the launch and the close of the Offering.
About Titan Medical Inc.
Titan Medical Inc. is a Canadian public company focused on the design and development of a robotic surgical system for application in minimally invasive surgery ("MIS"). The Company's SPORT Surgical System, currently under development, includes a surgeon-controlled robotic platform that incorporates a 3D high-definition vision system and multi-articulating instruments for performing MIS procedures through a single incision. The surgical system also includes a surgeon workstation that provides a surgeon with an advanced ergonomic interface to the robotic platform for controlling the instruments and provides a 3D high-definition endoscopic view of inside a patient's body. The SPORT Surgical System is designed to enable surgeons to perform a broad set of surgical procedures for general abdominal, gynecologic, and urologic indications. For more information, visit the Company's website at www.titanmedicalinc.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains "forward-looking statements" which reflect the current expectations of management of the Company's future growth, results of operations, performance and business prospects and opportunities. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding receipt of applicable regulatory approvals, the estimated Warrant listing date and the proposed use of proceeds. Wherever possible, words such as "may", "would", "could", "will", "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "expect", "intend", "estimate", "potential for" and similar expressions have been used to identify these forward-looking statements. These statements reflect management's current beliefs with respect to future events and are based on information currently available to management. Forward-looking statements involve significant risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Many factors could cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements that may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, those listed in the "Risk Factors" section of the Company's Annual Information Form dated March 30, 2016 (which may be viewed at www.sedar.com). Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward looking statements prove incorrect, actual results, performance or achievements may vary materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this news release. These factors should be considered carefully and prospective investors should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements. Although the forward-looking statements contained in the news release are based upon what management currently believes to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure prospective investors that actual results, performance or achievements will be consistent with these forward-looking statements.
German regional television NDR on March 17 broadcast the sardonic song -- "Erdowie, Erdowo, Erdogan" -- ridiculing the Turkish president (pictured), his alleged extravagant spending and crackdown on civil liberties (AFP Photo/Kayhan Ozer) (Turkish Presidential Press Office/AFP/File)
Ankara (AFP) - Turkey's military on Thursday angrily denied suggestions it could be planning a coup against the increasingly controversial President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Certain media outlets have carried reports speculating over the possibility of a military coup in Turkey, with Erdogan out of the country for almost a week on a visit to the United States.
The Turkish military has stepped in on three occasions to oust elected governments -- in 1960, 1971 and 1980 -- and in 1997 also forced out Erdogan's late mentor Necmettin Erbakan from the premiership.
"Discipline, unconditional obedience and a unified chain of command are the basis of the Turkish armed forces," the military said in a rare political statement on its website.
"There can be no talk about any illegal action that is outside the command structure or which compromises it," the statement added.
The military said it would take legal action over the reports, without specifying which ones, and complained that "such baseless news" was undermining morale in the armed forces.
However an opinion piece written by the scholar Michael Rubin published in Newsweek entitled "Will there be a coup against Erdogan in Turkey?" had gathered major attention in and outside the country.
The army was historically considered a major force in Turkish politics, able to oust governments who it believed were eroding the secular principles of the modern republic set up by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
Erdogan, in power as premier and then president since 2003, clipped the wings of the military through a succession of legal cases to ensure its loyalty.
Most analysts have believed the military poses no threat to the rule of the Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP).
The president on Tuesday left for a trip to the United States amid growing signs of a major rupture in relations between Washington and Ankara as well as controversy over press freedom in Turkey.
Washington (AFP) - The United States has conducted another drone strike in Somalia, this time targeting a senior Shebab leader thought to have been plotting attacks against Americans in Mogadishu, the Pentagon said Friday.
The announcement came shortly before President Barack Obama offered detailed remarks about America's controversial drone program, saying some criticism of it had been "legitimate," and acknowledging there was "no doubt" the unmanned aircraft have killed innocent people in the past.
Thursday's strike was conducted in cooperation with Somali officials and targeted Hassan Ali Dhoore, Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said.
A US defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the strike targeted a vehicle Dhoore was riding in with two other Al-Qaeda-aligned Shebab members.
"We have been watching him off and on for a long time," the official said.
The strike comes less than a month after US drones and warplanes hammered a Shebab training camp in Somalia, killing more than 150 fighters the Pentagon said were prepping for a "large-scale" attack.
Obama said the military avoids drone strikes in areas where women or children are present, and usually only carries out missions after long periods of monitoring.
Still, he said some strikes have killed people other than the intended targets.
"There has been, in the past, legitimate criticism that the architecture -- the legal architecture -- around the use of drone strikes or other kinetic strength was not as precise as it should have been, and there is no doubt that civilians were killed that should not have been," Obama said at the end of a nuclear security summit in Washington.
"What I can say with great confidence is that our operating procedures are as rigorous as they have ever been and that there is a constant evaluation of precisely what we do."
The Pentagon said it was still assessing whether Dhoore had been killed.
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Dhoore allegedly was part of Shebab's security and intelligence wing, and had been involved in planning attacks in Mogadishu, the Pentagon said.
"He had planned and overseen attacks resulting in the death of at least three US citizens," Cook said, noting that Dhoore had played a role in the December 2014 attack on Mogadishu's airport that resulted in the death of several African Union soldiers and a US citizen.
"Dhoore was also directly responsible for the March 27, 2015 attack on the Maka al-Mukarram Hotel in Mogadishu, resulting in the deaths of 15 people, including one Somali-American national. Hassan was believed to have been plotting attacks targeting US citizens in Mogadishu," Cook added.
Shebab jihadists have claimed responsibility for a string of recent attacks including a twin bombing at a busy restaurant in the Somali city of Baidoa in February.
The US military has over the past 15 years invested heavily in drones, used to surveil vast parts of the Middle East and Africa.
The unmanned vehicles have become key to the US-led coalition's efforts to fight the Islamic State group in Syria.
The military currently has about 7,000 drones, of which 200 are armed, according to the New America think tank.
cow
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A Utah man who allegedly fooled investors with "top secret" Iraqi currency and oil contract deals was charged by the SEC (FA Magazine)
John Scott Clark, a Cache County, Utah man who allegedly "solicited investors for 'top secret' Iraqi currency and oil contract deals," was charged with fraud by the SEC, reports Karen Demasters.
Clark previously pleaded guilty in 2009 to criminal bank fraud, money laundering, and illegal gambling charges. Additionally, the SEC charged him with operating a $47 million Ponzi scheme back in 2011.
The Department of Labor will release its fiduciary rule on Wednesday (Financial Planning)
The DOL is set to announce the new fiduciary rule on Wednesday, sources confirmed to Ann Marsh and Andrew Welsch. The rule will require advisors and wealth managers to place their clients' interests above their own when advising on retirement accounts.
"By implementing it, the Obama administration aims to reduce the $17 billion that the White House Council of Economic Advisors estimates Americans lose annually to conflicted financial advice on their retirement accounts," note Marsh and Welsch.
Wealthfront will start using AI (Yahoo Finance)
Robo-advisor Wealthfront announced that it will start incorporating artificial intelligence into its financial services to better personalize the advice given to customers, reports Melody Hahm.
"In addition to looking for hidden fees and cash drag, Wealthfronts AI will track your account activity and automatically apply that behavior to the advice the company gives you," Hahm reports.
A $1.2 billion team ditched JPMorgan to launch its own RIA with the help of a startup linked to a CIA-backed data-gathering firm (Bloomberg)
JPMorgan private bankers who oversaw $1.2 billion left the firm last month to found Miami-based Element Pointe Advisors, reports Hugh Son. This move falls in line with a larger trend of brokers leaving the big banks in a time when new technology makes trading and data analysis easier.
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"New offerings include software from Mountain View, California-based Addepar that helps track exposures across a portfolio, update investment values in real time and generate reports at the push of a button. The startup shares a co-founder with Palantir, the CIA-backed data-gathering firm," reports Son.
It's important to be mindful of investment taxes (Charles Schwab)
"When it comes to income, it's not what you make, but what you keep after taxes that counts. And these days, with higher capital gains taxes and the 3.8% Medicare investment income surtax (which affects certain filing status thresholds), being mindful of investment taxes is more important than ever," writes Rande Spiegelman.
Generally speaking, "tax-smart investors hold tax-efficient investments in taxable accounts and less tax-efficient investments in tax-advantaged accounts," he writes. "'Tax diversification' can be important if you're uncertain about which tax bracket you'll end up in retirement and can also help with charitable giving and estate planning goals."
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- By Juhi Kulkarni
Virgin America (VA) has soared so far this year following acquisition rumors. It was recently reported that Virgin America is looking for a potential suitor and Bloomberg claimed that both JetBlue (JBLU) and Alaska Airlines (ALK) are interested in buying the carrier.
In one of my previous articles, I wrote that JetBlue as a potential buyer makes sense for both the companies. However, the arrival of Alaska Airlines may change that as both the companies may soon enter into a bidding war for Virgin America. Investors can capitalize on the anticipated bidding war by buying Virgin America for the short-term.
JetBlue still makes sense
I still believe there's a strong chance that JetBlue will buy Virgin America. Both the businesses complement each other nicely, and integrating Virgin America will be very easy for JetBlue as both carriers have a majority of Airbus A320s on their fleet.
JetBlue's balance sheet is also strong, and although the company may have to take on more debt to fund the acquisition, it will be worth it in the long run.
Alaska Airlines
I believe buying Virgin America will make more sense for JetBlue because of the similar fleet. However, Alaska Airlines is also rumored to be interested in the deal. Just like Alaska, Virgin America has a strong presence on the West Coast. Hence, Alaska buying Virgin America will help the former increase its dominance on the West Coast.
Moreover, the reduced competition can also lead to improved ticket prices, an area which has been a massive concern for Virgin America investors. Thus, Alaska Airlines has a good enough reason to bid for Virgin America.
In addition, Alaska Airlines has a better balance sheet than JetBlue and can potentially out bid it if it enters into a bidding war. Unlike many other airlines, Alaska has a positive net cash position and is a good suitor for Virgin.
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Bidding war
While I still think JetBlue is the likely acquirer of Virgin America, I wouldn't be surprised to see a bidding war. Both JetBlue and Alaska can improve their business by buying Virgin America. Due to the possibility of a bidding war, I think investors can buy Virgin America for the short-term.
Moreover, the potential of an acquisition will continue driving Virgin America's share price higher for the short-term. Hence, investors can capitalize on the recent events by buying the stock.
Disclosure: The author doesn't have any position in the stocks mentioned in the article.
This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
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Taipei, April 1 (CNA) An American Vietnam War veteran, now in his 70s, is searching for a son he fathered with a Taiwanese woman in the late 1960s but never met. 4 The African-American man, Harvey Woods, said he has been trying for many years to locate his son and the Taiwanese woman, with whom he had a relationship while he was stationed in Taiwan 1966-1967.
From the Globe and Mail Should the Ontario Liberal Party be investigated by police for influence-peddling? That will seem like a far-fetched idea to some. After all, as Liberal Premier Kathleen Wynne keeps saying, everything her party and her cabinet members do to raise money conforms with the laws of the province.But the revelation this week that the Liberal Party sets massive fundraising quotas for cabinet ministers, and then asks those ministers to hit up corporate and union stakeholders in the sectors overseen by their respective departments, is too immense a breach of ethics to be swept under the table without further consequence.There is, in fact, language in the Criminal Code that seems to apply to the Liberals fundraising scheme. Even if this contention goes no further than this editorial, it is still evidence of just how depraved the whole boondoggle really is. Yes, what the Liberals are doing may be legal, but only by the thinnest of margins.The money raised by the Liberal scheme comes from large donations paid by corporations, unions and wealthy private citizens. Those donations are paid in the form of expensive tickets to dinners and cocktail receptions where the attendees are promised intimate, one-on-one meetings with the cabinet ministers who have direct influence over the sectors in which they operate.For instance, on Dec. 7 of last year, one of the banks involved in the privatization of Hydro One held a $7,500-per-person fundraiser that raked in $165,000 for the Ontario Liberals. The event was billed in an e-mail from the Bank of Nova Scotia executive who promoted it to his counterparts at other banks as a chance for a small group of senior executives to spend an informal evening with the Ministers of Energy & Finance.Under Ontarios extra-loose election finance laws, this appears to be legal. And yet, at the same time, the Criminal Code of Canada says anyone commits an indictable offence who, having or pretending to have influence with the government or with a minister of the government or an official, demands, accepts or offers or agrees to accept for himself or another person a reward, advantage or benefit of any kind as consideration for co-operation, assistance, exercise of influence or an act or omission in connection with the transaction of business with or any matter of business relating to the government.That could fairly describe the Ontario Liberal Party. It is using its influence over cabinet ministers to sell access to the ministers to people who have a financial interest in the ministers decisions.Yes, as Ms. Wynne keeps saying, it is perfectly acceptable under Ontario law for corporations, unions and individuals to donate large sums of money to political parties. The spending limits are high, and the loopholes almost bottomless. Donors can write almost all the cheques they want and send them to the party or parties of their choice.While there is no explicit promise of a quid pro quo in this exchange, there has always been a nudge-nudge, wink-wink relationship between large donors and the politicians they support. Nobody is donating out of the goodness of their heart. Its a trade.To put all voters on something closer to an equal footing, the federal government and some provinces have banned union and corporate donations. They have also set relatively low limits on personal donations so that the wealthy cant have a grossly disproportionate influence on governments and politicians.Ontarios laws are the antiquated version, where the wealthiest people and biggest corporations and unions are allowed to vastly out-influence the average voter. British Columbias laws are even more lax.But what the Ontario Liberals have done is exploit these outdated laws to an extreme degree. They are using their advantaged position as the governing party to parlay access for cash. And to do so they have created a system that institutionalizes the expectation of a quid pro quo, or at the very least makes it explicit that one is possible.No reasonable voter would agree that this is how government should work. The reasonable voter can accept that corporations, unions and advocacy groups will try to influence government decisions in the confines of the legislature and under the rules of lobbying. The reasonable voter can also accept that these powerful and rich entities will have more resources at their disposal than the average person.But what no reasonable person can swallow is that these interested parties are being invited to exert their outsize influence on government in exchange for a fee paid to the Ontario Liberal Party for brokering the access. It looks like influence-peddling, because thats what it is. And yet the people peddling their influence in return for donations keep reminding us that its legal.It shouldnt be. Ms. Wynne, as premier and leader of the Liberal Party, is flirting with the edges of illegality, and she knows it.
A few years ago, life just wasnt so sweet for Michelle Kaiser.
She was working hard at her business, Alotta Brownies Bakery, in downtown Fremont, but she wanted more.
I wanted it to be able to help me financially in a way that it wasnt providing, she said. My family was struggling. My husband felt like he could never make enough.
So she began praying: God what do you want me to do?
One night, she got an answer.
I heard God say to me, Tell your story. And it was as plain as day and as clear as it gets. Ive never had God speak to me before, she said.
It would take Kaiser a little while to determine what that story was, but as time unfolded she did. And shes been telling her story since.
On Sunday, Kaiser will share her story while making her brownies during a Women of FLC Spring Event called Inspiration in Baking. The public is invited to the event from 2-4 p.m. in the fellowship hall of First Lutheran Church in Blair.
Proceeds will go for the supplies for the Love Days Quilters group at the church. Kaiser said the group makes quilts and sends quilts to military families overseas.
Through her talk, Kaiser hopes to inspire others to believe in themselves and find their lifes purpose.
Kaiser started Alotta Brownies Bakery in Arlington seven years ago. She then moved her business to 317 N. Main St., in Fremont, where she has had her bakery for six years.
Alotta Brownies has been recognized as one of the top 10 bakeries in the United States by All American Cooking magazine and chosen as one of the top 15 spots to visit in Nebraska by Nebraska Tourism and the Lincoln Journal Star.
The store features a host of sweet treats from plump cinnamons rolls to fancy cakes, large, decorated bon bons, mini cheesecakes and, of course, brownies.
Sunlight streams through large windows, illuminating pink walls and a gold-colored ceiling. The atmosphere is cheery, but Kaiser still recalls that tough turning point years ago.
At first, Kaiser wondered what God meant when he told her to tell her story.
Shed already talked about going to New York in the mid-80s to be a nanny, later completing a program at the New York Culinary Arts and Management School. She would work for a catering company and a French bakery while there. She later even started her own wholesale bakery, but returned to Nebraska to give her children a better lifestyle.
What do you want me to tell? she asked God. Ive told every story about living in New York.
About three weeks later, a young woman came into the bakery on a Tuesday, wanting two peanut butter cinnamon rolls.
Normally, Kaiser doesnt bake those types of rolls on Tuesdays, but someone had ordered a dozen and shed ended up making 14.
I kept thinking, Why do I have two extra rolls? My family doesnt need any more leftovers, she said.
So Kaiser was happy that the woman had come in to buy them and surprised when she learned that the customer had come from Council Bluffs, Iowa, to make the purchase.
Why would you drive 45 minutes to get two peanut butter cinnamon rolls? she asked the woman.
The customer explained: My friend is dying of cancer and I asked her on Saturday, If you could have anything in the world to eat, what would it be?
Her friend wanted a peanut butter cinnamon roll from Alotta Brownies Bakery.
Since the bakery isnt open on Sundays or Mondays, the customer waited until Tuesday so she could buy one for her friend and one for herself.
And she had the feeling that this was the last meal her friend would eat.
That was my first story, Kaiser said.
At that point, Kaiser said her focus changed. As a business owner, she was concerned about sales and profit margins. But she believes God opened her eyes to the fact that she had a purpose touching peoples lives and giving them comfort.
A few weeks later, another woman came into the bakery with her elderly mother. The two were having a lemon bar and a brownie and coffee at one of the tables in the shop.
The women were involved in their conversation and Kaiser could see they had a beautiful relationship. She admired the two. She missed getting to talk to her own mother who lives two hours away.
After a while, the women left.
But about 1 weeks later, the daughter returned.
You could tell she had been sad, Kaiser said.
I dont know if you remember me, the woman began.
Kaiser remembered.
The woman then said that while in Fremont, her mother had a follow-up doctors visit.
We found out that my mother had Stage 4 cancer and she died a week later, the woman said.
The woman had returned to the bakery to order brownies for her moms funeral.
Thats what she would want, the woman said.
It was a pivotal moment for Kaiser.
That was the moment I realized God has a plan for me, Kaiser said. Im here to inspire others to believe in themselves and to follow their dreams.
Sometimes we find our purpose in the unexpected moments, Kaiser added.
Kaisers focus has sweetened.
I dont worry about how much business I have, because I know God blesses me every day and he takes care of me and I am grateful for everything Im given, she said.
Kaiser said she daily asks to be a better person.
I want to be the best that I can be and what God wants me to be, she said.
Kaiser will tell her stories at the event at First Lutheran Church and hopes to do more public speaking.
In the meantime, she appreciates what God has done for her.
When I was at my lowest, he came through and showed me that I had a purpose in life, she said. I know my purpose is to be a mother and to be wife and to be an inspiration to my children. As mothers we realize this, but when you feel that you have a purpose toward others it gives you this feeling of worth.
Headquartered in the UK, IAPCO announced its new president and three new council members.
Jan Tonkin, managing director of Auckland-based The Conference Company, will today take up the presidency of the International Association of Professional Congress Organisers. Jan was elected at the Association's annual General Assembly in Cape Town in February, and takes over from outgoing President Michel Neijmann for a two-year term.
IAPCO is the industry body dedicated to continuing education, development and quality standards in the meetings industry. Jan says it is an exciting time to be stepping into the position. "Our business is undergoing a period of intense change, as new technologies bring about the commodification of traditional services and the diversification of meeting formats. And the role of the meeting planner is also shifting, from logistician to a more strategic partnership. IAPCO's role is to help manage and lead that change. We do that by bringing together the best insights, ideas and strategy, passing them on to practitioners, and in turn, their clients."
Along with a new President, the 11-strong Council welcomes three new elected members, and a fourth co-opted as host of next year's Annual Meeting and General Assembly.
The three new council members, Jean Evans, MCI Dublin; Alain Pittet, Congrex Switzerland and Keith Burton, African Agenda join the existing Council members . Medhat Nassar of Meeting Minds Experts, Dubai, was co-opted as the Host of the 2017 Meeting in Dubai. Combined with the existing members, this council represents a truly international board reflective of the 41 countries that constitute the membership.
The new Council will meet in Edinburgh in mid-April to review the Association's strategic plan. It is envisaged that education will continue to be a strong focus, as the Association builds on the success of initiatives such as the new IAPCO EDGE seminar programme and the web-EDGE library of online educational resources. "We look forward to consolidating these programmes as well as developing further opportunities for high-quality, affordable, accessible education," says Jan.
"If you're an organisation choosing a meeting planner, looking for a provider with IAPCO membership is an assurance of quality. But we're also a great resource for organisations themselves. If you're hosting your first conference or wanting to run a health check on your existing practice, we publish a range of materials to help."
"It's a personal mission of mine to strengthen ties between IAPCO and the Asia-Pacific region. It's a twofold opportunity: as well as profiling IAPCO to organisations, venues and bureaux in Asia Pacific, I'm looking forward to profiling the strength of the Asia-Pacific industry, and the extraordinary work being done in this region, to the rest of the world."
IAPCO Council 2016-17
President: Jan Tonkin, The Conference Company, New Zealand
Vice President: Mathias Posch, ICS Vancouver, Canada
Treasurer: Peder Anderson, DIS Congress Service, Denmark
Members: Keith Burton, African Agenda, South Africa
Jean Evans, MCI Dublin, Ireland
Nicola McGrane, Conference Partners, Ireland
Kayo Nomura, Congress Corporation, Japan
Alain Pittet, Congrex Switzerland
Co-opted: Andre Vietor, Barcelo Congresos, Spain (Chair of Training Academy)
Medhat Nassar, Meeting Minds, UAE (Host 2017 Annual Meeting)
Today Sega of America announced that the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, has a new chief brand officer: Ivo Gerscovich, who has a background in Hollywood-tinged game projects.
Interestingly, longtime Sonic the Hedgehog developer Takashi Iizuka is heading back to the U.S. to oversee development of new games in the franchise, after being sidelined during the most recent reboot of the IP, Sonic Boom.
The Wii U game developed during the Sonic Boom era is notoriously buggy and scores just 32 percent on Metacritic.
Iizuka's return is notable has he headed up development of mainline Sonic games, starting as director of 1998's Sonic Adventure, on the Dreamcast. He moved to San Francisco to oversee development of Sonic Adventure 2, heading Sega Studio USA, which produced a number of Sonic titles. His experience with the franchise dates back to the Sega Genesis. He serves as vice president of product development and will move from Tokyo to "establish Los Angeles as the centralized hub for the global brand," according to the press release.
Gamasutra last spoke to Iizuka in 2011, when he was producing the franchise's 20th anniversary title, Sonic Generations:
"I think if we can get to the point where we're 30, 40 years from the series' start, and there are three generations of Sonic fans -- that's when I think he'll have really established himself as a character. I want to use the past 20 years of experience to keep us going well into the future," he said at the time.
It seems he'll have his chance to aim for that goal, as Sega is promising games, TV series, and even a feature-length film to come.
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives on his official plane to attend the Nuclear Security Summit meetings in Washington, on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland March 30, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]
WASHINGTON - China and the United States on Thursday reaffirmed their joint commitment to global nuclear security and pledged to continue cooperation in this area beyond the Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) process.
In a joint statement released as Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Barack Obama met on the sidelines of the fourth NSS, the two countries declared their "commitment to working together to foster a peaceful and stable international environment by reducing the threat of nuclear terrorism and striving for a more inclusive, coordinated, sustainable and robust global nuclear security architecture for the common benefit and security of all."
Nuclear security cooperation has become a bright spot in the building of a new type of major-country relations between the world's largest developing and developed countries.
In February, the two sides carried out the inaugural round of bilateral discussions on nuclear security in Stockholm, Sweden.
"We plan to continue this dialogue on an annual basis, so as to intensify our cooperation to prevent nuclear terrorism and continue advancing Nuclear Security Summit goals," said the joint statement.
In a more recent example, a nuclear security center of excellence (COE) jointly financed and built by the Chinese and US governments was inaugurated in suburban Beijing on March 18. It is the largest, best equipped and most advanced facility of its kind in the Asia-Pacific region.
The COE, said the statement, "is a world-class venue to meet China's domestic nuclear security training requirements, as well as a forum for bilateral and regional best practice exchanges, and a venue for demonstrating advanced technologies related to nuclear security."
The two countries pledged continued engagement on nuclear security training and best practices so as to maximize the use and effectiveness of the COE, and China vowed to sponsor training programs at the site for regional partners and other international participants to further promote global nuclear security awareness and engagement.
Meanwhile, the two sides agreed to push forward cooperation on conversion of miniature neutron source reactors (MNSR) from highly enriched uranium fuel to low-enriched uranium fuel, including working through the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to support the conversion of MNSRs in Ghana and Nigeria as soon as possible.
China, according to the joint statement, also "reaffirms its readiness, upon the request of respective countries, to convert all remaining Chinese-origin MNSRs worldwide."
Recognizing the need for strengthened international cooperation to counter nuclear smuggling, China and the United States reiterated their "enduring commitment to prevent terrorists, criminals or other unauthorized actors from acquiring nuclear or other radioactive materials."
The two sides "will continue to coordinate efforts to strengthen counter nuclear smuggling capabilities and share best practices with the international community, taking full advantage of the training programs sponsored by the China Customs Training Center for Radiation Detection," said the statement.
Furthermore, Beijing and Washington expressed satisfaction on "the fruitful cooperation between the two sides in enhancing the security of radioactive sources, in particular regarding recovery of disused sources and transport security of radioactive sources," and pledged to further strengthen cooperation in this regard and facilitate the sharing of experiences and best practices with other countries.
Stressing that "strong communication and cooperation are essential to nuclear security," the two countries committed themselves to continuing strong support for the work of relevant international agencies on nuclear security in accordance with their respective mandates.
The NSS process, initiated by Obama and headlined by a biennial leaders' meeting since 2010, will come to an end in its current format after the fourth summit, though nuclear security is faced with increasingly grave and complicated challenges.
Under such circumstances, China and the United States expressed their "strong commitment" to addressing the evolving nuclear security challenges through sustained efforts after the current NSS process concludes, said the joint statement.
MASON CITY Opponents of the proposed Prestage Farms pork processing plant are raising a stink as they try to stop or at least stall the plant from being built in Mason City.
They received support this week from Cerro Gordo County Supervisor Jay Urdahl in an impromptu meeting with supervisors in which Urdahl warned of the impact of the thousands of new workers, saying the jail will be full, schools will have to hire bilingual and special ed teachers, and roads will be torn up because of increased truck traffic.
Urdahl also criticized Mason City Mayor Eric Bookmeyer for, in his view, steamrolling the project through with the help of a complicit City Council.
All of this took place when Urdahl and Supervisor Phil Dougherty met with opponents of the project after the regular supervisors meeting Tuesday. It was potentially an illegal meeting, since a quorum of supervisors was still present and the public was not notified of the meeting in advance.
Bookmeyer said Friday that Mason City officials, who were in Des Moines Tuesday at an Iowa Economic Development Authority meeting, had no idea the supervisors would be meeting with Prestage opponents.
Had there been a published item on the meeting agenda, we would have provided all information necessary for their public board packet, as is our policy at the City of Mason City, said Bookmeyer.
We would have also arranged for relevant members of our extensive team to present accurate and current information on the project and process to our Corridor partners citizens in attendance.
My general sense is that had there been Corridor, City of Mason City or Prestage Foods representatives invited to the meeting, the forum would have sounded significantly different, he said.
Administrative Officer Tom Drzycimski said the individuals which included former Mason City Councilman Max Weaver, Clear Lake area farmer Chris Petersen, union representative Tom Willett and North Iowa community activist Bob Wolfram Jr. showed up to the regular meeting unannounced, unanticipated and unexpected.
Instead of turning them away, the board let them speak following adjournment of the regular meeting, Drzycimski said.
State open meetings laws do not mandate public comment at meetings, but many hold them anyway to avoid situations like this. The Cerro Gordo Supervisors did not include a public comment period on Tuesdays agenda.
Additionally, the Iowa Public Information Board says elected officials should be cautious about extensive discussion on public matters outside of public meetings.
The session lasted a little more than an hour. Supervisor Chairman Casey Callanan was out of town so Urdahl led the discussion.
Both Weaver and Urdahl said the deal was engineered by Bookmeyer and the City Council dutifully went along with it.
Bookmeyer has done this single-handedly, said Weaver, who lost a 2013 bid to unseat Bookeyer by 1,200 votes. Weaver accused Bookmeyer of leaving agencies such as the North Iowa Corridor Economic Development Corp. out of the loop.
Urdahl, who is on the EDC Board, agreed.
When has the mayor ever fulfilled his role as mayor (of working with others)? he asked. He marches to his own tune. Whenever we (the county) have been part of a project, we partner with other communities.
Urdahl cited the McKesson pharmaceutical deal in Clear Lake as an example. But secrecy surrounded that deal, as well. The identity of the firm remained a mystery to the public for more than a year.
Chad Schreck, head of the North Iowa Corridor EDC, said Friday the EDC was not out of the loop but was the first organization contacted by the Iowa Economic Development Authority about the possibility of Prestage locating in Mason City.
He said many other agencies and organizations have been engaged in the process from the beginning.
The mayor was a part of it, but so were a lot of other people, Schreck said.
Petersen and the others said they think the plant will create environmental hazards throughout the county and are trying to generate public awareness and opposition to the project.
The City Council has approved a resolution of support but will hold two more public hearings on the project, including one at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Mason City Room of the public library.
Petersen hopes opponents will speak out at the council meeting.
Weaver said he hopes if the Board of Supervisors and the city of Clear Lake express opposition, that will have an influence on the Mason City Council to strike the head of the serpent off.
Urdahl said he thought the plant is a Lone Ranger deal spearheaded by the city of Mason City.
This is a big change coming down the road, he said. All the small towns are going to be affected by it.
The group also met with Clear Lake city officials to try to get their support in opposition.
The mayor and I certainly understood their concern and dont disagree that this is a project that has many broader issues associated with it on top of jobs and tax base, City Administrator Scott Flory said.
However, we indicated it was doubtful that the City Council of Clear Lake would be interested as a political body in engaging in a political discussion of what was in the best interest of Mason City or any other community.
NORTHWOOD A former Northwood mayor is facing fraud charges stemming from his now-closed lumber business.
Randy Severson, 52, is charged with defrauding $300,000 from Northwood State Bank between 2011 and 2014 while he was president of Northwood Lumber, according to court documents.
He is accused of fraudulently using the names of customers, family members and acquaintances on invoices he submitted to the bank for lines of credit.
Court documents state Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and FBI agents in July 2013 interviewed Severson, who told them he submitted the invoices. He allegedly continued to forward invoices to the bank through 2014.
Severson is charged with ongoing criminal conduct, three counts of felony first-degree fraudulent practice and three charges of felony second-degree fraudulent practice.
Ongoing criminal conduct is a Class B felony, punishable by up to 25 years in prison. First-degree fraudulent practices are Class C felonies. Second-degree fraudulent practices are Class D felonies.
Severson was arrested on Wednesday and appeared in court on Thursday for his initial appearance, according to online court filings.
The Worth County Attorneys Office has asked to have a special prosecutor appointed in the case.
A message left for Severson seeking comment was not returned.
Northwood Lumber announced on its Facebook page Feb. 17 it would cease operations the next day. The business had been open 25 years.
As corporate America takes over us small towns, main streets will become more and more empty because its become harder and harder to sell quality over cost, it said.
Fox Auction Co. will hold an equipment and inventory auction at the companys former site at 9 a.m. Saturday with a real estate auction at 1 p.m.
Thats kind of the trend in these smaller towns, due to the competition from these big box (stores), said Frank Fox, owner of Fox Auction Co. Its hard to compete.
Severson resigned as Northwood mayor during a City Council meeting in November 2012 citing health reasons. He previously served as a member of the Northwood City Council.
In August 2012, he was charged with misdemeanor third-degree harassment for allegedly sending unwanted electronic messages to a former girlfriend.
He later released a statement through an attorney saying he regretted his actions. He said he was suffering from the effects of a mild traumatic brain injury sustained in a serious accident in November 2002.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 31, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cuba Ventures Corp. (TSX-V:CUV) (OTCBB:MPSFF) (Frankfurt:IJA2) (the Company) (formerly MPH Ventures Corp.) is pleased to announce that Travelucion Media is adding an additional +4,000 Cuban private residences (Casas Particulares) and bed & breakfasts (B&Bs) to its network of Cuba focused websites and booking platforms. With the addition of these new listings to the current 150 listings, the Company will have one of the largest listings databases of private residences and B&Bs on the Caribbean island.
Cuba Ventures is one of the first and only publically traded companies in North America investing in Cubas unique growth opportunities. Travelucion Media, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, is an online travel and digital media company that specializes in travel marketing, electronic reservations and online booking solutions for international visitors to Cuba through its 432 Cuba-centric websites in five languages which have been promoting Cuba worldwide for almost two decades.
Steve Marshall, President of Travelucion Media, stated: This is a significant development for the Company as it continues to execute on its growth strategy in the multi-billion dollar Cuba travel industry. With limited hotel beds on the island, the increasingly popular private residences and B&Bs offer travelers places to stay and a unique way for them to interact with the Cuban People and Cuban culture. With the addition of over 4,000 listings to our current database of 150, Cuba Ventures and Travelucion will hold one of the largest and most diverse databases of these listings while leveraging our unmatched, organic online traffic to fill these residences.
The 54 year old U.S. trade embargo, including a tourist travel ban the U.S. has placed on Cuba, restricts the vast majority of American corporations and travelers from doing business with or visiting Cuba. However, recently there has been a growing number of Americans travelling to Cuba with the notable relaxation of travel restrictions allowing Americans to qualify for one of 12 categories for non-touristic travel, permitted under the general license criteria. There are also a select few American corporations that have obtained special licenses, through the U.S. Treasury Department, that allow them to operate in Cuba but these, in the Companys view, are more symbolic in nature and likely illustrate the building of momentum for the U.S. Congress to ultimately consider lifting the trade embargo in the future.
Last week, U.S. President Obama and a number of U.S. companies visited Cuba as the first of a handful of American companies now allowed to operate in Cuba in over 50 years. President Obama has been instrumental in instigating closer links between select American companies and Cuba, and some of these recent developments complement Travelucion Medias rapidly growing business in Cuba.
Travelucions private residence and bed & breakfast (B&B) division welcomes the American company Stripe. Stripe will allow Cuban entrepreneurs and B&B owners to incorporate U.S. businesses, obtain U.S. bank accounts and set up a U.S. Stripe account to receive payments. Travelucion sees this as a major step towards streamlining its payments to Cuban private residence and B&B owners, allowing them to obtain direct payments in the United States for stays by U.S. and international visitors to Cuba. The surge in private residence and B&B requests at Travelucion has led the company to accelerate the inclusion of these +4000 nationwide listings across its proprietary booking platform. Cuba Ventures and Travelucion will now control one of the largest listings databases of this type for Cuba and will offer the owners of these private homes and B&Bs exposure to the Companys Cuba-centric organic internet traffic consisting of over 30 million annual page views.
To gauge the market, Travelucion initiated a beta test program over the last few years for private residence and B&B sales in conjunction with hotel room sales across 78 of its websites. This test phase successfully demonstrated the growing demand for private residences and B&Bs resulting in the company deciding to expedite the incorporation of additional listings. Of the over 4,000 listings being added to Travelucions database and websites, 200 listings of properties in and around Havana are being added immediately with the remaining listings being included over the remainder of the year. These are all in addition to Travelucions current 150 private residence and B&B listings active on the websites.
Unlike most other travel suppliers for the Cuban market, visitors to Travelucions 432 Cuba related websites and e-commerce booking sites will be able to complement their private residence and B&B bookings by adding other services such as car rentals, tours, excursions, airport transfers and other local services into their customized online shopping carts and make payment for the entire package and stay. The company offers travelers to Cuba a one-stop-shop booking system to enhance customer convenience with availability of almost all locally required vacation complements under a single booking process.
About Cuba Ventures Corp.:
Cuba Ventures Corp. has acquired Travelucion Media, now a wholly owned subsidiary. Travelucion Media is an online travel digital media company that specializes in travel marketing, electronic reservations and online booking solutions for international visitors to Cuba. Travelucion Media owns one of the most significant portfolios of Cuban focused web assets, through 432 sites in five languages, which collectively generate over 30 million page-views per year and direct traffic to the main Travelucion booking site www.Havanatur.com.
For further information on Cuba Ventures Corp. (TSX-V:CUV) or Travelucion Media visit the Companys website at www.cubaventures.com or www.travelucion.com.
Cuba Ventures Corp. has approx. 61.5 million shares issued and outstanding.
CUBA VENTURES CORP.
Jim Pettit
______________________________
JAMES G. PETTIT
President & CEO
For further information contact myself or:
Don Myers
Cuba Ventures Corp.
Director
Telephone: 604-687-3376
Toll Free: 800-567-8181
Facsimile: 604-687-3119
Email: info@cubaventures.com
NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THE CONTENT OF THIS NEWS RELEASE.
This release includes certain statements that may be deemed to be "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that management of the Company expects, are forward-looking statements. Although management believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements, include market prices, exploration and development successes, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Please see the public filings of the Company at www.sedar.com for further information.
MISSION VIEJO, Calif., April 01, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MYnd Analytics, Inc. (OTCQB:CNSO) obtained approval from two Institutional Review Boards to conduct a clinical trial of its Psychiatric EEG Evaluation Registry (PEER) Interactive platform, based on the protocol used at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. The Company plans to enroll approximately 500 patients in the replication study with initial sites to include Canada and Southern California.
Using the largest psychiatric registry of patient outcomes in the world, the SMART-MD study will add to the four previous studies validating use of EEG to predict medication response. Like previous studies, the SMART-MD trial is expected to show the impact of PEER on reducing trial and error prescribing. Previous trials have shown that reduced trial and error prescribing improves Depression and PTSD, reduces suicidality, and improves treatment adherence.
PEER Interactive assists medical professionals in choosing the right medication for their patients utilizing a database of clinical outcomes and the results of a standard electroencephalogram (EEG). PEER provides doctors and their patients objective and patient-centered information about treatment options for mental health issues.
The randomized, double-blind, multi-site clinical study will enroll patientsincluding active duty military, veterans, and their familieswith a primary diagnosis of Depression. The patients may also have comorbid disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), and other mental health issues. Should the SMART-MD trial replicate previous results, the expected endpoint will be significant improvement in Depression, reduced Suicidal Ideation, and reduced PTSD symptoms among the experimental group.
The study is led by an experienced group of scientists and military leaders, including Colonel Rakesh Jetly, M.D., senior psychiatrist for the Canadian Armed Forces and Chair in Military Mental Health at the Canadian Military and Veterans Mental Health Centre of Excellence.
Colonel Jetly is joined by Vernor Knott, PhD, Director, Clinical Neuroelectrophysiology and Cognitive Research Laboratory, Institute of Mental Health Research, Ottawa, Ontario, one of the notable early researchers in studying the effects of medications on the human electroencephalogram. I find PEER technology to be of great interest and, potentially, of great value in supporting more accurate prescribing of psychotropic agents. said Knott. I look forward to leading an important study of this technology in partnership with the Canadian armed forces and the commercial sponsor, MYnd Analytics. Dr Knott will serve as principal investigator for the Canadian arm of the study.
Dan Iosifescu, M.D., Director of the Adult Psychopharmacology Program and Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, serves as lead investigator for the SMART-MD trial in the United States.
It is vital that people suffering with mental health issues be able to get individualized care early in their treatment. This study offers the possibility of validating and refining a methodology that has shown promise in enhancing our ability to match patients with effective treatments, said Dr. Iosifescu.
Colonel Jetly, M.D. concluded, We have followed the research on this technology in the US and Canada, and are pleased that we can bring this trial to bear for our service members and veterans. We look forward to working with the MYnd Analytics team to further our understanding of outcomes using quantitative EEG tools such as PEER.
About MYnd Analytics, Inc.
MYnd Analytics, Inc. (www.myndanalytics.com) provides a unique set of reference data and analytic tools for clinicians and researchers in psychiatry. While treatment for mental disorders has doubled in the last 20 years, it is estimated that 17 million Americans have failed two or more medication therapies for their mental disorders. The Companys Psychiatric EEG Evaluation Registry, or PEER Online, is a new registry and reporting platform that allows medical professionals to exchange treatment outcome data for patients referenced to objective neurophysiology data obtained through a standard electroencephalogram (EEG). Based on the Companys original physician-developed database, there are now more than 38,000 outcomes for over 10,000 unique patients in the PEER registry. The objective of PEER Online is to avoid trial and error pharmacotherapy, which is the dominant approach for treatment resistant patients. To read more about the benefits of this patented technology for patients, physicians and payers, please visit www.myndanalytics.com.
Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed are forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties as set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking statements made herein.
CHICAGO, April 1, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The John Marshall Law School has proudly honored six of its supporters with the Spirit Award. It is among the highest honors that the law school bestows upon loyal, respected members of its community.
In 2008, the Board of Trustees developed the Spirit Award to honor individuals who best exemplify qualities essential to being ambassadors of John Marshall's rich tradition of diversity, innovation and opportunity.
"Today's honorees join an impressive list of men and women who have shaped the law school we know today," said Leonard Amari, President of the John Marshall Board of Trustees and Managing Partner at Amari & Locallo. "They are extraordinary ambassadors for John Marshall and are selfless in their dedication, leadership and commitment to our law school. This institution changes lives and makes the impossible possible for so many. Today, we thank some of the people whose work has transformed countless lives."
Four of this year's recipients are current or former members of John Marshall's Board of Trustees or Board of Visitors, further exemplifying their commitment to the law school's continued success.
This year's Spirit Award recipients are:
CHARLOTTE, N.C., April 1, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Associa Carolinas welcomes association board members, community managers and homeowners to its free legal update seminar Collection Do's & Don'ts.
Legal Update Collection Do's & Don'ts
April 14, 2016
6:30 p.m.
Associa Carolinas
5600 77 Center Dr., Suite 290
Charlotte, NC 28217
Please RSVP to Melissa Merritt-Darden by April 11 at mdarden@associa.us or 704-944-8168.
The seminar will be hosted by attorney Chris Gelwicks of the law firm Horack Tally. Well known for advising community associations in both North Carolina and South Carolina, Gelwicks frequently attends and presides over association meetings and enjoys a high level of interaction with association managers and board members regarding all issues pertaining to community association operation and management.
"At Associa, our management staff is made up of the best-trained, best equipped professionals in the industry," says Associa Carolinas President Ed Corless. "But it doesn't stop there! We also seek to provide our board members with unparalleled training opportunities and educational resources to better serve the communities they represent."
Building and managing successful communities for more than 35 years, Associa is the worldwide leader in community management with over 10,000 employees operating more than 180 branch offices in the United States, Mexico, Canada, the United Arab Emirates and South Africa. Based in Dallas, Texas, our industry expertise, financial strength, and innovation meet the unique needs of clients across the world with customized services and solutions designed to help communities achieve their vision. To learn more about Associa and its charitable organization, Associa Cares, go to www.associaonline.com or www.associacares.com.
Stay Connected:
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New Yorkers already hold the dubious honor of having the worst commutes in the country, and now you can see how your miserable commute compares to others across the city: a study released this morning by the Center for an Urban Future breaks down commutes citywide, looking at commute type, time, and industry.
The study analyzed census data from 2000-2014, and found that a number of changes in commuting have occurred over that timespan: the number of New Yorkers working from home increased by 68 percent from 2000 to 2014, and the number of people working in their own boroughs increased by an average of 29 percent, with the greatest increase in the Bronx (40 percent) and the smallest increase in Manhattan (18 percent). Meanwhile, the number of jobs held by city residents hasn't changed much: just 21 percent of jobs in NYC are held by non-city residents, down slightly from 22 percent in 2000.
The average commute time citywide, according to this study, is just over 40 minutes. Unsurprisingly, residents of the Rockaways have the worst average commute times, at nearly 53 minutes, while those in Greenwich Village/Financial District have things easy at just over 26 minutes. The latter also has one of the highest percentages of people who walk or bike to work: 34 percent, topped only by people living in Chelsea/Clinton/Midtown and Stuyvesant Town/Turtle Bay.
Well over half of New Yorkers rely on mass transit to get to work, but 10 of 55 neighborhoods have a higher percentage of people who drive than take the subway. Most of those neighborhoods aren't that surprising, given that they're commonly thought of as transportation deserts: for residents of Staten Island or Bayside, Queens, commuting by car may be the more time-efficient option.
(Center for an Urban Future)
The study also offers a number of recommendations for improving New Yorkers' commutes, drawn from its 2014 report on the sorry state of the city's infrastructure. For one, the Center for an Urban Future would like to see Communications Based Train Control (CBTC) adopted across all of the subway lines, whereas currently, just the Land soon the 7use this more modern technology. CBTC is supposed to increase the speed and frequency of trains, though it can't keep lines from years-long infrastructural repairs.
The Center is also in favor of tolling the East River bridges to offset MTA costs, and adopting something like the Freedom Ticket to reduce the costs of taking the Long Island Railroad within the city.
If you found this report frustrating, tell your state representatives and Governor Cuomo to stop robbing the MTA of badly needed funding and figure out a way to come up with more cash for a 21st Century transit system.
The Center for Disease Control just updated its maps that show the range of the mosquito that's been transmitting Zika virus across Latin American and the Caribbean, and it's not great news for New York: the state's southern tip, including New York City, is now included in the range of the Aedes aegypti mosquito.
This confirms projections made earlier this month, which suggested that the Zika-capable mosquito could make its way to New York this summer, particularly if the summer is warmer than normalwhich seems quite likely. Officials had previously said that New York's climate was not hospitable to the Aedes aegypti mosquito, and that they were mostly concerned about its cousin, the Aedes albopictus, which has been known to transmit Zika virus elsewhere and is native to New York.
The CDC's previous maps just showed the Aedes aegypti in the southern part of the country, but those maps were about 12 years old, the AP reports. The updated maps show the mosquitoes' range extending well into the Midwest and Northeast.
The CDC is emphatic that these maps don't show the risk of contracting Zika, the number of mosquitoes in a particular area, or the exact locations of mosquitoes. Rather, they show areas where these two mosquitoes either are or have been seen in the past. One of these mosquitoes would have to bite someone who is already infected in order to spread the Zika virus.
"There are more places at risk than realize they're at risk, given where the mosquito is likely to be present," said CDC director Tom Frieden.
To date, there have been 25 cases of Zika virus in New York City, all of which were contracted while abroad. All of the patients have recovered.
Earlier this month, Governor Cuomo announced the state's action plan to fight Zika, should the virus begin to be transmitted in New York. The state will hand out 100,000 larvicide tablets in target regions, including New York City, to be dissolved in small containers of standing water, where the Aedes aegypti and albopictus mosquitoes are known to breed. Because there is believed to be a link between Zika virus in pregnant women and certain birth defects in newborns, and because the virus can be sexually transmitted, the state will also distribute free Zika protection kits containing insect repellant and condoms to pregnant women and their partners.
In most people, the Zika virus is mild: just one in five people infected is symptomatic, and the symptoms include a fever, rash, and conjunctivitis. The state Department of Health is offering free virus testing to anyone who has recently traveled to a Zika-affected country and is symptomatic; it will also offer that test to pregnant women whose partners have recently returned from a country with Zika transmission. If you think you've been exposed and want more information about free testing, you can call the state's Zika hotline at 1-888-364-4723.
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There've been a lot of bizarre architectural ideas over the yearsthis sunken Central Park, for instance, or this Carnegie Hall skyscraper, or the labyrinth of death that is currently Penn Station. Here's a new one: an architect has proposed building a bridge that would stretch from the High Line to a man-made island on the Hudson River.
6sqft.com spoke reported this week on Eytan Kaufman, the octogenarian architect who proposed this bridge-dream. Kaufman is "practically retired" and probably won't spearhead any of this himself. But the "Hub on the Hudson" renderings look cool at least, showing the bridge connecting to a 9-acre circular island (supported on deep high-capacity caissons anchored into bedrock, according to Kaufman) boasting five Hearst Tower-esque buildings and an outdoor park.
Kaufman's other proposed ideas include the NY Harbor Bridge, which would connect Manhattan to Governor's Island; the Hudson World Bridge, which would stretch from the Westside Highway to New Jersey; and the World Bridge, which was intended to occupy the 16-acre former World Trade Center site.
Anyway, before you start planning your Hudson River Island Bridge People's Pops franchise cart, note that Kaufman doesn't necessarily see this becoming a reality. "Its something that I was hoping would come to the public domain, where people can voice their opinions, how they feel about it," he told DNAinfo, having apparently never spent time in an online article's comments section.
Out of more than 500 arraignments observed in Manhattan and Brooklyn courts between last October and March of this year, about 88% involved black or Hispanic defendants arrested for low-level Broken Windows offenses like disorderly conduct, possession of marijuana, or an open container, according to a report issued Friday by the Police Reform Organizing Project (PROP). In one case, a black man was sentenced to 12 days on Rikers for farebeating. In another, a mentally ill man was sentenced to 60 days on Rikers for allegedly stealing $3.00 in change from a parked car with an open door.
In a city committed to cracking down on petty crimes, PROP's latest findings are not revelatory. PROP has conducted months-long surveys of NYC arraignments four times since 2014, and of the total 1,880 cases seen, 91% have been brought against people of color. According to NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services data, 87% of NYPD misdemeanor arrests in the first nine months of last year involved people of color.
For this latest report [PDF], PROP head Robert Gangis homed in on the fact that out of 498 cases, 479, or 96.2% of them, resulted in the defendant walking out of the courtroom. During two court visits where PROP was able to keep time, the average amount of time spent on each case was less than three minutes. "The point we're making is that nobody considers these people dangerous or predatory," Gangis said. "In many cases the arrests are frivolous and innocuous, and many of the defendants are homeless or mentally ill. They can't push back politically."
Gangis hashes this up in part to the department's reliance on quotas, or a minimum number of mandatory stops per officer. A report filed in February by attorney Peter Zimroth, the federal monitor tasked with assessing the NYPD's use of stop-and-frisks, found that while officers now feel less pressure to reach quotas, some are still evaluated in part by the number of stops they make.
The same report found that of 600 street stops documented over the course of three months in 2015, almost a third were unconstitutional, lacking reasonable suspicion for the stop.
In an effort to humanize these statistics, PROP conferred with several defendants and their attorneys about the circumstances of their arrests. All of the stories below allegedly occurred under de Blasio's tenure, and Gangi notes that he works hard to ensure that they are credible.
Police officers in Manhattan arrested a homeless man late at night on the subway on the charge of, as the court officer read out loud, "occupying multiple seats on the subway. The judged issued an ACD & let the man walk out of the court room. A PROP representative followed him out & tried to talk with him. Unsteady on his feet, the man said apologetically that he could barely stand up & that he was withdrawing from his alcohol habit. When asked where he was going & where would he stay, the man said that he was going to "ride the trains. Police officers arrested a young man for dancing on the subway, the official charge being "unlawful solicitation. The youth explained that the NYPD also arrested a friend that danced with him on the train -- the officers released the friend on a ACD, but held the young man that we spoke with because he had an outstanding warrant for drinking a beer in front of his building. He also related that the police have arrested him several times for subway dancing & that the judge always releases him with an ACD. Police officers arrested a homeless woman for the second time in a week for sleeping in the machine room of an apartment building where the janitorial staff had befriended her & let her use the unoccupied room. She was an addict who was afraid to stay at a shelter & who had been trying unsuccessfully to find a rehab program that would help her. The NYPD provided her with no assistance to meet either need. Police officers arrested a black man for smoking in an unauthorized space. He was descending stairs to a subway & threw out his cigarette butt on a step on the way down. When he reached the station, 2 officers stopped him, requested his ID which he gave them, and charged him with the smoking violation. After running a check on him, they cuffed and arrested him and brought him to the local precinct in Harlem. An officer there explained that he was arrested as a "transit recidivist" because of a previous subway- related offense. The offense was a farebeating infraction from 1986, 29 years ago when he was a teenager and was charged with a fine that he paid. Initially the police confined the man in a holding cell with 10 or 11 African-American & Latino men who officers had arrested on charges like "sleeping on the subway" & "walking between 2 subway cars. The man was locked up for 2 days before appearing at arraignment before a judge who sentenced him to time served & let him walk out of the courtroom. Police in Brooklyn gave an open alcohol container summons to a woman of color who was sitting on a stoop with 4 white friends. Although she was not holding the beer can, the police singled her out, asking only her for an ID & ticketing only her. Officers arrested a mentally ill man who was living in a homeless shelter for stealing $3.00 in change from a car whose door was open. The car's owner had called the police when he saw the man inside the car because he thought the man was trying to steal the vehicle. By the time the police arrived, he did not want to press charges, but it was too late. As a painful follow up, the court handed down a harsh penalty: 60 days on Rikers Island. Two officers pulled over a Bronx man in his car, but apparently did not know why. The man left his phone video camera on while the police put him in their cruiser. "I don't even know why we pulled him over", one officer says. "Just the (unintelligible) cocaine test," the other officer replies. "That's what you put," the first officer laughs. Thats how you write the summons." The only thing that the officers found in the car was an uneaten cookie. "I felt as though they pulled me over & abused me for sport," the man said. Police officers arrested an African-American man in Brooklyn on the charge of walking an unleashed dog. The man was standing in front of his building with his 2 dogs, one on a leash standing next to him and the other in his arms. The officers justified their arrest on the fact that the pet that the man was holding did not have a leash attached.
In March, the NYPD announced that it would issue summonses instead of making arrests for most low-level offenses like open containers and public urinationbut in Manhattan only. And a new series of bills would give police officers the discretion to steer certain low-level broken windows offenses like drinking in public, littering, and public urination to civil court, rather than criminal court. Some advocates object that it still empowers the NYPD to stop and ID citizens for those same offenses.
Today's news comes as a warning to marijuana smokers across the city: if you don't properly ventilate your apartment while lighting up, you might just get yourself sued. The board of a Central Park West condo is now going after two of its tenants, saying that their toking is causing the entire building to smell.
Josefina Berman, 65, who lives at 400 Central Park West with Charles Berman, 33, is being sued by the condo's board, which says that they smoke too much pot, make too much noise, and have been fined by the board 20 times since 2011 over these matters, the Daily News reports.
"Sometimes it feels like you're coming off the elevators and walking into a scene out of a Cheech & Chong movie," one resident of the building told the NY Post. "I've got kids, as do lots of others in this building. I don't think I should have to explain to my little kids what that smell is." Because as we all know, explaining the scandalous truth about grown-ups smoking dried plant matter could cause irreparable damage to a child's development.
The building on 100th Street and Central Park West apparently has no problem with tenants smoking, as long as they contain the smell within their apartments. The suit claims that the odor coming from the Bermans's apartment "infiltrates other areas of the condominium building, causingamong other thingsa nuisance to other occupants."
This isn't the first time that Berman has gotten on the wrong side of the condo board: she was sued just five months ago for allegedly attempting to combine two adjacent apartments, one that she rents and one that she owns, without a proper permit. She was ordered by a judge to stop work on the construction.
They're reportedly being sued for over $12,000 in common charges they owe the condo board, and another $10,000 in legal fees. A nice powerful fan on Amazon, meanwhile, will run you about $30.
Travis Kalanick, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Uber, really didn't want to deal with a lawsuit brought against him by one angry former customer: for the past three months, his lawyers have been trying to get the judge to drop the case, which claims that Uber's pricing algorithm violates antitrust laws. But yesterday, Manhattan judge Jed Rakoff ruled that he won't dismiss the suit, which is seeking class-action status on behalf of anyone in the country who's ever used Uber and/or been subject to surge pricing.
"The advancement of technological means for the orchestration of large-scale price-fixing conspiracies need not leave antitrust law behind," Rakoff wrote in his ruling, adding, "The fact that Uber goes to such great lengths to portray itselfone might even say disguise itselfas the mere purveyor of an 'app' cannot shield it from the consequences of it operating as much more."
Spencer Meyer, a Connecticut resident, filed suit in December 2015, claiming that "Uber has a simple but illegal business plan: to fix prices among competitors and take a cut of the profits. Kalanick is the proud architect of that business plan." His lawyers argue that because Uber's drivers are all technically independent contractors and therefore competitors, using the app's pricing algorithm makes them complicit in an antitrust conspiracy organized by Kalanick. They also allege that surge pricing "artificially manipulates supply and demand, guaranteeing sharply higher fares for drivers who would otherwise compete against one another on price."
Referencing reports that Uber drivers manipulate the app to create a false lack of supply and trigger surge pricing, the suit accuses Uber of encouraging drivers to log out of the app to show less supply, and alleges that some drivers stay offline during non-surge times to trigger a surge.
Meyer's suit also suggests that Uber has a near-monopoly over the rideshare economy as a whole: it cites leaked data revealing just how the app is in comparison to Lyft, its main New York competitor, and claims that Sidecar left the market in part because of Uber's dominance.
(Daniel Miller)
Uber itself, valued at more than $60 billion, isn't named in the suit: Kalanick is the sole defendant.
"This case is about price competition, plain and simple," said Andrew Schmidt, one of Meyer's attorneys. "[Yesterday's] decision confirms that apps are not exempt from the antitrust laws."
An Uber spokesperson said that Uber disagrees with the judge's ruling, and said that "these claims are unwarranted and have no basis in fact. In just five years since its founding, Uber has increased competition, lowered prices, and improved service."
This is hardly the first time Uber has come under fire for surge pricing: in 2014, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said that surge pricing during emergencies amounted to price gouging, and the app had to agree to cap fares under such circumstances. And a Brooklyn City Council member has put forward legislation that would ban the app from raising fares more than 100 percent, whereas currently, they can go as high as 900 percent when surge pricing gets really bad. The app is also facing a class-action lawsuit in California that's looking to have drivers classified as employees, not independent contractors.
It's worth noting that all customers using the app have to agree to surge pricing and type in the surge amount before hailing a ridebut that doesn't tend to stop people from complaining about sky-high charges after the fact.
This case is scheduled to go to trial this November.
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Theres more to artificial joint replacement than most of us know, but did you know about the connection to dentistry? You might wonder what one has to do with the other. The connection stems from the use of antibiotics, the risk of infection and the collaboration between orthopedic surgeons and dentists.
The traditional recommendation for patients with artificial joints has been to prescribe antibiotics prior to any high-risk dental procedures. These high-risk dental procedures arent as invasive or complex as you might think; pretty much any dental procedure that may result in bleeding is termed high-risk. These include extractions and root canals, but can be as common as a dental examination or cleaning. When a patient begins to bleed, the patient is at risk for bacteria in the mouth entering the bloodstream, which can infect other places in the body, like artificial joints.
If infected, artificial joints (think hips and knees) can be expensive to heal like $50,000 worth of procedures to heal. Thats why the recommendation has been to prescribe antibiotics prior to high-risk dental procedures. For just a few dollars, a patient can be protected against possible infection from a dental procedure and potentially save tens of thousands of dollars of care down the road, right?
Its not that simple, says Lea Erickson, DDS, MSPH. Erickson is the senior associate dean of student life at the School of Dentistry and a specialist in geriatric dental care. Rather than a heavy dose of antibiotics, the best way to prevent bacteria from the mouth entering the bloodstream is to maintain good oral health all the time, she says. Erickson says a lot of health care providers use antibiotics as a first line of defense all the time, contributing to a rise in antibiotic resistance in certain populations.
The current recommendation released by a joint panel of experts from the American Dental Association (ADA) and the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) is that dentists do not need to prescribe antibiotics to every patient just because of an artificial joint, says David Okano, DDS, MS. Okano is an assistant professor of periodontics at the School of Dentistry. Certain patients, especially those with immune system deficiencies, should continue to be prescribed antibiotics. The University of Utah follows the recommendation of the University Orthopaedic Center, which is to give antibiotics to all patients with artificial joints. We teach our students the universitys policy, but we also train our students to use their best clinical judgment so they can provide the best care in private practice, he says.
Okano notes, however, that the ADA and the AAOS will likely meet again in the future to review the scientific literature on the issue. For now, patients with artificial joints can expect to be prescribed antibiotics before dental treatment at the University of Utah School of Dentistry.
BILLINGS -- The man who landed a punch to the face of Montana Attorney General Tim Fox on Tuesday night in Billings called Fox to apologize Thursday.
John Barnes, communications director for the Montana Department of Justice and the Office of the Attorney General, said in an email that Fox and David E. Carpenter had a very pleasant and positive conversation.
Billings Police said that shortly before midnight Tuesday after guests of the Radisson Hotel had come down from their rooms when a fire alarm was pulled, Carpenter, whod been drinking, began taking swings at Jason Thielman, U.S. Sen. Steve Daines chief of staff. At one point when Fox intervened on Thielmans behalf, Carpenter, according to Fox, cold-cocked me.
Fox said he flipped Carpenter, got him in a half-Nelson, and subdued him until police arrived.
The fracas occurred hours after the end of the first day of the Montana Energy Conference, which concludes Thursday. Daines is hosting the conference.
Both Fox and Thielman declined to press assault charges, so police charged Carpenter with disorderly conduct. He was released from the Yellowstone County Detention Facility Wednesday, a jail spokeswoman said.
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 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.
March 15 was National Agriculture Day. Across the country and at home here in Montana, many growers, organizations, government agencies, universities and families joined together to celebrate the abundance provided by American agriculture. We have much to be thankful for. Montana agriculture remains the cornerstone of the states economy. It continues to shape us in a state blessed with diverse and vibrant landscapes, dedicated people and rich natural resources.
We salute and honor the people across the state who are leading and delivering agriculture in Montana: from certified seed growers and sellers, large acreage and small acreage production, family businesses and those who continually endure the risk, challenge and uncertainties of the climate and markets. Thank you for your commitment to an industry and economy that demands an investment and dedication thats only second nature to most Montanans. Perhaps thats why Montana is comprised of 27,800 farms and ranches (65 percent of our land base), contributing $4.4 billion dollars a year to the United States economy.
Montana State University and its College of Agriculture will celebrate their 125th anniversary in 2018. We continue to see students from all walks of life enroll in our many programs, and were proud of our enrollment growth for the eighth straight year. We think the strong student interest in agricultural-related careers reflects the many ways in which agriculture is changing: young people are increasingly concerned with food production and safety, healthy economies, access to nutritional foods, environmental quality and public health all of which stem from the products we produce and consume.
MSUs College of Agriculture continues to be recognized nationally for its curriculum, research, fields, farms and faculty. They are a force of people and programs committed to strengthening Montanas highest grossing industry, and they possess the ability to respond to world challenges. In addition to the college, faculty and staff at the eight research centers under MSUs Montana Agricultural Experiment Station are able to deliver agricultural solutions through relationships and support from many of you. Because of our sound partnerships with growers and production groups across Montana, we are able to focus on the most critical needs of the industry.
Of course, we in agriculture continue to face major challenges. Water remains a competitive commodity, new invasive pests and plants are making their presence known, and volatile markets and policies create pressure on those working their hardest. On a global scale, the world continues to face food insecurity while Americans at home are hungry even as vast amounts of food are wasted each year. The pressure on our communities and landscapes to meet the challenges and demands of 21st century agriculture is real.
Agriculture on this national day of recognition and every day is something that touches all of us. I challenge you to reflect on the role agriculture plays in your life. You shouldnt have to look far to do so. Perhaps this might be buying a Montana-made product, visiting a local market, asking a farmer or rancher about their successes and challenges, or thinking about the important role of food banks in feeding your community. Or, talk to an MSU agriculture student about their own vision for the future. You might be surprised and renewed with optimism.
The beauty of an agriculture community is that it takes everyone to ensure success -- whether thats your own hands in soil or learning more about the sources of your food and products.
Join me as we steward agriculture at MSU and across Montana, today and into the next 125 years.
***
Charles Boyer is the vice president of agriculture, dean and director of the College of Agriculture and Montana Agricultural Experiment Station at Montana State University. Boyer has a bachelors degree in biology from Eastern Oregon State College, and a masters and doctorate in genetics, both from Pennsylvania State University. MSUs College of Agriculture has approximately 1,028 students with 11 bachelor's degree programs, nine master's degree programs and four doctoral degree programs from five departments and one division.
BILLINGS -- The backburner issue simmering for weeks about the potential closure of Units 1 and 2 of the Colstrip power plant was how the oil refineries, silicon plants and mining companies that buy electricity directly from those units would be affected.
Those industry buyers, known in utility jargon as large customers, began hinting a few weeks ago of job losses and rising consumer prices for things like gasoline if cheap Colstrip power from Units 1 and 2 went away.
Those two units, the oldest and dirtiest in the four-unit Colstrip power complex, face serious challenges. Actions by the two units current owners, Talen Energy and Puget Sound Energy, suggest both want out. Those concerns cap several months of worry about several hundred jobs lost in Colstrip if the two units closed.
So when Montana Public Service Commissioner Travis Kavula had the chance Thursday to put the CEO of NorthWestern Energy, the states largest utility, in the hot seat about whether it would intervene, maybe take the reins currently held by Talen and keep the coal units burning for large customers, Kavula took it.
Do you see at the moment any possibility for a deal to be done where NorthWestern, or another utility, takes those units and has some kind of arrangement to sell that production, either in a regulated manner, or an unregulated manner to wholesale customers like the refineries? asked Kavula, whose commission regulates Montana utilities.
The response from NorthWesterns Bob Rowe, was not exactly a yes, but it did give credence to the suggestions by state legislators that a plan to intervene in Units 1 and 2 was possible. The exchange came Thursday during the final day of the Montana Energy conference in Billings.
Its certainly possible, given strategies the state could pursue if the industrial customers taking power were supporting it, Legislature were supporting it, the commission were supporting it," Rowe said. There are strategies that would allow a party, that could be us, could be someone else, to step into the role that Talen now plays. But it is very inconsistent with the risk profile that we have and we think our customers want us to have. There are lots of risks that would have to be addressed.
Rowe prefaced his comments by saying that NorthWestern would have great discomfort being merchants. Merchant providers of electricity, like Talen, are not regulated and can only sell power at prices the market will bear, which makes it difficult to pass on the costs of things like pollution controls or cleanup for environmental messes. And there is a sizable environmental mess in Colstrips leaking ash ponds, which is estimated will cost millions to clean up.
NorthWestern is Montanas largest regulated utility, which means by law its guaranteed a certain level of profit and that its business costs can be passed on to its customers as long as the burden isnt excessive. The power NorthWestern generates, from hydroelectric dams, natural gas, windmill contracts and a share of Colstrip Units 3 and 4 are solely for its customers within Montanas regulated framework.
It cannot make acquisitions that arent in the interest of its regulated customers and expect them to share the cost. NorthWestern doesnt need the units for its own purposes. In fact, when Talen offered to sell the units to NorthWestern earlier, NorthWestern declined.
In January, Rep. Kerry White, R-Bozeman, suggested that the state buy Colstrip, but the conversation didnt go far. Last week, Sen. Duane Ankney, R-Colstrip, suggested to The Billings Gazette that there were too many jobs at the businesses buying power from Colstrip to not do something to keep the power flowing. He suggested NorthWestern might have a role.
The concerns from Montanas oil refineries, three of which are in the Billings area, surfaced March 21, as U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., toured the CHS refinery in Laurel.
The electricity bill at CHS is roughly $20 million a year, more than CHS spends on payroll, said Pat Kimmet, refinery manager. Roughly 60 percent of that power comes from Colstrip, and CHS will be increasing its power consumption as it expands.
The conversation with Daines served as a scene setter for the three-day Montana Energy Summit this week in Billings, which is where Kavula put Rowe on the hot seat. It also highlighted industry concerns about the federal Clean Power Plan, which calls on Montana to cut its greenhouse gas pollution by 47 percent by 2035.
NorthWestern paid the University of Montanas Bureau of Business and Economic Research to study the Clean Power Plan's impacts on Colstrip. That study, whose conclusions were heavily criticized by other economists, predicted that 7,000 Montana jobs would be lost if Colstrip shut down and that $690 million a year in income and taxes would be lost.
Mulling Rowes nuanced response about replacing Talen at Colstrip, Kavula smiled and attempted to paraphrase.
So, thanks, but no thanks. Keep the door open, the commissioner said.
New Braunfels, TX (78130)
Today
Partly cloudy skies. High 89F. Winds S at 15 to 25 mph. Higher wind gusts possible..
Tonight
Cloudy during the evening. A few showers developing late. Low 73F. Winds SSE at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 30%.
On March 31, Edward Nalbandian, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, who is in Washington D.C. within the delegation headed by the President of Armenia, held a meeting with Susana Malcorra, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship of Argentina.
Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Argentina touched upon different issues on bilateral agenda, including organization of high-level visits, expansion of the legal framework, cooperation within international organizations, fostering of inter-parliamentary ties, facilitation of economic cooperation; exchanged thoughts on joint efforts for further development of cooperation. On this matter, Minister Nalbandian informed Susana Malcorra about the efforts to-be-exerted and guidelines given during Armenian-Argentinean consultations on the development of Armenian-Argentinean relations held at the Presidents Office last week.
The Ministers commended the high level of the Armenian-Argentinean relations, stressing Argentinean-Armenians valuable input in their further strengthening. Edward Nalbandian expressed gratitude for numerous expressions of solidarity by Argentina with Armenia and the Armenian people.
Minister Nalbandian invited Susana Malcorra to visit Armenia.
The following is an edited version of a press statement issued by the Office of the President of Armenia.
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, now in the United States on a working visit, met with U.S. Vice president Joe Biden on March 31 in Washington D.C.
The parties underscored that since Armenias independence, Armenian-American relations have constantly been on the rise thanks to mutual efforts and reciprocal political will.
President Sargsyan and Vice President Biden noted with satisfaction that currently the agenda of the interstate relations comprises a number of areas political, economic, humanitarian, and security and that in these areas the two countries each year register new achievements.
According to Sargsyan, thanks to such mutual efforts, Armenian-American cooperation is currently at the highest level in its history. The president of Armenia hailed the assistance provided by the United States aimed at Armenias economic advancement and implementation of reforms in different areas.
President Sargsyan also stressed the importance of the role played by the US in maintaining regional security and stability, especially active involvement of the United States in the Artsakh peace process.
Sargsyan and Biden also discussed the situation in the South Caucasus, exchanging views on the Artsakh peace process in the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group and developments in the Middle East.
President Sargsyan noted that Armenia is deeply concerned with the actions of terrorist groups carried out in the vicinity of Armenia and strongly condemns them. He mentioned that as a result of terrorist actions conducted in Iraq and Syria many Armenians residing there are being killed or becoming refugees and that centuries old Armenian cultural relics are being destroyed or damaged.
Vice President Biden praised Armenias efforts in providing shelter to a large number of refugees from Syria and for creating normal living conditions for the Syrian Armenians.
BY ROMAN ANIN
A murky Russian businessman that formerly ran a state property agency has been buying apartments in Moscow for a number of young women that include the daughter of Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin; Putins alleged girlfriend; and a woman who, in a flirty web posting titled Pussy for Putin, offers the Russian leader a kitten and praises his leadership skills.
Grigory Baevskiy, 47, works for Arkadiy Rotenberg, a Kremlin insider and long-time Putin friend and his judo sparring partner. Records show Baevskiy not only helped Putin handle some of his most delicate personal situations but also made a fortune from questionable deals with the Russian state.
Shielding the Family
Putin has always tried to build an impenetrable wall around his family to protect them from the scrutiny he endures and the risks inherent in his job. The Kremlin has never even confirmed the identities of Putins children, despite worldwide media speculation for years over their background.
But cracks appeared in that wall last year, when Katerina Tikhonova, a young, low-profile woman without significant professional qualifications, was suddenly put in charge of a prestigious and ambitious US$ 1.7 billion project to expand the campus of Moscow State University (MSU). Investigations by the Russian daily RBC, Reuters and OCCRP proved that Tikhonova is actually the youngest daughter of the Russian leader.
Much of Tikhonovas scientific work for the university was financially supported by the biggest Russian state-owned companies which are headed by Putins closest allies.
One of the most closely guarded secrets of the Russian state is where the Presidents family lives. The information is seldom even recorded. However, in 2012, while establishing a foundation related to her work, Tikhonova listed her official address which OCCRP was able to verify. Tikhonovas official residence is a modest one-room apartment in the Moscow region, not far from Novo-Ogarevo, the place where her father usually works and lives. For security reasons OCCRP will not disclose the address.
Since 2007, the apartment where Tikhonova is registered to live has belonged to Baevskiy, a businessman from St. Petersburg who to date has had no public profile.
In the mid-2000s, Baevskiy worked as director of the Directorate for Investment Activities (DIA), a state enterprise that belongs to the Russian Agency for Management of the State Assets.
The DIAs main function is to oversee the management of state property. So when Baevskiy quit his public duties in 2009 he didn't have to change his specialization: from state property he moved to manage the private property of Putins family.
The Putin Connection
Public records indicate that even as he was heading the DIA, Baevskiy was already closely connected to Arkadiy Rotenberg, one of Putins oldest friends. Rotenberg has been sanctioned by the US and European Union (EU) authorities as retaliation for Russias seizure of Crimea.
According to the EU Council, Rotenberg has thrived under Putins patronage.
He has developed his fortune during President Putin's tenure. He has been favored by Russian decision-makers in the award of important contracts by the Russian State or by State-owned enterprises. His companies were notably awarded several highly lucrative contracts for the preparations of the Sochi Olympic Games the council said.
The Russian edition of Forbes magazine, in its 2016 rating of Kings of the State Contracts, rates Rotenberg asnumber one with more than half a trillion rubles (US $7.4 billion) in state contracts. Many if not most of the contracts awarded to Rotenberg companies were awarded without tender competition.
Baevskiys connection to Rotenberg is long-standing. In 2004, Baevskiy transferred a very expensive apartment in the center of Moscow, on Bolshaya Ordynka Street, to Rotenbergs daughter Lilya. Since 2006 Baevskiy, together with Rotenberg and his brother Boris, have been the founders of Otechestvo, a dacha community not far from St. Petersburg.
After leaving his post in the DIA, Baevskiy joined Rotenbergs business, showing up on a list of people officially affiliated with the SMP Bank, which is owned by the Rotenberg brothers. From 2011 until 2014, Baevskiy also worked as the general director of the Russian Holding Company (RHC) whose ultimate beneficiary is Rotenberg.
The RHC holds many of the jewels of the Russian economy. It is the only shareholder of the National Chemical Group, one of the biggest companies in the Russian fertilizer market. The RHC is also involved in a management role in a US$ 6 billion highway project as part of the Silk Way, a highway from the border of Belarus to Kazakhstan which will be a fast overland route from Western Europe to China.
Living Large
Baevskiy is not just an employee. He has been developing his own businesses and, as in the case of Arkadiy Rotenberg, Baevskiys companies earn most of their money from Russian taxpayers. According to OCCRP calculations, in the past two years Baevskiys businesses won more than 6 billion rubles (US $88 million in current value) in state contracts.
Baevskiys biggest contract was a 2.7 billion rubles (US$ 82 million) award in 2013 to grade the land in preparation for the construction of a beltway road around St. Petersburg. (on 21.6.2013)
Baevskiy likes to spend the money he gets from the Russian taxpayers on luxurious things. He owns a long list of properties worth millions of dollars across the country, from St. Petersburg to Moscow and Gelendzhik in the south of Russia near Sochi where Putin also has a palace. His private apartment in one of the most expensive districts of Moscow, on Prechistenka street, is likely to be worth at least 50 million rubles (US $740,000). Baevskiy is also the owner of a sleek 65-meter superyacht, the Rahil, which was built in 2011 by the Italian manufacturer Benetti. Rahil, previously named Nataly, won a prestigious Nautical Design Award in 2011 as the best motor yacht in the larger-than-40 meter category.
Website photo of student Alisa Kharcheva offering Putin a kitty.
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By Katherine Berjikian
Its spring in Armenia, and the children at Kharberd Orphanage, just outside Yerevan, are excited because they can play with their old friend Dr. Sabba.
Dr. Sabba is an Armenian from the diaspora. He was born and raised in Lebanon, and came to Armenia five years ago. Hes a therapist at the orphanage and unfortunately can only work when its warm outside. The winter months are too cold to perform his specific kind of therapy. However, when he can work, the children get excited.
By the way, Dr. Sabba is a horse.
According to one of his close friends Sasun Kosakyan, a therapist and art teacher at the orphanage, the children love Sabba. When speaking tohim, Sasun described a recent encounter between one of the children and Sabba after a long absence.
Today, one of the kids, when they took them to do the therapy, he saw the horse and he hugged the horse and started kissing it and saying oh, I missed you so much. Oh, its been a long time.
In Armenia there are two orphanages for children with disabilities. One of which, Kharberd, houses around three hundred children, and is exclusively for children with disabilities. In this orphanage, the staff has introduced a new kind of therapy that is not that common in Armenia. It is called hippotherapy. This is a form of therapy that uses horses, and is manly used with children with autism, down syndrome, and cerebral palsy.
According to the website of Ayo! (the crowd fundraising platform of the Fund for Armenian Relief - FAR) that is trying raise funds for the orphanage, In hippotherapy, the movement of the horse influences the patient. The patient is positioned on the horse and actively responds to the horses movements.
Sabba is one of the horses used in this program.
Before the orphanage performed the therapy itself, theywould send children to another village where specialists at a hippotherapy center would perform the therapy. However, the orphanage that the children are currently staying at used to be a retirement home that also housed cattle. Because the orphanage had the facilities for farm animals, they decided to start doing hippotherapy at theorphanage.
When the therapists at Kharberd saw the improvement in the children after receiving the therapy, several of them went to Georgia to receive the training in order to start implementing hippotherapy at the orphanage. Hippotherapy was common practice in Soviet Georgia. Even today, children in Georgia with disabilities receive sixty hours a year of hippotherapy, all of which is state funded.
For the past two years, eighty children at the Kharberd Orphanage, and twenty kids with disabilities from a neighboring village have used these facilities for hippotherapy.
While the orphanage is state run, most of the backing for this form of therapy has come from outside funding. For example, in order to send therapists to Georgia and to update the facilities at Kharberd to perform the therapy, the orphanage received funds from both KAMRJAK (a charitable NGO in Yerevan) and SOAR (Society for Orphaned Armenian Relief)
Today, Kharberd is trying to buy a carriage for the orphanage. One of the main reasons for this is because they want to expand their therapy and start doing group therapy. This is mostly for the autistic children at the orphanage.
One of the main benefits of group hippotherapy is the socializing aspect of it. According to the Ayo! website, Communication between the children is very important. Group hippotherapy will encourage healthy communication between these children during therapy sessions and create a friendlier atmosphere. With the introduction of a carriage, therapy sessions will be better suited to improve mobility and focus, as well as social skills.
This is where Ayo! comes into the picture. According to its mission statement, Ayo!s goal is to: Strive to improve the quality of life for Armenias most underprivileged, we simultaneously work to empower Armenian youth who wish to take change into their own hands while giving agency to those in the Diaspora who seek to make a profound difference in Armenian communities.
This includes campaigns like Ayo! were building a wall. This was a campaign to help raise money to builda protective wall alongthe Armenian and Azerbaijani border, in the village of Aygepar. People from all over the world took pictures of themselves that said that they were going to help build the wall, and sent it the Ayo!. Each picture represented a one-dollar donation to the project.
To date, Ayo! has raised money for nine different campaigns. Originally, Ayo! used to fundraise for multiple projects at once. At some point they had up to three different campaigns that they were fundraising for simultaneously.
Currently the Kharberd orphanage campaign is the only project that they are actively fundraising for. If they do not fund this project by their deadline, it will be moved to the not yet funded page.
This is what happened to a recent project called changing landscape, a project that tried to teach at risk youth nature photography. While it did raise $5423, it still needs to raise close to $2000. For the past week it has been on the not yet funded page, and will remain there until the funds are reached. All other projects have been fully funded.
In order to reach this deadline, Ayo! is holding several fundraising events during the next couple weeks. On April 2, they will have a fundraising concert. On April 17, they will hold an even bigger concert at Kharberd orphanage. And while all this is going on, Ayo! will be selling figurines and postcards in the United States, all of which were made by the children from the orphanage.
According to Ayo! Project Manager Jemma Safaryan, the reason they are doing most of their fundraising through events is because they want to make the fundraising process mutually beneficial.
There will always be some type of perk when you are donating. The perk can be that you are enjoying a concert. The perk can be a clay figure, another can be that you got a nice postcard for yourself or your friend, says Safaryan.
She also stated that 100% of the money raised will go to the orphanage.
Our founder, Marta Batmasian,an American-Armenian living in Florida, is covering all the administrative fees for all the Ayo! projects. Thus, we are happy to say that there are no overhead costs for the money we are raising. So 100% of each donation, be it one dollar, fifty cents or a hundred, goes directly to this project.
To find out more about Ayo! and this orphanage, you can go to the Ayo! website or Dr. Sabbas twitter page.
Photos courtesy of Ayo!
(Katherine Berjikian is a Birthright Armenia volunteer now working at Hetq)
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Native American culture comes to the forefront at the On Wisconsin Annual Spring Powwow this weekend at Alliant Energy Center. More than 3,000 people are expected to attend the event, which is in its 47th year.
The powwow is organized by Wunk Sheek, a UW-Madison student group that promotes awareness of indigeneous issues and cultures. The event is free and open to all, said Emily Nelis, a Wunk Sheek leader and one of the events coordinators.
This is a student-run event thats for everyone, said Nelis, a junior at UW-Madison who is a member of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe. We want to reach out to students, but its also for everyone who wants to learn something about us as Native Americans.
Visitors to the powwow can expect exhibits and demonstrations, arts and crafts, and traditional foods. But at the heart of the event is music and dancing, which go hand-in-hand to create a powerful cultural experience, Nelis said.
A powwow could not happen without the drums and without the dancers, she said. You have to have them both, you cant have just one or the other.
While the majority of drum and dance participants are Native American, We get a lot of visitors who want to experience it, so the crowd is a good mixture, Nelis said.
Its just something you have to see for yourself. There are so many cultural experiences for people who may not have been to a powwow before.
Emcees are on hand to help make the all-ages event friendly for newcomers. Their duty is to help organize the flow of the events, announce whats going on, keep it moving, help people know whats going to be happening next, Nelis said.
The student organizers from Wunk Sheek get great support and participation from the Native American community, Nelis said, with powwow participants coming from Wisconsins 11 tribal nations and throughout the Midwest, as well as further west such as Utah and even western Canada. We have people coming from all over Indian Country for this event, she said.
Such widespread support from the community, Nelis added, is vital for Wunk Sheek, which works hard to have a presence among UW-Madison students, something thats not always easy.
Its my hope that UW students, especially, can come out to this powwow and understand that Natives are still here, we still exist, we want to be acknowledged, she said. Thats one of our biggest issues on campus is we arent acknowledged as a group here.
If they see how much Indian Country as a whole supports us as students, it maybe will change the minds of people on campus.
Members of Wunk Sheek are proud of their heritage and relish the opportunity to celebrate and share it, something the powwow allows them to do, Nelis added.
Wunk Sheek works really hard to bring that culture to Madison, she said. I hope that not only do (powwow visitors) get a glimpse of such a big part of Native culture, but they see that we as Native students at UW-Madison are working really hard to have our culture be present here.
Nelis has been part of the On Wisconsin Spring Powwow since I dont even know how young I was, taking part as a dancer. Theres just something about being in the arena thats exhilarating, that makes me feel free, she said.
Her schedule as a full-time student makes it difficult for her to put in the time required for dancing, said Nelis, who is majoring in social welfare with a certificate in American Indian Studies. The regalia alone elaborate traditional clothing requires lots of preparation, both hours and money, she noted.
But Nelis is happy she can remain involved as part of Wunk Sheeks planning team for the powwow and other events.
Our powwow is the biggest event we do. We also do different events in November, which is Native American Heritage Month. We call it Native November, she said, with activities including presenters, study sessions, meetings and other ideas to encourage student involvement.
The rest of the year is mostly powwow planning because this is such a large event, she said. From the day of the last powwow, we start planning for next years.
JANESVILLE -- Toward the end of his rally here, Donald Trump took some questions from the audience, including an emotional one that revealed something good about him. He then proceeded with an answer that exposed the fundamental defect of his presidential campaign.
The question came from Melissa Young, who noted that in 2005, she won the Miss Wisconsin USA pageant -- which was then a Trump property. She explained she has an incurable, terminal illness and wanted to remind him of a note he had sent her when she was hospitalized.
Handwritten in gold ink, over an autographed photo, it read, ''To one of the bravest women I know. Best wishes.''
''I just want to thank you,'' Young said, struggling to keep her composure. ''You saved me in so many ways.'' Trump nodded sympathetically and asked, ''Are you coming along OK?'' She answered, ''No, sir,'' but noted gratefully she had gotten financial contributions to pay for her 7-year-old son's college education.
Trump wasn't done. ''Hopefully, you're going to be around,'' he said. ''Those doctors are going to be so wrong.'' After descending the stage to hug her, he said, ''It's heartbreaking, but something beautiful is gonna happen. You watch.''
We're used to hearing Trump boast of everything he will do. But this was a stretch even for him. He was essentially telling a dying woman she will be cured.
His attitude was: ''I don't want you to die. I'm used to getting what I want. So you will not die.'' Oblivious to the reality of her condition, he insisted on conveying false hope.
Maybe it shouldn't have come as a surprise, after a Trump speech that was short on specifics and long on hype. ''We're going to build a wall, and Mexico's going to pay for the wall,'' he claimed. On veterans: ''We're gonna save a fortune, and they're gonna get great service.''
Obamacare? ''We will replace it with something so much better and so much less expensive.'' Ukraine? ''Don't worry about Ukraine. Ukraine's gonna be fine.''
Trump doesn't have a campaign platform. He has a Christmas list, and he believes Santa Claus will bring him everything on it. He makes solving the nation's problems sound easy.
Hillary Clinton does not believe that. Earlier in the day, she attended a community forum on gun violence prevention at the Tabernacle Community Baptist Church in Milwaukee, sharing the stage with two women who have suffered their own tragedies.
Annette Nance-Holt is a Chicago Fire Department battalion chief whose 16-year-old son was shot and killed on a Chicago bus. Geneva Reed-Veal's daughter Sandra Bland died in jail, an apparent suicide, after being arrested in Texas by an officer who was charged with perjury for his account of the traffic stop.
Clinton spent more time listening than speaking. When she spoke to the almost entirely African-American audience, she was sober and knowledgeable, noting, ''We lose, on average, 90 people a day from gun violence. That is 33,000 people a year.''
She expressed support for requiring background checks on all gun purchases and repealing a law that granted gun makers and sellers protection from some lawsuits. She quoted from the Bible: ''Let us not grow weary of doing good, because in due time we will harvest.''
Reed-Veal recounted the private meeting the former secretary of state had in Chicago with a dozen families whose loved ones have died from gun violence or in police custody, where she let them tell their stories and took notes for two hours.
Clinton, it's obvious, is an accomplished listener. That may be one of her flaws as a candidate, particularly this year. She often gives the impression of someone who pays full attention to what she's being told so she can tailor her response to what the person wants to hear. Her remedies typify the dull incrementalism that frustrates voters yearning for dramatic change.
Trump leads his followers to think fixing health care will be easy. Bernie Sanders gives the same impression. Clinton, who as first lady labored to formulate and enact a health insurance program -- only to lose in the end -- knows that it, like most public policy challenges, is very hard.
This day, Trump enthralled voters with visions of instant magic. Clinton, on the altar of a church alongside mothers grieving for their dead children, knew better than to promise earthly miracles.
Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 16-03-31 Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article From: The Athens News Agency at CONTENTS [01] Commission: April 4 target for start of 1:1 resettlement scheme from Turkey remains [02] Auctioning of new Athens metro line to start in summer [01] Commission: April 4 target for start of 1:1 resettlement scheme from Turkey remains BRUSSELS (ANA-MPA/ M. Aroni) The April 4 target for the start of a 1:1 resettlement scheme of refugees from Turkey remains, European Commission spokesperson for migration issues Natasha Bertaud said on Thursday. On April 4, she explained, the EU will begin returns of asylum seekers whose applications have not been accepted and can receive protection in Turkey, at the same time as a programme for the resettlement of Syrian refugees from Turkey to the EU. Bertaud did not go into the operation's practical details, noting only that Greek and Turkish authorities were working together closely, with the assistance of EU coordinator for the refugee crisis Maarten Verwey. European Commissioner for Migration Policy Dimitris Avramopoulos and Verwey will visit Ankara on April 3, she added. With respect to the legislation that needs to be passed in order for asylum seekers to be returned to Turkey, Bertaud said that Greece was expected to pass this over the next few days. Turkey, on its part, must also pass the relevant legislation by April 4 and the visit by Avramopoulos to Ankara aimed to facilitate this, she added. Bertaud underlined, however, that Turkey's policy regarding refugees must be fully compatible with international standards on human rights. [02] Auctioning of new Athens metro line to start in summer The first section of Athens' fourth metro line will be auctioned off during the summer and the second by the end of the year, Infrastructure Minister Christos Spirtzis said on Thursday in an interview with public broadcaster ERT. The aim, he said, is to auction two-thirds of the project by the end of 2016. Line 4 will cost 3.5 billion euros and will be constructed with a publicaprivate partnership (PPP) and not by concession, which will make it the country's first such project in this category. Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article
Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 16-04-01 Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article From: The Athens News Agency at CONTENTS [01] PM Tsipras chairs government council on refugee policy [02] Alternate Migration Min Mouzalas has series of meetings at UNHCR Conference on Refugees in Geneva [03] At least 631 refugees leave Piraeus port [04] 401 refugees and migrants arrive at northeastern Aegean islands [01] PM Tsipras chairs government council on refugee policy Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Friday chairs a meeting of the government council on refugee and migration policy. [02] Alternate Migration Min Mouzalas has series of meetings at UNHCR Conference on Refugees in Geneva Alternate Minister for Migration Policy Yiannis Mouzalas had a series of meetings with officials representing countries affected by the refugee crisis during the UNHCR Conference on Refugees in Geneva. Mouzalas met with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, the Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) William Lacy Swing, the Special Adviser to the UN Secretary General for Migration and Refugees Karen AbuZayd, the special representative of the Council of Europe on Migration and Refugees Tomar Bocek, the Deputy US Secretary of State Heather Higginbottom, the Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Ambassador Ali Naci Koru and the Minister of Social Affairs of Lebanon Rachid Derbas. The Greek minister explained that reception centres are not detention centres and underlined that the identification procedure is carried out in Greece with 100-percent security. However, the relocation procedure, which depends on the actions of other EU member states, is delayed while the resettlement from Turkey to other EU member states has not even started yet. Regarding the contribution of member states to Greece's request for strengthening Frontex forces (European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the EU Member States) and EASO (European Support Office 'Asylum) does not exceed 30 percent of that requested. Mouzalas noted that the agreement is difficult to be implemented because of the involvement of a lot of parties, the insufficient EU response on the assistance promised, the confusing stance of Turkey and the procedures of harmonizing legal aspects of the agreement with international treaties. [03] At least 631 refugees leave Piraeus port At least 631 refugees and migrants departed from the port of Piraeus on Friday in order to be transferred to temporary hosting facilities at Kyllini, Ioannina and Pieria. The total number of refugees at the port's passenger stations reached 5,350. "Ariadni" ferry carrying 27 refugees from Mytilene arrived at Piraeus port earlier in the day as well as "Preveli" ferry with 5 refugees on board from the Dodekanese. Another 33 persons were transferred last night by the ferry "Nisos Mykonos." [04] 401 refugees and migrants arrive at northeastern Aegean islands A total of 401 refugees and migrants have arrived at the islands of northeastern Aegean since Thursday. More specifically, 190 persons arrived on Lesvos and 211 on Chios. Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article
Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 16-04-01 Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article From: The Athens News Agency at CONTENTS [01] Decongestion of Idomeni and Piraeus is a top priority [01] Decongestion of Idomeni and Piraeus is a top priority The construction of new hosting areas aiming at decongesting Idomeni and Piraeus port was discussed at Friday's meeting of the Refugees and Migration Policy Government's Council chaired by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras at the Maximos mansion. According to sources, top priority was given to the port of Piraeus in order to be again functional before the beginning of the Easter holidays. They also that the process will be intensive and pressing without this meaning that they will make use of violence. The aim is the people to trust the Greek state and be persuaded to move to other settlements. The tense that prevailed in the last days among refugees and migrants was also discussed as well as the possibility of transfering refugees according to their nationality. Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article
This has not been a normal season. In a year in which accomplished governors and senators have been dismissed out of hand by a fickle electorate more interested in feelings than philosophy, it was at first difficult to accept the truth with which I like millions of other concerned Americans have been confronted, day in and day out, on radio, on television, and in print.
It is a year in which most of us are angry. Granted, the anger may be caused by the incumbent, or by the economy, or by Mr. Trump himself, but the important thing is that he embodies it. He is anger incarnate, and that has such a raw, visceral appeal.
It is a year of economic pain. Some 94 million people who ought to be in the work force are living outside it. And many who are in the work force are underemployed; how better to fight that pain than by nominating the comeback king himself, a man who, again and again, has just ripped up his debts to his fellow Americans (legally, through use of the bankruptcy laws of course), and given himself a fresh start with other peoples money? Now, I ask you, who doesn't find that level of self-confidence and salesmanship utterly inspiring? I mean, the man really gives you the impression that if you just had access to his pool of billionaire investors, you could do just as well as he does. Maybe even better!
It is a year of geographic frustration, with enemies abroad and within. The problems of immigration, distant wars, and terrorism demand detailed analysis and complex solutions. But such analysis and such solutions tax a tired and angry mind. Much better to select the one candidate who skips past the solution and just denounces the problem. After all, we dont really want to build a wall, or enforce our visa restrictions, or engage in military action, however necessary it may be. Better to select the proudest example of a diffident American WASP, and let our choice of a president serve as a substitute for all that complicated thinking.
We are frustrated by selecting 1 for English on the phone, or by repeating ourselves again and again at the drive-through window, or by dating girls who slap us because they understand exactly what were talking about, even on the first date. How better to act out our feelings about these challenges than by nominating a real mans man, one who has always been in control of his relationships, so much so that hes always had the upper hand, by marrying women from such exotic locales as Czechoslovakia, Slovenia, and even the state of Georgia (before you say But Georgias not an exotic locale, remember that Donald Trump is from Manhattan. Cohutta, GA is pretty exotic to a son of Kew-Forest and Fordham).
America is torn apart by the complex issue of abortion, with some for it, some against it, some for abortion being taxpayer-funded, some opposed to such funding. Only Donald Trump can support all of these different positions convincingly, sometimes all within the same interview.
America is furious that the Democrats replaced our expensive but great healthcare system with an even more expensive and largely inaccessible healthcare system instead of improving it. Donald Trump is the one Republican who will call for market reforms and the government paying for it in the same speech. Only Donald Trump could slam obamacare as a failure and then praise the failed nationalized healthcare bureaucracies of Canada and Great Britain at the same time. Forget sound economic policy; the man has chutzpah, which is much more important in this television age.
America wants a border fence not just wants, but needs and Donald Trump is a builder. Better still, hes known for building things with other peoples money. So who but Donald Trump can convincingly promise to build this fence and make a foreign country pay for it? Whether such a plan is legal or not (it isnt) is beside the point even whether such a plan is possible or not (it isnt) is beside the point as well. The important thing is that voters view Mexico as an enemy, a real, nearby, cocky, tangible enemy and supporting the Trump campaign is their way of flipping a vulgar insult gesture at our neighbor to the south. What could be a better use for a presidential campaign?
America has allies. Our allies the democratic republics of the world, especially the English-speaking ones are being invaded by Islamofascist hordes calling themselves refugees. Coming to the aid of these allies will require weaponry, money, and in some cases, military boots on the ground. So we dont want to really come to their aid, but we want to seem like we are. How better to fake our way to supporting our allies than by nominating a candidate who talks a good game but never delivers? Donald Trump may not be able to adequately craft a battle strategy or even describe the component forces of a carrier group by name, but he can insult our enemies with the best of them. Foreign policy by braggadocio and trash talk thy time hath come.
America has ability. While we have perfectly dreadful politicians low, venal ward heelers and socialists in both parties, from the intolerable Chuck Schumer and Hank Johnson in the Democratic caucus to the unelectable Mark Kirk of the Republicans we also have a huge number of dedicated, focused, successful and worthy statesmen as well. Governors Bobby Jindal and Scott Walker, Senators Mike Lee and Ted Cruz, such principled and hardworking statesmen give us an inferiority complex. They stand for the same thing, year after year, making the rest of their colleagues look bad. Better we throw over all of them, stereotyping them all as the establishment so that we dont have to go through the difficult vetting process of separating the wheat from the chaff. Donald Trump has never been elected to anything; we can have no idea how he would perform in office. Yeah, thats our man, for sure!
And America has a campaign finance system, carefully crafted in the 1970s. Sure, its not remotely helpful, but it is the law, with at least the honorable intention of keeping corruption out of the process. Isnt it high time we had a candidate who uses the campaign as a way to channel donors funds or his own personal loans directly into his businesses, renting campaign space in Trump buildings, holding events in Trump banquet halls and conference centers? The time has come for political corruption to come out in the open and proudly declare itself. We need a candidate who proudly boasts of using campaign donations as bribery for decades, and who does so in the guise of a campaign so that nobody would dare prosecute him for it. How come, until now, only banana republics and big city ward heelers have had the monopoly on political corruption? Im glad Donald Trump has removed the nasty stigma from bribery and given a fresh new whitewash coat of realism.
And further to that topic millions of us conservatives have spent decades walking precincts, volunteering at phone banks, donating our meager checks, writing letters to the editor whatever we could to help nudge both the Republican Party and the nation back in the direction of the Founding Fathers. It really was time that we admitted to ourselves that those years were really a waste. What America needs isnt morality, liberty, justice, economic freedom, or Constitutionally limited government; what we need is a big pompous braggart who wouldnt know a Federalist Paper from a calculus treatise if he had a huge team of advisors, the BEST advisors, to help him analyze them. The time for accomplishment , and principle, and philosophy are gone. The time for nihilism has arrived.
And thats why my candidate, on this sunny April 1, and only on this sunny April 1, must indeed be Donald J. Trump.
Copyright 2016 John F. Di Leo
John F. Di Leo is a Chicago-based international trade compliance lecturer and writer. A movement conservative since the 1980s, he intends to support whichever Republican is on the ballot in November. He is therefore praying for wisdom on the part of the primary voters of the remaining states, and at the Republican Convention this summer, because if Donald Trump gets the nomination, there will be no Republican on the ballot this November.
Permission is hereby granted to forward freely, provided it is uncut and the IR URL and byline are included, along with the date tying the column to April 1.
Governor Rauner went on to say he stands ready to work with the General Assembly that increases state support for all Illinois schools alongside reforms he seeks that he says will put taxpayers back in control.
"If local control reforms had already been enacted, CPS negotiations likely would have been concluded by now, a strike would have been averted and taxpayers and children would have been protected," he said. "Lets pass real reforms to give the families of Illinois a better future.
On the Chicago Teachers Union blog, a teacher posted a response to the Chicago Tribune editorial board's recent criticism of the union's strike, saying it was a "temper tantrum."
Teacher Alison Eichhorn of the Lindblom Academy wrote,
First, the demonstration on April 1 is not Chicago teachers throwing a tantrum. April 1 is the culmination of frustration, anger, fear, anxiety and injustices felt by people across Chicago. For years, the hardworking people of this city have been starved of the resources that allow them to live their lives with a sense of pride and dignity. The robber barons of the present day have instead made them feel that their pleas for adequate schools, social services and a living wage were misguided and flat-out wrong. The people in charge of this city and the media spewing their agenda are collaborating to ensure that the working class remains voiceless and powerless.
The action on April 1 is one component of a broader struggle for the future of this city and the Chicagoans who are the true heroes in this fightthe public servants who make this city run every single day. Social and economic justice for workers, students and educators across Chicago is long overdue. Instead of accusing the Chicago Teachers Union of throwing a tantrum by using its collective power with other groups from across the city and state to address attacks on public education and social services, the Tribune editorial board should direct its energy and anger at the individual throwing a real temper tantrum: Governor Bruce Rauner. The state of Illinois has spent nine months without a budget and is now the only state in the entire U.S. that doesnt have one. Rauner refuses to pass a budget because legislators wont agree to his turnaround agendaan agenda that systemically destroys workers rights and disregards the true problem that our state faces, which is the lack of adequate social services and a living wage for all workers.
It is true that our city and state need reform, but not the reform that the governor is calling for. We need to reform the way that we treat workers and regular people in this city. Every Chicagoanevery Illinoisandeserves the chance to live in a place where they feel respected, where they have the social services that they need and where they have the opportunity to go to a great public school, college, trade school or university to pursue a career of their choosing. As Frederick Douglass once said, Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never has and it never will. For these reasons, I am striking on April 1. I am a public educator who works in a system that has unelected leaders who spend their time and money not doing what is best for students. For those reasons, I urge my colleagues and every single working class member of this city to join me on April 1. Together, we will win.
Electric car company Tesla Motors unveiled its mass production electric car, the Model 3. With the Model 3, Tesla aims to expand its reach, with India also being named as a new market for the EV manufacturer.
Tesla's Model 3 will expand the reach of the EV manufacturer to many new countries, where it is yet to begin operations.
By Dhruv Paliwal: Electric vehicles have become the need of the hour due to the mind-boggling amount of polluted air in the major metro cities in India. Products like the Mahindra & Mahindra Reva have been present in India for a long time but have failed to make an impact on the market and change people's mindset about electric cars.
The Model 3 will become the cheapest car offered by Tesla Motors.
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This can now happen with Tesla Motors getting ready to enter the Indian market. The EV manufacturer has said that it aims to enter more markets with the Model 3, namely, India, Brazil, South Africa, Slovakia, New Zealand, Singapore and Ireland. Tesla has also opened bookings on its website for these countries.
The Model 3 will become the cheapest car offered by Tesla Motors.
Electric cars coming to India sounds like an amazing prospect but to make it a reality, the group's founder Elon Musk will have to negotiate a lot of obstacles.
Currently, the infrastructure to support electric cars in India is what a lay man would call absolute zero. The only way you can run an electric vehicle in the country is if you charge it at home. With charging infrastructure not present at different locations, an EV owner is forced to use his or her car in the vicinity of their homes only. For most people who use electric vehicles in India, one charge is only enough for them to commute to office and back.
Without an internal combustion engine, the Model 3 has lots of room for storage at front and the back.
Elon Musk tweeted that Tesla will be looking to set up a supercharging network pan India. This will allow people to use their electric vehicles more freely and over larger distances. Tesla might be heading in the right direction, but how quickly will it get there? According to Tesla's own timeline, deliveries of the Model 3 will begin in late 2017.
Considering the number of delays that have already plagued the Model 3, it would be worth the while to wait and see if the car is actually put out in the market in the time frame given by the company today. Setting up a supercharging network across India in that timeframe can be a difficult, if not an impossible task.
The Model 3 looks like a scaled down version of the Model S by Tesla. The Model 3 looks like a scaled down version of the Model S by Tesla.
Secondly, there is the money involved. Tesla manufactures its cars at its plant in USA or in the Netherlands. Now India applies a heavy duty on cars that are imported as CBU units from foreign countries. This will heavily inflate the cost of the cars that Tesla plans to sell in India. Although, locally manufactured cars that run on electric power are subsidized by the government, no decision has yet been taken on electric vehicles that are imported into the country.
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Another problem that Tesla could face in India is electricity itself. India as a country is not able to supply electricity to all its households 24x7. Many rural areas still face power outages in the summer that last from 8-12 hours a day. Now when India's energy production is not enough to meet its own demands, will Tesla's Supercharging stations be able to provide the necessary juice to the cars?
The Tesla Powerwall is a home battery that charges using electricity generated from solar panels.
The news is not all grim as many of you might remember that Narendra Modi had met Elon Musk at his factory in USA when he had visited the United States in September last year. The discussions might have centred around Tesla's solar Powerwall technology but the Modi government has also been keen on bringing in alternatives to traditional fuels for cars and the Model 3 will definitely fit the bill in that regard.
Superchargers are free charging stations that charge Tesla cars.
What remains to be answered is whether Tesla and the Indian government can come together to iron out these kinks to create an EV-friendly infrastructure in India.
The interior of the Model 3 by Tesla. Photo by Instagram/Tesla Design Studio
Rear seat of the Model 3. Photo by Instagram/Jalopnik
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Hrithik Roshan and Kangana Ranaut's legal battle has only got murkier by the day. Just yesterday, Hrithik named Kangana as the person who has been interacting with an impostor who had an email ID in the actor's name. And now Kangana's lawyer Rizwan Siddiquee has hit back at the Dhoom 2 actor.
By India Today Web Desk: Hrithik Roshan and Kangana Ranaut's legal battle has only got murkier by the day. Just yesterday, Hrithik named Kangana as the person who has been interacting with an impostor who had an email ID in the actor's name.
ALSO READ: Hrithik Roshan slapped with criminal notice for Pope tweet
ALSO READ: Hrithik Roshan-Kangana Ranaut fight - Hrithik finally breaks his silence
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Based on Hrithik's FIR, the Mumbai Police cyber crime cell in Bandra Kurla complex has summoned Kangana and her sister Rangoli. Both sisters now have to appear before the police and record statements within a week.
But now Kangana's lawyer Rizwan Siddiquee has hit back at the Dhoom 2 actor. He has issued a statement, which reads as, "No Police Officer can summon my client Ms. Kangana Ranaut or her sister Ms. Rangoli to any police station to record their statement as a witness under Section 160 of CRPC. The Witness summons sent to my client and her sister by the Police Officer is patently illegal, as no woman can ever be called to the police station to record their statements as per the provisions of law."
Kangana's lawyer has also said that the summons sent to the Tanu Weds Manu actor are illegal. "The witness summons sent to my client and her sister by the police officer are patently illegal, as no woman can be called to the police station to record her statements as per the provisions of law," added Rizwan.
Hrithik, in his legal notice to Kangana, has also claimed that he recieved about 1,439 emails from the Queen actor on his correct email-ID, and also the forwarded emails she had sent to the fake ID and the replies received therein.
The feud between the two actors started with the stories of their proposal to slapping each other with legal notices and now a cyber-crime case.
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The Uttar Pradesh government has launched Initiative of Samajwadi Party and Akhilesh Rural Sustainable Homes (I-SPARSH) scheme, through which it is hoping to make a comeback on rural votes.
By Siraj Qureshi: Keeping in mind the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, the state government has launched Initiative of Samajwadi Party and Akhilesh Rural Sustainable Homes (I-SPARSH) scheme, through which it is hoping to make a comeback on rural votes. However, political analysts believe that such short-lived schemes will not gain the party a loyal voter base.
Talking to India Today, Haji Jameeluddin, Vice-Chairman of the Uttar Pradesh Congress Minority Cell said that Akhilesh Yadav dreams big but does not have the wherewithal or the capability to make those dreams a reality. He is emulating the central government's Smart City and Adarsh Gram schemes in a bid to get re-elected, but just like these two central government schemes are a complete failure, so will Akhilesh's schemes turn out to be.
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He said that the Rs 300 crore that Akhilesh has released for this scheme for the financial year 2016-17 will go waste and if he thinks that the scheme will benefit the villages chosen under the Janeshwar Mishra scheme, then it is his mistake.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Vijay Shivhare said that Akhilesh was following Mayawati's steps by launching a scheme in his name while he is still in power. Mayawati built her statues all over the state and now Akhilesh wants 'Akhilesh Houses' dotting Uttar Pradesh which was an overambitious plan to immortalize his reign on Uttar Pradesh.
Pramod Gupta, BJP's former city president said that the Akhiesh Yadav government has started this scheme with an aim to improve the lives of the rural population of the state, but judging from the level of corruption and lawlessness rampant in the state, there is little hope that anything worthwhile will be achieved from this scheme.
He said that everyone living in the state of UP is living in a state of terror today. No businessmen are safe and even housewives are being looted and murdered inside their homes. Children are being abducted in front of their parents and the police is in its most inactive state under the Samajwadi Party government. May it be the affluent classes or the middle class, everyone is facing the brunt of lawlessness that currently prevails in UP.
In such a state, launching worthless schemes will not do any good. Instead, the government should try to improve its image of being a 'party of gundas'.
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Bhagat Singh's celebrity, over and above all other revolutionaries who gave their lives to the cause, has been a source of wonderment for some time. In the days after his execution, Jawaharlal Nehru wondered aloud how it was that "a mere chit of a boy suddenly leapt to fame". He did not attend the gallows alone; his friends Sukhdev and Rajguru were hanged alongside him. Yet even in the months before his hanging, the condemned trio was frequently referred to as 'Bhagat Singh and others'. How can we explain his prominence over that of his fellow martyrs, or over important members of the HSRA (Hindustan Socialist Republican Army), such as Chandrashekhar Azad? Bhagat Singh's hat portrait, and the extraordinary campaign around it, holds some of the answers.
The photograph is a fairly conventional studio portrait. The young revolutionary-he was 21 when he posed for the photograph-stares calmly into the camera, as if to defy the empire and the weighty charges about to be brought against him, namely, that he had "been engaged in conspiracy to wage war against his Majesty, the King Emperor, and to deprive him of the Sovereignty of British India...".
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Insert from Bande Mataram dated April 12, 1929 (Courtesy of the National Archives of India)
Bhagat Singh knew these charges would lead to a death sentence, yet he stands cool and poised, a felt hat tipped on his head. The photograph has become an icon of defiant nationalism, widely referenced in poster art and calendars, (and) a regular feature of the contemporary urban landscape, readily encountered on cars and hoardings, in bazaars, on posters and books.
The ubiquity of the image is such that it is frequently compared to Alberto Korda's famous photograph of Che Guevara. Both were photogenic, capturing the romance, idealism and sacrifices demanded of the revolutionary. Both photographs, too, have been so widely appropriated that they have become disconnected from their historical context. In Bhagat Singh's case, this is partly because there is considerable uncertainty about the nature of its production. Some have assumed it was taken to be fixed to a security pass; others have speculated the police took it immediately after his arrest in 1929. Neither of these is correct.
Prelude to a martyrdom
Bhagat Singh's photo-portrait may appeal to different viewers for any number of reasons...his youthful handsomeness, his clear, steady stare, and his rather fashionable hat, set at an angle, just so. But thinking of the photograph in Barthesian terms, "that element which rises from the scene, shoots out of it like an arrow and pierces me" is the knowledge that the dashing young man who meets our gaze will be hanged-and he knows it. The photograph becomes all the more compelling with the realisation that Bhagat Singh explicitly had it taken as a political tactic, before provoking the government of British India to seal his fate. The portrait, therefore, can be seen as both a prelude to and a vital ingredient in the widespread acceptance of him as a shaheed (martyr). This story is largely unknown and is one worth telling. Besides Bhagat Singh's direct eye contact, perhaps the most arresting feature of the portrait is his stylish but obviously western hat. Bhagat Singh had, in order to wear the said hat, renounced his kesh (the uncut hair of a Sikh) and turban when disguising himself became vital to evading capture, in September 1928. After the widespread distribution of the photograph, Bhagat Singh's hat would become his defining attribute. Only relatively recently have images of him wearing a turban become popular. It is important to note, however, that his Sikh heritage was explicitly acknowledged in the 1930s.
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Memento in the making
The infamous hat photograph was taken a few days prior to the action in the Legislative Assembly, probably around April 4, in the studios of Ramnath Photographers at Kashmiri Gate in Delhi. Jaidev Kapoor, the HSRA member who did much of the reconnaissance and planning for the attack, arranged (it). He specifically asked the photographer to make a memento of Bhagat Singh, specifying "our friend is going away, so we want a really good photograph of him". B.K. Dutt was photographed on a separate occasion, but with the same instruction.
While the photographs were being developed, Bhagat Singh and Dutt were attending the Legislative Assembly on a daily basis, closely observing the debate on the Public Safety Bill; their plan was to throw the bombs at the exact moment the president of the House moved to give his ruling, which happened on the morning of April 8. A number of newspaper reporters were present in the Assembly at the time of the bombing, as were many political notables, both Indian and British, which no doubt added to the sense of excitement with which the so-called Assembly Outrage was initially carried in the press.
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At Ramnath Photographers, however, production was delayed and Kapoor was unable to collect the photographs before the action. Ramnath was also contracted to take photographs for the police and had been summoned to the police station in Old Delhi, where Bhagat Singh was taken after his arrest. These police photographs have not yet surfaced, but were almost certainly used, as the police "ransacked all hotels in Delhi with photographs of the accused".
The enduring image
Martyrdom was very much on Bhagat Singh's mind; he had resolved that his struggle against British imperialism would conclude in his early death. Unwilling to leave behind a widow, he had refused to marry, and had secured a solemn promise from a close friend, Jaidev Gupta, to take care of family members in his absence. He had a lucid understanding of how martyrs were made, and his work as a journalist shows that he had a strong appreciation of the utility of photography in bringing texture to a story. In 1926, he had assisted in the compilation of a special issue on the death penalty, Chand ka Phansi Ank (Chand's Hanging Edition). Bhagat Singh had contributed entries on several revolutionaries, and he took care to see that their photographs accompanied the text. His acute awareness of the potency of martyrdom is clear in his writings. Shortly before his execution, fellow prisoners passed him a note, asking him if he preferred to live. His response was unambiguous: "My name has become a symbol of Indian revolution. ?If I mount the gallows with a smile, that will inspire Indian mothers and they will aspire that their children become Bhagat Singh. Thus the number of persons ready to sacrifice their lives will increase enormously. It will then become impossible for imperialism to face the tide of the revolution."
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Ramnath Studio's portrait of Bhagat Singh played a major role in the above process. "It was Bhagat Singh's desire," Jaidev Kapoor recalled, "and mine also, that after the action the pictures would be published and distributed widely." Kapoor reproduced and arranged for them to be delivered to major Indian-owned newspapers. In Delhi, they were hand-delivered to the Hindustan Times office by Bimal Prasad Jain, a junior worker in the HSRA. He left the packet addressed to the editor, J.N. Sahni, with a chaprasi and disappeared. "When Mr Sahni opened the envelope, I heard him shouting to the peon: 'Go and bring that Sahib who has brought that envelope.' But I was nowhere to be seen."
Fear of being accused of sedition meant the photographs were not published immediately. Kapoor later "found out that all the presswallahs were waiting to see who would publish the photograph first". It was the Lahore-based Bande Mataram that obliged, publishing the photographs on April 12. The pictures appeared not in the actual pages of the newspaper, but on a loose, one-sided poster issued inside; although an Urdu newspaper, the poster was in English. The editor, Lala Feroze Chand, was questioned by police in May after a raid on his home turned up a portrait of Bhagat Singh. Chand conceded he had agreed to publish the photographs of Bhagat Singh and Dutt. Called as a prosecution witness, Chand eventually confessed he knew Sukhdev; he did not mention he was a friend of Bhagat Singh. Decades later, in an oral history testimony, Chand reflected, "That photograph became very popular throughout the country for that was the first glimpse people had of Bhagat Singh-this young Sikh chap with a felt hat on his head."
Maclean is author of A Revolutionary History of Interwar India: Violence, Image, Voice and Text (Penguin Books, Pages: 305; Price: Rs 599), excerpts of which are carried above.
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By PTI: New Delhi, Apr 1 (PTI) Punjab government today asked the Centre in the Supreme Court to come out with details of the presidential reference over the Satluj-Yamuna Link (SYL) Canal issue, including why it was made.
"This reference is of fundamental importance. It is important for Union of India to explain why reference has been made by it. We want to know what we have to answer," senior advocate Rajeev Dhawan told a five-judge constitution bench headed by Justice A R Dave.
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Appearing for Punjab government, Dhawan told the bench, conducting a hearing on the Presidential Reference pertaining to Punjab Termination of Agreements Act, 2004, that "this case has come from Centre and not from Haryana. We would like to see the views of Union."
With regard to Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Delhi, the question of quantum of water also arise and it has to be seen whether it is violative of Article 262 (adjudication of disputes relating to waters of inter State rivers or river valleys) of the Constitution, he said.
At the outset, senior advocate Ram Jethmalani, also on behalf of Punjab, said the bench should consider preliminary objections raised and the hearing on Haryanas applications on which interim order has been passed.
He said the interim order passed by the apex court has been complied with by Punjab.
The bench, which also comprised Justices P C Ghose, Shiva Kirti Singh, A K Goel and Amitava Roy, agreed with Jethmalani and said he could share with the parties the note on the preliminary objections.
The Centre had yesterday told the apex court that it was maintaining a "neutral" stand in the tussle between Punjab and Haryana over sharing of water through the SYL Canal. (More) PTI MNL SJK RKS ARC
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In a dramatic move, China has once again objected to block India's bid at the UN to ban Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) Chief Masood Azhar, the mastermind of the Pathankot terror attack while all other members including USA, UK, France have backed the action against Azhar.
By India Today Web Desk: Out of 15 council member countries, China has emerged as the only country to block India's bid at the UN to ban Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) Chief Masood Azhar, the mastermind of the Pathankot terror attack.
In a dramatic move, China has once again objected to the case while all other members including USA, UK, France have backed the action against Masood Azhar.
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Just hours before the deadline on Thursday, China requested the UN Committee, which is considering a ban on the chief of the Pakistan-based terror outfit JeM, to keep on hold the designation.
After the attack on the IAF base at Pathankot on January 2, India in February wrote to the UN calling for immediate action to list Azhar under the Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee.
The submission was armed with strong evidence of the outfit's terror activities and its role in the Pathankot attack that killed seven Indian military personnel.
India also told the UN Sanctions Committee that not listing Azhar would expose it and other countries in South Asia to threats from the terror group and its leader.
The India submission was considered by the Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate (CTED) for technical aspects of the evidence provided. The technical team then with the support of the US, UK and France had sent it to all the members, sources said.
All were told that if there are no objections the designation will be announced after the expiry of the deadline, the sources said.
"However, hours before the deadline, China requested the Committee to hold up the banning of the JeM chief," highly placed sources said.
According to other government sources, the Chinese action was in "consultation" with Pakistan, which is not on the UN Committee.
The UN had banned JeM in 2001 but India s efforts to ban Azhar after the Mumbai terror attack also did not fructify as China, one of the five permanent members of the UN group with veto powers, didn t allow the ban apparently at the behest of Pakistan again.
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On September 3 last year, the People's Liberation Army (PLA), for the first time, showcased some of its newest hardware in a grand display of muscle-flexing, presided over by President Xi Jinping in Tiananmen Square. The military parade, ironically held to mark the end of World War II and dubbed by China as a 'parade for peace', turned the heads of defence analysts. Seen for the first time was the DF-26 medium-range ballistic missile, a 4,000-km-range weapon dubbed the "Guam killer" for its ability to reach the US naval base on Guam. Also on display was the much-mythologised "aircraft carrier killer" DF-21D, by some accounts the world's first anti-ship ballistic missile, whose very existence was long questioned by foreign sceptics.
But what was most striking about the September parade was that everything on display at Tiananmen, from Z19 attack helicopters and H-6K long-range bombers to missiles and tanks, was made in China-a feat that would have been unthinkable just two decades ago when the country was the world's biggest importer of major arms, a distinction now held by India.
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Last year, China emerged as the world's third-largest arms exporter, accounting for 5.9 per cent of all international arms exports from 2011-15-more than the UK, France and Germany-says a February 2016 report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), which tracks global arms sales. China still trails far behind the US and Russia, though, who dominate the market.
China's steady rise as an arms exporter coincides with India's sluggish push towards indigenisation. On March 28, defence minister Manohar Parrikar unveiled a new Defence Procurement Policy that aims at making India self sufficient in arms production (see India's Missing Munitions).
The SIPRI report found a remarkable shift in China's arms trade over the past 10 years. China's arms exports grew by 88 per cent between 2006-10 and 2011-15, emerging as an arms supplier to 37 countries, selling everything from aircraft and missile frigates to anti-ship missiles. Over the same period, Beijing drastically reduced imports, showing its growing confidence in the wares of its domestic military industrial complex. From being the world's largest arms importer, China is now behind India and Saudi Arabia, accounting for 4.7 per cent.
Turning point
How did China go from a country that was two decades ago largely dependent on imports of arms, mainly from Russia, to a major producer and supplier of advanced weapons? The PLA has had a long history of arms manufacturing. As early as the 1960s, with Soviet support, Mao's PLA set up enterprises known in China as bing gongchang, or military industries. These produced everything, from low-grade arms to ammunition, and were scattered across the provinces. The factories employed lakhs of workers and were highly productive, even if low-tech. In the 1980s, China even began exporting some of these arms, mainly to Iran and Iraq. Thousands of Type-56 rifles (mistakenly called the AK-56), Chinese copies of the vintage Soviet AK rifle, flooded India during the insurgencies in Punjab and J&K during the 1980s and 1990s.
A turning point was 1989, when following the Tiananmen massacre, China faced a blanket embargo on importing arms and a range of high-tech goods from the West. This forced Beijing to transform its older production model and to find ways to innovate as it lost access to global markets. "Without the embargo, China certainly wouldn't have been able to develop its own technology so rapidly," says Han Hua, a professor of international relations at Peking University and director of its Centre for Arms Control and Disarmament. Denied access to western technology, Beijing had no choice but to invest in its own, says Han.
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A second turning point was the decision by then leader Deng Xiaoping to delink the 'bing gongchang' from the army, disband hundreds of primitive production facilities, and to start state-run large corporations for military production on a commercial basis. This allowed the military industrial sector to open up, Han says, attract better talent from the civilian sector, and develop profitable civilian commercial businesses on the side. This laid the platform in the '90s, and after a decade of heavy state investment in R&D, the sector "began to explode".
Sweeping change
Perhaps the most detailed study on this 'explosion' of China's domestic military industrial complex was published by the Moscow-based Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies (cast) in 2012. It concluded that in the first decade of this century, China had in segments such as aerospace and shipbuilding "leapfrogged two generations of technology", while as recently as "until the turn of the new century, defence technology was nothing short of primitive".
The study attributed this change to the creation of corporations like the China Aviation Industry Corporation (AVIC) and the China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC)-state-run behemoths supported by Beijing but also allowed to develop vast commercial civilian businesses. This was key to their success: defence production capabilities grew in tandem with China's economy. For instance, as the CSSC became one of the world's largest commercial shipbuilding firms, it also developed the expertise-and the vast infrastructure-to produce for the PLA navy missile frigates and transport ships, which China now exports to Pakistan, Bangladesh etc.
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Shipyards were initially built with Russian support and designs, but by the start of this century, Chinese capabilities began to take off. Since the year 2000, the CSSC has built more than 22 dry docks over 300 metres long (used for the construction of large vessels) and six which are more than 480 metres long, giving China the biggest dock capacity in the world. (Russia, in contrast, had no 300-metre dry docks, notes CAST.)
If expanding production capabilities was the first step, the second was the ability to innovate and adapt imported Russian and Israeli designs to suit China. Here, China's record has been mixed. Success in shipbuilding hasn't been matched in the skies, with China still reliant on imports of components such as weapons systems, radars and aircraft engines. For instance, limited success in developing China's homegrown fifth-generation fighters, the J20 and J31, forced Beijing to purchase 24 Sukhoi-35s from Russia in a $2 billion deal last year. The agreement underlined Beijing's limitations but also Russia's new willingness to share advanced technology despite a history of mistrust. Beijing's only major aircraft export success has been the JF-17, which is being co-produced with Pakistan.
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Expanding footprint
While China still has far to go in closing the technology gap with the US and Russia, it has already made swift inroads in the Asian arms market. Over the past decade, Beijing has exported frigates to Pakistan and Bangladesh, anti-ship missiles to Myanmar and Thailand, and attack helicopters to Venezuela. Of the 555 advanced combat aircraft exported between 2011and 2015, Russia accounted for 209, the US for 175, and China for 74, according to SIPRI data. And, of the 48 orders placed for submarines by the end of last year, China accounted for more than any other country, with 10 submarines due to be delivered-eight to Pakistan and two to Bangladesh.
Trade trends show that China's arms sales over the past decade have buttressed its foreign policy agenda. The flexibility with which Beijing has approached export negotiations underlines that this has not just been about the business. Beijing has appeared to focus on countries that are either in China's immediate neighbourhood, in South and Southeast Asia, or those in Africa and Latin America that have strained relations with China's great rival, the US.
"All-weather ally" Pakistan, unsurprisingly, is the biggest beneficiary, accounting for over one-third of China's arms sales, purchasing aircraft, missiles and frigates. But others like Bangladesh, Myanmar and Thailand have also emerged recently as major buyers of aircraft, ships, tanks, UAVs and submarines. Han Hua of Peking University says sales of arms are "only partly coordinated" with China's foreign policy. "One reason is, when you consider alliance systems, there are many countries that China simply cannot sell to, such as Japan, or even South Korea," she says.
Hence Beijing has courted countries such as Venezuela to expand market share. Like most Chinese experts, Han plays down Beijing's emergence as a major arms exporter, saying the country still lags behind the US and Russia. Yet, she adds, developing the domestic military industrial complex will remain a high priority for Beijing.
Doing so has been an obsession for China's rulers, especially since 1999 when the US bombed the Chinese embassy in Belgrade during the Kosovo war. China's leaders came to the conclusion that every great power must have its own capabilities. Han agrees with that conclusion. "If you look at history," she says, "the winners of wars have been countries that developed the strong capabilities to build up and equip their own armies. Rarely have they been countries dependent on importing technology."
Follow the writer on Twitter @ananthkrishnan
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India attempts to do a China by reviving indigenous industry to meet defence needs and boost exports. The fruits of its newly unveiled defence policy will take at least a decade to materialise.
An Indian general who visited China for a military demonstration a few years ago recounted how he felt sheepish towards the culmination of the display when a PLA officer strode up to the dais where he sat with his Chinese counterpart. The officer then saluted and shouted that all the weapons on display were made in China. This is not an affirmation many Indian military demonstrations can hope to match anytime in the near future. India has had the dubious distinction of being the world's largest arms importer for three years in a row now, with nearly 60 per cent of its military hardware coming from suppliers as diverse as the US, Russia, Israel and France. Apart from dependence on foreign suppliers for spares through the lifecycle of the equipment, it also faces the possibility of embargos in time of conflict.
One major reason for this import dependence, as the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, a think-tank that tracks global arms transfers, notes is that India's arms industry has largely failed to produce competitive indigenously-designed weapons. This is despite a mammoth military-industrial complex comprising 39 ordnance factories, eight defence public sector undertakings and four defence shipyards.
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Critical projects like the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) 'Tejas' which was to provide low-cost replacements for the ageing MiG-21s which are being retired, have yet to enter squadron service.
For a rising power like India that aims to be an influence in its neighbourhood, the fallout of this import-dependency is harsh. It translates into an inability to sell arms into areas of influence or to create dependencies of after-sales services and support in smaller nations. This is a void the Chinese military industrial complex is increasingly filling through rapid arms sales to Myanmar and Bangladesh.
The defence ministry is to take the first earnest steps to reverse this appalling trend with the Defence Procurement Manual (DPP) 2016. Updated every two years, it was released on March 28 at the Defexpo India 2016, a land and naval systems exhibition in Goa, by Union defence minister Manohar Parrikar. DPP 2016, Parrikar said, would boost the government's 'Make in India' thrust. A new 'Indian Designed, Developed and Manufactured (IDDM)' category gives preference to weapon systems that have a high indigenous component over foreign ones. It's an ambitious move. The Centre hopes to reverse the current 60:40 ratio of imported to indigenous hardware by limiting imports to 30 per cent in the next five years-a goal the MoD is yet to achieve despite several pronouncements over nearly two decades.
Apart from the strategic Agni series missiles, made indigenously by the DRDO, there are only two weapon systems in service that can boast of being entirely indigenous in design and content-the Akash surface-to-air missile system and the Pinaka multi-barreled rocket launcher.
Both these systems were developed by the DRDO in collaboration with private industry partners, a formula the government is pursuing for its Make in India initiative. Parrikar has pushed for creating strategic partners with private industry leaders, a key recommendation of the Aatre committee set up last year. DPP 2016 aims to facilitate collaborations with the private sector in the areas of warship, submarine, aircraft, helicopter and aero-engine building as well as metallurgy. It has increased FDI in defence firms to 49 per cent over the earlier 26 per cent. The MoD hopes to resurrect the spirit of a 2005 report steered by former finance secretary Vijay Kelkar which recommended creating private sector champions or 'Raksha Udyog Ratnas'-which was binned after protests from the private sector itself which feared the creation of monopolies. The second part of that report which recommended corporatisation of the moribund Ordnance Factory Board-under which everything, from socks to battle tanks, is manufactured-was shelved after the unions threatened a strike. "We lost a decade because we couldn't get our act together," says a top MoD official.
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The 'lost decade' also killed indigenisation prospects. The impact occurred within a decade. In 2005, India was the third-largest arms importer after China and Saudi Arabia. A decade later, it is the largest importer. China, on the other hand, is the world's third-largest arms exporter and has achieved self-reliance in almost all key areas of weapons hardware.
India's new thrust on self-reliance is the first step before it begins to realise a potential of $1 billion worth of defence exports which Parrikar mentioned last year as the potential for Indian industry 'in the next 2-3 years'. The minister is also pushing other major policy changes to smoothen existing obstacles to procuring arms-how complaints regarding procurements will be handled, a move to register arms agents and a new blacklisting policy which will not blanket-ban foreign firms found guilty of paying bribes.
Indian industry has reacted to the MoD's reform thrust with caution. "Whatever policy is drawn up should be implementable," says the CEO of a private sector firm. Successive DPPs since 2002 had not specified one simple fact: how indigenous content in defence hardware would be measured.
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Analysts call for a simultaneous restructuring of the MoD to accelerate the Make in India thrust. Vivek Rae, former D-G, acquisitions, in the MoD, suggests that the ministry's acquisition wing be made the focal point of the defence industrial base. The wing could be upgraded to an independent department headed by a secretary reporting to the minister. The MoD too believes it is now finally on course to realising the indigenous vision. "In 10 years' time, by 2026, the scenario will have completely changed," predicts a senior defence official. "We'd have got expertise in many areas." Enough of it, hopefully, to give China a run for its money.
Follow the writer on Twitter @SandeepUnnithan
Also read:
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Sources say the central leadership was aware of the factional squabbles within the state Congress and had been trying to work out an organisational review which would placate the dissenters.
By Amit Agnihotri: A stitch in time saves nine. The age old proverb could have turned out to be true for the Congress which had sensed trouble in Uttarakhand and was negotiating a truce with the dissenters but could not act in time. A error of judgment in gauging the mood of the dissenters led to nine Congress lawmakers rebelling against then chief minister Harish Rawat, in what party insiders see as an instigation from the BJP. Sources say the central leadership was aware of the factional squabbles within the state Congress and had been trying to work out an organisational review which would placate the dissenters.
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The plan
Sources said AICC general secretary in-charge of Uttarakhand affairs Ambika Soni had asked former CM Vijay Bahuguna, who led the nine rebel lawmakers along with former minister Harak Singh Rawat, to wait for a party restructuring till the initial trust vote ordered by Governor KK Paul on March 28 was over. The sources further said that Ambika had also held a state coordination meeting before that to arrive at a give and take among the various factions which would have minimised trouble for Harish Rawat government. The sources further said that Bahuguna had turned impatient the day Rawat government claimed to pass the controversial state budget but he had met the chief minister twice recently.
Dissent
Party insiders noted that dissent would have been settled in the state unit but the sudden rebellion stunned the leadership. Party insiders acknowledged that the rivalry between Vijay Bahuguna and Harish Rawat had been festering since February 2014 after Rawat replaced Bahuguna as the CM. Harish Rawat, who was a Union minister in the previous UPA government, was backed as the new CM by Rahul Gandhi when Bahuguna invited flak over his handling of the relief and rehabilitation after the 2013 devastating floods and rain. In 2012, Rawat was seen as a natural claimant to the post of the CM but Bahuguna won the race as he was seen to be a neutral player. Party insiders said the Uttarakhand rebellion came as an eye opener for the top brass which lost no time in taking corrective measures in Manipur by installing a new and full time state unit chief to address the concerns of the dissenting lawmakers.
Both Uttarakhand and Manipur will go to polls next year. However, the fate of Harish Rawat government hangs in balance till the high court decides on the centre's petition in favour of the President's rule and an earlier order of holding the trust vote on March 31, next week.
Also read: Nainital HC pushes Uttarakhand Assembly floor test to April 7
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As Congress battles to save its government from rebels in Uttarakhand, its ministers in Manipur have now told Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh that all of them will quit if he drops even one from the ministry to placate the dissidents.
By Indo-Asian News Service: As Congress battles to save its government from rebels in Uttarakhand, its ministers in Manipur have now told Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh that all of them will quit if he drops even one from the ministry to placate the dissidents.
The ministers conveyed the decision to the chief minister after a meeting amongst themselves in Imphal. "If any minister is dropped, all of us will resign en masse," a minister who did not wish to be identified said.
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The ministers' threat is the latest crisis to hit the chief minister, who has battling mounting dissidence within the Congress legislature party. Manipur, with a 60-member assembly, is entitled to have 12 ministers which includes the chief minister.
After the new crisis became public knowledge on Thursday night, Ibobi Singh cancelled his visit to New Delhi on Friday to submit a list of ministers who will be axed to induct new faces.
Meanwhile, Charltolian Amo, chairman of the Hill Areas Committee, has resigned from the post of vice president of the Manipur Congress unit. Party sources said he was upset over the replacement of Gaikhangam as the Manipur Congress president by TN Haokip.
One Minister said that the dissidents' demand was unreasonable. They want the axing of ministers whose performances was below the mark.
But the ministers argue that if any of them is dropped to accommodate the dissidents, it will give an impression that the axed ministers were involved in corruption or were non-performers or both.
This will impact their prospects in the next Assembly elections.
Meanwhile, the dissident leaders have reaffirmed their stand that 11 of the 12 ministers need to go. They also want Sepaker T. Lokeswor to resign. One dissident legislator told IANS that they have no objection to whoever the chief minister picks in the new ministry.
Ibobi Singh had said that at the end of two-and-a-half years, the ministers would be replaced by another lot. But he did not keep his word.
This is the first time in the political history of Manipur that dissidents are demanding the dropping of all ministers except the chief minister. It is not known what the 25 dissidents would do if their demands are not conceded.
Ibobi Singh has been discussing the crisis with some senior ministers and dissident leaders but there is no visible breakthrough.
Opposition parties say the crisis in the Congress cannot be seen as "an internal matter" of the ruling party as it affects governance in the state.
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By PTI: Nagpur, Apr 1 (PTI) Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh today sought to know from the RSS leadership as to how BJP could form government in Jammu and Kashmir with PDP, which had once opposed the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru.
"I want to ask this question to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat in his own turf (RSS headquarters is located in Nagpur) here and not to Prime Minister Narendra Modi (as to how BJP has joined hands with PDP)," Singh told reporters here.
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He said PDP had "openly criticised the governments decision and subsequent hanging of Afzal Guru."
PDP President Mehbooba Mufti will be sworn in as the first woman Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir on April 4.
PDP and BJP had staked claim for government formation on March 26, two days after Mehbooba was elected as PDPs legislature party leader following the death of her father, who headed PDP-BJP coalition government for 10 months from March 1 last year until his death on January 7 this year.
Singh also criticised the RSS leadership for fueling unnecessary controversy over chanting of "Bharat Mata Ki Jai" slogans.
Ridiculing the BJPs dream of a "Congress free India", Singh said Congress has a legacy in the country and played a major role in the independence struggle.
"There was no need for such comments (about Bharat Mata ki Jai). Neither BJP nor RSS was ever involved in the freedom struggle and they should not talk of chanting such slogans," he alleged.
He also criticised Bhagwat for his remarks on review of reservation quota for the backward community.
On the political crisis in Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh, Singh said BJP has violated the anti-defection law in both the places to destabilise the Congress-led government.
"Why dont you go for elections in both states," he asked.
On the demand for separate Vidarbha, Singh said there was a need for consensuses among the people and the issue was better left to the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) to answer. PTI JOE DK SRY
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By PTI: From Lalit K Jha
Washington, Apr 1 (PTI) US President Barack Obama has pressed his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to ensure a level- playing field for American firms to compete fairly in China and to peacefully address differences with its neighbours on maritime issues.
"The President emphasized the importance of establishing a level-playing field for all firms to compete fairly in China," the White House said today, a day after Obama and Xi met on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit here.
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The two largest economies are at loggerheads over several issues, including preventing the theft of trade secrets and opening the Chinese market more broadly to American firms.
As trade has ballooned between China and the US in recent years, tensions have grown. China exports far more goods to the US than it imports, resulting in a Chinese trade surplus.
China is increasingly dumping its steel on international markets, sometimes incurring losses, and threatening a bitter trade-war with the US.
On upholding the freedom of navigation in international waters, Obama asked China to address differences with its neighbours on maritime issues peacefully and in accordance with the international law.
He also emphasized the US global interest in upholding freedom of navigation and overflight, the White House said.
Obama reiterated Americas unwavering support for upholding human rights and fundamental freedoms in China.
On cyber issues, both leaders reaffirmed the cyber commitments announced during President Xis September 2015 state visit and agreed to ensure their full implementation.
"The President reiterated that we will continue to monitor whether Chinese actions demonstrate their adherence to the commitments," the White House said.
Obama and Xi committed to continue narrowing differences and expanding cooperation on regional and global challenges.
Both leaders agreed to sign the Paris climate agreement on April 22, to join the agreement as soon as possible this year, and to work together and with other parties to bring the Paris Agreement into force as early as possible, it said. PTI LKJ ABH AKJ ABH
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By Radhika Bhalla/Mail Today: Achiket Barve has blossomed quite remarkably over the recent years, if one may say. His designs have become a fashion staple of sorts, from red-carpet dressing to wedding ceremonies. Everyone--from Sonam Kapoor to Esha Gupta, Kalki Koechlin and Malaika Arora--can't get enough of his designs, and if that wasn't enough, there's always been unconditional support from the Bachchans.
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It seems quite fitting then, that Barve should look to flowers and blooms for his upcoming collection, 'Tulipmania'. Through it, he attempts to blur the boundary between art and fashion, taking inspiration from still life flower paintings by 17th century Dutch masters Rembrandt and Ambrosius Bosschaert.
A painting by 17th century Dutch painter, Ambrosius Bosschaert.
Also read: #LFW2016 Day 2: Fashion has fun with neoprene and bomber jackets
"I was hugely inspired by their paintings," Barve shared with Lifestyle, adding, "Especially compelling was the narrative around the tulip flower during that age--a single tulip bulb cost as much as a house in Amsterdam. For me, the metaphor worked for fashion, the way a craze is formed around the 'itbag' until no one wants it the next season. I think my work was something of a reaction to this phenomenon."
The designer showcased his creations recently at the The Woolmark Company fashion show in Mumbai recently, alongside designers Rajesh Pratap Singh, Rahul Mishra, Troy Costa, Gaurav Jai Gupta and Pakistani designer Omar Farooq. Barve's collection included 25 looks with layered separates like dresses, skirts, tops, scarves and jackets.
A detail of embroidery.
Also read: ICYMI, Aishwarya Rai's latest pictures from her promotional campaigns redefine the word stunning
"My intention was to highlight cool wool and merino wool in a very dressy, evening and sensuous way. We did applique with handcut merino wool felt, zardosiand thread embroidery and crafted 3-4 different variations of the tulip flower. Some pieces took 1,200+ hours of embroidery, and we focussed on making the wool look very soft, almost painterly," he shared.
Barve also took inspiration from the art technique of Pointillism, where small dots of colour are applied in patterns to form an image. "If you see closely, the embroidery is dotted and pixel inspired rather than being a linear embroidery format," he revealed. Meanwhile, Barve will participate in next year's International Woolmark Prize 2016-17 (women's wear category), where he will represent India.
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More than 100 girls and women have come forward with new sexual abuse accusations against international peacekeepers in Central African Republic, the UN said, calling allegations that a French military commander forced three girls to have sex with a dog "shocking to the core."
By AP: More than 100 girls and women have come forward with new sexual abuse accusations against international peacekeepers in Central African Republic, the UN said on Thursday, calling allegations that a French military commander forced three girls to have sex with a dog "shocking to the core."
The revelations dramatically expand an already alarming scandal involving troops sent to protect civilians in the world's hotspots who become predators instead. UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said 108 alleged victims of sexual abuse have been interviewed by a UN team in Kemo prefecture, east of the capital Bangui, the vast majority of them minors. The allegations date from 2013 through last year and far eclipse the 22 allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation in Central African Republic in 2015 that the UN reported earlier this month.
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Dujarric said the UN can't confirm a report by the US-based advocacy group, AIDS-Free World, that three girls told the UN they were taken to a French military camp, tied up, undressed, and forced by a commander to have sex with a dog - but he said the investigation is continuing. According to the group, each girl was given 5,000 Central African Francs, worth about $9, after having sex with the dog, including a fourth girl who later died of an unknown illness.
France's UN ambassador, Francois Delattre, called the allegations "sickening and odious" and promised "exemplary disciplinary action" in addition to a criminal response if they're proven true.
AIDS-Free World, which first reported the new allegations Wednesday night, said 98 girls in Central African Republic had reported being sexually abused between 2013 and 2015 by perpetrators who have left the country. The group also said information on the alleged rape of a 16-year-old girl by a Congolese peacekeeper only three days ago in a hotel room in a different part of the country has been turned over to the United Nations.
Paula Donovan, co-director of AIDS-Free World and its Code Blue Campaign against sexual abuse, told The Associated Press on Thursday when asked about the new allegations: "Obviously that's just the top of the iceberg."
The United Nations has been in the spotlight for months over dozens of allegations of child rape and other sexual abuses by its peacekeepers, especially those based in Central African Republic, which has faced sectarian violence since 2013. There have been similar allegations against the French force known as Sangaris, which operates independently in the country, known as CAR.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was "shocked to the core by the latest allegations." "Yesterday, the Central African Republic inaugurated a new democratically elected President, marking the end of a transition period," he said. "The interventions of the international community helped save the CAR from an unspeakable fate. Yet we must face the fact that a number of troops who were sent to protect people instead acted with hearts of darkness."
The UN human rights chief, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, in a statement called the allegations "sickening" and said all three countries whose peacekeepers are accused - Burundi, Gabon and France - have been formally notified. He said governments must do more to stop abuse and hold their troops accountable, "otherwise this awful cycle of abuse will never end."
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The secretary-general said the UN "is shining a spotlight on these despicable, depraved and deeply disturbing allegations" and stressed that its actions must be matched by those of member states, "who alone have the power to discipline their forces with consequences."
"This is essential to restoring trust in the invaluable institution of peacekeeping and - even more importantly - to provide a full measure of justice and healing to the affected communities," Ban said.
The United Nations has more than 100,000 peacekeepers deployed in 16 missions around the world.
The UN Security Council, which authorizes all UN peacekeeping operations, was briefed on the latest allegations and said in a statement that it is "disgusted" and wants an urgent investigation and those responsible to be held accountable.
Dujarric said last week that a UN team was sent to gather information about allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation by UN and non-UN forces as well as civilians in Kemo prefecture. He added Wednesday that the allegations also include abuses by local armed groups.
Dujarric said that for the first time the United Nations would be jointly investigating the allegations with Burundi and Gabon.
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The UN recently reported that 25 allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation were registered with the UN mission in Central African Republic in January and February, most from previous years. That compares with a total of six allegations in the 15 other UN peacekeeping missions in the first two months of this year, the UN peacekeeping department said.
US Ambassador Samantha Power, who was in CAR for the president's inauguration, visited the town of Bambari Thursday to talk to the families of victims. Congolese soldiers based there had been accused of sexual abuse and exploitation and last month the Congolese battalion was sent home.
Power said she was "sickened" by the latest allegations and it was "gut-wrenching" to listen to family members talk about the victims' "pain and suffering - and the acute sense of betrayal."
AIDS-Free World called the information it received "shocking." Two weeks ago, it said, the UN children's agency UNICEF interviewed 98 girls who reported being sexually abused.
The group said a delegation from the UN peacekeeping mission on Saturday met local leaders and victims who alleged that troops from France and Gabon had sexually abused girls. Some victims left the area because they were stigmatized by the community, it said.
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In the latest incident, AIDS-Free World said the mother of a 16-year-old girl informed local police that a Congolese UN peacekeeper raped her daughter in a hotel room Monday afternoon. The police questioned the soldier in the presence of his commander and the group said he confirmed that he "had sexual intercourse" with the victim several times and paid her between 2,000 and 5,000 Central African Francs.
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India Today's Rajdeep Sardesai was at Ground Zero analysing what led to the tragedy and what lies behind the curtain.
By India Today Web Desk: The second day of rescue operations in Kolkata's flyover collapse tragedy saw the death toll rise up to 25 and the arrest of 3 IVRCL officials. More than 80 were injured.
India Today's Rajdeep Sardesai was at the site of the tragedy talking to survivors and eyewitnesses.
"The bridge came down like a shroud of death... I saw people die right in front of my eyes," an eyewitness told Rajdeep Sardesai.
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He also spoke to author Kunal Basu and discussed an article Basu wrote for an English daily today.
When asked about his article 'tragedy at high noon', and why he chose to use three Cs - corruption, callousness and cowardice - to describe what went wrong in Kolkata, Basu said, "In the 21st century there is no mystery to building flyovers, everybody in the world knows that, the Chinese built flyovers in the shortest period of time, they are the world leaders. But pretty much it's is well known technology and there's equally no mystery to why bridges collapse... Must be something wrong in the way it was designed, the way it was built, the way it was monitored and more significantly if the people who live near the flyover were ever taken into confidence."
"These three words (corruption, callousness and cowardice) recurred time and again as I was making my way through the rubble. These were not my words, people said corruption... they are saying complete incompetence and cowardice on behalf of people who should have known and should have reported," Basu added.
The 2-km-long flyover was coming up at Burrabazar, one of the oldest and most congested parts of the city.
The West Bengal government suspended two senior engineers of the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority which was IVRCL's joint venture partner in the flyover project.
While local residents said that the construction of the flyover was against their will, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee passed the buck to the erstwhile government led by the CPM, saying construction began during their rule.
"Construction began on flyover in 2008, during CPM time not our time. The tender was passed in 2009 by the erstwhile Left Front government and was given to Hyderabad-based IVRCL Construction," Banerjee said.
The CPM has accused Banerjee of trying to force the company to finish the flyover in haste, so she could inaugurate it before the Assembly elections in the state beginning Monday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is currently in the United States for the Nuclear Security Summit, dialed Mamata Banerjee to assure all possible support to her government following the flyover collapse.
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Earlier, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said he had directed the National Disaster Response Force under his ministry to rush to the accident site. The army used heat cameras to track survivors. Challenged by the metal and concrete, rescuers used cutters, drilling machines and sensors.
India Today's Rajdeep Sardesai was at Ground Zero analysing what led to the tragedy and what lies behind the curtain.
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By PTI: Gandhinagar, Mar 31 (PTI) Opposition Congress today slammed the BJP-led Gujarat government for watering down the Land Acquisition Act passed by UPA in 2013 and burnt copies of the amended Bill which was passed in the Legislative Assembly today.
The opposition party said it will oppose sending of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Gujarat Amendment) Bill 2016 to President and will challenge it before High Court even if President gives his assent.
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The Bill was passed in the House on last day of Budget session in the absence of Congress MLAs, who were suspended yesterday by the Speaker for two days.
It has raised the hackles of Congress as the Bill has done away with the crucial Social Impact Assessment (SIA) for projects related to defence and social sectors.
The Congress MLAs gathered near Mahatma Gandhi statue outside the Assembly today and set ablaze the copies of the Bill, terming it as "anti-people".
Before the protest, senior Congress MLA Shaktisinh Gohil announced in a press conference that his party will approach High Court if President approves it.
Gohil reasoned that the bill will be eventually sent to President for his assent, as it touches a Central Act.
He alleged Speaker Ganpat Vasava purposefully suspended Congress MLAs for two days to pave way for the BJP government to pass the Bill without any opposition.
"When Congress was in power, we used to make sure that opposition MLAs (BJP) do not get suspension for more than one day. But, this government has set aside all such traditions.
"We were purposefully suspended for two days yesterday, so that the controversial land bill gets cleared today without any trouble," he said.
The Congress leader alleged the government wanted to "snatch" the rights of land-owners, which were taken into account while UPA government brought the Act in 2013.
"Though government claims that the Act can be modified as it is in the concurrent list, no amendment can be made which violates the principal Act. This Bill grossly violated many such provisions.
"We will approach the Governor for not sending the Bill to President for his assent. We will then meet the President and request him not to sign it. Even if it gets the assent, we will knock the doors of High Court to stop the Bill from becoming a law," said Gohil.
He said the government brought this Bill only to benefit industrialists.
"The Bill itself stated that 80 per cent consent of landlords will not be necessary for land acquisition for industrial corridor. This means that land will be snatched from poor farmers and given to industrialists. This is totally against the spirit of the original Act," Gohil added. PTI PJT PD NSK SRY
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By PTI: Jamshedpur, Apr 1 (PTI) Members of Indian Medical Association (IMA) today staged dharna in front of the office of the East Singhbhum district headquarters here demanding capital punishment to those accused in the lynching of a 40-year-old dentist in Delhi recently.
Led by Secretary of IMA, Jharkhand unit, Dr Mritunjay Singh, over 100 doctors took part in the sit-in that continued for over an hour, demanding stringent action and capital punishment to the culprits.
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The doctors also demanded for a government job for the victims wife and implementation of Doctors Protection Act in Jharkhand.
Singh later told reporters the victim dentist Dr Pankaj Narang was allegedly mercilessly beaten to death in the presence of his family members but no political party came forward to protest the ghastly killing in Delhis Vikashpuri area.
A delegation of IMA led by Singh handed over a memorandum in support of their demands to the East Singhbhum district Deputy Commissioner Dr Amitabh Kaushal.
Dr Narang was mercilessly beaten up by a group of youth following a scuffle in the last week of March and succumbed to injuries at the hospital. PTI BS SUS SMJ
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Issues relating to Terror Screening Centre were not taken up at a preparatory meeting for the Homeland Security Dialogue held on Tuesday in New Delhi.
By Abhishek Bhalla : A proposed framework on sharing of information on terrorism has been dropped from the Homeland Security Dialogue between India and the US slated to be held later this year as the two sides have not resolved differences over key issues.
India had hoped that the Washington would give access to servers located in the US in exchange for similar inputs from the Indian agencies. The exchange would have made India part of the Terror Screening Centre (TSC) of the US which gets inputs from 30 other countries.
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Issues relating to TCS were not taken up at a preparatory meeting for the Homeland Security Dialogue (expected to take place in June) held on Tuesday in New Delhi.
"As of now we are not going to be part of the terrorism screening centre. There has been no breakthrough with US authorities allowing us Internet data. The information sharing cannot be one way," said a government official.
Sources said that getting information from social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, internet communication portals like Google Talk and others that have servers in US is difficult creating hurdles in crucial aspects in terror investigations.
The Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD-6) is a model text agreement proposed by the United States to India for exchange of terrorist screening information between Terrorist Screening Centre (TSC) of the US and an Indian agency.
TSC or Terrorist Screening Centre is a multi agency organisation administered by the FBI consolidates several terrorist watch lists into a single terrorist screening database. The TCS data base that the US has created after getting into agreements with nearly 30 countries includes nationality, date of birth, photographs, fingerprints and passport number of the suspects. The note adds further that it must be ensured that privacy issues are taken care of with respect to Indian position.
A section of counter terror officials feel that India should only get into the agreement if the US government can ensure that internet related information needed by Indian agencies from various service providers can be given without a delay. An earlier home ministry note on the subject said, "There is a view that in return for signing of the agreement, we secure from US side progress in areas of concern in counter terrorism to the Indian side, such as access to internet related data held by US based services."
Earlier there had been a split view within the intelligence apparatus on going ahead with the agreement. While India's external intelligence arm Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) agreed to the proposal in principle, the Intelligence Bureau (IB) expressed reservations that the arrangement protects US interests.
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Keeping in mind the differences between agencies a bargaining strategy with US authorities to ensure that the information sharing is not one sided was put in place. Sources said with no breakthrough to get access to cyber data from US service providers the proposal is not being taken up for the time being.
Also read:
Modi in Brussels: India will never bow to terrorism
India has important role in nuclear weapon stewardship: US
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MA XUEJING/CHINA DAILY
It is not unusual for senior US officials to throw jabs at China in their public speeches while traveling abroad.
President Barack Obama and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton did that when they visited Africa years ago. It happened at a time when a rising China quickly became Africa's largest trade partner and investor, especially in infrastructure, an area increasingly ignored by Western nations.
When Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russel spoke at the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin on March 22, he followed the same patterncriticizing China without any self-criticism.
He pointed finger at China's human rights, laws and regulations on cyberspace, banking, counterterrorism and NGO management.
It is no secret that as a developing nation, China has a lot of room for improvement. Yet the world's only superpower has much soul searching to do, too, and it does not seem proper for senior US officials to use megaphone diplomacy against China. Chinese officials have refrained from doing things like that while traveling abroad, although they have plenty of ammunition.
For example, the rampant US drone strikes in some Middle East and North Africa nations have not only constituted violations of sovereignty, they have killed many civilians, including women and children.
The same is true for cybersecurity. The students at the Hertie School of Governance, who are from various countries, may well remember how the National Security Agency has operated above the law to conduct surveillance. Over the years, the US government has also forced tech companies to collaborate and conspire in such surveillance activities.
On March 25, Democracy Now, a small but reputable network, continued talking about how the Pentagon funded and used a Colorado-based Christian NGO as a front to spy on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Russel talked at length, criticizing China's actions in the South China Sea. He talked lightly, however, when mentioning the land reclamations, military facilities and airstrips built by other nations before China made any such moves in the past years.
"This was not a good thing," Russel said, without explaining why the US remained dead quiet over the years and decades when other nations took those actions. It's just like when he conveniently forgot to mention publicly the gross human rights violations by some close US allies.
Russel repeated the US stance of not taking sides in the South China Sea sovereignty issues. He sounded like a judge when arguing for the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, a treaty the US has not even ratified.
He did not say that China made the Article 298 declaration 10 years ago not to accept compulsory arbitration, a decision that also was made by some 30 other signatory nations.
The US is certainly responsible for the tension in the South China Sea when it tries to rally countries in the region to gang up on China in pursuit of its pivot-to-Asia strategy. The US sending aircraft carriers and bombers there is a clear sign of militarizing the region.
Wang Yingfan, China's former permanent representative to the UN, was blunt in his recent speech at American University. He called on the US to exercise restraint, saying, "If you do too much, China has to react."
Russel accused China of coercion and disrespecting international laws, saying "the United States accepts limits".
It is not hard to tell that the US is the country that has used coercion more frequently than any other nation. And if the rampant drone strikes, the frequent military surveillance along the Chinese coast, the regime change in Libya and the NSA's activities as revealed by Snowden are examples of accepting limits, then Russel has to define what not accepting limits is.
The author is deputy editor of China Daily USA. chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com
By PTI: Chennai, Apr 1 (PTI) Continuing his tirade against arch rival and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, DMK chief M Karunanidhi today asked her to respond to Union Minister Prakash Javadekars criticism of the AIADMK government, including not opting for central schemes. "Javadekar had said Tamil Nadu government was interested in protecting those who pilfered electricity and this is not a political allegation but one made directly against the government. "Chief Minister Jayalalithaa must respond to this and should not ignore the allegation or refrain from giving an explanation to people," he said.
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In a statement titled Will Chief Minister Jayalalithaa respond at least to the allegations of Union Minister Javadekar, Karunanidhi also cited the Union Ministers remarks on a report on Western Ghats and LED bulbs. Javadekar had said yesterday that he failed to understand why Tamil Nadu had not taken up the central scheme of UJALA (Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All), which he said had resulted in price of LED bulbs coming down. Further, the Minister had also pointed out that AIADMK government had not opted for UDAY, aimed at ensuring a turnaround of discoms (power distribution companies) and bring them out of debt. He said the state government was yet to submit a report on an environmental issue over the Kasturirangan report, vis-a-vis Western Ghats with the rest of the states concerned--Gujarat, Goa, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala having submitted the reports.
Citing all these issues, Karunanidhi sought the Chief Ministers direct response even as he said her cabinet colleagues, O Panneerselvam and Natham R Viswanathan, had come out with "wishy-washy response" to Union Power Minister Piyush Goyals "Jayalalithaa is inaccessible" remarks. Karunanidhi had earlier hit out at Jayalalithaa, saying she should have answered him (Goyal) directly rather than her ministerial colleagues pitching in for the same. PTI SA BN SRY MAV
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Kareena Kapoor Khan and Arjun Kapoor's Ki And Ka hit the screens today. Based on gender stereotypes, will R Balki's drama be able to make it big at the box office? Here's the review of Ki And Ka.
By Ananya Bhattacharya: Cast: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Arjun Kapoor, Swaroop Sampat, Rajit Kapur
Direction: R Balki
Ratings: (1.5/5)
In R Balki's world, if you're a woman battling an unwanted-pregnancy scare, the solution is a UPT (Urine Pregnancy Test) kit. Once you've taken one strip test and found the result positive, the next step is to be absolutely sure about it. So, instead of going to the gynaecologist like, well, normal women would probably do, Balki's heroine is coaxed by her husband into taking five more strip tests. 'Just to be sure' of the results. After four negatives to two positives, you'd think maybe, logically, the woman would now want to go to the gynae. But who cares about such things any way! So once certainty is established, the next step is going right back to making out.
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That - making out - is the single solution to most problems in this gender role-reversal drama called Ki And Ka.
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Kia (Kareena Kapoor Khan), an '85-born career-driven single woman meets Kabir (Arjun Kapoor), an '88-born son-of-an-industrialist guy on a flight from Chandigarh to Delhi. Kabir doesn't want his dad's business or money, and his only aim in his life is to be like his mother: an 'artist', i.e., a housewife.
Suitably shocked, Kia keeps meeting Kabir to figure out exactly why he wants to be his mom. And on his part, Kabir keeps regaling Kia with his gender equality philosophies. In a few meetings, Kabir proposes marriage to Kia. Kabir's father (Rajit Kapur) is against his son's decision of being a 'ghar-jamai', while Kia's mother (Swaroop Sampat) accepts the couple gladly into her house. A registry marriage and Kia tying the mangalsutra on Kabir's neck later, we're taken to Ki and Ka's happily-married life.
Of course, the roles are reversed.
Ki And Ka, right from the time the trailer was released, looked interesting. However, Balki's treatment of the subject reduces the entire concept to a farce. The film tries so hard to be what it is not that it loses way badly. The writing is not a field which Ki And Ka excels in. The film, for most part, feels like a rehearsal of sorts. Both Arjun and Kareena look like they are mouthing sharp, one-tone dialogues to impress the conductor of this out-of-tune opera that is Ki And Ka. The ping-pong dialogue-delivery between Arjun and Kareena is a major dampener.
Arjun Kapoor's acting is lazy in parts and too forced in others. Kareena's performance feels like it is a performance. The effortlessness isn't visible in Kareena's Kia. Every bit of both the lead actors' screen-time is an exercise in watching two disinterested-in-the-film people in front of you. There's nothing much to talk about their dull chemistry either.
In her supporting role, Swaroop Sampat is quite the open-minded, progressive mother. Rajit Kapur is wasted in the film. Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan, in their cameos, are fabulous. The scene with the Bachchans is among the best parts of the film (and there aren't many).
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Among the good bits of Ki And Ka is the maid scene. An obvious allusion to the December 16, 2012 Delhi gang-rape too is made in the film. Men in a bus, asking Kia if 'Delhi is safe these days', etc.; the entire scene looks awkward.
The interiors of Kia and Kabir's house will make you yearn for a home of the sort.
The music is passable, although some songs are placed too abruptly in the film. High Heel is a catchy number; Ji Hazoori, a melodious one.
Ki And Ka might feel like the two longest hours of your life. Balki sets out to demolish stereotypes, but in the process, ends up affirming them even more. Watch it only if you swear by Kareena or Arjun. Or good germs of films spoilt by bad execution.
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Ki and Ka is a novel idea given a heavy-handed, didactic treatment. Balki's film, a contemporary, hipster take on Abhimaan, looks at role reversal in marriage. Here, the husband happily wants to be the caretaker of the house and the wife content at being the provider with a husband at home. However, as soon as Kabir (Arjun Kapoor) develops a hint of ambition and realises he can actually capitalise on his social media celebrity status and in process help other couples - how noble -on the way, the first signs of trouble rise in this matrimony.
By Suhani Singh: Director: R Balki
Cast: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Arjun Kapoor, Swaroop Sampath, Rajit Kapur
Ratings: (1.5/5)
Kabir (Arjun Kapoor) is a MBA topper who has a ready babble as to why he wants to be a homemaker. Kia (Kareena Kapoor Khan) is a fast-rising marketing manager of Marico, one of the innumerable product placements in ad filmmaker R Balki's fourth film. After a few dates, we are told that Kabir and Kia are "100% made for each other" because she is ambitious and he isn't. It is also perfectly convenient that Kabir has a father who is a real-estate millionaire. Kia and Kabir tie the knot and it is all smooth until ego and that green devil called jealously creeps up -mostly in Kia.
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KI AND KA REVIEW: Kareena and Arjun's bland role-reversal drama
ALSO READ: This is what B-Town has to say about Ki and Ka
Ki and Ka is a novel idea given a heavy-handed, didactic treatment. Balki's film, a contemporary, hipster take on Abhimaan, looks at role reversal in marriage. Here, the husband happily wants to be the caretaker of the house and the wife content at being the provider with a husband at home. However, as soon as Kabir develops a hint of ambition and realises he can actually capitalise on his social media celebrity status and in process help other couples - how noble -on the way, the first signs of trouble rise in this matrimony.
Ki and Ka wears its liberal attitude on gender roles on its sleeve and then sets out to only show the sleeve throughout the 126-minute running time in case of the unlikely scenario that you don't get its message. Kabir is the cool dude who is happy to marry a woman three years his senior. He rides the Segway to shop for groceries, wears the mangalsutra as a bracelet, cooks fluffy omelettes and pasta, is not afraid to cry in front of women, turns fitness instructor to plump Punjabi housewives. In its attempt to salute the job of homemakers, that it stereotypes the very women who make that choice isn't lost on anyone. Kia is of course is a workaholic. She doesn't cook and enjoys whiskey. And because she is the financially dominant one, she is obviously the one who yells a lot in the relationship.
For all its progressive intent on breaking gender stereotypes, Ki and Ka chickens out from elaborating on significant issues such Kia's nervous breakdown when she thinks she is pregnant, a situation resolved absurdly with five pregnancy kits. Kia's mother's male companion could have made for a great arc but is abandoned. With an absence of a narrative, Ki and Ka at best feels like moments jumbled together which show how awesome Kabir is in the kitchen -you should also know that out on the dangerous streets of Delhi he can protect his wife's honour -and at interior decoration. It's a different matter that after the makeover the apartment is an eyesore, seeming more like a noisy, cluttered toy factory.
Spats here are resolved through sex rather than discussion. Kabir is convinced that if he works he will be unbearable and it is the end of his marriage. While Kia is certain having a kid will mean the end of her career. Why do these characters think in such extreme ways? A marriage counselor could do them well. Instead we get a cameo by Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan, which is to allow Jaya to raise a a relevant question - what if Big B was the one quitting acting to raise kids and Jaya the one waving to crowds every Sunday evening? The actors' terse exchange tells you a lot more about the choice people make or forced to make knowing there isn't another option. Jaya Bachchan also has to comment on what makes Kia and Kabir oh so amazing. There's another thing nagging about Ki and Ka - Balki makes his characters speak everything they feel, instead of allowing the audience gauge it for themselves. And when they do talk, PC Sreeram's camera hovers close like the annoying bee. It zooms in and out, suddenly going out of focus, and adds little to the exchange other than making it blurry.
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It has been a while since Kareena Kapoor Khan has got a role that allows her more than to be a substitute to the hero and she delivers a fine performance that highlights the fallibilities of Kia yet makes her humane. Arjun Kapoor is likeable as Kabir. But there's is only so much the two can do with their characters that instead of breaking only end up reinforcing the stereotypes. Ki and Ka blurts out its message much like the women featured in that popular Jaipan commercial who sing along "We Want a Revolution". Only the revolution is only in the filmmaker's head.
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Latur bears the brunt of Marathwada's drought as its 12 lakh residents struggle to get drinking water. Unfortunately, the scarcity has more to do with the administration's callous attitude than to nature.
A group of 20 people from Pakharsangvi, a village of some 15,000 people on the outskirts of Latur, has queued up at a public water valve to get perhaps a handa (pot) of drinking water. The valve gets water directly from the Dhanegaon dam, the lone water supplier for Latur city. They wait for close to six hours in the scorching heat, but in vain. The valve emits only hot air, no water.
Around 200 metres behind them stands White Field, the under-construction residence of local legislator Amit Deshmukh, son of the late Vilasrao Deshmukh, twice chief minister of Maharashtra, first between 1999 and 2002 and then between 2004 and 2008. Ironically, there is no dearth of water inside White Field where outsiders are not even allowed to peep in. "The security guards have water for plants, but not for us," says Shashikant Ghodke, an educated youth venting his frustration at having to stand in the sun all this while. "They drive us away whenever we go close to the site. We are forced to buy water from private vendors at Rs 150 for 10 litres."
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The scene repeats itself across Latur taluka in Maharashtra's Marathwada region, in the news in recent weeks for the unprecedented 'drought' it is facing. Other districts such as Beed and Osmanabad too are facing water scarcity, but they are not as badly off. The almost 12 lakh residents of Latur taluka, one of the biggest foodgrain markets in the country, are paying the price of the "sheer negligence" and "mismanagement" of politicians and the local administration. The latter were fully aware that an inadequate monsoon would lead to water scarcity, but did nothing to stop water leakage or theft; nor was any attempt made to reserve water in the nearby Nagziri and Sai barrages which could have proved alternatives to Dhanegaon.
Villagers go down a well in Harangul in Latur to get water. Photo: Mandar Deodhar
The administration also failed in stopping sugarcane producers from using water from their borewells. Had the administration acquired the borewells for public purpose, the shortage would not have been this acute. Since February 22, the municipal corporation has started rationing water and even stopped supplying it through taps. Every household is supplied 200 litres of water free of cost once a week against the daily need of 85 litres of water per person. For more water, private vendors are the answer.
To make matters worse, the Dhanegaon dam dried up completely in the third week of March, the first time since it was built in 1981. The 646-metre-high dam with a storage capacity of 227 billion cubic metres is a lifeline for three big cities-Latur, Kalamb and Kej. Almost 70 per cent of Latur residents have borewells but they too have run dry.
Homemaker Surekha Bhandekar stays two km from the headquarters of the Latur Municipal Corporation in Sawe Wadi, but its water tanker is yet to reach her locality even though they had been authorised in February. Her only hope is the public tap in the corporation building premises. She goes there once a week with seven utensils to fill drinking water. However, that too she does not get easily. "I come at 12 noon, but get water only at 9:30 in the night. There is always a huge queue. The water flow is slow so it takes 10 minutes for a bucket to fill," Bhandekar says. "I can't spend so much time every day, so I fill the entire week's drinking water stock in one day."
At Haribhau Nagar, a colony of 20,000 people in the heart of the city, the residents, mostly women and children, stand in queue for almost two hours daily to get drinking water from the lone borewell in the area. "Surprisingly, the water is sweet here," says Uttamrao More, a retired police officer who has taken it upon himself to ensure that everyone gets an equal volume of water. "Everyone is allowed to fill five utensils. The borewell is run for 18 hours a day, generating 40,000 litres of water."
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A young girl waits beside the only water valve in Tandulja in Latur. Photo: Mandar Deodhar
In this parched cityscape, Bajrang Varma, a jeweller in the Saraf Bazaar, strikes a contrary note. He celebrated Rang Panchami, the traditional festival of colours, even in this season of drought by just buying his water. "There is scarcity in planning. If private vendors can get water, why not the municipal corporation?" he asks.
He has a point. The business of private water tankers has boomed in the city. One needs to pay anything between Rs 800-1,200 for a tanker with a water capacity of 6,000 litres. The corporation fills its tankers from three barrages-Dongargaon, Bhandarwadi and lower Terna-located in the 40-km periphery around Latur. The private vendors pick water from private borewells and wells owned by several farmers. There is so much demand that residents have to book a tanker two days in advance.
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Grain merchant Omprakash Mundada spent at least Rs 50,000 to construct an underground tank with 22,000-litre capacity at his Moti Nagar residence. "Additionally, we spend around Rs 10,000 a month buying water for our family of 12," he says.
Alarmed by the situation, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis interacted with 21 collectors on March 25 in Mumbai via video conferencing to take stock of the situation. He directed them to take the help of the Groundwater Surveys and Development Agency to find locations suitable for water conservation. "We have given all powers to collectors to ensure compliances are met. We have also asked them to set up a war room and a 24x7 toll-free helpline for citizens to connect with the administration. They have been asked to concentrate on water supply and take strictest action on those engaged in illegal selling of water," Fadnavis says.
The scene at a cattle camp started by an NGO in Beed district of Maharashtra. Photo: Mandar Deodhar
With rising water scarcity, the political blame game too has begun, with the Congress-ruled municipal corporation and Amit Deshmukh being the principal targets of the opponents. "The corporation's mismanagement, the sugar factories controlled by the Deshmukhs and the MLA's lethargy are to be blamed for this fearsome situation," says BJP MP Sunil Gaikwad.
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Vilas Chame, district convenor of NAM Foundation, launched by actors Nana Patekar and Makarand Anaspure for water conservation, and Madhusudan Parikh of the Marwari Yuva Manch, which supplies water to the needy, also blame the corporation for its mismanagement. They have reason to do so, given that the corporation has failed to fix the around 45,000 leakages to the main pipeline that transports water along the 45 km from Dhanegaon to Latur. In 2006, the Latur Water Supply Management Company had submitted a report to the corporation elaborating on the leakages and theft, saying only 50 per cent of the water would reach the city were the leakages not fixed. No action has been seen yet.
Congress legislator Dileep Deshmukh refutes the charge that sugar factories are to blame for the water scarcity. "The sugar factories don't need much water," he says. "Moreover, we recycle the water used for sugarcane." The Deshmukhs control four major sugar mills in the area-Manjara, Vikas, Rena and Jagruti. The sugarcane produced in the entire Latur district is sold to these mills. "Had we not purchased sugarcane from the farmers, they'd have suffered a loss of Rs 700 crore," says Deshmukh. "We plough the money back into the market. The allegations against us are politically motivated."
The senior Deshmukh also defends nephew Amit, accused of staying put abroad while his voters suffer. "The Amit-led Vilasrao Deshmukh Foundation is supplying water to every nook and corner,"says Deshmukh. Municipal commissioner Sudhakar Telang claims the fear of water scarcity is exaggerated. "There is shortage of drinking water but we are managing resources in a way that they will last till July-end, the time when the monsoon gets settled."
Latur, meanwhile, is mulling over two possible ways of overcoming the water scarcity: one, a direct pipeline from Ujani dam on the border of Pune and Solapur districts, around 175 km from Latur; and second, transporting water from temple town Pandharpur by train. The first is an expensive option requiring funds of around Rs 1,000 crore. The second option is cheaper at Rs 1.5 crore per goods train bogey. Minister for relief and rehabilitation Eknath Khadse says he has asked the Centre to waive the train transportation cost.
Meanwhile, Pakharsangvi residents are running out of patience. They are planning to loot the train carrying water as they did in 2012. The train's last stop is near the village. "We are being constantly neglected. We will loot the train this time too," says social worker Rameshwar Dhumal. Poetic justice?
Follow the writer on Twitter @kirantare
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There are none so blind, it has been observed, as those who will not see. After each major incident of terrorism, domestic and international, Indian 'experts' set about enthusiastically extracting 'lessons to be learned'. The Brussels airport and metro attacks can be no exception, nor were preceding attacks in Paris and the longer concatenation of terrorist events across Europe. But even as much wind is expended on these, Islamist terrorists have killed, on early reports at the time of writing, 72 Christians in Lahore, reminding us that Europe is not the primary or exclusive target of terrorism. Indeed, in just the first three months of 2016, Islamist terrorists have executed attacks, several far bloodier than Brussels, in at least 27 countries, and there is no clamour to learn any lessons from these. India has lost thousands of lives to this scourge over the past decades, but appears to have limited interest in extracting lessons from its own experience!
Ajai Sahni
The first lesson India must take away from Brussels and the apparently 'wildfire spread' of Daesh (Islamic State) 'networks' across Europe, is that it must not allow its strategic calculus to be subsumed under or subverted by western agendas. Each attack in the West is being powerfully projected as evidence of a new or incipient 'world war', and western powers are desperately trying to draw the armies of other states-prominently including the purported 'emerging great power' India-into the infernal mess they have created. There are in India many unfortunate takers for this argument who have little comprehension of capacity, of consequence, or of reality, but who find the posture of masculine aggression enormously attractive. India must guard carefully against any susceptibility to military misadventures.
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There is, indeed, nothing particularly new in Brussels, except the location and identity of perpetrators and victims. Cycles of terrorism have been continuous over decades, with particular groups rising and disappearing, and others occupying their space. It doesn't take a strike in Brussels to tell us our airports and metros (as well as other soft targets) are vulnerable. Forget civilian airports, we are presently investigating-in a script out of bizzaro world, with 'help' from, among others, a representative of Pakistan's ISI, the principal source of Islamist terrorism in South Asia-a fairly successful attack on a strategically critical air force base in Pathankot.
And is there a 'lesson' in the fact that, despite ample warning and specific intelligence, country after country in Europe continues to be caught unawares by successive acts of terrorism? Many have pointed to the deficiencies of state response in Brussels, the loss of intelligence, the failures of 'coordination' between intelligence and enforcement agencies, the freedom of operation over extended periods of time of clearly identified terrorist suspects, and the inability of state agencies to get their acts together. But again, are these factors new to us? Have we not our own more than fair share of counter-terrorism (CT) debacles (and some successes)? Have we not, already, a long list of CT priorities and projects-identified by successive high-level panels in the wake of catastrophic attacks-that continue to languish for lack of any sustained seriousness on the part of those who guide the nation's destinies? Without looking at inadequacies in Belgium or France, is it not clear that our own policing and intelligence apparatus is grossly inadequate and un-integrated? And do we need to look at Belgium's 'porous borders' to learn that we must better protect our own?
There is, nevertheless, one lesson to be drawn from Europe's recent experience of terrorism: Europe has shown little maturity and the veneer of its vaunted civilisation is crumbling quickly in the face of a handful of incidents of Islamist terrorism-tiny fractions, indeed, of what India has experienced. Crude right-wing ideologies are capturing political spaces, and the state itself is being quickly radicalised. The French army is reported to be making contingency plans for the "reappropriation of national territory", to "win back areas" of cities in the event of immigrant populations obtaining weapons. The Swiss army chief has called on citizens to arm themselves; and the Norwegian army chief has warned that Europe must be ready and willing to fight against radical Islam in order to preserve the "values that unite the continent". Europe has long preached accommodation and tolerance to the world as long as it maintained racial and cultural hegemony at home-but is quickly jettisoning these values on the first signs of real cultural diversity and conflict. The lesson for India is not to learn from these examples. A reverse flow of edification on this count would, in fact, be of great profit to Europe.
The author is Executive Director, Institute for Conflict Management.
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Madhya Pradesh Assembly was today adjourned sine-die after the house passed salary and emoluments bill which effects a substantial hike in the salaries of MLAs.
By Press Trust of India: Madhya Pradesh Assembly was today adjourned sine-die after the house passed salary and emoluments bill which effects a substantial hike in the salaries of MLAs and passed the budget for financial year 2016-17.
The bill for enhancing the salaries and allowances of the Assembly Speaker, Deputy Speaker and Leader of Opposition (Amendment) was piloted by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Narottam Mishra.
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Mishra also piloted the (amendment) bill for enhancing salary and allowances of sitting members and also the pension for former members, while Minister of State for General Administration Department Lal Singh Arya, presented the bill for raising the same for the ministers.
All three bills were passed unanimously without discussion.
Earlier, the state cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan gave nod for the rise in the salary and perks of members after a gap of 6 years.
With this, the salaries and allowances of MLAs will go up to Rs 1.10 lakh from Rs 71,000 per month. Chief Minister's and the Speaker's pay packet will rise to Rs 2 lakh from Rs 1.43 lakh and to Rs 1.85 lakh from Rs 1.20 lakh, respectively.
Ministers' pay will rise to Rs 1.70 lakh from Rs 1.20 lakh, and that of ministers of state to Rs 1.50 lakh from Rs 1.03 lakh, an Assembly official said.
The Speaker Dr Sitasharan Sharma informed that during the 39-day-long session, the house functioned for 124 hours and the discussion on budgetary demands lasted for 61.5 hours which was longest in the last 16 years.
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An explosion in a residential building in central Paris today left 10 people injured.
A major explosion has been reported in a residential building in central Paris. (Twitter photo: @dahboo7)
By India Today Web Desk: An explosion in a residential building in central Paris today left 10 people injured.
Reports quoted the police as saying the explosion may have been caused by a gas leak.
The building is on the Rue d'Uzes, close to the Paris Stock Exchange building and the headquarters of the AFP news agency.
Around 140 firefighters were on the scene to help free victims from the building, which contained offices for businesses including lawyers, accountants and telecommunications firms.
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The city has witnessed its worst terror attack in November last year.
More details are awaited.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Saudi Arabia on Sunday is part of a diplomatic effort to put pressure on arch rival Pakistan by forging ties with some of Islamabad's closest allies, BJP and government officials said.
By Reuters: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Saudi Arabia on Sunday is part of a diplomatic effort to put pressure on arch rival Pakistan by forging ties with some of Islamabad's closest allies, BJP and government officials said.
Modi is expected to sign trade agreements, including contracts to secure investment for infrastructure projects, and offer security and military cooperation, such as training and joint exercises, the officials said.
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The Indian premier's visit is just over seven months after he travelled to another Pakistan ally, the United Arab Emirates, and signed a security cooperation agreement that includes regular meetings between top security advisers.
"It's simple. We have to do everything to deal with Pakistan - use economics, strategy and emotional ties to win the hearts of Islamabad's friends," said Ram Madhav, general secretary of the BJP.
India has long fought Pakistan have fought three wars since independence in 1947, two of them over Kashmir.
India has long accused Islamabad of sponsoring a separatist movement and militancy in the Himalayan region. Pakistan denies the charge and accuses India of occupying Kashmir and fomenting trouble in its restive provinces, like Balochistan.
India has been frustrated that often its ties with countries have been coloured by concerns about its relationship with Pakistan. One foreign ministry official said the Saudis tended to bring up Pakistan during their discussions.
Government officials described Modi's diplomatic push as an effort to "de-hyphenate" India from Pakistan, especially since India tries to play a bigger geopolitical role in Asia to counter China's influence.
Stronger relationships with Pakistan's allies can help India get a more sympathetic hearing on global and regional forums and put pressure on Islamabad to rein in militants.
On Thursday, Saudi Arabia and the United States imposed joint sanctions targeting the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba militant group blamed for the 2008 attacks in Mumbai.
In Washington on Friday, where Modi was attending a summit on nuclear security, Indian government representative Vikas Swarup welcomed the move.
"Countries working against terror entities - particularly entities that have targeted India repeatedly - is I think a welcome development," he told reporters.
Right Timing
Until now, India's relationship with Saudi Arabia has been driven primarily by trade and the Indian diaspora in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia is India's top energy supplier and home to more than 3.5 million Indian expatriates.
Over the past few years, there has been some cooperation on security between the two countries, with Riyadh deporting four most wanted fugitives to India.
Modi will look to broaden those ties, with one foreign ministry official saying healthcare, education, religious tourism and labour reforms would also be key talking points.
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Still, there are limits to what India can hope to achieve. The relationship between Pakistan and the Saudis goes back decades, based in their shared Sunni Muslim heritage.Saudi Arabia has long been a source of financial aid for Islamabad. In 2014, the Saudis gave Pakistan $1.5 billion as a "gift" to shore up its foreign reserves.
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif spent time in political exile in Saudi Arabia in the 2000s, after he was ousted in a military coup.
But Indian officials said the timing was right for Modi's visit, as relations between Riyadh and Islamabad enter a rough patch.
Pakistan declined to provide ships, aircraft and troops to the Saudi-led fight to halt Iranian-allied Houthi rebels in Yemen last year. It has also sought to avoid taking sides in the escalating dispute between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
"Pakistan knows that relations with Saudi have come to a low. That doesn't mean that India can fill that gap," said Zahid Hussain, a former newspaper editor in Pakistan. "But certainly this is part of Modi's diplomatic offensive in the region."
Also Read: PM at Nuclear Security Summit: Drop notion that 'his' terrorist is not 'my' terrorist
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What makes the city a hot favourite on the culinary map? Five restaurants that are shaking up the food order.
Lavish restaurants are relatively new on the Russian scene, with most only emerging in the past 25 years. When it comes to fine dining, Moscow has had its share of difficulties. Apart from the billions of roubles knocked off earnings because of the collapse in oil prices, it is the sanctions Moscow has imposed on food products that has also had a major impact.
No European cheese available, not to mention meat products and fresh vegetables. Despite this, there are a handful of newly opened establishments that are offering classical and innovative dishes.
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Savva A plated beauty at Savva.
The nearest thing to "New Nordic Cuisine" in Moscow, from talented Estonian chef Andrey Shmakov. Located on the ground floor of the Metropol Hotel, a vast century old and beautiful historic hotel built in Art Nouveau style, the decor is all marble columns and ceiling paintings.
Shmakov has spent time in Denmark's Noma and Chez Dominique, formerly the grandest restaurant in Helsinki. The cuisine style is a blend of French, New Nordic and Classic Russian. Highlights included grilled scallops with Jerusalem artichoke, kumquat and anchovy butter plus a beef tartar, which also included duck liver, egg cream, crispy parsley and capers.
Dinner for twoApproximately Rs 13,000
Address Teatralny Dr. 2, Moscow 109012,
www.savvarest.ru/en/Te l+7-499-2701062
Doctor Zhivago
Just around the corner from Red Square and the Bolshoi Theatre, Dr Zhivago has taken over from the long-established Cafe Pushkin as Moscow society's favourite meeting place.
The bright interior with its life size sculptures and window displays of brightly attired happy peasants and workers is a high camp take on socialist realism. The man behind it is Alexander Rapoport, who has a string of other fashionable restaurants in the Russian capital.
Part of its charm is it is open 24/7 and celebrates Soviet Cuisine with a twist. The dishes and ingredients are first-rate and include roast duck with soaked apples; beef stroganoff; veal shank braised in broth and barley porridge with hare kidneys.
Dinner for two approximately Rs 5,500
Address 15\1 Mokhovaya Street, National Hotel Moscow
www.drzhivago.ru/en/Tel +7 499 922 01 00
Aq kitchen
An attractive contemporary space with an open kitchen is the creation of the eponymous chef Adrian Santiago Quatglas. Born in Argentina, he has previously worked in London and Majorca and offers Moscow's best tapas style cuisine.
This is probably the most popular choice amongst Moscow's growing number of foodies, given that the dishes are modern, use fresh ingredients and the presentation is fantastic. Dishes can be quite quirky, with duck pate pressed in the shape of Donald Duck or salmon tartar on squid ink crackers.
Main courses include excellent red mullet and risotto and veal cheek with potato salad. And care has been taken to extend the same thought to the drinks menu. The wines are delicious and include some interesting vintages from the recently "liberated" Crimean Peninsula.
Dinner for two approximately Rs 5,500
Address Bolshaya Gruzinskaya ulitsa, 69,
http://aq.kitchen/en/contacts.html Te l+7 499 393-32-24
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Muesli
Located on the lower floors of a famous historical Soviet skyscraper on the Kotelnicheskaya Embankment, chef Dmitri Shurshakov has worked in a number of famous Moscow establishments. He caused an uproar recently by naming a raw veal dish "tartare a la Stalin" and promptly had to claim to have the utmost respect for the old despot.
Bread is served in Russian fur hats and given the historical nature of the place; even the door handles are under UNESCO World Heritage protection. Chef Shurshakov uses simple ingredients such as carrots, sprouts, cabbage and chicken and plays around with different cooking methods for them. This is also a popular place for breakfast, which is served until four in the afternoon.
Dinner for two approximately Rs 5,000
Address Kotelnicheskaya Emb., 1/15
www.facebook.com/themueslimoscow Tel +7 (495) 915 35 00
Twins Dishes at Twins are playful and tasty.
This must be the only haute cuisine restaurant on the planet, which has identical twins in the kitchen. Ivan and Sergey Berezutski make a point of creating playful dishes, which appear to be identical in appearance but entirely different to each other.
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To reinforce this approach, both twins present their dishes at the same time. They previously worked in Modernist cuisine establishments such as Alinea in Chicago and E l Bulli in Spain before returning to Moscow. Two of the most successful dishes include a dish with a scallop on one side and an identical creation on the other which is in fact made of cauliflower.
A main course includes a cracked plate with slices of beef neck on one plate while the other has an identical creation, which is in fact slices of aubergine. In the winter, there is a large wood fire in the snow-covered courtyard with guests given oddly patterned overcoats and robes to keep out the cold.
Dinner for two approximately Rs 15,000
Address Malaya Bronnaya ul., 13, Moskva, Russia
http://twinsmoscow.ru Te l+7 495 695-45-10
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By India Today Web Desk: A little jealousy goes a long way, as is the case in this Mumbai-based model's conduct of late.
A Mumbai-based 25-year-old model was arrested Wednesday for defaming a 27-year-old Australian national of Kashmiri-origin on social media. The arrest was made by officers from the Cyber Crime Cell (CCC).
The Australian national filed a complaint against model Shrishti Gupta on January 27, in which she accused the latter of defaming her. She informed the police that Gupta was in a relationship with her distant US-based relative, a pilot, and disliked that her boyfriend was receiving messages from her.
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Gupta allegedly resorted to such activities out of jealousy because Gupta suspected that the complainant's US-based love interest was her former boyfriend. A Goregaon resident, Gupta was arrested on Wednesday, reports NDTV. DCP (Cyber Crime) M Rajkumar confirmed her apprehension.
When the complainant gauged Gupta's displeasure, the complainant stopped messaging her relative. However, the two got closer following the couple's break-up.
The complainant alleged that this did not go down well with Gupta, who, out of anger and jealousy, posted a highly objectionable message on her Facebook wall, following which she blocked Gupta.
A few days later, the complainant's friends informed her about seeing obscene images and material on her Instagram account. Unable to take it any longer, the complainant lodged a complainant against Gupta and handed over printouts of the objectionable posts on Facebook and obscene pictures on Instagram to the CCC.
"A scrutiny of the Internet Protocol (IP) address, using which the objectionable matter was posted, pointed us towards Gupta. Probe revealed that she created a fake Instagram account in the complainant's name using her cellphone and uploaded obscene images," said Inspector Kalpana Gadekar, in-charge of Cyber police station.
Gupta was arrested and booked under relevant sections of Indian Penal Code and Information Technology Act for defamation, impersonation and obscenity. She was produced in the court on Wednesday and is currently out on bail.
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The trivalent OPV contains live and weakened versions for all the three types (1, 2 and 3) of wild polio while the bivalent vaccine will contain type 1 and 3.
By Astha Saxena: India is headed to switch over to a polio vaccine that will fight a wild virus causing paralysis and affecting the immune system of the children who are hit with the bug. The change will be effective from April 25 in all the government and private hospitals across the country. The bivalent vaccine will be used now to replace the trivalent Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV). Trivalent OPV contains live and weakened versions for all the three types (1, 2 and 3) of wild polio while the bivalent vaccine will contain type 1 and 3. Type 2 of wild polio virus has been eradicated worldwide long time back making the new version more effective.
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Data reveals that 95 per cent of the vaccine-related virus are caused due to Type 2 polio vaccines that are disposed off. Recently in Delhi, two vaccine-related virus were found in a drain near Shahdara and in Bhalaswa lake. "We found the vaccines in the sewage drain in Shahdara and Bhalaswa lake.
We have to ensure that no one throws the left over vaccine in any drain. It might lead to virus which can affect the children's health. Along with the third dose of bivalent vaccine, one single dose of IPV has to be given to the child," Dr Suneela Garg, coordinator for the central district and deputy dean of Maulana Azad Medical College, told Mail Today.
Both the government and private hospitals will have to follow the new guidelines. "The new phenomena will reduce the polio-vaccine derived virus. This is a country-wide programme and we will ensure the switch over from April 25. The use of bivalent polio vaccine will reduce the incidence of vaccinederived polio virus," a senior Delhi government health official told Mail Today. "The government will watch the private hospitals too," he added.
India has already introduced injectable Inactivated Polio Vaccine into its routine immunisation programme along with OPV from November last year. Meanwhile, under the Pulse Polio programme for 2016, around 17.4 crore children under five years will be given polio drops. As per the plan, the stock of Trivalent OPV has to dispose of by April 24. The health department of Delhi has divided the programme in terms of district and every district will work accordingly.
Also read:
The first Polio vaccine was administered on February 23, 1954: Important facts
Social media misused on pulse polio day in J&K
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By PTI: From Lalit K Jha
Washington, Apr 1 (PTI) Pakistan has said it fully shares global concerns that nuclear materials must never fall into "wrong hands" and underlined that renewed interest in nuclear energy worldwide necessitates more preparedness.
"Nuclear materials must never fall into the wrong hands. This is a global concern which Pakistan fully shares," Special Assistant to Pakistan Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatemi said in an intervention during a dinner hosted by US President Barack Obama at the White House yesterday.
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The dinner kicked off the two-day Nuclear Security Summit here, which is being attended by leaders from more than 50 countries, including the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif cancelled his trip to Washington to attend this summit in the wake of the terrorist attack in Lahore that claimed over 70 lives.
Representing Pakistan in the absence of Sharif, Fatemi said renewed interest in nuclear energy worldwide implies more nuclear materials and facilities necessitating more preparedness.
"It is equally important to remain alive to the potential threat of radiological dispersal devices. This threat is not limited to states with significant nuclear programmes. Radioactive sources are being employed everywhere in the private sector, hospitals, industry and research," he said.
"Facilities hosting such materials are often more vulnerable. There is, therefore, the need for vigilance and preparedness in all places. Emergency preparedness and response constitutes effective deterrence against malicious acts. This requires significant training efforts, including those by nuclear security centres developed by states," Fatemi said. PTI LKJ ASK AKJ ASK
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CM Mamata Banerjee said stringent action would be taken against officials of Hyderabadbased IVRCL, the company which was constructing the flyover, and others involved in the incident.
By Soudhriti Bhabani: Political parties in West Bengal queued up at the mishap site to gain maximum electoral mileage after a portion of a flyover caved in leading to the death of at least 21 people and injuring over 70. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who rushed to mishap site cancelling her rallies in West Midnapore, told mediapersons, "The construction of the bridge started during the regime of the Left Front. It is a serious matter? negligence is a crime."
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The CM said stringent action would be taken against officials of Hyderabadbased IVRCL, the company which was constructing the flyover, and others involved in the incident. Reacting to the charges levelled by the Trinamool chief, former urban development and municipal minister Asok Bhattacharya said: "There should be a high-level inquiry. I am not responsible for it. The present urban development minister has to shoulder the responsibility. Yes, the work started during our time but it was only in the initial phase. The main construction took place during the past five years when the incumbent TMC rule."
Demanding a high-level probe into the tragedy, Bhattacharya said the project was sanctioned under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and the tender was awarded on the basis of competitive bidding. "It has to be investigated who all are involved in the construction process. The Left Front government cannot be involved in the whole thing as we are not in power now," he added. West Bengal Pradesh Congress president and Lok Sabha MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury demanded immediate arrest of West Bengal urban development minister Firhad Hakim in connection with the incident.
"Firhad Hakim should be arrested immediately?The police came to the spot after a good two hours. Why? The rescue operation should have been started within an hour. We demand a full investigation," Chowdhury said.
While leaders from the Trinamool, CPI-M and Congress were busy in the war of words, former BJP state unit president Rahul Sinha was also not left behind. He reached the spot along with his party activists to oversee the rescue work. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi offered chis condolences to the vicitms of the accident. "I express my deep condolences to the families of the people who died in the tragic incident in north Kolkata," he said before addressing an election meeting in Tezpur.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi also expressed grief and shock over the incident. She has instructed the PCC and Congress affiliates to assist in the relief efforts.
Also read: Political blame game over Kolkata flyover collapse, Mamata says construction began during CPM rule
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A NIA team will visit Pakistan to further probe the terror attack on the Indian Air Force base in Punjab's Pathankot earlier this year.
India has accused Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Maulana Masood Azhar of being the mastermind of Pathankot attack.
By India Today Web Desk: A National Investigation Agency (NIA) team will visit Pakistan to further probe the terror attack on the Indian Air Force base in Punjab's Pathankot earlier this year, the central agency announced today.
"We told them we want to send a team to Pakistan. They have welcomed the idea," NIA Director General Sharad Kumar said.
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The NIA visit to the neighbouring country follows a similar exercise by Pakistan's Joint Investigation Team (JIT), which visited Pathankot earlier this week to probe the attack on the IAF base in which seven security personnel were killed.
On Thursday, the JIT quizzed suspended Gurdaspur SP Salwinder Singh, his cook Mandan Gopal, jeweller friend Rajesh Verma and other witnesses at the NIA headquarters in New Delhi.
Singh had claimed that he, Verma and cook Gopal were abducted by four or five heavily armed terrorists near Punjab's Kolia village on January 2. The terrorists later attacked the Pathankot airbase in which seven security personnel and six terrorists were killed.
India has accused Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Maulana Masood Azhar of being the mastermind of the attack. Meanwhile, at the United Nations on Thursday, China, in a dramatic move, once again blocked India' bid to ban Azhar and put him on a terror list.
The UN had banned JeM in 2001, but India's efforts to ban Azhar after the Mumbai terror attack also did not fructify as China, one of the five permanent members of the UN group with veto powers, didn't allow the ban apparently at the behest of Pakistan.
ALSO READ
Pakistan has detained a number of suspects in Pathankot attack: NIA
Pakistan's JIT visits Pathankot air base, gives mortuary a miss
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Shah Rukh Khan fans might be left pretty disheartened with the news that the actor's upcoming film, Maneesh Sharma's Fan, has apparently undergone seven cuts at the hands of the Censor Board.
By India Today Web Desk: Shah Rukh Khan fans might not be very happy with this news. The superstar's upcoming film, Maneesh Sharma's Fan, has apparently received seven cuts at the Censor Board's hands, including one visual cut. The film has managed to get a U/A certificate after the cuts.
PHOTOS: Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan rehearse together for an event in Dubai
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ALSO READ: Sunny Leone a part of Shah Rukh Khan's Raees?
Reports in the media hint at six verbal cuts and one visual cut for Shah Rukh Khan's tale of the obsessive stalker Gaurav Chanana, and his idol Aryan Khanna. A scene where Gaurav is in the lock-up, being beaten ruthlessly by police officials, was found very long, and the Censor Board ordered it to be reduced by 50 per cent.
DNA has quoted a source as saying, "The scene of prolonged violence in lock-up where one Shah Rukh Khan urges the cops to beat up the other Shah Rukh was found to be unnecessarily prolonged. The Censor Board has asked for the sequence to be reduced by 50 per cent."
The verbal cuts ordered by the Censor Board are mostly English and Hindi expletives.
Shah Rukh Khan's Fan will see the actor getting back to his on-screen stalker avatar, reminiscent of films like Darr and Anjaam. The film is the story of Gaurav, a Delhi boy, who worships superstar Aryan Khanna. However, he soon crosses over to the darker side and begins stalking and threatening his idol.
Fan will mark Shah Rukh Khan's first release of 2016. Apart from the superstar in a double role, Fan stars Waluscha De Sousa, Shriya Pilgaonkar and Deepika Amin in key roles. Fan is slated for an April 15 release.
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Beaches in Goa will soon be WiFi-enabled and also covered by closed-circuit television, Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar said.
By India Today Web Desk: Goa Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar today said that beaches in the state will soon be WiFi-enabled and also covered by closed-circuit television.
"All the beaches in Goa will be covered by WiFi, thanks to tourism ministry's Swadesh Darshan scheme under which the Goa government has got Rs 100 crore," Parulekar said.
The minister added that under the scheme, CCTVs would be installed along the beaches for strengthening security.
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Goa, known for its beach and nightlife, had tapped into a central government scheme to ensure internet service along the coastal hotspots, Parulekar told reporters on the sidelines of a media event.
The state attracts nearly 40 lakh tourists every year, including half a million from abroad.
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In her statement through advocates Vrinda Grover and Ratna Appnender, the girl alleged she was a victim of Pachauri's sexual harassment when she was 19 years old and was Pachauri's secretary.
By Mail Today: A foreign national, who was a former TERI employee, has come forward with a complaint of sexual harassment against former TERI chief RK Pachauri. In her statement through advocates Vrinda Grover and Ratna Appnender, the girl alleged she was a victim of Pachauri's sexual harassment when she was 19 years old and was Pachauri's secretary. When contacted, Pachauri's counsel Ashish Dixit said he would not comment on the issue as there was no formal complaint with the police or the court. "This has become a joke. Every time a woman is said to make allegations, it is only to press, not to police or court. Why is that every woman comes and reports to Vrinda Grover?"
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On the allegations made by Dixit, Grover said: "Is there a new law that a girl cannot speak up about her abuse without an FIR. I had written to DCP South and former commissioner of police about the incident but no response was received." The girl began her statement with the newspaper reports she read that spoke of a sexual harassment case against Pachauri in 2015. I am zero per cent surprised. I can very much relate to what the other women wrote in her statement.
When I was 19, I worked at TERI for four months as Pachauri's secretary." In the statement, the girl alleges, "From the beginning, I noted a big difference in the way Pachauri behaved around me, compared to how other Indian men behaved with me. Other men kept a polite distance with limited physical contact. However, Pachauri would put his hands on my waist, hug me longer than felt comfortable, kiss me on the cheek and enquire about my private life.
She claimed when she tried to set a limit, the former TERI chief said he was just trying to make her comfortable in India and later cancelled her year-long contract in four months.
Also read: Now a European woman accuses Pachauri of harassment
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By India Today Web Desk: A third woman, a foreign national from Europe and a former TERI employee, has now made allegations of sexual harassment against environmentalist RK Pachauri . The statement was posted by the woman's lawyer Vrinda Gover on Facebook.
Grover said the European woman, who worked with Pachauri almost a decade ago, has asked her to make the statement public.
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Here is the full text:
"I have read the story "Rajendra Pachauri speaks out over sexual harassment claims", published in The Guardian. I remember that in the third week of February 2015, I had read some news reports which said that an employee of TERI had filed a criminal complaint against R.K. Pachauri for sexually harassing her.
On reading these news reports, I was 0% surprised. I can very much relate to what the other women wrote in her statement.
When I was 19, I worked for 4 months (end of 2008) at TERI, as Pachauri's secretary. Pachauri's claim that his computer was hacked is totally false. From my point of view, this is right in line with his character, and not a case of his computer being hacked. I think it is important for me to now make my statement public so that people know the truth about Pachauri.
Here is what I recall from my time in TERI.
From the beginning I noted a big difference in the way Pachauri behaved around me, compared to how other Indian men behaved with me. Other men kept a polite distance with limited physical contact. However, from the beginning Pachauri would put his hands on my waist repeated times, he would hug me longer than felt comfortable, kissed me on the cheek and inquired about my private life. I started feeling insecure about his motives for hiring me, and felt extremely uncomfortable being around him.
He would call me during non-working hours and holidays to ask me to come to his office and when arriving it became evident that he had no specific task for me. Pachauri would indulge in frivolous talk and try to get close to me. When nobody else was in the office, I remember feeling very wary of the fact that we were alone in the building, so I would lie and say that a couple of friends were waiting outside.
On one of these occasions, I actually was sick and could not come to the office. He then came to my home with a bouquet of roses. This might sound sweet, but at that time I just felt uncomfortable and scared.
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The tipping point came when he said that I should join him in his summer house outside of the city for the weekend. It would have just been him and me there, since he made it very clear that his wife was out of town.
At this point I felt genuinely scared of what his motives for inviting me over were, and I decided to speak out and set a firm limit. I told him that he needed to behave more professionally and that I wanted us to have no other contact than during office hours. He didn't take this very well, it became clear to me that it was not going to work. I recall him being passive aggressive about it and saying in a harsh tone that he was merely trying to make me feel welcome in India, then quickly ending the conversation and saying he was busy.
So, soon after this conversation I asked to be transferred to another department in TERI. My request was granted but he still contacted me and asked me to come to his office a few times after that. After stating that I did not want to work with him anymore, he called me to his office one last time and told me that he decided to end my contract. I left New Delhi a few weeks after that. During these weeks I spoke quite openly about my experience, and I found out from many sources that this was nothing new and that Pachauri has been involved in many similar situations. I heard this from two TERI ex-employees, as well as two other people I met, who had overheard journalists talking about how everybody knows he is a womanizer but no one says anything. May it is gossip, but the picture painted by people I talked to was far from being one of a respectful, professional environmentalist.
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My contract, which was for a period of 1 year, was abruptly terminated after a period of just 4 months. When he terminated my contract, I did not think there was any point in contesting it, as from my conversations with former employees at TERI I had gotten the feeling that it would be of little use trying to challenge any decision of Pachauri's. I also felt very relieved that I would not have to face Pachauri's sexual harassment any longer. I left New Delhi a few weeks after this and returned to Europe."
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This is a smartphone which can offer a rich multimedia experience for people who are on a tight budget.
By Sahil Mohan Gupta : Micromax is going through a rough period. After growing exponentially in the last three years, Micromax has seemingly been stopped in its tracks. In the mid-range segment its offerings have struggled to compete against Chinese brands like Xiaomi on both specs and price. For entry level smartphones, however, it has done better. Last year, it sold over a million smartphones on Snapdeal as a part of the Canvas Spark line and it is doubling down on the sub-brand to get more user engagement. The Canvas Spark 3 which was announced a couple of days ago is another budget contender which will be sold exclusively via Snapdeal. It may not look incredibly special from the outside, but it does have a couple of things going for it.
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Also read: Xiaomi launches Mi 5 with Snapdragon 820, 3GB RAM in India at Rs 24,999
Micromax is billing this as a smartphone which can offer a rich multimedia experience for people who are on a tight budget. Micromax touts a big 5.5-inch HD display coupled with a large loudspeaker which will make for a good movie watching experience.
"Video and visual content consumption will be one of the drivers. We have optimised the device for that," said Shubhojit Sen, Micromax's chief marketing officer.
And seemingly, Micromax has done a good job with the device, specially for one at its price point. For Rs 5,000, there aren't many devices that will offer users a wide canvas which is quite bright with good viewing angles and decent speakers. The speakers, especially, are one of the hardware components that budget phones skim upon. The Canvas Spark 3 doesn't.
Micromax has equipped the phone with a quad-core 1.3GHz processor, which is coupled with 1GB RAM and the performance seemingly is acceptable for Rs 5,000 phone. That being said, theYU Yunique which is product made by Micromax's subsidiary felt smoother in use.
This could've happened because Micromax has retooled the user interface. The phone comes with the Indus launcher which also can translate English content into indic languages. The launcher also increases the size of UI elements like the icons which could make the phone easier to use for first time buyers. Also read: Xiaomi Mi 5 quick review: This could be the phone of the year
Strangely, the phone comes with three different app stores. The standard Google Play store, App Bazaar, and the Micromax app store. App Bazaar has 15,000 apps of which 10,000 are in indic languages.
Micromax executives said that they found that people used App bazaar 3 to 9 times more than the Play Store. That's something we believe will depend on the type of user, but for people who aren't fluent in English, it could be of greater use than the Google Play store.
Design wise, the phone felt quite comfortable in the hand. It is primarily made out of plastic and has a soft-touch matte finish on its back. The back is also slightly curved, which makes it easy to hold, however, we found that the back got smudged quite easily.
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Micromax has managed to cram a 2,500mAh battery, which is decent for a phone of its size. It also comes with a 8-megapixel camera on the back and a 5-megapixel camera. We didn't test the cameras in variable lighting, though, in a closed-door environment photos didn't look spectacular on the phone's display.
As Micromax is targeting the phone for first time smartphone buyers it has opted to not add 4G capabilities to the device to keep its price down.
Overall, it appears to be a device, which may to appeal to the tech enthusiast on a budget, but someone who is more focussed on watching videos on the go. The phone will be available on Snapdeal next week onwards for Rs 4,999, though you'll need to register for the flash sale. We will soon have a full review of the device.
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Insurance Back EUROINS Romania announces capital increase
By Q1 2016, the insurance company EUROINS Romania has received capital increase payments from its parent company amounting to RON 135 million, thus completing 70% of the capital raising program initiated in October 2015 that will be finalized in April 2016.
With the completion of the program, EUROINS Romania fulfills the basic capital requirement according to the new Solvency II regime, the company announced in a press release.
For Q1 2016, the company has registered a 14% increase of its premium income against 5% decline of the number of policies underwritten as compared to the same period last year. This performance is due to the undergoing diversification of the insurance portfolio which has enhanced considerably its risk profile. As a result, the company is expecting a positive financial result for the period.
Author: Andreea RADU on 01.04.2016
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Views from the Judiciary
Sir Robin Jacob (UCL) was faced with the first question as to whether he would change anything about his career. Robin said no, that he was incredibly lucky, but noted that when he came to the bar, IP was a happy but quiet world. IP, he said was asleep, but he did not know why it was asleep especially as it was very much awake in the 19th Century. It woke up in England when an English judge started enforcing patents with the result that Americans, who were losing their patents in the US, started litigating in the UK. Hugh asked Sir Robin which patent law he considered to be the best patent law. Sir Robin said that the "European Patent Convention is the best written patent law in the world. It is clearly effective". Hugh asked whether there was a difference between English patent law and European patent law. Sir Robin said there was not. English patent law is European patent law. Although the law is the same, it does not mean that judges of different national courts will apply the law the same. Often, he noted, a German and Dutch judge will likely apply the law similarly. The differences come when you look at procedural differences with the common law courts (UK) conducting a more intensive dive into the facts and evidence than the civil law courts (Dutch and German). Sir Robin commented that one area of IP law that no one has ever understood is trade mark law and particularly noted that smells should only ever be protected as a trade mark when consumers use their noses to walk around super markets to figure out what they are going to buy.
Justin Watts (Freshfields) was gifted with choosing who was the next judge to speak. He chose Judge Klaus Grabinski (Federal Supreme Court) who explained that being a first instance judge is far more fun than being a judge on the appellate court. This is because as a first instance judge you get to see how the case is being run on the front line and discover, like an inventor, the legal issues that need to be tackled. Echoing the comments from Sir Robin, Judge Grabinski stated the differences between European national courts are mostly procedural issues, not substantive. This could be seen, explained Judge Grabinski, at the judges symposium that is held every other year. The judges are split into groups by language to decide legal issues and often, the English and German groups would adopt more or less the same reasoning. The French groups would often come to a different result. Judge Grabinski considers that the German and UK courts are more harmonized as a direct result. The UPC will examine these differences in practice by virtue of the UPC procedural rules being a blend of common and civil law procedures. We will see what works and what does not work and whether there are issues that need to be harmonized further. Hugh asked whether or not the reputation of the first instance judge impacts how an appellate court deals views the first instance decision. He said no, that he did not have a blacklist of judges in mind. In the US, responded Hugh, it is sometimes better to have lost below and go up to the Court of Appeals on the basis of a decision from certain judges (ie. they are not well-respected so will be easier to overturn).
Judge Rian Kalden (Hague) was next commenting that when she first started there were very few IP cases with only 6 first instance judges dealing with a handful of IP cases. This has changed. Today, there are now 10 judges in the first instance court who deal mainly with patent cases. Patents have been a booming and successful business. She has also seen a development whereby IP cases are not decided purely on IP law itself, but other issues such as competition law (for example, in the area of FRAND and standard essential patents). "It has now become the case that the traditional approach to handling a patent case does not work any more. In copyright, you see fundamental rights such as the freedom of expression and enterprise are being employed in copyright cases. All of the fundamental rights have equal value and the CJEU has said that when enforcing copyright you need to balance fundamental rights equally." On the matter of the CJEU, Judge Kalden stated that the problem with the CJEU is that they are not IP specialists and they do not usually really understand the intricacies of the subject matter. Although you may want to refer a case to the CJEU, you are hesitant as to the type of decision you will get back from the CJEU which you will be bound by. Judge Grabinski stated that he was not as negative about the CJEU and that generally you usually get back something sensible.
Mr Justice Carr
Mr Justice Carr (High Court of Justice, UK) commented on appearing before Lord Justice Aldous. He said that if you appeared before him prepared, with everything organized in a logical manner you would be okay. He liked structure, which is why he was so keen on setting out and applying the Improver and Windsurfing tests in patent law. However, because the law has gone beyond those tests in certain respects, his decisions are not often cited. Hugh raised his decision in the commented on appearing before Lord Justice Aldous. He said that if you appeared before him prepared, with everything organized in a logical manner you would be okay. He liked structure, which is why he was so keen on setting out and applying theandtests in patent law. However, because the law has gone beyond those tests in certain respects, his decisions are not often cited. Hugh raised his decision in the Arsenal case as one of his decisions that is referred to frequently - a case concerning badges of allegiance. On this, Mr Justice Carr stated that the Court of Appeal was always going to say that the first instance judge (Mr Justice Laddie) who referred questions to the CJEU but did not apply their decision, got it wrong
Judge Koji Hasegawa (Tokyo District Court) made an interesting point about Japanese law whereby if a piece of prior art is in English and before the court, even if it is a good document from a novelty or obviousness perspective, if it is not accompanied by a Japanese translation then they cannot rely on it. Parties have to provide Japanese translations of all document before the court.
Judge Bennett
Judge Annabelle Bennett (Federal Court of Australia - as of a week ago) has just left the court. Although she is getting involved with non-profit organizations, she is ready to tackle other projects people throw her way. As to her time on the bench, she said that looking towards laws of other countries is important. Counsel will often bring decisions of foreign courts to her attention. The High Court has recently stated that the Australian Courts should look at cases of its trading partners and take this into account when rendering decisions. This is something that Australian judges do especially when they come to examine patentable subject matter. "We use UK decisions, " she continued "to assist us in understanding computer-implemented business method inventions as their case law has explained EU case law, especially from the Technical Board of Appeal cases, in a clear manner."
Lord Hoffmann (Queen Mary University of London) has been sitting a judge in Hong Kong since 1997. As his only remaining judicial appointment, he stated that its clear that the Chinese are the only people who respect old age. He said that the Hong Kong courts are wholly independent courts adopting much of its case law from the UK, Australia and New Zealand. All proceedings are conducted in English. As a judge you would think that you are sitting in an English court in the Strand. He sits as the foreign judge amongst a panel of four other permanent local judges. The foreign judge, from either the UK, Australia or New Zealand, will fly in for a month to sit on cases. In his experience there has never been the hint of political interference.
Mr Justice Birss
Mr Justice Birss (High Court of Justice, UK) really made the IPEC, said Hugh, does he miss it? Yes, he said, you get more cases done and you can make a difference. It has been a victim of its success, he noted. "IPEC is very busy and HH Judge Hacon is run off his feet. We need another judge its so busy." Mr Justice Birss explained that the UK Copyright Tribunal does not do a great deal but what it does is very important, in that its the body that sets the tariff for collective licensing. Although a self-described nerd who therefore likes patents, he said that the most exciting thing that he did in 2015 was preside over the insolvency of the Lotus F1 team which was subsequently bought by Rennault. The general cases can often, he said, be the most interesting. As to the impact of social media, Mr Justice Birss stated that it was a completely "unexpected and weird experience" to, as a judge, suddenly be thrust into the public eye. As a barrister you conduct cases which are important but they or are you are often not in the public eye. Then as a judge, people are suddenly reporting on your decisions, such as the IPKat "who is sitting right here and reports on almost everything." The strangeness comes when you read the comments on your decisions, he continued, which can be really positive or negative. You have to develop a thick skin or just not read them. Besides getting to grips with the reporting of judicial decisions on social media, Mr Justice Birss commented that he is lucky to be in the Rolls Building which is structured so that he and the other patent judges - Mr Justice Arnold and Mr Justice Carr - are right down the hall from each other. This enables them to keep up with what each other is doing. The thing that surprised Mr Justice Birss the most about becoming a judge is the fact that advocates seem to forget that judges are humans and will respond to a case as a human. Although those human reactions- be it good or bad - will not enter into the exercise of a judge's decision making, they are still there. Judge Bennett agreed and said that also when you are sitting on the bench you can see everything. The barristers will usually keep a straight face but when you see scurrying in the court room after a witness responds to a question, the answer which you may not have paid too much attention to, suddenly becomes very interesting. She also said that if you make even a half decent joke, everyone in the court room will laugh like it is the funniest thing they have ever heard. She will miss people laughing at her jokes now that she has left the bench.
Chief Judge Sharon Prost (US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit) said that although she has a great office with the best view in DC, becoming Chief Judge has expanded her workload. Her objective is to ensure that the CAFC is run efficiently and that she can clear the underbrush away from her colleagues so they can do their jobs without worrying what she does. She said that her experience in government, although informative, cannot be used to guide her in statutory interpretation. "You cannot let your own experiences influence you" she said.
Chief Judge Dianne Wood (US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit) is one of three academics on the Seventh Circuit. She considers this to have been great for the court as there is a terrific tradition for the full and frank exchange of views. People can disagree without being disagreeable, even on highly emotive issues such as the death penalty. To become a federal judge, there is no one formula that works. Often, timing is everything. She noted her experience clerking to be invaluable, not just from the experience you obtain from watching great legal minds at work, but also hearing the fascinating stories of some of the most respected figures in legal history (for example Judge Irving Goldberg).
Judge Pauline Newman
Judge Pauline Newmann (US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit) does not think that there is such a crisis in the CAFC. There are different points of view everywhere, including on the court. Her viewpoint is informed by the fact that IP law everywhere has a general appreciation for industrial and commercial issues. Although we may have different national laws we generally come out the same way because of this overriding appreciation as to what the law means and what it is meant to do. "I see things a bit more from that view point rather than the purity of the law". She noted that the cases she sees are often really close on the facts. There will not be a great amount of turmoil on the fundamentals of law, but when you are dealing with cases right on the edge in terms of facts there is room for great differences in opinion. As to the role of the CAFC, she thinks that "we all feel an obligation on the court to speak out when regional differences are raising concerns and need to be dealt with by consensus. Judge Newmann considers it important to the issue that we have a uniform approach to policy which must be informed by the industrial origins and nature of IP rights, especially patent rights. Achieving a consensus as to the optimum result can start even by writing a dissent so that all viewpoints are expressed and can be taken into account. However, the real path to consensus on IP issues starts with people "in this room who should work with legislators to figure out what is the right consensus" on matters of patent law.
Judge Kathleen O'Malley (US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit) considers law clerks to be incredibly important - they do the hard digging and case law research. They play a critical role on the court. Judge O'Malley returned to the topic of having more fun as a district court judge than an appellate court judge because you never know what your day is going to be like - a preliminary injunction one minute or a witness going off the rails the next. However, you don't have the luxury of really digging into the issues the way a review court is able to do. She considered that she takes a different approach to the law than others in that she does not think it is her job to create a particular path for the IP world, she is respectful of the role of the judge in interpreting and applying the law and does not just reach a conclusion for the sake of reaching a conclusion. Judge O'Malley commented that foreign decisions are sometimes referred to by counsel, but often she will come across them via her clerks who find them on legal blogs and research. Perhaps, says the AmeriKat, there is scope for US lawyers to refer to more foreign case law.
There is not much more to say by way of introduction, so lets get to it:
[March 31, 2016] Smart Factory Market by Technology , Component , Industry , and Geography - Global Forecast to 2022
NEW YORK, March 31, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
"Integration of engineering and manufacturing by the adoption of IoT and advancements in M2M communication technology in the industrial sector are driving the growth of the smart factory market"
The smart factory market size, in terms of value, is expected reach USD 74.80 billion by 2020, at a CAGR of 10.4% between 2016 and 2022. This market is driven by factors such as wide adoption of IOT and technological advancements in M2M communication in the industrial sector, along with the increasing focus on saving energy & improving process efficiency.
"The smart factory market for the process industry is expected to gain the maximum traction during the forecast period"
The discrete industry is expected to hold the largest share of the overall smart factory market during the forecast period. The smart factory market for the process industry market is expected to gain the maximum traction and grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. This growth can be attributed to the increasing use of smart factory solutions in various verticals to minimize losses that occur due to the ineffective management of materials.
The smart factory market for the pharmaceuticals industry, which is a subsegment of the process industry, is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. In this industry, automation process is mostly used not only to reduce labor costs but also to improve experimental accuracy and workflow efficiency. The automotive industry held the largest share of the smart factory market for the discrete industry in 2015 and is expected to dominate the market till 2022.
In the process of determining and verifying the market size for several segments and subsegments gathered through secondary research, xtensive primary interviews have been conducted with the key people in the market. The breakdown of the profile of primary participants is given below.
- By Company Type: Tier 1 42%, Tier 2 37%, and Tier 3 21%
- By Designation: C-Level 18%, Director Level 45%, and Others 37%
- By Region: Americas 22%, Europe 35%, APAC 29%, and RoW 14%
The changing market dynamics has urged the need for smart manufacturing techniques as the real manufacturing world has begun converging with the digital manufacturing. With the increasing demand for smart factory in the process and discrete industries, the market for smart factory is expected to witness lots of growth opportunities 2022.
The key players in the smart factory market profiled in this report are:
1. FANUC Corporation (Oshinomura, Japan )
2. Siemens AG ( Munich, Germany )
3. ABB Ltd. ( Zurich, Switzerland )
4. Honeywell International, Inc. ( New Jersey , U.S.),
5. Yokogawa Electric Corp. ( Tokyo, Japan )
6. Schneider Electric (Rueil-Malmaison, France )
7. Atos SE ( France )
8. Emerson Electric (U.S.)
9. Freescale Semiconductor, Ltd. ( Texas , U.S.)
10. General Electric (U.S.)
11. Johnson Controls, Inc. ( Wisconsin , U.S.)
12. Robert Bosch GMBH ( Stuttgart, Germany )
13. Rockwell Automation, Inc. ( Wisconsin , U.S.)
14. KUKA Aktiengesellschaft ( Germany )
Reasons to buy the report:
1. This report segments the smart factory market comprehensively and provides the closest approximations of the revenue numbers for the overall market and the subsegments across various industries and regions.
2. The report would help stakeholders to understand the pulse of the market by providing them the information on key market drivers, restraints, challenges, and opportunities.
3. This report would help stakeholders to better understand their competitors and gain more insights to enhance their position in the business. The competitive landscape section includes competitor ecosystem, new product developments, partnerships, and mergers & acquisitions.
Read the full report: http://www.reportlinker.com/p03686465-summary/view-report.html
About Reportlinker
ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.
http://www.reportlinker.com
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Contact Clare: [email protected]
US: (339)-368-6001
Intl: +1 339-368-6001 To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/smart-factory-market-by-technology--component--industry--and-geography---global-forecast-to-2022-300244396.html SOURCE Reportlinker
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[March 31, 2016] DitaExchange and Syncro Soft SRL Announce Dx4 and oXygen XML Web Author Integration
DitaExchange - the leading provider of structured authoring solutions built to run on the Microsoft (News - Alert) SharePoint platform - and Syncro Soft SRL announced today a new built-in connector between DitaExchange's Dx4 and Syncro's oXygen XML Web Author. The result of growing customer requests and market demand, the new integration gives users of Dx4 the ability to use the oXygen XML Web Author directly within DitaExchange's browser-based structured content management solution. "The new Dx4 integration with oXygen XML Web Author offers users of both solutions the benefits of Dx4's capabilities, the familiarity of the oXygen XML Web Author, and the convenience of editing DITA XML right within your browser," commented Jim Nichols, vice president, DitaExchange. "We are delighted to bring these new capabilities to Dx4 users." This strategic partnership enables current and future clients to have access to all of the features provided by the oXygen XML Web Author, including: Edit and review XML content in a web browser from anywhere, on mobile devices or desktop systems.
Ready-to-use visual editing support for DITA and other XML documents in a simple interface that is similar to a word processor.
Inline hints and content completion assistance to help simplify structured authoring.
Automatic validation and schema-aware editing features to always keep your documents valid.
Convenient data input controls to allow users to work with content without being intimidated by XML.
Helpful review tools thatallow you to efficiently collaborate with your whole team."
Dx4 runs on the SharePoint platform - on premise or in Microsoft Office 365 and Azure. Dx4 enables organizations to create and store content in a componentized way so that it is infinitely re-usable with the ability to consistently publish anywhere in the format recipients require.
DitaExchange will be presenting and exhibiting at the CMS/DITA North America Conference from April 4-6 in Reston, VA. Visit us in the Exhibitor area for a complete demo. DitaExchange will host a webinar to detail the new integration on 3 May at 10:00 AM Eastern Time to showcase the new integration. Click here to register. About DitaExchange DitaExchange is committed to simplifying the way regulated organizations create, manage, share and deliver important content though structured authoring solutions that are built to run on the SharePoint platform. A leader in structured authoring, DitaExchange is a privately held company headquartered in Denmark with locations around the world. For more information, visit www.ditaexchange.com. About Syncro Soft Syncro Soft is a privately held software company founded in 1998 with a large area of expertise in XML technologies: XML Schema (News - Alert), Relax NG, Schematron, XSLT, XPath and XQuery. The main product XML Editor provides the best coverage of the today XML technologies; it complies with the established standards released by W3C (News - Alert) and other organisations and enhances developer productivity through an intuitive and innovative XML IDE. Syncro Soft is a member of the W3C. Copyright 2016 DitaExchange, Dx4 and DitaExchange. Various trademarks are held by their respective owners. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160331006409/en/
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[April 01, 2016] Demo Pit Finalists Announced for Phorum 2016
PACT, the Philadelphia Alliance for Capital and Technologies, today announced the finalists for the popular Demo Pit at Phorum 2016, its annual enterprise technology strategy conference. This year, nine startup companies from the Mid-Atlantic region will demonstrate their cutting-edge technologies and compete for Phorum 2016 "Best in Show." AlphaPoint AlphaPoint is a financial technology company that powers digital asset exchanges and provides institutions blockchain-enabled solutions to store, track, and trade digital assets. Its secure, scalable, and customizable platform enables customers to deploy blockchain technology to innovate, differentiate, and transform their businesses. AlphaPoint powers over 20 digital asset exchanges on five continents, and is led by a seasoned team with 50+ years in financial technology. AlphaPoint has offices in New York City, Philadelphia, and San Francisco. Boxter Funnl, a SaaS (News - Alert) product created by Boxter, answers questions about the top of your sales funnel. It's an intelligent analytics solution for online businesses. Funnl enables fast ROI measurement and optimization for growth channels like Facebook (News - Alert) ads or content marketing. The innovative semantic user interface allows users to quickly get detailed answers from websites and online marketing efforts without needing any technical training. The software brings powerful enterprise grade functionality to small and medium-sized businesses and requires less than an hour in training and setup time. Cloudamize Cloudamize is an analytics software company that helps companies get the most out of their investments in cloud computing. Its SaaS-based analytics platform helps its customers and partners make confident, data-driven decisions at each stage of the cloud journey - from assessing options, to planning migrations, to managing cloud deployments for maximum value. With Cloudamize, companies have experienced significant monthly savings on their cloud deployments, while simultaneously increasing performance. DryDock DryDock is a mobile app and content management system rolled into a single product that makes field sales teams more productive and efficient. Instead of forcing reps to search for content in online repositories, sales teams open a secure mobile app to quickly access content that has been curated just for them. Plus, DryDock does not charge by seat license - for a flat fee, an unlimited number of users can access content because everyone who can increase company revenue should benefit from high impact sales information. MLeads
MLeads is a comprehensive SaaS mobile platform for leads and event management processes automation. MLeads allows sales and marketing professionals, business owners, event organizers and exhibitors to manage leads and organize events from any device anywhere, increasing productivity, efficiency and opportunities. The platform allows users to capture and collect leads, research leads, perform follow-up, and measure and manage ROI across sales and marketing teams. The platform is feature-rich, affordable, and easy to use compared to other solutions. OpsDataStore
OpsDataStore collects data from your strategic platforms (VMware) and tools (AppDynamics, Dynatrace, ExtraHop (News - Alert)) and combines these disparate streams of data into real-time topologies. Users can prevent problems that affect online service quality, solve the remaining problems more quickly, and achieve dramatic increases in capacity utilization. Additionally, OpsDataStore makes the combined data available to any BI or query tool, which turns the analysis and consumption of IT data into a self-service problem through tools like Tableau and Qlik. OpsDataStore protects its customers' online revenue and saves them time and money in the operation of their environment. PeopleLinx PeopleLinx drives results throughout your sales funnel to create, nurture, and win deals. Founded by early LinkedIn (News - Alert) employees, PeopleLinx activates social selling for B2B sales teams through individualized guidance. Reps are guided to create presence, networks and engagement with buyers. The result? Quality leads, faster sales cycles, and a higher close rate, all measureable through your CRM. Customers include Fortune 500 leaders in high-tech, finance, manufacturing and professional services. Pneuron Pneuron, the leading provider of distributed analytics software, enables organizations to rapidly unify highly disparate and distributed sources of value and get fast, actionable insights. With Pneuron, enterprises gain the ability to react rapidly and adapt to changes in regulations, infrastructure, business and competition -- in half the time and at half the cost of traditional approaches. RedOwl RedOwl provides enterprises with a single platform to proactively monitor insider risk across the enterprise. RedOwl analyzes all observable interactions between employees, contractors, devices, and applications within your organization. Only RedOwl analyzes structured and unstructured data to provide immediate and unparalleled visibility into human risk to combat intellectual property loss, detect compromised accounts, monitor privileged users and enhance forensics. "One of the most popular features of Phorum has always been the Demo Pit competition, and this year will be no different," said Allen Born, Director at Fairmount Partners and the Advisory Board Chairman of Phorum 2016. "This competition offers a unique experience for the startup community to showcase their technology and it also provides these entrepreneurs with a great opportunity for valuable exposure." Phorum 2016 Demo Pit judges include Nate Lentz, Osage Venture Partners; Ian Gallagher, Comcast (News - Alert) Business; and Brock Weatherup, Managing Partner, Atai Ventures and President, Philly Startup Leaders. The Demo Pit is sponsored by Osage Venture Partners and Comcast Business. Hosted by PACT and sponsored by Fairmount Partners and LiquidHub, Phorum 2016: Systems of Insight, will examine how companies collect data about the market, customer, and business, convert that data into usable information, and apply institutional experience to turn information into knowledge or insights. For more information about Phorum 2016 or to reserve your seat, please visit www.phorumphilly.com. About Phorum Phorum is an annual technology strategy conference that gathers the Nation's leading minds and most innovative solutions around a single, trending topic. Hosted in Philadelphia, this intensive, one-day event includes insights from the Nation's most authoritative experts; up-close interaction with relevant technological solutions and learnings from business leaders with first-hand experience capitalizing on what is new. For more on Phorum or to purchase tickets for Phorum 2016, visit www.phorumphilly.com. About PACT The Philadelphia Alliance for Capital and Technologies offers a comprehensive approach to supporting a company's life cycle - from early stage through growth - by facilitating interaction, information and education. The organization provides a single, strategic hub where key resources, including investors, strategic partners, professional advisors and peers, are available and accessible to all members. PACT supports its membership through a wide variety of programs, services, events and tools. For more on the Philadelphia Alliance for Capital and Technologies, including membership information, entrepreneurial resources, and information on our programs and events, visit www.philadelphiapact.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160401005358/en/
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[April 01, 2016] Fitch Affirms Lowell General Hospital's (MA) 2013G Revs at 'BBB+'; Outlook Stable
Fitch Ratings affirms its 'BBB+' rating on the following bonds issued on behalf of Lowell General Hospital (LGH): --$65.4 million of Massachusetts Development Finance Agency revenue bonds, The Lowell General Hospital Issue, series G (2013). The Rating Outlook is Stable. SECURITY The bonds are secured by a gross revenue pledge and a mortgage on LGH's main campus. KEY RATING DRIVERS SOLID FISCAL YEAR 2015 (FY15) PERFORMANCE: Lowell General Hospital's (LGH) consolidated performance improved in FY15 (Sept. 30 year end) after a breakeven performance in FY14 and an operating loss in FY13. The improved performance helped the operating EBITDA climbed to 8.2% from 7% in FY14, above the 'BBB' category median of 7.7%. Maximum annual debt service (MADS) coverage by operating EBITDA of 2.4x is consistent with 'BBB' category median and is improved from 2x in FY14 and 1.5x in FY13. MADS coverage by EBITDA was lower at 2.2x due to realized losses on investments. VOLUME GROWTH: The improved performance reflects incremental improvement in most of LGH's patient volumes, including a 1% increase in inpatient admissions. The growth continued into the first quarter of FY16, with inpatient admissions up 5% year-over-year (YOY). Inpatient market share has grown steadily as well, rising to 59.2% in FY14 from 58.5% in FY11. The continued growth in volumes and market share reflects the strategies that LGH has put in place since its merger with Saints Medical Center. ADEQUATE LIQUIDITY: LGH had $127.2 million in unrestricted cash and investments at Sept. 30, 2015, down slightly from the year before. The drop in cash and investments was driven by a realized loss of $4.5 million on investments. Over all, liquidity remained adequate at year end FY15, with days cash on hand (DCOH) of 106.6, cushion ratio of 8x, and cash to debt of 68.6%, all below the category medians. OTHER UNDERLYING CREDIT STRENGTHS: Fitch views LGH's leading market share position and low cost structure as key credit strengths. LGH is the only acute care provider in its primary service area (PSA) and had a leading inpatient market share of 59.6% in 2013. Additionally, LGH has approximately 25,000 patient lives under risk based reimbursement arrangements which combined with its low cost structure positions LGH well for health care reform. WELLFORCE ADVANCING: In October 2014, LGH and Tufts Medical Center (general revenue bonds rated 'BBB'/Stable Outlook) formed a new parent company, Wellforce. Currently, the new parent approves budgets and capital plans for both organizations, but LGH and Tufts Medical Center have maintained separate obligated groups and have not combined their financial statements. Fitch views the partnership as a credit neutral and will continue to monitor the relationship for credit implications as it evolves. RATING SENSITIVITIES SUSTAINING PERFORMANCE: Fitch expects Lowell General Hospital's (LGH) recent performance levels to be sustained with modest liquidity. A material improvement in liquidity metrics coupled with continued strength in operating performance could lead to an upgrade. A longer trend of negative performance would be needed to cause a downgrade. WELLFORCE INTEGRATION: The integration of LGH and Tufts Medical Center into Wellforce is modestly progressing, with management being the highest integrated area. The further development of Wellforce could impact the rating but that will depend on the pace of integration, especially financially, the shape the integration takes, and any additional partners that are added to Wellforce. CREDIT PROFILE Lowell General Hospital is a 434-licensed bed hospital system located in Lowell, MA approximately 35 miles northwest of Boston. LGH ranks as the eighth largest hospital and the second largest community hospital in Massachusetts in FY13 by number of discharges. In 2013, LGH merged with Saints Medical Center. LGH had total operating revenue of $465.3 million in FY15. Fitch's analysis is based largely on the consolidated results, but the OG results are eviewed as well. Figures quoted in this press release are for the consolidated entity, Circle Health, unless otherwise noted. Circle Health is the corporate parent of LGH. Circle Health oversees and coordinates a series of affiliated entities that provide a range of health care and related services in Lowell, including Circle Health Physicians, Inc., which employs LGH physicians. In fiscal 2015, the OG comprised 95.3% of the system's assets and 90.7% of its operating revenue.
Financial Profile In FY15, LGH continued its positive trend in performance for a second year posting a 1.2% operating margin and an 8.2% operating EBITDA margin. This up from a negative 0.2% operating margin and a 7% operating EBITDA margin in FY14, and much improved over FY13's negative 1.7% operating margin and 5.1% operating EBITDA margin. First quarter FY16 OG results show continued good performance, with a 2.5% operating margin, a 9.1% operating EBITDA margin, and 2.8x debt service coverage.
Fitch believes the improved performance reflects the realization of the benefits of the merger with Saints. The integration with Saints led to efficiencies and cost savings, which helped improve performance over the last two years. LGH has now begun to execute on growth strategy investments, including in cardiology and outpatient centers. As a result, volumes have grown steadily YOY. LGH opened a successful outpatient center in Westford and plans to open another one in Billerica. LGH continues to maintain a leading inpatient market share of approximately 60%. Fitch believes the strong market share coupled with LGH's IT platform, expense management, and quality indicators, position it well for value based purchasing and population management. LGH already has nearly 25,000 lives within risk arrangements with several payors and has done well reducing costs while maintaining quality. The closer clinical relationship with Tufts Medical Center through Wellforce has also helped LGH grow certain specialty areas, including in pediatrics, keeping more care in the local community. Debt Profile All of the OG's long-term outstanding debt, $166.5 million as of Dec. 31, 2015, is fixed rate. Fitch views this conservative debt structure as a credit positive, helping to offset the lighter liquidity. LGH has no swaps. LGH's debt burden is elevated but continues to moderate. MADS as percentage of revenue at year end FY15 lowered to 3.4%, which is now better than Fitch's 'BBB' median of 3.6%. Consolidated results show debt to capitalization at 55.5% and debt to EBTIDA of 5.2x, both above Fitch's 'BBB' category medians of 48.1% and 4.4x, respectively. Fitch expects LGH's capital needs to remain manageable, with the Dahod Tower complete and no major IT needs. LGH is a HIMSS level six hospital. Fitch expects capital spending to focus on LGH's outpatient strategy. However, no debt issuance is expected, as LGH has little room for additional borrowing at the current rating. Disclosure LGH covenants to provide both annual and quarterly disclosure for the OG to the MSRB's EMMA system. LGH has begun to voluntarily post its Circle Health audit, which is the consolidated entity, and Fitch views this action positively. Additional information is available at 'www.fitchratings.com'. Applicable Criteria Not-for-Profit Hospitals Rating Criteria (pub. 04 Dec 2015) https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=874120 Revenue-Supported Rating Criteria (pub. 16 Jun 2014) https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=750012 Additional Disclosures Dodd-Frank Rating Information Disclosure Form https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/press_releases/content/ridf_frame.cfm?pr_id=1001888 Solicitation Status https://www.fitchratings.com/gws/en/disclosure/solicitation?pr_id=1001888 Endorsement Policy https://www.fitchratings.com/jsp/creditdesk/PolicyRegulation.faces?context=2&detail=31 ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: HTTP://FITCHRATINGS.COM/UNDERSTANDINGCREDITRATINGS. IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON (News - Alert) THE AGENCY'S PUBLIC WEBSITE 'WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM'. PUBLISHED RATINGS, CRITERIA AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE AT ALL TIMES. FITCH'S CODE OF CONDUCT, CONFIDENTIALITY, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, AFFILIATE FIREWALL, COMPLIANCE AND OTHER RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE 'CODE OF CONDUCT' SECTION OF THIS SITE. FITCH MAY HAVE PROVIDED ANOTHER PERMISSIBLE SERVICE TO THE RATED ENTITY OR ITS RELATED THIRD PARTIES. DETAILS OF THIS SERVICE FOR RATINGS FOR WHICH THE LEAD ANALYST IS BASED IN AN EU-REGISTERED ENTITY CAN BE FOUND ON THE ENTITY SUMMARY PAGE FOR THIS ISSUER ON THE FITCH WEBSITE. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160401005676/en/
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proxima
AMIA/Encubrimiento. Confirman el procesamiento de uno de los jueces mas importantes de la Argentina
After 18 long months of renovation, the Nebraska History Museum celebrates its grand reopening Friday and Saturday.
Gov. Pete Ricketts will cut the ribbon on the newly remodeled museum at 5:15 p.m. Friday. The evening, an adult affair, will feature refreshments, music and a cash bar.
Saturday, the museum will host a free family fun day, 1-4:30 p.m., with hands-on history, music, dance performances and crafts.
For information go to nebraskahistory.org or call 402-471-4758.
Also on Saturday
* Nebraska Game and Parks Outdoor Education Center, 4703 N. 44th St., hosts Critter Corner, 2-4 p.m., for kids 10 and younger. Cost is $3 for the activity or $6 including an hour of archery range time.
* NanoDays returns to Gateway Mall, 1-4 p.m., with hands-on activities designed to explore the miniscule world of atoms, molecules and nanoscale forces. Ten interactive demonstration stations include make your own nanomaterials, investigate super-thin solar technology, change the color of a butterflys wings and more. Hosted by the Nebraska Center for Materials and Nanoscience and the University of NebraskaLincolns Materials Research Science and Engineering Center. Free. For more information, go to ncmn.unl.edu/nanodays or call 402-472-2716.
Coming up
* Its time to pull out the warm-weather clothes. If your kids have outgrown theirs, the Take 2 Children's Consignment Sale is set for Wednesday-April 10 at the Lancaster Event Center, 4100 N. 84th St. Sale hours are 5-8 p.m. Wednesday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Thursday-April 9, and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. April 10. For information go to lancastereventcenter.org or call 402-441-6545.
* Wake up early and head out to Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center, 11700 S.W. 100th St., Denton, for the Chilly Chicken/Chicken Chili Day celebration, 7-11 a.m. April 9. Visitors will listen and watch the greater prairie chickens call and dance from their local leks, dancing grounds. After a chilly morning watching the birds, people can warm up with brunch of cinnamon rolls and chicken chili. Cost $5 per person, free for children under 12. For information, go to springcreekprairie.audubon.org/ or call 402-797-2301.
* The 29th annual Early Childhood Celebration, commemorating the National Week of the Young Child, will be 9 a.m.-1 p.m. April 9 in the Southeast Community College Gymnasium, 8800 O St. There will be activities for families with children ages birth through 8, as well as informational booths staffed by child care professionals, community volunteers and representatives from local agencies and health and safety programs. The String Beans will perform at 11 a.m. Free. For information go to facebook.com/Lincoln-Association-for-the-Education-of-Young-Children-LAEYC-114170908755894/timeline or call 402- 437-2452.
* Investigate Second Saturday: Sights & Sounds of Spring, will be 10 a.m.-noon April 9 in the Morrill Hall science lab. Discover how frogs and birds can actually make sounds like crickets, sheep and cats. Activities free with museum admission.
The following is a rundown of family activities for the week of April 1-7.
Friday
Children's storytime -- 11 a.m., SouthPointe Barnes & Noble Booksellers. Free.
Nebraska History Museum grand reopening -- 4:30-7 p.m. reception and opening of new exhibits Friday; 1-4:30 p.m. family fun days Saturday-Sunday, featuring hands-on history, make and take crafts, music, dance and storytelling heritages, 131 Centennial Mall North. Free.
Saturday
Kids consignment sale -- sponsored by Lincoln Area Families with Multiples, 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, First Lutheran Church, 70th and A streets. Baby gear, cribs, car seats, strollers, bouncers, toys, clothes (preemie to teen sizes) and shoes. $1 to shop from 8:30-9:30 p.m.; open to the public from 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m. (free).
Lincoln Gem and Mineral Show -- 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, Lancaster Event Center, 84th Street and Havelock Avenue. Kids corner, gems, minerals, fossils, artifacts, Nebraska Gem Dig and more. For all ages. $5/adults, ages 11 and younger/free with paid adult admission. Bring non-perishable food item for Lincoln Food Band and receive $1 off admission.
Bilingual English-Spanish storytime -- 10-11 a.m., Indigo Bridge Books, 701 P St.
"I Wish You More" storytime -- 11 a.m., Barnes & Noble, 5150 O St. and SouthPointe Pavilions locations. Free.
Sunday
Steam Sundays -- with the Natural Resources Conservation Service, 2-4 p.m., Lincoln Children's Museum. Free, with regular admission.
Monday
Library storytimes -- Baby: 10 a.m., Gere; 10:35 a.m., Eiseley. Toddler: 10:30 a.m., Anderson.
Library Family Storytime -- 4-5 p.m. Williams Branch: 6:30-7:30 p.m. South Branch.
Evening children's storytime -- 6:30-7 p.m., Indigo Bridge Books, 701 P St. Free.
Tuesday
Play & Connect -- (formerly Tuesday Mom's Club), 9:30-11 a.m. Tuesdays during school year, Lincoln Children's Museum, 1420 P St. For parents and caregivers with children ages 5 and younger.
Library storytimes -- Toddler: 10:30 a.m., Bethany, Walt; 10 and 10:35 a.m., 6:30 p.m., Gere. Preschool: 10:30 a.m., Anderson, Gere, Walt; 7 p.m., Eiseley.
Morning children's storytime -- 10-11 a.m., Indigo Bridge Books, 701 P St. Free.
Wednesday
Library storytimes -- Baby: 10 a.m., Gere; Toddler: 10:30 a.m., Walt; 10:35 a.m., Eiseley, Gere. Preschool: 10:30 a.m., Anderson, Eiseley, South and Walt; 2 p.m., South.
Thursday
Take 2 Children's Consignment Sale -- 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Thursday and April 8-9; 10 a.m.-3 p.m. April 10 (1/2 price day), Lancaster Event Center,4100 N. 84th St.
Library storytimes -- Baby: 10:30 a.m., Walt; 6:30 p.m., Gere. Toddler: 10 a.m., Gere; 10:35 a.m., Eiseley, Gere, South. Preschool: 10:30 a.m., Bennett Martin, Bethany, Eiseley, Gere.
Shows and exhibits
Planetarium astronomy shows -- "Big Bird's Adventure: One World One Sky," 11 a.m. Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays; "Firefall," noon Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays. Shows run through May 29. University of Nebraska State Museum of Natural History, Mueller Planetarium, Morrill Hall, south of 14th and Vine streets. 402-472-2641.
Hyde Observatory shows -- 7-10 p.m. Saturdays, Hyde Observatory, Holmes Lake. Free. Reservations available for Monday-Thursday nights. 402-441-7094.
"Honk! The Musical" -- ongoing through April 10 (Fridays-Sundays), Rose Theater, 2001 Farnam St. For information, dates/times and tickets: 402-345-4849 or rosetheater.org.
Coming up
Early Childhood Celebration -- 9 a.m.-1 p.m.; The String Beans, 11 a.m. April 9, Southeast Community College, gym, 8800 O St. Free. Child care professionals, health/safety programs, community volunteers and local agencies provide information/activities, stage performances throughout the day to families with children ages birth through 8.
Music at the Museum -- 9:30 a.m.-noon April 9, Lincoln Children's Museum. Children play different instruments and sing. Music teachers and professionals will be on-site to answer questions about instruments and musical activities. Presented by Sigma Alpha Iota Lincoln Alumnae/Patroness Chapter of musicians and music educators. Free, with museum admission.
Investigate: Second Saturday Science Lab -- "Sights & Sounds of Spring," 10 a.m.-noon April 9, University of Nebraska State Museum, Morill Hall, south of 14th and Vine streets. Free with regular admission.
Family fun night -- 5-8 p.m. April 15, Wee Wisdom Preschool, 5201 Old Cheney Road. Carnival games, prizes, food, bounce houses, clowns and balloons, face painting and more. For information/details call 402-420-7111 or weewisdom@netzero.net.
Register
"My Doll and I Explore the Fabulous '50s" workshop -- 1:30-3:30 p.m. April 9, International Quilt Study Center & Museum, 33rd and Holdrege streets. Featured doll: Maryellen, a 9 year old from the 1950s. Learn about life in America and fun fads, rock 'n roll, 45 LPs, soda fountain, hula hoops and more. Children will complete a poodle skirt for their doll by creating and stitching poodle on skirt. Each child will receive a child-size Coke glass. $15/non-members, $12/members, plus $7 materials fee.
WASHINGTON -- You can have your Coke with a smile today.
On Monday, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, a conservative Republican, vetoed a bill that would have legalized discrimination against gay people, responding to an outcry from corporate interests including Coca-Cola, Home Depot, UPS, Walt Disney, Delta, Time Warner, Comcast, Netflix, Apple and the National Football League. As state legislators pushed the "religious liberty" bill through, Deal told them: "I hope that we can all just take a deep breath, recognize that the world is changing around us."
Headlines of the past week show seemingly contradictory developments: Even as Georgia's governor took a bold stand against discrimination, North Carolina's Republican governor last Wednesday signed into law similar legislation enshrining discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender residents.
But there is really no contradiction: Georgia's governor vetoed the bill because it received massive public exposure and there was a resulting outcry from corporations concerned that it would offend customers and workers. North Carolina's governor signed the bill literally in the dark of night, just before the Easter holiday weekend, after legislators introduced and passed it in a single day at a hastily convened special session -- essentially slipping it into law before it could get attention and business interests could state their objections.
In both cases, you can see the effects of a new corporate citizenship that is emerging. Corporate America is traditionally conservative, reluctant to react to social controversy and divisive issues. But as public sentiment shifts dramatically on gay rights and as pro-equality millennials become a large bloc of consumers, business is shedding its reticence. This has happened, to a lesser extent, on immigration, various environmental issues and, recently, in support of Apple's stand for consumer privacy.
Democrats and progressives see potential for a larger shift nationally in corporate political behavior, as Republicans take ideological stands on education, the Export-Import Bank, the debt ceiling and infrastructure spending that put them at odds with their traditional corporate allies. "They're just not offering companies what they crave most out of Washington, which is predictability," said Matt Bennett of Third Way, a business-friendly Democratic group. Republicans "are just these wild cards now," he said, and will become more so if Donald Trump -- who talks of 45 percent tariffs -- becomes their nominee.
Though it's not clear whether that broader shift to the left will occur among corporations, there is no doubt that a dramatic change has occurred on gay rights. When the Georgia Legislature took up legislation giving religious groups the right to deny services to gay people, corporations by the dozen voiced their objections. Disney and Netflix said they would stop filming in Georgia, and the NFL said the bill would jeopardize Atlanta's hopes of hosting the Super Bowl.
Deal said he wouldn't "respond well" to "threats of withdrawing jobs from our state," but respond he did. On Monday, he said the religious community's request for government protection is "ironic," because if "indeed our religious liberty is conferred by God and not by man-made government, we should heed the 'hands-off' admonition of the First Amendment."
In North Carolina, Gov. Pat McCrory and state Republicans tried to avoid the trouble Deal faced, and the similar trouble Indiana Gov. Mike Pence faced in 2014.
North Carolina's bill, passed and signed within 12 hours of its introduction, invalidates municipal nondiscrimination ordinances, including a Charlotte city ordinance covering transgender people's use of restrooms. Lawmakers also passed a statewide nondiscrimination policy that omits protection for sexual orientation.
American Airlines, Apple, Dow Chemical, PayPal and others rushed to criticize the new law. The National Basketball Association suggested it might move its 2017 All-Star Game from Charlotte.
On Tuesday, more than 80 top executives from blue-chip companies signed a letter to McCrory saying the legislation is "bad for our employees and bad for business" and will "make it far more challenging for businesses across the state to recruit" and will "diminish the state's draw as a destination for tourism, new businesses and economic activity."
Now North Carolina will face the economic consequences of his poor choice. McCrory should have done what Georgia's Deal proposed: take a deep breath, and recognize that the world is changing.
The inalienability to hold rights has been a feverish topic in current events the past few months (or is it years?) As Americans, we do have rights. Animals, gun owners, LGBTGs, children, religious sectsthe list is non-ending. All of us have voices and pathways to express views. But what about those who cannot speak for themselves due to inability, indifference or fear of retribution?
I am going to get my little red cape out of the closet and start a campaign empowering families and individuals to speak out for themselves or others when times are tough. As one who is closer to being a senior every day my focus will be those who are living in communities designed for their current physical and financial needs.
Resident rights were established in 1987 with the Nursing Home Reform Law. The Nursing Home of thirty years ago is now defined as Assisted Living and/or Skilled Care. Many residents and families are unaware of a Bill of Rights. Get out your pencils and legal pads. Lets review.
Each person in a Senior Living Community has the right to:
Know the services and charges their community provides and includes in their monthly fees and to have those in writing.
Participate in their care. Medical Records should always be open to review. Each resident and/or legal representative has the right to play a part in determining whether they will or will not engage in activities, associate with persons of their choice, practice their religion, and have privacy when visiting either with professionals or friends.
Question medications. If the medication appears to be wrong, saying so would be the correct option. A staff member should not argue the point. Having a discussion is in the best interest of the resident.
Be present when final decisions are made in their behalf.
Trust their medical and personal records are private. Period.
Voice their concerns without fear of retribution. Sometimes we never leave high school. People who speak up or react differently are often labeled as trouble makers. Wrong. It is right to advocate for ourselves and for those who cannot speak for themselves. Change is the direct result of good communication and interactions expressed in a calm, unthreatening manner. Discussion should be immediate, transparent and cannot infringe on the rights of others.
Be treated with respect and consideration. Remember the Golden Rule.
Be informed of a written discharge thirty days in advance and know the reasons why.
In a perfect world one would hope there would not be a reason for a list of Resident (aka Human Being) rights. Fortunately in our imperfect world there are resources for those who feel their voices are not being heard. One such excellent resource is the State Ombudsman. Nebraskans may reach the office by calling 800.942.7830. Grievances and concerns are confidential.
In a perfect world no one would have the need for a little red cape either. Im not hanging mine up anytime soon. We are all responsible for each othereven without a red cape.
RACINE The Donald Trump show comes to Racine Saturday.
The Republican presidential front-runner has scheduled a campaign event at noon at Memorial Hall, 5 Fifth St. Doors open at 10 a.m. Tickets are available on Trumps website.
The Racine Police Department was busy Friday preparing for the event, which was scheduled on short notice.
The department is bracing for anything, police Lt. Al Days said. Many Trump rallies have attracted scores of protesters and, in some cases, violence.
Just this week, police in Janesville were investigated an incident outside a Trump rally there in which a protester was pepper-sprayed.
We will just make that site and event as safe and secure as possible, Days said. Were not sure what were going to get, but were planning for everything.
Downtown businesses also were making adjustments, including the Racine Public Library and Racine Heritage Museum, which announced they will close Saturday due to the event.
Trumps Racine visit comes in the run-up to the states presidential primary Tuesday. Polls show the billionaire businessman trailing in the Wisconsin primary to U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, although Trump still has a sizable advantage in overall delegates.
Trump clearly isnt giving up on the state. In addition to Racine, hes scheduled to be in Wausau and Eau Claire on Saturday, West Allis on Sunday and La Crosse and Milwaukee on Monday.
Former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin will appear with Trump in Racine and elsewhere this weekend, according to media reports.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich, the other Republican presidential candidate, also will be in Racine County on Saturday, holding a town hall event in Burlington. The event takes place at 10 a.m. at Veterans Terrace, 589 Milwaukee Ave.
Mississippi Senate Passes Bill for
Constitutional Carry and Setting Foundation
to Reject Some Federal Gun Control
From 10th Amendment Center. March 2016
JACKSON, Miss. (Mar. 29, 2016) -- Today, the Mississippi Senate passed a bill that not only allows unlicensed, "constitutional carry," but also sets the foundation to reject and end new federal gun control regulations and executive orders.
Originally introduced as a church security bill to allow those with a concealed carry permit to have a firearm in church, House Bill 786 (HB786) was passed in the House by a vote of 85-33. However, when it was sent to the Senate, the scope of the bill was greatly expanded in the Judiciary A Committee. As noted by a report from Guns.com:
House Judiciary B Committee Chairman Andy Gipson, R-Braxton, himself a lawyer and minister of a small church, was able to add an amendment to allow unlicensed carry of a concealed gun elsewhere in the state so long as it is in a holster or scabbard on the belt or shoulder.
This builds on laws adopted in 2013 legalizing open carry and one last year to allow for carry in a purse or bag without a permit.
Additionally, Gipson's amendment included language from House Bill 782 (HB782), introduced by Rep. Mark Formby (R-Picayune), along with 30 cosponsors. That bill passed the House last month by a vote of 75-46. The language included in HB786 would take on federal gun control measures issued by rule, regulation, agency order, or executive order. It reads: .......
Another seeming piece of good news for gun owners in Mississippi, and it is about the fourth such news in recent times towards constitutional carry. There are way too many states lagging behind on this development and sadly some who it seems will be unlikely to ever respect the Second Amendment. Read the entire article for full details.
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Cabinet concludes India-EU statement as altogether inappropriate
Nepal Government has concluded that EU-India joint statement issued in Brussels on Wednesday, in reference to Nepals newly promulgated constitution as altogether inappropriate.
DPM bemoans govts poor show
Upset by the governments poor performance in the past six months, the ruling Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal is said to be in a dilemma whether to continue to remain in the government.
EU-India statement on charter irks govt
Nepal has taken serious exception to a EU-India joint statement issued in Brussels on Wednesday, which had a reference to Nepals newly promulgated constitution.
Former FinMin Mahat undergoes ankle surgery
Former finance minister and Nepali Congress leader Ram Sharan Mahat underwent an ankle operation on Friday morning in Grande International Hospital.
Govt will curb disintegrating forces: PM Oli
Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has remarked that the dream of disintegrating the nation would never come true.
In praise of misfits
Spatial skills are particularly untapped in countries like Nepal
Ministry preparing action plan to end energy crisis
The Ministry of Energy is drafting an action plan to end the energy crisis on the basis of the recently launched National Energy Crisis Reduction and Electricity Development Decade master plan.
NRA readies for signing reconstruction grant agreement
The National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) has made preparations for signing grant agreement for reconstruction in 10 districts except the Kathmandu Valley within April 12.
Over half a million damaged houses surveyed so far
Nearly three months after the start of the detailed damage assessment of quake-destroyed houses and infrastructure, surveyors have completed verification of over half a million (over 80 percent) homes.
Person accused of raping minor arrested after 35 days
Police have arresteda person who was on the run for 35 days after allegedly raping a minor from the Capital on Thursday.
Pokhara airports foundation laying slated for April 14
The foundation stone of the countrys second regional international airport in Pokhara will be laid on April 14, marking the launch of a project that has been on the drawing board for decades.
Recipients of Golden Jubilee Scholarship get certificates
Minister for Health and Population Ram Janam Chaudhary and Indian Ambassador to Nepal Ranjit Rae on Thursday presented certificates of merit to Nepali recipients of the Golden Jubilee Scholarship (GJS), a scheme launched by the Indian government in 2002 to commemorate the 50 years of economic cooperation between India and Nepal.
Two arrested for helping SLC candidates cheat
A case has been filed against two guardians for their involvement in helping candidates cheat in the ongoing School Leaving Certificate (SLC) examination.
Unfinished homework
The government and tourism industry fail to conduct risk studies recommended for major trekking regions
Retired Supreme Court Judge Prof. George Kanyeihamba has criticized the current bench over their ruling on the 2016 presidential petition.
Yesterday the Supreme Court dismissed the petition filed by former presidential candidate Amama Mbabazi, challenging the declaration of Yoweri Museveni of NRM as the winner of the February 18thelections.
In their ruling delivered by Chief Justice Bart Katureebe, the nine judges dismissed the case on grounds of lack of substantial evidence from the petitioner, essentially declaring President Yoweri Museveni winner of the February 18th elections.
According to the judgment, there was no evidence of noncompliance to the electoral laws by both President Yoweri Museveni and the Electoral Commission.
Justice Katureebe also said the arrest of Mbabazi in September 2015 as he headed to Mbale for a consultation meeting was unjustified and highhanded.
Prof Kanyeihamba however says the judges should have carried out their own investigations and audit of the results other basing on the weaknesses of the petitioner and responses of the defendants given the gravity of the case;
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court will at a later date make public the decisions made by each of the nine judges regarding allegations made by the petitioner.
While delivering the ruling yesterday, the Chief Justice Bart Katureebe said that due to the short time frame to hear the case and pass judgment, they were not in position to give detailed reasons for their findings on each of the allegations made by former presidential candidate Amama Mbabazi. He says this will be done after three months.
Political analysts too have spoken out on yesterdays court ruling.
One of them is Prof Sabiiti Makara of Makerere University, who says the margin of votes between Amama Mbabazi and President Yoweri Museveni was too big and could not warrant a re-count even though there were anomalies.
And unlike the other opposition political parties, the Uganda Peapoles Congress (UPC) president Jimmy Akena has Congress welcomed yesterdays court ruling saying they respect the courts decision.
However, the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) maintains that only an independent audit of the February presidential elections can resolve the current stand-off over the disputed results.
The FDC spokesperson Ssemujju Nganda says they respect but do not agree with courts decision.
Story By Judith Atim & Stephen Mbidde
South Korea and Japan will hold talks on Friday to strengthen cooperation in the development sector, setting aside their political differences, officials said.
The two countries have held annual meetings to discuss their respective development policies but have yet to conduct any joint projects. Development cooperation is seen as one area where the neighbors could work together despite their various rows over history and territorial issues.
"South Korea and Japan are the only donor nations in the Asia-Pacific region," a Foreign Ministry official told Yonhap News Agency, speaking on customary condition of anonymity. "It's only natural for the two countries to cooperate in the development sector in places like Southeast Asia, so we're thinking of ways to produce concrete outcomes."
South Korea has been building its status as a donor nation with increased contributions to the international community. It is the only country that has gone from being an aid recipient to a donor.
Japan, meanwhile, is the fifth largest donor nation in the world.
AUBURN Judge Kevin Wallace sentenced 14 people for criminal offenses during hearings in DeKalb Superior Court I Wednesday and Thursday.
Adam Mitchell of the 600 block of East Union Street, Waterloo, was sentenced to two years in jail, all suspended except 272 days, for pointing a loaded firearm, a Level 6 felony. He received credit for time spent in jail while his case was pending. He was placed on probation for 15 months and must perform 40 hours of community service work. In a separate case, Mitchell also received a 60-day sentence, with credit for time served, for violating the terms of his probation.
Kyle Thomas of the 9000 block of Terry Lake, Hamilton, was sentenced to two years in jail, with one year to serve and one year suspended, for possession of methamphetamine, a Level 6 felony. He was placed on probation for one year and must perform 40 hours of community service work. He received credit for 134 days spent in jail while his case was pending. Thomas also received a 30-day sentence for possession of paraphernalia, a Class C misdemeanor. Those two sentences will be served at the same time, but consecutive to a six-month sentence that Wallace imposed for a probation violation.
Anthony Brincefield of the 5300 block of C.R. 35, Auburn, was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in jail, all suspended except 195 days, for strangulation, a Level 6 felony. He received credit for time served in jail while his case was pending. He was placed on probation for 717 days and was fined $1. In a separate case, he was fined $1 for criminal mischief, a Class B misdemeanor.
Scott Nofzinger of the 500 block of North Franklin Street, Garrett, was sentenced to 60 days in jail, all suspended except 96 hours, for operating a vehicle with an unlawful alcohol concentration, a Class C misdemeanor. He received one year of probation and was fined $100. His driving license was suspended for 60 days.
Joshua Taylor of the 400 block of West Main Street, Butler, received a conditional discharge for possession of less than 30 grams of marijuana, a Class B misdemeanor. If he successfully completes one year of probation, the charge will be dismissed.
Nicole Osterman of the 200 block of West 5th Street, Garrett, was fined $50 for possession of paraphernalia, a Class C misdemeanor.
Joshua Refeld of the 7100 block of Shady Lane, Fort Wayne, received a conditional discharge for possession of less than 30 grams of marijuana, a Class B misdemeanor. If he successfully completes one year of probation, the charge will be dismissed.
Joshua McKee of East Edgewater Drive, Garrett, was sentenced to 10 days in jail and fined $1 for operating a vehicle never having a valid license, a Class C misdemeanor. His driving license was suspended for 60 days. In a separate case, McKee received a 30-day sentence for battery, a Class B misdemeanor. He was fined $1.
Anthony Combs of the 300 block of South Hamsher Street, Garrett, received a 180-day suspended sentence and one year of probation for intimidation, a Class A misdemeanor. He was fined $50.
James Mick of the 600 block of East 3rd Street, Auburn, received a two-year suspended sentence and two years of probation for domestic battery with a prior conviction, a Level 6 felony. He was fined $1.
Shannon Naus of the 0200 block of S.R. 1, Hamilton, was sentenced to one year of incarceration, all suspended except 60 days, for operating a vehicle with an unlawful alcohol concentration, a Class A misdemeanor. She was placed on probation through March 31, 2017, and was fined $100. Her driving license was suspended for 90 days.
Benjamin Barhight of the 800 block of Griswold Court, Auburn, was sentenced to 60 days of incarceration, all suspended except 30 days, for operating a vehicle with an unlawful alcohol concentration, a Class C misdemeanor. He was placed on probation for one year and was fined $100. His driving license was suspended for 60 days.
Local government has three main responsibilities; provide services and security, create an environment for economic and business development and provide citizens with a quality education.
Our current Onalaska leaders are excelling in these areas. Under Mayor Joe Chilsen's leadership, the Onalaska tax base has increased by about $152 million. Mayor Chilsen has also led the tourism collaboration effort to create a regional, unified tourism department saving the Onalaska citizens more than $250,000 in the first year. He has directed the most significant movement on the Onalaska Waterfront which will spur economic development in our area. With his fiscal responsibility and commitment to the citizens of Onalaska, I encourage you to write in Joe Chilsen for mayor. Let's continue to build on the foundation that he has laid the past four years.
Likewise, the Onalaska School District is one of the top school districts in Wisconsin. The district's ACT composite scores continue to be the highest in the area. Last year, the Onalaska High School was selected as a Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education, an honor received by only three public schools in Wisconsin. Under the current school board leadership, the Onalaska School District maintains continued excellence while being fiscally responsible. Current board members Ann Garrity and Tim Smaby have proven their fiscal responsibility and commitment to the families of Onalaska and deserve to be re-elected through their write-in campaign.
Many management strategies can be used against invasive plants. In most cases, no single strategy used by itself will provide the desired long-term solution that landowners and managers seek. However, when used together as part of a larger integrated strategy, they can provide significant benefits for achieving successful, long-term management. A prescribed burn is used as an invasive plant control tool and to manage native plant communities and large landscapes.
At the Minnesota Department of Transportation, one goal of prescribed burns is to improve the health of desirable vegetation. Ken Graeve with MnDOT says they use prescribed burns to promote the growth of desirable vegetation in combination with other treatments such as herbicide applications. With these combined methods, a healthy ecosystem is better able to outcompete invasive plants.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources uses prescribed burns not just for managing native plant communities, but also for controlling woody invasive plants. For example, after initial work of cutting and treating with herbicide application, the DNR may use prescribed burns in subsequent months and years to help control infestations of buckthorn, honeysuckle or Japanese barberry. Shawn Fritcher from the DNR says prescribed burns can be effective against these invasive woody plants because burns can cover large areas faster than cutting and treating can. Multiple burns are often needed to reduce the vigor of woody invasive species. Fritcher also says it is important to note that repeated fire is most appropriate in fire-dependent woodlands.
At both MnDOT and the DNR, staff who work on prescribed burns go through training. They learn about fire behavior, weather prescriptions and how to design and write an effective burn plan. Fire breaks, or the breaks in combustible material, are often established ahead of time using a variety of equipment like tractors, mowers, ATVs, rakes and leaf blowers. Fire breaks are controlled using trucks or ATVs that carry water, or with hand tools where access by ATV is limited. The appropriate permits must be acquired, and traffic control measures are utilized for burns along roadsides.
Timing prescribed burns depends on the management objective. Desirable plant species often respond well to early spring burns. Smooth brome and other cool season grasses can be managed with late spring burns. Burning woody invasive species after leaf-out may be the most effective since much of the plants energy is invested in new above-ground growth. Summer burns can be effective at controlling brushy species in prairie areas. Fall burns provide another opportunity to target some invasive species.
For landowners thinking about utilizing prescribed burns, they must first get a burn permit. Proper planning for the burn is critical to success. The landowner needs to think about many factors such as fire break location, wind direction, smoke, control measures, and many other parameters to make decisions for the burn plan. There are multiple resources through the DNR website, http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/rxfire/index.html, to assist landowners with planning prescribed burns.
MADISON A government computer system crash caused headaches for Wisconsin election clerks trying to access voter registration information on Friday, the last day residents could turn in absentee ballots.
The Government Accountability Board, which oversees Wisconsin elections, said it also received calls from a handful of residents who said they couldn't obtain a driver's license or state identification card. Residents will be required to show a photo ID before voting during Tuesday's primary elections.
The GAB said the outage lasted roughly three hours, beginning at 8:45 a.m. The state Department of Transportation said it wasn't clear how many people weren't able to get IDs because of the computer problems. GAB attorney Mike Hass said his agency received several calls about the outage, but said only a handful of people were affected.
County clerks couldn't access poll books or the state's voter registration system during the outage. They still conducted absentee voting but efforts were delayed because they couldn't immediately verify voters' registration information, the GAB said in a news release.
Department of Administration spokesman Jim Dick released a statement saying a hardware problem slowed the state network to the point where it couldn't communicate with state agencies, but details weren't provided.
Democratic lawmakers pounced on the outage, using it as another opportunity to blast the Republican-authored law that requires voters to show photo IDs at the polls. Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca, D-Kenosha said it was outrageous that the state's system went down on the second-to-last business day before the election. He called for a full investigation.
The Department of Administration didn't immediately respond to requests for comment on the Democrats' remarks.
Biddeford-Saco-OOB Courier
The board earmarked $1.54 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds for the dredge, designed to keep channels open and supply sand to nourish eroding beaches up and down the York County coast and beyond.
At least 20 people died and hundreds were injured in a bridge collapse in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata Thursday.
Rescue workers tried to free as many as 100 people believed to be trapped under concrete and metal. Before rescue teams arrived, local residents and firefighters used their bare hands to try to rescue people trapped under the debris.
Witnesses said many people and vehicles, including two buses carrying more than 100 passengers, were under the bridge when it fell. They also said construction workers had set up camps near the bridge site where they would sleep and cook.
The collapsed bridge is in a busy commercial area of Kolkata. Its location has made it difficult for rescue operations. Access to the area is blocked on both sides by buildings, and the streets are blocked with heavy traffic.
Reuters reports that the Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, rushed to the scene of the collapse. She said that rescuing those trapped is her top priority.
Banerjee said those responsible for the disaster will be punished. Yet she faces questions about the safety of the construction project.
The Telegraph newspaper reported last November that Banerjee wanted the bridge - already five years overdue - to be completed by February.
Project engineers said they were concerned over whether this would be possible, the newspaper said at the time. Construction workers had been on a strict schedule to complete the bridge.
The disaster could affect the West Bengal election next month.
AN Indian company, IVRCL, was building the 2-kilometer bridge, its website said. IVRCL's director of operations said the company was not sure of the cause of the disaster.
I'm Anne Ball.
Ashley Thompson adapted this story from VOANews.com and Reuters reports. Kathleen Struck was the editor.
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Words in This Story
debris - n. the pieces that are left after something has been destroyed
rush - v. to move or do something very quickly or in a way that shows you are in a hurry
operations - n. an activity of a business or organization usually plural
English learners know that prepositions can be difficult to master. There are 94 one-word prepositions in English, and about 56 prepositions with two or more words, called complex prepositions. This adds up to 150 chances to make mistakes.
We cannot, of course, explain the small differences between all 150 prepositions here. We can, however, provide you with a few explanations of different prepositions that use one particular verb: provide.
Provide (someone) with:
When provide is followed by an indirect object, English speakers use the preposition with. Providing (someone) with something means to give something wanted or needed.
Here is an example sentence, written by U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama: Room to Read provides girls with scholarships that cover the cost of housing, food, and books.
In this sentence, girls is the indirect object and scholarships is the direct object.
Provide for:
Another preposition with the same verb is provide for. Provide for, in general, means to make whatever is necessary for someone available to him or her. We often use this expression when we talk about parents providing for their family.
In a VOA Learning English story about a Cambodian-American filmmaker, we used the preposition in this way: She says changes such as migration away from rural areas are allowing more women to find work and provide for their families.
This preposition can also be used in other ways. Provide for can mean to make it possible for something to happen in the future. For example, in our story about water shortage in California, we wrote, They say it [California] needs to find a way to provide for the growing need for water.
Provide (something) to/for:
When provide is followed by a direct object, English speakers can use the prepositions to or for. Provide (something) to/for (someone) means that you deliver or give something to someone. For example, The company provides health insurance to all of its employees. Health insurance is the direct object and employees is the indirect object. In this example, we also could have said The company provides health insurance for all of its employees.
Both of these sentences are correct, but it is more common to use provide (something) for than provide (something to) someone. The expression using to is rather new to American English, according to the Internet application Google Ngrams.
Google Ngrams is an app that shows general changes in English usage by searching all the words in Googles digital books.
The graph on Ngram for provide (something) to shows it was hardly ever used before 1960.
Compare that to the Ngram graph for provide (something for). The expressions appear more often. The expressions also appeared much earlier, around 1920. They were used then almost as often as they are used now.
Understanding English prepositions can be difficult, even for native speakers! But we hope that we have been able to provide assistance to all of our listeners and readers.
Im Kelly Jean Kelly.
Jill Robbins wrote this story for Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor.
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Words in This Story
prepositions - n. a word or group of words that is used with a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase to show direction, location, or time, or to introduce an object
direct object - n. a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase which indicates the person or thing that receives the action of a verb
indirect object - n. a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase that occurs in addition to a direct object after some verbs and indicates the person or thing that receives what is being given or done
North Korea has jammed GPS signals in South Korea and launched another missile into the Sea of Japan.
The action came a day after U.S. President Barack Obama met with leaders of South Korea, Japan and China to discuss North Korean nuclear threat and its sanctions.
Jamming GPS signals in South Korea
The South Korean Defense Ministry said it has detected radio waves transmitted from the city of Haeju and Mount Kumgang. The radio waves are on the same frequencies used by the global positioning satellites, or GPS.
The jamming activity affected more than 50 airliners and hundreds of South Korean fishing boats.
South Korean officials called the Norths action "dangerous and reckless. But they said the jamming did not affect the U.S.-South Korean joint military exercises, which North Korea has denounced.
Separately, North Korea announced officially Friday that it is blocking web pages from YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, the Voice of America and a number of South Korean media sites. It also said gambling and "sex and adult websites" have been blocked.
Very few North Koreans have Internet access, but foreign residents and visitors have been able to access web pages previously.
North Korea added that anyone who tries to access the blocked websites will be punished under North Korean law. It did not say what the punishment would be.
Another missile launch
South Korean military officials said the North also launched another missile into the Sea of Japan on Friday. The launch is the latest in a series of threatening actions to protest the U.S.-South Korean exercises.
In early March, the Kim Jong Un government responded to the U.N. sanctions by launching several missiles into the sea and threatening nuclear strikes against South Korea and the United States.
I'm Dorothy Gundy.
Brian Padden, Youmi Kim and the AP reported this story from Seoul, South Korea. Hai Do adapted the story for Learning English. Kathleen Struck was the editor.
What do you think about North Korea's response to sanctions? Please leave us a Comment and post on our Facebook page, thanks!
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Words in This Story
jam v. to block a radio or broadcast signal
frequencies n. the number times that sound wave or radio wave is repeated
access n. a way of getting something
When the Islamic State militants blew up the Temple of Bel in the ancient city of Palmyra in August 2015, experts feared they would destroy many important artifacts from the first century.
UNESCO considered the 2,000-year-old temple one of the most important buildings of the World Heritage ancient city. The UN called the destruction of the ancient temples and tombs in Palmyra a war crime.
Syrian forces, backed by Russian airstrikes, took back control of Palmyra. Now that the city is open, experts say the artifacts are in better shape than many predicted. They say up to 80 percent of the ancient ruins in Palmyra have survived.
Maamoun Abdulkarim is the Syrian antiquities director. He was able to investigate the 2,000-year-old ruins for the first time after Syrian forces recaptured the city in late March. The Islamic State militants held the ancient city for about 10 months
He said many artifacts, columns, arches and statues have survived. But there is damage to surrounding streets, baths and fences. The faces of some statues were chiseled away.
Abdulkarim and a group of experts are looking to restore the ancient structures. He said to Al-Jazeera, "We know the area centimeter-by-centimeter - all we need is the help of the international community."
Looking for international help
In Italy, a former culture minister, Francesco Rutelli, said the artifacts could be restored using three-dimensional, or 3-D, printing. The technology can help re-create damaged structures.
Roger Michel is an American expert from the Institute for Digital Archaeology in Great Britain. Michel promised that he would show a Temple of Bel arch recreated from a 3-D printing in April.
Michel said to The Guardian, my intention is to show Islamic State that anything they can blow up we can rebuild exactly as it was before, and rebuild it again and again.
Michel explained that 3-D printing can use the same combination of materials sand, water and sodium bicarbonate that ancient builders used to build the temple. It can even use dust left over from buildings destroyed by IS.
One problem the experts will face is the lack of detailed source material like 3-D images. But they say some of the information can come from two-dimensional photographs.
There is already some video shot by drones and photographs made by satellites. But many of the sites are not yet accessible because of land mines and traps left by IS fighters.
Amr Al Azm is a Middle East History and anthropology professor in Ohio and used to work for the antiquities department in Syria. He sees a difficult task ahead.
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.
Im Dan Friedell.
This story was first reported by VOANews.com. Dan Friedell adapted the story for Learning English. Additional information came from The Guardian and The New York Times. Hai Do was the editor.
Do you think experts will be able to restore Palmyra? Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.
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Words in This Story
temple n. a place for prayer
tomb n. a burial place
restoration n. the act or process of returning something to its original condition by repairing it, cleaning it, etc.
drone n. an aircraft without a pilot on board
dimension n. the length, width, height, or depth of something : a measurement in one direction (such as the distance from the ceiling to the floor in a room)
chisel v. to cut or shape (something) with a chisel
Following on its inaugural South African event in Johannesburg last year, Google South Africa hosted the first Cape Town YouTube creators' event.
YouTube creators events bring together YouTube creators, brands and media to celebrate local content creators and to educate brands and media on the power of video, says Google SA head of communications and public affairs, Mich Atagana,
Google content partnership lead for YouTube sub-Saharan Africa, Teju Ajani, says, YouTube is activated in eight African countries - South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Senegal. In countries where it is activated, content producers can elect to enable Google to run ads on their channels, and earn revenue from this advertising.
Moreover, South African creators are earning revenue. Although celebrity interviewer Anne Hirsch quipped that she wasnt earning enough when asked about earning opportunities, creator Quentin Watt said he earns half his income from the programming tutorial series he produces and hosts on his channel.
Gaming geek Grant Hinds says YouTube provides an opportunity for creators to collaborate, earn and educate audiences on new technology - like the VR content that is starting to become available. Anne Hirsch announced at the event that she has just signed a partnership with a Johannesburg company to start producing VR content for her channel.
In addition to Grant Hinds, Anne Hirsch and Quentin Watt, the event featured agony aunty Theodora Lee, comic siblings Maya & Kahlil, Simply Refilwe, Lindi (of Lindi and Koodzi), comic Mark Fitzgibbons, DJ Arch Jnr (the youngest ever winner of South Africas Got Talent) and social commentator Sibu Mpanza.
In a sealed cover, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) handed over the names of Indias top bank loan defaulters (those with loan outstanding above Rs 500 crore) to the Supreme Court on Wednesday, but with a rider.
The RBI insisted secrecy with respect to these names citing the commercial sensitivity of the issue. The apex banks contention was that if the name of a company, which is in genuine stress and thus a defaulter, is disclosed, it can damage the firms health further and may accentuate the failure of business rather than nursing it back to health. RBI was certainly making a valid point here.
But, surely, that isnt the case with wilful defaulters. No mercy should be shown to those corporate defaulters, who have the ability to pay back their dues to banks but wouldnt do so deliberately (called as wilful defaulters). Once a company is a wilful defaulter, such institutions and their promoters cannot access funds from any other banks or financial institution.
Also, such promoters cannot take up leadership positions in any other listed companies for a specific period. A bank classifies a company as a wilful defaulter if there is evidence of fund diversion and absence of intent to pay back, and virtually ostracizes him from the financial world.
The List
In February, Firstpost had published a list of the bad loan accounts with different Indian banks as per the data provided by All India Bank Employees Association. Now we are publishing the list of the countrys top wilful defaulters (in terms of loan value). This information is sourced from the Credit Information Bureau (India) Ltd, or CIBIL, which collects the data on defaulters.
Here is the picture: As on 31 December 2015 when the data was last updated, there are a total of 7,129 loan accounts that have been classified as wilful defaulters by different banks across the country, with total loans amounting to Rs 70,540.34 crore. These wilful defaulters include that of individuals and institutions.
Since it is not feasible to publish all 7000 names, Firstpost has shortlisted 18 top borrower accounts, who owe at least Rs 500 crore and above to different banks and who have been tagged as wilful defaulters (see the table for details). These 18 companies together owe Rs 17,448 crore to banks as on December, 2015.
Zoom Developers tops this list with Rs 2,411 crore loans, followed by Winsome Diamonds and Jewellery with Rs 2,266 crore loans and Forever Precious Jewellery with Rs 1,315 crore loans.
Vijay Mallya-owned Kingfisher Airlines too show up in the list but only for loans worth Rs 1,201 crore (to SBI). This is because only two banks SBI and Punjab National Bank (PNB) have tagged Kingfisher as wilful defaulters.
PNBs loan is not reflecting in this list since the bank classified the account as wilful default in February, while this list is till December, 2015.
Kingfisher owes a total of Rs 9,000 crore to a consortium of 17 banks, which are battling in various courts to get back money from the liquor-baron. Other names in the top list include Deccan Chronicle Holdings.
Of the whole lot of NPAs, there is an urgent need to deal with wilful defaulters first, since these are accounts where the intent from the borrower to pay back is absent. Thus, banks challenge to get back money is even greater in such accounts compared with a typical bad loan account.
What is more worrying is the fact that the lion's share of the loans classified as wilful defaulter accounts are on the balance sheet of public sector banks (PSBs) Rs 57,795 crore from 6,251 accounts.
State Bank of India tops the list of lenders with largest share of wilful defaulter loans Rs 12,091 crore loans from 1,034 accounts, followed by Punjab National Bank which has wilful defaulter loans worth Rs 9,445 crore loans and Central Bank of India with Rs 3,574 crore loans from 639 accounts.
Wilful defaulter loans constitute 16 percent of the total bad loans (Rs 4,00,000 crore) of Indian banks and about 1 percent of the total bank loans given by banks.
Pressure on state exchequer
In the recent years, banks have turned aggressive in tagging habitual borrowers as wilful defaulters in a bid to recover their long pending dues and after the RBI pushed banks hard to speed up recovery.
Recently, RBI governor Raghuram Rajan had set a deadline of March 2017 for banks to clean up their balance sheets. Ever since Rajan took over at RBI, the central bank has been gradually tightening grip on banks to cut down bad loans and stop the practice of hiding bad loans in the form of restructured loans by lifting the special regulatory dispensation on loans recast by banks.
This meant that banks now need to set aside the same amount of money as provisions as they do for bad loans.
But the bad loan hunt of RBI also imply that the capital requirement of state-run banks, which control 70 percent of the Indian banking system, has gone up tremendously, in turn, putting the burden on the state exchequer. In the fiscal year 2017, the government has budgeted a capital infusion of Rs 25,000 crore for state-run banks.
But, this might not suffice given the high NPAs on the books of banks resulting in huge provisioning burden. Banks also need to find capital to meet the Basel-III norms and credit expansion when economy picks up momentum.
Will NDA walk the talk?
The Narendra Modi government has reiterated its intent to clamp down on wilful defaulters. Coordinated action by the government, RBI and other sector regulators is critical to tackle wilful defaulters as seen in the Kingfisher case.
In most cases, banks havent managed to make any meaningful progress in the recovery from deep-pocketed promoters, who typically drag lenders for years to courts to delay the repayment. In the process, the value of underlying asset deteriorates such as in the Kingfisher case and recovery turns difficult.
The governments intervention to aid banks speed up the recovery process is equally critical since each penny that the government feeds to state-run banks from state-exchequer is taxpayers money. The question is will the government and RBI walk the talk and clamp down on wilful defaulters?
In the light of the recent land scam case that has surfaced against retired IAS officer GS Sandhu, who allegedly transferred a society deed of a land measuring 40,000 square yards to a builder against norms in 2011 when he was additional chief secretary, urban development and housing. The Land Transformation Management System espoused by the Modi government in the Union Budget 2016-17 is an important step, indeed, to tackle the nuisance of illegal land acquisition cases.
Land being the costliest asset in realty has often been at the epicentre of land fights, property crimes and frauds. Way back in 1988, the central government then sponsored the Computerisation of Land Records (CoLR) scheme to tackle the recurring problems owing to inadequate land records system.
Again in 2008-09, an attempt was made by launching the ambitious National Land Records Modernisation Programme. Under this programme, land record computerisation and digitisation, a responsibility of the states, was supposed to cover all 620 districts of the country by 2017 at the close of the 12th Plan. The scheme did not see much headway as it proved to be a challenging one from the cost perspective.
More recently, in the Budget 2016, the digitisation of land records has been relaunched under the National Land Records Modernisation Programme. It is said modernisation of management of land records will minimise the scope of land disputes, and enhance transparency in the land records maintenance system. The system is due to be implemented from 1 April, 2016. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley allocated Rs 150 crore for the digitisation of national land records, a necessary step, which was why the programme was backfiring in the past.
Discrepancies prevalent earlier
In the absence of any effective land records maintenance system, one of the biggest challenges that gripped India was about land ownership issue. Here, one was only presumed to be an owner and not a conclusive owner of land unless proved otherwise. Apart from this, inaccurate physical records and security issues of sharing land records publicly were some areas of concern.
The government too, faced difficulties. Many a times, land acquisition for development projects were done but the 7/12 land extract (an extract from the land register maintained by the revenue department) did not reflect these changes. Thus, the land acquired was fraudulently sold to another person by taking advantage of this loophole. In some cases, people had mortgaged acquired properties for obtaining bank loans, stated a revenue official.
Land transformation management system
The main components of the programme are: computerisation of all land records including mutations, digitisation of maps and integration of textual and spatial data, survey/re-survey and updation of all survey and settlement records including creation of original cadastral records wherever necessary, computerisation of registration and its integration with the land records maintenance system, development of core Geospatial Information System (GIS) and capacity building.
In the digitisation process, the tehsildars would first compile land data. Complete details of a parcel of land, from the original owner, period of ownership, year of purchase to number of transactions to the current status of land, the revenue officials need to collect all these details and take an image of the land (property). For records on land availability, a fresh survey of lands would be conducted and every parcel of land counted and details noted. After this, digitisation process begins. Online data would be compared with the manual data to rule out any errors. Digitisation of land records would ensure requisite details - map of the land, mutation, photo ID, etc. a step towards conclusive ownership.
At the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, all land records now will be integrated with Aadhaar, a step taken to monitor the successful implementation of crop insurance scheme. A bill recently passed in Parliament has made Aadhaar mandatory for residents to avail themselves of any public service.
A realty player Brotin Banerjee, Managing Director, Tata Housing, remarked: Digitisation of land records will help in more transparent market-based pricing.
Having a clear picture of peoples properties mapped, registered and valued will lead to good planning. It will eliminate conflicting land right claims to the land or over compensation for the land in question being acquired, stated Prashant Pillai, Country Head-Tax and Accounting business, Thomson Reuters, in an article in Geospatial World.
Two states that were quick to start digitisation of land records under the National Land Record Modernisation Programme have been Maharashtra and Telangana. Online access of land details can make the task of state governments easier.
How the social-economic realities of contemporary India will transform in the framework of land reforms.
Clarity on land ownership would also reveal the quantum of land possessed by a person. Most importantly, people would be able to purchase land, give deeds, and do mutation entry and all kinds of land transactions fearlessly at the press of a button.
Online registration will delete any confusion about which land has been earmarked as government land. The government and revenue officials would have the exact details of land available at hand post digitisation. The government land would be safe from encroachers. Recently, Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) decided to digitise the land records pertaining to 7,757 acres of land in the city just to protect the prime land not utilised which is located in the outskirts of the city.
Status of a particular land would be available online. Records pertaining to land involved in court cases would also be available digitally. Currently, a number of cases pertaining to land issues are pending before different courts including Supreme Court and High Courts.
Every farmer's land would be linked to the Aadhar number after verification. Division of land could happen accurately on digital maps leading to lesser land-related conflicts. Inheritance of land would be made easy. And property crimes would automatically reduce.
People would no longer need to visit revenue officials or talathis after digitisation mission is through. Also, role of patwaris who carried maps to sites would end with the onset of digital maps. Through survey number, people would be able to see details of any particular land online. People would also be able to view their 7/12 extract (an extract from the land register maintained by the revenue department) online.
A significant move that will be brought forth through digitisation of land records is transparency which will make it difficult for people to evade property tax. Land details availability could empower the government to realise its industrialisation and smart cities mission.
The digitisation of land records, apart from providing conclusive titles to land owners and speeding up the process of land acquisition, also could lead to a build up of local revenues through improved property tax billing and collection.
IVRCL, the company which is constructing the flyover project in North Kolkata that collapsed on Thursday morning resulting in the death of at least 24 persons, has a history of poor performance and alleged inefficiency. IVRCL has been blacklisted more than once in the past for reasons pertaining to efficiency issues and financial irregularities.
IVRCL was blacklisted in 2015 by the Jharkhand Government. The company was facing charges of alleged financial irregularities in execution of a rural electrification project in Jharkhand.
Also, in 2011, the Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam blacklisted IVRCL for being lax in maintaining quality of materials used in drinking water sewage projects in Allahabad and Kanpur.
Not just that. In 2009, IVRCL was facing investigations by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) for causing death of two workers by being negligent towards the working conditions. The report said that the state labour department has recommended that the civic body blacklist the firm.
Struggling financials
A look at the financials shows that IVRCLs financials were under stress and it has been facing severe liquidity stress.
Since fiscal year 2012, IVRCL's net sales dropped nearly 50 percent from a high of Rs 7,557 crore to Rs 3,820 crore in fiscal year 2015. Similarly, the company has been posting losses over the last four financials years with accumulated losses standing at Rs 2,192 crore as at March, 2015.
IVRCLs debt has surged by 91 percent from Rs 1,725 crore in fiscal year2008 to Rs9,386 crore till the end of March, 2015.
IVRCLs shares too have taken severe beating on the bourses as investors exited the counter fearing more downward pressure. Its stock has plunged over 15 percent in past two days alone and some 38 per cent this year so far.
From a high of Rs 201 in 2007-08, IVRCL stock has plummeted over 96 percent on account of deteriorating profit levels, ballooning debt, pushing down its market cap by 91 percent from a high of Rs 5,353 crore in FY08 to Rs 466 crore in FY16.
The question
The Kolkata mishap raises several questions. Was necessary due diligence done by the state government while evaluating the ability of the company in undertaking the construction of the Vivekananda flyover being built in one of the busiest areas of Kolkata.
As it appears now, both the state government and the company have distanced themselves from the mishap. The 2.2-km Kolkata Vivekananda Road flyover, funded under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), began in 2008 and the construction of the project got stuck midway several times for financial constraints.
IVRCL too have distanced itself from any wrongdoing. 45% of the work was left. One girder missed and the second one fell. It is nothing but God's act. This has never happened before; we are also in shock, business standard has quoted IVRCLs K P Rao on Friday.
The important question here is this. Did the state government fail to assess the ability and track record of the company, which has been facing severe financial constraints in the past and the has been blacklisted multiple times for reasons of poor performance.
Did 24 innocent lives pay the price of sheer negligence by the state government?
The latest Maoist attack at Dantewada in Chhattisgarh on 30 March, that killed seven CRPF personnel and left many more injured in a fatal landmine blast, has again exposed our helplessness in tackling the Naxal menace.
How many more innocent people and security personnel need to die for the government to put an end to the red terror?
At the beginning of this decade, in 2010, the nation witnessed Indias worst-ever Maoist attack in Dantewada in which 76 CRPF personnel were killed.
The then Home Minister, P Chidambaram, offered his resignation over the massacre, saying that, I accept full responsibility for what happened in Dantewada. However, the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh rejected Chidambarams resignation.
Despite several large-scale massacres of security forces and civilians, and the government recognising the severity of the menace, nothing much has changed over the years.
The reasons vary from incident to incident sometimes due to a failure to respond to an intelligence tip-off, or security forces not following SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures), a sudden ambush, or a lack of coordination between the Central Para Military Forces (CPMFs) and state police force and many more.
Where does the problem lie?
According to counter-insurgency experts dealing with Left Wing Extremism (LWE), the problem in curbing Naxalism lies in the nature of security forces deployed in Red Corridor, combat strategy, lack of coordination in sharing of intelligence inputs between the Centre and the state, and finally -- most importantly -- the lack of a national policy.
Policy front
Former Home Minister, Shivraj Patil, had called Maoists as brothers and sisters, while during Sushil Kumar Shindes tenure there was a lack of clarity on governments policy front.
Eventually, it was P Chidambaram, who used the three words clear, hold and develop -- to prepare his strategy to counter Naxalism in the country.
He meant to clear the area under Maoist influence, strengthen the hold of administration there and then start development.
In 2013, after 42 persons were killed, including top Chhattisgarh Congress leaders, jawans, cops and villagers in a Maoist attack at Darbha Ghati in Bastar, former PM Manmohan Singh had called for a two-pronged strategy to deal with LWE to strengthen counter-terrorism efforts and address development issues simultaneously.
He had termed Naxalism as the greatest internal security threat to our country.
According to CPMF sources, it was during Chidambarams tenure as Home Minister that a large-scale deployment of security forces took place in Maoist zones, which continued for some time but later no scheme or action plan was formulated.
Some Congress leaders even persuaded party president Sonia Gandhi that if strong action against Maoists continued, it would adversely affect the Congress vote bank in Naxal-affected areas, a senior CPMF official said on conditions of anonymity.
No comprehensive national policy on Naxalism
A national policy on Maoists is a must because every government has its own style of functioning for dealing with the issue. Our reluctance to act sternly on LWE is evident from the fact that theres no national policy to deal with the Naxal menace, said Prakash Singh, former director general, Border Security Force, and ex-member National Security Advisory Board.
Everything is wrong in tackling the menace. From policy formulation to its implementation, nothing is right, Singh said.
According to government sources, a policy draft was prepared to deal with the menace, but is yet to get moulded into a national policy.
The present government is serious on this issue and several measures have been adopted. The government has a zero-tolerance policy against terrorism and the Home Minister has instructed all the Maoist-hit states to have no compromise in combating the menace, the source said.
The absence of a comprehensive national policy in several cases has also led to a lack of coordination between the Centre and the state governments or between two state governments, when it comes to sharing and using of intelligence inputs.
In fact, the Maoists are always found to be a step ahead and they keep security forces on tenterhooks through their effective intelligence network.
Nothing is clear on the strategy front. There are differences in perception between the Centre and the Naxal-hit states. Another big problem is that every state has its own agenda or priorities. Local police is the best, both for combating and gathering intelligence, but the state government needs to ensure its standard, added Singh, whos an expert on LWE.
Combat strategy: An upper hand to Maoists
Why does the State continue to remain helpless in front of some thousand-odd rebels? What goes wrong every time, allowing the Maoists to wipe out so many young lives?
For the last few years, the Maoists have heavily concentrated on using landmines, which is the easiest and the safest mode for them. Earlier, it was ambush. Now by using IEDs, they trigger blasts and explosives are easily available to them, as they procure it from mining areas, said Anil Kamboj, a counter-terrorism analyst.
Landmines have a greater impact. In ambush tactics, the Maoist cadre also suffered loss of lives. So, now they heavily depend on landmine blasts, followed by random firing on security forces. Moreover, Maoists are well-versed with the terrain in comparison to the security forces and this gives them an upper hand. Security forces are constantly under the watch of the Maoists and every movement of theirs is being monitored, Kamboj said.
Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) comprises a major portion of the central forces deployed in Maoist zones. However, the experts believe that CRPF still has to gain expertise in operating in the jungle terrain to counter Maoists.
No doubt the CRPF is good on urban terrain, but when it comes to jungle warfare, they are yet to gain that expertise. On the other hand, Maoists are well-versed with their terrain. Greyhounds have been found to be more effective, added Kamboj, a former senior fellow, Institute of Defence Studies and Analysis (IDSA).
The Andhra Model
The Andhra model of dealing with Maoists, that comprises a comprehensive response model --political, development and security, has received appreciation, especially for its elite anti-Naxal force, the Greyhounds.
The Greyhounds has been found to be the most effective in neutralising the Maoists. It involves years of painstakingly building-up the fighting capabilities of the state police, their training, logistics, intelligence and leadership, said PV Ramana, a research fellow at IDSA.
The political will and commitment of the state to curb the menace made Andhra model a success. It can serve as a relevant reference point for other affected states to craft their response in combating Maoist insurgency, Ramana said.
Experts believe that there is a strong need to reconsider the deployment of forces in the Naxalite affected areas in order to restore the edge over the Maoists, who are well versed with the conditions prevalent in the terrain.
The security forces, as of now, are hampered by weak leadership, inadequate training and lack of knowledge of the difficult terrain where Maoists operate. The leadership issue needs to be addressed, added Maj Gen Dhruv C Katoch, former director, Centre for Land Warfare and Studies.
Officers up to the rank of IG must lead by example and stay in deployment areas in the jungles with their troops, Katoch said.
It's official!
Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Students' Union leader Kanhaiya Kumar told a section of the media that he has made up his mind to leave the National Capital and move to aamchi Mumbai. According to the student-aspiring-to-be-politician Kanhaiya, Delhi has become too dangerous for him. Even though the rentals are better there than Mumbai, the JNUSU leader said that he has chosen Mumbai University to finish the rest of his PhD.
"I hope the move will be smooth. Of course, I will miss my friends, the Delhi police and those lawyers (they were sweet, weren't they?) and Mumbai rentals are crazy, but I am feeling positive about this move," Kanhaiya told a few journalists over the phone.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis seemed unfazed by this sansanikhez khulasa. "Why should I be worried? You know who should be worried? Shiv Sena," chuckled the BJP leader as he hung up on us.
Firstpost tried to contact the Sena Bhavan but no one was available for a comment. (And maybe we weren't entirely unhappy!)
Kanhaiya later exclusively spoke to Firstpost and told us the real reason behind his move. "Dekhiye, chhatr yahan masti bahut karte hain. Aur hum bhi rajneeti ke daldal mein phansne se pehle thoda mauj karna chahte hai. Naarebaaji toh zindagi bhar karni hi hai. Aur isi bahane Shi Sena se bhi mil lenge! (See, students in Mumbai have lot of fun. And before I get stuck in the bottomless pit of politics I wanted to have a sliver of that fun. Sloganeering is for life, anyway. And this way, I will get a chance to meet Shiv Sena too!)"
"Also, Delhi sucks!" (He said this, honest to God!)
Well, there you go. Kanhaiya, we, the people of Mumbai, are very happy that you are moving to the maximum city. And of course, Shiv Sena. They finally will be able to send someone to Pakistan!
For more on Kanhaiya's imminent move, read this open letter by the man himself.
Kolkata: Five officials of the company that was building a flyover that collapsed on to vehicles and street vendors here have been detained.
Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar, who paid a visit to the mishap site, told reporters "We have detained a few officials of the construction company. We are taking action against them".
According to another senior police official, who spoke to PTI on condition of anonymity, about seven persons, injured in yesterday's mishap, were in a "very critical condition."
Asked when would the area be cleared off all the debris of concrete and iron girdles, the officer said, "The clearing at the main crossing (Ganesh Talkies crossings) will hopefully be over by today. But the rest like iron piers, iron pillars, broken concrete parts will be cleared in a step-by-step process."
The other end of the Vivekananda flyover towards the KK Tagore Street, where the metal pier, holding the bridge, was completely damaged would be cut but "a planned engineering plan is necessary for that," he said.
"It's a very very congested area with buildings so close to the flyover. And most of the buildings are very old. So we must keep in mind that in order to remove the damaged portions of the flyover another mishap does not take place," he said.
Meanwhile, a four-member police team from West Bengal on Friday went to Hyderabad as part of its probe to question officials of Hyderabad-based IVRCL.
"They have come and are doing investigation," a top police official of Hyderabad Police told PTI.
The Kolkata Police yesterday registered a case against the Hyderabad-based construction firm IVRCL under sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide) and 407 of the IPC and sealed the local office of the company engaged in flyover's construction.
The toll in the flyover collapse rose to 24 on Friday. Police there estimated that the number of people injured in the mishap was close to 90.
Reacting to the flyover collapse, an IVRCL official had on Thursday said, "It is nothing but God's act," even as another official denied any quality or technical issue as the cause behind the incident "as of now".
"It's nothing but a God's act. So far in 27 years we have constructed several number of bridges...it (today's collapse) never happened," K Panduranga Rao, Group Head (HR & Admin) of the Hyderabad-based company told reporters on Thursday.
Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Friday directed Maharashtra government to take pro-active steps for ensuring compliance of law to prevent discrimination against women on entry to places of worship, saying "it is the fundamental right of a woman" and the government should protect it.
The court, which disposed of a PIL challenging the bar on entry of women in the sanctum sanctorum of Shani Shingnapur temple in the state's Ahmednagar district, said that it can only pass a general direction to the government and cannot go into individual and specific cases.
The Maharashtra government assured the High Court that it is completely against gender discrimination and the provisions of Maharashtra Hindu Place of Worship (Entry Authorisation) Act shall be scrupulously implemented.
"Secretary of Home Department, Maharashtra, will ensure due compliance and enforcement of the provisions of the Act, and in order to ensure that the policy and purpose of the Act is fully carried out, they (Home department) will issue directions to all superintendents of police and collectors in each district of Maharashtra," a division bench of Chief Justice D H Waghela and Justice M S Sonak said.
"The government shall take all necessary steps to implement the Act," it further said.
"Ultimately it is the fundamental right of a woman and the government's fundamental duty to protect their (women) right," Chief Justice Waghela said.
The state's acting Advocate General Rohit Deo, in a submission to the high court, said that a circular or a directive shall be issued to all district collectors and Superintendents of Police, making them aware of the provisions of the Act.
The accepted the government's statement.
The government's submission was made following high court's rap to the government on Wednesday on the issue, during the hearing of a PIL challenging the prohibition of entry of women in the Shani Shingnapur temple.
"The acting Advocate General has assured the court that the state government is against gender discrimination and keeping in view Articles 14, 15 and 25 of the Constitution.
The government can take pro-active steps to ensure that the fundamental rights are fully realised and not allowed to be encroached upon by any authority," he observed.
The high court further said that it can only pass a general direction to the government and cannot go into individual and specific cases.
The court said if any person has any grievance that the Act is not being implemented, then he or she can approach local authority with their complaint.
Under the Maharashtra Hindu Place of Worship (Entry Authorisation) Act, 1956, if any temple or person prohibits any person from entering a temple then he or she faces a six-month imprisonment.
The acting AG, however, clarified to HC that if a temple in the state does not allow any person, irrespective of their gender, inside the sanctum sanctorum, then this Act and its provisions will not be of any help.
"However, if a temple allows men in the sanctum sanctorum but prohibits women, then this Act and its provisions can be used," Deo said.
Picture this: a woman in the shadows, sindoor in her disheveled hair, a red bindi smeared, the trajectory of a tear on her cheek. Are we talking about an intentionally titillating rape scene in a film? Or perhaps porn?
The answer is neither. A few weeks ago, while browsing the news, I found an article about the campaign for marital rape to be decriminalised, titled Rape is rape, whether by husband or stranger'. And the image described above was the illustration for the article. It has since been taken down (hopefully in a fit of self-awareness), but it is still available in the article preview on that news website, and on their image cache too. Its also been used by them for another article about rape in live-in relationships. (The baffling feather next to the raped woman is suspiciously similar to the one on the book jacket of Richard Bach's Illusions.)
Why dont I name the website?. Because its a rash all over the mainstream media. Consider the following reports:
Woman, paramour, aunt booked for molesting 15-year-old girl
UP woman ends 4 years of sexual abuse by father by filming proof
The marital rape debate
Six-year-old raped by neighbour in Barbar village
Woman booked for outraging modesty of stepdaughter
S Sudan offers militia women to rape as reward
This last image is a genre all by itself one in which the men are larger than life in their omnipotence, glorified, their long shadows falling over the woman. (Plus, the woman has hair blowing around, again, like in a movie.) In others, like in this one, its a hand that hovers over the woman, threatening and inevitable. The hand is a popular motif; a Google News search for the word rape reveals more hands for instance, here, here and here. Theres also the exploitative image that focuses completely on the woman/girl. This news report on the rape of a six-year-old girl, for instance, shows a girl sitting in the corner of a room, her face in her hands, looking up at the reader with impossibly big eyes. Forget our culture of sexualising young girls sexualising child victims is a whole new world. And then theres the post-pubescent woman, broken but conforming to the medias standards for beauty as a 16-year-old who was raped is depicted here, nail polish matching her shirt, shirt torn to reveal her shoulder, but bangles and flowing hair in place, and the shadow of the perpetrator on the wall behind her.
And lets not forget the fetal position. A woman, raped, is coiled in a fetal position, like a child as in this news report.
You might scratch your head and wonder whats wrong with showing a rape as its happening, or a woman in the aftermath of a rape. It is a news report, after all, and images attract the reader. But what story are these images telling us, and what are they hiding? We hardly ever see the perpetrators face. The woman is portrayed as helpless, even though rape victims sometimes fight or escape. The picture captures the victim in a moment in which she is broken, and pictures dont change so we think that she will never recover, even though some women recover. And we always see a beautiful woman, adhering to the standards of beauty the media has set up for us which makes one suspect that some amount of lechery is going on, too.
You might argue that these pictures convey the horror of rape to the reader. But news of rape is already horrific. These images are overkill the report becomes a thrilling horror show instead. The media putting on a show for people is a whole other debate but to do this in the case of a rape victim is to make her into a dehumanised spectacle instead.
So. Questions:
How might women who have been raped feel about seeing these images every day? Would she be traumatised? Would she believe there is nowhere to go from the position of victim?
How might women (or girls) who have not been raped feel about these images? Would they become afraid to stay at home and afraid to leave their houses? Would they live their lives in paranoia?
Why isnt an image of, say, people protesting rape used instead? There must be plenty available. Maybe those images would provide hope rather than despair hope that one can fight back, hope that people care.
Why isnt other kinds of images used instead: a man in handcuffs (as in this report), a man behind bars, a man being interrogated by the police? This is similar to the question of why the victim is mentioned in headlines but not the perpetrator.
Why are these images used for reports of violence against women? They arent used often for, say, murder reports.
And the biggest question: why do these images only tell a particular kind of story? And is this only the medias fault? The media wasnt born in a vacuum, after all. We as a culture often perceive women through a particular lens one that turns them into an object, either a sexual one, or a possession, or a machine that never needs repair (the wife-mother who is in charge of housework and doesnt fall sick) and so on. This lens makes it difficult to simply see a woman for who she is.
The skinny, friendly, pleasing, well-dressed, tireless, all-things-to-all-people, career-and-family yet pliable woman is increasingly the first image available to us when we think woman. Getty Images Lean In collection, about women who want to participate in society positively by working, living, loving more fully, illustrates this lens very well. To fit a woman into this mould is to abuse her and to participate in propagating that mould is exploitative. Yes, we do this to men too, but their mould is more flexible, their lives less systematically scrutinised.
So can the media pause and consider this lens before searching for illustrations? I believe they can. Will we still read the reports? I believe we will. But we, as consumers of media, also need to simultaneously change the way we use our eyes and cultural lenses to perceive women not to mention using our ears too.
Sneha Rajaram is writer-at-large at the online womens magazine The Ladies Finger.
Mumbai: Mumbaikars woke of to a pleasant(?) surprise Friday morning after news of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly passing an amendment to lift the beef ban in the state.
The news came following state wide criticism over the ban.
Over the past few months protests gained ground in many cities across the state, especially in Mumbai.
A protester is seen shouting "How can, how can, how can?", in a video gone viral on the social media, trembling with rage, dark eyes shining with tears outside the Chief Minister's residence. The man's piercing eyes and spit soaked lips became the face of the protests. The image is widely reproduced on interwebs in form of meme (now the most popular one originating from India, beating Honorable Prime Ministers doing yoga on the street).
Overjoyed, but reluctant Firstpost reporters stepped out of the office to capture the mood in the streets.
"Civil liberties were being trampled, but now the truth have prevailed," said one student outside Sunlight bar in South Bombay, but refused to explain the statement any further as he was getting late for his class.
"What a delicious news! Get it? Get it?" said another, slightly embarrassment of the excess saliva at the corner of his lips. "Excuse me, its been a long wait."
"It's like life has given me another chance," said a restaurant owner in Byculla. "I thought I had lost everything, but the news has renewed my faith in higher powers." Needless to say, our reporters were treated with some very special delicacies at the joint.
Firstpost also contacted CWFB (Cows Will Fight Back), a pro anti-beef NGO, and after much delay, a ststement was issued by them.
"Throughout the history, the cows have always fought back and they will continue to fight till kingdom come. This is not the end. There will be an uprising, a revolution. We'll see who ends up getting eaten in the end. The yuppies will not win."
At the time of writing, our experts were deducing this statement by the Maharashtra government.
Southern Assams Barak Valley has attracted the special attention of poll watchers: it's a state assembly poll and yet, Indias foreign policy vis-a-vis Bangladesh takes predominance over all other issues. The two major players the ruling Congress and the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have made the issue of providing shelter and citizenship to 'Hindu Bangladeshi' migrants from the neighbouring country their major poll plank in an area where Bengali speakers form the majority and Bengali is used for all administrative and other official purposes.
The valley, comprising the three districts of Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi and sharing borders with Bangladesh, has 15 seats in the 126-member Assam Assembly. In 2011, the Congress won 13 seats while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) failed to win a single seat. The Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) won one seat each. Voting for these 15 seats will be held on 4 April.
In 2014, the Modi-wave swept the Brahmaputra Valley but did not have any impact on the Barak Valley. In this election, the BJP is banking on the two notifications issued by the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance government under the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 and the Foreigners Act, 1946, which give official assurance of providing shelter to Bangladeshi Hindus fleeing to India due to alleged persecution in the neighbouring country.
The Central Government has decided, on humanitarian considerations, to exempt Bangladeshi and Pakistani nationals belonging to minority communities who have entered into India on or before 31st December, 2014 from the relevant provisions of rules and order made under the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 and the Foreigners Act, 1946, in respect of their entry and stay in India without such documents or after the expiry of those documents, as the case may be, states an official release issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs on the two notifications issued on 7 September, 2015.
However, BJP national president Amit Shah, in one of his election rallies, said Assam should not have to shoulder the burden of Hindu Bangladeshis alone and other states should share it as well. This has triggered speculation that the Bangladeshi Hindu migrants' in Assam may be resettled outside the state, causing their unwarranted displacement. Shah in his election speech also promised that his party would table a bill in the parliament for granting citizenship to Hindu Bangladeshi refugees once the BJP has majority in the Rajya Sabha.
The Congress too has made the issue of shelter to Hindu Bangladeshis one of its major poll planks. It accused the BJP of playing the same old record of providing citizenship to Hindu-Bangladeshi refugees and luring them for votes, and alleged that the Modi government has taken no step towards solving the issue in two years of its rule. To woo the Bengali Hindu voters, the Congress has also claimed that it was the first to raise the demand for providing refuge to Bangladeshi Hindus.
The valley has two Lok Sabha seats Silchar and Karimganj. In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the Congress wrested the Silchar seat from BJP but lost the Karimganj seat to AIUDF. The Congress polled the highest votes in seven assembly segments, the AIUDF in five and the BJP in three segments in 2014.
Of the total seven assembly segments under Silchar Lok Sabha constituency, the Congress polled highest votes in six (Sonai, Dholai, Udharbond, Lakhipur, Barkhola and Katigora ) while the BJP led only in Silchar assembly segment. The AIUDF finished third in all these seven segments. In Karimganj Lok Sabha constituency, the AIUDF polled highest votes in five assembly segments (Karimganj South, Badarpur, Hailakandi, Katlichera and Algapur), the BJP in two (Ratabari, Karimganj North) while the Congress polled highest votes in only Patharkandi assembly segment. In 2009, the BJP won the Silchar seat and the Congress won the Karimganj seat.
The Congress claims that the AIUDFs popularity has declined across the state and the latters support base among the Muslim voters of erstwhile East Bengal origin would shift towards the ruling party in this election as these voters perceive that only the Congress and not the AIUDF would be able to check the growth of the BJP and the Sangh parivar in the state. The ruling party is counting on this factor to win majority of the seats in the Barak Valley.
AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal, on the other hand, has made as his major poll plank the 2012 violent clashes between Bodes and Muslims of erstwhile East Bengal origin in western Assams Bodoland Territorial Area District (comprising four districts of Karajan, Chirag, Bask and Udalguri) and neighbouring areas. He is using this plank to attack the Congress for failing to protect the Muslims there. The AIUDF also hopes to gain from the polarisation of votes that can happen due to the BJPs promise to grant shelter and citizenship to Hindu Bangladeshis while maintaining that Muslim Bangladeshis would be treated as infiltrators and deported.
No doubt, poll watchers and foreign policy strategists not only in India but also in Bangladesh will be keen to know the poll outcome in Barak Valley.
New Delhi: Election Commission on Thursday issued instructions to provide a complaint redressal mechanism in each of the five poll-bound states.
The mechanism will manage written complaints as well as those received through call centres in an integrated way and in a time bound manner, an official announcement said.
Complainants will receive an acknowledgement of their complaint and be informed about the action being taken on it.
In Assam, the complaints will be received through toll free number 1950 and online application Samadhan will be available at district websites.
"Individuals can lodge complaints in physical copies in person/post/fax etc. and can still get SMS or view status of complaints if he or she wishes to," it said.
For Kerala, e-Pariharam has been launched to facilitate filing of complaints online. The URL of website is: http://e-pariharam.kerala.gov.in
In West Bengal, the IT platform is available at http://election.cloudapp.net/wb-samadhan. There is also a mobile App at Google Play Store: SAMADHAN [WEST BENGAL]. The disposal period of complaints is 24 hours in general and half an hour on the day of polling, the statement said.
In Tamil Nadu, apart from paper, phone, e-mails, online modes of complaint receipt, the complaints are also being received through Facebook, Twitter etc. The option for lodging online complaint is available on website of CEO, Tamil Nadu: http://www.elections.tn.gov.in/
In Puducherry, 24x7 helpline call centre is there for online complaints. The Election Commission of India has ensured that through these complaint redressal mechanisms, complaints at all level are properly addressed.
In Kerala, the Congress-led UDF is facing one of the worst anti-incumbency waves it has ever seen, still the party is tying itself in knots because the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president thinks a cleansing at this stage might be its only chance of redemption.
The anti-incumbency stems from a single factor corruption or the perception of corruption. For more than a year, both the Congress and one of its main allies, the Kerala Congress of Syrian Christians, have been mired in serious corruption charges. At least four ministers one from the Kerala Congress and the others from the Congress, including chief minister Oomen Chandy have been directly accused of corruption while a few other Congress functionaries are charged with political misdemeanour and cover-up efforts. Almost the entire block of the states media has turned against the government and the general perception is that there cant be smoke without fire.
The charges and the body of evidence are serious indeed and Chandy and his men have not been able to dispel them. Politics is a game of perception and Chandys Congress and the UDF have already lost it.
Chandy still wants to go ahead and face the elections with these tainted men in the vanguard as if nothing has happened, but the KPCC president, VM Sudheeran won't agree. Chandys apparent defence is that the people will return the Congress and UDF to power because of the development record of his government, and sacrificing the tainted men will cost the party their respective Assembly seats because they are veterans. Sudheeran wants to drop at least five of them, but Chandy doesnt agree. Pushed to the wall, Chandy also has the support of his rival-careerist in the party and home minister Ramesh Chennithala.
They know that an unfettered Sudheeran can hurt the interests of both.
Sudheerans logic is perfectly understandable because he knows that his party has no chance in the upcoming elections without doing something radical against the taint of corruption, but his solution comes with an inherent risk: If the tainted are sacrificed, it will be an admission of guilt; but if they are persisted with, it will be seen as brazen disregard for probity. In addition, these men are also minor satraps in their constituencies and hence denying them tickets would amount to the wilful sacrifice of five winnable seats. These numbers will be crucial in a close contest as the Congress had learned in the last elections.
Sudheerans last-ditch gamble obviously looks at the big picture that a sacrifice in five seats might redeem or even shore up the partys fallen image in the other 135 seats. However, his critics feel that this strategy has come too late in the day, and instead of an image-makeover, the party should now focus on winning using its available resources. According to them, winnability alone should be the criterion at this stage. In fact, thats precisely what the Opposition, led by the CPM, is doing. Wherever possible, its encouraging defection and playing the community and family cards besides using the glamour quotient.
So for the last three days, Sudheeran, Chandy, Chennithala and others, as well as the high command are wracking their brains in Delhi to find an exit formula that will address both the image issue and winnability. Unfortunately, however hard Sudheeran tries, theres absolutely no way of dressing up the Congress before the election, because even during the last cabinet meeting, it came up with decisions that reeked of blatant corruption. To be brazen even at the last minute when the party and the government are neck deep in corruption charges, betrays either an unshakable habit or an admission of defeat even before the polls.
Either way, it was gross.
In fact, one of Sudheerans reported grouses is that the man who has done the maximum damage is the revenue minister, Adoor Prakash, who is not only accused of corruption but also of collusion with a liquor baron who has irreversibly defaced Chandy government.
Reportedly, both Sudheeran and Chandy are unwilling to yield to each others demands. The former, for whatever reasons, wants nothing sort of a purge, but Chandy cant agree because that will completely unsettle him. The people Sudheeran has picked on are mostly Chandys men except Adoor, who is from Chennithalas camp. Losing them will denude Chandy of his armour.
It doesnt matter if Sudheerans strategy works out or not, because its too late to recover lost ground. Despite all the much-claimed development efforts and big ticket projects, the Congress and the UDF government it led were reckless and will have to pay a price. Sudheerans cosmetic changes, even if he manages to get them done, are hardly a challenge to the CPM and the LDF because their stockpile of ammunition against its rivals is quite formidable.
The only question now is if its going to be a landslide or a close-win for the LDF.
With the first phase of elections in Assam slated for 4 April, the two major parties are busy with frantic campaigning. The BJP has fielded all their big guns. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already done his bit of campaigning and collected huge crowds. BJP president Amit Shah too was in Assam, so is star campaigner Smirti Irani. AICC General Secretary Rahul Gandhi is campaigning both in the Bengali speaking Barak valley as well as in Assam constituencies that go to the polls in the first phase. Congress president Sonia Gandhi has addressed several meetings. The Congress campaign is low-key compared to the high octane BJP bid with leaders flying in from across the country to do their bit.
Assam has never seen an election like this before. Though everyone admits that, for the first time, the BJP and its allies the Asom Gana Parishad and the Bodoland Peoples Front has an edge in the state assembly elections, the Congress is also posing a tough fight mainly in rural Assam. Incumbency is a major factor for Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi.
The Assamese middle class, as well the prosperous Marwari traders and the Bengali Hindus in the Brahmaputra valley, are solidly behind the BJP. The Bengali speakers of the Barak valley are also with the BJP. But the factional fight within the Congress in the Barak region, which has been the bane of the party, has for now closed ranks as it fights for survival.
Strategic voting and last minute swing
In the last couple of years the Muslim vote bank of the Congress was hijacked by Badruddin Ajmal, a top notch businessmen dealing with attar, and his All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF). He is the president of the state Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind. His AIUDF was the largest opposition in the last state legislature with 18 seats. But the report from the ground is that with the polarisation that is taking place in Assam, Muslim minorities and the immigrant community are having second thoughts about the AIUDF.
The minorities want to scupper the BJPs chances of forming the next government in the state. They believe that switching allegiance from Ajmal to the Congress would be a more effective way to stop the BJP juggernaut. Ajmal so far has never been in a position to form a government. They also believe that Ajmal with his business interests in Assam, Mumbai and in the Gulf will have to play ball with the BJP government in New Delhi. So despite his rhetoric, Ajmal will not stand up for them. "He has neither the vision nor the clout to help Muslims, though he does enormous charity work through his foundation. But Muslim minorities worried about the BJP are thinking of shifting alliance to a national party like the Congress, said political observer Haider Hussain. But the decision will be taken just a day or two before polling . That is the way it operates in Assam, Hussain explained. There are around 30 assembly constituencies in the 126 member assembly, where the Muslims can make a difference. Yet it is not that all minorities will desert Ajmal. That can be fragmentation here too.
Himanta Biswa Sarma factor
The mood across the state is for change. Fifteen years of Congress rule is enough say many. The chant is for clean government and development. People are fed up with corruption. Ironically Himanta Biswa Sarma, who switched over to the BJP from the Congress, is allegedly one of the most corrupt politicians in the state. Yet now that he is with the BJP no one talks of it.
The man behind the BJP campaign and the one who is making the difference is Sarma. Despite the allegations of corruption, he was the one minister in Chief Minister Tarun Gogois cabinet who worked tirelessly and delivered. Sarma is known to be a fantastic organiser. The Congress win in the previous elections had much to do with Sarmas popularity among the masses and his exceptional organisational skills. "The BJP without Sarma backing them would not have won more than ten seats. He is the one who is giving a massive push to the party," said Hussain. The talk in Assam is that it is Sarma and not the chief ministerial candidate, Sabananda Sonwal, who is the face of the BJP. He is there sitting besides the Prime Minister, Amit Shah and all the big wigs who fly in from Delhi. Sonwal is a light weight in Assam politics.
The illegal immigrants issue
The emotive issue of illegal influx of immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh is no longer in the forefront. The AGP, made up of leaders of the All Assam Student Union came to power, after spearheading a popular movement against Bangladeshi immigrants. But once they assumed power, the AGP could not live up to its promise of sending the illegal entrants back. The BJP, including Prime Minister Modi had spoken of the dangers posed by Muslim migrants while campaigning for the 2014 parliamentary polls. But today, neither the AGP nor the BJP are focusing on this. Instead the agenda is development, jobs and clean government. ends.
Sabang: Taking a dig at her political opponents, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday mocked at the CPM-Congress alliance, calling it "unholy" and urged people to defeat the combine as it has no "ideology".
"The CPM and Congress alliance is unholy one. Defeat this unholy alliance as it has no ideology," Banerjee said at her poll campaign here in West Midnapore district.
Launching her tirade against the Congress, Banerjee said, "The party has deviated so much from its principle and ideology that it doesn't even hesitate to forge an unholy alliance with the CPI(M) which had carried on attacks on Congressmen in Sabang and other places in the state several
times and even killed many Congress workers in the area as well as in other parts of Bengal."
"I have come to Sabang and its adjacent Pingla several times since the time of undivided Congress and I know how the then ruling party CPM ill-treated the Congress workers. Now the Congress has entered into alliance with the CPM. The Congress should be ashamed of its act," Banerjee said.
Directing her ire towards Congress, she added, "The Congress today is so much devoid of its principle and ideology that it has no qualms to join hands with an all-time enemy. I had left Congress much earlier anticipating its erosion in values and ideology," Banerjee said.
"During the rule of the erstwhile LF Government, people were in panic in the entire state. The entire opposition was humiliated by the then ruling party who are known for their act in Singur, Nandigram and Netai etc. People should reject those who join hands with the CPM," she said.
Claiming her government has put Jangalmahal on the development path, Banerjee said "The erstwhile Left Front government did not pay any attention to the development work in the state, but we have undertaken major development work and have restored peace in the disturbed areas like Jangalmahal and in Darjeeling hills."
Banerjee called upon people to cast their votes for Trinamool Congress candidates from Sabang and Pingla - Nirmal Ghosh and Soumen Mahapatra respectively - who were pitted against the Congress candidate Manas Bhuniya at Sabang and the LF ally DSP candidate Probodh Chandra Sinha at Pingla.
New Delhi/Mumbai: Liquor baron Vijay Mallya will not present himself before ED investigators in Mumbai on Saturday even as he sought time until May to depose before the agency which is probing his role in a money laundering case in the over Rs 900 crore IDBI loan fraud case.
The investigating officer of the case at ED's Mumbai zonal office, officials said, has been informed by Mallya that he will not be able to keep the scheduled date of 2 April and that he should be given a fresh date, sometime in May.
It is understood that Mallya has informed the IO that cases related to bank loans are currently ongoing in the Supreme Court and he is trying to settle these loans with the help of his legal and corporate team and, hence, would require some more time.
It is learnt that while ED is mulling options for its next action, it may not be "too keen" to accede to his request given the "gravity" of the PMLA case.
They said the IO has until now not got back to Mallya with his decision.
"His personal appearance is important to unravel the alleged irregularities reported to have been done in the IDBI loan fraud case. Money laundering offences probe are serious. Also, under PMLA, the onus to prove not guilty is on the accused and not on the investigating agency," sources said.
The agency, by and large, has two options, either to agree and issue him a third date or undertake steps to possibly take legal action for revoking his passport.
Mallya was first summoned by the central probe agency to "appear in person" at its office in the Ballard Pier area of the western metropolis on 18 March but after he sought more time citing his prior engagements, the agency asked him to depose on 2 April.
"All options are open. The merits of the case will decide the future course of action," sources said.
Mallya and Kingfisher Airlines Ltd HAD on 30 March submitted to the Supreme Court in a sealed cover a proposal for repayment of Rs 4,000 crore out of the loan amount of Rs 6,903 crore to the consortium of banks led by State Bank of India by September this year.
The United Breweries (UB) Chairman was first issued summons by ED under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and it required him to furnish documents related to his personal investments and finances, Income Tax Returns for the last five years and Passport.
The ED had recently registered a money laundering case against Mallya and others based on a CBI FIR registered last year. The agency is also investigating the overall financial structure of the now defunct Kingfisher Airlines and will look into any payment of kickbacks to secure loan.
Karachi: Fifty-nine Indian fishermen have been arrested and their 10 boats seized by Pakistani authorities for allegedly violating the country's territorial waters.
The fishermen were arrested by Pakistan's Maritime Security Agency (MSA) while they were fishing in Sir Creek, a disputed area on the maritime border of Sindh and Gujarat.
"The fishermen were presented before a magistrate today and have been sent to judicial remand," a senior police officer said.
The MSA detained them here yesterday and seized 10 boats. The fishermen belong to Gujarat.
The 59 fishermen have been taken into custody and cases have been lodged against them under section 3 and 4 of the Foreigners Act and 3 and 9 of the Fisheries Act, the Express Tribune quoted a police official as saying.
Both Indian and Pakistani fishermen are often arrested for illegal fishing since the Arabian Sea border is not clearly defined and many boats lack the technology to fix their precise location.
In two goodwill gestures last month, Pakistan freed 86 fishermen in two batches each.
Some 377 more Indian prisoners are languishing in the Malir jail out of whom 116 have to complete their sentences while the remaining 261 are undertrials.
New Delhi: China has yet again blocked India's bid at the United Nations to ban Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar, the mastermind of the Pathankot terror attack.
According to highly placed sources, just hours before the deadline, earlier on Friday, China requested the UN committee, which is considering a ban on the JeM chief, to keep on hold the designation.
India has taken strong exception to this, with Union minister Kiren Rijiju saying New Delhi will take "appropriate action". "What China has done was not good. Ministry of External Affairs will take appropriate action. Whatever action is required, we will take," he said.
Following the attack on the IAF base at Pathankot on 2 January, India wrote to the UN in February calling for immediate action to list Azhar under the Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee.
The submission was armed with strong evidence of the outfit's terror activities and its role in the Pathankot attack that killed seven Indian military personnel.
India also told the UN Sanctions Committee that not listing Azhar would expose it and other countries in South Asia to threats from the terror group.
The India submission was considered by the Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate (CTED) on technical aspects of the evidence provided. The technical team, with the support of the US, UK and France, then sent it to all the members, sources said.
All were told that if there are no objections the designation will be announced after the expiry of the deadline. "However, hours before the deadline, China requested the committee to hold up the banning of the JeM chief," sources said.
According to other government sources, the Chinese action was in "consultation" with Pakistan, which is not on the UN committee. The UN had banned JeM in 2001, but Indias efforts to ban Azhar after the Mumbai terror attack also did not fructify as China, one of the five permanent members of the UN group with veto powers, didnt allow the ban, apparently at the behest of Pakistan again.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is no shrinking violet when it comes to warmly wishing world leaders and Indian political leaders on their birthdays.
So it was no surprise when he took to Twitter to send out greetings to North Korea's Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un on his big day:
Analysts of diplomacy and international relations are hailing this simple tweet as a landmark move in India's foreign policy. Security analyst Olof P Lira from the Centre for Social Media in Diplomacy told Firstpost, "Modi has always been very energetic and forthright with his foreign policy engagements whether travelling across the globe to meet global leaders or making a personal connection with them over social media. This is just another example of that, but what he's done very cleverly is to engage the pariah nation that is North Korea."
An official from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), "This is part of a broader vision to bring everyone together on the same page so that all countries can pull together in a common direction to fight poverty, climate change and terrorism." Readers may recall the prime minister's outreach to Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe during the India Africa Forum Summit last year, in this context.
With North Korea-China relations entering a rocky patch, it's not entirely unimaginable that Modi wants New Delhi wants to fill the void in Pyongyang's heart, where Beijing once sat pretty.
Nevertheless in North Korea, the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that while Twitter wasn't available in Kim's office, he had been informed of the tweet. "Supreme Leader found out about the birthday greetings by phone and was very pleased. He noted that it is important for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to have allies like India in difficult times like these. He also expressed his hope that a bilateral visit from Modi might be on the cards, stating that 'there will be cake'," reported KCNA, while adding, "Supreme Leader would like to point out though that today is only one of his birthdays, as he has four of them."
The Indian MEA also issued a statement, which you can read here.
Yangon: Myanmar military MPs on Friday said a plan to bolster Aung San Suu Kyi's power with a special advisory role was unconstitutional, as the new civilian government tussled with the Army just days after taking office.
The Southeast Asian nation was dominated by the military for more than half a century until Wednesday when Suu Kyi and her pro-democracy party took power.
The Nobel laureate, whose party secured a landslide election win in November, has vowed to rule the country despite a constitutional block on her becoming president.
In a surprise early act of parliamentary business by the new government, Suu Kyi's party proposed a bill to grant her a special "state counsellor" position. If passed, it would give the 70-year-old a steering role over Parliament, buttressed by the four ministerial posts she already holds in the new cabinet.
In a sign of early turbulence between her party and the still hugely influential Army, military MPs called the move unconstitutional in an Upper House debate on Friday that saw the Bill pass its first legislative hurdle.
Colonel Myint Swe raised fears the plan would place the "President and the advisor at the same level". "This is in opposition to the Constitution. So I would like to suggest the Bill be amended according to the Constitution," he told lawmakers.
Another army lawmaker, Colonel Hla Win Aung, also decried the naming of Suu Kyi in the Bill and warned it could "destroy" the charter's balance of power between the legislature, executive and judiciary.
The Army is reserved a quarter of all parliamentary seats by a charter they scripted. The NLD's huge election win gave it a sweeping majority in the legislature, so the Bill passed a vote in the upper house, but still needs to be approved in the Lower House and combined Parliament.
Suu Kyi is the head of the National League for Democracy party and the figurehead of its near 30-year struggle to end military domination. She is barred from the presidency by a clause in the junta-drafted charter disqualifying those with foreign close relatives. Her late husband and two sons are British. She has pledged to rule through her longtime friend and confidante Htin Kyaw, who was sworn in as President Wednesday.
But observers have raised concerns over how her novice government will tackle mammoth challenges in a nation scarred by decades of repressive and economically-destructive army rule.
Suu Kyi is taking on a huge workload in the new administration, running the ministries of foreign affairs, education, energy and the president's office.
Islamabad: At least 59 Indian fishermen were arrested in Pakistan for poaching in the country's waters, the media reported on Friday.
The Indian fishermen were arrested by the Maritime Security Agency (MSA) on Thursday while they were fishing in the Pakistani limits of the Arabian Sea, said a senior official.
Most of the arrested fishermen, he said, belonged to the Indian state of Gujarat.
The fresh arrest of Indian fishermen came days after the two countries released imprisoned fishermen.
On 6 March, Pakistan released around 87 Indian fishermen and then only after two weeks, on 20 March, it freed 86 more, who left for Lahore by train in the afternoon where they were handed over to Indian authorities at the Wagah border.
On 17 March, nine Pakistani fishermen were freed by India after they had spent some 17 months in the Jamnagar jail in Gujarat
Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a stirring speech on the first day of the 2016 Nuclear Security Summit being held in Washington, DC, urging nations to pay more attention to the threats posed by terrorism, especially in light of the Brussels attacks last week where 35 people were killed.
We are no longer looking for a man in a cave, but we are hunting for a terrorist in a city with a computer or a smartphone. State actors working with nuclear traffickers and terrorists present the greatest risk, he told delegates at the nuclear summit, which he is attending for the first time.
Noting that terror has evolved, Modi said terrorists are using 21st century technology. But our responses are rooted in the past. The reach and supply chains of terrorism are global, but genuine cooperation between nation states is not. Drop the notion that terrorism is someone elses problem and that his terrorist is not my terrorist. Terrorism is globally networked. But we still act only nationally to counter this threat, the PM told the international community.
The Nuclear Security Summit is a flagship event of US President Barack Obamas tenure, and the second time the US has hosted it. A total of 50 representatives are attending the event, including French President Francois Hollande, British PM David Cameron, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Canadian Premier Justin Trudeau, South Korean President Park Geun-hye, etc.
And while Modi is likely to interact directly with Obama on a number of occasions over the two days, no official bilateral meeting has been announced by either side. The summit would deliberate on the crucial issue of threat to nuclear security caused by nuclear terrorism. Leaders would discuss ways and measures through which to strengthen the global nuclear security architecture, especially to ensure that non-state actors do not get access to nuclear material, Modi had said before embarking on the tour.
However, he did meet with New Zealand Premier John Key and discussed bilateral ties, trade and tourism.
The Pyongyang puzzle
Of special interest to the delegates is the question of how to stop an increasingly belligerent North Korea. Pyongyang has been flexing its nuclear muscle in recent weeks, posturing aggressively, conducting missile tests and threatening to attack neighbours Japan and South Korea, and also the US. President Obama is hopeful that in the final months of his eight-year Presidency, he would be able to get help from Seoul and Tokyo in ensuring North Korea is free of nuclear weapons.
We are united in our efforts to deter and defend against North Korean provocations, Obama said at a press briefing, flanked by Geun-hye and Abe. We recognised that our security is linked, and that we have to meet together to meet this challenge.
Islamic threats
Following the Brussels attacks, there emerged news about the Islamic State terrorists acquiring nuclear armed material. The possibility of nuclear weapons in the hands of IS terrorists also came up at the summit.
But the US has said that the possibility is quite remote. "We don't have any indications that it was part of a broader plan to acquire nuclear materials, and we don't have any information that a broader plot exists," said Laura Holgate, special assistant to the president and senior director for WMD terrorism and threat reduction.
According to deputy national security advisor Ben Rhodes, the nuclear security summit provides an opportunity both to look at securing nuclear materials so that terrorists are not able to acquire them because of security arrangements.
"And also how we are also targeting IS and countering them more broadly. So again, both looking at denying access to the most dangerous materials and going on offense against IS broadly. We've seen over the years different terrorist organisations have ambitions related to acquiring nuclear materials. We've seen that in their public statements. We've seen that in different cases in terms of their monitoring of nuclear facilities," he said.
The no-shows
However, the event was also marked by the conspicuous absence of Russia, which chose to give the summit a miss. This made breakthroughs on nuclear security unlikely, given Moscows vast nuclear stockpile. The snub was not completely unexpected, given the long-running rift between Russia and the US. But the White House pointed out that Russia has nevertheless cooperated on nuclear issues, not least its role in the talks with Iran over curbing its nuclear programme. "You want Russia at the table on issues of nuclear security," Rhodes said. "They only isolate themselves by not attending summits like this."
Moreover, Iran wasn't invited to the event. A country once thought to be pursuing a controversial and illegitimate nuclear programme, has since been brought in line with international norms through last year's historic nuclear deal, but Tehran was missing from the guest list, though many felt, having them attend could have strengthened international nuclear security.
Diyarbakir: Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Friday made a rare visit to the Kurdish-dominated city of Diyarbakir, declaring he was "not scared" after an attack blamed on rebels that killed seven police.
Officials pointed the finger at the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) for the car bomb attack on a police bus in Diyarbakir Thursday that underlined the precarious security situation in the main city in Turkey's southeast.
Turkish security forces have since the summer waged a relentless campaign to drive PKK militants out of urban centres in the southeast, leading to ferocious clashes that show no sign of abating.
Davutoglu began his visit which took place under heavy security by attending a funeral ceremony for the police killed.
In a symbolic move, he then took part in Friday prayers outside the Great Mosque in the central Sur district.
"They thought that we would be scared. But we are not scared, we will not waver and we will go right to the end," he said.
Pictures showed army snipers in position on the roof of the mosque.
"Perhaps they thought 'Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu will not come to Diyarbakir for fear of these attacks'. But dear people of Diyarbakir, are you scared of them?" he added.
Parts of Sur have been under curfew since the military launched a major operation against the PKK in the area on 2 December, with the clashes causing widespread destruction to the historic district.
The premier's visit was his first to Diyarbakir since the operation began. He last visited on the eve of November elections.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said this week that 355 members of the security forces had been killed in fighting with the PKK since a two-year truce collapsed last summer.
He also claimed 5,359 members of the PKK had been killed but it was not possible to confirm that toll.
Erdogan, currently on a high-stakes visit to Nato ally the United States, said the Diyarbakir attack showed the world the true nature of the PKK.
"We cannot tolerate this any more," he said.
ROCKLAND, Mass. and MCLEAN, Va. -- DoubleTree by Hilton, one of Hilton Worldwide's (NYSE: HLT) 13 market-leading brands, has broadened its presence in New England with the opening of DoubleTree by Hilton Boston-Rockland in the popular South Shore area of Massachusetts. The new, 127-room property opened following a multi-million dollar renovation, and is located in the busy suburban region between bustling Boston and historic Plymouth. Formerly a Holiday Inn, the hotel is owned and managed by Linchris Hotel Corporation.
Nestled in the peaceful community of Rockland just 21 miles south of Boston Logan International Airport near Interstate 93, DoubleTree by Hilton Boston-Rockland offers convenient access to many greater Boston destinations. Surrounded by trees and just minutes from picturesque Nantasket Beach, as well as a number of universities and company headquarters, the hotel provides an idyllic getaway for vacation and business travelers alike. Extensive renovations to the five-story hotel have transformed the lobby and fully-updated guest rooms with a sleek, modern design complemented by all-new furnishings.
"The South Shore is a hub of leisure and business activity, making it a great location for this new addition to our DoubleTree by Hilton portfolio of hotels," said Dianna Vaughan, senior vice president and global head, DoubleTree by Hilton. "We are excited to bring our culture of care to life at the beautifully-renovated DoubleTree by Hilton Boston-Rockland, and to deliver experiences that will truly allow our guests to relax and unwind during their stay with us."
Each stay at DoubleTree by Hilton Boston-Rockland begins with a warm DoubleTree chocolate chip cookie greeting, which signifies the brand's industry-recognized service culture built around the idea of CARE, which stands for Create a Rewarding Experience for guests, Team Members and the community.
The hotel's spacious guest rooms feature the DoubleTree Sweet Dreams Sleep Experience with either a king-sized bed or two queen beds, plus such amenities as a 47-inch HDTV, coffeemaker and safe. Complimentary Wi-Fi is provided in each guest room and suite, as well as in public areas.
Guests can enjoy a number of dining options including 24-hour room service or can sit down for a relaxing meal at Conrad's Bar & Grill, which features American cuisine for breakfast, and dinner. The adjoining bar offers cocktails and light fare until midnight.
Additionally, the hotel provides a 24-hour fitness center featuring new Precor equipment and a 24-hour business center. Guests at DoubleTree by Hilton Boston-Rockland will also find the only outdoor heated pool in Rockland, as well as complimentary parking that surrounds the building.
DoubleTree by Hilton Boston-Rockland boasts nearly 4,000 square feet of meeting space, and its Regency Grand Ballroom featuring vaulted ceilings with large chandeliers, and a calming blue and neutral tone color palette is ideal for weddings, conferences and other events accommodating up to 225 guests. For smaller groups, the hotel offers the Meetings Simplified by DoubleTree by Hilton package for $55 per person, which includes a meeting room; basic meeting Wi-Fi; meeting room supplies including a flipchart, markers, extension and power cord; and all day non-alcoholic beverage service. Catering services and a dedicated events staff are available to enhance any event.
In addition to the iconic warm chocolate chip cookie welcome, the hotel provides guests with a full complement of services and DoubleTree by Hilton brand amenities, including the Wake Up DoubleTree Breakfast, an assortment of gourmet in-room tea and coffee offerings by The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, and a refreshing array of the Aroma Actives Essentials natural skin and body care line.
"Our newly refurbished hotel and highly-trained staff offer a winning combination for guests sampling the many business, cultural and leisure pursuits along the South Shore," said Jenna Bergamino, general manager, DoubleTree by Hilton Boston-Rockland. "We are delighted to provide the exemplary service that is engrained in the world-renowned DoubleTree by Hilton culture."
DoubleTree by Hilton Boston-Rockland participates in the Hilton HHonors loyalty program, which is open to all guests and free to join; visit here for enrollment information. HHonors members always get our lowest price with our Best Price Guarantee, along with HHonors Points, free standard Wi-Fi, access to digital check-in and Digital Key, and no hidden fees, only when they book directly through Hilton. To mark the hotel's opening, Hilton HHonors members will earn double bonus points from April 1, 2016 through September 30, 2016 when booking the best available rate. Based on availability, Gold and Diamond members will also enjoy free premium Wi-Fi and upgrades to the hotel's exclusive Hilton HHonors floor and complimentary Wake Up DoubleTree Breakfast.
DoubleTree by Hilton Boston-Rockland is located at 929 Hingham Street, Rockland, Massachusetts 02370. For more information, or to make a reservation, travelers may visit bostonrockland.doubletree.com or call +1 781 871 0545.
Media may access additional information on DoubleTree by Hilton Boston-Rockland at news.doubletree.com/rockland. For more news on DoubleTree by Hilton hotel openings, visit news.doubletree.com.
The DoubleTree by Hilton Boston-Rockland is owned by Rockland TBL Operating Group Inc. and managed by Linchris Hotel Corporation. Founded in 1985, Linchris Hotel Corporation currently owns and manages 35 hotels in 11 states. Built on the premise that good service is paramount to the financial success of any hotel, Linchris Hotel Corporation is a growing, full and limited-service hotel management company with an outstanding reputation for high quality and first-rate service in hotel property management and the hospitality industry. Linchris Hotel Corporation has a proven track record for consistently adding value to the hotel properties under its management, which allows them to achieve the highest hospitality industry standards and top performance ratings from guests and hotel industry critics alike. For more information, visit Linchris.com.
About Hilton
Hilton (NYSE: HLT) is a leading global hospitality company with a portfolio of 18 world-class brands comprising more than 6,800 properties and more than 1 million rooms, in 122 countries and territories. Dedicated to fulfilling its founding vision to fill the earth with the light and warmth of hospitality, Hilton has welcomed more than 3 billion guests in its more than 100-year history, earned a top spot on the 2021 World's Best Workplaces list and been recognized as a global leader on the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices for five consecutive years. In 2021, in addition to opening more than one hotel a day, Hilton introduced several industry-leading technology enhancements to improve the guest experience, including Digital Key Share, automated complimentary room upgrades and the ability to book confirmed connecting rooms. Through the award-winning guest loyalty program Hilton Honors, the nearly 128 million members who book directly with Hilton can earn Points for hotel stays and experiences money can't buy. With the free Hilton Honors app, guests can book their stay, select their room, check in, unlock their door with a Digital Key and check out, all from their smartphone. Visit newsroom.hilton.com for more information, and connect with Hilton on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.
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+1 703 883 5381
Hilton
Malcolm Turnbull is facing one of his most difficult and potentially dangerous tests since seizing the prime ministership, with one premier accusing him of treating the states like badly-behaved children and another slamming his offer of extra health funding as "pathetic".
Mr Turnbull is on Friday expected to offer the states around $3 billion in extra short-term funding for hospitals, but no extra money for schools. Mr Turnbull is pushing for the states to be be able to raise a proportion of income tax for the first time since World War II, a move he says would allow them to take full responsibility for public schools.
Western Australian Premier Colin Barnett has enthusiastically embraced Mr Turnbull's proposals but Labor premiers and Tasmania's Liberal premier have poured cold water on the ideas.
"We will use whatever powers are available to us including the powers of summons and subpoena to make sure the executives involved have to explain their behaviour to the Australian public," Senator Dastyari said. "The government might only be interested in trade union activity but the size and scope of what has been exposed by Fairfax is shocking and cannot be ignored." Justice Minister Michael Keenan said in a statement that taking action against bribery and corporate corruption was "an ongoing task," and that, "the Coalition will continue to explore options to strengthen our laws and our means of enforcing them". Corporate crime fighters in the US and Europe have urged Australia to ramp up its anti-corporate corruption regime. They say the failure to prosecute Australian firms for bribery may be due to under-resourcing, and that corporate crime investigations are not given priority by Australian authorities. Fairfax Media can reveal that Mr Gregg is the subject of an active criminal investigation by corporate watchdog ASIC over a $15 million offshore payment. Leaked documents apparently bearing Mr Gregg's personal signature indicate he authorised a suspect payment to a United Arab Emirates firm, Asian Global Projects and Trading, in August 2011. The document says the payment was made to guarantee the supply of steel to the Australian construction giant at "preferred and commercially beneficial" prices.
But no steel was ever supplied. The company that received the $15 million is, according to leaked documents, run by an Indian consultant, Mahesh Khemka, who has been involved in money laundering and bribery. Mr Khemka is also closely linked to an Indian businessman who in 2011 was being pressured by Leighton Holdings to finalise a stalled business deal. Mr Gregg is understood to have paid Mr Khemka's firm the $15 million on the advice of this Indian businessman or his associates, having conducted none of his own due diligence. ASIC is investigating whether the $15 million payment has breached Australian laws, exposing Mr Gregg to possible criminal or civil prosecution. Documents also reveal that Mr Khemka was, in the months prior to the $15 million payment, used by other senior figures from Leighton Offshore to launder money and pay $5.6 million in bribes. There is no suggestion Mr Gregg knew of these earlier dealings by his colleagues. Mr Gregg did not answer a series of questions about whether he conducted any due diligence into Mr Khemka before paying the $15 million. His lawyer sent a statement which said Mr Gregg "denies he has breached any laws" and that he had co-operated with ASIC's investigators.
Rob Ferguson, the chairman of the company of which Mr Gregg is now CEO, Primary Health Care, said he had "every confidence" in Mr Gregg, despite the allegations. Mr Ferguson's comments stand in contrast to the recent resignation of Australian Securities Exchange chief executive, Elmer Funke Kupper, who quit after learning he was a target of a criminal investigation into an allegedly illegal offshore payment. The payment was also revealed by Fairfax Media and was allegedly made by Tabcorp to secure a Cambodian gaming licence in 2010, when Mr Funke Kupper was CEO of the gaming giant. In developments outside of Australia, Fairfax Media can reveal that US giants Halliburton and Kellogg, Brown & Root, are among the corporate players embroiled in the Unaoil bribes-for-contracts revelations, part of the biggest leak of confidential files in the history of the oil industry. A joint Fairfax Media and Huffington Post investigation has revealed the corrupt practices inside a Monaco company called Unaoil, which specialises in bribing officials in oil-producing nations to win government contracts for multinationals. The latest revelations show Unaoil's campaign of corruption spread across the former Soviet states. Leaked Unaoil files reveal that one of the crooked middlemen, Stefano Borghi, who worked with Unaoil in Kazakhstan, was also working with Australian firm WorleyParsons around 2008.
In conjunction with Unaoil, Borghi paid kickbacks to the senior managers who oversaw oilfield contracts. The oilfields were jointly managed by the Kazakhstan government and Italian international oil company Eni. In return for bribes, Eni managers leaked inside information and rigged tender committees to assist Borghi and Unaoil's multinational clients. The leaked files revealed that in 2008, Borghi and Unaoil stood to make hundreds of thousands of dollars if they helped a consortium led by WorleyParsons to win a multimillion-dollar contract. "In case of award to PARSONS or any third party represented by PARSONS, ECO [Unaoil's British Virgin Islands company] shall be entitled to receive a fee equal to 1% (one percent) of the total price of the portion of the contract awarded to PARSONS," a leaked Unaoil memo states. Another email shows that, in 2007, a senior WorleyParsons manager used Borghi to find out confidential information in Kazakhstan through "the back door".
At the time, Borghi was bribing a corrupt Eni manager whose job was to oversee several large contracts in Kazakhstan. The manager, Diego Braghi, was leaking sensitive information from a tender committee that was considering whether to award the WorleyParsons' consortium a contract on the Kashagan oilfield. Managers from the consortium asked Borghi to leak information about their competitors, and to get other forms of assistance from tender committee insiders. Unaoil regarded WorleyParsons as a company able to pay middlemen huge sums to win contracts. Other firms, including US giant KBR, had scaled back these practices due to concerns over corruption. "WP [WorleyParsons] do not have any of the constraints that kbr do now and can pay serious fees," Unaoil's memo says. In the end, for the WorleyParsons manager handling the transaction, this preparedness to do the wrong thing paid off. Worley beat their competitors and won the contract.
Washington: Maybe this is when the Teflon comes off. As American eyes turn to the Wisconsin primaries on Tuesday, Republican front runner Donald Trump appears to be stumbling even before he collides with a wall of opposition hastily erected by a GOP establishment that hopes to break his legs in what Americans affectionately call the Badger State.
In what proved to be his worst week on the campaign trail to date, Trump's campaign manager was arrested on a battery charge, after he manhandled a female reporter; and Trump demonstrated rare political talent, by offending both the pro and anti-abortion camps with a crazed, if briefly held belief that women who have abortions should be punished. And for good measure, the candidate lamented the existence of those pesky Geneva Conventions.
Wisconsin is venerable political turf. In the Midwest, this is a state that Barack Obama swept in 2012; but it's also something of a laboratory for hard-right policies with Republican Governor Scott Walker being celebrated and twice re-elected for his neutering of public-sector trade unions.
The Saudi-owned television news channel Al Arabiya has shut its offices in Lebanon and dismissed 27 employees, two of its journalists said Friday, in a sudden move that comes amid political tensions between Riyadh and Beirut.
Saudi Arabia already had cut $3 billion in military aid to Lebanon after the Lebanese government failed to condemn an attack on the Saudi Embassy in Tehran in January.
The Sunni Gulf monarchy interpreted Lebanon's lack of public solidarity as a sign that it had become beholden to the Lebanese Shi'ite group Hezbollah, which is backed by Saudi Arabia's main regional ally, Iran.
"We were informed that the offices have been shut and that 27 employees have been fired," one Al Arabiya journalist said.
A statement from the channel confirmed that its Beirut office had been shut, describing the move as a restructuring brought about by "challenges on the ground" and its concern for employees safety.
Al Arabiya, one of the main Arabic language broadcasters in the Middle East, is part of the Saudi-owned Middle East Broadcasting Center (MBC).
Senior U.S. officials say it is unfortunate Russia chose not to attend the Nuclear Security Summit, but that Washington will continue bilateral and multilateral discussions with Moscow on fighting nuclear terrorism and the effort to remove international stocks of highly enriched uranium.
Separately, Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Countryman told VOA in an interview Friday that the U.S. and other world powers hoped to adopt concrete measures that would help ensure nuclear safety.
"It is not just adding urgency, it is also specific concrete improvements in the protection of nuclear material around the world so that terrorists can not steal that dangerous material," he said.
On the matter of Russian-U.S. cooperation, Countryman said both countries were faithfully implementing their agreement to reduce nuclear weapons stockpiles to as close to zero as possible.
By 2018, the two countries will reduce their nuclear arsenals by 80 percent from the levels that had been reached "at the height of the Cold War," Countryman told reporters during a briefing at the summit.
WATCH: Two U.S. officials talk about nuclear security
Countryman said the risk that nuclear material could fall into terrorists' hands, and possibly be used in "dirty bombs," was a main topic at Friday's final sessions of the two-day summit. U.S. officials stressed the need for "concrete, practical results" that can be achieved through international cooperation on the issue, he added.
This round of nuclear security talks included, for the first time, a special session on preventing nuclear materials from falling into the hands of terrorists such as the Islamic State group.
Not overshadowed
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Friday that he did not think the summit was overshadowed by concerns about IS terrorism, although he noted the United States remained concerned about any extremists acquiring nuclear materials for possible conversion into weapons.
Kerry discussed the nuclear terrorism issue during a meeting with the European Union's top foreign policy official, Federica Mogherini, on the sidelines of the summit.
Ambassador Bonnie Jenkins, who coordinates U.S. participation in nuclear threat reduction programs, said the United States was continuing to work with China on preventing North Korea from developing its nuclear program any further.
Jenkins said regional centers have been established in Asia to train professionals in various aspects of nuclear security. There is one in China, one in South Korea and one in Japan, and the three countries have established something called Asian Network" in which they are collaborating, she said.
She told VOA the U.S. was increasingly focused on trying to prevent attacks by militant groups.
"There is a lot more focus now on nonstate actors, particularly because it is such a difficult threat. You have to follow people. You have to follow money and what people can carry with them and what they can take on a plane, and so it is a lot more of a challenge," she said.
Since the last nuclear security summit in 2014, Russia, Uzbekistan and Switzerland have closed several of their nuclear reactors that produced highly enriched uranium. In addition, Obama administration officials said, Indonesia, Germany and other countries have begun reducing their stockpiles of nuclear material, with a goal of eliminating them.
New Macau Association (ANM) president Scott Chiang and vice-president Jason Chao called on the Macau Civil Aviation Authority (AACM) yesterday for the immediate release of the investigation report into the fractured landing gear on a Mega Maldives Airlines plane last year.
As reported on Tuesday, an aircraft operated by Mega Maldives Airlines was forced to remain grounded at the Macau airport after its landing gear suddenly malfunctioned last May. It remained there for two months until Boeing Shanghai sent staff to repair it.
The association representatives have said that they want to know when the investigation was (or will be) concluded, as well as when the final report will be released and the justification for withholding the report contrary to the requirements outlined in the law and by international convention.
According to Law no. 2/2013 Civil Aviation Accident and Incident Investigation and Aviation Safety Information Protection Law and Annex 13 to the Chicago Convention, the State conducting the investigation should release the final report in the shortest possible time and, if possible, within twelve months of the date of the occurrence.
ANM added that if the second delay of Mega Maldives Airlines hadnt attracted considerable media attention, the public might still be in the dark about the landing gear incident last year.
The problem is two-sided: firstly an airline with a safety record that is less-than-perfect [is operating in Macau], and secondly, Macau as a member of the international community has a responsibility to monitor and report these situations to the community, said ANM president, Scott Chiang.
They also said that the incident could impact tourism in the city and may affect Macau residents seeking to travel abroad. In addition to the fare, service and safety records are often taken into account when passengers go to book their flights so the AACM should let the public have access to the safety records of airlines, said Jason Chao.
Asked how the incident would affect Macau residents, Chiang retorted, Is it [the effect of the incident] exclusive to foreign residents? We are an international city. How will an international airline with an unreliable safety record, impact the reputation of Macau as an international city?
Moreover, ANM raised suspicions over the renewal of the license of Mega Maldives Airlines, which is due to be renewed almost exactly twelve months after the incident occurred on May 28, 2015.
This coincidence has raised suspicion over the possibility that AACM is deliberately delaying the release of the final report to the maximum time permitted by law, an ANM statement read. As a result, the review will be processed before the final report on the incident is released to the public. Daniel Beitler
The leader of Brazils main opposition party contended yesterday that embattled President Dilma Rousseff is losing her grip on power amid a corruption scandal that is compromising her ability to pull Latin Americas biggest country out of its worst recession in decades.
What we can see happening in Brazil is that the government has lost its legitimacy, the ability to run the country, said Sen. Aecio Neves, the leader of the Social Democracy Party, during a visit to Lisbon, Portugal.
Impeachment proceedings over allegations that Rousseffs administration infringed fiscal rules have eroded her political support and made it hard for her to pass legislation that could improve the economy.
Rousseff has said she did not commit any crime that would warrant her ousting, but supporters of her coalition government are deserting her. The biggest coalition partner, the Democratic Movement Party, announced Wednesday it was quitting the government.
There is no easy way out of the crisis, said Neves, who narrowly lost to Rousseff in a 2014 presidential runoff.
Vice President Michel Temer is first in line to assume the presidency in case of impeachment. Neves said his party wanted Brazil to maintain its schedule of presidential elections in 2018, insisting that Temers interim government should be staffed by the best-qualified people, not party faithful.
Neves was attending a three-day legal conference at Lisbon Universitys Law Faculty. The usually obscure academic event drew attention because it included other Brazilian participants seen as opponents of Rousseff. They included Supreme Court Justice Gilmar Mendes, who recently blocked former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silvas nomination to a Cabinet post, and Sen. Jose Serra, an ally of Neves.
About 50 people, mostly Brazilians, protested outside the event against the possibility of impeachment, claiming Brazils democracy is being hijacked by unscrupulous politicians. Barry Hatton, Lisbon, AP
Beijings response to an anonymous letter posted online last month, which called for the resignation of President Xi Jinping, has been anything but dismissive, writes an article in The New York Times.
The letter, which appeared online at the start of the month before Chinese government officials started their annual sessions, presents Xi in an unfavorable light. According The NY Times, its style mixes old-school party jargon and liberal criticism that makes its true authorship difficult to discern.
It demands Xis resignation out of concern for the partys endeavors, out of concern for the future of the country and its people, and also out of concern for the personal safety of you and your family, which is likely to be interpreted by Beijing as a threat.
Xis critics are accusing him of amassing too much power and of betraying the partys recent tradition of collective decision-making. Other common themes of the recent criticism include Xis anti-corruption campaign, which has targeted former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin among others, as well as his efforts to transform the media into a tool for promoting his own image.
So while it is perhaps not surprising that authorities in the Chinese capital rapidly responded to the demands with a customary crackdown, involving the detention of at least 11 people since the letter surfaced on March 4, the reaction according to some has been surprisingly disproportionate, drawing more attention than the letter itself.
Among those who have been detained are the siblings of a Chinese editor based in Germany who posted an article criticizing the detention of a journalist in mainland China.
What may further concern authorities is the ease and frequency of the disobedience and the open, critical remarks that, for a brief period, feature on the personal blogs and websites of dissidents.
Earlier this week Yu Shaolei, a Chinese editor at a Southern Metropolis Daily, posted a resignation note online to his Sina Weibo microblog. Under the section entitled reason for resignation, Yu wrote: Unable to bear your surname in reference to Xis visit to state media outlets in February when he necessitated that journalists maintain absolute loyalty to the Communist Party, going so far as to insist they bear the surname of the Party.
But the latest dissident voice only came to light yesterday, when an editor of Canyu, or Participation, a Chinese-language website based in the U.S. that specializes in critical commentary of the Chinese Communist Party, said that he had received another letter on Monday urging Xi to quit.
According to the editor, the letter claims to be a petition of 171 loyal party members, despite the fact that it was delivered anonymously. As it was also anonymous, it lacks credibility, the editor Cai Chu told The NY Times.
The response has shown how jittery they are, added Kerry Brown, a 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. Daniel Beitler
The Light Festival, considered by the government to be a big success, is now prompting worries among local citizens about light pollution, as reported in the Chinese media.
A local environmental association has questioned the Government Tourism Office (MGTO) about the reasons behind the decision to place the light festival in such densely populated areas, such as the Largo de Santo Agostinho, and the Igreja de Sao Lourenco.
Joe Chan, President of Macau Green Student Union, is concerned about these events which disturb neighboring residents and contribute to the deterioration of bird habitats. In his opinion, they could take place in more sparsely-populated, open squares, instead of being set in narrow spaces.
Most people seek peaceful environments around the community they live in, especially on holidays. The quality of life for Macau residents should be a top priority of this government, instead of catering to the preferences of tourists, Chan said in a recent interview to Cheng Pou.
According to Chan, leisure tourism exists as a sustainable, low-pollutant model oriented toward moderate consumption.
When referring to light pollution, Chan pointed out that harm by light doesnt have an immediate effect and that is why people arent aware of the potential harm after light related events have taken place.
To show how some developed countries are protecting their environments from light pollution, Chan mentioned that some European countries allow lit signs only in commercial areas, and that some Asian countries set limits as to the intensity of light. Another one of his concerns is that light pollution can have a negative impact on peoples immune systems.
Chan believes that the government should ensure that public facilities do not overuse outdoor lighting.
People from Macau cant even see the stars now and feel aggrieved when looking up to the sky, Chan said. Staff reporter
The Hong Kong government threatened to bar formation of a political party advocating independence from China, adding to tensions over Beijings control of the city before legislative elections in September.
Hong Kong is an inalienable part of the Peoples Republic of China and any movement that advocates independence violates the citys stability and the Basic Law, the citys de-facto constitution, the government said in a statement on its website. The government will take action according to law to deal with any attempt by a political party to push for independence, the statement said.
The governments comments came after the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, a branch of the Chinese government, said that any political party advocating Hong Kongs independence marks a severe violation of both the Chinese Constitution and the Basic Law. This is absolutely out of the question, the offices deputy director Wang Zhimin said on Wednesday. The Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office said the Hong Kong government has already refused the partys registration.
A new group calling itself the Hong Kong National Party is openly calling for independence as part of the growing localism movement in the city where political division has deepened after the 2014 pro-democracy protests. The Occupy movement, as it was known, failed to win concessions after thousands of demonstrators took to the streets for nearly 80 days to protest Beijings plan to determine the candidates for election of the citys chief executive.
Former leaders of the now-suspended student group Scholarism, a key organizer of the Occupy protests, are also setting up a new party to field candidates for the September election when all 70 seats of the Legislative Council will be contested. That new formation is only calling for self-determination by Hong Kong people. Five other localist candidates are campaigning for a referendum on amending the Basic Law to allow more autonomy.
The Basic Law was adopted in 1990 by the Chinese government as it prepared to gain control of the city in 1997 after more than 150 years as a British colony. Article 1 of the Basic Law states that Hong Kong is an inalienable part of China. Ting Shi, Bloomberg
The chronic air pollution blanketing much of northern India is now threatening the holiest shrine in the Sikh religion, making the once-gleaming walls of the Golden Temple dingy and dull.
There is little to be done short of replacing the 430-year-old temples gold-plated walls an expensive project already undertaken more than a century ago and then again in 1999.
To cut down on pollution, environmentalists and religious leaders have launched a campaign that includes persuading farmers to stop burning spent crops to clear their fields, removing industry from the area and cutting back on traffic. A community kitchen called a langar that serves up to 100,000 people free meals every day at the temple is also switching from burning wood to cooking with gas.
But so far the campaign hasnt had much impact, with change happening slowly and still no pollution monitoring equipment installed.
As far as pollution goes, we are paying attention, said Jaswant Singh, environmental engineer at the State Pollution Control Board, a government regulatory authority. We are in the process of procuring equipment so that we can check the pollution area, pollution from every source on a day-to-day basis.
Officials have also banned burning trash or cooking with certain fuels in restaurants and communities nearby, but enforcement so far remains weak. The city also wants to build an electricity station to stop people from using diesel-fueled generators, but Singh could not say when that might happen.
The pollution degrading the Golden Temple is growing, said environmental activist Gunbir Singh, who heads a group called Eco Amritsar. We need to do a hell of a lot of work to protect the holy city status of this city.
Its unclear how much replacing the gold plating would cost, but it would surely be high.
This is gold. The cost would be huge, but still would not be a problem, Gunbir Singh said, suggesting Sikh devotees would rally behind the cause if needed. Most of the activity that goes on there is based on donations people will take off their bangles and rings and leave them if work needs to be done.
Thousands of Sikh devotees and tourists every day visit Amritsar, the main city in Punjab state, to see the 17th century shrine, surrounded by a moat known as the pool of nectar, or Sarovar, and housing the Sikh holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib. Most of the worlds 27 million Sikhs, whose monotheistic religion originated in Punjab in the 15th century, live in India.
The country suffers some of the worlds worst air pollution, thanks to a heavy reliance on burning coal for electricity, diesel in cars and power generators, and kerosene and cow dung for cooking and lighting homes. Heavy construction amid a decade-long economic boom has also kicked up huge clouds of dust, and farmers still regularly clear their fields with fire, sending even more black carbon into the air.
The capital of New Delhi was named by the WHO as the worlds most polluted city, while Amritsar about 390 kilometers (240 km) to the north was ranked Indias ninth most polluted.
The Golden Temple is not the only major monument to be affected by pollution. The white marbled Taj Mahal has also become dirty from pollution from the nearby city of Agra, and every few years, workers from the Archeological Survey of India place mud packs on its walls to keep them from turning yellow and brown.
But many across the country remain unaware of the risks in breathing unhealthy air, even as scientists warn it is sickening countless Indians every year. About 1.4 million Indians were killed by illnesses related to air pollution in 2013, according to a recent study by researchers at the University of British Colombia, in Vancouver.
That tally will only rise unless pollution levels are drastically curbed, experts have said. Instead, the pollution is getting worse, according to NASA satellite images revealing particulate matter in the air. An analysis last month by the environmental group Greenpeace showed the overall concentration of PM2.5 the tiny lung-clogging particulate matter suspended in the air increasing 13 percent from 2010 to 2015.
With pollution fast damaging the Golden Temple, some in the Sikh heartland said they were reminded of their religious duty to protect nature.
Our holy book teaches us that the air is the teacher, the water is the father and the earth is the mother. So we have to be mindful of all the elements of nature as true Sikhs, the environmentalist Gunbir Singh said.
Authorities plan to ban vehicles from the area immediately surrounding the shrine. Even the devotees will have to come on foot, said Harcharan Singh, who heads the Shrimoni Gurudwara Prabhandak Committee, which oversees the six major Sikh temples across India.
But efforts have been slow, and officials admit so far incomplete.
Sikh preacher Baba Sewa Singh said he and his devotees have tried to help mitigate the pollution threat by planting more than 100,000 trees in the region.
If anyone asks about the saplings, he said, we plant then for free in their villages. Katy Daigle, Umar Meraj, Amritsar, AP
Most Filipino migrant workers travel to Macau on tourist-visas, in the desperate hope of obtaining a job, mostly as domestic helpers, to help support their familys needs, revealed the Philippines Consul General in Macau, Lilybeth Deapera.
Weve raised this issue to the government and theyre approving [quotas for non-resident workers]. Its not encouraged but when the government approves it, we urge them to register with OWWA [a Philippine government agency tasked to protect and promote the welfare of the Overseas Filipino Worker], says Deapera to the Times.
With over 25,000 Filipino workers in the city, the consul general claimed that they have insufficient manpower to cater for all the services the migrant workers need. However, they replicate things by reaching out to the group, through community meetings every month with Filipino community leaders.
We participate in all the events that weve been invited to as much as possible because thats the time we meet the members of the community, says Deapera. Adding that the city, being small, has an advantage, as information can easily be disseminated.
She also believes that the Filipino community is doing well, though they occasionally meet people who have been abused or not treated properly by their employers. However, most of the domestic helpers in Macau are not stay-ins like in Hong Kong, meaning forced labor is unlikely to occur at similar rates.
The consul general added that they have a partnership with Caritas Macau, gathering every quarter with speakers from the Macau government who discuss issues such as labor laws.
Theyre the ones who explain to our countrymen that they also have rights but the problem is that some workers complain when their work contract has already ended, Deapera emphasized.
With regards to workers who didnt go through the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), the consul general explained that such employees are more prone to receiving less than USD400, the minimum wage set by POEA.
Some complain that they receive less than USD400, thats because they came here as a tourist and they just tried to find a job within 30 days, and when the 30th day is near, they grab whatever is available, explains the consul general.
Thats the reason why we discourage them to do these types of things as they do not have the right to negotiate.
Meanwhile, in spite of the recent downturn of the casinos, Deapera said they havent received reports of Filipino workers being discriminated in the hotel and gaming industry.
However, she claimed that some contracts were not renewed for employees working as cleaners and security guards since the minimum wage law in this industry has been imposed.
Moreover, there are over 30 Filipino inmates held in the territory, mostly for drug related offenses. Deapera said that they are enticed to smuggle drugs from other Southeast Asia countries, due to their severe lack of finances. Staff reporter
The Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST) held its ceremony for the Conferment of Honorary Doctoral Degree 2016 at its institution yesterday, honoring scholars for their contribution to society.
Six individuals who have made achievements in education, economy, science and technology, and have also made contributions to social development, have been paid tribute by the university.
President of MUST, Prof Liu Liang, said in his welcome speech that the scholars all share the same qualities in their perseverant spirit of science exploration and humanistic character toward social commitments.
It is a great honor for MUST to hold such a ceremony in its anniversary month to award the six most outstanding scholars for their extraordinary achievements and contributions, which will certainly inspire every MUST teacher and student to take up the commitment to carry on the excellent culture, furthering the excellent quality of education here to reach its greatest potential, said Prof Liang.
One of the awarded scholars was Prof Erwin Neher, a German biophysicist, and receiver of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of single ion channels in a live cell.
The discovery has had a revolutionary impact on the field of neuroscience and cell biology, breaking a new path for making known the development of mechanisms of various diseases, and has advanced studies into more disease-specific innovation.
Prof Neher believes that this current era is facing problems such as accelerating climate change, financial crises every five to seven years, eruptions of hatred especially in the Middle East, resulting in continuous migrations of displaced people and biological problems including epidemics and problems related to ageing societies.
Our species, homo sapiens, continues to quest for greater knowledge in all areas irrespective of the unsettling events that surround us, he said. This is a quest that is not new. Staff reporter
Working to display a united front, the United States and key Asian countries will seek Thursday [today, Macau time] to put more pressure on North Korea as world leaders open a nuclear security summit in Washington.
President Barack Obama, the summits host, will also seek to smooth over tensions with China over cybersecurity and maritime disputes as he and President Xi Jinping meet on the sidelines. The summit also offers Obama his last major chance to focus global attention on disparate nuclear security threats before his term ends early next year.
Though nuclear terrorism and the Islamic State group top this years agenda, concerns about North Koreas nuclear weapons program are also commanding focus as the two-day summit gets under way. Those long-simmering concerns have escalated of late following the Norths recent nuclear test and rocket launch.
Obama is planning to have a joint meeting today with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Park Geun-hye, two U.S. treaty allies deeply concerned about North Korea. Its a reprise of a similar meeting the three countries held in 2014 during the last nuclear security summit in The Hague.
Chinas influence over the North will be front and center later in the day when Obama sits down with Xi. The White House said that meeting was also an opportunity for Obama to press U.S. concerns about human rights and Chinas assertive territorial claims in waters far off its coast.
Though frictions with China remain high, the U.S. was encouraged by Chinas role in passing stringent new U.N. sanctions on North Korea, its traditional ally. Now the U.S. is pressing Beijing to implement those sanctions dutifully.
The international community must remain united in the face of North Koreas continued provocations, including its recent nuclear test and missile launches, Obama wrote in an op-ed appearing yesterday in The Washington Post. He added that the recent U.N. sanctions show that violations have consequences.
The U.S. and South Korea have been discussing whether to deploy a U.S. missile defense system called THAAD, or the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense, in South Korea to counter the threat from the North. China has resisted that step out of concern it would also give the U.S. radar coverage over Chinese territory, and Russia opposes it as well.
Antony Blinken, the U.S. deputy secretary of state, said this week that China must engage with the U.S. directly on North Korea if it wants to avoid the U.S. and its partners taking steps that it wont like.
In North Korea, meanwhile, the government has been churning out regular propaganda pieces condemning the U.S. and South Korea, while warning it could launch a pre-emptive strike against South Korea or even the U.S. mainland at any time.
For years, pressing security crises in the Middle East have overshadowed Obamas goal of expanding U.S. influence and engagement in Asia, with the North Korean threat another unwanted distraction. Though the U.S. and China have struck sweeping agreements on climate change, theyve remained at odds on many economic issues. Obama has also been unable to get Congress to ratify the Asia-Pacific free trade deal his administration painstakingly negotiated.
Obama also plans to meet today with French President Francois Hollande, amid steep concerns about terrorism in Europe following Islamic State-linked attacks in Paris and Brussels. The summit continues on Friday with a special session focused on preventing IS and other extremists from obtaining nuclear materials and attacking urban areas.
Some of the 2,000 metric tons of highly enriched uranium and separated plutonium being used in civilian or military programs worldwide could be turned into a nuclear bomb if stolen or diverted, the White House warned. Fewer than half of the countries participating in the summit have even agreed to secure sources of radiological material that could be used for a dirty bomb, though more countries are expected to announce commitments during the summit to tighten controls. Josh Lederman, Washington, AP
South Koreas constitutional court yesterday upheld laws that toughened punishment on prostitutes, pimps and their clients.
The Constitutional Court decided to uphold a provision that makes it a criminal offense to voluntarily sell or buy sex, punishable by up to a year in prison or a fine of 3 million won (USD2,600).
The ruling was made in response to a compliant by a female sex worker, who argued people have the right to choose their occupation.
A court statement said that the government could deny such individual rights to prevent exploitation and protect moral values.
South Korea has always banned prostitution, but the laws were rarely enforced and red-light districts were largely tolerated before 2004.
The court said that decriminalizing prostitution would inspire an explosive growth in sex trade, threaten the stability of South Koreas society and economy and inspire disorderly sexual behavior.
Critics of the anti-prostitution laws say they limit womens freedom over their bodies. They also say that tougher punishment has made sex work more dangerous for women by creating a thriving underground industry in which they sell sex at bars, apartment rooms and through social media and dating apps, which often leaves them more vulnerable to abusive customers and pimps.
Supporters of the laws say decriminalizing prostitution would benefit exploiters more than sex workers. They argue prostitution is inherently violent and exploitative for women, especially in a country like South Korea, where women suffer from one of the harshest inequalities among developed nations and are often economically pressured into prostitution. MDT/AP
Thousands of drivers transporting passengers arranged through car-hailing apps in Shenzhen have been found to have extensive criminal records and history of drug offences, Xinhua news agency reported.
1,425 drivers, frequently reached through apps such as Uber and Didi, were found to have recorded drug offences. Another 1,661 drivers have extensive criminal records, and one driver is a registered patient in a psychiatric institution with a history of public displays of violent behaviour.
This week, Shenzhens municipal transportation committee summoned executives from online transportation network companies, including Uber, Didi, Zuche, Yongche, and ihavercar.com. A large number of accidents, non-local licensed cars, delayed solutions to passengers complaints, overlooked fair competition, and lack of gatekeepers to select qualified drivers are among the primary reasons that led to the investigation, an initial report says.
The committee blamed the app operators for having hired, last year, at least 300,000 drivers using license plates from other cities, which resulted in increased traffic congestion. The committee also criticized the companies for having adopted a strategy that consisted of offering subsidies to both commuters and drivers, which they consider to be unfair competition.
Representatives of the aforementioned companies were asked to dismiss unqualified drivers, including those without a local license plate.
According to Shenzhen police, the city registered 756,000 infringements related to services from car-hailing apps, of which 3,653 were traffic accidents. Staff reporter
VIETNAMs parliament has elected Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan as its chairwoman, making her the first woman to lead the Communist-dominated legislature. The 61-year-old won 95.5 percent of the votes, the National Assembly said on its website.
MYANMAR The party of Aung San Suu Kyi submitted a proposal to parliament yesterday to create a new position for her as state adviser, which would allow her to have a powerful hand in running Myanmar. One lawmaker from her party described the position as the presidents boss, indicating that Suu Kyis party is helping her to achieve a pledge she has repeatedly made to be above the president.
AUSTRALIA-TURKEY The government yesterday warned its citizens against travelling to the Turkish cities of Ankara and Istanbul because of the threat of terrorism. Later yesterday evening another explosion took place near a bus terminal in the Turkish city of Diyarbakir.
INDIA Rescuers in Kolkata dig through large chunks of debris from an overpass that collapsed while under construction, killing at least 15 people and injuring scores of others in trapped cars, tricks and other vehicles.
AFGHANISTAN Senior members of the Afghan Taliban say that a prominent figure within the militant group who had opposed its new leadership has now pledged his allegiance, helping to close internal divisions ahead of possible peace talks with the government.
U.S.-ASIA Working to display a united front, the United States and key Asian countries will seek today [Macau time] to put more pressure on North Korea as world leaders open a nuclear security summit in Washington. U.S. president Barack Obama also has plans to meet with the leaders of China, India, Japan and South Korea to discuss means of countering the threat of nuclear terrorism.
FRANCE Security forces clashed with demonstrators in the cities of Nantes and Rennes while police say around 10 people were arrested in Paris, following anti-labor reform protests. The proposals, which include changes to Frances 35-hour working week, have been bitterly opposed by students and unions.
ARGENTINAs President Mauricio Macri has won approval for a controversial repayment deal that should put an end to the countrys 15-year battle with holdout creditors. The debt crisis in the country has restricted Argentinas access to international credit markets and made doing business in the country difficult.
Macau gross gaming revenue for March, due to be published today, is down 15.6 percent year-on-year, official sources told the Times.
In March 2015, GGR sat at MOP21.48 billion, so last months receipts calculate to around MOP18.15 billion (USD2.3 billion) a number that barely touches the austerity level announced previously by Secretary Lionel Leong.
It is, however, a result which beats worst analysts forecasts.
Sanford C. Bernstein forecast on March 8 that the GGR would have been between MOP16.4 billion and 17.6 billion, or between minus 18 percent and minus 24 percent y-o-y. This week, Daiwa Securities analysts remained skeptical.
Our ground checks in Macau last week were sobering, with industry participants sharing an overall air of cautiousness about the sectors near-term prospects, wrote Jamie Soo and Adrian Chan in a note.
In an interview with Radio Macau this week, Paulo Martins Chan admitted that the casinos long losing streak could have continued through March.
The recently appointed director of the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau said the worst is now over for Macaus ailing gaming industry. He added that gaming revenue is likely to see a 10 percent drop this year.
Chan also argued that further drops in revenue will not be as steep as they have been for almost the past two years.
The most trying times are now past us. I think that even if theres a drop in revenue, it will be a slight one, Chan said to Radio Macau. PC
Follow Times-News journalists into the field as they undertake a special reporting project: following a family of four refugees through their first year in Twin Falls.
In today's episode, a local activist says putting a ballot measure before Twin Falls County voters is the only legitimate way to measure support for refugee resettlement. But while he gathers signatures in support of the measure, which seeks to ban refugee centers in the county, a few people around Twin Falls are demonstrating their support in direct and individual ways like bringing presents to a baby shower for a Congolese refugee expecting to give birth in her new land.
This is the final episode of the podcast season that launched Jan. 8.
Listen to and download episodes at Magicvalley.com/podcast or search Refugees in a New Land in your podcast player, iTunes, Stitcher or SoundCloud to subscribe and automatically download future episodes to your mobile device.
On May 8 in the Times-News and Magicvalley.com, watch for the third installment of the special reporting and photography project, which concludes in November.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called on Western allies, mainly the United States, to review their policy towards the Kurds that Washington is supporting in Syria in the fight against the Islamic State group.
President Erdogan who is participating in Washington in the Nuclear Security Summit, hosted by President Obama, made the remarks after the Thursday bombing in Kurdish-dominated city of Diyarbakir which killed seven police agents and wounded scores of people.
Erdogan who blamed the PKK for the attacks said We cannot tolerate this anymore. European countries and other countries, I hope, will see the true face of the PKK and other terrorist organisations in these attacks.
Ties between Turkey and the US headed downward recently with the US bringing support to Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its militia Peoples Protection Units (YPG) in the fight against IS. Ankara sees both bodies as PKK affiliates.
Things got worst after the PYD announced it was establishing its autonomous region along Turkeys Syria border, something Ankara fears may galvanize home PKK to also move in the same direction.
Turkish Presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kaln traveling with Erdogan, said at the end of a meeting Thursday between the Turkish leader and US Vice-President Joe Biden that the US was determined to keep Syria in one piece and was opposed to the PYDs declaration of federation.
According to Turkish media, the spokesman said Biden had pledged to increase anti-PKK cooperation with Turkey.
Guineas opposition called for a nationwide strike on Wednesday to protest the high living costs and the governments refusal to cut down fuel prices in the west-African poorest nation.
Opposition leaders urged Guineans to remain at home and not to engage in any acts of vandalism.
On Wednesday tens of thousands of workers took part in the protest movement that closed factories, shops, banks and offices in the capital Conakry and other major towns.
Most schools were closed and hospitals provided only emergency services. Many of the street markets shut, local media reported.
The Guinean oppositions call for strike follows the trade union federations, which last month called for a ville morte day, which literally means ghost town where all activities stopped to demand cuts in the price of food, fuel and other basic commodities.
Guinea, a country of close to 11 million people, is recovering from the effects of Ebola, which killed over 2,500 people.
The west-African nation holds the worlds largest reserves of aluminum ore bauxite, but this has not halted class struggle. A three-week general strike in Guinea in 2007, which included bauxite workers, won big concessions from the dictatorial regime of then president Lansana Conte. He was forced to appoint a new prime minister from a list supplied by the trade unions.
Govt agrees to simplify privatisation in Georgia
The Government of Georgia is addressing a problem facing dozens of investors who purchased state-owned assets but were unable to complete the privatisation process.At a meeting last week, governmet lawmakers agreed to introduce a new rule to simplify procedures regarding the finalisation of privatising state-owned property for past and future investors.This will affect individuals who encountered a problem while privatising state-owned property, said Georgias Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili at the meeting.The Prime Minister explained the new rule will cover instances when a property was purchased prior to June 21, 2010 before the Law on State Property entered into force.In some cases 80 percent of the cost of the real estate or 50 percent of cost of agricultural land was paid, but the process could not be finalised due to [the investor] violating their payment obligations, said Kvirikashvili.However, the property will be legalised [in their names] if the the debt is paid in full, he said.This was one of 32 issues approved by the Government today. The agenda of todays meeting also included an announcement that Germany would offer significant financial support to Georgia to implement major investment projectsLawmakers also decided to continue connecting Georgias regional villages with gas, where natural gas is currently not available.Authorities agreed that 600 hundred families living in the Phoka and Gandza villages in Ninotsminda, in Samtskhe-Javakheti region, will soon be supplied with natural gas for the first time.These villages are often in extreme climate conditions and this will be profoundly important for the local population. Today we also discussed allocation of funding to implement this initiative, said the PM.An Action Plan to develop the labour market in Georgia for 2016-2018 was also approved. If implemented successfully, Georgias working population will have access to a wide range of employment services and receive higher salaries.Another initiative approved by the Government today was the state programme that supported agricultural cooperatives that produced dairy production.Authorities agreed the state program would have a budget of 360,000 GEL (about $154, 517/ 138,363) and this money will help farmers provide milk processing plants with high quality milk.This programme will enable farmers to establish a milk collection point. They will be provided with monitoring equipment that tests the quality of milk, which cost about 40-70,000 GEL, said Kvirikashvili.There are about 30 cooperative parties involved in milk collecting in Georgia. This programme will help them not only to collect milk and supply milk processing plants but to produce milk products themselves, he added.Another important issue approved at todays Governmental meeting was a project that Kocks Engineers of Germany would implement in Georgia. The project envisaged road rehabilitation on the Khidistavi-Ateni-Boshuri, Tianeti-Akhmeta-Kvareli-Ninigori, Tchrebalo-Nokortsminda and Jinvali-Barisakho-Shatili sections of roads.
Pankisi Gorges traditional Muslim mosques wont register early marriages
By Messenger Staff
Traditional Islamic mosques in Georgias eastern, mainly Muslim-populated Pankisi Gorge, will no longer register early marriages, Khaso Khangoshvili, the head of the Panksi Old Council stated about this.However, the Gorge is also inhabited by Wahhabits, followers of fundamental Islam, who oppose the solution.Imams (worship leaders of mosques) of the traditional Muslim mosques will no longer register early marriages due to following reasons: an underage girl, before she reaches 18, is a pupil and a family burden is too heavy for her; based on our traditions, women have many obligations and for a minor it is a huge challenge to cope with them; and finally, Georgias legislation prohibits early marriages, Khangoshvili said.We reached a joint decision; we have our way, while the Wahhabits have their views and attitudes, Khangoshvili added.The people, women among them, who follow the rules of traditional Islam accepted the decision, saying that for an underage girl the burden of starting a family was too heavy.Meanwhile, Wahabbits say religion has its own rules and the state laws must not influence them.Georgias Public Defender says the state laws should be respected by all religious representatives in Georgia. He also highlighted the importance of the campaigns tasked with raising awareness over education and problems with early marriage, especially in rural areas.The fact that traditional Islam imams will no longer register early marriages and that they believe getting education is more beneficial for minors is a very positive step.Such changes would lead to more beneficial outcomes, such as a more educated generation and less family violence.It should be stated that together with the countrys Muslim population, Christian Georgians also require special campaigns against early marriages.The Pankisi Gorge is mainly inhabited by Kists; at present there are about 8,000 Kists in the Pankisi Gorge who mainly live in Duisi, Jokolo, Birkiani, Jibakhevi, Tsalakhani and Omalo villages.Together with the Kists, the Gorge is populated by ethnic Georgians from the mountainous regions, Chechens and other ethnic minorities.
State honours a century of women rising in Ireland on International Womens Day
By Staff Reporter
Heritage Minister Heather Humphreys welcomed women from across all sectors of Irish society to the Royal Hospital Kilmainham for a special event on International Womens Day (Tuesday 8 March) to highlight the role of women in the 1916 Rising.
President Michael D Higgins gave the keynote address, outlining the diverse and often boundary-breaking roles played by women in the Rising as well as the impact of the post-1916 conservatism on the role of women in Irish society.
The Presidents speech was followed by an excerpt from a new music commission by Simon OConnor, performed by the RTE Concert Orchestra and dedicated to the widows of those who lost their lives in 1916.
There was also a short performance by a local community group of a specially devised piece entitled Flames, Not Flowers.
In the decades that followed the Rising, the role played by women in bringing about our independence was diluted, often deliberately, said Minister Humphreys ahead of the day. The stories of those such as Margaret Skinnider and Dr Kathleen Lynn were overlooked and diminished over time.
The minister added: It is particularly fitting that the State pays tribute to the women of the Rising, and the achievements of Irish women at home and abroad over the last 100 years, on International Womens Day.
This is a moment when we, as a nation, remember the enormous contribution made by generations of Irish women, not just in the events of 1916, but right through to the Ireland of today.
Later in the day, President Higgins viewed the specially commissioned Living for Ireland quilt, each panel of which was designed by a womens activist to commemorate the 77 women held in Richmond Barracks in 1916.
Applications open for 600k social entrepreneurs fund
By Staff Reporter
The closing date for applications for Social Entrepreneurs Irelands (SEI) 2016 awards programme is fast approaching.
Ambitious individuals with Big Ideas and the energy to address social problems on the island of Ireland are encouraged to apply for the funding before the deadline of 7 April.
Former winners include Niamh Gallagher and Michelle ODonnell Keating of Women for Election, Irene Lowry of Nurture, Sean Love of Fighting Words and Liz Waters of Virtual Community College (An Cosan) from Dublin.
The awards programme, supported by DCC plc as flagship sponsor, will provide a total of 600,000 in development funding and support to nine social entrepreneurs to accelerate the progression of their social ventures. This will bring the total funding provided by SEI to over 6.5m to date.
Previous recipients have tackled a wide range of social issues from adult education and the provision of emergency services in rural areas to voter engagement and food waste. Former winners include CoderDojo, FoodCloud, Pieta House and Smartvote.
Speaking at the launch, SEI chief executive Darren Ryan said: Just as entrepreneurs can drive change in business, social entrepreneurs can bring about real change in society. This year we are calling on people all around Ireland to consider if their big idea has the potential to change Ireland. If so, we want to hear from them.
DCC plc, one of Irelands largest public companies, has partnered with SEI for the last five years, lending its support to the organisation throughout the awards programme from initial applications to final selection.
It was recently announced that DCC plc would be renewing its commitment to SEI for an additional four years and will increase its financial support to 700,000 over this time.
Tommy Breen, chief executive of DCC plc, commented: We strongly believe in the work carried out by Social Entrepreneurs Ireland and were delighted to be supporting their awards programme again this year.
It is a great privilege to play a role in assisting Irelands brightest and most ambitious entrepreneurs who are dedicated to making a positive impact on our society.
Interested candidates can find out more about the application process at socialentrepreneurs.ie. Applications close on Thursday 7 April.
Holi festival adds a burst of colour to Trinity College front square
By Meghan Nosal
Over 600 Trinity students crowded into the colleges gated Front Square to celebrate the Indian festival of Holi on 23 March.
Better known in the west as the festival of colours, when crowds gather to throw coloured powders at each other in a fun atmosphere, Holi is the oldest Hindu festival, dating back well over 2,000 years.
Holi celebrates fertility, love, the end of winter and the triumph of good over evil. In India, it is a day where all people can celebrate as one community regardless of caste or creed.
Hosted in Dublin by the Trinity Indian Society, the event sold out quickly as students of all races and religions came out to party and dance while throwing paint on each other.
But the event had a greater purpose other than fun and frolics, as society president Siddharth Hitkari said over 700 was raised for the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC).
The World At Home
Charles Laffiteau's Bigger Picture
Several weeks ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin said his countrys armed forces would soon begin leaving Syria because Russia has achieved its goal. However, my sources in the American intelligence community have told me what they believe is the real reason why Putin announced that withdrawal: on 17 April, Syrias Independence Day, Bashar Assad will announce that Syria has agreed to join the Russian Federation as its 23rd republic.
By becoming a Russian republic, Syria will be able to retain its current constitution, continue to elect its own president and parliament and establish its own official language. By joining the Russian Federation, the Syrian people will also be able to continue observing their independence on the same day they have always celebrated it. Like he recently did with Ramzan Kadyrov in Chechnya, for the sake of continuity Putin also plans to nominate Assad to remain the leader of the Syrian Republic after his current term expires.
My intelligence sources also tell me that, notwithstanding recent tensions between Russia and Turkey over Russias involvement in the Syrian Civil War, Turkish President Recep Erdogan is actually a great admirer of Putin. They tell me Erdogan has studied Putins political strategy and tactics and then duplicated them in Turkey. To maintain his grip on power, Erdogan has switched from being prime minister to president and, like Putin, he also harasses opposition newspapers that expose political corruption or challenge the Turkish governments narratives.
Putin showed Erdogan that it is easier to succeed politically by trying to divide people instead of uniting them. So when his party lost control of Turkeys parliament last year, Erdogan abandoned reconciliation efforts and instead ratcheted up tensions with Turkeys Kurdish minority. Erdogan then called for new elections, and the violence between government troops and Kurds led a fearful Turkish public to give his AKP party control of Parliament again. My sources tell me that Erdogan will continue to emulate Putin by annexing the northern portions of Syria currently controlled by Syrian Kurds, ostensibly to protect the Syrias Turkmen ethnic minority.
On the refugee front, one European nation has found a way to both stop, and profit from, the migrant crisis. My sources allege that in exchange for 300m, Hungary has struck a deal with al-Qaeda and Daesh to return Syrian and Iraqi refugees to areas of those countries that the terror groups control.
By the way, isnt today 1 April? Also known as April Fools Day?
In all seriousness, now that the March 2016 Democratic and Republican caucuses and primaries are finally behind us, the American presidential race is about to enter a month-long lull. But have there been any electoral surprises over the past few weeks that would indicate the current frontrunners are in danger of losing their parties nomination battle? Not really.
On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton racked up big wins on 15 and 22 March in the states of Florida, Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio and Arizona. But on 22 and 26 March, Bernie Sanders picked up a net total of 67 delegates by winning electoral contests in the five western states of Idaho, Utah, Washington, Alaska and Hawaii. Unfortunately for Sanders, the states he won also had far fewer delegates at stake than those where Clinton triumphed. The net effect was to widen Clintons lead from 1,712 to 1,004 once the super delegates are included.
The story was much the same for the Republicans, with Donald Trump winning the primary voting states of Florida, Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina and Arizona while John Kasich kept his campaign alive by winning his home state of Ohio. Although Ted Cruz won all of the delegates from the state of Utah and finished a close second to Trump in Missouri, he was also expected to win the Utah caucuses because he had the endorsements of both the state governor as well as its most famous Mormon, 2012 presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
Trumps resounding win in Marco Rubios home state of Florida, meanwhile, succeeded in driving Rubio from the race. As for Kasich, were to win all of the remaining 839 delegates, he would still fall more than 200 short of the 1,237 required to win the Republican nomination. The math is equally daunting for Ted Cruz because he would need to win at least 92 per cent, or 772, of the remaining delegates to capture the Republican presidential nomination.
Given the overwhelming odds, why do Cruz and Kasich insist on continuing their quest for the Republican nomination? Because they hope that by doing, so they will prevent Trump from winning the remaining 498 delegates he needs to clinch it on the conventions first ballot. If Trump is unable to muster 1,237 delegate votes first time round, then a substantial number of delegates will be freed to go for any candidate they choose in later rounds of voting.
Still, while Cruz has begun a campaign to convince delegates pledged to Trump to vote for him on a second ballot, I still believe Trump will end up winning the Republican nomination.
Charles Laffiteau is a US Republican from Dallas, Texas pursuing a career in public service. He previously lectured on Contemporary US Business & Society at DCU from 2009-2011 and pursued a PhD in Public Policy and Political Economy.
Pakistan needs action, not platitudes
Lahore in Pakistan was the scene of a great tragedy on Easter Sunday as at least 70 Christian families celebrating the festival in a public park were killed by a Taliban breakaway group.
Pakistani police say they expect more deaths from over 300 children, women and men who were injured in the suicide bombing at Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park, which has been claimed by Jamaat-ul-Ahrar.
It marks the deadliest in an increasing number of attacks on Pakistani Christians the second-largest minority group after Hindus following the killing of more than 80 people in a Peshawar church three years ago, and attacks on Christians in other cities such as Karachi, Punjab and Faisalabad.
The countrys authorities were quick to condemn the attack, with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif expressing his grief and sorrow over the sad demise of innocent lives and postponing a trip to the UK. The regional government also announced three days of mourning for victims.
Yet while these actions are commendable, they are no solution to stopping attacks on Christians. The first thing Pakistan must do is to end its support to all types of militancy, whether directed against its neighbours or otherwise.
Metro Eireann also believes that Pakistan must end its controversial blasphemy laws, which have been cited in many attacks across a country that is becoming ever more radicalised by Islamic extremists.
Also important is the need for public awareness and education about diversity and tolerance, which have been repeatedly rejected in Pakistan over the last few decades. Metro Eireann calls on Prime Minister Sharif to strengthen anti-discrimination and hate crime legislation if Pakistan is ever to become a tolerant and stable society.
news@metroeireann.com
Im no self-hating Jew
Ronit Lentin
Last week an Israeli bombardment of Gaza murdered two little children, a boy aged six and his 10-year-old sister. The boy died immediately; the girl suffered serious wounds and lost her life a day later.
I shared the horrific story on my Facebook page, to be met with furious comments by Zionists who blamed Hamas, not Israel, for the childrens death, claiming that Israel is only defending itself against Hamas rockets, and that Hamas operates from civilian neighbourhoods and is therefore responsible for these deaths.
Before I could remind them there are hardly any areas in the crowded Gaza enclave without civilians, and that Palestinians have every right to defend themselves against Israeli occupation, siege and aggression, the comments became personal.
Ronit, said one Sheila Elle, whose profile picture is Israels flag. An Israeli name? Dubliners on a whole love you. Hope you dont have to go crawling back on all fours.
Astounded by the assumption that Jews are in imminent danger and need to seek refuge in the state that calls itself the only democracy in the Middle East, I replied that I had no plans to crawl back Ireland is my home, I have lived here for years, I have Irish citizenship and asked her whether she is expecting another Holocaust in the near future.
When challenged, I explained I was asking whether she expects Jews to be banished from their countries of residence, because I dont, and stressed that the fact that it is Israel committing genocide at present that makes me very sad, having been brought up after the Nazi Holocaust by parents who genuinely believed that a better world was possible.
Elle was having none of it, writing she was glad my parents arent alive to see what a horrible person I have become, ending with a piece of advice: Change your name before it gets you killed by an anti-semite who makes a mistake and thinks youre a Jewess.
Israeli and diaspora Jews who stand with Palestine are often called self-hating Jews (while non-Jewish Palestine supporters are dubbed anti-semitic). My point in recounting the Facebook exchange is to stress yet again that being a critic of Israels murderous policies is neither anti-semitic nor self-hating.
Having written both fiction and academic work about the Holocaust and about anti-semitism, and having been an anti-racist activist as a proud Jew, I can hardly be accused of self-hate. Indeed, equating anti-Zionism with anti-semitism is in itself anti-semitic, in homogenising all Jewish people and equating them with Israeli Zionism.
It must be very uncomfortable for Jewish people to face up to Israeli settler colonialism and racism, and to watch the atrocities from mass arrests, administrative detention, house and village demolitions, the detention and torture of minors, to extrajudicial executions and the so-called collateral damage that is the murder of innocent civilians, including women and children committed in the name of the Jewish people.
So instead of facing up to these atrocities, Zionist apologists prefer to attack those who refuse to hide under the Zionist umbrella. Instead of accepting that the only solution is to have a state for all its citizens and residents in historic Palestine and not occupy another people, with all that this entails, Zionist apologists prefer to fight those who use the non-violent instrument generally known as the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign to tell the State of Israel to abide by its international law obligations, and accuse non-Jewish critics of antisemitism and Jewish critics like me of being self-hating Jews.
No, dear Elle and your ilk: we do not hate ourselves, our parents or our people. All we hate is the hatred and devastation inflicted in the name of our Judaism. And we have no intention of crawling back on all fours to the place where Jewish lives are least safe in the whole wide world.
Ronit Lentin is a retired associate professor of Sociology at Trinity College Dublin. Her column appears regularly in Metro Eireann
Au pairing is always work
Mariaam Bhatti: Tales of a Domestic Worker
I was so dismayed to read a recent opinion piece in The Irish Times by that newspapers business editor John McManus. He was writing on the subject of au pairs after a Spanish woman with the support of Migrant Rights Centre Ireland (MRCI) won her case in the Labour Court and was awarded 10,000 in unpaid wages. According to McManus, however, calling au pairs workers is somehow ludicrous.
He went on to trivialise the crucial work that is done mostly by women, or considered a womans role, which is caring for the home and for children. He turned the struggles some au pairs face when working in isolation behind closed doors in private homes like all other domestic workers: a joke. Quoting him directly he said au pairs find their way to the MRCI rather than just going home to their mums.
As a former au pair myself, my first instinct was anger at his sweeping generalisations of au pairs as flighty girls from well-off families who are there to look after them when they get bored with their foreign adventures playing at Mary Poppins.
But are there really many migrants who can relate to that? Not everyone has the privilege to leave a job anytime, or to travel abroad as they wish. Some people are the only breadwinner in their families, or are putting themselves through education, therefore forced by their circumstances and structural inadequacies to prevent this exploitation. That is not a joke.
I actually sympathise with McManus for his blindness to his own privilege. I wondered if he wrote what he wrote just to stir a conversation, or was it really how he felt about the au pair he claimed preferred baking to doing chores. He would not be out of the ordinary if the latter; many people think as long as they call someones job a French name like au pair, as a friend of mine pointed out, they think they can pay anything as little as 100 a week regardless of the number of hours the person works. That is not a joke. That is breaking the law.
On a different but related point, my friend shared an advert posted by a woman looking for an au pair, someone expected to work from 3pm to 8pm Monday to Friday. But theres more, as they advert went on to specify that the successful applicant cant leave the house after 8pm because my husband and I work night shift. I almost laughed in disbelief; I really had to wonder what this boss lady thought of the hours done after 8pm till she returned home from work. People with children or who have cared for children know that its an almost 24/7 job parents more than anyone.
It reminds me that when I was an au pair, I was expected to work six days a week, 12-14 hours each day, except on the sixth day when I worked eight hours what my employer hilariously called a half day.
In a nutshell, I really dont understand why John McManus believes it to be so ludicrous to call au pairs workers, because they have always been workers. People who look after the home and care for children for a job are domestic workers. It is not a new law. So what is the commotion about? Does it have anything to do with the inconvenience of filing the proper paperwork, perhaps?
Mariaam Bhatti is a member of the Domestic Workers Action Group and Force Labour Action Group of the Migrant Rights Centre Ireland
Ruairi Quinn: a distinguished record of service in Europes heart
Michael McGowan
The terrorist attacks in Brussels highlight the urgent need for more European co-operation, not less. It is regrettable, cheap, and dangerous that the response to the bombings and murders is being used to fuel other political agendas including, contenders in the US presidential campaign and the British EU referendum.
Republican frontrunner Donald Trump last year suggested that Muslims should not be allowed to enter the US, and since the Brussels terrorist attacks has claimed that British Muslims are reluctant to pass on information to the security forces. In the UK, Nigel Farage of Ukip has claimed that the attacks prove that the UK needs to leave the EU.
As Ireland comes to terms with the outcome of its recent General Election as it commemorates the Easter Rising, there is an urgent need for this State not yet 100 years old to get moving and help provide political leadership in Europe, especially as the EU flounders in the light of the Brussels attacks. We need more political leaders who are internationalists, who do not pander to populist, nationalist, and far-right attitudes but who will positively support the EU, the UN and world citizenship.
It is also important for Ireland to reflect with pride on the service of leaders who have contributed to European co-operation, such as Ruairi Quinn, former leader of the Irish Labour Party, who retired as a TD at the General Election.
Quinn held the key positions in recent Irish politics of both Labour leader and Minister for Finance, and has been influential and respected in Europe.
He was an important, steadying element in the economic and political crises of the 1980s, the fall of the Iron Curtain, the landmark Presidential election of Mary Robinson, the birth of the Euro and the emergence of the Celtic Tiger.
Quinns family were prominent republicans in South Down in the 1920s. He was educated at St Michaels College in Dublin and Blackrock College where he was an outstanding athlete and always interested in art. He studied architecture at University College Dublin in 1964 and later at the School of Ekistics in Athens. In 1965 he joined the Labour Party, was a leading student radical in UCD, travelled in Europe and became a Europhile.
Qualified as an architect in 1969, Quinn didnt get into the mainstream political game till a few years later, first elected a Labour Party TD for Dublin South East in the 1977 General Election to become the first professional architect and town planner ever elected to the Dail.
He became deputy leader of the Labour Party in 1989 and was director of elections for Mary Robinsons successful Presidential election campaign in 1990. He was also the first Minister for Finance from the Labour Party in Irish political history.
In Europe, Quinn served as president of the Ecofin Council of the European Union in 1996 and worked to accelerate the launch of the European single currency while securing Irelands qualification for the Eurozone.
In October 1997, when Dick Spring retired as leader of the Labour Party, Quinn took the reins and consistently argued for closer European integration. He stood down as leader of the Labour Party at the 2011 general election.
In addition, Quinn led the European Movement Ireland, a pro-EU lobby group in Ireland until late 2007, when he founded the Irish Alliance for Europe to campaign on the Treaty of Lisbon. He has also served as vice-president and treasurer of the Party of European Socialists.
Ireland has always played a positive role as a member of the EU and today needs to use its influence in Europe and build on the service over the years of renowned Irish MEPs, EU Commissioners and ministers in the vein of Ruairi Quinn. The terrorist attacks in Brussels demonstrate most vividly the urgent need for more political leadership and co-operation across Europe such as Ireland has contributed over the years.
Michael McGowan is a former MEP and president of the Development Committee of the European Parliament
It is easy for migrants to integrate if they have the right information
The Integration Question with Princess Pamela Toyin
There has been a significant shift in the racial composition of the United States in recent decades, and several trends such as the increase in multiracial families will keep driving this change.
Definitions are also constantly evolving. Beatrice Gwena, who originates from Cameroon and migrated to the US as a Fulbright scholar, says the native [white] American is fast becoming the minority. Thats one reason why she feels no inhibitions integrating or mixing freely in her new environment.
It is easy for migrants to integrate if they have the right information and can interact with the right people, she adds.
Like Gwena, many migrants experience a sharp drop in status, finding that their professional qualification do not translate in their new home. But this did not affect Gwenas ability to fully integrate into the professional workforce, she relates, describing one eye-opening experience when she experienced what she calls brain waste after completing a doctorate in national resources science and management in 2007.
For two years after she could not find a job, but being the person she is, a self-described overachiever and very hard working, she did not rest on her laurels, opting to return to college for a degree in healthcare, a field in which she says jobs are readily available.
Within six months of graduating, Gwena says she received multiple offers, and she now works as a nurse in a major hospital in Maryland.
Several factors hinder the economic integration of skilled migrants, but in spite of the fact that her current role does not relate with her initial field of study, Gwena believes her experience proves that adapting to the situation is the best choice for immigrants.
There are cultural setbacks, but one can achieve goals if theyre hardworking, she says.
For many migrants, participation in the labour market is a critical indicator of their successful settlement and integration in their new home, but often competing with other skilled workers is an impediment. Their aspirations are often frustrated by numerous factors, but Gwena advises that fellow migrants should study their environment well to know how to navigate around so they dont get frustrated by the system.
At 51 and settled with her children, Gwena regards the US as home, but retains family ties with Cameroon. There are very little and trivial things I dont like about the US [but] for most part, I like it here, she says. My children are all here and have more opportunities than back home. As US citizens, this is our home, but we will visit Cameroon as often as possible.
Experiences for migrants are often a case of different strokes for different folks, but things for Beatrice Gwena are panning out just the way she wants them.
The US has a very friendly atmosphere to live in, she says, and you can become what you want if you set your mind to it.
- If youre an immigrant anywhere in the world and have a story to share, whether on our own behalf or on behalf of someone else, please email echoesmediainternational@gmail.com.
Princess Pamela Toyin is a journalist and author with over 25 years experience in various roles, including as an executive PA to company directors, as a public relations executive, reporter, editor and publisher, research consultant and workshop facilitator.
Liberal firebrand Alan Grayson barely leads Barack Obama-backed Patrick Murphy for Florida's Democratic U.S. Senate nomination, 33 percent to 32 percent, in an automated poll of likely Democratic voters commissioned by two political groups supporting Grayson.
The March 22-23 Public Policy Polling survey of 829 likely Democratic voters was funded by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee and Democracy For America.
Alan Grayson is leading by a hair. But voters are not happy when they learn Patrick Murphy worked with Republicans to try to cut Social Security for millions of Florida seniors. They are also not happy that Murphy takes money from Wall Street and then votes to deregulate Wall Street, allowing risky gambling to put the life savings and homes of millions of Floridians at risk," the groups said in a statement.
Their evidence? The following from PPP:
Patrick Murphy was a lifelong Republican until he decided to run for office a few years ago even donating thousands of dollars to Mitt Romneys presidential campaign. In Congress, Patrick Murphy said we have to look at cuts to Social Security. He later praised a grand bargain with Republicans that would have cut Social Security benefits for the vast majority of Social Security recipients. Patrick Murphy has also voted to deregulate Wall Street and has taken thousands of dollars from Wall Street firms. Do you consider this a very convincing, somewhat convincing, or not at all convincing reason to vote against Patrick Murphy?
Very convincing............................................... 47%
Somewhat convincing..................................... 26%
Not at all convincing........................................ 27%
The Murphy campaign notess other recent polls show Murphy ahead:
3/6/2016 SurveyUSA (News 13/Bay News 9) 27.0% Murphy / 16.0% Grayson
3/5/2016 Univision 36.0% Murphy / 29.0% Grayson
3/5/2016 Bendixon & Amandi/The Tarrance Group (Washington Post/Univision) 27.0% Murphy / 19.0% Grayson
3/9/2016 Mason-Dixon (Lakeland Ledger 10News WTSP) 33.0% Murphy / 19.0% Grayson
3/17/2016 St. Leo University 19.9% Murphy / 16.7% Grayson
- Adam Smith, Tampa Bay Times
@ByKristenMClark
Thieves who steal customer information using skimming devices at gas station pumps will face stiffer penalties under one of 14 new laws Gov. Rick Scott signed today.
SB 912 also requires gas stations to use certain security measures to better thwart criminals' attempts to install "skimmer" devices, which steal credit and debit card information.
The legislation was sponsored by Sen. Anitere Flores, R-Miami, and House Majority Leader Dana Young, R-Tampa, with support from state Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam.
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services regularly inspects the state's nearly 8,000 gas stations and has found more than 190 skimmers since the start of 2015, Putnam's office said in early March.
About 100 consumers are victimized by each skimmer, resulting in $1,000 stolen from each victim on average. Each skimmer represents an estimated $100,000 threat to consumers, Putnam's office said.
It's official, the Governor signed into law protections against card skimmers at FL gas pumps. Congrats @Senator_Flores & @repdanayoung Adam Putnam (@adamputnam) April 1, 2016
Also signed into law today were additions to the list of acceptable forms of ID that Florida voters can use at the polls on Election Day or to request absentee ballots in advance.
More than 1.5 million people with concealed-weapons permits can now use that license as proper ID to vote. Also now acceptable voter IDs under SB 666: veteran health ID cards and employee IDs issued by local, state or federal government agencies.
Scott also approved SB 1044, which revises Florida's forfeiture laws. Police won't be allowed to seize property involved in a crime without making an arrest and charging someone.
It's an early victory in an effort by civil libertarians to scale back a practice called "civil asset forfeiture," in which law enforcement seize contraband -- for example, a car used to transport drugs -- sometimes never returning it, even without a criminal conviction.
"Today is a major win for liberty in the Sunshine State," the law's sponsor Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, wrote in a statement posted to Facebook. "Florida is once again taking a leadership role in the defense of private property rights, and other states should look to our work and enact similar reforms to protect the rights of their residents."
Here are the other 11 new laws Scott approved:
@ByKristenMClark
A Democrat running for a state Senate seat in South Florida alleges someone has -- perhaps illegally -- sent out fraudulent campaign letters to his donors, and Andrew Korge believes his Republican opponent, current state Sen. Anitere Flores, or her supporters are responsible.
Flores, R-Miami, denies the allegations, but Korge said "whether its her or her people, its irrelevant to me."
Korge and Flores are running for a hotly contested Senate seat that spans western and southern Miami-Dade County and Monroe County, including the Florida Keys.
Thanks to the recent redistricting of the state's 40 Senate seats, several Senate candidates have had to re-file their campaigns with the Florida Department of State to run for the correct newly renumbered district.
As part of that switch, candidates are required to notify their past donors and give them the opportunity to get a refund, because the money won't be used for the race it was intended for.
Korge said his campaign sent out such letters after he switched to run against Flores for the new District 39 seat, but he became alarmed when he started to receive response forms that were vastly different than the ones he sent out.
The suspicious letters -- copies of which Korge provided to the Herald/Times -- purport to be from Korge's campaign and are vaguely worded to suggest that Korge isn't running for Senate anymore at all.
They include no identifying marks nor a campaign disclaimer, so it's not possible to know from where they originated or who is responsible for sending them.
But Korge alleges it was Flores or her political backers.
"I think we all know who did this. I only have one opponent here. This is the type of corruption that people are sick of and a big part of what were running for," Korge said. "Do I have definitive proof that she did it? No, but I have common sense."
Flores told a Herald/Times reporter "no way, no how" was she involved with sending out the suspicious letters.
"Why in the universe would I spend any resources on doing something that you just told me hes legally required to do?" she said.
Justice Antonin Scalias recent death gave President Obama and the Senate a shared constitutional responsibility to fill the resulting Supreme Court vacancy.
The president has met his share of this responsibility by nominating Merrick Garland, a highly respected appeals-court judge. The Constitution makes no provision allowing the Senate to refuse to do its job by obstructing this nomination process.
Years ago, at the Senate hearing for his appellate-judge appointment, Judge Garland received glowing praise from Republicans. Yet now he is being denied the opportunity to meet with Senate Republicans face to face. Not the way we do business in Montana!
About 10 months remain in Obamas second term of office, to which he was elected overwhelmingly. Under these circumstances, the Constitution says the Senate now has a duty to do its job by voting, up or down, in a timely fashion, on Obamas Supreme Court nominee. Ten months is plenty of time to fulfill that duty. To argue that the incumbent president should not be allowed to appoint Justice Scalias successor shows profound disrespect for the presidency, for the Constitution and for the voters who elected Obama.
In this context, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has made a bad miscalculation. He has painted himself into a dark and dangerous corner. How foolish he looks by insisting that the next elected president must nominate Scalias successor. By taking such an ill-considered position, McConnell is declaring that the Constitution be damned.
Those who follow McConnells lead also look foolish. Among them is Montanas own Republican U.S. Senator, Steve Daines. Any U.S. senator must work in the world as it actually is, not merely as he or she wishes it to be. An essential part of that job is to uphold the Constitution. If a senator chooses not to do the job, the honorable act is to resign.
Indeed, the escalating fight over filling the court vacancy now holds the potential to become a much more severe and vicious confrontation. This dispute of McConnells making could ultimately entangle all three branches of government, with the prospect of damaging each of them.
Some history is helpful. With only one exception during the Civil War, the Senate has never refused to hold a hearing or take a vote on a Supreme Court nominee. Refusing to act is different from withholding consent through a negative public vote of the Senate. Since 1975, on average, the Senate has held a hearing for a Supreme Court nominee 42 days after the nomination was announced and has held a vote 70 days after the announcement. Just as important in the history of the high court, 17 justices have been confirmed during a presidential election year. For the record, those 17 included Justice Anthony Kennedy, who was confirmed by a Democrat-controlled Senate during the final year of President Reagans second term.
Our own Senator Daines is not facing re-election until 2020. He might assume that most of his Montana constituents will simply forget that, in 2016, he chose to abandon the Constitution and disrespect the presidency by standing with Mitch McConnell. Daines would be wrong to keep maintaining such a stance. We will not forget, and we will keep reminding our fellow Montanans.
The decision by Daines and other Senate Republicans to shirk their obligations also has the potential for unintended consequences, including a constitutional crisis. But it is not too late for Daines and others to reconsider.
In 2002, the Supreme Court decided by a 5-4 vote the outcome of the presidential election between Bush and Gore. Imagine the Supreme Court being called upon to decide a similar situation in this 2016 election cycle! With the Scalia seat left vacant, an evenly divided 8-member Court could then be deadlocked on the question of who is entitled to fill the office of President of the United States. Good grief! Enough playing games with our democracy.
In a recent newspaper interview, Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Gianforte was asked about his position on transferring ownership of American public lands to the state.
Gianfortes response left me and a lot of other Montanans cold. What will become of our public lands and outdoor way of life should he become our next governor?
I am opposed to deed transfer at this time [emphasis mine], he said, because I dont think its attainable. Using rhetoric that echoes lands transfer zealot Montana Sen. Jennifer Fielder, he then ran through a laundry list of complaints about American public lands to support an argument for why hed rather see these lands managed by the state or some other local entity.
He may never explicitly call for the transfer and sale of our public land. But Gianforte has, in this interview and elsewhere, established a record that leads me to believe he would, if elected, pursue transferring and selling public lands if the political winds give him the chance to do so.
Consider his selection of a running mate.
When Gianforte introduced Phillips County Commissioner Lesley Robinson, she didn't explicitly endorse lands transfer, but did express support for more state management. Her background indicates a more extremist position. Robinson is vice-chair of the National Association of Counties Public Lands Steering Committee, which recently listed public land management reform, including support of the transfer of some federal lands to states, as one of their top priorities.
In the interview, Gianforte veered from lauding state management to supporting a half-baked proposal for projects that would have county commissioners or some new commission manage federally deeded lands.
This might sound good to followers of Cliven and Ammon Bundy, but local management of American pubic lands is simply an unworkable idea that would put Montanas taxpayers on the hook for fighting fires on an additional 27 million acres of public lands at a cost of more than $100 million in dry years. It would also come with many other costs that would, when added up, force the state to sell our public lands to the highest bidder and prioritize resource extraction over public access on the public lands that remained.
Judging by Gianfortes financial support of the Property and Environment Research Center, this could be what he has in mind. A think-tank backed handsomely by the fossil fuel industry (including the Koch brothers), PERC has a long history of advocating for the privatization and industrialization of public lands, going so far as to offer a blueprint for auctioning off all public lands over 20 to 40 years.
For the good of Big Sky Country, Gianforte should listen to the majority of Montanans nearly 60 percent, according to a recently Colorado College poll who oppose the idea of transferring American public lands to individual states. He should also consider that public lands in Montana generate $6 billion annually, including $403 million in tax revenue, and account for 64,000 jobs across the state. More importantly, public lands provide the outdoor way of life that defines who we are as Montanans.
The Republican Party of Montana, which passed a resolution in 2014 to support granting federally managed public lands to the states, would also do well to remember what public lands mean to Montanans.
This year, lets make sure we elect candidates who will unequivocally support retention of our public lands and the gifts they provide. After all, our American lands are the birthright of every American, and nowhere is this proud heritage stronger than in Montana.
The Democrats, through repeatedly falsifying the truth, have created a myth about an alleged statement by Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell. Dan Thomasson's Missoulian column of March 29 perpetuates the myth. Thomasson wrote that McConnell declared "only a relatively few moments after Barack Obama took his hand off the Bible that his party would have only one goal to stymie the newly inaugurated president and prevent his re-election."
Glenn Kessler, in his fact-finder column for the liberal Washington Post, wrote in September 2012 that Democrats were repeatedly accusing McConnell of the same thing that Thomasson alleges. Kessler gave the Democratic statements two Pinocchios for falsehood. Per Kessler, McConnell's comment occurred in an interview in October 2010, 23 months after Obama's election, not as Thomasson states, "only a relatively few moments after Barack Obama took his hand off the Bible." Kessler notes that McConnell said that if the president is "willing to meet us halfway on some of the biggest issues, it's not inappropriate for us to do business with him." McConnell said that a Republican Congress had worked with Bill Clinton but he doubted that Obama would work with the Republicans.
Thus if the Republicans were serious about passing the agenda for which they were elected to Congress, the only way to accomplish that was to defeat Obama and elect a Republican president.
Kessler's column contains the entire text of McConnell's interview in 2012. Nowhere does McConnell say that the GOP should have only one goal, much less the one goal that Thomasson falsely alleges.
The truth about McConnell's statement has been available for years for anyone interested in the truth. But one doubts that Thomasson cares much about the truth. His column deserves three Pinocchios, maybe four.
Brian Cass,
Missoula
BILLINGS The man who landed a punch to the face of Montana Attorney General Tim Fox on Tuesday night in Billings called Fox to apologize.
John Barnes, communications director for the Montana Department of Justice and the Office of the Attorney General, said in an email that Fox and David E. Carpenter had a very pleasant and positive conversation Thursday.
Billings police said that shortly before midnight Tuesday, guests of the Radisson Hotel had come down from their rooms after a fire alarm was pulled and Carpenter, whod been drinking, began taking swings at Jason Thielman, U.S. Sen. Steve Daines chief of staff. When Fox intervened on Thielmans behalf, Carpenter, according to Fox, cold-cocked me.
Fox said he flipped Carpenter, got him in a half nelson and subdued him until police arrived.
The fracas occurred hours after the end of the first day of the Montana Energy Conference, which concluded Thursday. Daines hosted the conference.
Both Fox and Thielman declined to press assault charges, so police charged Carpenter with disorderly conduct. He was released from the Yellowstone County Detention Facility on Wednesday, a jail spokeswoman said.
On the day of the Brussels attacks, Mr. Faucon was presenting his latest film, Fatima (2015), about the challenges facing first- and second-generation Muslim immigrants to France, to high school students in rural France. The next day, he showed them La Desintegration.
They were disturbed, he said, and asked his response to the Brussels attacks.
I wasnt able to analyze it yet and to respond beyond saying that I knew the places that had been hit the Maelbeek metro station, the Zaventem airport because I had been there during the writing and filming of the film, which tells of a similar attack that we chose to situate in another site in Brussels, Mr. Faucon said.
La Desintegration, which was shown on French television for the first time this year, is about Ali (Rashid Debbouze), a young man in the outskirts of Lille, in northern France, who turns to jihad after struggling to find a job. Ali lives at home with his mother, a religious and peaceful Moroccan immigrant, and his sister. His older brother has left home and is about to marry a non-Muslim Frenchwoman, with his mothers blessing.
Ali has a degree in mechanical systems maintenance but cannot find work. In one scene, he asks his sister if he should change anything in his resume, and she tells him, Your name. Frustrated at a lack of possibilities, he falls under the sway of Djamel (Yassine Azzouz), an intense young Islamist who tells his recruits that Liberty, equality, fraternity is only for whites.
Mr. Faucon, who grew up in Morocco and Algeria, the son of a French soldier and an Algerian mother, is one of a handful of European filmmakers whose work has explored why some Muslim men in Europe turn to violent jihad. (A more recent French film about homegrown jihadists, Made in France, directed by Nicolas Boukhrief, went straight to video-on-demand in January after French theaters refused to show it, fearing for the safety of their employees after the January 2015 attacks.)
FIESSO D'ARTICO, Italy The Italian luxury shoe company Rene Caovilla has been making footwear for more than 80 years but Edoardo Caovilla, the companys chief operating officer and creative director, wants to be sure that heritage is bonded to a dynamic vision for the future.
A tour around the factory, in a small town about halfway between Venice and Padua, shows how the third-generation executive is matching handcrafting expertise with digital know-how and technological advances.
An artisan who shapes a shoe, who has that special sensitivity on each tiny part of the construction, has to have lots of gray hair, Mr. Caovilla said. The soft-spoken 38-year-old knows that the companys skilled artisans are a prime reason the family business has thrived, famous for its ultrafeminine Swarovski-decorated shoes, worn by stars like Sarah Jessica Parker, Beyonce and Taylor Swift.
Some of the artisans have worked at Caovilla for 60 years, passing the secrets of the trade from generation to generation.
After a year of civil war, there is a glimmer of hope for long-suffering Yemen. The main combatants, Iranian-backed Houthi rebels and Saudi-backed government forces, have agreed to a cease-fire starting April 10, and the United Nations plans to revive peace talks a week later.
Saudi Arabia is said to be looking for a way out of the war, but whether Saudi leaders and the Houthis can agree on a political solution remains a big question. In a show of good faith, the two sides did complete a prisoner exchange involving nine Saudis and 109 Yemenis.
The conflict has been a disaster for Yemen but also for the region, Saudi Arabia and the United States, which supported the Saudi military intervention that human rights groups and the United Nations say resulted in war crimes. It needs to end now.
A Saudi-led coalition of mostly Sunni Arab nations began the air war a year ago with the aim of defeating the Houthis, an indigenous Shiite group, and reinstalling President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi, whom the rebels had ousted from power. Although initially reluctant, President Obama agreed to support the effort with intelligence sharing, weapons and in-flight refueling of aircraft.
The California Assembly on Thursday approved a plan that would create the highest statewide minimum wage in the nation, $15 an hour, by 2022. The proposal moves to the State Senate for consideration. Gov. Jerry Brown and his fellow Democrats who control both legislative chambers hailed the increase as a boon to more than two million of Californias poorest workers. Republicans echoed fears from business owners and economists that the increase from the current state minimum wage, $10 an hour, would compound Californias image as hostile to business. The measure passed, 48 to 26.
The New York primary and the psychological impact it will have on the rest of the country and the rest of this race is not I dont have the words to explain it, Mr. Clinton, who is not typically at a loss for words, told members of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York on Thursday afternoon in the citys Flatiron district. I can just tell you that, for her, it means more than you will ever know.
As Mr. Sanders hopes for an upset to humiliate Mrs. Clinton on her home turf and revive his underdog candidacy, the Clintons are grinding for a New York victory that will solidify her delegate lead and put a proverbial lid on any doubts about her candidacy.
Look, this primary is really important, Mr. Clinton said Thursday. Its important to her personally because she loved being a senator, and she knows this state and she knows what its promise is.
By the late afternoon, Mr. Clinton was talking to teachers in Battery Park City and reciting exact polling data from when Mrs. Clinton ran for the Senate in New York in 2000 (The last poll said she was three points ahead, he said. She won by 12.) and about her approval rating (When she left the State Department job, she had 69 percent approval rating.)
Mr. Clintons work on behalf of his wife in New York has also been waged quietly and behind the scenes as he taps into decades-long relationships to help her win in the state.
Laurel Dalley Smith
Born: Bath, England
Age 27
As a member of the Yorke Dance Project in London and part of the British touring company of West Side Story (she was a Shark), Ms. Smith had carved out a career before starting again with Graham. Her guiding light was Robert Cohan, a former Graham dancer who created a piece for Yorke Dance Project and encouraged her to audition for the Graham company. This time last year, I hadnt ever been to America, she said. I moved here for Graham. What I found most intriguing was to be human at the same time as technical. Usually dancers start out in a classical form and leave it behind for contemporary work; Ms. Smith has done the opposite. I guess its the purity of it, she said. Its so much more than, is your fingernail there or is your eyelash there? Theres a structure within the choreography, but then theres also freedom.
Xin Ying
Born: Yichun, China
Age: 31
After the 2008 Sichuan earthquake in China, Ms. Xin decided to change her life. A dancer since she was 6 she trained in the Chinese classical and folk forms she found herself drawn to modern dance in college. I did some research and was thinking that if I want to do modern dance Id better just go to New York. She had only seen pictures of Graham at that point, but surviving the earthquake, which killed around 87,000 people, motivated her. I realized Id better do something for myself and Id better do it now, she said. For Ms. Xin, one of the greatest moments for a Graham dancer comes in the final gesture of Chronicle. You hold your right arm all the way up and show your palm toward the audience, she said, but the strength doesnt just flow from the arm to the hand. The power comes into our body from the heels, Ms. Xin explained. It goes all the way up.
BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE
By Jane Mendelsohn
287 pp. Alfred A. Knopf. $26.95.
There are two separate and very different novels clashing and vying with each other in Jane Mendelsohns Burning Down the House. The first is a sharp tale about the moral corrosion that seems to be an inevitable result of great wealth and power. Mendelsohns case study here is the Zane family, a Manhattan clan whose real estate empire has been built by its patriarch over the course of several decades. Steve is no worse than most billionaire moguls: He loves his five children, though his expression of love keeping them safe from the rest of the world through manipulation, control and regular infusions of cash is a poisoned gift.
Mendelsohn has observed this milieu closely, and her scrutiny can be devastating. Here, for instance, is Steves adult son getting dressed in the morning: Jonathan ripped the tag off of a sweater with his teeth and let it drop to the floor. He pulled the garment over his head as if hed just killed an animal and was wearing its skin. He did the same thing with his pants. Or the entrance to Steves office in Rockefeller Center, its gleaming corridor lined with modern art as violently and visibly expensive as if it had been painted in blood brushed on with thousand-dollar bills.
This novel is intriguing. But the second novel inscribed within Burning Down the House is a breathless romance whose bathos quickly overwhelms the intelligence of Mendelsohns social observations. This novel revolves around Steves orphaned niece and adopted daughter, 17-year-old Poppy, and her star-crossed love affair with an older family friend. Poppy thinks that she is the heroine of her own life but knows, deeply, that she is not. She feels the calm air around her and senses that nature has some wisdom she does not yet understand, some equanimity, while she herself is all impulse and wonder and fury and bottomless hope. . . . Her life seems all at once too fragile and insubstantial and the only thing she has, and so this leaves her both willing to destroy it and afraid to risk her entire universe, this not-girl-anymore but not-yet-adult life.
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A Butte man whose 12-year-old son alleges he was driving under the influence and smoked marijuana in his presence pleaded not guilty Thursday to felony criminal child endangerment and misdemeanor aggravated DUI.
Cory Joe Speelman, 32, also denied before Butte district Judge Brad Newman misdemeanor charges of operating a vehicle with a suspended drivers license, no liability insurance, and possession of an alcoholic beverage container.
A complaint of a drunk driver in a Ford Taurus near Ramsay who was initially stuck in the snow led a Montana Highway Patrol trooper to respond in mid-February. According to court documents, Speelman was unsteady on his feet and his speech was slow and confused.
The boy reported that his father and the female passenger had been drinking when they picked him up at his grandfathers house. He also said they had smoked a joint and confirmed both adults had been behind the wheel, documents state.
A preliminary breath sample showed Speelmans blood alcohol content was .099. Rolling papers, a roach, a black pot pipe, and an open bottle of tequila were found in the vehicle.
The trooper was advised that Speelmans drivers license was suspended due to a prior DUI conviction.
Speelman is free on bond. An omnibus hearing was set for May 4.
In other action in Butte district court on Thursday:
Kylie McDonald, 22, of Butte received a three-year deferred sentence for felony partner or family member assault. Court documents state the charge, her third offense, stemmed from an incident in which she got upset and punched her mother. She admitted Thursday to fighting.
Samm Cox, chief deputy county attorney, said that after a stint at the Montana State Hospital, her family had seen improvement. The sentence, he said, would help to address her chemical dependency issues. Urging her to continue treatment, Judge Kurt Krueger said, Its real important you maintain your mental health in relation to this matter.
In a plea agreement with county prosecutors, Joshua Michael Oulman, 31, of Butte pleaded guilty to felony criminal possession of methamphetamine and felony burglary. Four additional offenses in two separate cases will be dismissed at sentencing. Oulman is being held at the county jail on bond.
Robert Allen Reed of Butte pleaded guilty to felony criminal possession of methamphetamine in a plea deal with county prosecutors. He received a three-year deferred sentence.
The father of three minor children was ordered to report to the Montana Probation and Parole Office for supervision. A misdemeanor charge of criminal possession of drug paraphernalia was dismissed.
The group responsible for providing information to the public on Superfund says the Environmental Protection Agency is stifling public participation.
Citizens Technical Environmental Committee frequently called by its acronym CTEC sent a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency Monday because the small, local group got their the funding cut in half this year. CTEC is funded through a grant the EPA provides. CTEC's funding has been approximately $50,000 a year almost every year since 1991. In 2011, EPA gave as much as $100,000 to CTEC to enable the group to hire technical advisors and pay administrative costs, said CTEC's part-time administrator Janice Hogan.
This year, EPA cut CTEC's funding to $25,000.
Such a drop in grant money makes it hard for the group to hire technical advisers to read and then translate the technical jargon EPA generates on the Butte Hill and Silver Bow Creek and provide that information to the public, says CTEC president Dave Williams.
"Wed like to have someone interpret the technical aspects of whats going on, Williams said.
The group expressed concern that their funding has been significantly reduced just as consent-decree negotiations which will determine liability for the Butte Hill and upper Silver Bow Creek appear to be ramping up at a fast pace. This means a lot of technical data is being generated and CTEC, which is an all-volunteer board, cannot keep up without technical advisors, Williams said.
Another issue for the group is that CTEC is not allowed to view technical data that EPA considers part of consent-decree negotiations. consent-decree negotiations are secret meetings between two government agencies EPA and the state and the responsible parties, Atlantic Richfield Company, BNSF Railroad, and Butte-Silver Bow County. Critics point out that while the meetings are held confidentially, the Butte public will have to live with the decisions.
CTEC calls the technical data being withheld from public view due to consent-decree confidentiality concerns unprecedented.
CTEC's letter stated, in part, "it has begun to appear that EPA's goal is to stifle, rather than encourage, public participation through its officially sanctioned community organization (meaning CTEC)."
Williams said one result CTEC would like to see in response to their letter is for CTEC to be allowed to send technical advisers to the consent-decree negotiations.
Wed like to have CTEC at the CD (consent decree) negotiation table, Williams told the Standard Tuesday. The letter states that CTEC would not expect to be at the negotiation table during the financial discussions.
Williams said the technical advisers are vital to CTECs mission of interpreting EPAs technical documents so the public can understand Superfund at a site that is literally a part of the town.
Hogan, who does not receive benefits, said she has had to take a few days off here and there to save money for CTEC. She declined to give her salary, but she works 20 hours a week. Technical advisors charge between $70 to $90 an hour for their expertise, Hogan said.
The EPA grant also pays for CTEC to maintain an office at 27 W. Park St. Most of EPAs public documents for the Butte Hill and upper Silver Bow Creek are housed there, and Hogan answers the phone and fields questions from the public.
CTEC addressed their letter to assistant regional administrator Martin Hestmark in the Denver office and to Robert Moler, the new EPA community involvement coordinator in Montana. Moler was hired in September and has been actively attending community meetings in Butte for the past few weeks.
Hestmark visited a Butte-Silver Bow Council of commissioners meeting March 16. He was not on the agenda, so commissioners were not able to ask questions or create a dialogue with Hestmark, but he made a short speech in which he said EPA was not going away and that he was available any time for questions from the council. Hestmark also stated that all of EPAs documents are available for review.
CTEC board member Joe Griffin told the Standard on Tuesday that Hestmarks comment before the council was a little disingenuous if the public has no way to interpret EPAs technical jargon to understand what the documents say.
Hestmark told the Standard on Thursday that the EPA had no intention to inadvertently or deliberately limit public participation by limiting CTEC's grant. Hestmark said EPA project manager for the Butte Hill Nikia Greene and Moler would attend the next CTEC meeting, tentatively scheduled for mid-April, to discuss the funding issue and try to work with CTEC to find a solution.
"We hope to mitigate their concern," Hestmark said.
Moler emailed a response letter to CTEC Thursday noting that $15,000 still exists from CTEC's EPA grant money from last year. Moler also noted in his letter that he and Greene would attend the next CTEC meeting and will help determine "whether to amend your previous grant and/or develop a new application."
"During this time, we will also discuss how we achieve greater CTEC inclusion in the various technical meetings," Moler's letter states.
BILLINGS The man who landed a punch to the face of Montana Attorney General Tim Fox on Tuesday night in Billings called Fox to apologize Thursday.
John Barnes, communications director for the Montana Department of Justice and the Office of the Attorney General, said in an email that Fox and David E. Carpenter had a very pleasant and positive conversation.
Billings Police said that shortly before midnight Tuesday, after guests of the Radisson Hotel had come down from their rooms when a fire alarm was pulled, Carpenter, whod been drinking, began taking swings at Jason Thielman, U.S. Sen. Steve Daines chief of staff. At one point when Fox intervened on Thielmans behalf, Carpenter, according to Fox, cold-cocked me.
Fox said he flipped Carpenter, got him in a half-Nelson, and subdued him until police arrived.
The fracas occurred hours after the end of the first day of the Montana Energy Conference, which concludes Thursday. Daines is hosting the conference.
Both Fox and Thielman declined to press assault charges, so police charged Carpenter with disorderly conduct. He was released from the Yellowstone County Detention Facility Wednesday, a jail spokeswoman said.
Even after sweeping through 150 schools, Miss Montana hadnt once heard students recite en masse the school creed.
Until the West Elementary Buffalos, that is.
Danielle Wineman, 2015 Miss Montana and an actor by trade, delivered her energetic, charismatic anti-bullying message to fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders on Thursday at West.
The older students responded in kind by reciting the rock-solid West Buffalo Creed, which includes respecting the rights of others.
That school creed was amazing, said Wineman, clearly in awe of the students school loyalty. Its the first time Ive heard it.
Using a wadded up, old-fashioned selfie paper drawing as a metaphor for damage a bully can inflict on peers, Wineman and her student volunteers spread an effective message:
Dont wad up or crinkle up somebody elses confidence by verbally or physically demeaning them to put them down, said Wineman, 24.
Sixth-grade volunteers J.C. Connole and Alex Kuehner represented the bullied and stood up front. Their counterparts, playing bullies, were petite fourth-grader Jade Smith and diminutive fifth-grader Laddy Hutchinson, who wadded up the drawings and the sixth-graders egos with glee.
They were all-around good sports, plus their audience of peers got the message.
I thought it was pretty cool, said sixth-grader Emma Quist, appointed school photographer for the event. She was right about confidence getting balled up. A lot of people dont explain it that well. She was easy to understand.
Emmas mother, fifth-grade teacher Amie Quist, echoed her daughters perspective.
She really just reiterated what we tell students all the time, said Amie Quist. They relate to Danielle because shes young and kind and a positive role model. Well go back to class and talk about bullying.
Equating the evil stepmother in Cinderella to that of a typical villain or bully, she touched a nerve with the students, who are very familiar with the fairy tale.
We also know when our confidence is wadded up, so its up to us to build it back up, added Wineman.
Its all about an individual choosing to tear up or build down anothers confidence by either bullying or supporting them.
You plant a seed of doubt in someones mind, said Wineman. Sometimes you may play the villain to somebody elses story. Dont choose to make someone else the star of your own story.
Words are powerful and make all the difference, she said, adding:
Your incredible, super-awesome, amazing superpower is your words. Do you use them for good or evil?
The well-behaved 200 or so students may not have known Wineman competed in the Miss American Pageant last September, when she won a $3,000 scholarship. Altogether, she won about $10,000 in the Miss Montana pageant.
A Cut Bank native, she is the second Miss Montana in her family. Her younger sister, Alexis Wineman, won the spot in 2012. The first Miss America contestant with mild autism, Alexis won the Americas Choice award at the 2013 Miss America Pageant.
Danielles reign ends in June when the 2016 Miss Montana Pageant is held in Glendive. She plans to attend the University of California in San Diego to earn a masters in acting to go with her bachelor of fine arts in theater arts from Stephens College in Missouri. Alexis studies art at Huntington College in Montgomery, Alabama.
Principal Pat Kissell said Winemans presentation ties right in with the schools anti-bullying stance.
Added Emma Quist: Hopefully people will stop bullying and remember the message.
Easter Sunday stories in The Montana Standard and other Lee Newspapers in Billings, Missoula, Helena and Hamilton used Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Greg Gianfortes Family Foundation donations as a litmus test for his political motives.
One headline questioned Gianfortes charitable giving, yet all was proper. A more accurate headline is: Should Montanans view Gianfortes generosity as love of neighbor or suspect political beliefs? Lee Newspapers want Gianforte to explain if his personal gifts reflect how he will act as governor. Gianfortes foundation states it supports organizations that equip others with the means to improve their lives and create lasting change.
Gianforte already said he would govern just as he ran his international technology business: find the best people with the skill levels needed, and hire them. He did not ask his employees their personal preferences; that was their private business. He rewarded all employees as to their performance. He had a very diverse workforce.
When looking at Gianfortes gifts, Gov. Steve Bullocks spokesperson worries about values and priorities Greg Gianforte would bring to the governors office. Then to make the point, Lee Newspapers gathers Gianfortes donations into contrived political categories, such as groups that oppose gay marriage, seek to ban or restrict abortions, or file lawsuits to defend religious freedoms. This politically-motivated grouping mischaracterizes Gianfortes donations, and is blatantly unfair to the organizations receiving gifts that help the poor, underserved and disadvantaged.
Democrat Gov. Bullock is Catholic. His Church opposes abortion, same-sex marriage, cloning, euthanasia/assisted suicide, and embryonic (not adult) stem cell research, while it vigorously supports religious freedom. Catholic schools offer choice. Further, Catholic Charities in the U.S., including Montana, spends $70 million annually on aid to the poor, disaster relief, and pregnancy counseling, to name a few. The Church in the U.S. spends $680 million in 100 foreign countries. Catholic social teaching is often accused of being politically incorrect.
What values does the Catholic governor bring to his office?
In the second story, Lee Newspapers again fabricates politically charged categories for Gianfortes donations -- such as school choice and private schools, instead of what the foundation calls jobs, education and the family. Lee also invents a category called Christian ministry, bible colleges or faith-based services instead of the foundations valuing and protecting the vulnerable category. Fabrications, like these, deceive.
-- Cort Freeman, Butte
MUSCATINE, Iowa Workplace skills are essential for todays youth. Employers in Muscatine, Scott, Clinton and Jackson counties estimate that there will be approximately 8,000 new and replacement openings by the end of 2016. About 33% of those openings will require at least a high school diploma or high school equivalency. Another twenty-nine percent of the openings will be available to those with a technical or skills certificate. All employers agreeskills like problem solving, teamwork, communication, customer service, and computer literacy are crucial for new employees.
Eastern Iowa Community Colleges and IowaWORKS are offering an opportunity for youth to gain the skills employers are looking for, along with a National Career Readiness Certification. High School to High Skills is a two week program that helps students develop these skills, and prepare to enter the workforce. Students will have an opportunity to tour a local company to learn about the skills they are seeking in applicants, and they will learn about local training programs that will give them a more competitive edge and higher earning potential.
According to Paula Arends, IowaWORKS Workforce Innovation Director, High School to High Skills is an excellent opportunity for youth who have little or no work experience. It allows them an opportunity to develop workplace skills in a fun, and interactive environment, and provides professional support as they take that first step into the workforce.
High School to High Skills also emphasizes the one habit all employers wantgood attendance!
This years program will include two weeks of sessions from 9 a.m. to noon at all of the Eastern Iowa Community College locations in Clinton, Muscatine, Davenport, and Maquoketa. Cost of the program is $25. Scholarships may be available to cover the fee. Payment will be required at the time of registration. To inquire about scholarship availability, call 563.445.3200 X43340. Enrollment is limited.
The program will be offered at Muscatine Community College from 9 a.m. to noon, June 20-July 1. The course number is 168075. Call 563-288-6100 for more information.
April Fools believe suicide bombers can be stopped with more body scanners and police surveillance. Fifteen years of bigger, better blast walls, checkpoints, limits on access, barricades, obstacle courses and ever-expanding restrictions at airports and government buildings may fend off car bombers, but driven suiciders with a bit of planning can obviously wreak havoc whenever they wish in San Bernardino or Paris, Brussels or Boston, Ankara or Lahore.
April Fools believe the war on terror can be won using bombs and bomb threats, and that bombs will end it. But all the military means being used to discourage attacks on Our civilians have been killing Other civilians, and, consequently, a prolonged war morphs to a permanent one and a relative small terror group is now a caliphate with 7.8 million new refugees in flight from it. Newspapers, magazines, books, movies and endlessly detailed TV coverage of Our innocent victims necessarily and deliberately ignores, trivializes and even negates acknowledgement of the thousands of Other innocent lives shredded, maimed, or obliterated by US commandos, drones, and jet bombers. When civilian victims of US military attacks are even noted, the media regularly reports that coalition forces caused the death and destruction. This deflects attention from US command of the warfare especially for April Fools who concluded long ago that US bombs dropped from tens of thousands of feet, or sent from 6,000 miles away, or home invasions based on faulty information only accidentally kill innocent householders in targeted villages.
Scores of such accidents hint at the reasons why revenge-seeking youths might strap on bombs and detonate them here or in Pakistan, Turkey, Belgium, or France.
Its common knowledge that violence begets violence, but this truism is tossed in the trash by foolish supporters of war on terror. Is the voting public even interested in ending the war? April Fools forget that, The great initiative in this war is ours. The great initiative to stop it must be ours. (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.)
More April Fools than I have noted that if your power is enhanced by war, or if you are making millions selling weapons for the fight, you could privately wish it would last forever. The government, the military, the media, and arms-dealing corporations all benefit either politically or financially from the war (and from the blowback of suiciders here and abroad), and they might all privately smile at the talk of endless war, perpetual war. As a director of Halliburton, Inc. Dick Cheney, who was Sec. of Defense for George Bush-the-Firsts 1991 bombing of Iraq, and Vice President for G.B.-the- Seconds 2003 Iraq war and occupation, profited directly from the privatization of reconstruction work in Iraq and Afghanistan a consequence that was warned of in advance of the US bombing and takeover.
Today, every presidential hopeful but Bernie Sanders April Fools all promotes or condones the expansion of presidential war power, intensified attacks on ISIL, the Taliban, al Qaida, Al Shabaab or Boko Haram, indefinite detention without charge, force-feeding of US prisoners of war on terror, and the imposition of martial law using US or Israeli occupation forces in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, Pakistan, Libya, Somalia, and Palestine. President Oh-bomb-ah, who has retained all these Bush-the-2d programs, has expanded US military bases and drone attacks killing hundreds of indigenous suspects; but also killing and injuring hundreds of innocent noncombatants. In so doing, the Reaper drones, fighter jets and US commandos have enraged a whole generation of young people who know who is throwing the most and the biggest bombs, where theyre landing, and whose lives and societies are being destroyed.
Even Sanders cant bring himself to criticize the $400 billion Joint Strike Fighter jet (F-35) program which can only prolong the war because an air base in the Senators home state Vermont could host the warplane. Bernie socialism is a still state system after all, and, as Randolph Bourne said, War is the health of the state. Carl Resek explains Bournes famous quip this way, [The saying] meant that mindless power thrived on war because war corrupted a nations moral fabric and especially corrupted its intellectuals.
Fools will always rush in, so the only official response to the suicide bombers in Boston, Brussels, etc. is to expand the power and reach of police services and surveillance agencies, and to further foment fear of Others. Standing in Pittsburghs Union Station waiting for the Amtrak last week, I heard the recorded PSA warn: If you see something, say something.
Well, do we see dead people? The Others, and not just our own? Seeing them, lets say this: Suiciders are criminals to be dealt with using the criminal justice system, and they will never stop their foolish retaliations unless and until we end our own attacks, reject military aggression, and call the war what it is: unwinnable, reckless, and terrifying.
John LaForge, syndicated by PeaceVoice, works for Nukewatch, a nuclear watchdog group in Wisconsin and edits its Quarterly newsletter.
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 []
President Jacob Zuma is on Friday evening expected to address the nation after the Constitutional Court ruling over upgrades at his Nkandla homestead.
The Presidency issued an alert stating that the president was to address the nation at 19:00.
The ANC was also expected to hold a press briefing at 20:00.
Further details were not immediately available.
On Thursday, the Constitutional Court had ruled that the president should adhere to the remedial actions of the public protector and pay back tax payers funds which were used for non-security upgrades worth millions at his Nkandla home.
The court further ruled that Zuma and the National Assembly had violated the Constitution by ignoring the public protectors report.
Since the ruling, opposition parties have called for Zuma to step down.
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A two-year-old Nigerian boy who was found emaciated and riddled with worms after his family left him for dead has made an incredible recovery.
A picture of the starving toddler being given a sip of water by an aid worker broke hearts around the world when it was published last month.
The boy, now called Hope, was abandoned by his family because they thought he was a witch and was found in the streets by Anja Ringgren Loven, a Danish woman living in Africa, on January 31.
And now Ms Loven has shared a series of photographs showing Hopes miraculous recovery in just eight short weeks, and says he is really enjoying life now.
Back in January, Ms Loven found the boy after he had spent eight months fending for himself and living off scraps.
She bent down and gently began feeding him and giving him water from a bottle. She then wrapped up the disorientated toddler in a blanket and took him to the nearest hospital for treatment.
When Hope reached the hospital, he was given medication to remove the worms from his belly and daily blood transfusions to incorporate more red blood cells into his body, Ms Loven said.
And two days after Ms Loven asked for the communitys help with Hopes costly medical bills, she received $1million in donations from around the world.
Just eight weeks later, Hope is unrecognisable. He has gained weight and has been pictured smiling and playing with other children.
Ms Loven is the founder of African Childrens Aid Education and Development Foundation, which she created three years ago to help children who have been labelled witches and therefore neglected or even killed by the members of their community.
Thousands of children are being accused of being witches and weve both seen torture of children, dead children and frightened children, she wrote on Facebook, accompanying images of her feeding the young boy and appealing for donations to help pay for his medical bills.
With all the money, we can, besides giving Hope the very best treatment, now also build a doctor clinic on the new land and save many more children out of torture! she said.
Ms Loven runs an childrens center where the children she saves live and received medical care, food and schooling.
She and her husband, David Emmanuel Umem, began building their own orphanage in late January.
Source Daily Mail
President Uhuru Kenyatta has delivered on the promise made to students of Joytown Special School.
The Head of State made the promise after a surprise visit to the school on Easter Sunday. He and First Lady Margaret Kenyatta on Thursday delivered two new school buses.
The students also got to visit State House where they were gifted with the buses for both primary and secondary sections of the school.
Here are the photos
Sucksybeat one of Nigerias top music producers, has set up a music studio in Nairobis upmarket Kileleshwa.
The producer will do a number of music projects across the continent through a movement called MAB (Music Across Borders).
The Nigerian born producer is also a music writer and remixer. He studied music production at Australias SAE Institute, and has since gone on to work with top acts like Olamide among others.
Music Across Borders is seeking to grow the music talent not only in Kenya, but across borders. Sucksybeat says he believes in Kenyan artists and his reason for settling here is so that he can create a platform to take them places.
While in Kenya, he will be working closely with top model Bashka the Model.
Well, maybe this is the time Kenya produces a truly international artist.
You know elections are near when leaders start making impromptu stops at local joints and treating residents to free lunch.
Ahead of the 2017 elections, Nairobi county gubernatorial hopefuls Johnson Sakaja and Evans Kidero have already kick started their charm offensive.
On Tuesday, Sakaja interacted with mechanics at Grogon garage and enjoyed lunch with them at a kibanda. He however received a massive backlash from Facebook users after posting photos as they faulted him for using old tricks in trying to woe voters after neglecting them for years.
On Thursday, it was Kideros turn to impress locals with his show of down-to-earthness. He was in Kaloleni where he too made a stop over at a kibanda for lunch.
Here are photos of the two gubernatorial hopefuls on their respective day out.
SAKAJA
KIDERO
DAMASCUS, Syria With Islamic State group militants on the doorstep of his hometown in eastern Syria, Yaroob al-Abdullah had little time. He had already rushed his wife and four daughters to safety. Now he had to save the thousands of ancient artifacts he loved.
In a week of furious work in summer heat, tired and dehydrated from the Ramadan fast, the head of antiquities in Deir el-Zour province and his staff packed up most of the contents of the museum in the provincial capital. Then al-Abdullah flew with 12 boxes of relics to Damascus.
The pieces included masterpieces: A nearly 5,000-year-old statuette of a smiling worshipper. A colorful mural fragment from a 2nd-century temple for the god Bel. Thousands of fragile clay tablets inscribed with cuneiform writing, including administrative records, letters and business deals that provide a glimpse at life nearly 4,000 years ago in the Semitic kingdom of Mari.
The move, carried out in 2014, was part of a mission by antiquities officials across Syria to evacuate everything that could be saved from Islamic State extremists and looters. The extent of the operation has been little known until now, but its participants described to The Associated Press a massive effort at least 29 of Syrias 34 museums largely emptied out and more than 300,000 artifacts brought to the capital.
The pieces are now hidden in secret locations known only to the few specialists who handled them, said Maamoun Abdulkarim, who as head of the Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums in Damascus oversaw the operation. Other than that, no one knows where these antiquities are not a politician, not any other Syrian.
Theres much that couldnt be saved. The damage is most symbolized by Palmyra, the jewel of Syrian archaeology, a marvelously preserved Roman-era city. IS militants captured it last year and proceeded to blow up at least two of its most stunning temples. Over the weekend, Syrian government forces recaptured Palmyra from the militants and discovered they had trashed the city museum, smashing statues and looting relics though fortunately about 400 pieces had been hidden away by antiquities officials before the IS takeover.
Across the country, the destruction has been tragic. Wherever they overran territory in Syria and Iraq, Islamic State jihadis relentlessly blew up, bulldozed or otherwise tore down monuments they consider pagan affronts. They and other traffickers have taken advantage of the chaos from the 5-year-old civil war to loot sites and sell off artifacts. Even in the museums that were evacuated, some items were too large to move giant statues or ancient gates and murals and fell into IS hands, their fate unknown.
But the 2,500 archaeologists, specialists, curators and engineers with Syrias antiquities department, including some who defected to join the opposition, have often risked death to protect what they can.
One 25-year-old woman led a military convoy carrying antiquities out of the northern city of Aleppo, a major battleground between rebels and government forces. Out of fear for her safety, she requested anonymity.
Guards at archaeological digs and other sites in areas now under IS control secretly keep tabs on the ruins and feed Abdulkarim photo updates on WhatsApp. Several of them have been killed. Khaled al-Asaad, Palmyras retired antiquities chief, was beheaded by the extremists in August after spiriting away artifacts from the citys museum.
Ziad al-Nouiji, who took over from al-Abdullah as head of antiquities in Deir el-Zour, brought a second load of relics to Damascus last June. But otherwise he has remained in the government-held part of Deir el-Zour city.
He knows the danger: IS militants besieging the area are hunting for him, posting his name on their Facebook pages as a wanted man. He relocated his family abroad but is staying put. This is my duty, my countrys right. If we all left the country and our duties, who would be left? he asked.
In the rebel-held northwestern city of Maarat al-Numan, archaeologists affiliated with the opposition protected the citys museum, which houses Byzantine mosaics. There the danger was from government airstrikes, so they erected a sandbag barrier with financial and logistical support from former antiquities directorate chief Amr al-Azm, who sided with the opposition. Last June, just after the sandbagging was complete, a government barrel bomb damaged mosaics in the outside courtyard, he said.
The heroes here are the Syrian men and women on both sides who ... are willing to risk their lives for their heritage, al-Azm said by telephone from Shawnee State University in Ohio, where he teaches. Thats what gives me hope for the future of Syria.
The antiquities authorities didnt take any chances, even clearing museums in government-controlled areas. At the National Museum in Damascus, the halls and galleries have been empty since the artifacts were hidden away in 2013 for fear rebel shelling could hit the building. In the pottery room, dust rings mark where the pieces once stood and only the labels remain.
In 2014, with EU funding, the U.N. cultural agency UNESCO began training Syrian staff in storing artifacts and helped establish a nationwide system to document their inventory. In Damascus last month, a team of archaeologists and archivists was still processing the collection brought from the Daraa Museum in southern Syria.
With a good team, a charismatic leader and our support they managed an extraordinary feat, said Cristina Menegazzi, head of UNESCOs Syrian heritage emergency safeguard project.
A vital crossroads throughout history, Syria holds a legacy from multiple civilizations that traded, invaded and built cities across its territory the Akkadians, Babylonians and Assyrians of ancient Mesopotamia, various Semitic kingdoms, the Romans and Byzantines, and then centuries of Islamic dynasties. The country is dotted with tells, hills that conceal millennia-old towns and cities, some of which have been partially excavated and many more that are still waiting to be discovered.
Deir el-Zour, a region along the Euphrates River, is rich with such sites.
Among them is Mari, the capital of a kingdom dating back to the early 3rd millennium B.C that grew on trade between Mesopotamia and the Levant for more than 1,000 years until it was crushed by the Babylonians. Its trove of thousands of tablets in the Akkadian language has given archaeologists a rich picture of the era. Upriver is Dura Europos, a city that grew under Roman rule in the early centuries A.D. and its ruins revealed evidence of perhaps the earliest use of chemical warfare, when Parthian invaders apparently used sulfuric smoke to smother Roman defenders during a siege.
In this rich environment, al-Abdullah and his peers grew up amid a heritage that inspired them to display such bravery.
The 48-year-old al-Abdullah said he developed a passion for archaeology as a child watching American and French excavators work in the ruins of Terqa, an ancient city buried under his hometown of al-Asharah. He later led 10 archaeological expeditions along the Euphrates.
In the summer of 2014, IS militants declared their caliphate stretching across parts of Syria and Iraq. They swarmed over 90 percent of Deir el-Zour province and shortly after al-Abdullahs emergency museum evacuation mission took part of Deir el-Zour city.
Al-Abdullah, now the head of the Damascus museum, says it was as natural to save his hometowns heritage as it was to save his daughters.
People who worked in digging know what it is like to look for a certain piece and then to find it, he says. We consider this piece as one of our own children. As we fear for our children and family, we fear for those antiquities.
It has seemed to me that a vast double standard regarding what constitutes prejudice exists on American college campuses. There is hypersensitivity to prejudice against most minority groups but what might be called hyper-insensitivity to anti-Semitism.
At Bowdoin College, holding parties with sombreros and tequila is deemed to be an act of prejudice against Mexicans. At Emory, the chalking of an endorsement of the likely Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump, on a sidewalk is deemed to require a review of security tapes. The existence of a college named after a widely admired former U.S. president has been condemned at Princeton, under the duress of a student occupation. At Yale, Halloween costumes are the subject of administrative edict. The dean of Harvard Law School has acknowledged that hers is a racist institution, while the freshman dean at Harvard College has used dinner place mats to propagandize the student body on aspects of diversity. Professors acquiesce as students insist that they not be exposed to views on issues, such as abortion, that make them uncomfortable.
This is inconsistent with basic American values of free speech and open debate. It fails to recognize that a proper liberal education should cause moments of acute discomfort as cherished beliefs are challenged.
But if comfort is elevated to be a pre-eminent value, the standard should be applied universally. Unfortunately, there is a clear exception made on most university campuses for anti-Semitic speech and acts.
The State Department has made clear that it regards demonizing Israel or applying double standards by requiring of it a behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation as anti-Semitism. This makes obvious good sense. Does anyone doubt that applying standards to African countries that were not applied to other countries or singling them out for sanction when other non-African countries were guilty of much greater sins would be deemed racism?
Instances of anti-Semitism by this standard are ubiquitous in American academic life. Nearly a dozen academic associations have enacted formal boycotts of Israeli institutions and in some cases Israeli scholars. Student governments at dozens of universities have demanded the divestiture of companies that do business in Israel or the West Bank. Guest speakers and even some faculty in their classrooms compare Israel to Nazi Germany and question its right to continued existence as a Jewish state.
Yet, with very few exceptions, university leaders who are so quick to stand up against micro-aggression against other groups remain silent in the face of anti-Semitism. Indeed, many major American universities, including Harvard, remain institutional members of associations that are engaged in boycotts of Israel. The idea of divesting Israel is opposed only in the same way that divesting apartheid South Africa was opposedas an inappropriate intrusion into politics, not as immoral or anti-Semitic.
That is why the recent statement of the University of California Board of Regents is so welcome. It is forceful and clear on anti-Semitism, while recognizing the importance of free speech. It holds that Anti-Semitism, anti-Semitic forms of anti-Zionism and other forms of discrimination have no place at the University of California. Let us hope that similar statements will be made by the leaders of private and public universities across the country.
Its hard to know how to respond to the letter written by Napa County Public Works Director Steve Lederer ("No-kill shelter initiative discussed," March 31) which criticizes an initiative now being circulated that would mandate changes at the county animal shelter.
In a rare and professionally questionable move for a public employee, Mr. Lederer has chosen to inject himself into the political process by mounting arguments against the initiative based on misrepresentations. The most important, and at the crux of the issue, involves the number of animals killed by the Napa County Animal Shelter. As the proponents of the initiative, we have been using 2014 numbers reported to the state of California by Napa County, which indicate that about 33 percent of animals taken in by the shelter were killed in 2014. Mr. Lederer disputes these numbers, saying they are drawn from the wrong report, one that includes animals that, for instance, were brought in by their owners specifically to be euthanized. The irony is that the numbers in the report that Mr. Lederer describes as wrong actually make the county look better than documents covering 2014 provided directly to us last year by former shelter manager Kristen Loomer.
According to those documents, which we are happy to provide upon request, 1,743 stray and owner-surrendered dogs and cats were taken in by the shelter in 2014, of which 704 were euthanized. That calculates to a kill rate of 40 percent. So the county shelter, depending on which of the countys various numbers can be believed, kills either 33 percent or 40 percent of the dogs and cats taken in. Mr. Lederer contends that only 20 percent of animals were killed in 2014, despite the fact that no documents released publicly support a number close to that.
Mr. Lederer touts laudable but still inadequate reductions in the 2015 kill-rate at the shelter while skipping over the role that we, the authors of the ballot initiative, played in the yearlong push for those reductions. That experience has convinced us of the need to move the issue from being a noncommittal negotiation with county personnel to establishing explicit requirements that will give every animal at risk for euthanasia a much greater chance of a live outcome under local law set by the people.
We believe that the measure is reasonable and that, if it qualifies for the ballot, the Board of Supervisors would adopt the language in the interests of good government. If, however, a political campaign becomes necessary, we hope that local news media will not allow Mr. Lederer to get away with the kinds of misleading assertions evident in his recent letter to the editor.
Finally, it is galling to have Mr. Lederer cast doubts about JARR's and WCAL's past and continued support to the county shelter based on our paltry participation accepting animals from the Napa shelter during the last six months of 2015. As Mr. Lederer is well aware, both WCAL and JARR were otherwise fully engaged responding to the short- and long-term impacts of Lake County's Valley Fire.
Pam Ingalls, Wine Country Animal Lovers, Board President
Monica Stevens, Jameson Animal Rescue Ranch, Executive Director
Iranian MP: Iran will conduct military exercises wherever it deems necessary
Finnish delegation to visit Ankara to discuss NATO membership
Jurgen Klopp: The performance I can explain, the result not
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
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A plea for help via social media led a former Marine to quickly respond, in hopes he could help out a fellow Army National Guardsman in desperate need of a new kidney.
Suffering with Stage 4 kidney disease, 28-year-old Dustin Brown relied on dialysis machines to rid his body of waste, salt and water that his failing kidneys could no longer do. Doctors told him a kidney transplant was needed.
Brown linked up with Kristi and Raleigh Callaway. Raleigh Callaway, a Greensboro, Georgia, police officer, received a new kidney in 2014 following a Facebook post publically appealing for help.
The Callaways and their two daughters held a sign reading, "Our Daddy needs a kidney." The post went viral and over 900 calls came in to the Emory Transplant Center in the few days following the post, all calling to find out if they were a match for the ailing Callaway.
Soon Brown, posing with his wife and five-year-old son, had a similar Facebook post on the Callaways page, desperately searching for a new kidney.
Former Marine, Temple Jeffords, saw the plea for help and contacted Kristi Callaway and the Emory Transplant Center. A few weeks later, the 44-year-old Jeffords learned he was a match for Brown.
"I have never thought about donating a kidney to anyone, but when I saw another servicemans need for help, I wanted to help," says Jeffords. "The testing and donating processes are simple."
On Friday, March 25, in side-by-side operating rooms at Emory University Hospital, kidney transplant surgeons removed one of Jeffords kidneys and placed it into Brown, who is still serving in the Army National Guard.
"The request for kidneys via social media has taken an upward trend in the past few years with positive results, thanks in part to people like the Callaways and the donors that have come forward to assist," says Nicole Turgeon, MD, the Emory transplant surgeon who removed Jeffords donated kidney.
"Living donor kidney transplants, such as this one, make the wait times shorter for critically-ill patients, while also providing the greatest chances for long-term success, says Turgeon, surgical director of the Paired Donor Kidney Exchange Program at Emory Healthcare.
"I am so thankful for Temple," says Brown, just days after his kidney transplant surgery. "Brothers in arms are always brothers, no matter what. He is a super hero in our family."
As for the Callaways, since they began their "Our Daddy needs a kidney" Facebook page in 2014, they have assisted in 10 matches with new kidneys.
Student Austin Weigle earns national recognition
CARBONDALE, Ill. Austin Weigle, a junior plant biology major with a concentration in molecular and biochemistry physiology at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, is an Honorable Mention for a prestigious Barry Goldwater Scholarship.
The Goldwater Scholarship is among the most selective of the major national scholarships. This year, the scholarship board accepted 1,150 scholarship nominations, from which the judges chose only 252 as scholarship winners and 256 to receive an Honorable Mention.
Pam Gwaltney, the late associate director of the University Honors Program, identified Weigle as a Goldwater candidate during his freshman year, and worked with him to develop a competitive student vita for major scholarships through his junior year. Gwaltney died from pancreatic cancer before Weigle began the Goldwater application process.
Aldwin Anterola, associate professor of plant biology, is Weigles research mentor and nominated him for the Barry Goldwater Scholarship. Stephen Ebbs, chair of the plant biology department, and Keith Gagnon, assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, also wrote letters in Weigles support.
Weigle, who is from Kennebunk, Maine, thanked Gwaltney for introducing him to the concept of major scholarship competition and for helping him realize what he, as a strong student, could contribute to the university. He also thanked Anterola and Laxmi Sagwan, a doctoral student working with Anterola.
Dr. Anterola accepted me into his lab when I had little experience and started incorporating me into his research projects, he said. Hes made me much more knowledgeable in terms of the research components of my field and how to think as a researcher. Laxmi has given me an intangible amount of guidance. We share literature, dissect our thinking, and learn how we should be conducting research.
Weigle thanked the SIU plant biology community, and Ebbs and Gagnon for their letters in support of his scholarship application. He also thanked Laurie Bell, interim dean of the University College, for stepping in and encouraging him to hold to his scholarship, research and personal goals. He offered a shout-out, too, to his Saluki Track and Field colleagues who, he said, were his benevolent reprieve.
Weigle ultimately plans to earn a doctoral degree in medicinal chemistry with research focuses in pharmacognosy and plant secondary metabolism with the goal of developing natural drugs from plants.
The Goldwater Foundation is a federally endowed agency created in 1986. The program, which honors the late Sen. Barry M. Goldwater of Arizona, helps identify and assist outstanding students in mathematics, natural sciences and engineering. Since its first award in 1989, the Foundation has funded 7,680 scholarships worth approximately $48 million.
Stanford scientists shed light on powerful currents that create massive underwater canyons
Through the use of mathematical models, Stanford researchers have better defined the powerful processes that carved some of the largest canyons on Earth, deep under the oceans.
Courtesy Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute Recent research by Stanford scientists sheds light on the powerful ocean currents that carved the Monterey Canyon and other deep channels that extend hundreds of miles offshore.
Hidden off the central California coast is a gorge carved into the seafloor that rivals the Grand Canyon, its steep walls measuring nearly one mile from top to bottom. The Monterey Canyon is one of thousands of giant submarine canyons that crisscross the ocean floor.
Since the discovery of these features at the turn of the 19th century, scientists have hypothesized that turbidity currents avalanche-like flows of rock, sand and silt suspended in water that can traverse hundreds of miles eroded away the canyons and cut sinuous channels along the ocean floor. Supporting this hypothesis with direct measurement, however, has proven exceedingly difficult. Even the most robust monitoring equipment can't survive currents strong enough to sculpt canyons in the seafloor.
A computer modeling effort from Stanford researchers, published in the Journal of Geophysical Research, could fill in the gaps in describing these powerful currents that, when they're not creating some of the largest canyons on the planet, pose a significant risk to undersea telecommunications structures and oil rigs.
"There's still an air of mystery about deep-ocean processes. We have better images of the surface of Mars than we do of our own seafloor," said Miles Traer, the study's lead author who conducted the work as a graduate student in Stanford's School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences. "How is it possible to have water flow through other water for such long distances while creating these huge features? Without direct measurements, that question has proven surprisingly difficult to answer, and it was one of the driving questions of our research."
Unlike a river, turbidity currents don't flow continuously; they seem to start suddenly, last for minutes to hours, and then stop. As they move, they mix with the surrounding sediment-free water along the upper boundary of the current. This mixing is one of the fundamental differences between turbidity currents and their on-land counterparts.
"Understanding this mixing is crucial when trying to predict where a turbidity current will go, how energetic it will be, how potentially damaging it will be, or where it will deposit large sandy reservoirs," said George Hilley, co-author on the study and associate professor at Stanford's School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences. "To my knowledge, no one has ever measured the mixing process in the field, and yet it seems to control much of the flow physics."
In the study, Traer and his colleagues found that the standard mathematical model for turbidity currents, which is commonly employed in risk assessments and petroleum exploration, may have improperly captured this important mixing process, called entrainment. Clear-water entrainment along the upper boundary of the flow effectively acts as a brake, slowing the turbidity current down while simultaneously thickening it.
Using the standard model, the researchers found that the simulated turbidity currents were either too thick, or too fast. This indicated that the simulated flows would either be too dilute to carve out the canyons, or too energetic and carve them out much faster than the geological evidence suggests.
"The entrainment process is incredibly difficult to capture in the lab because the scales are so different," Traer said. "Our results suggest that the model used to describe the mixing process that was derived in the lab might be just one of many possible rules that apply depending on the scale of the flow."
The discovery has many implications for the formation and duration of the turbidity currents that not only carved out the large canyons but also constructed meandering channels along the seafloor.
"The research suggests that there is a delicate balance that turbidity currents must maintain between erosion and entrainment," Hilley said. "And our methods provide the groundwork to better capture the entrainment process and, in turn, better predict the patterns of erosion and deposition that create these massive features on the seafloor."
Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesman Aizaz Chaudhary has said there was no cause of concern about Islamabad's nuclear programme since the country never had a nuclear accident or breach of security. At a news briefing on Thursday, the foreign secretary said the impression that Pakistans nuclear installations were insecure was baseless, Dawn online reported on Friday. Pakistans nuclear installations are not only secure but the world also acknowledges that they are, he said. Chaudhary said that the International Atomic Energy Agency has recorded 2,734 nuclear incidents worldwide, including five in India, but not a single accident or breach happened in Pakistan, although our programme is 40-year old. The foreign secretary said it was wrong to describe Pakistans short-range missiles or small nukes as battlefield or tactical weapons. Pakistan has short-range and long-range missiles, and the purpose behind both is to deter aggression, he said, adding We want to prevent war, to prevent the space Indians created for war by building military installations close to the Pakistani border as part of their cold start doctrine, he added. Calling them battlefield weapons creates a wrong perception. These are for deterrence, only and only for defence, Chaudhary said. There is no cause of concern. The foreign secretary said Pakistan had installed radiation monitors at all sensitive facilities and planned to install more monitors at all 72 exit and entry points in the country. India, on the other hand, has an ambitious nuclear programme, and an equally ambitious conventional weapons programme, he added. We have a modest programme because we feel we have the right to defend ourselves. --Indo-Asian News Service ksk/vm ( 278 Words) 2016-04-01-11:09:31 (IANS)
"Seven militants have been killed and 14 wounded when Afghan National Security Forces launched joint operations in the countryside," Xinhua quoted the ministry as saying.
The ministry also confirmed the loss of seven army personnel during the operations.
The Afghan security forces have recently beefed up security as the spring and summer, known as the fighting season, is nearing.
--Indo-Asian News Service py/dg
( 94 Words)
2016-04-01-15:57:57 (IANS)
The "Protection Service for Business" includes new web security (endpoint security) features and a redesigned management portal that is much more efficient for administrators, the company said in a statement.
Endpoint security refers to a methodology of protecting the corporate network when accessed via remote devices such as laptops or other wireless and mobile devices.
"Our approach with 'Protection Service for Business' is based on the fact that there is no one silver bullet to keep a business safe. There is not just one technology that will do the job every time," said Samu Konttinen, executive vice president, corporate security at F-Secure.
"Cyber threats use various attack methods and vectors, and businesses need a host of technologies that work together, backing each other up to protect the enterprise. With Protection Service for Business, all the components are together in one package," Konttinen added.
The new service, which will be offered as a managed service through reseller partners, is a completely redesigned cloud-enabled management portal that is much more intuitive to use.
Customers and partners will notice quicker, more efficient management, with better user flows and fewer clicks.
--Indo-Asian News Service sku/na/bg
( 235 Words)
2016-04-01-15:49:37 (IANS)
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) handed over some more documents, including DNA reports and call details of the four terrorists killed in the attack, to the JIT.
"Documents like the post-mortem report, call details of the terrorists and their DNA reports along with the arms and ammunition of Pakistan found during Pathankot attack were shared with Pakistan JIT," NIA official told ANI.
"The witnesses, including a Superintendent of Police rank officer of Punjab Salwinder Singh, his jeweller friend Rajesh Verma and cook Madan Gopal were examined by the Pakistan JIT," the official added.
The Pakistani team, which was taken to various spots in Pathankot yesterday, including the 'crime scene' inside the air base, had sought permission for recording the statements of witnesses including Punjab police officer Salvinder Singh, his friend, cook Madan Gopal, caretaker of a shrine the officer had visited in the run up to the attack, and officers who had carried out investigations earlier and prepared the seizure memo.
The NIA has handed over to JIT statements of witnesses including doctors who conducted the postmortem, call records of Superintendent of Police Salwinder Singh and his jeweller friend Rajesh Verma, whose phones had been snatched by the terrorists and allgedly used by them to speak to their contacts in Pakistan, serial number of weapons siezed, besides forensic and ballistic reports.
The Paksitani team is scheduled to return on April two. (ANI)
Ferrous futures in China advanced on Friday after data showed that activity in the country's vast factory sector has expanded for the first time in nine months.However, slow buying activity in China's physical iron ore market has weighed on spot prices, with the steelmaking raw material on course for its biggest weekly drop this year.China's manufacturing activity unexpectedly expanded in March for the first time in nine months, an official survey showed, adding to hopes that downward pressure on the world's second-largest economy is easing."We see signs of recovery, more than stabilization, in China's economy after seasonal weakness in February. This came faster than our expectation," said Argonaut Securities Helen Lau.That could boost the outlook for steel demand in the world's top consumer, which showed signs of strength this year, as Shanghai steel futures scaled a nine-month high last week.Rebar, a construction steel product, was up 2.2 percent at 2,169 yuan ($336) a tonne on the Shanghai Futures Exchange by 0311 GMT.On the Dalian Commodity Exchange, September iron ore rose 1.2 percent to 383 yuan a tonne.Appetite for physical iron ore cargoes was slow this week in China, pulling prices down 16 percent from their peak in March."The seaborne iron ore price continued to decline in the absence of any concrete policy measures by the Chinese government," ANZ Bank said in a note."However, the recent rebound in prices raise the risk of other high cost supply remaining in the market."Iron ore for immediate delivery to China's Tianjin port < .IO62-CNI=SI > was flat at $53.20 a tonne on Thursday, according to The Steel Index. It was down 4.1 percent for the week so far.The spot benchmark has fallen from a near nine-month peak of $63.30 that reached on March 8, but still ended the first quarter with a gain of 24 percent.That made iron ore the top performing commodity, far outpacing gold, which logged its best quarter since 1986.REUTERS SV RAI0900 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0103-662520.Xml
The Congress Party on Friday criticised China's move to block India's proposal to ban Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Maulana Masood Azhar, saying that Beijing's position always supported elements that have backed terrorism in India. "China has acted like an enemy of India that is something surprisingly the Indian government doesn't seem to understand. India has always tried to follow path of friendship to China but china has always assisted Pakistan in the insidious manner in which they promote India. China has always supported elements that have done terrorism in India," Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit told ANI here. He also said that China's design on India has always been wrong and China is inherently a nation that nether supports democracy nor human rights nor liberal values. Echoing similar sentiments, another Congress leader Manish Tewari told ANI that the People's Liberation Army of China and the Pakistani military establishment have very deep ties which go back many decades. "If India expects that China would stop supporting Pakistan perfectly then we are living in a fool's paradise. The fact that the Pakistan ISIS and the Chinese intelligence agencies has also been trying to midwife a solution in Afghanistan between the Taliban and the Afghan Government where the US is also deeply involved," Tewari said. "Therefore, in this fight against terrorism, India will have to stand for itself rather than relying on the United States of America or China which have their own interest in the region," he added. In a major disappointment for India, China collaborated with Pakistan to block New Delhi's proposal to ban Masood Azhar. Following the attack on the Indian Air Force Base in Pathankot killing seven Indian military personnel, India has called on the United Nations for immediate action to list Azhar under the al-Qaida Sanctions Committee. According to sources, 14 out of 15 countries were willing to designate Azhar but China alone decided to go against all the others in the bid. The US, UK and France had strongly supported the move and the other nations had also expressed their consent to proceed with the action on Azhar. But China, one of the five permanent members of the UN group with veto powers, collaborated with Pakistan to block the bid, sources add. China is now the only country that has stood up for Masood Azhar more than once. (ANI)
The Opposition political parties in Uttar Pradesh have attacked Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav over his visit to Bundelkhand terming it as a "political tour to garner votes" rather than extending help to the drought-hit people."The speeches he delivered in Mahoba and Chitrakoot yesterday are real reflection of Chief Minister's mind. It seemed he was delivering election speech and talked about his Government's achievement not realising that people, who have come there, want relief not bhashan," BJP spokesperson Vijay Bahadur Pathak said here today.He said the Chief Minister's visit has exposed 'government's preparation for polls'. He has distributed foodgrain packets to over 1,000 people in Chitrakoot and Mahoba. "Why food packets were given now. This means these people have not received food packets for last six months while the government is claiming that it has extended all help to farmers," he said."While addressing his party workers, the Chief Minister had alleged that the Narendra Modi Government has not sanctioned relief to the drought-affected farmers. This is a blatant lie. The Central government has given money but it is ironical that state government has failed to utilise that fund," Mr Pathak said, adding that the state government, which is more concerned about celebrating birthday of party's national president, has no compassion for the poor.UP Congress senior leader Amarnath Agarwal said Mr Yadav's Bundelkhand visit was a `political Yatra'. It would have been better had he visited villages and had interaction with villagers to know exact position at ground level, he said."The Chief Minister is relying more on official feedback whereas truth is villagers are forced to eat 'roti' (chapatti) with salt. They have no fodder for their animal. The people are moving out of Bundelkhand to earn their living. It is bad time for people of Bundelkhand and this government is not concerned about them," Mr Agarwal said.RLD national general secretary Anil Dubey said farmers are the worst hit. "This is an anti-farmer government. Farmers should get good remuneration of their produce. It should be his government's responsibility to ensure that but it has failed," he said.UNI MB SV 1256 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0103-662733.Xml
Amid controversy over involvement of Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar in assassination of his senior colleague former health minister Bimal Sinha in March 31, 1998, CPI(M) state committee has observed anti-terrorist day on the day of Sinha's murder across the state. The party has phased into an awkward situation when opposition congress and BJP demanded CBI probe in the assassination besides, congress asked Chief Minister Sarkar to step down and called for dawn to dusk general strike on April 18. The CPI(M) observed 19th Martyr day of former Health Minister Bimal Sinha yesterday for the first time with befitting manner in Kamalpur sub-division of Dhalai district where Sinha was assassinated by militants in the river bank along with his brother during negotiation with the militants for release of his step-brother. While addressing the central programme in Kamalpur CPI(M) state secretariat member and Education minister Tapan Chakraborty raised a counter allegation against opposition that Sinha was murdered in the conspiracy of the congress party. "In 1998 assembly election, nomination of congress candidate Jagadish Ghosh was rejected in scrutiny. On the day, Ghosh threatened the CPI(M) leaders to hold by-election again in the seat where Sinha was elected. Immediately, after the election Sinha's brother was kidnapped and despite being a minister out of love to his brother, Sinha fell into the trap of extremist," Mr Chakraborty stated. He however, pointed out that Sinha's movement for negotiating with militants was not known to the government and party. Bimal Sinha went to talk with the militants kept behind his entire security team, which was reflected in the Yusuf Commission report also. But the opposition is misinterpreting the facts of the report and unnecessarily attacking Chief Minister Sarkar to achieve political mileage. Both BJP and Congress ganged up against CPI(M) demanding re-investigation of the case by CBI and resignation of Chief Minister and also called for strike, he added. UNI BB BM ADG RAI1328 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0214-662669.Xml
Insurgency has been an integral part of Assam politics and this time, too, the insurgents are trying to make their presence felt in the election battle.The anti-talk faction of ULFA (I) led by Paresh Barua has issued several diktats against various candidates of his dislike and warned electors to restrain from casting their votes in favour of these nominees. The proscribed ULFA(I) has issued a threat against BJP candidate from Margherita constituency, Bhaskar Sharma, and asked the voters to maintain 'safe distance' from this 'commander of secret killings saga'.In an emailed statement, the militant group alleged that Sharma was the 'commander' of the extra-judicial killings (termed as 'secret killings'), in which masked gunmen had targeted and killed kin of ULFA leaders in the state.The outfit had also questioned BJP's chief ministerial candidate and Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal and BJP leader Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma's alleged role in killings of youth leaders and activists in the state.It had also recently fielded seven questions to the BJP, asking it to clear its stand on those issues, which include information on missing ULFA leaders and the party's stand on the 'secret killings'.However, there is other side of the story too, nearly after three decades, Upper Assam the economic centre of Assam and once considered as hotbed of militancy in the state is breathing easy for insurgency is at its lowest ebb on the ground. Most leaders of United Liberation Front of Asom (Ulfa), except Paresh Barauh, are in peace process. Insurgency issue has dominated every election since 1990s. Ruling Congress is claiming success for returning peace in the state in last 15 years of rule. Return of peace in Assam is its major poll plank. NDA government has held couple of rounds of discussion with ULFA leaders in New Delhi. However, there is little mention of insurgency in poll manifesto of various parties including BJP and Congress. Mrinal Hazarika, a senior leader of pro talk ULFA faction, said that ULFA issue had dominated the political scene for decades but this time around it is not reflected in manifestos of political parties. Hazarika added with General Secretary Anup Chetia joining the peace process the charter of demands was revised. Chetia was repatriated to India last year. Defiant 'commander in chief' Paresh Baruah, who is leading the anti-talk faction of Ulfa, is,however, reluctant to join the peace process. UNI ABI SHS RP1550 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0329-663078.Xml
Settler farmers outfit Malayora Karshaka Samithy in this district of Kerala will field Sibi Vayalil against official candidate of the Congress-led United Democratic Front in Thiruvambadi in protest against the alliance conceding the seat to Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) in the May 16 assembly poll in the state. Talking to reporters here, Samithy leader Sibi Vayalil and others said the samithy decided to field rebel candidate as the Congress had failed to study and resolve the problems faced by the farmers. They said the seat which was held by the Congress from 1977 to 1987 was later given to IUML in 1991. Though IUML leader P K Kunhalikutty had promised in writing to give back the seat to Congress, but he failed to do so, hoodwinking the farming community in the high ranges, they said. Thamarassery diocese while considering sentiments of the farming community had backed the need for fielding a Congress candidate in the constituency, they said adding that the Samithy expected grand victory for Sibi Vahalil.UNI PCH RSA GC1453 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0343-663116.Xml
An ultra of the proscribed CPI (Maoists) was injured in an encounter with the security personnel at Chapla village in the wee hours today. Police sources said, acting on a tip-off regarding the presence of a group of Maoists in the village, security personnel comprising jawans of the district police and CRPF rushed to the spot. Upon seeing the policemen, the ultras started firing to which the jawan sretaliated. In the exchange of fire, one of the ultras sustained bullet injuries and was captured by the police, who later took him to the Sadar Hospital, while his other associates managed to flee from the spot. Sources said that SP Priyadarshi Alok was himself leading the search operations currently in the area.UNI XC-AK AD AE GC1537 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0108-663006.Xml
The Meghalaya High Court today declined to stay the operation of the notification of Meghalaya Excise Department on wine shops located within the purview of national highways, places of worship and educational institutes. The amended Rule 183 of Meghalaya Excise Rules prohibits setting up of wine stores in areas within 100 metres from the midpoint of national or state highways and 200 metres from places of worship, educational institutions and hospitals. A time of six months have been given for all the existing liquor ships that fall within these distances to comply in as far as shifting their shops are concerned. The Court after hearing a petition referred to the order of Commissioner and Secretary Excise that representation by the petitioners who are wine shop owners cannot be entertained and that the provisions of the amended Rule 183 of the Meghalaya Excise Rules notified vide No. ERTS (E) 1/2012/139, dated 23.9.2015should be enforced as originally envisaged. "The Commissioner of Excise is directed to ensure the implementation of the provisions of the amended Rule 183 and to issue necessary directions to all district and sub-divisional offices to ensure that existing IMFL shops which have attracted the provisions of the amended Rule 183 should cease to operate with effect from April 1 positively. In cases where licensees who have attracted the provisions of the amended Rule had deposited the renewal fees, the same should be refunded forthwith under due acknowledgement of receipt", the order of the Commissioner and Secretary said.UNI RRK BM ADG AS1555 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0214-662871.Xml
Congress today slammed the BJP-led government in Gujarat for passing in thestate assembly, a "diluted land acquisition bill" doing away with the contentious clauses of consent and social impact assessment" prior to acquisition of the land from farmers or other owners. "Gujarat passes diluted land acquisition bill that does away with the social impact assessment and consent clauses", the principal Opposition party said in a post on its official twitter handle. "Snatching farmers land by hook and crook", the party quipped in the tweet that is attached with a picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel. "After ignoring suffering farmers in Maharashtra and taunting them to commit suicide..,..BJP now snatching farmers' land in Gujarat", it accused the ruling party and its government. The Gujarat assembly yesterday had passed a Bill that dilutes the Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation Act 2013 brought in by the then UPA government at the Centre. The new state Bill discarded the contentious clauses of the social impact assessment and consent for the acquisition of land for "public purposes" and "industrial corridors". The Narendra Modi-led NDA government after assuming the office at the Centre had been trying to bring amended land Bill to replace the 2013 UPA Bill dropping some clauses including the two above mentioned ones. However, due to strong opposition in Parliament particularly in the Rajya Sabha by the Congress and some other like-minded parties, this could not be passed so far and presently the Bill is pending before the Joint Parliament Committee(JPC).UNI SS RSA AE 1732 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0089-663315.Xml
The NIA has given the Joint Investigation Team(JIT) of Pakistan concrete evidence against the office bearers of JeM who conspired in the attack and the handlers of the terrorists who facilitated and guided them. NIA has sought samples of some senior office bearers of JeM, and DNA sample of the mother of slain terrorist Nasir Hussain from the JIT which had come here to probe the Pathankot terror attack. At a media briefing at the end of the visit, DG NIA Sharad Kumar said here that the JIT informed them that they were collecting admissible evidence outside Pakistan under the provision of Section 188 of the CrPC of Pakistan, that will legally enable them to be used in prosecution. The NIA shared with JIT the identity and the address of the four terrorists and requested that the JIT confirm the same. JIT was also requested to verify the various articles seized from the terrorists including arms and ammunition as mentioned in the Letter Rogatory sent earlier to Pakistan. The Joint Investigation Team (JIT) of Pakistan had arrived in India on March 27, and for the past five days, interacted on the Pathankot case with NIA officials. Mr Kumar said on March 29 , they visited the scene of crime in Pathankot and were shown locations where the terrorists infiltrated and subsequently hid, as well as where the encounter took place. They also visited the spot where Ikagar Singh's vehicle was snatched, where he was murdered, and where the terrorists hijacked the SUV Mahindra of SP Salwinder Singh. The route taken by the terrorists was also shown to the JIT. These are parts of the standard legal procedure of investigation followed in both nations, he said. The JIT shared with NIA the results of investigations carried out by them so far in Pakistan. On JIT's request, the NIA provided certified copies of post-mortem reports, MLRs, CDRs, DNA reports and the Seizure Memo of articles from the scene of crime. The Pakistan JIT was given access to 16 witnesses, including SP Salwinder Singh, his cook, Rajesh Verma and some formal witnesses, as per agreed terms of reference and extant legal provisions, the DG NIA said. UNI PRA-NAZ RSA AE 1710 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0091-663256.Xml
Gujarat High Court today dismissed the habeas corpus petition filed last year following sudden disappearance of Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) convener Hardik Patel after he had addressed a rally in a village of Aravali district.The High Court also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on each of the petitioners who had filed the habeas corpus petition late on the night of September 22, last year. The court observed that if the police desired to pursue the case they may proceed in the matter. Two associates of the pro-quota agitation leader, Dinesh Patel and Ketan Patel had filed the habeas corpus petition after Hardik had mysteriously disappeared after addressing a public meeting organised without the permission of the district authorities. The petitioners had alleged that Hardik had been abducted by the police and taken to some unknown place. However, Hardik appeared on his own the very next day and presented himself along with his lawyer B M Mangukiya before the High Court. Hardik then alleged before the media that he was abducted by some people who appeared to be policemen in plain clothes, threatened him and later abandoned him on a highway. The court had taken serious view of the matter and reprimanded Hardik and his advocate for having gone to the media before appearing in court. UNI ND SHS AE 1845 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0329-663555.Xml
Asserting that there are around 200 militants active in Kashmir valley, a senior Army officer however, today said their morale was down right now due to the killing of their top commanders in security force action. With the melting of snow on the upper reaches, militants waiting across the border could try infiltrate into this side, GoC 15 Corps Lt Gen Satish Dua told reporters on the sidelines of a function in this frontier district. "Around two hundred militants were active in the valley. However, right now their morale is low because of the killing of top militant leaders by security forces in different encounters. They also lack required equipment to operate," Mr Dua said. Meanwhile, talking about infiltration from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), Lt Gen Dua said after melting of snow and clearing of routes, the infiltration is expected to increase. But, he said, ''Army is committed and ready to tackle any situation and protect the Line of Control (LoC).''UNI BAS AE GC1908 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0153-663394.Xml
Describing the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as "a band of fugitives" and "anti-Punjab" elements, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Friday called upon the people of Punjab to beware of their "nefarious designs" and narrow political vested interests. Paying tribute to Panth Rattan Late jathedar Gurcharan Singh Tohra on his 12th death anniversary here at his native village, Badal asked the people not to fall prey to the AAP's propaganda else they would be left with no other option, but to repent for their "remorseful act" for the rest of their lives. Badal said the AAP has no definite agenda for the overall development and welfare of the state or its people. "Rather, their sole agenda is to rule Punjab by hook or crook just to satiate their lust for power," he said. Exhorting people to give another opportunity to the SAD-BJP combine to serve them and to ensure all-round development and prosperity of all sections of society, Badal said, "It is evident from its Delhi model of governance that the inexperienced and novice AAP leadership will certainly land you in the soup, rather extending a helping hand. On the contrary, the SAD-BJP alliance is trusted and time-tested in which people can repose their faith, and have confidence in its policies and programmes." "How can you expect a new political party, which has not even known the hardships faced by the people at the grass-roots level to do justice with you? The SAD-BJP alliance was an all-weather friendship, which could feel the pulse of people besides resolving their grievances to their satisfaction," said Badal. Accusing the AAP of fiddling with the sentiments of the innocent people of Punjab, Badal said this was not only deplorable, but also highly unethical. He said political outfits indulging in such gimmickry should refrain from it. Training his guns on the Congress Party, Badal said, "It has surpassed all records of betraying the people of Punjab on every issue - be it social, political, economic or religious. A classic example of their apathy towards Punjab was having denied the state its rightful share in river waters in defiance of nationally and internationally accepted riparian principle, attack on Sri Harmandar Sahib, 1984 Sikh genocide, depriving Punjab of Chandigarh as its capital and transfer of Punjabi speaking areas to other states." Badal impressed upon the people of Punjab to be prepared to keep parties pursuing the politics of opportunism at the bay. He said giving another term to the SAD-BJP was important to accomplish its unfinished agenda of development and prosperity for the state. Making a firm resolve not to share a single drop of water with anyone, Badal reiterated his stand that depriving Punjab of river waters would not be tolerated at any cost. Calling upon people to be prepared for any sacrifice to save the state's river waters, the chief minister said even he or his party would not hesitate to make any supreme sacrifice to save precious natural resource like water, which almost affects every section of society. Listing a few major achievements of his government, Badal said the SAD-BJP government has so far given free power to the agriculture sector worth Rs.48,000 crores, an interest-free crop loan worth Rs.50,000 and cashless health insurance of Rs.50,000; besides an insurance of Rs.5 lakh in case of accidental death or incapacitation of the head of a family. Recalling his long association with jathedar Tohra, Badal said he was not merely an individual, but an institution. Being a multi-faceted personality, he made an unparalleled contribution in politics, social, religious and educational fields through his astute leadership and statesmanship. On the occasion, Badal also released a souvenir on the life and works of Late Jathedar Tohra. Prominent amongst those present were Cabinet Ministers Jathedar Tota Singh and S. Surjit Singh Rakhra, Member Parliament from Sri Anandpur Sahib Prof. Prem Singh Chandumajra, Chairman Punjab State Backward Classes Commission Prof. Kirpal Singh Badungar, former Minister S. Harmel Singh, Member SGPC Bibi Kuldeep Kaur, Chairman Market Committee Mr. Harinderpal Singh Tohra, local Akali leader S. Makhan Singh Lalka besides several leaders and party workers of Shiromani Akali Dal and members of SGPC. (ANI)
: The much talked Spark10's Thirteen Week Accelerator Program receives overwhelming response from 500 startups from not only India but abroad. Talking to newspersons here today, Atal Malviya, Founder of Spark10 and Investor in Tech Start-ups in Europe and US said application forms were received from far-\\ off countries and cities like Romania, USA, UK, London, New Castle, New York and Spain. We have received application forms from start-ups solving problems of different verticals and areas, including Internet, Mobiles, Web, Foot Technology, Fintech, B2B, Social Media, MedTech, Hyper local and logistics, informed Mr Atal Malviya. From 500 applications received 51 Startups were shortlisted, which was brought down to 21 based on Skype Interviews. Two rounds of personal interviews were held yesterday in city to handpick the final ten startups, who will make to the 13 Week Acceleration program which will begin from next month, Mr Malviya said. The First cohort(10 Startups) handpicked will be announced tomorrow in a special event "Spark10 Origins", scheduled to be held in city at Cyber City Convention here. The final 10 teams - the people, their ideas, goals and aspirations will be made public through Episode of Spark10.tv. Spark10 is probably first Accelerator in the world to produce Television programming to give visibility to the start-up community. The first episode will be aired during the Spark10 Origin on Sunday. The ten selected startups will also be introduced to the five hundred plus gathering of Startup Community in the city. It will be graced by who is who of the community. Paul Smith, Founding Advisor of Spark10, India's First European Accelerator andCo-Founder and CEO of Ignite100, Europe's Angel-Led Acceleration Fund and Investor is specially flown in to grace the function. Speaking on the occasion, Paul Smith said Hyderabad in India has a chance to be world leader in Technology. But, you need people and skills to support. Our vision through Spark10 is to see every house in India has an entrepreneur, he declared. Mr Paul, supported 100 companies, turned them into multi million US Dollars businesses. He wants to replicate the same here in India through this acceleration programme. Spark10 will expand to other cities in Telangana and different parts of the country. We will Spark10 plans to invest 100 Million in Indian Startups in next two years. Our vision is to have 500 plus mentors. We have already roped in 100 plus mentors, who have already given their consent, Mr Malviya added. UNI KNR KVV AK 2105 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0414-663975.Xml
Even as ominous clouds loom over the international scene owing to the machinations of dark and divisive forces that threaten to rend world peace through gross misinterpretation of religion, a Muslim scribe-turned-hotel owner in this City of Lakes has presented a laudable instance of communal amity by planning to provide food packets sans charge to Hindu pilgrims who will head for Ujjain's Simhasth Kumbh Mahaparv Mela via the Madhya Pradesh capital. In these overly-materialistic times when most people turn Nelson's eye to the have-nots, being a Good Samaritan is nothing new to Maqbool Ahmed Mansoory who is feeding the poor for free -- irrespective of caste, creed and colour -- for some years. From 2000 hrs every evening, grub prepared for hundreds of persons is distributed at the Naaz Hotel in front of Nadra Bus Stand. The hotel remains open round the clock. "This activity christened Langar-i-Aam commenced on May 1, 2013. By the grace of God, we never ran short of food," the approximately 50-year-old who is also Sufi Akhtar Sheri Welfare Society Chairman told UNI. Some decently-clad but needy persons also eat shyly. When Mr Mansoory speaks with a few of them, they disclose that they are in dire straits and he helps them monetarily. A few approach him for assistance to combat sickness and he endeavours to do whatever he can. "God has made me a medium and that is a great thing," says the humanitarian. He was first approached by this correspondent a couple of years back after the latter noticed certain details and a cellular phone number on a nondescript donation box at New Market. These boxes are for those wishing to contribute to the noble cause. Possessing a master's degree in Commerce and a bachelor's degree in Education, Mr Mansoory worked for some publications. He was conferred the Best Crime Reporting Award in the nineties by the then Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court. "You need not be a Hindu or a Muslim to be a Sufi. You need to first be a human who can feel others' pain sans discrimination and try your best to free persons of suffering. It is like serving the Almighty. Let us join hands to overcome obstacles and make this world a better place to live," he feels.UNI AC PY BL2040 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0044-663875.Xml
Five people, including a former municipal commissioner and a contractor, were booked by ACB of Thane today on alleged charges of committing multi- crore fraud in the government's Basic Services to the Urban Poor (BSUP) scheme and thus causing a whopping loss of around Rs 3.43crore to the state exchequer. An offence has been registered against the then Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal commissioner Govidn Rathod, city engineer Patilbuva Ugale, executive engineer Ravi Jouras, project management consultant (PMC)M/s Subash Patil and associate's proprietor Subash Ganpat Patil and director of Niv Infrastructure Jitendra C Jain (contractor) of BSUP Project. In a release issued promptly after registering of the offence under the various sections of Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act of 1988 with the Bazarpeth police station, the Thane Range Anti corruption Bureau's (ACB) superintendent of police Datta Karale said the three civic officials had exceeded their powers to benefit the contractor at one stage and the slum owners on the other. Giving further details of the case, he stated that local MLA Narendra Pawar of BJP had made a complaint about the irregularity in the entire programme with the ACB and after a follow-up with thestate government, the government ordered an enquiry into the allegations in September 2014. The ACB further stated that the programme of providingdwellings to the occupants of the slums in Ambedkar Nagar and Datta Nagar was undertaken by the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporationunder the BSUP Scheme. A project management consultant (PMC) was appointed to carry out the survey and prepare the list of the slum owners and based on it, a Detailed Project Report (DPR) was prepared and sent to theCentre for approval. The central government gave its approval to as many as 8,142 tenements in 12 packages under DPR No 1, valued at Rs 338.88 crore. Based on the approval, tenders were invited and the contractor was appointed. As there was a delay of six months from the government in handing over the plot to the contractor for the construction work, the contractor sought an advance as per the agreement of Rs 50 lakhor 10 per cent, instead of fiver per cent.More UNI XR SS PY BL2031 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0169-663708.Xml
A farmer sustained serious burns as he allegedly attempted to commit suicide by setting himself ablaze in front of the tehsil office at Kandhar while demanding for completion of an approach road to his farm under the Employment Guarantee Scheme (EGS). The farmer, Viswanath Pandurang Dange, a resident of Osman Nagar in Kandhar tehsil, along with other farmers was yesterday demanding for completion of an approach road going towards their farms which was given administrative sanction on April 24 last year. The work was to be completed with participation of the farmers.One kilometer road was completed, while the rest of the stretch was left incomplete, police said. Even after repeated requests the concerned tehsildar overlooked the matter. On March 19, some patch work of filling pits and removing overcrowding branches of adjoining trees was done but it was also of poor quality. To complete the remaining work, the farmers had issued an ultimatum to the tehasildar but in vain. Last afternoon, Dange came to the tehsildar's office and in front of the chamber of the tahsildar, Aruna Sangewar, doused himself in kerosene and set himself ablazed, sustaining serious burns. He is being treated at the civil hospital. Deputy divisional officer Ashwini Patil rushed to the spot and examined the incomplete approach road, sources added.UNI XR SS PY VN2210 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0169-664038.Xml
The American Center in collaboration with Ananta Aspen Center hosted the sixth edition of Our Voice, Our Journey to explore the lives of four dynamic women and the difference they have made to their communities. This flagship annual programme to celebrate International Women's Day is an integral part of the American Center's commitment to partnering with local organizations to empower women in all spheres of life. The programme was held at the American Center yesterday. Acting US Consul General Shelly Dittmar said, "This is an opportunity to mobilize all people to do their part, and be a part of a world where each woman and girl can exercise her choices, such as participating in politics, receiving an education, having an income, and living in societies free from violence and discrimination. This is also a time to reflect on progress made, to call for change and to celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women who have played an extraordinary role in the history of their countries and communities." She also said all around the world women face challenges, crises and discrimination. "But we are also part of the solution. I do believe that it is women like me, you and today's panelists- and men like you in the audience- together we can bring about the change we need," she added. Special remarks were given by the panelists Jode Brexa, Educational Specialist, Digital Storyteller, Rose Thomson, Education Director, YUWA, A ishika Chakraborty, Director and Associate Professor, School of Women's Studies, Jadavpur University and Anindita Majumdar, Gender Rights activist. These women are leaders in their own right and have strived to change the world around them. This year, the focus was on women's empowerment through mentorship. So the session explored the difference these leaders have made in empowering young women through mentoring. The session also explored the challenges they have faced, their successes, failures, and the values that have shaped their lives. Radhika Shapoorjee, President-India & South Asia, IPAN Hill+Knowlton Strategies Deboshruti Roychowdhury, moderated the engaging discussion between the panelists and the audience. Reestasri Ghosh, Director of Ananta Aspen Center noted, "Enabling, empowering, inspiring these women are truly inspiring change through mentorship and making a difference to the community. We are delighted to partner on the Sixth edition of Our Voice, Our Journey." UNI PL PY BL2245 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0211-663804.Xml
Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das has urged the people of the state to celebrate the festival of Ramnavami in an environment of peace and brotherhood. In his message today he said that this year the festival would be celebrated on April 15. "It is often seeing during such festivals thatanti-social elements try to disturb the communal peace which createsserious law and order problems," he said. He has urged the people not to fall in the trap of rumours andcreate a fine example by celebrating the festival with communal brotherhood and peace and prosperity.UNI AK KK PY VN2323 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0212-663571.Xml
Nepal has expressed serious concerns over the reference to its new Constitution that was made by the European Union and India in their joint statement issued after the 13th European Union-India Summit in Brussels. Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) yesterday issued a statement, saying the joint statement has hurt the sentiments of the people of Nepal. "Against this backdrop, the EU-India Joint Statement not only hurts the sentiments of the people of Nepal but also defies the fundamental principle of non-interference in internal affairs of a country in breach of UN Charter and norms of international law," the Himalayan Times quoted MoFA statement as saying. The MoFA also said the joint statement has defied the fundamental principle of non-interference in internal affairs of a country in breach of UN Charter and norms of international law. Nepal strongly pointed that the Constitution making and its promulgation were essentially internal matters of a country. The MoFA also said that Nepal promulgated the Constitution through a democratically elected Constituent Assembly and the Constitution has fully accommodated the aspirations of the people, adding that it has now moved ahead along the path of political stability and economic development. The MoFA made it clear that promulgation of the Constitution formally concluded the nationally-driven peace process initiated in 2006 and institutionalised significant democratic gains, including federal and republican system. "The Government and people of Nepal are fully capable of resolving their issues themselves within the framework of the constitution," it added. The government urged all to fully respect the sovereign and democratic rights of the people of Nepal and refrain from making uncalled for statements. (ANI)
The blast took place as police vehicle was passing through Baglar district of Diyarbakir province, about 170 kilometers from the Syrian border, CNN quoted Turkey's semiofficial Anadolu news agency as saying.
According to reports, the bomb was planted in a parked car, apparently timed to go off as a special operation police vehicle passed.
The explosion, which took place yesterday, damaged numerous cars, the bus terminal and other buildings near the blast site.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is in Washington to attend the Nuclear Security Summit, condemned the attack and said this shows the ugly face of terrorism.
"The determination of our security forces will, God willing, put an end [to it]," the Guardian quoted him as saying.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far. (ANI)
Nancy Agarwal, one of the three young Indian scientists who has worked on the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) project, lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision and said that he motivated the kids across the globe about the importance of science. Nancy told ANI that Prime Minister Modi urged the United States to contribute in LIGO technology. The PhD student from MIT, who is currently working with other scientists on the LIGO project, said her domain here is mainly to make gravitational waves detector better and explain that how quantum mechanics is useful in measurement. Karan , a Phd student from Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, said Prime Minister Modi was very proud about the LIGO project and said that this would motivate the people to join fundamental science. Karan said he is responsible in the LIGO project for supercomputer simulations. He further said India's contribution to LIGO is to build vacuum chambers and run the detectors, adding that a team is needed for this to analyse the LIGO data. Prime Minister Modi has described the LIGO project as a great example of India-US scientific collaboration and said the success of the same could well inspire an entire young generation of Indian scientists. "Insightful interaction with scientists from LIGO, including 3 young Indian scientists who worked on LIGO project," tweeted Prime Minister Modi. "LIGO project is a great example of India-USA ties & will surely inspire several young science enthusiasts in India" he said in another tweet. He urged the Indian scientists, who are part of the LIGO project, to interact with Indian students and visit Indian universities as much as possible. The team, which was led by the Director of the National Science Foundation Dr. France Cordova, included three young Indian scientists who have worked on the LIGO project. Dr. Cordova explained how India was extremely important for the future of the LIGO project. The Prime Minister's meeting with the LIGO scientists in Washington DC comes just two days after he met scientists from the Institute of Plasma Research in New Delhi, who are also working on the LIGO project. Prime Minister Modi also witnessed the exchange of an MoU on the establishment of LIGO in India. Briefing the media later, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) official spokesperson Vikas Swarup said Prime Minister Modi looked at the LIGO project not only as a great example of India-US scientific collaboration but also as the one which has the potential of generating curiosity in a lot of young minds in India and in fact creating a whole new generation of Indian scientists who can get enthused with the remarkable breakthrough in science. "In this context, he said that LIGO scientists going to India should have more interactions with Indian universities. They should meet more of Indian students to inculcate in them the sense of curiosity, the sense of discovery," he added. (ANI)
According to CNN, Belgian and French authorities will now deliberate on how to carry out the transfer and it remained unclear as to when the extradition would occur.
Following the deadly series of attacks in Paris on November 13 last year that left 130 people dead, Abdeslam became the most- wanted man in Europe.
He was captured this month by Belgian authorities after a shootout in Molenbeek, an impoverished suburb of Brussels that has also been home to several other terror suspects.
The 26-year-old suspect, who is one of the 10 men accused of carrying out the deadly attacks in the French capital last year, is being held in Belgium under a European arrest warrant at the demand of French authorities. (ANI)
"Insightful interaction with scientists from LIGO, including 3 young Indian scientists who worked on LIGO project," tweeted Prime Minister Modi, who met a team of scientists from the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory in Washington DC.
"LIGO project is a great example of India-USA ties & will surely inspire several young science enthusiasts in India. http://n-m4.in/1MWlDYe," he said in another tweet.
He urged the Indian scientists, who are part of the LIGO project, to interact with Indian students and visit Indian universities as much as possible.
The team, which was led by the Director of the National Science Foundation Dr. France Cordova, included three young Indian scientists who have worked on the LIGO project.
Dr. Cordova explained how India was extremely important for the future of the LIGO project.
The Prime Minister's meeting with the LIGO scientists in Washington DC comes just two days after he met scientists from the Institute of Plasma Research in New Delhi, who are also working on the LIGO project.
Prime Minister Modi also witnessed the exchange of an MoU on the establishment of Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) in India. (ANI)
China and the US reaffirmed their joint commitment to global nuclear security and pledged to continue cooperation in this area beyond the Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) process. In a joint statement released as Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Barack Obama met here on Thursday on the sidelines of the fourth NSS, the two countries declared their "commitment to working together to foster a peaceful and stable international environment by reducing the threat of nuclear terrorism and striving for a more inclusive, coordinated, sustainable and robust global nuclear security architecture for the common benefit and security of all," Xinhua news agency reported. "We plan to continue this dialogue on an annual basis, so as to intensify our cooperation to prevent nuclear terrorism and continue advancing Nuclear Security Summit goals," said the joint statement. Meanwhile, the two sides also agreed to push forward cooperation on conversion of miniature neutron source reactors (MNSR) from highly enriched uranium fuel to low-enriched uranium fuel, including working through the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to support the conversion of MNSRs in Ghana and Nigeria as soon as possible. China, according to the joint statement, also "reaffirms its readiness, upon the request of respective countries, to convert all remaining Chinese-origin MNSRs worldwide." Furthermore, Beijing and Washington expressed satisfaction on "the fruitful cooperation between the two sides in enhancing the security of radioactive sources, in particular regarding recovery of disused sources and transport security of radioactive sources," and pledged to further strengthen cooperation in this regard and facilitate the sharing of experiences and best practices with other countries. The NSS process, initiated by Obama and headlined by a biennial leaders' meeting since 2010, will come to an end in its current format after the fourth summit, though nuclear security is faced with increasingly grave and complicated challenges. --Indo-Asian News Service ksk ( 316 Words) 2016-04-01-08:23:30 (IANS)
Speaking to reporters at a joint media appearance with his US counterpart Barack Obama, Xi said the US and China have growing responsibilities for promoting peace and stability in the world.
In a major disappointment for India, China collaborated with Pakistan to block New Delhi's proposal to ban Masood Azhar.
Following the attack on the Indian Air Force Base in Pathankot killing seven Indian military personnel, India called on the United Nations for immediate action to list Azhar under the al-Qaida Sanctions Committee.
According to sources, 14 out of 15 countries were willing to designate Azhar but China alone decided to go against all the others in the bid.
The US, UK and France had strongly supported the move and the other nations had also expressed their consent to proceed with the action on Azhar.
But China, one of the five permanent members of the UN group with veto powers, collaborated with Pakistan to block the bid, sources add.
China is now the only country that has stood up for Masood Azhar more than once. (ANI)
US Vice President Joe Biden told Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko that the United States was moving forward with an additional 335 million dollars in security assistance, the White House said in a statement.Biden, who met with Poroshenko yesterday on the sidelines of a nuclear security summit, also told the Ukrainian leader that efforts by Kiev to form a reform-oriented government were critical to unlocking international economic assistance, including a third 1 billion dollars US loan guarantee, the statement said. REUTERS JW PR0714 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0364-662495.Xml
US President Barack Obama reaffirmed the US commitment to Turkey's security during a meeting with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, while also discussing both countries' efforts to fight Islamic State, the White House said."The president extended condolences to President Erdogan on behalf of the American people for those killed and injured in today's terrorist attack in Diyarbakir, and reaffirmed the support of the United States for Turkey's security and our mutual struggle against terrorism," the White House said."The leaders also discussed how to advance our shared effort to degrade and destroy ISIL," it said, using an acronym for Islamic State.In a statement today, Turkey's presidential office said the two NATO leaders discussed cooperation on resolving the refugee crisis and how partners in the fight against Islamic State can ramp up their efforts. REUTERS SV RAI1118 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0103-662623.Xml
While in Japan, Wu will hold discussions on the resumption of the six-party talks aimed at denuclearising the Korean peninsula, Xinhua quoted Hong as saying.
The six-party talks, convening North Korea, South Korea, China, the US, Russia and Japan, have been stalled since late 2008.
--Indo-Asian News Service py/dg
( 85 Words)
2016-04-01-15:54:25 (IANS)
Turkish police detained 15 people in raids early today targeting the Islamic State militant group in the western coastal province of Izmir, the private Dogan news agency reported.Among those detained were people who fought for Islamic State in neighbouring Syria and who trained others to fight for the group, it said.Among those they had trained was a man now being sought by police in connection with bomb attacks on offices of a pro-Kurdish party in southern Turkey last year and who was regarded as a potential suicide bomber, Dogan said.Turkish authorities say a Turkish member of Islamic State was responsible for a suicide bombing in central Istanbul on March 19 that killed three Israelis and an Iranian. That was the fourth suicide bombing in Turkey this year and the second to be blamed on Islamic State.Counter-terror squad police launched the raids on various address in the city and seize four shotguns along with Islamic State documents and materials.On Wednesday, Turkish police detained 16 people in the southeastern province of Adiyaman on suspicion of belonging to the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front. REUTERS SHS AS1551 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0329-663106.Xml
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov today dismissed as "dirty leaks" reports on an alleged agreement between Russia and the United States on the future of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad."Our American partners cannot publicly call into question this formula that ... only the people of Syria decide all the questions about the future of Syria," Lavrov told a news conference."And in these dirty leaks which distort reality we obviously see Washington's inability to force some of its allies in the region and in Europe ... to give the Syrian people a sovereign right to decide their destiny as well as who will be their leader," Lavrov added.The Arabian newspaper al-Hayat reported yesterday that US Secretary of State John Kerry had told several Arab countries that Russia and the US reached an understanding on the future of Syria's peace process, including Assad's departure to another country at some unspecified stage.The Kremlin said the report was untrue. REUTERS SHS GC1627 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0329-663196.Xml
Russia today accused the US of regularly spreading wrong information about details of talks on Syria, leading to speculations of agreement on the future of Syrian President Bashar Assad."There are agreements on main principles of settlements in Syria between Moscow and Washington, they are open and fixed in decisions of Syria Support Group, UN Security Council resolutions," Russia Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a press conference in Moscow. "Yes, there are many speculations. They reflect the fact that partners from US are known at all levels not only for regularly 'leaking' details of diplomatic talks but also for rudely providing misinformation about what was discussed," Lavrov said.Referring to the reports about the alleged agreements between Russia and US on the future of Assad, he said facts are substituted, and wishful thinking is demonstrated, "though US signed joint agreements in ISSG (International Syria Support Group) and UN Security Council that say that only Syrian people will decide on the future of Syria in all aspects.""This is the response fixed back last year in UN Security Council resolution to the question about the future of Bashar Assad," he added."Such questions are resolved at free democratic election, and they are envisaged in the framework of the political process, the parameters of which were approved by UN Security Council," Lavrov said."That's why our US partners cannot understand this and cannot publicly cast doubt on this formula. Such unscrupulous 'leaks' that distort reality demonstrate Washington's inability to make some of their allies in the region, in Europe fulfill UN Security Council resolutions and ensure the Syrian people with their own sovereign right to decide on their future, including resolution of the issue of who will be their leader," Lavrov noted.The first round of inter-Syrian talks finished on March 24. The next round of negotiations should start no later than on April 11, though several delegations may join later, according to UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura.UNI XC CJ AE 1938 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0400-663781.Xml
China's special representative for Korean peninsula affairs Wu Dawei will pay a visit to Japan in early April, foreign ministry spokesperson Hong Lei said on Friday. While in Japan, Wu will hold discussions on the resumption of the six-party talks aimed at denuclearising the Korean peninsula, Xinhua quoted Hong as saying. The six-party talks, convening North Korea, South Korea, China, the US, Russia and Japan, have been stalled since late 2008. China has been urging a possible dialogue ever since tensions in the peninsula skyrocketed over Pyongyang's nuclear test in January -- its fourth -- and subsequent ballistic tests, the latest of which was conducted on Friday, April 1, Efe news agency reported. While China backed the UN-imposed sanctions against North Korea for its nuclear and missile tests, it has maintained it is not an end in itself and should be accompanied by dialogue with Pyongyang to persuade the North Korean regime towards disarmament. Beijing, historically a Pyongyang-ally and one of its main source of economic support, has also criticised the imposition of unilateral sanctions by South Korea and the US against North Korea, as also the long duration of their joint naval drills in the region. Wu's visit is one of the first such by a senior official of the Chinese communist regime to Japan in recent years, owing to a practical freeze in ties between the two countries over territorial and historical disputes. North Korea was also one of the main issues discussed by US President Barack Obama on Thursday, in his bilateral meetings with his Chinese, Japanese and South Korean counterparts, on the sidelines of the ongoing Nuclear Security Summit in Washington. --Indo-Asian News Service py/vt ( 288 Words) 2016-04-01-18:01:30 (IANS)
"On every occasion, the opportunity to strengthen an old partnership. PM @narendramodi & PM @David_Cameron meet," tweeted Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Viksa Swarup.
Earlier, the Prime Minister held bilateral talks with his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau on issues of mutual benefit.
The Prime Minister will also be holding separate bilateral meetings with Argentinean President Mauricio Macri, Japnese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Switzerland President Schneider-Ammann.
The second day of Nuclear Security Summit will have three plenary sessions. At the first plenary session, there will be a focus on national actions to enhance nuclear security.
This first plenary will be followed by a working lunch, where the focus of discussions will be on international institutional actions to strengthen nuclear security. The focus will be on international follow-up through institutions such as the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations, the Interpol, the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism and the G8 Global Partnership.
The third and final plenary discussion at the summit will be a policy discussion on nuclear terrorism based on a hypothetical scenario. This scenario will allow the leaders to have a realistic and a thoughtful conversation on and around the challenges posed by international terrorism in particular the threat of nuclear and radiological terrorism.
The summit will then conclude with the adoption of a brief communique and the five action plans. (ANI)
Counselors and scholarship experts agree: The earlier you start your scholarship search and application process, the better your chances to find scholarships you're eligible for and win money for college.
While you may think that senior year is the best time to really begin the scholarship process, beginning in your junior year can offer huge rewards.
Whether it's something as simple as getting a feel for what will be required of the scholarship application process or going all the way and applying for scholarships that are available to juniors, there are many ways and reasons for students to get started on their scholarship search before senior year.
-- You'll have the time to find as many scholarships as possible. Students wanting to maximize the amount of money they can win from scholarships should apply to as many as they have time for and are eligible. The first step in this process, of course, is finding these scholarships!
It's true that many scholarships are focused on students in their senior year or already in college, but that doesn't mean you can't do the research now and create a list that includes eligibility requirements, deadlines and award amounts that will set you on the right path when the time comes to apply.
Get the search started with resources like CollegeGreenlight.com, which matches you to scholarships you're eligible for, and extend it into having conversations with teachers, counselors and members of your community to find even more scholarships for students in your area.
[Learn to stretch your scholarship search with regional opportunities.]
-- You'll be able to stay on top of year-round scholarship deadlines. While some seasons have more scholarship deadlines than others, there are deadlines throughout the year. By starting your list of scholarships early, you'll be able to stay ahead of the curve to make sure that you don't miss the chance to apply to a scholarship because the application closed before you learned the scholarship existed.
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One way to make sure you do not miss future deadlines is to create a list of scholarships organized by date. You can then prioritize your application process by factors like urgency, level of effort required and award amount. Doing this will help you to make the most of your time if it becomes limited during your busy senior year.
[Explore how to make a plan for the scholarship application process.]
-- You can prepare materials to make the application process quicker. Depending on the scholarship, you could be required to fill out a quick application, submit an entire portfolio of work or include multiple letters of recommendation. Knowing what materials you'll need ahead of time and preparing what you can will allow you to apply quickly when the time comes.
Resumes and essays are good examples of possible required materials that you'll need to submit that you can also start early. While it's recommended that you tailor these to the specifics of each scholarship, for the most part, committees will all want to hear about topics like your achievements, examples of leadership and service to your community. You can begin to craft an essay or create a list of accomplishments using this framework now, and then use these as a foundation to build on with more specifics later.
[Know what to do before, during and after the scholarship search.]
-- You can apply to scholarships available to juniors. Don't believe the myth: Scholarships for juniors do exist. While a lot of work during your junior year might involve preparing for the scholarship application process, there are some scholarships that you can apply to now.
For example, juniors are eligible to apply for the Jane Austen Society of North America Essay Contest, which awards up to $1,000 to the winner of the annual essay contest. This scholarship is open to students in high school, and asks that those applying write an essay in response to a prompt based on the works of writer Jane Austen.
Juniors are also eligible to enter to win the Abbot & Fenner Scholarship. By writing a 500 to 1,000-word essay on their career and life goals, students will be able to enter to win a $1,000 scholarship. The deadline for this year's scholarship is June 10.
Liz Chereskin is the content manager for College Greenlight, a leading college and scholarship resource for first-generation and underrepresented students. College Greenlight helps students find colleges that match them and scholarships to fund their education and is a service of Cappex.com.
Eleanor Darragh, Sen. Ted Cruzs mother, speaks during a campaign event with her son, his wife, Heidi, second from left, and Carly Fiorina in Madison, Wis., March 30, 2016. (Photo: Darren Hauck/Getty Images)
MILWAUKEE Ted Cruz has made no secret of his adoration for his father, Rafael, whom he calls his personal hero.
In speech after speech, the Texas senator and Republican presidential hopeful has recounted for audiences the story of how his father fought for freedom in Cuba before escaping to the United States to embrace the American dream. Rafael Cruzs biography has been the emotional and inspirational bedrock of his sons bid for the White House, and as such, he has been one of the senators busiest and most recognizable campaign surrogates.
But in recent days, Rafael Cruz has taken a smaller part in his sons stump speech. On the trail in New York and Wisconsin, the Texas senator has instead started to talk more about his relationship with his mother, Eleanor Darragh, who thus far has played almost no public role in her sons political career.
In a departure from speeches in early voting states like Iowa, Cruzs remarks lately have been laced with his mothers personal biography, as he tells voters of the influential role strong women have played in his life. He has described his mom as a brilliant woman who overcame daunting personal obstacles including an alcoholic father who didnt believe women should be educated to be the first in her family to graduate from college. Later, he says, she battled sexism to become a successful computer programmer for the oil industry in an era when few women held such jobs.
Speaking to voters in Madison, Wis., on Wednesday, Cruz heaped praise upon his mom, now 81, calling her a career pioneer who has been my best friend my entire life. And as he did so, he looked across the stage where Darragh sat beaming in what was her first campaign appearance ever. When it was Darraghs turn to speak, her son directed her to hold the microphone closer so the audience could hear. The petite woman, with dark hair and features that closely resemble her sons, fumbled with the microphone.
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Im not used to this, Darragh, who is divorced from Cruzs father, nervously admitted.
Cruzs mother wasnt the only woman onstage. At her side was her sons wife, Heidi, and Carly Fiorina, the former Hewlett-Packard executive who endorsed Cruz when she ended her own bid for the Republican nomination. They each took turns speaking about being a professional woman balancing their work and family lives. And they spoke of how Cruz is the best choice for president because he has surrounded himself with strong women.
The event was part of what the Cruz campaign billed as a celebration of women as the Texas senator looks to female voters as a possible way to stop GOP rival Donald Trumps march to the partys nomination.
After campaigning as a brash conservative who is willing to go to war with his own party to defend his principles, Cruz has tried to present a softer side on the campaign in recent days talking up his close relationships with his mom and wife and insisting hes the best candidate for female voters.
Women are not a special interest, Cruz said earlier this week. Women are a majority of the United States of America, and every issue is a womens issue.
Cruz is trying to capitalize on Trumps increasing problems with female voters amid a series of gaffes and controversial remarks that have rocked his campaign. On Wednesday, Trump suggested during a MSNBC town hall that women who undergo abortions should face punishment if the procedure is outlawed, before walking back the statement a few hours later. At the same time, Trump has strongly defended his campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, who was charged earlier this week with simple battery after he tangled with a female reporter at a campaign event earlier this month. Not only has Trump stood by his embattled campaign aide, he has repeatedly mocked the reporter Michelle Fields, formerly of Breitbart News Network suggesting she exaggerated the incident and her injuries.
Through it all, Cruz and Trump have been engaged in an increasingly personal back and forth over their wives, a conflict that was inflamed by a National Enquirer report that alleged Cruz had been engaged in extramarital affairs. Cruz has denied cheating on his wife calling the tabloid report garbage and blamed Trump for planting the story a charge the GOP frontrunner denied.
A supporter holds a poster at a Cruz campaign event in Madison. (Photo: Andy Manis/AP)
Seeing an opening, Cruz has sought to turn Trumps attacks on women to his advantage especially in Wisconsin, where next Tuesdays Republican primary could be a crucial test of whether the #NeverTrump movement can slow or even stop the real estate mogul from winning the GOP nomination. At event after event, Cruz has reminded voters of Trumps contentious relationship with women, including Megyn Kelly of Fox News, whom Trump has repeatedly personally attacked.
We dont want a president who traffics in sleaze and slime, Cruz said during a campaign stop last week in Wisconsin. We dont want a president who seems to have a real issue with strong women.
And he has echoed the concern of other Republicans who believe Trumps poor standing with women could potentially kill the GOPs chance of taking back the White House.
In 2012, women made up more than half of the voting electorate, and they favored President Obama over Republican Mitt Romney by 11 points a stat that was later highlighted in the Republican National Committees autopsy of how the party lost the campaign. The report stated that the GOPs inability to win female voters was costing the party crucial elections.
Recent polls suggest Trump is not in a position to turn things around. The real estate moguls approval ratings have been low with women generally, and his numbers appear to be falling even further. A recent CNN poll released March 24 found 73 percent of women have an unfavorable view of Trump, while a March 17 Reuters poll found 50 percent of women have a very unfavorable view.
In Wisconsin, 76 percent of registered female voters have an unfavorable view of Trump, according to a Marquette Law School poll released Wednesday. And that appears to be helping Cruz, who leads Trump among likely women voters by 39 percent to 24 percent. Overall, the Texas senator leads Trump by 10 points ahead of next weeks primary, according to the Marquette poll.
During the MSNBC town hall, Trump acknowledged that he appeared to be losing ground with women voters. The numbers arent good, he said. The numbers arent as good with women as they were. But nobody respects women more than I do.
But Cruz, a strict conservative who has had his own issues with women voters in the past, is aggressively pushing the contrast between him and Trump, casting himself as someone who is comfortable with strong women a phrase he uses again and again.
Introducing his mom, wife and Fiorina to the stage on Wednesday, he praised them as three strong women who I admire, who I respect, who Ive learned from, who I look up to [and] who I think exemplify the incredible opportunity that America provides to everyone.
Cruz speaks during a Celebration of Women event, Wednesday in Madison. (Photo: Darren Hauck/Getty Images)
Sitting opposite his mom, who was so quiet at times she could barely be heard, Cruz admitted he had not spoken enough about her while campaigning. While he often spoke of the role his father played in encouraging him, including helping him to memorize and recite the Constitution as part of an academic group he participated in, he now tells of how his mother had been there too often driving him around the state to speeches and chaperoning him and his friends on longer trips.
My relationship with both of my parents is very different, Cruz explained. I talk about my dad a lot more, and my dad has always been larger than life. He has always been my hero.
Cruz implied his mothers feelings had been hurt because he never talked about her. Id sit down, and I hadnt talked about my mom. And my mother would look at me and say, Did you have a mother? Were you raised by wolves? Cruz said, as the audience and her mother laughed. But my mom, it was always a very, very different relationship. I mean, we would just talk. We would talk and talk and talk.
She was, Cruz explained, his best friend.
No one mentioned Trump by name at the event, but the optics were clear. At one point, Heidi Cruz looked around the room and pitched her husband as someone who insisted their marriage be a partnership of equals and that she fell in love with him not because of his intellect but because of his caring and compassionate nature.
I want all of the women here in Wisconsin and across this country to know how incredibly supportive Ted has always been of all the women in his life, she said. This is a son who was by his mothers side when she had breast cancer. This is a husband who has suggested I go for every single promotion I have ever gotten.
A few feet away, Cruz, who has been bashed by Trump and other rivals as being so brash and self-centered he doesnt have a single friend in the Senate, simply sat back and let the women do the talking.
VIENNA (Reuters) - Austria and its neighbors in central Europe and the Balkans will press the European Union to create a new auxiliary force to help countries deal with any influx of migrants, Austria's defense minister said on Friday. Austria has suggested setting up a "bridging mission" that would help EU border agency Frontex process and deport migrants arriving in Greece from Turkey until Frontex is fully staffed there, which Vienna has said could take months. Meeting defense and other officials from the region in Vienna on Thursday, Defence Minister Hans Peter Doskozil said those present backed a modified version of that concept, which could be sent to Greece or elsewhere. "It is ... a mixed civil-police-military mission that should be deployed where necessary," Doskozil said, adding the aim was to help secure the European Union's external borders and deport migrants not entitled to stay in the bloc. Austria has broken ranks with its neighbor Germany on how to deal with Europe's migration crisis, coordinating a cascade of border restrictions through the Balkans that have left tens of thousands of migrants stuck in Greece. Germany says it prefers common European measures, but Austria said it risked turning into a crowded "waiting room" if migrants had kept streaming across its territory towards Germany and its larger neighbor tightened its border controls further. With the main migrant route through the Balkans and Austria now largely closed, Vienna says there is a risk that new routes will develop through Bulgaria or Albania, as Mediterranean crossings to Italy from Libya resume. Greece, which is furious at the border restrictions coordinated by Austria, was invited to Thursday's meeting but did not attend, Doskozil said. Italy was also not present. Doskozil said those present - including EU members Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Croatia - would send a letter detailing the proposal to EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini ahead of an EU defense ministers' meeting on April 19. (Reporting by Francois Murphy; Editing by Tom Heneghan)
By Dave McKinney and Justin Madden CHICAGO (Reuters) - Thousands of Chicago teachers and other union workers marched through downtown Chicago on Friday afternoon after a day-long strike to demand a contract and more money for education while school officials moved to block future walk-outs. The teachers picketed schools in the country's third-largest district, which has a $1.1 billion deficit and because of its low credit rating must pay crippling interest rates to borrow money. The strike affected close to 400,000 students. "We are here for not only the children of Chicago. We're here for the young adults of Chicago. We're here for people that deserve and are entitled to a real future," Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis shouted to thousands of union members at the rally and march. The Chicago Public Schools (CPS) are at the center of a power struggle between Illinois' Republican Governor Bruce Rauner, who wants to weaken unions and take control of the district, and union-backed Democrats who control the state legislature. Both the union and CPS management want the state to rescue under-funded Chicago teachers' pension plans and to overhaul the state school-funding formula so the system gets more money. A target of Friday's protests, Rauner called the strike illegal. "It's shameful that Chicago's children are the victims in this raw display of political power," he said in a statement. Lewis, who led a seven-day teachers' strike in 2012, accused Rauner of attempting to destroy Chicago's schools. Schools Chief Executive Forrest Claypool filed a complaint with a state labor panel in an attempt to block future union walk-outs of this type and to seek reimbursement to CPS for strike-related costs. Also on Friday, Illinois' Democratic Attorney General Lisa Madigan said the state does not have the authority to take over CPS and to block its ability to borrow, an opinion Claypool said should put Rauner's CPS takeover pursuits "to rest." NO CONTRACT SINCE JULY Chicago teachers have worked without a contract since July. Erik Young, a social studies teacher at King College Preparatory High School, raised his fists in the air as motorists honked horns to show support for the picket line outside the school. "We have so many issues," Young said. "Hopefully it sends the message that we are tired of not having a contract for 10 or 12 months." Fast food, airport and university workers joined in the demonstrations on Friday, and the afternoon rally closed streets around the state's James R. Thompson Center in downtown Chicago. The protests focused on a nine-month state budget standoff between Rauner and Democrat lawmakers that also has affected funding for social service programs and public universities. Because of the budget impasse, the district's call for $480 million in state assistance to make a required June pension payment for teachers has gone unanswered. Chicago's Democratic Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who controls the school system, opposed the strike. "I don't want to see our kids punished on their education. They get one shot at it. I believe they belong in the classroom, learning," Emanuel said. (Additional reporting by Karen Pierog; Writing by Dave McKinney; Editing by Dan Grebler and Fiona Ortiz)
By David Brunnstrom and Lesley Wroughton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China said talks on Thursday between President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Barack Obama were constructive, even as the two sides remained far apart on the South China Sea and U.S. missile defense plans for South Korea. Meeting on the sidelines of a nuclear security summit in Washington, Xi and Obama agreed to step up cooperation to ensure nuclear security worldwide and to do more on cyber security. They also agreed to continue to work on a bilateral investment treaty, China's assistant foreign minister, Zheng Zeguang, told a news briefing. But Zheng made clear that China and the United States remained at odds over the contested South China Sea, where Beijing's broad territorial claims have riled its neighbors, and over U.S. missile defense plans following North Korea's recent nuclear and rocket tests. Xi told Obama that he hoped Washington would "strictly" abide by its commitment not to take a position on sovereignty issues and instead play a constructive role to maintain peace and stability, Zheng said. "The hope is that all parties will correctly view and handle the South China Sea and adopt an objective and impartial attitude ... particularly countries outside this region," he said. China's official Xinhua news agency also quoted Xi as warning that China would not accept violations of its sovereignty in the name of freedom of navigation - a reference to air and naval patrols the United States has conducted within what China considers its territorial waters. China claims most of the South China Sea, through which about $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year. Neighbors Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims. The United States says it takes no sides in the disputes but wants to ensure free navigation. It has said it will increase what it calls freedom-of-navigation operations by its Navy ships through the waters. 'RULES-BASED ORDER' Obama, speaking after an earlier meeting with the leaders of Japan and South Korea, said the three countries shared a common vision for the Asia-Pacific based on "a rules-based order in which all countries, regardless of size, act according to shared norms and shared principles," in an apparent criticism of China's pursuit of territorial claims in East Asia. U.S. officials have expressed concern that Beijing could declare an air defense identification zone, or ADIZ, in the region, as it did in the East China Sea in 2013. On Wednesday, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work said the United States had told China it would not recognize an exclusion zone in the South China Sea and would view such a move as "destabilizing." Zheng said Xi also told Obama that China was "firmly opposed" to U.S. plans to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, missile defense system in South Korea after North Korea's fourth nuclear test in January and a rocket launch into space in February. "Such deployment will undermine China's security interests and will affect this region's strategic balance," he said. The United States and South Korea began talks last month on possible THAAD deployment. China backed tough new sanctions on North Korea following its nuclear and rocket tests but complains that THAAD has a range that would extend far beyond the Korean peninsula and into China. (Reporting by David Brunnstrom and Lesley Wroughton; Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in Beijing; Editing by Don Durfee and Peter Cooney)
A funeral was held Wednesday evening for the 15-month-old Indiana girl who was brutally raped and smothered to death last week.
About 200 people including family and friends wearing purple and pink ribbons attended the somber ceremony at the Christian Life Center in Spencer for Shaylyn Ammerman.
Earlier in the day, more than 50 law enforcement officers filed into the center for a public viewing to pay their respects.
"It helped with some of our closure," Indiana State Police Sgt. Curt Durnil tells PEOPLE. "It has been a tough one. Dealing with something so intimately for the past week has been really tough on our folks and the family was nice enough to give us the opportunity to come in separate from the public to pay our respects as well. It was a solemn thing. We came in single file with hats off."
Durnil says Shaylyn lay in an open casket covered in a blanket surrounded by flowers and stuffed animals.
"We are all fathers or mothers who are working this case," he says. "We have kids of our own and some of our kids are this age, which makes it even tougher. It has really taken this community by storm."
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The girl was reported missing from her father's home in Spencer March 23. Her body was found the next day in a rural wooded area near the White River in a remote section of Gosport.
Kyle Parker, 22, has been charged with murder, kidnapping, rape, child molesting, aggravated battery, strangulation, obstruction of justice, failure to report a dead body and unlawful disposition of a body. He has entered a plea of not guilty and is being held at the Owen County Jail with no bond. He is due back in court in May.
Prosecutors allege Parker, a friend of Shaylyn's uncle Adam, snatched Shaylyn right out of her crib and then drove the child to an isolated area where he raped her in the front seat of his car.
According to court records, Parker initially pointed the finger at Adam but later allegedly told police he suffocated the little girl with a blanket he kept in his car.
A doctor who performed the autopsy characterized the toddler's alleged rape and strangulation as "the worst case of sexual trauma" she has ever encountered, court records state.
"She was my first granddaughter and she was my pride and joy," says Shaylyn's grandmother, Tamara Morgan. "She was a silly little girl who loved to dance. The slightest tone of music would come on and she would start bouncing up and down, doing a little dance. She loved music... she was just the happiest baby in the world."
Morgan says her son Adam is blaming himself for Shaylyn's abduction and slaying.
"This is really tearing him up big time, because, of course, he is blaming himself for inviting Kyle over," Morgan says. "We have so much support in our family and we're all behind him. We all live in and around Spencer. Most of the family was born and raised here. This sort of thing doesn't happen here. It's never happened in this town before. This type of thing happens in the big city, not in Spencer, Indiana."
Lyle Denniston, the National Constitution Centers constitutional literacy adviser, says the constitutional debate over Ted Cruzs presidential eligibility comes down to two dueling propositions, with no middle ground between them.
(credit: Flickr)
THE STATEMENTS AT ISSUE:
No person except a natural born citizenshall be eligible to the Office of President.
Part of the wording of Article II, Section 1, of the U.S. Constitution.
The original understanding of natural born citizen anyone who was a citizen of the United States at the moment of birth comports with the Framers purpose in adopting this requirement in the Constitution. The Framers included the Natural Born Citizen Clause in response to a 1787 letter from John Jay to George Washington, in which Jay suggested that the Constitution prohibit Foreigners from attaining the position of Commander in Chief.It is inconceivable that the Framers intended to exclude a U.S. citizen at birth from holding the office of President, simply because of where he or she happened to be born.
Excerpt from a legal brief filed in a federal trial court in Houston by lawyers for Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz, challenging the courts power to bar him from the presidential election ballot because he was born in Canada; his mother was a private U.S. citizen. U.S. District Judge Gray H. Miller will hold a hearing on April 13 on the Cruz plea to dismiss the case.
The language natural born citizen fairly clearly indicates that it could not mean anyone born a citizen or else the text would have just simply stated born citizen. The word natural is a limiting qualifier that indicates only some persons who are born citizens qualify. Ted Cruzs interpretation simply reads the word natural out of the constitutional text. The constitutional Framers actually rejected a proposal to make any born citizen eligible to be President.Ted Cruz is not a Natural Born Citizen.
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Excerpt from a legal brief filed by Harvard law professor Einer R. Elhauge in a New York state appeals court, supporting a challenge to Ted Cruzs eligibility to be on the presidential primary ballot in New York on April 19. Since the professors filing, the appeals court has dismissed the case on a procedural technicality.
WE CHECKED THE CONSTITUTION, AND
When Americas founding document includes words but does not also include the specifics of what those words were intended to mean, lawyers and judges go looking outside the document for some guidance. Supreme Court rulings obviously are a key source, but the simple fact is that the court has not filled in all of the blanks in the Constitutions meaning.
The lively and sometimes unpleasant debate that has arisen in the Republican presidential debates over what the Article II phrase natural born citizen means as a necessary qualification to run for the president has made for a good deal of political theater, diverting if not entirely enlightening.
But, in a surprising number of courts around the country, that same debate has continued for months, and on a deeply serious level. It centers there, as it has in the GOP debates, on candidate Ted Cruz, a Republican senator from Texas. He was born in Canada when his mother and father lived at the time. His mother was a private U.S. citizen.
The constitutional debate has actually come down mainly to two dueling propositions, and there is no middle ground between them.
The one proposition, argued by the Texas senator himself, his lawyers and those who share his view, is this: Anyone born a U.S. citizen, including anyone born overseas to at least one U.S. citizen parent, satisfies the qualification.
The other argument, raised by voters seeking to keep Cruz off of election ballots this year and supported by some legal scholars, is this: Only those actually born within the United States itself, or those born abroad while a parent was serving in the U.S. military or diplomatic corps, can satisfy Article II.
As could be expected, each side has its own interpretation of British legal history, as well as its own understanding of the specific language of a number of federal laws defining citizenship in specific situations. In other words, the guiding sources on which the two sides rely may be said to be in some tension.
In addition, both sides have their own way of reading a supposedly decisive ruling on the question by the Supreme Court, the ruling in 1897 in the case of Wong Kim Ark. It is fair to say that, neither in 1897 or since, has the Supreme Court settled the issue, once and for all.
This is not a debate that has just arisen in the current presidential election cycle. It has come up before, as with the candidacy in 2008 of Panama-born Senator John McCain when the Arizona Republican ran for the White House. But McCain, it turned out, could meet each version: his parents were citizens, and both were in the military in Panama when he was born.
One of the reasons that the issue continues to linger uncertainly as a constitutional matter is that there have been serious barriers to a ruling that courts have not been able to get past. One is whether anyone can claim a sufficient legal injury from an ineligible presidential candidacy, to satisfy Article IIIs limits on federal courts power to decide. Another is that the question is often treated as a political question, beyond the authority of the courts because its resolution is lodged with the Electoral College and with Congress. Another is that the issue usually does not get explored fully before the issue goes away as legally moot because the candidate either did not get a party nomination, or lost an election.
So far, none of the cases involving the Ted Cruz candidacy has resulted in a final ruling, one way or the other, in state or federal courts. If the Texas senator does not win the GOP nomination, then, of course, the issue will fade away again. But that is not to suggest that it is not a serious constitutional question that could use an answer some day. In the meantime, the voters will be the ones who decide.
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SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) - El Salvador is proposing to order telephone companies to block cell phone signals inside prisons where a state of emergency has been declared, in order to prevent gang leaders from ordering murders or extortions while incarcerated. The move is among a raft of measures the government proposed to Congress on Thursday as the small Central American state struggles to combat record-high murder rates that have made it one of the world's most violent countries. The government declared a state of emergency on Wednesday in the country's seven most dangerous prisons, where the proposed measures would be introduced first if legislators give their assent in a vote likely to be held on Friday. While cell phones and other electronic devices are currently illegal inside prisons, visitors, guards and others still manage to sneak them in for the use of inmates. Under the state of emergency, prison authorities have been ordered to limit gang leaders' movements inside jail, and prohibit visitors and outside communication for 15 days. President Salvador Sanchez Ceren also announced plans to deploy more troops on the streets to battle a rising wave of gang violence. In prison inspections, authorities found cell phones with up to $20,000 in call credits, Rodil Hernandez, the director of prisons, told Reuters. He said phone operators had not helped with the problem so far. A telephone trade group told a news conference on Thursday, however, that phone companies were willing to collaborate with any measures. Of the 33,000 or so prisoners in the country, some 13,000 are gang members, who often conduct their criminal business unabated from behind bars. During the first two months of the year there were an average 23.3 murders a day. That was 120 percent up on the same period last year. (Reporting by Nelson Renteria, writing by Anna Yukhananov; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
PARIS (Reuters) - French gas and power group Engie is looking for other partners to invest in the Nugen project to build nuclear reactors in Britain, Engie director Philippe Pradel said. Japan's Toshiba Corp and Engie are in the 60-40 percent Nugen joint venture to build three AP1000 reactors - designed by Toshiba unit Westinghouse in Britain - for the Moorside project, near the Sellafield nuclear site in west Cumbria. "Before taking the final investment decision on Nugen around the end of 2018 we hope to find a larger pool of investors," Pradel said at a seminar about the French nuclear industry. He said that for financial and industrial reasons it is important to build balanced partnerships for large nuclear projects. In December, sources told Reuters that Toshiba had asked Japanese financial institutions to help fund the Nugen project. (Reporting by Geert De Clercq; editing by John Irish)
By David Beasley
ATLANTA (Reuters) - The U.S. state of Georgia on Thursday executed a man convicted of beating another man to death with a wooden closet rod in 1994, a prison spokeswoman said.
Joshua Bishop, 41, who had also admitted to being involved in a second murder, died by injection at 9:27 p.m. at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson, said Lisa Rodriguez-Presley, a spokeswoman for the Georgia Department of Corrections.
His execution was the third in Georgia this year and the 10th in the United States, the nonprofit Death Penalty Information Center said.
Bishop told police he had wanted to take the car of a man who was sleeping inside a friend's mobile home after they had been out for a night of partying. He reached into the pocket of Leverett Morrison, 35, to take his car keys, but Morrison awoke and Bishop beat him with a rod, a court document said.
"I hit him too hard, I reckon, and he didn't say anything," Bishop told police in Milledgeville, Georgia, court records show. "He just wouldn't breathe."
Bishop dumped the victim's body and burned his car with the help of the man living in the mobile home, Mark Braxley, who avoided a death sentence by pleading guilty.
Bishop was executed after losing last-minute appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court and lower courts.
Bishop was never offered a plea deal, his attorneys said in a clemency petition filed on Monday with Georgia's State Board of Pardons and Paroles.
Bishop has been "haunted by his crimes," his attorneys wrote, asking for his sentence to be commuted to life without parole. The parole board denied his petition on Thursday.
Bishop was heavily intoxicated when he killed Morrison, the petition stated, and had suffered an abusive childhood, during which he was frequently homeless and often hungry.
Bishop also confessed to involvement in the killing of Ricky Lee Wills two weeks before Morrison's death but was never tried on that charge, according to court records. The evidence of the first killing was not introduced until the penalty phase of his trial for Morrison's murder.
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Bishop accepted a final prayer and recorded a final statement, Rodriguez-Presley said in a news release, but did not provide his words.
Bishop requested a last meal on Thursday of a barbecue sandwich, Brunswick stew, potato chips, coleslaw, lemonade and purple candy, the Georgia Department of Corrections said.
On Wednesday a U.S. appeals court halted the execution of a Texas man who killed his two young daughters in 2001.
(Editing by Bill Trott and Clarence Fernandez)
SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Thousands of Brazilians in 17 states and the nation's capital took to the streets in defense of beleaguered President Dilma Rousseff on Thursday, many carrying banners that said "there will not be a coup", local television showed. Rousseff could lose power as soon as May if the lower house of Congress approves her impeachment. She has pledged to fight the charges brought by the opposition of irregularities in the government budget designed to favor her reelection in 2014. (Reporting by Caroline Stauffer; Editing by Daniel Flynn)
Egypt's new antiquities minister, Khaled El Anany, sounded caution this morning at a press conference in Luxor over the claim that Tutankhamun's tomb holds two hidden chambers.
Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves, of the Amarna Royal Tombs Project, had proposed that two hidden chambers were lurking in the tomb of Tutankhamun and that the hidden rooms may hold the tomb of Queen Nefertiti, the stepmom of King Tutankhamun.
Radar scans conducted last year by Japanese radar technologist Hirokatsu Watanabe supposedly supported this idea. On March 17, Egypt's ministry of antiquities, led at the time by Mamdouh ?El-Damaty, stated that Watanabe's scans "suggest the presence of two empty spaces or cavities beyond the decorated north and west walls of the burial chamber," as well as the "presence of metallic and organic substances."
The radar scans also showed what could be door lintels that indicate the presence of doorways, the antiquities minster said at the time in a statement to media. [See Photos of King Tut's Burial and Radar Scans]
However, radar experts not affiliated with the project disputed the results of those scans. These experts noted that the sediment layers at the Valley of the Kings, where King Tut's tomb is located, contain natural voids and rock inclusions that make it difficult for radar to distinguish between archaeological remains and natural phenomena.
Over the past two weeks, the antiquities minister at the time, ?El-Damaty, along with Egypt's minister of tourism, Hisham Zazou, were replaced in a cabinet shuffle. Yesterday, a team supported by the National Geographic Society conducted new radar scans. Those scans are being processed and analyzed; however, the new antiquities minister El Anany sounded a note of caution at today's press conference.
"We are not looking for hidden chambers but for the reality of the truth," El-Anany said. "We are very keen to follow the scientific procedures," he said, adding that more radar work would be performed in late April, followed by an international conference in May in which experts would review the results. Egypt's former antiquities minister, El-Damaty, was also at today's press conference and said that while the two cavities could exist, "we have to be sure 100 percent."
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Even so, the Egypt's antiquities ministry said in a statement that "the preliminary results [of yesterday's scans] reached so far do not contradict with the results of the previous radar scans."
Reeves also said that the two cavities, possibly holding a tomb, could still exist.
No new radar images were released to media.
Third set of scans
For the next scan, scheduled for the end of April, another team of scientists will use a different radar-scanning method on King Tut's tomb. In the previous two scans, scientists tried to peer behind the walls of the Tutankhamun burial chamber. The new scans will take place in the hills above Tutankhamun's tomb, using radar equipment that can peer 40 meters (130 feet) below the ground to see if hidden chambers exist.
The international conference to review the results will be held in the Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo, El Anany said. There, experts will discuss whether the two chambers exist, and if so, what could be in them and what would be the best way to access them. Scientists will not use any methods that could damage the artwork in Tutankhamun's tomb, El Anany said.
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Washington (AFP) - French President Francois Hollande and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Friday there would be no impunity for French troops and UN peacekeepers accused in a sexual abuse scandal in the Central African Republic.
The United Nations on Thursday said more than 100 victims had come forward in the country with disturbing new accounts of sexual abuse, including bestiality, by UN peacekeepers and French troops.
"In light of new allegations of sexual abuse allegedly committed by MINUSCA and Sangaris troops (the UN and French missions to the CAR), the president and the UN secretary general both expressed the desire to establish the truth, and to reject any impunity," the French presidency said in a statement.
Hollande, who met with Ban in Washington on the sidelines of a nuclear security summit, later said that if true, the allegations would "stain France's honor."
French authorities this week received a UN letter outlining new allegations of sexual abuse.
Ban was "shocked to the core" by the allegations that emerged after a UN team traveled to south-central Kemo prefecture to interview the women and girls.
Also Friday, the French defense ministry said the French troops, if convicted, would face strict military discipline in addition to any criminal penalities that may be brought.
UN rights officers have so far interviewed 108 alleged victims, "the vast majority" of whom are under-age girls who were raped, sexually abused or exploited by foreign troops, the UN says.
AIDS-Free World, a civil society group that tracks peacekeeper sex abuse cases, said three girls told a UN rights officer that in 2014 they were tied up and undressed by a Sangaris commander inside a camp and forced to have sex with a dog.
France sent its Sangaris intervention force to the Central African Republic in December 2013 and while the troops are not part of the UN mission, they have been mandated by the Security Council to help restore peace to the country.
By Alex Bregman
On Friday, April 1, Donald Trumps senior campaign adviser, Barry Bennett, joined Yahoo Finance Anchor Alexis Christoforous on Yahoo News Live to discuss the GOP frontrunners week that was and the campaigns road ahead.
Looking to the April 5 primary in Wisconsin, where Trump trails Sen. Ten Cruz in some polls by as much as 10 points, Bennett did not seem concerned about a potential loss in the Badger State. He told Christoforous: Weve always assumed that we would lose Wisconsin. So theres nothing great at stake.
He said the stakes are much higher for Cruz than Trump: We want to win Wisconsin very much. It is a do-or-die state for Ted Cruz for sure, because if he doesnt win Wisconsin and win all 42 delegates, then mathematically its impossible for him to become our nominee.
On Trumps week that was which began with his campaign manager being charged with simple battery, followed by his controversial comments on abortion, and ended with a much-talked-about meeting with Republican National Committee leaders Bennett said simply: Its been a fine week. This is a presidential campaign. Every week seems like this week.
Did Trump learn anything this week? Bennett told Christoforous: I think Mr. Trump learns something every day.
On Trumps meeting with RNC leaders, Bennett said, The meeting was designed to talk about how Mr. Trump could help the party and vice versa. Once we get through this primary process, the party is going to have to raise a lot of resources to help our candidates across the country in all kinds of races, and we want to make sure that were doing our part to do that.
Bennett dismissed concerns about Trumps electability in a general election given polls that show Gov. John Kasich is the only GOP candidate beating former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Bennetts response: John Kasich has not experienced $100 million of negative advertising against his name, which is why he is doing so much better than everybody else. Thats sort of fools gold. Donald Trump is well-positioned as an outsider who wants to turn Washington on its head.
Bennett also dismissed any concerns voters might have about Trumps foreign policies. Voters in this country are concerned about things like the southern border not only controlling immigration, but controlling the inflow of heroin into our country. Theyre concerned about the economy, because theyre working harder and making less. Theyre concerned about a government in Washington that who piled up $19 billion on the backs of my children, your children, all of our grandchildren through their irresponsible fiscal ways. Thats what the voters care about. Nuclear policy and all that stuff is a good news sound bite for a day, but it wouldnt even list in the top 100 things on voters minds across the country.
Rescue officials said Friday there are no more survivors trapped under the rubble of a flyover that collapsed killing at least 25 people, as Indian police detained five construction company staff over the accident.
Emergency workers using specialist equipment have pulled nearly 100 people out alive from under the huge concrete slabs and metal girders that fell onto a busy street in the eastern city of Kolkata on Thursday, crushing cars and pedestrians.
"The rescue operation is almost over as there are no more survivors. We are trying to extricate a body from a truck buried under the wreckage," Anil Shekhawat, a spokesman for the National Disaster Response Force, told AFP.
"As of now 25 people have died."
Earlier police said the rescue operation would not stop until all the blocks of concrete and iron girders had been cleared, with hundreds of rescuers, including army personnel, working around the clock.
Police said they had detained five employees of IVRCL, the contractor behind the construction project, which has denied responsibility for the disaster in the capital of West Bengal state.
"Five people of the Hyderabad company have been detained for questioning," said Kolkata deputy commissioner of police Akhilesh Chaturvedi, referring to the contractor.
Another police official speaking on condition of anonymity said the five "hold senior positions in the company".
Police earlier said they had registered a case of culpable homicide against the firm, whose offices in Kolkata have been sealed by investigators.
Derek O'Brien, a state lawmaker, said the company had been blacklisted in other states and had a "bad reputation".
"The law will take its own course, no one will be spared," he told reporters in Kolkata.
Construction of the two-kilometre-long flyover began in 2009 and was supposed to be completed within 18 months, but suffered a series of hold-ups.
A company representative infuriated victims on Thursday when he described the disaster as an "act of God".
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On Friday the company appeared again to deny any responsibility for the disaster, and said the construction had been repeatedly delayed because it had been unable to get the necessary approvals.
"Prima facie we feel it is a mere accident for which we also feel very, very sorry," IVRCL's legal chief Seetha Peddapathi told reporters in the southern city of Hyderabad where the company is based.
"IVRCL and its staff will cooperate with the investigations and provide maximum support."
A group of about 50 mourners led a candlelit procession through the streets of Kolkata to the accident site Friday evening in memory of the victims, an AFP reporter at the scene said.
- 'Gross negligence' -
Survivors being treated at a nearby hospital described how tonnes of metal and concrete came crashing down onto the busy street without warning.
"The flyover collapsed in front of me. When I tried to escape, I was hit," said housewife Sabita Devi.
Hospital manager Sitaram Agarwal said many people were being treated for head and leg injuries sustained in the disaster.
Authorities initially struggled to get cranes and other large machinery through the narrow streets of Burrabazar, one of the oldest and most congested parts of the city.
The disaster is the latest in a string of deadly construction accidents in India, where enforcement of safety rules is weak and substandard materials are often used.
The Times of India said it was "another brutal reminder of (the) shoddy quality of construction and gross neglect of public safety in our cities", calling for a thorough inquiry to determine what went wrong.
IVRCL's Mumbai-listed shares slid for a second day Friday, closing down 9.7 percent at 5.77 rupees a share.
The disaster comes at a sensitive time for West Bengal's Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, whose centre-left Trinamool Congress party is seeking re-election.
Banerjee has blamed the previous state government under which the flyover project was started, but has herself faced criticism over the beleaguered construction project.
Voting in the West Bengal elections begins on Monday and will be held in five phases lasting a month.
"We thought it (the flyover) would be very weak. We were right," said Uona Sankar, whose brother-in-law, a street seller, died in the disaster.
"We are very angry with the government and it may affect the way people vote in the state elections," she added.
Rome (AFP) - An Italian court on Friday approved the extradition to Belgium of an Algerian accused of fabricating false documents used by those responsible for terror attacks in Paris and Brussels.
A court in Salerno, where Djamal Eddine Ouali was arrested six days ago, said he must be extradited to Belgium within the next 10 days, athough his lawyer immediately said he would appeal the ruling.
Ouali, 40, was arrested in southern Italy after a routine check into his application for a permit to stay threw up warning flags and police discovered his name was on a wanted list issued by Belgian authorities over the two attacks.
He was detained under a European arrest warrant and questioned in prison by prosecutors.
Belgium prosecutors said following the arrest that Ouali was believed to be part of a forgery ring creating fake papers used, among others, by Salah Abdeslam -- the prime suspect in the Paris attacks.
The ring had also made papers used by Najim Laachraoui, one of the two airport suicide bombers in Brussels and the man believed to have made the bombs for both attacks, as well as Mohamed Belkaid, who was shot dead by Brussels police on March 15, according to media reports.
Investigators think Laachraoui and Belkaid were in phone contact with several of the Paris attackers on the night of France's worst ever terror attacks that killed 130 people.
Rome (AFP) - Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi on Friday rebuffed calls to quit after one of his ministers resigned over allegations she tweaked the country's 2015 budget to suit her businessman boyfriend.
Economic Development Minister Federica Guidi stepped down on Thursday, hours after it was announced that her partner, Gianluca Gemelli, is under criminal investigation for abusing his personal connection to the centre-left government in a suspected bid to help his engineering company win contracts with French oil group Total.
At the centre of the scandal is a wiretap recording of Guidi telling her partner that an amendment to the budget law streamlining the approval process for new oilfields in southern Italy would be approved.
Gemelli is suspected of having lobbied for the amendment on behalf of Total, which is developing a field at Tempa Rossa in the Basilicata region.
"We should be able to put it to the Senate tomorrow," the minister is heard to say on the wiretap recording.
Commentators were unanimous in saying the remark had left Guidi, 46, with no option but to quit while Renzi was widely reported to have been left fuming over the damage the episode has done to his government's image
Speaking to Italian media in Washington, the premier said Guidi had not acted illegally but that the appearance of impropriety had made it right that she had gone.
"I believe she made a mistake with this call," Renzi said. "But something has changed in Italy. In the past this would not have led to a resignation, now it does."
Prosecutors suspect Gemelli had lobbied for the amendment in return for his company being included in Total's list of preferred bidders for contracts at Tempa Rossa.
- 'Monstrous conflict of interest' -
Opposition leaders seized on Guidi's resignation as fresh evidence that Renzi's administration was every bit as prone to sleaze as its predecessors.
"It's the umpteenth monstrous conflict of interest for this government and the ultimate responsibility lies with Renzi," said Matteo Salvini, leader of the far-right Northern League.
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Guidi's resignation came almost exactly a year after then transport minister Maurizio Lupi resigned after it emerged a businessman embroiled in a major public works corruption scandal had given Lupi's son a 10,000-euro Rolex watch
"This fossil of a government needs to call it a day," the populist Five Star movement said in a statement issued by its group in the Senate.
Lawmakers from the Italian Left (SI) and disaffected leftists who were formerly in Renzi's Democratic Party (PD) said the scandal represented a wider malaise caused by the premier's allegedly authoritarian style and preference for secret backroom deals.
"Guidi did the right thing by resigning but it does not put an end to the questions raised by this investigation," they said.
- Berlusconi slams wiretaps -
The charges against Gemelli emerged from what was originally an investigation into the illegal disposal of liquid waste from another oil extraction plant in the mountainous southern region of Basilicata.
Six employees of the Val d'Agri centre were arrested on Thursday on suspicion of conspiring to disguise toxic material as harmless waste and Italian energy group ENI has suspended production at the 75,000-barrels-a-day facility.
Renzi will have been relieved Guidi went quickly. But he was left to count the cost of a damaging blow to his attempts to portray himself and his government as representing a break from cronyism and corruption.
The 41-year-old continues to enjoy good approval ratings and has won plaudits for pushing through reforms of the labour market and Italy's parliament in the two years since he seized power in an internal party coup.
But he faces a potentially tricky test at local elections expected in June.
The ease with which prosecutors were able to tap the phone conversation of a government minister reflects the extensive powers enjoyed by Italian investigators when they are probing suspected corruption.
Partly a legacy of the country's long battle against various mafia groups, these powers are rarely contested although one prominent politician did speak out on Friday.
Former premier Silvio Berlusconi, a convicted tax fraudster who is well acquainted with having his phone tapped, described the treatment of Guidi as a "violation of democracy".
Japan's Kinki University has finally put a stop to years of foreign sniggering at its name by changing its saucy-sounding nomenclature.
Marking the start of the new Japanese academic year, the Osaka school on Friday formally became Kindai University, unveiling a plate bearing the new name in English at one of its main gates -- to the relief of cringing exchange students.
Like Fukuppy, a mascot for industrial fridge maker Fukushima Industries, the name "Kinki University" does not raise an eyebrow in Japan, simply referring to the western region which includes Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo prefectures, among others.
For students fluent in English, however, images of bondage and cross-dressing had posed a constant source of embarrassment.
"My grandmother gave me a bewildered look when I told her (I went to) Kinki University," Mei Ichinose, a student of British and Japanese ancestry, told Japan's Kyodo News agency.
The university released a statement earlier this week to formally announce its decision, explaining in precise detail that in English "kinky means peculiar".
The new name Kindai is a contraction of "Kinki" and "Daigaku" (university) and college administrators hope it will embolden students to apply for exchanges, safe in the knowledge that they won't be the butt of jokes.
Fukuppy, a winged egg with a slightly vacant look on its face, faced a grilling after netizens linked its name to the bumbling failure of managers to prevent the nuclear meltdown at the unrelated Fukushima power plant.
Japanese, which has far fewer sounds than many European languages, abounds with vaguely amusing transliterations. No major urban centre, for example, is without its own Shiti Hotel -- the less-than-inviting pronunciation of "city hotel".
By Hyunjoo Jin and Se Young Lee SEOUL (Reuters) - LG Display will supply information displays for Tesla Motors' new Model 3 sedans, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said, grabbing a key contract for center consoles from another supplier. Tesla said on Thursday over 130,000 people had ordered the electric car in a couple of hours although it is more than a year away from production. With a $35,000 starting price - less than half Tesla's Model X - the vehicle is critical to the Silicon Valley automaker's growth plans. The order is a feather in LG Display's cap as it seeks to expand further into auto electronics which offer higher margins and more stable earnings prospects than consumer products. The Model 3 prototype features a huge, tablet-like information screen on the center console, reflecting the trend towards bigger in-car displays that offer more features. "LG Display is a sole supplier for the 15-plus inch center display of Model 3," said the source, declining to be identified as he was not authorized to speak on the matter. Another company currently provides center information displays for Tesla's Model S and Model X, he added. An LG Display spokeswoman declined to comment. A Tesla spokeswoman did not have immediate comment. ($1 = 1,150.1100 won) (Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin and Se Young Lee; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
By John Clarke
(Reuters) - A Maryland man on Thursday was sentenced to 30 years in prison for fatally beating his girlfriend's 9-year-old son over missing birthday cake, court records showed.
Robert Wilson, 31, of Hagerstown, was sentenced in Washington County Circuit Court after pleading guilty of second-degree murder, according to court records.
Prosecutors dropped seven charges of child abuse, assault, neglect and reckless endangerment in the case against Wilson, who took a plea deal, court records showed.
Prosecutors accused Wilson of handcuffing and beating 9-year-old Jack Garcia, his girlfriend's son, for eating a piece of birthday cake without permission on June 30 in Hagerstown, Maryland, about 50 miles (80 km) northwest of Washington D.C.
The boy died from head injuries in a Washington hospital on July 5, authorities said.
Jack's mother, Oriana Garcia, and his uncle, Jacob Barajas allowed the abuse and delayed treatment by sending away an ambulance and refusing treatment for five hours, prosecutors said. They face trial on second-degree murder charges on May 17.
(Reporting By John Clarke in Washington D.C.; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss food group Nestle said on Friday it had not been informed by Indian authorities of any new health issues with its instant noodles after a newspaper reported tests had detected higher-than-permissible levels of ash in the product. "We have not received any notice from the concerned authorities about samples of Maggi noodles collected from Umesh Chandra, Barabanki. We have also not received any notice from the court and we have heard about this only from a media report," a Nestle spokesman in India said. The Wall Street Journal had cited food safety inspectors in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh as saying they had filed a lawsuit accusing Nestle of substandard practices after ash content in samples of its Maggi 2-Minute Noodles was found to exceed the legal limit. The Indian unit of the Swiss food giant had been grappling with a public relations crisis that hit sales after local regulators reported last year that some packets of the Maggi noodles contained unsafe levels of lead. Sales resumed in November. Nestle said on Friday its products were safe, adding it had come across instances in Uttar Pradesh in which standards for macaroni products were being applied for instant noodles with seasoning, which it called "erroneous and misleading". (Reporting by Devidutta Tripathy and Michael Shields, editing by David Evans)
By Chijioke Ohuocha LAGOS (Reuters) - Nigeria's Union Bank is aiming for a loan growth in 2016 of up to the 15 percent it achieved last year as it shifts focus to retail customers to generate low-cost deposits and improve margins, its chief financial officer said on Friday. Oyinkan Adewale said in a telephone interview loans grew by 13 percent in the first half of 2015, but the bank had to slow growth towards the end of the year due to weak market conditions in Nigeria triggered by the plunge in oil prices. Union intends to see loan growth of between 10 to 15 percent this year, she said, adding that the bank is trying to build up its loan book after it sold bad loans to a state-owned "bad bank" AMCON five-years ago as part of an industry bailout. On Friday the bank reported a 47 percent fall in pretax profit to 14.5 billion naira ($72.9 million) for 2015. Adewale said profits actually grew by 24 percent when adjusted for the one-off item of sale of subsidiaries in 2014 which did not re-occur in 2015. "Our growth focus this year will be led by our retail business. In an environment where corporate customers are hampered by FX and macro economic issues, we will be cautious on the lending side," she told Reuters. Rivals are also adopting similar plans. Local lender FCMB on Thursday revised down its loan growth for the year. nL5N17351T] Adewale said the bank expected 15 percent deposit growth this year, up from 4 percent last year, on the back of its retail banking strategy. Tumbling oil markets in the past year have forced Nigeria's banks, which have long thrived on business loans to the energy sector and government bond investments, to adapt their business models at short notice. With oil revenues making a significant contribution to Nigeria's economy -- around 8 percent of GDP in 2015 -- the collapse in world prices has hurt the country, which is Africa's largest oil producer, and has forced the central bank to introduce currency controls. Domestic banks have been settling letters of credit to foreign banks by instalments which can go up to six tranches, Adewale said, a delay forced on lenders as central bank rations dollars to conserve reserves. She said Union Bank has sold its non-bank units to focus on its core lending business and will pursue loan recoveries this year after non-performing loans grew to 6.9 percent in 2015, up from 5.1 percent at the end of 2014. ($1 = 198.8000 naira) (Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama urged China to peacefully resolve its maritime disputes with neighboring countries and to maintain freedom of navigation in the region, a reference to the ongoing dispute in the South China Sea, the White House said in a statement on Friday. In talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping alongside the Nuclear Security Summit on Thursday, Obama discussed U.S. support for human rights in China and called for the ability of companies to be able to compete fairly in China, it said. (Reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by James Dalgleish)
Riyadh (AFP) - Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia will only freeze output if other key producers, including Iran, take a similar measure, its deputy crown prince told Bloomberg News in an interview published Friday.
"If all countries agree to freeze production, we're ready," Mohammed bin Salman said. "If there is anyone that decides to raise their production, then we will not reject any opportunity that knocks on our door."
His remarks come ahead of a meeting of major oil producers led by Russia and Saudi Arabia set to take place in Doha on April 17 to discuss measures to stabilise prices, including a proposal not to pump out oil above a certain level.
Iran indicated it was "ready to participate" in the meeting and demanded an exemption from the freeze in order to boost its exports, according to Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak.
Oil prices are being hit in part owing to the return of Iranian crude to markets after crippling economic sanctions on Tehran were lifted following last year's nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.
King Salman's powerful son who heads Saudi Arabia's main economic coordinating council, told Bloomberg that "without a doubt", Iran has to freeze its output.
"If all countries including Iran, Russia, Venezuela, OPEC countries and all main producers decide to freeze production, we will be among them," he said.
Riyadh severed diplomatic ties with Tehran this year after demonstrators stormed the kingdom's missions in Iran following Saudi Arabia's execution of a Shiite cleric.
Both regional heavyweights back rival groups in several conflicts rocking the Middle East.
The upcoming meeting in Doha is a follow-up to talks in February between Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela in which they first mooted the output freeze.
Prices have collapsed from levels above $100 seen in mid-2014 largely owing to supply outrunning demand as global economies, particularly China, suffer a growth slowdown.
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The Saudi deputy crown prince's remarks drove down oil prices on Friday.
Around 1130 GMT, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for delivery in May slid 89 cents to $37.45 a barrel.
Brent North Sea crude for June delivery was down 82 cents at $39.51 a barrel compared with Thursday's close.
By Tom Esslemont LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Smugglers based in Turkey are offering to take migrants to Italy instead of Greece where they are likely to be deported under a deal between the Ankara government and European Union, according to a newspaper report. The Guardian said on Thursday that smugglers had used Facebook to advertise a boat trip to Italy from the Turkish port of Mersin - at a cost of $4,000 per person, four times the price of a journey from Turkey to Greece. "The trip is on Saturday, from Mersin to Italy, on a merchant ship 110 metres long, equipped with food, water, life jackets and medicine," the Guardian quoted the post as saying. The advert, which was no longer visible on Facebook on Friday, appeared after Turkey agreed with the EU this month to return migrants and refugees who cross illegally to Greece in exchange for financial aid, faster visa-free travel for Turks and slightly accelerated EU membership talks. The returns are supposed to begin on April 4 under the plan, which aims to close the main route by which a million migrants and refugees poured across the Aegean Sea to Greece in the last year before heading north mainly to Germany and Sweden. A Facebook official told the Thomson Reuters Foundation the company was investigating the origins of advertisement. In the past two years scores of would-be migrants seeking to escape conflict in the Middle East have used Facebook as their compass for finding the people smugglers they hope will lead them to a better life in Europe. However, many of these migrants end up being tricked by people posing as smugglers, the Guardian said. The United Nations called on Friday for legal safeguards to be in place before refugees are returned to Turkey under the agreement with the EU, while warning that conditions in Greece are deteriorating. (Reporting By Tom Esslemont, Editing by Katie Nguyen; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, womens rights, corruption and climate change. Visit news.trust.org)
Stocks (^DJI, ^GSPC, ^IXIC, ^RUT) are up slightly at the midday mark after the big jobs report numbers this morning came in about as expected. The unemployment rate ticked up a tenth of a percent to 5.0%, while 215,000 payrolls were added in March. The initial reaction by the markets was negative, but they recovered with a smart rebound after the open. Keith Bliss of Cuttone & Co. joins us live from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange to discuss the markets.
Joining Yahoo Finance's Alexis Christoforous to discuss some of the other big stories of the day are Yahoo Finance editor-in-chief, Andy Serwer and Yahoo Finance's Nicole Sinclair.
Winners and losers of Q1
If past is prologue, it makes sense to take a few minutes and reflect on the biggest winners and losers of the quarter we just ended. After risk markets plunged on concerns over oil, China and credit markets, we had a sizable rally that got the Dow Industrials and S&P 500 in the green for the quarter. But not everyone fared equally.
Signs from abroad
China's manufacturing sector is showing signs of growth for the first time in nine months. On the other hand, Eurozone factories fared better than expected last quarter, but growth remained weak. Who will lead the markets higher or lower in 2016?
Why Starbucks is winning mobile pay
Mobile payments are going to be huge, and Apple and Google are betting big on it. But surprisingly, one non-tech company is really winning at this game: Starbucks. The coffeeshop operator says 21% of all transactions come via its mobile app. How did it get this emerging phenomenon right?
Palmyra (Syria) (AFP) - Jihadists have reduced several temples, columns and other treasures to heaps of stone in Syria's ancient city of Palmyra, which archaeologists fear will never be fully restored to its former glory.
On the rocks at the entrance to the 2,000-year-old Temple of Bel, jihadists have written in black: "The Islamic State. No entry for civilians or brothers (fighters)."
While the temple's outer walls, main entrance and courtyard have survived, the main cella or prayer chamber has been destroyed, according to AFP journalists who visited the world heritage site.
Ochre and beige-coloured blocks of stone that once formed the cella walls, rooftop and eight 16-metre (52-foot) tall fluted columns now lie on the ground.
Syria's antiquities director Maamoun Abdulkarim says he is hopeful that part of the temple can be restored now that the jihadists have fled.
"Of course the Temple of Bel will never be the same. According to our experts, we will definitely be able to restore a third of the destroyed cella, or maybe even more if we carry out additional studies with UNESCO's help," Abdulkarim said.
"It will take five years of field work."
The city was recaptured on Sunday by Syrian and Russian troops who drove out IS jihadists who had occupied it for 10 months.
- World heritage -
In Palmyra's stunning Roman theatre, jihadists have written their names on one wall while another is riddled with bullet marks.
It was at this second-century structure that the children of IS fighters were made to kill army soldiers in public executions.
Where the cella of the shrine of Baal Shamin once stood, only four columns now remain.
And the remains of the Arch of Triumph, dating back to the era of Roman Emperor Severus in the third century, lie on the ground, leaving only the two columns that once sustained the central crown still standing.
"It won't be complicated to restore it because all the building blocks are there and the arch had already been put back up in the 1930s," Abdulkarim said.
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"I invite archaeologists and experts everywhere to come work with us because this site is part of the heritage of all humanity," he said.
- 'Savagery' -
At the National Museum, the jihadists committed some of their worst atrocities against Palmyra's heritage.
They threw several of the city's famed busts of large-eyed, ornately dressed women to the ground. They mutilated portraits. They erased the painted faces of dinner guests portrayed in ornate frescoes of funerary banquets.
"Experts believe that 30 percent of the old city of Palmyra has been destroyed," said provincial governor Talal Barazi, who came to inspect the damage.
"I have seen proof of IS's obscurantism. The damage they caused to the antiquities bears witness to their savagery," he said.
"I am happy because the museum's finest pieces were evacuated before they arrived," Barazi said, referring to 400 pieces of inestimable value that were transferred to government-held Damascus before IS took control of Palmyra.
- 'Eaten by dogs' -
Hotels close to the museum, once buzzing with tourists, are vacant. A nearby church was turned into a recruitment centre by IS jihadists.
The regime's Palmyra jail, which IS blew up soon after seizing the city, had been notorious for hellish torture of detainees, including political prisoners.
But IS created several makeshift prisons of its own across the city, including in a government courthouse.
In the basement of that IS jail, a door is marked "Interrogation centre".
Behind it, a large, bare room is filled with mattresses that prisoners slept on. On the walls, detainees' names have been scratched, along with messages to loved ones.
One man wrote the name "Farah", which is Arabic for Joy, inside a big heart.
"I spent 14 days in this cell. My interrogators were Saudis, Iraqis and Tunisians. Every day, they questioned me with a sword held up to my throat," said Abu Mahmud, a former city council employee who became a pro-regime militia fighter after he was freed.
"I was lucky to be released, but I have civil servant friends who were executed, and whose bodies were thrown in the desert and eaten by dogs."
The streets are marked by potholes from the blasts of mines planted by the jihadists during their retreat.
"Palmyra had a narrow escape. IS had planted 4,500 improvised mines across most of the city, linked to each other by mobile phone to the telephone network," Abu Mahmud said.
A regime loyalist went undercover and "killed the man who was tasked with triggering the explosions", he said. Barazi confirmed the report.
Now, an explosion can be heard every half an hour.
"It's the Syrian army's engineering unit, waiting for Russian deminers to arrive in the coming days," Barazi said.
By Valerie Volcovici WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Technology companies Google, Apple, Microsoft and Amazon on Friday declared support for the Obama administration in a lawsuit facing its central plan to combat climate change, saying the rule is needed to drive a transition to cleaner energy. As large energy users, the companies filed a joint amicus brief to the federal Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to support the Environmental Protection Agency as it defends its signature Clean Power Plan against a challenge by industry groups and more than half of U.S. states. "The Clean Power Plan reflects reasonable and attainable assumptions about the increasing availability of renewable generation in the nations power sector," the companies wrote in the filing they submitted to the federal court. The regulation is designed to lower carbon emissions from the U.S. power sector by 2030 to 32 percent below 2005 levels, encouraging each state to replace dirtier fossil fuels with cleaner energy sources. The rule is the United States' main tool to meet the emissions reduction target pledge it made at December's U.N. climate talks in Paris, but it was challenged by 27 states, along with business and industry groups in the D.C. Circuit court. In February, the rule faced a major blow when the Supreme Court put it on hold pending the outcome of the litigation in the lower court. But the death of Justice Antonin Scalia a few days later renewed hopes for its survival. A three-judge panel of D.C. Circuit court had unanimously rejected the same request for a stay that the Supreme Court accepted. The panel is viewed by lawyers on both sides as relatively favorable for the administration. The technology companies, which all rely largely on renewable energy through power-purchase deals or their own facilities to power their energy-intensive data centers, said the EPA rule would help all businesses "invest and benefit from clean energy." Earlier this week, the EPA filed a 200-page brief defending its rule, which said carbon emissions pose a "monumental threat" to the health and welfare of Americans. On Friday, 44 current and former senators, as well as 164 current and former House members from 38 states also filed supportive briefs. The D.C. Circuit panel will hear oral arguments on the merits of the case on June 2. (Reporting by Valerie Volcovici; Editing by Dan Grebler)
If you want to be a dictator, the first thing you do is control the press in the country youre aiming to rule. Thats what Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been doing ever since he was elected President of Turkey in 2014.
Its not easy to be a dictator when youve been a member of NATO since 1952, part of the Council of Europe in 1949, which is now the European Union, and a major strategic ally of the United Statesfirst during the Cold War and now in the war against ISIS. For many months, Erdogan declined to join the coalition fighting the terrorists, and Turkey was considered a nominal ally in the war against terror.
Related: The Two ISIS Battles That Could Change the Face of the Middle East
Then, last summer, Turkey joined the U.S. led campaign against ISIS. As a result, the terror group began targeting Turkey, and the U.S. government last September authorized the voluntary departure of 900 family members of personnel stationed at Incirlik air base and the U.S. consulate in Adana. On March 29, all U.S. military families in southern Turkey were evacuated.
Last summer also witnessed the end of a ceasefire between the Turkish government and the Kurdish separatists. Yet Turkeys current problems are not to be blamed on security issues only. They are the results of Erdogans national security and foreign policy decisions. Despite its strategic location, Erdogans decisions have reduced Turkeys status in the world arena.
Erdogan has a master planas a diehard Islamist, he wants to revive the glory of the Ottoman Empire, restore Islamic rule, and purge the country of undesirablesespecially the Kurds. Turkey considers the Kurds (whether Turkish Kurds, Syrian Kurds, or Iraqi Kurds) the main threat to Turkish national security. The Kurds want autonomy, and independence is viewed as endangering Turkeys sovereign unity. Turkey has anxiously observed the gains Syrian Kurds achieved over the last few years. For Turkey, ISIS is the lesser of two evils compared to the Kurds.
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Related: Families of U.S. personnel ordered to leave parts of Turkey amid security concerns
Turkey has maintained a backdoor channel with ISIS for years. This channel helped secure the release of dozens of Turkish diplomats and drivers who were taken hostage by ISIS when the terror group captured Mosul, Iraqs second largest city, in June 2014. In return, Turkey released a group of ISIS detained operatives. Turkey also turned a blind eye on ISISs oil trade with its southern provinces and on jihadists crossing the Turkish Syrian borders to join the fight against the Syrian government. Many of them eventually joined ISIS.
Turkeys alliance with the U.S. led campaign against ISIS came with a price: unleashing a renewed crackdown on its own Kurds. The Kurdish fighters are the best (and the only, in the case of Syria) reliable forces on the ground in the fight against ISIS.
About a month ago, the Syrian government launched a major assault on Aleppo, Syrias largest city to the north to weaken the rebels and claim their territory. The Syrian Kurds took advantage of the government campaign to expand their area of control in order to connect a Kurdish pocket in northwest Syria with the rest of the Kurdish territories in northern Syria by the Turkish border. The Syrian Kurds tried to control a strategic town called Azaz, located 25 miles to the north on the supply line to Aleppo.
That gave Turkey the incentive they needed to launch an air attack on the Syrian Kurds to prevent them from capturing the city. Turkeys shelling of the Syrian Kurds was condemned by most of the world, including the United States and the United Nations Security Council. Moreover, Turkey arranged for hundreds of Syrian Sunni Arab fighters to cross its border to Turkey then come back to Syria from another border center, to the town of Azaz, to join the fight against the Kurds. The Turkish bombardment of the Kurds has jeopardized the U.S.-led coalition against ISIS in Syria because the Kurds then began looking for support from the Syrian government and even from Russia.
Related: Suicide bombing exposes divisions tearing at Turkey's stability
The Iraqi Kurdish forces have recently regained ground around Mosul with the help of US air strikes. Yet, last December, a Turkish army battalion was deployed to the north of Mosul over the protests of the Iraqi government, the United States, and the United Nations. Iraq also threatened to fight the Turkish invaders. The Americans publicly said that the Turkish deployment was not part of the US-led coalition against ISIS. None of these actions could persuade the Turks to back off.
Turkey claimed that its forces in northern Iraq protected the Iraqi Sunni forces from attacks launched by ISIS. But Turkeys interests in Iraq are similar to its interests in Syria. The Turkish government wants to make sure that the Kurds will not expand their territories in the Arab Sunni regions or the Turkmen areas. Turkey also wants assurance that it will have a say in Mosuls political structure after the liberation. This week, ISIS and Turkey have exchanged artillery bombardment in the Mosul area. On Tuesday, an Iraqi politician from Mosul accused Turkey of shelling Mosul indiscriminately.
Erdogan and Ottoman Dreams
For a number of years, the Turkish president Erdogan was viewed as an able diplomat who built a bridge between the Islamic world and the West. Yet the longer his tenure, the more frustrating his policies were for his people, the Middle East and the world. Somewhere during his years in power, he had a dream: he envisioned himself as an Ottoman Sultan, able to control the Middle East from Baghdad to Casablanca. The problem is that no one has awakened him from the dream.
Related: Turkey Says Brussels Attacker Deported In 2015, Belgium Ignored Warning
When a Turkish newspaper criticized him, he nationalized it. When the Judiciary investigated his actions, he fired the judges. He sent his army to punish the Kurds in Turkey. His military downed a Russian fighter after violating the Turkish airspace for a few seconds, yet he wasnt shy about sending his unwelcomed army to Iraq. http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/2016/02/25/Two-ISIS-Battles-Could-Change-Face-Middle-East
Erdogan has engaged in a regional conflict with Egypt and Saudi Arabia for crushing the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, yet he did not hesitate to silence the protests in his own country. His countrys relations with Israel, Syria, Iraq and Iran have suffered the consequences of his polices. Turkeys relations with the U.S. have suffered as well. President Obama said recently that he was disappointed with Erdogans leadership. Erdogan has assumed applause would follow, rather than the long line of cold shoulders.
Erdogan has compromised his country, now in crisis with itself and the rest of the world. Despite its hopes of manipulating geopolitics to its own favor, Turkeys fashioned role as an outlier with an independent agenda has caused the region and the world to think the Ottoman Empire is a bad dream best left between the covers of history books.
Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:
KAMPALA (Reuters) - Ugandan police will lift their blockade on the home of the President Yoweri Museveni's main rival, they said on Friday, weeks after restricting his movements when he lost an election he said was rigged. Kizza Besigye, who won 35 percent of the vote to Museveni's 60 percent, has been confined to his home since polling day on Feb. 18. He called the result a sham marred by vote rigging, bribery and intimidation by security personnel. Police accused him of inciting violence and blockaded his home in Kasangati, a suburb of the capital of Kampala. Analysts said the government feared he could have rallied mass protests aimed at toppling Museveni. Police put spiked barriers outside the property and vetted visitors, turning away leaders from his Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party and delegations of supporters. Police Chief Kale Kayihura said in a statement on Friday: "We are withdrawing the precautionary security measures we had been forced to take with respect to ... Kizza Besigye." The security restrictions on Besigye caused concern among Museveni's Western backers. The United States said the detention of opposition figures and harassment of their supporters amounted to "unacceptable activities in a free and democratic society". FDC official Francis Mwijukye said the lifting of Besigye's house arrest marked the start of the opposition's resurgence. "We're just getting started, we'll ramp it up ... Besigye won the election and until he's declared president we'll not rest," he said. The police decision came a day after the supreme court dismissed a petition by former prime minister Amama Mbabazi, who came a distant third in the election, for the result to be nullified, clearing the way for 71-year-old Museveni to extend his three-decade rule. (Reporting by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
Washington (AFP) - The United States said it was "appalled" by Syrian government air strikes Thursday that killed more than 30 people -- including children -- in a key rebel bastion east of the capital of Damascus.
The raids took place in Deir Al-Assafir, a town in the opposition stronghold of Eastern Ghouta, one of the areas in Syria where a fragile ceasefire brokered by the US and Russia has been in place since February 27.
"The United States is appalled by aerial strikes March 31, reportedly by the Assad regime, on a school and hospital in the Damascus suburb of Deir Al Asafir," State Department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement.
"We condemn in the strongest terms any such attacks directed at civilians," he added.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group, has reported that 33 people died in the attacks, including 12 children, updating its earlier toll of at least 23 fatalities.
While there have been occasional incidences of violence, some of them deadly, the ceasefire has largely been hailed as a success by the United Nations.
"In joining the cessation of hostilities, even apart from its commitments to avoid attacking groups participating in the cessation of hostilities, the regime committed to full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2254, which called for an immediate end to any attacks against civilians and for all parties to comply with their obligations under international law," Kirby said.
"Any attacks directed at civilians must stop immediately," he added, calling on all parties to the ceasefire to comply with its terms and observe international law.
United Nations (United States) (AFP) - Talks aimed at ending the war in Yemen are on track to begin on April 18 in Kuwait, the UN envoy confirmed on Friday.
A nationwide ceasefire is due to come into effect at midnight on April 10 to bolster the new round of talks between the Saudi-backed Yemeni government and Shiite Huthi rebels.
"With political will, good faith and balance, they could take this opportunity to end the conflict and pave the way towards a permanent and durable end of the war," UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said in a statement.
The talks were announced last week after months of shuttle diplomacy by the UN envoy and growing pressure on a Saudi-led coalition to end its air campaign in Yemen.
More than 6,300 people have been killed in Yemen since the coalition -- which includes Kuwait -- began an air war a year ago to push back the Huthi offensive.
The envoy said UN teams were working "at full speed" in Sanaa and Riyadh to prepare the delegations and another team was on its way to Kuwait to finalize preparations.
The peace talks are to focus on militia withdrawal, the handover of heavy weapons, security arrangements, the resumption of a dialogue and the creation of a committee on detainees, said the envoy.
Cheikh Ahmed welcomed a prisoner exchange this week that saw nine Saudis swapped for 109 Yemenis, saying the move provides "an important drive to the political process."
Confirmation of the peace talks came after the Huthi rebels this week mounted a deadly counterattack against government troops advancing down the Red Sea coast from the Saudi border.
The rebels and their allies surrounded a government force that was attempting to recapture the coastal town of Midi and killed 45 loyalist troops on Tuesday and Wednesday, sources said.
At least 15 rebels were also killed in the fighting.
The United Nations has expressed growing alarm over the heavy civilian toll from the airstrikes and the dire humanitarian situation in Yemen, where more than 80 percent of the population is on the brink of famine.
Previous UN-sponsored negotiations failed to reach a breakthrough, while a ceasefire that went into force on December 15 was repeatedly violated until the Saudi-led coalition announced an end to it on January 2.
The destructive Zika virus has been visualized for the first time, shedding light on similarities and differences between this and related viruses, according to a new study.
The new findings may be helpful in developing effective antiviral treatments and vaccines against the Zika virus, the researchers said.
"The structure of the virus provides a map that shows potential regions of the virus that could be targeted by a therapeutic treatment, used to create an effective vaccine, or [used] to improve our ability to diagnose and distinguish Zika infection from that of other related viruses," Richard Kuhn, the director of the Purdue University Institute for Inflammation, Immunology and Infectious Diseases in Indiana and a co-author on the study, said in a statement.
"Determining the structure greatly advances our understanding of Zika, a virus about which little is known," he said. [Zika Virus News: Complete Coverage of The Outbreak]
Although the Zika virus usually causes mild or no symptoms, health officials are concerned about a link between Zika infection in pregnant women and a birth defect called microcephaly, or an abnormally small head.
The transmission of the Zika virus has so far been reported in 39 countries and territories. Of these locations, Brazil and French Polynesia have reported an increase in microcephaly, according to the World Health Organization. In addition, 12 of the locations with Zika cases have reported increases in cases of a rare neurological condition called Guillain-Barre syndrome, which causes muscle weakness and, sometimes, paralysis in kids and adults.
In the new study, researchers looked at a strain of the virus isolated from a patient who had been infected with Zika during an epidemic in French Polynesia in 2013-14.
The researchers found that the structure of the virus is very similar to that of other flaviviruses, a family of viruses that also includes dengue, West Nile and yellow fever. The structure of the Zika virus appeared to be particularly similar to the structure of dengue, the study said.
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"In essence, all these viruses have the same shape and structure, but they enter different kinds of cells," and therefore lead to different illnesses, said Michael Rossmann, a professor of biological sciences at Purdue University and a co-author on the study.
However, the researchers did find a certain structural difference between Zika and these related viruses. That difference is found in an area of the virus that may be important for how the virus attaches to human cells, which types of cells it may enter and how the resulting disease may progress. [5 Things to Know About Zika Virus]
There is an equivalent of this particular area found in the dengue virus, and it is involved in how that virus attaches to human cells. If the Zika virus's version of this area serves the same function as in dengue, and is therefore also involved in attachment to human cells, that suggests a possible treatment, Rossmann said. "Perhaps an inhibitor could be designed to block this function and keep the virus from attaching to and infecting human cells," Rossmann told Live Science.
It is also possible that this area of structural difference is somehow involved in the association between Zika virus infection and improper brain development in fetuses, but more research is needed to investigate this question, the researchers said.
Though the researchers now have a much better understanding of what the virus looks like, efforts to actually inhibit it may take a long time, Rossmann said. "People should not expect a sudden result," he said.
The new study was published today (March 31) in the journal Science.
Follow Agata Blaszczak-Boxe on Twitter. Follow Live Science @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Originally published on Live Science.
Copyright 2016 LiveScience, a Purch company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Woman fined $4,000 for DUI
Roshinee Ramoutar, 24, of_ Suzzana Road, Mt Stewart Village, Naparima Mayaro Road,_pleaded guilty yesterday. _ Magistrate_ Natalie Diop, presiding in the San Fernando Magistrates Court, ordered the woman to pay the fine within 40 days,_after she pleaded guilty to the offence .
The police prosecutor, Sgt Raymond Dhookoo, told the magistrate_ that during a road traffic exercise, Ramoutar was stopped at about 8.35 pm and a breathalyzer test was administered by PC Sujeet Ramcharan .
It was revealed that 80 micrograms of alcohol per 100 mililiters of breath, were contained in Ramoutars breath._ A second and a third reading revealed that recordings of 77 micrograms and 72 micrograms were registered .
Diop told Ramoutar that as a health and safety officer, she ought to have exercised more care in consuming alcohol .
What were you doing out drinking and driving? Diop asked .
Ramoutar said that she had attended a friends birthday party.__ In the First Magistrates Court, her friend, Adesh Rattan, 38,_of New Settlement,_Hermitage, was fined $1,000 by Magistrate Cheryl Ann Antoine, for obstructing Ramcharan in the course of his duties .
The police prosecutor, PC Cleyon Seedan, told the magistrate that Ramcharan was conducting breathalyzer duties in front of the Parvati Girls College on Wednesday night_when Rattan walked up to him and shouted, Girl, go away from them, they only harrassing you. Ramcharan told Rattan to desist from interupting him, but he replied, I standing in the government road .
Who allyuh feel allyuh is? I not moving from here. PC Alex Mohammed laid the charge .
Antoine ordered him to pay the fine within 14 days .
Hes fearful for his life
Attorney Saeed Trotter, of the Port-of-Spain based firm Scoon and Associates, in an interview yesterday, said while they have not been in contact with Thomas, who escaped from the St Anns Hospital on Tuesday last, he is most probably in fear for his life but wants to turn himself in. Thomas is also known as Sheldon Henry and is considered by police to be armed and dangerous.
Thomas, 31, was reportedly seen near Long Circular Mall shortly after 1.55 pm yesterday but by the time police officers mobilised and went in search of him, he reportedly escaped in a white vehicle.
Also yesterday, the police command centre in St James received a call from an anonymous person stating that Thomas was in the Carenage area, but by the time officers went there he was not found.
Officers also received information shortly after midday yesterday that Thomas was seen in the passenger seat of a vehicle in the Sea Lots area, but searches in the area also proved futile.
Investigators are working on the theory that Thomas is being driven around by persons known to him and they advised members of the public, who may be involved, that it is against the law to harbour criminals.
Police investigating the escape of Thomas along with five others from the Forensic Ward of the St Anns Hospital on Tuesday, are working on information that the prisoners may have been assisted by a watchman who reportedly provided them with hacksaw blades. Five of the six who escaped and who were recaptured, have refused to give any information on who assisted them.
Trotter and the firms principal Farid Scoon were retained by Thomas mother, Claudine Henry, in February to seek the prisoners interests after he complained of being beaten by prison guards while at both the Remand Section of the Golden Grove Prison in Arouca and at the Eastern Correctional Rehabilitation Centre (ECRC) in Arima in November of last year and last month, respectively.
The attorney said neither Thomas mother, who has pleaded with her son to turn himself in, nor themselves, as his legal representatives, have any information on where he could be located.
We are communicating with his mother. But he fears theyre out to kill him, Trotter told Newsday.
Thomas has been on remand since being charged with the murder of Anthony Lemessy, of Plaisance, Mayaro, on August 19, 2004.
He had last known addresses at Upper LAnse Mitan, Carenage, and Upper Haig Street, Carenage.
Apart from the August, 2004 charge of murder, Thomas faces 14 other charges including possession of a firearm, possession of ammunition, robbery with violence, robbery with aggravation, wounding with intent and possession of cocaine.
Trotter maintained, however, that having sat with him for two hours at the ECRC, Thomas was a sane individual.
According to Trotter, because he spoke out against a senior prison officer in 2013, he was now being targeted.
Thomas was remanded to St Anns on March 7, for psychiatric evaluation but Trotter said this was possibly done because his attorneys began making enquiries so they (the prison authorities) tried to make him look crazy. Trotter said on November 18, last year, Thomas was taken from Golden Grove and placed in a black SUV to be taken to the ECRC and, while in the vehicle, he was allegedly beaten in the ribs, head and arms by men believed to be prison guards. The men were all masked.
A deadly molotov cocktail
However in an immediate response, Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi said it was regrettable that Persad-Bissessar chose to perpetuate fear and misinformation relative to the legitimacy, proportionality and bona fide intent of the SSA legislation.
Noting that debate on the SSA Bill continues in the House of Representatives today, Al-Rawi said the Government remains open to submissions both from the Opposition and the population as to how the legislation could be enhanced to allow law enforcement agencies to better deal with crime.
He said the observations made by Persad-Bissessar are without underpinning in law. He added that while the Government requested proposed amendments in writing from the Opposition, it received no such documents.
Al-Rawi did not rule out the possibility of the SSA Bill being referred to a parliamentary Joint Select Committee (JSC), as proposed by Persad-Bissessar.
He said as the debate continues today, an assessment will be made. He recalled, as an Opposition senator, submitting numerous written amendments on several pieces of legislation to the then Peoples Partnership government, led by Persad-Bissessar.
Addressing a news conference at the Opposition Leaders Office in Port-of-Spain, Persad- Bissessar said the Opposition will be sending out a statement to the public outlining its concerns on the SSA Bill to the wider public.
She claimed, The SSA Bill and the Whistleblower Protection Bill demonstrate that the Government is hostile to citizens privacy rights, so we must fight harder to protect those rights. Arguing that Government will use the whistleblower legislation to immunise people from criminal liability, even if they illegally intercept communications provided a legitimate whistleblower report is made, Persad-Bissessar said this meant the Whistleblower Protection Bill would trump both the Interception of Communications Act prohibition on illegal interception of communications as well as the secrecy provisions of the SSA Act, further weakening citizens privacy rights. The JSC dealing with the Whistleblower Protection Bill, which is chaired by Al-Rawi, was recently granted an extension to April 29 to complete its work.
While the Opposition is prepared to support any legislation genuinely aimed at curbing crime in TT, Persad-Bissessar said there must be a balance between privacy and security concerns given what transpired with shadowy spy agencies such as the Special Anti-Crime Unit of TT and the Security Intelligence Agency (SIA) under the former Patrick Manning administration.
Reiterating that those bodies were used to spy on people such as journalists and this could happen again, Persad-Bissessar said the SSA Bill lacks the safeguards in the unproclaimed Data Protection Act that would help to protect a persons privacy.
She said she had no idea what were the qualifications of SSA Director Col George Robinson and raised the possibility of people appointed to the SSA being under the control of the Government
Space wars already under way as Russia and China plot to destroy U.S. satellites
A top U.S. Force general issued a warning to Congress on Wednesday, claiming both China and Russia have plans to take down U.S. military satellites using missiles, spacecraft and possibly lasers.
Air Force General John Hyten, commander of the Air Force Space Command, made the warning after pleading with Congress to boost spending to shield military satellites.
Adversaries are developing kinetic, directed-energy, and cyber tools to deny, degrade, and destroy our space capabilities, Hyten said in a prepared statement, according to Freebeacon.
They understand our reliance on space, and they understand the competitive advantage we derive from space. The need for vigilance has never been greater, he added.
Monitoring the threat
Hyten pressed that U.S. Global Positioning System satellites are still susceptible to attacks. The new military command center has been keeping tabs on missile launches, ominous robot satellites and ground based lasers, which could threaten U.S. satellites.
Interfering with the time-keeping feature of satellites could corrode the militarys ability to guide weapons during precision strike operations.
Lieutenant General David Buck testified with General Hyten, and verified that China and Russia posed the greatest threat to U.S. space systems.
Simply stated, there isnt a single aspect of our space architecture, to include the ground architecture, that isnt at risk, Buck said. Russia views U.S. dependency on space as an exploitable vulnerability and they are taking deliberate actions to strengthen their counter-space capabilities, he continued.
Douglas Loverro, deputy assistant defense secretary for space policy, added that if U.S. satellites were subject to attacks, then counter attacks either on the ground or over the internet could ensue.
A space offset strategy must employ a diverse set of resilience measures that complicate the technical, political, and force structure calculus of our adversaries, by arraying a complex set of response, with few overlapping vulnerabilities and a combination of known and ambiguous elements, he said.
Loverro pressed that the United States doesnt wish to wage war in space, but will if necessary. But let me be clear about our intentwe will be ready, he said.
Outdated U.S. satellites in need of repair
Loverro, among the other top Pentagon officials, told lawmakers additional funding is needed to protect vital satellites that were created during a time when the United States was among a handful of countries launching and controlling satellites. Many of the most critical navigation, communications and intelligence satellites were created during the Cold War for nuclear war purposes.
There are a myriad of inspection satellites currently in orbit, which may be pending orders to disable and decimate neighboring satellites.
In this topsy-turvy state, attacks on space forces may even become the opening gambit of an anti-access/area-denial strategy in a regional conflict wherein an adversary seeks to forestall or preclude a U.S. military response, Loverro said. Chinese military strategists began writing about the targeting of space assets as a tempting and most irresistible choice in the late 1990s, and the Peoples Liberation Army has been pursuing the necessary capabilities ever since, he added.
U.S. government and industries have a minimum of 500 satellites in orbit, which is about as many as the rest of the entire world. At least 100 of these are used primarily for military purposes.
Instead of endangering other foreign states satellites, Loverro claimed deterrence against foreign nation space assaults is determined by missile strikes and other threats, ensuring the normal functioning of satellites is not interfered with during war.
This could be achieved by partnering with the budding commercial space sector, which is expected to launch hundreds of new satellites in the near future. In addition, deterrence will be determined by foreign partnerships with allied nations in obtaining data on space threats and other joint efforts.
Sources include:
Cihan
TruNews
DailyMail
FreeBeacon
Science.NaturalNews.com
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U.S. senators to DHS: Why was an illegal alien charged with homicide released?
(BigGovernment.news) The Obama administrations refusal to uphold U.S. immigration law is literally leading to the deaths of American citizens, while the refusal of members of both parties in Congress to hold the president and his Department of Homeland Security chief, Jeh Johnson, accountable for their criminal lapses is despicable.
In recent days senators from Iowa and Nebraska sent a letter to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) March 24, questioning the agencys handling of an undocumented immigrant charged with causing the drunken driving death of 21-year-old woman in Omaha, AMI Newswire reported.
Eswin Mejia, 19, was charged by Omaha authorities Feb. 5 with vehicular homicide after his truck crashed into the back of a car driven by 21-year-old Sarah Root, a recent college graduate. Police allege that Mejia, who tested nearly three times the legal limit for alcohol in his blood, was drag racing at the time.
Root was transported to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Mejia has since failed to show up for urine tests and subsequent court hearings, which happens far too frequently.
In a March 15 Senate hearing on visa security, Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Nebraska) questioned ICE director Sarah Saldana about the agencys response. Omaha crash investigators said they contacted ICE on Feb. 5, requesting a hold on him due to his flight risk and low bail amount. The request was denied and Mejia was released that evening.
If an illegal alien kills an American citizen, should ICE let that person go free? Sasse asked in the hearing.
In her response, Saldana blamed the agencys response, in part, on the small window in which agents had to respond. She estimated that field agents only had about four hours to get there.
We try very hard to respond as quickly as possible, she said. It doesnt do them any good (for us) to tell them to cooperate if we dont respond.
An investigation from the Omaha World-Herald also found that local pretrial experts classified Mejia as a 2 on a scale of 10 (with 10 as the highest) for flight risk. His $5,000 bail, the newspaper found, was among the lowest in a list of bails set in recent vehicle-homicide cases.
ICE agents said Mejia faced a removal hearing next year March 23, 2017.
The letter comes less than two months after the chairs of the House and Senate judiciary committees criticized Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson for enacting a policy that allows criminal immigrants charged with drunk driving to go free, which, of course, he would never do without the full-throated approval of his boss, President Obama.
In their joint letter to Johnson, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Virginia) point to two additional cases since February in which immigrants facing DUI charges were deemed not worthy of an ICE hold.
In a case out of Louisville, Kentucky, a 20-year-old, suspected of being in the U.S. illegally, was arrested after a crash on Feb. 4 that put two women in the hospital, including one who is currently in a coma. Jose Munoz Aguilar was transferred to ICE custody, but promptly released.
In another case, Esmid Valentine Pedraza, who was arrested on Feb. 24 by San Francisco police in the shooting death of Stacey Aguilar, was found to be in the process of deportation for a DUI conviction in 2013, but ICE chose not to detain him in the meantime.
Members of Congress have taken aim at Department of Homeland Security (DHS) policy, as outlined in a November, 2014, memo from Johnson, that prioritizes the detainment of immigrants in one of three tiers. In the top tier are immigrants involved in terrorism, partaking in gang activities or actively crossing the border. Although felonies are in the top-priority list, the memorandum specifies the immigrant must have been convicted. In the Omaha case, Mejia had only been convicted of misdemeanors prior to his drunk driving arrest, which would have placed him in tier 2 priority.
Due to limited resources, DHS and its components cannot respond to all immigration violations or remove all persons illegally in the United States, Johnson wrote in the policy document.
The memo does note, however, that ICE field directors have discretion to pursue cases not identified as priority, when removing such an alien would serve an important federal interest.
Apparently protecting the lives of American citizens at all times, and under all circumstances the way it is supposed to be doesnt meet the standard of important federal interest.
A statement provided to AMI Newswire by an ICE spokesman said that further review of the case may have resulted in an elevation of Meijas priority, but asserted that the decision by field directors not to detain him fell within DHS policies.
All decisions made by ICE officers are made on a case-by-case basis, the statement read. Based on the totality of circumstances involved in Mr. Mejias case when he was arrested in Omaha in January 2016, ICE officers decided not to issue a detainer at the time.
Yes, that is apparent; the question is, why not? Who in the DHS chain of command gave instructions for the discretion?
With more than 20,000 employees, ICE is the second-largest federal law enforcement agency. Its $5.3 billion budget in 2015 represented 9 percent of the overall DHS budget. In its 2016 budget request, the DHS asked for an additional $3.7 billion, including a more-than-17-percent increase to the operating budget of ICE.
The letter, signed by Sasse and Grassley, as well as senators Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Deb Fischer (R-Nebraska), calls on DHS to respond by April 6. The senators want ICE to provide details on its interaction with Omaha law enforcement and a clarification as to why ICE policy now classifies Mejia as a priority, and any investigative materials held by the organization on him.
In the meantime, ICE has pledged to help capture the fugitive Mejia, who has since had a felony warrant issued for his arrest. ICE is working with law enforcement authorities in Nebraska and Honduras to locate and arrest Mejia, Saldana said in a statement.
Gee, thats good to know that ICE is [finally] on the case days late, and after another American citizen has lost her life, killed by someone who should never have been in the country in the first place, let alone allowed to walk away from his crime.
Letters of protest and demands for answers are ineffectual and, really, at this point embarrassingly inadequate. Lawmakers know this president has instructed his immigration officials to shirk their duties. There is no more need of protest letters and demands for information. There is a need for action, and the Constitution lays out the actions Congress can take to reign in presidents who intentionally fail to protect citizens. It shouldnt matter than Obamas on his way out; American citizens are dying, for crying out loud.
The American Media Institute contributed to this story.
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U.S. troops, armor moving to NATOs eastern front full-time as deterrent to Russia
(NationalSecurity.news) The Pentagon plans to deploy a brigades worth of U.S. Army troops, along with hundreds of tanks, armored vehicles and artillery full-time along NATOs eastern border beginning in February, as a deterrent to Russian aggression.
The Wall Street Journal reported last week that the deployment will include some 250 Abrams main battle tanks, Bradley Fighting Vehicles and Paladin self-propelled howitzers as well as more than 1,700 additional wheeled vehicles and trucks.
The deployment of U.S. troops and armor along NATOs Russian perimeter will be the first of its kind since the end of the Cold War, the paper noted.
The Pentagon noted that the plans represent an escalation of a proposal put forth last year, saying military, diplomatic and administration officials were examining ways to bolster U.S. presence in Eastern Europe, including prepositioning older materiel in the region.
The new deployment comes amid increased concern among Eastern Europe NATO member countries about the depth of the United States security commitment, especially after Russian President Vladimir Putins interventions in Georgia, Ukraine and Syria.
The WSJ noted that Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work said the new deployment plan ought to put such concerns to rest since it stations more of the Armys best and up-to-date equipment in the area, will rotating brigades at a time.
In addition to equipment that has already been pre-located to Europe, there will be a divisions worth of stuff to fight if something happens, Work told the paper. If push came to shove, theyd be able to come together as a cohesive unit that has trained together, with all their organic equipment, and fight. Thats a lot better than what we have right now.
The White House has signed off on the broad plan, which is set to begin in February 2017, the month after President Obama leaves office, as part of the $3.4 billion European Reassurance Initiative budget last month. The plan leaves the specifics to the Defense Department; Congress still has to approve the request.
Increasing military spending to counter Russia has bipartisan support, the WSJ noted, but overall the budget has proven to be a controversial and contentious issue in this election year. The money earmarked for the deployment quadruples the amount the U.S. was previously spending for European defense projects including exercises and troop deployments.
More:
The commander of U.S. Army Europe, Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, said the plan creates a constant U.S. presence along NATOs eastern flank. He added that forces in each of the eastern NATO member countries would come together from time to time for military exercises and to train as a larger force.
There will be American equipment and people in each of these countries, he said. We will have the flexibility to converge the entire brigade for exercises and that is an important part of the deterrence, to show a warfighting capability.
Russian officials said they would be examining the U.S. plan carefully as well as overall decisions by NATO to bolster its presence in the East. One Russian official did say, however, that the U.S. and its allies were using false pretexts to justify a military buildup opposite Russia.
Russia is not moving, Alexander Grushko, the Russian ambassador to NATO, told the WSJ last month. This is NATO that is moving its territory, as a result of enlargement, closer to Russia. And now it is using this territory to project military power in the direction of Russia.
Newer members of NATO in the east, however, see the U.S. move as reassuring, insisting that they are the ones that are most vulnerable.
As for the older U.S. equipment, it will be sent to a U.S. depot in Germany for refurbishing, then redistributed throughout Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium, the paper said.
See also:
The Wall Street Journal
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Kejriwal Government Makes a Rs 2,746 Cr cut in Constitutionally Provided Funds For Dalit: Udit Raj
New Delhi, Fri, 01 Apr 2016 NI Wire
New Delhi, 1st April: North West Delhi MP Dr. Udit Raj addressing a Press Conference today said that the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is anti dalit like his predecessor Congress Government and in its two Budgets Kejriwal Government has denied the mandatory Constitutional plan head funds for the betterment of dalits. Kejriwal Government despite being in office for over a year has not presented any working plan for the dalit samaj. Whatever funds have been provided most of it has not been spent in 2015-16. The dalit samaj which reposed high faith in CM Kejriwal in 2015 elections today feels cheated. The dalit youth denied of proper education and employment facilities in Delhi feels shocked to see CM Kejriwal hopping around the country trying to sell dreams to the dalit and other youth. After Delhi he is trying to mislead the dalits of Punjab but the dalit samaj of Delhi will not allow him to succeed in Punjab. Delhi BJP SC Morcha President Shri Ramesh Balmiki & Media Incharge Shri Praveen Shankar were also present at the PC. Announcing a demonstration on the issue Shri Ramesh Balmiki said that BJP workers will ensure full constitutional funds and proper education for the dalit samaj.
Dr. Udit Raj said that the Scheduled Castes have been denied of their shares to the extent of Rs. 2746 crore. The Aam Admi Party cries from roof top that it is a party of common people and would facilitate equal economic opportunities to all. They promised that their government once in a power would work to bridge this gap between constitutional promises and social justice. The total budget estimate is Rs. 46600 crore for financial year 2016-17 and out of which Rs. 20600 crore is plan budget. According to population of scheduled castes in Delhi, the allocation should have been Rs. 3460 crore but actual outlay is Rs. 715.17 crore which is even less than Rs. 92.15 crore from the previous year. Thus it is denial of almost 80% and if it is calculated in percentage then it is 3.52%. The scheduled castes are bereft of housing, sanitation, water, employment, entrepreneur opportunities, the lower side allocation of budget demolishes the whole edifies of Aam Admi Party that it has to do with common people.
Dr. Udit Raj criticized the Delhi Government that it is has been perpetually denying the Scheduled Castes Sub Plan (SCSP) funds. Not only the allocation is dismal but whatever is kept aside even that is not being spent. In financial year 2014-15, 23% fund was unspent. The budget estimate for financial year 2014-15 was Rs. 709.87 crore but only Rs. 545.96 crore was spent which means Rs. 163.91 crore have been lapsed. Thus total denial of SCSP in last 6 years is Rs. 17,298.53 crores.
Highlights of the Budget-
Out of total Plan Outlay of the state the allocation made under the SCSP in the departments vis. Education, Rs. 70.62 Cr., Medical & Public Health Rs. 47.36 Cr., Development Rs. 32.50 Cr., Industries Rs. 0.02 Cr., Urban Development and Public Works Rs. 262.12 Cr., Social Welfare Rs. 302 .55 Cr.
As far as SC Women specific schemes are concerns the total allocation is merely Rs. 40 Cr. out of the total SCSP Budget for 10 schemes and even out of this, two schemes have zero fund allocation. There are no schemes for womens safety and socio-economic empowerment. Fund allocations towards womens health have also been compromised.
There is no hike in scholarship for college and university SCs students.
No allocation for entrepreneurship development of SCs Youth.
Source: BJP
Modi's Big Dig on terrorism
New Delhi, Fri, 01 Apr 2016 NI Wire
On a three day foreign visit Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived Brussels on Wednesday to attend EU-India summit. PM Modi started his visit from paying tribute to the people who lost there lives in Brussels terrorist attack happened just 7 days before his visit to Belgium. ISIS claims responsibility for these attacks in which 30 people died including 1 Indian.
Later on he addressed Indian community and enlisted various steps taken by his government in past 22 months to take the country forward. Mr Modi also said in this crucial time when entire world is facing economic slow down India is a "ray of hope"
He not only expressed his views on future India but also targeted major powers for having double standard on terrorism .Modi accused UN for not defining the term "terrorism" and also not taking enough steps to stop it
The world got shocked when 9/11 happened and this incident was enough to show how powerful these terrorist groups are and what they are capable of. Till then the world power did not understand what India was going through. Referring to the recent terror attacks in Brussels, the Prime Minister said that Brussels shows us how real and immediate is the threat to nuclear security from terrorism. Modi called for focus on three contemporary features of terrorism: First, today's terrorism uses extreme violence as theatre. Second we are no longer looking for man in cave, we are hunting for terrorist in cities. Third, the terror has evolved and using 21st century technology.
PM Modi also said we cannot overcome terrorism until we show unity and stop differentiating between so called "Good terrorism and bad terrorism"
He further said terrorism is a globally networked but we still act nationally. He urged major powers to drop the notion that terrorism is someone's else problem and His terrorist are not My terrorist we all need to stand against terrorism honestly
The Ploughshares Fund, a global security foundation, estimates there are more than 15,000 nuclear weapons around the world; the U.S. and Russia possess 93 percent of them.
The exact number of nuclear weapons in each countrys arsenal is often a closely guarded secret
Israel about 80 but capable of promptly making 100-200 more
Although the Israeli government neither confirms nor denies that it possesses nuclear weapons, it is generally accepted by friend and foe alike that Israel is a nuclear-armed stateNand has been so for nearly half a century. The basis for this conclusion has been strengthened significantly since our previous estimate in 2002, particularly thanks to new documents obtained by scholars under the US Freedom of Information Act and other openly available sources. Bulletin of the American Scientists conclude that many of the public claims about the size of the Israeli nuclear arsenal are exaggerated. We estimate that Israel has a stockpile of approximately 80 nuclear warheads for delivery by two dozen missiles, a couple of squadrons of aircraft, and perhaps a small number of sea-launched cruise missiles.
Although Israel has produced enough plutonium for 100-200 warheads, the number of delivery platforms and estimates made by the U.S. intelligence community suggest that the stockpile might include approximately 80 warheads.
Lower estimate of 120 operational nukes for China
Chinas nuclear weapons total: 260
The number of warheads on each submarine has been lowered from 48 to 40. This has lowered the number of operationally available warheads from 160 to 120. By the mid-2020s, the stockpile will be reduced to not more than 180.
US has 4717 warheads, 2500 retired warheads and 20,000 nuclear cores and 5000 assemblies
The U.S. government declared in April 2015 that its stockpile included 4,717 warheads as of September 2014. Since then, a small number of warheads are thought to have been retired. In addition to the roughly 4,670 warheads in the military stockpile, the U.S. government in April 2015 announced that approximately 2,500 retired warheads at that time were awaiting dismantlement. In addition, close to 20,000 plutonium cores (pits) and some 5,000 Canned Assemblies (secondaries) from dismantled warheads are in storage at the Pantex Plant in Texas and Y-12 plant in Tennessee
Russia
Russia has 4,490 nukes in their military stockpile, an estimated 2,800 retired warheads are estimated to be awaiting dismantlement. Details are scarce, but we estimate that Russia is dismantling approximately 500 retired warheads per year.
Total nuclear weapons: 7,300, according to the Federation of American Scientists.
Number that are operational: 1,790
Number retired/awaiting dismantlement: 4,490
Total nuclear tests, approximately: 715, according to the Arms Control Association.
North Korea
Total nuclear weapons: Unknown. The U.S. said in February it had intelligence indicating the secretive nation could soon have enough plutonium for nuclear weapons and was taking steps toward a long-range missile system, but experts do not believe North Korea currently has the technology to deliver weapons.
Total nuclear tests, approximately: 4
India
Total nuclear weapons: 110 to 120
Number that are operational: 0, according to the Federation of American Scientists. All are in stockpile.
Number retired/awaiting dismantlement: 110 to 120
France
Total nuclear weapons: About 300
Number that are operational: 280
Number retired/awaiting dismantlement: 10
Pakistan
Total nuclear weapons: 110 to 130
Number that are operational: 0
Number retired/awaiting dismantlement: all 110 to 130
United Kingdom
Total nuclear weapons: 215
Number that are operational: 120
Number retired/awaiting dismantlement: 95
Sources: Nuclear Threat Initiative; Federation of American Scientists; Arms Control Association, Ploughshare
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Libyas UN-backed Prime Minister-designate Faiez Serraj received warnings from the Libyan capitals lords to leave or face arrest upon arrival in Tripoli Wednesday
Tripoli-based administrations Prime Minister Khalifa Ghweil issued, in an address few hours after Serrajs bold arrival in the capital, warnings against the UN-backed Libyan Presidency Council that he called illegal while asking its leader Serraj to leave or hand himself in.
Those who entered illegally and secretly must surrender or turn back, Ghweil said.
We wont leave Tripoli as long as we are not sure of the fate of our homeland.
Shortly after his address, forces loyal to his government were deployed in Tripolis streets in a bid to prevent control of the city by rival forces who pledged allegiance to Faiez Serrajs unity government. Heavy gunshots were heard in the capital, according to press reports.
Residents were told to stay indoors and avoid windows. Clashes were reported between the Nawasi brigade that supports the Council, and armed opponents. Abdulrahman Taweel, a brigadier general reportedly in charge of Serrajs Councils security indicated that one Nawasi member was killed and three were wounded in the fighting.
Reports also point out that armed groups affiliated to Serrajs Council stormed Al Nabaa TV station, an Islamist-backed channel which broadcast Ghweils address. The armed group put off the channel and broadcast a caption which read: A number of youths and revolutionaries shut down the channel because it incited killing and sedition in Libya. Anyone who reopens the channel will face prosecution.
Furthermore, Tripoli authorities announced Mitiga airport of Tripoli would remain closed as it was over the past two days, with all flights diverted to Misrata.
Prime Minister-designate Serraj arrived in Tripoli by sea through Abusita naval base, in central Tripoli, under tight security measures. In a hasty press conference he urged other factions to join him to heal divisions that have riddled Col. Muammar Gaddafis country for more than five years now.
There are challenges ahead of us, including uniting Libyans and healing divisions, he said.
We will work for a ceasefire across Libya, for national reconciliation and the return of displaced people, and we will seek to confront the Islamic State, he added.
The Libyan Unity Government Thursday received backing from significant Libyan actors among whom leaders of 10 coastal cities that have joined Serraj-led Government of National Accord (GNA) which has established temporary headquarters in Tripoli after making a majestic entry in the Libyan capital held by Islamists since 2014.
Ten coastal cities among which Sabratha municipality Thursday held a meeting and decided to lend their support to Prime Minister-designate Faiez Serrajs government. The announcement was made by Sabratha municipality on its official facebook page.
This move comes as a blow to Tripoli self-imposed government led by Khalifa Ghweil which controls the cities.
The municipalities welcomed Serraj-led Council and urged other Libyans to league with the GNA. They also asked the internationally recognised government to put an immediate end to all armed conflicts across Libya.
Reports also indicate that Ajdabiya-based Petroleum Facilities Guard leader Ibrahim Jadhran has also sided with the GNA. Ali Al-Hassi, spokesman of Jadhran told Libya Herald Thursday that the armed group welcomed the GNA which had moved to Tripoli and promised to cooperate with it in boosting oil exports.
We will work hardly to cooperate with a legitimate internationally recognized national body to stop the expansion of the terror organizations like IS and its threat to the Libyan resources, he said.
The armed group securing the oil installations at Ras Lanuf, Sidra and Zuetina said it adopted a neutral position and did not want to take sides with Libyas Thinni-led government in Beida and the Khalifa Ghwell administration in Tripoli.
We saw that if we cooperated with one side and ignored the other that would lead to more splits Hassi said before adding thats why we were waiting for one national legitimate body to work with.
Serraj and some members of his cabinet who arrived Wednesday in Tripoli by sea through Bu Sitta naval base established a temporary cabinet headquarters and received scores of Libyan leaders as well as Tripolis militia leaders. Among Serrajs guests was governor of the Libyan Central Bank Saddek Elkaber who resisted his sacking by Thinni-led government.
Reports also say he met with heads of all 13 Tripoli municipalities as well as the main Tripoli Council.
Meanwhile Khalifa Ghweil and other members of the Tripoli unrecognized administration have reportedly fled the Libyan capital. Ghwell is believed to have left Tripoli for Misrata his home town. Reports also point out his office has been taken over by members of the Presidency Councils Temporary Security Committee.
Tensions have died down in Tripoli following Wednesday night clashes between rival factions. Shops and business have re-opened even though people are still wary about flammable situation.
Yasmina Filali Head of la Fondation Orient Occident was announced Thursday winner of Swiss-based Schwab Foundations 2016 Social Entrepreneur Award for her excellent action in providing job training to underprivileged Moroccans, sub-Saharan migrants and refugees.
Yasmina Filali features among 11 other laureates crowned by a high profile jury committee chaired by Bangladeshi Mohammad Yunus of Yunus Center.
According to the Swiss Foundation, set up by the initiator of the World Economic Forum, Davos Klaus Schwab, the works of the 12 winners have benefited the marginalized and poor, provided education, skills and empowerment in areas where traditional market forces have failed and social enterprises provide crucial services.
Their success rests upon combining the financial disciplines of market capitalism with the passion and compassion required to create a more fair and just world, said Hilde Schwab, Co-Founder and Chairwoman of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship in a press release by the organization.
This years awardees are experimenting with business models and new distribution and replication methods, and holding themselves accountable for results. They are changing society for the better in the process, she added.
La Fondation Orient Occident is working to provide job training to underprivileged, migrants and refugees. It enabled these migrants and refugees to integrate into Moroccan society and helped Ninety-five per cent of graduates from IT institutions and 60% of hostelry and tourism graduates find regular employment.
Filali, daughter of former Moroccan Prime Minister, Abdellatif Filali, and of an Italian woman, founded the organization in 1994.
Initially aimed at promoting cultural mixing and dialogue, the foundation would quickly shift its objectives to tackle social disparities and dire living conditions of underprivileged people. This simple idea will grow up to become a socio-educational center for training and access to employment. The foundation will set up branches that are currently taking care of 8,000 people. The Foundation will quickly gain state recognition to be declared in 1996 as a public benefit association.
Yasmina Filalis appreciable work earned her in 2008 the French award of Human rights.
Yasmina who graduated from la Sorbonne University with a Ph.D in the history of art began her career at a large auction house in Paris and wrote papers and articles for several France-based publications and magazines. She is also the author of a reference book on the Moroccan painter Gharbaoui.
Rabat has flatly rejected the regrets expressed earlier this week by the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon about what he called a misunderstanding about his use of the word occupation when referring to Moroccos presence in the Sahara, and denounced the unethical behavior of the Un Secretariat General.
The UN Chiefs inadmissible statements and behavior cannot be justified, erased or reduced to a mere misunderstanding for they jeopardize seriously the fundamental principles of the facilitation mandate assigned to him by the Security Council and run contrary to the requirement of neutrality and impartiality the UN Secretary General should comply with, the Foreign ministry spokesperson said.
For Morocco, Bans acts are premeditated and seek to alter the nature of the dispute and prejudge its outcome, the spokesperson said, adding that this translates a total alignment with the arguments of the other parties to the Sahara conflict.
He reiterated Moroccos willingness to engage in a responsible, comprehensive and constructive dialogue about the crisis triggered by the UNSG, as called for by the Security Council.
On Thursday in New York, Moroccos permanent representative to the UN, Omar Hilale denounced what he called a hostile campaign of the UN Secretariat General against Morocco, and expressed Moroccos dismay at the leaking of a letter addressed by the UN Chief to King Mohammed VI.
The Moroccan diplomat who was talking to the media said 24 hours after Morocco received the letter, it was leaked to some other stakeholders. This is contrary to the UN ethics and contrary to diplomatic practices, Hilale said.
The diplomat also enumerated the blunders of Ban Ki-moon during his tour in the region early March saying that besides his use of the word occupation, he bent before the flag of an entity that is not recognized by the UN, did not respect the rules to go to Bir Lahlou, made the victory sign in Tindouf which is contrary to his supposed neutrality, and talked of a self-determination referendum while the Security Council and the General Assembly have discarded this option since respectively 2004 and 2007.
Touching on Moroccan authorities decision to shut down the MINURSO liaison office in Dakhla, Omar Hilale said the office was not provided for in the MINURSO mandate nor included in the UN budget. It was opened as a goodwill gesture on the part of Morocco, he said, adding that cooperation between Moroccan authorities and the MINURSO military component was good.
Cass Gilberts 1928 building is a city landmark, which means Congregation Beit Simchat Torah could make only minimal changes to the facade, so they placed the sign on the inside. Photo: Konstantin Sergeyev
On Sunday, when the members of Congregation Beit Simchat Torah (CBST) march from their Bethune Street home to their new quarters at 130 West 30th Street, theyll be hauling a lot of history. Theres the rainbow-colored chuppah that Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum used to celebrate the first same-sex Jewish weddings in front of City Hall on July 24, 2011. Theres an upholstered chair, bequeathed by a member who, in the last months before he died of AIDS in 1992, found the old metal folding chairs a torment. There are the candles carried in a shopping bag, just as they were on the Friday evening in 1973, when a dozen people answered a tiny ad in the Village Voice (Gay Synagogue, it announced) and gathered in a church annex.
And there are the memories of the small room at the back of the Westbeth in the West Village complex that the congregation has outgrown. Our old space was like a lesbian bar from the 1970s, Rabbi Kleinbaum jokes: You couldnt find it unless you knew it was there, and when you got inside you couldnt see the world outside and the world couldnt see you. Now, CBST is moving into a pair of windowed storefronts that once sold furs and handbags, a sign that visibility is no longer a liability. The front door is faced with purple glass and the sign is lettered in gold.
One section of storefront glass is tinted purple to mark the synagogue entrance. Photo: Konstantin Sergeyev
The new synagogue occupies the lower levels of a landmark commercial building designed by Cass Gilbert (the architect of the Woolworth Building) in 1928 and converted into condos in 2003. Gilberts terra-cotta medallions, vertical piers, and doorway friezes inscribed with Assyrian lions have the kind of texture and shadow that almost no contemporary facades can manage these days. A pair of Garment District shops might seem like an unpromising place to house an organization with a story as dynamic and tumultuous as CBSTs. Columns segment the interior, making the space awkward and tight: 17,000 square feet, chopped up into three levels. Yet a team from Architecture Research Office (ARO), led by Stephen Cassell, has turned drawbacks into strengths. So the architects carved a niche out of one column for the eternal light, flattened the sanctuary against a back wall to make it feel like an intimate chamber, and turned a staircase down to the basement into a social space.
Undulating concrete panels and a screen of twisted oak staves over the ark give the sanctuarys back wall texture and vibrancy. Photo: Konstantin Sergeyev
Its rare for a work of institutional architecture to cram so much meaning into such a modest space. Years of shopping for real estate, countless false starts, and a construction budget of just $8 million yielded a design so understated that you could easily breeze in, sit through a bar mitzvah, graze at the kiddush table, and beat it back to Penn Station, all without noticing the buildings architectural virtues. In religious buildings of the pre-industrial age, that craftsmanship, sculpture, architecture, leadership, acoustics, music, and engineering merged. It would be an overstatement to say that ARO achieved that kind of organic fusion with CBST. Still, the architects husbanded meager funds to lavish them on meaningful details while leaving the rest affordably generic. The floors are bare terrazzo, donor names arent chiseled in stone but stenciled on painted walls. Almost every room chapel, kitchen, lobby, classroom, and boardroom doubles as something else. But in the spots where it counts, custom luxury asserts itself in the pews, for instance, made in London by Luke Hughes, purveyor of furniture to cathedrals and royal palaces. They are made of oak, for a durability that is symbolic as well as practical; curved to bring congregants as close together as possible; stackable so that the room can be cleared for dancing; upholstered not just for comfort but also in memory of those painful metal chairs.
The hand-carpentered oak pews express the congregations ambitions to be intimate, comfortable, flexible, and enduring. Photo: Konstantin Sergeyev
The heart of the building is the sanctuary, a chamber, really, that holds only 299. (These Jews arent done wandering: Major Friday night services will still need other venues, and High Holy Day services, which draw crowds in the thousands, will still be held at the Javits Center.) The back wall leans slightly outward, enlarging the space without adding illicit square feet, while at the same time creating a ring of skylights above the bimah. Its a gesture full of subtle drama. Sunshine struggles down between the buildings and gradually fades, marking the passage from workday to holiday, while the congregation the part toward the front, anyway can look up through the skylight into a mid-block alleyway and remember that they belong in New York. Once through the glass, the light slips down along wavy concrete panels, like a gently glowing waterfall. The undulations diffuse sound, which serves the acoustics in a religious institution that places a premium on music. They have another function, too: along with the nap of the cushions, a silver-and-gold woven curtain, and a screen of twisted oak staves, the striated wall enriches the texture all around, reinforcing the sense that surfaces have shadow, individuality, and sensual depth.
The custom wallpaper in the bathroom recalls important chapters from the congregations four-decade history. Photo: Konstantin Sergeyev
AROs design bears the evidence of a close collaboration between patient, detail-oriented architects and a client of Talmudic bent. History and symbolism weave through the building in intimate ways. The wallpaper in the elevator and the bathrooms is printed with memorabilia, not all of it joyful: newspaper articles about the Homosexual Temple, photographs of weddings and parades, a picture of Rabbi Kleinbaum getting arrested at a demonstration, a 1981 letter from a member describing his strange, awful illness, still unnamed. Near the baseboard of the single-sex bathroom, an official notice from the Department of Buildings is a masterpiece of poignant bureaucratese: Where the conventional definition of gender is no longer sufficient, the request to provide a single gender-neutral arrangement is hereby approved.
New York Citys Department of Buildings allowed the synagogue to install a single gender neutral bathroomprovided stalls had floor-to-ceiling partitions and separate vents. Photo: Konstantin Sergeyev
AROs small space serves a tiny congregation thats had an outsized role in profound social change. Its membership includes Edie Windsor, who brought the suit that eventually brought down the Defense of Marriage Act, and her lawyer Roberta Kaplan, who argued the case in front of the Supreme Court. Even so, the worlds hostility remains an architectural issue: The storefront window is made of bomb-resistant glass, and the next-door neighbor is a fortresslike NYPD station. How wondrous that nearly 50 years after cops raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay synagogue now takes comfort in the proximity of the police.
*This post originally stated that New Yorks first same-sex Jewish wedding took on June 24, 2011. It was July 24, 2011. We apologize for the error.
Congressman Don Young. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call
Alaska congressman Don Young is concerned by his partys weakness for charismatic demagogues. In an interview with WFQD on Wednesday, Young lamented that the most qualified candidate left in the GOP primary race has no real chance of winning the nomination.
Hes got a great head, Young said of Ohio governor John Kasich. Hes been a great governor, a good soul. A family man. Hes got everything going for him. He just unfortunately doesnt have the charisma to get people ginned up, because theyre not thinking anymore. And that concerns me the most.
Young and WFQD host Dave Stieren went on to lament the failed candidacies of Establishment figures like Jeb Bush and Scott Walker. Then, seconds after mourning voters attraction to extremist scaremongers, Young explained how the Democratic Party wants to control everyones thoughts.
Asked about the stakes of Novembers election, Young said that if Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders is elected, everyone will be under some government mandate to do this, this and this including, when to get up, what to eat, what you are thinking, what school you are going to go to and what you are going to believe.
Why would Republican voters be attracted to strongmen and obstructionists when the country is merely on the cusp of a totalitarian takeover?
Because the Obama administration has stifled the nation, Young explained. And you wonder why frustration has set in? Why people are upset and mad? And we get blamed for it.
cognitive dissonance (n.): The state of having inconsistent thoughts, beliefs, or attitudes, especially as relating to behavioral decisions and attitude change.
Priebus offers routine briefing to the man who is destroying his dreams. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
By all rights, RNC chairman Reince Priebus should regard Donald J. Trump somewhat as the Western Roman cmperor Honorius regarded the Visigoth Alaric when he arrived in Rome to sack the Eternal City in 410. Trump has been an instrument in the frustration of everything the Priebus planned for this cycle. He trashed the RNCs 2013 autopsy report and pushed the party in more or less the opposite direction it wanted to take. He helped snuff the candidacy of Priebuss own governor Scott Walker and is now threatening the once unassailable House fortress of Priebuss close associate Speaker Paul Ryan. Hes been the driving force in the incredible coarsening of discourse within the GOP. And now, hes dumped the loyalty pledge Priebus maneuvered him into taking back in September, making it possible for the other remaining candidates to opt out as well and reintroducing the specter of a completely fractured GOP going into battle against a united Democratic Party.
So when Trump dropped by the RNC for a meeting that Priebus apparently requested, did they discuss any of these weighty matters? Doesnt sound like it, according to Bloombergs Bender and Cirilli, who say the loyalty pledge didnt come up at all:
Donald Trump met with party chairman Reince Priebus in Washington on Thursday, but the two did not discuss the Republican front-runners problems with a pledge to support the partys eventual nominee. According to a person who attended the meeting, there was no mention of the recent controversies that has surrounded Trumps campaign . The meeting lasted about 30 minutes, and Trump attended with campaign counsel Donald F. McGahn of Jones Day and other advisors, the person said. In a statement, the RNC portrayed the meeting between the two men as routine in nature. The Chairman and Mr. Trump had a productive conversation about the state of the race. The Chairman is in constant communication with all of the candidates and their campaigns about the primaries, general election, and the convention. Meeting and phone conversations with candidates and their campaigns are common and will increase as we get closer to November, RNC spokeswoman Lindsay Walters said in a statement. The gathering was scheduled with an agenda to discuss party operations, and to brief Trump on plans for the Republican National Convention in July, said a Republican with knowledge of the meeting. That person, who requested anonymity to speak about the private huddle, said the goal was to bring Trumpwho is seeking his first elected officeup to speed on the partys data operations to target voters, ground troops in states to push voters to the polls, and the financial infrastructure that pays for it all.
Yeah, just another RNC service for first-time candidates, it seems.
Given the number of topics apparently covered in the 30-minute meeting, youd have to assume the discussion of plans for the Republican National Convention did not get into potential credentials or rules fights that might lead Trump to denounce Priebus and all other party officials as a pack of thieves. And the talk about general-election operations must have been equally bizarre insofar as it involved sharing party intel with someone who might be actively campaigning against the GOP nominee if its not his own self.
Perhaps Priebus will show his neutrality by holding a similar briefing for the rival whom Trump now routinely calls Lyin Ted Cruz. They, too, can discuss the RNCs plans for an upbeat convention and a successful, unified general-election campaign. And then they can ride around Washington on unicorns, signing show tunes and trading Reagan anecdotes. Its all just routine.
There just arent enough of these guys to carry Trump to a general-election victory. Photo: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images
It took the chattering classes a while to figure out that Donald Trump had a particular appeal to white non-college-educated Republican primary voters. But once they figured it out, some leaped to a very different proposition: that Trump could ride an army of white working-class voters to the White House despite his many electoral weaknesses, via boffo performances in normally Democratic-leaning midwestern states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Iowa (all carried twice by Barack Obama).
A closer look at the data shows Trump not quite so dominant among non-college-educated white voters (particularly outside the South), and not adding enough value in this one demographic compared to what he loses in others.
The most sophisticated version of the argument that Trump could have a narrow path to victory comes from the estimable Ron Brownstein, who believes that all other things being equal, Trump might reverse some narrow Democratic margins in the Midwest by reversing equally narrow Democratic margins (atypical for the country as a whole) among white working-class voters. I emphasize the qualifier because its not all that likely that all other things will be equal with Trump at the top of the ticket; he will surely lose some 2012 Romney voters, perhaps a lot of them.
But its important to remember that Republicans are already winning non-college-educated white voters by a big margin. Mitt Romney won an estimated 62 percent of this vote in 2012. Any Trump bonus will have to come either from improvements in that number, increased white working-class turnout (against the stiff wind of that groups declining share of the population), or from some significant redistribution of the white working-class vote by region or state.
One broad indicator of the very different picture you get by shifting from white working-class voters within Republican primaries and white working-class voters generally is in the new ABC/Washington Post analysis of Trumps favorability ratios among different demographic groups. He comes in at 47-52 among non-college-educated whites, a truly terrible performance not just in terms of his perceived strengths but as compared to Romneys actual support in the last election.
But theres some more granular evidence as well of the limits of Trumps white working-class vote in a competitive environment in the very midwestern cockpit where it should matter most. At the Democratic Strategist (disclosure: I have a long association with that site), Andrew Levison has examined the relative performance of all candidates from both parties in three recent midwestern open primaries, and shown that Trumps share of the total white working-class vote ranged from 26 percent in Illinois to 30 percent in Ohio (where he actually lost the primary to John Kasich). These numbers should reflect whatever appeal Trump has among marginal voters i.e., those he can uniquely bring to the polls. Moreover, despite significantly higher overall turnout, the Republican field with Trump in it registered less than overwhelming margins among white working-class voters in Illinois (56 percent) and Michigan (58 percent). Republicans did win 67 percent in Ohio, almost certainly as a product of the appeal not of Trump but of home-state governor John Kasich.
Even if you only discount the GOP percentage of white working-class voters in these midwestern states a few points to reflect across-the-board turnout factors that probably had little to do with any one demographic, its not looking like the kind of tsunami that could come close to offsetting Trumps probable drop in Romney-level support in other parts of the electorate most notably in Republican-leaning women and highly educated professionals. The ABC/Washington Post analysis put Trumps favorability ratios at 14-85 among Hispanics, at 18-80 among voters under the age of 35, at 29-68 among white women, and at 23-74 among white college graduates. This is a long, long way from looking like a winning coalition.
Virginia police secure the scene of the shooting. Photo: Jay Paul/Getty Images
A gunman in a Greyhound bus station in Richmond, Virginia, opened fire Thursday afternoon, killing Virginia state trooper Chad P. Dermyer and wounding two bystanders, the Associated Press reports. Dermyer was shot multiple times and later died of his injuries at an area hospital, but neither civilian suffered life-threatening injuries. Two other state troopers on the scene shot and killed the gunman immediately after he killed Dermyer. The gunmans motive is unknown.
Corinne N. Geller, a state police spokesperson, told the Washington Post that Dermyer and the suspect were talking near the stations entryway around 2:45 p.m. The suspect then pulled out a gun and shot the officer.
Sending prayers to Virginia State Police & family of Trooper Chad Dermyer who was shot & killed today. #NeverForget pic.twitter.com/SPwCjkk7mv NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) April 1, 2016
The response was immediate officers with body armor and riot shields reportedly arrived on the scene within minutes. It seemed like every police officer in Richmond was there, Charles Leazott, who works across from the bus station, told the Post. Ive never seen so many police officers in one place.
Police have yet to release the gunmans identity, and a representative from the FBIs Richmond office told the Post officials are still assembling resources and gathering information. Dermyer is survived by his wife and two children.
Pope Francis in one of the Fiats donated to the New York Archdiocese for his visit last year. Photo: Konstantin Sergeyev
Most cars decrease in value the second theyre driven off the lot. But if youre the pope, using a car only makes it more valuable. To raise money, the New York archdiocese auctioned off one of the cars used by Pope Francis during his visit to New York last year, and despite a list price of $24,695, the 2015 Fiat 500 Lounge Hatchback sold yesterday for $300,000 on the website Charitybuzz to philanthropist and businessman Miles Nadal, who has a collection of more than 130 cars and motorcycles.
The car was one of six that Francis used on his visit to the United States last September, and according to the auction page, the Secret Service confirmed that His Holiness did indeed ride in the car. (Nadal will receive a certificate of confirmation from the archdiocese saying as much.) Chrysler donated two Fiats each to the archdioceses in New York, Philadelphia, and Washington. They were used only to chauffeur Francis around, as he rode in a specially designed Jeep Wrangler during public appearances. (The archdiocese of Philadelphia auctioned off one of its cars for $82,000.) According to the Times, the New York archdiocese hasnt decided what to do with its second car. The money raised with this one will go to Catholic schools and other charities.
This car is special to me since I am a collector thrilled to own such a unique piece of history, said Nadal in a statement released on Friday, when the final sale price was announced. As a Jew, I am interested in helping all communities and appreciate any opportunity but particularly this one, to be able to contribute to organizations benefitting children.
The car gets 31 miles per gallon in the city (40 on the highway), and comes with 15-inch aluminum alloy wheels, an Alpine premium sound system and a blessing from Archbishop Dolan, on a date to be arranged with Nadal.
Protestors fighting for a wage increase in November. Photo: Cem Ozdel/Anadolu Agency
Good morning and welcome to Fresh Intelligence, our roundup of the stories, ideas, and memes youll be talking about today. In this edition, New York will raise the minimum wage, Trump pulls off an Olympic-level backpedal, and surge pricing will have its day in court. Heres the rundown for Friday, April 1.
WEATHER
The storms that have been wreaking havoc in the South this week are moving west bringing their thunder, hail, and even tornadoes into the Carolinas. In New York, after todays high temperatures and thunderstorms, the weekend will get colder but stay wet. [Weather.com]
FRONT PAGE
As Usual New York Follows Californias Lead
Following a similar move in California, New York is planning to raise its minimum wage to $15 an hour. The agreement was included in the states budget that was approved yesterday and guarantees wages will reach $15 in New York City by the end of 2018. By then minimum-wage earners will be nearly halfway toward being able to afford to live there. Other areas outside the city including affluent Westchester County will have almost six years to raise wages. [NYT]
EARLY AND OFTEN
Trump in His Element: A Hostile Meeting
Donald Trump met with Republican National Convention Chairman Reince Priebus yesterday for about thirty minutes thirty minutes in which they carefully did not talk about anything of any significance and certainly not about the piecemeal destruction of Priebus lifes work by Mr. Trump.
China, U.S. Sign Pledge Too Late to Do Any Good, Expect Praise
At a side meeting during yesterdays nuclear summit in Washington President Obama and Chinese President Xi Jingping both agreed that they would sign the Paris Accord on climate change in April. Global warming is now solved. [BBC]
Ben Carson: Americas Least-Aware Whistle Blower
The American Democracy Legal Fund, a political accountability group backed by Hillary Clinton supporters, has filed an official complaint with the Justice Department alleging that Ben Carson illegally agreed to support the Donald Trump campaign in exchange for a political appointment, because Ben Carson said thats what happened on all kinds of TV talk shows. [Politico]
Complete Misspeak: The Donald Trump Story
Donald Trumps bicycle finally brokefrom backpedaling! The Trump campaign executed a total about-face yesterday. His spokesperson, Katrina Pierson, said on CNN that Trumps comments were a complete misspeak. Its not an apology, or even a noun, but its something. [The Guardian]
THE STREET, THE VALLEY
Uber: Modern Convenience or Criminal Conspiracy?
A Manhattan judge yesterday ruled that a class-action lawsuit against Uber would go forward. The suit claims Uber illegally coordinates its surge pricing in a conspiracy to gouge passengers, a practice Uber describes as its business model. [Bloomberg]
Jobless Rate at Two-Month High
U.S. jobless claims reached a two-month high this week. Jobless claims have been at a level economists believe signifies an unhealthy labor market for a full 56 weeks, which is the longest run in more than four decades. [WSJ]
Federal Government Acknowledges the Poor
In a closely contested vote that split along party lines, federal regulators will expand the Lifeline Program, a system that provides subsidized phone service to the poor and got its start under Reagan, to include internet access. [CNet]
Theranos Goes from Success to Success
Controversies are piling up for amateur phlebotomists Theranos. A recently released report found the lab used under-trained staff to store blood in substandard facilities, where they tested it often with dubious results. Other than that everyone did a great job. [The Verge]
MEDIA BUBBLE
Jay Z Accuses Media Company of Pulling a Jay Z
Jay Z is trying to to get some of his money back, claiming the media company from which he bought his music-streaming business, Tidal, falsely inflated the number of subscribers it had. Now they know: lying about how good Tidal is is a job best left to Jay Z. [Bloomberg]
The New York Times Taps Proven Cash Cow: Podcasts
The New York Times is getting into the podcast game, putting together a new team tasked with creating a whole raft of new news and opinion podcasts. Now all it has to do is sit back and cash the checks. [NiemanLab]
Cosby Exhibit Moved to Hall of Famous Alleged Rapists
After a loud and protracted uproar, the brand new National Museum of African American History and Culture has agreed to include information on Bill Cosbys many, many rape allegations alongside his accomplishments in its Taking the Stage exhibition.
PHOTO OP
Chaos as Customers Clamor For New iPhone
The new iPhone SE was released yesterday, and Twitter filled with pictures of Apple stores conspicuous for their total lack of customers.
Update from the Palo Alto Apple Store - h/t to @sfmeghawk who snapped this pic of the non-line pic.twitter.com/Dyf4cui5S0 Deborah Findling (@dfindles) March 31, 2016
MORNING MEME
We just dont know what to say. This thing costs $699. This whole concept is downright pre-apocalyptic. [The Verge]
OTHER LOCAL NEWS
Man Beaten by People Who Probably Would Have Agreed With Him
A man holding a Death to America sign near a busy road in Middleburg, Florida, was beaten by multiple people who probably didnt know the sign was intended somehow to protest President Obama signing executive orders allowing Syrian refugees who may or may not be Jihadi terrorists. Makes sense. [CBS]
Comic Book Caper Easy to Solve
A most likely inexperienced burglar in Festus, Missouri, made off with KISS Action figures, Pokemon cards, and a laptop from a local comic book store. The criminal left behind his calling card, which might prove to be his downfall. His calling card is his cell phone. [UPI]
HAPPENING TODAY
Kanye Hypocrisy Bears Fruit
Despite tweeting that this day would never come, Kanye Wests new album is expected to drop on Apple Music and Spotify today. If you prefer your music with fewer lies, Beyonces new album might also come out today. [engadget]
Happy April 2nd!
Today, of course, is April Fools Day, which means Google will most likely do something clever, and you can get free donuts! We wouldnt trust us either, but its true. [Money Talks]
Good Job, America: Senator Gives Up Seat from Jail
Detroit Democratic senator Virgil Smith, whos serving a 10-month jail sentence for shooting up his ex-wifes car, has decided to resign. He didnt give a reason. [Detroit Free Press]
Give me liberty, or give me Trump. Photo: Getty Images
Rand Paul is a libertarian who believes we must never sacrifice the integrity of the Constitution to any competing interest, no matter how compelling, because that sacred document protects the rights of all individuals unless, of course, sacrificing the Constitution would help prop up his home states planet-destroying industry.
On Friday, Paul told the Cincinnati Enquirer that if Donald Trump wins the GOP nomination, he would vote for the would-be authoritarian strongman in November. I think we never get the candidate we exactly want unless youre the candidate, Paul told the paper. Think about it from this perspective: Im from Kentucky, and Hillary Clinton recently said she would put coal miners out of business, and she would put coal companies out of business.
If America needs to accept 13,000 gun deaths each year in order to protect the Constitution, thats a price we must pay. And if Rand Paul needs to support Donald Trump a candidate who has pledged to shut down any part of the internet that contains dangerous speech, limit criticism of public figures via patently unconstitutional libel reforms, deport those suspected of being undocumented immigrants without due process, employ the wonderful tool of eminent domain for private development projects, and ban people from entering the country on the basis of their religion in order to uphold the coal industrys right to externalize the costs of burning carbon, thats a price that Paul must pay. Its the libertarian thing to do.
Back in January, Paul called Trump a disaster for the Republican Party who would set the conservative cause back a generation. Earlier this week, Ted Cruz and John Kasich refused to pledge their support to the Donald, should he win the partys nod.
The Bronx is Berning. Photo: D Dipasupil/2016 D Dipasupil
Bernie Sanders is on the cusp of winning New York by a landslide if the Empire State revokes the voting rights of everyone over 30 between now and April 19.
On Thursday night, the democratic socialist drew 18,500 raucous supporters to St. Marys Park in the South Bronx. Although the senators campaign has often been portrayed as the whitest thing since sliced Wonder Bread, the crowd in Mott Haven was a rainbow coalition: Among the Caucasian Sandersistas were significant numbers of African-Americans, Latinos, Asian-Americans, and even a smattering of Hasidic Jews. BernieBros and BernieBroads were out in roughly equal numbers. The only demographic that went underrepresented was people who were alive when Ronald Reagan was in office.
Celebrated filmmaker and iconic Brooklynite Spike Lee acknowledged this absence in his opening remarks.
We have to talk to our parents, because the older generation they on this Clinton thing, Lee said.
Supporters listen to Sanders speak in the Bronx. Photo: Andrew Renneisen/2016 Getty Images
When Hillary Clinton kicked off her New York campaign at the Apollo on Wednesday, she attacked Sanders on several fronts, but never said his name. There was no such subtlety in the South Bronx. Rosario Dawson, prominent actress and Bernie surrogate, opened her speech at St. Marys by decrying the Clinton campaigns dishonest attacks on Sanderss pro-choice bona fides.
Shame on you, Hillary, Dawson said, to wild applause. Oh, sorry, hold on. Let me watch my tone.
Earlier in the week, Clinton strategist Joel Benenson said that if Sanders wanted the former secretary of State to honor his request for a debate in Brooklyn, he should try softening his tone. After Clinton swept the five March 15 primaries leaving Sanders with a (seemingly) insurmountable deficit in the delegate in the race she tried to transition to Trump and November. While careful not to give the impression that they were chasing Sanders from the race, Clinton surrogates made noise about the party needing to unify against the pseudo-fascist Republican front-runner. But soft rhetoric and appeals to unity are no way to mount the greatest comeback in primary history, and Sanders is too ambitious and well-funded to concede anything yet. Over the past two weeks, the senator has posted landslide victories in a series of Western states, putting himself back into mathematical contention.
As some of you know, Secretary Clinton has given a lot of speeches on Wall Street behind closed doors and she has received 250,000 bucks a speech, Sanders reminded his supporters Thursday night. Now, I kinda think that if you are gonna get paid $250,000 for a speech, it must be a brilliant speech, it must be an earth-shattering speech written in Shakespearean prose.
Sanders then suggested that Clinton share this sterling oratory with the American people. (This is the tone Benenson was complaining about.)
A large crowd gathered to see Sanders. Photo: Andrew Renneisen/2016 Getty Images
In Sanderss view, the greatest impediment to social democracy in the United States is the corrupting influence of corporate campaign donations. His refusal to accept such contributions is one of the central pillars of his platform. It makes perfect sense, then, that one of his main lines of attack against Clinton is her openness to plutocratic funding.
But it also makes sense that the Clinton campaign gets apoplectic about such critiques. Donald Trump wont be able to attack Clinton for not supporting single-payer health care. But the idea that shes afraid to tell the American people what she tells Wall Street behind closed doors? Thats a ball any Republican can pick up and run with.
And the subtext of references to secret speeches and fossil-fuel funders hasnt been lost on Sanderss supporters. For some, Clinton isnt merely insufficiently left-wing, but fundamentally dishonest. Joseph Marz, a 21-year-old student at the New York Institute of Technology, said that he could never vote for Clinton because she cares more about her powerful friends than about struggling black communities. That view wasnt limited to members of the crowds millennial majority.
I absolutely will not vote for Hillary. If I wanted a dishonest candidate, if I wanted someone who would lie and cheat, Id be a Republican, said Jam Shakwi, a 47-year-old African-American man, who had considered himself a reluctant Clinton supporter in 2008. The election of the first black president has expanded Shakwis view of the politically possible and heightened his distrust of Clintons appeals to electability and realism.
Sanders pushed back against the Bernie or Bust mentality last weekend, reminding supporters that it is absolutely imperative to keep a Republican out of the Oval Office. Even Dawson, who delivered the nights sharpest barbs against Clinton, chided the crowd when they booed the front-runners name. Later, after assuring the Sandersistas that they dont have to vote for Hillary, she immediately stipulated, This isnt the general election. This is the primary.
Theres little evidence that the vast majority of Sanderss supporters wont back Clinton in a general election. Exit polls from the early primaries showed most Democratic voters were pleased with either of their options. But the fact that Sanderss support and funding are as strong as theyve ever been, even as his chances of winning the primary have grown exceptionally slim, suggest a sizeable portion of liberals are averse to rallying behind the partys front-runner.
That may reflect attachment to Sanderss vision more than antipathy for Clintons. The democratic socialist unveiled a compelling variation on his usual message Thursday night, connecting his concern for working-class families in the South Bronx to his own experience as the child of working-class immigrants in Brooklyn. And contrary to Clintons claims, Sanders isnt a single-issue candidate whose appeal is restricted to white voters. At Thursdays rally, Sanders was introduced by Spanish-language rapper Residente, who spent the bulk of his remarks discussing the issues of Puerto Rican debt relief and self-determination. Recent polling has also shown Sanders performing well among young voters of all races, and boasting strong support among Asian-Americans of all ages.
None of this is likely to generate the unprecedented surge Sanders needs to threaten Clintons nomination. While polls have tightened in New York, the states former senator retains a double-digit advantage. But in New York, and across the country, Sanders has a firm grasp on the significant minority of (disproportionately young) progressive voters who want to chase the money-lenders from the Democratic temple. If Clinton wants those voters to come home in November, she may have to soften her tone.
If Bernie Sanderss supporters are denied the ultimate prize, they are going to want a lot of compensatory moral victories. Photo: Geoff Robins/AFP/Getty Images
During the many months she has been the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination, Hillary Clinton has had plenty of time to think about how she will deal with a disappointed Bernie Sanders campaign between the time she clinches the top spot on the ticket and when it is formally conferred at the convention in Philadelphia in late July. One obvious precedent Sanders could follow is the one created the last time a candidate narrowly lost the nomination in a long and sometimes bitter competition. That would be Hillary Clintons in 2008.
In the wake of Obamas successful 2008 general-election campaign and Hillary Clintons subsequent service in his administration (and more generally her status as the representative of his policy legacy), its easy to forget the bad feelings between the two camps that developed during the primaries. Heres how Politicos John Harris and Mike Allen described the atmosphere on the eve of the Democratic convention that year:
As Democrats arrived here Sunday for a convention intended to promote party unity, mistrust and resentments continued to boil among top associates of presumptive nominee Barack Obama and his defeated rival, Hillary Rodham Clinton.
The much-feared rupture in Denver did not occur because Clinton, her husband, and her campaign chose to surrender unconditionally. That made considerable sense from her point of view. For all the passions her candidacy aroused, especially among women, it was not an ideological crusade in which she and Obama represented fundamentally different paths ahead for the Democratic Party. The biggest threat to her future political interests lay in being held partly responsible for a party defeat (no one at that point was anticipating the blowout that eventually developed). Being gracious and demanding no significant concessions not only came as a great relief to the nominee and his staff; it set the stage for her next steps as a party leader.
But if anyone in the current Team Clinton expects Bernie Sanders to emulate her 2008 surrender, theyd better get over it quickly. Its not happening.
We know this in part from the horses mouth in remarks just last week:
If I cant make it and were going to try as hard as we can until the last vote is cast we want to completely revitalize the Democratic Party and make it a party of the people rather than one of large campaign contributors, Sanders said in an interview on the progressive Web show The Young Turks Sanders also listed policy demands he would make of Clinton, including a single-payer health care system, a $15 an hour minimum wage, tougher regulation of the finance industry, closing corporate tax loopholes and a vigorous effort to address climate change.
Its important to understand that the Sanders campaign began as an effort by ideological progressives to keep Hillary honest, and then with success became an insurgency against the policies and political strategies of both the Clinton and Obama administrations. Unlike Clinton (and, for that matter, Obama) in 2008, Sanders is not the embodiment of some disenfranchised identity; hes not the candidate of septuagenarian Jewish men. And he presumably has no personal political future to protect. Its all about shaping the future of the party, and if he cannot do that as the nominee himself, he can make his mark via his own convention speech and Clintons, supplemented by concessions on the platform and perhaps the future Clinton administration.
So the template for Sanders isnt Clinton 08, but something more like Kennedy 80 or Jackson 88 candidates who lost in the primaries but had the leverage to make all sorts of demands on the winner at the convention, and chose to exercise that power. The Kennedy analogy could be especially relevant: Jimmy Carter, desperate to get out of the convention undamaged, caved to virtually every platform demand made by Kennedys people, and gave him a big speech that was devoted not to party unity but to the liberal dream that shall never die.
If Clinton wants to tamp down the ideological fires Sanders has helped set and spread, she may need to be similarly flexible, or so says veteran progressive writer Martin Longman:
If I were John Podesta, Id be making up a very big gift bag for Bernie. This would include consultations on the veep, and concessions on many key appointments. Sanders will want a say in the staffing at Treasury, for example. He may have other demands, too. Hell need to get some very visible wins that he can show his voters so they can feel like what theyve done has made a difference and can continue to make a difference.
What Clinton cannot afford is what ultimately happened to Jimmy Carter in New York in 1980: the triumphant nominee ending his convention chasing Kennedy around the platform in a vain effort to obtain the traditional unity hand-clasp.
So once shes locked down the nomination, the negotiations with Team Sanders should begin. No matter how many delegates she has, there will be no surrender. If Bernies army of supporters cant have the ultimate prize, they are going to want many moral victories.
My concern has always been for the welfare of the children and what is best for them. Photo: Image Source/Corbis
Melissa Cook, a surrogate mother who delivered triplets last month amid a custody battle, has been granted an appeal in her case, reports People. The babies father, a postal worker from Georgia identified as C.M., originally asked Cook to abort the babies because he didnt have enough cash to cover the care of three kids. Cook refused, and when the three boys were born in February, the Los Angeles court granted custody to C.M.
On Wednesday, the California Court of Appeals granted Cooks appeal, which requires the father to stay in California, instead of taking the boys to his home state. She said the following in a statement:
My concern has always been for the welfare of the children and what is best for them. My goal is to take responsibility to raise any child C.M. cant raise and seek a resolution for the placement of the other child or children based on what is in their best interests.
The case will continue until the state makes an official ruling on who will receive custody of the babies.
Photo: Michael Todd
Ten years ago, when her daughter entered princess phase, the journalist Peggy Orenstein launched into a multiyear war against the princess industrial complex, culminating in the best-selling book Cinderella Ate My Daughter. Now that the spunky ice princesses of Frozen are supplanting the distressed damsels of yore, youd think Orenstein would be celebrating. But, alas, her daughter has reached the seventh grade, which means the battle is only intensifying: This week Orenstein published Girls & Sex: Navigating the Complicated New Landscape.
The book functions as both ethnography and feminist polemic. After interviewing more than 70 high-school and college-aged girls about sex, orgasms, sexting, blow jobs, and Brazilian waxing regimens that start at age 14 and consulting with parents, teachers, sociologists, and medical researchers Orenstein reaches some bleak conclusions. Listening to girls litany of disembodied early experiences, she writes, it sometimes struck me that wed performed the psychological equivalent of a clitoridectomy on our daughters: as if we believed, somehow, that by hiding the truth from them (that sex, including oral sex and masturbation, can and should feel fabulous) that they wont find out, and so will stay pure.
But, she says, there is hope: What if the opposite were true: what if understanding ones physical responses, truly expressing your sexuality instead of just impersonating sexiness, could actually raise girls expectations of intimate encounters? But how? To find out, we called Orenstein to ask about sex ed, faking orgasms, how to talk to teen girls about masturbating, and how her daughters doing.
To what degree should we see this book as a sequel to or the next logical step from Cinderella Ate My Daughter?
Its a logical step on a number of levels. One is that my daughters older, and Im kind of moving up with her. Cinderella was looking at the influence of marketing, and media, and messages girls receive that tell them how they look is who they are. It moves from the princess thing to the diva thing to the importance of being hot and thats where I start [Girls & Sex]. When little girls impersonate sexiness but dont yet understand that word, the risk is a disconnect between the performance of sexiness and true sexual feelings that are about your body. And the risk is that the disconnect becomes permanent. So, thinking about that, I wanted to see what comes down the line.
So, is it permanent? You catalogue so many appalling stories, about girls who have sex but never enjoy it; give oral sex but never receive; faking orgasms before ever experiencing them
Its so complicated. I never want to demonize these girls, because theyre trying so hard. Were telling them that how they look is more important than how they feel. Were telling them that sexiness is more important than their sexuality. And then, when some of them follow that path, we demonize them. So it puts them in a terrible box! When we talked, girls would sort of go round and round about it. They might say, I never feel more liberated than when I wear skimpy clothes. But then also say, five minutes later, If I gain weight Im afraid to wear them because boys will call me fat. How liberating is that, exactly? I think you have to ask girls: Who gets to be proud of their bodies, and under what circumstances? The girl I think of always is the one who said slutty was the word she used Isnt it possible to dress slutty because you dont need validation and you feel good about yourself, as opposed to dressing slutty because you need validation and dont feel good? And I said, Yeah, it very well could be. How do you know the difference? And she kind of drooped and said, I dont. I spend my whole life trying to figure that out, at the expense of her own well-being.
To some extent, hot is a trick. We know that self-objectification has some pretty bad ramifications for girls, emotionally and in terms of mental health. But also, ironically, in terms of how much they enjoy sex. I read a study called Objects Dont Object, where they discuss how, even when girls are just asked to think about a time they were objectified, they subsequently were less supportive of equal rights for women, as compared to those in the control group. So its a tough one. Its really tough. I was trying to present it in a way that talks about the context, and not judging girls for some kind of moral turpitude.
You also write about intimate justice, and what girls are actually doing when they have sex.
I was so moved when I first heard the phrase intimate justice, which is a term from a psychologist at the University of Michigan. And it makes so much sense. Its political in a way that, like, who does the dishes in your home is political you make your own accommodations on an individual level, but in this larger way, its also a political question. In intimate relationships, it means asking who has the right to engage sexually? Who gets to enjoy the experience? Whos the primary beneficiary of the experience? And how do we define good enough for each partner? When youre applying that to girls, youre looking at girls who learn almost nothing about their own bodies growing up. They learn almost nothing about their own capacities for pleasure, but they learn that sex is something that boys take pleasure in, youre really coming into it in an unequal playing field. And that is a question of intimate justice. And I guess I just started feeling that, those early experiences shouldnt be something that girls have to get over.
Thats interesting, because some of these girls do get over it. Im older than these girls, but a lot of the stories felt familiar to me I was definitely hooking up before I ever masturbated. But then I figured it out, and I dont really feel a sense of loss about the way it happened. Is there evidence that this stuff actually causes permanent damage? The college-age girls you spoke to often had feminist awakenings.
Sure, and I agree: A lot of them find their way. But itd be nicer if it wasnt such a difficult journey. Ill tell you, Im getting emails from a lot of adult women in their 30s and 40s who are saying, I wish that I had this when I was a teenager. Or, I still have these issues now. I had a couple of people on my Twitter feed today who said, I want a do-over. So it depends on your experience. If you have an experience of trauma real trauma can you get over it? Of course. We can all get over something. But should you have to? There is research, and I believe I cite it, that talks about girls early formative experiences and how they affect later sexual experiences. They do bring those experiences forward. People can evolve, people can change, and people can find their voices at different times in life, whether its in public or in private. And I hope that they do. But it shouldnt have to be such a struggle.
You envision a version of sex ed that includes how to masturbate.
[Sighs.] I know.
No, I love it! Im sure some people hate it. But its fascinating you use that memorable phrase, the psychological equivalent of a clitorectomy.
I read somewhere, when I was pregnant with my daughter, that people tend to name all the boy parts in infant boys, but not infant girls. They go right from belly button to knees when its a girl. And then you get to puberty-education class thats what they call it now, thats what my daughters class is called and you see charts showing the internal organs only. They never mention the vulva, let alone the clit. You learn that boys have erections and ejaculation, and girls have periods and unwanted pregnancy. And then, no surprise, fewer than half of girls ages 14 to 17 say theyve ever masturbated. And then they go into their sexual partnerships, and you expect them to be able to advocate for their own pleasure? Its ridiculous, its not going to happen.
Talking overtly about masturbation, talking overtly about female sexual pleasure and entitlement, talking overtly about same-sex partnerships I mean, yeah, Im not stupid, I know where we live and I know how likely we are to get that in this country. But to even think about it as parents, and as advocates for girls, and as aunts, and as sisters, its important.
I dont think its that far-fetched. I mean, even just adding one more item to an anatomical diagram could change things.
I end the book with a class where they did have that, a diagram of the external genitalia. And Im sitting behind two boys, and one leaned over to the other and said, Hey, whats this again? And the first boy said, Thats the clitoris, thats for making good feelings. And I thought, I want that boy to date my daughter.
[Laughs.] Yes.
But dont you? Dont you want that boy to be going out into the world?
Do you think young people hear that message, when it comes from their moms? Have you tried it?
I have. You know, mothers may sometimes feel squeamish about talking to their kids about sex themselves, so it sometimes can be a good idea to have a trusted friend that has a relationship with the child do it. So in my case, I talked to a friends daughter when she was 16 and her mother was pretty sure she was thinking about having intercourse with her boyfriend. So I took her out to lunch, and honestly, I wanted to fall through the floor. Im not different from anyone else; I used to find it very difficult to say these words. But I thought, Ive got to walk my talk here. So I said, Look, I know youre thinking about having intercourse with your boyfriend. And we talked about protection and disease and all that stuff. And then I said, I just want to put this out there: Have you ever masturbated? Have you had an orgasm on your own? Have you had an orgasm with your partner? Can you tell him what you like and dont like during sex? And if you answer no to those questions, why are you having intercourse? What are you hoping to get out of it, exactly, and what does having a sexual relationship with somebody mean?
How did she react?
She just kind of stared at me. She didnt say much at the time; she kind of nodded and looked at me with these big saucer eyes. But later, she did tell me that it made a difference. And even more, shes now in her 20s and we talk about everything. We talk about her work, and school, but we also talk about sex, because we established that relationship. To me, what that meant was that, instead of seeing these discussions about sex as scary or embarrassing, we can see them as an opportunity to be closer with young women, to create a more trusting relationships with them, and to be on their side.
My nieces, nephews, they all know that they can call or text me at any time. They can be as graphic as they want to be, and Im totally there for them. Im so grateful to be able to be that person to them. Its a gift to me.
How does your daughter feel about you being the designated sex educator of the family?
You know, I asked her and she said thats fine. Her sex-ed curriculum came home a couple of weeks ago, and at first I wasnt sure how I felt about it. I ended up thinking it was fabulous, but at first, I said to her, Hmm. Im not so sure Im going to like this. And she said, Mom, you can talk about that to the principal if you want to. But please dont volunteer to teach the class.
Theres so much bleakness in your assessment of the sexual world of young women. Is there anything to be optimistic about?
Im optimistic about change. I mean, thats why I write books, or what would the point be? I think about things like Michael Pollans books and the food movement. Before Michael Pollan, who knew what a free-range chicken was? Who knew what factory farming was? And it doesnt mean that everything is now all right it doesnt mean every cow leads a happy little life and gets its nails painted and its back massaged but more people in more places are more conscious.
Photo: Homonstock/Getty Images
Texas is 1 of 12 states that bans abortions after 20 weeks, and one Austin couple recently experienced the harsh realities of what that means.
The Daily Beast reports that expecting parents Taylor and Daniel Mahaffey learned at 20 weeks that a complication meant their son would have no chance of survival but they couldnt induce labor because of how far along Taylor was in her pregnancy, and because their son still had a heartbeat. They were forced to wait until the baby died in utero, at which point Taylor had to deliver him.
As Daniel shared in a post on Reddit titled My nightmare with Texas Womens Health Laws, their childs feet started pushing through Taylors dilating cervix last Wednesday night. Doctors at St. Davids Medical Center in Austin tried stitching her cervix shut to prevent the preterm birth but it didnt work; the amniotic sac was already outside the uterus.
Daniel wrote that he and Taylor thought the only humane thing to do at that point would be to pop the sack, and let little Fox come into this world too early to survive outside, but their empathetic doctors who were crying with them informed them that artificially breaking her water would be considered an illegal abortion per Texas law, since mom and baby were both technically healthy at that point.
They were sent home to wait for the baby to die or for her labor to progress. After four days in and out of the hospital including a trip when Taylor started bleeding but doctors couldnt intervene her water broke and she delivered her stillborn son.
A post-20-week abortion ban is part of the extremely overreaching law HB2, parts of which are the subject of a current Supreme Court case. Daniel called the laws hopelessly inadequate for dealing with the complexities of human reproduction. And we have to agree.
A woman in Recife, Brazil, feeds her son who has microcephaly. Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images
Yesterday, the World Health Organization announced that there is a strong scientific consensus that the Zika virus is a cause of both the birth defect microcephaly and the neurological disorder Guillain-Barre syndrome.
In February, the agency had said the link between Zika infection in pregnancy and microcephaly was strongly suspected; last week they said it was highly likely to be a cause. Researchers thus far have found evidence of the Zika virus in the brains of stillborn and aborted fetuses with microcephaly, but they havent been able to pin down just how often a pregnant woman with Zika will pass the virus to her offspring, or whether its more common if infection happens earlier in a pregnancy, rather than later.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention agree with the WHO that theres enough evidence to connect the two. Still, the new declaration doesnt mean that all people who contract the mosquito-borne virus (or their growing fetuses) will develop a health problem.
As Anne Schuchat, MD, deputy director of the CDC, told NPR: At this point the most pressing question people want answered is, If I get a Zika infection during pregnancy what are the chances my baby is going to be affected? We really feel a sense of urgency to both answer that question and to help stop the spread of the virus.
While the mosquitoes that carry the virus could come to the United States, infectious-disease experts dont believe that wed have a large-scale outbreak like in Central and South America, thanks to better housing construction, and air-conditioning and window screens that keep the bugs out of our homes. Mosquitoes aside, the virus can be sexually transmitted from men to women, and the CDC wants to be prepared for the worst-case scenario. Today theyre holding a conference to discuss preparedness and coordinated response.
But we wouldnt blame you if chose to bathe in bug spray this summer.
Hedi Slimane Photo: Sam Bolton/PatrickMcMullan.com
Its hard to believe that its only been four years since Hedi Slimane took on the mantle of creative director at Saint Laurent a position he shed today. He had spent the previous couple of years living in his adopted hometown of Los Angeles, photographing the kinds of grungy, heroin-chic kids who inspire his aesthetic. He was famous for never learning to drive, and rumors swirled that he was ferried around L.A. in a Bentley with tinted windows.
Right away it was clear he would not be one of those designers who gratefully take on the top job at a luxury house without asking a lot of questions. The headquarters would relocate to Los Angeles about as far from stuffy Paris as it gets, culturally. Slimane would, scandalously, demand that the brand be renamed and the logo redesigned, spurring a flurry of protest from YSL fans and T-shirts that read Aint Laurent Without Yves. And he would have an unusual amount of leeway to do the things he wanted, whether that meant putting everyone from Joni Mitchell to a 23-year-old rando he met at a music festival in ads that only he was allowed to photograph, or hiring his favorite under-the-radar bands to play his shows, or showing micromini hemlines that had the jaded front row clutching their pearls.
These werent necessarily the demands of a diva; they were cannily crafted. Slimane knew that to make an impact, he had to shake up the house of YSL and create controversy, maybe even rile people up and who gets that angry about what happens in the staid world of luxury fashion anymore? He cultivated a reclusive persona, granting few interviews, and instead let the clothes be the thing people talked about. His approach didnt just work commercially, with the more staid takes on the runway looks, like Perfectos and Chelsea boots, flying off the shelves. It impacted, for better or for worse, the way luxury fashion works.
Critics hated it. Robin Givhan took issue with the extreme skinniness of the cuts, writing: Slimanes silhouette looks to be so unforgiving that it could be a financial liability to a brand trying to build its clientele. Cathy Horyn has been banned from Slimanes shows ever since a 2004 dust-up, but continued to cover the designer from afar, writing for the New York Times of his debut, I had the impression from the clothes of someone disconnected from fashion of the past several years. If so, that might be an interesting perspective. But there wasnt something new to learn here.
But Slimanes impact may transcend what he did at Saint Laurent. He actually changed what we expect from lead designers at luxury houses. He made the place profitable by introducing a classic collection of standbys that were produced season in and season out. He didnt cower under the negative press, even tweeting a catty open letter to Horyn over her review.
Its hard to imagine, even four years ago, a brand like Balenciaga hiring the little-known Georgian designer Demna Gvasalia, whos made his name not with cocoon dresses but with equally voluminous sweatshirts and T-shirts with Canal Streetstyle logos like Justin 4 Ever, which were immediately embraced by the high-fashion crowd. Now it seems like a clear choice, an obvious move to getting the younger, hipper audiences that luxury brands need to captivate. Just look at how well fellow Angeleno Jeremy Scott hired at Moschino a year and a half after Hedi took up at Saint Laurent has done with creating viral, meme-ready fashion the kids are all dying to wear, or at least Instagram. Some critics said Slimanes fashion looked like high-street tat, but Slimane was early to recognize that high fashion no longer trickles down to the masses. If anything, he reveled in that critique he loved making party clothes for rock royalty, not red-carpet bait.
Speculation is rife about what Slimane might do next will he stay on the fashion carousel and move to another luxury house? Or will he go back to focusing on his photography? If its the former, it will be interesting to see what his vision would look like for Dior, which has always loved a star designer but has also always been a traditional house, or at Chanel, where Karl Lagerfeld has set a precedent for cheeky high-low juxtapositions. Whats certain is that the Reaganomics model of luxury hasnt been relevant for a long time. People arent chasing the rabbit at such a frenetic pace anymore, trying to emulate the runways in Paris. They just want cool clothes, and that, after all, is Hedis specialty.
Indiana governor Mike Pence. Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images/2015 Getty Images
Indiana Governor Mike Pence recently signed a bonkers anti-choice bill into law that will not only hold doctors liable if a woman has an abortion because of a fetuss race, sex, or diagnosis of Down syndrome or any other disability, but also requires fetal remains to be cremated or buried, whether from an abortion or a miscarriage. Providers would likely pass the costs of these funerary services to patients. Plus, women seeking an abortion would need an ultrasound 18 hours before the procedure.
One Indiana woman recently created the Facebook page Periods for Pence where she encourages others to call the governors office to report their periods, since they could technically be having a miscarriage. I would certainly hate for any of my fellow Hoosier women to be at risk of penalty if they do not properly dispose of this or report it, she says.
As the anonymous page creator told Indianapoliss WRTV: The more I read this bill, the more vague language I found and the more loopholes, and it just seemed incredibly intrusive. So I wanted to give a voice for women who really didnt feel like they were given any kind of input into a bill that would affect our life so much.
Me: "Good morning. I just wanted to call and let the good Governor know that I am still not pregnant, since he seems... Posted by Periods for Pence on Tuesday, March 29, 2016
Them: "Good Morning, Governor Pence's office"Me: "Good Morning. I just wanted to inform the Governor that things... Posted by Periods for Pence on Thursday, March 31, 2016
Them: Good Morning, Governor Pence's officeMe: Hi. I just found out that we should be reporting our periods to the... Posted by Shelley Ross on Thursday, March 31, 2016
(After being transferred directly to Katie's voicemail)Me: "Hello, this is Sue Magina again. I just hit a pothole on... Posted by Periods for Pence on Friday, April 1, 2016
Between live-tweeting your period at orange-tinted gaffe machines running for president and these genius phone calls, menstrual trolling is the best new kind of trolling.
Haters already haten "THEY FIRED HER< THEY DONT WANT HER BACK" "MY SOURCES blah blah blah"
If she does show up and is E2 Black Canary, she best have her real Canary Cry and they best not kill off E2 Dinah Laurel Lance or else they arent any better then Arrow. Use this opportunity to bring her back on either of the 3 shows. New drama and angst. Haters already haten "THEY FIRED HER< THEY DONT WANT HER BACK" "MY SOURCES blah blah blah"If she does show up and is E2 Black Canary, she best have her real Canary Cry and they best not kill off E2 Dinah Laurel Lance or else they arent any better then Arrow. Use this opportunity to bring her back on either of the 3 shows. New drama and angst.
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Who'd want this alcohol drug addict skank most hated woman on the planet back?
How dare she not sleep with Stephen Amell to secure her job like the rest of the cast does. If David Ramsey and Paul Blackthorne are happy to bend over for The Boss, then what makes Katie so special that she thinks she's exempt? HMM??
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Lmao
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Oops :)
Did you watch the Supergirl / Flash crossover? It was really cute. Supergirl has really found its footing.
I also died at Cat Grant's line to Barry about the CW diversity. I laughed for a solid 5 minutes.
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I nearly choked on my spit
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I bow down to you!
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As much as I love Katie/Laurel/Black Canary, sis you better stay in that grave. You ain't taking Queen Iris screen time. Bye gurl bye.
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Has it really come to this that people are that insecure of other women showing up on the Flash? Man last season proved they gonna do nothing with Iris even if no woman is there until later seasons.
If they were good writers they'd have Laurel and Iris pair up in key arcs
Edited at 2016-04-01 02:15 pm (UTC)
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Right? Like a few weeks back they had Iris and Caitlin work together and then in Earth 2 they had Iris and Killer Frost work together.
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Has it really come to this that people are that insecure of other women showing up on the Flash?
Yes, like since before the show even premiered?
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I doubt she's staying in the The Flash. If they are establishing an Earth 2 Laurel, I think she'll end up on Arrow after her character is introduced on The Flash.
But lmao if The Flash writers could actually handle writing for more than one woman at a time, we wouldn't even be having this worry.
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But this pic makes sense now
They would make her into a henchwoman tbh.But this pic makes sense now
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Oh, so you think she's working for Zoom too?
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Damnnn @ those arm muscles!!
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lorddddT may all the Gods of Earth-2 preserve me, DAT ARM!!
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with or against barry? i'm interested.
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I dont think her being Earth 2 indicates anything whether or not she's staying or going but I'm still surprised people feel she's leaving even with the rumors.
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I totally expect it to be a one off so while I am happy to see her again, I know it probably won't be for anything significant.
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This is one of the most beautifully worded posts I've ever seen. My wife (she loves Laurel even more than me) is hyperventilating right now.
ngl, my dream for Laurel would be for her to move to Central City and date either Cisco or Nyssa.
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YES she's fine af. YES Cisco deserves good things.
BUT WHY WON'T ANYONE LET HARRY LIVE. Jesse ran off to explore, he has nothing left but his sexually charged lab romance with his Cisco! Don't take away the last thing that poor man has to keep him warm at night other than his giant laser gun!
This is one of the most beautifully worded posts I've ever seen.
Ty though, bb omg as if the Flash viewing post and then my social media post wasn't bad enough with the Hartmon shippers (I LOVE YOU GUYS DON'T HURT ME ) trying to steal Cisco away into Hartley's bed.... now you're suggesting he break up with Harry for E2 Laurel?!?!YES she's fine af. YES Cisco deserves good things.BUT WHY WON'T ANYONE LET HARRY LIVE. Jesse ran off to explore, he has nothing left but his sexually charged lab romance with his Cisco! Don't take away the last thing that poor man has to keep him warm at night other than his giant laser gun!Ty though, bb
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People already hoping she'll be moved to The Flash....like it's going to go any better for her over there with Iris and Caitlin stans?
I think this is basically leaving the door open for her like they did with Colton Haynes. The one we've gotten to know is dead...but there's a Black Canary somewhere else that they can have back, if they want, for an episode or two throughout seasons.
Also some other fan who was following the set that day said she spent most of the day filming with Carlos.
Edited at 2016-04-01 02:18 pm (UTC)
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Does anyone seriously think she'll be moved to the Flash though? Like seriously? As in recurring or reg? I can't imagine anyone would REALLY think that.
They've got Iris, Caitlin, and Jesse. They're not going to add Laurel into that mix even on a semi-recurring basis, E2 or otherwise.
But like you say, this does leave the door open. And if she can canonically move from E2 to E1... who knows. *coughLOTcough*
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oh poor katie
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So they kill Black Canary in Arrow, and then have her as a villain on the Flash for some one-episode stint.
I mean it's Arrow, so I'd be foolish to think death could stop character assassination.
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Lolll well put
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Yeah... I am hoping this turns out a bit more interesting than just having her be a villain on Flash =\ but well, it's not good to have hopes up with this network.
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I feel so bad for Katie. She really was in love with this role and the opportunity it would give her. I hated her on GG, but started loving her on Arrow and this is a bummer that her character arch went this way.
I'd like for her to be on Team Flash, but know that won't happen. :(
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And I need a place to cry about Laurel. Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?
This hurts me on every level. I'm here to support this beautiful post by this #FLAWFREE OP.And I need a place to cry about Laurel. Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?This hurts me on every level.
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HERE FOR YOU RIGHT BACK, PRECIOUS BB!
May The Unproblematically Sexy Harry Wells Light Your Path on this Blessed E2 Friday.
Edited at 2016-04-01 04:27 pm (UTC)
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I need all the love sis. <3
And Katie needs all our prayers.
After this season of Arrow, imma stan The Flash even harder, I mean I already was, but now I'm gonna go even more hardcore. And just because of you, Wells is now officially a fave (I mean I already tried texting a vote for him during the NBA Celebrity game but this time imma stan harder).
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I need a new show to start watching...is this any good?
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Arrow is trash. The Flash is pretty good.
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agreed
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Whatever you do.... do NOT start watching Arrow.
You will be like "oh, seasons 1 and 2 were pretty ok!" Then 3 and 4 will happen, and you will hate your life and regret all of your choices.
However, DO START ON THE FLASH. We've had quite a few new ONTDers in the Flash posts lately who have started watching and binge watched in the last week or two. Join us!
And if you don't watch it already, Supergirl is pretty great. Starts off a bit cheesy maybe, but it really picks up!
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both of them are awful please watch literally anything else
the only good shows on cw are jane the virgin and crazy ex gf
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Hmmmm I don't know if we want her in the Flash team. I mean we already have Danielle filling up the quota for "not very good actress"
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Katie is a very good actress. The writing for Laurel is was shit 99% of the time, I don't fault her for giving up when all she's being given are ~3-5 mins of screentime per episode.
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I agree with that so much. I think Katie is a wonderful actress.
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mte, I love Katie and I think she can definitely act. I even watched the Black Christmas remake for her. But I gave up on Arrow a long time ago and I don't blame her for giving up too.
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Now sis...
3-5 mins is a pretty generous estimate!
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As others have said, Katie IS a good actress, but the writing for her has been so drastically poor.
It's a rare actor who can take absolute shit and turn it into spun gold.
She won't be on Team Flash though, this is likely an E2 guest appearance, which would open the door for a Black Canary return for recurring or guest arcs in the future. Maybe on LOT, who knows. And probably a back up plan to get rid of Katie now her contract allows them to kill her off, whilst keeping the option on the table if needed.
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E2 Canary sounds fun but it's still ridiculous that they'd kill off Laurel. :/
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I would love to see Katie on the Flash but I have w feeling they would just find a way to ruin her more.
On a message board all the people are doing is whining about the fact that she may come back and do an episode of the Flash. They are firmly in the April Fools day camp which is fine but it's the underlying hate I don't get.
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These were posted on set last night so BEFORE April Fools (which I corrected in my post lmao because I was half asleep when I submitted) annddddd fans who were hanging around on location watching them filming have corroborated.
And Kreisberg has hinted at a well known 'exciting' doppleganger showing up before season's end!
So i'd say it's definitely happening.
But I do think it'll be just a guest spot, leaving the option open for her to be a recurring guest on FlarrowLOTverse episodes to come. If they want her/find use for her.
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I'm so ready for it. And I'm okay with it being a guest spot leaving things open. I'm looking forward to seeing how everyone reacts after the episode airs.
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katie needs to move on from this bullshit stat tbh
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Looking at this weeks key figures of the oil and gas industry in which we see that U.S. production continues to decline, but that overall U.S. crude stocks are still on the rise.
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Related: Indias SPR Ambitions Could Help Soak Up The Oil Glut
April 1st 2016
The oil markets closed out the week largely where they started, trading just below $40 per barrel. In fact, prices dropped on Friday after some comments from Saudi Arabias Prince Mohammed bin Salman (more on that below) and expectations that the Fed could revert to a more hawkish position after a strong jobs report in the United States. The Labor Department reported that the U.S. added 215,000 jobs in March.
Best performing oil companies are the thriftiest. In the first quarter, the oil and gas companies that cut their spending deeper ended up seeing their stocks outperform their peers, according to the Wall Street Journal. That is different from the past when investors preferred companies that expanded more aggressively. For example, EQT Corp. (NYSE: EQT), Continental Resources (NYSE: CLR), and Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE: APC) all slashed their 2016 spending by about 50 percent and saw their share prices rise by 20 percent or more since they announced their spending cuts. That is much better than some of their competitors.
Bankrupt shale companies still producing. More than 50 oil and gas companies in North America have declared bankruptcy since early 2015, a figure that is expected to continue to climb. But according to a Reuters analysis, drillers that have already gone into the bankruptcy process have not slowed down their oil and gas production. Magnum Hunter Resources is one example. The company increased production over the course of 2014 and 2015, right up to the point of bankruptcy in December. Since then, its 3,000 or so wells continue to produce. Bankruptcy may even provide the company with more resources by allowing it to shed its debt load. The phenomenon makes sense given that creditors want to be paid as much as they possibly can, meaning that they want drillers to continue to produce even while in bankruptcy. At the macro level, however, zombie producers could result in a protracted rebalancing for the oil markets.
Saudi Arabia says it will freeze only if Iran does too. Saudi Arabias Prince Mohammed bin Salman said in an interview with Bloomberg this week that his country will only freeze oil production if Iran agrees to do the same, throwing the success of the April 17 Doha meeting into doubt. Iran has already said that it would not participate until it was able to return its oil production to pre-sanctions levels, meaning that it plans on adding at least 1 million barrels per day in additional output. If all countries including Iran, Russia, Venezuela, OPEC countries and all main producers decide to freeze production, we will be among them," the powerful 30-year-old prince said. "If there is anyone that decides to raise their production, then we will not reject any opportunity that knocks on our door. Related: Impatient Banks: A Real Red Flag For The Oil Patch
Saudi Arabia looks to post-oil economy. Prince bin Salman also said that Saudi Arabia is planning to build up its Public Investment Fund (PIF), a sovereign wealth fund, in order to plan for the future. The Prince said the government hopes to grow the PIF to $2 trillion in assets, and use it to help the Saudi economy transition to a world beyond oil. The partial IPO of Saudi Aramco will provide some of the funds, and the public offering could happen as soon as 2017. He expects the PIF to be the largest fund on Earth and it will aggressively invest in a wide range of assets around the world. What is left now is to diversify investments. So within 20 years, we will be an economy or state that doesnt depend mainly on oil, he said.
Rosneft weathers downturn. Russias state-owned oil company Rosneft posted a small increase in net profit for 2015, as the depreciation of the rouble helped offset low oil prices. Net income increased by 2 percent to 355 billion roubles (USD$ 6.1 billion). All is not well, however. Rosneft stepped up drilling dramatically in 2015 but production remained flat. Rosenft presides over some of Russias largest oil fields, but they date back to the Soviet-era and are slowly declining. Rosneft will require ever more investment to stop production from falling.
BPs (NYSE: BP) investments in Azerbaijan suffers from fraud and cost overruns. The Wall Street Journal obtained internal documents from the British oil giant, which shows that the companys operations in Azerbaijans massive Shah Deniz natural gas play have not gone smoothly. One BP contractor reportedly approved $16 million in fraudulent spending for services from a shell company, according to the WSJ. Other work from a range of contractors has been delayed and resulted in cost overruns. The WSJ says the experience is not unique when oil companies try to develop huge projects in corrupt countries. Related: Will Electric Vehicles Cause A Future Oil Crash?
Pemex credit rating downgraded. Moodys Investors Service downgraded Mexicos state-owned oil company on March 31, and also cut Mexicos sovereign credit rating outlook to negative. Pemexs rating now sits at Baa3, one level above junk territory. Pemex has seen its oil and gas production decline steadily for more than a decade. Low oil prices forced the company to slash 2016 spending by about 20 percent, but the cuts could result in the loss of another 100,000 barrels per day in output, with production falling to 2.13 mb/d.
Alaska looks at tax changes. Reeling from low oil prices, the State of Alaska has an enormous budget deficit it needs to close. The Governor is looking to raise taxes on the oil and gas industry to help narrow the gap. The industry argues that would just do further damage to producers that are struggling. We are not some cash cow, said Kara Moriarty, president and CEO of the Alaska Oil and Gas Association. We dont have pools of money sitting around in reserves in this low price environment.
Tesla (NYSE: TSLA) rolls out its Model 3. To much fanfare, Teslas CEO Elon Musk unveiled the Model 3 on March 31, the companys first mass market electric car. The car has a range of 215 miles on one charge, and will sell for $35,000. Lines formed at Tesla dealerships around the world, as customers hoped to put a down payment on the car, which may not be delivered until 2017 at the earliest. Tesla has bet its entire company on the success of the Model 3, and the rollout has been years in the making. Meanwhile, Chevrolet is expected to beat Tesla to the punch, releasing its Bolt later this year, its less luxurious version of a mass market affordable ($35,000) electric car.
By Evan Kelly of Oilprice.com
More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
The major oil companies greatly underestimate the impact electric vehicles will have on their market, write independent energy advisors Salman Ghouri and Andreas de Vries. According to Ghouri and De Vries, the trends currently underway in the auto industry are likely to have a substantial impact on oil demand in the medium term, and even a devastating impact in the longer term.
If there is one event in history that has shaped the crude oil industry, it is the popularization of the internal combustion engine (ICE) by the auto industry.
At the beginning of the 20th century, coal and wood were the dominant sources of energy, together providing more than 90 percent of global energy consumption. From 1910 onward, however, the Automotive Revolution triggered by Henry Ford spurred on demand for liquid fuels, causing crude oils contribution to global energy supply to more than double every decade. Consequently, by 1970 crude oil had taken top-spot in the global energy mix.
Continued growth in the transportation sector ever since has provided the worlds oil companies with plenty of organic growth opportunities. And judging by the energy outlooks the major oil companies have published, they appear to expect this status quo to continue. For example, BPs most recent Energy Outlook 2035 assumes that non-oil based transport will grow just 5 percent per annum for the next 20 years, and that essentially all of this growth will be in the gas-powered transport segment. Similarly, The Outlook for Energy: A View to 2040 published by ExxonMobil assumes that by 2040 plug in electric vehicles (EVs) and fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) will have no more than a 4 percent market share. Chevron, meanwhile, has indicated that it plans on the basis of the assumption that the auto industry will remain fundamentally the same for at least another 50 years.
Alternative assumptions
However, as we documented elsewhere, the auto industry itself expects its future to be radically different from its present. To assess how the new vision of the auto industry would impact crude oil demand, we have developed an Alternative Energy Outlook (AEO).
The starting point of our AEO is research by Navigant Research, which predicts that by 2035 the total number of vehicles on the worlds roads will have grown to over 2 billion, from some 1.2 billion today. We assumed this growth to go through three distinct stages: during the period 2016 2020 a continuation of the 4 percent annual growth witnessed from 2010 to 2014, 2.5 percent annual growth during the period 2021 2030 as growth in China and India slows, and finally 1.5 percent annual growth for the outer period 2031 2040.
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Figure 1: Vehicle pool growth assumptions of the AEO
We have looked at the implications of this growth of the transport sector for crude oil demand, under three sets of assumptions:
- First, that the EV share in the global vehicle pool will increase based on a continuation of the current 50 percent annual growth rate in EV sales until the end of this decade, after which EV sales growth will slow down to 30 percent per annum during the period 2021 2030 and further slow down to 15 percent per annum during the period 2031 2040. This is the reference case in our alternative outlook.
- Second, that the EV share in the global vehicle pool will increase based on a slightly lower 42 percent annual growth rate in EV sales until the end of this decade, after which it will slow down further to 25 percent per annum during the period 2021 2030 and 12 percent per annum during the period 2031 2040. This is the low case in our alternative outlook.
- Third, that the EV share in the global vehicle pool will increase based on a 60 percent per annum growth in EV sales until the end of this decade, after which it will slow down to 36 percent per annum during the period 2021 2030 and further slow down to 18 percent per annum during the period 2031 2040. This is the high case in our alternative outlook.
The Alternative Energy Outlook
Using data from the IEA we estimate that in 2015 the global vehicle pool consumed 42 percent of the total crude consumption of 93.0 mmbd (million barrels per day), or roughly 39.5 mmbd. This data point enabled us to estimate what global crude oil demand would look like for 2020, 2030 and 2040, if the mentioned growth in vehicles will be entirely in the ICE segment of the transportation, as the conventional energy outlooks of the oil companies assume, and that average vehicle efficiency remains constant.
Our alternative energy outlook uses the same assumption for growth in the global vehicle pool, but assumes that EVs will displace some ICE vehicles. This enables us to assess the number of barrels lost from global crude oil demand due to EV penetration, through performing the following calculation for each of the mentioned periods (where CEO means conventional energy outlook and AEO means alternative energy outlook):
(Total number of ICE Vehicles CEO Total number of ICE Vehicles AEO) * Average fuel consumption of ICE vehicle 2015 actual
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Figure 2: Vehicle pool compositions of the AEO
In the reference case of our alternative energy outlook, the number of EVs grows from its current 1 million to 8 million by 2020 (1 percent of the total vehicle pool), to 105 million by 2030 (6 percent), and to 424 million by 2040 (19 percent). The displacement of 7 million ICE vehicles by EVs during the period 2016 2020 would result in a crude oil demand that is 0.3 mmbd lower than the forecast that is based on the assumptions of the conventional energy outlooks.
In the reference case a further 97 million ICE vehicles would be replaced by EVs during 2021 2030, and another 319 million during 2031 2040. This would remove 3.4 mmbd from the crude oil demand forecasted by the conventional energy outlooks by 2030, and 13.8 mmbd by 2040.
In the low case of the alternative energy outlook the number of EVs grows from its current 1 million to 6 million by 2020 (<1 percent of the total vehicle pool), 54 million by 2030 (3 percent), and 167 million by 2040 (8 percent). Here, crude oil demand would be lower than forecasted by the conventional energy outlooks by 0.2 mmbd by 2020, 1.7 mmbd by 2030 and 5.4 mmbd by 2040.
In the high case of the alternative energy outlook the number of EVs grows from its current 1 million to 10 million by 2020 (1 percent of the total vehicle pool), 227 million by 2030 (12 percent) and 1,188 million by 2040 (55 percent). The oil companies forecast for crude oil demand would then be reduced by 0.3 mmbd by 2020, 7.5 mmbd by 2030 and 38.9 mmbd by 2040.
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Figure 3: Crude oil demand losses according to the AEO
Conclusions
From an oil industry perspective, the positive news in our Alternative Energy Outlook is that EVs will have no meaningful impact on crude oil demand in the short term, irrespective of the assumptions used.
For the evaluation of the medium term impact of EVs it is important to remember that the recent crash of the oil price was caused by a supply demand imbalance estimated to be around 2 mmbd. The low case of the AEO would already remove a similar quantity from crude oil demand, meaning that EVs should be expected to have a substantial impact on crude oil demand, and hence the crude oil price, in the medium term.
In the longer term the impact of the trends currently underway in the auto industry could well be devastating for the crude oil industry. The sooner the industry realizes this, the bigger the chances it will find new opportunities for growth in the future that the auto industry intends to create.
By Andreas de Vries and Salman Ghouri via Energypost.eu
More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Eminent domain is a tough pill to swallow for Americans who take their property rights very seriously, and the aggressive moves by Sabal Trail to seize property for a natural gas pipeline running through three southern states is turning into a drama of immense proportions.
Sabal Trail, the joint venture planning to build a 500-mile natural gas pipeline through Georgia, Alabama, and Florida, has gone to court in order to secure the right of way through the land where the pipeline should pass.
So far, Sabal Trail has filed 160 eminent domain suits and more are expected, according to a report by the Orlando Sentinel. The company is desperately trying to get the right of way through 346 more properties, though it says it has already secured the agreement of 1,248 landowners in the area along the route.
Related: Is A Gas War Between The U.S. And Canada About To Start?
But its doubtful that any of these will be allowed by the respective courts to reach the stage of contestation and litigation due to the stated regional importance of the pipeline project.
Florida satisfies almost two-thirds of its power needs with natural gas. Coal is a distant second at around 22 percent, making gas the major source of power for the state. The numbers are not as high for Georgia and Alabama, but natural gas is a significant component of the energy source mix there as well.
Sabal Trail, which is owned by Spectra Energy Corp (NYSE: SE) and NextEra Energy (NYSE: NEE), will carry one billion cubic feet of gas daily once it starts operating at full capacity, and will supply it to regional utilities Florida Power and Light, Duke Energy, and Spectra. Construction works are slated to begin in late June, and the pipeline should be operational in May 2017.
Related: Shell Looking To Sell The Famous Brent Field, But Who Will Buy?
The pipeline project, however, is facing serious opposition, which focuses on environmental and health concerns.
Local government officials in Georgia earlier this month said Sabal Trail operators were using the eminent domain suits to threaten stakeholders into granting the right of way for the pipeline and, worse, relinquishing any responsibility for damages to the pipeline that could pose environmental and health risks. The states representatives last week rejected a resolution that would have granted Sabal Trail easement through the problematic properties.
There are those who believe that any opposition will be crushed, because the project is so important it cannot be stopped.
As for those who disagree, the news that Kinder Morgan has suspended the construction of the Palmetto pipeline because of strong local opposition is somewhat reaffirming. Palmetto would have carried crude oil from South Carolina to Florida, but the Georgia legislature passed a moratorium on new oil pipeline construction in the state.
Related: Oil Rally Unwinds Ahead Of Inventory Data
There are a lot of groups fighting the construction of the pipeline, and the Sabal Trail is likely to have a tough time getting the necessary right of way.
While it argues that the project will not only be safe but also economically beneficial for the three states, opponents counter with the danger of sinkholes and gas leaks, and question the economic benefits of the project. They also argue that solar power is a better alternative to gas.
While Kinder Morgan has thrown in the towel, Sabal Trail seems determined to hold fast, despite what is working out to be a situation in three states that suggests American landowners feel the balance between their rights to property, and big business may be shifting in the latters favor too far and too fast.
By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Tom Jake knew hed take some heat over the promotion he was planning at Shooterz, the West Allis bar hes managed since 2009. But he also knew in his heart that it would be a huge success.
He was right on both accounts.
"I figured, here in Stallis, our customers are pretty much always trying to get as wasted as possible anyway, so lets turn it into a contest," said Jake, 32. "You know, something classy, where the winners get a Packer (sic) jersey and tickets to Brewer (sic) games."
Jake hatched the idea while on vacation in Tempe, Ariz., last St. Patricks Day, when he witnessed a mobile DUI checkpoint police had set up on Mill Ave. He saw revelers blowing a .12 percent, .18 percent and even a barely conscience man who hit .27 percent.
"I knew we could do better than that back in Wisconsin," he said. "Those numbers for us are like a light Sunday brunch when the Pack are playing an AFC team in the preseason."
Jake spent an entire year brainstorming "Blow a .30" (pronounced point-three-oh) before pitching the idea to his boss, Shooterz owner Nick Stanko. According to Jake, Stanko looked at his elaborate flowcharts and diagrams for a minute and gave the event the green light, before returning to drink his "morning whiskey" and finish his menthol cigarette.
All was going according to plan for the event, which is slated for April 8 at the bar at 8672 W. Maple St., Jake said.
However, when Jake placed his quarter-page print ad in "Wassup!" Magazine, things took a turn for the worse, if only temporarily.
"People criticized our bar for promoting binge drinking, which is totally unfair. Just because we said wed offer $1 shots of Rumchata a total panty-dropper doesnt mean we were suggesting people get drunk. Only those who are responsible adults should attempt to Blow a .30 and they should also use a designated driver. Or something," Jake said, trailing off.
The West Allis Chamber of Commerce did more research on the event details and came to a different conclusion.
"First off, a .30 percent BAC (blood alcohol content) is dangerously high," said Mary Gurken, spokesperson for the Chamber. "Not only is that more than three times the legal limit, its also approaching stupor or death levels of intoxication. This is an entirely reckless promotion.
"Secondly, this is not the upscale, family-friendly image of West Allis were hoping to portray."
But Jake said that market forces speak for themselves. Tickets for the $3 event with proceeds going toward buying bar owner Stanko a new liver sold out in a day. More than 25 men and two women have signed on as competitors, including 53-year-old Jimmy "Sharknado" Oakland.
"Dude, Ive never been breathalyzed. And that's odd enough given how often I drive drunk around Stallis, but I think I can win this thing," Oakland said. "I weigh about 240, and according to the Google, thats only like 20 drinks in two hours. I can do that on an empty stomach after getting home from the smelting factory at 7 a.m."
Jake contends hes taken all the necessary precautions for the upcoming contest. He said he will have plenty of coffee and Red Bull on hand, as well as four or five Quesalupas, "ya know, to soak up the booze." He will also have two taxis available for the estimated 150 patrons expected to attend the event, but doesnt plan on including any medical professionals, because "it should pretty much be like any other Friday here, really."
"What could possibly go wrong?" asked Jake, no hint of irony in his bleary red eyes. "This will be great for the bar and for the City of West Allis and especially for Sharknado."
The Wisconsin Tavern League was unavailable for comment.
In a bold cross-promotional move, Milwaukee County Parks has announced a deal to rebuild the Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory Domes at no cost to taxpayers.
Rather than spend upwards of $75 million to repair the three structures erected in the 1960s and closed recently after a chunk of concrete fell from the top the County has inked a pact with Denmark-based LEGO Group that will tear down and rebuild the entire complex.
LEGO will foot the entire cost of the project, said County Executive Chris Abele in a press conference Thursday.
"Instead of patchwork repairs that might hold for a while, or might not," Abele said, "weve entered into a partnership that will rebuild the Domes, potentially forever. And with LEGO rebuilding the Domes, we know theyll be colorful and comparatively lightweight but super strong. I mean, you know how hard it is to get LEGOs apart without a brick separator.
"And Milwaukee taxpayers won't have to spend a dime. Everything is awesome!"
LEGO CEO Christian Christianesen agreed.
"We will rebuild your ample Domes with our finest injection-molded bricks, in a variety of colors, to ensure that they will continue to serve as an eye-catching Milwaukee landmark for decades, if not centuries to come," Christiansen said at the press conference held in the Mayfair Mall LEGO Store.
Initially, there were fears that the cost to repair or replace the Domes would skyrocket.
"Whatever happens next at The Domes is going to cost a lot of money the high estimate for refurbishing The Domes is $65-75 million," parks director John Dargle said in a statement on March 4. "Therefore, it is important that we take our time to ensure that we spend taxpayer dollars on a plan that best represents the community's wishes."
This new sponsorship/partnership has changed that. When the project is completed by the summer of 2050, the Domes will be re-christened, "The LEGO Park Horticultural Conservatory."
Construction crews are expected to begin demolition of the current Domes this summer. In the meantime, LEGO is in the process of enlisting hundreds of Milwaukee- and Chicago-area Lego Club VIP card holders to help build the new Domes.
A series of monthly "Domes builds" will be held at Milwaukees LEGO store, as well as at the LEGO Discovery Center Chicago in Evanston, Ill.
Contributors to the construction of the new Domes will get a limited edition mini-figure of Chris Abele when the project is complete.
Some, however, are concerned about the colorful, delightful building materials.
"If they're going to do this, they better make sure none of those pieces winds up left on the floor," said Milwaukee resident and regular Domes visitor Duane Halbech, 41. "As any parent can tell you, accidentally stepping on one of those things hurts like hell."
Alderman Bob Donovan, who is currently running for mayor of Milwaukee, added in a statement that the proposal is ridiculous. He suggested instead that "one of them high-minded architectural fellas" design a large fabric tent that could be stretched across the domes to secure them in place.
"Like a good ol' fashioned over-the-shoulder boulder holder," he said.
No, you didnt click on a broken link. This April Fools article you were looking for expired at 11:59 p.m. on April 1.
Heres why:
While we found our jokes pretty funny on April 1 and hope you did, too 20+ years of experience shows our readers are less amused for the next 364 days. Even jokes told in good fun can be misconstrued when taken out of context.
The OnMilwaukee April Fools tradition stretches back to 2001, according to founder and Publisher Andy Tarnoff. Back in college, Andy says April Fools Day was a beloved special edition that helped writers at his school newspaper, The GW Hatchet, blow off steam with some not-so-gentle and very profane satire, and it was a practice he wanted to continue when he started OnMilwaukee.com in 1998. A screen shot of the first OnMilwaukee April Fools' edition from 2001. X
Over the years, the OnMilwaukee April Fools edition has ruffled more than a few feathers, although its content rarely extends beyond a PG-13 rating.
Andy and other early staffers remember angry phone calls and emails, especially one from the Milwaukee City Attorney who called him a lowlife, and a local TV exec who didnt find it funny when our staff Photoshopped a sign on his weather dog that read, Need more bitches. Or the microbrewery that is still annoyed that we promoted their Milorganite beer. Or the suburban police department that didnt like our implication that its keystone cops couldnt find the Milwaukee Lion, or its friend, Barry the Ocelot. And on and on.
But the staff of OnMilwaukee has pulled the wool over so many eyes, weve lost count. Despite the ridiculous photos and outlandish articles, there was the time when a TV reporter took our story about freedom fries at Bastille Days in 2003 and ran with it as real news (sorry, East Town Association). Or the angry calls to Betty Brinn Childrens Museum after we announced that the museum was opening a bar for stressed-out parents (sorry, Betty Brinn). Or when the local newspaper made its own version of our April Fools joke that they called The Leek, as a play on The Onion. It wasnt very funny, and needless to say, it didnt come back the next year. No, Shailene didn't really slap Matt LaFleur. X
Speaking of The Onion, yes, we get it. Were big fans, and no, were not trying to be them. Except for one day per year although we do spend months coming up with stories for one silly day.
And then they disappear, forever, except for in our collective memory.
So, why do we do it? Mostly, because April Fools Day provides both our readers and our staff a much-needed laugh. We dont aim to hurt anyones feelings last year, for example, we made the decision to avoid any pandemic jokes. Well poke fun at anyone and everyone, including ourselves.
Also, though, its a team-wide effort. The planning meetings start in early spring, and everyone is invited to pitch ideas. Not only do our writers and designers touch every article, but our development team and salespeople participate in all parts of the creative process. While we might start with 100 topics, we all slice and dice and funny them up, and thats why you dont see any bylines on these articles. We tweak parts of our back end, too, like turning off RSS feeds that would remain visible on April 2. Everyone chips in, because our analytics show that a large percentage of the visitors who come to OnMilwaukee on April 1 are seeing us for the first time ever. Wed like them to return when we get back to business the next day.
On that note, historically, April 1 is our most-read day of the year, and some of the stories have gone viral in a time when Facebook and Twitter didnt even exist yet. Traffic is typically three times higher than an average day, sometimes more.Social media just makes it better. No matter how insane we go and believe us, you have to get in a special state of mind to write Kathy Mykleby changes her name, and face, to Michael Kathyby thousands fall for it every single time.
But wait, there's more ...
This year, we have a little Easter Egg for you. Were launching Milwordle, which isnt a joke and you may have noticed it yesterday on the site. Instead, its a Milwaukeeized version of your favorite five-letter word game. Ours is different from what you play each day because it includes proper nouns as well as regular words, all connected to Milwaukee in some way. Its hard and its fun, and weve been playing it ourselves and having a blast. You can find it here.
One more thing ...
And, if you're new here, let us take the time to introduce you to OnMilwaukee. We like to think we have a sense of humor the other 364 days of the year, but we also write a bunch of serious and informative articles and guides, too. In fact, we've published more than 60,000 stories during our many years on the scene. We make it easy to find them, too. You can just use the /on prefix to search our site by content. For example:
You get the point. Give it a try!
Were honored that you found our effort funny. Were flattered even if you didnt. And were all laughing with you, too.
Reprinted from Media Matters
Is the only thing more shocking than Donald Trump's campaign manager being charged with simple battery of a reporter the fact that the crime isn't all that startling, given the bullying campaign's open contempt for reporters?
Enough is enough.
With Trump's top aide, Corey Lewandowski, now facing charges, focus has shifted back to the increasingly abusive relationship between the GOP front-runner and the campaign press, and the unprecedented barrage of attacks journalists have faced, including constant insults hurled at them by the candidate himself. (Reporters are "disgusting" "horrible people," Trump regularly announces.)
Sadly, news organizations have brought some of the degradation on themselves by acquiescing to all kinds of Trump campaign demands, such as the rule that they camp out inside mandatory press pens at events. Basically, the Trump campaign disparages the media, and news organizations do nothing in response -- except shower him with even more coverage. (Talk about a win-win for him.)
"For ratings and clicks, they've allowed themselves to be penned up like farm animals at his rallies and risked scuffles with the Secret Service for covering the events like actual reporters," wrote Eliana Johnson at National Review.
In fact, the press pens have become a hallmark of Trump's war on the press.
"Unlike other presidential campaigns, which generally allow reporters and photographers to move around at events, Trump has a strict policy requiring reporters and cameramen to stay inside a gated area, which the candidate often singles out for ridicule during his speeches," Time reported.
And Time should know.
In February, a Secret Service agent lifted Time photographer Chris Morris up off the ground and choke-slammed him onto a table after Morris momentarily "stepped out of the press pen to photograph a Black Lives Matter protest that interrupted the speech."
It's long past time for journalists to demand their freedom from Trump press pens. It's like deciding to finally stop taking Trump's phone-in interviews. Escaping from the pens represents a simple way for news organizations to assert their obvious right to cover the Trump campaign on their own terms, rather than being penned in at campaign events and living in fear of having access denied if coverage is deemed to be too critical.
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WinningTheWest/SandersWeeklyUpdate#38
"Media Unimpressed as Sanders Barely Gets Seventy Percent of Vote"
Satirist Andy Borowitz, who writes for The New Yorker, nails it with the above quip.
"On Saturday, Clinton's Democratic challenger pulled off landslide victories in three caucus states, with wins in Alaska, Hawaii, and Washington. Sanders still trails behind the former secretary of state, however, by hundreds of delegates." (CBS -- 3/28/16)
Alaska -- Sanders -- 82% Clinton -- 18%
Hawaii -- " 71% " 29%
Wash. " 72% " 28%
"Hundreds?" Well, 200+. There is still a range of differences on how many delegates each candidate has. Even the figure CBS gave us before the weekend put Clinton ahead by 307. It is generally acknowledged that Sanders had a net gain of around forty delegates. That cuts the gap to 267. The New York Times in its March 30th Upshot column, however, put the gap even lower -- 230.
Strategy for Bernie Here On Out
Pete Gertonson, DNC member and Idaho SuperDelegate, emailed the media on Wednesday that he would vote for Bernie Sanders at the convention. His decision to do so has been followed by a conservative member of Congress from Minnesota, Collin Peterson. Both pointed to Sanders huge win in their states as the reason.
Let's go back to Thursday, March 17th, before the presidential campaign moved west. Symond Sanders, Bernie's national spokesperson, hosted a telephone Press Conference that included both Jeff Weaver, Sanders campaign manager, and Tad DeVine, his strategist. They made the following points: 1) As of today, voters have chosen only half of the delegates. 2) This half of the primary favors Bernie. Clinton got the majority of her delegates from the conservative southern states that went to John McCain in the '08 general election. 3) As the primary moves along and the delegates pledged to Clinton see that she is no longer winning, there will be intense pressure on the Supers to rethink who they will vote for at the convention.
Were Gertonson's and Peterson's decisions the result of this pressure? And were the shenanigans in Arizona the result of Clinton's determination to prevent this from happening? Was her victory the result of the chaos in parts of Maricopa County as well as sufficient polls being placed in wealthier areas to accommodate HRC's supporters? (Hillary got 58% of the vote in Arizona, Bernie 40%)
And we see this comment from ABC:
"But a candidate who has already "won" just shouldn't be losing by 40-odd points in three different states on the same day. The latest wins will help fuel (along with the online donors they will intrigue) Sanders through Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, New York, and to California and beyond -- keeping Sanders' message on the air and the pressure on Clinton intense as ever. It may even be enough to lock in the debates neither camp seemed to want any more after the last exchange, in Miami. Clinton would rather be talking about Donald Trump, and, Monday at least, Chuck Grassley and Senate Republicans. But there's a whole lot of Democratic primary voters who seem to really, really want their say first." (ABC News, The Note, 3/28/16)
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An open memo to Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted re: 12th District special congressional election Secretary of State Jon Husted: Ohio has a long and unfortunate history of election irregularities. In recent years millions of Ohio citizens have been purged from the voter rolls. Large numbers of electronic voting machines have yielded dubious results that indicate manipulation and hacking. In light of this, a number of serious issues have arisen surrounding this year's special election in the 12th Congressional District. Thursday, August 9, 2018Secretary of State Jon Husted: Ohio has a long and unfortunate history of election irregularities. In recent years millions of Ohio citizens have been purged from the voter rolls. Large numbers of electronic voting machines have yielded dubious results that indicate manipulation and hacking. In light of this, a number of serious issues have arisen surrounding this year's special election in the 12th Congressional District.
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Jim Crow Supremes Enshrine Voter Lynch Law and May Have Stolen the 2018 Election for Trump's GOP The US Supreme Court (by the usual 5-4) has certified Ohio's Jim Crow stripping of more than a million mostly black and Hispanic citizens from the 2018 voter registration rolls. Unless the Democrats effectively respond, a GOP victory in the 2018 midterm election may be a done deal. Tuesday, June 12, 2018The US Supreme Court (by the usual 5-4) has certified Ohio's Jim Crow stripping of more than a million mostly black and Hispanic citizens from the 2018 voter registration rolls. Unless the Democrats effectively respond, a GOP victory in the 2018 midterm election may be a done deal.
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It Doesn't Take a Russian to Hack an American Election Attorney-General Jeff Sessions has confirmed the Russians hacked into as many as 39 state data bases, and did all they could to affect the electronic vote count that put Donald Trump in the White House. But Americans could have done it much easier. Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach set in motion a Jim Crow/Crosscheck purge of hundreds of thousands of mostly black, Hispanic and Asian-Amrican citizens prior to the election Saturday, June 17, 2017Attorney-General Jeff Sessions has confirmed the Russians hacked into as many as 39 state data bases, and did all they could to affect the electronic vote count that put Donald Trump in the White House. But Americans could have done it much easier. Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach set in motion a Jim Crow/Crosscheck purge of hundreds of thousands of mostly black, Hispanic and Asian-Amrican citizens prior to the election
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Global Hackers & the Russians Have Made Hand-Counted Paper Ballots an Issue of Urgent National Security We have no evidence at this point that the Russians, or global hackers, hacked our electronic voting machines to put Donald Trump in the White House. But we are 100% certain our electronic voting machines have been hacked by many many others, and could be in the future by virtually anybody with entry-level computing capabilities. As the New York Times and others have reported, cyberattacks have now become an integral part Monday, May 15, 2017We have no evidence at this point that the Russians, or global hackers, hacked our electronic voting machines to put Donald Trump in the White House. But we are 100% certain our electronic voting machines have been hacked by many many others, and could be in the future by virtually anybody with entry-level computing capabilities. As the New York Times and others have reported, cyberattacks have now become an integral part
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Congress Switchboard: 202-224-3121
"Rob Kall is tapping in, exploring, assessing, and clarifying this important new way of thinking that has been influenced by the civil rights movement; women's movement; and new, more effective ways of doing business. This will be an important book that can make changes in our world."
Dr. Linda Seger, author of twelve books, including the best-selling Making a Good Script Great, Spiritual Steps on the Road to Success and The Better Way to Win.
Raheel Sharif took RAW issue with Iranian President
ISLAMABAD: Days after Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif took up with visiting Iranian President Hasan Rouhani the issue of alleged use of Iranian soil by Indias RAW to stoke instability in Balochistan and Karachi, Islamabad on Thursday formally sent a reference requesting Tehran to investigate and share details of the activities of Kulbhushan Jadhav & Co in Iran.
It was for the first time that Pakistan has arrested a serving officer of the Indian security forces working for RAW inside its territory. In past, Pakistan did arrest many an operative of the RAW but never ever a serving officer of the rank of a lieutenant colonel had been nabbed. Kulbhushan Yadav is said to be originally from Indian Navy in which he served as a commissioned officer. He is claimed to have entered Pakistan via Iran and is also reportedly having a valid Iranian visa. In Pakistan, he operated under fake identities and is alleged to have been working with separatist and sectarian organisations in Balochistan.
The government has also asked the neighboring country to arrest and hand over Sub Inspector Rakesh alias Rizwan, who is known to be a key RAW operative assisting Kulbhushan Yadav.
Islamabad, in a letter addressed to Iranian Ambassador in Islamabad Mehdi Honardoost, has asked Tehran to:
* Immediately arrest and hand over an individual identified as Rakesh, alias Rizwan, for interrogation
* Verify activities of Kulbhushan Jadhav along with records of visits to Iran
* Provide a record of his stay in Iran including cities visited and the duration of these visits
* Provide a record of people he interacted with and purpose of these interactions
* Share details of RAW networks on Iranian soil
* Share any other details related to the above
Pakistan expects Iran to seriously look at Islamabads assertions and take every step to stem incursion of Indian spies into Pakistani territory, says the letter issued with the signatures of Federal Interior Secretary Arif Ahmed Khan. Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan raised the issue of Indian saboteurs using Iranian soil with visiting Iranian dignitaries, the letter said.
Jadhav was covertly based in Chabahar, Iran, under the pretext of being a jeweller/businessman. He had an Iranian visa along with an Indian passport. He was assisted by RAW Sub Inspector Rakesh, alias Rizwan, a key operative who was also working undercover as a businessman dealing in jewellery, it said, and added, And he crossed over to Balochistans Mashkhel area from Saravan, Iran. Jadhavs mission included spying and sabotage, in addition to fomenting insecurity and instability in the provinces of Sindh and Balochistan, the letter said, and added that Irans cooperation in this regard will not only improve relations between the two countries but also help reduce terrorism and unrest in the region. Pakistan has persistently maintained that the Indian state is sponsoring terrorism, sabotage and subversion in the country. The government has presented dossiers of such evidence to the United Nations on Indian involvement in Balochistan. However, this evidence has been overlooked as the world body has paid no attention to it.
Clouds over small Caribbean islands.
The search for endangered species is leading scientists to an unexpected place for informationthe clouds that shift and swirl around the planet.
In a new study, researchers from Yale and the University at Buffalo (UB) say that satellite data about global cloud cover is a useful tool for identifying the size and location of threatened animal and plant habitats. The findings appear in the March 31 online edition of the journal PLOS Biology.
Previously, scientists had relied upon weather station observations for climate data regarding specific ecosystems. Unfortunately this meant that large areas of land were unmonitored.
"Understanding the spatial patterns of biodiversity is critical if we want to make informed decisions about how to protect species and manage biodiversity and its many functions into the future," said co-author Walter Jetz, a Yale associate professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, and director of the Yale Program in Spatial Biodiversity Science & Conservation. "But for the regions that harbor most biodiversity, there's a real lack of data on the ground."
Jetz and first author Adam Wilson, who conducted the majority of the research at Yale and now is an assistant professor of geography at UB, examined 15 years of data from NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites for the study. They built a database containing two images per day of cloud cover for nearly every square kilometer of the planet, from 2000 to 2014. They also created interactive maps at www.earthenv.org/cloud that allow anyone to pinpoint and compare changes in cloud cover patterns for any location.
"When we visualized the data, it was remarkable how clearly you could see many different biomes on Earth based on the frequency and timing of cloudy days over the past 15 years," Wilson said. "As you cross from one ecosystem into another, those transitions show up very clearly, and the exciting thing is that these data allow you to directly observe those patterns at 1-kilometer resolution."
Cloud cover affects a number of important ecological processes, from behavior to survival, and influences habitat factors such as sunlight, rain, surface temperature, and leaf wetnessdictating where animals and plants live and grow.
Using cloud pattern data, the researchers were able to determine the size and location of habitats for two species at unprecedented detail: a South American bird called the montane woodcreeper and a South African shrub called king protea.
"This work demonstrates the remarkable insights offered for science and conservation when remote sensing technology is teamed up with ecology," Jetz said. "With the right models, not only can we better delineate habitats and their species, we also have a tool to help monitor them over time."
Explore further Want to know where threatened species live? Look to the clouds
The closest white dwarf to Earth just 8.6 light years away as seen by NASAs Hubble Space Telescope and its not the obvious bright object in the centre (the Dog-Star Sirius) but rather orbiting it at bottom left is a tiny point of light. This is Sirius B, a companion white dwarf with nearly as much mass as our Sun but smaller in size than Earth. Credit: NASA, ESA, H. Bond (STScI) and M. Barstow (University of Leicester)
For all their enormous size and furious energies, stars are remarkably simple. Knowing just their mass and the smattering of elements heavier than hydrogen we can predict their lives from cradles to grave. But every now and then, nature throws us something truly bizarre as as reminder that we ain't seen everything yet.
As reported in Science, just such an oddity has been found in a search of over 30,000 white dwarfs, the end state of stars similar to our sun. This white dwarf appears to be made almost entirely of oxygen. And how it formed is truly a puzzle.
Life cycle
A star is a fusion bomb, burning light elements like hydrogen and helium through nuclear fusion to form heavier elements like carbon and oxygen. The bigger the star, the brighter it burns and the faster it uses up this fuel.
Stars no more than ten times the mass of our Sun will tend to throw out their nuclear "ash" of heavy elements into space, forming planetary nebulaes, which will eventually condense to form new stars, rocky planets and ultimately maybe even give rise to life like us that breathes the oxygen and eats this carbon. As Carl Sagan noted, we're made of star-stuff.
What's left behind in a dying star is a glowing cinder with the mass of our sun crushed to the size of the Earth. This incredible density means that a teaspoon worth of this object would be about the mass of a truck. We call this a white dwarf and it is the fate of our own sun in 5 billion years time.
3D visualisation of the Ring Nebula, with material flung out from the dying star in the centre. This gas may eventually form new stars, planets and ultimately even life. Credit: ESA/Hubble and NASA, M. Kornmesser
End of the road, not the story
This newly discovered white dwarf has half of our sun's mass in a size no bigger than Earth, meaning the surface gravity is 100,000 times that of Earth. For you to walk on this would be like trying to walk with 40 blue whales on your back. That's assuming you haven't burnt to a crisp on it's glowing white hot surface, with temperatures over 20,000K (red hot would be just 1,000K).
Like the ash of campfire, you can tell what's been burnt by examining what's left over. In your camp you might wood ash or melted plastic perhaps but with the tremendous nuclear fires in stars we are left with individual elements. The bigger the initial star, the hotter it burns, and the heavier the elements left over.
In the case of this white dwarf we only see oxygen, meaning all the carbon has been fused into this heavier element. The puzzle is, our models tell us that it can't have produced the conditions to fuse carbon, meaning there's something we're missing in our models of how stars can die.
One idea is that towards the end of the progenitor star's life it began to "pulse" as it's outer layers were raised up by the intense pressure of the radiation only for this material to crash back to the surface and temporarily create intense conditions to fuse all the carbon into oxygen.
Then any remaining lighter elements like hydrogen and helium might also have been gravitationally stolen by a nearby companion (that has yet to be found) finally leaving a white dwarf containing only oxygen.
In having oxygen 25 times more common than any other element, this object is unique amongst the tens of thousands white dwarfs that have been surveyed. Yet the fact it exists at all has implications for the way that amazingly destructive events in our universe, called supernovae.
In some supernovae, white dwarfs detonate like ticking time bombs, all with the same brightness. This means we can use them as "standard candles" to measure distances based on how faint they appear. Measuring the expansion of the universe with these standard candles earned ANU Vice Chancellor Professor Brian Schmidt a share of the Nobel Prize in Physics 2011.
While a white dwarf is the end of the road for a star, this latest discovery shows there's still much to be learnt about these extreme objects.
Explore further What are the different kinds of supernovae?
This story is published courtesy of The Conversation (under Creative Commons-Attribution/No derivatives).
Mary Bellard, left, and Anne Taylor, right, were part of the team that developed Seeing AI, backed by decades of computer vision research.
When Anne Taylor walks into a room, she wants to know the same things that any person would.
Where is there an empty seat? Who is walking up to me, and is that person smiling or frowning? What does that sign say?
For Taylor, who is blind, there aren't always easy ways to get this information. Perhaps another person can direct her to her seat, describe her surroundings or make an introduction.
There are apps and tools available to help visually impaired people, she said, but they often only serve one limited function and they aren't always easy to use. It's also possible to ask other people for help, but most people prefer to navigate the world as independently as possible.
That's why, when Taylor arrived at Microsoft about a year ago, she immediately got interested in working with a group of researchers and engineers on a project that she affectionately calls a potential "Swiss Army knife" of tools for visually impaired people.
"I said, 'Let's do something that really matters to the blind community,'" said Taylor, a senior project manager who works on ways to make Microsoft products more accessible. "Let's find a solution for a scenario that really matters."
That project is Seeing AI, a research project that uses computer vision and natural language processing to describe a person's surroundings, read text, answer questions and even identify emotions on people's faces. Seeing AI, which can be used as a cell phone app or via smart glasses from Pivothead, made its public debut at the company's Build conference this week. It does not currently have a release date.
Taylor said Seeing AI provides another layer of information for people who also are using mobility aids such as white canes and guide dogs.
"This app will help level the playing field," Taylor said.
At the same conference, Microsoft also unveiled CaptionBot, a demonstration site that can take any image and provide a detailed description of it.
Very deep neural networks, natural language processing and more
Seeing AI and CaptionBot represent the latest advances in this type of technology, but they are built on decades of cutting-edge research in fields including computer vision, image recognition, natural language processing and machine learning.
In recent years, a spate of breakthroughs has allowed computer vision researchers to do things they might not have thought possible even a few years before.
"Some people would describe it as a miracle," said Xiaodong He, a senior Microsoft researcher who is leading the image captioning effort that is part of Microsoft Cognitive Services. "The intelligence we can say we have developed today is so much better than six years ago."
The field is moving so fast that it's substantially better than even six months ago, he said. For example, Kenneth Tran, a senior research engineer on his team who is leading the development effort, recently figured out a way to make the image captioning system more than 20 times faster, allowing people who use tools like Seeing AI to get the information they need much more quickly.
A major a-ha moment came a few years ago, when researchers hit on the idea of using deep neural networks, which roughly mimic the biological processes of the human brain, for machine learning.
Machine learning is the general term for a process in which systems get better at doing something as they are given more training data about that task. For example, if a computer scientist wants to build an app that helps bicyclists recognize when cars are coming up behind them, it would feed the computer tons of pictures of cars, so the app learned to recognize the difference between a car and, say, a sign or a tree.
Computer scientists had used neural networks before, but not in this way, and the new approach resulted in big leaps in computer vision accuracy.
Several months ago, Microsoft researchers Jian Sun and Kaiming He made another big leap when they unveiled a new system that uses very deep neural networks called residual neural networks to correctly identify photos. The new approach to recognizing images resulted in huge improvements in accuracy. The researchers shocked the academic community and won two major contests, the ImageNet and Microsoft Common Objects in Context challenges.
Tools to recognize and accurately describe images
That approach is now being used by Microsoft researchers who are working on ways to not just recognize images but also write captions about them. This research, which combines image recognition with natural language processing, can help people who are visually impaired get an accurate description of an image. It also has applications for people who need information about an image but can't look at it, such as when they are driving.
The image captioning work also has received accolades for its accuracy as compared to other research projects, and it is the basis for the capabilities in Seeing AI and Caption Bot. Now, the researchers are working on expanding the training set so it can give users a deeper sense of the world around them.
Margaret Mitchell, a Microsoft researcher who specializes in natural language processing and has been one of the industry's leading researchers on image captioning, said she and her colleagues also are looking at ways a computer can describe an image in a more human way.
For example, while a computer might accurately describe a scene as "a group of people that are sitting next to each other," a person may say that it's "a group of people having a good time." The challenge is to help the technology understand what a person would think was most important, and worth saying, about the picture.
"There's a separation between what's in an image and what we say about the image," said Mitchell, who also is one of the leads on the Seeing AI project.
Other Microsoft researchers are developing ways that the latest image recognition tools can provide more thorough explanations of pictures. For example, instead of just describing an image as "a man and a woman sitting next to each other," it would be more helpful for the technology to say, "Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are posing for a picture."
That's where Lei Zhang comes in.
When you search the Internet for an image today, chances are high that the search engine is relying on text associated with that image to return a picture of Kim Kardashian or Taylor Swift.
Zhang, a senior researcher at Microsoft, is working with researchers including Yandong Guo on a system that uses machine learning to identify celebrities, politicians and public figures based on the elements of the image rather than the text associated with it.
Zhang's research will be included in the latest vision tools that are part of Microsoft Cognitive Services. That's a set of tools that is based on Microsoft's cutting-edge machine learning research, and which developers can use to build apps and services that do things like recognize faces, identify emotions and distinguish various voices. Those tools also have provided the technical basis for Microsoft showcase apps and demonstration websites such as how-old.net, which guesses a person's age, and Fetch, which can identify a dog's breed.
Microsoft Cognitive Services is an example of what is becoming a more common phenomenon the lightning-fast transfer of the latest research advances into products that people can actually use. The engineers who work on Microsoft Cognitive Services say their job is a bit like solving a puzzle, and the pieces are the latest research.
"All these pieces come together and we need to figure out, how do we present those to an end user?" said Chris Buehler, a software engineering manager who works on Microsoft Cognitive Services.
From research project to helpful product
Seeing AI, the research project that could eventually help visually impaired people, is another example of how fast research can become a really helpful tool. It was conceived at last year's //oneweek Hackathon, an event in which Microsoft employees from across the company work together to try to make a crazy idea become a reality.
The group that built Seeing AI included researchers and engineers from all over the world who were attracted to the project because of the technological challenges and, in many cases, also because they had a personal reason for wanting to help visually impaired people operate more independently.
"We basically had this super team of different people from different backgrounds, working to come up with what was needed," said Anirudh Koul, who has been a lead on the Seeing AI project since its inception and became interested in it because his grandfather is losing his ability to see.
For Taylor, who joined Microsoft to represent the needs of blind people, it was a great experience that also resulted in a potential product that could make a real difference in people's lives.
"We were able to come up with this one Swiss Army knife that is so valuable," she said.
Explore further Microsoft Research project can interpret, caption photos
A view of the Gulf of Mexico and US Gulf Coast at sunset from the International Space Station taken by Expedition 42 Flight Engineer Terry W. Virts, in a NASA photo obtained December 17, 2014
The fate of humanity if aliens were to discover Earth with its balmy climate and bountiful resources, has long been a concern for scientistsmany of whom fear the worst.
Physicist Stephen Hawking is among those to have warned that ET and his friends may be much more intelligent than us, and may view human beings as little more than troublesome bugs.
Now a pair of astronomers from Columbia University in New York have proposed an innovative method to hide our planet from prying extraterrestrial eyesusing massive lasers.
And it's not a joke, they say.
Alien scientists, argued David Kipping and Alex Teachey, may be trying to find habitable planets using the same technique we dosearching for a slight dip in light when a planet "transits" between the star it orbits and the telescopes watching it.
Planets do not emit their own light and, if they were visible to the naked eye, would appear as dark dots tracking across their bright stars.
But these exoplanets are too far away to see, and all our telescopes can pick up is a small decrease in the starlight emitted during transit.
If aliens spot us using this technique, Earth would be a logical target for alien settlement.
It orbits within the so-called "habitable zone"not too close nor too far from the Sunwhere the temperature is right for liquid water, the essence of life.
Physicist Stephen Hawking is among those to have warned that ET and his friends may be much more intelligent than us, and may view human beings as little more than troublesome bugs
In a paper published Thursday in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) in London, Kipping and Teachey said Earth's Sun transits could be masked by shining huge lasers to cover the dip in light.
Strange but true
"Despite the timing, it's really not an April Fool's joke," RAS deputy executive director Robert Massey assured AFP on Friday.
"This is a serious piece of work."
Humanity's search for a planet capable of hosting life remains an academic pursuitthere is no solar system near enough to reach without time travel.
Workers check the Kepler space telescope at the Hazardous Processing Facility at Astrotech in Titusville, Florida, on February 13, 2009, in an image released by NASA
Since its launch in 2009, NASA's Kepler exoplanet-hunting space telescope has found thousands of candidates.
Astronomers have verified the existence of nearly 2,000 faraway worlds, but most of those orbiting in habitable zones have been gas giants.
"The transit method is presently the most successful planet discovery and characterisation tool at our disposal," wrote the duo.
"Other advanced civilisations would surely be aware of this technique..."
Within the wavelength spectrum of visible light, the transit signal could be masked with a monochromatic laser emitting about 30 million watts (MW) for 10 hours at a time, once a year.
One MW can power several hundred homes for an hour.
A universal cloak effective at all wavelengths, would require a much larger array of lasers with a total output of 250 MW, said the team.
"There is an ongoing debate as to whether we should advertise ourselves or hide from advanced civilisations potentially living on planets elsewhere in the Galaxy," Kipping said in a statement.
"Our work offers humanity a choice, at least for transit events, and we should think about what we want to do."
Explore further Laser cloaking device could help us hide from aliens
2016 AFP
The Milky Way rising above the Pacific Ocean off a coast in California.
In the last two decades, humanity has discovered thousands of extrasolar planetary systems. Recent studies of star- and planet-formation have shown that chemistry plays a pivotal role in both shaping these systems and delivering water and organic species to the surfaces of nascent terrestrial planets. Professor Geoffrey A. Blake in Chemical Engineering at the California Institute of Technology talked to Duke faculty and students over late-afternoon pizza in the Physics building on the role of chemistry in star and planet formation and finding other Earth-like planets.
In the late 18th century, French scholar Pierre-Simon Laplace analyzed what our solar system could tell us about the formation & evolution of planetary systems. Since then, scientists have used the combination our knowledge for small bodies asteroids and large bodies planets to figure out how solar systems and planets are formed.
In 2015, Professor Blake and other researchers investigated more into ingredients in planets necessary for the development of life. Using the Earth and our solar system as the basis for their data, they explored the relative disposition of carbon and nitrogen in each stage of star and planet formation to learn more about core formation and atmospheric escape. Analyzing the carbon-silicon atomic ratio in planets and comets, Professor Blake discovered that rocky bodies in the solar system are generally carbon-poor. Since carbon is essential for our survival, however, Blake needed to determine the range of carbon content that terrestrial planets can have and still have active biosystem.
The Astronomers periodic table, showing the relative contents of the various elements present in stars.
With the Kepler mission, scientists have detected a variety of planetary objects in the universe. How many of these star-planet systems based on measured distributions have 'solar system' like outcomes? A "solar system" like planetary system has at least one Earth-like planet at approximately 1 astronomical unit (AU) from the star where more ideal conditions for life can develop and at least one ice giant like Jupiter at 3-5 AU in order to keep away comets from the Earth-like planet. In our galaxy alone, there are around 10 billion stars and at least 10 million planets. For those stars similar to our sun, there exist over 4 million planetary systems similar to our solar system, with the closest Earth-like planet at 20 light years away. With the rapid improvement of scientific knowledge and technology, Professor Blake estimates that we would be able to collect evidence within next 5-6 years of planets within 40-50 light years to determine if they have a habitable atmosphere.
How does an Earth and a Jupiter form at their ideal distances from a star? Let's take a closer look at how stars and planets are created via the astrochemical cycle. Essentially, dense clouds of gas and dust become so opaque and cold that they collapse into a disk. The disk, rotating around a to-be star, begins to transport mass in toward the center and angular momentum outward. Then, approximately 1% of the star mass is left over from the process, which is enough to form planets. This is also why planets around stars are ubiquitous.
How are the planets formed? The dust grains unused by the star collide and grow, forming larger particles at specific distances from the star called snowlines where water vapor turns into ice and solidifies. These "dust bunnies" grow into planetesimals (~10-50 km diameter), such as asteroids and comets. If the force of gravity is large enough, the planetesimals increase further in size to form oligarchs (~0.1-10 times the mass of the Earth), that then become the large planets of the solar system.
Analysis of C/Si ratios in extraterrestrial bodies revealed low carbon content in the formation of Earth-like planets. Graph displaying the locations of Earth-like planets found at 0.01-1 AU from a star, and Jupiter-like planets at 0.01-50 AU from a star.
In our solar system, a process called dynamic reorganization occurred that restructured the order of our planets, putting Uranus before Neptune. This means that if other solar systems did not undergo such dynamic reorganization at an early point in formation of solar system, then other Earths may have lower organic and water content than our Earth. In that case, what constraints do we need to apply to determine if a water/organic delivery mechanism exists for exo-Earths? Although we do not currently have the scientific knowledge to answer this, with ALMA and the next generation of optical/IR telescopes, we will be able image the birth of solar systems directly and better understand how our universe came to be.
To the chemistry students at Duke, Professor Blake relayed an important message: learn chemistry fundamentals very carefully while in college. Over the next 40-50 years, your interests will change gears many times. Strong fundamentals, however, will serve you well, since you are now equipped to learn in many different areas and careers.
The Astrochemical Cycle: how solar systems are formed.
Depiction of the snow line for planet formation.
Explore further Newly discovered planet in the Hyades cluster could shed light on planetary evolution
More information: Edwin A. Bergin et al. Tracing the ingredients for a habitable earth from interstellar space through planet formation, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2015). Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Edwin A. Bergin et al. Tracing the ingredients for a habitable earth from interstellar space through planet formation,(2015). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1500954112
British Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves prepares to enter King Tutankhamun's tomb at the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, Egypt, Thursday, March 31, 2016. A radar surveys is scheduled Thursday by to confirm or deny claims that King Tutankhamun's tomb contains hidden undiscovered chambers. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
Egypt's archaeologists announced Friday they completed more extensive scanning of the two recently discovered hidden chambers behind King Tutankhamun's tomb in the Valley of the Kings as part of a quest that some hope could ultimately lead to finding Queen Nefertiti's remains.
Antiquities Minister Khaled el-Anani told reporters gathered at the famed site on the western bank of the Nile River, opposite the southern city of Luxor, that experts worked for 11 hours overnight to obtain 40 scans of five different levels of the area behind Tutankhamun's burial chamber.
More scans will follow at the end of April, he said, and invited archaeologists from all over the world to come to Cairo in early May to examine the findings.
The scans are part of a quest for the remains of Queen Nefertiti and could answer the question whether her mummy lies behind the false walls in the Luxor complex.
British Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves said he still believes Tut's tomb is "simply the outer elements of a larger tomb" belonging to Nefertiti.
The discovery made last month that the hidden rooms behind King Tut's tomb could contain metal or organic material could shine new light on one of ancient Egypt's most turbulent times, and Reeves has theorized that Nefertiti might be inside.
Others have speculated that the new chambers could contain the tomb of a member of Tutankhmun's family, not necessarily Nefertiti, who was one of the wives of Tutankhmun's father, the Pharoah Akhenaten, but is not believed to be Tut's mother.
British Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves enters King Tutankhamun's tomb at the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, Egypt, Thursday, March 31, 2016. A radar surveys is scheduled Thursday by to confirm or deny claims that King Tutankhamun's tomb contains hidden undiscovered chambers. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
Reeves told reporters Friday at the Valley of the Kings that the overnight scanning provided "the most detailed data" so far on the secret chambers.
He has speculated that Tutankhamun, who died at age 19, may have been rushed into an outer chamber of what was originally Nefertiti's tomb.
"I believe and I still believe" that the King Tut's tomb is "simply the outer elements of a larger tomb that is of Nefertiti," he said, repeating his assertion about the ancient queen whose 3,300-year-old bust on display in Berlin is one of the most famous symbols of ancient Egypt and classical beauty.
South Korean tourists walk outside King Tutankhamun's tomb at the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, Egypt, Thursday, March 31, 2016. A radar surveys is scheduled Thursday to confirm or deny claims that King Tutankhamun's tomb contains hidden undiscovered chambers. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
The discovery of the hidden chambers has ignited massive interest among the archaeological community and beyond. It could also renew excitement in Egypt's antiquities and help reinvigorate the country's flagging tourism industry.
Tourism has been hit hard in Egypt in recent years by political violence, an insurgency in the northern Sinai Peninsula, and persistent attacks since the military's 2013 overthrow of an elected but divisive Islamist president.
Antiquities Minister, Khaled El-Anani, talks before he enters with Egyptologists the King Tutankhamun's tomb at the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, Egypt, Thursday, March 31, 2016. A radar surveys is scheduled Thursday to confirm or deny claims that King Tutankhamun's tomb contains hidden undiscovered chambers. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
British Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves, right, listens to a member of his team before they enter King Tutankhamun's tomb at the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, Egypt, Thursday, March 31, 2016. A radar surveys is scheduled Thursday by to confirm or deny claims that King Tutankhamun's tomb contains hidden undiscovered chambers. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
For Immediate Release
Syrian government attacks this week damaged and closed a hospital near the Turkish border, according to researchers at Physicians for Human Rights (PHR). Part of a string of assaults, this government-led attack not only violated a month-long cessation of hostilities agreement but also constitutes a flagrant breach of international humanitarian law.
On March 31, PHRs research reveals, Syrian government forces launched at least five strikes on a hospital and a physiotherapy center in Yamadiya, a town in Latakia governorate near the Turkish border. This repeated shelling damaged the hospital and forced staff to evacuate all patients and stop services altogether.
Yet again, the Syrian government is guilty of bombarding and killing its own people, said PHR Syria researcher Elise Baker. This weeks attacks are a clear breach of the ceasefire agreement and yet another instance of the Syrian government violating international law and placing its own survival ahead of the life and dignity of its own citizens.
The hospital and physiotherapy centers were two of the only facilities of their kind in the region, providing advanced medical and physical therapy care. The facilities closure now leaves the area home to a large population of Syrians displaced by the war with limited access to medical services. The Yamadiya attack occurred a few hours after government airstrikes targeted Deir al Asafir, an opposition-held suburb east of Damascus, claiming dozens of lives, including civilians.
Since the beginning of the five-year Syrian conflict, PHR has documented and mapped indiscriminate and intentional strikes against medical personnel and facilities throughout Syria. As of February, PHR has documented 358 strikes against medical facilities and the deaths of 726 medical personnel since 2011.
Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) is a New York-based advocacy organization that uses science and medicine to prevent mass atrocities and severe human rights violations. Learn more here.
CRS and Hisense Enter an Exclusive Agreement
CRS announced that it has entered in to an exclusive agreement with Hisense Intelligent Commercial System Co., Ltd. (HICS) to distribute select Hisense POS products, including Tablets and Touch Terminals in the USA and Canada. CRS will also distribute these products throughout the Americas and Caribbean on a non-exclusive basis. Hisense presented CRS with a Qingdao Shell carving to commemorate the partnership.
Hisense, founded in 1969, is a highly regarded brand in the Chinese market for a wide range of consumer appliances and commercial POS products. Hisense has leveraged this expertise to become the third largest manufacturer of televisions in the world. In 2015, Hisense acquired the manufacturing facility and brand rights for Sharp TV in the Americas. Hisense POS products are used by over 60% the top 100 chain stores in China.
CRS is extremely excited to bring Hisense POS products to the markets CRS serves. The Hisense brand is gaining prominence and respect throughout the Americas, so CRS resellers will find easy acceptance of Hisense POS products stated CRS VP of Sales, John Soderquist.
Hisense VP of Business Development and POS industry veteran, Elliot Wuu shared Hisense is very proud to partner with CRS, who is well-known for successfully bringing best of class manufacturers and products to the Americas. CRS is also known for exemplary channel management and importing infrastructure so we are confident that the CRS expertise will enhance the Hisense brand as we launch our POS products in the Americas.
CRS, founded in 1927, is the leading independent importer and distributor of POS Touch Terminals, transaction, kiosk and label printers, cash drawers and related peripherals.
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Other Point of Sale Blogs that may interest you:
No question, state library associations play a strong role in supporting libraries across the country, and every state has at least one library association; some states have several, serving a range of librariespublic, school, academic, corporate, even digital, for example. But no state library organization rivals the Texas Library Association. And no statewide annual library meeting comes close to the Texas library Association Annual Conference, which this year runs April 1922 at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston.
In fact, the TLA Annual Conference is larger than many national conferences. Each year more than 7,000 attendees take part, including more than 1,500 presenters and speakers across some 400 professional sessions, author appearances, events, panels, and lectures. And the exhibit hall hosts close to 500 vendors, including publishers, putting the TLA Conference in league with the ALA Midwinter Meeting and the biennial Public Library Association conference.
Yet, despite TLAs size and growth, librarians say the organization remains remarkably tight-knit, and the conference still feels intimate. People who join TLA feel as if they join a family, no kidding, says Julie Todaro, dean of library services at Austin Community College. Todaro should knowa respected, longtime leader in the profession, she is a past president of TLA and in 2012 took home a TLA Lifetime Achievement Award. An investment of time and energy in TLA yields great professional opportunities and rewardsnew skills, projects, publishing, programming, she says. And its fun.
Roosevelt Weeks, deputy director of library administration at the Houston Public Library, agrees. Ive been in libraries since 2005, when I left the private sector. I immediately joined TLA, and Ive been to every TLA conference since. And what makes it so great is not just the number of Texas library leaders, but the leaders from across the country who come. Outside of ALA, they know it is the place to be. You get a chance to meet and network with your colleagues. And the program is just fantastic, really second to none.
Texas-Size
TLA may feel intimate to its members, but make no mistake, like the state itself the Texas library community is big. In all, it numbers 202 academic libraries, and around 875 public library outlets if you count branches and bookmobiles. School librarians make up a huge contingency in TLAthe state counts more than 5,000 school librarians (and more than 4,500 members in the Texas Association of School Librarians, a division of TLA). And, for good measure, there are more than 200 special librariescorporate libraries, and the like.
For publishers and vendors, that size certainly is a big part of the attraction of the TLA conferenceTLA members represent a $1.5 billion market in terms of combined statewide annual library budgets, a big chunk of which goes to a wide array of books, resources, technology, and programming. And the TLA conference is where librarians come too learn, purchase, and promote all these critical tools, says TLA executive director Patricia Smith.
In a bit of good news, Smith says that library funding in Texas has begun to rebound after some painful statewide cutbacks. Texas has bounced back from some lean budget years and is now benefiting from a growing state and federal economy, she says. With an influx of millions of dollars in state funding in the last two legislative sessions, librarians are building out facilities and services, including very popular makerspaces, particularly in the areas of digital learning environments, workforce development, and literacy programs of all types.
TLA itself is also hugeit is composed of four divisions and 10 districts, and it contains 40-plus roundtables and interest groups. The association also grants thousands of dollars every year to members through a program of 50-plus awards, stipends, and scholarships. And beyond the annual conference, TLA members participate in a range of programming throughout the year, with local district meetings across the state as well as webinars on topics such as leadership, copyright, management, and support-staff training. Incredibly, TLA pulls this all off with just 16 staff members in its Austin offices, in addition to Smith.
I think what makes TLA so strong is the fact that it operates largely as a volunteer organization, says TLA president Susan Mann, director of the Hillsboro Public Library. TLA is a rather unique association in that all libraries are representedschool, public, academic, corporate. I believe that brings a lot of strength to TLA. We all really work well together, and we know what we do is important for all libraries, and the public. We always try to pay attention to one another and sympathize with each others problems.
Big and Bright
For Mann, her path to the TLA presidency began on the legislative committee. Its kind of my hobby, politics, so I have been friends with a lot of legislators, she says, many of whom also visit the TLA conference. As we have learned over and over again, if we can bring our story home to our legislators, then were a lot more successful. So thats what our goal is in every legislative session. We constantly try to educate our legislators, because some still see libraries as quiet places where librarians just check out books, and its not anywhere near that anymore. So we have really pushed hard in the last several years, and that seems to be resonating with legislators.
Not surprisingly, leadership and advocacy are two program tracks at TLA Mann will be participating inand throughout the program there are numerous panels marked as a presidents picks. Among Manns picks are a session titled Advocacy: Value, Impact, and Presence with Stephen Abram, a well-respected library leader from the Federation of Ontario Public Libraries (Canada), and another session called Take the Wheel: Hands-on Advocacy, which aims to help library directors build meaningful relationships with decision makers.
And though size is often a factor when it comes to all things Texas, Mann says thats not the case when it comes to working within TLA. I represent a very small community, she points out, noting that Hillsboro, the town she serves in central Texas, has a population of around 10,000, while some of the librarians she serves with in TLA run some of the largest public library systems in the nation and some of the worlds top university libraries. One of the messages I think my presidency sends, Mann says, is that anyone who wants to pitch in, work hard, and volunteer can become president of our association.
On the other end of the spectrumto give you a sense of the vastness of Texasis Weekss library in Houston, the host city for TLA this year. Houston is the seventh largest public library in the country, Weeks notes, with 44 locations in addition to its central library, and more than 500 employees. We served over six million visitors last year, he says, and over one million computer users.
Weeks can barely contain his excitement in having his colleagues in the library community in Houston, one of a handful of cities that rotates as TLA host every few years (this will be the fifth time since 2005 the conference has been in Houston). I get excited, because it is a chance to show off the Houston Public Library, and the city of Houston, which is a dynamic community, and the most diverse city in America.
Although Weeks is not presenting this year, he says he is especially interested in leadership issues and points to an all-day seminar based on Lean Six Sigmaa management philosophy popularized by General Electric CEO Jack Welch in the 1990s that is designed to improve processes and efficiency. The program will feature Myja Lark, from the city of Houstons finance department, and will focus on how libraries can streamline their organizations, and better meet their users needs.
Its always a struggle to get funding, so one of the ways to handle that is to manage more efficiently, Weeks says.
Certainly, efficiency is a priority as the mission of libraries continues to expand and evolve in the digital age, and libraries are often expected to do more with less. Weeks says the evolution of libraries is on display through out the TLA program and says he is looking forward to a number of programs at TLA on digital outreach, and the maker movement, for example. That, he says, and the opportunity to sit around and meet and visit with some great authors, of course.
Below, more on the Texas Library Association.
Incoming ALA president Julie Todaro talks funding, Spanish-language services, and more.
Authors and national library leaders highlight a strong program at the 2016 TLA conference. Here are some highlight you won't want to miss.
The awardees included Amadeus Ghana Ltd who walked away with the ultimate award of the night Business of the Year for demonstrating strong growth, innovative strategies and outstanding performances and Bayport Financial Services who picked the Outstanding Achievement Award for aggressively and innovatively pursuing business in untapped segments.
The other big winners for the night were MCottley Holdings who picked the award for Excellence in ongoing Achievement and Loyalty, Devtraco Plus Ltd picked up Outstanding Contribution to driving Broadband penetration under the Airtel Home Business solutions and Premium Technologies walked away with Supplier Partner of the Year.
Speaking at the event, Airtels Managing Director, Lucy Quist said As Ghanas fastest growing telecom company and industry leader in data, digital and enterprise solutions, we believe in empowering businesses through our unmatched enterprise offering. Our best in class end-to-end business solutions enable customers to focus on their core businesses as we cater to all their Communication, Connectivity and Collaborative needs.
Celebrating customers is our hallmark. Today we are celebrating and rewarding our enterprise customers for their loyalty and partnership over the years. This is our way of saying thank you for choosing Airtel.
On his part, Richard Adiase, Ag. Airtel Business Director said Airtel Business remains the preferred enterprise solutions provider for large corporates, Small and Medium enterprises in Ghana. We continue to partner our customers and as they grow, we grow. Together we will continue to shape the business environment and drive value for all stakeholders.
Today is about celebrating partnership and rewarding loyalty. We are proud to be associated with all our enterprise customers and we are celebrating them in a truly special way.
He continued the Airtel Business suite includes solutions for SMEs, Home Business solutions for clusters and residential areas, Internet Service Providers, large Corporations and Multinationals. Our superior offering backed by exceptional customer service is what is driving our growth. We remain committed to delivering the unparalleled product and services that our customers have come to know us for.
The meeting was to discuss the grievances of the Judicial Service Staff Association of Ghana(JUSSAG) who had declared an indefinite strike over the failure of government to implement the consolidation of their salaries beginning 1st of April 2016.
Government recognizes that justice delivery is essential in order to maintain the peace and sanity of society. Having the Judicial Service Workers on strike does not ogre well for our society. In view of this, I am minded that government is looking at urgently reviewing its policy on Judicial and Legal Service providers in order to consider them as essential and critical service providers under the labour laws and to give them the needed conditions as critical service providers. This will help us in the foreseeable future to debar them from going on strike, just as critical service providers, Haruna Idrisu said.
Commissioned by the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) Ghana, the survey sort to gain a better understanding of the urban informal economy from the perspectives of its operators in Ghana.
1,500 employers and 3,500 employees were surveyed randomly in all 10 regional capitals of Ghana.
The report revealed that business formation in Ghana was dominated by sole ownership enterprises (87.3%) followed by family enterprises (6.4%); partnerships (4.4%); and cooperatives (2.0%).
Enterprises were concentrated in two main areas - Wholesale/Retail Trade and Services.
They constitute 61.5 % share of employment for employers and 65.2% for employees.
The rest are: Manufacturing (10.6%); Food and Related Services (15.5%); Building/Construction (5.0%); Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing (2.2 %); Mining and Quarrying (0.75%).
Wholesale and Retail trade as well as Food and Food related Services are female dominated. The rest are dominated by males, the report added.
Four reasons stood for engaging in business in the urban informal economy.
They include: preference for being ones own boss (18.2%); absence of formal work (14.4%); additional income (13.4%); and good income opportunities (11.8%).
The most preferred and intentional choice of premise is a permanent location by the roadside (67.7%) for employers and 46.5% for employees, according to the report.
Five main reasons were given for this and they include: best location available (28.0%); good sales (22.9%); close to home (12.3%); flexibility of managing job together with family duties (8.7%); and close proximity to other businesses (2.8%).
Majority of employers (55.6%) do not contribute to any pension scheme whilst 29.5% do, the report found.
Whereas most (35.0%) employers paid Value-added tax, less than a quarter paid personal income tax, depriving the state of revenue.
Majority (73.3%) sold their goods and services by cash, 23.7% by credit and 3.1% on commission. Further, most employers (73.9%) acquired their raw materials/inputs by cash 15.6% on credit, family relations (4.6%), and from friends (4.2%).
The classification has received a lot of backlash from social media, with the Vice President of IMANI Ghana, Kofi Bentil, calling for an immediate withdrawal of the books from the primary schools.
But in an interview with Pulse.com.gh, the Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Education Service, Rev Jonathan Bettey said there was nothing wrong with the textbook.
"So what do you use your head for? Haven't you carried anything on your head before?," he asked.
The two have been in Ghana since January after President Mahama offered to take them in despite the huge public outcry.
Bin Atef and Al-Dhuby had been in detention for 14 years at Guantanamo after being linked with terrorist group Al-Qaeda.
It was later determined by the US government that the two no longer post a major threat and was transferred to Ghana.
Another said "they were dressed in white and didnt stay for long."
Pulse News has gathered ex Gitmo detainees were accompanied by three security men who were in civilian clothing.
It is unclear why the two decided to visit Bishop Obinim's church but sources say they are considering converting to Christianity.
The news comes almost three months after the country was declared Ebola free by the WHO in January 2016.
WHO had said during the declaration that " all known chains of transmission have been stopped in West Africa. But the Organization says the job is not over, more flare-ups are expected"
In a tweet WHO indicated that the situation is being investigated.
Meanwhile the virus has also reared its head in Guinea forcing neighbouring country Sierra Leone to close its borders with Guinea.
A journalist from Sierra Leone Umaru Fofona shared on facebook the news of the closure of the boarder.
Ahmed Anderson, General Secretary of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission in Ghana told Accra-based Joy FM that This is very very strange, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission is not aware of any group of Pakistanis having come into the country in the name of Ahmadiyya mission to preach Yes, the Ahmadiyya mission has some Pakistani missionaries in the country but we have a very structured system so when people come in, they have defined roles and we engage them in various ways and on no occasion would we allow any Ahmadiyya missionaries to be walking from one destination to another preaching without any recourse to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission."
According to an eyewitness who spoke to Accra-based Class FM, the fire started from a faulty air condition which exploded Thursday evening.
He said he doesn't know what happened before the fire started.
The eyewitness stated that fire service were called but got to the scene after an hour.
Fire fighters according to report are busily fighting the flame.
Read more: President Mahama speaks on flood and fire victims
Vienna City is directly opposite the Goil filling station which was burnt down in the June 3, disaster in 2015, which claimed over 150 lives.
Vienna City is one of the biggest entertainment centres that is open from 11am to 5am each day throughout the week and situated at Kwame Nkrumah Circle, opposite GCB Tower.
Speaking to the press at an emergency briefing this morning at Flagstaff House, President Mahama said the plan had been worked on over the past few years in secrecy, and was now ready to be instigated.
The move will mean the two countries will share all resources, from agriculture to military and security forces.
The border will be no longer and those currently guarding it will be redeployed to other areas, Mahama said.
I know this will come as a shock to many, but Ghana and Togo are friends, so why not unite? We will both benefit, from learning each others languages to sharing recipes, President Mahama said.
While Togo is a French speaking country with a population of only about 6.8 million, compared to Ghana's 25 million, it is expected Togo will merge into Ghana, though the presidents indicated a new name will be in order.
Gnassingbe, speaking to a press conference in Togo simultaneous with the one in Ghana, was reported as saying the two presidents had bounced ideas around for a new name, with Ghanto the leading contender.
Both had been asked who will lead the new country, which appears to be an issue of contention, with both uncomfortable with giving an answer.
I guess we will have to flip a coin on that one, Mahama said, though it is unclear if he was joking.
While in Togo, reporters noted Gnassingbe suggested the two presidents partake in a dance competition, the winner takes all.
Their decision followed a one month ultimatum given to government at the beginning to ensure their demands were met.
Hundreds of litigants across the country were on Friday left stranded at the various courts following the withdrawal of services by the staff of JUSAG.
But in a meeting with the Labour and Employment Ministry on Friday, the judicial service workers agreed that they will resume operations on Monday, after assurance by the labour minister Haruna Iddrisu to address their concerns.
They were arrested on their on their way from Assin Nyankomase to Assin Fosu.
Assin Fosu District Police Commander, DSP Samuel Lawson, told Accra-based Joy FM that the foreigners are currently in the custody of the Ghana Immigration Service pending further investigations.
Meanwhile, the Ghana Immigration Service has urged the public to remain calm as its preliminary investigations indicated that the 13 are on a mission to preach Islam.
Ghana's National Security Council had issued a terror alert after the attack by Al-Quaeda on an Ivory Coast beach resort this month.
The fire was currently being investigated by police, and Agyare was unable to speculate on the cause, or say if it was suspicious.
At the moment everything is in the hands of the police. We are waiting for them to get done with their investigations, he said.
Agyare was at the premise last night and returned this morning.
He said the police had cordoned off the area and were not allowing anyone in while they investigated.
The fire was a blow but he wanted to assure customers Vienna City will bounce back bigger and better than before. We thank god no life was lost, there is nothing more important than life.
As the fire happened early in the evening, around 7.15pm, there was no one in the club when the fire started, and only a few people in the restaurant, he said.
He was unable to comment on how much the damages will cost the business.
The cause of the fire is not entirely known, but fire service personnel who arrived at the scene said some combustible materials within the premises of the Vienna City attributed to the quick spread of the fire.
The fire personnel managed to completely put out the fire an hour after they arrived.
Vanderpuje arrived at the scene of the fire outbreak on Friday morning and was briefed by a team of police and National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) officials who were at the scene carrying out investigations.
A lot of destruction has taken place. There were no casualties in the fire outbreak, Vanderpuje said.
In the rescue mission, I am informed that one of the fire officers was affected, he added.
The affected fire officer, whose name was not given, is said to be receiving treatment at the Ridge Hospital, Accra.
The police had cordoned off the area and restricted movement in and around the nightclub.
As at 9am, smoke was still emanating from the building, signifying that the fire had not died down completely.
The fire service were called in to dowse the smoke.
NADMO officials accessed the extent of damage at the building but refused to speak to the press.
Asked if someone would be held responsible for the fire outbreak, Vanderpuje responded that until the investigations are completed, no one would be blamed yet.
Meanwhile, the operations manger of Vienna City said that while the fire at the Accra club on Thursday night was "a blow the business will bounce back bigger and better.
Speaking to Pulse Ghana the morning after a massive fire at the popular club at Circle, the operations manager of the club, Gabriel Nana Kwame Agyare said the business was very thankful there was no loss of life in the incident.
She wrote,
"WHAT GOD BLESS NO MAN CAN EVER EVER CURSE I felt your greatness before you realized it yourself,you didn't need to have one dime for me to be sure of it. Even if the whole world doubts you and misunderstands you- it's all good,as long as there is that one person who unconditionally believes in you May God protect you and guide you always,may you always be ready to receive all the blessings sent your way with a pure heart, IJN"
At the just concluded Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards 2016 held on Saturday, March 5, 2016, at the Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos, Nigeria, the duo in an interview with Pulse revealed how they deal with his female fans.
When asked by Pulse how she deals with her husband's admirers and female fans, she had this to say,
"Its Okay. I understand. I understand my female fans, they are my female fans because they are fans of my husband too."
She also revealed she's hard to get and likes to keep IK chasing after her.
Sonia recently secured the deal to work with the Ooni of Ife to build a grand resort in Ife, Osun State.
This will be the first recorded project the Colombian businesswoman and blogger will be executing in Nigeria.
Sonia and IK Ogbonna welcomed a baby boy early last year.
After months of registration fifteen finalists will be chosen at the auditions to battle it out for the reality fashion show to become Nigerias Next Top Designer 2016 winner.
NNTD is about establishing and encouraging the best emerging fashion designers from Nigeria, promoting and showcasing them on a world stage platform Africa Fashion Week Nigeria & London, as part of the winning prize is an all expense paid trip to showcase their collection at the 6th edition of AFWL in September 2016, a Fashion Week that celebrates the work of African and African inspired designers in the UK that has become the single, biggest African fashion festival in the UK. The annual event created by Ronke Ademiluyi debuted in 2011 and has welcomed over 500 African designers.
NNTD is a platform for young Nigerian designers between the ages of 18-30 to showcase their creativity to a wider audience, it will also create unique opportunities and reputable platforms for Nigerias undiscovered talent. NNTD is surely going to be the most sought after competition for emerging designers.
It is an initiative that will help facilitate and manage young Nigerian designers who wish to enter into the fashion industry, with the intention of building talented entrepreneurs through fashion, it will include mentoring and the winner gets to go home with a start up fund and tools to assist them with potential for commercial growth.
Register for press passes for behind the scenes via:
Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected! Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected!
The film which is produced by Priced Penny Films, has had its trailer on social media platforms with the lead actor performing some 'out-of-this-world' stunts but the UK Metro and Unilad Uk are not finding it funny as they both tore into the movie.
First to go is the Metro and here is what the tabloid said:
'Forget Spider-Man, Nigerian Spider-Girl needs to be in Captain America: Civil War
Weve had , , and now were anticipating s younger-take on Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War, but Nigeria is throwing their own interpretation into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Prepare yourself everyone: Meet Nollywoods incredible Spider-Girl.
As you can see', Spider-Girl could easily stand toe-to-toe with giants in the Marvel Universe; flinging enemies into the sky and saving vehicles which are mildly going over the speed limits.
If anything, the real stars of the show are the powerful screams from civilians startled by her presence. Its the kind of shrill Daredevil could hear from Hells Kitchen.
The genuine movie trailer is one of the many treats offered by equivalent, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2012.
Judging by the trailer for Captain America: Civil War, it looks like Captain America is lacking a Spidey companion. So should Nigerian Spider-Girl face-off against Tom Holland?"
The Unilad UK had its own:
'You Need To See This Nigerian Spider-Girl Trailer, Its Incredible'
Comic fans around the world are waiting with bated breathe to see what Tom Hollands performance as Spider-Man is going to be like -but the poor guy may have been outshone before hes even webbed up his first bad guy.
Meet Spider-Girl a gender bent, copyright infringing adaptation of everyones favourite wall-crawler straight from Nigerias version of Hollywood, Nollywood.
As Im sure you can tell from the trailer, Spider-Girls' more than capable of going up against Marvels heavy hitters, swinging (or flying its hard to tell) through the jungle and battling criminals with her magical ability to produce cartoon string, or webs, again its hard to tell."
Kunle Poly, according to information gathered, died at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH), after the police rescued him from being burnt alive and rushed to the medical facility.
The incident which happened on Thursday, March 31, saw the crowd corner the man who, before then, was reputed to be invincible, and before he could disappear, pelted him with all manners of weapons and were hell bent on burning him before the police arrived and whisked him away.
The angry mob allegedly accused the now deceased Kunle Poly of kidnapping four people and turning them to goats.
The now deceased Kunle Poly on his way to the hospital
Photo Credit: Instagram
An eyewitness who participated in the jungle justice, said Kunle Poly and two of his accomplices who managed to escape, had gone to Abayawo-Oko, a village in the outskirt of Ilorin, and allegedly kidnapped four people.
The witness stated that villagers who saw the suspects while abducting their victims, chased them with motorcycles.
Luck was said to have run out on the suspects when two of their car tyres burst on Temidire Street and while Kunle Poly was apprehended by the mob, his accomplices escaped.
He added that the mob beat Kunle Poly to a pulp and was about to lynch him when he was rescued by policemen from Surulere Police Station and another team from the Special Anti-Robbery Squad.
The State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Ajayi Okasanmi, confirmed that Kunle Poly was beaten to a pulp by the mob, adding that he was later confirmed dead by doctors at the UITH.
An alleged notorious criminal was caught by members of the public. Eight goats were found in his car. We have information that the suspect had been a notorious criminal. He is called Kunle Poly, Nobody knows his real name.
By the time the people were trying to mete out jungle justice to him, policemen were invited and they rescued him.
The vehicle and the goats in it had been taken to the police station while the suspect was rushed to the Civil Service Clinic because he sustained injuries. He was rejected at the hospital, but was later taken to the UITH where he was confirmed dead.
On the issue of turning human beings to goats as far as I am concerned, it is not practically possible for human beings to turn to goats. Goats were found in his (Kunle Poly) car.
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!
Baka, a father of two, had reportedly gone to a beer palour to keep up with an appointment when he was killed.
According to witnesses, earlier that day, there was a disagreement between a Corporal and the Inspector and the junior officer stormed out of the joint and returned with his service rifle but before he returned, the Inspector had already left where he was seated and the unfortunate Baka had taken his seat, not knowing what had happened between the two officers.
Upon getting into the restaurant, the Corporal immediately opened fire on the innocent man, thinking that he was the inspector. Baka was to be confirmed dead at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Gombe, where he was rushed to.
Another witness said on the day of the incident, the Inspector had sent the Corporal to buy him some cigarettes, something that did not go down well with the junior officer and a disagreement ensued between them, leading to the unfortunate killing of an innocent man.
The bereaved wife of Baka, Hauwa, has appealed to the authorities to do bring her husbands killers to book, lamenting the way the police authorities have handled the case so far.
Hauwa noted that the police didnt even deem it fit to condole with her family, and fears the two children left behind by her husband, Stephanie and Stacy, will be left to suffer.
But the State Police Commissioner, Austin Iwar, said the police has nothing to hide as they are doing everything possible to bring the culprit to book.
It was gathered that Sanusi pounced on Balogun on Sunday, March 27, and pummelled her to a pulp, and in the process, damaging one of her eyes, after he had threatenedto kill her and her son if they failed to leave his father's house within a stipulated time.
According to Balogun, a trader, she was ill on that day that Sanusi manhandled her and was about entering her room on her way back from a hospital around 4pm, when he emerged and challenged her on why she had still not packed out of the house.
Thereafter, the suspect pounced on her and shortly, his sister and the father, joined in beating the hapless woman. According to the four-months-old pregnant woman, the injuries she suffered would have been much if other tenants had not intervened and saved her.
The incident was reported at the Adeniji Adele Police Division and Sanusi was arrested.
Narrating her ordeal, Balogun said:
The landlord gave us a notice to quit and always came to our apartment to bang the door, threatening to kill my son and me. As I came back from the hospital around 4pm on Sunday and sat in front of my shop, Tunde (Sanusi), the landlords son, approached and challenged me, saying I refused to quit the house after receiving the notice.
I told him to let my husband return. All of a sudden, he started abusing me. Before I knew what was happening, he gave me a fist blow in the eye. The landlord and another child of his joined Tunde to beat me up. It was my neighbours that rescued me.
On his part, the suspect said it was Balogun that caused the fight, refuting the claim that his father and sister joined him to assault the woman.
"I was on my way to the bathroom on that day and she started abusing him. I also abused her. She attempted to hold my shirt and I pushed her.
Maybe as a result of that, she hit her eye on a grinding machine on the premises. I did not touch her; my daddy told me to leave her and he did not touch her either.
I only told her that her rent was due and that she should pack out from our house. She replied that I should do it myself. She held me and I pushed her. My sister did not beat her.
Sulaimon, 28, was said to have been involved in a confrontation with his wife, who was angry at him for his inability to provide formula for their new baby.
This was what motivated him to engage in the act. The worth of the formula he stole is estimated to be around N45,000.
Sulaimon successfully packed the items, but was arrested before leaving the store. He was being watched from a CCTV camera as he was stealing the formula.
At the police station, he begged for forgiveness of his crime, stating that he was pushed to stealing due to poverty.
He has been given an option of bail at the sum of N50,000 pending the resumption of the hearing.
It was gathered that Ifeoma who resides at Berger Camp, Phase 2, Site 1, Kubwa, in the city, tried to kill herself twice after her lover left her for another woman. She was said to have survived a first attempt to end her life on Saturday, March 26, before she tried again on Wednesday, March, 30, but failed yet again.
It was learnt that the suicidal lady had been going out with the man who is said to be a Custom's officer for three years before things fell apart between them and he told it was over but she could not take the separation and tried end it all.
A close friend of the victim, narrated that she was deeply in love with the man and vowed to go to any length to stop the other relationship, insisting that she would not be alive to see her lover with another woman.
When it became obvious that the man was bent on dumping her for the other woman, she drank a poisonous substance suspected to be an insecticide, the friend added.
She was rushed to the Kubwa General Hospital where she was resuscitated and later discharged but on getting home, she attempted taking her life again and drank some more poison. She was again to the hospital a second time and the police was informed.
The chairman House Committee on Appropriations, Abdulmumin Jibrin said recently, that it is normal for the National Assembly to withhold a budget for days after passage, to work on the details.
The lawmaker also urged Mr. President to go ahead and sign the budget.
Premium Times reports that Buhari, while speaking at a meeting with the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, said I have to look at the bill that has been passed by the National Assembly, ministry by ministry, to be sure that what has been brought back for me to sign is in line with our original submission.
He also said Some bureaucrats removed what we put in the proposal and replaced it with what they wanted.
Also speaking on insurgency on the North East, the President told Kerry that Boko Haram no longer holds any local government area. We are reconstructing damaged facilities and preparing the police to take over and reassert civilian control over areas affected by the insurgency.
The station is said to be live on Tune In, an Internet radio, spreading the same message of freedom of Biafraland and hate for Nigeria, which it described as a Zoo.
The station is airing from 30 Sandlings Close, Pilkington Road, London, SE11 3SY England, United Kingdom.
According to The Cable, when tuned in, the anchor, who was referred to as the new deputy director of the station, was complaining about the state of power and energy resources in the country.
After receiving a call from Nigeria to complain that the radio was not being aired via FM in some parts of south east Nigeria, the anchor responded by saying the problem would be resolved.
There is no problem with our general platform, we would look into it tomorrow, he said.
We are not forgetting our leader, Kanu. Lord God almighty, grant our leader protection. Continue to set confusion in the midst of our enemies, grant us total freedom.
The government had jammed station's signals after initial failed attempts, but the station is still broadcasting on the internet.
After it was jammed in 2015, it announced that it had launched another station and promised to launch 50 others.
Both Radio Biafra and Biafra 24 radio were said to be live online as at Friday afternoon, April 1, 2016, but residents of Port Harcourt were said to be having difficulties accessing the station via local transmission.
In a statement released this week, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) said the station is back on shortwave.
Right now, we are back on shortwave after Nigerian government spent millions of dollars taxpayers money trying to stop Radio Biafra.
All Biafrans and friends of Biafra can now go to 11600 kHz at 25-meter band to cherish the gospel of truth, Broadcasting time is 8pm London time, 9pm Biafra land time. We are unstoppable because Chukwuka Okike Abiama, Almighty God, is on our side, the statement said.
The minister was reported to have made the statement during an interview with Voice of America (VOA) on Wednesday, March 30, 2016.
Dan-Ali made the denial via a statement released by his spokesman, Tukur Gusau on Wednesday.
It reads in part:
The minister was a guest in the studio of Voice of America, where he spoke in Hausa language, on the appraisal of the successes recorded in the ongoing war against terrorists in the North- East.
He said that before now, over 60 local government areas were under the occupation of Boko Haram in the North-East, but now only two were having some remnants of Boko Haram activities and not under their complete control.
On the issue of the Chibok girls, the minister was not referring to the girls abducted on April 14, 2014 from Government Secondary School Chibok. Rather, he was referring to other girls abducted by the terrorists from the local government areas and environs.
VOA had also quoted Dan-Ali as saying that the would-be suicide bomber who was recently arrested in Cameroon was abducted from Chibok, Borno State but is not one of the over 200 girls who were taken on April 14, 2014.
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You know there are challenges. Thats what your election was about. And so we are all aware that the world right now is facing many different challenges in terms of governance in various parts of the world and for various reasons: absence of capital, absence of structure, having to build capacity, Kerry said according to Punch.
These things take time. Nobody is pretending that its an overnight operation. It wasnt for us. And some people sometimes are very revisionist in America about our own history, but weve gone through some very difficult periods and very difficult issues.
Weve been through a history. And what were trying to do is, really, share with people the shortcut, if you will how you can manage to avoid some of the mistakes that weve made in the course of our own development in ways that can embrace the hopes and the aspirations of millions upon millions of people. Thats what this is about.
The United States, let me be clear, is very encouraged by President Buharis commitment to an economy that is more diversified, less dependent on a single commodity for export earnings, and that means we need to develop sustainability, he added.
Kerry also praised Buhari for his administrations fight againstBoko Haram.
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According to the report by the New York-based watchdog, the NNPC made $6.3 billion from its crude oil sales in the second half of 2015, but only $2.1 billion was remitted into the governments account.
It said some of the corporations withholdings cover known costs, but it has not fully explained other expenses.
This was 12 percent higher than the withholdings under Goodluck Jonathan in 2013 and 2014, authors Aaron Sayne and Alexandra Gillies said in the report, obtained by International Business Times.
Corruption aside, allocating $4.2 billion in six months to NNPC expenses of unknown priority raises serious questions about fiscal responsibility.
The report said it would be cheaper for the federal government to finance its record $30 billion budget for the 2016 fiscal year by reining in NNPC spending rather than through outside borrowing.
"The Finance Ministry has floated plans to fund this years appropriations with a further $5 billion in loans from the World Bank and other lenders. These lenders, along with Nigerian stakeholders, should ask hard questions about the blank check enjoyed by NNPC before giving a green light to new debt, the authors warned in the report.
Buhari made the statement on Thursday, March 31, 2016, during a meeting with United States Secretary of State, John Kerry in Washington DC.
The disclosure was made via a statement released by the Presidency. It reads:
President Muhammadu Buhari said on Thursday in Washington DC that he will critically review the 2016 Appropriation Bill passed by the National Assembly before assenting to it.
Speaking at a meeting with the United States Secretary of State, Mr John Kerry, President Buhari in a statement by his special adviser media, Femi Adesina, said that in view of the controversial alteration and padding of the budget proposals, he needed to review the appropriation bill to be certain that its contents tallied with the authentic budget proposal presented to the National Assembly.
Some bureaucrats removed what we put in the proposal and replaced it with what they wanted. I have to look at the bill that has been passed by the National Assembly, ministry by ministry, to be sure that what has been brought back for me to sign is in line with our original submission, the President said.
Declaring that his administration will continue to vigorously prosecute its war against corruption, President Buhari sought and received an assurance from Mr Kerry that the United States Government will facilitate the repatriation of all stolen Nigerian funds found within the American banking system.
It will greatly help our country if you assist us to recover all our stolen funds which we can establish to be within your financial system, the President told Mr Kerry.
Responding, the Secretary of State said that he has been told that the stolen Nigerian funds were in billions of dollars.
Its not easy to hide that amount of money and we are pretty good in tracing them, Mr Kerry assured President Buhari, adding that relevant United States Government Officials will meet with the Chairman of Nigerias Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to discuss further cooperation in that regard.
Mr Kerry applauded the Buhari Administrations success in rolling back the Boko Haram insurgency, saying that the United States will continue to give Nigeria all possible support to ensure that the terrorist sect is finally eliminated as a threat to national and regional security.
The Secretary of State also praised President Buharis clear order that Nigerias Armed Forces must show greater regard for the human rights of persons in the theatre of operations against Boko Haram.
Acknowledging that the United States has been of great help to his administration in the retraining and re-equipping of the Nigerian Armed Forces that has resulted in the significant success already achieved against Boko Haram, President Buhari said that the Federal Government was now working very hard to restore full normalcy in the North Eastern states.
Boko Haram no longer holds any local government area. We are reconstructing damaged facilities and preparing the police to take over and reassert civilian control over areas affected by the insurgency, the President told Mr Kerry.
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The NLC and TUC in a joint statement said The demand for workers for a verification from indicating their choice to belong to the union or not is tantamount to an infringement on their fundamental human rights.
Union membership is a constitutional issue which is above the jurisdiction of any state government. Labour unions would resist any attempt to polarize and create dis-harmony among it members.
Premium Times reports that Governor El Rufais spokesperson has however countered the labour leaders claims saying Cooperation with the employer to verify the status of every worker is expected. It cannot be made a reason for industrial action.
Refusal to participate in verification will result in the concerned persons being removed from the payroll.
The labour leadership seems to be afraid that workers will opt-out of joining unions.
If that be the case, the unions should seek ways to increase their attraction to workers, including persuading them to opt for continued membership.
Inciting workers against a legitimate process of updating their personnel records is counter-productive.
According to Buhari, he is withholding assent because the legislators are yet to send him the full details of the budget.
I have to look at the bill that has been passed by the National Assembly, ministry by ministry, to be sure that what has been brought back for me to sign is in line with our original submission, the president said on Thursday, March 31, 2016, during a meeting with US Secretary of State, John Kerry in Washington.
A source in the Presidency had earlier said that Buhari was hesitant to sign the document blindly so as to avoid being unpleasantly surprised.
The president has been handicapped 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 source told online news platform, The Cable.
Although he is anxious to sign the document so that implementation of the provisions could start immediately and ease the tension in the economy and polity, he is afraid he may later discover, when the details are sent, that what is contained therein is not implementable. He wants the national assembly to send in the details speedily so that it could be considered for assent, the source added.
In defence of its actions, the Assembly has said that there is nothing wrong with Buhari signing the document without being aware of all the details within it.
We wish to make the some clarifications, following media reports suggesting that withholding of assent to the 2016 appropriation bill by the presidency is due to the failure of the national assembly to send the budget details to the presidency alongside the appropriation bill, the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation, Abdulmumin Jibrin via a statement released on Wednesday, March 30, 2016.
The general public should note that the MTEF and 2016 budget proposal came to NASS very late. You will also recall that a lot of dust was raised over different versions of the budget circulated in the national assembly. Further, some ministers disowned the content of the budget during defence before NASS.
In order for the nation to move forward and avoid stagnation of administrative processes, the tradition is that the bill is passed and forwarded to the presidency for assent, while the lawmakers continue to work on the details.
There is nothing abnormal about this practice and yet nothing abnormal about a president assenting a budget before or after seeing the details. In any case, the budget details are usually sent within a week or two after passing the budget.
The NASS will continue to exercise its constitutional duty of appropriation to the latter. While recognising the Presidents power to withhold assent, the NASS is also constitutionally required and has power to veto. But we dont want that to happen and we dont see this happening in this case, he added.
The National Assemblys defence would be amusing if it wasnt so incredible. How can a legislator expect a President to sign such an important document, especially one that has been the centre of so much controversy, without reading the fine print?
How can Buhari possibly trust an Assembly that has shown itself willing and able to squander Nigerias funds without remorse or shame?
Furthermore, the 2016 budget is a contract between the Buhari administration and Nigerians and anyone who signs a contract without reading it thoroughly might as well be signing his own death warrant.
In the law of contract, attaching your signature to a document means that you have read it and that you agree to the terms and conditions contained within.
Fagge made the comment after paying a visit to the Vice-Chancellor of the Lagos State University (LASU) Professor Olanrewaju Fagbohun.
All the problems arising now should have been envisaged and addressed before removing the subsidy. Government is supposed to know that some people will try to frustrate its effort and should have pre-empt that, the ASUU president told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
How will a government official utter conflicting statements that the fuel scarcity will be resolved on April 7, but later said it will be in the second week in April. That is unfair.
Government officials should be held responsible for their promises and anyone who makes promise and failed to fulfill it should be eased out of the system, he added.
Fagge further urged President Muhammadu Buhari, who also serves as the Minister of Petroleum Resources, to find an urgent solution to the fuel scarcity.
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The head of the Katsina center of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, Sheikh Yakub Yahya had advised to members of the Movement to stay away from the mosque and worship in their houses.
Sheikh Yakub had said that in other to avoid any possible destruction of lives and property which he alleged the government and its army are bent on perpetrating on all that would worship at the mosque, urged Shiite members to worship in their houses.
We advise our brothers to stay away from the mosque so that we can sit back and watch the extent of their mischief and devilish plan of killing every soul in the mosque, including children, whether Shiite or non-Shiite as revealed to us by reliable sources Sheikh Yakub Yahya said.
The minister made the comment on Thursday, March 31, 2016, during a visit to the corporate headquarters of Leadership newspapers in Abuja.
There is absolutely no rift, no issue of budget being sent back. Things are just taking their due course. It takes a few days (after the passage) for the National Assembly to clean up the document in readiness for the Presidents assent, Mohammed said.
The first is the employment of 500,000 unemployed university graduates who we are going to train as teachers. Two, we are also employing 370,000 unemployed non-graduates, people with National Diploma and Technical Certificate.
The third tranche is the social intervention targeted at 1 million people made up of market women, traders and artisans to be trained and given loans through their cooperatives.
The fourth one is the home-grown One-Meal-A-Day Programme. Here we are targeting several millions of pupils in primary schools all over Nigeria. The exponential effect of this one meal a day is huge. Even if we are targeting five million pupils and we are giving each of them one egg a day, you are talking about five million eggs that will be provided by our poultry farmers. This will also help to increase the demand for maize and then you are going to employ people all around, he added.
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has said that he will analyse the budget critically before signing it.
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What better way to ease off the stress of the week than watch a good movie.
With that in mind, check out our list of movies currently showing in cinemas across Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt.
Starring: Morena Baccarin, Gina Carano, Ryan Reynolds
Synopsis: Gifted with accelerated healing powers and a twisted sense of humor, mercenary Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) adopts the alter ego Deadpool and hunts down the man who nearly destroyed his life
Showing:
Friday - Thursday: 10:45am, 1:25pm
Friday - Thursday: 5:50PM, 8:00PM
Friday - Thursday: 9:10PM
Starring: Nia Vardalos, John Corbett, Michael Constantine
Synopsis: Portokalos family secret brings the beloved characters back together for an even bigger and Greeker wedding.
Showing:
Friday - Thursday: 12:45pm, 2:40pm
Friday - Thursday: 6:40PM, 8:30PM
Friday - Thursday: 10:40AM, 6:00PM, 7:35PM
Friday - Thursday: 2:40PM,6:10PM
Fri: 11:10 am, 2:20 pm, 5:45 pm
Sat - Thu: 11:10 am, 2:20 pm, 5:45 pm, 10:05 pm
Starring: Stella Damasus, Joseph Benjamin, Beverly Naya.
Synopsis: She is a Medical Doctor by day and member of the "lonely hearts club" by night. Never been married and aware that her biological clock is ticking, Vivienne is desperate to find a man...
Showing:
Friday - Thursday: 10:20AM, 2:30PM
Starring: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Gal Gaddot.
Synopsis: Fearing the actions of Superman are left unchecked, Batman takes on the man of steel, while the world wrestles with what kind of a hero it really needs. With Batman and Superman fighting each other, a new threat, Doomsday, is created by Lex Luthor. It's up to Superman and Batman to set aside their differences along with Wonder Woman to stop Lex Luthor and Doomsday from destroying Metropolis.
Showing:
Friday - Thursday: 12:25PM , 3:20PM, 6:15PM, 9:10PM
Friday - Thursday: 12:40PM, 4:30PM
Friday - Thursday: 11:50AM, 12:40PM, 2:40PM, 3:30PM, 5:30PM, 6:20Pm, 8:20PM, 9:10PM
Fri-Thur: 12:30pm, 2:05pm[3D], 3:20pm, 4:55pm[3D], 6:10pm, 7:45pm[3D], 8:20pm
Fri & Sat: 12:50 pm, 3:50 pm, 4:25 pm, 6:50 pm, 7:25 pm, 9:50 pm, 10:25 pm
Sun: 12:00 pm, 3:00 pm, 4:25 pm, 5:00 pm, 7:25 pm, 8:00 pm, 9:30 pm
Mon - Thu: 12:50 pm, 3:50 pm, 4:25 pm, 6:50 pm, 7:25 pm, 9:50 pm
Genre: Drama, Romance, Thriller
Starring: Taron Egerton, Hugh Jackman, Tom Costello
Synopsis: The story of Eddie Edwards, the notoriously tenacious British underdog ski jumper who charmed the world at the 1988 Winter Olympics.
Showing:
Friday - Thursday: 11:00AM, 3:00PM, 7:00PM
Friday - Thursday: 12:30PM, 4:50PM
Fri-Thur: 10:05am, 12:00pm, 4:05pm, 6:30pm
Friday - Thursday: 1:15 pm, 3:30 pm, 7:50 pm
Starring: Kareena Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan, Arjun Kapoor, Rajat Kapoor
Synopsis: Follows a young, married couple whose relationship challenges the gender roles placed upon women and men in Indian society.
Showing:
Friday - Sunday: 6:50PM
Friday - Thursday: 12:00PM, 4:10PM
Starring: Donnie Yen, Lynn Hung, Jin Zhang, Mike Tyson.
Synopsis: When a band of brutal gangsters led by a crooked property developer make a play to take over the city, Master Ip is forced to take a stand.
Showing:
Friday- Thursday: 10:30AM
Sunday: 9:20PM
Friday - Thursday: 3:20PM, 8:50PM
Starring: James Remar, Sherilyn Fenn, Ron Carlson
Synopsis: Global climate change prompts a scientific corporation to genetically modify Alaskan polar bears with horrific and deadly results.
Showing:
Tues-Thur: 6:20pm, 8:10pm
Friday - Thursday: 1:10PM, 5:10PM, 9:10PM
Friday - Thursday: 2:20PM, 6:30PM, 8:20PM
Starring: Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman
Synopsis: In London for the Prime Minister's funeral, Mike Banning discovers a plot to assassinate all the attending world leaders.
Friday - Thursday: 4:00pm, 6:00pm, 8:00pm
Friday - Thursday: 5:25PM
Friday - Thursday: 5:35 pm, 7:45 pm, 9:55 pm
Friday - Thursday: 1:00PM, 3:00PM, 5:00PM, 7:00PM, 9:00PM
Saturday - Thursday: 7:20PM, 9:15PM
Genre: Animation
Starring:Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Idris Elba
Synopsis: TIn a city of anthropomorphic animals, a fugitive con artist fox and a rookie bunny cop must work together to uncover a conspiracy.
Showing:
Friday - Thursday: 12:00 pm, 2:20 pm
Friday - Thursday: 10:15am, 2:25pm
Friday - Thursday: 2:20PM
Friday - Thursday: 10:50AM
Genre: Animation, Action, Adventure
Starring: Jack Black, Bryan Cranston, Dustin Hoffman
Synopsis: Continuing his "legendary adventures of awesomeness", Po must face two hugely epic, but different threats: one supernatural and the other a little closer to his home.
Showing:
Fri, Sat & Mon - Thu: 12:45 pm, 2:50 pm
Sun: 12:50 pm, 2:55 pm
Friday - Thursday: 12:10pm
Friday - Thursday: 12:20PM, 2:10PM, 4:00PM
Friday - Thursday: 5:25PM, 7:15PM
Friday - Thursday: 1:00PM, 2:55PM
Genre: Romance
Starring: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Zoe Kravitz
Synopsis: After the earth-shattering revelations of Insurgent, Tris must escape with Four beyond the wall that encircles Chicago to finally discover the shocking truth of what lies behind it.
Showing:
Fri, Sat & Mon - Thu: 11:50 am, 5:00 pm, 7:30 pm, 10:00 pm
Sun: 11:50 am
Friday - Thursday: 11:10am, 3:30pm
Friday - Thursday: 6:40PM, 9:05PM
Friday - Thursday: 2:55PM, 4:25PM
Genre: Romance
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Rachel McAdams, Paul Rudd
Synopsis: A little girl lives in a very grown-up world with her mother, who tries to prepare her for it. Her neighbor, the Aviator, introduces the girl to an extraordinary world where anything is possible, the world of the Little Prince.
Showing:
Friday - Thursday: 10:10am
Friday - Thursday: 12:50PM
Genre: Romance
Starring: Liz Benson, Wale Ojo, Vimbai Mutinhiri, IK Ogbonna, Adunni Ade, Enyinna Nwigwe, Mary Lazarus, Michael Godson, Chinonso Young, Bolanle Ninalowo
Synopsis: People make several life decisions only for "The Wrong Reasons," and for every wrong or desperate decisions we make ,drastic price to pay or a huge lesson to learn. Love and sacrifices in relationships is key, but can all these make wrong decisions right?
Showing:
Friday - Saturday: 10:50am
Genre:
Starring:Brenton Thwaites, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Gerard Butler
Synopsis: Mortal hero Bek teams with the god Horus in an alliance against Set, the merciless god of darkness who has usurped Egypt's throne, plunging the once peaceful and prosperous empire into chaos and conflict.
Showing:
Friday - Thursday: 5:45pm, 8:35pm
Friday - Thursday: 2:30PM, 6:50PM, 9:10PM
Friday - Thursday: 4:50PM, 9:10PM
Genre: Crime
Starring:O.C Ukeje, Victor Olaotan, Femi Jacobs, Anthony Monjaro, Enyinna Nwigwe and Chigul.
Synopsis: In a community where the rights of the poor and vulnerable are trampled on, where natural resources are stolen and witnesses are silenced, it takes a very brave man to stand up for what is just and true. Michael (O.C Ukeje) is that man and as he wades through incriminating evidence of the nations biggest organisations, he finds an unwitting helper in Harida (Uru Eke) and together, they try to overcome insurmountable odds with the arsenal of information at their disposal.
Showing:
Monday - Thursday: 12:45PM
Genre:
Starring:Jennifer Garner, Kylie Rogers, Martin Henderson
Synopsis: A young girl suffering from a rare digestive disorder finds herself miraculously cured after surviving a terrible accident.
Showing:
Friday - Thursday: 2:00pm
Friday - Thursday: 6:40PM
The Vice President described Buhari as a man who is honest and whose only desire is to make Nigeria go forward and become a great nation.
The President and I are determined to give a good account of ourselves and more importantly ensure that the country makes good progress, Osinbajo said.
Osinbajo had earlier assured Nigerians that Buhari would fulfill his campaign promises.
The President has no other business besides fixing the problems of the countryBut I want to assure you that every single day that President Buhari spends in Abuja; that I spend in Abuja, we will work hard to achieve the promises we have made, he said in Ogun State in November 2015.
You can be sure of an honest and transparent government; you can be sure of hard work. You can be sure that everything we promised, we will do, he added.
Buhari and Osinbajo were sworn in on May 29, 2015.
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Vanguard reports that the villagers were protesting over the destruction of their farmland by Fulani herdsmen, and it led to a clash.
The Ekiti state Governor also called for the unconditional release of the 76 people who were reportedly arrested by the military.
Fayose said These people must be released by whichever security agency of the federal government that is holding them because Nigerians dont deserve to be treated like slaves in their own house.
He said Are they saying that those Igbo villagers do not have rights to defend their farmlands from further destruction by the Fulani herdsmen when the president who should defend them is keeping silent?
Adding that It has gotten to a level that lovers of peace in Nigeria must speak out on this keg of gun powder which the threat that the Fulani herdsmen has become.
Fayose says Buhari's trip to the United States on Wednesday, March 30, for the 4th Nuclear Security Summit at a time Nigerians are groaning in pain is laughable.
The Governor who spoke through his spokesman, Lere Olayinka, said the President should stop "junketing around the world, wasting the countrys scarce foreign exchange."
It remains a mystery what President Buhari that met power generation at 6,000MW and could not manage it such that power generation crumbled to Zero Megawatt yesterday, will contribute to the Nuclear Energy Summit in America.
It is shameful that while President Buhari was far away in the United States of America, attending a summit that does not have any bearing on Nigeria and its people, an unprecedented happened - power generation stopped completely for over three hours!
Fayose alleged that over $50 million must have been spent on the presidents frequent foreign trips, adding that Nigerians should ask President Buhari whether his trip to the United States of America to attend Nuclear Energy Summit will bring the lingering fuel scarcity being experienced in the country to an end.
He said: Nigerians are suffering. Petrol has become so scarce that our people now sleep in petrol stations to buy fuel at N200 per litre while the president who should alleviate their sufferings is in the USA, attending a summit that he wont even understand whatever that is discussed there.
This is not acceptable. Mr President should stay at home and see to it that at least, power generation returns to 6,000MW that he met it if he cannot add to it.
Mr President should stay at home and bring this fuel scarcity that has paralysed almost all activities in the country to an end.
Nigerians are saying their president should stay at home and bring to an end the killings, raping of women and destruction of farmlands by Fulani herdsmen.
Most importantly, the President should listen more to those of us who criticise him instead of those hailing every of his wrong steps either because of what they intend to gain or for fear of persecution.
ASUU warned that the accounting system has crippled the nations educational institutions, adding that it made the request for the second time because it would not wish to be pushed to the wall before reacting.
ASUU Lagos Zone coordinator, Dr. Adesola Nasir, besides hampering the effective functioning of universities, TSA was capable of eroding their autonomy.
He said: We, however, observed that the procedure would introduce heavy encumbrance into the functioning of the universities and may indeed become a burden on the system due to its peculiarities. We are categorical that the policy would rob the university of the opportunity of short, medium and long-term planning in effort to deliver on the objective.
TheNation reports that the union leader also said TSA has led to a scenario where Federal Government, through the Ministry of Finance, releases less of what is required for the payment of teachers and workers as well as for infrastructural development and other needs.
He added that local funds were trapped and those from international donor agencies were also made unavailable by bottleneck created by TSA.
For instance, he said at the University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, fund administered by the institution through an international donor for certain programmes for five African countries, is also trapped owing to TSA.
The ASUU Zonal Coordinator added: There are similar developments at the University of Lagos. At this rate, Nigerian universities and researchers may be blacklisted. This development would also frustrate access to international grants."
History.
An American businessman named Shane Chen, who founded a company named Inventist, has made early claim of inventing the device. In an interview with the LA Times, Chen claimed that his two-wheeled self-balancing unicycle, called the SoloWheel, was copied by other manufacturers after it was used on a Chinese television show, thanks to China's not-very-useful patent laws.
According to Wired'sDavid Pierce, the 'hoverboard' was likely invented as the 'Smart S1' by a Chinese company known as Chic Robotics, which released the device in August 2014. Again, China's wack patent laws meant several other manufacturers copied the product.
So how did this thing become such a worldwide hit?
After the Smart S1 gained popularity in China and several other manufacturers had begun copying the product, the founders of an American company PhunkeeTree, across the board at the Hong Kong Electronics Show and became involved in its distribution.
The company then gave a board to Kendall Jenner (who else if not a Kardashian clan member?), who posted a video of her riding it, on Instagram. The video became a viral sensation on social media and the rest, like they say, is history.
Does it really hover?
If you didn't know, the hoverboard as we know it, is not actually an hoverboard in the literal sense of the word. If there is anything it is more akin to, it's the Segway PT, a two-wheeled, self-balancing, battery-powered vehicle invented by Dean Kamen in 2001.
The modern hoverboard is very similar to the Segway because it functions with the same basic technology. The PT uses gyroscopic sensors and accelerometer-based leveling sensors to detect the resulting changes in its pitch angle and, to maintain balance, it drives its wheels forward or backward as needed to return its pitch to upright - just like the hoverboard of today as we know them.
Long story short, what we call hoverboards are not really hoverboards, they are just two-wheeled, self-balancing electric vehicles without an official universally accepted name.
The Lexushoverboard, demoed last year, is what you will call a proper hoverboard a la Back To The Future. Anything that doesn't hover over the ground is not an actual hoverboard. Other hoverboards are the Hendo, and the Arx Pax (Of the three real hoverboards mentioned, only the Hendo has a production model - that is, the Hendo is the only one you can purchase).
Problems, problems, problems.
The 'hoverboards' are powered with lithium-ion batteries (same kind of batteries in your phone, but way bigger) and there have been reported cases of defective batteries, short circuiting, and overheating which have caused the devices to catch fire and in some cases, explode.
Several injuries from incidents related to the boards have been reported since September 2015, some have even led to lawsuits. In some countries, there has also been varying degrees of legislation against the boards - it's been banned on public roads in the UK, while it is still allowed in some parts of the US.
However, governments and agencies in most countries advice people not to buy the devices. They have also been banned by several airlines and airport authorities.
So should you buy one?
Only you can answer that, to be honest. The truth is the boards are fun devices, and people have done some creative, fun stuff with them (Go on and search 'What Do You Mean Segway Dance Cover').
However, they are also expensive (they can cost anywhere between 90-250k) and quite unpredictable, what with the fires and explosions and what not.
The upgraded music smartphone flagged off a new era of TECNO mobile devices which run on TECNOs custom operating system, the HiOS. The unique user interface of the HiOS, improved app management options and highly optimized audio features place the new TECNO BOOM J8 at the core of mobile customers demands said TECNO Marketing and PR lead, Attai Oguche.
"The HiOS operating system which gives the BOOM J8 more room for intuitive functions and the phones highly optimized software features has earned it impressive ratings from mobile tech analysts who partnered TECNO in reviewing the smart phone before its launch. TECNOs BOOM J8 might well be the best music-centric smartphone of its price range in the market, Attai says.
Besides showcasing TECNOs HiOS, the new BOOM J8 flaunts other top-of-the-line features such as immersive 5.5 IPS HD touch screen, 13MP AF Back/5.0MP Front geo-tagging cameras with optical image stabilization (OIS) and dual LED flash. Powered by MediaTek Quad-core processor and stomachs 2GB RAM/ 16GB internal memory space.
"TECNO BOOM J8 rewards music lovers with custom BOOM headphones; each box of the smart phone comes with a free headphone but it is the BOOM Max app, a pre-installed custom music equalization feature that will totally hook mobile users who listen to music in detail, says Jesse Oguntimehin, TECNO digital marketing lead.
TECNO BOOM J8 music phone is a flagrant upgrade on predecessor TECNO BOOM J7 and J5 launched earlier part of 2015. The smartphone comes pre-installed with the BOOM player app - Africas largest in-app music library and the new Palmchat 5.2 social messaging app.
"BOOM J8 matches the hype with premium specifications and material design. This music phone is elegant in every way, it is a sheer product of hard work and outlandish thinking, says Chidi Okonkwo, TECNO MD, Nigeria.
The flagship device will be retailed at N40, 999 across offline and online sales outlets nationwide.
Buhari made the request during a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on the sidelines of a two-day nuclear security summit in Washington.
"President Buhari sought and received an assurance from Mr. Kerry that the United States Government will facilitate the repatriation of all stolen Nigerian funds found within the American banking system," his office said.
Buhari told Kerry it would "greatly help our country if you assist us to recover all our stolen funds which we can establish to be within your financial system," according to the statement.
It said Kerry assured Buhari the United States would help and said U.S. officials would meet with the head of Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to discuss further cooperation.
State Department spokesman John Kirby confirmed that Kerry had offered "continued U.S. support to locate and help with tracing and investigating looted funds, as we have done for Nigeria in the past."
In 2014 the United States took control of more than $480 million that former Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha and his associates had siphoned away into banks around the world.
The Guardian said on Thursday that smugglers had used Facebook to advertise a boat trip to Italy from the Turkish port of Mersin - at a cost of $4,000 per person, four times the price of a journey from Turkey to Greece.
The advert, which was no longer visible on Facebook on Friday, appeared after Turkey agreed with the EU this month to return migrants and refugees who cross illegally to Greece in exchange for financial aid, faster visa-free travel for Turks and slightly accelerated EU membership talks.
The returns are supposed to begin on April 4 under the plan, which aims to close the main route by which a million migrants and refugees poured across the Aegean Sea to Greece in the last year before heading north mainly to Germany and Sweden.
A Facebook official told the Thomson Reuters Foundation the company was investigating the origins of advertisement.
In the past two years scores of would-be migrants seeking to escape conflict in the Middle East have used Facebook as their compass for finding the people smugglers they hope will lead them to a better life in Europe.
However, many of these migrants end up being tricked by people posing as smugglers, the Guardian said.
Do si do, swing your partner, and promenade are some examples of the language of square dancing which is popular worldwide.
Do si do, swing your partner, and promenade are some examples of the language of square dancing which is popular worldwide.
Every week Wayne Walker puts these directions to music as the caller for the Desert Squares, a square dance club sponsored by the Pahrump Arts Council.
Walker is now calling on others to join the group, which meets Thursday evenings at the Pahrump Valley United Methodist Church, located at 1300 E. Highway 372.
He started calling for the group about two years ago. Until then, the group was dancing and taking directions from CDs, which were repetitious. Walker added some live calls and music for the square dancers pleasure and progress in learning new movements.
Walker started square dancing with the Swinging Stars in Las Vegas at his church in 1968 after returning from Vietnam and friends invited him to join.
I said you want me to what? Walker said. But, they talked me into it and Ive had a lot of fun.
He has even danced at Disneyland as part of the 2001 National Square Dancing Convention in Anaheim, California.
Georgia and Gaylon Hutchens have been square dancing for eight years, starting in central California before moving to Pahrump about two years ago when they joined Desert Squares.
Its a lot of fun, you meet a lot of nice people, Georgia Hutchens said.
Husband Gaylon did some square dancing as a kid in grammar school, but didnt really get serious about it until he retired.
We had some close friends that had been square dancing for years and we said what do we have to do to learn to square dance, Gaylon Hutchens said.
They joined a beginners class dancing in three separate clubs in California and quickly advanced to the plus level.
Its good clean fun, you know, theres no alcoholic beverages at the square dances or anything like that, so you dont have to worry about, you know, people that drink too much. Its just a lot of fun. Gaylon Hutchens added.
Like everybody else is saying, its a lot of fun, you meet different people, you get to go to different sites, good exercise. Lloyd Prochnow said.
Prochnows wife, Barbara, sums up the best part of being a square dancer, Because its so darn much fun, and if we make a mistake, well, then theres a lot of laughing and we just know how to make a little fun at ourselves, she added.
The group has performed demo dances for seniors at area assisted-living centers, at the Fall Festival, for the Pahrump Arts Council and during Shoshone Days last fall.
Jim and Midge Benedict saw an ad for the Desert Squares in the Pahrump Valley Times a few years ago and that is how they started square dancing. Like the others, they said they have lots of fun and get to meet new people.
We laugh a lot when we make mistakes and we do make mistakes, Jim Benedict laughed.
Its really not the steps, its how you have to move around the square, you really just kind of shuffle your feet, Benedict said.
Everybodys very helpful. I mean if we have new people come in, we help them to learn how to dance, Midge Benedict stated.
Two squares of four couples each, or a total of 16 dancers move in and around the squares based on the cues of the caller.
The most difficult part about it really is getting the people back where they started back home in their home position with their partner, Walker said.
There are about 69 families of calls, or actually 150 directions Walker can vocalize such as circle left or circle right to direct the dancers in various turns and patterns.
Square dancing is taught in English throughout the world, because they havent figured out how to translate do si do into Japanese, Walker said.
Its interesting, theres a lot of things to learn, but its fun learning it, and a lot of nice people, dancer Bill Almassy said. Its challenging to remember it all, but the more you do it, the easier it gets.
One of the newest members is Amy Green, who is visually impaired and got involved with the Desert Squares since moving from California.
Walker will sometimes use Green to demonstrate a move which gives her a body memory of the movement.
There are some things that you cant do because you are blind, but square dancing certainly isnt one of them, Green said. As long as you can tell your left from your right, youre okay.
About half of the states have made square dancing their state dance.
Linda Hartweg is with the Oasis Squares in Fallon. She and State Assemblywoman Dr. Robin Titus of Lyon and Churchill counties are trying to get square dancing legislated as the state dance of Nevada. They came close to achieving that goal last year.
During the upcoming Silver State Square and Round Dance Festival from May 6-8 in Reno, Nevada residents will be able to sign a petition endorsing square dancing as Nevadas state dance.
Its good exercise, its quite a stress reliever, Hartweg said. You get out and start square dancing during an evening and you just forget your troubles.
No special shoes or attire are required for practice. Casual is best. Couples usually wear matching outfits when dancing at a demo or festival.
Georgia Hutchens said dancers can purchase outfits at very reasonable prices, so you dont have to spend a lot of money.
The Desert Squares is seeking for new members: singles, couples, and families including children ages 10 and above. The mainstream and plus dancers meet at 5 p.m., beginners at 6 p.m. A new beginners class will be starting Thursday, April 7. For more information contact Wayne Walker at 702-403-2146.
Patient Kenneth Bronson was having a very bad day on Monday.
Patient Kenneth Bronson was having a very bad day on Monday.
Bronson was suffering from seizures, high blood pressure, fever, and very close to death.
Fortunately, a team of nurses sprang into action and managed to save his life. The nurses were faculty members from Great Basin Colleges augmented nursing program.
Bronson is the colleges new high-tech mannequin that was demonstrated at the colleges Pahrump campus on Monday.
The college received a $2.2 million grant, funding simulation equipment for the nursing lab, along with faculty at the Pahrump campus.
Amber Donnelli, Dean of the Health, Science and Human Services Department said two campuses in northern Nevada are also part of the expanded program.
We do synchronized learning, so all of the instruction comes out of Elko, Nevada, she said. Our students interact with Elko and Winnemucca students for all of their learning. This type of program really works well in small communities.
Bronson, or SimMan, as faculty members refer, is a state-of-the-art teaching tool for nursing students.
Great Basin College Nursing Instructor Barbara Conton said he can be programmed to simulate any known disease or ailment for nursing students to diagnose and treat.
He has sensors everywhere and he can be resuscitated, Conton said. He can have a seizure or any type ailment that we can think of. The only thing this particular one wont do is give birth, although there is one that does.
While Conton was speaking, SimMan was experiencing seizures.
We can monitor the seizures and anything else with his patient monitor, she said. We can make his vital signs decrease or increase depending on how he is treated by the nursing students. Its as close to real life as we can make it. He will expire if he is not treated appropriately by the students.
Students can also learn whether they are performing certain medical procedures properly.
We can do CPR and we can also gauge the quality of the CPR that we are doing, she said. Well know how deep the compressions are, and how fast they are. We can print that out and assess it. This guy is state-of-the-art and theres not anything any better. He is our most advanced mannequin.
Nursing Professor Sharon Sutherland operates SimMan, as she can also speak through him.
She is essentially the patient.
Earlier, I wasnt feeling well but my nursing students did things and I now feel much better, she said, as SimMan. I am behind the window operating him, but I first have to program him into the computer. I can program just about any kind of ailment.
District 36 Assemblyman James Oscarson was invited to check out the lab.
Years ago, Oscarson too, attended nursing school.
I was very excited to see what was going on in our own community working with Great Basin College. Its just a great opportunity for people to learn and integrate into the communities where we need them the most, he said. When I went to nursing school, none of these things existed. Im impressed with the program here in the community.
Donnelli, meanwhile, said Pahrump students did not have much of an option when it came to studying nursing.
Prior to this grant, the options for students were to either go to Las Vegas or to the Elko campus, which is a seven-hour drive, she said. Students that usually go to school in their own community will stay within their own community.
The nursing program can handle up to 12 students at present.
Donnelli said prospective students must earn the privilege to enter the nursing program.
We look for highly-qualified candidates and you have to meet the minimum requirements, she said. Our program is unique in Nevada, in the sense that we had a 100 percent pass rate three years in a row. We are the only program in Nevada that can say that.
Donnelli also noted Great Basin College will eventually have a full campus within five to seven years.
Thats very important because we want to maintain our great reputation, she said.
The application period is now open for the fall of 2016.
Contact reporter Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @pvtimes
Nevada freshman Congressman Cresent Hardy made two stops in Pahrump on Wednesday, where he met with veterans and senior citizens for a round of discussion on various issues.
Nevada freshman Congressman Cresent Hardy made two stops in Pahrump on Wednesday, where he met with veterans and senior citizens for a round of discussion on various issues.
Hardy, who serves Nevadas 4th Congressional District, stopped at the Veterans of Foreign Wars post early in the morning for a conversation with a group of local veterans.
Questions about the Constitution, general election, his job in Congress and veterans issues dominated most of the one-hour-long meeting.
This is not a career, this is a privilege for me, Hardy told a group of about a dozen of veterans.
Im a Republican in ideals, Im a conservative individual, but at the end of the day, my obligation is to work with both sides, he said.
The incumbent congressman also said that for the last year, his team solved 400 cases, 200 of which were veterans cases.
We are working as hard as anybody out there and probably the hardest, he said.
He also said Pahrump had done a good job keeping the community stirred up about veterans issues.
You guys are all veterans, you served. That obligation doesnt ever die. And you are who you are and thank you for who you are, he said.
In a conversation focused on frustration over news coverage of this years general election and state politics, Hardy blasted Nevada Sen. Harry Reid filibustering laws and spoke in support of term limits.
Term limits are great. I think they are working well in the state of Nevada, he said.
Hardy represents over 700,000 people in Nevadas 4th Congressional District that has a large proportion of Democratic voters.
In a separate event that took place at the Pahrump Senior Center in the evening, Hardy met with a group of local residents who voiced concerns about the BLM and Nevada politics.
Hardy has been in Congress for just over a year. He is currently seeking a second term.
At the primary election on June 14, Hardy will compete against three Democratic candidates: former Assemblywoman Lucy Flores, state Sen. Ruben Kihuen and Las Vegas community activist Susie Lee, who will compete in the primary election June 14, with the winner facing Hardy on Nov. 8.
Ive been told by my own staff that Ive been as successful as a three-or-four-term legislator in my first year, Hardy told the Pahrump Valley Times.
The stop marked Hardys second showing in Nye County in just more than a month. He hosted a veterans town hall meeting at the Nye County Commission chambers on Feb. 18.
Nye County Democrats will select delegates for the Nevada Democratic State Convention on Saturday.
Nye County Democrats will select delegates for the Nevada Democratic State Convention on Saturday.
The Nye County Democratic Convention will be held at the Pahrump Senior Center, located at 1370 W. Basin Road in Pahrump.
Nye County Democratic Party Central Committee Chairman Cliff Arnold said the convention will downsize the number of delegates that will head to the state convention in April.
We are expecting 160 people who are registered as delegates and alternate delegates, Arnold said.
The convention will start at 9 a.m. and end when all delegates are elected for the state convention in Las Vegas.
Nye County has 160 delegates; 94 of them back Clinton and 65 pledged their support to Sanders while one delegate is still uncommitted.
Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton beat Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders during the Democratic Caucus in Nye County on Feb.20. Clinton captured 59 percent of the vote compared to Sanders 41 percent, a much wider margin of support than the 53 percent to 47 percent she received statewide.
County conventions gather in each of Nevadas 17 counties to choose delegates to the state Democratic convention.
Precincts throughout Nevada awarded 12,000 delegates to the two candidates. The delegates go to county party conventions in April, where county delegates are picked for the partys state convention in May. Winners there go on to the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia in July.
About 15 percent of the delegate votes will come from superdelegates who currently serve in the office or have served in the past.
Nevada will send 43 delegates to Philadelphia. Of those, 23 delegates who worked their way up from the caucuses; 13 pledged and unpledged party leaders and elected officials; and seven at-large delegates.
Nevada Congressmen Cresent Hardy and Mark Amodei sent a request to a congressional subcommittee to preserve funding for local governments in 10 counties, including Nye, that would be affected by Yucca Mountain if the licensing process moves forward.
Nevada Congressmen Cresent Hardy and Mark Amodei sent a request to a congressional subcommittee to preserve funding for local governments in 10 counties, including Nye, that would be affected by Yucca Mountain if the licensing process moves forward.
Under the request to the the House Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, Nye County would receive $1.5 million and the remaining nine counties, including Inyo in California and Clark, would each receive $350,000.
Hardys spokesman, Jacob Fullmer, said the funds are about protecting Nevada counties best interests.
This request is focused on safeguarding local communities best interests, and making sure the affected counties have enough funds to do an effective job of overseeing any potential licensing process for Yucca if it were to start moving forward, Fullmer said.
In the March 15 letter to the subcommittee, Chairman Mike Simpson and ranking member Marcy Kaptur, Hardy and Amodei asked to include programmatic funding levels in the Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies FY 2017 appropriations bill to fund the Affected Units of Local Government (AUGL), as defined in the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982.
The Act designated 10 counties as AULGs because of their proximity to the proposed repository and the necessity for those counties governments to conduct oversight and participate in the licensing process.
Affected counties shouldnt get caught with the cost of providing local oversight on a potential federal project of this size, Fullmer said.
Hardy has always said that Nevadans should be involved in the decision of Yucca Mountain, he added. This appropriations request would guarantee that these counties have the resources they need to be able to take part in a meaningful way to protect the best interests of Nevadans.
The House Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development is within the U.S. House Appropriations Committee. The committee oversees appropriations bills in Congress along with the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations.
According to the 1982 Act, the funds could be used for a large variety of things, including for purposes of enabling such state or affected unit of local government.
This includes reviewing activities with respect to the Yucca Mountain site for purposes of determining any potential economic, social, public health and safety, and environmental impacts of a repository on such state, or affected unit of local government and its residents, according to the document.
It also includes requesting information from, and making comments and recommendations to, the secretary of energy regarding any activities taken with respect to such site, the document states.
Thats why we felt pretty comfortable in saying the funds could be used to help county officials protect the best interests, including safety, of Nevada residents, Fullmer added.
Fullmer said the request is one of many steps that are part of the appropriations process.
This is one of many requests they receive and it is yet to be determined if the bill itself will receive a vote from the entire House of Representatives, he said.
The Hardy and Amodei letter came two days before two congressmen from other states sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz stating the Energy Department had an obligation to complete licensing for the Yucca Mountain project.
Contact reporter Daria Sokolova at dsokolova@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @dariasokolova77
American truth-in-labeling laws are designed to protect consumers from deceptive advertising, scams and rip-offs. Too bad we dont have similar laws for political candidates. Case in point
American truth-in-labeling laws are designed to protect consumers from deceptive advertising, scams and rip-offs. Too bad we dont have similar laws for political candidates. Case in point
Nevada State Senator Michael Tax Hike Mike Roberson has been distributing a campaign flyer claiming he permanently cut taxes for over 95 percent of Nevadas businesses. But Riley Snyder of PolitiFact Nevada recently investigated the claim and concluded that Roberson and others such as Assemblyman Erv Nelson who are making the same claim is telling a whopper.
Riley noted that No businesses saw their net tax bill decrease and that narrowly focusing on one tax change ignores many other tax increases passed by lawmakers. Rileys conclusion: We rate this claim as False.
Alas, that wont stop Roberson, Nelson and others from making it. Indeed, these people have proved, beyond doubt, that they will say anything to get elected and then do whatever they please once in office.
Roberson himself signed the Taxpayer Protection Pledge promising his constituents that he would oppose and vote against any and all efforts to increase taxes. He then went on to not only vote for the largest tax hike in Nevada history last session, but led the charge to do so!
For his part, Nelson told the Las Vegas Review-Journal in a pre-election interview in 2014 that he opposed the proposed margins tax because it would cause economic havoc and that he was against renewing taxes which have sunsetted.
Government should operate within its proper, limited scope and live within its current budgetary and tax scheme, Nelson declared.
But once in office, Nelson stuck a shiv in his constituents backs by voting for Gov. Brian Sandovals $1.4 billion tax hike which included yep, a mutated version of the margins tax and over $600 million worth of tax hikes that were supposed to sunset.
How do these people sleep at night?
Columnist Steve Sebelius recently wrote that fibbing politicians such as Roberson and Nelson should try something radical: tell voters the truth. Yeah, that would be radical!
Sebelius, though, supports the tax hike and thinks Roberson and Nelson should wear their broken promises like a badge of honor and tell folks that you also voted for me because I said I would apply myself to fixing the problems that have plagued this state for decades.
But heres the problem with that: They didnt. They ran on an anti-tax platform. They said government needed to live within its means. So they broke their word. They lied. It was deceptive advertising. A scam. A rip-off.
These people shouldnt be elected to higher office. They should be locked in a stock on the public square where taxpayers can pelt them with tomatoes.
So let it be written; so let it be done.
Chuck Muth is president of Citizen Outreach and publisher of NevadaNewsandViews.com. You can reach him at ChuckMuth.com.
A Florida judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by three Florida men against the holding company of the failed Valley Bank and the bank's top officers, claiming they were fraudulently induced into an investment scheme.
In an order filed Thursday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, a judge said the investors, known as the Fernandez Group, had failed to "specify the who, what, where, when, why and how of the alleged fraud."
Jorge L. Guerra, attorney for the group, told the Quad-City Times he will file an amended complaint within the two-week deadline. The judge "takes issue with the specificity of the allegation," Guerra said. "We will flesh it out."
In addition to River Valley Bancorp, the holding company, the suit named its CEO, Larry C. Henson, Bettendorf, who also was president of Valley Bank, and Rob Fick, a former director and Davenport real estate executive.
Henson could not be reached for comment on the dismissal. Craig Sherman, a Florida attorney representing River Valley and Fick, also could not be reached.
Valley Bank, headquartered in Moline, had offices in numerous Iowa and Illinois locations, as well as in Florida.
The Fernandez Group had claimed in a lawsuit originally filed in May 2014 one month before the financially troubled Valley Bank was closed by federal regulators that in late 2012, Henson approached them with a fraudulent investment scheme to raise $2.5 million.
At the time, Valley Bank was operating under "cease and desist" orders from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
According to the suit, Henson told the group that he needed money to position Valley Bank Florida for a sale or merger and that the Fernandez Group's investment would earn a healthy return upon sale or merger, according to the suit.
Group members didn't even have to come up with the money; Henson would loan them the $2.5 million from Valley Bank Midwest, according to the suit, and it would be secured by a mortgage on a 3.9 acres of property in Broward County, Fla.
In their suit, the Fernandez investors claimed fraudulent inducement and federal and state securities fraud against River Valley and Henson and civil conspiracy to defraud against River Valley, Henson, Fick and two other Florida residents.
All defendants previously filed responses denying the allegations.
In issuing the dismissal, Judge Kathleen M. Williams wrote that the Fernandez suit "contains no particularized allegations regarding when Henson (or anyone else from RVBC) made statements, what his statements were, where they were made and to whom they were made."
The group also failed to "adequately allege ... the intent to deceive, manipulate or defraud," according to the dismissal.
Finally, the judge wrote, "it is altogether unclear ... what economic loss (if any) the plaintiffs suffered, only that they must continue to pay the loan obligations on their mortgaged property."
This is the second lawsuit against Henson, Valley Bank and its holding company that has been dismissed.
In February, a suit filed by a Muscatine woman was dismissed at the request of all parties. In that suit, Loretta Mealy made several allegations claiming a total loss of $2.2 million.
In a third lawsuit still pending, Florida businessman Gene Tonn states that in March 2013, Henson talked him into signing promissory notes promising to pay Valley $750,000 in exchange for stock and then on May 29, 2013, Henson sold those promissory notes to a Monmouth, Ill., bank for $754,942.
Banks can sell promissory notes, or loans, to other banks as a way of raising cash.
Tonn argues that the notes should be rescinded because Midwest Bank of Illinois did not take them in "good faith" and that Henson made false statements in inducing Tonn to execute the notes.
Williams Intermediate School, Davenport, has a phone alert system but did not use it after pepper spray was released in the cafeteria Friday afternoon, sending dozens to area hospitals, multiple parents say.
Catherine Jakubsen said she is organizing a petition requiring the school alert parents in emergency situations or she is not sending her child back to the school.
"I was never notified in any way, shape or form," Jakubsen said Friday afternoon. "My son finally called me upset, wanting to come home."
Lealia Stentz, a 13-year-old seventh-grader at Williams, was eating lunch when she heard what she said were poppers, filled with pepper spray.
"Someone put pepper spray in those," Lealia said, and the spray got into her eyes and made them burn.
According to officials, pepper spray was released in the cafeteria of the school at 3040 N. Division St. about 12:20 p.m. Dawn Saul, spokeswoman for the Davenport Community School District, said the incident occurred during the school's last lunch period. She said the spray was directed at the floor of the cafeteria and not at any student or students.
About 60 students were in the cafeteria at the time.
A student at Williams is being investigated for the incident, officials said.
Saul could not be reached later on Friday to comment about whether an alert system was used to notify parents.
Davenport police and firefighters, with EMS crews, responded. Students who have respiratory issues were given close evaluations, and EMS crews decided to send 26 students to hospitals. Some of the students did experience reactions to the spray, Saul said.
School nurses from throughout the district also responded to a call for assistance. Hollie Lantz-Gushanas, a nurse at West High School, said she assisted Principal Garet Egel on a sweep of the school to find students who may have been affected by the pepper spray.
"Every student who needed medical attention received it," said Lantz-Gushanas, who has a seventh-grader at Williams.
Genesis Health System spokesman Craig Cooper reported 26 students were treated: 16 at Genesis Medical Center-East Rusholme Street, seven at Trinity Bettendorf, and three at Trinity Rock Island.
The students were treated for respiratory irritations, eye irritations and some had breathing treatments. Many of the children hyper-ventilated in a reaction to the stress of the situation.
Most of the students had been discharged by 3:20 p.m., and Cooper said none of them were expected to be held overnight.
Saul said school administrators went to the hospitals so they could talk with parents of the students who were treated.
Davenport police are investigating the incident. Charges are pending.
Angela Fox accompanied Lealia Stentz, and her friend, Summer Schillig, as they prepared to leave the school. Fox is a substitute teacher in the system and has a grandson at the school. She said there have been ongoing incidents at Williams, and "it's not getting any better."
Some students texted parents during and after the incident, and in some cases, parents arrived at the school to take their children home. Otherwise, Saul said, the school encouraged students remaining at the school to text their parents to tell them they were OK.
Parents lined up to pick up students about 3 p.m., and dozens walked out the doors. Many complained about not being notified by the school district about the incident.
Kelly Reinhardt, who has an eighth-grader at Williams, wonders why the school did not text or email parents, especially because the school previously has notified parents of events going on.
"I haven't gotten any notification from the school," Reinhardt said. "I'm kind of surprised. I get automated phone calls about every little thing that goes on in school, like reminders to turn in yearbook order forms or an event coming up."
Denise Anderson Fluegel, whose daughter is a sixth-grader there, said she heard about the incident when a friend drove by the school and saw emergency vehicles. She tried calling the school several times and the line was busy.
"So I texted my daughter," she said. "She let me know something went off in the lunchroom, that it was hard to breathe because of pepper spray."
Fluegel said the school has notified her in the past with automated phone messages for upcoming events.
"It will call you with an automated thing coming up on your phone stating this or that is happening at the school," Fluegel said. "Usually my husband gets them before I do, but we still haven't gotten anything about today."
Elizabeth Resnick, mother of a Williams student, was at lunch when she got a text from her daughter: Mom, its me, her 11-year-old wrote, using a friends Kindle device. My throat is closing up, and my eyes are itching, and a lot of people are sick here.
Resnick, the daughter of a Quad-City Times newsroom employee, drove to Williams and saw students being picked up by paramedics. She parked illegally and ran to find her daughter, Dakota Mathiason.
"She was being checked out by paramedics," Resnick said. "She was bright red, her eyes were red and watery, and she was wheezing."
Dakota, who has bad allergies, was not in the lunchroom when the incident happened but in a math class located some distance from the lunchroom. Still, she was affected, and her mother drove her to the emergency room at Genesis Medical Center-West Central Park, Davenport, where she was treated. She was not included in the count of 26 students because she was taken by private vehicle.
Resnick said she cant understand why the district did not send out an alert.
Neither can Bridget Hedgecock, mother of a daughter at Williams. Hedgecock got a text from her daughter, asking to be picked up because of pepper spray at the school.
"I was concerned about that," she said. "Why didn't we hear anything from the district?"
Hedgecock is out of town at a funeral, but her mother was able to pick up the student.
While the incident occurred on April Fools' Day, parents are not taking it lightly.
"It may have started off as a prank, but it's not funny," Reinhardt said.
"It's not funny at all," Fluegel said. "It injured other students."
Republican congressional hopeful Christopher Peters will kick off his campaign with a series of events today and Saturday, including a stop in Walcott.
Peters, an Iowa City doctor who is running in Iowa's 2nd Congressional District, will be at the Iowa 80 Truck Stop in Walcott at 4 p.m. Saturday.
His stop there is one of four he will be making Saturday. The beginning of the tour will be tonight in Sigourney, where Peters is a speaker at the Keokuk County Republican Spring Dinner.
In addition to Walcott, Peters will be in Knoxville, Fairfield and Iowa City on Saturday.
Peters is seeking to unseat incumbent Rep. Dave Loebsack, D-Iowa.
DES MOINES Legislation creating a water excise tax is an important and significant first step toward helping cities improve water quality, Gov. Terry Branstad said Thursday.
However, Branstad, who made water quality one of his priorities for the 2016 legislative session, said the need remains for a long-term source of funding to address municipal water and wastewater issues as well as the states nutrient reduction strategy.
The legislation, House Study Bill 2451, formerly House Study Bill 654, eliminates the sales tax on metered water and replaces it with a 6 percent excise tax that would raise approximately $28 million a year. While the cost to consumers is the same, the excise tax revenue will be dedicated specifically to water quality and not shared with local governments that levy local option sales taxes. The funds would be distributed to communities in the form of grants for improvements to water and waste water treatment facilities.
The House Ways and Means Committee approved HF 2451 on Thursday. It will go next to the House Appropriations Committee where chairman Pat Grassley, R-New Hartford, said money from the Rebuild Iowa Infrastructure Fund (RIIF) to address agricultural-related water quality issues likely will be added. He doesnt know yet how much RIIF money will be put into water quality initiatives, but said the funding wont pit existing RIIF projects against a new effort.
While the House plan is the only one moving in the House, there are other ideas for funding water quality initiatives.
We think we ought to try and do something significant this year, but there are lots of different approaches, said Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs. Some of his members want to use the three-eighths cent sales tax Iowa voters endorsed in 2010 when they approved the Iowa Water and Land Legacy. There are some who would say the governors plan with some significant adjustments might be a framework for doing something and others with other ideas.
He has proposed using money from the ending balance whenever the state treasury was healthy, the cash reserve funds were full and the ending balance was over X amount.
That kind of mechanism, in most years, would probably provide significant resources, he said. If done over last decade, we probably could have done $250 million over six or seven years.
Branstad hopes the Senate takes action even if we cant do the long-term source of funding (because) this will provide significant growth in funding for water quality.
One argument against HF 2541 is that the $28 million a year it would generate when the excise tax is fully phased in after five years is a fraction of whats needed. Floor manager Rep. Peter Cownie, R-West Des Moines, said estimates are Iowas water and wastewater infrastructure needs top $10 billion.
So $28 million a year, doled out on grants of no more than $500,000, is a drop in a bucket, Rep. Patti Ruff, D-McGregor, said.
Cownie conceded there are finite resources and there is an aversion to raising taxes. However, he argued that since Iowans are paying sales taxes on water it makes sense to use those revenues to address water quality.
Rep. Todd Prichard, D-Charles City, agreed that water quality problems wont be solved in one year, but wished for a more comprehensive bill than HF 2451.
Lets think big. Be ambitious, he said.
Turkish police confirm arrest of alleged murderer of Russian pilot
MOSCOW, April 1 (RAPSI) - Alparslan Celik, a militant suspected of killing Oleg Peshkov, Russian pilot of Su-24 bomber downed by the Turkish Air Force in Syria, has been arrested in the city of Izmir in western Turkey, RIA Novosti reported on Friday citing a city police source.
Celik, who returned from Syria where he fought with militants against government forces, was arrested in a group of 14 people at a restaurant in Izmir, Turkish media reported on Thursday evening. One AK assault rifle, two pistols and ammunition were seized from them.
On November 24, Peshkov was reportedly murdered by rebel gunfire from the ground after he ejected from the downed plane.
Relations between Russia and Turkey became troubled after the incident. President Vladimir Putin described the murder of Russian pilot as a stab in the back delivered by accomplices of the terrorists.
Russian billionaire Mikhalchenko appeals detention
Context Investigators seek detention of Russian billionaire Mikhalchenko
MOSCOW, April 1 (RAPSI) - Billionaire Dmitry Mikhalchenko, who stands charged with alcohol trafficking, has filed an appeal against his detention, the Basmanny District Courts spokesperson Yunona Tsareva told RAPSI on Friday.
Mikhalchenko, CEO of Forum Holding Company, was arrested on March 29. On March 30, the court ordered the detention of the businessman until May 29.
Investigators believe that Mikhalchenko organized trafficking of alcoholic products from countries of the European Union.
Forum Holding Company established in 2011 is one of the largest multibusiness companies in Saint-Petersburg.
The company has united several dozens of the citys enterprises and organizations. Forum Holding consists of industrial enterprises, such as "Spinning Mill named after S.M. Kirov", oldest textile industry enterprise in Russia, "Izmeron" factory, one of technological leaders of Russian downhole equipment market, according to the companys website.
Military court upholds expunging of ex-Russian Army commanders conviction for fraud
MOSCOW, April 1 (RAPSI) The Moscow Regional Military Court on Friday upheld a lower courts ruling to expunge conviction of former Army Commander Colonel General Vladimir Chirkin for fraud, RAPSI reported from the courtroom.
Chirkin can be back to military or public service, according to Russian law.
On August 14, 2015, the Moscow Garrison Military Court sentenced Chirkin to five years in prison for taking bribes. He was also stripped of the military rank, and state and departmental awards.
Later the charges were reclassified to fraud and his sentence was changed to a 90,000 ruble ($1,300) fine. Chirkin returned his military rank as well.
Prosecutors claimed that Chirkin took a bribe to help Major Vladimir Lopanov of the reserves, who had served with the Moscow Military District, receive a one-room apartment to which he was entitled under law.
After paying the bribe, Lopanov was unable to move into the apartment, which was already occupied by another ex-soldier. Lopanov tried unsuccessfully to get his money back and later complained to a prosecutors office.
Chirkin pleaded not guilty in this case and claimed that the intermediaries deceived Lopanov. They allegedly extorted money from him, using the generals name as a cover.
Case over 2010 Raspadskaya mine explosion put on hold
Context Victims of Raspadskaya coal mine explosion demand millions of rubles in compensation
MOSCOW, April 1 (RAPSI) A court in the Kemerovo Region has shelved the hearing of a criminal case launched after explosion at the Raspadskaya coal mine in 2010 that left over 90 people dead, RIA Novosti reported on Friday.
Eight people are allegedly responsible for the tragedy at the coal mine. Seven people, mostly former Raspadskaya company employees are accused of breaching mining safety protocols while former government technology and ecology inspector is accused of criminal negligence.
The trial was postponed because of illness of several defendants.
Explosion at the Raspadaskya coal mine happened on May 8, 2010 with subsequent explosions occurring next day. Tragedy left 91 miners dead and 133 wounded. Investigators found out that safety protocols on the mine have been systematically breached since 2007 and have been the prime reason behind the tragedy. Damage from the actions of the accused to the Raspadskaya company is estimated as two trillions of rubles ($29.5 billion). However, the company did not launch a lawsuit against the accused.
Bitterroot Baroque is a presenter organization for the Montana Early Music Festivals concert of J.S. Bachs monumental Mass in B minor, often cited as the pinnacle of choral art.
The unique performance brings an epic number of logistical elements together for a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The musicians, from around Montana and the country, will make a four-city tour, including a stop at St. Francis Xavier Church in Missoula at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 16.
Alex Schafer, president of Bitterroot Baroque, said the venue is important to the presentation.
Its a religious work with a chorus, soloists and period orchestra, Schafer said. Missoulas St. Francis Xavier is a wonderful setting with frescos on the ceiling and the walls it feels like it is in Italy. We needed a bigger place to hold the performers, which are a 42-member choir, six soloists and 17 baroque musicians.
Schafer said the presentation has many interesting aspects, including the instruments and the musicians.
We will use period instruments many of them have never been heard in all of Montana, Schafer said.
The group of baroque musicians has been assembled specifically for this festival. Shafer is the only Bitterroot Baroque member participating as a performer, playing baroque flute.
Artistic Director Kerry Krebill will lead this iconic work, Schafer said. When Sound Counterpoint came to Montana last May, Kerry heard Curtis Fosters great baroque oboe playing and talked with him about doing the B minor. He was very encouraging and offered to play and help recruit some of the people he would like to play with.
Players are coming from Seattle, San Francisco, Minneapolis, New York, Indianapolis and Denver. Vocal soloists are Amanda Balestrieri (soprano), Marjorie Bunday (mezzo-soprano), Anne Kania (contralto), Robert Petillo (tenor), Rob W. Tudor (baritone) and Bobb Robinson (baritone), who all specialize in music before 1800.
Leading the orchestra as concertmaster will be Ginna Watson of the Minneapolis-based Rose Ensemble. Organist Keith Reas and cellist Sarah Stone are the continuo players.
The instrumentation is unique in that the 17-member chamber orchestra will play period instruments either actual 18th century instruments or modern replicas. The baroque organ has been brought from Seattle, there will be an oboe with a brass mouthpiece rather than a reed, bassoons and traversi (flutes), natural horn and trumpets, gut strings and historic timpani.
Krebill said she has worked on the logistics of the concert for three months and the performances will be amazing.
It is so exciting, Krebill said. I only do music that I love because life is too short to do anything else. This piece is the culmination of Bachs life and the epitome of the choral art. To get to sing the B minor Mass or the high Mass once in your lifetime is something you aspire to. Well do it four nights in a row.
Krebill said that performing the piece is also a physical feat.
It is challenging to be able to sing it, but it has 16 note runs and sustained notes, she said. You sing for four minutes in a row and you get a little rest or maybe you sing for another four minutes straight. It is not a lazy mans work.
Krebill said everyone will love these performances.
It is a Montana premier, she said. It is the first time in Montana that there has been a performance of period instruments, a choir and the highest piece of music. It is a compilation of so many beautiful parts. It is an opportunity to hear live music that youll never have again.
Krebill said that Montana audiences are just now embracing early music, but it is growing in popularity.
Early music is still below the radar in this state, she said. We are chipping away at this. You do not have to travel to big cities to hear these concerts. They will be the best you can hear anywhere.
The program tours three other Montana cities, including performances at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 14, at Holy Rosary in Bozeman, 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 15, at Immaculate Conception in Butte, and at 4 p.m. Sunday, April 17, at Plymouth Congregational in Helena.
For the presentation at St. Francis Xavier in Missoula, seating is general admission. Ticket prices are $30 general admission and $10 students. Tickets will be available at the door, as well as at Rockin Rudys in Missoula and Chapter One Book Store in Hamilton.
For more information call (314) 852-5099 or visit bitterrootbaroque.org.
Errol Rupp jokingly called himself a renegade nurse and not just because he wears cowboy boots to work everyday. His assignment as a Marcus Daly Hospice nurse allows him the freedom to put patient care at the forefront of all his efforts.
Unfortunately, thats not always the case in the medical field, but I believe nothing and I mean nothing is more important than patient care, he said. Extra credentials or fancy equipment dont mean a thing if patient care isnt improved in the process.
Rupp landed his first job in a hospital as an orderly in 1969 at the age of 19.
I was a child of the 60s, so I was going to change the world however I could, he said.
He spent the next 20 years at different assignments in many western states before settling in Montana in 1990 to continuing his nursing career along with his wife, who was also a registered nurse. His career includes experience in respiratory therapy, neurology, rehabilitation, X-ray and teaching. In 1977, he became a registered nurse and spent 30 years in critical care.
When I look back, a lot of my nursing has to do with compassion, he said. Im constantly thinking, What would I want for my folks and what would I want for me at the end of my life? Ive always had a bit of hospice in me without realizing it, so this has just been a matter of transition.
Whatever you do in medicine, you have to consider peoples feelings, he said. You have to think about their hurts, their pains, fears and emotions whether its in regards to a broken leg or a last breath. Everybody deals differently and some are really, really tough for them while others just shrug off the pain or hold it inside. Some people are just more transparent than others.
All of Rupps experience, and especially his sense of humor, makes him a beloved nurse by hospice patients.
We can have such a big impression on people and not even realize it, he said Sometimes, I might only spend 10 or 15 minutes with a family in hospice care but maybe the patient dies the next day and those 10 minutes were monumental and Im treated like I walk on water. But it is nursing, so some days you pour your guts out for a patient and you didnt do enough. You have to take it all in stride.
Although Rupp is sometimes older than his hospice patients, his enthusiasm and vitality is a blessing especially appreciated by his male patients.
There are some things you just dont want to discuss with the ladies, said James Bud Whitehead a hospice patient who is spending a few days at the Marcus Daly Hospice facility to give his wife some respite while she is also finishing home renovations. Im always around these females and sometimes you need to talk to a man and get his manly opinion. I ask him, What would he do? He gives me the information and helps me a lot. Hes the biggest crutch I have.
But we also have had some good conversations about horses, Whitehead said. It gets my mind off everything and we both know what were talking about. Hes top-notch all the way. When he talks medicines, I cant always follow what hes saying, but when we talk horses, I can follow him and it makes me a lot happier. When he leaves for the day, he sends me back to the wolves, but thats alright.
Rupp considers his career more than just a job.
I consider this entire process of hospice nursing to be a ministry more than anything, he said. You have to have faith to have the right attitude around here an attitude for gratitude for whatever the day brings. I truly believe that God has me doing this for a reason. Its not by chance. For my own sake, faith and prayer is very important.
But you have to be careful what you pray for, he said. You cant pray for a pony and then be disappointed because you got a black one. I remember years ago, a bunch of us from church went hunting. We all prayed before we went. We walked out and immediately all these deer came out 20 or 30 of them. We could have thrown a rock at them. So I looked at the guy next to me and said, What are you waiting for? and he said he wanted one with horns. They hesitated and then they didnt see another deer the entire time we were there. I think that applies to life in general. If you hesitate to be grateful, then youre left with a whole lot of nothing.
For hospice nurses, Rupp said, We all have our job descriptions of what were supposed to do, but in this business, you have to be very versatile and be able to change on a dime. You might be checking vitals one minute and then the next thing you know, youre praying with them. And then in walks a vagrant sister who nobodys seen in years and you try to give everyone the support they need. You find yourself being a social worker and a chaplain and a nurse and a counselor. You wear many, many hats. You dont tell someone in their time of need that its not your job to do something and that youll call someone else to come over. You do what they need and realize that the lines are very blurred.
Rupp recommends that nurses transitioning to a hospice position have at least 12 to 15 years of experience under their belts. A new nurse or somebody with minimal experience has to realize that you must address death in its face. And death is not necessarily the evil one. So many young nurses dont have the life experience to answer certain questions for families. You have to have fallen down and skinned your knee a few times before you can be effective in hospice. I still stub my toe on occasion and Im still learning. Hardly a day goes by that I dont learn something new.
It also helps that I dont have wavy hair and a dark beard, he said. My age has been an advantage here. I tell young doctors and patients alike that we have to talk to be successful. Bed making and mind reading are two things I failed in nursing school, so theyre going to have to talk to me.
Rupp has taken the technological advances in nursing in stride. He carries his laptop wherever he goes and is appreciative of the advantages.
Today with technology we all have tablets and lap tops and smart phones but when I was going through the ranks, we didnt have computerized monitors, he said. You had to think on your feet. You had to make decisions yesterday and not wait to go and ask permission. As a hospice nurse, you have to be willing to make mistakes and be accountable. And if theres something that cant be judged clearly, I have every doctors phone number on my cell phone and can call them right away. Our doctors are really looking for our input and they will back us for most anything and everything. They are very supportive of hospice and they know were out in the field seeing things they dont see. Its like Im a MASH unit of one, so I have to be very resourceful. Without experience, you just dont have all of those resources ready.
He said hospice nurses need to have professional maturity, And that doesnt mean who has their nametag on the straightest. You have to have it here and here, he said pointing to his head and heart.
Rupp feels strongly about being a patients advocate.
Unfortunately, every change in Congress has driven wedges between patients and patient care, he said. The thing that aggravates me the most is to go into these homes of people in their last days who dont have many resources. Some of these homes you wouldnt let your cat or dog live in, but thats all they have and for some reason they dont meet certain criteria for help. Id love to take all of our congressmen and senators on a road trip. Id say, Put your mom here and then see how policy would change.
Rupp has a healthy view of death and dying.
If you look on our board, weve had 19 deaths this month with about 24 to 28 admissions of new patients, he said. Theres a lot of paperwork in all of that and after awhile it drains you mentally and physically. But you have to be ready every day for whats to come because even for the nurses, theres a loss when someone dies.
He said the best way of dealing with the pain is to look past it.
So many children feel that they just cant let mama go if shes dying, he said. And so I encourage them to change their focus, Do you want mama to lie in that bed with that quality of life? What do you want? Do you want her to be comfortable? I tell them, You know, death can be awful peaceful.
He said, If a family is faith-based, then that helps. But we determine each familys strengths. We determine where are their weaknesses; where do they need support? If this branch of the tree needs support so it doesnt snap off, well hold that branch a little higher. Every family experiences a different type of grieving. But universally, once they accept that someone they love is dying, we can find a healthy transition that they can all wrap their head around and together we find peace.
The Ragin Cajun Crab Feed and Low-Country Boil is a fundraiser for the Hamilton Downtown Association and its efforts to become a gateway destination.
Cyndi McNeil, a licensed marriage and family therapist with Center for Hope and Healing, is the chairwoman for the annual event.
This year the crab feed is going to be different with a low-country boil, McNeil said. Besides crab, were going to have crawfish, andouille sausage, corn-on-the-cob, and potatoes all served low-country boil style spread out on the table.
The menu also has mouthwatering crab clusters served with hot with melted butter for dipping, beer from Bitter Root Brewery and wine from The Wine Cave. Red Rooster Artisan Bakery will provide baguettes.
The fun and tasty event will include live music by SmokeStack and the Foothill Fury, a raffle for a local entertainment package and a silent auction.
The local entertainment package includes all the events around town, McNeal said. Theres going to be tickets to the Ravalli County Fair, the Hamilton Playhouse, the Fall Fashion Preview for Emmas House, the Cider Fest, Brew Fest, the museum and Daly Mansion and more.
McNeil said the Hamilton Downtown Association is raising money for a downtown master plan.
It is the gateway project that we want to do at the corner of Highway 93 and Main and the revamping of the downtown, she said. Our goal is to make downtown Hamilton a destination spot so it is beautiful, attracts people and we are proud of it.
Susan Wetzsteon, from Mikesells Jewelry, said the Hamilton Downtown Association is working with the Montana Downtown Association for guidance in achieving its goals.
Theres all this criteria to meet along the way, Wetzsteon said. Weve had to have a coordinator and a board. We have to track our events, volunteer hours, how many businesses are moving in or out and how many memberships we have.
Wetzsteon said the goal is to have welcoming gateway entrances to downtown along Highway 93.
The main one will be on Main Street with an archway and park-like area that is a greeting to the downtown corridor, she said. We are starting a capital campaign this year so that we have money in the capital fund specifically so we have matching funds when we apply for grants. The Hamilton Downtown Association also brings vitality and events to the downtown.
Wetzsteon said a year ago she attended a state downtown association meeting and learned about the revitalization of Sheridan, Mont.
Sheridan is a tiny town and they just got done with their master plan, and it took them 10 years of actual construction time after they completed their fundraising, Wetzsteon said. The highway goes right through the middle of their town and they were able to apply for grants to do street lights, sidewalks and signage.
Naomi Gary, from Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Montana Properties, also is on the event committee.
People should come to the crab feed to support the long-term effort, but Friday will be a good time, great food and a fun band, Gary said. Theres also a no-host bar.
Therell also be a dining area and an room for dancing.
We want the event to be more fun and different so we came up with the Ragin Cajun theme, Wetzsteon said.
The Ragin Cajun Crab Feed and Low-Country Boil will be held in the Bedford Building. Doors open and music starts at 6 p.m. and dinner will be served at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $30 in advance from Chapter One Book Store, Bitter Root Brewery and The Wine Cave. Tickets are $35 at the door on April 1.
HDA Crab Feed sponsors are Troy Collins Fine Art, First Security Bank, Farmers State Bank, Bitter Root Brewing and The Wine Cave.
For more information on the downtown master plan, visit the citys website at cityofhamilton.net and type downtown master plan in the search bar.
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Here's where to get a pumpkin in central Kansas for fall
Local farms are preparing for the upcoming pumpkin harvest. Here's where to go pumpkin picking in the greater Salina area.
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Extraordinany (and extraordinarily timely) issue of the Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science | Main | Federal district judge astutely asks feds for accounting of political corruption sentences before high-profile NY pol sentencing
March 31, 2016
A telling, but still unsatisfying, SCOTUS discussion of retroactivity during oral argument in Welch
As previewed in this post, yesterday the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Welch v. United States, which is principally concerned with the retroactive application of last Term's significant ruling in Johnson (authored by Justice Scalia) that the "residual clause" of the federal Armed Career Criminal Act was unconstitutionally vague. I am deeply interested in this Welch case, not only because I helped with this law professor amicus brief in Welch, but also because I have authored this law review article to explain my view that traditional SCOTUS retroactivity doctrines so called Teague doctrines developed with unique concern for the importance of preserving the finality of convictions are not necessarily the best was to examine whether and when a new sentencing rule ought to apply retroactivity.
Helpfully, Rory Little has followed up his terrific Welch oral argument preview post at SCOTUSblog with this spot-on oral argument review post titled "Argument analysis: A likely decision in favor of retroactivity?." Having read the full argument transcript in Welch (which is available here), I fell well positioned to assert that Rory's analysis is a much better and more enjoyable read, and it includes these essential insights at its start and end:
While it is not possible to describe the intricacies of retroactivity doctrine here let alone wise if we want to keep our readers awake it looks like last Terms decision in Johnson v. United States will be declared to apply retroactively for all purposes, including on first and even successive (assuming they are timely filed) habeas corpus petitions. And as I explained in my preview, that result is likely, although not certain, to result in substantial sentencing reductions for a significant number of convicted federal defendants.... The law of retroactivity presents intellectual conundra that may never be fully settled. The decision in this case is likely to be simply one more precedent in the wavering doctrinal line. We will never know what Justice Harlan, or Justice Scalia, thinks of it. But convicted federal felons whose sentences are reduced by five or more years will not care about the intricacies, while young law professors aspiring to tenure will have new grist for their mills.
Though I am no longer a young law professor, the intricacies of retroactivity doctrines as articulated in Teague and its progeny are a source of frustration and concern for me. And the Welch oral argument leaves me concerned that the current Justices are going to be content to apply existing Teague doctrines in a quirky manner to a quirky case (as they have recently show they are wont to do in Montgomery v. Louisiana decided a few months ago). As I suggest in this law review article, applying traditional Teague doctrines in retroactivity cases that involving only sentencing issues necessarily involves banging a square equitable peg into and round Teague doctrinal hole. And yet, after reading the Welch transcript, it seems the Justices are for now content to just keep banging away.
March 31, 2016 at 05:32 PM | Permalink
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A telling, but still unsatisfying, SCOTUS discussion of retroactivity during oral argument in Welch | Main | GOP frontrunners Donald Trump and Ted Cruz author joint letter urging Prez Obama to commute tens of thousands more federal sentences!
April 1, 2016
Federal district judge astutely asks feds for accounting of political corruption sentences before high-profile NY pol sentencing
As reported in this New York Post article, headlined "Judge in Shelly Silvers case wants to know how much time crooked pols usually get," a federal district judge has ordered federal prosecutors to help her discharge her post-Booker sentencing duties under 18 USC 3553(a)(6) to consider "the need to avoid unwarranted sentence disparities among defendants with similar records who have been found guilty of similar conduct." Here are the interesting details:
Manhattan federal Judge Valerie Caproni wants a chart outlining sentences for previously convicted New York politicians ahead of Sheldon Silvers sentencing next month. In an order to prosecutors filed Thursday, Caproni asked for the information to consider the need for unwarranted disparities between similarly situated defendants. The judge wants the government to include in its sentencing submission paperwork a summary chart containing the sentences imposed on elected state and federal officials who were convicted in federal court of corruption-related offenses in the last five years to the extent that information is not unduly burdensome to obtain, the one-page order says. Prosecutors will have their hands full: Dozens of New York politicians have been convicted of charges varying from bribery to mail fraud and racketeering to tax evasion, prosecutors said. Ex-City Councilman Dan Halloran was slapped with a stiff 10-year prison sentence for masterminding a failed $200,000 bribery plot to rig the 2013 mayoral election for then-state Sen. Malcolm Smith. Meanwhile, ex-Senate Majority Leader Smith, who was also busted, got seven years behind bars. And Hiram Monserrate, the Democratic state senator who looted nearly $100,000 in taxpayer money to win higher office, was sent away for two years in 2012 after pleading guilty. Another disgraced ex-state senator, Pedro Espada Jr., received a five-year sentence for bilking a taxpayer-funded nonprofit to pay for his lavish lifestyle. Silver faces up to 130 years behind bars after he was convicted in November of corruption charges. The 72-year-old ex-Assembly speaker will likely receive far less at his sentencing April 13. Prosecutors sentencing submission is due by April 6, court records show. Ex-Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos who was convicted with his son, Adam, of bribery and corruption just weeks after Silver also faces 130 years. The Skeloses will be sentenced April 28.
Based on the quote of this article, it seems that Judge Caproni has asked not merely for sentencing details on convicted New York politicians, but all "elected state and federal officials who were convicted in federal court of corruption-related offenses in the last five years." I am guessing there could be hundreds of politicians nationwide who fit into this category. I would be especially interested to see what this summary chart looks like, and I hope to be able to post it on this blog whenever it becomes publicly available.
April 1, 2016 at 09:15 AM | Permalink
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The judge needs to toss out outliers though---sometimes, these guys really get a break that they shouldn't.
Posted by: federalist | Apr 1, 2016 10:26:08 AM
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See how The Chronicles 2016 Rising Star Chefs shape the Bay Areas dining scene.https://t.co/SqGOBx13G2 pic.twitter.com/VyMPaojLdG SFChronicle (@sfchronicle) March 31, 2016
It's time again for the Chronicle's own list of Rising Stars in the Bay Area culinary scene, a list which often presages bigger national honors like James Beard Awards, and Food & Wine's annual Best New Chef list. This year's list, published today in the Chronicle, includes six chefs, and knowing that he's faced criticism in the past when the list has been all-male and heavily white, Michael Bauer looks to have turned over the task to others in the food department, including Paolo Lucchesi and Jonathan Kauffman. This year's list is successfully diverse, including two female chefs even though one is technically not working in a currently open restaurant.
From left to right in the above photo: Geoffrey Lee of Ju-Ni, Val Cantu of Californios, Laura Meyer of Tony's Pizza Napoletana, Pierre Tumlin of Hog & Rocks, Ryan Pollnow of Aatxe, and Sara Hauman of the upcoming Mister Jiu's, formerly of Huxley.
Says second-generation SF native Lee about opening Ju-Ni, his first solo sushi restaurant which just opened in February and, notably, hasn't gotten a full Chronicle review yet from Bauer "I believe thoroughly that I know what Im doing. And Im really, really excited to open in my hometown." Lee trained at Tsurugis in San Luis Obispo and at Sushi Ran in Sausalito.
The paper notes that Meyer has been serving as head chef at Tony's in recent years, after working for Tony Gemignani for the last 11 years, starting when she was 16 at his Castro Valley pizzeria, and now running the show as Gemiganani spends more time traveling the world participating in competitions, etc.
Tumlin, meanwhile, has only been running the kitchen at Hog & Rocks since December, but is introducing some haute elements to the menu, like a Bolognese made with sweetbreads and served with horseradish breadcrumbs; and an asparagus salad with avocado-tofu puree.
Cantu, who got his first cooking job in Texas and who's family owns a Mexican restaurant there, has been widely praised for his subtly Mexican-influenced take on a tasting menu experience. Pollnow has also won plenty of praise since the opening of tapas-focused Aatxe last year, including mentions in Bon Appetit and elsewhere. And Hauman, while she's left the post that got her first noticed at the tiny Tenderloin spot Huxley, nonetheless made it on the James Beard Award semifinalist list this year for Rising Star likely due to Michael Bauer's own cheerleading.
Now, Mr. Bauer is in the home stretch of revising his annual Top 100, which we can expect to appear in the paper in about a month.
According to the District Attorney's office, San Francisco police officers texted each other racist and homophobic remarks making light of the unfolding, so-called racist SFPD texting scandal that roiled the department itself. That incident ultimately led to naught save, perhaps, sticking taxpayers with the legal fees, since due to statute of limitations exclusions, those original texts were deemed too old to be considered. But now, in a bit of irony, the Examiner writes that DA Gascon claims to have caught even more hate-texters red-thumbed, this time in texts that date to 2014 and 2015.
We were in the middle of an investigation and we discovered new racist and homophobic text messages that were being used, Gascon told the Ex, explaining that his office had scoured roughly 5,000 pages of text messages as part of a criminal case. The N word was used many times. They are of the same nature as what we saw last year, he added, while noting that These officers are completely unconnected with the 14 we saw last year. This time, five officers are being fingered.
The DA's blue-ribbon panel, which seeks to rout what he calls an "old boys club" in the Police Department, hasn't been wildly successful as he wars with Chief Suhr. In fact, so far it's turned up an accusation that Gascon was himself responsible for racist remarks while he was on the force himself. This kind of recent finding might be more what Gascon had in mind. No one can say with a straight face now with these new text message that they are isolated, Gascon said.
Seriously though? Didn't they learn the first time that the DA is reading all their texts!?
Previously: Taxpayers May Foot The Legal Bill For Those Hate-Texting SFPD Officers
With its February 24 deadline to the city to remove the Dolores Park pissoir or face legal action well passed, active anti-LGBTQ group Pacific Justice Institute has gone strangely quiet about what it once called "a human regression of mankind." Multiple SFist requests for comment to the Sacramento-based organized have gone unreturned, and the City Attorney's office refuses to say whether or not they ever received the threatened lawsuit. And so, the issue is behind us and we can all just get to peeing in peace right? Wrong. The LA Times, it seems, just couldn't let it go, and today ran an article on the urinal detailing how the paper has "never seen anything quite like it."
The Times dedicates almost a thousand words to the plight of retired personal trainer Patrick Sullivan, whose prime address near Dolores Park forces him to gaze upon "the backs of dozens of men relieving themselves" in the open-air bathroom.
"My friend was listening to the news," Sullivan told the paper, "and she called me and said, 'You aren't going to believe this. It's not a statue. It's a urinal!' I was shocked."
Shocked!
Sullivan tells the Times that he supports the anti-gay group's efforts to have the urinal pulled, and has written to Supervisor Scott Wiener to make his position known. "The most upsetting thing is just seeing people urinate in the busiest corner of the park," Sullivan said, perhaps forgetting that urinals are intended to be urinated in. Also, had he not noticed the men urinating in plain view in the bushes all along the Muni tracks on sunny days for the last decade?
As for the LA Times, why they would choose to cover the pissoir at this late date is a bit of a mystery, but sometimes news travels slow. Perhaps they should just take a note from the obviously more cosmopolitan Ohioan they interviewed, Jim Caldwell, who was visiting San Francisco with his family on vacation.
"Well," he casually observed of the open-air urinal, "they do that in France."
Previously: Anti-Gay Group Threatens Lawsuit Over Outdoor Urinal At Dolores Park
Rec & Parks Explains The Plant Situation Around That Pissoir At Dolores Park
SF's First Open-Air Urinal Makes National Headlines
Photo Du Jour: First Look At Dolores Park's New Pissoir
San Francisco has selected the California Historical Society to restore the Old Mint, which dates to 1854 and was rebuilt in a classical revival style in 1874 at the intersection of Fifth and Mission Streets. The Chronicle reports that the nonprofit Historical Society, whose 1871 founding dates it to a similar era, will spend the next 18 months assessing the rehabilitation needs of the building and crafting a plan for a new cultural center on the premises.
The Old Mint ceased operations in 1937 with the opening of the new Mint (behind the Market Street Safeway), and the building operated as a museum for a period until 1994. It was owned by the federal government until 2003 when it was sold to the City of San Francisco for $1. The building has been a National Historic Landmark since 1961, but the Examiner notes that last year the National Trust for Historic Preservation listed the space among the nation's 11 most endangered historic places.
Last December, the Office of Economic and Workforce Development tapped the group Activate SF to maintain the Old Mint temporarily, and the largely dormant space has been opened to the public for occasional events such as last month's San Francisco History Days.
Previous to that, another nonprofit, the San Francisco Museum and Historical Society had leased the Old Mint. Though that group hoped to perform its own restoration, after some success fundraising and cleaning out debris, the Chronicle wrote last year that the City had terminated that lease because the organization had failed to raise adequate funds or make a feasible plan for seismic upgrades and reuse of the building.
"We are going to be involved with this every step of the way, John Lau, who is the city project manager for the Old Mint Restoration Project, told the Chron. Hinting at previous attempts, he added that, We arent handing over the keys, which is what we did in the past. CHS will be a very intimate and important partner, but it is still a city project.
Restoration could cost more than $100 million, according to Lau, with seismic upgrades a chief concern. At the end of 18 months, we will have a reuse proposal that we would take to the policymakers," he said. "We want to turn the building into a fresh space for the community.
Previously: With New Shine, Old Mint Hosts Pop-Up History Museum
Last September's Valley Fire devastated the community of Middletown, California and destroyed over 1200 homes, becoming the third most destructive wildfire in state history. It also killed four people and an unknown number of animals, and the Middletown Animal Hospital is still keeping a bulletin board for people with lost pets. One pet owner, though, got lucky last week.
Her name is Nancy, and as the hospital posted to Facebook, she was driving near her house in Middletown last Thursday when she saw a white cat that looked like Muscat, her cat who she had not seen since the evacuation on September 12, 2015. She stopped the car and the cat came to her, and she immediately called the hospital to see about a check-up.
As CBS 5 reports, Teresa Axthelm of the Middletown Animal Hospital says, "We were just so excited... So I said, at no charge, get Muscat in here, get him examined, get him vaccinated."
Via Facebook she says, "We're happy to report that Muscat is healthy."
This story echoes that of the badly burned cat who nonetheless survived the fire, though his eyes were burned shut. (That cat's ultimate fate is unclear.)
As the Sacramento Bee reported in the wake of the Valley Fire, dozens of pets were injured in the fire and treated at the UC Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, many of them cats. Vets surmised that dogs would have been easier to corral in the chaos of the evacuation, while cats would be more likely to flee on their own or hide, with many left homeless and separated from their owners.
In the case of Muscat, at least, he hung around, clearly kept himself fed all these months, and waited to get picked up.
NEW YORK | Doctors in Manhattan are proposing dual duty for mammograms because the screening technology can spot a key sign of heart disease, which kills 10 times more women than breast cancer.
Digital mammography is an underappreciated tool that can provide vivid images of blood vessels and reveal risks that lead to heart attacks and strokes, said Dr. Laurie Margolies, an associate professor of radiology, and Dr. Harvey Hecht, a professor of medicine at Mount Sinais Icahn School of Medicine.
The physicians expect their proposal to stir debate when they present it this week at a meeting of the American College of Cardiology in Chicago.
Historically, when reading mammograms we were taught that we have one job and one job only, and thats to look for cancer, said Margolies, chief of breast imaging at Mount Sinai Hospitals Dubin Breast Center.
But mammography is designed to reveal calcifications in the breast because calcifications can be an early sign of breast cancer.
Though calcium deposits in breast tissue are important in the diagnosis of cancer, blood vessels that branch throughout the breast can independently possess calcifications. Those deposits, Margolies said, are a salient signature of atherosclerosis, the narrowing of vessels marred by plaque.
Based on the new research involving nearly 300 women, Margolies said it is very likely that a patient may have no evidence of calcification associated with cancer, but may have obvious deposits in the branching arteries blood vessels in the breast suggestive of a risk for heart disease.
The calcifications that are in the vessels look very different from cancer calcifications, Margolies said. She noted that calcifications in the vasculature show up sharp on digital mammograms just as tissue calcifications are clear in an image suggestive of cancer.
Hecht, director of cardiovascular imaging at Mount Sinais St. Lukes Hospital, also in Manhattan, said the new research is the first relatively large study to determine whether mammography is a useful tool to screen for a major cardiovascular risk factor.
Earlier, smaller research projects, he said, also examined mammography to screen for heart disease, but they didnt fully explore the degree to which the technology could be an appropriate tool.
The new analysis, Hecht added, is the first to show breast arterial calcification correlating with coronary artery calcification because in the study, women who had signs of arterial calcium deposits on a mammogram were confirmed through CT scans to have evidence of coronary artery deposits as well.
Moreover, Hecht said, the mammogram evidence turned out to be a more powerful predictor of heart disease risk than other well-established cardiovascular indicators such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes.
It takes less than 15 seconds to analyze, Hecht said of spotting arterial calcium deposits on a mammogram.
Dr. Stacey Rosen, vice president of womens health at The Katz Institute for Womens Health, a division of medical-care giant Northwell in New Hyde Park, said shes excited about the new findings and plans to be in the audience a week from Saturday when Margolies and Hecht officially announce their findings.
I think its fascinating from a couple of points of view, Rosen, a cardiologist, said Wednesday, noting that the research is important because it means an existing technology may be used to help combat the biggest disease threat women face.
This is also an opportunity to align different clinical groups to really look at womens health needs in total. This presents an opportunity for practitioners to get out of their silos, Rosen said.
She emphasized that the work is still preliminary and needs to be replicated, but with solid science already undergirding the findings, Rosen said its likely future research will support the notion that mammograms can be used to screen for signs of heart disease.
Margolies, meanwhile, said a single mammogram can yield results about cancer and heart disease at the same time.
With no additional cost or radiation exposure, women can get this information through routine mammography, she said.
Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad should concede defeat and drop his insistence on tying water quality to an extension of the state school infrastructure sales tax.
Little, if any support appears to exist within either chamber of the Legislature for Branstad's proposal, made in January during his Condition of the State Message, to direct part of an extended one-percent tax for school projects to water programs.
Still, according to a Tuesday story from The Journal's Des Moines bureau, Branstad said despite lack of legislative interest in his idea, he isn't inclined to support an extension of the school infrastructure tax unless a portion of the money is included in a long-term plan for water quality. Without extension, the tax sunsets on Dec. 31, 2029.
In our view, the Legislature and Branstad should back extension of the existing school tax and look elsewhere for water quality money. Revenue from an extension should be used only for school infrastructure as was the original intent of a tax supported by Iowans through referendums in individual counties across the state (the school tax became a statewide tax in 2008).
Because its benefits speak for themselves in the form of school improvements, including new school buildings, throughout the state, we believe the school infrastructure tax deserves extension. To help local school districts plan and bond for future building projects, extension needs to happen sooner rather than later.
We have an almost proprietary interest in this tax because it originated as a local-option sales tax in Woodbury County and because, arguably, no school district in Iowa has benefitted more from the tax than Sioux City. With revenue from this tax, our local district has built seven elementary schools, three middle schools and three high school science wings and is building or plans to build three more elementary schools before the tax is scheduled to expire.
Still, a variety of infrastructure needs remain, including the need for replacement of three more elementary schools and improvements to the district's three aging high schools or construction of new high schools (by the time the sales tax expires, Sioux City's high schools will be nearly 60 years old).
We urge lawmakers to make extension of this important tax, without strings, a priority for this session.
And we urge Branstad to give up on his stubborn water quality demand and get behind the extension.
One mans visionary leadership has impacted hundreds of thousands of people in Siouxland and helped the economy grow and diversify.
Dr. Robert H. Kiser, 91, died on March 25 at Holy Spirit Retirement Home in Sioux City. It is believed he was the last surviving founding president for the 15 Iowa community colleges.
Dr. Kiser devoted his career to education, serving several Iowa school districts before being selected to serve as the first president for Western Iowa Tech Community College in November 1966. With his wife Holly by his side, he served as president for 25 years, growing the college from 83 students in 1967 to over 1,700 students by his retirement in 1991.
Dr. Kisers legacy is one of aggressively responding to our communitys need for affordable, quality education contributing to economic growth in Siouxland. By his second anniversary with the college, he had led the way in consolidating all of the high school completion, high school equivalency certificate, and occupationally oriented adult education programs under the direction of Western Iowa Tech Community College, growing the number of Career Education programs from the original three to 17, and acquiring a 143-acre tract of land at 4647 Stone Avenue in Sioux City.
In 1967, three instructional programs operated at various sites in Sioux City. As the number of students served and programs offered grew, Dr. Kiser realized the need to create a physical infrastructure for long-term sustainability. He embarked on sustained development of the 4647 Stone Avenue property, including construction of:
The Applied Technology Building (1971)
Dr. Robert H. Kiser Building (1974)
KWIT building with KWIT 90.3 FM signing on the air in January 1978
The Gaylord Smith Building and the Corporate College Building (1980)
The Transportation Center (1985)
The Physical Plant Building (1989)
If you have ever doubted the impact of one person, simply reflect on Dr. Kisers legacy. In 1973, he was appointed to the Iowa Vocational Educational Advisory Council by Gov. Robert Ray. In 1989, Dr. Kiser received the Outstanding Chief Executive Officer Award from the Iowa Association of Community College Trustees for his work at Western Iowa Tech. By 1990, over 53 instructional programs were providing graduates with the knowledge and skills needed to support and create businesses providing appeal for economic development of Siouxland.
The solid foundation created by Dr. Kiser has enabled thousands of people to establish careers in Dental Assisting, Band Instrument Repair, Police Science, Accounting, Secretary, Carpentry, Electrician, Surgical Technician, Air Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration, Auto Body, Automotive Technology, and Welding, and to earn associate of arts degrees leading to a variety of careers or advanced degree attainment.
Today, the college serves approximately 6,500 individuals through nearly 75 full- and part-time instructional programs, and offers continuing adult education and Lifelong Learning courses to over 30,000 participants annually.
Dr. Kiser was not a man of many words, but his actions helped countless people to gain skills to provide for their families and helped thousands of businesses to employ a skilled workforce to grow and thrive.
Terry Murrell is president of Western Iowa Tech Community College.
Social media analytics tools are essential to measuring social media ROI that is, your companys return on investment from using social media. If you are a social media manager or own a small business, you are going to need the best tools you can find. The same goes for those involved in influencer marketing or digital agencies that run social media campaigns.
Great tools make your job easier, save precious time and give you insights into each of the social networking sites that your company or clients are active on. They also help you shine in front of clients or others in your company. Luckily there are plenty of tools available. Some are free or offer a free version with limited features suitable for small startups. But if your needs are more robust, and you require a paid tool, many of them offer a free trial so you can check out the features in detail before you buy. Weve included the best tools for small businesses of all sizes in our list.
What are social media analytics?
The definition of social media analytics is the systematic collection and evaluation of data that helps you measure how well or how poorly you are doing on social media. After all, resources are limited in most businesses. You cant afford to spend time and money on activities if they dont pay off. The analytics tools in our list help you decide where to spend time, how to maximize your efforts, and how to gain insights into your audience (see data analytics tips).
Analytics tools are different from social media management tools. There are plenty of tools that help you post updates on social media channels and even schedule content in advance. Those are not the kind of tools we mean. Below we are mainly focused on tools to understand and measure your social media performance.
Best Free and Paid Social Media Analytics Tools
Weve assembled a list of the best social media analytics tools appropriate for small businesses. Click on one of the tools in the list below or scroll down to learn about what makes each the best in class.
Analytics Tools Provided by the Social Networks
1. Zoho Social
Touted as among the best Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software Zoho through its social media analytics tools Zoho Social offers some great tools to manage your social media outreach from a single platform. You can schedule publishing posts through an intuitive publishing calendar, monitor campaigns and create custom reports. The monitoring dashboard gives you the ability to easily to measure the pulse of your campaign and respond in real-time to engage with your audience. Zoho Social starts with a standard monthly billing of $10 that allows you to manage one brand across seven channels. The robust agency plus costs $300 a month and enables the management of 30 brands across a whopping 140 channels.
What it does:
Zoho Social is the part that enables you to understand your social media audience and how they engage with you.
You can listen to multiple channels from a single dashboard and respond in real-time.
You can also dig deeper into each post to measure their reach and engagement.
The integration with Zoho Desk makes Zoho Social ideal for a comprehensive social media outreach where you can create tickets from social media for your support team to see and resolve them from Zoho Desk.
Whats it great at:
It offers the complete package from managing your social media accounts,
publishing, monitoring and offering cutting-edge analytics.
It supports Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
It is compatible with mobile apps for Android and iOS.
It also seamlessly integrates with Zoho CRM for greater collaboration.
2. Hootsuite
Hootsuite is another social media management tool. As social media analytics tools go, it helps manage posts, collaboration, scheduling and analytics. With it, you can automate posts, schedule them and take key performance metrics to gauge the performance of your marketing content. The starter package is set at $19 a month with support for 10 social media channels and unlimited scheduling capabilities for one administrator. The enterprise package offers a customized solution.
What it does:
It comes with all the bells and whistles you might need for your startup or growth stage as a small business when it comes to social media analytics tools.
It integrates with all social platforms including Facebook and Instagram so your social media analytics and management are done from one platform.
Hootsuite Impact also integrates with tools like Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics, and your ad accounts on the various social platforms.
It comes with a complete toolbox for all your social media needs which includes contact management, conversion tracking, keyword filtering, customer targeting, multi-account management, and much more.
Whats it great at:
You have the ability to monitor multiple social media streams that include Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and WordPress blogs.
It comes with capabilities that include scheduling posts in advance.
User-friendly analytics data.
Team collaboration.
3. Buffer Analyze
Buffer Analyze offers simple and easy social media analytics that includes comprehensive features for managing your social media streams. It helps you easily manage multiple social media accounts, allowing you to customize post-times and schedule posts. It offers a built-in social media analytics tool and gets recommendations to expand reach, engagement, and sales. The starter package for this social media analytics tool is $15 per month. And it allows you to analyze eight social channels and up to 100 scheduled content posts. The business tiered package comes at $99 per month you can analyze 25 social channels and a whopping 2,000 scheduled posts for six administrators.
What it does:
You can measure your social media performance by comparing paid and organic results.
Track engagement from social accounts.
Measure stories, individual posts and hashtags and see if you are reaching targeted audiences.
Reports can be generated in PDF or images that include charts.
Whats it great at:
Scheduling posts.
Analytics.
Cross-posting, so all your social media posting are consolidated in one place.
4. Sprout Social
Sprout Social is a social media management tool that offers a good mix of management and analytics to meet the needs of most small to midsize businesses. This platform focuses on social management, data, and employee advocacy. Pricing for Sprout Social starts at $99 monthly and you can analyze up to five social profiles, an intuitive all-in-one social inbox, social media CRM tools, compatibility with both android and iOS mobile apps, and more.
What it does:
Sprout Social has a dashboard that helps you manage social media channels as well as your brands in one go.
The Instagram stories analytics tool comes with a series of pop-up questionnaires to help you better determine your companys needs allowing you fashion your social media experiences.
It is backed up with a strong social CRM platform and a help desk.
Whats it great at:
Well organized dashboard.
Seamlessly works with Twitter and Facebook.
Scheduling posts.
Discovery capability in terms of your followers, interactions, mentions, and likes.
Analytics.
5. Studiorific
image: studiorific
Studiorific offers an all-in-one social media analysis platform that hosts all social management tools for scheduling engaging posts and reporting. You are able to put all your social media accounts under one roof for seamless integration of your digital content. Studiorific offers a real bargain with lifetime access to its starter package at only $29 for a one time purchase. This allows you to manage 12 social accounts, unlimited scheduling capabilities; image and video storage; a built-in image editor, analytics and much more.
What it does:
Track your social media accounts for posts performance and engagement.
Attract users in actual time.
Its analytic tool helps you optimize your marketing plan and opt to send and receive direct messages from Instagram users right from your Studiorific dashboard.
direct messages from Instagram users right from your Studiorific dashboard. Has a photo editing tool to customize image size for all of your social media networks.
Whats it great at:
Competition analysis.
Works across several social media channels.
Post scheduling.
Built-in image editor.
Analytics.
6. Sendible
Sendible is a social media content management platform designed with agencies in mind. The platform brings all your social networks together into a centralized hub that helps you execute your strategy for multiple brands at scale. Pricing for this social media analytics tooltarts at $29.00 per month. This allows you to analyze 12 profiles and generate eight quick reports. Sendible offers a 14-day free trial as well.
What it does:
Customize and preview posts on each social media platform and also keeps image pixel quality. Thanks to its built-in editor you can also design your own graphics using Canva.
See when your audiences are most engaged on Instagram so you know the best times to post. Collaboration is made easy with Sendible as you can set up approval workflows and keep your posts on-brand.
Use its one-click reports to pinpoint your most engaging content or choose to build and automatically send custom reports.
Whats it great at:
Competition analysis.
Works across several social media channels.
Post scheduling and auto-response.
Tracking visitors.
Analytics.
7. Keyhole
Keyhole comes with a real-time dashboard that shows you how many people posted with your hashtag, along with the number of retweets, likes and impressions your campaign is generating. The dashboard captures a detailed overview of your entire campaign and mentions all details and Key Performance Indicators (KPI) you need. Keyholes Suite comes at $59 per month and has a free trial available as well.
What it does:
With the metrics it provides you can set your specific KPIs and measure results accordingly.
You can monitor all your campaigns in one go.
Discover and track influencers.
See the performance of the content.
Monitor brand health.
Get real-time actionable data and reports.
Gain insights on trends and conversion rates.
Whats it great at:
Real-time tracking of campaigns, hashtags, and keywords.
Influencer and new client identification.
Event and engagement tracking.
Customized alerts.
Analytics.
8. Rival IQ
Rival IQ helps deliver analytics and competitive intelligence to help your digital marketing. The solutions offered include the ability to show the data and easily make informed decisions, improve results, and better understand your competition. BRival IQ pricing starts at $199.00 per month, a free trial is also available.
What it does:
By using competitive benchmarks and comparative analysis Rival IQ sends you alerts whenever your competition posts high-performing content, such as boosting a post on social media.
Helps you move quickly to respond to and counter-messaging in actual time.
It integrates with Google Analytics to get a complete understanding of your customers journey.
Get a free head-to-head report against your main competitor on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter and see how you stack up.
Helps you to uncover new opportunities, identify trends, and track results across all major channels and the web.
Whats it great at:
Actual time dashboard showing how many visitors posted with your hashtag.
Tracking retweets, likes and Impressions on campaigns.
Dedicated Influencers metrics.
Analytics.
9. Social Report
Social Report management platform offers solutions that include advanced scheduling, social networks monitoring, analytics, one-click reporting, smart automation, and more. When it comes to tracking performance Social Report offers everything from your Facebook pages and Twitter profiles, to business reviews, website site performance and blogs. Users can quickly and easily organize their data by customers or business. The pricing starts at $49.00 per month, you can start it all with a 30-day free trial.
What it does:
Gives you the option to not only track your own social profiles but your competition as well.
With its Smart Inbox, you have the capability to get all of your social messages across all of your social media profiles gathered and organized in one stream.
Apart from publishing content in several accounts at once, you can also send the content you schedule to your teammates for administrator approval and tracking the content.
Once you dive into the stream, you will be able to engage, join conversations, and respond directly to customers.
Whats it great at:
Advanced scheduling.
Social network monitoring.
Analytics.
One-click reporting.
Smart automation.
10. Planable
This social management tool comes with a dashboard that helps you manage multiple social media platforms in one place. Planables dashboard has a great visually focused user interface that helps even the novice amongst us to easily navigate through content management, automated publishing, customer engagement across multiple accounts. Planable unfortunately does not provide analytic and reports solutions for your business. Pricing for Planable starts at $39.00 per month in addition to a free trial.
What it does:
Planables strong suit is creating, planning, and approving posts and it is considered among the best social media tools.
Whats it great at:
Centralized social media content management.
Planning and scheduling.
Analytics.
Social media post preview.
11. Loomly
Loomly offers a calendar-based social management platform for businesses. Pricing begins at $25, allowing you to manage up to ten accounts. You can start with a 15-day free trial to learn more. Solutions offered by Loomly include automated publishing and ads management.
What it does:
Helps users to engage and respond to audiences and measure outreach in terms of organic vs ads post overviews.
Offer notifications from emails, push, Slack, and Microsoft Teams.
Ideas for content in posts, trending topics, and RSS feeds
Monitor date-related events and social media best practices.
Whats it great at:
Centralized social media content management.
Planning and scheduling.
Analytics.
Collaboration.
Post ideas.
12. Sociamonials
Sociamonials has social media analytics tools that help you manage multiple social media accounts that include Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Google my Business, LinkedIn and YouTube. The Social Pro package comes with a monthly $19 subscription for managing up to ten social profiles including Facebook, Twitter and unlimited scheduling capabilities. A free 14-day trial is available for those interested in trying this tool out.
What it does:
Run contests, tweak content,
Find influencers and capture leads.
Analytics for traffic, brand awareness, Return on Investment (RoI) and more.
Post scheduling.
Whats it great at:
Brand tracking.
Automated publishing.
Conversion tracking.
Customer targeting.
Contact database.
Email marketing.
Multi-campaign.
Analytics.
Keyword filtering.
13. Agile CRM
Agile CRM has an all in one CRM that includes automation of all your sales, marketing and service efforts in one single platform. This cloud-based SaaS service comes with a mobile-ready feature allowing you to make tweaks while off location. It has a free version for users and the starter kit comes at $8.99 per month.
What it does:
It comes with a contact management tool for all your accounts.
Analytics to track stages and milestones.
Voicemail automation.
Appointment scheduling.
Lead scoring.
Email tracking.
Whats it great at:
Social suite.
Landing page builder.
Ticketing analytics.
Marketing automation.
14. Cyfe
Cyfe offers an all-in-one social management app that helps you easily monitor and analyze all of your business data in one, organized place. Cyfe has a free version where you get two fully functional dashboards and a 30-day history. The starter package comes at $29 per month and it includes unlimited widgets; custom logo; custom themes; and unlimited data exports.
What it does:
Users can connect and pull data from their advertising, email, monitoring, sales, finance, SEO, social media, support, and web analytics accounts- all in one go.
Cyfes unique selling point is that it helps you make business decisions by automating all of your business data into a single and highly-organized view thus saving you time from gleaning over spreadsheets.
See performances on your social media, analytics, marketing, sales, and support together.
The choice of reports in various formats including PNG, JPEG, PDF, and CSV formats
Whats it great at:
All in one monitoring.
Collaboration.
Monitor multiple campaigns.
Scheduling.
Analytics.
6 Analytics Tools Provided by the Social Networks
The third-party social media tools above have many advantages, not the least of which is a centralized dashboard to see stats from multiple networks in one place. However, dont overlook the networks own analytics. While you can only get statistics and insights from that particular network, they can be very useful especially for those who spend most of their time on just one or two platforms. Here is a review of what six social media Networks provide for free:
Facebook Insights
Facebook Insights helps you track likes, page views, and more. This gives you valuable insights to help you track and measure your outreach efforts. With Facebook Page Insights you get access to detailed analytics for your Facebook Page where you can see which campaigns are working well and those that need more tweaking. You also learn how your audience interacts with your content and improve your results over time.
This tool helps you understand your Facebook audience so that you can create better-targeted ads and create more compelling content. You can see actions on your page; the number of views; likes generated by your content; fan source responsiveness followers; negative feedback; and orders. Facebook even has a dedicated resource center including free tools for small businesses that help you boost your online engagements both for Facebook and Instagram.
Instagram Insights
Instagram offers insights to help you learn more about your followers and page performance. You can learn about the demographics of your Instagram audience and track the performance of your Instagram posts and Stories. Instagram Insights lets you can view your audiences engagement with specific posts, stories and IGTV videos. It is a free tool that gives you a great overview of your pages performance in terms of the number of accounts reached, content interactions, followers, and approximate earnings. Each of these Instagram metrics comes with a detailed breakdown.
LinkedIn Analytics
With LinkedIn Analytics you gain valuable data regarding the performance of your LinkedIn page. It includes the receptions towards your updates including videos posted. The tool also provides a breakdown of visitors and followers including the number of likes, shares, comments, and mentions. Additional analytic tools include LinkedIn Career Pages, as well as access to Talent Brand analytics that help you measure your talent pipeline, talent flows, talent attraction, and application behavior. With the Pipeline Builder analytics, you can see metrics based on timelines ranging from the past seven days to 12 months. You can also customize the timeline to suit your particular needs.
Pinterest Analytics
With Pinterests Metrics tab, you will be able to track the number of pins created from your website to help you glean the average amount of daily content pinned from your website. You can also look at the number of repins users have used from your website on to their own boards, which helps you increase the exposure of your content to people who are not currently following your account. At the same time, you can also see the daily average number of people who saw your pins for both pins and repins. All in all Pinterests analytics come with a total of six metrics: pins; repins; most clicks; most repinned; visitors and visits; and reach.
Twitter Analytics
Twitter analytics uses graphs and reports to show the performance of important metrics. These include your top tweet, top mention and top follower(s). Additional insights include the number of tweets sent; number of visits your Twitter profile received; the number of mentions your account received; followers gained and tweet impressions received over a period of time. These also come with the number of impressions on videos, tweets, video completion rates, audience insights, and conversion tracking.
YouTube Analytics
YouTube analytics provides you with data about your videos performance including watch time, viewer demographics, traffic sources, impressions, subscribers and revenue. This comes in handy if you want to understand whether audiences like the content you produce, and what can be done to improve your videos performance. You can also segregate the data based on the playlist, time period, devices where your video was viewed, comments, and shares to decipher the nuances of your visitors.
What should small businesses look for in social analytics tools?
Depending on which social media analytics you decide to use here are some of the essentials you should be looking for:
Comprehensive analytics: Besides looking for a social media analytic process that crank out numbers, look for one that gives you further insights. This includes engagement, likes, demographics; conversations, hashtags, and even competitors performance. So theres no need to flip through different systems just to get the results you need these come in handy for tweaking your outreach. If your social media analytics tool integrates with Google Analytics it would help in building robust reporting.
Besides looking for a social media analytic process that crank out numbers, look for one that gives you further insights. This includes engagement, likes, demographics; conversations, hashtags, and even competitors performance. So theres no need to flip through different systems just to get the results you need these come in handy for tweaking your outreach. If your social media analytics tool integrates with Google Analytics it would help in building robust reporting. Integration across social media platforms: Look for a solution that offers analytics for social media across the board that measures Instagram, Facebook and other data. This will help you get a good perspective on the performances on your various social media handles.
Look for a solution that offers analytics for social media across the board that measures Instagram, Facebook and other data. This will help you get a good perspective on the performances on your various social media handles. Offers customized team tracking and collaboration: Besides how you measure your social media analytics it should help you customize how you share, plan and collaborate across teams.
Besides how you measure your social media analytics it should help you customize how you share, plan and collaborate across teams. Multiple reporting options: A key component in analytics is in the manner in which reports are generated. Look for the best social media analytics tools offering data and reports in multiple formats this could be in PDF, JPEG, PNG or even .xls.
A key component in analytics is in the manner in which reports are generated. Look for the best social media analytics tools offering data and reports in multiple formats this could be in PDF, JPEG, PNG or even .xls. Additional tools: In addition to analytics look for tools that help you edit pictures as well as integrate with other Customer Relations Management System (CRM) solutions. Particularly integration with a CRM system will help you convert your engagement into leads thus helping you go up the ladder of engagement.
Finally, if you run a marketing agency or are starting a social media business, look specifically for agency features. These include the ability to track performance results by client, deliver white-label reports with your brand, or offer multiple client logins. Whatever your needs, make a list of your top requirements so that you dont miss any as you evaluate the options.
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Social media is a blessing for small business entrepreneurs to spread the word about their business without spending a huge amount of advertising dollars. Nevertheless, a majority of small businesses are not able to capitalize on this opportunity.
A recent ProOpinion poll found that many small business professionals dont use social media or a social media calendar on a regular basis. Only 31 percent post frequently on social media, and whats even worse, just 15 percent interact with their audience.
How to Rock Your Social Media Presence
1. Download or Create a Social Media Calendar
One of the most common excuses for not doing it is lack of time. This is why, every business should have a social media calendar. It takes up to 2-3 hours to plan social media updates for the entire week but it ensures you are not scavenging for posts at the last moment. So lets take cues from industry experts and see what they are doing.
HubSpot recently published a post about social media calendars and also shared their own downloadable calendar template that allows you to plan posts for all major social media platforms including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram. LinkedIn, etc. in advance. You can use this template to minimize fuss over planning and creating a social media calendar.
Just a little side note though: their prescribed daily nine tweets, four Facebook posts and three LinkedIn updates is a bit too much to ask of a small business. In contrast, Constant Contact has a very realistic guideline that suggests 3-10 Facebook updates, 5 tweets and 2-5 LinkedIn posts per week, so feel free to keep some of those cells blank or tweak it as per your needs.
2. Proof Check
Once you fill up your social media calendar, get it proofread by someone. With social media goof-ups on the rise and people being less forgiving than ever, it would be a wise idea to proof read your social media content. Watch for defamatory, racist or politically incorrect posts. Forced humor is also a big no-no. See how IHOPs strategy backfired after they tried to attract millennials with a series of body shaming posts. There are tons of posts on social media goof ups on the Internet and they teach you a lot about what NOT to do on social media.
3. Post Scheduling
Once you are done and sorted with the calendar, it would be time to schedule those posts! A lot of businesses opt for organic updates on trending topics but lets face it, we cant be consistently on Twitter or Facebook and Tweet or post all the time, all day long. A smart way to stay on top of your social media is to schedule your posts using Buffer or other scheduling apps. Buffer and Hootsuite offer free plans for small businesses too, so you dont have to worry about spending your hard-earned money on something you might not be able to make optimum use of.
4. Automation
You can even automate all your good morning Tweets, mentions, birthday and thank you Tweets using a scheduling tool called Tweet Jukebox. This avant-grade tool comes with hundreds of ready Jukeboxes with pre-installed tweets, so you can schedule them and turn them over like an hourglass. Their Jukebox library contains holiday wishes, memorable quotes, music quotes, blogs and articles from industry leaders and so on, which you can tweet automatically. It also allows you to search by keywords important people or search terms and schedule Tweets shared by these people. This is automation at its best!
5. Social Listening Tools
Social listening tools are a great way to stay on top of all thats trending. Listen to what bloggers, reporters, influencers and competitors are saying with the help of social listening tools and make sure you dont miss out on opportunities. One useful tool is BrandWatch which analyzes Tweets, Facebook posts and blogs in real-time to track your brand perception and campaign performance. Its one hell of a tool and large enterprises and local businesses alike can benefit from it. If you are looking for a free ride, try Scoop.it. It is an amazing tool to find relevant content and ideas, so you can fill up your social media calendar faster than you can say social media!
6. Business and World News
Also, keep an eye on important news with the help of various news resources. If you like your news in a more visual format, try Unfiltered News. It is a work-in-progress site serving news in a tasteful way. What I like about it is it doesnt assume what a person will like to read and tailors content accordingly. Instead it shows all the important news from around the world and then you can choose what to read depending on what appeals to you the most. For instance, my daily news sources dont show any news from Greece, not after its debt episode anyway, but since I am interested in the issue of immigration, I am drawn towards this news.
7. Social Analytics
Posting your updates and Tweeting is just half the job done; the second and the more important half is to measure the effectiveness of your posts with the help of analytics tools. Almost all social platforms (except Snapchat) come with powerful analytics tool that show you everything from demographics through to the hobbies of your followers. This knowledge can help you to further create a better social media calendar with more awesome posts. This e-book helps you capture the essence of Facebook analytics, paid as well as organic reach.
Conclusion
So these are the ways to rock your social media presence. Everyone from HubSpot to seasoned marketers are using these tips to boost their social media presence. From proofreading your posts through to social analytics, every aspect of your social media presence depends on how well you absorb these tips.
None of these tips to rock your social media presence are more important than another. They are all equally important, so make sure you commit them to your memory and follow them religiously.
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
Donna Edwards and Chris Van Hollen. Caricatures by DonkeyHotey with Flickr Creative Commons License.
WASHINGTON
(April 1, 2016)With less than a month to go before the Maryland Senate primary, Maryland Reps. Chris Van Hollen and Donna Edwards appear locked in a tight race for the Democratic nomination.Given the recent history of Maryland voters favoring Democrats in Senate races, most observers consider winning the Senate nomination the equivalent of winning the seat.The most recent poll, conducted by the Baltimore Sun and the University of Baltimore on March 11, showed Edwards inching past Van Hollen by 6 percent.However, when other minor candidates were removed from the polling options, Edwards held a 10 percent lead over Van Hollen.The candidates have been facing off in a series of debates leading up to the April 26 primary.In a televised debate hosted by WJLA on Tuesday, Edwards revisited some of her arguments from the pair's first debate March 18, in which Edwards criticized Van Hollen's record on Social Security.Edwards, 57, argued Tuesday that Van Hollen, also 57, had in the past "negotiated away" Social Security and Medicare, an action that would have "adversely impacted thousands of seniors across (the) state."House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-5th, has not openly endorsed either candidate. But in a separate interview, when asked about Edward's charges, responded: "Mr. Van Hollen has been a staunch opponent of Republican efforts to either voucherize, reduce, or privatize Social Security and Medicare and a very strong, articulate spokesperson against the budgets which have incorporated that, so I think the assertion is incorrect."Van Hollen has countered Edwards by saying she has few accomplishments during her nearly eight years in the House.In response to questions regarding each candidate's qualifications Hoyer said: "Chris Van Hollen has been a real leader on the fiscal matters confronting the U.S., our need to invest in education, in health care and the environment, public safety and transportation and has lead on budget efforts.""I think he's perceived as a real expert in those areas and I think that that's something that speaks well for his leadership," Hoyer said. Van Hollen has been in the House since 2003 and is the second-ranking Democrat in leadership.As for Edwards, Hoyer commented: "Congresswoman Edwards obviously has herself been active in a number of different areas, but not as pointedly as Chris Van Hollen because he had a position as ranking member on the budget committee."Hoyer noted that Edwards is newer to Congress, adding that, "some would argue that's a benefit and some would argue that therefore Chris has more accomplishments than she does."A Gonzales Research & Marketing Strategies Poll released March 8 found that registered Maryland Democrats are evenly split over the two Senate hopefuls, with 42 percent saying they will vote for Van Hollen and 41 percent favoring Edwards.That leaves 15 percent of Democrats undecided and a competitive road ahead for Van Hollen and Edwards in the final weeks before voting.These results barely changed from those in a Goucher Poll released late February, which found 39 percent of Maryland Democrats backing Edwards and 37 percent supporting Van Hollen."The test for Edwards will be her ability to translate her current electoral support to campaign-sustaining donations," said Mileah Kromer, director of the Sarah T. Hughes Field Politics Center at Goucher College in Baltimore. "Van Hollen has the money in his campaign coffers for a strong push to the finish."According to Federal Election Commission campaign reports, the Van Hollen campaign has over $4 million in total contributions, which is the fourth-highest amount for Senate campaigns in this election cycle.Edwards' receipts come in at just under $1 million.However, a super PAC that is associated with Emily's List, one of the top contributors to the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, has promised $1 million in advertising, to Edwards' campaign. That brings the group's spending for Edwards to about $2.4 million, according to the Baltimore Sun.The Gonzales Research Poll revealed that the race is sharply divided by demographic borders of race and gender.Edwards leads Van Hollen among African-American voters 70 percent to 16 percent. Among females, Edwards leads 47 percent to 36 percent, which is a significant lead for such a tight race.Edwards also led in the Gonzales survey with 69 percent of the Democratic vote in Prince George's County and 54 percent in Baltimore City, the latter one of the chief battlegrounds in the race.But, some analysts argue that even though Van Hollen has a fundraising edge in the campaign, Edwards could still secure the nomination."Don't discount Donna Edwards," said Nina Kasniunas, associate professor of political science at Goucher College in Baltimore. "She is an outspoken advocate for her constituency and it's been many years since we have had a black woman get elected to the U.S. Senate."The last black woman to serve in the Senate was Carol Moseley Brown, a Democrat from Illinois, who served from 1993 to 1999.In the upcoming weeks, Edwards intends to continue campaigning on expanding Social Security, spending more on schools, and tighter gun safety laws, among other issues, according to campaign spokesman Benjamin Gerdes."Marylanders across the state are learning about Donna's record of leadership, whether that's providing after school meals to children in need, holding health insurance companies accountable, or protecting thousands of jobs at NASA Goddard," Gerdes said.However, Van Hollen's status as a "party favorite" could give him a significant edge, according to Kasniunas."Chris has spent his years in Congress carefully cultivating relationships with other members," she said. "His leadership within the DCCC (Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee) is a testament to his ability to work with and for others in the Democratic Party and is manifesting in the number of endorsements he is receiving and the large amounts of money he is raising."Van Hollen plans to continue campaigning in the coming days on schools and jobs, said campaign spokeswoman Bridgett Frey."As Chris talks to voters across the state, it's clear his message about moving Maryland forward is resonating with working families," she said. "People are tired of politicians who talk a big game but don't take action, and they know this election isn't for sale to the highest super PAC bidder."Republican Senate front-runners include Maryland State Delegate Kathy Szeliga of Baltimore County and Richard J. Douglas, a lawyer with Pentagon experience from Montgomery County, both face a more difficult challenge in the upcoming primary.This is not only because 59 percent of Republican voters were undecided, according to a March 13 poll conducted by The Baltimore Sun and the University of Baltimore. In recent years, the Maryland Senate seats have been held by Democrats.Paul Sarbanes took over the seat in 1977 from Republican John Beall and Sen. Barbara Mikulski won Maryland's other seat in 1986 after the retirement of Republican Charles Mathias.Mikulski will have served for 30 years when she retires at the end of her term and, most likely, gives her chair to either Van Hollen or Edwards.
Milton M. Somers Middle School was named the overall middle school winner at the Charles County Public Schools secondary Mathematics, Engineering and Science Achievement (MESA) competition held March 31 at North Point High School. Student teams compete in competitions that test their abilities in mathematics, engineering and science. Pictured are Somers seventh grader Sahil Patel, front left, and Aastha Patel, a Somers sixth grader, as they compete in the basswood bridge challenge at the event. They received first place among competing middle school teams in the basswood challenge. Also pictured are Adam Todd, back left, an instructional resource teacher with Charles County Public Schools who served as a MESA judge, and Christine Kernozek, back right, an instructional specialist for Charles County Public Schools who served as a MESA judge.
LA PLATA, Md.
(April 1, 2016)Teams from 10 Charles County Public middle and high schools placed in the secondary Mathematics, Engineering and Science Achievement (MESA) competition held March 31 at North Point High School. Student teams compete in competitions that test their abilities in mathematics, engineering and science.Milton M. Somers Middle School was named the overall middle school winner and North Point High School was named the overall high school winner.First-, second- and third-place teams in each challenge receive awards and one overall middle and high school winner is chosen. The middle and high school teams that earn the most points throughout the competition is chosen as the overall winner.As the overall winning schools, teams from Somers and North Point advance to the state competition scheduled for May 19 at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory.Additionally, teams from Matthew Henson Middle School and Westlake High School advance to the state event as first-place winners at their respective levels in the Prosthetic Arm Challenge. Winners in the Prosthetic Arm Challenge at the state level advance to the national competition held in June.Middle school teams compete in four challenges: Interactive Game Design with ALICE, Hovercraft, Basswood Bridge and Prosthetic Arm. The high school teams also compete in four competitions: PYTHON Cyber Robot Challenge, Battleball Robot, Basswood Bridge and Prosthetic Arm.The following teams placed at the middle school level:ALICE Interactive Game Design: Piccowaxen Middle School, first place; Matthew Henson School, second place; and Milton M. Somers Middle School, third place.Hovercraft: Piccowaxen, first place; Somers, second place; and General Smallwood Middle School, third place.Basswood Bridge: Somers, first place; Henson, second place; and Benjamin Stoddert Middle School, third place.Prosthetic Arm: Henson, first place.The following teams placed at the high school level:PYTHON Cyber Robot Challenge: La Plata High School, first place; Henry E. Lackey High School, second place; and North Point, third place.Battleball Robot: Lackey, first place; Westlake, second place; and North Point, third place.Basswood Bridge: North Point, first place; St. Charles High School, second place; and Westlake, third place.Prosthetic Arm: Westlake, first place; and Lackey, second place.Charles County Public Schools students competed as a separate Maryland MESA region due to a high level of participation. Maryland MESA is designed to prepare students for academic and professional careers in mathematics, engineering, science and technology. The program's goals are to increase the number of engineers, scientists, mathematicians and related professionals at technical and management levels; and to serve as a driving force in encouraging and assisting minorities and females in achieving success in these fields.CCPS also held a MESA event for county elementary schools on April 1. The overall winner was Dr. James Craik Elementary School. This is the third consecutive year that Craik has been named the overall winner at the elementary level. The elementary results are available on the school system website at www.ccboe.com. More information about MESA is available at http://www.jhuapl.edu/mesa/home/default.asp.
Cicalese and Steele vow to never marry each other again
The following is an edited-for-SFGN chapter of the forthcoming book by Tony Adams Ending Anita How Two Key West Bartenders Won Gay Marriage In Florida
Tony Cicalese and Brian Steele, both 44 years old and living in Oakland Park, Florida, have been together for ten years, and more or less married, coupled, joined, committed, partnered or you pick the word for nine years.
Their road to the altar(s) involved a strange twist in the Florida fight for marriage equality that had them dropped as plaintiffs in the Huntsman v Heavilin Monroe County case that became the first Florida suit to win in court.
Are they bitter about that? Hardly.
Cicalese, owner of We Got The Beats record store on Federal Highway just north of Commercial Boulevard, and Steele who is in management in the food service industry, are both karaoke fiends. The men say that the friends you do karaoke with are almost always sisters rather than lovers, so their mutual attraction surprised them.
Also, Cicalese, a bartender at Boom when they first met, resisted the possibility that Steele could become a boyfriend, saying, I was telling anyone who would listen that I was on a serious break from romance and that I was absolutely not interested in anyone for a relationship. After a few weeks with Brian, my coworkers were doing an imitation of me saying Hi, Im Tony Cicalese and this is my not-a-boyfriend Brian.
On September 8, 2007, they entered into a civil union in New Jersey. The ceremony was attended by supportive relatives from both sides. Cicalese and Steele still consider this to be the day they became married, even though it was not legally or literally a marriage.
When marriage equality became law in California, Cicalese spotted an $11 Spirit airfare to Los Angeles. He says, I called Brian and told him to drop everything. We flew out there, got married by a Justice of the Peace with two friends I had from a gay rights chat room as our witnesses. We went to Disneyland for our second honeymoon.
Gay bartenders all know each other, and because Aaron Huntsman had been a bartender at Cathode Ray in Fort Lauderdale when Cicalese was tending bar at Alibi, they were friends. Cicalese began to follow Huntsmans Facebook posts about his plans to file a marriage equality lawsuit in Monroe County.
When I saw what Aaron was doing, it went straight to my heart. This is what I myself always wanted to do, have our marriage recognized by Florida, Cicalese said. I didnt think we could afford a lawyer to help us do that. When I left some supportive comments on Aarons posts, he contacted me, asking if we would be interested in being part of their case by joining the suit. Of course we said yes.
A conversation with Huntmans Attorney Bernadette Restivo and a quick trip to the law offices of Attorney Dean Trantalis to have notarized the documents adding them to what would become the landmark Huntsman v Heavilin case were all that was needed for Cicalese and Steele to become part of Florida gay rights history.
Aaron and Bernadette were saying The more the merrier! We can use another couple. They described their strategy and their plans to raise funds for the expenses to come. Brian and I knew we would be a good addition to their suit even though we were not wealthy because we were a solid and very traditional type of couple, Cicalese said. We began to hear that there was some blow back from Equality Florida about Aarons initiative, and we knew that Bernadette was trying her best to structure her suit in a cooperative way with what Equality Florida was doing elsewhere. We were told that Equality Florida advised Bernadette to take us off the suit because we were already married in another state, and that if a married couple was part of the suit it would leave it open to the possibility of appeal. So, we had to go back and get our names legally removed from the suit.
Cicalese and Steele admit that they may have not understood correctly the strategic reasons for their being dropped from Huntsman v Heavilin but they accepted the premise that their exit would help the case win. What followed, however, is important because it demonstrates the true valor and dedication of the two couples involved, Cicalese/Steele and Huntsman/Jones.
Aaron went out of his way to keep us informed and involved in the suit. When it came time for the hearing, Brian and I booked a hotel room in Islamorada for the night before the court date. We shared that room with Aaron, Lee, their eventual best man MiKey Hudson, a photographer and our dog, Cicalese said. During the hearing, Brian and I were in the front row of the courtroom. It felt great to be there, but two weeks later when I read Judge Garcias decision, I was very disappointed to read that the decision would not apply to couples married out of state. All I could think was that we had been right there in the front row. If we had been part of the suit, maybe we would have been part of the victory.
With their California marriage made valid and recognized at home because of the Supreme Court decision that followed, Cicalese decided to surprise his husband with a private renewal-of-vows ceremony. When Steele arrived home from work, Cicalese led him into their backyard which he had decorated and where a clergyman friend Joel Slotnick awaited them. Cicalese promised Steele that this would be the very last time he would ever marry him.
They say third times the charm.
I was recently visiting a friend in the states. During our conversations, we were struck by a couple of incidents that occurred in our lives. They are an unfortunate commentary on what continues to linger in society today as something that can only be termed as insensitivity.
In one case, my friend found himself at a hospital where he was seeking treatment for an injury. The female receptionist who takes down the preliminary information came to the section on the form dealing with insurance coverage. He explained that he was covered under his spouses insurance plan.
Without any hesitation, the woman asked if he shared his spouses last name. He indicated that yes indeed that was the case. She then asked, What is your wifes name? This instantly became an awkward moment as he stated that he was married to a man. The woman became flustered, stating, Oh, thats OK, and continued to fill out the forms leaving an awkward tension between patient and nurse. For there to be insufficient sensitivity training in handling clients that leaves both parties feeling uncomfortable is troubling to say the least.
In another case, a friend was attending a convention with his female boss. They were dining with a group of colleagues, and during the dinner table conversation, she mentioned that George had recently become engaged. One of the dinner guests asked, Oh, whats your brides name? He quietly answered that he was marrying a man whose name is Paul. The awkward moment that followed was a deafening silence.
Shortly thereafter the conversation resumed with apologies and a newfound sensitivity. Here is yet another example of just how ingrained society still seems to be around the subject of equal marriage despite the agonizing, fearful and revolutionary years devoted to marriage equality that has flooded the news headlines around the world.
Last winter, Florida legalized gay marriage. I happened to be in Florida at the time and two close friends were being married. I witnessed this ceremony and as such was required to sign the marriage certificate.
I could not help but notice that the State of Florida had not yet managed to have certificates printed with the word spouse replacing the words husband and wife. As a result, Bob had no choice but to sign on the wifes line. This could perhaps be written off with the excuse that there was no time to reprint the forms because the law was passed so recently.
I would suggest, however this law had in no way been arrived at quickly or unexpectedly. Someone should have had the foresight and sensitivity to have the proper forms in place in advance.
Is this lackadaisical attitude a sign of the times or is it just an isolated incident? Judging from the above examples, one could argue that it is indeed a sign of the times. I wonder if there is not a lesson here in just how long it takes for such fundamental issues as human rights can take to finally sink in?
I recall a time twenty years ago when my partner and I were attending a wedding in Maine at a well-known resort. Prior to the wedding, the bride phoned a local bed and breakfast to make a reservation for a room for us. The hostess, realizing that we were a male couple, stated that this was a family oriented establishment, implying that two men sharing a room would be inappropriate. The bride, without missing a beat, said, Wonderful! Theyre family. The hostess reluctantly took the reservation.
This example shows the sensitivity one generation can have over another. The young bride never considered a male partnership anything unusual or abnormal. The hostess, on the other hand, was not comfortable, but did acquiesce. By the time we checked in, she had softened considerably and we had a lovely stay.
There is no doubt that time is required for change to become established behaviour. Factor in that there will always be an element of society who will be steadfastly resistant to change.
Those of us in the trenches, some of whom have devoted a good portion of their lives to fighting for human rights, compassion and patience have been our steady allies. By quietly going about our lives, contributing to society in ways before unheard of primarily that of charting new territory for equality on many levels, we lead by example and help sceptical members of society realize that they have nothing to fear.
For it is fear that has taken them to this dark place of doubt, and it is only through experiencing life with different rules, and to realizing that there is nothing to fear, that the world in which we live can change for the better.
Jay Remer is a published social commentator, specializing in etiquette and civility as it applies to everyone's life. A transplant from Rockland, DE, Jay lives and works in St. Andrews-by-the-Sea, New Brunswick, Canada where he writes a weekly column for a major daily newspaper. Email him with your questions or comments at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Arianna Lint is a minority within a minority a transgender woman with HIV. Unfortunately, its a minority thats growing.
According to the latest information published by the CDC, the highest percentage of newly identified HIV-positive test results was among transgender individuals. A Lancet article, highlighted at the Fifth Annual Transgender Medical Symposium in Fort Lauderdale last May, reported an HIV infection rate of around 20 percent among trans people in the U.S.
The percentage may also be higher.
The CDC also reported that accurately assessing HIV/AIDS rates, within current data systems, among the transgender community is a challenge because some transgender people may not identify as transgender due to fear of discrimination or previous negative experiences.
In New York City alone, from 2007 to 2011, there were 191 new diagnoses of HIV infection among transgender people, 99 percent of which were among transgender women. Among those, 90 percent were black or Latina, 52 percent were in their twenties and 51 percent had documentation of substance use, commercial sex work, homelessness, incarceration, and/or sexual abuse as compared with only 31 percent of other people who were not transgender.
The CDC also found that other risk factors for HIV infection were higher among transgender individuals attempted suicide, unemployment, lack of familial support, violence, stigma and discrimination, limited health care access and negative health care encounters.
In the Obama Administrations National HIV/AIDS Strategy, transgender women, Latinas, drug users, gay men, bisexual men, young people and black women are among the groups prioritized for assistance because of their higher risk of contracting the disease.
To help gather more data on transgender HIV/AIDS rates, the TransLatina Coalition has been tapped by the White House. Lint and other transgender individuals were recently invited to the White House to talk about HIV/AIDS. Lint said her organization will have a survey ready by March 24.
The transgender community is the most affected, Lint said. She said her organization and others have been charged with gathering information for the next administration. In 11 months maybe were not going to change anything but maybe we can with the new administration.
The biggest challenge, she said, is separating transgender individuals so that issues that are specific to her community can be addressed, such as being denied healthcare. Its a population thats underserved. Its like they invite us to a house but were just put in the kitchen.
For more information on the survey, visit TransLatinaCoalition.org.
Television watchers may remember Robert Gant from his role as professor Ben Bruckner, an HIV positive gay man, in the groundbreaking Showtime series Queer As Folk. A decade later, Gants performance still prompts words of gratitude.
It was a real gift to get to be a part of it, Gant said in an interview with SFGN during his recent visit to Miami Beach. It was an amazing experience across the board. Its a special thing that after all this time continues to reverberate and have such an impact.
Gant, 47, was in South Florida as one of the honorees of the Anti-Defamation Leagues Miami In Concert Against Hate. Founded in 1913, the ADL, a Jewish service organization working against anti-Semitism is broadening its focus to take on hate in all of its forms.
Gants story of pursuing an acting career while generously donating time and energy to philanthropy efforts was told by legendary newsman Larry King.
Roberts story, like all our honorees, gives us hope and inspires us to make Miami and the world a better place, free from hate, said Lonny Wilk, ADL Associate Regional Director for Florida.
Gant grew up in Tampa, but now calls New York home where, among other activities and projects, he works with Sage Services & Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Elders.
By working on Queer As Folk I got involved more philanthropically in a broader way, Gant said. I was really drawn to the issue of aging in the gay community. I recognized it was getting the least attention and I personally felt the most fear about it myself.
Ironically, Gants visit to Miami coincided with the National LGBTQ Task Forces Winter Party Festival, an event known for its throngs of young, muscled, tanned participants. Before accepting his award from the ADL at New World Center in Miami Beach, Gant expressed the difficulties with aging in the gay community.
Given our focus on youth and beauty in our culture, the concept of aging is a particularly scary one for gay people, Gant said. The core misconception is that we become unlovable.
In New York, Gant said he served on the board of a Sage-affiliated group that founded the first affordable low-income care facilities for gay and lesbian elders.
Michael Adams, Chief Executive Officer for Sage, confirmed Gants philanthropic work to SFGN at a panel discussion on LGBT issues last week in Coral Gables.
Simulation of rainfall NASA
Not all raindrops are created equal. The size of falling raindrops depends on several factors, including where the cloud producing the drops is located on the globe and where the drops originate in the cloud.
For the first time, scientists have three-dimensional snapshots of raindrops and snowflakes around the world from space, thanks to the joint NASA and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission. With the new global data on raindrop and snowflake sizes this mission provides, scientists can improve rainfall estimates from satellite data and in numerical weather forecast models, helping us better understand and prepare for extreme weather events.
The drop size distribution is one of many factors that determines how big a storm will grow, how long it will last and how much rain it will ultimately produce, said Joe Munchak, research meteorologist at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Weve never been able to see how water droplet sizes vary globally until now.
Storm clouds contain a wide variety of drop sizes that ultimately fall as rain or snow. In general, in the cores of clouds the drops tend to be bigger because they collide with each other and aggregate as they fall towards the Earths surface, while smaller droplets occur at the edges and higher altitudes. Drops tend to be small when they miss colliding into others or break apart. Scientists refer to the number of drops and snowflakes of different sizes at various locations within a cloud as the particle size distribution.
In order to accurately know how much precipitation is falling in a storm, scientists need to understand the ratio of large drops to smaller or medium sized drops. Previously, researchers had to make assumptions of the ratio because earlier studies were conducted in isolated locations and global data were limited, said Munchak.
Without knowing the relationship or the ratio of those large drops to the smaller or medium sized drops, we can have a big error in how much rain we know fell and that can have some big implications for knowing long term accumulations which can help with flash flood predictions, said Munchak.
With GPMs three-dimensional snapshots of drop size distribution, scientists can also gain insight into the structure of a storm and how it will behave. Drop size distribution influences storm growth by changing the rate of evaporation of rain as it falls through dry air, said Munchak. Smaller drops, for instance, will tend to evaporate faster and subsequently cool the air more. This leads to stronger flow of downward moving air that can cause damaging winds when they reach the ground. However, these same downdrafts can interfere with the upward flowing air that fuels the storm and cause the storm to weaken or dissipate.
GPM measurements will really help predict these complex interactions that depend in part of the drop size distribution, said Munchak.
GPM was launched in 2014 and carries the first Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) to fly in space, as well as a multi-channel GPM Microwave Imager (GMI). The DPR makes detailed 3D measurements of rainfall, while the GMI uses a set of 13 optimized frequencies to retrieve heavy, moderate, and light precipitation measurements at the Earths surface. As GPM improves our understanding of precipitation from space, that information will be vital in improving weather models and forecasts.
For more information on GPM, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/GPM
Ambitious project looks to turn coal-fired station to green technology park.
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Loss-making coal-fired power station Vojany has drawn focus from a US company that would like to turn it into a producer of clean energy and launch a green technology park on its premises. While it has already signed a memorandum of understanding with the Economy and Finance ministries, doubts about feasibility of the plans as well as personal backgrounds of the company have emerged.
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The then economy minister Vazil Hudak and Finance Minister Peter Kazimir signed a memorandum of understanding with the American investor Theta Energy Group (TEG) represented by Peter Zimeri, Sean McCarthy and Igor Hantuch at Vojany thermal power plant (EVO) in Kosice Region just few days before the March 5 parliamentary election. The company plans to invest, modernise, develop and create local sources of sustainable and safe energy supplies in the form of electricity and heating via innovative and intelligent technologies and build here a technology park. It is prepared to invest here between $600 and $800 million and create 800 jobs.
Their vision is to transform EVO into a power plant that will produce clean energy, said Kazimir as cited by the TASR newswire.
The memorandum is divided into two parts while one of them pertains to modernisation of EVO and the second to development of an energy innovation centre and a technology park.
The project is divided into the energy part and refit of its two technologies of about 225 million and the industrial park where five US companies along with us plan an investment totalling 486 million, Hantuch told the SITA newswire.
While production of electricity should be preserved in Vojany it should not be its core business any more.
Production of electricity is not, contrary to technologies, the core business for us, said Hantuch, adding that for the park it is necessary to keep the current electricity production.
The five US companies in the technology park should be active in nano technologies, like NanoLight and printed light, printed batteries and nano solar, according to Venergetike.sk.
The Finance Ministry and the Economy Ministry agreed to provide full cooperation and support in fulfilling both investment aims and a suitable time schedule to create a working group comprised of representatives of the government, TEG and the dominant energy producer Slovenske Elektrarne (SE).
The memorandum is a framework document for upcoming negotiations, while the US company has not asked for a state aid yet. At the time of signing the memorandum Hudak estimated that if negotiations proceeded well, the investment agreement might be signed within a few months.
Representatives of the investor have planned session with representatives of the Office for the Regulation of Network Industries, Enel, SE and various other institutions that are parts of the mosaic that needs to be laid down also in order for an institutional framework for this investment to be created, said Hudak.
The Vojany power plant is operated by SE, in which the state holds 34 percent. The Italian energy group Enel is selling the remaining 66-percent stake to the Czech company Energeticky a Prumyslovy holdings (EPH) in two phases while the first one is underway now.
The power station in Vojany is loss making and dozens of its employees were laid off to make its operation more economical. The US company says it plans to keep the current more than 140 employees at the power station.
SE is prepared to analyse the plan.
In spite of a significantly unfavourable development on the market, the decrease of the price of electricity and burdening produced electricity by other fees, SE continues to search for sustainable solutions for operation of Vojany, SE spokeswoman Jana Burdova said, as cited by TASR. SE invested 50 million into modernisation of Vojany that now co-fires biomass.
Doubts about the project
TEG wants to use more sustainable and environmentally friendly sources of energy in Vojany. As it informs on its website, with available highly efficient and sustainable technologies it is possible to retrofit the plants operations so they can accept hybrid fuel sources. The plant will use a blend of four different commodities to generate energy.
The Trend weekly specified that the technology to be used is waste gasification but it does not see operation of the technology without state subsidies as realistic. It puts as an example two plants for waste gasification in the United Kingdom, of which one has received two subsidies from public sources and the British government supported the second one with a contract for electricity supply for 20 years.
The weekly also indicates that Spanish media links a person with the identical name of Peter Zimeri with a Guatemalan drug gang. Hantuch has denied the accusations.
Neo-Nazis choose their enemies easily, like a medieval inquisitor. It might as well be you.
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Freedom is fragile and always suffers when clashing with neo-Nazism, born from a conflict with values that a democratic society stands upon. The conflict is implacable even in the case when neo-Nazism puts on a more benign guise, and the number of frustrated people who see it as a solution grows.
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We cannot put the country in the hands of those who dissolve values won by previous generations only because some politicians have been betraying the essence of public service for decades.
The fact that some first-time voters would willingly lay power in the hands of neo-Nazis, who take inspiration from the darkest time of the history of humankind, suggests that we are looking at a serious failure not only in education, but also in the historical memory of this nation.
How neo-Nazism selects
Neo-Nazism and extremism addresses young people just like terrorists recruit new soldiers in their army. It takes care of the angry, the neglected, the disappointed, and the hungry. It offers them an easy-to-digest sense and identity that they dont need to labouriously build through their own experiences.
Instead of telling them the truth - that some problems have no instant solutions - it offers the licence to pour ones frustration onto the enemy, one that they select with the ease of a medieval inquisitor.
It offers liberating explanations and conspiracy theories that replace history, science, logic, mathematics, and gradually even rational thinking as such.
Rising from the ashes
Frustrated young people often claim that the society they live in is the slave of a great puppet master who has controlled the world for centuries, pulling all the strings and denying the free will of individuals.
It could be anyone pulling the strings: judeo-bolshevik and freemason lobby, Brussels, the united bankers of the western world, Rosicrucians, Khazars, George Soros and his foundations striving for world power, coffee coolers.
While conspiracy theories willingly name that enemy, the neo-Nazis serve them final and radical solutions. With great delight they consume the words about burning into ashes, hoping that those ashes will give a rise to a stronger, more vigorous, and whiter nation than the society they live in. But they alone remain slaves of their perceived liberator and what they really support is in fact the decline of humankind.
It is the feast of everything that humankind looks at with shame when it looks back into its past. Neo-Nazism has no benign face, it only puts on masks that sometimes blur the edges.
A society that would be ruled by a neo-Nazi
If the neo-Nazis were to fulfill the promises that they angrily shout during their brown marches, they would first get rid of all those that it calls parasites. Radically. They would probably raze to the ground the dwellings of the Roma in settlements.
Since they wouldnt be able to give a paid job to most of them, there would be a question what to do with them. Forced labour, sterilisation, or gas? Even if all the settlements were bulldozed and all the allowances were cancelled, the quality of life of the majority wouldnt improve.
Then it would be the turn of other minorities, expelling them or issuing fines for using a language other than Slovak. Every neo-Nazi would be able to kick and throw stones according to their liking, even into a Muslim woman with children.
Primitivism: a new norm
They would ban theatre plays and burn books that they say support the rule of the enemy. Primitivism and brutality would be the new norm, along with uniforms, with Slovakia for Slovaks, and with a nice white day. Control and fear would surround schools, children would report their own parents to the authorities, and parents their children. The inconvenient ones would mysteriously disappear.
Neo-Nazis would gradually see that society cannot progress because terror does not endorse creativity, inventiveness, and the courage to think. And so they would turn their anger against other parasites.
That could be virtually anyone who wouldnt agree with their sick opinions: people of different views, artists whose creativity is not limited to the variations of the double cross, priests of religions other than that of the state, teachers who do not agree with their interpretation of history, medical doctors who endorse vaccination.
And then, after hatred and aggressiveness turn society into ashes, the nation remains crippled and humiliated with its own evil. Until it learns. That that might take another century. But by then the nation might not exist anymore.
Totalitarianism and school
Some first-time voters who voted for neo-Nazis in the elections belong to a generation that does not have an authentic experience with a totalitarian regime.They are the product of an education system that apparently wasnt able to explain and mediate this experience.
These young people could have been the generation that is free from thinking in patterns and fully understands the essence of the values that democratic societies stand upon. If only the previous governments had not underestimated the importance of education.
We have reduced many teachers to reciters of theorems within the state-approved curriculum, and we have made mediocrity an unachievable standard. We have elevated exclusion of those who stand out to the level of a state doctrine and have thrown the challenge of inclusion to the third sector to take care of.
Some people who voted for the neo-Nazis become more aggressive in discussions and use personal attacks. When they claim that they do not see neo-Nazism in a certain party, they still use the neo-Nazi partys arguments and easily label anyone who does not agree with them as prey.
What with neo-Nazis in politics?
Our culture is based on tolerance, democracy, freedom, and personal development of an individual. Neo-Nazis shout that society it threatened and they will protect it. But they promote an ideology that denies all that they declaratively want to protect. Neo-Nazism never helped anyone, not even those who were supporting it the most. Instead, it threw entire nations into disaster.
That is why society should not allow gradual softening of the essence of neo-Nazis in politics. How will a person who attacked a Muslim family with small children and denied the Holocaust honour the Constitution of this country? How will someone propose wise laws if he considers the clero-fascist wartime state the ideal of ruling ?
It is not possible to divide these people from the essence of their messages, when they march the streets and threaten anyone they dislike for some reason: due to skin colour, faith, partner, or just a different hairstyle.
Those politicians are still wearing their imaginary uniforms under their suits and carry opinions in their heads that deny the citizens of this country their human rights.
Investigator stops prosecution of police officers in all cases.
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Torture, illegal entry into homes and inappropriate coercion did not happen during the police raid in the Roma settlement in Moldava nad Bodvou in June 2013, according to inspectors of the Interior Ministry.
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At the time. the Police were purportedly seeking seven men with outstanding warrants. They did not find any of those men but according to eyewitnesses, violence ensued and 15 other Roma were taken to the police station. Several of the Roma were injured and at least one of them claims to have undergone two further severe beatings at the police station itself. A second man alleges he left the station bleeding from his rectum.
The Sme daily has a resolution, according to which the investigator closed the prosecution of police officers in relation to two of six charges. As he had already cancelled the criminal prosecution in relation to the remaining four charges in November 2015, this meant that the investigation was concluded and that the police officers will not be punished for the raid.
We are sad because of it, all think we are liars, one of the beaten Roma, Milan Hudak told the daily. People already do not trust police at all.
Precitajte si tiez:
Precitajte si tiez: Police raid in Moldava alright, prosecutor says Read more
It would be the first time that the authorities said that people's basic human rights were not violated and that the European Court of Human Rights saw it differently, according to Ombudswoman Jana Dubovcova.
Apart from Dubovcova, legal representatives of the aggrieved Roma and international organizations have also complained about the investigation. They pointed out that the police officers were investigated by inspectors of the Interior Ministry, i.e. their own colleagues.
Moreover, it took six months until the prosecutor started the criminal prosecution and the following questioning and collecting of evidence lasted for a further year and a half. For the traumatized people it was difficult to recall details of the raid.
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Those claims are not based on truth because right after the police raid people filed five related criminal complaints which inspectors rejected refused before the criminal prosecution of police officers started, according to Presov Regional Prosecutor Office spokesperson Marian Spisak.
April 1 is international Bird Day as well as Fools' Day.
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An increasing number of people including land owners, hunters and municipalities recognise the importance of birds which have an important role in agriculture, according to Raptor Protection of Slovakia (RPS) a non-profit NGO focusing on the conservation of birds of prey and owls in wild nature.
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Precitajte si tiez: Bear watching and birdwatching in Slovakia Read more
We are very happy that an increasing number of lands are used in environmentally friendly ways and the recognition of the birds importance is growing, Lucia Deutschova of RPS stated in the NGOs press release due to be published on April 1 which is international Bird Day. Instead of using chemical substances which harm soil, animals and people there is focus on environmentally friendly approaches which increase the diversity of species in the country.
The farmers doing this are near Trnava, Nitra, Nove Zamky, Dunajska Streda and in many other districts. Several of them use predators as biological protectors of their fields. RPS helps them to place bird boxes and special posts on their lands for predatory birds where they can rest or wait for prey.
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Precitajte si tiez: Famed migrating eagle Anicka Europe-bound Read more
RPS has also reached agreement with hunters in five areas that they will not shoot at ravens, crows, and mannikins.
This is an important success because those species are essential as constructors of nests for endangered predators such as the red-footed falcon, Deutschova said in the press release.
There will be also an event related to Bird Day in Bratislava's Rusovce park at 16:00 on April 1 and another in the East Slovak Museum in Kosice at 15:00-17:00 on the same day.
Like it or not, this is where Slovakia stands in 2016 and the government reflects that.
The cabinet met for the first time this week. It is already possible to see the best and the worst of how they will likely operate. (Source: TASR)
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Though it is not popular to say so the current coalition government was the best case scenario for Slovakia. As a group, the four parties involved are an accurate reflection where the country is right now. In a post election scenario where voters gave no indication of what direction they want the country to move, this represents the status quo and offers relative stability through the EU presidency in the latter half of the year, while marginalising extremist and erratic elements elsewhere in parliament.
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Smer is a political machine capable of getting things done, a moderated Slovak National Party (SNS) reflects the sort of conservatism common in rural parts of the country, Siet is vaguely pro-capitalist and mirrors positions held by the Bratislava elite, while Most-Hid represents one of the countrys biggest minority groups. Few people find this setup ideal, and how these groups can work together is an open question but the mix is representative of Slovakia.
As the governments work gets underway, the cabinet met for the first time this week, it is already possible to see the best and the worst of how they will likely operate occasionally at the same time.
Health Minister Tomas Drucker, a Smer nominee, has shown early positive signs that the government will look to reform a system that is consistently among the top public concerns in opinion polling. Drucker has already cancelled an 18 million contract that was shadily signed in the days between the election and the new government taking office. In an even bigger change, Monika Pazinkova is out as the director of the Health Care Surveillance Authority (UDZS) an inspectorate meant to keep tabs on the health sector but widely seen as complicit in the corruption of recent years.
This is a pleasant surprise given Drucker is a Smer nominee and Smer has had a major hand in corrupting the countrys health care system. It is likely to have been part of the coalition deal. Because that deal remains secret this is pure speculation, but the same deal very well may include promises that former friends of Smer like Pazinkova will not be prosecuted for wrongdoing. This is an imperfect arrangement, but could yet lead to improved transparency in the future.
At the same time, such moves also shed light on the kind of backroom dealing that is necessary to keep this government together. There are other examples too, even in these early days.
Last year a court ruled that the city of Martin owed a developer some 8.4 million for a real estate deal gone bad. At the time, Mayor Andrej Hrnciar (also deputy chair of Siet) asked the national government to help foot the bill, which was left over from a previous mayoral administration. Given the huge sum involved and the fact that Martins current leadership was not responsible for the original problem, this seemed reasonable.
However, Prime Minister Robert Fico refused and accused Hrnciar of playing a game with the public. And yet now that Siet is part of the government the money has begun to flow, with 2.5 million in financial assistance so far. In short, when Hrnciar and Siet were viewed as a threat they got nothing the fates of Martin and its residents secondary but now that they are part of the government they get help.
Much like a decision to look the other way on past theft in the health-care sector, this is a clear example of politics trumping principles. Though such dealings can lead to small successes, too many is the very thing that disgusts voters and risks pushing even more of them to non-traditional parties, including the extremist Peoples Party Our Slovakia (LSNS).
Though outside of the government it is impossible to ignore the LSNS. In a sign that they are unlikely to take attempts at marginalisation quietly, one LSNS member showed up to his parliamentary swearing in ceremony with a gun. The very same day party leader Marian Kotleba unilaterally censored a theatre performance in his home region of Banska Bystrica (By the way, why did the performers listen to him?).
More recently, LSNS member Milan Mazurek was appointed to parliaments human rights committee. On paper a neo-Nazi being charged with monitoring human rights looks like a problem, but such fears are predicated on the assumption that the committee was actually looking out for human rights to begin with. Any number of incidents over the years, most prominently the repeated refusal to move troubling reports of rights violations brought by Ombudswoman Jana Dubovcova, are an indication they didnt. Like it or not, this is where Slovakia stands in 2016 and the government reflects that.
The arrival of Libya's Presidency Council , the formation of which was brokered by the UN in Morocco in December, is a step towards reconciliation but after years of war and foreign interference Libyans are adopting a wait-and-see attitude to the new government, Libyan journalist Hend Ali al-Honi told Sputnik Arabic on Thursday.
"It is obvious that international pressure has produced the situation in Libya. The country has been suffering from this complicated conflict and war for years," al-Honi said.
"We are waiting until a clear image appears. We want to know what their interests are; will their interests serve Libya as one united government and maintain its territorial integrity?"
Regime change and the promotion of democracy however, violate Article 18 of the Charter of the Organization of American States of which both, the United States and Cuba are member nations, Boyle pointed out.
"Article 18 prohibits interference at any time in the internal affairs of other member states."
Despite control of both chambers of the US Congress by his Republican political enemies, Obama still had the executive power to move far faster on dismantling the 55-year US economic embargo on Cuba, but he had chosen not to so, Boyle insisted.
"Obama has the authority using his executive powers to raise all sanctions on Cuba imposed under the authority of the Trading with Enemy Act, but he has not done so. Actually, he is deliberately throwing them out [to Havana] item by item to get the maximum concessions out of Havana."
Boyle predicted this cautious incremental policy would continue both under Obama and his successor.
"This and the next administration can be expected to cautiously and deliberately pursue the same incremental pressures to force concessions steadily out of Havana to open country up to the US regime-change agenda."
Professor Jean Bricmont of the University of Louvain in Belgium, author of "Humanitarian Imperialism," agreed that increasing access to US trade and investment would bring different pressures to bear on Cubas socialist domestic system.
"The Cuban leaders and the Cuban people too have always demanded a lifting of the sanctions and of the embargo," Bricmont acknowledged. "But if that happens, and we are a long way from there, it will affect their kind of socialism in unpredictable ways."
Opening Cuba to the global economy would increase the pressures for Havana to integrate within the world market which is not sympathetic to socialism under any form, Bricmont pointed out.
"I am sure the Cuban leaders are aware of that and they want to reform their economy anyway towards greater opening. Whether this will destroy their educational and health care system which is unique in the Third World remains to be seen."
However, the Obama administration at least had finally recognized that 55 years of isolating Cuba had failed to topple or even weaken its government, Bricmont observed.
"One thing is certain: the policy of isolating has failed and is not in the interest of the United States."
Also, domestic US political forces opposed to the new engagement policy with Havana remained strong, Bricmont cautioned.
On March 22, Obama completed his two-day historic visit to Cuba, which marked the first time a US president stepped foot on the island since 1928.
And while the journalist's claims about Russian 'autocracy' seem to indicate that he's living about 30 years in the past (Russia has been a functioning democracy, though not without its faults, for over two decades now), it's difficult to argue with his next assertion: that the Russian intervention in Syria, measured against those Washington has undertaken over the past 15 years, looks pretty good.
With the intervention turning the situation around for Assad and bringing the opposition to the negotiating table, "Putin went in quickly, and just as quickly, came out again. It looks like the perfect intervention, in contrast to the US missions in Iraq or Afghanistan."
"The slowpoke from Washington and the man of action from Moscow," Thumann writes, contrasting the American and Russian leaders' approach to foreign policy.
Spending the rest of his piece talking about the dangers of speedy and decisive foreign policy, and blaming Western sluggishness on democratic structures, the need to account for popular attitudes, discussion and criticism, the journalist refuses to accept the idea that maybe, Putin's policy is successful because it relies on reason, precision, careful calculation and planning. Nope, it must be because he's 'autocratic'
Aarhus mayor Jacob Bundsgaard announced earlier this month that he was dropping his support for the huge mosque project, which had already been backed up by the city.
"My trust in the project is gone owing to these revelations, and it goes without saying that the project has to be cancelled. It's a shame for the vast majority of moderate Muslims, but it is their responsibility to condemn those who don't want to be integrated," Bundsgaard was quoted as saying by DR Nyheder.
The decision to shelve the super Mosque' project has stirred up protests among the local Muslims.
"It is deplorable, as the mosque could have united people," Fatina Maarouf, one of those protesting, told TV2.
Last October, a survey by Jyllands-Posten revealed that nearly four out of ten Danish Muslims actually thought that Denmark's laws should at least partly embrace Sharia laws.
"This shows that democratic norms haven't taken root amongst all immigrant groups quite yet," Jens Peter Frlund Thomsen, a social studies professor of the University of Aarhus, said in a comment for Jyllands-Posten.
According to BBC estimates, about 270,000 of Denmark's 5.6 million inhabitants are Muslims.
Asked to comment on the Dutch prime minister's remarks, and on the current trend in EU-Ukraine relations, Mikhail Alexandrov, the lead expert at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations' Center for Military-Political Studies, told Russia's Svobodnaya Pressa newspaper that the comments were not at all surprising.
"Nobody ever doubted that the EU has no desire to accept Ukraine into its ranks, because they have no desire to carry this dead load on their shoulders. The task of offering Ukraine membership in the EU was never posed," the analyst suggested.
In fact, he explained, "the agreement on European association was only ever intended to torpedo Ukraine's Eurasian integration" with Russia and the other post-Soviet states, including Belarus and Kazakhstan. "The whole 'Eastern Partnership' project was conceived in order to detach post-Soviet states from Russia."
At the same time, Alexandrov scornfully noted, "the present Ukrainian elite, bought and paid for by Western powers, has factually betrayed its own people, luring them with the chimera of European integration into a suicidal undertaking. We can already see what is happening with Ukraine's economy, and the situation will only get worse."
Unfortunately, "neither Western powers nor the local elite, which is engaged in plunder and enriches itself under the Washington and Brussels-assigned 'colonial administration', has any concern about the impoverishment of the Ukrainian people."
Ultimately, the analyst suggests, "if its comprador-like character finally causes a response from Ukrainian society [i.e. a revolution], this elite, with the blessing of their patrons, will promptly relocate to their pre-prepared 'reserve airfields' in the West."
The Institute of National Remembrance campaign, the historian said, is part of a wider campaign by Warsaw's partners in the European Union and NATO, who remain unsatisfied with the fact that Poland has not yet "completely eliminated all the historical memory that may connect Russia and Poland."
This, Markov suggests, is done, "for example, by financing the Polish-French-Dutch film Les Innocentes, which tells the story of how Soviet soldiers allegedly raped Polish nuns during the Great Patriotic War. In other words, every means possible are being used to distort history and to defame the Soviet soldier to present him as a degenerate who has no place in Europe."
"The 'war against monuments' is part of this policy. It aims to demonstrate that Poland, indeed, is a member of the EU, and its historical place is in Europe, whereas Russia is a pariah state. The message is that there is more contradiction and antagonism in the Polish-Russian relationship than there is cooperation. For this purpose everything connected with the Soviet period, and with the Great Patriotic War, is being erased."
Ultimately, the historian warned, this war with monuments may also be aimed at telling Russia that it owes Poland compensation for the Soviet past. "I would not be at all surprised if Warsaw soon presents us with compensation claims 'for the occupation' imposed after the war. All this is part of the vector of EU and NATO policy aimed at our country's isolation and exile from the foundations of the world order laid down in 1945, in which our country played a key role."
Russia, Markov noted, must not only appeal to the 1994 treaty, which Russia interprets to mean the protection of all monuments, and not just those at war cemeteries, but must advance more assertive arguments about the implications of the Soviet Union's wartime efforts.
"We must say, for example, that without the Red Army, without Russia there would not be a Poland today. And Poland, and possibly all of Europe would have remained in the depths of the barbaric dark ages which fascism had prepared for them."
Many of those interrogations took place around the time covert actions and drone attacks by the US Air Force and CIA began in Yemen, Pakistan and Somalia. The German Government denies that the military intelligence was used to track down targets for American drones in the Middle East and Africa. However, reports from the former US drone pilot and whistleblower Brandon Bryant suggest otherwise.
Inaccurate Intelligence
According to the documents, the domestic intelligence Protection of the Constitution are still performing "in some cases event-related contact recordings with asylum seekers." However, lawmakers in Germany have criticized the interrogation-for-asylum policy for leading to inaccurate or fabricated military intelligence.
"It is amazing to what extent and state authorities pressured refugees. [I find it] highly suspect, if intelligence services, customs and police seeking protection promise residence permit in the event of cooperation, especially so that the quality of the information obtained is highly questionable," said Martina Renner, the lawmaker from the Linke Party who sits on the NSA Committee of the German parliament and who tabled the Freedom of Information requests.
The news comes amid criticism from human rights groups that US drone strikes in Yemen, Pakistan and Somalia are killing for civilians than enemy targets. The US has been carrying out a drone strike program on targets in the Middle East since the 9/11 terror attacks in 2001.
Niinisto said that while his country is well aware of Russia developing its military potential and conducting numerous snap military exercises, Helsinki doesnt consider it a threat.
"Finland does not perceive any direct military threat coming from Russia," Niinisto said during an interview with the online newspaper Lenta.ru.
The minister also said that due to the fact that the ongoing crisis in Ukraine may in fact become permanent, he believes that Finland should maintain its contacts with Russia.
The Unites States intentions to deploy additional troops to Europe do not herald NATOs willingness to terminate dialogue with Russia, German Foreign Ministrys official representative Sawsan Chebli said during a briefing.
"NATO continues to maintain a constructive and cooperative relationship with Russia, including measures aimed at promoting trust and transparency. And obviously the alliance adheres to the NATO-Russia Founding Act. Neither the ongoing NATO activities nor the US plans are going to affect this stance," Chebli said.
She also remarked that it is the US-Russian cooperation that allowed to drastically speed up the process of peaceful conflict resolution in Syria.
"For the rest of the world, including tax havens outside the EU, companies will only have to disclose an aggregate figure which undermines the legislation. Multinationals will still be able to shift their profits outside the EU without anyone being able to monitor where they are located, what they are doing and what they give to governments in the form of taxes or other payments. If a CBCR system only applies to 28 countries and leaves out 168, it cannot be called CBCR," the campaign group said.
Details Missing
The group also says the CBCR scheme does not go into enough detail. "What's missing from this proposal are assets, sales and purchases, public subsidies received, and a list of subsidiaries. We have strongly advocated for the inclusion of both public subsidies and payments to governments in the legislation, as these are important elements to raise flags on potential corruption cases and collusion between governments and corporations.
"Despite strong rhetoric, the EU has made little in the way of progress on real corporate tax transparency. The European Commission's long-awaited leaked draft proposal fails to deliver and is a parody of transparency," it said.
In January 2016, the European Commission branded the Belgian "excess profit" tax scheme illegal under EU state aid rules and ordered the country to recover the US$760 million unpaid tax from the companies concerned, most of which are major multinationals.
In October 2015, the Commission ruled that Luxembourg and the Netherlands have granted selective tax advantages to Fiat and Starbucks, respectively. The Commission also has three ongoing in-depth investigations into concerns that tax rulings may give rise to state aid issues, concerning Apple in Ireland, Amazon in Luxembourg and McDonald's in Luxembourg.
The investigation into Ireland's tax treatment of Apple is ongoing. Last December the Commission opened an investigation into Luxembourg's tax deal with McDonald's.
According to its team of researchers, "We expect that millionaire migration away from France will accelerate over the next decade as these [racial] tensions escalate.
"In our view, other European countries where religious tensions are starting to emerge such as Belgium, Germany, Sweden and the UK will also be negatively affected in the near future."
New World Wealth also has a view on whether Britain should remain in the European Union or not. "In our view, a Brexit will not result in an outflow of millionaires from the UK.
"On the contrary. We believe that wealthy UK citizens are more likely to stay in the UK if there is a Brexit. This view is backed up by the fact that most of the wealthy British people we interviewed voiced concern over the UK's open border policy with Europe."
Kosovo's National Intelligence Service (SHIK) also engages in criminal activity, the BND wrote.
"SHIK came into being in its current form in the second half of 1999 in Pristina at the initiative of Thaci the service engages in spying, intimidation and elimination of democratic forces (via professional killers), particularly the opponents of organized crime. There are well-organized SHIK branches in the Albanian diaspora," the BND writes, and goes on to name the leaders of the SHIK network in Germany.
The BND reveals that the Kosovan President-elect is suspected to have given orders to a contract killer called Bekimi, and has links to money laundering, fuel and cigarette smuggling through the Salbatring company in Pristina.
According to the agency's intelligence from 2003, he was involved with wide-scale arms and drugs smuggling through a criminal network in Hamburg.
"One of the biggest financiers of Thaci and the KLA during the war in Kosovo in 1999 and the war in Macedonia was a group of organized criminals centered around Mehmeti Nazar, who lives in Dallas, Texas," the BND wrote.
Another of Thaci's backers is Ekrem Lluka, who is a "known smuggler of all kinds of goods: weapons, cigarettes, fuel, trucks and appliances" and suspected of involvement in the financing of Islamic terrorist groups.
Today in Washington DC! #Kosovo is blessed to have USA support! pic.twitter.com/n7SVWlDf3o Hashim Thaci (@HashimThaciRKS) 31 2016 .
The existence of the decade-old BND dossier on Thaci is further evidence that western governments have supported Thaci's government of Kosovo, in which he has twice served as Prime Minister, in full knowledge of his links to organized crime.
Thaci, who is currently Kosovo's Foreign Minister, is due to be inaugurated as president of Kosovo on April 7 after a majority of Kosovo's parliament voted for his election. Among those who congratulated him on the election were the German ambassador Angelika Viets, and her counterparts from the US, UK, France and Italy.
Upon the return of his possessions however, the UK government served him with an order under Section 49 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, demanding that he turn over the keys to decrypt some of the devices. Love said he would not comply, and for a while it seemed as though the agency had given up.
Love hadnt given up however, and sued to get his hard drives and devices back. In a seemingly retaliatory move, the agency once again demanded the encryption keys for the TrueCrypt software he used.
The Courage Foundation, a transparency advocacy group raising money for Love, told The Intercept that they believe this could have huge implications for journalists, activists, and others who need to guard confidential information.
The encryption key issue is set to be the topic of an April 12 hearing, where a judge could rule that Love must hand over the keys something which he has adamantly stated he will not do.
I won't be assisting obviously, so it's a matter of whether the judge appreciates that you cannot make someone's ability to own computers and store data dependent on satisfying the police, especially when someone is not being prosecuted in the country those police are supposed to be upholding the law of, Love told Sputnik News.
He also explained that the consequences of his case could be far wider than the FBIs attempt to get Apple to unlock the San Bernardino shooters phone.
In the San Bernadino case the phone belongs to the government, the person who put the pincode on it is dead and presumably killed a bunch of people, so he doesn't have many rights to property, Love explained. In this case, my entire digital life was taken along with all the computer equipment I owned and for 2.5 years i've had no access at all despite being still innocent, uncharged under UK law, presumptively with all the rights anyone else has.
What this means, he said, is that if the police can represent 'facts' in a colourful enough way to get a warrant, which is basically less effort than farting, then they can take and deny access to anyone of all of their digital equipment and media and refuse to return it if there are any portions they suspect (note, merely suspect, not having demonstrated or proved or evidence, but suspect) to be encrypted then the property is forfeit.
There is a tradition in Iraq and in Muslim communities where married men marry widows, so that they can look after their children. They believe it is a good deed that will be rewarded after death. In this way, Saga ended up married to al-Baghdadi.
"I didn't notice that he was active in any way. I moved into his home and that's where we lived. So many of us living together in the same apartment was tough. There was him, me and my children and his first wife and her children," explains Saga.
The man, who at that time was known as Hisham Mohammad, had not told his first wife that he was going to take another wife. And Saga says that she would prefer to forget her first meeting with al-Baghdadi's first wife.
"He didn't say much about his background. He was mysterious. He wasn't very talkative. We met in the evenings, over dinner. He spent his days at the university, where he taught religion and Sharia. He would sometimes disappear for several days. He said he'd been to visit his brother," the woman recalls.
"No, I was not in love with him. I didn't love him. He was an enigmatic person. You couldn't have a discussion or hold a normal conversation with him.
Daesh, outlawed in both the United States and Russia, captured Mosul, Iraqs second-largest city, without any resistance from the US-trained and equipped Iraqi army in June 2014. The newspaper cites people with knowledge of the university as saying "dozens" of IS engineers and scientists had set up a "research hub" at its well-stocked chemistry lab by March 2015.
Foreign IS fighters have reportedly been seen moving through the labs at least since August. A surge in the use of bombs made from a powdery substance known as triacetone triperoxide (TATP), described by Magsosi as the "Satan Recipe" due to its lethal effects and difficulty of detection, was registered around the same time, the newspaper claimed.
Although it could not be established whether the perpetrators of the Brussels and Paris attacks used the Mosul labs, at least one suspect was found last month to have made TATP-based suicide belts and suitcase bombs. Belgian police uncovered 33 pounds of TATP-type substances during a March 23 raid in the Schaerbeek municipality, one day after the deadly acts that killed 32 people and injured 316.
Two weeks after the November 13 Paris attacks, French police found a suicide belt containing bolts and TATP, the same substance believed to have been used in seven vests detonated during the string of attacks that killed 130 people and wounded 368.
According to the publication, despite numerous US-led coalition bombings targeting the site, most recently on March 19, the status of the University of Mosul remains unclear.
"The Russians, who made a withdrawal from the battlefield, in order to make recovery of the ancient city possible, came out the winners in this symbolic re-conquest. This event also revealed the weakness of the US and their French allies, in their absence among the liberators."
Ultimately, Rioufol suggests, "the lesson which should be learned from Putin's strategy is simple: only force can push Islamist ideology back; it is the only language that it understands."
"Of course, Putin's brutality is unpleasant for the sophists. They are always ready to indulge in a discussion over the ignorance of the Koran, about 'moderate Islamism' and the 'quietist Salafism', just as on the eve of the fall of Constantinople in the fifteenth century, when the wits were equally willing to submit to the invaders"
Russia, Rioufol notes, does not mix words in relation to its enemy, calling a spade a terrorist spade. At the same time, "when Francois Hollande speaks of 'annihilating Daesh', it sounds so unconvincing that it can only draw the wrath of the terrorists, who promise him the apocalypse, and hold to their word. And it will not be by minutes of silence or candles at the Place de la Republique in Paris that the [Islamists], which operate in both Syria and France, will be defeated." The fight against them, he suggested, "must be fierce."
Gardner says that the European Unions "willingness to make deals with Turkey and plans to send refugees back to Turkey means the EU is turning a blind eye to abuses." He says that if the EU moves forward with their plans to send refugees back to Turkey, as planned to begin on Monday, "they would really lose all credibility as a political bloc that claims to stand up for human rights."
Do you think the UN or other third party could mediate the process?
Gardner commended the UNHCR for their role in documenting conditions for refugees entering Greece, but suggests that the group must now focus their efforts on the plight of Syrian refugees in Turkey. "The UNHCR, through their protection mandate, needs to be looking into these issues which hopefully their investigation will include the Turkish authorities as well," he said.
Are there legal mechanisms in place to protect Syrian refugees?
"Since September 2013, Syrian refugees have been given temporary protection status so it is a secure legal status that all people fleeing across the border should be entitled to," said Gardner.
"On paper they should also be granted access to health services and healthcare to children. But what we have seen and what Amnesty International has reported is that there are gaps in this, that people are going without essential healthcare."
Gardner remains steadfast that the EU has failed in their obligations as a world power standing for human rights, despite their pledge to give Turkey money to address the refugee situation.
"We have already gained experience but right now we have a major problem the de-mining of houses and apartments where militants left shahid [martyr] belts and explosives. We are waiting for help from our Russian colleagues to work on that," Lt. Qassen Shpib said.
On March 27, the Syrian army, backed by militias and Russian Aerospace Forces, fully liberated Palmyra, which was under the control of the Daesh militant group for about a year.
Russia has deployed several groups of specialists and de-mining robots to assist Syrian experts in clearing bombs and land mines left by Daesh militants in their retreat from the historic city. The first group of Russian mine experts arrived at the Hmeimim air facility in Latakia on Thursday.
According to Lt. Qassen Shpib, Daesh militants planted bombs at the entrance to Palmyra prior to their retreat.
"The terrorists dug up pits in the concrete, placed mines into them, and poured concrete over. We had to detonate all that. There were also mines that the militants were setting off remotely," Shpib said.
Prior to its recapture, Palmyra was under the control of Daesh militants since May 2015.
The city, located in Syrias Homs Governorate, was first documented in the early second millennium BC. It is a UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) World Heritage Site.
Ukraine, in Kheruvymov's estimation, has $100 million in defense contracts with India, and plans to increase this figure to $500 million in the next three years.
Commenting on the statements made by the Ukrainian delegation to Defense News, military analyst Viktor Murakhovsky, a member of advisory council of the Russian Military-Industrial Commission, told Gazeta.ru that some of their words are in the realm of 'pure fantasy'.
"This is just part of the eternal Ukrainian dream to press someone, to squeeze them out of the market, to offer to do something almost for free. I do not believe in these fantasies. For example, it's amusing hearing about their plans to repair portable anti-air systems, which are generally not subject to repair. At the end of their service life, they are tested with the help of monitoring and checkout tools, and if the parameters are not up to snuff, they are disposed of; there's nothing to repair."
Murakhovsky also took note of the fact that all the anti-aircraft missile systems listed by Ukrainian representatives were actually produced on the territory of the Russian republic of the USSR, including the Strela 1, made at the Kolomna machine-building plant, and the Kvadrat (the predecessor of the Buk), also produced in Russia.
"Uncertified users unfamiliar with the design or the documentation may of course take the risk. Here Croatia took the risk with the MiG-21, and got the corresponding result," the military expert noted, referring to the scandal involving Croatia's recent purchase of 12 modernized MiG-21 fighters from Ukraine.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)- On Wednesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russian President Vladimir Putin's non-participation in the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, DC is because of the lack of mutual action during the preliminary preparation.
"There will be the Nuclear Security Conference in December 2016. I hope that our delegation will engage with Russian delegation in dialogue, and that the outcome will be positive," the source said on the margins of the fourth Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, DC on Thursday.
Russia has decided not to attend the Nuclear Security Summit, which is hosted by the United States.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) On Wednesday, White House spokesperson Josh Earnest said Obama was likely to have a conversation with Erdogan, but added it would be nearly impossible for Obama to have sit-down meetings with all 50 world leaders attending the nuclear security summit.
"President Obama this evening met with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey on the margins of the Nuclear Security Summit to discuss US-Turkey cooperation on regional security, counterterrorism, and migration," the White House said in a Thursday statement.
The two leaders particularly discussed their shared efforts to fight the Daesh terrorist group, which is banned in a range of countries, including the United States and Russia.
Broomfield was not the only journalist who insisted on condemning Assad following Palmyra's recapture.
On Thursday, Rasha Elass of Reuters wrote an article entitled "Assad's 'good deeds' in Syria can't go unpunished." In her Op-Ed Elass argues that regardless of "all the pomp and glory of recapturing the ancient city of Palmyra," it is Bashar al-Assad's fault that the historic site had fallen into Daesh's lap.
"top Syrian Army commanders and their Iranian advisers withdrew from Palmyra, leaving behind dozens of conscripts without provisions or support," she insists.
Hwaida Saad and Kareem Fahim of The New York Times describe the battle for Palmyra much in a similar vein.
"When the Islamic State captured the city in May, the militants faced little resistance from Syrian troops. At the time, residents said officers and militiamen had fled into orchards outside the city, leaving conscripted soldiers and residents to face the militants alone," the journalists write.
And again it is not what actually happened in Palmyra last May.
A blogger named Moon of Alabama nails the reporters for the distorted narrative.
"That depiction of the battle is pure nonsense. The Islamic State [Daesh] offensive that ended with its occupation of Palmyra took thirteen days from May 13 to May 26, 2015. Heavy fighting and several Syrian army counter offensives took place during those days. After the Islamic State finally captured the city, the Syrian army immediately prepared for a larger operation to regain the city. This was launched successfully in July 2015 but [due to a] lack of air support the gains made were again lost a week later," the blogger emphasizes.
The crux of the matter is that Ankara "provides visa waivers or issues visas on demand for citizens of countries that contribute to the Islamic State [Daesh]," Rubin points out.
"Demand visitors under the age of 40 to get visas in advance and the flow of foreign fighters into Syria would slow to a trickle," he notes.
The situation is complicated by the fact that Erdogan refuses to believe radical Sunni terrorism exists, the US scholar emphasizes, adding that Ankara is deliberately turning a blind eye to the threat posed by radical Islamists and at the same time silencing the opposition.
"The irony here, of course, is that Erdogan has used his bully pulpit to label Kurds, environmentalists, academics, journalists, and members of Fethullah Gulen's moderate Islamic movement as terrorists without evidence or due process, and he has had his security forces detain and arrest often on spurious charges lacking supporting evidence those whom he believes oppose his political agenda or have criticized growing corruption in his inner-circle," Rubin stresses.
"When the Islamic State [Daesh] captured the city in May, the militants faced little resistance from Syrian troops," The New York Times reports
Lazare dismisses the narrative as inaccurate and points to the fact that in May 2015 the Syrian Arab Army had resisted Daesh's advance for seven or eight days and then carried out a counter offensive against Islamists in the city's outskirts.
But, according to the author, it's half the story.
"The real story began two months earlier when Syrian rebels launched a major offensive in Syria's northern Idlib province with heavy backing from Turkey and Saudi Arabia. Led by al-Nusra [Front], the local al-Qaeda affiliate, but with the full participation of US-backed rebel forces, the assault proved highly successful because of the large numbers of US-made optically guided TOW missiles supplied by the Saudis," Lazare narrates.
He explains that the missiles allowed the rebels to gain the upper hand over the Syrian Arab Army and to destroy dozens of the Syrian government's tanks and other military vehicles.
As a result, al-Nusra Front and its allies continued to advance towards the government army's stronghold in Latakia to the delight of Washington officials.
"The trend lines for Assad are bad and getting worse," senior United States official in Washington told The New York Times in late April 2015.
According to Jan Van Benthem, the foreign affairs commentator at the Netherlands Dagblad (The Netherlands Daily), it may be a surprise to see how many people will vote for the NO option. The referendum, according to Mr Van Benthem, is more to do with general anti-EU sentiment inside the Netherlands; with the feeling that the Dutch are fed up with encroaching EU powers, than for or against Russia.
The Partnership Agreement was signed in 2014, is not yet fully ratified, but is already mostly in force. If the Netherlands votes against the Agreement in a referendum, this could cause a continental crisis with the EU, according to the European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. The Dutch parliament has backed but not ratified the Agreement. This vote has been caused by a Dutch law that stipulates that any cause that attracts over 300,000 verified signatures can trigger a referendum, and this campaign attracted 450,000 signatures. This is democracy in action, and means that the EU will have to adapt to a new legal situation. As yet, there is no indication what the outcome will be either for the vote or how the EU will adapt if the No camp wins.
The referendum has not been given very much attention in the worlds press, despite its significance, and has been overshadowed by other stories such as the Brexit referendum in the UK in June, and the Brussels bombings. The Netherlands is currently fulfilling its Presidency of the EU, which is rotated among EU members every 6 months.
Russias decision to abstain from the forum was announced after Mr. Obama backtracked on his initial pledges to cut nukes and Pentagon unveiled its new plans to build-up nuclear triad.
In an article entitled Power players set to miss DC nuclear summit, written by Lucas Tomlinson and carried by Fox News, the author quoted Russias Foreign Ministry as saying that the summits have played their role, but now interfere in the activities of the United Nations and other groups.
He also wrote that: The absence of the Russian government and the prime minister of Pakistan both important nuclear powers could hinder the talks.
"Cesar Chavez was a farm worker born and raised in Yuma, Arizona, in 1927," said Rodriguez. "His family lost their farm during the Depression days, so his father took him to California to begin harvesting crops when Cesar was in the 8th grade, forcing him to leave school."
"Cesar worked in the fields up and down California and Oregon for many years until he decided that, based on the injustices and discrimination that took place, it was time to take action. That was in 1962," explained Rodriguez. "So he, along with his wife Helen Chavez and his friend Dolores Huerta, began to do work that was necessary to talk to farmworkers about building an organization to improve their lives and the lives of their families."
How did Chavez organize the farmworkers?
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) Delegates from the P5+1 group of countries say the Iran nuclear agreement has been a real success in effectivelly addressing nuclear proliferation, President Barack Obama told reporters at a meeting on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, DC on Friday.
"Thanks to this deal we have seen real progress," Obama stated.
In July 2015, the P5+1 group of countries comprised of the United States, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom plus Germany, reached an agreement with Iran to ensure the peaceful nature of Tehran's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
Her name comes from the way she was acting right after she came into this world She was vocal right from the get-go, and when we walked up and peered over the wall, she had just finished nursing and gave us quite a greeting.
La Madawna De Rosa, who will suit up in Sundays Open III Pace for fillies and mares (Race 6) at Cal Expo, is the pride and joy of her owner/breeder Cindy Tupper. Lester Smith is her trainer. Mark Kennedy will driver her on Sunday.
Racing with conditioned rivals last weekend, the seven-year-old daughter of Little Steven proved a punctual 4-5 favourite under Kennedys direction, as she stormed home from last to prevail by three-quarters of a length while just missing her lifetime standard by a tick with the 1:56 final clocking.
Shes the first foal from her dam, Keystone Rosedale, and her name comes from the way she was acting right after she came into this world, Tupper explained. She was foaled at UC Davis and we got to see her within 15 minutes of her birth.
She was vocal right from the get-go, and when we walked up and peered over the wall, she had just finished nursing and gave us quite a greeting.
At that point, she came wobbly-legged over to us, stuck her nose up and whinnied again as if to stay Hi, how have you been? She then did a little dance around the stall a couple of times and has been in your face and a show off every since. Thus the Madonna name.
For the record, the diminutive mare has won 12 of her 95 starts, with 16 seconds and 14 thirds thrown in for good measure and has $57,000 in her bank account.
Because she was a late foal on June 8, La Madawna De Rosa didnt race as a two-year-old. In fact, when Tupper first approached trainer Bob Johnson, he expressed doubts she would ever make it to the races as she was much smaller than anyone in the barn.
She proved herself and surprised him and his second trainer, Robert Bell, at that time. She got a second in her third race, followed by two consecutive wins with a :27.3 last quarter and a 1:57 new lifetime mark in April of 2012.
After productive campaigns at ages three and four, La Madawna De Rosa came up lame in front in January of 2014 and a decision was made to give her all the time she needed. She returned in the fall, with Leon Smith training, and got her first win in November with Williams Hernandez driving.
She also had two wins in December with Luke Plano and ended up with a total of 14 races for the year.
Last season saw the Tupper representative make 22 appearances. This year she has 11 trips to the post thus far and a pair of snapshots, including last weeks popular score.
The mare has always done her best work from the back of the pack, preferring to save her best for last. She has consistently come home off the pace, many times from last or near last in the field, Cindy noted. Many of her races have also resulted in photo finishes.
In addition to La Madawna De Rosas exploits, Tupper is also proud of her five-year-old full sister, La Diva De Rosa, who has captured three of her last four starts, including a dead-heat with Smash last week.
Hi Ho Houdini, Uringoodhands stakes combatants
Hi Ho Houdini, a dominating winner of the last two big-money events for the division this season, is set to square off squares off against the hard-hitting Uringoodhands in Sunday evenings featured $10,000 California Sire Stakes at Cal Expo.
The featured event for four-year-old pacing males is scheduled as the third contest on an 11-race card and the action is set to get underway at 5:05 p.m.
Hi Ho Houdini is a son of Hi Ho Silverheels out of the Park Place mare Holls Park Place who carries the banner of Lujuanna Lopez with Gordie Graham the conditioner and Luke Plano in his usual spot in the sulky.
The bay performer comes into this assignment having landed in the charmed enclosure following seven of his 10 starts. Included in those wins are a victory in the Marvin Shapiro Pace and a trio of sire stakes decisions.
Hi Ho Houdini established his lifetime mark of 1:53.1 when he accounted for the February 6 stakes gathering for this group, doing the track-and-attack to perfection for Plano while prevailing by two and a half lengths that evening.
Uringoodhands is a Kents On Nuke homebred who races for Mark Anderson, hails from the Gordie Graham shedrow and will be guided by James Kennedy this weekend.
The dark-hued performer was the dominant player in the division last year while winning nine of his six starts, and while he has a lifetime best 1:53.1 conditioned score to his credit in 2016, he has had to settle for second behind Hi Ho Houdini in the first two sire stakes this season. Lodi Machette Man, Hi Hos Little Rev and Musician complete the cast.
(Cal Expo)
What started with an owner, a claiming horse, a young trainer and a promise has blossomed into an international stable racing in the name of breast cancer research and awareness.
In 2014, horse owner Lou Sorella was looking for a change of scenery with pacing mare Catch A Lucky Star. At the suggestion of aspiring trainer Rachel Oenema, Sorella gave the horse to her brother, trainer Terry Oenema. Catch A Lucky Star subsequently won his first two starts before requiring some time off. Around this time, Sorella's wife Maria was diagnosed with breast cancer.
"We knew it was going to happen, we just didn't know when," Lou Sorella said in a November 2015 Trot interview, explaining that Maria was predisposed to breast cancer.
Once Catch A Lucky Star was ready to resume racing, Sorella suggested to Rachel -- who had just received her apprentice trainer's licence -- that she buy the horse from him since she could only train horses she owned and Maria's fight against cancer was intensifying. Rachel agreed, and volunteered to give a percentage of earnings to the CIBC Run For The Cure, an annual event in support of breast cancer research and awareness. Maria Sorella was set to take part in the run in Windsor.
After taking nine months to bring Catch A Lucky Star back to the races, the horse was claimed in her first start back. Enter Joe Bellino, who had noticed what Sorella and Oenema were doing to raise money. He was selling some horses and after Sorella inquired about buying one, he decided to give Sorella the horse for free -- with all earnings going to the cancer fund.
Louie Sorella and his wife Maria (left). Joe Bellino and his wife Maria and their kids Frankie and Sophia (Trot Photo) Louie Sorella and his wife Maria (left). Joe Bellino and his wife Maria and their kids Frankie and Sophia (Trot Photo)
"My wife's dad passed away from cancer, so I wanted to do something," Bellino told Trot. "We give a lot to charities. This one was kind of close to harness racing.
"I wanted the horse to go to Rachel, I'm always trying to help the smaller guys in the business. At one time I was the smaller guy. I think a lot of the owners for the smaller trainers...they forget their grassroots."
The support hasn't stopped there. As of today, Team To The Moon consists of 25 horses from three countries (Canada, United States and Australia) and five trainers...all teaming up in support of breast cancer awareness. Horses racing in support of Team To The Moon include Ava N Ella, an unbeaten filly racing at The Meadowlands for Bellino Stables; Domedomedome, a stakes-winning trotting mare racing on the WEG circuit for Joanne Colville and Pamela Schmidt; and Anything For Love, racing for trainer Paul Humphreys in Australia.
"In an industry where it's tough to get people to support one another, this group has taken off," Sorella told Trot Insider. "Everyone has a story to tell be it a mother, sister, aunt or friend who has either battled breast cancer or is fighting it.
"Someone said 'you will never get the big horse to carry these small horses.' My reply was simple: every horse for us is a big horse, no matter where they race around the globe."
Most recently, Nor Star Renegade was a winner for #TeamToTheMoon on Tuesday. The Lindsey Kerr co-owned and trained gelding was driven to victory by driver Nick Steward in gate-to-wire fashion at The Raceway at the Western Fair District.
"It's nice to win, but it's even better to be winning and supporting breast cancer awareness at the same time," said Kerr. "Our family received tremendous support from people, almost nine years ago, when our Dad (Randy Kerr) passed away from lung cancer and now this Team To The Moon campaign is such a great way for our family to give back. We're more than happy to have 'Chucky' (Chuck In Charge) and 'Bruce' (Nor Star Renegade) doing their part in supporting such a wonderful cause that touches so many lives."
Nor Star Renegade winning on Tuesday (AG Photography)
"It seems we all have a horse or someone to cheer for every day that there's racing," continued Kerr. "Team members really come together and show their support for all involved in the Team. We're all closer as friends. We're all supporting breast cancer awareness and promoting harness racing in a big way. Again, we're all very happy to be involved!"
Statistics state that 67 women in Canada will be diagnosed with breast cancer today. Thats the bad news. The good news is that the national five-year survival rate for breast cancer is at an all-time high of 88 percent.
"When my wife was diagnosed with breast cancer last year, we dug in for the fight of our lives," said Sorella. "Cancer can take away all your physical abilities but it will never touch your mind or take away your soul.
"When we started collecting in August last year for the CIBC Run for the Cure and my wife approached some trainers and drivers at Mohawk, they were all receptive not knowing who or what was going on," Lou continued. "I will never forget the look on Phil Hudon's face when one driver asked 'who's this for?' and Maria said 'it's me, I have been diagnosed with breast cancer.' I thought Phil was going to break down. He said 'you look so good, we see both of you all the time...we didn't know.'"
Team To The Moon is currently welcoming new horses to the stable. To contribute to the cause, simply nominate a horse that you or a group own and donate one percent of that horse's earnings from the day you list until September 1, 2016. Trainers and drivers are welcome to donate one percent of earnings for the same duration. To join, contact Lou Sorella via social media or find out more from the Team To The Moon Facebook page. There, Team To The Moon follows all horses, trainers and drivers listed, providing updates, racing reports and, hopefully, plenty of win photos and video replays to enhance the Breast Cancer Awareness Drive.
"On behalf of all of us at Team To The Moon, we extend our heartfelt thanks to all of our clients, friends, family and the racing community who have already listed with us for 2016," said Sorella. "Let's make this thing happen!"
On Thursday, March 31, the Canadian Pari-Mutuel Association issued a release stating that the CPMA is delaying the implementation of the 2016 Elimination Guidelines until May 1, 2016 to allow additional time for the horse racing industry to comply with the changes.
The CPMA has stated that it has received reports of an increased number of detections from therapeutic medications, in particular the drug prednisolone. The reason for these results is unknown but they could be attributed to the use of compounded medications, veterinary practices not consistent with the new guidelines or a lack of awareness by stakeholders of the changes.
Until May 1, 2016, official samples will continue to be tested and positive certificates will be issued for results inconsistent with the Schedule of Drugs 2011 guidelines.
The contents of the CPMA release appear below.
Since the implementation of the 2016 Elimination Guidelines on March 1, 2016, the CPMA has received reports of an increased number of detections from therapeutic medications, in particular the drug prednisolone. The reason for these results is unknown but they could be attributed to the use of compounded medications, veterinary practices not consistent with the new guidelines or a lack of awareness by stakeholders of the changes.
For this reason, the CPMA is urging all trainers, owners and veterinarians to familiarize themselves with all the changes in the 2016 version of the Elimination Guidelines Booklet as soon as possible and make the necessary modifications of their practices to avoid positive tests. On its part, the CPMA is delaying the implementation of the new guidelines until May 1, 2016 to allow additional time for the horse racing industry to comply with the changes.
Until that time, official samples will continue to be tested and positive certificates will be issued for results inconsistent with the Schedule of Drugs 2011 guidelines.
Effective May 1, 2016, positive certificates will be issued under the new guidelines.
For further information, contact the CPMA toll free at 1-800-268-8835 or by Email: [email protected].
Sincerely,
Steve Suttie
Depuis la mise en application des directives du Guide delimination 2016 le 1er mars 2016, lACPM a recu des rapports faisant etat dun nombre accru de cas de detection de medicaments therapeutiques et plus particulierement de la drogue prednisolone. La raison de ces resultats est inconnue; toutefois, ils pourraient etre attribuables a lutilisation de medicaments composes, a des pratiques veterinaires non conformes aux nouvelles directives ou au fait que certains intervenants ne sont pas au courant des modifications.
En consequence, lACPM recommande a tous les entraineurs, proprietaires et veterinaires de se familiariser des que possible avec toutes les modifications dans la version 2016 du Guide delimination et a modifier leurs pratiques pour eviter que les tests de depistage donnent des resultats positifs. De son cote, lACPM reporte lapplication des nouvelles directives au 1er mai 2016 pour permettre a lindustrie des courses de chevaux davoir le temps de se conformer aux modifications.
Entre-temps, lanalyse dechantillons officiels se poursuivra et des certificats danalyse positive seront emis si le resultat est non conforme aux directives de lAnnexe des drogues de 2011.
A compter du 1er mai 2016, des certificats danalyse positive seront emis conformement aux nouvelles directives.
Pour de plus amples renseignements, communiquez avec lACPM au numero sans frais 1-800-268-8835 ou par courriel a [email protected].
Cordialement,
Steve Suttie
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Apple celebrates its 40th anniversary this week at the top of its game, as the Silicon Valley legend that sprang out of Steve Jobs' garage to reshape modern life with its trend-setting gadgets.
Jobs, the late tech-savvy marketing genius, and Steve Wozniak, who invented the Apple computer, helped revolutionize how people use technology, and formed what would become the world's largest corporation with an eye-popping $53 billion in annual profits.
The two college dropouts created the company that has changed the way people use computers, listen to music, communicate on the go, and made people at home in a world of "apps" tailored for work, play, education, health and more.
Apple's hit products -- the Mac, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad -- command a cult-like following, long after the company's humble beginning in Jobs' Cupertino, California garage on April 1, 1976.
"Apple has defined modern Internet lifestyle," said Tim Bajarin, president of Silicon Valley analyst firm Creative Strategies. While other firms had major impacts on specific technologies or devices, "Apple had the greatest influence on the broadest range of consumer electronics," Bajarin said.
Before changing the world with the iPhone and iPad, Apple transformed home computing with the Macintosh. The friendly desktop machine referred to as the "Mac" and, importantly, the ability to control it by clicking on icons with a "mouse," opened computing to non-geeks in much the way that touchscreens later allowed almost anyone to get instantly comfortable with smartphones or tablets.
The Macintosh computer, introduced in 1984, was at the core of a legendary rivalry between late Apple co-founder Jobs and Microsoft mastermind Bill Gates.
"Apple heavily influenced the market with the Mac by introducing the mouse and the graphical user interface," Bajarin said, referring to the then novel notion of controlling computers by clicking icons instead of typing commands using software speak.
Cult of Apple
Apple went on to "rewrite" the music market with the iPod; made the smartphone a mass market staple with the iPhone, and took tablets mainstream with the iPad. Apple Watch quickly took the lead in the smartwatch market, despite making its debut later than those of rivals.
While Apple did not invent MP3 players, smartphones, tablets or smartwatches, its creations combined beauty, ease-of-use and capabilities that won zealous fans. Jobs, who died in 2011 at the age of 56, was renowned for an uncompromising drive to combine technology with design to make products that were intuitive and hassle-free.
"Apple has taught us the supremacy of user experience and brand passion," Forrester analyst Frank Gillett told AFP. "Apple devices don't just work great, they inspire allegiance. The Apple brand inspires passion on both ends of the spectrum."
Gillett recalled early Apple days when loyalty to Apple or Windows computers was the type of topic that could easily trigger clashes in San Francisco cafes. "It is Apple's obsessive attention to detail, premium products that for some are status symbols," the analyst said. "It becomes brand fashion, with people throwing themselves into a community."
Twists and turns
Apple's path to becoming the world's most valuable company was beset by surprising twists and turns, including product flops as well as board room machination that resulted in Jobs being ousted for a time as chief.
"It has been a remarkable story of peaks and crises that got us here," Gillett said. "It is a remarkable story of reinvention." The analyst wondered whether Apple stepping to the front lines in a battle over privacy and security of digital data on smartphones under chief executive Tim Cook will eventually be seen as another of the notable moments in its history.
The US government's unexpected retreat in its campaign to force Apple to help unlock an attacker's iPhone may only postpone an inevitable battle over encryption and data protection, say analysts.
Federal prosecutors and Apple spent weeks trading a volley of legal briefs related to the FBI's demand that the tech company help investigators unlock the phone used by Syed Farook, who died in a shootout after carrying out a deadly December attack in San Bernardino, California with his wife.
The case ended in a stalemate, but many expect the debate on encryption to resume.
Apple early this year raised the specter of the end of a technological era after reporting the slowest growth sales ever of its market-leading, life-changing iPhone and warning it expects worse to come.
Many analysts say Apple is evolving from a device-making superstar racking up dizzying financial quarters to a company that can make a sizable and steady income from selling apps, digital music and more to the huge number of people using its devices.
Apple services include iTunes, iCloud, Apple TV, and the App Store along with Apple Pay. Apple also has a war chest of some $215 billion in cash and securities, most of it overseas.
The company will move into its new "spaceship" design campus next year, according to Cook. "We are looking forward to moving," Cook said at a press event. "We can't wait to see what is in store for the next 40 years and share it with you."
AFP
tech2 News Staff
No business or industry today can afford to ignore the cloud. As cloud speed, scale and agility continue to increase, so too does what's possible using cloud services, says Scott Guthrie, Executive Vice President, Cloud and Enterprise Group - Microsoft in a blogpost. He cites an example of a dairy farmer who can improve his cow's milk production by hooking them to monitoring sensors. Or a car that can alert about traffic and save you some time on the way to work. All this is actually happening today, with exponentially increasing amounts of data, new ways to analyse this data for better business insights and connect it to a growing number of devices.
At the ongoing Build 2016, Microsoft says it aims to take the pressure off developers to innovate faster by building applications to process and analyse data at cloud speed, irrespective of device or platform. Microsoft claims to make things easier by making Xamarin available to every Visual Studio developer for free, including the free Visual Studio Community Edition.
Announced at Build 2016 was a preview of Azure Functions, extending Azure's application platform with a new serverless compute for event-driven solutions. Functions lets developers handle on-demand tasks that respond to events, common in Web and mobile applications, IoT and big data scenarios. Working across Azure and third-party services, it enables developers to write functions in a variety of languages, such as JavaScript, C#, Python and PHP, with the ability to automatically scale out to meet demand, only charging for the time a function runs. And with an open source runtime, developers will be able run Functions anywhere on Azure, in their datacenters or on other clouds, says Microsoft.
Microsoft also unveiled the Azure IoT Starter Kits that make it easier for developers to embrace Internet of Things (IoT). With development boards, actuators, sensors and tutorials, anyone with Windows or Linux experience whether a student, inventor, device maker, hobbyist or developer can quickly build IoT prototypes inexpensively, says the company. Once a prototype is ready for full-scale deployment, these users can leverage all of Azures IoT offerings already on the market. In addition, Microsoft announced the Azure IoT Gateway SDK, along with device management in Azure IoT Hub further easing the path to IoT by connecting legacy devices and sensors to the Internet without having to replace existing infrastructure, and managing these devices at scale via a standards-based approach.
Additionally, Microsoft announced he general availability of Azure Service Fabric, the microservices application platform, to help developers design apps and services with always-on availability and scale. This platform has been used for years as the foundation for Microsoft cloud services like Azure SQL Database, Azure Document DB, Cortana and Skype for Business, says Microsoft. Its features include automated health-based upgrades and rollbacks, support for stateful and stateless microservices, and deep Visual Studio integration. Microsoft also announced previews of Service Fabric for Windows Server, for deploying on-premises and on other clouds, and Service Fabric for Linux and Java APIs.
tech2 News Staff
Edward Snowden, whistleblower extraordinaire is live on Reddit, right now, this minute. Head over to the AMA and ask him anything you want. Just ignore the FBI warning and don't forget to hit Ctrl + A to start reading (you'll thank us later).
We're not a 100 percent sure ourselves if Snowden really is live on Reddit, it is April Fool's Day after all. Either way, it sure does sound like him and the proof is compelling enough.
We're all aware of Edward Snowden and his work, but just in case, a quick revision might be in order.
Edward Snowden, the 32 year old NSA system administrator revealed almost all of the NSA's dirty little secrets in 2013. Leaving his comfortable life in Hawaii, he flew to Hong Kong, later settling in Russia, and in June that year revealed thousands (perhaps millions, the exact figure is still not known) of classified NSA documents to journalists from The Guardian and The Washington Post.
These leaked documents revealed government snooping operations on scales that boggled the mind, at levels that would put George Orwell's 1984 to shame.
For his revelations, Snowden has been called a traitor, a dissident, anti-national, a patriot and a hero. He's many things to many people, it's just a matter of perspective, but undeniably, he's shown the world the power of indiscriminate surveillance and the reckless, unthinking abandon with which that data can be used.
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Microsoft's India-born CEO Satya Nadella today outlined the technology giant's vision to combine the power of human language with advanced machine intelligence as he announced new updates to the operating system Windows 10 to create more personal computing for every customer.
"As an industry, we are on the cusp of a new frontier that pairs the power of natural human language with advanced machine intelligence," Nadella said in his keynote address to thousands of developers at Build 2016, its annual mega-gathering of developers that kicked-off today where the company presents its latest tools and technologies.
"At Microsoft, we call this Conversations as a Platform, and it builds on and extends the power of the Microsoft Azure, Office 365 and Windows platforms to empower developers everywhere," Nadella said.
Nadella and executive vice president of Windows and Devices Group Terry Myerson outlined to the developers Microsoft's strategy about the work it is doing to help them embrace the era of conversational intelligence and create more personal computing for every customer, industry and business.
Nadella showcased improvements to Cortana and announced previews of new cloud services and toolkits designed to create intelligent bots. Myerson announced the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, aimed to deliver significant new innovations for consumers and developers for the Universal Windows Platform. The update will be available later in the summer.
"With Windows 10 now running on over 270 million active devices, we're celebrating with our fans by delivering the Windows 10 Anniversary Update. This significant update will help you interact with your Windows 10 devices as naturally as you interact with the world around you - using your pen, presence and voice," Myerson said.
"We are dedicated to making Windows the most productive development environment for all developers, with all-new capabilities for the Universal Windows Platform and all-new tools for bringing apps to Windows 10 from any platform."
Speaking of Microsoft's "more personal computing vision", Nadella said Windows 10 "is off to an amazing start" with over 270 million active devices, outpacing Windows 7 by 145 percent. Customers have spent more time in Windows 10 than ever before - over 75 billion hours since its launch eight months ago. The Windows 10 Anniversary Update features innovations for Windows Ink, Cortana, Windows Hello and gaming.
Microsoft introduced the 'Cortana Intelligence Suite', formerly known as the Cortana Analytics Suite, powered by research into big data, machine learning, perception, analytics and intelligent bots.
Built on Microsoft Azure, the company said these capabilities can be used by developers and businesses to create intelligent end-to-end solutions, including new apps that learn about the world around them and bots and agents that interact with people in personalised, intelligent ways.
PTI
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The latest version of Microsoft Corp's Windows operating system has 270 million active users eight months after launch, the world's largest software company said on Wednesday.
The number, announced by executive Terry Myerson at Microsoft's annual gathering for developers in San Francisco, represents a solid start for Windows 10 after the tepid reaction to its predecessor, Windows 8.
Getting its Windows strategy right is a key part of Microsoft's plans to stay relevant in a mobile-centric world where rivals like Amazon.com Inc, Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc's Google carry more clout with many consumers and developers.
One reason for the rapid take-up is that Windows 10, released in July, is free for individual consumers who download it during its first year. Enterprise customers must pay for Windows 10.
An anniversary upgrade to be released this summer will also be free for users already running Windows 10, Myerson said on Wednesday. The giveaway is effectively an admission by Microsoft that few individuals are willing to pay for software, and represents a shift to a strategy embraced by most tech startups of attracting as many users as possible and nailing down how to make money later.
Microsoft laid out its business case last year: the more consumer devices run on Windows, the more potential targets it gains for advertising sales and for its own paid-for applications and services.
Myerson said before launch he was aiming for 1 billion devices running Windows 10 within a few years. On Wednesday, he did not give a breakdown on the type of devices Windows 10 was being used on. Microsoft still dominates the market for personal computer software, but its share of smartphones - where many people now do the bulk of their computing - is tiny.
Technology research firm IDC is forecasting that smartphones running Windows will account for only 1.6 percent of the global market this year, compared to 83 percent running Google's Android system and 15 percent running Apple's iOS.
Microsoft's main problem is that the range of apps that work on Windows mobile devices lags behind those on Android and iOS, making them less attractive to buyers. The less popular they are, the less developers are motivated to make apps for Windows devices, reinforcing the vicious cycle.
During the developer conference, which Microsoft calls Build, the company also gave an update on its HoloLens augmented-reality technology, which ships to developers on Wednesday.
Reuters
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Social networking forum Reddit on Thursday removed a section from its site used to tacitly inform users it had never received a certain type of U.S. government surveillance request, suggesting the platform is now being asked to hand over customer data under a secretive law enforcement authority.
Reddit deleted a paragraph found in its transparency report known as a warrant canary to signal to users that it had not been subject to so-called national security letters, which are used by the FBI to conduct electronic surveillance without the need for court approval.
The scrubbing of the "canary", which stated reddit had never received a national security letter "or any other classified request for user information," comes as several tech companies are pushing the Obama administration to allow for fuller disclosures of the kind and amount of government requests for user information they receive.
National security letters are almost always accompanied by an open-ended gag order barring companies from disclosing the contents of the demand for customer data, making it difficult for firms to openly discuss how they handle the subpoenas. That has led many companies to rely on somewhat vague canary warnings.
"I've been advised not to say anything one way or the other," a reddit administrator named "spez," who made the update, said in a thread discussing the change. Even with the canaries, we're treading a fine line.
Reddit did not respond to a request for comment. The FBI did not respond to a request for comment.
In 2014 Twitter sued the U.S. Justice Department on grounds that the restrictions placed on the social media platforms ability to reveal information about government surveillance orders violates the First Amendment.
The suit came following an announcement from the Obama administration that it would allow Internet companies to disclose more about the numbers of national security letters they receive. But they can still only provide a range such as between zero and 999 requests, or between 1,000 and 1,999, which Twitter, joined by reddit and others, has argued is too broad.
National security letters have been available as a law enforcement tool since the 1970s, but their frequency and breadth expanded dramatically under the USA Patriot Act, which was passed shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
Several thousand NSLs are now issued by the FBI every year. At one point that number eclipsed 50,000 letters annually.
Reuters
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Envisaging a technological future where computers can learn human language and have conversations with people, Microsoft's India-born CEO Satya Nadella has said companies need to build "respectful" technology which gets the best of humanity and not the worst.
"We want to take the power of human language and apply it more pervasively to all of the computing interface and interactions," Mr Nadella said yesterday in his keynote address to thousands of developers at Microsoft's annual Build 2016 conference in San Francisco.
"To do that you have to infuse (intelligence) into the computers around us, you have to bring forth these technologies of artificial intelligence in machine learning so that we can teach computers to learn the human language, have conversational understanding, teach them about the broad contexts of personal preferences and knowledge so that they can help you with your everyday task," Nadella, 48, said.
He envisaged a future where the machine is not against man but works with humans to offer seamless interface and experience in day-to-day learning.
"All technology that we built has to be more inclusive and respectful. We want to build technology that gets the best of humanity and not the worst," Nadella said. "We want to build intelligence that augments human abilities and experiences. Ultimately it is not going to be about man versus machine. It is going to be about man with machines," he said.
Technology where the human ability of judgement creativity, empathy and emotion is combined with the fast computation and ability to reason over large amounts of data, he said.
"We want all developers to infuse intelligence into their applications...As we infuse intelligence into everything it is important to have a principled approach," Nadella said. "This will help us move our society forward. You also have to build trust right into our technology that means you have to have technology that has built-in protections for privacy, transparency, security as well as compliance," he said.
Nadella showcased improvements to Cortana and announced previews of new cloud services and toolkits designed to create intelligent bots.
During the conference, Microsoft announced new additions to the Cortana Intelligence Suite.
The first, Microsoft Cognitive Services, is a collection of intelligence Application Programming Interface (API) that allows systems to see, hear, speak, understand and interpret a user's needs using natural methods of communication. "We want to take the power of human conversations and apply it to everything else like a personal digital assistant that knows you and your world," Nadella said.
The "rich world of conversation" that Microsoft envisions will have not just people to people conversations but those between people and their personal digital assistants, bots and even personal digital assistants calling on bots on the user's behalf.
"That is the world you are going to see in the years to come," he said, adding that Microsoft is conceptualising a platform where human language is the new user interface, bots are new applications, digital assistants are the new browsers and "intelligence is infused into all of your interactions." Nadella noted that there is a much more mainstream dialogue about the role of technology in the society and "this is the right time to have that dialogue."
"We have these profound questions and issues in front of us. Is technology driving economic growth for everyone or is economic growth stalled inspite of technological span. Is technology empowering people or is it displacing us. Is technology helping us preserve our enduring values such as privacy or is it compromising it," he said.
"I believe technology can drive economic growth all over the world. Technology can empower us in our daily lives, be used to preserve our enduring values," he added.
PTI
MIT students examine Easter
Can belief in the supernatural coexist with a scientific worldview?
Editors Note: Professor Anne McCants of the History Department contributed to the editing process of this article.
This past weekend, Christians at MIT and around the world celebrated Easter. The occasion recalls a time two thousand years ago when, according to the New Testament, a man named Jesus was condemned to death by crucifixion in Jerusalem. It would be strange to celebrate such an event, except the accounts also record that, three days later, Jesus rose from the dead, leaving behind an empty tomb and an initially bewildered but ultimately emboldened group of disciples, who began announcing his resurrection to the rest of the world.
At a place like MIT, an occasion like Easter raises the question of whether belief in supernatural events can coexist with a commitment to serious scholarship. Can someone be a credible academic and yet affirm a resurrection narrative that defies the laws of science? What we hope to explain is how, for Christians at MIT, belief in the resurrection complements rather than contradicts our scientific worldview. Along the way, we will consider limits to what science can tell us about the world, and how one can rationally evaluate a singular event from history that is not amenable to repeated testing.
By the standards of a modern biography, we know relatively little about Jesus. We have no descriptions of his appearance, nor do we know much about his family life beyond the names of his parents and four brothers. The New Testament describes his birth, includes a lone anecdote about a childhood episode at the temple, then skips ahead by more than two decades to the final years of his life. With so much lacking in the portrait we have of Jesus, there are those who suggest that he was an entirely mythical figure, conjured out of thin air like one of the Greek gods.
Yet in the context of history, we know more about Jesus than about any other individual from that era. Whereas we derive our knowledge of ancient rulers sometimes from a single coin inscription or a scrap of papyrus, there are more than 40 different authors who mention Jesus within 150 years of his life the writers of the New Testament, early church figures, a prominent Jewish historian named Josephus, several Roman intellectuals, and more. To put this in perspective, we have many more sources writing about Jesus than about the Roman emperor at the time. Consequently, the consensus among scholars is that there was certainly a man named Jesus who, after amassing a substantial following, was eventually condemned to death by crucifixion as an enemy of Rome. This is as much a fact of history as anything from the ancient world can be.
Beyond this consensus, there are prominent scholars like Bart Ehrman and John Dominic Crossan who reject the supernatural elements of the Jesus narrative as fictional embellishments. In their view, it was only after his death that his followers invented stories of miracles and the resurrection, to lend legitimacy to the continuing movement. However, there are also influential Christian thinkers such as N. T. Wright, Bruce Metzger, and F. F. Bruce who insist that, based on the manuscript evidence, the Jesus narrative cannot be so easily dismissed. The earliest New Testament documents were written within one generation of the events being recorded, rather than much later by authors with more room for invention. This leaves the text sprinkled with precise details of people and places that have been confirmed by archaeological evidence. The recorded teachings of Jesus also do not touch on any of the most fractious debates from the first centuries of Christianity, making it unlikely that the original text was embellished to advance the agendas of later religious factions.
Yet even if one does not by default dismiss the resurrection as fabrication, it still presents the ultimate challenge to the integrity of the Christian narrative about Jesus. Surely we know from science that dead people do not come back to life again! In affirming the reality of the resurrection, though, Christians are not declaring that science is wrong that people actually come back to life shortly after they die. The assertion is instead that, at one unique point in history, God overrode the laws of nature and restored life to a single person. This is by definition an unscientific truth claim, although not in the pejorative sense, but rather in the sense that it goes beyond what can be verified using the tools of science. We cannot devise a laboratory experiment to test whether Jesus rose from the dead. At most we can confirm that there are no contemporary examples of bodily resurrection, and be ready with our medical instruments to collect data if something extraordinary does happen moving forward.
This brings us to the philosophical question of whether we can know anything about reality beyond what science tells us. In the materialistic worldview, all of reality can be reduced to interactions between matter and thus probed by the tools of science, but the position is unscientific in the same sense as the resurrection truth claim above. The Christian perspective on the question is perhaps best articulated by the eminent physicist-turned-Anglican-minister John Polkinghorne. In his words: Science deals with an objective dimension, in which things can be manipulated and events repeated, thereby affording it access to the great weapon of experimental verifiability. Yet we all know that there are many levels of encounter with reality in which neither manipulation nor repetition are possible without doing violence to the reality encountered.
How then can one rationally interact with these realities that are not accessible to the tools of science? Perhaps, in the case of the resurrection, one must decide whether it happened in history, not whether it can happen in science. Did the disciples actually find an empty tomb and later encounter the risen Jesus, as the New Testament accounts describe?
Skeptics have suggested that the disciples fabricated the idea of the resurrection as a coping mechanism in the wake of the devastating death of their leader. However, their insistence about the reality of the risen Jesus took them down a brutal road of persecution, and often death. While people have been known to martyr themselves because of abstract beliefs, the disciples died for insisting on the reality of their personal experiences. Another possibility is that some of them were hallucinating, but the manuscript evidence indicates that hundreds of people shared the same experience of encountering Jesus after his resurrection. Finally, even unsympathetic sources from the time acknowledge the presence of the empty tomb, offering only that the disciples must have stolen the body.
In the end, these considerations do not prove outright that the resurrection happened, because the tools of history cannot deliver the same certainty as the tools of science, especially when it comes to extraordinary claims of supernatural events. What they do suggest is that belief in the resurrection should not be casually dismissed as an irrational fantasy, but lingers even in the face of careful historical examination. For Christians at MIT who are committed to serious scholarship, the New Testament accounts of Jesus remain compelling under the light of rationalism, and accounts of an Easter resurrection echo still.
David Kwabi is a graduate student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, and Tout Wang was a recent visiting graduate student in the Department of Physics.
Rear Admiral M Khaled Iqbal joins Ctg Port as Chairman
Chittagong Bureau :
Rear Admiral M. Khaled Iqbal joined as Chairman of Chittagong Port Authority on Thursday (March 31) .
Before joining his new assignment in CPA , Rear Admiral Khaled Iqbal was the Commander of BN Fleet of Bangladesh Navy in Chittagong .
Sources said, Rear Admiral Khaled Iqbal joined Bangladesh Navy in January, 1981 and commissioned in Executive Branch on June 01, 1983 . He discharged in different responsible posts of defence forces in home and abroad during his service tenure.
Rear Admiral Khaled rendered responsibility of Trainer in defence services command and staff college in Dhaka for about 3 years. He was promoted as commandant in Bangladesh Navy in 2007. He also joined the UN peace mission in Ivory Coast and Head of Military Observer Team in Abidjan in 2006.
M. Khaled Iqbal discharged duties as Director General of Civil Military Relations under Armed Forces from 2011 to 2012, sources said. He also attains a number of professional degrees and training in different types of war ships and strategies from abroad during his service tenure, CPA sources said.
Meeting on APA implementation, future work plan of BEPZA
Suraiya Begum, ndc, Secretary of PMO presiding over a meeting on future work plan of BEPZA, progress of Annual Performance Agreement (APA), challenges faced by the organization and overall activities of it at BEPZA, Dhaka office recently. Major General Mo
Economic Reporter :
A meeting was held between Prime Minister's Office and Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA) on Wednesday at BEPZA Complex in Dhaka presided over by Suraiya Begum, ndc, Secretary of Prime Minister's Office.
This meeting discusses on future work plan of BEPZA, progress of Annual Performance Agreement (APA), challenges faced by the organization and overall activities of BEPZA. Major General Mohd Habibur Rahman Khan, ndc, psc, the Executive Chairman, BEPZA delivered welcome speech in the meeting.
This special meeting arranged with BEPZA officials in a view to discuss on the progress of APA and activities of BEPZA to implement Vision-2021.
A discussion has been held in this meeting on Key Performance Indicator of APA for the fiscal year 2015-16 signed between Prime Minister's Office and BEPZA. Secretary of PMO gave instructions how to overcome challenges of BEPZA and also advised to put emphasize on backward linkage industry including more uses of local raw materials. She optimist that BEPZA will take up a role to achieve Sustainable Development Goal as it as in Millennium Development Goal.
Mr. Md. Shawkat Nabi, Secretary of BEPZA presented the success and overall scenario of Bangladesh EPZ Authority through power point presentation. Secretary Suraiya Begum delighted to know that among the total workforce of EPZs 65 percent is woman. She emphasizes to implement women empowerment in management level including different stages of position not only in workers level. She said, 'BEPZA strengthening the economic base of the country through secured investment friendly environment, employment and boost up industrialization and export growth. Now Bangladesh is recognized as 'Bonanza for the Investors' to the international investors. In spite of adverse situation in industrial sector of the country, scenarios of EPZs are brightening; that is why BEPZA is a brand in global market because of peaceful industrial friendly working environment in low cost production base.' Secretary Suraiya Begum said BEPZA established a unique example in economic development of the country through local and foreign investment and also in export.
BEPZA has proven efficiency particularly in the field of investment, women employment, workers welfare and recognition in global market. She also said BEPZA is a pioneer of modern industrial and its success pave the way to create more industrial enclave in the country for the investors.
Why did Deepika skip Bhansalis party?
Sanjay Leela Bhansali threw a party for his industry friends after his dream project Bajirao Mastani (2015) bagged six National Awards, including a Best Director honour, recently.
While his Bajirao, Ranveer Singh, was very much part of the celebrations (no surprises there), the absence of Mastani, Deepika Padukone, sent tongues wagging. The actress, who attended a friends wedding in Sri Lanka last week with rumoured beau Ranveer and mother Ujjala in tow, apparently landed in Mumbai recently.
Says a source, Several big names from the industry turned up for Bhansalis bash, but onlookers kept wondering why Deepika, who seems to his current favourite, didnt show up despite being in town.
Police strike halts Brussels airport reopening
BBC Online :Plans to partially reopen Brussels airport on Friday evening have been halted amid a strike by airport police over security concerns.The Zaventem facility has been closed since a twin suicide bomb attack on the departures hall on 22 March.The SLFP police union told the BBC that security measures put in place for the reopening were insufficient.So-called Islamic State (IS) said it carried out bombings of the airport and metro system that killed 32 people.Vincent Gilles, the president of the SLFP, the largest police union in Belgium, said: "We are on strike because of what happened on 22 March - we cannot continue as if this day has not happened."The police feel the security measures put in place by the airport company are insufficient for those who work and use the airport." He says metal detectors, body scanners and x-ray machines should be set up to screen people before they are allowed into terminals.The authorities have so far rejected this, arguing that such checks would create new queues outside the buildings, leading to fresh security risks. In an earlier statement, the airport's operators had said a partial reopening wouldbe possible on Friday evening, after a temporary check-in system had been tested and made ready. However, it said the departures area, which was severely damaged by the bomb attacks, would only operate at 20% of normal capacity, receiving only 800 departing passengers per hour.The operator said on Friday this could not now go ahead because of the strike. Belgian media said the government was still considering the possibility of a reopening. Defence Minister Steven Vandeput said: "We must find a balance between economic needs and security needs."The airport operator's chief executive, Arnaud Feist, said earlier this week that the airport would take months to reopen fully. In an earlier open letter to authorities published by Belgian broadcaster VRT (in Dutch), police had said they had sent "strong daily signals regarding the overall security at the airport".
CID team visits Tonu killing spot
Activists of women\'s rights organization on Friday took to the city streets protesting sexual assaults on women. They put slogan behind rickshaws as part of their protests. The photo was taken from Ananda Bazar area in the capital.
UNB, Comilla :A team of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on Friday visited the spot in Mainamati Cantonment area where the body of Comilla Victoria College student Sohagi Jahan Tonu was found.The CID team led by investigation officer of the case and CID inspector Gazi Mohammad Ibrahim visited the murder site around 10:30 am. "We have been investigating how and in which condition the body of the girl was found. We have received necessary documents of the case, but we need more time to unearth the mystery. We haven't got anything yet to make any comment over the progress of the case," Assistant Police Superintendent of CID Mojammel Haq told UNB.However, another CID team will visit the area on Monday, he said. Tonu murder case was shifted to the CID on Tuesday to expedite its probe. Sohagi Jahan Tonu, 19, a second year history student of Comilla Victoria College and a member of Victoria College Theatre, went missing on March 20, hours after she had gone out of her house at Comilla Mainamati Cantonment for private tuition.Later, Tonu's father Yaar Hossain found his daughter lying senseless with severe injuries in her body in a bush adjacent to their house. She was then whisked off to Combined Military Hospital where doctors declared her dead.
NLD wants to make Suu Kyi president's boss
Myanmar Foreign Minister Aung San Suu Kyi (center) walks out of her ministry in Naypyitaw on Friday. Her ally U Htin Kyaw took over as Myanmar\'s president Wednesday. Internet photo
AP :
Aung San Suu Kyi led her party to victory in Myanmar's elections in November, but a constitutional provision crafted during military rule prevents her from becoming president.
So legislators from her party are proposing a law that would create a new position in the government. Officially, it would be called "state adviser" - but another title, lawmakers suggest, might be "president's boss."
"Opponents of the bill argue that it goes against the constitution, which they say does not allow anyone to be above the president," NPR's Anthony Kuhn reports from Beijing. "Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy, has a majority in both houses of parliament, so the bill is expected to pass."
Suu Kyi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, spent 15 years under house arrest for her opposition to the military dictatorship. Suu Kyi and the NLD won a sweeping victory in elections in 1990, but the military junta rejected the results and kept her confined.
In 2008, Myanmar's military leadership wrote a constitution that bars anyone whose spouse or child is a foreign citizen from becoming president. Suu Kyi's two children are British, as was her late husband.
The country's constitution also grants the military - which controlled the country for more than 50 years - a quarter of the seats in parliament. And the military can veto any attempts to change the constitution.
"Some observers, like Yangon-based analyst Kyaw Lin Oo, see this system as a straitjacket tailored
for Suu Kyi," Anthony reported in November. "Kyaw Lin Oo says the system's architect is none other than Than Shwe, a senior general and the retired head of the military junta." But despite the constraints placed on her, Suu Kyi vowed to be "above the president" if her party won November's election - which it did, in a landslide.
After failed attempts to persuade military leaders to allow changes to the constitution, she has also apologized to her supporters for not being able to be president.
Even without the proposed "state adviser" position, Suu Kyi has a de facto leadership role in Myanmar's brand-new civilian government.
"To make up for being barred from the presidency, Suu Kyi has named an ally as her proxy," Anthony notes. "And she has taken on four cabinet portfolios, making her simultaneously minister of foreign affairs, energy, education and the president's office."
Ruling party, military clash over Suu Kyi's role
Reuters, Naypyitaw :
Myanmar's upper house of parliament approved a bill on Friday that gives Aung San Suu Kyi a powerful government role, despite opposition from the military on the second day of her party's new administration.
The bill creates the post of state counselor and would allow the Nobel laureate to coordinate ministers and influence the executive.
It would help Suu Kyi circumvent a constitution written under the former junta that prevents her leading the country because her two sons are not Myanmar citizens. Suu Kyi, who spent years under house arrest because of her push for democracy, has described those constitutional provisions as "silly" and said she
would rule regardless after she led her National League for Democracy (NLD) to a landslide election victory in November.
Members of parliament from the military - who under the constitution hold a quarter of seats - opposed the NLD bill, describing it as unconstitutional.
They said the state counselor position concentrated too much power in the hands of one person and lacked checks and balances.
"The provisions in the bill are tantamount to meaning the state counselor is equal to the president, which is contrary to the constitution," said Colonel Myint Swe, a military member of the upper house. Some lawmakers suggested the Constitutional Tribunal should decide on the bill. Despite military resistance, the bill passed and moved to the lower house for debate on Monday.
The NLD has a majority in both houses so does not need military approval to pass bills.
Suu Kyi's party would need military approval to change the constitution: amendments require support of more than 75 percent of lawmakers.
The constitution is the main bone of contention between Suu Kyi and the military, whose commander-in-chief, Min Aung Hlaing, on Sunday stressed the need for the armed forces to remain a force in politics and warned against amending the charter quickly.
Some NLD lawmakers said the tussle over the state counselor post would be the first of many between the military members of parliament and the government that took office on Wednesday.
"There will be confrontations between the NLD and military MPs in future," said Thiri Yadana, an upper house NLD lawmaker.
"They have to agree to amend the constitution." The role of state counselor will add to the list of Suu Kyi's jobs - she is already foreign minister, education minister, energy minister, and minister of the president's office - and has renewed questions about her willingness to delegate power.
"It will be extremely hard to carry out these roles," said Richard Horsey, an independent political analyst in Yangon.
"The sheer number of people that will want to meet with her will be difficult to manage."
She has a thin bench of experienced politicians. Her party fought for democracy for more than quarter of a century, but its members are novices in government.
NLD official Win Htein said Suu Kyi's roles would not be a burden and the counselor position would allow her to "work more effectively".
The energy portfolio gives Suu Kyi oversight of oil and gas production, as well as responsibility for a decision on the $3.6 billion Myitsone Dam project, suspended in 2011. China has invested heavily in it and is keen to see it proceed.
No power, gas at Savar Tannery Park yet
Rawhides entrance to Hazaribagh factories continue
Joynal Abedin Khan :
The supply of rawhides in the city's Hazaribagh continued on Friday with the help of some police personnel, defying the government's ultimatum.
At least five trucks and two vans carrying rawhides were unloaded in the areas early Friday, local sources said.
Ibrahim Leather Limited bought huge rawhides brought by three trucks from Chittagong around 10:00am, they said.
The goods were later stored in the factories with the help of an Police Inspector and some ruling party men, they claimed.
Meanwhile, after failing to relocate tanneries from capital's Hazaribagh to Savar within the deadline i.e. March 31, the government has deployed police to check arrival of raw hides at Hazaribagh.
Industries Minister Ami Hossain Amu in February gave the tanners time upto March 31 to move to the Savar Tannery Park, and said that raw hides would not be allowed to enter Hazaribagh from April 1.
Mir Alimuzzaman, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Hazaribagh Police Station, rejected the accusation of entry of rawhides in the factories and said, "With the deadline over, police have been deployed on four entry-points of Hazaribagh in the morning and it will continue until further instruction."
"We are also keeping an eye so that raw hides cannot enter the area by any other means," the police official said. Visiting in the morning this reporter observed that some tanning factories were being closed as part of the relocation process, while some others shut for the weekend. But at few places workers were found processing rawhides, but no official was found. Rintu, a worker, said that they had been stockpiling the raw materials for about a month so that they could use them now. Meanwhile, a number of owners and businessmen claimed that the government could not yet provide power and gas connection at Savar Tannery Park. They claimed that the government's decision was almost autocratic and harmful to the industry.
In the meantime, the owners of 155 tanning factories in Hazaribagh were asked at least on 20 occasions to shift to Savar. Twenty-eight of the owners were served legal notices in January and 10 owners were summoned by the High Court on March 23 for disregarding the court order to relocate. Explaining the environmental impacts of the tanning factories, Industries Minister Amu on January 13 said, "The Buriganga, the Shitalakkhya and all other rivers are dying because of these tanneries. If the tanners do not abide by the government's order, the allotment of their plots in Savar will be cancelled." Earlier, the High Court in 2001 issued a set of directives in this regard and the government took the initiative to set up a tannery park in Savar and relocate the factories there. The construction of the park was approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council in August 2003, but it has not been completed even now. Though the tanners were initially ordered to move there by June 2015, the deadline was postponed quite a few times, as the Central Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) in Savar was not fully set up. The CETP partially came into operation in January this year.
Don't ask where money came from
Reuters :
For Kim Wong, the Chinese casino owner in the Philippines entangled in one of the world's largest bank heists, there are two golden rules for dealing with wealthy punters: always demand to see their money, but never ask where it came from.
That seems to be what happened when he took millions of dollars from two Chinese high-rollers in February.
He told a Senate hearing earlier this week the two men were responsible for transferring $81 million stolen from the Bangladesh central bank's US account into the Philippines. "In casinos we always say, 'Show your money first before you talk'," Wong told Reuters on Friday in his first interview with an international news organisation. As for the source of that money? "You don't ask. It's disrespectful." The 54-year-old denied any involvement in the heist. But he described one of the two high-rolling gamblers as a long-time friend from Macau who in a single week in 2014 ran up a debt of $10 million at a Manila casino. Wong acted as guarantor until it was paid off. The other high roller was from Beijing, said Wong, adding that he barely knew him. Neither high roller is being sought by Philippine police because no complaint has yet been filed against them. It was not known if they were still in the Philippines. Wong gave a rare peek into a world where Chinese high rollers rack up multi-million-dollar debts at Manila casinos and life-changing sums of money change hands as casually as sticks of gum. Since appearing at the Senate hearing, his cash-drenched profession has dominated headlines in a country where around a quarter of its 100 million people live on two dollars a day. At Solaire, Manila's flashiest casino, the minimum bet in the VIP rooms is $5,000, or as much as a Filipino teacher earns in a year.
Wong's lawyers arrived at the Philippine central bank on Thursday to surrender a suitcase packed with $4.63 million in cash. Chinese casino junket operator Kim Wong gets out of a vehicle upon arrival for a Reuters interview in Manila April 1, 2016. Chinese casino junket operator Kim Wong gets out of a vehicle upon arrival for a Reuters interview in Manila April 1, 2016.
This fulfilled Wong's earlier vow to pay back what was left of $5 million in stolen money he had received via Philrem, a foreign exchange broker. Another 1 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).
Of that money, said Wong, 550 million pesos was used to buy gambling chips for clients. The rest he has promised to pay back. "Give me 15 days to a month. I will pay," he said.
The rest of the $81 million went to Solaire casino and another junket operator, according to the AMLC complaint. In the Philippines, casinos are outside the purview of the anti-money laundering laws.
Dressed casually in jeans and a polo shirt and showing no signs of wealth, Wong sat in the backroom of a Chinese restaurant in Manila and spoke of his own improbable rise. A stocky bodyguard stood nearby.
Speaking mostly in slang-laden Filipino, Wong described how he was an immigrant from Hong Kong who arrived in the Philippines as a boy. He later got rich and befriended many of the country's powerful politicians - including two one-time presidential contenders. Wong said his mother brought him to Manila when he was 11. He still holds Chinese citizenship and said his real name is Kam Sin Wong.
He lived in Manila with his father, who worked at a tobacco company owned by a wealthy grand uncle. Wong worked there too after dropping out of college and at a construction firm in the US protectorate of Guam that his uncle also owned. Wong later ran a T-shirt factory and a handful of restaurants in Manila, which allowed him to start developing a wide circle of sometimes influential friends.
He first entered the gambling industry as a junket operator at a casino resort at Clark, the former US airbase north of Manila. With partners, he raised one billion pesos to build what is now known as Eastern Hawaii Leisure Company in the sleepy town of Cagayan in the northern Philippines.
He said Eastern Hawaii is now one of Cagayan's biggest employers, with more than 1,000 local staff, plus 300 Chinese to take telephone bets from punters on the mainland, where gambling is banned.
and former Manila mayor who later ran for president. Lito Atienza, who succeeded Lim as mayor, recalled Wong as a hardworking and "very, very resourceful" volunteer during election campaigns.
"He is industrious, always ready to serve. That is his character," Atienza told Reuters.
Wong is still close to another powerful politician and one-time presidential hopeful. Panfilo Lacson, a former senator and national police chief, calls Wong "a friend of mine".
Tuesday was not the first time Wong had been accused of dirty dealings before the Senate.
At another hearing in 2001, which probed links between senior police officers and drug traffickers, a key witness identified Wong as a boss in one of the triads, the Chinese organised crime syndicates.
Wong denied belonging to a triad, telling Reuters he had been confused with another man of the same name.
"Not Mr Wong. Mr Wrong!" he joked.
30 govt pry schools grabbed by influentials
Authorities fail to evict illegal structures
M M Jasim :
Lands and building as of many as 30 government primary schools in the city have been grabbed by local influential syndicates and different other institutions.
These local influential syndicates and institutions have been occupying these schools fully or partially for years while the authorities are failing to evict them, it was alleged.
Even after one year of recommendation from the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Primary and Mass Education Ministry to make the schools free from grabbing, it could not be implemented yet.
Director General of Directorate of Primary Education Md Alamgir Hossain said they took many initiatives to remove the illegal structures from the primary schools but failed.
"Due to the ongoing case in the court, non-cooperation of local political leaders and some influential persons' intervention made our initiatives failure. We recommended the local administration to evict the illegal establishment," he said.
Sources said that Dhaka District Education Office had provided information about the grabbing 23 schools to the Primary and Mass Education Ministry last year. The number 3 sub-committee of the Parliamentary Standing Committee visited the schools and found the reality of these schools.
The committee also sent the recommendation to district administrations, thana education officers and local representatives to take initiative to evict the illegal structures. But they are yet to take any action against the grabbers, they added.
Dhaka District Primary Education Officer Shahin Ara Begun said that they sent the recommendation of Parliamentary Standing Committee to the Directorate of Primary Education. "We also served many notices to the grabbers. But it yielded no result. The local administration and the representatives are responsible for that," she said.
Visiting a number of the schools this reporter found that the grabbers have launched business centres, built various establishments like private educational institutions, associations and slums grabbing the school lands and buildings.
A local influential person has occupied the lands of Gendaria Mohila Samity Government Primary School and built a five-story building there. The building of the school is now under risk. There is no congenial academic atmosphere in and around the school. As a result, the students are losing their interest to study in this institution. Presently, there are around 100 students studying in this institution while the number of students last year was 139.
It was alleged that Najirabazar Girls High School has also occupied all the lands of Bajirabazar Primary School.
The 6.5 decimal land of Samajik Shikhkhakendro Government Primary School was grabbed by the Girls Guide Association. The association also damaged the school building causing severe problem to the students. The students are taking classes on open air.
Headmaster of the school Rafiqul Islam said that the school was established in 1974. But a powerful syndicate grabbed the land and damaged the school's building. Now the students are facing severe difficulties, he said.
The half of the lands of Brahmanchiron Government Primary School has been grabbed. The grabbers built a teen-shade house there.
Sources said, 31 decimals of land out of 36 of Shahin Government Primary School in Mohammadpur has been occupied, 33 decimals out of 195 land of Sher-e-Bangla Primary School has been taken over by the donors and built a slum there, a slum has been built grabbing 169 decimals out of 185 land of Kazi Farid Government Primary School, Bongshal Girls High School and the locals grabbed the building of FKM Primary School, a building out of two of Suritola Government Primary School grabbed by the Ramna Railway School and the Water Supply & Sewerage Authority (WASA) grabbed some lands.
The local influential persons also built a building grabbing 17 decimals land of Kamranggirchar Government Primary School, the founder of Banglabazar Government primary School uses it as house, a NGO occupied the five decimals land of Choto Katra Primary School, Shaheed Nabi High School grabbed the 2.3 decimals land of Shaheed Nabi Model Government Primary School, the Ponchayet Committee grabbed the 16 decimals land of Shishu Rokkha Samity Primary School.
The president of the managing committee occupied the 5 decimals land of Gabtali Government Primary School, a private school grabbed the floor of Pallabi Primary School, Dhanmondi Law College grabbed the room of Dhanmondi Primary School and the land of Matuail Primary School, Meradia Primary School, Ideal Muslim Government Primary School, Madartek Primary School, Motijheel Government Primary School, P&T Government Primary School, Khilgaon Staff Quarter Primary School, South Bashabo Primary School and Khilgaon Model Primary School were grabbed, added the sopurces.
Philippines brawl to trace funds whereas BDs probe still in dark
Kazi Zahidul Hasan :
When the Philippines senate is probing into how the US$ 81 million dirty money entered into the country, Bangladeshi investigators are still in the dark to find out the way hackers entered into the sensitive SWIFT system and carried the theft.
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Police, which is probing the case, is yet to fund out any clues although they have visited concerned departments of BB and talked with the concerned officials to gather information.
"We are trying to gather information how the heist was took place. We are also examining the BB's computers and documents to ascertain whether there were loopholes or any of its officials were involved," Special Superintendent of Police Mirza Abdullahel Baki, a member of the CID investigation team, told The New Nation on Friday night.
Meanwhile, the disclosure that the central server of BB was unprotected for four months prior to the bank heist has made the issue further complicated.
The CID official said, the investigation is going on and we cannot talk much over the investigation considering sensitivity of the case. "We are getting full support from the BB officials and the CID probe team in touch with the BB's top brass to make headway of the case," he added.
When asked, Baki said, if necessary former governor and deputy governors will be quizzed. But we cannot quiz anybody prior convincing that he or she was involvement in the case. 'A CID team will visit Philippines and Sri Lanka to collect information about the fund transfer. We have already sought permission from the government," he added.
Responding to a question, Baki said, 'It's a highly technical matter and our specialists are working on the case. It will take time to come conclusion of the case". On other hand, the government probe committee led by Mohammad Farashuddin on Thursday interrogated two former BB deputy governors, Abul Quasem and Nazneen Sultana. The government removed them on March 15 following the BB's cyber heist.
Quasem was the deputy governor responsible for the accounts and budgeting department and Nazneen Sultana, for the IT operation and communication department of BB.
Besides, the probe body also interrogated a number of general managers and executive directors over the last few days as part of its investigation. When asked, Mohammad Farashuddin, declined to comment on the issue saying that we cannot talk over the issue prior to make any headway into the investigation.
Meanwhile, two BB officials will leave for Philippines today (Saturday) to help the Bangladesh's ambassador in Manila John Gomes in retrieving the laundered BB fund.
Gomes is now actively working to recover the stolen fund from Philippines. Admitting the matter, Subhankar Saha, a BB spokesperson told The New Nation on Friday that the two members will give technical support to the ambassador on money laundering-related issues so that the recovery of the fund is sped up. The two officials of the BB are Accounts and Budgeting Department deputy general manager Md Jaker Hossen and Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit joint director Mohammad Abdur Rob.
Festival International de Louisiane is proud to announce Denise Gallagher as the official 2016 visual artist. Gallaghers style is a unique blend of whimsy and sophistication, and features a mix of graphite and traditional illustration techniques with digital design. Using line, color, texture and pattern, Gallagher created Le Reve Lyrique du Festival a scene in which seemingly magical performers, glowing blue under stage lights, sing a lyrical dream of the Festival. Their song brings to life a mingling of cultures, music, flavors, colors and the feeling of dancing freely on a warm Louisiana spring evening. The imagery of this dream song captures the joy of attending Festival International de Louisiane.
Denise Gallagher, a native of New Orleans, moved to Lafayette in order to attend the University of Southwestern Louisiana. It did not take long for her to fall in love with Lafayette and choose to make it her home. She graduated with a degree in art after having studied under such highly creative professors as Dutch Kepler, Elemore Morgan, John Hathorne, Tom Secrest, John Geldersma and Herman Mhire. She spent the first part of her career as an art director and graphic designer in the advertising business. During that time, she garnered numerous awards for her work and was named Art Director of the Year by the Acadiana Advertising Federation a total of six times.
Denise has been recognized for her talents in both illustration and design by esteemed organizations such as the American Advertising Federation, Print Magazine, Communication Arts Magazine, the Society of Illustrators Los Angeles, the Society of Illustrators New York and the Society for Childrens Book Writers and Illustrators.
Her fine art work has been exhibited in museums and galleries in Los Angeles, New York, Portland, and throughout Louisiana. Visit http://www.denisegallagher.com to see more of Denise Gallaghers work.
City Marshal Brian Pope enters the Lafayette Parish Courthouse for day one of his contempt hearing. Photo by Robin May
It would be easy for us to gloat over the severity of City Marshal Brian Popes sentence, handed down in our public records dispute in March. Even with all but seven days of his 30-day incarceration suspended, its seven more days of imprisonment than we requested. Combined with penalties and fees north of six figures, the ruling could be unprecedented in Louisiana. But what gets lost in the hurrah of a press victory like this is the very crime the original public records request sought to uncover namely Popes wanton race baiting and abuse of office for the benefit of his political ally, Scott Police Chief Chad Leger. Were fairly certain thats not unprecedented.
At a press conference back in October, Pope appeared in dress regalia flanked by four on-duty deputies, appearing at Popes request and became a mouthpiece for Legers anti-immigration vitriol in the form of an attack on Legers opponent, now Sheriff-elect Mark Garber. Legers people wrote the script, emailed it to Pope and Pope in turn emailed it to the world. Pope lied under oath about the Leger campaigns authorship and orchestration of an official Lafayette City Marshal press conference. He deleted the emails and got caught by a backup server operated by LCG.
Popes bungled foray into politicking showed the lengths to which a cadre of bullies would go to get their way, namely by scaring voters into believing that criminal immigrants were amok in Acadiana and that Mark Garber was their herald. Even if Popes assertions were right, his evidence didnt prove it. Garber had indeed gone to Honduras, but the video supplied as evidence did not show Garber courting illegal migration to the United States. The numbers Pope concocted to support his and Legers scare-mongering amounted to a gross arithmetic of racial profiling. He added Spanish offenders to Other offenders and arrived at a sum total of 611 undocumented migrants with outstanding warrants. Immigration status isnt recorded at city court. Under oath, Pope has claimed this was all part of an investigation, one that never advanced beyond an email to city court to get the above numbers.
Mere days after Popes conference, a phantom limb from Donald Trumps race war of a presidential campaign extended into Legers rhetoric. At the press conference, Pope called Lafayette Parish a de facto sanctuary for illegal immigrants, and the numbers he cited, the language he used and the yarns he spun were all part and parcel of the same package of race bait. Pope even attempted to justify the official nature of the conference to this reporter by forwarding a link to a World Net Daily article about the sanctuary city bogeyman.
Looking back, its hard not to point out that had he only turned over the records we requested, he would have gotten off relatively easily. Its thus easy to look at this abuse of power as barely worth reproach. Everybody does it, or so the marshals saying goes. Thats a sad reality a political milieu in which citizens are so jaded that they take corruption for granted and yawn when it doesnt amount to bloody scandal.
Moving forward, Popes legal defense will try to swiss cheese the courts rulings against Pope by way of semantics. Thats the prudent defense if youre trying to avoid accountability, and its Popes right to pursue it. Provided his counsel is effective, he may not get what many think he deserves. But even if criminal indictment never comes or the civil penalties never stick, it will be hard for Pope and Leger to avoid an outed public record rife with abuse of power.
From a legal standpoint, our dispute and the penalties enforced are about public transparency. Public transparency is about holding power accountable. In many ways, thats already happened here.
Email Christiaan Mader at [email protected]
c'est bon
The value of a robust, civically engaged community foundation cant be overstated. Exhibit A: the Baton Rouge Area Foundation. BRAF, it was reported in late March, has brought in several hundred thousand dollars toward its fundraising goal of $2.9 million to help the state Department of Health and Hospitals administer Louisianas Medicaid program. The cash infusion is meant to help DHH better administer care not only for current Medicaid recipients, but to give DHH the administrative capacity to handle an expected expansion of the Medicaid program sought by Gov. John Bel Edwards via the Affordable Care Act. Its been estimated that some quarter million working-poor Louisiana residents who dont currently qualify for Medicaid would be eligible if the program expands. Many of those folks currently address their acute medical needs in hospital emergency rooms, which drives up health care costs for everyone.
pas bon
Clouds loom over University Hospital & Clinics in Lafayette, the former state-operated charity hospital (University Medical Center) taken over by Lafayette General Health as part of a 2012 public-private partnership. LGH has been a capable steward of the partnership. The state not so much. The state only has enough funds to meet its end of the partnerships at two of the nine public-private charity hospitals in the state Shreveport and New Orleans, which also serve as LSU Medical School facilities. If the state reneges, it would leave hospitals like UHC in Lafayette, Baton Rouge, Bogalusa, Houma, Monroe and elsewhere without their share of state funding. David Callecod, Lafayette General Healths CEO, told lawmakers during the special session in February that if the state cant meet its obligation LGH will likely have to walk away from the partnership, potentially shuttering Lafayettes lone charity hospital. The consequences of that could be devastating to thousands in the Acadiana area.
Festival's founding committee included, from left, Michael Doucet, Julie Calzone, Taylor Rock, Sally Herpin, Cathy Webre, Philippe Gustin, Herman Mhire, Phil Lank, Donnie Robin, Tina Girouard, Herbert Wiltz and Lyn Bertuccini, pictured here in 1987. Photo by Robin May
The letter to the editor was one sentence. It had been published by The Times of Acadiana the week following the premiere of Festival International de Louisiane. Festival International de Louisiane is the best thing that has ever happened to Lafayette, wrote Mark Bostick.
Even though his message was short, it was monumental in meaning and literally brought tears to my eyes. It was a poignant affirmation, one of many accolades we had received that the collective, untiring and community-minded efforts of a handful of Lafayette residents who created Festival International de Louisiane had been recognized and appreciated.
It all started as a Downtown revitalization initiative. Lafayettes Community Development Department was created in 1978, and a number of City Hall functions were consolidated under the Community Development umbrella, including city planning and economic development.
One of my first initiatives as the departments inaugural director was to embark on a comprehensive Downtown initiative. Downtown at that time was a mess a 40 percent occupancy rate being an alarming example of how bad it was. A number of combative initiatives was launched: a Downtown Action Plan, applications for HUD Urban Development Action Grants, restoration and adaptive re-use of a significant historic property, a vest pocket park development, and a program whose original intent was to precipitate new and long-term support for the central business district among young urban professionals and the creative class Downtown Alive! We also created the Lafayette Downtown Development Authority and Downtown Lafayette Unlimited, the membership-based, chamber-type advocacy organization to carry the load and the effort forward over the long term.
A number of these early initiatives have direct ties to what ultimately became Festival International de Louisiane. The Downtown Action Plan included a recommendation for a new Downtown festival. All three Urban Development Action Grant applications for projects in Downtown Lafayette were approved by HUD. (Note that this UDAG program was the most competitive HUD program ever launched; Lafayettes ace in the hole was City Councilman Al Simon and HUD Secretary Moon Landrieu, former classmates at Jesuit High School in New Orleans.) These projects were a 20-year-old parking garage and a condemned hotel, both at the corner of Jefferson and Vermilion streets. The UDAG projects in the early 1980s stirred a significant community interest in Downtown as did our new organizations, DDA and DLU. Our first DDA director, Lloyd Gardner, was a native of New Orleans and a devotee of the Jazz and Heritage Festival who often suggested that we should consider a new Downtown festival.
Also occurring at this time was a growing appreciation of the importance of our French cultural heritage, and it resonated with me and my efforts at Community Development. Lafayettes original City Hall on Main Street had been condemned, and its roof was ready to collapse. Historic preservation was an eligible activity under the Community Development Block Grant Program that our department administered for the city. And we developed the annual CDBG budget for City Council consideration. We wanted to include $200,000 in the budget for restoration and adaptive reuse, but we needed a tenant to make it a viable project.
The now-defunct "Festival Bubbas" were male volunteers who cooked for performers; the Bubba Tent quickly became the site of raucous jam sessions and international camaraderie.
A friend at the time was Philippe Gustin, the director of the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana. We talked about his agency as a tenant, and he was very excited about the idea, but early CODOFIL was a Jimmy Domengeaux entity lock, stock and barrel. Domengeaux readily concurred and the CDBG budget sailed through council approval. Shortly thereafter, we hired an architect, and soon after we were under construction. The results of this initiative: completion of an other
Downtown project, preservation of a condemned historic building a landmark building and a new working relationship with the leading advocacy organization for our French cultural heritage.
A collaborator with CODOFIL in the early 1980s was the government of Quebec. It helped facilitate teachers for Louisianas French Immersion Program. As I recall, at that time, Quebec had about a dozen field offices around the world, including three in the U.S. Los Angeles, Atlanta and Lafayette. Great working and personal relationships developed between the folk at the Bureau du Quebec and the Department of Community Development. One small result of this friendship was frequent gifts of Quebec travel posters for our office, and there was always one for Festival dete International de Quebec.
Festival International was always about more than just music.
In early 1986 we started having more serious discussions about a new Downtown revitalization initiative a new festival and how best to achieve it. As noted, we had many years of producing our Downtown Alive! weekly concert series. We knew that planning, organizing, programming, marketing, producing and funding a new festival was a big-deal commitment of time, effort and resources, but that it was doable, especially if we had the right crew in place. We had in-house staff discussions with Cathy Webre and Alanda Bennett of DDA/DLU, Taylor Rock and Roger Drake in Community Development, and feasibility discussions with Mayor Dud Lastrapes, Chief Administrative Officer Glenn Weber and City Auditor George Lewis, as well as preliminary discussions with select council members, particularly Wilfred Pierre who represented Downtown. I knew that any initiative we were going to put forward would take a major financial commitment from the city.
We then began to recruit some key folks from outside City Hall to begin formulating more specific plans. They included Gustin, musician Michael Doucet, parish government administrator Donnie Robin, University Art Museum Director Herman Mhire, artist Tina Girouard and her then-husband, musician Dickie Landry, tourism director Gerald Breaux, CPA Sally Herpin, publicist Julie Calzone, and arts activists Lyn Bertuccini and Renee Roberts.
As one might suspect, many ideas were generated, but we really needed focus, and that came during discussions I had with the Bureau du Quebec. It offered to host an official City of Lafayette delegation to go to Quebec and attend some festivals and meet with their organizers. All we needed to start the process was a letter from Mayor Lastrapes requesting this specific assistance; the mayor was totally supportive. I referred to our trip as Festival School. Because it was a government-to-government initiative, the government of Quebec was able to organize a phenomenal trip with a van and a driver, and it covered a lot of our expenses. Festival School included visits to three festivals and meetings with organizers: Montreal Jazz Festival, Festival Folkloric du Drummondville and Festival dete International de Quebec in Ville de Quebec. The Jazz Festival was an incredible event in a world-class city, but one way beyond the scope of our abilities and resources. The Festival in Drummondville was nice but was solely a folkloric festival with huge international groups in native costumes. A folkloric festival was not what we were interested in.
Festival International 2000 Photo by Robin May
On the other hand, the Festival dete International du Quebec seemed to be the perfect example of what we were seeking, a multi-faceted festival music, art, food, theatre, film, street animation and an area set aside just for kids. And it all took place in Downtown Quebec City using multiple open-air stages. It was free, and I remember the year we visited was the 25th year of its existence; 25eme was plastered on festival signage all over town, and I remember thinking that it must be a great festival with 25 years of sustainability. We met with all of the key festival people and obtained a wealth of information on organization, programming, production, fund-raising and budget, and marketing. We also signed a formal twinning agreement promoting a future relationship and exchange of performers. And, most importantly, we met a very genteel African man. His name was Hadzi Kodzo, and he represented the Agence de Cooperation Cultural et Technique in Paris.
The purpose of the Agence was to promote the cultural and technological development of emerging Francophone countries throughout the world, but primarily in Africa. Discussions with Hadzi suggested there was opportunity for potential relationship between the Agence and our new festival. It was this single development during our trip to Quebec that propelled Festival International de Louisiane to worldclass status following our first year. But there was one caveat to our relationship with the Agence, and it was one not to be taken lightly: If we were to take advantage of the vast artistic and financial resources of the Agence, it would be necessary for us to hold our first Festival International in July 1987 in the middle of the Louisiana summer. The reason was a financial one. To save tens of thousands of dollars in trans-Atlantic air fare, the Agence wanted to send us the same African groups it was planning to send to Quebec. Thus, to make it work, our festival needed to follow Festival dete International du Quebec by a week or so. Consequently, we left Quebec with everything we needed and more an incredible festival model, a relationship with one of the best African music booking agencies in the world and a date for our first festival.
We thought we were going to be a spring festival, and now we were a summer festival, but having the extra time for planning, organization, production and fund-raising ended up being a good thing because we had a lot to do.
During the ensuing year, our founders group met weekly, in the evenings, for hours at a time. Starting a major festival from scratch requires considerable planning and organization, and we were determined to do it right. We didnt want to produce another local festival with bumper cars and a festival queen; we wanted to create something magical with profound impact an extraordi-
nary event that would be unparalleled in our community, something that would literally knock peoples socks off.
I remember early on spending hours upon hours trying to get our mission statement just perfect. We did and it has withstood the test of time. It still reads, in part, that we would produce an annual visual and performing arts festival celebrating the French cultural heritage of our area with emphasis on highlighting our connectivity with the Francophone world. While our mission statement was important, it was just a minor piece of what was to become assemblage of a million-piece jigsaw puzzle.
Based on our findings in Quebec City and with our new festival model in hand, we divvied up responsibilities among our team and worked diligently to fulfill them. We had multiple needs, and every time we turned around we thought of something else that needed to be addressed. But just the basic areas of need included legal (creation of a private, non-profit 501c3), production (site acquisition, staging, sound and light, back stage, electrical, port-a-lets, trash, signage), musical programming (band selection, contracts, visas, ticketing and travel arrangements, hotel accommodations, artist hospitality, local transportation, credentials, scheduling), marketing (posters, brochures, signage, local media sponsors, press releases), fund raising (local private, local public, state, foreign), financial management, merchandising (T-shirts, pins, and other memorabilia), volunteers, security, foreign government relationships and protocol (Lafayette sister cities, foreign government sponsors) and other programming (art exhibits, film, theatre, Pavillion de Cuisine, Place des Enfants, Cajundome Extravaganza).
The most critical area on our festival planning To Do List was fundraising. No money, no festival. And we had no money we only had an idea. How to sell it became my main focus. We estimated we needed a minimum of $125,000 cash. We had a lot of commitments from foreign agencies and governments to sponsor performing arts groups, and I brought to the table a number of in-house resources from my department and City Hall overall. But we needed to pay the sound and light guy from New Orleans, the staging crews, the local bands and a whole array of other costs.
My intent all along was to approach the Lafayette City Council for a major contribution. To that purpose, I wrote a white paper extolling the benefits of major festivals to local communities and the fact that they meant big dollars to the local economy. Bringing Councilman Pierre to Quebec also helped set the stage for council consideration. But before it even got to the council, it needed to get the blessing from my boss, Mayor Lastrapes. I anticipated full support, but his actual response was classic: As long as its OK with George (city auditor Lewis), its OK with me. I included $75,000 in my departmental budget request for the festival, and it was a 5-0 vote for approval. When you look at the importance of decisionmaking in the overall scheme of early festival development, it was the City Hall folk who made it happen: the mayor, the council, CAO Weber and auditor Lewis.
Also making it happen were two Lafayette businessmen, Herbert Schilling and Larry Smith. Schilling was a friend and neighbor, and we had a long-standing relationship with Shilling Distributing and Downtown Alive! and other special events we had produced. I approached Schilling and told him what we were planning would be unlike anything that had ever happened in Lafayette, and that it would far exceed his wildest imagination. It took a second meeting with Schilling, but I left that one with a $25,000 commitment. A similar conversation with Larry Smith at Acadiana Bottling resulted in another $25,000.
Regretfully, this early festival supporter and friend died a few years ago. Here, too, the financial commitments from both of these community leaders were essential in moving the festival from an idea to reality.
So, when July 1987 rolled around, we were organized, we had a plan for most contingencies, and we had money. Importantly, too, we had bonded as a producing team. We were ready for the premiere Festival International de Louisiane.
And there is not a lot more to say other than it was an incredible, extraordinary event. Every day the festival crescendo just kept building. The musicians, especially the Africans, were simply intoxicating. The festival-goers were mesmerized. The crowds were huge. I was sitting with the sound guy on the main stage across from todays Le Centre International looking down Jefferson Street. It was one massive crowd as far as I could see, totally entranced by the Master Drummers of Rwanda. I remember saying to myself, Look what weve done.
Photo by Daniel Landry
The overall event shattered expectations of all who attended and could not have been better. From the raising of the international flags to the Mayors Breakfast, from Pavillion de Cuisine to Place des Enfants, from artists hospitality to festival-goer behavior (not one reported incident) every aspect of Festival International was successful. Our founders group was overwhelmed by non-stop kudos from festival-goers. We felt like rock stars, but, secretly, we had tears of happiness in our eyes.
And the accolades, like the first published one from Mark Bostick at the beginning of this story, continued for months. A very special one came from my boss, city CAO Glenn Weber. He wrote, The organization and commitment which accompanied this extraordinary event in our community was, in my estimation, unparalleled. And then he added: In a time when the general spirit of the Lafayette community has been down, it is especially notable from the Festival crowds that the hope of better things to come was in the air.
A few days following the festival, our founders group got together to recap. Nobody could stop talking. Festival stories galore. We were back on cloud nine. But there was also business to discuss. We had made some money with food and beverage and merchandise sales, so we had a good nest egg for our next event. The city would be back with its $75,000, and Schilling and Smith with their $50,000. Lafayette Parish Government this was pre-consolidation would make a $5,000 contribution, and we picked up another business sponsor for $5,000. And many of our foreign government sponsors would be back. Most important, the Agence de Cooperation Cultural et Technique committed to us for another two years with one caveat: Hadzi Kodzo told us he didnt want to come back to Lafayette in July too hot. So we no longer had to piggy back with the Festival dete International du Quebec for Agence performers.
They would henceforth come directly to Lafayette from Africa.
Thus, we were able to select more palatable dates for our next festival. We purposely chose the last weekend of April. April is a very comfortable month in Lafayette. Plus, and paramount from our decision-making process, we wanted to go head-to-head with the Jazz and Heritage Festival in New Orleans.
Bon Festival!
View 30 Years of Fest Photos in classic Black and White by Robin May
Pre-purchase property inspection is a relatively new thing in the United Kingdom. Its not something that most people have heard about, but it has become increasingly popular over the last few years with the rise in property prices and increased demand for high quality homes.
What are the benefits of pre-purchase building inspection? What can you expect to find out when you pay someone else to inspect your home before you buy it? And what should you look for during an inspection?
Many people want to know if theyre buying a house thats been well maintained or if its had any serious problems. If youve found a place on the market that seems attractive, but then discover some issues after moving in, you may not be as excited about buying it as you thought you were.
Its important to do your due diligence when looking at properties. A lot goes into making a property appealing to potential buyers, from the landscaping to the flooring to the kitchen appliances. The same applies when inspecting a property there are many things that need checking over to make sure everything is running smoothly.
Here are some of the benefits of performing a pre-purchase inspection:
You get to see exactly what will happen to your money
When you go shopping for a new car, youll probably be shown several different models. You might even be shown one that looks like a great value, but doesnt fit around all of the extra features that you want. When it comes time to actually buy the vehicle, however, you wont have seen how your money will be spent on it once you drive it off the showroom floor.
Likewise, when you shop for a new home, you dont really know what youre getting yourself into until you move in. In order to get a feel for whether the home youre considering is what you want, you normally have to spend quite a bit of time inside it. This allows you to learn more about everything that youre going to be spending your hard-earned cash on.
A pre-purchase building inspection gives you much the same kind of experience without having to spend thousands of dollars. Since youre paying for the service, you can expect to see exactly what youre paying for, instead of just seeing a vague idea of what you might end up with.
You find out about potential major repairs
Some buildings are very expensive to maintain, which means that owners often neglect them for the sake of saving money. While youre paying for a building inspection, youre also paying for a professional who knows how to spot signs of trouble and repair work that needs doing.
If you notice that a particular area of your new home needs fixing right away, you can call in an expert to take care of it quickly. If you find that theres something wrong with your boiler, you wont have to wait weeks for a plumber to come over and fix it. Instead, youll have access to a solution immediately.
You can save hundreds of pounds by finding out about potential problems early on
One of the biggest expenses when you first buy a home is the cost of moving in. Many people dont realize this until its too late. Buying a home involves not only paying for the actual house, but also for moving costs, furniture, and other items that have to be moved along with the home.
Having a good idea ahead of time of what youre likely to encounter can help you avoid these kinds of costs. If you know youll need to replace the plumbing system, for example, youll be able to put together a budget for the expense and plan accordingly.
You can protect your investment by finding out if the homes been well cared for
While there are plenty of people who think that houses always look better when theyre newly built, youd be surprised at how well maintained older residences can still look nice. Sometimes, though, those homes need some additional maintenance to keep them looking their best.
This could involve repairs that arent so noticeable or small improvements that you wouldnt consider otherwise. Even worse, some houses have fallen into disrepair without anyone noticing. This is why having a professional perform a building inspection prior to purchasing a home is such a big benefit.
Not only will it give you insight into the state of the property, but it will also give you peace of mind knowing youre not getting taken advantage of. As long as youre aware of the potential pitfalls, youll have less reason to worry about the state of your new home.
You can use information gathered during a building inspection to negotiate a lower price
If youre worried about buying a home because you suspect that it may need extensive renovation work, you may already have a rough idea of how much work youll need to do to bring it up to scratch. That knowledge can come in handy if you decide to buy the home.
You can use all of the details that you gather during a building inspection to present a realistic picture of what the home is worth to prospective buyers. If a potential buyer thinks that the home is worth more than what you paid for it, you can try negotiating a lower price.
You can sell your home faster and for more money
If you decide to list your home on the market soon after buying it, youll need to price it accurately in order to attract buyers. But if youve already done a thorough building inspection, youll know exactly what work is needed and what the current market conditions are.
In other words, youll be able to make a more accurate estimate of the amount of money youve invested in the home and how much its worth. If you find that youre selling your house for close to its full market value, you can use this information to convince the potential buyer that your home is worth the asking price.
Even if youre planning to stay in the home for a while before you decide to sell, the fact that you did a thorough building inspection will give you more confidence when listing it. Prospective buyers will know exactly what theyre paying for.
Your home will hold its value longer
As mentioned earlier, the value of a home depends heavily upon the condition of the building itself. If your home is in bad shape, potential buyers wont be interested in buying it. On the other hand, if youve performed a thorough building inspection and know what sort of repairs are necessary, you can offer your prospective buyer a compelling reason to invest in your property.
When you buy a home, youre essentially agreeing to have it inspected periodically to ensure that it stays in top shape. Not only does this allow you to avoid expensive repairs down the road, but it can also increase the value of your home.
You can make smart decisions about property investments
Buying real estate isnt as simple as just driving a couple of minutes to pick up a house. There are lots of considerations involved, ranging from location to cost. The same is true when youre investing in property.
If you find a house that meets all of your requirements, youll want to make sure that you have a solid understanding of where it stands with regards to the rest of the market. If you havent spent enough time researching the area, you could inadvertently end up with a bad deal.
There are lots of resources available online that can help you determine the overall level of competition in your area. They can also help you figure out if there are any properties that meet your requirements that you didnt know about.
If you own rental property, you can use the information to identify tenants who might cause damage
If you own rental property and youve noticed that certain tenants consistently cause damage, you can use the results of a building inspection to identify them. You can then contact them directly to let them know that youre watching them closely and that you dont appreciate the problem theyre causing.
They might start taking better care of their homes, which would be good news for everyone. It could also be the case that youll find out that theyre responsible for previous damages that werent caught during a previous visit.
You can make smarter decisions about hiring contractors
If youve hired contractors to build or repair your home, you might want to ask them for references. However, unless you perform a thorough building inspection, you might not know exactly what to look for.
For instance, maybe you only checked the roof for leaks or the walls for cracks. You might not have looked underneath the foundation for anything that could cause a future issue. By performing a building inspection, you can ensure that you hire reputable contractors who will be trustworthy with your money.
You can avoid purchasing a home thats in poor condition
Of course, the main benefit of structural inspections perth is that it helps you avoid purchasing a home thats in poor condition. Before you make the decision to buy a home, you should do whatever you can to find out about the state of the building.
You can also ask your realtor about what sorts of inspections are typically recommended. Some agents say that its standard practice to check the heating system, the roof, the electrical wiring, and the floors. Others will tell you that they recommend that you check the entire structure.
Either way, if you choose to hire an inspector, youll find out exactly what needs to be fixed and how much it will cost to do so.
As a result, it can be concluded that a pre-purchase building inspection is highly important for the buyers because it provides transparency regarding the current conditions of the structure. Additionally, the building owner is made aware of any upgrades or repairs that are required, which could lead to a fair deal throughout the purchasing and selling process.
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President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has met with Vice President of the United States Joe Biden.
Joe Biden said they attached great importance to meetings with President Ilham Aliyev, adding that these meetings contribute to expanding Azerbaijan-US cooperation and elevating relations to a new level. He said the USA resolutely supported Azerbaijan`s territorial integrity and sovereignty, adding that this was of great importance for the United States.
The U.S. Vice President said there were good opportunities for expanding the bilateral ties in all areas, particularly economy. He said the two countries enjoyed good cooperation with respect to security and peacekeeping operations. Joe Biden hailed Azerbaijan`s active participation in the international anti-terror coalition in Afghanistan. He underscored the importance of the steps taken to define opportunities for defense cooperation. He said the US fully supported Azerbaijan`s efforts to implement the Southern Gas Corridor project, noting that the country would take necessary measures in this regard.
President Ilham Aliyev said reforms were being conducted in all areas in Azerbaijan, adding that the freedom of thought, freedom of press, freedom of assembly, freedom of Internet were provided in the country. The head of state highlighted Azerbaijan`s position on the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. President Ilham Aliyev thanked the US for its firm position on the settlement of the dispute, and underlined the significance of solving the problem.
The head of state noted the importance of President Barack Obama`s stance - as president of the co-chair country - that the status quo was unacceptable. President Ilham Aliyev said the United States played a vital role in finding a peaceful and negotiated solution to the conflict. The head of state expressed Azerbaijan`s interest in strengthening cooperation with the US in political, economic and energy fields.
The sides also expressed mutual interest in maintaining strong and long-term cooperation between the two countries.
The United States Secretary of State John Kerry was present at the meeting.
/By Azernews/
By Nazrin Gadimova
An international conference entitled No genocide was held at the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS) on March 31.
Addressing the event, Deputy Minister of Youth and Sport Intigam Babayev said that today Azerbaijanis from all over the world commemorate the Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis.
He further spoke about a fragile stability that exists in many countries, saying that the number of hot spots is growing in the world.
As a result of the policy pursued by certain forces, there is an ethnic, racial cleansings, genocide, Babayev said. These are problems most faced by young people. Therefore the issue of genocide refers not only to historians; it should be on the agenda of governmental agencies and non-governmental organizations.
PhD in Political Science, Senior Consultant on Public and Political Issues of the Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan Mehseti Aliyeva, in turn, noted that not knowing the past one cannot build a future.
"People, who did not preserve their past, become victims of the future. Some people do not dare to look in the past. Armenians can be called an example of such peoples. They are afraid of meeting with the tainted past. Azerbaijani people have the pure past; they look into the future with faith and hope, Aliyeva added.
The Azerbaijani people have gone through the difficult times, she added. "However, we have never lost hope, we remain tolerant. There are peoples who created and wrote the history. The Azerbaijani people have been creating the history at all times. The history written by others [Armenians] is accompanied by false or distorted facts. Our people have been subjected to aggression, genocide, our lands are occupied. During the March genocide, about 50,000 Azerbaijanis were killed. We must draw conclusions from this genocide, Aliyeva concluded.
Then the conference continued its work with panels.
As part of the event, foreign scientists and experts will visit the Maiden Tower, Shirvanshakhs Palace, Museum of History, the Old City and Guba Genocide Memorial Complex.
During March-April 1918, hundreds of Azerbaijanis were executed by Armenians in Baku, Shamakhi, Guba, Mughan and tens of thousands of people were expelled from their lands.
Armenian Bolshevik troops led by Stepan Shaumyan massacred thousands of people, burnt Islamic shrines and confiscated the 400-million-manat estate of Baku residents. Tezepir Mosque was bombed, and one of the magnificent architectural buildings, Ismailiyyeh, was burnt down.
The genocide policy pursued against Azerbaijanis was not limited to Baku. Armenian dashnaks killed 8,027 Azerbaijanis, including 2,560 women and 1,277 children, in 53 villages of Shamakhy, 110 km west of Baku, on March 31. Also, 16,000 Azerbaijanis were murdered in 122 villages of Guba, northern Azerbaijan.
The evidence of the Armenian vandalism in Guba is the burial of remains of the genocide victims. The burial was discovered during the construction of a stadium in Guba in 2007.
The Special Investigation Commission set up by the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic on July 15, 1918 collected a great number of documents and submitted them to the government. In 1919, the Azerbaijani Parliament made a decision on marking March 31 as the day of Azerbaijanis' genocide.
Though this date was essentially forgotten during the Soviet times, relevant investigations on the tragedy were carried out and books were published after Azerbaijan gained independence from the USSR in 1991.
President Heydar Aliyev issued a decree on March 26, 1998 to commemorate March 31 as the Day of Azerbaijanis' Genocide.
/By Azernews/
By Nazrin Gadimova
The Hawaii House of Representatives has apologized for the anti-Azerbaijani resolution adopted on March 29 as a result of the Armenian lobbys activities in the U.S..
Joseph Souki, the speaker for the Hawaii House of Representatives issued a memorandum in which he apologized to the government and people of Azerbaijan for totally flawed and biased resolution over the illegal regime Nagorno Karabakh Republic, which has been established on Azerbaijans territory, unlawfully occupied and ethnically cleansed by Armenia in the early 1990s.
In the memorandum sent to Azerbaijans Consulate General in Los Angeles, Souki noted that whereas every resolution involving foreign issues should be sent to a committee to receive public input, the above-mentioned resolution was presented in the guise of a ceremonial document that is commonly used to congratulate individuals and organizations.
Thus, there was simply no information gathered by the House sufficient to make an informed opinion on the document, the official explained.
Therefore I sincerely apologize for the fact that the resolution did not have a chance to be vetted by our Committee process before action was taken on it, and I intend to adjust our internal policies to prevent a similar occurrence, Souki mentioned in the memorandum.
He also stressed that the adopted resolution does not have the effect of law in any way.
The speaker further emphasized the U.S. efforts aimed at resolving the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. I can safely speak on behalf of the members of the House that each member hopes that the strong relations of friendship between Azerbaijan and the United States will continue to grow and strengthen over the years, Souki concluded.
Earlier, two anti-Azerbaijani resolutions were introduced at the Hawaii State Senate by legislators, who were misled by radical Armenian special interest groups. If adopted, the Hawaii State Legislature would have recognized the illegal regime established on Azerbaijan's territory occupied by Armenia.
Thanks to measures taken by the Consulate General of Azerbaijan, the Hawaii State Senate leadership has officially rejected the mentioned resolutions and issued a formal statement that expresses support for the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan in accordance with the U.S. policy, emphasizing that the Hawaii State Senate will not accept these resolutions.
Following this failure, Armenia and the Armenian lobby in the U.S. have appealed to the House of Representatives of the local legislative body of the Hawaii State aiming to continue the provocative and insignificant actions.
Armenia captured Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts from Azerbaijan in a war that followed the Soviet breakup in 1991. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and nearly 1 million were displaced as a result of the war.
Large-scale hostilities ended with a Russia-brokered ceasefire in 1994, but Armenia has continued the occupation in defiance of four UN Security Council resolutions calling for immediate and unconditional withdrawal.
Peace talks mediated by Russia, France, and the U.S. have produced no results so far.
Turkmenistans Foreign Ministry hosted a meeting with a delegation of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), led by Ayaki Ito, the deputy director of the UNHCR regional bureau for Asia and Pacific.
The positive dynamics in cooperation between Turkmenistan and the UNHCR was noted during the meeting, read a message issued by Turkmen Foreign Ministry March 31.
It was also noted that Turkmenistan is conducting significant work to reduce the number of persons without citizenship.
Ayaki Ito particularly pointed out the successful results achieved by Turkmenistan in solving the problems of refugees and persons without citizenship.
More than 3,000 people, residing in the country without citizenship, were granted the citizenship in 2011 under a decree of Turkmenistans President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.
Additionally, 786 people of various nationalities received Turkmen citizenship under a decree signed in 2014.
CHEYENNE The Cowboy State played host to the Great White North on Thursday morning as Canadian Consul General Marcy Grossman paid a visit to Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead.
Grossman is based in Denver, and serves as the consul general for five states: Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Utah and Kansas. Her duties include watching out for the interests of any Canadians living or passing through those states helping out when they lose a passport or run afoul of local law enforcement, for example. But she also works to build economic relationships between Canada and the states in her region.
Grossman said she visited Wyoming in that latter capacity Thursday, meeting with Mead to catch up and discuss some recent economic developments that concern Wyoming-Canadian ties.
I havent seen him in a year, and I wanted to check in on how things are doing, Grossman said. One thing we talked about is how, in a down economy, do you fill in for that (lost economic activity)? Diversification is what we were talking about.
Grossman said Wyoming and Canada have partnered together for several substantial economic projects in recent years.
For example, the Laramie-based Western Research Institute has been working with the MEG Energy Corporation, a Calgary, Alberta-based oil sands producer, on developing HI-Q, a new method for converting bitumen a viscous, semi-solid form of petroleum into pipeline-ready crude oil.
Grossman added that the Wyoming Integrated Test Center a $21 million research laboratory slated to be built into the Dry Fork Station coal power plant near Gillette is partnering with Canadas Oil Sand Innovation Alliance, a group of 13 Alberta oil sands producers. The two are partnering together to help offer a $20 million X prize to researchers who are able to devise new ways to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels.
In fact, Grossman said that oil, gas and other energy resources form a major part of trade between Wyoming and Canada, with Wyoming helping to refine the raw products that come from Canadian oil sands.
Crude petroleum from Alberta comes in and is processed here, she said. Then part of it is refined and shipped back to Canada for usage in different parts of the country.
In all, energy accounts for 68 percent of Wyoming exports to Canada, as well as 75 percent of the states imports from Canada. But while fossil fuels account for a large portion of that business, Canadian companies have also helped Wyoming to capitalize off its famous and infamous winds.
In 2013, she said, Calgary-based electric company TransAlta spent $102 million to buy a 144-megawatt wind farm in southwest Wyoming, making it the companys first wind power project in the United States.
Domestically, were going to be looking at making more investments into our clean technology companies: wind, water, sun, carbon capture and storage. And were definitely going to be looking to partner our projects, sell ideas or products and make investments here.
Grossman said agriculture, particularly livestock, is one area where shed like to see more partnership between Wyoming and Canada. Until recently, that wasnt so easy, due to a country of origin labeling requirement that both Canadian and Mexican ranchers said had a negative impact on their meat exports to the United States.
It was a protectionist way of preventing Canadian cattle from entering the market, Grossman said. And it was so onerous, our cattle industry took a huge hit. But it also took a huge hit on the American side, because it takes a certain amount of cattle to keep a feedlot operating.
But last December, the U.S. Congress voted to repeal the labeling law, which had been in place since 2002. Now, Grossman said she believes the Wyoming agriculture sector stands to gain from the increased access to Canadian cattle.
Its a raw product theyre adding a value to, Grossman said of Wyoming feedlots. So now that that market is back open again, theres an opportunity for Canadian cattle to come back into Wyoming.
Mead had met with Grossman privately at the governors temporary office at 2323 Carey Ave. When asked for his thoughts on the meeting, Meads communications director, David Bush, said Mead had a productive visit with the consul general.
They talked about a wide range of issues, including trade, tourism and agriculture, Bush said. Gov. Mead looks forward to further discussions with the consul general.
US must think about spending priorities
Editor:
Janes.com is a site to understand some of the military-industrial complex. The famous A-10 Warthog workhorse military jet that pilots love is reliable, dependable and cost-effective over many years vs. the $1.5 trillion F-35 (in trial production and much error) cost debacle.
F-35 parts are made in many congressional districts of the military industrial complex. We have about 700 military bases around the world at a cost of $900 billion per year. Many bases are started as places the USA states to protect its interest. In fact they then become islands in the global span of the USA empire. The agreements for bases in Okinawa, Japan, Germany have sovereign creep where those countries experience grossly submissive demands via the USA overlord agreements. Some connected to the bases get some employment or some contracts yet the cost benefit ratio benefits the USA not the locals. USA taxpayers seem blind to $900 billion per year. Imagine 700 bases around the world whereas we often only hear about Japan, Germany, etc.
One of the contributing reasons the Roman empire and other empires fail was due to empire building with never-dismantled standing armies. Imagine if $1.5 trillion went to schools, helping young people get a two-year degree, trade school tech training, on the job or any training for current and future technologies.
From the Founders Constitution, Article 1, Section 8, Clause 12 is what General and President George Washington feared about maintaining standing armies after they outlived their viability. Washingtons warning used to be verbalized when various elements of USA government began governance.
Trump is correct that the USA has fallen into disrepair. Our airports, trains, roads and internet speeds are third world, in many ways we rank lowest in the world with tin pot dictators. How embarrassing to return from overseas when China, Saudi Arabia and other countries have state of the art infrastructure. Imagine if the VAMC had a current computer system vs the archaic legacy tech of the 1970s or Tri-Care health care for life for retired military. Next time someone feels government does not work, think about the $900 billion, approximately a third of which could go toward making America greater vs. the war machine.
Listing and searching summer programs
Listings will be online only this year, which means no deadlines for you and a searchable database for parents. It is free to list your events and programs. Here's how:
Go to tucson.com
Scroll down to "Things To Do"
Click on "Add an event"
You will need to log in with a password and an email address. It's free to register for an account if you don't already have one.
When filling out the form:
Under "Main Category," select "Childrens Camps and Activities."
Specify any age range or restrictions, in the "Online Description" field.
Dates and times must be specific to each event.
For parents looking for a summer program:
Go online to tucson.com/calendar
Scroll down to where it says "Categories" and click to pull a menu down
Click on "Children's Camps and Activities"
Refine your search by entering key words and date ranges (optional)
Scroll down and click on "Search"
If you have any questions please call us at 573-4142.
An orphaned mountain lion kitten, found near Sells, has been taken to Adobe Mountain Wildlife Center in Phoenix for care and rehabilitation. The female kitten, about 6 months old, weighs only 13 pounds and should be closer to 30 pounds, said Anne Justice-Allen, a wildlife veterinarian with the Arizona Game and Fish Department. "It was found near Sells on the Tohono O'odham nation. It had been treed by dogs, and its litter mate was on the ground dead," Justice-Allen said. "We have no idea what happened to its mother. We suspect she's probably dead, but we don't know for sure." She said a staff member from the Adobe Mountain Wildlife Center went to Sells to pick up the animal on Wednesday, March 30, 2016. "Mountain lion cubs aren't something we normally keep there (at the center)," Justice-Allen said. "It primarily houses animals for educational purposes. Video courtesy or the Arizona Game and Fish Department. "If we get cubs, we try to place them in a suitable facility" such as a zoo or sanctuary, she said. "It's unlikely that we'll be able to release this animal into the wild because they get habituated to people."
PHOENIX State lawmakers voted Thursday to make dog racing go away in Arizona but allow pet stores to be able to sell animals from commercial breeders.
On a voice vote, the Senate ratified a deal that would shutter Tucson Greyhound Park, the last surviving dog track in Arizona, at the end of this year. Lobbyist Michael Racy said the owners are not particularly interested in staying in the business, which has become not only less profitable since the days of tribal gaming but come under fire by animal-rights groups.
But the deal in HB 2127 continues the exclusive right of track owners to operate and make money from off-track betting facilities in Southern Arizona for two years beyond that.
Track owners sought that provision because current state law says only tracks that have live racing can run OTB facilities.
The deal also contains a provision requiring track owners to pay a share of the money they get from Turf Paradise for the next two years as part of the OTB operations to a horsemens group.
After that, Turf Paradise, a horse racetrack in Phoenix, is free to open its own wagering facilities throughout the state.
Animal-rights activists have hailed the deal, saying that dog racing is cruel and that animals who cannot win races are killed or given away.
Pet sales
Separately, the House gave preliminary approval to legislation that bars cities from enacting ordinances limiting pet stores to selling only shelter and rescue animals. SB 1248, if it becomes law, would overturn existing ordinances in Phoenix and Tempe and sideline a similar proposal being considered in Tucson.
Proponents of such laws contend commercially bred animals are raised in inhumane conditions, even if the kennels meet the requirements of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
But the groups opposed to the legislation agreed not to oppose it when some additional teeth were added to existing statutes.
One specifically requires that pet stores list the source of any dog or cat, including the name of the breeder, the USDA license and where would-be buyers can obtain more information about the record of that breeder.
It also says that pet stores that obtain animals from non-licensed breeders can be subject to fines, with a third violation resulting in losing their ability to sell anything but rescue and shelter animals.
Both measures require final roll-call votes.
The Republican state senators were unclear about the reasons for the a bill they were about to vote on, but that didnt stop them from supporting it.
They acknowledged the reason was plainly political they couldnt afford to cross the sponsor, Speaker of the House David Gowan.
I want to explain my vote, such as it is, Senate appropriations committee chairman Don Shooter, of Yuma, said at the March 22 hearing. Its the speakers bill. And with that I vote aye.
Sen. Sylvia Allen, a Snowflake Republican, explained she was voting for it because its the speakers bill, and Im going to show respect for him.
For that, Sen. Olivia Cajero-Bedford, a Democrat from Tucson, chastised Allen: You wouldnt have anything to lose. Your bills already passed. You should have voted no.
Another legislative session has brought another curiously intense effort by Gowan, the Sierra Vista Republican, to change state laws regulating pawnshops. Other legislators are so far receptive, though neither bill has passed the full Senate.
This years bills make changes similar to what Gowan was trying to do last year as the clock ticked down on the end of the session. One of this years bills, HB 2566, would make it illegal for cities and counties to impose a fee on pawnshop transactions. They impose a fee now in order to fund stolen-property investigations.
Another bill, HB 2690, would put the Arizona Department of Public Safety in charge of licensing pawnbrokers, receiving daily transaction reports and inspecting pawnbrokers receipts and goods. This is the bill the Senate committee was debating March 22.
Last year, legislators reported Gowans people were twisting arms on the last days of the session, asking for their support for his pawnbroker bill in exchange for moving their bills.
It didnt work: Sen. President Andy Biggs shockingly closed the Senates session before the House was done with its business. The pawnbroker bill didnt pass.
But that didnt mean the idea had died, at least as long as Gowan is speaker. He is the sole sponsor of both bills, which were inspired in part by Tucsonan Roger Score, known around here for his involvement in city alarm-company ordinances.
Score, a former alarm-company owner who has lobbied for that industry in the past, told me pawnshop fees unfairly target businesses that are not major sources of stolen property. Theyre also a form of double taxation, he said, because the buyers, sellers and pawnshop owners already pay taxes for police services.
Swap meets, Ebay and Craigslist are more likely sources of stolen goods than pawnshops these days, he pointed out. Explaining his involvement in pushing the bill, Score said, I have nothing to do with that business at all. Its just a nasty regressive tax.
Youre charging people for a crime they didnt commit.
Gowan testified briefly in support of the bills on Feb. 17 and couldnt give detailed answers to questions. His presence as house speaker seemed to be the main argument needed.
This is a pretty simple bill, he said. What were trying to do is take it from the sheriffs and local areas and take it up to statewide. Itll just be one area of regulation instead of 15 different regions.
Consolidating this up, giving one level of regulation across the state is a better way to go, absolutely, he said.
DPS officials have not weighed in on the bill, probably a sign that they dont like it. Cities and counties oppose it strongly, arguing their agencies are closer to the shops and the communities they operate in than the state agency that runs the highway patrol.
Tucson charges pawnbrokers $1 per transaction or $1,000 per year, money that goes to the city and is funneled to the police department and to cover the cost of participating in Leads Online, an investigative system, the citys legislative liaison Andrew Greenhill told me. The city took in $369,000 from that fee last year, he said.
No one showed up at the Senate appropriations committee to speak in support of the changes to pawnshop law, but that didnt matter and HB 2690 passed out of committee. The vote was not unanimous, though, which you can chalk up to Democratic legislators having nothing left to lose.
Im going to be voting no, Cajero-Bedford said. Since this is the third time Ive voted against speaker Gowans bills, its no wonder my bills never got heard over in the House, (bills) that passed handily here in the Senate.
World View deal challenged
The Goldwater Institute sent a letter to Pima County this week warning it plans to challenge the countys deal with World View Enterprises in court. You may recall, this is the deal under which Pima County plans to build a headquarters building for near-space balloon company World View and a county-owned spaceport, and World View will pay the county back over 20 years.
The countys costs, with interest, are expected to be about $20 million, which World View is obligated to more than pay back over the term of the deal. Goldwater says nevertheless, the contract violates the Arizona constitutions gift clause. That clause forbids Arizonas governments from giving or loaning their credit to any individual, association or corporation.
Goldwaters attorneys have filed lots of gift-clause lawsuits over recent years, and they certainly know the law better than most of us laymen do. But of course, Pima County considered the possibility a challenge before striking the deal.
County staff took great care to comply with all state laws in its negotiation of the economic incentive agreement with World View, Administrator Chuck Huckelberry said in a statement.
I suspect the county is more likely to run into problems with its private negotiation of construction and other contracts for the World View and spaceport deal than with the gift clause. My biggest beef with the deal remains the short time frame in which the deal was presented to the supervisors for passage, with certain key details secret.
Miller gets GOP challenge
Republican Ally Miller was the chief opponent of the World View deal calling it a violation of the gift clause, in fact and now she has a primary challenger.
John Winchester, who works as outreach coordinator for the UAs Center for Judaic Studies, filed as a candidate on Wednesday. Winchester, 32, is a political novice but said he wants to get things done in a way Miller hasnt been able to.
The goal of my campaign is not to attack her personality but to attack her methodology, Winchester said. She has a very toxic relationship at the county.
Winchester said he hopes to win by taking Oro Valley and the Catalina Foothills in what he insists is a more moderate district than Millers 2012 victory suggests.
An orphaned mountain lion kitten, found near Sells, has been taken to Adobe Mountain Wildlife Center in Phoenix for care and rehabilitation.
The female kitten, about 6 months old, weighed only 13 pounds and should be closer to 30 pounds, said Anne Justice-Allen, a wildlife veterinarian with the Arizona Game and Fish Department.
It was found near Sells on the Tohono Oodham nation. It had been treed by dogs, and its litter mate was on the ground dead, Justice-Allen said. We have no idea what happened to its mother. We suspect shes probably dead, but we dont know for sure.
She said a staff member from the Adobe Mountain Wildlife Center went to Sells to pick up the animal on Wednesday, March 30.
Mountain lion cubs arent something we normally keep there (at the center), Justice-Allen said. It primarily houses animals for educational purposes.
If we get cubs, we try to place them in a suitable facility such as a zoo or sanctuary, she said. Its unlikely that well be able to release this animal into the wild because they get habituated to people.
United States Sen. John McCain of Arizona said in Tucson on Thursday that he will push to expand a program that allows veterans to get health care from private providers to avoid long waits at Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals.
During a town-hall meeting at Universal Avionics Systems Corp., McCain said he will keep advocating for reforms to the VA health-care system, noting that veterans are still receiving poor care, two years after a scandal over some vets dying while waiting months for VA care.
Veterans are still not getting the care they deserve . The system is broken and needs to be fixed, the Phoenix Republican told about 100 employees at the south-side avionics manufacturer.
McCain said that, despite some reforms, on a weekly basis his office is working on 500 to 1,000 cases where Arizona veterans have been unable to get needed VA health care.
Part of the solution, McCain said, is to widen eligibility for the VA Choice Card, which some veterans can now use to obtain health care from private providers if they live more than 40 miles from a VA facility or have been waiting more than 30 days for VA care.
The program was part of 2014 legislation to address the VA care scandal that originated in Phoenix, but the VA has been criticized for failing to get veterans to sign up and of hamstringing the program with red tape.
McCain last year introduced legislation to scrap the 40-mile limit and make the Choice Card available to all vets, and is pushing the plan at town halls as he runs for re-election this year.
McCain said the VA and some veterans service groups have resisted the idea of expanding the Choice Card program, which has been disappointing to me.
The VA has failed to hold staffers accountable for the Phoenix problems, he said, contending that only one employee has been fired for the systemic shortfalls in VA care partly because of appeals by federal employees unions.
In response to similar criticisms, the VA has noted that several employees took early retirement following the Phoenix care scandal.
The agency has recently moved forward with the process of firing three senior officials who were removed from their positions at the Phoenix hospital in the wake of the wait-time scandal.
In a wide-ranging speech followed by a question session, McCain touched on several other issues:
Presidential race
McCain reiterated that he is not endorsing any presidential candidate. He said both Republican front-runner Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders are tapping into frustration among voters who feel the rich are getting richer while America has become weaker.
Were in very interesting times, politically, he said.
supreme court vacancy
McCain said he has no plans to meet with Judge Merrick Garland, President Obamas nominee to fill the vacancy left by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia.
He also said he opposes any action on a nominee until the next president takes office, noting that Vice President Joe Biden argued the same position as a Senate Democrat in 1992.
I think thats a little hypocrisy there on the part of my Democratic friends, he said.
Fight against ISIS
McCain reiterated his call to put a force of 10,000 American troops on the ground to fight the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, along with an allied force of 90,000 to defeat ISIS.
He cited terrorist attacks in the U.S. and Europe and evidence of sophisticated terrorist planning of attacks outside of the Middle East.
Were either going to fight them there, or were going to fight them here, he said.
Defense in Arizona
Arizona plays a key role in maintaining Americas military might, McCain said, citing installations including Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and Fort Huachuca that use the nations top live-bomb training grounds, and weapons made by Raytheon Missile Systems.
Defense is a big, big part of our economy, he said, citing his so-far successful fight to save D-Ms A-10 Thunderbolt II ground-attack jets from retirement and efforts to grow things such as drone operations at Fort Huachuca.
Raytheon is going to have a lot more business, because theyre firing off a lot more of their products, said McCain, who is chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
OPINION: "While it is important to take on cutting edge programs for an institution, Best Practices would dictate a thorough analysis of the costs of a new program versus the proven effectiveness of that new program. After all, these are taxpayer funds we are dealing with," writes Nick Pierson, candidate for the Pima Community College Governing Board.
Help India!
New Delhi : The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) on Thursday urged the Manipur government to immediately drop all charges against rights activist Irom Sharmila.
Following the order of a Delhi court acquitting human rights defender Irom Sharmila of an attempt to commit suicide charge under the Indian Penal Code the case against her in Manipur is, however, still ongoing. The decision of the Delhi court is not binding on the courts in Manipur. The government of Manipur must immediately drop all charges under section 309 against her, ICJ official Sanhita Ambast told IANS.
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A court here on Wednesday acquitted Sharmila, who has been on a 15-year hunger strike demanding repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, of charges of attempt to commit suicide.
Terming the use of section 309 against Sharmila as the outdated and absurd nature of this law, ICJ Asia director Sam Zarifi quoted the Supreme Courts 2011 statement that time has come when the section should be deleted by parliament as it has become anachronistic.
The government should expedite the repeal of 309 and, instead of criminalising Irom Sharmilas protest, focus on the reason behind it and repeal the AFSPA, Zarifi said in a statement.
The government of Manipur should drop the other charges under section 309 against her, and release her immediately and unconditionally.
He said that in 2014, the government had announced that it was in the process of repealing section 309.
The ICJ called the Delhi court order a recognition that Sharmilas hunger strike was a form of peaceful dissent and protest protected by the right to freedom of expression.
Sharmila began a hunger strike in November 2000, demanding that the government repeal the AFSPA, following the killing of 10 civilians by security forces purportedly acting under it in Malom. She was arrested by the Manipur government in 2000 under section 309 of the Indian Penal Code, which prohibits an attempt to commit suicide.
Help India!
Mumbai : Khuzaima Qutbuddin, the claimant to the title of 53rd Dai al-Mutlaq of the Dawoodi Bohra community, has passed away in the US, a family member said here late on Thursday.
The self-proclaimed Syedna Khuzaima Qutbuddin was 75 and had been ailing since some time and breathed his last in California.
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He was the half-brother of the late Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin, the 1.20 million strong communitys spiritual head, who passed away here on January 17, 2014.
It is with deep sorrow that we inform of the demise of the 53rd Dai al-Mutlaq Syedna Khuzaima Qutbuddin, in USA, California, an official statement released by his son said.
Khuzaima Qutbuddin has named his son, Shehzada Taher as his successor and personally prepared him to take over his onerous responsibilities.
The details of the funeral would be announced in due course, the statement added.
After the demise of his elder half-brother, the late Khuzaima Qutbuddin was subsequently embroiled in a bitter legal battle of succession after his nephew, Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin also claimed that his father, the late Syedna, had anointed him as the successor.
After several hearings in the past couple of years, the matter was scheduled to come up for critical hearings before Bombay High Court on April 22 and May 2.
The controversy over the successor had created confusion and a vertical schism in the miniscule but prosperous and peaceful community spread globally.
While Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin is based here and functions from the Saifee Mahal at Malabar Hill, his uncle and rival claimant, Khuzaima Qutbuddin operated from Yeoor Hills in Thane, adjacent to the city.
Help India!
By TCN News,
New Delhi: Caritas India in a joint collaboration of Peoples Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR) organized a National level interface on Reality of Implementation of Right to Education Act here at Deputy Speaker hall, Constitution club, New Delhi.
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A Right Based Project on Right to Education (RTE) is being run by Caritas India in Districts of Bihar supporting Girls Child Education and strengthening entitlement of RTE.
Around 60 participants from the various organizations participated in the program held here on Tuesday.
In the conference the Girls belonging to Musahar community from interior districts of Bihar presented a Stage Show, which was written and directed by them based on their daily life facts. One play was based on the theme of dreams and ambition of a girl born and brought in Musahar community called Mera Sapna and the second play was based on Child Marriage in which girls would reiterate the entire factor responsible for their early marriage.
Musahars constitute third largest population of Schedule Castes in Bihar having lowest literacy rate, with female literacy in this group around 1% as per 2011 census.
The program was followed with the release of the research report, Children Magazine Roshini ki duniya and a documentary titled Light of hope and Dignity.
Roshni Ki Duniya a compendium of stories, paintings, regional songs, awareness songs, which was prepared by students of complimentary education centre was compiled and released during the program.
Lenin Raghuvanshi, Secretary General of Peoples Vigilance Committee on Human Rights shared the finding of the research reports on the 122 points. The research was conducted in four districts Purenea, Munger, Madhubani and Patna of Bihar state of India. Now the recommendations after this research work will be compiled and communicated to NGOs, political parties, Niti Ayog, members of parliament, Ministry of Human Resource Development and policy makers.
Chief Guest Dr. Syeda Hameed, former Member of Planning commission said, the few points mentioned in the reports shows the alarming condition of the RTE implementation in the grass root level. Especially on the ratio of student and teachers, the ratio of teacher and student in the school and the ratio should be 35:1. But the actual ratio is 66:1.
She also stated that there was no appointment of cleaner in the school due to which children have to spend more time in cleaning the school. She highlighted the pitiful condition of the teaching and learning process. The children of class VIII were unable to read the text book of class II. Due to which it will not possible for the marginalized and poor children to get quality education. I appeal we should come forward to strengthen this initiative, she added.
In the Panel discussion the guests John Dayal, Secretary General, All India Christian Council, Jayshree Bajoria, Researcher, Human Rights Watch, Shantanu Datta, Director Engagement, International Justice Mission, Shimray, Assistant Zonal manager, Caritas India, Jagmati, All India General Secretary, AIDWA stated that the objective of universal right to education for children remains a distant dream while certain initiatives have been taken by the government to ensure the implementation of the Act, broadly, it has failed to make the RTE Act a reality.
Help India!
By Abdul Kalam Azad
Assam: This is election time in Assam and political parties are not leaving any stone unturned to get as much vote as possible. If someone is promising to create 2.5 million jobs in next five years, other one is promising to protect civil and human rights of the persecuted minorities. In reality, all these hollow promises will be going to the cold storage of politicians conscience without a second thought.
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However, one such hollow promise and great deal of hypocrisy paining me since 29th of March, 2016. Deputy Chief of Bodoland Territorial Council Khampha Borgayari conducted an election meeting at a newly encroached forest village called Laimuti on 19th of March, 2016. Mr. Borgoyari promised to provide land patta along with other services to the forest dwellers who settled in the forest most recently. But to know more about his hypocrisy and political gimmick, let me take you through the village.
Three of my colleagues along with our local resource person Dan Narzary, we crossed the bamboo bridge over river Chapma a beautiful place around 10 kilometers from Runikhata under Chirang district of BTAD in Assam. River Champa is a narrow but powerful river as its water follows fast and during monsoon it becomes ferocious. A middle age man was hurling his fishing net near the bamboo bridge. The big trees in the upstream of the river made the scenario picturesque.
Soon after crossing the bridge, we found a small hut on the bank of river Champa. I talked to Dhaneswar Basumatary the owner of the hut. His family members were busy in planting tapioca tree. His son was cutting the tapioca tree into equal pieces to plants. The plant was new to me; our local resource person Dan Narzary who did his masters in Ecology, Environment and Sustainable Development from Tata Institute of Social Sciences introduced the tapioca plant as a poverty resilient food. The hut itself was enough to correspond to the level of poverty faced by the family. But the story of tapioca escalated the brutality of poverty and hunger. Dhaneswar Basumatarys family was forced to move into the forest in 2005 to live such a miserable life when his 8 bighas (over a hector) of agricultural land was eroded by river Champa. Dhaneswar Basumatary is not the only victims of river erosion, many of the forest dwellers of the area were uprooted by river erosion.
It is worthy to give a glimpse of the larger picture of erosion affected people of Assam. Study revealed that in 50 years (1950 to 2000) river Brahmaputra alone had eroded 7 percent of Assams total land and tens of thousands people have been displaced. Till 2015 Assam Government didnt have any rehabilitation programme for the erosion induced IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) of the state. In March last year, Assam Government came up with a scheme called Chief Minister Special Scheme for the Erosion Affected People. The scheme talks about providing land as compensation for both homestead and agricultural purpose, if government land is not available cash compensation is to be offered. But the scheme remained defunct for almost a year. No effort was made by the government to disseminate the information regarding the scheme among the displaced people. We tried our best to make the affected people aware about the scheme and encouraged them to apply for compensation. But nothing happened till January 2016 and finally I filed a RTI petition seeking some crucial information like how many applications received and processed etc.
Assam State Disaster Management Authority which is the nodal agency for implementation of the scheme; scandalously replied my RTI petition saying that the agency had not received any application! Later on one of my journalist friends investigated the matter and revealed that despite no promotion and advertisement, ASDMA had received a large number of applications and as the agency couldnt deal with such huge number application. Before replying my RTI government changed the scheme through another circular. The modified scheme is equal to nothing! The government has modified it in such a way that almost no erosion induced IDP can avail any benefit under the scheme. This kind of government indifference and apathy have been pushing the erosion induced IDPs to settle generally in forest areas and to migrate into urban areas for livelihood.
We continued walking through the path recently cleared by chopping down the trees in Laimuti. Though the roots of big trees were burnt down to decompose early but are still visible thorough out the fields. Dan Narzary lamented that, being a professionally trained environmentalist he felt like crying after seeing the destruction of the forest just 10 kms away from his house. He feels that tribal people are losing their belongingness towards forest and overlooking the importance of forest conservation. He pointed out a number of factors which attributed towards this change in attitude. At one hand poor people are being uprooted by river erosion, violent conflict and they are not compensated by the state. On the other hand the government forest department is destroying the forest by partnering with smugglers. How the poor people can think about conservation of forest? Dan questions.
By the time we reached the village market in Laimuti it was late afternoon. The village headman Sukur Basumatary took us to an open school. Few fixed desk benches and a pair of wooden chair-table and a tinned roof hold up by not many concrete pillars were the only infrastructure in the school. However, name of the school Rwdwmkang which means uprising in Bodo language actually points towards the aspiration of the villagers. More than 50 students are getting educated without any government support. The villagers collect money and other resources among themselves to pay the monthly salary of Rs. 1000/- to the teacher. Around 8000 people are living in 25 forest villages in Laimuti area without a single government school, no Anganwadi centre, no health facility, no source of drinking water or any other government services. In other words, they are still living right inside the forest, where there is no presence of government.
Three out of the 25 villages faced retaliatory attack from Adivasis on 25th of December, 2014 i.e. two days after the massacre of over 70 innocent Adivasi people by suspected NDFB (S) militant in Sonitpur district of Assam. At least 23 houses in those three villages were burnt down to ashes by the miscreants. The Bodo inhabitants were forced to set up shelter camp in Laimuti market. Hundreds of terrified Bodo men, women and children had continued to live in the camp for over two months without any support from government. Chakra Basumatary one of the victim said forget about relief, rehabilitation or compensation, no government departments including police department didnt visited the affected villages. When one of the civil society organizations took the victims to government office in Kokrajhar, the victims were abused by the officials and their request for compensation was out-rightly rejected.
Mr. Khampha Borgayari who served as Deputy Chief of BTC in the previous term also never did anything to minimize their suffering, even during the toughest time of arson and forced displacement. The villagers at Laimuti said that Mr. Borgayari is now campaigning for his colleague Chandan Brahma and he has promised to provide land pattas along with other services like education, health, water etc.
If this is the fate of displaced Bodos to protect whose right the territorial privilege was granted, then anyone can easily imagine the condition of displaced non-Bodos living in the model BTC!
The author is working as TISS-UNICEF Research Fellow in a project Mapping of children affected by violence in Assam. He is associated with Jhai Foundation, an NGO working in Char areas of Assam. The story initially appeared at his blog abdulkazad.wordpress.com
China Unicom plans data network Updated: 2016-04-01 09:56 By Ma Si(China Daily)
A China Unicom stand offering customer rights information in Yichang, Hubei province. [ZHANG GUORONG / FOR CHINA DAILY]
China United Network Communications Group Co Ltd said on Thursday it is building a nationwide network of Internet data centers, which will be able to host 4 million computer servers.
The move is the latest effort by China Unicomthe country's second-largest telecom carrier by subscribersto boost its presence in cloud computing as it is eagerly looking for new growth points to shore up its declining revenue.
Lu Yimin, general manager of China Unicom, said the company will step up efforts to build Internet data centers across the country. It is planning to build a key center in each province and multiple small centers in remote regions.
"When completed, the total area of these data centers will exceed 2 million square meters, which will lay down a sound base for the development of cloud computing," Lu added.
The company did not offer a timetable for the project or disclose the investment figure.
Currently, China Unicom is running six key Internet data centers and dozens of smaller centers, which host roughly 1 million servers.
The data center plan comes as China's telecom carriers are looking for new revenue sources as their once lucrative businesstext messages and voice callsare affected by Internet-based messaging services such as Tencent Holdings Ltd's WeChat.
China Unicom said earlier this month its net profit fell 12 percent to 10.56 billion yuan ($1.63 billion) in 2015 while its revenue dropped 2.7 percent.
Market leader China Mobile Communications Corp and smaller rival China Telecommunications Corp are also intensifying their investment in cloud computing.
Xiang Ligang, founder of the telecom industry website cctime.com, said cloud computing will play an increasingly greater role in generating revenues for telecom carriers.
"Telecom carriers have abundant infrastructure resources such as backbone networks and Internet data centers, which give them a natural edge in cloud computing," Xiang said.
Internet giants Baidu Inc, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and Tencent are all renting China Unicom's Internet data centers to offer cloud-computing services.
"As the cloud-computing sector in China really takes off, there will be a huge demand for Internet data centers, which will help further grow telecom carriers' revenues," he added.
According to Ni Guangnan, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, the cloud-computing market in China is likely to grow from $23.1 billion in 2015 to $70 billion in 2018, which will account for 22 percent of the global market.
Fu Liang, an independent telecom expert, said when it comes to cloud computing, telecom carriers focus more on hardwares such as building Internet data centers, while Internet companies place more emphasis on offering services and cloud-computing solutions.
China Unicom set up a cloud-computing unit in 2013, which has seen its revenue more than doubled to 7 billion yuan within two years.
China-backed steel plant to save Bolivia $250m in annual steel imports Updated: 2016-04-01 11:14 (Xinhua)
LA PAZ - Bolivia will save around $250 million a year from reduced steel imports once the El Mutun steelworks begins operation in 2019, a minister said Thursday.
On Wednesday, the Bolivian government and Sinosteel Corporation signed an agreement to allow the Chinese firm to design, build and operate the El Mutun steelworks in the eastern department of Santa Cruz, near the Brazilian border.
"We expect that, from 2019, we will be able to manufacture enough steel to satisfy domestic demand. This project will allow us to quickly save money from steel imports, representing important savings for Bolivia," Minister of Mines and Metallurgy Cesar Navarro told a press conference here.
The minister said that the government had worked out precise parameters with Sinosteel Equipment for the entire El Mutun complex to be finished and delivered within 30 months.
The project's investment budget has been set at $422 million, 85 percent of which will be financed by a Chinese credit line and the other 15 percent by the Bolivian government.
Bolivia's currently imports around 300,000 tons of steel a year. In the next ten years, the country's steel demand is set to double, to reach a quantity worth around $600 million, according to Navarro.
Mainland, HK police nab nearly 3,000 illegal immigrants in joint operation Updated: 2016-03-31 17:01 (Xinhua)
A policeman escorts an illegal immigrant with location not revealed, March 25, 2016. [Photo/IC]
BEIJING - Mainland and Hong Kong police have arrested 2,943 illegal immigrants in a joint operation to crack down on growing human smuggling, the Ministry of Public Security said Wednesday.
Among the detained immigrants, 2,860 are from Southeast Asia and 83 from South Asia, said the ministry at a press conference held in Shenzhen of Guangdong.
Most illegal immigrants were trying to sneak into Hong Kong from the mainland to seek employment, it added.
Since the 17-month campaign started on February 20, police in Guangdong, Guangxi and Yunnan have dismantled three cross-border smuggling syndicates with the help of Hong Kong police, the ministry announced the results of the first phase of the crackdown.
A total of 142 suspects from the three syndicates were apprehended by police, including 29 from countries in Southeast Asia and South Asia.
The cross-border smuggling rings are well organized with clear division of labor, said the ministry.
"Smugglers in Southeast Asia and South Asia recruit immigrants, smugglers in the mainland transfer them to Guangdong from the border and ports and then sneak them into Hong Kong, and smugglers in Hong Kong take control of the whole process," it added.
Illegal immigrants have also commit crimes such as thefts, robberies and drug smuggling, which in result seriously harmed public security in both Hong Kong and Guangdong, the ministry said.
The authorities vowed to increase cooperation between police in Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan and Xinjiang and step up the joint crackdown on human smuggling, in an effort to safeguard social security and stability.
China showing the world how it's done Updated: 2016-03-31 11:46 By Lyu Chang(China Daily USA)
As China's reputation for building high-speed trains continues to grow worldwide, it is steadily gaining a reputation for its expertise in another high-technology field, nuclear energy.
The past year's big-ticket developments demonstrated the country's global ambitions for its proprietary technology, important deals being signed with Argentina, Britain, Kenya and Thailand.
In November the country's main nuclear company, China National Nuclear Corp., signed a deal worth $6 billion with Argentina to build a nuclear plant, that country's fourth.
Technicians of the China National Nuclear Group present Hualong One, the company's flagship nuclear design, at a promotional event held last year in Fuqing, Fujian province. Wei Peiquan / Xinhua
China recently signed an agreement with Saudi Arabia to develop Chinese fourth-generation nuclear technology in that country.
Another nuclear giant, China General Nuclear Corp. (CGN) signed an agreement with Kenya on Sept. 7 on developing nuclear projects in that country. In Britain it is possible that one of the three nuclear power plants to be built will adopt Chinese nuclear technologies.
However, in the coming years top targets for Chinese nuclear exports will be Turkey and South Africa, experts said, because both countries face severe electricity shortages and plan nuclear power plants to help overcome these.
South Africa, the most developed country in Africa, which operates the continent's only nuclear power plant, near Cape Town, invited tenders for a contract estimated to be worth $80 billion to build four nuclear reactors, the largest contract in the country's history.
The deal has attracted interest from nearly all major nuclear companies in the world, including China General Nuclear Power Group, State Nuclear Power Technology Corp., Russia's state atomic agency Rosatom and French nuclear firms, which all put forward proposals for the project.
CGN even set up an office in Johannesburg in 2010. SNPTC signed a series of agreements with Nuclear Energy Corp. of South Africa last year when President Xi Jinping visited the country.
Turkey will become another battlefield for the world's nuclear companies as the country opens bidding on building its third nuclear power plant next year, a contract that could be worth between $22 billion and $25 billion.
State Nuclear Power Technology Corp., one of China's three nuclear giants and the U.S.-based Westinghouse Electric Corp. are potential bidders, said Murat Mercan, a former deputy energy minister of Turkey.
"China is building nuclear power plants using its own third-generation nuclear reactor, and I don't see why we can't use it," he told China Daily.
What makes the country competitive in the international bidding is its rich experience in domestic nuclear power construction, project management capability in building nuclear power plants, stability, abundant financial support and its indigenous nuclear technologies, experts said.
A nuclear industry expert Zhang Luqing said: "Competition will be intense for China's nuclear players, as they have to compete with the sophisticated world-class nuclear players, but I think, with their great domestic experience, they have a good chance of winning the contracts."
Chinese nuclear companies are highly competitive on safety, technology and price, he said.
As the country builds more nuclear power plants, demonstrating its ability to foreign counterparts, Chinese participation in foreign nuclear power projects will extend beyond project financing to include nuclear design, engineering and operation, he said.
Zhang cited nuclear projects in Britain as an example of whereit takes time for China to make huge inroads and get local clients to gain confidence in Chinese nuclear technologies.
Hinkley Point C, Britain's first new nuclear plant for a decade, is being financed 66.5 percent by the French utility company Electricite de France, with a Chinese consortium led by CGN providing the rest.
In another project, Sizewell C, China and France will work together on the pre-development phase, and at the Bradwell B power station Chinese-designed technology in the shape of the Hualong One reactor is expected to be used.
The partnership with the French companies will help China to explore more third-party markets to develop medium- and high-level reactors, experts said.
lyuchang@chinadaily.com.cn
Industry needs to deal with nuclear waste Updated: 2016-03-31 11:46 By Lyu Chang in Beijing(China Daily USA)
The amount of spent fuel needed to be transported is likely to increase 20-fold in China by 2025 as the country embarks on a massive plan of building new nuclear power plants, senior officials say.
Zhu Ji, general manager of Lanzhou Nuclear Enrichment Co., a unit of China National Nuclear Corp., said a transport system of nuclear waste should be built in China, because there will be 1,000 tons of heavy metal, the product of spent nuclear fuel, within the next decade.
"China depends solely on roads to transport spent nuclear fuel for now, but that needs to be upgraded to a model that includes shipping and rail transport," he said, hoping such system can be built by 2022.
Most nuclear power plants in China are located near the coast, but the used fuel storage site is near Gansu province, about 1,864 miles inland.
"Used nuclear fuel may be shipped only along specified highway routes, putting huge pressure on road transport and safe management of spent fuel rods," Zhu said.
The spent rods need to remain in cooling pools for five to 10 years under at least 20 feet of actively circulating water.
Nuclear waste is the material that nuclear fuel becomes after it is used in a reactor. It looks similar to the fuel that was loaded into the reactor -assemblies of metal rods.
"If we put spent rods in cooling pools for eight years, then about 2,300 fuel assemblies will have to be transported by 2025," he said.
Soldiers' remains returned Updated: 2016-04-01 03:03 By Liu Ce in Shenyang and Zhao Lei in Beijing (China Daily)
PLA soldiers carry caskets containing remains at the airport in Shenyang on Thursday. Photos provided to China Daily and Wang Tian / For China Daily
A funeral service will be held in Shenyang, Liaoning province, on Friday morning for 36 Chinese soldiers who died in the Korean War (1950-53), after their remains were returned from South Korea the previous day.
The service at the Korean War Martyrs' Cemetery will be attended by government officials, People's Liberation Army officers and representatives from veterans' families, according to local authorities.
The 36 soldiers were members of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army. Their remains were found in South Korea over the past year and were handed over to a Chinese delegation led by Dou Yupei, vice-minister of civil affairs, at a ceremony on Thursday morning at Incheon International Airport in South Korea.
At a brief memorial service at the airport, Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Qiu Guohong placed Chinese national flags on the caskets holding the remains, before they were flown home aboard a Chinese military transport plane.
Two J-11 fighter jets of the PLA Air Force escorted the plane when it entered Chinese airspace. After the transport aircraft landed at Shenyang Xiantao International Airport, the remains were received by PLA officers in ceremonial uniforms.
Shin Bong-sup, South Korea's consul-general in Shenyang, said on Thursday: "South Korea and China were once in a war fighting each other, but that was in the past. Returning the remains will help to heal the wounds of history between the two countries and strengthen friendship among the people."
Under an agreement between China and South Korea, officials from the two countries consult each other every year on handing over remains found in South Korea.
China, US vow to boost nuclear security cooperation Updated: 2016-04-01 06:58 (Xinhua)
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives on his official plane to attend the Nuclear Security Summit meetings in Washington, on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland March 30, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]
WASHINGTON - China and the United States on Thursday reaffirmed their joint commitment to global nuclear security and pledged to continue cooperation in this area beyond the Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) process.
In a joint statement released as Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Barack Obama met on the sidelines of the fourth NSS, the two countries declared their "commitment to working together to foster a peaceful and stable international environment by reducing the threat of nuclear terrorism and striving for a more inclusive, coordinated, sustainable and robust global nuclear security architecture for the common benefit and security of all."
Nuclear security cooperation has become a bright spot in the building of a new type of major-country relations between the world's largest developing and developed countries.
In February, the two sides carried out the inaugural round of bilateral discussions on nuclear security in Stockholm, Sweden.
"We plan to continue this dialogue on an annual basis, so as to intensify our cooperation to prevent nuclear terrorism and continue advancing Nuclear Security Summit goals," said the joint statement.
In a more recent example, a nuclear security center of excellence (COE) jointly financed and built by the Chinese and US governments was inaugurated in suburban Beijing on March 18. It is the largest, best equipped and most advanced facility of its kind in the Asia-Pacific region.
The COE, said the statement, "is a world-class venue to meet China's domestic nuclear security training requirements, as well as a forum for bilateral and regional best practice exchanges, and a venue for demonstrating advanced technologies related to nuclear security."
The two countries pledged continued engagement on nuclear security training and best practices so as to maximize the use and effectiveness of the COE, and China vowed to sponsor training programs at the site for regional partners and other international participants to further promote global nuclear security awareness and engagement.
Meanwhile, the two sides agreed to push forward cooperation on conversion of miniature neutron source reactors (MNSR) from highly enriched uranium fuel to low-enriched uranium fuel, including working through the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to support the conversion of MNSRs in Ghana and Nigeria as soon as possible.
China, according to the joint statement, also "reaffirms its readiness, upon the request of respective countries, to convert all remaining Chinese-origin MNSRs worldwide."
Recognizing the need for strengthened international cooperation to counter nuclear smuggling, China and the United States reiterated their "enduring commitment to prevent terrorists, criminals or other unauthorized actors from acquiring nuclear or other radioactive materials."
The two sides "will continue to coordinate efforts to strengthen counter nuclear smuggling capabilities and share best practices with the international community, taking full advantage of the training programs sponsored by the China Customs Training Center for Radiation Detection," said the statement.
Furthermore, Beijing and Washington expressed satisfaction on "the fruitful cooperation between the two sides in enhancing the security of radioactive sources, in particular regarding recovery of disused sources and transport security of radioactive sources," and pledged to further strengthen cooperation in this regard and facilitate the sharing of experiences and best practices with other countries.
Stressing that "strong communication and cooperation are essential to nuclear security," the two countries committed themselves to continuing strong support for the work of relevant international agencies on nuclear security in accordance with their respective mandates.
The NSS process, initiated by Obama and headlined by a biennial leaders' meeting since 2010, will come to an end in its current format after the fourth summit, though nuclear security is faced with increasingly grave and complicated challenges.
Under such circumstances, China and the United States expressed their "strong commitment" to addressing the evolving nuclear security challenges through sustained efforts after the current NSS process concludes, said the joint statement.
Chairwoman named for Inner Mongolia Updated: 2016-04-01 08:10 By Cui Jia(China Daily)
The Inner Mongolia autonomous region appointed Buxiaolin as its acting chairwoman on Wednesday. Both her father and grandfather had previously served as chairman.
Buxiaolin, who is from the Mongolian ethnic group, was appointed as acting chairwoman by the Standing Committee of the Inner Mongolia regional People's Congress after it accepted the resignation of the former chairman, Bater.
The 58-year-old Buxiaolin becomes the second female official in China to be put in charge of the government's work in an autonomous region, after Liu Hui, chairwoman of the Ningxia Hui autonomous region.
After studying economic law at Peking University, Buxiaolin returned to Inner Mongolia where she has worked in the regional government's Legislative Affairs Office for many years.
At age 46, she became head of Alxa League, which is one of 12 prefecture-level divisions, and three extant leagues that comprise Inner Mongolia. In 2008, she was appointed deputy chair of the region.
Buxiaolin is the granddaughter of Ulanhu, a former vice-president of China, and the daughter of Buhe, a former vice-chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee.
Ulanhu served as the first chairman of Inner Mongolia between 1947 and 1966. Buhe, his eldest son, was elected chairman of Inner Mongolia and served between 1983 and 1993.
In 2014, President Xi Jinping said at a conference on ethnic issues that outstanding ethnic officials who are willing to take responsibility need to be shown trust and put in key positions of authority.
Wang Jun, director of the Standing Committee of the regional People's Congress, said Buxiaolin has a firm political stance and rich leadership experience. She is also well respected by other officials, he said.
cuijia@chinadaily.com.cn
(China Daily 04/01/2016 page4)
Growing number signing up to save others' lives Updated: 2016-04-01 08:10 By Wang Xiaodong(China Daily)
List of registered donors growing fast six years after plan was launched to help patients with terminal illnesses
An increasing number of Chinese people are signing up for the nation's organ donor plan, with more than 66,000 joining during the past six years, according to the Red Cross Society of China.
And with the growing number of registered organ donors, more and more people are benefiting from transplant surgery.
So far, more than 6,000 people have donated organs after death, helping more than 18,000 patients with terminal organ failure, said Hao Linna, vice-president of the society.
Last year, China ranked first in Asia and third in the world for the number of organ donors, she said on Thursday.
In 2015, the number of people who donated organs in China exceeded 2,700. They donated a total of more than 7,700 organs.
"In the past six years, since China launched its organ donation program and encouraged people to register to donate organs in the event of their death, a scientific and fair organ donation system has been established in China and it is improving steadily," Hao said.
The organ donation system has developed fast since China decided to stop using organs from executed prisoners for transplant surgery on Jan 1 last year, making voluntary donations from citizens the only source, Huang Jiefu, chairman of the National Organ Donation and Transplantation Committee, said earlier this month.
The number of organ donors per million people increased to 2.1 last year, compared with 0.02 in 2010, Huang said.
China has faced a severe shortage of donated organs because of traditional beliefs that many people cannot accept the idea of their body being buried incomplete. Because of the lack of organs, some patients have had to wait for months or even years for suitable organs.
Despite the recent increase in the number of donations, organs are still in short supply, said Hu Shengshou, president of the Fuwai Hospital in Beijing and a heart transplant surgeon.
"There are still patients dying while waiting for organs," he said. "And transplant surgeries are still not covered by the basic medical insurance programs, making them too expensive for some patients to afford."
Chen Jingyu, vice-president of Wuxi People's Hospital, said organ transplant surgeries are among the most effective ways to save lives and improve the quality of life among patients with terminal organ failure.
However, on average only 2.6 organs are used per donor in China, compared with between 3.5 and four in some other countries, he said.
This is because some organs have to be used for surgeries very soon after they are retrieved, otherwise they will be wasted, he said.
"For example, a lung must be transported to a hospital for surgery within eight hours of retrieving it and needs a convenient fast transportation system between different places," he said.
Airlines and airports are now required to provide priority services for transported organs, such as swift security checks for medial staff carrying donated organs, according to a circular released by the Civil Aviation Administration of China in February.
wangxiaodong@chinadaily.com.cn
'FERTILE LAND' IN CHINA NURTURES ECONOMY Updated: 2016-04-01 12:33 (China Daily USA)
Editor's note: A fertile land of 'fi sh and rice' in ancient China, Wuxi in southern Jiangsu province is known for its prosperous commerce, fruitful natural resources, convenient transport and cultural heritage. Today's Wuxi is more than a cradle for the civilization in southern China, it has become a pioneer in boosting the country's economic growth. China Daily is publishing a series of reports on Wuxi's industrial development and strategic reforms. In the fi rst article, reporter Yang Ziman gives you an insight into the city's plans for the coming year.
Wuxi, a city in Jiangsu province that has thrived on traditional manufacturing industries for decades, is looking to upgrade its industrial structure for more sustainable growth, said the city's top leader.
"In the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20), Wuxi's development will focus on the information, environmental, service and high-tech industries," said Li Xiaomin, top leader of Wuxi.
The city, which is located at the point where Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui provinces meet, has been a transportation hub since ancient times. The 2000-year-old Beijing-Hangzhou Canal that connected the north of the country to the food-rich southern regions flowed past the city and it was, in more recent times, home to many of the first modern enterprises in China.
Wuxi has been at the forefront of China's reform and opening-up initiative thanks to the fast growth of its small township enterprises since the 1980s. With a population of 6.47 million, Wuxi ranked 13th in GDP in 2015 among cities on the Chinese mainland. Its GDP was 851.8 billion yuan ($130.8 billion).
But, with the city facing the same challenges that the Chinese economy faces, with rising labor costs, pollution concerns and a desire to see more innovation and high technology, Li said it is time to shift the emphasis.
"Traditional manufacturing industries, such as equipment manufacturing, textiles, electronic products and metallurgy, which have been the backbone of Wuxi's economy, must incorporate intelligent information technology to enhance their competitiveness," said Li.
The city has implemented a campaign to "replace human labor with mechanization" and wants to build intelligent factories, digital workshops and undertake robot research and development.
"In terms of high-end industries, we have prioritized seven industries as key areas for growth and they are information, manufacturing, environmental, biomedicine, new energy, new materials and garment making. Only by moving up along the value chain can we achieve more efficient growth," said Li.
In May, Samsung SDI signed a memorandum with the Wuxi government to invest $180 million in the city and build a diffuser plant covering an area of 30 to 40 million square meters. The plant is expected to be put into operation by the end of this year.
In the first half of 2015, the total output of the electronic products industry in the city stood at 89.9 billion yuan, an increase of 5.4 percent on the first half of 2014.
Wuxi Research Institute, a research center built in collaboration with Huazhong University of Science and Technology, has been doing research in areas such as photoelectricity, new material and new energy. It has more than 50 projects contracted by enterprises, creating total value of more than 500 million yuan.
Li said that service has yet to become an integral part of Wuxi's traditional industries. Therefore, the modern service industry has become another focal point of the city's economic blueprint. "In the future, we must transform the enterprises from equipment suppliers to complete solution providers. Services for industries, such as third-party logistics, e-commerce and information, should be further developed. Services for people's livelihood, such as leisure and travel, health, culture and education, should target more specific customers," he said.
Ecological tourism to places of historical interest and in rural areas has been helping Wuxi, Jiangsu province, tackle its water pollution problem, particularly the water quality of Taihu Lake.
"Thanks to efforts over the past five years, the water in Taihu Lake has changed from heavily eutrophic to lightly eutrophic," said Li.
"In the next five years, which is the time span of the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20), we will continue to cut the sources of pollution by shutting down high-polluting enterprises and encouraging high technologies and advanced manufacturing and modern service industry."
(China Daily USA 04/01/2016 page12)
Prudence to help calm South China Sea waters Updated: 2016-04-01 08:10 By Jin Yongming(China Daily USA)
China's refusal to accept the arbitration initiated by the Philippines in the South China Sea issue in 2013 is entirely in accordance with the law. In 2006, China exercised its right under Article 298 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to reject compulsory arbitration on the issue.
Although the ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration on Manila's complaint will be announced later this year, a part of it has been released. And the available content of The Hague-based court's ruling has several flaws.
For one, it falsely judges the ownership of a low-tide elevation according to the UNCLOS' definition, which refers to "a naturally formed area of land which is surrounded by and above water at low tide but submerged at high tide". In contrast, it is international law that decides whether a low-tide elevation can be owned by a relevant coastal country, particularly when it comes to territorial acquisition. Many countries, including China and the Philippines, are yet to reach a consensus on the tidal datum, which plays a vital role in judging the ownership of low-tide elevations in the light of international law, leading to differences over delimitations in the South China Sea.
Therefore, it would be inappropriate and unconvincing for The Hague-based court to make an arbitration tribunal decision before making clear the limitations of the UNCLOS in disputes over low-tide elevations.
It should also be noted that the United States has intensified its security-related intervention in the South China Sea issue, although it doesn't even remotely concern its national security, to push forward its pivot-to-Asia strategy. To strengthen its leadership in the region and fulfill its "defense-oriented" obligations to help allies like Manila, Washington has sought to challenge Beijing's legal construction work on its own islets and reefs.
The US' provocative actions over the past months, including the recent intrusions by its guided-missile destroyers USS Lassen and USS Curtis Wilbur into the waters near a reef and an island of China's in the South China Sea, have resulted in serious frictions between the two countries over regional maritime issues. The US is also likely to hold more joint military drills with some of its Asian allies and bolster its military bases in the region, in the hope of consolidating its foothold in the South China Sea.
In response to Washington's increasing provocations, particularly its warships' "free navigation" in the waters off China's Xisha Islands, Beijing has exercised the utmost restraint to avoid an open conflict.
On the one hand, Beijing has to take a prudent stance on the South China Sea issue, because the baselines of some Nansha islets and reefs remain unclear even though UNCLOS allows reclamation work on its islets and reefs. On the other hand, coastal nations reserve the right to ask foreign ships availing of the "innocent passage" provision to abide by relevant laws and regulations.
Therefore, China and the US should hold more talks, in a bid to reach a consensus on "freedom of navigation" and major security issues. Should they succeed in their endeavor, other coastal countries can use some of the resultant rules to deal with similar disputes.
To better safeguard regional peace and stability, China also needs to work with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to facilitate consultations over the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea. Besides, it should make more efforts to implement the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road Initiative to deepen China-ASEAN cooperation as a counter-measure to the joint efforts of the US and the Philippines to muddle the South China Sea waters.
The author is director of the Ocean Strategy Studies Center at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.
(China Daily USA 04/01/2016 page17)
Clear commitment to global nuclear security Updated: 2016-04-01 08:04 (China Daily)
Nuclear reactors under construction in Sanmen, Zhejiang province.[Photo/Xinhua]
No international initiative on nuclear security can produce a meaningful global solution without full Russian participation.
That is why few anticipate substantial progress at the ongoing Nuclear Security Summit in Washington.
Expectations are also running low because someone else will be leading the United States at future summits when President Barack Obama leaves office.
There has even been speculation that this may well be the last of this Obama-proposed summit series, which he hoped would be part of his legacy.
However, that is precisely why the Washington summit is of particular significance, and why President Xi Jinping's decision to attend makes good sense.
The next US president may or may not prioritize nuclear security. But increasing nuclear risks are a truth the international community cannot afford to underestimate.
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea worried about its survival has responded by threatening other countries with nuclear strikes.
Pyongyang's nuclear threats have prompted calls in the Republic of Korea and Japan for the two countries to develop nuclear capacities. Donald Trump, the front-runner to be the Republican candidate to succeed Obama, has also suggested Washington consider allowing the two allies to obtain US nuclear weapons.
Equally if not more unsettling is the specter of terrorist groups getting their hands on nuclear material that would enable them to make a "dirty bomb". Investigations surrounding the Brussels attacks have raised reasonable suspicion that the Islamic State group, which has already used chemical weapons, is eyeing nuclear facilities and materials. Worryingly, security watchdogs have reported pervasive "basic weaknesses" in the way fissile materials are being preserved across the world.
China has very high stakes on both fronts.
The nuclearization of Northeast Asia would be a substantial security threat to China. And a recent report by the Nuclear Threat Initiative just put our name on a list of countries whose nuclear reactors are vulnerable to cyberattacks.
China would benefit tremendously from international cooperation on nuclear security. At the same time, it has a critical role to play in reducing tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
So Xi and Obama have plenty to discuss and coordinate at the sole bilateral meeting during the summit.
Beyond that, Xi should convey the key message that China is seriously committed to broader international nuclear security cooperation, and he should work closely with the leaders of other countries to make sure the summits continue, even if the next US president refuses to take up the mantle.
Because an operational global nuclear security regime is yet to be achievedand the world urgently needs one.
Xi tells Obama disputes should avoid misunderstandings Updated: 2016-04-01 07:48 By AN BAIJIE in Washington(China Daily USA)
US President Barack Obama and President Xi Jinping take part in a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit on Thursday in Washington. MANDEL NGAN / AFP
China and the United States should handle unresolved disputes in a constructive manner to avoid misunderstandings and escalation in conflicts, President Xi Jinping told US President Barack Obama on Thursday.
China will firmly safeguard its sovereignty and relevant rights over the South China Sea, and it will not accept any activities in the excuse of free navigation that could harm national sovereignty and interests, Xi said.
"I would like to reiterate to work together with the US side to establish a new-type relationship of big powers, achieve the goal of no conflicts or confrontations, respect with each other, cooperate for win-win results, which is the priority of China's foreign policy," he said.
The Chinese president made the remarks while meeting with Obama on Thursday afternoon on the sidelines of the fourth Nuclear Security Summit (NSS).
The 90-minute meeting was the only bilateral meeting that Obama has arranged during the summit.
Xi acknowledged that there are disputes and different views between China and the US in some areas, and both sides should respect each other's major concerns and seek solutions through dialogue.
"I expect to enhance communications with President Obama to focus on cooperation, manage disputes, boost mutual trust and push forward the China-US relationship to continue to develop in a healthy and stable direction," he said.
China would like to enhance communications with the US on regional and global issues such as the nuclear issue of the Korean peninsula, Xi said.
As the world's biggest developing country and developed nation, China and the US have important responsibilities in maintaining world peace and safeguarding stability, and there is large room for the two countries to cooperate, Xi said.
Xi mentioned that the bilateral trade, two-way investment and personnel exchanges between China and the US have reached the highest level during the past few years.
The two countries have carried out effective communications on issues including Iranian nuclear, Syria, Afghanistan, peacekeeping, development and health, showing that there is great potential for the establishment of a new-type big power relationship between China and US, Xi said.
The global economy is experiencing a sluggish period, and all the countries around the world should not stimulate export by currency depreciation, he added.
China and the US should improve the mechanism for boosting military mutual trust, and the two countries should make the issue of cyber security an area for China-US cooperation, Xi said.
The Chinese president also reiterated China's stance on Taiwan, and he called on the US to uphold the One-China policy and maintain the peaceful development of Cross-Straits ties.
Obama expressed concerns over issues including cyber security, human rights, maritime and intellectual property protection. He said he appreciated that Xi has held candid conversations in a constructive manner with him on these disputes.
Obama also expressed wishes for a successful G20 summit to be held in September in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang province.
In a press briefing after the bilateral talk, China's Assistant Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang described the meeting as "positive, constructive and fruitful".
Ted Carpenter, senior fellow of defense and foreign policy at Cato Institute, said there need to be serious discussions about developing some "rules of the road" in the South China Sea. "Only preliminary steps can be taken now, but the current trend toward a dangerously confrontational stance by both countries can be halted and even reversed," he said.
Xi and Obama last met in Washington in September during Xi's state visit to the US. They then met on Nov 30 in Paris at the climate conference. The two presidents also had three phone calls since then. And they also are expected to meet on the margins of the G20 summit in China in September.
China replaced Canada last year as US' top trade partner. The two largest economies have greatly expanded their cooperation in the last few years, such as in military-to-military exchanges, non-proliferation leading to the P5+1 Iran nuclear deal and in Afghanistan in the training of young diplomats.
Chen Weihua in Washington contributed to this story.
Xi to Obama: Disputes should be managed Updated: 2016-04-01 12:40 By An Baijie and Chen Weihua in Washington(China Daily USA)
US President Barack Obama and President Xi Jinping take part in a bilateral meeting during the Nuclear Security Summit on Thursday in Washington. Photos by Andel Ngan / AFP
China and the United States should handle unresolved disputes in a constructive manner to avoid misunderstanding and escalation in conflicts, President Xi Jinping told US President Barack Obama on Thursday.
China will firmly safeguard its sovereignty and relevant rights over the South China Sea, and it will not accept any activities in the excuse of free navigation that could harm national sovereignty and interests, Xi said.
"I would like to reiterate to work together with the US side to establish a new-type relationship of big powers, achieve the goal of no conflicts or confrontations, respect with each other, cooperate for win-win results, which is the priority of China's foreign policy," he said.
The Chinese president made the remarks while meeting with Obama on Thursday afternoon on the sidelines of the fourth Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) in Washington on Thursday and Friday.
The 90-minute meeting was the only bilateral meeting that Obama has arranged during the summit attended by more than 50 heads of state and government. Obama did have a trilateral meeting in the morning with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Republic of Korea President Park Geun-hye.
Xi acknowledged that there are disputes and different views between China and the US in some areas, and both sides should respect each other's major concerns and seek solutions through dialogue.
"I expect to enhance communications with President Obama to focus on cooperation, manage disputes, boost mutual trust and push forward the China-US relationship to continue to develop in a healthy and stable direction," he said.
China would like to enhance communications with the US on regional and global issues such as the nuclear issue of the Korean Peninsula, said Xi, who arrived in Washington on Wednesday evening after a three-day visit to the Czech Republic.
As the world's biggest developing country and developed nation, China and the US have important responsibilities in maintaining world peace and safeguarding stability, and there is large room for the two countries to cooperate, Xi said.
Xi mentioned that the bilateral trade, two-way investment and personnel exchanges between China and the US have reached the highest level during the past few years.
The two countries have carried out effective communications on issues including Iran's nuclear program, Syria, Afghanistan, peacekeeping, development and health, showing that there is great potential for the establishment of a new-type big power relationship between China and US, Xi said.
The global economy is experiencing a sluggish period, and all the countries around the world should not stimulate exports by currency depreciation, he added.
China and the US should improve the mechanism for boosting military mutual trust, and the two countries should make the issue of cybersecurity an area for China-US cooperation, Xi said.
Cyber security was a contentious issue between the two countries for years before Xi's state visit to the US last September, when the two leaders reached a consensus to more effectively tackle the issue.
The Chinese president also reiterated China's stance on Taiwan, and he called on the US to uphold the One-China policy and maintain the peaceful development of Cross-Straits ties.
Obama reiterated that the US welcomes the rise of a peaceful, stable, and prosperous China, working with the US to address global challenges.
He praised the cooperation between the two countries in nuclear security, citing the example of China's new Nuclear Security Center of Excellence, a joint program between the two nations.
"I believe we can deepen our cooperation, including against nuclear smuggling," he said.
Sanzuo (left) and Dahuang, known as "The Zhou Brothers", with their painting in their studio in Chicago.
Painters who arrived in Chicago from Guangxi 30 years ago have drawn large following
The Zhou brothers, Sanzuo and Dahuang, two celebrated artists from Southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region who have been living in Chicago since 1986, have been recognized as a driving force in the city's cultural scene.
"It's one way to be in Chicago, it's another way to open up Chicago to the world, and the world to Chicago," Mayor Rahm Emanuel said at a ceremony honoring them last October.
Sanzuo, 64, and Dahaung, 59, are known as "The Zhou Brothers" because of their long-standing collaboration. They did their first joint painting, The Wave, in 1973 and have worked together on all of their paintings and sculptures ever since.
"We sometimes discuss our concept," said DaHuang. "But we seldom talk when we are working."
"We are two independent individuals working in conflict and harmony," said Sanzuo.
The result is works of art that involve both but are beyond the creativity of either.
When they first came to Chicago from China for an exhibition at the invitation of the East West Contemporary Art Gallery, they arrived with their paintings, $130 in their pockets between them and little to no command of the English language.
"We stopped at a friend's place in Los Angeles for a week, thinking we could learn English first," Sanzuo said with a laugh.
Their cherished ambition was to "conquer the world", as Dahuang wrote in a letter to their mother.
Their journey was not always a smooth one. They didn't sell any paintings at their first show, nor in the first few months, despite some positive media coverage. But they persisted, rejecting friends' advice to change their style to "cater to potential Western buyers".
In order to afford a place of their own where they could live and paint, they sold 10 of the paintings they had brought from China for a total of $1,500 to a gallery and rented an apartment on the South Side of Chicago for $250 a month.
They held their third exhibition less than a year after their arrival, bucking the customary practice of not having more than two shows a year.
It was their breakthrough. The show was held when the Chicago International Art Expo at Navy Pier was in session.
SF museum taps Chinese tourism market Updated: 2016-04-02 01:14 By Lia Zhu in San Francisco(China Daily USA)
Jay Xu, director of the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, introduces an upcoming exhibition, Emperors' Treasures, which is expected to be a major attraction of visitors from China, at a press conference on Thursday at the museum. LIA ZHU / CHINA DAILY
The Asian Art Museum in San Francisco has joined many other tourist attractions and shopping malls by launching a "China Ready" program to tap the growing Chinese tourist market.
The program includes providing Chinese language services, such as Chinese language audio tours or docent services, free visitor guides and apps in Chinese as well as Asian cuisine at the museum's restaurant.
The museum also launched its WeChat channel last month to promote the museum among Chinese.
"We are proud to be the first museum in California to launch an account on the WeChat channel," said Ami Tseng, director of marketing and brand of the Asian Art Museum.
"Right now, we just have information about the museum on WeChat. In the future, we are hoping to incorporate additional services such as audio tours so people can use their phones to learn the key pieces of our collection," she said.
As a major gateway for Chinese visitors to the United States, San Francisco has been receiving a growing number of tourists from China. Chinese visitors to San Francisco spent $813 million in 2015, according to the San Francisco Travel Association.
Tourism marketing agencies, like Visit California and the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board, have launched similar "China Ready" programs to help the tourism industry better serve the Chinese travelers.
At the Asian Art Museum, the Chinese visitors have overtaken French, British and Germany visitors as the largest source of international visitors in the past six months, Tseng said.
Summer is the peak season for Chinese visitors, and the museum is ready to welcome more Chinese tourists with a few rare exhibitions, including the current China at the Center, two 400-year-old maps crafted by European Jesuit missionaries and Chinese scholars in the 17th century, and the upcoming Emperors' Treasures, rare masterpieces collected or created by Chinese emperors, said Jay Xu, director of the Asian Art Museum.
The Emperors' Treasures, on display from June 17 through Sept 18, explore the identities of nine rulers eight emperors and one empress who reigned from the early 12th through early 20th centuries.
It's the first time that more than 100 pieces of the 181 exhibits will be presented in the US on loan from the Palace Museum of Taiwan.
Highlights include a vase from the official Ru ware of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), one of the only two surviving blue-and-white Ming vases depicting West Asian entertainers; the "holy grail" of Chinese porcelains, a cup with a chicken design, and the White Falcon painting by Italian Jesuit Giuseppe Castiglione.
In addition, the celebrated "meat-shaped stone" will travel to the US for the first time. The jasper stone was intricately carved into a mouthwatering shape of a braised pork belly.
"The strong growth of the Chinese tourist market offers a great opportunity. The China Ready program will help inspire more Chinese tourists to visit our museum and share the masterpieces from Asian countries," Xu said.
liazhu@chinadailyusa.com
Film tells of Shanghais Jewish refugees Updated: 2016-04-02 01:29 By NIU YUE in New York(China Daily USA)
Hundreds of people from Queens Chinese and Jewish communities browsed the exhibit. photos by niu Yue / For China Daily
Some stories of history havent been told enough and need to be told again and again.
So said Ambassador Ido Aharoni, consul general of Israel in New York, recalling the shared history between Jews and China at a screening of the documentary Survival in Shanghai at Queens College in New York on Wednesday night.
The documentary produced by Shanghai Media Group (SMG) tells the story of the approximately 25,000 Jews who fled the Holocaust in Nazi Germany during World War II and found safe haven in Shanghai.
Learning about this history has inspired my use of this incredible story as a platform to build bridges between the Jewish and Asian-American communities in New York, said US Congresswoman Grace Meng.
SMG spent eight months producing the film, sending film crews throughout Germany, Austria, Israel and the US interviewing about 40 Shanghai Jewish survivors.
The film was premiered at the Park East Synagogue in New York last November and has been shown on various occasions in New York and Washington.
What we did was to cherish the history for the truth that it was, said Ren Meixing, operations director of SMG News Center, who was also US unit co-producer of the film.
Survival in Shanghai catches up with the present-day lives of the Jewish refugees, most of whom have big families now and feel especially grateful to the people of Shanghai. As one interviewee put it: I am the only child, the only one person who survived. I created all these people.
A photo exhibition featuring the refugees' life in Shanghai was displayed along with the film. The exhibit was presented in six parts: fleeing to Shanghai, refugee life in Shanghai, the Hongkou Ghetto, affectionate neighborhood, leaving Shanghai and unforgettable history.
Palestine assured of China's 'firm support' Updated: 2016-04-01 08:09 By Zhang Yunbi in Ramallah(China Daily)
Vice-Premier Liu Yandong voiced China's firm support for the Palestinian people on Thursday.
China "will support without hesitation" any solution that is conducive to resuming peace talks and achieving peaceful co-existence between Palestine and Israel, Liu said as she met with Palestinian leaders in the West Bank city of Ramallah. She was on the final stop of a trip to Egypt, Israel and Palestine from March 25 to Thursday.
While meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Liu said her visit was meant to further implement the measures proposed by President Xi Jinping in a Middle East policy speech on Jan 21.
In the speech at the Cairo headquarters of the League of Arab States, Xi said that "it is the common responsibility of the international community to safeguard the legitimate national rights and interests of the people of Palestine", adding that "the Palestinian issue should not be marginalized".
Xi urged the world to not only push for resumption of talks and implementation of agreements, but also to adhere to principles and uphold justice.
Abbas said he was honored and delighted by Liu's visit, adding that Palestine appreciates Xi's stance on the Palestine issue and supports achieving peace through talks.
As Liu and Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah watched, representatives of the two governments signed an agreement to help build solar power plants in Palestine.
Wu Bingbing, a professor of Middle East studies at Peking University, said the Thursday meetings and the documents that were signed "display Beijing's renewed attention to the Palestine issue".
Strengthening cooperation is a "pragmatic choice" for improving people's livelihoods in Palestine and "will facilitate the ultimate political settlement of the issue", Wu said.
Liu visited Faisal al-Husseine Basic School for Girls in Ramallah and presented a certificate stating China's plans to donate teaching facilities and supplies to the school.
Liu observed a lesson about China in a ninth-grade classroom.
School Principal Samar Samara said she hoped Liu's visit will boost efforts to build friendly ties between schools in both countries.
zhangyunbi@chinadaily.com.cn
(China Daily 04/01/2016 page3)
Vice-Premier visits girl's school in West Bank Updated: 2016-04-01 10:35 By ZHANG YUNBI in Ramallah(chinadaily.com.cn)
Vice-Premier Liu Yandong visited Faisal Al-Husseine Basic School for Girls in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Thursday of local time.
When she arrived, the students said hello to her in Chinese. Liu observed a lesson about China in a ninth-grade classroom.
"This is the first time for me to enter a campus in Palestine, and I'm very delighted to see the clean campus and the students who are full of vigor and vitality," Liu said.
The Vice-premier said the Palestinian children, like children around the world and those in China, "deserve school desks surrounded by tranquility and they should receive a good education".
"In the upcoming three years, China will enable more Palestinian students to study in China, and China is ready to offer help for unfolding Chinese language teaching in Palestine," Liu said.
"I believe that there will be successors and messengers among you to hand down the friendship between China and Palestine from generation to generation," Liu added.
School Principal Samar Samara said she hoped that Liu's visit will boost bilateral efforts to build friendly ties between schools in both countries.
"Joint efforts are expected to boost the digitalization of teaching and studying in Palestine," Samar said.
Liu was on the final stop of a trip to Egypt, Israel and Palestine from March 25 to March 31.
Vice-premier: China supports solution that facilitate resuming talks Updated: 2016-04-01 10:35 By ZHANG YUNBI in Ramallah(chinadailyl.com.cn)
Vice-Premier Liu Yandong said "China will support without reluctance any solution that is conducive to resuming peace talks and achieving peaceful co-existence between Palestine and Israel."
Liu made the remarks when meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Thursday.
Liu was on the final stop of a trip to Egypt, Israel, and Palestine from March 25 to March 31.
Abbas said, "I'm honored and delighted by Liu's visit, and Palestine appreciates China's long-term precious support and help politically and economically."
Liu voiced China's firm support for the Palestinian people on Thursday and called for enhanced efforts to settle the Palestine issue.
Liu said "this visit was meant to further implement the commitment made by President Xi Jinping in a Middle East policy."
At the speech in the Cairo headquarters of the League of Arab States, Xi said, "it is the common responsibility of the international community to safeguard the legitimate national rights and interests of the people of Palestine. The Palestinian issue should not be marginalized."
Xi urged the world to not only push for resumption of talks and implementation of agreements, but also to obey principles and uphold justice.
"Palestine upholds achieving peace through peace talks", Abbas said.
Vice-premier: China encourages companies to invest in Palestine Updated: 2016-04-01 10:35 By ZHANG YUNBI in Ramallah(chinadaily.com.cn)
China is willing to encourage enterprises with due capacity to invest in Palestine, Vice-Premier Liu Yandong said in a meeting with Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah.
Also, China is ready to share its "successful experience in building special economic zones and various development zones", Liu said in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Thursday.
Hamdallah said: "We hope China plays a key role in promoting peace between Palestine and Israel", and provide further support to Palestine.
Liu was on the final stop of a trip to Egypt, Israel and Palestine from March 25 to Thursday.
As Liu and Hamdallah watched, representatives of the two governments signed an agreement to help build solar power plants in Palestine.
Wu Bingbing, a professor of Middle East studies at Peking University, said the Thursday meetings and the documents that were signed "display Beijing's renewed attention to the Palestine issue".
Strengthening cooperation is a "pragmatic choice" for improving people's livelihoods in Palestine and "will facilitate the ultimate political settlement of the issue", Wu said.
Xi: Talks 'only correct way' for China, ROK Updated: 2016-04-01 12:40 By Hezi Jiang in New York(China Daily USA)
President Xi Jinping (second from right) meets with his Republic of Korea counterpart Park Geun-hye (third from left) during the fourth Nuclear Security Summit in Washington on Thursday. Xinhua
President Xi Jinping called for more dialogue to resolve issues regarding the Korean Peninsula during a meeting with Republic of Korea President Park Geun-hye during the fourth Nuclear Security Summit in Washington on Thursday.
"Dialogue is the only correct way to resolve issues," Xi told Park. "The Chinese side stands ready to make efforts in a constructive way to resume dialogue within the framework of the Six-Party Talks."
President Xi Jinping and ROK President Park Geun-hye agreed to continue advancing their bilateral cooperation in a variety of fields.
Xi said South Korea is a crucial neighbor of China, and the two sides should maintain strategic communication and respect each other on major issues of mutual interest.
Xi invited the ROK to participate in the Belt and Road Initiative and urged both countries to accelerate the process of aligning development strategies by emphasizing cooperation in trade, finance and investment.
To collaborate on every level, Xi emphasized the importance of people-to-people exchanges.
"Let's help each other carry out a successful PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics and Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics," Xi told Park.
Xi said China will also assist ROK in promoting tourism and help facilitate a young leadership conference and other programs that will further strengthen the friendship between their people.
Xi urged China and ROK to keep a close relationship within international communities, such as the United Nations, G20 and APEC, and communicate closely on global issues.
Park said she agrees with Xi that they should maintain close high-level communication, which shows the importance of the relationship.
Park said ROK wants to build a strong trust with China, and as Xi said, enhance collaborations on every level and in all fields.
As the economy globalizes, Park said it becomes more important for China and ROK to strengthen trade cooperation, implement a free trade agreement and link ROK's Eurasia Initiative with China's Belt and Road Initiative.
ROK fully supports people-to-people exchanges and will join hands with China to host the Winter Olympics, said Park.
hezijiang@chinadailyusa.com
YEREVAN, APRIL 1, ARMENPRESS: President Serzh Sargsyan, who is on a working visit in the U.S, arrived to Washington from Boston on March 31, where he met with US Vice President Joe Biden in the White House. Previously, they met a year ago, on May 7, 2015 in the National Cathedral in Washington during a prayer dedicated to the Armenian Genocide victims.
As "Armenpress" was informed by the Department of Public Relations and Mass Media of the Presidential Office, the sides stressed that since the Armenian independence, the United States-Armenia relations are rapidly developing by mutual political efforts, and noted with satisfaction that currently the bilateral relations include various fields, such as, political, economical, humanitarian, security, and that every year new achievements are registered.
By President Serzh Sargsyans assessment, the Armenian-American partnership is currently on the highest level in the history through joint efforts, which is evidenced by the visits of different levels of recent years. The President praised the United States' contribution to the economic development and implementation of reforms in various fields of Armenia.
Serzh Sargsyan stressed the importance of the US role in regional security and stability, especially the active involvement of the US in the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.
In addition to the bilateral relations, the sides discussed the regional situation in the South Caucasus, international problems and challenges. In this context, the sides exchanged views on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement within the OSCE Minsk Group process and developments in the Middle East.
The President noted that the Armenian side relies on the international community and especially the CO-chairing countries to sober up Azerbaijan, take practical steps.
The President expressed his appreciation to the US Congressmen, for the attention and active efforts towards the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. According to the President, steps taken by the Congressmen can be exemplary for parliamentarians of other countries.
Serzh Sargsyan noted that Armenia is extremely concerned about the activities of terrorist groups in the immediate neighborhood and strongly condemns it. The President noted with regret that as a result of the ongoing atrocities many Armenians living in Syria and Iraq are becoming refugees and are being killed, centuries-old spiritual and cultural heritage of the region is being destroyed.
Vice President Biden highly assessed Armenia's efforts in sheltering large numbers of refugees from Syria and creating favorable conditions for their well-being.
The sides expressed hope that effective mechanisms will be implemented to solve the problems of minorities in the Middle East, promoting the return of Christian communities and protection of their centuries-old culture and heritage. Serzh Sargsyan and Joseph Biden also expressed confidence that by combining efforts it will be possible to confront current challenges.
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YEREVAN, APRIL 1, ARMENPRESS. Syrian Armenian Viken Ketikian was a designer-architect but 4 years ago the war in Syria forced him to move to Armenia with his family. Here he has opened a small shop. Vikens mother and father live with him in Yerevan but her wife with their children is in Ukraine now.
-Periodically I visit Syria. Damascus is relatively calm and the city has not been destroyed, but, of course, I have suffered economic losses, Ketikian told during the interview. He mentioned that his wife and children will soon move to Yerevan. His son was 3 years old when they left Syria, now he speaks Russian and Ukrainian, a little Armenian and studies English and French at school. Viken says that if he returns to Syria he will have hardships as he has forgotten the Arabic language. Viken tells that his wifes father, who was also from Syria, met his future wife in Syria in 1980s, but later returned to Syria.
I visited them in Ukraine for 5-6 times during the last two years but despite Ukraine is in difficult period, I could not feel such harsh conditions as in Syria. You are not afraid of stepping on a mine in Kiev, Ketikian mentioned.
In Syria Ketikian had a construction company. In a warring country people will hardly think about building something or renovating. If war comes to an end, I think my business will again flourish there, he said hopefully. But he also mentioned that in Armenia he cannot do the same business so freely, as business was larger in Syria. Language barriers also impede: Russian words are more common in that sphere in Armenia, but he already fills the gap.
It is already 3-4 months he imports Syrian cotton clothing, and at the same time continues to receive online designing request from abroad. He has noted that the Armenian market lacks quality clothing and the majority of the goods are imported from Turkey. He hopes that this business will progress, Armenia will remain in peace and they will not be forced to move to Ukraine or any other country.
My grandfathers fled to Syria after the incidents of 1915 and now we are forced to leave our home. We would not wish our grandchildren to have the same fate after years, Viken says. His father who is a jeweler also want to stay in Armenia very much.
Some Syrian Armenians encountered difficulties in Yerevan, but our hero does not complain. He only mentions that there are difficulties with customs clearance fees which are quite high in Armenia, unlike in Syria or other countries. Viken mentions that there were difficulties regarding that issue in winter, but he hopes it will improve in summer. Up till now we have suffered losses, time is required to empower and we spare no efforts. When my business becomes stable, I think I will launch construction activities in Armenia as well, Viken said optimistically. He also added that they have been treated very well in Yerevan since the first day, only sometimes happens so that Western Armenian is understood with difficulties.
YEREVAN, APRIL 1, ARMENPRESS: Ambassador of Argentina to Armenia Gonzalo Urriolabeitia is satisfied with the bilateral relations. The Ambassador stressed that the two peoples have very good relationship, which is not less important. The newly opened Center of Argentine Culture in Armenia will also deepen bilateral ties. The Ambassador presented upcoming programs and the bilateral relations in an interview with Armenpress".
- Mr. Ambassador, how do you assess the Armenian-Argentine relations?
High level political dialogue is present between the two countries. The peoples of the countries have very good relations. Economic relations are on a very good level, taking into consideration the investment policy. But, nevertheless, as much as I am pleased, I think that there is constant work to do. We have achievements in the economic field, the commercial sphere has significantly developed, but there is still work to do.
-What is the cooperation like in the field of education? Is there great interest towards the language?
-I've noticed that interest towards Spanish is very big. Last year I attended an event at the Faculty of Romano-Germanic Languages of YSU, and I was amazed at the large number of people who spoke Spanish. Even a supermarket cashier spoke Spanish, which, of course, is surprising. As to whether there is interest in study in Argentina, I have to note that works should be done. Education in Argentina is completely free of charge; there is really a lot of work to do in order to keep growing the interest.
-What are the upcoming projects of the newly founded Center of Argentine Culture in Armenia?
-The center, so to speak, will be multifunctional, because it will present various cultural directions. We signed an agreement with the Argentine Film Institute, which will enable the center to screen the Argentine films. On the other hand, the center will be aimed at the organization of workshops, which will focus on both the Argentine history and the Armenian-Argentine relations. Meetings with Argentine-Armenians will take place through the Center and the Embassy. We are planning to donate computers to children of Tavush province in April, through the Nur program. Major events are planned at the Cultural Center. Poetry-related events and also tango classes will be organized.
The water flow running into the reservoirs in the region was too low, affecting electricity production in the region and irrigation. Photo tienphong
GIA LAI (VNS) Gia Lai Electricity Joint Stock Company said four out of 14 hydroelectric plants under its management have stopped generating electricity because the water levels in several reservoirs are at dead levels, which means plants cannot operate.
The plants forced to halt production are Ia rang 1, Ia Lop, Ia Puch 3 and Ia Meur 3.
Other plants have had to cut production, running between two and three hours a day.
According to the Gia Lai Electricity Joint Stock Company, the company will examine and repair equipment with the plants are out of operation.
The company will also focus on dredging canals and spillways.
The water flow running into the reservoirs in the region was too low, affecting electricity production in the region and irrigation.
Most of the reservoirs have water levels five metres below the average volume in previous years. Some of them have been depleted, causing difficulties for the plants.
The plants have produced between 30 and 64 per cent of the electricity they produced in the same period last year.
Meanwhile, a report from the National Electricity Moderation Centre showed that 15 out of 51 plants left the competitive power generation market as of March 11. Hydropower plants have to prioritise to provide water for agricultural production and peoples lives in downstream areas.
Dozens of hydroelectric plants in the Central and Central Highlands regions, including those with large capacities such as Ham Thuan and Buon Tua Srah, have been running in moderation or have stopped generating electricity due to the drought.
The existing drought in the Central Highlands is expected to continue until June this year, so power generation will decrease even more as the water shortage continues. VNS
Workers process tra fillets for export at Go ang Joint Stock Company in the My Tho Industrial Park in Tien Giang Province. Viet Nam has a number of international free trade agreements, including TPP and the ASEAN Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. - VNA/VNS Photo Vu Sinh
HCM CITY (VNS) Economists have urged authorities in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta to create a start-up environment and encourage business incubations to take full advantage of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) and Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
At a conference held Wednesday in Can Tho, organised by the Can Tho branch of the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), local authorities, economists and members of the business community discussed the economic impact of the new agreements on the region.
Participants suggested changes to macro-economic policy that would be more in line with the AEC and free trade agreements.
They noted that although enterprises would have more opportunities to expand their markets and enhance competitiveness, they would also face tougher competition.
Speaking at the conference, Vo Hung Dung, director of VCCI Can Tho, said the region should transform its economic and labour structure.
Vo Thanh Thong, chairman of the Can Tho Peoples Committee, urged the local business community to improve linkages to take advantage of opportunities.
Viet Nam has concluded a number of free trade agreements, including TPP, ASEAN Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)+6, EU, South Korea, Russia-Belarus-Kazakhstan and EFTA (4 Central and Northern European countries).
Most speakers agreed that without the correct strategy in a more liberalised international trade environment, Vietnamese businesses may face defeat on their home field.
Vo Hung Dung, director of VCCI Can Tho, noted that Mekong Delta was a major economic region making up 19.5 per cent of Viet Nams population, and a dynamic hub for exporting rice, aqua-products, fruits and vegetables.
The Delta has 51,000 businesses with annual export value of some US$11.5 billion.
Vo Tri Thanh, deputy director of Central Institute of Economic Management, said the FTAs would open up huge opportunities, especially for agricultural and aqua production.
The trade agreements would cut tax rates to zero per cent, thereby reducing production costs and increasing competitiveness.
However, Thanh warned that the agricultural sector must change production methods, restructure and shift to large-scale and chain production, promote green growth and safe food, and better market their brands.
Economist Le ang Doanh said businesses must grasp opportunities to expand export markets as tax rates would be lower and imports would have more favourable access.
He said such sectors as garment, footwear, bags, electronics, wood-based products, which are based on low-cost production and skills, could expand exports to the EU and under the TPP. But there will be competition among AEC members.
Local businesses must develop linkages and value chains to meet standards and demands of specific markets like Japan, South Korea, the US and Europe, he added.
They should also improve key human resources and invest in e-commerce.
Experts also called on businesses in the region to increase added value of their products, develop new products and markets, and diversify brands.
Local authorities in the Delta were urged to improve the business environment, and continue to keep abreast of information on macro-economic policy and trade agreements. They were also told to be transparent in providing information.
The Mekong Delta is home to over 53,000 enterprises, with 40 per cent operating in trade, 20 per cent in industry, nearly 14 per cent in construction, and 7 per cent in the agricultural and seafood sectors. VNS
Officials say HCM Citys wholesale markets need storage facilities where they can store unhygienic foods that have been sent for testing. VNA/VNS Photo Vu Sinh
HCM CITY (VNS) A deputy chief of the HCM City Food Safety and Hygiene Division has called for setting up an independent food safety agency under the city administration with authority to investigate and heavily penalise violators.
Nguyen Thi Huynh Mai, speaking on the sidelines of a forum titled consumers and their health fears in HCM City yesterday (March 31), told the media that food safety and hygiene is currently managed by three different departments -- health, agriculture and rural development, and industry and trade.
There are shortcomings in the co-ordination between the three.
Each agency has its own regulations, and they often overlap, but not the authority to punish offenders, she said.
An independent agency will resolve these shortcomings. It is very important to have the authority to punish violators.
The experience of countries like the US, Korea and Thailand should be studied to set up the independent agency, which in these countries manages the issue effectively, she said.
Facilities needed
Mai called for setting up laboratories with modern equipment in the city for quick testing of food.
She also said the citys wholesale markets need storage facilities to keep unhygienic foods that have been sent for testing
Under existing regulations, authorities cannot seize foods until tests are complete, but by the time the results are available the dubious products are already sold, she explained.
It is very difficult to seize foods.
Authorities are also unable to regulate food sold at illegal markets to workers at industrial and export processing zones, she said.
Mai said the city saw the number of cases of food poisoning decrease from eight in 2011 to six last year, and the number of people affected from 850 to 268.
Nguyen Hoang Dung, director of research and development at the city Institute for Economics and Management, said though relevant agencies have set up hotlines to receive public complaints, such complaints are not acted on.
This causes people to lose trust, and they would stop complaining about problems related to food safety and hygiene including fake products, he warned.
The Government should treat [food-safety] violations as a crime because they can destroy health. Severe punishment should be imposed.
A representative of the city Consumer Association said though a law on protecting consumers rights has been enacted, there is no dedicated agency to enforce it.
Nguyen Thanh Danh, deputy head of the Binh Duong Province Market Management Department, said violators are mostly small producers like household-based establishments.
They do not know that the additives they put in food are banned, and they just continue with their parents practices, he said.
Educating them is very important, he added. VNS
Workers collect solid waste in Cham Island, 20km off the coast of Hoi An. The island will launch its garbage treatment furnace with a capacity of three tonnes every day from this weekend. Photo culaochammpa.com.vn
HOI AN The Cham Island, 20km off the coast of Hoi An, will launch its garbage treatment furnace with a capacity of three tonnes every day from this weekend.
An official from the island communes peoples committee, Tran Quy Tay, confirmed to Viet Nam News that the furnace, which was donated by Green Fields Development Investment Joint-stock Company, could help the island to deal with the garbage released daily by tourists and local islanders.
Tay said it is the first waste treatment project with updated technology installed at the island.
He said the garbage released daily is often either buried or converted into compost, while solid waste is burnt.
He said manual treatment results in air pollution or there is a risk of forest fire.
Around 3,000 inhabitants of Cham Island and tourists release three tonnes of garbage each day.
The island is the first location in Viet Nam which has successfully applied its non-use plastic bags and the 3-R (reduce, reuse and recycle) programmes since 2011.
The islands management also has grown 4,800 colonies of coral on an area of 4,000sq.m since 2012, and the island is home to 1.26sq.km of coral reefs.
Cham Island, which was recognised as a world biosphere reserve by UNESCO in 2009, started using fresh water in 2013, and expects to connect with power later this year.
It hosts around 100,000 tourists annually, 10 per cent of whom are foreigners.
The islands administration offers top priorities for environmentally friendly technology solutions such as wind power and solar energy.
Last year, 350,000 tourists visited the Island. VNS
a Nang City: The beauty of Han River by night. Photo mytour.vn
HA NOI Overseas Vietnamese and all those living in Viet Nam, including foreigners, are invited to enter a photo competition. The contest theme is "Vietnamese Rivers". The contest is open until June 20.
Works submitted should reflect one of these three themes: Vietnamese rivers, history and culture; Vietnamese rivers during the cause of oi moi (Renewal) and economic development of the country; and Vietnamese rivers facing challenges from global climate change.
Amateur and professional photographers can submit entries in three categories single photo, collection and reportage.
The contest honours the role of rivers in the development of the nations history, while recognizing the process of trade and cultural exchange between Viet Nam and foreign countries.
Photographing Vietnamese rivers offers an opportunity for members of the public to assess the direct impact of climate change on Vietnamese rivers. This will raise public awareness of the importance of protecting the environment.
The competition is a joint project of the Viet Nam Inland Waterways Administration, the Department of Cultural Heritage, and the Viet Nam Association of Photographic Artists.
Excellent photos will be selected for display at an exhibition at Van Mieu (Temple of Literature). The exhibition is scheduled to run from June 28 through to July 2. -- VNS
WASHINGTON Boosting Europes shaky ability to thwart jihadist attacks will be the focus at a nuclear security summit hosted by President Barack Obama in Washington Friday, amid concerns the Islamic State group is trying to get a "dirty bomb."
The White House is worried that attacks in Paris and Brussels have exposed.
The inability of European intelligence agencies to deal with fighters returning from the Middle East.
On Thursday Obama spoke of the need to increase trans-Atlantic co-operation aimed at "rooting out foreign fighters, identifying potential attacks, cutting off financing."
Fears of attack were given a nuclear edge with the discovery of 10 hours of surveillance footage recorded by Islamic State operatives of a senior Belgian nuclear scientist.
"We have had good progress in ramping up airstrikes and pressure on ISIL in Iraq and Syria," Obama foreign policy advisor Ben Rhodes said, using an alternate acronym for the IS group.
"We also believe its critically important that were working to disrupt plots, given ISIL efforts to move to more external plotting in Europe and other parts of the world."
"I think a focal point of the discussion tomorrow is going to be on what are we doing around intelligence and information sharing? How can we make sure that thats happening as fast as possible?
How can we make sure that we are aligning our respective protocols, so that were able to better monitor foreign fighters who may be leaving Iraq and Syria, and trying to come not just to
The summit opened on Thursday with Obama trying to forge consensus among East Asian leaders on how to respond to Pyongyangs recent nuclear and missile tests, which he said "escalate tensions" in the region.
This is the fourth in a series of nuclear security summits convened at Obamas behest. With Obama leaving office next year, it may well be the last.
But it risked being overshadowed by two men who were not even there: Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Experts say Putins refusal to attend has made substantive reductions in fissile material -- the vast majority of which is held by the militaries of Russia and the United States -- or make leaps on safeguards almost impossible.
"This nuclear security summit is supposed to address all of the (fissile) stocks, but truth is that all they address really is a small proportion of civilian stocks," Patricia Lewis, international security research director at British think tank Chatham House said. AFP.
The National Assembly (NA) agreed to relieve Truong Tan Sang of the Presidency by secret ballot yesterday afternoon. Photo VNA
HA NOI (VNS) The National Assembly (NA) agreed to relieve Truong Tan Sang of the Presidency by secret ballot yesterday afternoon. Out of 473 valid votes, 447 - or 90.49 percent of all NA deputies - agreed to let him leave office. 458 of the 459 lawmakers casting votes - 92.71 percent of all deputies - approved a resolution dismissing him from the State leader position.
The resolution is valid after a new President is elected.
At the plenum, General Tran ai Quang, a Politburo member and the Minister of Public Security, was nominated for the Presidency. Quang was born on October 12, 1956 and currently serves as a NA deputy.
The new President will be elected by secret ballot tomorrow.
The National Assembly deputies also continued their plenary session in Ha Noai yesterday.
Newly-elected NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan was sworn in. The top legislator reported on nominations for the Presidential post. Legislators divided up into groups to discuss a list of promising candidates for the position of President.
As scheduled, today the NA will discuss the outcomes of the 2011-2015 socioeconomic development tasks, socioeconomic development, and land use plans for 2016-2020. The meeting will be broadcast live nationwide. VNS
Foreign Ministry Deputy Spokeswoman Pham Thu Hang. Photo VNA
HA NOI (VNS) Foreign Ministry Deputy Spokeswoman Pham Thu Hang answered questions regarding citizen protection abroad during a regular press conference in Ha Noi yesterday.
On Chinas recent arrest of 108 Vietnamese workers for illegal immigration, Hang said upon learning about the news, the Vietnamese Consulate General in Nanning contacted and sent a diplomatic note to authorities of Chinas Guangxi province, as part of citizen protection procedures.
According to the Consulate General, the workers are being detained in Ping Xiang, Guangxi for investigation and are healthy and under humane treatment.
After screening and finding the mastermind, they will be deported and handed over to Vietnamese authorities.
The Consulate General is actively working with Chinese authorities to track the case, she said.
Regarding Malaysias arrest of 25 Vietnamese crewmen for suspected illegal fishing, Hang said the Foreign Ministry and the Vietnamese embassy in Malaysia are working with host authorities to verify the fishermens identities and related information, while conducting necessary citizen protection paperwork.
On Chinese Taiwans March 23 arrest of two suspects who intentionally caused injuries leading to the death of Vietnamese businesswoman Ha Linh there, Hang said the Taiwanese police informed the Vietnamese side about the case on Wednesday.
The case is being investigated and regularly updated to Vietnamese relevant agencies, she said.
On the occasion, she also expressed appreciation for Taiwans efforts to deal with the case.
Another case involving Nguyen Thanh Ngoc Tuyet who was caught in Penang airport, Malaysia on June 26, 2013 and recently sentenced to 20 years in prison for drug trafficking, Hang said the Vietnamese embassy in Malaysia is co-ordinating with host authorities to protect her interests and rights.
Domestic agencies and senior leaders are paying attention to the case and in discussion with Malaysian counterparts.
Answering questions about Australias March 27 seizure of two Vietnamese vessels, with 29 fishermen aboard, for crossing into Australias waters, Hang said the Vietnamese embassy in Australia has sent diplomatic notes to the Australian Foreign Ministrys Consular Department, the Department of Immigration and Border Protection and the Fisheries Management Authority, creating the best possible conditions to offer necessary citizen protection for the arrestees. VNS
YEREVAN, APRIL 1, ARMENPRESS. UN Secretary General Ban ki-Moon is scheduled to visit Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan in the end of April. As Armenpress reports, TASS was informed by the Press Service of the UN.
I cannot precisely note any dates, but the visits will take place after the signing of the Paris agreement on Climate (April 22), noted the representative of the agency.
Spokesman of Ban ki-Moon Stephane Dujarric did not confirm on March 31 the scheduled visits, but neither did he decline. We cannot confirm this, but I hope that soon we will have information, he noted, answering to TASS.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh held talks with US Secretary of State John Kerry in Washington, DC on March 31. VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Tuan
Washington, DC (VNS) Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh held talks with US Secretary of State John Kerry in Washington, DC on March 31 to discuss measures to strengthen the two countries comprehensive partnership and prepare for President Barack Obamas visit to Viet Nam.
Minh affirmed that Viet Nam attaches great significance to its co-operation with the US, and appreciated both countries efforts to realise the agreements reached by their leaders.
Vietnamese leaders welcomed the upcoming visit by President Obama, he stated, suggesting that the two countries prepare well and intensify exchanges in order to reach specific agreements during this visit.
Kerry said he hopes the two countries will step up collaboration to deepen their comprehensive partnership in strategic areas, including economy, trade, investment, education, climate change response, science and technology.
He said they should aim for the early establishment of mechanisms to intensify people-to-people exchanges, including an agreement related to the Peace Corps teaching of the English language in Viet Nam.
The US indicated it will continue efforts to support Viet Nam in addressing war consequences, particularly detoxifying dioxin-contaminated areas, and in improving the capacity of law enforcement and marine police forces.
Kerry referenced the negative impacts of climate change that Viet Nam and other countries in the region are suffering from, confirming that the US will carry out more specific measures to help Viet Nam deal with drought and saltwater intrusion.
Referring to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), he said the Obama administration appreciates Viet Nams efforts in how it worked with other countries to conclude negotiations on the deal, affirming that the US is now canvassing the Parliament to approve the agreement in 2016.
The US will continue efforts to accelerate recognition of Viet Nam as a market economy, and provide technical assistance to the nation during its implementation of the TPP, Kerry added.
At the talks, the two sides also exchanged opinions on regional and international situations, including the East Sea issue.
The US affirmed that it backs efforts to ensure maritime security and safety, and that disputes should be handled through legal processes and by peaceful means on the basis of international law.
On Wednesday, Minh received leaders from the Boeing company and the Asian Coast Development Ltd (ACDL), during which he pledged to continue facilitating operations of foreign enterprises in Viet Nam.
He asked Boeing to provide continued technical assistance to help Viet Nam gain a Category 1 rating in aviation safety as soon as possible, as it will allow the country to establish a direct air route to the US.
Minh is in the US to attend the fourth Nuclear Security Summit. VNS
Authorities of Quang Ngai Province have asked the Government to suspend operations of a hydropower plant worth trillions of ong for illegal deforestation. Photo nld.vn
QUANG NGAI (VNS) Authorities of Quang Ngai Province have asked the Government to suspend operations of a hydropower plant worth trillions of ong for illegal deforestation.
The ak Re hydropower plant, funded by Thien Tan Co., was granted a construction permit on February 2 this yeas.
The VN2.3-trillion (US$102.2 million) project planned to cover an area of 176 ha over Kon Tum and Quang Ngai provinces, but the investor illegally chopped down and damaged a massive area of forest stretching nearly 11,000 sq.m, according to a report by the Quang Ngai Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DoARD).
The affected zone overlapped with a DoARD forest recovery project in Ba To District.
Ba To Western Forest Management Board Director Nguyen Trong said the power plants workers destroyed the trees without permission from local authorities.
Thien Tan so far managed to build a road of about 700m into the forest to the construction site. It chopped down about 1,580 Erythrophleum fordii and Senna siamea trees.
The municipal Peoples Committee asked the company to suspend construction immediately until the authorities finished their assessment on the damage caused by the investor. VNS
Authorities dismantled a bomb in southern Bac Lieu province.Viet Nam needs at least 100 years and over US$10 billion to clear all the bombs and mines left from the wars.VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Liem
HA NOI Viet Nam needs at least 100 years and over US$10 billion to clear all the bombs and mines left from the wars, according to the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs.
The figure does not include the billions of US dollars needed for resettlement and ensuring social security in contaminated areas.
An estimated 800,000 tonnes of unexploded bombs and mines leftover from wartime are buried over 20 per cent of the countrys territory, said Deputy Chief of the ministrys Secretariat Luu Hong Son at a World Day of Bomb and Mine Prevention planning meeting.
The US army used more than 15 million tonnes of bombs and mines in the war in Viet Nam from 1945 to 1975, four times the amount used in World War 2.
Leftover wartime bombs and mines have killed about 42,130 people and injured 62,160 others in the country.
The aftermath of bombs and mines leftover from the wars has affected socioeconomic development and had severe consequences on peoples lives, he said.
Thanks to the efforts of the relevant ministries, agencies, and society as a whole - as well as to the co-operation and assistance of international friends and donors - Viet Nam has achieved much in overcoming the consequences of bombs and mines. Tens of thousands of hectares of land have been decontaminated. Viet Nam has completed the zoning of contaminated areas. But much remains to be done, he said.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, head of the State Steering Committee for the National Mine Action Programme, agreed to establish the Mine Action Partnership Group (MAPG). The MAPG aims to call on donors and international sponsors to implement an effective cleanup programme. VNS
HCM CITY German company GIZ and the General Directorate of Energy yesterday hosted a consultation workshop for the National Biomass Energy Development and Utilization Planning.
The workshop was facilitated by the Ministry of Industry and Trade/GIZ Energy Support Programme under the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (4E) project to help Viet Nam utilise this source of energy to meet the objectives set in its Renewable Energy Development Strategy.
The 4E project is implemented by GIZ on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Co-operation and Development, and co-funded by the United States Agency for International Development and the Czech Government.
The workshop targeted relevant ministries including those of industry and trade, planning and investment, agriculture and rural development, natural resources and environment, and provincial agencies.
It aimed to gather opinions from participants to finalise the National Biomass Planning Study report and improve methodologies on biomass planning.
The study will be a document guiding policy makers and managers to assess the development potential, current exploration and utilisation status of biomass for power generation, economic and ecological benefits for converting crude resources into end-use energy and compatibility with national socio-economic development to draw up a roadmap for the exploration and utilisation of biomass effectively and sustainably.
According to Nguyen uc Cuong, a representative of the Institute of Energy, Viet Nams electricity demand has increased by 13 per cent a year for the past 10 years.
He forecast the demand to quadruple in 15 years due to the countrys rapid industrialisation.
Viet Nam has huge potential for biomass power generation from straw, rice husk, bagasse, coffee husk, peanut shell, sawdust, waste from coconut trees, and others, which are available almost in every province, he added.
If utilised effectively, biomass energy will not only reduce dependence on traditional energies, reduce carbon emissions and environmental pollution but also benefit biomass producers and farmers who sell residues and agricultural and forestry by-products.
The Institute of Energy also named 25 provinces and cities that are expected to be studied this month to utilise biomass.
GIZ supports the German Government in achieving its objectives in the field of international co-operation for sustainable development. -- VNS
Thien Ma 2 Seafood Processing Plant. Thien Ma Seafood Import-Export Company Director Phan Ba Tong has been arrested for causing financial losses amounting to millions of American dollars. Phototienphong.vn
CAN THO (VNS) Police yesterday arrested Director of Can Tho City-based Thien Ma Seafood Import-Export Company Phan Ba Tong for alleged economic violations that caused losses worth about VN700 billion (US$31.4 million).
Police also searched Tongs house and office in the districts of O Mon and Ninh Kieu on the same day. Initial investigation shows that Tongs alleged crimes involve banks in the southern Hau Giang and Can Tho.
Tong is known as a successful businessman in the seafood industry, particularly in tra fish processing and export.
His company was established in 2005 with a charter capital of VN70 billion ($3.14 million) and soon expanded with investment of hundreds of Vietnamese ong to build three processing plants that had thousands of workers and 12 aquaculture farms. Its said that he borrowed most of the investment from banks.
Late in 2012, Tong claimed that he was unable to repay almost VN600 billion of the debt he owed to banks. VNS
makers, including ITC and Godfrey Phillips, have halted production, to protest a new rule on pictorial health warning. This is resulting in an estimated loss of Rs 350 crore per day.
"Members of the Tobacco Institute of India (TII) that account for more than 98 per cent of the country's domestic sales of duty-paid cigarettes in India, have unanimously decided to shut all their factories from April 1 (Friday). Owing to ambiguity in the policy related to the revision of graphic health warnings on tobacco product packs, the members are unable to continue manufacturing cigarettes," TII said.
Read more from our special coverage on "CIGARETTE" Indian cigarette factories halted over health warning rules
TII is a representative body of farmers, manufacturers, exporters, and ancillaries of the cigarettes' segment of the tobacco sector.
The sector said the move would affect at least 60 per cent of the 450 million people who are daily-wage earners and will be put out of business as production halts in factories.
TII said the '85 per cent of packaging surface' pictorial health warnings would promote illegal trade in the country.
The health ministry had issued a notification on September 24, 2015, prescribing larger pictorial warnings on tobacco products under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Amendment Rules, 2014, which comes into force from April 1. Currently, pictorial warnings are at 40 per cent of packaging surface.
The ministry had also made a commitment in the Rajasthan high court on March 28 that all tobacco products made April 1 onwards would carry larger pictorial health warnings.
Though the government had proposed increasing pictorial warnings to 85 per cent of packaging surface, a parliamentary panel had suggested 50 per cent, which resulted in a stir among health experts and non-government organisations (NGOs).
Cigarette manufacturers say larger pictorial warnings would not reduce consumption but only work against the domestic sector.
"Cigarettes smuggled into the country hardly have graphical warnings. In some, there is hardly any picture and only a statutory warning appears," a sector official said, adding that if domestic production halts, consumption of these illegally imported cancer sticks would increase, resulting in revenue loss for the sector and the government.
Illegal cigarettes come mainly from Indonesia, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh and South American countries.
"Consumers may think that packs with smaller warnings may be safer," a cigarette manufacturer said. The share of legal cigarettes in overall tobacco consumption has declined from 21 per cent in 1981-82 to 11 per cent in 2014-15, even though overall tobacco consumption increased in India, a source said.
Data suggest that illicit trade results in an annual revenue loss of Rs 9,000 crore to the national exchequer.
The TII has said tobacco control policies in India appear directed by NGOs and anti-tobacco activists funded by foreign vested interests.
"The top five tobacco producing countries, which account for 90 per cent of the global tobacco production have an average warning size of 20 per cent", a cigarette maker said..
With the total annual cigarette production pegged at 300 million tonne (mt), a day's loss would result in a loss of less than a million tonne. "Cigarettes comprises of 11 per cent of the total tobacco variants consumed in India but value-wise it is a major revenue contributor," an source said.
The environment for cigarette makers had become increasingly challenging with steep taxation.
In the last three and a half years, the incidence of excise duty and VAT on cigarettes at a per unit level had gone up 98 per cent and 124 per cent respectively which is impacting volumes. Larger pictorial warnings would further exert pressure.
YEREVAN, APRIL 1, ARMENPRESS. A diverse group of Armenians, Kurds, Greeks, Cypriots, Yezidis, human rights groups and even various opposition Turkish political factions protested Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogans repression at home and aggression abroad in a heated demonstration which forced the closure of one of Washington, DCs busiest streets for over an hour, Armenpress was informed from the official website of ANCA.
Holding banners calling out Turkeys ongoing Armenian genocide denial, crackdown on the countrys Kurdish community, and support for ISIS forces in Syria protesters spotlighted Turkeys democratic decline under President Erdogans rule, a view gaining increased support in Washingtons political circles in the days leading up to his U.S. visit. Among the protesters chants was: Long live Kurdistan; long live Armenia.
Pro-Turkish government counter-protesters wearing We love Erdogan T-shirts and holding We Heart Erdogan signs chanted their praise for the dictator. Erdogan security personnel were seen attacking protesters and needed to be subdued by Washington DC police. At least one Turkish reporter was pushed and another forced to the ground and beaten by Erdogans security team. Another reporter was forced out of Brookings Institution venue, prior to Erdogans arrival. Turkish journalists tweeted the surreal circumstances of the protest throughout.
The National Press Club (NPC) was quick to condemn the press crackdown, with NPC President Thomas Burr stating that the Turkish leaders team have no right to lay their hands on reporters or protesters or anyone else for that matter, when the people they were apparently roughing up seemed to be merely doing their jobs or exercising the rights they have in this country.
The ANCA Eastern Regions Armen Sahakyan commented that We were pleased that so many Washington area Armenians joined today with our Kurdish and Greek friends and our allies in the human rights community in a strong show of solidarity against Recep Erdogans repression at home and aggression abroad. While it was encouraging to see such powerful American civil society opposition to Turkeys increasingly violent rule, it was, at the same, deeply troubling to witness Erdogans security detail attacking journalists, effectively exporting Turkeys intolerance to the U.S. capital.
President Erdogan is one of 50 world leaders in Washington, DC this week, attending the nuclear energy summit.
Despite a marginal recovery in late trades benchmark share indices ended the first trading day of fiscal 2017 on weak note, amid weak global cues, with IT shares leading the decline.
The S&P BSE Sensex ended down 72 points at 25,270 while the Nifty50 slipped 25 points to settle at 7,113.
In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap gained 0.2% and Smallcap index ended nearly 1% higher. Market breadth ended strong with 1707 gainers and 830 losers on the BSE.
"Global cues remained weak with mixed macro economic data especially from Japan and China while caution was also seen ahead of US jobs data today. Further, are awaiting the quantum of rate cut by the RBI and the commentary by the RBI Governor thereof," said Mayuresh Joshi, Fund Manager, Angel Broking.
Growth of eight core sector industries surged to a 15-month high of 5.7% in February 2016, almost double the 2.9% of January 2016. These industries had expanded by 2.3% in February 2015. Official data issued on Thursday showed only one segment, steel, had a fall in February output against three crude oil, natural gas and steel in January.
Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in equities worth Rs 4,057 crore on Thursday, as per provisional stock exchange data.
SECTORS & STOCKS
BSE IT, Oil & Gas indices were among the top losers while Realty was the top gainers up over 2% followed by Capital Goods and FMCG indices among others.
Capital goods shares were among the top gainers on the back of robust core sector growth in February. L&T was up 1.8% while state-owned engineering major BHEL gained 2.2%. Further, Deutsche Bank has raised BHEL's outlook to Buy from Sell.
Maruti Suzuki ended flat. The car maker reported a double digit growth of 14.6% in domestic sales for March. The company posted growth of 11.5% in domestic sales in the year ended March 31, 2016.
Tata Motors ended down 1.5% after it said it has divested its entire stake in wholly-owned subsidiary Sheba Properties to another group firm Tata Motors Finance for Rs 405.37 crore.
Mahindra and Mahindra's farm equipment division has raised 35% stake in Finland's Sampo Rosenlew, a combined harvester specialist, for 18 million. M&M eased 1.5%.
ICICI Bank gained 0.8% after it put the plan to sell its subsidiary ICICI Home Finance Co. Ltd on the backburner. Among other banks, SBI, and Axis Bank ended up 0.4%-1% each.
Among others, IVRCL extended losses and slumped 10% after the collapse of the Vivekananda Flyover in Kolkata on Thursday, under execution by the company.
IDBI Bank ended up 5% on the Bombay Stock Exchange after the company announced sale of its stake in National Stock Exchange.
Ashok Leyland gained over 1% after the commercial vehicle major registered 31% growth in total sales at 16,702 units during March, 2016 as against 12,754 units the same month of 2015
Mandhana Industries has rallied 7% after the company said that the High Court of judicature at Bombay approved the scheme of arrangement for demerger of the retail undertaking of the company into Mandhana Retail Ventures.
JP Associates surged over 11% after the sale of its cement units to UltraTech Cement.
Alkem Laboratorie ended down 3% after observations made by the UK health regulator, UK-Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency following an inspection at the company's bioequivalence facility located at Taloja, Maharashtra in March 2016.
Bharat Wire Ropes which made its debut today ended flat at Rs 45.40 compared to its offer price of Rs 45 per share.
Geometric ended down 4% ahead of board meeting after 5pm today to discuss various strategic and restructuring options.
GLOBAL MARKETS
Asian ended lower with Japanese shares declining the most after weak PMI data for March while China's manufacturing data indicated expansion in March for the first time in nine months. Japan manufacturing PMI eased to 49.1 in March. Japan's benchmark Nikkei ended down 3.7% while China's Shanghai Composite ended flat. Among others in the region, Straits Times and Hang Seng ended down 0.8%-1.4% each.
European were trading lower with energy shares leading the decline tracking weak crude oil prices and caution ahead of US jobs data later today. The FTSE, CAC-40, DAX were trading 1.2%-1.8% each.
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.
DES MOINES Iowa lawmakers have once again lit the fuse on the effort to legalize home fireworks.
A panel of legislators Thursday discussed a limited proposal to legalize consumer-grade fireworks in Iowa. The proposal would limit the number of days and hours Iowans could display fireworks to roughly a week before and after the Fourth of July and New Years Eve and only until 10 p.m.
I firmly believe we need to restrict the amount of days and the hours they can get shot off, Sen. Bill Dotzler, D-Waterloo, said during a subcommittee hearing Thursday.
Three states ban all home fireworks, and Iowa is one of just four states in which only sparklers and novelty items are legal, according to the American Pyrotechnics Association.
Currently, Iowans may possess fireworks but not shoot them off. Proponents say legalization in part recognizes current law as head-in-the-sand policy.
Its really a kind of wink and nod kind of thing, Dotzler said.
The House in 2015 passed a bill legalizing more consumer-grade fireworks. This year the Senate is running its own bill.
Dotzler said he supports the limited bill because it addresses concerns with too much noise in neighborhoods.
WATERLOO A roofing job has rekindled discussion about giving preference to local contractors bidding on city projects.
Waterloo City Council members voted 6-0 Monday to award a $100,148 contract to Black Hawk Roof of Cedar Falls to replace a roof on the Leisure Services Building.
But several council members questioned whether they were able to award the bid instead to Service Roofing of Waterloo, which submitted a bid that was $2,952, or about 3 percent, more.
I know we dont have a local preference policy as it exists today, but I dont know what kind of latitude we have in our decision making when it comes to bids that are so close and what our options are in looking at this type of situation, said Councilman David Jones.
Councilman Steve Schmitt said both companies likely have employees living in Waterloo, but only Service Roofing pays property taxes to the city.
City Attorney Dave Zellhoefer noted some Iowa cities have ordinances and policies designed to give a financial preference to local bidders on smaller projects. Waterloo could adopt a similar policy.
But he said state law requires public improvement projects exceeding $100,000 to be awarded to the lowest responsive, responsible bidder.
Once you get to the $100,000 level on a project like this, you have to follow the rules, Zellhoefer said. State law trumps.
Mayor Quentin Hart said hes planning to have a City Council work session April 18 to discuss local bidding preference.
Andy Miller, owner of Service Roofing, said such a policy is important to businesses that pay taxes in Waterloo and employ its residents.
I perfectly understand the decision being made (on the current contract). Hey, you win some, you lose some, Miller said. But what I do appreciate is that this has spurred some discussion about future projects.
Waterloo city officials tend to discuss local bidding preference every two or three years when a project comes up and bids are tight, but theyve never reached a consensus on how to proceed.
Some council members in the past suggested such a policy would discourage competitive bids from out-of-town companies and drive up the cost to local taxpayers. Others note the city should be loyal to its local taxpayers to a point.
YEREVAN, APRIL 1, ARMENPRESS. The Islamic State is now preventing the last remaining Christians from leaving Raqqa, Syria, Armenpress reports Raqqa Is Being Silently Slaughtered activist group informs.
According to the group established by a group of journalists who later turned activists, ISIS has issued a new decree preventing both Christians and Armenians in Raqqa from leaving.
There are approximately 25 Christian families left in Raqqa today, according to RIBSS.
Raqqa, now the de-facto Syrian headquarters of the Islamic State terrorist organization, fell into the terrorist control in March 2013 in a battle between insurgents led by the Islamist jihadi group Al Nusra and Bashar Al Assads forces. Raqqa then became the first provincial capital under rebel control in the war.
The suffering of Christians began with ISIS control of Raqqa, RIBSS said on its website about the treatment of Christians under the jihadi militant group.
ISIS looks at Christians as infidels loyal to the West more than their loyalty to their homeland which they live.
In the 1920s, Christians constituted up to 30 percent of Syrias population and had lived there for 2000 years. More recently, 10 percent of Syrias 22 million population were Christians.
Two weeks ago, Secretary of State John Kerry formally declared a genocide designation regarding the treatment of Christians and other minorities in Iraq and Syria.
Since the eruption of the Syrian war, thousands of Christians and other minorities have been forced out from their homes both by Islamist rebels fighting Bashar Al Assads regime and Islamic State militants.
Christians have been given three options in areas controlled by ISIS to convert to Islam, to pay a minority tax or jizya or to face death.
The Foreign Desk exclusively reported on the kidnapping of hundreds of Christians in the Syrian province of Hassakeh in February 2015.
In 2014, ISIS promulgated a list of seven restrictions that Christians in Raqqa had to follow in order to live under Caliphate rule.
In it, Christians were contractually obliged to pay the jizya, or minority tax, which in Islamic Sharia law is the amount of money paid by non-Muslims or dhimmis in exchange for protection.
The jizya was last enforced under the Ottoman Empire and since, only brought back by the Islamic State.
In addition, Christians living under ISIS are not permitted to build any new churches, religious facilities, nor are they allowed to repair existing ones, cannot publicly show any crosses, pray or recite the Bible in public, are prohibited from any acts of aggression against the Islamic State, are forbidden from stopping the conversion of any Christian to the religion of Islam and cannot sell pork products or alcohol to any Muslims nor consume these products, forbidden in Islam, in public.
YEREVAN, APRIL 1, ARMENPRESS: The Ministerial meeting of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) and the anti-monopoly session will be held in Yerevan. As "Armenpress" was informed by the State Commission for Protection of Economic Competition of Armenia, a more than 30-member delegation will arrive to Armenia, including the heads of all Economic Competition authorities of the Member States of the EEU, including the head of the Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service Igor Artemyev.
The session will be attended by Prime Minister of Armenia Hovik Abrahamyan.
YEREVAN, APRIL 1, ARMENPRESS. Large-scale forced returns of refugees from Turkey to war-ravaged Syria expose the fatal flaws in a refugee deal signed between Turkey and the European Union earlier this month, Amnesty International revealed today.
Armenpress reports that a new research carried out by Amnesty International in Turkeys southern border provinces suggests that Turkish authorities have been rounding up and expelling groups of around 100 Syrian men, women and children to Syria on a near-daily basis since mid-January. Over three days last week, Amnesty International researchers gathered multiple testimonies of large-scale returns from Hatay province, confirming a practice that is an open secret in the region.
All forced returns to Syria are illegal under Turkish, EU and international law.
In their desperation to seal their borders, EU leaders have wilfully ignored the simplest of facts: Turkey is not a safe country for Syrian refugees and is getting less safe by the day, said John Dalhuisen, Amnesty Internationals Director for Europe and Central Asia.
The large-scale returns of Syrian refugees we have documented highlight the fatal flaws in the EU-Turkey deal. It is a deal that can only be implemented with the hardest of hearts and a blithe disregard for international law.
The EU-Turkey deal paves the way for the immediate return to Turkey of Syrian refugees arriving on the Greek islands, on the grounds that it is safe country of asylum. EU officials have expressed the hope that returns could start as of April 4.
One of the cases uncovered by Amnesty International is of three young children forced back into Syria without their parents; another is of the forced return of an eight-month pregnant woman.
The inhumanity and scale of the returns is truly shocking; Turkey should stop them immediately, said John Dalhuisen.
Many of those returned to Syria appear to be unregistered refugees, though Amnesty International has also documented cases of registered Syrians being returned, when apprehended without their papers on them.
One visitor attraction that magical loving families will be flocking to this year is Warner Bros. Studio Tour London - The Making of Harry Potter. For Harry Potter fans it's an experience like no other, taking place at the actual sound stages where the films where shot at Warner Bros Studios Leavesden. Fans can magically journey into the world of the Harry Potter movie series, see some of the props used in the films and learn how the special effects were created. Making this year an extra special time to visit, to celebrate 15 years since the release of Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone, Warner Bros have some special events for guests to enjoy. Throughout certain times of the year visitors will be able to go right into 4 Privet Drive, the home of the Dursley's, as well as learn just how film-makers got those massive wizard chess pieces to move. For the first time this spring, you will be able to learn more about how filmmakers brought everyones favourite half-giant Hagrid to life. Adding costumes worn by Robbie Coltrane and his body double. So if you and your family want to go behind the scenes of one of the most magical movie franchises of all time, here are some of the things you need to know.
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If youre looking to try out an online casino, there are several things that will help you make a decision. Heres what you should look for when choosing an online casino
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YEREVAN, APRIL 1, ARMENPRESS. Economic potentials of Armenia and India are not fully utilized. Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia Robert Harutyunyan told the journalists about this at the 7th session of the Armenian-Indian intergovernmental commission. Bilateral trade amounted 50-60 million USD during the previous years, which is definitely lower than the level of relations. Moreover, most part of the trade goes for imports from India, the volume of exports from Armenia is rather low, Armenpress reports Harutyunyan saying.
The Deputy Minister stated that the Armenian side seeks to boost economic relations with India particularly in two directions. The first one is the pharmaceutical sphere, the other is precious stones processing and jewelry. India has accumulated quite a great experience in these fields; world famous major companies operate there and we aim to draw the attention of those companies to Armenia, the Deputy Foreign Minister mentioned. He noted that free economic zones are set in Armenia for the mentioned spheres of activity, where tax privileges are granted. Besides, foreign companies can obtain an access to the EAEU market via Armenia. We will introduce the opportunities of starting activities in the free economic zones to our partners during this session. They will be exempt from taxes and will have an opportunity to enter the EAEU market. From this standpoint, Armenia can offer broad prospects for them. In addition, Armenia has one of the most liberal economies throughout the CIS area, the official documented.
Referring to the existing cooperation in IT sector, Robert Harutyunyan highlighted the activities of Armenian-Indian Center for Excellence in ICT, considering it as a key achievement in the Armenian IT sector. During that meeting we also plan to discuss issues of development, expansion of activities and re-equipment of that centre, he said.
YEREVAN, APRIL 1, ARMENPRESS. A group of Azerbaijani current and former political prisoners have issued statements in the sidelines of the visit of the President of Azerbaijan Ilham ALiyev to Washington. Armenpress reports that the open letter of contributor to Radio Free Europe/Radio Libertys Azerbaijani service, Khadija Ismayilova, published in The Washington Post was written from a jail in Azerbaijan.
I am writing this letter from jail in Baku, Azerbaijan, where Im serving a 7 -year sentence for a crime I never committed.
I am a journalist and my only crime was to investigate high-level corruption within the government and family of Azeri President Ilham Aliyev . Aliyev inherited power from his father in 2003 and changed the constitution in 2009 so he could stay in power indefinitely. He has been called an enemy of the press by international watchdogs, while abusing other fundamental freedoms and violating peoples right to truth and decency.
Aliyev is in Washington this week to attend the Nuclear Security Summit that began Thursday. To get an invitation to this event from President Obama, he had to pardon several political prisoners. A lthough they have been released from jail, they remain confined within the country, barred from leaving, and justice has not been restored, she wrote.
To the question But why were some of the political prisoners suddenly set free? What has changed? Khadija Ismayilova answered, Aliyev needed these prisoners so that in exchange for their release, he could shake hands with Obama or get a loan from the World Bank to finance his failing currency and crippled economy after the sudden fall of oil prices.
Aliyev is shamelessly trying to use political prisoners as bargaining chips to advance his foreign policy agenda. And they are supposed to be happy that they were freed.
I am happy very happy that some political prisoners have been released. But their fights, and mine, are not over. I am not a toy to be exchanged for diplomatic gain by Baku or Washington so that officials can continue to pretend that it is business as usual. We are hostages of the regime, whether we are inside or outside of prison. Freedom is my universal and constitutional right, and Aliyev failed to protect it as the head of state. I am not going to ask to be pardoned for a crime I never committed. I am free even now, in jail, and my freedom is not for sale. In her letter she urges President Obama to ask Aliyev when he plans to stop oppressing free media and civil society or when does he plan to free all the political prisoners.
These are important questions. They must not go unanswered. And we will fight until justice is fully served, the journalist concludes.
Former political prisoners Intigam Aliyev, Rasul Jafarov and Anar Mammadli have published a similar statement in The Guardian.
Ilham Aliyev, the president of our country, Azerbaijan, is in Washington DC, attending a meeting with democratic leaders from around the world. But our country is not a functioning democracy, the authors write, adding that they are not the last political prisoners of Azerbaijan as Ilgar Mammadov, Khadija Ismayilova and others remain imprisoned.
They state that Azerbaijan lacks rule of law and human rights are not protected. We are all active in different areas of civic society, and all of them are perfectly legal in a functioning democracy. If Azerbaijan is to be considered as such, the government must stop interfering with our work. Only once all Azeri political prisoners are released, there is proper respect for the rule of law, and NGOs are allowed to operate in a truly independent fashion, will we be able to consider our country a functioning democracy, the authors concluded.
YEREVAN, APRIL 1, ARMENPRESS: Positive expectations should not be anticipated from the meetings held on the Karabakh issue. Director of the Oriental Studies Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia Ruben Safrastyan made this observation in the press hall of Armenpress.
"I do not think that Azerbaijan is ready to abandon its aggressive behavior of the recent times, there are no prerequisites for this. Their aggressive behavior is of strategic importance. Aliyev aims to change the status quo which exists in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement, Ruben Safrastyan said.
In addition, there is another factor. Ruben Safrastyan said that the aggravation of the Russian-Turkish relations can have some effect on the behavior of Azerbaijan.
"Azerbaijan will try, considering the senior partners, the big brothers advices, urges, to further exacerbate the situation in the South Caucasus, thus contributing to the implementation of Turkish projects. I.e. Turkey, in times of aggravation of Russian-Turkish relations, will use Azerbaijan as a tool, Ruben Safrastyan said, adding that currently there is no sense to expect positive changes in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.
YEREVAN, APRIL 1, ARMENPRESS. Europe faces hardships due to refugees, and Turkey has a key geographic position. Director of the the Institute of Oriental Studies of National Academy of Sciences of Armenia, expert in Turkish studies Ruben Safrastyan told about this at Armenpress media hall, referring to the refugee agreement reached between Turkey and the EU. Heads of European states demanded the EU to put a clear demand in front of Turkey for closing the border. Turkey proposed another solution, according to which not desirable refugees of Europe are returned to Turkey instead of closing the border. As a result, Turkey does not close the border, but agrees that part of those refugees are returned and receives billions for that and will receive more, Ruben Safrastyan said.
In his words, Europeans should not be taken for naives. Europe has done its own calculations. According to the expert, the deal will enter into force soon, but will not have a long life.
Referring to the issue that Turkeys role has increased in Europe conditioned by the refugee crisis, and how it will impact the activities of Armenian National Committees (Hay Dat), Ruben Safrastyan mentioned that the political leaders of a number of European states conduct policy unfavorable for Armenia due to pressure by Turkey.
In spite of that, the Armenian Genocide remains in the memories of Europeans thank to the hard work carried out by our compatriots. Now efforts are made to include the theme of the Armenian Genocide in the textbooks of European countries. It is a very important process, the expert in Turkish studies said.
Large-scale forced returns of refugees from Turkey to war-ravaged Syria expose the fatal flaws in a refugee deal signed between Turkey and the European Union earlier this month, Amnesty International revealed today.
A new research carried out by Amnesty International in Turkeys southern border provinces suggests that Turkish authorities have been rounding up and expelling groups of around 100 Syrian men, women and children to Syria on a near-daily basis since mid-January. Over three days last week, Amnesty International researchers gathered multiple testimonies of large-scale returns from Hatay province, confirming a practice that is an open secret in the region.
All forced returns to Syria are illegal under Turkish, EU and international law.
YEREVAN, APRIL 1, ARMENPRESS. The Assyrian community in Armenia celebrates New Year on April 1. A solemn ceremony took place at the municipality of Verin Dvin village of Ararat Province, dedicated to the 6766th year of Assyrian calendar. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Armenia Richard Mills also attended the event.
At the beginning of the event the congratulatory message of the President of Armenia was read. I cordially congratulate the Assyrians of Armenia on the occasion of Assyrian New Year - Kha bNisan.
I wish that this holiday, which symbolizes the revival of nature, bring our brotherly Assyrian nation new success and become a beginning for the implementation of new programs.
Let this spring holiday of love and bounty stay with you the entire year, and let wars and hardships stay away.
I wish the Assyrian community of Armenia happiness and prosperity, Armenpress reports, the Presidents message read.
In an interview with journalists head of Verin Dvin community Lyudmila Petrova stated that April 1 marks the 6766th year of the Assyrian calendar. Assyrians mark the New Year on April 1 as that day was selected in Ancient Assyria which symbolizes the revival of spring and nature, Lyudmila Petrova said, congratulating the Assyrians on the feast that lasts 12 days.
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Armenia Richard Mills stated in his speech that it is a great honor for him to be present at the event. Participating in a New Year ceremony is always a pleasure wherever it takes place. I am particularly happy today to be in Verin Dvin on this occasion, because for a long time I had a desire to come here and see how Assyrians co-exist side by side with their Armenian neighbors. And what I see here is a very good example that should be simulated in other countries. Let me congratulate you on this feast and mention that the Assyrian community in the U.S., Detroit and Chicago, celebrates this feast with you. Next time when I arrive in the USA I will share my memories of this day with them, the Ambassador stated.
President of Assyrian Artur union Arsen Mikhailov mentioned in an interview with Armenpress that they have the opportunity to celebrate the Assyrian New year in Armenia. I salute all Assyrians on this occasion, as this day has a very important connotation for us in terms of preservation of ethnic culture. Here I have to mention that the Assyrian community in Armenia has reached a level where it is able to preserve and develop its language and culture, Mikhailov said.
He expressed gratitude to the Armenian people and the Armenian authorities for granting them with broad opportunities. The Republic of Armenia has granted us with broad opportunities which we must serve for the preservation and development of our educational, cultural and ethnic identity. And we would make a mistake if made no use of those opportunities. For example, in the neighboring countries our communities have not so much opportunities. I wish Assyrians living in Armenia and abroad success and good health. Let they never forget who they are, what are the values they bear, and how they must develop those values, he added.
Mikhailov also touched upon the issue of problems facing Assyrians of Syria and Iraq. He underscored that they follow with grieve what happens to the Assyrian people in Iraq and Syria, adding that they have often voiced about that, that the crimes against the Assyrian people must end.
YEREVAN, APRIL 1, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of the Republic of Armenia informs that on April 1, the USD exchange rate was 480.61 AMD which is a decrease of 0.18 drams compared to the previous day.
Armenpress reports that the euro rose by 1.86 drams forming 548.33 drams. Russian ruble has decreased by 0.03 drams, forming 7.11 drams. British pound has dropped by 3.09 drams, reaching 688.14 drams.
The prices for precious metals are as follows: the price for gold per gram is 19 thousand 114.09 AMD, silver- 237.65 AMD, and platinum 15 thousand 081.12 AMD.
Apr 1, 2016 | By Kira
In what is either the most impressive or downright creepy 3D printing project of the year, 42-year-old Ricky Ma has designed and built an extremely realistic 3D printed humanoid robot that looks (and moves) eerily like Hollywood star Scarlett Johansson.
Ma, a graphic and product designer from Hong Kong who had no previous experience in robotics, electronic engineering, or programming when he started, built the entire humanoid robot--which is 70% 3D printed--from scratch, spending more than $50,000 and a year and a half of his time for the simple sake of fulfilling his childhood dream.
The 3D printed female robot prototype is known simply as Mark 1, despite her obvious semblance to the woman once ranked as Sexiest Woman Alive (Ma would only confirm that his design was based on a famous Hollywood actress but wouldnt name Johansson specifically).
The Mark 1 is life-size, has strawberry blonde hair, and can respond to a set of pre-programmed verbal commands by talking and forming eerily realistic facial expressionsincluding raising her eyebrows, smiling coyly, and even winking. She can also move her arms, legs and fingers, turn her head and bow.
In technical terms, the humanoid robot consists of a 3D printed skeleton enveloped in silicone skin that hides her internal mechanics and gives her a very realistic humanoid look. Ma took the illusion even further by dressing her in a trendy crop top and skirt and realistic makeup that accentuates ScarlettI mean the Mark 1sfull lips, eyebrows, and hazel-colored eyes.
Whether youre a fan or not, the end result is truly impressive, though Ma admits that it was no easy task. Though he grew up obsessed with robots from movies and cartoons and dreamt of building his own one day, Ma never pursued any formal or technical training in robotic engineering. He also didnt know of anyone in the robotics community in Hong Kong pursuing a similar goal.
Thus, when it came time to make his dream a reality and create a humanoid robot from scratch, Ma had to teach himself every technical skill in the book through a painful trial-and-error process. Electric motors burnt out, the Mark 1 continuously toppled over, yet Ma persisted, eventually mastering robotics, engineering, 3D modeling and 3D printing technology.
During this process, a lot of people would say things like, Are you stupid? This takes a lot of money. Do you even know how to do it? said Ma. However, he refused to quit. I figured I should just do it when the timing is right and realise my dream. If I realise my dream, I will have no regrets in life.
All images credit: REUTERS/BOBBY YIP
Currently, Ma is looking for investors to buy his $50,000 Scarlett Johansson look-a-like, so that he can have the capital to build even more. He also plans to write a book about his experience to encourage other robotic enthusiasts to pursue their dreams.
The Mark 1 3D printed female prototype robot is an incredible story of one man's unbreakable determination to fulfill his dream against all odds, using the latest 3D printing and advanced technologies. In fact, it has all the makings of a Hollywood hit. Scarlett Johansson herself is no stranger to science fiction: shes starred as an AI construct in Her, a genetically-modified superhuman warrior in Lucy, and of course, as ass-kicking superhero Black Widow in The Avengers. Should Mas forthcoming book ever get a studio contract, this seems like a match made in Hollywood heaven.
Watch the video below to see Ricky Ma's 3D printed Mark 1 humanoid robot in action:
Scarlett Johansson as she looks in real life. Getty Images
Posted in 3D Printing Application
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HAHAHA wrote at 2/18/2018 6:34:03 PM:Does she put out?Duyee wrote at 5/10/2016 6:41:55 PM:Those man hands make me want to run and hideGitS wrote at 4/9/2016 12:08:23 AM:This actress is in Ghost in the Shell and will release in 2017. A perfect timing and theme to be in it. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1219827/Justin wrote at 4/4/2016 4:37:49 AM:I Think I might pick up a copy of the Book when it comes outPaucus wrote at 4/3/2016 5:18:57 PM:congratulations, but very spooky using a real person... maybe Scarlett should buy it!Ben wrote at 4/2/2016 6:38:14 AM:Mal. Guy killed me, Mal. He killed me with a sword. How weird is that?RobinLeech wrote at 4/2/2016 12:23:55 AM:She is totally not that short. I wonder how much extra it would have cost to make her life-size.
Apr 1, 2016 | By Benedict
With the help of 3D printer manufacturer Mass Portal, prizewinning Latvian startup Tactile Eyesight has used 3D printing to create tactile book illustrations for the blind and visually impaired. Its first project is the book Missing Monkey by Latvian author Luizes Pastores.
Ever since French innovator Louis Braille developed his eponymous tactile alphabet code in the early nineteenth century, the blind and visually impaired have possessed a powerful and efficient means of reading and writing. But whilst braille can be used to communicate words, the ultimate meaning of those words can be lost on readers who have never seen the things which those words denote. A visually impaired reader can comprehend the word elephant through the following embossed symbols:
Ultimately, however, if a reader has never seen an elephant before, the symbols alone cannot fully communicate what is meant by the word. Thats where Tactile Eyesight and Mass Portal come in. Startup Tactile Eyesight has, with the help of Mass Portals Latvian-built 3D printing technology, embarked upon an ambitious 3D printing project which aims to bring fully tactile illustrations to childrens literature. By enabling a blind or visually impaired reader to feel a set of tactile 3D printed illustrations, the startup can bring the characters, objects, and landscapes of a book to life.
Tactile illustrations already exist, but have traditionally taken a long time to design and produce. Many are still created by hand. By using 3D printing, the designers at Tactile Eyesight have provided themselves with a shortcut: they can create 3D images on a computer screen relatively quickly, leaving all the difficult technical work to the Mass Portal 3D printer. The startup hopes that the precision of the 3D printer, coupled with the creativity of the 3D designer, will help to fully convey the wonderful images behind the words of childrens literature.
To test its 3D printing capabilities, Tactile Eyesight chose the book Missing Monkey, part of the Art Detective series, by Latvian author Luizes Pastores, to be its prototype. Over the course of three weeks, 3D printing company Mass Portal invited a group of Lithuanian exchange students, working on behalf of Tactile Eyesight, to its 3D printing headquarters, where the group generated 3D models using SketchUp 3D modeling software.
Cooperation with Mass Portal is a very important part of the tactile books prototyping phase, said Mareks Matisons, creator of Tactile Eyesight. Our colleagues gained knowledge of 3D printing, and learned how to speed up the designing and printing process. During the exchange program, the students conducted experiments working with illustrations and versions of our research. We have taken a considerable step.
Book illustrations for young children are very important, added Inga Zilinska, Mass Portal marketing manager. By looking at pictures, a child learns new words and concepts and become aware of the world around them. Children with visual impairments can have the same experience using tangible 3D images. It is a real pleasure to be a part of this process, enabling children and young people to integrate into society by showing them as-yet unseen and unfamiliar wonders of the world that we often take for granted.
Tactile Eyesight has already been recognized by international institutions. In December 2015, the startup won the Global Startup Battle, beating around 25,000 participants from 60 countries to scoop the prize in the Great in the Making category.
With around 300 million people in the world suffering from visual impairments and 40 million fully blind, Tactile Eyesight hopes to continue its growth, bringing the wonderful world of literature to the fingertips of children everywhere.
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YEREVAN, APRIL 1, ARMENPRESS. Meeting between the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Serzh Sargsyan and Ilham Aliyev, did not take place in the USA because Aliyev had nothing to say. Armenpress reports Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia Shavarsh Kocharyan told about this in an interview held at Media-Center. The actions of Ilham Aliyev do not fit in the logic set by the Co-chairs and international community. From that perspective he really had nothing to say, Shavarsh Kocharyan said.
Referring to the issue that despite the criticism of the USA against Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev deserved high level reception, meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Shavarsh Kocharyan mentioned that the meeting could be called high level if the President or the Vice President had met with him. According to him, there is serious pressure against Aliyev administration in relation with the human rights violation and threat to regional stability. Azerbaijan is under pressure, but, according to Shavarsh Kocharyan, this does not exclude preservation of relations on some levels.
It is difficult to say what Aliyev and Kerry have talked, but I can say that after the meeting Aliyev did not miss the chance to again distort the reality, thinking that his approaches go beyond international rights, particularly, the UN charter, Shavarsh Kocharyan said, adding that the first chapter of the UN charter is about preservation of peace and right of people to self-determination. All these have no importance for Aliyev and he continues to display its distorted approaches as absolute truth, Shavarsh Kocharyan said.
Apr 1, 2016 | By Alec
Metal 3D printing is quickly becoming an indispensable innovation tool for both aerospace and defense industries, with everyone from the US navy to NASA and SpaceX using high end machinery to 3D print crucial engine and rocket parts. It almost seems like 3D printing is ushering in the next generation of top level engineering solutions. Now even the Massachusetts-based defense contractor Raytheon is adopting 3D printing, with the companys head of advanced missile systems Tom Bussing revealing that the company is adopting the technology to scale up their weapon systems and give a boost to their development of hypersonic missiles.
Raytheon, of course, can be found at the forefront of defense technology development, and provide state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration, mission support services and more to the US government. They also provide a wide range of missile systems, including the Excalibur precision-guided artillery shell which the US army has already used in operations in Afghanistan. As they revealed to defense journalists from Breaking Defense, the company is now investing in a 3D printer that can build what they call big structures.
According to Breaking Defenses expert Sydney Freedberg, this investment follows something of a trend in the defense industry where 3D printing has become an enabler of development for its ability to produce large structures made from unconventional materials. This is especially useful for hypersonic weapons the highly coveted next-gen missiles that can hit a target at more than five times the speed of sound. These missiles require what Freedberg calls exotic materials that can withstand those circumstances, as well as lots of unconventionally shaped components. Exactly what 3D printing can provide.
That, in a nutshell, seems to be what Raytheon is working on with the help of 3D printing. There have been some fundamental gamechangers in that world [of hypersonics], so not only can you build them, but you can build them affordably, Tom Bussing told reporters. [With 3D printing], you can build things you couldnt otherwise build. In the high-speed weapon area, [3D printing] becomes a fundamental enabler because thats the only way you can make large structures out of exotic materials.
The Excalibur shell, made with 3D printing and used in Afghanistan.
Here again, 3D printing offers valuable shaping methods that traditional casting process cant achieve. Next-gen engines and missiles rely on very complex and efficient networks of cooling channels. Moving at five times the speed of sound creates a lot of heating friction, after all. This requires efficient vents that dont structurally weaken the rocket which is difficult to achieve with casting, drilling and cutting. With a 3D printer, vents of all shapes and sizes (such as helixes) are no problem at all. If its more efficient, it means you can make it smaller, [with] less cooling, said Bussing. [the missile] lasts longer, flies farther.
To realize this and an overall upscaling of their weapon manufacturing capacity, Raytheon is also learning from their experience with the 3D printed Excalibur shells. [Now] were actually looking at using additive manufacturing to grow entire weapons, said Bussing. We just made a big investment on a unique machine to do some very, very big structures.
But the development of hypersonic vehicles (missiles) seems to be very high up on their agenda, for which Raytheon has already set up two proposals for DARPA funding: Tactical Boost-Glide (TBG) and the Hypersonic Air-Breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC). The First is a missile with a rocket motor that skips off the atmosphere, much like a stone on the water. Both Russia and China have already been looking into those kinds of rockets, which can theoretically cover huge distances at extreme speeds. The HAWC, meanwhile, is a type of flying missile that shoots itself forward by sucking in huge amounts of oxygen at a speed of higher than Mach 5. This system will have a lower range, but is much more agile and precise, its developers believe. 3D printing, Bussing said, can obviously help to realize both projects.
Raytheon is thus, essentially, working on 3D printed missile systems that can hit enemies long before theyve had a chance to react. They could hit a North Korean nuclear missile ready for launch before it lifts off, for example. Even complex anti-missile batteries wouldnt be able to lock onto a missile travelling at such speeds. Could 3D printing change warfare as we know it?
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John Seabrook at The New Yorker:
For an architect so celebrated, Hadid has a relatively small output. She has completed thirteen structures: these include the Vitra Fire Station, in Weil am Rhein, Germany (1994); a train station in Strasbourg (2001); a ski jump in Innsbruck, with an attached restaurant (2002); the Lois and Richard Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art, in Cincinnati (2003); the Phaeno Science Center, in Wolfsburg, Germany (2005); the BMW Plant Central Building, in Leipzig (2005); and MAXXI , in Rome (2009). She shows an unusual degree of comfort with changes of scale; she enjoys working on small projects, like furniture and shoes, at the same time that she is designing large structures, like museums and railway stations. Her Aqua Table, a resin-and-silicone dining table she designed in 2005 for Established & Sons, which has sold for as much as two hundred thousand dollars, looks like the roof of her Aquatics Center, in East London, currently under construction, which will be the architectural showpiece of the 2012 Summer Olympics.
There is no single Hadid style, although one can detect a watermark in her buildings futuristic smoothness. Certain themes carry through her use of materials (glass, steel, concrete), her lines (corridors often trace flowing arabesque shapes, while roof struts make sharp Z-shaped angles), her structures (she favors column-free spaces), and her sculptural interiors and asymmetric facades. In all her work, Hadid is concerned with movement and speedboth the way people will move through the buildings and the way a sight line travels through light and shadow.
more here.
Still Out There
* Designates a Movies for Grownups Editors Choice
10 Cloverfield Lane
A veil of secrecy surrounded producer J.J. Abrams follow-up to his 2008 monster epic, Cloverfield. But this new one has John Goodman in the lead and thats good enough for us.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
The first two hours are spent setting up the unique conditions under which Superman and Batman can fight on equal terms. By that time, they (and we) have forgotten what they were mad about. FULL REVIEW
* Eddie the Eagle
Taron Egerton (Kingsman: The Secret Service) brings an earnest naivete to the role of ungainly British ski jumper Eddie The Eagle Edwards. Hugh Jackman is a cranky delight as his coach, a washed-up former ski champ. FULL REVIEW
Eye in the Sky
Helen Mirren stars as a British commander who must decide whether to risk killing an innocent girl in a drone strike on a terrorist training camp. The performances are universally excellent especially that of the late Alan Rickman, in his final film role. FULL REVIEW
* Hail, Caesar!
Those crazy Coen brothers (Fargo) present this delightful ensemble piece about a 1950s studio head (Josh Brolin) dealing with the kidnapping of his biggest star (George Clooney). FULL REVIEW
* Hello, My Name Is Doris
Sally Field is magnificent as a 60-something office worker pursuing an unlikely crush on a handsome young coworker (Max Greenfield). FULL REVIEW
I Saw the Light
British actor Tom Hiddleston (Thor) effects a surprisingly authentic twang as Hank Williams, the self-destructive star who defined country music in the 1950s.
* The Last Man on the Moon
This thrilling, inspiring, beautiful documentary about Apollo 17 commander Eugene Cernan revels in a time when the nation could agree on a common goal.
* Mia Madre
Director-cowriter Nanni Morettis extraordinary study of a film director trying to balance work with her caregiving responsibilities to her dying mother strikes one visceral chord after another.
Miracles From Heaven
Jennifer Garner and Queen Latifah costar in this faith-based film about a mother whose daughter not only survives a terrifying accident but finds herself miraculously cured of a fatal digestive disorder.
* My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2
The cast of the 2002 original is back, as boisterous and big-haired as ever. Michael Constantine and Lainie Kazan shine as 70-somethings who learn that, because of a clerical error, their 50-year marriage is not legit. FULL REVIEW
The Program
Ben Foster stars as disgraced cycling champ Lance Armstrong in this biopic from director Stephen Frears (Philomena, The Queen).
Race
The story of Olympic champion Jesse Owens is faithfully captured in this often-thrilling biopic starring Stephan James (Selma) as Owens and SNL alumnus Jason Sudeikis as his coach. FULL REVIEW
* Remember
Christopher Plummer is mesmerizing as a nursing home resident suffering from dementia who sets off on a cross-country bus trip to kill a Nazi war criminal. FULL REVIEW
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
Tina Fey headlines as a cable news producer who gives up her cushy lifestyle to cover the war in Afghanistan. Her no-nonsense commanding officer: Billy Bob Thornton.
The Young Messiah
This adaptation of Anne Rices 2005 novel, which speculated on the childhood of Jesus Christ, was directed by Cyrus Nowrasteh (The Stoning of Soraya M.).
Getty Images
En espanol | Breast cancer research has long emphasized what cancer survivors should eat to stay healthy, but an intriguing new study says it may have more to do with how much they dont eat specifically at night.
Get the latest tips on protecting your health AARP Health Newsletter
The study, published March 31 in JAMA Oncology, found that not eating for 13 hours between dinner and breakfast may help reduce the risk of recurrence in women with early-stage breast cancer.
Its not clear exactly why fasting would have this effect, but researchers noted that with every additional two hours of fasting, womens average blood sugar went down and their hours of sleep increased. Better sleep quality and lower glucose could affect risk for disease.
Researchers looked at data for 2,413 women, average age 52. None of the women had diabetes, but they had been diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer between the ages of 27 and 70.
And then they bought in, every one of them. The seven tips that follow are based on exclusive interviews with the Sharks, in which they shared their expertise for becoming more financially secure and successful with age.
"Shark Tank is a microcosm of the real world," says O'Leary. "It's a great place to learn the lessons of life."
Lesson 1
Be ready for when the poo-poo hits, because it always does.
As an investor for more than 35 years, O'Leary, 61, says, "I've learned you need to prepare financially for the unexpected, because there's a 100 percent certainty the unexpected will happen." One important way to do this, he says, is to keep 10 percent of your total assets in cash. In addition, he has three basic investing rules he follows personally and in managing O'Leary Funds.
Never put more than 5 percent of your money in one stock. "If I fall in love with a company and it grows to more than that, I trim it back."
Never put more than 20 percent of your money in one sector. "That's why when the energy market collapsed, I didn't get hurt."
Do put 50 percent of your investments in dividend-paying stocks and 50 percent in interest-bearing bonds. "My mother taught me this. She intuitively felt that if you don't get paid, you shouldn't invest that the principal earns the money you live off of. Over the past 40 years, 71 percent of the returns of the S&P came from dividends, not capital appreciation. That's why I do not let my fund managers ever buy a stock that doesn't pay a dividend."
Lesson 2
Follow the green, not the dream.
This is Mark Cuban's poetic way of telling overzealous entrepreneurs that their passion is blinding them to reality. "So many people get caught up with what they dream for their company that they forget they have to make money in order to survive and thrive," he says.
YEREVAN, APRIL 1, ARMENPRESS. In one of the northern military units of the Defense Army, on April 1 at 12:20, soldier of the Defense Army Vladimir Melkonyan (b.1996), was fatally wounded by Azerbaijani fire, Armenpress was informed by the Press Service of the Nagorno Karabakh Defense Ministry.
Investigation is underway to determine the details of the incident.
The Nagorno Karabakh Defense Ministry shares the grief of loss and expresses its support to the family, relatives and co-servicemen of V.Melkonyan.
Significant momentum in iBenefit & strong marketing outcome
Hong Kong, April 1, 2016 AEST (ABN Newswire) - 99 Wuxian Limited ( ASX:NNW ) ("99 Wuxian" or "the Company") is pleased to provide a business update for the months of February and March 2016. The Company has secured a number of new clients during the period, as well as extending its relationship with existing clients.
Highlights:
- iBenefit platform successfully deployed into new industry sectors: HuaZhu Hotel Group and Car Inc sign up as partners
- Highly successful marketing campaign to improve customer engagement for Zhejiang Rural Credit Cooperative - more than 150,000 customers already responding
- Incentive Cloud Service (ICS) gains deeper penetration into Insurance sector, contract secured with China United Insurance
- In February and March, iBenefit secured 4 direct brand partnerships and 17 brand partnerships through agents
Zhejiang Rural Credit Cooperatives: 99 Wuxian has achieved impressive results in a joint marketing campaign with Zhejiang Rural Credit Cooperatives to boost customer engagement using mobile top-up discounts. The campaign, which targeted inactive accounts through a combination of in-branch and SMS promotion, has seen more than 150,000 customers participate in the first month.
The strong results from the marketing campaign build on the strong enhancements to the customer experience and deepened customer engagement Zhejiang Rural Credit Cooperatives has experienced since joining the 99 Wuxian platform in August 2015.
China United Insurance: 99 Wuxian's strong foothold in the insurance sector was further enhanced by the award of a contract by China United Insurance to establish its loyalty program using 99 Wuxian's Incentive Cloud Service (ICS). Through China United Insurance's Wechat account, ICS will provide virtual coupons for lifestyle services to the company's customers.
Founded in July, 1986, China United Insurance operates across property insurance, life insurance, e-commerce platform and asset management.
HuaZhu Hotel Group (formerly "HanTing"): 99 Wuxian's advanced cloud-based mobile employee loyalty and rewards solution, iBenefit platform has been selected by leading Chinese hotel group HuaZhu ( NASDAQ:HTHT ). Through iBenefit, employees of HuaZhu will have access to unique health care services including standardised physical health checks and a follow-up disease tracking service.
iBenefit provides HuaZhu with a flexible, software-as-a-service tool to manage its comprehensive range of employee benefits and incentives, bringing important employee retention benefits. The contract also demonstrates the diverse range of applications for 99 Wuxian's iBenefit platform.
CAR Inc.: iBenefit has entered into a partnership with CAR Inc., China's leading auto rental service.
This partnership expands iBenefit's employee offering into the new area of mobility solutions, allowing employees to pay for their car service through incentive points or corporate benefit points. 99 Wuxian will soon be launching a feature that enables employees to make a booking with CAR Inc. directly from the iBenefit platform.
Established in September 2007, CAR Inc. ( HKG:0699 ) operates 726 service locations in 70 major cities and most major airports across China.
Amalisia Zhang, CEO of 99 Wuxian, said: "The significant potential of our iBenefit platform is now clearly being demonstrated through our penetration into new industry sectors. We are also pleased to see the continued success of our joint marketing efforts with clients delivering solid business outcomes for them."
To view the release, please visit:
http://abnnewswire.net/lnk/93ZPGZX9
About 99 Wuxian Ltd
99 Wuxian Ltd (ASX:NNW) aggregates over 300 million high quality consumers and 155 leading merchants through a marketplace embedded within the mobile apps of China's leading banks, telecommunications and insurance companies. 99 Wuxian enables increased customer satisfaction, loyalty and retention for its business partners by offering consumers the lifestyle convenience of purchasing virtual and physical goods on a mobile device.
YEREVAN, APRIL 1, ARMENPRESS. Recognition of Artsakhs independence by the 7 states of USA prepares a fertile ground for its international recognition, Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia Shavarsh Kocharyan told in an interview held at Media-Center. On the one hand it is clear that this is not the position of the federal government, but on the other hand, is preparing a fertile ground for international recognition of Artsakh. This means that the international community is increasingly shaped by the idea that Azerbaijan conducts a different policy under the guise of the mentioned negotiations, which will also lead to destabilization and the resumption of hostilities. And, naturally, in this situation recognition of Artsakhs independence is one of the way outs., Kocharyan noted. Armenian Deputy FM expressed an opinion that the mentioned process will be continuative and what refers to NKR conflict zone, sooner or later it is needed a way out of the created situation.
According to him, the full implementation of the ceasefire agreement first of all needs to be fulfilled to ensure progress in negotiations. We are talking about 1995 agreement on ceasefire but another tripartite agreement was signed in 1995 which aimed at maintaining the ceasefire regime. And it is the international duty of the Azerbaijan, which it signed together with Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, Shavarsh Kocharyan conluded.
Legislative bodies of US 7 states adopted resolutions on recognition of Artsakh Republics independence. The following states are: California, Louisiana, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maine and Georgia.
YEREVAN, APRIL 1, ARMENPRESS. The negotiation format of the OSCE Minsk Group can change only in the case of the consent of the parties. If the Armenian side considers it inappropriate, then the format will not change, Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia Shavarsh Kocharyan said during the interview held at Media centre, Armenpress reports.
"We know that only one mediator is profitable for Baku - Turkey. In order to achieve this, Azerbaijan is trying to use Germany and Iran. Armenia has always been against in the case of Turkey. It is known that its position does not differ from the position of Azerbaijan ", - Kocharyan said.
According to him, changes are noticed in emphasis in the statements of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs. Kocharyan said sign of equality had always been put but in recent years this is not done. Gradually, it becomes apparent in their statements that they are targeted.
Referring to the fact that Azerbaijan called the co-chairs of the OSCE provocateurs, Kocharyan noted that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, after the speech of US Secretary of State John Kerry, thanked Kerry for mediation. This means that Azerbaijan took the arrow of its criticism out of the United States.
The deputy minister reminded that Azerbaijan recognized Nagorno-Karabakh as at least as one of the negotiating parties, previously conducting negotiations directly with Stepanakert.
"Today, Baku pretends it does not recognize Nagorno-Karabakh, and it proves the fact that Azerbaijan does not want to negotiate. As soon as Azerbaijan recognizes Nagorno Karabakh as a negotiating party, it will become clear that Baku wants to progress in the negotiation process ", Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia said.
YEREVAN, APRIL 1, ARMENPRESS. The UK's first police cat could be put on the beat in Durham after a young girl wrote to the chief constable to suggest cats would be useful in climbing trees to rescue people, Armenpress reports citing The Telegraph.
Five-year-old Eliza Adamson-Hopper wrote to Chief Constable Mike Barton asking why the force only used dogs and that it should consider having cats too.
On the back of her suggestion, Mr Barton replied and told her the force is now looking to recruit its first cat, although its duties are as yet undecided.
Her parents were astonished to receive a letter of reply from him containing a drawing of his own cat, Joey.
Mr Barton wrote: "Dear Eliza, thankyou for your letter suggesting the police should use cats as well as police dogs.
"I am going to ask my inspector who is in charge of police dogs to think about your good idea.
"I've always liked cats and I've drawn my cat Joey on the back of the letter (I'm not a very good drawer though).
"Thankyou, Mike Barton, Chief Constable."
He was replying to Eliza's letter which began: "I was talking to my dad about police dogs and I asked if you had police cats as well - he said he didn't think there were any police cats but I said I thought they would be good."
Inspector Richie Allen, of the Dog Support Unit, has confirmed the force is considering incorporating cats into their fight against crime - although their role is yet undecided.
Insp Allen said: I can confirm that the force is looking into recruiting what we believe would be the first UK police cat.
"Their duties and responsibilities have not yet been agreed but if nothing else they will become the force mascot, he said.
IMGCAP(1)]Do your clients hesitate to call because they dont want to run up their bill? Or perhaps they DIY first rather than reach out for professional guidance?
Thats the curse of a client who views accounting services as a commodity rather than a valued partnership. It isnt necessarily a reflection on the firm. More often, its a result of a company that sees accounting services as transactional (as in tax time or problems only) as opposed to a long-term partnership that can yield beneficial results. Business owners fixate on the bill, not the value.
I know because I used to be one of those companies.
I have a business background, not an accounting background. I founded my first business (an internet-based company) right out of school. While I loved my company, I didnt know anything about accounting and bookkeeping at that time. I purchased QuickBooks and tried to do as much as possible by myself. I had an accountant, but I knew each engagement with him would have a bill attached to it. As a result, I relied on my accountants expertise only when absolutely necessary.
When I helped start Two Roads in 2011 with my partner and team, this experience colored my aspirations for providing a different take on bookkeeping services. We wanted to position Two Roads as a trusted advisor to its clients one that clients felt was in their corner and helping them prosper. We wanted to avoid being lumped into a perception that, at the end of the day, the only difference we offered was the amount on a bill.
With this in mind, here are steps you can take to reframe your business relationships.
Examine Your Billing Model
It can be challenging to develop strong relationships when youre working off an hourly billing model. Many firms are exploring alternative billing options such as monthly subscriptions. Two Roads has billed monthly from the beginning. I do believe that shifting to value-based billing can make a substantial difference in moving from a transaction-related status to a partnership.
Change Your Mindset
Sometimes, the simplest steps have the largest impact. For example, at Two Roads we call our clients partners intentionally. We want business owners to see us as a firm invested in their business. This word choice allows us to set expectations for a new prospect on how we will work together (long-term guidance). It also reinforces our internal perspective for client services. Its never only a transaction; its a true partnership.
Keep it Simple
For a client who doesnt have a lot of experience with accounting, technical terms can be overwhelming or intimidating. Clients may wonder what is being discussed or lack the knowledge to really understand how the information impacts their business and long-term plans.
Avoid overly technical language and instead lean on education and simple terms. Do your clients understand what youre saying and how it applies to their business? If not, what can be changed to help them understand? How can you bridge that gap? Can you apply that information in clear terms to their business and their industry?
Im not advocating calling a profit/loss sheet the report with a lot of numbers. Instead, use the proper name but ensure clients understand what it entails.
Be Responsive
Nothing rankles a client like an unanswered message. And a rankled client gets even more irritated when a bill comes in after that experience. It can start a shopping for an accountant process that is based on prices only.
Many small business owners weve encountered will reach out to an accountant only to have to wait weeks to hear back. That pattern of responsiveness can make a client feel unvalued.
Make a policy about responsiveness and stick to it. Will you always have someone answering phones? If a client leaves a message, how long does it take someone at your firm to answer it or respond to an email?
Take Every Opportunity to Emphasize the Big Picture
If you are truly positioning yourself as a partner to your clients, then you must take every chance you can to emphasize it from a service perspective. First, push for touching base regularly either monthly or quarterly. It doesnt have to be hours long. Even a 15-minute conversation can impart a lot of helpful information for a business. Share positive and negative trends youre seeing and the impact on the business, tips on planning for the future, and more. That way, youre not just the accountant who helps with taxes. Youre the professional helping them maximize their financial future.
This type of discussion can open doors for great conversations and chances to get to know your client and that business on a deeper level.
Take Advantage of Technology
Push yourself on the technology front. Schedule time on your calendar to review new solutions. Work with providers to run trials or to assess if, for example, a solution is right for you or your clients.
At Two Roads, each piece of technology we adopt is used to enable a higher level of service for our partners. For example, by using Bill.com, not only have we been able to cut countless internal hours normally spent handling manual tasks for bill pay, but now our partners can easily review and approve bills no matter where they are.
Who wants to be judged by costs alone? Its an unfair way to assess the true value of a service provider. By enacting a few of these simple steps, I hope you find that your clients regardless of how they view your firm begin to appreciate your guidance and service on a higher level.
Chad Ridner is president of Two Roads, a bookkeeping and tax company that provides financial clarity and peace of mind for small business owners. Intuit recently named Two Roads the top Firm of the Future for its use of forward-thinking technologies that ensure clients long-term success and reshape the way it meets the needs of small businesses. You can follow Chad on Twitter @chadridner or read his blog at tworoadsco.com/blog.
(Bloomberg) The arrest of banker Andrew Caspersen on charges of trying to defraud investors of $95 million has prompted his family to try to shed light on the circumstances surrounding his fathers suicide six years ago amid a U.S. tax investigation.
Caspersens father was Finn M.W. Caspersen, a financier and philanthropist who ran Beneficial Corp. as his own father had before. Finn Caspersen sold the company in 1998 for almost $9 billion. He shocked his family and friends in 2009 by shooting himself near their Rhode Island estate.
The New York Times reported at the time that Caspersen had kidney cancer and was under federal scrutiny on suspicion of using secret offshore bank accounts to evade taxes. While Caspersen was never charged with a crime, his 39-year-old sons arrest on March 26 rekindled interest in the fathers conduct.
The Internal Revenue Service scrutiny of the elder Caspersen came when the Justice Department was escalating an investigation of the use of offshore bank accounts to hide assets from the IRS. Since then, Switzerlands three largest banks have resolved criminal tax cases with the U.S., paying a combined $3.9 billion and admitting how they helped Americans dodge taxes. More than 50,000 U.S. taxpayers disclosed offshore accounts to avoid prosecution.
A two-page letter written in 2015 by an attorney working for the family, and disclosed this week, asserts that the IRS had concluded its investigation of Caspersen by 2013 and assessed only small penalties.
Actual Results
Notwithstanding uncorroborated media reports to the contrary, this letter details the actual results of this matter, Chicago tax attorney Denis J. Conlon wrote to Sam Caspersen, one of Andrews three brothers, in the letter obtained by Bloomberg News.
Conlon told Sam Caspersen in the letter that the IRS reviewed his fathers tax returns for 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 and found he owed no taxes for three of those four years.
Caspersen filed an amended return for 2008, according to the letter. He paid a 20 percent penalty of $12,558 and amended tax of $62,719. His income for the year exceeded $2.7 million, according to the letter, which doesnt explain the reason for the fine.
The IRS can assess an accuracy-related penalty for underpayment of taxes due to negligence, disregard of rules or regulations, substantial understatement of income tax, and certain valuation misstatements, according to the agency website.
No Penalty
More significantly, Conlon said the IRS also concluded the elder Caspersen owed no penalty for failure to disclose offshore accounts through a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, or FBAR.
A person familiar with the matter said the elder Caspersen had a foreign bank account at LGT Group, a private bank controlled by Liechtensteins royal family. The account contained around $1 million, according to the person.
There was no tax or penalty of any type imposed on any Caspersen trust, entity, or individual, Conlon wrote on May 18, 2015. And, absolutely no assets were frozen as part of this investigation.
While Caspersen was involved in many domestic and international business transactions, he was advised by tax accountants and experienced lawyers, Conlon wrote.
After selling Beneficial, Finn M.W. Caspersen then ran Knickerbocker Management, a private investment firm, and he gave millions of dollars to New Jersey Republicans, as well as equestrian and rowing organizations.
Sam Caspersen
Bloomberg obtained the letter through a spokesperson who said he was speaking at the request of Sam Caspersen. The spokesperson, who requested anonymity because of the nature of the charges against Andrew Caspersen, said that he provided the letter because the family was devastated by charges that have unearthed painful memories for them of the fathers death.
A spokesman for the IRS had no immediate comment on the letter. The IRS doesnt discuss individual taxpayers.
Conlon didnt immediately respond to phone and e-mail messages seeking comment on the letter. A former IRS official, he is now of counsel at law firm Clark Hill in Chicago.
Andrew Caspersen, who worked at PJT Partners Inc., was charged with defrauding the charitable foundation of hedge-fund billionaire Louis Bacon of almost $25 million in an investment scam.
Prosecutors said he fraudulently tried to solicit an additional $20 million from the foundation and $50 million from a private-equity firm.
Caspersen appeared Monday in federal court in Manhattan, where he was released on $5 million bond. The judge also ordered him to undergo alcohol treatment and mental health counseling and evaluation.
Marathi Cinema is considered as the starting point for all cinema industry in India. The whole culture evolved with Dadasaheb Phalke starting the industry from Mumbai. In the last few decades, Marathi Cinema has evolved its unique positioning and following. Several Marathi movies were sent as official entries to the Oscars.
Marathi Cinema has very distinct maturity when it comes to dealing with several critical and sensitive subjects in the society and surroundings. Marathi Cinema has shown the world that the creators are capable of dealing with these kinds of subjects as even the audience also equally prepared to lap these creation up and appreciate the growth. The shaping and funding of these great ideas into films remain a challenging experience, finding theatres, funding marketing and distribution, etc. The time has come to establish Marathi film fund as well as shaping the institutional design from creating, marketing and distributing Marathi films globally.
The session on Shaping & Funding the Marathi Film Ecosystem at FICCI Frames 2016 saw the speakers discuss ways to grow the Marathi film industry and how to tackle the various challenges. The panellists included Valsa Nair Singh, Principal Secretary, Tourism and Culture, Government of Maharashtra; Vishwas Joshi, Producer; Shhyam Singhania, Chairman, Enarr Capital; Swapnil Joshi, Actor; and Ajit Andhare, COO, Viacom18 Motion Pictures. Ashish SK, Chairman, FICCI Animation, Gaming, VFX & Comics Forum, moderated the session.
Funding and finances formed a major part of the discussions. Highlighting the difficulties in funding in the industry, Vishwas Joshi and Swapnil Joshi noted that often the financiers had no clue about the content and production aspects of filmmaking. With their eyes only on the investments and the return on investments, any hike in production costs or delays could upset the applecart and lead to a finance crunch.
Viacom18s Ajit Andhare, on the other hand, called for increasing investment in developing the infrastructure and the market rather than merely pumping the money into a single film. Andhare further pointed out that unlike Bollywood, the Marathi movie industry was purely story led rather than depending on big stars or budgets or technology. He urged filmmakers to not lose this story led perspective and fall for big budgets.
On why his company chose to invest in Marathi Cinema, Shhyam Singhania of Enarr Capital said that he was a Mumbaikar and hence, he understood this industry better. He added that Enarr Capital was planning to invest in around 120 films over the next seven years and explore the market potential of this industry. Singhania also spoke about the problems he faced in investing in Bollywood and Tamil Cinema.
Airfield management Airmen support combat sorties
A team of Airmen at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, is responsible for inspecting almost 50 million square feet of pavement every day, as they support operations at the largest airfield in the U.S. Air Forces Central Command.
The team, the 379th Expeditionary Operations Squadron Airfield Management section, also reviews every flight plan prior to any aircraft departure -- there were nearly 3,000 in the first three months of this year. They also inspect airfield signage, runway markings and help manage the airfield drivers program.
Staff Sgt. Talia Fulgham, the 379th EOSS Airfield Management operations NCO in charge from Alliance, Ohio, said her Airmen provide critical support to flying operations. The team supported more than 20,000 sorties in 2015.
We conduct daily inspections of all pavement on the airfield to make sure theres no obstructions that could inhibit flying in any way, Fulgham said. We also inspect all airfield markings and signs.
These inspections consist of sweeps for foreign objects or debris, airfield markings visibility tests and distance evaluations known as 1,000-foot checks, which are conducted to ensure no objects are within 1,000 feet of either of Al Udeids two runways.
Fulgham said shes conducted many inspections of the airfield and often finds FOD. One time, she discovered a portion of asphalt that was breaking apart on an aircraft taxiway.
If we dont do thorough inspections something could happen that could prevent aircraft from taking off on time and that puts the mission at risk, she said. I appreciate my job, because I feel like we have a real impact toward the mission.
Another responsibility of the airfield team is managing the 379th Air Expeditionary Wings airfield driving program. The team ensures anyone who requires a flightline drivers license gets the necessary training before driving on the airfield.
Senior Airman Logan Winter, a 379th EOSS airfield management journeyman from Quincy, Washington, said managing more than 3,000 flightline drivers can be challenging.
It can get overwhelming because many people out here have never driven on an airfield in their careers and theyre expected to become proficient in three days, Winter said.
Safety is magnified on the flightline because of our aircraft, he added. If we have an incident that blocks off an area; that will degrade mission capability.
Team members conduct hourly checks of the airfield to ensure vehicle operators are driving safely according to instructions. They also respond to any incident involving vehicles and aircraft.
During his time at Al Udeid AB, Winter said one driver managed to drive his truck under the wing of a taxiing C-17 Globemaster III, and another driver drove a bus on the runway while a C-130 Hercules was landing. The driver told responders that he saw the C-130 in his rearview mirror, realized he made a mistake and quickly exited the runway.
Both incidents resulted in the suspension of airfield driving privileges.
The biggest hazard is for a vehicle to hit an aircraft, which is something we try to avoid, Winter said. Jet engines are also very powerful and have the potential to flip a vehicle. If that happened, that would likely close down an area until the investigation is complete, which would likely delay flying operations.
Supporting the mission at Al Udeid AB has been a shining moment for Winters career, he said.
Deploying here has been the highlight of my career, he said. I see the direct impact we have every day. Were serving a greater purpose, supporting Operation Inherent Resolve and keeping our country and families safe. Thats why I joined the Air Force.
YEREVAN, APRIL 1, ARMENPRESS. China is interested in the prospect of the construction of Armenia-Iran railway, and took clear steps in this direction, Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia Shavarsh Kocharyan said, Armenpress reports.
"China considers the Armenian-Iranian railway as one of the corridors of the Silk Road and is interested in prospect of building this railroad. China has already involved the proper company that conducts assessments and calculates the possible risks and benefits ", the deputy minister said.
He added that the construction of Armenia-Iran railway involves very high costs; therefore, the funds of Armenia and Iran are insufficient. According to Kocharyan, it is necessary to find other investors, and relevant works are carried out on this direction.
To the remark that the Armenian-Iranian railway is discussed for many years, but there is no progress on the issue yet, the deputy minister said that previously Iran was under sanctions, and in the mentioned circumstances it would be very difficult to implement such projects.
"Now that the sanctions against Iran are removed, many Armenian-Iranian projects began to revive. Construction of the 3rd high-voltage power is already underway. In connection with the North-South corridor, we see that road construction works are carried out. Two memorandums in the sector of energy were signed. New developments in terms of cooperation in the transport sector are expected ", Kocharian said.
(This feature is part of the " Through Airmen's Eyes " series. These stories focus on individual Airmen, highlighting their Air Force story.)Twin brothers often share similar experiences from birth to high school graduation. But only a few can claim to serve in a deployed unit at the same time.Senior Airman Emmanuel Taveras, an electrical and environmental journeyman, and his twin brother, Senior Airman Carlos Taveras, an aircraft structural maintenance apprentice, can.The brothers are assigned to the 379th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron and work in the same building. They arrived at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, in January, only six days apart.Emmanuel said serving in a deployed location with his brother is a dream come true.We always wanted this, to be assigned to the same base, Emmanuel said. Its unique to have that happen, especially at a deployed location; were so thankful.Carlos said there are benefits to being in a deployed location with his brother.Having him here makes the experience so much easier to deal with, he said. It can be stressful at times, but having my brother around makes things better.The Taveras brothers were born in Puerto Rico and moved to the Dominican Republic when they were 4 years old. At the age of 10, they moved to the Bronx, New York, where they lived until each of them decided to join the Air Force, following in their Uncle Juans footsteps.My uncle served in the Air National Guard and he was my motivation, Emmanuel said. He pushed us to consider serving in the USAF and stressed the education benefits and travel opportunities Airmen have.I wanted to be just like my uncle, Carlos added. I never considered joining the military until he did; the military provided me with an opportunity to explore and see things we didnt get to see.Emmanuel enlisted in June 2011, foregoing his last two years of college, while Carlos enlisted two years later after earning his bachelor degree in graphic design.I was a little jealous when (Emmanuel) joined, Carlos said. At that time, I was thinking about joining. When I heard he was joining and later got orders to Germany, it kind of made me lose my mind because I wanted to travel and see the world.Both brothers like to travel and expressed an interest in experiencing different cultures. The duo credit the Air Force with allowing them to pursue their dreams. Between the pair, theyve traveled to 13 countries.Prior to deploying to Al Udeid AB, Carlos was assigned to McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas, while Emmanuel was at Misawa AB, Japan.Carlos said he was very excited when he learned he would deploy.I volunteered for any deployment available because I needed a change of pace, but several people volunteered ahead of me, Carlos said. So, I held on to hope. Then in October, my shop chief said he needed someone to fill in for someone else who couldnt deploy. I quickly said yes.While Carlos learned he was deploying in October 2015, Emmanuel was already scheduled to arrive at Al Udeid AB in August. Both brothers volunteered for their respective deployments and that decision ultimately brought them together to serve in the same unit.Emmanuel said hes hopeful he and his brother will be assigned together again in the future.Hopefully, we can get assigned to the same base in Europe or another one in Asia, he said. That way we could travel to so many more countries together.Carlos joked that Emmanuel could serve as his tour guide since hes already been assigned to Germany, South Korea and Japan.Sure thing, Emmanuel said.
C-17 drag reduction testing aims at saving fuel
From testing synthetic biofuels to "vortex surfing," Edwards Air Force Base is on the forefront of finding new ways to cut fuel costs for the Air Force.
The latest venture is currently underway at the 418th Flight Test Squadron where a test team of Air Force and Boeing personnel recently completed the first phase of Air Force Research Laboratory's C-17 Drag Reduction Program.
According to an AFRL study, the price the Air Force pays for jet fuel has quadrupled between 2004 and 2012. At the same time, the demand for personnel and equipment to be transported around the world has increased. Airlifters like the C-17 Globemaster III, C-130 Hercules and C-5 Galaxy use most of the Air Force's fuel -- 70 percent in 2012. Of these cargo planes, the C-17 uses the most fuel.
The purpose of the C-17 Drag Reduction Program is to collect data on how airflow is affected with different modifications done to a C-17.
The modifications are scheduled for different phases using Vortex Control Technologies Finlets and Lockheed Martin microvanes and fairings. The ultimate goal is to see which, if any, modification reduces drag and thus fuel consumption.
"The C-17 in one of the highest consumers of jet fuel in the Air Force," said Capt. Kevin Meyerhoff, a test pilot with the 418th Flight Test Squadron. "A reduction of just a few percent can result in significant cost savings."
The first phase consisted of putting six VCT Finlets on the aft part of the fuselage. The test aircraft for the program is a C-17 on loan from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington.
Test sorties for Finlets 1 configuration were completed in March to determine how the C-17 performed with the modification.
Although the goal is to reduce fuel consumption by increasing airflow efficiency and reduce drag, it has to be done without negatively effecting what the C-17 can do now.
"The cost savings these devices may offer are entirely dependent on the C-17 still being able to fulfill its mission in the Air Force," Meyerhoff said. "Our testing focused not only on fuel performance, but also on any impacts that the devices may have on the flying qualities of the aircraft. This includes the C-17's ability to perform critical air drop missions."
The next phase of testing will add five more Finlets to each side of the C-17 for a total of 16 Finlets.
The strakes that come on production C-17s will be removed to make room for the additional Finlets.
In the third phase of testing, the Finlets will be removed and six microvanes will be placed on each side of the aft fuselage.
"The Finlets are similar to the strakes, only smaller and attached in greater numbers to the airplane. The microvanes are even smaller, similar to small plastic blades," said C-17 airdrop engineer Nhan Doan.
The fourth phase will see fairings attached to locations on the wings near the engines and winglets.
All these different structure modifications manipulate the airflow around the airplane. During computer simulations, spots on the C-17 were identified that showed where drag could be reduced.
The flight tests at Edwards AFB are the final stage of AFRL's program following computer simulations and wind tunnel tests with a scale model. The data collected will be sent to AFRL at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, to see if any of the modifications increase streamlining and reduce drag. After that, Air Force leaders will ultimately decide whether or not any of the modifications should be implemented throughout the C-17 fleet.
"Our end goal is to reduce fuel consumption while maintaining military utility" said Steve Salas, a 418th FLTS project manager. "This program has the potential for significant savings in C-17 fuel costs, helping the Air Force stretch its budget even further, while maintaining force readiness."
Testing is scheduled to be completed in October.
Incirlik ensures safe departure of families from Turkey
While Incirlik Air Base remains a hub of activity in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, an ordered departure was approved March 29 for families of military members and Defense Department civilians stationed in Adana, Izmir and Mugla, Turkey, to include those on base.
Once notified of the ordered departure, members of the 39th Air Base Wing worked around the clock to enable the departure of dependents from Incirlik AB in an orderly and timely fashion. Many personnel worked days on end to ensure that medical, financial, emotional and logistical needs were met. The majority of this took place during a 72-hour period as families were moved first to Ramstein AB, Germany, and then on to a safe location within the United States and other authorized locations, using a combination of military and chartered aircraft.
"There has been a phenomenal effort from everyone ensuring the safety, security and comfort of those leaving," said Lt. Col. Derrick Weyand, the 39th Mission Support Group deputy commander. "We have asked our Airmen to step up and work harder and longer than their normal operational tempo, and they have done so knowing that their efforts are not only taking care of their own family members but also their fellow Airmen. That is definitely something for them and their leadership to be proud of."
Since the issue of a stop movement of all concurrent dependent travel in September, members wishing to relocate families were given voluntary options such as authorized voluntary departure and early return of dependents. Though some families took these options, many did not; nearly 670 dependents recently departed after the ordered departure was given.
"Overall, everyone was courteous," said LaShea Anderson, spouse of Capt. Ian Anderson, the 39th Medical Operations Squadron public health officer in-charge. "Everyone was attentive, you know, they wanted to make sure that they answered all of your questions that you had. They made sure that as you are going on to your next location, you're feeling confident in what you're leaving behind."
Families in transition were given support to ease the stress of this movement. During each part of their journey they were greeted by teams prepared to address the concerns and questions of the families, and to ensure the educational needs of those still enrolled in school were being met.
"We recognize that being uprooted like this in such a hastily fashion is troublesome," said Col. John Walker, 39th ABW commander. "Our families are important to us, as are those who must stay behind on Incirlik to continue the fight. We are doing and will continue to do everything that we can to make this transition as painless as possible."
Though the movement of family members has been the main focus of the ordered departure, the members who will remain at Incirlik AB, now without the close support of those family members, has not been overlooked. A disaster mental health services team was assembled to help manage the stress and emotion in the current situation.
"We are here to provide an outlet for members experiencing stress from the current situation," said Capt. Ryan Ogilvy, the 39th Medical Operations Support Squadron disaster mental health team chief. "Whether that stress is from the sudden separation of families or the sudden increase in occupational stresses, we are here to provide education on how to deal with these stressors so that they can shift their focus back to the mission at hand."
While many may be under the stress of their families departing, the military and civilians are continuing in their current assignment at Incirlik AB until further guidance is given on a timeline to expect them to be away.
"As our mission here at Incirlik evolves, we will continue to assess the threat and take appropriate actions," Walker said. "The families that made this move are part of the Incirlik family. We are Titans, and we will overcome this hardship and through our strength and resiliency we will continue to carry on the mission of the 39th Air Base Wing."
Ramstein units step up to help military families leaving Turkey
An ordered departure for U.S. military family members to leave Turkey due to security concerns March 29, resulted in many of them traveling through Ramstein Air Base.
Members of the Kaiserslautern military community, including Ramstein personnel, pitched in to assist fellow military families during the hectic transition.
Various community agencies offered temporary lodging, transportation, medical care, child care, school enrollment, and any essentials needed in the possibly stressful time.
"There are a lot of great things going on here," said Michele Dresel, the Airman and Family Readiness Center director. "Through other hard times like this, we've learned what small details may be overlooked; so we've been able to learn from that and make improvements for this situation to ensure we don't miss anything.
"The families have been assigned their own first sergeant to assist with anything they could possibly need, and we're working side-by-side with him," she continued. "He has worked to assign each family a sponsor to help them along the way to ensure the smoothest transition possible."
Each unit came together to provide their assets to make families as comfortable and less stressful as possible.
"We're taking care of the families by enabling and facilitating base access," said Staff Sgt. Bethany Wright, the 86th Security Forces Squadron reports and analysis NCO. "By doing this, we're alleviating the added stress of them checking in every time they want to come back on base."
Ramstein units have been working tirelessly all week to refine processes and come together as an Air Force family during this time of need.
"It's spectacular how, once the word got out that families were (ordered to leave) Turkey, people have stepped up in droves," said Brig. Gen. Jon T. Thomas, 86th Airlift Wing commander. "It's been individuals, it's been organizations -- the commissary stayed open late so families could do a little shopping before going to their temporary lodging facilities. It's all across the community here, how generous and warm-hearted people, Airmen and Soldiers have been, and that's exactly what we would hope for."
Families ordered to leave Turkey arriving in US
Military dependents and pets began arriving at Baltimore Washington International Airport, Maryland, March 31 following an ordered departure of Defense Department dependents due to security concerns in some areas of Turkey.
Dependents arriving at BWI were flown on Air Mobility Commands C-17 Globemaster III aircraft and various charted flights departing from Ramstein Air Base, Germany.
Once at BWI, the family members went to connecting flights, waited for a flight, or made other travel arrangements. Airmen from Detachment 1, 305th Aerial Port Squadron, stationed at the airport, played a key role in ensuring a smooth transition.
During the special assigned airlift missions, Lt. Col. Bary Flack, the 305th APS commander, said he was thrilled with how his team assisted families. The Airmen coordinated with numerous agencies and commands at Ramstein AB and BWI.
The partnership with the BWI airport authorities has been outstanding, Flack said. Theyve been great partners, to see not only how our folks adapted but the airports adapted.
Several other airport agencies, including the USO and Red Cross, assisted passengers as they traveled through the airport.
Red Cross staff members helped in a variety of ways as families exited the terminals. Comfort kits, which included hygiene products, infant diapers, and dog and cat food for people with pets, were made available.
The Red Cross even provided more than 20 hotel rooms for families who had to spend the night as they waited to resume traveling.
Brittany Fowler, the spokeswoman for the American Red Cross of the Chesapeake Region, said her team's job was to make this time a little bit easier for those departing from Adana, Izmir and Mugla, Turkey, including Incirlik AB.
We know theyve had a long journey and for them to come out and smile at us and just say thank you is huge, Fowler said.
Fowler said her team also worked with the USO to offer a seamless transition from the terminal to the USO facility.
Within the USO, families and individuals had the opportunity to enjoy some of its amenities, including TV, computer access, Wi-Fi, gaming systems, free snacks and more. Several local restaurants also provided food over the past few days, giving away hundreds of meals.
This is what we do in terms of service to the armed forces, Fowler said. People know us mostly for emergency communications, but we try to make sure that we are as available as (much as) possible for our service men and women and their families.
Other commands participating in the care of the military families included U. S. Transportation Command, U. S. Northern Command and U. S. Army North (Fifth Army). Each command coordinated actions to ensure people going through this event were treated with the best personal service possible.
U.S. European Command officials announced March 29 that this move does not signify a permanent decision to end accompanied tours in Turkey.
We excerpted this post by James Lyons Weiler.
By James Lyons Weiler, PhD
IN THE TELEVISION PRE-HISTORY FICTIONAL MINISERIES GAME OF THRONES, a female character named Ygritte is fond of telling her lover, a Night Watchman, who lives caught between two warring cultures, the expression You know nothing, Jon Snow. She tells him this to remind him that he has no idea why the Wildings, a tribe of undead people, are attacking their peoples, and, as hint to the fact that in spite of their different origins as people, she loves him.
There is another Snow of merit who lived between cultures a culture of science and a culture of stoic and unforgiving ignorance. This John Snow has an important lesson for our time.
In 1854s, London Physician John Snow was confronted with a severe outbreak of cholera. The prevailing view of the cause of the cholera at the time was the miasma theory, in which bad air, or something called vibrones which the medical community postulated caused the spread of the illness.
Londons Soho District at the time was typical of London neighborhoods in the 1850s. Most homes had cess pits under their homes for human waste, and if the waste production exceeded the soils capacity, it would he hauled away, for a fee, and dumped into the river Thames.
The good Dr. Snow, pictured to the right, was not satisfied by the miasma theory. As the cholera outbreak worsened, he began mapping cases and eventually recognized that most John_Snowcases were clustered near a water pump on Broad Street. His careful observations led him to conclude that whatever cholera poison, as he referred to it, was behind the outbreak, it was somehow connected to the water pump. This was before germ theory was established and pathogens such as bacteria and viruses were unknown to medicine.
A religious colleague, The Reverend Henry Whitehead, from St. Lukes Church, was a believer of the miasma theory. As any good man of the church would so, he attempted to disprove theories, and when he turned his attention to Dr. Snows theory of that cholera was a water-born illness, somehow connected to human waste, he was turned away from the nondescript miasma theory by the evidence accumulated by Snow in his maps. He even accompanied Dr. Snow on a hunt for the connection between human waste and the water pump, and together they discovered a home that had a cess pit that drained to a old cess pit only a few feet away from the well at the Broad Street Pump. The homeowners routinely dumped diapers (nappies) into the cess pit under their home.
YEREVAN, APRIL 1, ARMENPRESS. On 1 April Artsakh Republics President Bako Sahakyan signed a decree according to which serviceman of the NKR Defense Army's N division Vladimir Melkonyan was posthumously awarded with the "For Service in Battle" medal for bravery shown during the defense of the Nagorno Karabagh Republic state border.
Armenpress reports about the aforementioned, citing the press service of the Artsakh Presidents office.
In one of the northern military units of the Defense Army, on April 1 at 12:20, soldier of the Defense Army Vladimir Melkonyan (b.1996), was fatally wounded by Azerbaijani fire, Armenpress was informed by the Press Service of the Nagorno Karabakh Defense Ministry.
Investigation is underway to determine the details of the incident.
The Nagorno Karabakh Defense Ministry shares the grief of loss and expresses its support to the family, relatives and co-servicemen of V.Melkonyan.
Assyrians in Armenia Celebrate New Year
Assyrians in Armenia celebrate the 6766th Assyrian new year. ( ArmenPress) A solemn ceremony took place at the municipality of Verin Dvin village of Ararat Province, dedicated to the 6766th year of Assyrian calendar. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Armenia Richard Mills also attended the event. At the beginning of the event the congratulatory message of the President of Armenia was read. I cordially congratulate the Assyrians of Armenia on the occasion of Assyrian New Year - Kha b'Nisan. I wish that this holiday, which symbolizes the revival of nature, bring our brotherly Assyrian nation new success and become a beginning for the implementation of new programs. Let this spring holiday of love and bounty stay with you the entire year, and let wars and hardships stay away. I wish the Assyrian community of Armenia happiness and prosperity, Armenpress reports, the President's message read. In an interview with journalists head of Verin Dvin community Lyudmila Petrova stated that April 1 marks the 6766th year of the Assyrian calendar. Assyrians mark the New Year on April 1 as that day was selected in Ancient Assyria which symbolizes the revival of spring and nature, Lyudmila Petrova said, congratulating the Assyrians on the feast that lasts 12 days. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Armenia Richard Mills stated in his speech that it is a great honor for him to be present at the event. Participating in a New Year ceremony is always a pleasure wherever it takes place. I am particularly happy today to be in Verin Dvin on this occasion, because for a long time I had a desire to come here and see how Assyrians co-exist side by side with their Armenian neighbors. And what I see here is a very good example that should be simulated in other countries. Let me congratulate you on this feast and mention that the Assyrian community in the U.S., Detroit and Chicago, celebrates this feast with you. Next time when I arrive in the USA I will share my memories of this day with them, the Ambassador stated. President of Assyrian Artur union Arsen Mikhailov mentioned in an interview with Armenpress that they have the opportunity to celebrate the Assyrian New year in Armenia. I salute all Assyrians on this occasion, as this day has a very important connotation for us in terms of preservation of ethnic culture. Here I have to mention that the Assyrian community in Armenia has reached a level where it is able to preserve and develop its language and culture, Mikhailov said. He expressed gratitude to the Armenian people and the Armenian authorities for granting them with broad opportunities. The Republic of Armenia has granted us with broad opportunities which we must serve for the preservation and development of our educational, cultural and ethnic identity. And we would make a mistake if made no use of those opportunities. For example, in the neighboring countries our communities have not so much opportunities. I wish Assyrians living in Armenia and abroad success and good health. Let they never forget who they are, what are the values they bear, and how they must develop those values, he added. Mikhailov also touched upon the issue of problems facing Assyrians of Syria and Iraq. He underscored that they follow with grieve what happens to the Assyrian people in Iraq and Syria, adding that they have often voiced about that, that the crimes against the Assyrian people must end. President Congratulates Assyrian Community The President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan sent a congratulatory message to the Assyrian community of Armenia on the occasion of Kha b-Nisan:
Australia's Assyrians in Focus
Children from Kids World Kindy, in Fairfield Heights, performed in traditional Assyrian costume to celebrate the Assyrian New Year last year. Fairfield, Australia (AINA) -- On Sunday 27 March the Australian Broadcasting Commission presented a special documentary on Australia's Assyrian community as part of the long-running and popular "Compass" series. The Assyrian community is not widely known in Australia. The program presenter, Geraldine Doogue, set the scene by describing the Assyrians as "a people, culture and religion marked by persecution from ancient times to the present day."
Assyrians have been settling in Australia since the 1950s, with the first arrivals fleeing from the 1958 revolution in Iraq. One of the earliest Assyrian arrivals, Phillip Damon, who arrived in Australia in 1964, explained the reaction of these first pioneers, saying that "Assyrians were happy to be settling in a democratic country and, more importantly, in a Christian country."
The Australian Assyrian community grew steadily in subsequent decades, reaching today's figure of 40,000 nationwide, with three quarters centered in the state of New South Wales and most in the suburb of Fairfield in Western Sydney. As the community grew, so did their churches, which played an important role in community life. In October 2015 the Australian Assyrian community celebrated the 25 year anniversary of the construction of the Saint Hurmizd Cathedral in Fairfield. Australia's second largest city of Melbourne hosts an Assyrian community of around 10,000, with two churches available for religious and social activities. The Australian Assyrian community continues to grow with the special intake of refugees from Syria currently being received under national government immigration priorities.
The Compass documentary underlined the important role of the church in maintaining Assyrian identity, faith and culture.
In an interview, Reverend Father Narsai Youkhanis, who at 21 was the youngest priest to be ordained into the Assyrian Church of the East, emphasized the church's key role in gathering and protecting Assyrians and their heritage. His ordination in 2010 was attended by over 2000 people, representing some 5% of the entire Assyrian community in Australia. It is hard to imagine another church in this country attracting 5% of the population to an ordination of one of its clergymen. This testifies to the degree to which church and community are inextricably interwoven in Australia's Assyrian community. This was also emphasized in interview by Natalie Moshi of the Assyrian Church of the East Relief Organization, who said: "Because we as a nation cannot point to a map and see Assyria clearly defined there, the church has as a result, almost by default, become our country, our guiding father, our guiding mother, a place where we can go to see our fellow people, to see our community."
Assyrian genocide monument in Fairfield, Australia, Erected on August 7, 2010.
The Australian Assyrian community is very conscious of the suffering of its fellow Assyrians overseas. The theme is emphasized by church figures such as Father Narsai, who commented that "suffering has made our church stronger. That is part of our DNA."
The community commemorates Assyrian Martyrs Day, to remember those Assyrians massacred at the hands of the Ottoman Turks during the First World War. However, it doesn't only look back to past suffering.The Australian Assyrian community is very conscious of the current plight of Assyrians overseas, especially in the Middle East. The Assyrian Resource Center in the heart of Fairfield is very active in this regard. Speaking on behalf of the ARC, Carmen Lazar explained how the Center helped Assyrians displaced by war in Syria in sponsoring them to come to Australia. She explained how the Assyrian church represented the first port of call for assistance: "Our churches are our shelter; our churches are our point of contact. Without our churches we are not recognized anywhere."
While clearly active in its advocacy for the Assyrian community in Australia and overseas, the Assyrian Church of the East also devotes attention to presenting a relevant message to its local youth. The Eucharist is traditionally said in ancient Aramaic. However one of the initiatives by Father Narsai has been to conduct the Mass in the modern Assyrian language in order to reach out to the youth of the community. This has attracted some criticism from conservative voices in the community, concerned by the fact that modern Assyrian includes some loan words from Arabic, Turkish and Kurdish. Additionally, the Eucharist is now also being celebrated in English in some masses so that it is more accessible to the increasing numbers of Assyrian families in Australia who only speak English.
Though only representing 0.15% of Australia's overall population, the Assyrian community is vibrant and growing. Its identity is not under threat, not only thanks to new arrivals through Australia's refugee and immigration program, but also thanks to the dynamic nature of the Assyrian church, which serves as a place of faith and worship, as well as an engine of advocacy and social action. The Assyrian community in Australia is clearly here to stay and represents a welcome addition to Australia's multicultural society.
YEREVAN, APRIL 1, ARMENPRESS. Secretary (West) in the Indian Ministry of External affairs Ms. Sujata Mehta, hosted in Armenia for the first time to attend 7th session of the Armenian-Indian intergovernmental commission, is convinced that it is possible to develop cooperation in economic, scientific and political sectors. For example we are interested in seismic and space sectors; sectors which are very practical for us, where we can co-operate, Sujata Mehta said, Armenpress reports.
She agreed that bilateral trade is insufficient and it is necessary to intensify trade between the mentioned countries. We will try to do everything to improve the situation of the importing from Armenia. Easy ways for interconnection will be improved and will expand the volume of foreign trade, Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted.
The guest noticed that Armenia's membership to the Eurasian Economic Union and benefiting from EUs GSP + preferences can be a factor for Indian companies in terms of making investments in Armenia.
She also expressed gratitude for warm reception, noting that she will gladly visit to Armenia again. The warmth that I have received makes me confident that I will return again, Ms. Sujata Mehta emphasized.
SATS, the Singapore ground handling company, has signed a joint venture agreement with Oman Air for cargo handling at Muscat International Airport.
Oman Air will transfer its cargo handling business and related assets to its wholly-owned subsidiary, Oman Air Cargo.
SATS will acquire 165,000 shares in the subsidiary from Oman Air, representing 33% of its share capital, at a purchase consideration of approximately S$22.4m.
The joint venture company will then be renamed Oman SATS Cargo and is expected to commence operations during the second quarter of 2016.
It will become the single source provider of cargo handling services, first at the existing cargo facility and then at the new cargo terminal in Muscat International Airport, which handled 134,000 tonnes in 2015, a 10.2% increase on prior year.
SATS will provide "the requisite management and technical know-how" to the joint venture including staff training as well as reviewing existing cargo processes and operations work flow at the new cargo terminal in Muscat.
Paul Gregorowitsch, Oman Airs chief executive, said: The joint venture with SATS is one of our initiatives intended to prepare for the growth in airline operations in the coming years as well as secure a quality improvement in the services provided to our cargo customers.
With SATS as our partner, we also believe that the subsequent growth of the new company will result in increased employment and career development opportunities for Omani citizens.
Alex Hungate, SATS president and chief executive, said: This strategic partnership with Oman Air will enhance connectivity for our cargo customers across Asia and strengthen Omans position as a transit hub.
We also see opportunities to develop cold-chain handling capabilities and promote carriage of premium and temperature-controlled airfreight for Oman Air and other airlines.
The completion of the SATS acquisition is subject to the fulfillment of certain conditions precedent said the two partners.
Muscat has benefited from the alliance between European freighter operator Cargolux and Oman Air who expanded their partnership in February with the addition of two weekly flights to Mumbai.
The two carriers launched their partnership in April last year, which provided Cargolux with access to the Middle East airlines facilities in Muscat, Salalah and Sohar. Later, the two partners added flights to Chennai.
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YEREVAN, APRIL 1, ARMENPRESS. On April 1 l the Nuclear Security Summit launched In the US capital, in which Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan participates, at the invitation of US President Barack Obama.
As Armenpress was reported by the Office of Public Relations and Mass Media of the Armenian President's Staff, the summit is attended by heads of more than 50 countries and governments.
The summit will discuss the implementation works, developed during the previous World Summit, on the high level of joint steps to combat nuclear terrorism which presents a big threat for international security, in accordance with the Communique and Work Plan, as well as effective mechanisms to jointly confront new challenges, the elimination of nuclear terrorism threats and their effective prevention.
March 31, 2016
Egypt's politicians are preparing to do battle against its army. A number of lawmakers in the country's recently elected parliament are working on laws designed to provide answers to questions about the army's money and its place in the national budget.
Armies are the basis of the administration and the administration is everything, Maj. Gen. Mahmoud Nasr said at a conference four years ago on the role of the Egyptian Armed Forces (EAF) in supporting the economy through the institutions many projects. At the same conference, held in Cairo and organized by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, he stressed that the so-called "army economy" is not derived from state funds, but rather from returns on Ministry of Defense projects.
The Defense Ministrys projects and finances have long lacked transparency, and many critics have questioned whether its funds constitute a black-market budget. Some estimate the size of the armys economy at 35-45% of the Egyptian economy. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi denied both assertions during his election campaign. In a May 2014 interview with Reuters, Sisi said the correct number was no more than 2%.
The armys wealth comes through what is owned by the EAFs ministries, military production and subsidiary bodies or economic institutions. The Armed Forces Land Projects, a government agency affiliated with the Ministry of Defense, is tasked with creating investment projects (housing, commercial centers, administrative units, parking areas) on EAF-owned land to serve the civilian sector. But the agency isn't required to reveal the lands it owns or how it came to own them.
Among the most prominent of the armys economic bodies is the Arab Organization for Industrialization, launched in 1975 as a partnership with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to establish an Arab common defense industry. But after Egypt signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1979, the Arab states withdrew their shares and the Egyptian government became the organizations only owner.
Also in 1979, the army created the National Service Projects Organization to become self-sufficient and avoid relying on the private sector for its needs. The agency lists the companies it owns on its website. The companies operate in numerous sectors such as construction, cleaning, agriculture and food products, and they sell their surpluses in the domestic Egyptian market.
The armys economic empire extends to public lands that are not declared in any document or official statement. They come to light when projects are planned on vital land. After investors become deeply involved in projects, they sometimes discover that the lands in question belong to the army or are disputed between the army and the police, which are represented by the Ministries of the Armed Forces and the Interior, respectively, according to parliament member Moataz Mahmoud, who spoke with Al-Monitor in a recent interview.
Mahmoud supports legislation known as Dominion of the Land (Wilayat al-Ard), which mainly aims to limit how much land the Egyptian army and the Ministry of Interior can own and to codify it as much possible. According to Mahmoud, existing laws are onerous for Egyptian and foreign investors. He would like to pass a series of new laws, such as Dominion of the Land, that clearly define state land ownership and protect property rights.
In addition to ruffling the military's feathers, this legislation is expected to trigger a confrontation among parliament members. A number of international and domestic media outlets have reported that Egypts military intelligence pushed certain people to run in the elections, seeking to boost the army's political influence even more.
In this context, a parliamentarian who spoke on condition of anonymity pointed out that the armys economic assets keep expanding year after year but that the national interest makes it imperative for parliament in general to not open this case." He stressed that the army does not interfere with the economy or work against anyone, and that it fills an economic void to provide goods that the state could not provide. He did concede, however, that the army uses conscripts as laborers in its production operations, making its companies more competitive than the private sector.
From 2012 to 2014, the Engineering Authority implemented 473 strategic and service projects.
A military source in EAF's Engineering Authority told Al-Monitor that projects of the EAF and its affiliates are not subject to any kind of oversight, not even by parliament.
The source said that the expected clash between the armys economic arm and the parliament members who support the legislation could prevent its passage, or at least prevent its application to the EAF, which is a sovereign body with economic and legal influence surpassing that of parliament members. Parliament is not allowed to examine the armys budget, which is the responsibility of the Defense and National Security Committee alone in cases of extreme necessity.
The source said projects assigned to the armys economic agency are always done directly through the Council of Ministers or the relevant ministries. In an attempt to create confidence between the agency and businesspeople, the agency sometimes enters into partnerships, such as the partnership with Osman Ahmed Osman and his company, Arab Contractors.
March 31, 2016
On March 28, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu phoned Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon to order him to stop returning to the Palestinian Authority (PA) the bodies of Palestinians killed while attacking Israelis. Netanyahus order stands in stark contrast to the firm opinion of Yaalon and many others in the defense establishment who believe that keeping the bodies will not only fail to deter potential terrorists, but might actually increase the motivation among Palestinians to launch revenge attacks.
Yaalon was at the same time considering more than just security. He was also taking moral considerations into account. In a meeting of the Security Cabinet in October, Yaalon had expressed his reservations about a demand by ministers from HaBayit HaYehudi and Internal Security Minister Gilad Erdan to keep the Palestinians' bodies. He reportedly said, Israel doesnt deal in dead bodies. At that same meeting, Yaalon claimed that keeping the bodies could lead to the abduction of soldiers, who would then be used as bargaining chips to obtain the bodies' return.
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot, and Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, coordinator of government activities in the territories, also argued that keeping the Palestinians' bodies would only serve to intensify the intifada. In addition, Eizenkot opposed calls from politicians to undertake collective punishment or launch military operations in the territories. He was concerned that such steps would be detrimental to security cooperation with the PA and result in the intifada spinning out of control.
So what motivated Netanyahu to make a decision counter to the prevailing wisdom among the defense establishment? What caused him to act now and release an oddly worded statement that portrays the defense minister as someone who fulfills his orders with no right to express his opposition about them even if he thinks they are damaging to the State of Israel?
Netanyahu held no discussions on the matter, as usually occurs with security issues. There was no discussion in the Security Cabinet and none in the government. Netanyahus office even refused to answer journalists questions when asked about the timing of the decision and its significance. As far as Yaalon was concerned, however, everything was crystal clear.
Netanyahu is currently locked in a heated back and forth with HaBayit HaYehudi Chairman Naftali Bennett and his right-wing supporters over the arrest of an Israeli soldier who was recorded on video released by BTselem executing a Palestinian after he had been neutralized following an attack on soldiers in Hebron. At the weekly cabinet meeting March 27, Bennett accused Netanyahu and the countrys leadership of dancing to BTselem's tune. Bennett appears to have been referring to the defense minister and IDF chief of staff although he avoided naming them.
You are confused between the good guys and the bad guys, Bennett scolded. Netanyahu, refusing to be outdone, retorted, Dont lecture me about backing the IDF.
The phone call to Yaalon came one day after the stormy meeting. It appears the prime minister felt the heat from Bennetts attack, so he called Yaalon to instruct him not to return Palestinians' bodies to the PA.
This is typical behavior for Netanyahu. He refuses to be caught losing to Bennett in their fight over the hearts and minds of HaBayit HaYehudi voters or the right in general. It sometimes seems as if he is willing to pay almost any political or security price as long as he can prevent Bennett or any other right-wing figure, in or out of government, from outflanking him on the right and presenting him as failing to fulfill the interests of the settlers. There is no shortage of examples of such behavior.
One remarkable instance with particularly disastrous diplomatic consequences was Netanyahu's surrender to right-wing demands not to release long-held Palestinian prisoners, even though he had committed to doing as part of the negotiations with the Palestinians to revive peace talks. On the eve of the negotiations, Netanyahu chose to release prisoners rather than freeze construction in the territories because he believed that halting construction would lose him votes on the right, especially among the settlers.
As the fourth and final prisoner release approached in 2014, the right, led by the My Israel movement, launched a campaign against it. Netanyahu caved to the campaign's pressure, and the diplomatic negotiations fell apart. In an interview with Al-Monitor in September, Sarah Haetzni, the leader of My Israel, described the enormous pressure her group put Netanyahu under in the effort to force him to forgo the release.
Similarly, when it comes to construction in the settlements, Netanyahu has chosen his narrow political interests over diplomatic and security interests. Declarations of new construction projects whenever Netanyahu feels he is about to lose the right are regularly a go-to for him. Thus, for example, after members of the Fogel family were stabbed to death in Itamar in March 2011, Netanyahu announced that he was approving the construction of hundreds of housing units in the settlement. He was later forced to back down on his statement.
Netanyahu was at his most ridiculous following the Supreme Courts decision in June 2012 to demolish five homes in the Givat HaUlpana neighborhood, in the Beit El settlement, that were built on privately owned Palestinian land. Concerned about losing settler support, he decided to compensate them with a gift bag and announced that he would build 851 housing units in the territories. Of course, this was in addition to wasting the millions of dollars to dismantle the existing, illegally built homes to rebuild them elsewhere. Ultimately, he was forced to accept the defense establishments position that his plan could not be implemented.
In his current battle with Bennett for the hearts and minds of the right, Netanyahu has decided to ignore the defense establishments position that the failure to return the bodies of Palestinians will only intensify the intifada. Despite objections by the security establishment, Netanyahus order stands. It seems as if, once again, he is putting his own personal interest above the national security interests of the State of Israel.
It is telling that Yaalon, who has taken a firm, aggressive position against Bennett and his associates on the extrajudicial killing in Hebron, has chosen this time to let Netanyahu humiliate him, as if he has no position whatsoever, and will not speak up.
April 1, 2016
CAIRO President Abdel Fattah al-Sisis March 28 decree relieving Hisham Geneina, the head of the Accountability State Authority (ASA), the countrys central auditing agency, of his post and appointing Geneinas deputy Hesham Badawi to run the authority did not come as a surprise.
Many were expecting this decision months before its issuance, given the fierce campaign waged against Geneina due to statements he made to Egyptian daily Al-Youm Al-Sabea in December 2015, which claimed that the cost of corruption had reached 600 billion Egyptian pounds (around $76 billion) in 2015. These statements stirred a nationwide controversy in Egypt.
Consequently, Sisi formed a commission tasked with investigating these claims, headed by the chief of the Administrative Control Authority and assisted by Badawi, deputy head of the ASA, in addition to three representatives of the Ministries of Interior, Planning and Finance.
Days after his statement to Al-Youm Al-Sabea, Geneina issued a statement refuting his previous claims and clarifying that the corruption costs he had mentioned consist of the accumulated amount over a four-year period, not just 2015.
Yet the investigation commission continued its mission and issued a statement broadcasted on the state television channel on Jan. 12 accusing Geneina of making misleading statements involving deliberate exaggeration, omission and misuse of the term corruption.
The commission decided to send its report to the house of representatives and the public prosecutor and to entrust the National Anti-Corruption Committee, headed by the prime minister, with it. The Egyptian Parliament formed a committee to examine the commissions report.
On March 28, the State Security Prosecution issued a statement dismissing Geneinas statements as unruly, and within a few hours, Sisi issued a presidential decree to sack Geneina, pursuant to Law No. 89 of 2015.
This law authorizes the president to dismiss heads of supervisory authorities if the official proves to constitute a threat to the states security, lacks trust or consideration, fails to meet the duties of his position in a way that harms the states interests, or loses one of the qualifications that entitled him to the position.
The same law had sparked controversy at the time of its issuance as some rejected it for being specifically aimed at allowing the dismissal of Geneina, who was appointed by former President Mohammed Morsi. Geneina faced accusations of being associated with the Muslim Brotherhood, but he has denied these accusations in many press statements.
The Nations Future Party, the second largest party in the parliament, praised the decision to dismiss Geneina. Member of parliament Ashraf Rashad, the partys secretary-general, indicated in press statements the day following the dismissal that the decision came as the result of Geneinas recent attempts to distort the countrys image by issuing false statements about the extent of corruption. Rashad called for holding Geneina accountable for causing huge losses to the Egyptian people.
The Egyptian Social Democratic Party rejected the decision to dismiss Geneina and issued a statement March 30 indicating, The decision was completely prepared in advance and came after a mobilization campaign launched by the state media against Geneina. This confirms that the state stands against those rejecting corruption.
A number of members of parliament objected to the decision, which was passed without referring to the parliament. Member of parliament Samir Ghattas issued a statement March 29 that said, The competent authority that should have held Geneina accountable is the parliament, which is authorized to control the supervisory authorities and the decisions of the executive authorities.
Meanwhile, member of parliament Mustafa Bakri asserted the same day that the investigation commission set up by the parliament has now become useless and that the parliament will dissolve it.
Geneinas dismissal raised the concerns of many who fear this decision would undermine the independence of the regulatory and supervisory authorities overseeing all state institutions, including the presidential institution, which issued the decision to sack the head of the top supervisory authority.
Ahmed Imam, member of the supreme body of the Strong Egypt Party, told Al-Monitor, The decision to sack Geneina violates the principle of separation of the legislative, executive and judicial powers, which undermines the supervisory authorities capacity to monitor and detect corruption.
He added, The ASA will not be publishing in the coming period any reports on corruption under the pretext of the need for confidentiality of reports, despite the fact that citizens should be entitled to peruse these reports. Badawi, assigned to run the ASA affairs, was a previous official in the State Security Prosecution an institution that believes in the secrecy of work and reports.
This decision to dismiss Geneina adversely affects investments. This is a message to businessmen that the regime does not abide by the constitution, which provides for the separation of the three powers, said Imam.
At the same time, member of parliament Mohammad Abu Hamed told Al-Monitor that in his view the decision to dismiss Geneina was constitutional, since the Constitution authorizes the president to dismiss heads of supervisory authorities in accordance with the law, and the law provides for the dismissal in case of threat to the states security. Geneinas statements that corruption has cost the state 600 billion Egyptian pounds in one year have in fact damaged Egypts reputation and investments.
He asserted that the dismissal of Geneina will not affect the work of the supervisory authorities, since the constitution states that the head of the ASA is appointed with the approval of two-thirds of the parliament members, but that the president is authorized to dismiss him in accordance with the law.
Abu Hamed accused Geneina of harboring intentions to harm Egypt by publishing the ASA reports, despite their confidentiality, since divulging these reports would affect the course of the investigations or harm the reputation of an institution or person based on uninvestigated reports.
He explained that the ASA reports are sent to the president, the parliament and the public prosecutor and must not be made public in press conferences like Geneina did.
April 1, 2016
Since the Arab uprisings began in 2010, all six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states have been preoccupied with regime survival, which dictates how they project their power beyond their borders.
When Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait and to a lesser extent Oman project power abroad, they are driven by their own domestic challenges rather than by a Gulf consensus. Consequently, GCC countries have adopted contradictory projects in most Arab countries such as Libya, Egypt, Yemen and Syria.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been determined to block the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in North Africa, but until recently Qatar was actively supporting it. With Syria, almost all GCC countries, with the exception of Oman, were keen on supporting so-called moderate rebels, a term that has become increasingly muddled since the Syrian uprising began five years ago. The sectarian agenda of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain each has a vested interest in depicting its own local protest as an Iranian Shiite conspiracy against it does not resonate well in Kuwait and Oman.
When GCC states need to project power abroad, they inflame their citizens imaginations with hypernationalism, which is highly important at times of regional turmoil, political instability and economic hardship.
The old, mild nationalism that immediately followed the establishment of the Gulf nation-states is developing into an assertive, hypernationalist trend centered on militarization specifically in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, where both countries project themselves as being at war with an Iranian proxy whose tentacles reach their own backyard in Yemen. In both countries, important royals command the armed forces and are present at all levels in military institutions, thus demonstrating to their subjects that they, too, are willing to die for their nation. Bahrain has no choice but to follow suit, as its fragile domestic politics are stabilized by an entrenched narrative about how Iran strives to destabilize the small kingdom through Bahraini Shiites.
In the Gulf, the sons of kings, emirs and sheikhs are depicted as being willing to die for the fatherland in battle, like ordinary subjects. In this militarized hypernationalism, royalty and commoners become equal in an illusory way, thus masking old hierarchies and inequalities, especially at times of dwindling resources and welfare.
Somehow, hypernationalism is expected to perform the miracle of homogenizing the subjects and molding them into one entity. Above all, this extreme patriotism momentarily promises to bring the fragments of the nation together in an imagined community.
The Gulf states contradictory goals in the Arab world may have had a detrimental impact on local societies, widening the divide between Islamists and non-Islamists, strengthening the military against civilian government, creating dependency on Gulf resources and generating new patron-client relations as a result of aid to specific regimes. Those clashing goals may have contributed in one way or another to the rise of militant Islamists across the region. So far, it is difficult to find evidence of recent Gulf expansion leading to positive, long-term democratic government across the region from Bahrain to Cairo, not to mention Syria and Yemen. Regional Gulf interventions can also be devastating at the humanitarian level. Both Yemen and Syria are stark examples of how the Gulfs aggressive gun policy hasnt contributed to their stability, but more likely will generate further tensions, conflicts and civilian deaths.
Inside the Gulf itself, interventions abroad have led to several outcomes, all of which have contributed to regime survival, albeit in the short term.
First, the interventions have silenced Gulf Islamists, especially those who criticized GCC countries for facilitating the removal of the Muslim Brotherhood from power in Egypt. In the summer of 2013, many Gulf Islamists sympathized with the plight of their Egyptian counterparts. Gulf Muslim Brotherhood activists circulated petitions criticizing all GCC governments and condemning them for the financial support they had given then-Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. While all Gulf Muslim Brotherhood activists coordinated their efforts to reject their governments policies, in Saudi Arabia two famous activists, Mohsen al-Awaji and Mohammad al-Arifi, were called for questioning. Later they were banned from travel. Sympathy with the Muslim Brotherhood became taboo. In the UAE, many Muslim Brotherhood activists were detained until the present day. Saudi Arabia and the UAE put pressure on Qatar to expel Muslim Brotherhood activists and stop its support for the Egyptian ones. Finally, anti-terrorism laws in Saudi Arabia and the UAE outlawed the organization after depicting it as a terrorist group.
Second, Gulf countries interventions in both Syria and Yemen were framed from the very beginning as decisiveness against Iran. This immediately appealed to Islamists across the GCC and momentarily absorbed their anger toward their governments previous intervention in Egypt.
With the exception of Oman, all Gulf Islamists from Manama (Bahrains capital) to Riyadh expressed increasing support for their governments, although these governments had implemented repressive measures against them and curtailed their activities. Many Islamist activists began to express support for their governments for showing strength against the Iranian Shiite expansion in the Arab world.
Islamists increasingly see Gulf countries interventions in Syria and Yemen as revenge for the plight of Sunnis in Iraq and Syria. Just before the coup in Egypt, popular Saudi Salafist Mohammad al-Arifi joined other Islamists to openly call for jihad in Syria. A year later, he denied his call. He became an ardent supporter of Saudi Arabias war in Yemen, replacing his white cloak with a military uniform to encourage Saudi soldiers on the frontlines.
The intervention in Yemen momentarily healed the rift between governments and Salafists, while keeping the Muslim Brotherhood at bay. In addition to the martial hypernationalism mentioned earlier, we now have a Salafized nationalism, a lethal cocktail of sectarianism and popular nationalism.
From the perspective of many GCC countries, extreme nationalism in its martial and Salafized versions may be the best vaccine at the moment to ward off domestic trouble, especially Muslim Brotherhood challenges. But its long-term, devastating consequences could erupt soon. GCC countries might pay a high price for inflaming the imagination with theatrical hypernationalism a toll taken on battlegrounds.
Their repression of some Islamists and promotion of others may be a good divide-and-rule strategy, but empowering sectarian Salafists and embracing their agenda is not a long-term solution in countries such as Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. Saudi Arabia already paid a high price for this in 2015 when the Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for 15 terrorist attacks on Shiite mosques and other security forces. Kuwait, too, has seen the dark side of this with devastating attacks on Shiite places of worship.
There is a distinct but very thin line separating the Salafists that Saudi Arabia embraces and IS at the level of ideology and practice. The thin line relates to their position on the legitimacy of the Saudi regime. Domestic Salafists outlaw rebellion against the royal family, while IS calls for it. Saudi Salafists write petitions to the rulers, while IS adopts violent strategies. How long can the separation be sustained? For the moment, Saudi Salafists seem to be content with obedience at home and jihad abroad.
As long as the coffers have enough funds to finance GCC interventions abroad that keep domestic dissent under control, GCC countries may survive the current regional turmoil. But economic growth is now stumbling under the pressure of the drastic decline in oil prices. It remains to be seen whether the collapse of oil prices will eventually slow Gulf interventions in the Arab region. More important is the question of whether low oil prices might lead to political consequences in the Gulf itself. When a Gulf country, especially one like Saudi Arabia, ceases to be seen by Salafists as a leader of sectarian wars in support of Sunnis, its own Salafists may drift away from their current support.
Would this revive enthusiasm for jihad abroad that keeps regional conflicts going? It very well might. Would Salafists turn against their own government for lagging behind when it comes to defending Sunni interests and switch from petition to terrorism? If we have learned a lesson from the history of Saudi/al-Qaeda interactions, it is likely that some of the new Salafists will do exactly that.
April 1, 2016
Like a whirling dervish seeking Gods mercy, the Palestinian Hamas movement continues to circle around the Middle East in search of solutions to its complicated problems. From Cairo to Doha to Tehran, each trip has its special purpose, yet all are the same when it comes to having to make decisions.
After the Arab Spring, the decision-making process in our movement became complicated, a Hamas official told Al-Monitor speaking on condition of anonymity. We are at the mercy of geography [because Hamas officials are dispersed], ideology and financing. Therefore, on several occasions, our stances stir controversy. If Iran is happy, that means the [Muslim] Brotherhood might have reservations, and if Turkey and Qatar are OK with a move, then we wait for condemnation from Beirut or Damascus.
On March 12, a senior Hamas delegation paid a surprising visit to Cairo to discuss bridging gaps with Egyptian security officials. Mousa Abu Marzouk, Hamas international relations officer, led the delegation and was accompanied by Mahmoud Azzahar, Khalil al-Haya, Emad al-Alami and Nizar Awadallah.
This was the first meeting with the Egyptians in months, the Hamas official told Al-Monitor. There are a lot of differences between us, and the meetings were [geared] toward discussing them. Its not only about requests to reopen the Rafah crossing. We have four men missing after being abducted in Egypt months ago, and we need to know what happened to them. The Egyptians also have some requests related to the situation in the Sinai.
Al-Monitor has learned that the Egyptian requests included the handover of wanted persons currently in Gaza, in particular Mumtaz Dughmush, whose name is at the top of the list. Dughmush heads the radical group Jaish al-Islam and has been added to the US State Department's terrorist list. Egypt accuses Dughmush of involvement in several attacks in Egypt and affiliation with the Islamic States Sinai branch. Egyptian security officials who met the Hamas delegation additionally requested coordination on the situation in Sinai and the border while also hoping that Hamas will distance itself from the Muslim Brotherhood.
Our people told the Egyptians that Dughmush isnt someone whom we can arrest and hand over so easily, the Hamas official said. This would cause a big problem in Gaza. He added that the Palestinian delegation had made it clear to the Egyptians that there is nothing on which Hamas can coordinate in regard to intelligence in Sinai because of the movements limited capabilities, which are invested in Gaza.
We were clear that Hamas wont allow any kind of threat to Egypts security from our soil. Well make sure none of those fighting in Sinai will take refuge in Gaza, the official remarked. This was a kind of compromise that helped us and the Egyptian side agree on having a three-month media truce during which neither Hamas nor the Egyptians will launch media campaigns against the other, then a six-month confidence building track, and then well start serious political engagement.
Al-Monitor also learned that at the beginning of the talks, the Egyptians imposed the condition that before any serious engagement, the situation in Gaza must return to what it was before June 2007, when Hamas seized control of Gaza. Not surprisingly, the movement did not welcome this condition, making it clear that the governance of Gaza should be left to talks between Hamas and Fatah, which are already being arranged.
Hamass main concern in this regard is the thousands of public servants recruited in Gaza and whom Fatah until now does not want to accept as part of the government, the Hamas official said. There were attempts by some allies of Egypt to distort the talks, primarily one Gulf country. Yet that did not succeed, as the Egyptians were very committed to a good conclusion.
While talks were taking place in Egypt, other Hamas officials were preparing for a visit to Doha and a subsequent trip to Tehran. The visit to Doha had already been planned and authorized at a leadership meeting, as was a new round of reconciliation talks with Fatah. The Doha meetings, according to Al-Monitors source, were productive, but, he also said, There was nothing significant. Theres nothing new, as we still have the same consensus on a national unity government and elections, but its still the same problem over the public servants that Hamas appointed during Ismail Haniyehs government. Fatah does not want to accept them in the government.
The Hamas leadership meetings were to discuss challenges facing the movement and upcoming elections, which are expected to usher in a new head of the political bureau to replace Khaled Meshaal, who is ineligible for another term. Relations with Iran were also on the agenda given the February visit of a Hamas delegation to the Iranian capital that produced an agreement between the two sides to enter a new era in relations based on new rules.
The delegation to Tehran met Gen. Qasem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps foreign operations branch. Soleimani advised the movement to keep its distance from all the chaos in the region and pledged Irans continued support, although Abu Marzouk in a leaked phone call accused Iran of lying about its claims of supporting the movement.
Marzouks accusation prompted Soleimani to say at the meeting, Iran never lied, and we wont lie. We sent several ships full of arms to the resistance, [but] some were intercepted. We wont leave you alone. Whenever theres a new technology that we can send, we wont hesitate to. This is our duty. Whoever says the contrary should remember that this is all [taking place] before Gods eyes.
An Iranian military source told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that Abu Marzouk has tried to contact Tehran to arrange a visit for the Hamas delegation set to travel from Cairo to Doha, but the Iranians have responded in the negative not to the delegation, however, but to Abu Marzouk.
If hes sure he wants to come to Tehran, then he has to apologize, the Iranian source said.
April 1, 2016
BAGHDAD Ramadi has turned into ruins, said Ouda, a soldier who has been fighting in the Iraqi armys Seventh Division since mid-2015. Ouda took part in the liberation of Anbar province from the Islamic State (IS), which took hold of the city of Ramadi in May 2015.
Al-Monitor met Ouda (a pseudonym), who is a resident of Baghdad, in one of the cafes of the capital during his day off.
He recalled, We fought with my comrades violent battles to expel radical IS militants in several axes of the city of Ramadi and the province of Hit. The battles wreaked havoc in Ramadi.
Ouda described the situation in Ramadi to Al-Monitor on condition his real name not be used, because as a soldier he is not allowed to speak with the media.
Ramadis houses and streets are all filled with mines. The entire city will crumble as a result of the vast quantity of mines left by IS, he said.
Ouda, who is in his mid-30s, said that IS has booby-trapped everything. Mines exploded all over the place as we moved inside the city. This is IS style. It destroys everything.
The High Level United Nations mission to Ramada confirmed this situation, estimating that the city could be one of the worst mine-infested cities in the world. The mission's statement followed the visit to Ramadi on March 22 of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) resident representative and UN resident and humanitarian coordinator for Iraq, Lise Grande.
After assessing the situation in the city, Grande said in a press statement, It is a tragedy that people are dying and injured because of booby traps. The reality is that many if not most neighborhoods in Ramadi arent yet safe.
A UN analysis of satellite imagery in February showed that around 5,700 buildings in Ramadi and its outskirts had sustained different levels of damage since mid-2014, with almost 2,000 buildings completely destroyed.
The staggering devastation of Ramadi and fear of mines pushed Khansa al-Dulaimi to leave Ramadi in April 2015 and seek refuge in Baghdad. Dulaimi rented a small apartment in the predominantly Sunni neighborhood of Adhamiya, while her husband fled via Turkey to Europe. She hopes her family will be reunited again if her husband is granted asylum in Germany.
She told Al-Monitor that she did not own a home in Ramadi, but lived in a rented house. Things are difficult there. I am afraid to return to Ramadi because of the land mines and lack of security in the city. I will stay here in Baghdad for now, she said.
Dulaimi lives off her savings; her husband had sold his car before he left and she sold all her gold jewelry. The family's savings allow her to provide for her three children who stay with her in Baghdad.
She said, I will not go back. I would rather bear the hardship of living here in Baghdad instead of watching death every day in Ramadi.
Member of parliament Liqa al-Wardi from Anbar told Al-Monitor that the city of Ramadi is like the Syrian town of Kobani because of the fighting, military operations and indiscriminate terrorist bombings.
Thousands of houses, hospitals and bridges have been destroyed, as well as [public] buildings and schools, she said. The city was [already] neglected by the Iraqi governments after 2003, and now it is witnessing difficult circumstances.
Wardi called on the Iraqi government to cooperate with the international community to reconstruct Ramadi and not to undervalue the previous and ongoing destruction and devastation. The city requires large sums of money, but that doesn't mean it should be abandoned, she said. According to her, the reconstruction of Ramadi is an essential and positive step for the return of its displaced residents.
Bassem Jamil Antoine, vice president of the Economists and Industrialists Iraqi Association, told Al-Monitor, Iraq needs about $60 billion to ensure the reconstruction of areas recaptured from IS in Iraq, including Ramadi. Iraq will not be able to afford the reconstruction of these cities without international efforts and aid.
Following his visit to Iraq on March 26, Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon promised international support for the country to reconstruct the liberated areas, acknowledging the significant challenges facing Iraq in the future.
In a press statement, Ban pointed to the challenges that remain to be addressed in these areas, including massive destruction and widespread contamination of improvised explosive devices.
Saad al-Hadithi, a spokesman for Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, told Al-Monitor, Bans visit is a confirmation of the international community's support for Iraq in overcoming its financial crisis. A donors' conference will be held in April 2016; it will probably be held in the Jordanian capital, Amman, to raise funds for the reconstruction of liberated areas, including Ramadi.
Hadithi added, The World Bank expressed its desire to reconstruct liberated areas by providing financial aid, determining the method of spending such aid and ensuring there is no suspicion of corruption. The World Bank and the Islamic Development Bank will encourage international organizations and donors to attend the donors conference to support Iraq in the reconstruction of liberated areas.
The reconstruction of Ramadi and other devastated Iraqi cities and the return of their displaced residents is now being discussed by international parties. It remains to be seen, however, whether the international community is up to the challenge.
April 1, 2016
The unusual gathering March 29 in the Ramallah office of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was ignored by the Israeli media despite its importance. At the height of the ongoing intifada, several dozen Israelis of Sephardic (Middle Eastern) origin came to the Palestinian leaders headquarters, the Muqata, to talk about cooperation and peace.
Abbas went out of his way to make their visit pleasant. He told his guests that he listens to the late Moshe Eliyahu, the Syrian-born Israeli poet and lyricist (1919-1994). We, Arabs, have a lot in common with the Arab Jews, Abbas said. Language, history, culture, art, music if we reach a peace agreement, Israels relations with 57 Arab and Muslim states will be normalized and Israeli society will have an opportunity to live in stability with its neighbors, without fences and isolation.
Two days later, a special interview with Abbas was aired on Channel 2s prime-time documentary program, Uvda, in which the Palestinian president declared that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was still a partner for peace, and he spoke about his own efforts to prevent terrorism against Israelis. Ask yourself, he said, why this boy, 15 years old, takes a knife, knowing hes going to die but nonetheless goes thats because he has no hope.
This is not the first time Abbas has tried to address the Israeli public over the heads of its leaders. Once every so often, even at the height of the current round of terror, he meets with Israeli journalists. Generally, he appears to encourage encounters between Palestinians and Israelis, in the spirit of the initiative reported by Shlomi Eldar for Al-Monitor: meetings between the heads of Israeli regional councils and mayors, among them members of the Likud Party, and Palestinians.
One can debate whether Abbas' actions are sincere, and whether he really believes what he says about peace and reaching out to Netanyahu or whether these are simply tactics. But one cannot ignore the efforts of the Palestinian leader to encourage a sane dialogue and to appear to be trying to instill calm. This is in direct contradiction to the way Netanyahu has been presenting him to Israelis in recent years, and more so during the current wave of terror as the prime inciter.
It is rare to find hope in Netanyahus speeches or declarations. The mention of peace will always be relegated to the sidelines because they are of no political use to him. Imagine that instead of an urgently convened news conference following a terror attack or terror-related incident, Netanyahu were to invite Palestinian journalists to his office and explain his positions. Or imagine him encouraging meetings between Jewish and Palestinian youths in an effort to counteract the effective Palestinian propaganda against Israel.
In examining the rhetoric Netanyahu has been using during this so-called intifada of individuals, which started in October 2015, one finds that it is an almost exact replica of his fright-mongering speeches about the Iranian threat. Phrases laden with pathos about preventing a second Holocaust and about the war of the enlightened against the sons of darkness featured in many of his speeches about Iran. Netanyahu, as always, was persuasive and impressive. His descriptions of an apoplectic reality sounded credible, and they were based, of course, on an existing reality: Iran attempted and continues to attempt (this is a prevailing opinion within the Israeli government) to obtain nuclear weapons. Netanyahu does not balance the rhetoric of fear with words of hope.
With impressive speed Netanyahu took the rhetoric he used about Iran and copy-pasted it in referring to the Palestinians, and to a large extent also to Israels Arab citizens. Netanyahu makes sure to reiterate the same message: The world around us is teeming and fraught with threats, from the Islamic State to the Arabs of Israel, and therefore we must be united against all these evils.
This theme can be found in almost every one of his speeches or announcements to the media, or on his Facebook page. There are numerous examples. The message is one, and only one. This was the case, for example, when he spoke in February at an event marking the 100th birthday of the late Likud Party Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir. Netanyahu reviewed the history of Palestinian terrorism from the outset of the Zionist movement and explained, The first terror wave, in the 1920s, when my grandfather came to Israel, was also fed by the claim of Mufti Hajj Amin al-Husseini that the Jews were going to destroy Al-Aqsa Mosque and build the Third Temple in its stead. Sound familiar to you? The incitement is ongoing, and terror waves come and go, and the attempts to explain it with the despair and frustration of Palestinians are incorrect It does not stem from despair and frustration and inability to build, it stems from despair and frustration at their inability to destroy.
At a news conference he convened after the March 19 Istanbul attack in which three Israelis were killed, Netanyahu repeated his claim that the Palestinian terrorism and the terror striking Europe stem from the same ideology: Terrorism does not stem from deprivation or frustration. It is not the result of the occupation nor of despair; it stems from hope the hope of Islamic State terrorists that they will succeed in establishing a Muslim Caliphate throughout Europe and the hope of Palestinian terrorists that they will succeed in establishing a Palestinian state throughout Israel.
YEREVAN, APRIL 1, ARMENPRESS. At least 17 people have been injured in a huge gas explosion, which rocked a residential building in central Paris; French media cited firefighters as saying. Local residents have reportedly been evacuated.
Police sources confirmed to AFP it was a gas explosion, Armenpress reports citing RT website.
A firefighter, blown by the blast, was seriously injured, the firefighters told Liberation. Sixteen other people, including 10 firefighters, were slightly injured, he added.
April 1, 2016
RAMALLAH, West Bank For the first time ever, the Palestinian government officially resolved, on March 22, to prohibit the entry of products from five Israeli companies namely, Tnuva Dairy, Tara Dairy, Strauss Ice Cream, Tapuzina Juice and Zoglobeck Meats to Palestinian markets. The government tasked the relevant authorities to immediately enforce the decision.
The government decision was adopted during its March 22 session, in response to the March 9 Israeli decision prohibiting the marketing in East Jerusalem of products made by the following five Palestinian companies: Hamoda Dairy, Al Juneidi Dairy & Food Products, Al Rayyan Dairy, Salwa Foods, and Siniora Food Products.
Once the Palestinian decision was adopted, an implementing committee was formed by members from the Ministries of Economy, Agriculture and Health, in addition to the Palestine Customs and Revenue Authority. The latter began enforcement of the decision on the day of its adoption by barring the entry of three truckloads of Tapuzina products destined for the central West Bank city of Ramallah.
In this regard, the spokesman for the customs authority, Abdel Hakim Basaiteh, told Al-Monitor that the customs authority began, on the first day of the decisions adoption, deploying roadblocks at the entrances of Palestinian provinces to prevent the entry of trucks carrying the products of banned companies. It also gave the importers of said products 10 days from the decisions date to dispose of any products that they have in storage, while refraining from importing any such products anew.
Basaiteh said that during the 10-day prescribed period officers from the Customs and Revenue Authority would return trucks loaded with the products of banned companies to their sources of origin. Following said period, any such products would be considered contraband in Palestinian markets, and merchants associated therewith referred to the public prosecutors office.
Moreover, a Palestinian government source, who requested anonymity, told Al-Monitor that the decision adopted by the government was based on the principle of "reciprocity to counter Israeli actions. Therefore, the product ban shall remain in force as long as Israel continues to bar the entry of Palestinian products to Jerusalem and the territories occupied in 1948, and it shall be repealed once Israel goes back on its original decision. However, this did not preclude discussing the implications and impact of the decision on the Palestinian economy, and its benefits on local products.
The director of Consumer Protection at the Ministry of Economy, Ibrahim al-Qadi, told Al-Monitor in that regard, The implementation committee formed by the government has held a series of meetings with the Palestinian Food Industries Union to discuss securing the required quantity and quality of foodstuffs needed to replace Israeli products. The governments decision came in response to the one taken by Israel and will encourage Palestinian companies to bolster investments in farms and food product factories, as well as establish new production lines, which would create new job opportunities in light of the anticipated doubling of domestic production.
Qadi said, In that context, the share of Israeli products banned from entry into Palestinian markets was approximately 55%, while the Jerusalem share of the five Palestinian companies products did not exceed 35% the barring of which shall provide Palestinian factories with a market opportunity to double their production.
The Paris Protocol, signed between the PLO and Israel on April 29, 1994, regulates economic relations between the two sides, allowing Palestinian companies to market their products in Israeli markets, and vice versa.
Under the Paris Protocol, Palestinians rely on Israel to export their products. Data published on March 27 by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics indicate that Palestinian exports to Israel accounted for 87.9% of the total value of exports for January 2016, while Israeli imports represented 55.2% of the total value of imports for that same month.
For his part, the director general of policy and economic studies at the Ministry of Economy and spokesman for the ministry, Azmi Abdul Rahman, told Al-Monitor that the Palestinian decision was not an escalatory move targeting Israel, but came in response to the latters decision against Palestinian companies for the Palestinian economy is weak and cannot withstand being isolated from global markets, including those in Israel. But overdependence on the Israeli economy was troublesome and detrimental because the Israeli decision represented a blatant political affront.
Abdul Rahman added, The Palestinian economy is weak, dependent on its Israeli counterpart and has nothing to lose. Therefore, sovereign steps must be taken to bolster the financial sustainability of the Palestinian economy, through self-sufficiency driven by Palestinian products.
Concerning the possibility that the Palestinian decision be expanded to include other companies, Abdul Rahman said, At present, we do not wish to escalate the situation any further. The Council of Ministers is capable of defining the economic policies at each point in time, and we stand ready to implement any decision taken by the government.
In the same context, Birzeit University lecturer and economist Nasr Abdel Karim told Al-Monitor that the effects of the Palestinian decision are twofold: First, it shall provide an opportunity for Palestinian companies barred from Israeli markets to recoup some of their losses by marketing their products in the West Bank. Second, it shall inflict losses upon Israeli companies deprived of an opportunity to sell their products in Palestinian markets.
He said, Strategically, the decision will re-establish faith in Palestines sovereignty over its economy, albeit partially, as well as restore balance in favor of national products in the local marketplace. The decision will also provide Palestinian companies with an opportunity to sell their products in those local markets, which will encourage capital investment in the manufacturing, food and agricultural sectors.
Concerning the ramifications of the decision on the Paris Protocol, Abdul Karim said, Israel has not been implementing the provisions of the protocol for years, and the latest Palestinian decision came in response to a similar Israeli decision. Therefore, Israel cannot claim that the Palestinian Authority is reneging on its obligations under the protocol.
Abdel Karim added that the Palestinian decision needs to be further expanded and included in the global boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign against Israel, thus inflicting greater damage on the Israeli economy.
Despite the decision entering into force, the real litmus test for the government shall remain its ability to continue its enforcement and not be forced to repeal it, in light of the growing political and economic calls voiced by the PLOs Central Council, the public boycott campaigns, the Palestinian parties, and rights and civil society groups, and to go on the offensive and dissociate from Israel politically, economically and in matters of security.
April 1, 2016
Foreign investors acted in opposing ways in Turkey last year. One group sold off whatever they had in their portfolios and left. The flight of so-called hot money short-term investments in treasury bonds and stock shares reached an unprecedented level in Turkish history.
Faik Oztrak, former treasury undersecretary, told Al-Monitor that foreign-held portfolios experienced a net cash out of $9.4 billion in 2015, exceeding sell-offs during Turkeys financial crises from 2001 to 2008. The 2001 capital flight, totaling some $7 billion, was particularly biting due to Turkeys low foreign reserves at the time.
Oztrak said the foreign sell-off last year was the largest so far, according to available Central Bank statistics. He also warned, In 2016, global conditions remain uncertain. An unfavorable move by the US Federal Reserve, for instance, could lead to a repetition of what happened in 2015.
Economic movement, however, is not a one-way street. In contrast to the flight of short-term money, foreign direct investment (FDI) in Turkey reached $16.75 billion last year. In 2007, it topped off at $22 billion, the highest in the early 2000s, followed by $19.7 billion in 2008, before the impact of the crisis kicked in.
In 2009 and 2010, FDI declined sharply from the 2007 level, to $8.6 billion and $9 billion, respectively, before rising in 2011 to $16 billion, alas, a fleeting uptrend. FDI fell to $13.28 billion in 2012 and then to $12.38 billion in 2013 before increasing slightly to $12.52 billion in 2014. The $4.2 billion increase from 2014 to 2015 has nourished hope of a return to pre-crisis levels.
Purchases of real estate have emerged as a major element of FDI. They amounted to $2 billion in 2011, $2.6 billion in 2012 and $3 billion in 2013 and went on to exceed $4 billion in 2014 and 2015. Although real estate purchases constitute a dead investment, contributing nothing to economic growth, they seem on their way to being a driving force in attracting foreign investors to Turkey.
Will the uptrend in FDI continue this year and reach the pre-crisis level of $22 billion? So far only the figure for January is available, and at $620 million, it is low enough to chill any optimism. That is down from $1.73 billion for the previous January. More than one-third of it, $250 million, is money invested in real estate.
In a separate problem attracting attention, Turkeys economic growth has failed to match increases in FDI. According to Economy Minister Mustafa Elitas, Turkey has attracted $165 billion in FDI since 2002, the year the Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power.
During the period of 1950-2002, the Turkish economy grew an average of 5.1% despite a series of economic crises, military coups and only $5.1 billion in FDI. For 2002-2014, FDI amounted to $148.2 billion, while average growth stood at 4.7%. The 2015 figures $16.75 billion in FDI and 4% in economic growth add to the imbalance.
So why has economic growth under the AKP been below the pre-AKP average despite the multifold increase in FDI? Mahfi Egilmez, former treasury undersecretary, offered the following explanation, stating, An important part of the foreign capital inflow since 2003 went to the purchase of existing plants and companies rather than new investments. Hence, it did not create new production capacity to contribute to growth. Another part [of FDI] went to the construction sector, which meant one-off contributions to growth.
Meanwhile, the flight of hot money has depleted Central Bank reserves. Weve eaten away at stocks. The Central Bank reserves are down, Durmus Yilmaz, former Central Bank governor, told Al-Monitor. He stressed that the current account deficit $32 billion at the end of December last year was met with $7.5 billion from FDIs, $8.4 billion from inflows of unexplained origin and $16 billion from Central Bank reserves.
According to Yilmaz, economic factors, as well as political factors, will sway foreign investment in Turkey in the coming period. Coordination glitches in management of the economy and the regression and uncertainty in the rule of law, human rights and property rights seen in recent years will all play a major role in determining capital flows, Yilmaz said.
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BP is selling its Decatur plant. (bp.com)
BP's petrochemical plant in Decatur is officially under new ownership.
Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited announced this morning it has acquired the facility, which will be called Indorama Ventures Xylenes & PTA LLC. The company did not disclose a purchase price.
BP announced the acquisition in January a couple of months after saying it would try to sell its Decatur site as part of a reorganization of its global petrochemicals business. The complex operates on 1,000 acres and can make 1 million tons of purified terephthalic acid, or PTA, per year for the production of polyester.
"We are very pleased to welcome the management and staff of the BP Decatur facility to our family and look forward to a continuation of the teamwork we have built up over the years," said D.K. Agarwal, CEO of the PET and feedstock division at IVL. "We know that this is a professional and hard-working group of men and women who I hope will continue to work with us and achieve further milestones."
The sale includes the site, working capital and related infrastructure, and certain contracts with suppliers and customers. BP Director of Media Affairs Michael Abendhoff has said the plant's 400 employees will transfer to the new owner.
Based in Bangkok, Thailand, IVL has a presence in North America, Europe, Africa and Asia Pacific. The company says it is the largest PET producer in the world with $7 billion in 2015 revenue and 14,000 employees.
IVL operates other Alabama properties at AlphaPet in Decatur and Polyamide High Performance in Scottsboro.
BP's units in Decatur make PTA, paraxylene (PX), a raw material for PTA production, and naphthalene dicarboxylate (NDC), a chemical used in new-generation polyesters and resins for LCD flat-panel displays, ultra-thin data storage tape and other products.
"This acquisition is a major coup for the company as it brings us competitive feedstock security with scale advantages, technology ownership and innovative products which our customers can rely upon," said Aloke Lohia, Group CEO of IVL.
Earlier this week, the Decatur Industrial Development Board agreed to transfer existing tax abatements to the purchasers of BP and General Electric should those deals move forward and close.
Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com
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Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com
Things to Do in Tuscaloosa: April 1-3
Here's what's shaking in the Druid City this weekend, including the first show of the Tuscaloosa Amphitheater's 2016 season.
(Ben Flanagan/AL.com)
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Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com
Arty Party at Hotel Capstone
Enjoy cocktails, dinner and auctions at Hotel Capstone on Friday at 6 p.m. Dress is cocktail attire.
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Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com
First Friday
April's First Friday will feature the opening of the MFA exhibit of University of Alabama student Heather Whidden, titled "(Re)Pair," in the UA Gallery. The Arts Council Gallery will feature the final opportunity to visit Deborah Hughes' exhibit "On the Rocks." Off the Top (featuring a series of improvisational jam sessions designed to connect musicians, dancers and visual artists) will perform in the Black Box space from 6-7:30 p.m.
The Dinah Washington Cultural Arts Center is located at 620 Greensboro Avenue in Tuscaloosa. (Ben Flanagan/al.com)
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Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com
CBDB and Backup Planet at Druid City Music Hall
Progressive Tuscaloosa rockers CBDB will perform at Druid City Music Hall on Friday along with Backup Planet. Show starts at 8:30 p.m. with doors opening at 7:30. Tickets cost $10.
(CBDB Facebook page)
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Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com
Tuscaloosa River Market
Saturday, 7 a.m. until noon
Tuscaloosa River Market, 1900 Jack Warner Parkway
Located on the banks of the Black Warrior River, the Tuscaloosa River Market has a farmers market every Saturday morning from 7 a.m, until noon. Learn more at www.tuscaloosarivermarket.com.
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Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com
Volksfest at Government Plaza
FOCUS on Senior Citizens will host the inaugural Tuscaloosa Volksfest on Saturday at Government Plaza from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. The event celebrates German culture with live music, German foods, a biergarten tent featuring local brews from Black Warrior Brewery and Band of Brothers, a classic German car show and children's activities such as face-painting, a petting zoo and blow-up obstacles. Musical acts include Wolkgang Moritz, Smooth Saddles, The Frayed Knot Band, and the Horizon Band. Tickets cost $15 for general admission, $25 for tickets that include a T-shirt, Volksfest drinking glass and one beer token. Purchase tickets in advance at Bank of Tuscaloosa location or online at www.grsmarketplace.com. Proceeds benefit FOCUS on Senior Citizens of Tuscaloosa County.
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Michelle Matthews | mmatthews@al.com
Newsboys at Tuscaloosa Amphitheater
The Christian rockers will open the venue's 2016 season on Saturday, April 2.
The band brings the "We Believe God's Not Dead Tour" to the venue along with special guests Audio Adrenaline, Ryan Stevenson and OBB.
Show starts at 6 p.m., with doors opening at 5.
Purchase tickets.
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Alec Harvey | aharvey@al.com
Riff Raff at Druid City Music Hall
The Houston-born rapper will perform at the new Tuscaloosa music venue on Saturday at 8:30 p.m,, with doors opening at 7:30. Show is for all ages. Tickets range from $25 to $200.
(Alec Harvey)
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Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com
Ham Bagby at Green Bar
Tuscaloosa musician Ham Bagby will perform at Green Bar on Saturday along with fellow local rockers Ferguson and The Copper Dogs. Cover is $8. Music should start around 10:30 p.m. Cover is $10 for anyone under the age of 21.
(Ben Flanagan/al.com)
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Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com
New Orleans Jazz Brunch with Voodoo Saints at 301
Tuscaloosa's new downtown restaurant 301 Bistro, Bar and Beer Garden will start a new weekend tradition, hosting a weekly Sunday New Orleans Jazz Brunch from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. Local artists Voodoo Saints will perform from noon until 2:30 p.m. Enjoy some New Orleans food and music on Sunday.
(301 Bistro, Bar and Beer Garden)
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Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com
Yellowhammer Festival
The Yellowhammer Festival, which describes itself as "an open community event focused on creative sustainability," will take place Sunday at 2-8:30 p.m. the Tuscaloosa River Market. Catch live music, art-making activities, a bike powered stage, a kids corner and booths with eco-friendly campus and community organizations.
(UA)
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Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com
Shovels & Rope at Druid City Music Hall
The alt-country rockers will perform at Druid City Music Hall on the Strip on Sunday at 8 p.m., with doors opening at 7. Tickets cost $25 for the all-ages show.
(Druid City Music Hall)
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Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com
Movies!
The Cobb Hollywood 16 has two new movies this weekend, including the Christian drama "God's Not Dead 2" (starring diehard Alabama football fan Melissa Joan Hart) and the horror parody "Meet the Blacks" (starring Mike Epps). If you haven't seen "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice," this might be a good time. Check Fandango for showtimes.
(Pure Flix Entertainment)
Country star Dierks Bentley normally sings songs about getting drunk on a plane and his truck. Luke Bryan usually prefers to croon about shaking his backside and drinking beer.
But on Thursday night's episode of The Late Late Show with James Corden, the two of them joined the late-night host and sang a song about ... fish and chips?
Yep, that's right. Corden, dressed as King George, opined that country music has never really made its way across the pond, so he enlisted Bentley and Bryan's help to write the perfect sad U.K. country song.
The result was "Honky Tonk in the U.K.," a song with lyrics such as "Can't go to the dentist because there ain't one around" and "Wear my tweed suit, go to see James Bond." And they looked the part, too: Bentley dressed as Sherlock Holmes, and Bryan was costumed as a guard at Buckingham Palace.
See the song here:
As Mother Mary Angelica is laid to rest today in Hanceville, thousands of visitors are expected at the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament, the golden shrine Mother Angelica was inspired to build to honor the Child Jesus. It is located at 3222 County Road 548 in Hanceville.
Mother Angelica, the beloved nun who also founded the EWTN Global Catholic Network at the Hanceville monastery, died Easter Sunday. The Mass of Christian Burial and Rite of Committal will be held at 11 a.m. April 1, 2016. Click here for more information from AL.com religion writer Greg Garrison. Contact the shrine by calling 256-352-6267.
Here are 10 things to know before visiting the shrine:
1. There is a monastery as well as a shrine in Hanceville. The shrine, a place of worship for the public and the nuns at the monastery, is formally called The Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament of Our Lady of the Angels Monastery. The monastery houses nuns who are part of the order of the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration of the Roman Catholic Church.
2. The monastery of the Poor Clare Nuns of Perpetual Adoration is adjacent to the shrine on the 400-acre site in Hanceville. It provides a cloistered existence for the sisters, meaning they are sheltered from everyday concerns of the outside world. However, the sisters interact with the public at a variety of events held at the site each year. The monastery was initially built in Irondale and dedicated by Archbishop Thomas Joseph Toolen of the Mobile diocese on May 20, 1962. It was moved to Hanceville alongside the shrine in 1999.
3. In the Roman Catholic Church, the Blessed Sacrament refers to the consecrated altar bread and wine that represents the body and blood of Christ. It is consecrated in celebration of the sacrament of the Eucharist. The areas surrounding the shrine are dedicated to the Divino Nino, or the Child Jesus.
4. Mother Angelica was inspired to build the shrine while attending Inspiration Mass at the Sanctuary of the Divine Infant Jesus in Bogota, Colombia, in 1995. According to the Our Lady of Angels website: "As she visited the small chapel dedicated to the Divine Child, she heard the statue speak in the voice of a young boy. 'Build Me a Temple,' the voice said, 'and I will help those who help you.' Mother Angelica heeded those words as she had responded to the challenging commands of the Lord so often before."
5. Although Mother Angelica didn't know how she would pay to build the shrine, she returned to Alabama to share her story with the community. According to the Our Lady of Angels website: "Shortly thereafter Divine Providence provided five very generous families who offered to completely fund this ambitious project." The donors wish to remain anonymous.
6. A replica of the Shroud of Turin is located in the "lower church" at the Shrine.
7. The order of the Poor Clares at Our Lady of Angels includes about 19-20 sisters.
8. The Castle san Miguel was built alongside the shrine and monastery to house the Gift Shop of El Nino, where souvenirs are sold to fund the nuns' good works. The castle, with a great hall decorated with suits of armor, also includes a conference room and eating facilities. It was designed to complement the Romanesque architecture of the shrine. Click here for more information.
9. The golden monstrance at the shrine, an "exposition of Our Lord," is 7.5 feet tall.
10. Visitors to the shrine are asked to follow rules of propriety. According to the Pilgrimage Packer on the Our Lady of Angels website, visitors are encouraged to "dress comfortably but modestly." This means no "sleeveless tops, tank tops, shorts or miniskirts/skirts above the knee. Ladies may wear slacks." In addition visitors are asked not to leave Mass before the Blessed Sacrament has been exposed and the nuns have finished singing. Photos are not allowed inside the shrine but postcards are available in the gift shop. Click here to download the Pilgrimage Packet.
"Scenes from ..." is a photo feature of small towns throughout Alabama. To suggest a town or neighborhood to be featured, email Kelly Kazek at kkazek@al.com. Follow her Scenes from Alabama Towns on Pinterest.
Fans of the world-famous nun Mother Angelica will say their final goodbyes today in Alabama.
Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia will officiate a funeral Mass for her at 11 a.m. today in the chapel at the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament on the grounds of the Our Lady of Angels Monastery Farm in Hanceville. Public visitation to her open casket has been going on since Wednesday. Today, her casket will put into a crypt in the basement of the Shrine's chapel that she designed.
Mother Angelica, who founded Our Lady of the Angels Monastery in Irondale in 1962 and EWTN Global Catholic Network in 1981, died on Easter Sunday, March 27. She was 92.
"This is really a family gathering and it continues today," said Raymond Arroyo, host of EWTN's "The World Over" news program and author of a biography of Mother Angelica.
Network personalities have been mingling with viewers this week as many of EWTN's more than 200 employees, monks from the religious order she founded and viewers of the network have gathered this week in Hanceville.
"Mother was a woman of action when she was physically able to be so," said Johnnette Benkovic, host of "The Abundant Life" program on EWTN.
"She used to say, 'I wear different hats very well,'" Arroyo said. "She used to say, 'I come out here and I'm the CEO of EWTN. Then I go into the cloister, I drop the network, and I am now the abbess of Our Lady of the Angels Monastery.'"
A Marengo County student was arrested this morning after having a gun at school.
Demopolis police said a school resource officer responded to a call of a student with a gun, but both police and school officials refused to say at which school.
According to a press release, Demopolis police and school officials recovered a .38-caliber handgun and took a student into custody.
The student, a juvenile whose name and age wasn't released, is charged with possession of a deadly weapon on school grounds and carrying a concealed weapon. The student was placed in the custody of Marengo County Juvenile Probation Office.
Demopolis police refused to answer additional questions about the incident. Demopolis Schools Superintendent Kyle Kallhof said he was pleased with the way the students handled the situation.
"We had a student who made a poor decision,'' Kallhoff said. He said the gun, which was unloaded, pulled the gun from a backpack and showed other students, who in turn notified a teacher.
The gun was confiscated immediately, and the student was off of the campus within 15 to 20 minutes. "I'm proud of the way our students, teacher and principal handled the situation,'' he said.
William Kuenzel
The Alabama Supreme Court this morning said it won't review the claims of innocence of death row inmate William "Bill" Kuenzel, who was convicted in the 1987 shooting death of a Sylacauga convenience store clerk during a robbery.
Kuenzel, who has been on death row since 1988, has gained support for his claims of innocence from a group of lawyers, former district attorneys, ministers, and actors, including Law & Order actor Sam Waterston. The group filed a brief supporting Kuenzel's innocence and request for a new trial to the Alabama Supreme Court in November.
Kuenzel's execution had been called off early last year.
The Alabama Attorney General's Office declined comment on the ruling.
Kuenzel's legal team on Friday issued this statement:
"We are disappointed that the Alabama Supreme Court declined to hear this important case and we will present Mr. Kuenzel's claims to the U.S. Supreme Court for relief. An innocent man's life is at stake and there is no dispute that he did not receive a fair trial. A purported 'procedural default' should not bar review of proceedings' constitutionality when a life hangs in the balance, and we remain confident that justice will, in the end, carry the day."
In a brief order, seven justices of the justice were in the majority Friday to reject Kuenzel's request for a writ of certiorari - or review of the case. Chief Justice Roy Moore and Justice Glenn Murdock dissented.
Moore wrote an 11-page opinion as to why the court should have granted a review.
Moore stated that the main witness in the shooting death of clerk Linda Offord was Harvey Venn, with whom Kuenzel shared a residence.
Venn, who pleaded guilty as an accomplice to the murder, testified that Kuenzel suggested robbing the store, Moore's opinion states. Venn owned a 1984 Buick Regal automobile, which a number of witnesses testified to seeing at the store the night of the murder with Venn in the driver's seat and an unidentified man in the front passenger seat, he wrote.
Venn testified that he sat in the car while Kuenzel went inside the convenience store with a 16-gauge shotgun. Venn heard a shot and saw the clerk fall backwards, Moore wrote in his opinion.
A 16-year-old witness also testified she was riding in a car past the store abouty an hour before the murder and that she saw Venn and Kuenzel inside the store. Without her identification, the evidence was insufficient to convict Kuenzel because state law requires that accomplice testimony be corroborated.
The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals on direct appeal found the girl's corroboration testimony adequate to satisfy state law, Moore stated.
"I question whether the corroboration evidence was sufficient to satisfy the statute," Moore wrote.
The methodology for testing corroboration evidence is first to eliminate the accomplice's testimony and then to see if all the other evidence is sufficient to connect the defendant with the commission of the crime, Moore wrote.
Leaving out Venn's testimony, the only evidence presented to this Court tending to connect Kuenzel to the murder is the 16-year-old girl's drive-by sighting of Venn and Kuenzel in the store an hour or more before the crime, Moore state.
"Though one might speculate from this evidence that Kuenzel was involved in the crime, the sighting is also consistent with his innocence," Moore wrote.
The girl's testimony "in the absence of Venn's testimony, tends neither to incriminate nor to exonerate Kuenzel, Moore wrote.
Being in the company of an accomplice in proximity in time and place to the commission of a crime is not always sufficient corroboration to meet the requirements of Alabama law, Moore wrote.
"One's presence in a convenience store at 9:30-10:00 p.m. is not of itself unusual. Although connecting Kuenzel to the place of the crime, his presence there does not connect him to the crime itself or the time of its occurrence, which was after 11:00 p.m.," Moore wrote.
Moore, however, notes that regardless of the weakness of the corroboration evidence, that issue is not what the court can consider because it had been brought up on a previous appeal.
Instead, Kuenzel argues that he wishes to present "newly discovered material facts," that require reversal of his conviction, Moore wrote.
Missed deadlines
The evidence Kuenzel says is new evidence is that grand-jury testimony of the 16-year-old girl, first disclosed in 2010, indicates she could not identify Kuenzel as the man she saw in the convenience store the night of the murder, Moore states. Because the discovery of that evidence occurred more than two decades after Kuenzel's conviction, his only procedural route for bringing that evidence before the circuit court for a hearing was a new petition filed within six months of discovery of that evidence, he stated.
Kuenzel filed his current petition in September 2013, long past the six-month filing deadline, Moore stated. That deadline, however, under extraordinary circumstances may be disregarded, he wrote.
Kuenzel argued he had found out about the testimony transcripts while he was litigating an appeal in federal court. The Court of Criminal Appeals, perceiving no reason why Kuenzel could not file his second petition while his federal case was proceeding, affirmed the circuit court's finding that the petition was untimely.
"Ordinarily, that would be the end of the matter. Because of the irreversibility of the death penalty, however, I believe some leeway may be warranted in this case," Moore stated.
Kuenzel also claims that he became aware of other exonerating evidence at around that same time, Moore states.
"A significant consideration, I believe, in assessing the equities in this matter is that Kuenzel's first Rule 32 petition, filed in 1993, was never heard on the merits because of another missed deadline," Moore wrote. "Kuenzel's attorney at that time apparently measured the time for filing his first Rule 32 petition from the denial of a petition for the writ of certiorari by the United States Supreme Court rather than by this court."
Ultimately the trial court dismissed that petition as being filed too late and as a result a hearing has never been held on the evidence in the case, Moore stated.
Kuenzel subsequently litigated his claims in federal court, but, because of the procedural default in state court, had to meet the high burden of demonstrating that it is more likely than not that no reasonable juror would have found Kuenzel guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, Moore wrote.
"Because Kuenzel, a death-row inmate, has never had an opportunity to present his post-conviction claims on the merits in any Alabama court and because the two procedural defaults may not have arisen from a lack of diligence on his part in pursuing his claims, but from unfortunate errors of counsel, I would grant Kuenzel's petition for a writ of certiorari to examine whether he qualified for equitable tolling of the six-month filing deadline for presenting newly discovered evidence," Moore wrote.
Updated at 3:05 p.m. April 1, 2016 to add statement from Kuenzel's attorneys
Note: AL.com is participating in "The Next to Die" with The Marshall Project to track and provide information on scheduled executions
A woman sentenced Thursday for filing false returns through her Birmingham tax preparation business didn't stop filing the bogus claims, even after she had entered a plea deal with federal prosecutors and being warned by a judge to stop it, court records show.
Eunice F. Plummer, 36, of Demopolis, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Scott Coogler to 46 months in prison during a hearing in Birmingham. Plummer is also to pay restitution to the IRS of $250,001.
Plummer had pleaded guilty in October to three counts of attempting to evade or defeat a large portion of the income tax she owed for 2011, 2012 and 2013, according to a joint statement by U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance, FBI Special Agent in Charge Roger C. Stanton and Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, Special Agent in Charge Veronica Hyman-Pillot.
Plummer also pleaded guilty to eight counts of filing false tax returns for other people between 2011 and 2013.
Plummer operated a tax preparation business in Birmingham, called Plummer Tax Services, from 2010-2014. During that time, she routinely inflated the amount of tax refunds her customers would receive by using fraudulent information --including wage amounts, child and dependent care expenses, education credits and business losses - on tax returns, according to the statement.
Plummer also substantially under reported her income from operating Plummer Tax Services. Between the taxes she failed to pay on her own behalf and the boosted refund amounts from the fraudulent tax returns she filed for clients, Plummer cheated the IRS out of more than $250,000, according to the statement.
Judge Coogler told Plummer at sentencing that by continuing to file fraudulent tax returns after pleading guilty to that conduct, she showed "disdain and disrespect" to the court and acted like "a thief" and "a con artist," according to the joint statement.
In a sentencing memorandum to Coogler prior to sentencing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Xavier O. Carter Sr. laid out how Plummer continued to file false returns after having pleaded guilty.
According to the memorandum:
An IRS agent in September 2015 received a tip that Plummer continued filing fraudulent tax returns through her tax return preparation business between the time she first admitted the conduct in November 2014 and her plea agreement with prosecutors on August 3, 2015. The agent informed Coogler about the allegations.
On Oct. 6, 2015 Plummer filed an application for a new Electronic Filer Identification Number for a business called Unique Touch Tax Services. She used the identifying information of an individual whose initials are T.A., a student in her twenties who had approached Plummer about learning to file taxes so that she could make extra money during tax season. T.A. didn't know Plummer had made the application under her name.
When Plummer pleaded guilty in October, Coogler told Plummer "We had some issues with you continuing to do tax returns. I trust that's behind you right now?"
Plummer responded "yes sir, it is."
But the next month Plummer began training T.A. to prepare her to file tax returns during the upcoming tax season. And in December when Plummer met with representatives from the IRS Criminal Investigations and the United States Attorney's Office to discuss issues related to her case she didn't mention she had applied for the new tax preparer number and was training the student.
On Jan. 14 Plummer received the new identification numbers under T.A.'s name and five days later IRS criminal investigations received a tip that Plummer had begun operating her tax business out of the same location where she had operated her tax business in previous years.
IRS criminal investigators then confirmed through a review of tax returns filed, interviews with tax payers whose returns were filed by Plummer, and surveillance, that Plummer had in fact begun operating her tax business, in violation of the terms of her bond conditions.
"Notably, many of the tax returns filed by the Defendant contained false and fraudulent tax information, materially affecting the income tax refunds the tax payers were to receive," according to the memorandum.
On Jan. 29 Plummer's bond was revoked for violating conditions of her bond and she has been in custody since that time.
YEREVAN, APRIL 1, ARMENPRESS. According to the Ministry of Emergency Situations (ES) of the Republic of Armenia (RA), on April 1 by 22.00 all state and interstate highways in the Republic are passable.
Armenpress was informed from the Armenian MES that Sotk-Karvachar highway is difficult to pass.
As the department of ES of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of The Republic of Georgia informs Stepantsminda-Larsi highway is open.
After two petitions were started in the past week protesting the selection of U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions as graduation speaker at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, supporters are striking back with their own petition.
Two UAH students graduating in May, when Sessions is scheduled to deliver the commencement address, have started a petition on Change.org seeking to keep Sessions as the speaker.
Graduate student Schuyler Rich and senior Logan McEwen worked on the petition that was posted under McEwen's name on Thursday.
Rich said the petition came in response to petitions by UAH students and UAH faculty opposing the invitation extended by the school to Sessions.
"This isn't about politics," Rich told AL.com on Friday. "It's really concerning, this kind of campus censorship that's going on. I'm not saying I support him or don't support him. This is simply about free speech."
The student petition cited Sessions' support for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump as part of its reasons for opposing the senator's speech. The faculty petition made a passing reference to the fact that 2016 is an election year but did not name Trump by name.
The petition started by McEwen and Rich had 13 signatures about 3 p.m. Friday.
"If you read what the other (petitions) said, you will see they are attempting to make this a partisan political issue by referencing his voting record and his poor ratings by partisan groups," Rich said.
Rich said he included a quote from President Obama advocating differing points of view on college campuses as part of his petition.
"We believe the criteria that should be used in determining a commencement speaker should not include one's standing with political groups or his or her voting record," Rich said. "We're just encouraging people to stand up really for free speech. That's the bedrock of this country.
"He's not going to come with a political purpose. He's there to encourage students to go out into the world and be the change they want to see. He's not there to talk about his political endorsements or his views. He's there to encourage us."
Rich also said he took issue with the other petitions stating their support for free speech while citing, in some cases, partisan issues to explain why Sessions should not be allowed to speak.
"It's like they're speaking out of both sides of their mouth," Rich said. "He doesn't line up exactly with them on certain issues so they don't want him to speak. Honestly, I just find it concerning."
Bradley Byrne town hall crop lfs.jpg
U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne speaks at a town hall meeting in Saraland on Monday, Feb. 15, 2016. (Lawrence Specker/LSpecker@AL.com)
The Defense Department's report outlining a plan to defeat the Islamic State group and counter extremism in the Middle East was not only delivered to Congress more than a month late, but it "lacks a cohesive strategy," U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne, R-Fairhope, said in a statement Thursday.
The seven-page report, which you can view here, had been due Feb. 15 but was delivered to Congress last week. Byrne got in a tense exchange with Defense Secretary Ash Carter during a House hearing on the department's budget. Carter said the report would be "forthcoming," and it was released two days after the hearing.
Byrne is out of the country, but his spokesman, Seth Morrow, said the congressman took issue with the report lacking specifics on coalition building to defeat ISIS and not being clear about the endgame in Syria. The report doesn't mention any countries by name that the U.S. is teaming up with to defeat ISIS - it only refers to America leading a "coalition" of 60-plus countries.
"The Obama administration's 'plan' for defeating ISIS is over a month late and lacks a cohesive strategy. I continue to be deeply concerned the administration failed to follow the law and submit the report on time. The late delivery is especially insulting when you consider how little information is contained in the seven page document," the congressman said. "Either the administration didn't take this request from Congress seriously or they actually lack a real strategy for combating Islamic extremism and defeating ISIS. Sadly, I fear both of those are true."
The mayor of Hernando, Mississippi admitted he is the man in a sexting photo sent to some of the city's leaders.
Mayor Chip Johnson, 49, said the frontal shot of a nude man in the shower is authentic. The email containing the photo had a reported subject line of "your mayor."
"I had a private indiscretion with an adult woman who decided to make it public," Johnson told the Commercial Appeal.
The photo was sent to city alderman before being shared widely on social media.
Hernando, MS's mayor sends sexting pic.. That lands in inbox of EVERY alderman. @JBroachWMC's story: #WMC5 at 10 pic.twitter.com/qgFlUqJjII Jason Miles (@JMilesKHOU) April 1, 2016
Johnson said the photo was taken last year. Johnson has been mayor of the town since 2005 and is reportedly estranged from his wife. He said he has no plans to step down.
"It's a very personal and private matter that was a mistake on the part of me personally," Johnson told the DeSoto Times-Tribune. "I think I have learned a valuable lesson from it but I certainly don't want it to reflect negatively on the town of Hernando."
Alabama is currently embroiled in its own sex scandal after Gov. Robert Bentley admitted he made inappropriate comments to female advisor Rebekah Caldwell Mason. Mason has since stepped down from her role as chief political advisor.
Richard Shelby
In this May 24, 2012 file photo, Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala. speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington. Defense Secretary nominee, former Nebraska Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel has lined up the necessary votes for the Senate to confirm him next week to be the nation's next defense secretary, after a senior Republican lawmaker said he will back President Barack Obama's choice. (AP Photo)
U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., has "strong concerns" over the Obama administration commuting the sentences of 61 prisoners, including two from Alabama who were convicted on gun-related charges and are due to be released in July, the senator wrote to U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch on Thursday.
"I want to do everything I can to keep our communities safe, and that includes keeping guns out of the hands of criminals, the mentally ill, and violent offenders," Shelby wrote. "Right now, I am unsure if the administration shares that goal."
Shelby, who sits on the Senate Appropriations Committee and chairs the subcommittee that has jurisdiction over the Justice Department, said he opposes boosting operations for the department's pardon attorney's office in light of how the president is using his power to grant pardons and clemency.
The senator also said that the commutations are part of a pattern of the Obama administration not following its criteria of granting clemency to "non-violent," "low-level" federal offenders. Of the 200 sentences commuted, 33 involved inmates involved in gun crimes.
"Frankly, I am left wondering why the president and the Justice Department consider individuals who carry guns to drug deals as 'non-violent,'" Shelby said. "More importantly, it is unclear to me how these sentence commutations are making our communities safer."
Among those individuals Shelby was referring to were Ian Gavin and Jerome Harris of Mobile County.
Gavin was convicted of possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine and using or carrying a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense in 2007. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison and eight years of supervised release, but his sentence was now shortened to four years of supervised release.
Harris received 25 years in prison and 10 years of supervised release after he was convicted in 2006 for possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine, possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
Both men are eligible to be released on July 28.
A Montgomery man pleaded guilty today to multiple charges related to filing at least 335 fraudulent federal income tax returns resulting in more than $400,000 in refunds.
James Vernon Battle, 30, pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Alabama.
Battle used stolen personal identification information to prepare and file at least 335 false federal income tax returns for tax years 2013 and 2014 that fraudulently claimed more than $400,000 in tax refunds, according to court records.
Battle obtained the stolen information from Wendy Huff who worked at two loan companies in Montgomery.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Battle directed the Internal Revenue Service to issue the requested refunds to prepaid debit cards and U.S. Treasury checks.
Those prepaid debit cards and checks were sent to various addresses in Montgomery, including Huff's residence.
Battle also brought several U.S. Treasury checks to Huff's workplace where she used her position to cash them, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Huff returned half of the proceeds to Battle and kept the balance for herself.
Battle faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for the wire fraud charge and a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison for the aggravated identity theft charge.
His sentencing hearing has yet to be set.
Huff previously pleaded guilty and is scheduled to be sentenced on July 14.
This story was updated at 2:31 p.m., April 1, 2016, to include a response from Bentley's office.
Gov. Robert Bentley spent $1,732.68 on "cell phones and prepaid wireless" at Best Buy last year, Bentley's state campaign finance records reveal.
The evidence of the expenditure bolsters the stories of two employees - one former, one current - of the Best Buy in Tuscaloosa's Midtown Village shopping center who told AL.com Thursday that they each personally sold a single disposable "burner" cell phone to Bentley last year.
Bentley's principal campaign committee spent the $1,732.68 on June 2, stating in a campaign finance filing that the money was used for "reimbursement for cell phones and prepaid wireless purchased at Best Buy on 05/09/15 and 05/30/15."
The filing does not explain what "prepaid wireless" means, but it is presumably a reference to prepaid minutes that must be purchased and loaded on disposable "burner" phones in order to make calls.
Bentley spokeswoman Jennifer Ardis sent AL.com a statement about the disbursement via email Friday afternoon.
"All expenditures related to the purchase of phones were filed according to state laws, rules and regulations related to the use of campaign funds," the statement said.
The campaign finance filing does not indicate who was reimbursed via the payment, though it does indicate the recipient of the money was an individual. It also does not provide any other details about the purchase, such as what brand or model the phones were or which Best Buy location he purchased the phones from.
But the two Best Buy employees who spoke to AL.com on Thursday said he purchased multiple AT&T flip-phones that retail for about $15 each.
Two employees - one current and one former - of the Best Buy location in the Midtown Village shopping center in Tuscaloosa told AL.com Thursday that they had each personally sold a single disposable cell phone to Bentley last year.
"[U]p until the scandal came to light, Bentley HIMSELF would by (sic) little burner phones ... I witnessed it with my own 2 eyes and even sold him one," the current Best Buy employee said via online message Thursday morning. "I sold to him once, saw him purchase twice."
The current employee said that on both occasions, Bentley purchased inexpensive AT&T flip phones, "the type you buy minutes for. They cost around 15 bucks."
The former employee told a similar story about selling Bentley a "burner" phone last year that fit the description given by the current employee.
"I just remember Governor Bentley coming into Best Buy. And he purchased one," the former employee said during a telephone interview Thursday morning. "There was one other man with him. I don't know if he was security; he wasn't dressed like security. He may have been an advisor or a friend or something."
Former Alabama Law Enforcement Agency head Spencer Collier told AL.com last week that Bentley avoided emails, preferring to communicate via text message, and that he frequently changed his cell phone.
Collier, who was fired by Bentley on March 22, reignited a dormant scandal last week when he alleged that Bentley had a sexual relationship with former top political adviser Rebekah Caldwell Mason.
Cell phones have played a major part in the ongoing scandal ever since AL.com published a recording last week of Bentley making sexual comments to a woman who Collier identified as Mason. Collier said the recording was made by Bentley's now-ex-wife, Dianne, on her cell phone.
A new ethics complaint against Gov. Robert Bentley questions the possible misuse of security personnel in connection with his relationship to former political adviser Rebekah Caldwell Mason.
Stacy Lee George of Arab, a former Morgan County Commissioner who ran against Bentley in the 2014 Republican primary and endorsed him in the general election, filed his complaint Wednesday. In it, he asks for an investigation into whether Bentley directed security personnel to accompany Mason during her time as his communications director and later as senior political adviser when she was employed by the governor's campaign and not the state.
George's complaint asks the Ethics Commission to investigate whether Bentley directed Spencer Collier, former head of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, to provide security for Mason.
"This is a clear abuse of state resources," George said.
Last week after he was dismissed from ALEA, Collier revealed evidence of an affair between Bentley and Mason. The governor, whose wife of 50 years divorced him in August 2015, admitted to making "inappropriate" comments to Mason but denied having a physical affair. Audio tapes recorded in 2014 but just recently released contained a conversation between Bentley and Mason in which he discussed touching her breasts and buttocks.
George's ethics complaint is the second filed against the governor in the last week. State Auditor Jim Zeigler filed a complaint about potential misuse of state property in connection with the relationship between Bentley and Mason. The complaint asks the Ethics Commission to determine "whether Gov. Bentley and Mason are using state property in furtherance of their personal relationship, and if they have used their position to interfere with an attorney general's investigation."
The Ethics Commission confirmed it has assigned an investigator to the case following Zeigler's complaint.
Gov. Bentley's office did not respond to requests for comments regarding George's claims. Following Zeigler's filing, the governor issued a saying he will "continue to cooperate with the Alabama Ethics Commission."
Security detail issues
George's filing isn't the first time Bentley has faced questions regarding his security detail. In 2014, AL.com reported Wendell Ray Lewis, the head of Gov. Bentley's security detail, earned $16,918 in August of that year. His total pay for 2014 was $146,549, the vast majority of which came from overtime compensation. He earned $137,769 in 2015, about $50,000 of which was from overtime.
Lewis was removed from the governor's protection detail and instead moved to what's called the Dignitary Protection Unit. The unit, which is part of ALEA, provides protection to visiting dignitaries, such as governors, members of Congress or officials who have known threats made against them.
Collier, as head of ALEA, ended all overtime for members of the governor's protection detail in 2014. Gov. Bentley said he had no part in allowing Lewis to earn the extra overtime pay, or played any role in a promotion he received.
Lewis has since retired. His name reemerged last week when it was reported he had played audio of Bentley's sexually charged conversation for Collier. Reports said Lewis was given the audio by a member of Bentley's family.
"Now this is the stuff that concerns you," said Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner Jeff Dunn, indicating a crumbling doorframe inside a dorm at Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women.
A glimpse through that door, partially obscured by a plastic shower curtain, showed a modest area where inmates take showers underneath four metal spigots bolted to the wall.
On Thursday morning, Dunn was touring the final dorm at Tutwiler awaiting much-needed renovations that other sections have undergone - fresh paint, partitions between toilets and other changes to bring the facility in line with federal standards.
The visit from Gov. Robert Bentley served two purposes: to see the progress made and to highlight the challenges that remain, Dunn said.
Bentley and Dunn are pushing a plan to build four enormous new prisons using an $800 million bond issue and to close most of the existing prisons.
Cameras are positioned in intervals along the main corridor and in each dorm, feeding video to a monitoring room with at least a dozen screens. The state-of-the-art surveillance system - with more than 300 cameras and a $4 million price tag - was installed in July 2014.
The men's facilities, meanwhile, have inferior monitoring systems that are spotty and not holistic, Dunn said.
But even better technology can't outweigh chronic issues like overcrowding, understaffing and the limitations of aging and outdated structures.
Alabama has about 24,000 inmates in prisons designed for about 13,000. Overall, the plan would increase capacity by about 3,000 beds.
The new facilities coupled with sentencing reforms approved in 2015 would reduce the statewide occupation rate to 125 percent over five years, according to ADOC.
Tutwiler, built in 1942, was originally designed to hold 545 inmates. As of December, the facility housed 949 women. Over the years, the prison has been updated and renovated to accommodate the increase.
The facility can adequately house just six inmates with serious mental illnesses.
"We can only do so much in this confined space," Dunn said during the tour. "There are incredible limitations here, and that speaks to the need to build new facilities."
April 1 marks exactly a year since Dunn took the position of commissioner. He says he now can "appreciate the scope and depth" of the issues the prison system faces.
The interim commissioner who preceded Dunn brought in a new director of the Investigations & Intelligence division. The top priority was to address corruption issues, he said.
The department is constantly struggling with retaining corrections officers and recruiting new ones, but Dunn acknowledged that, previously, "some folks were brought in who maybe shouldn't have been."
Now, they're revamping the procedure for new hires, from screening applicants to training those who are selected. A new class that begins training soon is smaller than several recent classes, but the applicant pool has grown more qualified, he said.
"These prisoners are human beings," Bentley said. "We've made a lot of progress protecting them, protecting the staff and the people who work here."
But, he said, renovations are an expensive stop-gap. The state is spending millions of dollars each year to maintain its dilapidated prisons.
"We're going to get to a point where we can't improve it anymore," he said. "The legislature sees the problem. I wish that they would tour these prisons with us. I wish that they would come to Tutwiler."
After the tour, he spoke about the benefits of his plan to consolidate the state's inmates into three modern men's prisons and one women's prison.
The efficiencies of state-of-the-art facilities could save $50 million a year, enough to float the bond issue without asking taxpayers for more money, he said.
The prison construction bill was discussed briefly in the Alabama Senate on March 23, but legislators ultimately delayed a vote. It could return to the Senate floor for discussion later.
Bentley is optimistic about the bill's prospects in the legislature. He plans to address concerns that have arisen about the $800 million bond issue and the proposal to award the contract to design and build the facilities to one contractor.
He also says legislators will be able to look past his personal troubles to discuss prison reform.
"I want them to not get fixated on any one particular personal issue," he said. "I want them to look at the entire state as a whole and see what needs to be done in the state."
An Oklahoma grandfather became an internet sensation last month when he made 12 hamburgers for his six grandchildren and only one showed up for dinner.
His granddaughter, Kelsey Harmon, tweeted an image of her "Sad Grandpa," which quickly went viral, spanned dozens of parodies and garnered media attention for her "papaw" Kenny, 66.
Kelsey Harmon, a student at Northeastern State University, tweeted an image of her "papaw" eating his burger alone at the dinner table on March 16.
The tweet read: "Dinner with papaw tonight... he made 12 burgers for all 6 grandkids and I'm the only one who showed. Love him."
Allegiant Air surprised Harmon and his family with free airline tickets from Oklahoma City to Destin during a recent appearance on the Today Show.
DailyMail.com hosted a cookout for Harmon and his community on March 26. More than a 1,500 people traveled to the cookout and dined on chicken and meatloaf.
"I wasn't like the picture showed. I have a solemn look sometimes, people say I don't smile enough, but it's my personality," Kenny Harmon told the news website.
Krysta Levy, a public relations specialist for Allegiant Air, was one of those in attendance, the Northwest Florida Daily News reported.
"We got really excited when we found out he was from a town near Oklahoma City," she told the newspaper. "With our flights starting from Oklahoma City to Destin in May, it seemed like a great opportunity."
The airline is flying 13 members of Harmon's family to Destin. Levy provided Harmon with a set of luggage and some swag as well.
The family plans to visit Destin in June.
Harmon said he and his wife, Rhonda, are "on Cloud Nine" about the trip.
"All of the kids are bouncing off the walls," he told the newspaper. "I can't remember the last time I left Oklahoma for a vacation."
Nearly 30 letters written by "To Kill a Mockingbird" author Harper Lee, the most notable criticizing Donald Trump's Taj Mahal, sold at auction on Thursday for $33,500.
"The worst punishment God can devise for this sinner is to make her spirit reside eternally at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City," she wrote in the letter addressed to her friend Doris Leapard in Tuscaloosa in August 1990.
That letter sold for $3,926, NBC News reported. The bidding for the letter started at $750, and it received 11 bids.
Trump, now a Republican presidential candidate, no longer owns the Taj Mahal, though it still bears his name.
The letters are of interest to fans who want to learn more about the famously reclusive author and Alabama native who gave her final in-depth interview in 1964. Lee released the best-selling "Go Set a Watchman" last summer and died at the age of 89 on Feb. 19.
Another letter addressed to Leapard received the highest bid.
In that 1999 letter, Lee thanked Leapard for providing her with the autograph of civil rights icon Vivian Malone. That letter fetched $4,753.
Lee writes about the 1994 novel "Tuscaloosa" by W. Glasgow Phillips in another letter in the batch sold at auction Thursday. She writes that the Phillips' novel is one of the first books in some time that she has truly loved.
No word on how much that letter sold for.
PETER KRANZ
THIS MAY BE CONTROVERSIAL - but I ask your advice, my friends.
Rose - my Papua New Guinean wife - discovered a video of Gone with the Wind and watched it. She asked what it was about. I explained the Americans had a war between themselves about 160 years ago. North against South.
She asked, "What was this about?"
I gave a halting explanation that it was something to do with slaves and economic domination.
Rose asked, What are slaves?"
Have you ever tried to explain this to someone who has no understanding or concept of what is a slave?
I said, "Well European people sailed to West Africa and kidnapped local people at gunpoint and took them in chains to America and made them work on farms.
This is where the American black people came from - mostly Nigeria and the Congo in Africa."
Rose said, "Why did this happen"?
I tried to explain, saying that white people thought the black people could be captured like animals and taken to America to work on the farms.
I made the point that many died in the process.
I asked Rose to watch some old films, including Amistad and Gone with the Wind.
My wife, being from the Highlands of PNG, has no understanding of slavery, or it's history.
For that I praise her, and Papua New Guinea.
But how do you explain this?
RADIO NEW ZEALAND INTERNATIONAL
AUSTRALIA'S government has been urged to provide clarity about the situation in the asylum seeker processing centre on Manus Island.
Papua New Guinea's Immigration Department has been accommodating and processing asylum seekers on Australia's behalf for almost three years.
However refugee claims have been slow in being determined, with hundreds of refugees still to be resettled and few options available within PNG.
Tensions at the centre appear to be simmering again due to plans being unveiled for forced segregation and mass deportations.
The Australian Greens' immigration spokesperson, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young (pictured), said the government should explain what's happening inside the Manus camp.
RADIO NEW ZEALAND INTERNATIONAL
DESPITE complaining about ongoing underfunding, the president of the Autonomous Bougainville Government says he is still to hear from the Papua New Guinea prime minister.
President John Momis wrote to Prime Minister Peter O'Neill more than a month ago to remind him that Bougainville is owed hundreds of millions of dollars in constitutionally guaranteed funding.
Dr Momis said the non-payment has severely curtailed the region's development and was impacting on his administration's ability to meet its day to day expenses.
He repeated his warning that court action over the matter remains an option.
RADIO NEW ZEALAND INTERNATIONAL
A LANDMARK report about Papua New Guinea's extractive industries has highlighted a pressing need for transparency by state authorities.
The Extractive Industries Transparency report, which was launched at Parliament House in Port Moresby on Wednesday, contains an extensive list of recommendations on how to improve natural resource management in PNG.
Following the launch, the PNG Resource Governance Coalition has urged the government and relevant stakeholders to fully implement the recommendations.
The Coalition's national coordinator, Martyn Namorong, said the findings of the report were quite damning and highlighted the need for swift action.
Even though the vast majority of PNG's population have seen little benefit from these sectors, the country's impressive economic growth in the past decade was based mainly around mining, oil and gas projects.
A free workshop, "Eat Smart, Live Smart," will be offered by the Cayuga Community Health Network from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 13, at Mill Stream Court, 24 Aurora St., Moravia.
The workshop will offer strategies for healthy living for people with diabetes or pre-diabetes. Being a smart consumer, improving eating habits and more will be covered.
Admission is free and open to the public; people need not have diabetes to attend. Space is limited and registration is required.
For more information, call (315) 252-4212 or email adickman@cayugahealthnetwork.org.
Looks like spring is officially here. Were in the vineyard working hard to do our pruning and tying. We cut off much of last years growth, maintain several healthy canes and then tie them to our trellis wires. Pruning and tying is the most labor-intense operation in the vineyard. This practice prepares the vine to produce a balance between crop and foliage through the upcoming growing season. At the same time, we remove mulch or soil that was hilled up around the base of the vine in the fall to protect the vine graft from extreme cold. The vines have started to de-acclimate. In early March, buds could survive subzero temperatures and still retain much of their fruitfulness; now they start to awaken and cant tolerate extreme cold.
So let Mother Nature bring on a nice, gradual, warming spring. Vines in the Finger Lakes typically start their growth in early May with bud break. The buds produced last year that successfully over-wintered will open up, forming small leaves to begin the growth cycle. The Valentines Day record sub-zero Finger Lakes temperatures certainly will affect this years crop; weve heard estimates from the Finger Lakes Grape Program of 25-62 percent bud damage to different grape varieties. This can vary from vineyard to vineyard, depending on the location and elevation.
Things are still quiet in the winery, getting ready for our April tasting room seasonal reopening. Weve done some racking and bottling recently, and have several dry red wines from 2013 and 2014 that we will bottle later this spring. In our small winery, we have a semi-automatic bottling and corking line; therefore, labeling is done as a separate operation after bottling. So were always labeling wines in preparation for sales. Bigger wineries have fully automated bottling lines where wine goes in one end and finished bottles come out the other end, complete with labels and foil capsules.
Here in New York state, we have a great new wine tool for tourists developed by the New York Wine & Grape Foundation in conjunction with Wine Enthusiast magazine, and with funding from Empire State Development. Its an interactive map for New York wineries utilizing GPS. Go to winemag.com/nywineries then click on Start the Adventure. This will help visitors to the Finger Lakes easily find and visit our beautiful vineyards and wineries. Tourists coming to vineyards and wineries in the Finger Lakes provide a real boost to our local economy.
This month is the last of my interviews with local Cayuga County winery owners; it will be the 11th Cayuga County winery listed. I spoke with William Heary, who owns Dill's Run Vineyard with his son Michael. They started their business in 2003 with five acres of grapes on Route 90 in Union Springs. They grow chancellor, traminette and catawba grapes, producing several different style wines. Black Dog, a blend of chancellor and catawba, is their signature wine. Tasting and tours are by appointment. They also have a second tasting room at 2988 Route 20 in Seneca Falls, and are partners in a brewery and distillery in Lodi. Check them out at dillsrun.com/vineyard.htm.
People are fleeing war They will not stop because of a fence.
Asotthalom, Hungary A group of five police officers chopped wood and tossed it in a small fire pit as the brisk wind rattled their makeshift tent, hastily constructed with plastic tarps and tree branches to shield them from the cold on a morning in early March near the Hungarian border village of Asotthalom.
On the Serbian side of the Hungarian border fence that lines the 175-kilometre border between the two countries, abandoned Yugoslav army barracks and watchtowers testified to wars that had concluded 15 years earlier.
Today, however, the Hungarian army has launched a war of its own one to stem the flow of refugees and migrants into Central Europe.
An army jeep bounced along the dirt road that hugs the barbed wire-crowned fence. A unit of officers from the village patrol sauntered along the trail, while a pair of army soldiers repaired a hole made by refugees who had crossed the border the night before.
Last year, more than a million refugees and migrants arrived on European shores by boat, according to the UNHCR, the United Nations refugee agency. Fleeing war and economic devastation, more than 3,750 drowned when their dinghies went under and were swallowed by the sea.
Built in September, the fence was a response to the hundreds of thousands of refugees and migrants who in 2015 crossed through Hungary in hopes of reaching Western Europe and obtaining asylum after leaving their countries in the Middle East , Southeast Asia and many parts of Africa.
A village patrol officer, who declined to provide his name, drove a pickup truck up and down the border, stopping occasionally to try to spot refugees in the forest of mostly dead trees that starts some 50 metres beyond the Hungarian side of the fence.
They cross before dawn and hide there, he said, motioning in the direction of the trees. In the morning, they try to move. We usually catch them. The fence is not 100 percent effective, but its pretty good.
He added: They arent real refugees. If they were, they wouldnt have to enter illegally. They are just coming for a better life.
Down the road, Frank, a police officer who did not provide his full name, smoked a cigarette, shielding it as the wind picked up.
Wearing a thick police jacket and sunglasses despite the dim day, Frank said that he and his colleagues were warned to expect three times the number of people attempting to enter the country since Slovenia and Croatia sealed off their doors to refugees in early March.
He paced to keep warm, complaining of the assignment. Dont take a picture of the tent. It is embarrassing. Its like we have World War II equipment in 2016, he joked.
A few hundred metres down the road, a rifle hung from the tree branch outside a portable bathroom behind another police tent.
Amid the woods, sleeping bags, blankets and the still simmering embers of campfires were the sole remnants of the people who crossed the night before.
We want to live our lives
In early March, the Hungarian government extended a state of emergency to the entire country, citing the ongoing refugee crisis. The interior ministry announced the deployment of an additional 1,500 soldiers and police officers to the Serbian frontier.
In September 2015, Hungary introduced legislation making it a felony to climb, breach or damage the fence.
According to Hungarian police statistics, authorities arrested at least 2,230 people on the border between March 1 and March 22, filling up refugee camps and closed detention centres across the country.
Meanwhile, the number of those who dodge Hungarian authorities and make it into the country undetected remains unknown.
Nearly five months ago, police arrested Ahmed, a 43-year-old man from Somalia , after he cut the fence near Asotthalom. Earlier this month, he was transferred from a detention centre to the Bicske refugee camp near Budapest.
Ahmed said he would rather be arrested in Hungary than go on fearing attacks by al-Qaeda-linked armed group Al-Shabab because he worked with the local government in his hometown.
We dont have a civil war. Its an Al-Shabab war, a slaughter, he said as he stood outside the camps entrance, using his hands to make a throat-slitting motion. We want to live our lives.
Initially hoping to reach Germany or Sweden, Ahmed said he has now applied for asylum in Hungary. This is Europe. I am happy to stay here. I want to bring my wife and kids.
Like most of those arrested on the Hungarian border, Ahmed was informed that he would be sent back to Serbia a country that does not accept deportations from Hungary.
Stuck in a state of legal limbo, Ahmed and many others like him are not allowed to stay in the country, while Hungarian authorities are unable to deport him.
According to rights groups, Hungarys record of accepting a tiny fraction of asylum applicants has rendered it virtually impossible to enter the country through designated border crossings. Only 146 of the 177,135 applicants were granted asylum in Hungary in 2015, according to the government statistics. Many of those started the asylum process and continued to Western Europe.
Welcome to Hungary (WHO), a group of volunteers who campaign for refugee and migrant solidarity, warned that the hyper-militarised borders have made it dangerous for refugees and migrants hoping to pass through Hungary.
Veronika Kozma, a member of WHO, argued that the border barrier is dangerous to [asylum seekers] health and that of their families.
The fence has not and will not stop desperate people from entering, but it can cause injuries, she said. This was all predicted before its construction, so in reality it serves a very cruel and inhumane purpose only.
Kozma accused the government of employing a campaign of hate propaganda against refugees and migrants since the crisis escalated in early 2015.
The Hungarian government is dominated by Orbans right-wing Fidesz party, and the largest opposition group is Jobbik, an ultra-nationalist party that sits to the right of Fidesz and describes itself as principled, conservative and radically patriotic Christian in its platform.
Though opponents on many domestic issues, Fidesz and Jobbik have found common ground in their shared stance against the presence of refugees and migrants.
In an op-ed in the German Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper in September 2015, Orban fashioned himself as a defender of Europes supposed Christian character.
Everything which is now taking place before our eyes threatens to have explosive consequences for the whole of Europe, he wrote.
We shouldnt forget that the people who are coming here grew up in a different religion and represent a completely different culture. Most are not Christian, but Muslim That is an important question, because Europe and European culture have Christian roots.
WHOs Kozma argued that Orbans government has used the refugee issue as a means of shoring up support among the general electorate.
Unfortunately, many Hungarians have fallen for this propaganda now and express hate and fear towards refugees and migrants, she said. According to a recent study , more than 80 percent of Hungarians who were polled oppose Hungarys participation in a programme that will distribute asylum seekers throughout the European Union.
Every day the idea of Europe as a place based on human rights is becoming less and less true, Kozma concluded. Viktor Orban likes to play his new role as a policeman at the southeast gates of Europe.
Show trials
Of the 2,189 refugees and migrants tried for breaching the fence between September 15 and March 19, the courts issued guilty verdicts for 2,162, according to the Hungarian Helsinki Committee watchdog group. From that total, the court banned more than 96 percent of those sentenced from the country for one to two years.
Mark Kekesi, a spokesperson for the Migrant Solidarity Group of Szeged, stood in an old abandoned school turned into a warehouse for refugee donations. People go through a show trial but the verdict is one 100 percent sure, he said.
It is expulsion from Hungary or the European Union. This does not look at all like a decision-making process. The defendant has no chance for any decision other than expulsion.
As volunteers behind him prepared packages of food and clothes to send to the thousands of people stuck on the Greek-Macedonian border at the Idomeni crossing in early March, he recalled the height of the refugee influx in Hungary.
During that time, tens of thousands of people crossed through Szeged, a town just a half-hours drive from the village of Asotthalom. It was crazy. We were busy all the time.
After the wall went up, the number of arrivals plummeted for several months, he recalled. But the spring is coming, the news is spreading that the Western Balkans route is closed and people are going to use [crossing the Hungarian fence] as their last hope. I think its quite obvious that in the next few weeks theres going to be big pressure.
Kekesi walked through the schools hallway as he spoke, gently gesturing with his hands as he accused Prime Minister Viktor Orban of misleading the public.
Orban is very cynical when he says we have solved the problem, he opined. Come on. Is it a solution if you just push the crisis to your neighbours? The fence it is like a cat-and-mouse game. You close the border here; people go around to another area.
Andreas Kovats, director of the Menedek Hungarian Association for Migrants, agrees that the Hungarian government has far from solved the crisis.
He explained that Hungarian authorities are ill-prepared to continue placing refugees in camps or detaining them, although they are planning to open a handful of new centres this spring.
The facilities are full both the closed centres and the open camps, he said, explaining that the government has started releasing people and quietly allowing them to move on to Western Europe.
Kovats explained that police have been preparing for an increased influx in arrivals since December. There were already signals there that [refugees and migrants] would be coming back to Hungary.
Anticipating that refugees and migrants will use a detour through Romania, Hungary also plans to build a fence on its border with that country.
The old traditional way through Hungary going up north to Romania and crossing Hungary and going on to Vienna is the most efficient, Kovats added. This is the fastest, safest and most developed in terms of smuggler networks and logistics along the way.
Protecting borders?
Back in Asotthalom, Laszlo Toroczkai, the 38-year-old mayor, has emerged as one of the most aggressive anti-refugee voices in Hungary.
A hardline rightist and founder of the ultra-nationalist 64 Counties Youth Movement which calls for the resurrection of the Kingdom of Hungary Toroczkai was one of the first advocates for the border fence.
Clean-shaven and dressed in a suit with no tie, he sat at the large desk, his arms folded atop one another. Behind him there was a large Hungarian flag hanging in the back corner.
He stood up and lifted a bottle of vodka made in the shape of a bullet. Some friends in Poland sent this to me as birthday gift, he said, grinning. They asked me to protect Europes borders.
Playing with his wedding ring as he spoke, the mayor placed the blame for the ongoing arrivals on the lack of unity within the European Union. The most important thing is that the European Union should defend its outside borders and this they dont do.
On his Facebook page, Toroczkai regularly posts images of captured refugees and migrants, calling for yet more restrictive border measures.
On March 7, he published three images of Iranians, Sri Lankans and Moroccans captured on the border. In a fourth photo, a police officer is gripping a Serbian smuggler by his hair in order to lift his head for the camera.
In that post, Toroczkai proposed putting people caught crossing the fence in closed work camps until their legal proceedings conclude and Hungary can find a way to deport them.
Although not a member of Jobbik, that party has publicly supported the mayors anti-refugee measures, including his deployment of the militant field guard, a 24-hour armed patrol funded by local taxes.
Jobbik has also promoted Toroczkais YouTube threat to refugees, published the day that Hungary criminalised breaching the fence.
In that video titled Message to illegal immigrants from Hungary dramatic shots show the mayor directing police officers and armed men near the fence. Others depict a simulated chase scene, including cop cars and village patrol officers on horseback.
Toward the end, he urges the refugees to pass through Slovenia and Croatia instead. Hungary is a bad choice, he concluded, the camera zooming in on his face. Asotthalom is the worst.
Back in his office, he said plainly: Do we have to accept everyone whose standard of living is worse than an average European Union citizens? Maybe its one billion people.
I dont know why theyre coming, but its not because of war, he claimed.
Not a crime
Erno Simon, a senior communications officer at the UNHCRs Central Europe division, insisted that crossing borders irregularly is not a crime.
Referring to the wave of border closures across the borders, he said that asylum seekers fleeing war will continue to come as they find safety not only for themselves but for their families, for their children.
If all the borders along the Balkan route will be closed totally, then all these asylum seekers will have to find an alternative route if they want to continue to come to Europe, he continued. They will be forced by the circumstances to rely more on the services of human smugglers.
Simon said the consequences will be dangerous, alluding to the deaths of 71 refugees who suffocated in the back of a truck in August 2015.
According to our data, only in the first week of March, 91 percent of people arriving in Greece were from three war-torn countries Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq.
On March 7, as the sun faded from the sky, a group of detained asylum seekers stepped out from their rooms to hang their wet clothes on the fence at a Hungarian transit centre on the northern Serbian border.
There are 37 of us here, one man said through the chain-linked fence, as others could be seen praying through the window behind him. We are from Afghanistan, Morocco and Pakistan. We are coming to Europe.
Waiting for their asylum cases to be processed, Hungarian authorities had already detained them for five days.
A border officer rushed over quickly. Do not talk to them, he barked. Please, dont take pictures.
At a cafe in the Hungarian capital, Mari, a 40-year-old Afghan refugee who fled after receiving death threats from the Taliban, dismissed the notion that the Hungarian border fence would stop refugees and migrants from arriving.
People are fleeing war, she said, shaking her head. They will not stop because of a fence.
Follow Patrick Strickland on Twitter: @P_Strickland_
How the search for oil is inflaming tensions in Kenya
Communities at the centre of oil exploration caught between a desire for development and the reality of damaged land.
Calais, France Demolition teams backed by French police moved in to destroy the southern part of the Jungle refugee camp in Calais in late February despite protests by aid groups working in the area.
The camp was home to between 800 refugees (according to local officials) and 3,000 (according to activists working there).
Police fired tear gas to clear out refugees who refused to leave their dwellings, and many residing in the area set fire to their tents in protest at the demolition order. The entire process of demolition went on for almost two weeks.
Those forced out moved to tents in the northern sector of the Jungle or moved to new camps on the outskirts of Calais or deeper into the countryside.
Andrew Goss is an aid worker and photographer who has been following the situation in Calais since September last year and who documented the destruction of the southern part.
The images he took show some of those who lived in the area and the efforts made by refugees to save their dwellings, and protest against their destruction.
The new government has to weigh its interests very carefully internationally as countries across the world woo Myanmar.
The recent election of Htin Kyaw as the first democratically elected president of Myanmar in more than 50 years marks a big step forward for the countrys fledgling democratic movement. Htin Kyaw is a longtime friend and confidant of the pro-democracy icon, Aung San Suu Kyi.
Although a quasi-democracy had been introduced in Myanmar in 2011, the process of transfer of power to a civilian administration will only be completed once this government takes office on April 1.
In the last general elections held on November last year, Aung San Suu Kyis National League for Democracy (NLD) won a thumping majority, bagging 135 out of 224 seats in the Upper House and 255 out of 440 seats in the Lower House, clearly showing that ordinary citizens of the country are tired of the long-ruling military junta.
Much water has flowed down the Irrawaddy since the military junta had nullified the results of the 1990 general elections when the NLD had picked up 392 out of the 492 seats at stake.
What is very encouraging is that until now the military has not tried to derail the process of transfer of power to the civilian government, even though doubts had been expressed by various quarters about the same.
At the same time, there is no denying that a big tussle lies ahead between the new civilian administration and the military, which has strong and deep entrenched interests.
The real power behind the throne
While Suu Kyi is the best-known face of the pro-democracy movement in Myanmar, she is barred by Myanmars military-drafted constitution from taking up the post of president, as she is married to a non-Myanmar citizen.
In the weeks before the election of Htin Kyaw as the new president, Suu Kyi and the NLD had tried their best to get the military to either remove or suspend this clause, but to no avail.
It is no wonder that the new president-elect has an unenviable task at hand. On the one hand, he would have to do the bidding of Suu Kyi, while on the other, the Tatmadaw will keep a close eye on him. by
However, Suu Kyi has been nominated to the cabinet and is tipped to lead four key ministries that of the presidents office, the foreign ministry and the energy ministry, besides education.
By making it clear that she would be above the president , Aung San Suu Kyi has made her intentions quite clear.
The Tatmadaw hangs on
Meanwhile, the armed forces (Tatmadaw) in Myanmar still remain a formidable force and retain 25 percent of the seats in the new parliament. In addition, the military-drafted constitution allows it to nominate representatives to head the sensitive ministries of border, home and defence.
So, why is the Tatmadaw hanging on? Firstly, with different ethnic insurgencies still running in Myanmar, the military sees itself as the guarantor of the countrys security and unity.
Moreover, many sections of the Tatmadaw are worried that in case they relinquish their claim on power, they may be making themselves liable for prosecution.
OPINION: Myanmars military judge, jury, executioner
The military has huge economic interests and investments (in areas such as real estate) in the country, and would not like to see them being questioned once the civilian administration takes over later this week.
And lastly, by nominating Myint Swe, a former general who has been blacklisted by the United States as one of the two new vice presidents, the military is signalling that it is in no hurry to relinquish its prime position in Myanmars political milieu.
Challenges ahead
The new civilian administration faces a host of challenges. To begin with, ordinary citizens of Myanmar have high hopes from the new government, and it would have to work very hard to stand up to the peoples faith.
Myanmars economy had remained closed for years and even though the economy has seen infusion of fresh foreign capital, growth remains sluggish at best. Besides, the country has seen unequal levels of development in its various parts.
Additionally there is the issue of the Rohingya refugees in Myanmar, which has brought international attention and flak on the country.
OPINION: Aung San Suu Kyis inexcusable silence
The Rohingyas are an ethnic Muslim minority in Myanmar, which is an overwhelmingly Buddhist country, while the government insists that they are actually Bengali immigrants.
However, it is Suu Kyis studied silence on the Rohingya issue that has befuddled all observers. During the last general elections, all major political parties, including the NLD, sought to skirt the Rohingya issue.
Recently, some news has come to light wherein Suu Kyi is reported to have remarked that no one told me I was going to be interviewed by a Muslim following some intense grilling by a BBC News presenter from a Muslim background.
Finally, the new government will have to walk a tightrope when it comes to its foreign policy. The military junta had gradually distanced itself from Beijing and moved closer to the West and countries such as India.
The new government will have to weigh its interests very carefully on the external front as countries across the world woo Myanmar, which is still a largely untapped market.
Hence, it is no wonder that the new president-elect has an unenviable task at hand. On the one hand, he would have to do the bidding of Suu Kyi, while on the other, the Tatmadaw will keep a close eye on him.
Besides, he will have to juggle his priorities on both domestic and external fronts. Hence, for Htin Kyaw, it could well be a classic case of being caught between the devil and the deep blue sea.
Rupakjyoti Borah is currently a research fellow with the Tokyo-based Japan Forum for Strategic Studies.
No Nigerian leader, democratic or dictatorial, has ever succeeded in delivering socioeconomic prosperity to the masses.
When Nigerians rouse from sleep on April 1, they will again head for filling stations to join the now de rigueur queues for Premium Motor Spirit.
This is no big news; queueing for hours at petrol stations has been the most recurring item on the itinerary of Nigerians not only for the past month, but also for the third spell in the past three months.
What is news is that when these same people woke up exactly one year ago, the majority of them trooped to the streets in jubilation. Three hours and 47 minutes into that day, opposition candidate Muhammadu Buhari was declared president-elect.
But while Nigerians hailed Buhari as a Messiah of sorts, they forgot to remind themselves that no Nigerian leader, democratic or dictatorial, had ever succeeded in delivering socioeconomic prosperity to the masses.
Joy so often short-lived
There was something familiar about the sheer joy that was unleashed on the streets of Nigeria on April 1, 2015.
More than five decades ago, on October 1, 1960, when Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa accepted the symbols of Independence from the Queen of England and cheerily declared that he was opening a new chapter in the history of Nigeria, it was to the delight of millions of citizens.
READ MORE: Boko Haram has lost its fearsomeness
Elites clutched at their radios as devout Catholics would the Rosary, listening as the sonorous voice of Emmanuel Omatsola blared from Race Course, Lagos: Nigeria is a free, sovereign nation. Pupils holidayed; and when they returned to school, they were served unusual rounds of sumptuous meals and handed lovingly petite green-white-green flags.
Buhari still has adequate time to turn his fortunes around, but he must be wary of the kind of executive arrogance that undid Jonathan's party and government. by
But for all of Balewas education and popularity in international circles, his reputation for championing northern interests did little to foster unity and stability in Nigerias delicate multiethnic set-up. Both power and life were taken away from him in a coup six years later.
When Nigeria returned to democracy in 1999, after decades of torture at the hands of the military, the scenarios were repeated. Olusegun Obasanjo, a retired soldier who was on the throes of death in prison, was suddenly, miraculously handed democratic power.
Obasanjo had admitted that the entire Nigerian scene is very bleak indeed, so bleak people ask me: where do we begin? But he also promised to fight corruption, restore public confidence in governance, build infrastructure. Millions of overjoyed Nigerians believed him the worst civilian government is better than the best military regime was the popular reasoning at the time.
In his book, This House Has Fallen, published a year into Obasanjos presidency, British journalist Karl Maier had written: The government spends up to half its annual budget on salaries of an estimated two million workers yet the civil service remains paralysed, with connections and corruption still the fastest way to get anything done. Up to 75 percent of the armys equipment is broken or missing vital spare parts. The Navys 52 admirals and commodores outnumber serviceable ships by a ratio of six to one. The Air Force has 10,000 men but fewer than 20 functioning aircraft.
Sixteen long years later, it is heartbreaking to see that these are still some of the issues dominating Nigerian political discourse.
Gloom of Buharis victory
Caveat: this is not an appraisal of Buharis reign not yet. But some of his first words as president-elect back in 2015 were: You voted for change and now change has come.
Goodluck Jonathans presidency ended with a biting fuel scarcity that suffering masses felt would accompany Jonathan out of office. On the anniversary of Buharis victory, that scarcity they so despised is exactly what theyre grappling with. There are no noticeable improvements in erratic power supply, the unhealthy economy, the dearth of jobs. No change, really.
Buhari still has adequate time to turn his fortunes around, but he must be wary of the kind of executive arrogance that undid Jonathans party and government.
It is the same type of arrogance that made Minister of State for Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu, declare in the face of the ongoing petrol scarcity: One of the trainings I did not receive was that of a magician. Only to tell prospective protesters days later: Save your fuel, I am not going to resign is dangerous.
That Femi Adesina, Buharis spokesman, told Nigerians a day earlier that: If some people are crying that they are in darkness, they should go and hold those who vandalise the installations betrays Buharis administrations intolerance of criticism and suggests possible abdication of leadership.
Just in case Buhari has forgotten, in May, when he will have completed a quarter of his term in office, Nigerians will not only be carefully assessing the state of his change agenda, they will also be wondering if his party deserves to be retained in 2019.
Fisayo Soyombo edits the Nigerian online newspaper TheCable.
The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy.
Renowned architect, builder of numerous iconic buildings and recipient of prestigious prizes has died in the US.
Hamid Dabashi is the Hagop Kevorkian Professor of Iranian Studies and Comparative Literature at Columbia University.
Sober and savvy; perfectionist and flamboyant; commanding respect and oozing authority: Zaha Hadid was the soul of an Arab poet in the spirit of a European artist.
The verb to be does not quite yet fit into the past tense of was in a sentence with Hadid. Nor indeed do the birth and death dates (1950-2016) we are now required to place in front of her iconic name.
She had become immortal before her death, her name more a soaring citation than the sign of a biography.
The sudden news of Hadids death just a day before April Fools Day was so incredulous that there were indications on newsfeeds that it might be an Internet hoax.
Except it was not.
Journalists and professional architects soon scrambled for the right words to capture the moment when the world was robbed of one of its finest, most spectacular architects the queen of curvy designs, as she was dubbed, the powerful metaphysician of physical forms defying laws of gravity to declare a rebellious soul, to claim pride of place on an unsuspecting piece of land.
Baghdad was reborn in her soul
Hadid was born into a prominent family in Baghdad during the last years of the Hashemite monarchy.
She grew up in the aftermath of the military coup led by Brigadier General Abdul Karim Qassim, and left for Beirut to continue with her college education in mathematics as Saddam Hussein staged yet another coup to seize power, before finally moving to London to study architecture.
Just as the devastating Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988) was about to start, she had already established her own company, Zaha Hadid Architects, in 1979.
As her homeland collapsed into chaos and mayhem, Hadid soared in fame and achievements.
History had placed her singlehandedly to build in the name and memory of her homeland what destructive forces of power and violence destroyed in her birthplace.
As tall and iconic buildings were falling down after the US-led invasion and destruction of Iraq, Hadid built ever taller and more magnificent buildings around the globe.
Hadid took a fistful of everything that was good and beautiful in her homeland when she left, and with it she signed her signature on every corner of the globe she visited by
She lent the Baghdad of her birth to the Beirut of her youth to pave her way to the London of her mature life.
Hadid was the embodiment of the cosmopolitan culture of her homeland, a living testimony of what, where, how and why that culture was precisely at the moment when its infrastructure was falling to pieces.
She made, built and marked where the combined banality of Saddam Hussein and George W Bush unmade, destroyed, and tore to pieces.
Builder of numerous iconic buildings around the world and recipient of countless prestigious prizes, including the Pritzker Prize, she was a product of Baghdad, Beirut and London, and from that triangulated base she could go anywhere around the globe and do anything to make a building sing like an Abu Nuwas poem.
Her lifetime achievement speaks of a different era; when visionary artists easily crossed borders and were at home in Baghdad, Beirut, Rome, London, New York and Tokyo; when the emergence of an ugly and false ethnic nationalism or religious sectarianism had not yet given rise to yet another vicious cycle of civilisational divides.
Take a look at some of her extraordinary buildings: Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku, Azerbaijan; Messner Mountain Museum in Plan de Corones, Italy; BMW Central Building in Leipzig, Germany; London Aquatics Centre; Jockey Club Innovation Tower at Hong Kong Polytechnic University; Guangzhou Opera House, China; the Phno Science Center in Wolfsburg, Germany; Galaxy Soho in Beijing; Nordpark Railway Stations in Innsbruck, Austria; Chanel Mobile Art Container in New York City an almost endless constellation of elegant shapes, welcoming sites, dazzling designs, spectacular urban landscapes that mark a territory and grace it with the name of Zaha Hadid.
She literally occupied every territory she conquered with her architectural designs. Her art was neither Arab, nor European, but both; neither Oriental, nor Occidental, but both: her signature curvatures conquered both sides of any divide that laid a singularly false claim on her.
She has left us with a monumental body of work that refuses cliche categorisations that demand a false split duality from us: Islam and the West, the West and the Rest.
Her work was a dream to behold and yet the nightmare of Orientalists and Islamophobes, were they to be even aware of her monuments.
On every corner of this planet, Hadid left a monument as a testimony to the beautiful, defiant and true soul of humanity that conquered both sides of any false cultural divide.
Where did that world go, the world that was alive and well in Hadid, and on display in everything she built? How did it disappear?
Hadid left Iraq when Husseins banality took over and she died when, in the aftermath of Bushs campaign of shock and awe, the monster called Daesh (the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) had torn it to pieces.
Magnificent monuments in Iraq and Syria were hammered to ruins by Daesh, and museums of antiquity were raided and plundered while witnessed by a frightened humanity.
Hadid took a fistful of everything that was good and beautiful in her homeland when she left, and with it she signed her signature on every corner of the globe she visited to build a magnificent building: so that through one of her most precious children, Baghdad would leave a mark on every corner of this globe, a monument to behold of the glory that it once was.
Hamid Dabashi is Hagop Kevorkian Professor of Iranian Studies and Comparative Literature at Columbia University in New York.
The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy.
Bethlehem, occupied West Bank Posters emblazoned with youthful faces dot the walls that line Aida refugee camps narrow, grey alleyways: faces of camp residents killed by Israeli forces.
Nights here can be long and terrifying. Israeli soldiers use the cover of darkness to launch raids, fire tear gas and arrest camp youth for throwing stones or being affiliated with Palestinian political parties.
For the children of Aida, it is a grim way to grow up. Israels separation wall hems the camp in on one side, while Israeli snipers watch over the crowded homes from heavily guarded watchtowers. Tombstones inside the camps graveyard show the ages 17, 19, 20, 21 of Palestinians killed in recent years.
But in one of the camps schools, a local organisation is trying to bring back a semblance of childhood. Sounds of Palestine, a group composed of local musicians and social workers, is teaching children between the ages of five and nine how to play musical instruments such as the clarinet, cello and violin. The organisation, which was launched in 2012, is aiming to expand into isolated areas of the West Bank and has been providing extra activities for children amid the recent wave of violence in the region.
All of these children are coming from very hard backgrounds. Every day, there is shooting and tear gas, programme manager Ahmad al-Azzeh told Al Jazeera. What we are doing here is creating a peaceful and safe place for them, while also giving them one of the most fantastic tools available to people, which is music. Music can make anyone happy.
As he speaks, the din of three clarinets being played enthusiastically fills the schools corridor. Inside the classrooms, children participate in drumming lessons, strings lessons, music theory classes and a class focused on Dabka, a lively, traditional Palestinian dance.
I love playing the cello, Yara Karkouf told Al Jazeera, smiling, before she rushed off to her Dabka class. They teach us how to play. Im excited being here, and excited when I go home to tell my mother what I did and how well I played.
Here, it feels different; it is not like Aida camp. There is a lot of violence in the camp, but here it feels safe. by Ahmad Saqer, eight-year-old resident of Aida refugee camp
In another room, a mini-orchestra plays Frere Jacques with gusto. They appear immersed in the music, free for the moment from the troubled realities of their poverty-stricken camp.
These children have seen their relatives shot, their family members taken to prison; all of the violence here, they are a witness to, Azzeh said, noting the violence has increased in recent months. They are traumatised, and if Im honest, the adults here are traumatised as well but at least we know how to handle the trauma. The children dont.
For every music teacher at Sounds of Palestine, there is also a social worker available to speak with students and counsel them, he added.
Indeed, the escalation in violence in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories in recent months has seen increasing Israeli incursions into Aida.
Clashes between stone-throwing youth and armed Israeli soldiers are commonplace, while young children have been arrested by soldiers and taken from their homes in the middle of the night. The circumstances have taken a significant psychological toll on the camps children.
Today, camp resident Ahmad Saqer, who is eight years old, concentrates hard as he studies music theory. He prefers playing the violin, he says, but he understands the importance of learning theory in order to progress.
READ MORE: Oz Israels prison for Palestinian children
A few months ago, this level of focus would have been next to impossible for Saqer. Late last year, one of his cousins was shot during clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces, and shortly afterwards, the Israelis arrested Saqer in his home and interrogated him for hours at an army base.
Upon his release, Saqer became withdrawn, rarely talking or smiling. He had difficulty concentrating on anything and often covered his face with his hands or clothing, shielding his eyes from the world.
Sounds of Palestine has offered him a safe space where he can obtain a sense of achievement and progress, he said.
Im really good at it, he says of his violin practice. Here, it feels different; it is not like Aida camp. There is a lot of violence in the camp, but here it feels safe. I feel happy when Im playing the violin, and my mother has seen me play before. I felt so happy when she saw me.
Despite launching less than four years ago, Sounds of Palestine has already seen two of its students win first place in Jerusalems Magnificent Strings Competition, an annual forum for the best young strings musicians from Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank.
Azzeh says the organisation aims to continue providing music lessons to the children as they get older. Every year, they have extended the age range by one year, bringing in new children while continuing to teach their existing students.
Funding presents a challenge, Azzeh admitted, as the organisation runs on donations from private donors and organisations. As more children sign up, it has been difficult to obtain enough instruments, but Sounds of Palestine is determined to forge on and expand in the years ahead.
The dream is to one day have a Sounds of Palestine music school in its own building, giving away free music lessons and therapy to every child that needs it, Azzeh said.
World ports detect only a fraction of all nuclear material that is being transported illegally, leading scientist says.
In 2009, US President Barack Obama described the possibility of nuclear weapons falling into the hands of terrorists as the most immediate and extreme threat to global security.
Since then, the US has been leading global efforts to secure, consolidate and dispose of nuclear material, culminating in this weeks United Nations Nuclear Security Summit in Washington.
Diplomacy has been a large part of these efforts, but they have also been accompanied by efforts to increase surveillance and monitoring at the worlds ports, including the port of Rotterdam, Europes largest.
More than 440 million tonnes of cargo pass through Rotterdam each year, making it a frontline in the effort to stop the transportation of potentially dangerous nuclear materials.
These are sources coming from all over the world, Rene de Goede, from Dutch Customs, told Al Jazeera.
They are coming from abandoned hospitals, things like contaminated steel, for instance. I know [of] one case where small pipes were contaminated with enriched uranium.
The port requires radiation sensors to be installed in the claws of the cranes used to unload scrap metal. Shipping containers are also checked as they are driven through the port.
Both systems send out an alert if the material is found to have suspicious or unusual levels of radiation.
Nuclear security summit to focus on dirty bomb scenario
Each year, about 150 shipments from this port are isolated and passed over to government scientists.
Suspicious nuclear material is then taken to a government laboratory in the Dutch city of Bilthoven, where samples are taken and analysed to try to understand what it is and whether it poses a threat.
We investigate contaminated scrap metal to enable us to go back to the facility where it has most likely gone loose, Klaus Mayer, a leading nuclear scientist with the European Commission, told Al Jazeera.
We help them improve their handling procedures and make sure they take better control of contaminated conventional waste.
Recent finds have included depleted uranium cylinders from Pakistan, nuclear testing material from Russia and even an unused nuclear fuel pellet from Germany.
Although all these pose a threat to health and could potentially be used in a so-called dirty bomb most of the nuclear material found in Rotterdam shows only low levels of radioactivity.
Frequent importers are unaware that their cargo is contaminated and blame suppliers for not checking the safety of their materials.
Mayer says detection efforts are catching only a fraction of the nuclear material being transported illegally, and some of it could be much more dangerous.
The material which is discovered out of regulatory control and intercepted is most likely not all the material that is out there, he said. What we see is the tip of the iceberg, but we dont know how big the iceberg is.
Securing high-grade nuclear materials
While low-level nuclear materials pose only a small threat to public health, of much greater concern are those which are more radioactive, such as nuclear fuel or weapons-grade material.
Terrorist organisations are also acting upon opportunities that they have, said Brecht Volders, a nuclear weapons researcher at the University of Antwerp.
Thats why the nuclear security summit is so important. You secure the fissile material so they dont have an easy opportunity to obtain the material.
Attack killed seven police officers and wounded 27 people in the Kurdish-dominated southeastern city of Diyarbakir.
Turkeys outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) claimed responsibility on Friday for a car-bomb attack that killed seven special forces policemen and wounded 27 people in the southeast, a statement on its website said.
The PKK has fought against the Turkish state since 1984, initially for Kurdish independence, although it now presses for greater autonomy and rights for the countrys largest ethnic minority. The conflict has left tens of thousands dead over the years.
Thursdays attack in Diyarbakir, which took place a day before Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglus visit to the Kurdish-dominated city, was one of the larger car bombings in months of violence in the region.
READ MORE: Car bomb kills police in Turkeys Diyarbakir
On Friday, Davutoglu began his visit under heavy security as he attended a funeral ceremony for the policemen killed.
They thought that we would be scared, but we are not scared. We will not waver and we will go right to the end, said Davutoglu, who also took part in Friday prayers outside the Great Mosque in Diyarbakirs central Sur district.
Parts of Sur have been under curfew since the military launched a major operation against the PKK in the area on December 2, with the clashes causing widespread destruction to the historic district.
Thursdays explosion, which targeted a police vehicle near a busy bus terminal, damaged several cars and shattered almost all the windows of a multi-storey building.
It was like an apocalypse, really hard to explain, Ugur Bahcivanci, a local engineer, told Al Jazeera.
My parents were cooking in the kitchen. I was in the bathroom, my children were studying in the living room. All of a sudden with the powerful explosion we felt the storm and saw something very strong coming on to us.
Al Jazeeras Omar al-Saleh, reporting from Diyarbakir, said the explosion was caused by a parked car packed with explosives.
It was detonated by a remote control once the minibus carrying the police arrived, he said.
Of those wounded, 14 were civilians and 13 police officers.
Look at the magnitude of this tunnel. Ynetnews, by Roi Kais
Amidst talks between Egypt and Hamas regarding the border situation, a 3 km tunnel was found by Egyptian security forces containing weapons, engineering equipment and generators.
The Egyptian border guard destroyed a three kilometer long tunnel between Rafah, Egypt and the Gaza Strip, one of the longest tunnels discovered at the border between the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula, according to Egyptian security sources Thursday.
The tunnel's opening point, located in the house of an Egyptian smuggler from the Al Barazeel neighborhood in Rafah, Egypt is made out of concrete and steel. In addition to high quality engineering equipment, lighting, generators and communications devices were found.
Hamas Tunnel
The Ma'an Palestinian news agency reported that armaments such as mortars were found inside the tunnel. Egyptian security sources did not rule out the possibility that this tunnel was intended for military purposes.
Egyptian media accused Hamas and its military wing, the Izz ad-Din Al-Qassam Brigades of having something to do with the tunnel. This tunnel was found as an additional round of talks between a Hamas delegation to Cairo and the Egyptian general intelligence were being held. The Hamas delegation returned on Wednesday from the talks in Cairo. The talks focus on the border situation between the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula, as well as the smuggling tunnels that the Egyptians are combating.
Egyptian media reported that Egyptian commando forces managed to kill the person considered the number two man in ISIS's Sinai branch, Mohammad Mada'an, in battles in central Sinai .This information has not yet been authenticated.
Pentagon assessing results after targeting Hassan Ali Dhoore on Thursday in a drone strike in southern Somalia.
This story originally said Dhoore had been killed in the air strike. The US is assessing whether he died or not.
A US air strike in Somalia has targeted a senior al-Shabab leader accused of participating in deadly attacks on African forces and American citizens.
The Pentagon said on Friday the strike was aimed at Hassan Ali Dhoore, also described as a key member al-Qaeda.
It was unclear whether al-Shabab members were killed in the attack on Thursday, and the US defence department was assessing the results of this operation, a statement said.
Removing Dhoore from the battlefield would be a significant blow to al-Shababs operational planning and ability to conduct attacks, Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook was quoted as saying.
Dhoore is said to be a member of al-Shababs Amniyat, or security and intelligence wing, and was involved in high-profile attack planning in the capital, Mogadishu.
The Pentagon said he planned and oversaw attacks resulting in the deaths of African Union military personnel and at least three US citizens.
Quoting unidentified US officials, The Associated Press reported that Dhoore and two others were killed in a drone strike 32km south of Jilib in southern Somalia, not far from the Kenyan border. The officials were not authorised to discuss the strike publicly, so spoke on condition of anonymity.
READ MORE: Somalias al-Shabab: Toll of US air strikes exaggerated
The Pentagon said Dhoore helped facilitate a deadly Christmas Day 2014 attack at Mogadishus international airport that killed nine people, including three AU soldiers.
He was also involved in the March 2015 assault on the Maka al-Mukarramah Hotel in the Somali capital that left 24 people dead, including six attackers.
Last month, the US said it carried out several air strikes in Somalias Hiiraan region, in which it claimed more than 150 of the al-Qaeda-linked groups fighters had been killed.
However, two of the al-Shabab leaders said to have died in that attack later appeared in public.
El Cielo, one of Latin Americas top restaurants, assembles kitchen staff of army veterans and former rebel fighters.
Decades of conflict have made it difficult for Colombias former combatants to find a job but one fine-dine restaurant is working to change that.
Medellin-based El Cielo, one of Latin Americas top 50 restaurants, is promoting peace and reconciliation by hiring one-time enemies to work at its celebrated kitchen.
It offers training and employment to military veterans and former rebel fighters as part of a government initiative aiming to help them reintegrate into society.
A prospective employer wants to know your experience, who can recommend you. And as a former rebel what can you answer? But here I didnt have to lie, Nora Bolivar, who escaped the powerful FARC rebel group after four years, told Al Jazeera.
READ MORE: Colombias revolutionary women
Since 2003, around 18,000 former fighters already quit the ranks of FARC, one of the most powerful guerilla movements in the region. Many have joined the governments reintegration programme, but struggle to find stable work facing fear and discrimination.
Bolivar, who left her hometown after receiving threats, was one of them.
When a government agency connected her with El Cielo, she worried about not being able to work in a restaurant and feared working shoulder-to-shoulder with her former enemy.
When I saw him for the first time I had the shivers, she recalled. I didnt know what his reaction would be. But that same day we talked and I cried, and since then hes been my support.
READ MORE: Colombia opens new front in peace negotiations
Her colleague Ruben Romero is a military veteran, who lost his left eye and right leg to a FARC landmine.
Romero said that at first, it was also hard for him to accept her presence.
But we shared our stories. And I understood they are victims as well. It helped me to move on and remove a huge burden, he said.
The restaurant foundation originally only hired former soldiers hiring ex-rebels was a bigger leap.
There were like fears, of course, about security, about public opinion, many things, said Juan Manuel Barrientos, El Cielos chef.
But in the end we said, Hey, if we dont do it, no one will.
At El Cielo, workers know a restaurant alone is not likely to reverse decades of fear and distrust.
Still, they are convinced the programme might just become a recipe for reconciliation.
Emergency workers in eastern city of Kolkata searched through the night for survivors underneath a collapsed flyover.
Emergency workers in Kolkata continued to search for survivors underneath a collapsed flyover in a congested area of the eastern city, as the construction firm building the flyover was being investigated.
At least 23 people were killed and more than a dozen were still trapped under the rubble of the under-construction overpass that collapsed in the busy Burrabazar area on Thursday.
Rescuers were using sniffer dogs and special cameras to find trapped people and used saws, small cranes, and their bare hands to dig through the wreckage in search of victims.
Smashed yellow taxis, destroyed rickshaws and the bloody legs of trapped people jutted from the collapsed girders and concrete slabs.
The condition is pathetic. At this moment no one has any clue how many people are trapped, said Raichand Mohta, a police officer at the scene.
Soldier who killed Palestinian free to roam military base as court decides whether to charge him with manslaughter.
An Israeli soldier who shot dead a wounded Palestinian as he lay on the ground was released to open detention at a military base on Friday while judges decide whether to charge him with manslaughter.
The soldier had been incarcerated since last week when he was caught on video calmly walking up to the incapacitated Palestinian man Abed al-Fattah Yusri al-Sharif and shooting him in the head at point-blank range.
The United Nations said this week that video of the incident showed all the signs of an extrajudicial killing.
READ MORE: West Bank shooting: Israel does whatever it wants
The Israeli soldier, who has not been identified for legal reasons, will have his next hearing on Tuesday. He has been ordered not to leave the military base and is not permitted to carry weapons.
Fattah, 21, and another Palestinian man who was earlier shot and killed were accused of stabbing an Israeli soldier in Hebron.
After the initial shooting of the attackers, the soldier told the military court that Fattah tried to reach for a knife while on his back, and he believed the wounded man had an explosives belt that he was trying to detonate.
Israeli media website YNET News, which had a reporter at Fridays military court session, quoted the Israeli military prosecutor Zagagi Pinhas as saying the video presents a different situation.
The videos and testimony from the incident indicate that the neutralised terrorist posed no threat, Pinhas said.
However many movements the terrorist made, none of the other people at the scene including the commanders standing next to the terrorist were not alarmed by it and this speaks volumes.
The prosecutor also noted the soldiers comments after the killing indicated a revenge motive. The soldier told his friends immediately after the incident: My friend was stabbed and he deserves to die.'
Pinhas said there were questions surrounding the accuseds testimony.
The soldiers changing version raises serious doubts about the credibility of the defences claims, to put it mildly, he was quoted as saying.
READ MORE: UN outrage over Israeli army execution of Palestinian
On Wednesday, Christof Heyns, the UNs special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, said: Whatever legal regime one applies to the case, shooting someone who is no longer a threat is murder.
On Thursday, the military judge, Lieutenant Colonel Ronen Shor, said a manslaughter charge against the soldier would be reviewed, instead of a murder charge as was originally sought. Under Israeli law, manslaughter signifies an intentional but not premeditated killing.
Shor said on Tuesday that evidence was inconclusive and there was reasonable doubt about the circumstances of the shooting given the complexity of the events.
Palestinian activists in Hebron have demanded that Israel holds its army accountable for Fattahs killing.
Jordan has denounced distorted reporting that claimed the king had belittled the 34-nation military alliance tasked with battling armed groups in the Middle East that was created by Saudi Arabia late last year.
Jordan foils major ISIL operation
Jordan is fully supportive of the Saudi-led Islamic coalition in its fight against terrorism, said a statement in Arabic released by the state news agency Petra.
Jordan was one of the first supporters and participants in this coalition, and we have been calling for such an initiative for a long time.
Earlier this week, one report said King Abdullah told US politicians in January in Washington DC to be realistic about what the Saudi-led coalition can achieve.
It added the only reason his country and other nations signed up was because of the alliances non-binding nature.
But the governments statement called the reporting into question.
Jordan is proud of its solid historic ties to the brotherly Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Jordan always stands by Saudi Arabia under all circumstances. We must fight terrorism by reinforcing Arab-Islamic joint efforts, it said.
Al Jazeera contacted a spokesman from Jordans government for comment, as well as the communications director for the royal palace, but phones rang unanswered. Friday is a public holiday in Jordan.
WATCH: The threat of ISIL in Saudi Arabia
Last December, Saudi Arabia announced the formation of the anti-terror alliance involving more than 30 Muslim-majority countries, including Middle Eastern powers Egypt and Turkey.
Most of the countries are currently involved in military operations against ISIL, also known as ISIS, or have been targeted by the group.
The states will work together to target any terrorist organisation, not just ISIL in countries including Iraq, Syria, Libya, Egypt, and Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia said.
Asked if the alliance would deploy troops on the ground, Saudis Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said in December that nothing is off the table.
Salah Farah, a Muslim teacher who died shielding Christians during a bus attack in Kenya, has been posthumously honoured for his act of courage.
Farah was shot after refusing to be separated from Christian passengers during an al-Shabab attack on a bus travelling from Mandera to Nairobi in December 2015.
He later succumbed to his wounds, leaving behind four young children aged between two and 10, and a pregnant wife.
READ MORE: Muslims in Kenya offer present to the world
On Thursday, Farah was awarded the Order of the Grand Warrior of Kenya by President Uhuru Kenyatta in recognition of his remarkable act of valour.
The award is given by the president to acclaim distinguished and outstanding services rendered to the nation in various capacities and responsibilities.
He died defending people he did not know. This is because he believed in their right to freedom of worship and he knew that every single life irrespective of faith is sacred, Kenyatta said during the State of Nation address in parliament.
He is a powerful symbol of our countrys ambition to attain the full expression of secure and cohesive nationhood, and he is a costly reminder that we all have a role to play in protecting our freedoms.
I want to tell his children that their fathers sacrifice will never be forgotten and will be long admired.
Symbol of unity
Abudallahi Derow, a 26-year-old activist who started a social media campaign in January to raise money for Farahs family, said the teachers bravery deserved to be honoured.
Salah died serving the country, defending his Christian brothers, Derow told Al Jazeera.
He chose to die and save the lives of his countrymen. He is a symbol of unity and strength and his action is an inspiration to many.
READ MORE: Kenyans honour hero Muslim teacher
Derows #HeroSalah Twitter campaign raised nearly 600,000 Kenyan shillings ($5,900), mainly through the M-Pesa money transfer service
We have delivered the money to the family, Derow said. We are intending to buy land and build the late heros family a house.
Despite being pushed out of Somalias major cities and towns, al-Shabab continues to launch deadly attacks across the country, as well as inside Kenya.
Follow Teo Kermeliotis on Twitter: @Teo_Kermeliotis
Libyas UN-backed government, which arrived in Tripoli amid threats by rival factions, has held meetings at a heavily guarded naval base in Tripoli.
The leaders arrived at the base by ship from neighbouring Tunisia on Wednesday in a high-risk effort to take power, after opponents prevented them from flying in by closing down Tripolis airspace.
Reports of sporadic gunfire and roadblocks leading into Tripoli emerged on Wednesday, with questions raised whether violence would erupt, or a peaceful transition of power would ensue.
Western powers hope the new government will request and channel foreign support to confront the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group, deal with migrant flows from Libya towards Europe, and restore oil production to shore up its economy.
Thursdays meetings saw members of the unity governments seven-member Presidential Council meet political supporters, local council leaders, businessmen and central bank governor Sadiq al-Kabir.
Abdulrahman Taweel, a brigadier general in charge of organising protection for the new government, described the base as completely secured.
We are working to secure all other state institutions, he told Reuters news agency without elaborating.
The council is here to stay and to continue their work here in Tripoli. They will not leave except for international meetings and will return.
The Presidential Council and the Government of National Accord (GNA) emerged from a deal mediated by the UN and signed in December to overcome an impasse that saw rival governments in Tripoli and Bayda competing for power.
Tripoli has been mostly calm since the new governments arrival, though a television station that supports the National Salvation government went off air late on Wednesday and there were brief clashes near the city centre.
Martin Kobler, the UN envoy for Libya, welcomed the arrival of the council in Tripoli and urged all public bodies to facilitate a peaceful and orderly handover of power.
I call on the Libyan people to extend to the Presidency Council and the Government of National Accord their full support and cooperation, Kobler said.
The international community stands firmly behind them and is ready to provide the required support and assistance.
Leave or surrender
Tripoli is home to a complex web of armed groups, some of which formed the Libya Dawn alliance that helped the National Salvation government seize power in 2014.
That alliance is now splintered and some powerful brigades have pledged support for the GNA. But others have either not declared their loyalties or said they would oppose it.
In a statement late on Wednesday, National Salvation government head Khalifa Ghwell called the Presidential Council infiltrators and said he was giving them a last chance to leave or surrender.
Libyan Grand Mufti Sadiq Al-Ghariani, an influential figure among some of Tripolis armed groups, called for the UN-brokered deal to be revised and for the GNA to leave the country before we open the door of jihad on them.
The new government has, however, received the endorsement of the Petroleum Facilities Guard, a semi-official armed faction that controls key eastern oil installations, some of which it has shut down amid political disputes.
Pyongyang fires new missile as its ambassador to the UN in Geneva says a state of semi-war is now ongoing.
North Korea pledged to pursue its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes in defiance of the United States and its allies with a top envoy saying there is now a state of semi-war on the divided peninsula.
So Se Pyong, North Koreas ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, made the statement on Friday as the US and South Korea held military exercises, which he said were aimed at the decapitation of the supreme leadership of the DPRK [Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea].
If the United States continues, then we have to make the counter-measures also. So we have to develop and we have to make more deterrence nuclear deterrence, So said in an interview with Reuters news agency.
READ MORE: North Korea ups tensions with new Sea of Japan firing
The ambassadors statement came as North Korea fired a new short-range missile into the sea on Friday and tried to jam GPS navigation signals in South Korea, according to Seoul officials.
The latest missile firing took place just hours after US, South Korean and Japanese leaders agreed to work together to counter North Koreas nuclear threat.
US President Barack Obama joined South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday in vowing to ramp up pressure on North Korea in response to its recent nuclear and missile tests.
The three leaders warned they could take further steps to counter threats from Pyongyang.
Slap in Xi Jinpings face
In January, North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test and in February launched a long-range rocket, angering even its closest ally, China, and prompting the UN Security Council to impose more sanctions on the reclusive state.
In Washington DC on Thursday, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for dialogue to resolve the predicament on the Korean peninsula.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Einar Tangen, a political affairs analyst, said North Korea was increasingly defying its closest ally.
Pyongyangs latest action, he said, is a slap to the face of Xi Jinping, a tremendous loss of face as he is meeting with Obama about nuclear issues.
Meanwhile, So declared that North Korea is going on our own way. [We are] not having dialogue and discussions on that, when asked whether Pyongyang felt pressure from Beijing.
So also said the de-nuclearisation of the peninsula has gone, when asked about the resumption of stalled six-party talks on his countrys nuclear programme.
US president tells world leaders at nuclear summit that there would be deadly consequences if ISIL got atomic weapons.
US President Barack Obama urged world leaders on Friday to step up efforts to prevent madmen from groups such as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) from obtaining nuclear weapons, as he announced that 102 nations have ratified a treaty on the protection of nuclear materials.
Speaking at a nuclear security summit in Washington DC, Obama said there was a persistent and evolving threat of nuclear attacks despite progress in reducing such risks.
We cannot be complacent, Obama said, adding that no group had succeeded in getting their hands on nuclear weapons.
He pointed out, however, that al-Qaeda had long sought them and ISIL (also known as ISIS) had already used chemical weapons, including mustard gas, in Syria and Iraq.
There is no doubt that if these madmen ever got their hands on a nuclear bomb or nuclear material, they would certainly use it to kill as many innocent people as possible, Obama added. It would change our world.
READ MORE: ISIL and the poor mans nuke
The US president was hosting more than 50 world leaders for his fourth and final summit on nuclear security focused on efforts to lock down vulnerable atomic materials to prevent nuclear attacks.
During the summit, Obama announced that the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material would take effect soon. The agreement had been in existence for decades. But it was only in the past few weeks that it got the approval of at least two-thirds of all signatory countries, the number required for it to take effect.
The deal requires countries to implement more stringent methods to protect nuclear materials.
As a result, we expect that the treaty will enter into force in the coming weeks, giving us more tools that we need to work together in the event of theft of nuclear material or an attack on a nuclear facility, Obama said.
North Koreas nuclear defiance was also high on the agenda.
Obama, who is pushing for a significant reduction of nuclear weapon stockpiles, has less than 10 months left in office to follow through on one of his signature policy initiatives.
But there were concerns that Russias absence from the talks would hinder any real progress. Moscow is refusing to take part because of increased tensions with the US in recent months.
The US and Russia hold more than 90 percent of the worlds nuclear arsenal, left over from the Cold War.
Dirty bombs
The deadly bomb attacks in Brussels last month have increased concerns that ISIL could eventually target nuclear plants, steal material and develop radioactive dirty bombs.
Obama said suspected members of the armed group were reportedly found to have secretly videotaped the daily routine of a senior manager of a Belgian nuclear plant.
He added that with roughly 2,000 tonnes of nuclear material stored around the word, not all of this is properly secured.
Al Jazeeras Rosiland Jordan, reporting from Washington DC, said experts have raised concerns that even a small amount of nuclear raw materials in the hands of armed groups would be enough to scare a lot of people.
At the Washington summit, the US and Japan also announced they had completed the long-promised task of removing all highly enriched uranium and separated plutonium fuels from a Japanese research project.
Japan is an avowedly anti-nuclear-weapons state as the only country ever to have suffered a nuclear attack.
Earlier on Friday, Obama convened a separate meeting of the world powers that negotiated a landmark nuclear pact with Iran last July, a critical component of his nuclear disarmament agenda and a major piece of his foreign policy legacy.
He said efforts to implement the deal, which required Tehran to curb its nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief, had shown real progress but it would take time for Iran to reintegrate into the global economy.
Myanmar parliament votes to appoint Suu Kyi state adviser after constitution blocked her from becoming president.
The upper house of the Myanmar Parliament has passed a proposal to create a new position for political leader Aung San Suu Kyi as state adviser that will give her a powerful role in running the country.
Suu Kyi, who spent years under house arrest because of her push for democracy, guided the NLD to a landslide win at the polls in November. She was unable to become president because of a constitutional block because her two sons are British citizens, as was her late husband.
Inside Story Will Suu Kyi lead Myanmar from behind the scenes?
Htin Kyaw, a close confidant of Myanmars Nobel Peace laureate Suu Kyi, was instead nominated and sworn in as the countrys new president on Wednesday, after more than five decades of military rule in the country.
Suu Kyi was sworn in as minister of foreign affairs, education and energy but an NLD MP described her position as the presidents boss, indicating that Suu Kyis party was helping her achieve a pledge she has repeatedly made to be above the president.
President Htin Kyaw has the right to propose the law to appoint a state adviser, which is someone who can control the president and all the Cabinet members, said Khin Maung Myint, an NLD MP in the upper house, before the vote.
Al Jazeeras Step Vaessen, reporting from the capital, Naypyidaw, said that the new position can be compared to the post of a prime minister.
It is an easy win for Aung San Suu Kyi, she said. A large majority in the upper house backed the creation of the position giving her far-reaching powers.
OPINION: Tough choices in Myanmar as a new era begins
She will not only advise the government and parliament but also the judiciary. She is above all the parties in the parliament. It seems that her powers are above the president.
She is expected to resign from the other posts to focus on the new position.
Myanmar has been under military or military-dominated rule since a coup in 1962, and the elections in November, which brought the new government to power, were the first openly contested polls since 1990.
Htin Kyaw took over from former general Thein Sein, who has led the country since 2011. Under Thein Sein, the government set in motion reforms which have opened up the once-isolated country to the outside world, including to foreign investment.
Iraqi operation to retake key town from ISIL held up as thousands of trapped civilians urged to flee.
Tens of thousands of trapped Iraqi civilians have stalled an offensive to recapture a strategic town from ISIL, with the military dropping pamphlets urging people to flee so a full assault can begin.
Sabah al-Numan, a spokesman for Iraqs elite counter-terrorism forces, said an operation was launched for the town of Heet 140km west of Baghdad on Thursday with heavy air strikes helping ground troops to advance within 3km before being forced to stop.
Fallujah: Thousands without food
Heet lies along an Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant supply line linking its fighters in Iraq to those in Syria.
Numan said the military made a plan to evacuate these families and leaflets were dropped over Heet indicating which roads can be used to flee.
The armed group has regularly used civilians as human shields a tactic aimed at slowing the movement of Iraqi forces and complicating air strikes essential to ground operations.
The advance was not without resistance as eight Iraqi soldiers were killed on Thursday after an ISIL suicide car bomber detonated near an army convoy.
Iraqi special forces backed by army troops and US-led coalition air strikes moved on the town in western Anbar province that has been for months under the control of ISIL, also known as ISIS.
READ MORE: Iraqi special forces lead march towards Heet
Retaking Heet strategically located on the Euphrates River near the Ain al-Asad airbase, where several hundred US forces are training Iraqi troops would push ISIL further west towards the Syrian border, cutting a connection to the northern town of Samarra while leaving Fallujah as the groups only stronghold near the capital, Baghdad.
Iraq has had success in pushing back ISIL fighters in recent months, and has pledged to retake the northern city of Mosul later this year, but progress has often been fitful.
A senior ruling party official denied accusations on Friday that Turkey was rounding up and expelling en masse Syrian refugees, including children and women, on an almost daily basis.
Groups of about 100 Syrian men, women and children have been deported to Syria daily since mid-January, UK-based Amnesty International said in a report.
According to testimonies gathered, the regular forceful expulsion of Syrian refugees is an open secret in the region, even though it is illegal under Turkish, EU and international law, Amnesty said.
But Yasin Aktay, a senior member of parliament with the governing Justice and Development Party (AK), called the rights groups report a lie.
Aktay told Al Jazeera only people suspected of having terrorism links were sent back to Syria, as Ankara steps up border security after a spate of deadly attacks.
It is a lie that Turkey is sending civilians including women and children back to Syria. This claim is unfair to the country that is currently hosting 2.7 million Syrian refugees who we call guests here regardless of ethnicity.
We are voluntarily carrying this burden, Aktay said.
Thousands of people were deported for links to terrorist organisations, including with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS), the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), as well as soldiers from the Syrian army, he added.
We cannot let terrorists stay in the country. Turkey has been targeted by various people who came from Syria in recent months. Our policy is not against the Syrian people but terrorists who want to sneak into the country, said Aktay.
IN PICTURES: Refugee crisis bottlenecked on the Balkan route
Turkey and the EU recently agreed on a deal to cope with the massive refugee flow to Europe an agreement that many aid organisations as well as the UN denounced as dangerous and against international law.
In their desperation to seal their borders, EU leaders have willfully ignored the simplest of facts: Turkey is not a safe country for Syrian refugees and is getting less safe by the day, said John Dalhuisen, Amnestys director for Europe and Central Asia.
Turkey, with 2.7 million Syrian refugees, is hosting the largest number of people who fled the five-year war in Syria that has killed more than 250,000 people.
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu confirmed in a televised address on Thursday that implementation of the refugee deal will begin on Monday.
Aktay said the agreement was not an easy one to put into practice.
There are technical difficulties as to how to determine refugees origin. It is a significant task to figure out if a person arrived in Greece from Turkey or not as they are undocumented refugees, he said.
There are concerns about fissile nuclear material getting into the wrong hands that could have a devastating effect.
The Brussels attacks have highlighted the urgent need to make the worlds supply of fissile material secure.
Two of the bombers appeared to have previously been monitoring a senior researcher who worked at a Belgian nuclear centre.
The White House reckons that around 2,000 metric tonnes of highly dangerous nuclear material is out there, in both civilian and military programmes around the world.
It is not just used in weapons of war. Highly enriched uranium and separated plutonium are used to generate power, and they are also widely used in medicine.
Early on in his presidency Barack Obama highlighted the risk of nuclear attacks, describing them as the most immediate and extreme threat to global security.
So he launched a series of Nuclear Security Summits, and the gathering of world leaders in Washington DC this week was the fourth such summit.
On this Inside Story, we ask what international efforts have achieved so far, and what remains to be done.
Presenter: Martine Dennis
Guests:
Nickolas Roth Research associate, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School
Hamish de Bretton-Gordon Chemical weapons specialist, adviser to NGOs in Syria & Iraq
Togzhan Kassenova Associate, Nuclear Policy Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
We talk to ex-CIA and NSA Director Michael Hayden, and ask Bangladeshs deputy FM if the country has an ISIL problem.
Where does the US draw the line on what some consider torture?
In this episode of UpFront, we speak to former CIA and NSA Director Michael Hayden. In the Reality Check, Mehdi Hasan examines how money and racism undermine US democracy. And in a special interview, we ask Bangladeshs state minister for foreign affairs if the country has an ISIL problem.
Headliner: Ex-CIA director on torture and drones
When the executive summary of a 6,700-page US Senate Intelligence report on CIA interrogation techniques was released last year, many in the US and around the world expressed outrage.
The 500-page summary highlighted how CIA interrogation practices under the George W Bush administration were brutal and far worse than the CIA represented to policymakers and others. As federal judges decide whether to declassify the full report, did the CIA break the law in terms of torture?
In this weeks Headliner, Mehdi Hasan speaks to General Michael Hayden, former CIA director and author of Playing to the Edge: American Intelligence in the Age of Terror. Hayden discusses the CIAs use of aggressive interrogation methods and defends the US drone programme.
Watch more from Mehdi Hasans interview with Michael Hayden in which they discuss Edward Snowden and the NSAs mass surveillance programme.
United States: Democracy or oligarchy?
The United States is often described as the greatest democracy in the world, but when one looks at where the US stands on press freedom, campaign finance and recent restrictions on voting rights, some suggest the country might be more of an oligarchy.
In this weeks Reality Check, Mehdi Hasan examines how money and racism undermine US democracy.
Does Bangladesh have an ISIL problem?
In recent months, Bangladesh has seen a surge in attacks claimed by ISIL. As authorities try to tackle the growing domestic threat, does the country have an ISIL problem?
And, after several bloggers inside the country were hacked to death for expressing secular views, what is the future of democracy and human rights in the country? In a special interview, Mehdi Hasan speaks to Bangladeshs State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam who defends the countrys young democracy.
Editors note: This interview was conducted prior to the latest developments in Bangladesh.
Follow UpFront on Twitter @AJUpFront and Facebook.
Lina Colondres hasnt slept through the night in four years.
Instead of sleeping, she goes into her small living room and types her life story onto her cellphone.
She writes about her husband, Ruben Flores Garcia, who was deported to Mexico about four years ago.
Last month, Colondres reached out to UFs Hispanic-Latino Affairs about events for the Gainesville community. She never thought shed find help getting her husband back with a group of UF students. After talking to the program coordinator, the group set out to help her raise $1,000 for legal fees.
During the first Cesar Chavez Memorial Day of Service on Thursday, the HLA and Hispanic Student Association announced they raised about $350 for Colondres.
But Colondres said theres no guarantee her husband will return.
I miss the pillow talks. I miss the fights, the 44-year-old said. I just miss everything.
Andres Leiva Ruben Flores Jr. plays with Lego bricks in the family home. Though he is teased at school because of his waist-length braid, the 8-year-old refuses to cut it in honor of his father, who is of indigenous descent.
Before he was arrested, Ruben Flores Garcia was the sole provider for his family. He made $500 a week at a chicken plant in Alabama.
Flores Garcia was arrested at the plant March 26, 2012.
Evan George, Colondres lawyer, said Flores Garcias deportation is the result of a legal system error.
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He said the family wasn't aware Flores was in danger of being deported. Because of this, Flores Garcia never saw his day in court.
Its just a classic example of whats wrong with the system, George said. It boils my blood.
Hes now helping her get her husband back for free, he said. He couldnt say no.
Its the right thing to do, he said. Theres no way they could do this on their own.
Andres Leiva Lina Colondres puts on a funny face to make Marcelo laugh. Colondres said after Flores was deported, Marcelo developed behavioral and anger management issues.
Marcelo Flores Colondres turned 3 years old when his father was deported.
Now 7, he has grown up with anger-management issues, Lina Colondres said. Her other son, 8-year-old Ruben Flores Colondres Jr., misses his father every time he earns an award at school.
Ruben has trouble eating. Both wake up in the middle of the night screaming.
They think, My dad dont love me, my dad dont care, said Lina Colondres. And Im trying to explain to them its not him; its the government.
Isabel Bonnet From left, Marcelo Flores, 7; Ruben Flores Jr., 8; Felix Santana, 19; Lina Colondres, 44; and Diana Moreno, the UF Hispanic-Latino Affairs Program coordinator, share a smile during the first Cesar E. Chavez Memorial Day of Service. A student-led fundraising drive seeks to raise money to help the Flores-Colondres family pay lawyer fees to reunify with their deported husband and father, Ruben Flores.
Colondres said she survives by the grace of God.
After her husband was deported, she moved back to Gainesville with their three children.
Every month, she receives a $500 disability check and $200 in food stamps from the government, she said. Because of dislocated disks in her spine, she cant stand longer than five minutes. Diabetes is slowly taking her eyesight. Unable to work, government assistance is her only income.
Despite struggling to clothe her sons, she still manages to place an international call to her husband once a week.
I am barely making it. I am to the point where I cry every single night, she said. I dont know whats going to happen tomorrow; I dont know if Im going to feed my kids tomorrow.
Andres Leiva Felix momentarily glances away from the game hes playing on a tablet while his brother Marcelo laughs at the screen. Thier mother, Lina, cannot stand for more than a few minutes at a time, so Felix shares cleaning and caretaking duties around the apartment.
Colondres decided to take matters into her own hands about two months ago.
She said she started a GoFundMe page and raised about $400 on her own. After talking to Diana Moreno, the program coordinator of the HLA, the organization put boxes in the Reitz Union and La Casita to collect money.
We believe in connecting our students to community members, said Moreno, who was once undocumented. The reality of family separation is very close to our hearts.
As of press time, her GoFundMe page has raised $777, including donations from the HLA and HSA fundraiser.
Michael Reyes, a UF history sophomore, said he donated $5 to Colondres.
Anything counts, he said. I understand its tough for people.
He said he knew what Colondres and her children were going through. Growing up, his parents were undocumented, and as a single child, he feared for what would happen to him if his family was deported.
Theres always that fear of being separated from your family, the 20-year-old said.
Colondres said she was excited to see the students who donated money Thursday, but she wished her husband could see them, too.
I think my sadness takes over, and I wish he was here experiencing this with me, she said. I go home a little calm because I know a lot of people know.
@k_newberg
knewberg@alligator.org
From left: Marcelo Flores, Ruben Flores, Felix Santana, Lina Colondres and Ruben Flores Jr. pose for a photo. Colondres uses the family photo on her GoFundMe page.
UF dancers are collecting canned food to help families with sick children.
Extreme Dance Company will have collection boxes in the lobby of the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts at its semesterly Spring showcase, We Run The World, on Sunday. The non-perishable food will go to Ronald McDonald House Charities of North Central Florida, Rachel Keyt, a company costume chair, said.
Members of the company decided to collect food in place of charging admission to give back to the community, the UF animal sciences sophomore said.
The group picked Ronald McDonald House because it is partnered with UF Health Shands Childrens Hospital, she said. Ronald McDonald House helps families stay together while their children are in the hospital.
The group doesnt have a goal to reach, Keyt, 19, said. They want to help as many as they can.
Its a simple thing, but it can have a really big impact, she said.
This semesters show is based off Beyonces song Run the World, which promotes feminine power, Keyt said. All of the songs in the show are sung by artists who are women.
Drew Chodash, a UF marketing freshman, said shes glad to help the Gainesville community through dance. She said she hopes students come out and donate.
I think donating cans to the Ronald McDonald House is a really great idea to give back to the community in a fun way by donating a can instead of paying an entry fee to the show, 19-year-old said.
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A UF team competed nationally and won the peoples choice award for its gun-safety device Thursday night.
Three UF students and one student from the Georgia Institute of Technology competed in the innovation category at Microsofts 2016 U.S. Imagine Cup competition in San Francisco. Their design, Gun Loc, can be the size of a Cheez-It and sticks to a gun. It allows the guns owner to track its location and know whether its been fired.
The four came up with the idea while traveling to the University of Illinois hack-athon, HackIllinois, in February. The team made a software program within 36 hours, said Bernard Marger, a UF computer engineering senior.
During the competition, the team created the app to track a gun and won third place overall, the 21-year-old said.
The teams device measures the vibrations and movement made when a gun is picked up, he said.
The team also won first place in Microsofts category for using Azure, a Microsoft online cloud computer storage and backup program, said Jean-Ralph Aviles, a UF computer engineering senior.
A few weeks after HackIllinois, the teams members got an email from Microsoft urging them to apply to the companys 2016 U.S. Imagine Cup competition, the 22-year-old said.
We werent expecting much, but we got the email from the Microsoft recruiter and entered our product in, he said, Now were in San Francisco.
Marger said his team created Gun Loc to let gun owners know where their guns are at all times.
Basically, this is bringing us closer to protected firearms, he said.
This is the first time a UF team has made it to the national competition, he said. This team was also the only one at the competition to have a member from another school.
Faizan Virani, a Georgia Tech computer science sophomore, decided to join Margers team during the 18-hour trip to Illinois.
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Its amazing that by meeting (Marger) in one hack-athon led to this, the 19-year-old said.
Troy Gittelmacher, a UF computer engineering senior, said the experience has been surreal.
Making a project in 36 hours at a hack-athon has turned into this, the 21-year-old said. Its been an eye-opening experience on how the demand for new ideas is growing.
Marger said a Gainesville gun distributor has contacted the teams members about selling the software, but they havent decided yet whether they want to sell it.
I was not expecting that, but that is a wide-open door if we want to do that, he said.
UF students Troy Gittelmacher, Jean-Ralph Aviles, Bernard Marger and Georgia Institute of Technology student Faizan Virani, show their invention, Gun Loc, a device that uses an app to alert gun owners whenever their gun has been moved, at Microsofts 2016 U.S. Imagine Cup competition in San Francisco.
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, or so it seems, we students returned from Spring Break and told ourselves we have plenty of time until the end of the semester.
Oh, where does the time go? Were now on a countdown to the last day of classes, April 20, with only two and a half weeks left till liftoff.
And as the tidal wave of deadlines and all-nighters rapidly approaches, we extend to you our helping hand of wit, this lighthouse of cheesy, dad-approved ramblings, our latest segment of
Darts & Laurels
Thursdays editorial may have partly served as a Marry me, I love you! from our opinions editor to Trevor Noah (Oh, David), but one point he failed to address was how great the comedian who opened for Trevor Noah was Wednesday night.
New York comedian Angelo Lozada warmed the crowd up at the Accent Speakers Bureau event by crowd-pleasing which is generally frowned upon in comedy, but we at the Alligator feel he did so tastefully.
At the very least he gave us all a cheeky perspective on the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math fields we often take so seriously and officially. When he called upon an audience member who was a materials science and engineering student, Lozada responded with, Materials? Four years for that? I can do that, looked at his onstage wooden stool and shouted, Wood! So we give a laurel to Angelo Lozada; thanks for the memories, sir.
In other breaking news this week: Finding Dory. On Thursday, a list of new characters to be featured in the film was released, and it includes Dorys parents, a collection of adorable otters and a duo of sea lions, played by none other than Dominic West and Idris Elba of HBOs The Wire.
Longtime fans of this hit series will now get their reunion of two of the shows most beloved actors, and this time theyre teaming up with the rest of the Nemo crew.
We give a laurel to the amazing cast and much-anticipated film to hit theaters June 17. However, we must also give out a preemptive dart to the army of little kids likely to storm theaters for this film.
Dont get us wrong, this splendid movie should be experienced and appreciated by all, but let there be no mistake that this movie first and foremost belongs to us: millennials, young adults, people in their 20s who refuse to grow up.
It was us who endured the perilous venture and anxiety of losing, but then finally finding, Nemo back in 2003.
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Now, after 13 years of silently murmuring just keep swimming in our sleep, this movies ours. So to all the youngsters out there, well happily share the laughter and experience of Finding Dory with you; just let us cut you in line.
Lastly, in political news, the Arizona election fraud hearing was held Monday; the word intense doesnt even come close to describing it.
While Maricopa County Recorder Helen Purcell was apologetic at the meeting and vaguely assured further internal investigations would take place, outraged citizens called for a revote and Purcells resignation. We give a dart to this entire situation and trust Arizona officials will, at least, organize a revote. All votes deserve to be accurately represented: This is simply what democracy means.
2005 ..
American Antiquarian Society, 1812-2012: A View at the Bicentennial In the Spring of 2012, AAS published The American Antiquarian Society, 1812-2012: A Bicentennial History by Philip F. Gura. To supplement this publication, the Society digitized and made available in high-resolution the images and descriptions from the text.
Architectural Resources at the American Antiquarian Society Architectural resources in the collection include design books, drawings, lithographs, engravings, periodicals, and photographs.
Artists in the Archive: Twenty-Five Years of Creative and Performing Artists and Writers Fellowships In 1995, AAS welcomed its first class of Creative and Performing Artists and Writers Fellows. Visual artists, fiction writers, non-fiction writers, poets, playwrights, performance artists, musicians and composers, as well as film and media makers came to the society seeking to create original works based on American history to present to non-academic audiences and readers. These fellows added immensely to the intellectual mix under the dome of Antiquarian Hall and contributed to lively conversations with AAS staff, academic fellows, other scholars, and the general public over the past quarter century. Many have also created powerful, imaginative, and beautiful works, which we are celebrating in a program we are calling Artists in the Archive: Twenty-Five Years of Creative and Performing Artists and Writers Fellowships.
Beauties of America: The Staffordshire Pottery of John and William Ridgway This online resource both catalogs and contextualizes the twenty-two pieces of the Ridgway dinner service Beauties of America a subset of the Society' collection of Staffordshire potter using maps, photographs, source prints and rich descriptions of the objects.
Beauty, Virtue and Vice: Images of Women in 19c American Prints Most of the prints in this exhibit were designed simply to please the eye, but they are also useful to historians who would like to understand how 19th century Americans thought about the world in which they lived. Explored are artistic depictions of the standard of beauty, ideal beauty, women as objects, variations on the standard, true womanhood, women at home, American slavery, women in public life, women as performers, use of women as advertising strategies and more.
Beyond Midnight: Paul Revere Drawing on the American Antiquarian Societys unparalleled collection of prints and books, the exhibition, Beyond Midnight: Paul Revere, will transform viewers understanding of the iconic colonial patriot. This in-depth examination of Reveres many skills as a craftsman will help illustrate the entrepreneurial spirit of an early American artisan who stood at the intersection of social, economic, and political life during the formation of the new nation.
Big Business: Food Production, Processing & Distribution in the North, 1850-1900 This online exhibition features lithographs, chromolithographs, trade catalogues, trade cards, and product labels from the American Antiquarian Society's collection that help shed light on major changes in the way Americans in the North produced and sold their food in the second half of the nineteenth century.
Caribbeana Project at AAS The Caribbeana Project at the American Antiquarian Society features some of the major works about the Caribbean or published in the Caribbean that can be found in AAS's collections. These include letters, manuscripts, almanacs, laws, newspapers and bound volumes of all kinds. While not a comprehensive accounting of AAS's Caribbeana holdings, this exhibition examines and emphasizes the close relationship between early British North America or the United States and the Caribbean World in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. This website samples over one hundred of AASs most interesting Caribbean items, delving into the close relationship between these two regions, and opening up the collection for scholarship by identifying avenues for potential research.
Collecting the Jacksonian Era: How Books Become Library Collections at AAS In 2015, the William C. Cook Jacksonian Era Collection arrived at AAS adding almost five hundred books, prints, manuscripts, newspapers, and more to the Society's already significant holdings from or about the Jacksonian Era. This online exhibition follows the books from that collection through the process of being integrated into the Society's other library collections in order to reveal the everyday work of collection-building being done by AAS members, staff, friends, and researchers.
The David Claypoole Johnston Collection This exhibition highlights the Society's outstanding collection of lithographs, watercolors, and drawings of artist David Claypoole Johnston.
From English to Algonquian: Early New England Translations Some of the earliest and rarest materials printed in British North America were not printed in English. Instead, these books, pamphlets, and broadsides were printed in the various dialects of Algonquian, the language of the Native Americans who populated the American Northeast. This exhibition explores the contributions of those who labored in translating and printing works in the Algonquian family of native languages.
In Pursuit of a Vision: Two Centuries of Collecting at AAS In the early days of the American Antiquarian Society, founder Isaiah Thomas asked members to send materials for preservation in the Society's library at Worcester, Massachusetts. Over the course of two hundred years, generations of the Society's members, friends, and staff have ably answered Thomas's call. This exhibition celebrates the generosity and farsightedness of some of the many collectors, book dealers, and librarians who have, each in his or her own way, contributed to the greatness of AAS.
An Invitation to Dance: A History of Social Dance in America An Invitation to Dance: A History of Social Dance in America showcases the unique print culture items on the subject of dance within the Society's holdings. From its fashion and origins, to its etiquette and opposition, this online exhibit features a sampling of artifacts from the 18th and 19th centuries. Click on the image to the left from Stephen Salisbury's "Bal Masque" ticket to attend.
Isaiah Thomas Broadside Ballads Project With over 800 images and 300 mini-essays, this site offers a unique and comprehensive view of the broadsides that Isaiah Thomas (1749-1831) collected in early nineteenth-century Boston. Each broadside includes a brief explanation of its content by Kate Van Winkle Keller.
James Fenimore Cooper: Shadow & Substance The American Antiquarian Society is a natural home for an online exhibition about James Fenimore Cooper's works. For many years the Society has supported The Writings of James Fenimore Cooper, an editorial project the bears the seal of the MLA Committee on Scholarly Editions. To support the work of the editors of the Writings, also knows as the Cooper Edition, the Society has actively collected editions of Cooper's works printed in any language up to the year 1877.
Louis Prang and Chromolithography This online exhibition showcases the collection and career of Boston lithograph firm Louis Prang & Company, within the collections of the American Antiquarian Society. Featuring prints, salesman's samples and progressive proof books, this exhibition tells the story of Prang during the height of his career in chromolithography during the second half of the nineteenth century. Prang pioneered developments in the chromolithographic process, creating painting-like prints for the general public. He is also considered the "Father of the American Christmas card" having introduced it to the American public in 1874 after the wife of an agent suggested the idea to him while he was promoting his business abroad. Instrumental in the promotion of art education for public school students, Prang helped develop curriculum for schools, teaching art instructors, and creating safe, quality art supplies for students.
Making Valentines: A Tradition in America Making Valentines: A Tradition in America is designed to show the evolution of the Valentine's Day card. This exhibition is drawn, in part, from an original display created by AAS staff member Audrey Zook in 1985. It includes a select group of Valentine's Day cards belonging to the Society.
Men in the Young Republic This online exhibition explores images of men in the United States in the first half of the nineteenth century. The selection of prints from the Society's collections represents male roles and activities and reflects social expectations.
Mill Girls in Nineteenth-Century Print At the start of Americas industrial revolution, a large number of young women found employment and a unique form of independence in American textile mills. Featuring selections both by and about the mill girls, from approximately 1834 to 1870, the exhibition highlights the culture and working conditions of the mills and the actions the women took to better their lives through self-advocacy.
The News Media and the Making of America, 1730-1865 The history of America has always been intimately entwined with the history of communications mediaand that has always been changing. This exhibition broadly explores the interconnectedness of American news media, in all its formats, with changes in technology, business, politics, society, and community from 1730 to 1865.
A Place of Reading: Three Centuries of Reading in America This exhibitions uses images and objects from the AAS collections to illuminate the spaces where reading happened in early America.
Portraits! Worcester Portraits in the AAS Collection This exhibition features the images of thirty-one Worcester residents depicted in the Society's portrait paintings, miniatures, and sculpture collections.
Radiant With Color & Art As one of the first publishers to focus exclusively on products for children, McLoughlin Brothers was able to shape and define the American picture book market. This exhibition documents the working practice of the firm by associating its products with many of the tools used during the production process, such as printing blocks, designer mock-ups, and watercolor illustration art.
Reclaiming Heritage: Digitizing Early Nipmuc Histories from Colonial Documents This online exhibition effectively creates a digital archive of several Algonquian-language printed books and pamphlets, or wussukwhonk as they are called in the Nipmuc language, chosen for the value they add to current language reclamation work taking place in Nipmuc country. The manuscript collections featured here include town records, land deeds, and account books from English settlements established on Nipmuc homelands in the southern part of the area now referred to as Worcester County.
Revisiting Rebellion: Nat Turner in the American Imagination Using print and manuscript collections at the American Antiquarian Society and the New York Public Librarys Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, this exhibition explores portrayals of Turner in both the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The bookends of this exhibition are the two confessions: one from 1831 and the other from 1967 when William Styron created the most controversial version of Turner to date.
Shakespeare in the Parlor This online exhibit, generated using images from the Prints in the Parlor cataloging and digitization project, considers the ways William Shakespeare's (1564-1616) characters were pictured inside the covers of literary annuals and gift books in the nineteenth-century.
Summer Vacationing in New England This exhibition brings together a selection of images from the Society's collections that illustrate the most popular and most beautiful New England destinations for summertime visitors.
Victorian Valentines: Intimacy in the Industrial Age As this exhibition shows, the practice of exchanging valentines on February 14th was a distinctly modern tradition, first popularized in the United States in the 1840s. Following practices previously developed in England, lovers, friends, and family members bought or made fanciful valentines decorated elaborately with paper lace, colorful printed materials, ribbons, hair, and scraps. Manufacturers of valentines, such as Esther Howland and George C. Whitney, played a crucial role in establishing Valentines Day as an American holiday. These same manufacturers often sold valentine writers, collections of short poems and affectionate messages meant to be copied verbatim, to aid the less poetically-inclined in wooing their beloved. Along with valentines themselves, these writers shaped the way Americans both expressed and experienced affection for one another.
Visions of Christmas Visions of Christmas exhibits an array of Christmas images from the Society's collections. Among the featured artists are F.O.C. Darley, Thomas Nast, Louis Prang, and the McLoughlin Brothers.
With a French Accent: American Lithography to 1860 This exhibition explores the connections between American and French lithography in the early days of this printing technology. Themes include the circulation and reproduction of French imagery in the United States, the stylistic contributions of French lithographic artists who immigrated to America, and the reproduction of American genre paintings by French publishers for distribution in Europe and the United States.
A Woman's Work is Never Done A look at women's work, from before the American Revolution through the Industrial Revolution, using selected images from the Society's collection.
About the Manuscripts Collection
The manuscripts collection is particularly strong in the areas described below.
Papers of prominent early New Englanders in the political, religious, and military spheres
Isaiah Thomas' acquisition of the Mather library from Hannah Mather Crocker in 1814 marked the beginning of the Society's commitment to preserving the papers of prominent early New Englanders. This library contained the manuscripts of Richard, Increase, Cotton, and a number of "minor Mathers"; also present were papers of such other notables as the three Thomas Shepards. From that time onward, much other early material has come to the Society.
New England diaries
The Society's extensive collection of diaries offers opportunities for insight into the lives and thoughts of seventeenth-, eighteenth-, and nineteenth-century New Englanders. Some of these diaries span a great number of years and volumes, making them of particular interest. Massachusetts diarists include the early New England divines Increase Mather and his son Cotton Mather; silhouette artist Ruth Henshaw Bascom; Salem, Mass. minister William Bentley; teacher and housewife Susan E. Forbes; Westborough, Mass. minister Ebenezer Parkman; printer and AAS founder Isaiah Thomas; and teacher and housewife Caroline Barrett White. There are also diaries of a number of children and young adults, such as Louisa Jane Trumbull, James Ferdinand Fiske, Edmund Quincy Sewall Jr., and the student journals of two young women attending Margaret Fuller's Greene Street school, Mary Ware Allen and Hannah Gale.
Papers and records of 18th- and 19th-century Central Massachusetts families, voluntary associations, and businesses
Virtually all phases of Central Massachusetts history are covered by the Society's manuscript collections, as well as all themes of Massachusetts life. Resources on personal, family, religious, business, political, social educational, early industrial and military life are all available. Included among the Society's substantial holdings of family papers are those of the Brown family of Worcester, an African American family; the Chandler-Ward families of Petersham and Lancaster, the Dewey-Bliss families of Worcester, Williamstown, Northampton, and Royalston; the Parkman family of Westborough, three generations of Worcester Salisburys, the Wards of Shrewsbury, and the Waters family of Millbury.
American Book History
Isaiah Thomas' gift of his own papers initiated the Society's acquisition of book trade manuscripts, and today the early American book trades continue to be a central focus of all of the AAS collections. Today, the manuscripts department holds much material valuable for the study of the history of the book in America. Through the years, large and small collections of records of publishing businesses have been acquired, including those of Mathew Carey, Copeland & Day, D.C. Heath, G. & C. Merriam Company, Lee & Shepard, McCarty and Davis, and West, Richardson, & Lord. Booksellers' records, such as those of William Cobbett, Jeremiah Condy, and the Boston Booksellers Association, are also at AAS, as are records of bookbinders like William Merriam, printing press manufacturers such as R. Hoe and Co., and paper manufacturers such as Tileston and Hollingsworth. AAS has records not only of its own library, but also of other library associations such as the South Gardner, Mass. Library Association, the Worcester County Atheneum, the Washington County, N.Y. Farmers and Mechanicks Library, and the Westfield, Indiana Monthly Meeting Library. Related manuscript collections include the Book Trades Collection and the Newspaper and Periodical Receipts Collection.
Other Collections
There is manuscript material at the Society valuable for research in other areas as well. There are several collections of manuscript music, strengthened by an accession received in 1983 from Mrs. Irving Lowens. The preeminent collections of James Fenimore Cooper's printed works at AAS are complemented by eight boxes of his papers received in 1990 from the estate of Paul Fenimore Cooper Jr. Included are literary manuscripts, business and legal papers, and correspondence with family, friends, and publishers. AAS also has a large archive of research material on Cooper compiled by James Franklin Beard Jr.
From the outset, the Society was concerned with every aspect of America's history, and archaeology was a major interest of early members. Although the artifacts that accumulated during the nineteenth century have long since been transferred to other institutions, several manuscript collections (and the Society's own archives) reflect this interest in archaeology.
Approximately three hundred scrapbooks, most dating from the second half of the nineteenth century, contain material gathered on a wide variety of subjects. Notable are scrapbooks of publisher Joel Munsell, temperance lecturer John Bartholomew Gough, and publisher Clarence Winthrop Bowen. Additionally, a number of volumes deal with the theater in Boston and Worcester.
Finally, there is a Miscellaneous Manuscripts collection. Arranged alphabetically by personal name or place name, it consists, for the most part, of single items by a wide variety of individuals, businesses, and organizations. Occasionally there are several items by one person, but not enough to warrant making a separate collection. An alphabetical checklist in the library provides access to these manuscripts.
Specialized Catalogs
Consult the following specialized catalogs to find materials not included in the general catalog.
Clarence
Clarence provides detailed information on the newspaper holdings in the newspaper collection of the American Antiquarian Society.
At this time Clarence contains holdings information for roughly 75% of the newspaper issues in the collection. Inputting the holdings data for the entire collection is ongoing.
Clarence does not provide digital images of the newspapers. In order to provide digital access to a portion of its newspaper collection, the American Antiquarian Society has partnered with Readex, a division of NewsBank, to create America's Historical Newspapers. This collection of fully-searchable, digitized, historical American newspapers contains nearly 2,000 titles from all 50 states.
Clarence is named in honor of Clarence S. Brigham (1877-1963), a man pivotal in the building of the AAS newspaper collection. Brigham began his service to AAS in 1908 as its librarian and retired in 1959 as its director. His monumental History and Bibliography of American Newspapers, 1690-1820, listing over 2,000 titles, was first published in 1947.
Catalogue of American Engravings (pre-1820)
A union catalogue, the Catalogue of American Engravings describes engravings issued as separate publications or as illustrations in books and periodicals from the early eighteenth century through the year 1820. Included are portraits, views, political cartoons, and illustrations covering many subjects and genres. Excluded are maps and ephemera, such as bookplates, billheads, trade cards, and currency. Approximately 85 percent of the holdings are at AAS.
GIGI: The AAS Digital Image Archive
Graphic Interface of Gathered Images, or GIGI: The AAS Digital Image Archive, is the American Antiquarian Societys Digital Assets Management system. Collected in this image archive are representatives from all of the Societys curatorial collections including manuscripts, rare books, childrens books, graphic arts (including prints and fine arts), newspapers and periodicals.
The system was implemented in April of 2011 and GIGI now boasts and impressive 50,000+ items, many of them with metadata fields (title, author, date and description) attached to the files enabling ease of browsing and searching. The number of items is being added to weekly.
It is named in honor of the Societys former Curator of Graphic Arts, Georgia (Gigi) Barnhill.
19th Century American Children's Book Trade Directory
Based upon the unparalleled collection of Children's Literature held at the American Antiquarian Society, this 19th Century American Children's Book Trade Directory contains 2,600 entries documenting the activity of individuals and firms involved in the manufacture and distribution of children's books in the United States chiefly between 1821 and 1876.
Nationally known firms such as McLoughlin Bros. and non-profit publishers like the American Sunday-School Union are included, as well as prominent educational pioneers such as Elizabeth Palmer Peabody, Samuel Griswold Goodrich, and William Bentley Fowle. The directory also reflects the dynamic growth of children's book production in the major publishing centers of Boston, New York, and Philadelphia--as well as in regional markets such as Rochester, Mobile, Atlanta, Cincinnati, and San Francisco. In short, the Directory documents both a book industry and an American children's literature that are coming of age in the midst of stunning technological advances, sweeping social change, and great economic upheaval.
Entries can be searched by: Heading (name of person or firm), Street address, City, State (two-digit postal code), Country (countries outside of the United States; used to document people/firms operating in both the United States and another country such as England); Chronological Date Range of Street Addresses; Role, and Notes.
Receiving Wide Coverage ...
MetLifes Floodgates: The day after a federal judge sided with MetLife in its case against federal regulators regarding their designating the insurer as systemically important, another non-bank has filed to end regulatory oversight. General Electric wants to do away with Federal Reserve oversight, arguing it has scaled down its financial-services arm to the point where it no longer could pose a threat to the overall financial system. If GEs request is approved, it will be the first time an institution convinced a regulator to remove the systemically important financial institution (SIFI) designation. The filing made to the Financial Stability Oversight Council noted that since 2012 GE has slashed its financing divisions total assets by more than half, from $549 billion to $265 billion, which involved eliminating most of its U.S. operations. The filings caps off a process that began last April, when GE Capital expressed an interest in getting rid of the SIFI designation that the FSOC put in place three years ago. In that time, GE has spun off its consumer finance arm, which is now called Synchrony Financial. It also recently got approval to sell its U.S. deposit division to Goldman Sachs. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York has already pulled its overseers from MetLife offices, in response to U.S. District Court Judge Rosemary Collyers decision. Those supervisors will now work from the New York Feds offices. And on CNBC, AIG chief Peter Hancock said hed work with regulators, much like GE, to remove the SIFI tag. Nevertheless, he noted if MetLifes case stands up on appeal, AIG would explore its options.
Wall Street Journal
As he attempts to turn the tide for Deutsche Bank, chief executive John Cryan has earned the monikers Mr. Grumpy and the Bernie Sanders of investment banking from colleagues and staff for his grim demeanor, the paper says. But its hard to blame the man, as hes had few options in seeing the German lender through what observers have called a delayed reaction to the global financial crisis. Cryan came to the bank after investors lost faith in former co-CEOs Anshu Jain and Jurgen Fitschen. While those men bolstered the banks capital in light of the European financial crisis, they didnt do enough to appease investors. And fellow boardroom members grew concerned with Jains propensity for focusing on positive news while playing down the headwinds the bank faced. Since Cryan stepped up to the helm, hes ushered in new deputies and pushed out Jains confidantes, but Deutsche has nonetheless struggled. It suffered its first annual loss since 2008 last year, and in February was a prime victim of the selloff in financial services. And Cryan still laments some of the banks more costly ways, which reportedly includes its persistent use of chauffeurs. But for all his dourness, Cryans approach is achieving results for the company, leaving some to wonder whether he will brighten up his demeanor.
Regulators have begun to research the risks posed by continued climate change or a collapse in the value of fossil fuels to the financial system. In particular, the Bank of England, the Financial Stability Board and the European Systemic Risk Board have begun to assess how banks, insurers and other financial services firms would respond to policies that aim to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions. The regulators have started including climate scenarios in stress tests and are considering new rules or capital buffers to disclose fossil fuel exposures. The concern is that if governments transition to cleaner energy in the wrong way, it could cause selloffs of stocks and bonds tied to fossil fuels that could cause major headaches for the financial services industry. Regulators, in particular, will look to get a sense of firms exposure to fossil fuel assets, since as of now such a figure does not exist at the global level.
The head of Japans pre-eminent banking association has decried a Basel Committee proposal for a more stringent and uniform method of assessing risk, saying the move would limit lending capacity and make it harder for central banks to jumpstart growth. The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision has put forth a plan that disallows banks from using internal credit-risk models in favor of a standardized method set by the global regulator. Japanese Bankers Association chairman and president of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. Takeshi Kunibe said such a plan could create excessive capital requirements depending on how it was finalized. Its not surprising to hear that sentiment coming out of Japan, where banks lending margins are already tight due to the Bank of Japans implementation of negative interest rates this year.
Financial Times
Brazilian authorities have filed charges against the man once called the worlds richest banker by Fortune magazine for an alleged scheme to bribe tax auditors. Joseph Safra allegedly knew about a plan devised by executives at his banking group to pay more than $4 million in bribes to reduce tax debts. The case throws the prominent Safra family into the spotlight although the family has led high-profile acquisitions including the takeover of banana company Chiquita and orange juice company Cutrale, they remain very shy about publicity. The case against 77-year-old Joseph, who is Brazils second richest man with $18.6 billion in wealth, could expand, the paper notes, perhaps to a level that rivals the ongoing Petrobras scandal. The Safra Group meanwhile has called the allegations unfounded.
Bitcoins mysterious creator is reportedly set to reveal himself. In December, separate reports in Wired and Gizmodo identified Craig Steven Wright, a self-designated cyber security expert, as the man behind the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. The publications used leaked emails and documents to support the claims that Wright, along with deceased colleague Dave Kleinman, together created the cryptocurrency. Wright has not made any appearances or statements since the articles came out, but now he is reportedly lining up backing to support his claim to the title ahead of an announcement. Among those who appear to have been lined up to give support is Bitcoin Foundation founding director Jon Matonis. The announcement, which is being hawked to news outlets, will reportedly come sometime between April 7 and April 14. During the announcement, Wright will perform a cryptographic miracle to prove his claim and put to rest sentiment within the bitcoin community that the Wired and Gizmodo accounts were simply a hoax.
Former banking regulator Sheila Bair is joining the board of the online lender Avant.
Avant, based in Chicago, specializes in digital lending to subprime consumers. The firm offers installment loans that range from $1,000 to $35,000 and carry annual percentage rates of between 9% and 36%.
Bair has a long-standing interest in small-dollar consumer lending. During her five-year tenure as chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the agency ran an experiment aimed at encouraging banks to make small but affordable loans to consumers. That project fell short of expectations, as 31 banks made a total of just 34,000 loans.
In an interview Thursday, Bair said she believes that online lenders can bring down costs in consumer lending and make better underwriting decisions by leaning more heavily on technology.
"We don't have to just rely on FICO scores," she said.
After leaving the FDIC in 2011, Bair chaired a nongovernmental group that monitored the implementation of post-crisis reforms aimed at curbing systemic risk. She also served on the board of the Spanish bank Santander.
Last year Bair was named president of Washington College in Chestertown, Md., a position she still holds.
Bair said she decided to join Avant's board after meeting with the firm's chief executive, Al Goldstein, and talking to other employees.
"I like their business model. I like the fact that they're trying to serve this middle-class segment," she said. "I think they're trying to serve it in a responsible way."
Since late 2012, the privately held Avant has issued $2.8 billion in unsecured U.S. personal loans. On March 21, the firm announced an expansion into auto lending, which should help it better compete in the subprime consumer lending market against firms like Evansville, Ind.-based OneMain Holdings.
Bair said Thursday that Avant operates in compliance with the FDIC's guidelines on affordable small-dollar loans. Those guidelines, which date to 2007, encourage lenders to offer loans with APRs no greater than 36%. They also suggest the use of automation to enable faster, less expensive service.
When asked about the potential downside of data-driven underwriting, Bair said lenders need to take steps to guard against discrimination.
"There should not be factors that have discriminatory impact," she said.
Before joining the FDIC, Bair was a professor of financial regulatory policy at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She also served as assistant secretary for financial institutions at the Treasury Department and as senior vice president for government relations of the New York Stock Exchange.
"Sheila's proven track record and expertise in the financial services and regulatory spaces will be invaluable to the Avant team," Goldstein said in a news release announcing Bair's appointment. "We are excited to bring Sheila on board as we prepare for the next phase of Avant's strategic growth."
Also serving on Avant's board are James Robinson 3rd, a co-founder of the venture capital firm RRE Ventures, and Siddharth "Bobby" Mehta, former CEO of the credit bureau TransUnion.
The world is full of noises and sounds. Some are sweet airs that give delight and do not hurt. Others are hurtful and pernicious and are deliberate distortions of documented truth, simple but false explanations of existing problems and of those individuals, groups, or nations who are the villains responsible for evil behavior.
High among the distortions of reality are conspiracy theories, supposed diabolical secret plans to carry out some offence for an unlawful or evil purpose. Like magic tricks, they misdirect perception of the true state of things. As a result, close attention is essential to overcome illusory perception. As George Orwell reminded us, the restatement of the obvious truth is the first duty of intelligent people.
The attacks in major cities of the world by individuals belonging to or acting on behalf of ISIS, the terrorist Caliphate, have led to a cottage industry of conspiracy theories. Those theories have existed since the dawn of history, and have become ever more familiar as expressed in various forms of modern culture, in television series, in James Bond movies, as well as in political discourse. Proponents of these theories use them to lull people about the nature of real problems facing their societies. They blame others, abstract elements such as Wall Street or the Jewish lobby or globalization for the ills of the world. Charismatic leaders formulate them to acquire power by postulating against the existing system, and to keep power by using them to crush dissent.
For whatever reason, conspiracy theories reject documented truth or probable explanations of policies, events, or actions. Instead, they offer simple incorrect explanations or indulge in fantasies. In this explanation, it was the Freemasons and French philosophes and writers who were responsible for the French Revolution of 1789. They would explain that President John Kennedy was not killed on November 22, 1963 by a lone gunman named Lee Harvey Oswald. The true murderers came from by the KGB, or the CIA, or the Mafia, or Fidel Castro, or the Illuminati, or even his wife Jacqueline. The 9/11 attacks on the U.S. were an inside job by the U.S. Government.
Conspiracy theories have usually been evil and mean-spirited on behalf of persons or groups. In the Soviet Union, Josef Stalin in January 1953 told the Russian people of the Doctors Plot, a vast conspiracy organized by Jews in the U.S. to murder him and destroy the Soviet Union. The result was the arrest of hundreds of Jews and the construction of four large prison camps in different parts of the country. The dictators intention was to execute the plotters in Red Square but this was prevented by his death in March 1953.
Today, countless conspiracy theories abound. Most are childish nonsense. We learn that UFO flying saucers appeared in Roswell, New Mexico in 1947. We are told that NASA faked the six manned landings on the moon. But others are more serious, and many of the current conspiracy theories have been and are anti-Semitic in nature.
Throughout history, Jews have been the butt of them. Jews are said to have involved in ritual murder of Christians, to poison wells, to plan to control the world. It is shameful that the Russian forgery, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, the fantasy of the Jewish plot to conquer the world, is still a bestseller in some countries. Today, some public figures, even U.S. presidential candidates, tell us that Jews control Wall Street, the U.S. Federal Reserve System, the media, and Hollywood, and worst of all, that the Holocaust is a hoax, a myth to get international sympathy for Jews.
These fantasies and myths now mainly come from two sources: the political Left in Europe and elsewhere, and from Palestinians and their supporters.
In his play Look Back in Anger, John Osborne had the angry young protagonist ask the question, Are there any good brave causes left? In recent years, leftist causes involving the death penalty, abortion, and gay rights have been won. Yet, in a world of economic and political crises, increasing inequality, religious wars within the Muslim world, Islamist terrorism, and growing refugee and immigration problems, it is particularly distressing that some advocates of the political Left in Europe and in the U.S. propound mean-spirited anti-Jewish conspiracy theories as their good brave cause.
A few examples can illustrate the point. One concerns the Oxford University student Labour Club from which the vice-chair, a courageous young man named Alex Chalmers, resigned because of the clubs anti-Semitic behavior, and implications of Zionist conspiracy. His resignation was followed by that of another member of the club for the same reason.
British leftist politicians have engaged in similar utterances bordering on conspiracy theories. One Labour Party member, Vivki Kirby, allegedly posted anti-Semitic comments on Facebook, for which she was suspended in March 2016. She had already been suspended in 2014 for similar remarks on social media. Among those remarks were that Hitler might be the Zionist god. Hitler, she thought, seems to be the teacher of Israelis.
Another, Labour member, Gerry Downing, a Trotskyist activist, was expelled from the Party for his preposterous remarks. These included praising Hamas terrorism, questioning the Holocaust, and calling a prominent British Jewish historian a Zionist minder. In 2001 Downing had refused to support the British government plan to list al-Qaeda as a terrorist organization. To do so he thought, would cause a great deal of disquiet in the Islamic, Turkish, and Tamil communities.
A third Labour member is the former Lord Mayor of Bradford, 2013-2014, and now district councilor, Khadim Hussain, who implied in a comment on social media that Israel had created the so-called ISIS and was secretly arming it. He may not be a historian, but his analysis of the past is that Hitler killed six million Zionists.
A fourth is Bob Campbell, Labour Member of Parliament, who declared one day after the terrorist attack in Brussels on March 2, 2016 that ISIS is run by Israel. In fact, he explained, ISIS has not attacked Israel because the dog does not bite its own tail. He also was said to have posted, though he later denied it, pictures of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu being hung from a tree and of an Israeli flag with the words The real plague on it.
The British Labour Party may be losing elections but some of its members are good at anti-Semitic utterances and propounding conspiracy theories. It goes without saying that Palestinian authorities and spokespeople are adept at both. They know, as we do not, that Israel was behind the attack in Brussels, punishing Europeans for their support of a Palestinian state, and for their boycott of products made in the Israeli settlements.
A member of the Fatah Revolutionary Council, Muwaffaq Matarr, did not want to throw accusations but he asked the question about the motives of Israel in helping ISIS. It is not clear whether or not he admired the extraordinary skill of the villains. These villains, the heads of the Zionist project, used the latest tools of terror (the terrorist savage ISIS) to hit three birds with one terrorist bombing, the Palestinians, the Arabs, and Europe.
Nullifying the Republican Primaries
On Super Tuesday II, not to be confused with Taco Tuesday, I dutifully trekked over to a nearby church to vote in the Missouri presidential primary, despite it being the Ides of March. It wasnt surprising to see that Missouri had yet again changed its ballot. Rather than punch cards, this time Missouris ballot was a single sheet of paper on which you inked in the rectangle next to your choice. Then you fed the sheet into a machine which (supposedly) counted your vote. I was a little surprised, however, to see that candidates who had dropped out of the race weeks ago were still on the ballot. There was Carly, and Christie, and other familiar names, and some dude name of Jim Lynch, no doubt a vanity candidacy. Near an entrance to the churchs parking lot sat a single sign enjoining one to Choose CRUZ, and that I did. Inasmuch as we still have the secret ballot in these United States, I didnt have to tell you that. My first choice had been Carly Fiorina. I thought a Fiorina-Rubio ticket might just be the ticket to victory; youd have your outsider, your female, and a Latino, to boot. With Missouris out-of-date ballot I could have voted for my gal Carly just to send a message, but that would have been a wasted vote. So I voted for Cruz. And the reasoning for that is: a vote for Cruz is a vote to get Republicans into an open convention.
Every Republican who wants to win should be voting for an open convention. But theres been some heated rhetoric regarding open (i.e. contested or brokered) conventions. Certain turbo-charged words have been used, such as steal, as in stealing the nomination from the frontrunner. But isnt the nomination something that is awarded or conferred, not something that is seized? Should a nominee think that he owns the nomination? As far as Im concerned, a party should be able to replace a nominee at any time if he/she proves unfit or unelectable. Some have said that if convention delegates choose someone other than one of the candidates who ran in the primaries, that the voters would be disenfranchised. But the voters exercise their franchise in the general election. Some have opined that bringing in some savior who hasnt run in the primaries would subvert the democratic process. But theres little that is democratic in the primaries. Is it democratic to have primaries and caucuses spread out over months? The voters in the states that vote late have more information; shouldnt the voters in the early-voting states be able to change their votes just to make it, you know, democratic? What would we say if voting in the general election were staggered the way it is in the primaries? One doubts voters would find it very democratic. A headline at MSN.com reads: Poll: Clinton would crush Trump in general election. Trump delegates must ask themselves if they want to win, or if they just want to send a message about their dissatisfaction with the establishment. Polls also indicate that Cruz could beat Clinton. Therefore, vote for Cruz, even he you dont like him, because a vote for Cruz is a vote for an open convention, and an open convention is the best way for Republicans to have the space necessary to settle on the best nominee. Since the 2014 midterms, Republicans have held more elective offices, federal and state, than at any time since the 1920s. That could all be threatened by one man. Any presidential candidate who could jeopardize those down-ballot officials is entirely unacceptable. The best way for the GOP to hold on to their 2014 gains is by having a standard bearer at the top of the ballot who is electable. That doesnt seem to be the case with Mr. Trump, who has major problems with women and with minorities. The Buckley Rule of running the most conservative viable candidate wouldnt seem to apply with Trump, as he is neither conservative nor, if one believes the polls, electable. If party elders believe a candidate would be ruinous to their party, then they must do whatever it takes to deny him/her the nomination. (Delegates who might think it monstrous to deny the nomination to a candidate with a majority of the primary votes need to read Avi Snyders excellent March 26 article To Defeat Trump: Let History Repeat Itself.) If the convention does go to multiple ballots, and especially if the convention becomes deadlocked, the delegates should resist all calls for nominating an establishment candidate, especially Jeb Bush, the establishments handpicked boy. Nor should a member of Congress be considered, not even Speaker Ryan. This is the year that Republicans need to go rogue; this is the year the GOP needs to settle on an outsider. Its been said that if the Trumpians dont get their way that theyll sit out the election. Jonah Goldberg has suggested that the party is screwed either way; whether Trump is nominated or not. So, the way to win this election is to steal voters from the Democrats. And what that means is nominating a woman. After all, doesnt it takes a woman to beat a woman? Even if Hillary is indicted and forced to drop out, Republicans should nominate a woman anyway, just to be safe. The GOP needs an outsider woman with impeccable conservative credentials who is eloquent and can debate like all get out. But that woman need not be Carly Fiorina, for in an open convention the GOP can nominate any woman. And since were talking about winning, perhaps her running mate needs to be a minority. This Republican primary season reminds me of a scene in Larry McMurtrys epic of the Old West, Lonesome Dove. In Chapter 88, Clara pleads with Augustus to discontinue his dangerous cattle drive north and settle in Nebraska: Clara devoted five minutes to trying to persuade him to settle somewhere on the Platte. Theres cheap land not three days ride from here, she pointed out. You could have the whole north part of this state if you wanted it. Why go to Montana? Well, thats where we started for, he said. Me and Call have always liked to get where we started for, even if it dont make a damn bit of sense. And in ignoring Clara just so he could get where he started for, just so he wouldnt have to change, Gus came to his untimely end. Conservatives who want to reform their party and save America must understand that they can do neither if they dont win in November. If they want to avoid disaster, Republicans need the flexibility to change. Other than voting for Cruz, Im not sure how it can be done, but the primaries need to be nullified so that the convention can be open. Imagine hearing this at the Republican convention in July: Ladies and gentlemen, were all exhausted but we need to make a decision. So, on this, our tenth ballot, I do hereby nominate for the office of President of the United States the right honorable Ms. Jane Doe from the great state of But fret not, darlin, this cowboy will be voting Republican regardless of whom the delegates nominate -- even if it dont make a damn bit of sense. Jon N. Hall is a programmer/analyst from Kansas City.
As someone specializing in Islamic jihadism, one would expect Id have much to say immediately after jihadi attacks of the sort that recently occurred in Brussels (35 killed), or San Bernardino (14 killed), or Paris (130). Ironically, I dont: such attacks are ultimately symptoms of what I do deem worthy of discussion, namely, root causes. (What can one add when a symptom of the root cause he has long warned against occurs other than told you so?)
So what is the root cause of jihadi attacks? Many think that the ultimate source of the ongoing terrorization of the West is Islam. Yet this notion has one problem: the Muslim world is immensely weak and intrinsically incapable of being a threat. That every Islamic assault on the West is a terrorist attack -- and terrorism, as is known, is the weapon of the weak -- speaks for itself.
This was not always the case. For approximately one thousand years, the Islamic world was the scourge of the West. Todays history books may refer to those who terrorized Christian Europe as Arabs, Saracens, Moors, Ottomans, Turks, Mongols, or Tatars -- but all were operating under the same banner of jihad that the Islamic State is operating under.
No -- today, the ultimate enemy is within. The root cause behind nonstop Muslim terrorization of the West is found in those who stifle or whitewash all talk and examination of Muslim doctrine and history; who welcome hundreds of thousands of Muslim migrants while knowing that some are jihadi operatives and many are simply radical; who work to overthrow secular Arab dictators in the name of democracy and freedom, only to uncork the jihad suppressed by the autocrats (the Islamic States territory consists of lands that were liberated in Iraq, Libya, and Syria by the U.S. and its allies).
So are Western leaders and politicians the root cause behind Islamic terrorization of the West?
Close -- but still not there yet.
Far from being limited to a number of elitist leaders and institutions, the Western empowerment of the jihad is the natural outcome of postmodern thinking -- the real reason an innately weak Islam can be a source of repeated woes for a militarily and economically superior West.
Remember, the reason people like French President Francois Hollande, U.S. President Barack Hussein Obama, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are in power -- three prominent Western leaders who insist that Islam is innocent of violence and who push for Muslim immigration -- is because they embody a worldview that is normative in the West.
In this context, the facilitation of jihadi terror is less a top down imposition and more a grass root product of decades of erroneous, but unquestioned, thinking. (Those who believe Americas problems begin and end with Obama would do well to remember that he did not come to power through a coup but that he was voted in -- twice. This indicates that Obama and the majority of voting Americans have a shared, and erroneous, worldview. He may be cynically exploiting this worldview, but that doesnt change the fact that its because this warped worldview is mainstream that he can exploit it in the first place.)
Western empowerment of the jihad is rooted in a number of philosophies that have metastasized into every corner of social life, becoming cornerstones of postmodern epistemology. These include the doctrines of relativism and multiculturalism on the one hand, and anti-Western, anti-Christian sentiment on the other.
Taken together, these cornerstones of postmodern, post-Christian thinking hold that there are no absolute truths and thus all cultures are fundamentally equal and deserving of respect. If any Western person wants to criticize a civilization or religion, then let them look inwardly and acknowledge their European Christian heritage as the epitome of intolerance and imperialism.
Add to these a number of sappy and silly ideals -- truth can never be uttered because it might hurt the feelings of some (excluding white Christians, who are fair game), and, far from suspecting them, the West should go out of its way to appease Muslims until they like us -- and you have a sure recipe for disaster, that is, the current state of affairs.
Western people are bombarded with these aforementioned truths from the cradle to the grave -- from kindergarten to university, from Hollywood to the news rooms, and now even in churches -- so that they are unable to accept and act on a simple truism that their ancestors well knew: Islam is an inherently violent and intolerant creed that cannot coexist with non-Islam (except insincerely, in times of weakness).
The essence of all this came out clearly when Obama, in order to rationalize away the inhuman atrocities of the Islamic State, counseled Americans to get off their high horse and remember that their Christian ancestors have been guilty of similar if not worse atrocities. That he had to go back almost a thousand years for examples by referencing the crusades and the Inquisition -- both of which have been completely distorted by the warped postmodern worldview, including the portrayal of imperialist Muslims as victims -- did not matter to Americas leader.
Worse, it did not matter to most Americans. The greater lesson was not that Obama whitewashed modern Islamic atrocities by misrepresenting and demonizing Christian history, but that he was merely reaffirming the mainstream narrative that Americans have been indoctrinated into believing. And thus, apart from the usual ephemeral and meaningless grumblings, his words -- as with many of his pro-Islamic, anti-Christian comments and policies -- passed along without consequence.
Once upon a time, the Islamic world was a superpower and its jihad an irresistible force to be reckoned with. Over two centuries ago, however, a rising Europe -- which had experienced over one millennium of jihadi conquests and atrocities -- defeated and defanged Islam.
As Islam retreated into obscurity, the post-Christian West slowly came into being. Islam didnt change, but the West did: Muslims still venerate their heritage and religion -- which impels them to jihad against the Western infidel -- whereas the West learned to despise its heritage and religion, causing it to become an unwitting ally of the jihad.
Hence the current situation: the jihad is back in full vigor, while the West -- not just its leaders, but much of the populace -- facilitates it in varying degrees. Nor is this situation easily remedied. For to accept that Islam is inherently violent and intolerant is to reject a number of cornerstones of postmodern Western thinking that far transcend the question of Islam. In this context, nothing short of an intellectual/cultural revolution -- where rational thinking becomes mainstream -- will allow the West to confront Islam head on.
But there is some good news. With every Islamic attack, the eyes of more and more Western people are opened to the true nature of Muhammads religion. That this is happening despite generations of pro-Islamic indoctrination in the West is a testimony to the growing brazenness of the jihad.
Yet it still remains unclear whether objective thinking will eventually overthrow the current narrative of relativism, anti-Christianism, and asinine emotionalism.
Simply put, both celebrating multiculturalism and defeating the jihad is impossible.
However, if such a revolution takes place (sooner rather than later), the Islamic jihad will be easily swept back into the dustbin of history. For the fact remains: Islam is terrorizing the world, not because it can, but because the West allows it to.
The Hidden Dangers in Putins Open Skies Request
Russias February 2016 request in to fly reconnaissance aircraft loaded with high tech digital sensors over the entire United States would seem reasonable under the Open Skies Treaty, signed in Helsinki in 1992 by the U.S. and 23 other countries, and finally ratified by Russia and Belarus in 2002 when the treaty entered into force. It now has 34 states as parties. The treaty permits unarmed flights over signatory nations aimed at fostering transparency about military activity. The treaty was meant to prevent miscalculation about military threats and to help monitor arms control agreements. The treaty has seen Russian and American reconnaissance planes flying over each others territory for years. This sudden request for more Russian overflights raises questions since Mr. Putins clandestine intelligence services and high tech spy satellites, along with Russias earlier Open Skies Treaty flights over the U.S., have already provided the information he needs about American offensive and defensive military capabilities and intentions. One can be more certain, knowing that Putin is a wily, ambitious, and successful strategic thinker, that there is more to this request. So we need to look carefully at what might really be behind the request. In that vein, what could be gained now with additional flights? We need to look first at whats new and different since 1992. The answer could be hidden if the requested Russian flights are for lower altitudes, and seeing what high tech sensors they plan to use. The recent Russian launchings of cruise missiles from the Caspian Sea to targets thousands of miles away in Syria could provide some of the answers. Whats different is our militarys incredible tactical advantages using GPS for precise navigation and targeting. Just as quickly, Russia, along with China, recognized this substantial U.S. advantage and began developing their own version of GPS, along with electronic jammers to degrade our GPS systems. Russias version of GPS is called GLONASS, and it brings their navigation and targeting up to par. What they might now need are the precise GLONASS coordinates for a large number of critical U.S. targets which could be precisely targeted by low level, long range Russian cruise missiles, against which defense is difficult, if not impossible. Such targets could include national critical infrastructure targets such as power grids, dams, and other non-military targets that could readily cripple our nation.
A treaty is a treaty, yet should we allow it to serve as that crack in the door which Putin intends to exploit? Must we comply? Thus far, our response to deny or limit the Russian request centers around claims Moscow is failing to meet all treaty obligations and is engaging in a manner inconsistent with the spirit of the treaty by selectively implementing the treaty in a way that suits its interest. For one, it restricts U.S. surveillance over Moscow, Chechnya, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and the Kaliningrad enclave. There have also been ill-defined warnings from U.S. officials that such overflights help Moscow collect intelligence on the United States -- at a tension-filled time in U.S.-Russia relations. Our defense and intelligence people need to take a very close and serious look at the Russian request, proposed flight altitudes, and tracks over non-military areas -- and if GLONASS sensors are included. This is not an occasion where the response should solely be left to diplomats and politicians, unaware of the technical and intelligence implications. To allow these overflights might ignore the first rule of espionage: If you have what they want, they will use any means to get it.
The life of a tyrannical, murderous third-generation Communist dictator isnt all roses, apparently. Kim Jong-un has really packed on the pounds, even as state media are warning his slaves subjects that they are going back to the bad old days of famine. In the early 1990s, as many as one million North Koreans starved to death, and a generation of children were stunted in their growth, averaging a reported 4 inches shorter than their South Korean cousins. So when they warn of tough times, North Koreans mean horror beyond the imagination of rich Americans, Japanese, South Koreans, or probably even Bangladeshis.
Fox News, as reported in the New York Post:
Portly North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, whose hostile actions have brought crippling international sanctions to his impoverished nation, has a new message for the Hermit Kingdoms starving masses: Get ready to eat plant roots. (snip) [Kim] signaled through state media that the nation could be headed for another famine like the one that killed an estimated 3.5 million people in the 1990s. The road to revolution is long and arduous, an editorial in the state-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper said Monday, according to The Telegraph. We may have to go on an arduous march, during which we will have to chew the roots of plants once again. Arduous march in North Korean is code for famine. Its how state media described the disaster that struck when Kim was a mere teen, which experts say was brought on by the economic mismanagement of his father, Kim Jong Il, loss of foreign aid and natural disasters. (snip) Pyongyang has ordered every citizen in the capital to provide around 2 pounds of rice to the states supplies every month, while farmers are forced to hand over additional rations from their own meager crops to the military, South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo reported.
Meanwhile, Kim is so fat that he walks with a cane at the age of 33. Comparing his official picture that appears on his Twitter account to his appearance at a New Years Day address, one sees the massive contrast in his weight.
The old left-wing slogan eat the rich comes to mind, although nobody in North Korea would dare say anything to Kim disparaging his appearance or noting how many people will starve in order to keep him fed.
In case you want to have your own image of Kim Jong-un to keep around the house, Barry Greenberg has pointed out on Facebook that you can make a mini-statue of him by squeezing down a marshmallow Easter bunny:
If only North Korea hadnt repressed Christianity, and if it had enough sugar to make marshmallow bunnies, everyone there could have his own mini-statues of their inspiring leader.
Hat tip: Clarice Feldman
State-run media in Cuba had some angry words for President Obama following his visit. An editorial in the Havanna Tribune was titled "Black Man, Are You Dumb" and excoriated Obama for what it referred to as fomenting discord and "inciting rebellion."
Breitbart:
The author, who is black, goes on to condemn President Obama for meeting with Cuban pro-democracy activists and subtly suggesting that the Cuban Revolution needed to change. Obama came, saw, but unfortunately, with the pretend gesture of lending a hand, tried to conquer, Elias Argudin writes. [Obama] chose to criticize and subtly suggest incitations to rebellion and disorder, without caring that he was on foreign ground. Without a doubt, Obama overplayed his hand, he continues. The least I can say is, Virulo-style: Negro, are you dumb?' Virulo is a white pro-Revolution comedian. Argudins article later accuses President Obama of presiding over a racist countrymocking the calls for freedom in Cuba by stating, Which freedomthe freedom enjoyed by white police to massacre and manhandle black people?and issue demands parroted straight from the Castro regime: the end of the genocidal embargo and giving the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, which has belonged to the United States since before Cuban independence, to the Castros. Claims of rampant discrimination on the part of white police in the United States are common among the leaders and spokesmen of rogue communist states like China, North Korea, and Zimbabwe. The column appears on the Havana Tribune website with a March 23 dateline, though itappeared in the print edition of the newspaper on Monday and has begun to make the rounds online this week. It has received intense criticism from Cuban-Americans on social media for its disrespect of the president and openly racist language.
The Castros have claimed there is no racism in Cuba, which is a bad joke when you consider how poorly Afro-Cubans have fared since the revolution. In fact, as this New York Times piece points out, the kind of racism practiced in Cuba is as bad as or worse than what we see in the U.S.:
Most remittances from abroad mainly the Miami area, the nerve center of the mostly white exile community go to white Cubans. They tend to live in more upscale houses, which can easily be converted into restaurants or bed-and-breakfasts the most common kind of private business in Cuba. Black Cubans have less property and money, and also have to contend with pervasive racism. Not long ago it was common for hotel managers, for example, to hire only white staff members, so as not to offend the supposed sensibilities of their European clientele. That type of blatant racism has become less socially acceptable, but blacks are still woefully underrepresented in tourism probably the economys most lucrative sector and are far less likely than whites to own their own businesses. Raul Castro has recognized the persistence of racism and has been successful in some areas (there are more black teachers and representatives in the National Assembly), but much remains to be done to address the structural inequality and racial prejudice that continue to exclude Afro-Cubans from the benefits of liberalization. Racism in Cuba has been concealed and reinforced in part because it isnt talked about. The government hasnt allowed racial prejudice to be debated or confronted politically or culturally, often pretending instead as though it didnt exist. Before 1990, black Cubans suffered a paralysis of economic mobility while, paradoxically, the government decreed the end of racism in speeches and publications. To question the extent of racial progress was tantamount to a counterrevolutionary act. This made it almost impossible to point out the obvious: racism is alive and well.
Cubans taunting America is simply one more example of Obama's "openings" to our "former" enemies. The result has been insults, denunciations, threats, and sarcastic mocking. Words do have consequences, and there is a legitimate question as to whether we can trust a regime like Cuba or Iran that doesn't respect us or our president.
Over the past weeks, the media, President Obama, and Hillary Clinton have lectured Republican presidential candidates that they should change their tone and talk about substance. Republicans are also accused of pitting groups against each other. We are also continually told that what candidates do in their personal lives should be off limits. I thought it might be helpful to examine some of what Democrats have done in the past, including the recent past.
In 2000, the NAACP ran ads against George Bush showing black men being dragged behind a truck. They ran this ad implying that Bush would allow black men to be dragged because he was against hate crimes legislation. Bush supported the death penalty for the actual dragging death of James Bird.
In order to win his U.S Senate race in 2004, Obama went after the personal lives of his Democrat opponent Blair Hull and his Republican opponent Jack Ryan. In both cases, David Axelrods former employer, the Chicago Tribune got the court to unseal divorce records. Obama was down to Blair Hull in polling for the Democrat primary one month before the election, and then the Tribune leaked that there was an order of protection from 1998. Both Hull and his wife opposed the release of the records. The story is similar on Jack Ryan. Ryan had released his tax records and the divorce records, but both he and his ex-wife sought to keep the custody case sealed. Before the release of the Ryan records, it appeared he would handily beat Obama. Ryan dropped out of the race four days after the custody records were released. I thought personal lives were supposed to be off limits.
In June 2008, Obama said, If they bring a fight, we bring a gun. In September 2008, Obama said to his supporter, argue with people, get in their faces. I do not remember the media complaining that Obama was inciting violence.
It was a Clinton supporter who started the rumor that Obama was not born in America, not a Republican. The media has always pushed this as a rumor started by Republicans.
In 2008, when speaking to an audience in San Francisco, Obama, talking about people from small towns in the Midwest said, And it is not surprising that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy toward people who arent like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations. Obama was obviously stereotyping and pitting people against each other.
The Obama campaign accused Bill Clinton of being a racist in 2008.
A liberal group, The Agenda Project, ran an ad in 2011 showing Paul Ryan pushing Grandma off a cliff. This ad was run repeatedly. This ad was meant to scare seniors that Republicans were going to cut off their health care and let them die.
In 2012, Harry Reid went to the Senate floor and without any evidence accused Romney of not paying taxes for ten years. The media was glad to report the story.
In 2014, the Democrats ran ads that essentially said Republicans were racists. This New York Times article says, In the final days before the election, Democrats in the closest Senate races across the South are turning to racially charged messages invoking Trayvon Martins death, the unrest in Ferguson, Mo and Jim Crow-era segregation-to jolt African Americans into voting and stop a Republican takeover in Washington.
In 2015, when talking about events in Charleston, S.C., Obama told reporters that todays Tea Party members in the United States very closely fit the U.S. Governments profile for domestic terrorists. He seems to take his political opponents more seriously than he takes actual terrorists.
In 2015, Hillary compared Republicans to terrorist groups when she was speaking about womens health issues.
During a debate in October 2015, Hillary said she was proud of the fact that she has made enemies out of Republicans.
Currently, the media is glad to report on a front-page story in the National Enquirer about a rumor that Cruz has had five affairs. There are no actual facts or named women to support the story, so why have the networks covered it? There have been stories about Obama affairs and Hillary affairs on the Enquirer front page also, but somehow they have not been covered by the networks. Why?
It would be nice if the media reported how hypocritical it is of Obama and Hillary to claim the high ground instead of just repeating the talking points.
The flagrant media bias is more obvious every day.
In an interview with Hugh Hewitt on his radio show, on March 31, Karl Rove said Ted Cruz misinterprets Rule 40 about who can appear on the ballot during the convention. Mr. Cruz had said on March 30 that only the candidate with eight or more state victories the majority of the delegates in those states has the right to appear.
Rove says:
Rule 40B says that in order to have your name officially placed in nomination with a speech and seconding speeches, you have to have the majority of delegates in a certain number of states. I believe its eight states. But it does not say that those are the only candidates that you can vote for.
However, the plain reading of Rule 40, Paragraph B, the key one, supports Cruz. The paragraph says:
(b) Each candidate for nomination for President of the United States and Vice President of the United States shall demonstrate the support of a majority of the delegates from each of eight (8) or more states, severally, prior to the presentation of the name of that candidate for nomination. Notwithstanding any other provisions of these rules or any rule of the House of Representatives, to demonstrate the support required of this paragraph a certificate evidencing the affirmative written support of the required number of permanently seated delegates from each of the eight (8) or more states shall have been submitted to the secretary of the convention not later than one (1) hour prior to the placing of the names of candidates for nomination pursuant to this rule and the established order of business.
It seems clear enough to me. You cant appear on the ballot to be nominated without the majority of the delegates from at least eight states. Ted Cruz is right. So far, only Trump and Cruz are eligible.
However, I believe it is in the interest of the convention and the most wide open nominating process to abolish Rule 40 in its entirety, in case Cruz or Trump does not reach 1,237 after several ballots (the rest of Rule 40 permits several ballot votes). It's best for the GOP to keep all its options open, in order to get the best nominee.
It is a fact that currently, Trump and Cruz poll badly against Hillary (Kasich the moderate does better, and so did conservative Rubio, but the primary voters have said no to Rubio and are saying the same to Kasich). In light of the disconcerting showing of the two viable candidates against Hillary, if the convention has to reach out to another person who has not been a part of the entire grueling primary season, then so be it, despite Trumps and Cruzs hurt feelings. Trump and Cruz fatigue is setting in.
James Arlandson's website is Live as Free People, where he has posted Ten reasons not to vote for Trump, Bill Clinton nudged Trump to run in the GOP, Tough immigration questions for Ted Cruz, and Men in Black at the GOP convention.
The stress is starting to get to Hillary Clinton. Normally, she is as cool as ice under pressure, one of her better arguments for her candidacy. But a 68-year-old grandma has her limits. So following a rally at the Purchase, N.Y. campus of the State University of New York in which Bernie Sanders supporters disrupted the meeting by chanting, She wins, we lose, she may have been a little fed up with the upstarts who have waylaid her long anticipated cake walk to the presidency.
When one of those supporters accosted her on the rope line after the event and asked her if she would refuse donations from the fossil fuel industry, she lost it:
As Daniel Halper describes it:
"I am so sick, I am so sick," Clinton says, shouting and wagging her finger at the activist, "of the Sanders campaign lying about me. I'm sick of it."
Anyone who has paid the slightest bit of attention to the Clintons since they burst on the national scene can imagine that's the tone of voice Hillary used on Bill when discovering yet another of his infidelities, or when the Monica Lewinsky's blue dress turned up with its DNA evidence.
Does anyone look forward to hearing that voice from the Oval Office?
The U.S. attorney general and the Democrat attorneys general in several states are indicating that they are considering legal action against people who believe that current climate change is natural and cyclical, as it has been throughout billions of years, instead of caused by humans. Is it any wonder that scientists who are skeptics wont come forward when their livelihood is threatened?
I cant imagine the outrage by the media, Democrats, professors, and scientists if the government were threatening legal action against anyone who disagreed with the statement that human life begins at conception.
The founding fathers considered free speech and a free press so important that both was put in the First Amendment to the Constitution. They did not want the government to control the message.
It is a very slippery slope when the government says not only that people who disagree with them should not be listened to, but that they should be forced to shut up.
Lois Lerner at the IRS intentionally blocked applications from political opponents of the president to stifle their ability to raise funds and voice opposition to Obamas policies prior to the 2012 election. Lerner was found in contempt of Congress, which legally requires the Justice Department to take the case to a grand jury. The Justice Department ignored the law and dismissed the case without taking it to a grand jury.
Recently, President Obama was speaking to schoolchildren in Argentina and said there is not much difference between communism and capitalism just choose what works. Communism does not allow freedom of speech.
Everyone should wake up, especially the media, to the fact that our freedoms are being rapidly diminished, especially freedom of speech.
Historians Ron Radosh and his wife Allis have written an excellent article for The Observer that looks at the contested GOP convention of 1920, where a superior delegate strategy by candidate Warren Harding allowed him to capture the nomination on the tenth ballot.
Harding's campaign manager, Harry Daugherty, developed a plan that would deny the two frontrunners, General Leonard Wood and Frank O. Lowden of Illinois, a majority, while making Harding everone's second or third choice.
How, then, did Mr. Harding get the nomination, proving all the pundits wrong? First, Mr. Harding and his campaign manager, Harry Daugherty, developed a strategybased on making Mr. Harding everyones second or third choice. With that in mind, in addition to not challenging favorite son candidates in their states, Mr. Harding did not say anything bad about those running against him. Like Mr. Kasich today, he purposefully stood above the fray. Instead, Mr. Harding ran a positive and optimistic campaign focusing on how he would address the severe economic and unemployment problems the country was facing after the end of World War One. Mr. Harding also was running at the time of a major split in the party, between the regular Republicans and the Progressives, who bolted in 1912 and supported T.R.s Progressive or Bull Moose Party, and only recently had returned to the Republican ranks. Mr. Harding knew that in order to win, he needed the support of both factions, and would have to stand for policies that appealed to both wings. He was successful in bridging that divide. To win the nomination, a candidate had to receive 493 delegate votes. If that number was split between Mr. Lowden and Mr. Wood, as Mr. Harding assumed it would be, he believed he could get enough delegates to support him as their second or third choice. His campaign manager, Harry Daugherty, saw to it that all the delegates and potential delegates were contacted and asked to consider supporting Mr. Harding if a deadlock occurred. He told the press that he was getting in touch with the leaders and delegates who are for Wood and Lowden, being friendly with them. When the convention comes, he predicted, these two armies will battle each other to a standstill. When both realize they cant winboth the armies will remember me and this little headquartersboth sides will then [go] to Harding.
And that's exactly what happened. When it became clear that neither side could win a majority, there was Harding offering himself as a compromise candidate. Despite winning the lowest number of delegates in first ballot voting, his positive, optimistic campaign carried him into the lead on the ninth ballot and allowed him to wrap the nomination up on the tenth.
A few caveats: politics is very different today, as are party conventions. But a delegate strategy where the candidate becomes a majority's second choice would not be a bad move today. I don't think that man is Kasich. But Rubio? There is a lot of latent support for the Florida senator, and a convention that threatens to drag on forever might turn to him to save the party.
But perhaps the biggest difference between politics today and politics of the 1920s is the idea that delegates were willing to compromise for the sake of the party back then. I'm not so sure Cruz and Trump supporters are willing to compromise at all. They would rather watch the world burn than give up on their candidate.
Certainly that's not a universal feeling among those delegates. But enough of them might feel that way to prevent a compromise that would allow the party to avoid a bloody floor fight that would doom the GOP to a disastrous defeat in November.
Russias February 2016 request to fly reconnaissance aircraft loaded with high-tech digital sensors over the entire United States would seem reasonable under the Open Skies Treaty, signed in Helsinki in 1992 by the U.S. and 23 other countries and finally ratified by Russia and Belarus in 2002, when the treaty entered into force. It now has 34 states as parties. The treaty permits unarmed flights over signatory nations, aimed at fostering transparency about military activity. The treaty was meant to prevent miscalculation about military threats and to help monitor arms control agreements. The treaty has seen Russian and American reconnaissance planes flying over each others territory for years.
This sudden request for more Russian overflights raises questions, since Mr. Putins clandestine intelligence services and high-tech spy satellites, along with Russias earlier Open Skies Treaty flights over the U.S., have already provided the information he needs about American offensive and defensive military capabilities and intentions. One can be more certain, knowing that Putin is a wily, ambitious, and successful strategic thinker, that there is more to this request. So we need to look carefully.
In that vein, what could be gained now with additional flights? We need to look first at whats new and different since 1992. The answer could be hidden if the requested Russian flights are for lower altitudes and depending on what high-tech sensors they plan to use. The recent Russian launchings of cruise missiles from the Caspian Sea to targets thousands of miles away in Syria could provide some of the answers.
Whats different is our militarys incredible tactical advantages using GPS for precise navigation and targeting. Just as quickly, Russia, along with China, recognized this substantial U.S. advantage and began developing its own version of GPS, along with electronic jammers to degrade our GPS systems. Russias version of GPS is called GLONASS, and it brings Russias navigation and targeting up to par. What the Russians might now need are the precise GLONASS coordinates for a large number of critical U.S. targets, which could be precisely targeted by low-level, long-range Russian cruise missiles, against which defense is difficult, if not impossible. Such targets could include national critical infrastructure targets such as power grids, dams, and other non-military targets that could readily cripple our nation.
A treaty is a treaty, yet should we allow it to serve as that crack in the door Putin intends to exploit? Must we comply? Thus far, our response to deny or limit the Russian request centers on claims that Moscow is failing to meet all treaty obligations and is engaging in a manner inconsistent with the spirit of the treaty by selectively implementing the treaty in a way that suits its interest. For one, it restricts U.S. surveillance over Moscow, Chechnya, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and the Kaliningrad enclave. There have also been ill-defined warnings from U.S. officials that such overflights help Moscow collect intelligence on the United States at a tension-filled time in U.S.-Russia relations.
Our defense and intelligence people need to take a very close and serious look at the Russian request, proposed flight altitudes, and tracks over non-military areas and if GLONASS sensors are included. This is not an occasion where the response should be left solely to diplomats and politicians, unaware of the technical and intelligence implications. To allow these overflights might ignore the first rule of espionage: if you have what they want, they will use any means to get it.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who's in D.C. for the Nuclear Security Summit, gave a speech at the Brookings Institution yesterday that was the scene of violent clashes between protesters and Turkish security.
The Hill:
Critics of Erdogan have accused him of turning into an increasingly authoritarian leader who clamps down on the press to cement his grip on power.
Erdogan rejected the criticism on Thursday, claiming that any crackdown on journalists was because they were terrorists affiliated with the PKK or other groups.
Inside Turkeys prisons there are no prisoners who have been incarcerated or sentenced to imprisonment due to their profession or due to their freedom of expression rights, he said.
Criticism I have no problems with nobody whatsoever. But when it comes to insult and defamation of course I have problems, Erdogan added. If they were to insult me, my lawyers would go and fight for a lawsuit.
The Turkish officials stance drew condemnation from free speech advocates in the U.S.
"Turkey's leader and his security team are guests in the United States," said Thomas Burr, the president of the National Press Club, in a statement on Thursday afternoon. "They have no right to lay their hands on reporters or protesters or anyone else for that matter, when the people they were apparently roughing up seemed to be merely doing their jobs or exercising the rights they have in this country.
Martin Indyk, the executive vice president of the Brookings Institution, appeared to discourage journalists from asking questions of Erdogan during Thursdays event.
I also want to make clear that this is not a press conference. This is a discussion with policy people in Washington, Indyk said during a discussion with Erdogan. Were trying to avoid that.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, at least 14 journalists were jailed in Turkey last year.
Stretching from north to south across Western Australia, dividing the entire continent into two unequal parts, is a flimsy barbed-wire fence that runs for a total length of 3,256 km. The fence was erected in the early 1900s to keep wild rabbits out of farm lands on the western side of the continent. Today, the Rabbit Proof fence, now called the State Barrier Fence, stands as a barrier to entry against all invasive species such as dingoes, kangaroos and emus, which damage crops, as well as wild dogs which attack livestock.
Rabbits were first introduced in Australia in 1788 for their meat, and originally bred in rabbit farms and enclosures, until one October morning in 1859, when an English settler by the name of Thomas Austin released twenty-four wild rabbits on his property so that his guest could entertain themselves by hunting. At that time he had stated that "the introduction of a few rabbits could do little harm and might provide a touch of home, in addition to a spot of hunting."
Photo credit: matt pounsett/Flickr
By good fortune, for the rabbits, Australia was the ideal place for rabbit procreation. Rabbits usually stop breeding in winter because baby bunnies are born without fur and hence susceptible to cold. But winters in Australia are mild so rabbits could breed all throughout the year. Also, thanks to extensive farming, food was everywhere. And by sheer luck, interbreeding between two distinct types of rabbits introduced by Thomas Austin resulted in a particularly hardy and vigorous variety. Within ten years, their numbers reached such high figures that even after trapping and shooting up to two million rabbits a year, no noticeable effect was seen in their population. In 1887, loses from rabbit damage were so great that the Inter-Colonial Rabbit Commission offered a 25,000 prize to anyone who could demonstrate a new and effective way of exterminating rabbits.
In 1896 the Western Australian Undersecretary for Lands dispatched surveyor Arthur Mason into the south-east towards the border with South Australia to report on the rabbit population. Mason suggested that a series of fences, one along the border with South Australia and another further west, should be constructed. A Royal Commission in 1901 resulted in a decision to build a barrier fence across the State.
Construction of the fence started that very year, and over the next six years, a 1,824-km-long barrier was erected that stretched from the south coast to the northwest coast, along a line north of Burracoppon, 230 kilometers east of Perth. When completed in 1907, it was the longest unbroken fence in the world.
Map of the Rabbit-Proof Fences in Western Australia. Image credit: The People & Environment Blog
Unfortunately, even while construction was underway, rabbits were hopping into regions the fences were intended to protect. To contain these rabbits, a second fence designated Fence No.2 was erected a little to the west of Fence No.1. The second fence runs for 1,166 km from Point Ann on the southern coastline, roughly parallel to Fence No.1, which it joins at Gum Creek. Eventually, a third fence, Fence No.3, was built running a short distance of 257 km from its junction with No.2 to meet the coast.
Nowadays, rabbit population is kept in check by deliberately releasing certain viruses into the wild. When first introduced in 1950, rabbit population dropped from an estimated 600 million to around 100 million. However, genetic resistance in the remaining rabbits allowed the population to recover to 200-300 million by 1991.
Despite the adoption of new technology and modern agricultural production, the Rabbit Proof fence continues to play an important role in protecting farmers livelihoods. Today, sections of the fence are maintained by individual landholders and regional councils.
Did you know, Australia has another pest control fence? Its the Dingo fence and is 5,600 km long.
Photo credit: Jon Sullivan/Flickr
Photo credit: Erika Stotz/Panoramio
A rabbit trap along the Rabbit Proof Fence. Photo credit: ron_n_beths pics/Flickr
Photo credit: www.auspostalhistory.com
Thomas Austin can almost be forgiven for thinking rabbits were harmless. Photo credit: drburtoni/Flickr
A cartoon published in the weekly magazine The Queensland Figaro and Punch in 1884 in response to Mr Stevenson's (M.L.A.) suggestion for the erection of a rabbit fence between New South Wales and Queensland to check the invasion of rabbits. Photo credit: Queensland Figaro and Punch
A Rabbit-proof fence boundary rider who patrol the fence identifying and fixing breaks. Circa 1926. Photo credit: State Library of Western Australia
Photo credit: Stephan Ridgway/Flickr
Photo credit: www.australiaforeveryone.com.au
Photo credit: The People & Environment Blog
Sources: slwa.wa.gov.au / The People & Environment Blog / Wikipedia
It seems hard to understand what is currently going on with BlackBerry. Although to be fair, many will say that has long been the case with BlackBerry as they have been a company that until recently stuck to their guns relentlessly and continued on pushing their own operating system, in spite of sales figures and adoption rates making it clear that the rest of the world had moved on. But BlackBerry did move on and really well. After mountings of speculation, BlackBerry did finally confirm that they were going to release a handset which solely ran on the Android operating system. A move which although many saw as an admission of the failings of their own OS, was a move which was significantly long overdue. Nevertheless, they did announce an Android smartphone and towards the close of the year, they did release it. Enter, the BlackBerry PRIV.
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Like a dream smartphone, the PRIV arrived with a bang and instantly brought with it the hardware look and feel of a classic BlackBerry smartphone but one which was powered underneath by the might of Android. A match made in heaven. Sure, there were teething problems at first, but if anyone expected a company to release a smartphone on a new operating system without some issues, they were not thinking straight. While the price was high for the PRIV, as a debut Android smartphone, you could do far worse. More to the point, for those who like the BlackBerry style, this was a great way to give them the hardware they wanted and with an operating system they needed.
After release, it seemed as though the PRIV was doing fine. Sales were not fantastic and it was not making the impact that the latest smartphone from Samsung would do, but again, it could not have been expected by the market (or by BlackBerry) that the PRIV was gonna shatter records. In reality and again, for a debut Android device, it seemed to be selling well. At least that is the impression we have been giving and it certainly must be a better indication of what they could achieve compared to sticking further with their own platform, which keeps sliding in adoption.
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But here is where things are starting to get complicated. BlackBerry has released an Android smartphone now. The move is done and the initial will they, wont they is over with. So it is time that BlackBerry gets a bit more realistic and keeps the market, consumers and everyone in the know about their plans. For instance, even before BlackBerry introduced the PRIV, there were already rumors floating about a possible follow-up device, the BlackBerry Vienna. This was supposed to be more of a mid-range or at least, more affordable BlackBerry Android smartphone and that line of thinking made sense. If you have one smartphone and it is expensive then release a second one at a cheaper price. Then everyone is happy. But since those initial rumors, pretty much nothing has happened. There are very few Vienna rumors coming through now and most people seem to think that they are not going to come through. A sentiment which made the headlines earlier this week when an analyst from TD Securities was noted drawing the conclusion that there is a good chance that not only will there be no Vienna handset from BlackBerry, but there might not be any handset from BlackBerry ever again. The suggestion being that the company is preparing to announce that they will abandon the hardware market completely and opt to focus on the software side of things instead. One particular reason for this thinking is that there was no announcement from BlackBerry at MWC this year. And looking back, is a very good point.
At the time, very few thought that BlackBerry would announce anything at MWC, as there was literally nothing coming down the wire. No leaks, no images, no rumors, nada. However, when you think about the year ahead, MWC was the time to announce Vienna. Just like the Galaxy S7 and LG G5 and pretty much any other smartphone, there is a time delay between announcing and product availability. So announcing at MWC would still have left BlackBerry ample time to do whatever else needed to be done and would have at the very least, started the ball rolling on a world stage which was eagerly waiting for such an announcement. In contrast, with each month that now passes, they are pushing back to a later delivery date. And while that might seem fine, here is the bigger issue. If they wait too long, the delivery of their second phone will come at the time when an upgrade to the PRIV would be expected. And it stands to reason that they cannot release a mid-range smartphone as a direct year-on follow up to a flagship smartphone. More to the point, if they did do this, then that means there is no follow up to the PRIV, no major flagship smartphone from BlackBerry in 2016. Unless you believe a very superficial rumor which came through this week.
This rumor actually materialized on the internet almost a week ago and has gained next to no coverage which presumably is an indication of the lack of belief in the rumor or evidence to support it. However, the rumor states that BlackBerry will not release the Vienna smartphone and instead are planning to release two other handsets this year, codenamed Hamburg and Rome. In the most basic of ways, Hamburg is Vienna, as it is said to be a mid-range Android smartphone. Although, that is where the similarities end as Hamburg is said to only be sporting a touchscreen no BlackBerry physical keyboard, when most of the early leaked images of Vienna did suggest a keyboard.
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In contrast, Rome is said to be more of a flagship smartphone and one which will come sporting the physical keyboard again. Essentially, a second generation PRIV, albeit, it could look and be very different. From the logical point of view, although there is little to confirm the Hamburg and Rome rumor, it does seem to be the best course of action for BlackBerry. By the end of this year, we will be in the second cycle year of the BlackBerry/Android era and it would be an ideal time-span to have released two more smartphones. An initial interim affordable option and then a second generation flagship. All within about 18 months. This would not only confirm their presence in the Android market but will also help to build momentum.
But this does not look to be the case. The only information is this one rumor and there seems to be no further evidence to support that BlackBerry is going to release any handset, let alone two before the year is out. As already mentioned, some are starting to think that BlackBerry is planning on exiting the hardware business altogether. There are numerous reports coming through on a weekly basis of how they seem to be diluting their own OS, which under normal circumstances would be an indication they were planning to focus more on Android, But there is no evidence to suggest that is the case either and to make matters worse, BlackBerry seem to be too tight-lipped about the whole thing.
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If you remember back, the decision on whether BlackBerry would release another smartphone on Android rested solely on the performance of the PRIV. BlackBerry made it clear that if sales were not good enough, then they would not make another smartphone. In the real world, that is a rather fickle way to enter a market essentially making it clear that if customers dont buy enough (what BlackBerry views as enough that is), then they wont make any more. The cold reality of the Android world (and the wider mobile world) is that if you make a good product, it will sell. If it is not a good product (it still might sell) but it also might not. So if the PRIV does not sell enough to justify to BlackBerry, chances are good that it is because it was not a very good smartphone to begin with. And either way, the second device is where a new OEM would be expected to make an even bigger impact by building on what they learned from the first device and making an even better smartphone. One which sells more. It is a bit self-indulgent to say buy our smartphone or we wont make anymore, although that does seem to be exactly the case with BlackBerry so far.
Which would be a massive shame. At a time when security is literally in the news on a daily basis, BlackBerry does have a USP waiting for them to take advantage of. Most new-to-Android OEMs have to convince the market of its USP and that is not the case with BlackBerry. They are already known for their emphasis on security and the PRIV has followed that path with generally speaking, very fast patches and a clear focus on security. The time in right for a company like BlackBerry to cement their position in the Android market. But to do that, they need to release smartphones. Not because everyone loved and bought the PRIV, but because they can fill an anxious security-driven and paranoid void that is starting to establish itself in the mobile world. Now is the time for BlackBerry to strike while the iron is most definitely hot. But again, to do that they need to release something and not only release it, but announce it and sooner rather than later to allow for the usual hype and excitement to build. It is not much good announcing on the quiet and then making available the next day or week through their site or as an AT&T exclusive. That is not the way to sell phones. BlackBerry needs to announce big and make it count. But with the severe lack of rumors coming through, that does not look likely to be happening and this hesitation is going to only make matters worse. It is time for them to commit to Android or commit to not making another Android smartphone.
Oracle and Google have been in an ongoing war in and out of court over Googles use of Java for quite some time. Java, the most popular programming language in the world, powers the backend of Android. Even to this day, using the Android Software Development Kit requires installing Java on your computer. Most core parts of Java, however, has been freely available for development use since about 2008. The argument falls to the parts of Java that arent free, especially those contained in the Dalvik Virtual Machine, which had been Androids core up until the introduction of the Android Run Time in Android 4.4 KitKat.
Dr. James Kearl, an expert hired to have a look at the case determined that Google could be on the hook for no less than $8.8 billion. In light of this, Google has filed a formal contest, viewable via the source link. Google asserts that the calculations have a large margin for error, mainly due to a face-value interpretation of an idea that Oracle had of how to figure the amount that Google may owe based on usage of the code within Android compared to the profit that Google received as a direct result of Android. They also said that many of the figures and ideas that Kearl came up with were based on facts not relevant to the case or based on flawed or inaccurate information.
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While the figure is a bit lower than the previous $9.3 billion that Oracle sought, it is still more than sky-high enough to deal Google a serious blow, should Oracle win. The case will be headed to court in the near future, where a jury will get the final call on whether or not Google was in their rights to use the parts of Java incorporated into Android without paying. With Java being such a sweepingly popular language, a win for Oracle could set a precedent that could lead to a string of huge paydays for them, at the cost of most of the tech world. To date, no Java-based project has acquired quite the scale or profit of Android, though it likely wouldnt be difficult to find similar cases where parts of Java not freely licensed were used and profited from without payment.
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Despite the fact that Google has their Android operating system available on more devices than iOS and any other platform, it didnt become the widespread platform it is today on its own. With the rest of Googles services, its become a heavily-integrated platform with services like Gmail, Google Search and of course, Google Maps. Maps has become a big selling point of Android, and a main feature for Google on its own. Its something that a lot of people rely upon, so much so that when Apple took it off of the iPhone, the Google Maps app became the top app on iOS overnight. Its not the only decent option in town however, and it appears that Amazon might be looking to get a piece of one such other option.
HERE maps, the service that used to be part of Nokia, is now owned by a group of automakers, and is being held on to as an independent alternative to that of Google Maps. Its said that the carmakers who own HERE maps including Audi, BMW and Mercedes are looking to use the mapping software to help build self-driving cars. Now, Reuters is reporting that Amazon is looking to acquire a stake in HERE Maps. According to the report, Amazon is looking to acquire a stake in the firm to ensure they become a provider of cloud computing services for HERE Maps. Amazons cloud services have become an industry standard for websites and other big corporations, and to lock in a big maps provider like HERE would be a big boon for Amazon.
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Theres potential for Amazon to do more with the service than just that however, as the firm does make their own Android tablets, and being able to offer their own Maps service to compete with Google Maps could add one more string to their bow. Purchasing a stake in HERE however, wouldnt guarantee Amazon a huge return on investment, but as the software and platform becomes more and more of a hot ticket, it might be wise for Amazon to get in early and become part of something bigger down the line.
Huawei Technologies, Chinas telecommunications equipment and consumer electronics giant, continues to grow faster than any of its peers, aided by strong growth in its smartphone business in its home country and beyond. The company on Friday released its financial report for the year 2015, which reveals that its revenues for last year stood at 395 billion yuan ($61.10 billion), which is not just a 37% rise over its 2014 revenues, but is also nominally higher than its earlier guidance of 390 billion Yuan ($60.31 billion). The rate of growth is said to be Huaweis highest since 2008, and the company apparently continues to be bullish on its growth prospects for this year as well. At its earnings call this Friday, Huawei issued a guidance saying that it expects its 2016 revenues to be around the $75 billion mark, which would be a 23% increase over its last years figures.
Taking a closer look at the numbers and breaking them down by sectors, Huaweis revenues from its consumer electronics business increased a whopping 73% last year, amidst reports of the company spectacularly outperforming its biggest competitors in the country Lenovo, Xiaomi, Meizu and the like. Huawei reportedly managed to ship as many as 100 million smartphones last year, which represents a rise of 44% from its already-impressive 2014 numbers. The company reported net profits from its consumer business rising 32% to 36.9 billion yuan ($5.71 billion) last year, from 27.9 billion ($.31 billion) the previous year. For the current year, the company says it expects revenues from its consumer electronics business to rise to about $30 billion, which will be a growth of 51% on a YoY basis.
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Coming to Huaweis bread-and-butter telecom equipment business, the company reported a topline growth of 21.4% amidst strong demand for 4G equipment, what with most carriers in China and around the world still continuing to expand their 4G footprint. Huaweis enterprise business that builds private networks for companies and organizations may only be its smallest unit, but it still showed robust growth with a 43.8% increase in revenues last year. Having produced a phenomenal set of numbers for its shareholders, the only thing that may come off as a little bit of a disappointment, is the companys operating margins that came down slightly to 11.6% last year from 11.9% a year earlier. Either way, Huawei also reported that it continued to invest heavily in R&D, having spent about 15% of its gross revenues last year on that account.
As two of the best smartphones currently on the market, the Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge are priced accordingly, but while the top-tier internal specifications and various premium features might push the lineups price beyond the $500 mark, prospective customers should not expect to buy a piece of exclusivity for the price. Industry analysts predict that Samsung will push nearly 10 million Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 units by the end of the first quarter, and the shipping figures are bound to increase by the end of the year. Fortunately for Samsung enthusiasts who may be willing to pay extra for exclusivity, Karalux might come to the rescue with its new 24K gold-plated Samsung Galaxy S7 series.
Karalux is a known gift supplier headquartered in Vietnam, offering luxury items for high-profile international visitors and VIPs. Their products range from gold-plated Samsung, Apple, and BlackBerry smartphones to gold-plated cars bearing the BMW, Lexus, or the Rolls-Royce badge. The company is also known for gold-plating the Samsung Galaxy S6 series launched last year, and needless to say, the brand new Samsung Galaxy S7 lineup has received the same treatment. Karaluxs engineers require six hours of work to treat each Samsung Galaxy S7 unit with 24K gold, and the process requires a total of ten different stages, ranging from surface treatment and gold plating, to applying a Nano layer on top of the gold layer in order to protect it from wear. Karalux also revealed that while the A6000-series aluminum used by Samsung in manufacturing the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edges frame is easier to work with than the A7000-series aluminum used on the Samsung Galaxy S6 lineup, the alloy still contains a wide variety of metal components and, as such, Karalux had to invent new gilding methods.
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The 24K gold Karalux Samsung Galaxy S7 costs $1,750, whereas the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge is accompanied by a price tag of $1,950. For the price(s) you will receive the same hardware specifications found on the regular models, but you may also enjoy special treatment from Karalux, who recently replaced the shattered screen of a gold-plated Samsung Galaxy S7 for free. The smartphone in question was accidentally dropped by the first person in Vietnam to own a Karalux Samsung Galaxy S7, and considering the rare and unlucky case, the company agreed to repair the device free of cost.
Other than their flagship Galaxy S and Galaxy Note lines, Samsung has several other smartphone series that covers a wide range of prices and consumer tastes. The Galaxy J series is targeted at developing markets and comprises low and mid-range devices and thanks to its combination of good hardware and a very low price, it has been selling very well, thus helping Samsung to stay on top of the smartphone market despite stiff competition from the likes of Xiaomi and Huawei in the lower-end segment. After numerous rumors and leaks, last Tuesday (29th) the company unveiled their new iteration of the Galaxy J5 and Galaxy J7 with very interesting specs but only available in China for now. The handsets are powered by an Exynos processor but a recent Geekbench benchmarking result leak suggests there will be a Snapdragon variant of the J7 and it could mean the device will be going to other markets.
With model number SM-J7109, the results show a smartphone running an MSM8952 chipset from Qualcomm, which is likely to be the Snapdragon 652, an octa-core processor with a clock speed of 1.52 GHz. The chip is coupled with 3 GB of RAM, which is a very good number. Other than that, the specs of this J7 are the same as the Chinese model, featuring a 5.5-inch Full HD Super AMOLED display, 16 GB of internal storage plus support for external storage, a 13 megapixels rear camera and a 5 megapixels front shooter for selfies. Things start to get very interesting when you add Samsung Pay support, NFC, a fingerprint scanner, and a 3,300 mAh battery. 4G connectivity with dual-SIM functionality completes the package and the device features a metal frame.
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The Galaxy J5 (2016) is a smaller sibling with a 5.2-inch display and 2 GB of RAM. Other than that, they have very similar specs and both are available in Gold, White, and Pink. As for a Snapdragon variant of the J5, theres no word on that but we will keep you posted whenever there are any other news. Samsung didnt reveal the pricing information for neither the J5 and J7 in China but considering that the 2015 models cost around $200, the new models arent likely to come with a significantly bigger price tag.
James Lichtenstein, also known as barney13 on Reddit, received a touching surprise from his Android device on Thursday. When he decided to take a trip down memory lane and look at some old photos, he used Google Now voice commands to do so. When he asked to see his photos from Nice, France, the place where his father had died, Google Now took it upon itself to read a snippet of an old email received shortly after the fact. The email expressed condolences for the death of his father. In essence, Google Now had figured out that it was about to show some photos that could elicit an emotional response and decided to preface that interaction by offering condolences in a very Google-y way.
After this, Lichtenstein took to Reddit to express his amazement at Google Nows knowledge and, in a strange and rudimentary sense, understanding. He said of the event, Mind. Blown. Im sad, Im amazed, Im taken back. What a lovely moment for some automated robot voice to express its sympathy to me. For all intents and purposes, this seems to be a demonstration of machine learning, neural networking and advanced A.I. tricks in action. The chain of events seemed to point to Google Now scanning Lichtensteins emails through Gmail for any photos of or references to Nice, France, found out that his father died there, then stumbled upon an email offering condolences and thought it appropriate to show, given the circumstances.
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To the uninitiated, it may seem like Google Now understood the concept of sympathy. While A.I. is not quite there yet, this event and things like AlphaGO and the complex algorithms behind such tech as personal assistants and targeted advertisements show just how advanced A.I. has become. This heartwarming incident is, for all intents and purposes, just the tip of the iceberg for Google Now as attempts are made at making it a bit more human, including a new voice and more natural language and flexibility in voice commands. The A.I. under the hood is, of course, also steadily improving with time, noting user demands and the subtleties thereof to better cater to them in the future. In essence, Google Now has begun to learn.
Meizu rumors and leaks have been all over the place in the last couple of weeks. The companys Meizu PRO 6 and M3 Note devices have been surfacing all over the internet, and the company has recently confirmed that it will announce the M3 Note on April 6th. The PRO 6 will quite probably follow on April 12th, at least according to the latest info weve managed to get our hands on. We know for a fact that Meizu plans to host two press events this month, the first date is confirmed already, and the second one seems to be accurate as well.
That being said, earlier today, weve seen both of these devices leak side by side in a real life image. Interestingly enough, the M3 Note seems quite a bit bigger than the PRO 6 on that image, and it was supposed the be the other way around. Either way, well have to wait until the two devices get announced to see whats what, because that leak sure is weird. Anyhow, the company has just released a new teaser image (first image in the gallery) on social media with the Meet mBattery. The revolutionary new way to power the Meizu m3 note. Now, as you can see, there are 6 AA batteries included on that image, and each of them is colored differently. Meizu, of course, did not explain what was this all about, and they wont because this is the companys way of celebrating April 1st, also known as Fools Day. That is not all, however, a rather similar image to Meizus official one surfaced in China recently as well (second image in the gallery). The leaked image not only shows off the mBattery, as does the official one, but also reveals the pricing for the 16GB variant of the Meizu M3 Note. According to this info, the Meizu M3 Note (16GB) will be priced at 1,499 Yuan ($232) in China, and that info is almost certainly false as well considering its predecessors was priced at $130 in China at launch.
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According to the recently surfaced M3 Note AnTuTu benchmark, this handset will sport a fullHD display up front, though we still dont know what size will that panel be. The M2 Note sported a 5.5-inch panel, so we thought the M3 Note will as well, but judging by the recently leaked real life image of this handset, the phone might actually be quite a bit bigger than that. The device will ship in 2GB and 3GB RAM variants, which will include 16GB and 32GB of internal storage, respectively. This phone will be fueled by MediaTeks Helio P10 64-bit octa-core processor, and two SIM card slots will be available here as well. Flyme UI will come pre-installed on top of Googles Android OS, and a 13-megapixel snapper will be placed on the back of this phone.
Since the original Galaxy S was launched way back in 2010 each successive device in the Galaxy S range has become more and more popular, and Samsung have definitely made a name for themselves. Aggressive marketing campaigns, such as those that took on Apple with the release of the Galaxy S III and big marketing spends have made the Samsung name more than just a manufacturer of electronics, but a brand in its own right. A brand like this needs a presence everywhere, and the Samsung+ app is how they can communicate directly with customers in the US on their Samsung smartphones or tablets, and its recently gotten a big update. If gold-plated Galaxy S7 Edge devices werent indication enough, its clear that Samsung has become a big deal in the technology world.
The Samsung+ app will now offer Samsung users a way to get live chat support on-demand, whenever and wherever you might be including video chat and such. A big part of the new version 3.0 release of the Samsung+ 3.0 is the new Samsung Assist feature, which will allow representatives to remotely control a users device to help teach them how to use certain features of their device. This is the sort of feature that would be good for those new to smartphones or perhaps the elderly, not having experience with such devices before. Either way, this is the sort of thing that will appeal to a lot of users. The Diagnostics feature might be a little more useful for experienced users and will compare figures and stats of your device to those that Samsung expects from your device in order to see if something could be wrong or not. This works on things such as battery life and storage.
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More than just added support features, the new Samsung+ will offer exclusive content and offers for Samsung users through the Galaxy Life feature. Community features are added here as well, and all-in-all, this seems like a solid update to an app that might not be for everyone, but offers Samsung users a few extras and a safety net for those unsure of how to make the most of their device. The new version of the app, version 3.0, is live in the Play Store right now, and theres a little taste of what the app has to offer in the gallery below. It goes without saying however, that the app is only going to be good for those with a Samsung smartphone.
The Royal Anguilla Police Force on Tuesday 29th March, 2016 arrested and charged a 40 yr. old man from South Hill for burglary.
The alleged offender is alleged to have taken one bottle of wine and two packages of shrimps a total of US $68.00 or EC $182.38 during the commission of the offence on a business premises in the Sandy Ground area.
Taken before the Magistrates Court on Wednesday 30th March, 2016 the alleged offender who was offered bail in the sum of EC $10,000.00 with one surety was unable to make the bail and was ordered placed on remand at Her Majestys Prison.
He is due back in court on Tuesday 7th June, 2016 to answer to the charge.
(supersedes previous)(ANSA) - Potenza, March 31 - Oil production in the southern Val d'Agri (Agri Valley) area has been suspended, State-controlled ENI oil and gas giant said Thursday after five of its staffers were arrested earlier in the day on suspicion of illegal waste trafficking. The Agri Valley lies in the southern Basilicata region, and ENI plants there produce 75,000 barrels a day. The company added it is cooperating with the investigation and said it will request assets seized earlier in the day be made available to it. Also on Thursday, a judge turned down a prosecution request for a bench warrant for Gianluca Gemelli, who manages two oil-sector companies and is the boyfriend of Industry Minister Federica Guidi. Gemelli is being investigated for corruption conspiracy and falsely claiming influence over a public official in order to obtain bribes.
Wiretaps showed Thursday that Guidi discussed a government amendment affecting the development of a Basilicata oil field with Gemelli. Straight after the tapped call with Guidi, Gemelli phoned an associate to tell him about the favorable amendment. "I'm phoning to give you some good news," Gemelli said during the wiretapped call.
Calls for Guidi to step down over conflict of interest came from both the left and the right, with Italian Left (SI) and the Northern League (LN) clamoring for the minister to quit.
(ANSA) - Rome, April 1 - The seat of the Italian Senate, Palazzo Madama, will be illuminated with blue lights starting at 10:30 pm on Friday through sunrise on April 2, in honor of the UN's annual World Autism Awareness Day, said Palazzo Madama sources on Friday. "Light It Up Blue" is an international public awareness campaign launched in 2010 by autism research organisation Autism Speaks, which takes place annually in conjunction with World Autism Awareness Day on April 2.
Many institutions and monuments worldwide participate in the campaign by illuminating their structures with blue lights.
Approximately 100,000 children and adolescents in Italy have been diagnosed with autism, with males diagnosed four times more than females.
Italy's health ministry recently allocated 50 million euros for autism treatment as part of its national essential healthcare programme (LEA), something that the Italian Society for Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry (SINPIA) said is positive, but only in part.
"It's excellent news, but it's not sufficient: concrete measures are needed to facilitate delivery of existing services," said SINPIA President Antonella Costantino.
She said improvements are needed in early diagnosis, which, together with appropriate and early treatment, can "significantly modify abilities and quality of life for the patient and their entire family".
"It would be appropriate to consider the autism spectrum as part of a larger group of issues that includes learning disabilities, language and communication disorders, and specific learning and attention disorders," she said.
Turkey: alleged killer of downed Russian jet pilot detained He was at a restaurant and armed, held for questioning
(ANSAmed) - ISTANBUL, APRIL 1 - Alparslan Celik, the alleged killer of Russian pilot Oleg Peshkov, who on November 24 ejected and parachuted from the Russian plane downed by Turkish fighter jets at the border with Syria, has been detained by Turkish police in the Aegean province of Izmir. According to the Dogan news agency, Celik, a Turkish citizen who has been fighting in Syria against Bashar al Assad's regime with Turkmen militias supported by Ankara, entered the country recently and was stopped at a restaurant with 13 other people after the presence of armed men at the location was reported to police.
Police officers found reportedly a Kalashnikov, two guns and several bullets. His presence in Turkey had already been reported in the past few months at a funeral in Istanbul, but authorities had not arrested him. According to local media, Celik crossed the border several times after the Russian jet was downed. (ANSAmed).
CAIRO - An "exhaustive dossier" that a "Egyptian security delegation" will hand over to Rome prosecutor Giuseppe Pignatone on Tuesday will contain the results of investigations by security forces into meetings murdered Italian researcher Giulio Regeni had with street traders and trade unionists in Cairo, Egyptian daily Al-Akhbar reported on Friday.
Regeni, 28, went missing in the Egyptian capital on January 25, and his mutilated body was found on February 3 in a ditch on the city's outskirts.
Egypt has denied speculation its security forces, who are frequently accused of brutally repressing opposition, were involved in the death of the Cambridge doctoral student.
The Italian government has said it will not accept a "convenient truth" and several versions from Egypt about how Regeni might have died have caused incredulity. The most recent one was that he was murdered by a gang specialising in kidnapping foreigners who, in turn, were killed by the security forces.
Egyptian and Italian investigators are meeting next week after Rome called for more cooperation in the investigation.
Al-Akhbar said the dossier will include evidence from Regeni's friends and "many documents and important information" including photos and "all the investigations on Regeni from his arrival in Cairo to his disappearance".
Egyptians 'to admit' they kept tabs on Regeni Investigators to ask for phone records of 10
(By Denis Greenan).
(ANSAmed) - ROME, APRIL 1 - Egyptian authorities are set to admit at a keenly awaited Rome meeting on Giulio Regeni that they kept tabs on the Cambridge University researcher before he was tortured and murdered, Egyptian media said on Friday. At that 'summit' on Tuesday, Rome prosecutors will ask for the phone and cellphone records of 10 of Regeni's friends and acquaintances to help reconstruct his last days, judicial sources said in Rome.
An "exhaustive dossier" that an "Egyptian security delegation" will hand over to Rome prosecutor Giuseppe Pignatone on Tuesday will contain the results of investigations by security forces into meetings which the murdered researcher - who was working as a visiting scholar at the American University in Cairo - had with street traders and trade unionists in the Egyptian capital, Egyptian daily Al-Akhbar reported on Friday.
Regeni, 28, went missing in Cairo on January 25, the heavily policed fifth anniversary of the uprising that ousted former strongman Hosni Mubarak, and his mutilated body was found on February 3 in a ditch on the city's outskirts.
Egypt has denied speculation its security forces, who are frequently accused of brutally repressing opposition, were involved in the death of the Cambridge doctoral student.
The Italian government has said it will not accept a "convenient truth" and several versions from Egypt about how Regeni might have died have caused incredulity. The most recent one was that he was murdered by a gang specialising in kidnapping foreigners who, in turn, were killed by the security forces.
Egyptian and Italian investigators are meeting next week after Rome called for more cooperation in the investigation.
Al-Akhbar said the dossier will include evidence from Regeni's friends and "many documents and important information" including photos and "all the investigations on Regeni from his arrival in Cairo to his disappearance".
Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni will brief the Lower House on developments in the case on Tuesday at 16:00, sources said Friday.
Regeni's mother said Tuesday she had seen "the world's evil" on her son's face.
"At the mortuary I only recognized Giulio by the tip of his nose," Paola Deffendi told a press conference at the Senate in Rome.
"What they did to him is unspeakable".
"In Italy we have not seen torture since (the time of) anti-Fascism, but Giulio was not at war - he went to do research," Deffendi added.
She continued by saying the family trusts in a firm response from the government should Egyptian investigators fail to come up with convincing answers at the meeting with their Italian colleagues in Rome on April 5.
"If April 5 turns out to be an empty day we trust in a strong response from our government - a very, very strong one," she said. "We have been waiting for answers about Giulio since January 25".
The Italian media has speculated the government might recall its ambassador from Cairo or even go as far as imposing economic sanctions if Egypt keeps up the alleged stonewalling on the case.
Egyptian government critics and human rights organisations have suggested Regeni was tortured and killed by a security-forces cell because of his research work with the trade union movement and the opposition, like many others.
Regeni's body had signs of torture all over it, including cigarette burns, multiple fractures, cuts under the soles of the feet, clipped ears, a torn fingernail and a torn toenail.
(ANSAmed).
Turkey: car bomb Diyarbakir, seven officers reported dead 27 wounded, including 14 civilians
(ANSAmed) - ISTANBUL, APRIL 1 - At least seven police officers were killed and 27 people wounded, including 14 civilians, according to the latest death toll after a car bomb exploded as a police armored vehicle was driving in the proximity of a bus station in Diyarbakir, the main Kurdish city in south-east Turkey, news agency Dogan reports. According to Dogan, the attack was carried out by a PKK suicide bomber. The explosion occurred on the eve of the scheduled visit of Premier Ahmet Davutoglu to Sur, the historic center of Diyarbakir, under curfew for almost four months over anti-PKK operations. (ANSAmed).
ISTANBUL - Since mid-January Turkey has forcibly repatriated some 100 Syrian refugees a day, including women and children, Amnesty International denounces on the eve of the beginning Monday of the readmission agreement with the EU.
The NGO quoted witness reports provided by several Syrians in Turkey, mainly in provinces at the border, who were reportedly denied in many instances registration that gives a temporary protection status necessary to access minimum services like healthcare and education.
''All forced repatriations to Syria are illegal according to Turkish, European and international law'', said Amnesty, according to which the practice is well known in the region at the border between the two countries, in particular in Turkey's Hatay province. Among cases reported by the NGO is one of a woman who was expelled to a conflict area in Syria when she was eight months pregnant.
''In their desperate attempt to close borders, European leaders willingly ignored the most basic of facts: Turkey is not a safe country for Syrian refugees'', said John Dalhuisen, director of Amnesty for Europe and Central Asia.
According to the NGO, over the past weeks Turkey has reversed its open-door policy towards Syrians, boosting a new business for human traffickers who are asking refugees about 1,000 dollars each to help them cross the border illegally. After the construction of a fortress-like Europe, Amnesty warned, Turkey is building a fortress.
Italy set to help, not bomb Libya, Italian Premier Renzi We'll do our bit if intervention. Together support Sarraj effort
(ANSAmed) - ROME, APRIL 1 - Italy's leadership over Libya, Premier Matteo Renzi said in Washington Friday, "means we're ready to lend a hand from the standpoint of social aid, police forces, and international development aid, but not that we get up in the morning and go and bomb someone".
Italy will do its bit if there is an intervention in Libya, Renzi also said Friday. "I think the fundamental thing is a stable Libya: our goal is to support the government from the social, economic and aid standpoints." He said "if there is an intervention by the international community in the (right) ways and timeframe, we will do our bit." He said Italy was "in the front line to do its utmost to make the Serraj (national unity) government work".
Sarraj is the head of a UN-sponsored national-unity government which is expected to ask for help to rid the country of ISIS. Renzi also said on Twitter "we support all together the effort of (Libya Premier Designate Fayez) al-Sarraj, finally in Tripoli".
Renzi, who is in Washington for a nuclear summit, posted a photo of his meeting in Rome with Sarraj in December. (ANSAmed).
These aircraft will operate in Saudi Arabia, where the airline is developing regional connectivity with the support of the national government. The two aircraft delivered today at the ATR manufacturing facilities in France are leased from Dubai Aerospace Entreprise (DAE).
Nesma Airlines and ATR also signed an 8-year Global Maintenance Agreement (GMA). Under this GMA, ATR will provide Nesma Airlines with a comprehensive technical support for their ATR 72-600 aircraft. The agreement includes a spare parts inventory on lease at airlines premises, the access to ATRs spare part pools offering up-front exchange and timely availability, and the single channel management by ATR of the maintenance, repair and overhaul of propellers, engines, landing gears, and LRUs (Line Replaceable Units). The GMA includes also a direct delivery of these equipments at the customers premises through a tailored door-to-door service.
In addition to the availability and repair services, ATR will also handle airframe maintenance for C checks and calendar inspections of the aircraft. The Global Maintenance Agreement will help the airline to ease maintenance costs and tasks, while providing accurate and timely services and the expertise and knowledge from the aircraft manufacturer.
Faisal Al Turki, chief executive officer of Nesma Airlines, said: We are honoured to receive our first regional aircraft and start developing short-haul connectivity in Saudi Arabia with these versatile and efficient aircraft. The ATR 72-600s have proven their robustness and suitability for all types of regional operations worldwide, and have also become a reference in terms of comfort and leading-edge technologies.
Firoz Tarapore, chief executive officer of DAE, said: The strong attractiveness of the newest ATR 72-600s for leasing firms. This is, by far, the preferred regional aircraft in the market. It provides us with outstanding commercial opportunities allowing to expand our customer portfolio and to optimally diversify our business, with the most modern and cost-efficient regional aircraft.
Patrick de Castelbajac, ATRs chief executive officer, said: We are pleased to welcome an operator that has ambitious plans to expand regional air connectivity across Saudi Arabia. As seen in recent months, we strongly believe in the potential of our newest and most technologically updated ATR -600s for the development and upgrade of short-haul networks in the Middle East.
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The country which has the highest per capita income in the world is treating its migrant labourers in conditions described by the Guardian newspaper as modern-day slavery. It is persecuting political dissenters and it put its greatest poet in prison and then only released him to avoid embarrassment when the attention of the international art world was briefly focused on the country. Qatar is importing so much from the West: architects, artists, scientists, universities, and much more besides. Why then, as some in the Gulf are brave enough to point out, does it not import freedom and the rule of law?
All the latest Ashbourne news. Ashbourne is an historic market town in Derbyshire. Situated on the southern edge of the Peak District, it is known as the 'Gateway to Dovedale' and the 'Gateway to the Peak District'. Ashbourne is famous for the annual Royal Shrovetide Football Match, which has been played since at least 1667, although its origins may date back centuries earlier. Ashbourne became a Fairtrade town in March 2005. The popular Tissington Trail, which follows the route of the former Ashbourne to Buxton railway, starts on the edge of town. Keep up to date with the latest news from the town by signing up for our newsletter.
by Nirmala Carvalho
The archbishop of Mumbai calls on priests, religious, and lay people to pray for the Salesian who has been in the hands of the Islamic State group since 4 March. He hopes that the captive priest will "come back to us" and encourages everyone to partake in his suffering. Likewise, he calls for a prayer for the nuns murderers so that mercy may impose limitations on evil.
Mumbai (AsiaNews) Cardinal Oswald Gracias, archbishop of Mumbai, has made an appeal on the Triduum of the Divine Mercy for the release of Fr Tom Uzhunnalil, a Salesian Father abducted by a group of extremists in early March in Yemen.
The cardinal has turned "to prayer and mercy" to save the 56-year-old priest ostensibly held by the Islamic State group after gunmen stormed the Missionaries of Charity compound in Aden.
Indias bishops have also appealed to the government, calling for "urgent action" to find a way out of the situation.
Speaking to AsiaNews, Card Gracias, who heads the Federation of Asian Bishops Conferences (FABC) as well as the Catholic Bishops Conference of India-Latin Rite (CBCI-LR) said that the Jubilee of Mercy proclaimed by Pope Francis is a "privileged moment".
As part of the Triduum today, the first Friday of the month, the Sacred Heart of Jesus; and tomorrow, the Immaculate Heart of Mary tomorrow , the cardinal calls on "prayer groups, parishes, religious institutes, chapels and monasteries, but also private homes "to pray for Fr Tom.
"I pray that each of us entrust Fr Tom to the Divine Mercy, Card Gracias said. I also ask you to pray that he may safely come back to us, and I encourage all of you to partake in his suffering. Let us ask that he may soon regain his freedom."
Saint Pope John Paul II said that only Divine Mercy is able to impose limitations on evil. Therefore, Let us pray through Mary, Mother of Mercy also for those who perpetrated the barbaric killing of our 4 missionaries of charity and kidnapped Fr Tom.
Fr Tom Uzhunnalil has been in the hands of Jihadis since 4 March. His kidnappers are probably linked to the Islamic State group. When the gunmen stormed the home for the sick and elderly run by the Missionaries of Charity in Aden, southern Yemen, they killed four sisters of Mother Teresa and 12 other people present in the building.
So far, nothing is known of the fate of the 56-year-old priest born in Ramapuram, near Pala (Kottayam, Kerala), into a deeply Catholic family. His uncle Matthew, who died last year, was also a Salesian, and the founder of the mission in Yemen. Father Tom has been in Yemen for four years.
At the start of last week, baseless rumours began circulating in India about a plan drawn up by the kidnappers to torture, kill and crucify the priest on 25 March to coincide with Good Friday, which commemorates the passion and death of Christ. Nothing indicates that this occurred, but it has fuelled fears about the Salesians fate.
In view of the situation, the Salesian Family responded by calling for prayers on Holy Thursday, and during the main Easter celebrations.
About 6,000 farmers travelled to Kidapawan, southern Philippines, to demand rice, facing off the police. There has been no rain for four months. PIME missionary notes that the protest that began four days ago continues. The government has done nothing for the drought. In our parish, people have been lining up for months asking for help.
Davao (AsiaNews) A farmer was killed and 13 were wounded after police forces opened fire at some 6,000 protesters in Kidapawan City on Friday morning after their demonstration turned violent.
For days, farmers have been demanding the distribution of rice to relieve drought-induced hunger. After protesters threw stones at police (some of whom were injured), gunshots were heard.
"The protesters have been blocking traffic on the highway linking Davao to Cotabato for four days and there are not many alternative routes. This has created a lot of trouble," said Fr Giovanni Vettoretto, a PIME missionary in Kidapawan.
According to the priest, the reasons for the protest are clear. "It has not rained for almost four months, and people do not have money set aside for the times when they can neither sow nor harvest, the clergyman explained. Tribal people are the most exposed. All they can do is pray for rain, nothing else. People are hungry and want rice. "
The protest would not have turned violent if we were not in an election campaign, Fr Vettoretto added. The situation has created a sense of helplessness and hopelessness in the population, which political groups have exploited.
Protesters, most of them are Tribals, have been brought to the city from the forests around. They were joined by many who are not from the province and this has increased tensions."
The current political situation "has increased the desire of groups seeking greater representation (on party lists, which includes former members of paramilitary groups). The former have made matters worse by manipulating the protest. Hundreds of posts, from the presidency to city administrations, are up for grab."
The missionary is convinced that much of the responsibility for the emergency lies with politicians, who have done little to deal with the drought.
"Municipalities and wards (barangay) did not respond in time to peoples needs. People began putting pressure as early as January, Fr Vettoretto said.
In our parish, people have been lining up for months asking for help. The authorities have let things go, hoping that they would fix themselves. Instead, the situation has worsened; the heat has not only scorched plants and crops but also houses."
To solve this impasse, "we must all work together, including political leaders, social groups and Church organisations (Catholic and others), the clergyman said.
Politicians must do their part, and assume their responsibilities, rather than be defensive, fearful of losing face. The Church can act as a mediator. In fact, the parties have already met at the diocese, which was chosen as a neutral venue."
by Melani Manel Perera
NAFSOs Fisher Women Federation gives the minister of Women and Child Affairs documents and a petition signed by 10,000 people. The Federation wants the government to adopt policies that are women- and girl-friendly. Its focus is the gender wage gap, workplace exploitation, and emigration.
Colombo (AsiaNews) Sri Lankas Fisher Women Federation met with Chandrani Bandara, minister of Women and Child Affairs, at the Mahaweli Centre in Colombo, on Tuesday, as part of a meeting titled 'Let us contribute to establish a Women's Policy'. Some 200 women from 13 districts took part in the event.
The Federation is part of the National Fisheries Solidarity Movement (NAFSO). It presented proposals and documents to the governments representative on how to improve the status of women living in the north and east of the country.
It also presented a petition signed by 10,000, which was launched to raise awareness about the problems Sri Lankan women face in the workplace, like unequal treatment, abuse, and economic hardships.
Wage disparity is one of the main complaints. Compared to men, women earn less for the same work. "This is really unfair, said NAFSO Womens Desk chief Laveena Hasanthi.
Speaking to AsiaNews, she noted that Women head of households live on what they earn. But too often, that is not enough in the absence of a husband and father to meet their needs and those of their children."
Women represent 52 per cent of the Sri Lankan population (20 million), but suffer discrimination in various sectors like fishing, commerce, or housing.
Women from humble backgrounds need national policies to protect them and their families and ensure them a decent life, said an activist from Jaffna.
"Sometimes, after a day of hard work, women return home empty-handed, Laveena Hasanthi said. When a country does not have adequate policies, women face huge difficulties in the workplace, like discrimination, as well as economic, social, and political exploitation."
Minister Bandara welcomed the documents and the petition, saying that the "government will take the proposals into serious consideration."
She also noted that the Sri Lankan parliament has already approved a bill designed to boost women participation in politics and committed itself to solve the issue of women migrant workers.
"Too many women are going abroad in search of work, the minister lamented. We plan to provide jobs locally to reduce the number of expatriates."
A black hole-hunting Japanese satellite that disappeared last week has mysteriously surfaced again and made contact with ground control.
Japanese space agency JAXA lost contact with the Hitomi space probe on Saturday, when the satellite was due to start operations.
The satellite was later found to have smashed apart into five separate pieces.
The satellite later managed to send two short communications to mission control though these havent helped ground crew to unravel the mystery of what happened.
JAXA has not been able to figure out the state of its health, as the time frames for receiving the signals were very short, said JAXA in a statement.
The US Joint Space Operations Center, which spotted the broken apart satellite has said theres no evidence that the probe was hit by space debris.
This suggests that the Hitomis fate is more likely to be the result of a technical malfunction on the probe itself.
JAXA has not yet be able to find out if they satellite can be salvaged.
A video made by astronomer Paul Maley in Arizona appears to show the satellite spinning out of control, which could explain why it has lost contact with ground control.
The ambitious Hitomi satellite features instruments provided by NASA, ESA and the Canadian Space Agency with the entire project reported to have cost $270million (188million).
The probe was launched to gather vital information on supermassive black holes.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/lost-japanese-satellite-reappears-smashed-into-090445572.html
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Melbourne is officially Australia's fastest growing capital city, with the latest data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showing its population is up by 2.1%.This figure for 2014/2015 is down slightly from the 2.2% recorded in the previous 12 month period but still higher than the next fastest growing capital Darwin where the population increased by 1.9%.Perth, which has been one of the fastest growing capital cities since the mid-2000s, grew by 1.6%, down from 1.9% the previous year and now sits equal fourth with Brisbane, behind Sydney where the population grew by 1.7%."Although Perth's growth slowed to its lowest rate since 2004/2005, it was not the only city to experience weaker growth. Of all the capitals, only Hobart at 0.8%, Canberra at 1.4% and Darwin at 1.9% grew faster in 2014/2015 than in the previous year," said ABS director of demography Beidar Cho.Overall Australia's capital cities accounted for the vast majority, 83%, of the nation's total population growth in 2014/2015, with most growth occurring in outer suburban and inner city areas.The data report suggests that Sydney is well on target to becoming the first Australian capital city to reach five million people, growing by 83,300 in 2014/2015 to hit 4.92 million.Cho pointed out that this amounted to an increase of 1,600 people per week. "Should this amount of growth continue in 2015/2016, we would expect Sydney's population to hit five million sometime this year," she added.Brisbane's population may be increasing at its slowest rate for over a decade, but Queensland has some of the largest growing regional areas in the country. While the population increased by 1.6% in Brisbane, in the rest of Queensland it was up by 1%, the fastest growth rate of all rest of state regions, ahead of rest of New South Wales at 0.8% and Victoria at 0.6%.Cho explained that compared with the other Australian states Queensland had a notably higher proportion, 40%, of its population growth occurring outside of its capital city. Five of the top 10 largest growing areas in Queensland were outside of Greater Brisbane.Hobart is the only Australian capital city to record an increasing rate of population growth in each of the past three years, the data also shows. Although growing at the slowest rate of all capital cities at 0.8%, Hobart's growth rate has been steadily increasing since 2012/2013, and is up from 0.6% in 2013/2014."While the majority, 57%, of Tasmanians live outside the state capital, Hobart's population is growing faster than the rest of the state and the five areas with the fastest growth in 2014/2015 were all located in Hobart," Cho said.Overall the fastest growing areas in each state and territory were Cobbitty - Leppington in New South Wales, Cranbourne East in Victoria, Pimpama in Queensland, Munno Para West - Angle Vale in South Australia, North Coogee in Western Australia, Rokeby in Tasmania, Palmerston - South in the Northern Territory, and South West Canberra in Australian Capital Territory.
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Variants of the BR-V without Electronic Stability Control (ESC) and Seatbelt Reminder System (SBR) received a 4-star rating.
The Honda BR-V has received a 5-star rating in the ASEAN NCAP (ASEAN New Car Assessment Program) crash tests, conducted at the Japan Automobile Research Institute (JARI). The BR-V achieved a 5-star rating in frontal offset impact and side impact tests, with a score of 14.79 out of 16.00 in Adult Occupant Protection (AOP). It scored 72 percent in Child Occupant Protection (COP), and hence was given four stars for the same.
The model that achieved the 5-star rating was equipped with Electronic Stability Control (ESC) and Seatbelt Reminder System (SBR) for both frontal occupants, whereas, lower variants without the above mentioned safety features scored four stars. The safety kit on the BR-V also includes dual front airbags, ABS, Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA), and Hill Start Assist.
ASEAN NCAP secretary-general, Khairil Anwar Abu Kassim said that, It should be noted that only the BR-Vs higher variants are equipped with ESC and SBR for dual frontal occupants. Nevertheless, we are aiming for the lowest variant to be equipped with similar technologies in order for everyone to benefit these safety features.
The BR-V was launched in Thailand in January 2016, and will be brought to India around April-May 2016. The seven-seat SUV will rival the Hyundai Creta and the Maruti S-cross. To be introduced with the 1.5-litre petrol and diesel engines seen in the Honda City, the BR-V will be manufactured at Honda's Tapukara facility in Rajasthan.
Read our Honda BR-V review
The electric sedan will go into production in late 2017; Model 3 to come with two boot compartments and more cabin space.
The Tesla Model 3 could soon make its way to the Indian shores. The electric car manufacturer today unveiled its most affordable vehicle yet in Hawthorne, California and announced that it plans to take orders from India.
Prior to the reveal, Elon Musk, Tesla founder and CEO said in a tweet that online bookings would commence in countries such as India, Brazil, South Africa, New Zealand, South Korea, Singapore and Ireland.
Fourth model to join Teslas all-electric line-up, the Model 3 is set to go into production in 2017 with cars priced at $35,000 (around Rs 23 lakh). However, when launched in India, the price could go higher once import costs are accounted for.
Also, the vehicle is likely to benefit from the incentives offered to electric vehicles in the country. Besides, the Indian government has recently laid heavy emphasis on curbing pollution in the country while encouraging the use of electric vehicles.
Like Teslas other models, the all-new Model 3 claims to be capable of accelerating from 0-96kph in under six seconds in its most basic form, and can eke out more than 402km from one charge. The exact specifications are yet to be confirmed, the car is claimed to achieve the speed while seating five adults. Musk added that no combustion-engined car of this size can offer as much cabin space. Also, with the lack of combustion engine up front, the front-row passengers can be seated further ahead than normal, which frees more space for those behind, and a single-pane panoramic sunroof gives the cabin a more open feel.
Like the Model S, there are two boot compartments one at the front and one at the back. And again like the Model S, all Model 3s will come as standard with Teslas latest autopilot features, and use a tablet-style dash-mounted infotainment system.
In anticipation for the Model 3s growing demand, Tesla wants to build 500,000 batteries a year. Its newly built Gigafactory (which has the largest footprint of any building of any kind) in Nevada will produce more lithium-ion batteries than all the other lithium-ion production combined.
Details of Tesla's entry into India are not yet available, but the signs all point to a sure and quick entry. Under the new National Electric Mobility Mission Plan, the government is going to offer subsidies on electric vehicles. Last year Indian PM Modi met with Tesla founer Elon Musk during his visit to Silicon Valley and expressed keen interest in the vehicles and also Teslas electric technology. More recently the government has created a working group under transport minister Nitin Gadkari to evaluate the possibility India being a 100 percent electric vehicle nation by 2030.
When the first-generation Skoda Superb started production in 2001, car people were impressed that some trim levels came with an umbrella stowed in the rear door panel. Before the Czech manufacturer dreamed up this feature, the ultra-luxury brand Rolls-Royce pioneered it with the land yacht known as the Phantom. If you were curious, the two Teflon-coated umbrellas hidden into the rear doors of the Rolls-Royce Phantom cost a mind-boggling $700 a pop.Thats a lot of dough for an umbrella. Skoda options, on the other hand, arent as high-priced as those particular to the British brand. Except for the entry-level Superb S, other trim levels of the Czech sedan and wagon come with dog umbrellas as standard.Yes, two of them. If, however, you go for the Superb S because youve spent all your money on dog food and other mutts-have stuff, youll be glad to know that you wont have to pay money for this option. Instead, you will have to do two embarrassing things.For the first of the two dog umbrellas, youll have to sit, stay, roll over, and bark like a dog in the front of a Skoda salesman. If you have two pooches and you cant do without two dog umbrellas, then youll have to allow the Skoda salesman to film you, upload the video on the Internet, then send a link of it to 10 of your coworkers, 10 family members, and 10 of your friends, preferably of the female gender.So what will it be? Dog umbrellas in exchange for your dignity or your dogs getting pneumonia? Then again, isn't the Skoda brand a less dignified Volkswagen?
AMG
Its not the brightest day for historic Italian manufacturer MV Agusta, as the company is struggling with financial issues. Even though 2015 was an exceptional year for the Varese company and ended with a growth north of 30% , it looks like the financial effort MV Agusta made was a bit too much for the rather limited resources the manufacturer could make use of. Still, it looks like not everything is lost, and a smart marketing idea might help MV Agusta move more bikes than expected, sooner than expected.Most commonly regarded as motorcycle art, the MV Agusta machines are the epitome of sport bikes and luxury in one package. Since it looks like luxury doesnt sell well enough to keep the business running, MV Agusta turned to AMG/Mercedes , which owns 25% of the Italian company, for help.Well known for their solid marketing strategies,/Mercedes came up with a temporary solution that is expected to produce strong sales in a short time. All in all, this new policy will implement the wide-scale sales of special edition bikes branded according to the trendiest hits in various markets.It may sound strange, but if we take a trip down the memory lanedo you remember Justin Biebers Batman-themed F3 657 bike? Well, thats right, heres the gold mine for MV Agusta!Even so, it sort of puzzles us why AMG/Mercedes think that a Hello Kitty F4 RR should be the series-opener, especially as a Deadpool Dragster 800 RR was announced as the next special edition MV Agusta. Some say it has something to do with spring, but wed rather put our money on how uncanny the entire idea is and the instant collectors item attribute these bikes will receive.Moreso, a replacement for the current 1000cc platform is overdue already, with Schiranna obviously trying to move whatever stocks the dealers may still have.The Hello Kitty and all the special edition machines for 2016 will keep true to MV Agustas strict rules for such bikes, and this means the iconic gold plated numbered plate on the upper clamp, certificates of authenticity signed by the company CEO and all. And being able to claw such a machine for a discounted price is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity we just know bike collectors wont be missing.Whether MV Agusta will manage to sell enough motorcycles to make a significant difference is still impossible to tell, but the move is a smart one, and whoever thought of it deserves a raise.
Law in N.C. and 25 other states allow terminally ill patients faster access to new drugs
Christina Sandefur of the Goldwater Institute in Phoenix, Ariz., discusses 'Right to Try' Monday at the John Locke Foundation's Shaftesbury Society. (CJ Photo by Don Carrington)
Advocates of North Carolina's new "Right to Try" law - and similar ones in other states - are raising awareness of the law, which allows terminally ill patients who have exhausted other procedures the opportunity to try new drugs that gone through part but not all of the Food and Drug Administration's approval process.one of 26 across the nation, said Christina Sandefur, executive vice president of the Goldwater Institute in Phoenix, Ariz., during a March 28 presentation to the John Locke Foundation's Shaftesbury Society.The advocates hope that as more people learn about the Right to Try option, more states will adopt it. Lacking that option, families like Diego Morris' in Phoenix, Ariz., have had to uproot themselves to get life-saving drugs.When Diego was 11, he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, or a bone tumor, in his left leg.said Diego's mother Paulina. The doctors worked with the family to research the disease and optional treatments. They learned there was a drug available to help prevent recurrence of the cancer, but it was not available in the United States.After undergoing 10 weeks of chemotherapy in Phoenix and having surgery at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., doctors found that the chemotherapy treatment had killed only 50 percent of the tumor. Diego's prognosis wasn't good.Paulina Morris said.Diego concluded his treatment in 2012, two years before Arizona approved its Right to Try law. While the FDA allows a "compassionate use" exemption of unapproved drugs for people with life-threatening illnesses, the family learned that they wouldn't be able to start using the new drug in time to save Diego's life, because treatment with the new drug, Mifamurtide, or MTP, needed to coincide with postsurgical chemotherapy.The family communicated with physicians in Israel, Italy, and England, Mrs. Morris said. They went to Mexico City to talk to physicians there who'd used the new drug. They consulted with their congressional office, the drug company, and the FDA.she said. They chose London because extended family members lived there, and there would be no language barrier.The family spent nine months in London while Diego received drug treatments and chemotherapy. Mrs. Morris said her husband maintained his job in Phoenix to support the family and pay for the medication. He commuted back and forth to be with the family.Mrs. Morris said.Diego, who is now 15, is doing fine, Mrs. Morris said. The family must make four trips a year to St. Jude in Memphis, in part to have the prosthetic in his leg adjusted.Since concluding his treatment, Diego has become an advocate for Right to Try laws. He served as honorary chairman of the Right to Try petition initiative in Arizona and he's told his story to a U.S. Senate committee looking into connecting patients to new treatments.Paulina Morris also is involved in efforts to get Right to Try laws passed. "We were blessed that we were able to take off and go to another country," she said. But she knows others are not as fortunate.she said.Spreading the word about Right to Try will save lives, Sandefur said. Patients suffering from terminal illnesses should ask their doctors if they are eligible to take advantage of the new law.Last year, the N.C. General Assembly passed and Gov. Pat McCrory signed into law the state's Right to Try bill. The new law passed the House and Senate unanimously and took effect Oct. 1.The law allows terminally ill patients under certain conditions access to a new drug, biological product, or device that has completed Phase 1 of the FDA's clinical trials but has yet to gain final approval.According to the FDA's website, Phase 1 studies determine a drug's most frequent side effects, and how the body processes and discharges the drug. The emphasis in Phase 1 is on safety. Later phases focus on effectiveness and how the drug works with different populations, different diseases, and in combination with other drugs.Under the new law, drug or device manufacturers are allowed but not required to make products that have completed Phase 1 available to patients. Companies making good faith efforts to comply with the Right to Try law are shielded from liability claims.To be eligible for such a drug, a terminally ill patient must have tried or considered all other treatment options currently approved by the FDA. The patient's treating physician must recommend the drug and attest that the patient meets all applicable criteria.In addition, the patient is required to give "informed consent," acknowledging that he or she believes all currently approved treatments are unlikely to prolong the patient's life, and acknowledging the risks involved.Sandefur said.
Photo of Volkswagen Passat courtesy of Volkswagen.
Volkswagen Group of America is recalling 91,000 2012-2014 model-year Passat vehicles equipped with TDI engines so dealers can address a potential fire risk, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported.
Because of improperly assembled wire seals in a connector for an underbody sensor, water may enter and corrode the electrical connectors of the sensor. This might lead to an electrical short that can cause the electrical connectors of the sensor to overheat, increasing the risk of a fire, according to NHTSA.
Volkswagen dealers will inspect the connector, replacing it if necessary, free of charge. Vehicle owners can reach Volkswagen customer service at (800) 893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 23T3.
Logo courtesy of General Motors.
General Motors will cut sales to U.S. car rental fleets by 80,000 to 90,000 vehicles this year, Alan Batey, GMs North American president, told Reuters.
In 2014, GM sold about 449,000 vehicles to U.S. car rental companies. In 2015, it cut rental fleet sales to about 400,000 vehicles. This year, it expects to sell about 310,000 to 320,000 vehicles to the daily rental market, Batey told Reuters.
Through the end of February, GMs U.S. market share dropped to 17.3% from 18% in February 2015, according to the report. Batey said the share should stabilize above 17%.
Earlier in March, GM reported U.S. sales fell 1.5% in February, even as the U.S. market rose overall. This is mainly due to a drop in rental fleet sales, says the report.
GM intends to reduce rental fleet sales to between 9% and 12% of total U.S. sales from more than 20% in the past, Batey told Reuters.
With the highly anticipated unveiling of the Tesla Model 3 happening on March 31 in Los Angeles, the car brand's Chief Executive Officer sure knows how to tickle the minds of its enthusiasts even more after teasing on social media just what to expect on the day of the unveiling.
Known for his style in exciting Tesla fanatics especially with the upcoming rumored $35,000 electric vehicle according to Engadget which is very appealing to the masses compared to other high-priced luxurious vehicles from Tesla.
"Tomorrow is Part 1 of the Model 3 unveil. Part 2, which takes things to another level, will be closer to production," Musk wrote on Twitter. And when a fan was curious as to how the newest car will be altered at some point, the CEO answered writing "@rossbin You will see the car very clearly, but some important elements will be added and some will evolve."
Apparently, the Tesla Model 3 will officially be out in the market late 2017 as reported by Engadget. But fans from all over the U.S. including in Los Angeles and Boston as well as those across the globe in Australia are already leaping with excitement to get their first look on the highly anticipated new car by Tesla.
The Wall Street Journal reveals that some are already even camping out Testla's showrooms just to be able to ensure their spot for the unveiling. "I'm confident the Model 3 will have many more bells and whistles than my Model S," Tony Wetzel, a Boston resident outside the Tesla showroom in Boston said as per the publication.
Wetzel, along with other Tesla consumers are already apparently prepared to place a deposit on the newest Tesla vehicle, the news agency further reports. "We expect the Model 3 range will include a variety of body styles including a four-door sedan, coupe, cabriolet, small SUV and other passenger configurations," Adam Jonas, a Morgan Stanley auto analyst said as per the news outlet.
Furthermore, since Tesla now eyes the mass consumer market, the company has expanded its manufacturing facilities in California as well as in Nevada, as the car company expects a heap of demand after the unveiling.
However, delays may occur in the process. "There is this timing issue with gigafactory output intended for Model 3," Dan Galves, Credit Suisse analyst said as per the publication adding, "If they are delayed a lot, it could create under-utilization."
Icon has recently started to ask buyers with deposits on the A5 light sport aircraft to sign a sales contract before taking delivery of their airplanes, and the length of that contract 41 pages (PDF) is unusual for general aviation, as are a number of Icons stipulations. The contract requires that every pilot who flies the A5 must receive training from Icon-approved instructors or the company itself, and the aircraft must be maintained by Icon-approved mechanics. More significantly, Icon seeks to limit the companys liability by requiring owners to sign a waiver pledging not to sue or, if they want that right, to pay an additional $10,000. The airframe has a 2,000-hour or 10-year overhaul requirement and appears to be life-limited to 30 years or 6,000 hours, whichever comes first.
Every aircraft also will come equipped with a flight data recorder that the owner is required to use at all times and maintain at his own expense. The company can use the data in any way it wishes and will grant the owner limited access to such data. Further, Icon requires that if the aircraft is resold, the original buyer must assure that the new owner will adhere to the original buyers stipulations with Icon or pay a $5,000 transfer fee. Icon also reserves the right to buy the airplane back from the original owner at a market value that appears to be determined by Icon.AVweb editorial director Paul Bertorelli takes an in-depth look at the contract in todays AVweb Insider blog.
Icon Aircraft founder Kirk Hawkins has famously said his company aims to reshapeactually reinventgeneral aviation by democratizing access to it. What that means exactly is about as clear as mud, but this week, Icons buyer agreement escaped into the wild, and it appears as though Icons view of democratization centers on a legal construct that gives the company broad protection against its customers while denying those customers the same basic rights buyers of other aircraft enjoy. If this is the shape of the future of general aviation, its not very pretty, in my view.
The buyer agreement runs to 40 pages and is a tour de force in outlining specific protections for Icon, while forcing the buyer to legally sign away certain rights buyers of all productsnot just airplaneshave traditionally assumed were part of the standard commercial transaction. Technically, the agreement is two parts, a sales agreement and an operations agreement that binds the buyer to use the airplane only in certain ways.
Some of the high points include a clause that has the buyer agree to indemnify Icon against lawsuits or pay an additional $10,000 to retain the right to sue. The agreement also appears to advance the claim that the buyer agrees that Icon is making no promises that the A5 is suitable for any particular purpose and that any representations made by Icon or its employees should not be relied upon. In other words, Icon wont be held accountable for whatever claims may have been made before the sale, other than whats in the POH.
As part of what the company has described as an effort to encourage safe operation of the aircraft, pilots must either be trained by Icon through a company-approved program or obtain their training directly through Icon. The company offers this training as an upsell at prices ranging from $1250 for a basic transition course to $9500 for a full sport pilot course with single-engine sea rating.
Following an example set by Robinson Helicopter, the company will require an airframe overhaul at 2000 hours or 10 years, whichever is shorter. The agreement is silent on what this overhaul entails or what it will cost, thus leaving an owner with an uncertain calculation on how an impending overhaul will impact the value of the airframe. One aspect of this buyers may very well balk at is this one: an airframe life limit that is the earlier of 10 years or 2000 hours from the second airframe overhaul. I queried Icon about this, but they declined to answer any questions on the agreement specifically. I take it to mean the airframe is limited to 6000 hours or 30 years, if the second overhaul occurs at 20 years. A reader noted that he read this as a 20-year life limit on the airframe.
In explaining the intent of the agreement, Icon sent me a copy of a cover letter its sending to buyers. The letter says, in part, How can a purchase agreement promote safety? By helping to ensure that ICONs airplanes are (1) flown by well-trained pilots, (2) flown within their operating limitations, and (3) maintained to ICON standards. We wont compromise on these principles and have structured our purchase and operating agreements around them.
Another company-centric feature of the contract is that the owner agrees to allow Icon to install a digital flight recorder in the aircraft, including a camera, and that Icon owns this equipment. The recording gear is to be kept running in flight at all times and Icon can do with the data what it pleases and may download it anytime, at its discretion. It grants the owner limited revocable access to the recorded data for his own use. And by the way, if the recorder is stolen or otherwise removed, the owner is on the hook to pay for its replacement and hes required to keep it in good repair. I suspect many would-be buyers will be put off by this kind of big brotherism. I know I would be, even though I think the intent of it has merit. Collecting data is useful for trend monitoring and that can improve safety. But it should be at the owners option.
The contract notes that Icon obtained from the FAA a waivered weight increase against the LSA-specified limit and that this applies only in the U.S. Buyers outside the U.S. are on their own with whatever regulators they have to deal with. Although Icon says it intends to pursue such approvals elsewhere, it says the timing of such approvals may never be determined. In other words, buyers writing a quarter-million dollar check to Icon arent promised any help to obtain whatever approvals they need to legally fly the airplane outside jurisdictions of the FAA. The contract also asks the buyer to acknowledge that Icon will provide support and maintenance only in regions where it has established networks. Currently, thats only the U.S. and Australia.
One of the most bizarre aspects of the contract is what reads to me like a morals clause. Here it is in its entirety:By entering into this Purchase Agreement, Buyer is part of the ICON pilot and ownercommunity. Promoting flight safety and responsible operations throughout that community is a primary objective for ICON. A critical component of flight safety comes from the values, attitudes, and behaviors of the pilot. ICON expects all ICON aircraft pilots and ICON aircraft owners to demonstrate responsible, professional attitudes consistent with those of safelypiloting an aircraft. As set forth in the Aircraft Operating Agreement, Buyer and the Managing Pilot agree and agree to cause pilots of the Aircraft (i) to behave professionally, respectfully and with sound judgment in connection with use of Aircraft, and (ii) to participate within theICON community in a manner that is professional and does not adversely impact others within the community.
If you read this the way I read this, it seems to expose the buyer to legal action from Icon if the company determines, through its continuous video and data monitoring of the owner, that the pilot hasnt behaved professionally and respectfully. These qualities arent exactly defined in the agreement and are, evidently, left to the discretion of Icon. Further, the companys website depicts extreme low flying that many of us might consider to show poor judgment.Why such a clause would even appear in a buyer contract is baffling, in my estimation. Icon further saddles the buyer with the legal responsibility not to allow a pilot who hasnt been through Icon-approved training to fly the airplane. Moreover, Icon insists a pilot cant carry a passenger unless he has 10 hours of PIC time in the airplane.
As far the price of the machine and the agreed-upon terms, once again, Icon stacks the deck in its favor and against the customer by noting that prior to the purchase agreement, the offer of entering into this agreement is subject to change in Icons sole discretion at any time. Theres nothing in the language that particularly favors the customer, in my view. In case of a dispute over performance or details of the purchase agreement, Icon wants the customer to submit to arbitration and waive any right of jury trial.
The agreement also requires the owner to agree that the agreement itself was negotiated between the owner and company and therefore if there is a disagreement over the contract, the owner cant claim that the contract was a take-it-or-leave-it affair (contract of adhesion), which is then interpreted against the company that drafted it. Its a lose-lose for the owner, in my view.
Although the base price of the airplane has been given as $189,000, the sale contract I examined shows it as $197,000 for the base. Early buyers can opt for a Founders Edition which, for the addition of some features, adds another $35,000. A ballistic parachute adds another $15,000, for a total of $247,000. This makes the A5 one of the most if not the most expensive S-LSA on the market. For those anxious to have their A5 sooner than they might otherwise, theres a move-up option that costs $75,000, bringing the total to just over $300,000, allowing for credits.
In another example of image control, the first 100 owners in the Founders program agree to accept that the service network wont be fully developed and the airplane may have flaws to be corrected by service bulletin. During this period, up to two years, the owner agrees to be supportive of Icon, providing regular confidential feedback to the company. Does this imply dont complain to the press or the public, too?
What could be a killerand should be, in my viewfor many would-be buyers of this airplane is Icons draconian insistence that at resale, the new buyer sign and affirm the same terms that the original buyer agreed to, including an operating agreement requiring training, oversight and the above-mentioned moral clause. Failure to do that invokes this clause: In the event Owner Transfers the Aircraft or interest therein and fails to deliver to ICON an Assignment Form signed by the transferee as Owner (and/or the Acknowledgment and Joinder Agreement for a new Managing Pilot, if applicable) within 10 days after such Transfer, then Owner shall pay ICON an assignment fee of US $5,000.00. Moreover, even for an approved transfer to another owner, the owner has to pay Icon a $2000 fee to process and approve the transfer.
Furthermore, Icon demands to be notified of a potential sale and insists that it be allowed to purchase the airplane from the owner under the same terms. And by the way, failure to pay the assignment fee means the original owner has to pay Icon interest at 1.5 percent per month. However many original buyers Icon may find to sign this agreement, consider the hapless owner going out into the resale market with the same requirements to toe Icons self-protective line. In my estimation, that would sharply limit the potential resale market and possibly tank the airplanes value on the used market from day one. You may rightly surmise that this once again puts Icon in the drivers seat, since it insists on the right to purchase at whats essentially first refusal and therefore would have considerable leverage on determining market value.
I spent a couple of days this week shopping Icons idea with other manufacturers with this overarching question: Would or should anyone sign such a buyer agreement with a manufacturer? One aftermarket manufacturer, who also happens to be a lawyer, opined that the attempt at legal hold harmless may be the shape of the future. Despite the General Aviation Revitalization Act that was supposed to resuscitate the industry, high-dollar lawsuits continue to dog manufacturers. For that reason, Icons attempt to limit its liability has an understandable appeal. But in my view, its doubtful it will have the desired or any effect. One CEO of a major aircraft company told me it entered into a limited hold harmless arrangement to work out warranty claims and got sued anyway. Even winning such a suit is losing, given the high cost of defending such things. Further, Icons indemnification language implies that it be held harmless if the NTSB finding absolves the aircraft as being at fault. But federal law specifically prohibits NTSB findings as trial exhibits.
My guess is a lot of lawyers will be advising their clients not to sign Icons agreement or to amend it significantly. In my view, it so egregiously erodes basic customer rights and protections as to fundamentally reset the seller/buyer equation that its a gross distortion of what business should be. If my lawyer source is correct and this is the direction we have to go to assure GAs survival, Id just as soon knock out the lights and call it a day. You cant have an industry on this basis. In my view, no airplane, no matter how sexy or how sweet, would be worth such a subservient relationship with a company manufacturing something I intended to buy. Particularly if that certain something consumed a quarter million dollars of my wealth.
Its impossible to say where this will go. (As I was posting this, I was copied on one readers email to Icon cancelling his order.) My view is that Icons fundamental ideaa retooling of the general aviation concept with a flashy, Tiffany-type product pitched outside traditional GA marketing channelsis both refreshing and sound. Id rank it as conceptually one of the best ideas for GA resurgence Ive seen. Icon has clearly taken a long time to develop the airplane because the company wanted it to emerge as close to perfect as possible. Its promotion and sales material has been consistent with the perception of quality and it has attempted to fiercely control its image to the point of declining requests for flight demos from media outlets critical of it. Notably, that includes AVweb.
Have we seen this movie before? Maybe. Recall the original Eclipse kicked open the doors in 2002 and declared it would show the world how to build airplanes with a small, sophisticated jet built on an assembly line with unheard-of efficiencies and a price far below the competition. The phrase of the day was disruptive technology. The whole thing tanked, buried under a heap of overmarketing hype and mismanagement. Eclipse got into trouble with late deliveries and you have to wonder if Icon might be struggling with deliveries, too.With great fanfare at AirVenture, it announced a delivery to EAA, but weve seen nothing since.
That Eclipse survives yet today in resurrected form is the sort of miracle only aviation is capable of. With Icon, the phrase is democratization but, in my view, its hard to see much democracy in a buyer agreement that so lopsidedly favors the company against the customers interests. Wouldnt it be better to build a relationship with the customer based on trust, a sound product and good service rather than herding buyers into a legal corral and giving them the impression you put them there so they can do the least harm?
Maybe thats just too old-fashioned. Maybe the bold new world of general aviation will be populated by manufacturers camped inside a compound with 12-foot walls lined by lawyers. If so, what a shame. This stuff used to be fun.
Although the design is more than four decades old, the Cessna 177 Cardinalwith its racy sloped windshield, wide doors and strutless wingslooks more modern than the newest Skyhawks coming out of Cessnas Independence, Kansas, plant. Yet, sadly, the Cardinal is a poster child for why innovation and audacity in general aviation development has often met dismal results in the market. Despite high expectations for a design that would usher in new thinking in light aircraft, the Cardinal had a rocky start and was gone from Cessnas inventory a decade after it emerged.
Although Cessnas 177 Cardinal was intended to be a Skyhawk killer, the venerable 172 outlasted it and continues to be a mainstay in Cessnas current piston aircraft line. Still, the Cardinal enjoys enthusiastic support among owners for many of the reasons that Cessna thought it would become a hit. And despite its warts and shortfalls, many of which have been rectified, the Cessna Cardinal is an excellent choice for owners who want a bit more performance than the Skyhawk offers without stepping up to the 182 Skylane.
Cessna 177 Cardinal Model History
By the time the Cessna 177 Cardinal appeared, the Cessna 172 was long in the tooth, having been on the market for 12 years. It was time for something new. When the first Cardinals hit dealers in 1967, buyers were clearly confronted with just that.
Besides being sleeker and strutless, the new model had a stabilator, just like Pipers competing Cherokees did. With the wings placed aft of the main part of the cabin, the pilot sat ahead of the leading edge, which produced better inflight visibility than any of the previous Cessnas had.
The 1968 Cardinal had a fixed-pitch prop and a Lycoming O-320-E2D. The airplane was designed with the 180-HP engine in mind, but Cessna had ordered 2000 150-HP engines from Lycomingits first purchase from the company.
Cessna was so confident that the Cardinal would succeed that the Skyhawk production line was actually shut down in anticipation of the Hawks planned demise. Things didnt work out that way, however.
The 150-HP, fixed-pitch prop Cardinal looked great, but gained a reputation for lethargic climb performance. In reality, it took some time for Cessna to figure out that pilots were loading and flying the Cardinal as if it were a 172which meant they were often over gross weightsince it carried 10 more gallons of fuel and had a heavier empty weight. Worse, Cessna discovered that pilots were climbing the aircraft well below Vy (Vy in the 172 was 10 MPH slower than it was for the Cardinal). When flown and maintained properly, the 150-HP Cardinal actually outclimbed and outran the 150-HP 172.
Cessna produced 1164 Cardinals that first year, but word got around about the airplanes performance. The following year, sales slumped, while other models were selling well. In fact, no more than 250 Cardinals were built in any single year after the airplanes introduction. (A total of 2752 were built, eventually.)
The Cessna Cardinals wing was a high-performance NACA 6400 series airfoil, the same one used in the Aerostar and Learjet. But that airfoil tends to build up drag quickly at high angles of attack and low speeds, which isnt a good trait for an airplane flown by low-time, step-up pilots. The stall speed was higher than the Skyhawks, too.
In the late 1970s, an accident involving an original model 150-HP Cardinal prompted a series of test flights (performed by an expert test pilot working for plaintiffs attorneys) in an attempt to prove that the 177 Cardinal didnt live up to its performance figures. The accident in question involved a pilot who supposedly had operated the airplane as described in the manual and wound up clipping the trees at the end of the runway. But because these trials werent conducted by the FAA or Cessna, no official action was taken against Cessna. It wasnt until the early 1990s that the expert test pilot was proven wrong in court about his claims of the Cardinals short field takeoff performance.
Touchy Controls for the Cessna 177 Cardinal?
The 1968 Cardinal as originally delivered was quite sensitive on the controls, particularly in the pitch mode. In crosswinds, the stabilator could stall in the landing flare, resulting in a sudden loss of tail power and an unexpected plunge of the nosewheel onto the runway.
Porpoising and bounced landings were commonplace. Various studies showed a disproportionately high rate of hard landings and takeoff stall-mush accidents for the early models.
Cessna realized it had made a major gaffe with the Cardinal. It restarted the Skyhawk production line (using the 150-HP engines that had been purchased for the Cardinal) and set to work fixing the Cardinals problems. Under the Cardinal Rule program, it retrofitted leading edge slots to stabilators on all Cardinals already in the field and made them standard in new production machines. This fixed the stabilator-stalling problem, although pitch forces remained lighter than average for a Cessna.
The 1969 model (177A) had a 180-HP Lycoming engine, plus there was a 150-pound increase in gross weight to compensate for both the engines increased mass and some shortcomings in the original airplanes useful load. The stabilator-to-wheel control linkage ratio was changed to slow the response in pitch slightly. The nosegear/firewall area was also beefed up to prevent bent metal from bounced landings. This fix was offered as a retrofit to 1968 models via an early bulletin.
Despite the improvements, 1969 sales nose-dived to about 200 units, while Skyhawk sales rebounded to their former league-leading levels. In 1970, Cessna made more major improvements, yielding the 177B Cardinal. The 6400 series airfoil was changed to a more conventional 2400-series similar to the Skyhawks, plus a constant-speed propeller was added for better takeoff and climb performance.
At last, the Cardinal had all the makings of a good airplane. From 1971 on, the Cessna Cardinal got only minor changes. In 1973, a 61-gallon fuel capacity became optional, and cowling improvements boosted cruise speed from 139 to 143 MPH. In 1978, a 28-volt electrical system was added. These days, thats appreciated for avionics upgrades.
In 1975, speed went up again, but this was really mostly the result of some creative number crunching by Cessna. For example, the cruise RPM limit was increased so that 75 percent power could be obtained at 10,000 feet instead of at 8000 feet, as before.
At the time, Cessnas marketing department called the Cardinal the fastest 180-HP, fixed-gear airplane in the world. Not truethe Grumman Tiger was at least 8 or 9 knots fasterat about the same price.
Finally, 1976 brought a new instrument panel. The older panels had a 1960s Buick-style split panel arrangement that did little but rob panel space. The 1976 panel is a more conventional, full-width design.
Throughout this period, the airplane continued to be a slow seller, despite Cessnas successful efforts to fix the original Cardinals quirks. It was the only Cessna single that didnt lead its category in sales. Pipers Cherokee 180/Archer beat it handily, as did the upstart Grumman Tiger.
In 1977, Cessna finally gave up on further changes to the 177 Cardinal. The Hawk XP was introducedsame performance, less attractive, worse handling, noisier, more cramped, much higher fuel consumption and engine maintenance, lower engine reliability and TBO. Such is the way of GA marketing, however.
Meanwhile, Cessna added ARC radios to the standard equipment list and boosted the Cardinals price by about 50 percent. Customers preferred the Hawk XP by a four-to-one margin. Price and competition from Grumman and Piper undoubtedly had a lot to do with the poor sales, but the Cardinals first year reputation clung to the model like a cheap suit.
In 1978, Cessna made one last-ditch effort to save the Cardinal. The company spruced it up with some fancy interior appointments and radio packagesalong with an absurdly high price tagand called it the Cardinal Classic. Only 79 intrepid souls sprang for the gussied-up airplane.
No surprise here because the average flyaway price of a Cardinal Classic was more than $50,000, compared to $30,000 for a Tiger or under $40,000 for an Archer. But the Classic remained devalued for quite some time. Normally, an airplane depreciates from its new value for eight years before resuming an upward value climb, eventually surpassing its new price.
As of spring 2014, a Cardinal Classic retails for around $45,000, although some may fetch more, depending on avionics and other mods. We saw one at AirVenture last summer decked out with a Garmin G500 glass display, dual GTN750 navigators, a high-end autopilot, plus leather interior and other luxuries. Its owner was asking nearly $70,000. Still, the airplane eventually took about 20 years to regain close to its original value, which is a dismal price performance compared to other models in this or any other class.
But theres a silver lining in that cloud for potential buyers. Because other models have had price spikesnamely the Archer and the Tigerwe think the Cessna Cardinal represents a better value, based on pure performance alone. With price parity, the buyer can choose the greater comfort of the Cardinal or the speed of the Tiger without paying a sizable premium either way.
Cessna 177 Cardinal Performance
The Cessna Cardinals performance is adequate by 1970s standards for 180-HP airplanes but more modern designs best it. Book cruise speeds range from 120 to 130 knots, while the 150-HP 177 is listed at 115 knots. Those numbers fall short of the Grumman Tiger (139 knots) and are about on par with the Cherokee 180/Archer and better than the pokey Beech Sundowner. New-age designs such as the Diamond Star and Cirrus SR20still four-place, fixed-gear cruisers like the Cardinalobviously do better.
Owners report real-world performance reasonably close to book figures, except for the 1968 model. Typical figures: 125 knots on 9 to 10 GPH. The 1968 model, judging from some owner reports, is lucky to cruise at 110 knots, although we suspect faulty rigging has a lot to do with these low numbers. Climb rate is about average for this class of aircraftagain, with the exception of the 1968 airplane, whose owners universally complain about its lethargic climb performance.
Owners typically report useful loads in the 850-950-pound range, depending on installed equipment. Thats a bit less than the Cherokee 180 or the Grumman Tiger, but perhaps not enough to rule in favor of one or the other solely on payload issues.
Assuming a fairly typical 900-pound useful load and 49-gallon tanks, the Cessna Cardinal has roughly 600 pounds for people and bags once the tanks are filled. Thats three FAA-standard peoplewell, a little less if standard becomes 195 poundsand 90 pounds of luggage.
If you want to carry four full-size people and 100 pounds of luggage, youll be limited to perhaps 20 gallons of fuelbarely enough to fly anywhere safely. Weight limitations make the Cardinal essentially a three-passenger airplane, or at best a two-plus-two with adults and kids aboard, certainly not four large rear-ended adultschose pax wisely.
With full tanks, the Cessna 177 Cardinal has decent but not exceptional range. The 49 gallons usable and typical 9- to 10-GPH fuel flow allow the Cardinal to fly four hours with reserves and cover more than 500 miles. The 60-gallon tanks available on post-1973 models boost endurance by an hour and range by 150 miles, at the expense of 66 pounds of payload.
A typical 60-gallon Cardinal with tanks full can carry just 540 pounds of cabin load. The 1968 150-HP Cardinal (2350 pounds gross) has a gross weight 150 pounds lower than the 177A and 177B. Empty weight is only a bit less, so the 177s equipped useful load may be as low as 750 pounds. Put in four 170-pounders and 70 pounds of luggage and theres zeroyes zeroleft for fuel.
Legally speaking, the 177s converted to the 180-HP constant-speed setup are worse, since useful load cant be legally increased while the new engine/prop package is about 50 pounds heavier. But most pilots of the 180-HP 177s fly as if they have 177As or Bs. From the performance point of view, theyre perfectly safe doing that. As far as the landing gear and wing spar go, were not so sure. Interestingly, the c.g. is so long that if you abide by the 120-pound baggage restrictions, its nearly impossible to load out of c.g., even with two heavy-weights up front (but no passengers in the back), or two heavyweights in the back and a lightweight pilot up front.
Cessna 177 Cardinal Cabin, Ergonomics
One goal Cessna hoped to achieve with the Cardinal was to improve cabin comfort and design over the 172/182 series aircraft and to best the competition. In this regard, it succeeded. The Cardinal cabin is fully 6 inches wider than a Cherokees and puts its sibling Skyhawk to shame.
The Cardinal baggage compartment is enormous and relatively easy to get to through a dedicated door. As noted, the airplanes wing sits higher and farther back, allowing excellent visibility out of the panoramic windshield. Unlike the other high-wing Cessnas, the pilots vision up and to the side is not blocked by the wing.
To a degree, this gives the pilot some of the best of both worldsgood visibility up, down and to the side.
The Cessna Cardinals enormous doors offer another benefit: Of all airplane models were familiar with, its the easiest to get in and out of. Theres no wing strut to get in the way and the floor sits lower to the ground than other high-wing Cessnas, so the step up is a small one.
Those doors require special care, by the way. Owners tell us that a gust of wind can damage the door and surrounding sheet metal when it opens violently. One reader pointed out that with both doors open and the airplane pointed downwind, the doors can act as fairly efficient sails.
Overall, the Cardinal is probably the roomiest four-place airplane made, not counting semi-six-seaters like the Bonanza or Cessna 210. The tradeoff for a big cabin, of course, is speed. The main reason for the Tigers speed advantage over the Cardinal is that the latter has a bigger passenger compartment while the former is tight, with a minimal backseat and smaller frontal area.
Cessna 177 Cardinal Handling/Fuel Control
The Cardinal wins praise from owners for its handling qualities. Despite having lighter control forces than other Cessnas, the airplane makes a fine instrument platform. What was once considered an airplane that was twitchy in pitch is now considered more normal in that other airplanes with even lighter controls were subsequently marketed, such as the Grumman-American Cheetah and Tiger.
Nevertheless, pitch control forces are light and effective, even at low speed (particularly compared to the notoriously ponderous Skyhawk and Skylane), and Skyhawk pilots are sometimes surprised by the responsiveness and pitch authority. On takeoff, the Cessna Cardinal must be rotated with firm wheel pressure, at least with only two people in front and flaps up. This is, in part, because the pilot sits well ahead of the wing; all that weight out front has its consequences. Dropping 10 to 15 degrees of flaps for takeoff, however, will require a much less vigorous rotation moment.
In cruise flight, the Cessna 177 Cardinal is a steady IFR airplaneif you can get it trimmed out laterally and keep the fuel balanced. Several owners reported gross fuel-flow discrepancies when the fuel selector is on both, with the tendency for fuel to flow from the left wing. Left-right switching every half hour may be necessary to maintain good lateral trim or a few seconds of uncoordinated flight to clear the liquid from tank vent system, which is what causes the imbalance.
Otherwise, the Cessna Cardinals fuel system is well designed. Theres a reservoir under the floor, which means that theres essentially no chance of unporting as the result of maneuvering with low fuel. There is, however, a warning in the handbook about long nose-down descents with low fuel, which tends to run to the front of the wing tanks. The tank vents are cross-connected to the opposite wing and are led through the trailing edge where ice buildup shouldnt be much of a concern.
Cessna 177 Cardinal Maintenance
At least some owners are attracted to the Cardinal because it has a benign maintenance history with few expensive gotchas.
Owners tell us annual inspections typically cost about $1000 to $1500 for the basic once-over, which is typical for this class of airplane when performed by higher-end shops and thorough mechanics. But this can vary widely. You might have to spend $5000-plus to bring back a barn dweller to airworthy status. Parts arent a real problem, despite the models relatively low population.
One other major maintenance factor: ARC radios, which are finally starting to disappear. Most Cessna Cardinals came with avionics manufactured by Cessnas onetime captive ARC company. Starting in the mid-1970s, the quality of ARC radios began to decline. ARC equipment rated dead last in our avionics owner surveys during that period and there were big shake-ups at the ARC factory at the time. Many owners have replaced part or all of older ARC panels. The 28-volt digital ARC navcomm radios, for example, are more serviceable than the mechanical 14-volt versions. We caution against spending money on these.
There are few onerous ADs on the Cardinal. A couple of shotgun ADs (2000-06-01 and 99-27-02) deal with fuel valves and strainers; not a big deal. Another shotgun AD is a big deal, however. Its 98-2-8, which calls for inspection of the crank bore for corrosion on the fixed-pitch airplanes. At the least, its repetitive, and it could mean replacement of the crank. Make sure it has been done.
Cessna 177 Cardinal Mods and Owner Groups
The big mod for the Cessna Cardinal is the one that converts the 150-HP model to the 180-HP constant-speed Lycoming. The conversion is quick and easy, basically a bolt-on job, so no surprise that hundreds have been done.
Two STCs are available, one from Avcon Conversions (316-284-2842) and one from Bush (800-752-0748). The two are similar. Both sell STC paperwork and kit parts; you buy an engine and prop elsewhere and hire out the shop to do the job yourself.
The 1968 177A and B are on the same type certificate and some have upgraded to the later Cessna-selected counterbalanced engine/prop configuration.
Horton Industries (800-835-205) offers a STOL kit for the Cardinal consisting of a leading-edge cuff, conical wing tips and vortex generators on the vertical fin. The above-mentioned Bush also offers a STOL mod for the Cardinal, as does Sierra Industries. Contact Sierra at 888-835-9377 or www.sijet.com.
Theres a burgeoning business in Cardinal speed mods. Canadian Roy Sobchuck came up with most of them and theyre sold by Maple Leaf Aviation (204-728-7618). The mods include a nose strut fairingclaimed speed gain of 8 MPHtailcone fairing (177A/B only, 7 MPH claimed but seldom seen) exhaust stack fairing, for a 2 MPH gain and a 75-degree drop in engine temperature.
The company also sells landing light covers, cowl cheek fairings, fuel drain fairings, ADF loop covers and wheel pants for which minor speed increases are claimed.
Cardinal owners have a choice of two major organizations. The Cessna Pilots Association (www.cessna.org and 805-922-2580) is the biggest overall Cessna group and publishes useful technical info, much of it of interest to other single-engine Cessna owners.
For the true Cardinal fan, we recommend the highly regarded Cardinal Flyers Online, (www.cardinalflyers.com) which has a first-rate website and a near daily e-mail newsletter.
Cessna 177 Cardinal Owner Feedback
I purchased my 1975 177B in 2007. Since then, Ive flown it all over the country and twice, coast-to-coast. The two best attributes are the cabin (longer and wider than a 182) and the improved visibility in a turn compared to other Cessnas.
My Cardinal has a three-blade prop and while I love the way it looks, I wouldnt recommend it. This is not because it results in lower cruise speeds, which I havent observed, but because of the significantly increased weight on the nose as well as the unnecessary drag during descent. This makes power- off landings a challenge, requiring a large and well-timed pitch change between short final and flare. Normal and crosswind landings are simple as long as a small amount of power is carried through the approach and the throttle is pulled to idle just prior to flare.
Insurance is around $800 per year and the airplane has been relatively inexpensive to maintain. I associate most of the more expensive repairs with high time and age rather than the aircraft type. A few issues unique to the Cardinal that Ive dealt with are overheating (typically on 90-degree-plus days, solved by flushing the oil cooler and installing the Maple Leaf exhaust fairing). There are loose door hinges and nose wheel shimmy. Most issues are well-understood thanks to the exceptional support provided by Cardinal Flyers Online, run by Paul Millner and Keith Peterson, plus an array of knowledgeable owners who gather around their site.
Chris Berg,Woodbridge, Virginia
Ive owned a 1973 Cardinal since 2010 and bought it for training before even getting my license (I was a little worried that I may have been a bit impulsive). However, more than three years later, Ive had no regrets. When I purchased it, the plane was almost all original, including engine, paint and interior. It has always been hangared and only had 1160 totals hours since new. Since purchase, Ive added a Garmin GNS430W, JPI 830 engine analyzer, PMA8000 intercom, Alpha Systems Angle of Attack indicator and a Guardian CO detector that I connect to cabin iPads.
I paid $51,000 for the plane and generally flight plan for a fuel burn of 11 GPH, which is conservative. For insurance, I have a $1 million smooth policy that costs under $1400 per year, which is probably a bit higher than it will be when I get my instrument rating and over the 500-hour hurdle. Its a little hard for me to separate out the pure maintenance costs versus the upgrades Ive made, but it would probably come in at about $2500 per year. I use Savvy Aircraft Maintenance, who coordinates with Cecil County Aero in Elkton, Maryland. Both have been outstanding. Although the 1650-hour engine is 40 years old, it seems to be doing fine and I am not yet considering an overhaul.
The cabin feels relatively roomy and my wife doesnt get claustrophobic. Its also a lot easier to get in and out of compared to the low wing planes we looked at before buying the Cardinal. I flight plan for 116 knots, so its not real fast but it cuts my trips from Wilmington, Delaware, to our summer place on Cape Cod from about eight hours driving time to around 2.5 hours in the air.
Steve Furlong,Via email
I have owned N1419C, a 1978 Cardinal Classic for six years and have flown it for just over 1000 hours. I have used it primarily to transport passengers for Angel Flight and Life Line Pilots. Most of the flights are to transport passengers for cancer treatment but also to transport children to summer special needs summer camps in northern Minnesota. I have also had a flight for Pilots and Paws, transporting rescue dogs, which I found to be a very rewarding experience.
Many of these passengers find it difficult to get in and out of small airplanes, but the Cardinals wide doors and low stance make it much easier for the physically limited passengers to get in and out of the plane. These wide doors can be a problem if they get caught in a tail wind because they are so big, but this problem is solved by installing the Door Steward modification. The Cardinal Flyers Online web page has been an invaluable aid in learning about the plane, the many upgrades and modifications, plus special maintenance solutions. It has been a very reliable and comfortable planeespecially for the needy passengers I transport.
Derek Sharvelle,Battle Ground, Indiana
Our family of four has owned a 1968 Cardinal for five years. The Cardinal has proven to be a versatile airplane and flying in it is a real treat compared to other Cessnas. Probably the most obvious to pilot and passengers is the absence of a wing strut. This results in improved views down, but most noticeable is the much easier entrance and egress. The large size of the doors also contributes to easy access, but they do require caution when opening in a tail wind.
Another feature of the Cardinal is the location of the front of the wingits farther back than other Cessna models and results in improved visibility for the pilot and front passenger when looking up.
Our Cardinal has the original Lycoming O-320-E2D with the LyCon 160-HP STC. The performance is such that I am routinely comfortable taking off from our home airport that is 5000 feet above sea level. Not all pilots would be comfortable with the climb rate in the summer, which is often 200-300 FPM at our elevation.
We live in the eastern foothills of the Rocky Mountains, which means that 14,000-foot peaks are only about 30 miles west. As a result, I avoid going directly west through the mountains but have experienced no difficulties. Our Cardinal burns a little over 8 GPH and I flight plan for 110 knots, making it a fairly economical flyer. We have to decide whether the Cardinal is full of fuel or people, but with minimal planning, it routinely suits our missions.
Having done owner-assisted annuals on the Cardinal, I have not found it a difficult plane to work on. More important though is that my mechanics have not found it difficult to work on. However, they do remind me on occasion that there are many parts on the Cardinal that are unique, since it was a clean slate design.
My annuals typically run around $1500, with the high being $2600comparable with other four-cylinder, fixed-gear, fixed-pitch aircraft. The insurance on the Cardinal is also very reasonable, and I have managed to get decent coverage for under $600 a year.
One of the benefits of being a Cardinal owner is the enthusiastic following of the aircraft. From model-specific support groups like Cardinal Flyers Online, to the many modifications from Roy Sobchuk, it is relatively easy to get expert support and improvements to keep a Cardinal safe and efficient.
Owning a Cardinal is just enough different to be fun. Not everyone has seen one and most would agree that it was one of Cessnas best efforts when it comes to ramp appeal. The 150-160-HP Cardinals are not as fast as they look, but as all pilots know, looks count for something.
Tom Lynch,Fort Collins, Colorado
We note, with sadness, that the designer of the Cardinal, Ted Moody, died this past February after a protracted battle with cancer.
Rick Durden, our senior editor, spent extended periods of time with Mr. Moody from 1979 through 1994 and had access to the original design records of the Cardinal. He recalls Mr. Moodys description of the intense secrecy surrounding the development of the airplane, including referring to it as the Model 172J so that competitors would think that Cessna was just coming up with another model year change for the 172. In fact, the original Cardinal had no virtually no parts in common with the 1967 172 beyond such things as brakes, wheels and tires. The Cardinal was the nearest to a clean sheet of paper design any of the manufacturers had created in some years.
Durden recalls Mr. Moodys description of how devastated he was upon learning of the first fatal Cardinal accident because, as Durden put it, Ted Moody put his heart and soul into that airplane.
This article originally appeared in the April 2014 issue of Aviation Consumer magazine.
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1 April 2016 14:03 (UTC+04:00)
By Amina Nazarli
Director of the History Institute, MP Yagub Mahmudov announced that the mass genocide of Azerbaijani people by Armenians back in 1918 was thoroughly planned and prepared in advance.
The recent researches conducted by the Institute based on the study of archive documents gave grounds to say that the Dashnaks-Bolshevik regime headed by Shaumyan, who seized power in Baku in November 1917, prepared and systematically carried out criminal action against Azerbaijanis in the spring of 1918.
Tens of thousands of peaceful, unarmed representatives of the Turkic-Muslim population, including Azerbaijani Turks, Lezgins, Tatars and representatives of other ethnic groups, regardless of their gender and age, were mercilessly killed only because of their ethnicity. They even murdered children and women, the historian told Day.Az.
In 1918, the Armenian gangs committed an act of genocide against the civilian population almost on the entre territory of Azerbaijan. More than 50,000 of Azerbaijani citizens became victims of Armenian fascism in a matter of five months.
Azerbaijanis were exposed to genocide in Baku, the Guba province, Shamakhi, Gusar, Erivan, Nakhchivan, Zangezur, Karabakh, Lankaran and practically on all Azerbaijani lands.
Armenian Bolshevik troops led by Stepan Shaumyan massacred thousands of people, burnt Islamic shrines and confiscated the 400-million-manat estate of Baku residents. Tezepir Mosque was bombed, and one of the magnificent architectural buildings, Ismailiyyeh, was burnt down.
Armenian dashnaks killed 8,027 Azerbaijanis, including 2,560 women and 1,277 children, in 53 villages of Shamakhi, 110 km west of Baku, on March 31. Also, 16,000 Azerbaijanis were murdered in 122 villages of Guba, northern Azerbaijan.
Mahmudov is sure that the main goal of Shaumyan and Dashnak murderers, who accompanied him, was complete elimination of the Turkic-Muslim population, as well as capture of all Azerbaijan and Eastern Anatolia, and establishment of the so-called "Great Armenia".
Mahmudov said that the newly discovered archive documents prove that Stepan Shaumyan, long touted as a "Bolshevik-internationalist" by Soviet historians, was in fact a member of the largest and most radical Armenian terrorist organization - "Dashnaktsutyun" party.
Stepan Shaumyan, who was a Baku Armenian and Dashnak masquerading as a Bolshevik, was appointed commissar of the Transcaucasus. He seized absolute power in Baku after the collapse of the Russian Empire and used his position to fight the Azerbaijanis.
The Bolsheviks victory in Russia and the withdrawal of Russian troops from the battlefields of World War One opened the way for the massacre in Azerbaijan. Shaumyan took advantage of Armenian officers and soldiers amongst the Russian troops who were returning from the front to Azerbaijan and used them in his anti-Azerbaijani campaign.
The question arises: why Baku Council disarmed only Muslim army and did not disarmed Armenian militaries, who were mainly deployed in Baku on those days, Mahmudov said.
The answer to this question is given by Shaumyan, who admitted afterwards: We took advantage of the occasion ... and opened the fire on all fronts. We had already had armed forces of about 6,000 people. "Dashnaktsutyun" also had about 3,000-4,000 national units, which were at our disposal. We deliberately went for it ....
The historian said that Shahumyan motivated his position saying that if Azerbaijani national forces "would have reigned in Baku, the city would have been declared the capital of Azerbaijan."
Mahmudov underlines the necessity to bring the truth about the 1918 March genocide to the world community.
As the head of the History Institute, I would like to count on greater support, including financial, on the part of the relevant structures, which will expand the scope of our research, to intensify efforts to collect documents relating to the history of Azerbaijan in foreign archives, he concluded.
In 1918, the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic established a special investigation commission to study the issue, but after the collapse of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic in 1920, it naturally ceased to exist.
Relevant investigations on the tragedy were carried out and books were published after Azerbaijan gained independence from the USSR in 1991.
President Heydar Aliyev issued a decree on March 26, 1998 to commemorate March 31 as the Day of Azerbaijanis' Genocide
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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli
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1 April 2016 12:57 (UTC+04:00)
By Nazrin Gadimova
The Hawaii House of Representatives has apologized for the anti-Azerbaijani resolution adopted on March 29 as a result of the Armenian lobbys activities in the U.S..
Joseph Souki, the speaker for the Hawaii House of Representatives issued a memorandum in which he apologized to the government and people of Azerbaijan for totally flawed and biased resolution over the illegal regime Nagorno Karabakh Republic, which has been established on Azerbaijans territory, unlawfully occupied and ethnically cleansed by Armenia in the early 1990s.
In the memorandum sent to Azerbaijans Consulate General in Los Angeles, Souki noted that whereas every resolution involving foreign issues should be sent to a committee to receive public input, the above-mentioned resolution was presented in the guise of a ceremonial document that is commonly used to congratulate individuals and organizations.
Thus, there was simply no information gathered by the House sufficient to make an informed opinion on the document, the official explained.
Therefore I sincerely apologize for the fact that the resolution did not have a chance to be vetted by our Committee process before action was taken on it, and I intend to adjust our internal policies to prevent a similar occurrence, Souki mentioned in the memorandum.
He also stressed that the adopted resolution does not have the effect of law in any way.
The speaker further emphasized the U.S. efforts aimed at resolving the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. I can safely speak on behalf of the members of the House that each member hopes that the strong relations of friendship between Azerbaijan and the United States will continue to grow and strengthen over the years, Souki concluded.
Earlier, two anti-Azerbaijani resolutions were introduced at the Hawaii State Senate by legislators, who were misled by radical Armenian special interest groups. If adopted, the Hawaii State Legislature would have recognized the illegal regime established on Azerbaijan's territory occupied by Armenia.
Thanks to measures taken by the Consulate General of Azerbaijan, the Hawaii State Senate leadership has officially rejected the mentioned resolutions and issued a formal statement that expresses support for the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan in accordance with the U.S. policy, emphasizing that the Hawaii State Senate will not accept these resolutions.
Following this failure, Armenia and the Armenian lobby in the U.S. have appealed to the House of Representatives of the local legislative body of the Hawaii State aiming to continue the provocative and insignificant actions.
Armenia captured Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts from Azerbaijan in a war that followed the Soviet breakup in 1991. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and nearly 1 million were displaced as a result of the war.
Large-scale hostilities ended with a Russia-brokered ceasefire in 1994, but Armenia has continued the occupation in defiance of four UN Security Council resolutions calling for immediate and unconditional withdrawal.
Peace talks mediated by Russia, France, and the U.S. have produced no results so far.
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Nazrin Gadimova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @NazrinGadimova
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2 April 2016 00:01 (UTC+04:00)
By Nazrin Gadimova
Twenty-three years have passed since the occupation of Azerbaijan's Kalbajar region by Armenian armed forces.
Armenia, occupied the Kalbajar region on April 2, as a result of a large-scale military operation launched on March 27, 1993.
As a result of the unexpected attack, 511 people died, and 321 went missing or were captured; 55 soldiers were killed during the fighting; 53,340 residents of the Kalbajar region became IDPs. Moreover, 132 settlements and Kalbajar's gold deposits were seized by the Armenians.
More than 500 industrial, construction, catering and retail facilities, 97 schools and 76 health facilities were destroyed by the invaders.
The Armenians also destroyed Albanian temple in the Vang village, Albanian church in Cherekdar, Lok fortress in Ganlikend, Ulukhan fortress in Garajanli, Albanian church on Tartar River, the fortresses of Galabonu, Jomerd, Keshikchi, several mosques in the town of Kalbajar and Otaqli village, Taglidash Bridge over the Tartar River, a museum of history and ethnography, the Ashig Shamshir Cultural House, and the Seyid Asadullah shrine in the Soyudly summer field of the Kalbajar region.
Azerbaijan has repeatedly stated that Armenia carries out illegal activities on the occupied territories. Currently the Armenians residing in the occupied territories have destroyed most of the substantial natural monuments. Moreover, the Armenian vandals are plundering rich natural resources, which belong to the Azerbaijani people.
Kalbajar's residents, who live with a sense of homesickness, will never forget about the terrible days of the Armenian invasion.
Following the region's occupation, the U.N. Security Council adopted Resolution 822 demanding an immediate withdrawal from the region and other occupied areas of Azerbaijan. Armenia has not fulfilled the resolution.
In addition, contrary to the UN and OSCE principles, the Armenians have pursued purposeful settlement of people in Kalbajar since 1999.
Over the long time, Azerbaijan has been suffering from aggressive policy pursued by Armenia, which occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions, after laying territorial claims against its South Caucasus neighbor that had caused a lengthy war in the early 1990s.
Despite the vandalism committed by Armenian invaders against the Azerbaijani people, these heinous acts have not received due condemnation by the world community to date.The Azerbaijani people still tolerate the Armenian vandalism and the unjust position and double standards of the international community.
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Nazrin Gadimova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @NazrinGadimova
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1 April 2016 10:01 (UTC+04:00)
A dinner reception has been hosted on behalf of President of the United States of America Barack Obama in the White House for the heads of state and government attending the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington on March 31.
President Aliyev attended the reception.
During the day, President Aliyev met with vice chairman of General Electric John G. Rice in Washington.
John Rice said the fruitful meetings held during President Aliyev`s U.S. visit were followed with interest.
He highlighted the activity of GE, particularly the company`s work in Azerbaijan. John Rice commended his company`s participation in several projects in Azerbaijan. The Vice Chairman said GE was involved in Azerbaijan`s oil and gas pipelines system, saying they also established cooperation in the field of oil extraction. He stressed that the company operated in the fields of transportation of oil across the world, installation of the equipment producing electric power and gas turbines, aviation and agriculture, and invested in the application of advanced technologies.
President Aliyev hailed General Electric`s activity in various fields of Azerbaijan`s economy. The head of state spoke about work to modernize the Azerbaijani economy, implement infrastructure projects and improve business environment. They exchanged views over cooperation prospects.
The President also met with public figures of the United States - President of Armitage International Richard L. Armitage and president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace William J. Burns.
They exchanged views over the enhancement and strengthening of relations between Azerbaijan and the US.
They hailed good cooperation between Azerbaijan and the US in energy, security and peacekeeping, and other fields.
The sides noted the fact that relations between the two countries were built on solid foundations, saying the ties now entered a new level. They expressed confidence that Azerbaijani-US cooperation would further expand and strengthen in all areas.
Negotiations over the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict were also discussed at the meeting.
President Ilham Aliyev further met with Chairman and President of Export-Import Bank of the United States Fred P. Hochberg.
They discussed the expansion of relations between Azerbaijan and Ex-Im Bank, and stressed the importance of studying the prospects for cooperation in various fields.
They exchanged views over opportunities for cooperation with Ex-Im Bank on several projects to be implemented in Azerbaijan, as well as in the fields of electric power, gas, irrigation and cotton growing.
The implementation of a new reforms program in Azerbaijan was stressed during the meeting. It was noted that this paved the way for business activities. Important measures taken to eliminate the Azerbaijani economy`s dependence on oil was underscored.
Also, President Aliyev met with former Governor of the State of New Hampshire, US, and White House Former Chief of Staff under President George H. W. Bush, John Sununu.
They exchanged views on current state and future development of relations between Azerbaijan and the US.
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Experts say reading and writing in cursive are important learning skills, but instruction of teachers appears lax
RALEIGH North Carolina lawmakers pushed back against Common Core education standards by passing legislation to require the teaching of cursive handwriting in elementary schools. But some education observers question whether teachers are prepared to teach the course, and if schools are placing appropriate rigor on implementing the mandate.among some educators, said Denise Donica of Winterville, an occupational therapist who teaches occupational therapy students at East Carolina University.Donica, who also is an instructor with elementary schools an organization that trains teachers, parents, other therapists, "and anyone interested" to help students develop cursive writing skills, also wonders whether enough classroom resources are available for handwriting teachers.Donica said.In 2013, by overwhelming bipartisan majorities, the state House and Senate passed House Bill 146, the Back to Basics act. It requires all students to receive instruction in cursive writing with the goal that they can "create readable documents through legible cursive handwriting by the end of fifth grade."said Terry Stoops, director of research and education studies at the John Locke Foundation.North Carolina and six other states have added a cursive writing component. Stoops said many more have introduced legislation requiring cursive instruction in elementary schools. A number of schools and school districts have added it to their language arts curricula in lieu of a statewide mandate.Stoops said.In 2008, shortly after moving to North Carolina, Donica and her East Carolina students surveyed the state's teachers to determine if they were taught cursive instruction.Donica said.She was shocked that North Carolina did not have that support system for education students or teachers. Her surprise was compounded when her husband took courses as a community college and brought much younger classmates to their home for study groups.One North Carolina native and military veteran in his 20s told her he never learned to write cursive, and never learned to sign his name. So when he enlisted and was ordered to sign the forms,Donica said.Donica partially blames ever-expanding technology. As a 21st century emphasis in school instruction shifts from cursive handwriting to punching out words on an electronic keyboard, Donica says it is time to slow down and evaluate the impact on students.Using high-tech devicesDonica said.Stoops said.Stoops said.There are other practical drawbacks of not knowing how to read and write in cursive, such as deciphering historical documents, or reading handwritten birthday and greeting cards from older people, Donica said. Some studies have shown that students trained in cursive do better on SAT exams than those who are not, and students struggling in class with printed writing sometimes improve markedly when they learn cursive.Donica said one of her favorite examples of why cursive handwriting is critical in an age of keyboard technology is comparing it to the need to understand basic mathematics even though calculators are ubiquitous.when determining how much change should be returned after making a cash purchase at a store, Donica said. Customers do the math in their head; they don't pull out a calculator to double check that they received the correct amount.Donica said,
1 April 2016 10:28 (UTC+04:00)
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon plans to pay an official visit to Azerbaijan for the first time in late April, as well as to visit Armenia and Georgia, source in the Secretariat of UN told TASS.
"I can not say the exact date, but the trip will take place shortly after the signing ceremony of Paris climate deal in UN", - the source said.
Baku will host the Global Forum of UN Alliance of Civilizations in April. Baku expects heads of nearly 50 countries to attend the most anticipated United Nations Forum on April 25-27.
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1 April 2016 09:30 (UTC+04:00)
Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev, who is on a visit to Washington to attend the 4th Nuclear Summit, met with Vice President of the United States Joe Biden on March 31, Azertac reported.
Joe Biden said they attached great importance to meetings with President Aliyev, adding that these meetings contribute to expanding Azerbaijan-U.S. cooperation and elevating relations to a new level.
He said the U.S. resolutely supported Azerbaijan`s territorial integrity and sovereignty, adding that this was of great importance for the United States.
The U.S. Vice President said there were good opportunities for expanding the bilateral ties in all areas, particularly economy. He said the two countries enjoyed good cooperation with respect to security and peacekeeping operations.
Joe Biden hailed Azerbaijan`s active participation in the international anti-terror coalition in Afghanistan. He underscored the importance of the steps taken to define opportunities for defense cooperation. He said the U.S. fully supported Azerbaijan`s efforts to implement the Southern Gas Corridor project, noting that the country would take necessary measures in this regard.
President Aliyev said reforms were being conducted in all areas in Azerbaijan, adding that the freedom of thought, freedom of press, freedom of assembly, freedom of Internet were provided in the country.
The head of state highlighted Azerbaijan`s position on the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. President Ilham Aliyev thanked the U.S. for its firm position on the settlement of the dispute, and underlined the significance of solving the problem.
The head of state noted the importance of President Barack Obama`s stance - as president of the co-chair country - that the status quo was unacceptable. President Aliyev said the United States played a vital role in finding a peaceful and negotiated solution to the conflict. The head of state expressed Azerbaijan`s interest in strengthening cooperation with the US in political, economic and energy fields.
The sides also expressed mutual interest in maintaining strong and long-term cooperation between the two countries.
The United States Secretary of State John Kerry was present at the meeting.
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1 April 2016 15:24 (UTC+04:00)
By Aynur Karimova
The U.S. Vise President, Joe Biden has stressed Azerbaijan's strategic importance as an ally, welcoming Baku's active participation in the international anti-terror coalition in Afghanistan.
Biden, in a meeting with President Ilham Aliyev, who is in Washington on a working visit to participate at the 4th Nuclear Security Summit, said that the steps taken to define opportunities for defense cooperation between the two countries are of importance.
Biden stated that the U.S. attaches great importance to meetings with President Aliyev, adding that these meetings contribute to expanding the Azerbaijan-U.S. cooperation and elevating bilateral relations to a new level.
Azerbaijan and the U.S. established diplomatic relations in 1992. Today the two countries enjoy close ties - active political dialogue and economic cooperation. To date, the U.S. companies have invested more than $10 billion in Azerbaijan's economy.
Biden believes that there are good opportunities for expanding the bilateral ties in all areas, particularly in economy.
Azerbaijan, which has suffered from Armenian terrorism for many years, has always been active in counterterrorism operations of the U.S. and participating in peacekeeping operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. Today, some 100 military servicemen of the South Caucasus nation are serving with NATO servicemen in Afghanistan.
Biden also mentioned this factor, saying Azerbaijan and the U.S. enjoy good cooperation with respect to security and peacekeeping operations.
Azerbaijan, which is an initiator of huge oil and gas projects of international importance and plays a significant role in ensuring Europe's energy security, is considered a reliable partner by the U.S.
Biden at a meeting with President Aliyev once again voiced Washington's strong support to the Southern Gas Corridor project, which will carry Azerbaijan's blue fuel to the European market.
He said the U.S. fully supports Azerbaijan's efforts to implement the Southern Gas Corridor project, and added that the country will take necessary measures in this regard.
Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was among the discussed topics. Biden said the U.S., which is one of three co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, resolutely supports Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and sovereignty, and added that this is of great importance for the U.S.
President Aliyev, in turn, highlighted Azerbaijan's position on the conflict and thanked the U.S. for its firm position on the settlement of the dispute, and underlined the significance of solving the problem. He said that the U.S. plays a vital role in finding a peaceful and negotiated solution to the conflict.
President Aliyev also stressed the importance of President Barack Obama's stance - as president of the co-chair country - that the status quo is unacceptable.
Touching upon the reforms conducted in Azerbaijan, President Aliyev said that the government conducts reforms in all areas and the freedom of thought, freedom of press, freedom of assembly, freedom of Internet are provided in the country.
The head of state expressed Azerbaijan's interest in strengthening cooperation with the U.S. in political, economic and energy fields.
The sides also expressed mutual interest in maintaining strong and long-term cooperation between the two countries.
Before President Aliyev had a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to discuss some issues on political agenda.
As part of the visit to Washington, President Aliyev also held several meetings with the U.S. officials.
He met with former Governor of the State of New Hampshire and White House Former Chief of Staff under President George H. W. Bush, John Sununu, and the sides exchanged views on current state and future development of relations between Azerbaijan and the U.S.
Later, President Aliyev met with Fred P. Hochberg, the Chairman and President of the U.S. Export-Import Bank. They discussed the expansion of relations between Azerbaijan and the Bank, and stressed the importance of studying the prospects for cooperation in various fields.
They exchanged views over opportunities for cooperation with Ex-Im Bank on several projects to be implemented in Azerbaijan, as well as in the fields of electric power, gas, irrigation and cotton growing.
President Aliyev and Hochberg also exchanged views on opportunities for cooperation in the East-West transport corridor, shipment and other fields.
Also, President Aliyev held meetings with President of Armitage International Richard L. Armitage, President of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace William J. Burns, as well as the Vice Chairman of General Electric, John G. Rice in Washington.
Later, a dinner reception was hosted on behalf of President Obama in the White House for the heads of state and government attending the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington. President Aliyev attended the reception.
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Aynur Karimova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Aynur_Karimova
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1 April 2016 15:34 (UTC+04:00)
By Nazrin Gadimova
The long-lasting Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the ways of its settlement were discussed in Washington as part of visit of Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev to the U.S.
During a meeting with President Aliyev, Joe Biden, the U.S. Vice-President, once again confirmed that the United States strongly supports Azerbaijans territorial integrity and sovereignty, adding that this is of great importance for the United States.
Biden hailed Azerbaijans active participation in the international anti-terror coalition in Afghanistan, emphasizing the importance of the steps taken to define opportunities for defense cooperation.
Ilham Aliyev, in turn, thanked the U.S. for its firm position on the settlement of the conflict and underlined the significance of solving the problem. The head of the state stressed the importance of President Barack Obamas stance that the status quo is unacceptable, adding that the U.S. plays a vital role in finding a peaceful and negotiated solution to the conflict.
As part of meeting with the Azerbaijani president, the U.S. State Secretary John Kerry also affirmed his countrys support for Azerbaijans territorial integrity and underscored his concern about violence along the contact line of troops.
Kerry emphasized his countrys commitment to working with the sides to reach a comprehensive settlement based on the principles of international law, the UN Charter, and the Helsinki Final Act.
We obviously share other interests in counterterrorism, he added. We want to see an ultimate resolution of the frozen conflict of Nagorno-Karabakh that needs to be a negotiated settlement and something that has to be worked on over time.
Arzu Nagiyev, a political analyst, believes that the United States understands that the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is a very important step to ensure the safety and the implementation of mega-projects in the region.
That is why Mr. Kerry emphasizes the importance of solving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. At the same time, the U.S. is preparing for the next presidential elections. The current team will try to remain in history as a successful mediator in a number of conflicts. I think that is precisely why Washington's attention to the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will continue to increase. Moreover, we must not forget that the United States is one of the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group," Nagiyev said.
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict evolved in 1988 after Armenia's territorial claims to neighboring Azerbaijan, whose 20 percent of lands it occupied in an unneighborly way.
The OSCE Minsk Group acted as the only mediator in resolution of the conflict, proceeding talks based on the renewed Madrid principles. Over the entire period of its existence, this organization failed to move forward in resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, although the interested parties had pinned great hopes on it. However, within over two decades past the hope for bringing the conflict to the final solution in fact disappeared as the group did take no efficient step or action to fulfill its mandate.
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Nazrin Gadimova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @NazrinGadimova
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1 April 2016 18:12 (UTC+04:00)
The Romanian embassy in Baku, in its capacity of NATO Contact Point embassy to Azerbaijan, organized a roundtable on Jeyranchel Clearance Project: current situation and perspectives on April 1.
At the event took part ambassadors, defense attaches and senior diplomats from embassies of NATO countries, officials from NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) and Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA).
Opening the event Romanian AmbassadorDaniel Cristian Ciobanu underlined that cooperation between North Atlantic Alliance and Azerbaijan is strongly developing. The NATO Partnership for Peace Trust Fund project for clearance of the unexploded ordnances and mines from the former Soviet Army test and training range at Jeyranchel is an example of very successful practical cooperation, he said.
Ambassador Ciobanu emphasized that Romania, which has been the second country in the world to recognize independence of Azerbaijan and established since 2009 a strategic partnership with Baku, supports the development of partnership relations between NATO and Azerbaijan. The embassy, which fulfills the mandate of NATO Contact Point Embassy for the fourth time in a row, actively promotes the benefits of NATO-Azerbaijan cooperation.
Mr. David Towndrow from NATO Support and Procurement Agency made an in-depth presentation of the Jeyranchel Clearance Project, which main purpose is to make the area safe for local farmers and to foster local authority development plans, principally for agriculture.
This project builds on previous clearance work done in Saloglu (2005-2011) and maintains a regional capacity in Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action. Phase I of the project (which started on 3 April 2012 and ended on 7th July 2014) cleared unexploded ordnances and mines from 19 square kilometers of the western section of the range. Phase II of the project (which started on 8th July 2014 and is expected to end in July 2016) is currently clearing 23 square kilometers of the central section of the range. USA is the lead nation for this NATO Partnership for Peace Trust Fund project.
Samir Poladov, Operations Manager at Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action, gave details about the actions taken by the Azerbaijani side for the implementation of the Jeyranchel project.
Gvantsa Kvinikadze from NATO Support and Procurement Agency touched upon technical elements of the Jeyranchel Clearance Project.
Participants in the roundtable gave a positive assessment of the project and the activity of Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action.
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1 April 2016 22:42 (UTC+04:00)
The fourth Nuclear Security Summit has started in Washington, the United States.
Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev is attending the summit.
The Nuclear Security Summit 2016 continues to provide a forum for leaders to engage with each other and reinforce commitment at the highest levels to securing nuclear materials.
The Nuclear Security Summit is a world summit, aimed at preventing nuclear terrorism around the globe. Leaders of more than 50 nations gathered in Washington for the fourth summit.
President of the United States of America Barack Obama opened the Summit.
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1 April 2016 10:40 (UTC+04:00)
By Fatma Babayeva
Prices in commercial real estate market in Baku fell against the backdrop of the growing offers for sale during the first quarter of 2016.
The number of commercial properties for sale in Baku increased by 20.5 percent in February 2016 compared to January of the same year, reported consulting company MBA Group.
The portfolio of offerings has grown due to the lower activities and prices for non-residential facilities in the market.
Increase in the number for sale of commercial properties (from 79 to 95) can be considered normal given to the decline in the purchasing power of the population, said the statement of MBA Group.
The portfolio of offerings has not changed much within the recent months. As before, its main part (45.5 per cent) is formed by so-called empty facilities (type of facilities with uncertain designation, which can be used as an office, shop or for other purposes), 38.2 percent for service facilities, 10.9 percent for shops, 5.4 percent for offices and basements.
The average area size of the commercial facilities decreased by 14.1 percent to 174.38 square meters within a month. In Baku, the largest non-residential premises was registered in Binagadi district (empty facility with 1,730 square meters), the smallest is located in Nasimi district (empty facility with 10 square meters).
Fluctuations in market prices and dynamic activity have not led to an increase in exposure time for sale of facilities. Exposure time for sale of commercial premises amounted to 335 days during the last month.
The price per square meter of non-residential facility decreased by 2.61 percent (in US dollars) on monthly basis (as compared to October 2015) to $2802. The price index decreased by 36.6 percent a year and by 2.6 percent a month.
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Fatma Babayeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Fatma_Babayeva
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1 April 2016 11:46 (UTC+04:00)
By Aynur Karimova
The Financial Market Supervisory Body of Azerbaijan will determine a strategy for the development of banking, insurance and stock markets after diagnosing and studying the scale of the problems in these sectors.
Supervisory Body Chairman Rufat Aslanli announced about this at the first meeting of the Board this week.
Aslanli touched upon the importance of institutional changes carried out in Azerbaijan's financial sector to minimize the impact of the global financial and economic crisis on the countrys economy.
President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on establishment of the Financial Market Supervisory Body in February 2016.
The Body was established with an aim 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.
Aslanli said that the Body will be engaged in pursuing the state policy in the field of combating money laundering and financing of terrorism, implementing the regulation functions, conducting supervision and licensing of securities market, credit institutions and insurance sector.
Being engaged in supervision of the countrys financial sector and corresponding to advanced, progressive European standards is the main objective of the newly-established body.
The establishment of the Financial Market Supervisory Body is expected to improve the management and regulation mechanisms of the financial market, and open new opportunities for pursuing a unified policy and regulatory standards on the financial market.
The body is expected to ensure transparency and flexibility of the control system in the financial sector.
By establishing such a Body, Azerbaijan has replaced the individual supervisory authorities in the financial sector with a single regulator to simplify procedures and enhance control.
This Body has become the heir of the entire property of the State Committee for Securities, the State Insurance Supervision Service under the Finance Ministry, and the Financial Monitoring Service under the CBA.
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Aynur Karimova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Aynur_Karimova
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1 April 2016 18:03 (UTC+04:00)
By Fatma Babayeva
A consortium of Azerbaijani IT companies participated in a tender announced for the design, configure, supply, installation, and commissioning of the Integrated Domestic Revenue Administration System of Tanzania, SINAM Company announced on March 31.
The consortium includes the company SINAM (the main operator in the consortium), Cybernet and Bestcomp Group, as well as MFI Document Solutions, a local company in Tanzania.
Along the consortium, eight other companies from Kenya, Brazil, South Africa, Canada, Zimbabwe and Luxembourg also submitted their application for the participation in the tender.
Earlier, SINAM Company presented technical advice on the project of creating an addressing system of Kabul to the public authority in Afghanistan. Technical recommendations have been approved by the Kabul Municipality.
Founded in 1994, SINAM Company is a leading IT company in the region that offers the wide range of IT services and products.
The company is recognized as an e-government solutions provider and system integrator providing turnkey solutions that embody the full value chain from integrated hardware and software complex to consulting, support and warranty.
Azerbaijan is developing its ICT sphere in last 20 years and now reaches high results. Today, the country not only provides itself with the IT technology, but also introduces its experience to the countries of the region.
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Fatma Babayeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Fatma_Babayeva
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1 April 2016 10:55 (UTC+04:00)
By Amina Nazarli
World renowned architect, Dame Zaha Hadid died at age of 65 years after heart attack on Thursday.
The architect, whose designs also include the Heydar Aliyev Center, died in a Miami hospital where she was treated for bronchitis.
In 2016, she was the first woman to receive the Royal Institute of British Architects Gold Medal in recognition of her work.
Zaha was the first woman architect, who awarded the Pritzker Prize in 2004, which was handed to her in St. Petersburgs Hermitage Museum, which hosted the first Russian retrospective exhibition of her work.
Her designs have been commissioned around the world, including Azerbaijan, Hong Kong Germany and Italy.
Great architect left a number of groundbreaking projects. Here are the top five:
Heydar Aliyev Center
The Heydar Aliyev Center, which has already become one of the most recognizable symbols of Azerbaijans capital Baku, is one of the masterpieces of Zaha Hadid.
The overall shape of the center, opened in 2012, resembles a wave-like ascension from the ground towards the sky followed by gradual descents. The harmonious lines connecting to its interior design also attracts guests, who get the sense of being onboard a UFO.
For the building Zaha won London Design Museum award in 2014.
Zaragoza Bridge Pavilion
An enclosed interactive spanning the River Ebro to form a gateway to the Zaragoza Expo 2008, a hybrid of pedestrian footbridge and exhibition pavilion. This fluid, dynamic design interprets the Expos theme: Water and Sustainable Development.
Polytechnic University in Hong Kong
This structure is already being called an architectural landmark, which combines rapid development of images of young and highly educated new generation.
The building is usually described by the terms "seamless architecture," where the flowing lines define the dynamics of not only architecture, but also the landscape around it.
Guangzhou Opera House, Guangzhou, China (2010)
Never mind the uneven build quality, or the lack of a world class company to perform in the 1,800-seat main hall, the Opera House is a statement building, and an opulent symbol of Chinas rise.
London Aquatics Centre, London, UK (2011)
Once again, Hadid tried to reinvent the very idea of what a swimming pool could be, with a design that featured an overhanging roof, and vast windows. The venue was undoubtedly the architectural star of the London 2012 Olympics.
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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli
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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.
1 April 2016 17:23 (UTC+04:00)
By Laman Ismayilova
Baku Fashion Week became the most interesting addition to the Azerbaijani fashion industry portrait of recent years. Week has been organized by the "Production Center of Hafiz Agayev."
Along with the Azerbaijani designers to show their collections, foreign masters of fashion-industry also join Week to present their works in Baku.
Early in March, the "Production Center of Hafiz Agayev", FMS Models and IDFashion Tv channel joined their efforts for promotion of Baku Fashion Week fall/winter 2016 which will take place at Baku International Marine Station on May 13-15.
Speaking at the press conference, the organizers emphasized the uniqueness of the upcoming fashion event.
Lubov Gutorova, Head of the modeling agency FMS Models has announced the casting call for Baku Fashion Week.
Model selection will take place at Excelsior Hotel Baku ( Dahna hall) on April 8. The organizers invite female and male model to take their chances to join the event.
For all questions, please contact: http://fms.az/women/
Tel: (+994)50 751 57 52.
Official website: http://bfw.az
Baku Fashion Week was included in the calendar schedule of world Fashion Week http://thefashioninsider.com/calendar/,making Azerbaijan more recognizable among international designers and fashion lovers. Thus our local designers and models will gradually reach world podiums and attract the interest overseas.
Media partners of the event are Trend, Day.az, Milli.az and Azernews.az.
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1 April 2016 16:46 (UTC+04:00)
Bookmate, the project for book lovers launched in November last year by Azercell Telecom, leading mobile operator in the country, has made immense appeal by the subscribers. Since its launch Bookmate application has been downloaded over 27,000 times and number of regular users of application has exceeded 6,000.
Bookmate is a mobile application developed to read thousands of books in electronic devices. This service is the easiest way to find and read interesting works on phone, tablet or computer. Over 500,000 books are available in the mobile library offered by Azercell. In return to discounted subscription, Azercell subscribers may get familiar with any piece of science, classic, contemporary and business literature.
Payment from balance will enable the subscribers to access e-library easily and promptly without using any credit card. Another important point is that the readers are offered not only foreign literature, but also works of Azerbaijani authors. One of the most important advantages of the service is that there is no need for regular internet access to use Bookmate library. Any added book is available anytime, anywhere, i.e. on the underground or airplane. Furthermore, it does not matter which device you have got with you phone, tablet or computer, since the book is added to your personal library, not the device.
For the first time in the frame of Bookmate subscribers have been offered books in Azerbaijani, Russian, English or Turkish languages. You can get best-selling, mostly read and famous classic and contemporary works and other pieces of art in this half-a-million rich library.
Bookmate operates with both Android and iOS systems. In addition, subscribers may access www.bookmate.com and read books or download them to mobile devices.
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1 April 2016 15:19 (UTC+04:00)
By Fatma Babayeva
Azerbaijans state energy company SOCAR expects the issue of purchase of 66 percent stake in DESFA- the Greek gas operator to be resolved by late 2016 with further sell of 17 percent stake to another European company.
SOCARs purchase of a controlling stake in DESFA is of great importance to Azerbaijan, giving it control of a European gas supplier and enhancing its role in providing energy security for Europe, a source in the company said, emphasizing that this process is expected to be completed in late 2016.
SOCAR won an international tender for the acquisition of 66 percent of DESFA shares for 400 million euro in 2003. However, the European Commission launched a revision of this transaction on competition issues.
Later, the Greek government offered SOCAR to sell a 17 percent stake of DESFA shares to third parties. For the completion of the sale of the 49 percent controlling stake in DESFA to SOCAR, 17 percent must be sold to a European Union firm, with the SOCAR also having a say in the selection of the new stakeholder.
The source denied rumors that company was set to withdraw from the DESFA deal, instead noting that SOCAR has a serious interest in selling liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the EU.
Plans to upgrade the LNG terminal in Revythoussa near Athens will meet these interests and is important for gas supply in the wider region beyond current route of the Southern Gas Corridor, the source said.
Although the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (HRADF) received a formal offer from the Italian company Snam alliance Fluxys-Enagas about the purchase of 17 percent stake in DESFA, later Fluxys refused from this plan.
Dutch Gasunie and Italian Snam also were among those interested in purchase of DESFAs 17 percent shares.
Baku has earlier claimed that from Azerbaijan's perspective, there was no conflict of interest in acquiring a majority stake in DESFA as the gas owner to be pumped through the SGC was not Azerbaijan, but the Shah-Deniz Consortium.
The European Commission does not want the control package of such a big Transmission System transferred to the hands of non-EU country, but remain under the Greek control.
Greek Energy Minister Panos Skurletis recently announced that the deal with SOCAR is delayed due to the stance of the European Commission.
The privatization of DESFA is delayed due to the fact that the EC opposes the transfer of a majority stake in gas operator to SOCAR, he said, adding that the Greek government has no plans to privatize other energy assets.
Azerbaijan will start supply of 10 billion cubic meters of gas per year to Europe via the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) in the first half of 2020 which construction will begin in May 2016.
TAP pipeline will stretch across 870 kilometers through Greece, Albania, the Adriatic Sea and the south of Italy. The pipeline will be connected to Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) at the Turkish-Greek border near the city Kipoy.
TAP's shareholders are BP (20 percent), SOCAR (20 percent), Statoil (20 percent), Fluxys (19 percent), Enagas (16 percent) and Axpo (5 percent).
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Fatma Babayeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Fatma_Babayeva
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1 April 2016 10:37 (UTC+04:00)
Turkmenistans Foreign Ministry hosted a meeting with a delegation of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), led by Ayaki Ito, the deputy director of the UNHCR regional bureau for Asia and Pacific.
The positive dynamics in cooperation between Turkmenistan and the UNHCR was noted during the meeting, read a message issued by Turkmen Foreign Ministry March 31.
It was also noted that Turkmenistan is conducting significant work to reduce the number of persons without citizenship.
Ayaki Ito particularly pointed out the successful results achieved by Turkmenistan in solving the problems of refugees and persons without citizenship.
More than 3,000 people, residing in the country without citizenship, were granted the citizenship in 2011 under a decree of Turkmenistans President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.
Additionally, 786 people of various nationalities received Turkmen citizenship under a decree signed in 2014.
The Law on Refugees was signed in Turkmenistan in 1997.
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1 April 2016 15:43 (UTC+04:00)
By Fatma Babayeva
Caspian littoral states decreased export of oil products to Iran during the first quarter of 2016, reports the Iranian Ports and Maritime Organization.
The volume of oil products offloaded at Irans Caspian ports significantly decreased in the first three months of 2016. Roughly 175,679 tons of oil products have been unloaded in Neka, Anzali, Fereidoon Kenar and Amirabad ports of Iran on the Caspian coast while the figure for the first quarter of 2016 was 112,569 tons.
Only in Neka port, the volume of unloaded oil products has not decreased for the given period.
In total, Iran unloaded 5.722 million tons of oil products from all of its ports, including those located on Persian Gulfs coast during the first quarter of 2016 compared to 9.129 million tons offloaded for the same period of 2015, which indicates a huge decrease.
The total amount of imported and exported oil products at the ports of Iran in the first quarter of 2016 increased by 6 percent compared to the same period of the previous year. Namely, the total volume at all ports reached to 30.173 million tons for the first quarter of 2016 which is about 5.346 million tons more than the same period of 2015.
The volume of Irans loading and unloading of oil products increased by 1.8 percent in 2015 compared to 2014, and by 16.4 percent in 2015, according to the Ports and Maritime Organization of Iran.
Irans Persian Gulf Star gas condensate refinery located in the south of the country will fully come on stream by the next 1.5 years, said Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, Iranian Oil Minister, adding that this will make Iran self-sufficient in meeting its domestic needs for gasoline.
Iran is also interested in buying shares of existing refineries or building new ones abroad, and holds talks with Spain, Indonesia, and Brazil etc.
The removal of anti-Iran sanctions following a nuke deal signed with the world powers has helped Tehran to pursue a rapid boom in its oil industry.
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Fatma Babayeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Fatma_Babayeva
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1 April 2016 12:09 (UTC+04:00)
Fifteen militants of the Islamic State (IS, aka ISIS, ISIL or Daesh) terrorist group were detained in Turkeys Izmir province as a result of a special operation, Dogan news agency reported on April 1.
Reportedly, all the detainees are Turkish citizens. The police have revealed that they actively participated in military operations in Iraq and Syria.
One of the detainees was also involved in a terrorist attack in Turkeys Adana province in 2015.
Firearms were seized from the detainees during the special operation.
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1 April 2016 13:37 (UTC+04:00)
By Dalga Khatinoglu
Despite a huge rise in Irans oil exports, the pace of output growth seems to be much less than that of exports. In the meantime, the main part of oil output is expected to come from old fields rather than the new ones.
According to the latest statistics released by the International Energy Agency and Reuters surveys, Iran increased oil export to about 1.55 million barrels per day (mb/d) in March 2016 from the 2015 average export level of 1.1 mb/d.
But the countrys total oil output rose by less than 300,000 b/d in February 2016 according to an OPEC monthly report released in mid-March.
Earlier, Iran said it would increase oil exports by one billion barrels per day.
The additional barrels are to come from the existing production capacity, which was shut down during the sanctions era.
On March 30, the head of the International Energy Agency Fatih Birol announced that Iran is expected to add half a million barrels of oil supply a day within one year from its existing oil fields, but developing new fields would take time.
Iran has about 30-50 million barrels of crude oil and gas condensate stored in tankers, which makes it possible for Iran to keep exports at the current level for more than half a year without an immediate need to increase the output level.
According to official documents, obtained by Trend on March 26, Iran's Oil Ministry is focused on three major green (not yet operational) oil fields, but they can only add less than 0.1 mb/d to the countrys output level by late 2016.
The first phases of Yadavaran and North Azadegan fields, developed by about 97 percent, are expected to become operational by March 2017 and to produce about 0.1 mb/d of oil together.
The North and South Yaran fields have been developed by 51.5 percent and 74.6 percent so far, and production on them is not expected to start in 2016.
According to the said documents, Iran increased the ultra-light oil (gas condensate) production by 16 percent to 515,000 b/d, while the figure is expected to surpass 600,000 b/d by late March 2017.
Altogether, Iran can gradually add less than 0.2 mb/d to its oil output level from green fields and South Pars gas field before spring 2017.
1 April 2016 14:48 (UTC+04:00)
Turkish armed forces continue the operations against the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) terrorist group in the countrys Diyarbakir province, read a message from the General Staff of Turkish Armed Forces Apr.1.
The operations were launched March 31 in the Diyarbakir province which was rocked by a terrorist attack on that day. A car bomb attack in Diyarbakir city killed seven policemen and injured 27 civilians.
Reportedly, 110 PKK members were eliminated in Diyarbakir province in 20 days.
Earlier, Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that over 5,350 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.
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1 April 2016 17:39 (UTC+04:00)
By Aynur Karimova
Many expect the recent arrest of Alparslan Celik, who shot at the second Russian pilot who catapulted after the destruction of the Russian Su-24 bomber, as a step towards warming relations with Russia.
The relations between Russia and Turkey have deteriorated consdierably last November over the Su-24 incident, which took a life of a Russian soldier.
Celik, who shot at the second Russian pilot who catapulted after the destruction of the Russian Su-24 bomber, has been arrested in Turkeys Izmir province, Hurriyet newspaper reported on March 31.
This positive sign was accompanied by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's speech in Washington, who voiced the importance of resuming the bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
While speaking at the Brookings Institution as part of his visit to the U.S., Erdogan stressed the importance to resume the Russian-Turkish cooperation to resolve the regional problems, RIA Novosti reported.
"Unfortunately, after November 24 [2015], we are experiencing a difficult period in relations with Russia," he noted. "After the collapse of the Soviet Union, they have successfully developed, but began to deteriorate even before the jet incident due to the policy pursued by the Russian leaders in recent years. Despite the sharp reaction of Moscow, which is difficult for us to understand, regional problems necessitate resuming our cooperation, as the Russian Federation and Turkey are important countries in our geography. We expect that the Russian colleagues will understand this and appreciate this necessity."
Following the jet crisis in December 2015, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on measures to ensure national security and on special economic measures with regard to Turkey.
Russia also imposed an embargo on visas on Turkish travelers, as well as banned the sale of tour packages and charter flights to Turkey.
The sanctions include a ban on Russian firms importing a range of Turkish foodstuffs, as well as canceling a visa-free regime and restricting Turkish companies from working in certain business sectors in Russia, including tourism.
Meanwhile, Russia plans to adopt a new decision to ban the supply of plant products from Turkey.
Sergey Dankvert, the head of the Russian agriculture watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor, has announced that Rosselkhoznadzor can make a decision on banning the supply of plant products from Turkey within two to three weeks, RIA Novostri reported on March 29.
Since January 1, 2016, Russia banned the import of following fruits and vegetables from Turkey: citrus fruits, grapes, apples, pears, apricots, peaches, including nectarines, plums and sloes, wild strawberries and strawberries, tomatoes, onions and shallots, cauliflower, broccoli, cucumbers and gherkins. The carcass and offal of chickens and turkeys, salt and cloves are also under embargo.
Earlier in March, the Rosselkhoznadzor applied temporary restrictions on import of pepper and pomegranate due to systematic supplies of quarantine products from Turkey to Russia, In February, Rosselkhoznadzor threatened to ban the import of all plant products from Turkey. The agency indicated that the Russian Federation continues to receive contaminated Turkish plant products, and the Turkish authorities do not take steps to comply with the Russian legislation in the field of plant quarantine.
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Aynur Karimova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Aynur_Karimova
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Nursing student Brittany Box, dental student Nikki Harrold, and Dr. Linc Conn, chair of ECUs Department of General Dentistry, chat with a patient after completing her dental work at ECU Smiles. (Contributed photos)
ECU dental students David Morrison, Ali Denny and Madison Smith were part of the team that registered individuals to become patients at ECU Smiles.
East Carolina University's School of Dental Medicine hosted an inaugural charity event March 18-19 designed to reach adults in the greatest need of oral health care.A new initiative for the school, "ECU Smiles" was held at the university's community service learning center in Elizabeth City - one of eight dental education and care clinics operating in rural and underserved areas across the state. The effort marks another way to advance the school's mission of supporting North Carolinians who suffer from a lack of access to primary health care services.An interprofessional team of community and ECU health care professionals - including nursing students, dental residents and students, and faculty - guided 65 patients through medical screening and referrals for hypertension and diabetes, dental radiography, examination and diagnosis, restorative and surgical dental services at the state-of-the-art facility.said Dr. Michael Scholtz, assistant dean for extramural clinical practices in dental medicine.Dr. Carol Anderson, faculty director of the Elizabeth City community service learning center, said there are many reasons why people neglect their teeth. Some have bad memories of dental visits from childhood. Others simply put off dental visits until the situation is dire. Often, it comes down to money.said Anderson.Anderson said people often ask why care the learning center isn't free, since fourth-year students and dental residents are the primary providers.she said.The school's eight learning centers across the state and clinics at ECU do offer reduced fees, payment plans and accept dental Medicaid.Access to care is another problem: North Carolina ranks 47th nationally in the number of dentists per capita. Eighty of North Carolina's 100 counties are considered rural. Those rural counties contain 40 to 50 percent of the state's population but, on average, rural counties have half the number of dentists per 10,000 people as urban counties.Pasquotank County Commissioners Cecil Perry and Bettie Parker visited ECU Smiles on Saturday. Dr. Greg Chadwick, dean of the dental school, told them that about 50 percent of patients served by the Elizabeth City center use Medicaid, which remains critical to its economic sustainability.Anderson said there are only two other providers in Elizabeth City who accept dental Medicaid. And Scholtz estimated that since opening in 2013, the Elizabeth City center has provided in excess of $1.5 million in care through the dental Medicaid program.Chadwick asked the commissioners to remind legislators that it is ECU's mission to assist the state in resolving access to care issues, but we cannot do it alone.Partnerships were also crucial to the execution of ECU Smiles, and Scholtz said local entites were essential inECU and the College of Albemarle nursing students targeted patients who were in need of hypertension and diabetes screening, referrals and education. Albemarle Regional Health Services and the Community Care Clinic in Elizabeth City evaluated patients' financial barriers and provided language interpreters.Sentara Albemarle Medical Center, who owns land next to the learning center, assisted with logistics. Pasquotank County Emergency Medical Services provided teams both days, and local restaurants provided lunches for the many volunteers. The Elizabeth City Police Department, a local pharmacy, and other community stakeholders were all key players in making the event successful.With the community service learning centers now in Ahoskie, Elizabeth City, Brunswick County, Davidson County, Lillington, Robeson County, Spruce Pine, and Sylva, the school hopes to offer ECU Smiles at their other locations across the state in the future.said Scholtz.
2 Sisters Food Group has appointed Martyn Fletcher, previously group retail director at Morrisons, to the newly-created role of chief operating officer of protein.
Fletchers new role will come into effect on 4 April he will be responsible for all operations across 2 Sisters UK manufacturing sites.
Fletcher was at Morrisons for 30 years, during which time he was purchasing director, production director and group manufacturing director. He left in March 2016, shortly after David Potts took over from Dalton Philips as chief executive.
Ranjit Singh, chief executive of 2 Sisters, said: We are delighted to welcome someone of Martyns calibre and expertise to 2 Sisters Food Group. Martyn was instrumental in the implementation of Morrisons vertically integrated supply chain and has driven a number of successful productivity initiatives.
Fletcher said he had spent many years working with Singh and 2 Sisters while at Morrisons, and had always had a high opinion of the business. He said he particularly admired the scale of ambition and the groups ability to adapt quickly and respond to change and opportunities.
Fletcher said of the move: It is great to be joining at what is a very exciting time for the business and I look forward to working with a strong group of colleagues as we continue to drive the business forward.
2 Sisters described the protein division as the anchor of its business. At the end of 2015, the group launched a 150m, three-year investment programme in that division to create a world-class and industry-leading estate for poultry manufacturing.
Foxs rumours
On 16 March, 2 Sisters reported an increase in like-for-like sales to 800.1m, and profit before tax of 20.3m for the second quarter of its financial year.
In March of this year, 2 Sisters owner, Boparan Holdings, was rumoured to be selling Foxs Biscuits to Burtons Biscuits in a 330m deal.
Bucerias Oyster Festival Celebrates 16 Years April 3
Bucerias, Nayarit, Mexico - Playa El Punto will be the place to be at 12 Noon on Sunday, April 3, 2016, as Bucerias hosts the XVI edition of the Oyster Festival, an occasion created by the divers themselves for the coastal communities and their visitors.
Since oyster harvesting is the mainstay of the economy in Bucerias (which means "Place of the Divers") Nayarit, every year after Easter this laid-back seaside community hosts the Feria de Ostiones - a celebration filled with music, partying and plenty of food and fun.
Organized by the Fishing and Aquaculture Cooperative for Costa de Chila, La Penita and Boca Ameca, the festival began as a way to honor of the local oyster divers and, since the yearly event is on the last day of oyster-culling season on El Punto Beach, every year the most anticipated event is the 'Biggest Oyster' contest. Contestants go after 'The Big One,' and the diver that pulls the largest oyster out of the sea will be awarded a complete set of scuba equipment.
Throughout the day, approximately 3,000 oysters will be given away along with 150 kilos of fried fish and 200 kilos of ceviche. In addition to all of that free food, there will also be fun cultural events, including live music and the crowning of a new Oyster Queen, who will be selected based on audience applause to represent the divers.
"Our goal is to hold a family-friendly event as well as honor the divers we've lost," said Modesto Avalos, president of the Co-op. "We want to make more room so more people can come and have fun, so this year, we're considering just using chairs instead of tables so it's less crowded and all of our visitors can enjoy themselves."
A Mariachi group will kick off the festivities, followed by two bands playing regional Mexican music, a Marco Antonio Solis double, and many more surprises.
This event, sponsored by the Municipality of La Bahia de Banderas and the Riviera Nayarit Convention and Visitors Bureau, is unique in the region and represents another fine attraction among the many already offered by 'Mexico's Pacific Treasure.'
Come out and enjoy the 16th Bucerias Oyster Festival - you'll be glad you did! For more information and updates, visit the Facebook event page.
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Buying a house with potential red flags in a home inspection can give buyers some apprehension. But buying a house with significant termite damage? Well, that can be a terrifying deal-breaker. However, with housing inventory low and demand high, many buyers are considering things that they might not have before in order to score a home including dealing with termites.
Doing so can be costly. According to the National Pest Management Association, termites cause more than $5 billion in property damage each year. Whats more, these costs are generally not covered by homeowners insurance.
Before youre completely scared off, though, know this: A home with termite damage doesnt have to be a pariah. What to do if you love a house but hate its termites? First, find out how bad the damage is, whether it can be fixed and what an inspector recommends to rid the home of the pests. Then, see if you can negotiate a resolution with the seller. Here are some key considerations to keep in mind before you buy a house with termite damage.
Should you buy a home with termite damage?
Just because a house has termite damage doesnt mean you should automatically write it off. A lot depends on how bad the damage is and what it will cost to remedy.
If you live in a region that has a high probability of termite infestation as is the case in parts of California, Florida and Louisiana, due to high temperatures and soil qualities you might come across termite damage in your home search. If the damage is caught early, it can often be fixed with minimal issues.
In fact, termite damage might actually be a bargaining chip. Take Mike Kistner as an example. Kistner, a Realtor with PMZ Real Estate in Lodi, California, bought a home that had termite damage the seller had disclosed before Kistner made an offer. The seller agreed to tent the home for termite fumigation before a home inspection. Afterward, the inspection report came back clean and Kistner was able to negotiate $2,500 from the seller for minor repairs to avoid future infestations. Since I moved into the home, everything has been fine, he says.
Not everyone is as lucky, though. Glen Ramsey, a board-certified entomologist and technical services manager for pest-control brands like Orkin, says that termites dont necessarily go away as easily as other types of pests. And that presents a challenge, especially if you need to close quickly.
Visible damage is usually not the full extent of it termites are cryptic, which leads to potential damage in areas that youre unable to see, Ramsey says. That can be dangerous because the damage may be significant, both structurally and financially. In other words, you could be facing structural damage and paying out of pocket for expensive repairs.
Get a specialized pest inspection
Even if a seller discloses termite damage upfront, it may not be obvious how extensive the damage is or if theres still an active infestation. Thats why its important to get a professional home inspection and, beyond that, seek the help of a pest professional, as well as a licensed contractor, to help you understand the extent of the termite damage. If possible, have these inspections done during swarming season, so you have a better shot at uncovering all of the damage.
A standard home inspection wont cut it; a typical home inspector typically looks mainly at major components that are easily accessible. A pest inspector, on the other hand, will look specifically for evidence of termites and other pests.
Once you get the inspection reports back from the professionals, youll need to decide whether to proceed with the purchase. Even if the damage is minimal, never assume youre 100 percent in the clear once the home is treated.
Make sure you discuss the risks of proceeding with the purchase and have a reserve fund available to address any concerns that arise afterward, Ramsey says. He recommends that homebuyers work with a pest-management professional to decide on the best ongoing treatment plan. Also, it couldnt hurt to look into what your homeowners insurance policy will and wont cover when it comes to termite damage and consider specialty coverage, if necessary.
Negotiate termite damage repairs
Once you know about termites, the next logical question is who will pay for repairs and treatment to send those pests packing? The answer isnt so simple.
One way to protect yourself from the start is to include a home inspection contingency, which gives you a way out of the purchase contract without penalty if the inspection report uncovers major problems, says Ron Humes, a registered builder and principal broker at HomeSelect Realty in Lexington, Kentucky.
Under current housing market conditions, many buyers are choosing to waive the home inspection contingency entirely in the hopes of making their offer more appealing to sellers. But if you live in an area with termites or suspect damage home, doing so may be foolhardy, says Kistner.
When you find termite damage during the inspection period, Id submit an addendum requesting they tent the property, he says. I would also ask the seller to get the damage repaired by a licensed contractor and provide receipts, because not all (lenders) will let a homebuyer proceed (to loan approval) with termite damage.
Since more damage can crop up as repairs are being made, make sure to delay the closing until everything has been taken care of.
How much does termite treatment cost?
The costs for treatment depend on how extensive the infestation is and how much damage has been caused. Significant termite infestation treatment can set you back $228 to $956 or more, depending on the size of the house, according to HomeAdvisor. Structural repair costs will vary widely depending on location and the contractors experience, but expect to shell out a few thousand dollars or more if extensive repairs are needed.
If the seller isnt willing to make repairs, then you can either walk away from the sale (with a contingency) or negotiate further. This can include getting quotes from licensed contractors and requesting that the seller provide the amount as a cash credit that can be applied toward your closing costs.
Bottom line
Buying a house with termite damage doesnt need to be a deal-breaker, but it can take extra time and effort, so make sure youre ready to roll your sleeves up. Sure, it might be burdensome to get more home inspections or negotiate with a seller. However, the up-front costs and hassle pale in comparison to the debacle you could face later if termites continue to ravage your dream home.
A St. Petersburg dance studio that helps low-income families is in danger of closing its doors.
Competitive Edge Dance Company needs to raise $4,000 by April 5 in order to stay in its current space. The company needs the money to rent and renovate a space next door.
The company takes dancers ages 2 to 16, no matter what their families can pay. The majority of the dancers receive some kind of financial assistance.
"We have a lot of families who cant really afford it, but they have amazing kids and I cant deny them that, owner and instructor Jamie Lephew said. They are why I do this."
The dancers win national competitions, but say its about more than just winning.
"Everybody is so positive and its a family, 14-year-old Aja Saxton said. Its a world within a world."
Lephew said that if the company cant raise enough money to rent the neighboring space, it wont be able to stay in its current space past this summer.
"The kids are my family and if we have to shut our doors, I am so lost, Lephew said. I am already so lost with the potential of us not being able to provide for them."
"If this place had to close down, it would be like your home being shut down, Saxton said.
The dancers are holding a fundraiser Sunday at the Enoch Davis Center from 3-6 p.m.
A GoFundMe account is also available for those who wish to contribute to the fundraiser.
A monument to honor women from Polk County who served in World War II will be unveiled and dedicated on Saturday.
The monument, which is sponsored by the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, will be located at the Bicentennial Memorial Park behind the Lakeland Center.
One of the women honored by the monument is Peggy Gunder. She served in the U.S. Air Force, where she was responsible for attaching cameras to planes including the Enola Gay. That plane became famous for dropping an atomic bomb on Japan.
Gunder, who is now 95, said military leaders never told her or her fellow service members what type of mission the Enola Gay would fly.
"They never said anything like that," she said. "They never even mentioned. I guess they had been told not to say anything about anything."
Nancy Dotson, who is with the Daughters of the American Revolution, said the group wanted to get the monument in place while some local women who served in the war were still alive.
"Since we got names and addresses from these people three years ago, we have lost five or six of them," Dotson said. "And we lost one just in February right before the event."
Gunder said she is glad to see women who served get their due.
"That's not fair to these women, because they are working as hard as the men," she said.
The monument stone dedicated to Polk County women who served in World War II is part of a much larger monument for the war taking shape behind the Lakeland Center.
The dedication ceremony is set for Saturday at 10 a.m.
Here's what you need to know about the Bay area's weather for the weekend:
Mostly cloudy, breezy tonight
Chance of isolated showers
Showers and thunderstorms likely on Saturday
Rain is on the way. The front weve been talking about all week is finally moving into our state. It will slowly move southward Saturday resulting in rain for our area. In the meantime expect increasing clouds with mild morning lows in the upper 60s to mid 70s.
The rain will move in from the north so expect the first areas to see the rain will be Citrus and Hernando county between 5 and 8 a.m. There could also be a few isolated showers moving in from the gulf toward other coastal counties during that time. But the main band of rain will slowly progress southward during the day, making it through Pasco, Pinellas, and Hillsborough from mid morning to mid afternoon.
By late afternoon most of the rain will be pushing out of Polk and Manatee county with all the rain expected to be gone Saturday night.
Temperatures will be held down because of the clouds and rain, so expect the high to be early in the day near 80 and then drop after that.
Saturday night will be variably cloudy but dry as the front moves south.
By Sunday morning there will be a big difference with morning lows in the 50s.
Sunday will shape up to be a great day with partly cloudy to mostly sunny skies and highs in the 70s. There will however be a breezy wind from the north.
Friends and family will had a candlelight vigil Saturday night to remember three teenage girls who were killed when they drove a stolen car into a pond.
Laniya Miller and Ashaunti Butler, both 15, and Dominique Battle, 16, died Thursday morning when the stolen car they were in plunged into a cemetery pond in St. Petersburg.
Now those who knew the girls are mourning their deaths.
They werent perfect, but nobody deserves to die like that, said Jacer Brown, who was dating 15-year-old Laniya Miller. She was playful. She could make me laugh."
The three girls allegedly stole the car in Childs Park Wednesday night, and Pinellas County Sheriffs deputies came upon them early the next day and followed them.
The girls drove the car into a cemetery off Gandy Boulevard and straight into a pond. Deputies said they waded into the water to try to save them, but heavy vegetation and mud prevented it.
I know she made mistakes, but thats not who she was. said Zenia Hegdeman, who grew up with Butler. She wanted to change. She went to church with me."
Hegdeman said she wonders what she could have done to help prevent this.
I have to stop beating myself up, but I just think that if I had called her more, this wouldnt have happened," she said.
The candlelight vigil for the girls is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Campbell Park in St. Petersburg. Everyone is welcome to attend.
Lesters parents moved from the U.S. to Nicaragua in the 1980s to conduct missionary work. Today, her mother, Anne McSweeney 79, is a translator, and her father, Mark Lester, is co-director of the Center for Global Education and Experience, an immersion and study abroad program. Lester was born and raised in Nicaragua.
My futures in Nicaragua. Everything I do is aimed at How is this going to help me work back at home? said Lester. I want to do something related to human rights.
After attending Jesuit school for 12 years in Nicaragua, Lester applied to three Jesuit universities, ultimately choosing to attend Boston College.
She cites two experiences during freshman year that would greatly influence her time at BC and her career aspirations. The first was her Perspectives course with Kerry Cronin.
It was my favorite class. I loved it more than any other class, said Lester. The readings fascinated me. The discussions fascinated me. She became a philosophy major, following the Perspectives track.
The other was her exposure to advocacy work, via the Ignatian Family Teach-In. Lester has traveled with Campus Minister Donald MacMillan, S.J., to Washington, DC, the last three years to advocate for issues such as humane immigration reform, an increased minimum wage and demilitarization of Central American borders.
It has been a big part of learning how I can be a useful person in this world, said Lester. Fr. Don has been so influential. He is so committed to working for justice in Latin America and for immigrants.
Lester also is a Catholic Relief Services student ambassador, part of a network of college students committed to social justice, human rights and global solidarity, who mobilize campuses through educational efforts, responses to international crises and legislative advocacy. Last April when an earthquake hit Nepal, Lester and the other CRS student ambassadors quickly organized a point drive that raised $10,000 to support the CRS response in that country. They also organized a screening of the documentary, A Bridge Apart, which tells the story of the dangerous journey of migrants from Central America to the US border.
Lester said her work with CRS has helped her further hone the advocacy skills she learned through the Teach-In and is preparing her for the way Im going to need to think when Im doing human rights work in Nicaragua.
The Romero Scholarship holds special meaning for Lester. When she was eight, she and her family traveled to El Salvador for the 25th anniversary of the death of Archbishop Romero, who was assassinated while celebrating Mass in 1980.
That was a really powerful experience, recalled Lester. I saw his room, which was very simple. There was a bed, a chair, a crucifix and a desk. I saw his vestments, and the blood stains were still on it.
Earlier this month, Lester took a different type of trip, one that seemed appropriate given her lifetime of Jesuit schooling: a weeklong pilgrimage following the path Saint Ignatius took in Spain during his spiritual conversion. It was amazing, she said.
Lester cited Campus Minister Margaret Nuzzolese and Volunteer and Service Learning Center Director Dan Ponsetto as administrators who have been particularly supportive of her.
Margaret did JVI [Jesuit Volunteers International] in Nicaragua. Shes someone I can come to with anything. She has been a great friend and great listener. She has pointed me in the direction of a lot of great opportunities.
Dan recommended me for a leadership conference my freshman year. It wouldnt have been on my radar.
On campus, Lester has been involved in the Organization of Latin American Affairs and has served as vice president and president of Other Americas, an online and print publication on everything Latin America at BC. She has also served as a Spanish tutor.
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DuPont will not reopen a La Porte pesticide plant that has been shut down since a gas leak killed four workers - including a Groves woman - in 2014, the company announced on Thursday.
"We believe significant changes in market conditions during the period of the shutdown will persist over the long term and do not support restarting the facility," DuPont spokesman Gregg Schmidt said in a prepared statement.
The company will help employees search for new jobs and is committed to honoring the memory of the employees who died, he said. Some work will continue as DuPont decommissions equipment.
Groves resident Crystle Wise, brothers Gilbert "Gibby" and Robert Tisnado, and their shift supervisor, Wade Baker, died when 23,000 pounds of toxic methyl mercaptan escaped on Nov. 14, 2014. It was the deadliest U.S. chemical plant disaster in more than a decade.
The U.S. Chemical Safety Board found lack of maintenance, poor procedures and inadequate safety equipment contributed to the leak. DuPont has not accepted all of the government's findings and released its own report, partly blaming the accident on employee/operator error.
A Houston Chronicle investigation found that accidents and environmental problems at DuPont plants nationwide mounted as the chemical giant, long considered a safety leader, sought to slash costs.
Units were operated with rusty equipment, non-functioning ventilation systems and had not been upgraded in decades, the investigations found.
DuPont reached a confidential financial settlement with Wise's family in October.
Beaumont attorney Brent Coon, who represented Wise's daughter, on Thursday said the entire petrochemical industry should do more to avoid tragedies like the one that killed Wise and her co-workers.
"If the facility is in fact sold, we would hope that new ownership would initiate all of the recommended repairs and upgrades before starting the complex back up," Coon said.
The settlement's terms require DuPont to observe a nationwide moment of silence for the next decade on the anniversary of the tragedy and to make a contribution to the American Humane Society in Wise's name.
Jasmine Wise, Crystle Wise's daughter, presented the Humane Society of Southeast Texas a $100,000 check in her mother's name in February.
The La Porte plant was a large producer of Lannate, DuPont's brand name for methomyl, an important agricultural pesticide.
The chemical giant has shed many of its older businesses amid corporate restructuring and a push from activist investors to spin off underperforming segments.
Mark.Collette@Chron.com Twitter.com/ChronMC
BScott@BeaumontEnterprise.com Twitter.com/BrandonKScott
A 52-year-old Kyle man was arrested last week for allegedly having sex with and impregnating a 12-year-old girl, according to media reports.
Jose Najarro faces a first-degree felony charge of aggravated sexual assault of a child, which poses a maximum penalty of 99 years in prison. He was arrested March 24 and is being held on a detainer from the office of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the Hays County Jail in San Marcos, according to online court records. It is unclear what his immigration status is.
Immersed in a patient-centric healthcare environment, Maria Freed, MHSA, thrives on her patient advocacy work. Throughout her career, Ms. Freed has implemented various strategies to advance patient care, including:
Analyzing patient satisfaction surveys
Involving non-clinical staff alongside clinicians
Addressing patient concerns immediately
Adjusting messages based on individual patient preferences
Before taking on the role of administrator at Coral Gables Surgery Center in Miami, a Meridian Surgical Partners facility, Ms. Freed ran a patient navigation business, where she assisted international patients as they sought out oncology, orthopedic and neurosurgery services in South Florida.
Simply put, Ms. Freed makes it her business to understand patient needs. Her passion for patient advocacy stemmed from reading thousands of patient satisfaction surveys.
"I became fascinated with the idea of a patient's perception and a provider's perception everyone seemed to have a different take on the same experience," says Ms. Freed.
Ms. Freed also served as the assistant administrator of Coral Gables (Fla.) Hospital and Coral Gables-based Doctors Hospital, where she began envisioning hospital services through the eyes of patients. She implemented an initiative in the hospital, requiring all non-clinical staff to make patient rounds every month.
"Interesting things can happen when you ask the CFO to visit the bedside of a patient who was admitted the day before," says Ms. Freed. The program successfully involved all hospital staff members in the patient process, teaching everyone how to deal with patient complications and complaints.
"When you are in the administrator office, you become far removed from your actual client," explains Ms. Freed. "There's an immediacy when your client is in-house for a very short period. What are you doing to take care of that patient?" She emphasized the importance of immediately correcting a problem instead of writing a report on the issue 30 days later.
Additionally, Ms. Freed served as vice president of market research and development for a 580-bed hospital, where she focused on developing effective ways to care for patients. This intensive process involved gathering specific patient information, from which room a patient stayed in to room temperature to attending staff. Equipped with data, Ms. Freed then conducted interviews with patients, further promoting her mission of patient connection.
She has also connected with patients by working with various multicultural groups in South Florida and the Caribbean. As she created a diabetes unit for Haitian patients and a prostate cancer unit for Caribbean men, Ms. Freed learned to adjust and transform her messages based on the specific patient population.
"Really understanding patients and learning how to get a good message to them continues to interest me," says Ms. Freed.
As an ASC administrator, Ms. Freed remains committed to advancing patient care. And her high-energy personality bodes well in the ASC environment.
"Working in an ASC is really teaching me to be a generalist," said Ms. Freed. "Hospitals reward functionality and expertise in one specific service area. As an ASC administrator, I do a little bit of everything."
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Ransomware attacks held readers' attention throughout March. Here are five most-read health IT stories on Becker's Hospital Review last month.
1. Methodist Hospital in Kentucky declares internal emergency due to ransomware attack
A Kentucky hospital was hit with a ransomware virus limiting its use of electronic web-based services, prompting the hospital to declare an internal state of emergency. Read more
2. Epic contracts and their costs so far in 2016
Selecting an EHR requires a considerable investment of time, manpower and money. Read more
3. Methodist Hospital ransomware attack ends without payment
After five days, Methodist Hospital in Henderson, Ky., emerged from an internal state of emergency after undergoing a targeted ransomware attack. Read more
4. MedStar Health shuts down computer system after detecting virus
Columbia, Md.-based MedStar Health temporarily disabled its computer networks after discovering a virus that prevented certain users from logging in to the system. Read more
5. MedStar recovering from computer virus: 7 things to know
Here are seven updates about MedStar Health's cyberattack and how the system responded. Read more
More articles on health IT:
To pay or not to pay ransom: A tale of two hospitals
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Days before New York City Health + Hospitals' scheduled go-live on its Epic EHR, Ramanathan Raju, MD, president and CEO of the public health system, spoke with Becker's Hospital Review about the implementation process and addressed rumors circulating about the project.
Some background: NYC Health + Hospitals signed a contract in 2013 to implement Epic's EHR. The $764 million contract represents the implementation and maintenance cost of the EHR over six years. Dr. Raju's predecessor, President Alan D. Aviles, signed the contract. When Dr. Raju joined NYC Health + Hospitals in March 2014 from Cook County Health and Hospital System in Chicago, he took over the project.
The health system is replacing its QuadraMed EHR. The home-grown system has been in place for more than 20 years and some of its functions aren't keeping pace with the health system's needs. For example, Dr. Raju says NYC Health + Hospitals serves the mental health needs of close to 40 percent of New York City's 8 million residents, and QuadraMed doesn't offer electronic records for behavioral or mental health.
After more than two and a half years of planning, NYC Health + Hospitals is now in the go-live process of the new EHR. As of Wednesday, Dr. Raju reported everything is on schedule for an April 1/April 2 go-live at the system's Queens and Elmhurst campuses. Dr. Raju says he will be at Elmhurst Hospital during the go-live and his second-in-command will be at Queens Hospital.
"I don't have a crystal ball, but I think we are taking all the precautions. We have put everything in place in the right way, and we are moving in a very deliberate, cautious fashion to implement [the EHR]," Dr. Raju says. "As of now, everything looks good, but we are not going to lower our vigil. We will continue to monitor it."
Editor's note: Interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Question: You held a meeting last May with leaders of other organizations that have also implemented Epic's EHR. What were some of the similarities coming from other hospitals and health systems regarding Epic implementations, whether challenges or expectations?
Dr. Ramanathan Raju: We held the meeting for two purposes. One was to ask them to check the tires and look under the hood of my implementation plan and see if there's any tweaking I need to do or if there's something [where] I'm totally off base. They suggested some valuable tweaks and mostly agreed with the plan. The second part of the discussion was what they have learned during the implementation. So it was two-fold. It was to check our plan and to learn from others' implementations what went well, what didn't go well and how to prevent that from happening to us.
Some of the things are very general, like we need a lot of support, visible leadership and people should know leadership is behind you. They also said train people many times, don't train them once. Send them back to the lab as many times as they want so they get comfortable with it. They also said sometimes people do well in training, but the first time the new system comes in, it becomes a different experience for them because they've been used to a different system for many years. They said productivity will take a hit. That is fine, we understand that.
Q: I read that you have worked with Judy Faulkner, the founder and CEO of Epic, on this implementation and said she was the one who suggested bringing Ed Marx into the project.
[Note: Ed Marx is a consultant with The Advisory Board Company who is helping lead NYC Health + Hospitals' Epic implementation. He previously was CIO of Arlington-based Texas Health Resources.]
RR: Judy Faulkner is always present in our governance committee meetings every month. That is apart from the local representative, the person who's in charge of NYC Health + Hospitals' implementation, who is also always there. When I first came here, I made a trip to meet with Judy. I had some major concerns regarding the implementation, policy as well as people working on it. Judy shared the same concerns with me. We said, "Okay we are going to make a few changes, we are going to do things differently." And when I started calling her and asking who are the best people who can help me implement Epic, she gave me two names. Ed Marx's name came up. We sought out Mr. Marx, had a couple of discussions with him and he agreed to come on board to help implement.
Q: A number of anonymous sources have spoken out about the Epic go-live, including one blogger calling him or herself a whistleblower. How would you respond to the allegations that going live on the new EHR at this time is not conducive to patient safety?
RR: I would respond and say they're not true. Nobody's more interested in being careful with patient safety than me. We are doing everything possible to make sure of that. Second of all, there is nobody putting pressure on me to complete this by a particular date because the dates are all goals. They were set by me. I could always change it if I wanted to.
I can't prevent people from writing whatever they feel when there's no backup or any factual information. I can't do anything about it.
As of now, with all sincerity I can tell you I will never, ever, ever put a patient at risk because of some arbitrary deadline I need to meet. As of now, I have not identified any major patient safety issue. And if I find one in the next 48 hours, of course I will fix it.
There is a large group of people sitting down at the table trying to make sure we're all ready to go, that we've dotted every 'i', crossed every 't.' We did, but we still have to be vigilant.
Anybody can have a blog. That isn't our issue. The issue at the end of the day is we are trying to do everything possible with the system. As a physician, as a surgeon, I find it insulting that I, as a doctor who believes in 'do no harm,' would put patients at risk because I want to [meet] some arbitrary deadline. That's what I can tell you.
Q: Thanks, Dr. Raju. Any final thoughts?
RR: This is going to make our patients' experience better. It's going to make sure our doctors and providers get the best product to deliver the best possible care to our patients. We serve 1.4 million very vulnerable New Yorkers. We are the safety net of safety nets. We provide the most uninsured care for undocumented immigrants in the country. We are really a mission-based organization trying to achieve social justice and healthcare justice for all. We believe that our patients, our doctors, our nurses, our providers should have a state-of-the-art IT system, and that's what we're getting.
We're doing everything possible to make this go smoothly, make sure everything works well, make sure there are no patient safety concerns, make sure the quality is maintained, make sure the patient experience is good. I'm committed to doing that. I will watch it and I will not rest easy until I get that done.
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Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump has thrice changed his position on punishing women for abortions if they became outlawed following a MSNBC town hall meeting in Wisconsin Wednesday. Although he purportedly changed his stance on the issue over the course of a day, Mr. Trump's initial comment that women should be punished for obtaining illegal abortions has incensed members from both political parties and both sides of the abortion debate.
Talking to MSNBC's Chris Matthews, Mr. Trump said there would "have to be some form of punishment" for women who have abortions if the procedure became illegal in the U.S.
Later in the day, Mr. Trump backtracked in two subsequent statements, according to CNN:
1. "This issue is unclear and should be put back into the states for determination. Like Ronald Reagan, I am pro-life with exceptions, which I have outlined numerous times."
2. "If Congress were to pass legislation making abortion illegal and the federal courts upheld this legislation, or any state were permitted to ban abortion under state and federal law, the doctor or any other person performing this illegal act upon a woman would be held legally responsible, not the woman. The woman is a victim in this case as is the life in her womb. My position has not changed like Ronald Reagan, I am pro-life with exceptions."
Here are five things to know about Mr. Trump's statements and the reactions they have elicited.
1. His comments immediately incensed both pro-life and pro-choice advocates. "No pro-lifer would ever want to punish a woman who has chosen abortion," Jeanne Mancini, president of March for Life, said in a statement, according to Bloomberg Politics. "This is against the very nature of what we're about. We invite a woman who has gone down this route to consider paths of healing, not punishment."
Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood, tweeted: "This is a man who genuinely does not care about the health & safety of women only about his political ambitions."
2. Democratic and Republican candidates were also quick to criticize Mr. Trump. "What Donald Trump said was outrageous and dangerous. I'm constantly taken aback at the kinds of things that he advocates for," Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton told MSNBC, according to Reuters. "Once again, he has showed us who he is." She also tweeted, "We can't let someone with this much contempt for women's rights anywhere near the White House."
When asked if he agreed with Mr. Trump's initial comments about punishing women for abortions, Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) said, "Absolutely not. I do have exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother but of course women shouldn't be punished," according to NBC News.
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders tweeted, "Your Republican frontrunner, ladies and gentlemen. Shameful," and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said Mr. Trump's comment "demonstrated that he hasn't seriously thought through the issues, and he'll say anything just to get attention," according to CNN.
3. Mr. Trump's comments could discourage would-be women Republican voters. "I feel like it's almost the end of something, like there needs to be a split within the party," Gail Noren of Alexandria, Va., told The Boston Globe following his comments at the Town Hall. Ms. Noren said she voted for Marco Rubio in the Virginia primary this month. "Trump discourages women like me from going out to vote. A gazillion things that come out of that man's mouth are offensive."
Political analysts say Mr. Trump's remarks against women, such as those relating to abortions, are eroding many of the gains the Republican party has made regarding outreach to women. The problem could be particularly acute in wealthy suburbs where college-educated women represent a key swing constituency, according to The Boston Globe.
4. The majority of women voters have an unfavorable view of Mr. Trump. A recent CNN/ORC poll found 73 percent of women have an unfavorable view of the Republican frontrunner, compared with 57 percent of men, according to The Boston Globe. Almost half of Republican women 47 percent said they would not support a Trump candidacy, according to an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll.
5. Mr. Trump says he is committed to supporting women. Regarding his standing with women voters, Hope Hicks, Mr. Trump's spokeswoman, said he would "do more for women than any other candidate," according to The Boston Globe. "Mr. Trump has received great support from women in each of the primary elections because women, and all Americans know he will make America great again."
Palmetto Health and the University of South Carolina School of Medicine, both in Columbia, S.C., have combined medical practices, forming the Midlands region's largest multispecialty medical group.
Here are six things to know about the newly formed group.
1. Palmetto Health-USC Medical Group, which launched April 1, comprises more than 500 providers and 2,200 team members in more than 80 practices and nearly 100 locations.
2. The multispecialty, clinically integrated medical group will be the 11th largest employer in the Midlands region.
3. Providers at the medical group will care for 370,000 patients.
4. Les Hall, MD, serves as executive dean of the USC School of Medicine and CEO of Palmetto Health-USC Medical Group. Mr. Hall joined the medical group in February 2015 from the University of Missouri School of Medicine in Columbia, Mo., where he was interim dean.
5. Dr. Hall believes the combined medical group will provide the broadest range of healthcare services to the Midlands region. "We will go beyond caring for people to caring about people. Our goal is to build a system that will be able to provide the people in our community with many new services and areas of expertise, providing greater access to health care they need in convenient locations," he said in a prepared statement.
6. Joan Gabel, University of South Carolina provost, added, "At USC, we are excited to begin this new era in partnership with Palmetto Health. As the field of healthcare is rapidly changing, so is academic medicine. This expanded collaboration will open up new research opportunities and allow school of medicine students to learn in an interprofessional and team-based environment. It will help ensure the next generation of physicians is positioned to build the knowledge they need to provide excellent care in the future."
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The following hospital mergers, acquisitions and general transactions took place or were announced in March.
1. Barnabas Health, Robert Wood Johnson complete merger: 6 things to know
Orange, N.J.-based Barnabas Health and Robert Wood Johnson Health System, which has flagship hospital campuses in New Brunswick, N.J., and Somerset, N.J., completed their planned merger, creating the largest health system in the state.
2. Capella inks private-public partnership with Arkansas hospital
Benton, Ark.-based Saline Memorial Hospital's board of directors voted to partner with Franklin, Tenn.-based Capella Healthcare
3. HealthAlliance joins Westchester Medical Center Health Network: 8 things to know
Westchester Medical Center Health Network in Valhalla, N.Y., and Kingston, N.Y.-based HealthAlliance of the Hudson Valley partnered to enhance and expand healthcare for the Hudson Valley region.
4. Memorial OKs partnership with Novant Health: 5 things to know
Memorial Health in Savannah, Ga., approved a strategic partnership agreement with Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Novant Health.
5. Capella, RegionalCare to merge into new $1.7B company: 10 things to know
Franklin, Tenn.-based Capella Healthcare and Brentwood, Tenn.-based RegionalCare Hospital Partners announced plans to merge, creating a combined company with 18 hospital campuses in 12 states.
6. Forest Hills Hospital, Franklin Hospital merge with Long Island Jewish Medical Center
New York State approved a request for Forest Hills (N.Y.) Hospital and Franklin Hospital in Valley Stream, N.Y., to merge with Long Island Jewish Medical Center, part of Great Neck, N.Y.-based Northwell Health.
7. UPMC gets green light to acquire Jameson Health System
The proposed merger between Jameson Health System, a single hospital system in New Castle, Pa., and Pittsburgh-based UPMC was given the go-ahead under a consent decree filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
8. Wheeling Hospital to acquire critical access hospital in Ohio
Wheeling (W.Va.) Hospital took the first step to acquire Harrison Community Hospital in Cadiz, Ohio, as CEOs of both organizations recently signed a letter of intent for the transaction.
9. Sale approved for shuttered Texas hospital
Bowie (Texas) Memorial Hospital board members signed a contract to sell the facility to Hashmi Group for $1.5 million.
10. Lenoir Memorial Hospital enters exclusive negotiations with UNC Health Care
The board of directors of Kinston, N.C.-based Lenoir Memorial Hospital voted to pursue exclusive negotiations to create a management services agreement with Chapel Hill-based UNC Health Care.
11. Sutter Health takes ownership stake in Stanislaus Surgical Hospital: 5 things to know
Sacramento, Calif.-based Sutter Health signed an agreement to become majority owner of Stanislaus Surgical Hospital in Modesto, Calif.
12. Baptist Health South Florida acquires Northpoint Surgery Center: 4 things to know
Coral Gables-based Baptist Health South Florida acquired a majority interest in Northpoint Surgery Center in West Palm Beach, Fla.
13. General Health, Ochsner plan to form strategic partnership: 7 things to know
Baton Rouge, La.-based General Health System and New Orleans-based Ochsner Health System signed a letter of intent to form an integrated, strategic partnership.
14. Atlantic Health System expands reach in New Jersey
A New Jersey Superior Court judge approved Morristown, N.J.-based Atlantic Health System's acquisition of Hackettstown (N.J.) Regional Medical Center.
15. West Virginia hospital merger clears regulatory hurdle, still faces FTC opposition
The West Virginia Health Care Authority approved the proposed merger of Cabell Huntington (W.Va.) Hospital and Huntington-based St. Mary's Medical Center. A new law in the state allows the hospitals to avoid the Federal Trade Commission's challenge to the transaction.
16. Mercy Health signs affiliation agreement with Henry County Hospital
Toledo, Ohio-based Mercy Health and Napoleon, Ohio-based Henry County Hospital entered into an affiliation agreement.
17. Group Health approves $1.8B acquisition by Kaiser
Voting members of Seattle-based Group Health Cooperative agreed to join with Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente.
18. Henry Ford Health System to expand Michigan footprint
Allegiance Health in Jackson, Mich., signed a definitive agreement to join Detroit-based Henry Ford Health System.
19. Baptist Health makes $150M bid to acquire Indiana hospital
Louisville, Ky.-based Baptist Health offered to purchase Floyd Memorial Hospital in New Albany, Ind., for $150 million.
20. NJ approves Prime's $62M purchase of bankrupt hospital
Ontario, Calif.-based Prime Healthcare Services received approval to purchase Saint Michael's Medical Center in Newark, N.J., ending a 3-year review process.
21. Mayo Clinic to cut ties with Georgia hospital
Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic plans to disaffiliate with a hospital it has run for several years in Waycross, Ga.
22. Ascension Wisconsin's Ministry Health Care tentatively agrees to sell flagship hospital: 4 things to know
Milwaukee-based Ministry Health Care, part of Ascension Wisconsin, reached a tentative agreement to sell Ministry Saint Joseph's Hospital in Marshfield, Wis., to Marshfield (Wis.) Clinic Health System.
23. CHS acquires majority ownership of 2 IU Health hospitals
Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems acquired an 80 percent ownership interest in a joint venture entity with Indianapolis-based Indiana University Health that includes essentially all of the assets of 227-bed IU Health La Porte (Ind.) Hospital and 50-bed IU Health Starke Hospital in Knox, Ind.
24. Prospect Medical Holdings buys bankrupt NJ hospital
Prospect Medical Holdings, a for-profit hospital chain based in Los Angeles, bought bankrupt East Orange (N.J.) General Hospital.
25. Dartmouth-Hitchcock, Alice Peck Day Memorial finalize affiliation agreement
The affiliation between Dartmouth-Hitchcock and Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital, both based in Lebanon, N.H., received regulatory approval, finalizing a deal in the works for more than two years.
26. UPMC's expansion into NY moves forward
Pittsburgh-based UPMC signed an affiliation agreement with WCA Hospital in Jamestown, N.Y., in late 2015, and the organizations moved forward with their partnership by filing plans with the New York State Department of Health.
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi and the National Rifle Association filed documents Monday backing a 2011 law that restricts physicians from asking patients about gun ownership, according to a Miami Herald report.
The law, popularly known in Florida as "Docs v. Glocks," has been challenged three times over the past two years, but each time a three-judge panel of the federal appeals court has upheld the constitutionality of the law, according to the report. In February, a full federal appeals court agreed to hear the dispute. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments June 21, according to the report.
The brief filed Monday by the state attorney general's office argues that physicians do not have a legal standing to challenge the law, and even if they do have a legal standing, the law is still constitutional under the First Amendment, according to the report.
The brief asserts that the law protects the privacy of its citizens who have the constitutional right to keep and bear arms and prevents discrimination and harassment in procuring medical care, according to the report. The brief adds, "The act represents the most modest of all professional regulations a requirement that doctors stick to practicing medicine," according to the Miami Herald report.
The NRA filed a friend-of-the-court brief with similar statements, according to the report.
The physicians and physician groups challenging the law must submit documents by April 27, according to the report. However, when the plaintiffs filed a petition in January seeking the hearing, they argued that despite the sensitive and perhaps intrusive nature of the subject of gun ownership, the state does not have the right to bar physicians from asking patients about it, according to the report. This same logic would also then apply to physicians' conversations with patients about drug and alcohol use, smoking and sexual activity, the petition said. In barring physicians from asking about such activities, the state is making it more difficult for Florida residents to learn important information about gun safety and avoidable injuries or deaths, the petition said, according to the report.
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There are many questions left unanswered regarding the death of 43-year-old Paul Cady, who died Tuesday evening after falling or jumping from a sixth floor window at Maine Medical Center in Portland.
Mr. Cady's daughter believes her father was disoriented and trying to get home to his family when he fell.
"He wanted nothing more in the world than to come home with family, but with the extent of his brain injuries he needed more hospital time and rehab time before that could happen," Mirada Cady wrote in a post on a Gofundme page created to help with her father's medical expenses. Funds are now being raised to help with funeral costs for Mr. Cady, who was at Maine Medical Center receiving treatment for injuries he sustained in a motorcycle accident.
Portland police are investigating the circumstances that led to Mr. Cady's death, and the Maine Department of Health and Human Services' Division of Licensing and Regulatory Services will also investigate the incident. Maine HHS spokeswoman Samantha Edwards told the Portland Press Herald she didn't have details about the scope of the investigation.
Under the American Institute of Architects 2006 general guidelines, newly constructed hospitals in Maine aren't required to have operable windows in patient rooms. If the windows are operable, the guidelines state they should be restricted "to inhibit possible escape or suicide," according to the report. The standards only apply to older buildings if they are renovated after 2009 and the construction work exceeds $50,000.
Mr. Cady fell from the window in his room located in the hospital's Richards Tower, which was built in 1969. Although it is unclear when that tower was last updated, Maine Medical Center spokesman Clay Holtzman told the Herald that the installation of stops on operable windows in patient care areas was one of the standards reviewed when the hospital was last accredited in 2014.
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The Mississippi Senate has approved House Bill 1523 a measure that would allow the denial of certain medical services to the LGBT community.
Under the legislation, known as the Protecting Freedom of Conscience from Government Discrimination Act, government officials who hold the religious or moral belief that marriage is between a man and a woman would be allowed to deny marriage licenses to gay couples, according to a Mississippi Public Broadcasting report.
The bill extends protections to private businesses and nonprofit organizations and protects those who decline to participate in psychological, counseling or fertility services based on their religious belief or moral conviction that marriage should be between a man and woman and "sexual relations are properly reserved to such a marriage."
The bill also protects medical professionals who decline to participate in the provision of treatments, counseling or surgeries related to sex reassignment or gender identity transitioning.
The legislation does include an exception for medical emergencies.
Supporters of the bill believe it protects their right to religious freedom, while opponents argue it promotes discrimination.
Ron Matis, who represents the Mississippi District of the United Pentecostal Church, told MPB the bill is about "letting people know that pastors, people of faith, aren't going to be discriminated on, against, for their sincerely held religious beliefs."
Commenting on the legislation, Erik Flemming with the American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi told MPB, "We would like for this bill either to just die or be altered in a way where it doesn't discriminate against the LGBT community."
The legislation will now go back to the House for one more check before it heads to Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant, who will likely sign it into law, according to the report.
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After the Oklahoma Health Care Authority the state's Medicaid agency said Medicaid rates will likely be cut by nearly 25 percent as of June 1, leaders from the Oklahoma State Medical Association are asking physicians to consider dropping out of Medicaid, according to Tulsa World.
"We are fully aware this will create an access-to-care crisis for rural residents, vulnerable seniors, the disabled and the nearly 60 percent of Oklahoma babies born under Medicaid," said OSMA President Woody Jenkins, MD, according to the report. "But a 25 percent rate cut, combined with previous cuts that had already been made in recent years, will leave many of our members with little choice."
The OHCA is considering cutting rates because Oklahoma is facing a $1.3 million shortage in creating a budget for fiscal year 2017.
Dr. Jenkins said maintaining a practice is "unsustainable" if the rates are decreased by 25 percent.
Tandie Hastings, board president of the Oklahoma Association of Health Care Providers, used similar language to describe the potential cuts. "At a 25 percent cut, 93 percent of our facilities will be operating at a loss every single day," she said, according to the report. The OAHCP represents nursing home facilities throughout the state. "That is unsustainable, and the result will be a mass closure of nursing homes. When that happens a lot of seniors and disabled individuals will be cut out of options for receiving care," she added.
While media attention and educational programs are putting the dangers of opioids center stage, Leana Wen, MD, the Commissioner of Health of Baltimore City, says there is a serious related threat that many healthcare providers are overlooking.
In an Op-Ed published Wednesday in The Wall Street Journal, Dr. Wen wrote that 44 Americans die everyday from opioid overdose, but one-third of those deaths are also associated with combined benzodiazepine use. Data from Maryland shows 70 percent of opioid-related deaths were also benzodiazepine-related, according to the report.
Benzodiazepines, such as Xanax or Valium, combined with opioids can suppress breathing, increase drowsiness and lead to death, Dr. Wen wrote. Yet many physicians continue to prescribe these medications together because they are taught to do so. Dr. Wen wrote that she was taught to prescribe them together when she was in medical school in the early 2000s. including Dr. Wen. Many current overdose campaigns are also focused on opioids because there is a drug available to reduce an opioid overdose, she wrote.
However, mounting data shows this drug combination is a serious threat to patients, according to Dr. Wen. A federal study she cited indicates hospital admissions for patients addicted to both types of drugs increased 569 percent over the last decade.
To help combat the problem, Dr. Wen and 40 other city health commissioners and state health directors formed a coalition pushing for an FDA black box warning on prescribing opioids and benzodiazepines together. The FDA has issued a black box warning for opioids, she wrote, but it did not include information about their combination with benzodiazepines.
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Some of the biggest political names in the increasingly heated EU debate will air their opposing views at a major business event in Belfast next week.
The former Conservative Secretary of State Owen Paterson will line up alongside Northern Ireland-born Labour MP Kate Hoey to put the case for a Brexit, while Labour's Vernon Coaker, currently Shadow Secretary of State, and former Tory MEP John Stevens will argue that Britain should remain a member of the European Union.
Around 150 people, including business leaders in manufacturing and service companies, entrepreneurs and farmers have signed up for the Big EU Business Debate at the Northern Ireland Science Park on Monday evening. It will be live-streamed online throughout the UK and the Belfast Telegraph will host a live pre-debate discussion with key speakers and guests.
Ms Hoey, Labour's most prominent Eurosceptic, is co-chair of Labour Leave. She is a harsh critic of the EU and has challenged those in the remain camp over what she sees as "scare tactics". Writing in the Daily Telegraph recently she said: "Familiar voices try to scare us into believing that leaving the EU would ruin the UK, but these are the same people who told us that we had to join the euro or face disaster.
"We stayed out of the euro and have therefore been spared much of the chaos of that unsustainable currency - but we still give 7.3bn net a year of our money to the EU."
At the event in Belfast on Monday night, she'll be going head to head with her party colleague Vernon Coaker who's a firm supporter of the argument for Britain's continued membership of the EU. He said: "The EU has delivered investment and jobs to the UK whilst also securing important protections for workers, consumers and the environment."
Mr Coaker will be supported in his pro-EU argument by former Conservative MEP John Stevens, a senior research Fellow at the Global Policy Institute, while the Leave camp's case will be championed by Owen Paterson, the former Tory Environment Minister who was previously Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
Along with the current NIO Secretary Teresa Villiers, Mr Paterson has become a key figure in the Brexit camp, branding the Prime Minister's concessions gained from the recent EU summit as "very disappointing". The Big EU Business Debate will be co-chaired by Angela McGowan, chief economist at Danske Bank, and Jeffrey Peel, managing director of the consultancy firm, Quadriga.
Mr Peel, a former vice-chair of the Conservative Party in Northern Ireland and a declared "Brexiteer", said he hoped the event would highlight the key economic issues at stake in the EU referendum vote.
"We have to think rationally about what is best for the UK," said Mr Peel. "There are good arguments on both sides of the EU debate and it's important that people hear the facts and make their decision based on economic grounds. There's a unique opportunity for voters in Northern Ireland to focus on issues that are not sectarian in any way."
The event's sponsors are Equiniti Group, Danske Bank and the Federation of Small Businesses.
The FTSE 100 Index was down 63.4 points to 6112.5
London's top flight index was left languishing in the red as oil and metal stocks felt the force of falling commodity prices.
The FTSE 100 Index was down 28.9 points to 6146.1, as slides in the price of Brent crude and copper dragged on blue-chip oil and mining companies.
Glencore was the biggest faller, sinking more than 4% or 7.6p to 149.8p, while BP dipped 6.4p to 343.8p, as oil dropped by 4% to 38.72 US dollars a barrel.
The plunging oil price comes after Saudi prince Mohammed bin Salman poured cold water on the prospect of cutting production unless Iran and other major producers follow suit.
European markets were also stuck in the red, with the Cac 40 in France slumping 1.4% and Germany's Dax dropping 1.7%.
Meanwhile, the pound was down more than 1% against the dollar at 1.42 after US employment data came in better-than-expected with private employers adding 215,000 jobs in March.
Sterling was also down more than 1% against the euro at 1.247, as UK manufacturing data showed factory output was stuck in the "doldrums" at close to three-year lows in March.
The closely-watched Markit/CIPS manufacturing purchasing managers' index showed the sector barely remained in growth territory, with a reading of 51 last month, edging up from 50.8 in February, amid a fragile UK economy and global slowdown. A reading above 50 indicates expansion.
It said the rise in February was the slowest expansion in the sector for nearly three years, while manufacturing jobs fell for the third straight month.
In stocks, s upermarket giant Tesco saw its share price come under pressure amid reports it is gearing up to sell the Giraffe restaurant chain.
Britain's biggest supermarket has been drumming up interest in the family-friendly chain by sounding out private equity firms and potential buyers, according to reports.
Giraffe - which has 58 sites across the UK - was snapped up by Mr Clarke in a 50 million deal three years ago. It formed the crux of his master plan to boost footfall in larger supermarkets by opening restaurants and cafes in store.
But new chief executive Dave Lewis is said to be considering a sale of the restaurant group in order to focus on Tesco's core business, Sky News reported.
Shares were down just under 1% or 1.8p to 190p.
Close rival Sainsbury's also saw its share price take a hit after winning a four-month battle to buy Argos owner Home Retail Group.
Sainsbury's said the 1.4 billion deal will create a "multi-product, multi-channel" business with around 2,000 stores, concessions and click-and-collect outlets.
The move will see Sainsbury's pay 0.321 new shares and 55p per share in cash to buy Argos, and will see Home Retail Group shareholders hold 12% of the combined business.
Sainsbury's said the deal should be completed in the third quarter of this year. Shares were down 0.3p to 276.6p.
The biggest risers in the FTSE 100 Index were Shire up 123p to 4082p, Smith & Nephew up 18p to 1166p, Arm Holdings up 12p to 1026p, Persimmon up 23p to 2108p.
The biggest fallers in the FTSE 100 Index were Glencore down 7.6p to 149.8p, Standard Chartered down 18.7p to 453.9p, Antofagasta down 15.5p to 453.9p, Pearson down 26.5p to 848.5p.
Sajid Javid will visit Port Talbot amid calls for him to consider his position
Hundreds of steelworkers have left the Government in no doubt about their fears over job cuts as they demanded answers during a visit to the country's biggest steel plant by the Business Secretary.
Sajid Javid visited Port Talbot in South Wales after cutting short a business trip to Australia to deal with the shock decision by Tata to sell its loss-making UK assets.
As he left a meeting inside the plant, a group of banner-waving steelworkers asked him what the Government was doing to save the industry.
He said the Government was on their side, adding that steel was "absolutely vital" to the UK's industrial sector.
During a four-minute face-to-face with workers, Mr Javid repeated the Government's contention that everything possible was being done, saying there was interest in Tata's steel portfolio but specific details could not be given because of "commercial reasons".
Hot mill worker Christopher Walters, 48, said: "We all feel like we've been kicked in the guts. We knew that things were looking bad about six to eight months ago so it's a pity that all these pledges of support from the Government and Parliament were not made then.
"We have all come out in force today to show the strength of feeling about it."
Nurses linked arms with steelworkers as they stood outside the blast furnaces.
District nurse Lynne Driscoll said: "This is a close community and we all stand together in times of need - supporting each other. Many of our colleagues have family working in the steelworks.
"The health of our community is already greatly affected by deprivation, so much so that even the threat of closure has a huge impact on the health and wellbeing of workers, their families and the community."
Asked if there were any potential buyers, Mr Javid said it would be wrong for commercial reasons to name anyone expressing interest, but said: "There will most certainly be people.
"We are on your side. The time is there, meetings today have been constructive, but also with Tata management in India, they have been very responsible, they've shown in the past as a group they are a responsible company, they've had to sell things in the past, I take confidence from that and so should you."
Mr Javid said in media interviews that the Government has received confidential information from Tata about its UK assets and is now engaged in trying to find a buyer.
The Business Secretary said he "rushed back" from Australia and described his meeting with managers, workers and union officials in Port Talbot as "productive".
"We have worked really hard with Tata for a long time, making sure we can find a new buyer. Information we got from Tata is confidential."
Mr Javid maintained the Government had been leading efforts in the European Union to impose tariffs on cheap Chinese steel, one of the issues blamed for the current crisis.
"I agree the EU needs to act more quickly," he said.
It has emerged that China has imposed anti-dumping duties on "under-priced" steel from the European Union, Japan and South Korea.
The Chinese ministry of commerce said imports of grain-oriented flat-rolled steel will be charged duties ranging from 14.5% to 46.3%.
The ministry said Chinese producers have suffered "substantial damage" due to improperly under-priced foreign steel.
The Government was attacked for not taking emergency action months ago to head off the jobs crisis now gripping the industry.
Trade group UK Steel said it set out six months ago what needed to be done in the short term but it has not happened.
The Labour Party will post an advert on social media with the message: "The richest get handouts. Steelworkers get sold out."
A spokesman said: "David Cameron has failed our steel industry and failed the UK's manufacturing. It is time he acted in the national interest and protected Britain's steel industry."
German engineering conglomerate ThyssenKrupp has held talks with Tata Steel on combining their continental European steel operations, according to reports.
Roy Rickhuss, general secretary of Community, said: "It is promising that the Business Secretary has taken the time to listen directly to the concerns of steelworkers in Port Talbot.
"His colleagues should remember that this is a national steel crisis. There are thousands of worried families right across the UK who are looking to the Government to give them some hope.
"We do not need more false claims from ministers that they have done all they can for the UK steel industry. This is quite clearly not the case when they are ringleading opposition to Europe imposing higher tariffs on unfairly traded steel."
Mr Javid was handed a Save Our Steel badge as he left Port Talbot.
The Government later published a consultation on introducing an exemption for energy intensive industries (EIIs), such as the steel industry, from renewable electricity costs in a move it said could save the steel industry more than 400 million over this parliament.
The move, first announced at the Autumn Statement, will exempt all EIIs from paying 390 million a year in policy costs of the Renewables Obligation and Feed-in Tariff.
The exemption is expected to come into force in 2017.
Mr Javid said: "Help with energy costs has been one of the steel industry's key asks and, having extended last year the compensation we are paying out, I want to see progress on exempting them altogether.
"While we can't control the global price of steel, we are doing everything we can to help our steel industry, not just on energy costs but also securing flexibility on EU emissions rules and on tariffs."
Shadow business secretary Angela Eagle said: "Over 24 hours have now passed since the Prime Minister convened the so-called emergency meeting, but so far we have heard more warm words from the Government but no concrete action.
"Despite all the talk there have been no new proposals to safeguard our steelmaking capacity; no evidence of action to reassure workers; and no proof that the Government is going all out to find a potential buyer.
"For the sake of steel workers and their families who are worried sick and for the future of our economy, it's time the Government got a grip of the situation and came up with concrete steps to help save our steel industry."
Terry Scuoler, chief executive of EEF, the manufacturers' organisation, said: "Providing energy intensive industry with an exemption from the costs of renewables is hugely welcome and will help ease the pressure on these vital sectors.
"A system of permanent exemption from energy policy costs is the only long term solution that can provide these sectors with that crucial sense of certainty that is so important for future investment decisions. This is something the current system of compensation payments will struggle to do to the same degree."
David Cameron, attending an international nuclear security summit in Washington, raised the problems facing the steel industry with Chinese president Xi Jinping.
A Government source said: "The Prime Minister raised concerns about global steel industry, said we needed to work together to tackle the challenges with over-capacity and that G20 could be a good forum to address it later in the year."
The scandal is said to implicate "numerous foreign companies active in the oil sector"
Monaco's government says it is helping British authorities investigate a "vast corruption scandal" implicating an unspecified number of international oil companies.
The tiny European principality said several executives of the Monaco-based company UNAOIL had been questioned over the past few days, and that their homes and headquarters had been searched following an urgent request from Britain's Serious Fraud Office.
"These searches and interviews took place in the presence of British officials as part of a vast corruption scandal which implicates several foreign companies active in the oil sector," it said. "Evidence will be used by British officials as part of their investigations."
Few further details were made available and Monaco's government said going into specifics might compromise the investigation.
A UNAOIL spokeswoman said the company "has no comment at this time" and the Serious Fraud Office also declined comment.
UNAOIL was at the centre of an expose published on Wednesday by the Huffington Post and Australia's Fairfax Media, which accuses the business of having "systematically corrupted the global oil industry" by delivering millions in bribes on behalf of well-known multinationals to secure contracts.
The company has denied the allegations. Asked by both publications whether UNAOIL paid bribes, chief executive Ata Ahsani was quoted as saying: "The answer is absolutely no."
The publications said they drew on information gleaned from hundreds of thousands of internal emails between 2002 and 2012 for their six-month investigation.
Fairfax described it as "the biggest leak of confidential files in the history of the oil industry" and said the files held evidence of bribes paid to Middle Eastern oil chiefs and other officials, sometimes with the knowledge - and occasionally with the active participation - of the multinationals involved.
Investigative reporter Nick McKenzie said the initial tip-off about the scandal arrived in the mail, with instructions to place an ad in a French newspaper carrying the code words "Monte Christo" if he wanted to know more.
Fairfax said UNAOIL did not challenge of the authenticity of the documents involved and instead sent a letter through its lawyers demanding that Fairfax wipe the material from its servers.
Supermarket Sainsbury's has won its four-month battle to buy Argos owner Home Retail Group after agreeing a 1.4 billion deal.
Sainsbury's said the move will create a "multi-product, multi-channel" business with around 200 stores.
The successful bid by Sainsbury's for Home Retail Group would greatly extend its reach in Northern Ireland - and bring it into the Republic of Ireland for the first time.
Sainsbury's currently has 13 of its own stores in Northern Ireland, while there are nearly 20 Argos and nine Homebase stores.
Over the last year, Sainsbury's has worked in partnership with Home Retail Group to trial Argos concessions in their supermarket stores.
There have been suggestions that Sainsbury's will shut a number of the 734 stores in the Argos chain across the UK and bring them into its supermarkets as concessions. Retail experts believe between 150 and 200 Argos stores could be affected.
Chairman David Tyler said: "We are very pleased the board of Home Retail Group has recommended our offer for the acquisition of its business to its shareholders.
"The combined business will offer a multi-product, multi-channel proposition, with fast delivery networks, which we believe will be very attractive to customers and which will create value to both sets of shareholders."
Home Retail Group chairman John Coombe added: "Argos is both an icon of the British high street and also a leader in the digital transformation of UK retailing.
"We are pleased that Sainsbury's has recognised our progress and our potential with its recommended acquisition of Home Retail Group."
The deal will see Sainsbury's pay 0.321 new shares and 55p per share in cash to buy Argos, and will see Home Retail Group shareholders hold 12% of the combined business.
Sainsbury's said the deal should be completed in the third quarter of this year.
Tesco may be planning to offload the Giraffe chain
Supermarket giant Tesco may sell its restaurant chain Giraffe in a step away from the failed turnaround strategy launched by ex-boss Philip Clarke.
Britain's biggest supermarket has been drumming up interest in the family-friendly chain by sounding out private equity firms and potential buyers, according to reports.
Giraffe - which has 58 sites across the UK - was snapped up by Mr Clarke in a 50 million deal three years ago. It formed the crux of his master plan to boost footfall in larger supermarkets by opening restaurants and cafes in store.
But new chief executive Dave Lewis is said to be considering a sale of the restaurant group in order to focus on Tesco's core business, Sky News reported.
Shares in Tesco fell more than 2%.
Mr Clarke took over from Sir Terry Leahy in March 2011, but shocked the market at the start of 2012 when he announced Tesco's first profit warning for 20 years.
It prompted the roll-out of a 1 billion turnaround strategy, which included a swathe of price cuts, the recruitment of more staff and upgrading stores with bakeries, Harris + Hoole coffee shops and Giraffe restaurants.
However, Mr Clarke stepped down after making further profit warnings and seeing sales come under pressure from German discounters Aldi and Lidl and the supermarket price war.
Since then, Tesco has moved to cut costs, with Mr Lewis shutting dozens of unprofitable stores, shelving plans to open new supermarkets, shutting its final salary pension scheme and disposing of the loss-making digital content business Blinkbox.
Tesco was buoyed by a surprise rise in sales over the festive season, with a 1.3% increase in UK like-for-like sales in the six weeks to January 9.
Speculation surrounding the sale of Giraffe comes after close rival Sainsbury's won its four-month battle to buy Argos owner Home Retail Group after agreeing a 1.4 billion deal, and it will now set about revamping the general goods retailer.
Sainsbury's said the move will create a "multi-product, multi-channel" business with around 2,000 stores, concessions and click-and-collect outlets.
A spokesman for Tesco declined to comment.
Tales of Nessie
Loch Ness and its mythical monster have provided a wealth of material for hoaxers. In 1972 a team of zoologists from Yorkshire's Flamingo Park Zoo had gone out in search of the legendary monster and soon discovered a large body floating in the water. They retrieved the corpse, which reportedly measured between 16 and 18 feet and weighed up to 1.5 tonnes, and was described by the Press Association as having "a bear's head and a brown scaly body with clawlike fins." The creature was put in a van to be taken away for testing, whereupon police chased them down and took the cadaver under an act of parliament which prohibits the removal of "unidentified creatures" from Loch Ness. The case attracted worldwide attention, with the press reporting the discovery of the "son of Nessie." But it was later revealed that Flamingo Park's education officer John Shields was responsible for setting up his colleagues in an elaborate hoax. He had shaved off the whiskers and disfigured a bull elephant seal which had died the week before, and dumped it in Loch Ness to dupe them.
The trailer for one of the most anticipated TV dramas in recent years has been released - drumming up excitement throughout Northern Ireland.
The advert for the drama about killers Colin Howell and Hazel Stewart, who murdered their partners, aired on ITV over the weekend. It gave a sneak peek of what's in store in the three-part drama series.
The Secret tells the real-life story of how Coleraine Sunday school teacher Stewart and her lover Howell turned into murderers in 1991.
Dentist Howell and Hazel, who then went under her married name of Buchanan, became embroiled in an affair and plotted to kill their spouses, Lesley Howell and Trevor Buchanan.
In one of the scenes, actor James Nesbitt, who plays double 'driller killer' Howell, is seen singing and preaching from a pulpit while in another he appears alongside Genevieve O'Reilly, who plays Hazel, as they discuss removing the bodies.
The drama is based on the book, Let This Be Our Secret, by Deric Henderson, the former Ireland editor of the Press Association.
The cast and crew have been spotted filming the production in various locations around Northern Ireland, including Carrickfergus, Groomsport and on Castlerock beach.
The bodies of mum-of-four Lesley and policeman dad-of-two Trevor were found in a car filled with fumes in Castlerock in May 1991. Howell and Stewart conspired to make the deaths of the couple look like a suicide pact.
For almost 20 years they lied to families, police and friends until Howell confessed in 2009.
The Secret was written by Bafta-winner Stuart Urban and directed by Nick Murphy.
Say what you like about US actor Michael Shannon, but don't question his dedication.
He's on a fleeting visit, having flown into the UK just hours before - to then leave the same afternoon - when we meet. But there's method in his madness, as the Kentucky native explains he's in fact rehearsing for his latest Broadway stint, Long Day's Journey Into Night.
"I'm starring with Jessica Lange. She did the play here in the West End 15 years ago and wanted to do it again, so we're doing it. She's my mum right now," he says.
Shannon is somewhat intense, furrow-browed; the 41-year-old's cinematic reputation precedes him.
Since making his big screen debut in 1993's Groundhog Day, the acclaimed talent has gone on to star in over 40 films, including Revolutionary Road opposite Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio, and Zack Snyder's Man Of Steel. But it's his sanity-tipping, pressure-cooker roles he has become synonymous for - such as Curtis in Jeff Nichols' Take Shelter.
He's quick to shut down those who pigeonhole him, however.
"Isn't the idea that you're different people in each of the movies? Sometimes I hear that I play different parts and sometimes people say, 'So you always play the same part'. It's confusing, but it's part of our culture: everybody describes everything by comparing it to something else," he says.
From his disarmingly deadpan expression to his drawn-out answers, Shannon - dressed in a casual jeans and denim shirt combo - is hard to read, but equally fascinating.
His latest venture - his fourth film with director and friend Nichols (Shotgun Stories, Mud) - is just as ambiguous.
Midnight Special tells the story of Roy (Shannon), a father who is desperate to protect his uniquely gifted eight-year-old son Alton (Jaeden Lieberher).
As the pair go on the run, aided by friend Lucas (Joel Edgerton), and later the child's mother Sarah (Kirsten Dunst), an intense car chase ensues as they are hunted down by a mysterious cult and a clandestine government agency - the outcome of which could bring about a world-changing event.
"Most people have some mystery in their lives, unanswerable questions," declares Shannon. "I don't think Roy really knows what's happening with his son."
Citing Eighties sci-fi classics such as Starman among the film's artistic influences, Nichols first sold the premise to Shannon as a car-chase movie - with some "stunt-type driving". But with supernatural undertones, the duo steered into new territory for the genre-defying thriller.
Mulling over every word, Shannon exclaims: "I think everything is science fiction.
"A lot of things that used to seem very far-fetched and 'in the future' are now in the present, and that's going to keep getting more extreme as time marches on. Things like Skype and drones used to be something you would read about in a Ray Bradbury story, and that's what gives me the heebie-jeebies."
He's just as uneasy when it comes to social media.
"I'm a real Neanderthal. I don't enjoy technology much. I'm cautious about it. We need to be careful that we don't rely on it too much," he adds. "It creeps me out when I'm on the subway and I see everybody staring at their phones.
"Somebody made a point recently that it's like people are now becoming androids, and that makes me uncomfortable."
But the father-of-two - who lives in Brooklyn with his partner of 14 years, actress Kate Arrington - realises he has to accept it will be a part of his daughters' upbringing.
"I try and instil a sense in them that...," he begins pensively. "Look, you can't block that out of their lives completely, but at the end of the day, you need to be paying attention to what is actually right in front of your face, not what you're looking at on a screen.
"It's unnerving, but I probably just sound like an old fuddy-duddy."
With 25 years in the industry, working across TV, film and theatre, the Oscar and Golden Globe-nominee shows no sign of letting up in 2016.
In addition to Midnight Special, the in-demand actor will play Elvis Presley, opposite Kevin Spacey, in Liza Johnson's historical film Elvis & Nixon.
Of his transformation into 'The King', the former musician says: "I think anybody who wouldn't be intimidated taking it on would be pretty silly.
"I appreciated Elvis' music but I wasn't a fanatic. I learned a lot about him working on the movie, which I'm grateful for, because the more time you spend studying Elvis, the more fascinating he becomes."
But skipping from one job to other - he admits- has its pitfalls.
"Sometimes I think about other actors who take a lot more time off, or seem to be a lot more selective. I look at someone like Daniel Day-Lewis, who really does one movie every two or three years, and sometimes I envy that.
"It's just I'm never quite sure which one is going to be the one. I doubt they'll all be a hit - it's like gambling."
Shannon has spent the majority of our interview turned away from me, and I wonder why someone has flown across the Atlantic to take part in a bout of press interviews if he finds the entire process so laborious.
But perhaps the reason is glaringly obvious: he's committed to his craft, not its malevolent accomplice, 'fame'.
"I am in denial about it," he acknowledges, shifting ever so slightly in my direction.
"I just try and go about my business as I always have; I take the subway to work every morning. If someone says, 'Hey, aren't you on TV or something?' I say, 'Yeah, I am', and there's not much more to say about it. It's just an interesting moment in somebody's day."
The Dead and The Dark Eye are now available to download on Amazon Kindle, price 1.99 each
Thirteen years ago, I published my first novel, The Dead, a thriller about a former FBI agent called Saxon chasing a serial killer in Dublin. The book, co-written with my partner, came out under the name Ingrid Black.
It sold well; it won an award; it was translated into German, French, Italian and Dutch; the BBC bought the film rights, though sadly the project bit the dust after a few years in that infamous place known as 'development hell'. Eventually, it fell out of print, as books do.
I'd never even re-read the novel until last year, at which point I discovered that it was suddenly called 'Tear Drop', and the author's name was 'Joanne Clancy'. It was also set in Cork, and all the character's names had been changed - though not to protect the innocent.
On the contrary, it was the guilty author who was protecting herself.
I only found out by chance that this other author of whom I'd never heard before had taken our book and was passing if off as her own. I learned of what she'd done after being contacted last autumn by a woman called Donna Patel, a self-confessed avid reader of crime fiction, who had come across the book on Amazon Kindle. "As soon as I started to read it, it felt familiar," the Englishwoman later explained. But it was only when she came to a particular part of the book when the killer was unmasked, that the penny finally dropped. "I knew I had read this before."
"The Dead is a book I love, and my copy is well used," she said. "I got it off the shelf and compared it." Sure enough, she discovered that not only was 'Tear Drop' similar to The Dead, it was practically identical. "At first, I wondered if it was one of the Ingrid Black writers who had reworked it". She duly contacted the Twitter account of the writer 'Joanne Clancy' in search of an answer. Shortly after that, this 'Joanne Clancy' deleted her account. Donna then contacted us.
We'd stopped writing crime fiction by this stage, after the publication of our fourth novel about Saxon, but obviously we were intrigued. Was another author really ripping off our work?
I immediately went to Amazon's website, downloaded a copy of 'Tear Drop' for myself, and started reading.
By the end of chapter one, all my doubts were erased, but I ploughed on anyway. 'Joanne Clancy' had changed the characters' names (Saxon was now a detective called Elizabeth Ireland), as well as some of the details, and she'd jiggled about with the words; but in every significant respect - from the plot to the jokes to the dialogue to the very structure of sentences and paragraphs - it was the same book.
Chapter by chapter, she had clearly typed out her story with our book open on her desk, lifting it wholesale.
'Tear Drop' was selling well, too. On the day that I downloaded it last October, it was the 111th best selling ebook on Amazon and was the number one bestseller in Irish crime fiction. 'Joanne Clancy' was even giving interviews in which she explained how she came up with the characters and plot line of her new book. Worse still, she had another book scheduled for release in the next few weeks. It was called 'Insincere' and a look at a preview copy quickly made it obvious that this was another rip-off of our second book, The Dark Eye.
A third, 'Soon', to all intents and purposes lifted from our own third book, The Judas Heart, was also scheduled for release in January.
This was getting ridiculous.
Who was this mysterious woman who was stealing our books and passing them off as her own?
I soon discovered that she had a website, a Facebook account, a page on LinkedIn, and was signed up to Pinterest. All gave the same scant details about her - that she was from Cork; had published 26 books in various genres, including romance and crime.
There were details of her places of education and of her past and current whereabouts.
She said that she had spent some time living in a camper van in the west of Ireland, and there were a number of photographs claiming to be of her.
There was always the possibility that this was all made up too. That she didn't even exist.
But it was all we had to go on. In the meantime, we wanted to make sure that she could stop making money from selling our work as her own.
We put in a complaint to Amazon about copyright infringement. Replying promptly, the online bookseller asked for copies of our original novels to compare with those published under 'Joanne Clancy's' name. Within days, they ruled that she was indeed guilty of plagiarism, and removed all of her books from their store, as well as banning her for life.
We then asked for information on how much money she had made from copying our stories and selling them under her own name.
On the day they vanished from sale, the three books in her 'Elizabeth Ireland' series were sitting at numbers 3, 5 and 7 in the Irish crime fiction charts, outselling titles by such famous names as Tana French, Casey Hill, and Northern Irishman Stuart Neville. The first two were also both in the Top Ten sellers in the International Crime and Mystery category.
Amazon was finally able to confirm that, in the three months between August and October last year, 'Tear Drop' had earned its author $15,791, or a little short of 11,000 - and 'Insincere', which was only on sale for a couple of weeks, had earned $3,844 or just over 2,500. 'Joanne Clancy' had received just a small proportion of that money, because Amazon pays its authors every 60 days, and she'd been rumbled before she could get her hands on the bulk of the books' earnings; but it wasn't hard to see why someone would take a chance on stealing another author's work when there was this much profit to be made, at so little risk.
'Joanne Clancy' was now not welcome on Amazon, but there was nothing to stop her changing her name and starting all over again.
She wouldn't be the first. Plagiarism, we discovered as we dug deeper into this murky world, was surprisingly widespread. A number of fake authors had been uncovered thanks to the eagle eye of readers such as Donna Patel.
Many had multiple false identities; some had hundreds of books and stories to their name. Even if they only made a small amount of money from each title, the total soon added up.
Genuine authors who worked hard to write original stories were struggling to make money, whilst shysters flagrantly snaffled their work from under them. That was the hardest part of it. It wasn't the money that bothered us so much as the memory of all the work we'd put in, the sleepless nights, the sheer physical effort of it all.
We don't blame Amazon - they can't be expected to spot every fake among the hundreds of thousands of books being published - but, of course, we saw this mainly from the point of view of other wronged authors.
If their books are plagiarised, writers can sue the culprit, but legal action is expensive and there are no guarantees.
They could end up throwing good money after bad, pursuing authors who are harder to pin down than smoke in an online world where a person's true identity is hard to determine, and never getting satisfaction.
Some explanation would have helped, but we contacted 'Joanne Clancy' by email and, despite admitting what she'd done and saying that she was "ashamed", and that she'd never done it before (though could she really be believed when she had a total of 26 books to her name?), she soon broke off all contact with us.
We haven't heard a word from her since the New Year, when we wrote to tell her that we intended to go public with the truth of what had happened to us, and giving her the opportunity to put her side of the story. Her website remains inactive.
Her social media presence is minimal. If she is still publishing books, it's not under the name 'Joanne Clancy'. She might be anyone.
The only thing we could do to get protection from others like her was to take control of our work by publishing the books ourselves on Amazon Kindle.
As such, we find ourselves transformed overnight from the authors of a few out of print books to our own publishers, which is fun, if challenging.
Since starting to speak about 'Joanne Clancy' in the last few days, other people have come forward with more information. Authors who interacted with her on their websites have told me that checks on her IP address suggest she might be anywhere from Dublin to Texas.
Further feats of technological wizardry beyond my ken have, meanwhile, thrown up links to other names and places that might merit further probing. I'd still love to know who she really is. The more information that trickles in, the closer I think I might be getting to finding out. We were lucky.
Because 'Joanne Clancy' admitted to us in an email that she had plagiarised our books, Amazon agreed to pay us the royalties which her books had earned off the back of our hard work.
But how many other authors are being ripped off in the same way while never knowing? That's the real mystery.
New York Times '36 Hours' feature comes in a week following the announcement that Galway has been named as one of just two European Regions of Gastronomy in 2018
The New York Times' famed 36 Hours travel series has paid a flying visit to Galway, and the review is glowing.
"Welcoming and walkable and filled to the brim with old-fashioned pubs and excellent seafood restaurants, scenic Galway may be Irelands most charming city," says its author, Nell McShane Wulfhart.
The city's shops and restaurants "walk the fine line between cool and kitsch", the feature continues, while chefs "serve up west-of-Ireland ingredients in creative new ways" and old-fashioned pubs showcase the city's "ever-growing selection of craft beers".
With a daily circulation of some 1.8 million and one of the most storied brands in world media, the New York Times' travel section influences the decisions of countless potential tourists, particularly from North America.
Its endorsement comes as North American visits to Ireland rose 13pc between December and February, according to the latest CSO figures.
The Galway feature kicks off with a visit to St. Nicholas's Church, before recommending a coffee and browse at Coffeewerk + Press - described as "at the forefront of Galway's nascent coffee scene" - on Quay Street.
Fish 'n' chips at McDonagh's are given the obligatory hat tip, as is a trip to the cosy snugs of Tigh Neachtain's pub. The "rustic chic" and river views of Ard Bia are also mentioned, along with a midafternoon pint at the Salthouse Bar.
A cycle along the prom to Salthill ("trendier recently") follows, with a pint at O'Connor's, dating from 1875. It serves up "an excellent pint of Galway Hooker (named after the boat, not the profession)", McShane Wulfhart writes.
The '36 Hours' feature comes in a week following Galway's fifth annual food festival, and the announcement that the city has been named as one of just two European Regions of Gastronomy in 2018.
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Saturday ends with a bop at Roisin Dubh's and a bite at Loam, Enda McEvoy's Michelin Star restaurant. Its six-course, 60 tasting menus are described as "deceptively simple" and "detail driven", right down to the hay-flavoured ice-cream.
A browse on Shop Street and a drive to Moran's Oyster Cottage round out an itinerary that recommends visitors stay at the "outstandingly friendly" House Hotel, or the "well-run" Park House Hotel on Forster Street.
Read the full 36 Hours feature here.
Irish Independent
A court case against a woman accused of wasting police time linked to the controversy that led to the resignation of the DUP's Jim Wells as Health Minister has been adjourned.
The woman, Dorothy Elaine Dawn Gardner (48), of Killycanavan Road, Dungannon, was not present for the brief opening of the case at Downpatrick Courthouse yesterday.
A barrister for Ms Gardner asked for a four-week adjournment of the case.
District Judge Alan White asked why more time than the usual two-week adjournment would not suffice.
The barrister said that further representations required might involve the preparation of medical reports.
The judge said, given the circumstances, he would agree to the adjournment until April 28.
It has emerged Ms Gardner is battling terminal cancer. In August 2014 she was given just a year to live by medics.
Mr Wells was sitting outside the courtroom and did not hear the two-minute proceedings.
The South Down MLA wanted to make a statement to the court if the defendant had pleaded guilty and the case had gone ahead.
The full charge alleges Ms Gardner "caused wasteful employment of the police by knowingly making a false report or statement tending to show that an offence had been committed by Mr James Wells MLA".
The charge was not read to the court and the case was only referred to by its number on the court list rather than by name.
It is not being connected to a separate police enquiry into the taping of allegedly anti-gay remarks by Mr Wells at a public event in the run-up to last year's general election.
Instead, it is believed to relate to a complaint made to the PSNI following a hustings meeting in Downpatrick last April.
Mr Wells has been selected by the party to contest the Assembly election and would like the case dealt with before polling day on May 5.
He has long claimed that a recording of allegedly anti-gay comments at the event was "doctored" and gave a misleading impression.
A few days after the hustings event he was also involved in an altercation with a lesbian couple while canvassing in Rathfriland.
Police investigated both incidents but concluded there was no basis for a prosecution of Mr Wells. At the hustings event he had said: "All evidence throughout the world says the best way to raise children is in a loving, stable, married relationship; the facts show that, the facts show that certainly you don't bring a child up in a homosexual relationship."
Against a background of uproar, he then added: "I say again, I say again, a child is far more likely to be abused or neglected in a non-stable marriage situation, gay or straight."
He argued that in the full context his remarks overall made clear he was talking about unstable relationships, whether heterosexual or homosexual.
He told the Belfast Telegraph last year: "Essentially, I resigned over remarks which it now turns out I did not say.
"I feel a huge sense of injustice.
"My whole career in politics, over 33 years, came crashing down in 17 seconds.
"As Health Minister, I thought I might achieve something. I thought: 'Well, finally, I have something to put on my tombstone', and I felt I was beginning to come to terms with the job, which I enjoyed, but it all came tumbling down."
It is believed prosecutors were satisfied that in exchanges not captured in the video clip Mr Wells made clear he was arguing children were more at risk of abuse in "unstable" relationships, whether heterosexual or same-sex.
Mr Gardner has publicly spoken of her fight with the disease and how she planned to spend her final few months helping the people of Gaza.
Following her diagnosis in February 2011 the mother underwent a double mastectomy, had her glands removed and underwent four courses of chemotherapy, as well as three weeks of radiotherapy.
After she learned that her cancer was at stage three in 2014, and that she would die of the disease, she travelled to the war-torn region with four loads of aid from across Northern Ireland
She said she would rather be doing something to help those worse off than herself, and at the same time leave a legacy of which her son, who was five at the time, could be proud of.
"I have always been a humanitarian activist," she said.
"I am a woman with cancer, but from a personal point of view I see myself in a First World country with my rights."
Having handed over care of her son to his grandmother while she made the journey, Ms Gardner said she spoke to him via Skype every day and that he told her: 'Mummy, you're so brave'.
"My cancer's going to take me, but if I can help save just one life, then I know that I have done something that makes it worthwhile," she said.
"That's the values that I want to give my son - to help others.
"He sees mummy as a hero, but I'm just Dorothy.
"I'm taking a risk going out there but I see that with my terminal illness that my wish is just to see another person live in their own country in peace and to have food.
" I want to show my son that mummy has done something."
An ex-military intelligence officer has said he believes senior personnel in the British Army were aware that child psychiatrist Morris Fraser was a child abuser.
Fraser, who worked at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast in the 1970s as a senior psychiatric registrar in the hospital's child guidance clinic, was allowed to continue working with youngsters despite his convictions, according to a study by Dublin academic Niall Meehan.
The convictions happened in London in 1972 and New York in 1974.
Colin Wallace, a former intelligence officer based at Army HQ in Lisburn in the 1970s, said he'd met Fraser around 1973. "He came to our HQ in Lisburn with a Scandinavian man. The Scandinavian was doing an academic study of community conflict.
"Some time after that, the entire department was told by a senior officer not to grant Fraser use of any of our facilities. By that stage they (the Army) obviously knew there was something untoward. Certainly, by his 1974 conviction, we knew about him."
Wallace was wrongly convicted of manslaughter in 1981. The conviction was later quashed and was the subject of a book by veteran English investigative journalist Paul Foot, Who Framed Colin Wallace?. The book raised questions about whether or not Wallace had been framed for murder after he'd briefed journalists while working for the Army about Kincora Boys' Home and one of its employees, William McGrath.
McGrath was convicted of child abuse in December 1981 over attacks on boys in his care.
Wallace has claimed the Army knew he was a danger to children years before.
Now living in England, Wallace has kept a number of intelligence documents on Kincora.
One, a 1973 briefing detailing McGrath's background and role with loyalist paramilitary outfit TARA, contains a reference to Fraser. Scribbled at the bottom of the page is a handwritten note: 'Ulster's children of conflict, New Society, 15 April 71' with an arrow pointing to the title and 'Dr M Fraser? RVH' written. This is believed to be a reference to a story published about Fraser's research on children in conflict. Wallace says the note was written by one of his colleagues, an Army major, and believes he had intelligence suggesting a link between Fraser and Kincora or those who were working in the home.
Enniskillen comes to a standstill to mark the 25th anniversary of the IRA Poppy Day bombing atrocity
Owen Carron sees the carnage wrought by the Enniskillen bomb, which left 11 innocent people dead, including Agnes and William Mullan, as mere collateral from the conflict
A woman whose parents were killed in the Enniskillen bomb has criticised former Fermanagh MP Owen Carron's dismissal of the atrocity as "an aspect of the conflict at the time".
Mr Carron (62), who remains on the run in the Irish Republic, also said he did not regret supporting the IRA, although he denied being a member despite being caught with an AK47 assault rifle in 1986.
He additionally detailed how he missed his brother's funeral in Fermanagh four years ago for fear of being arrested if he crossed the border.
Mr Carron made the comments about the Enniskillen bomb in an interview with the Impartial Reporter newspaper that was conducted in the Republic.
He said that the killing of innocent people was "unfortunately an aspect of that conflict during that time". "At that time, I wasn't even in Fermanagh," he added. "I would have had no role in backing that or whatever."
But Margaret Veitch, whose mother and father, Agnes and William Mullan, were among 11 people killed by the bomb, said Mr Carron's words sickened her.
She asked: "If Owen Carron is innocent, why has he remained on the run for almost 20 years? Why has he not sought to clear his name?
"The man was charged with possession of a firearm. He is guilty of a terrorist-related offence in the eyes of the law, but he took advantage of that same weak criminal justice system and ran away, availing of safe haven in the Republic of Ireland.
"My parents and so many other innocents were murdered by PIRA terrorists. Their lives were viewed dispensable by that organisation.
"Adding insult to injury, the UK Government has treated the innocent victims and survivors of terrorism with sheer contempt.
"Why are those who engaged in acts of terror so gutless? Where is their conviction to own and accept the consequences for the actions they committed in their supposed pursuance of freeing Ireland?"
Kenny Donaldson, director of services at the Lisnaskea-based South East Fermanagh Foundation, which helps innocent victims of terrorism, described Mr Carron as an "extremely divisive figure" across the county.
"Many innocent victims and survivors of terrorism view him to be a key figure of the republican movement's terror campaign in these areas," he said.
"They were and remain very hurt by the Republic of Ireland's refusal to extradite Carron, instead choosing to offer him safe haven where he had been able to work as a teacher in County Leitrim, framing the minds of the next generation of our young people."
Mr Carron worked as an election agent for IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands in April 1981.
He went on to succeed Sands as MP following his death in the Maze.
He subsequently lost the seat to Ulster Unionist Ken Maginnis in the 1986 General Election.
His interview with the Impartial Reporter is his first major statement in three decades, although he remains active in Sinn Fein and was director of elections for the party in Roscommon-South Leitrim during the 2007 Irish General Election.
Mr Carron spoke of having regrets but said his support for the IRA was not one of them. "I regret that so many people lost their lives," he added. "I regret that the hunger strikers lost their lives. I regret that people on all sides lost their lives.
"Life is sweet and everybody should have the opportunity that I have got to live towards old age.
"No, I wasn't a member of the IRA, no. I supported the right for armed struggle when that was ongoing, but there is no need now for armed struggle because there is another way - a political way."
Mr Carron was charged with firearms offences in 1986 after a gun was found in the car he was travelling in. He was granted bail to contest the Fermanagh-South Tyrone by-election then fled to the Republic of Ireland.
In 1988, he was arrested and held in custody for two-and-a-half years while attempts were made to extradite him. However, the Irish Supreme Court determined that possession of an automatic rifle constituted a political offence, which prohibited his extradition under Irish law.
"Everybody knows what happened and why I am living in the south," he said.
"This is still sub-judice, so I can't say much about it because I am still under that rule, which means because I was charged and because I went to live in the south, because I jumped bail. That is still hanging over me.
"I am not on the run - I am walking about and living here openly. I have not got clearance to go back to Northern Ireland from the British authorities.
"My brother, Seamus, died four years ago and is buried in Enniskillen and I wasn't able to go to his funeral. I feel sad that I can't do that, but I have to be realistic to know that if I get in my car and go down there I'll be arrested. I am not silly."
When asked if he would hand himself into police, Mr Carron replied: "No, why would I do that? I was in the highest court in this land here, the Supreme Court. It freed me and said I could not be returned to Northern Ireland because the offence for which I was requested was a political offence. That's good enough for me."
Peru drugs mule Michaella McCollum has been released from prison, her solicitor has confirmed.
McCollum, from Co Tyrone, and Melissa Reid, from Scotland, were imprisoned in 2013 for six years and eight months after admitting trying to smuggle cocaine worth 1.5 million from Peru to Spain.
Kevin Winters, McCollum's solicitor, said she was released effectively on parole on Thursday night and was waiting to hear the terms of her release.
"I can confirm Michaella has been released from jail and I'm waiting to hear the outcome of the judicial process," he told the Press Association.
It is not yet known whether the terms of her release will allow her to return home or if she will have to remain in Peru for some time.
McCollum was freed under new legislation on early prison release introduced in the South American country last year.
She has served two years and three months.
A judicial process will now determine what, if any, conditions are attached to her effective parole, it is understood.
Moves were being made to repatriate her to Northern Ireland.
Mr Winters had described the conditions of their detention as horrendous.
Last year, Stormont Justice Minister David Ford approved an application for the repatriation of McCollum on a number of issues, including the difficulty encountered in maintaining family contact.
McCollum, from Dungannon, and Reid, from Glasgow, were caught with the haul at Lima airport on August 6 2013 attempting to fly to Spain.
They had claimed they were forced into carrying the drugs but pleaded guilty to charges later that year.
The pair were caught trying to board a flight with 24lb (11kg) of cocaine in food packets hidden inside their luggage.
McCollum and Reid faced the prospect of a maximum 15-year prison term but struck a behind-closed-doors plea bargain to secure a shorter sentence.
The pair had previously been held at Lima's Virgen de Fatima prison but were moved to the Ancon 2 prison, where horrific conditions reportedly had McCollum crammed in to a cell with 30 other prisoners with extremely poor sanitation and toilet facilities.
McCollum was released from prison at 5pm on Thursday following a successful application for parole, Mr Winters said.
The solicitor stressed she was not freed under any repatriation scheme or other protocol between Peru and the UK and that a pending judicial hearing would determine the conditions of her parole.
"At this stage it remains unclear when Michaella may be eligible to return home," he added.
That will be a matter for the court and a pending judicial hearing to determine the conditions of her parole.
"We are working with her lawyers in Peru and hope to be in a position to clarify further, as soon as possible."
Reid remains in prison in Peru.
She has been seeking to serve the remainder of her sentence closer to home in Scotland.
A Foreign Office spokeswoman said on Friday: "We continue to provide consular assistance to Melissa Reid. We remain in contact with her family and with the local authorities."
The press conference was organised in conjunction with the Progressive Unionist Party, and party leader Cllr Billy Hutchinson and South Belfast spokesperson Ian Shanks spoke to the media. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker
Christian King (12) speaks to the media with his Father George King, following the incident where CS spray was deployed by a PSNI officer during a Ormeau Road Parade. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker
Christian King (12) speaks to the media with his Father George King, following the incident where CS spray was deployed by a PSNI officer during a Ormeau Road Parade. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker
Christian King (12) speaks to the media with his Father George King, following the incident where CS spray was deployed by a PSNI officer during a Ormeau Road Parade. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker
Christian King (12) speaks to the media with his Father George King, following the incident where CS spray was deployed by a PSNI officer during a Ormeau Road Parade. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker
A 12-year-old boy has said he was lucky not to lose his sight after he was hit by CS spray at an Orange Order youth parade on Tuesday evening.
He said that he is now speaking out to prevent of any child - of any culture or religion - from having the same experience.
Disturbances broke out on Belfast's Ormeau Road at a band parade on Tuesday evening.
Community representatives claimed children as young as five were affected by the use of CS spray. Two PSNI officers were injured as a result of the disorder.
Video footage showed young bandsman Christian King crying, I cant see after the CS spray was dispensed at a Junior Orange parade on the Ormeau Road on Tuesday evening.
He has claimed he was sprayed in the face by a police officer who he believes made a mistake.
It was really sore, stingy and when I tried to open my eyes it hurt, he said of the moment the CS spray hit his face.
I have been thinking about it a lot ever since and sometimes it still hurts when I blink.
I think it was one police officer who made a mistake and it turned into something big.
He said he went to an optician the following day to check if any damage had been done.
"They said I was lucky I didn't lose my sight."
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Christians father George was at the familys caravan around 30 minutes away when he heard what had happened. He said he and Christians mum were really worried as they drove back to Belfast.
But he said he was more upset when he saw the footage of what actually happened and his sons crying in pain.
There is no excuse for spraying children with CS spray, he said.
I dont understand what was going through the officers head.
Then for the police to come out and say no children were directly sprayed. My son was, and others were.
We fully support the police, I have brought up Christian to support them and told him they are there to protect us, but that officer was wrong.
Meanwhile the South Belfast Young Conquerors have condemned the sharing of a police officer's details on social media.
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"We wish to express our clear and unequivocal condemnation of a police officer's details being posted on social media platforms," the band said in a statement.
"We would also wish to take this opportunity to make it clear that throughout its 40 year history, the officers and members of South Belfast Young Conquerors Flute Band have parade with only one intention in mind. That intention being to maintain the highest standard of dignity and musicality expected of the SBYC."
A senior police officer has defended the policing of the Junior Orange parade on the Ormeau Road on Tuesday evening.
PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Stephen Martin says parades are policed in an impartial way.
I can tell you that I police those [parades] in an impartial, consistent way, he said.
Yes I have to make different decisions based on different contexts, unfortunately we are a divided society where often it comes down that if Im celebrating, you will condemn, and vice versa, these are difficult decisions.
Michael D Higgins at an Easter Rising event in Dublin earlier this week
Irish President Michael D Higgins has pulled out of a number of Easter Rising events in Belfast because most unionists are boycotting them.
One of the events was a formal dinner at Belfast City Hall next Friday.
A spokesman for Mr Higgins said he had been left "with no other option but to withdraw as he does not want to become embroiled in matters of political controversy".
Sinn Fein Lord Mayor Arder Carson expressed his disappointment.
The Alliance Party blamed the withdrawal on the DUP refusing to attend the dinner.
The council's DUP group leader Brian Kingston said his party had never said it would attend the City Hall dinner, adding that its councillors' position was consistent with leader Arlene Foster's stance.
Mrs Foster, along with UUP leader Mike Nesbitt and Alliance leader David Ford, all declined invitations to attend the Irish State's official commemoration event in Dublin last week.
It is understood UUP councillor Jeff Dudgeon is the only unionist planning to attend the dinner.
A number of Alliance councillors will be present.
UUP council group leader David Browne said Mr Dudgeon will be the party's only representative attending, while the PUP and TUV said none of their councillors will be there.
It is understood Mr Higgins has also pulled out of an event at the city's Linen Hall Library.
Mr Carson spoke of his disappointment, while Sinn Fein council group leader Jim McVeigh criticised the Irish President.
"I had regard for Michael D Higgins until today," he said.
"Bad decision not to attend civic dinner. Thought he was my President as well? Obviously not!
"Partitionism of the worst kind."
Mr Carson confirmed the dinner next Friday, April 8, will still go ahead.
"The overall programme for the decade was agreed by full council and has cross-party support, and that position has not changed," he said.
"A lot of hard work has gone into creating an inclusive programme of events which is respectful of all viewpoints and which focuses on the key events of our shared history, and those which have impacted on our city."
Alliance group leader Michael Long claimed the DUP reneged on a deal.
"There has been a long-standing agreement that three of the main anniversaries would each be marked with a dinner," he explained.
"Therefore, it was disappointing the DUP has decided to not attend the Easter Rising dinner, which has led to President Higgins pulling out of the event."
Mr Kingston hit back, saying: "It was agreed that Belfast City Council would hold a series of events during the current 'decade of centenaries', from the centenaries of Ulster's Solemn League & Covenant in 1912 to the formation of Northern Ireland in 1921.
"At no stage did the DUP group say it would attend a civic dinner marking the centenary of the 1916 rebellion and it will not be attending.
"The DUP refutes the Alliance accusation that any agreement was broken and calls on Alliance group leader Michael Long to confirm that no such agreement of attendance was given. David Ford is the one all over the place. We are consistent in not celebrating the Easter rebellion. The Alliance party is not. David Ford didn't go to Dublin but will now celebrate in Belfast."
A spokesman for Aras an Uachtarain said President Higgins "accepted the invitation to the civic dinner on the basis that there was cross-party support for the invitation".
A man is believed to have died in a house fire in Co Down.
The Northern Ireland Fire Service were called to Cathedral View in Downpatrick at around 6pm on Friday April 1.
The Ambulance Service also attended after receiving a call at around 5.50pm.
The man has been described as a popular neighbour who is understood to leave behind a wife and a daughter.
Sinn Fein MLA Chris Hazzard told the Belfast Telegraph: "A gentleman has been killed in a house fire.
"He was a husband and a father of one, so it's very tragic for the family.
"I've been able to speak to one of the neighbours who was able to say he was a very friendly and popular man."
"The wider community is in total shock we have actually had a run of bad news in situations like this over the past couple of years in south Down.
"But I'm confident the Downpatrick community will rally around the family, it is terrible news to have to deal with, a daughter has lost her father, a wife has lost her husband and the residents of Cathedral View have lost a very popular nieghbour. My thoughts go out to family and friends at this time."
SDLP councillor Colin McGrath added: "It's a very tragic event.
"The community is just in shock at getting the news and they will hopefully rally around and support the family where they can at this very difficult time for them."
Marcus Wood struggled to get through the day after sleeping rough
Youths touched by the deaths of five homeless people in Belfast this year have been sleeping on the streets to raise awareness.
The group of 24 launched their project on Tuesday, and on Wednesday night staged a mass sleepout.
On Tuesday participants had to find a friend's sofa to sleep on, while 24 hours later they had to spend a night on the streets.
Ryan McCallan (21), from north Belfast, and Marcus Wood (18), from the Shankill, spent Wednesday on Royal Avenue.
They said they got less than a few hours' sleep between them, and told how it could be a frightening experience.
"You're constantly paranoid," said Ryan. "You're thinking: 'If I fall asleep, what's going to happen? Will I wake up with my stuff stolen?' You're in the unknown.
"There's a lot of drunk people at that time of night. There's people coming out of McDonald's fighting each other, it's just mad.
"The way I look at it is: can you imagine a group of people in your bedroom fighting while you're trying to get to sleep? Your alarm clock is people starting work, so it's very embarrassing."
Marcus told how he struggled to get through the day after just 45 minutes' sleep.
"I feel emotionally and physically drained," he said. "I just want to go to sleep and get washed."
Having volunteered for homeless outreach work for two-and-a-half years, Marcus got to know a number of homeless people in the city. Among them was 32-year-old Catherine Kenny, who was found dead last month in a shop doorway on Royal Avenue.
"I think that Catherine had a big effect on everybody," Marcus said. "I think that the person Catherine was, everybody had everything before her.
"If someone needed money or food, she made sure they had it before she did. She was just a lovely person. She had the whole world on her shoulders, but unfortunately lived a homeless life and passed away."
Ryan and Marcus said despite their discomfort they were encouraged by ordinary people stopping to help them.
"A lot of people were being nice, offering us food and showing support," said Ryan. "We got more nice people last night than not."
Marcus added: "There were police and security guards everywhere, and two girls stopped and asked us if we needed money or food, so that was really nice."
The sofa and street challenge was initiated by the young people themselves as part of a pilot programme for Springboard Opportunities United Youth.
The United Youth programme works with 18 to 24-year-olds from disadvantaged parts of Belfast.
Paul McCusker from the outreach group Homeless Aware praised those taking part.
"They're definitely getting a real flavour of what it's like to be homeless and they've been remarkable," he said. "Their determination... nothing can stop them.
"The more awareness and support that we can get for people on the streets, hostels and hidden homeless on sofas, the better."
Michaela Rafferty, project leader for Springboard Opportunities, said the young people taking part had been inspired by the struggles their own friends were going through.
"They actually saw some of their classmates in Springboard experiencing homelessness, sleeping on people's sofas and then having to come into training at 10 o'clock the next day," she added.
"For Ryan and Marcus, who haven't experienced that, they wanted to see what it's like to go through all the challenges of being homeless and still have to deal with your daily life."
Emma with sister Laura and mother Essie at the Nevin Spence Centre at the Kingspan Stadium in Belfast
Emma Spence with one of her paintings inspired by the landscape of her Magheraconluce home
Emma Spence could have been forgiven if she had never wanted to see the scene of the terrible tragedy again, but the gifted Hillsborough artist, whose father and two brothers died in one of Northern Ireland's worst farming accidents, has used the land that they loved as the inspiration for a new exhibition she has dedicated to them.
The richly colourful paintings reflect the breathtaking splendour of the Spences' home on the Drumlough Road. Its stunning views of the Dromara Hills and the Mourne Mountains serve only to complete the picture of perfection in an area that was plunged into unfathomable sadness on September 15, 2012, a sadness from which it will never recover.
For that is when Emma's father Noel and her brothers Graham and Nevin died after what started as an attempt to rescue their pet collie from an underground slurry tank on the sprawling farm.
Emma almost died herself after she battled to save "her boys", as she calls them. She had to be rushed to hospital when she too was overcome by the poisonous fumes.
The fact that "wee Nev" - as Emma affectionately called her 22-year-old brother in a remarkably composed and uplifting address at the funerals - was a gifted Ulster Rugby player guaranteed the news would gain even more coverage in the media.
Nearly four years on and standing in the ordered chaos of her studio in a space above a garage that 58-year-old Noel refurbished, Emma was reluctant to revisit the full horror of that nightmarish Saturday afternoon when her life changed inexorably in the blink of an eye.
She had said all she wanted to say at the inquest, where it was revealed she went down into the slurry tank and pulled her father up a ladder with the help of others before going back into the pit.
But Emma lost consciousness as she tried to save Graham (30), and at the inquest she thanked the people who got her out. The coroner asked her if she had been aware of the dangers of what she had done, and she replied: "Yes, but when it comes to the love of your family"
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Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Graham Spence Noel Spence Nevin on the rugby pitch Three hearses carry the bodies of Noel, Graham and Nevin Spence from Ballynahinch Baptist Church Grahams wife Andrea (second from left), Essie and Emma, who survived the accident Neil Shawcross / Facebook
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They were the words which wrote their own newspaper headlines on a distressing day for Emma and her family, who still live at Drumlough Road, staying despite the obvious temptations to move away from the reminders of the tragedy.
The artist, who hates the glare of publicity, had also found her way onto the front pages after the funerals where she had summoned up the resilience - from where she doesn't know - to pay warm and sensitive tributes to Noel, Graham and Nevin, who she said were hard-working, genuine men who were best friends.
In the congregation, the supposedly hardmen of Ulster Rugby struggled to control their emotions, remembering their friend and joker in their pack Nevin, whose sister had painted portraits of 20 of the players for an exhibition not long beforehand.
Emma dismissed any notion that what she did at the funeral service in Ballynahinch Baptist Church, or even at the farm, was in any way courageous.
"We were living in a bubble of a wake. I didn't think about how many people were at the church. It could have been just five or 500. I just wanted to tell them about my dad and my brothers," she said. "Nothing was going to stop me. The words came very quickly to me and there was no great English in them, but I never imagined that people would think so much of it."
Emma's new exhibition is more personal than anything she has done before. It is an intimate reflection of life in the rural tranquillity of Co Down, far away from the roaring crowds in Nevin's Kingspan Stadium.
She has called the collection of 31 oils on canvas Their Fields. They are powerful evocations of little corners of Magheraconluce Farm, which was part of the very fibre of Noel, Graham and Nevin and which made them who and what they were.
Yet there is no sense in which the paintings are morbid, mawkish memorials for her family.
Rather, they stand alone as celebratory snapshots of the hedgerows, the blackberries and the hawthorn blossoms in the fields that Emma said were her loved ones' identity. The 31-year-old is hopeful that her boys would have been proud of what she has achieved with her exhibition.
All three of them, particularly her dad, backed her all the way and encouraged her to find her own identity, even when she harboured youthful dreams of becoming a clarinettist with the Ulster Orchestra, before deciding that art would be her career.
Emma went to art college in Belfast, and she was on the verge of dropping out when she found a new mentor in lecturer Neil Shawcross (below), the acclaimed artist, who urged her to express her own individuality and who will open her exhibition in Belfast next week.
In her final year at the college Emma decided to produce what was in effect an homage to Magheraconluce Farm, which her great-grandfather James bought for 500 in 1921.
It was serendipity, she said, because the photographs she took of her family's everyday life down on the farm and the stories she coaxed from her father have turned out to be invaluable records of the beloved men she lost.
"My dad started with five cows and then he built it up to a thriving dairy farm with almost 200 cattle before the accident," explained Emma, who is deeply appreciative of the help neighbours gave the Spences to keep the farm in business in those dark and dreadful days after the accident.
In the aftermath Emma called a temporary halt to her painting.
She knew that she would return to it one day, but it was not a priority at that time.
She did, however, continue with her work as an art technician at Wallace High in Lisburn, where Nevin had been a pupil and school rugby star.
Not surprisingly, the days, weeks and months after the tragedy were harrowing as the surviving Spences agonised about their future. "We could have sold up and got enough money to buy a nice house to start our lives again somewhere else. But we resolved that we didn't want to walk away from this place, which was home and a massive part of the boys' lives," said Emma.
"Mum also talked of the blood, sweat and tears that went into the farm, and she said that money couldn't buy walking down a back lane and going to a river that is on your own doorstep."
Emma added that the seeds for the new exhibition were sown during her own walks in the fields around the farm where she found solace.
"My dad and Graham worked the farm and were passionate about it, and while Nevin may have been a full-time rugby player, he loved the farming just as much," she said. "At night-time here he milked the cows and the joke was that his best workouts would be standing out in the yard."
Emma started to see the farm anew, looking at it from the point of view of her dad and brothers.
"To most people, looking at something like hedges, they would see only weeds, but I was stopping to look at them and recognising the beauty in them, which is why I wanted to paint them," she said.
But there were, and still are, plenty of down times as well.
"I remember the first spring after the accident," Emma said. "It had always been a happy time, seeing the cows going out into the fields after the winter. But that first spring tore me apart because dad, Graham and Nevin weren't there.
"Now, with the passage of time, I think of the joy that the boys got from something like that. It still hurts, but I am trying to accept that this is life.
"I'm not saying I have it all sorted out now, because I think we are all still in the grieving process with the enormity of all that has happened. But I suppose we have no other choice but to try and cope with it and live with it."
Emma, who lives with her husband Peter in her grandmother's old house at Magheraconluce, said that people regularly asked her if she was not tempted to move away from her studio right in the heart of the farm.
"But it's not painting there that I find difficult sometimes," she said. "It's the noise of the tractors outside. I can still convince myself that dad, Nevin and Graham are there too. Then it hits me that I can't show them my paintings.
"Last May I was part of a mini-exhibition and my work did well, but when I came home I cried. I told my husband that the success meant nothing because the boys weren't there to see it."
Emma choked back the tears as she talked of how she would miss her dad and her brothers even more at the opening of the new exhibition at the James Wray and Co gallery.
"They're their fields and I won't know what they think of the paintings, and no one else's opinions matter," she said. "But I suppose the three of them would be proud that I was pushing on with life and that I was trying."
Their Fields, an exhibition by Emma Spence, runs from April 7 to April 30 at the gallery of James Wray and Co, 14-16 James
Street South, Belfast. www.jameswray.ie
Jim Lockhart and Barry Devlin from Horslips, poet Paul Muldoon and writer Martina Devlin at the launch of the John OConnor Winter School at Uluru Restaurant, Armagh, yesterday
Writers and artists joined Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Paul Muldoon in Armagh yesterday at the launch of the programme for the first John O'Connor Winter School, to be held in the city in November.
A Winter School spokesman said the event would offer "a great programme of events which will be of interest to anyone who enjoys stimulating the grey matter and enjoys good literature, writing, story-telling, and music". He added: "Integrated at the core of the Winter School will be intensive classes and masterclasses for new and emerging writers.
"The Winter School will offer excellent opportunities to writers across all genres to avail of intensive writer workshops, meet writers, editors, and publishers, and socialise at great musical and literary evening events."
Armagh author John O'Connor (1920-1959), in whose honour the writing school is named, was a contemporary and friend of Sam Hanna Bell and John Boyd along with many of the leading Northern Irish writers of his time.
His best-known work, the novel Come Day - Go Day is to be republished by Liberties Press Dublin in November 2016.
The book will be launched at the inaugural John O'Connor Winter Writing School, introducing O'Connor's writing to a new generation of readers.
John O'Connor died in Queensland, Australia, in 1959.
A prisoner has been arrested on suspicion of killing a fellow inmate at Coldingley Prison near Woking.
Madala Washington, 25, died after being attacked at the prison in Bisley around 1pm on Friday.
Surrey Police said he had been the victim of a "serious assault" at t he prison, which houses around 500 inmates, and detectives have launched a murder investigation.
A spokesman said: "A 25-year-old man, believed to be from south-west London, was sadly declared dead at the scene.
"A 23-year-old man, who is also an inmate at the prison, has been arrested on suspicion of murder and remains in police custody while the investigation continues.
"Officers from the Surrey and Sussex Major Crime Team are making a number of enquiries to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident and are working with HM Prison Service and the Ministry of Justice."
The Prison Service said an investigation would be carried out by the independent Prisons and Probation Ombudsman.
Coldingley is a category C training prison, meaning inmates are considered unlikely to make a determined escape attempt but cannot be trusted in open conditions.
It has capacity for around 500 prisoners in five wings, where inmates are mainly housed in single cells, and is focused on the " resettlement of prisoners" .
The death comes against a backdrop of concerns about rising cases of violence in UK prisons.
There were 257 deaths in custody last year including eight homicides, more than in any other year since records started in 1978.
In 2015 Coldingley's independent monitoring board wrote to prisons minister Andrew Selous over its concerns about the jail.
Its report blamed an increase in home-made weapons at the prison and illegal drugs on cuts to the number of prison officers and staff.
Steve Gillan, general secretary of the Prison Officers Association, said: "We do not comment on ongoing police investigations, but generally there has been an increase in violence, and indeed homicides, in our prisons.
"We believe that is due to the lack of prison officers - some 7,000 have been made redundant since 2010.
"Our prisons are a more violent place than they have been. It is tragic that someone has lost their life."
A Ryanair flight was forced to return to Manchester airport after a bird strike.
The plane was heading to Palma in Mallorca when the pilot had to abandon the journey shortly after take-off.
A Ryanair spokeswoman said: "This flight from Manchester to Palma returned to Manchester shortly after take-off following a minor bird strike.
"The aircraft landed normally and the flight to Palma will operate as soon as possible.
"Ryanair apologised to affected customers for any inconvenience caused."
A sailor has died after being swept into the ocean while competing in the Clipper Round The World Yacht Race - the second Briton to die aboard the same boat during this edition of the race.
Sarah Young, 40, a company owner from London, was washed into the sea by a wave as she tended to the mainsail aboard the IchorCoal yacht and was swept away in strong winds.
Her death comes six months after that of Andrew Ashman, 49, from Kent who was killed on the same vessel after being knocked unconscious while sailing off the Portuguese coast.
Miss Young, who was not tethered to the yacht, died in the mid-north Pacific at around 1.44pm UK time on Friday, as the boat sailed from China to Seattle, in America.
She was recovered from the sea, after being washed overboard, by crewmates who tried to resuscitate her but never regained consciousness, a race spokeswoman said.
The cause of death is yet to be confirmed but is thought to be drowning or exposure. All other crew members are safe and well.
Race organisers said a full investigation will now be carried out, as is standard practice, in cooperation with the appropriate authorities.
Clipper Race founder Sir Robin Knox-Johnston said: "On behalf of everyone at Clipper Ventures, I am deeply saddened by the loss of Sarah. She was a very popular and integral member of the Clipper Race family and knew our boats well, having sailed with us since London last summer.
"The safety of our crew has always been and continues to be our main priority and we shall investigate the incident immediately in full cooperation with the authorities."
Ms Young, who was a keen adventurer, had wanted to take part in the race for a number of years and had celebrated her birthday days before setting sail from London at the end of last August.
Former paramedic Mr Ashman, who was awarded the Queen's Medal for his 20 years service for London Ambulance, was less than a week into the year-long race when he died.
The Clipper Race was established almost 20 years ago and this is its 10th edition. Ms Young and Mr Ashman are the only fatalities in the history of the race.
Bernie Sanders was born in Brooklyn. And when he travelled uptown to the Bronx he reminded people that he had been raised in the city and was proud to call himself a New Yorker.
With a voice raspy from too many campaign stops bouncing off the public housing buildings that surrounded St Marys Park, the Vermont senator insisted that he was on course for the White House - despite the lead his rival Hillary Clinton had on him. His campaign said there were 18,500 people gathered to hear him speak about his revolution.
His stump speech - polished and honed after campaigning from the Mid West to Washington state - was tweaked to take in his locale. Rather than spending trillions of dollars invading Iraq - something that should never have happened - we should be investing in communities like the South Bronx, he declared to loud roars.
He said every kid in the South Bronx should be able to afford an education.
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We want a government that represents all of us, not wealthy campaign contributors, he added. We want a campaign finance system that is not corrupt. We want an economy that is not rigged. We want a criminal justice system that is not broken.
Sanders is battling hard to close the delegate gap with Ms Clinton, who also appears to have a sizable advantage ahead of the New York primary on April 19. An average of polls collated by Real Clear Politics gives the former secretary of state a lead of anywhere up to 27 points.
Many, if not most, of those who turned out to hear Mr Sanders speak on Thursday night were young. But there were older people and the middle-aged as well. And unlike at some of Mr Sanders rallies in places such as Iowa and New Hampshire, the crowd was also ethnically diverse, befitting of a melting pot such as New York.
I learned a little bit about what it means to grow up in a family that has no money and I also learned a little bit about the immigrant experience - those lessons I will never forget, said Mr Sanders, whose parents were Polish immigrants.
Those gathered said they believed the former mayor of Burlington could achieve things that no other candidate could.
Paul Nagel, 58, a gay rights and housing activist, said Mr Sanders would go into the Oval Office on the back of a popular movement and that he could continue to listen to the people. What were seeing now feels 1969, he said.
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 US Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders addresses a campaign rally at the Saint Mary's Park in Bronx, New York,on March 31, 2016. AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Democratic Presidential Candidate Senator Bernie Sanders speaks at an overflow of a rally at St. Mary's Park in the Bronx borough of New York City on March 3, 2016. (Photo by Andrew Renneisen/Getty Images) Getty Images A supporter of US democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders arrives to attend a rally at the Saint Mary's Park in Bronx, New York,on March 31, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / Jewel SAMADJEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images US actress Rosario Dawson greets Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders's supporters during a campaign rally at the Saint Mary's Park in Bronx, New York, on March 31, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / Jewel SAMADJEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks during a campaign rally at St. Mary's Park, Thursday, March 31, 2016, in the Bronx borough of New York. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson) AP Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks during a campaign rally at St. Mary's Park, Thursday, March 31, 2016, in the Bronx borough of New York. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson) AP US actress Rosario Dawson greets Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders's supporters during a campaign rally at the Saint Mary's Park in Bronx, New York, on March 31, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / Jewel SAMADJEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images A supporter of US democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders displays a placard during a rally at the Saint Mary's Park in Bronx, New York,on March 31, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / Jewel SAMADJEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images US actress Rosario Dawson greets Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders's supporters during a campaign rally at the Saint Mary's Park in Bronx, New York, on March 31, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / Jewel SAMADJEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images US actress Rosario Dawson greets Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders's supporters during a campaign rally at the Saint Mary's Park in Bronx, New York,on March 31, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / Jewel SAMADJEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images US actress Rosario Dawson greets Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders's supporters during a campaign rally at the Saint Mary's Park in Bronx, New York, on March 31, 2016. AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 31: Attendees wait in line prior to a rally for Democratic Presidential Candidate Senator Bernie Sanders at St. Mary's Park on March 31, 2016 in the Bronx borough of New York City . Sanders and opponent Hillary Clinton are campaigning ahead of the April 5 primary in New York. (Photo by Andrew Renneisen/Getty Images) Getty Images Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks during a campaign rally at St. Mary's Park, Thursday, March 31, 2016, in the Bronx borough of New York. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson) AP US Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders speaks during a campaign rally at the Saint Mary's Park in Bronx, New York,on March 31, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / Jewel SAMADJEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Supporters of US democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders arrive to attend a campaign rally at the Saint Mary's Park in the Bronx, New York,on March 31, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / Jewel SAMADJEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 31: Democratic Presidential Candidate Senator Bernie Sanders speaks at an overflow of a rally at St. Mary's Park in the Bronx borough of New York City on March 3, 2016. (Photo by Andrew Renneisen/Getty Images) Getty Images TOPSHOT - US Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders addresses a campaign rally at the Saint Mary's Park in Bronx, New York,on March 31, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / Jewel SAMADJEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks during a campaign rally at St. Mary's Park, Thursday, March 31, 2016, in the Bronx borough of New York. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson) AP US actress Rosario Dawson greets Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders's supporters during a campaign rally at the Saint Mary's Park in Bronx, New York, on March 31, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / Jewel SAMADJEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images US actress Rosario Dawson greets Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders's supporters during a campaign rally at the Saint Mary's Park in Bronx, New York, on March 31, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / Jewel SAMADJEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images US actress Rosario Dawson greets Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders's supporters during a campaign rally at the Saint Mary's Park in Bronx, New York,on March 31, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / Jewel SAMADJEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images A supporter of US democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders displays a placard during a rally at the Saint Mary's Park in Bronx, New York,on March 31, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / Jewel SAMADJEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Supporters of US democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders arrive to attend a campaign rally at the Saint Mary's Park in the Bronx, New York,on March 31, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / Jewel SAMADJEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images A supporter of US democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders arrives to attend a rally at the Saint Mary's Park in Bronx, New York,on March 31, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / Jewel SAMADJEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 31: Democratic Presidential Candidate Senator Bernie Sanders speaks at a rally at St. Mary's Park in the Bronx borough March 31, 2016 in New York City. Sanders and opponent Hillary Clinton are campaigning ahead of the April 5 primary in New York. (Photo by Andrew Renneisen/Getty Images) Getty Images / Facebook
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Matt Shea, 23, a student of arts management, said it was important to him that Mr Sanders had not taken large donations from corporations. He said he believed Mr Sanders would work for a national minimum wage. He supports ordinary people rather than people with lots of money, he said.
Maria Hooper, 35, a costume designer, had travelled from Brooklyn to see him. He stands for medicare, a living wage, a balanced life, food sustainability, education, she said.
Tyra Foote, 18, was preparing to vote in her first election. Sitting on the hillside waiting for Mr Sandes to appear, she said she had already made up her mind to vote for him.
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A lot of people dont have jobs. If he becomes president, unemployment could go down, she said.
A man who asked to give only his first name - Ravi - said he believed Mr Sanders would help make college more affordable. The 29-year-old banker added: There is a massive amount of student debt.
Semut Durham, 28, who also works in financial services, said he hoped Mr Sanders would dismantle the link between retail banks and commercial banks. He said he also believed that if Mr Sanders were president, there would perhaps not be so many wars.
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Samuel Kim, 19, a political science student, said he was struck by the authenticity of Mr Sanders. He said he believed his policies were thought through and considered, rather than selected to please a certain section of society. I think there would be a period of introspection, he added.
Mr Sanders was introduced by actor Rosario Dawson and the director Spike Lee, who urged people to talk to their parents as many elder voters were backing Ms Clinton. Mr Sanders spoke for more than 45 minutes and by the time he had finished, the light was fading.
Real change takes place when millions of people look around them and say the status quo is unacceptable. Where we are right now is a pivotal point in our countrys history, he said.
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Whatsapp Democratic Presidential Candidate Senator Bernie Sanders speaks at a rally at St. Mary's Park in the Bronx borough March 31, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Andrew Renneisen/Getty Images)
This campaign is about creating a political revolution. You are the heart and soul of this revolution.
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An Irish man has been stabbed and killed while on what is believed to have been a first date at a Sydney restaurant.
Keith Collins (53), was stabbed in the neck and chest while his date Jovi Pilapil was also injured. Her ex-husband is the chief suspect.
Mr Collins was originally from Dublin but had been living in Terrigal on the Central Coast. He died at the scene at Kangam BBQ restaurant in Westfield Hornsby.
The father-of-one was the managing director of a successful Gosford packing company and had just returned from a business trip to China.
He was also president of the Terrigal Wamberal Sharks Junior Rugby League Club.
Mr Collins' daughter Aisling wrote on Facebook: "I love you more than anything dad, I'll forever be your girl no matter what."
Another relative, Audrey Jenkins, took to social media, writing: "Love you big bro. Please, please be at peace now. Xxxx"
Sue McInnes, a friend and former Terrigal Sharks member, said: "He was an amazing man who was so full of life and meant what he said. He had many of the boys from the club working for him and treated them like family and he was generous. He said he only made money because they worked well for him.
"He was a great community person too he loved the kids and loved life it's a very, very big loss."
Ms Pilapil, who was also stabbed in the incident, was able to run away and hide in an upstairs shop, where she collapsed.
It is believed the pair had arranged the meal after meeting on a dating website.
A witness said the devoted father desperately called out for help after he was attacked.
"He was yelling out 'help' and me and my mates were outside, we were freaking out and were like nah, we've got to help him," a man said.
"He was laying there and I was like, mate, calm down you will be all good, just keep calm," he added.
Australian media reported that the pair were stabbed by a man believed to be Ms Pilapil's ex-husband, Alexander Villaluna.
Witnesses said the alleged attacker calmly walked up and down the shopping centre's concourse, covered in blood and with the 20-centimetre knife in his hand, before being arrested by a female police officer.
Sunday Life News Michaella McCollum Connolly - pics of her on holiday romance Brad Houston from England in Ibiza.
Michaella McCollum Connolly with rugby star Tommy Bowe while doing promotional work at an official Ulster Rugby event
Michaella McCollum Connolly (left) and friend Melissa Reid in the airport after they were arrested
Police escort Michaella McCollum Connolly and Melissa Reid from the National Police anti-drug headquarters in Peru (AP)
Michaella McCollum, left, and Melissa Reid listen to a translator during a hearing at court in Callao, Peru (AP)
Melissa Reid and Michaella McCollum, both handcuffed, arrive for a court hearing in Lima, Peru (AP Photo/Karel Navarro)
Michaella McCollum Connolly arrives to court for her sentencing in Callao, Peru (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)
Michaella McCollum Connolly, handcuffed, arrives for a court hearing in Lima, Peru, clutching the book 'Secrets About Life Every Woman Should Know: Ten principles for spiritual and emotional fulfillment' (AP Photo/Karel Navarro)
Michaella McCollum Connolly in one of her club hostess outfits
Drugs mule Michaella McCollum has been released from jail in Peru but may have to spend six more years in the South American city.
The 23-year-old is being freed from the Ancon 2 prison McCollum under new legislation on early prison release introduced in the South American country last year but is still waiting to see if she can return home to Northern Ireland.
The Tyrone woman was arrested alongside Scot Melissa Reid in August 2013 as they tried to leave Peru aboard a plane bound for Madrid, with Majorca as their final destination.
They were found with 24lbs of cocaine with a street value of 1.5m hidden inside food packets in their luggage.
Michaela McCollum's solicitor confirmed that she was released from prison at 5pm on Thursday night following a successful application for parole.
They added that she has not been released under any repatriation scheme or other protocol between Peru and the UK. There will be a pending judicial hearing to determine the conditions of her parole.
Kevin Winters solicitor said: At this stage it remains unclear when Michaela may be eligible to return home. That will be a matter for the court and a pending judicial hearing to determine the conditions of her parole. We are working with her lawyers in Peru and hope to be in a position to clarify further, as soon as possible.
Bishop Sean Walsh who visited McCollum in prison a few days ago said: She has been granted parole to my very great surprise. Shes going to be granted parole of six years and six months.
I visited her several days ago. She is of course quite relieved and thankful to god that the course of life has gone this way.
Probably she will remain in Lima. She will be allowed to work and study if she wants to do that.
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 Michaella McCollum Connolly in one of the Ibiza clubs where she worked as a dancer Michaella McCollum Connolly in one of her club hostess outfits Michaella McCollum Connolly with Brad Houston from England Michaella McCollum Connolly Michaella McCollum Connolly Michaella McCollum cradling her newborn twins Michaella McCollum Connolly pictured during an interview with RTE in 2016 after being released on parole from a Peruvian prison Michaella McCollum Connolly, handcuffed, arrives for a court hearing, in Lima, Peru (AP Photo/Karel Navarro) AP Michaella McCollum Connolly, handcuffed, arrives for a court hearing in Lima, Peru, clutching the book 'Secrets About Life Every Woman Should Know: Ten principles for spiritual and emotional fulfillment' (AP Photo/Karel Navarro) AP Michaella McCollum Connolly arrives to court for her sentencing in Callao, Peru (AP Photo/Martin Mejia) AP Melissa Reid and Michaella McCollum, both handcuffed, arrive for a court hearing in Lima, Peru (AP Photo/Karel Navarro) AP Michaella McCollum Connolly, handcuffed, arrives for a court hearing, in Lima, Peru (AP Photo/Karel Navarro) AP Michaella McCollum, left, and Melissa Reid listen to a translator during a hearing at court in Callao, Peru (AP) AP Police escort Melissa Reid, front, and Michaella McCollum to a hearing in Lima, Peru (AP) Police escort Michaella McCollum Connolly and Melissa Reid from the National Police anti-drug headquarters in Peru (AP) Michaella McCollum Connolly (left) and friend Melissa Reid in the airport after they were arrested Michaella McCollum Connolly with rugby star Tommy Bowe while doing promotional work at an official Ulster Rugby event Santa Monica female prison in Peru AP SECRET STASH: The drugs found in food packs in the girls luggage CAUGHT ON CAMERA: Michaella and Melissa caught on CCTV loading bags into a car in Peru Michaella McCollum, centre, and Melissa Reid leave the court after being sentenced in Peru. Lawyer Peter Madden, who represents Michaella McCollum, has claimed his client has suffered from a lack of food. Belfast solicitor Peter Madden said Michaella McCollum and co-accused Melissa Reid have been well treated by the authorities PA Michaella McCollum, right, and Melissa Reid, left, were jailed in Peru last year after they admitted trying to smuggle cocaine worth 1.5 million pounds from Peru to Spain (AP) Michaella McCollum's mother Norah McCollum and sister Samantha McCollum vist the Peru prison Michaella McCollum Connolly with reality TV star Mark Wright at a promotional night hosted by Belfast's M Club / Facebook
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Whatsapp Michaella McCollum Connolly in one of the Ibiza clubs where she worked as a dancer
Being on parole means that she only has to check in with the clerk and the prison system office for special and psychological questioning and to ensure that she remains in the country."
McCollum and Reid initially claimed they were forced at gunpoint into carrying the drugs for a South American drugs cartel. However, they later pleaded guilty.
Upon their arrest, their families were warned that their daughters could face up to 15 years in prison. But after a plea bargain, they were convicted in December 2013 and sentenced to six years and eight months in jail.
Both women were then moved from Lima's Virgen de Fatima jail to Santa Monica prison in Chorrillo to begin their sentence, which is due to last until April 2020.
The jail, which is notorious for its crowded and unsanitary conditions, has been used to house foreign female criminals in the past.
The repatriation of McCollum to Northern Ireland was approved by Stormont's justice minister in January of last year but, she had remained in prison.
A court will now decide whether she can come back to Northern Ireland immediately of if she will have to stay in Peru.
According to reports, McCollum spent last Christmas in a prison hospital after being struck down with a tropical disease after red tape delayed her release.
Reid's father Billy said recently that the impact of his daughter's crime on his family had been "horrendous".
He said: "It's horrendous to see your daughter in handcuffs and the living conditions that she has to put up with.
"Melissa has spent her own 20th and 21st birthdays in prison in Peru.
"She missed the significant event of her only brother's wedding. Events such as Christmas are non-existent for us. There'll be no celebrations in our house, there'll be no Christmas tree until we get her back home.''
Reid remains in prison in Peru. She has been seeking to serve the remainder of her sentence closer to home in Scotland.
A Foreign Office spokeswoman said on Friday: "We continue to provide consular assistance to Melissa Reid. We remain in contact with her family and with the local authorities."
President Xi Jinping of China and Barack Obama gather for a working dinner at the Nuclear Security Summit in the White House (AP)
North Korea has fired a short-range missile into the sea and tried to jam GPS navigation signals in South Korea, officials in Seoul said.
The move came hours after US, South Korean and Japanese leaders pledged to work closer together to prevent North Korea from advancing its nuclear and missile programmes.
Officials said the attempt to jam GPS signals, which began on Thursday, did not cause any major disruptions of South Korean military, aviation and sea transport and telecommunication systems.
However, more than 130 fishing boats reported problems with their navigation systems and some were forced to return to port, the South Korean ministry of oceans and fisheries said.
The defence ministry called the jamming attempt a provocation that threatened public safety and military operations in the South. A statement warned North Korea to immediately stop the jamming or face unspecified consequences.
South Korea has blamed the North for several previous jamming attempts. This week's move to block signals are the first since 2012, according to South Korea's science ministry. No response was immediately forthcoming from North Korean state media.
North Korea also fired a surface-to-air missile off its east coast, three days after it launched a projectile that hit land in its north-east, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
The North has launched a number of short-range missiles and other projectiles since the start of annual South Korea-US military drills last month, which it views as a rehearsal for an invasion. It has also repeated threats of nuclear strikes on Seoul and Washington and warned it will test a nuclear warhead and the ballistic missiles capable of carrying it.
This year's drills, set to run until late this month, are the biggest ever and come after North Korea conducted a nuclear test and long-range rocket launch earlier this year.
In Washington, US president Barack Obama met the leaders of South Korea and Japan to discuss ways of countering North Korea's nuclear threat.
Mr Obama also met Chinese president Xi Jinping, with both calling for North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons.
China also agreed to fully implement recent economic restrictions imposed by the UN Security Council against North Korea.
The Asian leaders are in Washington for a two-day nuclear summit.
South African President Jacob Zuma has apologised for a scandal over millions of dollars in state spending on his private residence and said he would abide by a Constitutional Court ruling that he should pay back some funds.
In a nationally televised address, Mr Zuma said he acted "in good faith" in the long dispute over his Nkandla home, which fuelled concerns about alleged corruption at the highest levels of government as well as opposition calls for the president to resign.
"The matter has caused a lot of frustration and confusion for which I apologise on my behalf and on behalf of government," Mr Zuma said.
The speech was unlikely to curb an opposition move to impeach Mr Zuma after South Africa's top court said he had violated the constitution by not adhering to recommendations by a state watchdog agency that he should pay back some of the more than 20 million dollars spent on his compound.
However, impeachment requires a two-thirds majority in a parliament where the ruling African National Congress party has a comfortable majority and has already defeated a no-confidence motion against Mr Zuma this year. The Constitutional Court also ruled that parliament failed in its obligations by not holding Mr Zuma to account in the spending scandal.
Under the court's ruling, the national treasury must calculate costs of upgrades unrelated to security at Mr Zuma's home within 60 days, and the president must repay that amount within 45 days thereafter. Those upgrades include a swimming pool and a chicken run.
"I wish to emphasize that I never knowingly or deliberately set out to violate the constitution, which is the supreme law of the republic," Mr Zuma said.
Mmusi Maimane, leader of the main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, said earlier that ruling party politicians should act against Mr Zuma if their professed respect for the constitution is genuine.
"If you are serious about that, then you can't have Jacob Zuma," Mr Maimane said.
In a separate scandal, Mr Zuma has been accused of alleged improper links to the Guptas, a wealthy business family whose business associates include Mr Zuma's son Duduzane. The president dismissed allegations that the Guptas played a role in selecting some cabinet ministers, but other leaders of the ruling party have harshly criticised the family.
Erdem Gul and Can Dundar face espionage charges in Istanbul (AP)
A closed-door trial of two Turkish journalists accused of espionage and aiding a terrorist organisation has resumed, amid concerns over press freedoms in the country.
The Cumhuriyet newspaper's chief editor Can Dundar and Ankara bureau chief Erdem Gul face life imprisonment if found guilty of revealing state secrets over their reports on alleged government arms-smuggling to Syrian rebels.
The pair are accused of aiding the moderate Islamic movement led by US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, an opponent of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Their supporters outside the Istanbul courthouse chanted: "Free press cannot be silenced."
The case is seen as a bellwether over the future of press freedom in Turkey, which has witnessed a growing crackdown on independent and opposition media over the past few years.
The pair published images that reportedly date back to January 2014, when local authorities searched Syria-bound trucks, leading to a stand-off with Turkish intelligence officials.
Cumhuriyet said the images proved Turkey was smuggling arms to Islamist rebels.
Human rights group say the two were only doing their jobs and the charges should be dropped.
"The ones who should be on trial are not us," Dundar said, before the start of the second hearing.
The journalists were arrested in November after Mr Erdogan filed a personal complaint.
In February, Turkey's Constitutional Court ruled that their rights were violated and they were released from jail, but Mr Erdogan said he rejected the court's decision.
The Turkish president is facing increased criticism for his government's crackdown on free speech at home.
Speaking in Washington DC on Thursday, Mr Erdogan insisted no journalist is in prison or on trial in his country because of their journalism work.
He also said he welcomed criticism, but would not tolerate insults.
Speaking on Monday at a symposium entitled Remembering 1916, Irish President Michael D Higgins noted: "Of course, a critique of Irish nationalism such as it manifested itself at the turn of the last century is a task that many have already undertaken. By relocating the Easter Rising within the frame of the First World War, but also in the context of the wider currents of ideas that then stirred the world - movements such as socialism, feminism, but also militarism, imperialism and racialist ideologies - 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.
"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. 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 this is for another day."
It was like that moment from To Kill A Mockingbird when Atticus Finch tells his children that to understand someone you need to see life from their side of the fence, wearing their shoes and in their skin. Unionists still throw out the lines about the Easter Rising representing treason, but they never see it from the perspective of people who believed that they had been colonised and then had their dreams of independence put on hold again because England was preoccupied with a war against Germany and Austria-Hungary.
Unionists never seemed to get round to asking the question how they would have felt if the shoe had been on the other foot in April 1916. Actually, that's not entirely accurate: as the threat of Home Rule increased from 1912 onwards unionists did make it clear that they would resort to arms to defend their identity and nationality. It was because they didn't share the Irish nationalism of a majority of people in Ireland, in the same way that the majority of Irish didn't share their sense of unionism or Britishness: and both were ready to take up arms to promote and protect their own interests.
Interestingly, at that crucial moment we saw one of the key super powers, the United Kingdom, playing both sides of the field. The Home Rule Bill was given Royal Assent in 1914, leaving us with the question of how far the Government would have gone to push it through and how far unionists - and the Conservative Party - would have gone to stop it had the war not intervened. Yet in 1916 we saw how ruthless the British Government could be in dealing with the leaders of the Rising.
Empires (and this was a time when the UK 'ruled' a quarter of the world) protect themselves. They sacrifice one cause and then raise another. They send brutal, bloody messages - which is what they did in 1916: and what they may well have been prepared to do to unionists in 1914 had the World War not led to the suspension of the Home Rule Act.
So here are some questions that unionists could do with addressing. What would have happened had the World War not intervened? How far would Carson, Craig and the Conservatives have gone to protect their interests? Would Carson's UVF have turned their fire on British troops? Would we have ended up with a civil war across Ireland and a separate civil war involving unionists and the British? How far would the Conservatives have gone in their support for an armed, rebellious unionism?
President Higgins has a point, therefore: unionists do tend to focus on the 'physical force' tradition within republicanism while glossing over their own attitudes and responses at the time. They also tend to remain mute on the subject of the reach and swagger of the British Empire at that point in history: possibly because the collapse of that Empire from 1945 onwards had worried and spooked them. And there is precious little evidence of any significant voices within unionism raising concerns about the alleged British State sanctioned brutality in a number of colonies and possessions which were seeking independence in the 1950s and 1960s.
It's also worth bearing in mind that the unionist-dominated Northern Ireland was, from the 1920s to the late 1960s, run very differently to the rest of the UK. It was a one-party state that regarded non-unionists as the enemy and even viewed liberals within its own ranks as potential troublemakers. Again, that's a conversation unionists tend not to have with each other, let alone with anyone else.
In five years time unionists will be 'celebrating,' 'commemorating' and 'cheering' the birth of Northern Ireland. Perhaps it's time we looked at our own history. How have we run Northern Ireland? What does the rest of the world think when they think of Northern Ireland and of unionism? What is the nature of the relationship between unionism and our fellow unionists across the rest of the UK? Why do so many unionists still have difficulty when it comes to 'trusting' Westminster? Why, even though Northern Ireland is still (and reasonably safely so) in the UK, is unionism still so prone to bickering and division?
President Higgins finished his speech with this comment: "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."
Unionists have a similar task ahead.
They need to understand their own history. They need to understand the causes and consequences of that history. They need to understand the nature of their relationship with Dublin, London, republicanism/nationalism and with each other. They need to understand and explain the idealism which underpins their beliefs and they need to begin to "imagine and forge a future illuminated by the unfulfilled promises of our past".
What we understand as 'Ulster' unionism was born and forged under very particular circumstances in the mid-1880s: yet that mindset still seems to determine many of our attitudes and responses today. Isn't it about time that mindset was challenged and adjusted for the post-1998 era?
A day after the collapse of an overpass under construction in Kolkata, relatives carry the body of a man killed in the disaster, April 1, 2016.
The death toll in the Kolkata overpass collapse rose Friday and local police arrested officials with the construction firm, even as a spokeswoman for the company building the structure claimed that an explosion might have caused the disaster.
West Bengal state police arrested eight officials with the firm Iragavarapu Venkata Reddy Construction Limited (IVRCL), a day after charging it with culpable homicide not amounting to murder and criminal conspiracy in connection with Thursdays collapse. The firm is headquartered in the south Indian city of Hyderabad.
Meanwhile, rescue workers on Friday recovered three more bodies from the rubble of the collapsed overpass, taking the death toll to at least 24.
We have arrested six officials of IVRCL from their Kolkata office, and two from their Hyderabad office, a police official, who requested anonymity, told BenarNews.
He said a four-member police team had reached Hyderabad Friday afternoon to question officials before the arrests were made.
On Thursday, a senior IVRCL official, K.P. Rao, was criticized for calling the collapse an act of God. An official Friday clarified that it was just a turn of phrase, while hinting at the possibility of sabotage.
The glass [of a nearby building] was shattered. It could have been a blast, Sita Peddinti, the firms legal adviser, told reporters.
A 100-meter (328-foot) section of the 2.2 km- (1.3 mile-) bridge, which had missed nine deadlines since construction began in 2009, collapsed at about 12:15 p.m. Thursday in one of Kolkatas most congested business districts, Burrabazar.
On Friday, state officials put the number of injured at about 90, although they feared that dozens more might be trapped under the debris.
Police said about 100 people were unaccounted for, but an NDRF official said not all of them might be trapped.
We cannot predict how many people are still under wreckage. We cant tell since its a bridge, not a building, Maj. Gen. Anurag Gupta of the NDRF told a CNN reporter.
Rescue efforts continue
About 300 personnel of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), army, state police and fire brigade are involved in the rescue operation. But rescuers and witnesses conceded that chances of finding more survivors were dim.
Bijoy Sarkar, a resident of Burrabazar, said he had been watching the rescue operation closely but didnt think any more survivors would be brought out from the rubble.
The operation has continued for over 36 hours. Rescuers are still trying to cut through piles of concrete and steel. I am afraid by the time they manage to clear the wreckage, theyll only find more bodies, no survivors, he told BenarNews.
As rescue workers race against time to clear tons of debris, Indian television channels showed family members of those missing gathered at the collapse site, looking feverishly for relatives.
Shabana Farooqui had gone to pick up her two children from a school near the accident site when the overpass fell, a relative told IBN Live.
She has been untraceable since the bridge collapsed. We have searching in hospitals and the morgue. We dont know if shes dead or alive, he said.
Construction disasters
The collapse is the latest in a string of similar disasters in India.
In 2014, a portion of an under-construction overpass collapsed in Surat, Gujarat, crushing three laborers.
In March 2013, a functional overpass collapsed in eastern Kolkata. A passing truck fell into the canal beneath, but its occupants were rescued.
In 2009, an under-construction bridges scaffolding collapsed in Kota, Rajasthan, killing 30 workers.
In 2006, an overpass fell on top of a passenger train in Bhagalpur, Bihar, killing 37 passengers.
Police prepare to search the home of a suspected terrorist in Malang, East Java, Feb. 20, 2016.
Legislators and civil society leaders are urging Indonesian President Joko Jokowi Widodo to order an independent evaluation of the countrys anti-terrorism police force after a man died in its custody earlier this month.
The Standard Operating Procedure of Densus has to be improved, House of Representatives member Asrul Sani told BenarNews.
If not, incidents like what happened to Siyono can be repeated in the future, the legislator said, naming the suspected militant who died three days after being picked up by Densus 88 on March 8.
The president has to act. Otherwise brutal behavior by Densus will continue, agreed Teguh Juwarno, a leader of the National Mandate Party (PAN). Densus is often out of control. As an institution that reports directly to the president, its up to the president to fix it, he said.
A total of 121 suspects have died while in Densus 88 custody without judicial process since the elite anti-terror squad was formed in August 2004, according to Maneger Nasution of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM).
Maneger gave the figure at a press conference Friday (pictured) in Jakarta in which he appeared alongside members of a group called the Civil Society Coalition.
(Arie Firdaus/BenarNews)
The theme of the event was Seeking Justice for Suratmi, the widow of the deceased man, a mother of five.
Police claim the 34-year-old resident of Central Java died after he attacked his guard in a police vehicle and a fight ensued.
National Police spokesman Anton Charliyan acknowledged that the unit did not follow proper procedures in handling Siyono, but said it did not cause his death.
Criticism
Densus 88 has faced criticism in the past for excessive use of force and for not following proper procedure.
Most recently the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (KontraS) found several procedural violations in the December 2015 arrest of two individuals in Solo, Central Java.
Densus 88 did not file a report of the arrest or tell the men they had the right to legal representation. Before releasing the men, it asked them to sign a document stating that they were suspects.
This shows that Densus sometimes arrests people without strong information against them, KontraS coordinator Haris Azhar said.
Therefore, the performance and work methods of Densus must be evaluated to ensure they comply with legal procedures, he said.
Without delay
Many of the critics calling for the evaluation say it should be performed by an independent body an idea backed by the central leadership of the mass Muslim organization Muhammadiyah.
Busyro Muqoddas, chairman of legal affairs and human rights for Muhammadiyah, said formation of such a panel is absolutely necessary as the work of Densus 88 and even the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) is far from professional.
The president must immediately and without delay establish an independent team, media outlet Kompas quoted him as saying.
Beyond evaluating its performance, such an independent panel should also look into the origin of these two institutions including whether their funding comes from foreign sources.
Financial oversight institutions have to audit the finances of Densus and BNPT, Busyro said.
Presidential spokesman Johan Budi told BenarNews that Jokowi had not yet been informed about the requests to review Densus 88.
I havent heard that this has been officially communicated to the president. If it is, I will know the presidents view on it. This is just now emerging in media reports, Johan said.
There is accountability
BNPT did not immediately respond to requests from BenarNews seeking comment on the demands for an independent review of its work and funding.
Agus Rianto, a spokesman for the National Police, denied allegations that Densus 88 is not professional in its work.
All police agencies and bodies follow clearly defined procedures, he said.
All [requirements] are met and there is accountability, he said.
Regarding our funding, every year we are audited by the Board of Audits (BPK). All police funding is clear, including [for] Densus. Densus is part of the police, he said.
But the police will not stand in the way of people who are unhappy with their work, he added. The force has an unit that oversees its professionalism, called Propam.
"We have Propam. Please report anything along with strong evidence, he said.
Tia Asmara contributed to this reported.
For Immediate Release, April 1, 2016 Contact: Andrea Santarsiere, (303) 854-7748, asantarsiere@biologicaldiversity.org Idaho Reports Stagnant Growth in Wolf Population Continuing Federal Monitoring Is Critical VICTOR, Idaho Idahos wolf population remained stagnant at 786 wolves in 2015, only one more wolf than 2014, according to new state estimates released today. The number of breeding pairs was estimated to have increased from 26 pairs to 33 pairs. But the states claim that the wolf population has remained relatively constant since federal safeguards were first stripped in 2009 was called into question by a recent study in the journal Science finding that federal and state officials have underestimated the impacts of the states aggressive hunting and trapping polices. Among other problems, Idaho continues to rely on a convoluted mathematical equation that researchers say is likely to overestimate the wolf population, making it difficult to accurately determine population trends. This year the state was only able to actually document 270 wolves on the ground, but nevertheless estimate there are 786 wolves. In explaining its population estimation technique, Idaho admits that no measure of precision is available for its population estimate. Idahos claim that the population remains stable is highly questionable in light of aggressive hunting and trapping, aerial gunning and the recent hiring of professional trappers to wipe out wolf packs, said Andrea Santarsiere, a staff attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. For good reason, science is beginning to question Idahos monitoring methodologies. The new population estimates come on the heels of the Centers petition and notice of intent to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to extend the federal monitoring period for wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains. The existing monitoring program, which is required by the Endangered Species Act after protections are removed for a species, is set to expire in May. Ongoing monitoring is crucial in the face of aggressive state-sanctioned hunting and trapping that researchers say is putting northern Rockies wolf populations at renewed risk. Idaho has been especially aggressive in trying to reduce its wolf population. In 2014 the Idaho legislature created the Idaho Wolf Control Board, allocating hundreds of thousands of dollars to killing wolves. Idaho has also contracted with the federal agency Wildlife Services to hunt, trap and aerially gun down wolves in the Lolo Zone and hired a professional trapper to eliminate two wolf packs in the Frank-Church-River-of-No Return Wilderness last winter. The Idaho Fish and Game Department has also turned a blind eye to an annual predator derby contest, in which participants win cash and prizes for killing wolves and coyotes despite an agency policy condemning predator hunting contests as unethical. 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.
MedUni Vienna researchers have published the results of a clarifying research study on the potential transmissibility of Alzheimers disease. Although the protein associated with Alzheimers disease, amyloid-, might be transmissible under very unusual circumstances, this does not go along with a transmission of the clinical manifestation of Alzheimers disease. The affected persons develop no clinical symptoms of the disease.
Deposits of amyloid- together with the tau protein in the brain constitute a distinctive biomarker of Alzheimers disease. In the last months, researchers from the UK and a research team from Switzerland and Austria attracted attention by stating that the amyloid- protein might be transmitted to healthy persons in the context of medical procedures such as brain surgery. They examined the brain tissue of deceased persons who had received human growth hormone or dura mater transplants. This raised fears that the protein might be able to transmit the disease.
The research group of Gabor G. Kovacs of the Institute of Neurology of MedUni Vienna could now for the first time microscopically examine and compare archived dura mater (the thick membrane covering of the brain) of donors. The results confirm that amyloid- is transmissible from the dura mater to another brain. However, the microscopic appearance of the amyloid- deposits differs from the usual appearance in Alzheimers disease.
The amyloid- protein remains in the vicinity of the operated tissue and does not spread considerably or affect other brain regions. There were also no clinical symptoms of Alzheimers disease and no characteristic deposits of the tau protein were seen.
To determine if amyloid- deposits can be found in the dura mater, the research group also examined the dura mater of elderly individuals. In this context, the researchers demonstrated for the first time that amyloid- can also be stored by the dura mater. This was previously only known for cerebral tissue.
The study allows us to obtain a balanced opinion of the transmissibility of Alzheimers disease, explained the principal investigator of the research study, Gabor G. Kovacs. Despite the fact that it looks as if amyloid-, the protein associated with Alzheimers, might be transmissible under very unusual circumstances, the clinical manifestation of Alzheimers disease is not transmitted. It is certainly not correct to talk of a transmissibility of the disease.
The group of researchers is composed of members of the Institute of Neurology of MedUni Vienna and Donauspital.
The GCARD Global Event taking place in Johannesburg from 5-8 April 2016, will optimise its digital presence to include hundreds of thousands of agriculture minded people from around the globe in the dialogue about sustainable development as South Africa struggles with water shortages and food insecurity.
Ivonne Wierink via 123RF
The GCARD Global Event will host a Social Media Boot Camp to train a group of 75 social reporters who have never worked together before so they can report live from the event. This is to ensure that they will be well equipped with the tools and skills to integrate thousands of people who cannot be at the conference into the onsite discussions.
Social reporting
According to Peter Casier, the social media coordinator for the GCARD conference, the boot camp will increase the capacity of people working in agriculture, agricultural research and sustainable development. The tools we teach them at the boot camp will be used at the conference and also in their daily professional life. They will have the skills to advocate for their causes, to involve people in their projects and to increase their organisations productivity. We teach them how to use the social media tools professionally, and strategically, explains Casier.
Out of the 75 participants at GCARD3 there will be one group comprising of young social reporters, selected by the Young Professionals for Agricultural Development (YPARD). These participants have been preselected based on their eagerness to use social media but also on how well they understand what this conference is all about. The second group are the finalists of the Youth Agri-preneurs Project.
We did a one month long online selection process where young agri-preneurs from all over the world could submit projects as candidates for seed funding. The six finalists are participating in the boot camp as part of their initial training and induction program. For young agri-preneurs, social media is a critical tool, comments Casier.
The third and largest group are people who work for GFAR partner organisations, or any other organisation working in agriculture, agricultural research and sustainable development. The participants come from Africa, Middle East, Asia, South and Central America and Europe.
Nowadays, social media tools such as webcasting, Twitter, live blogging and vlogging are used to report in real time from an event or even broadcast live to a wider worldwide audience. For a typical event of 1,000 onsite participants, we might reach over 100,000 people, who might be anywhere in the world. We call this social reporting which is the use of social media tools in live reporting from an event, says Casier.
The power to be inclusive
The process also involves the online public into the onsite discussions, using the same set of social media tools. Imagine you have a panel of 10 world experts sitting on a stage. What they say is broadcast live via webcasting which anyone can see via YouTube and whoever is watching, from wherever they are watching from Timbuktu to Vladivostok, can ask questions to that panel.
The only thing you need is an internet connection. That is the power that social media tools give us these days: the power to be inclusive - and not restrict a conference to an elite who can afford to come and to have fully inclusive discussions. That is why we organise a social media boot camp, to teach the conference participants and key communications people to work as an onsite live reporting social media team, he adds.
Casier further explains that one of the challenges associated with the boot camp is that there is only three days to prepare the boot campers which will be hard work for the participants.
Advanced communication
The boot camp is organized by GFAR (the Global Forum for Agricultural Research), and is coordinated by a senior communications expert, who worked for over 20 years in international development, and for 10 years in social media. The participants will learn all tools and skills to use social media professionally. They will work 18-20 hours per day to report live from the conference, using the tools they have been trained on.
We developed the boot camp concept initially in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) five years ago. An event of about 200 participants. We had 10 social reporters and we did a pre-event briefing of two hours to get ourselves organised. From there it grew. We expanded the training component, expanded our amount of tools we use, and also opened up these trainings to anyone who works in our professional area of agriculture, agricultural research or sustainable development.
Gone are the days of 10 social reporters, who wrote maybe 15 blog posts, and reached 5,000 people on Twitter. Here at the GCARD3 conference, we have 75 people in our boot camp. Through our social media tools, and with our communications team, we reached already over 120,000 people in six weeks, concludes Casier.
As we enter a new era of digital business, CEOs need to leapfrog themselves before they can leapfrog their organisations into the 21st century. Here's how you can do so through hard work, self-reflection, untraining, retraining and reprogramming.
Theres a new paradigm of business thats keeping CEOs and the rest of the C-Suite awake at night. IBMs digital and cognitive team assert that anyone involved in commerce needs to be aware of the way technology and all-things digital have changed the modern consumer and how we do business.
But if operating in the cloud and working with the internet of things seems more pie-in-the-sky than grounded business sense, theres a chance youre already falling behind. Its time to play catch-up.
Wendy van Schalkwyk, CEO of MI-Ashanti International, explains how you can keep your business on trend
1. Is there any industry that is not affected by the world going digital?
Wendy Van Schalkwyk
Van Schalkwyk: Every company today will be affected by technology advances in the 21st century as its fuelled by technology and high performance teams. While the larger scale of companies play catch up over the next five to ten years, all organisations will eventually become fully baked with technology as their underlying asset. If not, they risk ceasing to exist when their offering becomes redundant and has lost all market relevance. In the world of the 21st century, the internet of things, machine-to-machine or machine-to-man (m2m) technology devices, cars, fridges and homes will have the ability to communicate their needs and inform man of his or her needs even before they think they need it.
While the 20th century was driven by creating large scale industrialised organisations operating in silos, the 21st century organisation is a fully integrated, lean and mean machine, highly competitive with added performance, given their high performance intellectual technology abilities and entrepreneurial culture to match big data to market needs and demands and capitalise on seizing market opportunities long before they emerge in our realities.
In order for this to become a reality, youll need to focus on acquiring investments and resources that help your operation mimic market demands and supply chains. Leaders of the old paradigm need to overhaul themselves for a less self-controlling, creative and collaborative leadership style that is relevant to markets today.
2. How can CEOs then keep their businesses on trend?
Van Schalkwyk: CEOs have to keep themselves on trend by ensuring they are up-to-date with the latest and best ways of how to do business in the 21st century. This requires leadership growth and a new culture of existence. You need to lead and guide your organisation through this difficult time of pivotal transition at a mental, emotional, physical level to a higher purpose state of survival and culture, where technology-driven innovations and business model changes becomes the new norm. It requires that leaders step down from their castles and step into the operation, bringing leadership to a more humble and servant leadership style where leaders become enablers for change, real time and have rewired and redefined themselves to think, act and lead differently in order to unlock success from those around them. It requires a whole new set of lenses through which to see the world and only the brave with make it across. You need a blueprint of your business operating model at your fingertips to see the whole operating system and understand it intimately to commit it to innovation.
3. How can the C-Suite then balance traditional business morals with the fact-based world of mobile?
Van Schalkwyk: You need an underlying set of brand values that drives the business with authentic leadership ethics and good governance as the transparency wall between business and world today is seamless. The boundary walls are down and business is in a symbiotic relationship with its existing and potential customers. Key to this is good leadership to enforce good governance and a work ethic, in which data and information is treated as hard assets with value. Accuracy of data will be king to making well-informed leadership and business decisions. The success of 21st century organisations boils down to trust, accountability and establishing trusting relationships with your customers and stakeholders. The lines of separation and blurry spaces can no longer be hidden by the excuse against time or against a line of smoke and mirrors.
4. Talk us through the role of digital disruption and making companies leapfrog to the future.
Van Schalkwyk: You either strategically plan, implement, leapfrog and survive or you dont strategically plan, do mediocre changes you think are good enough and risk commerce death, its as simple as that. Interestingly, business lifecycles in the 21st century become a lot shorter, but if you know that in advance as a CEO you will know what to do to manage this effectively in the 21st century of business. Welcome to the paradigm, a whole new world awaits!
Van Schalkwyk can advise you on making the digital business transition, especially as her International Master of Business Administration dissertation topic is How to reduce the failure rate of start-up entrepreneurs in the 21st century. Contact her directly on moc.liamg@kywklahcsnavydnew, 062 749 0701 or 021 782 0961.
NEW DELHI - India has set rules for foreign investment in online marketplaces, allowing up to 100 percent overseas ownership and providing much-needed clarity as billions of dollars pour into the country's fast-growing e-commerce sector.
The long-awaited rules permit full foreign ownership of sites that connect online buyers to sellers -- similar to the model pioneered by Internet giant eBay.
However, foreign direct investment in "inventory-based" sites that sell their own stock is forbidden, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion said on Tuesday.
In practice, India's e-retailers already considered this to be the case, acting as technological platforms that connect buyers and sellers rather than selling their own products.
Even Amazon does not sell its own stock directly to shoppers in India.
Despite the regulatory fuzziness, domestic marketplace sites such as Flipkart and Snapdeal have attracted billions of dollars in overseas investment.
"This announcement brings current business structures on the right side of the law," Devangshu Dutta, chief executive of Third Eyesight, a retail consultancy in Delhi, told AFP.
While the new rules will end much of the uncertainty, the government has also imposed restrictions that may cause headaches for some online retailers.
Under the new rules, a single seller can only account for up to 25 percent of sales, the department said.
This could cause problems for some of the big sites which, while technically marketplaces, are reportedly home to a handful of super-sellers that provide the lion's share of their products.
Aggressive discounting wars by India's Internet retailers may also be under threat, as the rules say they are not allowed to "directly or indirectly influence the sale price of goods or services".
"There were no conditions (before) -- now it looks like some of the players may have to restructure the agreements with their sellers to be compliant. It's not very easy," said Paresh Parekh, a tax partner in retail and consumer products at EY.
Some retailers welcomed the new rules, including Kunal Bahl. He founded Snapdeal, one of India's biggest Internet shopping sites.
"Great to see the guidelines around 100% FDI in ecomm marketplaces. Glad the govt recognises and supports an industry transforming India," he tweeted.
The long-running probe into the milling cartel yesterday encountered an obstacle that could strip Tiger Brands of the immunity it received from the Competition Commission for providing information on maize price fixing.
Nelspruit-based milling company Blinkwater yesterday challenged the commission's decision to exempt Tiger Brands from being penalized for its involvement in fixing the price of white maize.
Blinkwater, which makes Super B maize meal, argued before the Competition Tribunal that the commission went against its own leniency policy by granting Tiger Brands immunity when leniency had already been awarded to Premier Foods. In terms of the leniency policy, the commission could grant immunity to only one company per product under investigation, it said.
The fact that Premier Foods had already received immunity for its involvement in the white maize cartel made it unlawful for the commission to exempt Tiger Brands as well, argued Blinkwater's legal team. Therefore, the case against Blinkwater should be dropped, its lawyers maintained.
Spokesman for the Competition Commission Itumeleng Lesofe said the statutory body tasked with investigating uncompetitive business practices was within its rights to grant Tiger Brands, the maker of Ace maize meal, immunity as it had come out with new information that had not been provided by Premier Foods. Lesofe said Blinkwater had a gripe because new information supplied by Tiger Brands had implicated it.
"Our leniency policy is discretionary and states that another company can be granted exemption if circumstances dictate," said Lesofe. "This is such a circumstance." The Competition Tribunal adjourned the hearing yesterday and indicated it will decide on the matter in due course.
In a separate case Tiger Brands, Pioneer Foods and Foodcorp were found guilty of colluding to raise the price of bread in 2009. The bread producers were fined a total of about R338m.
Source: Business Day
The City of Cape Town has taken delivery of a new piece of machinery set to expedite its bulk sewer upgrade programme.
The AVN 800 XC Herrenknecht micro-tunnelling machine was acquired at a cost of just over R10.6m and comes with technology that enables safe, fast and efficient tunnelling in even the most difficult pipe jacking projects.
The machine has been used in more than 1,000 projects around the world. It is controlled with a laser navigation system that allows for precise positioning, has a built-in crusher that can reduce boulders to smaller pieces, and offers extra safety in less stable geological conditions (which is useful for tunnelling operations in the sandy Cape Flats soil).
Cape Flats project
The AVN 800 XC will be put to the test by CSV Construction during the final phase of the Cape Flats 3 Bulk Sewer Project (CF3). The CF3 is a critical component of the citys sewer network and will serve a population of nearly one million residents in the Bonteheuwel, Heideveld, Manenberg, Gugulethu and Nyanga areas. This project forms part of the citys Sanitation Master Plan to enhance the sewer reticulation system and will ultimately be completed by the end of 2017 at a total cost of approximately R250m.
The extra capacity that the CF3 construction will provide will allow the city to periodically decommission other sewer infrastructure in the area for much-needed maintenance, repairs and rehabilitation.
The second phase of the CF3 will be constructed below ground, with the greater part thereof being situated in close proximity to or within existing roadways. The least disruptive route for the local community and motorists passing through the affected areas has been chosen for this construction. In addition, new construction technologies that do not require the digging of trenches are being used to limit the inherent disturbance caused by construction work. The Herrenknecht micro-tunnelling machine will be crucial in this regard.
Greater efficiency
"Acquiring this technology is a major step forward for the city and will allow for greater efficiency of future bulk pipe replacement projects. The project team is to be congratulated for their vision and innovation. Staying on the cutting edge of new technology is crucial to ensuring that the city is able to provide the best possible service to residents," said the citys Mayoral Committee member for Utility Services, Ernest Sonnenberg..
"We are pleased that this phase of the project can now begin as its completion will ensure that we have sufficient capacity in our sewer network to limit the impact of blockages. However, I would also like to call on our residents to refrain from disposing of items into their sinks and toilets that could block up the network.
"Common causes of blockages are rags and cooking fat or grease. While newer technologies and infrastructure projects can assist us, we need the cooperation of residents to ensure that sewage overflows are prevented," said Sonnenberg.
Yelena Kovalenko via 123RF
The Bazaruto platform falls under the leadership of the new MD of Go2Africa, Maija de Rijk-Uys. Maija is ideally placed for the role due to her combined experience in both corporate and SME settings. Her most recent online travel stint was as head of international markets at Travelstart between 2011 and 2014, where she set up six of Travelstarts international markets. Previously, she was at PwC South Africa and UK, and Virgin Travel.
Digital breakthrough as enabler of business for SMEs and new entrants
Maija sees Bazaruto as an exciting breakthrough in the digital travel industry. "It can be overwhelming for SMEs or new entrants into the market to develop relationships with suppliers, take on content management and make headway with rates negotiations, all of which are critical to success. Bazaruto has the capability to seamlessly check both price and accommodation availability, logistically manage and deliver a responsive itinerary to the end-user, and also handle the full responsive supplier interface."
"Bazaruto will supply all the components needed to put together an appealing, comprehensive and responsive itinerary with a few clicks. Agents, no matter where they are in the world, will be able offer their clients the same high-quality vacations as a long-standing agency with entrenched supplier relationships and full support teams."
According to the United Nations World Tourism Organisations latest report, 56 million ITAs (international travel arrivals) came to Africa in 2014, and spent USD36-billion in ITRs (international tourist receipts). Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 71% share of that business and has experienced an average annual growth of 6.2% since 1990, with growth of 3 5% projected for 2017.
"The weak rand means that South Africa is in a sweet spot for inbound travellers, and Bazaruto could give travel entrepreneurs the edge in capturing the lucrative foreign market. It has been populated with beautiful images and copy by Africa specialists at Go2Africa, and is ultimately a very empowering business tool for retailers."
Bazaruto is set to launch in early 2017 and has been built using Ruby on Rails (also used by Airbnb and Shopify) and ReactJS.
Other exciting developments
There have been further exciting developments at Go2Africa. In November 2015, Targe Capital, a private equity firm headed by Gary Macdonald (ex RMB Corvest) and Greg Fury (ex Allan Gray), purchased a 40% stake in the company. Targe have brought a critical investment perspective as well as access to capital that will allow Bazaruto to be a game-changer in the industry.
January and February 2016 have seen the company break its own records for the highest enquiries and best sales ever, setting the scene for solid June-August 2016 and December-January 2017 peak seasons. In addition, several high-profile candidates are being considered for the key roles of head of sales and head of marketing.
Good day fellow wine lovers and welcome to the very first Weekly Wine Wrap-up. The world of wine is a vastly dynamic place and it can be pretty hard to keep up with local and international news. This is why we have decided to make things a little bit easier - we'll do the legwork, find the most intriguing news morsels and pass them along to you once a week in bite-sized bits. This way, you can continue to sound informed at all those glamorous dinner parties without the hassle of wading through a zillion newsletters.
Let's pop the cork on this week's news, shall we?
Wine goes digital with the world's first 'smart' wine bottle
The gist of it: Kuvee is a Wi-Fi-connected bottle that boasts a patented valve system that prevents oxygen from entering the wine, which keeps it fresh for up to a month after the bottle was first opened. The company has partnered a selection of international producers (including Bonny Doon, Schug, BR Cohn and Pine Ridge), which package their wines in metallic sheaths for use in the Kuvee system. The smart bottle also features an interactive touchscreen that makes personalised recommendations, shares food-matching tips and allows consumers to place wine orders. Read more about this wonderful new technology here.
A man lived to be 107 by drinking red wine every day
The gist of it: After Antonio Docampo Garcia passed away recently at the age of 107, his family said he enjoyed such a long life thanks to his love of wine. Garcia, of north-west Spain, had his own vineyard and wine business, local Spanish newspaper La Voz de Galicia reports. He loved having a shot of brandy with breakfast and had wine every day with both lunch and dinner. Read the rest of the report here.
Bonus WWW factoid: The key ingredient in red wine that is thought to prevent damage to blood vessels, reduce low-density lipoprotein and prevent blood clots is called resveratrol.
The prestigious 1659 award goes to Danie de Wet of De Wetshof Estate
The gist of it: Danie de Wet, pioneering winemaker and owner of the De Wetshof Estate in Robertson, was recently presented with the South African wine industrys 1659 Honorary Award, which is annually presented by Groot Constantia Estate and Die Burger. The recipient of the 1659 Honorary Award is chosen by a panel of wine industry stalwarts and presented to an individual who has created a legacy and played a profound role in the South African wine industry. This award is the highlight of the annual Blessing of the Harvest, held at Groot Constantia, South Africas oldest wine estate. Read more about this wonderful accolade here.
Bonus WWW factoid: The year 1659 marks the year when the first grapes were pressed in South Africa.
Climate change is good for wine production at the moment, but it set to cause upset later on
The warming climate is causing chaos around the globe, but for the moment it is actually helping vineyards to produce better wine. In fact, dry conditions are imperative if you want to produce good wine - hot summers that follow heavy spring rains speed up the harvest, while Indian summers reduce surface moisture and dry the soil to do the same. But while the current warming trend might be improving wine for the moment, it is unsustainable in the long term. For every degree Centigrade that the Earth warms, grape harvests are brought forward by approximately a week. If this shift continues harvest time will become disconnected from the moisture cycle altogether, which could mean that established wine regions will have to move. Read more about the long-term consequences of climate change on wine production here.
via GIPHY
TOKYO: Takata's shares plunged 20% in Tokyo on Wednesday, 30 March, after Bloomberg News said the recall-related costs facing the Japanese airbag supplier could be as high as $24bn.
Citing a person familiar with the matter, Bloomberg said the company estimated the "worst case" scenario would involve the recall of 287.5-million airbag inflators at a cost of as much as 2.7-trillion yen ($24bn).
Takata and its automaker clients are still hashing out how the costs would be shared, the source said.
A Takata spokesperson was not immediately available to comment.
Takata plunged 19.45% to 414 yen, its daily loss limit, in response to the report published shortly before Japanese markets closed.
The whopping estimate comes as Takata struggles to deal with the inflator defect that can cause airbags to deploy with explosive force.
This sends metal and plastic shrapnel hurtling toward drivers and passengers - in some cases killing them or causing grisly injuries.
At least ten deaths have been linked to the airbag ruptures and some 50-million Takata airbags have been recalled globally, including some 28-million in the United States.
In February a coalition of the world's best-known automakers, including Toyota, General Motors and BMW, said it had identified the key culprit behind the defect.
Its report found that the combination of a lack of water-absorbing chemicals, inadequate design and high temperatures could cause the airbags to rupture.
Those findings were in line with long-held suspicions that the chemical used to inflate Takata airbags can be unstable, especially in hot and humid conditions.
Also in February an independent panel advised the under-fire auto parts supplier - which has been accused of covering up the problem for years - to improve management oversight and automation to help move past the crisis.
Takata's programme for monitoring the quality of its airbags, installed in tens of millions of cars worldwide, was poorly designed and structured and relied too much on the automakers' oversight, the panels' report found.
It also pointed to one potential immediate problem with the airbags: the inflator propellant is often loaded by hand, not machine, potentially leading to mistakes.
Other key weaknesses pinpointed in Takata's corporate organisation were the fact that product designs can move to production even with outstanding questions unresolved.
Source: AFP
Following its acquisition of Communications Media, one of the largest healthcare media agencies in the US, WPP has announced that Ogilvy CommonHealth Medical Media, the media practice of WPP's wholly owned Ogilvy CommonHealth Worldwide, will become part of CMI. CMI will become a media investment management hub for GroupH, parent company for WPP's healthcare specialist companies.
CMIs unaudited revenues were US $38m as of December 31, 2015. Its clients include 10 of the top 20 pharmaceutical advertisers in the US and overall it represents 340 brands among 51 clients. It employs more than 210 people and is based in King of Prussia, PA, with offices in New York, Philadelphia and Pennsauken, NJ. It was founded in 1989.
Founded in 1989, it is a leading provider of media investment management and non-sales force promotional strategy, planning, customer insights and data solutions to the healthcare and life sciences industries.
This acquisition continues WPP's strategy of investing in important disciplines, such as pharmaceutical and healthcare, and markets, such as the US. GroupH is part of WPPs Branding & Identity, Healthcare and Specialist Communications group (which includes direct and digital). Collectively, including associates, companies in the branding & identity, healthcare and specialist communications group (which includes direct and digital) generate revenues of around US $6bn and employ over 80,000 people. In the US, WPP companies (including associates) collectively generate revenues of almost US $7bn and employ 25,000 people.
At the KPMG Pan African Tax Conversation, which took place earlier this month in Cape Town, the group released its inaugural Africa Incentive Survey (2016) , which contains useful information for business across 28 countries on the continent, representing 81% of Africa's US $2.4 trillion GDP and home to three-quarters of Africa's 1.2 billion population.
This Survey can be regarded as a guide that will help both local and foreign investors understand the landscape of incentives offered by African countries. All countries surveyed offer a range of enhanced tax incentives, ranging from accelerated allowances for capital expenditure, special allowances for investments in certain industry sectors (such as manufacturing, infrastructure, tourism) as well as tax holidays ranging from 3 to 10 years.
At least 21 of the 28 countries surveyed offer incentives relating to Special Economic Zones, which appears to be a feature of industrial development initiatives in African countries. More than a third of the 28 countries surveyed offer incentives related to traditional manufacturing, with South Africa, Nigeria and Morocco being notably the only three countries in Africa that offer cash grants in addition to tax incentives, all of which require prior approval by government agencies.
Trevor Hoole, chief executive, KPMG in Southern Africa says that the release of the Africa Incentive Survey is a clear indication of how Africa is rising. I believe that the Survey is an invaluable guide and if youre looking to understand the various incentives available in Africa, this is the perfect roadmap for you, says Hoole.
Mohammed Jada, head: R&D Tax and Incentives, KPMG Africa desk, notes that the countries participating in the survey achieved a 9% average growth in their GDP for the period 2012 to 2014, whilst their populations have grown by 43.2 million to just under 870 million people (source http://data.worldbank.org/country).
There is a growing trend of trade regionalism in the world and within Africa, to enter into more bilateral and multilateral trade agreements globally. The proposed Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA), which would cover 26 (out of 54) African countries is aimed at creating the biggest free-trade area on the African continent.
This may be our answer to the range of Free Trade Agreements that have been concluded within Asia, the EU and most recently the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) involving the US and 12 countries across the Pacific Rim. The potential for Africa to capitalise on trade within the continent is not to be missed, given the growing size of the population in Africa (about 18% of the worlds population).
The TFTA will result in consolidating the three significant trade blocks: the East African Community (EAC), the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).
The Survey has a wealth of information for any investor in Africa and contains useful summary tables for quick reference, with detailed information provided on incentives offered by each country participating in the survey as well as valuable local Good to Know facts from the KPMG network of tax professionals across Africa.
LUANDA: A Portuguese branch of the Anonymous hacking collective says it has shut down about 20 Angolan government websites in retaliation for the jailing of 17 youth activists for plotting "rebellion".
The youths, including well-known rapper Luaty Beirao, were sentenced on Monday to between two and eight-and-a-half years, in a ruling that Amnesty International said was "an affront to justice".
In a statement on its Facebook page late on Tuesday, the Anonymous Portugal group listed the government websites it said it had attacked. None of the websites were accessible on Wednesday.
"The real criminals are outside, defended by the capitalist system that increasingly spreads in the minds of the weak," Anonymous said.
There was no immediate comment from the government on the alleged cyber-attack. Beirao, who holds dual Portuguese and Angolan nationality, has a loyal fan base in Portugal, the former colonial ruler of Angola.
Amnesty called for the immediate release of the activists, 15 of whom were detained at a political meeting in the capital Luanda last June.
"Angolan authorities use the criminal justice system to silence dissenting views," said Amnesty director Deprose Muchena. "The activists have been wrongly convicted in a deeply-politicised trial. They are the victims of a government determined to intimidate anyone who dares to question its repressive policies."
At the sentencing, about 30 protesters outside the court yelled "free the youths, arrest dictator Jose Eduardo dos Santos", the president of Angola since 1979.
A man who shouted inside the court that the sentences were a "travesty of justice" was himself sentenced on Tuesday to eight months in jail.
The activists insist they are peaceful campaigners lobbying for dos Santos, 73, to step down.
This month, he said he would retire in 2018 but the announcement was received with scepticism following two similar pledges in the past. His current mandate ends at the end of next year.
Source: AFP
Caxton Publishers & Printers recognises its editorial, sales, advertising, management and support staff at its annual Caxton Excellence Awards. This year, 1500 entries were submitted by staff for consideration with a total prize value of R280,000.
Best Free Newspaper (more than 24 pages) went to Highway Mail, edited by Robyn Scott, for the second consecutive year and the Best Sold Newspaper (with circulation exceeding 8000), went to South Coast Herald edited by Colleen Haggard.
Zsaraeva Nel and Gerhard Rheeder, both reporters from Middelburg Observer, were awarded joint Best Multimedia Storyteller of the Year, while Best Multimedia Presence of a local newspaper went to Rekord Centurion edited by Corne van Zyl.
The Most Promising Newspaper Journalist of the Year was awarded to Kristian Meijer of Pretoria Rekord; Best Get It Magazine of the Year went to Lowvelder, edited by Ciska Kay. Field Salesperson of the Year was awarded to Julie Murray from Capital Media: Rekord and Newspaper Journalist of the Year was awarded to Daleen Naude of the Middelburg Observer.
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The senior political advisor Alabama Governor Robert Bentley is accused of having an inappropriate relationship with has already resigned from her position but the governor himself is staying put.
Maybe not if the state legislature has anything to say about it. To my own surprise, a state Republican says he will begin impeachment proceedings against the Republican governor next week.
On Wednesday, Alabama state Rep. Ed Henry (R-Hartselle) told WHNT News 19 that he would begin impeachment proceedings against Bentley next week, due to incompetence and moral turpitude. The Democratic minority leader of Alabamas House said he believes a majority of his colleagues favor impeachment. From the beginning of his second term he has done nothing but lie and deceive the people of Alabama and now we are seeing basically the fruits of that, state Rep. Ed Henry said. If we are going to do anything for the next two years as far as economic development, bringing in industry, being effective if you will, we will have to do it without Robert Bentley as the governor.
Strong words. Governor Bentley has presented himself as a devout religious man who reveres family values, but recent events tell another story and now the Republican wing of the state assembly has formally asked for the governor's resignation.
You may recall that Governor Bentley recently gave the unilateral and illegal order to defund Planned Parenthood but the state of Alabama was forced to reimburse Planned Parenthood for their legal costs after the order was struck down in court. That can't have made state legislators very happy on either side of the political fence.
Is there a state in the union that doesn't ultimately regret installing Republicans in the governor's mansion?
WASHINGTON The Supreme Courts refusal to take up a case on the Securities and Exchange Commissions use of administrative proceedings to impose penalties in enforcement cases prompted a law firm to recommend those subject to administrative proceedings to challenge their constitutionality.
The alert issued by Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe on Thursday comes as the SEC has faced increasing criticism for using administrative law judges instead of the courts to try enforcement cases.
Most SEC muni enforcement actions are brought through administrative proceedings. However, the commission also files complaints against alleged violators of anti-fraud statutes in district courts.
"The consequences of being subject to an SEC administrative review process are significant," wrote Jason Halper, the co-chair of Orrick's financial institutions litigation practice who authored the alert with two other lawyers from the firm. "In federal court, a defendant is entitled to full civil discovery, complete application of the federal rules of procedure and evidence, in most cases, a jury trial, and adjudication by a neutral arbiter, while a respondent in a SEC proceeding is entitled to none of these protections."
The Orrick lawyers said the "results of that incongruity speak for themselves," citing media reports that found the SEC was successful in 90% of administrative proceedings over a five-year period compared to only 69% of federal court cases during the same time period.
The case on which the alert is based is Bebo v. Securities and Exchange Commisson. It involves Laurie Bebo, the former chief executive officer of Wisconsin-based Assisted Living Concepts Inc., who challenged the constitutionality of the penalties imposed in administrative proceedings. The SEC had charged that Assisted Living Concepts and Bebo had released false or misleading financial and disclosure documents.
The proceedings were ongoing when Bebo filed her constitutional challenge in the District Court of the Eastern District of Wisconsin. The district court dismissed Bebo's case citing a lack of jurisdiction over the issue because she had not concluded with the administrative proceedings at the time she filed. The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago later affirmed the decision.
Although the Supreme Court decided last week not to review and reconsider the appeals court ruling, the Orrick lawyers said there are more cases making their way through the federal system and that the Supreme Court might decide to address the issue if a split in opinion develops in the circuit courts.
"The SEC has chosen a forum that allows it to investigate, prosecute, adjudicate, and if successful in supporting the charges before an administrative law judge, provide appellate review of a case for which the very same commissioners approved the filing of charges in the first place," Bebo's lawyers said in the district court complaint.
Mark Cuban, the celebrity entrepreneur, filed a friend-of-the-court brief as Bebo's case was being appealed calling the administrative proceedings a "farce" and unconstitutional.
In the case, Bebo argued that the SEC administrative law judges who impose enforcement penalties violate the Appointments Clause of the Constitution because the judges are hired by the SEC and not appointed by the president or SEC commissioners. The SEC administrative law judges were first allowed to issue enforcement penalties after the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010 was passed, according to the Orrick lawyers.
Representatives from the Department of Justice who responded to the complaint on behalf of the SEC, said the administrative law judges "possess the limited adjudicatory authority that the commission has delegated to them, play a part in a process over which the commission retains ultimate control, enjoy ordinary tenure protection, and have a long history of use."
Andrew Ceresney, director of the SEC's enforcement division, said in a speech to the New York City Bar last year that the commission's "overriding goal is to achieve strong and effective enforcement of the federal securities laws in a fair and efficient manner."
"We try to recommend the forum that will best utilize the commission's limited resources to carry out its mission," he said. The SEC analyzes a host of factors when deciding between administrative proceedings and a district court, but administrative proceedings are almost always wrapped up more quickly and can be much more efficient, Ceresney added.
Arming India Interview: Part 3
NEW DELHI: The Indo-Russian BRAHMOS missile can be integrated on submarines built by global manufacturers without much technological challenge and this has been validated by several of the submarine builders, BrahMos Aerospace Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Sudhir Kumar Mishra said in an exclusive interview to Arming India.
BrahMos Aerospace has already shared the integration data with French, German, Russian and Spanish submarines builders, apart from the Indian public sector submarine builder, Mishra said. This could mean India's Project 75I, the six second line of conventional submarines for which a Request for Proposals is awaited, could deploy this Indo-Russian supersonic cruise missile in the future, irrespective of the global submarine manufacturer that India could tie-up with for building these Air-Independent Propulsion capable vessels.
BrahMos is also readying to validate the air-launched BRAHMOS from an Indian Air Force's Sukhoi combat aircraft and the test could take place anytime soon, with the work on the missile set to be over next month.
EXCERPTS FROM THE INTERVIEW
What is your order book?
May, June and July 2015 have been very happy months for us. We got orders for six ships, both retrofit and new, which the DAC has approved. Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has also approved the fourth regiment for the Indian Army. This in itself is more than a $1 billion order book. We already had orders until 2022. Now it means, we can live till 2027. It has extended by another five years, plus another 10 years of service. That is, minimum until 2036, we will survive, as we provide product support also. It has been an interesting, fruitful and rewarding months. The ships are Project 17A and the first three Talwar class guided frigates.
What about the submarine version of BRAHMOS? Has there been any development there?
BrahMos Aerospace has demonstrated, by flight testing from a pontoon, that we have the capability to make a submarine-launched BRAHMOS also. Now, all of us know that a lot of submarines for our Navy are under-construction and are going to be constructed at several shipyards. The Indian Navy knows about the capabilities of BRAHMOS and I am sure they will consider fitment of BRAHMOS on some of their submarines. Because, BRAHMOS offers a unique capability. It is a cruise missile, can attack land targets or ships. I am sure that they are considering it and we are talking to several people. Yes, the services are having a lot of interest in submarine-launched BRAHMOS. It is a universal missile. We don't have any technical problems or challenges. We have already demonstrated it and it is ready to fit in. So, this is from our side.
From the side of the platform suppliers, we have spoken to all the submarine manufacturers in the world and they have certified and given in writing that they can integrate BRAHMOS into their platforms without any problem. We have also shared with them the integration data on our design, whether French, German, Russian, Spanish or Indian.
What about the air-launched BRAHMOS?
That is the real challenge facing us. We are going to launch. Let me just give you the quantum of work. When you want to integrate a weapon on an aircraft, especially a weapon like BRAHMOS which weighs 2,500 kg, and the aircraft is not having any provision to integrate such kind of weapons, then it becomes very challenging. The challenges were, first we have modified the aircraft itself. It means, the platform itself has been modified. HAL Nasik has done a fantastic job. Earlier, Sukhoi Design Bureau, the original manufacturer of the aircraft, asked huge amount of money - they asked for $200 million - and we didn't have that much money to integrate. So, HAL took up this task as an engineering challenge. They took two aircraft, modified and successfully handed over these aircraft during Aero India to BrahMos Aerospace, and now the ASTE of Indian Air Force are flying these modified aircraft successfully without a single problem. It is a great engineering capability that we have achieved.
Second is the launcher. The launcher is again composed of electrical and mechanical integration. Then, the missile integration to the launcher and third, is the aerodynamic studies. We have completed the electrical and mechanical integration of launcher with the aircraft. This work has been entirely done by BrahMos Aerospace. We designed the launcher, we integrated the launcher to the aircraft. We have completed the Computational Flow Dynamics analysis, wind tunnel testing for the aircraft, and launcher with the aircraft. Then missile separation from the aircraft. This work has been successfully done by NAL, Bangalore.
Apart from this, we completed ground vibration test of the aircraft at HAL Nasik. All of this has given a lot of confidence to us. Now we have flown the launcher also along with the aircraft. We are now implementing the engineering studies to integrate the missile with the launcher and the aircraft. By March-end it will be over. We will go for the instrumented missile flight test to measure various parameters that the missile and the aircraft will be facing while flying.
I hope to complete that work by April 2016. Then, we will go for drop test, when a missile model will be dropped from the aircraft and then, we will go for the real launch of the actual missile from the aircraft and that will be by end-2016. The second aircraft is getting modified. As per the contract, we have to demonstrate the flight test from both the aircraft, then only the users will accept the flight test. It is going to be a great achievement for aviation scientists and missile engineers. We have never done such a test for such a huge, heavy missile. That will give a lot of satisfaction and confidence to missile technologists, not only in India but all over the world. The launcher that we have designed is the biggest in the world.
Once you achieve all these, then would the entire fleet of Sukhois in the Indian Air Force be modified and armed with BRAHMOS? What is the requirement for the air-launched BRAHMOS that has been projected by the Air Force? What will be the difference in the weight of the conventional BRAHMOS and the air-launched version?
It is not like this. The users have their own strategy to fit the missiles and it is for them to decide. We will provide them the missiles, the launchers and modification strategy and it is for them to decide. The requirement of the air-launched BRAHMOS will certainly be in large numbers. Because, such kind of efforts need to be economical. The warhead will be the same, but while the original BRAHMOS is about 2,900-kg, the air-launched version will be about 400-kg less, because of some engineering work.
There were a lot of interest shown by some friendly nations for BRAHMOS and of course, Russia holds the export control for BRAHMOS? So, are there any talks for exporting of the BRAHMOS?
We need support and approval of both the Governments for any export of BRAHMOS. There is an enabling provision already existing in the inter-governmental agreement. As such, there is no legal problem created by either of the partners. We have been working for more than a decade now and we have had no problems either from India or from Russia. It will happen with mutual consent. BrahMos Aerospace, being a defence engineering company, will provide competence and capability to both the Governments.
We have no problem in upscaling our production. We can do that, because we have excellent supply chain with vendors. Every year, the production number also varies. It is for the Governments of India and Russia to decide to whom to export, in how many quantities. We participate in so many exhibitions all over the world and we receive so many delegations from various countries. They show a lot of interest and show a lot of willingness looking at the capability of our weapon. We are ready to meet this challenge of export. It is for both the Governments to decide on whom to supply and how to supply. It is about defence diplomacy policy.
What's your agenda for the future of BRAHMOS within the intergovernmental agreement? You have orders till 2027 and work till 2036. What's the future and how would you keep BrahMos Aerospace relevant beyond that?
The first thing, the order is not going to be stopped at fourth regiment. There will be orders for fifth and sixth regiment also. We know it very well. The second thing is ships would be manufactured and the country would be needing anti-ship missiles. So we would be there. Third, there is also going to be the issue of life-extension of the missile systems that will keep us very busy. Fourth is product support. This is a state-of-the-art missile and it would call for a lot of product support. We would be there to provide that support not only for 10 years of the life of the missile -- in some countries, the missile life is 25 to 30 years.
Initially, we are offering 10 years and beyond that there will be life extension too. As we discussed earlier, we would like to expand our business from subsonic to hypersonic, to be present in all the domains of speed. That also will give us a lot of business. Technologies are evolving. There are many things we are not able to foresee or predict. So let us wait for a few years. As things evolve, BrahMos being a hi-tech engineering company would be surviving for several decades. BRAHMOS is a very contemporary missile.
As of today, we don't see anybody is able to come out with a supersonic engine for another five to 10 years. This engine is a result of engineering research during Soviet Union times. The Soviets have never hesitated in investing in defence. Even today, the USA is still working with a sub-sonic cruise missile. They are putting a solid rocket motor in the terminal stage or booster stage to increase the range or capability. Whereas, ours is a supersonic ramjet. Nobody is having this. Chinese are claiming to have it, but we know that they are not going to have it for another five to seven years. We will continue to have it.
Again in hypersonic capability, we will be leading in that front too. So we will be leading in that technology for another 20 years. And hypersonic has no limit. We can go up to seven Mach or nine Mach or eleven Mach. There will be discovery of new material, even new engineering solutions would be available and we may expand to any area. We may expand to UAV also. As of now there is no business plan, but what I am trying to tell you is that we can think of developing a hypersonic UAV too.
In fact, Dr. Kalam has given us a dream which will answer your question. Dr. Kalam always told us that we should design, develop and produce a missile that will be long-range, re-usable, hypersonic and cost-effective solution to deliver a warhead anywhere in the world. This is a dream and when we move towards this dream, there are going to be thousands of engineering challenges. But, that would only provide us business and that would answer your question.
The hypersonic UAVs are actually UCAVs.
They are, you can say, but they are not re-usable. We are talking about merging of technologies such as missiles and UAVs. UCAVs are weaponized small aircraft. Sometimes, UCAVs are re-usable and sometimes they are not.
We are marrying hypersonic technologies with UAVs or UCAVs, so they can escape if they come under attack?
Yes, possible.
Have you dialogued with the Russians on using your capability in the unmanned category? Is there a spin-off possible?
No, we have not. The spin-off possibility is there. But we have not talked or put it in writing or even done any analysis. It makes sense and it is a natural progression. This is one of the most successful JVs that the government of India wants to replicate in several 'Make in India' programs. This means we are successful. We feel that we are on the right path. If the program is replicated, then there will be an opportunity to expand under the existing format itself.
What about the mini-BRAHMOS?
Concept-wise, it is very attractive. But, so many developments are taking place and hence we are not able to come up with a definitive plan. It is much smaller in size and range is quite good and it can be launched from several platforms. An aircraft can carry two or three BRAHMOS-Mini. It can go into torpedo tubes and smaller ships can use them too. Even a missile boat can carry it. It is miniaturization of the missile and its range will not be affected and it will go the full distance in the ideal trajectory. But in other trajectories, it may reduce. We have not started the programme and it is too early to discuss it. But it is one of the business prospects.
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Bronte Velez 16 wins a 2016 Davis Projects for Peace Grant
Bronte Velez '16. Photo/Andre Wagner
Bronte Velez 16 has been awarded a Davis Projects for Peace Grant for a plan that aims to create a collection of plantable books filled with Ecuadorean ancestral knowledge that will sprout into trees.Velezs project, SeluSemilla, is one of 120 across the country to receive the $10,000 grant. Her project centers on creating a collection of plantable books conceived, written and cultivated by Ecuadorean indigenous counterparts working with Pachaysana, a community development and education group in Ecuador. The books are biodegradable in design and will sprout into trees that are endangered in Ecuador.As a social entrepreneurship project, we hope these books will decorate the land with a library of trees, while also revitalizing local economies, Velez said. We hope to encourage externalized reforestation projects to consider educating themselves about the histories of not only the land but its direct correlation to the people, while also seeding transformation through a kinetic act of re-inserting oppressed voices into the economy of language and justice.The Davis Projects for Peace grant program was established in 2007 on the occasion of philanthropist Kathryn W. Davis 100th birthday. Davis was intent on advancing the cause of peace and sought to motivate tomorrow's promising leaders by challenging them to find ways to prepare for peace. The Davis family continues to honor her legacy by funding Projects for Peace. This year, students submitted winning proposals that address conflict resolution and reconciliation;foster understanding; provide opportunity, and help to build community.
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 01/04/2016 (2396 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
OTTAWA Small investors stand to lose if securities regulators move to unbundle the cost for financial advisers from the investment products they sell, a new report says.
Canadian securities regulators have been exploring the idea of ending embedded compensation or trailer commissions where financial advisers receive a portion of a mutual funds fee as long as a client holds the fund.
However, a report released Friday by the University of Calgarys School of Public Policy, says countries that have unbundled the cost of advice from investments have seen fewer people seeking financial advice, especially those with small accounts.
And, report author Pierre Lortie said, the costs have gone up.
Small investors, which tend not to be very financially sophisticated, basically do not want to pay up front for financial advice and they make sub-optimal investment decisions and their savings habits suffer, he said.
Those concerned about trailer fees which are paid after the investments are made, not up front have pointed to conflicts of interest that arise when advisers are paid different commissions depending where their clients invest their money.
A report for the Canadian Securities Administrators found that funds that performed better attracted more money, but that funds with trailing fees attracted more money regardless of past performance.
However, Lortie said there are better ways to deal with the potential conflict of interest.
Regulation should encourage choice. Canadian investors should have access to a wide range of competing products and financial intermediaries, regardless of whether advice is delivered using commission- or fee-based advice models, he wrote.
Any reforms that discourage investors from seeking professional investment advice would be counterproductive for retirement saving, the report says.
The test of what policy is right or wrong has to be which one, which type of policy, has the better likelihood of improving the ability of individual Canadians to accumulate wealth on their own, he said.
Last month, as part of its draft statement of priorities for the 2016-17 fiscal year, the Ontario Securities Commission said it was committed to achieving better alignment between the interests of investors and their advisers.
The provincial regulator said it was working on what regulatory action is needed to address embedded commissions and other types of compensation arrangements as well as disclosure.
Investment fees, which can erode returns, have been a key issue for investors in recent years and have been a driver of a move by some toward exchange-traded funds, which typically have low fees.
Securities regulators have been working to help improve the disclosure of the fees charged by investment advisers.
Under changes starting July 15, investment brokers and dealers need to start reporting annually on what they were paid for the products and services they provide.
These will include such things a embedded trailer-fee commissions, redemption fees, sales commissions and administration fees.
Advisers will also need to provide an annual report that includes deposits and withdrawals as well as the change in value and the percentage returns for the most recent year and several other periods.
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OTTAWA - Showa Corp. has been fined $13 million by an Ontario court after the Japanese auto parts company pleaded guilty to one count of bid rigging.
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This article was published 01/04/2016 (2396 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
WINNIPEG The Manitoba Liberal Party is standing by a candidate who pleaded guilty to assaulting his common-law wife in 2002.
Berger pleaded guilty and was put on a two-year probation order in 2003 stemming from an assault charge in 2002, court documents show.
My common-law partner at the time and I got in an argument. It escalated to a point where she had pushed me. I pushed her in return, Berger said in an interview with The Canadian Press on Friday.
Manitoba Liberals Kurt Berger, Liberal candidate for Elmwood
I felt the situation was getting out of hand, so I ended up calling the RCMP.
Berger and his partner gave differing versions to the police, he said, and he was charged with assault.
Liberal spokesman Mike Brown said Berger was upfront with party officials about what happened and he was approved as a candidate.
He had indicated that hed gone through some counselling and had paid his penance, and we felt that that was a distant enough time, Brown said.
Berger, now 41, works in human resources for a Winnipeg firm and is carrying the Liberal banner in the Winnipeg Elmwood constituency for the April 19 election. The incumbent is New Democrat Jim Maloway.
Berger and his former partner had one child together, who lives with Berger. The woman moved out of town after the relationship dissolved and attempts to reach her were unsuccessful.
Berger described the relationship as very volatile. His former partner took out a protection order against him about five months before the assault. In a court application for the protection order, she said the two were arguing over who would take care of their child when she pushed and hit at Berger and he hit her across the face.
Berger said that wasnt true, He said he grabbed her arms as she was striking him. The woman withdrew the protection order two months after she asked for it.
The Liberals are not the only party with a candidate who has an assault conviction.
New Democrat candidate Wab Kinew, an indigenous advocate and author, pleaded guilty to assaulting a taxi driver in 2004 something he mentioned in his recent memoir. Kinew has also come under fire over sexist and misogynistic rap lyrics and social media comments. Kinew has apologized for them and the New Democrats have remained supportive.
Berger said he has turned his life around, thanks in part to the counselling he went through. He married another woman not long after the relationship ended and has had no more involvement with the criminal justice system.
Ive been in a relationship with my current wife for 10 years. I now have three kids altogether. You know, were quite a stable household.
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This article was published 01/04/2016 (2396 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
TORONTO Ontario has a number of concerns with a Wisconsin citys request to draw water from the Great Lakes in what would be a precedent-setting move if the plan was approved.
Waukesha, a city of about 70,000, has asked the Great Lake states for permission to divert water from Lake Michigan because its own aquifer is running low and the water is contaminated with high levels of naturally occurring cancer-causing radium.
Under a current regional agreement between eight U.S. states and Ontario and Quebec, diversions of water away from the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River basin are banned, with limited exceptions that can be made only when certain conditions are met.
The sun sets over Lake Michigan in Mackinaw City, Mich., on May 5, 2015. Ontario has "a number of concerns" with a Wisconsin city's request to draw water from the Great Lakes in what would be a precedent-setting move if the plan was approved. Waukesha, a city of about 70,000, has asked the Great Lake states for permission to divert water from Lake Michigan because its own aquifer is running low and the water is contaminated with high levels of naturally occurring cancer-causing radium. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Carlos Osorio
Waukesha in seeking to become the first such exception to the ban argues that although its located outside the boundary of the Great Lakes basin, it is part of a county straddling that geographical line and should be allowed access to the lakes water.
It also promises to return treated water to Lake Michigan.
But Ontario has taken issue with the plan in a technical review of the diversion application put forward by Waukesha and the Wisconsin department of natural resources.
The Government of Ontario has identified a number of concerns relating to Wisconsin DNRs explanation of how Waukesha satisfies the straddling county exception, wrote Jason Travers, director of the natural resources conservation policy branch at Ontarios ministry of natural resources.
The province also found that the potential impacts of the proposed diversion on Great Lakes water quantity had not been sufficiently assessed.
Based on Ontarios analysis of the proposal, additional information regarding wastewater return flow and water quality discharge standards is required to evaluate aspects of the proposal, Travers said.
Waukeshas proposal has raised worries among American and Canadian communities around the Great Lakes, with a number of opponents warning that the diversion could set a dangerous precedent for other communities facing water shortages.
Ontarios review tackled that issue and found that while Waukesha itself doesnt have adequate supplies of potable water, its not clear if surrounding communities, which would be included in the diversion effort, are also without adequate supplies of water.
The Government of Ontario is concerned with the potential precedent that would be set if the proposal were to be approved without adequate demonstration that all communities in the defined service area have met each criterion of the standard, Travers wrote.
Ontarios review also acknowledged that Waukeshas proposal was likely just the beginning of similar future requests.
The issue of increasing radium concentrations in public groundwater water supplies is occurring up and down eastern Wisconsin and is therefore not restricted to just Waukesha, it said. The Waukesha water diversion proposal is only one part of a bigger water demand scenario that the province of Ontario should be prepared to address in the future.
Ontario has weighed in on Waukeshas proposal because it, along with Quebec, is part of the regional agreement known as the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Basin Sustainable Water Resources Agreement, which was signed to protect waters in the basin.
While its review will be considered by its fellow Great Lakes states at a meeting in mid April, Ontario and Quebec will not, however, be part of a final vote by eight state governors on Waukeshas proposal that will determine the issue.
The Great Lakes support 33 million people, including nine million Canadians and eight of Canadas 20 largest cities, according to the federal government.
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This article was published 01/04/2016 (2396 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
WASHINGTON World leaders watched a video of a hypothetical nuclear terrorist plot Friday as they closed out a two-day summit dedicated to ensuring such a calamity never comes to pass.
More than 50 countries made commitments to the nuclear-safety cause including Canada, which promised $42 million for global efforts to protect fissile materials.
The summit was the last of four organized during the presidency of Barack Obama. Hed made the issue a priority amid signs that al-Qaida and other terrorist groups were actively seeking nuclear weapons.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said its now incumbent on the international community to make sure those efforts continue after Obama leaves office.
Risks associated with terrorist groups getting their hands on nuclear material are not restricted to any one country, Trudeau said. The challenge is certainly going to be in the coming years, we need to make sure were continuing our efforts.
He announced the Canadian contribution outside the meeting hall, before he rejoined other leaders to watch the video and discuss the mock terrorism scenario.
The money will go to different places. It will help individual countries store nuclear materials, providing training and equipment in Mexico, Peru, Jordan and Colombia; will help protect sites in Ukraine, Thailand and Egypt; and will also go to international organizations that work on the issue like Interpol and the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The Obama-led summits have prompted a flurry of activity over the years. But even their organizers acknowledge they didnt complete the job. The worlds largest holder of nuclear weapons, Russia, didnt even bother participating in this final meeting amid ongoing tensions with the U.S.
Obama began the meeting by repeating the same quote from Albert Einstein that he cited at the first summit in 2010: That the unleashed power of the atom has changed everything, and that a new type of thinking is essential if mankind is to survive.
He said the summits had prompted 260 commitments from countries, three-quarters of which had been achieved. More than a dozen nations have removed all their highly enriched uranium. Others have better protection and security procedures.
No terrorist group has yet succeeded at obtaining such materials. But they have tried.
Al-Qaida has actively pursued nuclear material, Obama said. There are also indications that sympathizers of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant have been interested in Belgiums nuclear sites: some former employees have gone to fight in Syria, and one man linked to the Nov. 13 Paris attackers had been surveilling a plant employee.
There is no doubt that if these madmen ever got their hands on a nuclear bomb or nuclear material they most certainly would use it to kill as many innocent people as possible, Obama said.
Just the smallest amount of plutonium about the size of an apple could kill and injure hundreds of thousands of innocent people. It would be a humanitarian, political, economic, and environmental catastrophe with global ramifications for decades.
It would change our world. So we cannot be complacent.
He said roughly 2,000 tonnes of nuclear material remains around the world, not all of it properly secured. The U.S. would release a detailed description of its own security measures to help other countries follow suit, and would also provide a public inventory of its highly enriched uranium stockpiles, he said.
Canada has generally received high marks for its protection of nuclear materials. It finishes No. 3 safest on a list of 24 countries produced by the non-profit Nuclear Threat Initiative.
It only scores average marks, however, when it comes to how widely dispersed its materials are across multiple sites. One expert said the likeliest threat is not an actual nuclear bomb, but a so-called dirty bomb consisting of radioactive material stored in many thousands of hospitals, medical centres and universities around the world that arent all secure.
Its a scary thought, said Samantha Pitts-Kiefer, director of the NTIs global nuclear policy program.
If a terrorist group got their hands on this material it could explode a dirty bomb in a city. That would leave a multiple-city-block area potentially uninhabitable. Imagine that happening on Wall Street There could be devastating consequences, even without the deaths and injuries a nuclear bomb would cause.
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This article was published 01/04/2016 (2396 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
TORONTO An ordained minister who believes in neither God nor Bible will have every opportunity to explain herself before any action might be taken to defrock her, the United Church said Friday.
Rev. David Allen, executive secretary of the Toronto conference, said an unprecedented review of Gretta Vospers fitness as minister is difficult to have to do, but necessary.
Many people have expressed support for Ms. Vosper, Allen said in an email to The Canadian Press.
Some are worried that the church may be more closed to different ideas than they had thought; and there are those who are confused by Ms. Vospers statements or reject them outright.
Vosper, 57, who was ordained in 1993 and joined her congregation in 1997, has been outspoken for years about her beliefs, which include rejecting the notion of an interventionist, supernatural being on which much church doctrine is based.
Last May, the church ruled Vospers fitness to lead her West Hill congregation in east-end Toronto should be reviewed.
Nora Sanders, general secretary of the churchs general council, said the review should determine whether the minister was being faithful to her ordination vows, which included affirming a belief in God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
This week, Vosper lost an attempt to head off the hearings when a judicial committee of the church rejected her appeal to halt the process.
The minister will now have to face a committee of five people, who will then make recommendations to the full 40-member interview committee, which will then make a final recommendation to the conferences sub-executive on what, if anything, should happen.
The hearings will not be open to the public, Allen said, and the process will likely last into June.
At the end of the process, (Vosper) will have had a full and fair opportunity to speak directly to the church about her position, he said.
Toronto conference based on the review process will have good reasons why she should continue in (her) ministry or good reasons why she should not.
On Thursday, Vosper expressed dismay at the pending review, saying it amounted to unprecedented interference by the United Church in the relationship between a minister and congregation.
Members of the congregation stand firmly behind her, said Randy Bowes, board chairman at West Hill.
There is strong resolve to carry on because everyone keeps saying this is a special place, we cannot let this place go, Bowes said.
Opinion
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This article was published 01/04/2016 (2396 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
A few weeks ago I was discussing the freshness of India pale ales here in Manitoba. You all know that Im a big fan of hoppy, citrusy, floral IPAs, so I love to savour on all the new IPAs that hit the market as nearly every brewery on the planet has at least one or two IPAs in their portfolio.
The biggest downside of IPAs is that because the breweries are using fresh hop flowers commercially grown as locally as Portage la Prairie, and as far away as New Zealand, once the IPA is brewed and bottled or canned, it has a ticking expiration date.
The problem with your typical IPA is that IPAs are best consumed fresh, but here in Manitoba the only time you find fresh IPAs is when Half Pints or Fort Garry sends them to the local LCs and vendors. Fort Garry only releases their Portage and Main IPA once a year, so it generally sells out within a reasonable amount of time. Half Pints only ships to Brandon the first Friday of every month, meaning that their Little Scrapper IPA is generally fresh, but if a store sells out of it completely, there wont be another shipment sent out until the next month.
For me, the freshness of an IPA typically lasts around six to eight weeks before the hops start to change flavours, making them either more mellow or unpleasantly bitter. Here in Manitoba, the majority of IPAs we get in the province are imported from other provinces or the States, so quite often they will be sitting in a warehouse somewhere for a month before it gets to Manitoba and even then, by the time they get onto the shelves at the MLCC, theyre expired!
A few weeks ago I was having a discussion with a few friends in Winnipeg about the freshness of IPAs because the bottle of New Belgium Ranger IPA out of Colorado had a best before date of Feb. 28. When New Belgiums Ranger arrived to Manitoba, it was already Feb. 1, so still fresh but it already lost the pine and grapefruit notes that I was accustomed to tasting in Minot, N.D.
Then, one of my friends noticed on the bottom of his can of the ever popular Central City Red Racer IPA, that it had a canning date of January 2015! A 2015 can of Red Racer would make it incredibly unsavoury bitter, but thankfully it was a canning date error on Central Citys part and it was in fact, canned this year, but I do believe that nobody deserves an IPA thats 14-plus months old, thats just wrong.
I did a search at the 10th and Victoria LC the other day on freshness dates on IPAs, Headstock IPA by Nickelbrook Brewing out of Ontario was the freshest IPA I saw on the shelves, brewed back in February. Muskokas popular Mad Tom IPA (now in cans) had a best before date of May, and it did taste pretty decent. Labatts Goose Island Goose IPA was made back in December, Molson 67 IPA was made back in November and worst of all, Moosehead subsidiary Hop Citys Hopbot IPA was brewed back in July! Aside from Hopbot, the IPAs were produced within the past six months.
By Manitoba standards, what would I consider fresh? Of course, if it were up to me, all IPAs would be at max, six to eight weeks old because thats when they would still have that nice hoppy bite. However, we are a small beer market so if they were produced within the past four months (12 weeks), thats fresh enough for my standards, unfortunately.
There are a few things that keep IPAs fresher for longer the first thing is keeping the IPA cold in the fridge. Hops lose their fresh hop bitterness when theyre stored at room temperature and 99 per cent of the beer you see at the LC is stored at room temperature. The Liquor Mart as well as the Keystone Motor Inn have a small selection of cold IPAs in their fridges for immediate consumption, but generally only the most popular single-serve canned IPA brands, such as Labatts Goose Island or Central Citys Red Racer, are available.
The second thing is CANS! IPAs in cans dont generally experience oxidation as much as brown, green and clear bottles do. If youve ever wondered why a beer in a can tastes fresher and crisper than in a bottle? Cans seal in the C02 better than bottles, and without light poking into the beer with cans, they can stay fresher, longer.
The next time you are picking up an IPA at the LC, check out the bottling/best before date. Here in Canada most breweries use a typical Day/Month/Year system (040116 being Apr. 1, 2016) or an alphabetical plus day/year system (M0115 would be Dec. 1, 2015) with I typically non-existent so it wont be confused with the L (November).
Some breweries use other bottling date identifiers and frankly, theyre confusing, and then theres a few that either dont have any sort of identifiers at all, or you have to check the beer can/bottles box packaging itself for the information.
Cody Lobreau is a Canadian beer blogger who reviews every beer he can get his hands on as he believes that he should try every beer twice to get an understanding if its truly good or bad.
BeerCrank.ca
Opinion
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This article was published 01/04/2016 (2396 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
I only said it for publicity so people will be apt to listen to me when I speak again. I said what I said yesterday for publicity, and we can go from here with reality.
<*R> Brandon West candidate
Billy Moore
The Liberal party election campaign has officially headed off a cliff in Brandon, if it wasnt already off the rails in the province.
Not only was Liberal Leader Rana Bokhari desperately trying to do damage control yesterday after her party lost five candidates this week four incorrectly filled out nomination papers before Tuesdays deadline, and the fifth was disqualified by Elections Manitoba she then had to publicly defend comments made by a last-minute Liberal entrant into the political arena.
Portage la Prairie resident and political neophyte Billy Moore chose Wednesday afternoons debate on aboriginal issues at the Mahkaday Ginew Memorial Centre for his big coming out party as a political candidate for the Liberal party in Brandon West.
While his appearance came as somewhat a surprise, given that his party never announced him as a candidate or even held a nomination meeting to give him a profile boost, even more surprising were the words that came out of his mouth during the debate.
In response to a question on whether his party would commit to core funding for the Manitoba Metis Foundation to pursue an integrated health approach, Moore told the audience that he thought our province had too many hospitals.
There are too many hospitals and consequently the cost of it, a wait time is very long, Moore said. Now, if we can eliminate some hospitals in Manitoba people wont want to get sick because they have nowhere to go they will want to stay healthy and work and thats where the health comes in.
Once his comments hit the news, Moore, curiously, did not back down as news agencies pressed him to clarify his remarks. To The Canadian Press, he doubled down, saying that the wide availability of hospital emergency rooms encourages people to use them for minor or non-existent ailments.
Moore then said he knows his views are not those of the Liberal party, and had not discussed the opinion with Leader Rana Bokhari, but personally believes two of the six hospitals in Winnipeg should be closed.
That left Bokhari in the unenviable position of trying to defend Moore, all the while distancing herself and the party from the comments by saying that the party doesnt endorse closing hospitals.
Just to clarify what he was trying to say, if we focus on preventative measures so people dont have to use hospitals, we wont need that many, she told the CBC. Thats essentially what he was trying to articulate. Agreed, he didnt do a really good job of it at the time, but what hes standing behind is preventative medicine.
Even Brandon East Liberal candidate Vanessa Hamilton wandered into the fray yesterday, in an attempt to defend Moore and deflect mounting criticism.
We rely on hospitals too much. Under Selinger more people are ill. Healthcare is $71 million over budget. Bill is an elder so please have respect. He has a lot of wisdom to share, she said in a Facebook post.
Then things took an even stranger turn. By mid-afternoon, Moore began telling CTV and CBC that his Wednesday afternoon comments were merely a publicity stunt, as his quote above suggests.
If that is the case, it has to be one of the most poorly planned publicity stunts in Brandon history. Why on earth would you want to stun the voting public into thinking that youre a loon for wanting to close hospitals and put doctors and nurses who save lives and conduct needed surgeries every day, out of work?
Just kidding?
No, more likely this was a desperate attempt at damage control. So lets take him at his earlier word, and assume that yes he meant what he said and that he believes there are too many hospital in the province and that patients could use a jolt of tough love as a kind of negative prevention.
Were all for preventative medicine and healthy lifestyles. For example, The Canadian Diabetes Association recently estimated that diabetes prevalence among Manitobans will increase by 39 percent over the next 10 years.
Current numbers in the June 2015 Diabetes Charter for Canada report suggest that 8.9 per cent of the population in Manitoba have diabetes. If current trends remain unchanged, that number will rise to 11.1 per cent of the population in 2025.
People with diabetes are over three times more likely to be hospitalized with cardiovascular disease, 12 times more likely to be hospitalized with end-stage renal disease and over 20 times more likely to be hospitalized for a non-traumatic lower limb amputation compared to the general population, the report reads.
There are obvious ways to prevent the onset of diabetes. For most of us, that means learning how to control your weight, eat healthier foods, and get off your rear end and exercise.
But that doesnt mean you close hospitals to scare individuals into being healthier. If we take that same logic, then we should start shuttering fire departments, because people will be more careful about fire prevention if they have no help when their house burns down.
After all, the fire trucks are there to use and our taxes pay for them, so psychologically people think its OK if their house burns down.
More to the point, Moores comments must have come as an awful shock to a Liberal party that has been reeling from one bad news story to another as the weeks progress. Clearly, with off-the-wall candidates like Moore on the Liberal ticket not to mention former Southdale Liberal candidate Jamie Hall who used derogatory terms to refer to women in a series of several Twitter comments the Liberal green-light committee no longer exists.
This party is not properly vetting candidates; either they have lost the ability and resources to do so, or they made a conscious decision to scrap the process.
These are the results, and it aint pretty. And as a result they may well have blown the best chance in three decades to capitalize on a seriously weakened NDP.
Twenty five-year-old Darren Martin can forget about the Christmas shopping this year as he has already given his father the best present he could ever receive, and it wasnt even his birthday.
Young Darren has turned down a university place in Austria where he could pursue a Masters in German so he could donate one of his kidneys to his father Liam who was suffering from kidney failure.
While running the home farm, Liam was also on home dialysis for 10 hours a night and it was a real struggle for him. Then things got even worse when Liam picked up a bad infection and he had to switch to hospital dialysis.
After this, Liam had to travel to Limerick three times a week for hospital haemodialysis treatment which made things harder for him at home.
Wanting to help his dad any way he could, Darren decided to get tested to see if he could give his dad one of his kidneys. Thankfully for the family, Darren was a match and the transplant took place last April at Beaumont Hospital, Dublin.
Darren said the recovery was quick for both of them and they were soon back on their feet. It was great to be able to help him by giving him a kidney as he now has a new lease of life.
Darren now works in commercial finance with the Kerry Group at its Naas office and his dad is back rambling around the farm with bits of blue twine and a sheep dog.
This is just one of many transplant stories that take place every year in hospitals across the country. Liam and Darrens story is one of 33 living kidney transplants that took place last year.
Organ Donor Awareness week which is running from April 2 to April 9 is hoping to raise awareness about the ongoing and ever increasing demand for organ transplantation.
The key message is to carry a donor card if you are willing to donate and permit Code 115 on your driver license as well as downloading the Smartphone App.
Approximately 550 people in Ireland are currently awaiting life saving transplants and thanks to transplants over 3,000 people are enjoying extended lives.
By Roisin Burke
A dad has been sent on a scavenger hunt for his birthday and it looks like a lot of fun!
Paul is an American lecturer teaching in Seoul with his wife and 10-month-old son and he arrived home on April 1 to an empty house and a birthday card on his keypad.
His birthday is in a few days so he wasn't expecting just yet.
The intrique, mystery and suspense starts to build as he opens the card, which has a puzzle inside.
So, I am either on my way to an awesome birthday party or an elaborate April Fools prank.
Roses are red, violets are blue, you dont need to pack a shoe, but make sure to look in the book that goes moooo
So he goes around the house looking for a book that goes Moooo and eventually finds another card in a childrens book, which has another puzzle to solve.
You put me in dry, but then I get wet, the longer I stay in, the stronger I get.
Again, another search around the house until he eventually finds another card beside the tea-bags.
This is where it gets complicated, apparently, this guy likes puzzles and his wife wrote out an elaborate coded message for him to solve.
When uncoded, the message said: Your train departs Yongsan station at fifteen fifty. Hurry. Dont forget your ticket.
Getting to the train station on time, he flashes his ID card and sure enough there is a first class ticket waiting for him at the desk.
He is off to a city called Gwangju, which is at the opposite end of the city.
And thats all we know!
Hopefully he will post more as when he arrives, we are dying to know what happens next!
The case of a UCC lecturer who is trying to put a stop to a round of interviews for 10 professorial positions will be back before the High Court this morning.
Dr Joan Buckley, who is the head of its Management and Marketing department, took legal action after she failed to make the shortlist.
The mass forced return of refugees from Turkey to Syria exposes the flaws in the EU-Turkey deal, according to Amnesty International.
The new research suggests that Turkish authorities have been sending groups of asylum seekers to Syria on a daily basis since mid-January this year.
The human rights organisation said that Turkey is not a safe country for refugees.
Meanwhile, EU officials have expressed the hope that returns could start from next Monday, April 4.
Colm O'Gorman of Amnesty International Ireland said the EU needed to stop putting desperate people at risk, suggesting "it needs to respect the human rights of those who need protection in Europe... and stop placing desperate people at even greater risk":
He said he wanted to convey these messages to EU leaders:
"Honour your obligations under international human rights law, and under European law.
"Provide safe and legal routes for people to apply for protection in Europe, and if they're legally entitled to protection, give them that protection.
"Shut down the routes for smugglers by opening up safe and legal routes in line with the requirements of international law, and respect the rights of refugees."
Update 5.25pm: Dee Forbes has been appointed as RTEs new director-general, pending Government approval, the broadcaster has confirmed.
Following a rigorous recruitment process overseen by its Board, RTE has today appointed Dee Forbes as Director-General, an RTE statement read.
This appointment is subject to the Governments consent under Section 89 of the Broadcasting Act 2009.
Ms Forbes will assume her new role later this year after a transition period.
Ms Forbes said: Although it was a tough professional decision to leave Discovery, the personal decision to return to Ireland and lead its biggest broadcaster, RTE, is an opportunity of a lifetime."
Moya Doherty, chair of the Board, RTE, said: The appointment of Dee Forbes stands to mark a significant moment in the development of RTE.
Not only is this the first Director-General in almost 50 years to be appointed externally, but she will also be the first female to hold the role.
RTE is at a pivotal moment, one where the future shape and financing of public service broadcasting is being re-imagined.
I am delighted to have someone with such a breadth of industry experience, such a creative and visionary understanding of the global broadcasting market, and a proven management record.
Earlier: The search for the next director general of RTE may stop with the Rebel County if media reports are to be believed.
Dee Forbes, originally from Drimoleague in west Cork, is currently head of the Discovery Channel in Europe, but reports state she is next to sit on the throne of RTE as director general.
It is understood the RTE board is meeting today to approve the decision which was reached from an independent competitive process.
Although the decision is generally made by RTE, it does have to be approved by the Government, but this is merely a formality.
Forbes is currently located in London but will be shortly packing her bags to replace Noel Curran, who is due to leave the state broadcaster at the end of the month.
Mr Curran leaves on a proverbial high with stable finances and the last notes of the 1916 celebrations still ringing in peoples ears.
The news of a potential Dee Forbes appointment may come as a surprise to many in RTE as the job usually lands a stone throw from the predecessor.
Likely candidates for the position this time round included head of news and deputy director general Kevin Bakhurst and head of television Glen Killan.
Update 5.51pm: The managing director of Transdev, which operates the Luas, said that he is open to hearing a new pay proposal for Luas drivers as long as it is reasonable.
Look at putting a claim across my desk next week that is in line with industry norms, he said.
Look at including productivity enhancements because there must be those.
Look at a way in which we can try and make sure that the vast majority of employees here get the best deal possible.
But the pot has diminished, we havent got a blank chequebook, but its reasonable, if its sensible, if its fact-based, then, you know, my door will be open.
Update 1.25pm: Acting Transport Minister Paschal Donohoe has ruled out any Government intervention in the escalating Luas dispute.
Read More:
Update 12 noon: The head of the Workplace Relations Commission Kieran Mulvey has said he has no intention of standing down after SIPTU head Jack O'Connor called on him to do so, having accused Mulvey of bias in the Luas dispute.
In a statement this afternoon, My Mulvey said: "Jack believes that in articulating this view (questioning whether further planned strikes will move the sides towards a resolution) I have somehow undermined my position in the dispute.
"I disagree and have no intention of standing down, nor see any reason to do so."
He also rejected Mr O'Connor's suggestion that the WRC's recent invitation to talks was ill-timed, and that an alternative method of resolving the dispute was under active consideration at the time.
Mr Mulvey (pictured below) said the Commission was not aware that an another approach to resolving the dispute was being considered and the WRC acted only in response to the public statements issued by the parties and direct contact with and from them.
He added that "when issuing the invitation I asked the company not to proceed with the supply of alternative transport on St. Patricks Day and the company did that. For its part, the trade union called off the action planned for the day".
Update 11.10am: The head of the Workplace Relations Commission Kieran Mulvey has said he is "taking advice" after SIPTU's Jack O'Connor accused him of bias against the union, and called on him to step down.
Representatives from SIPTU and from Transdev (which runs the Luas) met for talks in recent weeks at the WRC, which culminated in the union's rejection of an 18% pay offer last week.
Transdev CEO Gerry Madden said in his experience Kieran Mulvey was not biased towards either party, and should not step down.
He said: "I can say from personal experience having spent 27 hours in there, I didnt get any sense that (Kieran Mulvey) has any bias one way or the other.
"Anybody who tries to bring sides together to resolve a dispute - they're welcome as far as I'm concerned."
Update 9am: Transport Minister Pascal Donohoe has rejected calls to step in to the log jammed Luas dispute.
"We have an organisation in place to resolve these issues - the Workplace Relations Commission," he said.
"If I become involved directly, I undermine their work and the ability of any future government to ever resolve any issue like this."
Update 8am: SIPTU boss Jack O'Connor has called for the resignation of Workplace Relations Commission chair Kieran Mulvey after comments the latter made about the Luas strike.
Speaking on RTE's Morning Ireland, Mr Mulvey said he was at a loss as to why the dispute is continuing, and why union representatives had not contacted him since they rejected a compromise deal for 18% in pay rises last week.
Mr Mulvey said most in the public service would have accepted that deal. He added that most union officials who received that proposal would have taken it back to their members and would have received a standing ovation.
He said a five-day Luas service may have to be considered, in the absence of progress.
Jack O'Connor said his comments showed bias against the unions, made Mr Mulvey an untenable chair in the discussions and called for his resignation.
Earlier:
This weekend's strike action at Luas will go ahead.
In this latest stoppage by drivers in a row over pay, trams will not run on Saturday and Sunday.
In a statement yesterday the CEO of Transdev U.K. and Ireland, Nigel Stevens, said the drivers' current demands are "totally unaffordable and will not be countenanced", adding that the company was "deeply disappointed with the situation".
Luas drivers are represented by SIPTU.
Drivers had been looking for a pay rise of up to 53%, and last week rejected a pay offer of between 8% and 18% over 33 months.
SIPTU's Eoin Reidy said: "The only way this will resolved on terms both sides can live with is through dialogue and discussion. We're available to do that, but there doesnt seem the prospect of that happening.
"In the absence of that, the action that is planned is going to go ahead. There will be further action towards the end of April which will involve two additional grades as well as drivers.
"It looks like stalemate and logjam."
A US mother who was reported missing with her children for three days has been found dead in her car - with the three youngsters still alive beside her.
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Forensic investigators will seek to determine the cause of a fire which substantially damaged a house in Monash on Thursday morning.
Police say they are treating the fire, which broke out in the Kneeshaw Street residence about 10am, as "suspicious".
Police believe a house fire in Monash is suspicious.
Firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze but not before it caused extensive damage to the property.
ACT Policing confirmed no one was home at the time.
Tall defender Howe, 20, is one of two inclusions for Alastair Clarkson's side, joining ruckman Jonathon Ceglar, who was a late omission from the Hawks' team that lost to Geelong on Easter Monday.
Hawthorn youngster Daniel Howe is set be thrown into the cauldron of a grand final re-match, named to play his fifth game against West Coast at the MCG on Sunday.
The Eagles have made just one alteration to the team that trounced the Brisbane Lions in round one. Sydney premiership player Lewis Jetta will make his debut for the club, named at the expense of injured former Hawk Xavier Ellis.
Meanwhile Carlton have selected No. 12 draft pick Charlie Curnow to make his senior debut in Sunday's clash against Sydney at Etihad Stadium. Tall forward Curnow the younger brother of Blues midfielder Ed made headlines over the summer after being fined and having his driver's licence suspended for a pre-draft incident in which he drove through a stop sign and refused a breath test.
Dale Thomas has also been named after missing Carlton's opening round loss to Richmond through suspension. It will be the former Collingwood star's first home-and-away game since round nine last year. Dylan Buckley and Sam Rowe have been omitted.
Sydney have made one change, with Ted Richards named at the expense of Michael Talia, who injured a foot against Collingwood in round one.
Striking gold: Exclusive first look at Bill Henson's new work One of Australia's most important artists, Bill Henson, has taken aim at the state of the Australian art market and what he sees as a national contempt for culture. Henson was speaking exclusively to the Herald ahead of his new installation, Oneiroi, at Melbourne's Hellenic Museum, his first exhibition in four years. "Cultural cringe": Artist Bill Henson. Credit:Justin McManus He believes the "Cultural Cringe" has returned to Australia, and it's worse than ever. It's a view he has put to various federal government ministers, but to no avail, he says.
The biggest sign of what he says is a complete lack of concern for culture is the destruction wrought on the art market by the former Labor government's decision to discourage self-managed super funds from collecting works of art. This was a result of the recommendations of the Cooper Review of 2010, which classes works of art as "collectables", along with "jewellery, exotic cars, yachts, antiques, race horses and wine." A portrait from Bill Henson's Oneiroi installation. Credit:Bill Henson "The problem is that there are not many people in this country currently employed in making Roman coins or vintage cars, but there's a huge number, particularly young people, who depend on art for their incomes," Henson says. He says these promising young artists have begun leaving for countries where they are more likely to find buyers and supporters. Henson was embroiled in a scandal in 2008 when he was accused of making child pornography. His last exhibition in a commercial gallery was in 2012 and he has no immediate plans to show with his dealers in Sydney or Melbourne. "It's just not worth it," he says "especially with the grief you get if you do what I do."
In 1610, after transforming his musical style with what he called the seconda pratica, or "second practice", and creating the first musically significant opera, Claudio Monteverdi had a "retro" moment, composing a six-part Mass of gloriously intricate polyphony in the style of 16th century masters like Josquin and Palestrina.
To clinch the connection, he based it on musical motives drawn from a motet by another 16th century composer, Nicolas Gombert, In illo tempore and it was Monteverdi's Missa In illo tempore and Gombert's motet that formed the central thread of the three parts of The Song Company's radiant presentation in the acoustically miraculous crypt of St Mary's Cathedral under their new artistic director, Antony Pitts.
Standing in a circle on the terrazzo floor under the central vault, the building amplified and echoed the interweaving lines with iridescent resonance, building to a peak of intensity in the elaborate counterpoint that closes the Gloria and Credo of the mass that was quite magical.
The three parts of the concert followed an Easter theme Tomb, Hades and Throne and each involved a short piece by Pitts himself and music by English Renaissance composers William Byrd and William Mundy and Australians Elliott Gyger and Alice Chance. Gyger's Creator alme siderum used an old plainchant as the basis for an elaboration in sensitively tonal style which evolved towards densely voiced chords of rich dissonance, using this composer's characteristic sensitivity to vocal capacity.
Chance's piece, And the Lord said, Fiat Lux, sung by a treble subgroup from behind the audience, explored darker sounds and caressing astringent suspended dissonances to create the idea that with the creation of light comes life and pain. Pitts' music expanded classic polyphonic vocal textures to incorporate modern harmonies within a broadly consonant framework and an original and sensitive understanding of the voice.
As new director, Pitts continues and honours The Song Company's special expertise in the glories of the Renaissance under previous director Roland Peelman, while also bringing a distinct and cogent personal perspective. This was a concert of rare and transcendent beauty.
Iron thrones may maketh a king, but networking maketh a main character.
Mathematicians have put to bed one of the most contentious questions dividing Game of Thrones fans: just who is the true protagonist of the epic fantasy saga?
Is Jon Snow the key character in George RR Martin's epic?
Professor of Mathematics at Macalester College and undergraduate researcher Jie Shan have mapped the social network that binds George R.R. Martin's characters together to divine which character is the most indispensable.
Drawing on the graph theory network science that uses economics, sociology and computer science, the pair mapped the relationship dynamics of the fantasy books' cast of thousands.
Concern over the fate of the endangered giant dragonfly species could spell the end for one of NSW's oldest coal mines.
The Planning Assessment Commission's review panel rejected a bid by the shuttered Russell Vale Colliery to extend its operations in the Special Areas that make up Sydney's catchment.
Omitted: Commissioners noted impacts on the habitat of the endangered giant dragonfly were not included in the risk assessment made by proponents of a mine. Credit:Ian Baird
The mine, closed since last year, had been seeking a five-year extension to extract a further 4.7 million tonnes from its operations under the Woronora Plateau near Wollongong.
The panel cited concerns by WaterNSW, among other opponents of the extension, which warned the mine could cause the loss of as much as 2.6 gigalitres of water a year from its reservoirs.
Gwen Stefani has spoken about the "anger" she felt after she found out about husband Gavin Rossdale's affair with their Australian nanny, Mindy Mann.
The former No Doubt frontwoman-turned-solo star told Vanity Fair as she promoted third album, This Is What the Truth Feels Like, that although the song Used to Love You is based on the turbulence in her life, it's not about payback.
Gwen Stefani has spoken about the "anger" she felt over husband Gavin Rossdale's affair with nanny Mindy Mann. Credit:Getty
"I went through a real period of anger, but I felt like this song was almost like a forgiveness song," she explained. "It's admitting, I used to love you and now I don't."
The Canberra press pack were summoned to observe a moment of "unity" between Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison as bizarre as it was fleeting on Friday amid growing concerns of tension between the pair.
After suffering a major loss during Friday's Council of Australian Governments meeting, Mr Turnbull's office invited the media to a photo opportunity between the Prime Minister and Treasurer in a parliamentary courtyard.
Television cameras and photographers assembled as requested at 4.20pm, pre-warned in the media alert that this was "PICFAC [picture facility] only".
Twenty seconds later, it was over.
"He was off his head on ice, and he was trying to do somethin', you know. He was trying to do something terrible to me."
Towards the end of the conversation Mr McNamara exclaims: "I'm sorry for his wasted life, and for his friends being upset but I didn't do anything."
In another phone conversation he tells his daughter that the case against him is "absolute crap".
"I was watching the news last night, they said, 'Oh it's a strong Crown case'. It's absolute crap ... It's crap. Got a, got a, got an ice dealer off his head on drugs running around with a gun. It's a strong Crown case. They're liars."
Mr McNamara's defence is that he was meeting with Gao as part of his research for his next true crime novel he was writing on drugs and Asian gangs in Sydney.
Dubbed the UberX of the property industry, costly inspection reports are sold on to other potential bidders at a discount. Now the NSW government is getting behind this emerging area of the sharing economy in a move it hopes will save prospective home buyers hundreds of dollars.
From July, in an Australian first, real estate agents will be required to keep a disclosure log of any building and pest, strata or contract review reports that have been done for a property they are marketing.
The information including the company that did the report and their contact details will be made available to potential purchasers when they request a contract.
The idea is to give a boost to start-ups like Before You Bid and Eyeon, which seek to reduce the cost of buying inspection reports through collaboration.
A New Zealand man accused of a one-punch attack that claimed the life of a 40-year-old Queensland man has been granted bail.
Tristan Heather, 19, was arrested after the December 4 incident outside the Coolangatta Hotel on the Gold Coast.
A man was hospitalised after a fight outside the Coolangatta Hotel on December 4. Credit:Google Maps
Police allege Heather was involved in a fight with a group of people before moving away and striking Trevor Duroux, 40, causing him to fall on the road.
Bystanders had to perform cardio-pulmonary resuscitation on the victim after his heart stopped.
A father-of-four accused of stabbing his young wife to death in their driveway is scheduled to undergo surgery on Friday afternoon after an earlier bedside hearing.
A Redcliffe magistrate heard the murder charge against Arona Peniamina, 35, in a bedside hearing on Friday as the accused recovered from his own injuries at the region's hospital.
Sandra Peniamina died of multiple stab wounds.
Mr Peniamina did not apply for bail and was remanded in custody, to appear in Redcliffe Magistrates Court on April 18.
Mr Peniamina is accused of killing his wife, Sandra, who suffered stab wounds to the face, neck and arms in the alleged attack about 10.30pm on Thursday.
A behind the scenes tour of Heston Blumenthal's Melbourne restaurant The Fat Duck offers SBS' first taste of VR, with the broadcaster planning 360-degree documentaries and news reports.
Available for iOS and Android, the free SBS On Demand VR app debuts with Blumenthal's tour of his restaurant to coincide with the launch of the new television series Inside Heston's World along with several clips from last year's Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.
SBS' first foray into Virtual Reality takes you behind the scenes with celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal.
Viewers can hold their smartphone or tablet in front of them and turn around on the spot for a 360-degree view of the scene. Alternatively they can switch to Google Cardboard mode to view two slightly different angles side-by-side buying or building a Google Cardboard viewer to hold their smartphone in front of their face while ensuring each eye sees a different angle.
SBS has also partnered with Screen Queensland to develop up to four short Virtual Reality documentaries for the second series of Untold Australia to screen later this year, with the call for submissions closing on April 11.
A 22-year old Frenchman has been sentenced to three months in prison for texting his ex-girlfriend an emoji in the form of a pistol, in the first such ruling of its kind in France.
The court in Valence in the southern Drome departement ruled that the gun-shaped character at the end of a mobile phone text message constituted a "death threat in the form of an image", and handed the accused a six-month sentence, with three suspended.
The court deemed the gun emoji to be a real threat.
Bilal Azougagh admitted to having sent the message in the summer of 2015 to a girl who was a minor at the time.
The gun emoji, the term for a small digital image or icon used to express an idea or emotion in electronic communication, was among many text messages with which he flooded his unnamed ex-girlfriend after the pair split up.
A man accused of murdering his parents on the family farm near Wangaratta claims it was his father who killed his mother.
Defence barrister Theo Kassimatis told a Supreme Court jury on Friday that Ian Thomas had arrived home to find his mother, Pauline, 63, had been strangled by his father, William, 65, who was standing there armed with a single-barrelled shotgun.
Ian Thomas. Credit:Simon O'Dwyer
Mr Kassimatis said Ian Thomas struggled with his father for the gun before shooting him in the chest in self-defence.
He said Ian Thomas, still reeling from seeing his mother's dead body, then used a wooden pick axe handle to hit his dead father across the head.
A police hunt for a 38-year-old man wanted in relation to a hit-run in Sale has moved to South Australia.
Detectives are searching for John Allen Reid over a hit-run involving three cyclists on Gibsons Road about 5.25am on Wednesday last week.
Police want to speak to John Allen Reid over a suspected hit-run in Sale that injured two cyclists.
Two of them were hit from behind by a car - which is believed to have slowed down but not stopped at the scene.
The injured cyclists, a 33-year-old Sale man and 30-year-old Stratford man, were both taken to hospital with serious injuries. The third rider was not injured.
A woman who allegedly mowed down a cyclist in Ballarat while driving disqualified in an unregistered car has been remanded in custody.
Police say Rebekah Emily Stewart, 23, veered on to the wrong side of the road at Wendouree Parade before she allegedly hit Christian Ashby and drove off.
Christian Ashby, 36, was hit while riding his bike. Credit:Ballarat Courier
Mr Ashby, 36, suffered life-threatening injuries on Good Friday, with police spending almost a week looking for the driver of the car.
Stewart, of Mount Pleasant, has been charged with six offences, including negligent driving causing serious injury, over the crash at Lake Wendouree.
Two months after he was found emaciated and gravely ill on a street in Nigeria, a two-year-old boy has made an incredible recovery.
The boy, named Hope, was abandoned by his parents last year because they believed him to be a witch.
Hope, a 2-year-old Nigerian boy, was found emaciated on the street in late January. Two months later, he's almost unrecognisable. Credit:Facebook
He had wandered the streets alone for eight months before he was finally noticed by someone who called Danish aid worker Anja Ringgren Loven.
Ms Loven, who founded the charity African Children's Aid Education and Development Foundation, rescues children who are abandoned after accusations of witchcraft.
In an audio message released by the Islamic State after his death, he addressed his own mother. "Your apostate brother was a loyalist to the tyrants," he said. "Were it not for him, the tyrants would not exist."
The Islamic State, however, has been able to infiltrate the kingdom through digital recruiting, and it has found devotees willing to kill fellow Sunnis, as well as Shiites, to destabilise the monarchy.
Major General Mansour Turki, a spokesman for the Saudi Interior Ministry, said that terrorist attacks over the past two years had killed scores of people, along with about two dozen militants. In addition, about 3000 Saudis have joined militant groups abroad, and more than 5000 have been incarcerated at home on terrorism charges, a large increase in recent years.
Saudi Arabia has a tangled history with Islamic militant groups. For a long time, it backed them as proxy forces to push its agenda in places like Bosnia, Chechnya and Afghanistan (where it worked with the United States). But that largely ended in 2003, when al-Qaeda turned its focus on the kingdom and staged a series of deadly attacks.
Now the Islamic State poses a new challenge, by turning aspects of Saudi Arabia's fundamentalist creed against it. Wahhabism has been moulded over the years to serve the interests of the monarchy, emphasising obedience to the rulers and condemning terrorist attacks, even against those seen as apostates.
Still, among the Islamic State's many enemies, Saudi Arabia is the only one that considers the Koran and other religious texts its constitution, criminalises apostasy and bans all forms of unsanctioned public religion.
Saudi officials reject comparisons between their ideology and that of the Islamic State, noting that millions of non-Muslims live in the kingdom and that the government is closely allied with the US and participates in the US campaign against the militant group. They also say that Saudi Islam does not promote the caliphate, as does the Islamic State, and that senior clerics condemn the terrorist attacks and have branded the group "deviant".
"Doing this was the biggest mistake I've made in my career," he told The Washington Post. "The only good thing was being able to give Macy a voice." On December 2, 2015, Fayetteville police responded to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center about an unresponsive child, according to a police statement. Medical personnel had discovered bruises covering Macy's body and determined that she suffered life-threatening injuries that appeared to be the result of child abuse, police said. Macy was transported to UNC Hospital at Chapel Hill. Two days later, Macy died from her injuries. Citing court documents, the Fayetteville Observer reported that Ditty told authorities that her daughter was ill, so she called Keefer, who is a paramedic.
Not long after he arrived, the couple told police, they noticed that Macy was choking on her own vomit and they called 911, according to the newspaper. Tina Goodwin, Macy's paternal grandmother, told the Observer that the child's father, Kevin Ditty, returned from overseas to make the decision to remove the child from life support. Last week, the medical examiner ruled Macy's death a homicide, and Jeanie Ditty and Keefer were charged in her slaying. The Cumberland County District Attorneys Office declined to comment on the case, citing an ongoing investigation. Bernard Condlin, New Cumberland County chief public defender, called it "a horrible day" for Macy and her family.
"I'm confident in the criminal justice system," Condlin told The Post, "and we will ensure that Jeanie is treated fairly." Ditty is a soldier in the 525th Military Intelligence Brigade based at Fort Bragg, according to the Army, and has received awards including an Army Service Ribbon, National Defense Service Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Maj. Heather Hall said. Ditty entered the Army in 2013 and serves as a chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear specialist, said Hall, an Army spokeswoman. Hall said the Army could not comment further due to the ongoing police investigation. Keefer also served in the military for 12 years, according to the Fayetteville Observer.
After the couple's arrests last week, Jo, the photographer, said a police detective reached out to him with some shocking news: Ditty, the detective said, had used Jo to make it appear that she was a mother in mourning. "It was the sickest thing I've seen in my entire life," Jo said. Since then, the photographer said, "it's been hell." "People have been telling me I made a mockery of a child's death," he said. "People are snapping, 'How can you do this?' But I didn't know." Jo said he offers a service called "one more time" in which he creates superimposed images to reunite people with lost loved ones. He said he has created more than a thousand images for grieving families.
One photo, posted on his Facebook page, shows what appears to be a young woman standing across from an older woman dressed in a wedding gown. Another shows a deceased man looking down from heaven at a baby. Indeed, many of Jo's creations are surreal. They depict people without heads or without faces. They draw from Medusa, a monster from Greek mythology who had snakes for hair. They allude to people being prisoners in their own minds and in their own bodies.
One image shows a nude woman covered in cuts and scrapes curled up in a corner, with a hand in the foreground making a cocktail. The caption reads, "It's not your fault" - seemingly a message to victims of domestic abuse. Some have called Jo's creations "creepy" and "in very poor taste." On Friday morning, one commenter wrote on Facebook: "Don't quit your day job." Still, others have come to the photographer's defense, urging him not to question his motivation to help a mother remember her daughter. "While I definitely understand your anger, as I am stewing mad on your behalf, and utterly baffled by the meanness and lack of conscience displayed by some of those walking this earth," one wrote on Facebook, "you have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of, sir!"
Johannesburg: South Africa's main opposition party said on Friday it would take all steps necessary to remove President Jacob Zuma from his post, a day after the country's top court ruled he had flouted the Constitution over renovations to his private home.
Leaders of the ruling African National Congress party were due to meet to formulate a response to the Constitutional Court ruling, which held that Zuma had failed to uphold the law by ignoring instructions to pay back some of the $16 million in state money spent on the renovations.
Under fire: South African president Jacob Zuma. Credit:AP
The opposition has launched impeachment proceedings against the president, but these are unlikely to be successful because of the ANC's strong majority in parliament.
Some South Africans however believe the scandal could still bring down the 73-year-old leader by persuading some in the ANC to abandon him.
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
A sophisticated banking hoax in Queensland should serve as a warning to brokers, the FBAA has cautioned.The chief executive of the FBAA, Peter White, said the recent case of a Queensland tradesman accused of falsely showing his bank balance to be nearly $600 milllion in credit highlights the need for brokers to remain vigilant about financial records. It is claimed that the tradesman likely used an app or fake online bank application.This turned out to be a poor joke but the underlying problem here is just how sophisticated and genuine looking fake online apps can appear, and how they may attempt to deceive lenders, White said.Its not new for someone to dummy up a fake pay slip and other information that misrepresents your true worth and income streams.Brokers and loan writers must have their radar tuned in at all times and investigate anomalies and suspicious looking financial details, said White.If in doubt and you have suspicions, always ask questions and seek out other avenues to double check what the customer is telling you.In this era of identity theft and online fraud, the days of using a simple pay slip for proof of income have disappeared.
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 Alt-Fi Australasia Summit was held in Sydney in February, where nearly 300 delegates attended to learn about the burgeoning alternative finance sector. The summit hosted a forum of leading international and domestic finance companies to discuss, debate and investigate what is transforming the way financial services function.Panels included The Dawn of Alternative Lending for Australian SMEs with Noah Breslow from online business lender, OnDeck ; The European Experience - How can Alternative Fintech Lending become Mainstream in Australia with Toby Triebel from global online SME lender, Spotcap; and Do Banks make Better Partners or Competitors - Next Steps for the Australian Bank with representatives from Commonwealth Bank, Macquarie Bank and Auswide Bank Australian Broker attended the Alt-Fi Australasia Summit, where we spoke with some of the global alternative finance providers about why Australia is ripe for disruption and what we can learn from our global fintech counterparts.
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It is a red-letter day in Red Hook!
Luxury electric car maker Tesla will soon install its own neon incarnation of the neighborhoods iconic Red Hook sign that once hung at street level on the Van Brunt Street warehouse the high-tech manufacturer recently turned into a dealership.
The original Red Hook sign on the Golten Marine building near the Battery Tunnel which welcomed visitors to the neighborhood for almost 10 years was demolished to make way for the showroom. But now the high-tech car maker is building and installing a new one after residents demanded the company bring it back.
Its Red Hooks welcome mat to the world, said Carolina Salguero, president of waterfront education group Portside New York, which operates out of the neighborhood.
Locals called for Tesla, which opened its showroom on Van Brunt and Imlay streets in March, to bring back the sign on social media even creating a Twitter account dedicated to the lights. Salguero said a rep for the company told her We listened and we heard, on Thursday afternoon, and said the sign is ready to go.
She said the new sign appears to be neon, which will be more durable than its former rope light incarnations and should light up any day now, according to the rep.
And there may have a been an early sign that it would return a rendering of the new Tesla building showed the red-lettered declaration adorned across its brick walls and windows.
The original sign, which was made of rope lights wrapped around wooden letters, was initially created for a holiday project in the mid-2000s. Its artist, Pete Waldman, drew inspiration for its 10-foot tall font from a sign that hung in the window of famed neighborhood grocery store Fairway and hung the lights himself the first two times around, nearly breaking his neck in the process, he said.
The signs lights kept going out, and had to be hung a third time by volunteers before it was trashed to make way for Tesla.
Waldman a glassblower who has lived in Red Hook for 20 years was not consulted on the project, but was happy to hear that Tesla is bringing back his design, which has become a source of pride for neighbors in the transit-starved nabe that is sometimes referred to as an armpit community, he said.
I remember hearing a story about someone sitting on the bus and they turned the corner and said the Red Hook lights are up again, its so nice someone is thinking of us, he said. To bring it back would make a lot more people in the neighborhood appreciative of Tesla.
A rep for Tesla confirmed that it is bringing back the sign, but would not comment further.
Campus News
Symposium addresses Syrian refugee crisis
Keynote speaker Hussam Jefee-Bahloul, assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, examined the effects of armed conflict on mental health in Syrian refugees. Photo: Dylan Buyskes
By OLIVIA W. BAE
The Syrian refugee crisis is one of the biggest humanitarian crises of this time.
In recent months, the Syrian refugee crisis a result of the Syrian civil war which began in 2011 has dominated the media and public discourse, calling into question the responsibilities of various nations to take in families and individuals during this time.
Of the 13.5 million Syrians in need of humanitarian assistance, nearly 5 million are refugees in outside countries while 6.6 million have been internally displaced.
On Thursday (April 1), UBs School of Social Work brought together experts from the health, education and social work fields for a public symposium in response to the situation.
Syrian Refugees: Buffalo Responds, which was sponsored by the school and co-sponsored by the UB Asian Studies program, was held downtown at the Buffalo and Erie County Central Library and explored the impact of the crisis on communities and individuals, as well as Buffalos role in finding long-term solutions for resettled refugees.
According to symposium chair and associate professor of social work Filomena Critelli, the event was a chance to educate the public on what is really happening globally and locally as a result of the war.
The Syrian refugee crisis is one of the biggest humanitarian crises of this time, she said. There is a lot of miseducation and rhetoric about the refugees, and a loss of sight that they are people in humanitarian need. Theyre humans who have faced a terrible tragedy. And they are not aggressors theyre victims. So we felt this [symposium] was something that we needed to do.
Following School of Social Work Dean Nancy Smyths opening remarks, speakers from UBs Department of Anthropology and School of Dental Medicine, as well as international organization Save the Children, presented on topics that ranged from European perspectives of the crisis, volunteer work in Syria and emergency responses for families displaced by conflict.
Midway through the event, keynote speaker Hussam Jefee-Bahloul, assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, took to the podium to examine the effects of armed conflict on mental health in Syrian refugees.
He noted that the majority of mental health manifestations in Syrian refugees are related to either exacerbations of pre-existing mental disorders, or prompted by conflict-related violence and displacement.
A lot of people focus on the second point and assume that refugees are traumatized and will experience post-traumatic stress disorder when that is not always the case. Those with pre-existing mental issues are usually the people who have trouble adjusting after, he said.
He also mentioned that the psychosocial environment after resettlement affects a persons ability to adjust and assimilate. Many challenges arise, especially for those displaced in more Western countries, such as language barriers, lack of resources and different approaches in thinking about gender and culture. Consequently, the chances of developing mental health issues will be higher.
The goal, he continued, is to think long-term in addressing these issues. Having well-trained and competent mental health interpreters, assisting refugees in navigating their resources and building relationships within both refugee and non-refugee communities would be a step in helping people overcome those barriers.
Wilo UK has announced the appointment of Jeff Mountford as national account manager with primary responsibility for the industry segment.
Previously Mr Mountford worked within the building services and industrial segments for Grundfos for over 20 years, and 35 years in total within the pump and motor industry. He started in the sector in 1980 as an export sales engineer for Crane Pumps, with responsibility for export sales to the Middle and Far East. He also spent time overseeing the manufacture of vertical turbine pumps in Cyprus for sale back to the USA.
5 changes to you, your seafood and the Shore from warming Atlantic
Xi Jinping, reales pentru un al treilea mandat, da asigurari ca "lumea are nevoie de China"
On Friday, Moet Hennessy inaugurated its sixth winery outside France that produces sparkling wines. The winery is located near Nashik, the "wine capital" of India, and produces only two labels: Chandon brut and the Chandon brut rose - and no, it's not "champagne" that can be produced only in the Champagne district of France from any or all of the three specific grape varieties grown in that district.
Moet Hennessy was formed in 1971 when Champagne producer Moet & Chandon merged with Cognac producer Hennessy. In 1987, fashion house Louis Vuitton and Moet Hennessy merged to form LVMH. Total sales of this luxury goods colossus were more than euro 35 billion (Rs 24.5 lakh crore) in 2015. Its spirits brands include Ardbeg and Glenmorangie whiskies from Scotland, Belvedere vodka, and, of course, Hennessy cognac. Wines in its portfolio include iconic labels such as Chateau Cheval Blanc, Chateau DAyquem and Cloudy Bay. And its champagne labels define the category: Moet & Chandon, Krug, Veuve Clicquot, Dom Perignon and Ruinart.
Read more from our special coverage on "THE WINE CLUB" What Europe is drinking
A toast to SulaFest
The wineries outside France are all under the "Domaine Chandon" title: Chandon Argentina was set up in 1959; Chandon California (Napa Valley) and Chandon Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul) were started in 1973; Chandon Australia (Yarra Valley, near Melbourne) was founded in 1986, while Chandon China (Ningxia) was established in 2013.
"Wait a minute," you might wonder, "weren't the Chandon wines launched in Mumbai in end-2013?"
Yes, absolutely - and there lies an interesting tale of advance planning and good project management. The traditional method, or methode champenoise, of producing champagne requires the wine to mature for at least one and a half years in the bottle. Since the company wanted to adhere to that international standard for its sparkling wine, it "outsourced" its production to York Winery (adjacent to Sula) for the first three harvests (2011, 2012 and 2013) while its own winery was under construction so that the wine produced in early 2011 could be launched by end-2013.
Actual work on the project had started about two years earlier, in 2009, when Bruno Yvon was the managing director of Moet Hennessy India, and would have involved a capital investment of some euro 8 million (about Rs 50 crore), including the cost of 20 acres of land for the winery, a capacity to produce up to 450 kilolitres of wine and sparkling wine, and a state-of-the-art visitor centre - all of which should take care of its requirements for at least another five years.
And what of the wines themselves?
Blind tests have established both Chandon brut and Chandon brut rose to be the best sparkling wines produced in India - their quality gives even imported champagnes a run for their money. Both are fairly dry, with loads of fruit and vanilla on the nose and the palate. The effervescence is long-lasting, of a type that indicates good quality and is typical of champagnes.
The brut is produced from a blend of chenin blanc, chardonnay and pinot noir, while the rose is from shiraz and pinot noir. I personally prefer the rose, but the brut is also very good. Interestingly, the pricing is identical wherever the wines are available: Rs 1,200 a bottle for the brut and Rs 1,400 for the rose - a huge price differential to the venerable Moet & Chandon brut Imperial, which sells in Bengaluru for Rs 5,200.
Another product that anticipated the "Make in India" campaign by a few years - to which we all add "Vive la France".
Alok Chandra is a Bengaluru-based wine consultant
The back room on the ground floor of Lock & Co Hatters is something of a tiny museum of the company's 340-year history.
In a glass case is a large ledger listing orders from customers like Oscar Wilde and Winston Churchill, who wore a Lock silk top hat for his wedding in 1908. There is a reproduction of the bicorne worn by Nelson during the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805; the company still has the bill of sale. And there is a thank-you note from Charlie Chaplin, who helped make famous the Lock-designed Coke hat (pronounced "cook") - known colloquially as the bowler, after Thomas Bowler, the shop's chief hatter at its creation in 1849.
Framed and hanging on a wall are a number of autographed patterns, one-sixth scale patterns of customers' heads, including Laurence Olivier, Jacqueline Kennedy and Emperor Akihito of Japan. "The heritage is incredibly important," said Sue Simpson, Lock's director. "But what is really important as well is the quality of product and the service."
While the Coke hat was part of the unofficial uniform of city bankers in the mid-20th century, today its trilby hats and flat caps are worn by the likes of David Beckham and Johnny Depp. Prince Charles dons Lock top hats for many official events (the company holds royal warrants for both the prince and his father, Prince Philip), and his daughter-in-law, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, has worn a number of its ladies' hats, including a red maple leaf-decorated hat during her 2011 official tour of Canada.
As the British summer social season kicks off, with events ranging from the Chelsea Flower Show to Wimbledon, Lock is at its busiest with custom orders. To celebrate the anniversary, it has introduced a new range of flat caps and panamas for children, and has redesigned its website, which now includes videos on hat maintenance. Later this year, it intends to add a blog.
"They are the ultimate authority on hats in Britain," said Ailsa Miller, fashion associate with the British society magazine Tatler. "Having a hat from there is not a status symbol, like an 'It' bag or a flashy thing. It is more just being in the know and you knew to go to the right place."
Lock was founded by Robert Davis across the street from its current location at 6 St James's Street, which the company says is the oldest hat shop in the world. And it still is family owned.
While men's hats are now made off-site (though ribbon replacements and brim trimming still happen in the shop), the ladies' hats are all created on the premises, and ready-made hats are available. Sylvia Fletcher, who started designing the Lock women's collection in 1993, still introduces about 15 new styles each season. But, the company says, a large number of its female customers prefer bespoke creations, which can take four to five weeks to make.
During an initial consultation, a sales staff member and one of the hatmakers discuss everything from hair colour to face shape with the client. (If the hat is being made for an event like Ascot, it will be noted in the order so two women will not end up wearing the same style of hat to the same occasion.) The customer is then measured, and, if the hat must be dyed to match an outfit, she is asked to either leave a fabric swatch for matching or the entire outfit.
After measurements are taken, the block to shape the hat is taken out, the fabric is cut (the long rolls like banana plant fibre come in varying colours from rich blues to light pinks) and the crown and brim are sewn together.
Variations to the hat are made during this process; for example, if a client wants to add a veil or have a ribbon affixed to the back rather than the front. "We have kept photos of everything since ladies' hats was launched," said Hannah Rigby, the company's head of marketing and public relations. "So if they like the look of something and we still have the block, we can make it."
2016 The New York Times
The very last game to finish in the last round of the Candidates determined the challenger to Magnus Carlsen. Sergey Karjakin wins that honour when he beat Fabiano Caruana. It did not come down to tiebreaks (although Karjakin had the better tiebreak score anyway).
Karjakin scored 8.5 with four wins and one loss. He held his nerves and displayed his mental strength, by scoring 2.5/ 3 in the last three rounds, despite suffering a loss to Viswanathan Anand in Rd 11. In the last round, he found a brilliant mating attack.
Karjakin will be an interesting opponent for Carlsen. They are the same age. The Ukrainian-turned-Russian is a universal player with no apparent preferences. He's well-prepared and there will be major human resources backing him since he could bring the title back "home" to Mother Russia.
Caruana scored 7.5, suffering his only loss in the last round. He played sharp, enterprising chess throughout but he also got a number of dubious positions. The italian-American GM tied for second-third with Anand (7.5), who had a roller-coaster ride with four wins and three losses.
Both Caruana and Anand will be disappointed. Caruana came close to winning in Rd 13 versus Peter Svidler and that would have obviated the need to take risks in the last round. However, the 23-year-old will surely get more chances to challenge for the title.
On the other hand, Moscow may signal the end of Anand's serious title ambitions. The 46-year-old cannot be written off yet, but the young guns should take over. Anand suffered a grievous loss to Nakamura in Rd 12, which effectively ended his chances here. He played several superb games including wonderful endgame wins against Topalov, Karjakin and Aronian. But his preparation with black was vulnerable and he lost far too often.
The next four, Anish Giri, Levon Aronian, Svidler and Hikaru Nakamura all tied on 50 per cent with 7 points each. But Aronian shared the lead for a while while Nakamura was trailing till the end. Giri was the only unbeaten player with 14 draws! He played positively. But somehow decisive results eluded him. Svdiler was well-prepared and achieved many good positions without quite finding finishes. The really terrible result was that of former world champion, Veselin Topalov (4.5).
At The Diagram , White to Play, (White: Karjakin Vs Black: Caruana, Candidates 2016), Karjakin found what he called a "not very difficult sacrifice" 37.Rxd5! exd5 38.Qxd5 Qc7 39.Qf5! The threat is Qh7 and it can't be satisfactorily defended. Black played the desperate 39...Rf7 40.Bxf7 Qe5 41.Rd7+ Kf8 42.Rd8+! (1-0) Mate is forced with 42.Rd8+ Kxf7 43.Qh7+ Ke6 44.Qd7# A resounding win in a high-tension last round.
Devangshu Datta
is an internationally rated chess and correspondence chess player
It takes an audacious man to offer instructions to the pope. When mailed Vatican City a portrait he had painted of Pope Paul VI, the Parsi artist also included in the letter some guidelines on how it is best viewed - without a frame (as it would "spoil the effect of freedom and movement"), and from a recommended distance of 15 to 20 feet.
"He was a rebel when it came to his art," says Phiroze, Vazifdar's son. For instance, while he occasionally parted with paintings as presents, Vazifdar, who died in 2011, chose not to sell any of his works. The JJ School of Architecture alumnus relied on his real estate business for a living and spent nearly half his time on making hundreds of paintings and thousands of sketches.
His works were exhibited time and again, but since they were never marketed, Vazifdar remained relatively unknown, Phiroze observes. Earlier in the month, the junior Vazifdar exhibited the paintings at the newly reopened Taj Art Gallery and released a coffee table book about them. The works are now displayed in his Colaba office, where his father too worked and painted. They can be viewed by appointment.
An allergic reaction to oil paints in the 1970s began to worry Vazifdar and he switched to sketching. Their scale was smaller and the artist made tens of sketches each day. The overlay works - done with felt-tip pen on photos and magazine pages - seem like acts of aesthetic vandalism. The influence of Vazifdar's favourite artist, Picasso, is quite visible in these. Phiroze is toying with the idea of making lithographs available.
The exhibition of works by will be on display till April 15 at the Gallery, Mumbai, by appointment only
At first glance, it is not much of a library: two shelves of about 1,600 and magazines in a basement room deep into a dusty alley of adobe homes in rural Panjwai District, in southern Afghanistan. The mattresses and blankets stacked in the corner still give the vibe of the guest quarters the room once was.
But the register shows how parts of the community here, particularly younger residents, have come to value any chance to indulge their curiosity, in a place that was at the heart of the original Taliban uprising in the 1990s and became a watchword for the tragedy and deprivation brought by war.
Hassanullah, 18, checked out General History. Muhammad Rahim, 27, came for The Fires of Hell, which he returned the next day; it was soon borrowed by a 12-year-old named Nabi. Taher Agha, 15, preferred Of Love and the Beloved, keeping it for 10 days. Another young man, about to marry, called ahead to make sure there was a copy of Homemaking. He rode his bicycle six miles to pick it up.
The library here in Panjwai is largely the work of Matiullah Wesa, a 22-year-old student from Kandahar who is in India finishing a degree in political science. For about eight years, the Pen Path, the volunteer organisation that Wesa started as a teenager, has been working to reopen schools closed because of violence and to bring to some of the worst-affected conflict areas.
After opening in January, the Panjwai library had about 24 visitors in its first month, said Muhammad Nasim Haidary, who looks after the library and whose family houses it.
But the interest of a couple of female readers, who approached women in the Haidary family about their interest in the books, has caused a small dilemma in a society that frowns upon even sharing the names of women in public: how can the library keep track of who took the out if it cannot write the women's names?
One proposal was to use pseudonyms for the women instead of writing their real names in the register, but that would create another problem: how would poor Haidary remember which pseudonym belongs to whom?
The fighting over the past 14 years has disproportionately affected the southern and eastern parts of Afghanistan, and Kandahar Province, which includes Panjwai, has been among the hardest hit. As district after district changed hands back and forth between the Taliban and the Afghan government and its American allies, survival became the priority.
Recently, though, the district has been relatively quiet. Even as the Taliban exert pressure in neighbouring provinces, gobbling territory, the reach of the government has been maintained in Kandahar, though it has often been disappointing or abusive.
Wesa's journey into education activism began in his home district, Maruf, which is now contested by the Taliban. His father opened one of the first schools there, before violence forced their family to relocate to Spinbaldak, a border commercial hub. But the seed had already been planted. Wesa, one of 11 children, continued accumulating books for a family library they brought with them when they moved.
The family library in Spinbaldak, which is now open to the public as part of Wesa's volunteer organisation, has nearly 4,000 books organised on neat metal shelves. In the middle of the carpeted room is a gas heater for winter reading and an ashtray and a spittoon for those who may need a smoke or a pinch of smokeless tobacco.
The circulation at the Spinbaldak library runs largely on an honour system. Bookkeeping is minimal, partly because another brother of Wesa's, who is the library's caretaker, Atta Muhammad, has only very basic literacy.
When the books are not returned on time, Muhammad finds himself making phone calls or visiting the borrowers' homes. Despite his efforts, several dozen books have been lost, most of them never returned after being checked out.
Wesa plans to open several other small libraries in the coming year and to expand the book drive to a more organised network of volunteers across the country. How far he is willing to go to promote reading was best displayed in a recent conversation he had with a wealthy businessman in eastern Afghanistan. The man made an offer: he would donate 20,000 books to a library in his part of the country, on the condition that it be named for his father.
In his excitement, Wesa cared little about cultural taboos in giving his answer: "I told him I would even name it after his mother - whatever it takes to get the books."
2016 The New York Times
I felt sucker-punched in a scene in Eye in the Sky in which the US secretary of defence doesn't think twice before asking for a drone strike in a grotty part of Nairobi where two terrorists are holed up. He gets the call from the United Kingdom, appraising him of the collateral damage (especially a nine-year-old girl), which he thinks is not a thing to be discussed at all.
The weltanschauung of this Gavin Hood-directed military drama is fascinating. This particular scene sends the message that it is Europe that cares about collateral damage, while the US is way too trigger-happy - a theory one is willing to buy, considering how, last November, the American forces kept bombing a hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, despite repeated warnings from the humanitarian aid organisation Medecins Sans Frontieres.
As a UK-based military officer in command of a top-secret drone operation in Kenya, Helen Mirren as Colonel Katherine Powell does a brilliant job. She is just the kind of actor Hood needed to anchor the movie, which can be seen as a post-advanced warfare bedfellow of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.
Alan "Severus Snape" Rickman's performance as Lt Gen Frank Benson, the liaison between Powell and the UK government, showed what a special talent he possessed and that he left the planet a little too soon. As American pilot Steve Watts, Aaron Paul is his wan, crusading, recognisably sympathetic self that anyone who watched Breaking Bad beyond the third season would instantly connect with. The title of the film is derived from the character of Paul, who has full authority to bomb from a remote location - and it really makes us think indiscriminate firing can be counterproductive.
Barkhad Abdi's character of a Kenyan undercover agent delivers some of the film's most interesting moments. The scene in which his beetle-like drone camera hovers over the hideout gives us a sneak peek into the future of spying.
This relentlessly bleak movie gets its heft from the conversations between its principal characters, especially Mirren's crabby self, who is unable to handle the political correctness of the establishment. As someone who spent six years tracking the two terrorists, she doesn't want it all to be sacrificed at the altar of 10 Downing Street. Hood gets the geopolitics right down to a T, a necessity most mainstream film-makers willfully ignore (nudge-nudge, wink-wink at Clint Eastwood for American Sniper).
I was a little late to the party, but I finally managed to watch Airlift and loved every bit of it. Director Raja Krishna Menon never lets the narrative veer towards jingoism. His firm grip on geopolitics is refreshing, to say the least. The movie is set in 1990, when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, leaving droves of Indians in the lurch. What got me chuffed were the scenes in which the minor characters have intriguing conversations about world politics.
Kabir Khan tried something similar in Phantom, but the plot had more holes than Swiss cheese. As a result, the movie's politics became caricaturish. On the other hand, just like Hood, Menon keeps it simple and real. Yes, the director took a little creative liberty and showed that the bureaucrats were steeped in stasis - something that's patently incorrect. But I was willing to go with the flow and that is where Menon needs to be cut some slack. He was trying to make an engaging movie, not a strictly fact-driven movie that would have made things dull.
I admire that Menon made the movie with a one-track mind, to send the stranded Indians to the safe shores. He makes it all happen in a crisp two-hour duration. And Akshay Kumar, as the saviour, revels in his most understated performance to date. It seems as though that albatross of a mindless daredevilry expert is finally off his neck and he's getting to prove his acting mettle.
Also, a big shout-out to the art department for turning Jodhpur into a cauldron-like Kuwait.
Hamidi Hotel - No Beef," reads the signboard on the blue-green wall of a corner building in the modest locality of Alipore in the southern part of Kolkata. A few feet away, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers are starting to assemble for their star candidate Chandra Kumar Bose's election campaign. Many of them have come with placards that carry black and white photographs of Subhas Chandra Bose.
The message is loud and clear: the candidate is part of a legacy that is impossible to ignore. Bose is the grandnephew of West Bengal's most celebrated son, freedom fighter Subhas Chandra Bose. His grandfather, Sarat Chandra Bose, was Netaji's elder brother.
The irony of the location from where he has chosen to start his day's campaign is, however, hard to miss. Much before the sedition charges against student leader Kanhaiya Kumar occupied mind space, beef had made an entry into political discourse, with right-wing activists resorting to extremities even on remote suspicion of cattle trade or cattle slaughter. The sign on Hamidi Hotel is an indication of the 'safety' measures such incidents have forced upon establishments such as this one.
But Bose, among the newest entrants into BJP, does not subscribe to such views. His idea of BJP is far removed from the dogmas associated with it. "Religion is a personal issue and should not be mixed with politics," he says. "No leader or party should advise on what we eat in our house."
With no political experience, not even in student politics, which is vibrant in the state, Bose has a tough challenge ahead. At 55, not only is he making his first foray into politics as the BJP candidate from the Bhawanipur assembly constituency, he is also contesting against two political heavyweights: West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee and Congress leader Deepa Dasmunsi.
But BJP is hoping that his family name - and the unmistakable resemblance he bears to his legendary granduncle - will see him through.
As his election procession, which includes 50 to 60 of his supporters, moves through Alipore, shouting slogans against corruption and drawing attention to the Narada sting operation in which ministers and lawmakers of West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress are seen allegedly accepting cash, step up to meet him. He greets them politely, with his hands folded and a smile on his face.
In the impromptu addas that spring up around him on the streets, the chatter centres around the need for a strong opposition, something that has been missing in West Bengal for the last five years.
However, while there is a lot of interest around him, few appear confident of Bose's chances in the forthcoming assembly elections in the state. Bablu, who has been serving tea from his famous stall in Gopalnagar for the last three decades, says: "This used to be a Congress bastion. Now it is Trinamool Congress's." This time, he says, all three candidates are heavyweights, but he refuses to pick the one he is most confident about.
"The fight," says Mohammed Salim of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), "will be between Banerjee and Dasmunsi. Bose has no political experience. A Netaji connection alone cannot win him an election." Dasmunsi, he adds, also has the backing of the Left given that the Congress and the Left are fighting this election together.
Dressed in a white kurta with BJP's election symbol, the lotus, printed on it and an orange sash (with the lotus and "BJP" stamped on it) draped around his neck, Bose hardly looks like an entrepreneur who has been running a human resource and skill development consultancy firm - Bose Information Technology - for the last 16 years.
Bose studied economics at Hendon College, London, and then joined the Tata Management Training Centre in Jamshedpur. He later returned to Kolkata as a marketing executive with Tata Steel and was the sales manager for it for 18 years before he set up his company. He says his wife will run the company once he gets busy with politics.
Though he is a first-time politician, politics, he says, was never far from his mind. "I was thinking of forming my own political party, the Azad Hind Party, but it is not easy," he says. "There are 1,600 parties already out there. Mine would have been the 1,601th." Besides, he adds, when someone forms a political party, the first who come to join it are the goons. "How would I do the screening [to keep them out]? I do corporate recruitment, not political recruitment."
But why BJP? It had to be a national party, he says, because Netaji is a national icon. "The Congress had expelled him, so it was a no-no. Although the Forward Bloc was his party, it drifted from Netaji's ideologies," he reasons.
Much before he was pictured with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a meeting for the declassification of the files related to Subhas Chandra Bose, he had already been trying to convince BJP about joining the party. "It took some time. There were hiccups," he says, adding, "Modi is a very tall leader, very inclusive in his attitude."
Drawing a parallel between his granduncle and Modi, he says, "Many people say Netaji was a fascist, but he was a pragmatist. Modi is the pragmatist of the 21st century. I think he is willing to sacrifice his political ideology for development."
Bose has his job cut out. "It is my job to see that BJP evolves into an absolute secular party. We must delink religion from politics," he says, "Leaders with vested interests have brought religion into politics."
The communal image of the BJP, he says, is the creation of the opposition.
It is the Congress, he adds, that brought religion into politics.
He also accuses Banerjee of playing religion into politics. "The appeasement of both the majority and the minority are communal actions," he says. Bengal has a 27 per cent Muslim population and Banerjee realises that this sizeable number cannot be ignored. In the past five years, allocation for minorities has increased manifold.
Banerjee, however, remains a formidable force in the state. Does Bose think he can beat her? "Yes, I can win," he says. His argument is that Banerjee's job was done with the removal of the Left; she has nothing more to offer.
"After winning an election, the responsibility of the government is to govern," he says. The Left Front was here for 34 years. "But does that mean it was great at governance? No, say the people, and yet it won elections." Banerjee too has mastered the art of winning elections, he says. "But her contribution ends with winning elections. Besides painting the city blue and white and lighting it up as though every day is Diwali, what more has she done?"
Bose could also derive comfort from BJP's performance in the Kolkata Municipal elections last year, when the party managed to defeat the sitting councillor from Trinamool in Ward No 70, which is part of the Bhawanipur assembly constituency.
Whatever be Bose's contention, pollsters predict in Banerjee's favour. A recent ABP Ananda-The Nielsen Company poll survey stated that Banerjee would win.
Would Bose then contest for the Lok Sabha elections if he lost? "I was more interested in the Lok Sabha elections, because that would have given me time," he says. "But the party thought I should contest this time and I agreed. It wasn't my idea to contest against Banerjee," he says, quickly adding, "Even if I win, I could contest in the 2019 general elections."
He might be a late entrant into politics, but Bose makes it clear that he is here to stay.
The World Culture Festival, held by the Art of Living Foundation on the expansive Yamuna floodplains in Delhi last month, gave much heartburn to environmentalists and the National Green Tribunal extracted a penalty of Rs 5 crore. But that didn't stop national leaders, including never-on-the-same-page rivals Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, from showing up at the event and showering fulsome praise on Art of Living and its founder, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.
If their presence was acknowledgment of Sri Sri's clout (over 370 million across 155 countries subscribe to his vision of a violence- and stress-free society; Sri Sri has 1.43 million followers on Twitter, though he follows nobody), the scale of the event showcased his organisation's financial firepower.
It is estimated that 3.5 million attended the function to see 37,000 artistes from across the world perform over three days. Top-notch contractors were hired first to put up the mini-city and then to dismantle it. It was a grand show by any standard. The festival is estimated to have cost Art of Living Rs 25.63 crore. Entry was free, there were no sponsors; it was all money spent on a cause.
, easily the most expensive real estate in the country. It was an announcement for Bournvita and Horlicks to watch out.
It takes a confident man to challenge the likes of Mondelez (earlier Cadbury) and GlaxoSmithKline. Analysts have started to talk of Sri Sri Ayurveda as the new disruptor in the market after Baba Ramdev's Patanjali Ayurved.
Sri Sri's headquarters, the Art of Living International Centre, is located at Udayapura in the hilly terrain outside Bengaluru. The ashram, spread over 65 rocky and verdant acres, is surrounded by a wall but its gates are open for all. The security is tight: private guards keep a sharp eye on visitors. Men in white robes, with long hair and beards, lookalikes of their leader, move around busily.
Near the entrance is an amphitheatre that can seat 20,000 people. Lions sculpted in white marble watch over a lake that has a family of swans swimming in it. Well-tended pathways intersect the campus like abstract lines on a canvas.
A short distance away is Vishalakshi Mantap, a five-tiered, lotus-shaped edifice named after Sri Sri's mother. It has a glass dome, which Art of Living claims at 15 feet and three inches is the tallest kalash in whole of Asia, and its white marble floor has red cushions placed here and there.
This is where most Art of Living courses take place. It's these courses that keep the ashram running. According to documents filed by Art of Living's American chapter, the foundation earned $5.5 million nine years ago, out of which $3.5 million came from course fees alone.
The number of participants has increased manifold since then, especially with the introduction of programmes suited to contemporary lifestyle: Art of Living now offers courses for those battling diabetes, hypertension, depression, anxiety and asthma.
The Living Well course is organised in batches of 15 to 20 for eight days, and costs upwards of Rs 21,500, depending on accommodation choices. For corporate houses, Art of Living offers to enhance skills at the workplace under its APEX (Achieve Personal Excellence) programme. Reliance Industries, Wipro, JPMorgan and Google are some of the companies that have participated in it.
Lately, the law of perfect competition seems to be catching up with Sri Sri: Swami Sukhabodhananda's Prasanna Trust, Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev's Isha Foundation and Yogi Ashwini's Dhyana Foundation too now offer wisdom on how to ratchet up the spiritual quotient at the workplace.
Just the way his guru, Mahesh Yogi, copyrighted Transcendental Meditation, which won him followers from all over (including The Beatles), Sri Sri has patented Sudarshan Kriya, a breathing technique. This is at the core of most of Art of Living courses, including the most-recommended Happiness Programme. Depending upon room-sharing options for a three-day stay, it can cost Rs 3,600 per person.
Options for other courses, such as the silence and various yoga programmes, start from Rs 2,700 if you pick dormitories for your stay in the ashram.
On an average, at least 1,000 people stay in the ashram for weekly programmes, says a teacher in the ashram. Some courses also give you the flexibility to commute daily from the city. Over the years, millions from India and abroad have come to the ashram to attend the various courses on offer; these courses are also offered across the globe at different centres.
Apart from healing troubled souls, Art of Living offers a whole range of FMCG products: candy, ghee, toothpaste, beverages, tea, hair oil, shampoo, gel, cream, soap and spices.
It started when Sri Sri Ayurveda was formed in 2003 to make Ayurveda products. Sri Sri has passionately advocated Ayurveda's health benefits for long. Six years ago, he had claimed that it can cure swine flu: five or six dashes of Shakti Drops, two Immugen tablets, and two tablets of Pranda Gutika, all made inside the ashram, could do the trick when combined with meditation.
Ayurveda got a booster shot when Ramdev's Patanjali burst into the FMCG market, selling everything from biscuits, ghee, toothpaste and choco flakes to namkeen, instant noodles and juices. Indians, who have always valued traditional and natural products, gleefully lapped it all up. The big players could only squirm with unease as Ramdev with yogic dexterity snatched the market away from them.
Sri Sri was quick to join the bandwagon. "They've stepped up on marketing in the last six months. Whatever they have done in 13 years (since Sri Sri Ayurveda's inception), they want to do four times of that in one year," says Abneesh Roy, author of a new report on Sri Sri Ayurveda by Edelweiss Securities.
Sri Sri Ayurveda's strategy is akin to that of Patanjali. Thus, its choice of products, and their positioning, looks similar to Patanjali's, though its products are priced at a slight premium to Ramdev's brand.
Sri Sri was not available for comment. Art of Living office-holders chose to answer a few questions via email. They claim that the ingredients for Sri Sri Ayurevda's herbal products are sourced from areas "best suited for cultivating specific herbs". Its chief marketing officer, Tej Katpitia, says: "The brand [Sri Sri Ayurveda] is synonymous with authenticity, efficacy and novelty." According to its website, employees "meditate daily to ensure that products are developed in the most positive and energetic atmosphere ever".
Is it working? On Amazon, customers have found Sri Sri Ayurveda's sunscreen to be "non-sticky, with a pleasant fragrance". On Art of Living's official online portal, Sattvastore.com, customers have praised its chyawanprash for its "honey-taste". All reviews indicate the products' appeal lies in their Ayurveda formulation.
Just like Ramdev leveraged Aastha television channel to good effect, Anandam Active, a Dish TV channel that showcases Sri Sri's teachings, can be effectively used to advertise Sri Sri Ayurveda products, says the Edelweiss report. Available at Rs 59, Anandam Active reaches a large spiritually-inclined audience, even in the remotest part of India, it adds.
The key difference is distribution. Every yoga camp held by Ramdev serves as an outlet for his brands, suggests brand analyst Harish Bijoor. Ramdev's products have been available in small-town groceries for long. And last year, he tied up with Kishore Biyani, the king of modern retail, to sell his products. This has given him a huge lead, though Biyani has recently expressed his interest to sell Sri Sri Ayurveda products too.
To close the gap, Sri Sri Ayurveda plans to more than quadruple its stores from 600 now to 2,500 by 2017. One such store is located behind Vishalakshi Mantap at the ashram.
Young and old Art of Living followers, many of them Portuguese, huff and puff as they negotiate the steps on the hill that lead to this store that is roughly the size of a badminton court. While Sri Sri Ayurveda's offline stores are usually called Divine Stores, this one is called Sattva Store, a name reserved for its shopping portal, Sattvastore.com.
As the eye moves across the store, it gives a quick overview of Art of Living's prosperity over 35 years: from just yoga courses, the organisation now offers spiritual guidance via tapes, consumer goods, and Art of Living-themed gift articles. There's also a book of stories from Sri Sri's childhood in comic format from Sri Sri Publications Trust, the publisher and distributor of Art of Living's media content.
Also in the store are clutches, coffee mugs, telephone directories, kurtas and T-shirts that carry slogans about "fixing the world, peace by peace". Among incense sticks, floating aromatic candles and organic seeds, there are calendars with Sri Sri's pictures for all 12 months of the year. Key-rings with his picture come for Rs 25; the bigger, framed pictures can cost up to Rs 3,500.
At the ashram, where all conversations begin and end with Jai Guru Dev (or JGD, if you are texting or are on Facebook), there's a mandap for weddings conducted under Art of Living Matrimony services. There's a fee for the service but you could get a discount if you have taken one of the Art of Living courses on offer.
Annually, 60 to 75 weddings take place at the ashram. "People from several countries including Iran, Pakistan, Brazil, Argentina and America have chosen to marry at the ashram," says an Art of Living office bearer. Alongside weddings, the Vaidic Dharma Sansthan Trust conducts puja at homes.
A majority of Art of Living's FMCG products are made by Sumeru Ayurveda. It is a part of the Sumeru group of companies with N Arvind Varchaswi, Sri Sri's nephew, at the helm. Varchaswi's mother, Bhanumati Narsimhan, or Bhanu Didi, as she is popularly called, is Sri Sri's sister.
Harish Ramachandran, the CEO of Sumeru Software Solutions, was once a full-time teacher with Art of Living, and took up the IT business only because he "realised the company's objective was to support Art of Living's service initiatives". Apart from software, it provides information security and has of late started making apps and service suites for political parties, sales stalwarts and retail stores.
With customers in more than 40 countries, Sumeru Software is responsible for Art of Living's digital presence, Ramachandran says. Sumeru's dedication to Art of Living is visible on its website too; thus, Sumeru Holidays, which offers packages (flights, cabs, hotels) across the globe, even had special packages for the World Culture Festival.
And with an office at the entrance of the ashram, Sumeru Travels offers cab services from the city to the ashram. Sri Sumeru Realty, which started in 2005, seeks to "improve the quality and economy of Art of Living's construction projects and to translate its values into a tangible lifestyle option".
In addition, Art of Living runs a spread-out network of educational institutes with free schools as well as regular educational institutes.
Its sundown at the ashram. Residents wave flags of their countries as they wait for Sri Sri. Soon, Sri Sri floats on to the stage, holding two long-stemmed roses. Behind him, Vishalakshi Mantap, lit from inside, lights up the dark sky. And when Sri Sri begins the satsang with a quick round of meditation, all else at the ashram comes to a standstill.
Living in a country with no Michelin-starred restaurants, the second-best option one has to try truly innovative cuisine is to head to a restaurant run by a celebrity chef. In comes Sarah Todd, Masterchef Australia contestant from 2014, with Antares, a sprawling new restaurant with Australian cuisine in Goa. While the assumption is that Australian cuisine is much like the usual Continental fare, the emphasis on fresh and unique ingredients and a fusion with Asian cuisine set it apart.
Located in Vagator and right next door to Thalassa, the ever popular Greek restaurant, the entrance to Antares is much more understated than its boisterous neighbour. My friends and I have a reservation and it takes repeated corrections for the gentleman manning the desk to understand that we're three and not eight. A Caucasian woman, possibly the hostess, guides us to our table on the sea-side. While the yellow fairy lights are soothing and set the mood for a relaxed evening, the loud and almost jarring music doesn't really allow for much calm. Besides the lights, the decor is unremarkable, which is unfortunate for a restaurant that has a beautiful location and could have done so much with it.
Waiting for water to be served, a waitstaff with an "I couldn't care less" attitude keeps the menus on our table while looking the other way. I try not to get irked and wait for someone to introduce us to the menu or answer our questions about the food.
While limited on the whole, a big point in the restaurant's favour is the ample vegetarian options on offer. Specialty restaurants tend to focus too much on the meat and offer only basic vegetarian fare, but that is not true for Antares. The pesto linguini has a burst of fresh flavours and despite the olive oil, it doesn't feel heavy on the palate. But before the linguini is ordered, my friend has a rather frustrating conversation with the server, who refuses to make any customisations to the dishes or explain what flavour a particular unfamiliar ingredient has. His answer to most questions is a "no", followed by an eyebrow raised in disdain.
Barring our designated driver for the night, my friend and I order a red wine sangria and a glass of Chandon Brut to accompany our food. The base wine for the sangria was good quality and not very sweet. I, for one, was too happy with my glass of the India-made Chandon Brut, which is rarely sold by the glass, if at all it is even available.
For dessert, we order a dark chocolate brownie with salted butterscotch. We decide that trying one dessert first would be a safe bet and once it arrives, we are thankful for this minor moment of wisdom. The serving is huge and after a large meal, the three of us can easily share the dessert without fighting over it.
The bill, though is disappointing, especially when one considers restaurants in Goa - prices at Antares are on a par with restaurants in Delhi or Gurgaon. I leave wishing that Antares could be a bit more like La Plage, a French restaurant in Ashvem and one where servers actually offered menu suggestions without raising their eyebrows at your questions. The food at Antares speaks for itself, but I wonder if it will be able to sustain its buzz beyond its star attraction.
Ssangyong Motors, part of the Mahindra group, sold 13,010 units in March, including 3,941 cars that were exported. According to the company, global sales surged by 23% from the previous month and 1.1% from the same month last year thanks to sales uptrend of Tivoli and Tivoli Air (Export name: XLV), which has led the company's domestic sales growth in South Korea along with Tivoli since its launch in early March. Ssangyong's domestic sales recorded 9,069 units, up 29.9% from the previous month and 17.5% from the same month last year helped by robust sales of Tivoli brand models that jumped by 69.7% compared to March 2015 and its other main SUVs. Ssangyong's exports in March soared by 9.7% over the previous month thanks to Tivoli Air exports to the European markets, while its year-on-year exports dropped by 23.5% due to reduced demands in the emerging markets. Since the exports of Tivoli brand models increased by 37.1% compared to the same month last year, the company expects improvement in overseas market soon, especially once Tivoli Air starts to be exported. Ssangyong introduced Tivoli Air for the first time at Geneva Motor Show in March, and has been carrying out aggressive marketing activities before its global sales from May including participation in regional motor shows.
Source : BS Motoring
Tesla Motors, which unveiled its relatively lower-priced Model 3 sedan near Los Angeles on Thursday, plans to launch the vehicle in India as well.
Adding several more countries to Model 3 order page tonight, tweeted Elon Musk, CEO, Tesla Motors. Check for details, but will include India, Brazil, SA, SK, NZ, Sing & Ireland. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited the Tesla Motors headquarters near San Francisco last September. Modi was keen to find out about the companys compact battery system, the Powerwall, which is used to store solar energy. Modi and Musk also discussed the future of renewable energy and how India is one of the largest markets in the world. The Model 3 is priced at $35,000 and the vehicle will go into production only next year. According to the company, more than 130,000 people have ordered the car. In fact, Tesla enthusiasts had camped overnight outside its stores across California with their deposit money. The new model will accelerate from 0 to 60 kmph in less than 60 seconds and can travel up to 345 km on a single charge. Tesla faces a lot of competition for its electric cars with the likes Audi, BMW and General Motors also coming out with new models.
Source : BS Motoring
Gujarat-based dairy giant, among top 15 global dairy outfits in terms of milk processing, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd (which markets the popular Amul brand of milk and dairy products) today said its provisional turnover for 2015-16 fiscal is Rs 23,005 crore, up 11% from last year.
The figure assumes significance when we pitch this against the turnovers of the food giants in the country. Britannia posted a turnover of Rs 7,175.99 crore for 2014-15, while Nestle clocked a turnover of Rs 8,175.31 crore. ITC and HUL's food businesses posted turnovers of Rs 6,411 crore and Rs 5,522 crore respectively last fiscal.
What is noteworthy, the dairy cooperative has managed to grow its turnover 187% or about 3.75 times in the past six years. As R S Sodhi, the managing director of GCMMF under whose stewardship the Anand-headquartered cooperative has scaled new heights, pointed out , "We have grown from a turnover of Rs 8,000 crore to 23,000 crore just about six years. The target of taking this to Rs 30,000 crore by 2017-18, which means 25% growth in two years, seems achievable."
The entire sales turnover growth has come because of volume. Sodhi said that while we have registered a value-growth of 11%, our volume growth is around 13-14% which has come from additional volumes in existing markets as well as volumes from new markets.
He added that volume growth for value added products has been around 15%, while for liquid milk it is around 13-14%.
The provisional unduplicated group turnover of member unions of Amul group has crossed Rs 33,000 crores which is also higher by 14% compared to last financial year.
This entire value growth has come despite paying high procurement prices to milk farmers. Sodhi highlighted that while worldwide farmers are getting 30-50% less price for their milk, Gujarat farmers are getting at least 8-10% more price. GCMMF passes on 80-85% of consumer rupee back to milk producer members thus by encouraging them to produce more milk.
The 17 member Unions of GCMMF with farmer member strength of more than 36 lakhs across 18,600 villages of Gujarat are procuring on an average 18 million liters of milk per day (mlpd). Because of better milk procurement prices paid by member unions of GCMMF, milk procurement by member unions has increased by 91% during last six years. Jethabhai Patel, chairman, GCMMF, emphasised the fact that mantra of rapid expansion has clearly yielded rich dividends for GCMMF. "Based on estimated growth in market demand for Amul products and our future marketing efforts, we anticipate at least 20% CAGR growth in the business of GCMMF during the next five years."
He added that Amul plans to enhance its milk processing capacity from the current level of 28.1 mlpd to 38 mlpd in the next five years. Patel also claimed in New Zealand farmers were getting around Rs 51.5 per liter of milk during 2013-14 which was reduced to Rs 21.7 per liter during 2015-16. On the other hand, farmers of Gujarat are getting 8-10% higher price of milk every year.
In order to meet milk and milk product demand in major metros of India, the member unions of GCMMF have started creating their own milk processing plants in states of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Rajasthan. The Member Unions of GCMMF have also started milk procurement from other states.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) will issue its third summons against beleaguered liquor baron Vijay Mallya who has sought one month's time to present before ED sleuths in Mumbai under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Confirming the development, an ED official said on Friday, "The third summons will be issued in the next 48 hours, and the final call on the next date will be decided."
"Further extension could be given to Mallya as the bank loan case against Mallya is getting heard in Supreme Court, so immediate action could not be taken right now. But, all these would be examined on Saturday," a top ED told official Business Standard.
This is the second time that Mallya has been asked to present himself before the ED. He had earlier been summoned to be present in the ED office on March 18.
On Friday evening, Mallya's counsel informed the enforcement agency that he would not be able to make personal appearance before it on the given date and asked to extend the deadline till the first week of May.
"We have already given him two dates and he himself asked for the April date. Now, if he fails or denies to appear, then we will proceed against him under the prescribed law," said an ED source.
Under the prescribed law, if an individual does not comply to present in person after three summons, the ED can move court to obtain a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against the person.
There are other options too, which could be used in case of non-compliance.
ED can request global police agency Interpol to issue a notice against a person residing outside the country. But, this can be only applicable to the person against whom a local court has issued an NBW.
The government can also utilise its diplomatic power. The ministry of external affairs can opt for an extradition request against Mallya. The decision can be taken under the provisions of the extradition treaty existing between India and the UK. Extradition is the legal process involving the transfer of a person accused or convicted of a crime from one country to another.
It remains one of the hottest advertising categories in India, ranking third after print and television in terms of size, according to a recently released Ficci-KPMG Report. Yet, India's digital advertising as a share of the global pie will not cross one per cent in the next few years. This despite domestic digital growth rates estimated to be 30-35 per cent, according to KPMG.
Figures provided by media agency ZenithOptimedia show India's share of global digital advertising over the next two to three years will remain around 0.5 per cent. This comes even as markets such as the US, China, the UK, Japan, and Germany will continue to be key contributors to global digital advertising, according to forecasts by the agency.
The US, China, and the UK alone will contribute 33 per cent, 24 per cent and eight per cent, respectively, by 2018. Japan and Germany, on the other hand, will contribute 5.5 per cent and 4.36 per cent, respectively.
Anupriya Acharya, group chief executive, ZenithOptimedia, says, "Historically, India's Adex:GDP ratio ('advertising expenditure to gross domestic product' ratio) has been much lower than other markets', especially the developed world's. This has to do with the absolute size of the Indian economy, as well as the structural composition of ad expenditure and the domestic economy. The second reason is the discrepancy in purchasing power parity - all other media in India are, in comparison to other markets, much cheaper. Third, a large proportion of the digital inventory in India is coming from mobile rather than desktop and laptop. And the price of this inventory is relatively lower, resulting in a lower global share for India in relation to other markets."
According to estimates, Google and Facebook already corner 50-60 per cent of India's Rs 5,000-6,000 crore digital ad spends.
Ashish Bhasin, chairman and chief executive, South Asia, Dentsu Aegis Network, says, "Even as these firms (Google and Facebook) get bigger, digital revenues for media owners in general will improve as the base gets larger and digital infrastructure improves. This will help digital owners monetise their digital assets better than they now do."
For instance, a one-month-long digital campaign, according to advertising & media industry experts, costs anywhere between Rs 50 lakh to Rs 2 crore.
On television, in contrast, a one-month campaign is nearly three to five times higher, implying digital remains among the most cost-effective media at the moment.
But as Varun Gupta, partner, deals & advisory, KPMG, says, the tide could turn in terms of ad rates as eyeballs increasingly move to digital in the future. "As people begin to spend greater time on digital media, digital ad rates will grow," he adds,
Fitch Ratings on Friday downgraded Tata Steel and its wholly-owned subsidiary Tata Steel UK Holdings from stable rating earlier on the back of decline in profitability and jump in leverage during FY16, following challenging market conditions for its operations in India as well as overseas, especially in the UK.
The agency has also placed both the entities on Rating Watch Evolving (RWE), it said in its report.
The RWE reflects uncertainty following Tata Steel's announcement that it is exploring all options for portfolio restructuring in Europe, including the potential divestment of its UK operations, in part or in whole. Considerable uncertainty remains on timing and how the group and its debt will be structured going forward.
Fitch believes Tata Steel's disposal of its UK operations, in part or whole, will result in a change to the company's ratings.
Profitability of Tata Steel's domestic operations has been impacted by weak steel price realisation in nine-months ended December. Its consolidated EBITDA per tonne declined to about Rs 7,400/tonne in the period under review from Rs 11,400 per tonne in FY15, hit by a Rs 7,150 per tonne fall in realisation.
Steel producers globally are suffering from weak demand and overcapacity, with current global capacity utilisation at a low last seen during the 2008 global financial crisis. In India, demand growth was a tepid 4.7 per cent in nine-months ended December, which was met largely by a 29 per cent year-on-year increase in imports.
The recent supportive moves by the Indian government by imposition of a minimum import price following a 20 per cent safeguard duty on imports to protect domestic manufacturers, have provided some relief, with domestic steel prices from January 2016 lows. However, prices are still about 20 per cent lower than the average for FY15.
Fitch says increased competition among domestic producers to support utilisation rates will likely constrain further price hikes in the near term, given domestic steel capacity is scheduled to jump about 15 million tonnes over Oct-Mar 2015 and 2016.
For the Kalinganagar plant in the domestic market, Tata Steel is currently commissioning the first phase of this greenfield and expects to gradually increase output in FY17. Apart from increased sales, the company would benefit from improved product mix from the new plant, as the plant will specialise in producing high-grade flat products. It will also be one of the most cost-efficient plant in the country. The bulk of the capex has been completed and the company should begin deriving cash-flow benefits in FY17, said Fitch.
Amid fears that 15,000 jobs may be lost, the UK on Friday said it will appoint independent advisors once the sale of Tata Steel's UK business commences and, alongwith the Welsh government, help in securing a buyer for the country's largest steelmaker.
Government also assured the workers that "all possible" ministerial, official and diplomatic influence will be exerted to secure the steel industry's long term future.
"Business Secretary Sajid Javid will today visit Port Talbot, where Tata Steel UK's largest plant is based, to meet workers and the management," UK government said in a statement.
Tata Steel, one of the flagship firm of the over USD 100 billion Indian conglomerate Tata Group, earlier this week disclosed plans to sell its entire UK business.
The move has threatened over 15,000 jobs amid a deepening crisis in the UK's once-storied sector that the Indian conglomerate had entered nearly a decade ago with a USD 14-billion takeover with much fanfare.
"He (Javid) will say that once formal Tata sales process is underway, independent advisors will also be appointed by the government," the statement said.
It added that as Prime Minister David Cameron has already said, the UK government intervention helped ensure that Tata announced a sales process for Port Talbot, rather immediate closure allowing ministers to play an active part in finding a sustainable solution, including engaging with market for potential buyers.
"Javid will work with Commercial Secretary to the Treasury Jim O'Neill, Chancellor of Duchy of Lancaster Oliver Letwin and Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns as well as Welsh Government in helping secure a buyer for Tata's Steel assets following their announcement of their intention to divest their UK assets," the statement added.
During his visit to Port Talbot, Javid will also meet the members of the Welsh Government, unions and local MPs.
On his visit, the Business Secretary said: "I'm going to Port Talbot to meet staff and management, who are understandably extremely anxious about their future.
"I will listen to them, and I want to reassure them myself that the government is on their side in working hard to achieve a long term solution for them, for the region and for the wider UK steel industry."
He further said: "Whilst we can't change the status of the global steel market, we can and are playing a positive role in securing a sustainable future."
The government said the measures imposed in January on reinforcing steel bar imports are starting to have effect as imports during the months declined 99 per cent from January 2015.
Tata Steel, which operates UK's biggest steel plant at Port Talbot in south Wales, is losing 1 million pounds (USD 1.4 million) a day in its UK operations.
Tatas had entered the British steel sector, which once dominated the British economy, in early 2007 with acquisition of Anglo-Dutch steelmaker Corus after a fiercely fought takeover battle -- which till date remains the biggest ever overseas acquisition by an Indian group.
The consumer arm of the $2.25-billion (Rs 13,500 crore) Godrej Group has made its second acquisition this calendar year in US-based Strength of Nature (SON).
Godrej Consumer Products (GCPL), whose consolidated FY15 revenues were Rs 8,242 crore, announced on Friday it had entered into an agreement to acquire SON, which is into hair care products for women of African descent. While the deal size was not disclosed, GCPL said SON's CY15 revenues were $95 million (Rs 635 crore).
Analysts peg the deal size at Rs 1,200-1,300 crore given the metric of two times sales, which is common in deals involving consumer goods companies.
Adi Godrej, chairman of Godrej Group, stated, "Over the past few years, we've been scaling up our international presence with acquisitions that fit well in our 3-by-3 strategy (a presence in emerging markets in Asia, Africa and Latin America through three core categories - hair care, home care and personal care). These strategic acquisitions have strongly aided our growth story. Through them, we have extended our core businesses and implicitly broadened our presence to a wider canvas."
Earlier this year, GCPL had acquired Kenya-based Canon Chemicals, a home and personal care company. While the transaction was small, it helped cement GCPL's position in Sub-Saharan Africa, a key region for the firm.
Company executives say the SON buy is slightly different from African acquisitions done so far by the firm because SON is not based in the continent. Instead, the attempt had been to cast a wider net and look at companies that target all women of African descent, company sources said, irrespective of where it was based.
"Strength of Nature has a strong track record of serving consumers across Africa and the US through its robust portfolio of heritage, category leading brands. We look forward to leveraging its strong brand equity for our business," said Vivek Gambhir, managing director of GCPL.
GCPL is expected to step up the pace of acquisitions this year after a brief lull over the past few years.
"The timing is right, again. In the past two to three years, we were a little slow on acquisitions, having done a slew of them between 2010 and 2013. But now, the integration of all the acquisitions in the first phase has gone quite well, I think we can move into second gear on the inorganic (growth) front," Gambhir had said in an earlier conversation with Business Standard.
Hindustan Zinc's announcement of a special dividend is credit positive for Vedanta Resources as it staves off some of the refinancing pressure with respect to the latter's debt maturities in the fiscal year ending 31 March 2017, ratings agency Moody's Investors Service said today.
declared a special golden jubilee dividend of Rs 24 per share, entailing an outflow of approximately Rs 12,210 crore ($1.8 billion), including a dividend distribution tax. Vedanta's 62.9 percent-owned subsidiary, Vedanta Ltd, will receive Rs Rs 6,580 crore ($982 million) of dividends for its 64.9 percent shareholding in the zinc company.
Vedanta has large debt maturities of $2.67 billion for fiscal 2017, comprising $1.50 billion at the holding company and the remaining $1.17 billion at Vedanta Ltd. and other subsidiaries. Of the $2.67 billion, $1.9 billion is due in April-July 2016 and the balance of $770 million due in the remainder of the fiscal year.
Weaker earnings and the resultant rising leverage-against the backdrop of a severe fall in commodity prices globally-and rising refinancing risk led to a three-notch downgrade of Vedanta's issuer and senior unsecured ratings on 7 March 2016, said Moody's.
The dividends of $982 million will cover over a third of the group's debt maturities in fiscal 2017 or almost 52 percent of the debt due in the April--July 2016 period, and partly alleviate near term liquidity risk.
At the same time, an estimated reduction in debt by almost $982 million, along with the company's cost reduction initiatives will drive the improvement in Vedanta's consolidated leverage by March 2017.
Vedanta will meet the rest of its fiscal 2017 debt maturities through a combination of term loans, working capital loans and the stretching of working capital. Moody's expects that Vedanta will repay the intercompany receivable to provide the holding company with the liquidity it needs to meet its debt repayments. However the company still faces material refinancing risk in fiscal 2018 and fiscal 2019 in the order of $2.7 billion and $4.3 billion respectively.
While large dividends from is a credit positive, Vedanta's ratings and outlook are currently unaffected by the announcement of the special golden jubilee dividend. Moody's could consider revising Vedanta's ratings outlook to stable from negative, if global commodity prices recover, or if the company's profits rise to levels close to the previous highs through cost saving initiatives.
The department of space has said it will sign an MoU with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to provide scientific parameters for construction of airports.Under the agreement, DoS will provide data on the landscape around the airports. The DoS will also sign an MoU with postal department to provide space technology helpful in tracking the parcel movements.Minister of State in the PMO Jitendra Singh confirmed the development saying Isro will provide scientific parameters for construction of airports.The space technology will help make flight operations safer and provide optimum utilisation of land, he added.
In the aviation sector, the minister said, use of space technology is being roped in on pilot basis at Hyderabad and Port Blair airports. Based on experience of these pilot projects, the space technology will be utilised across 42 airports in future.
He said Isro will take postal service in India to a new level, thus enabling the recipient to track the parcel and also decide the delivery time.
Singh said in the last two years the DoS has started contributing towards various applications other than launching satellites.
These applications are huge and multi-faceted, he added.
The DoS has already signed an MoU with Ministry of Urban Development where the space technology will be used in projects like smart cities and housing.
The MoU signed with Ministry of Railways will help in construction of railway tracks and managing the railway crossings. Space technology will also be helpful in agriculture sector in the areas of crop damage assessment, soil health, blue revolution and irrigation etc. He said space technology is also useful in disaster management.
Isro informed the last satellite of the IRNSS series will be launched on April 28, 2016 which will complete the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System, that will provide navigation facility in and around India.
Debt-laden infrastructure company IVRCL might be blacklisted in the light of the flyover collapse in Kolkata.
Construction companies getting blacklisted for delays and other causes are not something new and IVRCL itself has faced such situations in the past. However, given the company's financial situation, lack of new orders could further delay its possible recovery.
Read more from our special coverage on "KOLKATA FLYOVER COLLAPSE, IVRCL" Kolkata flyover collapse: IVRCL says not at fault for mishap
"Getting blacklisted is something the infrastructure companies have to live with. Companies would explain their position to governments on issues that led to their exclusion from awarding new projects and get their names restored in due course of time. This is a time-taking process," a senior IVRCL official told Business Standard.
ALSO READ: IVRCL says not at fault for mishap
In 2011, IVRCL was blacklisted, along with New Delhi-based SPML by Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam, for allegedly not meeting the quality standards in drinking water and sewerage projects in Allahabad and Kanpur.
In 2009, the company was blacklisted by the then Andhra Pradesh government after two labourers were killed when a trench dug for sewage pipe caved in. The labour department had accused the company of negligence though the company cited other reasons for that incident.
Being a much bigger disaster involving an urban project, the backlash could to be much higher as the governments in other states might also take safer route in allowing the firms involved in such big accidents, say observers.
The company's revenues fell to an all-time low of Rs 448 crore in the December 2015 quarter keeping the net loss for the quarter at around Rs 300 crore at a time the firm required at least Rs 1,500 crore revenues in each quarter to be able to repay the debt and reduce its losses.
Aviation turbine fuel (ATF), or jet fuel, price was on Friday raised by 8.7 per cent but that of non-subsidised liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) was cut by Rs 4 a cylinder on global trends.
ATF price in Delhi was raised from Rs 38,785 a kilolitre , or 8.69 per cent, to Rs 42,157.01, oil companies said on Friday.
The hike comes on the back of a marginal 1.3 per cent or Rs 515.85 cut in rates on March 10. Prior to that, rates were raised by a steep 12 per cent, on March 1. The March 1 hike broke the cycle of three consecutive monthly price reductions.
Jet fuel constitutes 40 per cent of an airline's operating cost and the price increase will add to the financial burden on cash-strapped carriers.
Simultaneously, the oil firms cut prices of non-subsidised LPG by Rs 4 for a 14.2-kg cylinder. Non-subsidised LPG now costs Rs 509.50 in Delhi against Rs 513.50 previously. This is the third reduction in rates in a row. Prices were last cut by Rs 61.50 on March 1.
Subsidised LPG costs Rs 419.33 for a 14.2-kg cylinder in Delhi.
The three oil marketing companies (OMCs) Indian Oil Corporation, Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum revise jet fuel and non-subsidised LPG prices on the first day of every month, based on the average international price in the preceding month. The ATF price cut on March 10 was on account of change in taxation.
Jet fuel price is now 15 per cent lower on a year-on-year basis but the recent price revisions have led to protests from airlines. A senior official with one of the OMCs said the revision in domestic jet fuel rate was in line with similar revision in benchmark rates of Argus and Platts indices for the Gulf region. However, airlines have contested the claim citing a decline in crude oil price and strengthening of the Indian rupee in the past couple of months.
The Federation of Indian Airlines has demanded a rollback of the price hike in jet fuel and threatened to approach the Competition Commission of India against the three OMCs. The oil companies have denied the charge that they are profiteering from the price rise.
Fuel expense now constitute 30-35 per cent of airlines total expenses, down from 40-45 per cent a year earlier owing to a sharp decline in jet fuel prices for most part of last year.
Aviation consultancy CAPA has revised its FY16 profitability outlook for domestic airlines. It expects industry-wide losses to reduce to $500-550 million, down from the earlier estimated $680-750 million. This is largely expected due to better profits of low-cost airlines and reduction in Air Indias loss with low fuel costs, stable rupee, strong passenger growth being the key drivers for improved results.
Hundreds of Tata Steel workers on Friday confronted British Business Secretary Sajid Javid as he visited the countrys biggest steel plant in Port Talbot which is facing closure after the Indian steel giant decided to sell its loss-making business in the UK.
Javid, who rushed back from Australia soon after Tata Steel announced its decision, urged the company to push on with selling its UK business.
On his first visit to the crisis-hit site since its future was thrown into doubt three days ago, the beleaguered business secretary reassured the workers that "there's time to reach a deal.
We're on your side, the Pakistani-origin minister told the steelworkers who confronted him.
I think the most immediate need is for Tata to set out its offer document with the details and to make sure that all potential buyers have all the relevant information they would need. You would naturally expect them to want that early on... So, they can complete that due-diligence as quickly as possible, he was quoted as saying by The Guardian.
Javid reiterated that nationalising the Port Talbot steelworks was "not a viable long-term solution" but said he would "work with potential buyers and listen to how we can help".
He met staff at Port Talbot amid growing criticism of the government's handling of the crisis, which has put 40,000 jobs at risk.
He insisted the government had led calls in Europe for higher tariffs on Chinese steel which has been dumped in the UK and dragged down steel prices.
The business secretary has been criticised for blocking EU's attempts to raise tariffs against Chinese steel and for heading to Australia when Tata was set to decide on the future of its UK operations.
Javid also said that there was "no reason" to think Tata's UK steel business will fall into administration.
Speaking to Port Talbot workers, he said he expected there to be formal expressions of interest once the sale process officially launched.
Javid called on Tata to be responsible and allow enough time for buyers to be found.
Tata Steel, one of the flagship firm of the over $100 billion Indian conglomerate Tata Group, earlier this week disclosed plans to sell its entire UK business.
The move has threatened over thousands of jobs amid a deepening crisis in the UK's once-storied sector that the Indian conglomerate had entered nearly a decade ago with a $14-billion takeover with much fanfare.
As businesses around the world are getting digitised requiring the technology services providers to enhance their capabilities, LiquidHub, a US-headquartered company which claims itself as a 'digital integrator' is looking at India for the talents that are required to deliver such services. In an interview with Bibhu Ranjan Mishra, LiquidHubs co-founder and CEO Jonathan Brassington talks about why spending on digital would continue to be there, whether in good time or bad, and how India would play an important role for the company in that respect.
How different a 'digital integrator' is as compared to traditional IT services who offer digital services?
A Digital Integrator is a hybrid between an IT services firm and a marketing or digital agency. It overlaps different capabilities. It involves strategic thinking, digital strategy, creative design as the second circle and IT services as the third circle. Traditional IT services address some strategy and lot of technology services, but they lack the ability to do creative design. They lack the ability to do journey mapping, creative strategies and design work. They are now recognising this converging trend and are thus mobilising to address the market opportunities. All of the tier-1s (IT services companies) have bought marketing agencies. We are not only providing IT infrastructure, or ERP services or BPO, we are focused on digital integration space bringing in multi-disciplinary capabilities.
Even though 'digital' seems to be the buzzword, there are some concerns being noticed in areas like BFSI and healthcare, by some large IT service providers. What do you notice?
What we see is that, while there is consolidation in both the industries (BFSI & Healthcare), we see a lot of digital transformation that includes introducing new digital products as well as a complete re-imagining the business model leveraging digital. In both these segments, we have been working with clients to improve customer experience and customer engagement.
There are still quite a bit of economic uncertainties in many countries and regions globally. What does it mean for service providers like you?
We (the industry) went through a period of time in 2009 where everybody ran every penny of cost out of the system from back office to front office. The new frontier is about growth and profitability. Using of digital and digital business models allow organisations to expand profitability. While markets are in a rough patch right now, I don't see any problem with digital at all. Instead Digital will free up a lot of other spends and will enable competitive advantage.
What has been your growth? Are you looking at both organic and inorganic avenues?
For the last five year, we have been growing at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20 per cent. We are also fortunate to be backed by partners like Chrys Capital (In March 2014, LiquidHub raised $53 million in a funding round led by Chrys Capital). We have the access to capital to grow and accelerate our strategy. We are looking out for strategic acquisitions which have to pass through the filter of customer experience and customer engagement. However, we are not solely dependent on acquisitions to accelerate our growth.
How successful have you been in leveraging the offshore capabilities that Indian offer?
We started our India center relatively early in 2003, just as a two-year old company. We are now having our India center as an important part of our new positioning as a Digital Integrator or Next Generation Agency as we look to bring about meaningful leverage and scale. We are having our larger operations in Hyderabad as we continue to hire, build and train resources in Hyderabad and Bangalore. We reckon that over the 12-18 months, we are looking to staff several hundreds with digital capabilities.
The core story for us is we are seeing convergence of the IT services business ($980 billion sector) and the marketing agency sector which is about a couple of hundred billion dollars. With the launch of Accenture Digital, Deloitte Digital, IBM Interactive and Publicis buying Sapient Nitro, we see a convergence and emergence of a new breed of Digital Integrators.
What is your plan to grow India headcount?
Of around 2000 people we have globally, around 1000 of them are located in India between these two regions (Hyderabad and Bengaluru). We are looking at growing the number here to 2500-3000 people. We are looking at building highly specialised digital services capabilities. Over the years, we have matured our outsourcing models. Recently, LiquidHub made any entry into the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals Global Outsourcing 100 for 2016, in the 'Leaders Category'. This is a big acknowledgement of our operational excellence.
Does cost still continues to be the biggest factor to be in India or you are seeing this changing to skill and talent?
We operate in a global delivery model where teams are distributed globally. We see an uptick of graduates with an experience in design thinking, coming out of the Indian schools. We see no scarcity in talent, but we feel it's about refining talent with the skills that are needed in our areas. We are trying to find people with converging skillsets in creative design and technology competencies. Using these together, we can train and refine further.
At least 21 people were killed and several injured after part of an under-construction flyover in North Kolkata collapsed in the afternoon hours. Thousands were present in the vicinity when iron beams from the flyover fell over people and vehicles underneath.
The 2.2-km Vivekananda Road flyover, being funded under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, was being constructed by IVRCL Infrastructure but had got stuck midway after several hurdles.
K P Rao of IVRCL said, Forty-five per cent of the work was left. One girder missed and the second one fell. It is nothing but God's act. This has never happened before; we are also in shock.
After repeatedly missing deadlines, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had indicated the work would be completed early this year. Work started on the flyover in 2009 and the original deadline was August 2011. The implementing agency was Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA).
Banerjee, who was campaigning in West Medinipur, rushed to the spot. Our main focus right now is rescuing those trapped. We appeal to local people to cooperate. Please keep the roads free, she said.
The government sought army assistance. Union minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju said two teams of the National Disaster Response Force, comprising 90 personnel, were engaged in the rescue operations; three more teams of 135 personnel were on their way. Paramilitary forces on election duty also rushed there.
With weeks to go for elections in the locality, the blame game among political parties has started. While ruling Trinamool Congress leaders said the flyover construction began during the Left Front regime, former urban development minister in the communist government, Ashok Bhattacharya, said, We were not there for the past five years. It is the responsibility of the state government. State Congress President, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, said it was a clear case of corruption. Babul Supriyo, Union minister of state for urban development, said, The state administration clearly did not take any lesson even after the collapsed Ultadanga flyover.
A flank of the Ultadanga flyover had collapsed in 2013 and was reopened in 2014.
However, there were no casualties, as it had happened early morning.
It did take down a truck but the driver and his assistants were rescued.
The implementing agency was again KMDA. In contrast, the Vivekananda Road collapse occurred during budy traffic hours and in one of the most congested parts of the city.
Banerjee said, those who were guilty would not be spared. "We will take action," she promised.
Her statement was reminiscent of the AMRI Hospital fire that killed 90 people. Months after she took charge as chief minister, there was a major fire at the hospital, then co-promoted by Emami. Emami promoters R S Agarwal and R S Goenka were in custody for months. "We dont want industry that will kill people. Terrorists are terrorists," she had famously said.
The CBI court here has convicted six people, including four public servants, and two companies for causing loss to the tune of Rs 5.51 crore for a Chennai-based public sector bank.
According to CBI, A Kandhakumar, the VIII Additional City Civil and Sessions Judge for CBI Cases, Chennai convicted two individuals, four public servants and two companies in the scam case.
The allegation of the case registered by CBI, EOW, Chennai in 1998 was that Kiran Innovations headed by Ranjiv Batra availed itself of various loan facilities including PC, FBP, FBN in connivance with the officials of Indian Bank, Chennai and misutilised the same by submission of forged documents. Read more from our special coverage on "INDIAN BANK" Indian Bank gets board approval to raise Rs 1,100 cr
The court sentenced Ranjir Batra and Kiran Batra of Kiran Innovations for two years and fined them Rs 32,500 each.
In a major disappointment for India, collaborated with Pakistan to block New Delhi's proposal to ban Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar.
Following the attack on the Indian Air Force Base in Pathankot, killing seven Indian military personnel, India called on the United Nations for immediate action to list Azhar under the al-Qaida Sanctions Committee.
According to sources, 14 out of 15 countries were willing to designate Azhar, but alone decided to go against all the others in the bid.did not give any reason on their move in their written communication which just says that they want to put a hold on India's proposition.The US, UK and France had strongly supported the move and the other nations had also expressed their consent to proceed with the action on Azhar.But China, one of the five permanent members of the UN group with veto powers, collaborated with Pakistan to block the bid, sources add.China is now the only country that has stood up for Masood Azhar more than once.Ahead of the Nuclear Summit 2016, India had expressed its desire to ensure that Azhar was proscribed by the UN.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, Syed Akbaruddin, told ANI.Meanwhile, Pakistan's Joint Investigating Team (JIT) that is probing the Pathankot attack reportedly told Indian officials that it is yet to find evidence to link Azhar to the terror attack.The Indian investigators had asked the JIT for the Jaish-e-Mohammed chief's voice samples but were told that Azhar's role in the incident is still being verified.India has in the past said Azhar and his brother Abdul Asghar Rauf were directly linked to the attack, which was planned at the JeM headquarters in Bahawalpur.
A four-member police team from Kolkata has reached the office of Hyderabad-based construction company on Friday afternoon to question the company officials in the flyover accident that took at least 25 lives in Kolkata on Thursday.
Local police have accompanied the Kolkata team to the headquarters situated in Banjara Hills area. It was not immediately clear as to who they were meeting in the office.
Earlier in the day Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar said they have detained few officials of the company. The Kolkata police have already booked cases against the company under various criminal sections.
It was also not clear if Chairman and Managing Director E Sudhir Reddy, Joint Managing Director R Balram Reddy were available in the city.
Justifying action against Jawaharlal Nehru University and Hyderabad University students, Finance Minister on Friday said if slogans are openly raised for persons who bombed Mumbai or attacked Parliament then one must expect some ideological reaction from those who do not agree with this.
India is a very strong democracy. Only time we came close to losing democracy was somewhere in mid 70s for a brief period, said Jaitley at the Melbourne university.
India has shown a great resilience in coming back as a democracy, said Jaitley at the Melbourne university while answering questions from the audience.
He stressed that it was important to understand the incidents that took place in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and the Hyderabad University.
Referring to his days as a protester during the emergency, Jaitley said, "I had spent 19 months in jail and our commitment to freedom of speech is second to none."
Taking a dig at Congress, he said those who are supporting the JNU protests today were the ones who supported emergency.
Jaitley said apart from poverty, India was worst affected by terrorism.
"You have an incident in 1993 where close to 300 people are killed and thousand injured...After long judicial process, trial after trial, one is found guilty," he said, adding that, "celebration and support for that one man is organised in one campus that is Hyderabad."
Citing the 2001 Parliament attack, Jaitley said even in this case, one man was found guilty and his supporters organised celebrations in JNU campus.
Jaitley said, in the two cases, after due process of law and several appeals and acquittals two people were found guilty.
"If you openly raised slogans for those who bombed Mumbai or attacked Parliament and then said our object is to break India. Surely you expect some ideological reaction from those who don't agree with this and most of India does not agree (with it)," he said.
Asked if India would ever get rid of reservations, Jaitley said, "the historical backlog of deprivation is so large. That I don't think that even after 68 years of post independence and almost 64 years of Constitution, we have really set it apart."
He said job reservations were the first ray of hope for Scheduled Caste people.
"There are still socially and historically deprived sections which need the benefits. The tribals have still not been benefited significantly," Jaitley said, adding that India may not be able to get rid of reservations for a long time.
In his lecture, Jaitley listed the various schemes undertaken by the Narendra Modi-led government.
JNU is caught in a row over an event against hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru during which anti- slogans were allegedly raised.
Representatives of IVRCL, contractor for the Vivekananda Flyover project, a part of which collapsed in Kolkata on Thursday, killing at least 25 people, said only a thorough investigation would bring out the causes. They had, they said, followed all the standard protocols and used quality material in the construction.
A local newspaper even ran a story linking the accident to a possible bomb-blast while citing an eye witnesses account who apparently saw some glass pieces in the accident spot. We absolutely do not know how the accident has happened, as there was no negligence or compromise on the part of the company, P Sita, head of its legal department, told reporters at the company headquarters here on Friday.
Responding to questions that mostly targeted its comment on Thursday that the tragedy was an act of God, K Pandu Ranga Rao, head of its personnel and administration department, said he'd used the expression only to explain that the causes were beyond the control of anybody, including the company.
Rao said none from the police had approached him or visited the office. Earlier in the day Kolkata police commissioner Rajeev Kumar said they have detained few officials of the company. The Kolkata police have already booked cases against the company under various criminal sections. Top officials of the company, including chairman and managing director E Sudhir Reddy and joint managing director R Balram Reddy, were unavailable for comment.
Rao said the company had rushed technical and legal teams to Kolkata on Friday morning. We are in shock and it takes time to put everything in place. There were no issues with the quality, as the same material was used to build 59 decks which remain perfect, the legal head added.
Prime Minister will arrive here on Saturday on a two-day visit with an aim to reinvigorate Indias strategic partnership with oil-rich Saudi Arabia, particularly in areas of counter-terrorism, energy and trade.
Modi will be the fourth Indian Prime Minister to visit Saudi Arabia after Manmohan Singh in 2010, Indira Gandhi in 1982 and Jawaharlal Nehru in 1956. The Prime Minister will hold extensive talks with King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud on a range of bilateral issues including on ways to step up existing counter-terrorism mechanism to deal with increasing threat of terrorism and radicalisation.
Modi's visit here comes amid the current turmoil in the Middle East and the issue is likely to figure prominently in the deliberations he will have with the Saudi leadership.
Saudi Arabia is India's largest crude oil supplier meeting one-fifth of the country's oil requirement and Modi may press for greater involvement of Indian companies in upstream and downstream oil and gas sector projects in the Gulf nation which has a huge reservoir of hydrocarbons. Its economy has been hit by low oil prices. The Prime Minister will arrive here from Washington on the final leg of his three-nation tour that began on March 30 with a visit to Brussels. Saudi Arabia is India's fourth largest trading partner with bilateral trade exceeding $39 billion in 2014-15. There are over 2.96 million Indian nationals working in Saudi Arabia, the largest expatriate community in the country, and Modi is expected to raise issues concerning them during his deliberations with the Saudi leadership.
Modi will also meet top CEOs of major Saudi companies, visit the famous Masmak fort, will interact with the Indian community and visit Tata Consultancy centre which had trained over 1,000 Saudi women. Modi will also meet Indian workers of a project being implemented by L&T in Dahiat Namar in Riyadh. After talks on Sunday, both sides will sign a number of MOUs to expand ties in a range of areas. The King will also host a lunch for Modi which will be attended by key ministers and officials.
Signalling growing cooperation in the fight against terror, Saudi Arabia has deported a number of terrorists to India in the last few years including 26/11 accused Abu Jundal.
There is an existing counter-terror mechanism between India and Saudi Arabia and both sides are likely to enhance it further.
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.
Before embarking on the three-nation tour, Modi, in statement had said, "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," he had said.
The ties between India and Saudi Arabia were raised to the level of strategic partnership during then Prime Minister Singh's visit here in 2010.
Saudi Arabia is the fifth largest market in the world for Indian exports and is destination of 3.6% of India's global exports.
On the other hand, Saudi Arabia is the source of 6.3% of India's global imports. For Saudi Arabia, India is the fifth largest market for its exports, accounting for 8.87% of its global exports.
The import of crude oil by India forms a major component of bilateral trade.
Indian investigators will visit Pakistan to take forward the probe into the terror attack on the strategic IAF base in in the aftermath of Pakistan JIT's visit to India.
Dates for the visit will be be worked out later, Director General of NIA Sharad Kumar told reporters here at the end of five days of discussions with Pakistani Joint Investigation Team (JIT) which returned Friday.
"We expressed that a team of Investigation Agency (NIA) could be sent to Pakistan for a probe in that country since conspiracy has been hatched in that country. They welcomed the idea and the dates will be worked out later," he said.
Kumar said NIA presented the JIT with "concrete evidence" against the office bearers of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) who conspired in the attack and the handlers of the terrorists who facilitated and guided them.
"NIA also sought voice samples of some senior office bearers of JeM ," he said without naming anyone. However, NIA sources said that they had sought voice samples of Jaish chief Maulana Masood Azhar, his brother Abdul Rauf and Khayyam Babbar, mother of one of killed Jaish terrorist identified as Nasir Hussain as he had called her before launching the attack in .
Kumar also said that it had asked for a DNA sample of the mother of the terrorist.
The NIA briefed the JIT on investigations in the case. The terror attack executed by the Jaish on January 2, 2016 in left seven security personnel dead. Four terrorists were also killed in the gunbattle.
The Pakistan JIT, headed by Additional Inspector General of Police, Counter Terrorism Department, Muhammad Tahir Rai and also including ISI's Lt Col Tanvir Ahmed, in turn, shared with NIA the results of investigations carried out by them so far in Pakistan.
"The interaction with JIT was held in accordance with terms of reference mutually agreed on the basis of reciprocity. The Pakistan JIT assured us of their full cooperation and promised to execute the LR which has been received by them," he said.
The JIT, which arrived here on March 27, interacted on the
Pathankot case with NIA officials which included a visit to the IAF base where they were shown the scene of crime as well as the location from where the terrorists sneaked in and hid.
They also visited the spot where Ikagar Singh's vehicle was snatched, where he was murdered, and the spot from where the terrorists hijacked the SUV of SP Salwinder Singh, Kumar said, adding the route taken by the terrorists was also shown to the JIT.
"These are part of the standard legal procedure of investigation followed in both nations," he said.
On JIT's request, the NIA provided certified copies of postmortem reports, call data record, DNA reports of four terrorists and the seizure memo of articles from the scene of crime.
The Pakistan JIT was given access to 16 witnesses including Salwinder Singh, his cook, Rajesh Verma and some witnesses as per agreed terms of reference and extant legal provisions.
"The JIT informed us that they were collecting admissible evidence outside Pakistan under the provision of Section 188 of the CrPC of Pakistan, that will legally enable them to be used in prosecution," he said.
JIT was also requested to verify the various articles seized from the terrorists including arms and ammunition as mentioned in the Letters Rogatory sent earlier to Pakistan.
NIA shared with JIT the identity and the address of the 4 terrorists and requested that the JIT confirm the same.
The new (GMS) is expected to get a better response from temples after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)s announcement on Thursday to allow redeeming of gold under the scheme when the deposit is for the medium or long term.
Many banks are still waiting for their board of directors to approve GMS products, after which they will sign tripartite agreements with refineries and collection centres.
SBI is among a few banks that have started getting gold under the new scheme, as it was already running old GMS, and those getting matured under the old scheme are also deposited under the new scheme.
So far, redeeming in the form of the metal or by returning gold on maturity was allowed only for short-term deposits of one to three years. Some temples, including the richest one, Tirumala in Andhra Pradesh, have opted for this but only in a small way.
Indian temples are estimated to have a combined 3,000 to 4,000 tonnes of gold. Including unofficial shipments, India imports a little over 1,000 tonnes of gold every year.
An officer from one of the richest temples in South India welcomed the RBI move and said temples would now come forward to deposit what they had. Sanjiv S Patil, executive officer at Mumbais Siddhivinayak Temple, agreed and said, This was required; our committee also decided earlier that if they are not providing gold to gold, then it is very difficult. The temple, he said, would be asking banks, in a day or two, to send proposals in this regard
Till now, for medium and long-term deposits under GMS, banks were offering to return a cash equivalent at the time of maturity. To replace their gold, temples will have to buy from the market but from the point of view of income tax laws, that is commercial activity and their exemption (under Section 80G of the I-T Act) could be revoked.
This was a major hitch and has gone now, explained an official from one of the big temples.
If the regulation is giving gold to gold for medium and long- term deposits, then the temple would prefer that; it yields better returns, said Patil.
Till now, the major issues which kept temples from this scheme in a large way included emotional attachment to the gold, worry on taxation and whether temples would lose the 80G status. Except the emotional issue, the other ones seem to have been addressed.
Currently, 2.25 per cent is the annual interest for medium-term and 2.5 per cent for long-term deposits. The short-term deal for Tirumala is 1.75 per cent, compared to the 0.75-1 per cent from many banks.
Only a little over three tonnes of gold has been deposited under the Scheme since November 5, last year when it was launched. Sources in refineries and hallmarking centres which are licensed for GMS said even this amount hadnt come to them. It might have gone to the Government of India mint, said a refinery official.
So far, 17 hallmarking centres have been licensed to act as collecting and purity testing centres (CPTCs) under the scheme and have signed agreements with banks. Banks have to sign tripartite agreement with refineries and CPTCs under the scheme.
After the RBI relaxation, the ball is in the banks court. Banks are waiting for their board meetings to approve GMS products, said a sector official.
Customers, CPTCs and refineries are ready for GMS. The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories are very slow in licensing new refineries. This also affects the offtake of GMS, said James Jose, secretary, Association of Gold Refineries and Mints.
In all, 47 CPTCs are said to have got a licence from BIS, of which 17 have signed agreements with banks. The rest havent been able to as many banks are awaiting their boards approval for GMS products.
Prime Minister on Friday met his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau and discussed bilateral ties, their first meeting after the latter swept to power last year.
Modi and Trudeau met here on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit.
Engagements on Day 2 begin with a bilateral with PM Justin Trudeau, External Affairs Ministry Spokesman Vikas Swarup tweeted.
"Canadianconnect...todays meetings commence with an interaction with Canada's PM Justin Trudeau. Both PMs discuss India-Canada relations," a PMO tweet said.
Last year, Prime Minister Modi had visited Canada when he held extensive talks with the then Canadian Premier Stephen Harper.
Canada had agreed to supply 3,000 metric tonnes of uranium to energy-hungry India under a $254 million five-year deal to power Indian reactors.
The agreement for uranium supply, which came two years after protracted negotiations following the 2013 civil nuclear deal between India and Canada, was signed after comprehensive talks Modi had with Harper in April last year. 44-year-old Trudeau carries one of the most famous names in Canadian political history. His late father was prime minister for the better part of 16 years, between 1968 and 1984. Trudeau assumed office in November last year and surprised one and all by including four Sikh-Canadians in his Cabinet.
Prime Minister Narendra Modis is to begin a big rural outreach programme, 'Gram Uday se Bharat Uday' (roughly, From Village Uplift to Country's Uplift) from April 14, to culminate on April 24. It is officially described as both commemorating the birth anniversary of BR Ambedkar (born on April 14) and also to mark 'National Panchayati Raj' day (declared to be April 24).
The campaign, to be run jointly by the Union ministries of rural development and panchayati raj, agriculture, social justice, labour and information & broadcasting, along with states. On the final day, April 24, Modi will address villagers near Jamshedpur. However, the poll-bound states of West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, as also Puducherry, will be excluded.
On the first three days of the campaign, the government says discussions will be held on social harmony and justice across all villages. The next four days will have discussions and programmes on how to strengthen farmers by increasing their incomes. In this phase, scientists and government officials will go to villages and discuss in this regard with farmers. The Centre has asked officials to note suggestions by farmers on design of policies.
During the last four days, there will be discussion on how the panchayati raj system can be strengthened. During these days, gram panchayats will discuss their one-year or five-year development programmes, minister of state for information and broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore told reporters. In the agriculture ministry , an additional secretary-rank officer will coordinate with other ministries and departments. Participants in the 250,000-odd gram panchayats are to be informed about the various government schemes on agriculture and rural development.
And, officials from the 600-odd Krishi Vigyan Kendras and Agricultural Technology Management Agencies are to interact with farmers through the panchayats to spread information. Print, television and radio would be used extensively in this regard.
As the country braces for a long and drier than usual summer season, water levels in 91 major reservoirs across the country do not look promising. There could be a serious drawdown if the heat wave persists beyond June.
From Central Water Commission (CWC) data as of Thursday, the level in the reservoirs is a combined 25 per cent of their full capacity.
More than the national average, the regional picture is of greater concern. A severe drinking water, power and irrigation crisis looms in parts of Andhra, Telangana, Karnataka and Maharashtra. Levels in the reservoirs of southern and western India are 17 per cent and 21 per cent, respectively, of their full capacity.
Worryingly, this is also part of the area which might see a 0.5-1 degrees Celsius above normal temperature in April-June, according to the India Meteorological Department forecast of Thursday.
It said maximum temperatures in the core heat wave zone that included the meteorological sub-divisions of Marathwada, Vidharbha, Madhya Maharashtra, coastal Andhra and Telangana was expected to stay above normal. This could lead to quicker than expected drying of water in regional reservoirs.
The CWC data showed the water level in the Yeldagri and Manikdohi dams of Maharashtra were around four and eight per cent, respectively, of their full levels. Yeldagri is the second largest dam in the state's Marathwada. The Girna (Nashik), Ujjani (Solapur) and Paithan reservoirs have already gone dry. The Nagarjunasagar reservoir in Andhra is dry. Levels in the Almatti, Malaprabha and Tungabhadra reservoirs are less than 10 per cent of their full capacity.
"The winter rainfall was less and if the summer turns out to be drier than usual, it can cause severe shortage of water in vulnerable areas as in the next three months demand will peak," Bharat Sharma, coordinator at International Water Management Institute India Programme told Business Standard.
He said there is a serious mismatch between demand and supply of water in Vidharbha, Marathwada, Odisha, Telangana, Andhra as these areas do not have adequate canal irrigation, while the ground water is also falling.
"The production of green fodder and summer vegetables, on which the livelihood of millions of small farmers depend, could also get impacted and also lead to conflicts in highly populated areas with low piped water supply," Sharma said.
IMDs forecast also said the warmer than normal temperatures might prevail over all the 36 sub-divisions of the country during the April-June period, with temperatures in Northwest India expected to be at least one degree above normal.
It plans to issue regular heat wave alerts and other warnings, valid for the next 15 days.
Bank Unions have sought for Parliamentary probe into the Vijay Mallya episode. The Bank Union has called for a one day strike on May 25, and one of the demands is probe against Mallya.
C H Venkatachalam, general secretary, All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) said that the demands include, make Banking a fundamental right, strengthen public sector to strengthen national economy, do not privatise public sector banks, give adequate capital to PSBs, take stringent measures to recover bad loans in Banks, declare willful default of bank loan as criminal offence, publish the list of bank loan defaulters, parliamentary probe into Mallya episode and punish those responsible, fix accountability for bad loans and punish the guilty and do not privatise IDBI Bank.
He added, on the one hand, in the name of clean-up of balance sheet, as per RBI guidelines, more and more provisions are being made and many have already shown huge losses. Further provisions are going to be made and further losses will be made to show the PSBs in poor light.
While the capital of the have become inadequate, the Government refuses to fully capitalise the Banks. It may be noted, in the current year budget Rs 25,000 crore was provided for capitalising Public Sector Bank (PSBs).
"This is obviously intended to force the Banks to resort to more and more capital from the private sector. The hidden agenda is privatisation of the Banks," alleged Venkatachalam.
He added, the topmost priority issue today is increase in bad loans in the Banks which is threatening to overtake the entire banking sector.
The Gross NPAs in the PSBs has gone upto Rs 3,61,000 crore as on December 31, 2015 and there are 7686 willful defaulters who owe Rs 66,190 crore to the Banks.
Provisions made for bad loans in PSBs for 2013-14 was Rs 92,055 crore and this has gone upto Rs 1,12,998 crore for 2014-15.
"Kingfisher Mallya is only a tip of the iceberg and there are many others sharks that are that cheating the banks and eating the public money.
But no action is being taken. In the Budget, Government has announced privatisation of IDBI Bank. Thus the attacks are increasing every day," alleged Venkatachalam.
In this background, AIBEA's Office have met recently and decided to conduct campaigns. The programme will start from April 15, followed by Dharna before the Parliament and on May 11 morcha, rallies and dharnas are planned across the country. On May 25, the Union has called for nation wide strike.
German Governments Development Bank KfW will provide a loan assistance of EUR 500 million (about Rs.3,750 cr) for the modern and sustainable metro system for Nagpur city being executed by Nagpur Metro Rail Corporation Limited (NMRCL). An agreement in this regard was signed today in New Delhi by the Department of Economic Affairs and KfW. Shri S.Selvaraj, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs and Shri Roland Siller, Director General of KfW. .
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The loan period is 20 years with a moratorium of five years and disbursal will be based on the progress of the project over three years. .
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Costing Rs.8,680 cr (EUR 1,240 million), Nagpur Metro is the first metro to be financed under the Indo German partnership for clean, socially inclusive and climate friendly mobility for people in cities. .
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German Ambassador Dr.Martin Ney, OSD (Urban Transport) in the Ministry of Urban Development Shri Mukund Sinha, Managing Director of Nagpur Metro Shri Brijesh Dixit and others were present on the occasion of signing of agreement. .
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Sanctioned by the Government of India in August 2014, Nagpur Metro Project envisages two corridors i.e 19.70 km North-South section from Automotive Square to Khapri and 18.60 km long line between Prajapati Nagar and Lokmanya Nagar. Physical works commenced in May, 2015 and the whole Metro would be operational by March, 2019. .
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Union Minister of Finance Shri Arun Jaitley arrived today morning in Melbourne with the high powered finance and business delegation. He had a busy day in the city which started with a one-on-one meeting with Honble Peter Costello AC, former Treasurer and Chairman of Future Fund Australia followed by a Roundtable meeting Invest in India, which was co-chaired by Shri Jaitley and Ms. Kelly O Dwyer, Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Small Businesses from the Australian side. The meeting was attended by the Sovereign Fund and top Super Funds of Australia such as Australia Post Super Scheme, Construction & Building Industry Super, Emergency Services & State Super, Energy Industries Superannuation Scheme etc. The Indian business delegation was headed by Shri Harshavardhan Neotia, President of FICCI. Over 25 Funds and Australian investment agencies participated in the Roundtable. .
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In his keynote address Shri Jaitley covered the broad investments spectrum of India and also focused on how and why India is definitely an attractive destination to put in money. He gave specific sector-wise details of investment friendly reforms of the Government of India. The participation was engaging and interesting followed by working lunch. .
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A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was also signed between FICCI and Australia-India Business Council. .
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The second session of Roundtable was in-depth project presentations by IL & FS, NHAI, Adani and Great Pacific Capital. .
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The Finance Minster, Shri Jaitley had one-on-one meeting with Honble Josh Frydenberg MP, Minister for Resources, Energy and Northern Australia at the Treasury in the afternoon. They had useful bilateral discussion. Then Minister Jaitley visited the University of Melbourne where he participated in a Townhall style panel discussion with Prof. Craig Jeffrey, Director Australia-India Institute, on Indian economy, inclusive growth and democratic framework of India. This event was attended by more than 500 people including senior most members of academia, former Premier of Victoria, members of main stream media, businessmen and members of Indian community.On replying to general queries he said that there is no chance of reservation being discontinued in near future.He further said that Government is committed to encourage entrepreneurship and accordingly Mudra programme was launched last year to provide credit at reasonable rate to micro, small &medium entrepreneurs. .
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In the evening, the Finance Minister and his delegation was hosted by Honble Tim Pallas, Victorian Treasurer and Minister Phil Dalidakis, Minister of Trade, Small Businesses and Renovation in the Government of Victoria. .
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Last date to submit entry for Yog Geet/Yoga Song Contest extended to 10th April, 2016 .
The Ministry of AYUSH is celebrating International Yoga Day since last year to promote awareness of Yoga at National and International Level. .
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The International Day of Yoga celebration draws a huge public response across the globe. The Ministry has also decided to organize 2nd International Day of Yoga during 2016. .
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In this regard it has been decided to conduct an open contest for selection of a Yog Geet/Yoga Song in Hindi language from individual, group or organization to send maximum two entries (Yog Geet/ Yoga Song) of 3 to 5 minutes duration with 5MB space audio clip. The best entry would be rewarded a total prize of Rs. 5.00 Lakh. .
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The last date of submission of entry for Yog Geet/Yoga Song has been extended from 31st March, 2016 to 10th April, 2016. .
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The contestant can send their entries by 5:00 pm on 10th April, 2016 through inf-moayush@gov.in .
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For more information, kindly visit the website of M/o AYUSH:-www.indiamedicine.nic.in.
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Lucknow Metro will get a loan assistance of 450 million Euros (Rs.3,502 cr) from European Investment Bank (EIB) for its Phase-1A project. An agreement in this regard was signed in Brussels on March 30,2016 in the presence of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi during his visit to the Belgium capital. The loan amount will be released in two tranches of 200 million Euros and 250 million Euros. .
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The loan agreement was signed by the Indian Ambassador to Belgium Shri Manjiv Singh Puri and Vice-President of European Investment Bank Shri Jonathan Taylor. .
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The 22.878 km long Lucknow Metro Phase-1A project was approved by the Government of India in December, 2015 at a cost of Rs.6,928 cr on 50 : 50 equity funding by the central and state governments. .
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a rare honour for a transport Squadron.
Mighty Jets, one of the oldest Transport Squadron of Indian Air Force with its motto of Ishtam Yatnen Sadyet" that translates into Achieve Goals through Perseverance", celebrates its 55th Anniversary on 31 Mar 2016. It was raised in Chandigarh with AN-12 aircraft in 31 Mar 1961 under command of then Wing Commander TN Ghadiok in support of Indian Armed Forces in J&K region. It actively took part in 1962, 1965 and 1971 wars. During 1971 war, the unit was bestowed Battle Honours for Offensive Operations for its successful bombing missions against the enemy,The Squadron was awarded the presidents Standard in March 2011. .
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In April 1985 re-equipped with IL-76 Gajraj aircraft and rechristened Mighty Jets, it relocated to Agra (April 1985) and to Nagpur (March 2003), before finally relocating back to Chandigarh in August 2011. All these years it continued to fly in support of J&K forces as well the civilian population- being a harbinger of peace and bringing progress to the state. The only IL-76 Squadron in the IAF, it has logged more than one lakh flight hours on the four engined IL-76 aircraft. .
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Being equipped with heavy lift aircraft, the squadron has a long list of firsts to its credit. A T-72 tank can be directly driven into the IL-76 for an airlift, or three 6.5 ton trucks, and a host of heavy and outsized vehicles and equipment can be carried over long distances.
The notable firsts and credits include: The only Indian unit to circumnavigate the world. Fly over North Pole, Land in car Nicobar on a damaged runway after 2004 Tsunami. The first woman multi engine jet pilot of the IAF (then Sqn Ldr Veena Saharan). .
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Mighty Jets have been the Messiah of relief during various natural calamities within the country (Bihar-Purina, Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana, J&K-Srinagar & Leh, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Andaman & Nicobar, UP etc.) and abroad (relief to USA- Katrina Hurricane, Iran, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Yemen, Nepal, Male, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, Oman etc). Its operations have so far spanned Asia, Europe, North America and Africa. .
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Being a legacy fleet, IL-76 maintenance poses enormous challenges, however through professionalism and dedication of its personnel, the squadron has risen to the occasion meeting all its assigned tasks. It has earned One MVC, Four VRCs, One YSM, Two BAR to VMs, Thirty nine VMs, Three VSMs and Five M in Ds. .
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Presently, the unit is commanded by Group Captain Sunil Katoch commemorate 55 years of its glorious service to the nation. The celebrations are being attended by many serving and retired officers of the Squadron. The Commodore Commandant of the unit Air Marshal SRK Nair AVSM VM, AOC-in-C, Training Command will preside over these events. .
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PM at dinner hosted by US President: State actors working with nuclear traffickers and terrorists present the greatest risk
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today made an intervention during the dinner hosted by US President Barack Obama, on the theme of nuclear security threat perceptions. .
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Appreciating the US President for putting the spotlight on nuclear security, the Prime Minister said he had, by doing so, done great service to global security. .
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Referring to the recent terror attacks in Brussels, the Prime Minister said that Brussels shows us how real and immediate is the threat to nuclear security from terrorism. Shri Narendra Modi called for focus on three contemporary features of terrorism: First, todays terrorism uses extreme violence as theatre. .
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Second, we are no longer looking for a man in a cave, but we are hunting for a terrorist in a city with a computer or a smartphone. Third, state actors working with nuclear traffickers and terrorists present the greatest risk. .
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Noting that terror has evolved and terrorists are using 21st century technology, the Prime Minister observed that our responses are rooted in the past. He said terrorism is globally networked, but we still act only nationally to counter this threat. He added that the reach and supply chains of terrorism are global, but genuine cooperation between nation states is not. .
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The Prime Minister said that without prevention and prosecution of acts of terrorism, there is no deterrence against nuclear terrorism. He urged everyone to drop the notion that terrorism is someone elses problem and that his" terrorist is not my" terrorist. .
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The Prime Minister said nuclear security must remain an abiding national priority, and all States must completely abide by their international obligations. .
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PM meets Canadian, UK PMs on the sidelines of NSS on April 01, 2016
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The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today (April 01, 2016) met the Prime Minister of Canada, Mr. Justin Trudeau, on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington DC. .
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The Prime Minister said new energy and dynamism has been imparted to relations between the two countries, since Mr. Trudeau assumed office. He spoke of immense possibilities for further expanding the relationship in the economic sphere. He recalled his meeting with the heads of Canadian pension funds during his visit to Canada last year, and observed that some of these funds are now Investing in India. .
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The Canadian Prime Minister congratulated Prime Minister Modi for his intervention during the NSS dinner yesterday, and said Canada and India can be leaders in efforts towards non-proliferation. .
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Prime Minister Modi also spoke of India's thrust towards renewable energy. He mentioned smart cities, urban infrastructure and skill development as areas where Canada could further deepen its engagement with India. He also mentioned India's progressive policy in the hydrocarbon sector, and sought Canadian cooperation in the areas of coal gasification and underground mining of coal. .
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Prime Minister Trudeau accepted Prime Minister Modi's invitation to visit India. .
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Prime Minister Modi met the Prime Minister of United Kingdom, Mr. David Cameron. Both leaders recalled Shri Narendra Modi's visit to the UK last year, and Prime Minister Modi said that ties between the two countries had become richer and deeper. Defence cooperation came up for discussion and Prime Minister Modi mentioned that the UK could be a partner in the Make in India initiative, especially in the defence sector. Visa issues also came up for discussion. .
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The Government of India has taken a rare step for the first time to allow the Ministry of Minority Affairs to use the scholarship funds earmarked for 2015-16 in the next financial year through an alternative mechanism. This step has been taken by the Government to ensure the disbursal of scholarships due in 2015-16 to Minority students all over the country acknowledging the technical difficulties faced by the Minority students on the new National Scholarship Portal. .
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Efforts were on to address the challenges being faced to shift payment of scholarships to DBT mode. Regular meetings at the highest levels in the Government of India and with the State Governments helped to overcome most of the challenges. From February onwards the scholarship disbursement picked up speed and till now about 39 lakh minority students have already received scholarships in their bank accounts under Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode. It may be mentioned here that the Ministry of Minority Affairs distributes scholarship to over 80 lakh students every year. .
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The Ministry of Minority Affairs has earlier taken a landmark decision that all the scholarships should be transferred directly to the students bank account through the National Scholarship Portal. This is to address the problems faced by the students in receiving the full scholarship timely due to the involvement of many channels in the process of disbursement. It will also remove the leakages and malpractices by which some students received scholarship from multiple sources while others were denied the benefit. This being the first attempt for such a massive online verification and transfer of funds directly to the bank accounts of the students, some technical and administrative challenges were faced by the Government which included incomplete information in the forms, anomalies in the information provided in the application forms and a few software glitches. .
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Further, the Ministry has also released an additional fund of Rs. 5.75 crore to the University Grant Commission for the Maulana Azad National Fellowship to meet the requirement of pending fellowships of Minority students during 2015-16. Altogether the Ministry has released Rs.55.43 Crore for the Fellowship Scheme during 2015-16. .
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The Minister of State for Home Affairs Shri Kiren Rijiju met a group of 14 girl students from West Siang District of Arunachal Pradesh, who are on excursion tour organized by Indo Tibetan Border Police, here today. .
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During the meeting, the children shared the experience of their visit to different historical places and mentioned that they could see Indias unity in diversity. .
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While interacting with the children, Shri Kiren Rijiju said that he is glad to meet the students and shared experience of his recent visit to Arunachal Pradesh. He said that the excursion tour is a good learning experience for the students and it will remain as a memorable one. The Minister said that the students should share their tour experience with family and friends, when they return. .
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Shri Kiren Rijiju said that this is the age of learning and education is a powerful tool which will help them go high in the future. He advised the students to inculcate discipline and strive to work for the country. He also advised them to study well and wished them a safe return to Arunachal Pradesh after the tour. .
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Shri Kiren Rijiju appreciated ITBP for organising such tours for the students from the remote regions of the country and also commended the Forces welfare activities, apart from protecting border areas. .
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Shri Rajiv Gauba, IAS (Jharkhand cadre-1982 batch) today took over as Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of Urban Development. .
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Shri Gauba has wide-ranging experience in senior positions at policy making and programme implementation in the Central and State Governments and in international organisations. Hailing from Punjab, the 1959 born Shri Gauba is a physics graduate from Patna University. .
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He was Chief Secretary, Jharkhand for 15 months before joining the central government today. Earlier, Shri Gauba served in the central government in the Ministries of Home, Defence, Finance, Environment and Forests and Department of Electronics and Information Technology in senior positions. .
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Shri Gauba also served in the International Monetary Fund representing the Country for four years on the Board of IMF. .
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He was Collector and District Magistrate for 7 years in the districts of Gaya, Nalanda and Muzaffarpur. .
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In a meeting with senior officials of the Ministry of Urban Development soon after assuming charge this morning, Shri Rajiv Gauba said; With the launch of new urban development initiatives like the Smart City Mission, Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation, Heritage City Development Mission and Swachh Bharat Mission, the focus of the Ministry now shifts to effective and timely implementation of the schemes by the States and Urban Local Bodies through effective coordination with them. The Government is attaching priority for urban agenda and best efforts need to be made for successful implementation of the new initiatives." .
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Shri Gauba joined the Ministry of Urban Development on superannuation of Shri Madhusudhan Prasad on March 31,2016. .
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Monacos government says it is helping British authorities investigate a vast corruption scandal implicating an unspecified number of oil companies, the tiny European principality said in a statement.
The statement said several executives of the Monaco-based company UNAOIL had been questioned over the past few days and that their homes and headquarters had been searched following an urgent request from Britains Serious Fraud Office.
These searches and interviews took place in the presence of British officials as part of a vast corruption scandal which implicates several foreign companies active in the oil sector, the statement said. Evidence will be used by British officials as part of their investigations.
Few further details were made available and Monacos government said going into specifics might compromise the investigation. A UNAOIL spokeswoman said the company has no comment at this time. The Serious Fraud Office also declined comment.
UNAOIL was at the centre of a multi-part expose published Wednesday by the Huffington Post and Australias Fairfax Media, which accuses the business of having systematically corrupted the global oil industry by delivering millions in bribes on behalf of well-known multinationals to secure contracts.
The company has denied the allegations. Asked by both publications whether UNAOIL paid bribes, the companys Chief Executive Ata Ahsani was quoted as saying: The answer is absolutely no.
The publications alleged that a slew of global companies were linked to the scandal, including the offshore arm of Australian contract miner Leighton Holdings. On Friday, the Australian Federal Police confirmed they were investigating allegations that Leighton employees were involved in the payment of bribes during two oil projects in Iraq in 2010 and 2011.
The police agency declined to comment further, citing the ongoing investigation.
Leighton changed its name to CIMIC last year. Fiona Tyndall, a spokeswoman for CIMIC, said Friday that the company had no comment.
The publications said they drew on information gleaned from hundreds of thousands of internal emails between 2002 and 2012 for their six-month investigation.
Fairfax, which described the trove as the biggest leak of confidential files in the history of the oil industry, said the files held evidence of bribes paid to Middle Eastern oil chiefs and other officials, sometimes with the knowledge and occasionally with the active participation of the multinationals involved.
Geometric has dipped 4% to Rs 197, falling nearly 6% from its intra-day high on the BSE, ahead of board meeting today to discuss various strategic and restructuring options. The stock hit a record high of Rs 209 on the BSE in early morning trade.
A meeting of the board of directors of the company will be held on April 01, 2016 after 5 p.m. to discuss various strategic and restructuring options, Geometric said in a statement.
According to Business Standard reports, India's fourth largest IT services company, HCL Technologies, has agreed to acquire Mumbai-headquartered engineering solutions company Geometric in a share swap deal that values it at $150-200 million.
At 09:41 AM, shares of Geometric were trading 2% lower at Rs 201 on the BSE. A combined 1.07 million shares changed hands on the counter on the BSE and NSE.
HCL Technologies was trading flat at Rs 816 on the BSE with a combined 536,835 shares changing hands on the counter on both the exchanges.
Even as the implementation of digital addressable system (DAS) has been stayed in several states, government today said it will stick to its plan of rolling out digitisation in Phase-III and IV .
"We are totally committed to digitisation. When we stopped to give the third extension after December 31, some of the cable associations have obtained stay orders from High Court. We have gone to the Supreme Court to plug all these litigations," Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Secretary Sunil Arora said at the 'FICCI Frames' event here.
"We will absolutely stick by the timetable given to us. If someone has put a stay order, we cannot do anything about it," he added.
The ministry had extended the deadline to implement digitisation in the Phase-III to December 31, 2015, from December 2014.
At present, the implementation has been stayed for varying periods across the Phase-III of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Orissa, Sikkim and Telangana, apart from Tamil Nadu where digitally addressable system implementation has been challenged since its Phase-I rollout.
Phase-III is the largest addressable market with an original estimated analog subscriber base of nearly 39 million households.
As per the fifth updated list of urban areas to be covered under Phase-III, issued by the ministry, nearly 14.6 million households are expected to be impacted due to the stay order, accounting for nearly 44 per cent of the addressable households in these markets.
According to an Icra report, in view of the low household concentration in certain areas, the ministry remapped such areas from Phase-III to Phase-IV.
Consequently, nearly 4.9 million households have further been removed from Phase-III, bringing down the total addressable population from 38.8 million households to 33.2 million, with the maximum impact in West Bengal, Kerala, Goa and Jharkhand.
Arora added the ministry will be approaching the Cabinet with a new set of proposals for the next batch of the FM radio phase III auctions.
"We did the FM auction last year. We are trying to learn from those learnings in terms of lock-in period, reserve price and soon we should be going to the Cabinet with our set of new proposals based on those learnings for the next phase (batch) of FM radio auctions," he said.
A total of 839 frequencies are proposed to be auctioned in batches during phase III.
The first batch of phase III auctions began on July 27 and ended on September 16, with 135 frequencies, of which 97 frequencies were won on a provisional basis.
Tobacco products will now carry 85 percent pictorial warnings as a Central notification comes into effect today all over the country.
The Health Ministry's notification of September 24, 2015, for implementation of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Amendment Rules, 2014, comes into force from today onwards. These prescribe larger pictorial warnings on tobacco products.
Earlier, the ministry had made a commitment to the Rajasthan High Court on March 28 this year that all tobacco products manufactured from April1onwards will carry larger pictorial health warnings.
The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) activists on Friday staged a protest outside the Pre-University Education (DPUE) building here over the cancellation of chemistry second-year re-examination due to the question paper leak.
The agitators were seen carrying placards and banners, and raised slogans denouncing the PU department. The police also detained several agitators to prevent any untoward incident from occurring.
"We are angry at this. We prepare so hard for the exams," said one of the protestors.
The Karnataka Government had yesterday suspended 40 officers and other staff in the Pre-University Department after the Chemistry paper of Class XII was leaked for the second time in 10 days.
According to reports, the re-examination will now be held on April 12 as the second leak led to protests by angry parents and teachers in Bengaluru and elsewhere in the state.
carrier Air India has suspended one of its senior commanders after he refused to operate the inaugural flight on Bhopal-Mumbai route at the last minute.
Following the incident, CMD of Air India, Ashwani Lohani said that they do not tolerate such indiscipline.
The airline had recently announced the roll out of several new flights and routes as part of the summer schedule, which commenced from last Sunday, with Mumbai-Bhopal being one among those.
New Delhi, April 1 (ANI): Bollywood actress Huma Qureshi, who was recently seen at the Femina's Style Diva, believes body shaming and criticising a person for his/her body type is not cool.
The 29-year-old actress told ANI, "There are a lot of people out there who are just bullies. They constantly keep telling you that you are too fat, too thin, your teeth are not fine, you can't speak English really well, and you are too short etc."
"Bullies will be bullies and I think body shaming is something that people all over the world are condoning and condemning because it's not cool. We need to set better role models for young women," she added.
Huma, who was styled by Astha Sharma for the event, has shed a lot of kilos, but the actress claim she just wishes to showcase the best of her personality.
She said, "I would like to say this for the record that I am not trying to lose weight or gain weight. I am just trying to be the best version of myself and that's really important.
China has said that Japan should be more transparent on its military budget and reveal its real intentions.
Chinese defense ministry spokesperson Yang Yujun, who was speaking at a monthly press conference yesterday, said Japan has been increasing its defense spending for years, sparking concern among its neighbours and the international community, reports Xinhua.
Japan, in its 2016 fiscal year, has approved a record-high 5.05 trillion yen (about $41.90 billion) military budget, 1.5 percent increase from the last year.
This is Japan's fourth consecutive year in increasing defense budget.
Yang also blasted Japan's criticism on China's normal military spending growth.
Last month, China announced its lowest defense budget increase in six years.
Apart from helping safeguard national sovereignty and security, Yang pointed out that the budget covered building up of national defense.
The Congress Party on Friday dubbed China's move to block India's proposal to ban Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Maulana Masood Azhar as 'most unfortunate', saying that nations encouraging terrorism with ulterior motives are heading towards a major problem.
"Chinas stand is hostile towards India. Groups like JeM are against India today, they'll be against China tomorrow. Countries which encourage terrorism with some ulterior motive will have to face this tomorrow. China should realise that supporting JeM chief, even indirectly, is not in the interest of China. It is most unfortunate," Congress leader P.C. Chacko told ANI.
In a major disappointment for India, China collaborated with Pakistan to block New Delhi's proposal to ban Masood Azhar.
Following the attack on the Indian Air Force Base in Pathankot killing seven Indian military personnel, India called on the United Nations for immediate action to list Azhar under the al-Qaida Sanctions Committee.
According to sources, 14 out of 15 countries were willing to designate Azhar but China alone decided to go against all the others in the bid.
The US, UK and France had strongly supported the move and the other nations had also expressed their consent to proceed with the action on Azhar.
But China, one of the five permanent members of the UN group with veto powers, collaborated with Pakistan to block the bid, sources add.
China is now the only country that has stood up for Masood Azhar more than once.
Expressing disappointment over China's move to block India's proposal to ban the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and its chief, Maulana Masood Azhar, defence expert Qamar Agha on Friday said that such a move exposes Beijing's 'duality' as they themselves are victims of 'militancy'.
Agha further described Beijing's stand on JeM as 'surprising' and expressed the hope that China would correct its path and start cooperating with India on the issue of terrorism.
"China is our neighbour, we want to have closer ties with them, but yet they are preventing this. JeM is an organisation which is involved in several militant attempts in India. We were hoping that China would come forward. China themselves are victims of militancy," he told ANI.
"This is the duality of their stand, they are suffering from militancy, which is coming from Pakistan. They want those groups which operate in their territory to be contained, while they do not care about those operating against India," he added.
In a major disappointment for India, China collaborated with Pakistan to block New Delhi's proposal to ban Masood Azhar.
Following the attack on the Indian Air Force Base in Pathankot killing seven Indian military personnel, India called on the United Nations for immediate action to list Azhar under the al-Qaida Sanctions Committee.
According to sources, 14 out of 15 countries were willing to designate Azhar but China alone decided to go against all the others in the bid.
The US, UK and France had strongly supported the move and the other nations had also expressed their consent to proceed with the action on Azhar.
But China, one of the five permanent members of the UN group with veto powers, collaborated with Pakistan to block the bid, sources add.
China is now the only country that has stood up for Masood Azhar more than once.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, after meeting US President Barack Obama on the sidelines of a nuclear summit, has said that nations must stand united against terrorism, but asserted that they would continue to block India's proposal to ban Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar.
Speaking to reporters at a joint media appearance with his US counterpart Barack Obama, Xi said the US and China have growing responsibilities for promoting peace and stability in the .
In a major disappointment for India, China collaborated with Pakistan to block New Delhi's proposal to ban Masood Azhar.
Following the attack on the Indian Air Force Base in Pathankot killing seven Indian military personnel, India called on the United Nations for immediate action to list Azhar under the al-Qaida Sanctions Committee.
According to sources, 14 out of 15 countries were willing to designate Azhar but China alone decided to go against all the others in the bid.
The US, UK and France had strongly supported the move and the other nations had also expressed their consent to proceed with the action on Azhar.
But China, one of the five permanent members of the UN group with veto powers, collaborated with Pakistan to block the bid, sources add.
China is now the only country that has stood up for Masood Azhar more than once.
After attending her pal's wedding in Sri Lanka, Deepika Padukone is back in Toronto to shoot for her Hollywood debut 'XXX
Dressed in an all black outfit with tied hair and oversized sunglasses, the 30-year-old actress was spotted clicking selfie with her fans at the Toronto airport.
The pictures are flowing all over the social media.
Deepika plays the character of huntress Serena Unger in the flick that will hit the theatres on January 20.
Former Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) chief A S Dulat on Friday said Pakistan's claim of having arrested an Indian intelligence operative from Balochistan is implausible and fictitious.
Dulat was speaking about the capture and interrogation of former Indian Navy officer Kulbhushan Yadav by Pakistan
Daulat told ANI that it is impossible for a R&AW agent to float around in Quetta so casually.
Read more from our special coverage on "RAW, PAKISTAN, INDIA"
"This gentlemen, according to our information and our narrative, quit the navy a couple of years back and is doing some business in Iran. How he landed in Pakistan only the Pakistanis would know. But it is unbelievable that a R&AW spy will be floating around in Balochistan where he was caught," Dulat said.
"In all the years I have known R&AW, I have never known of an officer going to Pakistan. The story is not plausible. So there is difference between the two narratives. What the real story is may never get known. Pakistan said that the man confessed. So it's like if I have anybody in my custody I can make him confess to anything because his life is under threat. Such type of confession means nothing," he added.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy on Friday asserted that China's move to block India's proposal to ban Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Maulana Masood Azhar shows their frustration.
He said that such a move by China was on expected lines, adding that efforts should be made to ensure that conditions should not deteriorate in the region.
"I have been telling the governments since many days that China is frustrated with us. We should know the reason as to why they are frustrated," Swamy told ANI.
"I have known China and I feel that friendship is possible with them. Whatever is happening is expected. Therefore efforts should be made so that conditions should not deteriorate," he added.
In a major disappointment for India, China collaborated with Pakistan to block New Delhi's proposal to ban Masood Azhar.
Following the attack on the Indian Air Force Base in Pathankot killing seven Indian military personnel, India has called on the United Nations for immediate action to list Azhar under the al-Qaida Sanctions Committee.
According to sources, 14 out of 15 countries were willing to designate Azhar but China alone decided to go against all the others in the bid.
The US, UK and France had strongly supported the move and the other nations had also expressed their consent to proceed with the action on Azhar.
But China, one of the five permanent members of the UN group with veto powers, collaborated with Pakistan to block the bid, sources add.
China is now the only country that has stood up for Masood Azhar more than once.
After Hrithik Roshan named Kangana Ranaut as a witness in his complaint that someone was impersonating him on email, the Cyber Crime Cell now has summoned the actress to record her statement within a week.
In reply to this, Kangana's lawyer released a statement saying no police officer can summon her or her sister Rangoli to any police station to record their statement as a witness under Section 160 of CRPC.
"The Witness summons sent to my client and her sister by the Police Officer is patently illegal, as no woman can ever be called to the police station to record their statements as per the provisions of law," he stated.
Hrithik complained that someone had created an email ID, hroshan@email.com, and corresponded with Ranaut.
"Nonetheless my client who is shown to be a victim as per the claims of Mr. Hrithik Roshan has herself willingly expressed her desire to co-operate with the officers in accordance to the provisions of law, as well as in her reply to the Summons she has duly reserved her rights to file an appropriate criminal complaint against Mr. Hrithik Roshan and his associates for hacking two of her email accounts, which includes the email from which Mr. Hrithik Roshan admittedly claims to have personally received about 1439 emails from my client on his correct email id as well the email from which my client was communicating with the alleged imposter," he added.
The 'Bang Bang' actor had approached the cyber police in December 2014, after the 'Queen' actress told him she had been corresponding with him on hroshan@email.
There was, however, no follow-up to the case. On March 5 this year, the actor sent a reminder to the police, stating the matter was causing him stress and that police should probe it at the earliest. An FIR was then registered last week.
In a matter of co-incidence, the second legal notice that Hrithik Roshan received from Abraham Mathai, former Vice Chairman of the State Minorities Commission for tweeting that he was "more likely to be dating the Pope," that has allegedly hurt the sentiments of the Catholic community, was drafted by Rizwan Siddiquee, Kangana's lawyer.
However he maintains that there is no connection between the two and that he was approached by Mathai as the former earlier worked for minority affairs.
New Delhi, April 1 (ANI): Huma Qureshi, who will soon be seen in a Malayalam flick alongside actor Mammootty, claims that language should not be a barrier for an actor.
Talking about her shooting experience for the flick, the 29-year-old actress told ANI, "It was very difficult. Malayalam is a very difficult language. Although I had great fun shooting for that film because it is a huge opportunity to work with superstar Mammootty. I did learn a lot from him, but it is a very difficult language to learn.
"I had all the help in the world, I had lovely director, I had assistance on sets, I had a translator all the time so they made the whole experience very enjoyable for me," she said during Femina's Style Diva.
Further, when asked if she will go more regional now, the 'Badlapur' star showed thumbs up, claiming that she lures for content.
Huma said, "I think good cinema doesn't have any barrier and I don't think language should be a barrier for an actor. I don't chase money or glamour and I don't want to do film just because I need to look good next to a big hero. I do films for content so where ever the content takes me.
The Human Rights Commission has taken it very seriously that six states have adopted 'lackadaisical attitude' in the rehabilitation of 740 bonded child labourers rescued from various parts of Rajasthan during March, 2013 to July, 2014.
These states include, Rajasthan, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and NCT of Delhi.
Notices have been issued for specific actions to the concerned authorities in all the six states with directions to submit action taken reports within eight weeks without fail.
During the course of enquiry, the commission found that 740 child labourers were rescued. They included maximum 610 from Bihar and the rest 130 from Jharkhand, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Rajasthan.
But Release Certificates were issued for only 456 children from Bihar. However, they were not given copies of the Release Certificates by the concerned authorities in Rajasthan.
Release Certificates for 284 rescued bonded child labourers were yet to be issued, which are essential to start their rehabilitation process in their respective States by the concerned district administration.
Justice D. Murugesan, Member, NHRC has observed that no heed seems to have been paid to the miseries of the children. The issue of the rescue of child labourers is not merely an instance of employing a child in violation of laws.
It is rather more heinous in nature that children are being taken from one state to another, which cannot happen without the involvement of human/child traffickers.
He also observed that no report has been submitted by the state agencies of the six state governments regarding the action taken plan to curb this menace of child trafficking, which requires to be handled with a coordinated approach to prevent such instances in future.
Therefore, the allegation of the complainant that the human/child traffickers have not been dealt with in accordance with law, required to be investigated in an impartial and transparent manner.
Accordingly, notices have been issued to the Chief Secretary and Director General of Police, Government of Rajasthan to get the cases of these 740 rescued child bonded labourers investigated through CB-CID at headquarters. The report shall inter-alia contain the identification of children belonging to Schedule Caste/Schedule Tribe, if any.
A notice has been issued to the Labour Commissioner, Government of Rajasthan, calling for an action taken report, indicating the reasons for non-issue of the Release Certificates. The report shall contain the measures taken for recovery of outstanding wages and rehabilitation amount from the concerned employers, including Rs.20 thousand for each rescued child and penal action taken against the offenders involved in child labour and child trafficking.
Further, notices have been issued to the Chief Secretaries, Directors General of Police/Commissioner of Police and Labour Commissioners of Governments of Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and NCT of Delhi to submit comprehensive action taken report, indicating the rehabilitation of released child labourers and penal action taken against the offenders involved in the alleged child trafficking. They have also been asked to submit report about the steps taken to prevent occurrence of child trafficking/labour in future.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is in Washington D.C. to take part in the fourth Nuclear Security Summit, is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with top leaders from Canada, United Kingdom, Argentina and Japan today.
On the sidelines of the fourth Nuclear Security Summit here, Prime Minister Modi on Thursday held bilateral meeting with his New Zealand counterpart John Key and discussed cooperation in trade, technology, tourism and education.
Prime Minister Modi later met a team of scientists from the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO).
A memorandum of understanding on setting up LIGO facility in India was also signed between India and the United States on the occasion.
Prime Minister Modi also participated in a dinner at the White House hosted by US President Barack Obama in honour of the leaders attending the fourth nuclear summit.
This is Prime Minister Modi's third visit to United States in nearly two years. Leaders of 53 nations and four international organisations will be attending the NSS in Washington D.C.
The United States, Republic of Korea and Japan have vowed to deter and defend against North Korean nuclear threats and stand united in fighting global terrorism.
US President Barack Obama hosted a trilateral summit meeting with South Korean President Park Geun-Hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington DC.
Asserting that the three countries share common values and a common vision for the future of the Asia Pacific, President Obama highlighted Pyongyang's nuclear activity.
"We agreed during this meeting that trilateral security cooperation is essential to maintaining peace and stability in Northeast Asia, deterring the North Korean nuclear threat and the potential of nuclear proliferation as a consequence of North Korean activities," said President Obama.
" We've directed our teams to work diligently in the coming weeks and months to elaborate additional steps that we can take collectively in order to ensure that we have a denuclearized Korean Peninsula and that we can restore a sense of stability and peace to the region, " he added.
President Obama also pointed out the plight of North Korea suffering severely because of human rights abuses.
The three nations also joined hands to combat ISIL.
Echoing similar sentiments, President Park said that the UN sanctions resolution on North Korea should be thoroughly enforced.
"Given the adoption of Security Council Resolution 2270, which is the strongest sanctions resolution on North Korea to date, what is essential going forward is to thoroughly enforce the resolution so that North Korea realizes it cannot ensure its own survivability unless it abandons its nuclear aspirations," she said.
She warned North Korea for making provocations.
"In relation to the recent escalation of North Korea's rhetoric about making further provocations, I stand here together with the leaders of the United States and Japan, and warn once again that the international community will by no means condone North Korea's provocation, and that should it choose to undertake yet another provocation, it is certain to find itself facing even tougher sanctions and isolation," President Park added.
She said the three nations have agreed to implement respective individual sanctions on North Korea, further enhancing solidarity with the international community to make sure the international community effectively steps up its pressure on North Korea.
Having hosted the second Nuclear Security Summit, she said that that her country intends to make leading contributions to moving the nuclear security regime further forward on the post-summit phase.
She said that Seoul was looking forward on Washington's cancer moonshot initiative.
Asserting that the meeting was timely and extremely meaningful, Japanese Prime Minister Abe said that the three nations should further promote cooperation in the area of security.
"We agreed to give direction to the working level to promote concrete security and defense cooperation between the foreign affairs and defense authorities of the three nations," said Prime Minister Abe.
Prime Minister Abe said that Pyongyang's nuclear and missiles were threat to the global community.
"A special concern is the progress of North Korea's nuclear and missile capability, which is a direct and grave threat not only to the three countries but to the global community," he said.
"In addition to terrorism, Middle East, climate change, elimination of cancer, how we can cooperate, we have touched upon several other items as well. Throughout these consultations, we confirmed that there will be further collaboration and cooperation between our three nations on global challenges," he added.
Prime Minister Abe later extended deepest gratitude to President Obama for hosting the meeting.
The recent missile and satellite launches made by North Korea have triggered tensions in the Korean peninsula.
Shares of Bharat Wire Ropes were trading at Rs 45.50 at 10:27 IST on BSE, a premium of 1.11% compared with initial public offer price of Rs 45.
Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 56.06 points or 0.22% at 25,285.80.
The stock debuted at Rs 47.35, a premium of 5.22% compared with its initial public offer (IPO) price. The stock hit a high of Rs 47.50 and a low of Rs 45 so far during the day. On BSE, so far 9.67 lakh shares were traded in the counter.
Bharat Wire Ropes' IPO had received good response from retail and non-institutional investors. The IPO was oversubscribed.
The company reported a net profit of Rs 1.08 crore on revenue from operations of Rs 43.74 crore for eight months ended November 2015. The company reported net profit of Rs 1.97 crore on revenue from operations of Rs 76.72 crore for the year ended 31 March 2015.
Bharat Wire Ropes' existing wire ropes manufacturing facility has an installed capacity of 12,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) at Atgaon in Maharashtra. It also has a pyrolysis plant with an installed capacity of 1,260 tpa at Chalisgaon for production of oil used as fuel in the current manufacturing process. The company proposes to set up a Rs 507 crore project to produce 66,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) of steel wire ropes at the MIDC zone at Chalisgaon, district Jalgaon, Maharashtra.
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First German assistance to Metro project in the country
German Government's Development Bank KfW will provide a loan assistance of EUR 500 million (about Rs.3,750 cr) for the modern and sustainable metro system for Nagpur city being executed by Nagpur Metro Rail Corporation (NMRCL). An agreement in this regard was signed by the Department of Economic Affairs and KfW. Shri S.Selvaraj, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs and Shri Roland Siller, Director General of KfW.
The loan period is 20 years with a moratorium of five years and disbursal will be based on the progress of the project over three years.
Costing Rs.8,680 cr (EUR 1,240 million), Nagpur Metro is the first metro to be financed under the Indo German partnership for clean, socially inclusive and climate friendly mobility for people in cities.
German Ambassador Dr. Martin Ney, OSD (Urban Transport) in the Ministry of Urban Development Shri Mukund Sinha, Managing Director of Nagpur Metro Shri Brijesh Dixit and others were present on the occasion of signing of agreement.
Sanctioned by the Government of India in August 2014, Nagpur Metro Project envisages two corridors i.e 19.70 km North-South section from Automotive Square to Khapri and 18.60 km long line between Prajapati Nagar and Lokmanya Nagar. Physical works commenced in May, 2015 and the whole Metro would be operational by March, 2019.
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With effect from 01 April 2016
Hindustan Petroleum Corporation announced that Nishi Vasudeva - Chairman & Managing Director has retired from the services of the Corporation on attaining the age of superannuation effective 31 March 2016 (p.m.).
Further the Company inform that MOP&NG vide letter dated 01 March 2016 appointed Mukesh Kumar Surana as Chairman & Managing Director and Mukesh Kumar Surana has assumed the charge as Chairman & Managing Director of the Corporation effective 01 April 2016.
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The Government's 20% cut in domestic gas prices will translate into a reduction of INR0.5/scm (standard cubic meter) to INR1.5/scm in piped natural gas (PNG) prices for domestic customers and an INR0.8/kg-INR1.5/kg cut in compressed natural gas (CNG) prices, says India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra). Ind-Ra believes that lower prices will directly impact the revenues of domestic gas producers by INR30bn-INR32bn during the 1HFY17.
Oil India (OIL) and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) which contribute approximately 75% of total domestic gas production will bear the maximum revenue loss. The revised pricing will pose viability challenges for fields which have production cost upwards of USD3/mmbtu (million british thermal unit). In the mid-stream segment, Gail (India) ('IND AAA'/Stable) may experience around INR17bn- INR18bn lower trading revenue, from the sale of domestic gases during the 1HFY17.
Simultaneously, the CNG and PNG domestic end-consumers of city gas distribution entities (CGD) may benefit from the downward price revision. The move will benefit fertiliser, power and steel companies who heavily rely on natural gas and it will lower working capital requirements. The revised price means CGD entities could incur INR1.9-INR2.0 lower cost per SCM on gas procurement. Over October 2015-March 2016, the price of alternate fuel, namely diesel increased by 8%, while CNG remained unchanged, thus increasing the fuel competitiveness of CNG.
Considering that the pricing power for CNG and PNG lies with the CGD entities, the quantum of benefit passed on to the consumers may vary across consumers and geographies. An INR1/kg cut in CNG prices will make CNG 47% more competitive than diesel in Delhi, compared with 41% currently. As CNG contributes more than 50% of total volume of gas sold by CGDs, higher competitiveness will help volumes thereby compensating for loss in revenues from the price cut to some extent.
The government announced the reduction in domestic gas prices by 20% to USD3.06/mmbtu applicable for 1 April 2016 to 30 September 2016. However, the benefit of reduced gas price will be marginally offset by the near 2% rupee depreciation over October 2015 to March 2016. This is the third consecutive domestic gas price reduction since the implementation of the domestic gas pricing formula and is driven by the decline in average gas prices prevalent at the reference hubs over the period January 2015-December 2015. The price of gas has declined by around 39% since the implementation of the gas pricing formula in October 2014.
The previous downward price revision was to USD3.82/mmbtu from USD4.66/mmbtu on 1October 2015. The average Henry Hub gas prices declined by 22% to USD2.6/mmbtu for the current reference period of January-December 2015 period from USD3.35/mmbtu compared to previous reference period of July 2014-June 2015. An appreciation of the rupee will, however, be positive for domestic consumers as the price of gas in INR/scm will be lower.
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After a recovery in morning trade, key benchmark indices slipped once again in mid-morning trade. At 11:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 119.84 points or 0.47% at 25,222.02. The Nifty 50 index was down 36.10 points or 0.47% at 7,702.30.
The Sensex rose 13.08 points, or 0.05% at the day's high of 25,354.94 in morning trade. The index fell 131.09 points, or 0.52% at the day's low of 25,210.77 in mid-morning trade, its lowest level since 30 March 2016. The Nifty 50 index rose 1.75 points, or 0.02% at the day's high of 7,740.15 in morning trade. The index fell 38.80 points, or 0.50% at the day's low of 7,699.60 in early trade, its lowest level since 30 March 2016.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On BSE, 1,344 shares rose and 694 shares fell. A total of 86 shares were unchanged. The BSE Mid-Cap index was currently down 0.45%. The BSE Small-Cap index was currently up 0.87%, Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.
In the overseas market, Asian stocks tumbled today, 1 April 2016, as investors began the new quarter in a cautious mood, with Japanese equities leading losses amid a slump in corporate sentiment. Metals rose after a gauge of Chinese manufacturing expanded for the first time since July. US stocks closed lower yesterday, 31 March 2016, but still had one of their best months since October as market sentiment stabilized on a more dovish Federal Reserve.
ICICI bank was down 0.85% at Rs 234.55. The bank announced lending rates based on marginal cost of funds to be effective from today, 1 April 2016. ICICI's Marginal Cost of Funds based Lending Rate (MCLR) for overnight loans will be 9%, for one month will be 9% and for three months will be 9.1%. The MCLR on 6-month loans will be 9.15% and for one-year loans the rate would be 9.2%, the bank said. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 31 March 2016.
Axis Bank was up 0.36% at Rs 446.15. The bank announced lending rates based on marginal cost of funds to be effective from today, 1 April 2016. Axis Bank's Marginal Cost of Funds based Lending Rate (MCLR) for overnight loans will be 9.10%, for one month will be 9.20% and for three months will be 9..40%. The MCLR on 6-month loans will be 9.45% and for one-year loans the rate would be 9.50%, the bank said. The MCLR on two-year loans will be 9.60% and for three-year loans the rate would be 9.65%, the bank said. The announcement was made during market hours today, 1 April 2016.
Index heavyweight and housing finance major HDFC was up 0.04% to Rs 1,106. The stock hit a high of Rs 1,110.90 and a low of Rs 1,093.30 so far during the day. The company announced that it has sold a 9% stake in HDFC Standard Life lnsurance Company (HDFC Life), a subsidiary of the company, to Standard Life (Mauritius Holdings) 2006. The announcement was made before market hours today, 1 April 2016.
NTPC was up 0.23% at Rs 129.10. The company said that 1st Unit of 250 megawatts (MW) of Bongaigaon Thermal Power Station (3X250 MW) is declared on commercial operation with effect from 00:00 IST of 1 April 2016. With this, the commercial capacity of Bongaigaon Thermal Power Station, NTPC and NTPC group has become 250 MW, 39352 MW and 45353 MW respectively. The announcement was made during market hours today, 1 April 2016.
Jaiprakash Associates was up 15.05% at Rs 8.79. UltraTech Cement was down 0.06% at Rs 3,225. The board of directors of Jaiprakash Associates (JAL) has approved the definitive agreement with UltraTech Cement for sale of part of its cement business comprising identified operating cement plants with an aggregate capacity of 17.20 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) spread over the states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Andhra Pradesh besides a grinding unit of 4 MTPA capacity which is currently under implementation in Uttar Pradesh. Both the parties have mutually agreed to exclude the Shahabad plant in Karnataka from the transaction. The total enterprise value is Rs 15900 crore. An additional amount of Rs 470 crore shall be paid by UltraTech Cement for completion of the Grinding Unit under implementation. The transaction is subject to various regulatory approvals including the approval of stock exchanges, Competition Commission of India, shareholders & creditors and sanction of the scheme of arrangement by High Courts at Mumbai and Allahabad. The consummation of transaction is expected to take 9 to 12 months. Post this deal, Jaypee Group shall retain a total of 10.60 MTPA capacity cement plants spread in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 31 March 2016.
Sugar stocks were in demand. DCM Shriram Industries (up 9.29%), Oudh Sugar Mills (up 8.53%), Upper Ganges Sugar & Industries (up 7.66%), Sakthi Sugars (up 5.62%), Dwarikesh Sugar Industries (up 4.54%), KCP Sugar & Industries Corporation (up 4.29%), Rana Sugars (up 3.86%), Empee Sugars and Chemicals (up 2.62%), Shree Renuka Sugar (up 1.77%), Dhampur Sugar Mills (up 1.72%), Bajaj Hindusthan Sugar (up 1.30%), Triveni Engineering & Industries (up 1.29%) and Balrampur Chini Mills (up 1.16%), edgd higher. EID Parry (India) was down 0.25%.
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Mahindra & Mahindra lost 1.33% to Rs 1,193.60 at 14:36 IST on BSE after the Supreme Court yesterday, 31 March 2016, extended a ban on the sale of large diesel cars in New Delhi until the next hearing of the case.
Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 100.94 points or 0.4% at 25,240.92.
On BSE, so far 79,000 shares were traded in the counter as against average daily volume of 81,979 shares in the past one quarter. The stock hit a high of Rs 1,219.90 and a low of Rs 1,187.95 so far during the day. The stock had hit a 52-week low of Rs 1,092 on 12 February 2016. The stock had hit a record high of Rs 1,441.45 on 7 August 2015.
The Supreme Court yesterday, 31 March 2016, extended a ban on the registration of diesel vehicles above 2,000cc in the capital city and NCR until the next hearing of the case. Reports suggested that the Supreme Court also indicated that it may impose environment cess on luxury diesel vehicles if the registration ban is lifted.
It may be recalled that the Supreme Court had earlier issued a ban on registration of any new diesel cars in the capital city and NCR region till 31 March 2016 to curb dangerously high levels of pollution.
Shares of Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) were on a sliding spree recently. The stock lost 4.75% in six trading sessions from its close of Rs 1,253.15 on 22 March 2016.
M&M during market hours today, 1 April 2016 announced that its total tractor sales rose 20% to 14,682 units in March 2016 over March 2015. Domestic sales rose 34% to 13,931 units in March 2016 over March 2015. Exports declined 60% to 751 units in March 2016 over March 2015.
Separately, M&M announced during market hours today, 1 April 2016 that its total auto sales rose 17% to 52,718 units in March 2016 over March 2015. Total domestic sales rose 19% to 48,967 units in March 2016 over March 2015. Exports dropped 7% to 3,751 units in March 2016 over March 2015.
M&M's net profit declined 14.2% to Rs 807.99 crore on 17.1% growth in net sales to Rs 10900.39 crore in Q3 December 2015 over Q3 December 2014.
Mahindra Group enjoys a leadership position in tractors, utility vehicles, information technology, financial services and vacation ownership. In addition, Mahindra enjoys a strong presence in the agribusiness, aerospace, components, consulting services, defence, energy, industrial equipment, logistics, real estate, retail, steel, commercial vehicles and two-wheeler industries.
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Moody's Investors Service says that Tata Steel's (Ba3 negative) planned restructuring/divestment of its UK businesses is credit positive because it will reduce some of the negative pressure on its operating performance. However, pending finalization of the restructuring plan and the uncertainty around the extent of improvement in the credit profiles of Tata Steel and Tata Steel UK Holdings (TSUK Holdings, B3 negative), there is no immediate impact on the ratings on Tata Steel and TSUK Holdings.
On 30 March 2016, Tata Steel announced that it would explore all options in restructuring its 100%-owned subsidiary, Tata Steel Europe (unrated), including the potential divestment of its step-down operating subsidiary, Tata Steel UK (TSUK, unrated), in whole or parts.
In December 2015, Tata Steel Europe signed a memorandum of understanding with UK based Greybull Capital LLP (unrated) for the proposed divestment of TSUK's long products business in the UK.
On 24 March, the company announced that it has reached an agreement to sell its Clydebridge and Dalzell steel facilities in Scotland to the government of Scotland (unrated), which would then sell them to Liberty House. With the announcement on 30 March, Tata Steel's entire UK business has been identified for potential divestment.
"The potential sale of the UK operations is credit positive for Tata Steel and TSUK Holdings, because it would dispose of loss-making assets, against the backdrop of a challenging operating environment; namely depressed steel prices and a situation where global steel supply continues to exceed demand," says Kaustubh Chaubal, a Moody's Vice President and Senior Analyst.
With the impact of the loss-making TSUK operations being addressed, Moody's expects TSUK Holdings' operating performance to improve, based on the expectation that steel demand in Europe will increase by 1.0%-1.5% in 2016, and the imposition of anti-dumping duties by the European Commission in February 2016 on steel imports from China and Russia.
"If the divestment of the loss-making UK business is successful, it will provide some respite to TSUK Holding's weak operating performance, and drive improvement in Tata Steel's consolidated operating and financial metrics," adds Chaubal.
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Federal Bank, Alkem Laboratories, Jaiprakash Associates and Lambodhara Textiles are among the other stocks to see a surge in volumes on BSE today, 1 April 2016.
Idea Cellular clocked volume of 33.41 lakh shares by 14:02 IST on BSE, a 9.02 times surge over two-week average daily volume of 3.70 lakh shares. The stock lost 2.69% at Rs 106.80 after a large bulk deal of 30.55 lakh shares was executed at Rs 107.60 per share at 12:04 IST on BSE.
Federal Bank notched up volume of 21.40 lakh shares, a 8.97-fold surge over two-week average daily volume of 2.39 lakh shares. The stock rose 0.87% at Rs 46.50.
Alkem Laboratories saw volume of 57,000 shares, a 3.59-fold surge over two-week average daily volume of 16,000 shares. The stock fell 3.95% at Rs 1,312.50 after the company said that UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency has made eight observations on the company's bioequivalence facility located at Taloja, Maharashtra. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 31 March 2016.
Jaiprakash Associates clocked volume of 99.57 lakh shares, a 3.35-fold surge over two-week average daily volume of 29.73 lakh shares. The stock spurted 10.34% at Rs 8.43 after the board of directors of the company approved the definitive agreement with UltraTech Cement for sale of part of its cement business.
Lambodhara Textiles saw volume of 8.62 lakh shares, a 3.18-fold rise over two-week average daily volume of 2.71 lakh shares. The stock tumbled 9.75% at Rs 150.
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At least 13 people who claimed to be Islamic missionaries from Pakistan were arrested while preaching in Ghana's Assin Foso district.
All 13, who claimed to be Ahmadiya missionaries and said they arrived in the country about six months ago, were being investigated, Assin Foso Police Commander Samuel Lawson said.
The Ahmadiya Mission in Ghana has denied any knowledge of the 13 people.
"We have no such people living in the country," mission general secretary Ahmed Anderson said, adding that the police should have contacted the mission after the arrests were made.
"The mission has some Pakistanis in the country, but we do not have any record of these people being among those we have invited. They are not Ahmadiyas at all," Anderson said.
"We flatly deny any knowledge of these missionaries in Ghana."
The police have sent them to Ghana Immigration Service to check their identities and arrival dates in the country.
At least 15 suspected members of Islamic State militant group were arrested by Turkish police in tourist city of Izmir.
Several Izmir police teams were sent on Friday morning to catch the IS suspects in several districts of the city, and arrested the 15 IS suspects, Xinhua reported.
The detained IS suspects conducted attacks in the provinces of Adana and Mersin in Turkey in 2015, said the report.
The arrests came at a time when the Turkish troops are on high alert to catch IS militants who have been detected inside the country and are allegedly in pursuit of carrying out bomb attacks across the country.
The Indian Army has set up a selection centre here with a view to select officers for the armed forces, said a defence statement on Friday.
This is the fourth such centre in the country, the statement said.
The centre, set up by the Indian Army's Service Selection Board, is around 175 km from the state capital Chandigarh. It will cater to the job aspirants of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and Jammu and Kashmir.
These northern states, according to last year's figure, constitute over 24 percent of the total cadets who became officers.
Inaugurating the centre, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Western Command Lt. Gen. K.J. Singh said: "It was a long-pending demand of Punjab to open a selection centre in the state because the aspirants from the northern states had to visit Bhopal, Allahabad and Bengaluru to appear before the Special Selection Board."
As leaders from over 50 nations gathered in Washington to discuss the nuclear terror threat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a strong call to the world to drop the notion that terrorism is someone else's problem and that "his" terrorist is not "my" terrorist.
"Terrorism is globally networked. But, we still act only nationally to counter this threat," Modi said at a working dinner hosted by President Barack Obama Thursday night to kick off the two-day .
"Nuclear security must remain an abiding national priority and all states must completely abide by their obligations," Modi told the world leaders meeting in the shadow of Brussels and Lahore terror attacks. .
"Without prevention and prosecution of acts of terrorism, there is no deterrence against nuclear terrorism," he warned lamenting that while "the reach and supply chains of terrorism are global, genuine cooperation between nation states is not".
Obama, who is hosting his fourth and last such summit to discuss how to prevent terrorists and other non state actors from gaining access to nuclear materials, was flanked by Modi to the right and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the left.
The "dinner table" ran along the circumference of the East Room of the White House. In the middle were three big boxes of flowers, according to a pool report.
Modi, who has come to Washington after attending the India-EU summit in the Belgian capital, said: "Brussels shows us how real and immediate is the threat to nuclear security from terrorism.
"Terror has evolved. Terrorists are using 21st century technology. But our responses are rooted in the past," he said asking the leaders to focus on three contemporary features of terrorism.
"First, today's terrorism uses extreme violence as theatre. Second, we are no longer looking for a man in a cave, but we are hunting for a terrorist in a city with a computer or a smart phone.
"And third, state actors working with nuclear traffickers and terrorists present the greatest risk."
By putting spotlight on nuclear security, Obama has done great service to global security, Modi said and "this legacy of President Obama must endure".
Earlier, in an opinion piece in the Washington Post on Thursday Obama said: "Of all the threats to global security and peace, the most dangerous is the proliferation and potential use of nuclear weapons."
Outlining how to make the vision of a world without nuclear weapons a reality, he wrote: "We're clear-eyed about the high hurdles ahead, but I believe that we must never resign ourselves to the fatalism that the spread of nuclear weapons is inevitable."
"Even as we deal with the realities of the world as it is, we must continue to strive for our vision of the world as it ought to be," Obama wrote.
Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz co-hosted a separate working dinner for other members of the visiting delegations.
"In recent years, 13 countries, plus Taiwan, have given up weapons-usable plutonium and highly-enriched uranium entirely," Kerry noted. "An additional 12 countries have decreased their stockpiles of nuclear material."
Since 2009, through various lines of effort, we have removed or eliminated enough weapons-grade fissionable material to supply nearly 7,000 nuclear bombs," he said.
India and other participating nations will present their national progress reports on steps taken by them to strengthen nuclear security since the last summit on Friday.
The first of these biennial nuclear security summits was held in Washington in April 2010 followed by the summits in Seoul in March 2012 and The Hague in March 2014.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned global leaders from over 50 nations gathered here to discuss nuclear terrorism that state actors working with nuclear traffickers and terrorists present the greatest risk.
"Terrorism is globally networked. But, we still act only nationally to counter this threat," he said at a working dinner hosted by President Barack Obama on Thursday night to kick off the two-day Nuclear Security Summit.
Obama, who is hosting his fourth and last such summit to discuss how to prevent terrorists and other non-state actors from gaining access to nuclear materials, was flanked by Modi on the right and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the left.
Modi, who has come to the summit meeting in the shadow of Brussels and Lahore terror attacks, from the Belgian capital said, "Brussels shows us how real and immediate is the threat to nuclear security from terrorism.
"Terror has evolved. Terrorists are using 21st century technology. But our responses are rooted in the past," he said asking the leaders to focus on three contemporary features of terrorism.
"First, today's terrorism uses extreme violence as theatre. Second, we are no longer looking for a man in a cave, but we are hunting for a terrorist in a city with a computer or a smart phone.
"And third, State actors working with nuclear traffickers and terrorists present the greatest risk."
In what was seen as an unmistakable reference to Pakistan, Modi also gave a call to drop the notion that terrorism is someone else's problem and that "his" terrorist is not "my" terrorist.
"Nuclear security must remain an abiding national priority," Modi told the world leaders. "All states must completely abide by their international obligations."
"Without prevention and prosecution of acts of terrorism there is no deterrence against nuclear terrorism," he said.
"But the reach and supply chains of terrorism are global, genuine cooperation between nation states is not," lamented Modi.
India has long asked Islamabad to take action against Pakistan-based terror groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba(LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), responsible for the Mumbai and Pathankot terror attacks. But the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks remain unpunished.
On the eve of the summit, India's National Security Advisor Ajit Doval discussed counterterrorism cooperation, including against LeT and JeM, with his US counterpart Susan E. Rice at the White House.
In a meeting with Doval, Secretary of State John Kerry praising "India's record of being a leader, of being responsible," told him "India has a very important role to play with respect to responsible stewardship of nuclear weapons and nuclear materials".
"And it is particularly important right now at a time when we see in the region some choices being made that may accelerate possible arms construction, which we have serious questions about," he had said in another reference to Pakistan.
The US has time and again expressed concern at Pakistan's deployment of weapon-grade nuclear weapons.
"Our concerns regarding the continuing deployment of battlefield nuclear weapons by Pakistan relate to a reality of the situation," Rose Gottemoeller, under secretary of state for arms control and international security, told reporters on the eve of the summit.
"When battlefield nuclear weapons are deployed forward, they can represent an enhanced nuclear security threat," she said.
However, Pakistan Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhary on Thursday claimed that its "modest" nuclear programme was "essentially for its defence and not to threaten anyone".
"Pakistan's nuclear installations are not only secure but the world also acknowledges that they are," he told reporters at the Pakistan embassy here. "India, on the other hand, has an ambitious nuclear programme."
(Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)
Manipur's ministers have told Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh that all of them will quit if he drops even one from the ministry to placate dissidents, a minister said on Friday.
The ministers conveyed the decision to the chief minister after a meeting amongst themselves here.
"If any minister is dropped, all of us will resign en masse," a minister who did wish to be identified by name said.
The ministers' threat is the latest crisis to hit the chief minister, who has battling mounting dissidence within the Congress legislature party.
Manipur, with a 60-member assembly, is entitled to have 12 ministers which includes the chief minister.
After the new crisis became public knowledge on Thursday night, Ibobi Singh cancelled his visit to New Delhi on Friday to submit a list of ministers who will be axed to induct new faces.
Meanwhile, Charltolian Amo, chairman of the Hill Areas Committee, has resigned from the post of vice president of the Manipur Congress unit.
Party sources said he was upset over the replacement of Gaikhangam as the Manipur Congress president by T.N. Haokip.
One Minister told IANS that the dissidents' demand was unreasonable. They want the axing of ministers whose performances was below the mark.
But the ministers argue that if any of them is dropped to accommodate the dissidents, it will give an impression that the axed ministers were involved in corruption or were non-performers or both.
This will impact their prospects in the next assembly elections.
Meanwhile, the dissident leaders have reaffirmed their stand that 11 of the 12 ministers need to go. They also want Sepaker T. Lokeswor to resign.
One dissident legislator told IANS that they have no objection to whoever the chief minister picks in the new ministry.
This is the first time in the political history of Manipur that dissidents are demanding the dropping of all ministers except the chief minister.
Ibobi Singh had said that at the end of two-and-a-half years, the ministers would be replaced by another lot. But he did not keep his word.
It is not known what the 25 dissidents would do if their demands are not conceded.
Ibobi Singh has been discussing the crisis with some senior ministers and dissident leaders but there is no visible breakthrough.
Opposition parties say the crisis in the Congress cannot be seen as "an internal matter" of the ruling party as it affects governance in the state.
Indian designers can achieve a lot more in the international market if they take craftsmanship to a different level and become a tad bolder and crazier with designs, says Lisa Lang, founder of Germany-based ElektroCouture, a fashion technology house which pioneered bespoke innovative electronic wearable technology for the fashion.
"I can see huge potential in Indian designers, but I would like to see them challenging themselves to be little bold and crazy. I see designers putting so much energy here, but they can do more. The great thing is you (Indian designers) have substance and infrastructure, so I just want you to go little bit more crazy," Lang told IANS on the sidelines of the ongoing Lakme Fashion Week (LFW) Summer-Resort edition.
ElektroCouture made its Indian ramp debut in association with six other international designers at LFW with a sensational high-tech digital electronic fashion fantasy show.
Lang said: "There are a couple of designers I have seen and I am going to sit down with them and talk about the future perspective with. My message to Indian designers is to be bold and be brave. If you want to lead a change, you have to take risks... You have to be brave enough to be different.
"You guys are so out there in terms of colours, but I think when it comes to tradition and mixing new patterns, you can do more. I would love to see techniques applied to more modern patterns. I am saying this in terms of international and global modernity and I think it is possible."
Lang is known for bringing creative minds together to create new, innovative and beautiful products.
Raised in a Franconian craftsman family, she has studied art, new media, and international business management. More than 10 years into her technology and media career, she has lived and worked all around the world, gaining a reputation for being a game-changer in digital product and media innovation.
Lang, who established ElektroCouture in 2014, and is also a mentor to several European hardware start-ups, says "India as a market makes absolute sense" for her brand.
"Lakme Fashion Week invited us and I can see huge potential here in the market because what we do on a daily basis is like bringing fashion and technology together and we have both of that here, so it makes total sense for us to come here.
"You have (India has) technology, a long tradition and design. I can't emphasise enough how important craftsmanship is for me, because we are into high fashion. We hand-stitch pearls as well as micro chips. I think fashion is a very emotional subject and we use emotions to produce designs."
She has loved her maiden visit to the country, and India's "patterns and bold colours" have left her spellbound.
"In Germany, people are not so bold enough, so I love colours in India and I love big and bold patterns," added Lang, who wants to stay in India longer and is hoping to associate with Indian designers.
How about bringing her forte to the world-famous Bollywood too?
"That would be so fantastic! I am such a Bollywood fan since years. If that happens, then that would be my dream come true. It's on my bucket list," she said, concluding that she has been enjoying exchanging hugs as Indian are very open to it unlike Germans who are a "bit stiff" at times.
(The writer's trip is at the invitation of Lakme Fashion Week organisers. Nivedita can be contacted at nivedita.s@ians.in)
Brazil's Supreme Court (STF) ruled that it would be taking immediate charge of a corruption investigation into former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, removing Judge Sergio Moro from the case, the media reported on Friday.
The decision taken on Thursday confirms a statement last week by STF Justice Teori Zavascki that the court was the only one empowered with investigating the former head of state, who now serves in the cabinet of President Dilma Rousseff, Xinhua news agency reported.
However, this does not necessarily mean the STF would finally pass a sentence on Lula, as this will be debated next week at the same time as it decides whether Lula can take a place in President Dilma Rousseff' s cabinet as chief of staff or whether doing so would impede investigations.
The former president, who served from 2003-2010, has denied all wrongdoing.
In a statement, Zavascki affirmed that Moro had leaked the conversations too early and had "hurt the role of the STF".
"The judge must send all the intercepted conversations to the Supreme Court. The decision to leak conversations of the president. ..does not remove the seal of secrecy (concerning the matter)," he said.
One of the conversations disclosed on March 16 was a short call from the president's office, in which Rousseff mentioned that she was sending Lula the 'decree of investiture' to be used "in case of need".
Opponents have seized upon this as evidence that Rousseff was naming Lula to help him avoid prosecution.
However, earlier this week, Moro apologised to the STF, recognising that he had been wrong to release the recordings and had violated the rights of the president.
India's move to get Pathankot terror attacks mastermind, Jaish-e-Mohamed chief Masood Azhar, banned by the UN was rebuffed for the second time by China, a close friend of Pakistan. New Delhi has voiced disappointment over the move.
India had approached the UN in February to include Masood Azhar in the UN Security Council's 1267 sanctions list, in the aftermath of the January 2 terror attack on the Pathankot air base by Pakistan-based JeM terrorists.
However, China requested the UN sanctions committee to keep on hold the move to ban Masood Azhar.
India on Friday voiced disappointment at the "technical hold" put on its application to include the name of Azhar, in the UN sanctions list, and criticised the UN sanctions committee for adopting a "selective approach to combating terrorism".
In a statement, the ministry of external affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup said: "We find it incomprehensible that while the Pakistan based JeM was listed in UN Security Council Committee established under UNSCR 1267/1989/2253 as far back as 2001 for its well known terror activities and links to the Al Qaeda, the designation of the group's main leader, financier and motivator has been put on a technical hold."
"The recent terror attack in Pathankot on January 2 has shown that India continues to bear the dangerous consequences of not listing Masood Azhar . Given the global networking of terrorist groups, this has implications for the entire international community," the statement said.
"It needs no emphasis that the UNSCR 1267 regime is an important building block of the UN global counter terrorism strategy that should aim to protect all member states and their citizens from the activities of terror groups such as JeM and its leader Mohamad Masood Azhar."
"Its working methods, based on the principles of unanimity and anonymity, is leading the Committee to adopt a selective approach to combating terrorism. This does not reflect well on the determination that the international community needs to display to decisively defeat the menace of terrorism," the statement said.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hong Lei, answering a question on blocking the ban on Azhar, indicated that it did not have all the facts to support the ban.
Hong said that "China opposes all forms of terrorism, supports the UN in playing a central and coordinating role in global counter-terrorism cooperation, and plays an active part in this area.
"China deals with the listing matter of the 1267 Committee on the basis of facts and in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions and relevant rules of procedure. China remains in contact with all relevant parties on this matter."
The UN had banned JeM in 2001 but India's effort to ban Azhar after the 2008 Mumbai terror attack was not successful as China, one of the five permanent members of the UN group with veto powers, didn't allow the ban apparently at the behest of Pakistan again.
The blocking of India's move to get a ban slapped on the terrorist came as Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in the US, to attend a Nuclear Security Summit where he spoke out strongly against terrorism and on the need for countries to unite against the menace. Modi said the world needs to drop the notion that terrorism is someone else's problem and that "his" terrorist is not "my" terrorist.
In June last year, China blocked India's move in the UN demanding action against Pakistan over release of Mumbai attack mastermind and LeT commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi as it contended that India had provided insufficient information.
Veteran CPI-M leader V.S.Achuthanandan on Friday dismissed as a "bluff" the ongoing tiff between Kerala's top Congress leaders who are staying put in Delhi to finalise candidates.
"What's happening in Delhi is just a stage-managed event of the state Congress top leadership and meant to fool the people to show that there are some leaders in Congress who fight against corruption," he said in a statement issued in the state capital.
Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala and state Congress chief V.M. Sudheeran have been in Delhi since Monday evening to finalise the list of candidates in 82 seats.
While they have been able to finalise the candidates in most seats, Sudheeran is strongly opposing in renominating Excise Minister K. Babu, who is facing allegations in the bar scam, Revenue Minister Adoor Prakash, who is embroiled in a row over land transfer, Culture Minister K.C. Joseph who has been a legislator since 1982, Benny Behanan for allegedly having links with solar panel scam accused, and five-time legislator and former minister Dominic Presentation.
Despite several rounds of talks amongst themselves, with party chief Sonia Gandhi and vice president Rahul Gandhi, both Sudheeran and Chandy, who is not willing to drop any, are determined to have their way, thus leading to this delay.
A source close to Chandy told IANS that the central election committee under Sonia Gandhi met on Friday, and left to her the final decision on those seats where there is a dispute.
Chennithala meanwhile said that consensus has been reached on most seats and the rest will also be decided very soon, while Sudheeran said things are progressing in the right direction.
Polls for the 140-member Kerala assembly will be held on May 16.
The Congress on Friday demanded the expulsion of minister of state (MoS) in the Prime Minister's Office Jitendra Singh from parliament on the charge of unethical conduct in public and meeting a person declared a proclaimed offender at his residence.
The Congress made the demand in a letter submitted to the Lok Sabha's Ethics Committee chairman and senior BJP leader L.K. Advani.
"The facts in the public domain are of serious nature having adverse impact on the dignity of the parliament, a prime constitutional institution.
"In 2013, communal violence took place in Kishtwar, Jammu and Kashmir. The local police also registered an FIR. It is revealed that a local Bharatiya Janata Party leader from Paddar, namely Hari Krishnan alias Kasooru, and nine others are accused of murdering 52-year-old Lassa Khandey during the said violence," read the complaint.
The Congress also furnished a court order that directed and empowered the police to arrest the accused (Hari Krishnan).
"It is unbelievable that Dr Jitendra Singh has no acquaintance or familiarity with the said Hari Krishnan, more so when he is a local BJP leader of Paddar, which is a part of his parliamentary constituency and has campaigned for him along with other BJP leaders, including MLAs.
"Dr Jitendra Singh cannot be unaware of the fact that the said Hari Krishnan was involved in 2013 communal violence and declared a proclaimed offender," read the complaint.
It further added: "Dr Jitendra Singh met the local BJP MLAs and other BJP leaders, including Hari Krishnan, at his official residence in Delhi on or about March 13, 2016. It is therefore, requested that the committee may kindly take cognizance of the facts and expel him as member of parliament or pass any other order as may be considered appropriate keeping in view the nature of allegation."
An explosion in a building in central Paris on Friday left five people injured, the media reported.
The cause of the blast, at sixth district of Paris, was a gas explosion, Xinhua reported citing the police.
The building is on the Rue d'Uzes, close to the Paris Stock Exchange building and the headquarters of the AFP news agency.
Around 140 firefighters were on the scene to rescue people from the building which contains offices for businesses including lawyers, accountants and telecommunications firms.
Heart-wrenching cries of relatives taking custody of the dead and anguished kins waiting for the latest update on the grievously injured were the recurrent scenes in hospitals here as the toll in Kolkata's worst flyover tragedy rose to 24 on Friday.
Among the dead were three women while one body was too mutilated to ascertain the gender. Sixteen of the 67 rescued battled for life in hospitals, a day after an under-construction flyover collapsed, crushing people and flattening vehicles in the congested Posta area.
Three of the deceased were 25 years old while six others were in their 30s. The ghastly tragedy left behind a trail of devastation and raised unanswered questions about a project that was on for seven years.
Asha Joshi, 65, was the oldest among the dead, the West Bengal government said.
Relatives of Sabana Bano, who perished at the Medical College and Hospital, were inconsolable.
"She had called us repeatedly from her mobile after she got trapped when the bridge collapsed. She pleaded that we rescue her but we could not do anything," moaned a family member.
Three bodies were still to be identified.
Going into the reasons for the flyover crash, a government statement said: "It is apprehended that one cantilever pier no 40 has shifted due to which two spans covering three piers were affected."
Meanwhile, the police filed murder charges against top officials of the joint venture company, Hyderabad-based IVRCL Infrastructure, which was executing the flyover project and detained at least 10 of its employees.
"The charges brought against the company include murder, attempt to murder and criminal conspiracy. So far 10 people, including R.K. Gopal Nanduri, regional business head, have been detained," Joint Commissioner of Police Debashish Boral said.
A 23-member special investigation team (SIT) has been set up to probe the disaster. A police team reached the company headquarters in Hyderabad to question its officials.
The chief engineer and an executive engineer of the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority - the state government unit in charge of the JNNURM project - have been placed under suspension.
An IANS correspondent who visited the site found cranes busy clearing mounds of debris, dust rising from ongoing demolition and fear of eviction loomed large on those living in the vicinity.
The area is still littered with shattered glass and splinters of iron and steel. There were also plastic bottles, a slipper and a children's notebook, strewn next to a truck.
With the government asking 62 families in houses close to the spot to vacate their premises for the removal of the collapsed span, the residents were frantically searching for new addresses.
Many of the residents of the sardine-packed multi-storeyed houses and numerous commercial establishments lining K.K. Tagore Street - right under the flyover - were still in a state of shock.
"I get goose-bumps every time there is a loud noise... This used to be a bustling route. I hope the authorities deal with the mess swiftly and avoid another disaster," said Hari Shaw, caretaker of a small temple.
Army teams which had been carrying out rescue operations have returned to the barracks.
The KMDA has ordered the immediate inspection of the flyover to ascertain its safety and stability.
A petition was filed in the Calcutta High Court for a court-monitored probe into the tragedy.
Filed before the bench of Chief Justice Manjula Chellur, the PIL (public interest litigation) seeks a CBI investigation as well as a panel of experts from IIT Kharagpur to probe the causes for the flyover collapse.
With the ruling Trinamool Congress facing flak, it field its local MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay, who argued the project was flawed since its inception during the Left Front's tenure but could not be discarded or remodelled due to financial implications.
The Bharatiya Janata Party sought a CBI probe, calling the incident an "act of fraud protected by the West Bengal government".
The Congress on Friday said inconsistency and flip-flops on Modi government's part had totally destroyed India's decades-old foreign policy.
"India had a proud and consistent foreign policy, but it has been destroyed by this government's flip-flops. The humongous failures on diverse fronts underline the prime minister's (Narendra Modi) and BJP's complete incapacity and ineptitude in handling such delicate matters," Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi told reporters here.
He was reacting to coming together of China and Pakistan at the United Nations to block India's attempt for an international ban on Maulana Masood Azhar and his outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM).
"The nation sees it as a proof of a failed government policy on the issue and clumsy flip-flops of the ruling party (Bharatiya Janata Party)," Singhvi said, describing the development a negation of all incremental growths achieved by the previous governments.
"The denial of India's plea to characterise JeM and its chief Azhar as a terrorist and the failure to put him in the category of Al Qaeda and Islamic State is particularly offensive since there is overwhelming evidence to link him to the Pathankot terror attack," Singhvi said.
"The conspiratorial move in the UN demonstrate the futility and the optic value of the 'jhoola' event at Gujarat during the Chinese president's visit and the impromptu visit for the marriage reception in the family of Pakistan prime minister recently," the Congress leader said.
He said it was strange and contradictory that a senior Inter-Services Intelligence officer and other state officials were a part of the Joint Investigation Team from Pakistan that visited India to probe the Pathankot attack.
"When various anti-India terror organisations and individuals of the likes of Masood Azhar actually flourish with active patronage of the ISI and other agencies in Pakistan, we have a strange spectacle of Rajnath Singh, Manohar Parrikar and Amit Shah, senior ministers holding home and defence portfolios and the BJP president respectively, exhorting Indians to have faith in Pakistan," Singhvi said.
The Congress insisted that India's worst fears had come true because the Pakistan team obediently and dutifully did its masters' bidding by giving a clean chit to Jaish-e-Mohammad, ISI and all other actors in its report.
The government on Thursday issued a travel advisory to all Indian nationals travelling to strife-torn Yemen.
"The security situation in Yemen continues to remain fragile," the external affairs ministry said in a statement.
"In light of the recent terrorist attacks in Aden, which resulted in killing of an Indian nun and abduction of one priest, Indian nationals are again strongly advised to avoid travelling to Yemen under any circumstances by any means for any purpose till further notice," it said.
In an attack on an old-age home in the Yemeni port city of Aden run by the Kolkata-based Missionaries of Charity early last month, 16 people were killed, including Cecilia Minz, an Indian nun.
Father Tom Uzhunallil, an Indian priest, was also abducted after the attack.
Friday's advisory is the latest in a series of such advisories issued by the government wherein Indian nationals have been advised to refrain from undertaking travel to Yemen in view of the precarious security situation in the country.
India and Saudi Arabia will seek to elevate their strategic partnership to a more broad-based one, with the focus on energy and security cooperation, during the two-day visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Riyadh beginning Saturday, the first by an Indian prime minister in six years.
Manmohan Singh was the last Indian prime minister to visit the Gulf kingdom in 2010, when the bilateral relationship was elevated to strategic partnership.
Modi, who flies in from Washington on the third and final leg of his three-nation visit, will hold discussions with Saudi King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, top officials and Saudi business leaders.
The prime minister's visit is part of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government's Link West policy -- of building closer ties with the Gulf region that is home to a large expatriate Indian population and fetches the country $70 billion in remittances a year.
Apart from being India's largest crude oil supplier, accounting for one-fifth of the imports, Saudi Arabia is also India's fourth largest trading partner with bilateral trade reaching $40 billion.
"India's ties with Saudi Arabia are special," Prime Minister Modi said in a statement ahead of his departure to Belgium, the US and Saudi Arabia.
"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," he said.
The prime minister also said that he wanted Saudi businesses to partner in India's development plans.
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al Jubeir, who was in New Delhi last month in the run-up to the prime ministerial visit, said his country wanted to further elevate ties with India.
"We look forward to Prime Minister Modi's visit which will be another milestone in the relations between our two great nations," Jubeir told IANS.
"We hope to elevate our relationship from that of the current 'strategic partnership'," he said.
He said during his meeting with Modi, he expressed Saudi Arabia's "desire to broaden our relations in all areas".
"We expressed our commitment to further deepen our relations in all areas including energy cooperation."
India and Saudi Arabia had signed the Delhi Declaration during then King Abdullah's historic visit to India in 2006, the first by a Saudi monarch in five decades.
Modi's visit assumes significance in the context of the current regional situation and strained relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran, another strategically important country for India.
With Saudi Arabia upping the ante against terrorism and the rise of the Islamic State terror outfit, security cooperation also has become an important cornerstone of the relationship. In recent times, Riyadh handed over to New Delhi key terror operatives like Abu Jundal and Abdul Aziz alias Gidda.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, during her meeting with Jubeir last month had conveyed that India is keen on a strong security and counter-terrorism partnership with Saudi Arabia and sought Riyadh's support for India's draft Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT).
The nearly three million-strong expatriate Indian population in Saudi Arabia is another key aspect of the bilateral relations.
Discussions on some of the issues facing Indian workers in Saudi Arabia are also likely to come up during Modi's visit. Sushma Swaraj had taken up the issue with Jubeir and suggested that the existing labour agreement with the Gulf nation be expanded to include sectors other than domestic workers.
On Saturday Modi will meet with members of the Indian community which will be followed by a visit to the L&T workers' residential complex.
L&T is doing $2 billion worth of work on the $600-billion Riyadh Metro Project.
On Sunday, the prime minister will visit the Tata Consultancy Services' (TCS) all-women IT centre.
After this, Modi will meet with select top Saudi business leaders.
The official ceremony at the Royal Court will be held on Sunday afternoon when King Salman will receive the prime minister.
King Salman will host a lunch in Modi's honour in which key Saudi ministers and other leaders will be present,
This will be followed by a delegation-level meeting and signing of agreements.
The prime minister will leave for New Delhi late Sunday afternoon.
India's move to get Pathankot terror attacks mastermind, Jaish-e-Mohamed chief Masood Azhar, banned by the UN was rebuffed for the second time by China, a close friend of Pakistan. New Delhi has slammed the move.
India had approached the UN in February to include Masood Azhar in the UN Security Council's 1267 sanctions list, in the aftermath of the January 2 terror attack on the Pathankot air base by Pakistan-based JeM terrorists.
However, China requested the UN sanctions committee to keep on hold the move to ban Masood Azhar.
India on Friday voiced disappointment at the "technical hold" put on its application to include the name of Azhar, in the UN sanctions list, and criticised the UN sanctions committee for adopting a "selective approach to combating terrorism".
In a statement, the ministry of external affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup said: "We find it incomprehensible that while the Pakistan based JeM was listed in UN Security Council Committee established under UNSCR 1267/1989/2253 as far back as 2001 for its well known terror activities and links to the Al Qaeda, the designation of the group's main leader, financier and motivator has been put on a technical hold."
"The recent terror attack in Pathankot on January 2 has shown that India continues to bear the dangerous consequences of not listing Masood Azhar . Given the global networking of terrorist groups, this has implications for the entire international community," the statement said.
"It needs no emphasis that the UNSCR 1267 regime is an important building block of the UN global counter terrorism strategy that should aim to protect all member states and their citizens from the activities of terror groups such as JeM and its leader Mohamad Masood Azhar."
"Its working methods, based on the principles of unanimity and anonymity, is leading the Committee to adopt a selective approach to combating terrorism. This does not reflect well on the determination that the international community needs to display to decisively defeat the menace of terrorism," the statement said.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hong Lei, answering a question on blocking the ban on Azhar, indicated that it did not have all the facts to support the ban.
Hong said that "China opposes all forms of terrorism, supports the UN in playing a central and coordinating role in global counter-terrorism cooperation, and plays an active part in this area.
"China deals with the listing matter of the 1267 Committee on the basis of facts and in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions and relevant rules of procedure. China remains in contact with all relevant parties on this matter."
The UN had banned JeM in 2001 but India's effort to ban Azhar after the 2008 Mumbai terror attack was not successful as China, one of the five permanent members of the UN group with veto powers, didn't allow the ban apparently at the behest of Pakistan again.
The blocking of India's move to get a ban slapped on the terrorist came as Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in the US, to attend a Nuclear Security Summit where he spoke out strongly against terrorism and on the need for countries to unite against the menace. Modi said the world needs to drop the notion that terrorism is someone else's problem and that "his" terrorist is not "my" terrorist.
In June last year, China blocked India's move in the UN demanding action against Pakistan over release of Mumbai attack mastermind and LeT commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi as it contended that India had provided insufficient information.
India is set to become a central point in Albert Einstein's recently proved gravitational waves theory following an agreement signed between India's department of atomic energy and the US's National Science Foundation on Thursday.
According to the agreement, signed during the course of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit here for the Nuclear Security Summit, India will have a new Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO).
LIGO shot to fame earlier this year after its scientists proved the gravitational waves theory of Einstein.
In February this year, scientists observed ripples in the fabric of space-time called gravitational waves, arriving at the earth from a cataclysmic event in the distant universe.
"This confirms a major prediction of Albert Einstein's 1915 general theory of relativity and opens an unprecedented new window onto the cosmos," the LIGO website states.
Gravitational waves carry information about their dramatic origins and about the nature of gravity that cannot otherwise be obtained.
Physicists have concluded that the detected gravitational waves were produced during the final fraction of a second of the merger of two black holes to produce a single, more massive spinning black hole.
This collision of two black holes had been predicted but never observed.
"Historic detection of gravitational waves opens up new frontier for understanding of universe," an excited Prime Minister Modi stated on February 11 following the announcement.
"Hope to move forward to make even bigger contribution with an advanced gravitational wave detector in the country," he added.
"What was significant about this project was that now India has agreed to be a part of this project," Swarup said in the briefing here on Thursday.
"The possibility is likely to be central to this project partly on account of geography favouring us."
The Indian cabinet has approved Rs. 12,000 crore for the project.
The spokesman said that NSF's Francis Cordova said that India would become central to the LIGO project.
"The prime minister of course not only looks at the LIGO project as a very great example of India-US scientific collaboration but also as a project which has the potential of generating curiosity among a lot of very young minds and of creating a whole new generation of young scientists who will get enthused through the remarkable breakthroughs in science," Swarup said.
Along with meeting the scientists behind the breakthrough of the gravitational waves theory, Modi also interacted with Indian-origin scientists associated with it.
Prime Minister Modi arrived here on the second leg of his three-nation tour on Wednesday night from Brussels where he attended the 13th India-European Union (EU) Summit and held a bilateral meeting with Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel.
India has finally decided to join "gift baskets" at the Fourth Nuclear Security Summit here on Friday even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi held meetings with several leaders, including British Prime Minister David Cameron, on the sidelines of the summit.
Addressing a media briefing here as the summit got underway, Amandeep Singh Gill, joint secretary (disarmament and international security affairs), said that India has decided to join some gift baskets, including those on counter nuclear smuggling and sharing best practices.
Gift basket involves an approach to a crucial issue where, if consensus is not reached till the lowest common denominator, then those willing can join in. In other words, it is a system of getting around the system of universal consensus at any multilateral summit.
The US had first introduced the gift basket during negotiations in 2011 for the Second Nuclear Security Summit.
Fourteen such gift baskets were put up in the summit held in Seoul next year.
India, which had so far refrained from joining any of these gift baskets, has finally decided to go for it.
Gill said India would join the Trilateral Initiative which is the joint statement of the previous three co-chairs of the nuclear security summit which has been circulated in the form of a document in the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
"So, this group of countries which India is joining are committed to holding the bar high on nuclear security," the joint secretary said.
"We will also be joining three other gift baskets in priority areas like counter nuclear smuggling, the sharing of best practices through centres of excellence such as GCNEP (Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership), and finally NSS follow-up through contact group in Vienna," he said.
In Friday's summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi would underline that India would continue to reflect its nuclear obligations to the international community through its national actions, Gill said.
In the national progress report on the work India has done in terms of nuclear security in the two years since the last summit, Modi would underline the continued priority the country attached to nuclear security at home.
"Second, the prime minister will underline the continued priority we attach to the technology direction of nuclear security," he said.
As leaders of over 50 nations met for the biennial summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also held bilateral meetings with British Prime Minister Cameron and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
"My meeting with PM @David_Cameron focused on defence cooperation, @makeinindia & other key issues," Modi tweeted.
The meeting assumes significance as Tata Steel, after having suffered nearly $3 billion in losses on its British operations, is exploring to put its entire portfolio there up for sale, some 10 years after it forayed into Europe by acquiring Anglo-Dutch Corus for over $8.1 billion.
With around 40,000 jobs at stake, Cameron was expected to take up the matter with Modi during the meeting, according to media reports.
Earlier in the day, Modi met with Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau and invited Canadian faculty members to teach at institutes of higher learning in India for short stretches.
"He (Modi) said that Canadian professors and teachers, including retired faculty members, could consider coming to India during the harsh winter months in Canada and teaching at Indian universities for periods ranging from three to six months under the GIAN (Global Initiative of Academic Networks)," external affairs ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup said at a media briefing here following the meeting.
GIAN is a programme under the union human resources ministry that aims at tapping the talent pool of academia and scientists internationally to encourage their engagement with institutes of higher education in India.
Trudeau, according to Swarup, said that there was "real potential for harnessing the opportunity of helping so many young people in India get better skills and Canada would also be happy to provide help in education and infrastructure support".
Modi also invited Canadian companies to participate in India's flagship development programmes such as the smart cities project and in India's new policy for hydrocarbon sector, in particular for deep sea and high temperature exploration, that came into effect on Friday.
On the sidelines of the summit, Modi also had informal meetings with Swiss President Johann Schneider-Ammann, Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev, and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
This year's summit is the fourth and final edition of the biennial affair.
The first summit was held in Washington in 2010 which was followed by the summits in Seoul in 2012 and The Hague in 2014.
Indian Punjabi film "Ambarsariya" has been banned in Pakistan because it makes "strong references" to the Indian intelligence agency RAW.
"The movie makes strong references to Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), which is why the panel decided against it," The Express Tribune quoted Mobasher Hasan, chairman of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), as saying.
According to Hasan, a CBFC panel first voted against the movie. After the film distributor's appeal, the full board of the CBFC reviewed it but backed the ban.
Asked if "Ambarsariya" would have been fit for release if the references to RAW had been edited out, the Tribune quoted Hasan as saying: "That would not be possible since the movie is primarily about RAW and editing would have affected its story.
"It is a film set in India and we have stopped its release because it focuses on RAW."
Starring Diljit Dosanjh, Naveet Kaur and Monica Gill in lead roles, "Ambarsariya" follows the story of a man who lives a dual life as a member of RAW and an insurance agent, the daily said.
A team of Indian investigators will travel to Pakistan to further probe the January terror attack at an air base in Punjab that claimed the lives of seven soldiers, National Investigation Agency (NIA) said on Friday.
The announcement comes after India, in a rare show of cooperation between the two neighbours, allowed a team of Pakistani security and intelligence officials to examine the scene of the militant attack in Pathankot.
"We told them (the Pakistani investigators) that we want to send a team to Pakistan. They welcomed the idea," NIA Director General Sharad Kumar said.
NIA is handling the Indian investigation of the January 2 attack that also left a civilian dead before six suspected Pakistan terrorists, who had infiltrated the Indian Air Force base from across the border, were killed in a gun fight that lasted for some 80 hours.
The agency now wants to carry forward its investigation in the Pathankot attack and question suspected masterminds, including leaders of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror group based in Pakistan.
During their India stay since March 27, the Pakistani investigators, including military, police and intelligence officials, visited the scene of terror in Pathankot and also held closed door interactions with NIA officials.
A team of Indian investigators will travel to Pakistan to further probe the terror attack at an air base in Punjab that killed seven security personnel, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) said on Friday.
The announcement comes after India, in a rare show of counter-terrorism cooperation, allowed a team of Pakistani security and intelligence officials to examine the scene of the terrorist attack at the Pathankot Indian Air Force (IAF) base.
The "crime scene" is part of a sprawling 2,000-acre complex that houses high value defence assets, including fighter jets.
"We told them (Pakistani investigators) that we want to send a team to Pakistan. They welcomed the idea," NIA Director General Sharad Kumar told reporters here.
No specific date for the proposed Indian visit has been given.
Sharad Kumar said in a statement issued after his brief media interaction that the Pakistani team "assured us of their full cooperation and promised to execute" the Indian letter rogatory for judicial assistance in NIA's probe.
NIA is handling the Indian investigation of the January 2 terror attack that also left a civilian dead before the suspected Pakistani terrorists, who had infiltrated from across the border into the airbase, were killed in a gun fight that lasted for some 80 hours.
The agency now wants to carry forward its investigation and question suspected attack masterminds, including leaders of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror group, based in Pakistan.
India blames JeM chief Masood Azhar for plotting the carnage.
Sharad Kumar did not name Azhar, but said NIA has also sought voice samples of some "senior office bearers of JeM" and the DNA sample of the mother of Nasir Hussain, one of the slain Pakistani attackers.
During their five-day stay in India from March 27, the Pakistani team, including from the military, police and intelligence agencies, visited the terror scene in Pathankot and interacted with NIA officials in Delhi.
The visiting team shared with the Indian agency the results of its probe done in Pakistan.
Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju in a separate media briefing said that the meetings between Indian and Pakistani investigators were "positive" and the Pakistani team did "not contradict our findings".
Sharad Kumar said that NIA gave the Pakistan team "complete evidence against JeM office bearers who conspired in the attack and the handlers of the terrorists who facilitated and guided them.
"NIA also shared the identities and addresses of all the terrorists and requested the (Pakistani team) to confirm the same," he said.
The NIA chief said the Pakistani team was also shown the "locations where the terrorists infiltrated and subsequently hid".
He said the Pakistani team was given access to 16 witnesses, including suspended superintendent of police Salwinder Singh, his cook and his friend Rajesh Verma.
Salwinder Singh has claimed that he, his cook and Verma were abducted by four or five heavily armed militants near Punjab's Kolia hours before the attack.
The attackers also hijacked the police officer's SUV and apparently drove to the air base without raising any suspicion.
The anti-terror cooperation between India and Pakistan is a sharp departure from the past. India has earlier accused Pakistan of shielding the terror accused and hiding proof that could nail terrorist commanders based in that country.
Hyderabad-based IVRCL, the firm building the flyover in Kolkata that collapsed on Thursday killing 24 people, has denied any negligence in the construction.
The company, under fire for its officials using the expression "act of god", clarified that it was used only to describe that it was under no one's control and that the reasons for the collapse were not known.
K. Panduranga Rao, group head, HR and administration, IVRCL, told reporters that they have no information about police team from Kolkata reaching Hyderabad. "Nobody has contacted us."
The official, however, said their technical persons and legal experts had rushed to Kolkata. "We will extend all cooperation in the investigations."
He said the reason would be known only after thorough investigations. A legal advisor of the company referred to some media reports that it was like a bomb blast.
"Like the whole nation we are also extremely shocked and moved by this incident. It takes time to put everything in place," the official said.
Claiming that quality material was used in the construction, they said there was no compromise on the quality.
"Same material used for 59 slabs and pillars, nothing happened how can only 60th fall down. We are also surprised and curious to know," he said.
Replying to a query, Panduranga Rao said in projects like these there will be many sub-contractors but did not give the numbers. "There is no politics involved," he said, when asked to comment on allegations by opposition parties in West Bengal that the contracts were given to leaders belonging to ruling Trinamool Congress.
On how the construction was taken up in a congested area, he said all approvals were given by the Kolkata municipal authorities.
In New Delhi, a spokeswoman of the now blacklisted IVRCL told reporters: "The work started after the approval of the construction material."
"The incident has shocked us and we are ourselves anxious to know the reason behind the collapse," the spokeswoman said.
"The investigation takes time. We don't have any information so far. We are there to cooperate in the investigation," she added.
In a bizarre diktat, a Jirga - elders' body - has reportedly settled a gang rape case for a compensation of 30 mounds of wheat in Sindh province of Pakistan, the victim's father claimed on Friday.
A case was registered with the local police in Ghulam Nabi Shah area of Umerkot district a few days ago on the complaint of the 14-year-old victim's brother, Sajan Shaikh.
Her father said following the registration of the case and the subsequent arrest of the main suspect, he was forced to settle the dispute through the Jirga and was promised a compensation of 30 mounds of wheat, Dawn reported.
The victim's father said that after he refused to accept the compensation he was forced to leave the area with his family.
He alleged that since the local media highlighted the issue, local elites have been threatening him to keep mum and withdraw the case.
A top police official of Mirpurkhas division Javed Alam Odho took notice of the incident and directed SSP Umerkot to investigate the case and provide protection to the victim's family.
The family of one of the victims of Gulshan-e-Iqbal park attack in Lahore, capital of Punjab province of Pakistan, said it will move the court against police.
The bruised and battered family of Muhammad Yousaf, victim of the attack that left at least 72 people killed and over 250 injured, said that the police added insult to their loss by detaining some of its members, Dawn online reported.
Police had detained members of Yousaf's family after mistakenly declaring him the suicide bomber during frantic search for clues after Sunday's blast.
Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a faction of the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack and said it deliberately targeted Christians celebrating Easter.
Jindan Mai, mother of Yousaf, narrated her ordeal and said that she can never forget the treatment Yousaf's family was subjected to by police who harassed and locked them up.
She said that her pleas that the family was innocent fell on deaf ears.
Soon after the blast, police raided Yousaf's home and arrested three of his brothers and locked the women inside.
His family members were freed on Wednesday and they went to Lahore to receive the body.
On Thursday, hundreds of people attended the funeral of Yousaf as he was laid to rest.
Yousaf had gone to Lahore and visited the park with his friends Bilal Shakir and Qari Yaqoob, both from Dera Ghazi Khan city. Bilal also died while Yaqoob was injured.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday attended the opening plenary session of the Fourth Nuclear Security Summit here.
"A careful examination of #nuclearsecurity issues on the agenda as PM arrives for Opening Plenary of #NSS2016," external affairs ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup tweeted as Modi joined leaders of 50 nations at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center here.
In his opening remarks, US President Barack Obama said that 102 countries have till now ratified the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPNM).
In the opening session, Modi is expected to share India's progress report on the work it has done since the last summit and also give his suggestions in the form of interventions.
In the second session over a working lunch, the focus of discussions will be on international institutional actions to strengthen nuclear security.
The third and final session of the summit will see the leaders engaged in a policy discussion on nuclear terrorism based on a hypothetical scenario.
This year's summit is the fourth and final of the biennial affairs.
The first summit was held in Washington in April 2010 followed by the summits in Seoul in March 2012 and The Hague in March 2014.
Amid speculation about Tata Steel's plans to close down its operations in Britain, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday held a bilateral meeting with his British counterpart David Cameron on the sidelines of the Fourth Nuclear Security Summit here.
"Enhancing a vibrant partnership... PM @narendramodi & PM @David_Cameron talk India-UK ties," the Prime Minister's Office tweeted.
The meeting assumes significance as Tata Steel, after having suffered nearly $3 billion in losses on its British operations, is exploring to put its entire portfolio there up for sale, some 10 years after it forayed into Europe by acquiring Anglo-Dutch Corus for over $8.1 billion.
With around 40,000 jobs at stake, Cameron was expected to take up the matter with Modi during the bilateral meeting here, according to media reports.
However, steel sector analysts are of the view that it is going to be difficult for the Indian group to find a buyer at this juncture when the sector is facing a downturn.
The decision comes less than a week after Tata Steel UK said it has reached an agreement to sell its Clydebridge and Dalzell steel facilities in Scotland to the local government, which will, in turn, hive it off to Liberty House, an international steel and non-ferrous metals group.
Earlier on Friday, Modi held a bilateral meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
In Friday's nuclear security summit, Modi is expected to share India's progress report on the work it has done since the last summit and also give his suggestions in the form of interventions.
This year's summit is the fourth and final of the biennial affairs.
The first summit was held in Washington in April 2010 followed by the summits in Seoul in March 2012 and The Hague in March 2014.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is here to attend the Fourth Nuclear Security Summit, on Friday held a meeting with his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau during the course of which both the leaders discussed bilateral ties.
"Canadian connect... today's meetings commence with an interaction with Canada's PM @JustinTrudeau. Both PMs discuss India-Canada relations," the Prime Minister's Office tweeted.
During Modi's visit to Canada in April last year, India clinched a multi-million dollar deal for uranium to power its civilian nuclear programme for five years and also inked 13 agreements on skill development.
After talks with then Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper, Modi sought Canada's "cooperation and investment in every area of India's national development priority".
Modi arrived here on Wednesday night on the second leg of his three-nation tour from Brussels where he attended the 13th India-European Union (EU) Summit and also held a bilateral meeting with Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel.
On Thursday, he held a bilateral meeting with New Zealand Prime Minister John Key here.
He also attended a leaders-only thematic dinner on "Nuclear security threat perceptions" hosted by US President Barack Obama at the White House.
Later on Friday, Modi will attend the plenary sessions of the nuclear security summit.
This year's summit is the last of the biennial affairs that started in 2010.
On his way back to India, Modi will pay a two-day bilateral visit to Saudi Arabia starting Saturday.
As leaders from over 50 nations gathered here to discuss nuclear terrorism, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a call to drop the notion that terrorism is someone else's problem and that "his" terrorist is not "my" terrorist.
"Terrorism is globally networked. But, we still act only nationally to counter this threat," he said at a working dinner hosted by President Barack Obama Thursday night to kick off the two-day Nuclear Security Summit.
"Nuclear security must remain an abiding national priority," Modi told the world leaders meeting in the shadow of Brussels and Lahore terror attacks. "All States must completely abide by their international obligations."
"Without prevention and prosecution of acts of terrorism there is no deterrence against nuclear terrorism," he warned lamenting that while "the reach and supply chains of terrorism are global, genuine cooperation between nation states is not."
Obama, who is hosting his fourth and last such summit to discuss how to prevent terrorists and other non state actors from gaining access to nuclear materials, was flanked Modi to the right and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the left.
The "dinner table" ran along the circumference of the East Room of the White House. In the middle were three big boxes of flowers, according to a pool report.
Modi, who has come to Washington after attending the India-EU summit in the Belgian capital said, "Brussels shows us how real and immediate is the threat to nuclear security from terrorism."
"Terror has evolved. Terrorists are using 21st century technology. But our responses are rooted in the past," he said asking the leaders to focus on three contemporary features of terrorism.
"First, today's terrorism uses extreme violence as theatre. Second, we are no longer looking for a man in a cave, but we are hunting for a terrorist in a city with a computer or a smart phone.
"And Third, State actors working with nuclear traffickers and terrorists present the greatest risk."
By putting spotlight on Nuclear Security, Obama has done great service to global security, Modi said and "this legacy of President Obama must endure."
Earlier, in an opinion piece in the Washington Post Thursday Obama said, "of all the threats to global security and peace, the most dangerous is the proliferation and potential use of nuclear weapons."
Outlining how to make the vision of a world without nuclear weapons a reality, he wrote: "We're clear-eyed about the high hurdles ahead, but I believe that we must never resign ourselves to the fatalism that the spread of nuclear weapons is inevitable."
"Even as we deal with the realities of the world as it is, we must continue to strive for our vision of the world as it ought to be," Obama wrote.
Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz co-hosted a separate working dinner for other members of the visiting delegations.
"In recent years, 13 countries, plus Taiwan, have given up weapons-usable plutonium and highly-enriched uranium entirely," Kerry noted. "An additional 12 countries have decreased their stockpiles of nuclear materials."
Since 2009, through various lines of effort, we have removed or eliminated enough weapons-grade fissionable material to supply nearly 7,000 nuclear bombs," he said.
India and other participating nations will present their national progress reports on steps taken by them to strengthen nuclear security since the last summit on Friday.
The first of these biennial nuclear security summits was held in Washington in April 2010 followed by the summits in Seoul in March 2012 and The Hague in March 2014.
(Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will arrive in Riyadh from Washington on Saturday on the third and last leg of his three-nation tour to pay a two-day bilateral visit to Saudi Arabia 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 the visit of then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2010.
During that visit, the relationship between the two countries was elevated to "strategic partnership".
This was after the Delhi Declaration made during then King Abdullah's historic visit to India in 2006, the first by a Saudi monarch in five decades.
There are four key aspects to India's relationship with Saudi Arabia: energy cooperation, the nearly three million-strong expatriate Indian community, Haj pilgrimage and security cooperation.
Saudi Arabia is India's largest crude oil supplier accounting for one-fifth of the total imports. In 2015, India imported $21 billion worth of crude oil from that Gulf nation.
Saudi Arabia is also India's fourth largest trading partner with exports to that country exceeding $11 billion.
At over 2.96 million, Indians form the largest expatriate community in Saudi Arabia and are crucial to the Indian economy as they send over $10 billion in remittances every year.
Over 134,000 Indians go for the Haj pilgrimage every year and almost 300,000 for Umra.
A key aspect of the strategic partnership between the two countries is the defence cooperation agreement signed during then Crown Prince Salman's visit to India in 2014.
With Saudi Arabia upping the ante against terrorism, security cooperation also has become an important cornerstone of the relationship. In recent times, Riyadh handed over to New Delhi key terror operatives like Abu Jundal and Abdul Aziz alias Gidda.
"India's ties with Saudi Arabia are special," Prime Minister Modi said in a statement ahead of his departure from New Delhi.
"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," he said.
The prime minister also said that he wanted Saudi businesses to partner in India's development plans.
Soon after his arrival in Riyadh on Saturday afternoon, Modi will visit the historic Masmak fortress.
The fortress was taken over by King Abdulaziz in 1902 in a sudden attack which marked the start of the history of the third state of Saudi Arabia.
Thereafter, Modi will meet with members of the Indian community which will be followed by a visit to the L&T workers' residential complex.
L&T is doing $2 billion worth of work on the $600-billion Riyadh Metro Project.
On Sunday, the prime minister will visit the Tata Consultancy Services' (TCS) all-women IT centre.
"It is a very happy thing that he will be doing because this centre provides employment opportunities to Saudi women and this is empowerment of Saudi women," Mridul Kumar, joint secretary (Gulf) in the external affairs ministry, said at a media briefing in connection with the visit.
"When the centre started two or three years back, there were 80 people in that centre. It has now grown to over 1,000," he said, adding that 80 percent of the workers there were local Saudi girls.
Stating that this was the first BPO operation by any company in the world in Saudi Arabia, Kumar said that "it is a very important statement that we will be making there".
After this, Modi will meet with select top Saudi business leaders.
The official ceremony at the Royal Court will start in the afternoon when King Salman will receive the prime minister
King Salman will host a lunch in Modi's honour in which key Saudi ministers and other leaders will be present,
This will be followed by a delegation-level meeting and signing of agreements.
The prime minister will leave for New Delhi late Sunday afternoon.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has described cyber-related threats as a global risk to bloodless war, while Home Minister Rajnath Singh calls it the biggest challenge for India.
Experts also say India is particularly vulnerable, including its businesses. Shree Parthasarathy, partner, Deloitte in India, told IANS that though the Indian government and regulators have demonstrated significant focus on cyber security, more attention is needed on strengthening the initiatives to address growing challenges in the area. Excerpts from the interview:
Q: What are the current trends in cyber threats and security issues for businesses and industries in India, and the risks to the country?
A: The risks are enormous for businesses of all sizes and in all industries -- ranging from reputational, operational and financial risk to the potential for significant market disruptions due to systemic risk. Despite these realities, many organisations are not prepared for the challenge. In fact, many lack the internal knowledge, tools and resources to effectively combat today's increasingly complex threat landscape.
Q: How prepared are the government and regulatory policies in India to deal with these issues, compared to the global standards?
A: The Indian government and regulatory bodies have demonstrated significant focus on cyber security and several initiatives have been launched, implemented or under implementation. But focus should be on strengthening these initiatives to address growing cyber challenges and ensure effective implementation in line with global standards.
Q: What kind of research work goes on in India to combat cyber-crime?
A: Cyber security research in India is multi-dimensional. It is supported by academia, start-ups, research and development centers of Indian and global organisations and central government-led institutions. There is a definite need of increasing the academic focus on cyber security to incubate skills and nurture research talent to support growing industry. Deloitte CIC (explained below) focuses on threat intelligence and analysis, threat research, malware analysis and cyber forensics capabilities.
Q: What is the percentage of cyber security breaches in India and how much of it is serious crime?
A: Reporting of security breaches remains a challenge world-wide and in India, there are varying reports on statistics of security breaches and could not be confirmed or quoted.
Q: Is there any legal obligations on Indian companies to notify the breach of cyber security to any government or self-regulatory agency? If no, why?
A: No! But it is recommended that Indian companies and institutions notify CERT-IN (Indian Computer Emergency Response Team) in case of any breach of cyber security. There is a need to empower nodal agencies, and enable and enforce regulatory framework. There is also a reporting requirement. At the same time, it is also required to build confidence towards sharing information and its benefits for reporting enterprise or institution.
Q: What is the importance of the newly expanded Gurgaon Cyber Intelligence Center (CIC) to overall cyber risk practice of Deloitte?
A: The newly expanded Gurgaon Cyber Intelligence Center (CIC) is a strategic decision to enhance the overall capabilities of cyber risk practice of Deloitte. It significantly adds to Deloitte's capabilities to provide on-demand, managed and shared services and will help to provide specialized services in advanced threat correlation and analytics, threat intelligence and analysis, and incident forensics -- in addition to standard managed services offered by Deloitte CIC.
Q: Will this new centre work with other existing Deloitte CICs globally (US, Japan, Spain, Australia and Canada)? What are the best practices it is going to adopt from other global centres?
A: India CIC is part of Deloitte's global network and it collaborates and contributes to cyber risk services delivered globally. The India CIC is connected with other CICs and threats are analyzed, shared and expertise is leveraged globally to support our client in India.
(Aparajita Gupta can be reached at aparajita.g@ians.in)
Indian-American child actor Neel Sethi, who plays Mowgli in "The Jungle Book", will make an appearance on American late-night talk show "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" along with Bill Murray, who gives the voice to the character Baloo the bear in the forthcoming Disney's adventure fantasy film.
Kimmel took to Twitter to make the announcement.
"Tonight on Kimmel... Bill Murray, Neel Sethi... 'The Jungle Book'," Kimmel wrote on Friday.
"The Jungle Book" showcases Mowgli's journey of self-discovery when he is forced to abandon his home in the forest. It is supported by voiceovers of Murray, Ben Kingsley, Idris Elba, Lupita Nyong'o, Scarlett Johansson and Christopher Walken.
The film, which will release in India on April 8, a week before it releases in the US, promises to be an advanced version of the eponymous 1967 animated film, and brings the story of Rudyard Kipling's 1864 timeless classic back on the big screen.
The story has been re-imagined by Jon Favreau, who is known for "Iron Man" and "Chef", and backed by superior technology.
The episode will be aired in India on April 4 on Star World and Star World HD.
Researchers, including one of Indian-origin, have developed a novel vaccine regimen that produces rapid and long-term protection against Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) that is transmitted through mosquitoes and causes fever and joint pain that can sometimes become severe and disabling.
Outbreaks of the virus have already occurred in Asia, Africa and Europe, and, in late 2013, the virus was first seen in the Americas with the number of cases dramatically increased.
No vaccine to prevent or treat this virus currently exists, the study pointed out.
"The vaccination regimen we tested in this study provided stable, persistent responses against a virus with rapidly increasing global incidence," said first author of the study Karrupiah Muthumani, assistant professor at The Wistar Institute in Philadelphia, US.
"This new approach will likely have importance for a variety of infectious and non-infectious diseases," Muthumani noted.
The study, published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, showed how the vaccine strategy that boosts the immune system by rapidly producing antibodies against CHIKV, combined with a traditional DNA-based vaccine approach, can provide both short term and long term protection against the virus.
"Antigen-based vaccination strategies require a lag time that leaves patients susceptible to infection and disease," senior author of the study David Weiner from The Wistar Institute said.
"This novel strategy for generating rapid immune protection has the ability to fill this gap in the way vaccines are developed for CHIKV and other emerging and dangerous diseases," Weiner noted.
In this study, when mice infected with CHIKV were given one intramuscular injection of the monoclonal antibody-producing CHIKV vaccine, antibodies against the virus were generated in vivo within 24 hours of administration.
The injection neutralised isolated pockets of the virus and protected the mice from viral challenge.
Since the virus usually manifests itself within three-to-seven days of transmission, a rapid response is important for reducing the burden of the disease.
When combined with a DNA-based vaccine for CHIKV, the researchers observed both rapid and long-lived protection against the virus.
There is still no information about the fate of Indian priest Father Thomas Uzhunnallil, who was abducted by IS terrorists in Yemen last month and allegedly crucified by them, said a official of his Catholic order on Friday.
"We do not have any information and updates on Father Thomas Uzhunnallil," Father Jose Koyickal, the vice provincial of the Indian Salesian Order of Don Bosco's Sacred Heart Province of Bengaluru - to which Uzhunnallil belongs, told IANS.
He said the unconfirmed news of Uzhunnallil's crucifixion at the hands of IS terrorists on Good Friday emerged from some Christian prayer groups in Dubai.
Koyickal said the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) deputy secretary general, Father Joseph Chinnayyan, is slated to meet External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Saturday to discuss the matter.
The 56-year-old Uzhunnallil, trained in technical education, has been with the order's Bengaluru province, which handles part of Karnataka and Kerala, for almost 30 years, he said.
"He worked for the poorer youth and skilling them was one of our primary activities. Uzhunnallil worked at Kolar Gold Fields in Karnataka and was the principal of Don Bosco Royal ITI. Then he moved to Bhadravati and Hassan... he worked in these three places five to six years each," Koyickal told IANS.
After this, Uzhannallil set off to Yemen in 2010 to become priest of the only Catholic Church approved by the Yemeni government -- the St. Francis of Assisi parish in Aden, and also caretaker of Missionaries of Charity Care Home in the same city.
"The care home was started by Mother Teresa at the invitation of the Yemeni government in 1992. It took care of the local destitute, disabled and abandoned people who are mostly Muslim," said Koyickal.
Mother Teresa opened four care homes and wanted Catholic priests to serve the spiritual needs of the nuns running the operations and to help them in coordinating the work, he said.
According to the Catholic News Agency, the Missionaries of Charity have been present in Yemen since 1973.
Koyickal said the war and violence in Yemen between Houthi rebels and the government forced almost everybody to leave, abandoning the place where the care home and the church are located.
"Uzhunnallil came back to India in January 2015 on expiry of his visa, stayed here for three months and returned to Yemen in April 2015 to volunteer at the church and the care home as there was no one to serve them," he said.
On March 4, the priest from Kerala was kidnapped after IS terrorists barged into the care home and shot dead many people, including four nuns of the Missionaries of Charity, one of them from India.
Most of the people who attended the church in Aden were foreigners and diplomats. It falls under the purview of the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia headed by Swiss Bishop Paul Hinder, which oversees the Catholic Church in UAE, Oman and Yemen.
The vicariate operates multiple schools, parishes and churches in the region and has been receiving priests from the Sacred Heart Province of Bengaluru from the late 1980 on request.
Koyickal said the Indian Salesian Order of Don Bosco is 2,667 members strong, of which 1,561 are priests and 1,106 are in training to be ordained so.
Globally, there are 15,037 Salesian Order members - 10,249 priests and 4,788 brothers - while the Sacred Heart Province of Bengaluru has 233 priests and 133 brothers.
A defiant North Korea and global terrorism were the main focus of talks at the fourth Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) in Washington.
The two-day biennial summit opened here on Thursday night with a welcome dinner at the White House for the over 50 top world leaders, including India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, attending the two-day event which will conclude on Friday, media reports said.
US President Barack Obama, who launched the summit in 2010 and is hosting his fourth and last such summit, said there is "great urgency" to end the scourge of global terrorism after the March 22 Brussels attacks, in which 32 people were killed, and the Paris attacks in November last year that claimed 130 lives.
Obama was flanked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the left and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the other side during the NSS working dinner to discuss how to prevent terrorists and other non-state actors from gaining access to nuclear materials.
Xi and Obama found common ground on confronting the nuclear threat posed by North Korea. China supported a new round of UN sanctions against the Pyongyang government after it tested a nuclear device and fired ballistic missiles, the New York Times reported.
Obama also met Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan and South Korea's President Park Geun-hye.
In a meeting prior to the dinner on Thursday evening, Obama praised his French counterpart, Francois Hollande, for "galvanising the European community" in the fight against terror groups. Both leaders also discussed ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation to prevent further terrorist attacks, EFE news reported.
Russia, the country with the largest nuclear weapons arsenal in the world, has decided not to attend the summit citing "lack of cooperation" between partners, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov.
Russia's absence makes it difficult to reach major agreements on nuclear safety.
Nine countries -- the US, Russia, Britain, France, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea -- together possess more than 15,000 nuclear weapons -- but 90 percent of all nuclear weapons are in the US and Russia.
Besides Hollande, Xi and Modi, British Prime Minister David Cameron, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev are also attending the summit.
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was due to participate in the summit but he cancelled his visit in the backdrop of the deadly suicide attack at Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park in Lahore on March 27, in which at least 72 people, including 29 children, were killed and over 300 others injured.
However, Minister of State and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Syed Tariq Fatemi will represent Pakistan at the Summit.
The first of these biennial nuclear security summits was held in Washington in April 2010, followed by summits in Seoul in March 2012 and The Hague in March 2014.
US Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz co-hosted a separate working dinner for other members of the visiting delegations.
The National Human Rights Commission on Friday issued notices to the commerce and health ministries over reports that India has reassured the US-India Business Council to take a restrained approach in handing out licences to produce cheaper versions of drugs patented with the American firms.
Taking cognisance of the issue through media reports, the commission has observed that the step will deny the people of India access to generic medicines at affordable prices.
It has also learnt that at least two applications for compulsory licences to produce domestically generic versions of drugs patented in the US were rejected in 2015.
"The commission has called for reports within two weeks from the ministries of commerce and industries as well as health, through their secretaries in the matter," said a commission statement.
"The commission observed that the contents of the reports, if true, raise questions impinging upon right to health of citizens in India," said the statement.
Seeking to allay concerns about safety of its nuclear programme, Pakistan has asserted that, unlike India, it has never suffered an accident or breach of security.
Amidst global concerns over the safety of its nuclear weapons, Pakistan's foreign secretary Aizaz Chaudhary said the impression that Islamabad's nuclear installations were insecure was baseless, Dawn online reported on Friday.
"Pakistan's nuclear installations are not only secure but the world also acknowledges that they are," he said.
Chaudhary, who is here to attend the Nuclear Security Summit hosted by US President Barack Obama, said the International Atomic Energy Agency has recorded 2,734 nuclear incidents worldwide, including five in India, but "not a single accident or breach happened in Pakistan, although our programme is 40 years old".
The foreign secretary said it was wrong to describe Pakistan's short-range missiles or small nukes as battlefield or tactical weapons.
"Pakistan has short-range and long-range missiles, and the purpose behind both is to deter aggression," he said, adding "we want to prevent war, to prevent the space Indians created for war" by building military installations close to the Pakistani border as part of their cold start doctrine, he added.
"Calling them battlefield weapons creates a wrong perception. These are for deterrence, only and only for defence," Chaudhary said. "There is no cause for concern."
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was due to participate in the summit but he cancelled his visit in the backdrop of the deadly suicide attack at Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park in Lahore on March 27, in which at least 72 people, including 29 children, were killed and over 300 others injured.
Chaudhary is now representing Pakistan at the Summit.
The foreign secretary said Pakistan had installed radiation monitors at all sensitive facilities and planned to install more monitors at all 72 exit and entry points in the country.
"India, on the other hand, has an ambitious nuclear programme, and an equally ambitious conventional weapons programme," he added. "We have a modest programme because we feel we have the right to defend ourselves."
Pakistan has sought to allay concerns about the safety of its nuclear programme maintaining that the country had never suffered a nuclear accident or breach of security.
At a news briefing here on Thursday, Pakistan's foreign secretary Aizaz Chaudhary said the impression that Islamabad's nuclear installations were insecure was baseless, Dawn online reported on Friday.
"Pakistan's nuclear installations are not only secure but the world also acknowledges that they are," he said.
Chaudhary said the International Atomic Energy Agency has recorded 2,734 nuclear incidents worldwide, including five in India, but "not a single accident or breach happened in Pakistan, although our programme is 40 years old".
The foreign secretary said it was wrong to describe Pakistan's short-range missiles or small nukes as battlefield or tactical weapons.
"Pakistan has short-range and long-range missiles, and the purpose behind both is to deter aggression," he said, adding "we want to prevent war, to prevent the space Indians created for war" by building military installations close to the Pakistani border as part of their cold start doctrine, he added.
"Calling them battlefield weapons creates a wrong perception. These are for deterrence, only and only for defence," Chaudhary said. "There is no cause for concern."
The foreign secretary said Pakistan had installed radiation monitors at all sensitive facilities and planned to install more monitors at all 72 exit and entry points in the country.
"India, on the other hand, has an ambitious nuclear programme, and an equally ambitious conventional weapons programme," he added. "We have a modest programme because we feel we have the right to defend ourselves."
At least 59 Indian fishermen were arrested in Pakistan for poaching in the country's waters, the media reported on Sunday.
"The Indian fishermen were arrested by the Maritime Security Agency (MSA) on Thursday while they were fishing in the Pakistani limits of the Arabian Sea," said a senior official.
Most of the arrested fishermen, he said, belonged to the Indian state of Gujarat Dawn online.
The fresh arrest of Indian fishermen came days after the two countries released imprisoned fishermen.
On March 6, Pakistan released some 87 Indian fishermen and then only after two weeks, on March 20, it freed 86 more, who left for Lahore by train in the afternoon where they were handed over to Indian authorities at the Wagah border.
On March 17, nine Pakistani fishermen were freed by India after they had spent some 17 months in the Jamnagar jail in Gujarat.
Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesman Aizaz Chaudhary has said there was no cause of concern about Islamabad's nuclear programme since the country never had a nuclear accident or breach of security.
At a news briefing on Thursday, the foreign secretary said the impression that Pakistan's nuclear installations were insecure was baseless, Dawn online reported on Friday.
"Pakistan's nuclear installations are not only secure but the world also acknowledges that they are," he said.
Chaudhary said that the International Atomic Energy Agency has recorded 2,734 nuclear incidents worldwide, including five in India, but "not a single accident or breach happened in Pakistan, although our programme is 40-year old".
The foreign secretary said it was wrong to describe Pakistan's short-range missiles or small nukes as battlefield or tactical weapons.
"Pakistan has short-range and long-range missiles, and the purpose behind both is to deter aggression," he said, adding "We want to prevent war, to prevent the space Indians created for war" by building military installations close to the Pakistani border as part of their cold start doctrine, he added.
"Calling them battlefield weapons creates a wrong perception. These are for deterrence, only and only for defence," Chaudhary said. "There is no cause of concern."
The foreign secretary said Pakistan had installed radiation monitors at all sensitive facilities and planned to install more monitors at all 72 exit and entry points in the country.
"India, on the other hand, has an ambitious nuclear programme, and an equally ambitious conventional weapons programme," he added. "We have a modest programme because we feel we have the right to defend ourselves."
Philippine authorities recovered $4.6 million, which were robbed from the (BB) and were on the way to being laundered in the country's casinos, the media reported on Friday.
The money is part of the $81 million that hackers diverted on February 5 from the account of the BB with the US Fed, into a Philippine bank before channeling it into casinos, EFE news reported.
The money was returned in cash to the official Philippine body against money laundering, the AMLC, on Thursday by representatives of Kim Wong, a casino junket operator, who was being investigated after part of the money was traced to his bank account.
"Today Kim Wong kept his promise to the Senate Blue Ribbon committee to return the $4.63 million in his casino to the AMLC for later transmittal to the Bangladesh Central Bank," said Kim's lawyer Inocencio Ferrer.
Wong offered to turn in another $9 million that he had received for losses accumulated in the casino by one of the two bookies from China and Macau, who were identified by Kim as the masterminds of the BB heist in a statement he made before a Senate committee this week.
He said another $17 million were deposited in a money transfer service company, which was denied by the company management.
A petition was filed on Friday at the Calcutta High Court for a court-monitored probe into the flyover tragedy here that has claimed 24 lives so far.
Filed before the bench of Chief Justice Manjula Chellur, the PIL (public interest litigation) seeks a CBI investigation as well as a panel of experts from IIT Kharagpur to probe the causes for the collapse of Vivekananda Flyover in the busy Posta area on Thursday.
"An expert committee is required to examine whether the materials used for construction were quality checked or not, whether they were approved by the ISI as well as whether there was any flaw in the planning of the entire project," said Goutam Dey, counsel for the petitioner.
\"So we have urged the court to form a committee comprising experts from IIT Kharagpur which will work under the supervision of the court. We have also asked for a CBI probe into the whole matter," Dey said.
The petition also seeks to know the financial status of the Hyderabad-based company IVRCL that was tasked with constructing the two-km flyover that collapsed on THursday afternoon, leaving at least 24 dead and over 80 others injured.
The city police have sealed the offices of the company here and booked it under the charge of culpable homicide.
The FIR was filed following instructions of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who has promised strict action against those responsible for the tragedy.
IVRCL has been battling financial constraints and has been blacklisted by several states. It said on Thursday that the tragedy was "an act of God".
Weighed down by a loss in excess of Rs.1,500 crore by March 2015, the publicly traded company has seen its shares plummeting since Thursday's tragedy.
China's state-owned news agency Xinhua has urged people not to play pranks and fall for them on April Fool's Day which is not in sync with Chinese tradition and core values.
"April Fool's Day is not in accordance with our cultural tradition, or socialist core values. Please do not believe, create or spread rumours," said Xinhua's official page on Sina Weibo, China's equivalent to Twitter.
On April fool's Day, first day of the month, people play practical jokes on each other. Though celebrated for centuries, its origin is still unknown.
The post drew sharp and witty reactions from the people and users of blogging site.
"Xinhua must be joking," a journalist with a Chinese newspaper told IANS. He requested that his name not be revealed.
"This is the most serious April Fool's Day joke I've ever heard," Global Times quoted a Weibo user.
Some were serious.
"It is just a special day. If you want to celebrate it, you celebrate it; if you don't want to celebrate it, you just see it as another day. Is it necessary to raise it to the level of socialist core values?" Weibo user @saishangjiutouniao asked.
"You are talking about socialist core values when even the vaccines for our children are not safe? Every day is April Fool's Day, okay?" said another user.
Of late the communist government has stepped up censorship and vigil on dissent.
This week an editor of the newspaper quit, saying he could no longer "bear the Party's surname."
In February, sitting in an anchor's seat at a state-controlled TV news channel organisation, President Xi Jinping had asked all the media outlets to adopt the party's surname.
His reference was to the Communist Party of China which controls the government.
Haryana on Friday told the Supreme Court that 2004 Punjab law terminating all water sharing agreements with neighbouring Haryana, Rajasthan, and Delhi breached principles of separation of powers and was also contrary to the country's federal polity.
Assailing the Punjab Termination of Agreement Act, 2004, it told the constitution bench headed by Justice Anil R. Dave that the Punjab assembly can't pass a law to neutralise the judgment of the apex court in which its own executive was a party to dispute.
Addressing Punjab's contention that there was a change of circumstance, senior counsel Shyam Divan, appearing for Haryana, said the Punjab assembly was not competent to enact a law on the grounds that the dispute had already been decided by the court, the extra-territorial nature of the legislative act and the federal structure of the country's polity.
Arguing that the state could not have usurped the judiciary's authority, Haryana told the constitution bench also comprising Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose, Justice Shiva Kirti Singh, Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel and Justice Amitava Roy that the state could not be a judge of its own cause.
Referring to the apex court judgment on Cauvery water dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and dispute between Kerala and Tamil Nadu over Tamil Nadu's demand for increasing the water level in Mullaperiyar dam to 142 feet, Divan said that any change of circumstance could only be considered by the court alone and legislature can't step in.
He referred to the apex constitution court verdict of May 7, 2014 in Mullaperiyar dam case where the court had said: "The legislature cannot by invoking 'public trust doctrine' or 'precautionary principle' indirectly control the action of the courts and directly or indirectly set aside the authoritative and binding finding of fact by the court, particularly, in situations where the executive branch (government of the state) was a party in the litigation and the final judgment was delivered after hearing them."
The court had said this while holding unconstitutional the Kerala Irrigation and Water Conservation (Amendment) Act, 2006 in its application to and effect on the Mullaperiyar dam.
While Tamil Nadu had sought to increase the water level in the dam to 142 feet, Kerala had opposed it citing threat to the safety of the dam.
Haryana cited the earlier ruling in the course of the hearing of a Presidential reference seeking the court's advisory opinion on the Punjab Termination of Agreement Act, 2004.
Meanwhile Punjab represented by senior counsel Rajeev Dhavan on Friday again sought to know the central government's stand on the Punjab Termination of Agreement Act so that it could address this in the course of its arguments.
Senior counsel Ram Jethmalani also representing Punjab told the court that it should refuse to answer the Presidential reference and sought time to address the court on this point.
North Korea on Friday fired off a ground-to-air missile into its eastern waters, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.
The short-range missile, which flew about 100 km, was launched around 12.45 p.m. from the eastern region near the coast of Seondeok in South Hamgyeong province, Xinhua news agency reported.
The launch came just three days after Pyongyang fired one round of its new 300-mm multiple rocket launcher in north-eastern direction.
With projectile launches in recent weeks, Pyongyang has shown its protest against the ongoing US-South Korea joint military exercises and newly-adopted international sanctions on Pyongyang.
South Korean President Park Geun-hye, who is attending the two-day Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, D.C., reiterated her position on Thursday of focusing on sanctions, rather than dialogue, to make North Korea abandon its nuclear program.
This year, North Korea started off by detonating what it claimed was its hydrogen bomb on January 6, the fourth of its nuclear tests, followed by the launch of a long-range rocket, which was condemned as a disguised test of ballistic missile technology, on February 7.
South Korea's defence ministry on Friday said North Korea has been sending disruptive signals to jam global positioning system (GPS) in the country.
Defence Ministry spokesman Moon Sang-Gyun said North Koreas's jamming operations are expected to continue for the time being as Pyongyang seemed to be aiming to raise tensions on the Korean peninsula by showing off its capability of disrupting GPS signals in South Korea, Xinhua reported.
North Korea began late Thursday to send the GPS-disrupting signals to South Korea from several regions north of the military demarcation line (MDL) dividing the two Koreas, including the western port city of Haeju and Mount Kumgang on the east coast.
Moon said there has been no damage reported in South Korea from North Korea's jamming operations, but he noted that if any damage happens to South Korean ships and airplanes, Seoul will make Pyongyang "pay a due price".
Jamming signals could cause malfunction of mobile phones and disruption of GPS in planes and vessels, which depend on the positioning system for navigation.
Pyongyang reportedly has GPS-disrupting devices. The country has allegedly tested its devices from a month ago before launching an attack this week.
The spokesman said North Korea's jamming devices could reach more than 100 km and affect Seoul and its suburban areas.
He noted that the South Korean military has equipment capable of detecting the jamming operations.
Unification Ministry spokesman Jeong Joon-Hee told a press briefing that jamming the GPS signals in South Korea itself was an act of provocation, and urged Pyongyang to "immediately stop such provocations that will not provide any help to improve inter-Korean relations".
Qatar signed 19 major arms deals worth $8.95 billion at the Doha International Maritime Defence Exhibition and Conference (DIMDEX 2016), the media reported on Friday.
The transactions included eight Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) inked on Thursday to supply Qatari Armed Forces with important maritime equipment valued at 1.29 billion Qatari riyals (QR), Xinhua news agency quoted authorities as saying.
They also included consolidation of a deal of 24 French Dassault Rafale fighters worth on Tuesday, as well as 10 MoU signed on Wednesday with international companies for arming and developing the Armed Forces.
Dimdex 2016 has attracted about 9,000 visitors and official VIP delegations from over 60 participating countries.
During the three days event which concluded on Thursday, international and local exhibitors took full advantage of the opportunity to present the latest maritime defence technology to buyers, build business connections, discuss the latest trends in the industry and secure deals.
The Qatari Armed forces inked 40 deals worth almost $23 billion during the previous edition of DIMDEX held in 2014.
An unpiloted Russian resupply vehicle for the International Space Station (ISS) was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Thursday with three tonnes of food, fuel and supplies to astronauts.
The ISS Progress 63 ship began a two-day journey to reach the station for an automated docking to the aft port of the Zvezda Service Module on April 2.
"The 63rd Progress resupply ship is beginning its two-day treck to ISS," a NASA commentator said as Russia's Roscosmos space agency aired a live liftoff from its Baikonur launchpad.
After this, a SpaceX Dragon vehicle is set for launch on April 8 from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.
The Dragon capsule will launch on a Falcon 9 rocket, carrying science research, crew supplies and hardware to the orbiting laboratory in support of the Expedition 47 and 48 crews.
The flight also includes the Bigelow Aerospace expandable habitat module that will be attached to the space station for testing.
In its scheduled return to Earth in May, the Dragon capsule will bring back biological samples from astronauts, including those collected during NASA's one-year mission.
This launch is the eighth contracted mission by SpaceX under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services contract.
At least seven Taliban militants were killed over the past 24 hours across Afghanistan, the country's defence ministry said on Friday.
"Seven militants have been killed and 14 wounded when Afghan National Security Forces launched joint operations in the countryside," Xinhua quoted the ministry as saying.
The ministry also confirmed the loss of seven army personnel during the operations.
The Afghan security forces have recently beefed up security as the spring and summer, known as the fighting season, is nearing.
The West, with the US always in the vanguard, is wailing and screaming its heart out against the ISIS for the terrible things it has done in Paris and Brussels, but is in stunned silence at the recapture of Palmyra from Islamic State's clutches by an alliance of the Syrians, Hezbullah, Iran, all under Russian supervision.
Robert Fisk, that splendid chronicler of West Asia, is at his biting best:
"The biggest military defeat that ISIS has suffered in more than two years - the recapture of the Roman city of Empress Zenobia, and we are silent. Yes, folks, the bad guys won, didn't they? Otherwise, we would all be celebrating, wouldn't we?"
Murderers of Paris and Brussels have suffered a crushing defeat. Why then is the West and its independent press so glumly silent? Because victory was achieved by the Russian-led coalition?
It is not generally recognized that there is widespread suspicion in circles outside the Western establishment (this includes the media) that the West is not wholeheartedly in the fight to destroy the ISIS. To use a racing metaphor, the West pulls back its horses just when the ISIS is about to be trampled.
I have seen this sport at least since August 2014 when President Obama blurted out the truth in an interview with Thomas Friedman of the New York Times. Asked why he did not use air strikes against the ISIS to halt their march towards Baghdad, Obama did not mince words: "That would have taken the pressure off Nouri al Maliki."
Iraq's obstinate Shia Prime Minister was being blamed by Washington for the "anti-Sunni" policies which were being cited as one of the reasons for the rise of ISIS.
It is a convoluted argument that, by not attacking the nascent ISIS, the US was allowing the Caliphate to gain sufficient strength so that it could force Maliki to leave. This would pave the way for the next Shia Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi handpicked by the US. In other words, under certain circumstances the ISIS, like Mujahideen in an earlier game, can be a Western asset.
Terrible human dislocations and death in Syria, the refugee crisis on an epic scale in Europe, caused Obama and Vladimir Putin to agree to limit the damage. On May 12, 2015, an understanding was reached between Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
They agreed that a political solution was the only way out of the Syrian impasse. Obviously, Kerry had to sell the agreement to Riyadh, Ankara and Jerusalem by maintaining an ambiguity on President Bashar al Assad's future - he will go but "when" has to be decided. Lavrov spoke a straightforward language: Assad would stay until all inclusive elections by the Syrian people decide on their leader.
The important point is that the Washington-Moscow understanding on Syria held despite Riyadh and Ankara throwing a ginger fit. How else does one explain the presence of the Operations Rooms in Baghdad to co-ordinate military activity against the ISIS. Russian command of the Air Space over Syria would not have been possible without an understanding between the Air Commands in the region.
The Western media did yeoman service by pulling a curtain over US embarrassments in Syria. To balance its attitude it chose not to dwell Russian-Syrian victories. Secretary of Defence Ashton Carter had his face distinctly in the lower mould when US Special Forces were caught with their pants down. Arms given to the so-called "opposition" were handed to militants. The "opposition" sought safe passage to few know where.
Russian and Syrian advances against the ISIS surprised those who did much drum beating to fight the ISIS but somehow minimized participation in real combat. Meanwhile the panic stricken Turkish President, Tayyip Erdogan, by his excesses against the Kurds, pushed them into the Russian embrace. Material and military assistance flowed to the Kurds giving them muscle against Ankara which is reaping a terrible whirlwind in the form of suicide bombings and terror strikes. The Turkish leader has charged off to Washington, imploring Obama for something which has already been denied him before: a no fly zone in Northern Syria to serve as a kind of paddock where Syrian refugees can be parked.
Of course, US think tanks have been spending months in Lebanon to study if the power structure in Beirut can offer a model for Syria to follow. They have also been spending time in Iraq: is Iraq's federal structure worth emulating? Meanwhile, the Geneva process is stumbling along. Syria is promising a referendum on each issue, including agreements reached at the Geneva dialogue.
All this activity notwithstanding, an end to the Syrian crisis is not in sight. Stakeholders like Saudi Arabia, Ankara and Jerusalem have their eyes set on the US elections. These and other regional players will do whatever they can to allow the problem to linger until a new President settles in the White House. Their approach does not take into account the mounting sense of panic in Europe where each day's delay to the Syrian conflict means so many more migrants knocking at Europe's door.
(Saeed Naqvi is a commentator on political and diplomatic affairs. The views expressed are personal. He can be reached on saeednaqvi@hotmail.com)
Eight states, including Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, have issued bonds of nearly Rs.1 lakh crore in 2015-16 under the UDAY scheme for debt restructuring of distressed state distribution companies (discoms), Power Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday.
"Another target achieved: UDAY bonds worth almost Rs 1 lakh crore issued in the last financial year helping achieve 24X7 affordable power for all," he said in a tweet.
Goyal also welcomed Uttarakhand joining the scheme.
"Congratulations to the people of Uttarakhand on the Govt. of India, State and DISCOMs signing UDAY MoU to ensure power for all," he added, on the state signing the Uday MoU here on Thursday.
"Under UDAY, ten states have signed MoU till date. The combined discom debt that would be restructured in respect of these states is around Rs.1.96 lakh crore, which is approximately 45 percent of the total outstanding discom debt of Rs.4.3 lakh crore as on 30th September, 2015," a power ministry release said.
The scheme envisages taking over 75 percent of discoms' cumulative debt by March next year. States would issue loans against the debt at prevailing market rates. The balance 25 percent would be issued as sovereign backed bonds by discoms.
After two successive years of poor rains, farmers in India can look forward to favourable monsoon this year, thanks to positive weather patterns.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and Skymet, India's independent weather forecasting service, an overall good rainfall of around 89 cm is expected between June 1 to September 30 -- the monsoon period in India.
Last year, the country suffered mild drought in parts of northern India, while the year before large parts of north and east India experienced full-scale drought.
"It's still hard to predict the monsoon as per geographical distribution, but it would be much better than last year. It would definitely have a positive effect on the economy and bring good news for farmers," Mahesh Palawat, director Skymet, told IANS.
The prediction of good rains is based on the pattern changes evident with drop in 'El Nino', a climatic phenomenon which is the warm phase of the cycle of warm and cold temperatures in the Pacific Ocean that also impacts the monsoon.
A high El Nino has a negative effect in terms of the weather, agriculture and economics.
Palawat said that due to the vibrant geographical distribution of India, even during average normal rainfall there is mild drought in some areas. However, the situation this year would be better than the past two years.
In India, 89 cm of rain is equivalent to 100 percent rainfall, which is called normal monsoon.
Experts predict between 100 to 102 percent rainfall this year.
In the past two years, the rainfall situation had been bleak, especially over the regions of northern Karnataka, Maharashtra, Punjab, Haryana, Bihar, Jharkhand and eastern Uttar Pradesh -- major farming areas of the country.
The unseasonal rainfall in 2015 -- hailstorm in late September, and heavy rain in winter -- and the drought situation in 2014 directly hit paddy farmers of the major rice growing states, hurting the country's agronomics.
The signs this year are promising. The sea surface temperatures of the tropical central and eastern Pacific Ocean are predicting good rain days ahead.
"Though the tentative dates of monsoon prediction are between April 20-25, the drop in El Nino pattern, which may go below 0.5 by May end and become neutral, projects an upbeat picture for the monsoons ahead," an IMD official told IANS, declining to be named.
According to the experts, 2015-16 saw one of the strongest El Ninos of history, causing below normal and close to drought like situation in India and some other developing countries.
"For six months since the last monsoon, El Nino was above 2 scale, which is called severe El Nino. However, according to the last two weeks' data, it has dropped to 1.8, and 1.0 last week, which is moderate El Nino. We expect it to reach 0.5 by May end, which is called neutral El Nino," another expert at IMD told IANS.
The official said that if El Nino reaches 0.5, then it would not affect the monsoon in any way and rainfall would be normal.
According to data compiled for 10 years, based on the El Nino situation, six years showed low rainfall and four years saw heavy rainfall -- both results were definitely not normal, he added.
"Even though as per our tests, El Nino didn't show exact one-on-one relation with the rainfall, but it does affect the normal range of rainfall," the IMD official said.
(Kushagra Dixit can be reached at kushagra.d@ians.in)
The rule requiring that packets of tobacco products carry larger pictorial health warning will increase smuggling into India of foreign cigarettes that come without such a warning, said a farmers' grouping on Friday.
"It is a black day for us. By implementing the 85 percent pictorial warning rule, the government is actually trying to murder the tobacco farmers," Murali Babu, general secretary of the Federation of All India Farmers' Associations (FAIFA), told IANS.
The rule increasing the display area of the pictorial health warning on packs of cigarettes and other tobacco products from 40 percent to 85 percent came into effect on Friday. That will be in addition to textual health warning.
"The government has finally done what we have been requesting them not to do keeping in mind the lives of lakhs of tobacco growers in the country," said Babu, a tobacco farmer from Andhra Pradesh.
The government should not be shocked if a few more tobacco farmers commit suicides, following further revenue loss due to the implementation of the new rule, said Babu.
FAIFA represents tobacco growers in the country.
The government must now focus on checking the smuggling of cigarettes into India, which has risen due to higher taxes and harsher health warning rule, said Babu.
The sale of tobacco grown in India has been going down for the same reason, he said.
"It's clear that the government does not want to think about the farmers and wants to encourage smuggling," said Babu.
The implementation of the 85 percent pictorial warning display rule comes despite a parliamentary committee determining that the requirement is too harsh. The committee instead recommended pictorial warning be confined to 50 percent area of the pack's cover, which the government rejected.
There are over two lakh tobacco growers in the country and the tobacco industry provides further employment to lakhs of others, according to Tobacco Institute of India (TII), which represents the cigarette industry.
The tobacco grown in India includes FCV (Flue-Cured Virginia) which is used in making cigarettes.
Exports are estimated to earn more than Rs.6,000 crore in foreign exchange with FCV tobacco alone contributing Rs.4,000 crore, said the TII.
The market in India for foreign cigarettes, which come without any pictorial warnings on their packets, has been expanding without the government being able to crack down on such contraband products, said the TII.
Turkish police have detained an alleged killer of a Russian pilot along with 13 other suspected militants in the western city of Izmir, the media reported on Friday.
Alpaslan Celik reportedly came to Izmir with 13 others and was detained while dining in a restaurant in the Aegean coast city, Xinhua cited Daily Sabah as saying.
A Kalashnikov rifle, two handguns and ammunition were also seized in the operation, the report said.
Press reports said the other detainees were suspected members of the Islamic State (IS) militant group.
Celik, a Turkish national who fought inside Syria, allegedly killed a pilot of a Russian warplane after it was downed by Turkey in November last year.
"The detention of Alpaslan Celik is an important step and definitely a positive development for the amelioration of the two countries' relations," said Ismail Hakki Pekin, a retired general and former director of the intelligence department of the Turkish Joint Chief of Staff.
Ankara-Moscow ties were chilled over the downing incident, with Russia slappng a series of sanctions against Turkey.
Russia has urged Turkey repeatedly to arrest Celik and other suspects, and make a compensation and apology over the incident.
"The detention of Celik as a Turkish citizen and his trial by Turkish justice is very important to overcome the deadlock in the two countries' stalled relations," said Hasan Selim Ozertem, an expert on Russia at the International Strategic Research Organisation, a non-profit, non-governmental body in Ankara that focuses on Turkish security and cooperation.
"After all he committed a war crime," he said, adding that it will not be sufficient for normalised relations with Russia as Turkey has refused to apologise and compensate.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon commended a joint China-US presidential statement that the world's two major greenhouse gas emitters will sign the ambitious Paris climate agreement in April.
The two countries will sign the Paris Agreement on April 22, months after the historic pact on climate change was adopted in December during the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties (COP21) in France, the statement said earlier on Thursday.
Ban also welcomed the announcement that both countries will take their respective domestic steps to join the agreement at an early date this year, Xinhua cited a statement released by Ban's spokesperson as saying.
Moreover, the UN chief urged other countries to follow suit so that the agreement can come into force as early as possible.
Ban is further encouraged that the two countries will push reducing greenhouse gas emissions through international institutions this year, including the upcoming G20 Summit in the Chinese city of Hangzhou.
The Paris Agreement sets a target of holding the global average rise in temperature below two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, and preferably below 1.5 degrees.
The US and Saudi Arabia on Thursday imposed sanctions jointly on four individuals and two organisations, aiming to disrupt fundraising operations in South Asia and the Middle East, according to the US Treasury Department.
The joint action targeted James Alexander McLintock and his Pakistan-based Al-Rahmah Welfare Organisation, Abdul Aziz Nuristani and his Pakistan-based Jamia Asariya Madrassa, Treasury said in a press release, adding that the other two people sanctioned are Naveed Qamar and Muhammad Ijaz Safarash, according to Xinhua.
The Treasury said these organisations and individuals provide money for Al Qaeda, the Taliban, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and other Afghan extremist groups, and the sanctioned have ties across Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia.
It also said that McLintock and his organisation have provided funding to extremists under the false guise of helping orphans.
The sanctions freezes any property they have within US jurisdiction and bans Americans from doing business with them.
"From terrorising local populations to exploiting charities and religious institutions, Al Qaeda, the Taliban, and Lashkar-e-Tayyiba have a long history of inflicting violence on Americans and our allies throughout South Asia and the Middle East," said Adam J. Szubin, acting under secretary for and financial intelligence.
Condemning the ordinance authorising expenditure in Uttarakhand from Friday, the Congress on Friday termed it a "sinister conspiracy" by the Centre to obstruct and annul implementation of public welfare schemes and programmes of the previous government.
President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday gave his assent to the ordinance authorising expenditure beyond April 1 in Uttarakhand which is under central rule.
The union government on Wednesday approved the ordinance to authorise government expenditure in Uttarakhand from April 1 in view of President's Rule in the hill state.
"The Uttarakhand assembly had constitutionally passed the Appropriation Bill reflecting people's aspirations. This ordinance is nothing but Narendra Modi government's sinister conspiracy to obstruct and annul implementation of public welfare schemes and programmes, funds for which were allotted in the budget," said Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala.
"The Congress party condemns the legislative dishonesty of the BJP government to deny genuine developmental aspirations of people of Uttarakhand by first proroguing parliament and then following the ordinance route to perpetuate illegalities," he added.
Swaraj Abhyan leader Yogendra Yadav on Friday said that a new wave of student unrest is sweeping across university campuses in the country as the establishment is trying to suppress the voice of dissent.
"This always happens in history when someone tries suppress, when someone set all the values and norms aside and wants to just rule with brute force," he said, addressing students at the main gate of University of Hyderabad as he and other activists were not allowed to enter the campus by authorities.
"The new regime wants to send out clear message that there should be no more thinking, no more critical discussions, nothing that can raise voice of dissent but students are raising their voice," he said.
Yadav said it was during such unrest that some of the most beautiful and truthful voices of the society come out.
"What we are witnessing today is voices of truth that can't be suppressed merely with vice chancellor's orders, by using police or by sending few people in custody," he said.
With the ban on entry of media, politicians, activists and those not connected with university remained in force, the university security stopped Yadav, retired IAS officer Chaya Ratan and activists from different parts of the country who had come to express solidarity with the agitating students.
Yadav, who was on many occasions in the past was invited by the university to deliver lectures, termed the action of the authorities as unfortunate.
Describing it as a "gate meeting" often seen during trade union movements, he said universities were being turned into factories.
"Come in get your degrees but don't ask questions, don't debate, don't open your mind to anything other than your examination. This is the message they are giving," he said.
He pointed out that this is happening not just at Hyderabad University but also at JNU, Allahbad University, Jadavpur, IIFT Pune and other universities.
Yadav said that Vice Chancellor P. Appa Rao has no moral authority to continue in the post as he doesn't enjoy the trust of most vulnerable sections among students.
Recalling his previous visit to the university, he said things were returning to normal under the interim vice chancellor and asked what was the need for sending back Appa Rao.
"To come back in a clandestine manner and to rule the university with the help of police force is one of lowest things that could happen to any academic authority," he said.
Advising students to carry on the movement in a peaceful manner, he asked them to be careful about hotheads, indisciplined or those planted from outside who may indulge in violence.
Yadav described Rohith Vemula, a Dalit research scholar who committed suicide in January, an icon who is inspiring students across the country.
Meanwhile, students continued their protest on the campus demanding immediate removal and arrest of the vice chancellor.
The students staged a sit-in at the administration block and raised slogans against the university authorities. The authorities called police as a precautionary measure.
Joint Action Committee (JAC) for Social Justice, comprising various students' groups, is also demanding lifting of curbs on entry of media and others in the university, action against the police officers involved in "targeted violence" against students and dropping of false cases booked against students.
E-cigarettes are promoted as effective device for quitting smoking but a new study of Google search trends shows that very few people are actually interested in finding out information about how vaping can help kick the butt.
While the researchers found a significant jump in the popularity of the words "vape" and "vaping,", they noticed a decline in searches related to vaping health and smoking cessation.
Less than one percent of millions of Google e-cigarette searches in 2013 and 2014 focused on quitting smoking, the study said.
"The e-cigarette industry, the media, and the vaping community have promoted the notion that e-cigarettes are an effective device for quitting smoking, yet what we're seeing is that there are very few people searching for information about that," said the study's senior author Rebecca Williams from University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center in the US.
"They are more commonly searching for terms like 'buy,' shop,' or 'sale'," Williams noted.
The study was published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
In an attempt to better understand the rapidly changing landscape surrounding e-cigarette use, investigators analysed Google searches related to electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) from 2009 to 2014.
The data revealed that the number of ENDS-related searches is rapidly increasing with 8,498,000 searches in 2014 alone, up from only 1,545,000 in 2010.
Vaping and vaping-centric terms are also starting to overtake e-cigarette as the popular way to describe ENDS.
While a growing number of searches pertained to purchasing, less than one percent of searches in 2013 and 2014 related to quitting smoking a traditional combustible cigarette.
"Individuals in the US often endorse ENDS as smoking-cessation aids, and some surveys suggest that many believe using ENDS will help them quit combustible cigarettes. However, only a small and declining percentage of Google searchers for ENDS included terms indicative of cessation," Williams said.
"The context of this discrepancy is critical. When primed by survey questions, individuals appear to link ENDS with cessation, but in the privacy of their own home (when no investigator is providing options), it appears that searches for ENDS and cessation are infrequent," Williams explained.
Actor Karthi, who has shared an astounding chemistry with Nagarjuna in the film "Thozha" ("Oopiri" in Telugu), hopes their "bromance" continues for years to come as they hit it off very well on the film's set.
In an interview, he spoke about the movie, his experience of working with Nagarjuna and more. Excerpts from the interview:
Q. Your bonding with Nagarjuna is fantastic?
I really enjoyed working with Nag sir. The comfort level between us was amazing. We are friends in the film. But we are now brothers in real life. We got along well from the very first day. We share a common background. We are both actors' sons. We are both qualified engineers. We were both 33 when we came back to become actors in India. We had so much to talk and share. I will make sure the bromance continues in real life.
Q. You seemed to have conquered Telugu cinema with "Oopiri". Have you dubbed your own lines?
Yes, I've dubbed my lines in Telugu. When I did my first Telugu film, someone else dubbed for me. I was very upset about that. I wanted to dub my own lines. But they didn't take my offer seriously. It was my first film in Telugu and second in Tamil. Then when I did a second Telugu film 'Awara', I offered to dub my own lines and told them they could scrap my voice if they didn't like it. They liked my Telugu and retained it. During 'Oopiri', my director Vamsi was very helpful with my dialogues. I would sometimes go for 25-30 takes until I got it right.
Q. 35 takes???
Yes, I didn't mind. The result has been overwhelming. I've been appreciated in Telugu.
Q. To what do you attribute the huge success of the film?
It's a marvellous story. When I saw the original French film "The Intouchables", I felt we needed to take the emotions to another level.
Q. How did you do that?
The emotions were extremely controlled. We had to Indianise "The Intouchables" while making sure mine and Nag sir's characters remained sensitive to the original. All the emotional angles, my character's estranged family, et al are there in the original. We only opened up the emotions.
Q. Are Tamil actors like you and Dhanush attempting to bring more realistic acting into cinema?
As an actor, it is my endeavour to be true to my character. I remember a conversation between Naseeruddin Shah and Shabana Azmi where he spoke about her trying to perform in every scene. I don't want to be caught performing. I idolise Mohanlal sir. I've grown up watching Kamal Haasan sir and Rajinikanth sir. Later on in life, I realised how underrated my dad (Sivakumar) was. His performances in some of K. Balachander's films were outstanding.
Q. Do you follow any of your idols?
As far as following anyone is concerned, I've failed whenever I've looked outwards for inspiration. I listen only to myself.
Q. How did you get into films. Apparently, your father, the great Tamil actor Sivakumar, was opposed to the idea as your elder brother Suriya was already an actor?
Yes, I did my engineering. But half-way through my course, I realised I wanted to be in the movies. I spent a lot of time watching films. I never had the guts to go out and tell my dad that I wanted to join films. He brought us up far away from the movie industry. We were not even allowed on movie sets.
Q. Why was that?
My father didn't think there was financial security in movies. He wanted me to have a Plan B ready. Unlike the belief those days, he didn't believe the uneducated become film actors. He believed a strong educational background would help me with my career in films.
Q. What was your brother Suriya's advice to you?
He told me, 'If you want to achieve something, then you should be deserving. You have to change as a person to become an actor and a star, improve yourself a lot and keep learning.' He keeps pushing the boundaries and tries out new stuff irrespective of the time it consumes and the amount of work it demands. Now that is my inspiration.
Q. When are you turning director?
I came into movies to become a director. But sadly I am not a writer. And here in Tamil cinema, a director has to be writer.
Q. Any plans of doing Hindi cinema?
I haven't really thought about. But I love the cinema of Vishal Bhardwaj. If he calls, I will go. Otherwise I am happy where I am.
What happens when an irresistible force meets an immovable object? Third-party intervention can resolve the impasse. At least, that's what happened in the face-off between America's Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Apple. The FBI (aka almost-irresistible force) demanded that Apple (a nearly immovable object) help unlock an encrypted iPhone 5 used by Syed Rizwan Farook.
The Chinese zodiac indicates 2016 is the Year of the Monkey, but for M&A practitioners it may be feeling more like the Year of the . China's Anbang Insurance on Thursday withdrew a non-binding $14 billion takeover bid for Starwood Hotels & Resorts, citing ambiguous "market conditions." Its offer nevertheless helped the US hotelier wrest a sweeter price and more cash from Marriott International. It's a modern hazard for buyers up against Chinese suitors.
Marriott struck a deal nearly all in stock to buy the owner of the Westin and W brands last November. At the time, it was worth about $12.2 billion. In March, after Anbang and co-investors first galloped into the fray, Starwood determined the Chinese company had put forward a better proposal. That prompted Marriott to come back with a new offer clocking in at $13.6 billion, about a quarter in cash. A second, higher proposal from Anbang this week had elicited concerns over financing and political obstacles in both countries.
Chinese companies have become more aggressive in their takeover pursuits. Anbang bought New York's Waldorf Astoria last year, in the process paying one of the highest prices per room for a US hotel. In February, ChemChina swept in with a $43 billion deal to buy Syngenta after the Swiss seeds and pesticides maker had rejected entreaties from US-based Monsanto.
Sometimes, though, the appetite from China isn't sated. ON Semiconductor's purchase of Fairchild Semiconductor International last November and Thermo Fisher Scientific's agreed deal with genetic-analysis company Affymetrix both featured higher bids from Chinese-backed would-be buyers. Yet both targets wound up choosing the more predictable underbidders, fearing the bigger but riskier bids might not get across the finish line.
Financing risks aside, US sellers in particular are wrestling with just how much of a premium and how big a reverse break fee is enough to compensate for the possibility a Chinese buyer is rejected by the murky Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. As they struggle with the new calculus, however, they can leverage the Chinese interest in other ways. Even if it was inadvertent, Starwood may have just realigned some of the merger stars.
He's a MacArthur Genius. Popular Science has declared him one of the world's 10 most brilliant scientists. Discover has adjudged him one of the 50 best brains in science. He's one of the most innovative people under 35, according to the MIT Technology Review. At 22, he sold a company to Google and earned enough to retire; only he didn't.
Sadly, given it has happened just as the West Bengal Assembly campaign reaches fever pitch, the collapse of the under-construction flyover near Kolkata's Ganesh Talkies crossing will become something for the state's main parties to hit each other with. This is a pity, and not just because politicking in the midst of a tragedy is always sordid. It's also because it's vitally important to calmly figure out what might have gone wrong in the project without making convenient assumptions before the facts are in.
When I asked the late Abu Zafar Mohammad Obaidullah Khan, Bangladesh's ambassador to the United States and son of Justice Abdul Jabbar Khan, a former speaker of the Pakistan national Assembly, why he had given his son a Hindu name, he replied Parthasarathy was a Bengali name. "He was Krishna, Arjuna's charioteer in the Mahabharata."
So he was. But the name and the context have a certain resonance this week. On Monday, the high court in Dhaka dismissed a petition that had been hanging fire for 28 years - to drop the "Islam is the state religion" clause from Bangladesh's Constitution and restore the country's original status as a secular republic. Two days later, Shashi Tharoor wondered whether the Mahabharata does provide the rationale for Indian diplomacy, as argued by Deep K Datta-Ray, in his book The Making of Indian Diplomacy: A Critique of Eurocentrism. Tharoor was speaking (with Suhasini Haider) at a panel discussion, "A Hindu Way of Diplomacy?" organised by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) and moderated by Nandan Unnikrishnan.
Let me explain before the saffron ranks explode in triumphant whoops of joy that the book has in mind the parables and moral codes that are enshrined in the Mahabharata rather than any Brahmanical lesson. Tharoor asked if this legacy could be said to apply to parts of the subcontinent that are no longer India. He recalled a cultural exhibition in Pakistan where there were galleries devoted to different influences but not the slightest acknowledgement of any link with India, ancient or modern. Tharoor didn't think Bangladesh would be any different but, obviously, it is for some liberal Bangladeshis despite Monday's high court verdict.
Bangladesh's largest Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami, which called a countrywide strike to protest the constitution amendment move, and the Hefazat-e-Islam, or Committee to Protect Islam, which celebrated the high court ruling, would undoubtedly agree with Pakistanis who are in a state of denial, as George Verghese's posthumous book puts it. But not all Bangladeshis take such a narrowly sectarian view of the common heritage. By calling Parthasarathy a Bengali name, Obaidullah, who was also one of Bangladesh's most moving poets, asserted that language and culture cannot be circumscribed by the narrow definition of religion.
Deep K Datta-Ray's book, on which Tharoor lavished unstinted praise ("original imaginative path-breaking") focuses on this civilisational background. It suggests that the roots of Indian thinking can be traced to the moral codes that are woven into the epics. Very different from the dos and don'ts of the Abrahamic tradition, they shaped the unconscious thinking of men like Mahatma Gandhi and even the Westernised Jawaharlal Nehru. They also provide the rationale of current diplomatic practice. Deep K Datta-Ray's interviews with Indian Foreign Service probationers from modest backgrounds told him this was instinct and not instruction. That makes for a certain continuity of the foreign policy methods and objectives - which, according to Deep K Datta-Ray, are based on satyagraha - of the United Progressive Alliance and the National Democratic Alliance regimes.
The inheritance is Indian and not exclusively Hindu. Indeed, as Haider pointed out, the Hindu identity hadn't emerged at the time of the Mahabharata. What we have, therefore, is a civilisational identity that is common not only to all the communities of India but also to the other countries of South Asia. To an extent, even South-east Asia, the legendary Suvarnabhumi, shares in the legacy of the Mahabharata.
If the heirs to that essentially Indian identity are both Hindu and Muslim, so were its creators. That makes India a unique synthesis that no one group can appropriate. Long before Obaidullah, the Emperor Akbar - as Deep K Datta-Ray reminded the foreign diplomats and Indian academics packed in the ORF hall - locked horns with the Sheriff of Mecca and his overlord, the Ottoman sultan, over the Indianisation of the Mughals' Islam.
Contemporary chroniclers (and modern scholars like Naimur Farooqi) record that the "blasphemous manners" of the unveiled Mughal ladies who went on the Haj in 1578 and the largesse they scattered "scandalised the whole world of Islam". The Ottomans sent back the pilgrims, and Akbar considered avenging the insult through an alliance with the Portuguese against his imperial co-religionist who gloried in the title of "Shadow of God on Earth". Mercifully, the world was spared a clash of arms between the two greatest Islamic powers of the day. But, clearly, the idea of a just war to redeem India's honour was not repugnant to an otherwise peaceable Muslim ruler who had not only read the Mahabharata but had it translated as the Razmnama or Book of War.
At one level, India is deepening and strengthening its democracy. Oppressed or suppressed castes have found political voice over the past quarter-century and, in a battle that has just been fought, women are winning the right to enter temples where their entry used to be barred. So the problem that the country faces is not with democracy (however imperfect its practice); the issue which should get attention has to do with liberalism. As Fareed Zakaria argued more than a decade ago in The Future of Freedom, you can have one without the other; many countries do.
India was never a truly liberal system. The government placed far too heavy a hand on the economy, and in many areas there were not enough checks and balances to prevent the misuse of powerwhich therefore was frequent. Remember also that the Constitution restricts freedom of speech when it comes to criticising a friendly countrybegging the question of who maintains authorised lists of which countries are friendly, and which not.
The situation improved with the advent of economic reforms, which paved the way for the abolition of many controls and a greater role for competitive markets and private players. At the same time, the end of a single partys dominance of the political sphere helped some existing institutions gain confidence and credibility, including the Election Commission and the Comptroller and Auditor General. The Supreme Court permitted and even encouraged public interest litigation, while the Right to Information law empowered ordinary citizens in an altogether new way. The media gained in size and reach. New institutions were created for better regulation of the stock market and for preserving the competitive nature of markets in general. The system developed more checks and balances.
The trouble today is that a reverse trend has started. The Gujarat government has proposed a new law that gives it over-arching power over all universities in the state, while the report of a fact-finding team sent by the Editors Guild to look at pressures on the media in Chhattisgarh makes for disturbing readingjournalists are subjected to arbitrary arrest, or attacked in their homes, and there is pervasive fear. Meanwhile, the party in power at the Centre puts forward the formal proposition that criticism of the nation should not be permitted. What does that mean? If a nation is its people, does it become impermissible to argue that Indians are prone to racist attitudes when it comes to black Africans?
A state government has just been dismissed, preventing a floor test of its majority, bringing back memories of the arbitrary exercise of power that prevailed when Indira Gandhi was at the helm. Efforts are being made to whittle down the scope and power of the Right to Information law, while autonomous institutions feel the dread hand of government on their shoulders. Shouting a slogan has been made a test of ones nationalism. People are lynched in their homes or on their way to a cattle market, while reporters are attacked in court premises in the capital. Insidiously, there is one rule for those in favour, another for those out of favour.
It is hard to see India being anything other than a democracy but, in Mr Zakarias framework, it is in danger of becoming a quite illiberal one if some recent trends continue or gain in strength. No basic structure of the Constitution is threatened, but the de facto position on the ground will be that dissent becomes more difficult, and conformism born out of fear or compulsion more prevalent. It bears pointing out that these are not trends that put at risk only minorities or the media or some other out-of-favour group; they can and do concern everyone.
A day after the collapse of a flyover portion in the city, police today detained 10 officials of the construction company IVRCL for questioning while two state government engineers were suspended even as the toll rose to 24 with the recovery of three more bodies from the debris.
The 10 IVRCL detainees include a few engineers, managers and vice-president of the construction company, a Kolkata police official said.
"We are questioning them to find out what went wrong before the flyover collapsed. Strict action will be taken against them," the officer said, adding that a police team has reached Hyderabad to meet the top bosses of the company.
The state government today suspended two engineers of the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority who were involved in the construction of the flyover.
"The concerned chief engineer and the concerned executive engineer of KMDA have been placed under suspension pending completion of the probe," a statement from the state secretariat 'Nabanna' said.
It also ordered immediate inspection of the remaining portion of the flyover to ascertain its stability and safety.
Police had yesterday registered a case against the construction firm under sections 304, 308 and 407 of the IPC and sealed its local office.
Around 90 people were injured in the collapse and the condition of seven of them was stated to be "very critical".
Agencies engaged in rescue work said that there was a possibilty of a person being trapped inside a truck which is still under a girder.
Armymen along with police, disaster management team, NDRF and fire brigade personnel engaged in rescue work throughout the night, pulled out three more bodies from under the rubble of concrete, a police officer said today.
"Nobody alive has been rescued... Two mangled autorickshaws apart from a few other vehicles have been pulled out. One lorry is still stuck inside... Whether there is anybody trapped inside cannot be certain," he said.
Ten Libyan cities that were under control of the non-recognised government of Tripoli have broken away and pledged their support to the UN-backed government, one of the municipalities has announced online.
The is a major blow to the unrecognised authority in Tripoli that is refusing to give up power.
The announcement came in a statement on the official Facebook page of the Sabratha municipality yesterday, after a meeting between representatives from the 10 coastal cities in the west of Libya located between Tripoli and the border with Tunisia.
The statement called on all Libyans to "support the national unity government" and welcomed the arrival of prime minister-designate Fayez al-Sarraj along with several members of his cabinet to the capital.
The group also asked the internationally recognised government to "put an immediate end to all armed conflicts across Libya".
The non-recognised government of Tripoli have branded the arrival of UN-backed Sarraj illegal, demanding he leave or surrender.
Libya has had two administrations since mid-2014 when the militia alliance overran Tripoli, setting up its own authority and forcing the internationally recognised parliament to flee to the country's remote east.
The country was plunged into chaos and fighting between rival military factions following the death of dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011, killed following a Western-backed military intervention in the country.
Karnataka government today seized 12 more two-wheeler taxis of app-based cab aggregator Uber for reportedly violating the Motor Vehicles Act while operating services without obtaining permission.
Government also increased the penalty on Uber from Rs 1,000 to Rs 5,000 for repeated offence.
"We have seized 12 more two-wheeler taxis belonging to Uber for violating the Motor Vehicles Act. The company did not comply with the norms and was operating services without obtaining permission," Karnataka Transport Commissioner Ramegowda told PTI.
He said the transport department has so far seized about 100 Uber two-wheeler taxis.
"We have also increased the penalty on app-based cab aggregator Uber from Rs 1,000 to Rs 5,000 for repeatedly violating the norms," he added.
Uber had launched pilot on-demand two-wheeler taxi services UberMoto on March 3. The minimum fare for its service is fixed at Rs 15 followed by Rs three per km and Re one per minute of travel time.
Ramegowda said that as per norms, the operators should apply for providing two-wheeler taxi services with the Road Transport Authority and obtain permission.
After receipt of applications, RTA scrutinises them before giving nod to launch two-wheeler taxi services,he said.
The commissioner said UberMoto was using white board for taxis whereas taxis should use yellow boards.
He noted that Ola (Ubers rival) had stopped its two- wheeler taxi services.
Ola had also launched its pilot on-demand two-wheeler taxi services Ola Bike, on March 3.
Police clashed with farmers blocking a highway to demand government relief in the drought-stricken southern Philippines today, leaving at least two demonstrators dead and dozens injured, including at least 23 officers, officials said.
Police moved in to disperse about 6,000 farmers and their supporters who were demonstrating for the fourth straight day in Kidapawan, the capital of Cotabato province, when scuffles and gunfire broke out, police and Cotabato Gov. Emmylou Mendoza said.
Mendoza said two protesters were killed and a journalist at the site counted 13 injured demonstrators. Provincial police chief Alexander Tagum said at least 23 police officers also were hurt.
Two officers were in critical condition due to head trauma, said National Police spokesman Wilben Mayor.
The farmers, who have been demanding financial aid and rice during a monthslong drought in the province, said the police fired at them. Police said some of the protesters were armed and fired first.
Mayor said the police were still gathering information. Before shots were fired, police had given an ultimatum to the protesters to leave. After negotiations failed, police began pushing the farmers away with their shields, but the farmers fought back by throwing stones and rocks while firefighters sprayed water on them.
Left-wing groups quickly condemned police for using force.
"The farmers were calling for rice, but bullets rained on them instead," said Rep. Terry Ridon of the Youth Party.
: To provide evidence based deliberations in principles of basic practice of fertility medicine and assisted reproductive technologies, a three-day conference is being organised here from April eight.
'FERTOG Summit 2016' is organised as the need to channelize the flow of recent developments into treatment protocols was felt by every practitioner of reproductive medicine, a release from Fertility Centre, Kovai Medical Centre and Hospital, said here today.
Reproductive medicine has made vast strides in the past few decades where a team of medical specialists, scientists and technologists work in tandem to increase the chances of live birth for every infertile couple, it said.
Renowned international and national faculty would share their knowledge and experience on several topics at the conference, being held under the auspices of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry chapter of Indian Society of Assisted Reproduction.
Prof.Clemen Ho from Hong Kong and Prof T Wataganara from Thailand, will deliver keynote address at the conference, in which 250 delegates from all over India are expected to attend, it said.
At least three policemen were killed and six others, including civilians, injured when a roadside bomb targeting a police vehicle exploded in Al-Arish city of restive North Sinai, officials said.
The bomb, planted in Al-Bahr street near the Police Club, exploded late yesterday when an armoured police vehicle passed by it, security officials said.
At least six ambulances were rushed to the blast site, they said.
The explosion came shortly after Egyptian police and army yesterday killed 65 terrorists in the North Sinai cities of Rafah and Sheikh Zwayed.
Egypt's North Sinai has witnessed many violent attacks by militants since the January 2011 revolution that toppled ex-president Hosni Mubarak.
The attacks targeting police and military increased after the ouster of Islamist ex-president Mohamed Morsi in 2013 by military following massive protests against his rule. Over 700 security personnel have been reported killed since then.
The military has launched security campaigns in the area, arrested suspects and demolished houses that belong to terrorists, including those facilitating tunnels leading to the Gaza Strip.
At least 65 terrorists were killed today as Egyptian security forces pounded their shelters in restive North Sinai.
The ground forces, jointly with air forces, targeted shelters of terrorists in the North Sinai cities of Rafah and Sheikh Zwayed, killing 65 terrorists, army spokesperson Brigadier General Mohamed Samir said.
Egypt's North Sinai has witnessed many violent attacks by militants since the January 2011 revolution that toppled ex-president Hosni Mubarak.
The attacks targeting police and military increased after the ouster of Islamist ex-president Mohamed Morsi in 2013 by military following massive protests against his rule. Over 700 security personnel have been reported killed since then.
The military has launched security campaigns in the area, arrested suspects and demolished houses that belong to terrorists, including those facilitating tunnels leading to the Gaza Strip.
The annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) next month will focus on sustainable development and closer ties between Asian and European nations.
The meeting between May 2-5 is likely to be attended by various ministers of ADB member nations, including Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
"The theme of the 2016 Annual Meeting is 'cooperating for sustainability' and the focus will be on closer Asian and European linkages to support sustainable development," ADB said in a statement.
The flagship Governors' Seminar will examine the factors responsible for the current global growth slowdown and the structural reforms needed to address constraints and put the world back on a path towards sustained growth, it said.
The statement further said a joint seminar with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will look at growing financial links between Asia and Europe and how the current benefits can be expanded and risks mitigated.
"The ADB Annual Meeting is a sustainable event, and for the first time in Frankfurt 2016, it will be carbon neutral. ADB partners with the host country to assess and improve the environmental, social and economic aspects of the event," it said.
Over 3,000 participants including finance and development ministers, central bank governors, and other government officials, business leaders, investors, and representatives from the civil society will gather in Frankfurt, Germany, for the 49th Annual Meeting of the ADB's Board of Governors.
ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. Established in 1966, it is owned by 67 members -- 48 from the region.
All proposed airport terminals under the Airports Authority of India will have GRIHA ratings as the airports management body looks to tap alternative sources of energy in a big way, AAI chairman Sudhir Raheja said today.
Raheja said AAI, responsible for creating, upgrading, maintaining and managing civil aviation infrastructure in the country, has implemented best practices, towards reduction in emission levels and in saving fuel.
"All new terminal buildings proposed have a GRIHA 'three star' minimum rating and AAI has taken steps towards use of solar energy in a big way," Raheja said during the annual day celebrations of AAI here.
"AAI has already commissioned 4.5 MW rooftop solar power plants at Tirupati," he said.
Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA) is an indigenous system developed by TERI with support of Ministry of New and Renewable Energy to rate energy efficiency of buildings.
Acting Director, Chennai Airport, L N Tatwani outlined various achievements of AAI in 2015-16 and the infrastructure proposed under Phase-II airport modernisation programme.
Special Anti-Naxal Squad today held an interaction with the members of tribal community in the remote villages of Nilgiris district, particularly bordering Kerala.
The 20-member squad, led by Sub inspector, Madasamy, asked the villagers to immediately alert the force, if they noticed any suspicious movement of strangers and also anti-social activities in the area.
The interaction was carried out following directions from higher authorities in Chennai, Madasamy noted.
The squad also enquired about the problems being faced by the tribals in 11 villages, including Kolmattam and Olavankandi, he added.
Meanwhile, a few villagers claimed that it was the first time that members of any force visited the region and inquired about their plight.
One person, suspected to be an arms smuggler has been arrested with 16 pistols from near Jamalpur Railway Construction Officer under East Railway Colony police station area in Bihar's Munger district, a police officer said today.
Acting on a tip off, the Special Task Force (STF) and East Railway Colony police netted the arms smuggler, identified as Md. Aslam, with a consignment of 16 pistols last night.
He was apparently on way to deliver the consignment to a client when the raid took place, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Lalit Mohan Sharma said.
The accused, a native of Bardah area, was believed to have brought these weapons from Sahebganj in neighbouring Jharkhand, he said.
Ruling ally in Maharashtra Shiv Sena today told the BJP-led government to ask Centre to roll back the one per cent increase in excise duty on non-silver jewellery.
Jewellers and bullion traders across the country have been on strike against imposition of excise levy since last 30 days demanding withdrawal of the budgetary proposal.
"It has become difficult for jewellers to carry on their trade due to the increase in the excise duty. The state government should ask the Centre to withdraw it," Sena MLA Sunil Prabhu said in the Legislative Assembly.
Nationalist Congress Party's Jayant Patil said the central government has been neglecting the striking jewellers, despite the fact that BJP supported traders before coming to power.
Members of the treasury benches rushed to the Well of the House after the Opposition raised question over Centre's stand on the ongoing agitation by jewellers.
The House was adjourned for 10 minutes amid noisy scenes.
Earlier this week, the Executive Committee members of the All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation (GJF) had called on Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray in the context of their strike.
After meeting them, Uddhav had said that if government can hold talks with Pakistan then why cannot it do so with the jewellers.
A degree of "consensus" among various stakeholders on issues in draft civil aviation policy including norms for international flying by domestic airlines has "emerged" and it is likely to be approved by the Cabinet this month, a top official said today.
"(As far as) 5/20 and other issues raised in the draft civil aviation policy (are concerned), a degree of consensus has already emerged," Civil Aviation Secretary R N Choubey told reporters on the sidelines of the 29th anniversary of Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS).
Under the '5/20 rule' only those airlines having at least five years of domestic flying experience and a minimum of 20 aircraft are allowed to fly overseas.
BCAS is country's nodal aviation security agency.
Choubey said that his ministry will be taking the matter to the Cabinet this month itself, adding, "the (new aviation) policy, which will also clear the position on 5/20, will be approved this month."
The draft policy was unveiled in October last year and since then Government has held extensive consultations with various stakeholders including ministries, airlines,airport operators, ground handling agencies, among others during this period.
"We have already done a couple of rounds of inter ministerial consultations. We will now be in a position to take the matter to the Cabinet this month," he said.
The policy was expected to be finalised in the previous financial year as certain proposals were to be implemented from April 1, 2016.
While startup carriers Vistara and Air Asia India, where Tatas is a stakeholder, are demanding that the 5/20 rule be done away with, the grouping of four private Indian carriers comprising IndiGo, SpiceJet, Jet Airways and GoAir wants the rule to continue.
The proposed policy seeks to give a boost the Indian aviation sector, which has high growth potential, and strengthen regional connectivity.
It has suggested tax incentives for airlines, maintenance and repair works of aircraft besides mooting 2 per cent levy on all air tickets to fund regional connectivity scheme.
There are other significant proposals such as increasing FDI limit for foreign airlines, setting up of no-frills airports and providing viability gap funding for airlines to bolster regional air connectivity as well.
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today assured farm labour unions that the pending amount of Rs 177 crore for MNREGA workers would be released in the current month.
Interacting with a delegation of farm labour unions, which called on him here this morning, Badal said from April 1 the payment of beneficiaries would be transferred directly to their accounts.
On the disbursement of compensation to cotton pickers, the Chief Minister said the state government has already released funds worth Rs 64 crore to the Deputy Commissioners (DCs) besides identifying the eligible farm labourers.
He said the work for disbursement of compensation was being started and would be completed within a month.
The Chief Minister also assured the unions of looking into the matter of cancellation of FIRs registered against the workers during various agitations.
Badal also asked the Rural Development and Panchayat Department to expedite the process of giving ownership rights of the already approved/allotted plots to such labourers.
He said swift action would be taken by the department after any resolution passed by the village panchayat in this regard.
The Chief Minister also informed the power utility authorities that the decision regarding collection of arrears would be made later.
However, he asked the authorities to immediately restore residential power connections of farm workers and added that the arrears must not be added in coming bills.
Bank unions have given another call for a nationwide strike on May 25 to protest against their long-held grouses of privatisation and reforms in the banking sector among other issues.
The All-India Banks Employees Association (AIBEA) has called for the day-long strike against the government's plans to privatise public banks and other reforms in the sector, including merger of smaller lenders.
Earlier this week, a section of employees and officers of IDBI Bank was on strike on multiple days to protest the Government's proposal to pare its stake in the lender to below 51 per cent.
"We will go on strike on May 25 in support of various demand, including make banking a fundamental right, strengthening public sector banks, against privatisation of public sector banks, adequate capital infusion in PSBs and stringent measures to recover bad loans," said AIBEA General Secretary C H Venkatchalam said.
The employees will also demand to declare wilful default of bank loan as criminal offence, publish list of wilful defaulters and a Parliamentary probe into the Vijay Mallya case, he said.
"More than the ownership issue, the top-most issue today is the alarming increase in bad loans in the banks which is threatening to topple the entire banking sector."
The union claims it has over 5 lakh bank employees as its members.
in India can reduce costs by up to 50% per transaction in the next few years by redesigning their processes and systems for the digital age, structurally changing their cost base and instituting more aggressive cost management processes, says a report.
The Assocham-PwC study highlighted that leading will have to rapidly improve their footprints, reduce branch size and costs, introduce new models and migrate transactions to low-touch digital channels.
"Branch banking needs to undergo significant transformation. As technology enables every aspect of banking to go online, and as cash usage falls away, traditional branches are no longer necessary.
"Branches may remain, but need to take many forms, from flagship information, advisory and engagement hubs (offering education, financial advice, full service capabilities and community offerings) to smart kiosks," noted the study.
It pointed out that going ahead, smart devices will grow in importance and take their place alongside cards (debit/ credit/ATM) as primary medium for consumer payment which will continue to remain popular, as they are quick and effective, allowing easy compartmentalisation of spend.
The study said that which lag behind this trend will start to struggle due to structurally uncompetitive economics. So, existing banks will need to restructure their cost base, while at the same time investing in innovation around areas such as analytics and delivery.
Belgian authorities have approved the extradition of Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam to France, as officials at the bomb-damaged Brussels airport said it was ready to reopen although flights would not resume immediately.
Abdeslam, the sole surviving suspect in the November attacks in Paris that killed 130 people, was arrested in Brussels on March 18 after four months on the run as Europe's most wanted man.
Four days after he was arrested, the Belgian capital was struck by coordinated Islamic State group bombings at the airport and a metro station carried out by suicide attackers with links to Abdeslam and the Paris attacks cell.
Read more from our special coverage on "BRUSSELS ATTACKS"
Abdeslam's lawyer said that his 26-year-old client had agreed to be transferred to France under a European arrest warrant, clearing the way for a fast-track extradition.
"What Salah Abdeslam wants to make known is that he wants to cooperate with the French authorities. These are the words he wants to make known," lawyer Cedric Moisse told reporters in Brussels.
Abdeslam's arrest was considered a rare success in Belgium's anti-terror fight, although he was found within a short distance of his family home in the Molenbeek district of the capital. He has refused to talk since the Brussels bombings.
The transfer to France should happen "within 10 days", said French justice minister Jean-Jacques Urvoas.
Belgian investigators will still be allowed to question Abdeslam in France.
He is believed to have acted as a logistics coordinator for the Paris attacks and has told investigators he was meant to carry out a suicide bombing at the Stade de France stadium but backed out.
Brussels airport, closed since its departure hall was wrecked in the attacks, said on Thursday that it had received the go-ahead from fire services and the Belgian Civil Aviation Authority "for a partial restart of passenger flights".
"The airport is thus technically ready for a restart," it said in a statement. "However, the authorities have yet to take a formal decision on the restart date. Until today evening, no passenger flights will take place at Brussels Airport," it added.
In a bid to end the travel chaos caused by the closure of a major European air hub, hundreds of staff staged drills this week to test temporary check-in facilities as well as enhanced security measures.
Under the temporary arrangements, Zaventem airport would be able to handle 800 departing passengers per hour, around 20% of normal capacity, it said.
Adding to the airport's woes, police unions threatened to go on strike if security measures are not improved ahead of the reopening.
Also on Thursday, Portugal stepped up security at its airports following a message purportedly from the Islamic State group threatening attacks on Lisbon.
BJP today accused Darul Uloom of "communalising" nationalism after the Islamic seminary asked Muslims to refrain from raising 'Bharat mata ki jai' slogan while its ally Shiv Sena termed it as a "new terrorism".
BJP said moderate and liberal Muslims take pride in raising nationalist slogans like this but hardliners with medieval beliefs raise such issues for their own sectarian interests.
"There is a clear attempt by some sections to communalise nationalism. There is a large section of moderate Muslims, including likes of Javed Akhtar and A R Rahman, and liberal Muslims who take pride in raising nationalist slogans.
"There are hardliners with medieval beliefs who are raising such issues for their own sectarians interests," party spokesperson G V L Narasimha Rao said.
Taking a tough stand, Sena leader and MP Sanjay Raut said not chanting 'Bharat mata ki jai' is not freedom of expression but a new terrorism and the government should nip it in the bud.
"If you are not hailing the motherland, then whom are they going to hail? They should tell us. The central government should act tough. Such things are never allowed in any other country. Not to chant 'Bharat mata ki jai' is not freedom of expression but a new terrorism," he said.
Attacking the Deoband-based seminary, Rao said it had earlier issued fatwa against photography, claiming it is unIslamic. "People reject such medieval ideas," he said.
Another BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said raising of the slogan is not worship, as contended by the seminary, but a show of patriotism.
"In patriotic passion, people raise such slogans. It is not worship but an expression of love for the country. Crores of Muslims do it. It was raised during the freedom struggle as well," he said, adding there could be difference in the language of various nationalist slogans but not in sentiments.
BJP MLA Ghanshyam Tiwari today accused the Vasundhara Raje government of "damaging" the Rojgareshwar Mahadev temple while shifting it for developmental projects.
Raising the issue in the state assembly, Tiwari alleged that the temple was damaged during the shifting process and demanded action against the guilty officers.
He also asked whether the Rojgareshwar Mahadev temple was in the list of 25 temples prepared by the Traffic department which were to be shifted.
The BJP MLA alleged that the temple was not shifted but was damaged.
UDH Minister Rajpal Singh admitted that the shifting of this temple was not done in careful manner.
Singh said officers were directed to cautiously shift the temple as per the religious method but it was not followed properly.
The minister in his reply informed the House that 113 religious places have been shifted in Jaipur since 2011 that included 104 temples and 9 mosques. The places were shifted due to either metrorailway project or to ensure smooth traffic flow.
He said the government has provided land for 42 religious places and intend to re-establish all the temples which were removed from their original places due to metro railway project.
Union Minister Muktar Abbas Naqvi today accused the TMC government of ushering in a reign of terror in West Bengal as he released a 'charge sheet' highlighting the alleged misdeeds of Mamata Banerjee-led dispensation.
BJP state leadership in presence of Naqvi today released a bookled named "charge sheet" against the TMC government.
"This is a black paper that we are publishing against the TMC government. We have named it charge sheet as it contains the misdeeds of the TMC regime. From Sarada to Narada, it contains the list of corruption charges and lawlessness that TMC has ushered in Bengal," Naqvi said while releasing the booklet.
A bomb explosion took place at Khumbujamba Meetei colony in Manipur's Churachandpur district, police said today.
The explosion at the locality, inhabited by a particular ethnic community, took place at around 8 pm yesterday, they said, adding nobody was injured and no property damaged.
While police suspects that the blast was related to monetary demands by a militant outfit, locals said it was carried out to intimidate a particular minority community in the colony.
Textiles firm Bombay Dyeing has reappointed Jehangir N Wadia as the Managing Director for the next five years, with effect from today.
The Board of Directors in a meeting held on March 31, 2016, approved Wadia's reappointment, Bombay Dyeing said in a statement.
However, Wadia's appointment would be "subject to approval by the shareholders," it added.
Bosch today announced appointment of Vijay Pandey as Regional President of theAutomotive Aftermarket division of Bosch India, withadditional responsibility of SAARC region as well.
Prior to this, Pandey was responsible for the businessof Power Tools in India and the SAARC region, the company saidin a release.
The previous head of the Automotive Aftermarket division, Guenter Weber, has returned to Germany and takes up another assignment within Bosch, it added.
Bosch said the Group's Corporate Communicationsteam in India would now be led by Ameet Rele.
The incumbent Sujit Nayak will take up full-time responsibility of customer logistics in the Automotive Aftermarket division, it said, adding that changes are effective from today.
An ally of embattled President Dilma Rousseff has filed an impeachment petition against Vice President Michel Temer, citing testimony that implicates him in the sprawling corruption scandal shaking Brazil's political class.
The move by Cid Gomes, who briefly served as education minister in Rousseff's Cabinet, comes as it appears increasingly likely that Rousseff herself will be impeached on allegations she broke fiscal laws.
If she is impeached, Vice President Temer would be first in line to replace her, although his name has been cited by several operators in the snowballing probe into corruption at the state-run oil company Petrobras. In a sign of how much Brazil's political class has been tainted by scandal, the heads of the lower house and Senate, second and third in the line of succession, are also embroiled in the scandal. They all deny wrongdoing.
Gomes told reporters yesterday his petition hinged on testimony in the Petrobras probe citing Temer, including a text message suggesting he may have received an illicit payout of USD 1.4 million.
"My petition is Quixotic, but I am going to fight these terrible windmills for Brazil," Folha de S Paulo newspaper quoted Gomes as saying.
This is the fourth impeachment petition against Temer. Two have already been shelved and a third is "being processed" by the speaker of the lower house, Eduardo Cunha, a fellow member of the vice president's Brazilian Democratic Movement Party, or PMDB, according to the house's press office.
Gomes has requested his petition be examined not by Cunha -- who is facing money laundering charges and could be stripped of his position by the house ethics committee -- but rather by his second-in-command.
Rousseff's chances of surviving the impeachment proceedings against her took a turn for the worse earlier this week when the PMDB pulled out of Rousseff's ruling coalition.
With a vote in the lower house expected as early as the middle of the month, Rousseff is scrambling to secure the 172 out of 513 votes she needs to halt the impeachment proceedings.
The latest filing against Temer comes a day after remarks by a Supreme Court justice disparaging the country's political class.
In recordings apparently made without his knowledge during a meeting Thursday with university students, Justice Luis Roberto Barroso called the situation a "disaster" and said the political system "doesn't have a minimum of democratic legitimacy," according to a report in O Globo newspaper.
Tens of thousands of Brazilians waving the red flags of the ruling Workers' Party demonstrated across the country against impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff.
The rallies were part of a concerted fight-back by the president, who is reeling in the face of impeachment proceedings for allegedly manipulating government accounts to disguise the depth of Brazil's recession during her 2014 reelection.
Further boosting Rousseff, her chief ally in the spiraling political crisis -- fiery ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva -- won a major court battle that removes him from the jurisdiction of a crusading anti-corruption judge.
The peaceful pro-Rousseff demonstrators gathered yesterday in 31 cities, including Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and northern centers like Recife. Although a reliable total estimate was not immediately available, at least 25,000 to 30,000 turned out in Brasilia alone, police told AFP.
"No to the coup," said one placard popular at the protests. "Democracy," read a large banner at the gathering in Rio, which will host the Olympics in five months, where more than 5,000 people turned out.
In Sao Paulo, Brazil's financial powerhouse, Francisco Ranieri, 50, said he had taken to the streets "because now is the moment."
"The opposition wants to push Dilma (Rousseff) from power to end the people's government," added Ranieri, a shopkeeper.
Lula, the hugely influential founder of the Workers' Party and pillar of Brazil's left, had been due to lead the Brasilia rally but cancelled at the last minute. His spokesman did not explain the change in plan.
Just as protesters gathered, Lula won a significant court victory that could help boost Rousseff's cause.
Rousseff has been counting on the well-connected ex-president to reorganize her flailing administration and lead the fight against impeachment in Congress.
But the leftist heavyweight's comeback has been derailed by corruption charges linked to a huge probe led by federal Judge Sergio Moro into a bribes and embezzlement scheme at state oil company Petrobras.
On Thursday, the Supreme Court issued an interim ruling removing the politically explosive case from Moro and putting it with the high court -- a decision expected to give Lula considerable breathing space.
It was a rare victory for Rousseff whose chances of defeating impeachment are thought to have nosedived this week. She has dismissed the impeachment drive as a trumped up campaign that amounts to a slow coup.
Yesterday, she told a group of artists and academics in Brasilia that the accounting tricks she's accused of using illegally were common practice in previous governments.
"If I suffer impeachment, then it means that every previous government should have been impeached too, because all of them, without exception, did the same thing," she said. "I was always respecting the law.
The Belgian government reached an agreement today with police on introducing tighter security at Brussels Airport after the jihadist suicide attacks, a union leader said, clearing the way for the reopening of the key transport hub.
"There is an agreement," Vincent Gilles, head of the SLFP police union, told AFP after hours-long talks, adding that the government and the airport operator had given in to the main demand for "systematic checks" of passengers and their luggage before going through customs.
The deal will allow for the airport's reopening "in the coming days", according to Gilles, although the final decision rests with the government.
The operator of the airport, whose departure hall was wrecked in the blasts on March 22, had said yesterday it was "technically ready" to resume partial services after testing new, temporary check-in facilities.
But no flights were announced as police unions held up the planned reopening, threatening to go on strike unless stricter checks were imposed.
Complaining about lax security in the past they proposed using metal detectors to check all visitors before they enter the airport zone.
It was not immediately clear if the agreed new security checks would take place outside the temporary departure hall, something the airport operator earlier warned would create long queues that could be another target for attackers.
When Zaventem airport does reopen, it will only be working at 20 percent capacity, the operator has warned, handling 800 to 1,000 passengers an hour. Chief executive Arnaud Feist has said it could take months to return to normal.
The airport's spokeswoman Florence Muls, speaking to AFP before the deal with police was announced, said flights would resume on Sunday at the earliest.
"Once we have a formal agreement on the security measures, approved by the interior ministry, we can start calling employees and carriers can contact their passengers, this will take some time," she said.
More than 2,000 mourners packed into Brussels' largest mosque today to pay their last respects to a young Belgian-Moroccan mum who was killed in the March 22 terror attacks on the city, Belgian media reported.
So many worshippers descended on the capital's Grand Mosque that prayer mats had to be laid out outside, Belga agency said, as religious leaders inside paid an emotional tribute to the victim.
Loubna Lafquiri, who had three children and worked as a gym teacher in the Brussels neighbourhood of Schaarbeek, was killed in the suicide blast at Maalbeek metro station.
A total of 32 people were killed in the coordinated Islamic State attacks, which also struck Brussels airport.
"We are here as human beings first," one of the mourners, a young woman in a pink headscarf, told RTL television, expressing solidarity with "the victims of all faiths" who died in the attacks.
"They were mothers, sisters, fathers, brothers... It could have happened to anyone," she said.
Metro bomber Khalid El Bakraoui and the two airport bombers had all been staying at a Schaarbeek flat before blowing themselves up last week.
Lafquiri was among the first victims of the attacks to be laid to rest in Belgium. More funeral services are planned in coming days.
Even as many states have stayed the implementation of television distribution digitisation, the Information & Broadcasting Ministry today said it will stick to the deadline for the phase III and IV markets.
The government had initially given a December 2014 deadline to complete the third phase of digitisation, but due to a slew of issues it was extended by a year. But late last year many states got court orders to stay the implementation.
"We are totally committed to digitisation. When we stopped to give the third extension after December 31, 2015, some cable bodies obtained stay orders from high courts. So we have gone to the Supreme Court to plug all these litigations," I&B secretary Sunil Arora told the Ficci Frames here.
At present, implementation has been stayed for varying periods across phase III markets of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Odisha, Sikkim, Telangana apart from Tamil Nadu, where digitally addressable system implementation has been challenged since phase I rollout.
Phase III is largest addressable market with estimated analog subscriber base of about 39 million households.
As per fifth updated list of urban areas to be covered under phase III, nearly 14.6 million households are expected to be impacted due to the stay order, accounting for nearly 44 per cent of the addressable households in these markets.
Due to low household concentration in some areas, government remapped such areas from phase III to phase IV as a result nearly 4.9 million households were removed from phase III, bringing down total addressable population from 38.8 million households to 33.2 million, with the maximum impact being felt in Bengal, Kerala, Goa and Jharkhand, as per Icra.
On FM radio auctions, Arora further said the ministry will be approaching the Cabinet with a new set of proposals for the next batch of the third phase of FM radio auctions.
"We did FM auctions last year and we found some glitches in terms of lock-in period, reserve price, which we are rectifying now. Soon we will be going to the Cabinet with a new set of proposals, for the next phase of FM radio auctions," he said.
A total of 839 frequencies are proposed to be auctioned in batches during phase III. The first batch of phase III auctions began on July 27, 2015 and ended on September 16, 2105 with 135 frequencies, of which 97 frequencies were won on a provisional basis.
On the proposed national film archives, he said the ministry has started working doggedly on the Rs 598-crore project. It is spread over five years and seeks to preserve 1,000 feature and non-feature films by getting them curated, stored, restored and digitised.
He said the government is setting up a Rs 160-crore national centre of excellence for animation, VFX and gaming, comics in Mumbai. Maharashtra has already agreed to provide 25 acres around Film City.
The Centre has issued an ordinance to authorise expenditure from today in Uttarakhand, which is under President's rule.
The Uttarakhand Appropriation (Vote on Account) Ordinance, 2016 was promulgated by the President yesterday, according to an official notification.
The ordinance is to provide for withdrawal of certain sums from and out of the Consolidated Fund of the State of Uttarakhand for the services of a part of the financial year 2016-17, it said.
The Congress has said that it would move court against the ordinance as it contends that the Assembly had duly passed the Appropriation Bill on March 18 and the Speaker has declared it so.
The ordinance was issued as "Parliament is not in Session and President is satisfied that circumstances exist which rendered it necessary for him to take immediate action for the purpose of timely compliance of financial businesses of the state of Uttarakhand", the notification said.
The ordinance allows withdrawal of about Rs 13,642.43 crore to meet expenditure on certain services for the ongoing fiscal in the state, which was put under President's rule on Sunday.
The decision to issue the ordinance was taken on Wednesday at a meeting of the Union Cabinet chaired by Home Minister Rajnath Singh in the absence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on an official visit abroad.
After the meeting, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had said that on March 18, the Appropriation Bill was not passed. In the absence of any lawful passage of the Bill, no withdrawal can be done as far as the Uttarakhand government is concerned from the Consolidated Fund of the state.
Since the state is under President's Rule and no budget could be passed earlier, the Cabinet had recommended an Appropriation Ordinance for Uttarakhand, so that valid withdrawal of the government revenue can be done, he had said.
In a rare development, the Budget session of Parliament was prorogued on March 29 to enable the government to promulgate the ordinance.
The decision to recommend such a course was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs chaired by Singh on Tuesday following questions over the status of the Appropriation Bill which was declared as passed by the Speaker in the Uttarakhand Assembly under controversial circumstances.
(REOPENS DEL 19)
Meanwhile, in Dehradun Finance Secretary Amit Negi said the vote on account has been granted till July 31 this year.
Punjab government today asked the Centre in the Supreme Court to come out with details of the presidential reference over the Satluj-Yamuna Link (SYL) Canal issue, including why it was made.
"This reference is of fundamental importance. It is important for Union of India to explain why reference has been made by it. We want to know what we have to answer," senior advocate Rajeev Dhawan told a five-judge constitution bench headed by Justice A R Dave.
Appearing for Punjab government, Dhawan told the bench, conducting a hearing on the Presidential Reference pertaining to Punjab Termination of Agreements Act, 2004, that "this case has come from Centre and not from Haryana. We would like to see the views of Union."
With regard to Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Delhi, the question of quantum of water also arise and it has to be seen whether it is violative of Article 262 (adjudication of disputes relating to waters of inter State rivers or river valleys) of the Constitution, he said.
At the outset, senior advocate Ram Jethmalani, also on behalf of Punjab, said the bench should consider preliminary objections raised and the hearing on Haryana's applications on which interim order has been passed.
He said the interim order passed by the apex court has been complied with by Punjab.
The bench, which also comprised Justices P C Ghose, Shiva Kirti Singh, A K Goel and Amitava Roy, agreed with Jethmalani and said he could share with the parties the note on the preliminary objections.
The Centre had yesterday told the apex court that it was maintaining a "neutral" stand in the tussle between Punjab and Haryana over sharing of water through the SYL Canal.
On March 14, the Centre had said in the hearing on the
Presidential Reference that "the Centre will not take any side".
On the same day, Punjab Assembly had passed the bill against construction of the contentious SYL canal providing for transfer of proprietary rights back to the land owners free of cost.
Three days later, the apex court had directed maintenance of status quo on land meant for SYL canal, after Haryana alleged that attempts have been made to alter its use by levelling it.
The apex court in its interim order had also appointed Union Home Secretary and Punjab's Chief Secretary and Director General of Police as the 'joint receiver' of land and other property meant for the SYL canal till further order.
The legislation -- Punjab Sutlej-Yamuna Link Canal (Rehabilitation and Re-vesting of Proprietary Rights) Bill, paves the way for denotifying 5,300 acres of land acquired in the Punjab side for 122 km SYL canal, of which 92 km falls in Haryana.
The charred bodies of three youths, aged between 21 and 25 years, were found in a room on the terrace of a building at the railway colony in south Delhi's Sewa Nagar area, police said today.
The deceased persons have been identified as Sandeep, Gaurav and Ganesh. The room in which the bodies were found was rented out to Sandeep by a railway official who lived on the first floor in the same building, a police official said.
The incident came to light yesterday when Ganesh's wife, Deepa, reached Sandeep's residence looking for her husband.
"The police have initiated an inquest into the matter. The bodies have been sent for postmortem examination and the initial report suggests that they died of burn injuries," Additional DCP (South) Surender Kumar said.
During investigation, it emerged that Ganesh had left his house in south Delhi's Kotla Mubarakpur area on Tuesday evening and did not return. He even did not take calls, following which his wife went to check on his friend Sandeep, at whose house Ganesh often used to go, and found the bodies.
Sandeep lived in the room with his family. His parents had gone to Jabalpur to visit their daughter there when the incident took place, a police official said.
While Sandeep and Ganesh are natives of Nepal, Gaurav was a native of Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh. They often used to party and consume alcohol together.
The trio apparently had a party on the day the incident took place but what exactly led to the death is yet to be ascertain, the official said adding that all possible angles are being probed.
Taking a serious note of the "lackadaisical attitude" of authorities in rehabilitating 740 child labourers rescued from Rajasthan, NHRC has issued notices to Rajasthan, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.
The Commission asked the state authorities to submit action taken reports within eight weeks.
"The NHRC has taken it very seriously that six states have adopted lackadaisical attitude in the rehabilitation of 740 bonded child labourers rescued from various parts of Rajasthan during March, 2013 to July, 2014," said a statement issued by the Commission.
During the court of inquiry, the Commission found that 740 child labourers were rescued which included 610 from Bihar and the rest 130 from Jharkhand, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Rajasthan.
But release certificates were issued for only 456 children from Bihar. However, they were not given copies of the certificates by the authorities in Rajasthan.
Release Certificates for 284 rescued bonded child labourers were yet to be issued, which are essential to start their rehabilitation process in their respective States by the concerned District administration, the statement stated.
"No heed seems to have been paid to the miseries of the children. The issue of the rescue of child labourers is not merely an instance of employing a child in violation of laws.
"It is rather more heinous in nature that children are being taken from one state to another, which cannot happen without the involvement of human/child traffickers," observed Justice D Murugesan, Member, NHRC.
Murugesan also observed that no report has been submitted
by the State agencies of the six state governments regarding the action taken plan to curb this menace of child trafficking, which requires to be handled with a coordinated approach to prevent such instances in the future.
"Therefore, the allegation of the complainant that the human or child traffickers have not been dealt with in accordance with law, required to be investigated in an impartial and transparent manner," the statement said.
Accordingly, notices have been issued to the Chief Secretary and Director General of Police, Government of Rajasthan to get the cases of these 740 rescued child bonded labourers investigated through CB-CID at headquarters.
The report shall inter-alia contain the identification of children belonging to Schedule Caste/Schedule Tribe, if any.
A notice has been issued to the Labour Commissioner, Government of Rajasthan, calling for an action taken report, indicating the reasons for non-issue of the Release Certificates.
The report shall contain the measures taken for recovery of outstanding wages and rehabilitation amount from the employers, including Rs 20,000 for each rescued child and penal action taken against the offenders involved in child labour and child trafficking, the statement said.
Further, notices have been issued to the Chief Secretaries, Directors General of Police/Commissioner of Police and Labour Commissioners of Governments of Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and NCT of Delhi to submit comprehensive action taken report, indicating the rehabilitation of released child labourers and penal action taken against the offenders involved in the alleged child trafficking.
They have also been asked to submit report about the steps taken to prevent occurrence of child trafficking/labour in future.
Peeved over S&P's move to cut its credit rating to negative, China today called for an "objective assessment" of world's second largest economy as its GDP rose by USD 740 billion last year, equivalent to the GDP of Saudi Arabia.
"Last year, China's economy grew by 6.9 per cent, an increase of USD 740 billion equal to GDP of Saudi Arabia," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told a media briefing here today reacting to Standard & Poor's move.
China's overall GDP last year was stated to be around USD 10.7 trillion.
The rating agency S&P has cut the outlook for China's credit rating to negative from stable, saying the nation's economic rebalancing is likely to proceed more slowly than it had expected.
China fixed the growth target this year at 6.5 per cent to 7, while IMF, World Bank and ADB forecast far lower growth not simply for this year but the next two years.
China's credit rating is AA- with a negative outlook, S&P said in a statement, which also affirmed the long-term and A-1+ short-term sovereign credit ratings.
"We revised the outlook to reflect our expectation that the economic and financial risks to the Chinese government's creditworthiness are gradually increasing," S&P said in a statement.
"This follows from our belief that, over the next five years, China will show modest progress in economic rebalancing and credit growth deceleration," it said.
Reacting to this Hong said at present, China's economy is under a "new normal".
It is being restructured and upgraded and the fundamentals of China's economy which point to a long-term sound performance have not changed, he said, adding that China still served as an important driving engine for the world economic growth.
Meanwhile, economic restructuring has made substantial progress.
Consumption-led growth exceeded investment-driven growth, accounting for 66.4 per cent of the economic increase, he said.
The service sector contributed more than half of the GDP and all these factors show that the quality of China's economic growth is improving, he said.
"We hope that the relevant agency can have comprehensive understanding of Chinese realities and give objective conclusion," Hong said.
China on Friday defended its decision to once again block India's bid at the UN to ban Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) Chief and mastermind of the Pathankot terror attack Masood Azhar, saying that it acts on such issues based on facts and rules in an "objective and just manner".
Asked about China's reported last minute move putting a technical hold on India's submission which Indian officials say was armed with strong evidence of the JeM's terror activities and its role in the Pathankot attack, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei said here that China "supports UN playing a central and coordinating role in international cooperation against terrorism".
"We always deal with the listing issue (banning militant groups and their leaders) under the UNSC committee established under resolution 1267 based on facts and relevant rules of procedures in an objective and just manner," he said.
"The Chinese side has always been in communication with relevant parties on the listing issue," he said hinting that China is also in touch with India on the issue.
This is not the first time China has blocked India's bid to get Pakistan-based militant groups and leaders proscribed by the UN.
The UN had banned the JeM in 2001 but India's efforts for a ban on Azhar after the 2008 Mumbai terror attack also did not fructify as China, one of the five permanent members of the UN group with veto powers, didn't allow the ban apparently at the behest of Pakistan again.
Last July, China had similarly halted India's move in the UN to take action against Pakistan for its release of Mumbai terror attack mastermind Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, saying that its stand was "based on facts and in the spirit of objectiveness and fairness" with Beijing again claiming at the time that it was in touch with New Delhi.
Stating that China is opposed to all forms of terrorism, Hong said: "China has also taken active part in international counter terrorism corporation".
To another question about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's comments at the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington on Thursday that the world community should "drop the notion that terrorism is someone else's problem and that 'his' terrorist is not 'my' terrorist," Hong said "China opposes double standards on the issue of terrorism".
"We believe that all parties should enhance communication in a bid to forge counter-terrorism synergy to work together with entire international community including India to jointly fight against the threat of terrorism and safeguard peace and stability of the region and beyond," he said.
Answering another question, Hong took exception to a US organisation felicitating Dolkin Issa, Secretary-General of World Uyghur Congress with a human rights award, saying that it is "blasphemous" because he was wanted for terrorist activities in China.
He said, "Dolkin is a person wanted by Interpol and Chinese police on suspicion of killing robbing and other terrorist activities besides funding is East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM)" which carried out a number of violent attacks in Xinjiang and many parts of China.
"Terrorism poses challenge to the bottomline of human civilisation and morality. Giving such an award to Dolkin is blasphemy to human rights and rule of law. Chinese side is opposed to the double standards on counter terrorism issues," he said.
China said today it would impose import deposits of up to 46 percent on flat-rolled electrical steel products from the European Union, as its domestic producers face growing financial pressure.
China's commerce ministry said that it will levy anti-dumping duties on imports of Grain Oriented Flat-rolled Electrical Steel (GOES) from Japan, the South Korea and the European Union.
Importers will pay deposits ranging from 14.5 percent to 46.3 percent, after an investigation showed the regions were guilty of dumping which damages domestic Chinese industry, the ministry added in a post on its website.
The announcement came as Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron held crisis talks to salvage Britain's steel industry after Indian giant Tata Steel said it was putting its business in the country up for sale, threatening 15,000 jobs.
Tata's decision notably puts at risk Britain's biggest steel plant at Port Talbot in the former industrial heartland of south Wales. The facility is Wales' biggest single employer and closure would have a devastating impact on the local economy.
The Port Talbot plant reportedly produced grain-oriented flat-rolled steel.
China imported about 1.5 million tonnes of steel from the EU in 2014, and exported about 6.5 million tonnes of its steel to the EU, according to the World Steel Association.
Europe's steelmakers called this week for sharply higher anti-dumping tariffs to protect against a flood of cheap Chinese imports.
China's own steel sector is also reeling from the effects of massive overcapacity as its economy slows.
Beijing has said it will shed some three million jobs in its coal and steel sectors in the next few years.
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.
A special court today allowed former Union Minister of State for Coal Dilip Ray, an accused along with five others in a coal scam case, to travel to Thailand and China for some official work.
Special CBI Judge Bharat Parashar, who had on February 26 granted bail to Ray and others, passed the order on an application moved by the politician seeking permission to go abroad from April 9 to 29 for business-related work.
The case pertains to alleged irregularities in allocation of Brahmadiha coal block in Giridih in Jharkhand to Castron Technologies Ltd (CTL) in 1999.
The CBI, however, opposed Ray's plea stating this could result in delay in trial. It also said that Ray may misuse permission and not return to face trial in the case.
The judge, however, granted the permission saying, "I am of the considered opinion that it will be in the interest of justice that accused is granted permission to visit abroad..."
The court asked Ray to furnish in a fixed deposit of Rs 20 lakh as a condition. "He shall not tamper with evidence nor try to influence any witness in any manner and will not use the permission granted to him contrary to the rules," it said.
The court also asked CBI to supply some deficient documents, annexed with the charge sheet, to Ray and Castron Mining Ltd (CML), also an accused in the case, within a week and posted the matter for scrutiny of documents on April 18.
The court's direction came on the pleas of Ray and CML seeking copies of deficient documents.
Besides Ray, who was a minister in 1999 in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, the court had granted bail to three other individual accused, two senior officials of the Coal Ministry (MoC) at that time-- Pradip Kumar Banerjee and Nitya Nand Gautam, and CTL director Mahendra Kumar Agarwalla.
The court had on January 18 summoned Ray as an accused in the case. Besides Ray, the court had summoned Banerjee, Gautam, Agarwalla, CTL and CML as accused. Banerjee was the then Additional Secretary in MoC while Gautam was Advisor (Projects) in the ministry.
The court, which took cognisance of the CBI charge sheet, had summoned the accused for the alleged offences under section 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating) and 409 (criminal breach of trust) of IPC and under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The court, while ordering framing of charges, said, "When the said file was put up before Madhu Koda for approval then he immediately stated that he wanted some change in the recommendation on account of his political compulsions."
"He, thereafter, carried out the said change himself when the secretaries and the chief secretary of the state of Jharkhand refused to change the recommendation on their own at his instance," the court said.
It, however, added that whether Koda abused his official position while making recommendation on behalf of government of Jharkhand to the Ministry of Coal can be looked into only during the course of trial when the two sides would lead their respective evidence.
The court fixed May 11 for formally framing the charges against the accused.
Apart from Jindal, Rao and Koda, the court also ordered to put on trial former Coal Secretary H C Gupta and 11 others, who were named in a charge sheet by CBI in the case pertaining to alleged irregularities in allocation of Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block to JSPL and GSIPL in 2008.
A local court has convicted an Assistant Sub Inspector of police posted at Sonipat to two years of imprisonment in a bribery case.
ASI Daya Nand posted at Kharkhoda police station in Sonipat district of Haryana was sentenced to two years imprisonment and a fine of Rs 10,000 was imposed on him, an official spokesman said today.
He said the ASI was apprehended while accepting a bribe of Rs 8,000 from Mukesh, a resident of Sisana, in return for dropping a case registered against him by one Rajbir.
A case was registered against the ASI under relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act at Rohtak police station, the spokesman added.
The body of Dalit leader Chinnasamy, which was found floating in a well near here on March 20, was today laid to rest in Nallampatty village today in the presence of his relatives and police.
Leader of 'Dalit Viduthalai Katchi', 47-year-old Chinnasamy's body was found in a well in Chellampalayam.
Police had said some people had picked up a quarrel with a group of Dalits allegedly consuming liquor near a well in Dasampudur village, where a local temple festival was held.
An upper caste person had reportedly "abused" a 19-year- old Dalit boy by his caste name following which Chinnasamy had intervened and objected. He had also reportedly said his community would hereafter not visit Dasampudur and render regular help to upper caste community members.
His body was found floating in the well on March 20.
The following day his family staged a fast at Dasampudur, refused to receive the body after post-mortem and demanded a CB-CID probe into his "mysterious death" and registration of a murder case.
Activists of a Dalit outfit had also staged a demonstration in front of the Head Post office here.
Chinnasamy's family later moved the Madras High Court, demanding a second autopsy, which the court ordered.
The second post-mortem was conducted today at Coimbatore Medical College Hospital and his body later handed over to his relatives, after which it was taken to Nallampatty village and buried, police said.
They said a large contingent has been deployed in the village to prevent any untoward incident.
Joining the debate over chanting 'Bharat mata ki jai', prominent Islamic seminary has issued an edict asking Muslims to refrain from raising the slogan as it is "akin to idol-worship" which is against the tenets of Islam.
"We received thousands of queries on the issue so has issued a 'fatwa' saying 'Bharat mata ki Jai' is not in consonance with Islam and we will not say it. But we love our country immensely and we can raise slogans like 'Hindustan Zindabad' and 'Madre Vatan'.
"It is not allowed in Islam to represent the country as a Goddess' idol and raise slogans hailing her," said Ashram Usmani, public relations officer of the seminary.
The fatwa states that only a human can give birth to a human, so how can the country be called 'mother'.
RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat had stirred a controversy with his remark that the younger generation needed to be taught to hail "Mother India".
In apparent retaliation, AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi had said he would not chant 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' as he was not obliged to do it under the Constitution and that he would not do so even if a "knife is put to my throat".
The issue triggered a political slugfest with the Shiv Sena, BJP and other parties slamming the Hyderabad MP over his stand. Maharashtra Assembly suspended an AIMIM MLA after he refused to chant the slogan, while the Madhya Pradesh Assembly passed a censure motion against Owaisi.
Amid the raging row, Bhagwat said just days ago that nobody needs to be forced to raise the slogan and that efforts should be made to build a "great" India that is hailed across the globe voluntarily.
Aakash tablet maker Datawind and Denmark's Bluetown are interested in offering telecom services as virtual network operators (VNOs) and will apply for the licence once the government notifies new rules.
While Canada's Datawind is planning pan-India operations, Bluetown through an Indian arm will look at Bihar, Jharkhand, North East, Haryana and Rajasthan.
Inter-ministerial panel Telecom Commission earlier this week had paved the way for VNOs, who will be providing telecom services in partnership with a local operator. VNOs will lease bandwidth from operators to sell voice and data services to customers, like a retailer, under its own brand name.
VNOs will also be able to provide own billing plans and are expected to push tariff war in the market.
"As per reports, government will put VNO licence in place within a month. We will apply for a pan-India permit and expect to start operation within six months," Datawind President and CEO Suneet Singh Tuli told PTI.
He said Datawind has already operated as VNO in the UK, Germany and Australia during 2007-11.
"We are rolling out wi-fi and broadband projects in partnership with BSNL. VNO opens an opportunity for us to decide on our own tariff. Our focus is on rural broadband. With VNO we will providing calling service in over-the-top format.
"We will look at VNO permit in Bihar, Jharkhand, North East, Rajasthan and Haryana to begin with in partnership with companies like BSNL," Bluetown Country Managing Director Satya N Gupta said.
The VNO, however, will not be allowed to set-up equipments to directly connect network of other network or a non-partner. They will be dependent on their partner for connecting with various networks.
Earlier India had seen Virgin Mobile, which was operating on a VNO model but at that time such business model was not allowed.
VNO players are expected to reduce marketing and sales costs of telecom companies struggling in the sector, besides sharing some operational expenses too.
Both the companies are looking at partnering BSNL. When contacted, BSNL Chairman and Managing Director Anupam Shrivastava said it is a huge opportunity for the state-run firm and VNOs can help in selling telecom services.
"We have huge bandwidth resources. BSNL can supply in bulk. We only lack in marketing and servicing customers where VNOs can help us," Shrivastava added.
DCW chairperson Swati Maliwal today met Union Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi and discussed with her issues related to the victims of sexual assault.
The discussion centred around setting up of more one-stop centers in the city to ensure proper registration of cases, medical examination, collection of samples, treatment, and counselling of victims of sexual assaults.
"Gandhiji expressed concern about increasing (cases of) child rapes and offered to help set up more one-stop centers (OSCs) in Delhi," said a senior DCW official.
The Commission is analyzing the functioning of the existing OSCs in the city with a team of Delhi State Legal Services Authority.
"DCW will also visit some model OSCs across the country and provide feedback to Gandhi on the issue of implementation and expansion of one-stop centers," the official said.
Three more bodies were recovered from under the debris of the flyover that collapsed on to vehicles and street vendors here, taking the toll to 24 even as five officials of the firm that was building the structure have been detained.
Around 90 people were injured in the collapse and the condition of seven of them was stated to be "very critical".
Armymen along with Kolkata Police, disaster management team, NDRF and fire brigade personnel engaged in rescue work throughout the night, pulled out three more bodies from underneath the rubble of concrete, a police officer said today.
The number of people injured in the mishap, he said, was close to 90.
"Nobody alive has been recovered... Two mangled autorickshaws apart from a few other vehicles have been pulled out. One lorry is still stuck inside... Whether there is anybody trapped inside cannot be said," he said.
About 60-metre-long portion of the under-construction flyover collapsed yesterday afternoon on a congested road intersection here.
Five officials of the Hyderabad-based construction company IVRCL have been detained, Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar said.
"We have detained a few officials of the construction company. We are taking action against them," he said.
Kolkata Police had yesterday registered a case against the Hyderabad-based construction firm under sections 304, 308 and 407 of the IPC and sealed the local office of company engaged in the flyover's construction.
"It is nothing but God's act," claimed Panduranga Rao of the IVRCL Construction company engaged in the flyover's construction.
The West Bengal government has ordered a high-level probe into the incident that triggered a blame game with the opposition accusing the Mamata Banerjee government of callousness.
Meanwhile, a four-member police team from West Bengal today arrived in Hyderabad as part of its probe to question officials of IVRCL after the flyover it was constructing collapsed in Kolkata.
"They have come and are doing investigation," a top police official of Hyderabad Police told PTI.
(REOPENS CAL4)
A day after an official of IVRCL dubbed the flyover
collapse as an "act of God", another official of the company today described it as an "accident".
"An act of God was just an expression only to describe that it is under no one's control", she told reporters in Hyderabad.
"We are surprised and extremely shocked. We are there to cooperate with the investigation, but investigation takes time", she said.
Showing a photograph of the mishap site published in a newspaper, she said that it looked like a site of bomb blast. There were various aspects which should be looked into.
Stating that same construction materials were used in building the ongoing flyover, she asked, "why did this happen? We are anxious to know the reasons".
Asked how long it would take to clear the debris from the area, a senior police officer said, that the main road crossing near Ganesh Talkies would hopefully be cleared during the day. But the rest like the iron piers, iron pillars, broken concrete parts will be cleared in a step-by-step process."
The other end of the Vivekananda flyover towards the KK Tagore Street, where the metal pier, holding the bridge, was completely damaged would be cut but "a planned engineering plan is necessary for that", he said.
"It's a very very congested area with buildings so close to the flyover. And most of the buildings are very old. So we must keep in mind that in order to remove the damaged portions of the flyover another mishap does not take place," he said.
The army rescue teams have been operating throughout the night along with the teams from civil defence, police and NRDF, trying to remove the debris from the affected area.
General Officer in Command of Army's Bengal area Lt Gen Rajeev Tewary is monitoring the progress of the Army teams closely.
Actress Deepika Padukone is "overwhelmed" that both of her films "Piku" and "Bajirao Mastani" have won many National Awards.
The 30-year-old actress, who is currently shooting her debut Hollywood project "xXx: The Return of Xander Cage" in Canada, took to Twitter to express her excitement.
"Extremely overwhelmed to see both my movies #Piku & #BajiraoMastani win almost every award this season!," she wrote.
In "Piku", Deepika played an independent but short-tempered daughter of hypochondriac father Amitabh Bachchan, who won his career's fourth best actor national award for the road drama.
"Piku", meanwhile, also won for the best original screenplay and dialogues. Writer Juhi Chaturvedi shared the award with Himanshu Sharma, who won it for "Tanu Weds Manu Returns".
The "Tamasha" star essayed the titular role of Mastaani, second wife of the Maratha Peshwa Bajirao, in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's period drama "Bajirao Mastani".
Expressing gratitude to both the directors, Deepika said, "Thank you #SanjayLeelaBhansali & @ShoojitSircar for the opportunity... #proud #blessed."
"Bajirao Mastani", a big winner at the 63rd National Awards, won awards in six categories, including best director for Bhansali and best supporting actress for Tanvi Azmi.
Delhi government today decided to revive the Naini lake, an extremely polluted water body in North Delhi's Model Town locality, by deconcretising, greening the surrounding area and introducing certain fish species.
Delhi Water Minister Kapil Mishra announced the decision after a meeting with North Delhi Mayor Ravinder Gupta. Environmentalists and local residents have over the years raised serious concerns over the situation of the "dying" lake.
"In the meeting, it was decided to rejuvenate the Naini Lake, a dead water body located in the Model Town locality. Delhi Tourism department will work to rejuvenate, conserve and revive the Naini Lake for boating and other such supporting activities," the government said.
Among major efforts for the lake's conservation and rejuvenation will be the implementation of renowned ecologist Prof C R Babu's plan for reviving its ecosystem without any engineering reinforcement.
North Delhi Municipal Corporation grants license for boating and related activities on a revenue-sharing model with Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation.
The agreement, thus, is also likely to provide a much-needed impetus to tourism in the lake.
Naini Lake, which had housed a variety of flora and fauna at one point, has ecologically degraded in recent years. The water level of the lake is at an all-time low while its depth has also reduced by a good 15 metres.
The Naini lake conservation has been a major issue among the locals in the recent past. Last December they had written to Mishra requesting him to step up efforts in reviving the lake.
Since last month, the local youth have also been using social media to mobilise support for the cause.
In the wake of the landmine blast in Dantewada district in which seven CRPF personnel were killed, Chhattisgarh's special DGP (anti-Naxal operations) D M Awasthi today visited the Bastar region to review counter-insurgency operations.
The special Director General of Police visited Dantewada and Narayanpur districts where he held meetings with senior officials of Police, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).
"The counter-insurgency operations for the next three months were thoroughly discussed during today's visit. During April, May and June, Maoists usually step up their activities and therefore the strategies to take on them was devised and discussed," Awasthi told reporters later.
Success and shortcomings of the anti-Naxal operations conducted in Bastar region since January were also reviewed, he added.
On the March 30 landmine attack, the DGP said Dantewada Superintendent of Police Kamlochan Kashyap will conduct the probe.
"Whenever any blast or ambush occurs, some large-scale conspiracy exists behind it. Dantewada SP has been asked to probe the incident. Apart from that, the incident is also being probed from several other angles," Awasthi said.
To a question on CRPF Director General K Durga Prasad's claim that information about the troop movement was leaked (prior to the blast), Awasthi said, "It is a part of the investigation. We cannot come to a conclusion so early.
For dancers it is commonplace to leap up twirl, pirouette and swirl during stage recitals but that is not what you come to expect from wheel-chair bound or other physically challenged performers.
However, shows from the Candoco dance company, a leading professional contemporary troupe from the UK, fluidly integrates the disabled into choreographies, several of which were performed in Kolkata, Chennai and the national capital as part of its India tour to celebrate its silver jubilee.
The group recently presented here a duet 'Studies for C' composed by award-winning choreographer Javier de Frutos and inspired by Tennessee Williams' play 'Camino Real' and Samuel Beckett's 'Waiting for Godot' depicting a couple trapped in a stagnating relationship.
Mirjam Gurtner, a dancer with Candoco says the troupe works inclusively with the physically challenged to obtain best results.
"We have both disabled and non-disabled dancers, we invite renowned choreographers to work with us and our focus is on creating bold and innovative art" she said.
"We enjoyed both performances and workshops, the audience was warm and sincere. They have an appetite to connect, dancers, teachers and children came to watch us," Gurtner said.
For 'Studies with C' the dancers used Mexican wrestling masks and ranchera music by Lila Downs to underpin the emotional power play of the dance.
The costumes, designed by de Frutos, feature the writings of Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata, who famously said, 'I would rather die on my feet than live on my knees.'
For Gurtner, performing with different choreographers helps the dancers learn diverse dance forms and reflects in their performance.
Dan Dou, a dancer with Candoco for the past 6 years says the platform is of great help for performers who are disabled to "come out of the feeling of being trapped and to utilise our energy in something significant."
"I love performing with the company. The company is like home to me. I am happy with the response in India and I would like to visit again" Dou said.
The dancer said visiting different places offered a great
opportunity to showcase his caliber.
"We have been to China, France, Nigeria and other regions too, it offers a great experience" he said.
For programme and touring producer, Marrianne Mogendroff who joined Candoco Dance in June 2015, disability is a mere social construct.
"The concept of our work is simple, I believe people are disabled by barriers within society, rather than being victims of their impairments or conditions. I believe disability is a social construct, it is about how we set up the world and that is what we are trying to change" she said.
"This is an exciting opportunity for Candoco to forge new links across India and to give audiences a chance to experience our work lives. This visit is just a beginning of our collaboration with venues and artists in India," she said.
The producer said that they are yet to collaborate with Indian choreographers and they would look to perform in other cities too.
"We haven't worked with Indian choreographers yet, but I hope we do that soon. My experience in India is great. As a dance company we travel a lot and every place brings a new experience. We work with different choreographers hence we have diversity in what we prepare, so it is brilliant to not have just have one style. My personal highlight would be coming to India," Mogendroff said.
British Council as a part of its art initiative organised the India tour of Candoco, which has been commissioning world class choreographers to make work for the company for 25 years during which time they toured 59 countries.
The National Green Tribunal today directed Delhi Jal Board (DJB) not to surrender the amount allocated to it in the last fiscal for rejuvenation of Yamuna to the Delhi government.
The green panel also made it clear that DJB would spend these funds for restoration during the year and the implementation of its 'Maili se Nirmal Yamuna Revitalisation Project'.
"In the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case, we direct that the amounts would not be surrendered and the same would remain attached...For secure execution and compliance of the main judgment dated January 13, 2015 which is entirely based on the proposal submitted by the DJB itself and accepted by the Principal Committee constituted under the Judgement," a bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar said.
The tribunal passed the direction after the counsel appearing for the DJB expressed apprehension that since the new fiscal year has started, the amount available with it will have to be surrendered.
The counsel said that in such a scenario the Board would be devoid of funds while contractors have to be paid for the work they have already done.
"Counsel appearing for the DJB has expressed an apprehension that because of March 31, 2016, the amount available with DJB would have to be surrendered while works have been executed and the contractors are to be paid," the bench noted.
NGT had earlier slammed DJB for spending money on Yamuna without its permission and directed it not to spend a "single penny" on rejuvenation of the river without its approval.
The green panel had took exception to the fact that despite its specific directions, which restrained DJB from spending without NGT's prior approval, the board had incurred expenses on drain integration work.
NGT had earlier constituted a committee and asked it to submit report on the actual discharge from each drain that joins Yamuna and the measure load on points where Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) are sought to be constructed under Phase-I of the project (Najafgarh drain to Delhi Gate drain).
The panel comprised member secretary of Central Pollution Control Board and Delhi Pollution Control Committee, chief engineer of DJB and Delhi Development Authority and professor R Kosa from IIT-Delhi.
President Pranab Mukherjee today said it is the duty of institutions to instill in students a love for their motherland, a sense of responsibility towards society and compassion.
"It is the duty of our institutions to instill in their students a love for their motherland, a sense of responsibility towards their society, and a compassion for all," Mukherjee said while addressing the first convocation of Swami Rama Himalayan University here.
He said that mere expansion of higher educational institutions was not enough and they must provide quality education.
"The research areas should be prioritised so as to solve specific socio-economic problems. The higher education system should produce sound professionals with a strong social sensitivity," he said.
It is the President's first visit to Uttarakhand since it was put under the Central rule on Sunday.
Uttarakhand Governor K K Paul was also present during the function.
Mukherjee advised the students not to be anxious about their future and learn to live in the present.
"Past is history; future is mystery; so, focus on your present. Your future will be the outcome of your actions in the present," he said.
The President said old ideas and approaches that no longer serve any purpose should give way to better ideas.
"It is your creativity that can usher in change. So, proceed in the journey of life with an attitude to learn and an aptitude to think new," Mukherjee said.
He said a university is the apex of the education system and it Is therefore incumbent on higher educational institutions to provide quality education to transform the entire education system.
Mukherjee said mere expansion of higher education by establishing more centres of higher learning in not enough.
Unless we provide quality education to these young minds, the objective of preparing theminto capable, confident and committed individuals will not be met, Mukherjee said.
The demographic dividend that we talk about will fructify if we can provide the growing number of our youth good education, knowledge and skills, he said.
The West Bengal government has intimated Election Commission about its announcement of giving compensation to victims of the flyover collapse as the model code of conduct is on in view of the coming state Assembly election.
"We have received a letter from the chief secretary and sent it to the Election Commission (Delhi)," Additional Chief Electoral Officer Dibyendu Sarkar said.
The state government has announced ex-gratia relief of Rs 5 lakh to the kin of dead, Rs 2 lakh to those seriously injured and Rs 1 lakh to those who sustained minor injuries.
It has also announced that all medical expenses due to the collapse will be borne or reimbursed by the state government.
On whether the decision violates the model code of conduct, the EC official said in such cases of emergency, rules can be relaxed to "some extent".
Egypt's antiquities minister said today that more tests were needed to determine whether there is a secret chamber in the tomb of Tutankhamun that some believe may hide Queen Nefertiti's remains.
The announcement by Khaled al-Anani at a press conference in Luxor dashed hopes that another radar scan conducted yesterday would provide certainty on whether the ancient tomb had hidden chambers.
His predecessor Mamduh Damati had said earlier this month that there was a "90 percent chance" of two hidden chambers containing organic material, behind a wall in the ancient Egyptian boy king's tomb.
He said experts would conduct a fourth scan of the tomb in the end of April, then invite scholars for a conference to study the results in the first week of May.
"Nothing will be announced until there is a precise study," he said.
Renowned British archaeologist Nicholas Reeves, who attended the press conference, has said that Nefertiti's tomb could be in a secret chamber adjoining Tutankhamun's in the Valley of Kings necropolis at Luxor in southern Egypt.
Reeves, professor of archaeology at the University of Arizona, believes one door of Tutankhamun's tomb could conceal the burial place of Nefertiti, the wife of Tutankhamun's father.
According to him, Tutankhamun, who died unexpectedly, was entombed hurriedly in an underground chamber probably not intended for him.
Former antiquities minister Damati said this month that preliminary scans had unearthed evidence of "two hidden rooms behind the burial chamber" of the boy king.
Anani had told AFP yesterday that analysis would determine the thickness of a possible wall behind the funerary chamber.
"There is a possibility that there is a cavity, after the latest scan. I hope we will find something... But as a scientist I need to be careful before announcing results," Anani said.
He added that if the latest scan revealed further evidence of a hidden room, a small hole could be bored through a wall and a camera inserted to discover what lay behind.
Nefertiti played a major political and religious role in the 14th century BC.
She actively supported her husband Akhenaten -- Tutankhamun's father -- who temporarily converted ancient Egypt to monotheism by imposing the cult of sun god Aton.
Tutankhamun died aged 19 in 1324 BC after just nine years on the throne. His final resting place was discovered by another British Egyptologist, Howard Carter, in 1922.
A man was handed a two year jail sentence today after becoming the first in England to be convicted of keeping his wife "in domestic servitude".
In what the Crown Prosecution Service said was the first case of its kind in England, London's Woolwich Crown Court heard that Safraz Ahmed, 34, imprisoned and beat his wife after an arranged marriage in Pakistan.
The mechanic from Charlton in southeast London forced his wife, Sumara Iram, to cook, clean and look after his mother from 5 AM to midnight every day after she moved to Britain in 2012.
He also slapped her in the face when she asked him to consummate their marriage, throwing tins of cat food at her head and covering her face with a cushion in other attacks.
Iram, 28, who had a master's degree in Islamic Studies, was forbidden from leaving the house alone and took an overdose before eventually calling the emergency services in 2014, the court heard.
Sentencing Ahmed to two years in prison for holding a person in domestic servitude, Judge Christopher Hehir told him: "She was bullied and controlled by you, given little money and expected to cook, clean and look after your family as if she was a skivvy.
"She described your behaviour as physical and mental torture and in my judgement, she was right."
Damaris Lakin, a Crown Prosecution Service lawyer who worked on the trial, said it was a "ground-breaking case which demonstrates how far we have come in tackling modern-day slavery".
The couple are now divorced.
US President Barack Obama has pressed his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to ensure a level- playing field for American firms to compete fairly in China and to peacefully address differences with its neighbours on maritime issues.
"The President emphasized the importance of establishing a level-playing field for all firms to compete fairly in China," the White House said today, a day after Obama and Xi met on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit here.
The two largest economies are at loggerheads over several issues, including preventing the theft of trade secrets and opening the Chinese market more broadly to American firms.
As trade has ballooned between China and the US in recent years, tensions have grown. China exports far more goods to the US than it imports, resulting in a Chinese trade surplus.
China is increasingly dumping its steel on international markets, sometimes incurring losses, and threatening a bitter trade-war with the US.
On upholding the freedom of navigation in international waters, Obama asked China to address differences with its neighbours on maritime issues peacefully and in accordance with the international law.
He also emphasized the US global interest in upholding freedom of navigation and overflight, the White House said.
Obama reiterated America's unwavering support for upholding human rights and fundamental freedoms in China.
On cyber issues, both leaders reaffirmed the cyber commitments announced during President Xi's September 2015 state visit and agreed to ensure their full implementation.
"The President reiterated that we will continue to monitor whether Chinese actions demonstrate their adherence to the commitments," the White House said.
Obama and Xi committed to continue narrowing differences and expanding cooperation on regional and global challenges.
Both leaders agreed to sign the Paris climate agreement on April 22, to join the agreement as soon as possible this year, and to work together and with other parties to bring the Paris Agreement into force as early as possible, it said.
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They also agreed to galvanize global action to phase down hydrofluorocarbons under the Montreal Protocol and to work to secure an accord on a global market-based measure to address greenhouse gas emissions from international aviation.
Obama commended their strengthening bilateral cooperation on nuclear security issues, including the establishment of China's nuclear security Center of Excellence and its commitment to reactor conversions, the White House said.
"Both leaders committed to advance cooperation on development and public health initiatives, and to strengthen coordination in addressing the shared threat presented by North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missile systems," it said.
They affirmed their commitment to achieving the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the full implementation of the latest UN Security Council Resolution to impose additional legally binding sanctions on North Korea.
Britain has prevented stronger EU proposals to bolster defences against cheap Chinese steel imports, which helped spark the Tata Steel crisis, the European Steel Association said today.
The decision by Indian giant Tata to put its business at the Port Talbot steel plant in south Wales up for sale has forced Prime Minister David Cameron to hold crisis talks at the prospect of losing up to 15,000 jobs.
"Britain opposed the end of the lesser duty rule," Charles de Lusignan, a spokesman for Brussels-based Eurofer, told AFP, referring to an EU plan to ignore a key regulation when setting anti-dumping tariffs.
"They thought that if they blocked the changing and the modernisation of the trade defence instruments, that would give them favours with China," he added.
Eurofer boss Axel Eggert, whose organisation represents Europe's steelmakers, was quoted as telling the Financial Times today that London "is the ringleader in a blocking minority of member states that is preventing a European Commission proposal on the modernisation of Europe's trade defence instruments."
Britain in February signed a statement with six other European Union states urging Brussels to take action against "dumping" of steel at low prices.
But Eurofer said that statements by British business minister Sajid Javid showed that London was in fact opposed to getting rid of the lesser duty rule.
"Britain is generally seen as being in favour of market economy status for China, and they are seeking investment from the Chinese," said de Lusignan, referring to a designation that would lift bans on certain Chinese exports and investments.
"As most dumping cases involve Chinese cases, that makes a direct link between changes to the anti-dumping system and relations with China."
Compared to the United States, EU import tariffs on Chinese steel imports are low - there is duty of 16 per cent on Chinese cold-rolled steel compared to a 236 per cent tariff in the US.
Cameron is now battling to avoid the Tata situation giving fuel to campaigners who want Britain to leave the European Union in a tight referendum on June 23.
Fitch Ratings on March 24 said that the European Commission's proposal to ditch the lesser duty rule "could materially reduce Chinese steel exports to the region".
Private equity major Everstone Group, which today completed the acquisition of Modern Foods, has set an ambitious target of trebling revenue from the ex-Hindustan Unilever's bread and bakery brand to Rs 1,000 crore and has made top-level changes with a new chief executive.
Everstone had announced intentions to acquire the brand from HLL last September for a reported Rs 250 crore. HLL, which had paid close to Rs 150 crore to the government in a two-step divestment process in 2000 and 2001, cashes out with a Rs 100 crore premium.
Following the deal closure, Everstone has hired Aseem Soni, a former Cargill Foods executive, as new chief executive with immediate effect and Kuldip Kaura as chairman of the board.
The PE fund also appointed ex-DGP of Maharashtra PS Pasricha as an independent director and two Everstone MDs -- Rajev Shukla, a Unilever veteran known for building consumer brands and Deep Mishra, who led Modern deal, as directors.
Kaura was a former managing director and chief executive of ACC Cement apart from being a senior director with the Everstone Group.
"We aim to quadruple the turnover of Modern Foods to Rs 1,000 crore in a few years by providing high-quality and healthy food options in bread, baked items and possibly in new categories," Soni said in a statement.
For Modern Foods, this the third ownership change since it was set up by the government way back in October 1965 as Modern Bakeries India and as the country's first bread company at Kazhikundram, near Tidel Park in Tamil Nadu.
The company has 14 bakery units in 13 cities including Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kochi, Kolkata and Hyderabad and 40 franchisees and sells breads, cooking oils, flour, fruit pulps, fruit juices, beverage concentrates and energy food.
Earlier it also used to sell fruits juice concentrate under brand name Rasika in Delhi and aerated soft drinks under the brand Double Seven.
In January 2000, the Atal Behari Vajpayee government sold 74 per cent in the company to Hindustan Lever for Rs 105 crore. It was the first privatisation of a central public sector unit. HLL was the sole bidder for the sale. Later in November 2002, HLL snapped up the remaining 26 per cent for Rs 44 crore with the government exercising its 'put option'.
But in the same year, HLL referred the company to the
Board of Industrial and Financial Reconstruction as losses mounted and in 2006, it merged Modern Foods with itself and had set a target of turning around in two years.
But it could never meet that objective and since then HLL was planning to sell the company and in 2007 was close to selling the unit to Gulf-based Switz Group, promoted by the Mumbai-based Khorakiwala family, but did not go through on valuation issues.
According to analysts, for HUL, Modern Foods became an enduring symbol of failure of how their famed management culture and systems failed them in the face of a hidebound sarkari culture.
The deal closure comes after both the parties secured the necessary statutory approvals and clearances. The company will now be known Modern Food Enterprises.
"Modern is an iconic brand that created the bread category here and is synonymous with trust and quality for over 50 years. We will work with the management board and will make significant investments to unlock its full potential and to expand its portfolio and reach," Everstone co-founder and managing partner Sameer Sain said in a statement.
Everstone is an India- and Southeast Asia-focused private equity and real estate investment firm with assets under management of USD3.3 billion.
The Singapore-based PE has invested in Advent Group's Crompton Greaves' consumer business, Care Hospitals, Hinduja Leyland Finance Financial, which has announced its IPO plans.
Last year, it had raised USD-730 million for its third fund for its India play.
Its other investments in the country include fashion house Ritu Kumar, VLCC Healthcare, Internet services provider Tikona Digital Networks, beauty saloon chain YLG India, restaurant operator Pan India Food Solutions, Capital Foods, wind-turbine maker Regen Powertech, IndoStar Capital, Global Hospitals and winemaker Sula Vineyards.
Farmers in this district of Maharashtra have launched a novel way of protest to draw the State Government's attention to their problems and demands.
The 'sowing not' agitation was initially launched in village Gharefal under Ner tehsil which is now spreading fast to other villages. The agitation, which entails boycott of sowing, has caused concern among people and administration.
It all started when residents of Gharefal recently met local Tehsildar Nima Arora and submitted a memorandum about their decision of not undertaking sowing hereafter.
Followed by Gharefal, the farmers of Umartha under Ner tehsil, at a Gram Sabha (village meet) held yesterday, resolved to join the agitation and declared they would not go for sowing from this season onwards.
A similar decision was taken by farmers the same day at a well-attended Gram Sabha of Sukli under Arni tehsil. They marched to Tehsil office and a delegation submitted a memorandum to Tehsildar Hanumant Rajanalwar, declaring their decision to join the "sowing not" stir.
Rajanalwar, after hearing out the delegation, advised them to refrain from the stir, saying it would send a wrong message to other farmers and its result will not be good.
Though Shetkari Sanghatana leaders Amar Habib, Chandrakant Wankhede and Washim ZP member Gajanan Amdabadkar have paid a visit to these villages to know the problems of peasants, none of the bureaucrats or people's representatives has met the agitating agriculturists so far.
Sarpanch of Gharefal Sahebrao Zod said the villagers were forced to take such an extreme decision due to the "anti- farmer" attitude of the State Government.
"We have been demanding adequate financial assistance to meet the expenses of farming and a competitive MSP to our agriculture produce. Unfortunately, our demands have fallen on deaf ears and there is no ray of hope in sight, forcing us to take the 'no sowing' decision," Zod said.
President of Vidarbha Shetkari Vikas Samiti Pintoo Patil Khode accused the Government of ignoring the problems faced by the farmers.
"There is crop failure for the last three consecutive years. The banks do not give loan to the debt-ridden farmers. Hundreds of hectares of land in the district are lying vacant as the farmers do not have fund to sustain farming," he said.
Sarpanch of village Sukli Subhash Jadhav has demanded Rs 20,000 financial assistance for kharif crops, supply of free seeds and fertilisers. He has said sowing-to-harvesting works must be done through MGNREGA.
Meanwhile, District Collector Sachindra Pratap Singh has asked members of public to suggest effective measures to tackle farmer suicides.
Voicing concern over delay, the Cabinet Secretariat has asked all secretaries of central government ministries to ensure that minutes of inter-ministerial meetings including those of FIPB are finalised within 24 hours.
It has been observed that the record of discussions and minutes of meetings are being prepared and circulated after considerable lapse of time leading to avoidable delay in the implementation of decisions, it said in a stern directive.
Such delays have particularly been observed in respect of the minutes of inter-ministerial Meetings including those of Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC), Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) and Public Private Partnership Appraisal Committee (PPPAC), etc, the directive said.
Correct and quick recording of decisions is an important step towards good governance and implementation of government programmes in a timely manner.
Therefore, it would be a healthy practise for the officials concerned to dictate the minutes as soon as the meeting is over and submit the same for approval of the competent authority within 24 hours, it said.
It is also to be ensured that the minutes or record of discussions thus finalised reach all concerned within seven days of the date of the meeting, said the directive issued by Cabinet Secretary Pradeep Kumar Sinha, seeking "strict compliance".
Also the record of discussions and minutes of meetings are much better captured if these are prepared immediately after the meeting when the deliberations are fresh in the memory, Sinha said.
Five persons were arrested today for allegedly taking away Rs 15 lakh from a hotelier in suburban Chembur two months back, police said.
Police suspect that apart from the businessman, based in suburban Ghatkopar, the accused had also cheated many others by employing a unique modus operandi.
Police recovered cash worth Rs 3.57 lakh and 11 mobile phone sets from them.
They were identified as Keval Jain (51), Harishchandra Jaiswal (39), Vilas Bansode (54), Ashok Pawar (36) and Srimant Panigrahi (27).
According to the police, the gang had allegedly cheated Akash Gandhi (24) who wanted denominations of Rs 50 and Rs 100 in exchange of Rs 1,000 notes with him.
In January, Jain, the main accused in the case, got in touch with Gandhi and called him to Chheda Nagar-Mankhurd highway in Chembur.
Gandhi carried Rs 15 lakh cash in denominations of Rs 1,000.
"After Gandhi reached the spot, he was taken to a hotel by one person who identified himself as Rahul to carry out the exchange of notes," police said.
As per Gandhi's complaint, Jain also arrived at the hotel and showed a bundle of Rs 50 currency notes to Gandhi.
"Jain took Rs 15 lakh from Gandhi and told him that the bundles of Rs 50 and Rs 100 are in his car parked opposite the hotel and left the spot leaving Rahul with Gandhi," according to police.
However, when Gandhi and Rahul were stepping out of the hotel to go to Jain's car, suddenly a taxi arrived and its occupants allegedly pulled Rahul inside and sped away.
Gandhi then realised that he was tricked by the accused and filed a complaint with Bhandup police.
Police were on trail of Jain for the last two months and picked him up from Dombivali in Thane district today and other accused from various spots.
Bhandup police station senior inspector Shripad Kale said, "More arrests cannot be ruled out in the case".
Police said the accused could have committed similar crimes in different cities like Navi Mumbai, Thane, Kalyan and in Gujarat with the same modus operandi.
They were booked under appropriate sections of the IPC.
A day after an under-construction flyover collapsed in the city leaving at least 24 dead, the police tonight arrested three top officials of a Hyderabad based company which was building the flyover and slapped murder charges on them.
Earlier the police had detained 10 officials of the construction company IVRCL's Kolkata office for questioning and later arrested three of them, a senior Kolkata Police officer said.
The three - Assistant General Manager Mallikaarjun, Assistant Manager Debjyoti Manjumdar and Structure Manager Pradip Kumar Saha - were arrested under IPC sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) and others.
They will be produced before a court tomorrow.
Seven other officials of the company are still detained, the officer said, adding that a team of Kolkata Police has left for Hyderabad to meet IVRCL top bosses.
Police had yesterday registered a case against the construction firm under sections 304, 308 and 407 of the IPC and sealed its local office.
The state government also suspended a chief engineer and an executive engineer of the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority who were involved in the construction of the flyover pending completion of the probe which the government ordered yesterday.
It also ordered immediate inspection of the remaining portion of the flyover to ascertain its stability and safety, an official release said.
About a 60-metre-long stretch of the 2.2 km flyover under construction crashed down yesterday afternoon on a congested road intersection here.
Forensic experts visited the site and collected samples of materials used for the construction for examination.
A day after an official of IVRCL dubbed the flyover collapse as an "act of God", IVRCL's legal team head P Sita said, "It is an accident". She also did not rule out sabotage and referred to a media report which said there could have been a bomb blast.
"An act of God was just an expression only to describe that it is under no one's control," she said in Hyderabad.
The death toll in the flyover collapse here has climbed to 24 after three more bodies were recovered from underneath the piles of debris of concrete and iron girdles of the broken portion of the under-construction bridge.
Armymen along with Kolkata Police disaster management team, NDRF, fire fighters pulled out three more bodies from underneath the rubble of concrete in the overnight rescue operations, a police officer said today.
The number of people injured in the mishap, he said, was closed to 90.
"Nobody alive has been recovered... Two rambled autorickshaws apart from a few other vehicles have been pulled out. One lorry is still stuck inside... Whether there is anybody trapped inside cannot be said," he said.
About 60-metre-long portion of the under-construction Vivekananda flyover collapsed yesterday afternoon.
The West Bengal government has ordered a high-level probe into the incident that triggered a blame game with the opposition accusing the Mamata Banerjee government of callousness.
Kolkata Police registered a case against the Hyderabad-based construction firm IVRCL under sections 304, 308 and 407 of the IPC and sealed the local office of company engaged in the flyover's construction.
A court here has convicted former Chairman and Managing Director of Indian Bank M Gopalakrishnan in yet another case of corruption and sentenced him to two years rigorous imprisonment.
The court for CBI cases also slapped a fine of Rs 8,000 against him in a case of cheating the nationalised bank to the tune of Rs 5.51 crore.
Sessions Judge for CBI Cases, A Kandhakumar, convicted 80-year old M Gopalakrishnan and the then zonal Manager of the bank, A V Shanmugasundaram, besides two other bank employees.
They were convicted for offences, including criminal conspriacy, cheating and under Prvention of Corruption Act.
Gopalakrishnan had already been convicted in similar cases earlier. CBI had registered 20 cases against him and other bank officials for similar offences in 1990s.
Also, the court convicted two individuals, Ranjiv Batra and Kiran Batra, who represented a Delhi-based firm Kiran Innovations. They were awarded two years RI and fined Rs.32,500.
According to the prosecution case led by CBI (Economic Offences Wing), Kiran Innovations, headed by Ranjiv Batra availed huge loans in connivance with the officials of Indian Bank, Chennai in 1998.
They misused the fund by submitting forged documents and caused a loss of Rs 5.51 crore to Indian Bank.
French Foreign Minister Jean- Marc Ayrault today asked the international community to prepare to help Libya's unity government if asked, providing military support if necessary.
The country's UN-backed unity government is trying to assert its authority in Tripoli, but the sudden arrival of a new prime minister-designate has drawn fury from the unrecognised body in charge of the capital.
"Libya is a concern shared by all the countries of the region and beyond," Ayrault said in comments to a French newspaper.
"The chaos which reigns there today aids the rapid development of terrorism. It is a direct threat to the region and to Europe," he said.
While Islamic State militants are being pushed back in Syria and Iraq with the help of international intervention, the jihadists are gaining ground in Libya, the foreign minister warned.
"We must be prepared to respond if the national unity government of (prime minister-designate Fayez) al-Sarraj asks for help, including on the military front," he said.
Asked specifically on the likelihood of military intervention, Ayrault replied: "That will depend on the legal government. To think of launching air strikes outside of the political process is not an option."
Libya's unrecognised authorities in control of Tripoli on Wednesday demanded that the head of a UN-backed unity government Fayez al-Sarraj leave just hours after he arrived in the capital.
In a televised address, the head of the Tripoli authorities Khalifa Ghweil said Sarraj's government was "illegal", asking him to leave the capital or to "hand himself in".
Ayrault cautioned that the international community must avoid the mistakes of the past, citing military intervention in Iraq.
"That (action) upset the region and brought about extremism and Daesh," he said, referring to the Islamic State group.
Libya has had two administrations since mid-2014 when the militia alliance overran Tripoli, setting up its own authority and forcing the internationally recognised parliament to flee to the country's remote east.
International leaders, increasingly alarmed by the rise of jihadists and people-smugglers in the impoverished North African state, have called on Libya's political rivals to back the unity government.
The US and its European allies have threatened action against those who undermine the political process.
A rowdy was today hacked to death by a three-member masked gang in full public view at a busy spot near here, police said.
They said 30-year-old Nagarajan, who was allegedly involved in dacoity and murder cases, was repairing his autorickshaw at a roadside workshop at Pazhanganatham when the assailants arrived on a two-wheeler and attacked him with a sickle.
Nagarajan died on the spot, police said.
A man who was convicted of fatally beating another man to death after a night of drinking and drug use in 1994 was put to death in Georgia.
Joshua Bishop, 41, received an injection of the barbiturate pentobarbital at the state prison in Jackson, and Warden Bruce Chatman announced his time of death as 9:27 p.M.
Bishop was convicted in the June 1994 killing of Leverett Morrison in Milledgeville.
Bishop apologised to the people of Baldwin County and Morrison's family.
"I'd like to also thank all the people who have stood by me," he said.
He mouthed messages to several of his supporters who witnessed the execution, including at least one of his attorneys. He also appeared to pray.
Bishop received visits from 13 people, including friends, clergy members and lawyers, and ate a specially requested last meal that included a barbecue sandwich and Brunswick stew.
The State Board of Pardons and Paroles yesterday denied his request for clemency after holding a hearing a day earlier. State courts and the US Supreme Court rejected his appeals and declined to halt the execution.
Bishop spent June 19, 1994, drinking and using drugs with Morrison and a third man, Mark Braxley, according to court records. The records show they drank at a bar that evening and then went to Braxley's trailer, where they continued to drink and use drugs.
Morrison fell asleep and Braxley decided he wanted to take Morrison's Jeep to visit his girlfriend and instructed Bishop to take his keys. Morrison woke up as Bishop was trying to take his keys from his pocket, and Bishop hit him over the head with a piece of a closet rod to knock him out, according to the court filings.
Bishop told investigators he and Braxley both beat Morrison and, once they realized he was dead, they dumped his body between two trash bins and burned his Jeep.
While in custody, Bishop told police he and Braxley also had killed another man, Ricky Willis, about two weeks earlier, also at Braxley's trailer. Bishop told police he repeatedly punched Willis after Willis bragged he had sexually assaulted Bishop's mother and then Braxley cut Willis' throat, killing him.
Bishop and Braxley were both charged with murder and armed robbery in Morrison's death. After a trial, a jury convicted Bishop and sentenced him to die. Braxley pleaded guilty and got life in prison with the possibility of parole.
Germany's Development Bank KfW today signed a loan agreement for Euro 500 million (approximately Rs 3,750 crore) to finance the proposed Nagpur Metro Rail Project.
Department of Economic Affairs Joint Secretary S Selvaraj and KfW Director General Roland Siller inked the agreement in this regard here.
The estimated total project cost is Rs 8,680 crore (Euro 1,240 million). Rest of the funds would come from the Centre, the state government as well as the civic body.
The loan would be for 20 years with a moratorium of five years and the amount will be disbursed periodically as per progress of the project over three years, an official release said.
Nagpur Metro is the first metro to be financed under the Indo-German partnership for "clean, socially inclusive and climate friendly mobility for people in cities", it said.
Sanctioned by the central government in August 2014, Nagpur Metro Project envisages two corridors -- 19.70 km North-South section from Automotive Square to Khapri and 18.60 km long line between Prajapati Nagar and Lokmanya Nagar.
With physical works having started in May last year, the Metro project is scheduled to be operational by March 2019.
Germany said today it will take in the first Syrian refugees under an EU-Turkey pact drawing fire from rights groups, as violence broke out in a Greek camp on the front line of the crisis.
German interior ministry spokesman Tobias Plate said that most of the arrivals expected Monday would be families with children, putting the number in the "double-digit range".
Under the scheme agreed with the EU last month, one Syrian refugee will be settled in Europe legally in return for every migrant taken back by Turkey from EU member Greece.
With uncertainty surrounding the returns, tensions flared in Greek refugee camps, just as Amnesty International accused Turkey of illegally forcing groups of Syrians to return to their conflict-torn country.
Three migrants were hospitalised today after a brawl in a camp on the Greek island of Chios, aid groups and media said.
Police used stun grenades to restore calm during the late-night fight -- the second such incident within two days in Greece -- which caused serious damage to the island's Vial camp, including the medical dispensary, state ANA agency said.
Medical charity Doctors of the World (MDM) said it had pulled out of the camp to protect its staff.
"The dispensary was almost entirely destroyed and security was no longer sufficient," MDM spokesman Evgenia Thanou told AFP.
Around 700 refugees and migrants today were heading towards another camp in the main town of Chios under police escort, state TV ERT said.
Pro-migrant activists said the trouble began after a demonstration yesterday evening by migrants demanding they be allowed to leave the camp.
Meanwhile Amnesty said that the alleged forced repatriation of Syrians showed the "fatal flaws" in the migrant deal agreed with the European Union.
The rights group said its research in the south of Turkey suggested the country was forcing around a hundred Syrians to return home on a daily basis.
Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL) today said it has signed an agreement to acquire Strength of Nature LLC (SON), a leading company of hair care products for women of African descent.
"This acquisition is a further step to accelerate GCPL's global 3 by 3 strategy and scale up its presence in Africa by being at the forefront of serving the hair care needs of women of African descent," the company said in a statement.
"The acquisition is expected to be EPS accretive for GCPL from year one itself," the statement said.
"Over the past few years, we have been scaling up our international presence with acquisitions that fit well in our 3 by 3 strategy - a presence in emerging markets in Asia, Africa and Latin America through 3 core categories - hair care, home care and personal care," Godrej Group Chairman Adi Godrej was quoted as saying in the statement.
"These strategic acquisitions have strongly aided our growth story. Through them, we have both extended our core businesses and implicitly broadened our presence to a wider canvas," Godrej said.
"We are delighted to welcome Strength of Nature into our fold. Strength of Nature enables us to further strengthen our foothold in Africa," Godrej added.
SON, a USA-based company with a significant presence in Africa and the Caribbean, is one of the fastest growing companies in the hair care category for women of African descent.
It is driven by its strong commitment to consumer understanding and product innovation.
SON has a compelling portfolio of heritage, category-leading brands in Wet Hair Care, across relaxers, maintenance, styling and shampoos. This includes iconic hair care brands with affordable and innovative products, which have been serving women of African descent across 50 countries.
Commenting on the acquisition, GCPL Managing Director, Vivek Gambhir said, "Strength of Nature has a strong track record of serving consumers across Africa and the USA through its robust portfolio of heritage, category leading brands. We look forward to leveraging its strong brand equity for our business."
Speaking on GCPL's focus on Africa, Godrej said, "Africa is a key part of our growth strategy and we strongly believe that it holds tremendous potential. Africa has more than half of the world's fastest growing economies, a fast growing middle class population and increasing urbanisation."
"Our operating model has enabled us to build a strong business presence in Africa. We have a good understanding of the African market and know what it takes to be successful in the region. Our businesses in the region have been outperforming and we aspire to now double our business in Africa in the next four years," Godrej said.
India today strongly advised its nationals to avoid travelling in "any circumstances, by any means, for any purpose" to war-torn Yemen, where an Indian nun has been killed and a priest abducted in recent attacks.
Asserting that the security situation in Yemen continues to remain fragile, the External Affairs Ministry in its advisory said, "In light of the recent terrorist attacks in Aden, which resulted in killing of an Indian nun and abduction of one priest, Indian nationals are again strongly advised to avoid travelling to Yemen under any circumstances by any means for any purpose till further notice."
The ministry also said that it had already issued number of travel advisories wherein Indian nationals have been advised to refrain from undertaking travel to Yemen in view of the precarious security situation in the country.
Tom Uzhunnalil, a priest from Kerala, was abducted by after the Islamic State militant group, which attacked a care home run by Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity.
Gunmen had stormed the refuge for the elderly earlier this month and killed a Yemeni guard before tying up and shooting 15 other employees.
Four foreign nuns, including an Indian, working as nurses were among those killed.
The state government has provided bouncers to protect doctors from attack by irate kin of patients at hospitals, Medical Education Minister Vinod Tawde told the Legislative Council today, an announcement termed "shocking" by the Opposition NCP.
Tawde was replying to a debate on a motion moved by Kiran Pawaskar of the NCP who raised the issue of beating up of doctors at government hospitals over allegations of improper medical care.
While speaking to reporters later, Pawaskar termed the minister's announcement as "shocking".
"The term bouncers is used in pubs, discos, and movie actors use them for self protection," he said, adding hospitals need to have trained security guards.
"There is a difference between trained security guards and government providing bouncers. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) floats tenders and gives security at its civic hospitals. But these guards need to be given training," said Pawaskar.
Earlier, moving the motion, Pawaskar drew attention to rising incidents of attacks on doctors in KEM, Nair, and Sion hospitals and pointed out that against the requirement of 210 security guards only 115 have been recruited.
Raising a supplementary query, Pawaskar also said CCTV cameras do not work at many government hospitals. He sought to know what steps were being taken to repair them.
Tawde assured the House that the vacant posts will be filled and the CCTVs will be repaired.
Meanwhile, Council Chairman Ramraje Nimbalkar directed Tawde to assign the policemen government hospitals as beat to deal with such incidents.
Nimbalkar said even in his own native village relatives of patients had beaten up doctors in the past.
To protect the interest of investors in the nearly Rs 5,600-crore scam at NSEL, the government has moved the Supreme Court seeking a restrain on parent firm Financial Technologies to prevent possible "asset stripping".
The government, on February 12, had directed the merger of scam-hit National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL) with its parent Financial Technologies, in a first-ever order to merge the two private companies.
In the wake of Rs 5,600-crore payment crisis at NSEL, the Corporate Affairs Ministry had sought merger of the bourse with parent firm Financial Technologies (India) Ltd (FTIL) as well as replacement of existing FTIL management.
Sources said the ministry has now filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the apex court against a Madras High Court order, as part of the efforts to prevent possible sale of assets by FTIL.
Soon after issuing the draft merger order on October 21, 2014, the ministry had moved the Company Law Board to replace the existing management of FTIL, debar the current and previous directors and other key managerial personnel from taking up positions in the future.
It had also sought barring the firm from selling any of its assets.
Subsequently, CLB issued an interim order in June 2015 that barred FTIL from selling or creating third party rights on its assets.
However, FTIL challenged CLB's order in the Madras High Court, which partially suspended the stay. The court restricted the debarment only to immovable properties of FTIL.
Sources said the SLP has been filed for restoration of the interim order passed by CLB while permitting FTIL to carry on with its normal business activities till the CLB decides on the plea to replace the company's management.
The SLP, filed in February, was cleared by the Supreme Court Registry late last month and is now awaiting hearing, sources added.
Meanwhile, another case is going in the Bombay High Court where FTIL has challenged the government's proposal to merge NSEL with the company.
As per the final merger order, passed in February this year, all the assets and liabilities of NSEL would be transferred to FTIL. The ministry's order confirmed the draft ruling issued back in October 2014.
"The merger shall result into making NSEL and FTIL as one
single entity wherein all the assets and liabilities of NSEL will become assets and liabilities of the resulting company (FTIL).
"Adequate safeguards have been provided in the final order with regard to the litigations pending and devolving of liabilities and assets arising out of pending proceedings," the Ministry had said in its 47-page final order in February.
The amalgamation would be effected from March 31, 2015, for the accounting purposes, it had said.
When the final order was passed in February, FTIL had said it was "highly disappointing" and it would challenge the same.
This is also the first case of the government ordering merger of two private companies invoking a rarely used clause in the companies law.
The nearly Rs 5,574-crore payment crisis at NSEL -- part of Jignesh Shah-led FTIL group -- came to light in late 2013.
Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta today met Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and demanded allotment of 16,000 flats constructed for resettlement of slum dwellers in the national capital.
After the meeting, Gupta said there are over 8,500 slum settlements in over 32 slum clusters in Delhi and inhabitants of these dwellings are waiting for their resettlement even though over 16,000 flats constructed for them are lying vacant for years.
"A total of 4,134 households living in the slums have even deposited a sum of about Rs 16.44 crore with Slum Department of Delhi government for alternative accommodation yet they have not been alloted the flats constructed from them," he told reporters.
He alleged Delhi government was doing great injustice to the slum dwellers who have deposited with great difficulties money through loans averaging Rs 70,000 per household.
Gupta said suspension of BJP MLA O P Sharma for the next two sessions of Delhi Assembly will be registered as a "black day" in the history of the House.
"The session ending yesterday became a symbol of running the House on the majority of Aam Aadmi Party MLAs and it will be recorded as a black day in the history of the Assembly," he said.
He charged Kejriwal, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel with doing their best to "suppress" the voice of Opposition on the dint of number of ruling AAP MLAs.
"The ruling party made it a point to expel OP Sharma from the House which they fulfilled by suspending him for two sessions," he said.
Further, he alleged Opposition was not allowed to raise the public issues in the House with "interruptions" from ruling party MLAs.
"We raised calling attention motions which were not allowed. We raised five other issues which were disrupted due to continued disruption by ruling party MLAs." he said.
The Gujarat High Court today issued notice to the state government on the bail plea of Patel quota agitation leader Hardik Patel in connection with the sedition case filed against him in Surat.
Hardik has challenged an order of the Surat sessions court refusing him bail two weeks back. Surat police's crime branch had opposed the bail claiming that Hardik may tamper with evidence and influence the witnesses if released.
Admitting the petition today, Justice A J Desai issued notice to Gujarat government, posting the matter to April 7.
Hardik has been lodged at Lajpore jail in Surat since September last. He is facing another sedition case in Ahmedabad. Chargesheets have been filed in both the cases.
The 22-year-old Patel leader, on October 3 last, allegedly advised a Surat-based activist from his community to kill the policemen rather than ending his life.
"If you have so much courage...Then go and kill a couple of policemen. Patels never commit suicide," Hardik allegedly told Vipul Desai, who had announced he would commit suicide in support of the quota agitation.
Following this, Surat crime branch lodged a case of sedition against Hardik and arrested him.
Hardik's lawyer Zubin Bharda today argued that he was only trying to console a friend who wanted to end his life.
What was just a friendly chat between the two friends got embroiled in controversy as tv channels telecast it, he said.
Hardik's aides Ketan Patel, Chirag Patel and Dinesh Bambhaniya, who too are facing sedition charges along with Hardik in Ahmedabad, also moved the High Court today for bail after not getting relief from the sessions court.
Their lawyers also submitted written undertakings wherein they promise to stay away from quota agitation if released.
Justice Desai issued notice to the state government on this too and deferred the hearing to April 7.
The Bombay High Court today granted an interim stay till June 30 on implementation of Maharashtra government order imposing a ban on sale of liquor in plastic bottles.
The Government Resolution, dated January 11 this year, banned the sale of alcohol in bottles made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) on the ground that it was a health hazard. The ban was to implemented from today.
Soon after the order, a bunch of petitions were filed in the high court by Distillers Association of Maharashtra, All India Plastic Manufacturers Association, Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverages Companies and All India Wine Producers Association challenging the ban.
A division bench of Chief Justice D H Waghela and Justice M S Sonak today granted interim stay on implementation of the ban till June 30.
The court posted the petitions for hearing on June 14.
The petitions claimed that the government could not impose such a ban, as sale of liquor in a particular make of bottles is governed under the FSSA Act.
Moreover, if it had to impose a ban, the government could have only done so through a legislation and not by merely issuing a 'resolution'.
French President Francois Hollande and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said today there would be no impunity for French troops and UN peacekeepers accused in a sexual abuse scandal in the Central African Republic.
The United Nations yesterday said more than 100 victims had come forward in the country with disturbing new accounts of sexual abuse, including bestiality, by UN peacekeepers and French troops.
"In light of new allegations of sexual abuse allegedly committed by MINUSCA and Sangaris troops (the UN and French missions to the CAR), the president and the UN secretary general both expressed the desire to establish the truth, and to reject any impunity," the French presidency said in a statement.
Hollande, who met with Ban in Washington on the sidelines of a nuclear security summit, later said that if true, the allegations would "stain France's honor."
French authorities this week received a UN letter outlining new allegations of sexual abuse.
Ban was "shocked to the core" by the allegations that emerged after a UN team traveled to south-central Kemo prefecture to interview the women and girls.
Also today, the French defense ministry said the French troops, if convicted, would face strict military discipline in addition to any criminal penalities that may be brought.
UN rights officers have so far interviewed 108 alleged victims, "the vast majority" of whom are under-age girls who were raped, sexually abused or exploited by foreign troops, the UN says.
AIDS-Free World, a civil society group that tracks peacekeeper sex abuse cases, said three girls told a UN rights officer that in 2014 they were tied up and undressed by a Sangaris commander inside a camp and forced to have sex with a dog.
France sent its Sangaris intervention force to the Central African Republic in December 2013 and while the troops are not part of the UN mission, they have been mandated by the Security Council to help restore peace to the country.
Two-wheeler manufacturer Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) today reported a 4.4% decline in total sales at 381,521 units in March.
The company had sold 3,99,173 units in the corresponding month last year.
In the domestic market, sales were at 3,65,526 last month as against 3,84,422 units in March last year, down 4.9%.
Exports, however, rose 8.4% to 15,995 units against 14,751 units in March last year, it said.
For the fiscal ended March 31, 2016, the company posted a marginal increase in total two-wheeler sales at 44,83,459 units as against 44,52,005 units in the previous fiscal.
Domestic sales for FY16 also rose marginally at 42,83,345 units as compared to 42,63,746 units in the previous year.
Commenting on the performance, HMSI Senior Vice President - Sales & Marketing Yadvinder Singh Guleria said: "From a strategic perspective, 2015-16 was like a base camp for and now we are fully armed for the steep climb in 2016-17."
On the outlook, HMSI President & CEO Keita Muramatsu said: "2016-17 is going to be Honda's most definitive year in India. Our priorities will be strengthening the fun connect of Wing mark with Indian youth, make all our models BS-IV compliant at the earliest for added customer convenience while continue to aggressively make inroads into rural India.
A letter sent by Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) chief Y Sudershan Rao five months back seeking permission to step down on personal grounds has put the HRD ministry in a quandary with officials contending that this did not tantamount to resigning.
Rao has in the absence of any response from the HRD ministry continued with his assignment.
In his letter to HRD minister Smriti Irani in November last year, Rao, who had headed the top history research body for over an year then, said, "May I kindly be permitted to submit my resignation from the office of the Chairman, ICHR, New Delhi on personal grounds and request your goodself to accept the same."
However, as the officials of the ministry went into the semantics of it, they felt that seeking permission to submit resignation is not the same thing as quitting.
Consequently, Rao, continues to head ICHR, several months after he had in a note put on its website that he had sent his resignation.
"From the language of the letter, the HRD ministry felt that it is a request seeking permission to resign. Therefore the ministry has not treated it as a resignation letter," a top HRD ministry functionary told reporters when asked why the ministry had taken no action over the letter.
"We have not treated Rao's letter as a resignation. But we may in the coming days send a response to the letter sent by him," another senior official said.
The appointment of Rao, who is believed to be associated with the Akhil Bharatiya Itihas Sankalan Yojana which is affiliated to the RSS, had also been a controversial one and attracted criticism from other historians like Romila Thapar who had expressed surprise while questioning his academic credentials.
In his press note Rao had thanked the HRD minister for having appointed him.
Rao did not respond to an email and phone calls when asked for his comments on the ministry's contention.
Hundreds of human organs obtained through donations in China are going waste due to poor maintenance and lack of qualified staff, experts said.
Many donated organs ultimately go to waste due to lack of organ maintenance and shortage of hospitals qualified enough to perform transplants, even though China ranks first in Asia in the number of organs donated every year.
"China only transplanted lungs from around 150 of the 2,766 volunteers who donated their lungs last year, and many of those donated lungs have been wasted," Chen Jingyu, a leading lung transplant surgeon and deputy head of the Wuxi People's Hospital in East China's Jiangsu Province, told state-run Global Times.
In China, organ donation usually takes place around one week after the patients are declared brain-dead, whereas in Western countries, most organs are donated within 48 hours, Chen said, adding that delicate organs such as hearts and lungs are unusable after several days due to infection.
Chen estimated that only half of donated lungs were transplanted in the first nine months of 2015, while the rest were discarded due to poor quality, including 50 to 60 that were "wasted en route" having deteriorated during delays in transport, The New York Times reported in November last year.
Echoing Chen Zhu Jiye, director of the Organ Transplantation Centre of Peking University said that a smoother organ transportation system is needed to shorten transit times to ensure the organs' viability.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China issued a notice on February 25 to make it easier to quickly transport organs, saying airlines should train their staff to give priority to doctors transporting organs when they check in, go through security checks and deplane, site thepaper.Cn reported.
Chen also noted that many Intensive Care Unit staff lack sufficient knowledge of organ maintenance, especially for hearts and lungs, as their preservation requires stricter standards than other organs.
The supply of some donated organs such as livers and kidneys has fallen short of demand, but some organs such as hearts and lungs are not fully utilised, Zhu said.
"In Beijing, only two hospitals are qualified to conduct heart and lung transplants, but 22 hospitals are qualified for kidney and liver transplants," Zhu said.
As of March 20, China had completed organ donations from 6,624 volunteers, ultimately saving the lives of 18,000 patients.
China is now the No 1 country in Asia and No 3 in world in terms of the number of organs donated every year, the National Health and Family Planning Commission said.
October 15, 2022, Saturday
US President Joe Biden has said Pakistan is one of the most dangerous nations in the world as it has nuclear weapons without ...
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today said that some IDBI officers, who met him over proposed privatization of their bank, was later grilled by the Intelligence Bureau (IB).
"Some IDBI officers met me today abt their demands. They were later grilled by an IB officer named Tyagi abt what was discussed wid me (sic)," Kejriwal wrote on Twitter.
Earlier in the day, a delegation of the Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) met the Delhi Chief Minister and sought his support for their demand against the "proposed privatisation of the IDBI by the central government".
In a statement, the Chief Minister's office said that "Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwaltoday opposed the proposed privatisation of the Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) by the central government and supported its continuation in the public sector."
"The Chief Minister assured the delegation of the IDBI Officers Association that he will write to the Prime Minister seeking withdrawal of the proposed move, which will adversely affect around 20,000 officers across the country," the statement said.
India today said it will follow predictable policies and address various investor issues including taxation, while inviting Future Fund, Australia's Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF), and others to invest in the country.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, on the last day of his 4-day visit to Australia, met Future Fund Chairman Peter Costello here. Future fund has assets worth AUD 120 billion.
According to Indian High Commissioner Navdeep Suri, the Fund has an investment of almost AUD 1 billion in India which it would like to increase.
"They are keen to grow that... They have few issues, Suri said.
During the meeting, he said, the Finance Minister heard the concerns raised by the Australian side in terms of taxation and some provisions.
Jaitley assured the Fund that the Indian government would take those issues on board and get back to them, Suri said.
The minister has given a strong clarifications to the Australian investors that his government was committed to clear an predictable policy regime, he added.
"The minister has said that they are committed to stable taxation regime," Suri said.
He said the investors were comfortable with India's macro growth story but had questions on specific of predictability of policies.
There was no reason for superannuation funds or other investors to worry about retro tax, he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said India and Canada were "made for each other" as he met his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau for the first time during which they reviewed bilateral ties including the progress on nuclear cooperation.
Prime Minister Modi and Trudeau met here on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit. This was their first meeting after Trudeau came to power last year, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said while briefing reporters on the bilateral meeting.
During today's meeting, the two leaders reviewed bilateral cooperation including progress in the nuclear energy sector.
Last year, Modi had held extensive talks with then Canadian Premier Stephen Harper after which Canada had agreed to supply 3,000 metric tonnes of uranium to energy-hungry India under a USD 254 million five-year deal to power Indian reactors.
During the meeting today, Prime Minister Modi noted that the cooperation in the nuclear energy sector was "progressing very well", Swarup said.
Last year's agreement for uranium supply came two years after protracted negotiations following the 2013 civil nuclear deal between India and Canada.
The two leaders also recalled their meeting when Modi visited Canada last year when Harper was the Prime Minister.
Modi also congratulated Trudeau on his fantastic win in the November elections.
Modi noted that there was new energy, dynamism and speed in India-Canada relationship since Trudeau assumed office.
The Prime Minister pointed out that possibilities for cooperation on the economic front were immense and the potential for economic cooperation had not been utilised, Swarup said.
Modi told Trudeau that India and Canada were "made for each other".
"The Prime Minister said Canada has all natural resources, India needs those resources. India also has human resource," Swarup said.
Trudeau also complemented Prime Minister Modi on his intervention last evening at the opening of the Nuclear Security Summit.
The Prime Minister said India has a fruitful partnership with Canada and it is progressing well.
"India is the land of Buddha and Gandhi and is committed to non-violence," Modi was quoted as saying by Swarup.
Modi noted that since his meeting with Canada's pension
funds managers, many things have happened and 8 billion dollars have been invested in India.
The subjects that the two leaders had discussed in their last meeting are now being implemented on the ground, Swarup said, referring to last year's meeting that Modi had with Trudeau who was the then Leader of Opposition.
"Trudeau said that India and Canada can both be leaders in non-proliferation arena in the world. Prime Minister said that India has had very fruitful relationship in the area of climate change and environment," the Spokesperson said.
Modi also talked about his government's flagship programmes.
Noting that Canada has excess of human capital, Modi suggested that during the harsh winters, Canadian teachers can come and teach in India. Trudeau concurred and liked the suggestion, Swarup said.
The Prime Minister also said poverty elimination was a top priority for him.
He highlighted the progressive policies announced in the budget in the hydrocarbon sector, the Spokesperson said.
During their meeting, Modi also invited Trudeau to visit India. The invitation was accepted by Trudeau, who said he would love to come to India along with his family.
44-year-old Trudeau carries one of the most famous names in Canadian political history. His late father was prime minister for the better part of 16 years, between 1968 and 1984.
Trudeau assumed office in November last year and surprised one and all by including four Sikh-Canadians in his Cabinet.
India today said that it is disappointed that a technical hold has been put on its application to designate Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar, the mastermind of the Pathankot terror attack, in the UN Committee.
"We are disappointed that a technical hold is being put on India's application to designate terror leader Masood Azhar in the UNSC Committee established under UNSC Resolution No 1267, 1989 and 2253," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said.
He said that India finds incomprehensible that while the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad was listed in the UNSC for its well known terror activities, the designation of the group's main leader, financier and motivator has been put on technical hold.
"The recent terror attack in Pathankot on January 2 has shown that India continues to bear the dangerous consequences of not listing Azhar," he said.
"Given the global networking of terrorist groups, this has implications for the entire international community," he said.
Yesterday, China had requested the UN Committee, which is considering a ban on the JeM chief, to keep on hold the designation.
After the terror attack on the Pathankot airbase on January 2, India in February wrote to the UN calling for immediate action to list Azhar under the Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee.
The submission was armed with strong evidence of the outfit's terror activities and its role in the Pathankot attack that killed seven Indian military personnel.
India also told the UN Sanctions Committee that not listing Azhar would expose it and other countries in South Asia to threats from the terror group and its leader.
"It needs no emphasis that the UNSC Resolution 1267
regime is an important building block of the UN Global Counter Terrorism Strategy that should aim to protect all member states and their citizens from the activities of terror groups like Jaish-e-Mohammad and its leader Azhar," the MEA spokesperson said in a statement.
"Its working methods, based on the principles of unanimity and anonymity, is leading the Committee to adopt a selective approach to combating terrorism. This does not reflect well on the determination that the international community needs to display to decisively defeat the menace of terrorism," he said.
India has become the first country in Asia to buy US shale gas after state-owned GAIL booked a ship of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Cheniere Energy Inc's Sabine Pass plant in Louisiana.
GAIL bought the cargo on spot basis and will receive it at the Dabhol LNG import terminal in Maharashtra, a company official said.
This would mark the start of US LNG exports into India, which last year overtook South Korea as the world's second biggest importer of the fuel on a spot and short-term basis as buyers.
The official said the delivered price of the US shale gas cargo is about USD 5 per million British thermal units.
This will be the second export cargo from Sabine Pass terminal. The first batch of LNG from the terminal was shipped to Brazil in February, marking the start of US shale gas exports.
A third cargo of the gas is also set to go to Brazil.
Cheniere Energy plans to ship up to eight cargoes of LNG from Sabine Pass project by May.
GAIL had previously signed up agreement to buy 3.5 million tonnes of LNG a year for two decades from Sabine Pass. It has also booked 2.3 million tonnes a year capacity in the Cove Point LNG liquefaction terminal in Maryland. The shipments are expected to start in 2017 or 2018.
India produced a record 245 lakh tonne of urea in 2015-16 and is fast moving to become self-reliant on this front, Union minister Hansraj Ahir said here today.
He said the country would start exporting the commonly used fertiliser in next two years on the back of such production.
"There has been a record production of 245 lakh tonnes of indigenous urea last year against 225 lakh tonnes in the preceding year (2014-15). We achieved this only by utilising our existing capacity," the minister told reporters.
He said this additional production of 20 lakh tonnes of the commonly used fertiliser has not only helped in saving foreign exchange but also in imports substitutions.
"The quantum jump in production of urea is the living example of highly successful 'Make In India' campaign," the MoS for Chemical and Fertilisers said.
He said the increased production of urea is equivalent to the production capacity of almost two urea plants without any additional investments.
Ahir said the BJP government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is trying to revive 5 urea plants across the country.
"As per the announcement made in the budget to revive non-functional urea plants, we are moving fast in this direction and the tender for revival of one plant will be opened soon," he said.
Ahir said his ministry is in consultation with its US counterparts to produce urea from coal.
"We are in talks with our American counterparts to make urea from coal. It's NDA government's dream to turn black gold (coal) into white (urea) one," said Ahir who had blown the lid off the coalgate scam when UPA was at the helm.
"When we start producing urea out of coal, we would be saving Rs 7,000-8,000 per tonne on production.
"Currently, government of India gives subsidy of Rs 55,000 per year on the production of urea and government has to import almost 80 lakh tonne (of urea) from other countries, particularly half of it from China," said Ahir.
He said the government has approved the policy of promotion of city compost by fixing an amount of Rs 1500 per tonne to its producers which will incentivise the production and consumption of city compost.
"Government departments and PSUs have been asked to use city compost for their horticulture and other uses," he said.
India has conveyed its concerns to the UK about the new British immigration law which will impact professionals earning below 35,000 pounds annually.
"Met with Minister of Immigration, UK (James Brokenshire) to raise India's concerns on UK visa fee hike for Indian techies," Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tweeted.
Sitharaman, who accompanied Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Brussels, hopped over to London to meet Brokenshire yesterday.
According to the new rule, professionals living and working in Britain on a Tier-2 visa who earn less than 35,000 pounds a year at the end of five years of their stay in the country could be deported.
The minister had recently said India has taken up similar issues concerning visa rules of the US government at the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Indian professionals are facing visa related challenges in other countries, including the US.
Indian professionals have formed the largest category of individuals issued such visas by the UK over the years.
According to the UK's Office of National Statistics, of the 55,589 Tier-2 sponsored visa applications cleared in 2014-2015, nearly 78 per cent were for Indians (31,058).
Thousands of Indians in the UK may get hit by this new law. The exact figure of those affected by the salary threshold requirements remains uncertain but it is estimated to be between 30,000 and 40,000 workers.
The visa is issued on the basis of a "certificate of sponsorship" issued to UK-based firms to hire such professionals from outside the EU and allows them a maximum stay of six years.
At the end of five years, these workers can apply for permanent residency or "Indefinite Leave to Remain" (ILR) in the UK.
But from this month, those qualifying for ILR under the five-year category must also prove they earn at least 35,000 pounds a year or face the prospect of a rejection, which means they would have to return to their home country or ultimately be deported if they refuse to leave voluntarily.
A 71-year-old Indian-origin Singaporean was today jailed for 10 years for killing his compatriot's wife in culpable homicide by setting her husband's law office on fire in 2011.
Taxi-driver Govindasamy Nallaiah was initially charged with the murder of Madam Low Foong Meng, the Chinese wife of his lawyer and childhood friend, Rengarajoo Rengasamy Balasamy, also of Indian-origin.
Govindasamy admitted to beating her unconscious with a bicycle chain and padlock at her husband's office, before setting the place on fire on August 10, 2011.
Mdm Low's charred body was found in the sixth-floor office at the Afro Asia Building.
An autopsy found the 55-year-old woman had died from smoke inhalation and extensive and severe burns. She had also sustained five skull fractures.
Govindasamy was cleared of murder after a trial and found guilty of a lesser charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, reported Channel Asia.
Govindasamy have been handed over a sentence of 10 years' without caning as his age is over 50 years, it said.
Judicial Commissioner Hoo Sheau Peng had called the difference "one of degree".
Govindasamy had known only that his actions would "likely" and not "probably" cause death, the Commissioner said.
But, she said, it had not been proven beyond reasonable doubt that Govindasamy's act "was so imminently dangerous that it would in all probability cause death".
In sentencing, she agreed with prosecution that it was one of the more serious instances of culpable homicide.
Govindasamy's attack was "deplorable" and caused victim to suffer multiple injuries, said the Commissioner.
The court had heard during the trial last year that Govindasamy owed Rengarajoo Rengasamy Balasamy SGD 38,000 in legal fees incurred when the lawyer represented him in a 2002 corruption trial. He was given a deadline to pay up by August 10, 2011.
That morning, he went to Rengarajoo's office and tried to negotiate with Madam Low.
During his trial, Govindasamy told the court his actions stemmed from a "loss of control" after Mdm Low allegedly told him to "get lost" when he tried to negotiate legal fees he owed her husband.
Rengarajoo was not in the office, having dropped Mdm Low off before parking the car nearby. He arrived at the building to find his office on fire, and called the police.
Indonesia called on China today to hand over a fishing boat it claims was operating illegally in its waters near the South China Sea, saying big countries should not "bully" smaller ones.
It was the latest salvo in a rare public row between the nations, which began two weeks ago when Indonesian and Chinese vessels clashed near Indonesia's Natuna Islands.
An Indonesian patrol boat had been seeking to detain a Chinese fishing vessel, which they claimed had been operating without a permit. But as they towed it to shore, Chinese coastguards appeared and rammed the captured boat, helping it to go free.
Beijing claims nearly all the South China Sea -- through which a third of the world's oil passes -- despite conflicting claims from the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei.
Indonesia does not have overlapping territorial claims with Beijing in the hotly disputed waters, but it does object to a segmented line China uses to define its claims since this overlaps Indonesia's exclusive economic zone north of the Natunas.
Indonesian Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti, who has been leading a crackdown on illegal fishing in the archipelago's vast water, on Friday demanded Beijing hand over the Chinese trawler to Indonesian authorities.
"I do believe China is a great country, with good law enforcement, and they do not back illegal fishing, even if it is done by Chinese vessels," she told AFP in an interview.
"I do believe they will honour me, by handing over this (illegal fishing) vessel."
And she added: "I think as a big country you cannot bully small countries."
The campaign against illegal fishing has seen around 200 foreign vessels detained in Indonesian waters and many have been blown up in public displays after their crews were removed.
Before the Chinese coastguards freed the fishing boat, officials succeeded in detaining eight Chinese crew members.
Pudjiastuti said today around three would be prosecuted, but the rest would likely be deported back to China. She would not be drawn on whether the boat would be blown up if handed over.
There was no immediate response from the Chinese embassy in Jakarta, but Beijing has said previously the fishing boat was operating in a "traditional Chinese fishing ground".
Pudjiastuti rejected this claim, insisting it was in Indonesia's exclusive economic zone -- an area where a state has rights relating to exploration and use of marine resources.
Indonesia's defence ministry also said that F-16 fighter jets would be deployed to help defend the fish-rich Natunas, in the far northwest fringe of the archipelago, part of an ongoing military build-up around the islands.
The bauxite industry in the country today demanded a complete abolition of custom duty on bauxite ore export, which is currently at 15 per cent.
In a statement issued here, Gujmin Industry Association Chairman C K Joshi said, "In the last budget, custom duty on export of iron ore lumps and chromium ores was reduced from 30 per cent to zero per cent, but that on export of bauxite ore was reduced from 20 per cent to just 15 per cent, which was inadequate."
"This relief may be too little, too late, to rejuvenate the bauxite export industry, which is already battling headwinds from the meltdown in the global commodity markets. Therefore, we demand custom duty on export of bauxite ore should be reduced to zero," he said.
Bauxite is the primary ore for making aluminium metal and India is known to be endowed with the 5th largest bauxite reserve base in the world of 3 billion tonnes.
There is still a lot of potential for discovering a larger bauxite resource base in India through modern and scientific prospecting methods. Furthermore, India currently produces less than 2 million tons of aluminium per annum, at India's current rate of aluminium production and consumption, India's known bauxite reserves will last for more than 300 years.
More than 80 per cent of India's bauxite reserves are located in the states of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. The Kutch region of Gujarat is known to have bauxite of good quality, which has for the last six decades been set aside by the Government of Gujarat for an alumina refinery.
According to him, inferior bauxite from the Jamnagar region of Gujarat and from Maharashtra is unusable by Indian metal manufacturers on account of its low alumina content and high silica content. From a domestic perspective this bauxite is waste-ore
"Certain small mine owners and export aggregators have over the last ten years taken the initiative to mine and export these inferior ores and have succeeded in developing a sustainable "mining industry" which generates direct and indirect employment in mining, transportation and stevedoring to more than 50,000 labourers in Gujarat & Maharashtra," he said.
China produces and consumes nearly half of world's aluminium for which it needs to import bauxite, Joshi said adding that the neighbouring country has may other sources for importing bauxite namely Malaysia, Australia and Guinea.
The Indian bauxite industry has provided more than USD 700 million forex inflows over the last three years, leading to royalty accruals of more than Rs 200 crore and over Rs 500 crore as indirect taxes and generated more than 50,000 jobs is in dire straits, Joshi added.
A transgender Israeli teenager, jailed for refusing to join the military as a conscientious objector, has petitioned the army to be moved to a women's prison.
Aiden Katri, 19, is the first Israeli transgender woman to be jailed for refusing to serve in the military.
Noa Levy, a lawyer from Mesarvot, a group that supports Israelis refusing to serve in the military on ideological grounds, said the request was made yesterday.
Levy said that Katri was jailed earlier this week and that she could have gotten out of the army but wanted to actively refuse service to protest against Israeli rule in parts of the West Bank and its policies toward the Palestinians.
Levy said Katri wanted to protest "the occupation." Ahead of her protest, Katri made a public farewell to her friends. Dressed in a black dress, red hat and wearing a beard she said she was showing solidarity with her "Palestinian sisters" and "with every woman experiencing oppression."
The Israeli military said she was "sentenced to seven days in military prison for refusing to draft as a conscientious objector." It said that "at no point did the individual alert the relevant IDF officials regarding gender identification during the draft process."
"The IDF sees the importance of providing a space in which all recruits of all genders, religions and races can serve and examines each case on an individual basis," the military said.
The city-based IVRCL which was constructing the flyover in Kolkata, a portion of which collapsed yesterday killing 24 people, today described the incident as an "accident", a day after another official of the company had dubbed it as an "act of God".
"An act of God was just an expression only to describe that it is under no one's control", P Sita, the construction company's legal team head, told reporters here.
K Panduranga Rao, Group Head (HR & Admin) of the Hyderabad-based company had told reporters yesterday, "it's nothing but a God's act. So far in 27 years we have constructed several number of bridges...Such thing (collapse) never happened,"
"We are surprised and extremely shocked. We are there to cooperate with investigation, but investigation takes time", Sita said.
Showing a photograph in a newspaper, she said that it looked like a site of bomb blast. There were various aspects which would be looked into.
Stating that same construction materials were used in building the ongoing flyover, she asked, "why did this happen? We are anxious to know the reasons".
Regarding the delay, another official of the company said, "78 per cent work of the flyover is over. A number of clearances have not yet come".
Meanwhile, a four-member police team from West Bengal today arrived in the city as part of its probe to question officials of IVRCL after the flyover it was constructing collapsed in Kolkata.
"They have come and are doing investigation," a top police official of Hyderabad Police told PTI.
Kolkata Police had yesterday registered a case against the construction firm under sections 304, 308 and 407 of the IPC and sealed the local office of company engaged in the flyover's construction.
Jewellers and bullion traders showed no signs of backing down in their protest against imposition of excise levy as the strike entered the 31st day today, with many keeping their shops shut demanding withdrawal of the budgetary proposal.
Many jewellery houses in cities such as Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata have been closed since March 2 after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced 1 per cent excise duty on non-silver jewellery in the Budget on February 29.
In Mumbai, barring a few branded showrooms, nearly 90 per cent jewellery shops remained shut.
"Customers are certain to face difficulties in coming days in view of the approaching Gudi Padwa festival and the wedding season as there is negligible ready stock of jewellery due to the strike," said Surinder Kumar Jain, Vice-President of the All India Sarafa Association.
Tamil Nadu, however, struck a contrarian note, where most jewellery showrooms were open for regular trading.
The government, in the meantime, has constituted a panel under former chief economic advisor Ashok Lahiri to look into the set of demand of jewellers.
The sub-committee, which has been asked to submit its report in 60 days, will look into issues related to the compliance procedure for the excise duty, including records to be maintained, forms to be filled, operating procedures and other relevant aspects.
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 those studded with diamonds and precious stones.
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke on today with US Secretary of State John Kerry about measures that could be taken to strengthen the fragile ceasefire in Syria, the Russian ministry said.
The two top diplomats discussed taking "concrete measures aimed at strengthening the ceasefire process in Syria" which was established in late February and has generally been holding, the foreign ministry statement said in a statement.
The measures would include steps to improve access to humanitarian aid and to fight against acts of terrorism in the country.
The telephone conversation between Lavrov and Kerry "took place on April 1 at the Americans' initiative," the statement added.
Lavrov also reiterated Russia's call to close the Turkish-Syrian border which Moscow says is "actively used" to send Islamist fighters to Syria via Turkey.
This issue calls for "agreement on the necessary actions as quickly as possible, including via the UN Security Council," the statement said.
Russia has repeatedly accused Turkey of backing Islamist groups opposed to Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, Moscow's ally in the five-year war.
The ceasefire reached in late February, led by Russia and the United States, is between the Assad regime and the rebels but does not include the jihadist groups Islamic State and the Al-Nusra Front.
UN-led talks on a peace deal are due to resume in Geneva soon, but the sides are deadlocked over the fate of Assad, whom the opposition insists must leave power before a transitional government is agreed.
Assad has said that any transitional government should include both the regime and opposition, without specifying which opposition groups should take part.
Lucknow Metro will get a loan of 450 million Euros (Rs 3,502 crore) from European Investment Bank (EIB) for its Phase-1A project.
"An agreement in this regard was signed in Brussels on March 30, 2016 in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to the Belgium capital," an official release said here today.
The loan amount will be released in two tranches of 200 million Euros and 250 million Euros, it added.
The loan agreement was signed by the Indian Ambassador to Belgium Manjiv Singh Puri and Vice-President of European Investment Bank Jonathan Taylor.
The 22.878-km long Lucknow Metro Phase-1A project was approved by the government in December last year at a cost of Rs 6,928 crore on 50:50 equity funding by the central and state governments.
Amid growing clamour for recovering over Rs 9,000 crore dues to banks by now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines, Vijay Mallya-led United Breweries (Holdings) Ltd today said its non-executive, non-independent director Sidhartha V Mallya has vacated the office of director with effect from March 31.
This development comes days after Mallya, who is believed to be in the UK, took to Twitter to ask people not to target his son Siddharth.
"In terms of the provisions of Section 167(b) of the Companies Act, 2013, Mr Sidhartha V Mallya, a Non-Executive, Non-Independent Director of the Company has vacated the office of Director w.E.F. March 31, 2016," UBHL said in a BSE filing.
On Wednesday, on microblogging site Twitter, Vijay Mallya said: "My son Sid @sidmallya does not deserve all this abuse as he had nothing to do with my business. Slam me if you must but not a young man."
Later in that day, liquor baron Vijay Mallya and Kingfisher Airlines Ltd had submitted in a sealed cover a proposal for repayment of Rs 4,000 crore out of the loan amount of Rs 6,903 crore to the consortium of banks led by State Bank of India by September this year.
Along with Mallya and Kingfisher, the proposal was also submitted by United Breweries (Holdings) Ltd and Kingfisher Finvest (India) Ltd.
The Romanian hacker known as Guccifer, who is charged with breaking into computer accounts of the Bush family and government officials has been brought to the United States to face criminal charges.
Forty-four-year-old Marcel Lazar of Arad, Romania, made an initial appearance today in federal court in Alexandria. He's been charged with wire fraud, cyberstalking, identity theft, and unauthorized access to computers. The charges carry prison terms ranging from five to 20 years.
Lazar is best known for alleged hacks into accounts held by the Bushes that revealed private family photos and paintings connected to former presidents George H W Bush and George W Bush.
He was indicted in the US in 2014 but Romanian officials agreed to temporarily release Lazar to US authorities so he could be prosecuted.
One miscreant was lynched by local people and another seriously injured after they fired at a former village pradhan and his brother in Ghazipur district today.
Four motorcycle borne miscreants opened fire at former village pradhan Manesh Jaiswal and his brother Vishwajit Jaiswal in Kasimabad area. The two were rushed to a Varanasi hospital in a serious condition, police said.
Hearing the gun shots, the locals rushed to the area and overpowered two miscreants and thrashed them badly, police said.
While one of the miscreants died on the spot another was admitted to the district hospital in a serious condition, police said, adding that hunt has been launched to nab the other two who managed to escape.
In 2014 an attempt was also made on Manish Jaiswal's life and the locals then had also lynched one of the attackers.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today met his British counterpart David Cameron and discussed ways to enhance the "vibrant" bilateral partnership.
"On every occasion, the opportunity to strengthen an old partnership. PM Narendra Modi and PM David Cameron meet," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted along with a picture of the two leaders meeting on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit here.
"Enhancing a vibrant partnership...PM Narendra Modi & PM David Cameron talk India-UK ties," a PMO tweet said.
Their meeting comes in the backdrop of a crisis in Britain's steel industry after Tata Steel announced that it has decided to "explore all options for portfolio restructuring including the potential divestment of Tata Steel UK, in whole or in parts".
Their meeting came nearly five months after Prime Minister Modi travelled to the UK in November and held wide-ranging talks with Cameron.
During that visit, India and the UK had signed deals worth 9-billion pounds and inked a civil nuclear pact besides deciding to collaborate in defence and cyber security.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will today engage with top world leaders including from Canada, Britain, Japan in a series of bilaterals here on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit, where he would outline India's roadmap and measures taken to ensure nuclear security.
He is expected to start the day with a bilateral meeting with Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau, which would be Modi's first meeting with Trudeau after he was recently elected as Canada's Prime Minister.
This would be followed by back-to-back meetings with British Prime Minister David Cameron and Argentinian President Mauricio Macri.
Cameron is meeting Modi at a time when he is facing the prospect of job loss to some 20,000 people after India's Tata Steel decided to sell its loss-making UK businesses.
After the three bilaterals, Modi would participate in the three separate sessions of the Nuclear Security Summit, which kicked off with a White House dinner last night.
The sessions are on national actions to enhance nuclear security, international and institutional actions to strengthen nuclear security and scenario-based policy discussion.
"The Prime Minister will be outlining India's roadmap, India's vision and the measures India has taken to ensure nuclear safety and security," External Affairs Ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup told reporters.
Later, Modi is scheduled to meet Switzerland President Johann N Schneider-Ammann.
He would conclude his two-day trip to Washington by meeting his close friend and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Modi arrived in the US yesterday morning for the Nuclear Security Summit being convened by US President Barack Obama and attended by leaders from more than 50 countries, with heads of state from over 20 nations.
Yesterday, the Prime Minister had a bilateral meeting with his New Zealand counterpart John Key.
At the White House dinner hosted by Obama for visiting leaders, Modi in an intervention said that without prevention and prosecution of acts of terrorism, there is no deterrence against nuclear terrorism.
"Interacted with world leaders at the NSS dinner at the White House. Shared my thoughts on the threat of nuclear terrorism," Modi tweeted late in the night on his return from dinner.
Soon after his meeting with Abe, Modi would leave for a two-day state visit to Saudi Arabia.
Around 4,000 Europeans have travelled to Syria and Iraq to join extremist groups as foreign fighters, most from just four EU countries, a new study released today said.
Of the estimated 3,922 to 4,294 foreign fighters from EU member states, some 2,838 came from Belgium, Britain, France and Germany, said the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism in The Hague.
Using data supplied by 26 EU countries, the independent think-tank found that while around 30 percent have since returned home, about 14 percent were killed on the battlefield.
The centre also found that there was "no clear-cut profile" of a foreign fighter. Some 17 percent of the group were women, and up to 23 percent were converts to Islam.
More than 90 percent come from large metropolitan areas, some from the same neighbourhoods suggesting the "radicalisation process" is short and "often involves circles of friends radicalising as a group and deciding to leave jointly for Syria and Iraq."
The report -- complied before the March 22 attacks in Brussels -- reiterated that Belgium has the highest number of foreign fighters per capita in the European Union.
Between September 2014 and September 2015 there were reportedly some 30,000 foreign fighters in Iraq and Syria from around 104 countries.
"Experts and government officials have increasingly warned of the potential security threat this phenomenon might also pose to Europe and beyond," the report said.
It found that while European countries have tightened national security and border controls, only nine have made it a criminal offence to become a foreign fighter.
Few countries also have any kind of reintegration programme for those returning from the conflict areas.
And the changing pattern of foreign fighters, including the radicalisation of women as well as the very young, as well as those with possible mental health issues "are not (yet) reflected in more targeted policies."
The centre recommended that the EU should set up an internal reporting system, saying there was "a clear need for an effective (and centralised) monitoring and evaluation framework" to analyse the impact of existing policies.
Against the backdrop of the tragic incident where 14 students drowned off Murud beach, Maharashtra government today said educational institutes would be asked to take members of Parents Teachers Association (PTA) onboard for finalising annual picnic spot.
Raising the issue during the Calling Attention motion in the Legislative Council, Shiv Sena legislator Neelam Gorhe said while guidelines have been issued by the Education department to schools and colleges, there is nothing concrete regarding taking students on picnics.
"There are no guidelines on the safety measures that need to be taken by educational institutions while taking students on picnics. There is no mechanism to convey to parents if a tragedy has taken place," she said.
Responding to it, State Education Minister Vinod Tawde said education institutes have been given instructions which need to be followed while taking students on picnics, but they do not adhere to it.
"We will convey to schools and colleges that PTA should play bigger role in deciding the place of picnics. Once approved by them only then can the school take the students there," he said.
Congress MLC Sanjay Dutt said that the Murud drowning incident is not an isolated one and in the recent past, four students have drowned at Manor beach and Kashid beach each, two at Wai, two in Uran and at other beaches like those in Malad and Versova in Mumbai.
The minister in his reply said the state government under 'Visit Maharashtra' Tourism programme in 2017, would enhance security at beaches and for water sports.
As many as 14 students of Abeda Inamdar College, Pune, drowned off Murud beach in Maharashtra's Raigad district on February 1 this year while picnicking.
Myanmar military MPs today said a plan to bolster Aung San Suu Kyi's power with a special advisory role was unconstitutional, as the new civilian government tussled with the army just days after taking office.
The Southeast Asian nation was dominated by the military for more than half a century until Wednesday when Suu Kyi and her pro-democracy party took power.
The Nobel laureate, whose party secured a landslide election win in November, has vowed to rule the country despite a constitutional block on her becoming president.
In a surprise early act of parliamentary business by the new government, Suu Kyi's party proposed a bill to grant her a special "state counsellor" position.
If passed it would give the 70-year-old a steering role over parliament, buttressed by the four ministerial posts she already holds in the new cabinet.
In a sign of early turbulence between her party and the still hugely influential army, military MPs called the move unconstitutional in an upper house debate today that saw the bill pass its first legislative hurdle.
Colonel Myint Swe raised fears the plan would place the "president and the advisor at the same level".
"This is in opposition to the constitution. So I would like to suggest the bill be amended according to the constitution," he told lawmakers.
Another army lawmaker, Colonel Hla Win Aung, also decried the naming of Suu Kyi in the bill and warned it could "destroy" the charter's balance of power between the legislature, executive and judiciary.
The army is reserved a quarter of all parliamentary seats by a charter they scripted.
The NLD's huge election win gave it a sweeping majority in the legislature, so the bill passed a vote in the upper house, but still needs to be approved in the lower house and combined parliament.
Suu Kyi is the head of the National League for Democracy party and the figurehead of its near 30-year struggle to end military domination.
She is barred from the presidency by a clause in the junta-drafted charter disqualifying those with foreign close relatives. Her late husband and two sons are British.
She has pledged to rule through her longtime friend and confidante Htin Kyaw, who was sworn in as president Wednesday.
But observers have raised concerns over how her novice government will tackle mammoth challenges in a nation scarred by decades of repressive and economically-destructive army rule.
Suu Kyi is taking on a huge workload in the new administration, running the ministries of foreign affairs, education, energy and the president's office.
Anti-narcotics sleuths have busted a trans-national syndicate which allegedly used to smuggle high quality Nepalese cannabis, cleverly concealed in "religious diaries", to be sent to European countries via India.
The Delhi zonal unit of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has arrested two persons in the case, identified as R B Singh (50) and Munish Gupta (28), for allegedly running the "well oiled" racket.
"The cannabis (charas) concealed in religious diaries used to be brought to the accused by road from Nepal. After repackaging, the same amongst other religious diaries, these religious diaries containing charas were being sent via courier parcels to European and South East Asian countries like the UK, Germany, Portugal, Austria and Hong Kong. The contraband was concealed in these diaries by creating fake cavities in them," the agency said in a statement.
NCB took the duo on radar and kept on seizing about 20 kgs of the said contraband for the last few months but could not get hold of the men behind it as they said the accused used to book narcotic parcels on fake addresses and used forged identities to procure mobile phone SIMs.
However, the duo was arrested from Noida on March 30 as part of the sustained NCB surveillance, they said adding the accused had "trans-national connections."
NCB Zonal Director Rohit Sharma said Nepal origin cannabis is considered to be of a very high quality on the lines of the 'Malana' charas of Himachal Pradesh.
Officials said the duo had at least sent 25 such parcels to European destinations in the past and they allegedly earned about Rs 50,000 on per parcel delivery.
A Noida court has sent the duo in judicial custody under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS), they said.
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) today alleged that the show of unity by six Opposition legislators including independents and those from the Congress was a farce.
"With elections round the corner a lot of noise is being made claiming to be the "true Opposition" by the so called opposition MLAs. They have become over enthusiastic to expose the government on corruption. But are they true opposition or a manufactured opposition of hypocrite MLAs ?," NCP Goa spokesman Trajano D'Mello told reporters today.
A group of six legislators including Congress' Vishwajit Rane, Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco, Atanasio Monserratte and independents Vijai Sardessai, Rohan Khaunte, Naresh Sawal had joined forces ahead of recently held State Legislative Assembly session, to take on the government.
D'Mello said the six MLAs got together without a "head or a tail and assured and vowed to expose BJP led government on corruption front."
But the collapse of this unity within a week has proved just an unruly mob had come together, he said.
Reminding the Opposition's attack on government against the scam in beach cleaning contract, D'Mello said the entire expose was just an attempt to play to the gallery.
"After the Opposition's ruckus in the Assembly, the Chief Minister called a press conference and challenged the Opposition, in particular the MLA who spearheaded the charge, to file a written complaint to the police," he said.
"But till this day no complaint seems to have been filed. Why has the MLA who spearheaded the charge shied away from filing a complaint ? With no complaint filed till this day has only exposed the MLA he was just playing to the gallery," the NCP leader alleged.
He also volunteered to file the police complaint against the beach cleanliness scam "if he is given the documentary evidence thatpoints to the charge confirming the scam.
Nepal today hit out at the India- EU joint statement that referred to the need for an "inclusive Constitutional settlement" in the country, saying it was "uncalled for" and has hurt people's sentiments.
India and the European Union pledged continued support to Nepal in its reconstruction efforts following the devastating earthquakes in 2015, including capacity building and long term development, said a joint statement issued after 13th India-EU Summit in Brussels.
"They also agreed on the need for a lasting and inclusive Constitutional settlement in Nepal that will address the remaining Constitutional issues in a time bound manner, and promote political stability and economic growth," the statement said.
The Nepalese Foreign Ministry, in a statement issued a day after the EU-India Summit on Wednesday, maintained that the Constitution-making and its promulgation were essentially Nepal's internal matters.
"Nepal promulgated the Constitution through a democratically elected Constituent Assembly and the Constitution has fully accommodated the aspirations of the people of Nepal," it said.
Nepal has now moved ahead along the path of political stability and economic development, the Nepalese Foreign Ministry said and made it clear that the promulgation of the Constitution formally concluded the nationally-driven peace process initiated in 2006 and institutionalised significant democratic gains including the federal and republican system.
"Against this backdrop, the EU-India Joint Statement not only hurts the sentiments of the people of Nepal but also defies the fundamental principle of non-interference in internal affairs of a country in breach of UN Charter and norms of international law," the statement said.
"The Nepalese government called on all sides to fully respect the sovereign and democratic rights of the Nepalese people and refrain from making uncalled for statements," it said.
The statement asserted that the government and people of Nepal are fully capable of resolving their issues themselves within the framework of the Constitution.
The 13th India-EU Summit, held after a gap of four years, was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and EU leaders.
The meeting between Indian and Pakistani investigators has been "positive" and the Pakistani side "has not contradicted" India's findings in the Pathankot airbase attack probe, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju today said.
He, however, said no date has been fixed for the visit of the Indian investigation team to the neighbouring country.
"The meeting between Indian and Pakistani investigators is positive. They (Pakistani team) have not contradicted our findings," the Minister of State for Home told reporters here.
Rijiju was replying to a question on the visit of a Pakistani Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to India in the Pathankot terror case during which they recorded the statements of the witnesses.
"It all went well and satisfactorily. Our agencies have done whatever was necessary," he said.
The Pakistani team was also handed over some more documents which included DNA report of the four terrorists killed in the 80-hour gun battle with security forces.
Asked when an Indian team will visit Pakistan to probe the January 2 attack on the strategic airbase, Rijiju said no date has been fixed for the visit to the neighbouring country.
Rijiju earlier had defended the decision to allow a Pakistani team to visit the IAF base to probe the terror strike saying no one should do politics on national security issues.
Congress, Aam Aadmi Party and Shiv Sena had criticised the government for allowing the Pakistani team to visit the forward airbase in Punjab.
With the second phase of Odd-Even scheme set to begin from April 15, AAP government today decided to cancel leaves of Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) staff during the 15-day car-rationing period.
At a meeting with bus DTC bus manufacturers, Delhi Transport Minister Gopal Rai also warned of strict action in case of breakdowns when the scheme is being implemented.
A senior government official said all depot managers of DTC have been directed to begin maintenance of the buses for smooth plying during the odd-even scheme and the regional manager will face action in case of any breakdowns.
The leave of all DTC's staff has been cancelled from April 15 to 30, he said.
"The minister has also formed 25 monitoring units to repair buses in case of breakdown," he said.
"We have also decided to organize an awareness 'picnic' at India Gate on April 13 where school children will be educated about the scheme," the official said.
The second phase of the odd-even scheme is set to be implemented from April 15 to 30 during which most motorists will move towards public transport and in view of this, the government is taking several steps to strengthen the public transport in the national capital.
During the scheme, government will engage private buses under 'DTC Paryavaran Bus Service', for which, it has started registration process that will continue till April 14.
50 per cent of seats in these buses will be reserved for women passengers. Marshalls to be hired by the government will be deployed in these buses round the clock.
Earlier in the day, Rai interacted with school principals and their representatives over providing school buses.
Searches of North Korean ships under new UN sanctions that were imposed in response to Pyongyang's latest nuclear test are inexcusable and North Korea won't tolerate them, a North Korean maritime official said in an interview with Associated Press Television .
Some of the toughest measures in the sanctions target North Korea's shipping network, which has long been under international scrutiny for the possible movement of weapons and other equipment banned by previous UN resolutions.
"The UN Security Council should ensure the peace and security of the world, but it has abandoned its own mission and duty and it's violently trampled on international justice and impartiality," Nam Hyon Il, of North Korea's Maritime Administration, which oversees the country's shipping industry, said in an interview with APTN in Pyongyang on Thursday.
Nam called the sanctions "an infringement of maritime trade activities of a sovereign state, which is inexcusable." North Korea insists it will not accept any of the U.N. sanctions against it, including the latest round of restrictions announced in response to its nuclear test in January and subsequent rocket launch.
Inside North Korea, authorities and media always describe the sanctions as if they were forced upon on the U.N. By the United States. There is no acknowledgement of the role and opinions of China, North Korea's main supporter, in formulating sanctions against Pyongyang. The new round of sanctions say every member state should inspect the cargo of any North Korean vessel that comes into port, and highlight details of North Korean shipping companies and the names of ships that are specifically targeted. Soon after the sanctions were announced, a North Korean ship, the Jin Teng, was stopped by Philippine authorities. It was inspected and later released.
Each round of sanctions against North Korea brings new scrutiny and renewed debate about whether the measures really have an effect on holding back Pyongyang's progress in the development of nuclear and ballistic missile technology. No banned goods have been found on any North Korean ships since the new sanctions took effect.
The last time that happened was in 2013, when a North Korean ship called the Chong Chon Gang was stopped in Panama after an inspection found military equipment underneath bags of sugar.
Pakistan has said it fully shares global concerns that nuclear materials must never fall into "wrong hands" and underlined that renewed interest in nuclear energy worldwide necessitates more preparedness.
"Nuclear materials must never fall into the wrong hands. This is a global concern which Pakistan fully shares," Special Assistant to Pakistan Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatemi said in an intervention during a dinner hosted by US President Barack Obama at the White House yesterday.
The dinner kicked off the two-day Nuclear Security Summit here, which is being attended by leaders from more than 50 countries, including the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif cancelled his trip to Washington to attend this summit in the wake of the terrorist attack in Lahore that claimed over 70 lives.
Representing Pakistan in the absence of Sharif, Fatemi said renewed interest in nuclear energy worldwide implies more nuclear materials and facilities necessitating more preparedness.
"It is equally important to remain alive to the potential threat of radiological dispersal devices. This threat is not limited to states with significant nuclear programmes. Radioactive sources are being employed everywhere in the private sector, hospitals, industry and research," he said.
"Facilities hosting such materials are often more vulnerable. There is, therefore, the need for vigilance and preparedness in all places. Emergency preparedness and response constitutes effective deterrence against malicious acts. This requires significant training efforts, including those by nuclear security centres developed by states," Fatemi said.
US President Barack Obama met his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Washington, the White House said, amid serious tensions over press freedom and the war in Syria.
Having previously stated the pair were unlikely to hold sit-down talks -- a decision widely perceived as a snub by Washington -- the White House said the two men had in fact met on the margins of a nuclear security summit.
They discussed "US-Turkey cooperation on regional security, counterterrorism, and migration," it said.
The absence of a presidential meeting on Erdogan's trip to the US capital had been glaring.
The two countries are meant to be close NATO allies in the thick of a fight against the Islamic State group in Syria.
But tensions have been stirred by Ankara's attacks on Kurdish militants, some of whom are seen by Washington as the best bet for tackling IS in Iraq and northern Syria.
Turkey says the groups are linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has fought a long battle for Kurdish independence.
Turkish forays into northern Iraq have also strained ties.
The White House has been increasingly outspoken in recent months about threats to free speech and democracy in Turkey.
And on Thursday it restated its belief in the need for press freedom in Turkey, amid ugly scenes at an Erdogan speech in the US capital.
Ahead of Erdogan's arrival at the Brookings Institute, Turkish security officials clashed with protestors -- both sides exchanging insults and scuffling -- before police were able to separate them.
The Turkish guards also set about the press. One aimed a chest-high kick at an American reporter attempting to film the harassment of a Turkish opposition reporter while another called a female foreign policy scholar a "whore."
The US National Press Club accused Erdogan of trying to export oppression.
As the Turkish leader flew in to Washington ahead of the nuclear safety summit, broke of another deadly bomb attack targeting police in his country's southeast, where his forces are battling Kurdish militants.
According to the White House, Obama "extended condolences to President Erdogan on behalf of the American people for those killed and injured in today's terrorist attack."
He also "reaffirmed the support of the United States for Turkey's security and our mutual struggle against terrorism.
US President Barack Obama opened a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping with a promise of candid discussion over Beijing's alleged military buildup in the South China Sea.
"We will have candid exchanges about areas where we have differences, issues like human rights, cyber and maritime issues," Obama said as he sat across the conference table from his Chinese counterpart.
US officials have expressed concern that China's actions in the South China Sea are not consistent with Xi's pledge at the White House last year not to pursue militarization of the hotly contested and strategically vital waterway.
China claims virtually all the South China Sea despite conflicting claims by Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan and the Philippines, and has built up artificial islands in the area in recent months, including some with airstrips.
"We do continue to be concerned about militarization in the South China Sea," said senior Obama foreign policy aide Ben Rhodes ahead of the meeting with Xi.
"We certainly have seen developments, reports that are not consistent with commitments to avoid and to non-militarize the South China Sea."
"This will be certainly an important topic of conversation between the two presidents."
Washington has since October carried out two high-profile "freedom of navigation" operations in which it sailed warships within 12 nautical miles of islets claimed by China.
Xi spoke of the need to avoid misunderstandings and big disruptions in the "major power relations" between the two countries.
But state-run agency Xinhua cited the Chinese leader as saying that "China will not accept any behavior under the disguise of freedom of navigation that violates its sovereignty and damages its security interests."
Obama and Xi also discussed pressure on North Korea, which in January detonated a nuclear device and launched a long- range rocket a month later, prompting UN sanctions backed by both Beijing and Washington.
"Of great importance to both of us is North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons, which threatens the security and stability of the region," said Obama.
"President Xi and I are both committed to the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula and the full implementation of UN sanctions."
"We are going to discuss how we can discourage actions like nuclear missile tests that escalate tensions and violate international obligations.
President Barack Obama today said that the world faces a persistent and evolving threat from terrorists who are eager to unleash a devastating nuclear attack.
"It would change our world," he said.
Hosting his last nuclear security summit, Obama said the world has measurably reduced the risk of nuclear terrorism by taking "concrete, tangible steps."
He said no terrorists have thus far obtained nuclear material, and he praised recent moves by Argentina, Switzerland and Uzbekistan for getting rid of their stockpiles of highly enriched uranium.
Still, Obama said, the prospect of the Islamic State group or other extremists getting a weapon remains "one of the greatest threats to global security." He pointed out that IS had already used chemical weapons and that al-Qaida has long sought nuclear material.
"There is no doubt that if these mad men ever got their hands on a nuclear bomb or nuclear material, they would certainly use it to kill as many people as possible," Obama said.
For the dozens of world leaders assembled in Washington this week, the harrowing risk of nuclear terrorism has been front and center, alongside concerns about North Korea's nuclear weapons programme. Yet Obama worked to open the summit's final day on an optimistic note, hailing the nuclear agreement with Iran as a "substantial success" and a model for future diplomacy.
Obama sought to use the controversial Iran deal as an argument for his carrot-and-stick approach to deterring nuclear proliferation as he huddled with other UN Security Council members who negotiated the deal with the US. He credited Iran with taking steps to meet its commitments, though critics of the deal are livid about the sanctions relief Iran is receiving in response.
"It will take time for Iran to reintegrate in the global economy, but Iran is already beginning to see the benefits of this deal," Obama said.
Obama acknowledged that the nuclear deal hasn't swept away other issues the US and other nations still have with Iran; support for terrorism and Tehran's ballistic missile program typically top that list.
Still, he said all the nations that negotiated the deal could agree that it's been an effective way to address the narrower issue of nuclear proliferation in Iran.
"This is a success of diplomacy that hopefully we will be able to copy in the future," Obama said.
Frustration over the slow pace of reducing nuclear stockpiles has shadowed this year's summit, Obama's last major push on denuclearisation. The absence of key players, especially Russia, further underscored the lack of unanimity still confronting global efforts to deter nuclear attacks.
After six years of prodding by Obama and others before him, the global stockpile of fissile material that could be used in nuclear bombs remains in the thousands of metric tons.
US President Barack Obama today said it will take time for Iran to rejoin the global economy, as the country's leadership and citizens express unease that a sanctions windfall has been slow to materialise.
"It will take time for Iran to reintegrate into the global economy, but Iran is already beginning to see the benefit of this deal," Obama said at a meeting of world powers in Washington.
The international community lifted a raft of sanctions on Iran in exchange for the country curbing its controversial nuclear programme.
Earlier this month, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused Washington of failing to respect the terms of the agreement.
The United States has lifted sanctions "on paper," he said, "but they are using roundabout paths to prevent the Islamic Republic from achieving its targets."
"They have said they lifted the sanctions... But, in fact, they are working to prevent the lifting of sanctions from taking effect," he said.
The limited polls that are conducted in Iran also show skepticism about the country's economic situation following decades of sanctions.
A host of non-nuclear sanctions related to terrorism sponsorship, ballistic missile programmes and a crackdown on demonstrators remain in place.
According to a CISSM and IranPoll.Com survey released Thursday Iranians have a less favourable impression of the country's economic situation now than they did before the deal came into effect in January.
While a majority of those polled back deeper economic engagement with the West, almost 70 percent do not believe the United States will meet its promises under the agreement.
Earlier this week, the United States appeared to take further steps toward ending Iran's economic isolation, laying the groundwork to let Iran begin trading in dollars.
The move would remove restrictions on foreign firms doing dollar deals with Iran.
Officials say that even with sanctions lifted, US and other non-Iranian companies have been reluctant to do business with Iran for fear of getting tangled in a thicket of US regulations.
US President Barack Obama told a global nuclear security summit today that the world had made progress in preventing terror groups like Al Qaeda and Islamic state from acquiring nuclear weapons, but more needs to be done.
"By working together our nations have made it harder for terrorists to get their hands on nuclear material. We have measurably reduced the risk," he told leaders gathered in Washington.
But he also warned that thousands of tonnes of fissile material lies in stockpiles, under sometimes patchy security, and that material the size of an apple could cause devastation that would change the world.
US President Barack Obama and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping have agreed to fully implement sanctions against North Korea, in a meeting that was promptly followed by a provocative Pyongyang missile launch.
The White House said today that Obama and Xi agreed to "narrow differences" between the world's two major powers during a meeting the day before.
"Both leaders committed... To strengthen coordination in addressing the shared threat presented by North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missile systems," the White House said.
"Both leaders affirmed their commitment to achieving the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2270."
In January, North Korea detonated a nuclear device and a month later launched a long-range rocket, prompting the United States, China and other UN partners to implement sanctions.
Washington's efforts to build pressure on North Korea has long been a point of friction with Beijing, which provides the hermit state an economic lifeline.
The White House believes that China could do more to press North Korea into abandoning its nuclear and missile programs.
China fears that too much pressure would topple the regime, prompting instability and regional upheaval.
As if to underscore the difficult of the issue, North Korea yesterday appeared to fire another short-range missile off its east coast.
South Korea's defence ministry said a surface-to-air missile was fired at around 12:45 pm loacl time from the eastern city of Sondok. The range and precise trajectory could not immediately be confirmed, a ministry official said.
The launch came in the middle of the two-day nuclear security summit being hosted by Obama in Washington, at which North Korea has been the focus of the US president's talks with the leaders of China, South Korea and Japan.
The summit opened yesterday with Obama trying to forge consensus among East Asian leaders on how to respond to Pyongyang's recent nuclear and missile tests, which have seen an escalation of tensions in the region.
"We are united in our efforts to deter and defend against North Korean provocations," Obama said after meeting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Park Geun-Hye.
The leaders also discussed the deployment of the sophisticated missile system THAAD -- the Theater High Altitude Area Defense System -- to South Korea.
But the move has raised concerns in Beijing, which is unhappy at the prospect of the US hardware on its doorstep, fearing it will further tip the balance of power in the Pacific towards Washington.
In a scathing attack on Naveen Patnaik government in Odisha, Congress today accused the ruling BJD of patronising mafias while working against the interest of poor and downtrodden.
Speaking at functions organised by Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) as part of its state-wide membership drive in various places, senior party leaders came down heavily on both BJD regime in the state and the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre dubbing them as "anti-poor".
Launching the 60-day drive in the state capital, OPCC President Prasad Harichandan said Congress would intensify its fight against BJP and BJD to safeguard the interests of the poor.
Accusing the BJP government at the Centre and BJD regime in Odisha of trying to hoodwink the people in the name of smart city project, Harichandan said the project is designed to benefit a handful of rich people.
Meanwhile, addressing a party meeting in Cuttack, ongress stalwart and Leader of Opposition leader in state Assembly Narasingha Mishra minced no words in charging the ruling BJD in patronising mafias and criminals and attributed the same to the alleged rising crime graph in the state.
The mafias are being patronised by the state government, Mishra claimed.
Mishra said his party has moved a motion and he has also given a notice in the Assembly for a discussion on alleged nexus between politicians-criminals and the alleged protection provided by the state government to the criminals and mafias.
He expressed hope that the Speaker would definitely allow a discussion on this important issue.
"There have been allegations against one BJD legislator for having links with mafia Dhalasamant brothers and another ruling party legislator was involved in chit fund scam," Mishra said claiming these serious allegations are not being investigated.
"The law is not taking its desired course in these two serious allegations", Mishra said alluding to reports of a BJD legislator's alleged links with the Dhalasamant brothers and the arrest of neighbouring Banki legislator Pravat Tripathy, who had been arrested by the CBI in chit fund scam.
A Pakistani-American owner, who put up anti-Hindu signs at a popular US eatery, has been forced to sell the franchise amid furore over the controversial posters that upset thousands of Indian-Americans.
Mohammad Dar, 65, agreed to give up his business in Kemah, Texas, Dairy Queen said.
"We are pleased to announce that as of Wednesday, March 30th, the DQ location in Kemah, Texas is now under new ownership and all interior and exterior signs posted by the former franchisee were immediately removed from that location," said Dean A Peters, Associate Vice President of Communications of American Dairy Queen Corporation headquartered in Minneapolis.
For the past six months, Dar's Dairy Queen restaurant posted signs bashing Hinduism as a force of racism. Some of the messages, displayed on tall panels, mentioned Hinduism specifically and accused it of being based on racism.
Dar taped more messages near the register, on the drive- through window and placed a large sign outside of the restaurant in the parking lot.
The owner told local media that he planned to leave because of a new, expensive "corporate mandate".
The Hindus of Greater Houston, Hindu American Foundation and Diversity USA, welcomed a change in ownership at the Dairy Queen eatery.
"After speaking with Dairy Queen's spokesperson, we applaud Dairy Queen for taking action to move up the timing of the sale of this location in Kemah to another franchisee owner in order to have these anti-Hindu signs removed swiftly," the statement said.
"We also urge Dairy Queen to incorporate policies and procedures in their franchisee agreement to prevent such a situation from happening again," it said.
Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard told all protesting Hindu organisations including Jagan Kaul of Diversity USA, a think- tank on minority issues, in a message that "your protest efforts have paid high dividends in causing Dairy Queen to force the owner to sell his franchise".
Palestinian president has reached out to Israel saying he opposes near-daily Palestinian attacks on Israelis and suggesting the violence would stop if the defunct peace process resumes again.
Mahmoud Abbas made the remarks yesterday in an interview with Israeli Channel 2 TV's "Uvda" program. Israel has accused him of failing to condemn the wave of Palestinian attacks on Israeli civilians and security forces that erupted in mid-September.
The attacks, mostly stabbings but also shootings and car-ramming assaults, have killed 28 Israelis and two Americans.
Over the same time, at least 188 Palestinians have died by Israeli fire. Israel says most were attackers, and the rest died in clashes with Israeli security forces.
Abbas said the violence stems from "lack of hope, lack of trust" in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's commitment to a two-state solution to the conflict. The Palestinian president also said that if peace talks resume, it would "give my people hope and nobody would dare go and stab or shoot."
US mediated Israeli-Palestinian peace talks collapsed in 2014.
In the interview, Abbas called on Netanyahu to meet with him "at any time."
"I want to see peace in my life," he said.
As for the current situation, he said the security cooperation between the Israeli military and Palestinian security forces continues and that if it were not for his forces, the violence would be much bloodier now. He added that Palestinian security forces have raided schools and confiscated knives from students and told them not to carry out attacks.
Earlier yesterday, the Israeli military demolished the home of a Palestinian man who fatally stabbed an Israeli civilian in the West Bank city of Hebron late last year.
The Palestinian, Ehab Maswada, stabbed the Israeli, Gennady Kaufman, outside a site holy to Jews and Muslims. Maswada was then shot and killed by officers at the scene. Israel says home demolitions are an effective tool to deter attacks, but critics say the tactic amounts to collective punishment.
Israel blames the attacks on incitement by Palestinian leaders amplified on social media. Palestinians say the violence, often carried out by teenagers in apparent suicide missions, is rooted in frustration at nearly five decades of Israeli military occupation.
Nearly three months after the demise of its founder and patron Mufti Sayeed, PDP is poised for restructuring, for which the office bearers resigned from their posts today, ahead of the party forming the government in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday.
The office bearers resigned to pave the way for restructuring of the party.
"The office bearers of Peoples Democratic Party -- general secretaries Nizamudin Bhat, Rafi Ahmad Mir, Ved Mahajan, Mehboob Iqbal and political advisor to party president Peerzada Mansoor Hussain have resigned and relinquished their offices with immediate effect," a PDP spokesman said.
"All the leaders have expressed full faith in the leadership of Mehbooba Mufti and have pledged support in the interest of party and people of the state," he added.
The party is being restructured nearly three months after the sudden demise of Mufti Sayeed, who had founded it in 1999 and was its patron when he passed away.
Mehbooba, the PDP president who has taken full charge of the party, is all set to be sworn in as the first woman Chief Minister of the state on Monday after the three-month deadlock over government formation with the BJP ended last week.
Maharashtra government has decided to withdraw police cases against farmers who participated in various agitations and demonstrations in the state, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said today.
"Farmers are already under stress due to drought. Cases (filed against them with regard to agitations) will be withdrawn to avoid their trips to police stations," Fadnavis, who also holds Home portfolio, informed the Legislative Assembly.
He was replying to a discussion on budgetary demands of the GAD (general administration), Home, Urban Development, Law and Judiciary departments in the Lower House.
"You are asking for a full-time Home Minister, but I'm an overtime Home Minister," Fadnavis said, referring to NCP MLA Dilip Walse-Patil's criticism of the BJP-led state government over "rising" crimes.
"Police traced a total of 3,821 (missing) children under operation 'Muskan'. This performance is No.1 in the country," Fadnavis said.
A slew of decisions taken by the government has increased the crime conviction rate in the state to 52 per cent, the CM said.
Fadnavis had late last year claimed the rate of conviction of crimes was just eight per cent before his government took over in October 2014.
Fadnavis spoke on a range of issues during his speech, from metro rail to housing for police personnel.
"We are blessed by coastal area and port-led development is important for employment. Due to CCTNS (Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems) project we have been able to connect all police stations," he said.
He said metro rail is the most trusted mode of public transportation system and helps reduce pollution. "When I go to Nagpur after retirement, people of Mumbai should remember that a person from Nagpur tried to transform traffic system in this city," Fadnavis said referring to his hometown in Vidarbha region of the state.
The government is making a policy for water treatment. Using that treated water will be made compulsory for power plants, MIDC and industries, the CM said.
By doing this, more fresh water will be made available for drinking purpose all across the state, he said.
"We have made 52 cities ODF (Open Defecation Free) till January 31, 2016 and 50 more will join them by April," he said.
The Centre selected only two cities (Pune and Solapur) for Smart City project but State Government will add 10 more urban centres to this list on its own, Fadnavis said.
The government will provide houses to all police personnel in three years, he stated.
Fadnavis asked the Opposition to desist from creating rift between ruling allies BJP and Shiv Sena. "Your efforts won't succeed," he said.
Serbia's prime minister lashed out today at the UN war crimes court that tried radical Serb leader Vojislav Seselj, accusing it of being "political" and failing to reconcile the Balkans.
Ultranationalist Seselj was acquitted yesterday on nine charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity arising from the 1990s Balkan conflicts after "what was without a shadow of a doubt a political trial", Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said.
He told reporters in Belgrade that the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) at The Hague had "acted mainly as a political court, not a legal institution".
Many Serbs feel the court has unfairly targeted them in its quest to bring alleged Balkan war criminals to justice. Croats and Muslims, on the other hand, reacted angrily to Seselj's surprise acquittal.
A week before the verdict, the tribunal's judges sentenced wartime Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic to 40 years in jail for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Vucic said reconciliation had been one of the main goals of the court but "there is no doubt that The Hague tribunal has not fulfilled this goal".
"Instead the court has repeatedly hammered nails into the coffin of the sleepy Balkans, which is expected to continue in the future to deal with its past -- wars, blood and conflicts -- and do nothing else," he said.
While Seselj's supporters celebrated his acquittal, the ruling sent shock waves though much of the Balkans, with Croatia promptly banning him from entering the country.
Prosecutors had alleged Seselj was behind the murder of large numbers of Croat, Muslim and other non-Serb civilians, as well as the forced deportation of "tens of thousands" from parts of Croatia, Bosnia and Serbia during the 1990s wars.
The judges ruled that while "Seselj was driven by an ardent political ambition to create a Greater Serbia" this was in "principle a political plan, not a criminal plan".
Analysts warned the not-guilty verdict could threaten already fragile relations in the former Yugoslavia.
Vucic however called on Serbs to "behave differently" to others in the region by understanding the suffering of their neighbours.
"We citizens of Serbia will probably not see others respect our (war) victims in the manner we are obliged to respect their victims," he said.
The leader of the Serbian Radical Party, 61-year-old Seselj spent nearly 12 years in detention at The Hague before returning to Serbia for cancer treatment in 2014.
He plans to stand in a general election later this month and has publicly burned EU and NATO flags, although his anti-Western and pro-Russian rhetoric hold less sway in Serbia today than Vucic's pro-European line.
Supermodel Carol Gracia broke all the stereotypes as she sashayed down the ramp flaunting her baby bump for designer Gaurang Shah at the ongoing Lakme Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2016.
"Mom to be @carolmgracias walking for #GaurangShah at @lakmefashionwk. #Gaurang #LakmeFashionWeek #momtobe #carolgracias," the designer posted on his Instagram.
The former "Bigg Boss" contestant, 37, flaunted a beautiful green and pink sari from Gaurang's collection "Calico", paying reverence to the aesthetics of early 20th century Indian royalty.
The line also united traditional Indian textiles with vintage silhouettes.
The collection of 40 ensemble included 16 sarees with each of them crafted from hand-woven textiles in Khadi, Uppada and Kota using the Jamdani technique.
The sarees were draped in royal styles of 12 states and the gowns followed the silhouettes of the Belle Epoch period.
The designer is planning to head to London and Milan Fashion Weeks next.
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen MLA Imtiyaz Jaleel today sought punishment for Shiv Sena legislator Gulabrao Patil over his usage of 'derogatory remarks' while referring to AIMIM leader Waris Pathan in the Assembly on March 16.
Pathan was suspended from the Assembly after refusing to chant 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' in the Lower House.
"Though the derogatory words have been expunged from the proceedings, it is not enough and Patil should be punished for his remarks," Jaleel said in the Assembly today.
AIMIM also gave a letter to the Speaker demanding withdrawal of the suspension of Pathan.
After the suspension, Pathan and Jaleel had met Speaker Haribhau Bagde and told him that "a great injustice has been done to us."
"We told the Speaker that a great injustice has been done to us. He (Speaker) said it was the sentiment of the House which led to tabling of the resolution for suspension of Pathan," Jaleel had said.
Pathan, who represents Byculla seat in South Mumbai, was suspended through a unanimous resolution adopted by the House over his refusal to hail 'Mother India'.
Under suspension, Pathan will not be allowed to attend the proceedings of the House till the end of ongoing Budget session.
The resolution to suspend Pathan was tabled in keeping with the sentiments of the House, Minister of State for Home, Ranjit Patil had said in the Assembly.
The Rajasthan government will bring an act to control fee structure in schools, the assembly was informed said today.
The act will replace the Rajasthan Schools (Regulation of Collection of Fee) on recommendation of the cabinet sub-committee to control fees structure, Education Minister Vasudev Devnani said.
Responding to the issue of uncontrolled hike in fees raised by Independent MLA Hanuman Beniwal during zero hour, Devnani said the government had earlier formed a committee to decide the fees but the High Court, citing provisions of regulation of collection of fee ruled that the schools cannot be forced to follow the recommendations of the committee.
A cabinet sub-committee was then formed and it has recommended to bring a fee act in place of the earlier one.
Former Jharkhand Chief Secretary Rajiv Gauba today took charge as the Secretary of Urban Development Ministry.
A Jharkhand-cadre IAS officer of 1982 batch, Gauba joins the Ministry on superannuation of Madhusudhan Prasad yesterday, an official release said.
Gauba, who is a Physics graduate from Patna University, has wide-ranging experience in senior positions in policy-making and programme implementation in central and state governments and in international organisations, it added.
Prior to his current assignment, he was the Chief Secretary of Jharkhand for 15 months.
Gauba has also served in International Monetary Fund Board for four representing the country, besides serving as Collector and District Magistrate for seven years in districts of Gaya, Nalanda and Muzaffarpur in Bihar.
After assuming charge, he said, "With the launch of urban development initiatives like Smart City Mission, Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation, Heritage City Development Mission and Swachh Bharat Mission, the focus of the Ministry now shifts to effective and timely implementation of the schemes by the states and urban local bodies through effective coordination with them."
"The government is attaching priority to urban agenda and best efforts need to be made for successful implementation of the new initiatives," he added.
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju today slammed China for blocking India's bid at the UN for a ban on Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammud chief Masood Azhar, saying the government will take appropriate action.
"What China has done (in the UN), was not good. Ministry of External Affairs will take an appropriate action. Whatever action is required, we will take," he told reporters here when asked about yesterday's development at the United Nations.
The Union Minister of State for Home hails from Arunachal Pradesh bordering China.
Yesterday, China had requested the UN Committee, which is considering a ban on the JeM chief, to keep on hold the designation.
After the terror attack on the Pathankot airbase on January 2, India in February wrote to the UN calling for immediate action to list Azhar under the Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee.
The submission was armed with strong evidence of the outfit's terror activities and its role in the Pathankot attack that killed seven Indian military personnel.
India also told the UN Sanctions Committee that not listing Azhar would expose it and other countries in South Asia to threats from the terror group and its leader.
"Mad Max: Fury Road" actor Nathan Jones is making his Bollywood debut with Remo D'Souza's next "A Flying Jat" and the director says working with the former Australian wrestler was fun.
Jones, 48, is playing the main antagonist in Tiger Shroff-starrer superhero drama, which will wrap up its shooting this week in Chandigarh.
"I spotted Nathan when I watched 'Mad Max: Fury Road' last year. I wanted a strong and powerful villain opposite Tiger. "Flying Jat' is a superhero movie and the villain needs to be really strong. I mailed Nathan and he accepted my offer because he didn't have any line-up during this time. So, he came onboard very easily," Remo told PTI.
The National-award winning choreographer said the Australian wrestler-turned-actor also enjoyed shooting for the Bollywood film.
"He was fun and moreover he also enjoyed shooting with us.
He got along with every crew member."
Remo has made American dancer Lauren Gottlieb a household name in India, thanks to her stint in his "ABCD" franchise and dance reality shows. The choreographer-director hopes that Nathan will also have the similar fate here post "A Flying Jat".
"Our films have immense power and we have always accepted international artistes with open arms. If Priyanka Chopra and Deepika Padukone can do wonders in Hollywood then they can also do it here."
The film, slated to release in August, will see Tiger and Jacqueline Fernandez in the lead roles.
Asked about the unusual pairing, Remo said, "I wanted a very innocent looking guy to play this superhero. Tiger suits perfectly for the character. Similarly, Jacqueline also poses a very innocent and sexy look at the same time."
The choreographer is gearing up for the second season of reality show "Dance Plus". Remo is returning as the superjudge of the Star Plus show.
"It is going to be more tough this time. People will winess many new dance forms and some extraordinary dancers across the country," he said.
: Tamil Nadu Governor K Rosaiah today greeted Vice President Hamid Ansari on his 79th birthday.
"I am privileged to convey my heartiest greetings and best wishes to you on your birthday. Your rich acumen, statesmanship and wisdom will further strengthen India's diplomatic relations with nations across the globe", he said in a Raj Bhavan release.
"I wish you a long, happy and healthy life in your distinguished service to the nation", he said.
Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh today accused RSS and BJP of trying to "hijack" the legacy of Dalit icon B R Ambedkar.
"It was the right wing people who not only opposed the Constitution drafted by B R Ambedkar but had also burnt his effigy as a protest. They are now trying to occupy the forefront to celebrate his 125th birth anniversary," he said.
The Congress leader was here to oversee the ongoing preparations ahead of the visit of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi on April 11.
Besides top Congress brass, senior party leaders will also attend the function marking the conclusion of year-long celebrations of the 125th birth anniversary of the Dalit icon.
Sonia and Rahul will also visit the historic 'Deekshabhooi' here, the place where Ambedkar embraced Buddhism in 1956 and pay respect to the Dalit leader.
Apart from the Gandhis, Opposition Leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad (Rajya Sabha), Mallikrjuan Kharge (Lok Sabha) and other senior leaders will also attend the function.
All the leaders, including Sonia and Rahul, will address a public meeting at Kasturchand Park on April 11.
Russia is accusing three Turkish foundations of supplying weapons and military equipment to the Islamic State group in Syria and says USD 1.9 million worth of explosives and chemicals were smuggled across Turkey's border to extremist groups.
Russia's UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said in a letter to the UN Security Council circulated today that Turkey is the main supplier of weapons and ammunition to IS fighters. He said the transfers are overseen by the country's National Intelligence Organization.
Turkey's UN Mission did not immediately answer calls seeking comment on the Russian letter.
Russia's recent air campaign has helped close ally Syrian army make broad advances on the ground. Turkey, Saudi Arabia and other regional players have backed opponents of Syrian President Bashar Assad and oppose any strengthening of the Damascus government.
fired another short-range missile off its east coast on Friday, South Korean officials said, as regional leaders met in Washington to discuss the threat of Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programme.
It was the latest in a series of North Korean missile launches during what has been an extended period of elevated military tension on the Korean peninsula, triggered by Pyongyang's fourth nuclear test on January 6.
The launch came as the South Korean coastguard reported that around 70 fishing vessels had been forced back to port after GPS navigation issues caused by North Korean radio-wave jamming.
South Korea's defence ministry said the surface-to-air missile was fired at around 12:45 pm (0345 GMT) from the eastern city of Sondok.
The range and precise trajectory could not immediately be confirmed, a ministry official said. The South's Yonhap news agency said it flew 100 kilometres (60 miles) into the East Sea (Sea of Japan).
The launch came in the middle of a two-day nuclear security summit being hosted by Barack Obama in Washington, at which has been the focus of the US president's talks with the leaders of China, South Korea and Japan.
Obama spoke Thursday of the need to "vigilantly enforce the strong UN security measures" imposed on the North after its latest nuclear test and subsequent long-range rocket launch.
Pyongyang's state media has labelled the summit a "nonsensical" effort to find fault with the North's "legitimate access to nuclear weapons".
Existing UN sanctions ban from conducting any ballistic missile test, although short-range launches tend to go unpunished.
Last month, the North upped the ante by test-firing two medium-range missiles, which were seen as far more provocative given the threat they pose to neighbours like Japan.
Earlier Friday, Seoul said North Korea was using radio waves to jam GPS signals in South Korea, affecting scores of planes and vessels.
"GPS jamming is an act of provocation. We urge the North to stop such provocative acts and behave in a manner that would help improve inter-Korean relations," Unification Ministry spokesman Jeong Joon-Hee told journalists.
The coastguard said 71 out of 332 fishing boats that set out for sea on Friday morning had to return after GPS problems compromised their navigation systems, Yonhap reported.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
There are many avant-garde expressions of different kinds but poetry is sadly not one of them, rues acclaimed master of Hindi poetry Ashok Vajpeyi.
"There was a time when poetry was the avant-garde, it was in the forefront. You can think of any number of movements which were started in poetry and some of them later went over to other disciplines from poetry. I don't think that the role of the avant-garde is any longer being played by poetry," he writes in a piece called "Failure of Poetry" in a latest book on his poems titled "A Name for Every Leaf: Selected Poems, 1959-2015".
The poems in the selection, published by HarperCollins, capture the range of styles and concerns of one of Hindi's most well-known writers. Chosen from a body of work spanning several decades, these are translated by Rahul Soni and introduced by poet Arundhathi Subramaniam.
According to Vajpeyi, poetry is a minority activity in most languages in terms of its writers and readers.
"In fact, I don't know but I suspect that there is a slowing down of poetry-writing in most languages: many more people are drawn to fiction. Fiction brings money, fame, poetry brings almost nothing."
"Keki Daruwalla, in the civil service, myself in the civil service, we could not live by poetry alone. Nowhere in the world, poets could earn enough to live a decent life unless there were fellowships, honorary professorships, reading sessions and all that," he said.
The Sahitya Akademi winner also rues that "one of the jobs of poetry has been to re-imagine the world for us and sadly that doesn't happen any more".
Maybe it is being re-imagined by other disciplines more effectively and more directly, he says.
Vajpeyi's piece in the book is a modified version of the annual lecture delivered by him at the Poetry Society of India in 2014.
Poetry, according to him, is also no longer generally of
any social use.
"If you look at the proceedings of the Indian Parliament, which has a good reflection of what is happening in this so-called socio-political world in which we live, once in a while poems are quoted. But they are rather dated. They are not even the best poems of those poets who have composed the quoted lines and they, in any case, come from a period which is actually 50-60 years old," he writes.
But Vajpeyi is optimistic as he says in the dark, a little light seeps through the window as if hope leaving behind everything has come inside.
He says there should not be expectation from poetry as the meaning of a poem is beyond its expectation.
"In poetry, the sense that life is larger than poetry must never weaken - also that poetry cannot possibly contain the whole of life. But poetry, somehow and somewhere, prevents life from conclusion, postpones it, as also its passing away," he writes.
Vajpeyi has 15 books of Hindi poetry to his credit. He has published many volumes of criticism, in both Hindi and English, on poetry, literature, the visual arts and Indian classical music. Book-length translations of his poetry have appeared in French, Polish, German, English, Bengali, Marathi, Odia, Gujrati, Urdu and Rajasthani.
He is also a recipient of the Dayavati Kavi Shekhar Samman (1994) and Kabir Samman (2006) and decorated by the President of Poland with the outstanding national award 'The Officer's Cross of Merit of the Republic of Poland (2004), and by the French government with the award of 'Officier De L'Ordre Des Arts Et Des Lettres' (2005).
The Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya channel has shut down its offices in Lebanon, it said today, in a new sign of tensions between the kingdom and the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement.
The Beirut offices of Al-Arabiya and its sister channel Al-Hadath, which offers extensive coverage of political news, have been closed and they no longer have any correspondents in Lebanon, a spokesman told AFP.
In a statement, the Dubai-based channel said it has "restructured" its operations in Lebanon "due to the difficult circumstances and challenges on ground, and out of Al-Arabiya's concern for the safety of its own employees and those employed by its providers."
It said it would nonetheless "continue to closely cover Lebanese affairs."
The channel said it would help employees affected by the decision to find jobs elsewhere with Al-Arabiya or its providers.
Those dismissed would be given "their full legitimate rights" and "other exceptional grants".
Shiite militant group Hezbollah is the leading force in Lebanon's governing coalition but in March Saudi Arabia and the other five Gulf Arab states blacklisted it as a "terrorist" group.
The kingdom halted a usd 3 billion programme of military aid to Lebanon to protest what it said was "the stranglehold of Hezbollah on the state".
It also urged its citizens to leave Lebanon and avoid travelling there.
Bahrain, Qatar, and Kuwait followed with similar travel advisories, while the United Arab Emirates banned its nationals from travel to Lebanon.
The moves come against the backdrop of increased tensions with Tehran this year after demonstrators stormed the kingdom's missions in Iran following Saudi Arabia's execution of a Shiite cleric, prompting Riyadh to cut diplomatic ties.
Hezbollah is fighting in Syria in support of President Bashar al-Assad against Gulf-backed rebels.
Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia will only freeze output if other key producers, including Iran, take a similar measure, its deputy crown prince said.
"If all countries agree to freeze production, we're ready," Mohammed bin Salman told Bloomberg in an interview published today. "If there is anyone that decides to raise their production, then we will not reject any opportunity that knocks on our door."
His remarks come ahead of a meeting of major oil producers led by Russia and Saudi Arabia set to take place in Doha on April 17 to discuss measures to stabilise prices, including a proposal not to pump out oil above a certain level.
Iran indicated it was "ready to participate" in the meeting demanded an exemption from the freeze in order to boost its exports, according to Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak.
Oil prices are being hit in part owing to the return of Iranian crude to markets after crippling economic sanctions on Tehran were lifted following last year's nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.
King Salman's powerful son who heads Saudi Arabia's main economic coordinating council, told Bloomberg that "without a doubt", Iran has to freeze its output.
"If all countries including Iran, Russia, Venezuela, OPEC countries and all main producers decide to freeze production, we will be among them," he said.
Riyadh severed diplomatic ties with Tehran this year after demonstrators stormed the kingdom's missions in Iran following Saudi Arabia's execution of a Shiite cleric.
Both regional heavyweights back rival groups in several conflicts rocking the Middle East.
The upcoming meeting in Doha is a follow-up to talks in February between Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela in which they first mooted the output freeze.
Prices have collapsed from levels above $100 seen in mid-2014 largely owing to supply outrunning demand as global economies, particularly China, suffer a growth slowdown.
The Saudi deputy crown prince's remarks drove down oil prices today.
Around 1130 GMT, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for delivery in May slid 89 cents to USD 37.45 a barrel.
Brent North Sea crude for June delivery was down 82 cents at USD 39.51 a barrel compared with yesterday's close.
Sebi today filed a complaint with the Economic Offences Wing for registering an FIR against registrar and transfer agent Sharepro Services and 15 others -- less than two weeks after the regulator had barred them from the securities market.
The complaint has been filed with regard to alleged "forgery, cheating and misappropriation" by these entities in connection with transfer of shares and dividends of various companies.
Sources said the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has filed a complaint with the EoW, Mumbai, against Sharepro and others. The watchdog has sought registering an FIR against them.
On March 22, the regulator had barred Sharepro and 15 entities from the securities market for indulging in illegal transfer of shares and dividend money of companies.
Sharepro Services (I) Pvt Ltd has been the registrar and share transfer agent for many top companies, including Britannia, Asian Paints, Tata Communications and Kansai Nerolac.
Besides imposing the ban on Sharepro and the 15 entities, Sebi had also asked the companies concerned to carry out a "thorough audit" of the records and systems of Sharepro to ascertain whether the dividends have been paid to actual holders and whether securities have been transferred as per the law.
The regulator had found that dividends and shares belonging to rightful investors were "transferred to the persons related to the management of Sharepro".
"Companies who are clients of Sharepro are directed to conduct a thorough audit of the records and systems of Sharepro with respect to dividends paid and transfer of securities to determine dividends have been paid to actual/ beneficial holders and whether securities have been transferred as per provision of the law," the order had said.
The audit would cover the dividends paid/transfers effected within the preceding at least 10 years. The companies have been asked to complete the audit in three months and submit a report to the regulator.
Besides, Sebi had said that the companies should take appropriate action within six months.
"Companies who are clients of Sharepro are also advised to carry out/ switchover their activities related to a registrar to an issue and share transfer agent, either in-house or through another registrar to an issue or share transfer agent registered with Sebi," the regulator had said.
Separatist Kashmiri groups protested near venue of the Nuclear Security Summit here which is being attended by leaders from more than 50 countries including Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Members of separatist Kashmiri groups held a demonstration in front of the Washington DC Convention Centre yesterday afternoon, seeking the world leaders' intervention to resolve the Kashmir issue.
"All those leaders attending the Nuclear Summit and those who are interested in the world peace are urged to persuade both India and Pakistan to help resolve the Kashmir dispute for the sake of international peace and security," said Ghulam Nabi Fai, secretary general, World Kashmir Awareness.
Fai has served two years' imprisonment in the US on the charges of working on behalf of Pakistan's ISI.
One of William Shakespeare's most famous tragedies - 'Hamlet' - is being translated into the Black Country dialect as part of a project that aims to record, celebrate and preserve the distinctive language.
'Yamlet' - incorporating the Black Country word 'yam', meaning 'you are' - will see the titular character perform translated excerpts in locations around the town of Cradley Heath in the West Midlands region.
Yamlet will be portrayed by Birmingham School of Acting postgraduate student Stuart Ash. The actor, who comes from Stourbridge in the Black Country, will be filmed on location in period Elizabethan costume, and his performances will be broadcast throughout April on Facebook, Twitter, 'YowTube' and 'InstaYam'.
"It's a fantastic project for me to be working on and something that's very close to my heart. I'm really proud of my Stourbridge roots, and playing Yamlet will be a great opportunity for me to tap in to that side of me as an actor," said Ash, MA Acting student at Birmingham City University.
"I've picked up a few words and phrases from the script that I'd never heard before. It'll be really interesting to see what people who are from the Black Country - and people who aren't - will make of it."
The Black Country is an area of the West Midlands in England, north and west of Birmingham. In the Industrial Revolution, it became one of the most industrialised parts of Britain with coal mines, coking, iron foundries and steel mills producing a high level of air pollution.
It is believed its name comes from the soot produced by these heavy industries that covered the area.
The distinctive dialect and language of the Black Country has preserved many archaic traits from Early Modern English and Middle English and is thought to be one of the last forms of early English still spoken today.
'Yamlet' has been devised by Philip Holyman and Gareth Nicholls, Co-Directors of Walsall-based theatre company Little Earthquake and Visiting Lecturers at Birmingham School of Acting, part of Birmingham City University.
"'Yamlet' is intended as a tongue-in-cheek response to some serious cultural problems; chiefly, the enshrinement of Shakespeare's work as a monument to high - or non-popular - culture, which excludes many people from experiencing it, and the question of how to preserve individual cultural heritage in drama training," Holyman said.
"I am increasingly interested in breaking down a deep-rooted Black Country suspicion that theatre is something which is made by and for people 'elsewhere', with no relevance or connection to local people or the local area.
'Yamlet', therefore, is designed to take a step towards making Shakespeare more accessible by relocating sections of his most famous play to the Black Country - in terms of language, space and performer - and also through non-theatre-based distribution platforms.
Libya's UN-backed unity government won the support today of guards who secure the country's key oil terminals, the latest pledge of loyalty for a cabinet facing strong opposition from rival political forces.
Libya's warring sides are under intense international pressure to cede power to prime minister-designate Fayez al-Sarraj, whose arrival in the capital on Wednesday angered a rival Tripoli-based government.
Sarraj, a businessman from Tripoli who was a member of a committee that paved the way to national dialogue, appeared Friday in public for the first time since his arrival, joining weekly prayers at a mosque in the city centre.
There are signs that allegiances are starting to shift in his favour, as a unit of guards in charge of securing installations in Libya's so-called "oil crescent" in the east of the country pledged its loyalty.
"All the oil terminals under our jurisdiction have been placed under the authority of the unity government," a guards official told AFP.
He said that revenues from oil exported from those terminals, including the main one at Ras Lanuf, would be allowed only if they are "for the benefit" of the Government of National Accord (GNA).
Libya has been awash with weapons since the 2011 uprising that ousted and killed longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi, with a slew of militias battling for control of its cities and oil wealth.
It has had two rival governments since mid-2014, when the Libya Dawn militia alliance overran Tripoli, forcing the internationally recognised government to flee to the east.
Oil is Libya's main natural resource, with reserves estimated at 48 billion barrels, the largest in Africa. It had a pre-revolt output capacity of about 1.6 million barrels per day, but unrest has forced a major slump in production.
Control of the oil industry is essential for the new government, which not only needs to unite the divided country but also shore up its economy.
Yesterday, 10 western cities also rallied around Sarraj's government and urged Libyans to back it, in a major blow to the unrecognised Tripoli authorities who are refusing to cede power.
The announcement came in a statement on the official Facebook page of the Sabratha municipality near the border with Tunisia.
"The situation of the country is sad. Life is very expensive, there is no cash, and so we saw that it's time to support this government in order to start solving all of these issues," said Sabratha mayor Hussein al-Dawadi.
A suspected gunman has died after a shooting at a bus station in the US state of Virginia that injured three people, police said.
The suspect died in a hospital following the mid-afternoon incident yesterday in Richmond, Virginia, State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said in a statement.
A trooper he allegedly shot at the city's Greyhound bus station has been hospitalised with life-threatening injuries, she added.
Two civilians were also hurt in the incident but were expected to survive.
Witnesses said that police cars and ambulances rushed to the station.
Geller said the suspect pulled out a firearm when approached by the trooper and proceeded to shoot the officer. Two other troopers nearby returned fire.
Greyhound said it was closing the station until further notice and was cooperating with authorities as they investigate what happened.
Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe said in a statement that he had been in contact with the mayor of Richmond and the head of the Virginia State Police and offered any resources needed to respond to the situation.
Virginia has laws favorable to carrying guns and the National Rifle Association, the powerful pro-gun lobby, is based in the state.
Taj Safaris, a joint venture of Tata Group's Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces with Africa's leading experiential travel company '&Beyond', has opened its first lodge outside India in Chitwan National Park, Nepal.
Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces Senior Vice-President - Operations Rohit Khosla said: "We are delighted to extend the legendary Taj hospitality to guests in Nepal."
The company is committed to adding value to the community and the region, he added.
"With this exciting opening in Nepal, we are looking forward to welcoming guests for immersive wildlife experiences in the 'heart of the jungle' at our newest destination, Meghauli Serai," Taj Safaris Director of Operations Mridula Tangirala said.
Taj Safaris opened its first lodge in Mahua Kothi in Bandhavgarh National Park in November 2006. Three more lodges were added later to the portfolio -- Baghvan at Pench National Park, Pashan Garh at Panna National Park and Banjaar Tola at Kanha National Park.
Taj Safaris provides guests with wildlife experience, based on a sustainable eco-tourism model.
Tata Steel, which has announced it is putting its troubled British business up for sale, is in talks over the possible purchase of parts or all of ThyssenKrupp's European steel operations, a German newspaper reported today.
The speculation of a tie-up with Tata Steel appeared to appeal to investors with ThyssenKrupp shares the biggest gainers on the Frankfurt stock exchange today, shooting up more than 6 per cent in a generally softer market.
The regional daily Rheinische Post quoted German government sources as saying that talks were already at an advanced stage and that a number of different options were being considered.
The favourite option is not a straightforward purchase, but a joint venture with the possibility of increasing Tata Steel's stake later on, the newspaper said.
Earlier this week, Indian giant Tata Steel put its British business up for sale, sparking calls for the British 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.
Analysts immediately predicted consolidation in Europe's steel sector, with German heavy industry giant ThyssenKrupp likely to take part.
Private steel major Tata Steel said it registered a rise of 8.43 per cent in total sales at 9.48 million tonnes (MT) for the financial year ended March 31, 2016.
Total sales in the previous fiscal stood at 8.75 MT.
The company recorded hot metal and crude steel production of 10.65 MT and 9.96 MT in 2015-16, while that of saleable steel was at 9.70 MT, the company's Managing Director (India and South East Asia) T V Narendran told reporters.
He said hot metal production last fiscal stood at 10.16 MT, while that of crude steel was 9.33 MT.
Saleable steel production, which stood at 9.07 MT last year, recorded a 6.95 per cent increase at 9.70 MT in 2015-16.
Despite slowdown in the market coupled with fall in international steel prices last year and increase in imports, Tata Steel operated at 100 per cent capacity without any hindrance, he added.
Narendran said the main challenge before the company in the new fiscal was to ensure smooth commissioning of the Kalinganagar project in Odisha.
He said there is some stability in the steel sector after the government imposed Minimum Import Price, pitching for a level playing field to compete with international players.
Referring to cheap imports, he said China was reacting as per the prevailing market situation there and India should respond keeping in mind its own domestic conditions.
He added that the situation in China appeared to have improved in the last one-and-half months, expressing confidence that the domestic steel sector will bounce back as well.
Emphasising the need to attract investments in the country to make 'Make in India' a success, Narendran said the manufacturing sector needs to be promoted as it creates more job opportunities.
Asked about further expansion of the Jamshedpur plant to enhance capacity to 11 MT from the current 10 MT, Narendran said the company has already obtained environmental clearance and will now seek requisite approval from the company's Board of Directors.
To a query about the company's SEZ in Gopalpur (Odisha), Narendran said all clearances from the government have been secured while marketing for the SEZ was on.
"Our team has been to China, Singapore and other places for marketing it and about 15 investors have shown keen interest in it," he said.
Narendran expressed confidence that the commissioning of the proposed ferro-alloy plant at the Gopalpur SEZ will take place soon.
A TDP councillor of Kovvur Municipality in West Godavari district was today allegedly hacked to death by unidentified persons near Aurangabad village, around 10 kms from here, police said.
P Gopalakrishna (55), who represented Ward No. 16 of the municipality, died on the spot in the attack that took place near his native Aurangabad village around 2.30 pm.
"Gopalakrishna was returning to Aurangabad after attending a function in nearby Kovvur town. When he was about to reach his village, some unidentified persons attacked him with sharp-edged weapons, in which he died on the spot," Kovvur Deputy Superintendent of Police Narra Venkateswara Rao said.
The area near Kovvur toll gate, where the crime took place, is isolated, the officer added.
A case has been registered in this regard. Police are probing the incident and search teams have been formed to nab the accused.
"The exact number of people involved in the attack and the motive are yet to be known," Rao said, adding, "We suspect that previous enmity could be the reason behind the murder".
Several political leaders reached the spot and expressed grief over the demise of Gopalakrishna. He is survived by wife and two children.
The Bombay High Court today directed Maharashtra government to take pro-active steps for ensuring compliance of law to prevent discrimination against women on entry to places of worship, saying "it is the fundamental right of a woman" and the government should protect it.
The court, which disposed of a PIL challenging the bar on entry of women in the sanctum sanctorum of Shani Shingnapur temple in the state's Ahmednagar district, said that it can only pass a general direction to the government and cannot go into individual and specific cases.
The Maharashtra government assured the High Court that it is completely against gender discrimination and the provisions of Maharashtra Hindu Place of Worship (Entry Authorisation) Act shall be scrupulously implemented.
"Secretary of Home Department, Maharashtra, will ensure due compliance and enforcement of the provisions of the Act, and in order to ensure that the policy and purpose of the Act is fully carried out, they (Home department) will issue directions to all superintendents of police and collectors in each district of Maharashtra," a division bench of Chief Justice D H Waghela and Justice M S Sonak said.
"The government shall take all necessary steps to implement the Act," it further said.
"Ultimately it is the fundamental right of a woman and the government's fundamental duty to protect their (women) right," Chief Justice Waghela said.
The state's acting Advocate General Rohit Deo, in a submission to the high court, said that a circular or a directive shall be issued to all district collectors and Superintendents of Police, making them aware of the provisions of the Act.
The accepted the government's statement.
The government's submission was made following high court's rap to the government on Wednesday on the issue, during the hearing of a PIL challenging the prohibition of entry of women in the Shani Shingnapur temple.
"The acting Advocate General has assured the court that the state government is against gender discrimination and keeping in view Articles 14, 15 and 25 of the Constitution. The government can take pro-active steps to ensure that the fundamental rights are fully realised and not allowed to be encroached upon by any authority," he observed.
The high court further said that it can only pass a general direction to the government and cannot go into individual and specific cases.
The court said if any person has any grievance that the Act is not being implemented, then he or she can approach local authority with their complaint.
Under the Maharashtra Hindu Place of Worship (Entry Authorisation) Act, 1956, if any temple or person prohibits any person from entering a temple then he or she faces a six-month imprisonment.
The acting AG, however, clarified to HC that if a temple in the state does not allow any person, irrespective of their gender, inside the sanctum sanctorum, then this Act and its provisions will not be of any help.
"However, if a temple allows men in the sanctum sanctorum but prohibits women, then this Act and its provisions can be used," Deo said.
Notably, the high court had on Wednesday observed that
if men are allowed in a place of worship, then women should also be permitted as no law prevents them from doing so.
The HC, while underlining the need for giving equal access to women, also stated that any temple or person imposing restrictions can face a six-month jail term under a Maharashtra law, and asked the government to make a statement if it is worried about the sanctity of a deity.
The court had also said that the government should give wide publicity to the Act and issue circulars, informing the general public at large about the Act and its provisions.
It had directed government pleader Abhinandan Vagyani to take instructions and make a statement today, on whether or not it will ensure that women will be allowed to enter the temple.
The PIL was filed by senior advocate Nilima Vartak and activist Vidya Bal.It said that the prohibition is arbitrary, illegal and in violation of fundamental rights of citizens.
The debate over the issue in Maharashtra escalated after a woman last year tried to enter and offer prayers at the Shani Shingnapur temple in 'breach' of the age-old practice of prohibiting entry of women
This had prompted the temple committee to suspend seven security men and the villagers to perform purification rituals.
Subsequently, the Bhumata brigade led by Trupti Desai had on January 26 launched a high-voltage campaign to breach the ban at the temple and vowed to carry on with its movement for gender justice.
Besides, around 150 women under the banner of Bhumata Brigade had last month left for the famous Trimbakeshwar temple in Nashik district seeking to break the bar on female devotees at the inner sanctum of the Lord Shiva shrine. Their attempts were, however, foiled by the police.
Used to enlist themselves either as male or female in official documents, the third gender voters are yet to come out in the open to declare their gender in voters' lists.
Out of 6.5 crore registered voters in West Bengal, a nominal 758 are from the third gender.
Election Commission officials said they have been trying their best to ensure that all voters from the category enlist themselves in a separate column.
"We are encouraging it. They can enlist as third gender both as a candidate as well as voters in the third gender category. But we have noticed that they don't want to mention third gender despite us asking them to do so," Amitjyoti Bhattacharya, Deputy Chief Electoral officer, told PTI here.
Ranjita Sinha who leads Association of Transgender/Hijra in Bengal (ATHB) says social issues prevent them from coming out in the open.
"Most members of the transgender and hijra community are forced to register themselves as male or female voters when faced with problems in getting recognition as the third sex. There are many who were registered as male or female many years ago. Now how will they change their gender in the voter id card," the transgender activist asks.
The EC official said the community is opening up gradually as social acceptance increases.
"We have sensitised our district officials and all presiding officers to be sensitive to the needs of the third gender during polling and in the preparation of voters list. I can assure you that there is no discrimination from our side," Bhattacharya said.
Shabina Khatoon, a transgender living in a Kolkata slum, says she is worried of taunts and harassment from other voters while standing in the queue for voting.
"People pass dirty comments and laugh at us. It is difficult to stand in a queue alone to go for vote. We'll get our rights only when the people stop discriminating against us," she says.
Transgender activists claimed there could be as much as five lakh voters from the category in the state.
Both fielded by Ram Vilas Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party, two transgender candidates are contesting high-profile seats in Kolkata - Bhawanipore and Jadavpur.
Bobby Halder will contest against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee from Bhawanipore while Shankari Mandal will put up a fight at Jadavpur.
During the 2014 Lok Sabha polls it was for the first time that transgenders and eunuchs were regarded as the third gender after Election Commission recognised them as "others".
Many like Manabi Bandyopadhyay, India's first transgender college principal, however refuse to register as "others".
"I was a man who changed gender and became a woman in 2003. So I'm a transwoman and not a transgender. I've the right to self determination and so I am a woman," she says.
Bandyopadhyay has registered herself as a woman in the voters list. "Why should I go for the 'others' category," she asked.
A war of words erupted today over the flyover collapse between the Trinamool Congress and the BJP with Union Minister M A Naqvi accusing the state government of "criminal negligence", which the TMC described as "cheap politics".
Naqvi, Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, said that the TMC government showed "criminal negligence" in ensuring relief work and engaging in a "competition on corruption" with the previous Left Front government which had resulted in the flyover collapse claiming 24 lives.
TMC national spokesperson Derek O' Brien termed Naqvi's statements as "cheap politics" in the election season.
"The chief minister and the ruling Trinamool Congress have indulged in petty politics of accusing the previous Left Front government. It is not the time to accuse the previous government. If the previous Left Front government had indulged in corruption, then why didn't the TMC government stop it after coming to power? It seems a competition on corruption was on between the two. And the flyover collapse is a result of it," Naqvi told reporters here.
"We feel that the state government was casual in its approach in conducting the relief work. Had they been more pro-active, the relief work could have started much earlier. It is a clear case of criminal negligence on the part of the state government," Naqvi said.
Brien countered Naqvi's comment by saying that the Army belongs to the nation and not to the BJP.
"Just saw a BJP Minister's statement. Reeks of cheap politics in election season. Army came at state's request. Army belongs to nation, not the BJP," Brien said.
The death toll in the tragedy rose to 24 as three more bodies were recovered from under the debris of concrete and iron girders. About a 60-metre portion of the flyover under construction came down a little after noon yesterday.
Naqvi also reiterated the demand for a CBI probe into the collapse.
"We feel that a CBI inquiry should be ordered in order to book the culprits. All the culprits, however big they may be, should be arrested. The state should request for a CBI inquiry. This incident is a clear case of rampant corruption in the construction of the bridge, Naqvi said.
Unidentified miscreants today shot at and wounded a trader before looting Rs. Six lakh cash and his bike at Baraghat bridge in Chakia area of Bihar's East Champaran district, a police officer said.
The trader Ramchandra Prasad was riding a bike on way to Chakia when armed bike-borne miscreants intercepted him and shot at his abdomen before looting a bagful of cash and his motorcycle, Chakia police station in-charge Ashok Kumar Azad said.
The injured trader was rushed to a private hospital in Muzaffarpur where his condition was said to be stable, he said.
A case has been lodged in this connection and raids were on.
A local court has rejected the discharge application filed by Saquib Nachan, who was recently convicted in the 2003 Mulund train blasts case, in connection with an attempt to murder case against him and others.
Saquib's son Shamil Saquib Nachan, who was also arrested in the same case, too filed an application for discharge which was rejected by the court.
Thane Additional Sessions Judge A S Bhaisare clubbed the four applications filed by the father-son duo in connection with the cases against them and disposed them in a single order last week.
Saquib, from Padga in Thane, was arrested in connection with attempt on the life of advocate Manoj Raicha, an office-bearer of Bajrang Dal, on August 3, 2012. He was charged under sections 307, 120(B) of IPC and sections 3, 25, 27 of the Arms Act in connection with the case.
In his application in the Thane court, which is trying him, Nachan said that the crime branch had created fabricated false evidence against him and the matter needed to be probed by CBI.
However, the police stated that they had seized certain books, CDs, and computer from the arrested accused which had provocative content.
In his order, the judge stated that the theory of prosecution at this stage cannot be said to be false or fabricated.
"Having considered the facts and circumstances of the matter, in my view, there is no substance in the applications and they all are liable to be rejected," the judge noted in his order.
Saquib was earlier also arrested in 2002 in connection with the murder of VHP leader Lalit Jain at Bhiwandi in the district. However, he was acquitted in the case in 2006 for want of evidence.
Call it a miraculous escape from the falling debris of an under-construction flyover, or a stroke of luck or sheer destiny, Sheikh Mortaza can't help thanking his stars.
It was just like any other day for the 50-year-old, a native of Atmakur village of Andhra Pradesh's Kurnool district, when he was returning to his Central Kolkata office after unloading a truckful of ginger at the Posta wholesale market.
"I was waiting there for the 'No Entry' board to be removed from that zone when all off a sudden I saw a huge mass coming down from the top. I did not realise that it was the under-construction flyover. The sound was like an explosion... Without understanding much I instinctly tried to duck below my seat. After that I do not remember anything," Mortaza told PTI from his bed at the Emergency ward of the Calcutta Medical College and Hospital today.
Not only Mortaza had a big escape but there was also not a single scratch on his body.
The truck, bearing registration number AP21TZ0696, was travelling from Karnataka with two helpers - Yasin Ahmed and Rajak - from Andhra Pradesh on the back of the vehicle.
Rajak, a resident of Nandikotkur, is being treated for broken arm, while Yasin trapped inside the truck has died there.
Armymen, along with other rescue operation units were still trying to cut the iron piers and vehicle to bring out Yasin's body, a senior officer of Kolkata Police said.
Feeling sad for Yasin, Mortaza, a father of two, however, can't stop thanking his stars for the new lease of life.
"I became unconscious and when regained my senses I found that the door of my truck was not there... I climbed out of the vehicle and then pulled out of the rubbles by the rescue operators," he said.
Asked whether he has spoken with his family members in Andhra Pradesh, Mortaza said,"I have lost my mobile in the mishap and not getting my number they called up one of my friends who works for the same transport company... And then I spoke to my wife who was sobbing uncontrollably.
Donald Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination, met in Washington with the chairman of the Republican National Committee, as tensions ran high between the candidate and his party.
Although Trump had previously announced he would be in Washington for meetings, his visit to the RNC, where he met with its chairman, Reince Priebus, came as a surprise.
It followed an announcement two days ago by Trump that he would refuse to support any candidate but himself as nominee in the race for the White House.
He also announced on Tuesday that he no longer felt bound by the commitment he made in September to respect the outcome of the primaries and not run as an independent in November if he does not receive the party nomination.
"I have been treated very unfairly. By basically the RNC, the Republican party, the establishment," Trump said in an interview on CNN aired Tuesday.
Details were slow to emerge about his meeting with Priebus, but CNN, citing Republican sources, reported that the discussion was about convention rules and the delegate process.
Afterwards, Trump tweeted: "Just had a very nice meeting with @Reince Priebus and the @GOP. Looking forward to bringing the Party together --- and it will happen!"
According to Politico, he also held a meeting with his new foreign policy team and rolled out a committee led by two congressmen who will spearhead attempts to garner support among Washington's political establishment.
If Trump does not win the 1,237 delegates needed to secure his party's nomination outright, the nominee will have to be chosen through delegate voting at the July convention in Cleveland, Ohio.
At that point, delegates would no longer be bound to vote for the candidate they were sent to represent, and Trump could risk losing the nomination.
One of his two challengers, Texas Senator Ted Cruz or Ohio Governor John Kasich, could feasibly become the party's nominee.
The process, which is called a contested or brokered convention, is extremely rare.
To help avoid the chance of a brokered convention, Trump announced Tuesday that he had hired Republican operative Paul Manafort to manage his delegate strategy.
Manafort has worked on strategy for former US presidents Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and George HW Bush during nominating conventions.
Amnesty International says Turkey has forcibly returned hundreds of Syrian refugees to their homeland since mid-January. It said this practice exposes "fatal flaws" in an agreement between Turk and the European Union.
The organisation says its research on the Turkish-Syrian border suggests that around 100 Syrians who often have not registered in Turkey are expelled from Turkey each day.
Advocacy groups are concerned that the deal, which aims to stem the flow of illegal migrants and goes into effect April 4, threatens the rights of asylum seekers, and they question whether Turkey is a safe country for them.
The EU-Turkey deal stipulates the return to Turkey of any Syrian refugee arriving on the Greek islands, to be offset by resettling a Turkey-based Syrian in the EU.
"Far from pressuring Turkey to improve the protection it offers Syrian refugees, the EU is in fact incentivsing the opposite," said John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International's director for Europe and Central Asia.
"Having witnessed the creation of Fortress Europe, we are now seeing the copycat construction of Fortress Turkey.
In earlier stages of the conflict, Syrians who held passports were able to cross at regular border gates and even those who entered illegally could register with the authorities. Now only those needing urgent medical care are allowed to enter and there are an estimated 200,000 displaced Syrians within 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) of Turkey's border.
Tightened border restrictions and new visa requirements for Syrians, the organisation said, have also pushed Syrians into the arms of smugglers who charge an average of USD 1,000 per crossing.
Amnesty also says Turkish of authorities have scaled back the registration of Syrian refugees in the southern provinces which makes it impossible for them to access basic services.
Two estate workers have been trampled to death by an elephant near Pandalur, about 80 km from here, in separate incidents, police said today.
Manisekhar was returning home from a shop near a private estate in Attikunna, around 10.30 pm yesterday, when an elephant attacked and trampled him to death, they said.
Some workers alerted police and forest department officials, police said.
As angry villagers prevented the officials from moving the body to the hospital, senior district officials rushed to the spot and managed to pacify them, following which the body was shifted to Gudalur Government Hospital.
Even as villagers were arguing with forest department officials on the increasing menace of elephants, body of another estate worker, Karnan, was found lying some distance away from Attikunna, around 12 pm today, forest department officials said.
Officials said he was also trampled to death by an elephant.
Some 200 shops downed shutters in Pandalur, demanding immediate measures to prevent man-animal conflict.
Uber, the smartphone app that matches riders with drivers, today launched uberAUTO in the state capital Bhubaneswar, coinciding with the state's formation day -- Utkal Divas.
"In line with our vision to provide technology-backed, low-cost smart mobility solutions, uberAUTO has been launched in Bhubaneswar, the city that recently topped the smart city list," a release from Uber said.
"Auto-rickshaws play a big part in city transport, and uberAUTO will help transform the existing transportation options by using the best-in-class technology."
UberAUTO service was inaugurated by Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena. Also present were Priyadarshi Mishra, MLA, Bhubaneswar North, and Krishan Kumar, BMC Commissioner.
Jena said, "The Smart City project is a priority for Bhubaneswar and we welcome initiatives like uberAUTO which provide smart mobility solutions. Such solutions will make travelling in the city safer as well as more affordable and convenient for citizens of Bhubaneswar."
Ashwin Dias, General Manager, Uber East, said: "We are excited to launch uberAUTO in Bhubaneswar - India's top smart city. Auto-rickshaws are a key part of the city and with our new service, uberAUTO drivers will spend less time waiting for passengers, thereby earning more income each day."
UberAUTO is an affordable transport option priced at Rs 15 base fare at Rs 3/km plus Rs 1/minute. A typical trip from Sailashree Vihar to Railway station will cost Rs 80 while a trip from Naypalli to BMC Mall will cost Rs 50, the release said.
A British delivery driver was convicted today of planning to attack American military personnel in the UK in a plot inspired by the Islamic State militant group.
A jury at London's Kingston Crown Court found Junead Khan guilty of preparing an act of terrorism.
The 25-year-old's work for a pharmaceutical firm took him past several US air bases in eastern England, and prosecutors said he discussed ways of targeting them with an IS militant in Syria.
Prosecutors said Khan, who was arrested in July, had exchanged online messages with a man calling himself Abu Hussain. They discussed attacking military personnel after faking a road accident.
They said Abu Hussain was British-born militant Junaid Hussain, who was killed in a US drone strike in the IS stronghold of Raqqa last year.
In one exchange, Khan told Hussain he had seen some soldiers driving, "but I had nothing on me or wouldve (sic) got into an accident with them and made them get out the car." Hussain replied: "That's what the brother done with Lee Rigby." Rigby was a British soldier who was run down by a car and stabbed to death by two al-Qaida-inspired attackers in 2013.
When police raided Khan's home, they found an IS-style black flag and a laptop containing an article from an al-Qaida magazine entitled "Make a bomb in the kitchen of your mom."
Khan and his 23-year-old uncle, Shazib Khan, were also convicted of preparing to join IS militants in Syria.
Both men will be sentenced May 13. Junead Khan faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) today offered to work with Haryana to evolve a world class mechanism of planning, budgeting and to ensure effective implementation of various welfare schemes of the state government.
Country Director, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Jaco Cilliers called on Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, here and offered its technical support in achieving the state's objective of inclusive growth and sustainable development, an official release, said here.
He said 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) have been identified with 169 key indicators by the international community.
The objective of SDGs was to produce a set of universally applicable goals that balance the three dimensions of sustainable development that is environmental, social, and economic through proper planning and integration of schemes.
The Chief Minister said the Haryana government is working with the spirit of 'Antodaya' to ensure that the benefit of various welfare schemes of the state government reach the beneficiaries at grass root level.
Khattar said he personally reviewed the CM e-Dashboard' to monitor key parameters of various departments and ensure effective delivery of services and added that key parameters of most of the departments would be on the CM e-Dashboard by the end of this year.
The CM also asked Cilliers to evolve a mechanism to carry out survey at the grass root level to assess effect of various programmes on improvement in key development indicators.
Khattar said the government is actively working on various parameters like gender equality, poverty, quality education and industry.
He assured Jaco Cilliers of full cooperation of the state government in the implementation of this programme.
Cilliers informed the Chief Minister that 17 SDGs that would be worked upon include no poverty, zero hunger, good health and well being, quality education, gender equality, clean water and sanitation, affordable and clean energy.
He said provisional mapping of SDGs with some schemes of the state government has been undertaken and most of the schemes fall in this framework.
Scores of students of University of Hyderabad (UoH) today blocked the varsity's administration building demanding immediate removal of Vice-Chancellor Appa Rao Podile and lifting of restriction on the entry of outsiders into the campus.
Varsity security personnel, who yesterday stopped entry of three Kerala MPs and social activist Teesta Setalvad into the campus, today prevented Swaraj Abhiyan leader Yogendra Yadav and others from entering the campus.
Yadav alleged Appa Rao has lost moral authority to continue as Vice-Chancellor.
Earlier, scores of students assembled in front of the administration building entrance at around 8 AM and contiuned their blockade till 2 PM. The employees were forced to stay outside as the students did not allow them inside, UoH's chief security officer T V Rao told PTI.
The students under the banner of JAC for Social Jutice of UoH raised slogans against the VC and UoH authorities and sought for opening of the varsity gates for media and public.
"Permission should be given to our parents, doctors, lawyers and human rights activists to come inside and interact with students," they demanded.
On March 23, the varsity authorities decided not to allow any outsider, including mediapersons and politicians, on the campus.
The protesting students further demanded for dropping false charges against all the students and immediate removal and arrest of Appa Rao, who has been booked on charge of abetting suicide of research scholar Rohith Vemula.
JAC also demanded to nullify the decisions which it claimed were taken in the meeting of deans of schools with regard to removal of "unauthorised things" at the shopping complex inside the campus, (especially pertaining to removal of Vemula memorial).
'Rohith Smaraka Stupa',a memorial for Vemula whose suicide landed the university in the ongoing controversy, currently stands on the campus. However, a senior University official today reiterated that there was no such plan as of now to remove anything from there. Also, the varsity authorities had not discussed anything related to removal of unauthorised structures on the campus, he said.
Yadav, who was prevented from entering the University, said "We came to express solidarity with students. He (Appa Rao) has no right to continue as the head of this University. He is an accused, may be he is acquitted. But he should come to the campus only after the investigation is complete."
"He has no right to continue on the VC's post...Since he has lost trust of the students community...He should not be in the VC's office," Yadav said.
The United States said it was "appalled" by Syrian government air strikes that killed more than 30 people -- including children -- in a key rebel bastion east of the capital of Damascus.
The raids took place in Deir Al-Assafir, a town in the opposition stronghold of Eastern Ghouta, one of the areas in Syria where a fragile ceasefire brokered by the US and Russia has been in place since February 27.
"The United States is appalled by aerial strikes March 31, reportedly by the Assad regime, on a school and hospital in the Damascus suburb of Deir Al Asafir," State Department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement.
"We condemn in the strongest terms any such attacks directed at civilians," he added.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group, has reported that 33 people died in the attacks, including 12 children, updating its earlier toll of at least 23 fatalities.
While there have been occasional incidences of violence, some of them deadly, the ceasefire has largely been hailed as a success by the United Nations.
"In joining the cessation of hostilities, even apart from its commitments to avoid attacking groups participating in the cessation of hostilities, the regime committed to full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2254, which called for an immediate end to any attacks against civilians and for all parties to comply with their obligations under international law," Kirby said.
"Any attacks directed at civilians must stop immediately," he added, calling on all parties to the ceasefire to comply with its terms and observe international law.
A US regulator has approved a plan to provide subsidies to low-income Americans for high-speed Internet access, saying it would help close the "digital divide."
The Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 yesterday to approve the plan, which revamps a program originally designed for telephone service that offers some USD 9 a month.
The FCC proposed the plan earlier this month to revise the "Lifeline" program from the 1980s, saying broadband access is essential for "full participation" in modern society.
Consumer organisations welcomed the FCC action.
"Lifeline has helped people who otherwise could not afford to obtain vital telecommunications services. Today's vote extends the program's monthly subsidy to at least partially cover broadband service in qualifying households," said Michael Copps, a former FCC commissioner who now advises the activist group Common Cause.
"This is a giant leap forward. It helps extend the awesome power of the Internet to those who need it most. School children, jobseekers, the elderly and infirm in particular will all benefit."
Phillip Berenbroick of the consumer group Public Knowledge said the new rules "will finally put the American dream of connection within reach for those struggling the most."
But the libertarian group TechFreedom said the FCC has not demonstrated it will curb fraud and abuse of the subsidy program.
TechFreedom president Berin Szoka said the program's funding from a tax on telecom services merely shifts the burden to middle-class families.
For those who qualify, he said that "if their income rises at all, they'll be ineligible for the program and suddenly have to pay not just the cost of the service, but a whopping 18 percent tax, too."
The FCC said the new plan establishes minimum standards for broadband and also will use a third party to verify eligibility in an effort to curb fraud.
It also aims to encourage a new category of "Lifeline" service providers with a streamlined entry procedure into new markets.
A separate action by the FCC calls for new privacy regulations to ensure consumers are aware of how much data is being collected on them by their Internet service providers.
US Secretary of State John Kerry will visit Hiroshima, the Japanese city devastated by an American atomic bomb, later this month as part of preparations for the G7 summit.
Kerry will join ministers from the other members of the club of leading democracies in the city on April 10 and 11 to work on the agenda for the Group of Seven leaders' summit in May.
US officials are still considering a possible visit to Hiroshima by President Barack Obama during his trip to Japan for the meeting, but no announcement has been made.
The State Department said Kerry would make the trip after attending a ministerial meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council in Bahrain on April 8 and 9.
Japan has long urged world leaders to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki to see the horrors of the atomic bombings and join efforts to eradicate nuclear arms.
But the most senior US official to have visited Hiroshima -- which was consumed in the world's first nuclear attack on August 6, 1945 -- has been House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Last month, Japanese government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said: "The government has always called on leaders around the world to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki to see for themselves the reality of atomic bombings.
"We believe (visits) are important to boost international momentum toward achieving a world without nuclear arms."
The world's first atomic bomb killed about 140,000 people in Hiroshima, including those who survived the explosion itself but died soon after due to severe radiation exposure.
Three days later, the US military dropped a plutonium bomb on the port city of Nagasaki, killing some 74,000 people.
The bombings are controversial in the United States, where opinion remains divided over whether their use in the closing days of World War II was justified.
A US drone strike has targeted a senior Shebab leader in Somalia who was believed to have been plotting attacks against Americans in Mogadishu, the Pentagon has announced.
"In cooperation with the federal government of Somalia, on Thursday, March 31, the US military conducted an air strike in Somalia against Hassan Ali Dhoore, a senior leader of al-Shebab," Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said in a statement yesterday.
A US defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the drone strike targeted a vehicle Dhoore was riding in with two other Al-Qaeda-aligned Shebab members.
"We have been watching him off and on for a long time," the official said.
"The Somali government was involved in sharing information that led to this attack."
The Pentagon said it was still assessing whether Dhoore had been killed.
Dhoore allegedly was part of Shebab's security and intelligence wing, and had been involved in planning attacks in Mogadishu, the Pentagon said.
"He had planned and overseen attacks resulting in the death of at least three US citizens," Cook said, noting that Dhoore had played a role in the December 2014 attack on Mogadishu's airport that resulted in the death of several African Union soldiers and a US citizen.
"Dhoore was also directly responsible for the March 27, 2015 attack on the Maka al-Mukarram Hotel in Mogadishu, resulting in the deaths of 15 people, including one Somali-American national. Hassan was believed to have been plotting attacks targeting US citizens in Mogadishu," Cook added.
The military action follows a massive US air strike last month on a Shebab training camp that killed more than 150 fighters the Pentagon said were prepping for a "large-scale" attack.
Shebab jihadists have claimed responsibility for a string of recent attacks including a twin bombing at a busy restaurant in the Somali city of Baidoa in February.
In an unusual case in the US, an ex-judge has been sentenced to participate in an anger- management programme and fined USD 5,000 for ordering an official to administer a 50,000-volt electric shock to a defendant during court proceedings.
Robert Nalley, a former Circuit Court judge in Charles County, Maryland, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanour charge of violating the civil rights of Delvon L King, as the defendant was about to be tried on a gun charge.
Nalley yesterday was sentenced to a year's probation for ordering a Charles County sheriff's deputy to administer an electrical shock to King in his courtroom.
At the sentencing, Magistrate Judge William G Connelly also imposed a USD 5,000 fine and ordered Nalley to complete an anger-management programme. King said Connelly's sentence was too light.
"To say that I'm chagrined to be standing here is an understatement," Nalley was quoted as saying by the Washington Post.
Nalley, in his brief remarks in US District Court in Greenbelt, said he felt "deep regret" over his "error in judgement" which he said reflected not just on himself but also
on his family and the Charles County justice system.
King, 27, said in court that Nalley "tortured" him and deprived him of a fair trial.
Nalley got administered an electric shock to King, who was representing himself, as he made what he believed was a legal argument during jury selection on July 23, 2014.
King dropped to the ground when a 50,000-volt shock was administered through a Stun-Cuff attached to an ankle.
After paramedics determined that King was not seriously injured, Nalley continued jury selection.
King told US Magistrate Judge Connelly yesterday that he was disoriented and fearful after being shocked and was not able to defend himself to the best of his ability.
During the sentencing hearing, federal prosecutors played a videotape of the incident and, separately, an audiotape.
In the audiotape, King and Nalley briefly talk about what the judge should call the defendant, who considers himself a "sovereign citizen" and not subject to the government's laws.
They agree on a name, and as Nalley talks about the jury selection process, the defendant speaks over him, making what he believes is a legal point.
Nalley, his voice agitated, says, "Stop. Stop". Then he says: "Mr Sheriff, do it. Use it." King screams three times.
Nalley, 72, retired from the bench in September 2013. Court officials recalled him to preside over cases on a part-time basis.
About a month after the incident became public, in September 2014, the Maryland Court of Appeals, the state's highest court, banned Nalley from the bench.
The announced Thursday that it will provide Ukraine with $335 million more in security assistance.
The announcement came after a meeting between US Vice-President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Washington.
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The aid is vital to a country that has faced an acute economic and security crisis since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 and fomented a separatist revolt in Ukraine's east.
While Washington has looked to support Ukraine's pro-western government, it has also been concerned by rampant corruption in Kiev.
Thursday's announcement comes after Ukraine's parliament sacked the country's chief prosecutor over his alleged attempts to stall high-profile corruption investigations.
According to the White House, Biden told Poroshenko more money could be on the way.
"The vice president welcomed the efforts of President Poroshenko to form a stable, reform-oriented government, and stressed that this step, as well as the enactment of needed reforms, are critical to unlocking economic assistance, including the third $1 billion US loan guarantee."
In May of last year the US signed its second $1 billion loan guarantee deal for Ukraine, aimed at helping it surmount the Russia-backed insurgency and rebuild its tattered economy.
Mining conglomerate Vedanta Resources today said it will buy-back bonds worth USD 348.6 million (about Rs 2,314 crore).
The London-listed company in a regulatory filing said, "Prior to the commencement of its close period on April 1, 2016, it entered into irrevocable arrangements with JP Morgan Securities plc to commence a buy-back programme to repurchase, within certain pre-set parameters, on its behalf."
The firm announced plans to repurchase securities in two tranches.
It said it will repurchase "up to USD 148.6 million (up to 20 per cent) of the USD 743 million outstanding principal amount of the 6.75 per cent bonds due 2016 of Vedanta Resources plc".
The firm added it will also acquire "up to USD 200 million of the USD 582 million outstanding principal amount of the 5.50 per cent."
These are guaranteed convertible bonds due 2016 of Vedanta Resources Jersey Ltd, it said.
"These arrangements will take effect on April 4, 2016. In accordance with terms and conditions of the 2016 bonds, the purchased bonds may either be canceled or held until their maturity date," Vedanta Resources said.
In accordance with the terms and conditions of the convertible bonds, the purchased convertible bonds may either be surrendered for cancellation or held until their maturity date, it added.
Vedanta said the bond purchases will be financed through currently available funds and from funds to be made available following part-repayment by Vedanta Ltd of an inter company loan between the company and Vedanta Ltd.
"JP Morgan will make trading decisions in relation to the purchase of the bonds independently of, and uninfluenced by, each of company and Vedanta Resources Jersey Ltd," it said.
Ahead of the commencement of its close period, Vedanta said adding its lending banks have consented to certain changes requested by the firm to its covenants under the terms of the relevant debt facilities effective from March 31, 2016 until the period ending 30 September 2018.
"This will ensure compliance by the company with its covenants relating to all facilities for the testing period ending March 31, 2016," it added.
In February, the firm led by NRI billionaire Anil Agarwal had announced repurchase of bonds worth up to USD 250 million (about Rs 1,700 crore) of its outstanding USD 1.25 billion convertible bonds due this year.
A month before, the metals major had announced plans to repurchase in cash bonds worth USD 500 million (about Rs 3,300 crore) out of its outstanding USD 1.13 billion convertible bonds due in July this year, but later trimmed the offer to USD 227.40 million.
Two helicopters will be used by the Election Commission to monitor security arrangements during polling in the Maoist-affected Junglemahal area of West Bengal.
Additional Chief Electoral Officer Dibyendu Sarkar said arrangements for two helicopters have been made, which will be used as per requirements during the first phase of Assembly elections.
For any medical emergency, provision for an air ambulance has also been made.
"If any polling or security personnel needs immediate medical attention and has to be evacuated from the spot then we will use the air ambulance," he said.
The poll body has also reserved some beds in government hospitals, for any emergency need of polling and security personnel, where they will get cashless treatment.
Altogether 49 Assembly constituencies in the districts of West Midnapore, Burdwan, Bankura and Purulia will go to polls on April 4 and 11 during the first phase.
A 24-year-old waiter was found dead under mysterious circumstances in Surya Nagar colony here, police said today.
Assistant Superintendent of Police Asheesh Srivastav said that Sunil was working in a colony-based market eatery. After finishing his duty last night, he went to the rooftop in his sleeping room.
When he didn't wake up this morning, his colleaguesreached upstairs and found him lying inan unconscious state, the ASP said.
They immediately informed their eatery owner Arun Maini who in turn intimated the police. Sunil was then rushed to a nearby private hospital where the attending doctors pronounced him as brought dead, he said.
Police is probing the case as no suicide note has been recovered from the spot.
An FIR has been lodged and the cause of death will be ascertained only after the post-mortem report, the ASP added.
West Bengal minister Dr Shashi Panja, who is defending her seat from Shyampukur in northern Kolkata, has movable assets worth over Rs 2 crore.
According to her affidavit filed before the Election Commission, the 51-year-old MBBS has movable assets including cash in hand, bank balance, investments, car, jewellery, totalling Rs 2.19 crore.
Dr Panja, who holds the portfolio of Minister of State for Women and Child Welfare and Social Welfare, earned Rs 18.4 lakh during the year 2014-15, her affidavit said.
She, however, doesn't own any immovable assets while her husband Dr Prasun Kr Panja owns many properties worth over Rs 2.3 crore.
Assets worth over Rs 68 lakh are in the name of their two daughters, her affidavit stated.
Talks aimed at ending the war in Yemen are on track to begin on April 18 in Kuwait, the UN envoy confirmed today.
A nationwide ceasefire is due to come into effect at midnight on April 10 to bolster the new round of talks between the Saudi-backed Yemeni government and Shiite Huthi rebels.
"With political will, good faith and balance, they could take this opportunity to end the conflict and pave the way towards a permanent and durable end of the war," UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said in a statement.
The talks were announced last week after months of shuttle diplomacy by the UN envoy and growing pressure on a Saudi-led coalition to end its air campaign in Yemen.
More than 6,300 people have been killed in Yemen since the coalition -- which includes Kuwait -- began an air war a year ago to push back the Huthi offensive.
The envoy said UN teams were working "at full speed" in Sanaa and Riyadh to prepare the delegations and another team was on its way to Kuwait to finalize preparations.
The peace talks are to focus on militia withdrawal, the handover of heavy weapons, security arrangements, the resumption of a dialogue and the creation of a committee on detainees, said the envoy.
Cheikh Ahmed welcomed a prisoner exchange this week that saw nine Saudis swapped for 109 Yemenis, saying the move provides "an important drive to the political process."
Confirmation of the peace talks came after the Huthi rebels this week mounted a deadly counterattack against government troops advancing down the Red Sea coast from the Saudi border.
The rebels and their allies surrounded a government force that was attempting to recapture the coastal town of Midi and killed 45 loyalist troops on Tuesday and Wednesday, sources said.
At least 15 rebels were also killed in the fighting.
The United Nations has expressed growing alarm over the heavy civilian toll from the airstrikes and the dire humanitarian situation in Yemen, where more than 80 percent of the population is on the brink of famine.
Previous UN-sponsored negotiations failed to reach a breakthrough, while a ceasefire that went into force on December 15 was repeatedly violated until the Saudi-led coalition announced an end to it on January 2.
A suspected pickpocket was found dead in police lock up here under mysterious circumstances, with his relatives alleging that he died due to beating by police.
However, police have denied the charge and said that Kiran Rokade (18) committed suicide using his waist belt on Wednesday afternoon.
Four police constables on duty were suspended in this regard while in-charge inspector of Shirdi police station, Pramod Wagh has been transferred to Control Room, Ahmednagar SP Sourabh Tripathi told reporter last night after visiting the police station.
He said the case is handed over to CID.
Rokade was detained by police after he was allegedly spotted pick-pocketing by some people at gate no. 4 of Saibaba temple here.
Though police insisted that Rokade killed himself by tying the belt to the iron grills of the lock-up door, his relatives staged a rasta roko demanding stern action against the policemen.
They blocked the car of Additional Superintendent of Police, Sanjay Jadhav on Ahmednagar-Manmad Road today.
Rokade's body has been sent to Sasoon Hospital in Pune for postmortem.
By Alexander Hubner and Matthias Inverardi
FRANKFURT/DUESSELDORF (Reuters) - Tata Steel and Germany's Thyssenkrupp have been talking about combining their European steel operations, a person aware of the talks said on Friday.
The source, who did not want to be named because he is not authorised to speak publicly, said talks had been ongoing for about a year but declined to comment on their current status.
Tata's announcement on Wednesday that it plans to sell its cash-bleeding British unit sparked expectations that Europe's battered steel sector would now undergo a long-awaited consolidation, starting with a merger of Tata's Dutch and Thyssenkrupp's European steel operations.
Such a move would create Europe's biggest steelmaker after ArcelorMittal and allow the combined company to cut capacity, supporting prices in the sector, which have been crushed by sluggish demand and cheap Chinese imports.
German newspaper Rheinische Post reported earlier on Friday that Tata Steel was in advanced talks to buy a stake in Thyssenkrupp's Steel Europe, sending shares in Thyssenkrupp 5.2 percent higher to the top of Germany's DAX index by 1408 GMT.
Thyssenkrupp declined to comment, as did a European spokesman for Tata Steel.
Analysts at Berenberg said it would make sense for both Tata Steel and Thyssen's Steel Europe to sell shares in an initial public offering (IPO) of any joint entity because that could translate into significant financial returns for the parent companies.
"For Tata Steel, in particular, an IPO would partly reward the company after the massive writedown of the UK assets' book value," the analysts said in a note to clients.
Tata, which entered the European steel market with a $12 billion acquisition of Anglo-Dutch Corus in 2007, will only produce steel in Europe in the Netherlands once it sells its UK business. It said on Wednesday it had extended "substantial financial support" to its UK business, which employs about 15,000 people, and written its assets down by more than 2 billion pounds ($2.8 bln).
Thyssen's Steel Europe unit is profitable, as are Tata's Dutch operations, and a Tata-Thyssen combination excluding the UK is seen as most likely.
A person familiar with the situation told that Thyssen's supervisory board had not yet discussed the matter, while two other sources with knowledge of the matter said that all of Europe's steel producers were talking to one another but nothing concrete was yet in sight.
Rheinische Post said Tata and Thyssenkrupp were discussing several scenarios, the most likely being a joint venture with Tata Steel holding an option to increase the stake later.
A combination of the two businesses could boost their combined earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) by 400 million to 500 million euros, Berenberg said.
($1 = 0.8769 euros)
($1 = 0.7050 pounds)
(Additional reporting by Georgina Prodhan and Christoph Steitz; Writing by Maria Sheahan and Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Susan Fenton)
China's Anbang Insurance Group Co said on Thursday that it has abandoned its $14 billion bid for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc, paving the way for Marriott Inc to buy the Sheraton and Westin hotels operator.
The surprise withdrawal marks an anticlimactic end to a bidding war that had pitted Marriott's ambitions to create the world's largest lodging company, with about 5,700 hotels, against Anbang's drive to create a vast portfolio of US real estate assets.
It also represents a blow to corporate China's growing ambitions to acquire US assets. Anbang's acquisition of Starwood would have been the largest takeover of a US company by a Chinese buyer.
"We were attracted to the opportunity presented by Starwood because of its high-quality, leading global hotel brands, which met many of our acquisition criteria, including the ability to generate consistent, long-term returns over time," Anbang said in a statement.
"However, due to various market considerations, the consortium has determined not to proceed further," Anbang added, referring to the joint bid it had put together with private equity firms JC Flowers & Co and Primavera Capital Ltd.
Anbang did not offer Starwood a reason for not following through on its raised offer of March 26, according to people familiar with the matter. They asked not to be identified disclosing confidential discussions.
"The reason of withdrawal is simple - Anbang isn't interested in a protracted bidding war," Fred Hu, chairman of Primavera, told Reuters in an email.
It was not immediately clear if Marriott had been planning a counterbid to Anbang's March 26 offer. Anbang has previously bowed out of smaller deals, but this is the most high-profile deal it has abandoned, people familiar with the matter said.
Starwood said on Monday that Anbang had raised its offer to almost $14 billion. Anbang had been expected to firm up that non-binding offer, so that Starwood would formally declare it superior to Marriott's.
Anbang had already made a $13.2 billion binding and fully financed offer earlier this month, which Starwood accepted as superior. Had Marriott not counterbid on March 21, Starwood would have proceeded with the earlier Anbang offer.
Starwood said on Thursday that Anbang had withdrawn its offer "as a result of market considerations," which it did not specify. Marriott declined to provide immediate comment.
The move fueled speculation on what drove Anbang to change course, especially given that many Chinese overseas acquisitions have been encouraged by the country's authorities.
Chinese financial magazine Caixin reported earlier this month that China's insurance regulator would likely reject a bid by Anbang to buy Starwood, since it would put the insurer's offshore assets above a 15 per cent threshold for overseas investments.
Should Anbang have clinched an agreement with Starwood, it would have been scrutinized by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), an interagency panel that reviews deals to ensure they do not harm national security. However, sources had said that both Starwood and Anbang believed the deal would have received CFIUS clearance.
"My guess is that Starwood wanted either a higher break-up fee, maybe a billion dollars, or a higher price from Anbang to offset the risk," said Ryan Meliker, an analyst at Canaccord Genuity Group Inc.
In its latest offer, Anbang's consortium had offered $82.75 per share in cash. Marriott's latest cash-and-stock offer, which was announced on March 21, is worth around $75 per share.
Starwood shareholders will also receive stock in Interval Leisure Group Inc, worth $6.13 per Starwood share. This is the result of a deal last year to spin off Starwood's timeshare business and combine it with Interval Leisure Group.
Starwood's shares fell 4.4 per cent to $79.80 in extended trading, while Marriott shares fell 4.9 per cent to $67.68. This indicates that some Marriott shareholders are disappointed that the company is moving ahead with the deal at such a high price.
Global Shopping Spree
Anbang was established in 2004 as an automotive and property insurer by Chairman Wu Xiaohui, a native of China's entrepreneurial coastal city Wenzhou. The company has been leveraging its 1.65 trillion yuan ($253 billion) in assets to transform into a worldwide investor.
Anbang's major deals include last year's $1.95 billion purchase of Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York and this month's agreement to buy Strategic Hotels & Resorts Inc, from Blackstone Group LP for $6.5 billion. Anbang's purchase of U.S. insurer Fidelity & Guaranty Life for $1.6 billion is awaiting regulatory approval.
Marriott said last week it believed it could achieve $250 million in annual cost synergies within two years after closing the deal with Starwood, up from $200 million estimated in November 2015 when it signed its original merger agreement.
Starwood and Marriott shareholders are separately scheduled to vote on the deal on April 8.
Lazard Ltd and Citigroup Global Markets Inc are financial advisers to Starwood. Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP is its legal counsel. Deutsche Bank and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher are advising Marriott.
PJT Partners Inc is Anbang's financial adviser, while Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP is its legal counsel.
SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China's Shandong Ruyi <002193.SZ> said it will buy a controlling stake in SMCP, the French firm behind affordable luxury fashion brands Sandro, Maje and Claudie Pierlot.
Shandong Ruyi said the deal would combine the French firm's fashion know-how with its own business network in China, the world's second largest economy where consumers are increasingly looking for "accessible luxury" products.
It did not give a value for the purchase.
Two sources close to the deal said earlier this week the textile group would take control of SMCP for around 1.3 billion euros ($1.5 billion) including debt.
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 in countries such as China.
"By taking on board the expertise of SMCP, a group well-rooted with strong Parisian heritage, we would combine their merits with our existing strength in Asia, in particular China," Qiu Yafu, Shandong Ruyi's chairman, said in the statement.
SMCP, which is controlled by private equity firm KKR , had filed documents last month to launch an initial public offering in Paris as early as April to help pay down the company's high yield debt.
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 told . However, the potential IPO plans had rekindled the Chinese firm's interest.
The firm's founders, sister Evelyne Chetrite and Judith Milgrom, and KKR will retain minority stakes under the deal, the statement said. The sisters together own just over 21 percent of the company, while KKR has 70 percent.
(Reporting by Adam Jourdan; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss food group Nestle said on Friday it had not been informed by government authorities of any new health issues with its instant noodles after a newspaper reported tests had detected higher-than-permissible levels of ash in the product.
"We have not received any notice from the concerned authorities about samples of Maggi noodles collected from Umesh Chandra, Barabanki. We have also not received any notice from the court and we have heard about this only from a media report," a Nestle spokesman in India said.
The Wall Street Journal had cited food safety inspectors in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh as saying they had filed a lawsuit accusing Nestle of substandard practices after ash content in samples of its Maggi 2-Minute Noodles was found to exceed the legal limit.
The Indian unit of the Swiss food giant had been grappling with a public relations crisis that hit sales after local regulators reported last year that some packets of the Maggi noodles contained unsafe levels of lead. Sales resumed in November.
Nestle said on Friday its products were safe, adding it had come across instances in Uttar Pradesh in which standards for macaroni products were being applied for instant noodles with seasoning, which it called "erroneous and misleading".
(Reporting by Devidutta Tripathy and Michael Shields, editing by David Evans)
By Dmitry Zhdannikov
LONDON (Reuters) - Oil futures fell below $40 per barrel on Friday, with the market growing increasingly sceptical that a looming deal to freeze crude production can help clear a global glut.
Saudi Arabia will freeze its oil output only if Iran and other major producers do so, Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told Bloomberg in an interview, helping push prices lower.
Brent crude for June delivery fell 90 cents to $39.43 a barrel as of 1108 GMT. Brent rose 6 percent in the first quarter of this year, its first such increase since a 15 percent rally in the second quarter of 2015.
U.S. crude fell 88 cents to $37.46 a barrel. Prices rose almost 4 percent over January-March, also the first quarterly gain since surging nearly 25 percent in the second quarter of last year.
Prices have recently pulled back on low trading volumes and concerns about oversupply ahead of an oil producers' meeting in Doha to agree a possible output freeze on April 17.
"Hopes have been running high about the potential bullish impact of the planned OPEC/non-OPEC production freeze but it is hard to see how sticking to the January output level would be supportive for oil prices," PVM Oil Associates analyst Tamas Varga said.
"There will be no re-balancing this year."
A monthly survey showed this week that OPEC output rose in March on higher supply from Iran after the lifting of sanctions and near-record exports from southern Iraq.
Oil prices fell despite a lower dollar and China's official Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) showing an unexpected expansion in March, the first in nine months.
Putting a floor under prices was a drop in U.S. crude output, falling for a fourth straight month in January to the lowest since October 2014.
Later on Friday, the market will be watching for U.S. non-farm payroll data to give oil prices further direction.
(Reporting by Dmitry Zhdannikov, additional reporting by Simon Falush; Editing by Dale Hudson and Jason Neely)
DUESSELDORF, Germany (Reuters) - Thyssenkrupp's supervisory board has not yet discussed a possible tie-up of its European steel operations with those of Tata Steel, a source familiar with the situation said on Friday.
Thyssenkrupp shares pared gains on the and traded 3.7 percent higher by 0738 GMT.
Germany's Rheinische Post newspaper had reported earlier that Tata Steel was planning to take a stake in the Thyssenkrupp unit, citing government sources in Berlin.
Tata Steel's plans to sell its UK steelmaking business raised expectations this week of a long-awaited consolidation of Europe's battered steel sector, with a Tata-Thyssenkrupp combination excluding the UK seen as most likely.
Two sources with knowledge of the matter said that all of Europe's steel producers were talking to one another but that nothing concrete was yet in sight.
(Reporting by Matthias Inverardi; Additional reporting and writing by Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Christoph Steitz)
The Irish Farmers Association (IFA) National Liquid Milk Committee have this week called on the National Milk Agency (NMA) and the National Dairy Council (NDC) to be more strict when regulating retailers' sourcing of 'Irish' private label milk.
Chairman Teddy Cashman says, "On behalf of Irelands 1,800 liquid milk producers, I call on dairies, the National Milk Agency (NMA) and the National Dairy Council (NDC) to ensure that where a retailer sources private label milk from Republic of Ireland milk producers for sale to consumers as such, the following three conditions must apply: the milk is sourced exclusively from producers contracted under the auspices of the NMA, the milk is produced and processed in the Republic of Ireland and the process is audited by the NDC to ensure the milk qualifies for the NDC mark and the producers are remunerated adequately for the additional costs they incur in producing milk year-round, especially over the winter months."
Source: www.businessworld.ie
Damage Limitation
Ensuring that your company gets its message across in a challenging market place is key to Business Worlds content creation services. When a sector faces adversity, a positive public reaction is the key to weathering the storm.
The Irish insurance sector has faced the brunt of significant criticism in the past 2 years, with the fall of Setanta Insurance and complex flood damage claims making the headlines.
Setanta
The world of insurance was rocked in 2014 with the collapse of Setanta Ireland - The Maltese-based firm was wound up in April 2014, saying it was not in a position to confirm that claims will be met in full since any and all claims will be subject to the relevant liquidation process.
This has added in the region of 50 to every car insurance premium in the market, a significant outlay for the estimated 1m car users nationwide. Other insurance companies have understandably reacted badly after being asked to cover the failing Setanta.
Flood
Persistent flooding in some areas has meant that some insurers will simply not offer protection to some business, homeowners and commercial enterprises. According to industry advice (insuremyhouse.ie), Flood insurance coverage is sometimes not included as part of a standard home insurance policy. If you live near a lake, river, flood plain or the ocean, you should definitely look into if you have it. A lot of insurance companies will exclude flood cover if you are located near a body of water that is prone to flooding.
The Irish Times reports that Minister for Defence Simon Coveney said homeowners, businesses and farms could claim money to help them recover from flood damage. He said the flood support scheme had been extended to include a wide range of household incomes and that all claims made would be means-tested. Under the scheme, couples with a household income of 50,000 or less could get 100% of the cost of repairing the damage to their home.
Gimmicks
At the other end of insurance is the almost comedic situation of Game, a computer game retailer, offering Thumb Insurance for the avid video game player. High street retailers have typically offered insurance on a broad range of electrical products but this step of insuring individual digits is surely a step to far! Its a slippery slope.whats next? Insuring our feelings in case they get hurt?!
Here at Business World, we offer a broad range of content creation packages (blogs, news feeds, editorial content, articles) to an ever expanding list of banks, insurers, financial regulators and other commercial entities. Get in touch today so we can show you what we do and how we do it!
RTE has today reported that SIPTU President, Jack OConnor has called for Workplace Relations Commission Chairperson, Kieran Mulveys to resign.
This comes after an interview Mr Mulvey had with RTEs Morning Ireland in which he was questioned about the two day strike planned this weekend.
Mr Mulvey said this afternoon that he believed he was speaking in the public interest and had been trying to point out where the dispute could go. He said that he saw no reason to stand down from his position.
Furthermore, he claimed that Mr O'Connor had made a personal attack on him but he would not descend to personal comments.
SIPTU President, Jack OConnor called for Mr Mulveys resignation, saying he showed "bias against the unions" which renders him not credible as a mediator. He accused Mr Mulvey of attacking one side in an industrial relations dispute - the workers - and said his continued presence as chairperson of the WRC would damage the integrity of the institution.
Source: www.businessworld.ie
SIPTU yesterday expressed dissappointment that the CEO of Transdev UK and Ireland visited Dublin this week to meet with a number of key stakeholders but did not meet with workers representatives.
SIPTU Sector Organiser, Willie Noone commented, "It is deeply disappointing and inexplicable that the CEO of Transdev, UK and Ireland would visit Dublin and not meet with Luas workers. He obviously does not view the Luas workers or their representatives as being key stakeholders worthy of meeting."
He added, "At such a meeting he would have been informed why the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) proposals in relation to the Luas dispute were rejected overwhelmingly by workers in a recent ballot."
Source: www.businessworld.ie
U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on Friday will propose a $10 billion investment in partnerships to encourage the growth of the U.S. manufacturing sector as part of a national push to discourage outsourcing in the industry.
The proposal would work with a broader campaign to encourage companies to build and expand their U.S. manufacturing operations.
Clinton is slated to roll out the proposal on Friday in Syracuse, New York, ahead of the state's nominating contest on April 19.
New York has long been a hub of the manufacturing industry, but suffered significant declines in the sector in recent years. From 2000-2008, upstate New York alone lost nearly 105,000 manufacturing jobs, according to the state government.
Clinton maintains a lead in the state, which she represented in the U.S. Senate, over rival Bernie Sanders, a U.S. Senator from Vermont and a New York native.
Sanders was born and raised in New York City's borough of Brooklyn. The Clinton campaign is headquartered there.
The campaign said the proposal's multi-billion dollar price tag would largely be covered by Clinton's proposed "clawback" tax, which would rescind tax relief for companies that outsource jobs or facilities abroad. (Reuters)
Source: www.businessworld.ie
Approximately 1100 refugees come into the state of Utah from other countries each year. The majority of them come from Muslim countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia.
The Wall Street Journal recently praised Utah Governor Gary Herbert for not placing a ban on refugees as some of the states have done, and also for the quality of Utahs refugee programs.
Asha Parekh, Refugee Services Office Director for the Department of Workforce Services, was a guest on KVNUs For the People program Wednesday. She said the state has worked with public and private organizations to come up with successful programs that help refugees integrate and find jobs so they can support their families.
One of the things that I think does make us very unique is we look at how to support refugee communities so they have the capacity to support each other, so theyre self-sufficient, said Parekh. They have people in their community that can help them access services when they run into trouble. We also work very closely with volunteers.
Parekh said there are excellent refugee programs that help those transplanted here from other countries to learn English and also learn both employment skills and life skills.
The Utah State Legislature made a powerful statement that water conservation is a high priority and a critical part of future water management and planning. By approving ongoing funding for the Utah State University Extension Water Conservation Initiative, legislators cleared the way for increased applied research and outreach education for water conservation at the recent session.
The funding will enable the university to better collaborate with the Utah Division of Water Resources, water conservancy districts and agricultural and urban water users throughout the state to more efficiently use precious water resources.
The threefold goals of the initiative include reducing the amount of water used by consumers; helping Utahns enjoy quality of life by providing tools and information to help them become better stewards of natural resources; and supporting agriculture in Utah by promoting efficient agricultural water use.
We are very pleased about the funding of this initiative, said USU Extension Vice President Ken White. Our hats go off to members of the Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment Committee whose vision is far reaching. We also appreciate the significant contributions made by local legislators in getting this appropriation. This funding will be of tremendous long-term benefit to the state.
White said water conservation offers the least expensive source for additional water.
While new infrastructure must be considered in the long run, if we develop better conservation programs there will be more available water without building a single new pipeline or dam, he said.
Eagle Mountain City Mayor Christopher Pengra said the city is looking to take a leadership role in expanding what is possible in community-driven water conservation.
We have found that there is no other organization better suited as a partner than USU Extension and the Center for Water Efficient Landscaping, he said. The knowledge and technology USU Extension brings to water conservation efforts are second to none. I appreciate the investment our state legislators have made to extend the reach of USU Extension programs.
White said part of the funding will be used by the university to strengthen applied research programs for conservation in both agricultural and urban water use. A steering committee of water stakeholders will help guide the university in selecting and funding the most appropriate conservation research.
A long-term benefit of the funding will be the support of graduate students studying water conservation in landscaping and production agriculture.
Funding for graduate students will help USU expand its internationally recognized water research to include more conservation, said Larry Rupp, director of USUs Center for Water Efficient Landscaping. With this funding, we can attract highly qualified students to perform research. It will also provide crucial matching funds to increase our ability to compete for federal research funding.
In addition to research, the funding will support USU Extension in carrying the latest information to water agencies, communities and water users throughout the state.
As a land-grant university, USU collaborates with every county in the state through its Extension programs. The county Extension offices and outreach programs such as the USU Botanical Center, Water Check and WaterMAPS programs will help translate and share research data so the public can stay informed on how to use water as wisely as possible.
For further information about the initiative, contact White at 435-797-2201 or ken.white@usu.edu, or Rupp at 435-232-1158 or larry.rupp@usu.edu.
Competition over technological advantage has replaced rivalry over territorial advantage in the great games of contemporary Central Asia. One of the main thoroughfares of the modern Silk Road is the telecommunications highway. The impending advent of fifth generation telephone technology is opening yet a new sphere of interaction among the countries of Central Asia offering as many opportunities for regional cooperation as it creates for competition.
BACKGROUND: The idea of the Silk Road is an often used metaphor to illustrate the pivotal geographical position of the countries of Central Asia, situated mid-way between the bustling regions of East and West, North and South. But the traffic that followed the desert and mountain trails which Marco Polo explored along with the silk traders of the Thirteenth century have little in common with the technologically advanced thoroughfares of today. The most advanced of these thoroughfares is modern telephony. As the engineering community prepares for the transition to the next stage in rapidly evolving telecommunications technology, political leaders are scrambling to take advantage of the new super-fast, wide-spectrum, fiber-wireless mobile 5G network. If 5G lives up to the expectations of the cyber visionaries promoting this new use of the electromagnetic spectrum, it will permit unprecedented transfer rates and create an entirely new level of connectivity with the internet-of-things and mobile devices.
Ignoring the new 5G technology threatens to leave the Central Asian countries further behind in the race to overcome the digital divide. The 5G transition has great importance for the developing world because it renders information and communication cheaper and more affordable by intensifying informatized economic activity. Yet the expansion of the Silk Road with massive investments in this cutting-edge technology will come at vast expensesomething none of the Central Asian states currently will be able to bear by themselves. This situation naturally turns attention to the newly established Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
IMPLICATIONS: The rising tide of the Asian Century has wrought profound economic changes defining new commercial and political connections throughout the entire Asian region. The pace of economic change throughout Asian countries has created immense infrastructure needs to facilitate changes in transportation, energy and communication. Chinas peaceful rise and economic extension into Central Asia has in a very short time created vast new opportunities. But to date Chinas infrastructure projects in highways, rail, and ports have been the results almost exclusively of bilateral agreements. In contrast to road projects, telecommunications projects are inherently regional in scope and scale. Chinas leading role in the establishment of the AIIB signals a new era in the dynamic transformation underway throughout Asia. All of the Central Asian states except Turkmenistan were quick to respond to the AIIBs invitation to become founding members. However, the two largest shareholders in the Asian Development Bank, that is the U.S. and Japan, did not join the AIIB.
The worlds leading international financial institutions (IFIs) at work in the Central Asian countries the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the Asian Development Bank have sought to mobilize capital for development and, at the same time, establish a virtuous circle of change, promoting good governance, fiscal accountability, environmental protection, human rights, and social equity. But many of the IFIs have been criticized for not working boldly and swiftly enough to meet the regions development challenges. The management of the AIIB has pledged to join the worlds other major multilateral lending investment institutions in bringing major public international infrastructure rapidly into line with national development agendas, regional developments and private commercial interests. When the AIIBs first Central Asian loan projects are announced in the months ahead, telecommunications is almost certain to be one of them.
Skeptics of the AIIB question whether the new capital projects will be regional in design, regional in implementation, and regional in impact or whether the projects will simply be an extension of Chinas foreign economic policy conducted in a more broadly legitimized format.
Some see the AIIB as a consequence of growing pressures on China to move from the export-oriented foreign trade policy which was successful in the first era of post-communist transition to a more balanced foreign macroeconomic posture. Over the past three decades, the exchange value of the Chinese Yuan was tied to export-led growth priorities. During this period, Chinas central bank managed exchange values in order to encourage exports through discouraging domestic consumer markets. The advantages inherent in this centrally managed exchange rate are now being increasingly eroded by western stimulus policies. Chinese economic authorities have recognized the importance of shifting from domestic infrastructure investment priorities to priorities oriented towards promoting international infrastructure. The role of currency is key in this transition. For the past two years, Chinas central bank managers have been publically discussing mechanisms to undertake the gradual shift to a fully-tradable currency such that the Yuan could be openly exchanged in secondary markets independent of central bank managers. The IMF has announced its acceptance as one of the currencies that make up the IMFs Special Drawing Rights.
Skeptics of the AIIB will be proven wrong if the new telecommunications projects in Central Asia, which will bring the countries into the new 5G standard, are conducted in a way that provides appropriate Central Asian participation in the design, implementation and management of the new telecommunications industry as it affects the Central Asian states. One key question will be whether Central Asian states are entitled to take a position in the new telecommunication consortia that roll out the new telephonic technology. Another key question will be whether the AIIB telecommunications projects can avoid the pitfalls that are illustrated by the Telenor scandal which arose over the management of Uzbekistans telephone system.
CONCLUSIONS: Political leaders in Central Asia broadly recognize the double-edged aspects of globalization in contemporary cyberspace countries that fail to embrace new telecommunications technologies are not likely to compete effectively in the technology-dependent world, and yet those countries that adopt the new telecommunications technologies may find they have to adapt to the political consequences of their decisions. Countries such as Kazakhstan are keen to avoid slipping back into the role of primary commodity suppliers for their larger neighbors. High-tech development and such sectors as contemporary banking and services now depend on up-to-date telecommunications. High tech opportunities come with risks.
AUTHORS BIOS: Kairat Bekov is Lecturer in the School of International Relations of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University. Gregory Gleason is Professor Emeritus at the University of New Mexico and Professor at the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies. The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not represent those of their employers.
Image Attribution: www.eurasianet.org, accessed on March 25, 2016
Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times Items from Cuba are on display at the Instituto De Cultura Hispanica at the Lichtenstein House in Heritage Park. The rotating exhibit showcases a 21 piece collection with indigenous figurines, an espresso set and other memorabilia donated by board members Richard and Ada Allegria.
SHARE Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times Items from Cuba are on display at the Instituto De Cultura Hispanica at the Lichtenstein House in Heritage Park. Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times Items from Cuba are on display at the Instituto De Cultura Hispanica at the Lichtenstein House in Heritage Park. Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times Items from Cuba are on display at the Instituto De Cultura Hispanica at the Lichtenstein House in Heritage Park. Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times Items from Cuba are on display at the Instituto De Cultura Hispanica at the Lichtenstein House in Heritage Park.
By Esther Hackleman, Esther.M.Hackleman@caller.com
You don't have to hitch a ride on Air Force One to see a glimpse of Cuba.
The Instituto de Cultura Hispanica is highlighting specific tokens of the Caribbean with its latest exhibit on Cuba. The rotating exhibit showcases a 21 piece collection with indigenous figurines, an espresso set and other memorabilia donated by board members Richard and Ada Allegria.
"Knowledge is what you're taking with you and appreciation that " said docent Saralee Witt. "Even if you're not Latino in any way, but you (will) have learned something about our neighboring countries."
Witt said the display is timely in light of President Barack Obama's historic visit to Cuba and sheds a deeper understanding on the island country's contributions to art and culture.
"We all contribute to something beautiful that betters us, that makes us better people," she said.
While visiting, guests can also learn about cultures of Latin America through its collection, which was contributed by the organization's members or donated by residents in the community.
Twitter: @Caller_Esther
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By Elizabeth Riggle, Special to the Caller-Times
La Playa Saratoga encourages its patrons to enjoy delicious entrees, mid-day meal specials and a full bar with extended happy hour pricing.
This eatery showcases Mexican cuisine from central and northern Mexico, the Yucatan Peninsula and South Texas favorites.
Challenge your taste buds by trying some of the unique and authentic flavors of Mexican entrees such as the picadillo street tacos made with savory spiced ground beef and chopped potatoes, the quail and shrimp platter or the mar y monte parrillada for three: a grilled rib eye, barbecue ribs and fish filet topped with Tarasca sauce, three jumbo shrimp, sausage, beef and chicken fajitas and chile torreados.
Monday through Friday offers an extended happy hour from 11 a.m. to 7 p,m. with specialty priced margaritas and draft beers.
Tuesday is extra special because happy hour is from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Lunch hour specials change daily. Featured specials may include pollo Tarasco or enchiladas verdes. Available weekdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., La Playa Saratoga has create your own special entree. It is a great way to sample numerous dishes. Choose two items from a long list of selections including beef fajita street taco, chicken ranchero enchilada and the ground beef tostada.
No matter what time of the day you choose to dine, La Playa Saratoga is a wonderful place to enjoy lunch or dinner. This is a spacious venue with seating for up to 200 people. The menu is big with choices including seafood, chicken, pork, steaks and quail.
House favorites include the shrimp stuffed avocado, the carne guisada or the carnitas: perfectly seasoned pan seared pork accompanied by sliced avocados, tomatoes, onions, a side of house special Diabla sauce and served with rice and charro beans.
Combo plates are the perfect way to enjoy multiple flavors. The chile bendito features poblano pepper stuffed with shrimp and cheese topped with in house ranchero sauce and Monterrey jack cheese; plus a three to four ounce fish filet covered with a delicious poblano cream sauce.
Catering services are available for small parties of 20 upwards to 200-300 people.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Lori Stone (right), the wife of Texas A&M University-Kingsville assistant band director Jeff Stone, died days after she was pulled from her burning home.
SHARE CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Lori Stone (right) died Thursday in a San Antonio Burn Unit. She was home alone at the time of a fire in her home Saturday because her husband Jeff (left) was recovering from a broken hip.
By Beatriz Alvarado of the Caller-Times
Lori Stone was "the most giving person" her husband, Jeff Stone, knew.
And after having lost her and their home to a fire, he's grateful a similar virtue was emulated by the public.
"I have a fabulous group of friends," he said of those who set up and have donated to an online fundraising account. "I was just blown away by how many people donated and want to thank all of them."
Jeff Stone, a Texas A&M University-Kingsville assistant band director, said his wife was taken off life support about 4 p.m. Thursday. She had been on life support since she was hospitalized at a San Antonio burn unit on Saturday.
Lori Stone was alone when she was pulled from her burning home in the 500 block of Del Mar Boulevard. Assistant Fire Chief Andy Cardiel said she was unconscious when authorities found her.
Jeff Stone was recovering from a broken hip at a hospital when the fire broke out. Before working at A&M-Kingsville, Jeff Stone was Calallen High School's band director and a member of the Corpus Christi Symphony Orchestra.
Cardiel said Wednesday the house was destroyed and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Julie Payne Davis, education and production coordinator for the Corpus Christi Symphony Orchestra, set up an online fundraising account to help the couple. More than $10,000 has been raised since the page was posted.
The account, which was set up before Lori Stone's death, will help garner financial support to cover "any and everything (Jeff Stone) needs," Davis said.
Twitter: @CallerBetty Reporter Fares Sabawi contributed to this report.
GABE HERNANDEZ/CALLER-TIMES Richard Perez dances with Maria Delia Valdez during the opening of the Zavala Senior Center on Thursday.
SHARE GABE HERNANDEZ/CALLER-TIMES Flaco Jimenez performs during the opening of the Zavala Senior Center on Thursday. GABE HERNANDEZ/CALLER-TIMES Seniors practice Tai chi during the opening of the Zavala Senior Center on Thursday. GABE HERNANDEZ/CALLER-TIMES Esmeralda Mcgee (right) dancers with Vicki Valdovinos during the opening of the Zavala Senior Center on Thursday. GABE HERNANDEZ/CALLER-TIMES People tour the Joe Garza Recreation Center during the opening of the Zavala Senior Center on Thursday. Related Photos Opening of Zavala Senior Center
By Esther Hackleman, Esther.M.Hackleman@caller.com
Maria Delia Valdez's feet transformed the Joe A. Garza Recreation Center into an impromptu dance hall with each table she and her partner maneuvered.
Valdez was one of about 300 celebrating the grand opening of the renovated Zavala Senior Center with lunch and a performance by legendary Conjunto accordionist Flaco Jimenez.
The whirlwind of notes flying from the five-time Grammy winner's fingers would be enough to make any of the other seniors relive their dance hall glory days, but the experience was doubly special for Valdez.
The celebration fell on the day Valdez was born, and the birthday girl credited her health to one simple practice: dancing every day.
"I'm 73 years young," Valdez said. "If you want to keep 'em living, keep 'em dancing."
City officials and the WellMed Charitable Foundation shared that philosophy, partnering to ensure the 21,800 square foot center will offer exercise, dance classes, arts, crafts and more to seniors.
"We feel proud because Zavala was one of the first centers that we've had here in Corpus Christi," said Gloria Garza. "And WellMed came, and they made this blessing for the barrio."
The $250,000 WellMed donated brought exercise equipment, pool tables and an updated kitchen to the remodel.
It also will sponsor programs that combat depression and mental illness, which causes an increase in health complications, WellMed President of Greater Texas Region Richard Manning said.
"If we can increase the person's self-worth and self-fulfillment of being involved, this is the way to do it," Manning said. "We get people off of their couch, and we get them moving. "
Classes like Zumba, folklorico and flamenco taught in the refurbished facility will breathe new life into the area, said Parks and Recreation Senior Community Services Superintendent Lisa Oliver.
"This is a multigenerational complex where grandparents can exercise at the senior center while their grandkids play at the rec center," Oliver said.
Twitter: @Caller_Esther
SHARE Rene Garcia
By Krista M. Torralva of the Caller-Times
The mother of a baby prosecutors say her husband killed refuses to testify against the boy's father.
Prosecutors on Thursday asked a judge to push the trial for Rene Garcia because his wife, their key witness, is in California and is due to give birth in May. But the woman is adamant she will not testify against Garcia after labor, defense lawyer Mark Gonzalez said.
She believes the incident was an accident, Gonzalez said.
Corpus Christi police responded to a call Sept. 3 about an unresponsive infant and found the parents attempting CPR on the three-month-old. Police said Garcia shook the boy and charged him with injury to a child, a first-degree felony. Garcia's charge was elevated to murder after the child died at Driscoll Children's Hospital.
Garcia, 46, has remained in the Nueces County Jail since in lieu of $350,000 bail. His trial was scheduled for Monday but 28th District Judge Nanette Hasette rescheduled it for July 25. Garcia will still appear in court Monday to petition for the judge to lower his bail.
Twitter: @CallerKMT
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As we come to the end Women's History Month, let's revisit a common narrative told regarding women and the right to vote in the United States. It goes something like this: A group of white women in the North came up with the idea that women should have the right to vote.
They gave some speeches, put together some pamphlets, some women went to jail, and in the end, all U.S. American women were granted legal access to the ballot box in 1920. If you know anything at all about women's suffrage, that is probably the story that you were told and may even retell.
There is some truth to that narrative. The fight for women's suffrage did begin in the North at a convention in Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848, and over time, there were speeches and pamphlets and time spent in jail. Then there is what gets left out of the story: It took 72 years of hard fighting by women and men, white and nonwhite, to gain the right to vote. Most of the original suffragettes died never having cast a legal ballot.
Additionally, not all women were given the right to vote in 1920. It would take years for American Indians, Asian-Americans, African-Americans, and people with disabilities to be given full access to their voting rights.
Probably the least discussed fact regarding women's suffrage is the influence of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) on the suffragettes of upstate New York.
Without the Haudenosaunee people, suffragettes would have had no point of reference for what true equality between men and women looked like. The Haudenosaunee believed in a balance between the sexes. For example, men would take care of everything on the land, like hunting and fishing, while women would take care of everything in the land, like the crops. This made sense to them since women gave birth to all new life. There was harmony in their ways.
At the same time the Haudenosaunee were sharing responsibilities and consequent power, their white neighbors were experiencing life totally controlled by men.
Women had no say in government, religion, or social life. Under the European-inspired laws by which they lived, a woman lost everything when she married property, money, parental rights, her name, her body. She could not make any contracts, sue, or be sued. Wife-beating and marital rape were not against the law.
Jeanne Shenandoah, a member of the Haudenosaunee's Onondaga Nation, wrote in 2001 that she is sure that the women of her nation were shocked at their new neighbors' unequal treatment of women and children. She said that her ancestors saw it as a "totally oppressive situation."
It wasn't until the 1980s that modern scholars, most notably Sally Roesch Wagner, began to discover and acknowledge the relationships between the Haudenosaunee and the suffragettes.
She found newspapers read by European settlers in the 19th century that regularly included news from Indian Country. Additionally, she discovered friendships and visiting were commonplace between natives and nonnatives. One of the women who is given credit for organizing the initial women's rights meeting in Seneca Falls was Lucretia Mott. She and her husband visited with members of the Haudenosaunee's Seneca Nation in the summer before the Seneca Falls Convention.
Mott is not the only early day suffragette who had regular contact with the Haudenosaunee. In 1875, while Matilda Joslyn Gage served as president of the National Women's Suffrage Association, she wrote an article about the Haudenosaunee for the New York Evening Post in which she discussed their division of power.
Gage was adopted into the Wolf Clan of the Haudenosaunee's Mohawk Nation in 1893, the same year that she was arrested for voting in a school board election. In one nation, Gage was being considered for high-level decision-making rights, and in another, she was not allowed to vote in a simple school board election.
When we tell the story of U.S. women's suffrage, we need to include the influence of the Haudenosaunee people on the early suffragettes.
Their model of equality is one we still strive to achieve today.
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While small businesses represent the majority of American exporters, their export sales represent less than a third of the overall value of American exports. Ninety-five percent of the world's consumers live outside of our country's borders, but only 1 percent of American small businesses are selling to them.
Small businesses make up 93.2 percent of exporters in Texas. Corpus Christi and the Lower Rio Grande Valley are among the essential contributors this percentage. Our latest statistics show that in 2014, merchandise exports from Corpus Christi totaled $5.1 billion. In McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, merchandise exports totaled $5.3 billion and in Brownsville-Harlingen, the total was $5.4 billion.
Corpus Christi exporter Ramiro Alejandre and his partner Maria Reeves, owns Bradleys Hermetics Inc., a 45-year-old manufacturer and distributor of industrial and commercial air conditioning and refrigeration compressor parts. The company is serving customers in more than 50 countries and international sales account for more than half of all sales. As a team's sales increase, so does its workforce. Today, the company has created eight jobs with a diverse staff of Hispanics, women and disabled Americans.
Alejandre and Reeves are examples of small exporters who will be able to do more with the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
TPP would unlock additional opportunities for U.S. small businesses in the area. By addressing trade barriers that are particularly challenging for small businesses to navigate, TPP allows our small businesses to reach new markets in the Asia-Pacific region. Additionally, TPP would help more small businesses navigate the barriers by eliminating 18,000 taxes and tariffs that deter many from considering foreign markets.
In other words, if ratified by Congress, TPP would help open doors for small businesses that would otherwise remain closed. It would be the first trade agreement to incorporate a chapter regarding American small and medium-sized enterprises to do business with 11 different countries, which include Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. Texas exports are already creating jobs with 54 percent of Texas goods that went to TPP countries with revenues of about $156.6 billion in 2014.
This first-ever trade agreement chapter will focus on issues that create challenges specific to small- and medium-sized firms. This chapter addresses high tariffs across the TPP region that price out many goods and agricultural products sold by U.S. small businesses. It streamlines complex technical and administrative barriers that make it hard for small businesses to access new markets. It address e-commerce by promoting digital trade and Internet freedom to ensure small businesses can access the global marketplace, and the chapter addresses integrating small businesses into global supply chains.
By 2030, two-thirds of the world's middle-class consumers are projected to live in the Asia Pacific region. The Internet and e-commerce has opened up a new world of opportunity for small businesses to sell to them with the click of a mouse. TPP would help them realize that promise.
Opponents of the deal contend that increased global trade moves jobs overseas. But for our small-business sector which creates two out of three new jobs in our country the opposite is actually true. According to a study published by the Institute for International Economics, exporting firms not only grow faster, they are less likely to go out of business than non-exporting companies. Also, firms that export pay as much as 18 percent more than companies that don't thus creating better jobs in the United States.
Overall, TPP levels the playing field for American workers and American businesses, leading to more Made-in-America exports and more higher-paying American jobs here in the Coastal Bend and Lower Rio Grande Valley. Passing TPP would help small businesses share their ingenuity with vast new pools of waiting consumers who believe in the American brand, keeping alive that intrepid entrepreneurial spirit that brought this country's earliest innovators here.
South Korea has an online penetration of more than 84 per cent, with internet usage high across all age groups. It also has one of the world's biggest blogging communities, and it boasts the highest penetration in Asia-Pacific of mobile phone social networkers as a percentage of the total population, according to an eMarketer forecast of mobile social usage around the world released last May. Findings related to usage last year showed that just shy of half the countrys population would use their mobile phones to access social networks on a monthly basis.
With this mind, it's not surprising that a high number of South Koreans watch television via mobile devices, and the country also has a strong m-commerce industry. GlobalWebIndex reports that 43 per cent of the countrys residents bought something online via their mobile phone in January. While traditional media such as newspapers remain popular, with more than 100 national and local dailies, subscriptions continue to suffer due to the growth and influence of online media sources.
Tyler Kim (pictured below) is managing director, Korea, head of corporate, Asia Pacific, and head of crisis communications and issues management at Weber Shandwick. He says companies in Korea are catching on to the importance of digital marketing, with the Korean PR industry working full throttle to provide these services.
Tyler Kim
With people spending more time on the internet than ever before, our clients are scrambling to engage with these online audiences, he says. With more clients asking for not just media PR but also marketing through digital channels and social media, PR agencies are not doing just PR anymorethey are competing with marketing and advertising agencies to provide integrated communications services.
This progression from traditional to digital, and now to social-media marketing, is forcing agencies in Korea to become experts in online communication channels.
Clients in Korea are now being trained to become media outlets themselves, telling stories of their brand, he adds. Agencies are helping them with editorial strategy and content creation, and along with this comes the need to provide content in various formatsnot just text but visual and moving images, too.
Kims biggest challenge is finding the right people to address this digital and content gap. Before, PR agencies hired former journalists and reporters, he says. Now to work in PR, you need to have a much more comprehensive skill set that includes expertise in digital. Agencies now need to attract people who have experience in areas like marketing/advertising, digital channel operation, analytics and mobile optimization.
Kim believes opportunities in the country lie in global PR, with many Korean companies now looking to extend their PR to the global market through a combination of traditional and digital media channels.
The major areas for growth are corporate social responsibility, financial transactions such as mergers and acquisitions and crisis management services, he says.
For Herold Moon, vice president at PR One, which has worked on campaigns for brands including Lego, Bosch and Nespresso, the PR industry in Korea is growing at an alarming rate, in both the private and public sectors. In the past, he says, the idea of PR was previously used as a marketing tool. "If advertisements were only useful for spreading the word about a business' product or its service, PR was regarded as a marketing tool which additionally provided credibility and reputation," he says.
Recently, however, he adds, PR in the country has expanded its boundaries from the private to the public sector and is being actively used to increase understanding of public policies from central and local governments, public institutions, citizens, and taxpayers.
"The efforts of public institutions to announce policies to taxpayers can be seen through their social networking channels such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube," says Moon. "They are also investing time and effort in interviews and contributions to newspapers, using traditional offline media as a way of announcing the intention and direction of policies. If PR was previously an important marketing tool for businesses, its importance is now growing in the public sector in Korea.
The biggest challenge for the agency is developing creative PR content, with PR One investing in training for its employees.
Moon believes that one area that is ripe for development in Korea is public sector crisis management, working with central and local governments and public institutions. "Communication capabilities, preparation and the ability to respond, such as building a crisis management manual and media training, are key factors that will affect the growth of the [Korean] PR industry in the future," he says.
The AI CD, a creative director drawing on artificial intelligence to suggest ideas for the development of TVCs, joined 11 graduates from universities including Keio, Waseda and Sophia on their first day of work at the agency.
The technology first came to light last September, but has only now been given physical form. It responds to briefs by using historical data around TVCs to write creative direction using a robotic arm. It has been assigned to a client, but McCann was unable to reveal which company.
In his induction speech, Charles Cadell, McCann Worldgroup's Asia-Pacific president and newly appointed president for Japan, told the joiners, most of whom were female, that they should see the agency as a springboard for an international career, if they wanted it.
He also said he hoped the AI CD "wont come to replace us".
That day is not here yet, but the unveiling of the technology has provoked an emotional response. While some have praised it as an impressive feat of engineering, others have reacted with scepticism or even anger at the idea that a machine might be able to supplanteven to a small extenthuman creatives.
Campaign spoke to Shun Matsuzaka, the creative planner behind the initiative, about what it all means.
For the record, are you sure this is not an April Fool's joke?
No, it isnt.
Is the AI CD male or female?
It doesnt have a gender. It can be both.
Shun Matsuzaka receives a business card from the new joiner:
wide player in 16:9 format. Used on article page for Campaign.
What is the algorithm behind it, and who did you work with to create it?
We cant disclose names but a few companies helped us, in terms of analysing TVCs and creating the AI algorithm.
Some might see this just as a PR stunt for McCann. What would you say to them?
The reason I started this project was to clarify the thinking behind the construction of TVCs. Its always been in the creators head. Legendary creative directors probably [arent aware] of the theory or method behind creating a good commercial movie. With this, we are able to analyse it. We are kind of working backwards to analyse TVCs. Thats an ability agencies have and tech companies do not.
So part of the reason for this is to prove the value of agencies?
Kind of. The data itself is very interesting for a lot of clients. To understand a TVC at production stage is very hard for marketers but in the future we will be able to present why something is good.
Why is it necessary to give the AI CD a physical presence?
I wanted a symbol. To have a physical piece that creative members can actually see as a member of the team, rather than just having it on a screen.
Doesnt too much logic kill the magic of the creative process?
Maybe sometimes, but by watching a lot of TVCs [for the purpose of analysis and AI development] we found a lot of things were produced based on historical ideas. So we can tell theres a tendency for toiletry brands [for example] to feature family occasions, but no one has used another [particular setting]. It can come up with ideas humans cannot.
What would you say to the haters?
Im not trying to destroy the area of creative direction and I dont think AI can take over because this can only [address] the very beginning of creative production. We just developed it to support human creativity.
Do you have a message for the graduates entering this strange new era?
I was surprised at the impact of this news and I think most people who are reacting are of our generation, so I think this is most relevant to new grads. They are used to learning [from data]. Thats what were doing here: collecting a lot of data from the past and learning from it to get better. Im expecting [the new graduates] to help input ideas to the AI CD and help develop its brain.
| BY Ricki Green |
Ogilvy Group Australia has today announced the appointment of Saurin Worthington (centre) to a newly created national role, as the agency looks to drive deeper collaboration between media strategy, creative and planning and broaden its client offering.
Effective immediately, Worthington starts at Ogilvy as head of media. However, according to Ogilvy Australia CEO, David Fox, her remit has more focus on championing media opportunities across the Group and collaborating with strategy, planning and creative leads to sell Ogilvys creative product, than media buying.
Clients need and want seamless business solutions and look to their agency as providers of total collaboration between creative, media strategy and planning units. As we continue to grow our media capabilities and integrated offering in response to client demand, expanding our team and bringing in the right skills has become vitally important.
Having Saurin on board will take Ogilvys unified media and creative offering to a new level. Working alongside the creative teams nationally Saurin will ensure we combine, strategic, creative and media, in every response presented to our clients.
Says Worthington: My role is about designing better creative product for Ogilvy and our clients, working positively and collaboratively with partner media agencies and working with media owners for stronger brand integration & content creation.
In order to have closer relationship with the consumer we need an intimate understanding of what each media owner and their platforms can deliver for our clients. Together we will gain learnings that will allow us to optimise the creative expression & ROI performance which I am particularly passionate about.
I love working alongside my creative colleagues and the media to design creative experiences that evoke action. I cant wait to get going and start the conversations.
Bringing a mix of traditional, creative, digital and social experience to the new role, Worthington has an enviable track record integrating media into client marketing campaigns.
Most recently with the Media Store as COO/executive business director, Worthingtons 30-year career has spanned big and small, full-service and media specialist, multinational and independent agencies in Australia.
Prior to the Media Store she spent nearly two decades with Starcom/Leo Burnett rising to the role of national business director. Prior to that she held the role of account services director at The Silver Partnership.
Worthington brings to her new role a broad range of client and industry experience including luxury goods (Lexus); Retail (including Woolworths, Metcash and Petbarn); plus Finance, FMCG, Government and Travel industries among others.
Thursday, March 31, 2016 at 8:49PM
By Sonya Davidson
A little over a year ago Samsung successfully launched the "Look At Me" app designed for families with children living on the Autism spectrum. This week the tech company, along side Autism Speaks Canada, announced further expansion of the project raising awareness and sharing real stories from families first-hand in the #WhoEyeAm campaign.
We were introduced to 13 year old Niam Jain and his family this week to see just how this app has incorporated into their daily lives. "He has a lot of the same interests as other boys his age," said his mom. "But he also has minimal speech ability and this technology has helped him, and our family, tremendously."
Mother went onto explain that Niam uses the Samsung technology for facial recognition and a way to express himself. She applauds the company for progressively working with Autism families and calling them a role model for the corporate world. She mentioned that the family has comes to the reality of understanding that Niam will never go to university or gain the education like most kids do. But what they have discovered that Niam has a natural talent in abstract contemporary art and uses the medium as a form of communication.
She tells us that his love for art came out of the blue last summer when she was looking for something to do with him. She purchased paintbrushes and canvases for him and was posting photos of his paintings on Facebook but soon friends were inquiring and buying his paintings. Word spread and Niam's work was requested by a few private art collectors. Mom noted that she would find Niam using that same Samsung tablet to research famous artists and their techniques. "He's obsessed with YouTube videos and learning from artists and applying the techniques to his own art," she said with a laugh.
With Niam's inspiring #WhoEyeAm story, Samsung in partnership with Autism Speaks Canada will be donating 500 of its newest, family-ready tablets, the GALAXY Tab A 9.7" preloaded with the Look At Me Autism App designed to help children make eye contact, to families and organizations across Canada living and working with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Canadians are invited to visit samsung.com/whoeyeam and autismpeaks.ca before April 30, 2016 to apply for a chance to receive one of the tablets. Three hundred of those tablets will go to families who may otherwise not have access to Samsung technology - the remainder will go to schools, hospitals and organization working with ASD.
Torontonians are also invited to check out Niam's artwork and learn about his story at a special one-day #WhoEyeAm event at Yonge-Dundas Square. The event will be held on Friday, April 1, 2016 (5 pm to 9 pm) that will kick off April's Autism Awareness Month.
On Saturday, April 2, there will be 19,000 landmarks around the world that will "Light It Up Blue" in support of Autism Awareness. An estimated 1 in 68 children are diagnosed with Autism each year.
Check out Niam's story at the link here.
The guide he has designed also marks Thursday Island out as a former township that was once one of Australia's most valuable towns, at the peak of the pearling industry. It's a way of reaching out, not only to natives of Thursday Island who have moved away, but to those many international residents, from Japan or China, for example, who have lived there over the years.
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The Prime Minister set the stage for this week's COAG meeting by floating a far-reaching, proposal where by the Commonwealth would lower federal income tax rates and substantially reduce or eliminate tied grants to the states and territories. To make up the difference the states and territories would be permitted to introduce their own income taxes, with the stipulation that funds generated would go predominantly towards health and education. To ensure the states and territories had complete autonomy over the public school system, Mr Turnbull proposed that Commonwealth funding be ended completely, with the proviso that Canberra continued to fund non-government schools against the possibility of them being short-changed by governments more interested in furthering their own public systems.
Jasmine was one of two winners for the spectrum in an auction in late 2015, bidding the equivalent of $2.1 billion. But it failed to raise the sum from backers and missed the payment deadline and so forfeited the spectrum and lost an $18 million deposit.
Rival operator True also bid $2.1 billion and succeeded in raising the money from bank loans.
Now the countrys deputy prime minister, Wissanu Krea-ngam, has told the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission that it must re-auction the spectrum within a year for a price that is no less than Jasmines bid in December 2015.
If the re-auction fails to raise the $2.1 billion, Jasmine will be responsible for the shortfall, he said.
The NBTCs secretary-general, Takorn Tantasit, earlier said that a re-auction would start within four months, with a price starting at Jasmines $2.1 billion and with a higher deposit of 10-30% of the price.
The NBTC will offer draft rules for public consultation from mid-April and will publish the final rules at the end of May.
True will be allowed to bid for the spectrum, even though it won one of the blocks in the December auction. The company announced at the start of March that it has secured $2 billion worth of loan guarantees, with half of it coming from the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.
Reports suggested Jasmine was expecting investment from China and South Korea, but added that investors were dismayed by the size of the auction prices. The December bids were nearly six times higher than were expected for the value of the spectrum and almost double the winning bids in a previous auction.
Three college students who first met while attending a Catholic high school in Florida have launched a scholarship fund to help others experience faithful Catholic education at a Newman Guide college. As we went off to different colleges, we kept in touch and found time to catch up whenever we returned []
Our Promise: Welcome to Care2, the world's largest community for good. Here, you'll find over 45 million like-minded people working towards progress, kindness, and lasting impact.
Care2 Stands Against: bigots, racists, bullies, science deniers, misogynists, gun lobbyists, xenophobes, the willfully ignorant, animal abusers, frackers, and other mean people. If you find yourself aligning with any of those folks, you can move along, nothing to see here.
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IIT Bombay will be conducting an online course on 'Object-Oriented Programming'. The programme helps candidates learn the principles of programming for building large and extensible systems.
About The Course:
The course enables students to learn beyond the basics of programming to understand object-oriented methodology, the approach to modular and reusable software systems.
Topics Include: Introduction to Object Oriented Programming, Classes and Methods, Polymorphism
Inheritance, Standard Library of C++.
This course is part of the Fundamentals of Computer Science XSeries Programme:
Programming Basics
Foundations of Data Structures
Implementation of Data Structures
Algorithms
Course Syllabus:
How to abstract a problem in an object oriented style
Object oriented programming, basics to advanced level, using C++
How to use the Standard Template Library (STL)
Prerequisites:
Candidate should fulfill the following prerequisites:
Knowledge of high school mathematics is essential and adequate. Exposure to pre-calculus is desirable. Knowledge of basic programming concepts, as covered in 'Programming Basics' course is necessary.
Course Details:
Course starts on: April 12
Course Length: 4 weeks
For more deatils about the course, visit the website
Sales of vehicles powered by fossil fuel engines could come to an abrupt stop in the Netherlands, as the Dutch parliament mulls banning new gasoline and diesel-powered cars to be commercialized.
According to Dutch News, the lower house of the parliament supported a proposal from the Labour PvdA party to ban all non-sustainable vehicles in 2025.
Despite strong opposition from the right-wing VVD faction the motion passed. If it eventually becomes a law, manufacturers wont be allowed to sell any cars bar all-electric and hydrogen-powered ones.
On the other hand, the VVD opposing party leader Halbe Zijlstra considers it unrealistic.
It seems crazy to get this plan to work. I think well have to withdraw from the Energy Agreement, he said.
The agreement is a consensus signed in 2013 by the Dutch government and 40 other organizations agreeing to promote green energy and reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
Naturally, PvdA disagrees, considering the plan feasible, especially with the rapid developing pace of the technology: That agreement runs until 2023, we are free in what we do after that, commented its leader Diederik Samsom. We are ambitious; perhaps other parties are less so.
Emission-free powerplants are indeed the future, yet the conventional engines demise might come sooner than we originally though.
PHOTO GALLERY
It seems that Honda is planning on introducing emoji registration plates in the UK, while using the Civic Type R as a guinea pig. What has the world come to?
According to Honda, their plans for emoji plates come as a direct response to younger car buyers across the UK who identify with this means of communication much better than older generations.
In fact, research conducted earlier this year points to 96% of under 30-year olds actually preferring emoji plates over traditional ones while 97% of those questioned admitted to using emoji faces as their main method of expressing themselves while chatting online.
We are really excited to offer our customers a fun, quirky way to customize their car, which importantly, is reflective of their personality and lifestyle. At Honda, we believe in innovation and this concept is sure to be well-received by younger consumers for whom emojis are such a popular way of communicating, said Shigastu Baka, First Officer or Licenses at Honda UK.
Funny how Mr Bakas name literally translates to April Fools in Japanese, but were sure its just a coincidence, right?
As for this particular set of plates, were looking at some pretty generic emojis with the road, the car, sun, lights, flag and a key.
PHOTO GALLERY
Photo: Nadezhda
So my oldest child has flown the coop.
While hardly a kid anymore he is 22 years old, after all he will always be a child because I was there when he was barely old enough to lie in a crib and wiggle.
I know many people who watched as their children spread their wings and took off, but to be perfectly honest, at the time I really didn't understand what the big deal was.
I moved out when I was a young man, just like billions of other young people have done throughout the course of time.
As the papa bear, I saw it as my job to raise my children to the point where they were able to move out on their own, then it would be, Don't let the door hit your butt on the way out.
I know, a papa bear might not be the best example of parenting in the wild, because an adult male bear will attack any other male bear that comes in his territory, even his own child, but considering male lions eat their young, I think I will stick with the bruin analogy. I have never attacked my kids, nor threatened to eat them, so I guess I am doing okay.
Anyway, Junior reached an age where he wanted to take off on his own, to explore new worlds, to live in a different city than the one where he was raised.
It was a day I had been thinking about for years, but when the day came I was not doing cartwheels across the lawn mainly because I am way too old to be doing cartwheels across the lawn - but also because I was not that thrilled with Junior jumping from the nest.
What is this?
What is this odd feeling I have? I did my job, I raised him as best I could, and now I should be able to sit back, wave goodbye, and get on with getting the other two out of the house.
But instead of seeing a young man spreading his wings, all I could see was the little boy who held so many grasshoppers in one hand their guts were squishing between his fingers.
Suddenly, the big, tough papa bear was feeling more like a hormonal tween.
During the eight-hour drive to his new city I helped him move like any papa bear would all I could think of were the days gone by, and the moments a father shares with his young son.
Was I sad Junior was all grown up, something I had worked hard to help make happen?
I surprised even myself, because I was.
That can't be right. I'm the big tough papa bear. It was the mama bear who was supposed to be sad little bear is leaving the clan. Papa bear is the one who was supposed to hold the door as Junior made an exit, before doing a little dance because it was one down and two to go.
But there I was, the big tough papa bear feeling very melancholy about Junior leaving the cave.
I know it is how life works. You are born, you are a baby, then a kid, then a teen, then a young man, and then you move out.
I was ready for it, prepared for it, at times I was almost longing for it so imagine my surprise when I was saddened by it.
With Junior gone there would be things like leftovers in the fridge, gas in my car, and a spare room where I could put my treadmill yes I actually use the treadmill for more than collecting dust. Hmm, perhaps there is some good to Junior flying the coop and striking out on his own.
I just wonder if his flight will imitate that of a homing pigeon.
I guess we will have to wait and see.
This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.
Photo: Google Street View
Those looking to enjoy the scenic drive along Westside Road could face heavy delays throughout the summer.
The long and winding road along the west bank of Okanagan Lake will be closed twice daily from Monday to Friday.
The closures are due to rock blasting, as part of safety improvements on the 1.3-kilometre stretch from Four Mile Creek to Waterfront Farm.
The road will be closed from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday to Friday.
The construction began in January 2016 and is expected to continue until the summer of 2017.
The construction will widen the existing road and create a paved shoulder, while adding falling rock protection and concrete barriers along steep sections.
The project is expected to cost $10.1 million.
Photo: Contributed
UPDATE: 10:42 a.m.
According to the Penticton RCMP, Crowly was returned to his owner on the evening of March 31.
The individual who took the dog was remorseful and no charges are being pursued.
The Penticton RCMP are asking the public to keep an eye out for a stolen puppy.
Just before 8 p.m., on Wednesday, Crowly, a four-month-old Belgian Malinois Sheppard, was stolen from outside the Vineyard Community Church at 1825 Main St., where he was securely tied up.
The owner told police there was no way Crowly could have become loose as she had secured the leash properly and the leash and harness were all missing.
Crowly has a black face and weighs 40 pounds.
He is not neutered and was wearing a choke collar and a blue harness with the owner's name and phone number.
No one in the area saw anything suspicious, although the owner did see young people with skateboards outside before she went into the store.
Anyone with information regarding Crowly is asked to call Const. Tim Velemirovich of the Penticton RCMP at 250-492-4300 or Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
Photo: Deborah Pfeiffer
A woman found in a stolen vehicle filled with more stolen items has been sentenced to 170 days in jail.
Cortni Aitchison, who is currently in custody, was facing charges of break and enter, theft of a motor vehicle and theft under $5,000, stemming from an incident that took place in Penticton over the Christmas holidays.
The victim of the break and enter, Karla Kenney, testified that she first met Aitchison at a Christmas dinner at her home, prior to leaving for work in Fort McMurray.
Kenney only discovered her home had been broken into when she returned on Jan. 14.
She said she walked in to find her home ransacked, with a number of expensive items, including jewelry and clothing, missing.
Most disturbing, she said, was her mother's ashes were spilled everywhere.
The court also heard from police officers who attended the scene.
In his decision, Judge Gale Sinclair said Friday he could not find Aitchison guilty of the break and enter, as the case was rife with suspicion and probability. He also found her not guilty of the vehicle theft, saying there was no evidence of who stole it.
But, she was found in the stolen car at a Tim Hortons, with the keys in her lap and stolen goods on board. As as result, the judge found her guilty on the theft charges.
Defence lawyer Bob Maxwell said when his client gets out, she plans to go into treatment for drug addiction.
Sinclair's last advice to Aitchison was he hopes she does that.
"It's up to you," he said. "You are 35 years old, and it's time you got on with things."
Kenney said outside the courthouse the sentence wasn't long enough.
"My whole life, everything I own is gone," she said. "The worst part is my mother's ashes being spilled. I am broken."
Aitchison was also given a year's probation, including terms to stay away from Kenney.
Police in Abbotsford had some fun with April Fools' Day by announcing their newest traffic-safety initiative targeting distracted drivers in the British Columbia city.
The Community Engager 100, a scaled down version of the prototype Attitude Adjuster 3000, uses a blueberry cannon to shoot doughnuts or Timbits for lesser offences at distracted drivers, riders and walkers.
In a video posted on YouTube, Const. Ian MacDonald says the prototype was originally planned for immediate use at all intersections in the city in the Fraser Valley.
But police Chief Bob Rich raised concerns about the use of the Attitude Adjuster 3000 on distracted drivers with gluten sensitivities, so testing was scaled back and some of the doughnut ammunition was consumed.
Wow, my heart's going pitter-pat. The City is organizing the peace walk this time: Saturday April 2nd 8:30-12:00. Participants of the second annual Community Spring Climb for Health and World Peace will be walking up and down Knox Mountain Drive and the Apex Trail according to the Citys website kelowna.ca. Its a little mellower than the popular ear-shattering, tire-shredding, pollution-propelled fossil fuel festival in May.
Perhaps well even hear some real birds tweeting.
But of course this event is apolitical right? Something is political in current usage only if the status quo is being questioned. If you agree with the status quo youre not being political. So we can exercise our hearts and be for world peace without protesting anything.
Like the nuclear-armed organization NATO. Like the $15 billion arms deal with the Saudis. Like the increase in Canadian troops in the Middle East. Like the $22 billion annual defence budget. Like our occupation of unceded Syilx territories.
The love affair between capitalists and militarists/imperialists is not a spring romance. It is a toxic co-dependency, based on real shared interests. Though the enormous outlays for ships, jet bombers and sci-fi weapons systems that will never be used or dont even work may seem insane from a common sense perspective (mommy why is that general walking in the parade buck naked? asks the seven year old), they make perfect sense from the perspective of wealth and power. Our military spending is mainly a way to generate profits for the rich and powerful without at the same time empowering the broader population. Obstructing social spending is not some minor unintended by-product of defence, it is to a large degree the motivation behind war spending in the first place. Class warfare is not peaceful or healthy.
So lets exercise our open heartedness, our good heartedness, greet our friends and really think about what being good global neighbours would look like as we climb up Knox Mountain. Maybe we could form a mass movement for peace, love and a fossil fuel free future.
Mark Haley
Photo: RCMP
Mounties in Surrey say they're investigating more than two dozen shooting complaints that have left one person dead and five injured so far this year.
Officers have responded to 28 complaints since Jan. 1, nine involving shots being fired into a building or residence and two of bullet casings being found.
Mounties say the incidents are not believed to be linked to groups involved in last year's drug violence, though the complaints are tied to the drug trade.
Gunfire on Surrey streets made headlines in early 2015, when police said a group of South Asians and those of Somali descent were involved in a low-level drug conflict.
Mounties say four people have been arrested and that the March 16 seizure of $4.5 million in drugs was one of the largest in the city's history.
"We are attacking this situation now and we are attacking it aggressively," RCMP Supt. Shawn Gill says in a news release. "With the intelligence we are receiving, our proactive enforcement teams are making it very difficult for these people to conduct their illegal business in our city."
Mounties say Pardip Gayer of Abbotsford faces four counts of trafficking in a controlled substance arising out of the seizure earlier this month.
If you have just started your journey in an online casino or are looking for a new site to play,...
Pakistan: cement exports fall YoY but are up MoM
ICR Newsroom By 01 April 2016
Pakistans cement industry recorded a noticeable fall in exports during the first eight months of the FY15-16 on the back of falling demand, competition and other issues.
The data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) revealed that Pakistan exported 4.01Mt of cement and earned export revenue of US$219.67m during July-Feb 2016, down by 27.9 per cent and 32.2 per cent in terms of quantity and value in dollars, respectively. Last year export volumes reached 5.57Mt, with a value of US$324.03m.
The average price of cement also fell to US$54.69/t from US$58.6/t during this period.
On positive note, in February 2016 alone, Pakistan exported cement 519,540t at US$28.13 compared to 393,391t at US$21.1m in January 2016 translating an increase of 32.07 per cent and 33.26 per cent in terms of quantity and dollar value, respectively on MoM basis. However, if compared with February 2015 exports of 525,332t at US$29.34m, it showed a YoY drop of 1.10 and 4.14 per cent in terms of volume and value, respectively.
To increase exports, a spokesman of All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association has requested the government for 3-4 per cent incentive on export via sea. The industry is operating at a capacity of more than 80 per cent and with a little support of government, industry can do wonders. He regretted that the problems faced by the industry still remain unresolved. He said the duty on coal has still not been withdrawn.
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As a veteran teacher, I was honored to learn in August 2013 that Governor Bill Haslam had selected me to serve on the State Board of Education.
In all honesty, I was not exactly sure what all the State Board did. However, I had some questions about the states new teacher evaluation system and the higher education standards we were embracing. I was excited to serve and share the perspectives of my fellow teachers and our students.
I quickly learned that the State Board of Education is the official governing and policy- making body for Tennessees elementary and secondary schools. The board consists of 10 voting members appointed by the governor one representing each of Tennessees nine congressional districts, plus a student member. I came to understand that the board members variety of perspectives offers an extensive view of the states educational needs and opportunities.
I learned that in too many cases, major employers reported that our high school graduates did not have the skills required for the jobs being offered. I also learned that in the spring of 2007, when the U.S. Chamber of Commerce released an education report card about all the states, Tennessee received an F in the category of post-secondary and workforce readiness, and an F for truth in advertising when comparing proficiency on our annual state assessments to the National Assessment of Education Progress.
It was clear we needed to raise our educational standards and our expectations, and also to make sure our teachers were being prepared and supported to help all students succeed.
Tennessee adopted higher and more rigorous academic standards, launched a new teacher evaluation and accountability system for all classrooms, schools, and districts, and overhauled Career and Technical Education Courses. Last year, we launched a transparent and inclusive process to review and replace the states math and English language arts standards to make them more meaningful for teachers, parents, and students. Science and social studies follow this year.
Over the past four years, Tennessee has now become the fastest improving state in the nation for student achievement thanks to the hard work of students and teachers across the state.
But we know there is still much more to do.
Today, less than half of Tennessees third through eighth grade students are proficient in reading. And in the fall of 2014, more than 40 percent of our high school graduates failed to enroll in any kind of postsecondary program and among those who did, nearly 60 percent of first-time freshman in Tennessees community colleges had to take at least one remedial or developmental course just to be ready for college.
So, in partnership with the Department of Education, the State Board has identified three crucial goals we will work towards to keep Tennessee moving in the right direction:
1. Tennessee will rank in the top half of states on the NAEP by 2019.
2. The average ACT composite score in Tennessee will be a 21, or a comparable score of 990 on the SAT by 2020, making sure more of our students are college-ready.
3. The majority of High School graduates from the class of 2020 will earn a post-secondary certificate, diploma, or degree, to put them on a much better path for long-term career success
These goals are bold, but achievable. Teachers and students are moving out of their comfort zones to embrace these higher standards and expectations, and the accountability needed to be sure we stay on the right track.
It is a great time to be involved in education. Tennessee students and teachers are second to none. I am proud to serve my students in the classroom, and on the State Board of Education, to help support them in each step along the way.
(Allison Chancey represents Tennessees third congressional district on the State Board of Education. She is a second grade teacher in Bradley County.)
* * *
Ms. Chancey missed an opportunity to stand up for our students, parents, and taxpayers when she wrote her letter. Talking about broad problems and goals has its place, but isn't this a curious time to speak in broad platitudes about "expectations" and "comfort zones" when we are in the midst of a disastrous rollout of "TN Ready"? This year, following on the heels of years of the decidedly mediocre TCAP tests, doesn't look like a step in the right direction to me. If we are in a hole, maybe we should stop digging?
The problem is not the content standards. The problem is the lousy tests shoved down our kids' throats.
I'm on my seventh year of teaching and coaching, but before that I was a pretty successful software engineer. Although I've taught other high school (math) classes before, right now I teach industry-oriented programming classes, AP Calculus, and AP Computer Science. In the interest of space, I'll focus on the math tests, because those are the one on which I have the most details, and I'll try not to write a whole book here.
First, take the content of the tests themselves: they don't seem to have any concept of giving the right weight to each skill in a course. The goal of a test should be to give a useful picture of how much students can do. The vendor seems to have churned out a slapdash concoction of problems that cover the "stretch" skills just as much as the most critical core problem solving skills (if not more!). Teachers won't get a good picture of how well students can do the core thinking (if these tests are ever graded at all.) For comparison, this is not how the ACT works, nor Advanced Placement exams. The ACT math has a small amount of very basic problems, a large core of
intermediate problems, and a few more advanced problems at the end. The AP Calculus exam (half of which is multi-step free-response), is also structured to capture core proficiency while including a few challenges. As for the TN Ready tests... imagine making a cake that is 50 percent cake and 50 percent icing.
I'm reminded of an assessment scheme from the world of software engineering known as CMM. At one point, lots of mediocre companies were running around trumpeting that they were CMM Level 5 (the highest), which they were, in a check-the-box sense. They still wrote terrible code, only they now had lots of wasteful, bloated documents to go with it, bringing little useful insight. Other far more competent companies, meanwhile, had no-nonsense people demanding and getting straightforward answers on what they were doing right and wrong. TN Ready can claim it covers all the standards, but it doesn't cover them in a way that sheds light on what a student can and can't
do.
The key point: testing can be done well. TN Ready is not done well. Lest you start constructing strawmen, I will say that I am not a member of the teacher's union. I am not on any kind of personal hot seat with TN Ready scores; none of the classes I teach this year are TN Ready tested. This isn't about higher standards, or comfort zones, or whether or not scores "count" against teachers. This is about students and teachers spending their time on things that are useful to them, whether or not it helps the bureaucrat-assessment-complex.
TN Ready has been useless, disruptive, and wasteful: a terrible combination indeed. I need hardly rehash the ongoing logistical nightmare our state bureaucrats have inflicted on our kids this year. Instead, I offer this: I just returned from a visit to Texas. As it happens, they just encountered
scattered technology problems with their testing platform. They didn't pull any punches in declaring the situation unacceptable. Even better, I offer this quote from the Texas Education Agency: "For students who were not able to (test) districts are not required to have the students complete the
test(s) and should feel under no obligation to do so. Rather, they should determine on an individual student basis whether continuing testing is in the best interest of the student."
Why can't Tennessee put students first like this? Who will stand up for them and against the wasteful boondoggle that is TN Ready? We need folks in district offices and state and local school boards to speak up for our students and parents rather than rubber-stamp the "all is well" talking points of bureaucrats and consultants. We need politicians that will confront the waste head-on and make sure heads roll. These folks need to make crystal clear that they understand and admit the severity of TN Ready's problems and that they will unflaggingly pursue creating something better.
As a parent and a teacher, I'm tired of seeing our state woefully mismanage our kids' time and our taxpayers' money, while those who should be standing up for us tiptoe around the glaring problems and play the role of Pollyanna. If you feel the same, please, please, please contact your local and state politicians.
David Kelman
East Hamilton School, parent of two kids, MIT grad
Fun was had by all at Cleveland States inaugural Community First Awards Gala Thursday night. The event, presented by CSCC and sponsored by First Tennessee Bank, honored people for their contributions to the community, in nine categories ranging from Healthcare to Philanthropy. Ten people were chosen as the category-level award winners, and one Community First Person of the Year was awarded. The event featured dinner and a concert from the Mountain Faith Band, a music group that gained popularity on the nationally televised competition, Americas Got Talent.
This event was envisioned when we developed our 2020 Community First strategic plan, stated Dr. Bill Seymour, CSCC President. This is our new annual signature eventone that celebrates our favorite theme, one that recognizes those across our five-county service area who share our value of always putting the community first and one that celebrates the successful conclusion of the Cleveland State Annual Campaign.
The Community First Awards Committee received 64 nominations seeking to honor individuals based on their extraordinary commitment of time, talent or treasure to the community.
Dr. Seymour stated, Such a strong response tells me that our theme of Community First strikes a meaningful chord with many who share this value.
The categories and winners are as follows:
? Arts:
Mary Kennedy Hendershot
Executive Director, Monroe Area Council for the Arts (MACA) Madisonville, TN
? Business:
J. Lee Stewart
CEO, Southern Heritage Bank, Cleveland, TN
? Education:
Mickey Blevins
Director, McMinn County Schools, Athens, TN
? Healthcare:
Scott Bowman
Administrator, Sweetwater Hospital, Sweetwater, TN
? Non-Profit Leadership:
Brenda Hughes
Founder, Family Cornerstones, Cleveland, TN
? Philanthropy:
Bob Card
Founder, Bob and Susan Card Charitable Foundation, Cleveland, TN
? Public Service:
George Poe
Vice Mayor, Cleveland, TN
? Student Leadership:
Wendy Armenta
Student, Bradley Central High School / Boys and Girls Club, Cleveland, TN
? Volunteer Service:
Donald Lorton
Retired, Maytag Corporation President, Cleveland, TN
? Nancy Casson
Owner, The Red Ribbon
Cleveland, TN
Dr. Seymour said, This inaugural class of Community First Award honorees is very impressive. Each one truly exemplifies the ideal of putting community first before self.
One of the main highlights of the evening was the unveiling of the colleges latest video, Reflections, a short piece that illustrates how CSCC has impacted the community for the past 50 years. The video can be viewed on Youtube at https://youtu.be/uSDMRA2tpLs.
As we look back at our first 50 years, we can proudly say that we have impacted over a quarter million lives in this region through credit and non-credit educational programsnot to mention all the events and activities where friends and neighbors enjoy our campus, stated Dr. Seymour. We believe that a good education leads to better careers, and better careers build stronger families, and stronger families build greater communities. And Cleveland State is the only college in our region who has a mission of giving absolutely everyone an opportunity for this better life.
The Community First Awards Gala was sponsored by First Tennessee Bank. CSCC recognized them for their contribution for the event with a framed memento of the evening with Community President Mike Griffin accepting on behalf of First Tennessee. Dr. Tommy Wright, vice president for Institutional Advancement, said, As you know, strong prosperous relationships require commitment from everyone involved. We would like to thank our premier sponsor for this eventFirst Tennessee Bank, for their support in helping make this event possible. The Community First Awards Gala was actually our second sponsorship by First Tennessee; they also sponsored our Alumni and Friends event in November. We are proud to have First Tennessee as our banking agent, and it is evident they know how to put community first.
The conclusion of the awards ceremony was the presentation of the Community First Person of the Year award which went to Brenda Hughes. Ms. Hughes earned her GED at Cleveland State Community College and later entered Eastern University in St. Davids, Pennsylvania where she graduated with honors in a Bachelors of Arts degree in economic development and later earned a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. Upon graduation, she went to Chicago for additional training at the Center for New Community. She then returned to Cleveland and founded the Bradley Initiative for Church and Community in 1998. The organizational model of engaging many people from across the community has been a major contributing factor to the success of the organization. In 2014, the organizations name was changed to Family Cornerstones, Inc. Her sense of call and passion for the community, in particular families, children and youth, has been her driving force. Ms. Hughes has three daughters, nine grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
In January 2016, the United Nations and the European Union abolished numerous sanctions against the Iran: A country with more than 75 million consumers returns to the global market now; business relations are normalizing step by step. All industries can profit thereof, especially the petrochemical industry due to the large oil and natural gas deposits of the Iran. On time for the 10th "IranPlast"-trade fair in Tehran, the market research institute Ceresana analyzed the market for petrochemical products in Iran extensively for the first time: from raw materials to derivates and intermediates, and to plastics.
Considerable Increases in Capacity
The petrochemical industry in Iran was extended considerably in the past years. In 2015, total capacity of methanol, ethylene, propylene, butadiene / butylene, aromates and the respective derivates amounted to 31 million tonnes. Thereof, the production plants of ethylene accounted for more than 23%. Ethylene derivates, such as ethylene dichloride (EDC) and ethylene glycol, accounted for almost 17% of capacity. Iranian factories are also able to produce, for example, 4.8 million tonnes of the three most important types of polyethylene plastics, namely LDPE, LLDPE, and HDPE. Additional petrochemical plants are already under construction. Until 2023, at least 36 million tonnes of capacity are supposed to be added.
Growing Export to Europe
Although the Iran is one of the largest domestic markets for petrochemical products in the Middle East, the focus of many Iranian companies is on export. In 2015, around 6.8 million tonnes of petrochemical products were exported. Ceresana expects this volume to almost double until 2023. At present, Iranian producers export mainly methanol - in the past years, an amount of 3.4 million tonnes. The second most important export product was polyethylene HDPE. The major part has been delivered to China so far. Analysts of Ceresana do not expect demand for imports in China to remain at the present level. However, new possibilities for exports for the Iran are revealed, especially to Europe and to other Asian countries. Therefore, the Iran is trying to complete numerous constructions of petrochemical plants with the support of foreign investors at present.
For anyone who wants to experience the authentic American West and its unspoiled wilderness and stirring past, Montana may be the last frontier.
Traveling through lush forests, past snowcapped mountain peaks and along ice age glaciers, you can relive history from when dinosaurs ruled the earth to the trailblazing days of Lewis and Clark.
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Just far enough from the crowded streets of Chicago, a remarkable journey awaits. Come with us as we explore 6 must-see sights in Montana's beautiful Big Sky Country.
1. Great Falls, Gateway to Montana
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Great Falls is a fascinating city that not only provides access to a variety of exceptional destinations but is also rich in art, history and Old West charm.
Stroll through the unique shops, art galleries and the C.M. Russell Museum with its celebrated collection of cowboy art and antique firearms. Then see history come alive at the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center, where you'll learn about the lives of the explorers who ventured into this once-uncharted territory, as well as the Native Americans who thrived here for thousands of years before them.
For dinner, you'll be welcomed at one of the areas's wonderful family-owned restaurants, where you can enjoy the local specialty, Montana-raised beef.
2. The Montana Dinosaur Trail
On the way to Glacier National Park, you can travel even further back in time hundreds of millions of years on the Montana Dinosaur Trail.
In Choteau, you'll be thrilled by the exhibits at the Old Trail Museum, with its life-size dinosaur replicas and authentic relics you're invited to touch. Then treat yourself to a double-dip cone at the museum's old-fashioned ice cream parlor.
A little farther up the road is Bynum and the Two Medicine Dinosaur Center, home to the first baby dino bones discovered in North America.
3. East Glacier Village
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When you arrive at East Glacier Village, just outside Glacier National Park, stretch your legs with an easy hike to Aster Falls, a magnificent 20-foot cascade. For a bigger challenge, continue the steeper climb up to Aster Park Overlook for a jaw-dropping panorama of the mountains towering over the valley floor.
After a full day, dine in comfort within the uniquely tree-pillared Great Northern Dining Room at one of the Great Lodges of the West, Glacier Park Lodge.
4. Wild Goats and Montana Huckleberries
The next morning, enjoy breakfast at East Glacier's charming cafes, which feature treats like huckleberry-stuffed French toast or huckleberry pie.
On the short drive into Glacier National Park, be sure to stop at Goat Lick Overlook. Here you can watch Rocky Mountain goats clash horns for the best salt lick spots on the cliffside.
5. Glacier National Park Crown of the Continent
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Beneath the tall trees, wildflowers in all their glorious colors emerge from the forest floor. Waterfalls tumble into green valleys, and hundreds of lakes reflect Montana's vast skies.
There are also more glaciers in this park than anywhere else in the continental United States, dozens of them to awe you with their chilling beauty. And this land abounds with wildlife so you might catch a glimpse of wolves, a family of bears, or even eagles swooping down from the treetops.
With more than 700 miles of trails, there's a stunning natural world to discover with no end of exciting things to do hiking, biking, fishing, backcountry tours and a great deal more.
Don't miss spectacular vistas from the mountain's edge as you drive Going-to-the-Sun Road, which Travel + Leisure magazine called "the most dramatic 50 miles of pavement in the continental United States."
6. Kayaking the Upper Missouri
When you return to Great Falls, there's still more adventure to be had. Outdoor enthusiasts can hike and camp out in the Bob Marshall Wilderness, an over 1.5-million-acre preserved mountain ecosystem just an hour away.
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Then, for the perfect finale to your trip, explore the wide waters of the Upper Missouri River. Paddle a kayak past the towering peaks in Wolf Creek Canyon or take a guided canoe trip through the White Cliffs of the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument.
For more information on Great Falls and the journey that awaits you, visit http://www.genuinemontana.com/
Maxine Nunes for Great Falls, Montana
Chinese firm Anbang Insurance Group on Thursday abandoned its plans to acquire Starwood Hotels & Resorts for $14 billion in cash, putting an end to a weeks-long bidding war with Marriott International.
Anbang, which is leading a group of investors, said it was pulling out "due to various market considerations."
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"We were attracted to the opportunity presented by Starwood because of its high-quality, leading global hotel brands, which met many of our acquisition criteria, including the ability to generate consistent, long-term returns over time," the group said in a statement. The consortium of investors includes private-equity firms Primavera Capital Group in Beijing and J.C. Flowers in New York.
"Anbang is a proactive global investor with deep pockets, but also financially savvy with price discipline," said Fred Hu, chairman of Primavera. "This is the main reason they decided to walk away from a further escalation of the biding war with Marriott."
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The surprise move comes just days after Anbang sweetened its bid for Starwood to $14 billion, or $82.75 a share in cash - an offer under review that Starwood said was "reasonably likely to lead to a "superior proposal" over Marriott's $13.6 billion bid.
After Anbang's exit, Marriott encouraged shareholders of both companies to support its offer in a vote set for April 8.
"We are focused on maximizing shareholder value, and from the beginning of this process we have been steadfast in our belief that a combination with Starwood will offer the highest value to all shareholders," said Arne M. Sorenson, Marriott's chief executive.
Shares of Starwood and Bethesda, Md.-based Marriott fell about 5 percent in after-hours trading Thursday. Starwood's stock tumbled 4.53 percent to $79.65, while Marriott's stock dropped 5 percent to $67.60.
Under Marriott's proposal, Starwood shareholders would receive $21 a share in cash and 0.8 shares of Marriott for each share of Starwood, up from its previous offer of $2 a share in cash and 0.92 shares of Marriott for each share of Starwood. If the deal is completed, it would create the world's largest hotel company, with 1.1 million rooms.
Marriott announced its plans to take over Starwood in November for $12.2 billion. The combined hotelier, to be based in Bethesda, would own or franchise 5,500 properties and have nearly $20 billion in annual revenue.
Sorenson said Marriott had been drawn to Starwood because of its global presence, strong rewards program and popularity among younger travelers.
It had seemed like a done deal until Anbang entered the picture two weeks ago, offering cash and derailing Marriott's plans. As a result, Marriott increased its offer and reiterated its expertise in operating a large hotel company. As negotiations dragged on, it also said it expected a merger with Starwood to save $250 million in annual costs within two years.
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"We've been working intensely, since we announced this deal in November, to prepare for integration and to understand each others' organizations and structures and start to think about how to meld those into one organization," Sorenson said in a call with Wall Street analysts last week.
If it goes through, the deal is expected to be done by the middle of this year.
If Starwood were to end its agreement with Marriott, the company would be obligated to pay Marriott a $450 million termination fee.
Anbang had offered few details about its plans for Starwood. The deal would have been subject to review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.Marriott had called the group's bid "highly conditional."
Anbang got its start as a $75 million regional auto insurer in 2004 and has emerged as a powerhouse conglomerate with $25 billion in assets. It is one of many Chinese companies making bigbig investments in the United States. This year, Chinese companies have announced plans to buy 153 foreign companies worth $103 billion, according to Dealogic, a data research firm in New York.
The company made its first foray into U.S. hotels two years ago when it bought the Waldorf Astoria New York for $1.95 billion from Hilton Worldwide. This month Anbang paid $6.5 billion for Strategic Hotels & Resorts, a Chicago-based company that owns luxury hotels. Starwood would have marked the largest purchase of a U.S. company by a Chinese firm.
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Steven Mufson in Paris contributed to this report.
Kimpton Gray Hotel in the Loop will house Lola Braza, a rooftop restaurant, Vol. 39, the lobby bar, and Steadfast restaurant on the main floor. (Chuck Berman/Chicago Tribune)
A new modern, business luxury Kimpton hotel opening in the Loops restored, historic New York Life Insurance Building, with a wildly contrasting Latin American street food inspired rooftop restaurant, with an all-season retractable glass roof?
Well, yes.
The Kimpton Gray Hotel opens this June with a 15th floor rooftop restaurant, Lola Braza, and a lobby bar, the latter featuring rare wines, spirits, and Champagne and caviar carts.
Previously announced Steadfast will still open as the main floor restaurant, expected by the second of week of May, from the Fifty/50 Restaurant Group (Homestead on the Roof, Berkshire Room, West Bakery).
Lola Braza promises authentic Peruvian and Argentinean street fare stated a Kimpton release, with 4,000 square feet, seating 150, all under that retractable glass roof. Pisco and mezcal cocktails will be poured late into the night, paired with seductive, worldly beats of live music.
The lobby bar Vol. 39 will be found on the second floor, with 2,000 square feet, and was named for vintage encyclopedias discovered during renovations. The volumes will be repurposed and used to decorate the surrounding walls of the bar.
Kimpton will announce the Lola Braza and Vol. 39 executive chef and lead bartender in the next few weeks.
The Gray Hotel is now accepting room reservations for stays starting Aug. 1, with rates starting in the low $200s, but note the 30 percent off hotel grand opening offer.
Like all Kimpton hotels, a hosted evening wine happy hour will be available to all guests.
No word yet if the Peruvian street food specialty cuy (guinea pig) or the Argentinian street food morcipan (blood sausage sandwich) will be served.
Lola Braza and Vol. 39, 39 S. LaSalle St., lolabraza.com and vol39.com, 312-750-9012 and 312- 750-9007
lchu@tribpub.com
"And that condo association that is going to collect the unpicked-up dog poop on its property, send it off for DNA testing, pay for the testing, charge the culprits, and hope that the dog still lives in the building. YOU TAKE YOUR PICK. I'M OUT," she said.
Barber Mike Martino cuts a customer's hair at his 95th Street barber shop in Oak Lawn. Martino is putting on a fundraiser on Sunday, April 3 at Brother Rice High School to benefit Mary Cate Lycnh, a 4-year-old Beverly girl who has a rare genetic syndrome. (Zak Koeske)
Mary Cate Lynch leans forward and carefully fits the zipper tab of her sweater into the row of interlocking teeth to bring both sides of her pink garment together.
Once fastened, she holds the base of the sweater in her left hand and pulls up on the zipper with her right. The first couple tugs don't take, but she perseveres, repositions her legs and within a couple seconds has the zipper moving, from the bottom stop all the way up until it's cinched together both sides of the purple flower emblazoned on the sweater's front.
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A toothy smile of accomplishment curls across Mary Cate's face.
For the 4-year-old Beverly girl, whose fingers and toes were fused at birth and don't bend, the achievement is a notable one. Even her doctor, who is one of the country's foremost experts on Apert syndrome, the rare craniofacial syndrome Mary Cate was born with, cautioned her parents that zippers might always elude her.
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"He's like fine motor stuff is going to be really tough, and here she comes home from school the other day and she's zipping her coat," Mary Cate's mother, Kerry Lynch, said. "That's taken hours and hours and hours of therapy, but she works her butt off. She does a really good job of not getting frustrated."
After undergoing five surgeries in her first three years, Mary Cate is currently enjoying a brief respite from medical procedures. But due to the nature of Apert syndrome, which is characterized by malformations of the skull, face, hands and feet, it's only a matter of time before she'll require another major operation as her brain continues to expand.
"The skull, especially in young age, is very flexible, and as your brain grows, the actual skull grows outwards, forced by the brain," explained Mary Cate's father, Chris. "With hers, all those little cracks were already prematurely fused together, so it's not able to grow outward. So what happens, the brain still grows, but the brain runs out of room and then it just compresses on itself."
Mary Cate will need between 10 and 20 more surgeries to repeatedly reconstruct her skull and give her brain space to grow the exact number depends on post-operative complications by the time she's 20 years old, at which point she'll be done growing and the surgeries should stop. While the premature fusion of her skull bones has affected the shape of Mary Cate's head and face, she hasn't experienced any cognitive delays to date, and her parents hope to keep it that way by staying on top of her future cranial reconstructions.
The cost of doing so, however, is steep. Mary Cate's doctor, Jeffrey Fearon, who runs the Craniofacial Center in Dallas is not in the youngster's medical network, so the family must pay out of pocket for her surgeries.
"We, as of a month ago, were getting a bill for $125,000 [Fearon's] costs from the three surgeries," Kerry Lynch said.
The Lynches, who have two other young children under the age 3, have been able to defray the mounting surgical costs through financial support from the community, which has helped the family through a variety of fundraisers.
"The financial support is huge," Kerry Lynch said of the fundraisers. "But more than that, it gets a whole group of people a little bit more awareness. It's like another piece of support system.
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"It makes a huge difference knowing that there's that many people who care and want to help you make a better life for your child."
One of those generous community members who has offered the Lynches assistance is Mike Martino.
Martino, the longtime owner of Mike's Barber Shop on 95th Street in Oak Lawn, selected Mary Cate as the beneficiary of his annual St. Joseph's Table fundraiser at Brother Rice High School in Mount Greenwood this year.
Though he had never met Mary Cate or the Lynch family, Martino felt moved to support them after hearing of their plight from a customer.
Thus far, he's sold 350 tickets for the benefit, which is scheduled for noon Sunday, and expects to raise between $20,000 and $25,000 for the Lynch family.
"All of us are more than happy to purchase a ticket and help out whatever cause it is he's standing behind at the time," said David Rigg, a loyal patron of Mike's Barber Shop who will be attending Sunday's dinner fundraiser for Mary Cate with his entire family.
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"He's got a big heart," Rigg said of Martino, "and expends an unbelievable amount of energy to put these things together and organize it, and it's always for a good cause."
Martino, a 67-year-old Italian immigrant who moved to the Chicago area as a teenager, has been planning charitable fundraisers for 25 years first as a member of the Sons of Italy and, for the past dozen or so years, on his own.
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In recent years, he's often chosen a child in need as his cause.
"I've been very fortunate, very lucky to be able to come to America, and very lucky to be healthy, very lucky to have a great family," Martino said Tuesday, mid haircut. "It feels good to give something back to the community."
The money raised at Sunday's fundraiser will be deposited into a medical expense account the Lynches started for Mary Cate when she was 3 months old in anticipation of her many future surgeries.
"We're trying to plan ahead, because we do still have a lot of surgeries ahead of us," Kerry Lynch said. "Being able to have this account for her surgeries, and knowing that that's there, takes a huge stressor off of us."
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With her next craniofacial surgery about a year to 1 years away, Mary Cate has been enjoying getting to just be a kid going to preschool, doting on her younger sisters and doing typical kid things like building with blocks, playing with dolls and munching on candy.
"She's hilarious," her mother said. "She likes to do anything to make you laugh, and she has a heart of gold, seriously.
"She's being begging now for weeks, 'Can we go to a water park? Can we go to a water park?' She just wants to do fun stuff that every other 4-year-old would want to do."
Mayor Rahm Emanuel talks with children from area public schools as they spend a day off of school at Eckhart Park as teachers walk the picket lines on April 1, 2016. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
As teachers picketed across the city Friday, Mayor Rahm Emanuel dropped by a West Town park district building to visit with children who were locked out of school and to re-emphasize his opposition to the Chicago Teachers Union's one-day walkout.
"The park district is the largest after-school program in the city of Chicago, but it should remain an after-school program," Emanuel said during his appearance at the recreation center at Eckhart Park. "I believe kids should be in school, learning. While I believe there is a legitimate point to be made, it should be not taken out at the expense of our children and their education."
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Eckhart Park was one of about 250 contingency sites Chicago Public Schools made available for students during Friday's walkout. After arriving at the recreation center Emanuel made his way around a room where about 20 kids were seated at tables painting white floppy hats.
It was a made-for-TV-news moment, as the mayor talked with children, often asking their grade and what school they attend as the cameras followed him around the room.
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After a few minutes, Emanuel made his way to a row of microphones and declared that thousands of teachers taking to the streets dressed in red does nothing to improve the education of children who otherwise would have been in class.
Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 54 Chicago Teachers Union members and supporters attend a rally at the Thompson Center before marching during a one-day strike by teachers April 1, 2016, in Chicago. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
"I don't think the kids should pay a price for a political message," Emanuel said. "There's a difference that the city's school district faces versus taking a political action and our kids paying the consequences."
The mayor also sought to deflect any notion that the strike was in response to his education policies, instead pointing to the budget pressures brought about by inaction from state lawmakers and Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner.
"They've made a message about Springfield, that's been the thrust of their argument," Emanuel said, referring to the teachers union. "I agree that Springfield woefully, inadequately funds education throughout the state. We have enough kids from poverty and below, they have enough head winds. They don't need a state's inadequate funding as an extra gust of wind against them. So, that part I agree with."
But Emanuel was a target for many picketing teachers Friday. Some teachers carried signs that read, "Rahm and Claypool, robbing our schools to give to the banks," a reference to the mayor and CPS chief Forrest Claypool.
Todd Frantz, a history teacher picketing at Amundsen High School on the North Side, waved a sign that read, "There's right and then there's Rahm." CTU member Andres Hernandez marched with a sign that proclaimed, "Back to Oz. Rahm no brain. Claypool no courage. Rauner no heart."
Teachers also repeatedly chanted, "Hey, hey. Ho, ho. Mayor Emanuel's got to go" as they picketed. A group of students who gathered outside the mayor's fifth-floor City Hall office Friday employed the same chant.
American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten joined some of the CTU's demonstrations and in an interview with the Tribune said, "The mayor, why is he not doing everything he can to help with the funding (schools) need?"
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Told of Weingarten's comment and that many picketing teachers had criticized him along with Rauner and state lawmakers, Emanuel argued Springfield is the real problem. The mayor did not mention that the city and CTU remain deadlocked in negotiations over a new contract.
"Attacking me as though somehow I'm not doing enough for Springfield ... I have been the single largest voice about the fact that Springfield inadequately funds education," Emanuel said.
"If we want to change Springfield, Chicago Teachers Union, Chicago Public Schools and the mayor's office together speaking with one voice about adequately funding education statewide, and specifically poor kids, is a stronger voice than saying, 'We agree with you, but let's attack you first.' We're stronger united in changing the policies in Springfield than divided."
bruthhart@tribpub.com
Twitter @BillRuthhart
SEOUL, South Korea North Korea fired a short-range missile into the sea and tried to jam GPS navigation signals in South Korea on Friday, Seoul officials said, hours after U.S., South Korean and Japanese leaders pledged to work closer together to prevent North Korea from advancing its nuclear and missile programs.
Officials said the attempt to jam GPS signals, which began Thursday, did not cause any major disruptions of South Korean military, aviation and sea transport and telecommunication systems. However, more than 130 fishing boats reported problems with their navigation systems and some were forced to return to their ports, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said.
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South Korea's Defense Ministry called the jamming attempt a provocation that threatened public safety and military operations in the South. A ministry statement warned North Korea to immediately stop the jamming efforts or face unspecified consequences.
South Korea has blamed North Korea for several previous jamming attempts. This week's jamming signals are the first since 2012, according to South Korea's Science Ministry. North Korean state media had no immediate comment.
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North Korea also fired a surface-to-air missile off its east coast on Friday, three days after it launched a projectile that hit land in its northeast, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said without elaborating.
North Korea has launched a number of short-range missiles and other projectiles since the start last month of annual South Korea-U.S. military drills it views as a rehearsal for an invasion. It also has repeated threats of nuclear strikes on Seoul and Washington and warned it will test a nuclear warhead and ballistic missiles capable of carrying it.
This year's drills, set to run until late this month, are the biggest ever and come after North Korea conducted a nuclear test and long-range rocket launch earlier this year.
In Washington, President Barack Obama met Thursday with the leaders of South Korea and Japan to discuss ways of countering North Korea's nuclear threat. Obama also met Chinese President Xi Jinping and both called for North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons. China also agreed to fully implement recent economic restrictions imposed by the U.N. Security Council against North Korea. The Asian leaders are in Washington for a two-day nuclear summit that opens Friday.
Associated Press
Richard Loeb, 18, left, and Nathan Leopold Jr., 19, were in college in 1924 when they decided to commit the "perfect crime" by killing Robert "Bobby" Franks on May 21, 1924. (Chicago Tribune historical photo )
On a sizzling August day in 1924, a riot took place outside a Chicago courtroom as spectators fought for a chance to see attorney Clarence Darrow, the famed "defender of lost causes," try to save the least sympathetic of clients from a hangman's noose.
Bailiffs lost control of the mob and the cops had to be called. "Once during the height of the rush, two women were knocked down and trampled," a Tribune reporter noted. "Capt. Westbrook succeeded in dragging them to their feet only after he leaped into the mad crush and knocked men around like tenpins with his fists."
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Some who shoved and pushed and ducked punches had come a considerable distance. "Down in New Orleans they write as much in the paper about these boys as they do in Chicago," one visitor said, referring to Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb, on trial for an unspeakable crime.
They had kidnapped and murdered 14-year-old Robert Franks, a neighbor in the posh South Side enclave of Kenwood and a relative of Loeb's. They didn't do it for money; they did it because they were convinced that their towering IQs equipped them to commit the perfect crime. They so missed the mark that they were arrested shortly after Franks' body was found in a remote area far southeast of the city. That's where Leopold had dropped his glasses, an uncommon model.
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Darrow was a well-known opponent of the death penalty. Yet this was hardly an ideal case with which to win others to his philosophy. Leopold and Loeb were wealthy men's sons and looked down their noses at those who weren't. They put on a show of being bored in court, smirking and grinning. After one session, Leopold forecast: "With our looks and Darrow's brains, I think we'll get along pretty well."
Given his clients' demeanor, and the public's outrage at the senseless crime, Darrow didn't dare put their fate in the hands of a jury. So he pleaded them guilty, leaving it up to a judge to determine their sentences. For a month, the prosecution and defense called witnesses Franks' family members and squads of psychiatrists. Those called by the prosecutor said Loeb and Leopold were in full possession of their faculties when they lured the Franks boy into a car as he was walking home from school. The defense's shrinks said a mental defect inspired the crime.
The prosecutor insisted the heinous nature of the crime required the death penalty. Then it was the moment for Darrow to make his closing argument.
After a phalanx of cops restored a modicum of order outside his courtroom, Judge John Caverly said: "Keep that door closed! If they persist in coming, bring somebody up here and I will send them to jail."
Darrow began speaking on Aug. 22, and when he finished two days later, the judge was in tears. So too were others in the courtroom. They had heard perhaps the most eloquent argument ever made against the death penalty.
According to the Tribune's account, Darrow began by suggesting that as incomprehensible as his clients' deed seemed, there had to be a reason for it. "On the 21st day of May, poor Bobby Franks, stripped naked, was left in a culvert down near the Indiana line," he told the judge. "I know it came through the mad act of mad boys."
A Tribune photograph shows Jacob Franks, the murdered boy's father, sitting one row in front of Loeb and Leopold during one court session.
Darrow distributed blame for their crime widely. Wealthy and indulgent parents had given the defendants too much too soon but not enough love and guidance. They had completed college as teenagers Leopold at the University of Chicago, Loeb at the University of Michigan.
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According to the Tribune's report, Darrow "indicted the age in which we live for cruelty. He indicted war for callousing the hearts and sympathies of men. He indicted the educational system under which 'young and plastic minds' are given the pagan philosophers of all times."
Loeb and Leopold had and read Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophy of morals, which they took to mean that their accomplishments freed them from the restraints society imposes on ordinary men.
Had Darrow left it there, he might not have served his clients well. Historically, the-devil-made-me-do-it defense, as lawyers term an insanity plea, is seldom successful. But then Darrow turned to the heart of his plea.
Killing is just wrong, whether the state or a criminal commits it.
"The easy thing and the popular thing to do is to hang my clients," Darrow told the judge. "Men and women who do not think will applaud. The cruel and the thoughtless will approve."
In olden times, hangings were a popular entertainment. They were performed in public, even on children as young as 6, and for a variety of crimes now considered worthy of lesser punishment. It's now reserved for adults, who have reached the age of judgment. Yet the public and the prosecutor had demanded it for Loeb and Leopold, both minors.
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"Your honor stands between the past and the future," Darrow said. "I am pleading for a time when hatred and cruelty will not control the hearts of men. ... When we can learn by reason and judgment and understanding and faith that all life is worth saving, and that mercy is the highest attribute of man."
Darrow finished with some lines from the poet Omar Khayyam. His voice fading, spectators leaned forward to hear him.
So I be written in the Book of Love,
I do not care about that Book above.
Erase my name or write it as you will,
So I be written in the Book of Love.
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One spectator said you could hardly tell where Darrow's final words left off and the silence began.
The following month, Judge Caverly sentenced Loeb and Leopold to life plus 99 years in prison. Neither served the full term. Loeb was killed by a fellow prisoner in 1936. Leopold was paroled in 1958.
In the immediate aftermath of the verdict, Darrow visited Loeb's father. Seeing the lavish furnishings, he said: "Look at these things then try to tell me that Dick Loeb is sane. Try to make me believe that any boy would leave this."
His clients, who had behaved appropriately during his speech, reverted to type after their sentencing, the Tribune reported. On being led back to their cells, Loeb told a jailer: "Get us two steaks, thick and juicy." Leopold added: "Yes, and make sure they are smothered in onions. And bring every side dish."
rgrossman@tribpub.com
Europeans stroll every day through a landscape transformed by two World Wars. Cherished cities bombed to rubble and then rebuilt. Massive monuments erected to the sacrifice of millions of lives. Today, the shadow of a new war spreads across Europe, from Madrid to London, to Paris and now Brussels.
But many Europeans (and some of their American cousins) continue to describe themselves with a common phrase: "war weary." They shy away from fully girding against an enemy without a country, an enemy whose soldiers wear no uniforms, whose tactics target innocent civilians.
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But war weariness doesn't translate into fewer enemy attacks. Just the opposite: A lowered guard, a disengagement, a denial, invites opportunists' attacks.
Day by day we learn more astonishing details of how Belgian authorities snoozed, even after the Paris massacre. How terrorists and their enablers moved freely from Europe to Syria and back. One phrase "under their noses" crops up time and again in the evolving tale of how terrorists exploited Europe's disjointed, dysfunctional security system.
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Egregious case in point: Belgian authorities arrested Salah Abdeslam, the logistics mastermind of the Paris attacks in November, four days before the Brussels bombings. But then authorities reportedly questioned him for a paltry two hours after his capture, and not again until after the Brussels attack. Even though they knew his terror cell mates were on the loose.
"We cannot exclude that, if everybody had been perfect, this could have gone differently," Belgian Justice Minister Koen Geens told his Parliament.
No, everybody didn't have to be perfect. But everybody did have to have a sense of urgency, a sense that Belgium, that Europe, was at war with a relentless enemy that doesn't knock off for the weekend.
The war-unweary Vladimir Putin knows this. Recall how the Russian president sent warplanes to bolster Syrian President Bashar Assad. Putin's payoff is an ally still in power and growing stronger. Last weekend, Assad's forces recaptured the ancient city of Palmyra, driving out Islamic State forces with the help of Russian air power. Assad is on the march again; squabbling bands of U.S.-backed rebels kill each other with U.S.-supplied arms; and Europe suffers the brunt of the repercussions: a rising tide of refugees ... hiding an untold number of terrorists ... coming to plot and kill.
European reluctance to spend on security is notorious and long-standing. As of 2015, only five of 28 NATO countries the U.S., Great Britain, Greece, Estonia and Poland met the alliance's military spending target, 2 percent of gross domestic product. The U.S. spends 3.6 percent.
There is, though, improvement. Several NATO nations, France and Germany notably, are spending more on defense and intelligence, The New York Times reports. When Europe truly grasps that it's at war, the number of countries that spend 2 percent of GDP on defense will be closer to 28.
That's also when Europe will break down turf jealousies and intelligence "stovepipes" that isolate intel agencies so perilously that they can't even agree on how to spell terrorists' names, let alone how to detect and apprehend them as they move easily across borders. In the aftermath of 9/11, American intelligence agencies pointed fingers and tried to deflect blame over their egregious failure to cooperate and communicate. A new intelligence czar, the Director of National Intelligence, began to connect the dots.
Many dots need connecting in Europe, too. Yet, "Many Europeans seem to think that good intelligence is created by immaculate conception, rather than through the hard and sometimes intrusive work of surveillance," writes David Ignatius in The Washington Post. "The authorities often don't mind if the United States does the counterterrorist snooping, so long as they don't have to admit it to their publics. Europeans don't like to talk about intelligence, and they often pretend their countries don't spy."
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European leaders should learn from America's experience. They have to level with their citizens about what it will take to root out and disrupt terrorists. It can't be done without a serious shift in European attitude about this war.
Nor can Europe prevail via intelligence, military tactics and spending alone. Leaders have to address how to better assimilate Muslim immigrants and refugees into their societies, into the broader European fabric. Otherwise bad actors will thrive with help from friends and families alienated from European society.
The drill after every attack is for government leaders to pledge renewed vigor, for citizenry to demand action in these realms. And then, for most people, life resumes its normal rhythms.
That is a luxury that Europeans can no longer afford. There is no "holiday from history," no lull that lingers forever.
If Europeans decide they're content to absorb and accept occasional terror slaughters rather than combat Islamist extremism, so be it. If, though, citizens want to push back, they'll have to overcome their oft-cited weariness with war. Europeans and the increasingly stifling security restrictions they endure cannot return to so-called normal until this determined enemy is effectively neutralized or defeated.
The same is true on this side of the Atlantic. Americans, too, profess to be weary of war. But many also hold close their war memories of ruined skyscrapers and planes tumbling from the sky.
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George Edwards of Aurora transports his canoe to the Fox River using his bicycle. Edwards died recently after being hit by a pickup truck while crossing the street. (Edwards family / Handout)
An Aurora man who died recently after being hit by a car while crossing Farnsworth Avenue is being remembered for his "epic love of family."
"My dad had taken my half-sisters as his own children without the slightest hint of reservation or bias," George Edwards' son, Timmothy, said while remembering his father. "Family was everything to my dad, a nearly compulsive obsession honestly, and that which kept him tied to Aurora. If dad counted you as such, there was nothing he would not go out of his way to do for you."
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George Edwards also loved pizza, his son said. He "preferred Ach-N-Lous over everybody else in town," and the assisted-living apartments he recently moved into in the 1500 block of Farnsworth Avenue are within a short walking distance of the neighborhood pizza pub.
Edwards was on his way to Ach-N-Lous about 6:15 p.m. March 11, walking westbound across Farnsworth Avenue at its intersection with Marshall Boulevard, when he was hit by a pickup truck, his son said.
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A 75-year-old Aurora resident, Guadalupe Luna, was driving a 1996 Chevrolet pickup truck southbound in the curbside lane of Farnsworth when it struck Edwards, according to a preliminary investigation by Aurora police.
Fire department paramedics rushed Edwards to Presence Mercy Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 8:28 p.m. He was 67.
Luna, who lives in the 200 block of Beach Street in Aurora, was ticketed for failure to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk. Luna could not be reached for this story, and an Aurora police spokesman said the investigation into the incident is ongoing.
George Edwards (Edwards family / Handout)
Edwards came from a big family, which likely contributed to his outgoing personality, his son said.
"He had a wicked smile that could connect with even the surliest of people," Timmothy Edwards said.
A younger brother of George Edwards died almost the same way he did. Joseph Edwards was hit by a car in 1999 while riding a bicycle in Aurora.
Joseph Edwards, a 50-year-old man who lived in the 1000 block of Indiana Street, was riding a bicycle about 2 a.m. near the intersection of Sullivan Road and Highland Avenue when he collided with a 1995 Ford Escort. He was pronounced dead at the hospital less than an hour later.
The symmetry of the two tragic deaths "definitely came up" at George Edwards' funeral, Timmothy Edwards said.
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Edwards had a stroke two years ago that affected his vision, and he was getting regular therapy in order to strengthen one of his hands, his son said.
Edwards grew up in Aurora, on a stretch of Exposition Avenue known as the "Cabbage Patch." He graduated from West Aurora High School. He enjoyed fishing and floating on the Fox River, going for bicycle rides and traveling around the country, to states including Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Florida, Nebraska and Arizona, his son said.
But his first love was Aurora, his son said.
"He always loved this town," Timmothy Edwards said. "He was always drawn to it."
He described his father as "incredibly strong."
"He displayed his emotions in very refined ways," he said. "He wasn't prone to outbursts or breaking down."
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Edwards was a driving force in the family business of carpentry, building and remodeling. In Edwards' world, there were no remedial or unnecessary jobs, his son said. Every job worth doing was worth doing well.
"No matter what job dad was doing, it was a really grand job to have because he was doing it," Timmothy Edwards said. "He had an insane work ethic."
hleone@tribpub.com
Personal items Metra Police Officer Thomas Cook kept with him before he died were returned to his family Thursday after being held by authorities for nearly 10 years.
One item, a calendar book, contained reminders of future plans and to-do lists. Cook never got to chance to check off one of those items taking his young children on a trip to Downtown Chicago so his daughter could go to the American Girl store and his son could visit the LEGO Store.
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Photos of his children, Jessica and James, the veteran officer kept in his locker were also finally returned to his family, according to Cook's wife, Pam.
"He was my best friend," she said on the witness stand, during a sentencing hearing for her husband's killer. "The first day I laid eyes on Tom is when I realized what people meant when they had love at first sight."
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Jemetric Nicholson, who one Cook County prosecutor called "the most prolific shooter to come out of the City of Harvey," received a sentence of the rest of his natural life in prison on Thursday for Cook's 2006 slaying. He was convicted of first-degree murder on Jan. 14.
Nicholson is already serving time in Illinois prison on charges that include the attempted murder of a different police officer, and he would not have been eligible for parole until 2145 even before Thursday's sentence. His natural-life sentence, handed down by Cook County Judge Frank Zelezinski, will run consecutively, and it won't begin until after he serves out his current sentences.
Zelezinski called Nicholson an "urban predator" who "went on a spree" shooting people in Harvey. Nicholson, who has been charged with possession of a weapon three times while incarcerated, shows "no possibility of being rehabilitated," the judge said.
Cook was sitting in his marked squad car on Sept. 27, 2006, when Nicholson silently crept up and raised a gun to the open driver's side window, according to trial testimony. Nicholson's lookout in the murder told a Cook County jury he turned away before hearing two shots from Nicholson's gun.
Authorities found Cook shot twice in the back of the head.
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Nicholson has maintained his innocence in the police shooting, saying during both of his trials for Cook's death that he wasn't the one who pulled the trigger. Zelezinski declared a mistrial in October when a jury was unable to reach a unanimous decision the first time prosecutors brought Nicholson to court for the officer's murder.
"I never killed an innocent person in my life," Nicholson said Thursday, looking directly at Cook's family seated in the courtroom. "I did not kill your husband, your father, your brother."
"I pray for you all every night," he said.
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The murder of a police officer in the line of duty carries a mandatory life sentence in Illinois, authorities said.
Regardless, Cook County prosecutor Joseph Kosman emphasized the "reign of terror" Nicholson brought to Harvey in arguments during the sentencing hearing.
"He should never be allowed out of prison because he is a predator of the worst kind," Kosman said.
Nick Swedberg is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
Angel Anderson, a Rich Central High School senior, regularly attends classes and participates in extracurricular activities.
But she also spends the first half of her school day taking college courses at Prairie State College in Chicago Heights, getting a head start on the future of her education.
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Anderson is a participant in the STEM Academy, a partnership between Rich Township District 227 and Prairie State College that allows high school seniors in the district to take college-level courses for credit during the regular school year.
The program, also known as the Academy of Student Excellence in Science and Math: Bioscience Initiative, is in its fourth year of helping students considering math and science majors get a head start on college credit at no cost to themselves.
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For Anderson, that means being able to adjust to the style of college courses before she heads off to the University of Illinois in Champaign next year.
"It saves money and you get your [general education] courses out of the way," Anderson said.
She said that she wants to major in psychology, and that she has plans of going to medical school and starting a career in industrial organizational psychology.
"We are giving students in the Rich District an opportunity to take some college-level classes at the actual college that will apply towards their STEM majors," said Sean Smith, academic advisor for the STEM Academy at Prairie State College. "We are providing them with two science courses, two math courses, and two general education courses for the year."
That adds up to a maximum of 23 possible credit hours high school seniors can complete before even graduating from high school.
Those high school students are able to complete courses without paying for anything, including textbooks, registration fees, and transportation that are all provided by the college and District 227. Rich Central High is in Olympia Fields.
In a world where college tuition and college debt are a major issue for students, that benefit is enormous.
"For those students who are selected to be in the program, they're actually in the program at no cost to them whatsoever," Smith said.
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The cost of tuition at Prairie State College is normally $143 per credit hour.
According to Smith, students from District 227 can apply for the program after completing their high school honors Algebra 2 class with an 'A' or a 'B' grade. Applicants then must submit high school transcripts, a recommendation letter from one of their math or science teachers, and write an essay on why they want to be involved in the program.
After that, applicants must take a test at Prairie State College to ensure they can handle college level math, reading, and writing.
The program is capped to accept up to 25 students each year, and 93 students have participated in the STEM Academy since its creation in 2012.
Of those 93 students, Smith said that the vast majority have gone off to four-year universities, though a handful have continued to attend Prairie State College.
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The STEM Academy was started by Adenuga Atewologun, a former vice president of academic affairs for Prairie State College, Smith said.
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According to Smith, Atewologun saw Prairie State College as an academy of science and math for the area and had plans to grow the program to include other high schools. Smith said though there are no longer the same plans to expand the program to other schools, the college intends to continue the program.
"We're the only type of partnership like this in the area," said Eric Hampton, public relations coordinator for District 227.
Hampton said that the STEM program was made possible by a five-year grant that Prairie State College sought. The grant funds the program entirely. It is currently covering the costs of all 25 students participating in the program this year, which is a little less than $7,000.
The grant was funded by U.S. Department of Education through the Predominantly Black Institutions Formula Grant Program.
Hampton said that the district and college had intentions of renewing the grant as the program goes into its fifth year.
David Lipowski is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
Tinley Park Mayor David G. Seaman, pictured here during a community forum on on Aug. 12, 2015, wrote about what he views as the rising level of incivility in his town. (Erin Hooley, Chicago Tribune)
It's been less than a year since health issues forced Ed Zabrocki to step away from his gig as longtime mayor of Tinley Park.
The village of 57,000 residents seemed to continue running smoothly for the first eight months under new Mayor David Seaman, a longtime trustee and close ally of Zabrocki's. But lately, there's been a lot of turmoil in the town, with numerous resignations of elected and appointed officials, and a citizen uprising over a controversial proposed affordable housing development.
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The turbulence shouldn't surprise Tinley Park residents. Any time an individual holds a position of power for a long time in Zabrocki's case, 34 years it's normal for new leadership to experience a few bumps in the road during the transition.
Hoping to smooth out what he sees as some of the rough spots, Seaman penned a missive to his constituents and essentially asked everyone to take a deep breath and calm down. In a "Mayor's Corner" post published March 31 on the village website and titled "A Message to the Tinley Park Community," Seaman addressed what he views as the rising level of incivility in his town.
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"Residents of any municipality absolutely have the right and responsibility to participate in their government, and I'm thankful to everyone who has been attending the Village Board meetings. Government works best when all residents take an interest and involvement in it, and I think it's wonderful," Seaman wrote.
"However, those rights cannot extend to bullying of village staff, elected officials or volunteers. There have been threats, posting pictures of homes and families, damage to village property and inappropriate and intentional misrepresentation on social media sites."
Has citizen activism in Tinley Park crossed the line? Seaman seems to think so, though when asked by the Daily Southtown he was unable to offer specifics about incidents of bullying or damage to village property. His point is, whether online, at village meetings or out in the community, people should exercise their rights to free speech peacefully, respectfully and lawfully.
"We live in a democracy, and people are entitled to differing opinions. All voices deserve to be heard, not just the loudest. And when decisions are made that you disagree with, you have a right to ask questions and get answers as to how and why those decisions were made," Seaman wrote.
The most recent sign of instability in Tinley Park occurred Tuesday, when Trustee Bernie Brady resigned from the Village Board. Brady had barely been in the role seven months, having taken office in August to fill Seaman's remaining term after Seaman filled Zabrocki's mayoral seat.
Assistant Village Manager Mike Mertens also tendered his resignation, effective April 15. Mertens has served as assistant village manager since 2003, and prior to that he was the village's director of economic development since 1998.
Seven of nine Plan Commission members resigned in February. The Plan Commission on Feb. 4 tabled a final vote on The Reserve, a 47-unit apartment building proposed for the northeast corner of Oak Park Avenue and 183rd Street. Ohio-based Buckeye Community Hope Foundation planned to market the units to tenants with low and moderate incomes.
Also in mid-February, the village placed Planning Director Amy Connolly on leave. She'd shepherded The Reserve project through the approval process following Tinley Park's Legacy Code, a blueprint for economic development along Oak Park Avenue and other areas. The Legacy Code said no Village Board approval was needed for certain projects.
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But once residents caught wind of the proposal, they reacted with a flurry of activism. They created signs, organized demonstrations, started attending village meetings in huge numbers and establishing a presence online via a website and Facebook page.
Nine citizens sued the village in March over the Legacy Code, saying a text amendment approved by the Village Board in October was improper. The village has enlisted the Inspector General's Office of the Cook County Sheriff's Office to examine the review process behind the apartment development.
That's a lot of turmoil in a relatively compact time frame. On top of that, Tinley Park has the regular village business to tend to, such as deciding on a budget. The town also has to implement a $6.5 million project to replace 17,000 malfunctioning smart meters that overcharged residents for water usage in many instances.
Residents are understandably concerned and have responded in commendable fashion by becoming more active in their village government. Mayor Seaman's letter, however, seems to suggest that some of the tactics employed are course examples of civil discourse. Tinley Park proceedings at times seem to have taken on the characteristics of a Donald Trump rally.
All parties now seem to be appealing for calm. A March 30 blog post to the Citizens of Tinley Park website by Matt Coughlin, one of the group's leaders, echoes the tone of Mayor Seaman's message.
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"I ask you all, many of whom I have met personally, to keep it classy and respectful. That does not mean that we can't continue to challenge what we don't understand or can't support but let's do it the right way," Coughlin wrote.
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He goes on to talk about the group's near-term goal of rectifying the legality of the Legacy Code, then says their long-term goal is to help shape the village's future.
"We would like to work with all of you to identify talented passionate Tinley Park citizens who may be good candidates to help drive the growth and progress we all desire. We would also like to make sure that the city appoints truly capable and committed people to important management roles in our village," he wrote.
Tinley Park was incorporated in 1892 and established in 1853 by German immigrants as the community of Bremen. In a place with such a long history, the recent tumult in town could hardly be characterized as growing pains.
It's a mature community, and the legacy of Tinley Park deserves that everyone involved with village business conduct themselves with maturity.
tslowik@tribpub.com
Twitter @tedslowik
The concept of Human Capital, defined as the skills, knowledge, and experience possessed by an individual or population, viewed in terms of their value or cost to an organization or country, is an interesting decision making feature that is increasingly entering the corporate foreign investment mindset.
In short, it is an economic value of an employees skill set built on the production input of each employee, based on the assumption that all labor is equal. However, the concept of Human Capital also recognizes that not all human labor is equal and quality can be improved by investing in them. The education, abilities and experience of an employee has an economic value for the employer and the national economy as a whole.
Over the years, much has been made of the huge leaps by China in this regard much of it of course is encouraged by the State itself. China has undoubtedly made massive progress over the last twenty years, however it still, surprisingly, falls short in the actual measurable definitions of Global Human Capital rankings. Below is a list of neighboring and other Asian countries to compare:
It is noticeable that China ranks relatively low at 64, while similar, large populations in countries such as India and Indonesia also rank poorly. That said, the sheer size of a population should not have a negative effect on the rankings, but what it does suggest is that millions of Chinese workers are still not up to speed when it comes to adding value a rather different scenario that current wisdom suggests.
In fact, China doesnt feature in the top ten Asian economies leveraging their Human Capital productivity and the creation of wealth per employee is higher in the ASEAN nations of Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam than it is in China. This should be a cause of concern for Beijing. Higher wages and social welfare costs introduced over the past few years have not resulted in an increase in Chinas Human Capital rankings suggesting paying more for Chinese labor isnt having an impact on productivity. This can be born out by the complaints many foreign investors are now making lower margins and slimmer profits amongst an operating environment that is becoming increasingly expensive.
China is also experiencing a slowdown which becomes problematic as Chinas own manufacturing industries are cutting back on costs. This will include employee training and investment meaning that this in turn impacts upon national productivity. Chinas path to upgrade its manufacturing sector and change the economy into a consumer based model may well take rather longer than expected as a result. The country needs to rethink its strategy imposing higher operating costs on employers in China while keeping the productivity levels the same is not going to work and will start to drive investors out to other manufacturing hubs.
Over on our Asia Briefing portal, we have already highlighted the 2016 Foreign Investment Opportunities for Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. Our Manila, Hanoi and HCMC offices all report an increase in manufacturing facilities being established there by companies relocating from China. Thailand has just announced a huge range of investment incentives, including multi-year corporate income tax breaks and low personal income taxes for foreigners. All now have a higher Human Capital Ranking than China.
A rethink is needed by Beijing to encourage foreign investors to stay. Because increasingly high employment costs matched to a static and low Human Capital ranking do not add up in economic or productivity terms, and businesses have the ability to relocate. An increasingly uncompetitive China is starting to feel some pain. The key is investing in the Chinese workforce, training and improving Chinese skills, and raising the Chinese productivity levels. If that cannot be done, then economic incentives such as income tax breaks need to be re-introduced or Chinas exodus of foreign investors will grow, and FDI will start to bleed out.
Chris Devonshire-Ellis is the Founding Partner of Dezan Shira & Associates a specialist foreign direct investment practice providing corporate establishment, business advisory, tax advisory and compliance, accounting, payroll, due diligence and financial review services to multinationals investing in emerging Asia. Since its establishment in 1992, the firm has grown into one of Asias most versatile full-service consultancies with operational offices across China, Hong Kong, India, Singapore and Vietnam, in addition to alliances in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand, as well as liaison offices in Italy, Germany and the United States. For further information, please email china@dezshira.com or visit www.dezshira.com. Chris can be followed on Twitter at @CDE_Asia. Stay up to date with the latest business and investment trends in Asia by subscribing to our complimentary update service featuring news, commentary and regulatory insight.
Managing ASEAN Expansion from Singapore
For the second issue of our ASEAN Briefing Magazine, we look at the benefits of using Singapore a hub for the management of regional operations throughout ASEAN. We firstly focus on the position of Singapore relative to its competitors, such as the Netherlands and Hong Kong. We then provide step-by-step instructions on corporate establishment, and provide expert insight on maximizing returns through the reduction respective tax burdens.
An Introduction to Doing Business in ASEAN
An Introduction to Doing Business in ASEAN introduces the fundamentals of investing in the 10-nation ASEAN bloc, concentrating on economics, trade, corporate establishment and taxation. We also include the latest development news in our Important Updates section for each country, with the intent to provide an executive assessment of the varying component parts of ASEAN, assessing each member state and providing the most up-to-date economic and demographic data on each. Additional research and commentary on ASEANs relationships with China, India and Australia is also provided.
Navigating the Vietnam Supply Chain
In this edition of Vietnam Briefing, we discuss the advantages of the Vietnamese market over its regional competition and highlight where and how to implement successful investment projects. We examine tariff reduction schedules within the ACFTA and TPP, highlight considerations with regard to rules of origin, and outline the benefits of investing in Vietnams growing economic zones. Finally, we provide expert insight into the issues surrounding the creation of 100 percent Foreign Owned Enterprise in Vietnam.
Rating agencies have overstated China's economic difficulties when lowering the outlook on its sovereign credit rating from stable to negative, an official said Friday.
"Standard & Poor's (S&P) and Moody's have overestimated the difficulties China is facing, while underestimating its ability to push forward reforms and cope with risks," said Vice Finance Minister Shi Yaobin.
S&P on Thursday said that China's sovereign credit rating had slipped to negative because excessive government spending and debt may curb growth. It did, however, maintain the rating at AA-, saying the government's reform agenda was on track albeit at a slower-than-expected pace.
Moody's made a similar decision earlier in March, based on expectations that China's fiscal strength would continue to decline, its forex reserve cuts, and uncertainty about economic reforms.
"Rating agencies need not worry about China's economic restructuring, debt, state-owned enterprise reform and financial market risks. They need in-depth and comprehensive estimation on China's achievements and structural reform development," said Shi in an interview.
With an annual growth rate of 6.9 percent in 2015, China contributed over 25 percent of the world's economic growth last year, the vice minister said.
"As the world's second largest economy and the top trading nation, China has been a growth engine and a stabilizer since the outbreak of the international financial crisis," said Shi.
Shi further promoted the economy's great growth potential, strong resilience and ample leeway, saying that the on-going supply-side reform, among others, will support a medium-high speed of growth.
It is the economic fundamentals instead of the rating that will have the decisive role on the economy and the financial market, said Shi, adding that the trend of China's economy toward growth and expansion has not changed.
Chinese Defense Ministry Spokesperson Yang Yujun reacts at a regular briefing in Beijing on Thursday, March 31, 2016. [Photo: mod.gov.cn]
China's Defense Ministry is expressing frustration at speculation that it will declare an Air Defense Identification Zone in the South China Sea.
Spokesperson Yang Yujun says if an ADIZ is established in the South China Sea, it is within China's right to do so.
"We have stated our position on this many times when it comes to the establishment of an Air Defense Identification Zone in the South China Sea. What needs to be reiterated is that sovereign states have the right to set up an ADIZ. This is why there is no need for other countries to gesticulate."
The comments come a day after a US Defense Department official went on-record saying the US will not recognize such a zone in the South China Sea.
China imposed an ADIZ over the East China Sea three years ago, requiring aircraft flying through the area to identify themselves.
Meanwhile, the Chinese Defense Ministry has also confirmed the establishment of a dedicated unit to coordinate "non-war" activities overseas, such as evacuations from conflict zones.
"In recent years, as our national and military strength has increased. This has seen the Chinese military participate many times in overseas military actions to fulfill our international responsibilities and obligations."
The new "non-war" unit will be responsible for coordinating peacekeeping missions, evacuations and joint military drills.
The Chinese navy has been actively taking part in anti-piracy patrols in the waters off the Horn of Africa.
It's also been involved in the evacuation of Chinese citizens and other foreigners from conflict zones.
New legislation also allows Chinese forces to go overseas to take part in anti-terror missions.
The family of an eight-month pregnant woman who died after getting her neck caught in a roadside guardrail in northwest China refused an autopsy, making the cause of her death still a mystery.
Video clips showed Feng Bo, 32, walked to the guardrail and slowly kneeled down, with her neck trapped between the steel bars, on Monday in Mizhi County, northwest Chinas Shaanxi Province.
Several passers-by tried to break the rails but all efforts went in vain, Huashang newspaper reported yesterday.
A police officer, not identified, said video clips of the accident showed Feng had showed abnormal body signs before she fainted, which suggested she might have died before she got her neck stuck, the paper reported.
He said he had suggested the woman's family allow an autopsy on her, but was refused, making police unable to determine the exact cause of her death.
Li Yukun, director of Mizhi Civil Affairs Bureau, said authorities in Fengs hometown of Gaoqu, under administration of Mizhi, have been ordered to offer help to her family. But he didn't specify whether it was compensation, the paper reported.
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Ahead of Xi Jinping's forthcoming speech this Friday in Washington, Chinese authorities have issued a national progress report on nuclear security.
In it, the report details Chinese participation in international exchanges and cooperation, including exercises on nuclear security.
The report also notes Chinese authorities have adopted a series of regulations when it comes to a nuclear emergency.
This includes the creation of a stand-alone nuclear emergency rescue force of 320 individuals.
The report also says Chinese authorities have beefed up cyber security at its nuclear facilities, and are also working on an alert system for potential nuclear security risks.
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The minimum salary for full-time employees in Shanghai is rising by 170 yuan to 2,190 yuan (US$339) per month, said officials announcing Shanghais new civic benefits package yesterday.
Minimum pay for part-time workers will increase from 18 yuan per hour to 19.
It is the 23rd time the Shanghai government has raised the minimum salary standard, which is determined by local economic conditions.
Employers that flout the rule can face fines amounting to five times the cheated employees salary.
The Social Security Bureau also provided guidelines for pay rises, advising employers to give staff a 9 percent increase on average, which is one percent lower than last year, but still higher than some human resources experts predicted.
The average salary increase is expected to be 7.6 percent this year, 0.3 percent lower than 2015, according to a report from the CIIC human resource company.
The slowing down of pay rises is not surprising with the slower economy in China, said Pang Limin of CIICs survey center.
Meanwhile, the cost of employing people in Shanghai is very high after decades of fast growth. Even the government is trying to help companies reduce the burden by decreasing the portion of their payments in social security account.
Meanwhile, the maximum medical cost covered by the public health insurance fund will jump to 420,000 yuan per year per person from 390,000.
Financial aid for the unemployed, disabled and poor families will also rise.
The government is expanding its serious food and drug blacklist to include individuals and companies using expired materials in the production of food, as well as those involved in manufacturing substandard medical appliances, officials said yesterday.
Under the expanded blacklist scheme, which was first introduced in 2013, violators face public exposure and other state penalties, stricter inspections, and difficulty obtaining bank loans and land-use permits, said Shanghai Food and Drug Administration.
Violations already include: using false information and fake documents to obtain a license, using excessive food additives, and using non-food materials for food production.
In addition to expanding the blacklist, the authority will increase the frequency of spot checks and monitor consumer comments about restaurants on websites, said Yan Zuqiang, director of Shanghai FDA. Poor performers will be inspected more frequently and thoroughly, while those who perform well will be used as role models for promotion.
The blacklist expansion was prompted by the Husi scandal. On February 1, a Shanghai court ordered two food processing plants owned by fast-food chain supplier Husi Food Co to pay fines and sentenced 10 people to prison terms for producing and selling substandard products in a case exposed in 2014.
The Shanghai and Hebei branches of Husi Food Co were each ordered to pay 1.2 million yuan (US$18,240) in fines for using recycled meat.
Husi is a subsidiary of the US-based global food processor OSI Group and a former supplier to major fast-food chains including McDonalds, KFC and Pizza Hut.
By the end of 2015, Shanghai FDA released 16 blacklists naming and shaming 31 companies and 65 individuals in the food and drug industries.
Officials said Shanghai is drafting new food safety regulations and welcomes public input.
The draft of the new regulations is now accessible to the public on our website and WeChat account until April 20, Yan said.
The regulations, expected to take effect in May, will allow us to create an effective farm-to-table monitoring network.
Two Chinese cities have become the first in the country to prolong the weekend from two days to 2.5 days in response to a circular issued by the State Council aiming to give a boost to the tourism industry and to external consumption. [Photo: Chinanews.com]
Governments in Jinzhong, Shanxi Province, and Ji'an, Jiangxi Province, have adopted flexible holiday models by extending some two-day weekends into 2.5 days beginning of April 1.
The system of an extra half-a-day off will last from April 1 to October 31 every year after its implementation.
The local governments' decisions were made in response to a circular issued by the State Council last August stating that flexible holiday models -- such as taking half a day off on Friday -- give a boost to the tourism industry and to internal consumption.
According to the new regulation in Jinzhong, people can take half a day off on Friday twice a month. However, the employer can require that more than half of all employees are still at work on Friday afternoon.
The adoption of an extra half a day of leave won't contradict the 40 working hours per week stipulated by law. According to the two cities, people who take a half-day off on Friday should spend two extra working hours each week or trade the leave with other paid holidays.
The new regulation applies to government departments and public institutions. Social organizations and enterprises are given freedom to decide whether or not to follow it.
Waste water is released daily into the sea off Krabi province, a major coastal attraction in southern Thailand, only to spoil tourist industry and environment.
Hotels, lodgings and restaurants in coastal provincial seat of Krabi, about 800 km south of Bangkok, currently release up to 2,000 cubic meters of waste water daily into a canal which directly flows into Ao Nang bay area, said Pankam Kittitorakul, head of the Ao Nang County Administrative Organization, on Friday.
Tourism sector and environment are being adversely affected by the polluted water throughout the bay area where no waste water treatment has been available as yet, he said.
The local authorities had called on the owners and operators of hotels, resort houses and restaurants to stop releasing waste water for which they had been strongly advised to install a treatment system but they did not seem to cooperate, according to the county head.
He added that the administrative unit earlier sought some 8.5 million U.S. dollars in funding for procurement of a waste water treatment system which is yet to be provided from Krabi province.
Flash
The first batch of Russian sappers has started arriving in Syria to clear mines in the ancient city of Palmyra, the Russian Defense Ministry said Thursday.
Part of Russia's group of demining experts with the most advanced equipment, including robots and dogs, has already arrived in Syria, said Sergei Rudskoi, head of the Russian Defense Ministry's Main Operational Directorate.
He added that the special team has received practical training in humanitarian mine clearance.
"In accordance with the instructions given by the Russian president, (the remaining) specialists from the International Mine Action Center of the Russian Armed Forces will arrive in Palmyra in the nearest future," Rudskoi said in an online statement.
The Syrian city of Palmyra has been controlled by the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group since May 2015, while the city was liberated on Sunday by the Syrian army with support from Russian air forces.
Rudskoi said preliminary estimates showed the area of demining exceeds 180 hectares in historic and residential parts of Palmyra.
The demining work is complicated by the fact that terrorist forces have left a large number of different improvised explosive devices in Palmyra in addition to standard industrially produced mines.
Rudskoi said about 500 sorties and over 2,000 airstrikes were conducted by Russian air forces on March 7-27 against terrorist targets in Palmyra, using precision weapons.
The recapture of Palmyra is of strategic importance due to its location in central Syria, Rudskoi said.
The city has developed a road network connecting other regions of the country, as well as oil and gas fields and other mineral deposits in the surrounding area, Rudskoi said.
"The return of control of Palmyra by Syrian troops will significantly impede the regrouping and transfer of reserves of armed gangs between the northern and southern regions of Syria," Rudskoi said.
"(Militants') defensive capacities will be significantly reduced in the area of the cities of Damascus and Aleppo," he said.
Rudskoi added that loss of control of the mineral-rich territories will aggravate the economic and financial position of terrorists, and reduce their ability to purchase weapons and munitions and other materials.
Flash
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Thursday presented a list of candidates to the parliament for a new cabinet lineup amid growing pressure for political reform, a parliament official told Xinhua.
Abadi met with the parliament speaker and handed him over a list of 14 candidates for the new cabinet and their resumes, the source said on condition of anonymity.
Abadi also reduced his cabinet lineup to 16 members out of 22, and his list did not include the ministers of defense and interior for security reasons, because their ministries are in full combat with Islamic State (IS) militants who seized swathes of territories in northern and western Iraq.
After the meeting, Abadi attended the parliament session and delivered a speech, in which he said that the reform will include over 100 of other high ranking officials.
The parliament then decided to continue discussing the 14 candidates and will vote on them within 10 days, while the approval of other high ranking officials will be within a month.
Abadi's move came amid mounting political row, and 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
The transfer of Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam to France could take place "very soon", the Belgian broadcaster RTBF reported on Thursday, citing a collaborator of his lawyer Cedric Moisse.
According to the RTBF, the agreement to transfer Salah Abdeslam to France has been notified in an official report. An order for the delivery will be officially released on Friday, but it is already enforceable.
A hearing of the council chamber was held on Thursday afternoon to allow a Belgian federal prosecutor to hear Abdeslam who has been detained in the prison of Bruges.
The Brussels Council Chamber has not yet officially released its decision but it is no longer in doubt, according to the Belgian daily Le Soir.
The Belgian federal prosecutor didn't oppose this transfer required by France after the arrest of Abdeslam on March 18.
According to the newspaper Le Soir, in fact, Abdeslam remains suspected of organizing the attacks in Brussels.
Even with the suspect imprisoned in France, it is also possible to organize a joint trial by the Belgian and French justices, the report said.
Flash
The White House on Thursday slammed Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump's proposal to allow Japan and South Korea to gain nuclear weapons as "catastrophic".
Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at a town hall event in Appleton, Wisconsin, March 30, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]
"The entire premise of American foreign policy on nuclear weapons for the last 70 years is to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons to additional states," said White House Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes here at the Nuclear Security Summit.
"Frankly it would be catastrophic were the United States to shift its position and indicate that we support somehow the proliferation of nuclear weapons to additional countries," said Rhodes.
In an interview with the New York Times last Friday on his foreign policy plans, Trump suggested that if elected, he would be "open" to encourage Japan and South Korea to build their own nuclear arsenals in order to reduce pressure on the United States to offer the two the nuclear umbrella.
The Times quoted Trump as saying that with the United States becoming a diluted power, "they (Japan and South Korea) are going to want to have that anyway."
Calling Trump's remarks "not particularly relevant to serious discussions," Rhodes said Trump's suggestion went against "decades of bipartisan national security doctrine."
Flash
The Constitutional Court ruled on Thursday that President Jacob Zuma violated the Constitution by not paying the money for the upgrade of his private home as recommended by Public Protector Thuli Madonsela.
The judgment was handed down by Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng at the Constitutional Court in Johannesburg.
Mogoeng stated that the Treasury should determine the money used in "non security" upgrades, which must be personally be paid by the president.
"The National Treasury must report back to this Court on the outcome of its determination within 60 days of the date of this order," he said.
Over 246 million rand (16 million U.S. dollars) allegedly was spent to upgrade Zuma's private home in Nkandla, KwaZulu-Natal Province.
The Court also stated that the country's National Assembly violated the Constitution by absolving the President on the Nkandla issue.
"The resolution by the National Assembly absolving the president from compliance with the Public Protector's remedial action is inconsistent with the Constitution, is invalid, and set aside," Mogoeng said in the ruling.
The deputy Public Protector Kelvin Malunga told journalists that they are vindicated by the judgment and welcomed it.
"This is a great day for the Public Protector as an institution, but it is a great day for South Africa. We are extremely proud," Malunga said.
The leader of the opposition party, Mmusi Maimane of the Democratic Alliance (DA), told journalist outside the Court that they are happy with the judgment and will impeach the President.
"If I was President Jacob Zuma, I would be preparing my letter of resignation. Today's ruling is clear in this regard, President Jacob Zuma's action amounts to a serious violation of the Constitution, and constitutes grounds for impeachment," he said.
Mosiuoa Patrick Lekota, a leader of the opposition political party, Congress of the People, said he will consult with his party whether to support the impeachment motion or not.
Also on Thursday, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) expressed respect for the unanimous judgement delivered by the Constitutional Court over the Nkandla case.
"The Constitutional Court is and remains the guardian of the Constitution of the Republic and the final arbiter on matters before it, hence the ANC welcomes the clarity provided by the Court on the binding nature of the powers of the Public Protector," the party said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the government said Zuma respects the judgement.
The president will reflect on the judgement and its implications on the state and government, and will in consultation with other impacted institutions of state to determine the appropriate action, it said.
Flash
Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen Thursday on the sidelines of the fourth Nuclear Security Summit, calling for bigger progress in the development of bilateral ties.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) meets with Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen in Washington, the United States, March 31, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]
"The sustained and in-depth development of the China-Denmark relations complies with the common interest of the two nations and two peoples," said Xi.
Hailing the increasingly strengthened political mutual trust and the comprehensively promoted practical cooperation between the two sides, Xi said China-Denmark relations now stand at a new historical starting point.
He called on the two sides to maintain the momentum of high-level exchanges, synergize their development strategies, boost people-to-people exchanges, promote youth exchanges and strengthen coordination in international organizations such as the United Nations.
Xi further urged the two sides to deepen cooperation in such fields as inter-connectivity, low-carbon and circular economy, medicine and food, and green development, calling for joint efforts for bigger progress this year in the development of China-Denmark comprehensive strategic partnership.
China consistently views and develops its relations with the European Union (EU) from a strategic and long-term perspective, expecting Denmark to play an active role in the development of the China-EU partnership featuring peace, growth, reform and civilization, said Xi.
China stands ready to boost cooperation with northern European countries in such fields as enterprise innovation, green development and people-to-people exchanges, Xi added.
For his part, Rasmussen said Denmark is committed to the development of its comprehensive strategic partnership with China, adding that there are great potential and opportunities for the development of bilateral ties.
Denmark is willing to make joint efforts with the Chinese side to deepen mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields at national and sub-national levels, strengthen people-to-people exchanges and enhance communication and coordination on international affairs, said the prime minister, adding that his country supports to develop closer China-Europe relationship as well as more intimate ties between China and Northern Europe.
He further noted that Denmark supports the recognition of China's full market economy status.
The Chinese president arrived in Washington on Wednesday from Prague after his state visit to the Czech Republic, the first by a Chinese head of state in 67 years since the two countries established diplomatic ties.
Flash
Saudi Arabia announced on Thursday joint actions with the United States to tackle fund raising for and support of terrorism, Saudi Press Agency reported.
The two countries will sanction four individuals and two organizations.
The individuals sanctioned are: James Alexander McLintock, Abdul Aziz Nuristani, Naveed Qamar, and Muhammad Ijaz Safarash. The targeted organizations are: Al-Rahmah Welfare Organization and Jamia Asariya Madrassa.
Saudi Arabia highlighted in a statement that any property or interest in property of these designated individuals and entities subject to U.S. jurisdiction is frozen.
Saudi Arabia designated these individuals and entities under its Law of Terrorism Crimes and Financing. As a result of this action, any property or interest in property of these designated individuals and entities under Saudi jurisdiction is also frozen, and Saudi citizens are generally prohibited from doing business with them.
This isn't the first action taken by Saudi Arabia to fight terrorism that hit the country through various deadly blasts last year, but it is the first step implemented jointly with the United States.
Flash
The Helsinki Meilahti medical laboratories have found a new way for early detection of microcephaly caused by the Zika virus, local media reported Thursday.
Researchers at the laboratory, connected with the University of Helsinki, have for the first time been able to detect and isolate the Zika virus from patient's blood, said the reports.
With the breakthrough in Finland, a group of Finnish and U.S. researchers have confirmed the link between the Zika virus and microcephalia of a fetus. The condition can lead to a child having an abnormally small head.
The research benefited from the case of a Finnish lady in the 11th week of her pregnancy who had just returned from a vacation in Central America late last year. She had heard about the virus and wanted an examination.
Early ultrasounds of the fetus indicated nothing alarming, but the blood test indicated the presence of the virus some weeks thereafter. Damage of the fetus was discovered later.
Until this opportunity to use a blood test, samples of the amniotic fluid have been used to determine whether the fetus has been infected or not, but that procedure involves a risk of miscarriage.
Prof. Olli Vapalahti of Helsinki University told national broadcaster Yle that the isolation had worked out in Finland even though the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention had not been able to do it.
"We here in Helsinki have decades of experience from researching viruses like this, and good preparedness to ascertain the presence of a virus in a blood sample", he said.
Vapalahti said follow-up research talks are underway with Brazil.
Samples of the virus isolated in Finland have been sent to Germany. A study project there tries to ascertain whether European mosquitoes can pass on the virus.
With the manifest connection between the Zika virus and microcephaly, the speculation that chemicals are the possible cause of microcephaly appears to be unfounded, local media reported.
Earlier this winter, a pesticide called pyriproxyfen was speculated as a possible cause in Brazil.
Flash
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart, Barack Obama, agreed Thursday to deepen China-U.S. cooperation in various fields while controlling differences in a bid to consolidate and expand their countries' common interests.
The latest sign of a closer relationship between Beijing and Washington came as the two leaders met on the sidelines of the fourth Nuclear Security Summit (NSS), discussing an array of issues ranging from macroeconomic policies and nuclear security cooperation, to maritime issues and Korean Peninsula stability.
CHINA-U.S. RELATIONS
In their first meeting this year, Xi and Obama agreed to strengthen communication and coordination in international affairs and to push for the healthy and steady development of bilateral relations.
Xi said that with the concerted efforts of China and the United States, the bilateral relations have seen important progress in recent years.
In 2015, the China-U.S. bilateral trade, two-way investment and personnel exchanges all hit a record high. The two countries have maintained effective coordination and cooperation in addressing major regional and international issues including climate change, Iranian nuclear negotiation, peacekeeping, public health and development.
"These outcomes have demonstrated the huge potential of the China-U.S. relations and highlighted the importance and necessity for them to strengthen coordination and cooperation," Xi said.
Xi reiterated China's commitment to reform and opening-up and peaceful development, stressing his country's resolution to safeguard and improve the current international system and order.
There are broad areas where China and the United States, the world's largest developing and developed countries, should and could cooperate, Xi said.
"Our common interests are much bigger than our differences," the Chinese president said. "Through cooperation, we can score many major accomplishments that will benefit both the two countries and the world at large."
Xi noted that on the basis of respecting each other's core interests and major concern, the two sides should actively seek solution to disputes and differences through dialogue and consultation, and control sensitive issues in a constructive manner to avoid misunderstanding, miscalculation and escalation of conflicts.
"China stands ready to step up communication with the United States, focus on cooperation, control differences and enhance mutual trust in a bid to build a new model of major-country relationship featuring no confrontation, no conflict, mutual respect and win-win cooperation," Xi added.
Commenting on the sluggish recovery of world economy and financial market turmoils, the Chinese president said that no country should stimulate exports via competitive devaluation of its currency.
China became the biggest trading partner of the United States last year, with the trade volume at nearly 560 billion U.S. dollars.
Regarding the coming G20 Summit in the Chinese city of Hangzhou this year, Xi said that he hopes the United States can continue its support.
The Chinese president also stressed that his country and the United States should enhance their cooperation in a host of areas, including nuclear security and climate change and continue to make the cyber-security issue a bright spot in the bilateral cooperation.
REGIONAL ISSUES
Talking about the Korean Peninsula issue, Xi stressed that all parties concerned should fully and strictly carry out UN resolutions on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).
Pyongyang started off a new year with the testing of what it claimed was its first hydrogen bomb in January and followed up with the launch of a string of short- and medium-range projectiles.
Xi called on all parties concerned to refrain from any rhetoric and act that could escalate regional tension and any move that might impair the security interests of other countries and the strategic balance in the region.
Although the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue is not on the NSS agenda, the recent flare-up of tension in Northeast Asia in the wake of the nuclear test and satellite launch by the DPRK has caused widespread concern.
Xi told Obama that his country is adamant on realizing denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, on safeguarding peace and stability on the peninsula, and on solving relevant issues through dialogue and negotiations as well.
Addressing the South China Sea issue, Xi vowed that his country will not accept any act under the disguise of freedom of navigation that violates its sovereignty and damages its security interests.
Xi reaffirmed that Beijing respects and safeguards the freedom of navigation and overflight other countries are entitled to under international law in the area, one of the world's busiest waterways.
China, he stressed, is resolute both in defending its sovereignty and related rights in South China Sea and in safeguarding peace and stability in the region, and sticks to the principle that the disputes should be settled in a peaceful way by relevant claimants through direct consultations and negotiations.
Beijing hopes that the United States will abide by its commitment to not taking sides on the sovereignty and territorial rows in South China Sea and play a constructive role in maintaining regional peace and stability, said the Chinese president.
Xi also urged the United States to stick to the one-China policy. Reaffirming China's stance on the Taiwan issue, Xi demanded that the U.S. side continue taking concrete moves to help maintain the peaceful development of the relationship across the Taiwan Strait, which he said will also benefit the China-U.S. relationship in the long run.
COORDINATION, COOPERATION
On his part, Obama reiterated that his country welcomes the rise of a peaceful, stable, and prosperous China. He said that the two countries share extensive common interests in the Asia Pacific and the United States stands ready to control differences with the Chinese side in a constructive way.
Obama voiced his support for the uphill efforts of the world's second largest economy to stage the economic transformation including its supply-side structural reform which was proposed by China's policymakers as the latest remedy for economic ills.
The two countries agreed to deepen cooperation in a host of areas including economy and trade, military, people-to-people exchanges, law enforcement and cyber-security and enhance coordination and cooperation in a slew of international and regional issues related to Iran and Afghanistan and on peacekeeping and development.
In a joint presidential statement issued by the two countries on Thursday, they said that they will sign the Paris Agreement on April 22, months after the historic pact on climate change was adopted during the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties (COP21) in France.
The two leaders have also agreed to issue a joint statement on nuclear security cooperation and work to make the fourth NSS a success.
Premier Li Keqiang greets US Senator Dick Durbin, a member of a delegation organized by the Aspen Institute, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 31, 2016. [WU ZHIYI / CHINA DAILY] Li: China will strive to make fairer market environment, boost protection of IPR
Premier Li Keqiang said China will ramp up efforts to nurture a fairer environment for market competition and will bolster intellectual property rights protection to attract more foreign investment, including from the United States
Li made the remark during a meeting on Thursday with a US delegation organized by the Aspen Institute, a Washington-based US think tank, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
The delegation was composed of 18 US senators and members of the House of Representatives.
Li emphasized that China and the US-the world's largest developing country and the largest developed country-have far greater common interests than differences. The two need to handle differences of opinion well to maintain the steady and sound growth of Sino-US relations.
He also said that China is willing to work hard with the US to advance negotiations on a China-US bilateral investment treaty, which is expected to better benefit economic and trade activities between them.
Legislators from the US states of Illinois, Delaware, California and Nebraska shared their thoughts with Li on wide-ranging topics, such as Sino-US relations, and China's economic development and business environment. They agreed that China's development also presents opportunities for the US.
The Aspen Institute, headquartered in Washington DC, is an organization that focuses on fostering leadership and open-minded dialogue.
Xue Lan, dean of the School of Public Policy and Management at Tsinghua University who had received training at the Aspen Institute, said think tanks such as the Aspen have often visited China, yet were rarely received by Chinese leaders such as the premier.
"It is important, especially for foreign legislators, to meet with Chinese leaders so all can get a clearer understanding of the other side," Xue said.
Zhao Chen, an IPR expert at the State Intellectual Property Office of China, said protection of property rights in China requires more specific regulations in order to increase overseas investment.
"Foreign investors currently face restrictions in some trading areas that force them to find Chinese partners," Zhao said. "The creation of more comprehensive policies is needed to dispel their concerns."
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 Co said on Thursday it has abandoned its $14 billion bid for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc, paving the way for Marriott International Inc to buy the Sheraton and Westin hotels operator.
"We were attracted to the opportunity presented by Starwood because of its high-quality, leading global hotel brands, which met many of our acquisition criteria, including the ability to generate consistent, long-term returns over time," Anbang said in a statement.
"However, due to various market considerations, the consortium has determined not to proceed further," Anbang added, referring to the joint bid it had put together with private equity firms J.C. Flowers & Co and Primavera Capital Ltd.
Anbang did not offer Starwood a reason for not following through on its raised offer of March 26, according to people familiar with the matter. They asked not to be identified disclosing confidential discussions.
Starwood said on Monday that Anbang had raised its offer to almost $14 billion. Anbang had been expected to firm up that non-binding offer, so that Starwood would formally declare it superior to Marriott's.
Anbang had already made a $13.2 billion binding and fully financed offer earlier this month, which Starwood accepted as superior. Had Marriott not counterbid on March 21, Starwood would have proceeded with the earlier Anbang offer.
Starwood also said in a statement on Thursday that Anbang had withdrawn its offer "as a result of market considerations," which it did not specify. Marriott declined to provide immediate comment.
Starwood's shares fell 4.4 percent to $79.80 in extended trading, while Marriott shares fell 4.9 percent to $67.68. This indicates that some Marriott shareholders are disappointed that the company is moving ahead with the deal at such a high price.
Anbang was established in 2004 as an automotive and property insurer by Chairman Wu Xiaohui, a native of China's entrepreneurial coastal city Wenzhou. The company has been leveraging its 1.65 trillion yuan ($253 billion) in assets to transform into a worldwide investor.
In October 2014, Anbang agreed to pay $1.95 billion for the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York, a move Wu said brought the insurer "extra brand recognition" and business opportunities. Earlier this month, Anbang agreed to pay Blackstone Group LP ion for Strategic Hotels & Resorts Inc, whose 16 luxury properties include the Four Seasons Washington D.C.
Last year, Anbang agreed to buy US insurer Fidelity & Guaranty Life for $1.6 billion, and paid around $1 billion for South Korea's Tong Yang Life Insurance Co.
It has also bought control of Fidea, a Belgium-based insurer, and the Belgian banking operations of Dutch insurer Delta Lloyd NV.
At home, Anbang has a leading stake in China Minsheng Banking Corp Ltd , the country's biggest private lender, and is a significant shareholder in China Vanke Co , the largest residential property developer.
View of the headquarters and head office of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), in Beijing, January 25, 2013.[Photo/IC]
Analyst says Wutongshu is playing key role in management of foreign exchange reserves
The State Administration of Foreign Exchange has started to allocate funds through its investment platform in the mainland's A-share market, a move believed to perfect its foreign exchange management and promote the development of the domestic capital market, experts said.
Wutongshu Investment Platform Co Ltd, a platform wholly owned by the SAFE, has just become a major shareholder of Bank of Communications Co, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Bank of China, Shanghai Pudong Development Bank and Everbright Securities Co Ltd.
The amount of A shares held by Wutongshu and its two wholly owned subsidiaries known as Fengshan Investment and Kunteng Investment totaled more than 27 billion yuan ($4.2 billion), according to Shanghai Securities News.
Liu Jipeng, director of the Capital Research Center at the China University of Political Science and Law, said that Wutongshu is playing an important role in China's foreign exchange management and the development of the A-share and H-share markets.
"I am glad to see Wutongshu in the Chinese A-share market, which is in line with the national strategy of raising the proportion of direct financing," said Liu.
"It not only helps China's foreign exchange regulator better use the huge amount of foreign exchange reserves, but offers ample funds and boosts confidence in the domestic stock market."
China's foreign exchange reserves totaled $3.2 trillion at the end of February, decreasing $28.6 billion compared with January, according to the People's Bank of China, the nation's central bank.
Liu said Wutongshu should be a value investor and seek shares with good liquidity.
"Wutongshu in the A-share market signals that China is setting up a general mechanism for the domestic capital market," said Niu Huayong, dean of the Business School at Beijing Foreign Studies University.
Niu said the government used to carry out emergency measures to stabilize the market such as the way it dealt with the stock market slump which started in June last year.
"And now, Wutongshu backed by the SAFE will be always in the A-share market to make investments and handle problems in advance," said Niu.
Niu added that market-oriented regulations in the domestic stock market should be a foundation for Wutongshu to make an impact.
Yan Liliang, a financial columnist at Securities Daily, said Wutongshu, along with Central Huijin Investment Ltd and China Securities Finance Co Ltd, will be China's three main stock market stabilization funds.
"Wutongshu entering the A-share market shows that China is positively conducting financial reforms," said Yan.
The annual reports of ICBC and BOC released on Wednesday showed that Wutongshu held 1.42 billion shares (0.4 percent) in ICBC, and 1.06 billion shares (0.36 percent) in BOC.
The annual report of Bank of Communications published on Tuesday showed that Wutongshu held 794.6 million shares in the bank, accounting for 1.07 percent of the total.
Wutongshu was not a top 10 shareholder of any of the three banks in the third quarter of 2015.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.11 percent to close at 3,003.92 points on Thursday. The Shenzhen Component Index gained 0.09 percent, while the startup index ChiNext dropped 0.47 percent.
Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People's Bank of China, said in February that China has the world's largest foreign exchange reserves and will not allow speculators to dominate market sentiment.
The Beijing-based Wutongshu investment platform was established in November 2014 with registered capital of 100 million yuan.
Wutongshu invested $48 billion in China Development Bank, which provides medium- and long-term financing to major national projects, and another $45 billion in Export-Import Bank of China, a policy bank focusing on export and import loans, according to a statement by the People's Bank of China in August.
A woman passes by the entrance of one of the NH Hotels in Madrid on February 25, 2012. [Photo/IC]
Properties will be developed through a joint venture between NH Hotel Group and HNA
NH Hotel Group SA, the largest hotelier in Spain, has entered the Chinese market with a plan to open 120 to 150 hotels by 2020.
The properties will be developed through a joint venture between NH Hotel Group and HNA Group, China's fourth-largest airline group and also the biggest shareholder in NH, said Federico Gonzalez Tejera, CEO of the Spanish chain.
"We spent some time to analyze the Chinese market and understand the consumers here before we entered the market," Tejera said on Wednesday, adding that this was the reason NH entered the Chinese market three years after HNA became its shareholder.
The rising middle class in China will be a major factor in driving the world's tourism market and it is also an opportunity for NH to bring China into its global plan, he said.
The first two NH hotels in China are already under construction and they are expected to open in the second half of this year, said Markland Blaiklock, managing director of NH Hotel Group in China.
The hotels are located in Hainan province. One property in Haikou, with 1,001 rooms, will be the largest NH hotel in the world, Blaiklock said.
The joint venture expects to develop 10 to 20 hotels in China this year and it has already started work on some projects in some first- and second-tier cities, he said.
The long-term target of NH is to build 120 to 150 hotels in China, Blaiklock said.
"It is ambitious, but realistic," he added.
During the past three years, China's hotel industry, especially the high-end hotels, has suffered from oversupply and the effects of the government's tough anti-extravagancy policies.
But some business insiders said the situation is getting better. Statistics from Jones Lang LaSalle, the Chicago-based real-estate consultancy company, showed that in 2015, the average occupancy rate of Chinese hotels was expected to increase by 3 percentage points to almost 60 percent from the previous year.
"China's hotel industry is recovering and most cities still have potential to grow," said Jesper Palmqvist, area director of STR Global in the Asia-Pacific region, a hotel research company.
Palmqvist said leisure tourism will support the business growth of hotels in travel destinations.
Two brands of NH Hotel Group, including NH Collection and NH Hotels, have come to China targeting different groups of consumers, said Blaiklock.
NH Hotels with three or four stars will account for 60 to 70 percent of the group's hotels in China, as the medium-end hotels have huge demands in China, Blaiklock said.
NH Collection, a high-end brand, will be located only in first-tier cities, he said.
BEIJING - The State Council, China's Cabinet, on Thursday unveiled this year's top economic reform priorities.
The reforms for 2016 touched upon 10 fields, ranging from State-owned enterprise (SOE), to the opening-up policy, the State Council said in a statement.
The central government said it will encourage private enterprises to take part in the SOE reform and private capital will be allowed to invest in key sectors including power, oil, natural gas, railway, aviation and telecoms.
To boost sustainable growth, the government will unveil more measures to help researchers commercialize their findings and facilitate innovation and entrepreneurship.
In the statement, the government vowed to further cut red tape, loosen controls on market access and investment, and push forward supply-side structural reforms, to reduce overcapacity, destock, deleverage, reduce costs and shore up weak growth areas.
In terms of taxation, the VAT program will expand to all industries this year, while taxes on imported consumer goods are expected to be slashed, easing the tax burdens of both enterprises and ordinary consumers.
In the financial sector, China vowed to promote renminbi convertibility on the capital accounts "steadily and cautiously" and launch a stock connect program between the Shenzhen and Hong Kong bourses in 2016.
To push urbanization, plans will be formulated to help 100 million rural residents relocate to cities.
The government will further open its manufacturing and service sectors to foreign investors and simplify the procedures to start a foreign-funded company.
In addition, China will make more efforts to protect the environment through emission cuts and returning more marginal farmland to forest or grassland, the statement said.
The National Development and Reform Commission, the economic planner, will be responsible for supervision and evaluation of the reforms' implementation, it said.
A customer buys imported goods at the Tmall cross-border O2O experience center at the China (Tianjin) Pilot Free Trade Zone. The center, covering 600 square meters, offers thousands of imported commodities.[Photo/Xinhua]
A government-backed e-commerce association is planning to build a wholesale center for imported goods in Tianjin with potential collaboration from a subsidiary of media conglomerate Wire and Plastic Products Plc of London, according to an official with the group.
The China Cross-Border E-Commerce Import Alliance has signed a strategic agreement with the government of Jinghai district in Tianjin, where the wholesale center is located, to turn the district into a cross-border e-commerce hub, Huang Tingfa, president of the alliance, told China Daily.
The association is also in talks with Salmon China Ltd, a commerce and digital subsidiary company of WPP Plc that provides consultancy and technological support for e-commerce businesses, on potential collaboration.
Founded in 2015, the alliance aims to help international brands tap into the e-commerce business market in China. Its members are enterprises based in China, Europe, North America, Australia and Southeast Asia.
Huang said that the center, if successful, will be the largest in China for imported consumer goods. The total investment is estimated at 5 billion yuan ($772 million).
"Large numbers of products from all over the world will gather in the logistics park in Tianjin, where they enjoy preferential tax policies in the free trade zone. They will then be distributed to the rest of China. Such a business model is going to resolve the last-mile challenge for imported goods, making it faster, safer, more accurate and flexible," said Huang.
According to the China E-commerce Research Center, a Shenzhen-based research institute, cross-border e-commerce trading was worth 2 trillion yuan in the first half of 2015, up 42.8 percent from the same period of the previous year. Imports accounted for 15.2 percent of the total volume.
The Tianjin hub will include a 360,000-square-meter logistics park for storage and exhibition. Foreign exporters or their Chinese representatives will be able to supply their goods directly to the hub's sales platform, which checks quality of the products.
"The authenticity and quality of the imported goods at the moment are quite fragmented. With one center to manage all the goods, the quality can therefore be guaranteed," said Huang.
Tianjin port is the fourth-largest port in the world and the only free trade zone in North China. The logistics park, located in southwestern Tianjin, is 35 kilometers from the Tianjin international airport and 120 km from Beijing.
Salmon Ltd, the London-based parent company of Salmon China, has been offering e-commerce solutions for the world's leading brands for 26 years.
"The sentiment among our customers across the globe is not whether they should come to China, but how," said CEO Neil Stewart, who was on a tour of the logistics park.
"Any kind of solution that makes market access easier will enable us to better help our customers tap into the Chinese market."
Salmon's role in the emerging partnership will be offering consultancy, introducing customer network and building big-data base for the wholesale center, Stewart said.
"We have a lot of big-brand customers in Europe and the United States who are all considering the best way to enter the Chinese market. We have been looking for wholesale facilities that are collective and easy to use. I believe our customers would be very interested in package facility that encompasses logistics and favorable tax policies for e-commerce," said Stewart.
Chinese passengers talk next to a signboard of Juneyao Airlines at the Shanghai Pudong International Airport in Shanghai, September 23, 2014.[Photo/IC]
Cheap fares and no legacy are helping China's budget airlines beat State-owned carriers in the stock market.
With combined fleets exceeding 1,000 planes, $31 billion in market values and up to 20 times more workers, State-controlled China Southern Airlines Co, China Eastern Airlines Corp and Air China Ltd on average provide just one-third the returns of Spring Airlines Co and Juneyao Airlines Co, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Even the Chinese regulator has lauded Spring as a model of efficiency.
Investors have driven up shares of Juneyao fourfold since the stocks listed last year, while Air China, the leader by market value, has fallen 47 percent in the same period. The data also suggest the three carriers need to step up the pace of reforms to better exploit growth in the Chinese air travel market, poised to become the world's largest within two decades.
"Spring and Juneyao don't have the baggage of legacy like the State-owned airlines," said Cao Xuefeng, an analyst at Huaxi Securities Co in Chengdu. "They were started as profit-driven businesses and cost-efficiency for them extends to all aspects of their operations, not just their smaller workforces and cheaper tickets."
Spring's return on equity was 28.1 percent in the 2014 financial year and Juneyao's 23.6 percent, beating the 12.5 percent generated by China Eastern, the best performer among the three State carriers, the data show. Revenue at Juneyao and Spring jumped 88 percent and 60 percent, respectively, in the last three years, surpassing the 25 percent at China Southern, according to the data.
Several airlines have sprouted up in the past few years hoping to capture some of the growth in air travel, but Spring, established in 2005, remains the most successful example of budget carriers in China. CAPA Center for Aviation estimated in November 2014 that about 19 airlines were formed in the year after China voiced support for the development of low-cost carriers in November 2013.
Juneyao, established in 2006, considers itself a "high-value carrier"offering full services on a lower cost base. The company started a low-cost carrier, 9 Air, in 2014. Juneyao Chairman Wang Junjin expects the Guangzhou-based unit to break even by the end of this year.
A local resident takes a photo of a UAV flying over Xi'an for environmental protection proposes.[Provided to China Daily]
A new industrial base for China's burgeoning unmanned-aerial-vehicle sector is being created in Shaanxi province.
The Aviation Science Park for Civil UAV Development is being jointly led by Northwest Polytechnical University, one of China's leading aviation, aerospace, marine engineering institutions, and the Xixian New Area, an urban and industrial development zone between provincial capital Xi'an and the neighboring city of Xianyang.
Wang Jinsong, president of the university, said the new industrial base will be built on 40 hectares in the area's Fengxi New Town, a State-level site supported by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and the Shaanxi provincial government.
Its creation has been planned to accelerate the UAVs industry in China, said Wang, placing Shaanxi at its core with the intention of expanding business overseas.
Xi'an ASN Technology Group Co, one of the university's high-tech startup companies, will be at the center of the plans.
Wang Junbiao, ASN's general manager, called the planned investment in the hub "considerable" without elaborating.
The project will form what he described as a coordinated UAV development chain, of innovation, research, technology development, manufacturing, system integration and flight testing, customer service, after-sale service and personnel training.
"Construction is expected to be complete and operational within two years, with annual output of more than 1,000 high-end UAVs," he said.
Liu Yubin, deputy director of the Xixian New Area's administrative committee, said a diverse range of vehicles will be designed and built there, including those for photography, geophysical prospecting, disaster monitoring and coastal anti-smuggling activities.
Zhang Yuzhuo, a professor at Northwest Polytechnical University and a designer of multipurpose UAVs, said the UAV development is a priority sector within the wider aviation market.
The creation of a specialist hub for the industry would be vital in helping China catch up with the rest of the world.
Established in 1992 in Xi'an, ASN has created a complete UAV-industry chain, covering scientific research, production and after-sale services.
"The company has a leading place in the Chinese UAV industry, having accumulated rich experience in design, propulsion, flight control, navigation and guidance, launch and recovery, system integration and flight testing."
Nabil Abu Hashem receives dozens of local businessmen at his Gaza office every day, helping them import goods from China.
Together with his two sons, the 63-year-old man founded Wastco, a customs clearance and support company, in China's Guangzhou, Guangdong province, 14 years ago.
Wastco enabled Abu Hashem to build a solid base to facilitate the imports of goods from China to Gaza.
Chinese-made goods are in high demand among Gazans because of their high quality and reasonable prices, he said.
According to Abu Hashem, most of the commodities demanded by his business partners are garments, watches and cosmetics.
Inside his tiny two-story office in the heart of Gaza City, Abu Hashem discusses the business deals and detailed procedures with importers.
"After reaching a deal, my company in Guangzhou starts the purchase procedures, gets the goods and then ships them to Gaza," he said.
Abu Hashem, who was originally a teacher, started his business with China back in 1980 when he launched a company in Gaza to import computers from China and sell them in the coastal Palestinian territory.
When the political and economic conditions worsened in Gaza after violence erupted between the Palestinians and the Israelis in 2000, Abu Hashem decided to move his business to China where he started Wastco.
"This decision was risky, but I worked hard and my company grew notably," he said.
"I first thought I might face some difficulties dealing with Chinese businessmen, but they were, and still are, very helpful and cooperative."
On average, Abu Hashem can clinch 10 deals for Gaza traders every month, a reflection of the reliability of his company.
"My company is distinguished because we complete and ship the goods really fast and the costs are lower than any other companies," Abu Hashem noted.
Goods are usually shipped from China to the Israeli seaports, then into Gaza through Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and Gaza.
Despite the smooth process of getting and shipping the goods into Gaza, Abu Hashem still suffers from a "serious problem".
"Importers in Gaza, who pay an import tax to the Palestinian government in (the West Bank city of) Ramallah for goods delivered through Kerem Shalom crossing, also have to pay an additional tax to Hamas authorities in Gaza," Abu Hashem complained.
"The additional tax that we pay the authorities in Gaza worsens the already ailing market," Abu Hashem said. "That is why prices in Gaza have skyrocketed."
Islamic Hamas movement has been ruling Gaza since it seized the territory by force in 2007 after routing forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas, who now rules the West Bank.
One more problem for Abu Hashem is his inability over the past two years to visit China, as Egypt closed its borders with Gaza after 2013, only allowing for occasional opening of the Rafah crossing. This year, the crossing was open for only two days in February.
"I used to visit China once every two months. I really miss visiting China," he said.
There are no official statistics on the imports of goods from China to Gaza, but media officer at the Palestinian Chamber of Commerce in Gaza, Maher al-Tabbaa, estimated that more than 50 percent of goods imported into the Israeli-blockaded territory come from China.
"Chinese goods are highly demanded among Gazans since they can afford the prices, and the quality is really good," al-Tabbaa siad.
He added that around some 2,000 Gaza traders import goods from abroad. However, they face many challenges due to the Israeli embargo imposed on Gaza since 2007.
The economy in the Gaza Strip has significantly deteriorated due to an ongoing blockade and frequent military confrontations between Palestinian militants and Israel.
According to a January report by the Palestinian Chamber of Commerce, unemployment rate in the Gaza Strip reached 41 percent.
A global consulting firm called on China to open up its bad-asset investor market to tackle the rising toxic assets in industrial sectors plagued by chronic overcapacity.
Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in a latest report suggested the government to open the bad-asset primary market to eligible investors in key regions.
China has four State-owned asset management companies (AMC) to take over non-performing assets from banks and resell them at a discount price. Fifteen regional bad-asset managers have also been set up recently. But the primary market still sees limited competition due to few players.
"In the past few years these players were enough because there were not much bad asset. Few targets even drove the four State AMCs to develop new businesses. But as bad assets are set to explode due to government's call to shed overcapacity, these players are not enough," said David He, a global partner of BCG.
Outstanding debts in China's coal, steel, metals and cement industries were estimated to be 5.4 trillion yuan$835 billion by the end of 2015, according to BCG. If 20 to 40 percent of the debt turned sour, the four sectors alone would unleash 1 to 2 trillion yuan of bad assets.
"When bidders are few, they have a strong bargaining power over banks. Most previous purchases of AMCs are state instructed, which also hide risk," he said.
Besides this, BCG also suggested the government to give tax incentives to encourage banks to accelerate the writing-off of bad assets. Commercial banks and securities firms should also boost their investment banking capability to offer buyout loans to boost takeovers.
It also suggested local government should set up more industrial consolidation funds, to leverage more private asset managers to invest in bad assets.
MELBOURNE - The sale of Australia's largest dairy farm, Van Diemen's Land Company (VDL), to Chinese businessman Lu Xianfeng has received final clearance, and Lu unveiled on Friday his grand plans for the business.
VDL, situated in the northwest of Tasmania, has now been officially turned over to Lu's Moon Lake Investments company for $215 million.
Lu, who made his fortune in China's seafood industry, said he had big plans for VDL's future.
"From my first visit to the region, I could see its unique attributes, and since that time, have been keen to do what I can to further develop the potential of the VDL assets," he said in a statement on Friday.
"I would particularly like to thank all those who have supported me over this period, which is the start of what I hope to be a long and fruitful relationship."
The Tasmanian company, which has never been Australian owned since being established on a land grant by New Zealand's New Plymouth District Council 190 years ago, was subjected to a fierce bidding process last year.
Lu's deep financial resources eventually saw him stave off bids from two rival Australian companies to secure VDL's 13 farms, 19,000 hectares and 18,000 milking cows.
As part of the deal, Lu not only has promised to keep the company's 140 existing staff and honor all current milk contracts, but also plans to expand its workforce and entire operation.
This will involve Lu adding at least 95 new jobs and investing more than $75 million in developing VDL farm's currently only used as breeding grounds for heifers.
The Foreign Investment Review Board, which assessed the sale, also approved Lu's proposal to clear another 1,800 hectares of native vegetation for farm land.
The region's mayor, Daryl Quilliam, said he expected the number of jobs created under the expansion to be more like 200, a figure that would totally revitalize the local economy.
"I'm being told there's going to be eight or nine dairies and each dairy would employ around six or seven families, and so it's not only just single people," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on Friday.
"Some of these are going to be family people, so that could be up to 20 to 30 people down there on each farm.
"It's not only the jobs, it's going to be our business people, who have been struggling a little bit in Smithton as well, so it's going to mean there's going to be more business for them."
Potential customers look at a model of a real estate development in Yichang, Hubei province.[ZHOU JIANPING / FOR CHINA DAILY]
The average price of second-hand properties sold rose to 40,133 yuan per sq m by the end of March, a 1.1 percent growth month on month which marked the highest price in history, reported 21st Century Business Herald Friday.
Beijing Municipal Bureau of Land and Resources posted three plots of land on its website on Thursday, two of which are residential, located in Changping district. It is clearly noted in the post that aside from the area for building affordable housing, houses built on the rest of the land with an area of less than 90 sq m must account for more than 70 percent.
The move is seen as the comeback of the '90/70' requirement after seven years' suspension of that policy.
In 2006, the State Council released a document requiring that commercial housing which were approved after June 1 that year with an area of less than 90 sq m must account for 70 percent of the total homes being built.
As home prices keep hiking in major Chinese cities, Beijing Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development is tightening the property regulations. On top of that, the bureau is also strengthening the examination of home buyers' qualifications, intensifying efforts to rectify the intermediary market and stabilizing the property market in a bid to curb overheating in housing prices.
On March 25, Shanghai toughened conditions to buy property and raised the down payment requirements for secondhand homes.
Shenzhen rolled out tightening measures similar to Shanghai's on the same day as its new home prices advanced 3.6 percent in March, softening from 5.4 percent in February but still up 57 percent from a year earlier.
A logo sign outside of the headquarters of Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc in Stamford, Connecticut, the US, November 20, 2015. [Photo/IC]
Anbang Insurance Group Co has announced that it has abandoned its $14 billion bid for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc.
The Chinese company said in a statement released in the United States on Thursday that it would not proceed with a consortium including J.C. Flowers & Co and Primavera Capital to buy Starwood because of various market considerations. Analysts said price and regulators' attitudes may have played a significant role in the decision.
Starwood shares fell 0.27 percent to $83.43 on Thursday, while shares of Marriott Hotels & Resorts, which was competing with Anbang to acquire Starwood, fell 0.52 percent to $71.18.
Tian Bo, a spokeswoman for Anbang, confirmed the decision but offered no further information.
Fred Hu, chairman of Primavera, told Reuters in an e-mail that the reason for the withdrawal was that Anbang wasn't interested in a protracted bidding war.
Huang Peng, a partner at Beijing-based Guantao Law Firm who specializes in cross-border deals, said Anbang's decision showed that Chinese enterprises have been more mature when going abroad.
"A bidding war is not good for buyers, and I believe Anbang and its partners abandoned the $14 billion bid based on reasonable business judgment," Huang said.
Alan Wang, a partner at international law firm Freshfields who has also closely followed the bidding, said price considerations may be a reason for Anbang calling it quits.
"To finish the deal, Anbang should guarantee that funds are well financed and remitted smoothly. The company will think twice when the amount is huge," Wang said.
A salesman helps a customer with a Volkswagen Skoda at a shopping mall in Kunming, Yunnan province.[Photo/Agencies]
SAIC Volkswagen will spend around 2 billion euros ($2.27 billion) over the next five years to enrich Skoda's portfolios in China, the biggest single investment the Czech brand has received since its entry into the Chinese market in 2007.
The investment is detailed in a joint memorandum signed by Volkswagen AG, SAIC Motor Corp Ltd and Skoda Auto AS in the presence of President Xi Jinping and his Czech counterpart Milos Zeman on Wednesday in Prague.
Founded in 1895, Skoda became a wholly owned subsidiary of Volkswagen Group in 1991.
The three parties also agreed that Skoda would assume an equity position in SAIC Volkswagen, but this is subject to approval by the Chinese authorities.
"The equity interest in the company is the basis for the independent branding of Skoda cars and consequently the brand's profiled staging in China," said Skoda CEO Bernhard Maier.
China has grown into Skoda's largest market worldwide. Its China sales reached 281,700 vehicles in 2015, accounting for more than a quarter of its global sales in the year.
"We owe this success to our attractive model range and the very constructive and friendly cooperation with our long-standing Chinese partner SAIC Volkswagen," said Maier.
He said the investment will enable Skoda to rapidly expand its offerings to include forward-looking vehicle concepts and modern technology. "Our aim is to double our deliveries in China by 2020," said Maier.
Zhang Zhiyong, an auto analyst in Beijing, said the investment is important to Skoda as new models will certainly boost its sales and brand recognition in the Chinese market.
The investment will also cover pioneering electric concept cars, connectivity and digitalized individual mobility.
Jochem Heizmann, president and CEO of Volkswagen Group China, said the investment was a "strong signal" regarding the future research and development of new vehicle concepts and environmentally friendly technologies in China.
Skoda is preparing a comprehensive SUV campaign for the Chinese market as SUVs have been the fastest-growing segment in the Chinese market.
It will show the concept car Vision S in China for the first time at the Beijing auto show in April, offering a glimpse of the large SUV, which is expected to be launched in China in the first half of next year.
Another body variant of Skoda's large SUV is already in development. The brand also intends to bring out a crossover utility vehicle for Chinese consumers.
Skoda launched its first China-made model, the Octavia, in 2007. It now has six different model series on the Chinese marketfrom the small Fabia through to the mid-sized Superb.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai plays with top Go player Ke Jie at a Go school in Beijing on March 31, 2016. Pichai also talked about technology with Ke and other players. [Provided to China Daily]
April Fools' Day is not all about pranks. China's Internet giant Baidu is dead serious about its plan to be launched on April 1to include science fiction writers in its research on artificial intelligence.
The Baidu Verne Plan involves setting up a consulting team to bring the world's best science fiction writers together with leading scientists in a quest to turn imagination into reality.
The project, named after French novelist Jules Verne, has already invited six people to be the first group of advisers in the team, according to Beijing-based Baidu.
The company said that some of Verne's imagination seen in his books in the 19th century, such as helicopters, had been realized in the 20th century.
Apart from Andrew Ng, Baidu's chief scientist, the other five advisers are science fiction writers. They include Liu Cixin, who last year became the first Asian author to win the Hugo Award for Best Novel for his book The Three-Body Problem, and David Brin, an award-winning author from the United States.
Baidu said in a statement that the advisers will receive updated information on how the company is developing certain technologies.
They will also be able to communicate with Baidu's research and development team to turn some of the ideas into products through brainstorming.
Liu Cixin told The Paper in an interview: "This is an innovative organization. Many ideas, along with innovative work, will be born here. The project will focus on artificial intelligence, and there will be an opportunity for us to work with scientists once the project is officially launched."
Baidu said the project is highly exclusive, open only by invitation.
It is in line with the company's ambitions, as its President Zhang Yaqin has said artificial intelligence is the foundation to empower traditional industries and make them smart. He told China Daily, "Baidu has made some world-class achievements in the key subfields of artificial intelligence, such as image recognition, voice recognition, machine translation and self-driving cars."
Artificial intelligence is viewed by many other Chinese companies as the next "big thing", especially after Google's AlphaGo artificial intelligence program beat a South Korean world-class Go player recently.
Industry insiders say computers are likely to replace humans in a number of areas.
Beijing-based Internet finance company Jimu.com said it is about to launch a service using robots to offer wealth management advice to middle-class clients.
Dong Jun, the company's chief executive officer, said, "Through deep learning, it is possible that the machines will be able to calculate investment risk, predict investment yield and offer tailor-made financial advice to individuals after analyzing a huge pool of data."
Small and medium-sized enterprises from China and Turkey can now log onto an e-commerce platform to trade with each other as part of the Belt and Road Initiative to promote online business.
The pilot project has been jointly established by DHgate.com, a leading Chinese online wholesale marketplace, and the Chongqing Logistics City.
The southwestern municipality is the country's only city to host the cross-border e-commerce project, which aims to set an example for cooperation between China and the countries along the ancient Silk Road.
At a ceremony attended by President Xi Jinping and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in November, China signed its first cross-border e-commerce cooperation agreement with Turkey as a way to strengthen its voice in setting new global trade rules.
The platform will provide a series of services in both Chinese and Turkish, including skills training, online exhibition and Internet financing.
"With strong support from both governments, this platform can enjoy many favorable policies in customs, tariffs and finance," said Hou Jiancheng, the project director at DHgate.
"We predict that the value of trade on this platform will reach $500 million this year."
It is expected that the customs clearance time will be reduced to five working days from the current 15-20 days and the tariffs will be greatly cut, he added.
Wang Shutong, founder and CEO of DHgate, said: "Cross-border e-commerce is an effective measure China can use to ease the impact of the TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement) and help it establish a voice in international trade rules."
"As a leader in e-commerce, China can actually export its e-commerce standards to Turkey and other emerging markets."
As an important transportation and trade hub, Turkey is one of the fastest-developing e-commerce countries.
In 2014, one-third of Turkey's population shopped online, with the value of online transactions reaching $18 billion.
The World SME Forum, a nonprofit organization to promote the growth of Turkish small and medium-sized enterprises, works closely with the local government and Chinese partners.
"Our aim is to help design, develop and implement this project on the Turkish side with a view to realize its economic benefits as early as possible and to the fullest extent," said forum CEO Tunc Uyanik.
Located at the intersection of the Belt and Road Initiative's trade route and the Yangtze River Economic Zone, the Chongqing Logistics City is set to become a major international port zone in inland China.
It is the starting point of the Chongqing-Xinjiang-Europe (Yuxinou) International Railway and boasts a full range of cross-border e-commerce infrastructure.
Another advantage of this Sino-Turkey e-commerce project is the change of logistics models, according to Luo Shuquan, president of the CLC. "In the past, logistics between China and Turkey were by air or water and now the clients can use the Yuxinou railway," he said.
To boost trade, Chongqing will launch a new train route to Turkey this month.
The intercontinental rail link made its debut from the CLC's Tuanjiecun Railway Station in January 2011.
The 11,180-kilometer link begins in Chongqing, crosses the border into Kazakhstan at Alashankou, the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, and passes through Russia, Belarus and Poland before reaching its terminus in Duisburg, Germany.
It cuts what was a five-week shipping period to about two weeks and costs 80 percent less than air transport.
A visitor takes pictures of a human head made by a 3D printer on dislay at the Longhua Funeral Parlor in Shanghai, China, 30 March 2016.[Photo/IC]
The deceased victim of an accident whose face or head was disfigured can now appear perfect before the funeral through 3D printing technologyeven if the skin and hair are severely damaged.
Shanghai Longhua Funeral Home in Shanghai, which claims to be first in the world to use the technology in such an application, began the service on Wednesday, five days ahead of Tomb Sweeping Day, when people traditionally pay their respects to the dead.
A professional beautician using conventional clay and wax methods may require a week to repair a face that was damaged in an accident, such as a fire, explosion or car accident.
But the likeness of the loved one often falls short of families' expectations.
"With 3D printing, it takes only five or 10 hours to copy a whole face, including hair and mustache," said Liu Fengming, a senior engineer at the studio.
"That frees our beauticians from additional hand work, and the final result shows great resemblance to the personat least 95 percent."
Promotion of the technology, which could significantly improve the efficiency of funeral services, was included in a five-year work plan of the Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau.
Liu said the first step in the process is to scan a photograph of the person before they died, and then use special software to build a 3D model of the face and head. That takes roughly 10 minutes.
"The software is imported from the United States, so the standard bone structure in the system is that of Caucasians, who usually have bigger noses and smaller faces. So before printing we need to make adjustments, including personalization such as adding a birthmark on the jaw and a scar on the cheek," Liu said.
"We're currently creating a database of standard Chinese faces based on a collection of 83,000 samples. This will help boost the speed of model building," said Xu Renxiang, president of Shanghai Xuanlin Information Technology Co, the studio's technology partner.
Liu said the studio can model all or part of the head of the deceased with 3D printing, but technicians try to keep as much as possible of the original bones and body tissues.
"The family of the deceased will never agree if we use a totally printed head to replace that of the deceased," Liu said. "So as long as there's part of the head left, we will use the printed parts to fill in and to ensure the deceased leaves the world with the best facial appearance."
He said the material is a type of combustible powder. It costs around 5,000 yuan ($774) to produce a face model.
The studio looks forward to expanding the 3D service to more people.
"For example, some people's bodies become emaciated rapidly in the last days of their lives because of disease, and their relatives hope that they can say farewell to the world with their original look," Liu said.
"In that case, we can make a facial mask for the deceased using 3D printing."
Premier Li Keqiang greets US Senator Dick Durbin, a member of a delegation organized by the Aspen Institute, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 31, 2016. [Photo by Wu Zhiyi/China Daily]
Premier Li Keqiang said China will ramp up efforts to nurture a fairer environment for market competition and will bolster intellectual property rights protection to attract more foreign investment, including from the United States.
Li made the remark during a meeting on Thursday with a US delegation organized by the Aspen Institute, a Washington-based US think tank, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
The delegation was composed of 18 US senators and members of the House of Representatives.
Li emphasized that China and the US-the world's largest developing country and the largest developed country-have far greater common interests than differences. The two need to handle differences of opinion well to maintain the steady and sound growth of Sino-US relations.
He also said that China is willing to work hard with the US to advance negotiations on a China-US bilateral investment treaty, which is expected to better benefit economic and trade activities between them.
Legislators from the US states of Illinois, Delaware, California and Nebraska shared their thoughts with Li on wide-ranging topics, such as Sino-US relations, and China's economic development and business environment. They agreed that China's development also presents opportunities for the US.
The Aspen Institute, headquartered in Washington DC, is an organization that focuses on fostering leadership and open-minded dialogue.
Xue Lan, dean of the School of Public Policy and Management at Tsinghua University who had received training at the Aspen Institute, said think tanks such as the Aspen have often visited China, yet were rarely received by Chinese leaders such as the premier.
"It is important, especially for foreign legislators, to meet with Chinese leaders so all can get a clearer understanding of the other side," Xue said.
Zhao Chen, an IPR expert at the State Intellectual Property Office of China, said protection of property rights in China requires more specific regulations in order to increase overseas investment.
"Foreign investors currently face restrictions in some trading areas that force them to find Chinese partners," Zhao said. "The creation of more comprehensive policies is needed to dispel their concerns."
Ninety-three provisions of Premier Li Keqiang's annual Government Work Report answered the concerns of netizens who offered more than 180,000 suggestions in an online poll, officials said on Thursday.
Both numbers were double those of last year, when the first such poll was conducted to solicit grassroots opinions and help shape decision-making of the central government.
The website of the central government, gov.cn, conducted the poll-titled" I have a question for the premier"-to gauge the issues that concerned netizens the most.
In addition, 10 traditional and new media outlets, including chinadaily.com.cn, participated to collect messages and suggestions from readers and followers. As of March 15, Internet users offered 183,427 suggestions-1,503 of which were compiled in 10 books and submitted to leaders of the State Council, China's Cabinet.
As a result of last year's inaugural poll, 46 provisions that addressed 79,307 suggestions from Internet users were in the 2015 Government Work Report. The doubling of the numbers this year indicates more enthusiastic participation of Internet users in China and 26 other countries, including Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and Singapore.
Each year, the Government Work Report lists accomplishments made over the past year and sets targets for the nation for the new year, in particular economic indicators and improvement of people's livelihood.
Experts said the collecting of suggestions reflected the willingness and openness of the central government to listen to grassroots concerns.
For example, Internet users disclosed difficulties in obtaining annual holidays and told of embarrassing experiences of being forced to shop during tourism trips.
The 2016 Government Work Report required all governmental departments and companies to implement the policy of annual holidays with payment, Liu said.
The report also stipulated that the tourism market should be strictly regulated to prevent forced shopping.
Home prices continued to leap in Shanghai and Shenzhen despite fresh efforts to rein them in.
New home prices in Shanghai jumped 5.1 percent from February to March, a sharp acceleration from 0.22 percent growth in February, according to data provided by China Index Academy on Thursday.
On March 25, Shanghai toughened conditions to buy property and raised down payment requirements for secondhand homes.
In Shenzhen, new home prices advanced 3.6 percent in March, softening from 5.4 percent in February but still up 57 percent from a year earlier. The city rolled out tightening measures similar to Shanghai's on the same day.
New home prices in Beijing picked up 0.84 percent, but prices for pre-owned homes jumped 5.1 percent. Pre-owned homes in Shanghai in March rose 4.7 percent, up from 1.8 percent in February. In Shenzhen, prices gained 4.7 percent, up from 2.8 in February. Sales of pre-owned homes exceeded sales of new flats in these cities.
Price hikes have spread from these cities to some second-tier cities, according to the academy. New home prices in Dongguan, a city near Shenzhen, registered the fastest growth among 100 cities.
A purchasing frenzy in Shenzhen also drove up prices in nearby Huizhou and Zhongshan, while the mania in Shanghai pulled up prices in Suzhou and Kunshan.
Governments in Suzhou and Nanjing have taken aggressive measures such as capping developers' price increases. In first-tier cities, governments have clamped down on Internet finance companies and home brokerage firms that were lending homebuyers money for down payments, a practice believed to push up prices and boost financial risk.
"As tightening measures in hot spots take effect, previous price hikes will be curbed and the national market will return to calm," the academy wrote in its report.
Most industry insiders are skeptical that the tightening measures could really put a brake on sizzling prices. Meng Xiaosu, chairman of China Real Estate Development (Group), said history suggested that every round of government restriction was followed by a greater rebound in prices.
Yvonne Zhou, a property expert at Boston Consulting Group, said the concentration of resources in big cities is the chief reason for hikes there. Excess liquidity also helped, which migrated to the property sector from the stock market.
Students interact with a teacher through an online course at a rural primary school in Xinxiang, Henan province, in September. [Phoot by Chen Jie/for China Daily]
Teachers earning eye-popping paychecks for online classes in subjects ranging from English to physics has stimulated a lively debate across China that touches on the power of Internet instruction, the state of Chinese education and the ethics of entrepreneurship.
Zheng Anke, who earns up to 3.6 million yuan ($554,000) annually through her English classes on WeChat, China's most popular instant messaging app, provides a case in point.
Zheng, in her early 30s, organized 10 WeChat groups with 120 students each and charges each student 3,000 yuan ($460) a year. She once worked for New Oriental Education, China's biggest English-training school, but now runs her own business.
"I compile my own English learning materials, which I send to the students every week," said Zheng, who has two assistants to help her keep in touch with all of the students as they also receive weekly feedback on their pronunciation.
The proliferation of Internet instruction has raised questions among Chinese netizens. First, the whopping sums some teachers make has led to criticism about compensation and fair salaries. Second, some online teachers are having to hide their identities, as they work in government schools and are barred from outside instruction.
After-school instruction has long been popular among parents with big hopes for their children's academic achievements, so the growing popularity of online teaching is not surprising.
Yuanfudao, or Ape Tutor, an online educational agency that started last year, already has more than 15 million members who are paying for distance learning.
"We have no limitations on classroom space and student numbers," said Huang Minhui, director of the company's brand public relations department. "On average, we charge only one-eighth of the traditional training schools' fees. With so many students and so many eager parents in China, we believe we're quite competitive."
Many Internet teachers have higher salaries than regular teachers because there are a huge number of online students across the country, Huang said.
High earnings have caught the public's attention. One screenshot, which went viral on WeChat, drawing netizen criticism, showed a physics teacher who charged each of his 2,617 students 9 yuan for a single class. He earned 18,842 yuan for an hour's instruction after sharing 20 percent of the tuition with an online educational agency.
Yang Jie, a government worker in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, said distance learning has many advantages compared with traditional educational agencies, including cheaper fees, repeated opportunities to review the teachers' instruction and the ability to attend classes when it's convenient.
Yang also appreciates the ability to choose instructors.
"I can choose the teachers I like freely on the Internet," Yang said. "I'll continue to attend their classes if they turn out to be humorous and their classes are prepared well."
Those who work in government elementary and high schools have been barred from teaching for online educational agencies since 2015. Those teachers are only allowed to teach for free for online platforms established by the schools to help the students with their studies, but some moonlight anyway, said Huang.
Zheng is undeterred by the netizen criticism and intends to continue to build her business.
"I'm going to further my study of English teaching skills in Britain this year," Zheng said. "I believe I can recruit more students if I better my skills."
China began a voluntary organ donation trial in 2010 and promoted the practice across the country in 2013. [Photo/Xinhua]
An increasing number of Chinese people are signing up for the nation's organ donor plan, with more than 66,000 joining during the past six years, according to the Red Cross Society of China.
And with the growing number of registered organ donors, more and more people are benefiting from transplant surgery.
So far, more than 6,000 people have donated organs after death, helping more than 18,000 patients with terminal organ failure, said Hao Linna, vice-president of the society.
Last year, China ranked first in Asia and third in the world for the number of organ donors, she said on Thursday.
In 2015, the number of people who donated organs in China exceeded 2,700. They donated a total of more than 7,700 organs.
"In the past six years, since China launched its organ donation program and encouraged people to register to donate organs in the event of their death, a scientific and fair organ donation system has been established in China and it is improving steadily," Hao said.
The organ donation system has developed fast since China decided to stop using organs from executed prisoners for transplant surgery on Jan 1 last year, making voluntary donations from citizens the only source, Huang Jiefu, chairman of the National Organ Donation and Transplantation Committee, said earlier this month.
The number of organ donors per million people increased to 2.1 last year, compared with 0.02 in 2010, Huang said.
China has faced a severe shortage of donated organs because of traditional beliefs that many people cannot accept the idea of their body being buried incomplete. Because of the lack of organs, some patients have had to wait for months or even years for suitable organs.
Despite the recent increase in the number of donations, organs are still in short supply, said Hu Shengshou, president of the Fuwai Hospital in Beijing and a heart transplant surgeon.
"There are still patients dying while waiting for organs," he said. "And transplant surgeries are still not covered by the basic medical insurance programs, making them too expensive for some patients to afford."
Chen Jingyu, vice-president of Wuxi People's Hospital, said organ transplant surgeries are among the most effective ways to save lives and improve the quality of life among patients with terminal organ failure.
However, on average only 2.6 organs are used per donor in China, compared with between 3.5 and four in some other countries, he said.
This is because some organs have to be used for surgeries very soon after they are retrieved, otherwise they will be wasted, he said.
"For example, a lung must be transported to a hospital for surgery within eight hours of retrieving it and needs a convenient fast transportation system between different places," he said.
Airlines and airports are now required to provide priority services for transported organs, such as swift security checks for medial staff carrying donated organs, according to a circular released by the Civil Aviation Administration of China in February.
GUANGZHOU -- South China's Guangdong province reported two new Zika cases Friday, bringing the total number of imported infections in the province to 10.
Two sisters aged 12 and 13 tested positive for the Zika virus Tuesday in Enping city, the provincial health and family planning commission said.
The two returned from Venezuela on March 23 and developed a skin rash. The younger sister has since tested negative for the virus and is under observation at home, while the elder sister is in hospital with a normal body temperature.
All eight other imported Zika cases in Guangdong have been discharged from hospital after recovery.
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global emergency in early February amid a Zika outbreak in Central and South America. China has also been on alert as the warming weather may facilitate the spread of the mosquito-borne virus.
Symptoms of Zika infections include fever, joint pain, rash, conjunctivitis, headache and muscle pain. It is also a suspected cause of microcephaly in new-born babies.
LANZHOU -- Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang has asked officials to enhance preciseness in poverty alleviation by collecting accurate information of impoverished people.
The poor people should be clearly identified and their information be archived so that the government can help them in an accurate way, said Wang during a recent trip to Northwest China's Gansu province.
At the end of 2014, China had 70 million people in the countryside living below the nation's poverty line of 2,300 yuan (about $354) in annual income.
A model presents a design by Wang Yutao during China Fashion Week in Beijing.[Photo provided to China Daily]
Reputed Chinese designer Wang Yutao's 2016 autumn/winter collection, which was shown at China Fashion Week on Sunday, specifically targeted youth.
Called B+, it is the secondary line of Beautyberry, which Wang founded 11 years ago.
This was the second show of B+, following its debut last October.
The collection highlighted oversized coats, sporty jackets and clashing colors. Colorful fur adorned some of the pieces, giving them a luxurious yet youthful look.
Inspired by cats in Kyoto, Japan, the collection had a cartoon cat as its motif.
The patterns were hand-drawn by the designer and his team.
Wang is known for his understated, modern design that sometimes incorporates Chinese elements. He has been drawn to pandas and goldfish in the past.
"We don't avoid them (Chinese elements) or use them deliberately. We only use them when it feels natural," he says.
The show was done in collaboration with Kopenhagen Fur, the Danish fur-auction company, which provided fur for the design.
"He is a very diligent designer who is into new fabrics and new techniques," says Cui Yiyun, general manager of Kopenhagen Fur's China office. "He didn't use a lot of fur, but when he used it, the fur stood out."
As for his achievements, Wang won the Jinding Award, China's top fashion design award, at China Fashion Week in 2011. He held a runway show at Berlin Fashion Week as part of the Mercedes-Benz International Designer Exchange Program in 2012.
Wang also recently participated in The Goddess' New Dress, where his outfits were auctioned by major commercial brands and online platforms.
Wang says he took part in the event because he wanted to share with the public what design is about and how runway fashion can impact their daily lives. Moreover, he wants to promote his brand and designs.
Speaking about challenges faced by independent brands, Wang says a lack of funds and sales channels put a lot of pressure on entrepreneurs. Knock-offs available online also threaten the brands.
Compared with its main line, B+ has a lower price range, from 400 yuan ($65) to 5,000 yuan. The brand is now available at Galeries Lafayette Beijing and multi-brand fashion boutique D2C, as well as from an online store.
Wang says he plans to open two independent stores in Beijing.
Celebrity chefs Pascal Tingaud (right), HowardCai (center) with Richard Geoffroy, chef de cave of Dom Perignon, at a tasting event in Hangzhou.[Photo provided to China Daily]
When wine critic and celebrity chef Cai Hao was invited by the French champagne brand Dom Perignon to team up with French celebrity chef Pascal Tingaud to design a menu, he felt very excited. The 2006 vintage and P2 1998 of the brand had become available on Chinese market, and Dom Perignon wanted to pair them with both Chinese and Western food for Chinese fans to enjoy.
"Dom Perignon is among my favorite champagne brands, and I love its wines. They are very classy," Cai, widely known as Howard Cai, says.
As founder of Howard's Gourmet, a kitchen that aims to promote Chinese food on world culinary scene, the Chinese-American is famous for sharing his passion for Chinese food, and often caters for celebrities and events both at home and abroad.
The wines match well with seafood and light flavors, so the two chefs decided to pair the 2006 vintage with three dishes: lobster consomme, double-broiled Chaoshan sea-whelk soup, and scallop, caviar and watercress veloute.
For the P2 1998, they prepared seven dishes, including a grouper fish with black truffle, braised pork knuckle with tangy Chinese homemade rice cake, and stir-fried crabmeat with light ginger sauce.
The tastings were conducted over several lunches and dinners held in Beijing and Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, for four days last week.
Richard Geoffroy, Dom Perignon's "chef de cave" (cellar master), came to China for the events, and noted that the 2006 vintage is Dom Perignon's fifth successive vintage champagne, describing it as "juicy".
Nobel Prize recipient Craig Mello speaks at a news conference in Boston in 2006. The biologist has worked with Chinese scientists for years.[Photo provided to China Daily]
Nobel-winning biologist Craig Mello tells Liu Xiangrui that the stage is set for China to play a leading role in world science.
Craig Mello, an American biologist and co-winner of the Nobel Prize in 2006, says the great thing about science is that it can break barriers and bring people of different cultural backgrounds together.
In his younger days, Mello, now 56, used to interact with many Chinese students and fellow scientists, who then visited the United States for studies or to attend seminars. One such meeting led to his friendship with Zhang Biliang, an entrepreneur who returned to China and founded the Guangzhou-based biotech company RiboBio in 2006.
Mello and Zhang have worked together since.
"Friendship really is the key (to our cooperation), and we've been collaborating closely," Mello tells China Daily during a recent visit to the southern city of Guangzhou in Guangdong province.
The professor of molecular medicine at University of Massachusetts Medical School and a member of the US National Academy of Sciences shares his Nobel Prize with Andrew Fire for their discovery of RNA interference, a genetic process.
It is an example of the RNA-guided searching mechanism that cells develop to find and regulate genetic information, quite analogous to the way we would search the Internet, Mello explains.
RNA interference allows researchers to rapidly "knock out" the expression of specific genes and define the biological functions of those genes. It also provides a potential avenue to "silence" genes that cause or contribute to diseases.
"It has huge ramifications and implications both for medicine and other fields. So it's an extremely exciting time now in genetics," Mello says.
RiboBio has been among China's early companies to develop medicines based on RNA interference.
Led by Mello, who is a scientific consultant and chairman of its scientific and strategic development commission, RiboBio has formed an international research team on RNA-based therapies.
In 2011, the company's focus on RNA silencing and relevant therapies was recognized as an innovative project by the provincial government.
Currently the company is developing RNA treatments for diseases, including liver cancer, based on such technologies. A RiboBio treatment for osteoarthritis that uses RNA technology is expected to go into clinical trials this year.
The company has created the Canton Nucleic Acids Forum, a series of recurring conferences with the initial goal of exposing Chinese scientists to the latest developments in research on nucleic acids worldwide and translating the new knowledge into practical applications everywhere.
During his brief visits to China, Mello holds discussions with the Chinese employees of RiboBio.
Yeh Chia-ying, 92, wins the lifetime award at this year's You Bring Charm to the World awards in Beijing.[Photo provided to China Daily]
On Friday evening in Beijing, Yeh Chia-ying recited a poem by the ancient Chinese poet Li Bai, with her eyes closed and her voice ringing.
Aged 92, Yeh left her audience spellbound at this year's You Bring Charm to the World awards, an annual honor given by Hong Kong-based Phoenix TV and other Chinese media to people who influence society with their work.
The Chinese academic received a lifetime award this year.
Chinese pharmaceutical chemist Tu Youyou, who won the Nobel Prize last year, is the other recipient of the YBCW lifetime award.
In other categories this year, the eight winners included sci-fi novelist Liu Cixin and real estate giant Wanda Group's chairman, Wang Jianlin.
Calling herself a "pure lover" of poetry, Yeh sees poems as something close to daily life.
"Everyone deserves the right to write a poem," she said during her acceptance speech.
For Yeh, who has taught Chinese poetry for 70 years, the country's literary legacy is much more than a career.
Born in Beijing in 1924, she showed her talent by composing poems at age 10. She also studied with the famous scholar Gu Sui at Fu Jen Catholic University in the '40s.
Though the Japanese invasion of China and civil war in the country before New China was founded in 1949 caused hardship, her passion for poetry and the desire to spread Chinese literature in the other parts of the world never weakened. In the '50s, she taught classical Chinese poetry in Taiwan and moved to the United States in the following decade.
Yeh lectured at the University of British Columbia in Canada from 1969-89.
After retiring from UBC, Yeh returned to the Chinese mainland to work at Nankai University in Tianjin, where she is the founding director of the Institute of Chinese Classical Culture.
"All my life I have rarely made any decisions. I've followed what destiny arranged for me, including my marriage," says Yeh. "But returning to my motherland to teach Chinese poetry is the only decision I made myself."
The veteran scholar says teaching foreigners Chinese poetry isn't just a livelihood but also a method of cultural exchange.
"The essence of poems can't be translated, and the nuances of ancient poems can only be sensed in the mother tongue. So I came back," she adds.
Back in her early days in North America, Yeh used to insist on teaching her English-speaking students in Chinese at Michigan State University and Harvard.
When she continued her teaching career in Canada, UBC wanted Yeh to teach in English so as to attract a larger number of students.
Yeh used to write her notes in pinyin below the lines of a Chinese poem and then translate them in English, a way she learned from the late British Sinologist and translator David Hawkes.
With time, her class of "Chinese literature in translation" grew from 16 to nearly 70 students.
"I not only told the students what the poems meant but also about the poets' lives and the dynasties of ancient China. The lectures interested them," she says.
Alongside the joyful and touching moments, poems also help her fight grief.
Yeh's elder daughter and her daughter's husband were killed in a car crash in 1976, while her younger daughter has struggled with cancer more recently.
Yeh, however, has kept her spirits up by reading and writing poems.
"All the beautiful, amazing things about Chinese poetry should be passed on to the new generation."
xufan@chinadaily.com.cn
A passion for electric vehicles brings Luca Valente, Brandon Ng and Nathan Siy (from left to right) together. [Provided to China Daily]
A DRAFT regulation on non-motor vehicles and motorcycles in Guangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong province, proposes banning the sales and use of motorcycles, electric bikes and other non-motor vehicles within the city. China Business Review commented on Thursday:
The production and sales of electric bicycles have a legal basis. The production of electric bicycles manufactured according to national standards and sold with the necessary permits is legal.
A ban on electric bicycles is clearly against the interests of many. For many people with low incomes riding an electric bike is the most feasible transport option.
Despite this an increasing number of cities are considering a ban on electric bikes. Decision-makers should try to understand the underlying feelings of the people at the lower end of society and recognize the hardships they face in their lives.
A gavel in a court. [Photo/IC]
MA YONG, former Party chief of Yiyang city, Central China's Hunan province, was arrested and prosecuted in January for accepting bribes. However, media reports said the two officials who bribed him were promoted instead of being punished. Both bribe-takers and those offering bribes should be punished, says Beijing News:
The judiciary has long been criticized for punishing bribe-takers while being tolerant of those offering bribes. This criticism is justified, as corruption cannot be rooted out without punishing the bribers.
But the root of the problem lies in legislation rather than the judiciary. The Criminal Law states that any State employee who receives personal profit in some form in return for doing a "favor" is taking a bribe, and when anybody gives a State employee something in order to receive an "illicit gain", that's bribery. The difference lies in the term "illicit gain".
Neither the law nor judicial explanations have clear definitions about what constitutes an "illicit gain". As a result, in judicial practice, procurators and judges decide whether a gain is illicit or not depending on whether it is obviously illegal. For example, those bribing customs officers to smuggle goods are considered to have committed a crime. However, in some cases people give State employees money for economic or political gains that are not obviously illegal. These people often go unpunished.
Many countries' legal systems do not contain such a gray area. As long as someone offers something to a government employee in order to make some form of gain, it is considered a bribe and the court does not care whether the profit is "illicit" or not. There have been calls for the Criminal Law to be amended to eliminate this gray area, but so far the law has not been changed. That's the root cause for bribe-givers receiving lighter or no penalties.
Of course, that does not justify Ma's case. Reports say Ma accepted 20,000 yuan ($3,093) from Liang Chengli and $10,000 from Yang Guangxin, both of whom were later promoted. This is obviously irrational, and both Liang and Yang deserve legal and disciplinary penalties.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (2nd R) arrives for the fourth Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, the United States, March 30, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]
The 2016 Nuclear Security Summit takes place in Washington D.C. on March 31 and April 1. For the past year, leaders of global powers retrospect their efforts of maintaining nuclear non-proliferation. Iran had one of the most significant achievements after signing peaceful agreements with P5+1 countries and giving up its nuclear weapon program.
The peaceful solution of the Iran nuclear problem has, first of all, prevented a war. Both Israel and the US had made it clear that they would eradicate Irans nuclear devices in case Iran crosses the nuclear border. That would be a nuclear-related war, which would cause greater turmoil in the Middle East.
The peaceful solution of the Iran nuclear problem has also set a precedent of peacefully defending the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). According to the NPT, only the US, UK, China, France, and Russia have the right to own nuclear weapons; no other nation or region is allowed to do so. However, in reality, Israel, India, and Pakistan all claim to owning nuclear weapons, while Iraq before the invasion of US was also pursuing nuclear ability.
Before the solution of the Iranian nuclear problem, the major powers had only two choices: tolerating the illegal nuclear states or terminating the illegal nuclear states. They tolerated Israel, India, and Pakistan, while the US invaded Iraq overthrowing the Saddam Hussein regime. A third mode now emerges, which brings hope of better defending the NPT without challenging peace.
Many people thought the Iran nuclear problem was trouble for the US only and attributed its peaceful solution to the US. This is a serious misunderstanding. It was in 2003 that US spy satellites found Iran was developing nuclear weapons; the P5+1 mechanism was established in 2006 and the Security Council had passed sanctions four times against Iran. All these show the Iran nuclear program to be a challenge for the NPT and the entire international society.
As a permanent member of the Security Council, China has played a key role over the years in negotiations. From 2006 to 2013, there were negotiations but the negotiations were not going smoothly. The divergences between the US and Iran were too big.
Every time the negotiations came to a stalemate because of antagonism between the US and Iran, it was China that maintained the negotiation and prevented it from breaking down. Thus an interesting phenomenon appeared in the negotiation process of the Iran nuclear problem: they always failed to reach a consensus but they always promised to continue talking, until they finally reached a consensus. Without China, that would have been impossible.
The US-Iran relationship began improving in 2013. The two sides started talking about exchanges of interests, which was actually more difficult because their true interests. China helped in the negotiations, and after 18 months of efforts, they finally made it. Therefore it is unfair to call the solution of the Iran nuclear problem a victory for the US. It is a victory of for the international society, to which China is a major member.
The peaceful solution of the Iran nuclear problem also offers some food for thought for nuclear programs of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea. It might involve more difficulties because a state of war still exists between the DPRK and the US. But as long as negotiations continue, there is hope. China is playing a positive role in the process and we hope both the DPRK and the US can echo its initiative to peacefully solve the problem.
The author is a former Chinese ambassador to Iran and now a researcher at the China Institute of International Studies. This is an excerpt of his interview with China Dailys Zhang Zhouxiang.
On August 2014 a turbine at the Doel 4 nuclear power plant was intentionally manipulated, a sabotage that contributed to half of Belgium's nuclear capacity coming to a standstill. To this day the case is unresolved even though a jihadi was found working there. The fourth and final Nuclear Energy Summit in Washington DC aims to mitigate a low likelihood, highly catastrophic black swan event.
The threat equation that will be addressed is no secret: Threat = Terrorist motivation times terrorist capabilities minus mitigation efforts. Few will doubt that the two first variables of the equation are in ascendance. For instance, in terms of motivation, terrorists of yore saw the fallout of nuclear terror as irreconcilable with their political agenda. In contrast, there are terrorist groups today that openly wield unconstrained and apocalyptical narratives.
In terms of capabilities the industry is growing post-Fukushima, with new applications being developed towards a clean energy future. Exciting headlines talk about Bill Gates Terra Power, Jeff Bezos General Fusion or Rosatoms nuclear spacecraft engine enabling a return trip to Mars. The nuclear innovation boom will in parallel contribute to nuclear knowledge dissemination and hence also increase the risk of know-how ending in the wrong hands.
Mitigation becomes thus more critical than ever; for all their brutality, the recent terror attacks in Brussels and Paris would rank as minor incidents compared to a dirty bombs radiological release. A decade ago RAND's Center for Terrorism Risk Management Policy conducted strategic decision-making games for a nuclear ground-burst terror attack on the Port of Long Beach. Beyond the terrifying loss of life in America, the economic consequences would hurt nearly every human being on the planet. While the early impact of a dirty nuclear detonation was estimated at $ 1 trillion - 10 to 20 times 9/11 -these costs would only be a prelude as the global finance, insurance and trade systems melt away.
The United States usually leads assertive, multilateral, institution-building initiatives, and in this particular case credit goes to the Obama Administration. The summits have ushered a framework and culture of nuclear security and tackle complacency, a far cry from the void existing at the time of 9/11. And yet despite important achievements, at the moment we have no agreement on nuclear security standards, no shared global databases on incidents, not even report formats - nuclear security excellence is still elusive. President Xi Jinping meeting President Barrack Obama in Washington signals that these challenges are at the top of the global agenda.
The PRC is, after all, betting big on nuclear. As Bill Gates remarked China is the best place to pursue next-generation nuclear power. His investee TerraPower will build a reactor prototype with the China National Nuclear Corporation. China aims to become both exporter and global leader in clean-energy manufacturing. In the next four years alone two dozen new nuclear reactors will come online. At the same time the county is already leading in terms of nuclear security making great strides in areas ranging from new legislation to the physical protection, control and accounting of nuclear material.
Russia was absent from the summit despite its cutting-edge nuclear know-how and arsenal. Sanctions broke off two decades of productive US-Russia cooperation. China diplomacy is seen a positive force, reinforcing the narrative that security is best achieved when all big powers are invested in each other.
While direct threats from state actors are not the summits emphasis, North Korea will certainly be the elephant in the room. Donald Trumps statement this week that he is open to Japan and South Korea having nuclear weapons brings the issue further to the fore. When the two presidents meet, further coordination in on the matter will likely be on the table.
The final summit will usher a new beginning with action plans to be developed by specialized entities such as the International Atomic Energy Agency, INTERPOL and the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism. How smooth will the transition be away from the limelight format? The new era will certainly see a new kind of management, and as President Obama leaves office a torchbearer for global nuclear security safety could well be China. Chinas bridge-building leadership approach complements Americas style and shall be key to keep black swans at bay.
Tomas Casas is a faculty member at the University of St. Gallen and its Institute for International Management (HSG-FIM).
The opinions expressed here are those of the writer and don't represent views of China Daily website.
China's Global Newspaper
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Vice-Premier Liu Yandong said "China will support without reluctance any solution that is conducive to resuming peace talks and achieving peaceful co-existence between Palestine and Israel."
Liu made the remarks when meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Thursday.
Liu was on the final stop of a trip to Egypt, Israel, and Palestine from March 25 to March 31.
Abbas said, "I'm honored and delighted by Liu's visit, and Palestine appreciates China's long-term precious support and help politically and economically."
Liu voiced China's firm support for the Palestinian people on Thursday and called for enhanced efforts to settle the Palestine issue.
Liu said "this visit was meant to further implement the commitment made by President Xi Jinping in a Middle East policy."
At the speech in the Cairo headquarters of the League of Arab States, Xi said, "it is the common responsibility of the international community to safeguard the legitimate national rights and interests of the people of Palestine. The Palestinian issue should not be marginalized."
Xi urged the world to not only push for resumption of talks and implementation of agreements, but also to obey principles and uphold justice.
"Palestine upholds achieving peace through peace talks", Abbas said.
China is willing to encourage enterprises with due capacity to invest in Palestine, Vice-Premier Liu Yandong said in a meeting with Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah.
Also, China is ready to share its "successful experience in building special economic zones and various development zones", Liu said in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Thursday.
Hamdallah said: "We hope China plays a key role in promoting peace between Palestine and Israel", and provide further support to Palestine.
Liu was on the final stop of a trip to Egypt, Israel and Palestine from March 25 to Thursday.
As Liu and Hamdallah watched, representatives of the two governments signed an agreement to help build solar power plants in Palestine.
Wu Bingbing, a professor of Middle East studies at Peking University, said the Thursday meetings and the documents that were signed "display Beijing's renewed attention to the Palestine issue".
Strengthening cooperation is a "pragmatic choice" for improving people's livelihoods in Palestine and "will facilitate the ultimate political settlement of the issue", Wu said.
The Kenyan government has approved a mega solar power plant that will be funded by China and the project is expected to start this July and take a year to be completed, according to Kenyan newspaper Daily Nation.
The 55-megawatt solar power plant in Garissa County in Northeastern Kenya has been approved by the Rural Electrification Authority and will cost 12.8 billion Kenya Shillings ($126.2 million), according to the newspaper.
The project will be funded by the Export-Import Bank of China and is expected to be the largest grid connected solar power plant in the country.
The money would be used to set up about 210,210 solar panels spread over 85 hectares of flat desert in the northern part of the country, the electricity authority Chairman Simon Gicharu was quoted by Daily Nation as saying.
"We already have the full funding signed for. All we need to do is hit the ground running," said Gicharu.
The project is expected to power close to 625,000 homes.
Zaha Hadid Photos by Reuters and Chen Jun
Zaha Hadid, the famed female architect known around the world for her works with sweeping curves and who drew occasional controversy when projects hit huge cost overruns, died on Thursday at the age of 65, her company said.
The award-winning Iraqi-British architect was best known in China for designing the Guangzhou Opera House, the Wangjing SOHO building in Beijing and the capital's Galaxy SOHO development. She also created the unusual aquatics center used for the 2012 London Olympics.
Hadid faced criticism last year after her futuristic $2 billion design for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Stadium was scrapped amid spiraling costs and complaints about the design.
Born in 1950 in Baghdad, where her father was a politician, Hadid forged a career in the male-dominated world of architecture, bringing her curvaceous, radical designs to life in glass, steel and concrete.
"It is with great sadness that Zaha Hadid Architects have confirmed that Dame Zaha Hadid died suddenly in Miami in the early hours of this morning," her firm said in a statement, adding that she had suffered a heart attack after contracting bronchitis this week.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi paid tribute to Hadid, describing her death as a loss for the "whole world".
She had "served the world through her creativity and, in losing her, the whole world has lost one of the great energies that served the community", al-Abadi said in a statement.
Hadid's other notable works include the Italian National Museum of 21st Century Arts in Rome, the Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku, Azerbaijan and the Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art in Cincinnati, Ohio, in the United States.
"I believe that the complexities and dynamism of contemporary life cannot be cast into the simple platonic forms provided by the classical canon," she said in her speech when she accepted the Pritzker Prize, the most prestigious award in architecture, in 2004.
"The initial sense of abstractness and strangeness is unavoidable," she said of people observing her work. But she added that this was "not a sign of personal willfulness".
Chinese President Xi Jinping (1st R) meets with his US counterpart Barack Obama (1st L) on the sidelines of the fourth Nuclear Security Summit in Washington DC, the United States, March 31, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]
China and the United States pledged on Thursday to step up their cooperation in nuclear security.
In a joint statement, the two countries said they will work together to foster a peaceful and stable international environment by reducing the threat of nuclear terrorism and strive for a more inclusive, coordinated, sustainable and robust global nuclear security architecture.
They applauded the successful completion of the first round of bilateral discussions on nuclear security on Feb 20 in Stockholm.
"We plan to continue this dialogue on an annual basis, so as to intensify our cooperation to prevent nuclear terrorism and continue advancing Nuclear Security Summit goals," the statement said.
The statement was released after a bilateral meeting between President Xi Jinping and President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the fourth Nuclear Security Summit aimed at preventing nuclear materials from falling into the hands of terrorists.
China and the US both played an important role in the P5+1 nuclear deal with Iran last summer and UN Security Council Resolution 2270 in early March on sanctioning the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea for its nuclear bomb and missile tests.
Xu Dazhe, chairman of China Atomic Energy Authority, said on Thursday that China will continue to expand cooperation in nuclear security with the US and other nations.
He mentioned multiple times the March 18 opening in Beijing of the Nuclear Security Center of Excellence, a state-of-the-art joint training project between China and the US.
"We will turn the center into a platform for international exchange, a platform for technological research as well as a platform for improving Chinas capabilities in nuclear security," Xu said.
China will promote cooperation with other countries, the International Atomic Energy Agency and other relevant international organizations to contribute to enhancing nuclear security in the Asia Pacific region and the world, according to Xu.
Li Wei, deputy chief of the Department of Customs Control and Inspection of China Customs, applauded the China Customs Radiation Detection Training Center that opened in 2012. The joint program between China and the US, inked in 2011 under then President Hu Jintao, signaled new progress between the two countries in preventing and fighting nuclear terrorism and threats, he said.
The center, located in Qinhuangdao, a coastal city in Hebei province, trains not only Chinese, but also professionals from other Asia-Pacific nations and regions.
China and the US have also cooperated in installing radiation detection devices in mega ports such as the Yangshan Port of Shanghai.
Li said the Yangshan project, the ownership and maintenance of which the US turned over to the Chinese side in January, has been praised by both sides as exemplary and applicable all over the world.
chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com
WASHINGTON - Chinese President Xi Jinping said Thursday that his country stands ready to strengthen international cooperation on nuclear security under the current new circumstances. Xi, who is in Washington for the fourth Nuclear Security Summit (NSS), made the remarks at a dinner hosted by US President Barack Obama at the White House and themed "Nuclear Security Threat Perceptions."
Speaking first after Obama's welcome speech, Xi pointed out that in order to strengthen the global nuclear security architecture, the international community should first grasp the two new characteristics of the current situation.
The first is that terrorist activities around the world have entered a new active phase in which nuclear terrorism has become too serious to be ignored and the risk of nuclear material proliferation is on the rise, he said.
The second feature, he added, is that thanks to the six-year-old NSS process, the global line of defense for nuclear security has grown solider with broader international consensus, stronger sense of responsibility on the part of national governments, more effective laws and mechanisms, deeper cooperation in capacity-building and law enforcement, and wider awareness of the nuclear security culture.
These efforts have helped boost the peaceful use of nuclear energy and contributed to safeguarding international peace and security, commented the Chinese leader.
Noting that it is a global consensus to strengthen international cooperation and fight terrorism in all its forms, he said, "while the challenges to nuclear security are big, our resolve is even bigger. While the battle against nuclear terrorism faces many difficulties, we have more ways to deal with them."
He stressed that in maintaining nuclear security there is neither any end nor any shortcut, and that his country looks forward to conferring with other parties on how to firm up the global nuclear security regime and further consolidate the line of defense.
In his welcome speech, Obama spoke highly of the achievements that have been made within the NSS framework, which was initiated by Obama and headlined by biennial summits since 2010.
He emphasized that with the nuclear security realm beset with new threats, the world needs to step up cooperation and make continued efforts to better secure nuclear materials and jointly guarantee nuclear security.
The dinner was held for the heads of the delegations from 52 countries and four international organizations to the 2016 NSS, whose main activities will take place Friday.
President Xi Jinping and US President Barack Obama meet in Washington on Thursday. Kevin Lamarque / Reuters
Countries should handle points of friction constructively, president says
China and the United States should handle unresolved disputes in a constructive manner to avoid misunderstandings and escalation in conflicts, President Xi Jinping told US President Barack Obama on Thursday.
China will firmly safeguard its sovereignty and rights in the South China Sea and will not accept any activities excusing, in the name of free navigation, behavior that could harm its national sovereignty, Xi said.
"I would like to reiterate that to work together with the US side to establish a new-type relationship between big powers, achieve the goal of no conflict or confrontation, show respect for each other and cooperate for win-win results is the priority of China's foreign policy," he said.
The president made the remarks during a meeting with Obama on the sidelines of the 4th Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, which concludes on Friday.
The 90-minute meeting was the only bilateral meeting Obama arranged during the summit, which was attended by more than 50 heads of state and governments.
The two countries have carried out effective communication on issues including Iranian nuclear development, Syria, Afghanistan and peacekeeping, and that shows great potential for a new-type big power relationship, Xi said.
The global economy is experiencing a sluggish period, and no country in the world should stimulate exports by currency depreciation, he added.
China and the US should boost trust between their militaries, and they should make cybersecurity an area for cooperation, Xi said.
It had been a contentious issue in bilateral relations for years before Xi's state visit to the US in September, when the two leaders reached consensus on more effectively tackling the issue.
President Xi Jinping delivers a speech at the opening plenary of the fourth Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) in Washington DC, the United States, on April 1, 2016. Provided to China Daily
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday called for strengthening global nuclear security and promoting worldwide governance on nuclear security.
In a speech at the fourth Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, Xi said that countries should build international consensus on enhanced nuclear security, have zero-tolerance for nuclear terrorism with no discrimination, and give an effective response to new challenges and threats.
"As a Chinese saying goes, 'For a tree to grow tall, it needs to have deep roots'. And we have always wanted to find a solution that addresses the root cause of the problem," Xi said.
He called on countries to plan and implement nuclear security strategy, formulate mid- and-longterm development plans for nuclear security, improve nuclear security legislation and monitoring mechanism, and ensure that relevant work receives sufficient input and support, at the national level.
"All countries should participate in nuclear security affairs, and adopt an open and inclusive spirit to forge a community of shared future on nuclear security," he said.
The International Atomic Energy Agency can play a central role to coordinate and consolidate global resources for nuclear security, and the United Nations can continue to play an important role, he added.
Full text of Xi's speech at the Fourth Nuclear Security Summit
(Photo : Billy H.C. Kwok / Stringer) TAIPEI, TAIWAN - MARCH 28: People pray at a makeshift memorial where a girl was found decapitated by a knife-wielding assailant outside a subway station on March 28, 2016 in Taipei, Taiwan. A four-year-old was beheaded on Monday morning in front of her mother's eyes in Taipei. According to reports, a 33-year-old man, was arrested by the police and said to be 'mentally unstable'. (Photo by Billy H.C. Kwok/Getty Images)
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A mother from Taiwan witnessed her ex-boyfriend slit her daughter's throat on Thursday.
The culprit, only identified as Huang, was allegedly forcing her to rekindle their already dead relationship. As he fails to win her back, Huang is prompted to slit the neck of the mother's 12 year old daughter.
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The tragic incident was said to have transpired at around 8 p. m. on Thursday, March 31, in Tainan, a small town in the southern part of the country. SETN.com reported that after hearing her mother and Huang argue, the 12-year-old child tried to intervene and stop the disagreement. The fight escalated to greater heights up until the child has become Huang's bargaining chip.
She was subsequently taken as a hostage and after negotiations have broken down, Huang slit the throat of the kid leaving a .5-cm deep and 6-cm long cut across her neck. Luckily, since the wound was not too deep, it only required eight stitches from the hospital where the mother brought her.
It was mentioned that after neighbors heard the mother screaming and begging for help, they attended to her outcry as fast as they could but upon arrival at the scene, Huang was already nowhere to be found.
This is the latest among the four incidents of attack that have taken rounds in the Taiwanese community for the past four days.
The first incident was the decapitation of a four year old child along the streets of Taipei that was likewise witnessed by her mother. The second attack happened in the same city and involved a 28-year-old man stabbing a police officer with a steak knife on the train station. The third occurrence, on the other hand, involved a stranger who tried killing an environmental worker with a saw.
Although the first incident did not save the life of the four year old child, the victims of the second and the third incidents luckily survived. The Taiwan Police has been worried about the growing instances of attacks and has already warned the public of possible copycats.
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Tagstaiwan beheading, taiwan killing, taiwan slit throat, taiwanese girl slit throat, taiwanese girl beheaded, taiwan attacks, taiwan killings
(Photo : Photo by ChinaFotoPress/Getty Images) The AIID isi reported to be planning to loan India up to $500 million for its ambitious solar expansion project.
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The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), where India is the second biggest shareholder after China, is looking to raise $500 million to support Prime Minister Narendra Modi's plan to expand the country's solar capacity to 100 gigawatts by 2022.
The Beijing-based AIIB, which was launched in January this year, has an authorised capital of $100 billion. The newly created bank is looking to support global clean-energy initiatives, and could fund eco-friendly investment projects.
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India, one of the founding members of the AIIB, has been elected to the board of directors of the bank, which is expected to begin loan approvals before the end of this year. The AIIB is expected to lend $10 -$15 billion a year for the first five or six years and could start operations in the second quarter of 2016.
Meanwhile, India is reported to also be in discussion with the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, Germany's KFW and the New Development Bank established by BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) to raise $3 billion in the financial year (starting from April 2016) for its solar project.
India has also put a request to raise $500 million in financing from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to back rooftop solar projects, and a similar sum to expand transmission networks to connect to solar parks.
The Indian government estimates that it requires a whopping $100 billion of investment in solar power in the next six to seven years to meet its ambitious target of boosting capacity by roughly 17 times from current levels of 5,800 megawatt.
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Tagschina, India, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Modi, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, ADB, solar energy
(Photo : Facebook) The Pirate Bay to launch its new look soon.
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The Pirate Bay is all set to launch a new environment-friendly user interface soon, which will also lower power costs of the user.
The "climate-saving" design will be beneficial for the environment as the display units will consume less power. A Pirate Bay employee has confirmed that the new look is expected to be rolled out by the end of April. It will have a green on black design and it will also have a command-like inspired look.
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The Pirate Bay has been plagued with numerous problems in the past few months. Seven domains of The Pirate Bay, including ThePirateBay.com and piratebrowser.com which are directly linked to The Pirate Bay, were suspended. These were taken down owing to problems in verification of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).
The Pirate Bay also faced a major issue last year when its registrar suspended the original ThePirateBay.org. This was done due to an ICANN complaint, but it was bounced back later. However, EuroDNS also took down the anti-censorship tool Pirate Browser.
It is reported that the UK internet providers like TalkTalk, BT, Sky, Virgin Media, EE and O2 already blocked over 85 more new domains. They are trying to come together and block the access to popular torrent sites like The Pirate Bay.
However, it is not that easy to shut down torrent sites like The Pirate Bay and other popular similar websites. Many powerful anonymous people own website like these, and to entirely take them off the face of Internet is not an easy task at all.
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TagsThe Pirate Bay, Pirate Bay, The Pirate Bay News, The Pirate Bay Alternative, The Pirate Bay Domains, The Pirate Bay new look
People try to put out the forest fire that broke out near Dalian city, Liaoning Province, China. (Photo by ChinaFotoPress/Getty Images)
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A forest fire that broke out at a mountain in the city of Qingdao in Shandong Province killed two forest rangers and injured another just days ahead of China's Tomb Sweeping Day, authorities said Friday.
According to the provincial forestry department, the two forest rangers were trapped by the fire and died at the scene before the blaze was put out by 4p.m. on Thursday.
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The blaze broke out past 2p.m. Thursday on Taihe Mountain in the district of Chengyang reportedly caused by people burning fake paper money and incense.
Another ranger was rushed to the hospitals for sustaining burn injuries as a result of the blaze. At least 100 fire fighters were called in to put out the blaze, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
The identities of the two forest rangers and the injured ranger were not immediately disclosed. It was not also clear if the area has been closed for the Tomb Sweeping Day.
As the Tomb Sweeping Day nears, it has been a tradition of Chinese people to burn fake paper money and other possessions with the belief that these will reach deceased friends or loved ones.
Last Monday, a fire that ripped through a residential building in Anhui Province killed six people, local authorities said.
The blaze hit a four-story building in Chengguan Town, Fuyang City at about 5 p.m.
Fire fighters managed to pull out six seriously injured people from the building. The injured persons, however, died later in the hospital.
The fire immediately triggered the local government of Anhui Province to launch an investigation into the fire and ordered authorities to conduct a county-wide fire hazards inspection.
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TagsChina Forest Fire, China Fire, Tomb Sweeping Day, China Forest Rangers
COMMENTARY: Why I'm glad I didn't let my parents choose my gender 01 April, 2016 by Maggie Sandusky , |
FORT WORTH, Texas (Christian Examiner) -- There is a growing trend in the world today that we see repeated in news headlines: Parents choosing to raise their child genderless or as the opposite gender, due to the child's preference. Simply put, if a little girl says she wishes she were a boy or a little boy prefers to play with dolls, the parents seek to grant their wish.
I find this especially troubling because honestly, if raised in a different time, by different parents, I fear I could have been one of them. You see, I had two older brothers who, from my 4-10 year-old tomboy perspective, got to do a lot of pretty great things that I didn't. They didn't have to wear a shirt when they were hot (a great injustice in my mind), they didn't have to wear complicated dress clothes, and they were in Boy Scouts.
Everything about Boy Scouts seemed awesome to me camping, learning about animals, racing little wooden cars it looked like a dream. I had no desire to be a Girl Scout as large groups of girls intimidated me and all they seemed to do was sell cookies, have sleepovers, and wear mud brown. I liked to run with the boys. I remember on multiple occasions as a little girl questioning why God had to make me a girl!
The logical conclusion to my dilemma in our culture would have been for my parents to grant me my desire and either raise me as a boy or genderless so I would have time to figure out "who I am" without the pressure of nurturing.
As this is a growing trend, we need to first and foremost look to Scripture when engaging culture, advising friends how to handle this or dealing with our own children's views about their gender.
First, we must remember that God created gender (Gen 1:27) and He created our gender to be a blessing (1 Cor. 1:11-12). Ephesians 5:22-33 shows how God uses them to teach us about Himself and to paint a picture of His love for the world. While there may be some aspects of being a woman that our flesh isn't thrilled about, such as submission, we should also acknowledge that manhood brings its own set of challenges (Eph. 5:25, 1 Peter 3:7). The grass isn't greener on either side.
Second, we should understand that children need nurturing to understand their world and grow up to honor God (Prov. 22:6). Any parent can think of examples of irrational requests or desires their child has expressed. When my husband was little he would tell people he wanted to be a fire truck when he grew up. As silly as it seems, it is about as reasonable for his parents to start keeping him in the garage and paint him red as it would have been for my parents to raise me as a boy. Mothers and women in the church should help girls learn to be women of God. Men in the church and fathers, likewise, need to model and teach manhood to boys (Titus 2).
Third, we should acknowledge the wide spectrum of femininity and masculinity and not seek to force stereotypical preferences on our children. Dorcus was crafty (Acts 9:39) while Rachel was a shepherdess. David was a fierce warrior (1 Sam 18:7) but he also liked poetry (Ps 23).
Ultimately, I'm glad my mom made me wear a shirt, taught me to dress like a lady, and didn't fight to let me be a Boy Scout. I'm also glad my dad took time to show me outdoor skills and that my mom gave in to my begging to join the pole-vault team, though she was sure I'd break my neck. My parents nurtured my femininity without forcing me into stereotypes.
I fear that many children raised counter to their God-given gender will, with age, question what their parents were thinking. Just like a parent who allows their child to play with matches, the excuse that it is what they wanted or it wasn't culturally acceptable to tell them "no" won't cut it. As believers, we need to be loving enough to tell our children and our culture "no" when we see them destroying themselves.
Ultimately, a few years of perceived injustice in my life gave way to being very glad that I am not a boy and enjoying my God given gender. I love Pinterest and I'm always up for a pedicure, but I still love being outdoors and doing physically challenging activities. I couldn't claim to be a girly-girl, but I've come to realize and to love that that is simply not the kind of girl that God made me.
Maggie Sandusky is a master of divinity student, with a concentration in women's studies, at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. This commentary first appeared at the seminary's Biblical Woman website (www.biblicalwoman.com) and is used with permission.
The Wycliffe Associates will continue work of Bible translation in Middle East, even after four of its employees were murdered at an undisclosed location by Islamist militants, Wycliffe officials said in a statement.
The translators were working for the Florida-based non-profit, when their office was attacked, and two employees were shot down, and the other two brutally murdered when they were beat with empty guns as they were trying to protect their lead translator, who survived the assault.
The perpetrators ransacked the office, burned the books, destroyed the Print On Demand system which was used to print copies of scripture. But, the work of translation in eight different languages was salvaged on the hard drives of the computer.
"The remaining translation team has decided to re-double their efforts to translate, publish, and print God's word for these eight language communities," said Mae Greenleaf, Prayer Coordinator for Wycliffe Associates.
The Wycliffe Associates are trying to raise $50,000 for a new office location and to support the families of the slain, the group stated on its website.
The translators will continue the work in spite of the threat of violent attacks and extreme dangers faced by the gospel workers.
"Even when tragedy strikes, as in this case, the testimony of Christ is loud and clear. Yes, there is a tremendous cost. But as Tertullian, an early Church father, said - the blood of martyrs are the seeds of the church," Wycliffe President Bruce Smith told FoxNews.com.
Smith underscored the importance of working in the midst of people who are being served through the gospel, rather than in US.
"The simple answer is that the Church prefers to do translation where the people are," he told Fox News. Their method of translation "is all about Church engagement from beginning to end," he added. "Dislocated translations delay and dilute the impact to the local communities," he said.
According to Wycliffe, Islamic militants have their presence in the entire Middle East and Central Asia. Last year, 11 of the 28 Bible translators working in the area went missing or died.
The organization has been in operation for the last 70 years, reaching out to the world for gospel, and have translated Bibles in about 2,000 different languages. Their method of translation, called 'Paradigm 3.0,' requires them to set up offices in regions where the translated work is directed, at places such as Africa, South America, Asia, and Middle East. Paradigm 3.0 takes the help of local translators, and aim to reach local communities with the translated versions of Bible.
A protest calling on international governments to protect religious minorities in Pakistan will be taking place outside of Pakistan's High Commission in London on April 2. The protest is being held in collaboration with other activist organizations, and comes after 72 people were killed during a suicide bomb attack on Easter Sunday in Pakistan.
"The horrors of the Easter massacre, deliberately targeting children enjoying the high-point of the Easter celebrations, have shocked the globe. Jesus' resurrection from the tomb will be a focus of this event and will be prayerfully reflected upon. We will also have speakers from various religious backgrounds calling for the unity of mankind against oppressors," said Wilson Chowdhry, BPCA chairman.
The BPCA has also launched an online petition to governments of Pakistan, India, Britain, and the US, which has been signed by over 700 people with a target to reach 1 million people.
"We call on the Pakistani Government to clamp down on extremists in their country. Those involved in this latest bomb attack must be caught and brought to justice. Moreover each family affected by this attack should be compensated that they may try to rebuild their shattered lives. We call on the Pakistani Government to remove discrimination and persecution of minorities from the context of their laws and constitution and to introduce a new national curriculum that no longer demonizes or caricatures Pakistani Christians," the petition says.
Islamist fundamentalist group Jamaat-ul-Ahrar claimed responsibility for the bombing which killed 72, mostly women and children, and wounded over 320. The Pakistani army detained over 5,000 suspects, and released most of them, but is holding 216 for further investigation in connection with the attack.
The BPCA has started an online donation page to raise funds for the families of the slain and the wounded.
"We have set up a disaster recovery appeal to help and assist these families. Our donations will help secure medical supplies and pay for hospital treatments, pay for funeral costs and help with the long term rehabilitation and trauma counseling of victims," the donation page reads.
On the Sunday morning before this years South Carolina primary, Dr. Carl Broggi, the pastor of Community Bible Church in Beaufort, turned over his pulpitemblazoned with the Protestant watchword sola scriptura, to GOP presidential candidate Ted Cruz. I am not sure if it is fair to call Cruzs speech that morning a sermon. The candidate did not open up a biblical text and carefully explain its meaning in the way that I am sure Dr. Broggi had been trained to do at Dallas Theological Seminary and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Cruz did mention a few verses from the Bible during his message, but they were applied less to the spiritual lives of the souls in attendance that morning and more to the character of the United States of America as Cruz understands it. Lets face itthis was a stump speech.
The Texas senators message was lifted from an old playbook. For nearly 400 years Americans have been conflating the message of the Bible with the fate of the country. Ever since the Puritan John Winthrop said that the Massachusetts Bay Colony was a city on a hill Americans have seen themselves as Gods chosen peoplea new Israel with a special destiny.
Cruzs message on this Sunday morning was a product of the God-and-country narrative that took America by storm in the 1980s. This was an era when American evangelicals hitched their wagon to the Republican Party and set out to wage a culture war for the soul of America. Unlike any other candidate in the 2016 presidential race, Cruz has mastered the rhetoric first introduced by Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, and others on the Religious Right.
Cruz came of ageas a Christian ...
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Wayne Pop Jolley, founder of a cult-like group in Franklin, Tennessee, has died.
The controversial leader of The Gathering International passed away at home Wednesday night after a prolonged illness. He was 64.
Jolley, an Alabama native, spent most of his career as an itinerant evangelist in the Church of God and the Church of God of Prophecy.
His ministry was flounderingwith $6,064 in the bank, $33,000 in assets, and a $15,000 budget deficitbefore he met up with a small Bible study in Franklin in 2004.
Before long, hed installed himself as the groups leader, and was taking in $1 million a year in donations from a handful of followers.
Among his disciples was Ed Cash, the celebrated Christian music producer best known as cowriter of How Great is Our God.
Jolleys followers called him a prophet, and referred to him as their spiritual father. They answered his sermons with yes sir and showered him with gifts.
[He] ...
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Several faith leaders were asked to write brief comments about the future of Roe. I was glad to see that I was not the only person asked who sees life as beginning at conception and who is ready to see Roe overturned.
home US Atheist, satanist literature to be available for students in Colorado school district
Following the move by Gideon International to make Bibles accessible to students in a school district in Colorado, secular groups are also going to make atheist and satanist materials available.
"We do not think schools should be a battleground for religious ideas," said Freedom from Religion Foundation staff attorney Andrew Seider, in a letter to the Delta County School District. "But when schools allow the Gideons to prey on children, their message of eternal damnation for any who don't believe in their God must be countered."
According to the Christian News Network, Gideon International made Bibles available to students in December, and the FFRF reportedly tried to stop it. However, since the school district did not agree, the group, along with others like the Satanic Temple and Western Colorado Atheists and Freethinkers, decided to make a similar move.
Seider's letter lists the literature that they wish to distribute, including a coloring book titled "The Satanic Children's Big Book of Activities"; brochures like "It's Okay to Not Believe in God!"; and non-tracts like "Ten Common Myths About Atheists," "What's Wrong With The Ten Commandments?" and "An X-Rated Book (Sex and Obscenity in the Bible)," among others. The reading materials are expected to become available on April 1.
Says the Delta County School District website: "As a District we believe that our mission is to provide information to our students and teach them to think critically. We want to be able to get information to our students that will be meaningful and help them. With this belief come some consequences.
"Per our policy ANY noncurricular materials shall be allowed unless it is considered 'hate', promotes hostility or violence, commercial purposes by advertising a product, interferes with the schools, promotes candidacy in an election, or is obscene or pornographic."
After review, the materials are placed in a designated location in the school premises where students are free to take them.
Kurt Clay, assistant superintendent of the Delta County School District, told Christian News Network, "The way the policy is written, cannot discriminate what is handed out. We just have to follow the process."
Some parents are reportedly against the distribution.
The FFRF letter has the subject "Literature distribution and possible bullying of nonreligious students," as it also lists examples of non-religious students being bullied in school.
home World Christians in Pakistan hold on to hope
Despite the attacks on Christians in the Middle East, those in Pakistan have not lost hope.
"Christians in Pakistan have suffered bomb attack after bomb attack. They are suppressed, beaten and their daughters are forced into marriages with Muslim men. Have all these attacks ever dented their hope? No," said Wilson Chowdhry, the chairman of the British-Pakistani Christian Association, in an interview with Christian Today.
Chowdhry's statement came after the bombing of the Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park in Lahore on Easter Sunday, where at least 70 people were killed, including almost 30 children, and more than 300 were injured. The Taliban faction Jamaat-ul-Ahrar said they were targeting Christians.
Archbishop Sebastian Shaw of Lahore, meanwhile, continues to exhort the people to be strong. According to another report in Christian Today, he visited those injured in the attack, including Christian and Muslim kids, some as young as four. The government, he said, had taken measures to protect churches following last year's attack of two in Yohannabad, "but no one had thought about the park." Most of the people who died were Muslims, with 10 identified as Christians thus far.
Shaw said at the Aid to the Church in Need charity that Christians should not give up hope because although "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 bombing in Lahore is one the biggest one that happened in Pakistan. In 2014, Taliban militants attacked a military school in Peshawar that took the lives of more than 140 people, at least 130 were children. In 2013, 60 people were killed and 200 injured in the Parachinar market due to two suicide bombs, and almost 80 people were killed and 130 injured when a church in Peshawar was bombed.
Anglican bishop Michael Nazir-Ali also told "Today" on BBC Radio 4, "The Christian community will not lose hope even under the most difficult of circumstances. Our God is a God who suffers with his people and out of that comes resurrection. We must retain our hope in God."
home Faith Churches respond to prominent members' actions: Alabama governor expelled, Lakewood senior worship leader on indefinite leave
Rebekah Mason has resigned from her post as the senior policy adviser to Gov. Robert Bentley of Alabama. Her announcement came a week after an an audio recording was released in which the governor could be heard making suggestive comments to her.
"My only plans are to focus my full attention on my precious children and my husband who I love dearly," Mason's statement said, as quoted by the Montgomery Advertiser. "They are the most important people in my life. Thank you for your prayers for our family."
In the wake of the scandal, the First Baptist Church of Tuscaloosa announced that both Bentley and Mason are no longer part of their congregation.
Gil McKee, a senior pastor at the church, told the Christian News Network, "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."
Spencer Collier, the former secretary of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, accused the two of having an affair and that state funds were being used for it. Bentley responded to the allegations by admitting to making inappropriate remarks but he denied having had a physical relationship with the senior staffer. He also denied any misuse of state funds for or to hide the alleged affair.
"I made a mistake," Bentley said in a statement, quoted by Christian Today. "I have apologized many times to my family. I have apologized to the family of Mrs. Mason. I would now like to apologize to the people of Alabama. I ask them to forgive me."
Meanwhile, in Texas, the senior worship leader of Pastor Joel Osteen's Lakewood church has also been embroiled in marital woes. After announcing in February that he and his wife were divorced, Grammy-award winning artist Israel Houghton was reportedly spotted kissing another woman. The church had announced his status in Lakewood.
"We can confirm that Israel is on indefinite leave, but it is important to clarify that we still consider Israel to be a part of the Lakewood family and that his employment has not been terminated," the statement said, as quoted by Christian News Network.
home Life Living Out does not support 'gay cure,' says leader Sean Doherty
In light of the accusations made against support group Living Out that it is "gay cure therapy rebranded," leader Sean Doherty gave a response through their website.
In a post under the question "Does Living Out support 'gay cure' or 'conversion therapy'?" Doherty provided a lengthy explanation about the group's stance that they do not support "gay cure."
He said, "Homosexuality is not an illness. But using the language of 'cure' makes it sound like it is, which could be very damaging to vulnerable people."
He explained that the term would make vulnarable individuals "feel ashamed of who they are at a very deep and fundamental level," and it might even prompt suicidal feelings on some.
The accusation was made by Mike Freer, a member of the British Parliament, after Living Out was given a charity status by U.K.'s Charity Commission in February.
"I am surprised the Charity Commission could remotely believe this to be of 'public benefit'," Freer told PinkNews. "They may not use the words 'gay cure', but if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck it's a duck! This is gay cure therapy rebranded!"
To same-sex attracted individual Peter Ould, Freer's comments shows "his lack of research and his desire for a quick soundbite at the expense of checking facts." He told Christian Today that the testimonies of the Living Out leaders make it clear that "that they do not believe in any kind of cure or the necessity to become heterosexual."
In the post, Doherty explained that everyone, both homosexual and heterosexual, have "fallen sexual desires," and what is needed to address it is the holiness found in Christ. He also said that changing a person's sexual orientation is not an answer, since simply shifting the subject of a lustful desire from someone of the same sex to someone of the opposite sex does not really show improvement.
"So, attempts to change sexual orientation could be a distraction from the real goal, which is sexual purity expressed either in fulfilled marriage or in fulfilled singleness," he said.
He also said that any approach to "prevent" homosexuality would only add to a person's sense of guilt and shame. He said that same-sex attracted individuals need not deny or repress their same-sex orientation; however, they also need to accept their God-given gender, either male or female.
home US Man who burned church sentenced to more than three years imprisonment
A man who set a church building on fire in 2010 because "he felt God had dealt him a poor hand in life" was sentenced to more than three years in prison.
On March 29, U.S. Distict Judge in Oakland Haywood S. Gilliam Jr. sentenced Hugo Scherzberg, a 48-year-old former California resident, to 41 months imprisonment plus three years of supervised release for setting ablaze the building of the Church of the Living God in Pittsburg six years ago. Scherzberg was also ordered to make a restitution of $491,940.99.
"Scherzberg admitted that his actions caused significant damage to the entire church building and property within the building, and that almost the entire church building required reconstruction," the Department of Justice said in a statement.
Scherzberg was indicted in March last year for setting the church building into flames, reportedly by breaking a window using a rock, pouring gasoline, and igniting the building with a lighter. In January, he pleaded guilty to burning the church building because of its religious character. The felony of damaging religious property by the use of fire has a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000, plus restititution and supervised released may be ordered.
According to Christian News Network, Scherzberg had a troubled life: he was diagnosed with a kidney ailment, he could not find work, and he was kicked out of his apartment, apart from other troubles while growing up. Apparently, he blamed God for his fate.
Apart from being accessible, the church also had a sign that said "Living God," which made Scherzberg target it. After setting the church on fire, he was reportedly going to surrender just so he could have somewhere to stay.
"In ordering the sentence, Judge Gilliam noted, among other things, that the defendant's actions likely created fear and terror in the community, and that this sentence reflects the seriousness of the crime," said the press release.
In November 2014, Scherzberg was detained for setting the Pilgrim Community Church in San Francisco on fire, and was sentenced to a jail term of 18 months.
home Life Pope Francis reminds pilgrims of God's mercy
Pope Francis, at the General Audience at Saint Peter's Square on March 30, spoke to the pilgrims and he reminded them of how merciful God is.
"God is greater than all the sins we may commit!" he said, according to the report by Radio Vaticana. "God is greater than our sin!"
His exhortation, delivered in Italian, focused on how merciful God is. He cited Psalm 51, called "Miserere" or "Have mercy on me, O God," which expresses King David's remorse after committing adultery with Bathsheba and plotting the murder of her husband Uriah. After Uriah's death in a battle, in which David ordered him to be in the front line, the king made Bathsheba his wife.
The pope said that these are not small but great sins. But in his message, he said that God's "divine forgiveness is supremely effective" and He "eliminates our sin from its very roots all of it!"
In a message he gave to those who speak English, he said: "[The Psalmist] asks for the forgiveness of his great sin but also for the gift of a pure heart and a steadfast spirit, so that, thus renewed, he may draw other sinners back to the way of righteousness. God's forgiveness is the greatest sign of his infinite mercy."
During his address, he asked those present to raise their hands if they have committed no sin in their lifetime. No one did. To this, he acknowledged that "we are all sinners." He then said that if people would reach up to God when they fall into sin, in the same way that a child who falls reaches up to a parent, then God will pull them up.
"God created man and woman to stand upright," he said. "It is beautiful to be forgiven, but you too, if you want to be pardoned, you should also forgive. Forgive!"
home Entertainment Susan Sarandon: I lost faith in the Catholic Church
Susan Sarandon has revealed that she struggled with her Catholic faith when she was still young and later on lost her faith in the Church.
In a conversation with Interview Magazine, Susan Sarandon recalled her journey as a Catholic and later on dropped out of the Church because she felt it let her down. For the Oscar winner, it is difficult to deal with the church's exclusivity, The Wrap reports.
In a conversation with Interview Magazine, Sarandon said she struggled with the things she learned from nuns. As she studied more about the Bible when she was enrolled at the Catholic University of America, she eventually lost her faith, the report details.
"From the very beginning, [being Catholic] sets you off in a certain direction. Later the church let me down," Sarandon told the magazine. "I always had a problem with original sin. I always had a problem with the exclusivity of the church and a lot of the things that the nuns taught me."
For Sarandon, her biggest motivation for praying when she was still a child was the fear of a Communist invasion. She lived through the peak of the Cold War and slept with rosary beads beside her, wanting the blessed Virgin to be there with her.
However, she became aware one night that her rosary beads were glowing. Terrified because of the experience, Sarandon realized that she really did not want to see the blessed Virgin.
Ironically, Sarandon played a nun in "Dead Man Walking." Her character, Sister Helen, counsels a death row inmate before he is executed.
Recently, Sarandon found herself under the political spotlight after an appearance on "All In With Chris Hayes." She told the host why she had decided to support Sen. Bernie Sanders in the 2016 presidential race, the MSNBC relays.
During the interview, Sarandon expressed her reservations on supporting Hillary Clinton, saying the former Secretary of State would not fight to have a US$15 minimum wage and that Clinton's acceptance of monetary donations from corporations was a turn-off. She said people think Clinton is a liar, and even went as far as saying that she is by no means certain to vote for Clinton in the general election if Sanders loses the primary to her.
Sarandon's statement prompted some to think that the actress would likely back Donald Trump in the upcoming election. However, she later reiterated that she would never support the real estate mogul in the U.S. presidential elections for whatever reason.
home US Virginia governor vetoes bill restricting Planned Parenthood's funding
Terry McAuliffe, the governor of Virginia, vetoed the bill that would restrict state funding for Planned Parenthood.
"The fact is that Virginians, and particularly low-income Virginians, need more access to health care, not less," McAuliffe said in a statement, quoted by Christian News Network.
Planned Parenthood is a provider of reproductive health care. This includes preventive health care to avoid unintended pregnancies and it also conducts abortions. House Bill 1090, if it became law, would have restricted the funds for such non-hospital health care providers that perform the procedure.
According to the organization's website, it has more than 650 health care centers in the country operated by 59 affiliates. The Christian Science Monitor says that 3 percent of its services in 2015 were abortions.
"Without this service, we could see an increase in STDs, more complications with pregnancies and an increase in health issues among newborns," said McAuliffe.
Some states have reportedly ceased its funding after a video about its alleged practices was released. According to the report, the video, taken in secret by an anti-abortion group, shows some of the provider's officials discussing about selling the fetal tissue of aborted infants.
Planned Parenthood filed a complaint on March 24 against the people behind what it calls a smear campaign.
"They also illegally taped private professional conversations of doctors and other medical providers and spliced together shards of long conversations to create short videos in order to spread false claims that Planned Parenthood 'sells' or profits from women's decisions to donate fetal tissue for medical research," an article in its website says. "In fact, Planned Parenthood has never sold fetal tissue or facilitated fetal tissue donation in order to make a profit."
Atheist church minister could be defrocked after appeal rejected
An atheist church minister could be defrocked after The United Church of Canada (UCC) dismissed her appeal against a review into her effectiveness.
A judicial committee has rejected an appeal by Rev Gretta Vosper to stop the planned review of her fitness to lead her congregation.
Vosper, 57, leads West Hill United Church in Toronto and has been open about the fact that she doesn't believe in God. She has both blogged and spoken publicly about it, and in 2008 published a book titled: With or Without God: Why the way we live is more important than what we believe.
Although she told her church in 2001 that she was an atheist, and made it known more publicly in 2004, the Toronto Conference of the UCC only called for a review of her ministry last year.
Vosper appealed the review, but the committee dismissed it this week, saying: "After fully and thoroughly considering all submissions by the appellant and respondent, the executive of the judicial committee decided that the appeal did not meet the grounds for an appeal."
Vosper said she was "incredibly disappointed" with the decision.
"Every pastoral relationship in the United Church of Canada will be affected by this ruling," she told The Canadian Press.
"Now a court of the church can intervene in that relationship and terminate it."
Having led her congregation since 1997 without intervention, Vosper was first investigated after writing an open letter to the UCC's spiritual leader following the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris. She said that belief in God can motivate bad actions.
The review was first initiated by Nora Sanders, the general secretary of the Church's general council, in May 2015, in order to determine whether Vosper was being faithful to her ordination vows. These include affirming a belief in "God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit".
Vosper's congregation is firmly in support of their minister. The church's chairman said he was "disturbed" by the process.
"Everything up to now has been adversarial, closed, no transparency. Did they look at the documents? What were the merits?" he said.
"There is strong resolve to carry on because everyone keeps saying this is a special place, we cannot let this place go."
A date has not been set for the review.
Bill to make Bible official book of Tennessee passes Senate committee
A bill that would designate the Holy Bible as the official state book of Tennessee passed a Senate committee on Tuesday.
SB 1108, sponsored by Republican state Sen. Steve Southerland, was passed by the state Senate Judiciary Committee with a 7-1 vote.
The bill was approved by the state House last year with a 55-38 vote, but the Senate chose to send it to a committee, according to The Tennessean.
Gov. Bill Haslam and Attorney General Herbert Slatery opposed the bill last year, with Slatery saying it violated state and federal constitutions.
Republican state Sen. Kerry Roberts, who supports the bill, cited the historical fact that George Washington used the Bible for his swearing in during his inauguration.
He said the first Congress had several constitutional scholars, explaining that "the attitude of these people was not to keep religion out of government. It was to keep government out of religion."
Southerland was praised by Sen. Todd Gardehire for undergoing a "great deal of soul searching and historical searching" to ensure that the bill is not a religious statement but a historical one.
About the bill's constitutionality, Southerland cited a 2005 Supreme Court case about a display of the Ten Commandments monument on government facilities where the court ruled that it was constitutional with a 5-4 vote.
"What we're doing is using the Supreme Court case as the guideline to make sure it's historical and not religious," Southerland said.
Senate leaders and Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey were previously hesitant to adopt the bill. Ramsey said last year that it would be irresponsible for the state to use tax money to defend the bill in court.
Besides Tennessee, other states have similar bills but they failed to get enough support.
In Mississippi, legislators considered a Bible bill early this year but it failed to pass last February. Louisiana lawmakers also had a similar bill last year but it failed to garner support.
The Tennessee bill heads to the Senate Calendar Committee which will decide when to send it back to the Senate floor.
According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Tennessee, lawmakers have used their position to promote religion.
"The rich religious diversity in our state is best respected by ensuring that government does not promote specific religious books," said ACLU Executive Director Hedy Weinberg, adding that "selecting the Bible as the state book amounts to government promotion of one religion over other religions, which clearly violates both the U.S. and Tennessee Constitutions."
Catholic priest found stabbed to death in Venezuela
A 39-year-old priest has been violently stabbed to death in Venezuela, his diocese has reported.
The body of Father Darwin Antonio Zambrano Gamez was found yesterday morning in a park in San Cristobal, a city in the northwest of the country.
In a statement sent to Fides news agency, the diocese of San Cristobal said the body showed "signs of violence and stab wounds" and the reason for the killing are unknown.
"The competent authorities are conducting investigations into the case," the statement continued. "Both the bishop, and the family and the presbytery of the Diocese expect the investigation to clarify what happened and to know those responsible for this crime, because they must be brought to justice".
Fr Darwin was ordained in 2010 in the parish of San Agaton of Palmyra. At the time of his death, he was working as assistant pastor of San Jose de Bolivar. According to Fides, he was known for "his spirit of service, humour and constant joy".
His funeral will take place on April 2 at the church of San Juan Bautista de la Ermita.
Venezuela is a predominately Catholic nation, with approximately 96 per cent of the population identifying with the faith.
The constitution guarantees freedom of religion and the right to practise and profess a faith on the condition that it does not violate public morality, decency, or order.
According to US-based NGO Freedom house, religious freedom is generally respected in the country, though tensions between the government and Catholic Church are high.
Children and pregnant women among thousands of Syrian refugees illegally returned home - Amnesty
Thousands of Syrian refugees have been illegally returned to their homeland over the past few months, exposing "fatal flaws" in the refugee deal signed between Turkey and the EU in March, Amnesty International has warned.
An estimated 100 men, women and children have been sent back to Syria almost every day since mid-January, Amnesty said today. Those sent back include children as young as nine and a woman who was eight months pregnant. It described the practice illegal under international law as an "open secret" in the region.
Under the latest EU deal, Turkey agreed that it will take back all migrants and refugees who crossed illegally into Greece in exchange for financial aid, faster visa-free travel for Turks and slightly accelerated EU membership talks. European countries have pledged to accept one refugee directly from camps in Turkey in return for every person shipped back.
Turkey has taken in around 2.7 million refugees from Syria since the civil war began in 2011.
However, the legality of the deal hinges on Turkey being a "safe third country" of asylum an understanding that has been thrown into doubt by Amnesty's allegations. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, also this week warned that at least 16 refugees have been shot dead by Turkish border forces in the last four months.
Turkey's foreign ministry denied Syrians were being sent back against their will, while a spokesman for the European Commission said it took the allegations seriously and would raise them with Ankara.
Separately, the UN refugee agency UNHCR said it had asked for access to Syrians returned to Turkey from Greece "to ensure people can benefit from effective international protection and to prevent risk of refoulement", referring to unlawful deportations of refugees at risk of persecution.
Ankara said it had maintained an open-door policy for Syrian migrants for five years and strictly abided by the "non-refoulement" principle.
"None of the Syrians that have demanded protection from our country are being sent back to their country by force," a foreign ministry official told Reuters.
But Amnesty said testimonies it had gathered in Turkey's southern border provinces suggested authorities had been rounding up and expelling groups of around 100 Syrian men, women and children almost daily since the middle of January.
"In their desperation to seal their borders, EU leaders have wilfully ignored the simplest of facts: Turkey is not a safe country for Syrian refugees and is getting less safe by the day," said John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International's director for Europe and Central Asia.
"The inhumanity and scale of the returns is truly shocking; Turkey should stop them immediately."
Under the deal, Turkey is supposed to be taking in migrants returned from Greece on April 4, but uncertainty remains over how many will be sent back, how they will be processed, and where they will be housed.
The aim is to close the main route by which a million migrants and refugees crossed the Aegean Sea to Greece in the last year before heading north, mainly to Germany and Sweden.
Additional reporting by Reuters.
Christian couple vow not to host same-sex weddings in their Illinois B&B despite state fines, penalties
A Christian couple in Illinois are standing pat on their decision not to host same-sex weddings despite having been fined by the Illinois Human Rights Commission for $80,000 over a discrimination case filed by a gay couple in 2011.
Jim and Beth Walder, owners of the Timber Creek Bed & Breakfast in Paxton, Illinois, said their policy will not change.
"We cannot host a same-sex wedding even though fines and penalties have been imposed by the Illinois Human Rights Commission. Our policy will not be changing," they said.
They said the government cannot rewrite the definition of marriage.
"In our opinion, neither the state of Illinois nor the U.S. Supreme Court has the authority to tamper with the definition of marriage. God alone created marriage and declared thousands of years ago that it was to be between a man and a woman. Not two men. Not two women," the couple stated.
On Tuesday, an administrative law judge ordered Timber Creek to pay $15,000 each to Todd and Mark Wathen for emotional distress, Reuters reported. The inn must also pay $50,000 in attorneys' fees and $1,218.35 in costs.
In 2011, the Wathens contacted the inn as a possible location for their civil union ceremony.
In his email, Jim Walder told the Wathens, "We will never host same-sex civil unions. We will never host same-sex weddings even if they become legal in Illinois. We believe homosexuality is wrong and unnatural based on what the Bible says about it. If this is discrimination, I guess we unfortunately discriminate," LifeSite News reported.
The Wathens told them that they would file a lawsuit but Walder replied, the Bible "trumps Illinois law, United States law and Global law should there ever be any. Please read John 3:16."
The same-sex couple filed a complaint with the human rights commission.
In their defence, the Walders said the inn was not a public facility and that they did not refuse service but only described how they operate.
The Wathens and the American Civil Liberties Union were pleased with the ruling.
"We hope that no other bed-and-breakfast and no other business in Illinois would be so bold as to discriminate," said ACLU spokesperson Ed Yohnka.
With the ruling, the Walders declared that religious freedom does not exist in Illinois.
Christianity is no longer compulsory for Oxford Theology students
Theology students at Oxford will no longer have to study Christianity after their first year of university, after pupils challenged the lack of diversity in the current course structure.
A "major driver" for implementing changes, which will allow students after the first year to abandon study of Christianty entirely, is "the dramatic change in the way religion is seen and practised in the UK," according to Professor Johannes Zachhuber, the theology faculty's board chairman.
"The dominance of the Church of England has been receding but at the same time religion hasn't disappeared. We want to offer to potential students what is interesting for them and that has changed a lot in the last 30 years," he told the Times Higher Education magazine.
Christianity will remain compulsory in the first year of the course, with two papers to be sat on the religion, however students will have free reign to choose a wide range of papers in the second and third years.
The changes to the theology degree at the world's oldest university will more accurately reflect both the expertise of the lecturers and the interest and experience of the students.
"We recognise that the people who come to study at Oxford come from a variety of different backgrounds and have legitimately different interests. They come from the respected communities of Britain," said Zachhuber.
"If you have a very rigid curriculum, there will be an increasing mismatch between what lecturers are doing in their research time and what they're having to teach," he added.
The reduction in compulsory modules for second and third year students will enable other papers to be taken, including "feminist approaches to religion and theology" and "Buddhism in space and time".
"These changes are what students want, because a bigger world is affecting them," according to Benjamin Thompson, associate professor of medieval history at Oxford, who said that there have been similar moves in history.
"The most obvious example is the rise of militant Islam, or how well the Chinese economy is doing.
"With the Cecil Rhodes statue debate, this 'decolonisation' of the curriculum is now quite interesting." As an example, he said that to study a medieval knight students "might look at his uniform and trace its origins to the silk roads in the Far East" rather than just looking at history from an English perspective."
Decision to follow Christ most 'challenging, beautiful, costly, rewarding journey ever' says Archbishop
The decision to follow Christ is the most challenging, beautiful, costly and rewarding journey ever, according to a senior Archbishop in the worldwide Anglican Communion.
The Archbishop of South East Asia, the Most Rev Ng Moon Hing, describes the power of the biblical imperative, "follow me", in a report issued to members of the Anglican Consultative Council as they prepare to meet in Lusaka in Zambia next week.
He says that millions of Christians through two millennia "have accepted that simple invitation in faith and often with minimal understanding of the life-transforming decision they have taken."
The decision to follow Christ is "simply the most challenging, the most beautiful, the most costly, the most rewarding journey we could ever choose to begin," he writes.
He also urges "reconciliation, wholeness, and life" in the report, Intentional Discipleship and Disciple-Making - An Anglican Guide for Christian Life and Formation.
This meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council is already likely to be tense because of the boycotts by Nigeria, Uganda and Kenya.
Church leaders in the conservative Global South are resisting what they see as the Western church's attempts to impose a gay liberal agenda.
They are boycotting the meeting because The Episcopal Church is attending, in spite of "consequences" imposed by the Primates meeting in Canterbury in January.
Archbishop Moon Hing admits the communion is "profoundly in need of reconciliation" in a world riven by fear, division, and brokenness. "A narrow, pietistic attachment to Jesus, whether individualistic or ecclesial, was never what God intended and will not serve us well today," he writes.
He says: "Some of us have even found ourselves as compromised as Judas, but the overwhelming impression I have of our Communion is that of a beautifully diverse family of women, men, and children who are deeply in love with Jesus and seeking daily to follow in his ways."
He also urges accepting the concept of inclusivity.
He says: "Exclusivity has no place in the family of God; all God-centred relationships are inclusive, and our evangelism has nothing to do with numbers and power but everything to do with love, generosity, inclusion, and the all-encompassing life and love of God."
The report recommends the communion's "five marks of mission" as a model for inclusive ministry.
It quotes Henry Venn, then head of the Church Mission Society, writing in the mid-19th century: "More than 100,000 coolies, chiefly from South India, are congregated in these plantations: from ten to twelve native catechists labour amongst them. The whole expense of these catechists is borne by the local funds. Those native catechists are to be under your training and superintendence, and through them chiefly you must strive to quicken the spiritual life of the Christian coolies, and to induce heathen coolies to enter the fold of Christ."
The document also addresses the question of exorcisms. In a passage highlighted in bold, it says: "While every Christian can and should engage in prayer for deliverance from evil, the Lord's Prayer being the most well-known prayer, not every Christian is called by God or by the Bishop to be an exorcist."
But it continues: "The ministry of deliverance and exorcism has not ceased to be part of the Lord's commission: it is an essential aspect of episcopal ministry within the life of the Church today."
Exorcisms are "a significant portal through which the Church can reach out and preach the Gospel into contemporary society,' it says.
Reconciliation with God can never be complete "until we are at peace with ourselves," the document says.
Canon Chris Sugden of the conservative group Anglican Mainstream told Christian Today that he did not think the use of Venn's passage would cause offence. "We are all children of our time. They chose to go with the actual quote. It would not be right to change the quote. They could have used reported speech. But they may be making a point that it does no favours to anyone to try and rewrite the past."
A spokesman for the Anglican Communion office said: "This is a verbatim quote. It was used because of the message it conveys about teaching. Language changes with time. We cannot transport our values to earlier times and assume that Venn was being malevolent. But obviously, such a term would be completely unacceptable now."
Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg says ISIS can only be fought back with 'understanding, empathy and love'
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said the sickening atrocities going on around the world today, which are aimed to ''spread fear and distrust,'' can only be fought back with "understanding, empathy and love.''
Zuckerberg made the comments on his Facebook post after announcing the activation of Facebook's Safety Check app in response to the latest terror attacks in Belgium and Pakistan.
Since the bomb attacks in Paris last year that left 130 people dead, Facebook has offered users a "check-in" feature to tell friends they are safe if they live in the vicinity of the scene of a terrorist attack.
"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. That's the world we can and must build together,'' Zuckerberg wrote.
Reacting to Zuckerberg's latest post, former U.S. defence official Jed Babbin said he "can't do anything but laugh'' at the millionaire's comments.
"This is a very popular concept among 12-year-old girls,'' Babbin said, according to the Daily Caller.
Earlier this month, at least 37 people were killed and more than a hundred wounded in Turkey's capital Ankara when a car bomb planted by the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons was detonated in Guvenpark, in the city's south.
Then on March 22, Islamic State (ISIS) suicide bombers struck Brussels, the Belgian capital, killing more than 30 people and wounding another 300.
This was followed by the terrorist attack in Lahore, Pakistan on Easter Sunday, March 27, killing 74 people, at least 24 of them minors, and injuring more than 360 others. An al-Qaeda affiliated splinter-group detonated a bomb in a crowded park, specifically targeting Christians.
ISIS has claimed responsibility for many of the terrorist attacks, including those in Paris and Belgium. The radical Islamic group is also responsible for the displacement and persecution of Christian minorities in the Middle East.
Muslim teacher who died saving Christians from al-Shabaab honoured for 'act of courage'
A Kenyan Muslim teacher who protected Christians from death at the hands of al-Shabaab terrorists in an attack last year has received one of the country's top awards for bravery.
Salah Farah, who died of his injuries sustained in the attack, has been awarded with the Order of The Great Warrior, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta announced yesterday.
Kenyatta said he was proud that Farah had "refused to be divided by terrorism" and said the award was being given to praise "his act of courage".
Farah, deputy head of the Mandera township primary school, was on a bus with 60 other passengers which was stopped by al-Shabaab militants in December.
He was one of several Muslims who refused to allow them to separate the passengers into Christian and Muslim groups, saying "Kill us all or leave them alone" and was hailed as a hero for helping save Christian lives.
"As we argued, they shot me and the boy. One man who also came out of the bus and tried to escape to the bush was shot," Farah said after the attack.
"We are brothers. It's only the religion that is the difference, so I ask my brother Muslims to take care of the Christians so that the Christians also take care of us... and let us help one another."
Farah died while undergoing surgery for his injuries.
Al-Shabaab is particularly active in the northeast of Kenya where the Muslim population is more concentrated. Tomorrow, April 2, marks the first anniversary of the group's worst attack in the country. More than 150 people, mostly students, died when militants attacked Garissa University. Survivors spoke of merciless executions by the attackers, who stalked classrooms and dormitories hunting for non-Muslim students.
Muslims most likely to be pro-Europe, while Christians back Brexit
Practising Christians are the most likely among faith communities in England to support the Eurosceptic 'Brexit' position.
Muslims, meanwile, are the most Europhile of all the religious groups, a new survey has found.
The findings came in the new Populus Hope Not Hate survey which throws light for the first time on what different religious groups feel about the EU referendum in June.
"All the questions suggest that professing Christians are currently more likely than average to take up Eurosceptic positions, with Muslims the most Europhile," reports religious researcher Clive Field.
Populus surveyed more than 4,000 adults in February. The findings are reported in deteail in Robert Ford and Nick Lowles' new book Fear & Hope, 2016: Race, Faith and Belonging in Today's England.
Meanwhile, Archbishop of Wales Barry Morgan has praised the European Union as the "most successful project for peace, freedom and democracy the world has ever seen".
The Welsh Anglican leader warned of a danger in the referendum that the result will be determined by how people feel on the "spur of the moment".
He said: "We should not abandon the most successful project for peace. It is about belonging to a union of distinct nations, whose ethnic, cultural and linguistic diversities are protected by EU laws, who agree to work together for the common good, to pursue peace, and to help members who are less fortunate than others."
Myanmar: Will Aung San Suu Kyi stop religious persecution?
Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi has campaigned for freedom and democracy in her country for decades, and paid the price. She spent 15 years under house arrest, accepting separation from her husband and children as the price of her commitment to her country. Her moral standing has been unimpeachable and her party's victory in the election last year that saw the end of military rule was been hailed around the world.
She is constitionally barred from serving as president of Myanmar also known as Burma because of her marriage to a foreigner, Michael Aris (now deceased). But today, a bill allowing her appointment as a state counsellor with a role similar to that of a prime minister passed Myanmar's upper house. It is certain to become law.
For the first time, Aung San Suu Kyi will have real power. However, along with the obvious problems her country faces poverty, education, energy, health, the rebuilding of civil society after years of repression is one that offers few returns in terms of votes, but has the potential to tarnish even a legacy such as hers.
Religious nationalism in Myanmar is a powerful force. The Patriotic Association of Myanmar, abbreviated to Ma Ba Tha, has offices across the country. It's run by extremist Buddhist monks convinced Islam poses a deadly threat to Myanmar's identity. It's opposed to Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy, seeing it as soft on Muslims and too open to Western influence. It supports laws severely restricting religious freedom.
One of its most outspoken advocates, Ashin Wirathu, has called Muslims 'mad dogs'. Ma Ba Tha's precursor, the '969' movement, was implicated in violence in Rakhine state in 2012 that left more than 200 dead and a quarter of a million displaced. Many of them were Rohingya Muslims.
The Rohingya to whom Myanmar denies citizenship, saying they migrated to the country from Bengal (though the Rohingya claim they are indigenous to Myanmar) have borne the brunt of Buddhist nationalism. They face discrimination at every level. Many live in ghettos and refugee camps. Their land has been expropriated and given to Buddhist settlers. Violence, poverty and insecurity have driven many to take to boats in an effort to reach safety, as they believe, in Thailand; many have been left to drown.
But Buddhist nationalists have attacked Christian communities too. Myanmar ranks 23rd on Open Doors' World Watch list for Christian persecution. Many Christians belong to ethnic minority groups including Rohingyas who are targeted by nationalists.
One sign of the power of the military-nationalist ideology is a law passed last August restricting religious conversion and interfaith marriages. Among other provisions, the law law will create local Religious Conversion Scrutinisation and Registration Boards. Anyone wishing to change their religion will have to be over 18 and will be required to file an application with a local board, including the reasons for the conversion.
The law was greeted with alarm by rights organisations, including Open Doors, which expressed hopes that a new government would repeal it, and Human Rights Watch, whose deputy Asia director Phil Robertson said: "Allowing local officials to regulate private faith so closely is a pathway to repression of religious freedom. In their zeal to protect Buddhism, the authors of these laws are imperiling other religious minorities, including Christians, Hindus, and especially Burma's persecuted Muslim minority."
But now that Aung San Suu Kyi is effectively in charge, surely things will improve?
Perhaps. However, there are worrying signs that religious liberty and the plight of minorities are not at the top of her agenda and that she may even be personally resistant to change.
Suu Kyi was interviewed in 2013 by BBC journalist Mishal Husain and was challenged about anti-Islamic attitudes in Burma. When Husain pressed her, she said: "I would like to make the point that there are many moderate Muslims in Burma who have been well integrated into our society, but these problems arose last year and I think this is due to fear on both sides.
"This is what the world needs to understand; that the fear is not just to the side of the Muslims but on the side of the Buddhists as well."
According to a book by Peter Popham, The Lady And The Generals: Aung San Suu Kyi And Burma's Struggle For Freedom, she was incensed by the questioning and was heard to mutter off-air, "No one told me I was going to be interviewed by a Muslim."
Suu Kyi has never made a clear statement opposing the persecution of Rohingyas and other minorities and she has refused to endorse the judgment of Human Rights Watch about Buddhist nationalist responsibility for violence and discrimination. She has been widely attacked for her apparent acquiescence in wrongdoing.
However, reflecting on the incident, Popham wrote that her background was tolerant and liberal. He suggests her domestic enemies have always attacked her for being too close to the West and not 'Burmese' enough and that she became "hyper-sensitive" to the charge. By depicting her as foreign, her enemies "tried to lump her together with the Muslim minority who are also regarded by many Burmese Buddhists as aliens with no right to remain in the country", he says. "My hunch is that Suu Kyi feared that if she spoke up for the Rohingya, it would make it easy for her enemies to repeat this argument and if the Burmese masses fell for it, that could erode her standing and her chances of coming to power."
Now, Popham thinks, it might be different.
But though Suu Kyi has come to power with an enormous amount of moral and political capital, it is fatally easy for politicians to lose such advantages by a few missteps. She may feel that keeping the powerful nationalists on side is more important than fighting for an unpopular cause, no matter how righteous it might be.
In that case, she might like to consider the example of America's President Lyndon Johnson. When he took office after the assassination of JF Kennedy, one of his advisers tried to persuade him not to waste his time on the lost cause of civil rights.
He replied: "Well, what the hell's the presidency for?"
Follow Mark Woods on Twitter: @RevMarkWoods
Obama faces pressure to confront China on human rights and religious freedom
US President Obama has been pressed to discuss human rights with the Chinese President this week, according to China Aid.
In a letter, former Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio and US Representative Chris Smith , who co-chair the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), urged Obama to address China's "severe erosion" of human rights and rule of law.
He is due to speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping in a meeting while at the Nuclear Security Summit this week.
Rubio and Smith described the situation in China regarding the suppression of human rights as "broader in scope than any other period documented since the Commission started issuing Annual Reports in 2002".
They brought to attention the recent trend of "televised, presumably coerced 'confessions' on state television" as one example.
Highlighting that it is "in direct violation of Chinese law and international human rights norms", they also cited the "public humiliation" of Hong Kong bookseller Gui Minhai and rights lawyer Huang Liqun.
The letter also highlights the ongoing persecution of religious leaders and other civil society actors, including lawyers and legal advocates.
Rubio and Smith urge Obama to have a "full and frank discussion" with President Xi.
During a press conference entitled "Sidelining human rights: A strategic mistake the US cannot afford to make", Smith commented on the importance of raising human rights.
The Church in China is under pressure in some areas, particularly in Zhejiang Province where churches have been demolished, crosses torn down and pastors and lawyers imprisoned. Elsewhere it is allowed to flourish relatively unhindered.
Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas says he's working to stop knife attacks
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Thursday he was working to stop Palestinian knife attacks and other street violence against Israel and had offered to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to rekindle peace efforts.
The remarks appeared to be an effort by the Western-backed Abbas to turn the tables on Israel, which has cast him as responsible for the diplomatic deadlock and the surge of bloodshed.
Speaking to Israel's Channel 2 TV, Abbas gave rare details on his domestic security drives, a touchy matter as many Palestinians deem such moves collaboration with their enemy.
"Our security forces go into the schools to search pupils' bags and see if they have knives. You don't know this," he said.
"In one school, we found 70 boys and girls who were carrying knives. We took the knives and spoke to them and said: 'This is a mistake. We do not want you to kill and be killed. We want you to live, and for the other side to live as well.'"
Abbas's administration and Israel coordinate security in the occupied West Bank despite the stalling two years ago of US-sponsored negotiations on Palestinian statehood.
Netanyahu says he is open to renewing talks and that Abbas has been avoiding these while inciting violence with his rhetoric against Israel.
But Abbas told Channel 2 that the onus was on Netanyahu.
"I will meet with him, at any time. And I suggested, by the way, for him to meet," the Palestinian leader said in English.
Asked what became of that overture, Abbas said: "No, no it's a secret. He can tell you about it."
Netanyahu's office had no immediate response.
Since October, Palestinian stabbings, car-rammings and gun ambushes have killed 28 Israelis and two US citizens. At least 190 Palestinians, 129 of whom Israel says were assailants, have been killed by its forces. Many others were shot in clashes.
Abbas' Palestinian Authority exercises limited self-rule in the West Bank under 1993 interim peace deals. Israeli forces now freely operate in PA areas, something Abbas described as sapping his credibility at home. He said he was willing to take action against Palestinians that Israeli intelligence deems a threat.
"If he [Netanyahu] gives me responsibility and tells me that he believes in the two-state solution and we sit around the table to talk about the two-state solution, this will give my people hope, and nobody dares to go and stab or shoot or do anything here or there," Abbas said.
Netanyahu has said he would favour the creation of a Palestinian state as long as Israel's terms are met such as its security needs. Whether Abbas could vouchsafe the Gaza Strip is in doubt, as it is under the de facto control of armed Hamas Islamists who oppose permanent coexistence with Israel.
For his part, Netanyahu has been hazy about whether he would remove Jewish settlements in the West Bank to make way for the Palestinians. He heads a pro-settlement coalition the includes one ultra-nationalist party opposed to Palestinian statehood.
Priest who admitted to sexually assaulting a 15-year-old was allowed to continue in ministry for 14 years
A Church of England vicar who sexually assaulted a 15-year-old was allowed to continue ministering for over a decade, despite having confessed to his bishop.
Stephen Crabtree, 59, formed an "inappropriate relationship" with a 15-year-old girl between 1992-1993 after the breakdown of his marriage.
He admitted six charges of indecent assault and was jailed for three years, and placed on the sex offenders' register for life.
Lincoln Crown court heard the victim told the Bishop of Grimsby in 2000. Rt Rev David Rossdale met with Crabtree but no further action was taken.
He met with Rossdale again in 2008, where he confessed to the sexual assault again, expressing remorse. Again, nothing further was done.
Crabtree continued in his role in the church, by this time as rector of the parish of Washingborough and chair of governors at the local primary school, until 2014 without any further investigations.
Details of both meetings were kept on record in the Diocese of Lincoln, but it was not until the appointment of a new safeguarding officer that anything was done.
The officer conducted a review of historic complaints, leading to the victim being contacted and details of the complaint forwarded to police. This led to Crabtree's arrest.
Judge Michael Heath expressed concern that the Church failed to contact police when they heard about the incidents.
The case is currently the subject of a Church of England inquiry and the current Bishop of Lincoln, Rt Rev Christopher Lowson, has issued an apology.
"The child had every right to expect to be safe in his company, and the devastating effects of his crime were compounded by the position of trust he held at the time," he said.
"I am very sorry indeed that it has taken so long for proper justice to be served. I struggle to imagine the impact that such a serious crime has had on the life of the survivor of Crabtree's abuse and on the survivor's family.
"I wish to pay tribute to their enormous courage and determination, and I hope that today they begin to feel that justice has been served. "
Religious liberty: Why we should care far more about it than we do
How important is religious freedom? Pretty important in America, not so much in Europe, according to data from polling organisation YouGov.
It's just released figures detailing statistics from seven European countries, plus the US, showing the importance different cultures place on different rights around the world.
Some of the results are unsurprising: 46 per cent of Americans thought the right to own a gun was important, while it barely registered elsewhere. This just might account for 13,286 people being killed with guns in the US last year and 26,819 people being injured, but that's another column (other variations include far higher US support for the right to life of the unborn child and far lower support for free school education).
YouGov identified 30 rights, split them into two lists and asked people to choose five from each list. In his blog, YouGov president Peter Kellner points out that the fact panel members didn't vote for a particular right doesn't mean they don't believe in it, it just means they think something else is more important.
Overall, the right to 'Pursue a religion of choice' comes more than half way down the list of priorities. It scores 53 per cent in the US but only 26 in Britain. France somewhat unsurprisingly, given that country's history of anti-clericalism and its tortured relationship with its large Muslim minority is the lowest, at 24 per cent.
It's not surprising, on the other hand, that the US is top. Religion, especially in election season, has a high profile. There's a pervasive, if not entirely persuasive, narrative of anti-Christian discrimination that tends to make people feel a 'right' is under threat, even if it isn't, and makes them inclined to dig their heels in.
There could be all sorts of reasons for the relatively low scores in Europe, one of which is in line with Kellner's point that other things are just more contested at the moment. Furthermore, it's a less religious continent, and if people are personally detached from an issue they tend not to rate it so highly.
But just how important is religious liberty?
At one level it's far, far more important than these bare statistics might suggest.
At another level it's not.
Discussions about the practice of religion in Western democracies are set, whether those engaging in them know it or not, against the background of the ferocious wars that devastated Europe in the 17th century. Next year Protestants will celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation and enthusiastically remember Martin Luther, John Calvin and the rest. But as well as spiritual renewal, the Reformation led to continent-wide carnage as religious rivals squared off against each other.
After the dust had settled and the bodies were buried, the philosophers, theologians and lawmakers came to realise that while religion can be hugely beneficial to society, it's dangerous if it's not controlled. You couldn't let the Church run the state, and you had to give people freedom to practise their faith though you could privilege certain expressions of that religion, as England does with its state Church.
And if you take away someone's right to believe what they want to believe and educate their children in their faith, you are striking at the roots of their identity. The state is claiming the right to define who a person is. England's Elizabeth I, a tolerant monarch for her time, famously said she had no wish to "open windows into men's souls"; what they believed was, up to a point, between them and God. Taking away the freedom to 'Pursue a religion of choice' is defacing the image of God in the human soul.
It happens all the time; not just in the rogue states of Eritrea and North Korea, but in Western allied countries like Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. If people aren't free to express their faith without fear, they are spiritually lamed. That is not acceptable.
But the other lesson the world learned about religion was that it could be dangerous, so it has to be controlled. No individual rights are absolute, because at some point they will collide with someone else's rights. The state has the right to forbid manifestations of religion that sanction violence, abuse and discrimination. It's as we negotiate rights that we need wisdom to discern what's crucial and what's well, negotiable.
Both the European assessment of the importance of religious rights and the American are potentially worrying. In the US, they've become a political and ideological shibboleth. Any concession, from gay marriage to transgender people using the 'wrong' lavatory, can be seen as a betrayal. In Europe, they're relegated to the category of 'less important', scoring below pensions, privacy and paid holidays for workers.
They are much more important than that. But we are still working out how to make room for the right to choose and practise a religion which might be awkward and counter-cultural in a culture that is moving further away from faith all the time.
'The Joy of Love': Pope Francis' post-synod exhortation to be released Friday
Pope Francis' apostolic exhortation on the family will be published on April 8, and will be called Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love), the Vatican announced today.
Amoris Laetitia will summarise the recent synod on the family and family life and provide guidance on pastoral issues that were discussed.
The exhortation, subtitled "On Love in the Family", is a "post-synodal apostolic exhortation" and is addressed to the Church.
The document will summarise all that the synod said, Pope Francis told reporters on the plane from Mexico to Rome in late February.
The text, reportedly 200 pages long, will be presented by Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops, and Cardinal Christoph Schonborn, Archbishop of Vienna, at a press conference on Friday April 8 at 11:30 am.
The panel will also include a married couple from Italy: Professor Francesco Miano, lecturer in moral philosophy at the University of Rome and Professor Giuseppina De Simone in Miano, lecturer in philosophy at the Theological Faculty of Southern Italy in Naples.
The press conference can be seen via live streaming here.
Today, the Vatican has also announced Pope Francis' prayer intentions for the month of April.
The Pope's universal intention is "that small farmers may receive a just reward for their precious labor."
He also hopes "that Christians in Africa may give witness to love and faith in Jesus Christ amid political-religious conflicts."
Virginia governor vetoes anti-abortion bill, says it would harm 'tens of thousands of Virginians'
Democratic Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe vetoed on Tuesday a bill that would defund Planned Parenthood and transfer funds to public health groups, hospitals and health clinics.
McAuliffe vetoed House Bill 1090 that would prohibit the state from entering into a contract or make a grant to clinics that perform abortion that are not federally qualified abortions or maintain facilities where non-federally qualified abortions are performed.
The governor sees the bill as a measure aimed at defunding Planned Parenthood.
He said the measure "would harm tens of thousands of Virginians who rely on the healthcare services and programs provided by Planned Parenthood health centers by denying them access to affordable care."
McAuliffe said if Virginia takes federal dollars, it must abide by federal rules as with family planning funds.
He said Virginia cannot set the limitation without violating the Supremacy Clause, adding that similar laws in North Carolina and Texas have been struck down by federal courts.
"I have promised to stand in the way of any and all attempts to interfere with a woman's right to make her own health care decisions," he said.
The bill exempts abortions for rape, incest and major foetal abnormalities, according to LifeSite News.
Bill sponsor Ben Cline said he was disappointed by the governor's veto of the bill "that would redirect taxpayer dollars toward more comprehensive providers of healthcare services for women."
"The governor is clearly listening to his friends in the abortion lobby, rather than ensuring that women have access to quality care," he said.
Victoria Cobb, president of The Family Foundation of Virginia, said, "We now know how much money it costs to purchase a veto from Terry McAuliffe right around $2 million in campaign contributions," according to The Virginian-Pilot.
Why don't Conservatives conserve things any more?
When is a conservative not a conservative?
It's not a joke, or a trick. It's one of the most pressing political questions in the US and the UK.
It's been brought into focus this week by the possible closure of the Tata Steel plant in Port Talbot, South Wales. The multinational company Tata said it was going to sell its UK operation and there's a real possibility that this will mean the loss of thousands of jobs and real devastation for the community.
There are loud calls for the UK government to step in and, if necessary, temporarily nationalise the Port Talbot plant to ensure the skilled jobs aren't lost and the knock-on effects for the local economy and community are mitigated. But these calls have so far heeded little. Right-leaning opinion formers say the plant must be allowed to die. That it would be 'inefficient' to do otherwise, that the market has decided and that's all there is to it. The executive director of free market think tank the Adam Smith Institute said, "The only justification for nationalisation is if we're prepared to say there is nothing that the people of Port Talbot could conceivably do productively... To be fair, there may be a grain of truth in that."
It's a pattern we've been used to over the last 50 years in the UK and the US. Deindustrialisation on a massive scale has seen places like Port Talbot abandoned to their fate. Whole swathes of blue collar Britain and America have been disgarded by what one commentator described as, "a perfect storm of automation, declining union power, and free-trade agreements."
That this process has taken place is undeniable. From Port Talbot to Detroit, the story is the same. Once mighty industrial areas have had the heart ripped out of them. In the words of Bruce Springsteen's 2012 song Death To My Home Town, "They destroyed our families, factories, and they took our homes... The greedy thieves who came around and ate the flesh of everything they found."
What is surprising is that this destruction began and has taken place under the watch of 'conservative' politicians on both sides of the Atlantic. When Margaret Thatcher's election as Prime Minister in 1979 in the UK was followed by Ronald Reagan's victory over Jimmy Carter, suddenly, there was a dramatic new dawn. The New Deal was dead. The post-war consensus over.
Instead, these two politicians, whose supporters still lionise them as conservative heroes, set about a radical programme of change. Taxes were cut, regulations were slashed, monetary policy was paramount and privatisation of public institutions was rapid. As Mrs Thatcher proclaimed, this was more than merely a set of budgetary measures. "Economics are the method: the object is to change the soul," she proclaimed.
Thus the pattern was set for the next 35 years. The astonishing popularity and electoral success of Reagan and Thatcher (and to a lesser extent Bush and Major) meant that the new consensus was never really broken by the Democrats or Labour.
These new economic orthodoxies drove almost everything that these giants of conservative politics did. Yet the effects of their new agenda were anything but conservative. Those communities which had passed down jobs from generation to generation were ripped apart. Wealth was accrued by the elites of Wall Street and the City of London. Mutuals, symbols of community and reciprocity for generations, were dismantled. Social Housing was privitised and not replaced, leading to the current housing crisis we find ourselves in. As Maurice Glasman said, "We had this mad market fundamentalism under Margaret Thatcher, the abandonment of any conception of the common good, the enormous transfer of wealth from poor to rich - it was horrible." The concept of the common good, which is drawn from Christian social teaching, isn't just the preserve of the left. The whole point is that conservatives should (and many do) care about the wellbeing of all, rather than just slavishly following the diktats of the market.
This abandonment of the common good, the sacrifice of local communities to the vicissitudes of the gods of 'the market', the prioritising of the financial over all other spheres of life should be anathema to true conservatives. The clue is in the name. Conservatives value family, community, the local, heritage, tradition, institutions. All of these were ripped up by Thatcher and Reagan's economic fundamentalism.
Instead of the true conservatism championed by giants like Michael Oakeshott and Edmund Burke, the last four decades of conservative rule in the UK and US has led to the triumph of global mega corporations over every day life and our local communities. As Tory MP Jesse Norman has written, Burke warned of the dangers of allowing big business to dictate our lives. "In his own time, Burke regarded as his greatest achievement his campaign to restrain the crony capitalism of the East India Company, and to insist on the accountability of private power to public authority."
In other words, the father of conservative thought took on a global corporation and helped to bring it to heel. Compare and contrast that with the government's weak response to the steel crisis in Port Talbot. Watch this video and tell me it's 'conservative' to shut down the steel plant.
In the face of the potential devastation of the local community, we get little but platitudes from the 'conservative' government. Time and again, contemporary 'conservatives' show their disregard for values of restraint, respect for institutions, family, faith and community. From the devastating economics of Reagan and Thatcher, to the contempt for those campaigning to keep Sunday Special, to the current crisis in the steel works of Port Talbot, so many of the policies of our modern conservative governments are deeply, bafflingly, unconservative.
'Jesus set me free': Lawyer shares how her new Christian faith vanquished the demons that tormented her for years
Demons are real and they could torment people no end.
A woman from Uganda who is now a successful lawyer in the United States attested to this, saying her acceptance of Jesus Christ in her life finally vanquished the demons that haunted her for years.
Interviewed by CBN News, Jahan Berns said she grew up in Kampala, the capital of Uganda, a country in Africa known for its witch doctors.
She said the demons started showing up in her life when she was 7 years old. That was the time when her father, a high ranking officer in Idi Amin's army, was killed in an ambush.
The loss of her father devastated her and she began to have nightmares. "I woke at night, sweating and sometimes screaming. I was seeing my father's corpse. When my father left my world everything lost meaning and a part of me died," she said.
Following family tradition, she prayed to her ancestors and consulted the witch doctor, who told her she had a spiritual guide who was always with her, especially at night. "Sometimes I felt these cold fingers touching the back of my neck. Then I always felt like someone was always sleeping in my bed," she said.
For five years she endured all those restless nights. When she reached the age of 12, Jahan decided to convert to Islam, hoping that would drive away the demons pestering her. "I was willing to become a Muslim because I was desperate. I was tired of the nightmares. I was tired of the fear. I recited those prayers very religiously, but I never heard a response," she said.
The following year, her mother secured a grant for Jahan to attend a boarding school in Gayaza, Uganda, run by British missionaries. "This was the first time that I was around Christian students, and I absolutely detested them because I didn't understand what they were happy about. I didn't have the feeling they had. I felt like I was always wanting to explode. I became so angry and so hateful," she said.
But despite her ill manners, the girls treated her with kindness. One day she became mad with one of her classmates when she told her about her dream that she, Johan, "is going to get saved by the Holy Ghost."
She accidentally injured her classmate after she shoved a table on her. But instead of retaliating, the girl she offended forgave her. "I was so moved. She was giving me mercy when I didn't deserve it. I walked away. But something in me broke, seeing that girl's kindness," she said.
Days later another classmate gave her a copy of the Bible, telling her to sleep with the Bible on her bed and just hug it in case she wakes up at night feeling scared and haunted by the demons.
When her nightmares returned that night, Jahan opened the Bible, and came to Psalm 91: "You will not be afraid of the terror by night. No harm will come near you for He will give His angels charge over thee. You will trample on the lion and the serpent."
She said she stayed up all night reading. "I said, 'God, if you will take away this darkness, if you will set me free, I will serve you for the rest of my life.' I began to sob. When the tears finally stopped I felt so clean, so pure."
"The more I read the Bible the more I fell in love with Jesus. I said, 'Jesus come into my heart.' Jesus began to replace my bad dreams with good dreams."
Jahan embraced Christianity and emigrated to the U.S. in 2004. She eventually graduated from law school and got married.
She is now a practicing attorney, the mother of two children, and an active church member and volunteer.
The demons have left her and she now sleeps peacefully.
"God came in and became the father that I didn't have. I would have been a good candidate for a mental institute had it not been for Jesus, but He healed me. He set me free. He restored me. I have a good life because of Jesus. He can do it for anyone," she said.
Houston engineering and consulting firm KBR won a contract to work on a refinery for a client in China.
KBR will revamp a fluid catalytic cracker unit, which plays an important role in gasoline production, by bringing in its Maxofin technology. The Maxofin technology allows for higher production of propylene.
"This project demonstrates our commitment to deliver innovative technologies that help the client meet their performance objectives," John Derbyshire, President of KBR Technology & Consulting, said in a statement Thursday.
In the announcement KBR also said it developed the world's first fluid catalytic cracker commercial unit in 1942, and has done 120 such projects around the world since.
The price of the deal was not disclosed. The client's identity was kept confidential.
As part of the restructuring KBR initiated in December 2014 the company has looked for opportunities to expand in Asia. It has also narrowed its focus on several business segments, including its proprietary technologies in oil and gas processing, as it sheds others.
KBR's stock was down slightly in early trading Friday.
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Houston-based bar chain Little Woodrow's is set to enter the Dallas and Midland markets this summer.
The chain already has multiple locations here in Houston, Austin and San Antonio.
Danny Evans founded Little Woodrow's in Houston in 1994. He says the Uptown Dallas location is in an older, refurbished warehouse. It will have a full kitchen, more than 50 beer taps, and a state-of-the-art video and audio system. Everything that Little Woodrow's customers have grown to love to about the brand.
He's excited to get into the Dallas market.
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"The area we are moving into is quite like Houston's Midtown," Evans said Thursday. Dallas' Little Woodrow's will be at 3300 Ross Avenue.
The Midland location will fulfill that area's need for a bar like Little Woodrow's, he said. Midland, even with a slight oil downturn, is still a booming city.
Both new spots should be open by June in time for summer patio parties.
By 2017, Evans said he expects to open outlets in Cypress -- west of Houston -- and in Lubbock.
'We're continuing to grow our brand and get better and better at what we do," he said.
Among his seven locations in the Houston area, the one in Midtown at 2306 Brazos is the busiest, followed by a location in San Antonio, Evans said.
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April 20 is the projected day pedigree barbecue is set to arrive in Midtown. That's the day Midtown BBQ is slated to open in the former OTC Midtown (and later Bourbon on Bagby) spot, 2708 Bagby.
The new barbecue project from chef Eric Aldis and pitmaster Brett Jackson in partnership with the building's landlord.
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Aldis, currently chef of Corner Table in River Oaks, said Midtown BBQ will offer traditional Hill Country-style smoked meats including beef ribs, pork ribs, brisket, chicken, pork butt and sausage made for them by rancher Felix Florez of Black Hill Meats. And in the best Central Texas barbecue traditions, the meats are prepared not to hold all day but move quickly, especially brisket that has reached its optimal doneness: "When we're out, we're out," Aldis said.
And maybe they'll be out a lot given Jackson's credentials: he worked in the smoky environs of the legendary Louie Mueller Barbecue in Taylor for two years. He and Aldis have been priming their opening with several pop-ups.
Now they're ready for Houston to meet its newest entry into the city's growing barbecue restaurant landscape.
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In addition to the familiar smoked meats lineup, Midtown BBQ also will offer specials such as smoked whole fish with chimichurri sauce; smoked shrimp and oysters; smoked leg of lamb with Greek yogurt; house-made pickles and collard greens; and french fries cooked in brisket fat. Plus there are local beers and a full bar.
Jackson will be barbecuing using custom portable smokers from a pitmaker in Gonzales.
Versions of those same smokers will be available for sale directly from the restaurant.
A day after a cadet died during a training session, another firefighter has been injured battling a blaze at an apartment complex along Interstate 10 in west Houston.
The 1-alarm fire erupted about 4:30 a.m. Friday along the Katy Freeway near Queen Annes, said Jay Evans, a spokesman for the Houston Fire Department.
Evans said the firefighter was searching a smoky, darkened second-floor apartment for the extension of the flames when he mistook a large window for a doorway. The window glass had been broken out and the firefighter stepped through the opening in the darkness. When he realized his mistake, he grabbed onto the window frame to stop himself but he was unable to keep from falling out of the apartment.
The firefighter, Evans said, fell about 10 feet to the ground below and landed in the dirt. He appeared to be uninjured but complained of back pain. He was taken to Memorial Hermann-The Texas Medical Center. His condition was not released but Evans said he is expected to recover.
No other injuries were reported.
The fire was extinguished quickly and appeared to damage only one apartment.
The incident comes a day after HFD Cadet Steven Whitfield II collapsed about 11 a.m. Thursday during a training session at the department's Val Jahnke Training Facility. The 32-year-old Beaumont man was rushed to Memorial Hermann-The Texas Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead about two hours later.
The cause of his death remained under investigation.
"It's a very a tough and trying time for the Houston Fire Department," Evans said.
When unregulated food is sold around the world in markets, grocery stores and online, it puts consumers at risk.
Sometimes, rotting food is treated with chemicals to make it appear fresher. Other times, food is labeled as a high-quality product or a name brand when it is in fact adulterated with fillers or is another type of food altogether.
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Lula De La Isla moved toward the counter to pick up her takeout order from Hong Kong Chef. She remembered going here for the first time in 1965. Now, on her final visit, she leaned toward the cashier: Yall going to be missed, she told him.
The Cantonese restaurant that had been feeding customers in Bellaire for more than a half-century served its faithful patrons for the last time on Thursday. The restaurant and several other stores in the plaza will be taken over by another longstanding business in the area: The H-E-B next door.
You can read more about the massive new H-E-B and its impact on the neighborhood in Mike D. Smith's report on HoustonChronicle.com.
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On Thursday, Hong Kong Chef served faithful patrons for the final time.
There was no formal announcement of Hong Kong Chef closing. Instead, longtime Bellaire residents learned by word of mouth.
Vickie McTeague-Abbott, 46, learned from a message on Facebook. She arrived at a place where she had been eating since she was a toddler for one more order of egg foo yung. Terri Bamberger overheard another customer on Tuesday talking about the restaurant closing down, so she returned with her husband two days later to enjoy a last-chance meal.
Bamberger said the city has fancier Chinese options. But with affordable prices and harder-to-find Cantonese options like shrimp with lobster sauce, Hong Kong Chef was ideal for a relaxing meal. This is more like comfort Chinese food, she said.
The restaurants unique shape also added to its charm. De La Isla mused about how the restaurant barely changed over the decades. The kitchen was the first thing diners saw when they walked in. The heat from cooking could make the lobby feel as muggy as the outdoors. The dining room resided behind the kitchen, and clients needed to maneuver through a storage room to reach the bathroom.
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Loyal customers shared memories of the hospitable former owners, Mimi and Abe Sia, who turned over the restaurant to new management several years ago. They said goodbye to Lula Grang, the last holdover from the previous waitress, whose gruff demeanor became endearing to diners who grew up with her.
On Hong Kong Chefs final night, Grang served as the institutional memory. Nobody had an exact date for when the restaurant opened, but she remembered being told 1954. After 17 years as patrons' favorite surly waitress, Grang said she planned to take a nice, long break. There were no plans to reopen the restaurant at a new location.
Kenneth Soledad said he ran into a half-dozen people in his Bellaire neighborhood lamenting the end of Hong Kong Chef. When he was growing up, the restaurant was a favorite spot for his family. At 8 p.m. Thursday, he arrived to make a final order.
Wonton soup. Egg rolls. Steamed fried rice. He couldnt decide.
I picked like six dishes, Soledad said. I kind of splurged today because its the last day. And Im just going to miss it.
Nostalgia! See the gallery for a look at departed Houston businesses that we miss.
UPDATE: We did it, Internet commenters of America! The Antonin Scalia School of Law at George Mason seems to have a new name to avoid a profane acronym.
The Wall Street Journal reports the name officially remains the same, but marketing materials and the school website now read: "The Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason."
The original story is below:
A law school located just outside the nations capital will bear the name of late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. The new title for school will be the Antonin Scalia School of Law at George Mason.
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As some wiseguys have pointed out in comments sections across the nation, the law schools name could lend itself to ridicule by critics of the longtime conservative justice. Well give you a few moments to figure out whats wrong with the schools new designation. First some background on why this is happening:
George Mason University, a public school in Fairfax, Virginia, received a $30 million donation from the conservative Charles Koch Foundation and an anonymous donor to rename the school. The university has quietly become a conservative powerhouse in economics and law, a reputation built in part with tens of millions of dollars a year from billionaire Republican donor Charles Koch.
From 2011 to 2014, the Charles Koch Foundation gave nearly $48 million to George Mason in one form or another, tax records show. In the case of the Scalia donation, the foundation gave $10 million and the anonymous donor put up $20 million more. The schools president Angel Cabrear called the donations a milestone moment for the university.
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Charles Koch's representatives say the generosity comes without conditions. Some students already have expressed skepticism over the schools relationship with Koch. Now, at the very least, they have a way to mock the latest gift. Did you figure out whats wrong with the Antonin Scalia School of Law?
The acronym isnt so flattering. The newest attendees now attend ASSoL at George Mason. Or, if you prefer, ASSLaw.
See the gallery above for 15 things you didn't know about Antonin Scalia.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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A Brenham couple and about three dozen other bikers arrested after the deadly melee at the Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco last May may avoid prosecution.
A Houston lawyer contends that all criminal charges were automatically dropped against them since they were not indicted by the midnight Thursday deadline for a McLennan County grand jury to have completed its work.
"It timed out," said Houston lawyer Paul Looney, who represents Morgan and William English. They originally were arrested for allegedly engaging in organized criminal activity and were held on $1 million bail each, as were all others in the case. "Pop the champagne."
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He said that while the investigation remains open and a new grand jury could take the case, under the law, the charges that had been pending are now gone.
Looney met behind closed doors Friday morning with McLennan County District Attorney Abel Reyna, first assistant prosecutor Michael Jarrett and State District Judge Matt Johnson.
The district attorney's office, however, cautioned nothing is over.
"We have not filed any dismissals in any of the remaining Twin Peaks cases," said Amy Kuzniarek, spokeswoman for the office.
"Furthermore, any McLennan County grand jury can hear evidence on this matter and decide to issue additional indictments," she said. "This is an ongoing, continuing investigation."
Exactly how many people have had their charges dismissed is unclear. At least 148 have been indicted over the incident. At least 177 were originally arrested following the clash that left nine dead and two dozen wounded. Others were arrested later.
The judge declined a request to clarify the situation.
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Looney said they all agreed the judge would have had to sign an order to keep the cases active, but no such request was made.
William and Morgan English had faced the prospect of up to life in prison if convicted of engaging in organized criminal activity as part of a turf war between the Bandidos Motorcycle Club and the Cossacks Motorcycle Club.
Of those who are not facing charges so far, none was a member of the Bandidos or Cossacks. All were in the vicinity of Twin Peaks for a regional motorcycle club meeting that was supposed to be about safety and changes in the law.
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The Englishes were part of a small group of bikers from the Brenham area who call themselves the Distorted Motorcycle Club. They arrived at Twin Peaks in a Nissan Sentra, not on motorcycles, and maintained they had no hand in the violence.
Morgan English, a bank teller, has no prior criminal record. William, a Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq, had only a years-old prior brush with the law for driving under the influence.
Looney said the couple were relieved at not being indicted, but they still are dealing with having their lives suspended and their mug shots distributed around the Internet.
"I'm happy these people can try to regain their lives, regain the respect of their community and find a way to deal with the emotional trauma of having had this happen to them at all," Looney said.
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More than six dozen dogs at an alleged puppy mill in North Texas lived in "absolutely horrific" conditions prior to their rescue some in more than six inches of feces, officials said Wednesday.
RELATED: Authorities seize about 30 cats that took over vacant home on Northwest Side
Stephens County investigators along with the Humane Society of North Texas rescued 73 dogs from the alleged mill on March 18, according to a news release.
Several dogs had been crammed into wire pop-up crates. In other areas, more than six inches of feces covered the floors, a Humane Society investigator said in the release.
There were so many dogs in the house, the investigator said, that the property owners moved into a travel trailer in the yard.
"The conditions these dogs were living in were absolutely horrific," Kim Meek, lead human investigator for Humane Society of North Texas, said in the release.
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Owners of the property in Stephens County, roughly 98 miles west of Fort Worth, had been breeding Australian shepherds, border collies, Labrador retrievers and German shepherds.
Dogs bred in puppy mills are commonly sold on the side of the road, on Craigslist or in large flea markets, the Humane Society said.
In addition to the house, dogs were also living in an attached garage and in two large buildings on the property, Meek said.
Two of the dogs were diagnosed with parvovirus, a contagious life-threatening illness in dogs. One of the dogs died over the weekend while another is being treated for the virus.
"Puppies born in puppy mills frequently contract life-threatening diseases such as parvovirus and distemper as a result of the squalor they live in," Cynthia Jones, a veterinarian for Humane Society of North Texas, said in the release. "Sadly, many do not live to see their first birthday."
RELATED: Photos show inside of Texas home where 108 cats were seized
Another dog, named Ranger by Humane Society staff, had a deformed ear and is in need of surgery.
Officials aren't sure what caused Ranger's deformation or the severe cauliflowering of his ear, but said surgery would remove his ear canal and sew it shut, freeing him from chronic ear infections and ear pain.
The Stephens County Animal Shelter received permanent custody of the dogs, but signed over custody of 60 dogs to the Humane Society of North Texas.
The dogs will remain at the society's holding facility until they clear medical evaluations to undergo spay and neuter surgeries.
The society is currently looking for donations to help fund care for the 60 dogs. Donations can be made at the society's website, by calling 817-332-4768 or by mailing a donation to 1840 E. Lancaster Ave., Fort Worth, Texas 76103.
jfechter@mySA.com
Twitter: @JFreports
--With Wisconsin looming, Trump checks in with RNC, by WashPosts Jose DelReal. Neither Trump aides nor RNC officials responded to questions about what happened in the meeting, which took place just two days after Trump backed away from an earlier party loyalty pledge and complained about being treated very badly by the GOP. The RNC issued a terse statement saying Trump and Priebus had a productive conversation about the state of the race.
>>> The economy added 215,000 jobs in March, the Labor Department reported Friday, down from 245,000 jobs the previous month. Unemployment was 5 percent, essentially unchanged from February's 4.9 percent.
-- Happy April Fools >> For months, Ted Cruz has challenged Donald Trump to a one-on-one debate. On Friday, the Texas senator tweeted, Happy to hear @realDonaldTrump accepted my challenge to debate one-on-one
The only caveat: Friday is also April Fools' Day.
Linking to a YouTube video with the title "Donald Trump Accepts Cruz's Debate Invitation," the 72-second video begins with a clip of Cruz challenging Trump to a one-on-one debate. What follows are two clips of Trump, one of him talking to the press aboard his plane boasting that he has won every single debate, and the other, a clip taken out of context in which he says, We're gonna go on forever with these debates.
And then, the familiar synth-pop strains of Rick Astley's Never Gonna Give You Up appear, making Cruz the first presidential candidate, current or former, to make an April Fools' Day joke in 2016, per Politicos Nick Gass.
CAPITOL DAYBOOK
SENATE:
9:00 a.m.: Natural Resources & Economic Development [ E1.012 (Hearing Room) ]
SPEED READ
Ramsey: Government is expensive, no matter how you pay, Texas Tribune
Will Texas heed backlash against North Carolinas anti-LGBT law? Texas Observer
First Baptists Jeffress defends Trumps abortion comment, embattle Dallas police chief, The Dallas Morning News
Cecile Richards slams Trump abortion remarks, says Cruz stance not so different, The Dallas Morning News
Superdelegates should affirm, not alter, primary process, Houston Chronicle
Cruz wins citizenship case in Pennsylvania Supreme Court, The Washington Post
Trump fends off controversy hoping to clinch Wisconsin, Associated Press
Pro-John Kasich super PAC hits lyin Ted, Politico
Donald Trumps rock-bottom ratings with women, Politico
Defense Secretary visits Austin to strengthen tech industry ties, Austin American-Statesman
Planning team picked for Alamo redesign, San Antonio Express-News
Oil production declines as drillers close Houston offices, Houston Chronicle
RACE TO THE WHITE HOUSE
-- Hillary to win NY with her congressional record, by the APs Lisa Lerer. Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders are preparing for a drag-out fight in New York, a state where they both have roots. Clinton and her husband, former president Bill Clinton, will hold a series of events upstate, said campaign aides, to highlight her record as a two-term senator and her work helping more economically-depressed parts of the region. She's also trying to boost support among rural and working-class voters, groups that have favored Sanders in previous primary contests.
-- Sanders camp: Clinton owes us an apology, Politicos Nolan McCaskill. Clinton on Thursday accused Sanders camp of lying, alleging that his campaign has been claiming Clinton accepts money from the fossil fuel industry a statement sheforcefully rejected when confronted by an environmental activist.
I think she probably owes the senator an apology for that because the senator is not lying about her record, Sanders campaign manager Jeff Weaver told MSNBC. Hes talking about her record. Hes talking about her practices. She obviously doesnt like it, but that doesnt make it lying because you dont like it.
-- This is Donald J. Trump as he sees himself and the world, by CNNs Scott Glover, Maeve Reston. CNN scoured thousands of pages of books, speeches, profiles and television interview transcripts from the past three decades to stitch together a portrait based entirely on the Republican presidential front-runner's own words. Taken together, his words offer further insight into the leadership style of the billionaire-turned-politician, whose extraordinary candidacy has simultaneously electrified and repulsed large swaths of the electorate.
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.
Braves advance to semis at Unity CHEROKEE - Cherokee's volleyball girls took down Harlan 3-0 on Monday and headed to Orange City this past Wednesday to...
Wolverines end season at West Bend-Mallard WEST BEND - The South OBrien volleyball team traveled to face West Bend-Mallard in the first round of the regional...
Warriors suffer 44-14 loss to Gehlen Catholic ALTA - The Alta-Aurelia football team hosted Gehlen Catholic on Friday evening, but lost the game 44-14. The Warriors struck...
Warriors take down Raiders to finish regular season ALTA - The Alta-Aurelia volleyball team hosted East Sac County on Thursday evening and took down the Raiders 3-1 to...
Braves go 3-6 at Heelan Invite SIOUX CITY - Cherokee's volleyball team, 23-9, worked on fine tuning its skills here Saturday in a 12-team Sioux City...
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FREMONT, CA: Hibernia Networks, a provider of global telecommunications solutions, has announced that it has established a Point of Presence (PoP) in Dubai, UAE. The new PoP enables customers to benefit from Hibernia Networks comprehensive suite of data and media services, as well as low latency connectivity solutions in Dubai to other major financial and media centers in Europe, North America and Asia.
With its strategic location, Dubai is a major international hub for financial markets as well as media and content distribution throughout the region and beyond, states Omar Altaji, CCO of Hibernia Networks. He further adds, Hibernia Networks presence in Dubai confirms our commitment to strategically expanding our global network reach into new geographic locations in order to provide customers with the high-speed, high-quality connections they require around the globe for applications such as split second financial transactions and live broadcast feeds. We look forward to continued growth in key local and regional markets to better serve increasing global demand for secure and diverse low latency connectivity solutions.
The new PoP is located in one of Dubais major telecom hubs, enabling seamless cross-connects to other networks extending into the Middle East and the rest of the world. The Ethernet-based connectivity service leverages the unmatched latency performance of Hibernia Networks cable across the Atlantic, which connects Europe and North America.
According to TeleGeography, demand for international bandwidth between the Middle East and North America is projected to grow 39 percent annually from 2015 to 2022.
Network latency has become a critical performance factor for financial firms, content providers, and cloud computing platforms, stated Erik Kreifeldt, senior analyst at TeleGeography. These industry segments stand to benefit from the low latency connectivity option that Hibernia Networks has introduced to and from Dubai.
This week, Connecticut lawmakers passed a bipartisan fix for this years $220 million deficit, but legislators in Hartford must now get to work fixing next years deficitprojected to be $900 million. And they have more work to do. Taken together, the states budgets for the next two years fall $4 billion shorteven though, since 2011, Connecticut governor Dannel Malloy and the Democratic-controlled legislature have instituted two of the largest tax increases in state history.
Now Malloy and the legislators say theyre ready to try something different: Malloy is threatening to lay off at least 1,000 state workers. Up to now, the states public-sector unions have masterfully worked the political system for their benefit. State employees earn at least 25 percent more than private-sector workers in similar jobs. New union contracts dont even require a vote from state legislators; if they arent rejected within 30 days, they automatically go into effect. And a state law says that any union contract that conflicts with or contradicts state law takes precedence. The result: state-employee benefit costs are growing at more than 5 percent a year, while revenue is growing at just 2 percent. Connecticut residents face a decline in services, even as theyve been asked to pay higher taxes.
The unions say that they wont negotiate over wages and benefits to save members jobs. Theyve called instead for even higher taxes. The battle will only intensify this year, as 22 state wage contracts are set to expire. At Malloys urging, state legislators rejected the first one, for non-teaching employees at the University of Connecticut. Opposition to the contract was bipartisan, and for good reason. In the first year, employees would get a 3 percent raise, followed by four consecutive increases of 4.5 percent. An employee earning $100,000 today could anticipate earning nearly $123,000 in five years, without changing jobs or adding responsibilities. The UConn administration, which negotiated the contract, says that these extravagant raises are justified because full-time employees will work their way up from 35-hour weeks to 40-hour weeks by the end of the deal. Meanwhile, in-state tuition at UConn will spike by 31 percent over the next four years.
The lawmakers hostile response to the UConn contract may force other unions to face reality in their negotiations, but change wont be easy. Public-sector unions negotiate with the politicians they help elect. All lawmakers, by statute, are entitled to the same benefits that unionized state employees get through collective bargainingas are the negotiators who sit across the table from the unions on behalf of the governor. This week, state representative Russ Morin, a Democrat, spoke at a rally of unionized state employees outside the capitol. In addition to being a state lawmaker, Morin is an employee of SEIU Local 511, the union representing 7,000 state maintenance and service workers. Two other Connecticut legislators work for state employee unions.
Frustration with the states fiscal difficulties is mounting, though, and state workers, who have shown no willingness to work with lawmakers to help solve the problem, are finally getting some of the blame. Three major newspapers have called for state employee concessions. Union leaders know that patience with their demands has nearly run out. For once, they might not come out completely on top.
Photo by Onasill ~ Bill Badzo
At the recent annual data journalism conference in Denver, Colo., the job postings covered a large bulletin board. News organizations from the Atlanta Journal Constitution to Vox were seeking reporters, editors, producers, designers, and developers.
The catch: Nearly every job asked for expertise in working with data.
For recent journalism school graduates, that requirement may mean a harder time finding a job. Many journalism programs dont teach even the basics of data journalism.
A year ago, we embarked on a project funded by the Knight Foundation to better understand the state of data journalism education. The results of this study were published in March as a free report titled, Teaching Data and Computational Journalism.
Through our research, we interviewed more than 50 teachers and practitioners of data journalism, along with 10 students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. We also collected information on 113 programs located within the United States that are accredited by The Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications. That represents about a quarter of the journalism programs in the United States. Of course, Its possible there are differences in what is taught in programs that are not accredited by ACEJMC. However, ACEJMC states in its accrediting standards that journalism programs will apply basic numerical and statistical concepts and apply current tools and technologies appropriate for the communications professions in which they work, and to understand the digital world.
A little more than half, 59 of the 113 schools we reviewed, regularly offer one or more data journalism course. The 59 programs we identified as offering data journalism included a wide range of courses. At minimum, these courses taught students to use spreadsheets to analyze data for journalistic purposes. At the other end of the spectrum, some schools provided far more, teaching multiple classes in programming skills, such as scraping the Web, building news apps, or creating advanced data visualizations.
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But those more advanced programs were rare. Of the 59 programs we identified that teach at least one data journalism class, 27 of the schools offered just one course, usually at the introductory level. Fourteen journalism programs offered two classes. Just 18 ACEJMC-accredited journalism schools offered three or more classes in data and computational skills geared toward journalism.
For advanced positions in data journalismjobs that deal with statistics and mapping, novel forms of data visualization, rich online databases, and machine learninglittle is available in the way of data journalism education preparation. Students who study both computer science and data journalism are well-positioned to move into some of these more challenging jobs, but there is a dearth of such job candidatessay, data journalists.
Journalism programs need to do a better job of persuading or requiring students to take a data journalism class. Students may shy away from this type of learning because they believe they arent any good at math. One journalism student at Northwestern University told us: A lot of students are scared of that math thing.
But the problem is more than math aversion. Even in schools with entire programs focused on teaching programming, data journalism, or data visualization, some students have reported that it wasnt easy to find out about these opportunities. Sometimes data and computation programs are siloed as concentrations or tracks for certain students rather than treated as skills that could aid in every area of reporting.
The good news is there appears to be strong interest in making changes to journalism education. In the course of checking the curricula offered, at least 11 universities reported they are either considering or already planning to add coursework that covers data journalism.
Dustin Harp at the University of Texas, Arlington, is an example of this increased interest in developing data journalism instruction. Harp is a tenured professor, and no one asked her to take on the extra work to create a data journalism class. But I follow the field, Harp says. Im aware that data journalism is a tool our students need to be more competitive to get jobs.
Although it may be difficult to find instructors, we recommend in our report that every journalism program teach at least one required foundational data journalism class. We also suggest ways of integrating data and computational instruction into core classes and electives. For programs that can support it, the report also includes several full-model curricula, including a model for a research-driven, lab-based graduate degree in emerging media and technological innovation.
The goal throughout our research has been to help journalism education move toward a more cohesive and thoughtful vision, one that will help educate journalists who understand and use data as a matter of courseand as a result, produce journalism that may have more authority, yield stories that may not have been told before, and develop new forms of storytelling.
Steve Coll, the dean of the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, describes the emergence of instruction in data-driven reporting practices as a recognition that data journalism is about more than just publishing stories through digital media, but is also about developing reporting methods appropriate to the complexity of the world today.
It [data journalism] looks powerful because, in comparison to the way journalism schools have responded to previous iterations of technological change, this one runs deep, and to the heart of professional practice. Its not about shifting distribution channels, or shifting structures of audience, Coll says. It was very tempting, in many ways necessary, for journalism schools to rush over to the teaching of tools, the teaching of platforms, the teaching of changing audience structure. But that transformation often had little to do with the core, enduring purpose of journalism, which is to discover, illuminate, hold power to account, explain, illustrate.
Delving into data journalism brings journalism back to its journalistic mission and moves it ahead in its research mission at the same time, Coll says.
What were really seeing now is that this is a durable change in the structure of information, and therefore a need to durably change a journalists knowledge in order to carry out their core democratic function. Not to build a business model, not to reach more people, not to have more followers, but to actually discover the truthyou need to learn this.
The report can be read online or downloaded as a PDF.
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Charles Berret and Cheryl Phillips are the authors of Teaching Data and Computational Journalism. Charles Berret is a Ph.D. candidate at Columbia and a research fellow at the Tow Center for Digital Journalism. In 2014, he and two collaborators were awarded a Magic Grant from the Brown Institute for Media Innovation to develop SearchLight, an application to help investigative journalists report on algorithmic bias in search results. He previously studied journalism at Northwestern and philosophy at Michigan. He keeps webspace at charlesberret.net. Cheryl Phillips teaches data journalism at Stanford University. She worked at The Seattle Times from 2002-14 as a reporter and editor, focusing on data journalism and investigations. In Seattle, she worked on breaking news stories in 2009 and 2014, each of which received a Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News. She also was twice part of teams that were Pulitzer finalists. She has worked at USA Today, and at newspapers in Michigan, Montana, and Texas. She is a former board president of Investigative Reporters and Editors.
A prominent Japanese political figure appealed to U.N. member states Tuesday to implement guidelines approved in Japan last year aimed at saving lives and minimizing the economic impact of tsunamis, earthquakes and other natural and man-made disasters.
Toshihiro Nikai, chairman of the Liberal Democratic partys general council and Japans former economy and trade minister, said the ideas of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction approved on March 18 last year must now be made real.
Now we need to think about how much we can do, Nikai said at a reception at the U.N.
The Sendai Framework was adopted at a U.N. conference in Sendai, Japan, as a 15-year international blueprint for dealing with disasters. It was incorporated into the U.N.s 2030 development goals with the idea that disaster risk reduction is an important aspect of social and economic development.
On March 11, 2011, a magnitude-9.0 earthquake and ensuing tsunami struck northeastern Japan, killing more than 18,000 people. The natural catastrophe also led to nuclear meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The most heavily damaged communities have yet to be rebuilt and about 180,000 people are still displaced, including those reluctant to return to homes in Fukushima.
Investment in early warning systems, modernization of building codes and the construction of shelters are some of the objectives of the framework. U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson, who also attended the reception, said prevention and risk reduction are key.
We must now continue the work that started in Sendai, he said.
Earlier this month, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon held up Japans disaster preparedness effort as a model to the world. The unprecedented disaster, he said, taught the world a great deal about the changing nature of exposure to risk and disaster.
After Fukushima, it became clear that we are in a new era in which technology and natural disasters can combine to create danger of a previously unimaginable scale, he said.
The U.N. General Assembly last year adopted a resolution to mark Nov. 5 as World Tsunami Awareness Day.
Restore Rehabilitation Rolls Out National Telephonic Case Management for Workers Compensation
Maryland-based Restore Rehabilitation launched a national telephonic case management service for workers compensation payers.
Restore is a medical and vocational case management company focused on reducing the impact of workers compensation claims on injured workers, insurers, third-party administrators and employers.
Restores telephonic case managers, who are registered nurses with advanced credentials, contact injured employees immediately after an injury to assess medical status and medical needs, determine next steps, assist in identifying physicians and schedule appointments.
They facilitate, educate and communicate so injured employees receive needed care as quickly as possible. Services include obtaining job descriptions, guiding return-to-work plans, monitoring psychosocial issues, and continually updating adjusters, employers and other stakeholders.
A dedicated multi-lingual team of case managers and a person answers the phone between 8:30 a.m. and 8 p.m. eastern to avoid voice mail delays.
Guidewire Software Acquires EagleEye Analytics
Guidewire Software, Inc., a provider of software products to Property/Casualty insurers, 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.
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.
Swiss Re Corporate Solutions completes acquisition of IHC Risk Solutions
Swiss Re Corporate Solutions announced the completion of its acquisition of IHC Risk Solutions, LLC from Independence Holding Company.
With this acquisition, previously announced on January 5, 2016, IHC Risk Solutions will immediately adopt the Swiss Re Corporate Solutions brand.
IHC Risk Solutions former president, Mike Kemp, will lead the North America Accident & Health Business Unit of Swiss Re Corporate Solutions.
Cunningham Lindsey Launches inTrust in the US
Gobal loss adjusting and claims management firm, Cunningham Lindsey, announced the expansion of its global Third Party Administration (TPA) service inTrust into the United States.
inTrust provides clients with a single point of entry to a TPA service where claims are centrally reported and managed globally for multiple classes of business. This division offers full program, management information and payment management for multiple currencies with access to live claims data and customized reporting via a self-service portal.
The U.S. product launch builds upon the existing success of this service currently managed by dedicated desktop teams across 10 hubs on five continents that deliver tailored TPA services 24/7 for claims spanning property, casualty, marine, motor and accident and health.
Response Team 1 Expands National Presence With 3 Acquisitions
Response Team 1 has expanded and strengthened its nationwide presence through the acquisition of one national and two regional property restoration firms, and securing significant investment support from Nautic Partners, LLC based in Providence, R.I.
Response Team 1, a property restoration company, serves 30 states from 49 locations. With its resources and capabilities, the company has the capacity and expertise to quickly restore any single family residence or large commercial building, or renovate any multifamily property coast-to-coast.
The companies purchased by Response Team 1 are Venturi Restoration, Philadelphia; Emergency Reconstruction, Raleigh, N.C.; and JFS Construction Group, Van Nuys, Calif. Each provides a wide range of property restoration services, often in response to weather events and other disasters.
Venturi Restoration is a national restoration and remediation firm serving the multifamily industry from 17 offices in 15 states located throughout the United States.
Emergency Reconstruction is a property restoration company serving Raleigh, N.C. and Fayetteville, N.C.
JFS Construction provides residential and commercial restoration services in the southern California region.
The Nautic investment complements those from Response Team 1 founders Goense and Erik Bloom, vice chairman. Nautic Partners is a private equity firm focused on investments in middle market companies across a range of industries that includes healthcare, industrial products and outsourced services.
General Motors Co. won its second straight trial against drivers who blamed car wrecks on faulty ignition switches, boosting the companys outlook for resolving hundreds of similar cases on more favorable terms.
The crash of Dionne Spains 2007 Saturn Sky on a slippery New Orleans bridge in 2014 was caused by a rare Louisiana ice storm rather than a defect found in millions of GM vehicles, a Manhattan federal jury found on Wednesday.
The jurors studied the merits of the case and saw the truth: This was a very minor accident that had absolutely nothing to do with the cars ignition switch, GM said in a statement.
GM, which recalled millions of vehicles over the flaw in 2014, admitted using defective ignition switches for years and hiding it from customers and regulators. But the company is challenging suits that it says wrongfully blame the flaw for crashes, injuries and deaths.
The trial was the second of six bellwether cases, so called because theyre used to test strategies. The jurys reaction to the evidence may push either side to settle or battle out hundreds of other cases and help set the size of any settlements. Each side selected half of the bellwethers.
This was GMs handpicked, easy case to win. If they didnt win this one, they wouldnt win any case, said Erik Gordon, a business professor at the University of Michigan Law School who isnt involved in the litigation.
Unreasonably Dangerous
While the jury sided with Detroit-based GM, it nevertheless agreed that Spains Saturn Sky was unreasonably dangerous as a result of the defect. The jurors said unanimously that her car deviated from the companys performance standards and that GM failed to use reasonable care to adequately warn consumers of that danger.
The plaintiffs can claim a victory at least insofar as the jury made that finding, which is a critical finding, said Carl Tobias, who teaches product-liability law at the University of Richmond in Virginia. Every case will be on its own merits, but I think they can claim that as an important development.
GM argued during the trial that there was insufficient evidence that Spains car had a defective switch. The company was able to raise that defense because a statistical sampling showed that not every affected make and model in the massive recall had the flaw. But the jury didnt buy it the only win for plaintiffs lawyers in the case.
Good Findings
I do think that the jurys findings on Spains vehicle are good findings, and that they advance the goals of other plaintiffs, Spains attorney Randall Jackson said. In a case that was selected by GM as their first bellwether, the jury was still able to look objectively at the proof and arrive at these findings, despite GMs arguments to the contrary.
The trial tilted in GMs favor even before the jury began deliberating. U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman threw out the plaintiffs key fraud claim against GM at the end of witness testimony, saying Spain hadnt presented enough evidence to show that the company made false or misleading statements to her about the defect. He rejected other claims before the trial, including a demand for punitive damages.
Criminal Probe
The carmaker has already paid out more than $2 billion to resolve legal claims stemming from the scandal, including $900 million to end a criminal probe by the U.S. government; $575 million to settle a shareholder suit and more than 1,380 civil cases by victims; and $595 million through a victims compensation fund outside of court.
Since the scandal broke, GM Chief Executive Mary Barra has moved to change the companys culture. She fired 15 people for involvement in the ignition failure. Barra also added a vice president of safety and has streamlined the process for reporting defects. Company executives will even monitor chat rooms to look for customer complaints that could be defect-related.
When the flaw was discovered, it could have been been fixed by spending $1 on each vehicle, prosecutors said.
Spain and her passenger, Lawrence Barthelemy, suffered only minor injuries in the New Orleans crash and didnt report other health problems until weeks later, GM attorney Mike Brock said March 14 in his opening statement to jurors. The lawyer said the vehicle was only scratched.
No Dents
This is a case about a car that doesnt even have a dent, Brock, of Kirkland & Ellis LLP in Washington, said at the trial. This car is not the villain in this case.
Brock said the crash was caused by an ice storm that was responsible for dozens of accidents on the same bridge that night. Even the police cruiser that responded to the crashes was rear-ended by an ambulance near the pileup, the jury was told.
Sometimes, accidents just happen, Brock said at the trial.
GM also argued that Spains injuries, reported weeks after the crash, werent caused by the accident but were work-related. The carmaker told jurors that Barthelemys back pain was the result of sitting in jail for several days for an unrelated traffic violation.
Previous Trial
The first bellwether trial, in a case selected by the plaintiffs, ended in embarrassment for their lawyers, who are among the best-known attorneys in the industry. The trial stopped abruptly when GM revealed evidence that the plaintiffs, an Oklahoma couple, had lied under oath and wrongfully blamed GM for the familys eviction from their dream house.
Plaintiffs in all the cases allege GM endangered drivers and passengers by delaying the recall of defective vehicles. Due to a weakness in the design of ignition switches, jostled keys or a bump from a knee could shut off the engine, disable power steering, power brakes and air bags and leave occupants almost helpless as vehicles careen out of control.
GM has said top executives didnt know the switch was a persistent problem, but in the Justice Department settlement the company admitted knowing about the defect by 2005 and concealing it from regulators from 2012 to 2014. The knowledge was established before the companys $49.5 billion government bailout in 2009, and the concealment continued after its sale to New GM in a bankruptcy reorganization.
The company is separately awaiting an appeals court ruling in a group of lawsuits rejected as a result of the bankruptcy sale. GM argues it was shielded from the suits by bankruptcy law. GM, which received in a 2009 government bailout, was able to dodge the cases because the sale barred litigation against the old entity, even though new one employed many of the same employees and executives.
The case is In re General Motors LLC Ignition Switch Litigation, 14-MD-2543, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan)
Copyright 2022 Bloomberg.
AKRON, Ohio -- Police say a registered sex offender broke into a woman's home and then was seen sexually gratifying himself when the woman awoke.
Anthony Rucker, 51, is charged with burglary and sexual imposition. He is being held in the Summit County Jail on $75,000 bond.
Here's what happened, according to police and court records:
Rucker forced his way into a 28-year-old woman's home on West Market Street about 3 p.m. Tuesday.
The woman was sleeping at the time. She awoke to Rucker in her apartment looking at her and sexually gratifying himself. Rucker chased the woman around her home, according to court records.
The woman told police she feared for her life. The woman's mother came to her home and the woman ran to her car. She was unharmed, court records say.
Rucker was arrested by police at the apartment.
Rucker's sex-offender status stems from convictions in 2004 for rape and domestic violence.
In that case, Rucker punched his live-in girlfriend between the legs and forced a sex act on her at their apartment in the 1200 block of Grant Street. The woman was taken to the hospital to be treated for injuries.
Rucker's criminal history dates back to a 1989 conviction for assault. He's been convicted in 27 other criminal cases since, including misdemeanor crimes of drug possession, carrying concealed weapons, violating protection orders and trespassing.
He's been convicted of several felonies, including domestic violence, violating a protection order and failing to register as a sex offender.
MUNROE FALLS, Ohio -- A Stow man is accused of trying to kidnap a 24-year-old woman at knifepoint in the driveway of her home.
John Crawford, 25, is charged with kidnapping, abduction and assault. His bond was set Thursday at $250,000.
Crawford climbed into the woman's car about 9 p.m. Tuesday, police say. She drove Crawford from Akron to Stow and Munroe Falls.
Crawford on the drive threatened the woman and told her he planned to bind her with zip ties, put her in the trunk of the car and lock her in his basement, according to court records.
He also told the woman he would harm her and her family if she tried to leave the car, the records say.
A 30-year-old man fought with Crawford when they got into Munroe Falls. The man suffered minor injuries after Crawford repeatedly punched him in the face, court records say.
Munroe Falls officers found Crawford at home on Gaylord Drive in Munroe Falls. He had a folding knife and 17 zip ties, according to police reports.
Crawford's criminal history includes seven misdemeanor crimes starting in May 2015. He was also cited four days prior to the kidnapping charge in Akron for possessing a syringe while riding in a car that got pulled over by police.
He spent 18 months in prison stemming from a 2012 robbery in Munroe Falls.
In that case, records show, Crawford and another man were at an apartment in the 200 block of Munroe Falls Avenue, when Crawford pepper-sprayed two people in the face. He grabbed a man's wallet and $50 and ran.
The man chased after Crawford and eventually caught him. Crawford fended off the man and bit a second man in the arm who came to help. He punched the second man and threatened to stab him.
Crawford was originally sentenced to probation in that case. He violated court orders and was sent to prison.
AKRON, Ohio -- Akron police looking to arrest a man on warrants ended up finding a meth lab inside a home where a woman lives with her 3-year-old daughter.
William Roberts III, 36, of North Canton, and James Carson, 33, and Tara Bye, 28, both of Akron, all face felony charges of making meth, possessing chemicals used to make meth and child endangering.
All three are being held in the Summit County Jail on $25,000 bond.
Akron officers about 7:30 p.m. when to a home in the 600 block of Stetler Avenue to arrest Roberts, who has outstanding warrants for his arrest, according to court records.
Roberts was wanted for failing to appear for court dates in Summit County, for violating a temporary protection order and for drug possession in Norton.
Carson walked out of the home and tried to kick a one-pot meth making device into a sewer before police found it, according to court records.
He dropped his shoe when officers approached the house, court records say. Police reported finding a plastic baggie with meth and a meth filter inside. He had three syringes in his pocket.
Akron police found all three bought the ingredients and made meth inside the home, court records say. All three were arrested at the home. Summit County Children Services took custody of the girl.
Both Roberts and Carson have previous meth convictions.
Roberts has been convicted of making meth or assembling the ingredients to make the drug four times since 2004. He's made meth in Akron, Green and Coventry Township, according to court records.
He served a two-year prison sentence beginning in 2007 after he was arrested twice in the same year for making the drug.
Carson has been convicted of making meth twice in Akron-- once in 2010 and again in 2014. He was sentenced to two years in prison in the 2014 case.
Bye has several misdemeanor convictions, including one for carrying a concealed weapon in 2006.
Akron Municipal Court (blank)
An Akron woman was sentenced for vehicular homicide on Thursday.
(File photo)
AKRON, Ohio -- An Akron woman will spend 30 days on house arrest for causing a traffic crash that killed a 28-year-old husband and father.
Roberta Wolfe, 58, will also spend two years on probation and had her driver's license suspended for 30 months.
Akron Municipal Judge Jon Oldam on Thursday ordered Wolfe begin house arrest on April 18.
Wolfe was driving her 2015 Kia Optima eastbound on Eastwood Avenue about 6:45 p.m. on Sept. 10 in a residential neighborhood.
Wolfe turned left onto Kickapoo Avenue in front of Matthew Yunkin's 2004 Honda CBR 600 motorcycle, which was westbound on Eastwood.
Yunkin's motorcycle crashed into the front right side of Wolfe's sedan. He was thrown off the motorcycle into the Optima's windshield and roof.
He bounced off the car and landed on the ground west of the site of impact.
Yunkin, 28, was not wearing a helmet. He was taken to Akron City Hospital, where he died two days later. He was driving about 42 miles per hour in the 35 zone.
Both Wulfe and Yunkin lived in the neighborhood. Neither had alcohol or drugs in their system. Wolfe may have had to contend with a slight glare coming from the low sun at the time of the crash, police said at the time.
The charges were filed because Wolfe caused the death of a motorist when she failed to yield while turning left.
Yunkin was married and had a son, according to his online obituary.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Only 58 percent of credit unions in Northeast Ohio are recommended, according to a new analysis by an independent ratings firm.
Among the 109 credit unions in Northeast Ohio that were evaluated by Bauer Financial of Florida, 36 percent have the top five-star rating for financial strength, and 22 have a four-star rating. Bauer considers those to be "superior" and "excellent," and recommends them to consumers.
However, the picture is complicated because Bauer didn't rate 32 percent of the credit unions in Northeast Ohio, either because they have less than $1.5 million in assets or are private insured, instead of being insured by the National Credit Union Administration, which serves a role similar to that of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. for banks.
The vast majority of these would also be ranked strong, if they were rated, according to the Ohio Credit Union League.
Northeast Ohio has a disproportionate percentage of small (and unrated) credit unions because many are faith-based, manufacturing-based or culturally-based, said Patrick Harris, spokesman for the Ohio Credit Union League.
Bauer rates credit unions (as well as banks) based in part on their capital, delinquent loans and income. The Plain Dealer looked at credit unions in Cuyahoga, Summit, Lake, Lorain, Stark, Wayne, Ashtabula and Geauga counties.
In contrast to Northeast Ohio's 58 percent recommended status, about 68 percent of credit unions statewide make Bauer's list of recommended financial institutions. Nationwide, about 80 percent of credit unions are recommended, with four or five stars.
The low percentage of recommended credit unions in Northeast Ohio is skewed because this region is saturated with smaller credit unions that are strong, according to the Ohio Credit Union League, but are simply too small for Bauer to rate.
While 32 percent of Northeast Ohio credit unions weren't rated, only 9 percent were unrated nationwide, said Bill Hampel, chief economist and chief policy officer of the Credit Union National Association, the industry's trade association. If you looked at only the Northeast Ohio credit unions that are large enough to be rated or are NCUA-insured, then about 85 percent of that group have a four- or five-star rating.
"One of the great benefits of being a credit union member is that you are also an owner," said Paul Mercer, president of the Ohio Credit Union League. "Credit unions are undoubtedly safe and sound. And, the beauty of the member-owner model is that if a member is curious about the financial well-being, they are empowered to inquire with the CEO or a volunteer board member at any time."
Most credit unions indeed are sound.
Only about 4 percent of local credit unions are considered "troubled/ problematic," with ratings of one or two stars, according to Bauer. Statewide, about 3 percent are troubled/problematic. In the United States, only 2.5 percent of credit unions are troubled/problematic.
Nationwide, only 151 of 6,145 credit unions are rated two stars or below, the lowest number since 2006, Bauer said in its report.
"What has been flying under the radar is the number of credit unions that have been failing," Bauer said in its report.
In the first three months, of this year, three credit unions have failed. Last year, 11 small credit unions failed. "They are faring much worse than banks in this area as there has only been one bank failure in 2016 and there were only eight in all of 2015.
Money in accounts at credit unions that fail are insured by the National Credit Union Administration, up to $250,000 per account (with additional coverage for joint accounts, IRAs and other accounts.)
Two local credit unions improved their ratings from four stars to five from September to December. They are Akron Municipal Employee's Credit Union and BFG Federal Credit Union in Akron.
One institution, East Ohio Gas Federal Credit Union in Cleveland, dropped from four stars to no rating, because its assets dropped below $1.5 million. RTA Brooklyn Federal Credit Union in Cleveland dropped from three stars to two.
Meanwhile, Erie Shores Community Federal Credit Union in Westlake dropped from 1 star to zero. Bauer gives an institution a zero rating, the lowest rating, if it believes it is "facing considerable challenges at this time."
Banks in Northeast Ohio are healthier than its credit unions overall: 91 percent of local banks are rated by Bauer as four or five stars, and are "recommended," compared to the 58 percent figure for credit unions.
The local ratings are better than the U.S. figure, where 84 percent of banks are recommended. The health of Northeast Ohio banks are also better than the health of banks statewide; 88 percent of all banks in Ohio are recommended.
Credit unions in Northeast Ohio
The Plain Dealer pulled out 110 credit unions in Cuyahoga and surrounding counties. Ratings that have changed in the last quarter are noted with a rating in parentheses from September. Credit unions that have no rating because either: they have less than $1.5 million in assets OR are not NCUA insured.
CHAGRIN FALLS, Ohio -- A 56-year-old Chardon man has been charged with murdering two women last week at a Chagrin Falls retirement community.
A Cuyahoga County grand jury on Friday handed down an eight-count indictment charging Frank Staton with the March 24 slayings at Hamlet Village, court records show.
Staton faces two counts of aggravated murder, two counts of murder and four counts of felonious assault. Staton, who was still in the hospital as of Friday afternoon, is scheduled to be arraigned at 8:30 a.m. April 15 in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas.
Staton was employed as a cook at the village. Investigators say he gunned down 58-year-old Terri Treadway of Chardon and 58-year-old Catherine Sutter of Burton. Both women worked as housekeepers.
Staton also suffered a gunshot wound.
Investigators said Staton and Treadway lived together, but did not elaborate on the nature of their relationship. Treadway's ex-husband identified Staton as Treadway's live-in boyfriend.
The shooting shocked residents and staff at the retirement community that residents described as peaceful and "tight-knit." The owner of Hamlet Village plans to cover the costs of the victims' funerals, which were held earlier this week.
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Mayor Frank Jackson, left, swears in Greg White as the city of Cleveland's new consent decree coordinator Friday morning in the mayor's Red Room.
(Eric Heisig/cleveland.com)
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The city of Cleveland will pay up to $125,000 a year to former U.S. Attorney and federal Magistrate Judge Greg White to coordinate the implementation of a settlement with the U.S. Justice Department over police use of force.
Mayor Frank Jackson, at a news conference Friday at which White was sworn in, said he felt the position was necessary because he, police officials and the city's law director were splitting time as it tried to meet the various deadlines and manage the moving pieces of the settlement.
"But there was no coordination of it all. And that's why we met every Monday morning to kind of brief each other what was going on. Now the judge will do that. He will have that authority," Jackson said.
White said he knows his work is important and that most of the work the city has to do with the settlement, known as a consent decree, has yet to be completed.
"We know what happens in Cleveland happens to all of northeast Ohio," White said. "The goal is to move forward."
White, 66, took the bench in 2008 and retired in February. He also served as U.S. attorney between 2003 and 2008 and was Lorain County's prosecutor for more than two decades.
The city entered into its settlement in May. It is currently working its way through a first-year plan approved by a judge in February.
Law Director Barbara Langhenry said Friday that the city recently polled its police officers as part of a requirement to draft a new use-of-force policy. She also said the city is working on drafting a new officer-recruitment policy.
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The concrete exterior of Quicken Loans Arena could be given a facelift if the Cleveland Cavaliers and Cuyahoga County agree to fund the project.
(Gus Chan, The Plain Dealer)
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Cuyahoga County can't borrow any money to pay for upgrades to Quicken Loans Arena, county Executive Armond Budish said Thursday.
Budish has been discussing with the Cleveland Cavaliers how to pay for half of a $140 million project to expand the Q's footprint and build a new glass exterior since taking office in January 2015.
The arena, which cost $140 million to build, opened in 1994.
"It is one of the oldest arenas in the league, which is hard for some of us to believe because it seems like it was just built," Budish said in an interview with cleveland.com. "But the useful life of arenas is not considered to be all that long."
No seats would be added to Quicken Loans Arena under the plan, which is separate from the county's commitment to pay for $65 million in upgrades at the Q and neighboring Progressive Field, using the county's sin tax. Those improvements included $9.3 million for a scoreboard and $4.6 million for video production.
Voters in 2014 approved the latest 20-year tax on alcohol and cigarettes, to be used for the two facilities and FirstEnergy Stadium.
The county has few excess funds and future projects loom, including a new hospital for the MetroHealth System and the potential relocation of the Justice Center.
Cleveland.com asked Budish about the proposal to fund upgrades at the Q.
How long have negotiations/discussions been underway?
Probably since I took office. (In January 2015)
Who is handling the discussions?
They aren't all with me. It is primarily (chief of staff) Sharon Sobol Jordan.
Is the Gateway Economic Development Corp., the quasi-public landlord of the facilities, involved?
To some extent. They are the ones that oversee any money spent at Quicken Loan Arena and Progressive Field.
The corporation oversees sin tax spending. Could that revenue be used for an exterior facelift?
Major capital repairs come under the terms of the sin tax. If there were a proposal to do something in terms of a new front of the building it would not be considered major capital.
How could the county fund an upgrade?
My consistent position has been these are very, very challenging financial times in the county. We do not have the capacity to borrow right now. Bonding would require a dedicated revenue stream.
Is there a source of funding being discussed?
We are always discussing lots of things with lots of people on lots of different subjects. County Council would have to approve funds.
Is extending the lease (which expires in 2027) part of any agreement?
The lease has been part of the discussion.
Is there any time frame for the discussions?
If there is anything decided we will let you know.
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From "Jim Brown's Amer-I-can," a world premiere documentary about the gridiron great's campaign to end gang violence.
(CIFF)
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Check out some of the filmmakers and celebs scheduled to appear Friday at the 40th Cleveland International Film Festival at Tower City Cinemas.
Star of field and screen Jim Brown joins Aurora Ferlin, director of "Jim Brown's Amer-I-Can Dream," playing at 4 p.m. Friday and 2:15 p.m. Saturday. In this world-premiere doc, the Belgian-Rwandan actress, writer and producer follows the former fullback of the Cleveland Browns and Burt Reynolds' BBF as he tackles gang violence on the streets of Los Angeles and Cleveland. (Also appearing: Brown's wife, Monique.)
Director Michael Curtis Johnson and co-writer and star Thomas Pais from "Hunky Dory," a glitter-streaked "Courtship of Eddie's Father" for the 21st century screening at 7:30 p.m. Friday, 11:30 a.m. Saturday and 9:30 a.m. Sunday. Pais headlines as Sidney, a failed glam-rock star and sometime drag queen who is suddenly left alone with his 11-year-old son when the boy's mother takes off. (One of seven must-see films from CIFF artistic director Bill Guentzler.)
Andy Mitton and Jesse Holland, co-directors of the super creepy "We Go On," showing at 11:30 p.m. Friday and 1:25 p.m. Saturday. Also visiting is Clark Freeman, who stars as Miles, a man so afraid of dying he offers a reward to the first person who can produce a ghost, an angel or demon - anything to prove the existence of an afterlife. Soon, he learns the true meaning of the old saw "be careful what you wish for."
Maris Curran, director of the star-studded "Five Nights in Maine," playing at 7:35 p.m. Friday and 11:20 a.m. Saturday, a film about a grieving widower (David Oyelowo) summoned from Atlanta to Maine by his estranged mother-in-law (Dianne Wiest). Testy - and tasty - showdowns ensue.
Also still kicking around in CLE: Earnest "The Fumble" Byner and Craig "The Shot" Ehlo from "Believeland."
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China is set to install "a few thousand" troops and staff at its first ever overseas military base, the first permanent overseas deployment by Chinese armed forces. The new naval facility will sit in the same city as America's own sprawling African military headquarters in Djibouti, the Horn of Africa country where the US has a 4,500-strong base running counter-terrorism operations across the region. Japan, which also has its only overseas military base in Djibouti, already faces a tense stand-off with China over territorial disputes in the South China Sea. The move underscores concerns that China, historically inward-looking and non-interventionist, is making a policy shift to assert itself as a global military power. Djibouti occupies a vital strategic position at the southern entrance to the Red Sea from the Indian Ocean, with 30 per cent of the world's shipping passing close by. China has already vowed to near-quadruple its contribution to global peacekeeping operations, to 8,000 troops, and is explicitly building up aircraft and submarine capabilities in pursuit of what it frames as a new responsibility to help assure global peace and stability.
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So far China has said little about its own intentions in Djibouti, referring to the project in low-key terms such as characterizing the new base as "logistical facilities" for naval rest and resupply, including its contribution to anti-piracy operations. It has offered no information on staffing numbers. But in an interview with the Financial Times, Djibouti's foreign minister Mahmoud Ali Youssouf for the first time spelt out the likely scale of China's presence in the small, strategically important country that sits at the mouth of Bab el-Mandeb Straits that lead to the Suez Canal. While the US in 2014 agreed to nearly double the rate it pays Djibouti to $63m a year to rent its site, Mr Youssouf told the FT that China will pay Djibouti $20m a year for their location, with likely "a few thousands" of military and administrative personnel. Mr Youssouf said the Chinese, like the US, signed a 10-year contract with an option to extend for a further 10 years. "The terms of the contract and agreement are very clear and they are the same for each and every country that requested military presence in Djibouti," Mr Youssouf said. He added the main purpose was for China to use the naval base to protect its national interest monitoring its merchant vessels passing the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and for naval refuelling and restocking.
Tom Kelly, US ambassador to Djibouti, told the FT that managing the existence of both a US and a Chinese base in the same country "will be a challenge for all involved". Concerns range from eavesdropping on activities at the US base, much of whose wide-ranging anti-terror operations are covert, to fears China may develop a string of bases to give them strategic control over waterways leading into Europe.
Mr Youssouf said that China, which is scheduled to build a second major airport in the country, would have as much right to use drones as the US and France. "The Americans have enough technology, enough fighter aircraft, enough drones [here] to control each and every piece of this land and even beyond," said Mr Youssouf. "Why should the Chinese not have the right to also use those materials . . . to preserve and protect their interests in the Strait of Bab el-Mandeb?" China's foreign ministry declined to respond to requests for comment on the terms of the new base.
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Twenty-four years old and two years out of college, photographer Sam Cannon already boasts a client list that includes well-known brands such as Gap and Universal Studios. "I don't think there's any way that I would be able to work for the brands that I'm working for today if I had started 10 years ago," said the South Carolina native who now calls New York home.
Sam Cannon meets with Tumblrs Creatrs team Karina Frayter | CNBC
Cannon's early success has much to do with her unique eye. In much of her work she uses a looping motion that can be hypnotizing to viewers. She also credits her success to social media. Since high school she has been posting her work on Tumblr. The blogging site has enabled her to reach a much wider audience and, as part of an innovative program Tumblr launched last year, she has connected with many of brands that now employ her services.
Of course, 10 years ago, Tumblr did not exist and Facebook was in its infancy. Today these and other social media platforms reach billions of people. Their rise and reach in turn, creating thousands of jobs at the sites and at businesses that need social media teams to track, tap into and connect with clients. Exact numbers on the pace of hiring in social media are difficult to come by as many of the jobs are lumped into general IT and marketing categories, but at Tumblr payrolls are expanding quickly. "We've averaged around 20 hires per quarter," said Tumblr's President and COO Jeff D'Onofrio. "That was our average last year and we expect that that will be the same hiring pattern this year as well."
Tumblr artist Sam Cannon works on a project. Karina Frayter | CNBC
Hiring 80 people in 2016 will increase headcount at the New York City-based business by 34 percent, and while Tumblr's push into mobile means a lot of those hires will be mobile engineers, it is also looking for people with other skills.
"We also have been busy building out a marketing team, and we're hiring product managers and engineers on our ads team," said D'Onofrio.
(CNBC asked Tumblr, a unit of the search engine Yahoo , how its parent company's move to sell its core business might impact its hiring plans. In a statement, Tumblr said that while it operates independently from Yahoo, "we carefully determine our staffing requirements and quarterly hiring targets in alignment with our parent company.")
By 2020, Forrester Research estimates U.S. spending on social media will rise to over $27 billion, more than double the spend from last year. The increase in funding and attention to the social media space is part of a sea change in how business reaches consumers.
"We used to live in a world where the conversation between organizations and consumers was one way. So organizations or brands would tell us, 'This is what it is,' you know, take it or leave it. And you would do, adapt accordingly," said professor Anindya Ghose, director of New York University's Stern Center for Business Analytics. "Now we have the opportunity to provide feedback in real time, or not in real time, back to brands and say here are the kinds of things we like, here are the kinds of things we don't like."
In creating opportunities for businesses to reach consumers directly, Ghose points out that social media has also created opportunities for a wide range of job seekers. He said there is a need for graphic designers who create a platform's look, a need for security specialists who ensure data is protected, a need for app developers for mobile sites and a need for data scientists who mine the platform's data to parse clients whims and wishes.
"This is not a fleeting phenomenon, this is not a fad, it's not a trend, it's a fundamental, permanent shift in how organizations and consumers depend on each other and how they talk to each other," he said.
Because it is not fleeting but still growing, finding workers with skills needed for social media jobs can be tough. Tumblr's D'Onofrio acknowledged as much, but said Tumblr's brand it is one of the top 10 social media sites in the world and home to over 280 million blogs helps it attract needed talent.
Asked what he looks for in future hires, D'Onofrio is quick to respond.
"Creativity, flexibility, collaboration," he said. "A sense of urgency I would wrap into that as well. We move very fast. We ship out a lot of features very quickly, and particularly on mobile, so we look for folks that are really strong in those areas."
D'Onofrio said Tumblr's pay is competitive and declined to be more specific. Given the wide range of social media jobs out there, there is a pretty wide pay range as well. According the Creative Group 2015 Salary Guide, a web content writer with one to five years' experience could earn $46,750. On the upper end, NYU's Ghose said engineers and IT specialists can earn six figures.
Cannon said working with Tumblr has allowed her a great deal of input in how much she charges for the projects Tumblr brings to her. Looking to leverage its most prolific and popular artists or "Creatrs," Tumblr started the Creatrs Network last year. The growing group connects "Creatrs," such as Cannon, with businesses looking to use the artists and bloggers content to reach Tumblr's sizable audience. The network makes sure the artists get paid and helps to maintain their blogs.
Tumblr artist Sam Cannon works on a project. Karina Frayter | CNBC
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While the rest of the world frets about the knock-on effect of China's economic slowdown, the Chinese have a bigger worry: themselves. As the transition of the world's largest manufacturing hub to a consumption and services-led economy gets into full swing, jobs and money are being lost, threatening social stability in the communist state. China premier Li Keqiang has repeatedly defended China's economic policies, pledging to cut corporate red tape, reduce corporate debt, improve financial regulation and ensure no mass layoffs. "We are confident that as long as we continue to reform and open up, China's economy will not suffer a hard landing," Li said as recently as March 16, in a message that resonated worldwide because what happens in China does not stay in China. But inside China, there are protests as thousands of mine workers go unpaid, angry retail investors blame regulators for lost capital in and Beijing cracks down on unflattering news.
Here are the key issues China's leaders are grappling with:
Massive layoffs
It's no secret China's gigantic steel and coal industries are in big trouble, as construction slows and industrial overcapacity becomes unmanageable. According to Standard Chartered, housing and sectors dependent on housing contributed 1.1 percent points to GDP growth in 2015 down from 3 percent in 2010. In February, the Minister of Human Resources and Social Security Yin Weimin said the country is expected to lay off 1.8 million workers in the steel and coal sectors as it restructured loss-making state businesses. He did not give a time frame for the layoffs, Reuters reported.
Premier Li has tried to sooth domestic tensions by that central funding could be increased to help laid-off staff. The Chinese government had previously announced a 100 billion yuan ($15.3 billion) fund aimed at relocating and retraining affected workers. According to reports, many are already being moved to jobs in the agriculture, logging and sanitation sectors. Li did not specify the number of workers that would be laid off or retrained but numbers could be as high as over the next two to three years, Reuters has reported, and many that do find new jobs will likely be in lower-paid roles. No jobs or lower-paid jobs will likely hit income growth, which could hurt hamper China's move to a consumption-driven economy.
Worker protests
Disgruntled workers have been up in arms over what they claim are months' worth of unpaid wages, as well as cuts to existing salaries. In one of the latest incidents, thousands of Chinese miners staged a protest in northeastern Shuangyashan City in March, with reports that the miners were encouraging colleagues in other cities to rally. The labor movement has the potential to threaten social stability in China.
Labour movements in China from January to March 2016 Screen capture from China Labour Bulletin
According to Hong Kong-based non-governmental organization China Labour Bulletin, there was a dramatic increase in protests running up to the Lunar New Year in February, and protests that may well increase in the future as Beijing pushes ahead with mass layoffs. The NGO has so far recorded over 800 labor protests this year in China, with most incidents happening in January before workers headed home for the festive season. As well as the industrial sector, the garment, textile and shoe industries have been hit particularly badly; they accounted for 40 percent of all factory closure and relocation disputes in the run up to the New Year holiday, the NGO said. Authorities are increasing less tolerant of worker protests, said CLB's communications director, Geoffrey Crothall. "(They are) more focused on reducing costs for business. Workers are being threatened and riot police are increasingly used to break up protests."
Stock market turmoil
Nowhere are jitters about China's economic heath more pronounced than in financial markets, where Chinese equities entered 2016 with wild swings. Investors are also nervous about yuan after the People's Bank of China devalued the mainland's currency twice last year and as the gap between onshore and offshore yuan widened. The prospect of a sharp yuan devaluation has raised concerns of rapid capital outflows from China, which could spillover, , said International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde at the opening of a G20 meeting of central bank governors and finance ministers in Shanghai. Beijing logged $100 billion per month in average currency outflows during November, December and January, with the yuan declining 1.8 percent against the greenback in that period. In February, capital outflows eased with central bank data showing reserves fell just $29 billion in February. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said last week at the Boao Forum for Asia in China's Hainan province that the country will not devalue its currency to boost exports, according to a Reuters translation.
Media crackdown
The prospect that any dirty laundryfrom mass layoffs to furious may come out in the open appears to be making the Chinese administration skittish. In February, President Xi Jinping went on a media blitz, visiting party-controlled newsrooms and extolling the virtues of a media that operates with the best interests of the party and the state at heart. State-run media Xinhua news agency, broadcaster CCTV and party paper People's Daily covered his visits in an adulatory fashion, fawning over Xi sitting in a TV anchor's seat; a Xinhua editor even penned a sentimental tribute to the Communist leader that included lines such as "my eyes follow in your wake" and "My fingers are heating up my phone with this poem that my vision has borne."
Xi on his part, did not mince his words, telling the media that all their work "must reflect the party's will, safeguard the party's authority, and safeguard the party's unity." The media appears to be taking heed; Western media noted that there were no news reports of recent protests by mine workers. As well it might, having seen in August a financial reporter from top financial magazine Caijing make a televised confession that he should not have published a report about regulatory intervention in the stock market, having obtained the story through the "abnormal way" of using sources. "I did it just to create a sensational effect and catch eyeballs," Wang Xiaolu admitted on CCTV, according to a translation by Hong Kong Free Press."It cost the country and investors very big losses."
Heavy debt
Another possible risk to China's financial system comes from high debt levels at both banks and local authorities, although it is difficult to measure the severity of the issue given China's opaque financial system. Charlene Chu, who is senior partner at Autonomous Research Asia, told CNBC early this year that China's seven-year debt boom may have been the world's biggest over such a short period of time, with a lot of the debt having been spent on assets that aren't performing. "The size of banking sector assets has gone from $9 trillion in 2008 to $30 trillion at the end of 2015," she said, noting that most of these borrowings went to the corporate, not the household, sector.
U.S. stock futures were lower this morning, the first day of the second quarter, ahead of the 8:30 a.m. ET release of the government's March employment report. The Dow closed out the first three months of the year with the biggest quarterly comeback since 1933. (CNBC)
Economists were forecasting a healthy 205,000 jobs were created in March, with average hourly earnings seen up 0.3 percent. The jobless is expected to hold steady at 4.9 percent. (CNBC)
Fed Chair Janet Yellen may have squeezed some of the volatility out of markets with dovish comments this week. Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester speaks at 1 p.m. ET. She's a voting member on the central bank's policymaking committee this year. (CNBC)
U.S. oil prices were lower this morning, after a flat finish on Thursday. West Texas Intermediate crude posted a 3.5 percent quarterly gains, breaking a two quarter losing streak. The weekly Baker Hughes rig count is out at 1 p.m. ET. (Reuters)
Japan's Nikkei lost 3.5 percent today, as a reading on the economy disappointed investors. Meanwhile, China's Shanghai composite closed slightly higher on better-than-expected Chinese manufacturing surveys. (CNBC)
BlackBerry CEO John Chen said the company may focus on software only, if the profitability of its hardware doesn't improve.
Chen said in September 2015 that he needed one year to make the device profitable. He told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" that he intends to keep that promise and believes it will get to profitability.
"If by September, I couldn't find a way to get there, then I need to seriously consider being a software company only," said Chen on Friday.
The company's stock was down nearly 5 percent Friday.
Earlier Friday, BlackBerry posted a fiscal fourth-quarter net loss, on the back of restructuring and acquisition related costs.
The smartphone industry pioneer, which lost its early lead in the market to bigger rivals like Apple , said revenue fell to $464 million in the quarter from $660 million a year earlier. Analysts had expected $563.2 million, according to Thomson Reuters.
Chief Executive John Chen told analysts on a call that smartphone sales were below company expectations, partly due to delays in contract negotiations with carriers, including Verizon , about its Android-based Priv device.
"The softness at the high end of the smartphone market is certainly a headwind, but the main issue that we face and that we need to address is the distribution," said Chen on a call.
He said BlackBerry's cost-cutting efforts mean the company now only has to sell 3 million devices at an average selling price of around $300 per device, in order to break even on that business. He had previously estimated BlackBerry needed to sell 5 million annually to achieve this.
The company reported a net loss of $238 million, or 45 cents a share. That compared with year ago profit of $28 million, or 5 cents a share.
Excluding one-time items, the company posted a loss of $18 million, or 3 cents a share in the current quarter.
--CNBC's Lenore Fedow contributed to this story.
U.S. government debt prices traded in a back-and-forth range on Friday, as investors digested the latest U.S. nonfarm payrolls data.
The U.S. economy added 215,000 jobs in March, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said. Economists polled by Reuters expected the economy to have added 205,000 jobs.
The jobs growth came as the headline unemployment rate rose to 5.0 percent, the first month-over-month increase since May 2015. The level of unemployed Americans considered part of the workforce rose to 7.97 million, from 7.82 million in February.
Other pieces of data released Friday included the ISM manufacturing index for March, which came in above estimates at 5.18. February construction spending, meanwhile dipped 0.5 percent.
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The terrorist attacks in Brussels that killed 32 people last week are set to knock international visitor numbers across Europe in the months ahead. Data from Forwardkeys, a travel intelligence provider, suggests international arrivals in Europe between April 14 and August 31 will be 5 percent lower than in the equivalent period last year, based on airplane seat bookings. While the worst impact will be felt in Brussels, where international arrivals are seen down 24 percent, multiple major cities in Europe will also be hit, according to the data, which Forwardkeys published on Friday. "There is a ripple effect through most European destinations," Forwardkeys CEO Olivier Jager told CNBC via phone on Friday.
Belgian military forces patrol tourist streets in Brussels. Justin Solomon | CNBC
Thirty-two people from a variety of countries were killed in bomb attacks at Brussels airport and Maelbeek metro station in the city on Tuesday last week. The so-called Islamic State terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the attacks. They followed a series of multiple coordinated attacks in Paris in November that killed 130 people and for which ISIS also claimed responsibility. The city was already on high alert after a series of attacks in January claimed 17 victims. Andrew Lobbenberg, head of European transport equity research at HSBC, told CNBC last week that November's Paris attacks dampened travel volumes for two months afterwards. He forecast a similar impact for the Brussels attacks. "We think that the impact of the recent terror incidents will affect all (airline) carriers. What we saw with Paris, it wasn't just to and from Paris, it was the fact that it was all travel to and from Europe and that travel within Europe on low-cost airlines, as well as long-haul on the major legacy carriers, was affected," Lobbenberg told CNBC on air.
Plans to partially reopen Brussels airport on Friday evening were halted after airport police went on strike over security concerns, according to media reports. Brussels Airport Company CEO Arnaud Feist has said that it could take months to fully reopen, according to media reports.
Net airline bookings to Brussels fell by 136 percent in the seven days following last week's attacks, according to Forwardkeys. This was a deeper hit than the 101 percent decline that Paris suffered in the week following its November attacks. Flight bookings to Paris and London have also declined in the wake of the Brussels attacks, Tom Jenkins, CEO of the European Tour Operators Association, told CNBC on air on Friday. The U.K. threat from terrorism is rated "severe" by its government, meaning an attack is judged highly likely, and a state of emergency remains in place in France after the November attacks. However, Jenkins said the hit to travel from events like terrorist attacks was less than it once was. "Over the last 30 years we have seen multiple shocks to the inbound tourism industry in Europe and this is something we almost expect," he told CNBC.
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One Indonesian fashion designer has been gaining international kudos for his avant-garde style, and he is hoping to put Jakarta on the list of global fashion capitals. Tex Saverio shot to fame after his bridal gown design was chosen for Jennifer Lawrence's character in the blockbuster sequel "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire." "We were contacted by her stylist who said she was looking for a dress but not a typical wedding dress. She saw our White Collection and thought it would fit in with the theme of the movie," said Saverio. "I was so surprised that she selected me." Tex Saverio's reputation has been gaining ground, with more international celebrities wearing his designs including reality star Kim Kardashian, Lady Gaga and Japanese pop star Ayumi Hamasaki. The price tag of his hand-embroidered gowns can go up to $15,000 per piece. Saverio's motivations and inspirations are simple: Women.
"I want to empower [women], and make them look beautiful, that is the most important thing in the fashion industry," said Saverio, one of two Indonesian designers who are part of the Asian Couture Federation, a not-for-profit organization that aims to support and promote Asian couturiers and the Asian fashion industry. He realized that his haute couture designs should also be translated into more wearable pieces, which was why he co-founded a ready-to-wear fashion company in 2012, roping in Warren Liu as his co-founder. Liu did not go to fashion school but his family has been involved in the apparel manufacturing industry for decades. Saverio and Liu began the business with a start-up capital of $200,000 and have since raised $1 million from four different investors through a very selective fund-raising strategy. "I was extremely picky...I only wanted strategic investors who could contribute know-how and not just money," Warren Liu, chief executive officer of Saverio & Liu, told CNBC. The entrepreneur has big ambitions to turn Saverio & Liu into Southeast Asia's first global fashion house, complete with clothing, jewelry and home product lines.
Trader on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
Check out which companies are making headlines before the bell:
BlackBerry BlackBerry lost 3 cents per share for its latest quarter, smaller than the 10-cent loss that analysts were expecting. Revenue was well below Street estimates, but BlackBerry said its software and services revenue more than doubled over the past year.
Starwood Hotels China's Anbang for Starwood, leaving the company free to go ahead with its planned merger with hotel rival Marriott .
TerraForm Power David Tepper's Appaloosa reports a 10.88 percent stake in the SunEdison "yieldco," up from the prior 9.5 percent. Terraform is one of two spin-offs that holds assets from the solar power company; its CEO departed earlier this week for unknown reasons.
Urban Outfitters Urban Outfitters gave an upbeat outlook for the current quarter, with the apparel retailer saying it sees low single-digit increases in comparable sales.
Marvell Technology Marvell will miss the deadline to file its annual report for the just-ended fiscal year, and the chipmaker also said it would report an annual loss as revenue drops.
Tesla The automaker unveiled its new Model 3, which it plans to start producing in 2017 at a list price of $35,000. More than 150,000 customers put down $1,000 deposits on the car, exceeding analyst expectations.
Regeneron , Sanofi Regeneron and Sanofi say their experimental eczema treatment was highly effective in two large trials, with no serious side effects. The two drugmakers plan to seek U.S. approval for the injectable drug.
Facebook Facebook's "Free Basics" Internet service was blocked in Egypt late in 2015, according to Reuters. That followed Facebook's refusal to give the government the ability to spy on users.
Progressive Insurance Progressive will be ride-service provider Uber's insurance company in Texas, breaking a trend which had seen Uber buy insurance solely from James River Group .
Endo International Endo was accused by the FTC of paying rivals to delay generic competition against two of its biggest drugs. Endo said it was disappointed by the action and intends to vigorously defend itself.
Navistar The truck maker settled SEC charges that it misled investors about whether or not one of its new truck engines would meet U.S. emission standards. Navistar paid $7.5 million in the settlement, without admitting to or denying the charges.
Netflix Netflix will not be investigated by the FCC for so-called "throttling," according to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler. He said the streaming service's actions were "outside" the net neutrality rules adopted late last year.
Yahoo Yahoo is losing yet another major executive, according to Re/code, with senior vice president of talent acquisition Sandy Gould departing for an unknown destination.
WHEN: Today, Friday, April 1st
WHERE: CNBC's "Squawk Box"
Following is the unofficial transcript of a FIRST ON CNBC interview with Marriott International CEO Arne Sorenson on CNBC's "Squawk Box" (M-F, 6AM-9AM ET) today, Friday, April 1st. Following are links to the interview on CNBC.com: http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000506263 and http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000506278.
All references must be sourced to CNBC.
ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: WELCOME BACK TO "SQUAWK BOX." ANBANG WALKING AWAY. THE COMPANY EXITING IT'S $14 BILLION BID TO BUY STARWOOD, A SURPRISE MOVE, CAPPING OFF WHAT WAS A THREE-WEEK BIDDING WAR AND QUITE THE SOAP OPERA. ALSO CLEARING THE WAY FOR THE OTHER BIDDER, MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL. JOINING US RIGHT NOW IS THE WINNER OF THIS CONTEST, MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL'S PRESIDENT AND CEO, ARNE SORENSON. WE SHOULD CONGRATULATE, BUT REALLY WE ARE SUPPOSED TO CONGRATULATE YOU IN LIKE A YEAR OR TWO WHEN IT ALL HOPEFULLY WORKS.
ARNE SORENSON: THANK YOU. BUT I'LL TAKE CONGRATULATIONS THIS MORNING. WE'RE THRILLED.
SORKIN: WELL, LET ME ASK YOU THIS, THOUGH. GIVEN THAT THEY WALKED AWAY AND GIVEN THAT THERE WERE SO MANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT BIDDER TO BEGIN WITH, DO YOU LOOK AND SAY WE JUST PONIED UP A BILLION DOLLARS MORE. DID WE REALLY HAVE TO.
SORENSON: WELL, OF COURSE WE WOULD LOVE TO HAVE THIS COMPANY FOR A BILLION DOLLARS LESS, THERE'S NO DOUBT ABOUT THAT. BUT THEY WERE REAL WITH THEIR FIRST BID. THEY CAME IN AT $78 A SHARE, WHICH WAS 10, 11, 12% MORE THAN THE DEAL WE HAD ON THE TABLE. FULLY FINANCED. FULLY CREDIBLE. ESSENTIALLY NO CONDITIONS. AND WE GOT A NOTICE FROM STARWOOD THAT WE WERE OUT.
BECKY QUICK: SO THAT WAS JUST THE LAST BID THAT THEY COULD
SORENSON: IT WAS JUST THE LAST BID AND WE'VE NEVER TALKED TO ANBANG, SO WE DON'T HAVE ANY DEEP INSIGHT INTO WHAT THEY'VE DONE.
SORKIN: DO YOU WANT TO SPECULATE?
SORENSON: BUT I THINK THEY JUST DECIDED NOT TO GO FORWARD.
SORKIN: WE HAD EUNICE YOON ON FROM CHINA THIS MORNING SAYING THAT AT LEAST INSIDE THE COUNTRY, THERE'S QUESTIONS ABOUT WHETHER REGULATORS IN CHINA, NOT HERE, WERE PREPARED TO LET THEM GO FORWARD WITH A HIGHER BID.
SORENSON: YEAH, LORD KNOWS. WE CERTAINLY DON'T HAVE ANY PARTICULAR INSIGHT TO THAT. I THINK WHAT ANBANG HAS SAID IS IT GOT EXPENSIVE. AND TO BE FAIR, IT'S WORTH MORE TO US IN SOME RESPECTS BECAUSE WE'VE GOT IMMEDIATELY $250 MILLION OF CROS SYNERGIES, WHICH MAKE THE EBITDA MULTIPLE THAT WE ARE EFFECTIVELY PAYING MEANINGFULLY LOWER THAN WHAT THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN PAYING BECAUSE THEY HAD NO EXISTING BUSINESS TO BRING THE SAME KIND OF SCALE.
QUICK: WHAT DOES THAT MEAN WHEN YOU SAY CROSS SYNERGIES? DOES THAT MEAN DEPARTMENTS YOU CAN ELIMINATE ON ONE SIDE OR ANOTHER BECAUSE IT IS OVERLAPPING?
SORENSON: COST. THAT IS BASICALLY OVERHEAD COSTS. AND SO THAT DOESN'T EVEN GET TO WHAT WE CAN DO ON THE REVENUE SIDE WITH STRONGER LOYALTY PROGRAMS BY COMBINING THESE WITH A BROADER DISTRIBUTION. AND WE THINK THERE'S SORT OF TREMENDOUS UPSIDE WHICH WE WILL BE ABLE TO WORK THE NEXT FEW YEARS.
SORKIN: OK. SO NOW THAT YOU'VE WON, THE CHALLENGE IS, OF COURSE, PUTTING THIS ALL TOGETHER.
SORENSON: RIGHT.
SORKIN: WHICH CREATES ITS OWN RISK. YOU LOOK AT THE COMBINATION, YOU THINK THE HIGHEST SORT OF EXECUTION RISK IS WHAT?
SORENSON: WELL, I THINK THE MOST IMPORTANT THING FOR US TO SUCCEED AT IS THE LOYALTY PROGRAM. AND YOU'VE GOT, WITH SPG AND MARRIOTT REWARDS, TWO BIG GROUPS OF VERY LOYAL CUSTOMERS.
QUICK: SO I DON'T LOSE MY POINTS IN EITHER ONE OF THESE PROGRAMS?
SORENSON: WE'VE GOT TO MAKE SURE YOU'RE ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT THE WAY THE CHANGES HAVE WORKED.
SORKIN: AND THERE ARE A LOT OF REPORTS, BY THE WAY, AMONG THE TRAVELLING, SORT OF THE GROUPIES, WHO ARE WORRIED ABOUT THIS.
SORENSON: FROM THE MOMENT WE ANNOUNCED, THEY WERE SAYING WHAT'S HAPPENING TO MY POINTS AND WILL IT GET BETTER, WILL IT GET WORSE. NOW, I THINK WE CAN MAKE SURE THE BENEFITS STAY THE SAME, IF NOT GET BETTER. BUT OFFER THEM A BROADER SELECTION OF PLACES TO STAY.
REBECCA PATERSON: HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO ROLL THAT OUT? SHOULD WE SEE AN OUTCOME ON THIS IN THREE MONTHS, SIX MONTHS, A YEAR?
SORENSON: WELL, I HOPE WE CAN DO SOME THINGS VERY, VERY QUICKLY. AT THE SAME TIME, WE'VE GOT AMEX WITH A CREDIT CARD AND THIS SPG PROGRAM, AND JPMORGAN CHASE VISA WITH A CREDIT CARD IN THE OTHER PROGRAM. WE GOT TWO DIFFERENT TIME SHARE COMPANIES WITHIN THESE PROGRAMS.
SORKIN: THAT WAS GOING TO BE THE QUESTION.
SORENSON: SO WE GOT TO WORK THROUGH ALL THOSE THINGS.
SORKIN: KEN CHENAULT HAS BEEN UNDER QUITE SOME PRESSURE AS YOU KNOW. ARE YOU GOING TO STICK WITH KEN OR ARE YOU GOING TO GO WITH JAMIE OR ARE YOU GOING TO STICK CAN YOU HAVE BOTH?
SORENSON: ONE OF THE GREAT THINGS ABOUT THIS DEAL WHEN WE FIRST ANNOUNCED IT IN NOVEMBER IS I HAD I HEARD FROM KEN CHENAULT AND JAMIE DIMON WITHIN HOURS. I HEARD FROM INDRA NOOYI AND MUHTAR KENT WITHIN HOURS. IT GIVES YOU A SENSE OF THE INTEREST OF THESE COMPANIES IN WHAT WE DO. THEY ARE ALL GOOD PARTNERS OF OURS AND WE'LL WORK THROUGH WITH THEM OVER TIME.
SORKIN: BUT A YEAR OR TWO FROM NOW DO YOU HAVE TO PICK SIDES?
SORENSON: IN SOME AREAS WE'LL PICK SIDES AND SOME AREAS WE PROBABLY WON'T HAVE TO PICK SIDES. AND AGAIN, WE'LL INVOLVE OUR CUSTOMERS IN THIS. THESE LOYAL CUSTOMERS ARE THE PRIMARY REASON FOR DOING THIS DEAL SO WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THEY FEEL GOOD ABOUT IT.
JOE KERNEN: BOOKINGS IN EUROPE ARE DOWN WHAT SINCE BELGIUM?
SORENSON: WELL, LOTS OF CANCELLATIONS IN BRUSSELS, OF COURSE.
KERNEN: ROME?
SORENSON: MUCH LESS SO. AND YOU GOT A LITTLE BIT YOU GET A LITTLE SOFTNESS. I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY YOU END UP WITH MUCH MORE VISIBLE POLICE PRESENCE IN ALL THE EUROPEAN CAPITALS IN THE LAST WEEK OR TWO. SADLY WE'VE BEEN THROUGH THIS A LITTLE BIT BEFORE. WE WOULD EXPECT THAT THIS WILL BE, YOU KNOW, A FEW WEEKS, MAYBE A COUPLE OF MONTHS. AND THEN FOLKS WILL START TO COME BACK. IF THERE'S ANOTHER EVENT, OBVIOUSLY THAT IS DIFFERENT.
KERNEN: WHAT DO POLICYMAKERS NEED TO DO HERE AND IN EUROPE? I MEAN THIS IS A WHAT IF THERE ARE 300, 400 MORE GUYS THAT THEY BROUGHT BACK. THAT'S FRIGHTENING.
SORENSON: YEAH, I MEAN IT'S OBVIOUS THEY'VE GOT TO SHARE DATA. YOU THINK ABOUT THE U.S. KNOWING WHO THESE FOLKS WERE IN BRUSSELS AND BRUSSELS NOT KNOWING WHO THEY WERE. AND WE'VE GOT TO GET TO A PLACE WHERE GOVERNMENTS ARE COORDINATED IN THIS STUFF.
SORKIN: SECURITY WHAT DO YOU GUYS DO?
SORENSON: WE HAVE A CODE LEVEL IN EFFECT IN EVERY MARKET AROUND THE WORLD AND SOME WHICH ARE PERPETUALLY RED. WE ARE SEARCHING PEOPLE BEFORE THEY GET TO THE HOTEL GROUNDS.
KERNEN: IN TROUBLE SPOTS HOTELS ARE THE CHOICE, TOO.
SORENSON: YEAH, IN AN EVENT LIKE THIS, WE WILL ELEVATE THE THREAT CODE.
SORKIN: AND DO YOU SHARE INFORMATION? MEANING YOU HAVE THE BOOKINGS SO YOU KNOW WHO ARE SUPPOSED TO BE COMING. YOU HAVE THE CREDIT CARD. YOU SHOULD KNOW WHO IS COMING, WHO IS GOING WHERE. DOES THAT INFORMATION EVER GET SHARED WITH GOVERNMENTS OR SECURITY OFFICIALS?
SORENSON: USUALLY NOT. I MEAN IN A PARTICULAR MARKET WHERE THERE'S BEEN A RUMOR MAYBE OF AN EVENT HAPPENING. THE GOVERNMENT, LOCAL AUTHORITIES PROBABLY WOULD TELL US SOMETHING AND THERE WOULD BE ON THE GROUND SOME EFFORT TO COORDINATE AND MAKE SURE WE ARE HEARING WHAT WE CAN HEAR AND SHARE THE INFORMATION.
QUICK: WHAT HAPPENED IN PARIS BOOKINGS AFTER BRUSSELS? HOW LONG DID IT TAKE THE PARIS BOOKINGS TO COME BACK UP AFTER THE EVENT THERE IN NOVEMBER AND AFTER WHAT HAPPENED IN BRUSSELS?
SORENSON: SO THAT WAS MID-NOVEMBER, I THINK. AND THEY PROBABLY DROPPED 20% TO 25%.
QUICK: HAVE THEY STABILIZED?
SORENSON: IN JANUARY, MID-JANUARY, THE TEAM THERE WAS SAYING WE ARE STARTING TO SEE LIFE THAT THEY ARE COMING BACK. BY FEBRUARY, MARCH, BEFORE BRUSSELS, WE WERE PROBABLY RUNNING DOWN HIGH SINGLE DIGITS FROM A YEAR BEFORE. SO STILL SOME IMPACT, BUT BUILDING BACK.
QUICK: WHAT HAPPENED AFTER BRUSSELS? DID IT CHANGE ANY?
SORENSON: I DON'T HAVE DATA FOR PARIS AFTERWARDS. I'M SURE IT HASN'T HELP.
SORKIN: I WANT TO GO BACK TO THE DEAL IF I COULD FOR A SECOND. IS THERE ANY INTENT TO COLLAPSE SOME OF THE BRANDS BECAUSE OF THE OPPORTUNITY IN TERMS OF THE SYNERGY OR TO RENAME CERTAIN PROPERTIES FROM AN ADVERTISING PERSPECTIVE YOU ACTUALLY INSTEAD OF HAVING TO ADVERTISE SO MANY DIFFERENT BRANDS YOU WILL BE ABLE TO DO JUST A COUPLE OF THEM?
SORENSON: GENERALLY, NO. AND REMEMBER WE ADVERTISE OFTEN THROUGH THIS LOYALTY PLATFORM SO WE'RE NOT NECESSARILY MARKETING EACH OF 30 DIFFERENT BRANDS WITH ITS OWN SEPARATE MARKETING FUND. BUT ALSO, WE'VE GOT SEPARATE OWNERS OF EACH OF THESE HOTELS. AND OUR CONTRACTS ARE LONG TERM. WE RUN THEM FOR THEM IF IT IS MANAGED OR THEY FRANCHISE. WE DON'T TEND TO HAVE THE RIGHT IF YOU'RE A HOTEL OWNER TO SAY WE'VE JUST DECIDED TO CHANGE THE BRAND NAME ON YOUR HOTEL TO SOMETHING ELSE. AND SO THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT REALLY YOU HAD TO WORK THROUGH WITH A COLLECTION OF OWNERS. I THINK INSTEAD WE'LL TRY AND DO WHAT WE CAN TO DRIVE DISTINCTIONS BETWEEN THE BRANDS. MAKE SURE WE GOT GOOD BRAND STRATEGIES.
SORKIN: RIGHT. THAT'S ACTUALLY INTERESTING. WHICH OF THE BRANDS DO YOU THINK ARE TOO CLOSE RIGHT NOW?
SORENSON: WELL, I THINK IN THE BROAD WELL, LET'S TAKE AN EASY ONE. RITZ-CARLTON AND ST. REGIS. TWO STRONG LUXURY BRANDS. THEY HAVE BEEN COMPETING AGAINST EACH OTHER NO DOUBT. RITZ-CARLTON IS A BIGGER BRAND THAN ST. REGIS IS. AS A CONSEQUENCE IT IS PROBABLY A BIT BETTER KNOWN THAN ST. REGIS IS. WE THINK THERE'S PLENTY OF ROOM FOR BOTH OF THOSE LUXURY BRANDS WHEN YOU LOOK AT DEMOGRAPHICS AROUND THE WORLD
SORKIN: AND THEN WHAT WILL YOU DO, THOUGH IT'S INTERESTING TO DIFFERENTIATE THEM?
SORENSON: YEAH, WE'LL HAVE TO FIND SOME THINGS AROUND MAYBE SOME PRODUCT CUES, MAYBE SOME SERVICE CUES THAT ESSENTIALLY SAY HERE YOU COULD KNOW YOU'RE IN A ST. REGIS, HERE YOU COULD KNOW YOU'RE IN A RITZ-CARLTON.
KERNEN: ANDREW DOESN'T WANT YOU TO GET RID OF ANY OF THE RITZ-CARLTONS OR ST. REGIS' BECAUSE THERE IS A LUXURY, RIGHT?
SORKIN: I'M A HOTEL SNOB AND YOU KNOW IT. PROUDLY SO.
KERNEN: YOU ARE, I KNOW. ARNE, YOU ARE A LEADER OF NOT JUST THE COMPANY, BUT YOU'RE A LEADER AND YOU'VE WRITTEN ON ANTI-DISCRIMINATION MEASURES. YOU WERE ONE OF THE 100 TO SIGN THE NORTH CAROLINA BILL. WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN IN NORTH CAROLINA? IS THERE A THREAT, AN IMPLIED THREAT FROM THE 100 CEOs OF WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN? WHAT WOULD YOU DO IN NORTH CAROLINA IF THIS DOESN'T GET REPEALED?
SORENSON: YEAH, WELL I THINK IT IS GOING TO BE VERY INTERESTING TO SEE HOW THIS MOVES. I MEAN, YOU'VE SEEN PARTICULARLY IN THE LGBT AREA A MASSIVE SHIFT TOWARDS ACCEPTANCE IN HOSPITALITY. AND NOW MAYBE THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF A COUNTER WAVE OCCURING IN SOME PLACES. AND YOU'VE GOT CUSTOMERS WHO CAN VOTE WITH THEIR FEET. SO WHEN WE SPOKE UP IN INDIANA, WE WERE ALREADY GETTING CANCELATIONS FROM GROUPS THAT WERE SAYING WHY SHOULD WE HOLD OUR MEETING IN INDIANA. AND INDIANA MOVED QUICKLY TO SAY, YOU KNOW WHAT? WE DON'T WANT THAT LABEL ON OUR HOSPITALITY, ON OUR CULTURE. WHAT HAPPENS IN NORTH CAROLINA EXACTLY WHO KNOWS. THERE WILL BE SOME POLITICIANS WHO ARE, I THINK, NOT TERRIBLY BRIGHT, WHO THINK THAT THEY CAN PUT A STAKE IN THE GROUND AND BE PROUD OF THIS. BUT I THINK THEY WILL HURT BUSINESS IN THEIR STATE.
KERNEN: YOU SAW GEORGIA, THE GOVERNOR VETOED THAT IMMEDIATELY. AND I READ EVERY WHERE "HUFFINGTON POST" GEORGIA GOVERNOR VETOES. NEVER ONCE. GEORGIA'S GOP GOVERNOR. GEORGIA'S REPUBLICAN NEVER MENTIONED. OH, NO. THAT GOES AGAINST THE HUFF POST NARRATIVE. IT WASN'T A DEMOCRAT THAT DID IT.
SORENSON: NO, THAT'S RIGHT. BUT A VERY THOUGHTFUL GUY WHO SAID I KNOW THE IMPACT ON MY STATE.
KERNEN: EXACTLY. IT GOES ACROSS. I HATE THOSE STEREOTYPES. IT GOES ACROSS PARTY LINES.
QUICK: ARNE, ONE QUESTION REALLY QUICKLY. MARRIOTT SHARES CAME UNDER PRESSURE YESTERDAY WHEN ANBANG ANNOUNCED THAT IT WAS PULLING OUT. WHAT DO YOUR SHAREHOLDERS NOT LIKE ABOUT THIS?
SORENSON: WELL, I THINK THEY LIKE THIS DEAL ACTUALLY.
QUICK: STOCK HAS GONE UP AND DOWN BY ABOUT $3.50.
SORENSON: I THINK YOU'VE GOT SOME TECHNICAL THINGS GOING ON. SO ONE OF THE TRADES THAT WAS PUT ON THE MOMENT WE ANNOUNCED WAS TO SHORT MARRIOTT AND LONG STARWOOD. AND THOSE SHORTS HAVE COVERED AT TIMES WHEN ANBANG SURFACED. THEN THEY REIMPOSED THEIR POSITION. WE PROBABLY HAD SOME SHORT POSITIONS BEING REIMPOSED LAST NIGHT. OBVIOUSLY THERE WAS SOME LIKELIHOOD THAT POSSIBILITY THAT ANBANG WOULD INCREASE ITS OFFER AND SO THE STARWOOD PRESSURE IS THERE TOO. YOU CAN'T LOOK AT THIS ON CERTAINLY AFTER HOURS TRADING OR EVEN A ONE DAY BASIS. THIS IS WHAT DO WE ACHIEVE LONG TERM AND WE ARE STILL ABSOLUTELY THRILLED ABOUT IT.
SORKIN: OK, ARNE. COME ON BACK. THERE'S A LOT MORE TO TALK ABOUT. WE APPRECIATE IT. CONGRATULATIONS.
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Small boutiques have two big issues on their hands customer reach and knowing what to stock, as well as how much they should have of any given item on hand. "Inventory is one of their biggest costs and biggest risks," said John Scrofano, CEO of Seattle-based Garmentory, which is out to solve those problems. "They have a whole world of people who want that inventory, but they are kind of bound to where that brick-and-mortar store is geographically." The Garmentory marketplace platform connects traditionally limited brick-and-mortar boutiques, as well as emerging designers who may not have a physical location, to shoppers all over the globe via their online platform and mobile site. The expanded outreach to new shoppers helps unload extra inventory and exposure for small businesses that are constrained to their radius.
Garmentory CEO John Scrofano and Jill Donnelly, owner of Baby & Co., a clothing boutique in Seattle Ross LeClair | CNBC
The marketplace features 250 boutiques and designers from the U.S. and Canada; there are listings from England, Russia, Singapore and Australia. Prices range from $75 to $600, targeting the "young luxury" consumer, Scrofano said, admitting their competition is a shopper that might otherwise go to a Nordstrom or Barney's. There is no end cost to the consumer. Instead, Garmentory takes a percent of the commission made on the sale online. The company also offers free shipping and returns in order to stay competitive. Items are typically delivered within three days.
Garmentory's co-founders are its chief technology officer, Sunil Gowda, a software developer who's worked for Microsoft and Zillow ; and fashion veteran Adele Tetangco, vice president of merchandise and brand. Scrofano had previously worked in tech, co-founding OneWed.com, a wedding-planning website that also intersected with bridal fashion. The company launched in April 2014 and attended the Techstars Seattle program that same year. To date, it has raised $1.3 million in funding. Since then, Garmentory has enjoyed steady growth. The platform has grown 20 percent month over month, and it now has nine employees. "The way we win against those folks [boutiques and designers] is by offering items with deep meaning," Scrofano said. "This is like art to them people really connect with that. The boutique owner or designer might actually be the one packing or shipping to you, and a Barney's or Nordstrom they just can't do that."
Jill Donnelly, co-owner of Seattle-based Baby & Company, a men's and women's clothing and accessories store, said her six-month partnership working with Garmentory has brought in more traffic both online and even in-store. "It gives us a larger audience and just a larger presence to really go out and go up against bigger companies in the e-commerce space," Donnelly said. "It's also opened up my imagination and focus to cater to a much bigger net." She added that now she can stock items for customers in New York or Los Angeles, beyond just those shopping in-store in Seattle.
A letter written by Harper Lee that saw the acclaimed novelist criticize one of Donald Trump's casinos in the 1990s, has sold for almost $4,000.
Harper Lee in 2007 Getty Images
Admirers of the author bid fiercely, with one paying $3,926 and 25 cents, to secure a letter that saw Lee express her disdain for the Trump Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City. Lee said to close friend Doris Leapard that it would be the "worst punishment" for God to "make her spirit reside eternally" at the casino, owned at the time by billionaire Donald Trump.
The letter was written in August 1990, just a few months after the New Jersey-based casino had opened. The Trump Taj Mahal went through some financial trouble in the following year, and is now owned by business tycoon, Carl Icahn.
A total of 29 letters written and signed by the "To Kill a Mockingbird" author were put up for auction at the Los Angeles-based Nate D. Sanders auction house this week, with many receiving bids of over $1,000.
The author's letter that mentions Trump's casino wasn't the biggest seller of the night though. Another letter written to Ms. Doris Leapard on the civil rights movement sold for $4,752 and 50 cents; with a total of 16 bids. In this correspondence, Lee thanked Leapard for sending her an autograph of Vivian Malone, who was one of the first black students to enroll at the University of Alabama in 1963.
The signed letters, which will be auctioned individually by Nate D. Sanders Auctions include one to Lee's friend Doris Leapard, in which she expresses her distaste for Donald Trump's Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, Robyn Beck | AFP | Getty Images
Heightened competition in the market for legal recreational weed is pushing prices down and firing up border wars across state lines. Competition is so steep in Washington state that cannabis revenue growth has slowed as Oregon ramps up its adult pot sales. What's more, in Colorado and Oregon there's more interest from out-of-state investors entering the recreational pot business. Then there's California, where voters will decide later this year whether to legalize recreational pot. Yet for all the interest, the marijuana business remains fraught with risks and capital challenges.
A customer buys a marijuana joint at a dispensary in Eugene, Oregon on March 22, 2016. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images
"Cannabis is still illegal on the federal level, so it makes investing very risky," said Jessica Rabe, a research analyst with ConvergEx, a New York-based brokerage that released its outlook for the industry last week. Federal laws make it difficult for marijuana businesses to open bank accounts, and as a result many have gobs of cash sitting around, making them targets of robberies. "The recreational marijuana business shows a vibrant and growing industry as more states legalize the drug," ConvergEx said. However, it said several states with legalized recreational use have put barriers to out-of-state investors, and "the U.S. Department of Justice frowns upon outside money flowing into the marijuana industry as well." Overall, state-regulated marijuana sales reached $5.7 billion in 2015, up nearly 24 percent from the prior year boosted by growth tripling in the recreational market, according to "The State of Legal Marijuana Markets" report from ArcView Group, an Oakland, California-based investment network for cannabis start-ups. It forecasts legal cannabis sales are on track to reach $22.8 billion by 2020, with adult use representing more than half the total market. Nearly half of the states and the District of Columbia have passed legislation or ballot measures to legalize the possession and distribution of marijuana for medical purposes, and four states Washington, Oregon, Alaska and Colorado have legalized adult recreational use. At least nine states have medical cannabis or adult legalization measures in the works, including the closely watched ballot initiative effort in California to legalize recreational use statewide for people 21 and older. Meantime, a U.S. Senate drug caucus hearing set for Tuesday underscores some of the uncertainties at the federal level still facing the marijuana industry.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of the Judiciary Committee and the Caucus on International Narcotics Control, and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., co-chair of the drug caucus, are convening the hearing entitled "Is the Department of Justice Adequately Protecting the Public from the Impact of State Recreational Marijuana Legalization?" Both lawmakers have long been opposed to legalizing recreational use. The Senate hearing follows the release of a marijuana report last month by the Government Accountability Office that Grassley and Feinstein had requested. The GAO report called out the Justice Department of Justice for not providing more clarity on its marijuana enforcement policies and recommends "DOJ document a plan specifying its process for monitoring the effects of state marijuana legalization." "They are really barking up the wrong tree if their opinion is that the Justice Department should be going after people who are following state law in states that have decided to go this route," said ArcView CEO Troy Dayton. "The public is behind us, and at the end of the day public officials ultimately answer to the public." California's recreational use initiative imposes a 15 percent tax on retail sales of marijuana and includes cultivation fees. Recreational legalization backers have raised more than $2 million in campaign funds, including about $1 million from Silicon Valley billionaire Sean Parker. Also, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, a candidate for governor in 2018, has endorsed the measure.
For California, you're looking at a $15 billion market potentially, and probably 15 percent of that will go back to the state coffers. Norton Arbelaez founder of RiverRock Cannabis
"For California, you're looking at a $15 billion market potentially, and probably 15 percent of that will go back to the state coffers," said Norton Arbelaez, an entrepreneur and attorney who founded Denver-based RiverRock Cannabis, a chain of marijuana dispensaries. He said passage of recreational marijuana in Colorado created a fast-growing industry with more than 10,000 jobs, and he believes the economic impact in California would be much greater because "California's economy is the size of France." California voters approved medical cannabis in 1996, and several previous attempts to legalize recreational use in the state have failed. Jason Kinney, a spokesman for the adult weed legalization initiative in California, said the group has "every expectation" the measure will qualify for the November ballot. The medical market in California, according to ArcView, is expected to remain the largest nationally through 2020, although it projects the medical market portion will shrink from $2.7 billion in 2015 to $2.6 billion by 2020. It cited strict new medical regulations passed in 2015 and the legalization of adult use in 2016, which is expected to reduce the levels of patient participation. Retail recreational marijuana sales in Colorado and Washington state last year were roughly a combined $1 billion (when adding medical marijuana sales the combined total regulated sales in Washington and Colorado reached $1.7 billion in 2015, with Colorado almost $1 billion by itself). Oregon figures appear to show the first month of adult use in January 2016 produced about $14 million in retail sales, outpacing the first-month sales from legal weed in Colorado and Washington.
Regulatory action on privately funded companies threatens to disrupt growth and the path to the public market, billionaire investor Mark Cuban contended Friday.
Private valuations in Silicon Valley, particularly the so-called "unicorns" worth $1 billion or more, have drawn the attention of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The agency's Chair Mary Jo White addressed the concerns in a speech at Stanford University on Thursday, calling for companies to be honest with investors about their worth.
Cuban argued that, if the SEC chooses to get involved with Silicon Valley, it should set clear rules to avoid stifling growth or creativity.
"If you don't know what the rules are, it just gives the SEC room to take whatever actions they want," the "Shark Tank" investor and Dallas Mavericks owners said on CNBC's "Closing Bell."
The fourth face belongs to an odd beast known as the #NeverTrump, a collection of Republican luminaries committed to beating something with nothing. The stated goal of this faction is a brokered convention leading to an undisclosed nominee other than Donald Trump.
Trump has noted injudiciously, as always that a convention he enters with a sizable delegate lead but leaves without the nomination could end in riots. The #NeverTrumps typically reply that the nominating process is complex, and that a candidate incapable of winning on the first ballot is hardly guaranteed a victory on the second. This response is legalistically correct, but obtuse.
The Republican Party need not "cheat" for primary voters to "feel cheated." Under the rules, primary or caucus results bind most delegates on the first ballot, but not on the second. A candidate who finishes a close second on an indeterminate first ballot, only to close the gap and win an outright majority on the second ballot, "looks like" a legitimate winner.
A candidate who receives few if any votes on the first ballot, yet pulls enough backroom deals to take a majority on the second, "looks like" a cheater.
The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has put together a prize fund of $150,000 for any computer hacker who can find vulnerabilities in the organization's security systems.
The DoD's "Hack the Pentagon" pilot program will start on April 18 and end on May 12. It will provide hackers with a legal avenue to report security vulnerabilities and receive a reward.
Hackers will have to register to participate and there are strict eligibility criteria: hackers must have a U.S. social security number, be eligible to work in the U.S., and will have to agree to a criminal background check to receive a bounty payment from the prize fund.
"This initiative will put the department's cybersecurity to the test in an innovative but responsible way," said Secretary of Defense Ash Carter in a press release. "I encourage hackers who want to bolster our digital defenses to join the competition and take their best shot."
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Poland's plans to demolish around 500 Soviet-era monuments have angered Russia, according to media reports, further damaging relations between the former Soviet satellite state and the country. Poland is planning a mass demolition of monuments that are relics of the country's Communist past which are seen as reminders of Soviet Russia's invasion and subsequent decades-long political dominance of the eastern European nation until a popular uprising in 1989 overthrew Communist rule.
Anti-Communist sentiment is widespread in Poland. Photographer | Collection | Getty Images
The head of Poland's Institute of National Remembrance said in an interview with Polish news site Onet on Thursday that Soviet monuments in Poland which was invaded by Germany in 1939, effectively starting World War II, and then by the Soviet Union which eventually drove out the Germans in 1944 should have been demolished in the early 1990s and called their preservation "a fatal mistake." According to the interview between Lukasz Kaminsky and Onet, reported by RBC news agency and The Moscow Times, Kaminsky said that the monuments should be removed and transferred to museums to become a "witness of hard times." Many modern Poles have reappraised their country's Communist past, seeing the era as one of deprivation, repression and subservience to Russia. The Soviet Union remains a thorny issue not least because Soviet Russia had at first supported Hitler and his invasion of Poland in 1939 before it joined the Allies in fighting Hitler in 1941 after it was itself invaded by Germany. Those mixed feelings over the past are borne out by the monuments themselves which have become the target of vandalism. But Russia says that the Red Army "liberated" Poland from Germany and that any removal of the monuments to Soviet soldiers is a slur. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that plans to remove the monuments were aimed at erasing the fact of the country's liberation by the Red Army during WWII from the memory of the Polish people, Russia's TASS news agency reported on Thursday.
Saudi Arabia is looking to create the world's largest public company as it plans to offload a stake of less than 5 percent of the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, the kingdom's deputy crown prince told Bloomberg.
In an interview with the broadcaster, Prince Mohammed bin Salman said advisers were considering offering a slice of the whole of the company as opposed to some of its subsidiaries. Saudi Aramco, as it's more widely known, would be listed on the domestic stock exchange as early as next year, the crown prince said.
Bloomberg estimates that if floated, and based on a conservative estimate of $10 a barrel, Aramco would be valued at $2.5 trillion-plus.
Sheila Bair, who for five years led the FDIC, is taking on a new role: She is joining online lender Avant's board of directors.
"It's been a long-term interest of mine," Bair said. "I like the transparency, and Avant doesn't charge origination fees."
Bair has held a number of roles in government and regulatory bodies responsible for overseeing the banking industry. She was assistant secretary for financial institutions in the Treasury Department, and commissioner and acting chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
From 2006 to 2011, Bair led the FDIC under Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush, playing a crucial role in providing credit support to banks in the U.S. financial system as they were challenged in an unprecedented liquidity crisis.
Start-ups are bolstering their ranks with government veterans as regulators are actively looking to change the way the industry does business. On Thursday, the Treasury Department's Office of the Comptroller of the Currency revealed plans to change regulations that apply to financial technology and the banking industry.
Twenty so-called "government related corporate and infrastructure entities," or GREs, saw their outlooks revised because, S&P said in a press release "we believe their credit profiles are affected by their importance and strong links with the Chinese central government."
The downgrades come hot on the heels of S&P's decision on Thursday to downgrade China and Hong Kong's credit rating outlook to "negative" from "stable," citing increasing economic and financial risks to the mainland government's creditworthiness.
China National Offshore Oil Corporation, China National Petroleum, China Petrochemical Corporation were among those that had their outlooks downgraded from "stable" to "negative" although the outlook ratings of 31 other GREs were unaffected.
Richard Mallinson, geopolitical analyst at Energy Aspects, told CNBC that China's oil industry was coming under increasing pressure.
"When we look at just what those Chinese state-owned enterprises have done with their outlook for the year, they're talking about oil production falling 4-5 percent, they've really slashed their capex (capital expenditure) and that's a picture that's replicated across most of the upstream globally. So you can understand why there are concerns at these price levels about their finances and their situation," he said.
"For China, it means that they're becoming increasing(ly) dependent on importsso we're seeing huge crude import numbers by the country and that helps other parts of the market clear in terms of crude but it means we end up with too much diesel produced by those (Chinese) refineries coming back into the regional market so it's a picture with many different pieces."
China has not been immune to a global glut in oil supply that has caused oil prices to fall dramatically over the last 18 months and a slowdown in the Chinese economy has weakened demand for oil, hitting markets further.
There were hopes that a meeting between OPEC and non-OPEC producers on April 17 in Qatar could see major producers agree to cut production. When the meeting was announced, oil prices rallied but the rally has lost momentum as expectations of any output cuts have faded. Data has shown that U.S. crude oil inventories continue to build. Benchmark Brent crude futures are currently trading at $40.10 a barrel, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) at $38.06 a barrel.
Read More How oil could get back to $50: RBC's Helima Croft
Energy Aspects' Mallinson thought that any agreement was unlikely, and that price fluctuation would continue. "Volatility is still going to be with us in the second quarter and into the second half of this year and in part that is because there is uncertainty about what OPEC will be able to do or even can do in the current market," he cautioned.
"There's uncertainty over how much oil Iran can bring back (following the lifting of sanctions), how much U.S. (shale oil) production is going to fall and what's going to happen with Asian demand. There are lots of moving parts here."
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London house prices leapt at a whopping 11.5 percent year on year in the first quarter of 2016, according to the Nationwide House Price Index, far outstripping the 5.3 percent rise notched up in the U.K. overall. But many industry-watchers fear this may be the final hurrah for the capital's residential real estate for a while thanks to the introduction of a new stamp duty surcharge on second home or buy-to-let property purchases. As of Friday, anyone buying an additional residential property in England, Wales or Northern Ireland who is not replacing their main residence will pay a flat 3 percent surcharge on top of the current stamp duty bringing the levy owed on purchases of the most expensive properties to a total 15 percent. The surge in mortgage and transactional activity highlighted by Nationwide during the first quarter is assumed to partly owe to a stampede to push through purchases before April 1.
Simon Dawson | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Robert Gardner, Chief Economist at Nationwide confirms "Buoyant February lending figures follow on from a January which saw the highest number of mortgage approvals for house purchase since January 2014 - at 74,100. It's likely this increase is partly due to the impending Stamp Duty increase on second homes and therefore we may see a corresponding fall back in the number of approvals immediately afterwards." Indeed, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors' Chief Economist , Simon Rubinsohn, agrees, saying: "Results from most recent RICS Residential Market Survey suggest the upward momentum in property transactions will slacken in the wake of the introduction of the tax premium. This is likely to be most visible in London where feedback we have received goes as far as to point to a modest dip in sales volumes over the coming months." Global real estate investors who own a property outside of the U.K. will also be subject to the buying tax. Given the longstanding appeal of London as a place for foreign investors to park funds, the new tax is widely expected to knock some wind out of the capital's heady price environment. This would align with the government's intent to alleviate the chronic housing shortage for residents in England where home ownership rates languish at their lowest levels since the mid-1980s.
While the measure forms a part of the government's "Five Point Plan" to tackle the housing crisis and make more properties available and affordable to more people, many fear this will hurt those priced out of the housing market as well as the speculators. Richard Lambert, CEO of the National Landlords Association, warns "the assumption that the stamp duty surcharge will benefit renters and prospective homeowners is naive because landlords who are forced to sell in the coming months and years are more likely to sell less attractive stock in less desirable areas." The government's 11th-hour decision not to extend relief to large investors has also augmented concerns financiers will be discouraged from pursuing new build initiatives which would help housing supply shortages. Melanie Leech, CEO of the British Property Federation shares this concern, saying "The lack of exemption for build to rent investors is a real blow. The government needs to deliver new homes at scale, so it seems counterproductive to bring in measures that will make it more difficult for this to happen." The surcharge is just one body-blow in a sustained series of attacks on landlords and purchasers announced by the U.K. Chancellor George Osborne since he restructured stamp duty to a format that penalised buyers of more expensive properties in the Autumn 2014 budget. Other initiatives include changes to the "wear-and-tear" allowance which also kick in today and next April's elimination of mortgage interest tax deductibility. Separately, the Bank of England announced earlier this week it would recommend higher minimum standards for lending to small landlords who want to buy property to let out. Time will tell who the winners are beyond the government who has said it hopes to raise nearly 1 billion from the surcharge by 2021.
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A 30-year-old you may have never heard of is trying to build a company worth four Apples and a Nike to spare. Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a fast riser in the Saudi hierarchy and member of the new generation, has the world's ear after an expansive interview where he elaborated on his plan for taking the mega-giant state oil company public. Bin Salman, son of King Salman, was the surprise choice to serve as deputy to Crown Prince Muhammad bin Nayef, the 56-year-old who had been seen as a possible heir apparent but is now viewed by some as more of a rival. Bin Nayef is interior minister who rose to power on his success as head of the Saudi counterterrorism program. King Salman, himself 80, took the throne when King Abdullah died in January 2015.
He stands in stark contrast to the traditional Western image of a Saudi leader young, urbane and with views that seem far from traditional. He is chairman of the Supreme Petroleum Council, above Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi, and he also is head of the military, and a driving force behind the war in Yemen. "Bin Salman's clearly trying to assert himself, and relying upon the broad degree of authority his father has assigned him," said one U.S. official. Bin Nayef, on the other hand is seen as the more steady and tested hand, the official said. Bin Salman has also been popular with Saudi youth, who have been supporting him through the Yemen war. About 70 percent of the population of Saudi Arabia is under 30, and 40 percent is unemployed, said Helima Croft, head of commodity strategy at RBC Capital Markets. "That's his constituency. ... If your policy is to consolidate a significant portion of the population behind you, he's done that. I think he's played the 'Game of Thrones' in Saudi Arabia particularly well," said Croft. "He consolidated power faster than anyone imagined. He's talked about doing things that go to the heart of the Saudi social contract. He doesn't seem to be afraid. How this story ends I have no idea. All I know is we're in totally unchartered water."
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Bin Salman helped knock 4 percent off the price of crude Friday, after he threw into doubt the ability of world oil producers to agree to an output freeze at their meeting in Qatar on April 17. The prince was reported as saying the kingdom would not participate in a freeze if Iran and other major producers, both OPEC and non-OPEC, do not join the program. "This is dead in the water then," Croft said. "No one is going to overrule bin Salman on oil policy. If he's going to stick to his position, there's no point in showing up in Doha." The idea of a global production freeze has been supported by Russia and Saudi Arabia, through Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi. But Iran has said it has no intention of freezing output as it works to return oil to the world market, now that sanctions against it have been lifted. "If he says it and that's not aligned with what Naimi and other officials are saying, then those other officials are going to come into line. They have to adhere to what the leadership says. If that's the new negotiating line that makes meeting a freeze agreement a lot more difficult than the conciliatory, and arguably, a little more constructive attitude the Saudis have had in the past," said Michael Cohen, head of energy commodities research at Barclays. Cohen said without the freeze, and with more production from Iran, Libya, Iraq and elsewhere, it's conceivable oil could revisit the lows from February, in the $20s per barrel. Daniel Yergin, vice chairman of IHS, said the fact there is a Doha meeting at all shows the strains being felt by producers. "The number of producers going there shows you how alarmed the governments are about their finances with low oil prices," he said. Yergin said the freeze was not a cut in production but was meant to serve as a stabilization of world oil prices. "The deputy crown prince underlines the fact that until it's clear where Iran's level of production is going to settle out, that it won't go much farther than it has. The Saudis will be at the meeting, but as so many things involving oil these days, it goes back to the rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran, both in the region and in terms of market share," he said.
Both banks and the U.S. Justice Department declined to comment.
They said JPMorgan and Deutsche were not the target of the investigations at this stage, but had only been asked to provide details.
U.S. officials have also traveled to the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, to speak to people with close links to the fund, three sources have told Reuters.
Officials of the U.S. Department of Justice have asked Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan for details of their dealings with Malaysia's 1MDB, as global investigations into the troubled state fund widen, banking sources said on Friday.
Singapore's central bank has also asked financial institutions to provide details of any transactions linked to Malaysian state investor 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) as part of its probe into possible money-laundering in the city state.
The statement came late Thursday after The Australian newspaper reported earlier this week that it believes that the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has asked close to 40 banks with a presence in Singapore to provide information linked to 1MDB. The paper said flows into Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) and National Australia Bank (NAB) are believed to be among those queried.
ANZ and NAB both declined to comment.
"As part of its investigations into possible money-laundering and other offences in Singapore, (MAS) has been conducting a thorough review of various transactions as well as fund flows through our banking system," MAS said in a statement. "MAS has requested a number of financial institutions to furnish information relating to the review."
The central bank disclosed neither the number of banks involved in its review, nor the names of the Australian banks mentioned in The Australian report.
"Given the cross-border nature of these fund flows, MAS is also working closely with and seeking clarifications from relevant authorities in other financial centres," it said.
Singapore has seized a large number of bank accounts as part of an investigation into possible money-laundering linked to 1MDB. These included the bank accounts of a private banker for Swiss wealth manager BSI.
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Bitcoin, the revolutionary technological innovation, is becoming old hat. Even while investors and regulators are paying much more attention (and more money) to the technological architecture underpinning the cryptocurrency, a funny thing is happening: Bitcoin, the very reason for that architecture, is often going completely unmentioned. That's not to say that bitcoin is becoming less popular as a means of exchange or a store of value it's price in U.S. dollars is hovering near a one-year high but people are increasingly showing much more interest in other potential applications of secure distributed ledgers (also called blockchains), which have nothing to do with money. It's that innovation the blockchain that allows for the bitcoin network's global functioning. It securely records information publicly, and concurrently hosts those records on separate computers. And while many have argued that a blockchain is fundamentally insecure without bitcoin's diverse network participants incentivized by monetary reward, not everyone agrees.
"For currency and as a financial rail, bitcoin is the only game in town," said Barry Silbert, founder and CEO of Digital Currency Group, which oversees 68 companies in the virtual currency and associated technologies space. "But as a ledger, I think that most of the efforts underway by the banks are using permissioned or federated blockchain solutions." In other words, as financial institutions grow to appreciate the efficiencies they can achieve through the technology cutting out the middlemen of data transfer while keeping information secure they're opting to keep everything in house. This trend, Silbert said, is because the firms want to make sure their systems will be scalable, easily audited and definitely around in 30 years. (Bitcoin's future remains in flux, especially as some of its biggest developers battle over the details of its protocol.) The blockchain-sans-bitcoin discussion was exemplified on Tuesday when Commodity Futures Trading Commission Commissioner J. Christopher Giancarlo spoke at length about the potential of DLT (digital ledger technology) before the Depository Trust & Clearing Corp.'s Blockchain Symposium. Despite singing the praises of blockchains, he neglected to mention bitcoin once in his official transcript. "It will have profound implications for global financial markets by increasing settlement efficiency and speed, linking recordkeeping networks, reducing transaction costs and increasing market access," Giancarlo said, according to a transcript of his remarks. "It will broadly impact financial markets in payments, banking, securities settlement, title recording, cyber security and trade reporting and analysis." The shift in focus to non-bitcoin DLT's can also be seen in the massive increase in the price of "ether" a digital token, not the organic compounds. This token, which serves as a sort of "fuel" for the blockchain-based application platform Ethereum, broke above $14 earlier this month after beginning the year under $1.
TYRE, N.Y. The upcoming del Lago Resort & Casino has hired Juris Basens as senior VP and assistant general manager.
The casino resort, which will be located in the Seneca County town of Tyre, describes Basens as a long-time industry veteran, having started as a card dealer in 1978 with Resorts International in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Basens joined Rochesterbased Wilmorite, Inc., the company that owns del Lago Resort & Casino, as VP of gaming operations in 2003, the company said in a news release issued Wednesday.
The Victor resident has been responsible for overseeing and directing all casino operations, which included staffing, budgeting, capital planning, operating policies, marketing, and local, state and federal-regulatory compliance.
Few people have the depth and breadth of experience that Juris has his perspective will be an incredible asset in bringing the vision of del Lago to life, said Jeff Babinski, who was recently hired as senior VP and general manager of del Lago. With nearly four decades in the gaming industry, he has the knowledge and insight of all aspects of the business and knows what it takes to run a successful resort and casino.
Besides his role as a card dealer with Resorts International, Basens also worked as casino supervisor, pit boss, shift manager, and casino liaison to information technology.
From there, he managed casino properties in Nassau, Bahamas; Iowa; Illinois; Mississippi; and Louisiana, according to Wilmorite.
The company hopes to open del Lago Resort & Casino early next year.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com
ALBANY, N.Y. The State of University (SUNY) recently announced more than $4.6 million in Investment and Performance Fund awards for SUNY campuses across the state, including $2 million to help students completing their online courses and programs through Open SUNY.
The Investment and Performance Fund is an endowment for campus practices that are designed to increase student access, completion, and success rates, SUNY said in a news release. Open SUNY is an online degree system that offers courses from all 64 SUNY campuses.
Fewer than half of all New Yorkers currently hold a college degree, and by 2020, nearly 70 percent of jobs in the state will require one, SUNY noted in its release. To fill this gap, the state established the SUNY Investment and Performance Fund last year. The fund supports SUNYs Completion Agenda, which aims to increase the number of degrees awarded annually from 93,000 to 150,000.
The Investment and Performance Fund awards include the following:
The University at Albany, Binghamton University, University at Buffalo, and Stony Brook University will receive $1 million ($250,000 each) to build common student learning outcomes and assessments to increase completion in high demand/high impact gateway undergraduate courses offered online.
SUNY Morrisville and Mohawk Valley Community College (MVCC) will receive $241,000 to provide help to students in completing an information technology-related associate degree at MVCC, and a bachelors degree in information technology at SUNY Morrisville, according to the release.
SUNY Potsdam will receive $368,000 to offer an online masters degree program in music and online degree program offerings by providing more Open SUNY+ courses and increasing degree and certificate enrollment and completion, according to the release.
SUNY also announced that MVCC will receive $370,000 to develop a career and transfer student-transition lab, and add a student-transition specialist to its career and transfer team. Potential collaborators on the effort include SUNY Delhi, SUNY Polytechnic, Morrisville State College, Empire State College, and SUNY Oneonta, the release stated.
Contact The Central New York News Network at news@cnybj.com
The town of Potosi in modern-day Bolivia was founded on April 1, 1545, and became a center of mining silver, which was used to create millions of Spanish colonial coins like the 1577 to 1585 silver 8-real coin shown here.
The story of exploration is often one entwined with exploitation, and thus is the story of the mining town of Potosi, in modern-day Bolivia.
The town was founded April 1, 1545, after the discovery of major silver deposits in the area.
Over the course of two centuries, hundreds of millions of pesos worth of silver was mined in Potosi (mostly by forced labor), much of it coined at the local mint into currency for the Spanish Empire. The quinto, or a fifth of the silver, was sent back to Spain to fuel that country's economy, the rest fulfilling its role as money for locals and outsiders alike.
The Potosi Mint struck silver cob coins from 1574 through 1773, the longest run of cobs from any Spanish American mint, according to The Practical Book of Cobs by Daniel Sedwick and Frank Sedwick.
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Cobs are crude coins struck from silver or gold and take their name from the Spanish phrase cabo de barra, translated as end of a bar, which explains how the cobs were made.
Pieces were cut off the end of a refined bar and then struck, but because of their irregular shape and thickness, the planchets often feature incomplete designs and are aesthetically abominable, according to Richard Doty in The MacMillan Encyclopedic Dictionary of Numismatics.
But aesthetics were of no matter: speed was, he wrote.
Quality suffered further after 1600, Doty said, because Spain was clinging to its status as a world power, and quantity, not quality, of money became paramount, even for those struck in Spain using bars that had been shipped back.
The vast expanse of the Spanish Empire, and the vast number of coins produced at Spanish colonial mints, means the coins are readily available today. (Except, that is, gold cobs of Potosi, since none were ever made there.)
Cob production yielded to machine struck round coins, with steam power finally coming to a newly built mint in Potosi in 1767.
The mint at Potosi struck its final coins in 1953, but millions of coins remain as artifacts of Potosis importance as a center for silver mining in colonial Spain.
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.
March 30, 2016 - (L-R) Caitlin McKechney (Carmen), Dane Suarez (Don Jose), and Daniel Mobbs (Escamillo) rehearse a scene for Opera Memphis' "Carmen," at Playhouse on the Square on Wednesday. Opera Memphis is preparing for the Midtown Opera Festival running Friday, April 1 - Sunday, April 10, 2016. (Yalonda M. James/The Commercial Appeal)
SHARE March 30, 2016 - (L-R) Daniel Mobbs (Escamillo) and Caitlin McKechney (Carmen) rehearse a scene for Opera Memphis' "Carmen," at Playhouse on the Square on Wednesday. Opera Memphis is preparing for the Midtown Opera Festival running Friday, April 1 - Sunday, April 10, 2016. (Yalonda M. James/The Commercial Appeal)
By Jon W. Sparks, Special to The Commercial Appeal
This year's Midtown Opera Festival is mounting two performances each of two fascinating operas in addition to a slate of other attractions.
Both are sung in French and take place in Spain, with one a familiar weeper ("The Tragedy of Carmen") and the other a lesser-known ribald romp ("L'heure espagnole").
Preview performances earlier this week gave a taste of what audiences will experience this weekend and next on the stage at Playhouse on the Square.
"The Tragedy of Carmen" is not "Carmen," though it is adapted from Bizet's classic opera of the doomed, free-spirited gypsy who captivated men and broke their hearts.
Peter Brook's 1981 adaptation keeps the essential arias and does away with all but the main characters in this intense play-like study of love gone wrong.
The Opera Memphis presentation offers strong performances, particularly mezzo-soprano Caitlin McKechney's Carmen, with captivating vocals and powerful expressions that flash with mischief, anger, joy, confidence and sadness, vividly showing vulnerability and intelligence.
Daniel Mobbs gives a muscular and rousing interpretation of Escamillo, the dashing toreador. He, too, is doomed, along with everyone else, but it is a most gorgeous tragedy.
It gets considerably lighter with "L'heure espagnole" as soprano Marie-Stephane Bernard's Concepcion pulls out all the comic chops trying to hide three lovers from one another and her husband. Her milquetoast hubby runs a clock repair shop where various inamoratos are stuffed into grandfather clocks and shuffled around.
The Maurice Ravel composition it's one of only two operas he wrote is bright and witty, and the Opera Memphis staging has two pianists onstage who occasionally take part in the action.
Bernard is terrifically funny and has a glorious voice while the gents are excellent too, in singing as well as hamming.
The operas are well suited to the festival format, with "Tragedy of Carmen" running about an hour and a half and "L'heure espagnole" about an hour. If you can catch both, do it.
April 1, 2016 - Personnel inspect the area around a damaged sewer pipe on Cypress Creek near McKellar Lake after a section of the pipe was damaged. The city of Memphis is facing up to $10 million in repair costs and possibly environmental fees after the pipe on Thursday began pouring up to 50 million gallons of untreated wastewater per day into the creek, a tributary of the Mississippi River.
(Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal)
SHARE April 1, 2016 - A environmental scientist with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation launches a boat into McKellar Lake before heading out to do water tests. The city of Memphis is facing up to $10 million in repair costs and possibly environmental fees after a damaged sewage pipe on Thursday began pouring up to 50 million gallons of untreated wastewater per day into a tributary of the Mississippi River. (Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal) Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal April 1, 2016 - Personnel inspect the area around a damaged sewer pipe on Cypress Creek near McKellar Lake after a section of the pipe was damaged. The city of Memphis is facing up to $10 million in repair costs and possibly environmental fees after a damaged sewage pipe on Thursday began pouring up to 50 million gallons of untreated wastewater per day into a tributary of the Mississippi River. April 1, 2016 - A environmental scientist with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation who requested to not be named launches a boat into McKellar Lake before heading out to do water tests. The city of Memphis is facing up to $10 million in repair costs and possibly environmental fees after a damaged sewage pipe on Thursday began pouring up to 50 million gallons of untreated wastewater per day into a tributary of the Mississippi River. (Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal) Related Coverage Sewage spill could cost Memphis thousands in fines
Temporary repairs should stem sewage leak
Memphis crews halt sewage spill
By Ryan Poe of The Commercial Appeal
The city of Memphis is facing up to $10 million in repair costs and possible environmental fines after a damaged sewer pipe on Thursday began pouring up to 50 million gallons of untreated wastewater per day into a creek that flows into a Mississippi River tributary.
Memphis Public Works Director Robert Knecht said the city hopes to install a bypass pump within three or four days to circumvent the leak, which is pouring into Cypress Creek. The creek flows into nearby McKellar Lake, which connects to the river on the south side of Presidents Island.
"That's our goal," Knecht said at a press conference in City Hall on Friday morning. "We're working around the clock."
Heavy rainfall eroded the ground under the pipe west of Paul Lowry Road creating the leak that the city discovered at 3 p.m. Thursday, Knecht said.
No residences are nearby and the creek isn't a source of drinking water, he said.
The city is working with the Shelby County Health Department and the state to evaluate the environmental and health impacts, he said. The city posted signs around McKellar Lake on Friday warning that the water could be contaminated.
Elizabeth Hart, a spokeswoman for the Shelby County Health Department, said there were no immediate health concerns.
"But we are certainly working in partnership with the city of Memphis and Public Works to identify any potential long-term environmental hazards, and that would also include any public health education," she said.
The bypass could operate for three to four months, at a cost of $400,000 per month, while the city relocates a 96-inch sewer line at an estimated cost of $6 million to $8 million, Knecht said. The city's Stormwater Enterprise Fund will pay for the bypass and relocation, sparing the city from having to tap its already tight operating budget for the total cost of up to $10 million.
Knecht said the city knew months ago that there was a danger of the soil eroding under the pipe, and that bids were due within the next couple of weeks on a now-redundant remedial project.
"We'd seen early on the potential for this happening, but we didn't know it would happen so soon," he said.
Other parts of the creek have been the focus of environmental issues before. In 2010, the Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation, citing elevated pathogen levels from sewage overflow, issued an advisory saying the public should avoid contact with creek water and not eat fish caught there.
August 28, 2015 - Drivers move through the Interstate-40/240 interchange as seen from the new 95 foot-high eastbound I-40 flyover. (Brandon Dill/Special to The Commercial Appeal)
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By Richard Locker of The Commercial Appeal
NASHVILLE The state plans to build a new interchange on Interstate 40 at Hickory Withe Road in Fayette County, creating new access for motorists in western Fayette County east of Arlington and the only exit in a 10-mile stretch of I-40 between Airline Road and Tennessee 59.
The project is included in the Tennessee Department of Transportation's three-year transportation program released Thursday. There is no interchange now at the intersection of I-40 and Hickory Withe Road (Tennessee 196), and the new exit and entrance ramps near mile marker 29 there will give motorists easier access to eastern Arlington, Galloway, Hickory Withe and Oakland.
Other projects in the Memphis area include:
Construction starting during fiscal year 2017 of new overhead bridges over I-240 in East Memphis for Park Avenue, the Norfolk Southern railroad and the eastbound and westbound lanes of Poplar.
Improvements starting in fiscal 2017 of 3.7 miles of Tennessee 14 (Austin Peay Highway) from east of Old Covington Pike to Tennessee 385.
Purchase of right-of-way in fiscal 2017 for an improved I-240 interchange at Airways Boulevard.
Widening, in fiscal year 2019, of a 1.1 mile stretch of U.S. 78 from south of Shelby Drive to the Mississippi border, part of a larger U.S. 78 improvement program.
Improvements in fiscal 2017 to the Brownsville Bypass, from west of Windrow Road to Tennessee 76.
The new Fayette County interchange is one of seven projects across the state that Gov. Bill Haslam proposes to pay for with a $142 million transfer of money from the state's general fund to its transportation fund, announced on Monday and subject to approval by the state legislature. The transfer is designed to repay the transportation fund for part of more than $300 million the state "borrowed" from the transportation fund more than a decade ago to deal with a deficits in the general fund during a period of slow revenue growth.
That transfer of money, combined with new federal highway funding, gives TDOT more money to spend on transportation projects during the next fiscal year than normal an estimated $965 million, compared to $660 million in the current fiscal year that ends June 30, according to TDOT.
"This program reflects our commitment to increasing safety and economic development opportunities while also remaining debt free on our roads," Haslam said.
TDOT still has a multi-billion-dollar backlog of highway and bridge projects that have been approved by the state Legislature but lack the funding. The governor has said he will likely ask lawmakers next year for new transportation funding in 2017 probably including the first increase in Tennessee's gasoline tax since 1989.
Full details on all major West Tennessee projects are available on TDOT's Region 4 website at http://www.tn.gov/tdot/section/projects-region-4
March 31, 2016 - Whitehaven Elementary School students Justin Beaty, 9, (from left) Jeffrey McRae, 10, and Arykah Washington, 10, collaborate on a robotics project in the school's "STEM Headquarters" technology lab. Once ranked in the bottom five percent of Tennessee schools, Whitehaven Elementary was a candidate for takeover by the state-run Achievement School District, but has since improved. (Brandon Dill/Special to The Commercial Appeal)
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By Jennifer Pignolet of The Commercial Appeal
Of the 168 schools that make up the bottom 10 percent in academic performance in the state, 56 percent are located in Shelby County, according to new data acquired by The Commercial Appeal this week.
Those 95 schools include 54 in the bottom 5 percent a designation with legal ramifications that allows the state's Achievement School District to take over.
The Tennessee Department of Education issues its official priority list of bottom 5 percent schools every three years, with the next edition set for the summer of 2017. The bottom 10 percent list, provided to the newspaper by the state, is an unofficial warning to local districts about schools that are struggling and could soon be eligible for state takeover.
Of the 95 schools, 11 are under the ASD, 13 are charters and the remaining 71 are operated by SCS. A school had to have at least two year's worth of data to make the list, which is why several ASD schools new to the district are not represented. Some schools may have closed last year but still had two years' worth of data that was included.
Shelby County Schools Chief of Academics Heidi Ramirez said it's no surprise that so many schools in the bottom 10 percent in the state are located in Shelby County.
"I hope it is a call to action for folks to recognize that as much great work as we're doing in Shelby County Schools, on the resource trajectory we are on, we need additional supports to accelerate progress," Ramirez said. The district is already facing an $86 million budget gap for next year.
The 10-percent list also offers glimpses at early successes and struggles from both the ASD and the SCS Innovation Zone turnaround programs, created with Race to the Top federal funding and now kept alive through state and philanthropic dollars. Both have phased priority schools into their programs since the 2012-13 school year.
Of the 11 Memphis schools that have been in the ASD the longest, all 11 are still in the bottom 10 percent including three in the bottom 1 percent. But one school KIPP Memphis Preparatory Middle sits just below the 10th percentile mark.
"The bottom 10 percent list clearly indicates that there is work to be done in Memphis to ensure our students are prepared for the next level and have strong educational options," ASD Superintendent Malika Anderson said in a statement. "At the same time, we are seeing signs of early progress."
Anderson said the bar for the bottom 5 percent has been rising every year for the last three years, making it more challenging to climb out of the hole, particularly when schools are starting off so far behind.
Of the 13 schools that entered the iZone in the first two years, seven still find themselves in the bottom 5 percent. But another three Cherokee and Ford Road elementaries and Douglass kindergarten through eighth grade school have improved enough to work their way off the priority list and out of the bottom 10 percent. Another three Treadwell Elementary and Middle and Chickasaw Middle are all above the 5th percentile but below the 10th.
"We are encouraged that several schools on this list are actually making some good progress," Ramirez said. "And we know we have to do more. We'll be looking forward to, frankly, a budget season where I hope that the county, the board and the community will really help us do more to better accelerate growth in these schools."
The list also includes a handful of schools that dipped into the bottom 5 percent for the first time, including Dunbar and Northaven elementary schools. They can avoid the official priority list by scoring well on the TNReady tests students took last month.
But because of problems with the testing process, the state will not let bad scores on TNReady, which replaced TCAP this year, land a school on the priority list.
"The department will still identify the bottom 5 percent of schools in terms of academic achievement, but in light of our transition to a new assessment, the department will provide a safe harbor for schools," department of education spokeswoman Ashley Ball said in a statement.
The priority and 10 percent lists are calculated using a three-year success score that includes state tests.
The state will calculate the success rate both with and without this year's TNReady data. Both calculations would have to put the school in the bottom 5 percent for it to end up on the priority list.
BELOW: Schools in Shelby County listed in the bottom 10 percent statewide.
Hernando Mayor Chip Johnson (Aaron Turner/Special to The Commercial Appeal)
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By Ron Maxey of The Commercial Appeal
Hernando Mayor Chip Johnson confirmed Thursday evening that he is the man in a nude photo being circulated on social media.
Johnson, 49, said the photo was taken last year and was meant to be a private photo between him and a consenting adult woman.
Johnson is in the process of a divorce.
"I had a private indiscretion with an adult woman who decided to make it public," Johnson said by phone. "I hope it doesn't reflect on the city."
Johnson said he knows who released the photo, a frontal shot in the shower.
Asked if he had just learned of its release, the mayor said only that he had known the photo was out there but had hoped it wouldn't be newsworthy.
"I think this sort of thing probably goes on hundreds of times in DeSoto County," he said.
Johnson said he is conferring with an attorney because the photo was intended to be private.
He said he doesn't think it will affect his ability to run the city as mayor.
"I've been governing effectively for the past 10 years," Johnson said. "I was out talking to people today. I will continue to do my job."
Johnson said he thought at least some of the city's seven aldermen received the photo from the unidentified woman who released it. Only one, Andrew Miller, could be reached Thursday evening. He declined to comment.
Johnson has been mayor of Hernando, the DeSoto County seat, since 2005. During his tenure, the city has received national accolades for its emphasis on creating a healthy and sustainable community, including an award-winning Farmers Market and strong recreational programs.
A former Mississippi Municipal League president, Johnson considered a run for state Transportation Commissioner last year, but dropped the bid when incumbent Mike Tagert lost a run for Congress.
He is not the first mayor of a DeSoto County city to become entangled in a sexual incident. Former Southaven Mayor Greg Davis was cited by the state for improper spending of city funds, including purchases at a Canadian sex shop. Davis later admitted he is gay.
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By Francis Wilkinson
Big Business is having big doubts about its traditional political allies.
Sen. Ted Cruz, who not long ago was seen as the most offensive presidential candidate imaginable, is now the best-case scenario. Meanwhile, Donald Trump continues his march toward collecting the most delegates for the Republican presidential nomination in July, by which time it's doubtful there will be an American woman or racial minority whom he hasn't alienated.
The New York Times reports that companies that include Coca-Cola, Google and Xerox are under organized pressure to keep their distance from a GOP convention that could be very ugly and very bad for business.
"'These are Maalox months for everyone,' said Bruce Haynes, a public relations consultant at Purple Strategies, a Virginia-based bipartisan communications firm. 'If this is going to look like 1968, there will be people that say, "That's not where I want my product placement,'" he added, referring to clashes between police officers and protesters at the Democratic convention in Chicago."
If corporate America wants to team up with sensible Republicans and divert its political dollars to more productive uses, here's a suggestion: In Iowa, they have an opportunity to take a small but significant stand against the party's ideological death spiral.
Until Trump came along, Iowa Rep. Steve King had done as much as anyone to paint the GOP as a bastion of bigotry and intolerance. King is perhaps best known for claiming that for every undocumented immigrant who rises to become a high school valedictorian, there are 100 who have "got calves the size of cantaloupes because they're hauling 75 pounds of marijuana across the desert."
During consideration of a proposal to allow "Dreamers" undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children to obtain permanent legal residency by joining the military, here is how King responded:
"As soon as they raise their hand and say 'I'm unlawfully present in the United States,' we're not going take your oath into the military, but we're going to take your deposition and we have a bus for you to Tijuana."
Thus young people who were educated in the U.S., and want to serve what in many instances is the only country they know, learned how much their patriotism is valued by a Republican member of Congress.
King is facing a primary challenge in his very conservative district. State Sen. Rick Bertrand of Sioux City is running for King's seat in the June primary. Bertrand is attacking King for supporting a presidential candidate, Cruz, who opposed ethanol subsidies. But it's pretty clear he is opposing King's right-wing flame-throwing in general.
"I am not going in there to be a national figure," Bertrand said. "I am going to be likable and effective."
Agribusiness powerhouse Bruce Rastetter is among those supporting Bertrand, suggesting that, after 14 years, some GOP heavies in the state are very tired of King's act.
Throughout the Barack Obama era, Republicans in Congress have grown increasingly dysfunctional for many reasons, including the party's transformation into a fragile shell containing mostly bad feelings and empty gestures. But the chief political dynamic that reinforces so much bad behavior is the persistent fear among GOP officeholders that they're vulnerable to a primary challenge from ever-truer gradations of "true conservatives."
If the GOP convention in Cleveland is shaping up to be a horror show, the fight in Iowa's 4th Congressional District suggests one path out of the cul-de-sac into which Republicans have driven.
It's just one congressional district, but if business interests and the enfeebled pro-governing wing of the party pour financial and organizing resources into the race against King, perhaps a few of his colleagues in the nihilist caucus would take notice.
Even if King prevails, as he's likely to, the experience might be instructive for all involved. After all, Republican primary challenges don't have to come exclusively from the right. They can rise from the left, too.
For the health of the GOP, few developments would be as welcome as a wave of well-organized, deeply resourced campaigns initiated by conservatives who are unafraid of productive compromise and don't feel compelled to show contempt for the government they seek to join.
Francis Wilkinson is an editorial writer for Bloomberg View.
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By Laura Turner
C.S. Lewis isn't the first person you would think would have predicted Donald Trump.
The British novelist and theologian wrote reflections on Christian life that are still widely cited by pastors, and he wrote books about a lion, a witch and a wardrobe that are still beloved by children the world over.
But he didn't usually have much to say about politics.
Yet in "The Four Loves" his book on the variety of human loves Lewis talked at length about the horrible damage that can be done by patriotism, or love of country. And it sounds like he had Trump down pat, more than 50 years before the businessman ever decided to run for president.
"The Four Loves," a 1958 radio talk before it was adapted into a book, speaks about four types of human love: affection, friendship, eros and charity.
But those four loves do not encompass all passions, Lewis writes. Take, for example, patriotism.
On the subject of love of one's country, Lewis says, "We all know now that this love becomes a demon when it becomes a god."
Citing examples of damage done in the name of patriotism, Lewis mentions the trampling of Native American tribes, the gas chambers of Nazi Germany, the sins of apartheid. The love of one's country, driven to the far edge of idolatry, has always led to the enforcement of a fear-based ideology, and often to death.
"The pretense that when England's cause is just we are on England's side as some neutral Don Quixote might be for that reason alone, is . . . spurious. And nonsense draws evil after it," he writes.
Enter Trump. Trump, who wants to build a wall between Mexico and the United States to keep immigrants out. Trump, who seems just as unfamiliar with the truth as he is with the church. Trump, who wants to ban Muslims from traveling to the United States.
Whether we are looking at his policy positions or at his blustery rhetoric, Trump is exactly what Lewis predicted when love of country runs amok: "On the lunatic fringe it may shade off into that popular Racialism which Christianity and science equally forbid," Lewis writes.
This is not to say that Lewis sees all patriotism as a straight path to racism. We can have a good and natural affection for our particular home, he writes. But we must not let that love of home prevent us from acknowledging the sins of the past. "The actual history of every country is full of shabby and even shameful doings," he writes.
Joan Didion said that "we tell ourselves stories in order to live," and this is as true of nations as it is of individuals. America has her myths: Paul Revere's ride, peaceful cooperation with Native Americans, the Christianity of our Founding Fathers. Some of these myths may have some truth to them, but none tell the whole story, the "shabby and shameful" parts.
Yet when Trump says he wants to "Make America Great Again," he is appealing to the kind of false America that Lewis talks about in "The Four Loves." The past he wants to return to is the glorious past of our myths, not the shameful reality. The bad fruits of love of country are now being harvested in Trump's campaign.
And do any of us doubt that Trump considers himself sovereign? It isn't so much love of country that drives him as it is love of self. Like Narcissus at the pool, Donald Trump sees himself reflected in the roaring crowds at his rallies. He thinks he is receiving their love and admiration; he is actually receiving the overflow of their fomenting hatred.
For Trump supporters, the promise to make America great again is particular to their context. For the woman who had to close her business because she couldn't pay the minimum wage to her workers, it is a return to lower wage laws. For the man who feels disadvantaged by the idea of affirmative action for others, it is a return to white supremacy. For the family who worked hard to feed their children but never quite made ends meet, it is a return to the possibility that they, too, could be great, because they are white and straight, just like our Founding Fathers.
Their xenophobia is based on a sense of thwarted superiority, which Lewis also predicted: "Some nations who have also felt [superior] have stressed the rights not the duties. To them, some foreigners were so bad that one had the right to exterminate them."
Compare that to what Trump has said about Muslims, Mexicans and Megyn Kelly. He knows how to stir up a crowd, and his particular brand of authoritarianism appeals to the basest forms of patriotism, as Lewis described it.
The way to correct our course is to check our patriotism against our other, greater loves-our love of goodness, our love of truth and for Lewis, above all, our love of God.
Laura Turner is a writer living in San Francisco. She wrote this for The Washington Post.
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.
Iain Dale is Presenter of LBC Drive, Managing Director of Biteback Publishing, a columnist and broadcaster and a former Conservative Parliamentary candidate.
If I was compiling a Top Ten List of Ultra Thatcherites and you know how I like my lists David Davies, the MP for Monmouth, would be fairly high on it. So when I interviewed him about the steel crisis in Port Talbot, imagine my surprise when he told me that he would be in favour of temporary nationalisation of the plant in order to save it, and that he agrees with Jeremy Corbyn that Parliament should be recalled.
One other surprise in this whole sorry saga is that the Leave campaigns havent seized on it as a good example of where EU rules prevent a UK government from saving such an industry even if it wanted to. We seem to be about the only country in the EU that actually obeys state aid regulations, and given the timetable for approval of applications its unlikely that will be any sort of solution.
In addition, its not within the UKs power to act unilaterally and impose higher steel tariffs on Chinese imports. It has to be done at EU level. Having said that, it was the UK which vetoed higher tariffs, which were in the end agreed at 24 per cent. In the USA, these are levied at 267 per cent.
So Donald Trump thinks women who have abortions should be punished. Id have thought the trauma of having an abortion was punishment enough. This comment alone ought to rule him out as the Republican nominee, but he seems to be getting more popular by the day. However, I cannot bring myself to believe that he could actually win Americas presidential election in November, I just cant.
So the new Newsnight political editor is Nick Watt, currently chief political correspondent of the Guardian. There has been plenty of sighs at Ian Katz (the programmes Editor and formerly the papers Deputy Editor) appointing yet another Guardianista to the programme, yet these critics dont seem to look at this appointment on its merits.
Watt is certainly no follower of a Guardian political agenda. I have no idea what his politics are but Ive seen little evidence of anything but a journalist who calls it as it is. I always felt he should have got the Sky Political Editor job, and his entry into broadcasting has been delayed for too long.
Hes got that rare talent of reducing a complicated argument into a few sentences which normal mortals like me can understand. He was cruelly overlooked for the Guardians Political Editors job, and must have felt terribly insulted when it was awarded to two female journalists on a job share. He deserved it on merit, but lost out to political correctness and thats not meant as an insult to the two women who were appointed.
On Tuesday I made a rare appearance on the Today programme the bit at the end that adds a bit of light relief. I know my place.
I was being asked to comment on Matthew Parriss evisceration of Boris Johnson in last Saturdays Times. I thought it was a magnificent piece of polemic, even if many thought it went a tad too far on his personal foibles. But if Boris does indeed stand for the leadership, and then becomes Prime Minister, this sort of scrutiny will appear day in day out in the newspapers.
Andrew Gimson was on with me and we jousted for a few minutes about the merits or otherwise of Boris Johnson. At the end John Humphrys asked me: So what would you say Boris Johnsons main weakness is? I replied: His main strength, is also his main weakness himself.
In response there was a moment of silence. You look flummoxed, John, I said. Yes, I am, he replied. I cant really respond as there are only nine seconds left in the programme. Good morning! I shall bask in that moment of being one of the few people ever to silence John Humphrys.
I count Jeremy Hunt and Nicky Morgan as personal friends, but my God they made idiots of themselves this week. I have no doubt they were put up to it by their masters at Number Ten, but was it really worth earning a few Downing Street Brownie points to prostrate themselves at the altar of Project Fear?
Apparently, according to Hunt, the NHS could collapse if we leave the EU. Utter bollocks, of course, and perhaps hed be better directing his eyes towards TTIP rather than Brexit. TTIP poses far more dangers to the future survival of the NHS, but it is a dog that hasnt yet barked.
Then it was Morgans turn to turn on the taps. Apparently it would be really bad for young people, as they might run the risk of not being able to go interrailing. Honestly. Its as if it was an EU invention, which of course it wasnt.
Politicians who indulge in this mindless fearmongering deserve our contempt. It happens on the other side of course too. The Vote Leave campaign issued a dossier of 50 European criminals who had committed crimes in this country all because of the EU, apparently. They failed to mention the hundreds of foreign criminals who commit serious crimes, who manage to get here from outside the EU. Again, fearmongering for fearmongerings sake.
Personally Ive had enough of it. Weve got 90 more days of this. Surely to God someone can actually put forward some positive reasons as to why we should stay in or leave the EU. Im not holding my breath.
This will be my last column for ConservativeHome. We all have to make ends meet, and I have been offered a much more lucrative column by Momentum. Thats capitalism, eh? Its been a great few years writing for you, but I suspect it will be much more fun writing each week for the Corbynistas. Its the future, innit?
Todays Financial Times brings fresh news of decidedly thuggish and undemocratic conduct on the part of agents of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the President of Turkey.
Apparently his bodyguards swore at several journalists and tried to prevent them from attending a speech the Turkish leader was due to give. Police were forced to intervene between security personnel on the one side and reporters and protesters on the other.
This sounds quite par for the course by current Turkish standards, where the Government seized a newspaper in March. Whats surprising is that Erdogans security team felt they could act that way on a visit to the United States, where the incident took place.
But the current Turkish regime and it is beginning to warrant that term has every reason to be bullish. For despite its recent conduct, it appears to finally be making headway on Turkeys long-stalled bid to join the European Union.
This could be a body blow to one of the EUs strong points: using the promise of membership to incentivise better government amongst aspirant members.
A number of countries including, believe it or not, Morocco have enacted a string of modernising reforms in order to make themselves more compatible with the Union in hope of membership.
For most of the post-War era, Turkey has been a stable, secular, and pro-Western country, possessed of one of the largest armies in NATO and driven by the Kemalist instinct to replicate the best of the West. Yet their membership application was continually kicked into the long grass.
The reasons were various: that most of Turkey isnt in Europe (which hasnt stopped Cyprus), for example, and the role of the army in policing Turkish governments and defending the secular order (which looks like a bloody good thing from where we stand now).
Perhaps the aspiring federalists at the heart of the EU project were worried that admitting Turkey would make deeper integration more difficult. There were certainly cultural fears about the project extending beyond the borders of what was once Christendom.
Whatever the reason, it was clear that Turkey wasnt getting in. It should not have come as the surprise it seems to have that this realisation should change Turkish perceptions and incentives.
Erdogan, with his hard-man approach to governing and his attacks on Israel, seems to have decided that if his country cant be European there is no harm in making it more typically Middle Eastern instead.
Except now, in its desperation to find some means of easing the flow of migrants into Europe, Brussels has conceded to reignite Turkish accession regardless.
It may be that, with Turkish collaboration, the EU can do something to staunch the migrant flows which are putting it under such extraordinary pressure. But setting aside whatever is given to Turkey specifically, the EU will have lost precious credibility with neighbouring states.
By encouraging the Kemalists to divest themselves of the instruments built into the Turkish constitution to defend it, such as the armys role, whilst denying Turkey a realistic prospect of membership, the EU has helped to bring about the worst possible result for its own values by disarming its allies and giving hostile forces powerful arguments for a change of course.
Then re-starting accession talks on Erdogans terms shows that, for all its high words and talk of values, the EU is prepared to strike decidedly shabby deals when the chips are down.
Alongside the example of Ukraine, where the EU puffed up its involvement to the point where it spooked Russia but had no practical answer to Putins tanks, the character of the Union has been tested and exposed.
Should the EU emerge from its current crises, it will do so with its ability to inspire and incentivise positive change in its hinterland sharply reduced.
A Beginning, Not The End!
By Mohammad Ashraf
01 April, 2016
Countercurrents.org
(Sometimes accidents in life do not end it but rather give a new beginning for a more active and purposeful life)
Maj HPS Ahluwalia & Khurshid Malik
I am dedicating todays column to my friends who have practically demonstrated the saying, Difficult can be done now, and impossible may take some time!If a man has a will, he can overcome any difficulty. The first friend is Major HPS Ahluwalia, popularly known among his friends as Harry, of the Everest fame. He was a summiteer in first successful Indian expedition to Mount Everest. However, after his climb he suffered a spine injury and was paralyzed below waist. This type of accident would have crippled any normal person for life. Not Harry! He rehabilitated himself and continued his adventures. He would travel on his wheel chair not only throughout the world but took part in a number of adventure activities including a Central Asian Car Safari. He was elected the President of the Indian Mountaineering Foundation, the apex body of adventure in India a number of times. However, above everything else, he established the Indian Spine Injuries Centre in Delhi which is supposed to be the best in Asia. Thousands of people have benefited from the facilities available in the Centre and have been fully rehabilitated. The greatest support and inspiration to Harry came from his wife, Boli. Then Harry got connected to Kashmir through my other friend.
My other friend is Khurshid Malik, a retired senior IAS officer. He retired few years back as the Secretary to Government. I know Khurshid from early seventies. We were both members of the Jammu & Kashmir Mountaineering and Hiking Club and trekked and climbed together. He used to be a great lover of outdoors and would often go trekking and trout fishing. Earlier he used to be lecturer but later on joined Kashmir Administrative Service. Unfortunately, while travelling from Jammu to Srinagar in car, he met an accident and suffered a serious spine injury. He was totally paralysed and that would have been his tragic end. However, his brother who is a doctor took him to UK and USA where he spent about two years and was fully rehabilitated. On his return to Kashmir, Khurshid was somewhat depressed about his acceptability in his changed life style. He had not joined his duties back in the secretariat being always on a wheel chair. Luckily a few days after his arrival, Harry came for a Mountaineering Meet in Srinagar. I told him about Khurshid and he immediately asked me to take him to his home. We went there together. Khurshid was lying in the bed. Harry told him why was he lying in the bed during day time? He asked him to get out of the bed and start moving round. He told him that he had just flown in from Delhi and was flying to London after few days for a conference. Harry gave him a pep talk for an hour. This inspired Khurshid and he joined his duties in the secretariat after few days. After that it was a missionary zeal and Khurshid had his own specially designed car for specially challenged persons which he continues drive himself even now.
Taking inspiration from Harry, Khurshid set up the Shafaqat Rehabilitation Centre in Srinagar in 2006 through the Voluntary Medicare Society of which he is the Vice-President. This is the only Centre of its kind in the state of J & K. It is fully equipped for rehabilitating spine injuries patients and is a sister concern of the Shafaqat School for the children with special needs which has been working since 2000. A large number of people have benefited from the facilities available in the Centre. Earlier people had to go outside for rehabilitation but now they are taken care here. The International Red Cross has also set up a unit there for providing artificial limbs to the people. Recently the Centre has added a facility for mental rehabilitation of traumatized people supervised by Kashmirs famous psychiatrist, Dr. Mushtaq Margoob. There is a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Shafaqat Rehabilitation Centre and the Indian Spine Injuries Centre for training of staff and provision of other facilities. The entire effort is voluntary without any assistance from the Government. The Centre has some beds for patients who need to be admitted for continuous rehabilitation and it also operates an outpatient department where people come for daily treatment. There is very well equipped Gym and many other facilities. However, not many people know about the availability of these facilities. In different parts of India moneyed people always come forward to take care of such causes but not in Kashmir which has not only millionaires but billionaires. We like to spend on huge festivities, expensive automobiles and all sorts of luxuries but not on humanitarian causes! A real pity! However, this activity of setting up these centres in Delhi and Srinagar has one lesson that for people with a will, the life does not end with an accident but it has a new and more purposeful beginning.
Mohammad Ashraf, I.A.S. (Retired), Former Director General Tourism, Jammu & Kashmir),
Gender Bias And Discrimination: Modernity VS Tradition
By Dr. Fayaz Ahmad Bhat
01 April, 2016
Countercurrents.org
Since time immemorial, women have been victim of oppression and suppression, in one way or other. They had have been witness to all forms of violence- structural and programmed. It is not that there had been no resistance on the part of women or others for reformation and empowerment of women. History is witness to number of such movements and campaigns, movements and campaigns intended for the liberation, freedom and equality of women. The means and methods adopted by these movements and campaigns not only determined the fate and outcome of these movements but future of women empowerment in society. There had been movements and campaigns throughout the history which were seemingly the liberation, freedom, equality and women empowerment movements. However, were later proved otherwise, initiated with a hidden agenda. Schooling is just one of the examples. Schooling (education) in our context is counted as broad spectrum remedy to all issues related to women. However, observations and interactions reveal otherwise. The facts and figures show that education has itself been used as a tool of oppression and exploitation. For instance capitalist and industrial societies replaced unskilled and traditional works with skilled wage earners only with the help of schooling. Schools proved important institutions not only to produce required labour in capitalist societies but giving cheap work force also.
The movement of mass schooling propagated as liberating force for women has been proved a process of domestication. Paul Fierier termed schooling a false promise of salvation for women.
There had been many such movements and initiatives which were seemingly intended for women empowerment but the reality and intentions were otherwise. There is a lot seemingly unseen.
Schooling (education) itself is not responsible for the reproduction and reinforcement of social inequalities but by the way education is used determines the outcome. Observations and interactions reveal that in our context schooling itself is determined and decided by socio-economic factors of an individual and gender is one of the profound factors. Bhat (2015) observed that the very enrollment of a child in school is determined by the gender of a children. The gender of a child determines the type of school he or she will attend. Private schools which are considered symbols of excellence and quality are generally preferred for boys while girls are mostly enrolled in government schools which are poor in both human and physical resources. The influence and impact of gender does not stop here it is carried forward in schools. Bhat (2005) found teacher student interaction is greatly influenced by the gender of a child. Whether it is inside classroom or outside, the gender plays decisive role, front rows inside classroom are mostly reserved for boys, games in school are gender oriented, observed Bhat. These are carried forward throughout the life of women. The selection of courses and programmes at university level are determined by the gender of an individual.
Gender bias and discrimination is not Indian phenomenon but the countries which pretend to be model of women liberation and empowerment carry forward the subtle repression but with apt ideology of equality, democracy and what not. The new forms of women powerlessness and impotency are even dangerous than traditional forms. Women in the west has been objectified, their bodies and soul are now not in their control. Melisa Sue, Ouagadougou and Fasco, maintain that women have no right over their own bodies. The highest gender pay gap, 29.9% has been observed in the Europe. More women in Europe and West are infected with HIV than men. In Germany it has been found that women workers become victim of sexual harassment and violence at work places. America, which is seen an ideal model in democracy, justice, equality and what not, ranks 81st in the world with respect women representation in government. Women lead 40 percent of small business in United States but get less than 10 percent of venture capital funding, 1 in 4 college women face attempted and complete rape. Thousands of untested rape kits are said to be languishing in police departments across the US, allowing thousands of sexual predators to go unprosecuted.
Where is education? Where is empowerment? Had education been guardian and guarantor of women emancipation and empowerment we would not have such figures of Europe and West. Schooling is not at all remedy to gender bias and discrimination rather education is. What schools presently carry on is subtle repression with apt ideology of three Es i.e. education, equality and empowerment.
The blind follow of west and western model of women empowerment has even worsened the condition in our context. Most of women are losing space both at structural and agency level by irrationally following the west. The steering rather a hidden steering which was once fully in the control of women is losing its grip. The hold over hidden steering in tradition Indian society was giving women subtle control over the vehicle and she was often driving it the way she desired. The strong bond of matrilineal relations is just an example. Though women in traditional society were apparently powerless but the fact is that hidden steering were always in her control. Apparently women had no say in family issues and it was male who was dominating the scene however the role of men was often steered by the women.
I do not want to give an impression that in traditional and simple society women had no issue and there were no gender bias and discrimination. However, my point is that modern western ideologies are not free from gender bias and discrimination and any blind follow and copy paste may result loss of space which women were occupying in traditional societies.
Dr. Fayaz Ahmad Bhat, is a student of Sociology, social activist and currently Head Department of Sociology at Government Degree College, Sumbal Sonawari, Jammu and Kashmir, India. He is an alumnus of Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi.Dr Fayaz is working on new concepts and terms like mal-education, Hidden steering, self syndrome, Multi grade holding, Islamic lag, , Educational Shephered and Triple burden
Rape And Institutional Murder Of A Minor Dalit Girl In Rajasthan
By The Bangalore coalition for Justice for Delta Meghwal
01 April, 2016
Countercurrents.org
A painting by Delta Meghwal
On March 29th,2016 the dead body of Delta Meghwal, a 17 year old Dalit girl from a village in Barmer district of Rajasthan was found in the water tank of the Jain Adarsh Teacher Training Institute for girls in Nokha, Bikaner where she was studying. The police took her body in a municipal garbage carrying vehicle (tractor) without videographing it.
According to the FIR filed by her parents, there were only 4 girls at the hostel as all the other girls had gone home and had not returned by then. On the evening of 28th, at 8 pm, she called her father and told him that their Warden Priya Shukla had sent her to the PT Instructor Vijendra Singh's room, with the excuse of cleaning the hostel (this shows the clear collusion of the warden in the case). There, Delta was raped by Vijendra Kumar Singh, the PT teacher.
The Institute , in an attempt to cover up the incident, took written apology from both her and the PT Instructor with a statement that this happened with mutual consent. The usual strategy of victim blaming was used in the most brutal manner against a 17 yr old girl. Mainstream English newspapers have not yet covered the issue. It did not inspire national debates on the safety of girl students in hostels or caste based sexual violence.
Several glaring questions remain unanswered - Why did the college administration not take action and file a police case against Vijendra Kumar Singh, since the girl is legally a minor? Why were the parents not informed? Why did the college force a letter that the abuse was a consensual relationship? Why did the police use a garbage tractor to take the body? Why was due process not followed? Why was a minor Dalit girl sent to the room of a male PT teacher and forced to clean the hostel in the first place?
In the light of these atrocities against young Delta Meghwal, the Bangalore coalition for Justice for Delta Meghwal demands -
1. Criminal action to be taken against the principal of the college, Eashwar Chand Vaid and warden Priya Shukla who are complicit in the rape and murder of Delta and subsequent covering up of the case.
2. Criminal action be taken against Vijendra Singh for rape and murder of Delta Meghwal.
3. Police officers who removed the body with a garbage tractor without videographing it to be suspended from service immediately and atrocities case to be registered against them
4. A Prevention of Atrocities (SC/ST) to be filed against the college administration, principal Eashwar Chand Vaid, warden Priya Shukla, PT master Vijendra Singh ( in addition to other criminal cases of rape, murder and criminal conspiracy)
5. An independent, high level enquiry to be done into the case and the legal proceedings to happen through fast track court to ensure speedy justice.
6. Although we realise that no compensation given will bring any semblance of justice, we also demand compensation of 50 lakhs to be given to the family of Delta Meghwal.
Join us as we protest this brutal atrocity and demand for justice for Delta Meghwal.
The Bangalore coalition for Justice for Delta Meghwal is organising a protest meeting at Bangalore Town Hall at 5 PM, April 2
- The Bangalore coalition for Justice for Delta Meghwal
(The girl's name has been used with the consent of her parents and community)
The Wounded Phoenix Of Palmyra
By Franklin Lamb
01 April, 2016
Countercurrents.org
Eyewitness accounts from the scene this morning (3/30/2016) confirm that the Syrian Army has liberated all parts of the city of Palmyra (Tadmor) including all of the ancient city, from 10 months of occupation and destruction by ISIS. The Syrian army spokesman explained that the city, home to some of the most extensive ruins of the Roman Empire, would now become a launch pad for operations against ISIS strongholds in Raqqa and Deir al-Zor, further east across a vast desert. Syrian state media announced yesterday that Palmyras military airport was again receiving air traffic.
What played a large role is preventing ISIS from doing even more damage to Palmyra was the leadership of Syrias Department of Antiquities and Museum (DGAM) which since 2015 has been encouraging and leading efforts by the local community, including tribal, and religious leaders. Their work included surreptitiously mobilizing many of the 50000 residents of the city as well as some four dozen staff members of DGAMs regional office, who worked to preserve our shared culture heritage at Palmyra. DGAMs Director, Dr. Maamoun AbdulKarim commented, I think Daesh (ISIS) understood very strongly that if they continued to destroy buildings, they would be attacked by the local community.
Following ISIS killing of the late famed archeologist and Palmyra Museum Director, Khaled al-Asaad, ISIS destruction continued in rapid succession. Included were Baalshamin Temple, the Sella of Bel Temple (September 2025), and the Triumphal Arch (October 2015). As widely reported, the organizations main motivation is disapproval of religious sculptures of any sort and of religious movements that they consider heretical. It also strongly disapproves of paganism, monumental tombs of any sort and of all figurative religious decoration. Captured ISIS records makes plain that its campaign of destruction was methodical and centrally planned. A special Isis unit tasked with selecting targets and implementing the destruction.
The local community increasingly strongly opposed the wanton ISIS destruction, often risking their lives to end the jihadist iconoclasm. |The local citizens resistance and public demonstrations prevented more damage to their and our cultural heritage and identity.
In addition, since May 2015 when ISIS invaded Palmyra, DGAM staff in Palmyra quickly and methodically transported approximately 400 full statues or heads of statues as well as hundreds of exhibits, many of which this observer photographed earlier that year. Hundreds of artifacts and transportable statues were packed into storage boxes and moved to secured locations, some as far away as Damascus. The sudden arrival of ISIS terrorists made it impossible to evacuate the larger statues as well as a few exhibited heads of statues fixed on the walls of the museum halls where damage is more extensive.
As DGAM explains to visitors, while ISIS terrorists target treasures and encourage looting and illicit trafficking to fund their operations, claiming that they consider that statues are idols against their ideologies and, consequently, they do not trade with them. But part of the reality is that ISIS could not find many of the artifacts given that DGAM with the help of the local population had already evacuated them.
While some treasured monuments have been destroyed, much of the ancient citys ruins remain intact. Syrias antiquities chief Dr. Maamoun Abdulkarim said authorities had been expecting the worst from the 10 month occupation of ISIS. But he told the AFP news agency that the landscape, in general, is in good shape. Most of the stones from the collapsed Temple of Bel appear to be still on the site. There had been damage to the fence of the citys medieval citadel, but it can be fixed. And some stones at the Temple of Baal are still intact. Dr. Abdulkarim has also announced that the old ruins, located southwest of Palmyras residential neighborhoods, were in better condition than he expected. Many of the most important ruins, including the Agora, Roman Theater, and city walls, were only slightly damaged. The really great news is about the Lion of Al-Lat, the famous 15-ton lion statue destroyed by IS last July, Abdulkarim said. The limestone statue at the temple of Al-Lat, a pre-Islamic Arabian goddess, dates back to the 1st century BC. Abdulkarim said the broken pieces could be put back together we didnt lose this great statue.
Once DGAM has UNESCOs approval, Dr. Addulkarim estimates that Syria we will need five years to restore the structures damaged or destroyed by ISIS. Abdulkarim told AFP. We have the qualified staff, the knowledge and the research. With UNESCOs approval, we can start the work in a years time.
So far more many countries have offered archeological sites restoration assistance both in terms of cash and expertise. They acknowledge willingness to work under Syrian direction on DGAMs prioritized projects.
In addition, several organizations from the UK, Germany, Italy, Japan, China, the USA and elsewhere have also been working the past couple of years to create precise three-dimensional digital models of the threatened archaeological and heritage sites in Syria.
Among the examples, four kilometers outside the marble quarries of Carrara, Italy, robots and other technology are being used to carve from massive stone a 20-foot-high scale reproduction of one of Palmyras most famous ancient monuments: a Roman triumphal arch that Islamic State militants razed in October of last year. Next month, the 12-ton replica will be on display at Trafalgar Square in London and then on to New York.
Dr. Alexy Karenowska, Director of Technology at the IDA and Oxfords One Million Images Project points out that a reproduction can only ever be second best. But she added, The idea is to use this as a way of drawing attention to the fact that reconstruction is underway, and as proof of what technology can do for something that touches all of us.
A small-scale reproduction of a Roman triumphal 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 Photo: New York Times.
As reported
As reported in the New York Times on 3/28/2016, expelling ISIS iconoclasts has raised hopes among the organizations and they are pursuing an even more ambitious rebuilding agenda. According to Roger L. Michel Jr., the founder and executive director of the Institute for Digital Archaeology (IDA), which works with Harvard, Oxford and the Museum of the Future in Dubai, This is the moment we have been waiting for adding, that Every time we resurrect from the rubble one of these monuments, it undercuts the message of fear and ignorance that these people are trying to spread, he said. If they knock it down, we will rebuild it. If they knock it down again, we will rebuild it again. This is the same attitude expressed to this observer while traveling around Syria visiting damaged archeological and other cultural heritage sites the past couple of years.
One is reminded that most of Palmyra has been rebuilt throughout history more than once and the Pearl of the Desert has suffered far worse destruction in the past. Each time it was restored by the Syrian people after many thought all hope was lost. For example, in 273 AD, Palmyra, led by Queen Zenobia, rebelled against Rome and was totally destroyed as punishment. But it was eventually rebuilt.
This observer harbors no doubt that the Syrian people will restore Palmyra again.
Indeed the process has begun.
Franklin Lambs most recent book, Syrias Endangered Heritage: An International Responsibility to Protect and Preserve (2015) is available in Arabic and English on Amazon or from www/Syrian-heritiage.com. He is reachable c/o fplamb@gmail.com and www.syrian-heritage.com
Brussels 2016: Fall-Out For Europes Muslims
By Iftikhar H. Malik
01 April, 2016
Countercurrents.org
Worlds Muslims including millions in Europe are as shocked and saddened with the latest terrorist attacks in Belgium as everybody else. Their voices may not be audible on world media but within the family circles, on social networks, professional bodies and across the mainstream news outlets there is a constant outburst of agony and anger. A vast majority of these Muslims believe that their creed has been hijacked by some of their co-religionists who are neither qualified in Islamic teachings nor are justified in using these brutal means, but instead are only exacerbating everybody's predicament. Suicide bombings or killing people en masse through violent methods began in Lebanon before moving on to Palestine until Afghanistan and Iraq became the centre points before Pakistan and Syria overtook them. In more recent time, this kind of brutal violence featuring self-flagellation and mass murders of civilians has become almost a norm in West Asia with Syria turned into a cauldron where internal, regional and external perpetrators converge seeking a greater pound of innocent flesh. These conflicts, as seen in the case of Algeria during the 1990s and Libya in recent times, have their ramifications for the people inhabiting those regions as well as the EU nations. There is a growing awareness among thoughtful Muslims that some sections of angry young men from the second and third generations have juxtaposed their personal issues of identity and alienation with the macro Muslim grievances and as a consequence have begun mounting intermittent attacks on 'soft targets'. Here Paris, Ankara, Istanbul, Peshawar and now Brussels ironically provide the case studies of spectacular manifestation of this violence, committed in the name of Islam by targeting civilians, which, in return has earned these militants miles of media coverage but insidious notoriety for world's Muslims. In addition, these events show major gaps in intelligence gathering besides failure of security-centred official policies that seem to have further alienated many younger Muslims--already on the margins. Thus Muslim in general and Europe's in particular find themselves in a nutcracker situation with no immediate respite in sight.
Since 9/11, well-known academics such as Bernard Lewis, interpreted these attacks through a rather blatantly critical reading of Islamic history where Muslims were seen as the frequent perpetrators of violence, further aggravated by their irreverence towards self-criticism facilitated by some inherent receptivity towards violence a la Assassins. The Assassins were a group of cultists, who guided by The Old Man from the Mountain, would depute rather deranged and even stoned fanatics to kill Muslim notables in Persia, Mesopotamia and the Levant. The cult, like todays Al-Qaeda and ISIS, flourished in its mountainous hideouts; featured all the characteristics of secret societies, and grew on violence until the Mongols destroyed it in the mid-Thirteenth century. Other observers such as Paul Berman saw in militant versions of political Islam a reincarnation of totalitarian fascism, whereas discretionary think tanks led by obsessive individuals such as Daniel Pipes, Pamela Geller, Robert Spencer or media pundits such as Oriana Fallaci reverberated the Neo-Conservative vision of a new Middle East shorn of any visible Muslim factor. Following 7/7, and eager to justify his support for the invasion of Iraq, Tony Blair blamed a unique kind of Islamic ideology for spawning violence, since the prime minister would never assume the responsibility for an unlawful and even daredevil interventionism.
The co-optation of some British and other EU Muslims by the ISIS with their numbers often exaggerated in public pronouncements, especially in the wake of invasion of Libya and support for certain opposition groups in Syria, provided the backdrop for a new raft of Muslim-specific policies across the EU. The securitisation of socio-educational trajectories with overzealous vigilance over possible and even imagined cases of radicalisation among younger Muslims has certainly impacted community relationship besides affecting a whole generation of Muslim youth. While Muslim political and even economic integration in the United Kingdom, despite severalexeptionalised trajectories and censorial views of multiculturalism, has been quite visible, in countries like France emphasis on monnationalist identity over and above class and creed has not been helpful. The class-based chasms in French society despite official avowal for assimilation have often disallowed cultural and economic mobility for Benelux-based French citizens of Maghreb and African origins, who, in some cases, ended up assuming militancy to assert themselves. The ISIS and its savvy usage of social media, often run by younger European Muslims who can identify with the young and the restless, have further egged on this alienation.
London, Madrid, Paris and now Brussels underline the fact that collective violence has no borders and, in addition, it is no more just a preserve of the state-led institutions. These violent events, like those in Turkey, West Africa, the Middle East, Sinjiang, Afghanistan and Pakistan, equally highlight theirtrans-territorial impact, where other than their immediate victims, many other societal clusters are put on the receiving end for no crime of their own. As a follow-up of each such atrocity, ultra-nationalist groups presumptuously banking on a so-called majoritarianism, accuse all Muslims of sharing a collective thinking and even sympathy for the perpetrators. Other than increased physical and verbal abuse of Muslims, especially of scarved women or elderly figures, the entire communities, as per such opinion groups and inquisitional media, become the suspects, or enemy from within. This kind of juxtaposition, instead of singling out violent perpetrators as sickindividuals and maniac criminals, orientalises all Muslims as potential culprits. Even more than sheer violence or desecration of mosques, the institutional racism receives a fillip, since many otherwise qualified Muslim professionals, routinely end up hitting hopelessly against subtle glass ceilings. Muslim vertical and horizontal progress and social integration have often been viciously dented by these blockades. While several innocent lives have been lost in Brussels on a terrible Tuesday morning leaving many close ones in grievous mourning and in a state of irreparable loss, Muslims per se find themselves even in a more vulnerable situation. While most of them empathise with the loss of human lives everywhere, yet concurrently, they are apprehensive about the future gravity of themselves having been caught between the proverbial devil and the deep sea. Marginalisation of vast sections of Europes Muslim communities owing to a pervasive sense of fear, retaliation and increased official vigilance is in nobodys interest and, on the contrary, will only help the perpetrators who desire to deepen the communal chasms. On the one hand, we cannot diminish the need for public vigilance, while, simultaneously, we need to take the community along by reaching out to its sensitive, well-meaning and energetic elements. Here, Muslim media, mosques, family structures and certainly the institutional hierarchies have to assume fresher and dynamic steps to help Muslim majorities become stake holders rather than turning into suspects, or mere onlookers. Most Muslims know that the perpetrators are often the criminal elements that, for their own retribution, seek radical laybys and in the process may undertake extreme and brutal means to ventilate their own personal frustrations. Apart from issues related with identity and of generational nature, a recourse to proactive and non-coercive policiesboth domestic and externalwill certainly go a long way in deterring some younger Muslims from self-flagellation and its attendant human costs.
Iftikhar H. Malik, an author of several works on modern political and intellectual history of Islam, is a professor of history at Bath Spa University.
Jashn-e-Azaadi By Whom And For Whom
By Anoop Patel
01 April, 2016
Countercurrents.org
An open letter to Organisers and speakers of the event Jashn-e-Azaadi on 28th March, 2016 on the birth anniversary of Prof. Bipan Chandra...
JNU is undoubtedly an epicenter of free speech and expression, debate, discussion and dissent. JNU community always stands for oppressed and marginalized people who are struggling to be part of Inclusive India. JNU, since 9th February event, stands by JNUSU presidents demands for Azaadi from Brahmnism, Manuism, Feudalism, Casteism, Capitalism etc. It was a surprise to JNU community committed for Social Justice that Kanhaiya (the JNUSU president), Umar and Anirban did participate on Jashn on the birth anniversary of Prof. Bipan Chandra, a liberal but an Anti-Social Justice proponent. He was against the constitutionally mandated reservation for SC/ST/OBC in higher education faculty. Anti-Social Justice Professors, intellectuals like him cover themselves in the guise of Secularism, Communism and liberal school of thoughts. The magazine Outlook did a story on JNU teachers Anti-Reservation stand issue, titled as Donnish Hauteur on January, 2010 and it quotes as it. In what might shock many liberals, 30 professors on the academic council wrote to vice-chancellor B.B. Bhattacharya on November 25 last year, expressing strong opposition to the said quota. In language that smacks of elitism, the professors raise concerns about how JNU would lose its academic sheen if reservation was allowed at the level of professors. Their concern was aroused by an advertisement put out by the varsity for 149 faculty positions, over half of which are reserved at the level of professor and associate professor for SC/ST candidates (http://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/donnish-hauteur/263782). It also quotes Bipan Chandra on Reservation at faculty post, Reservation above the Assistant Professor level will ruin JNUs quality of education, making it a third rate university. How much grudges against reservation he had?
Prof. Bipan Chandra is regarded as the front-runner of communist struggle in Academia, he also labeled as a pro-Congress historian simultaneously. The most pained fact is that he was ANTI-MANDAL Historian. He, as a JNU Prof., spearheaded an Anti-Reservation movement during the inception of Mandal Commission. He was a loud supporter of Meritorious India, not for inclusive India. He opposed reservation for OBCs in Higher Academia by crying that it would bring a historical loss for research institutes. Those JNUites and activists who know these all facts, they have their own view on these most celebrated historians. We think the NFS (Not Found Suitable) clause for vacancies against ST/SC/OBC had been initiated by Donnish Hauteur like the most famous liberal historian late Bipan Chandra and others.
JNU is a progressive-liberal minus Social Justice Institution. There is Low Representation of SC/ST/OBC in Faculty, shameful and discriminatory Viva Voce criteria and discrimination in direct Ph. D. admission. There are only 29 OBC Assistant Profs. out of total strength of 612. OBC reservation in Prof./Asso. Prof. level is NOT APPLICABLE. There are still vacant faculty posts against SC/ST/OBC at JNU: OBC- 26 (applicable only in Assistant Prof. Post) SC- 75 ST- 42.
We demand a reply from those JNU revolutionaries who did participate in anti-social Justice Jashn.
Anoop Patel,Ph.D. Scholar, Center for African Studies, JNU
Printer Friendly Version A Deeper Look At Manusmriti To Understand Why Students At JNU Burned It In Protest By P Radhakrishnan 01 April, 2016
Countercurrents.org Note: On 8th March this year, a few students of Jawaharlal Nehru University, including former and current members of ABVP (AkhilBharatiyaVidyarthiParishad) burnt a copy of the Manusmriti to protest against derogatory verses in the Hindu religious text. After being served a show-cause notice by the Vice-Chancellor of the University, three of the students have stated that there was nothing wrong in their actions. In response to the VCs question, the author has presented an excerpt from his book Religion, Caste And State (Rawat Publications, India, 2007). To set up a law-book of the kind of Manu means to concede to a people, the right, henceforth, to become masterly, to become perfect to be ambitious for the highest art of living. To that end, the law must be made unconscious: this is the purpose of every holy lie. Friedrich Nietzsche In words ascribed to Manu, Indias social and moral order was divinely ordained for the welfare of mankind. In reality, however, it has been characterised by extreme forms of caste and gender prejudices, injustices and indignities, and the division of the society into privileged and disabled, revered and despised, and so on, all aided and abetted by his injunctions. These injunctions, supposedly part of the eternal truths on the creation of the universe, expressed for the first time in human language, are inManusmriti, one of the first Sanskrit works to be translated into any European language, among others, English in 1794, German in 1797, French in 1833, and Portuguese in 1859. Going by its translation by Georg Buhler in 1886, Manusmriti starts with a pompous account of its origin from Brahma, as revealed to Manu and by Manu to the sages, and proceeds to Manus account of the creation as expounded by Bhrigu, one of his ten mind-born sons. In this account, as mentioned by Buhler, Bhrigu first gives the theory of the Manvantaras (period of the seven Manus), the Yugas(the four ages of the world, Krita, Treta, Dvapara, and Kali), and other divisions of time, and a description of the order of the creation, next describes the duties of the four chief castes (Varnas), then passes to an encomium of Brahmanas and the sacred law of Manu, and winds up with an enumeration of the contents of the work exactly as it was revealed to him. Going by its translation by Wendy Doniger and Brian Smith, consisting of 2,685 verses on topics such as the duties of the various castes and individuals in different stages of life, the proper way for a righteous king to rule, the appropriate relations between men and women of different castes, and of husbands and wives, birth, death, karma, rituals, rebirth, and redemption, Manusmriti is, in sum, an encompassing representation of life in the world how it is, and how it should be lived. Doniger and Smith would have it that in the tradition of Western scholarship, there is no work that has had such great fame and has for centuries been considered to be as authentic as Manusmriti. Notwithstanding this claim, like many other religious works, it has to be understood in the sense in which Nietzsche characterised it. For one thing, as Buhler observed, while the marks of its being a school-book, intended for the instruction of all Aryas, are unmistakable, surrounded by fictitious traditions, legends either grown up spontaneously or fabricated, the arguments in support of its authenticity and authoritativeness are extremely weak; more so, when in the floating traditions of the Hindus, Manu himself appears in many forms: as Brahma, as his incarnation, as a great sage, as the first king of men and the ancestor of kings, as the father and progenitor of mankind, as founder of its social and moral order, and so on. For another, as Doniger and Smith have asserted, like all other works we have from ancient times in India, it was composed not only by priests (Brahmins) but to a large extent for priests, embedding within a conceptual structure that encompassed the universe as a whole, their self-appointed role as the minds and mouths of ancient India and the priestly vision of what human life should be, with the priest as the paradigmatic human being, the most complete and perfect representative of the species, a metonym for the real human. Manusmritis story of the origin of creation had made even a devout Hindu like Mahatma Gandhi incline somewhat towards atheismas he admitted in his autobiography. Its story of Brahma delivering the Brahmanas, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas, and Sudras, through his mouth, arms, thighs, and feet respectively, is the miracle of a male, whether a godhead, a mystic or a monster, delivering his seeds through his own body rather than through the soil. If real, this would have brought cheer to many women, who, as Bernard Shaw said, resent the burden of motherhood being unequally distributed. While its account of the creation itself is so inane, that of the created is more so, characterised by highly arbitrary and particularised caste, gender, and context-specific rules, centring on the supremacy of Brahmins: Among other things Manusmriti has it that as the Brahmana sprang from Brahmas mouth (the purest part of Brahmas and by analogy, mans body, which is stated to be pure above the navel), as he was the first born and possesses the Veda, his very birth is an eternal incarnation of the sacred law, he is a deity even for gods, be he ignorant or learned is a great divinity, he is the highest on earth, and the lord of all created beings and of the whole creation. Asserting ad nauseam the excellence of his origin, his exclusive possession of the Veda, the earthly rewards for both, and the existence of the rest of mankind as his entourage, alone would not have ensured the supremacy of the Brahmin. That probably explains attempts, as Doniger and Smith have noted, to extend its reach to all people and all situations. Teaching and studying the Veda, sacrificing for themselves and for others, and making and receiving gifts are the duties and occupations ordained for the Brahmanas; protecting the people, making gifts, sacrificing for themselves, studying the Veda, and abstaining from attaching themselves to sensual pleasures are of the Kshatriyas; and tending cattle, making gifts, sacrificing for themselves, studying the Vedas, trading, lending money, and cultivating land are of the Vaisyas. Serving meekly these three twice-born castes alone is the duty and occupation ordained for the Sudras who have only one birth, and hence have no right to fulfil the sacred law of Aryans (the twice-born). Among these duties and occupations, teaching the Veda, protecting the people, trading, and serving the Brahmins are the most commendable for the Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas, and Sudras respectively. Teaching the Veda, sacrificing for others, and accepting gifts are forbidden to the Kshatriyas and Vaisyas; leave alone the once-born Sudras. Punctuating these duties and occupations are the numerous prejudices, perversions, paradoxes and contradictions in the long-arm of the law of Manu, his dos and donts for the four chief castes, for the mixed-castes, outcasts, and for women: Let the Brahmana take even the whole of a treasure-trove when he finds it: for whatever exists in the world is his property. Let him restrain the Kshatriya when he becomes overbearing in any way towards him, for the Kshatriya sprang from him. Let him confidently seize the goods of his Sudra slave, for that slave can have no property. Let him not recite the Veda in a village where a corpse lies, in the presence of a man who lives unrighteous as a Sudra, while the sound of weeping is heard, and in a crowd. Let him not explain it to a Sudra or dictate to him a penance, for doing these both will sink into the Asmavrita hell. Let him, even in times of dire distress, rather die with his knowledge than sow it in barren soil; for, sacred learning is his treasure, to be delivered only to a Brahmana whom he knows to be pure, of subdued senses, chaste, and attentive, and not to a scorner. Let the king after rising early in the morning, worship learned Brahmanas and follow their advice. Let him, in order to acquire merit, honour Brahmanas in every way even if they are employed in mean occupations, and honour those returning from their teachers house after studying the Vedas, for each of them is a great divinity. Let him bestow on them jewels of all sorts and presents at various sacrifices, for that money which is given to them is his imperishable treasure which can neither be lost nor taken away by thieves or foes. Let him, when he finds a treasure-trove, give one-half to Brahmanas and place the other half in his treasury. Let him fine the Kshatriya one hundred panas, and the Vaisya 150 to 200 panas, and punish the Sudra corporally for giving pain to Brahmanas. Let him order the Vaisyas and Sudras to discharge their ordained duties, for if these two castes swerved from their duties they would throw this whole world into confusion. Let him order a Sudra, whether bought or unbought, to do servile work, for he was created to be the slave of Brahmana, and even if emancipated by his master, he is not released from servitude, since that is innate in him. Though there is no fifth caste according to Manusmriti, it refers to several mixed-castes which first emerged from the union of the three twice-born castes with women of the next lower castes, and gradually multiplied into many more castes of lower origin through a variety of crossbreeding. Of these, the most despised are Chandalas, the fierce or lowest untouchables. Manusmriti often clubs these debased castes with Sudras, despised animals, and women for its contempt and discriminatory rules against them. Manusmritis treatment of women as the most honourable at one extreme and the most hideous at the other betrays serious contradictions in its perception of women, and an extreme form of male chauvinism, and misogynism. Instances of the former are the prescriptions for the initiated and for members of the household. Among other things, the initiated is required to address a woman who is the wife of another man and not a blood-relation as lady (bhavati) or beloved sister; to honour his mother, described as the image of the earth venerable a thousand times than the father, and a host of other women like his teachers wife, sisters, elderly relatives of both mother and father, by clasping and embracing their feet, saluting them, and so on. The prescription for members of the household are that fathers, brothers, husbands and brothers-in-law who desire their own welfare, must honour and adorn women of the household, and honour them on holidays and festivals with gifts of ornaments, clothes, and dainty food; for, where women are honoured, there the gods are pleased, where they are not honoured no sacred rite yields, where women live in grief, the family soon wholly perishes, and the houses on which women, not being duly honoured, pronounce a curse, perish completely as if destroyed by magic. Though destitute of virtues and good qualities, or seeking pleasure elsewhere, a faithful wife must constantly worship a husband as a god. No sacrifice, vow, or fast must be performed by women apart from their husband; if a wife obeys her husband, she will, for that reason alone be exalted in heaven. Second and most important, the portrayal of women as seducers and social evils: Women must particularly be guarded against evil inclinations, however trifling they may appear. Through their passion for men, mutable temper, natural heartlessness, they become disloyal towards their husbands, however carefully they may be guarded. Day and night they must be kept in dependence by males of their families. By a girl, by a young or even an aged woman, nothing must be done independently even in her own house. A woman must be subject to her father in childhood, husband in youth, and sons when her lord is dead. It is the nature of the women to seduce men, lead astray not only a fool, but also even a learned man, and to make him a slave of desire and anger. One should not sit in a lonely place with ones mother, sister, or daughter. Despite its highly spurious nature, how a work of holy lies, probably composed around the beginning of the Christian era to continue the socio-cultural hegemony of a masterly class, purportedly a minuscule group of Aryan invaders, came to be conjured up as the pivotal text of the dominant form of Hinduism, is still a riddle wrapped in mystery inside an enigma. How, as Doniger and Smith have noted, under the British, it became instrumental in the construction of a complex system of jurisprudence in which the general law was supplemented by a personal law; and how it has persisted well into the present as the revealed canons of Hinduism, still hanging like a millstone round the neck of every Indian, is a greater riddle. Having suffered for centuries its unconscious injunctions and discovered that far from being sacred and divine it is a well-organised fraud perpetrated on the bulk of the society, the group by which and for which it was supposedly composed has been under attack for at least a century now, especially in the peninsular India during the non-Brahmin movement, and at the height of the self-respect movement by Periyar E.V. RamasamyNaicker. Periyars attack on Brahminism had turned into violent and vitriolic attacks and utterances against the Brahmins, with his reported calls for forcibly breaking their threads and cutting their tufts, and for dealing with a Brahmin first when one is faced with him and a snake. More importantly, as against its erstwhile paramount supremacy as the sacred law, as a highly provocative symbol of a repressive caste system, apart from and even as part of the attempts at the annihilation of caste by persons like B.R. Ambedkar, RammanoharLohia, and Periyar, Manusmriti has been condemned and consigned to flames repeatedly, as during the recent anti-Mandal agitations. As a glossy edition of such a work (by Doniger and Smith) is again on sale, despite having the fire-god Agni as its frontispiece as though to protect it from further flames, the temptation of its victims and adversaries to burn it again could be irresistible. This time, however, better sense should prevail. For, it is the first authoritative English rendering of this century, and the first to set the unadulterated text of Manusmriti in a highly lucid and readable narrative form, as a free, frank, and forthright exposure of the misdeeds of Manu and his minions. As such, it should be read and reread, not for the centuries-old obeisance to Manu and the high and mighty of contemporary Indias caste society, but for helping his victims overcome their continuing oppression and exploitation by the caste system, and preventing them from falling into the trap of Hindutva set by Manus new avatars, the Advanis and Malkanis, and from their ongoing attempts at resurrecting Manu and re-establishing the old order as he ordained through their violent and vociferous claims for a Rama temple at Ayodhya, a Krishna temple at Mathura, and so on. [The author is a former Professor of Sociology at the Madras Institute of Development Studies, India, and a media commentator on public affairs. Email: prk1949@gmail.com]
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Printer Friendly Version Why The Supreme Court Of India Should Enlarge Prof. G.N. Saibaba On Bail By Dr. P.S. Sahni 01 April, 2016
Countercurrents.org A separate bail act is under consideration of the Government of India that would limit the discretionary powers of courts in granting relief to an accused. - The Times of India, 26.3.2016 On 4th of April, 2016, the Supreme Court of India is scheduled to hear the bail plea of Prof. G.N. Saibaba, lecturer, Ram Lal Anand College, Delhi University and who is presently lodged at Nagpur jail. Earlier in September 2013 the police had raided Saibabas residence and took away what was alleged to be incriminating evidence. Saibaba had been assisting the Maharashtra police in its probe whenever it descended in Delhi. A charge sheet was filed in the case in February, 2014 and a non-bailable warrant procured against Saibaba. He was eventually arrested. As Prof. Saibaba was cooperating in the probe there was no need for his arrest during the trial period. Ironically he has been arrested under various provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 [UAP Act] as amended from time to time; some of the sections under which he has been charged include S. 13, 18, 20 and 39 of the UAP Act. Under this law anticipatory bail is expressly prohibited. Even the regular bail gets denied under the Act if the court on a perusal of the case diary or the report prepared by the police is of the opinion that there are reasonable grounds for believing that the accusation against such person is prima facie true. This goes against the fundamental principles of granting bail to an accused. It is ultra vires the Constitution as the liberty of the accused is unnecessarily curtailed. It is about time that the constitutionality of sections of UAP Act and other similar Draconian laws under which bail is denied gets challenged, notwithstanding that the constitutionality of the same may have been upheld earlier. No special law should override the fundamental right to liberty of any citizen as enshrined in Indian Constitution. Prof. Saibaba suffers from Post Polio Residual Paralysis of both lower limbs since age 5 years. He also has weakness of upper limbs. He suffers from acute low back pain due to the disturbed anatomical configuration of his bones and spine. He also suffers from cardiac problem and has high blood pressure. Prof. Saibaba is wheel chair bound and needs the services of an attendant for activities of daily living. On 30 June, 2015 Prof. Saibaba was granted conditional bail on medical grounds for three months by a Division Bench of the Bombay High Court presided over by the Chief Justice; and on 4 September, 2015 the bail was extended till 31 December, 2105. The bail was cancelled on 23 December, 2015 by a Single Judge of the Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court! The fact that during the period of bail there is nothing on state record to show that Prof. Saibaba has attempted to disturb or disrupt justice should have paved the way for bail. Ironically on 29 February, 2016 the Supreme Court passed the following order: We have perused the counter affidavit as also the additional affidavit filed by the State of Maharashtra. We have also heard learned counsel for the petitioner. It emerges that out of 34 witnesses, cited by the prosecution, some of the material witnesses have already been examined whereas 8 further material witnesses are yet to be examined. At the present moment, we consider it just and appropriate to direct the trial court to hold day-to-day trial with effect from 04.03.2016 so as to record the statements of all material witnesses. The statements of the material witnesses, referred to hereinabove, be positively concluded before the next date of hearing.
List again on 04.04.2016. There is an apparent apprehension that if enlarged on bail, Prof. Saibaba would jump bail and flee the country or otherwise influence material witnesses both these assumptions are unfounded. Far from fleeing in the physical sense Prof. Saibaba is wheelchair bound and is not even able to stand on his own feet. Besides there is not even an allegation against him that he has ever tried to influence witnesses. We had sent an email to Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer on 22 September, 2014 apprising him of Prof. Saibaba being denied bail. Justice Iyers deteriorating health by then ensured no reply from his side. He passed away on 4 December, 2014. The email is available at our blog: http://pilwatchgroup.blogspot.in/2014/09/email-to-justice-vr-krishna-iyer-on.html How late Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer would have adjudicated on the issue: Glimpses from his treatise on bail. Prof. G.N. Saibaba has moved the Supreme Court of India for bail, having been arrested in May 2014 under various provisions of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 as amended from time to time. During this period the petitioner has been out on bail for medical treatment for about six months. The examination of the material witnesses is underway. Our justice system, even in grave cases, suffers from slow motion syndrome which is lethal to fair trial, whatever the ultimate decision. Speedy justice is a component of social justice since the community, as a whole, is concerned in the criminal being condignly and finally punished within a reasonable time and the innocent being absolved from the inordinate ordeal of criminal proceedings. This is by the way, although it is important that judicial business management by engineering, not tinkering, so as to produce efficient expedition, is an urgent, high-priority item on the agenda of court reform, to be radically undertaken none too soon. Against the backdrop of social and individual facts the court must consider the motion for bail. The correct legal approach has been clouded in the past by focus on the ferocity of the crime to the neglect of the real purposes of bail or jail and indifferent to many other sensitive and sensible circumstances which deserve judicial notice. The whole issue, going by decisional material and legal literature has been relegated to a twilight zone of the criminal justice system. Courts have often acted intuitively or reacted traditionally, so much the fate of applicants for bail at the High Court level and in the Supreme Court, has largely hinged on the hunch of the bench as an expression of judicial discretion. A scientific treatment is the desideratum. The Code is cryptic on this topic and the court prefers to be tacit, be the order custodial or not. And yet, the issue is one of liberty, justice, public safety and burden on the public treasury, all of which insists that a developed jurisprudence of bail is integral to a socially sensitized judicial process. Personal liberty, deprived when bail is refused, is too precious a value of our constitutional system recognised under Art. 21 that the crucial power to negate it is a great trust exercisable, not casually but judicially, with lively concern for the cost to the individual and the community. To glamorise impressionistic orders as discretionary may, on occasions, make a litigative gamble, decisive of a fundamental right. After all, personal liberty of an accused or convict is fundamental, suffering lawful eclipse only in terms of procedure established by law. The last four words of Art. 21 are the life of that human right. The doctrine of Police Power, constitutionally validates punitive processes for the maintenance of public order, security of the State, national integrity and the interest of the public generally. Even so, having regard to the solemn issue involved, deprivation of personal freedom, ephemeral or enduring, must be founded on the most serious considerations relevant to the welfare objectives of society specified in the Constitution. What, then, is judicial discretion in this bail context? In the elegant words of Benjamin Cardozo: The judge, even when he is free, is still not wholly free. He is not to innovate at pleasure. He is not a knight-errant roaming at will in pursuit of his own ideal of beauty or of goodness. He is to draw his inspiration from consecrated principles. He is not to yield to spasmodic sentiment, to vague and unregulated benevolence. He is to exercise a discretion informed by tradition, methodized by analogy, disciplined by system, and subordinated to the primordial necessity of order in the social life. Wide enough in all conscience is the field of discretion that remains. Even so it is useful to notice the tart terms of Lord Camden that the discretion of a judge is the law of tyrants: it is always unknown, it is different in different men; it is casual, and depends upon constitution, temper and passion. In the best it is oftentimes caprice; in the worst it is every vice folly and passion to which human nature is liable. . . . " Some jurists have regarded the term judicial discretion as a misnomer. Nevertheless, the vesting of discretion is the unspoken but inescapable silent command of our judicial system, and those who exercise it will remember that: discretion, when applied to a court of justice, means sound discretion guided by law. It must be governed by rule, not by humor; it must not be arbitrary, vague and fanciful, but legal and regular. An appeal to a judges discretion is an appeal to his judicial conscience. The discretion must be exercised, not in opposition to, but in accordance with, established principles of law. Having grasped the core concept of judicial discretion and the constitutional perspective in which the Court must operate public policy by a restraint on liberty, we have to proceed to see what are the relevant criteria for grant or refusal of bail. What is often forgotten, and therefore warrants reminder, is the object to keep a person in judicial custody pending trial or disposal of an appeal. Lord Russel, C.J. said: I observe that in this case bail was refused for the prisoner. It cannot be too strongly impressed on the magistracy of the country that bail is not to be withheld as a punishment, but that the requirements as to bail are merely to secure the attendance of the prisoner at trial. This theme was developed by Lord Russel of Killowen C. J., when he charged the grand jury at Salisbury Assizes, 1899: ....it was the duty of magistrates to admit accused persons to bail, wherever practicable, unless there were strong grounds for supposing that such persons would not appear to take their trial. In Archbold it is stated that: The proper test of whether bail should be granted or refused is whether it is probable that the defendant will appear to take his trial
The test should be applied by reference to the following considerations:
(1) The nature of the accusation
(2) The nature of the evidence in support of the accusation
(3) The severity of the punishment which conviction will entail....
(4) Whether the sureties are independent, or indemnified by the accused person... Perhaps, this is an overly simplistic statement and one must remember the constitutional focus in Arts. 21 and 19 before following diffuse observations and practices in the English system. Even in England there is a growing awareness that the working of the bail system requires a second look from the point of view of correct legal criteria and sound principles, as has been pointed out by Dr. Bottomley. Let us have a glance at the pros and cons and the true principle around which other relevant factors must revolve. When the case is finally disposed of and a person is sentenced to incarceration, things stand on a different footing. We are concerned with the penultimate stage and the principal rule to guide release on bail should be to secure the presence of the applicant who seeks to be liberated, to take judgement and serve sentence in the event of the court punishing him with imprisonment. It is not only traditional but rational, in this context, to enquire into the antecedents of a man who is applying for bail to find whether he has a bad record particularly a record which suggests that he is likely to commit serious offences while on bail. In regard to habituals it is part of criminological history that a thoughtless bail order has enabled the bailee to exploit the opportunity to inflict further crimes on the members of society. We must weigh the contrary factors to answer the test of reasonableness, subject to the need for securing the presence of the bail applicant. It makes sense to assume that a man on bail has a better chance to prepare or present his case than one remanded in custody. And if public justice is to be promoted, mechanical detention should be demoted. In the United States, which has a constitutional perspective close to ours, the function of bail is limited; community roots of the applicant are stressed and, after the Vera Foundations Manhattan Bail Project, monetary suretyship is losing ground. The considerable public expense in keeping in custody where no danger of disappearance or disturbance can arise, is not a negligible consideration. Equally important is the deplorable condition, verging on the inhuman, of our sub-jails, that the unrewarding cruelty and expensive custody of avoidable incarceration makes refusal of bail unreasonable and a policy favouring release justly sensible. Having regard to this constellation of considerations, carefully viewed in the jurisprudential setting above silhouetted, we are of the view that, subject to certain safeguards, the petitioner Prof. G.N. Saibaba is eligible to be enlarged on bail. [Extensive and exclusive quotes are from the case Babu Singh and others v. The State of Uttar Pradesh, AIR 1978 SC 527
Bench: Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer and Justice D.A. Desai] (Dr. P.S. Sahni, Orthopaedic Surgeon is a member of PIL Watch Group. The group is campaigning on bail not jail since 2014 particularly in cases of public importance wherein a socio-political environment has been manufactured which goes against the accused getting justice; the philosophical basis and theoretical framework being provided by Justice Krishna Iyers treatise on bail)
Email: pilwatchgroup@gmail.com)
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Obamas Fakery, News Medias Suckery
By Eric Zuesse
01 April, 2016
Strategic-culture.org
How can it be that the same news-medium that reported, on 22 April 2015, that the Obama Administration allows countries it signs trade-pacts with to murder their trade-union organizers and insists upon continuing to permit those murders, has now also reported on 24 March 2016, "The Obama Administration Just Took A Huge Step On Worker Safety: Its known as the silica rule, and its a big frigging deal? This new Obama-Administration rule wont even be enforceable, but that news medium failed to notice that this big frigging deal is actually only a con by Obama nothing more than empty words and promises, nothing at all thats likely to be enforceable (because bigger actions by him, which they had reported earlier, are intended to make any such new rule virtually unenforceable).
On 22 April 2015, Michael McAuliff, Huffington Posts Senior Congressional Reporter and one of the best journalists covering that beat, headlined, "AFL-CIOs Trumka: USTR Told Us Murder Isnt A Violation Under U.S. Trade Deals, and reported that Obamas U.S. Trade Representative, Obamas own longtime friend Michael Froman, refused to treat the murder of trade-union organizers in foreign countries as being unfair to American workers who in Americas trade pacts are wage-competing against third-world workers whose trade-union organizers are freely murdered as hundreds of these labor-organizers have, in fact, been.
The AFL-CIO documented that, under CAFTA, the Central American Free Trade Agreement in 2005, there have been several murders of trade-union organizers in Guatemala during the Obama Administration, and Obamas Trade Representative said that this isnt relevant to compliance with any U.S. trade agreement with any country, not CAFTA, not NAFTA, and wouldnt be under TPP, TTIP, TISA, or any other. He said its not relevant to any Free Trade Agreement. McAuliff reported, in his article: Thea Lee, the AFL-CIO deputy chief of staff, told HuffPost that USTR officials said in at least two meetings where she was present that killing and brutalizing organizers would not be considered interfering with labor rights under the terms of the trade measures. One instance involved talks last year about killings in Guatemala, where the AFL-CIO has been seeking redress for labor violations for six years. Another came just a few months ago in talks about a three-year-old case involving Honduras, Lee said. To substantiate our case we documented five or six murders of Guatemalan trade unionists that the government had failed to effectively investigate or prosecute, Lee said. The USTR told us that the murders of trade unionists or violence against trade unionists was not a violation of the labor chapter because it was a rule of law problem.
Similarly, on 24 September 2013, HuffPos Kate Sheppard, a Senior Reporter on environmental matters, bannered, "Michael Froman, Top U.S. Trade Official, Sides With Tar Sands Advocates In EU Negotiations, and she reported that, "Refiners in the U.S. have expressed concern that [the EUs] assigning higher [CO2-processing] values to tar sands oil [than to regular oil] would limit their ability to export the product to the EU. While most tar sands oil comes from Canada, much of it is processed in U.S. refineries, and Froman was pressing the EU to weaken their anti-global-warming rules so that in TTIP, the EU wouldnt be permitted to discriminate against higher-CO2-producing tar-sands-derived oil. Of course, under 2016-election-year pressure, Obama ultimately disallowed construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline for bringing tar-sands-oil from Canada to the Texas coast for shipment to Europe; but, actually, he really wanted to allow the XL to be built, and he was pressuring Europe to accept the oil into their market the worlds largest energy-market. On that issue, too, he was working behind-the-scenes (via his Secretaries of State Hillary Clinton and John Kerry, and his Trade Representative Froman) to produce faked Environmental Impact Statements favoring XL, and also to force Europe to accept tar-sands oil which would be carried by that Pipeline, even while he was publicly mouthing anti-global-warming statements.
So: Huffington Post, which reported the truth that Obama wants American workers to be wage-competing against third-world labor where union organizers are routinely murdered in order to keep wages down, and which also reported the truth that Obamas mouthings against global warming are purely pretense from him, nonetheless allows sucker-reporters on its staff to advertise for Obama such propaganda, as, from Dave Jamieson, their Labor Reporter: "The Obama Administration Just Took A Huge Step On Worker Safety: Its known as the silica rule, and its a big frigging deal.
Under TPP and TTIP these two mega trade deals that are intended by Obama to be his biggest legacy achievements if he can get them into law a prosecution of any foreign corporation (thats based in another of the signatory countries) for violating this rule, can spark from that corporation a lawsuit against the U.S. for infringing on the corporations right to profit. A panel of three private arbitrators will hear the case and issue a ruling, which wont be able to be appealed in any nations courts it will be final, and the laws of no nation can be appealed to to reverse it. U.S. taxpayers would then be forced to reimburse the corporation for any losses that allegedly result from Americas having enforced this new rule. How likely is it that a rule which is stiffer than existed when the trade-agreement was written, will then be enforced?
Obamas push to strengthen the grip of international corporations and to make supreme stockholders rights, above and beyond the merely national rights of mere voters and citizens and taxpayers of any signatory country, is tragically real; his mere rhetoric and even regulations against such things, is tragically fake.
Are American news-media suckers for allowing such deception to be reported without simultaneously reporting the ugly reality without demanding every reporter always to make note of the fakery, and never merely to report the fake news without noting that its a fake so that readers can get an understanding of the reality, not merely of the surface?
After all: a President who is so determined to give international corporations what they want as to treat the murder of union-organizers in a free-trade-area country as being irrelevant to that countrys free trade with the U.S., and to try to force Europe to lower its anti-global-warming standards so as to promote the sale of the worlds dirtiest oil and at the same time to mouth his own opposition to those very same things shouldnt ever be allowed to present his mere lies and deceptions, without in the same report, indicating also the ugly reality that theyre contradicting. (Instead of reporting that ugly reality, this PR-piece simply ignores it and the contradiction makes no mention of it.)
Honest news-reporting in the U.S. shouldnt depend only upon the mere quirk that a few of a news-mediums reporters (such as McAuliff and Sheppard) are competent; whats required is management-level competence, which entails demanding of each and every news-report, and every news-reporter on their staff, to report reality, and never only to report the mere surface of whats actually fakery.
The problems in American journalism are at the very top. And this is a major reason why so many American voters are so deceived, and so confused. They get too much mere propaganda, and thus they really have no reason to trust any news report (except perhaps the few news-reports that like the present one provide links to the evidence behind all key allegations and so invite any skeptical reader to check out its sources, the deeper level of that report).
On 28 September 2015, Gallup headlined, Americans' Trust in Media Remains at Historical Low, and the problem there isnt the distrust; its that the distrust is warranted.
And the real rot in Americas newsmedia is at the top. Thats where this distrust has its source. It cant reasonably be blamed on sloppy or gullible reporters. After all: they didnt hire themselves. (And, sometimes, the best reporters get fired for being too good. To be a good journalist in America as in most countries requires courage: its dangerous to a reporters career.)
With such rot at the top, voters make their electoral decisions more on the basis of misinformation and outright propaganda, than on the basis of authentic and honestly reported news. Whether that type of press produces a democraciy is doubtful: the evidence says that it doesnt.
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.
Aimee Blume / Special to The Courier & Press Artist-blacksmith David Perkins of Newburgh shapes a piece of steel hot out of the forge on his antique. Perkins turns steel into highly decorated pieces of furniture and useful objects from lamps to candle holders.
SHARE Perkins often works in a western style, but his work ranges far wider. He put these motorcycles together out of spare bits, bolts and pieces. Perkins doesn't like to rely on pre-shaped stones, so he orders his rough turquoise right from the Kingman Mine in Arizona, and grinds and polishes it himself to fit his unique designs. The Courier & Press In skilled hands, steel can take on the textures as soft as rawhide and feathers. These are decorations on David Perkins' Teepee Bed, which recently won an award at the National Ornamental and Miscellaneous Metals Association Conference in Greenville, South Carolina.
By Aimee Blume
We say steel is hard and cold, but in skilled hands it can be made red-hot and transformed into anything from the most windblown decorative feather to a velvet strip of rawhide or a sturdy and unique piece of furniture.
Artist-blacksmith David Perkins of Newburgh starts with raw metal and turns it into art both beautiful and utilitarian.
"I started working with metal back in the early 70s, at a structural steel fabricating company in Chandler," said Perkins. "I learned how to weld and cut steel, and I was always thinking about how to make items that were both decorative and functional, like candle holders or barbecue grills."
During this time, Perkins attended a blacksmithing conference and watched a smith working with heated metal. It was cherry red and as malleable as plastic, and the blacksmith used a power hammer to form it into a delicate leaf. Perkins was hooked on the technique, fascinated with how metal, when heated, could be easily formed into so many shapes and how metal objects meant to be useful could also be so texturally and aesthetically pleasing.
"All the things you can do with steel are amazing," he said. "When it's hot it's easy to manipulate, almost like clay; so you can mold it and do things with it. When my son was little I decided I wanted to build him a bed out of steel and everybody thought I was crazy, but it turned out pretty nice. I kind of really took off with it from there. I do lean toward functional pieces because the value of them isn't just for looks, although I have done some pieces that are just to hang on the wall. I do commission work for people as well."
Perkins grew his craft while maintaining a full-time job as a maintenance mechanic at Toyota for 17 years, but last May retired to take his metal art full time. He has come full circle back to welding and shaping metal for a living.
Although Perkins crafts metal art in many styles, many of his favorite pieces have a Western or Native American theme, a feeling which has touched his spirit since a trip to New Mexico as a child. He often incorporates Native American patterns, silver and turquoise in his designs. The stones he cuts and shapes himself.
"I was buying turquoise cabochons but they weren't exactly what I wanted," he said. "The Evansville Lapidary Society showed me how to grind my own, so I get the turquoise right from the Kingman Mine, which one of the last remaining functioning turquoise mines in Arizona."
Perkins works mostly with steel, although he has used wrought iron, copper, and brass in the past, and his decorations are often wrought with pure silver.
To shape steel, it must be heated to a high temperature. For this, a forge is necessary. These small furnaces can be fired with gas or coal, although gas is far cleaner and easier to use, according to Perkins. The interior of a forge that is red-hot is about 1,500 degrees. A white hot forge at welding temperature can be 3,000 degrees.
Perkins' forge can encase a piece of metal that is up to 8 inches in diameter. The length is indeterminate, as the ends of the forge can be open and the metal fed through and worked 18 inches at a time, although for smaller pieces he seals the ends with firebrick.
A large part of Perkins' art is to figure out how to make the objects he wants a king-size bedstead with head and foot boards, for example, or an executive desk out of pieces of metal that either fit through the forge or can be heated in small areas with a hand torch before being welded together.
After the metal is placed inside the heated forge until the correct temperature and degree of malleability is reached, it is removed and quickly shaped, either on a power hammer or by hand with a hammer on the anvil.
Perkins owns and uses both power hammer and anvil. His anvil is an antique Hay-Budden brand, an old forged piece made sometime in the early 20th century.
"Back when this anvil was built, the blacksmith that used it would have been the horseshoer or a wheelwright, the person who put the metal bands around wooden wagon wheels," said Perkins. "Now you can buy a specific type of anvil for different tasks, but this one belonged to a friend of mine who passed away, so it has some history for me."
When hot metal is first removed from the forge and shaped, it has a coating called scale that forms from the chemical action of the metal in the heat. For many pieces, Perkins wants to remove this, so he cleans and shines the metal by "pickling" it, actually soaking it in vinegar inside troughs he hand makes to fit the pieces.
Pieces with a darker color are given a patina through a chemical process and polished with a special heated wax that enters the pores of the metal.
Perkins' creations were accepted into the prestigious Western Design Conference in Jackson Hole, Wy, in both 2014 and 2015, where he was a featured metal artist. Jackson is known to be one of the largest centers of Western fine art in the country. Each of those years he took a metal bedstead with a western or Native American theme.
Very recently, his Teepee Bed won the Earnest Wiemann Top Job Competition at the National Ornamental and Miscellaneous Metals Association Conference in Greenville, South Carolina, and his Chief Bed was placed on the cover of "The Anvil's Ring," the magazine of the The Artist-Blacksmith's Association of North America, in winter of 2014. He has shown at the Evansville Museum and his metal art is featured in the Xanadu Gallery in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Coming up on April 9 and 10, Perkins will be at the Heritage Federal Credit Union Home Show at the Old National Events Plaza in downtown Evansville, where you can view pieces of his finished work including an equine-themed executive desk and the Tepee Bed; for more information visit his website at davidperkinsdesigns.com, or call him to discuss commissioned pieces at 812-842-0204.
SHARE An Indiana State Trooper and his police dog stand watch in Gibson County as police make drug arrests Friday. Provided photo
By Richard Gootee of the Courier and Press
Authorities arrested several people for their alleged involvement in a crystal meth ring.
According to Indiana State Police, 13 people apprehended Friday morning are suspected to be part of an operation that state police and the Princeton (Indiana) Police Department were alerted to in September, according to a state police news release
Two people are still wanted as part of the investigation. All of those arrested on Friday face a charge of conspiracy to deal methamphetamine. Those arrested on Friday were identified as Louis Short, 35; Melissa Thompson, 40; Taylor Cates, 18; Tim Woods, 52; Kari Fourthman, 41; Antwan Littiz, 40; Scott Moore, 44; Dale Morris, 53; Keenan Hardiman and Barbara Luke, 35, all of Princeton; Gary Sutton, 37, and Lacy Sutton, 29, of Mount Carmel, Illinois, and Dawnella Bailey, 35, of Patoka.
During the investigation, Indiana State Police Sgt. Todd Ringle said about five pounds of crystal meth were seized.
All 15 people are believed to have been selling meth in Gibson or Pike counties, Ringle said.
The meth supplied for the operation is believed to have come from Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi. Ringle said federal authorities are involved in the investigation, which he classified as still ongoing.
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By Richard Gootee of the Courier and Press
Authorities are warning of a new phone scam in the area again.
This time, an unknown caller recently presented himself as an FBI agent and actually left a message asking for the target to call him back. According to Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Office investigators, the scammer also "spoofed" the victim's caller ID and made it appear that the call came from the "U.S. Government."
When a caller has the ability to spoof, he can make it appear that the call is being made from anywhere he wants. Indiana State Police warned the community that scammers were also spoofing their phone numbers in a similar scheme reported a few months ago.
The person who reported the FBI scam did not fall for the fraudulent call. The sheriff's office then issued a news release reminding people that the FBI will never call to threaten arrest, demand money or ask for personal information.
"If you have any doubt about the identity of an official who calls you on the phone, get the official's name, hang up and then call the agency back at a phone number you know to be correct," said Vanderburgh County Sheriff Dave Wedding. "The victim in this most recent case did the right thing by treating this message with skepticism and immediately notifying law enforcement."
The local FBI office is also aware of the scam. Officials said that office can be reached at 812-423-4486 if people need to verify the legitimacy of a phone call.
So far, Lt. Noah Robinson said, there has only been the one report to the sheriff's office. That call happened on March 25. In it, the caller identified himself as "Alex Morgan" and said the target needed to call back and ask for a "Thomas Ryan," according to the report filed in the case.
The FBI scam is just the latest of several scams that officials have warned the public about recently. Just this week, the Gibson County Sheriff's Office announced that it had gotten "numerous" recent reports of phone scammers pretending to be from the U.S. Treasury and the IRS who threaten to sue their targeted victims.
In addition to the previous warning about spoofing, state and local authorities have also advised that the so-called "grandparents scam" has also increased in prevalence. During that operation, a caller will contact random people and present themselves as the target's grandchild who needs money wired to them because of a problem, often in a foreign country. Sometimes, someone posing as a government official or a hospital worker will call of behalf of the "grandchild." Grandparent email scams have also been reported.
Phone and Internet operations targeting people's tax information or refund, especially around this time of the year, are common as well.
Though most scams come via phone or email, a variety of home improvement scams are also reported. Schemers often come to homes unsolicited and say they can make repairs to a residence for a good price. Sometimes, they will even tell the homeowner they just finished a similar job in the area and have leftover material. They then ask for a partial advanced payment and never return.
Recently, the Vanderburgh County Prosecutor's Office and the Tri-State Better Business Bureau recorded a commercial together to warn people about these common scams. To watch the ad, visit youtube.com/watch?v=Uk55COQXUmg
"You should never send money, account information or your Social Security number to anyone you do not know," Prosecutor Nicholas Hermann says in the 30-second spot.
The BBB's Susan Bolin also appears in the ad. Hermann said the commercial is important because it's another avenue officials can use to warn the community about scams before someone falls for one. Once a person gives money especially if it's to a phone or email fraud it is nearly impossible for local authorities to recover the victim's money because the scammers are often not in the United States.
The BBB has also taped public-service announcements with the sheriff's office and the Evansville Police Department targeting fraud, Bolin said.
JASON CLARK / COURIER & PRESS Sara Miller (center), with Old National Bank, speaks with ATHENA Award finalists Chase Kelley (left) and Rachel Mayes after Miller was announced as the 2016 ATHENA Award winner during the annual ATHENA Award luncheon at the Old National Bank Events Plaza in Evansville earlier this year.
SHARE JASON CLARK / COURIER & PRESS Sara Miller (right), with Old National Bank, shares a hug with 2014 ATHENA Award recipient Sheila Huff after it was announced that Miller is the 2016 winner during the annual ATHENA Award luncheon at the Old National Bank Events Plaza in Evansville earlier this year.
By Abbey Doyle of the Courier and Press
After 25 years of honoring the area's women with the ATHENA Award, the group of nominees wanted to do more for upcoming female leaders in the community.
The group of 10 leaders from different sectors of the community created Women 4 Women, which is offering three upcoming seminars for college women at the three area universities.
While Sara Miller, southern region CEO of Old National Bank, was the ultimate winner of the 2016 ATHENA among the group of nominees, she stressed that Women 4 Women was a collaborative effort and was created while the group of nominees had gathered early on.
"The goal is to 'pay it forward,' " Miller said. "We will use this forum to share the experience and knowledge we have gained to educate, develop and retain a talented group of future leaders."
The seminars Monday at USI, Wednesday at Ivy Tech and April 12 at the University of Evansville will focus on skills for personal development, career identification, resume building and interviewing, developing a personal brand and volunteering and networking.
In addition to Miller, 2016 finalists include Nikki Davis of SMILE on Down Syndrome, Pam Hight with the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp., Chase Kelley with Vectren, Rachel Mayes with Alcoa, Linda Negro, formerly with the Courier & Press, Stephanie Roland with Old National Bank, Misty Seaton with Vectren, Holly Smith with St. Mary's Medical Center and Trudy Stock with Harding, Shymanski & Company. ATHENA winners and finalists from previous years will join the women as well.
Miller said the students will get to hear from many of this year's 10 finalists as well as several from years past talking about the things that worked, and in many cases, didn't work for them.
With 25 years of ATHENA nominees there are 250 incredible women with a broad base of experience to pull from, Miller said. The group forming Women 4 Women are hopeful to continue the seminars and mentoring beyond this first round, creating a program that sustains itself and grows each year with a new round of ATHENA nominees.
"I think having that voice of someone who has been there and experienced it is helpful," Miller said. "Our intent is to make sure we are doing what we can to help keep and retain talent here in our local community."
Students who attend the free seminars may also sign up to shadow a businesswoman and past ATHENA finalists in their fields of interest.
Merrill Harper, director of events for the Southwest Indiana Chamber, said the Women 4 Women workshops are a great resource.
"The Women 4 Women workshops offer local students access to female role models who are actively making a difference in our community and improving the quality of life for those around them," Harper said. "These students are our future ATHENA finalists, and they now have the opportunity to gain valuable professional development skills to help them succeed after graduation."
The three free programs are open to students at any schools, not just the schools hosting the program. Attendees are encouraged to register ahead of time.
The program at USI is 5-7 p.m. Monday in University Center Room 2207. Register at members.swinchamber.com/events/details/women-4-women-at-usi-2340.
Ivy Tech's session is 5:30-7 p.m. Wednesday in the Ivy Tech Auditorium. Register at members.swinchamber.com/events/details/women-4-women-at-ivy-tech-2338.
The program at UE is 4-5:30 p.m. April 12 in the UE Schroeder School of Business Room 162. Register at members.swinchamber.com/events/details/women-4-women-at-ue-2339.
For questions or additional information, please contact the Southwest Indiana Chamber at 812-425-8147.
SHARE JASON CLARK / COURIER & PRESS Kent Hite of Evansville gets a free haircut from barber Andre Lewis from Lynch's House of Coiffure during a kickoff for the sixth annual Indiana Black Barbershop Health Initiative at the C.K. Newsome Community Center in Evansville Thursday. Seven Evansville barbershops including Lynch's House of Coiffure will be offering free health screenings as part of the annual Initiative on Saturday. JASON CLARK / COURIER & PRESS James Garrett, executive director of the Indiana Commission for the Social Status of Black Males, talks with R.N.'s Angie Cox and Danielle Fisher (right) from Deaconess Health System during a kickoff for the sixth annual Indiana Black Barbershop Health Initiative at the C.K. Newsome Community Center in Evansville Thursday. Seven Evansville barbershops including Lynch's House of Coiffure will be offering free health screenings as part of the annual Initiative on Saturday.
By Richard Gootee of the Courier and Press
Seven Evansville barbershops will offer free health screenings as part of the annual Indiana Black Barbershop Initiative on Saturday.
The campaign, while aimed at black men, will provide blood pressure checks and cholesterol and glucose screenings to anyone who comes into the shops starting at 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. The sixth-year initiate kicked off Thursday with a celebration at the C.K. Newsome Center.
"The barbershop is an environment where men feel very comfortable we can talk about sports, we can talk politics, we can talk about current events," said James Garrett, executive director of the Indiana Commission for the Social Status of Black Males. "Guess what? We can also talk about health and that's what we want to do (this Saturday)."
The seven participating local shops are: Fila's Designs, Brown's Elite Hair Salon, and Lynch's House of Coiffure, all on Kentucky Avenue; Jerald's Barbershop on Walnut Street; Shark's Den Barbershop on Lincoln Avenue; One World Barbering Salon on Boeke Road; and Going Forward Barber & Beauty Shop on Riverside Drive.
No appointment is necessary and people seeking exams do not have to get a haircut. Health information will also be distributed at the shops. Tests will be done by doctors or registered nurses.
The Hoosier State's involvement in the nationwide effort is thanks to Evansville resident Diane Clements-Boyd, Garrett said on Thursday. Clements-Boyd, the head of the Evansville-Vanderburgh Human Relations Commission, went to college with the doctor who started the initiative in California. She heard the idea when he was interviewed on the radio, and soon talked to him about bringing it here.
"The genesis for this Black Barbershop Health Initiative is due in part of this lady right here," Garrett said, motioning toward Clements-Boyd. "... She approached me with the idea in December of 2010, and we pulled off the first Indiana Black Barbershop Health Initiative four months later on April 30, 2011, in six cities and 30 barbershops across this state. Evansville has been at the forefront of this initiative, and it's due to Diane and her leadership, and it's due to the local commission stepping up and engaging community partners."
This year, the program is in 15 Indiana cities spread over four weekends. Locally, the Community Action Program of Evansville, the Southwest Indiana Area Health Eduction Center, the University of Southern Indiana and Ivy Tech are all involved in the program as well.
Evansville resident Geno Merriweather challenged everyone at Thursday's event to get screened on Saturday, but more importantly spread the word about the event too.
"We all have the responsibility of making sure your uncle, your dad, your husband, your neighbors and your friends and even your enemies will come to one of these barbershops this coming Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.," said Merriweather, a member of the human relations commission. "If you come a little later, and we're still there, we'll keep the door open until we have served as many people as we can."
Clements-Boyd said 111 screenings were conducted last year. She said she hopes at least 150-200 people get tested on Saturday.
"This initiative serves everyone men, women (of all) ethnicities all are welcome to get the screenings at the barbershop," Clements-Boyd said.
If people can't get screened at one of the barbershops on Saturday, Garrett still encouraged everyone to get annual screenings and attend health fairs to learn about the importance preventive care. He shared his own story about begrudgingly going to a similar screening event a decade ago, only to find out that he suffered from hypertension so bad that he "was a stroke waiting to happen."
Even during that 2006 screening, Garrett said, he insisted that the medical equipment was faulty and demanded a retest because he felt "extremely healthy," and thought he didn't need to go to the doctor unless until something was "dramatically wrong with me." Ever since, though, Garrett said he has been "on top" of his health. He encouraged "all men young men, middle age men and older men" to stop being stubborn and do the same so they have a better chance at seeing all of life's milestones.
"You have to be around," Garrett told the crowd on Thursday. "You have to be living."
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By Staff Report
A Knox County man is reportedly in critical condition after being shot by police officers following an hourslong standoff near Indianapolis on Thursday.
Douglas Gaultney, 57, was shot for reportedly brandishing a shotgun toward officers after holing up in a white van for several hours in Speedway, according to a news release from Indiana State Police and the Speedway Police Department. Police were attempting to arrest Gaultney for violating his probation for possession of marijuana.
No officers were injured during the incident.
Speedway police received a tip shortly after 1 p.m. Thursday that Gaultney was parked in the van near the intersections of 18th and MacArthur Lanes. Officers found Gaultney and attempted to communicate with him, according to the release. That's when Gaultney "immediately" brandished a shotgun, prompting police to call for backup.
"Gaultney was making statements that led police to believe he did not have intentions of exiting the vehicle," the release states.
About 7 p.m., SWAT team members tried to coax Gaultney from the van using tear gas. He exited the vehicle, but allegedly pointed the gun at police. "Several officers" then opened fire, according to the release.
Police and medics, who were already staged nearby, provided "life-saving measures" before Gaultney was taken to Eskenazi Hospital. As of Thursday night, he was in surgery and listed in critical condition, the release states.
The incident is still under investigation.
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"Yeah, I'm right between the abandoned summer camp and that motel with the creepy house in the back."
Because of the whole "boonies at night" thing, Swanson's parents had trouble finding him. When they couldn't find his car at the location he provided they got back on the phone for over 45 minutes to play the world's worst game of Marco Polo. Swanson claimed he could see lights from a nearby town and was heading in that direction, but things took a turn for the creepy when he suddenly yelled, "Oh shit!"
Before his father could even scold his son for using such filthy language, the call cut off. And that's the last anyone ever heard from Swanson. Hundreds of volunteers, 34 dogs, and 120 days later, only his car was found. So what the hell happened to him?
Sherri LaRose-Chiglo/Pioneer Press
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Slipped on a misplaced Stargate?
There was no evidence of foul play or any suggestion that Swanson wanted to disappear. Phone records showed that he was wrong about his location -- when he made his last call he was about 20 miles away from the town he claimed to be walking towards. The likeliest explanation is that he fell into a nearby river, but the search came up empty, and in the two days following his disappearance all calls to his cellphone rang. If he did stumble into the river, he didn't take his phone with him.
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The Lizard emerges, and the two girls are understandably frozen in terror.
Columbia Pictures
In a superhero universe, it's a fair assumption any of your bowel movements could gain sentience at any time.
However, instead of leaving to go find Parker, which is why he came here in the first place, the Lizard gets in the girls' faces and licks one of them.
Columbia Pictures
"Remember that scene in Alien 3? I want that, but molesty."
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Now, it is important to note that at this point in the movie, the Lizard hasn't done anything like this. He doesn't terrorize random people; he has specific targets in mind when he goes out lizarding. And he doesn't lick anyone else later in the movie, either -- just this one disturbingly young teenage girl. Evidently, lizard serum turns you into a giant reptile and a child predator.
For obvious reasons, the scene was cut. We can only assume that everyone involved is now on some kind of watch list.
Jason has never filmed a deleted scene in his life, so congratulate him on Facebook and Twitter. The fact that he's never filmed anything is irrelevant.
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What do Chuck Norris, Liam Neeson in Taken, and the Dos Equis guy have in common? They're all losers compared to some of the actual badasses from history whom you know nothing about. Come out to the UCB Sunset for another LIVE podcast, April 9 at 7:00 p.m., where Jack O'Brien, Michael Swaim, and more will get together for an epic competition to find out who was the most hardcore tough guy or tough gal unfairly relegated to the footnotes of history. Get your tickets here!
Psst ... want to give us feedback on the super-secret beta launch of the upcoming Cracked spin-off site, Braindrop? Well, simply follow us behind this curtain. Or, you know, click here: Braindrop.
Ready for some more insane deleted scenes? Then check out 21 Real Deleted Scenes That Completely Change Famous Movies and 6 Classic Movies That Were Saved By (Wisely) Deleted Scenes.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel, and check out 8 Great Movies With Insane Deleted Scenes, and watch other videos you won't see on the site!
Also, follow us on Facebook, and let's have a Wu-Tang party.
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Cirrus Networks has won three resources contracts worth more than $1 million combined.
The publicly listed integrator told the ASX that it had signed deals with three blue-chip resources-based customers, although only one of the clients was named.
Under the terms of the first deal, Cirrus will provide Independence Group with new data centre infrastructure to help the Perth-based miner continue its expansion.
This new infrastructure will also help Independence Group integrate with Sirius Resources, after the two companies merged in September 2015.
Cirrus managing director Frank Richmond said that Cirrus, which is also based in Perth, looked forward to continuing its long-term relationship with Independence Group.
Meanwhile, Cirrus announced that it had been chosen by a global mining giant to provide data storage to mine sites in Western Australia.
Cirrus will implement its next-generation all-flash enterprise technology and provide disaster recovery back-up to the clients data centre in the Perth CBD. Work will start in April.
For the third deal, Cirrus will implement a virtual desktop environment for a leading mining services business, following a successful pilot.
Richmond said the three contact wins were a tribute to Cirrus innovative solutions.
As all businesses, particularly those within the resources sector, look to enabling technologies to drive lower operational costs, Cirrus is excited at the opportunity to showcase our success in this area, he said.
These latest wins come after Cirrus revealed last month that it had landed four major managed services contracts, valued at $2.1 million, since launching the new division eight months ago.
Cirrus came in at No.3 in the 2015 CRN Fast50 with revenue growth of 154 percent to $14.9 million.
Anti-virus software vendor Bitdefender released a free tool that can be used to protect systems infected by several growing ransomware strains.
The combination crypto-ransomware vaccine protects infections from the rising ransomware family Locky, and two older ransomware strains CTB-Locker and TeslaCrypt that recently resurfaced, the company said.
In November 2015, Bitdefender released a similar tool to unlock Cryptowall infections. That tool was created to protect against Cryptowall 4.0,' a new strain of the ransomware that encrypts file names.
The tool is in the same vein as a free decryption tool released by Cisco in April 2015 that unlocks files affected by TeslaCrypt ransomware.
Bitdefender's latest tool arrives just as the private sector has begun to work more closely with public officials and private sector allies to protect against a growing number of ransomware attacks.
Last week, the FBI sent an urgent memo to US businesses asking for assistance protecting against Samas ransomware. Healthcare organisations are increasingly targeted in ransomware attacks. This week an attack that was most likely ransomware has knocked MedStar Health systems offline for several days. Even security providers have affected by ransomware. Last week, a security certification provider in New Mexico was discovered to have spread ransomware via Angler exploit kits.
In January, Bitdefender's chief security strategist Catalin Cosoi told SCMagazineUK.com that attackers are interested in JavaScript ransomware.
A ransomware capable of running on all three major operating systems means a bigger market for cyber-criminals, who will target more victims and thus, raise more ransom money, he said.
Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that the tool can be used to clean systems infected by ransomware. The article has been updated to clarify that the tool prevents ransomware infection.
Channel programs News
CRN Exclusive: Dell's Marius Haas Tells Partners EMC Merger Is On Schedule; Program Will Combine Best Of Both
Matt Brown
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A top executive at Dell has reached out to the company's partners to confirm that the acquisition of data storage giant EMC is on schedule, and assure them that the firms are working hard to integrate channel programs.
"Our channel partner community is critical to our success now and into the future, and we believe with this combination Dell will be able to offer the broadest, most comprehensive array of products and solutions globally," Chief Commercial Officer and President of Enterprise Solutions Marius Haas wrote in an email to partners Friday.
The structure of the channel partner business will be established in the coming months, and the executives in charge of the integration of Dell and EMC's partner programs aim to "preserve and build on the best of both [companies'] channel programs to deliver (an) even stronger experience when the transaction closes," Haas said. "It's our plan that this future channel program will bring together the best elements of the Dell PartnerDirect Program and EMC's Business Partner Program."
[Related: Dell's Highest-Paid Executives: Going Private Payouts And Salary/Bonus Packages For 2016]
"I absolutely expect them to work through all the steps and make it happen," said Mark McKeever, principal at Tempe, Ariz.-based Dell partner MicroAge. Dell is Micro Age's largest vendor partner by revenue, and McKeever said his company saw 30 percent revenue growth year-over-year with Dell last year.
MicroAge "is very interested in getting into the enterprise storage market," McKeever said. "The merger will be extremely helpful to that end. Dell has executed about as well as possible in (establishing) an indirect channel the past several years, and we're just killing it with Dell right now."
The acquisition is expected to close between May and October, and will cost Dell about $60 billion. Haas said the merger would create "the essential infrastructure company with the ability to address large and small customers' rapidly changing IT needs."
The deal has gained antitrust approval from both the U.S. and the European Union, and Dell has already outlined how portions of its executive leadership will be structured. Last week, Dell agreed to sell its Perot Systems business to Japan's NTT Data for just under $3.1 billion as part of an effort to sell off assets to offset some of the cost of the merger. Dell could take on as much as $49.5 billion in debt to make the transaction work.
Here's Haas' letter to partners:
To Our Valued Partners,
In the last month, we have seen a great deal of progress and momentum in our plans to combine Dell with EMC. I wanted to provide our partner community with an update on the transaction and next steps as you take this journey with us.
As I hope you know by now, the combination of Dell and EMC will create the essential infrastructure company with the ability to address large and small customers rapidly changing IT needs with a leadership position in 20 Gartner Magic Quadrants. Both companies have a demonstrated ability to win in fast-changing markets. Being privately controlled, along with our investments in R&D and innovation, will give us unmatched scale, strength and flexibility to help our customers and partners achieve their goals.
We will continue to do everything in our power to support and equip you with the best products, solutions, and programs in the industry to be successful on behalf of our customers.
The Dell + EMC combination is progressing as planned and is on the original schedule and timetable, with a projected close happening in the May-October timeframe. The teams working on the integration planning are making strong progress and we are well down the path ensuring we are set up for success when the deal does close. One of our priority goals is to ensure we maintain the partner and customer experience you have come to expect today, and then preserve and build on the best of both companies' channel programs to deliver an even stronger experience when the transaction closes.
Integration Highlights:
We have secured U.S. and European Commission antitrust regulatory review and several other required jurisdictions.
We expect to file an amended S-4 (proxy statement) with the SEC shortly, with an EMC shareholder vote following after the SEC declares the S-4 effective.
We have named executive leaders for the combined company. Our new company will have the most experienced, most knowledgeable and most capable leadership team in our industry. These new leaders will assume their roles effective immediately following the completion of the transaction.
In (Michael Dells) note naming the future leaders of the business he mentions Bill Scannell, Jeff Clarke and myself as leads for our new Go-To-Market structure. We are working together to define the future companys sales organizations, which includes plans for our channel partners. We will have more details on the structure of the channel partner business once that work is completed in the coming months. Rest assured our intention is to create the best possible program for our partners so you can be successful in service of our joint customers. Its our plan that this future channel program will bring together the best elements of the Dell PartnerDirect Program and EMCs Business Partner Program.
Once the transaction is complete, you will have access to the best portfolio in the industry along with extremely compelling programs, which will enable you to offer customers industry-leading solutions in converged infrastructure, hyper converged, cloud, security, virtualization and client solutions. We believe the opportunities for partners will be significant across every aspect of a customers technology needs.
Thank you for your continued partnership and we will share more details on the future company in the coming months.
Royal Caribbean International is having a bit of fun with the recent Boaty McBoatface research ship naming controversy. The Miami-based line issued for the following press release:
Update: Royal Caribbean added: "Fair warning: This is NOT an April Fools Day joke pitch. Promise! No bait and switch"
Since the first time humans took to the seas, choosing a ships name has been the most integral part of launching a new vessel. From Christopher Columbus Santa Maria, to Captain Cooks Endeavor, to the legendary Norse longship Skiblanir, a ships name establishes its lofty purpose. Last week, an unlikely name crafted by wordsmith James Hand entered the pantheon of legendary ship names Boaty McBoatface.
The whimsical moniker, submitted as part of the UKs Natural Environment Research Councils contest to name its newest $300 million Antarctic survey vessel, has sparked debate on whether the name Boaty McBoatface has the gravitas suitable for its mission. Regardless of the contest outcome, which ends April 16, Royal Caribbean knows that James Hand has forever altered the business of naming ships, and perhaps could make a career out of it. Therefore, Royal Caribbean is thrilled to extend James Hand an offer to bring his talents on deck, and help Royal Caribbean develop the name for a future ship. With five ships debuting in the next three years, Hands clever copywriting skills will surely be put to good use.
The people of the United Kingdom know the name of a great ship when they see it, said Michael Bayley, President and CEO, Royal Caribbean International. Like the rest of the world, we fell in love with the name Boaty McBoatface when we heard it, and we knew immediately that Royal Caribbean could use James Hands talent to name our next ship.
As the first step, Royal Caribbean is inviting James Hand to sail on its newest and biggest ship, Harmony of the Seas, when she launches in Southampton, UK this May. Hand will meet with the cruise lines very own ship naming experts to discuss potential names for a forthcoming ship.
If James accepts our offer, who knows, perhaps he could name all our future ships, added Bayley. James Hand, Chief Naming Officer, Royal Caribbean International. It has a nice ring to it.
The aim of the Security Analogies Project is to help spread the message of information security and its importance in the modern world. By drawing parallels between what people already know, or find interesting and how these relate to information security, the industry can increase understanding and support across the whole of society. As for me, I find that the world of aviation lends itself to many information security analogies.
One recent tragic event that we can hope to learn from is a May 2014 accident. On that day, a Gulfstream IV-SP corporate jet was destroyed in a takeoff accident at Bedford-Hanscom Field in Massachusetts. All four passengers and three crew members were killed in the accident.
In Bedford and the Normalization of Deviance, professional pilot Ron Rapp writes that the accident report is one of the most disturbing hes ever laid eyes on. What happened? The highly experienced crew attempted to takeoff with the equivalent of the brakes on. The aircraft exited the end of the runway and broke apart, and the ensuing fire killed all aboard.
While Rapps analysis is written by a pilot for pilots, there is a lot in it that is highly relevant for IT and information security professionals. Particularly around complacency and human error.
Two of the more devastating outcomes of the report is that there are five Gulfstream checklists which must be run prior to flying. The pilots ran none of them. The cockpit voice recorder and pilot interviews revealed that checklists simply were not used. This was not an anomaly, it was standard operating procedure for them.
Rapp writes that obviously the gust lock was not removed prior to flying. This is a very big, very visible, bright red handle which sticks up vertically right between the throttles and the flap handle. Its hard to miss the gust lock handle protruding six inches above the rest of the center pedestal. But its also the precise reason there are checklists and procedures in the first place.
While processes can be used as a method for improvement, if they are not followed, the results can be catastrophic. Bedford shows that its not only important just to have processes, they must be followed also.
Information security processes
So what does all this mean for information security? The ability to have a comprehensive set of information security processes can be of great benefit. Enterprises may want to consider developing a catalog of security processes. By formalizing information security processes, some of the benefits that can be obtained include:
process improvement and optimization
easier continuity of operations in the event of turnover
can reduce redundancy
ability to audit security tasks
Once the core set of processes has been defined, the specific processes are then prioritized and documented and the security process catalog is created. The formalization and creation of such a set of processes improves process maturity, which in turn can improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the overall set of information security tasks.
Where to start? For those venturing down this for the first time, the following methodologies provide initial sets of processes that can be used to start your own security process catalog:
ISO/IEC 27001 ISMS (Information security management system)
ISACA COBIT (Control Objectives for Information and Related Technology)
ITIL security management
Based on the above, many firms will create processes at a high-level starting around:
Firewall management user provisioning patch management access control password management incident response malware protection software development incident response disaster recovery/business continuity planning
Process planning and framework
Creating a process framework doesnt mean simply writing a set of processes and then just dumping them on the corporate Intranet.
Process formalization is the starting point for security process and program maturity. With that, consider the following advice from Gartner about a process framework:
Develop a security process portfolio that represents the desired state process environment
Ensure you allocate time and resources for security process formalization.
Selectively prioritize processes from this portfolio for assessment and formalization
Formalize these processes via ownership allocation, assessment of existing processes, procedures and activities, formal definition, and resource allocation.
Treat security process management as a dedicated management discipline, tasking process owners with the responsibility for improving overall security process performance.
Even with the best set of processes, complacency and human error can obviate all of its benefits. But even with those challenges, the benefits of good processes are compelling.
Ultimately creating a security process catalog is about efficiencies. The worst thing you can do is make process formalization becoming the end-goal, rather than have it being the means to your effective information security program.
In an election season when the power of wealthy campaign contributors and special interests has generated a backlash, dozens of legislative hopefuls in Connecticut are channeling Bernie Sanders.
So far, 84 candidates have applied for public funding for their campaigns from the state, which requires them to patch together small-dollar contributions to qualify for the program.
One-quarter of them are challengers like Democrat Dru Georgiadis, a first-time House candidate and Representative Town Meeting member from Fairfield. Her average contribution was $32, said Georgiadis, who is backing Hillary Clinton over Sanders.
My fundraising campaign was a definitely kind of Bernie thing, said Georgiadis, who is challenging Republican incumbent Brenda Kupchick in the 132nd District.
Both candidates are participating in the Citizens Election Program and are eligible for $28,150 for the general election if they raise $5,000 from at least 150 contributors in their city or town. Georgiadis said she hit the threshold in February with help from 195 contributors.
Obviously, incumbents, they have an advantage anyway. But if you take away (the fundraising gap) ... Georgiadis said, trailing off.
Kupchick hasnt started soliciting contributions from her supporters yet and said shes been focused on the current legislative session.
People are getting tired of special interest money involved in campaigns, and I agree with that, said Kupchick, who is seeking a fourth two-year term. I like the fact that I have a lot of $5 and $10 donors. It makes people feel like theyre part of the process, and I like that.
The goal of the Citizens Election Program is to wean candidates off special interest money and free them from the time required for fundraising. It came into existence a decade ago following the resignation and imprisonment of Gov. John G. Rowland for accepting bribes from state contractors.
I think it levels the field out really well for people who are qualified to run but dont have access to the crazy amounts of funds to run, said Republican Steven Kolenberg, a Stamford Board of Representatives member who is mounting a challenge in the 144th House District.
Kolenberg, 23, is a senior at the University of Connecticut in Stamford and is the son of twice-thwarted state Senate candidate Bob Kolenberg.
If I didnt have the CEP program, it would be a lot harder for me to run my campaign, the younger Kolenberg said.
The district is represented by freshman Democrat Caroline Simmons, who plans to participate again in the public financing program.
I believe the Citizens Election Program has helped reduce the amount of special interest money in campaigns and has allowed candidates to spend more time connecting with constituents rather than corporate donors, Simmons said. It also encourages more competitive elections and helps to hold lawmakers accountable.
The state is expected to pay out $10 million to $12 million this election cycle, which will feature 151 House and 36 Senate races. The programs oversight agency is forecasting a participation rate of at least 80 percent, continuing its upward trajectory.
I think it gives people access who might not have access in the same way, said Rep. Cristin McCarthy Vahey, D-Fairfield, who is also in her first term.
Senate candidates can receive $95,710 for the general election and $39,410 for a primary if they raise $15,000 from at least 300 contributors in their districts. House candidates are eligible for an additional $11,260 if they have a primary.
The program already includes a provision for cutting grants by 30 percent for unopposed candidates in the general election, but some say that doesnt go far enough.
Do you need $30,000 if you have no opponent? Kupchick said. I cant imagine anyone can defend that. Theres a lot of very safe districts where people dont have an opponent. I think that would save a lot of money right there.
Kupchick said she is also concerned that the decade-old program has been undermined by massive spending by shadow groups and party vessels, a phenomenon that occurred in the 2014 governors race.
Whats the point of the program if youre going to skirt around it? Kupchick said.
neil.vigdor@scni.com; 203-625-4436; http://twitter.com/gettinviggy
TRUMBULL What if intelligence wasnt all it was cracked up to be? What if your EQ, or emotional intelligence quotient, mattered just as much as your IQ?
Marc Brackett might argued it does.
The political equivalent of commitment-phobes voters not affiliated with the Democrats or Republicans could wind up playing an unsung role in Connecticuts upcoming presidential primaries.
Up until the day before the April 26 contests, members of states largest voter bloc can enroll in a party for the sole purpose of casting a primary ballot under Connecticuts election law.
The very next day, they can leave the party and go back to being unaffiliated.
Bernie Sanders or Donald Trump could stand to benefit the most from the revolving door in Connecticuts closed primary system, as both candidates have performed strongly in states that allow unaffiliated voters to participate in primaries.
Were going to take advantage of that, said Paul Feeney, Sanders state director for Connecticut. Bernie Sanders campaign throughout the country is really bringing people into the fold that havent been involved in the process in the past.
There are roughly 800,000 unaffiliated voters in Connecticut, followed by 700,000 Democrats and 400,000 Republicans. But not every one of them is the procrastinating type. Thousands have already made the switch to a party for the primaries.
Since Jan. 1, the Democrats have picked up 9,467 voters from the unaffiliated ranks, compared to 5,845 for Republicans, according to Secretary of the State Denise Merrills office.
This has been an exciting and competitive primary that has generated a lot of interest, said Merrill, Connecticuts top election official. April 26 is Connecticuts time to be heard. If you want to participate in choosing a partys nominee, then you will have to register with the party in which the candidate is running. If you are a new or unaffiliated voter, it is not too late.
Candidates counting on unaffiliated voters to be an X-factor could have history working against them in Connecticut, according to some political experts, who say that the states primaries tend to be dominated by Democratic and Republican diehards.
Were the land of steady habits, and we tend to be the land of steady voters, said Christopher Kukk, a political science professor at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury.
If Sanders is going to convert unaffiliated voters to the Democratic rolls, Kukk said, he expects them to be younger.
The cut-off for mailing in post-marked party enrollment forms for the primary is April 21, but would-be primary voters can register in-person with their local registrar of voters until noon on April 25. Its too late for current Democrats or Republicans to switch their affiliation to another party, however.
Both state parties have organized voter registration drives in an attempt to capitalize on the buzz surrounding their hotly contested nominating contests, which has resulted in long lines at the polls and ballot shortages in some states.
Youre going to see an increase in Republican participation, said J.R. Romano, the state GOP chairman. Youre seeing that in turnout numbers across the country.
From Jan. 1 to March 22, the GOP added 10,070 new voters to its rolls. How much of that is attributable to Trump?
I think hes brought a lot of eyes and attention to the primary process, Romano said.
Democrats have added 21,257 during the same period.
I think that really speaks to the enthusiasm behind both of our candidates, said Leigh Appleby, a spokesman for the Connecticut Democrats. Were fortunate to have two great candidates running for president and folks are lining up behind that message.
neil.vigdor@scni.com; 203-625-4436; http://twitter.com/gettinviggy
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As this year's election cycle heats up, it's becoming clearer who will be the country's choices for Republican and Democratic candidates for president. We're also getting a better picture at who has the most funding behind them.
InsideGov recently analyzed Federal Election Committee data to give us a better look at official campaign contributions to current candidates and from which states donations are coming from the most.
Maybe to no surprise for some, California, Texas, and New York were the highest donor states, combining for $115,059,468, or 39 percent of all official campaign contributions through February 29. Out of the three, Hillary Clinton lead among front-runners with $48,215,876 in contributions.
Connecticut has contributed $4,949,787a drop in the bucket compared to the top threewith most of the money from the state going to Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders came in second in Connecticut, with $574,536, followed by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, and businessman Donald Trump.
In some instances, the numbers may not play as much a strength or weakness to candidates this year. As voters have seen, Sanders and Trump tout their self-funding prowess often and are still very much in the running despite their official campaign contribution totals. In fact, it may not come down to which state is most powerful, InsideGov said.
"While California, Texas and New York are among the most populous states in the country, thus impacting fundraising totals, political campaigns often benefit from deep-pocketed cities as the primary source of monetary support," the website said.
The next round of campaign finance reports will cover March figures and be released on April 20.
Click through the slideshow to check out where Connecticut ranks among all states and click here to read InsideGov's full report.
Connecticuts flagship casinos are home to thousands of workers from diverse backgrounds. In the 1990s, when workers were being laid off and plants were closing, residents from across the state found solid jobs at Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun. Today, classifications ranging from concierge to blackjack dealer, and from maintenance staff to maitre d, provide an array of job opportunities for the states citizenry.
As director of UAW Region 9A, the union that represents 1,400 of the Foxwoods-based dealers, I have seen up close the value of casino jobs to our communities.
Over the years, the UAW has worked closely with Foxwoods leadership, successfully securing better wages, benefits, and working conditions for the casinos union employees. During this process, I have witnessed firsthand the partnership that has been created between the workers and the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe to care for the workers well-being, and I have gained a better understanding of the massive impact Connecticuts casinos have on the states economy.
Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun serve as twin engines for Connecticuts economy, driving job growth and providing the state with millions of dollars in much-needed revenue each year.
Unfortunately, our state is under attack. Every day that construction continues on the billion-dollar casino in Springfield, the bleak reality our state could face comes into sharper focus.
This out-of-state competitor can and will leech jobs and revenue away from Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun at an alarming rate, claiming up to 9,300 jobs and over $700 million in revenue. To ensure this doesnt happen, our states leading unions and the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan Tribes are putting up a major fight.
Through MM4CT Venture, a historic collaboration between the two tribes, the Mashantucket Pequots and Mohegans are working to build a third Connecticut casino, offering state gaming consumers an alternative to the Springfield facility and blunting its negative impact on our states economy. MM4CT Venture has made massive strides toward construction of a new facility, working quickly to ensure a high-quality casino can be operational as soon as possible.
At this stage in the process, unnecessary delays will hinder the project and threaten Connecticuts ability to engage in healthy competition with a Massachusetts casino.
As gaming expert Dr. Clyde Barrow demonstrated in his comprehensive study, a new Connecticut casino will recapture 46 percent of the 9,300 jobs and $337 million in revenue that would otherwise be lost to out-of-state competition.
A third casino would also create up to 6,584 new jobs, including thousands of good union jobs, generate hundreds of million in revenue, and generate $78 million in new taxes that will support essential state programs.
Dr. Barrows report highlighted an essential truth that UAWs 10,000 Connecticut members already understand our states flagship casinos keep thousands of good union jobs in the state. Without these jobs, workers and their families will suffer.
This is our bottom line: protecting Connecticut jobs and revenue. Criticisms to the contrary like those posed in the Hearst Connecticut Media recent editorial are dangerously short-sighted. The choice is ours we can be winners if we choose to create solid jobs and protect revenue sources. The Mashantucket Pequots and Mohegans have made a commitment to good jobs and for those that are skeptical they put that commitment in writing in an ironclad agreement.
There is too much at stake for any further deliberation.
Connecticut needs to stand firmly behind MM4CT Ventures project, presenting a strong and unified front as we take swift action to protect our workers and our economy.
US scientists want to turn Guantanamo Bay into a research park
The US has made it clear that returning Guantanamo is not up for discussion, at least for now. But scientists have proposed a third option for the territory: turn Guantanamo Bay into a protected area for environmental research.
Joe Roman, a fellow at the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics at the University of Vermont, had the idea while traveling in Cuba last summer.
I was trying to think of a future that could be pretty inspirational, Roman told The Huffington Post about his proposal for the research facility.
We could confront one of biggest issues of 21st century climate change and biodiversity loss, Roman said.
The U.S. has controlled Guantanamo Bay since 1903. The US Navy technically leases the land from the Cuban government at around $4,000 a year. But since the 1960s, Cuba has refused to cash the rent checks, arguing that the US occupation is illegitimate.
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.
Lifestyle | Daily Life | News | The Sydney Morning Herald
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With the fate of a strategically vital British industry and thousands of jobs hanging in the balance, is the Government truly committed to finding a solution to the steel crisis?
We ask because David Camerons emergency meeting at Downing Street lasted a derisory 45 minutes and was attended by just five junior ministers.
Notable absentees included Business Secretary Sajid Javid, who still hadnt managed to fly back from Australia several days after the crisis began and Chancellor George Osborne, who was unavoidably detained in France.
If the workers whose financial security depends on Port Talbots survival hoped for action from the Government or even leadership they were sorely disappointed. Pictured: The steel works in Wales
And when the meeting was over, Mr Cameron offered some platitudes about doing everything possible to rescue the beleaguered Port Talbot steel plant then jetted off to Washington to press flesh with President Obama.
If the workers whose financial security depends on Port Talbots survival hoped for action or even leadership they were sorely disappointed.
Why has the Government response been at once chaotic and feeble? Its not as if ministers werent warned about the crisis.
The industry has been reeling since China started dumping surplus steel at rock-bottom prices over a year ago. Another key plant at Redcar collapsed in September with the loss of 2,000 jobs.
True, the EU shoulders much of the blame for not imposing greater tariffs on subsidised Chinese imports.
But our own government has been complicit in this. Brussels officials claim Britain led moves to block a proposed tariff increase to the delight of Beijing.
As we have said repeatedly, the Mail is deeply wary of state intervention in free markets. But the British steel industry clearly cant survive without help.
If they are abandoned, those anxious workers are entitled to ask why the politicians were prepared to bail out the banks at massive cost, but not give a modest sum to support them?
It should be a short-term investment. As the global economy recovers, so will demand for steel and its hoped British producers would quickly move into profit.
But ultimately Britain must make a far more profound decision. Are we ready to defend strategic industries that define us as a self-reliant nation, or are we content to be totally at the mercy of capricious global markets?
We have already surrendered nuclear power generation, our ports, and most of our water companies and rail network. Surely Mr Cameron cant let the steel industry join that sorry list without even putting up a fight.
Price of a living wage
Nursery owners yesterday joined retailers, small firms and care homes in warning that the living wage will mean less recruitment and possibly job losses.
Minimum hourly pay rises today from 6.70 to 7.20 and is set to hit 9 by 2020, creating a massive strain on these industries and a magnet for migrants.
Of course, everyone deserves decent wages but if employers cant afford them, jobs will be lost and its the poorest workers the very people the living wage is meant to help who will pay the price.
Dishonourable snub
If the overused term national treasure could be applied to any entertainer, surely it was Ronnie Corbett. For decades he delighted millions, notably with his brilliant comedy partner Ronnie Barker.
So why wasnt he handed the knighthood he so richly deserved? Honours have been conferred on countless less worthy celebrities, political cronies, dubious businessmen, disgraced bankers like Fred Goodwin and even Jimmy Savile.
While steelworkers in Port Talbot stare into the abyss, a Saudi playboy swans around London in a fleet of golden supercars.
As a snapshot of modern Britain, it says as much about the state of the nation as that famous old photograph of street urchins staring at top-hatted Harrow public school boys said about the class divide in 1937.
The rich have always been with us. But the chasm between the ultra-wealthy and the common herd has never been greater.
At least the old British moneyed classes maintained a certain decorous restraint. OK, so they lived in grand townhouses and on country estates, but few ever flaunted their money in the faces of the hoi polloi.
While steelworkers in Port Talbot stare into the abyss, a Saudi playboy swans around London in a fleet of golden supercars
Rolls-Royces were a rarity, even in the swankier postcodes, and came in a range of discreet colours. No self-respecting aristocrat or self-made beer baron would have been seen dead in a gaudy, gold-plated Lamborghini Aventador.
For the past few days a Saudi businessman called Turki Bin Abdullah has been making a spectacle of himself in Knightsbridge and Chelsea.
Hes been showing off his specially imported 350,000 Aventador, 370,000 six-wheeler Mercedes AMG off-roader, 350,000 Rolls Phantom Coupe, 220,000 Bentley Flying Spur and 180,000 Lambo Huracan all painted a uniform shade of gold.
Given his collection is worth 1.5 million, you might have thought hed have hired a private garage or used valet parking at one of the five-star hotels and restaurants he frequents.
No, hes left them on the street, where they have been racking up parking tickets at 40 a pop, as well as becoming something of a tourist attraction.
Still, Im sure he can afford to pay the fines out of petty cash and still have enough left over for a lobster supper at the nearest gentlemens club.
Saudi billionaire Turki Bin Abdullah is the man behind the fleet of incredible golden supercars currently touring wealthy parts of west London
Abdullah is said to have links to the Saudi royal family. Havent they all? The Saudis must have more princes than the KGB used to have colonels.
Most of them seem to be resident in London for at least part of the year. The Middle East has moved to Mayfair, where someone described as the first cousin of the Emir of Qatar lives in a 200 million, 17-bedroom pad on Park Lane.
Gulf state gazillionaires have been hoovering up homes worth billions in Londons most fashionable districts, which were once the hunting ground of dowager duchesses and the genteel-but-cash-strapped members of the landed gentry.
These days, if you find a belted earl in Mayfair, hell probably be working as a concierge to oil-rich Arabs and other dubious oligarchs from around the world.
Entire industries have grown up to service the influx of foreign funny money. The best seat in the house? My pleasure. A helicopter? No problem. Some high-class female company sent up to your suite? Your wish is my command, effendi.
Russians, Chinese, Nigerians. Come on down! Over the past few years, London has become the Number One destination for wealthy foreigners seeking a safe haven from less agreeable regimes and regional instability.
The knock-on effect is that property prices overall have gone into the stratosphere, with shockwaves being felt in the suburbs and beyond.
Bin Abdullah is shown on Instagram in one of his vehicles and with friends on a private jet as he head between the Middle East and Europe
So imagine how Londoners, priced out of the housing market and forced either to use expensive, overcrowded public transport or pay extortionate congestion charges to drive to work, feel when they see casually abandoned gold Lamborghinis bearing licence plates in Arabic and festooned with contemptuously ignored parking tickets. Why havent they been clamped and towed away?
Our capital city is the go-to venue for rich-as-Croesus foreigners intent on obscene and ostentatious displays of conspicuous consumption.
Witness the wedding celebrations of the son of Russias King of Bling Mikhail Gutseriev, which have moved to London after a ghastly, money-no-object ceremony in Moscow. They promise modestly to knock the spots off William and Kates nuptials.
The brides Disney Princess frock alone cost 700,000. The cabaret at the London leg is reported to be Elton John and Beyonce.
As Kenny Everetts TV character Cupid Stunt used to declare: And all in the best paaahhhsable taste!
London was the natural choice for Mr Gutseriev, who moved to Britain for three years while being investigated for tax crimes in Russia.
He was eventually cleared, but during his exile here, he fell in love with the place. Of course he did. Whats not to like about London if youre a Russian oil tycoon worth 4.3 billion? Just sign here, sir. Absolutely, cash will do nicely.
No wonder, when confronted with this petro-dollar-fuelled excess, the natives are getting restless. Theres a whiff in the air of pre-Revolution France, or Cuba before Castro kicked out the flash Yanquis partying in their mob-funded casinos in Havana.
Meanwhile, the Government stands accused of colluding in the collapse of the steel industry because it opposed higher tariffs on dumped Chinese steel rather than risk upsetting Beijing
In Lady Windermeres Fan, Oscar Wilde wrote that a cynic is someone who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. It was a clever line, but was never intended to be an economic blueprint.
Yet in the desperate dash to attract foreign cash, we as a nation have abandoned all vestige of decency and principle. Our policy is to prostrate ourselves before anyone with a big enough bank balance, no questions asked.
Who are all these oligarchs were welcoming? How did they come into their vast wealth?
In the case of those from the former Soviet Union, they became rich through privatisation of former state industries such as gas and oil. Theyre not all brilliant businessmen, they just knew the right people and greased the right palms.
The Saudis and the other Middle Eastern moguls simply had the good fortune to be sitting on vast reservoirs of crude oil. They ruthlessly protect their wealth and power with militarily enforced suppression of individual liberty and free speech.
Yet we are prepared to overlook their humanitarian transgressions in exchange for a few scraps from their groaning tables.
We parade our liberal credentials, yet are only too willing to do business with dictators and one-party, gangster states who dont even pay lip service to human rights.
Britain ostracised and boycotted apartheid South Africa, but sucks up to Muslim countries where they hang homosexuals and treat women like dirt.
Still, our principles are immaterial if the price is right. Theres nothing we wont knock out to the highest bidder.
First, we sold off our traditional manufacturing industries to overseas investors, then our public utilities, then just about anything which wasnt nailed down. It sometimes feels as if weve sold our very soul.
We dont own our airports, our railways, our water companies. Were even letting the Chinese build our nuclear power stations. We must be stark, staring mad.
Can you imagine the Americans handing over their nuclear industry to a rival military power controlled by Communists?
Precisely.
Meanwhile, the Government stands accused of colluding in the collapse of the steel industry because it opposed higher tariffs on dumped Chinese steel rather than risk upsetting Beijing.
Sounds about right.
Yesterday, 3,000 redundancy-threatened South Wales steel workers queued for hours to apply for jobs at a new Aston Martin factory, which is opening 18 miles from Port Talbot and will build a luxury crossover model costing a very reasonable 160,000.
They're almost as constant as the Queen herself, and now the designer of Her Majesty's signature handbags has revealed how he customises the accessories to suit his illustrious client.
Gerald Bodmer, CEO of Launer London, which has held the Royal Warrant since 1968, says his company has provided more than 200 of the Launer bags to the Queen.
The classic totes come with a price tag of up to 1,650 but are worn again and again by the royal, who recycles them for engagements and even has the fittings repaired rather than splash out on new models.
The Queen wears a Susanna clutch, costing 580, for a state banquet at the Elysee Palace, Paris, hosted by President Francois Hollande of France as part of the Queen's State visit to France in 2014
The monarch wore a cream Lisa bag, costing 930, for William and Kate's wedding in 2011, the bag was made smaller for Her Majesty, pictured with the Duchess of Cornwall
Her Majesty, 89, 'likes her black patent' and usually wears the black-patent Traviata, costing 1,550.
She also owns several different versions of the Adagio in black and patent cream, both 1,300, the Bellini, costing 1,250, the Royale, sold at 1,650, the Lulu in cream, priced at 740, and the Encore handbag in black calf leather.
Gerald said: 'I recently saw her with an old one with a metal-plate structure. She keeps all the bags and even all the Queen's Mother's bags.
'It's amazing how they last. They're structured, that's our strength.'
Despite the close relationship between the Queen and the brand, Gerald never knows when she will step out with one of his company's creations on his arm. He looks in the papers and 'there she is wearing one'.
He regularly receives orders from Buckingham Palace but while some years Her Majesty may ask for five bags, last year she only needed two.
Although this year they have yet to receive an order, Gerald is expecting one and will certainly be sending Her Majesty a birthday present, although he remains tight-lipped on which model it will be.
The Queen wore a bright pink outfit with a black patent Traviata bag to attend the 50th anniversary of the National Theatre in 2013
The royal chose the Lydia bag, 1,020, for the Maundy Thursday Service, at Windsor Castle last week
Gerald speaks to the Queen's dresser Angela Kelly, reportedly one of the Queen's closest confidantes, to ensure his designs suit the Queen's signature look that consists of a bold coloured outfit with a monochrome bag.
She also knows exactly what she wants from her bags. When she orders a new design, she asks for customisation.
Gerald said she often asks for 'the handles longer,' so the handbag doesn't get in the way while shaking hands.
The Queen has a black patent Royale, costing 1,650, left, and usually chooses a monochrome palette, right, a cream Lulu costing 740
The Queen picked a black patent Traviata to meet Rowan Williams, former Archbishop Of Canterbury, in 2003
He said: 'We might take out a suede lining and replace it with a silk lining. She carries her bag, like a lot of women, as part of her clothing. The latest bag has a frame, so it can be held under the arm.'
The Queen wants ease of opening from so that means no shoulder bag or zips.
But for some special occasions, the company will make a bag smaller, such as the Lisa design, priced at 930, that the Queen wore for William and Kate's wedding in 2011.
Gerald Bodmer is planning to send the Queen one of the company's bags as a 90th birthday gift
He added that for the Queen's petite proportions it's important she has a smaller bag because it wouldn't look right for her to wear a 'blooming great thing'.
While onlookers have long wondered what on earth she carries in her ever-present receptacle, Gerald provides a hint.
He says there are basics inside including a mirror and a purse and a spectacle case in matching leather for 'an occasion like her birthday'.
And for Britain's biggest VIP, it takes just days for the bags to be produced.
Gerald said: 'It takes a few days, usually about a week to make sure it's the best quality. We're a small company, we don't make millions of anything, we make tens or 20s.'
But he scotches rumours that she uses her handbag to send secret signals to her staff, saying she does no such thing with his designs.
It has long been rumoured that Her Majesty will hold her bag to one side to show she wants to move on while greeting people, at which point a lady-in-waiting joins the conversation allowing the Queen to slip away without offence caused.
But Gerald said: 'It's rubbish, I've never seen her have to do that.'
The Queen first started her love of Launer after being sent a bag in 1968 by Sam Launer and the company was given the Royal Warrant.
The Queen wore a black patent Royale during a state visit of the US President at Buckingham Palace in 2003
The Queen chose to offset a coral suit with a cream Launer bag, costing , on a royal tour of Jamaica in 2002
And since Gerald joined the company in the early 1980s, he estimated he's sent 20 designs to Her Majesty.
And when the Queen was regularly going on royal engagements abroad, Gerald would be the first port of call to ensure the bags were made and customised in time.
He said: 'We'd have, "Can you get this bag in this style made for so-so date for a trip to Canada", for example.'
And the numerous times Gerald has met the Queen he described her as 'marvellous.'
He said: 'When she came to the factory she was very nice. She doesn't say anything, she just smiles.'
The Queen found her favourite Traviata early one, pictured wearing it on a state visit to Durban, South Africa, in 1995
Gerald said he'd be 'delighted' if the Queen tried some colour for her handbags, pictured from the new range pictured left, the Aida bag, right, Stella bag costing 970
Although the last time Gerald met her was four years ago, he puts that down to the fact that the Monarch doesn't need to try on their bags first.
He said with the rest of her wardrobe the Queen needs 'to try stuff on, we're not a hat or shoe makers. We know what her needs are.
'I'm a servant of hers, I don't have big ideas. The Duchess of Cornwall is delightful, but we know we're staff - we just make a very nice bag.'
Since the Queen gave the brand her stamp of approval, Camilla has worn their bags while Dame Maggie Smith and Judi Dench have also snapped up Launer designs.
Launer's latest collection has more colourful pieces which Gerald said are 'selling like hotcakes'.
Gerald compared his quality and designs to the 'top class in Europe,' and they're the obvious choice as the highest quality in the UK.
He laughed: 'If I saw the Queen walking around in a Hermes bag, I'd be annoyed.'
A mother who gave birth to premature triplets, one of whom suffered 'catastrophic' brain injuries, has been dealt another blow after being told she does not qualify for any NHS support to help her cope with her traumatic family situation.
Lorna Cobbett, 37, who lives in Sussex with her husband gave birth to triplets - Eva, Essie and Roman - at 32 weeks, but Essie, now eight weeks old, suffered brain damage at birth, leaving her severely disabled.
The heartbroken mother told FEMAIL: 'She wont be around for very long. All doctors know is that she wont make it into adulthood.'
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Lorna holding Essie. 'All I wanted to do with was smell her,' she says about her first hug with Essie
Essie (centre) cuddled up with sister Eva, left, and brother Roman, right, who were born at 32 weeks. Despite their traumatic family situation, the family have been told they do not qualify for any help at home
'She can only feed via tubes, she can't regulate her own temperature and needs help breathing,' says Lorna, a self-employed PR executive.
'But because she is never going to progress, theres no medical reason to keep her in hospital so she is being discharged.'
Essie's brain damage was due to a twin-to-twin transfusion at birth. Essie shared a sac and placenta with her sister Eva, but when they were born Essie's 'good blood' flowed down the umbilical cord into the placenta (and went into Eva) and she was left with only very poor quality blood in her own body.
Despite being desperate to take their little girl home, without any assistance from nurses or care workers, the task ahead seems almost impossible.
'We want Essie home because we need to have memories with her,' says Lorna. 'All we can hope for are happy memories. But we cant take her home without any support.
'At the moment it's a terrifying situation,' she adds. 'I dont want to feel scared to be with her, but I do.'
Essie's brain damage was due to a twin-to-twin transfusion at birth. Essie shared a sac and placenta with her sister Eva, but when they were born Essie's 'good blood' flowed down the umbilical cord into the placenta (and went into Eva) and she was left with only very poor quality blood in her own body
'All were after is a care worker to give us some degree of normality. I've shed so many tears. I don't understand how I'll ever be able to leave the house,' say Lorna. Pictured left to right, Eva, Essie and Roman
The only assistance Lorna and her husband will receive when Essie is discharged from East Surrey Hospital in Redhill is the oxygen machine, which Essie needs to remain permanently attached to.
'We are the strongest, most independent people but we are holding our hands up and saying, "We won't be able to cope",' she says.
To make their assessment, the Horsham and Mid Sussex Clinical Commissioning Group sent a tick-box questionnaire to Essie's hospital before coming to the conclusion that the family did not qualify for assistance.
'No one came to meet us or my daughter before deciding we dont need any help whatsoever. There was no attempt to understand our family unit,' says Lorna.
PR executive Lorna pictured before she fell pregnant, left and whilst carrying the triplets, right
Lorna giving Essie a hug through the incubator. 'Her medical notes read catastrophic brain injury,' she says
'All were after is a care worker to give us some time so we can have a degree of normality.
'I've had so many meetings and shed so many tears. I don't understand how I'll ever be able to leave the house.'
Lorna, will also need to return to work, but will receive no extra help for her unique childcare needs.
The solution offered to Lorna by her social worker was a leaflet, 'Taking your Child Home on Oxygen, which Lorna says was aimed at parents with just one child.
'It offered advice like buying a double buggy so you can put your baby on one side and a portable gas canister on the other,' says Lorna, who explains that the 'portable' canisters weigh a tonne and are waist height. 'What am I meant to do with my other two babies?'
Lorna's triplets were delivered by elective Caesarean on Monday, February 1 at 1.26pm, 1.28pm and 1.29pm.
The triplets were whisked away to the neonatal unit while Lorna, who lost a litre of blood during childbirth, was left to recover.
After a c-section the Roman, Essie and Eva, pictured top to bottom, were whisked away to the neonatal unit while Lorna, who lost a litre of blood during childbirth, was left to recover
'At midnight a doctor told me Essie was poorly and was being transferred by ambulance to a specialist hospital in London,' says Lorna.
'One of the midwives put me in a wheelchair and pushed me down to the neonatal unit, which I will always be grateful to her for. I was bawling my eyes out but I saw Essie and watched the travel incubator being wheeled out to the ambulance.'
It wasn't for another two weeks that doctors discovered that Essie - who had four blood transfusions in her first 24 hours - had brain damage.
'They did the head scan as a formality, but when the consultant took us into a side room, we knew it wasnt a good sign.
'We were crossing fingers and toes and holding on to each other hoping the news would be tolerable.
'We were told she had head injuries, and would have learning disabilities,' says Lorna. But nothing could prepare them for their daughter's deterioration in the week that followed.
'One minute we were told she would have learning difficulties, then a week later she was in an almost vegetative state,' says Lorna of Essie, pictured left, holding hands with sister Eva
Doctors said they would do another scan to check the bleeding but when they finally did a follow-up scan a week later it wasn't good news.
'We were called into a room with two neonatal consultants, two doctors and two nurses. The consultant showed us pictures of the head scan and said, "Were really sorry but this is what you never expect to see she's unlikely to ever be able to hear, talk or walk."
'Every part of her brain had been impacted. Parts of the brain had folded in on themselves and filled with fluid - which is why her head looks out of shape.
'Her medical notes read catastrophic brain injury.'
All that was whirring around Lorna's head was how it all could have happened so quickly.
'One minute we were told she would have learning difficulties, then a week later she was in an almost vegetative state. I couldn't understand how so much could have happened in a week.
After Lorna and her husband shared a 'massive cry and a hug' they broke the news to family.
Lorna says: 'We made a pact to never cry in front of the children and to make sure we do everything for to help Roman and Eva (pictured together above) to continue progressing'
'I phoned my sister and just said, "Essie's going to die. Her brains totally f*****" and burst into tears. There was no other way to say it. It was horrible.
The couple were then told they needed to have 'a plan'.
'We thought it was a plan to get our daughter home, but in fact the plan we had to decide on was what to do if she needs to be resuscitated.
'Weve taken the decision that we don't want to put her through anything that might cause her more pain - and may not end up being beneficial.
'All we want is for her to be as pain-free and comfortable for as long as shes here.
'It was both a hard and easy decision to put do not resuscitate on her notes.'
It's been five weeks since the couple were given the heart-wrenching news.
'My husband and I have almost gone through a grieving process for Essie,' explains Lorna. 'He's my rock and Im his. We feed off each other.'
Lorna and her husband say the feel like they've gone through a 'parent baptism of fire' after having Eva, Essie and Roman (pictured top to bottom) 32 weeks premature
'We made a pact to never cry in front of the children and to make sure we do everything for to help Roman and Eva to continue progressing.'
'All that we know is that our daughter is incredibly vulnerable.
'She can forget to breathe sometimes and holds her breath for too long, she could choke on something from her tubes, which could end up in her lungs. So much can go wrong, it's horrible.'
My husband and I have almost gone through a grieving process for Essie
Lorna and her husband say the feel like they've gone through a 'parent baptism of fire'.
'We've experienced the most extreme emotions you can imagine,' she says.
'In the maternity unit everyone had a baby next to their bed and above me I could hear people giving birth. I started getting really irrational jealousy pangs, of people who could hold and feed their babies.
'I spent the first week of motherhood looking at all my babies through the plastic of an incubator, covered in tubes.
Describing her first 'finger cuddle' with Essie, Lorna says she desperately tried not to cry.
At a week old, Lorna had her first real cuddle with Essie.
'She was still hooked up to the machines and she was put down my top and I held her wrapped in about five blankets to make sure her temperature didn't drop.
'All I wanted to do with was smell her because each of them has their own unique smell.'
'Its all been so emotional,' says, Lorna, not least the moment the sister at the hospital informed her that the tick-box questionnaire meant that they didn't even 'qualify' for a face-to-face assessment.
'Essie might not be with us for very long. We just want someone who is controlling the purse strings to take account of our needs.'
When the MailOnline contacted the Horsham and Mid Sussex Clinical Commissioning Group about their decision they provided the following statement.
CCGs commission continuing healthcare and they seek assurance that the assessment process is robust and conforms to the latest national guidance.
'Where a family feels that an assessment has not been comprehensive or would disagree with the outcome on specific grounds then there is scope to appeal against any decision.
'Continuing care is provided for patients whose needs cannot be met appropriately through existing universal or specialist services, determined by an assessment set out in the National Framework for Children and Young Peoples Continuing Care.
'Universal and specialist services include health visitors, community nurses and social workers. Parents and carers receive support at home, for example in using oxygen and tube feeds. They are also supported by a child development team, therapists and physiotherapists.
Hunger Games and The Notebook were mocked with the idea
From romantic films to black and white classics, they used 140 characters
Some of our best-loved films have been summed up on Twitter in the most brutal way possible, as the hashtag #ExplainAPlotBadly sweeps the social network.
The goal is that film-lovers reveal what's really happening in movie classics and blockbusters in just 140 characters.
The pithy plot summaries target anything from soppy romantic flicks like The Notebook to big-budget action films like The Hunger Games.
The Notebook is well known as a romantic film but one Twitter user summarised it for Rachal McAdams cheating on her fiance with Ryan Gosling and then developing Alzheimer's disease
Enni Tuomisalo gave her new take on The Notebook, starring Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams which is known for it's incredibly romantic story.
But Enni summarised it: 'A woman cheats on her fiance and gets Alzheimer's.'
In the film, Ryan Gosling's character is seen recounting their love story to his wife who now has Alzheimer's disease.
Well-loved children's film Snow White, which was first released as a film in 1937, was summed up for the Disney character living with a bunch of dwarves.
Sally Qin posted: 'Girl leaves home to live with seven male strangers.'
While the 1999 film Sixth Sense has a surprising twist ending which stunned cinema goers at the time, but @Jobless_Jim instead posted the plot was a 'grown man spends an unusual amount of time with a young boy he barely knows and ends up dead.'
The Disney film snow White was boiled down to a young woman moving away to live with strange men
Sixth Sense, starring Hayley Joel Osment, left, and Bruce Willis, right, has s surprising twist which shocked film goers but was summed up as a man spending too much time with a young boy
Spiderman, starring Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst, was described as a boy discovering he had special powers but there was some innuendo too
There's been plenty of Spiderman films in recent years but the basic premise of the web-shooting superhero stays the same.
And Takuma Duncan summed it up as 'a teen's body changes and he discovers he can shoot a white sticky liquid out of his body.'
While Tom Hanks' infamous break down with a volleyball named Wilson in the 2000 film Castaway saw him surviving being deserted on an island.
But Jamie Watson turned the plot around and posted: 'Volleyball gets stranded on a deserted island with a mental wannabe dentist.'
More recent films also had the treatment, with the Hunger Games trilogy which saw Katniss Everdeen, played by Jennifer Lawrence, volunteer to take part in the competition which leaves only one victor alive.
@JulianDinosaur summed it up: 'Story about a girl who wasted time and energy to save her sister who subsequently dies anyway.'
Castaway, starring Tom Hanks as a survivor living on a desert island, is told from the point of view of Wilson the volleyball
Hunger Games, starring Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen, was said to be a 'waste of time and energy' on Twitter for #ExplainAFilmPlotBadly
While some classics also received the #ExplainAFilmPlotBadly treatment.
Mitchell Willis tweeted: 'Saves the day by stalking all of his neighbours without their knowledge.'
He was summing up the plot of Alfred Hitchcock's thriller Rear Window, where L.B. Jeffries, played by James Stewart, breaks his leg and is stuck in a wheelchair for weeks but manages to help a man be arrested for the murder of his wife.
In The Exorcist, young girl Regan is possessed by a demonic spirit which causes her have abnormal strength and attack people.
But @Jarra_20 summed it up on Twitter: 'When a young girl misbehaves, her mother has a priest to knock her around in her bedroom.'
James Stewart played L.B. Jeffries in Hitchcock's classic Rear Window but was called a 'stalker' by one Twitter user
Linda Blair played Regan, a young girl possessed by a demonic spirit in the classic horror but one Twitter user joked the priests had been brought in because she behaved badly
A Twitter user described Casablanca, starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Berman, as a man who 'grows a pair' after a chance meeting with his ex
The plot of black and white classic Casablanca was boiled down by @TheFallenStars to: 'Bar owner grows a pair after run in with ex-girlfriend.'
In the film, Rick, played by Humphrey Bogart, helps his ex-girlfriend Ilsa and her husband escape armed police after he unexpectedly sees her again.
The saucy flick 50 Shades Of Grey was released to poor reviews and its somewhat unrealistic plot was explained by @The_Wild_Amazon: 'Pervert millionaire obsessively stalks innocent college girl.'
Anastasia finds herself in strange romantic arrangement with Mr Grey and he shows her his various fetishes.While the original Star Wars trilogy was also joked about using the hashtag.
@WhoBrannigan tweeted: 'A sock with a hand in it convinces son to kill father.'
He was referring to Yoda, who helps Luke Skywalker to kill Darth Vader - who it's revealed is actually his father.
While one particularly cynical tweeter joked that The Revenant, which released this year and finally saw Leonardo DiCaprio score the Academy Award for best actor, summed up the epic survival film as: 'Leonardo DiCaprio wanders a frozen wasteland in search of an Oscar.'
50 Shades of Grey starring Dakota Johnson as a naive college girl and Jamie Dornan as a billionaire was described as a film about stalking
@WhoBrannigan tweeted the original Star Wars films were 'a sock with a hand in it' - otherwise known as Yoda, convincing Luke Skywalker, played by Mark Hamil, to kill Darth Vader
Some believe there are 21, depending on the interpretation of the question
There are 19 threes including digits hidden in the time and battery power
The brain teaser has been widely shared on Facebook and Twitter
An image of an iPhone screen with a number of threes on the screen has become an internet sensation.
Thousands of people have viewed and deliberated over the photo, which has been widely shared along with the question: 'How many threes can you see in this picture?'
If your answer is either 15, 19 or 21, you have arrived at the same conclusion as the majority of social networkers. But which answer is correct?
Can you count how many threes are on the iPhone screen? If you see 15, 19 or 21 number threes, you have arrived at the same conclusion as the majority of social networkers... but what's the correct answer?
There are in fact 19 number threes pictured in the image, but there could be 21 depending on how you interpret the question.
Apart from the eight threes in the phone number, there are two threes on the key pad as the number eight button has been replaced.
At 3.33pm, the time also contains three number threes and the battery power at 33 per cent contains another two.
That totals 15, the answer many social networkers have come to. On closer inspection, however, there are a further four hidden digits, totaling 19.
Three of the letters in the contact's name have been replaced with threes and the letter 'I' on the number four key has also been replaced.
But many online posts give the answer to be 21, with people seeming convinced that there are a further two threes in the image. The differing opinions come down to the interpretation of the question. Many users have included the bar signal and the wifi signal, both of which show three bars. But whether 19 or 21 is the correct answer is a matter of opinion
But many online posts give the answer to be 21, with people seeming convinced that there are a further two threes in the image.
The differing opinions come down to the interpretation of the question. The images has been widely shared on Facebook and Twitter with the message. 'How many threes do you see in this picture?'
Many users have included the bar signal and the wifi signal, both of which show three bars. But whether 19 or 21 is the correct answer is a matter of opinion.
The puzzle, which has been widely shared on Facebook and Twitter after resurfacing again online, has instigated heated debate, with may being totally flummoxed when others have arrived at a different answer.
Twitter user Dani posted: 'This thing annoyed the hell out of me when someone said 21. I was like no there's 18 until I looked again properly haha.'
How many threes can you see? Apart from the eight threes in the phone number, there are two threes on the key pad as the number eight button has been replaced. At 3.33pm, the time also contains three number threes and the battery power at 33 per cent contains another two. Three of the letters in the contact's name have been replaced with threes and the letter 'I' on the number four key has also been replaced
Facebook Ravi Vidyadhar Pathak came to a grander total and said: '28 if it's saying to count everything that resembles to 3 including the network signal which is 3 dots the page info on left which is 3 the buttons having 3 letters ABC.'
Another philosophical Facebook user Marc Joseph posted: 'I see only 2....and technically am correct cause you never asked how many 3's are there in the pic.'
Athene Whitfield finally concluded the answer was 19 but had made so many previous guesses she posted: 'I got to that in the end but thought - I can't send an answer through again!!? Was getting embarrassed!'
One user by the name of Sarah was so involved in the problem she posted a mock-up of the screen with the potential answers highlighted in purple.
When a friend posted 'Not sure where you get 20 from' she posted: 'Now I'm not sure.'
It follows optical illusion poster featuring tigers that resurfaced online this week, asking viewers to guess how many animals it featured.
On close inspection the picture has the felines hiding in the bushes, bark and even the sky.
The image, which appears to have been produced as a poster, has two adults tigers and their two cubs in the foreground.
But after those, it becomes trickier to track down the furry felines in the picture but there are 12 other tiger faces which are hidden.
The image appears to have been used as a poster but has resurfaced on the internet
In the foliage to the right of the tigers, there's a fern in the shape of a tiger's face, with two hiding in the dirt beneath the tigers' feet.
In the top of the picture, there are five feline faces hidden within the branches of the trees.
While another two are seen in the wide trunk of the tree on the left of the picture and another tiger is face is seen on the left behind it and the last one is hidden in the soil below it.
The poster, which features 16 in total, appears to be aimed at children, like many of the logic puzzles which have stormed the internet in recent times.
Another recent brain teaser saw a children's picture with tourists at a holiday campsite and challenged them to answer a list of nine questions.
The puzzle has the big cats hidden in foliage, trees and even the ground with all 16 very difficult to find
The image, thought to be from an old children's magazine, according to The Independent, but despite being aimed at youngsters the tough questions are likely to leave adults scratching their heads
The black and white drawing showed 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 said: '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 recent challenge which baffled 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
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 labor nurse has told how she managed to deliver her own baby at home on the bathroom floor with only the help of her three-year-old son after she arrived sooner than expected.
Megan Whaley, 36, was 40 weeks and two days into her pregnancy when she started to feel contractions at around 9am.
She had planned to go to hospital to have the baby at 10.30am when he got home but as the contractions became more intense she called him back to ask him to call an ambulance.
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Home birth: Labor nurse Megan Whaley, 36, pictured with baby Emery, from Oliver Springs, Tennessee, was forced to deliver her own baby on the bathroom floor while her son Deegan, three, watched television
Switch: When she realized the ambulance was not going to get there in time, Megan said she went into 'nurse mode' and got everything done that she needed to deliver Emery, pictured, safely
Unexpected: Megan, pictured left holding baby Emery with husband David, back left, and their sons Jakob, 12, back right, and Deegan, three, front right, said she was 'amazed' that the birth went so smoothly
When Megan, from Oliver Spings, Tennessee, realized she would have to give birth unassisted she said she went into 'nurse mode' and put her 11 years experience as a labor and delivery nurse to use on herself.
As her son watched television in the bedroom, she paced up and down in the bathroom in agony preparing herself to give birth alone.
'I can't believe that I had her here by myself... I went into nurse mode and realized what had to be done," she told TODAY.com.
Looking back she said she is surprised everything went so smoothly, claiming there are numerous 'things that could have gone wrong'.
Megan's husband David left for work in the morning and their son Jakob, 12, had already gone to school.
Moral support: As she successfully delivered the baby, her son Deegan, pictured holding Emery, came in to offer her juice and checked up on her
Surprise: Megan, pictured holding Emery, right, and Deegan, left, said the three-year-old was amazed when he came in to see a newborn baby had arrived
Within hours she started feeling contractions and got to a point where she 'couldn't really talk' because of the pain and laid out towels on the bathroom floor and put more towels between her legs to protect the baby from falling.
After her waters broke at 10.20am, she felt the need to push.
Deegan came in to check up on her several times, patting her on the head and bringing her refreshments.
At one point he asked her if she wanted to watch PAW Patrol with him.
'The cardinal rule is, don't drop the baby," she said. 'That kept running through my head because we have a tile floor.'
When the baby's head came out she struggled to get the body out making her worry that the baby was stuck.
Risky: Megan delivered Emery, pictured, onto towels on their bathroom floor before being taken to hospital
Absent: Megan's husband David, pictured far left holding Emery, had already left for work and their other son Jakob, 12, pictured far right, had gone to school when Megan, center, holding Deegan, started having contractions
But she pushed as hard as she could and used her hands and held her as she emerged.
When her daughter, Emery, which she did not know the sex of until the birth, arrived, she wrapped her in towels.
When Deegan came in and saw the newborn baby, weighing eight pounds and three ounces, he was shocked.
She said: 'He was like, "Baby?" He held his hands out like, "What just happened?"'
When David arrived home he was relieved to find that mother and baby were safe and then the paramedics arrived and took the whole family to hospital.
David and Nicky Beard from Auckland are in the middle of a legal storm surrounding the birth of the world's first triplings in Mexico - three babies born from the sperm of one man and one egg donor, but carried by different surrogates.
And now the storm has intensified, after the surrogacy service that came under fire from the gay Kiwi couple has blamed the New Zealanders for creating their own financial problems.
Today (April 1), the Mexican surrogacy facilitator, Alice Torres, has spoken out regarding the situation, claiming her surrogacy agency is not at fault.
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Controversy continues: David and Nicky Beard from Auckland are in the middle of a legal storm surrounding the birth of the world's first triplings - and now the storm has intensified, after the surrogacy service that came under fire from the gay Kiwi couple has blamed the New Zealanders for creating their own money problems
The couple initially flew to Mexico, where their triplings, Blake, Kelly and Lachlan were born in a hospital at the beginning of March. They were born using the sperm of David Beard and an Argentine donor, which was then implanted into two surrogates.
However, complications arose when one of the babies was born prematurely, costing the couple an unforeseen $118,132 New Zealand dollars (AUD $105,000).
Further difficulties ensued when the couple came out and said the surrogate agency they used scammed them and left them with a mountain of debt to pay for medical care, as well as leaving them stranded in the country.
David and Nicky Beard said this week that they believed 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.
As such, a Give A Little Page was set up by New Zealand friends to raise money to bring the Kiwi couple home.
Initial proceedings: The couple initially flew to Mexico, where their triplings, Blake, Kelly and Lachlan were born in a hospital at the beginning of March - complications arose when one of the children was born prematurely and the couple said the surrogate agency they used scammed them and left them with tonnes of debt
But now Mexican surrogacy facilitator Alice Torres has retaliated with her own version of events, the entire story has been called into question.
Ms Torres says that the problems and costs arose because Lachlan was born prematurely and needed 14 days of life support - an event she claims is specifically excluded in her contract from the pre-paid amount.
She also says that the Beards then made the decision to use a hospital not endorsed by her agency.
While David and Nicky Beard criticised the hospital for being 'located in a dirty, narrow, little back street, dangerous, with wild dogs roaming and sh***ing on the streets, the clinic was filthy with cockroaches, and instead of a an obstetrician, Alice Torres provided a Mexican plastic surgeon for the delivery', Ms Torres denies this vehemently.
Legal storm: But today, April 1, the Mexican surrogacy facilitator has come out and said that the Beards made the decision to use a hospital not endorsed by her agency and that the accusations of poor hygiene at the hospital are 'ludicrous'
What to believe: While the couple are still stranded in Mexico, Ms Torres says that the problems and costs arose because Lachlan was born prematurely and needed 14 days of life support - an event she claims is specifically excluded in her contract from the pre-paid amount
She says:
The accusations of the poor hygiene and cockroaches is ludicrous... no other intended parents have mentioned such a thing
'The accusations of the poor hygiene and cockroaches is ludicrous, since the medical clinic we work with is one that the agency, three years ago partnered with and no other intended parents (over a 100 couples in the last three years) have mentioned such a thing.'
Beard had said that her clinic did not have the necessary life support equipment that he expected of a specialist private clinic and was not able to handle Lachlan's premature birth, and so her transferred the baby to Hospital Del Sureste AC, which had additional costs eventually totalling around $118,132 New Zealand dollars.
'As far as thee additional funds to cover his premature births, it is listed in his contract, as part of his responsibility, he has known this all along,' Ms Torres said.
Total mess: 'As far as thee additional funds to cover his premature births, it is listed in his contract, as part of his responsibility, he has known this all along,' Ms Torres said today (April 1)
'Mr David decided to take his premature baby from the hospital he was born in, to a hospital of his choice, not one associated with gay surrogacy, had I intervened, they may have been denied the medical assistance they were requesting.
'He also decided on his own to have the birth of the twins, at this hospital... without notifying anyone, we found out from an assistant supporting his surrogate during the birth,' Torres said.
Both parties have refused to provide copies of their contract to validate either claim.
While still often an incognito affair, nowadays, watching porn is no longer taboo - whether man or woman.
In fact, 24 per cent of viewers watching porn on the world's biggest site, Pornhub, are women.
But what exactly are people searching for?
Pornhub have released some illuminating information surrounding how women around the world watch it, and the results are totally fascinating.
No longer taboo: According to website, Pornhub, 24 per cent of women watch porn on their site - they have released some fascinating graphs that reveal what women are watching around the world
Huge deal: With 60 million daily visitors, Pornhub is an expert on such matters, and according to the website, the most viewed category by women in Australia is lesbian porn; this is the same as the USA
With 60 million daily visitors, Pornhub is an expert on such matters.
And according to the data, the most viewed category by women in Australia is lesbian porn, which is the same as in the USA.
It is also clear that a*al sex is a huge search term, particularly in Russia and Eastern Europe.
Other findings: It is also clear that a*al sex is a huge search term, particularly in Russia and Eastern Europe, while the most searched term for porn relating to other women in Australia is 'Asian'
Unusual findings: The most searched-for term in the US is 'Ebony'
And though some parts of the world are obviously still feeling the effects of Fifty Shades, as their most searched term is 'bondage', Australia's most viewed category relative to other women worldwide is 'Asian'.
The US, meanwhile, search for 'Ebony'.
Pornhub's interesting insights also revealed the average time women spent viewing porn in any one sitting.
The worldwide average is ten minutes 33 seconds, but Australians spend as much as eleven minutes and four seconds at any given time.
Average time spent: Pornhub's findings also revealed the amount of time people spend watching porn in any one sitting - Australians spend as much as eleven minutes and four seconds
Elsewhere in the world, the Philippines clearly take their time - they had the longest viewing time by a significant margin - 14 minutes 20 seconds.
This was followed by the USA, where the average female watches it for eleven minutes 51 seconds.
Whichever way you twist it, this information is interesting. Take a look at the graphs to see how your country breaks down.
'Maddy's cold and calculating, but also a bit reckless': Laura Carmichael
'Marcella's 39 like me, but she can be hard to like': Anna Friel
During the arresting opening scene of new ITV drama Marcella, the viewer watches as a woman sits shivering in a grimy bath. Her head is covered in blood, and her body in bruises. She's clearly traumatised, but whether she is victim or perpetrator of what has gone before is unclear.
It sets the tone for what lies ahead: a compelling eight-part series centred around a beautiful, driven but complex policewoman - the eponymous Marcella played by Anna Friel - on the trail of a brutal serial killer.
Anna Friel will star as Marcella, the complex copper at the heart of new ITV series. Actor grapples the role of a policewoman on the trail of a brutal serial killer, from the creator of the cult drama The Bridge
Ring any bells? If you're a fan of Scandinavian drama The Bridge, with the gorgeous but humourless detective Saga Noren at its centre, then it probably does. Three series on from when it was first shown in 2012, The Bridge is now broadcast in more than 170 countries and has become something of a phenomenon.
Now its creator Hans Rosenfeldt has transplanted a slice of his 'Nordic Nasty' to Marcella, a crime drama set in London and written in English, so no need for subtitles. Not, Hans is anxious to emphasise, that Marcella is The Bridge UK. 'I just write in the way I write. I wasn't thinking about bringing Nordic noir to London,' he insists.
Nonetheless, Bridge fans will recognise some of the elements - a gritty urban setting, grey skies and some grim story lines: the serial killings that unfold feature victims suffocated by plastic hoods held on with insulating tape, and the camera does not shy away from the gory details. The central character, though, is cut from a different cloth to her Scandinavian predecessor - a deliberate decision, as Hans explains.
'We worked on making her the opposite of Saga, because the less comparison you do the quicker you get into the series,' he says. Certainly their domestic situations are not remotely similar: unlike the defiantly solo Saga, Marcella is a wife and mother who had put her career on hold to raise a family.
'She's 39 like me, and she finds herself at that point where she's not worked for ten years, she's chosen motherhood over her career, and something drives her to go back to work,' says Anna Friel in a break between filming in west London. That 'something' is both the apparent resurgence of an unsolved cold case, the Grove Park Killings, which have haunted her since she left the force, and the abrupt abandonment by her husband Jason (Nicholas Pinnock), who leaves her in the first episode, telling her he no longer loves her. His bombshell results in some violent domestic scenes that show another side to Marcella.
'I think the question you ask is, How dark is this woman?' says Anna. 'It will be hard for the viewers to like her.'
Expect at gritty urban setting, grey skies and some grim story lines: the serial killings that unfold feature victims suffocated by plastic hoods, and the camera does not shy away from the gory details
Marcella, in the tradition of all the best TV detectives, is certainly singular, although Anna insists she wanted to make sure her interpretation felt credible. 'I don't think you ever search for or find something to be different for the sake of it,' she says. 'I went and met quite a few detectives - I met a very glamorous detective inspector called Liz and she turned up all made up and beautiful and I thought, Who's the actress here? How does that go down in a male environment? But she just said, I'm a woman. She's brilliant, she's solved more cases than anyone, she's amazing.'
Marcella, meanwhile, spends much of filming resolutely unmade up - when we chat Anna's sporting the jeans, jumper and padded jacket that's pretty much her on-set uniform. Then again, she's used to gritty these days, having recently made Odyssey, an American drama in which she played a special ops soldier on a crusade to expose a government cover-up. A brutally physical role, she still has foot injuries from filming. 'I've got Achilles tendonitis from an injury on the set of Odyssey. A man felon me and he was 6ft 5in and I was tied up, so it went crack. I used to run every day, but I can't really run at the minute.'
Anna has become a big name in America after starring in the critically acclaimed fantasy-drama Pushing Daisies, and she now spends six months of the year living and working in LA. She's delighted, though, to make a return to British TV - the forum where she made her name as a teenager in soap opera Brookside. 'It's an incredibly powerful medium,' she says of soap. 'Some actors choose just not to do it, I think each to their own. I'm kind of not a snob about it - wherever I think the work is really good, I go; whatever makes me better.'
Anna, above, on 'Good Morning Britain', has become a big name in America after starring in the critically acclaimed fantasy-drama Pushing Daisies, and she now spends six months of the year living in LA
She wasn't without reservations, she admits, after initially being contacted by Marcella co-creator Nicola Larder, who wanted Anna for the title role from the off. 'She said it's a crime thriller and I thought, Aargh, is it cops, because I don't know what I could possibly bring? But she said, Come and talk to Hans, there's a very different new take on it.' After that, it was a done deal.
Nor is Anna the only strong female lead. Sinead Cusack plays Sylvie Gibson, the steely head of a large family construction company who just happens to employ Marcella's estranged husband Jason. 'Her character was originally meant to be a man,' explains Sinead. 'And she's certainly quite hard-boiled - I presume you have to be in that business. She's tough on her kids, the people who work for her and the people she has to approach for business deals. But you have to try and find the humanity there.'
Sylvie is on her second marriage, and her husband Stephen, played by Patrick Baladi of The Office and Mistresses fame, is 20 years her junior. It's an unusual dynamic, although Sinead sees it as a relationship of equals - especially since she's made Stephen chairman of the board at her company. 'It feels a fairly vibrant relationship. There are hints that his eye might stray at times, but then don't most eyes?' she smiles.
Sinead, who in real life has been married for 38 years to Jeremy Irons, had never set eyes on Patrick before their first day on set. 'It's funny our business. You walk into the make-up van and meet your husband,' she says. 'So I walked into the make-up van and met Patrick for the first time and I said, He's my youngest husband by far. But it's been great.'
Patrick, 44, returns the compliment. 'It was lovely to work with Sinead. She's very sexy, very alluring, and there's enough there for the relationship to be credible.' Although the hinterland of his marriage is not fully explained, Patrick says he wanted to make the relationship real. 'Stephen's no puppet and Sylvie's no fool, so he's obviously got some knowledge and can feed the company, he just happens to be 20 years younger. We don't know where that will lead, or what his place with the family is.'
This ambiguity about the characters and their motivations, he believes, is what makes the series so powerful. 'I would suggest that most of the characters are fairly nuanced. What's so great about the writing is you're never quite sure who's what and actually some of the characters aren't sure what they are or who they are.'
Aside, that is, from Ian Puleston Davies, who plays Peter Cullen, a dyed-in-the-wool baddie. Already serving a sentence in an open prison for the manslaughter of his wife, Cullen is something of an obsession for Marcella, who thinks he's responsible for the Grove Park Killings. With Cullen released on licence three days a week to work in a bakery, she believes he could also be responsible for the latest murders. 'She's a thorn in his side,' Ian says.
Laura Carmichael plays an ambitious psychology student Maddy Stevenson, who's been meeting with the serial killer in the hope that he'll confess to the killings and help make her name
The actor, who will soon be seen in the second of ITV's Maigret adaptations, is perhaps best known from his five years on Coronation Street as Owen Armstrong, a builder with a violent streak. 'I like to think I've cornered the market in psychopaths,' he jokes. 'I've had my fair share of bad guys over the years and long may it continue, it's a ship I enjoy sailing in.'
In Marcella, Cullen's situation has attracted the attention of ambitious psychology student Maddy Stevenson, played by Laura Carmichael, who's been meeting with him in the hope that he'll confess to the killings and help make her name. Cullen, meanwhile, is revelling in the attention. 'Any normal bloke would think he's punching way above his weight. But what's interesting is that Hans has written Peter as someone who could quite feasibly believe a young girl would fall for him, and that's part of the mess,' says Ian. 'He probably feels he exudes this kind of charisma, so why wouldn't a guy in his 40s be found attractive by a young, beautiful lady, and that's how I played him.'
Then again, as Laura points out, Maddy thinks she knows exactly what she's doing. 'She has a cold, calculating side,' she says. 'When we meet her she's writing an essay as part of her Masters on domestic violence that results in death. She's ambitious and smart and also a bit reckless she thinks this might be an interesting case study.'
Maddy's world is certainly a far cry from the corsets and country houses of Downton Abbey, where Laura played put-upon Lady Edith - although that of course is the point. 'It's modern and it's crime and it's Scandi,' she says. 'It feels like flexing a very different muscle. She's gutsy and not nervous making decisions and that's really fun.'
There's a pragmatic difference too: getting ready on set took 20 minutes as opposed to the two and a half hours required on Downton. That and the lack of corsets. 'It's so comfortable, and I can breathe,' she laughs.
Designer Christian Louboutin has solved the nude colour issue by launching a collection of ballet flats in shades to suit all skin tones.
The 'Solasofia' range, which cost 450 ($595 in the US) a pair, offers a spectrum of seven 'flesh tone' hues to suit 'every woman', and has been met with praise by fans on social media.
The collection includes two more shades - porcelain and deep chocolate - than the French designer's first 'Nudes For All' collection of signature heeled pumps in 2013, and is made from napa leather and features its signature red sole.
Designer Christian Louboutin has extended his applauded Nudes for All collection with a line of ballet flats suitable for all skin tones. The range of 'Solasofia' ballerina flats is offered in a spectrum of hues seven hues
The images for the campaign, photographed by Sofia Sanchez and Mauro Mongiello, feature models with an array of skin tones wearing ballet-inspired tutus modelling the leg-lengthening flats
The new Solasofia range, which is adorned with a small, feminine bow, is described as 'low in elevation but high in sophistication' on the Louboutin website.
The striking images for the campaign, photographed by famous duo Sofia Sanchez and Mauro Mongiello, feature models with an array of skin tones wearing ballet-inspired tutus modelling the 'leg-lengthening flats'.
Announcing the range on Twitter today, the brand, which is the maker of some of the worlds most glamorous, high-end footwear, tweeted: 'A spectrum of nudes. Seven shades of nude ensure every woman can meet her match.'
It added in a further post: 'Always en pointe.'
The new Solasofia range, which features a small, feminine bow, is described as 'low in elevation but high in sophistication' on the Louboutin website
The striking images for the campaign, photographed by famous duo Sofia Sanchez and Mauro Mongiello, feature models with an array of skin tones wearing ballet-inspired tutus modelling the 'leg-lengthening flats'
The 'Solasofia' range, which cost 450 ($595 in the US) a pair, offers a spectrum of seven 'flesh tone' hues to suit 'every woman', and has been met with praise by fans on social media
And another said: 'The delicate, pointed-toe Solasofia ballerina flag joins Pigalle Follies and Senora in 7 versatile shades of nude.'
Louboutins first 'Nudes' collection was a huge hit and was praised for diversifying nude shades to include women of all colours.
In 2015, the designer told fashion website The Cut: 'There are two colors that I'm missing the range of in the middle.
In the next year, we will be at seven total skin tones.'
Fans of the brand have already praised the collection on Twitter. However, not everyone was as enthusiastic. @nourallhh commented on the rather high price point of the shoes, writing: 'yeah nudes for all rich people'
Using the word 'nude' to describe 'flesh coloured' has been a prevailing issue within the fashion industry, with designers often using the term for shades only similar to Caucasian skin.
The new pointed-toe ballet flat follows two heeled pump styles (the Pigalle Follies and Iriza) and the Senora T-strap peep-toe heels, all of which are already available in four different shades of 'nude'.
Fans of the brand have already taken to Twitter to applaud the new collection.
@historyinpearls wrote: 'I've never really been a Louboutin fan but I kind of love him for making his line of nude shoes in seven different shades.'
@Jaxsapreincess added: 'I don't need food coffee or sleep to get me through this week but I NEED a pair of the nude Christian Louboutin flats.'
The French designer's first 'Nudes' collection, above in the classic Pigalle pump, released in October 2013, was a huge hit and was praised for diversifying nudes shades to include women of all colours
@SartoriallySvvy wrote: 'This is so good, actual nudes for all skin tones.'
@wordes said: Yesss , Louboutin doing it well "nudes for all.
@AsToldByNella wrote: 'Louboutins new Solasofia Flats in the Nudes for all campaign. so bomb'
However, not everyone was as enthusiastic.
@nourallhh commented on the rather high price point of the shoes, writing: 'yeah nudes for all rich people'.
@_beewes wrote :'"Nudes for all"? They mean "Nudes for the 1% of the population that owns the rest of us" but yea great idea'
She has just returned from a sunny Easter break in Mallorca but it was business as usual for Queen Letizia of Spain today as she attended her second royal engagement in three days at her official home, Madrid's Zarzuela Palace.
The royal looked impeccable in a formal navy trouser suit worn over a loose-fitting lilac jumper as she greeted members of the Association against Leukodystrophy in the Spanish capital.
She completed her look with a pair of dark court heels and dangling blue earrings, with her hair swept back into a chic parting and her signature smoky eye.
Letizia, 43, paired an old favourite navy trouser suit with a lilac jumper and a pair of elegant court soes. The Spanish Association against Leukodystrophy - ELA - was founded in 1992 as a means to raise awareness
The royal showed a softer side as she greeted a young boy in a wheelchair at the Zarzuela Palace today. Leukodystrophy is characterised by the progressive degeneration of white matter in the brain
The wife King Felipe VI attended the meeting without her spouse but looked to be in good spirits as she shook hands and chatted with her guests.
The Spanish Association against Leukodystrophy - the ELA - was founded in 1992 as a means to raise awareness around the rare disorder which causes progressive degeneration of white matter in the brain.
She was seen joking with a guest as they took their positions for the photo call.
Letizia, 43, has been spotted in the same sharp trouser suit on several occasions, including a Meeting of the Board for the Princess of Girona Foundation charity last December.
While she previously paired it with a pleated cream blazer with the button done up, today she opted for a more pared back-look, wearing the button undone.
The wife King Felipe VI has been spotted in the same sharp trouser suit on several occasions, including a Meeting of the Board for the Princess of Girona Foundation charity last December
The Spanish Association against Leukodystrophy - the ELA - was founded in 1992 as a means to raise awareness around the rare disorder which causes progressive degeneration of white matter in the brain
Letizia looked to be in good spirits as she made her way around the room and shook hands with her guests. Later today, she is due to meet representatives of the Foundation for Help Against Drug Addiction
Where do I stand? The royal was seen joking with a brightly-dressed guest as they took their positions for the photo call. It is Letizia's second official engagement since returning from her Easter break last weekend
In the past, the European style icon has gone for bright contrasting colours; today, however, she stuck to a simpler colour palette of navy and lilac.
Later today, the monarch is due to meet representatives of a project organised by the Foundation for Help Against Drug Addiction, according to the official royal calendar.
Just two days ago, Letizia was busy attending a meeting at the BBVA Foundation headquarters in the Spanish capital.
The organisation aims to benefit key areas of society through research, advanced training and the transmission of scientific knowledge.
The elegant Queen stands out among a sea of suits as she dons a smartly-cut suit with a lilac jumper
The Spanish royal family recently jetted off for their traditional Easter weekend break on the isle of Mallorca
The royal returned to the Spanish capital earlier this week after spending Easter weekend on the Balearic island of Mallorca with her family.
It had been six months since their last public appearance, so it came as no surprise that hundreds of well-wishers lined the streets to welcome Letizia and Felipe's daughters to Mallorca.
Leonor, ten and Sofia, eight, joined their mother and father and grandmother Queen Sofia at the cathedral in Palma de Mallorca for Easter mass.
Easter is one of the biggest occasions in the Catholic calendar and the Spanish royals maintained their tradition of spending the holiday on the island of Mallorca.
The former newsreader, 43, wore her hair straightened and swept back into a chic side parting. Just two days ago, she was busy attending a meeting at the BBVA Foundation headquarters in the Spanish capital
Queen Letizia abandoned all traces of winter for the occasion, ditching heavy coats and dark colours in favour of a bold fuchsia jacket.
The Spanish royal paired her lightweight coat with nautical stripes and loose trousers as she attended Easter mass at the cathedral of Palma de Mallorca last weekend.
The former newsreader was accompanied by her mother-in-law, Queen Sofia of Spain and husband King Felipe VI for the festivities.
Family affair: Letizia (centre) attended Easter Mass in Mallorca last weekend with (left to right): King Felipe VI, daughters Leonor, ten and Sofia, eight, and her mother-in-law, the former Queen Sofia of Spain
Queen Sofia, who handed over her rein to her son in 2014 following the abdication of his father, her husband, wore a spring-inspired green and purple floral print silk coat dress.
Leonor is first in line to the Spanish throne after her father while her sister, who is just 17 months younger, is second in line.
The girls, who were dressed in near identical outfits, smiled and waved to hundreds of well wishers who waited outside the cathedral in a hope to catch a glimpse of the royals.
Mothers are getting just three hours sleep a night as they are woken up multiple times in the night to tend to their newborns.
One in four Australian new mothers have fallen asleep on their baby's bedroom floor, after waking up at least five times a night to care for their newborns, the Adelaide Advertiser reported.
This has left many exhausted, irritated and even hampered their memory and ability to perform the simplest of tasks such as forgetting their friends' names, mixing up dates and losing house keys.
Australian mums are getting a minimum of three hours sleep a night as they are woken up multiple times in the night to tend to their newborns
One in four have fallen asleep on their baby's bedroom floor, after waking up at least five times a night to care for their newborns
A Galaxy survey of 1000 new mums revealed that sleep deprivation presented a bigger problem for new mothers than social or financial stress.
Registered nurse and baby sleep consultant Jo Ryan told the paper that sleep deprivation was so harmful it could be equated to 'torture'.
She said it leads to delayed reaction times and short fuses.
'I've seen mothers, by the time they call for help, they break down in tears, say they can't cope and they are not getting on with their partner or other children,' Ms Ryan said.
This has left many exhausted, irritated and even hampered their memory and ability to perform the simplest of tasks such as forgetting their friends' names, mixing up dates and losing house keys
A Galaxy survey of 1000 new mums revealed that sleep deprivation presented a bigger problem for new mothers than social or financial stress
Freshwater mum Lauren Strada told News Corp she used to be a fairly organised person until she had a baby.
'It's just stupid things, I've lost keys, I lose the remote 10 times a day and I go to the shops looking to buy one specific thing and return with 10 other items I didn't want.'
Ms Ryan said parents need to establish a good bedtime ritual of dinner, bath, massage, book and song between the hours of 5pm and a bedtime of 7pm as newborns fall into their deepest sleep before midnight.
'Babies follow this, it makes them feel secure,' Ms Ryan said.
Registered nurse and baby sleep consultant Jo Ryan told the Telegraph that sleep deprivation was so harmful it could be equated to 'torture'
She revealed that it took weeks to convince her Catholic mother to allow her to have the surgery
The writer was told she would be unable to use a tampon or have sex until the pin-size hole in her hymen was opened
The anonymous writer was almost 17 years old when she learned she was unable to use a tampon because she had a microperforate hymen
A woman has penned a candid essay about how she was unable to use tampons or have sex as a teen because she was born with a 'vagina hole' that was 'smaller than the tip of a pin' and required surgery to be opened.
The writer, who chose to remain anonymous, was almost 17 years old when she learned she had a microperforate hymen, or a thin membrane that almost completely covered the opening of her vagina. After three years of being unable to use a tampon when she was menstruating, she turned to a gynecologist for answers.
'[The doctor] said without much bedside manner, I would like to add "You don't have a vagina hole." She then amended, "Well, you technically do but it's very small,"' the writer recalled in her essay for xoJane.
Women's issue: An anonymous writer revealed that she was 16 when she learned she had a microperforate hymen, or a thin membrane that almost completely covered the opening of her vagina STOCK IMAGE USED
The gynecologist explained that the opening was 'probably smaller than the tip of a pin' and just large enough that it was able to 'let the blood out' when she had her period each month.
Anonymous said that she had gotten her first period when she was 14 year sold and started using pads because she was 'weirded out' by the thought of using tampons.
However, when her period caused her to miss pool parties and wake up with her lower half covered in her own blood, she decided to start using them.
But after carefully reading the instructions and unsuccessfully trying and failing to insert multiple tampons, anonymous said she gave up, figuring she 'would deal with it later'.
Although she tried to use tampons every now and then, she didn't start to get truly frustrated with her inability to insert them until the summer before her 17th birthday.
When she declined driving to the beach with her friend who had just gotten her license because she was menstruating, her friend told her to 'just stick a tampon in'.
'I didn't want her to think I was immature or stupid for not being able to put a tampon in,' she recalled. '[But] no matter how hard I squished those suckers up in there, they were not budging once they got to a certain point.'
In an attempt to help, her friend sent her pictures of vaginas that she found on a medical website, and while she told her to stop, anonymous eventually visited the site where the pictures were coming from to do her own investigating.
And while she noticed that the vaginas pictured came in all different, sizes, shapes, and colors, she realized her was 'definitely missing something important'.
Although her conservative Catholic mother didn't want her using tampons because she knew someone who died of toxic shock syndrome, anonymous finally decided it was time to tell her about the issue.
She recalled her mother 'awkwardly' offering to help her insert a tampon for the first time, but anonymous explained that they didn't have an open relationship when it came to sexuality, so she asked to see a gynecologist instead.
WHAT IS AN IMPERFORATE HYMEN? An imperforate hymen is a thin membrane that completely covers the opening to the vagina. Menstrual blood cannot flow out of the vagina. This usually causes the blood to back up into the vagina which often develops into an abdominal mass and abdominal and/or back pain. Some teens may also have pain with bowel movements and difficulty passing urine. A microperforate hymen is a thin membrane that almost completely covers the opening to a young womens vagina. Menstrual blood is usually able to flow out of the vagina but the opening is very small. A teen with a microperforate hymen usually will not be able to insert a tampon into her vagina and may not realize that she has a very tiny opening. If she is able to place a tampon into her vagina, she may not be able to remove it when it becomes filled with blood. The treatment for both conditions is minor surgery to remove the extra hymenal tissue making a normal sized opening for menstrual blood to flow out. Source: Center for Young Women's Health Advertisement
Anonymous' doctor explained to her that young women who have a imperforate hymen usually learn of it earlier in life because the vagina is completely covered and blood can not be released when they start to menstruate.
'A girl in that situation will be in so much pain that she will be taken to a hospital and surgery known as a hymenectomy will be performed so that she can release the blood. However, I was not so lucky,' she wrote.
Although her hymen almost completely covered the opening of her vagina, there was enough of an opening that anonymous was able to get her period regularly.
Dr. Lauren Streicher, a clinical associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, told Daily Mail Online that an imperforate hymen is actually a common occurrence.
Although she has not treated the writer, Dr. Streicher said it sounds like that 'in her case there was enough of an opening to let the blood out, but it was so teeny tiny there is no way she would be able to have intercourse'.
She went on to say that some women who choose not to use tampons don't realize they have a microperforate hymen until they try to have sex for the first time and can't.
'It is very important to say that her vagina is normal. It's not that she has a small vagina,' Dr. Streicher explained. 'She has the same size vagina as every woman.
'She just had a membrane covering the vagina that only had a teeny opening in it that needed to be opened up, and this is not that uncommon.
The author of the books Sex Rx and The Essential Guide to Hysterectomy added that it is important to note that you would be hard pressed to find any gynecologist who hasn't seen or heard of this.
When the hymen is fully or almost completely covered, a hymenectomy will be done under local anesthetic and the membrane will be opened in the center with scissors and a scalpel before the area is sutured.
And while her situation wasn't uncommon, the writer said in her essay that she was 'horrified' that she couldn't even attempt to have sex if she wanted to.
To make matters worse, her conservative mother initially refused to let her have the surgery.
'I honestly think that she thought the second I got my vagina spliced open, I would start rampantly having sex with any male who looked in my general direction,' she said. 'I also think she kind of had this weird thought that I would sort of be "losing my virginity" by having this surgery.'
After creating pie charts and PowerPoint presentations on why she should be allowed 'to have a vagina hole' over the following weeks, her mother finally relented and allowed her to have the surgery.
'Can't wait to tell the new baby all about his wonderful big brother' she said
She revealed yesterday she is expecting her second child
A mother whose baby died after NHS 111 staff working from a script missed the chance to save him has revealed she is expecting her second child.
An emotional Melissa Mead, 29, from Penryn, Cornwall, announced her news on yesterday's Good Morning Britain as she held a teddy bear containing the ashes of her son, William, wearing a T-shirt which read 'I am being promoted to Big Brother'.
Melissa told presenters Kate Garraway and Ben Shephard: 'We are expecting our second child. We can't wait to tell the new baby all about his wonderful big brother - his or hers.'
Melissa Mead has revealed she is expecting her second child after the loss of her son in 2014
Melissa shared her news with presenters Kate Garraway and Ben Shephard on Good Morning Britain
The family keep William's ashes in the bear which wears a jumper saying 'I'm being promoted to big brother'
The pair offered their congratulations to Melissa and her husband Paul who lost their 12-month-old on December 2014.
Melissa had been told her chances of conceiving were very slim, since she has only half an ovary. She has battled ovarian tumours since she was 11 and has had seven operations for the condition.
An inquest heard last June how William died after an NHS 111 operator, with no medical training, advised his mother to give him plenty of fluids, Calpol and Ibuprofen when she called for advice about his symptoms.
The 12-month-old had developed an abscess in his left lung caused by the bacterial infection streptococcus A.
But had the out-of-hours service advised Melissa to take William immediately to hospital he could still be alive today, the hearing was told.
Melissa became tearful as Kate reminded her of this as she joined them in the ITV breakfast show.
Ben congratulates the mother on her news as she said she can't wait to tell her new son or daughter about their 'wonderful big brother'
The grieving mother said they have had meetings with health secretary Jeremy Hunt to see what changes can to made to prevent something similar happening in the future.
They also want to raise awareness of the symptoms of sepsis so it is spotted and treated earlier.
She said: 'Paul and I are trying to channel our grief into something positive to create a long lasting legacy for William, to keep his memory alive.
'It is wonderful for us to see change and know it has been by effected by our child.'
She added: 'William's case highlights how it was missed by primary carers, doctors, the people we turn to and trust for advice. We need to educate parents and adults in the community as that is where it is being missed.'
William Mead was just 12 months old when he died in 2014 after NHS 111 staff working from a script missed a chance to save him
Melissa Mead, pictured with her husband Paul at the inquest last June, said her family had been torn apart by the loss of her 'beautiful' and 'perfect' little boy
During William's inquest, Professor Fleming, an expert witness from Bristol Children's Hospital, said: 'One of the difficulties that 111 faces is that they are not talking to a skilled professional - they are working from a script, not their professional knowledge.
'The script does not cover what is a very rare event.'
In the case of William the 'algorithm' used by the 111 service did not appear to have accessed the situation effectively, the professor told the hearing.
Melissa told the hearing that she believed the infection should have been picked up earlier by doctors during several visits to the Three Spires Medical Practice in Truro, Cornwall.
Mrs Mead said her son, affectionately known as Grumpus , first developed a chesty cough in late September 2014.
He was diagnosed with tonsillitis and prescribed antibiotics. One day later he was diagnosed with scarlet fever, Mrs Mead told the court.
She said when William was examined a month later the doctor heard 'crackles' in his chest and prescribed an inhaler.
William had his one-year booster jab six days before his death on December 14.
Had William, pictured with his mother, been admitted to hospital when the 111 call was made he could have survived
But his mother said he became very unwell a few days later and developed a high temperature and was repeatedly vomiting.
He had an emergency appointment with Dr Neil McKay two days before he died, but the court heard he told the anxious mother it was 'nothing grisly.'
The next day the baby's condition deteriorated and Mrs Mead called the out-of-hours GP service and was advised to give the baby fluids, Calpol and ibuprofen.
Professor Fleming said streptococcus A was a 'rapidly progressive condition'.
HOW THE NHS 111 SERVICE WORKS The 111 helpline was launched in Spring 2013 to provide round the clock help to the public in an attempt to prevent them going to A&E. On the NHS website it states you should use the service if 'you urgently need medical help or advice but it's not a life-threatening situation.' They say it is staffed by a team of fully trained advisers, supported by experienced nurses and paramedics. However, a whistleblower revealed earlier this year that the staff have just six weeks training and read off a series of questions from a computer screen which generates medical advice based on their answers. Advertisement
He told the inquest he thought the abscess would have been present on the Friday when William visited the GP but it would have been 'notoriously hard' to spot in a small child.
He described Dr McKay's examination of the baby as 'appropriate and thorough.'
Cornwall Coroner Dr Emma Carlyon asked Prof Fleming at the hearing in Truro if there was anything that could have been done that could have prevented the death.
He replied: 'With the benefit of hindsight, had he been seen and admitted on the Saturday [13 December], I think there is a very good chance that his illness could have been treated successfully.'
Dr Carlyon said the cause of death was septicaemia and recorded a verdict of death by natural causes.
She said changes had been made to the GP surgery's out-of-hours communications policy and concerns regarding the algorithm used by 111 operators would be highlighted.
Following the inquest Mrs Mead read out a statement saying her family had been torn apart by the loss of her 'beautiful' and 'perfect' little boy.
We're constantly warned that being obese is a path to an early grave.
Big bellies, wobbling thighs and bingo wings lead to years of suffering chronic disease and social stigma, we're told.
But a new study has found it is possible to be fat but 'metabolically healthy'.
This is where a person is overweight but shows no worrying changes in metabolism that might predict future diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, heart problems and stroke.
'Fat but healthy' people - who tend to be female and young - are less likely to suffer disease than those who are not obese but are considered metabolically unhealthy, researchers said.
Unsurprisingly, unhealthy people are more likely to smoke, drink heavily and do no exercise, they found.
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More than half of obese workers are 'fat and healthy' - with no alarming changes to their metabolism which predict diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart problems and stroke, a study has found (file photo)
Researchers looking at a group of workers found more than half of those who are obese had no alarming changes to their metabolism, and so can be considered healthy.
When tested, they did not have higher inflammation in their bodies, which can lead to heart attacks and stroke.
They also did not show changes in their insulin signalling - the normal process by which this hormone allows sugar in the blood to be taken into cells to be used as energy.
Disturbed insulin signalling can lead to sensitivity to the hormone, meaning it cannot carry out its function of taking sugar out of the blood, leading to high blood sugar levels.
Insulin sensitivity is known to be a precursor to type 2 diabetes.
The researchers, from Hospital del Mar, Cualtis and Eli Lilly, Spain, gathered data on 451,432 Spanish workers.
They wanted to find out how common it is to be 'fat and healthy' - and shed light on the differences between people in this group and those who are 'fat and unhealthy' and those that are not obese.
NO, YOU CAN'T BE FAT AND FIT: DOING LOTS OF EXERCISE WHILE OVERWEIGHT 'DOES NOT PREVENT AN EARLY DEATH' Today, Spanish researchers said it is possible to be 'fat and healthy'. However, scientists have previously claimed being fat but fit is a myth. If you are overweight, doing lots of exercise will not prevent an early death, they said. The Swedish researchers warned it is far more important to be slim, even if you are unfit. Heavier adults have assumed that those few extra pounds may not matter as long as they took regular exercise. But the study by Umea University - of more than 1.3 million men - suggested they were wrong. It found that men who were fit were generally far less likely to die than if they were inactive. But this effect was cancelled out if they were overweight. And men who were slim and inactive were 30 per cent less likely to die than those who were fat but fit. The research was published in the International Journal of Epidemiology. Advertisement
They found people who are 'fat but healthy' are more likely to be women and tend to be younger.
They were more likely to exercise than their unhealthy peers, and were less likely to smoke or to be heavy drinkers.
Unsurprisingly, having a high BMI, being older, having high cholesterol, smoking, heavy drinking and failing to exercise were the factors most strongly linked with being unhealthy.
Men were also more likely to show signs of future disease than women.
People that are normal or underweight but unhealthy are more likely to lead sedentary lifestyles than those who are healthy.
They are also more likely to be older, male, blue collar workers, smokers and heavy drinkers.
The Ibermutuamur CArdisvascular RIsk Assessment (ICARIA) study included people enrolled in a health insurance scheme that covers eight per cent of the Spanish working population.
It includes workers from across all sectors and areas of Spain.
As part of the ICARIA study, the researchers gathered information on age, sex, occupation, tobacco and alcohol consumption, physical exercise and medical history.
They found 15.5 per cent of those in the study were obese.
The workers also underwent a physical examination that included weight, height, waist circumference and blood pressure recordings.
The researchers categorised them by their BMI - separating them into groups classified as underweight, normal weight, overweight or obese.
Then, they were labelled as being either manual (blue collar) or non-manual (white collar) workers.
Unsurprisingly, unhealthy people at a higher risk of heart problems and type 2 diabetes are more likely to smoke, drink heavily and do no exercise, researchers found
They were also grouped by whether they currently smoke, or used to; their alcohol consumption; and how much exercise they do.
From this information, researchers calculated whether they were healthy using five criteria for metabolic syndrome -
These criteria were waist circumference, levels of fats known as triglyceride and cholesterol found in their blood, and their blood sugar level when they were fasting.
The workers were considered 'metabolically healthy' if they met two or less of the five criteria.
Of those that were overweight 87.1 per cent were found to be healthy.
Surprisingly, 55.1 per cent of those considered obese were also found to be healthy on this measure.
Out of underweight individuals, 99.5 per cent were healthy, while 97.8 per cent of normal weight individuals were also healthy.
'Fat but healthy' people could be at a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease than people of any weight considered unhealthy, researchers said
The authors noted that results are influenced by which definition of metabolic health is used - and that more stringent tests led to obese people being considered unhealthy.
Fat but healthy people could be at a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease than people of any weight considered unhealthy, they said.
However, they cautioned previous studies have found 'fat and healthy' people may still be at an increased risk of these conditions as they are simply not yet showing symptoms.
Targeting this group could stop healthy obese and overweight people from becoming unhealthy, the researchers said.
This might be particularly effective people who work, as opposed to the unemployed, as there tend to be more working people who are 'fat but healthy'.
Albert Goday, lead author of the study, said: 'Implementing health promotion programs in working people could stop them transitioning to metabolically unhealthy, risking high blood pressure, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.'
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ZIKA
WHAT IS ZIKA?
The Zika (ZEE'-ka) virus was first discovered in monkey in Uganda in 1947 - its name comes from the Zika forest where it was first discovered.
It is native mainly to tropical Africa, with outbreaks in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands.
It appeared in Brazil in 2014 and has since been reported in many Latin American countries and Caribbean islands.
HOW IS IT SPREAD?
It is typically transmitted through bites from the same kind of mosquitoes - Aedes aegypti - that can spread other tropical diseases, like dengue fever, chikungunya and yellow fever.
It is not known to spread from person to person.
Though rare, scientists have found Zika can be transmitted sexually. The World Health Organisation recently warned the mode of transmission is 'more common than previously assumed'.
And, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently issued first-time guidance, saying couples trying to conceive should abstain or wear condoms for six months if the male has confirmed or suspected Zika.
Zika is typically transmitted through bites from the same kind of mosquitoes - Aedes aegypti - that can spread other tropical diseases, like dengue fever, chikungunya and yellow fever
Additionally, the CDC said couples should abstain or wear condoms for eight weeks if the female has confirmed or suspected Zika, or if the male traveled to a country with a Zika outbreak but has no symptoms.
During the current outbreak, the first case of sexually transmitted Zika was reported in Texas, at the beginning of February.
The patient became infected after sexual contact with a partner diagnosed with the virus after travelling to an affected region.
Now, health officials in the US are investigating more than a dozen possible cases of Zika in people thought to be infected during sex.
There are also reported cases in France and Canada.
Prior to this outbreak, scientists reported examples of sexual transmission of Zika in 2008.
A researcher from Colorado, who caught the virus overseas, is thought to have infected his wife, on returning home.
And records show the virus was found in the semen of a man in Tahiti.
So far, each case of sexual transmission of Zika involves transmission from an infected man to his partner. There is no current evidence that women can pass on the virus through sexual contact.
The World Health Organization says Zika is rapidly spreading in the Americas because it is new to the region, people aren't immune to it, and the Aedes aegypti mosquito that carries it is just about everywhere - including along the southern United States.
Canada and Chile are the only places without this mosquito.
ARE THERE SYMPTOMS?
The majority of people infected with Zika virus will not experience symptoms.
Those that do, usually develop mild symptoms - fever, rash, joint pain, and red eyes - which usually last no more than a week.
There is no specific treatment for the virus and there is currently no vaccine to protect against infection, though several are in the developmental stages.
WHY IS IT A CONCERN NOW?
In Brazil, there has been mounting evidence linking Zika infection in pregnant women to a rare birth defect called microcephaly, in which a newborn's head is smaller than normal and the brain may not have developed properly.
Brazilian health officials last October noticed a spike in cases of microcephaly in tandem with the Zika outbreak.
Scientists revealed a molecular map of the Zika virus, which could help scientists develop new treatments for the disease
The country said it has confirmed more than 860 cases of microcephaly - and that it considers them to be related to Zika infections in the mother.
Brazil is also investigating more than 4,200 additional suspected cases of microcephaly.
However, Brazilian health officials said they had ruled out 1,471 suspected cases in the week ending March 19.
Although Zika has not been conclusively proven to cause microcephaly, the World Health Organization has said that there is a 'strong scientific consensus' that it does.
The WHO also stated that researchers are now convinced that Zika is responsible for increased reports of a nerve condition called Guillain-Barre that can cause paralysis.
A team of Purdue University scientists recently revealed a molecular map of the Zika virus, which shows important structural features that may help scientists craft the first treatments to tackle the disease.
The map details vital differences on a key protein that may explain why Zika attacks nerve cells - while other viruses in the same family, such as dengue, Yellow Fever and West Nile, do not.
CAN THE SPREAD BE STOPPED?
Individuals can protect themselves from mosquito bites by using insect repellents, and wearing long sleeves and long pants - especially during daylight, when the mosquitoes tend to be most active, health officials say.
Eliminating breeding spots and controlling mosquito populations can help prevent the spread of the virus.
WILL THE ZIKA OUTBREAK SPREAD TO THE US?
Yes, leading global health experts expect the virus to appear in the US in the coming months.
As the temperature begins to rise across the country, the mosquito is likely to become abundant across much of the southern and eastern US.
Experts warn that the Zika virus, which is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, will soon spread to the US. Pictured above, a map depicting the 50 continental US cities facing the highest risk of the virus. Below, the projected timeline of when the cities will be hit
THE US CITIES AT HIGH RISK FOR ZIKA VIRUS TRANSMISSION CITY STATE Charleston South Carolina Jacksonville Florida Miami Florida Mobile Alabama New Orleans Louisiana Orlando Florida Tallahassee Florida Tampa Florida Savannah Georgia Source: National Center for Atmospheric Research
The National Center for Atmospheric Research determined the Zika virus risk estimates for 50 US cities.
Cities in southern Florida, as well as impoverished areas in southern Texas, carry the highest risk of Zika outbreaks, a team of experts determined.
However, the mosquito is also projected to appear as far west as Phoenix and Los Angeles, and as far north as New York City.
The CDC said mosquitoes that can transmit the Zika virus may live in a larger swath of the US than previously thought, however.
But, the expanded range doesn't mean that they will cause disease in those areas.
The CDC revealed new maps of the estimated range of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes and a related cousin.
It had been thought that the mosqutioes would primarily reside in the southern part of the country.
But, the new map shows the range of the Aedes aegypti mosquito could extend to parts of the Midest and Northeast.
The CDC said the new maps are a best understanding of where the mosqutioes have been seen recently or previously.
The CDC issued two new maps showing the expanded estimated range of the Aedes aegypti mosquito (top) - which is known to transmit the Zika virus - as well as the Aedes albopictus mosquito (bottom) - which scientists say has the potential to transmit the virus
WHAT ARE THE TRAVEL ADVISORIES?
US health officials recommend that pregnant women should consider postponing trips to at least 30 destinations. For up-to-date information of the CDC's travel advisories, check the CDC's Zika page.
The CDC advises against traveling in Latin America to countries such as: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname and Venezuela. In the Caribbean: Barbados, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Martinique, St. Martin and Puerto Rico. Also, Cape Verde, off the coast of western Africa; and Samoa in the South Pacific. Additional countries have also been added to the list.
In Brazil, most of the mothers who had babies with microcephaly were apparently infected during the first trimester, but there is some evidence the birth defect can occur later in the pregnancy, CDC officials say.
Giving mothers paid maternity leave reduces the chance of their babies dying.
A study has found that for every month a mother gets paid to stay at home and look after her child, the chance of the newborn dying falls by 13 per cent.
This amounts to saving the lives of eight babies out of every 1,000.
It's thought part of the reason maternity leave has such an effect is because it helps to reduce a womans stress levels a key factor in infant mortality.
It also gives them time to access medical care when necessary.
For every month a mother gets paid to stay at home, the chance of the newborn dying falls by 13 per cent
The research, published the journal in PLoS Medicine, looked at maternity leave in low and middle income countries.
Worldwide, 188 countries guarantee paid leave of some sort for new mothers. Only a few have no paid maternity leave mandate at all - including Papua New Guinea, Suriname, and the United States.
But the researchers say it lends support to policies in developed countries such as the UK that already have paid maternity leave.
It may also encourage major developed countries like the US which do not offer paid maternity leave to consider it.
Researchers from McGill University and UCLA Fielding school of Public Health looked at statistics relating to around 300,000 children born in 20 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Lead author Arjit Nandi, an assistant professor at McGill said: A significant number of countries where the vast majority of maternal and child deaths occur provide less than 12 weeks of paid leave to new mothers.
For the health of our children and the wellbeing of families, the US needs to catch up with most of the world and ensure all new parents have paid parental leave Dr Jody Heyman, study author
Our findings suggest that paid maternity leave policies are a potential instrument for reducing preventable child deaths, even in countries where women are less likely to be working in the formal economy.
The researchers compared infant mortality rates in countries that expanded benefits with rates in countries where policies remained the same.
After controlling for variables such as gross domestic product, and the amount spent per person on health, the researchers found that just one extra month of paid leave prevents eight infant deaths per 1,000 live births.
The most significant life-saving effect of extending paid maternity leave occurs during the post-neonatal period, when babies range in age from about one month to one year.
The authors suggest that paid and extended maternity leave may reduce a mothers level of stress, which is a known risk factor for infant death, a known risk factor for premature birth and low birth weight.
Worldwide, 188 countries guarantee paid leave of some sort for new mothers. Only a few have no paid maternity leave mandate at all - including Papua New Guinea, Suriname, and the United States
Maternity leave may also allow a mother to have more time to seek medical help and to care for an ill child.
They are also thought to be more likely to carry on breastfeeding and ensure their baby receives vaccinations.
In Canada as well as in many European countries such including the United Kingdom, a new mother is entitled to up to one year of paid time off.
In the UK a mother is entitled to 90 per cent of average weekly earnings before tax for the for the first 6 weeks and 139.58 or 90 per cent of average weekly earnings (whichever is lower) for the next 33 weeks.
Study author Dr Jody Heyman of UCLA said: While this study focuses on low- and middle-income countries, the impact in high-income countries is also well demonstrated.
Babies who are likely to grow up obese can be identified when they are just six months old, scientists have established.
Infants who are overweight even when tiny babies are likely to be obese as primary school pupils, researchers said.
Doctors used simple Body Mass Index (BMI) measurements to single out infants destined to struggle with weight in later life.
Study leader Dr Allison Smego, from Cincinnati Children's Hospital, said: 'These children have a high lifetime risk for persistent obesity and metabolic disease and should be monitored closely at a very young age.'
Measuring babies at six, 12 and 18 months can predict children at risk of childhood obesity (file photo)
BMI compares someone's weight with their height, giving them a rough score to allow doctors to calculate whether someone is overweight for their height.
BMI is not usually calculated for babies under the age of two, because they grow at different rates.
But the Cincinnati scientists said that even with the different growth rates, the infants with the top 15 per cent of BMI measurements at six months, 12 months and 18 months were the most likely to be severely obese when they were six years old.
They said that identifying children who are at risk of obesity, even when they are just babies, could allow doctors and parents to stop them from growing up fat.
About 17 per cent of boys and 15 per cent of girls aged two to 15 in England are obese.
Experts have warned if the tide doesn't turn, today's children may be the first to die at a younger age than their parents.
Dr Smego's team divided 1,263 children aged between two and six years old into groups depending on their BMI, and examined their health records dating back to their birth.
The team found that children who were severely obese by the age of six began to differ from that of normal weight children at about four months of age.
BMI at six, 12 or 18 months of age ... can accurately predict children at risk for early childhood obesity Dr Allison Smego, Cincinnati Children's Hospital
Dr Smego whose findings were presented at a meeting of the Endocrine Society in Boston, US, said: 'BMI at six, 12 or 18 months of age ... can accurately predict children at risk for early childhood obesity.
'It's not currently recommended to measure BMI in children under the age of two, but we say it should be because we now know it predicts obesity risk later.
'Paediatricians can identify high-risk infants with BMI above the 85th percentile and focus additional counselling and education regarding healthy lifestyles toward the families of these children.
'Our hope in using this tool is that we can prevent obesity in early childhood.'
A study published in The Lancet journal today predicted that - if current trends continue - more than a fifth of people in the world will be obese by 2025.
That research, led by a team from Imperial College London, showed that over a 40-year period between 1975 and 2014 the global number of obese individuals had soared from 105 million to 641 million.
With each passing decade, the average person had become 1.5kg (3.3 pounds) heavier.
Not all experts are convinced by the use of BMI as a tool to measure obesity.
Children who were severely obese by the age of six began to differ from that of normal weight children at about four months of age, researchers found (file photo)
The system categorises anyone with a score above 25 as being 'overweight' while a score of over 30 classes someone as 'obese.' However, experts have criticised the technique as a 'blunt tool' because it cannot distinguish between heavy muscle tissue and fat, which is far lighter.
This means that many rugby players and well-built muscular athletes are categorised as obese even though they are extremely healthy.
Experts have been particularly critical of the tool when used to measure children, even though it is used to monitor all five and 11-year-olds as part of an NHS scheme.
Many parents of slim youngsters have criticised officials after being sent letters from school nurses telling their child to attend weight management classes.
Shirley Cramer, chief executive of the Royal Society of Public Health, has been an outspoken critic of these so-called 'fat letters'.
She said in a review last year: 'Our research finds that only one fifth of parents find the 'fat letter' useful and we believe that the letter should be seen as the beginning of a dialogue with parents, not simply flagging whether their child is obese.'
Shirley Cramer, chief executive of the Royal Society of Public Health, said last night that early interventions are absolutely critical to tackling childhood obesity'.
A cure for HIV could be just years away scientists hope, after they succeeded in cutting the virus out of infected cells, eradicating it permanently.
Giant strides have been taken in HIV research since the virus was discovered in 1981, transforming the once killer disease into a chronic illness that can now be managed with drugs
Yet the Holy Grail of the HIV scientific sphere - a cure - has so far eluded experts.
Much research has focused on the so-called 'shock and kill' approach, where drugs are used to reactive latent reserves of the virus hiding in the body, before additional medication is deployed to stimulate the immune system to kill all traces of HIV.
But, a team of scientists at Temple University's Lewis Katz School of Medicine, believe a gene editing technique, known as Crispr/Cas9, could pave the way for an injection to cure sufferers.
A team of scientists at Temple University in Philadelphia have shown that by snipping HIV from infected cells, they are able to eliminate the infection from the cells' DNA, and prevent reinfection
Dr Kamel Khalili, who led the research, said: 'The findings are important on multiple levels.
'They demonstrate the effectiveness of our gene editing system in eliminating HIV from the DNA of CD4 T-cells and, by introducing mutations in the viral genome, permanently inactivating its replication.
'Further, they show that the system can protect cells from reinfection and that the technology is safe for the cells, with no toxic effects.'
'These experiments had not been performed previously to this extent,' he added. 'But the questions they address are critical, and the results allow us to move ahead with this technology.'
While the experiments have so far only been carried out in human cells in the lab, clinical trials on humans could begin within three years, The Telegraph reports.
Crispr is an enzyme harnessed by other scientists in their quest for an HIV cure.
It is used to re-engineer CD4 - those primarily infected with HIV - outside of the body, before re-introducing them.
The findings... demonstrate the effectiveness of our gene editing system in eliminating HIV from the DNA of CD4 T-cells and, by introducing mutations in the viral genome, permanently inactivating its replication Dr Kamel Khalili, Temple University
Cas9 represents a development of this technique.
The enzyme removes the virus from the human CD4 cell, effectively cutting it from the DNA, before rejoining the ends of the DNA strand.
The edited cells would then be reintroduced to the body, with researchers estimating replacing 20 per cent of affected immune cells with genetically engineered cells, would be enough to cure a sufferer of the disease, The Telegraph reports.
One key finding was that the technique left other genes in the targeted chromomsomes unaffected, with no indication of potentially harmful mutation or shortened lifespan.
Critics of the Crispr approach have warned that by altering specific parts of DNA, there is the risk of unwanted mutations occurring.
In previous studies the team had displayed their ability to snip HIV from the DNA of CD4 cells.
But this new piece of research took that one step further, to show those cells that had been subjected to the treatment remained protected against HIV infection, even if cells were exposed to the virus at a later time.
Their findings show the gene editing system can suppress replication of HIV and dramatically reduce the viral load - the measure of how much HIV is in the bloodstream - in patients' cells.
The Crispr/Cas9 technique removes the virus from the human CD4 cell, effectively cutting it from the DNA, before rejoining the ends of the DNA strand (illustrated). The edited cells would then be reintroduced to the body, with researchers estimating replacing 20 per cent of affected immune cells with genetically engineered cells, would be enough to cure a sufferer of the disease
Professor Matthew Cobb, of Manchester University told the BBC Radio's 4's Today programme the research marks 'an important step forward'.
'This is part of a wave of research that is being done using these new techniques to attack HIV in particular but also a number of other diseases.
'This is a technology which enables you to change the genes. Effectively you can engineer the body to cure itself from the inside.'
The study, which was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, is published online this month in the Nature journal, Scientific Reports.
Sunscreen can render a man infertile by disrupting human sperm cells, a study has found.
Nearly half of the ingredients commonly used to block out ultra-violet light mimic the effects of the female hormone progesterone, which stops sperm cells functioning normally, researchers said.
The sunscreen lotion can enter the blood stream by being absorbed through the skin.
Niels Skakkebaek, a professor at the University of Copenhagen said the findings were worrying.
These results are of concern and might explain in part why unexplained infertility is so prevalent,' he said.
Almost half of the ingredients commonly used to block out UV light mimic the effects of the female hormone progesterone, which stops sperm cells from functioning normally, scientists at the University of Copenhagen have warned (file image)
Professor Skakkebaek and his colleagues tested 29 of the 31 UV filters allowed in sunscreens in the U.S. or the European Union (EU) on live, healthy human sperm cells, from fresh semen samples obtained from several healthy donors.
Nearly half of the UV filters acted as hormone disruptors disrupting the sperm cells normal functioning.
To test the effects of the chemicals on sperm cells, the scientists placed the sperm in a solution that resembled the conditions in female fallopian tubes.
The researchers investigated a feature of sperm cells that is essential for their function known as calcium ion channeling.
They found a specific channel in a sperm cell which is a receptor for the female hormone progesterone.
When a sperm cell encounters progesterone, this leads to calcium ions surging into the sperm cell, which can stop them effectively fertilising an egg.
Of the sunscreens, 13 of the tested UV filters 45 per cent disrupted vital sperm cell function such as the movement of the sperm cell.
Professor Skakkebaek said: This effect began at very low doses of the chemicals, below the levels of some UV filters found in people after whole-body application of sunscreens.
Of the 13 UV filters, nine of them mimicked the effect of progesterone.
Professor Skakkebaek is calling for clinical studies to investigate whether chemical UV filters affect human fertility.
The study suggests sunscreen, which gets into the bloodstream after being absorbed through the skin, could harm a man's fertility. Experts have called on regulatory agencies to take a closer look at the effects of UV filters on fertility before approval
He said: Our study suggests that regulatory agencies should have a closer look at the effects of UV filters on fertility before approval.
Some of the chemicals which have regulatory approval but have been found to disrupt sperm include: avobenzone considered as one of the most important UV filters, homosalate, meradimate, octisalate (also known as octyl salicylate), octinoxate (or octyl methoxycinnamate), octocrylene, oxybenzone (also called benzophenone-3 or BP-3) and padimate.
As well as being common in in sunscreens they are also used in sunscreen-containing personal care products, such as makeup, moisturizers and lip balms.
Although the purpose of the chemical UV filters is to reduce the amount of the sun's UV rays getting through the skin by absorbing UV, some UV filters are rapidly absorbed through the skin, Skakkebaek said.
UV filter chemicals reportedly have been found in human blood samples and in 95 percent of urine samples in the U.S., Denmark and other countries.
Previous research has found that oxybenzone, a common ingredient in sunscreens, is toxic to coral reefs.
Four months after targeting the affluent for using diesel cars and polluting the air, the Supreme Court hinted on Thursday that even the aam aadmi who opt for the fuel will not be spared.
If the court accepts the recommendation of the Environment Pollution Control Authority appointed by it, any new buyer of a diesel car in Delhi and the NCR may have to cough up 30 per cent of the vehicle cost as environment compensation charge.
The court extended its December 15, 2015 ban on the sale of diesel cars with an engine capacity of more than 2000cc in a move that will seriously hit the manufacturers and those who are planning to own a diesel SUV or a luxury sedan.
Being a cheaper fuel, diesel has fast taken over the private car segment
A bench headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur has categorically said all those causing pollution with diesel cars must pay, and we will soon decide on it.
When the car companies, including BMW, Mercedes Benz and Toyota, urged the court that they had lived with it and not to extend it beyond the three months ban which had ended on Thursday, the court said: We are ready to lift the ban on the condition that you are agreeable to a stiff pollution tax and that will be applicable to all diesel vehicles.
Please be rest assured. We are not targeting you. It is your city. We want a pollution-free environment. You may be passionate about your case but you go outside the courtroom you breath the same air. Please realise, the court told the car manufacturers lawyers.
But the judges made it clear that car manufacturers will be extensively heard on the contentious issue, and so chose a Saturday for the next hearing so that the court could devote a full day unperturbed by other cases.
With the extension of the ban on the sale of diesel cars with over 2000cc engines, manufacturers and those planning to buy diesel SUVs or luxury sedans are going to be hit
The apex court will be sitting on a Saturday for the first time in its history.
The car manufactures were seeking a withdrawal of the order ban on sale of its 2000cc plus SUVs.
If a person is using a diesel car and consciously polluting the environment, why shall we not impose compensation charge? the Chief Justice asked.
The lawyer for SC-appointed EPCA argued: There is ample material to show that diesel is the biggest pollutant. Please impose compensation charge of up to 30 per cent of the cost of a diesel car. Equalise the running cost of petrol and diesel cars ensure diesel cars are dis-incentivised so that people stop using diesel vehicles.
Chief Justice Thakur then asked the lawyers representing all leading car manufacturers to present a consolidated view on what is acceptable to them so that areas of debate got narrowed down vis-a-vis imposing of pollution compensation charges.
The court admitted that some cars and companies like Maruti used by the common man may have to be considered. New buyers in Delhi-NCR may have to pay up to 30% on a different footing.
The trigger for the entire decision turns out to be the IIT-Kanpur report on air pollution in Delhi, which was extensively quoted by the lawyer for EPCA in the case.
The report revealed that diesel vehicles are a major source of particulate matter (PM) emissions in the transport sector.
The report also showed how barring Rohini, diesel vehicles contributed to 60-90 per cent of PM 2.5 (fine, respirable pollution particles) emissions in Delhi.
At Vasant Kunj for instance, they contributed to about 90 per cent of vehicular emissions, while in Okhla, the emission was about 80 per cent.
Justifying the doubling of pollution tax for toxic trucks entering Delhi from the existing Rs 700 to Rs 1,300, the bench said, this measure shall, in our opinion, will discourage any vehicle trying to enter Delhi on a false pretext of the goods loaded on it being Delhi-bound.
When lawyers for car manufacturers vociferously questioned the theory that diesel vehicles pollute more, the court asked them to stop the debate on whether diesel was the main culprit.
The CJI asked them to proceed on the conclusion that it has taken a decision that diesel vehicles were the chief pollutant.
The direction to convert public transport to CNG was founded on the conviction that diesel is more polluting than petrol. The offence lies in using diesel as a fuel, said Chief Justice Thakur.
When lawyers for car companies like BMW, Mercedes and Toyota cited the fuel efficiency of diesel and also at same time opposed the pollution cess, the court asked: Is a rich person who drives BMW, Mercedez bothered about fuel efficiency? Look at the class of people buying it. They are super rich... why should these people make life of other people miserable by polluting the air?
Green lobby cheers, auto makers fear
By Baishali Adak in New Delhi
The green lobby on Thursday hailed the Supreme Courts orders on further controlling diesel cars.
The NGO Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), welcomed the extension of the ban on registration of new diesel-run vehicles, above 2000 cc in Delhi-NCR, till April 30.
The earlier imposed deadline on the ban was March 31. It also encouraged the SCs indication to impose a one-time cess on the purchase of such vehicles, saying it is critical to clean up Delhis poor air.
The rapid dieselisation of Delhi has worried health experts. About 5.71 lakh diesel cars, or 23 per cent of Delhis total car traffic, ply on the city roads currently. This is in contrast with 19.54 lakh petrol cars.
Think-tanks like CSE emphasise that diesel cars produce 5-7 times more Particulate Matter and 3 times more Nitrogen Oxides than petrol cars at current Bharat Stage IV standard. Both are carcinogenic.
However, diesel has fast taken over the private car segment, being a cheaper fuel.
Anumita Roy Chowdhury, Executive Director of CSE, said: The apex court has taken a commendable step in bringing under the tax fold the private diesel car segment. At present, all sections of diesel vehicles are restricted or have been forced to convert to CNG. Our buses and autos run on CNG. Taxis in Delhi-NCR have been asked to switch. An Environmental Compensation Charge has been levied on trucks. This was the only segment left out so far.
Anumita also noted that the Special Protection Group, which had asked for an exemption for certain diesel heavy-armoured vehicles, has not been spared.
It has been asked to pay 30 per cent of the value of the cars as environmental cess.
This means the Supreme Court has now applied the Polluter Pays Principle on the government itself. It will now take the lead in paying the ECC on diesel cars, Anumita said.
Automobile makers, on the other hand, did not favour the ruling.
KK Gandhi, Executive Director, Society of Indian Automobile Manufactures, said: Diesel cars are already heavily taxed: There is the infrastructure tax, environment tax imposed in the last budget, Delhi governments road tax and more. Besides, diesel cars require heavy capital investment as they are expensive machines. If more punitive actions are taken, diesel cars will become unviable.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar sent his condolences to the families of the bereaved
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Thursday directed the Armed Forces to provide all assistance in relief and rescue operations in the flyover collapse in Kolkata.
The defence minister expresses his shock at Kolkata flyover collapse and grief on loss of lives. Directs armed forces to provide all needed assistance, a defence spokesperson said.
General Officer Commanding-In-Chief (GOC-in-C) of Eastern Command Lt Gen Praveen Bakshi said: The Army expresses its condolences to the bereaved families on this tragedy. Army is fully committed in providing all possible resources and assistance till the rescue operations are completed.
Defence officials said the state government had sought the help of the Army in the relief and rescue operations, after which five columns of rescue personnel were deployed.
Each column consists of roughly 60 men, including three medical teams of surgeons and nursing assistants.
The Army has sent 10 ambulances along with its complement of medics to the spot.
A team of engineers from the Army has also arrived with cranes, water bowsers, gas cutters, and specialist equipment to help the civic authorities dismantle the debris, officials said.
General Officer in Command of the Army's Bengal area Lt Gen Rajeev Tewary went to the spot of the accident to monitor rescue operations as many people were trapped under the concrete debris of the flyover.
Meanwhile, terming the mishap unfortunate, infrastructure major IVRCL said it will cooperate with the state authorities probing the collapse of an under-construction flyover in Kolkata.
IVRCL grieves the loss of precious lives and injuries to people and will cooperate with the authorities in investigating this accident," IVRCL said in reply to a clarification sought by the BSE on the incident.
Terming the incident unfortunate, it said this is the first time such an incident has occurred in the company's history.
Frantic scenes: A volunteer clears the way for an ambulance carrying the body of an accident victim
Rescue attempt: Army personnel carry out rescue and relief operations after a flyover collapsed in Kolkata
Political parties in West Bengal queued up to gain maximum electoral mileage after a portion of a flyover caved in, causing the deaths of at least 21 people and injuring over 150.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who rushed to the mishap site cancelling her rallies in West Midnapore, told mediapersons: The construction of the bridge started during the regime of the Left Front. It is a serious matter negligence is a crime.
The CM said stringent action would be taken against officials of Hyderabad-based IVRCL, the company which was constructing the flyover, and others involved in the incident.
Exploiting the moment: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee at the disaster site in Kolkata
Reacting to the charges levelled by the Trinamool chief, former urban development and municipal minister Asok Bhattacharya said: There should be a high-level inquiry. I am not responsible for it. The present urban development minister has to shoulder the responsibility. Yes, the work started during our time but it was only in the initial phase. The main construction took place during the past five years when the incumbent TMC rule.
Demanding a high-level probe into the tragedy, Bhattacharya said the project was sanctioned under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and the tender was awarded on the basis of competitive bidding.
It has to be investigated who all are involved in the construction process. The Left Front government cannot be involved in the whole thing as we are not in power now, he added.
West Bengal Pradesh Congress president and Lok Sabha MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury demanded the immediate arrest of West Bengal urban development minister Firhad Hakim in connection with the incident.
Rescue effort: Indian soldiers and rescue workers work on the partially collapsed overpass as darkness falls
Grim task: An Indian army jawan rescue team recovers a body from the debris
Death and destruction: The CM said stringent action would be taken against officials from the Hyderabad-based construction company IVRCL
Firhad Hakim should be arrested immediatelyThe police came to the spot after a good two hours. Why? The rescue operation should have been started within an hour. We demand a full investigation, Chowdhury said.
While leaders from the Trinamool, CPI-M and Congress were busy in the war of words, former BJP state unit president Rahul Sinha was also not left behind. He reached the spot along with his party activists to oversee the rescue work.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi offered his condolences to the victims of the accident.
I express my deep condolences to the families of the people who died in the tragic incident in north Kolkata, he said, before addressing an election meeting in Tezpur.
Soon after Alok Verma took over on 2 March, he directed his men to give more emphasis to the tweets directed to the police department
Taking a cue from the Indian Railways, Delhi Police have devised a mechanism to deal with complaints on Twitter.
A presentation on the new policy was made before the Police Commissioner Alok Verma, who further directed his officials to handle such complaints at the earliest.
According to a senior police official who attended the meeting on 22 March, Verma emphasized that Twitter can be a useful tool to connect directly with the public.
Public grievances should be dealt with separately, as is being done by the Indian Railways. Whenever there is a grievance posted on Twitter, there should be a system to mark it immediately to the concerned officer, so that he can take necessary actions as soon as possible, said the Commissioner of Police (CP), Delhi circle, during the meeting.
We are now in the process of framing the policy for Twitter, Taj Hassan, Delhi Police chief spokesperson told Mail Today.
The Indian Railways has been proactively using Twitter to address public grievances.
The services range from extending help to distressed passengers in trains to providing warm milk to children while in transit.
The Railways has been earning accolades for its speed in resolving issues posted on Twitter.
According to sources, officials of the joint commissioner level will look after this process.
The Delhi Police officials will take the grievances shared on Twitter more seriously and mark the complaint to the concerned police station or SHO for immediate action. So far, Twitter has just been a way of highlighting the good works carried out by the Delhi Police. Indian Railways has a great system of reacting to public concerns, they reply immediately with action."
"Indian Railways has installed a special software that can differentiate tweets on the basis of sentiments. There have been hundreds of examples where the Indian Railways has taken action within few minutes after getting tweets from passengers in need," said the CP, Delhi, who is keen to adapt the model which is helping the Indian Railways.
"People can easily convey their concerns to senior police officials including the Delhi Police commissioner, a special CP rank official told Mail Today.
Sources said that it was learnt by senior police officers that some officials at district level were not giving much importance to the complaints people made on the social networking site.
Soon after Alok Verma took over on 2 March, he directed his men to give more emphasis to the tweets directed to the police department.
For instance, a Twitter user posted an update on the dead body of a child found in Dwarka and marked it to the CP Delhi.
Alok Verma immediately asked the Deputy Commissioner of Police (south-west Delhi) to share an update regarding the case.
The Argentine embassy in Delhi has taken a different route to celebrate the bicentennial of Argentinas independence from Spain - by organising a painting exhibition at the Spanish cultural centre, Instituto Cervantes, in the city.
They have also kept the host country in mind, and chosen an Indian painter who has lived in Argentina.
Secrets of Life - Emotions, Relationships & Us is an exhibition by Thomas Francis where he talks about human emotions and relationships through his abstract world.
The paintings will be exhibited as part of a bicentennial to celebrate Argentinas independence from Spain
The abstract on marriage (Casa Miento in Spanish) is full of colours with a few black arrows interspersed in-between.
While the colours represent the happy side of a marriage, the dark arrows represent the conflict within the relationship.
Another abstract is Yin Yang, a black and white piece is inspired by the Chinese philosophy of yin and yang, of how opposites are interconnected.
The paintings are aided by short notes written by curator Bhavna Minocha, who helps to communicate the message behind each artwork.
She says: Abstract works are such that unless you know whats inside the artists mind, you wont understand anything about the paintings. So, Ive talked to the painter and written down short pieces - some are poems, some are short stories of 8-10 lines - along with each painting.
Talking further about the meaning behind Francis works, Minocha explains: Each of the 40 works on display has some or the emotion behind it. The paintings are about Thomas Francis wife and daughter, and his relationship with them.
Born in Mumbai, Francis lived in Doha, Dubai, and Hong Kong before he settled in Buenos Aires in 1994. It was here that he met his wife.
After they moved to Copenhagen in 2003, Francis fully delved into his paintings, and has since exhibited his works both in Copenhagen, Buenos Aires and Delhi.
A proposed framework on the sharing of information on terrorism has been dropped from the Homeland Security Dialogue between India and the US as the two sides have not resolved differences over key issues.
India had hoped that the Washington would give access to servers located in the US in exchange for similar inputs from the Indian agencies.
The exchange would have made India part of the Terror Screening Centre (TSC) of the US which gets inputs from 30 other countries.
India wants access to servers located in the US in exchange for similar inputs from the Indian agencies on known terrorists
Issues relating to TCS were not taken up at a preparatory meeting for the Homeland Security Dialogue (expected to take place in June) held on Tuesday in New Delhi.
As of now we are not going to be part of the terrorism screening centre. There has been no breakthrough with US authorities allowing us internet data. The information sharing cannot be one-way," said a government official.
Sources said it is difficult to get information from social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, and internet communication portals like Google Talk and others that have servers in the US - which creates hurdles in crucial aspects of terror investigations.
The Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD-6) is a model text agreement proposed by the United States to India for exchange of terrorist screening information between the Terrorist Screening Centre (TSC) of the US and an Indian agency.
TSC or Terrorist Screening Centre is a multi agency organisation administered by the FBI that consolidates several terrorist watch lists into a single terrorist screening database.
The J. Edgar Hoover FBI Building in Washington. The Terrorist Screening Centre is a multi-agency organisation administered by the FBI that consolidates terrorist watch lists into a single screening database
The TCS database that the US has created after signing agreements with nearly 30 countries includes the nationalities, dates of birth, photographs, fingerprints and passport numbers of the suspects.
The note adds that it must be ensured that privacy issues are taken care of with respect to the Indian position.
A section of counter-terror officials feel that India should only get into the agreement if the US government can ensure that internet-related information needed by Indian agencies from various service providers can be given without delay.
An earlier home ministry note on the subject said: There is a view that in return for signing of the agreement, we secure from the US side progress in areas of concern in counter-terrorism to the Indian side, such as access to internet related data held by US based services.
Earlier there had been a split view within the intelligence apparatus on going ahead with the agreement. While Indias external intelligence arm the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) agreed to the proposal in principle, the Intelligence Bureau (IB) expressed reservations that the arrangement protects US interests.
Keeping in mind the differences between the agencies, a bargaining strategy with US authorities was put in place.
China on Friday claimed that its decision to block Indias move at the UN to ban Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar was objective and just based on facts and rules.
China has blocked Indias resolution at the UN to proscribe Masood Azhar, who New Delhi has identified to be the mastermind of terror attack on the Pathankot air force base, for the second time.
In the wake of the attack, India had moved the 1267 Committee of the Security Council in February this year to add Azhar to the banned terrorists list.
China has blocked Indias resolution at the UN to ban JeM chief Masood Azhar, the alleged mastermind of Pathankot terror attack
The JeM is already on the banned list. But like in the wake of the Mumbai attacks, Indias attempt to ban Azhar this time around too has faced the Chinese veto road block.
Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hong Lei said, China opposes all forms of terrorism, supports the UN in playing a central and coordinating role in global counter-terrorism cooperation, and plays an active part in this area.
China deals with the listing matter of the 1267 Committee on the basis of facts and in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions and relevant rules of procedure.
China had previously cited lack of evidence as reason for its action.
This time, no rationale or explanation was provided to the 15-member committee where Beijing was the sole one to object.
China remains in contact with all relevant parties on this matter, the spokesperson added. Unlike in the past, this time the US, the UK and France voluntarily chose to co-sponsor Indias resolution as it awaited any objections from member countries during the silent procedure.
It is learnt that India in the resolution had said the JeM was put on the global terror list ten years ago and was recently involved in the Pathankot attack. India has shared evidence on the case with the country from where the act of terror perpetrated and based on actionable intelligence they are investigating it. So citing the context and circumstance of the fresh case, India seeks a ban on the JeM chief.
Speaking to Mail Today on the condition of anonymity, a diplomat said, This resolution does not seek arrest of Masood Azhar. It asks for blocking weaponry, funds supply and overseas travel of the head of a banned terror outfit. Evidence is not an issue here. But this move exposes the China-Pakistan Nexus.
During the recent US visit of Sartaj Aziz, the Advisor on Foreign Affairs to Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif, the US-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue joint statement had mentioned that Noting the steps taken by Pakistan to date, including the detention of (JeM) leader Maulana Masood Azhar, the US appreciated PM Sharifs stated commitment to take prompt and decisive action on this investigation and to bring the perpetrators of the January 2, 2016 attack on the Pathankot air base to justice.
This too had been included in the additional documents provided by India to support its resolution targeting Azhar.
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Landlords in Northern towns and cities such as Darlington, Halifax and Doncaster face paying stamp duty for the first time with new charges introduced today, according to LendInvest.
The peer-to-peer platforms latest buy-to-let index found that based on average house prices, 13 per cent of UK postcodes will face a stamp duty bill for the first time when a new 3 per cent charge on additional properties is introduced.
Areas in the North are facing stamp duty bills for the first time but London landlords are seeing the biggest price hikes overall.
North-South divide: Northern towns and cities have a larger proportion of first-time stamp duty payers
Up until 1 April all property buyers only started paying stamp duty on properties valued above 125,000.
But from today there will be an extra 3 per cent charge at each stamp duty threshold, even where nothing was previously paid. This means landlords would pay 3 per cent on properties worth between 40,000 and 125,000, where previously there was no charge (properties under 40,000 are exempt from stamp duty under the old and new systems).
Research by LendInvest has found this would hit landlords in 14 out of 105 postcodes in England, Wales and Northern Ireland where average house prices are 125,000 or less.
For example, in Darlington the average house price, according to the Land Registry, is 125,000. From Friday 1 April, landlords would need to find an extra 3,750 when buying a rental property that they wouldnt have previously needed to in order to cover the 3 per cent stamp duty.
Based on the average rent per month of 451 in Darlington, it would take 8.3 months to earn that stamp duty, according to LendInvest.
Both Darlington and Halifax, which face the biggest cost increases, also happen to have the lowest average rents in the UK, meaning it would take longer for landlords there to recoup these costs.
Other areas facing first-time charges are mainly in the North, with 86 per cent in the North East or North West, as the table below shows:
AREAS WHERE LANDLORDS WILL PAY STAMP DUTY FOR THE FIRST TIME Area Rent per month Average sale price Stamp duty tax (before 3% hike) Stamp duty tax (after 3% hike) Months of rent to repay higher stamp duty Darlington 451 125,000 0 3,750 8.3 Halifax 451 124,950 0 3,749 8.3 Doncaster 477 124,950 0 3,749 7.9 Cleveland 477 119,995 0 3,600 7.6 Hull 451 110,000 0 3,300 7.3 Oldham 479 115,000 0 3,450 7.2 Wolverhampton 524 125,000 0 3,750 7.2 Wigan 494 112,000 0 3,360 6.8 Liverpool 559 124,995 0 3,750 6.7 Blackburn 451 99,950 0 2,999 6.7 Blackpool 542 120,000 0 3,600 6.6 Belfast 568 125,000 0 3,750 6.6 Durham 498 105,000 0 3,150 6.3 Sunderland 494 93,000 0 2,790 5.6 Source: LendInvest
Longer waits to recoup stamp duty fees
Stamp duty needs to be paid upfront when purchasing a property, but as rent comes in each month a landlord would manage to recoup these costs.
While many will be paying stamp duty for the first time, London landlords will face the longest wait to get that money back through rental income, according to the research.
Landlords in western-central London and south-west London used to have to wait 12.5 and 11.8 months respectively to recoup stamp duty costs. But under the new charges their wait will almost double to nearly two years at 23.1 months and 22.6 months respectively.
HOW MANY MONTHS WILL IT TAKE TO RECOUP STAMP DUTY? Area Av. rent per month Av. sale price Stamp duty tax (before 3% hike) Months of rent to repay lower stamp duty Stamp duty tax (after 3% hike) Months of rent to repay higher stamp duty Western-central London 1,950 687,500 24,375 12.5 45,000 23.1 South-west London 1,625 585,000 19,250 11.8 36,800 22.6 West London 1,690 600,000 20,000 11.8 38,000 22.5 East-Central London 2,080 699,950 24,998 12.0 45,996 22.1 North-west London 1,668 559,998 18,000 10.8 34,800 20.9 Harrow 1,352 470,000 13,500 10.0 27,600 20.4 St Albans 1,200 425,000 11,250 9.4 24,000 20.0 Kingston upon Thames 1,296 439,950 11,998 9.3 25,196 19.4 North London 1,495 480,000 14,000 9.4 28,400 19.0 Slough 1,101 385,000 9,250 8.4 20,800 18.9 Watford 1,185 400,000 10,000 8.4 22,000 18.6 Source: LendInvest
Despite today's changes to stamp duty and the tapering of mortgage interest relief from April 2017, buy to let is still reaping rewards.
The main measurements of a successful buy-to-let portfolio are rental yield, capital gains and total return on investment. Use the interactive maps below to find the best areas for each category.
Rental yield
The rental yield is worked out by taking the annual rental income your get from the property and calculating it as a percentage of the property cost.
Using rental data from Zoopla and average house prices from the Land Registry, LendInvest's latest buy-to-let index for the first quarter of 2016 shows Manchester is still on top for rental yields at 6.8 per cent, followed by Cardiff, Blackburn, Southend-on-Sea and Sunderland.
Capital growth
Any profit you make on the sale of a buy-to-let is known as the capital gain.
London still dominates the scene for annual capital growth with yearly capital gains over the past six years of 10.8 per cent in inner London and 8.8 per cent on the outskirts, although Cambridge is proving popular with gains of 9 per cent.
Return on investment
On a total return on investment basis, which combines capital growth and rental yield, inner and outer London dominate with 16.4 per cent and 14.4 per cent respectively - followed by Cambridge, Luton and Southend on Sea.
Sainsburys has won its bid to take over Argos in a 1.4billion deal that could see the closure of 200 Argos stores.
The supermarket giant is set to buy Argos owner Home Retail Group and merge the two companies, with the catalogue business operating from outlets inside Sainsburys shops.
The takeover is an attempt to compete with online rivals such as Amazon and discount retailers like Lidl and Aldi.
Final agreement: Sainsbury's and Argos owner Home Retail have tied the knot with a 1.4billion deal
Under the plan, some Argos stores on the same high streets as existing Sainsburys will be closed. Of Argoss 845 stores, more than 300 leases are up for renewal over the next four years and it is feared Sainsburys could walk away from a large number of them.
However Sainsburys has promised there will be 2,000 Argos outlets, which will also sell Sainsburys products, after the deal is finalised. It will create the largest non-food retailer in the country.
Sainsburys had faced competition for the deal from South African firm Steinhoff but it pulled out of the bidding last month.
While the merger has been given the go-ahead from Home Retail shareholders, it still needs approval from the Financial Conduct Authority and the Competition and Markets Authority. This is likely to be granted this summer.
The terms of the deal, which is expected to be completed in the third quarter of this year, are mostly unchanged from Sainsbury's initial proposal.
The supermarket group is offering 55p in cash and 0.321 of new stock per each Home Retail share, which will see Home Retail shareholders own 12 per cent of the combined business.
In morning trade today, Sainsburys shares on the FTSE 100 index were down 1.3 per cent, or 3.7p at 272.6p, but remained close to their 12 month-high, suggesting that, so far, the City is backing the deal. Home Retail shares on the FTSE 250 index were down 0.8 per cent, or 1.3p at 164.5p.
The tie-up is an accomplishment for Sainsbury's chief executive Mike Coupe, whose desire to get his hands on Argos is part of the grocers strategy to compete in the world of online shopping.
He wants to use Argoss home delivery supply chain expertise to compete with online giants such as Amazon.
He is also expected to want to bring Argos shops into Sainsbury's, having already tried adding concessions to its supermarkets, which could mean the closure of many Argos stores.
Steve Clayton, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown, said the deal would increase Sainsburys exposure to non-food items by around 4billion a year.
Clayton said: For Home Retail investors, the deal offers a welcome recovery in the value of their investment, following many years of difficult trading.
Sainsburys financial risk from the deal looks modest, but integrating Argos and improving its performance is not a challenge to be underestimated. The potential is clear though, he added.
Sainsbury can bring Argos outlets into their own stores, whilst exiting expensive high street leases where Argos is struggling. They have gained a big leap of scale in non-food and potentially developed class-leading delivery capabilities, with same-day options available through the Argos Fast Track network. Cost overlaps can be pared, supporting the margins that Argos so desperately needs to bolster.
Strategy: Sainsbury's chief executive Mike Coupe wants to compete in the world of online shopping
Sainsburys first made a secret approach for Home Retail back in November but was rebuffed by the retailer. The supermarket group came back with an increased offer of 1.1billion in early February.
Home Retails sale of its DIY chain Homebase to Australia's Bunnings in January was said to have paved the way for Sainsburys to renew its purchase of the retailer, given it had little interest in entering the hardware sector.
The increased offer won the backing of the Home Retail board. But before Sainsburys was able to lodge a formal bid Steinhoff gatecrashed the deal offering 1.4billion in its attempt to get its hands on Argos.
That counter-offer set the scene for dramatic bid deadline day developments two weeks ago, with Sainsburys finally coming out on top after hiking its indicated offer.
Steinhoff, which owns Bensons For Beds and Harveys in the UK, backed away in its Argos quest after announcing plans to buy French electricals chain Darty in a 673million deal.
Sainsbury's chairman David Tyler said the group was pleased the board of Home Retail had recommended its offer and added: The combined business will offer a multi-product, multi-channel proposition, with fast delivery networks, which we believe will be very attractive to customers and which will create value to both sets of shareholders.
Home Retail chairman John Coombe said: Argos is both an icon of the British high street and also a leader in the digital transformation of UK retailing.
We are pleased that Sainsbury's has recognised our progress and our potential with its recommended acquisition of Home Retail Group.
For ten years, Kathy Mills has been at war. First it was fighting her military husband - then, it became the military itself.
The f ormer special education teacher and Mary Kay sales director wants the $500,000 she should have been paid when her husband abandoned her to deploy to Iraq and later died in a parachuting 'accident'.
'The worst part was not being abandoned by my husband,' Kathy tells Daily Mail Online exclusively. 'It was being abandoned by the military and abandoned by the court system.'
'I had been a taxpayer, a contributing member of society. I believe character counts. But I had a scarlet letter put on me by the court. I was a bad Army wife.'
Chief Warrant Officer 3 Roger Mills accompanied his wife, Kathy, to a cowboy-themed event for Mary Kay Cosmetics in 1995. Roger wiped out their accounts after he filed for divorce and later died in a jumping accident
Despite her smile, Kathy Mills says her 1986 marriage to Roger quickly became strained as money with Roger was a nightmare because he could not keep a job leaving them in debt
Kathy filed for legal separation in 2001 from Roger after a frightening threat of domestic violence. He then wrote to her while deployed to Kosovo that he wanted to work on their marriage
When Kathy married Herbert 'Roger' Mills, a West Point graduate and Special Forces operative, she thought she was marrying her best friend.
They tied the knot at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, on January 27, 1986.
They originally met while she was in high school, but went on to marry other people before divorcing and then reuniting years later thanks to Roger's mom.
But it didn't take long for the marriage to become strained.
Kathy discovered his obsession with pornography, which upset her tremendously.
He decides he's in a funk. Okay, he's in a funk. And then there would be moments of great family togetherness. It was all a big ball of confusion and unpredictability.
She endured his silent treatment. 'At one point we lived in the same home, and he didn't speak to me for three months,' she says.
Their financial life was a nightmare as Mills could never keep a job leaving them in debt.
Kathy, who worked as a special education teacher, also started a Mary Kay business earning an extra $100,000 a year as a 'Grand Achiever'.
She also was raising her two children from her first marriage.
'I can't describe how weird it was,' she tells. 'He decides he's in a funk. Okay, he's in a funk. And then there would be moments of great family togetherness. It was all a big ball of confusion and unpredictability.'
After a threat of domestic violence, Kathy filed for legal separation in 2001. Mills deployed to Kosovo and then wrote to her to say that he wanted to work on their marriage.
So they went to counseling. After three cautious years, Kathy believed they had reconciled.
Now, she realizes, 'he was a snake waiting for the right opportunity.'
In 2005, Mills launched his plan. After losing yet another civilian job in Conneaut, Ohio, Mills was working for the Ohio National Guard.
Mills had always been involved in the military. After five years in Special Forces, he was a major in the Army Reserve, but never completed required courses for promotion.
He retired from the Reserve and joined the Guard as an enlisted man - a Chief Warrant Officer 3 (CWO-3).
Kathy, believing her marriage was finally on firm footing, had given up her tenured teaching job in Akron, and her established Mary Kay network, to join her husband in Conneaut.
When he was fired, they had two homes and massive credit card debt.
In order to meet their expenses, Mills urged Kathy to liquidate her $126,000 teacher pension to pay off their debts. She did.
Then, the Special Forces Group of the Ohio National Guard was called up to deploy to Iraq.
Even though Mills had spent more than 30 years in the military, he'd never been in combat. So at the age of 57, he volunteered to go to Iraq.
Kathy and Roger Mills attended the 30-year reunion of his West Point class in 2003. Married for 20 years, Kathy thought she would get his life insurance from the military but he had removed her as a beneficiary without her knowledge
One problem - he never told his wife.
In August 2005, Mills wiped out all their bank accounts.
He filed for divorce in Ashtabula County, Ohio, and obtained a restraining order, preventing both he and his wife from selling or changing their assets, according to court documents.
Kathy had no full-time job, severely reduced Mary Kay income and no retirement fund.
She had two mortgages and legal guardianship of her nine-year-old grandson. She retained a lawyer and filed for temporary spousal support.
Mills manipulated multiple military programs and regulations, and the gap between federal and state law, to deprive Kathy of any money, she tells Daily Mail Online.
First Mills invoked the Service Members Civil Relief Act (SCRA).
The SCRA provides certain protections for members of the military when they are called to active duty, according to Military.com.
The law enables them to postpone civil court proceedings and judgments.
Mills kept arranging out-of-state temporary duty assignments, and kept invoking the SCRA to skip divorce court, Kathy explains.
All branches of the United States military require service members to support their families - and if they don't, their commanders are obligated to intervene.
In fact, the Army pays soldiers to take care of their dependents. As a married soldier, Mills was entitled to extra money to cover his family's housing expenses, called Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH).
Mills began collecting BAH payments at the 'with dependents' rate on September 1, 2005.
According to Army regulations, in the absence of a court order, Mills should have paid Kathy $769.80 per month - half of the BAH money he received. He paid her nothing, she says.
CWO-3 Roger Mills (second from left) participated in a scuba exercise while deployed with the Special Forces in 2001
Roger Mills (right) with Kathy's son at Fort Benning, GA, in 1997. Mills accompanied him on his first paratrooper jump
Herbert 'Roger' Mills in his 1973 senior portrait from West Point. He was in the Army Special Forces for five years, then joined the Army Reserve in 1978 and the Ohio National Guard in 1996
Roger Mills with his Company C-4 at West Point in 1973. Roger Mills is front row, third from right, leaning against the wall with his feet crossed
Mills also collected $250 per month as a 'Family Separation Allowance.' This money is supposed to provide compensation for added expenses incurred because soldiers are away from their families.
Mills wasn't eligible for the money because he had filed for divorce, but he collected it anyway. He still paid her nothing.
In November 2005, Kathy notified her husband's commanders that Mills was not supporting her. At this point, Army regulations required them to get involved.
Then at Thanksgiving, Kathy found out that her husband was deploying to Iraq in January. She was shocked.
Kathy went to Colonel Deborah Ashenhurst, brigade commander of the Ohio National Guard.
Kathy says she told her that her husband wasn't supporting her, and didn't sign her up for medical coverage. He couldn't deploy.
'Col. Ashenhurst said to me, "You don't want to be a bad Army wife, do you?'' Kathy recalls.
'Through my tears - I'm sitting at the table sobbing - I remember saying, 'I don't want to be a bad Army wife.'
Mills shipped out to Iraq, on what was supposed to be a year-long tour. But less than three months in, commanders decided to send Mills back to the US.
Kathy said she received a phone call from a Special Forces attorney - her husband was angry that she had been contacting his commanders over his lack of financial support, he was threatening to kill her and she needed to protect herself.
Soldiers prepare to load the CH-47 Chinook helicopter in anticipation of a jump to honor CWO-3 Roger Mills
Family of Roger Mills stand at the drop zone marker at Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base in Columbus, Ohio. They are holding a plaque commemorating the drop zone named in Mills' honor
On April 10, 2006, Kathy went to court for a civil order of protection - her husband was to have no contact with her.
He also had to give up all firearms. Police confiscated nine rifles and six pistols from the Mills' home in Conneaut, Ohio.
Along with the order of protection, Judge Carol J. Dezso, of Summit County, Ohio, awarded Kathy $1,800 a month is spousal support but Kathy never received it.
She continued to contact her husband's commanders and other military officials about his lack of support. Mills continued to fight her in court.
If her husband wasn't going to pay her the BAH money that he collected as a married soldier, Kathy said, then she wanted him prosecuted for defrauding the United States government.
She sought assistance from then Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, as he was the commander in chief of the Ohio National Guard, as well as several Senators and Congressmen.
Nothing happened. The divorce battle wore on for five years.
In the meantime, commanders at the Ohio National Guard grew tired of Mills' insubordination.
Lieutenant Colonel Paul. D. McAllister wrote a personnel memo on March 5, 2009, documenting that 'CWO-3 Mills is unable to work with traditional commanders and others in a professional manner.'
The IRS came after me. I was the one that bore the burden of the $60,000 tax bill, with no insurance.
Lt. Col. McAllister limited Mills to a desk job at Ohio Army National Guard headquarters in Columbus until his mandatory retirement date.
On October 20, 2010, Mills was the jumpmaster for a parachute training jump at Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base in Columbus - even though he no longer qualified for the responsibility.
Mills landed hard on concrete, cracked his helmet, jaw and the back of his skull, and was dragged by his parachute into a ditch.
His fellow jumpers did not look for him immediately because Mills was known for not reporting to the assembly area, according to the official investigation.
He bled for almost an hour before he was found. Four days later he died of his injuries. The investigation attributed his death to 'jumper error.'
But after the accident, Kathy learned that a female sergeant, who worked with her husband, saw him write his upcoming schedule on the office whiteboard: 'Wednesday - jump. Thursday - hospital. Friday - hospital.'
Kathy believes her husband planned to be injured in the jump. She had finally won her battle for support, and the court in Summit County, Ohio, was garnishing $1,600 per month from his Ohio National Guard pay.
'He had to jump, then walk away with a back injury, which is hard to diagnose,' Kathy explains.
'He'd go to a physician's assistant and get diagnosed with 100% disability.'
If Mills received Veterans Administration disability payments, which are tax-free, Kathy could not claim the money.
VA disability payments cannot be divided as marital or community property in divorce, according to federal law.
When Kathy went to her husband's home and two storage units after his death, she found that they were filled with stolen military equipment - guns, ammunition, lockers, C-rations and even award plaques engraved with other men's names.
After Roger Mills died in a parachute accident, his wife, Kathy Mills, found multiple weapons in his home and storage units
Kathy also found a crate full of ammunition with all the guns her husband had in his possession when he died
Roger Mills stole equipment from the military, including cases of ready-to-eat meals and award plaques engraved with other men's names
She also found DVDs stamped 'classified,' and numerous personnel files including files on generals. She called the military. Five soldiers came to remove the materials, filling two SUVs.
Kathy wanted her husband investigated.
Instead, a year after his death, Ohio Senator Frank LaRose sponsored legislation naming the parachute drop zone at the Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base in his honor.
The Ohio National Guard Special Forces soldiers held a parachute jump and ceremony to commemorate Mills. Kathy was not invited.
When Mills died, their divorce was still not finalized, so Kathy was his widow.
She believed she would receive his $400,000 Service Members Group Life Insurance (SGLI) payment, and the military's $100,000 death gratuity. Kathy was wrong.
A year earlier, Mills had removed her as the beneficiary for both payments, despite the civil restraining order preventing both of them from selling or changing their assets in their divorce that Mills, himself, had implemented.
Kathy said that his commander, Major Jeff Watkins, signed the change of beneficiary form and placed it in Mills' file. This did not follow Army procedures.
The form should have been processed by the unit's personnel department and uploaded to the personnel database.
The $400,000 went to his brother tax-free. And $75,000 of the death gratuity went to Mills' brother, sister and mother.
The soldier left behind marital debt and unpaid taxes. 'The IRS came after me,' Kathy says. 'I was the one that bore the burden of the $60,000 tax bill, with no insurance.'
Kathy was never notified by the military of her husband's beneficiary changes.
Members of the military can choose anyone they want to receive their insurance money if they die. SGLI policy requires spouses to be notified if soldiers change coverage.
But this notification requirement has no teeth, because SGLI policy also specifically states that if the Department of Defense fails to notify the spouse, nothing happens. The spouse has no recourse.
Whomever the soldier named gets the money, even if the spouse had no idea of any change or cancellation of coverage, and even if the spouse and children are destitute.
Kathy Mills (third from left) once had a strong Mary Kay network earning $100,000 a year. Here she is with her group of directors
Kathy and Roger Mills took their grandson to the circus in 2001. At the time Roger left her she had no full-time job, severely reduced Mary Kay income and no retirement fund because she cashed in her $126,000 pension to pay off their debts
Roger and Kathy Mills had their portrait taken in 2005 just before he volunteered to deploy to Iraq, wiped out their bank accounts and filed for divorce
The Ohio National Guard chose not to investigate why Kathy was never notified that her husband removed her as his insurance beneficiary.
Kathy was able to get some money from the death gratuity. She received $40,000 of the standard $100,000 payment, because the military acknowledged errors in how Mills filled out the beneficiary form.
But Kathy contends she should have received the entire $100,000 death gratuity, and the $400,000 insurance payment, because her husband violated the restraining order in their divorce, and the U.S. Army violated its own policies and the law.
The Army twice denied her claim. Kathy is now appealing.
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Welcome to Denmark's largest asylum centre: a crime-riddled 'jail' where innocent migrant families are trapped living alongside violent young men for years - forced to survive on 94 a month state handouts while waiting to see if they will be the next person stabbed, raped or assaulted.
Dubbed 'a prison for radicalised asylum seekers', this is the Sandholm Centre, where a Palestinian ISIS fan allegedly stabbed a policeman, an Aghan man was murdered - and a young woman was raped.
In the last few months a man at the centre went berserk with a fire extinguisher and two men were detained for violence as tensions between the 500 'inmates' from 49 different countries reach boiling point.
And there is no escape for those desperate to protect their families, and themselves, from the brutality of living here, at least until they have been granted asylum, a process which can take years in Denmark.
Until then, all they can do is wait in their cramped rooms waiting for the next violent crime and hope they aren't the victim.
Lawless: Migrants living in the Sandholm Asylum Center (pictured) in Denmark live in constant fear of knife attacks and gang violence
Trapped: More than 500 migrants (pictured) from 49 different countries call the sprawling, prison-like asylum centre home
Violence: Afghan refugee Rahmat Ali showed MailOnline photos of his aunt (pictured) who was beheaded by the Taliban three months ago
'There was another fight here just two days ago. A man was slashed in the face with a knife,' Syrian Mahmoud Shalfo, 25, told MailOnline.
'I was threatened a few weeks ago too. A gang member asked me for a lighter and when I told him I don't smoke, he pulled out a knife and told me to get him one.
I was threatened a few weeks ago. A gang member asked me for a lighter and when I told him I don't smoke, he pulled out a knife and told me to get him one Syrian Mahmoud Shalfo, 25
'I backed off and ran away. I know how to defend myself but I did not come here to fight. If I get in trouble with the police, I will be in a very bad situation. I do not feel safe here at Sandholm, and I feel that I can be attacked again any time.'
Shalfo's fears of living there stem from the catalogue of crimes that have taken place over the past 18 months.
In 2010 a 30-year-old Afghan man was killed at Sandholm. Police arrested 17 people initially and charged a man, 26, from Kosovo with murder and five more with complicity and attempted murder.
More recently, in September a policeman was stabbed in a frenzied attack in the early hours of the morning.
A Palestinian, 25, suspected of having stabbed him was said to have been radicalised with 'sympathies' towards ISIS.
The knifeman shouted 'Allahu akhbar', which means 'God is great' in Arabic, before knifing the veteran police officer, who was in a critical condition in hospital, it is claimed.
Chief Superintendent Magnus Andresen added: 'The investigation shows some signs of radicalisation of this person. These are some of the findings from our search and investigation of the crime scene. We are now investigating in how large degree he has been radicalised.'
The stabbing sparked outrage in Denmark, particularly after it emerged that the 'mentally unstable' suspect was known to Danish intelligence.
It prompted the right-wing Danish People's Party calling for 'all radicalised asylum seekers' to be jailed.
And in the latest incident at the centre, last month a 24-year-old woman was raped.
Volatile: Just a few weeks ago, migrant Akram Kawas (pictured) he was hit in the face after chatting with a radicalised Muslim from Syria
Stuck: Afghan farmer Rahmat Ali (pictured), 29, has been stranded in Sandholm, just 30km from Copenhagen, for the last five years
Asylum: Denmark's Sandholm Centre, just 30km from the capital Copenhagen, is a 'prison' where asylum seekers can be stranded for years
Akram Kawas, a resident, told MailOnline how, a few weeks ago, he was hit in the face after by a radicalised Muslim from Syria, who then threatened him with a knife.
'Living here is like a three-star hotel, but it is not really secure,' he said. 'There are many crazy people, people you have to stay away from.'
Living here is like a three-star hotel, but it is not really secure... There are many crazy people, people you have to stay away from Akram Kawas, resident of Sandholm
Akram never meant to end up here, stuck living on the pitiful government handouts and unable to work.
Instead, he had hoped to reach France or Norway to start his new life there, but his mother asked him to visit his brother first in Denmark, and it was there he was picked up by the police.
He said: 'The police took me at the train station in Padborg (southern Denmark border town) and they told me they needed to register me.
'I did not want to, but they let me wait for a very long time. Finally, I did it, even though it meant that cannot seek asylum in Norway or France,' he says.
Afghan farmer Rahmat Ali, 29, has been stranded in Sandholm, just 30km from Copenhagen, for the last five years.
'I get 895 DKR (94) per month and I receive a bag of goods such as shampoo, slippers and toilet paper,' he told MailOnline.
Asylum seekers at Sandholm live in three types of housing - family rooms with private shower and toilet; double rooms with private bathroom and four-person rooms with shared bathroom facilities.
Basic: 'I get 895 DKR (94) per month and I receive a bag of goods such as shampoo, slippers and toilet paper,' said Rahmat (pictured)
'Inmates': Naser Ahosseini, 29, has been in Denmark for six and a half years - three years of which he has spent at Sandholm
A VIOLENT TIMELINE OF SANDHOLM ASYLUM CENTRE 2015 March 25: Asylum seeker who lives at Sandholm tries to steal a bag from an old woman March 13: Swastikas painted on two buildings April 23: 14 refugees mysteriously disappear March 27: An asylum seeker is sent to prison for 40 days for not reporting to Sandholm several times April 10: A 21-year-old Algerian man is detained for beating up a woman April 18: The same 21-year-old is jailed for violence against the woman April 19: Four people are detained for attacking an African man in the area just outside the centre April 20: A 16-year-old from the centre is attacked by five men on his way back home to Sandholm April 22: A resident threatens two police officers with a knife April 23: Three men are detained after attempting to climb the fence into the asylum centre April 24: A 16-year-old threatens staff while a 41-year-old threatens two police with a knife May 7: A 31-year-old migrant spits in the face of a staff member and creates a scene in the cafeteria June 3: A 24-year-old male is charged for violence after pushing a Red Cross officer July 28: A Russian man threatens staff and others, and acts violently against the police September 6: Iranian man, 28, goes 'berserk' and destroys a fitness facility September 29: A policeman is attacked and stabbed with knife September 30: Danish People's Party demands 'prison for all radicalised asylum seekers' in reaction to the stabbing of the policeman 2016 February 1: Man goes 'berserk' with fire extinguisher February 13: Two men aged 19 from Morocco are imprisoned for a fortnight of violence at the camp February 19: Two young men get into a fight and a man smashed some windows February 23: Staff at shop claimed that 'minors plundered and threatens them' February 29: Man breaks window and threatens staff March 3: Woman, 24, raped Advertisement
Cramped: Rahmat (left) lives with two other Afghans in a room 12 metres squared. They share a bathroom, a little kitchen and bunkbeds
Living space: There are three types of housing at Sandholm - family rooms with a private bathroom, double rooms, and four-person rooms (pictured) with shared bathroom facilities
Residents do their own cleaning and laundry and eat in the large communal canteen, where their endless torture continues.
'You see all sorts of problems in the dining hall,' Khalil Alkurdi, from Syria, 45, told MailOnline.
'Some of the guys give you evil eyes as you walk past, others will threaten you and women have to endure comments that can be described as sexual harassment. The girls sometimes ask us to walk around with them for protection. They are afraid of walking alone, especially in the canteen.
Some of the guys give you evil eyes as you walk past, others will threaten you and women have to endure comments that can be described as sexual harassment Khalil Alkurdi, 45
'Sometimes people throw chairs or create such a scene that the whole place needs to be shut down. Where are we supposed to eat? The police should be tougher on the troublemakers.'
Rahmat Ali, from Afghanistan, shows us his phone with photos of his aunt who was beheaded by the Taliban three months ago.
Rahmat lives with two other men in a claustrophobic room measuring about 12 metres squared. They have bunk beds, share a bathroom and a little kitchen at the entrance.
But while the men who spoke to MailOnline appear harmless, their presence in Denmark is not welcomed by Danish politicians, who blame migrant men for the disproportionate rise in crime.
In January, Metter Frederiksen, chairman of Denmark's main centre-left opposition Social Democrats, said 'too many refugees and immigrants threatens the Danish welfare'.
In the same month the Danish parliament has approved a series of controversial proposals aiming to make the country a less attractive destination refugees and migrants.
Measures include confiscating migrants' valuables in order to finance their upkeep while they seek asylum, and making it harder to bring family members to Denmark once they have a right to remain.
Such hostile measures combined with limited financial welfare support means immigration numbers for Denmark, compared with the rest of western Europe, are extraordinarily low.
Most asylum seekers use Denmark as a transit to get through to more welcoming countries such as Sweden where, last year, at its height 10,000 refugees arrived from Denmark a day.
In 2015 only 21,225 migrants settled in Denmark with a population of 5.6million, 85 per cent of which were granted asylum. So far this year there have been just 1,620.
Naser Ahosseini, 29, has been in Denmark for six and a half years - three of which have been spent at Sandholm. Also from Afghanistan, he used to work as an optician and electrician.
'I am happy to be here, and I feel safe here,' he told MailOnline.
He said police looked through his luggage when he crossed the border but they did not ask question about his valuables or money - nor did they take anything from him.
Anger: Opposition to migrants like Rahmat (pictured) is firm among Denmark's political parties who are working to limit the number of refugees taken in by the country
Balanced: Wissam Taher (pictured), who owns a small supermarket in nearby Allerd said: 'The people from Sandholm come here every day. Some are good and some are bad'
He added: 'They want to scare people from coming to Denmark, so they say they will take money from refugees. That is also why Denmark has tent camps. When people hear about this, they will not go to Denmark. They want to scare them, and it works.'
Despite resentment towards migrants in Denmark, some, like Wissam Taher, who runs a convenience store in Allerd, near Sandholm, is sympathetic.
'The people from Sandholm come here every day. Some are good and some are bad.' he said.
At its height last year 10,000 migrants entered Sweden every week from Denmark using the bridge between Malmo and Copenhagen and the ferries between Helsingor and Helsingborg
The vigilantes say illegals enter Sweden helped by organised gangs and 'do-gooders who think they are helping'
Border checks were tightened in December to stop illegal crossings to Sweden, but the pirates say they are lazy
Dennis Ljung, 31, leads the Nationell Framtid or 'National Future' group set up in amid the April 2015 migrant crisis
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A far right group of vigilante pirate migrant hunters are patrolling Swedens southern coast by speedboat in a bid to tackle illegal immigration.
Nationell Framtid's boats monitor the strait of Oresund, a 5km stretch of water between Denmark and Sweden for illegal migrants who they say are entering Sweden with the help of organised criminal gangs and left wing Danish do-gooders who think they are helping.
Their pseudo-paramilitary get up all in black punctuated with a bright red tie and insignia badge on their chest paired with black balaclavas and doc martins are a sinister sight on the misty water.
Patrol: Far right group Nationell Framtid voluntarily monitors the strait of Oresund, a 5km stretch of water between Denmark and Sweden for illegal migrants who they say are entering Sweden with the help of organised criminal gangs and left wing Danish do-gooders'
Extremist: The group says they 'need their country back'. Their aim is to 'cleanse' Sweden of all immigrants and say their patrol is a 'small step to prevent the mass immigration we have faced for decades'. A record 163,000 people applied for asylum in Sweden in 2015
Leader: Dennis Ljung, 31, is the founder of Nationell Framtid (National Future). The vigilantes have been on patrol since December
Patrol: Dennis Ljung, 31 (centre) and his colleagues voluntarily patrol the strait of Oresund for illegal migrants in a speedboat
Dennis Ljung, 31, leads the patrol his far right group the Nationell Framtid - translated as National Future - emerged in April last year during the migrant crisis.
We need to take our country back. Our aim is to cleanse our nation free of all immigrants. What we do out on the ocean is just a small step to stop more the mass immigration we have faced for decades, he told MailOnline.
While he is heavily in debt and unemployed, Dennis is one of the few members of the group without a criminal record according to local media reports. At least 11 members have reportedly been convicted for weapons offences and several violent crimes.
He dismisses allegations the organisation has neo-Nazi sympathies despite also admitting that of course they are in touch with the Soldiers of Odin a gang of violent white supremacist vigilantes patrolling Finland's streets to prevent migrant sex attacks.
We are a broader organisation than them. We have a written manifesto that outlines our political views, and a code of conduct for how members of Nationell Framtid are supposed to behave - we are not supposed to use violence unless it is necessary for example, said Dennis.
I will never say that we are an organisation of Nazis. Of course we have members who have been involved in that movement, but we are strong nationalists. That is it.
Far right vigilante anti-migrant groups across Europe have mushroomed since violence blamed on newcomers rocked the continent.
In January 22-year-old Swedish social worker Alexandra Mezher was stabbed to death at a child migrant home in Molndal, Sweden, allegedly by a 15-year-old Somali boy.
Elsewhere in Sweden, the country that first opened its doors to refugees with open arms, tension is high after a spate of arson attacks on housing for asylum seekers.
Charge: Three-men teams on two boats speed towards 'suspicious targets' and shout at them to turn around until they return to Denmark
Angry: Members say the government is not doing enough to prevent illegal immigration to Sweden, despite the tightened border checks
Security: The group say they believe they are being monitored and insisted on an isolated interview on their boat in the middle of the strait
Arrest: There has been one documented case of an illegal migrant and smuggler arriving by rubber boat and were arrested by police
While authorities say they received a record 163,000 applications for asylum in 2015 and are expecting a further 100,000 this year, nearly half may be rejected.
Members of Nationell Framtid have been drawn to the group for different reasons, but one thing is clear they feel the government is not doing enough to prevent illegal immigration to Sweden.
Their modus operandi on the water is simple.
Three men in balaclavas and black uniforms can easily be seen as some kind of modern age pirates Dennis Ljung, Nationell Framtid
Two small speedboats patrol the strait, three men per boat who work 5 or 6 days each week.
To help them track down their target suspicious boats, theyre armed with radar, radios, binoculars and 'intel' from supporters in Denmark who tip them off to when are where smugglers cross.
Once their target is acquired, the team spring into action.
Charging through the waters at full speed, shouting warnings through a megaphone the men tell the captain to stop and that they have called the police then shadow them until they leave the Swedish coastline and return to Denmark.
If they refuse, the men manoeuvre their small speedboat in front of the boat to stop them from progressing and scream: We wont leave until you turn around.
All boats that we challenge have turned around and gone back to Denmark, Dennis told MailOnline.
In most cases we haven't actually seen any immigrants, we just know that they are inside the boats.
At first, their aggressive tactics and menacing attire caused a problem, Dennis admitted to MailOnline during a three-hour interview on their boat in the middle of the strait.
As three men in balaclavas and black uniforms we can easily be seen as some kind of modern age pirates. If they have not heard about us they probably see us as dangerous maniacs, but people are used to us and seem to accept what we are doing.
Some even praise us since the coast guard is not doing its job, he said.
Denial: Mr Ljung has denied the group has neo-Nazi sympathies although admits that 'of course' some of its members have been involved in the movement. Above, member Robin Hjelm wears his Nationell Framtid uniform (left) and right he is pictured showing his tattooed torso
Vigilante: Founder and leader of the group Dennis Ljung, 31 (pictured), insists his group is different from anti-migrant street vigilantes 'Soldiers of Odin' because they have a written manifesto and a code of conduct for members to not resort to violence on patrol
Military: The group carry out 'military style' foot patrols the streets of the Swedish town of Helsingborg to keep them safe from criminal scum'. Above, Kristofer Carlson is no longer a member but he is still an active supporter of the group on social media
According to Dennis, the team stop an average of four boats daily, but some days when its very cold outside a shift goes by without stopping a single vessel.
It can be a lonely and isolating task but the team insist they like to be away from the idiots that can provoke you on land.
We need to take our country back. Our aim is to cleanse our nation free of all immigrants. What we do out on the ocean is just a small step to prevent the mass immigration that we have been faced with for decades Dennis Ljung, Nationell Framtid
The organisations motto is Nemo me impune lacessit, latin for No one provokes me with impunity.
He keeps the numbers of migrants they have stopped close to his chest but claims they have caught loads of boats and ships containing illegal immigrants.
The Swedish Coastguard told MailOnline that they are aware of Nationell Framtid and their activities, but dismiss the groups claims regarding the number of boats they have stopped as simply not true, and have no reports of meeting their boats on the water.
According to spokesman Mattias Lindholm, one small rubber boat reached the southern shore of Sweden in January 2016 and two people were arrested by the Swedish Police after it crossed the straight of Oresund.
'At sea we have not seen any other consequences of the reintroduced border control and id-checks.
'There is a risk of migrants choosing the sea to reach or pass through Sweden in the spring so we remain on alert, in particular off the southern coastline,' Mr Lindholm told MailOnline.
Dennis says the authorities are lazy, There are so many lazy police men and coast guards that do not have the guts to go out on the water when it is freezing outside. We are here and we are here to stay!
MailOnline was granted an exclusive interview with the group, who insisted that no phones were used and that the interview took place on their boat out at sea.
They are deeply mistrustful of the liberal media however, and only Dennis agreed to talk his comrade beside him, his lips mostly sealed beneath his black balaclava.
'Lazy' The 'modern day' pirates say the authorities who patrol the Oresund strait between Denmark and Sweden are bone idle. They claim they go out in to boats up to six days a week - but that during the winter months they haven't see the coastguards
Checks: Sweden introduced passport checks on the Oresund Bridge between Sweden and Denmark, in Malmo, Sweden, in a bid to deal with the country's immigration crisis. At its height last year 10,000 migrants a week used the bridge and ferry to reach Sweden
Refusing to speak on the phone with MailOnline on the day of the patrol, Dennis insisted on arranging the meet via Facebook chat citing 'security concerns'.
The group are convinced their movements are being monitored by the authorities, and performed a full 'background check' on our reporter before the interview - their standard procedure before meeting anyone new.
'We call the Tax Office to see if the person really exists they could be a left wing extremist in disguise and in rare cases we also call the District Court where the person is living to see if they are convicted of any crimes,' Dennis explained.
Once cleared by their checks, MailOnline was permitted to join the patrol on the sole speedboat bobbing in the middle of the strait, passed regularly by the ferryboats crossing the 5km to and from Swedish Helsingborg and Danish Helsingor and the odd fishing boat.
Ignoring the flags and stickers, it could be a normal leisure boat - the interior is lined with white plastic, with wooden seats and panels.
The captains control room is filled with radar equipment, the megaphone lies casually on the floor.
MailOnline was not permitted to see the cabin for security reasons, as the area is something they want to keep to themselves.
'Maniacs': Local fisherman have branded the men 'maniacs' for racing around the otherwise sedate strait in their leisure boat
March: Members also carry out military-style foot patrols to keep the streets of coastal town Helsingborg safe from criminal scum'
Spike: Swedish special prosecutor Johan Larsson says there has been a spike in crimes involving smuggling immigrants illegally into Sweden from Denmark - 101 people were arrested last year compared to just 21 in 2014 - 44 people have been arrested so far in 2016
Uniform: The men are armed with radars and binoculars to track boats they believe are smuggling migrants Swedish Coastguard patrol the strait by sea and air 24 hours a day and say they are yet to encounter the vigilantes
Mobile phones were also forbidden.
One member said he joined Nationell Framtid because he 'felt a need to do something against illegal immigration.'
'This should be the government's job, but they have failed to do anything,' they claimed.
They also criticise the Swedish coastguard, accusing them of not doing enough to stem the flow of migrants illegally crossing into Sweden.
'Groups like ours show that the Government cannot perform its basic duties,' they claim.
As well as patrolling the sea, Nationell Framtid members carry out military-style foot patrols to keep the streets of coastal town Helsingborg safe from criminal scum'.
They have also organised a soup kitchen for homeless Swedes, claiming that they are a non-profit organisation for Swedes who want to 'keep our nation safe and Swedish'.
The coastguard says that it has received reports that Danes are transporting immigrants on sail boats over the strait.
They say they operate 24-hour surveillance on the strait and have more man power now after the border controls were put in place.
When the migration crisis was at its peak, 10,000 immigrants arrived in Sweden every week from Denmark using the bridge between Malmo and Copenhagen and the ferries between Helsingor and Helsingborg.
Since Sweden and Denmark imposed strict border controls in December, the number of immigrants entering Sweden from Denmark has plummeted with 500 people a week seeking asylum.
New border checks include ID-control on the waters with the coast guard patrolling by boat and air.
We dont know how the future will be. It is depending on what is happening in Europe which can lead to chain reactions. What is now happening in Greece for instance, will have consequences for us in Sweden, but we dont know what they will be. It has been quiet on the coast this winter, but that could be because it has been really cold, Swedish coastguard press office Mattias Lindholm told MailOnline.
We are waiting for what is to come during spring, when it gets warmer. We are prepared for everything in any case, Mr Lindholm said.
Swedens Attorney General Morgan Johansson has said that there are up to half a million immigrants in Germany who still has not applied for asylum there and that Sweden needs to keep these border controls throughout 2016, as heightened border controls are currently due to be relaxed in July.
About the situation in the waters between Denmark and Sweden:
Johan Larsson, special prosecutor in Malmo admits there has been a spike in crimes involving smuggling immigrants illegally into Sweden from Denmark, especially after the new border controls was implemented.
Authorities arrested 101 people for bringing in immigrants illegally to the southern region in Sweden in 2015 up from just 21 in 2014.
And they say that 44 people have been caught for the same crime so far in 2016.
The police attribute most cases to organised crime and dismiss people who take migrants across the border in the back of their car to make a spot of extra cash as a minor percentage.
Most of the cases involve trucks and containers and then we know that it is organised crime behind the operation, a police spokesman told MailOnline.
The Swedish government has imposed stricter border checks and passport checks for all ferries and vehicles crossing from Denmark.
The tightening of borders comes after the high point of the migrant crisis, when around 10,000 immigrants entered Sweden every week came from Denmark using the bridge between Malmo and Copenhagen and the ferries between Helsingor and Helsingborg.
Since the two countries imposed greater border restrictions in December, the number of immigrants entering Sweden from Denmark has fallen to around 500 a week seeking asylum.
Dashing between the rubble to help the wounded in a town scarred by war, this poignant footage shows the final moments of a heroic volunteer in Syria before he was killed.
In the clip, Syrian rescue worker Mohammad Walid Al Ghourani, in the group known as the 'White Helmets', sprints through the rebel-held town of Deir al-Asafir tending to the injured.
His heroic actions were recorded following a deadly airstrike in the town which lies east of the Syrian capital of Damascus, home to around 2,700 families.
Wearing his white helmet and carrying a stretcher, he was filmed running fearlessly into the scene of the attack that was thick with smoke.
As children fled screaming from the crumbling buildings, Al Ghourani ran headfirst into the danger, intent on saving as many lives as possible.
Shortly after his act of bravery was filmed, he was killed in one of the deadliest incidents involving civilians since a partial ceasefire came into effect in the war-torn region more than a month ago.
Syrian rescue worker Mohammad Walid Al Ghourani in his white helmet and clutching a stretcher rushes to help the injured following the airstrike
Amid the sound of collapsing buildings, the fearless volunteer sprints round the corner to help the wounded
Airstrikes hit a hospital and an area near a school in Deir al-Asafir yesterday, killing at least 23 people, according to opposition activists.
As well as volunteer rescue worker Al Ghourani, four children were also killed, Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
It was not immediately clear who was behind the airstrikes.
The government claims al-Qaeda's branch in Syria, the Nusra Front, operates in the eastern suburbs of Damascus.
The ceasefire did not apply to the battle against the militant group or their rivals, the murder cult ISIS.
But the rebels said the government of President Bashar Assad have been targeting civilians despite the truce. Government troops have been trying to encircle the town for weeks.
The Syrian National Coalition, an opposition group, denounced the 'massacre' in the town and said it threatened to derail the ceasefire and peace talks set to resume in Geneva in a fortnight.
The talks are meant to bring about a political shake-up in Syria that will see Assad relinquish power.
Al Ghourani rushes past an injured civilian on the floor as he sprints through the rubble to help the wounded
A woman lies in the rubble following the attack in Deir al-Asafir, east of Damascus
Al Ghourani was part of the unarmed group of volunteers known as the 'White Helmets' [founded in 2013] that rush in to search for life in the rubble - fully aware bombs may fall on the same site.
There are more than 2,850 White Helmets - including 80 women - and so far they have saved more than 40,000 lives as they work through all hours of the day and night.
It has been described as the 'most dangerous job in the world' and around 100 have been killed in the line of duty.
The group - who wear white uniform and a helmet - operate mainly in rebel-held pockets of the war-ravaged country but do not discriminate between victims on one side or the other.
Tellingly, their motto is: 'To save one life, is to save all of humanity.'
More than 250,000 people have been killed in the war and more than one million injured, while four million people have fled the country as refugees.
of food, was beaten unconscious in cake row
The boy, who was
The judge likened boy's treatment to torture as he was a 'virtual
Guilt: Robert Wilson (pictured) admitted a second-degree murder charge after fatally beating his girlfriend's nine-year-old son
A man was jailed for 30 years for beating his girlfriend's nine-year-old son to death over a missing slice of birthday cake.
Robert Leroy Wilson admitted second-degree murder in a case in which the judge likened the boy's treatment to torture.
For weeks before the beating, Jack Garcia was a virtual prisoner in the Hagerstown apartment in Maryland he shared with his mother, her brother and her fiance, prosecutor Robert Leroy Wilson said.
Jack was routinely deprived of food if Wilson felt the boy hadn't exerted himself enough, and he was handcuffed to a chair or beaten with a bamboo sword if he took food without permission.
Washington County Circuit Judge M. Kenneth Long said: 'What a bleak existence this little person had.'
Wilson, 31, accepted responsibility for Jack's death but didn't acknowledge striking the blow that caused his death from a head injury on July 5.
In return, prosecutors dropped seven other charges of child abuse, assault, neglect and reckless endangerment.
Wilson, a restaurant cook, tearfully told the judge he had been under stress from tight finances, lack of sleep, a strained relationship with the mother of his own child and 'all different things going on in the apartment about people not doing what they were supposed to.'
Defense attorney Thomas Tamm said Wilson had been physically abused as child.
But Assistant State's Attorney Sarah Mollett-Gaumer said there was no excuse for the major role Wilson played in Jack's death.
'Jack was such a problem for stealing food? Well, maybe he was hungry,' she said.
Jack Garcia is shown in a photograph taken last year before he was fatally beaten up at his Maryland home
Family: Oriana Garcia, mother of Jack Garcia (left) and the boy's uncle Jacob Barajas have been charged
Jack's mother Oriana Garcia and maternal uncle Jacob Barajas are also charged with second-degree murder. They're scheduled for trial on May 17. Neither has entered a plea.
Police said Wilson beat Jack unconscious after Barajas handcuffed him to a bicycle lock attached to a chair as punishment for taking a piece of cake belonging to Wilson's two-year-old daughter.
A 10-year-old girl visiting that day told investigators she heard Wilson yelling, 'Cough up the cake,' in the room where Jack was beaten while the boy cried, 'No! Stop!'
Prosecutors say Jack's mother allowed the abuse and delayed treatment for hours by sending away an ambulance that Barajas had called.
Passenger was confirmed dead at scene while driver died later in hospital
Chase lasted for 15 minutes before jeep crashed into FA-18E Super Hornet
Jeep drove wrong way down State Route 198 after fleeing patrol officers
Crash took place at Naval Air Station Lemoore in Fresno County, California
A high-speed car chase led to a suspect crashing his jeep into a fighter jet, killing himself and a passenger.
The driver had smashed through a gate at Naval Air Station Lemoore in Fresno County, California, on Wednesday night.
The jeep had driven the wrong way down State Route 198, south of Fresno, after fleeing from California Highway Patrol officers.
A high-speed car chase led to a suspect crashing his jeep into a fighter jet, killing himself and a passenger (file photo)
The chase lasted for about 15 minutes before the jeep crashed into the FA-18E Super Hornet, which was parked seven miles inside the base.
The passenger was pronounced dead at the scene and the driver died later at hospital. Authorities have not yet released their identities.
Captain Monty Ashliman, commander at Naval Air Station Lemoore, said the Naval base did not appear to be the intended target, adding that the man and woman who died were not affiliated with the military.
He said authorities are investigating what started the chase and how the driver broke through the secured gate.
'Regardless of procedures we have in place, something went wrong and we had a tragic accident,' Ashliman said. 'We have got to figure out a way to prevent that from happening in the future.'
It is not known why the Jeep sped away from the CHP officer.
The SUV hit the jet's horizontal stabilizer, but officials have not detailed the damage. The jet will be fully inspected before it takes flight again.
Naval Air Station Lemoore, built in 1961, has two runways and hosts four Carrier Air Wings.
Three Florida teenagers drowned early Thursday when the car they stole went into a pond and trapped them inside while they were apparently trying to evade police, authorities said.
Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri says the driver of the Honda Accord apparently missed a sharp turn near a cemetery and went into the water near St. Petersburg around 4am on Thursday.
Investigators have identified the girls as 15-year-old Laniya Miller, 15-year-old Ashaunti Butler and 16-year-old Dominique Battle, though it was not immediately clear who was driving.
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Three Florida teenagers drowned early Thursday when the car they stole went into a pond and trapped them inside while they were apparently trying to evade police, authorities said. The car picture after it plunged into the pond
Investigators identified two of the girls as 15-year-old Laniya Miller (left) and 15-year-old Ashaunti Butler (right)
Gualtieri says a deputy spotted the car driving without headlights and tried to stop it before the driver fled, eventually running a red light.
The deputies were not actively chasing the car and did not have their emergency lights on, Gualtieri said.
The sheriff says the pond's water was so murky that police could not find the car.
Gualtieri said the vehicle had its windows rolled up and doors closed.
'That car became a death chamber for those girls,' he said during a news conference on Thursday.
Dominique Battle, 16, of St Petersburg was one of the three teens who drowned on Thursday
Divers later found the car, stolen in St Petersburg the night before, in 15 feet of water, according to Gualtieri.
The sheriff said the owner of the car, 35-year-old Damian Marriott, told police he was going to give the girls a ride to a nearby Child's Park.
On the way there, he stopped at a Walmart to buy a television, leaving the car running, and when he came outside, the girls had taken off with the car, Gualtieri said.
Hours later, the car was spotted driving with its lights off but police decided not to pursue when they could not pull it over, Gualtieri said.
The vehicle then continued and was seen going through a stoplight, according to police.
Another deputy in an unmarked car later spotted the vehicle later and confirmed it was the car stolen out of St Petersburg, police said.
The deputy monitored the car from a distance.
Later, the deputies spotted the car in a cemetery and followed it but did not give chase, he said.
Then the deputies saw the car go into a pond inside the cemetery at about 35 miles per hour, he said.
'They tried to get in there and rescue those girls, and they just couldn't do it,' Gualtieri said.
It is against department policy to actively pursue a nonviolent offender, he said.
Juvenile crime, especially grand theft auto, has been skyrocketing in recent years in St. Petersburg, Gualtieri said.
The three teens had, between them, seven arrests in just a year - most of them for grand theft auto, he said.
'On the eighth time, they died,' Gualtieri said. 'Unless we do something different, we will continue to see more lives lost. Three dead teenagers is not acceptable.'
The sheriff says the pond's water was so murky that police could not find the car. Divers later found the car, stolen in St Petersburg the night before, in 15 feet of water, according to police
They are given a deadline and target, then left alone to carry out the attack
Lone wolf jihadis operating in Europe are following a doctrine of 19th century warfare in which they are given a deadline and a target - then sent to attack it by any means necessary.
Invoking the Germany Army's historical strategy of Auftragstaktik, the policy helps ISIS carry out attacks abroad when its chain of command is restricted by Western intelligence agencies.
This allows operatives hiding in Europe to inflict terror with a large degree of autonomy, while also inhibiting authorities from tracing their chain of command.
ISIS claims to be following a historical doctrine of decentralised warfare to carry out attacks on Europe, such as last year's November 13 Paris bombings (pictured)
It claims the strategy allows its operatives a degree of autonomy while still following generalised orders from its central command in the Middle East
Operatives linked to ISIS are also thought to have committed the Brussels bombings two weeks ago (pictured)
The bloodthirsty militant group admitted to following the technique in a recent issue of Dar al-Islam, its French-language propaganda magazine.
It was this strategy of warfare that led to the November 13 Paris attacks, in which 130 people died, and the Brussels bombings two weeks ago that killed another 32.
The doctrine was first developed in the early 19th century in Prussia in response to the state's crushing defeat against Napoleon.
This new theory of war - which gave troops the skills to respond to rapidly changing circumstances in the heat of battle - was then refined by general Carl von Clausewitz.
Later fellow Prussian general Moltke the Elder further tweaked his theory, ushering in a new way of commanding modern-day armies.
Today, similar tactics form a crucial component of the U.S. and UK armies military training.
The February ISIS article, which was devoted almost entirely to the Paris bombings, explained that its jihad in Europe encompasses three types of attacks.
This includes ambitious mass slaughter plots carried out by operatives sent from ISIS headquarters in the Middle East, to lone-wolf attacks by people with no connection whatsoever to the group.
It even cited a historical German infantry manual from 1908 as its inspiration.
The soldiers' manual stated: 'There is nothing more important than educating the soldier to think and act for himself.
'Autonomy and his sense of honor push him to do his duty even when it is not in front of his superior.'
According to SOFREP.com, this style of warfare - known in the U.S. as mission-type tactics - translates to: 'Here is your target, here are your assets, go get it done.'
This, ISIS claimed, allowed its cells to inflict terror in Europe with 'complete tactical autonomy' and leaves little evidence that can link back to their commanders.
Belgian born terrorist Abdelhamid Abaaoud (pictured) is believed to have orchestrated a string of terror attacks across Europe in the past few years
Paris attacker Salah Abdeslam (left) and suspected Jewish Museum shooter Mehdi Nemmouche (right) are both believed to have been in contact with Abaaoud in the months leading up to the respective attacks
In the aftermath of the Paris attacks it emerged Belgian-born terrorist Abdelhamid Abaaoud had acted as the mastermind and handler of the responsible ISIS cell.
He is thought to have coordinated the terrorists responsible for the massacre, with his cellphone traced to the scene of the shootings in the 10th and 11th arrondissements.
He is also known to have been in contact with Mehdi Nemmouche, who allegedly shot and killed four people at a Jewish museum in Brussels in 2014.
Abaaoud in turn was thought to have been close to the leader, or even the head of, ISIS's 'external operations' branch which was created to launch attacks abroad.
Five days after the Paris attacks, he was killed in a police anti-terror raid in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis.
See more news on Vladimir Putin at www.dailymail.co.uk/putin
over how Alisa, 23, came to buy her home
When a pretty, young, scantily-clad beauty queen sent Vladimir Putin a small kitten for his birthday, many rolled their eyes.
After all, her gift would no doubt be lost among the pile of presents the Russian leader was inundated with that day.
But, three years on, that picture may have just proved to be the most astute move this former journalism student and Miss Russia finalist Alisa Kharcheva has ever made.
Gift: Alisa Kharcheva, 23, sent Vladimir Putin a kitten for his birthday in 2012, explaining in a blog entitled 'Pussy for Putin' that she believed it was the perfect gift for the president who has everything
Beauty: Alisa first drew the president's attention when she appeared as 'Miss April' in a sexy calender to celebrate his 58th birthday five years ago
Thoughtful: Two years later she wrote a blog revealing she thought about what to get Putin before settling on the cat. 'I believe it will bring Putin only luck and will be accepted well by all his other pets,' she wrote
Because the 23-year-old, who first achieved notoriety as a teenager starring as 'Miss April' in a sexy birthday calendar dedicated to the president - is currently living the high life in an apartment inside a gated complex in one of Moscow's most exclusive districts.
Exactly how she afforded such an address is up for debate - but an investigation has traced it back to one of Putin's most trusted associates.
Alisa is one of four women Grigory Baevsky, a little-known Russian businessman from St Petersburg, has provided property for in the last few years, according to an investigation by Reuters.
The first two are Anna Zatsepilina and Leysan Kabaeva, the grandmother and sister of Alina Kabaeva, Putin's rumoured girlfriend of the past eight years.
The third is Katerina Tikhonova, who was last year revealed the be the notoriously private Putin's youngest daughter.
And then there is Alisa who, on paper, has the weakest link to the Russian president.
In 2010, a group of students and would-be students from Moscow State University created a calendar to celebrate Putin's 58th birthday. The calendar featured pictures of themselves; Kharcheva starred on the month of April.
Two years later for his 60th, Kharcheva posed with the kitten and a photograph of the president in a personal blog post entitled 'Pussy for Putin', which extolled the president's leadership.
Sexy: Two years earlier, she starred as Miss April, wearing a somewhat revealing top, in a calendar created by Moscow University students to mark the Russian leader's birthday
Aspirations: In between the blog post and the calendar, she tried to become Miss Russia. While the beauty made the finals of the competition, she failed to win the tiara for herself
Flaunting: Alisa's chest made the cover of the calendar back in 2010, when she was still just a teenager
Mysterious: The last thing Alisa was known to be doing was studying journalism back in 2012 - now three years on she is living in a luxury flat in Moscow
Mystery: The flat was provided to her by a known associate of Putin's who has also provided property to three other women in his life, the president's gymnast girlfriend, her grandmother and his daughter
The blog post, which has since been deleted, said: 'I think he [Putin] is a fantastic man, a strong leader and an ideal head of the country.'
Of the calendar Alisa told Sobesednik newspaper:
'It was done as a present for Putin's 58th birthday two years ago.
'Some time later, via his press-secretary, he expressed his opinion that he liked the calendar very much.
'We were glad to hear it. It means our present was a success. I have always thought it and I think it now that it is hard to imagine the better leader for a country.
'I like his attitude to his job, I like his sense of humour. He is an ordinary man, just like me and you,' she added.
Putin 63, was this week astonishingly claimed to be dating Wendi Deng by US Weekly.
Exactly why his associate, 47-year-old Baevsky would have signed over a flat to this young woman remains shrouded in mystery.
Leading Putin opponent Alexey Navalny said: 'I got the impression that the authors of this investigation give a slight hint that Lady Alisa is linked to Putin via spending time together and other personal relations.'
Or, as one commenter noted, referring to Putin's rumoured girlfriend Alina, noted: 'Somebody will have a tough chat tonight.'
However, Alisa swatted off the suggestion her devotion to the president has resulted in anything more than column inches in the press.
Asked how she came to buy a flat from Baevsky, Kharcheva said the transaction was a normal one conducted through a real estate and that she did not know the businessman.
'We bought this flat with a mortgage,' she insisted. 'And we pay that mortgage to this day.'
Asked if any connection to Putin had helped her obtain the flat from Baevsky, she replied: 'No one has ever asked me such stupid questions.'
But public records show Baevsky - who has worked as an aide to another close friend of Putin, his judo partner, Arkady Rotenberg - sold or transferred the properties to three of the women, Alisa, and both his ex-gymnast girlfriend's relatives.
Anna, Alina's 81-year-old grandmother, bought her home within a gated community in millionaire's paradise Uspenskoe, from Baevsky.
The home is protected by security guards, who denied access to Reuters and declined to help contact any of its residents.
Above board: When questioned over how she came to own the flat, Alisa told reporters she bought it with a mortgage, and that their line of questioning was 'stupid'
Tricky: However, commenters online have suggested Putin may be having some difficult chats with his former gymnast girlfriend Alina tonight over Alisa
Rumours: It is thought Alina, 32, gave birth to Putin's child last year - but nothing has ever been confirmed
In 2009, public records show that Baevsky transferred ownership of an apartment in Veresaeva Street in the Moscow suburbs to Leysan.
Asked about how she came to acquire the property from Baevsky, a spokeswoman for a company owned and run by Leysan declined to comment.
Property sellers in Australia who think they are saving money by ignoring simple housing upkeep - like fixing the front fence - could be losing up to $90,000 on their buildings.
Finder.com.au carried out a national survey of more than 1000 people and found that 90 per cent of them said theyd offer 13 per cent below the asking price, on average, if the property lacked the most basic maintenance.
Using the median Australian house price of $695,788, it was worked out that this 13 per cent devaluation would see vendors having $90,452 taken off their asking price, Domain reports.
Poor house maintenance like a scruffy fence could be losing sellers up to $90,000 on their buildings
Its a lot of money to lose out on for the want of tidying up a garden or a new coat of paint on the outside walls.
Real estate agent Trudy Biggin of Biggin & Scott in Melbournes Brighton, maintained that it was the initial response of potential buyers that mattered most.
A lot of owners say to me that they are not going to replace the fence and that the new owners can do it, she said.
By replacing the fence they are likely to increase their potential buyer pool and increase the price.
A national survey of more than 1000 people found that 90 per cent of them said theyd offer 13 per cent below the asking price, on average, if the property lacked basic upkeep
First impressions are everything and it takes very little effort to spruce up a property.
Even if a place needs a bit of landscaping if could knock-off up to 10 per cent from the price achieved for the property, Real estate agent Norman So of McGrath in Sydneys Concord said.
The modern ways of advertising a property can also undermine a property as photographs of property are now taken professionally with cameras using high resolutions and wide angles.
But in reality they can look very different. The bar has been lifted when it comes to how houses are presented, Michael Harris, the director of Raine & Horne in Sydneys Newtown said.
But throughout his whole illness, 'he never grumbled', Anne said yesterday
He was nursed by his wife, Anne, and daughters, Emma and Sophie
Britain's best-loved comedian slipped away yesterday morning with his adored wife, the actress Anne Hart, and their daughters, Emma and Sophie, at his bedside.
Next month, Ronnie and Anne would have reached their golden wedding anniversary, but though the world did not know, it had been tragically apparent for months that Ronnie, 85, would not live to celebrate that special occasion.
The illness which has ended his life began around Christmas 2014, when, in the words of his wife Anne, 'he started to feel unwell and found it hard to breathe and to lie down'.
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So devoted: Ronnie and Anne last June in one of their final photos together, at his annual charity event at The Addington Golf Club
'Ultimate class act': Ronnie Corbett chose to keep his ill health a secret from all but family and close friends
Double the laughs: Barker and Corbetts The Two Ronnies cheered up Britain through the sullen Seventies
At that time Ronnie was still appearing on television in ITV commercials for Wiltshire Farm Foods, so his ill health was kept secret, known only to his family and to close friends.
Yesterday Anne told me how, in January last year, the couple visited a specialist who said Ronnie needed a 'thorough check-up', and sent them to a consultant cardiologist and to a series of respiratory specialists.
One of these, Professor Michael Polkey at the Royal Brompton Hospital in London, suggested that Ronnie start to use a small ventilator machine which would aid his breathing.
'At first Ron said he would never be comfortable with it on, but it turned out to be just the best thing,' said Anne. 'It was only air, but it transformed things so that Ron was able to lie down and sleep.'
Meanwhile, Ronnie underwent more tests before the couple returned to see Professor Polkey in March last year. His diagnosis came as a shock. 'He told us it was most likely to be amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known in the UK as motor neurone disease,' Anne told me.
A rare condition, ALS damages parts of the nervous system, meaning that breathing and other muscle activities can become increasingly difficult. 'As you can imagine, it just knocked us both back. We had not really heard of it. If it hadn't been for Stephen Hawking (who suffers from the disease) and the Eddie Redmayne film about him, The Theory Of Everything, we would not have heard of it at all.'
Ronnie Corbett (pictured, right, with his newborn daughter Emma) quickly became a much-loved actor
Ronnie with his family when he received his OBE at Buckingham Palace from the Queen in 1978
From then on, Anne, who is 82, took it in turns with Emma, 48, and Sophie, 47, to nurse Ronnie around the clock. 'It became a 24-hour job,' she said, 'with Ron getting gradually weaker. He was not in pain, and up to the last 48 hours, he was fully conscious and aware of everything.'
However, it became harder to get him to eat anything.
'Some days all he managed was a few pieces of melon, a glass of champagne, and a Liquorice Allsort. His weight dropped drastically and he simply began to fade away.
'But I would like people to know about the machine that kept him alive. It is called ResMed, a ventilator which helps people to breathe. Without that we would have lost him much sooner.'
Often sleepless in the small hours while she nursed her dying husband, Anne in her youth a dynamic West End leading lady would read and re-read the decades-old letters which Ronnie had sent to her in New Zealand, where she was starring in Annie Get Your Gun.
'They made me weep,' she said simply. 'Ron wasn't just my husband, and the love of my life. He was also my best friend.'
Corbett with his wife Anne and two daughters Sophie and Emma, who is pictured holding Corbett's first grandchild, Robert, in 1997
Corbett died with his wife Anne and daughters Sophie and Emma by is side. The family are pictured together at an after party in 2013
Their life together began with a major tragedy, when their first child, Andrew, was born with holes in his heart. He was taken back into hospital and operated on, but lived only six weeks.
'I don't think either of us ever quite got over it,' Anne said. 'He would be almost 50 now. We went on thinking of him all the time, and of the life he might have had.'
Now, she has lost her beloved husband, too. On Tuesday, with his oxygen levels at a dangerous low, Ronnie went into a coma, and was taken from their home in Addington, on the outskirts of South London, to a private room in the nearby Shirley Oaks Hospital in Croydon.
There, at 8.50 yesterday morning, he died peacefully, surrounded by his family.
'Throughout his whole illness, he never once grumbled or complained,' Anne told me.
'No one could have been more courageous.'
While Ronnie was fighting to survive until their golden wedding anniversary on May 30, his friends were also hoping he would live long enough to receive the honour he so richly deserved: a knighthood.
Corbett (pictured left with his wife) will be remembered as one half of one of the most successful comedy duos (pictured, right, with Barker)
Corbett collapsed at a meal to celebrate his CBE in 2012 (pictured), but made a quick recovery and was later said be 'enjoying life and work'
Several months ago, it fell to me, as a friend of the Corbett family, to contact the Cabinet Office to propose Ronnie for a knighthood, an honour so astonishingly overdue that many people believed it had been conferred on him already.
When it came to obtaining letters of support for my proposal, there was a virtual stampede on the part of celebrated figures.
They included Dame Judi Dench, Sir Bruce Forsyth and even the Queen's former private secretary, Lord (Robert) Fellowes, who, in a handwritten commendation, described Ronnie as 'a man, and a performer, with the highest standards of loyalty, behaviour and honour... he would, I think, still win the palm as the country's most famous, and favourite, comedian'.
It seemed certain the Queen would have been delighted to dub him a knight of the realm.
Only recently she revealed that watching Ronnie and his late partner Ronnie Barker in re-runs of The Two Ronnies is among her favourite TV viewing.
But it was not to be, and Ronnie Corbett has died a plain mister.
Execution was delayed after his lawyers appealed to the Supreme Court
His final meal was a barbecue sandwich, Brunswick stew, potato chips, coleslaw and purple candy washed down with lemonade
Joshua Bishop (pictured) was executed at 9.27pm on Thursday at the state prison in Jackson by injection of the barbiturate pentobarbital
A Georgia death row inmate has been executed after the Supreme Court rejected his last-ditch plea for clemency.
Joshua Bishop was executed at 9.27pm on Thursday at the state prison in Jackson by injection of the barbiturate pentobarbital.
He had been served his final meal, which included a barbecue sandwich, Brunswick stew, potato chips, coleslaw and purple candy - all washed down with lemonade.
The 41-year-old also received 13 visitors which included friends, lawyer and a priest before his death,AJC.com reports.
In his final statement he apologized to the citizens of Baldwin County.
Bishop was convicted in the June 1994 killing of Leverett Morrison, 35, in Milledgeville.
He had been scheduled to die at 7pm on Thursday but his execution was delayed after his lawyers made a final appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The appeal followed a last-minute clemency hearing at The State Board of Pardons and Paroles. On Thursday morning the board announced it would not spare Bishop's life.
His lawyers also appealed to a Superior Court judge in Butts County, where Georgia's death row is located, and the Georgia Supreme Court
They says that the judge's instructions to the jury in the sentencing were ambiguous and so the jury failed to make the necessary findings of fact.
Both courts rejected the appeal.
On Thursday evening, with Bishop's execution scheduled for 7pm, his legal team made one last plea to the United States Supreme Court.
His lawyers argued that Bishop has grown into a quiet man who has a positive effect on others and bears little resemblance to the teenager who helped beat a man to death two decades ago.
'The story of Joshua Bishop's life is one of deprivation, abuse, hopelessness, and crime; but it is also one of faith, contrition, redemption, gratitude, and love,' Bishop's lawyers wrote in a clemency petition urged the parole board.
A number of demonstrators gathered outside the Georgia State Capitol to protest against Bishop's execution
Bishop was convicted in the June 1994 killing of Leverett Morrison (pictured, with his three children)
But Morrison's children, however, are adamant that the death sentence should be carried out, Baldwin County Sheriff Bill Massee said.
The Supreme Court sided with the victim's family and at shortly before 9.30pm, Bishop was executed at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Center in Butts County.
Family and friends of Bishop had gathered to protest and pray for the death row inmate, while another demonstration was held outside the Georgia State Capitol to protest the execution.
Bishop had an extremely rough childhood with a mother who constantly drank and used drugs and had a weakness for abusive men who beat her and her two sons, the petition said.
He bounced between foster families and group homes, eventually returning to his mother, who was frequently in trouble with the law for drug and alcohol offenses or prostitution.
His lawyers say many who knew Bishop as he grew up shared a common feeling: that he 'never had a chance.'
On the night of June 24, 1994, Bishop spent the night drinking and smoking crack with Morrison and a third man, Mark Braxley.
Prosecutors say Bishop tried to steal car keys from Morrison, who was sleeping, and he and Braxley beat Morrison to death when he woke up.
Bishop and Braxley dumped Morrison's body between two trash bins and burned his Jeep.
Bishop is scheduled to die by injection of the barbiturate pentobarbital at 7pm on Thursday. Pictured, Georgia Diagnostic Prison's death chamber
Bishop is the third Georgia inmate executed this year (pictured is the entrance to the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson, Georgia)
According to the clemency petition, the three spent drank at a bar that evening and then went Braxley's trailer, where they continued to drink and use drugs.
Morrison fell asleep and Braxley decided he wanted to take Morrison's Jeep to visit his girlfriend and instructed Bishop to 'get them keys.'
But Morrison woke up as Bishop was trying to take his keys from his pocket, and Bishop hit him over the head with a piece of a closet rod to knock him out, the petition says.
Bishop told investigators he and Braxley both beat Morrison and, once they realized he was dead, they dumped his body between two trash bins and burned his Jeep.
Bishop and Braxley were arrested within 24 hours of Morrison's death. Bishop quickly confessed and immediately showed remorse, while Braxley lied about the crime, the petition adds.
While in police custody, Bishop told investigators he and Braxley had also killed another man, Ricky Willis, about two weeks earlier, also at the trailer.
Mark Braxley (pictured) pleaded guilty to armed robbery and muder and is serving a life sentence
Bishop told police he repeatedly punched Willis after Willis bragged he had sexually assaulted Bishop's mother and then Braxley cut Willis' throat, killing him.
Bishop and Braxley were both charged with murder and armed robbery in Morrison's death.
After a trial, a jury convicted Bishop and sentenced him to die in 1996. Braxley pleaded guilty and is serving a life sentence. He's been denied parole twice and will next be eligible for consideration next year.
Bishop has admitted involvement in the deaths of both men but his lawyers argue that Braxley, who is about 17 years older than Bishop, was the instigator and influenced Bishop in both cases.
Two decades in prison had given Bishop stability that has led him to become a positive influence on fellow inmates and others, and he still has good to do in the world, his lawyers argue.
They gave the board statements from two of Morrison's sisters and his niece, as well as others who were close to Morrison and Willis, who wrote that they don't want to see Bishop executed.
But Sheriff Massee said he met on Monday with three of Morrison's family members, two daughters and a son, who said it is important that Bishop be executed for their father's death.
Also on Wednesday, a Butts County Superior Court judge rejected a challenge filed by Bishop's lawyers that claimed his sentence was disproportionate, that the jury instructions at his trial were flawed and that the evidence used to convict him was insufficient.
A Muslim religious school has been accused of teaching children that British customs are poisonous and that Jews are trying to take over the world.
The Islamic Tarbiyah Academy in Dewsbury, Yorkshire, was accused of promoting an extreme form of Islam that divides communities.
The privately-run madrasa, which teaches 140 primary age children in after-school classes and runs full-time programmes for over-16s, is now being investigated by the Government. Mufti Zubair Dudha, the centres founder and head, is a respected cleric from the orthodox Deobandi sect.
The Islamic Tarbiyah Academy in Dewsbury, Yorkshire, was accused of promoting an extreme form of Islam that divides communities
An investigation by Sky News found he had compiled a leaflet which quotes the Protocols of Zion, an anti-Semitic document that claims Jews are engaged in a global conspiracy.
The cleric claimed films, magazines and celebrities are part of the conspiracy to poison the minds of young Muslims. Other leaflets said all mixed-sex institutions are evil, warned Muslims not to adopt British customs, banned watching TV and told women not to work.
In a section on jihad, he told Muslims they should be prepared to expend ... even life to create a world organised by Allahs just order, although in other leaflets he condemned terrorism.
Dewsbury has a history of ties to radicalisation. It was home to Britains youngest suicide bomber, who blew himself up in Iraq, its youngest convicted terrorist, and Mohammad Sidique Khan, ringleader of the 7/7 terror attacks.
Keith Vaz, who chairs the Home Affairs Select Committee, told Sky News: These kinds of leaflets serve no purpose but to divide in a poisonous and totally reckless way.
But Mr Dudha told Sky News: It saddens me greatly that certain extracts from our publications have been taken and misrepresented to link the Academy with extremism. We fully believe in the importance and need of integration whilst being able to practise our faith.
Keith Vaz, who chairs the Home Affairs Select Committee, said the kinds of leaflets being produced at the privately-run school 'serve no purpose but to divide in a poisonous and totally reckless way
It follows an announcement by the Government to crack down on madrasas, which have long operated with little or no scrutiny. Ofsted has uncovered 15 unregistered schools teaching a narrow Islamic curriculum in the last year.
The Department for Education said: These serious allegations are under investigation. While it would be inappropriate to comment on the specific investigations, we are clear that extremism has no place in our society and we are determined to protect children from it.
Hundreds of extra armed police are to patrol British cities (stock image)
Hundreds of extra armed police are to patrol British cities as fears grow of a Paris-style massacre outside London.
The Prime Minister announced the additional 400 gun cops for Manchester, Birmingham and other cities during a trip to Washington.
At a nuclear security summit with other world leaders, the rising threat from Islamic State topped the agenda.
In total, 1,000 more armed police will be brought in a rise of almost 20 per cent with 600 based in London.
David Cameron said that, in the wake of the Paris and Brussels atrocities, an extra 40 armed response vehicles would also be deployed across the country, an increase of more than a quarter.
Security officials are planning how best to respond to an attack in which fanatics target separate sites at the same time with firearms and explosives, as in Paris in November when 130 people died.
Whitehall insiders say getting to the scene quickly is crucial to keep casualties to a minimum, and the extra resources will provide round-the-clock cover.
Security sources said that while seven mass-casualty plots had been foiled in the past year, it was inevitable that one will get through.
One senior official said: The reality is that we cannot stop everything. Everybody needs to be aware of that fact.
There are 5,875 firearms officers in England and Wales, many of them based in London, protecting Whitehall, foreign embassies and other sensitive sites.
The 40 extra armed response vehicles take the total to 150.
The two terrorist attacks that claimed lives in Britain over the past 11 years were both carried out in the capital the 7/7 bombings and the murder of Lee Rigby at Woolwich Barracks.
But major terror plots have been uncovered in other cities, and officials want to ensure they are ready for strikes at any time or place.
Speaking in Washington, Mr Cameron said: Our police and intelligence agencies work round the clock to keep us safe, and it is absolutely vital that we support them with the right resources and kit.
'After the terrorist attacks in France last year, we decided to look at whether there was more we could do to protect people from the type of terrorist threat we now face.
Thats why we are increasing the number of specially trained armed officers up and down the country to make sure the police have greater capability to respond swiftly and effectively.
Downing Street said every region would benefit from the boost in officers, which is being funded from an extra 143million allocated to defence and security.
Security officials are planning how best to respond to an attack in which fanatics target separate sites at the same time with firearms and explosives, as in Paris (pictured) in November when 130 people died
Alongside this, more specialist counter-terrorism teams will be established outside the capital, including in Manchester and Birmingham. The new officers will be in place by spring 2018, No10 said.
Aides said the announcement builds on the military contingency planning set out by the Prime Minister following the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris last year.
This allowed for 10,000 troops to go on the streets during a terror attack, as well as enabling the military to fill in for armed police releasing them to respond to atrocities.
Deputy Chief Constable Simon Chesterman, a spokesman for police chiefs, said: We have significantly enhanced the training, tactics and weaponry of armed officers to ensure they are capable of dealing with all terrorist attacks.
Mr Cameron spoke after landing in Washington yesterday afternoon for the two-day summit.
The PM, Barack Obama and other world leaders will plan how to stop nuclear material falling into the hands of IS and other fanatics.
This comes after authorities shut down a similar site in February
The online content expires every two days but users can download the pics
Experts say removing the images from the Internet is almost impossible
Hundreds of Western Australian women and girls - some as young as 14 - have been caught up in a nude photo scandal.
The victims originally sent the images privately to a source they trusted but who then shared the images online, reported Seven News.
The latest photo scandal comes after authorities shut down a site in February that contained explicit images of young female students from across Australia.
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Hundreds of photos of woman and teenagers have been leaked online in a nude photo scandal (the images above are not related to the recent leak)
The new leak sees its content expire every two days but allows users to download the images
This time, content shared online expires every two days and users can download and store the images which can then be shared at a later date.
Experts say shutting down this new leak is almost impossible because it is difficult to identify the culprits.
There's really no chance of us being able to contact those networks or remove half of the images I suppose let alone all of them, Paul Litherland from Surf Online Safe told Seven News.
Its almost a network or a shopping market to a degree in regards to people trying to see these photos.
Users of this new forum have requested nude images of students from specific schools including Sacred Heart College and Duncraig Senior High School.
Both schools have said that no students have put in complaints.
While another user commented: Nobody dates a girl and does not keep her nudes, lets see what you have.
Some users have requested images of students from specific schools including Sacred Heart College in WA
Britain led efforts to block EU tariffs that might have protected the steel industry in this country from a flood of cheap Chinese imports, it emerged yesterday.
George Osborne and David Cameron were accused last night of being more concerned with courting China than the fate of Tata steelworkers.
The claims came as Mr Cameron warned yesterday there was no guarantee he could save thousands of steel jobs.
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Ministers opposed EU proposals earlier this year to put a 66 per cent tariff on cheap steel products, saying it would lead to higher prices for UK consumers. Sajid Javid will visit the Port Talbot steel plant (pictured) today as he faces calls for him to resign as Business Secretary
Ministers opposed EU proposals earlier this year to put a 66 per cent tariff on cheap steel products, saying it would lead to higher prices for UK consumers.
Instead, the tariffs stayed at 9 per cent. Officials are now going back to Brussels to increase the tariffs which the EU did agree upon from 9 to 20 per cent.
Axel Eggert, director general of the European Steel Association, which represents the industry across the continent, told the Financial Times: The UK is the ringleader in a blocking minority of member states that is preventing a European Commission proposal on the modernisation of Europes trade defence instruments.
When the UK Government says it is willing to do whatever it takes, it must take seriously the need to push through along with other member states the reforms to European trade policy that could actually defend the industry from unfair dumping and prevent the job losses.
The claims came as Mr Cameron warned yesterday there was no guarantee he could save thousands of steel jobs
A French diplomat added: In reality, the UK has been opposing an overhaul of the EUs anti-dumping system. In February, Business Secretary Sajid Javid told MPs that punitive tariffs simply do not work and would drive up prices.
Mr Osborne has been instrumental in persuading China to fund the UKs first nuclear power station for a generation at Hinkley Point. Chinese president Xi Jinping was in Britain last October on a state visit during which he signed the nuclear deal. The Chancellor and other senior ministers have made a number of trips to Beijing.
Critics say Mr Osbornes eagerness to do a deal with the Chinese had been so all-consuming that the Government is content to see the fall of the steel industry.
Up to 40,000 jobs are at risk following the shock decision by Indian conglomerate Tata to sell its UK assets, including the giant steelworks at Port Talbot in South Wales. On another day of chaos:
Mr Cameron held a crisis meeting in Downing Street, but warned there were no guarantees that the Port Talbot plant could be saved;
He was accused of using the steel crisis to scaremonger over Brexit by claiming the EU would impose punitive steel tariffs on the UK;
Channel 4 News reported that Tata had taken on accountants PwC to draw up a restructuring plan which could be a prelude to going into administration.
Mr Osborne, who was in Paris yesterday for a meeting of G20 finance ministers, insisted the Government was on the side of the families affected by this crisis and was doing everything possible and practical to support the industry.
'I'd like to save the industry chaps. But I just don't know where to find the money'
Britain led efforts to block EU tariffs that might have protected the steel industry in this country from a flood of cheap Chinese imports, it emerged yesterday
But Stephen Kinnock, the Labour MP whose constituency includes the threatened Port Talbot plant, told BBC Breakfast the Governments actions told a different story.
Not just over the last few weeks and days, but over the last five years, the Government has been asleep at the wheel and has been more interested in rolling out the red carpet for China, than it has been in standing up for British steelworkers, he said.
He wrote in the Guardian that the Chancellor and the Prime Minister are Beijings chief cheerleaders in Europe.
HOW AMERICANS USED 266% TARIFFS TO SAVE THEIR INDUSTRY American authorities have dramatically reduced the amount of cheap Chinese steel being imported to the US by imposing far harsher tariffs than the EU. China has been exporting at prices below the cost of production, a practice known as dumping, but countries can make legal moves to stop this on the grounds that it drives out competition. Tariffs are decided on a case-by-case basis and vary depending on the type of steel being imported and the price. The Americans have been more aggressive than Britain and the EU because of the importance of the steel industry to the country. The bulk of its steel is made domestically, meeting nearly 90 per cent of the demand in the country. The US recently imposed anti-dumping duties of 266 per cent on imports of a certain type of steel from China. In contrast, the EU imposed duties of between 13 and 16 per cent. The results are stark in the final three months of last year, Chinas steel exports to the US were down 55 per cent on the same period in 2013. For the same periods, exports to the EU increased by 278 per cent. Britain has actually resisted slapping tougher sanctions on the Chinese because, according to Eurofer, the European Steel Association, it wants to curry favour with the Peoples Republic. China wants to offload its massive excess capacity of steel but simultaneously is offering the prospect of wider investment in the EU and UK economies, a spokesman said. Advertisement
Mr Kinnock, who travelled to Mumbai earlier this week to lobby Tata Steel before its board made its decision, said Britain had pushed hard for China to be granted market economy status, despite 80 per cent of its steel industry being state-owned. This would have meant even lower tariffs.
As the Government scrambled to get a grip on the steel crisis, Mr Cameron held an emergency meeting in Downing Street before flying to Washington for a summit. But only five ministers turned up for the 45-minute meeting, with the Chancellor absent in Paris and Mr Javid flying back from Australia.
They sent their deputies, business minister Anna Soubry and Treasury minister Jim ONeill. New Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns, new Work and Pensions Secretary Stephen Crabb and Cabinet Office minister Oliver Letwin also attended.
It appeared that little had been agreed, with the Prime Minister insisting the Government was doing everything it can to resolve the steel crisis but nationalisation was not the answer. He defended the way the crisis had been handled, insisting the intervention had stopped an outright closure.
About half of all British steel goes to other EU countries, the Prime Minister said, adding: We need to be in there making sure the markets are open. If we were on the outside, we might well find that it was our steel that was having those tariffs and those taxes put upon it.
Former Chancellor Ken Clarke warned against a 1930-style tariff war, and suggested the steel industry could be helped by cutting green taxes which push up energy costs.
A Treasury source said the criticisms were just not true. The source said the issue of overproduction has been raised consistently with the Chinese by the Prime Minister and other ministers. Britain had pushed for action at an EU level on tariffs. In addition, the steel industry has been helped, with energy bills being cut by a third.
Prisoners will be held in rooms, not cells, they will be given telephones so they can say goodnight to their children and warders will have to knock before entering.
If that isnt cushy enough, the governor at Britains newest prison says he wants to run it in a collegiate system similar to universities such as Oxford and Cambridge so inmates feel more of a sense of belonging. Speaking of inmates, staff have been told not to refer to them as prisoners or offenders.
Governor Russ Trent, an ex-Royal Marine, said the 212 million showpiece super-prison HMP Berwyn on the outskirts of Wrexham would base itself on the so-called Mandela Rules a United Nations standard aimed at making custody as similar as possible to life in the community so that it is more civilised.
Governor Russ Trent, an ex-Royal Marine, said the 212 million showpiece super-prison HMP Berwyn on the outskirts of Wrexham would base itself on the so-called Mandela Rules
The measures are crucial to the vision of Justice Secretary Michael Gove, who has called for a prisons revolution, bolstering rehabilitation and educating inmates to end the lock em up or let em out debate.
But critics last night described the proposals as drivel and said they were fresh evidence that Britains jails were becoming holiday camps. They said the regime at the 2,100-capacity mens prison risked making it one of the countrys softest jails.
The Category C HMP Berwyn, which will have up to 1,000 staff, will be one of the biggest prisons in Europe when it opens next year. It will hold burglars, armed robbers and more serious offenders approaching the end of their sentences.
In an internal teleconference call to prospective staff, Mr Trent said: Were looking at how we can make the experience as normal as possible. Theyre also going to have a phone in their room so they can ring their children at night and say goodnight. Thats pretty normal.
He said the aim of the prison was to offer hope to inmates and change behaviour through reward, rather than punishment, adding: I dont call the men in custody prisoners and I dont call them offenders.
Because its a basic principle, isnt it? If you call somebody something you dont want them to be, theyre more likely to be it. The rooms in which they live, calling them rooms rather than cells is really important. And if you call it a room, how do you make a cell a room? And thats giving them ownership of it and how they live in there and how they keep it clean and tidy.
The measures are crucial to the vision of Justice Secretary Michael Gove, who has called for a prisons revolution, bolstering rehabilitation and educating inmates to end the lock em up or let em out debate
HOW WAS THE ARREST FOR YOU, SIR? Police should ask suspects to rate their experience of being arrested and placed in handcuffs, an official report has recommended. Officers must tell suspected criminals how to make a formal complaint and ask for feedback about their experience, the police watchdog said. The recommendations were made by the Independent Police Complaints Commission in a 94-page report called Police Use of Force. The report says: We recommend that all police forces provide people who have had force used against them with information about how to give feedback about their experience, including information about making a complaint. Retired Met Police detective Colin Sutton said: This is the latest ridiculous idea from a rabidly anti-police organisation that does little to safeguard either the public or police. Essex Police Federation chairman Mark Smith added: If youre attacking police and being arrested why should we be asking you, Did we use the right force against you? This is opening the floodgates for false complaints. Advertisement
In the real world, its normal to knock on a door before you walk in. And thats the first step of turning a cell into a room. And I think those sort of small things cost absolutely nothing. Its just a different level of decency.
Mr Trent will divide the prison up into three parts of 700 inmates each, so that they feel a sense of belonging to their particular wing like at an Oxbridge college.
The wings will be encouraged to introduce their own incentives and privileges schemes to reward good behaviour and penalties for prisoners who fail to comply with the new rules. Comparing recruitment to the UKs top universities, Mr Trent said some staff would be assigned to individual units.
He said: Where when youre at Oxford University, people generally will say, I go to St Johns, or whichever college theyre part of, and they feel absolutely loyal to the college, but also they feel loyal to the whole university.
Tory MP Philip Davies, a member of the Commons justice select committee, said: This kind of drivel has brought the criminal justice and prison system into disrepute.
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In Sopforth today, the funeral of Britains most successful door-to-door salesman was called off because every time they tried to close the lid of the coffin, he jammed his foot in it.
It is rumoured that the publishers have recalled the long-awaited book on the history of Sellotape. Apparently, no one can find the beginning.
A grandfather has gone missing after eating four cans of baked beans, two cauliflowers and a jar of gherkins. His family have made an emotional appeal for him not to come home for at least a fortnight.
Clowning around: Big costume numbers were The Two Ronnies finale. Pictured, the comedians are ready for a circus
Belly laughs: Both Ronnies always looked hilarious in drag, left. Dolly funny: The Ronnies do country with Barker as the bosom pal
Ron Knuckles was buried today at a service attended by the criminal underworld. As a mark of respect, the ceremony ended with two minutes violence.
Tonight, well be out and about with the Bishop of Bath and Wells to see him consecrate a swimming pool, bless three wells, confirm a bidet and christen a low-level suite.
Complaints were made following the annual chefs fancy dress ball last night. A woman dressed only in gooseberries and cream made an improper suggestion to a man dressed in cake and sherry. She made a proper fool of herself and he got a trifle excited.
Mr Wally Turdham has again won the most amorous milkman of the year award. Apparently hes so popular with his lady customers that hes started leaving notes on their doorsteps saying: None today, thank you.
As a young man, I danced several leads for the Hibernian and Strathclyde Amateur Bowls and Ballet Society until an unfortunate incident with a rather restrictive jockstrap put an end to a promising career. I went from Sugarplum Fairy to Nutcracker in one ill-judged leap.
There has been some good news for the burglar who fell inside a combine harvester while on the run last week. His family said hell soon be out on bale.
The sad news is that the funeral took place today of Mr Spenser P. Dobson, a famous compiler of crossword puzzles. After a short service, he was buried 6 down and 3 across.
I was going to open a restaurant with topless waitresses but was put off by the overheads.
There was a chap who is interested in the concept of psychic phenomena; the concept where one day you suddenly hear from a guy who died 20 years ago. You know, a bit like second-class mail.
Solo spot: Ronnie's monologue. His gags would be delivered initially with a straight face and in that trademark Scots voice
Milk bottles were thrown at a meeting of the Milk Marketing Board today. A meeting of the Egg Marketing Board was also broken up when eggs were thrown. A mass meeting of the Manure Marketing Board has been cancelled.
Police announced tonight that they wish to interview a man wearing high heels and frilly knickers but the chief constable said they must wear their normal uniforms.
After a series of crimes in the Glasgow area, Chief Inspector McTavish has announced that hes looking for a man with one eye. If he doesnt find him, hes going to use both eyes.
There was a fire at the Inland Revenue office in London, but it was put out before any serious good was done.
News of an unfortunate incident at a circus in York this evening: the management took action against the human cannonball and fired him. They said his act was over the heads of the audience.
A disappointing cancellation tonight: the British Rail catering departments Christmas party has been postponed until April to give the sandwiches time to ferment.
Among many favourite sketches performed by the pair were a song by two morris dancers and a hard of hearing captain in World War One
It was on Sir David Frost's show that Corbett rose to fame and where he met Barker, leading them to forge one of Britain's best-loved TV duos
It was revealed in a government survey published today that the Prime Minister is doing the work of two men: Laurel and Hardy.
I have to be careful of wearing too much tartan. I end up looking like a Thermos flask.
The worlds greatest jigsaw puzzle designer was divorced today after his wife found he was keeping a piece on the side.
West London police wish to alert local residents about the activities of the infamous cross-eyed burglar. If you see this man staring in your windows, warn the people next-door.
A man who thew his mother-in-law into the crocodile pool at London Zoo has been prosecuted by the RSPCA.
My wife thinks Im the salt of the earth. Thats why she keeps me in the cellar.
Heard the one about the car designer who crossed a Toyota with Quasimodo? He came up with the Hatchback of Notre Dame.
A cement mixer has collided with a prison van. Motorists are asked to look out for 16 hardened criminals.
I was lying in bed with my wife last Sunday morning when she called me by a special pet name, a loving and endearing term that only she uses. Hey Shorty, she said, would you like to hear the patter of little feet?
Somewhat taken aback, I replied: Yes, I would. She said: Good. Run down to the kitchen and get me a glass of water.
Mac's tribute to his friend Ronnie
April showers are supposed to bring May flowers, aren't they? Not this year, apparently.
Colder temperatures are expected to hit the Great Lakes and Northeast in full force this weekend into next week, potentially bringing snow with the freezing weather.
The return of winter weather is the result of incoming arctic air that is pushing south through Canada into the northern United states.
Colder temperatures are expected to hit the Great Lakes and Northeast in full force this weekend into next week
Temperatures could reach highs of 30 or 40 degrees on Saturday and hit lows in the teens or 20s near the Canadian border
It appears that it will be chillier on Sunday, with weather in Minnesota and upstate New York reaching freezing temperatures
Fast-moving low pressure systems could produce snow in some regions if they have enough moisture and cold temperatures are present.
The cold weather and possible snowstorms are expected to hit the Great Lakes and Northeast regions as early as Saturday, according to Weather.com.
Areas close to the Canadian border could see below-average temperatures on Saturday into early next week.
High temperatures will be about ten to 25 degrees colder than what is expected at the beginning of April in the regions and should reach the 30s or 40s in the Northeast and Great Lakes region.
Some areas might see temperatures remain around the 20s for the weekend.
The upper Midwest and interior Northeast could see low temperatures in the 20s or 30s, and temperatures could drop to the teens closer to the border from northern Minnesota to northern New England.
Some regions could see windchills on Sunday morning in the single digits and teens.
Two rounds of snow could hit the Upper Midwest, Great Lakes and Northeast over the weekend or early next week.
A third low-pressure system could bring more cold weather, but the forecast is unclear.
Forecasted lows for this upcoming weekend could reach below freezing temperatures in the Great Lakes and Northeast regions
Forecasted highs reach the 30s and 40s in most areas of the Great Lakes and Northeastern regions this weekend
Meanwhile, southern states have been facing horrific tornadoes and thunderstorms that have killed at least one and injured several others.
Thunderstorms rumbled across parts of the South on Thursday, bringing the threat of possible tornadoes, a day after at least seven people were injured when severe storms spawned multiple tornado touchdowns in northeastern Oklahoma.
Authorities say a teen driver in Mississippi has lost his life amid the severe weather outbreak.
William Luca McMahan of Iuka apparently lost control of a Chevrolet Blazer SUV around 7 a.m. Thursday, sliding off a rain-slick highway and into a ditch.
Authorities say the 18-year-old's vehicle rolled over and landed upside down in Indian Creek. McMahan, a senior whom classmates say was on the way to school, was reportedly pinned inside the vehicle.
Hail and damaging winds are moving across the lower Mississippi River Valley, and the National Weather Service said the heavy rain may produce flash flooding in some areas.
The weather service's Storm Prediction Center said the worst threat of tornadoes and large hail was in northern Mississippi and Alabama, along with parts of Tennessee and southern Kentucky.
Forecasters say more than 8million people will be at an 'enhanced' risk of severe weather in parts of Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee.
As for Monday, cities including Alpena, Michigan, and Buffalo, New York, could face snow storms while other cities brace for rain
The National Weather Service says it will investigate storm damage in Lamar County, Mississippi, that may have been caused by a tornado Thursday morning.
Meteorologist Joanne Culin in Jackson said trees were down in two areas of Purvis and one crashed into a house. There were no reports of injuries.
Heavy rain in the Mississippi Delta caused some widespread flooding. Sunflower County Emergency Manager Ben Grant said about two dozen homes in Moorhead were evacuated.
In Oklahoma, a tornado touched down and lifted up numerous times Wednesday night as it swept through the northern Tulsa and Owasso areas, according to weather service meteorologist Amy Jankowski.
Seven people were taken to hospitals by Emergency Medical Services Authority, an ambulance service provider, spokeswoman Kelli Bruer said. Bruer said one was in critical condition and several were in serious condition. May said a few other people suffered minor injuries but declined treatment.
Tulsa streets and water departments were assisting with road barricades and debris removal.
Utility crews work to fix broken power lines and poles in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Thursday after a tornado moved through the area the previous night
Tornado damage on a home in the Country Ridge neighborhood in Claremore, Oklahoma, on Thursday, a day after a tornado moved through the area
Tulsa Fire Department veteran William Hudson looks at damage to his home in Tulsa on Thursday a day after a tornado moved through the area
Tornado damage on a home in the Country Ridge neighborhood in Claremore, Oklahoma, on Thursday after a tornado moved through the area the previous night
The National Weather Service said a tornado warning has been issued in southern Alabama. At least one tornado touched down in the state on Thursday night.
Walker County Emergency Management assistant director Harry Markham sais a tornado struck Eldridge, Alabama, around 8pm. He said there were no immediate reports on damage or any injuries.
It is the second tornado authorities say has hit the ground in Alabama since one touched down in northern part of the state in Ardmore around 7.07pm.
Meteorologist Jason Beaman in Mobile, Alabama, said warnings were issued for Clarke and Choctaw counties Thursday evening. He said a storm was rushing toward both counties with very strong signs of a tornado.
The National Weather Service also issued a flash-flood watch for northern parts of Louisiana. Forecasters predicted multiple rounds of strong thunderstorms would produce 2 to 4 inches of rain, and perhaps 6 inches in some parts of Louisiana.
As the system moves east, strong storms were expected to develop Thursday over Alabama, where forecasters say the main threats will be tornadoes, winds of up to 70 mph, quarter-sized hail and heavy rains. Forecasters said storms in central Alabama are expected to continue through 3 a.m.
In Georgia, forecasters said more than 4 inches of rain could fall in western parts of the state.
Peter Skinner, 56, claimed almost 500,000 in expenses over three years while representing the South East of England in the European Parliament
A former Labour MEP faces jail after claiming almost 500,000 in expenses to fund his lavish lifestyle and pay off his wife following their divorce.
Peter Skinner, 56, claimed the maximum staff Parliamentary Assistance Allowance (PAA) over three years while representing the South East of England in the European Parliament.
The funds, adding up to 480,000, were meant for staffing costs. But the politician used the money to fund luxury holidays abroad, buy jewellery and splash out on gourmet meals.
Skinner claimed he was confused over the rules, and blamed a lack of information given to him by the European Parliament. But a jury at Southwark Crown Court found him guilty of making a false instrument, of fraud and false accounting in a combination of unanimous and majority verdicts.
He was cleared of one count of making a false instrument in relation to a form submitted to the parliament in 2006.
Mrs Justice Maura McGowan adjourned sentence but told him: 'You have been convicted of extremely serious offences and an immediate prison sentence is almost inevitable.'
Skinner was a Labour MEP from 1999 until he was replaced by Anneliese Dodds in 2014. The charges related to expense claims and allowances between 2004 and 2009.
Prosecutor Jonathan Davies said Skinner falsified documents and gave untrue information in a 'calculated and dishonest' bid to justify the claims.
The allowance is given to MEPs to cover the cost of their assistants. 'As an MEP Mr Skinner was entitled to be paid for his work, to receive a salary from parliament and also for expenses,' Mr Davies explained.
'He could claim and did claim 304 euros (236) a day 'subsistence'. An investigation revealed between 2004 and 2007 Mr Skinner always claimed the maximum amount permitted.
'He claimed an allowance that was for a specific purpose but he used it for personal expenditure.' The MEP claimed 29,985 in 2005, 9,401 of which was transferred into his personal bank account. Skinner then took an extra 9,369.63 the following year.
'8,000 of that money was transferred into Mr Skinner's personal account a nice little bonus potentially,' said the prosecutor. Mr Davies said money twice went into Skinner's personal account before he flew to the United States. 'On each occasion it was spent on hotels, restaurants, shops, clothes and jewellery improper use, we say, of PAA.
'He diverted and used the money to make personal payments to his ex-wife following their divorce so that he did not have to foot the cost personally, payments of a personal nature to his father when his mother was ill and he made payments to his personal bank accounts.
'In 2006 a number of payments were made after divorce to Mr Skinner's ex-wife totalling 10,000,' Mr Davies said.
A jury at Southwark Crown Court (pictured) found Skinner guilty of making a false instrument, of fraud and false accounting in a combination of unanimous and majority verdicts. He is now facing a jail sentence
Skinner claimed one of his employees, Karen Forbes, who carried out payroll and administrative duties, invoiced him for 178,379.88 euros (122,178) in 2005. She was in fact only providing part-time book-keeping services.
According to the invoices she was being paid the maximum 10,420.36 each month but she said she only received 525 a month.
Skinner blamed a lack of information from the European Parliament as part of the reason for his supposed confusion over the rules.
One of his researchers alerted police after discovering a document showing money had been paid to his father.
Sydney siege hostage Paolo Vassallo has told an inquest into the 2014 siege of the Lindt Cafe that he warned police someone would be shot unless they entered the cafe.
Mr Vassallo said he pleaded with police to storm the Lindt Cafe, saying if they waited someone would die.
He was held hostage for six hours, before making his escape about 3.40pm.
Sydney siege hostage Paolo Vassallo who told an inquest that he pleaded with police to storm the cafe and as the day went on, the hostages started to believe that no one was coming
This was about the same time two other hostages, Stefan Balafoutis and John O'Brien, made their way out of the Martin Place building.
An emotional Mr Vassallo on Friday told the inquest into the December 2014 siege that he told police they could not wait.
The police would maintain their strategy of 'contain and negotiate' until the siege came to its tragic conclusion shortly after 2am on December 16.
'You have to go in,' Mr Vassallo said he told police.
'He's going to shoot someone.
'If you wait, someone's going to die.'
The Lindt Cafe worker also recalled gunman Man Haron Monis announcing that Australia was under attack, and that then prime minister Tony Abbott would be responsible if hostages were to die.
Mr Vassallo said Monis told the hostages: 'No one cares about you ... the government doesn't care if you die.'
'You'd like not to believe it but as the day went on, you sort of did believe it. No one was coming.'
Armed police outside the Lindt Cafe in Sydney on December 15, 2014. Hostage survivor Paolo Vassallo said he told police they had to go in as the gunman was going to shoot someone
Mr Vassallo, the back-of-office supervisor at the cafe since 2012, described manager Tori Johnson as a 'good guy'.
'He was a manager, but a friend.'
Mr Johnson was shot in the back of the head by Monis at 2.14am, prompting police to storm the cafe.
The inquest continues.
Mr Vassallo said gunman Man Haron Monis (pictured) told hostages that 'no one cares about you... the government doesn't care if you die'
People are seen running with their hands up from the Lindt Cafe during the siege in December 2014
One of the hostages pictured inside the Lindt Cafe during the Sydney siege
The police maintained their strategy of 'contain and negotiate' until the siege ended shortly after 2am on December 16
Nugent came under fire last month for posting an anti-Semitic image
The image has been floating around on racist websites for two years
Rocker Ted Nugent has come under fire once again after posting a doctored picture on his Facebook that features a white van labeled '2 n****** in a stolen truck'.
Underneath the label is the slogan 'We move your s*** like it was our's'.
Nugent, 67, claimed he was simply sharing the photo to celebrate a 'brilliant' businessman.
'Before all the braindead dishonest lying scum politically correct racist hatepunks get all goofball toxic on us here,' he began in the Facebook caption.
'I am simply promoting a brilliant entrepreneur in Detroit that created a clever bussiness (sic). His words, not mine. Ya gotta luv this guy!! When in doubt whip it out!!'
Rocker Ted Nugent has come under fire once again after posting a doctored picture on his Facebook that features a white van labeled '2 n****** in a stolen truck'
Nugent, 67, claimed he was simply sharing the photo to celebrate a 'brilliant' businessman
When one commenter said they had lost a great deal of respect for Nugent after he shared the image, the Motor City Madman replied: 'A black man started a clever biz a**hole. FkU.'
The photo has been circulating on racist websites for two years, according to the New York Daily News.
Nugent has been a staunch defender of his use of the n-word in the past, calling it a 'friendly, even trial greeting with no hint whatsoever of negativity nor hostility'.
'It is foolish and dishonest to discuss a given word, or language overall for that matter, by not saying the word and sheepishly referencing it by a letter,' he said in a column for the conservative conspiracy website WorldNetDaily.
'For our society to dare claim that any and every use of the word n***** is hateful and wrong is just plain dishonest, foolish, denies the truth and only hurts those we wish to protect the most.'
'As blacks blow away blacks in record numbers in Chicago and other urban hellzones each weekend, does anyone have the audacity to believe that words play any role in this insane widespread criminality?'
This is hardly the first time Nugent has been criticized for his Facebook posts.
Just last month many called for the NRA to remove Nugent from the pro-gun organization's board after he posted an image of US Jewish politicians who support stricter gun laws.
Just last month many called for the NRA to remove Nugent from the pro-gun organization's board after he posted an image of US Jewish politicians who support stricter gun laws
Although he did not endorse him, Nugent made his support for Donald Trump clear in a recent Facebook post
The meme featured the likes of Michael Bloomberg, Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Rahm Emmanuel, among others, with Israeli flags by their faces under the banner: 'So who is really behind gun control?'
Know these punks. They hate freedom, they hate good over evil,' he wrote in the caption. 'They would deny us the basic human right to self defense & to KEEP & BEAR ARMS while many of them have tax paid hired ARMED security!'
'Know them well. Tell every1 you know how evil they are. Let us raise maximum hell to shut them down!
'What sort of racist prejudiced could possibly not know that Jews for guncontrol are nazis in disguise?' he wrote in another post.
Ten days later, Nugent apologized for what he called a 'nasty and offensive' meme.
'In my rush between songwriting jams and musical recording frenzy, all I saw was the images of people dedicated to disarm us, I made no connection whatsoever to any religious affiliation,' he said.
Nugent has made a number of disparaging remarks in the past, including calling President Obama a 'subhuman mongrel' and suggesting that apartheid wasn't 'that cut-and-dry' in a 1990 interview.
Seven-week-old Ahsir Simmons was kidnapped from the King of Prussia mall on Thursday, but returned to his mother five hours later
A seven-week-old baby boy is back in the arms of his mother after being kidnapped from the King of Prussia mall in suburban Philadephia, Pennsylvania on Thursday.
Upper Merion Township police say infant Ahsir Simmons was found safe Thursday night, about five hours after he was abducted by a strange woman.
Police say the woman - who has not been identified - befriended the boy's family, and they sat down together in the food court for about 30 minutes.
When the baby became fussy, police say the woman asked if she could hold him.
The mother allowed her to do so while she took a phone call and dealt with other children in her care.
The woman then walked away with the baby just after 5:30pm.
Police were quick to respond to the kidnapping, releasing CCTV footage of the woman leaving the mall with the baby in her arms and issuing an Amber Alert around 9:30pm.
Tips started flowing in after the surveillance footage was released, and police were able to identify the woman in the video, tracking her down to a barbershop in Treddyffrin Township.
Police confronted the woman who then turned the baby over to authorities.
The woman had reportedly been showing the baby off to friends and family.
'We were able to go to a number of locations tonight in both Upper Merion Township, Malvern and eventually into Tredyffrin Township, Chester County, where we did locate the woman, who was seen on video leaving with the baby,' said Upper Merion Township Police Chief Tom Nolan. 'The baby is safe and sound, but is getting checked.'
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The woman who stole the baby boy befriended the boy's mother and then kidnapped the infant when the mother let her hold the boy
Police tracked down the suspect - who has not been named - to a barbershop on Thursday. The boy was reunited with his mother at the police station Thursday night
The child's family was on hand at the police station, and celebrated his return with a prayer
The boy was reunited with his mother at the police station Thursday night, and his whole family gathered nearby to celebrate his return with a prayer.
'I would like to thank God for allowing my baby to come back. And, I want to thank the Upper Merion Police Department, and everybody on social media that helped me get my baby back. I want to thank you so much,' Simmons' mother told the media.
Simmons' grandfather Burdette Lewis also spoke to the press.
When asked if he had any words for the woman who stole his grandsom, Lewis told 6 ABC: 'You have a problem. Lady may have a mental problem. She might have had a child, and lost her child. It is something wrong.'
A teenager has been locked up for nine years for stabbing a school pupil to death during a "trivial" row.
Bailey Gwynne, 16, died from a knife wound to the chest at Cults Academy in Aberdeen on October 28 last year.
A 16-year-old youth, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was convicted of culpable homicide last month after a jury at the High Court in Aberdeen ruled against a charge of murder following a five-day trial.
Bailey Gwynne was stabbed to death at his school in Aberdeen (Family handout/PA Wire)
He was also found guilty of two other charges of having a knife and knuckledusters at the school.
At the High Court in Edinburgh on Friday, judge Lady Stacey ordered the killer to be detained for nine years.
Passing sentence, Lady Stacey told the teenager: 'If you had not carried a knife, the exchange of insults between you and Bailey Gwynne would have led at worst to a fist fight ... and certainly not loss of life.'
The judge also told him: 'Nothing that I can say nor any sentence that I impose will do anything to lessen the grief that Bailey Gwynne's family and friends feel.
North Korea has fired a suspected ballistic missile into the sea on Friday, a news report said, hours after US President Barack Obama urged closer security ties among its Asian allies and increased cooperation with China to discourage Pyongyang from further advances in nuclear weapons.
A projectile believed to be a ballistic missile flew into waters off the North's east coast on Friday at approximately 12.45pm local time, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported, citing an unidentified military official. It had no further details.
South Korea's Defense Ministry said it couldn't immediately confirm the Yonhap report.
The launch, if confirmed, is the latest in a series of weapons launches the North has carried out in an apparent response to ongoing military exercises between the United States and South Korea. North Korea views the drills as an invasion rehearsal.
A projectile believed to be a ballistic missile reportedly flew into waters off the North Korea's east coast on Friday at approximately 12.45pm local time. Pictured above is a file photo of the test-firing of new-type large-caliber multiple launch rocket system by the North Korean military
The launch, if confirmed, is the latest in a series of weapons launches the North has carried out in an apparent response to ongoing military exercises between the United States and South Korea. Pictured above is North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at a rocket-launching system demonstration in March
This year's drills, set to run until late April, are the biggest ever, and come after North Korea's nuclear test and long-range rocket test earlier this year.
In Washington, Obama met with the leaders of South Korea, Japan and China in Washington on Thursday ahead of a nuclear security summit and discussed ways to discourage Pyongyang from further pursuing nuclear weapons.
Obama spoke Thursday of the need to 'vigilantly enforce the strong UN security measures' imposed on the North after its latest nuclear test and subsequent long-range rocket launch.
Pyongyang's state media has labelled the summit a 'nonsensical' effort to find fault with the North's 'legitimate access to nuclear weapons'.
Existing UN sanctions ban North Korea from conducting any ballistic missile test, although short-range launches tend to go unpunished.
'Of great importance to both of us is North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons, which threatens the security and stability of the region. President Xi and I are both committed to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,' Obama said at the start of his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who said the country was ready to implement in full the latest economic restrictions imposed by the UN Security Council against Pyongyang.
Obama and Jinping pledged to cooperate to confront the North Korean nuclear threat while working toward narrowing the persistent differences over cybersecurity, human rights and maritime conflicts.
On Tuesday, North Korea fired a short-range projectile that crashed into land in the North's northeast, according to South Korean defense officials.
The launch prompted media speculation in South Korea that Pyongyang may have tested a land target to test the accuracy of its weapons because the country has usually launched missile, artillery shells and rockets into the sea in the past.
Obama and and Jinping surprised many with a meeting in which they pledged to cooperate to confront the North Korean nuclear threat
The pair also pledged to work toward narrowing persistent differences over cybersecurity, human rights and maritime conflicts
Obama also joined President Park Geun-Hye (left) of the Republic of Korea and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (right) of Japan in calling for further joint steps to deter North Korea
Earlier this month, North Korea fired its first medium-launch missile into the sea since early 2014.
President Barack Obama gathered more than 50 world leaders in Washington, DC, on Thursday to discuss nuclear weapons.
The display of diplomatic unity came as world leaders sought to ramp up pressure on the insular country's government following worrisome nuclear provocations.
'President Xi and I are both committed to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,' Obama said as he and Xi sat down for a meeting on the sidelines of the summit. 'We're going to discuss how we can discourage actions like nuclear missile tests that escalate tensions and violate international obligations.'
The United States has long urged China, the North's traditional ally, to take a more forceful role in pressing North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program.
The Obama administration was encouraged by China's role in passing new stringent UN sanctions punishing the North, and was urging Beijing to implement those sanctions dutifully.
Though leaders spent much of Thursday focused on North Korea, the overriding focus of this year's summit centered on the Islamic State group and other extremists who security officials warn could someday get their hands on nuclear materials.
Obama said in an editorial with the Washington Post that 'the proliferation and potential use of nuclear weapons' is one of the 'most dangerous' threats to global security.
US President Barack Obama (center) was joined by more than 50 world leaders for a two-day conference that will address a range of issues including ongoing efforts to prevent terrorist groups from accessing nuclear material
Obama talks with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a working dinner with heads of delegations of the Nuclear Security Summit in the East Room of the White House on Thursday
Seated from left, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Obama and Modi, gather during the Nuclear Security Summit
'I committed the United States to stopping the spread of nuclear weapons and to seeking a world without them,' Obama wrote, referring to a pledge he made in Prague seven years ago.
He added: 'This vision builds on the policies of presidents before me, Democrat and Republican, including Ronald Reagan, who said 'we seek the total elimination one day of nuclear weapons from the face of the Earth'.'
He wrote that this week's Nuclear Security Summit will advance the goals of the Prague Agenda of 'preventing terrorists from obtaining and using a nuclear weapon'.
In a nod to deep tensions between the United States and China, Obama said on Thursday that he planned to raise thornier issues during their meeting as well - including the disputed South China Sea, where China is asserting territorial claims despite competing claims by its neighbors.
Parroting careful diplomatic language long-preferred by Beijing, Obama said the United States welcomes China's peaceful rise to prosperity.
'I very much appreciate President Xi's willingness to have conversations on these issues in a constructive way,' Obama said.
Xi, addressing reporters through a translator, said the two economic powers would keep deepening ties on trade, law enforcement and climate change.
He said the United States and China must work together promote peace in light of the rising global terror threat.
'China and the US have a responsibility to work together,' Xi said. As for their 'disputes and disagreements,' the Chinese leader said the two sides could 'seek active solutions through dialogue and consultation.'
Obama and France's President Francois Hollande take part in a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit
Obama met with Hollande amid steep concerns about terrorism in Europe following Islamic State-linked attacks in Paris and Brussels
Long at odds over human rights, the United States and China in recent years have sparred regularly over China's move to building artificial islands and military facilities in the disputed South China Sea.
Japan and South Korea are similarly alarmed about China's territorial designs on the East China Sea.
Tensions appear set to intensify with an upcoming ruling from an international tribunal that could challenge the legal basis of some of Beijing's sweeping territorial claims.
China accuses the United States of stoking tensions by sending military ships and planes through the South China Sea on freedom of navigation maneuvers.
Still, it was concerns about North Korea's recent nuclear test and rocket launch drove the agenda on the first day of the two-day summit, Obama's last major chance to focus global attention on disparate nuclear security threats before his presidency ends early next year.
In a rare joint meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Park Geun-hye, Obama said the United States was united with its allies because 'we recognize that our security is linked'.
All three leaders urged the world community to stand firmly behind the sanctions.
Park, whose country has been repeatedly threatened by Pyongyang, warned North Korea that the global community 'will by no means' condone its provocations.
In recent weeks, North Korea has warned it could strike South Korea's presidential palace or even the US mainland, and its propaganda outlet posted a video depicting a nuclear attack on Washington.
Obama and Hollonde share a moment as they greet one another during their meeting at the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington
'Should it choose to undertake yet another provocation, it is certain to find itself facing even tougher sanctions and isolation,' Park said of Pyongyang.
As the summit opened, the United States said a strengthened nuclear security agreement among nations was finally set to take force following ratification by a critical mass of countries.
The stricter rules include new criminal penalties for smuggling nuclear material and expanded requirements for securing materials and nuclear facilities worldwide, and are intended to reduce the likelihood of terrorists getting their hands on ingredients for a bomb.
The United States said it's making progress in reducing its stockpiles of highly enriched uranium.
The White House says it's declassifying and publicly releasing a national inventory of highly enriched uranium for the first time since 1996. As of late 2013, the United States had 586 metric tons of highly enriched uranium. That's a drop from the 741 metric tons the United States had in 1996.
Fissile materials like highly enriched uranium and separated plutonium can be used to make nuclear bombs.
The White House says 42 metric tons in the US inventory could be blended down into safer low enriched uranium or disposed of. Another 45 metric tons is in spent reactor fuel.
Obama also met on Thursday with French President Francois Hollande, amid steep concerns about terrorism in Europe following Islamic State-linked attacks in Paris and Brussels.
The summit continues on Friday with a special session focused on preventing IS and other extremists from obtaining nuclear materials and attacking urban areas.
IKEA, Bunnings and Woolworths are changing shape to fit in to the boutique inner-city market place.
The retail giants are shrinking down to provide convenient city locations for their customers.
Bunnings already have 69 small-format stores across Australia, Woolworths is building their smallest ever store in Sydney - just 310 square metres - while even IKEA is planning to slash the size of their stores.
Bunnings have already got 69 'smaller format' stores across Australia and New Zealand, a spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia. Each store has its own range.
The small-format idea is old-hat to Bunnings who have 69 smaller stores across Australia and New Zealand. The smaller stores stock the core range but don't have as many options to chose from
'They will all have the core range but other stock will vary to focus on the needs of the local community,' the spokesperson said.
'For example in the Collingwood store in Melbourne there is a nursery and a kitchen display because that is what people need in that area.'
The small-format idea is not a new one for the hardware chain.
'We have a variety of examples of smaller Bunnings store formats across Australia,' Andrew Marks, Bunnings General Manager, Property said.
'They're part of our DNA, offering convenience and enabling us to reach markets that we plan to open larger warehouse stores in the longer term,' he said.
Small-scale retail premises are becoming popular in the city with many major retailers opting for a small space to attract customers in the CBD. Woolworths are working to open their smallest store ever in Sydney
The hardware giant considers a small-scale store to be between 2,000 and 5,000 square-metres in size.
Some of their larger warehouses are span over 20,000 square-metres. The small-scale Bunnings outlets can be found in shopping centres in vacated supermarket stores.
'The conversion of a former supermarket in a small shopping centre at Indooroopilly in mid-2014 was a first for Queensland and received a great response from our customers and the local community,' Mr Marks said.
Retail expert Dr Gary Mortimer from the Queensland University of Technology says the move to incorporate small-format stores into the chain is 'an exceptionally smart move' for the company.
'Mini-Bunnings will attract the shopper looking for convenience and seeking a broader choice than what is currently offered by the discount department stores,' Dr Mortimer said.
'Shoppers will think: ''we're here in the shopping centre grabbing some groceries, I might just pop in and grab a couple of light globes, or some paint brushes or a new step ladder''.'
Small-scale Coles and Woolworths stores are a threat to smaller chain retailers like Foodworks and IGA
But he says it spells disaster for the small-chain stores, even though shoppers will 'win with convenience and choice'.
'Independent suburban hardware stores and Metcashs Mitre 10 businesses which have had convenience and location on their side for many years,' Dr Mortimer said.
'Things are about to become very tough for the little guys with these smaller format Bunnings moving into shopping centres.'
Why are warehouse-style stores shrinking? Experts says warehous-style stores like IKEA, Bunnings and Woolworths are shrinking to capture the inner-city market Most customers are happy with just 20 per cent of the supermarket's complete range Stores like IKEA are likely to keep just 40 to 50 per cent of their range on the floor of the smaller stores
The move will benefit the economy and local shopping centres as well as consumers
Some customers won't travel to the destination shopping warehouses but will visit a smaller shop in a shopping centre
The move could spell disaster for smaller competitors Advertisement
The biggest hurdle these companies face when moving to boutique sized stores in the city is availability of suitable premises.
Central Sydney's York Street Woolworths store will have a floor area of just 310 square-metres, but according to The Age,the smaller metro supermarkets are actually more lucrative for the business.
Dr Mortimer said small-scale supermarkets like Coles and Woolworths are a bigger threat to IGA and Foodworks than they are to 'grab and go' convenience stores.
Shopping centres now under construction will be looking to fill their spaces with a blend of retailers as the trend for large-format business looking for boutique holdings continues.
'Shopping centre managers will also be rubbing their hands together with the thought of a well known brand name retailer entering a new market and setting up shop in vacant space that they have been trying to fill,' Dr Mortimer said.
The industry expert says the retailers who choose to shrink down will probably maintain their core range as Bunnings' has.
'They will general go with the 80/20 rule which says 80 percent of customers will be happy with them stocking 20 percent of the range.
'They will pick their best selling brands and lines,' he said.
IKEA revealed their plans to enter the small-format marketplace late last year, and have similar retail environments overseas
IKEA were unable to comment on where or when they would be moving into small-format stores.
But IKEA Australia country manager David Hood told Fairfax last year that the business would be looking into building as many as 12 small-format stores over the next 'few years'.
These stores would source their stock from large distribution centres and would only display a small amount of stock.
Dr Mortimer said this may lead to 'showrooming' where customers will visit the small stores which are more conveniently located to see the products before purchasing them online.
'Customers will be able to sit on a chair and decide they like it before having the product delivered home.'
The flat-pack furniture giant made the move to small-format stores in the UK last year.
'The small-format stores attract a different type of customer.
'The type that isn't willing to drive half an hour to go to the bigger stores,' he said.
The retail expert says Myer and David Jones could benefit small-scale stores.
'The original department stores aren't relevant anymore' he said.
'They could just keep cosmetics and apparel and downsize to one floor.'
A Woolworths spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia the company 'regularly investigates opportunities to bring our convenient community Metro supermarkets to new locations'.
They were unable to say how many small-scale stores were in the pipeline but said the area's 'population growth and community support for a new supermarket' are taken into consideration.
Colesdeclined to comment to Daily Mail Australia.
Jillian Lafave, 25, didn't have a Nevada teaching license while teaching special education at Valley High School in Las Vegas
A special education teacher in Las Vegas who allegedly had sex with 16- or 17-year-old student inside a classroom earlier this year never received a license to teach in Nevada.
Married 25-year-old Jillian Lafave, a former Valley High School teacher, was hired by the Clark County School District last year.
Due to the district's chronic teacher shortage, it hired Lafave without a license on file to work under the radar as a special education resource teacher. She started in August.
Lafave had moved from Houston to Las Vegas last year, and records from the Texas State Board of Educator Certification show she was authorized to work as a classroom teacher in Texas.
But the Nevada Department of Education's teacher licensure database has revealed that she never received the credentials to work as a teacher in Nevada.
State officials knew as early as November that Lafave was teaching without a license, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Andre Long, co-interim chief human resources officer for the district, said that the district hired 300 to 400 teachers without licences to work in Nevada for the 2015-2016 school year.
The district operated on the assumption that the teachers' license applications would be approved at a later date.
'In order to fill the critical teacher shortage in CCSD, teachers who have applied for a license with the state, have been reviewed and meet all the qualifications, which includes passing a background check, are temporarily placed in a classroom until their license is processed with the state,' the district said in a statement.
Lafave is accused of sexual misconduct with a pupil, which is punishable by one to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. She allegedly had sex with a 16- or 17-year-old student with learning disabilities in a classroom during school hours
Lafave has since started a new job in Las Vegas, her attorney told the Review-Journal.
The former special education teacher was arrested in January after a hall monitor allegedly caught her and a student having sex during school hours, News 3 reported.
According to KTNV, the arrest report also stated that Lafave had exchanged more than 13,000 text messages with the student, who had a learning disability.
Some of the messages were allegedly sexual in nature.
The police documents stated the student would call his teacher 'mom' while she would refer to him as her son.
Lafave, however, told the teenager through texts that he should not call her mom when they were talking about sex, the report states.
She told the police that she had kissed the student and touched his penis, but denied having sex with him.
He had tried touching her genitals, but she pushed him away, according to the arrest report.
The teenager had posted numerous photographs of himself with Lafave on social media, and told police he loved her when he found out she had been questioned.
Lafave is charged with sexual misconduct with a pupil, which is punishable by one to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
While at the high school, Lafave taught English and special education. Her father also works as a physics teacher.
On a teacher network site, he wrote: 'Education is a Sacred Promise. The teacher vows to be the provider of both knowledge and inspiration to students.'
He has worked as a scientist, engineer, CEO, author and teacher.
Filmmaker Spike Lee said at the rally 'Bernie has to win New York City'
Celebrities including Rosario Dawson and Spike Lee joined thousands of Bernie supporters at his Bronx rally.
Around 15,000 people flocked to St. Mary's Park in Mott Haven, New York, for Sanders' first major hometown rally on Thursday.
'This campaign is about creating a political revolution,' the Democratic candidate told the huge gathering in a 45-minute, passionate speech. 'And the 15,000 people that are here this evening, you are the heart and soul of this revolution.'
Sin City star Dawson, who is the latest celebrity to throw her weight behind Sanders' presidential bid, opened the event by slamming Democratic presidential front runner Hillary Clinton.
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Around 15,000 people flocked to St. Mary's Park in Mott Haven, New York, for Bernie Sanders' first major hometown rally on Thursday
Sin City star Rosario Dawson joined the rally to throw her weight behind Sanders' presidential bid
'Bernie has to win New York City,' said Spike Lee who also spoke on behalf of the presidential candidate at the rally in the South Bronx
She criticized Clinton for implying that Sanders did not care about women's issues because of his response to Donald Trump's proposals that women should be punished for getting illegal abortions.
Sanders had previously said that Trump's comments were a distraction from serious issues.
'To me this is a very serious issue and it is a very serious discussion,' the former Secretary of State had said during an interview last week.
'Shame on you, Hillary,' Dawson said. '(Sanders has) always stood up for women's rights.
'Oh sorry hold on, let me watch my tone,' she added. 'Because we very much want a debate, which she already agreed to.'
Supporters reacted as U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders took to the stage during his campaign rally
Celebrities including Rosario Dawson and Spike Lee joined thousands of Bernie supporters at his Bronx rally
Around 15,000 people turned up to hear Sanders' 45 minute speech which address a sweeping number of issues
Supporters queued up along the street to listen to U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders before a campaign rally at St Mary's Park
Supporters held up slogans such as 'A future to believe in' and 'United with Bernie' (Unidos Bernie) at the event
Dawson was speaking after Clinton said hat she would debate Sanders only if he 'changed his tone.'
Sanders later addressed the issue himself insisting that 'every woman in this country has the right to control her own body' as he also promised to fight for paid maternity and sick leave.
The rally is the first of many by Bernie Sanders as he stages what his campaign says will be an all-out effort to win the state of New York out from under Clinton. The state holds its primary on April 19.
Yet the polling numbers don't match up with the Sanders campaign's confidence.
Polling average sees as a 43 percentage point deficit in less than three weeks, he will need to turn those numbers around into a big, double-digit win in order to make a significant dent in Clinton's lead, estimated at 228 delegates.
'If we win in New York we are going to make it to the White House,' he told the crowd.
'Bernie has to win New York City,' said Spike Lee who also spoke on behalf of the presidential candidate at the rally in the South Bronx on Thursday.
'This campaign is about creating a political revolution,' the Democratic candidate told the huge gathering
Sanders hit back at rumors that he did not care about women's rights, insisting that 'every woman in this country has the right to control her own body'
Sanders played up to the crowd, in the impoverished south Bronx area, saying his father had come to the U.S. from Poland with just a few dollars to his name
Celebrated filmmaker Lee, 59, told the crowd that the older generation were still 'on this Clinton thing', insisting that the older voters needed to 'get their minds right.'
Grammy-winner Residente joined Sanders's celebrity backers to praise the Democrat as a 'man of the people'.
Sanders played up to the crowd, in the impoverished south Bronx area, saying his father had come to the U.S. from Poland with just a few dollars to his name.
'I learned what it means to grow up in a family that has no money, and I also learned a little bit about the immigrant experience. Those are lessons I will never forget.'
He also pledged to make the economy fairer for the 90 per cent.
'In America today we will not accept a situation where the top one tenth of the once per cent now owns almost as much wealth as the bottom 90 per cent.
'We are going to create an economy which works for all of us, not just the people on top.'
He said he would 'reinvest' in the poverty-stricken South Bronx to make the country a place worked for everyone, not just 'millionaires and billionaires.'
Sin City star Dawson, (with Lee) opened the event by slamming Democratic presidential front runner Hillary Clinton
She criticized Clinton for implying that Sanders did not care about women's issues because of his response to Donald Trump's proposals that women should be punished for getting illegal abortions
'Shame on you, Hillary,' Dawson told the crowd. '(Sanders has) always stood up for women's rights.
Rosario Dawson is a dedicated supporter of 2016 Democratic presidential candidate U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders
Celebrated filmmaker Lee, 59, told the crowd that the older generation were still 'on this Clinton thing', insisting that the older voters needed to 'get their minds right'
Sanders also drew comparisons between himself and his Democratic rival and former secretary of state.
'We've got some very real differences,' Mr. Sanders, sounding notably hoarse, declared. 'Establishment politics and establishment economics, the same old same old, is not working and this is what this campaign is about.'
The rally was held just 30 miles from the Chappaqua home of Hillary Clinton who was holding her own New York event at Purchase College.
Sanders' recent surge in popularity means that New York, Clinton's home state, has become pivotal in the campaign.
Hillary is now preparing to spend more in New York State and released her first ad on Wednesday which suggests she is the only candidate to stop Trump from reaching the White House.
'When we pull together, we do the biggest things in the world,' Clinton says in the ad.
The CIA left 'an explosives training material' in a Virginia school bus that then took dozens of children, including elementary students, to three different schools, Fox News reported Thursday.
The material had been placed in the engine compartment of a school bus on March 24 as part of training exercises between the CIA and local law enforcement agencies, but was 'inadvertently' left there for a week afterward, authorities said.
The bus then continued its rounds, carrying 26 students - and the material - on eight trips over 145 miles to Rock Ridge High School, Buffalo Trail Elementary School and Pinebrook Elementary School.
'Explosive': The 'explosives training material' was found in the engine compartment of a bus like these; it had fallen out of a container placed there during training by CIA and local law enforcement on March 24
Discovery: The material was found a week later here, at Briar Woods High School. It had been mislaid by a K-9 unit, officials say, and was not a danger to the 26 children that used the bus while the material was on board
The material was found on Wednesday, during a maintenance check. The bus had been in operation for at least two days in the intervening week.
The material had originally been placed there in a container during a training exercise for the CIA's K-9 units at Briar Woods High School in Loudoun County, but had fallen out into the main engine compartment, authorities said.
They maintain that nobody in the bus was in any danger at any point.
Training: K-9 units sniff out bombs, among other uses. Although parents were notified of the discover, the details of the 'material' and the exercise were not explained by the authorities
However, neither the CIA nor the local agencies involved in the exercises - which included the Loudoun County Sheriffs Office and the Fire Marshal - would give a more detailed description of what the 'materials' were.
'The exact nature of the training material used in this exercise is not being released at the request of the CIA so as not to compromise its training techniques,' county officials told Fox News.
After the discovery an email was sent out to parents by school officials, but it left more questions open than answered, the station reported.
'During a routine maintenance procedure Wednesday, a Loudoun County transportation employee found an explosive training material on a school bus used in an exercise by a Federal Government agency last week,' the email read.
'The explosive training material was in a benign state and could not be activated through normal operation of the bus.'
'What are "explosives training materials" anyway?' one parent, who did not wish to be named, asked Fox News.
'That could mean a lot of things, none of which belong on a school bus.'
CIA officials said that the agency performs exercises with local law enforcement throughout the metro area, and that the K-9 training was a 'routine' part of those exercises.
Dundee-born James Alexander McLintock (pictured) is suspected of raising funds for Al Qaeda has been added to a list of global terrorists by the US Treasury
A British man suspected of raising funds for Al Qaeda has been added to a list of global terrorists by the US Treasury.
James Alexander McLintock, who is thought to be 52, is accused along with three other men of raising money for terrorist groups.
Born in Dundee, McLintock said in an interview with The Scotsman in 2004 that he had been a 'committed Jihadist' who fought in Afghanistan and Bosnia.
He told the newspaper he had converted to Islam in his 20s, changed his name to Yaqub McLintock and lived with his family in Pakistan.
McLintock said he started a charity and a news agency in the 1990s to show what was 'really happening' in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The US Treasury said his Pakistan-based Al-Rahmah Welfare Organisation (RWO) is a front that provides money for al Qaida, the Taliban, Lashkar-e-Taiba and other Afghan extremists groups under the guide of helping orphans.
Sanctions imposed on Thursday mean McLintock is on the department's list of specially designated global terrorists, freezes any property he has within US jurisdiction and bans Americans from doing business with him, AP reported.
Saudi Arabia also designated the same six suspected of having ties across Afghanistan, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.
The US Treasury said in a statement: 'As of early 2013, McLintock recruited Afghan insurgents to obtain photos of children, Afghan identity documents, and cell phone numbers to create falsified dossiers used to obtain donations for RWO, which were funnelled to support al Qaida.
The US Treasury (pictured) said James Alexander McLintock's welfare organisation is a front that provides money for al Qaida, the Taliban and other Afghan extremists groups under the guide of helping orphans
'As early as 2010, McLintock used RWO and the cover of providing stipends to Afghan orphans to finance the Taliban's militant activities in Kunar Province, Afghanistan.'
The department said McLintock also regularly met with Taliban and other militant commanders.
Beryl Dickson said family members were 'upset' over the flyers
The unidentifed relative demanded he hand over all his flyers
The 17-year-old claims he was approached by a relative of Ricky Slater's
Pro-Ben Batterham rally organiser was putting up flyers on the streets
An organiser of a rally calling for accused murderer Ben Batterham to be released claims an angry relative of dead home intruder Ricky Slater 'chased me down the street and threatened me'.
The 17-year-old man said he was putting up flyers around Newcastle around 12.40pm on Friday when a white car with 'four or five people' inside pulled up next to him near McDonalds on King St.
A confrontation followed with Mr Slater's relative demanding the TAFE student hand over the flyers and 'chasing him down Steel Street'.
'I felt powerless, I felt so threatened. It was terrible,' he told Daily Mail Australia.
'Release Ben Batterham' organiser' claims he was intimidated while putting up flyers in the Newcastle CBD
Ben Batterham (left) was charged with murder after allegedly assaulting Ricky Slater (right) after finding him in his home
The home in Hamilton, Newcastle, where Mr Slater sustained the injuries that led to his death
The flyer he was putting up around town that resulted in a confrontation
The 17-year-old said he surrendered the flyers to the relative, who demanded he hand over 'the rest' of them in an 'threatening manner'.
'He said, "don't keep posting them up'."'
'I felt very threatened, the people at the car were just yelling out at me.'
The man left after the 17-year-old insisted he had handed them all over. He left and called NSW Police.
Newcastle Police duty officer Trevor Shields said police would 'investigate it... like we would any other matter'.
'He's called police and they'll go and speak with him and investigate it for sure like we would any matter.'
Ricky Slaters mother confirmed there was a confrontation in Newcastles city centre between the family and a Ben Batterham supporter.
Beryl Dickson told Daily Mail Australia one of her nieces had become upset and emotional when family members were driving through Newcastle and they saw the flyers going up on the street.
So we ripped them off the poles and then my son-in-law saw this young bloke putting up more banners and just said thats not right and can you give me the rest of them, sorry, Ms Dickson said.
The Ricky Slater case has sparked heated debate across the nation
Family members have been told Ricky Slater did not die of a broken neck as previously reported
He never assaulted him or anything. Were just upset that they were going up.
'People have been saying so much about Ricky, its very painful for our family.
Ben Batterham was charged with murder at the long weekend after allegedly attacking Slater after discovering him in his home at 3.30am on Saturday.
Ms Dickson said police had told her that her son didnt die from a broken neck, but it was brain damage and that a lengthy autopsy on his brain was ongoing.
The 17-year-old said he did not know the Batterhams but felt strongly about the issue.
The ex-wife of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has described the world's most wanted terrorist as a 'normal family man' who 'loved their children' but spoke only to give orders.
Saja al-Dulaimi told how she met and married who she thought was a university lecturer, only to discover seven years later he was 'the most dangerous man in the world.'
Lifting the lid on what she described as their 'shallow' and unhappy marriage, al-Dulaimi told how al-Baghdadi had a 'mysterious personality' and she dared not have discussions with him.
Insight: Saja al-Dulaimi, the ex-wife of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (pictured), has described the world's most wanted terrorist as a 'normal family man' who 'loved their children' but spoke only to give orders
Tough to live with: Lifting the lid on what she described as their 'shallow' and unhappy marriage, al-Dulaimi (pictured) told how al-Baghdadi had a 'mysterious personality' and she dared not have discussions with him
'I didn't love him,' she told Swedish newspaper Expressen. 'He was an enigmatic person. You couldn't have a discussion or hold a normal conversation with him He just asked about things and told me to fetch things. He gave orders, nothing more.'
Al-Dulaimi told how al-Baghdadi would disappear for days at a time but she had no suspicions of his involvement in the Syrian resistance while they were together.
'He was a normal family man,' she added. 'How he could become emir of the most dangerous terrorist organization in the world is a mystery.'
She said that after her first husband died in an Iraqi resistance group her uncle approached her father about a potential new husband looking for a widow.
Al-Dulaimi then moved her and her young twin boys in with al-Baghdadi and his first wife and her children, an arrangement she described as 'tough' in such a small space.
Saja al-Dulaimi (filmed being released from prison in Lebanon in December) told how she met and married who she thought was a university lecturer, only to discover seven years later he was the leader of ISIS
Al-Dulaimi said she only knew of what al-Baghdadi had become when she was arrested in Lebanon in 2014 for trying to cross the border illegally. She and her new husband had used forged identity cards
Her children looked at the ISIS leader as their 'idol', she said, but al-Dulaimi told how she fled from him after just a few months while pregnant with a daughter, Hagar.
She claims the last time she spoke to her ex-husband was in 2009 when he asked her to come back and she refused.
Al-Dulaimi said she only knew of what al-Baghdadi had become when she was arrested in Lebanon in December 2014 for trying to cross the border illegally. She and her new husband had used forged identity cards.
He was an enigmatic person. You couldn't have a discussion or hold a normal conversation with him Saja al-Dulaimi on the leader of ISIS
It was then she was shown pictures of al-Baghdadi and asked if she recognised him.
Al-Dulaimi was released by Lebanon a year later in a prisoner swap with Al-Qaeda's Syrian wing.
Fully veiled and clutching her six-month-old baby, she was shown in live TV footage with her three children, who were with her in prison, as she was released as part of a deal brokered by neighbouring Qatar.
In return for her and 12 Islamists, Lebanon got 16 captured soldiers back from Al-Qaeda affiliated Nusra Front, as well as one of the bodies of the two prisoners they had killed.
She revealed at the time how she planned to go to Turkey. Al-Dulaimi was interviewed in a secret location near the Lebanon-Syria border four months after her release from prison, Expressen said.
The German government is set to allocate 200 million to help tackle the issues of sexual abuse in refugee camps.
Migrant women and children have been targeted in a spate of attacks with one camp in the town of Gieen recording 15 cases of sexual assault in just a single month last year.
'Many of the women in the camps are scared to speak out about what is happening - many of them are for example scared to be sent back home because of it,' the Ministry for Families, Seniors, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ) spokesperson Verena Herb told The Local.
The German government is set to allocate 200 million to help tackle the issues of sexual abuse in refugee camps
The large amount of financial investment will be used to restructure refugee camps and provide designated protective spaces for women and children.
Working alongside UNICEF, the government's new scheme will also provide training for staff and information for preventing sexual abuse in the camps.
The BMFSFJ will use zero-interest loans from Germany's taxpayers, to finance the new moves.
Around 4 million of the funding will be used to create specialist centres which will provide care for refugees who have suffered trauma or torture.
The large amount of financial investment will be used to restructure refugee camps and provide designated protective spaces for women and children
German police lead arriving migrants alongside a street to a transport facility after gathering them at the border to Austria in October 2015
Working alongside UNICEF, the government's new scheme will provide training for staff and information for preventing sexual abuse in the camps
'Unfortunately we know that children and women in the camps are not safe from abuse and sexual assault. That's why we have to make sure that they're protected,' junior minister Ralf Kleindiek said.
'Not only measures regarding staff, but also structural measures have to be implemented such as lockable accommodation units and separate sanitary facilities.
'For the children and adolescents we also need designated rooms to enable play and learning,' he revealed.
Germany has one of the largest number of migrants sheltering in Europe after Chancellor Angela Merkel openly welcomed migrants to come to the country during the height of the crisis last year.
1.1 million asylum seekers entered the country last year with Germany defiantly keeping its border open whilst many of its neighbours chose to shut their borders.
Germany has one of the largest number of migrants sheltering in its country after Chancellor Angela Merkel openly welcomed migrants to come to the country during the crisis
The BMFSFJ will use zero-interest loans from Germany's taxpayers, to finance the new moves
Migrants queue up next to a tent at the State Office of Health and Social Affairs (LAGeSo) in Berlin
1.1 million asylum seekers entered the country last year with Germany defiantly keeping its border open whilst many of its neighbours chose to shut their borders
The news of the hefty 200 million bill to protect migrants in Germany comes as the country ended a five-month run of falling unemployment.
Weaker retail sales at the start of the year have led to a slowdown in private consumption on which the economy is increasingly relying for growth.
It was the first month since last September the jobless total has not fallen, with unemployment figures remaining frozen.
DZ Bank economist Michael Holstein said Germany could no longer expect routine falls in unemployment.
Beijing joined U.S. calls for North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons
Called on population to 'crush China with the force of a nuclear storm'
Kim Jong-un has labelled China a 'detested enemy', in the wake of Beijing agreeing to implement the latest UN restrictions against North Korea.
A government document believed to have been sent out to a majority of the population, urges all North Koreans to 'crush China's pressuring schemes with the force of a nuclear storm'.
This comes as President Barack Obama met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington on Thursday, and both called for North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons.
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Equally hated: China has been branded a 'detested enemy' of North Korea after agreeing to implement UN's economic restrictions and Chinese President Xi Jinping joining forces with US President Barack Obama
Not making friends: Kim Jong-Un's government has urged all North Koreans to 'crush China's pressuring schemes with the force of a nuclear storm'
After Thursday's meeting, China also agreed to implement in full the latest economic restrictions imposed by the UN Security Council against Pyongyang.
The document was sent out to all members of The Workers Party of North Korea - effectively the entire population - and has been obtained by Seoul-based newspaper Daily NK.
'All Party members and workers must join in soundly crushing China's pressuring schemes with the force of a nuclear storm for its betrayal of socialism.'
It moves on to declare China a 'detested enemy' a title also given to Japan, however believed to still be ranked slightly below South Korea and the U.S. who are 'feared enemy'.
Hours after the U.S., South Korean and Japanese leaders pledged to work closer together to prevent North Korea from advancing its nuclear and missile programs, Pyongyang fired a short-range missile into the sea.
President Barack Obama met Chinese President Xi Jinping during the internaitonal nuclear summit in Washington on Thursday, and both called for North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons
Hours after the U.S., South Korean and Japanese leaders pledged to work closer together to prevent North Korea from advancing its nuclear and missile programs, Pyongyang fired a short-range missile into the sea
The surface-to-air missile fired from an eastern coastal area flew into waters off the North's east coast on Friday morning, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.
The launch came in the middle of the two-day nuclear security summit being hosted by President Barack Obama, at which North Korea has been the focus of the US president's talks with the leaders of China, South Korea and Japan.
KIM JONG-UN 'NOW WEIGHS 300LBS' AMID ANOTHER KOREAN FAMINE Kim Jong-Un has reportedly ballooned to 300lbs - while telling his population to prepare for another great famine. The 33-year-old dictator is said to have added another 70lbs to his already sizeable frame in recent years, and now reportedly walks with a cane. And while Kim gets fatter, his population starves, with state media warning of another 'Arduous March' - a term used to describe the great four-year North Korean famine of the 1990s. The North Korean population need to prepare themselves to 'chew the roots of plants once again,' an editorial in newspaper Rodong Sinmun newspaper stated on Monday. Advertisement
The summit opened Thursday with Obama trying to forge consensus among East Asian leaders on how to respond to Pyongyang's recent nuclear and missile tests, which have seen an escalation of tensions in the region.
Obama spoke Thursday of the need to 'vigilantly enforce the strong UN security measures' imposed on the North after its latest nuclear test and subsequent long-range rocket launch.
Pyongyang's state media has labelled the summit a 'nonsensical' effort to find fault with the North's 'legitimate access to nuclear weapons'.
Existing UN sanctions ban North Korea from conducting any ballistic missile test, although short-range launches tend to go unpunished.
'Of great importance to both of us is North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons, which threatens the security and stability of the region.
'President Xi and I are both committed to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,' Obama said at the start of his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Neighbours are furious that JPs agreed to let him jet off to the sun
But he went back to court after
Let off: Daniel Sharples is jetting off on holiday after magistrates agreed to water down the terms of the curfew he got for attacking two policemen
A convicted drug dealer who avoided a jail term despite attacking two policemen has now had his sentence further relaxed so he can go on holiday to Majorca.
Jobless Daniel Sharples, 31, was given a curfew earlier this month after he violently resisted arrest on suspicion of burglary.
Despite being given a sentence which many would consider a let-off, he later discovered the curfew interfered with his plans to be an usher at a friend's wedding in Majorca.
Magistrates in Burnley have provoked outrage by agreeing to the change the order, with the chairman of the bench telling Sharples: 'Enjoy your holiday. Make sure you don't repeat that sort of behaviour abroad.'
A neighbour, who asked not to be named, said of the outcome: 'This man must laughing at the law given the amount of chances he has been given by the courts.'
Sharples, who had claimed welfare payments due to his epilepsy, came to the attention of the law when he topped up his benefits by dealing cannabis.
In 2012 when police raided his house, officers discovered it was stuffed with high value electrical goods, including a large American-style fridge freezer, a 47in flat screen TV worth 700 with surround sound systems, an X- box and a DVD player.
They also found two expensive leather sofas in the lounge and designer clothing and footwear and a Dyson vacuum cleaner.
Sharples had also had a 44-a -month Virgin subscription for his TV and had a gym membership for himself and his unemployed brother Jordan, 21 - who was said to be his carer.
The attack on the two policemen occurred at on February 24 last year, when officers were called to house in Burnley, after reports of two men acting suspiciously in a back alley.
Party time: Sharples' lawyers argued he should be allowed to head to Majorca for his friend's wedding
When the police officers, a sergeant and a PC, arrived, the men fled, so the officers chased them and caught up with them in a nearby street.
But police said as they tried to arrest Sharples on suspicion of burglary, he 'resisted arrest violently' and both officers suffered minor injuries. No evidence was found he was involved in any break in but he was charged with two counts of assaulting a police officer.
Sharples said he had thought somebody was attacking his friend. At some stage he became aware the two victims were police officers, but didn't stop struggling with them once he realised they were the police.
The two month curfew between 8pm and 8am was imposed by a district judge on March 16 but JPs were told holiday was booked before the sentence date and Sharples had initially thought he was due to leave the UK on May 11.
When he got home after he discovered he was due to fly out on May 9 and the curfew had not been due to expire until May 10.
Sharples went back to court on Tuesday, when he asked for the last night to be lifted from the curfew so he can join the wedding party.
Outrage: The court's decision has provoked outrage among neighbours, who say he's 'laughing at the law'
His solicitor Paul Huxley said: 'My client looked at the holiday information when he got home from the sentencing hearing and found out the party flew out from Liverpool on May 9, at 8.10pm
'It is one evening off at the very end of the order - that's all he's asking for. He wouldn't complain if one day was added to the curfew after the holiday.'
The JPs agreed to his request allowing him to fly out with his mates from Liverpool Airport for his 14 day jaunt.
In relaxing the curfew, chairman of the bench Neil Tranmer told Sharples: 'Enjoy your holiday. Make sure you don't repeat that sort of behaviour abroad.'
He added: 'We have listened carefully to what's been said. Obviously, we are aware, as indeed you are, that the sentence the district judge applied was because of your inappropriate behaviour.
'On consideration, if the district judge had had all the information before her, we feel that the district judge probably would have made sure that the sentence finished from that date. We are talking but one 12 hour period of curfew, that is all.'
Holiday: Sharples was previously taken to court for drug dealing at the same time as he was claiming benefits
One of his neighbour's said after the hearing: 'Everyone thought he had got away with it when it was suspected he had used drug money to deck out his house - but to have the temerity to ask a court to relax his sentence so he could go on holiday is just beyond the pale.
'We all thought he was going to get jail time for attacking the two officers as it was and he got away with that. Now he asks for an even bigger let off and gets it. The guy is the epitome of barefaced cheek - and the courts seem to fall for it every time.'
Rachel Baines, chairman of the Lancashire Police Federation said: 'Whilst respecting the decision and authority of the courts. Officers, particularity those who have been subjected to this assault, will be surprised and disappointed with this change in sentencing.
Billionaire admitted in Fox News interview: 'It could be that I misspoke'
But MSNBC rejected claim, saying interview had 'aired in its entirety'
Republican frontrunner said there was 'long discussion' that had been cut
Donald Trump has claimed that his controversial comments on abortion were taken out of context.
The billionaire Republican frontrunner had initially said he favored 'some form of punishment' for American women who terminate their pregnancies through abortion.
But Trump insisted in an interview on Fox News on Thursday night that there had been a 'long discussion' about the issue that had been cut from the MSNBC town hall interview that aired.
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Donald Trump has claimed that his controversial comments on abortion were taken out of context
He said there had been a 'long discussion' about the issue that had been cut from the MSNBC town hall interview that aired. The television network rejected the claim
He also blamed his remarks on a 'long' and 'convoluted' question by interviewer Chris Matthew.
Trump added 'it could be that I misspoke', insisting that he has always believed that 'if in fact, abortion was outlawed, the person performing that act is responsible, not the woman.'
MSNBC rejected Trump's claims that some of the discussion had been cut and said the interview had been 'aired in its entirety'.
The television network issued a statement saying: 'The town hall interview with Donald Trump was taped in advance and then aired in its entirety.
'Absolutely no part of the exchange between Trump and Chris Matthews was edited out.'
Trump was first drawn into the debate surrounding abortion when he made the declaration during a MSNBC town hall taping in Wisconsin on Wednesday that he favored 'some form of punishment' for American women who terminate their pregnancies through abortion.
But less than four hours later, Trump was forced to back down from his comments and insisted that he would only hope to see abortion-clinic doctors and other medical personnel prosecuted.
Donald Trump abandoned a position on criminalizing abortion less than four hours after articulating it
New Jersey governor Chris Christie had defended the Republican frontrunner, saying 'I don't know that he's misspoken a whole lot more than anybody else in this race'
Dr Ben Carson, a former Republican presidential candidate had also defended Trump, saying he wasn't expecting the question
He issued a statement that read: 'If Congress were to pass legislation making abortion illegal and the federal courts upheld this legislation, or any state were permitted to ban abortion under state and federal law, the doctor or any other person performing this illegal act upon a woman would be held legally responsible, not the woman.
'The woman is a victim in this case as is the life in her womb. My position has not changed.'
But hours earlier, when MSNBC anchor Chris Matthews asked him if he would advocate for legal penalties 'for the woman' who chooses an abortion, Trump had answered: 'Yes.'
The move initially signaled that Trump was making a serious bid to undercut Texas Senator Ted Cruz, who has cornered the voting market on much of the nation's social conservative base.
A Marquette University poll released Wednesday afternoon showed Trump trailing Cruz by 10 points in Wisconsin, which will hold its primary election next Tuesday.
Cruz said: 'Once again Donald Trump has demonstrated that he hasn't seriously thought through the issues, and he'll say anything just to get attention.
'On the important issue of the sanctity of life, what's far too often neglected is that being pro-life is not simply about the unborn child; it's also about the mother and creating a culture that respects her and embraces life.
'Of course we shouldn't be talking about punishing women. We should affirm their dignity and the incredible gift they have to bring life into the world.'
Trump has broadly proclaimed his pro-life position during the presidential campaign, after years of toeing a pro-choice line.
Trump announced his conservative transformation on abortion rights last August, saying that Planned Parenthood, the nation's most active abortion clinic organization, should be de-funded. Pictured are anti-abortion activists
The Planned Parenthood president said restricting access to abortion was about controlling women. Pictured are abortion rights activists
However, the billionaire real estate guru's political line on the abortion could jeopardize his already-tenuous standing with Republican women.
Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton pounced on the story, tweeting her disgust in a message signed with 'H,' meaning that she wrote it personally.
'Just when you thought it couldn't get worse,' Clinton tweeted. 'Horrific and telling.'
Her rival Bernie Sanders, a democratic socialist Vermont senator, tweeted: 'Your Republican frontrunner, ladies and gentlemen. Shameful.'
However, Ben Carson and New Jersey governor Chris Christie, who have both endorsed the Republican frontrunner, defended Trump, saying the question came out of the blue.
Dr Carson told CNN: 'Bear in mind, I don't believe that he was warned that that question was coming, and I don't think he really had a chance to think about it.
'That happens very frequently, and you know what you develop with experience is how to answer that in a way that is not definitive.
'You know how politicians are. He has not really learned that - he's not a politician.'
Meanwhile Christie also spoke up for Trump telling a radio station in New Jersey: 'I don't know that he's misspoken a whole lot more than anybody else in this race.'
Trump framed the decades-long U.S. abortion fight on Wednesday as a crucial matter for voters to decide through the ballot box, since the next president will determine the political balance of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Trump's Democratic opponents opened up a can of fury online after news of his comments spread
'They've set the law and, frankly, the judges,' he said.
'You're going to have a very big election coming up for that reason because you have judges where it's a real tipping point and with the loss of Scalia, who was a very strong conservative, this presidential election is going to be very important,' he said.
'When you say 'What's the law?' nobody knows what the law is going to be. It depends on who gets elected.'
Trump announced his conservative transformation on abortion rights last August, saying that Planned Parenthood, the nation's most active abortion clinic organization, should be de-funded at the federal government level.
'The problem that I have with Planned Parenthood is the abortion situation,' he said then. 'It is like an abortion factory, frankly.'
Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards tweeted in the afternoon that Trump 'is vocalizing the motivations of every politician who votes to restrict access to abortion. It's about controlling women.'
'This is a man who genuinely does not care about the health & safety of women - only about his political ambitions,' she wrote.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich spoke to MSNBC's Chuck Todd after Trump made his remarks.
'Of course, women shouldn't be punished' for having abortions,' Kasich said.
'I think probably Donald Trump will figure out a way to say that he didn't say it, or he was misquoted or whatever, but I don't think so,' Kasich added.
'I don't think that's an appropriate response and it's a difficult enough situation then to try to punish somebody.'
THE MOMENT DONALD TRUMP TOLD MSNBC THAT WOMEN WHO GET ABORTIONS MAY HAVE TO FACE LEGAL PENALTIES CHRIS MATTHEWS: Should the woman be punished? For having an abortion? DONALD TRUMP: Well look. MATTHEWS: This is not something you can dodge. TRUMP: It's not MATTHEWS: If you say abortion is a crime or abortion is murder, you have to deal with it under the law. Should abortion be punished? TRUMP: Well people in certain parts of the Republican party and conservatives Republicans would say, yes they should be punished. MATTHEWS: How about you? TRUMP: I would say that it's a very serious problem and it's a problem that we have to decide on. It's very hard MATTHEWS: But you're for banning it. TRUMP: Are you going to say, well wait, are you going to say put them in jail? Is that the punishment you're talking about? MATTHEWS: No I'm asking you because you say you want to ban it. What does that mean? TRUMP: I am against. I am pro-life. Yes. I am pro-life. MATTHEWS: How do you ban abortion? How do you actually do it? TRUMP: You know you'll go back to a position like where they had where people perhaps will go to illegal places. MATTHEWS: Yeah. TRUMP: But you have to ban it. I'm against MATTHEWS: Yeah you ban it but they go to someone who flunked out of medical school and- TRUMP: Are you Catholic? MATTHEWS: Yes, I think I-I-I TRUMP: And how do you feel about the Catholic church's position? MATTHEWS: I accept the teaching authority of my church on moral issues. TRUMP: I know, but do you know what their position on abortion is? MATTHEWS: Yes, I do. TRUMP: And do you concur with that position? MATTHEWS: I concur with their moral position but legally I want to get to the question TRUMP: No but let me ask you. What do you say about MATTHEWS: It's not funny. TRUMP: It's really not funny. What do you say about your church? They're very very strict. MATTHEWS: The churches make their moral judgments, but you're running for President of the United States to become Chief Executive of the United States. Do you believe in punishment for abortion, yes or no, as a principle? TRUMP: The answer is there has to be some form of punishment. MATTHEWS: For the woman? TRUMP: Yes. MATTHEWS: 10 cents, 10 years, what? TRUMP: I don't know. That I don't know. MATTHEWS: Well why not, you take positions on everything else. Advertisement
A brave buffalo proved its loyalty to its herd when it charged into a pride of lions after seeing one of its friends lying injured and surrounded by the hungry predators in a game reserve in South Africa.
The buffalo used all its strength to gore one of the startled lions with its sharp horns, tossing the winded animal into the air with ease as the other lions scattered.
Sadly despite the heroics of the buffalo, its friend was too badly injured to escape and was set upon by several other lions, who raced to the scene after hearing the commotion.
Painful: The buffalo crashes through the lions in a desperate bid to rescue its mortally injured friend
Brute force:The stunned lion lies in the sand after being impaled by the angry buffalo in South Africa
The injured buffalo can be seen being pinned down by the pack of lions and in a bid to rescue his injured friend another buffalo charged towards the lions.
One of the lions ran towards the buffalo in an attempt to tackle it to the ground, but the lion was struck by the angry buffalo, impaled on its horn and flung into the air.
As the lion crashed to the ground it seemed the buffalo may have secured the chance for a quick getaway but the pride of lions were soon joined by two adult male lions.
The lion reinforcements jumped onto the buffalo's back and sank their teeth in, leading to a grisly end for the buffalo.
Brazilian photographer Mariangela Matarazzo Lee, 54, captured the dramatic scenes while on safari with his family and friends at Mala Mala Game Reserve in South Africa.
Moving in for the kill: The pride of lions quickly surrounded the struggling buffalo and set upon it with their sharp claws and teeth
Take down: As the lion crashed to the ground it seemed the buffalo may have secured the chance for a quick getaway but the pride of lions were soon joined by two adult male lions
Impressive: Brazilian photographer Mariangela Matarazzo Lee, 54, captured the dramatic scenes while on safari with his family and friends at Mala Mala Game Reserve in South Africa
'It was quite a surprise, our ranger spotted a couple of cars at the other side of the river. They were all just parked there with their binoculars trying to take a glance of something happening at our side of the bank,' she said.
'When we arrived there were 12 young lions of the same pride that had knocked down a bull and were trying to kill it.
'Just next to them were a dozen other buffalos observing. Suddenly one of them decided to rescue his injured friend that was lying in the middle of the lions,' she recalled.
'The buffalo came rushing towards the lions and one of the males tried to tackle the buffalo.
'That was when it got hooked on the horn and was swung by the buffalo several times until he was tossed away and landed terribly on the floor.
'When we thought it was all over two huge male adult lions arrived with two females from another pride roaring a lot,' she said.
'All the young ones fled and the injured buffalo stood up trying to escape but he was hurt really bad and very tired.
'One of the lions stood in front of it while the other one walked around the buffalo and jumped on top of it and knocked him down again.
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Most people would be thankful to catch a glimpse of a humpback whale from afar but this bold wildlife lover prefers getting up close and personal with the giants of the deep.
Nature photographer Craig Parry, from Byron Bay in Australias New South Wales, was swimming back to his boat after a whale-watching session in Tonga late last year when a huge humpback whale came up behind him and gave him a friendly nudge.
The striking snap is part of a growing collection from the rising photographer and Sony ambassador, who shared a photo in February showing him frolicking with a pair of the majestic mammals which was dubbed the greatest selfie of all time.'
Nature photographer Craig Parry was swimming back to his boat after a whale watching session in Tonga when a male humpback whale came up behind him and gave him a friendly nudge
The 37-year-old photographer from Byron Bay was thrilled to capture an image of the majestic mammals poking its head out of the water
Parry spends much of his time to documenting the annual whale migration along the east coast of Australia and abroad
Parry, 37, told Daily Mail Australia at the Alpha Art House exhibition that the image of the whale giving him a helping hand onto his boat was among his favourite moments of his career.
I was at Tonga last year to document these beautiful forms of wildlife. We came across an amazing trio one female and two males, known as her escorts.
I was actually chasing another shot of the whale half in the water half out. I finally got it, and I was over the moon, so I started wading back to the boat.
But before he got there the captain of the boat - who was also photographing the enormous sea creatures- noticed a one-in-a-million shot was unfolding before his eyes.
One of the males came up behind me and actually gave me a nudge to help me get back onto the boat. It was unbelievable.
The latest snap comes hot off the heels of the viral success of his much acclaimed selfie in February from his hometown of Byron Bay.
He set the internet alight in February with this image of himself frolicking with a pair of the majestic mammals which was dubbed the greatest selfie of all time'
In a series of remarkable shots, the two whales were also seen playfully circling around his comparatively tiny boat in his hometown of Byron Bay
One of the 40-tonne massive mammals poked its tail out of the water into the sunshine at one stage, splashing the boat
I was getting up close and personal with the whales, it was such a mindblowing experience and I thought: I want to get a photo that puts whoever is looking in my position.
The money shot turned out to be a selfie with the two whales playfully circling an ecstatic Parry from behind.
The image spread like wildfire online, gaining coverage in America and across Europe, beforer it was hailed as the impressive selfie of all time.
Parry spends much of his time to documenting the annual whale migration along the east coast of Australia and abroad, and while its no mean feat tracking down the elusive sea creatures, the moments when it comes together evidently make it all worthwhile.
Aerial shots captured using a drone show the whales are more than double the size of the boat
Parry should the surprise encounter was one of the most memorable of his career diving into the deep and resurfacing with spectacular photos
He then exits the bank building by shattering a massive glass window
The man then pushed his way into the building through a glass window
He had attempted to use the cash machines but it swallowed his card
This is the moment a furious customer destroys a bank in a two-minute outpouring of anger after his debit card is swallowed up by a cash machine.
Most people grin and bear it and return the next day if the bank is closed to try to recover their plastic.
But this outraged Argentinian saw things differently and after spending a few moments poking his fingers into the ATM, vented his frustrations on a glass door leading into the bank reception.
The man is first seen on CCTV attempting to use the bank's ATM machine, only for it to swallow his card
Enraged, he then turns to a huge glass window nearby, and begins pushing it off its hinges
After making his way past the window pane he wanders into the bank's offices
He starts smashing everything he can see, throwing phones, computers and other items on the ground
He forced it open before smashing computer monitors, throwing telephones to the floor and ripping out cables.
After going back to the machine to check his card had not popped back out, he turned his attentions to the entrance door which he tried to lift off its hinges before letting it go and smashing the glass.
The footage - reminiscent of Michael Douglas's famous outbursts of anger in the 1993 psychological thriller film Falling Down - was filmed on the bank's CCTV.
The incident took place at a branch of the Itau Bank in the upmarket Buenos Aires neighbourhood of Belgrano which was closed at the time of the late evening attack.
The video showed a woman queuing up for her turn to take money out before turning away when she saw the monster she had in front of her.
Police confirmed last night they had arrested a man they are thought to have identified from the card he was forced to leave behind when he stopped vandalising the bank.
He was held for ten hours before being released on bail while a judicial probe continues.
Local authorities said the unnamed Mr Angry, thought to be around 40, faced a criminal damage charge and up to a year in prison if convicted.
A source at the local prosecutors' office said: 'The suspect says that when he saw his card had been retained he had an anxiety attack and began to smash the glass doors surrounding the cash machine.
'The footage clearly shows him entering the bank and venting his fury on everything that crossed his path.'
Falling Down stars Michael Douglas in the lead role of William Foster, a divorce and unemployed former defence engineer.
The film centres on Foster as he goes on a violent rampage across Los Angeles while trying to reach the house of his estranged ex-wife in time for his daughter's birthday party.
To exit the building, he turns to another large glass window pane, which he begins pulling off its hinges
With one final push, he slams the window pane against its frame and shattering the glass in its entirety
A 23-year-old woman has been charged after an alleged hit-and-run collision that left a cyclist in hospital with serious injuries.
Rebekah Stewart, 23, allegedly veered onto the opposite side of the road and smashed into a father of two who was on a morning bike ride at 6.20am on Good Friday at Lake Wendouree in Ballarat, the Herald Sun reported.
The Mount Pleasant woman has been remanded in custody and fronted Melbourne Magistrates' Court today to face six charges over the March 25 incident.
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Rebekah Stewart, 23, (pictured) allegedly veered onto the opposite side of the road and smashed into a father of two who was on a morning bike ride at 6.20am on Good Friday at Lake Wendouree in Ballarat, Victoria
Christian Ashby (pictured with his newborn), a 36-year-old podiatrist and keen triathlete, was reportedly hit by the car at a considerable speed and remains in a serious condition at Royal Melbourne Hospital with severe leg and head injuries
She has been charged with negligently causing serious injury, dangerous driving causing serious injury, failing to stop, failing to render assistance, disqualified driving, and driving an unregistered vehicle.
Christian Ashby, a 36-year-old podiatrist and keen triathlete, was reportedly hit by the car at a considerable speed.
Andrew Robertson, a friend of Mr Ashby's at the Ballarat Triathlon Club, told the Herald Sun that he was a 'well-respected family man' and fitness enthusiast.
'He is always out early in the morning because he wants to get home for when his kids wake up,' Mr Robertson said.
'Exercise is important to him but he gets it done early so be can be with his family.'
Mr Ashby remains in a serious condition at Royal Melbourne Hospital with severe leg and head injuries, seven days after he was ploughed into.
Earlier this week detectives seized a silver Mitsubishi Lancer which they believed was involved.
Ms Stewart was subsequently arrested at a Seventh Avenue home in Altona North at 1.30 on Thursday afternoon.
The hit-and-run scene: Ambulance services rush Mr Ashby to hospital where he remains a week later
The Mount Pleasant woman has been remanded in custody and fronted Melbourne Magistrates' Court today to face six charges over the March 25 incident
Police claim she fled the scene of the crash and hid her car on empty land in Delacombe, walked to a friend's house in the same suburb and returned to collect her car with two other people.
The car was allegedly parked at the back of an associate's house and was covered up with a tarpaulin.
She then allegedly stayed overnight at the property on Friday before travelling to Melbourne on Saturday.
She reportedly comes from a well respected family and has never been in custody before but fell into a bad crowd prior to the incident, prompting police to investigate whether illicit drugs were involved.
She appeared before magistrate John Hardy on Friday, did not apply for bail and remained silent during the brief ten minute hearing.
Ms Stewart will face Ballarat Magistrates' Court on June 16, but is reportedly expected to apply for bail before then.
A father imprisoned by the Taliban who escaped to start in a new life in Australia has pleaded guilty to driving without due care after he crashed and killed his 12 year old son, according to a report.
Seyed Abdullah Jouhari, 48, of Broadview, an inner-Adelaide suburb, caused the fatal crash where he drove into the path of a semi-trailer truck travelling at 100km/h that was just five metres away, the Adelaide Advertiser reported.
Magistrate Ian White said Jouhari had paid the 'ultimate price' with a split-second decision that led to the crash that caused the death of his son. The crash occurred at Langhorne Creek, 90km south-east of Adelaide
Magistrate Ian White said Jouhari had paid the 'ultimate price' with a split-second decision that led to the crash that caused the death of his son. The crash occurred at Langhorne Creek, 90km south-east of Adelaide, on April 20 last year.
Jouhari's lawyer, Mark Seddon, told Adelaide Magistrates Court that Mr Jouhari had previously been confined in a Taliban jail for several months and beaten before he was able to flee.
'My client and his family were described as grief-stricken at the scene and he has experienced something that no father should have to experience,' Mr Seddon reportedly said. 'He has told me that he feels his life is over.'
Jouhari was not affected by drugs, alcohol nor was he speeding before the incident, but he 'severely misjudged' the speed of the truck.
Prosecutor Charles Wright did not oppose to a suspended sentence. Jouhari will be sentenced next Friday.
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As one of Cameroon's top military commanders vowed to wipe out Boko Haram militants 'once and for all' in the country, vigilante groups have emerged to try to protect civilians from the brutal jihadis.
A small band of locals have been arming themselves with homemade bows and arrows and ancient guns to watch out for the growing threat of Boko Haram suicide bombers.
Reuters's Joe Penney visited the town of Kerawa in northern Cameroon, where the local volunteer defence force have been speaking about their fears of female suicide bombers and jihadis hiding among refugees.
Ready for action: A small band of locals have been arming themselves with homemade bows and arrows and ancient guns to watch out for the growing threat of Boko Haram suicide bombers
Standing guard: Timada Bokar, a member of a civilian vigilante group, carries a small homemade pistol to help protect civilians at the camp
'We're here to look out for suicide bombers,' said Adama Simila, a member of a local civilian defence force in the town of Kerawa.
The 31-year-old's only weapon to protect him from Boko Haram is a knife which he keeps close to his side while on patrol with the army.
The group have been given permission by their local government to bear arms and have the power to carry out intelligence gathering missions, question travellers, and denounce to the military anyone deemed suspect.
Last week they intercepted two female suicide bombers and handed them over to the army before they were able to detonate.
'We are not 100 percent dependent on this information, but this information is crucial,' said Lieutenant-Colonel Tetcha, who is not only defending Cameroon but also a growing number of Nigerians.
Young girls have been taken by the jihadi group and used as sex slaves before being forced to carry out suicide bomb attacks as part of a cruel tactic increasingly used by the struggling extremists.
A regional offensive last year drove the insurgents from most of their traditional strongholds, denying them their dream of an Islamic emirate in northeastern Nigeria.
An 8,700-strong regional force of troops from Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria is seeking to finish the job but now Boko Haram have been using guerrilla tactics to target civilians.
Hard at work: A member of a civilian vigilante group holds a hunting rifle while a woman pumps water into jerrycans in Kerawa, Cameroon
Since August 2014, Boko Haram has carried out 336 attacks in Cameroon, according to the Cameroonian army, which has lost 57 of its own men while defending the north
The group have been given permission by their local government to bear arms and have the power to carry out intelligence gathering missions, question travellers, and denounce to the military anyone deemed suspect
'I'm not scared. They are people, we are also people. We must die to live,' said Simila, who was at the Kerawa market in September when two girls detonated themselves, killing 19 people and injuring 143 others. A nearly identical bombing at the same market followed in January.
Outside Nigeria, Cameroon has been hardest hit by Boko Haram, which now operates out of bases in the Mandara Mountains, Sambisa Forest and Lake Chad.
Since August 2014, the jihadi group has carried out 336 attacks in Cameroon, according to the Cameroonian army, which has lost 57 of its own men while defending the north.
Of 34 recorded suicide bombings killing 174 people, 80 percent were carried out by girls and young women aged 14 to 24 years.
Girls abused as sex slaves by the group are psychologically damaged and therefore more vulnerable, the army says. Boko Haram also uses girls because they are thought less likely to arouse suspicion, although that may be changing now.
'The goal now is to stop Boko Haram incursions into villages, stop them from planting IEDs (home-made bombs), and stop suicide bombings,' said Lieutenant-Colonel Felix Tetcha, a senior officer in the army's operation against Boko Haram.
The U.S. military has provided the BIR with vital equipment, intelligence and training while a small American military camp has reportedly been seen inside another BIR base in nearby Maroua
Cameroon have deployed 10,000 troops in the north to protect civilians from Boko Haram. The army's Rapid Intervention Brigade (BIR), comprised of its most professional, best equipped soldiers, patrols a high-risk 400-km (250-mile) stretch of the border with Nigeria
Residents gather on market day in Kerawa, where previously two girls had detonated explosive belts, killing 19 people and injuring 143 others
Cameroon have deployed 10,000 troops in the north to protect civilians from Boko Haram. The army's Rapid Intervention Brigade (BIR), comprised of its most professional, best equipped soldiers, patrols a high-risk 400-km (250-mile) stretch of the border with Nigeria, according to Reuters.
The U.S. military has provided the BIR with vital equipment, intelligence and training while a small American military camp has reportedly been seen inside another BIR base in nearby Maroua.
Still, the terrain is mountainous and Boko Haram has rigged many roads with explosives designed to kill soldiers. Army officers are convinced that some fighters from Boko Haram, which pledged allegiance to Islamic State last year, have been trained at ISIS camps in Libya.
Armed incursions by Boko Haram fighters have dropped. But the army does not have enough soldiers to deploy in every town in northern Cameroon, and suicide bombers strike regularly, often several times in a single week.
'The border is under control, but it's still very porous,' said Lieutenant-Colonel Emile Nlate Ebale, head of operations and logistics for the BIR's mission in the north.
On the lookout: A security officer scans a woman entering a health clinic at Minawao refugee camp in Minawao, Cameroon
A woman watches a Cameroonian soldier from the Rapid Intervention Brigade on patrol in Kolofata, Cameroon
Cameroonian soldiers from the Rapid Intervention Brigade tell a young boy to stay back while on patrol in Kerawa
Close to the border sits the U.N.-run Minawao camp, home to nearly 57,000 refugees who have fled Boko Haram in Nigeria.
'Everybody suffers in this place,' said James Zapania, a 24-year-old camp resident from Gwoza, Nigeria. 'We're not worried about Boko Haram coming here, we're worried about food.'
Refugees like Zapania often receive a chilly welcome from suspicious local villagers, many of whom view them as collaborators or even underground Boko Haram fighters.
According to one Cameroonian officer, the army has removed a number of individuals from Minawao for 'activities that were not in line with the behaviour of a normal refugee'.
Suspicion is everywhere. And while Boko Haram infiltrators make up only a tiny portion of fleeing refugees, many, including the Cameroonian military, fear that desperation provides fertile ground for recruitment.
The moment a man knocked a woman with multiple sclerosis to the ground when a parking row escalated has been caught on CCTV.
Police are now hunting for the man who broke 49-year-old Heather Smith's jaw after she told him he couldn't park in front of her business in Havering, Greater London.
The man, who has not been identified, knocked the 5ft 1in woman off her feet and drove off with the door of his car open.
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Heather Smith, 49, who has multiple sclerosis, was punched in the face outside her shop in Greater London. Her business partner Keith Edwards was dragged along by the man's open car door as he drove away
In the video the man, who appears to be in his 20s, is wearing a matching light tracksuit with a hood.
The attack took place in front of Ms Smith's cleaning supply company in on Ardleigh Green Road in Hornchurch.
Ms Smith had to have a three-and-a-half hour operation at Queen's Hospital, Romford, to put a metal plate and pins in her jaw.
She faces a further operation if the facial fractures don't heal properly.
The business owner can be seen approaching the man, who pulls his black car close to the door of her shop.
Business partner, Keith Edwards, 53, approached the man and a passenger when they get out of the vehicle.
Ms Smith can be seen standing at the back of the car before moving to the side where she is approached by the man who will hit her.
She appears to engage the young man in conversation before things turn ugly. She becomes upset and grabs him and pulls him by the arm before swinging towards him.
Ms Smith was knocked to the floor by the young man, who parked his black car outside her cleaning supplies business in Hornchurch
Her jaw was broken in four places and she said she was still in constant pain two weeks after the attack
'I dragged the guy away from Keith after I realised he was going to hit him,' she said.
The video shows Ms Smith missing but he hits back, striking her in the jaw. She falls to the floor and Mr Edwards comes over to shout at the man, continuing to do so as he gets in his car.
The track-suited man drives off as Mr Edwards is holding on to the open car door, dragging him down the drive with him and leaving Ms Smith on the floor.
'The pain was unbelievable but I couldn't get up because my legs were shaking,' she said.
'I was so afraid he was going to come back,' said Heather, who said two weeks later that she was still in agony.
The young man, who is wearing a light, hooded tracksuit, parked his car so close to the building that it blocked the entry
Ms Smith has had three operations to help fix her upper jaw and business partner Mr Edwards is offering a 1,000 reward for information leading to the man's arrest
'Now I'm afraid he'll do it again. If he can do that to me, he could do much worse.'
Her outraged business partner, Keith Edwards, 53, has now put up a 1,000 reward for information leading to the attacker's arrest.
Mr Edwards said: 'It's shocking.
'I don't know who can punch a woman, especially someone who is 5ft 1in and nearly in her 50s.
'Now I'm worried he'll do it again.'
Mr Edwards said: 'I told them they couldn't park there, but they weren't having any of it.
'They were immediately confrontational and abusive.'
He said he had his glasses knocked off as tempers flared when the driver returned from the shop just seconds later.
'It was horrible,' she said.
Heather said she's only left her home four times since the vicious assault just after midday on March 16.
She said: 'I'm in constant pain and still having to take the full dosage of medication.
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Customers will now be able to check their broadband speed using an online map as it was revealed 1.5million Brits still have 'below minimum' service.
The interactive map, published by regulator Ofcom, means households can check how fast their broadband is by entering their postcode.
Residents looking to use Ofcom's map, which also details mobile phone coverage, can visit their website. Our map below, compiled from a 2015 report by the regulator, can be used to see the average download speed of specific areas with red indicating a good speed and yellow the worst.
Grabs taken from our map show coverage across the UK - with red highlighting the best places in terms of download speeds and yellow showing the worst (left). Residents can use the map to zoom in on their area, such as London (right), with the average download speed for that district appearing in a bar on the side
To see how your area compares, zoom into the map and click on a district. The average download speed will appear in a bar at the side.
According to our map, some of the worst areas for download speed are Na h-Eileanan an Iar in the Outer Hebrides, which receives on average 5.6MBps, and Argyll and Bute, with just over 8MBps.
Prime Minister David Cameron vowed to give homes the legal right to fast broadband last year
Meanwhile, London receives a fairly good download speed with many boroughs above the national average of 29.4MBps.
Surprisingly, Great Grimsby is where households get one of the highest rates, receiving 46.8MBps.
It comes as Ofcom announced three quarters of broadband customers are without basis internet provisions in rural areas.
Prime Minister David Cameron vowed to give homes the legal right to fast broadband after saying that internet should be a right in November last year.
His promise to impose a Universal Service Obligation for broadband suppliers means every household should be able to connect to broadband with at least a 10MBps speed by the end of this parliament.
At the time, he said: 'Access to the internet shouldn't be a luxury; it should be a right absolutely fundamental to life in 21st century Britain. That is why I'm announcing a giant leap in my digital mission for Britain.
'Just as our forebears effectively brought gas, electricity and water to all, we're going to bring fast broadband to every home and business that wants it.
'That's right: we're getting Britain all of Britain online, and on the way to becoming the most prosperous economy in the whole of Europe.'
The data may lead to a number of customers changing providers, as it can also be used to show whether EE, Vodafone, O2 or Three is better in that particular area.
Ofcom also announced this week that mobile phone operator EE has the fastest download speeds when compared to its three rivals.
Testing was carried out in cities where high-speed 4G networks have already been rolled out - Cardiff, Edinburgh, Liverpool, London and Norwich - and it was the first time download, upload and web-browsing speeds, video streaming quality, and phone call success rates were all measured.
On average, EE had the most consistent 4G download speed performance, with speeds in excess of 2Mbit/s delivered in 92 per cent of its tests.
This compared with 87 per cent for Three, 82 per cent for Vodafone and just 69 per cent for O2.
Four young children will grow up without their mother after she was allegedly killed by her husband in a frenzied stabbing attack at their southeast Queensland home.
Sandra Peniamina's children, aged between five and 10, were believed to be sleeping at the Kippa-Ring house when she suffered multiple stab wounds and died on the driveway.
Paramedics, who described the scene as one of the worst they'd seen, did everything they could to save the 29-year-old New Zealand citizen.
Sandra Peniamina was stabbed to death outside her Brisbane home on Thursday evening
Ms Peniamina's husband has been arrested and charged with murder following the stabbing
Ms Peniamina's husband Arona was charged at a bedside hearing in hospital and is to undergo surgery for injuries he was discovered with
She allegedly suffered wounds to her chest and arms, wounds to her neck and substantial facial traumas.
Her husband Arona, also from New Zealand, was calm when police officers found him at the front of the home late on Thursday night.
The 35-year-old sustained hand injuries and was taken to Redcliffe Hospital, where he was charged with murder at a bedside hearing on Friday before undergoing surgery.
Police have taken statements from the children, who are now in the care of relatives.
Police took statements from Ms Peniamina's children, who are now in the care of relatives
Paramedics, who described the scene as one of the worst they'd seen, did everything they could to save the 29-year-old New Zealand citizen
It was only three weeks ago that Ms Peniamina put a cover photo on her Facebook page that had the simple message: 'Blessed.'
Her horrific death has shocked relatives and friends.
'Broken Hearted! Cant (sic) believe that any of my family will go out the way she did. Feel for my nephews, aunty and cuzzyz (sic),' one wrote on Facebook.
Peniamina was described as 'a really good man' by the wife of his uncle.
'He never drink (sic), never smoke, all he does, he just wants to build a future for his family,' the woman, who did not want to me named, told Fairfax media.
Neighbours reported hearing yelling and some rushed to help Ms Peniamina before authorities arrived to the house.
Ambulance service spokesman Brad Hardy said paramedics were confronted with a terrible scene.
'It is certainly a very graphic (scene) and is one of the worst situations that we've seen around this area for quite some time,' he told ABC radio.
It is still unclear what prompted the stabbing.
'The cause of the incident is still under investigation, so I can't go into exact details at this stage,' Detective Senior Sergeant Ben Fadian said.
Peniamina remains in Redcliffe Hospital and has been remanded in custody until April 18 when he will appear at Redcliffe Magistrates court via videolink.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk drew on the incident to make a public appeal at Friday's COAG meeting in Canberra for more to be done to stop domestic violence.
'The neighbours witnessed it, heard it, and she died on the front driveway,' she said.
'This has got to stop.
'Women are still getting murdered and killed behind closed doors in all different sections of our community and we've got to do more.'
National domestic violence helpline: 1800 737 732 or 1800RESPECT. In an emergency call triple-zero.
Investigated: Police Commissioner Robert Devillez turned up drunk to urgent terror meeting
Holding what appears to be a bottle of beer - this the Belgian police chief sent home in disgrace after being drunk at an urgent terror meeting on the day of the Brussels terror attacks.
Robert Devillez arrived late to the emergency session and reportedly 'struggled to communicate' when grilled by his bosses in the hours after ISIS suicide bombers hit the city.
Colleagues suspected he was intoxicated and confiscated his gun as Devillez took a breathalyser test confirming he was over the limit.
The commissioner was set to review emergency security plans with the local mayor, hours after Brussels metro and airport were hit by suicide bombings that killed 31 people.
He was found to have 0.8g/l of alcohol in his blood, which is above the 0.5g/l legal driving limit in Belgium. The limit in the UK is 0.8g/l.
While he has only been identified by his initials 'RD', by the Belgian media, he is the only police commissioner in the Ixelles district to share these initials.
When approached by MailOnline, police authorities in Brussels refused to comment on whether the Commissioner being investigated is indeed Robert Devillez, a police commissioner in the Ixelles district of the city.
Spokesman for the district Christian De Coninck would also not confirm the confiscation of his service weapon, or that he was sent home although it was widely reported by Belgian media.
'As soon as his superiors found the problem, they did the necessary and set up a report. And the police chief took disciplinary measurements. But I cannot go any futher on this otherwise there will be a procedure mistake and this can go all down the drain,' he said.
But authorities have previously been made aware of alcohol abuse within the district's police force when it was outlined in an explosive report published last year.
The 73-page ISPPW (internal service for prevention and protection at work) warned in September 2015 that there was an alcohol problem among police officers in the Ixelles district, which includes many of the city's popular eating and drinking spots as well as European Parliament offices.
'They would drink all day at the expense of work and colleagues who want to work. This deteriorates the image of the police,' the report said.
Drunk: The Brussels police chief was forced to take a breathalyser test after failing to answer questions at a crisis meeting in the wake of the terror attacks at Zaventem Airport (pictured) and Maelbeek metro station
Brussels police have been criticised for their botched handling of the attacks as they missed chance after chance to stop the bombings
Disgrace: Commissioner Devillez had his gun confiscated and was sent home after a breathalyser test showed he was above Belgium drink drive limit
'The management is aware but obscures the problem so as not to make waves.'
When the reports findings were put to district Mayor Dominique Dufourny in the wake of the scandal, she said the issue of alcohol abuse had already been raised.
'I will check it. The alcohol issue has been raised and we will be very alert in the future', Mayor Dominique Dufourny told local journalists.
According to Belgian press, the penalty for drunk service, ranges from a warning to a reprimand to suspension or the sack.
It comes as Belgian authorities approved the extradition of Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam to France while police continue their search for a suspected third attacker, the so-called 'man in the hat' seen in surveillance images alongside the two airport bombers.
With no suspects in custody over the attacks, police have appealed for possible images taken by members of the public.
Belgian police have come under intense scrutiny for failing to stop the ISIS cell linked to November's Paris terror attacks that killed 130 people.
Many of the group had also fought with ISIS in Syria or had been deported by Turkish authorities who suspected they were travelling to Syria to fight with the terror group.
Abdeslam, the sole surviving suspect was arrested in Brussels on March 18 after four months on the run as Europe's most wanted man.
A Zaventem airport worker, left and a Brussels Police officer take part in a memorial service for the victims of the Brussels bomb attacks at the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula in Brussels, Monday
Blunders: CCTV above shows the Brussels airport bombers Najim Laachraoui (left), Ibrahim El Bakraoui (centre) and the 'man in white' who is still being hunted by authorities
Bombings claimed by a coordinated Islamic State cell were carried on in the city just four days later, leading to intense criticism of the authorities policing of jihadis.
Abdeslam's lawyer said that his 26-year-old client had agreed to be transferred to France under a European arrest warrant, clearing the way for a fast-track extradition.
'What Salah Abdeslam wants to make known is that he wants to cooperate with the French authorities. These are the words he wants to make known,' lawyer Cedric Moisse told reporters in Brussels.
The transfer to France should happen 'within 10 days', said French justice minister Jean-Jacques Urvoas, but Belgian investigators will still be allowed to question Abdeslam in France.
He is believed to have acted as a logistics coordinator for the Paris attacks and has told investigators he was meant to carry out a suicide bombing at the Stade de France stadium but backed out.
A father-of-three and former policeman who took on London rioters in 2011 is now a size 10 woman who works as a support worker, taking disabled children to school.
As Richard, Sam Wood, 42, had been a 15-and-a-half stone specialist riot control officer with the Metropolitan Police in London, who would work out four times a week at the gym to hone his muscles.
But over time, Sam, from Stevenage, Hertfordshire, began to realise that living as a man was making her unhappy and after suffering a nervous breakdown in 2012 quit the force and embarked on her new life.
Father-of-three and former policeman Sam Wood (pictured left as Richard with daughter Kellie) who took on London rioters in 2011 is now a size 10 woman who works as a support worker
Last year she finally embarked on a course of female hormone oestrogen as well as drugs to block the male hormone testosterone, and says she has 'never felt happier' as she plans to undergo NHS gender reassignment surgery in the next three years.
'I realised I am comfortable and this is who I am,' she said. 'I was on Facebook this week and saw a picture I posted a year ago when I started dressing as a woman full time and it felt absolutely fantastic.
'I made the decision because I couldn't lie to myself any more.
Sam when she was 19. Last year she finally embarked on a course of female hormone oestrogen as well as drugs to block the male hormone testosterone
Sam (right) with her father Bernard (left) and Sir Ian Blair after passing out at Hendon Police College in 2008
'I needed to start living. I started speaking to a lot of people and managed to get help.
'I used to walk around town with my head down and be nervous but now I couldn't be happier.
'I've had amazing support from people too. When I moved into a new block of flats I wrote everyone living there a letter explaining that I was going to be dressing as a woman.
'I was worried about their response but they came with flowers, cards and chocolates to my door.'
Sam's current life, in which she works part time helping disabled children get to school, is a far cry from 2011, when 'Richard' was working as a police officer holding back yobs in the London riots following the fatal shooting of suspected gunman Mark Duggan.
Sam's current life, in which she works part time helping disabled children get to school, is a far cry from 2011, when 'Richard' was working as a police officer
Sam loved her job, but was struggling to live as a man, and suffered a nervous breakdown in late 2012, when she was signed off due to illness
'I joined the police in 2006,' she said. 'Its masculine atmosphere appealed to me.
'I always used to go the gym and wear t-shirts that showed off my arms so the girls would look at me.
'I used to train four times a week and at home. I weighed 15 and a half stone at my heaviest.
'Even when I was with massive six foot six guys in riots gear I'd stick my chest out and try and look big.
'It was a great job and I loved every minute of it but at times it was scary. During the London riots I was petrified and the student riots were pretty scary too.'
Sam loved her job, but was struggling to live as a man, and suffered a nervous breakdown in late 2012, when she was signed off due to illness.
Sam, pictured with father Bernard in 2008, joined the police in 2006 because its 'masculine atmosphere' appealed to her. At the time she was going to the gym four times a week and weighed 15 and a half stone
She handed in her warrant card the following July and says she has had a mixed reaction from colleagues since coming out, including being shunned by some former 'macho' colleagues.
'None of my colleagues knew about it until I came out,' said Sam. 'I used to keep myself to myself.
'The only thing we would talk about would be cars and films. I am still friendly with a lot of my colleagues.
'Some of the super macho ones have stopped talking to me but lots of my female colleagues have said that's why they must have felt so comfortable around me.'
Sam was born Richard, the only child of cab driver Bernard and stay at home mother Suzanne Wood in Barking, London on October 25, 1973.
Mr and Mrs Wood divorced when Sam was eight, and Mr Wood remarried Christine in 1981, after which time Sam grew up with two her step-siblings David and Martha in Romford, enjoying what she says was an ordinary upbringing.
Over time, Sam, from Stevenage, Hertfordshire, began to realise that living as a man was making her unhappy and after suffering a nervous breakdown in 2012 quit the force
She said: 'I suppose my parents' divorce affected me as it does with a lot of kids but I wouldn't say there was anything out of place.
'But I always knew I wanted to be a woman though, even at a very young age. I experimented with cross dressing when I was a teenager.
I used to think it was a dirty sexual fantasy and what I was doing was wrong. But with time I realised I was happier like this Sam Wood
'My father caught me dressing up when I was around 17 and went ballistic. It just didn't make sense to him.
'I used to think it was a dirty sexual fantasy and what I was doing was wrong. But with time I realised I was happier like this.
'All of the women I've been with have known I've done it even if I tried to hide it.
'I always tried to cover it up. I used to go the gym and make myself look big.
'I was trying to cover up and run away from what I really was. I'm not trying to be anyone but myself now and I've never felt better.'
Before joining the police, Sam worked as a labourer on building sites and then as a DJ, who - as DJ Culture - specialised in house music and toured around the UK and even played in Slovakia and Poland.
Sam says she felt 'so much relief' when she started living as a woman, and has 'never been happier'
In 2002 she married long-term girlfriend Zoe but the couple separated after only 11 weeks when Sam discovered that Zoe was having an affair.
They had a daughter called Kellie, 19, who Sam speaks to every day and called Sam her MAD - mum and dad.
Sam carried on DJing into her mid 30s when she started losing her hearing and decided to go for a career in the police, where she met her next partner Joanne, who she has two children with: Lily, three, and James, five.
'I moved to Stevenage in 2010 because my partner was originally from there and she didn't like Dagenham,' said Sam.
'I ended up having to commute four hours a day and it took its toll on me. This was when our relationship started to break down and it became apparent that I wanted to be a woman.
'She used to encourage me to cross dress at the weekends because she saw it as a way of letting of steam but one day she sat me down and asked me "do you want to be a woman?"
'I replied "yes" and it was clear our relationship was over from then.'
Sam then moved into a flat by herself and didn't know where to turn. She lacked the confidence to dress as a woman full time and would switch between dressing as a woman one week to a man the following the week.
Then in March 2015 she finally built up the courage to live as a woman.
'I felt so much relief when I was finally a woman,' she said. 'It was like a massive weight was lifted off my shoulders. I've never felt happier and more myself.
'I would say to anyone who knows they're in the wrong body to come out and start living.
'Why live a lie when you can be free to enjoy life.
'I've experienced so negativity with ex-partners but I've also had a lot of support and feel amazing. It was the best decision I ever made.'
Sam has rebuilt good relationships with her two ex-parters and her three children. She is currently single and is attracted to women, although as her hormone therapy progresses she says she is becoming more attracted to men.
I would say to anyone who knows they're in the wrong body to come out and start living
Trainee hairdresser Kellie said: 'I call her MAD because she's my mum and dad. I started calling her it last year when she told me she wanted to be a woman.
'When I first found out I was a bit upset. It was a massive shock but after a couple of weeks of getting my head around it it just thought if she turns into a woman I am going to be able to talk to her more.
'I can get to know her and borrow her clothes and stuff. I've done her make-up once and she absolutely love it.'
Kellie and Sam now speak on the phone every day and their relationship has improved since she became a woman.
'We get along much better now because she is like me and I can talk to her more about private things.
'I did not really get to see Sam when she was Richard because she was always working and she was with her ex-partner.
'She was always stressed but now she is Sam I talk to her every day. She is much happier now. She is happy every single day. When she was Richard she was always moody with me.
David Cameron has warned that terrorists will use 'whatever materials they can get their hands on' as he stepped up security around nuclear facilities.
In a strongly-worded warning about the threat to Britain's national security, the Prime Minister said terrorists would 'like to kill as many people as they possibly could' amid fears that ISIS could attempt to create a dirty bomb.
He announced this morning that hundreds of extra armed police are to patrol British cities as fears grow of a Paris or Brussels-style massacre outside London.
Mr Cameron was attending a nuclear security summit with world leaders in Washington. But their efforts were undermined by the absence of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
It was also reported that North Korea had fired a suspected ballistic missile into the sea today hours after US President Barack Obama urged closer security ties among its Asian allies and increased cooperation with China to discourage Pyongyang from further advances in nuclear weapons.
David Cameron was attending a nuclear security summit with world leaders in Washington. But their efforts were undermined by the absence of Russian President Vladimir Putin
David Cameron (pictured at the nuclear security summit in Washington today) warned that terrorists will use 'whatever materials they can get their hands on' as he stepped up security around nuclear facilities
ISIS terrorists killed 130 people in the French capital in November and 30 people were massacred in the Belgian capital last month.
While UK authorities have been carrying out detailed preparations for how to react to a similar attack in London and other UK cities, Mr Cameron's warning today signals the shift in focus to stepping up protection of nuclear sites.
Britain and the United States will take part in a joint exercise next year to prepare for any online attack against nuclear power plants and waste storage facilities.
Mr Cameron will also offer British expertise to other countries to safeguard their own civil nuclear installations as he meets world leaders in Washington today.
US President Barack Obama, who is hosting the nuclear security conference, will give a press conference later today.
ISIS terrorists killed 130 people in the French capital in November and 30 people were massacred in the Belgian capital last month. Pictured, President Obama speaks as Secretary of State John Kerry (second left) and David Cameron listen at the nuclear summit
While UK authorities have been carrying out detailed preparations for how to react to a similar attack in London and other UK cities, Mr Cameron's warning today signals the shift in focus to stepping up protection of nuclear sites
Speaking this morning, Mr Cameron warned: 'We know that the terrorists we face today would like to kill as many people as they possibly could, using whatever materials they can get their hands on'
Last weeks terrorist attacks in Brussels have raised fresh concerns about the prospect of nuclear terrorism. Pictured, the nuclear power plant in Doel, Belgium. The Doel and Tihange nuclear plants (pictured) were evacuated following the terror attacks in Brussels
David Cameron (right) met New Zealand's Prime Minister John Key (left) at the British Embassy in Washington last night as he offered British expertise to other countries to safeguard their own civil nuclear installations
Speaking this morning, Mr Cameron warned: 'We know that the terrorists we face today would like to kill as many people as they possibly could, using whatever materials they can get their hands on.
'So obviously the security of nuclear materials, for those countries that have nuclear programmes, is incredibly important and that's why this conference like previous conferences will make sure that we have proper security for those materials, not just in Britain - we are quite a global leader in this - but also all over the world.
David Cameron announced that hundreds of extra armed police are to patrol British cities
'So it's a very important subject, there will be very important actions announced at this conference, and it's about making sure our world is safe and secure and we are not at risk from terrorists coming together with nuclear materials.'
Addressing increased security fears in Britain, Mr Cameron announced an additional 400 gun cops for Manchester, Birmingham and other cities.
In total, 1,000 more armed police will be brought in a rise of almost 20 per cent with 600 based in London.
He said that in the wake of the Paris and Brussels atrocities, an extra 40 armed response vehicles would also be deployed across the country, an increase of more than a quarter.
Security officials are planning how best to respond to an attack in which fanatics target separate sites at the same time with firearms and explosives, as in Paris in November when 130 people died.
Whitehall insiders say getting to the scene quickly is crucial to keep casualties to a minimum, and the extra resources will provide round-the-clock cover.
Security sources said that while seven mass-casualty plots had been foiled in the past year, it was 'inevitable that one will get through'.
One senior official said: 'The reality is that we cannot stop everything. Everybody needs to be aware of that fact.'
There are 5,875 firearms officers in England and Wales, many of them based in London, protecting Whitehall, foreign embassies and other sensitive sites.
The 40 extra armed response vehicles take the total to 150.
The two terrorist attacks that claimed lives in Britain over the past 11 years were both carried out in the capital the 7/7 bombings and the murder of Lee Rigby at Woolwich Barracks.
In a strongly-worded warning about the threat to Britain's national security, the Prime Minister (pictured arriving at the White House in Washington yesterday) said terrorists would 'like to kill as many people as they possibly could' amid fears that ISIS could attempt to create a dirty bomb
But major terror plots have been uncovered in other cities, and officials want to ensure they are ready for strikes at any time or place.
Speaking in Washington, Mr Cameron said: 'Our police and intelligence agencies work round the clock to keep us safe, and it is absolutely vital that we support them with the right resources and kit.
'After the terrorist attacks in France last year, we decided to look at whether there was more we could do to protect people from the type of terrorist threat we now face.
'That's why we are increasing the number of specially trained armed officers up and down the country to make sure the police have greater capability to respond swiftly and effectively.'
Downing Street said every region would benefit from the boost in officers, which is being funded from an extra 143million allocated to defence and security.
Security officials are planning how best to respond to an attack in which fanatics target separate sites at the same time with firearms and explosives, as in Paris (pictured) in November when 130 people died
Alongside this, more specialist counter-terrorism teams will be established outside the capital, including in Manchester and Birmingham. The new officers will be in place by spring 2018, No10 said.
Aides said the announcement builds on the military contingency planning set out by the Prime Minister following the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris last year.
This allowed for 10,000 troops to go on the streets during a terror attack, as well as enabling the military to fill in for armed police releasing them to respond to atrocities.
Deputy Chief Constable Simon Chesterman, a spokesman for police chiefs, said: 'We have significantly enhanced the training, tactics and weaponry of armed officers to ensure they are capable of dealing with all terrorist attacks.'
Mr Cameron spoke after landing in Washington yesterday afternoon for the two-day summit.
The PM, Barack Obama and other world leaders will plan how to stop nuclear material falling into the hands of IS and other fanatics.
Instead, the leaders came to an agreement to share income tax revenue
It was rejected by state premiers at the Council of Australian Governments
Malcolm Turnbull has abandoned his plan for the states to levy income tax after most premiers refused the idea.
The state leaders failed to come to an agreement with the prime minister at Friday's Council of Australian Governments held in Canberra, where it was proposed the states would get control of $14 billion income tax, but lose an equivalent amount in federal government grants.
States would be forced to raise the rate if more money for services was necessary under the proposal.
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Pictured at the Lodge ahead of the COAG dinner event, Malcolm Turnbull has abandoned his plan for the states to levy income tax after most premiers refused the idea
The state leaders failed to come to an agreement with the prime minister at Friday's Council of Australian Governments held in Canberra
'There is simply not anything like a consensus on the part of COAG ... so that proposal has been withdrawn,' Mr Turnbull (pictured middle) said during the meeting
Instead the leaders agreed to look at sharing the pool of income tax revenue in exchange for the states losing some tied grants from the commonwealth.
'There is simply not anything like a consensus on the part of COAG ... so that proposal has been withdrawn,' Mr Turnbull said.
'There will be no state or territory involvement in levying income tax and we are certainly not proposing to increase income tax ourselves.'
Mr Turnbull said the deal would award greater freedom to the states as to how to spend their money, but the extra money would not be immediately available.
He said the federal government is responsible for creating enormous duplication and waste through management of selected state duties.
South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill, who proposed the income tax sharing idea, said Australia fails to raise enough taxation and suggested the GST be extended to financial services, which would raise about $4 billion a year.
The leaders agreed to look at sharing the pool of income tax revenue in exchange for the states losing some tied grants from the commonwealth
Mr Turnbull (picured) said the deal would award greater freedom to the states as to how to spend their money, but the extra money would not be immediately available
The states agreed to look at their own taxes in a bid to make them better support economic growth.
New South Wales Premier Mike Baird said the states should look toward tax reform and raised concern for a massive funding gap forecasted for the 2020s.
'I don't want anyone to think that there has been any white flags raised in relation to tax reform,' he said.
'We have to be prepared to do it because funding that gap, ensuring the economy is growing, remains a challenge.'
New South Wales Premier Mike Baird (pictured) said the states should look toward tax reform and raised concern for a massive funding gap forecasted for the 2020s
'(No) white flags raised in relation to tax reform' - NSW Premier Mike Baird (pictured right) pushed for state tax reform
Tasmanian Premier Will Hodgman said allowing the states to levy income tax would have put his state at risk.
But sharing the income tax base would provide greater certainty and more autonomy and responsibility.
Laundry: Billy Midmore, 22, did not turn up to court because his clothes were too dirty for him to wear
The trial of a man accused of a horrific acid attack on a mother-of-six has been halted at the cost of 10,000 because prison staff did not wash his clothes.
Billy Midmore, 22, failed to appear for his trial at Southampton Crown Court because he had been wearing the same clothes for seven consecutive days and wanted a clean outfit.
Midmore is currently facing charges of grievous bodily harm with intent after he allegedly attacked Carla Whitlock, 37, with drain cleaner containing highly concentrated sulphuric acid in Southampton city centre. He denies the charge.
Miss Whitlock was left with serious scarring and virtually no eyesight after the devastating assault carried out as she was walking with her boyfriend Matthew outside Turtle Bay restaurant and bar, on September 18 last year.
Judge Peter Ralls QC told the court that the defendant's no-show, on just the second day of proceedings, was not his fault.
He said he could only 'hold his hands up in horror' after discovering that prison officers in Winchester had not washed the clothes.
Midmore had brought his red, white and blue Ralph Lauren polo shirt and jeans from home and had been wearing the clothes for a week.
Judge Ralls QC was told by prison staff that Midmore had asked for his clothes to be washed after returning from court on Wednesday, but because the correct member of staff was not available they had not been cleaned.
Solicitor Mark Ruffell, defending, told the court that he had no doubt he wanted to be in court but said wearing the same clothes for that length of time was 'disgusting'.
Midmore had said he would be willing to appear in court wearing a grey tracksuit prison outfit or would wear his second outfit which he had brought into prison with him instead if this was not possible.
According to Mr Ruffell this did not happen and Midmore had not got on the bus to come to court yesterday.
Judge Ralls QC said that he had contacted the duty governor about the issue who seemed 'embarrassed' by the problems, and added that he would be writing a letter to the prison expressing his concerns.
He said: 'I do not understand why there were not enough members of staff available.'
Pictured, Carla Whitlock before and after drain cleaner containing highly concentrated sulphuric acid was thrown in her face, leaving awful burns and scarring behind
The judge decided that because of timing constraints it would not be possible to proceed with the trial and jurors were told to leave court.
It is believed that one day in court can cost the public purse up to 10,000.
A spokesperson from the Crown Prosecution Service said that their services for one day at Crown Court can be around 2,500.
The latest figures from 2013 by the HM Courts & Tribunals Service reveal that court running costs for one day are on average 1,548 and staff costs are up to 1,600.
The trial, which is expected to continue today, was opened this week.
Couple: Miss Whitlock and her boyfriend Matthew Wedgner, who was with her at the time of the assault
Horrific: Miss Whitlock was left with awful burns and scarring from the attack and lost the use of her right eye
It is alleged the acid attack was jointly carried out by Midmore and his brother, Geoffrey, 26, who blamed Miss Whitlock for a drug deal that went wrong.
Opening the case against Billy Midmore, prosecutor Kerry Maylin told the jury how he and his brother were both responsible for attacking Miss Whitlock.
The brothers wanted to get 'revenge' after she set up the ill-fated deal, leaving the dealers 2,000 out of pocket, the court heard.
The acid attack left Miss Whitlock with life-changing injuries, including scarring on her neck and arm.
Geoffrey Midmore, from London, has already admitted causing grievous bodily harm with intent.
A grandmother, 89, had to lie in agony covered in blood for over an hour as she waited for an ambulance to arrive after having a serious fall.
Jean Fisher was walking to the post office when she tripped over a manhole cover, which led her to break her arm and cut her face - an injury which needed 20 stitches.
The pensioner received help from a first-aid trained witness, but had to wait over an hour for the emergency service to arrive.
Jean Fisher, 89, was left lying in agony and covered in blood after a nasty fall on a pavement - but the ambulance failed to turn up for more than an hour
The pensioner (left) received help at the scene from a first-aid trained witness. When her granddaughter Lisa Kelly (right), 46, received a phone call from her mother telling her about what had happened, she feared the worst
Ms Fisher was instead taken to hospital by a local resident at about 8.30am after the incident, which took place in Sidcup, south east London.
Her granddaughter Lisa Kelly, 46, got a phone call from her mother telling her about what had happened and feared the worst, but thanked the people who helped her grandma.
The manhole cover Jean Fisher tripped over, leading her to break her arm and cut her face
She said: 'A man, who was first aid trained, was so incredibly helpful - he turned her on her side and made sure she was breathing.
'A lot of other people took off their coats and wrapped her in them to keep her warm.
'She's 89 years old and we need to get her experience out there because it's disgraceful.'
Ms Kelly, a mother-of-three, said she received a phone call from her mother saying 'have you heard about Nanny?' while she was driving her boys to school.
She said: 'By the tone of her voice my heart immediately dropped because I feared the worst.
'I am disgusted with the ambulance service - the people in the streets were outraged by the events of the morning, too.'
Ms Kelly claimed that five people called separately for an ambulance, and her Bermondsey-born grandma has not left the house since the fall.
She said: 'She is my rock - we call her The Don. She's the Queen of Bermondsey and is just such a wonderful woman.
'WE PRIORITISE PATIENTS IN LIFE-THREATENING SITUATIONS', SAY THE AMBULANCE SERVICE The statement from the London Ambulance Service said: We sent an ambulance crew at 8.30am but they were diverted to someone believed to be having a stroke. Unfortunately, we are incredibly busy and always prioritise patients in life-threatening situations. We are very sorry we could not be there sooner but we stayed in contact with the patient throughout and arrived at the scene in just over an hour. Advertisement
'She's bruised up and her face is still a little bit swollen but she's having some stitches removed soon.
'She normally walks up to Morrisons every morning but since the fall, she hasn't even left the house.
'I'm devastated by the whole situation - she could hardly talk or move. It's so upsetting to think about.'
A London Ambulance Service spokesman said: 'From the information provided by the caller, the patient was conscious, breathing and alert and was categorised as needing a response in 30 minutes.
'We sent an ambulance crew at 8.30am but they were diverted to someone believed to be having a stroke.
'Unfortunately, we are incredibly busy and always prioritise patients in life-threatening situations.
'We are very sorry we could not be there sooner but we stayed in contact with the patient throughout and arrived at the scene in just over an hour.'
According to the website ambulanceresponsetimes.co.uk, the median ambulance response time in the Sidcup area is seven minutes and 29 seconds.
A Greek farmer enraged at refugees tenting on his land has been filmed ploughing through their campsite with his tractor.
Claiming he needed to prepare the land for his cows, farmer Lazaros Oulis turned the field in Idomeni, Greece into soft soil while dozens of migrants stood by watching.
Footage of the incident showed him driving through litter and narrowly dodging tents before he was stopped by local police.
Lazaros Oulis ploughs through his field in Idomeni, which has been used as a refugee campsite over the winter
The enraged farmer claimed he had no problem with the refugees, but he had to prepare the field for his cows
A trail of ploughed dirt reveals where Mr Oulis has already driven through his field in Idomeni
A young boy watches as the enraged farmer attempts to plough through the campsite debris and rubbish
A group of migrants watch in surprise as Mr Oulis tears through the refugee camp on his tractor
Police later stopped him from continuing to plough the field, which he said he was necessary to provide for his cows
The land, which Mr Oulis owns, is located in the Idomeni campsite where refugees have for months gathered in the hope the nearby border to Macedonia will be reopened.
For the foreseeable future, the border will not open - and as winter turns into spring, signs of brewing tension have appeared among farmers who want to plow their fields.
Mr Oulis said: 'I need to plow my field. Not somebody else's field, mine! I have a business with 70-80 calves, I want to produce (food for them), feed them, because, financially, I can't take this anymore.
'I told some NGOs here that I would give them a couple of acres so they could build two large sheds and I could save the rest of my field, nobody paid attention to me.
'I don't have a problem with the (refugee) families, no problem at all. I could have been in their place. But I, also, have obligations.'
Some refugees pointed out that Mr Oulis had set up a canteen in the camp but that business had dropped off as other canteens had appeared with better prices.
However, many still showed understanding for the situation he was in.
'He is right, I say that he is right because it's his land.' said 32-year-old Syrian Reshal Hamdo. 'We don't know what we will do, this is not our country, it's not our land.'
Despite the border closure, more than 11,000 people remain in Idomeni, which was once a transit camp.
It has long since overflowed, with men, women and children enduring deplorable conditions in howling winds and pouring rain for days and weeks.
While hundreds have boarded buses heading to other, more organized camps that Greek authorities have been frantically setting up across the country, many insist they will not leave.
Lazaros Oulis ploughs his field - which has been used as a refugee camp for months - despite migrants still living on it
He was eventually forced to stop the ploughing by police as there were many small children nearby
Mr Oulis shows the trash left in his field by the makeshift refugee camp in Idomeni, Greece
He claimed he needed to prepare his land for his herd of cows ahead of the long hot summer
Meanwhile, the UN has called for legal safeguards to be in place before refugees are returned to Turkey under an agreement with the EU, while warning that conditions in Greece are deteriorating.
Days before Turkey is due to begin taking back illegal migrants from Greece on April 4 under the deal, fears are growing it will not begin on time with neither side being fully ready.
About 51,000 refugees and migrants are in Greece, where arrivals more than doubled on Tuesday to 766 from previous days, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said.
The spokesperson warned conditions on the islands of Lesbos and Samos - where three people were stabbed in rioting last night - and at Piraeus and Idomeni are worsening.
'The risk of panic and injury in these sites and others is real.'
It comes as Amnesty International accused Turkey of forcibly returning hundreds of Syrian refugees to their homeland since mid-January in a practice exposing the 'fatal flaws' in the EU agreement.
The organization says its research on the Turkish-Syrian border suggests that around 100 Syrians -- who often have not registered in Turkey - are expelled from Turkey each day.
Advocacy groups are concerned that the deal, which aims to stem the flow of illegal migrants and goes into effect April 4, threatens the rights of asylum seekers, and they question whether Turkey is a safe country for them.
The EU-Turkey deal stipulates the return to Turkey of any Syrian refugee arriving on the Greek islands to be offset by resettling a Turkey-based Syrian in the EU.
'Far from pressuring Turkey to improve the protection it offers Syrian refugees, the EU is in fact incentivizing the opposite,' said John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International's director for Europe and Central Asia.
The Ukrainian soldier also works as a surgeon in the city of Odessa
A Ukrainian woman who became a sniper in the fight against pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine has raised eyebrows by posting a series of glamorous photographs of herself on Facebook.
Amina Okueva, who also works as a surgeon in the city of Odessa, ditched her military fatigues for a stunning blue and grey dress and matching hijab for the photo shoot.
Amina, who is originally from Chechnya, fights alongside her husband Adam Okuev, who was once accused of organising an assassination attempt on Vladimir Putin.
Amina Okueva, who also works as a surgeon in the city of Odessa, ditched her military fatigues for a stunning blue and grey dress and matching hijab for the photo shoot
Amina has trained as a sniper fights alongside her husband Adam Okuev, who was once accused of organising an assassination attempt on Vladimir Putin
Before the war, she was an active in the Euromaidan movement before training as a sniper with a battalion in the Donbass region.
The photoshoot of the fighter shows off her more feminine side, away from the tough conditions on the frontline.
Posing in an elegant blue dress and a neatly wrapped hijab, Amina looks stunning in a series of images taken in the Ukrainian countryside.
The released photographs quickly went viral, attracting more than 8,000 likes on the social networking site.
Some users commented in what they saw as a drastic change from Amina's usual military-driven look - but admired her beauty and bravery.
Posing in an elegant blue dress and a neatly wrapped hijab, Amina (left) looks stunning in a series of images taken in the Ukrainian countryside. It makes a contrast from her more familiar green army fatigues (right)
Some users commented in what they saw as a drastic change from Amina's usual military-driven look - but admired her beauty and bravery
The photoshoot of the fighter shows off her more feminine side, away from the tough conditions on the frontline
One user commented: 'The steppe, the night, your traditions, clothing, all in one shot', another added: 'Well, certainly better than in uniform! A beautiful woman! It is a pity that instead of living a normal life and raising children, you have to take up arms.'
Amina said she had not expected the photos to provoke such a reaction.
She said: 'I did not expect that people would like it so much. To be honest, I do not feel too comfortable in such outfits.'
'I am really glad that you like it, my dear friends and followers.'
Amina said that a case of 'spring depression' had inspired her to pose for the photoshoot, adding that looking nice in lovely surroundings was the ideal cure.
Amina said she had not expected the photos to provoke such a reaction: 'I did not expect that people would like it so much. To be honest, I do not feel too comfortable in such outfits'
A young father has been sentenced to prison for shaking his baby son in frustration at not being able to get him to sleep, causing brain damage that killed the infant.
The seven-month-old died in an Sydney hospital in December 2013 after his life support was withdrawn, nearly a week after his young father violently shook him in a fit of frustration.
On Friday, in Sydney's District Court, the infant's father was sentenced to prison for inflicting the fatal injuries in a 'single unpremeditated act of momentary frustration and lack of control, done in ignorance of the potential for significant injury'.
Judge Peter Whitford sentenced the man - who cannot be named for legal reasons - to five years and three months, with a non-parole period of three years, With time already served, he could walk free before the year is over.
A father has been sentenced to five years and three months in prison after he picked up his baby son and shook him with such force that the infant suffered fatal injuries
'The circumstances of the present case are tragic beyond any sensible attempt to describe,' the judge said as he handed down his sentence.
The baby's mother - who, like her former partner, is a New Zealand citizen and was in her home country when the baby boy was fatally hurt - cried softly in the public gallery as her child's father was sentenced for manslaughter.
Judge Whitford described how the killer became increasingly stressed as the baby cried on the evening of December 2, 2013.
The offender tried to settle him and put him back to sleep, Judge Whitford said.
'He walked around the room with him rocking him and saying, 'go to sleep son' and 'go to bed'.
But the crying went on, and the young father snapped.
He bent down, picked up his son, held him around his hips and shook him three times with such force that the infant's head flopped back and forth.
As he did so he told the child: 'Shut the f*** up.'
He played a computer game as his child lay dying of significant head injuries and only called an ambulance the following day.
On Friday the infant's father was ordered behind bars in Sydney's District Court (pictured)
The baby was rushed to hospital but could not be saved.
The court heard the offender - who became a father at the age of 22 - had a history of antisocial behaviour and an intellectual impairment that meant that in many areas he functioned at a level equivalent to that of a primary-school aged child.
'He has acted in a gross breach of the trust inevitably placed in a parent as a consequence of the vulnerability of helpless infants and their dependence upon their parents or carers for their safety and wellbeing,' the judge said.
The British man who snapped a photo with the individual who hijacked an EgyptAir flight earlier this week said in an interview Friday it was all part of a 'very thought through process' to save his life and those of his fellow hostages.
Ben Innes appeared on Good Morning America and said that he believed hijacker Seif Eldin Mustafa might reconsider detonating his suicide vest if the two had an interaction and the man saw the passenger as a human being.
'I thought of several ways in which I could further interact with him, one of which was taking a selfie,' said Innes.
'I wanted him to understand I was human, that I wasn't just a nameless, faceless victim. That I was a real living person.
'And I wanted that to be clear so he would understand that.'
Reason: Ben Innes (above) said of his decision to take a selfie with a hijacker; 'I wanted him to understand I was human, that I wasn't just a nameless, faceless victim. That I was a real living person'
Assess the situation: He also said that he wanted to take the photo so he could see if Seif Eldin Mustafa had any more weapons or if there were other hijackers
Innes was one of just four passengers who, along with crew members, were kept on the plane as hostages by Mustafa after the flight was diverted to Cyprus' Larnaca airport.
Mustafa was ultimately captured following a six-hour standoff with authorities, who determined that the man's suicide vest was fake and equipped with no explosives.
Innes, who thought the vest was real at the time, said he also used the photo opportunity to assess the situation.
'I wanted to get a better look at the device. I needed to understand if he had any other weapons, if there were any other hijackers,' said Innes.
He later said; 'If I died, I died unafraid.'
There has since been much backlash over the photo, especially because Innes is smiling next to the hijacker in the picture while the man's 'suicide vest' is clearly showing, but it does not seem to bother the 26 year old, who is a healthy and safety worker.
'I have no regrets whatsoever about my actions on that plane,' said Innes.
Innes' most recent story is slightly different than the one he told earlier this week in an interview with The Sun, where he said of his decision; '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.'
Meanwhile, co-pilot Hamd al-Qaddah, 32, said in an interview on Thursday that the last group of hostages took pictures with Mustafa so they would be able to send them to Egyptian and Cypriot authorities.
'I was sending everything back to Cairo and sending everything to Cyprus via Whatsapp. So I was just taking pictures of him,' Qaddah told Newsweek.
'One of the air hostesses took a picture with him. She took the picture but we were lying to him, like "Oh right, can I have a picture with you?" So we can have how he looks, what he is wearing.'
Escape: Innes (far left) runs off the plane with two others after being released by Mustafa on Tuesday
Surrendering: Mustafa (seen above descending the steps of the plane) was found to have on a fake suicide vest
EgyptAir flight 181 was carrying 72 passengers from Alexandira to Cairo on Tuesday when Mustafa announced he was wearing a suicide vest and demanded that the plane be diverted to Cyprus.
Once the plane arrived in Cyprus, Mustafa made a multitude of demands, from wanting to see his Cypriot wife to meeting with members of the European Union.
Over the course of the hours-long standoff, authorities were able to negotiate for the release of most passengers until just the crew and four foreigners were left on the plane, including Innes.
They were all finally released after six hours, at which point Mustafa surrendered to police.
Ronnie Corbett shied away from meeting up with Jimmy Tarbuck because he did not want his friend to see him suffering from a form of motor neurone disease, the comedian said today. The pair are pictured left in 2009, and right on stage in 1966
Ronnie Corbett shied away from meeting up with Jimmy Tarbuck because he did not want his friend to see him suffering from a form of motor neurone disease, the comedian said today.
The beloved star died yesterday aged 85, as it emerged that officials were considering honouring him with a knighthood.
A panel that bestows the titles had received letters from a host of famous names supporting his nomination, and the diminutive funnyman was in line to become Sir Ronnie in the Queen's 90th Birthday Honours this summer.
It has also emerged that Corbett, best known for his double act with Ronnie Barker in The Two Ronnies, had been unwell since Christmas 2014 and was diagnosed with motor neurone disease three months later.
But he kept his ill health a secret from everyone apart from family and close friends. Writing in the Daily Mail today, his friend Michael Thornton said the entertainer had been fighting to stay alive until his golden wedding anniversary on May 30.
His adoring wife Anne, 82, nursed him to the end with the couple's daughters, Emma, 48, and Sophie, 47. She said yesterday: 'Ron wasn't just my husband, and the love of my life. He was also my best friend.'
Tarbuck, 76, fought back tears as he told Good Morning Britain he was aware of Corbett's illness, but had not seen his friend in the final weeks of his life.
Asked if he knew Corbett had motor neurone disease, Tarbuck said: 'Yes I did know he wasn't very well, and I knew exactly... sorry I'm getting a bit choked... what he had.
'And he didn't want to see you. He said 'I don't want to see you like this', but I'd speak to him on the phone. And when you did anything with him or for him, you always got a letter from him, that's how correct he was. But yes I did know, unfortunately, that he wasn't very well.'
Mr Thornton revealed in today's Mail that he had contacted the Cabinet Office to propose a knighthood 'several months ago'.
He said there was a 'virtual stampede on the part of celebrated figures' when it came to gathering letters in support of the nomination.
Tarbuck, 76, fought back tears as he told Good Morning Britain he was aware of Corbett's illness, but had not seen his friend in the final weeks of his life
The 'ultimate class act': Ronnie Corbett, pictured with wife Anne was remembered with an outpouring of affection after his death at 85
Corbett collapsed at a meal to celebrate his CBE in 2012 (pictured), but made a quick recovery and was later said be 'enjoying life and work'
At the time Corbett was 'fighting to survive' after being diagnosed with suspected amyotrophic lateral sclerosis - a form of motor neurone disease, Mr Thornton said.
According to the Daily Telegraph, a low-key campaign led by comedian David Walliams to include Corbett on the Queen's Birthday Honours List was launched amid concerns over his deteriorating health.
Yesterday, as tributes to the comic poured in, Tarbuck said he would 'never understand' why the 'ultimate class act' had not been given the honour, while other entertainers suggested it was inexplicable that he had been overlooked.
Tarbuck (left) and Corbett (second right) at a gala dinner in 1987 with (l-r) Henry Cooper, Princess Anne and Terry Wogan
Tarbuck (left) and Corbett (right) on stage together in 1966 during a filming for TV show Sunday Night At The London Palladium
MPs said it was 'a great sadness', particularly given the tainted gongs given to figures such as paedophile TV presenter Jimmy Savile and shamed banker Fred Goodwin.
Corbett was given a CBE in 2012, but never received a knighthood from the Queen despite a fans' campaign and overwhelming support from both the public and leading showbusiness figures.
Mr Thornton said that when he recently put the star forward to be knighted, there was a 'virtual stampede' from well-known names wanting to back the plan, including Dame Judi Dench and Sir Bruce Forsyth.
Devoted: British comedian Ronnie Corbett, best known for his role in The Two Ronnies, is survived by his wife of 50 years, Anne Hart, right
Tarbuck said yesterday: 'Why Ronnie Corbett, the Little Wizard, didn't receive a knighthood I will never understand. He was the ultimate class act, a sheer professional who was loved by everyone who worked with him and if that's not worth a Sir before your name, I don't know what is.'
Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes, who sits on the arts and media honours committee, told the Daily Telegraph: 'I think he should have been awarded a knighthood.'
Actress Anita Harris, 73, said a knighthood would have been 'a wonderful tribute to a man of genius and master of his craft'.
Last year Sir Bruce Forsyth who writes a personal tribute in today's Mail and who received the honour in 2011 said Corbett deserved to be a Sir for his part in The Two Ronnies, the Saturday night hit of the 1970s and 1980s which gave us comedy classics such as the 'four candles' sketch.
But despite the campaign for the comedian to be recognised, when the New Year's Honours were announced last year no official letter landed on the Corbetts' doormat. The entertainer's wife said then that the thought of being Lady Corbett 'would be very nice', but added: 'I guess not this time.'
In what is believed to be the last photo of Corbett in public, he was pictured with his wife leaving The Ivy restaurant in London in January
Corbett's friend Sir Bruce Forsyth (left in 1969) paid an emotional tribute to the star. Right: Corbett with Prince Charles in 2007
Corbett died with his wife Anne and daughters Sophie and Emma by is side. The family are pictured together at an after party in 2013
Tory MP Andrew Bridgen said yesterday: 'It is a great sadness that Ronnie Corbett was never recognised for his charity work and service given some of the people who have, including Jimmy Savile.' Labour MP Steve Pound referredg to the Two Ronnies' famous sign-off 'It's goodnight from me', 'And it's goodnight from him' sayng: 'It's a goodnight from him and he should have been a good knight.'
With typical modesty, Corbett had said that he did not expect to be knighted because 'there are others who are, perhaps, in line before me'. But he highlighted the fact that many entertainers miss out on the honour, and said that his partner Barker 'really ought to have got one'. Other much-loved comedians who failed to receive a knighthood have included Eric Morecambe, Frankie Howerd and Tommy Cooper.
The deep love felt for Corbett was clear from the tributes paid to him yesterday. On Facebook one fan wrote poignantly: 'I'll light four candles in your memory. For me you were Sir Ronnie for a long time. God bless.'
Close friend Sir Michael Parkinson, 81, said Corbett was 'a rare man' who was loved and trusted by his adoring audience for his family friendly comedy.
Corbett is most famous for his appearances with Ronnie Barker in The Two Ronnies in the 70s and 80s. His friend Barker died in 2005
Corbett with his wife Anne and two daughters Sophie and Emma, who is pictured holding Corbett's first grandchild, Robert, in 1997
He added: 'He was one of the giants of what's called the Golden Era of television who had the rare quality of likeability.
'All he had to do was walk on stage or appear on television and he had the audience with him. They loved him because they trusted him, thought he was a lovely guy and the kind of comedian you could sit and watch with all the family.
'He had with Anne, his wife, one of the great showbiz marriages, and she and his family will be devastated, as we all are.'
John Cleese, 76, who appeared with Corbett and Barker on David Frost's programme in the 1960s, wrote on Twitter: 'He had the best timing I've ever watched. He was a great, kind mentor and a wonderfully witty companion.'
FOUR CANDLES... IN LAUGHING MEMORY TO ONE OF THE GREATS Fans tweeted their own tributes to the Two Ronnies' celebrated Four Candles sketch... Advertisement
Flowers, tributes and four candles lay by the life-size portrait sculpture for comedian Ronnie Corbett in Charles Street, Croydon, south London, today (left). Right: Corbett and daughter Emma are pictured together attending a launch party at the Savoy, London in April 2012
... And the dubious dozen who WERE honoured
By Vanessa Allen for the Daily Mail
Ronnie Corbett was overlooked for a knighthood despite the honour being handed to dictators, political cronies and a predatory paedophile. Some of those who have been recognised include:
Billionaire Topshop tycoon Philip Green was dubbed a 'pariah' earlier this year after it emerged he had offered to pay only 80million towards the BHS pension deficit which has left thousands of current and former workers facing cuts in their retirement benefits. The shortfall is estimated at 571million.
Sir Philip, who was knighted in 2006 for 'services to the retail industry', has been dogged by controversy over the 400million he took out of BHS via special dividends paid to his wife Tina, who lives in the tax haven of Monaco.
Honoured: Topshop tycoon Philip Green (left), BBC presenter Jimmy Savile (centre), and disgraced former bank boss Fred Goodwin, right
BBC presenter Jimmy Savile was knighted in 1990. It has been ruled impossible to revoke the honour as it formally ended with his death even though he was since been unmasked as a predatory paedophile.
Disgraced former bank boss Fred Goodwin was stripped of his knighthood following the near-collapse of the Royal Bank of Scotland. His title was formally 'cancelled and annulled' by the Queen.
Cyril Smith was knighted after being nominated by Liberal leader David Steel, now Lord Steel, despite being alerted to claims that the former MP for Rochdale had subjected boys to humiliating abuse.
HBoS chief executive James Crosby asked to give up his knighthood after MPs found he sowed the 'seeds of destruction' at one of Britain's biggest banks.
Civil servant Lin Homer was dubbed 'Dame Disaster' after she presided over a series of scandals at the UK Border Agency and HMRC. She was awarded a damehood the female equivalent of a knighthood in this year's New Year's Honours.
Tainted gongs: Cyril Smith (left), HBoS chief executive James Crosby (centre) and Civil servant Lin Homer, dubbed 'Dame Disaster'
Recognised: Former head of MI6 John Scarlett, left, Anthony Blunt, centre, who was stripped of his knighthood, and Nicolae Ceausescu
John Scarlett, the former head of MI6, was knighted in 2007. As chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee, he oversaw the 'dodgy dossier' that helped to justify Tony Blair's disastrous involvement in the 2003 Iraq War. Anthony Blunt, one of the Cambridge spies, confessed to passing wartime intelligence to Soviet Russia and was stripped of his knighthood.
Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu was made an honorary knight of the Order of Bath but was stripped of the title in 1989, days before he was tried and executed by firing squad for crimes against the state. Robert Mugabe, the Zimbabwean president, received the same honorary knighthood during a 1994 state visit but was stripped of the honour in 2008 after Britain intensified sanctions over human rights violations and attacks on political opponents.
In the world of politics, Baroness Brady of Knightsbridge, who started her business career working for pornographer David Sullivan and now stars on The Apprentice, was made a Conservative peer two years ago.
Baroness Mone of Mayfair, who founded the lingerie firm Ultimo, was elevated to the Lords last year, also as a Tory peer, but business leaders have queried whether the honour was appropriate.
Sajid Javid promised steel workers he will do everything he can to save their 'absolutely vital' jobs as he met them face-to-face this afternoon but he also warned that they could be out of a job in just three weeks.
As the Business Secretary finally arrived at the UK's biggest steel plant in Port Talbot today, furious protesters confronted him by demanding to know if the Government is letting them 'go to the wall'.
He sought to reassure workers by saying he believed the 'time is there' to find a buyer for the stricken plant, adding: 'The industry is absolutely vital... absolutely vital'.
Mr Javid told around 800 workers waiting outside the plant that the Government is 'on your side' but failed to give a guarantee that their jobs would not be lost come what may.
And his efforts to calm fears of collapse in the steel industry were undermined after it emerged today that he spoke out in favour of allowing cheap Chinese steel into the UK just weeks ago.
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Sajid Javid (pictured right) promised steel workers he will do everything he can to save their jobs as he met them face to face this afternoon - but he also warned that they could be out of a job in just three weeks
Government documents also revealed that business ministers have held more meetings over how to curry favour with the Chinese than meetings on the British steel industry.
In a further blow to the Government, David Cameron, George Osborne and Mr Javid were all accused of lying over their claims they are doing 'everything we can' to save Britain's steel industry.
Mr Javid finally arrived at the Port Talbot plant this afternoon after cutting short his controversial trip to Australia to deal with the growing steel crisis.
One protester shouted: 'You're not going to let us to the wall?' Another added: 'Have we got an industry?'
But Mr Javid refused to say whether the plant would be saved. He said: 'Obviously there's a process and the most important next step, which we all agree on, everyone I've talked to today the Welsh Government, the unions, Tata itself is that whichever buyer comes forward, the UK Government and the Welsh Government will work closely with them to help sustain a long term future here.'
Mr Javid's flying visit to Port Talbot came after he faced calls to resign as Business Secretary for planning to turn his business trip to Australia into a family holiday.
On another day of chaos:
Sajid Javid signalled there were interested buyers keen to take over Tata Steel's UK business
David Cameron told reporters in Washington that it's 'right to do everything we can to secure the future' of steel plants across the UK
It emerged Javid had spoken out in favour of allowing cheap Chinese steel imports just weeks ago
He had also de fended the Government's move to block the EU imposing higher tariffs on cheap Chinese steel imports that were intended to protect European steel
But today he claimed the Government had never stopped the EU raising any tariff
Osborne insisted the Government was 'doing everything we practically can' to save the 40,000 jobs in jeopardy after Tata Steel announced plans to sell its entire UK business
But European steel chiefs said this was 'simply not true'
The Chancellor was also accused of 'kowtowing to China' while shunning British industry
It emerged that business ministers held just nine meetings on the UK steel industry since the election - compared to 12 meetings dedicated to securing Chinese trade
Javid faced calls to quit as Business Secretary after planning a holiday with his daughter
Sajid Javid sought to reassure steel workers that a buyer for the Tata Steel plant in Port Talbot would come forward within the next few weeks but could not give guarantees
Sajid Javid (pictured talking with steel workers in Port Talbot this afternoon) said the Government will work closely with whichever firm comes forward to buy Tata Steel's UK business, but refused to give any details of potential buyers
He was forced to fly home early after spending just 15 hours in Australia to deal with the shock decision by Tata to sell its loss-making UK business within weeks.
Mr Javid explained that he had decided to cut short his trip because of Tata's unexpectedly short time frame for selling off Port Talbot and its other assets in Britain.
As he left a meeting inside the plant, a group of banner waving steelworkers asked him what the Government was doing to save the industry.
David Cameron reiterated his support for steel workers across the UK, telling reporters in Washington today: 'It's right to do everything we can to secure the future of these sites.
'It's a very difficult situation, and people who pretend there's some simple easy answer in a world of massive overproduction and collapsing prices are not playing straight with you.'
He met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington.
Sajid Javid told steel workers in Port Talbot this afternoon that their jobs were 'absolutely vital' to the economy
Up to 7,000 steel workers at the Port Talbot plant face losing their jobs after Tata Steel announced plans to sell its entire UK business
Yesterday it was revealed that Britain led efforts to block EU tariffs that might have protected the industry from a flood of cheap Chinese imports.
Ministers opposed EU proposals earlier this year to put a 66 per cent tariff on cheap steel products, saying it would lead to higher prices for UK consumers.
Instead, the tariffs stayed at 9 per cent. Officials are now going back to Brussels to increase the tariffs which the EU did agree upon from 9 to 20 per cent.
Today it emerged that Mr Javid had defended the decision to oppose higher tariffs on Chinese rebar steel that might have protected Britain's steel industry from Chinese steel 'dumping'.
Today it emerged that Mr Javid had defended the decision to oppose higher tariffs on Chinese rebar steel that might have protected Britain's steel industry from Chinese steel 'dumping'.
Trade experts warned that the European Commission's levy of 13 per cent on rebar steel would not be high enough to stop the flood of Chinese imports but appearing before a committee of MPs in February, he dismissed demands to increase the tariffs to 'safeguard Britain's steel industry'.
He did so despite being warned that levies of 13 per cent on Chinese rebar steel - used to reinforce concrete - were a 'slap in the face' and would be 'totally inadequate' in the efforts to protect UK steel workers.
'The responsibility of government is to look at the overall impact on British industry and jobs,' Mr Javid told the Business Committee.
'If duties get disproportionate it would have an impact in Britain and elsewhere on consumers of steel. Those businesses tell us it will cost jobs and exports if duties got out of control.
David Cameron (pictured meeting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Washington today) reiterated his support for steel workers across the UK, telling reporters: 'It's right to do everything we can to secure the future of these sites
Sajid Javid headed to Port Talbot today to face the wrath of British steel workers (pictured alongside NHS staff today) after it emerged he spoke out in favour of cheap Chinese imports
George Osborne (pictured meeting Asda staff in Manchester today) was accused of prioritising trade links with China over support for the UK steel industry
'It's important to be led by evidence and get the right balance of duty required to correct the harm being done to the domestic market.
'To go further might in the short term look the right way to go to protect industry but you have to remember in Britain there are also companies that consume steel as part of the production process.'
Mr Javid now faces the humiliating prospect of rowing back on his opposition to higher tariffs and ministers are pushing EU officials to do more to deter cheap Chinese imports flooding the continent.
But today he appeared to contradict himself, claiming the Government had never stopped the EU raising tariffs and went on to call for Brussels officials to lift the levies to protect British steel.
'We haven't stopped the EU raising any tariff, in fact I would like to see the EU making sure that their tariffs are high enough to stop dumping or to remedy any challenges faced by the industry,' he said on his visit to Port Talbot.
'That's their current rule book, and I think that within their current rule book they can do more both in terms of speed, how quickly they look at these issues, but also in terms of the height of these tariffs themselves .'
Sajid Javid will visit the Port Talbot steel plant (pictured) today to tell workers he is 'on your side' but he is under pressure after it emerged the Government blocked moves to increase tariffs on Chinese imports, which are threatening the UK steel industry
Visiting Port Talbot steel plant today, where up to 7,000 jobs are at risk, he will seek to reassure workers by saying the Government is doing 'everything it can' to protect their jobs - words echoed by Chancellor George Osborne today.
But he was immediately contradicted by European steel chiefs this morning, who accused the UK Government of 'blocking' EU moves to combat cheap Chinese steel by lifting tariffs on imports.
Charles de Lusignan, a spokesman for the European Steel Association, said: 'The fact that the UK continues to block it means that when the Government says it's doing everything it takes to save the steel industry in the UK, but also in Europe, it's not.
SAJID JAVID FACES CALLS TO QUIT AS BUSINESS SECRETARY AFTER HE PLANNED FAMILY HOLIDAY Sajid Javid (pictured wearing a tuxedo as he attended a posh dinner at the Sydney Institute think tank yesterday) took his teenage daughter with him on his trade trip and planned a family holiday after his official duties were over Sajid Javid faced calls to quit as Business Secretary last night after it emerged he took his daughter on an official trip to Australia and planned a family holiday in the midst of Britain's mounting steel crisis. He was already under fire for taking the trip - and missing an emergency Downing Street talk yesterday - when Tata group put 40,000 jobs at risk and Britain's steel industry faced extinction. As his plane flies into Heathrow at 6.20am, he will face calls to resign after it emerged he had taken his 16-year-old daughter Sophia with him, and had planned to extend the trip for a few days. No mention was made of his daughter - who attends an 18,000-a-year private school in London - during briefings by Number 10 or the Department For Business. But the trip was cut short after just 15 hours on Australian soil, and he flew back for immediate crisis talks after it became clear thousands of jobs at Port Talbot, South Wales, and the industry as a whole are at risk. It was Stephen Kinnock, whose Aberavon constituency includes the Port Talbot plant where 7,000 jobs are at risk, who said Mr Javid should quit. 'If it is indeed true that Sajid Javid was not even in Australia for entirely work related reasons then I think that he probably should consider his position,' he told MailOnline. 'Sajid Javid's choices in this matter reflect a pattern of behaviour that we have seen from this government since 2010, it is a pattern of behaviour based on a mixture of indifference and incompetence.' Mr Javid, who was pictured wearing a tuxedo at a posh dinner in Sydney, paid for his daughter's costs on the trip, which lasted barely a day. He landed back in the UK earlier this morning and headed straight to Port Talbot. Advertisement
'It's simply not true,' he added. His boss, Axel Eggert, said the UK is the 'ringleader' among a minority of EU countries that is preventing the European Commission from protecting the industry.
A French diplomat added: 'In reality, the UK has been opposing an overhaul of the EU's anti-dumping system.' In February, Business Secretary Sajid Javid told MPs that punitive tariffs 'simply do not work' and would 'drive up prices'.
The Government was also accused of prioritising trade links with China over support for the UK steel industry.
Government records show that between last May's general election and December 31, just nine meetings were dedicated to how to stop the collapse of Britain's steel industry - compared to 12 on how to secure more investment from Chinese firms.
Former deputy prime minister Nick Clegg placed the blame for the plight of steel in the UK squarely at the feet of the Chancellor.
'George Osborne has put his special relationship with China above the UK's best interests,' the former Liberal Democrat leader said.
'The Conservative Government have continually failed to take action and missed many opportunities to help the UK steel industry, such as taking steps to prevent dumping of cheap Chinese steel on the UK market.
'The Government must now act before more steel jobs across the UK are put at risk.'
Shadow Business Secretary Angela Eagle said: 'George Osborne is more interested in kowtowing to China than protecting a great British industry and its workers.'
But this morning Mr Osborne rejected the claims.
'The UK has been leading the way in Europe in convening meetings of ministers to deal with the steel situation,' he said.
'Of course, this is a global crisis because the steel price has collapsed and, look, we are, of course, doing everything we practically can, everything we possibly can to help families affected, the steelworkers affected.
'Both at home, where we are cutting taxes on energy and internationally, where we are working with others to make sure there are tariffs on unfairly cheap steel, you have got a government doing everything it can to help the steel industry.'
Mr Javid is under mounting pressure over the Government's response to the steel crisis.
Last night MailOnline revealed that he faced calls to quit as Business Secretary after it emerged he took his daughter on an official trip to Australia and planned a family holiday in the midst of Britain's mounting steel crisis.
He was already under fire for taking the trip - and missing an emergency Downing Street talk yesterday - when Tata group put 40,000 jobs at risk and Britain's steel industry faced extinction.
As his plane flies into Heathrow at 6.20am, he will face calls to resign after it emerged he had taken his 16-year-old daughter Sophia with him, and had planned to extend the trip for a few days.
No mention was made of his daughter - who attends an 18,000-a-year private school in London - during briefings by Number 10 or the Department For Business.
But the trip was cut short after just 15 hours on Australian soil, and he flew back for immediate crisis talks after it became clear thousands of jobs at Port Talbot, South Wales, and the industry as a whole are at risk.
It was Stephen Kinnock, whose Aberavon constituency includes the Port Talbot plant where 7,000 jobs are at risk, who said Mr Javid should quit.
The sale of Tata's steel plants in the UK puts 15,000 jobs in jeopardy at plants in South Wales, Yorkshire and Northamptonshire
Sajid Javid (pictured at a posh dinner at the Sydney Institute think tank in Australia yesterday) has been heavily criticised after it emerged he was planning a family holiday after his official trade trip was over
'If it is indeed true that Sajid Javid was not even in Australia for entirely work related reasons then I think that he probably should consider his position,' he told MailOnline.
'Sajid Javid's choices in this matter reflect a pattern of behaviour that we have seen from this government since 2010, it is a pattern of behaviour based on a mixture of indifference and incompetence.'
Mr Javid, who was pictured wearing a tuxedo at a posh dinner in Sydney, paid for his daughter's costs on the trip, which lasted barely a day.
He landed back in the UK earlier this morning and headed straight to Port Talbot.
More than 3,000 queue for job at new Aston Martin plant opening 18 miles from closure-threatened South Wales Tata steelworks
More than 3,000 people queued for a job at an Aston Martin factory which is opening just 18 miles away from the closure-threatened Tata steelworks.
Job hunters flooded to a recruitment day for the manufacturer after it announced it needed 750 people to staff its new plant, which is opening in 18 months near Barry, south Wales.
Some applicants started queuing more than two hours ahead of the 11am event, with the queue still strong six hours later.
It comes as Tata Steel announced it is planning to sell all its loss-making UK business - putting tens of thousands of jobs at risk.
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More than 3,000 people queued for a job at an Aston Martin factory which is opening 18 miles away from the closure-threatened Tata steelworks
Organisers of the Aston Martin event said they were shocked at the level of interest with pictures showing the long queue snaking around the recruitment offices at the Cardiff and Vale College.
Job-hunter Phil Humphries said the Aston Martin jobs were giving people in the area hope.
The 32-year-old added: 'It would be great to see luxury cars being made here because things are looking so bad for the steelworkers.'
The firm is employing people to build its DBX crossover model. The first recruitment drive was to look for paint sprayers, sewing machinists, leather trimmers and build technicians.
Job hunters flooded to a recruitment day for the manufacturer after it announced it needed 750 people to staff its new plant, which is opening in 18 months near Barry, south Wales
Some applicants started queuing more than two hours ahead of the 11am event, with the queue still strong six hours later
A map shows the distance between the Aston Martin factory and the steelworks, which is facing closure
Aston Martin HR boss Hazel Martin said the firm was 'delighted' at the level of interest.
She added: 'We have had over 3,000 people looking for work ranging from apprentices waiting to start their career to the more experienced and the quality of candidates has been excellent.'
Aston Martin is also looking for 'highly skilled' workers to make the 160,000 car, which will target younger drivers.
The factory site at RAF St Athan, which was previously earmarked for an Ministry of Defence aircraft centre, was sold to Aston Martin by the Welsh Government.
Organisers of the Aston Martin event said they were shocked at the level of interest with pictures showing the long queue snaking around the recruitment offices - and an Aston Martin - at the Cardiff and Vale College
Aston Martin HR boss Hazel Martin said the firm was 'delighted' at the level of interest. Part of the queue can be seen, above
It beat more than 20 locations across the world to secure the manufacturing contract.
Construction at the new plant will start next year and vehicle production is due to get under way in 2020.
The news about Tata Steel came after company bosses meeting in Mumbai decided to sell its UK business, which makes a loss of around 1m a day.
It rejected a two-year, 100m plan to restructure the Port Talbot plant because it was 'unaffordable' and instead put at least 15,000 jobs at risk.
It comes as Tata Steel announced it was considering plans to sell all its loss-making UK business - putting tens of thousands of jobs at risk. Above, the steelworks in Port Talbot
The firm rejected a two-year, 100m plan to restructure the Port Talbot plant because it was 'unaffordable' and instead put at least 15,000 jobs at risk. Above, workers from the plant listen to Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who visited them yesterday
A HIGHER UNEMPLOYMENT RATE THAN THE UK WITH 88,000 PEOPLE OUT OF WORK The Welsh unemployment rate was at around 5.9 per cent - equating to around 88,000 people - in December last year. It was slightly higher than the UK-wide statistic, which was around 5.2 per cent at the same time. Tata Steel was one of a handful of large businesses in Wales, with around 18,000 jobs thought to rely on the works. Other big companies include Airbus, which employs 6,000 people at a factory in Flintshire, and Admiral, which is thought to have around 5,000 on its books in Wales. Advertisement
Their decision forced David Cameron to fly home from a family holiday in Lanzarote and Business Secretary Sajid Javid to return from a trade trip in Australia in a bid to save the industry.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the Government was in 'disarray over what action to take' but his calls for nationalisation were rejected by ministers.
Speaking from Australia before his return, Mr Javid said: 'I don't think nationalisation is going to be the solution because I think everyone would want a long-term viable solution.
'And if you look around Europe and elsewhere I think nationalisation is rarely the answer, particularly if you take into account the big challenges the industry faces.'
The Russian equivalent of the FBI has opened a murder probe into the disappearance of an American student missing for almost a week in Siberia.
Colin Madsen, 25, vanished from a tourist resort guest house in the early hours of Sunday, and an intensive search by police and volunteers has found no trace of him.
Friends of the American man have been questioned using a polygraph by the Russian Investigative Committee, responsible for investigating serious crime.
The murder probe has been launched despite there being so far 'no hard evidence that he was killed,' 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
Volunteers are distributing flyers in Russian and English in the hope of helping to find the missing Jefferson City, MO, student
Fruitless: The search in the remote area involving volunteers and Russian emergency authorities has yet to find any trace of Madsen
'During the preliminary check, we have not confirmed that the missing young man was about to leave the resort village and his friends,' said a statement from the local branch of the committee in the mainly Buddhist Republic of Buryatia in southern Siberia.
'These and other established facts indicate that a crime may have been committed against him.
'Therefore, Tunkinsky Interdistrict Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee in the Republic of Buryatia opened a criminal case on the grounds of a crime under Part. 1, Art. 105 of the Criminal Code (Murder).'
A Russian friend of Madsen revealed he was among those questioned using a polygraph, while forensic experts also scoured the guest house for traces of blood.
'They came yesterday, and checked the biological traces,' said Vlad Rasputin, 20.
He claimed the police specialists ' have not found anything' .
'They are interrogating all us with a polygraph,' he said.
The Emergencies Ministry (EMERCOM) is using drones to search the area around Arshan, which includes the Peak of Love, a mountain that Madsen and his friends had been due to start climbing two hours after he disappeared.
Spiritual associations: The Peak of Love is revered by local Buddhists.
Last seen: This was the guest house in the remote Siberian area where Madsen was last seen. Murder detectives have searched it for blood
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
'We plan to involve additional equipment - Phantom-3 unmanned aerial vehicles,' said an EMERCOM source.
'With their help will be checked the forest, ravines, the bed of the Kyngarga River and other places which are hard to reach.'
A Russian group is seeking to raise cash for the search, reported siberiantimes.com which gave details of how to make donations.
Russian friends Madsen, from Jefferson City, Missouri, say he was known to venture out at night in Irkutsk, where he studied at a Russian linguistics university.
But when he disappeared he did not take his cellphone or his coat despite subzero temperatures.
He and his friends had agreed to rise at 5am to climb the 2,412-metre high Peak of Love (7,913 feet), a mysterious mountain in the Eastern Sayan range.
Even local shamans - who blame tourists for getting into trouble because they do not respect ancient traditions and honour 'sacred' sites - are helping with the search.
Madsen's mother has also left Jefferson City, MI, to be in the remote region of southern Siberia, close to the border with Mongolia.
The mountain he and his friends had come to climb is a landmark which is close to Arshan, where Madsen had been staying.
Donald Trump may 'cherish' women, but they don't appear to return the gesture.
A Gallup poll released Friday shows that 70 per cent of American women have an unfavorable view of the billionaire Republican front-runner.
That number has never dipped below 58 per cent since Gallup added Trump to its daily tracking poll last July.
But it's trended in the wrong direction for Trump even since, reaching a new high on Friday.
Just 23 per cent of women nationwide say they have a favorable view of him.
TRUMP'S FEMALE PROBLEM: Gallup's latest poll numbers show a whopping 70 per cent of American women have an unfavorable view of the Republican front-runner
LATEST SLAP: Trump said in an MSNBC town hall broadcast on Wednesday that women should face 'punishment' for having abortions if the practice were to be outlawed
'I will be the best thing that ever happened to women,' Trump has said. 'I cherish women.'
But he has become embroiled in a seemingly never-ending series of controversies that reflect poorly on his standing with the fairer sex.
Trump has feuded with Fox News Channel host Megyn Kelly since the first GOP debate last August, infamously hinting that her menstrual cycle drove her to ask him tough questions.
And more recently, he accused a reporter of fabricating her account of an physical altercation with his campaign manager Corey Lewandowski on March 8.
His latest unforced error involved a claim on Wednesday in Wisconsin that women who have abortions should be punished if the controversial practice should ever be outlawed.
GETTING WORSE: 2 in 3 Americans dont like Trump Donald Trump will be the most unpopular presidential candidate in history if he wins the Republican nomination, according to another poll. The 69-year-old is rated unfavorable by 67 per cent of Americans despite having a strong lead in his partys primary process so far. It puts the billionaire property magnate well ahead of George HW Bush, who is the only other candidate to come close with an unpopularity score of 57 per cent in the 1992 election. The survey by the Washington Post and ABC News revealed that even among Republicans and Right-leaning independent voters, nearly half do not like him. He is also viewed unfavorably by three quarters of American women in that poll. Trump is trailing rival Ted Cruz ahead of Tuesdays vote in Wisconsin by ten points. Advertisement
BETTER, BUT NOT GOOD: Trump's numbers among American men are better, but trending in the wrong direction
GENDER WARS: Trump courted controversy after claiming that reporter Michelle Fields (left) made up her claim that his campaign manager physically battered her
Facing a torrent of outrage, including criticism from pro-life groups, Trump quickly walked his opinion back. He said Thursday night during a broadcast of 'Hannity' on Fox News that 'it could be that I misspoke.'
The reporter, Michelle Fields, filed a criminal complaint against Lewandowski, and police in Jupiter, Florida have issued a 'probable cause' report asking prosecutors to charge him with simple battery.
A group of 16 female journalists and political analysts stoked Trump's female problem this week with an open letter demanding the campaign manager's ouster.
Gallup's overall 'negative' number for Trump has steadily worsened since he officially launched his presidential campaign last year with a dramatic press conference at his New York City landmark Trump Tower.
But among Republican women, his numbers are better. Forty-nine per cent say they have a favorable view of Trump, compared to 46 percent who disagree.
That suggests Trump can weather his storm of political correctness through the GOP primary season but that he could hit the rocks in a general election.
Republican and Republican-leaning men have a far more positive view of Trump, favoring him by a 61-36 margin.
Gallup's numbers are in line with other polls, which put his unfavorable rating with women between 67 per cent and 74 per cent.
'Those are stunningly unfavorable numbers. It would be tremendously difficult for Donald Trump to win the general with those kinds of numbers,' Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University poll, told Politico on Thursday.
' eaters and feed on deer fawn and other piglets
Deer hunters are facing unwanted competition as feral hogs in Louisiana threaten the whitetail deer population. The wild hogs are known for spreading disease and killing and eating deer fawns.
A population boom of feral hogs across the US is threatening the deer population as hunters face unwanted competition with the wild beasts that spread disease and kill and eat deer fawns.
Particularly in Louisiana, where there are nearly 700,000 feral hogs, hunters and wildlife officials say they are taking a toll on the whitetail deer herd, according to FoxNews.com.
Deer hunter Justin Lanclos, 33, told Fox that if there are hogs in 'your hunting area, you are absolutely not going to see deer'.
A population boom of feral hogs (pictured) across the US is threatening the deer population as deer hunters face unwanted competition with the wild beasts that spread disease and kill and eat deer fawns
Feral hogs (pictured) are very adaptable and highly destructive. The wild hogs spread several diseases and bacteria such as leptospirosis, which can infect and kill other animals like deer
He said that since deer are 'extremely smart and elusive' and they don't 'like to occupy the same area as hogs'.
Jim LaCour, the state wildlife veterinarian for the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, told FoxNews.com that the hogs are in 'every habitat in the state'.
'They're very adaptable and also highly destructive,' LaCour said.
The pigs can weigh up to 500 pounds and according to LaCour, they are 'opportunistic' eaters.
They feast on anything crossing their path, including deer fawn, other piglets and dead animals.
LaCour told Fox that the hogs carry several diseases, such as leptospirosis, which can infect or kill other animals like deer.
He said that hogs move diseases and parasites 'across the landscape' and the leptospirosis bacteria can 'cause abortion in the deer'.
LaCour added that the bacteria can also kill an adult deer or 'people'.
Feral swine are an invasive species and were first introduced to North America by Spanish settlers in the 1500s as a source of food, according to the US Department of Agriculture.
They can multiply faster than any other large mammal. Wild hogs can reproduce by the time they are 6 months old and can have two litters of four to 12 piglets every 12-15 months.
Feral swine damage crops by consuming them or by their rooting, trampling, and wallowing behaviors, which can destroy fields or reduce yield.
Field crops commonly damaged by feral swine include sugar cane, corn, grain sorghum, wheat, oats, peanuts, and rice, among others.
The hogs can multiply faster than any other large mammal, producing by the time they are 6 months old. The mammals are destructive to agriculture by their rooting, trampling and wallowing behaviors, which can destroy fields (pictured)
Don Gresham said the hogs in Texas are having a lot of babies 'because there's more food for them to eat'. In one night, Gresham caught 54 feral hogs in a single trap placed on his family's property. Pictured are feral hogs in a trap
Free-ranging populations of feral swine exist in at least 35 states, and the nationwide population is estimated at approximately 6 million animals.
States with the highest numbers of feral swine include, California, Florida, Oklahoma, and Texas.
In Texas, the number of feral hogs may get even worse as the state's weather leads to a huge population boom, according to NBC.
Don Gresham, owner of Goin Fencing, a company that sells advanced hog traps across the country, told NBC that the hogs are having a lot of babies 'because there's more food for them to eat'.
In just one night, Gresham caught 54 feral hogs in a single trap placed on his family's property in Montague County.
'Out of 16 hogs, we had 38 little hogs with them that was under four weeks old,' said Gresham.
Texas is already home to nearly 2.6 million feral hogs, which cause an estimated $52 million in agricultural damage each year.
Victoria Reid, 60, was arrested after allegedly shooting her husband in the testicles in a row over an alleged affair
A 60-year-old woman has been arrested after allegedly shooting her husband in the testicles in a row over an alleged affair.
Victoria Reid, from Melbourne, Florida, is accused of shooting Jim Reid, also aged 60, in the groin on Wednesday.
She demanded her husband of 16 years sit on the sofa during a blazing row in which she is said to have accused him of being unfaithful.
Reid allegedly pulled out a weapon and taunted her husband with it, threatening to shoot him in the face and chest, officials told Click Orlando.
She told Mr Reid that she wanted to maim him and give him post-traumatic stress disorder, which she suffers from herself, according to Brevard County Sheriff's Office.
The woman allegedly shot her husband in his left knee, but the bullet ricocheted up his thigh and lodged in his testicles.
His condition is not known.
Reid was arrested and charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, aggravated domestic violence, false imprisonment and firing a weapon inside a home.
She is being held in Brevard County Jail on a $35,000 bond.
It featured logos for the extreme far-right United Patriots Front group
Banner was held up by Collingwood fans and read 'STOP THE MOSQUES'
An anti-Islamic banner displayed at Friday night's Collingwood-Richmond AFL match has been met with outrage with Collingwood president Eddie McGuire calling for those responsible to be banned from attending games.
The banner was unfurled during the second quarter match at the MCG in Melbourne and read 'GO PIES! STOP THE MOSQUES' with a prominent logo of the extreme far-right political group United Patriots Front.
Both the AFL and Collingwood condemned the banner and said the patrons responsible were evicted by security.
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The banner reads 'GO PIES, STOP THE MOSQUES' and features two logos of the extreme far-right political group United Patriots Front
Collingwood president Eddie McGuire said the club would help police with an investigation, according to the AFL website.
'If they have anything to do with our club, they'll be banned,' he said.
'Get these people and make an example of them, they should be banned for life,' he told The Age.
'Get these people and make an example of them, they should be banned for life' - Eddie McGuire condemned the banner
Benjamin Solah posted an image of the banner to Twitter and wrote 'Disgusting that this banner was displayed at #AFLPiesTigers. Are @CollingwoodFC going to come out and condemn it?'
The post was met with a barrage of tweets condemning the banner, labeling it 'disgusting'.
A video taken at the match and posted to the UPF Facebook page with the caption 'Rise Without Fear' shows the banner being hoisted up below one of the MCG's large LED screens.
'If they have anything to do with our club, they'll be banned' - Collingwood president Eddie McGuire said the club would help police with an investigation
Last month UPF chairman Blair Cottrell (pictured) was photographed eating halal food at a Melbourne shopping centre
Others called on the AFL and Collingwood to act and issue life bans from matches to those involved in displaying the banner
Others called on the AFL and Collingwood to act and issue life bans from matches to those involved in displaying the banner.
'Don't promote these clowns. They're a handful of cretins with no power unless you give it to them,' one person wrote.
'Not to mention how the afl can let this be displayed below their scoreboard #AFLPiesTigers' another person wrote.
The AFL issued a statement saying the actions 'no place in society' and the league would also work with police.
'The AFL is aware that an offensive banner was displayed at the MCG during tonight's round two game between Richmond and Collingwood,' a League spokesperson said.
'Match-day security removed the banner when they became aware of it and evicted the patrons responsible.
The group regularly post videos and images to their Facebook page to promote their slogans and messages that primarily discriminates Muslims
'The AFL condemns the behaviour in the strongest terms and such actions have no place in society, and not in our game.'
An MCG spokesperson said the offensive nature of the banner breached conditions of entry.
The UPF campaign heavily against Islamic immigration, proposed mosques and halal food.
Last month chairman Blair Cottrell was photographed eating halal food at a Melbourne shopping centre.
The group regularly post videos and images to their Facebook page to promote their slogans and messages that primarily discriminates against Muslims.
The Prime Minister grinned briefly as she entered Downing Street after a run in the central London fog this morning as MailOnline can reveal that all her 'In Liz we Truss' merchandise was expunged. The party's cups, travel mugs, bags and T-shirts celebrating her election 45 days ago, each costing between 14.95 and 24,95, have been deleted from the website and pulled from sale. Wearing her gym kit and muddy trainers, the outgoing Tory leader, now considered the most disastrous in party history, gave a wry smile at police as she skipped into the back door of No 10 at around 8am. She will spend her last weekend as PM at Chequers, No 10 has said. The UK's shortest serving PM will still receive severance pay to the tune of 18,860 - equal to 419.11 for each of the 44 days she served. She also earned 10,000 in that time because he ministerial salary went up. Ms Truss is beginning her final week as Prime Minister as her rivals circle to take her job - but there is also increasing anger about the cash and benefits she is leaving with and demands for her to forgo them. She will now also be entitled to claim up to 115,000-a-year in an allowance for former Prime Ministers. Her predecessors Sir John Major, Sir Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson are all believed to have claimed it. Ms Truss will also benefit from a taxpayer-funded pension as a former minister and Prime Minister. Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer today joined calls for Ms Truss to reject her allowance and hand back any payout, declaring that she had 'not earned the right' to keep it. He said: 'She should turn it down. I think that's the right thing to do. She's done 44 days in office, she's not really entitled to it, she should turn it down and not take it'.
A 30-year-old woman has been arrested after her friend's son died after sustaining injuries in her care.
Brittany Ingrassi was watching five-month-old Aiden Lopez on March 22 when paramedics were called to a home on the 43400 block of Gadsen Ave in Lancaster, California.
The boy was not breathing by the time emergency responders showed up at the scene, and they noted that he had serious head trauma and bruising to his upper torso.
Aiden was rushed to the hospital, but died four days later from his injuries.
Tragic: Five-month-old Aiden Lopez died on March 26, four days after being rushed to the hospital for injuries reportedly sustained in his baby sitter's care
Since baby Aiden's death, Ingrassi - who has been described as a long-time friend of the boy's father - has been arrested and charged with one count of assault on a child becoming comatose/paralyzed and one count of child abuse with an allegation that the defendant personally inflicted great bodily injury on the victim who was under the age of five.
She is currently being held on $1million bail at the Century Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood,California.
Her next court appearance is scheduled for April 15, at which point she will be arraigned.
Meanwhile, a GoFundMe has been set up by a woman who says she is baby Aiden's grandmother.
'He was a beautiful boy with a smile that would light up a room,' a post on the fund reads.
'Should there be any excess funds, donations will be made in Aidens name to charitable organizations that help children who are in need.'
Anyone with information about the incident is being asked to call the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department at 323-890-5500.
Anonymous tips can also be called into Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477).
Three women believed to be responsible for a violent beating that occurred earlier this month in South Carolina have been picked up by police.
Arlinda Craft, 18, Anns Leigh Hill, 19, and Megan Williams, 20, were arrested and charged with second-degree assault and battery by a mob for allegedly attacking a woman on March 15 by the banks of the Saluda River.
The Columbia Police Department was able to make the arrest thanks to a video of the incident, which shows three women in bikinis jumping on top of the victim and striking her repeatedly on the face and body.
The victim, who lost consciousness during the fight, was treated for a number of injuries including lacerations and a concussion according to police.
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Brutal: women have been charged with second-degree assault and battery by a mob for allegedly attacking a woman on March 15 by the Saluda River (victim above in yellow bathing suit)
Charged: Anns Leigh Hill (left) and Megan Williams (right) were arrested by police in Columbia, South Carolina earlier this month
The State first obtained the video of the brawl, which was submitted by the victim. It is not clear who filmed the assault.
The women were booked into the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center but have all been released according to officials.
All three have previous arrests, with Williams having been charged with drunk driving, public disorderly conduct and shoplifting and Hill cited for drunk driving, possession or sale of a stolen vehicle and possession of less than 1 gram of methamphetamine or cocaine.
Craft meanwhile pleaded guilty just this past January to third-degree assault and battery after attacking a teenager.
WFSB reports that Craft became enraged this past November when an unidentified 17-year-old liked one of her boyfriend's photos on Instagram and began striking her in the face as some of the people inside the home filmed the incident.
The attack, which lasted over a minute, left the girl with black-eyes, bruises, and cuts according to her mother.
The victim's mother also claims that after the beating Craft shared a photo of her bloody hands on Twitter.
Craft, who works at Hooters according to her Facebook, was given a sentence of $500 or 30 days in jail after pleading guilty to that assault.
She has also been arrested in the past for possession of drugs with intent to distribute near school property and possession of cocaine and LSD.
Double trouble: Arlina Craft, a Hooters waitress who was charged in the incident (mugshot right), pleaded guilty in January to assault after beating up a teenager who liked her boyfriend's Instagram photo (mugshot left)
Awful: Video of the incident shows three women in bikinis pouncing on another women and hitting her repeatedly in the face 9above)
Bad shape: The 20-year-old victim, who lost consciousness during the fight, suffered lacerations, a concussion and broke her nose
The 20-year-old victim in this latest attack was sitting by the river with some co-workers when Craft and her friends attacked according to the incident report she gave police.
In addition to her concussion and lacerations she also suffered a broken nose in the fight.
The victim told The State she knew the three girls from high school, and that no one tried to help her at any point during the attack.
'No one defended me, out of the 30 people that were hanging around - which is really pathetic in my eyes,' she said.
A man on the video can actually be heard telling others not to get involved and try and break up the women.
The victim said the fight began when Williams walked up to her and asked why she had been talking about her, at which point one of the women picked her up by the hair and the other two began to hit her.
Ramy Williams, a friend of the victim, said; 'Seeing the aftermath was just insane: the way that she had blood all over her face, two black eyes, you can tell that she's completely messed up in the face.'
Michaella McCollum Connolly, pictured in 2013, was released effectively on parole on Thursday night
Convicted drugs mule Michaella McCollum Connolly, one of the 'Peru Two', has been released from prison, her solicitor has confirmed.
McCollum, from Northern Ireland, and Melissa Reid, from Scotland, were imprisoned in 2013 for six years and eight months after admitting trying to smuggle cocaine worth 1.5 million from Peru to Spain.
The 23-year-old from Dungannon, Co Tyrone, was released effectively on parole on Thursday night after serving two years and three months.
'I can confirm Michaella has been released from jail and I'm waiting to hear the outcome of the judicial process,' said Kevin Winters, McCollum's solicitor, describing her prison conditions as 'horrendous'
It is not yet known whether the terms of her release will allow her to return home or if she will have to remain in Peru for some time.
McCollum was freed under new legislation on early prison release introduced in the South American country last year.
Preuvian authorities agreed to let both 23-year-old women serve the remainder of their sentences in the UK, but the pair still remain in the South American country.
A judicial process will now determine what, if any, conditions are attached to McCollum Connolly's effective parole, it is understood. Moves were being made to repatriate her to Northern Ireland.
McCollum was released from prison at 5pm on Thursday following a successful application for parole, Mr Winters said.
The solicitor stressed she was not freed under any repatriation scheme or other protocol between Peru and the UK and that a pending judicial hearing would determine the conditions of her parole.
'At this stage it remains unclear when Michaella may be eligible to return home,' he added.
'That will be a matter for the court and a pending judicial hearing to determine the conditions of her parole.
'We are working with her lawyers in Peru and hope to be in a position to clarify further, as soon as possible.'
Northern Irish Michaella McCollum Connolly and Melissa Reid from Scotland were jailed for six years and eight months in 2013 after they were caught with cocaine worth 1.5million hidden in their luggage at Lima Airport
McCollum (picturedin 2013) is not freed under any repatriation scheme or other protocol between Peru and the UK and a pending judicial hearing would determine the conditions of her parole
Meanwhile, Reid, from Lenzie, Glasgow, is still in Ancon 2 prison as she has asked for a prison transfer to Scotland, rather than parole.
While McCollum Connolly's legal team is applying for her to be repatriated to Northern Ireland, she may have to serve parole in Peru.
This means that while not behind bars, McCollum Connolly would have to stay in Peru for the remainder of her six years and eight month sentence.
Michaella left the prison as part of a supervised release on parole. Its called semi libertad in Peru,' a Prison Service spokeswoman said.
If she complies with all the conditions then she wont have to go back to prison and the process for her of completing her sentence will continue here in Peru.
The other woman [Reid'] didnt leave jail because she is seeking a prison transfer to her home country.'
McCollum Connolly's parole release comes three months after she was struck down with an unknown tropical disease at the Ancon 2 prison, north of the capital Lima.
'Michaella has been brought to the hospital in the prison. She has a tropical illness but we don't know what it is,' an inmate said.
'We really hope she is ok. This [illness] is pretty regular in here, especially with the foreigners.'
According to an inmate, McCollum Connolly had been popular with the other prisoners and learned to speak Spanish while serving her time at Ancon 2 prison, north of the capital Lima
As of June last year, the 23-year-old women were to be allowed to serve the remainder of their prison sentences in the UK, but the pair still remain in South America
According to the inmate, McCollum Connolly had been popular with the other prisoners and learned to speak Spanish while serving her time.
The pair had previously been held at Lima's Virgen de Fatima prison but were moved to the Ancon 2 prison, where horrific conditions reportedly had McCollum crammed in to a cell with 30 other prisoners with extremely poor sanitation and toilet facilities.
Last year, Stormont Justice Minister David Ford approved an application for the repatriation of McCollum on a number of issues, including the difficulty encountered in maintaining family contact.
McCollum, from Dungannon, and Reid, from Glasgow, were caught with the haul at Lima airport on August 6 2013 attempting to fly to Spain.
They had claimed they were forced into carrying the drugs but pleaded guilty to charges later that year.
The pair were caught trying to board a flight with 24lb (11kg) of cocaine in food packets hidden inside their luggage.
An ex-prison guard who was accused of killing his wife after a New Year's Eve party four years ago has been found not guilty of her murder.
Tom Fallis, 38, was charged with second-degree murder after wife Ashley Fallis was shot dead at their home in Greeley, Colorado, following a heated argument in 2012.
The jury deliberated for less than four hours before the verdict was reached at the Weld District Court and Tom hugged both members of his defense team.
Tom Fallis hugs a member of his defense team after being found not guilty at the Weld District Court in Greeley
Attorney Iris Eytan (pictured hugging Tom) wiped tears from her eyes and thanked the jury after the verdict was reached
Attorney Iris Eytan then wiped tears from her eyes and thanked the jury, reported ABC News.
Ashley's family, who were also in attendance, held hands in anticipation of the verdict before fleeing the courtroom looking upset and angry, according to the paper.
Authorities initially said Ashley had committed suicide but Tom was later accused of her second-degree murder in November 2014.
During the trial Chief District Attorney Anthea Carrasco pointed to the blood found in both the couples' bedroom and on Tom's shirt as key evidence.
But Tom's defense attorney Eytan argued that her client loved his wife and that she took her own life. Ashley's mother, Jenna Fox, testified that she would never accept this ruling.
Tom's defense attorney Eytan (pictured) argued that her client loved his wife and that she took her own life
Chief District Attorney Anthea Carrasco pointed to the blood found in both the couples' bedroom and on Tom's shirt as key evidence
Discussing the evening in question, Ashley's mom said: 'At the very end of the night, I think that his behavior towards her was very threatening and very volatile and very scary.'
Nick Glover, who lived next door to the family, was 15 years old at the time of the shooting and provided a new witness statement during the trial.
Tom Fallis (mug shot picture above) was arrested in Bloomington, Indiana, in November 2014
He testified that he was '100 per cent' sure he had heard Tom confessing to the crime while listening through an open window.
He said: 'What I heard him saying was, 'Oh my God, what have I done? Oh my God, what have I done?'' before adding: 'He proceeded to say, 'I shot my wife.''
Glover told the court that what he heard was something he was not likely to forget and something that will be embedded in his mind for years to come.
Tom's parents Jim and Anna Fallis also testified to dismiss the claims that their son had confessed to them and said that they came rushing back to the party after he had called them for assistance.
Anna said that she comforted her distraught son following the shooting.
On the night of the incident Tom, 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.
Tom was later shown in a police interview denying scratches across his chest and neck had anything to do with her death - and insisted they were a result of shaving.
Tom was shown in a police interview denying scratches across his chest and neck had anything to do with her death - and insisted they were a result of shaving
'I didn't shoot my wife,' he insisted in the interview, which was recorded.
But Ashley's family never believed she had killed herself and they campaigned for three years for police in Evans, Colorado, to reopen the case.
Tom was arrested in Bloomington, Indiana, in November 2014 and made his first appearance in front of a judge in March 2016.
Ashley's mom testified that her daughter's death was never pursued as a homicide.
Evans Police publicly deny wrongdoing and claim that a thorough investigation took place in 2012.
On the night of the incident Tom, who was working as a Weld County corrections officer, called 911 in screaming hysterics to say his wife had committed suicide
He has even programmed her to wink when he tells her she is beautiful
Ma spent 35,000 and 18 months building her in a trial and error process
The life-size robot looks exactly like Hollywood actress Scarlett Johansson
A graphic designer has created a life-like replica of actress Scarlett Johansson - which winks and giggles when he tells her she's cute.
Like many children with imaginations fired by animated films, Ricky Ma grew up watching cartoons featuring the adventures of robots, and dreamed of building his own one day.
Unlike most of the others, however, he has realised his childhood dream at the age of 42, by successfully constructing a life-sized robot from scratch on the balcony of his home.
The life-size robot was created by Hong Kong designer Ricky Ma, based on a famous Hollywood actress. Although he refuses to say who his inspiration was, it bears uncanny similarities to Scarlett Johansson
Wearing a crop top and grey dress, the robot moves and functions in a spookily life-like human manner
Ma, a graphic designer, was inspired to build the robot after growing up watching animated films as a child
Named Mark 1, Ma has programmed her to wink and say 'thank you' when he tells her she is beautiful
Though Ma has refused to divulge who he built the robot based on, it looks eerily similar to Scarlett Johansson
The fruit of his labours of a year-and-a-half, and a budget of more than $50,000, is a female robot prototype he calls the Mark 1.
He admits it is modelled after a Hollywood star, but says he does not want to name her. She responds to a set of programmed verbal commands spoken into a microphone.
'I figured I should just do it when the timing is right and realize my dream. If I realize my dream, I will have no regrets in life,' said Ma, who had to learn about fields completely new to him before he could build the complex gadget.
Besides simple movements of its arms and legs, turning its head and bowing, Ma's robot, which has dark blonde hair and liquid eyes, and wears a grey skirt and cropped top, can create detailed facial expressions.
In response to the compliment, 'Mark 1, you are so beautiful', its brows and the muscles around its eyes relax, and the corners of its lips lift, creating a natural-seeming smile, and it says, 'Hehe, thank you.'
Video also shows him telling her she looks 'cute', to which she responds by saying 'thank you' and giving him a wink.
A 3D-printed skeleton lies beneath Mark 1's silicone skin, wrapping its mechanical and electronic parts. About 70 percent of its body was created using 3D printing technology.
Ma's journey of creation was a lonely one, however. He said he did not know of anyone else in the former British colony who builds humanoid robots as a hobby and few in the city understood his ambition.
Ma spent a year-and-a-half constructing the Johansson robot from scratch, costing him $50,000
Ma's pet dog stares up at his owner and his life size Scarlett Johansson robot
Ma admits it is modelled after a Hollywood star, but says he does not want to name her
A 3D-printed skeleton lies beneath Mark 1's silicone skin, wrapping its mechanical and electronic parts
Remarkably, around 70 percent of the Johansson robot's body is created using 3D printers
'During this process, a lot of people would say things like, 'Are you stupid? This takes a lot of money. Do you even know how to do it? It's really hard,'' Ma said.
He adopted a trial-and-error method in which he encountered obstacles ranging from frequent burnt-out electric motors to the robot losing its balance and toppling over.
'When you look at everything together, it was really difficult,' said Ma, who had to master unfamiliar topics from electromechanics to programming along the way, besides learning how to fit the robot's external skin over its components.
Ma, who believes the importance of robots will only grow, hopes an investor will buy his prototype, giving him the capital to build more, and wants to write a book about his experience, to help other enthusiasts.
The rise of robots and artificial intelligence are among disruptive labour market changes that the World Economic Forum projects will lead to a net loss of 5.1 million jobs over the next five years.
Verbal commands used to control the life-size robot are listed on a laptop computer
Ma, who believes the importance of robots will only grow, hopes an investor will buy his prototype
Ma had to master unfamiliar topics from electro mechanics to programming in order to realise his dream
Ma used trial-and-error to overcome problems that included balancing the robot on her two feet
Ma, 42, poses next to the face of his life-size Scarlett Johansson robot he has named Mark 1
3D printers were used to build the robot, including a life-size rib cage and pelvic bones
They are warning people not to approach it because
Conservationists are trying to recapture and rehome the animal to stop it from causing damage to the landscape
Wildlife experts are desperately trying to recapture an escaped raccoon that was caught on camera in the Scottish Highlands, amid fear the animal could lead to an infestation in Britain.
The creature, a native of North America, was spotted foraging in woodland near Garve in the Highlands on a camera trap set up to record images of the elusive Scottish wildcat.
Raccoons, which can carry diseases including rabies, are one of the world's most invasive creatures and conservationists have warned the public to stay clear if they spot the creature because it might bite them.
This escaped raccoon was caught on a camera set up to film wildcats in the Highlands of Scotland, prompting a warning from conversationalists that it should not be approached as they animals have a 'nasty bite'
It is thought the raccoon may have escaped from a wildlife park or family home, where it could have been kept as a pet
It is thought the raccoon may have escaped from a wildlife park or family home, where it could have been kept as a pet, and experts are hoping that there is just one animal on the loose, rather than a colony.
Conservation body Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) says it is vital that the animal be caught because the non-native species can have a hugely negative impact on the country's landscape, as well as damaging buildings and gardens.
They are also asking for anyone who spots a raccoon to report it, to help establish how many of the animals might be out there, amid fears a breeding colony could form.
The creature, a native of North America, was spotted foraging in woodland near Garve in the Highlands on a camera trap set up to record images of the elusive Scottish wildcat
BANDIT-MASKED PESTS: WHY CLEVER RACCOONS ARE A MAJOR NUISANCE A raccoon in its more natural habitat in Shelton. Washington state, USA Raccoons have faces with distinctive, dark bandit masks, pointed muzzles, and large ears. They have grey-brown fur with a bushy tail with four to six black rings. They are nocturnal and highly dextrous with their front paws, making it easier for them to forage for food and even able to unscrew jars or open door latches. In their native North America, raccoons are considered to be a major nuisance, causing damage to buildings and gardens, raiding fruit trees and foraging in rubbish bins, often knocking them over in their search for something to eat. Damaged caused by raccoons can cost thousands of pounds to repair. They also carry wildlife diseases, such as rabies, West Nile Virus and canine distemper, which can kill dogs, as well as being aggressive. Traditionally, raccoons live in wooded areas, where they have access to water, making their dens in hollow trees or burrows left abandoned by other animals. Raccoons are highly adaptable, and can travel as far as 18 miles in search of food. They can be found in both suburban and urban areas, sometimes making dens in attics, sheds, barns and even sewers. In the wild, raccoons eat insects, worms, nuts and berries, but will also eat human food. They can grow to 52in with an 18in tail, weigh up to 60lb and live for 20 years in a zoo. There are wild populations in Germany, France and Spain. In the mating season, males roam in search of females, who can conceive over a three to four day period. Two raccoons Bandit and Turpin broke out of Drusillas Park in East Sussex in 2012 but broke back in a week later. Advertisement
'Raccoons could cause millions of pounds worth of damage per year to the Scottish economy if they became established here,' said SNH wildlife and non-native species manager Stan Whitaker.
'They could also cause significant damage to our native wildlife by preying on birds, small animals and amphibians.
'Raccoons aren't dangerous but they may give you a nasty bite if cornered. The raccoon that has been recorded is an adult and roughly the size of a domestic cat.
'Ideally, we would like to trap this raccoon and rehome it in a zoo or wildlife park, if possible.'
The raccoon was caught on camera by members of the Blackwater wildlife recording group on March 17, after the cameras were set up to search for wildcats, as part of the Scottish Wildcat Action Project winter survey in the Strathpeffer area.
THE COST OF INVASIVE SPECIES TO THE UK Invasive, non-native species are one of the greatest threats to biodiversity worldwide, and are estimated to cost the British economy more than 1.7billion. Costs can come from repairing damage, but also from the knock-on effect a species might have on industries such as farming as well as potentially leading to an increase of flooding or erosion. Invasive species can also be dangerous to humans and other animals. Currently there is a warning issued from the GB non-native species secretariat (NNSS) over the 'Asian hornet, which has arrived in France and is expected to make its way to Britain. Among the most common invasive species in the UK are Japanese knotweed, Himalayan balsam, giant hogweed, Rhododendron ponticum, mink, grey squirrel, rabbit and signal crayfish. Grey squirrels, for example, cause damage to the timber industry through bark stripping, and have had a negative effect on the native red squirrels by spreading disease and decimating their food supply. Globally, invasive species have contributed to 40 per cent of animal extinctions in the last 400 years. The battle with invasive non-natives aims to eradicate, or limit the spread of species which have found their way here. Advertisement
A SNH spokesman told MailOnline it was hoped there was only one animal in the area, and that raccoons, though rare, had been spotted in Scotland on other occasions.
Raccoons were deliberately introduced to Germany in the 1930s and there are now more than one million of them in Europe
They are not established in the wild in the UK, but sightings have been reported since the 1970s.
SNH said raccoons have been identified in Scotland as one of the top 50 invasive, non-native species most likely to be introduced and cause negative impacts.
They can be bought online to have as pets and zoo animals, and there have been several escapes in the last few years
'We don't know where this one has come from right now,' said the SNH spokesman. 'There's a wildlife park in the area but it could easily be an escaped pet, we don't know for sure.
'We hope there's only one, but that's partly why we are asking for sightings.
'There have been raccoons reported in Scotland before. We had some reports in 2012 and there was one that escaped on the Black Isle in January.'
A staff member at the Black Isle Wildlife Park, which is based some 17 miles from Garve, said the animal was definitely not one of their raccoons.
In 2014 Missy, a female, burrowed out of the Tropiquaria zoo in Washford, Somerset, after floods softened the earth in her enclosure although she was later found sleeping nearby.
In parts of Germany there are more than 100 raccoons per square kilometre after the animals were introduced there in the 1920s.
Last year, Dr Niall Moore of Defra said that raccoons were a predator and a menace. He added: If a population were to establish, there would be a significant public nuisance. We know its going to cause a problem and well endeavour to stop them.
Salim Mehajer has attempted to douse rumours that he and wife Aysha are now living separately after he posted an image of the pair to Facebook.
The selfie, posted on Friday morning, shows the suspended deputy mayor and his glamorous wife smiling and both wearing white shirts accompanied by the caption 'Today is April fools day. Believe nothing, and trust no one like every other day'.
Earlier this week it was reported that Mrs Mehajer had packed her bags and left their Lidcombe, western Sydney, mansion to stay with family in the NSW Illawarra region.
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Salim Mehajer has attempted to douse rumours that he and wife Aysha are now living separately after he posted an image of the pair to Facebook
The selfie, posted on Friday morning, shows the Sydney pair smiling and both wearing white shirts accompanied by the caption 'Today is April fools day. Believe nothing, and trust no one like every other day'
Salim Mehajer has denied reports he and wife Aysha are living apart after news reports claimed she had moved to the Illawarra region
The report by A Current Affair said friends of the couple claim the controversial property developer and suspended Auburn deputy mayor had been constantly phoning and texting his wife in an attempt to get her back.
An Instagram account using both their names is reportedly run by Mr Mehajer. In recent days the page has been bombarded with seven-month-old photos of their wedding and declarations of love.
Neither husband nor wife have been spotted at their home in recent days, the program reported.
Aysha Mehajer changed her name from April Learmonth. She had been a fair-skinned schoolgirl with strawberry-blonde hair and was a beautician before she converted to Islam.
They had their 'wedding of the century' in August last year, which closed Frances Street in Lidcombe and featured four helicopters, a brigade of Lamborghinis and Ferraris
An Instagram account using both their names is reportedly run by Mr Mehajer. In recent days the page has been bombarded with seven-month-old photos of their wedding and declarations of love (pictured)
Initial reports suggested she had made her transformation for her husband, but Mrs Mehajer told New Idea in October it was a personal preference.
Mr Mehajer was fined $220 by Auburn City Council in August following an urgency motion over their extravagant wedding in August last year.
The fine related to the closure of Frances Street in Lidcombe because of the traffic chaos caused by the ceremony, which featured four helicopters, a brigade of Lamborghinis and Ferraris.
A teenager who was allegedly involved with a spate of brutal attacks on Asian students living in New Zealand this week is now behind bars.
Graphic images show victims covered in blood after being slashed with knives and screwdrivers in a number of random attacks in public locations across Auckland.
Brandon Pora, 18, appeared in Auckland District Court on Friday on three charges of aggravated robbery and one of assault with intent to rob, while several other teens have been arrested following the attacks, reports NZHerald.
Victims from a spate of attacks on Asian students living in New Zealand have been left covered in blood after being slashed with knives and screwdrivers
Another 15-year-old boy was arrested and will appear in the Youth Court accused of robbing the victims for electronics, wallets and cash.
The attacks sent shockwaves through New Zealand and abroad, even prompting warning from Thai authorities to citizens travelling through the country, the Herald reported.
One of the attacks saw two Japanese women dragged onto the road on Queen St where they were punched and kicked on the ground before being mugged for their belongings.
Shortly afterwards a Chinese student was beaten by two men so badly his face and upper body were left covered with blood.
The attacks have raised grave concerns among the nations Chinese community, who are living in fear following the attacks.
A total of four alleged offenders aged between 14 and 15 years old have now been arrested.
A group of police officers in San Francisco have been accused of sending a raft of racist and homophobic text messages to each other.
The discovery was made as investigators sifted through thousands of pages of text messages being used as evidence as part of a separate sexual assault scandal involving an SFPD cop last year.
Officials were reading through the huge haul of evidence when they found the messages, which had been sent by at least four officers.
The texts were sent on the police officers' personal cell phones between late 2014 and late 2015.
This means they were sent at the same time as a previous investigation saw 14 other SFPD cops accused of sending racist text messages in March last year.
A group of police officers in San Francisco have been accused of sending a raft of racist and homophobic texts to each other. District Attorney George Gascon (right) says the messages were found recently but SFPD Chief Greg Suhr (left) says they were known about for months
According to San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon, the new texts were 'almost mocking what was going on' in the other investigation and 'clearly acknowledged' the ongoing scandal.
Gascon said the new messages were 'very problematic' and included the word 'n****r', 'disparaging comments about Hispanics' and discussions about female officers' sexuality, Fox News reported.
The texts were among the 25,000 pages of messages being proved as part of the criminal investigation against officer Jason Lai, San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon said.
Lai was last week charged with misdemeanor counts of unlawful possession of criminal offender history information and misuse of confidential Department of Motor Vehicle information, however sexual assault allegations made against him in August last year.
The district attorney claimed that he immediately informed SFPD Chief Greg Suhr of the texts after their discovery.
He claimed that his investigators were not aware of the messages until last week, when he says they were stumbled upon among the evidence in the Lai case.
The discovery was made as investigators sifted through thousands of pages of text messages being used as evidence as part of a separate sexual assault scandal involving SFPD cop Jason Lai
'It was never pointed out to us. 'If the department knew about it, it's a problem that we weren't told,' Gacson said.
But Suhr said the raft of messages was sent to the district attorney's office in September and that police officials repeatedly told Gacson's team about the texts.
'For you to suggest that you discovered the text messages through your own criminal investigation would be disingenuous,' Suhr wrote in a scathing letter.
'This is not new information as our offices have been working closely on this case with at least three members of your staff to ensure the fair administration of justice.'
Gascon said once he learned of the new messages, he immediately sent a letter to police Chief Greg Suhr to make sure the officers weren't on active duty with the public.
Gascon claimed today his office was not notified of the bigoted text messages by police and only learned of it late last week after sifting through the thousands of pages of messages themselves.
Police said they moved to suspend three officers following the internal affairs department's uncovering of the texts in August.
Two of the cops have left the SFPD and a third is awaiting a hearing and could be sacked.
Meanwhile, Lai is on unpaid leave since the investigation began and is facing charges.
The 14 cops accused of sending racist texts in the earlier scandal escaped being fired because the SFPD had not acted within a one-year statute of limitations of being told of the messages.
Public defender Jeff Adachi said his office would investigate whether past investigations were 'tainted' by the officers.
'I am also calling for an independent investigation into when the police chief and district attorney learned of the text messages,' he said.
A high-security jail prisoner who once held a 44-hour siege helped foil an alleged terror plot from inside his jail cell.
Christopher 'Badness' Binse, who is at present in Victoria's highest security prison, Barwon jail, received two notes early last year which detailed the alleged attack plan.
An inmate who is believed to be a follower of convicted terror plotter Abdul Nacer Benbrika had intended to take a prisoner and possibly kill a prison guard, the Herald Sun reported.
Christopher Binse (pictured) received notes from another inmate detailing the planned terror attack before warning authorities off the alleged plan to hold hostage and potentially kill a guard (stock image)
The alleged terror plot was being planned in Barwon jail (pictured) in Geelong, Victoria, before it was foiled by an inmate there (stock image)
Binse played along with the plot so he could gather more information before alerting authorities (stock image)
News of the plot comes as fears that prisons are becoming breeding grounds for extremism increase.
The plot Binse - who goes by last name Pecotic now - helped foil allegedly included an inmate who was prepared to become a martyr stabbing a warden and taking a prison boss hostage.
He passed on the messages to authorities who removed the inmate from the prison.
He'd gone along with the plot so he could learn more before raising the alarm.
The inmate who intended to carry out the attack is believed to be a follower of convicted terror plotter Abdul Nacer Benbrika (pictured)
Since the plot was revealed, he has received threats from other prisoners, it was reported.
The Herald Sun reported police would not comment on whether they had investigated such a plot.
No charges were laid.
Meanwhile, guards in prisons remain vigilant as Corrections Victoria and police are concerned about the influence inmates like Benbrika have on other prisoners, another Herald Sun report said.
While intelligence and monitoring had been increased at most prisons, privately run jails had been criticised.
Nationally, more than 3500 prison staff had been instructed in identifying radicalisation, and programs to deradicalise those at risk were in place, the Herald Sun reported.
Although about 25 inmates are believed convert to Islam each year, studies found Islamic conversions should not be considered radicalisation, it was reported.
Regardless, prisons were considered to be a high-risk environment for extremist recruiting.
Binse, 47, who has spent 28 of the past 33 years imprisoned, is at present appealing an 18-year sentence in relation to the 44-hour siege he carried out in north-west Melbourne in 2012.
He has converted to Islam since being imprisoned, the Herald Sun reported.
Binse (pictured) has spent 28 of the past 33 years in prison. At present he is in prison in relation to a 44-hour siege in 2012 (stock image)
Dakota Thornton (pictured) , 15 has been charged with criminal homicide
A 15-year-old boy from Pennsylvania fatally shot his 18-year-old brother because both were interested in the same girl, authorities say.
Dakota Thornton, of Williamstown, has been jailed and charged as an adult with criminal homicide and possessing an instrument of crime.
Dauphin County District Attorney Ed Marsico said Thornton shot his brother, Dominick, at home shortly before 2am on Wednesday.
'The brothers were having a dispute over a young lady,' Marisco told Fox 43.
'Both of them apparently were romantically interested in this young girl. That's what led, ultimately, to the killing.'
The teenage told police he loaded a .410-gauge shotgun a couple minutes before the shooting, officers said.
He put his hands up and said 'I shot my brother' when police arrived, court documents state.
Thornton told police he 'shot and killed his brother over the fact that he was romantically interested in his brother's girlfriend' according to a criminal complaint.
Online court records don't list an attorney who could comment for Thornton. The teenager has a preliminary hearing April 27.
Global airfares are at an all-time low, and they could go even lower due to a combination of cheap fuel, strong competition and a weaker Australian dollar.
Australian Holiday-seekers could not have imagined a round trip from Sydney to Los Angeles for $900 or Melbourne to London return for only $1200 five years ago when fuel prices were soaring and the Australian dollar was high.
Flights Centre's head of leisure travel, Tom Walley told Daily Telegraph that prices were the lowest he could remember in 30 years.
Global airfares are at an all-time low (pictured), and they could go even lower due to a combination of cheap fuel, strong competition and a weaker Australian dollar
Flights Centre's head of leisure travel, Tom Walley told Daily Telegraph that airline (pictured) prices were the lowest he could remember in 30 years
HOW MUCH ARE CHEAP AIRFARES FROM AUSTRALIA AT THE MOMENT? Sydney- LA: $892
Melbourne- London: $1255
Sydney- Singapore: $476
Perth- Bali: $278
Sydney- New York: $1383
Brisbane- New York: $1139
Adelaide- Hong Kong: $775
Sydney- Hawaii: $746
All prices are economy return fares through Fight Centre Advertisement
'We have seen airlines respond to market conditions like increased competition and reduced fuel prices with amazing fares,' he said.
The introduction of budget carriers such as Jetstar, AirAsia and Tigerair into has driven airfares down, and forced premium airlines to slash their prices in order to compete.
'This is particularly true on key routes to the US,' Mr Walley said.
'In South America for example, Air New Zealand entered into the market with flights to Buenos Aries at competitive prices that have helped reduce fares to the region as a whole.
The introduction of budget carriers such as Jetstar, AirAsia (pictured) and Tigerair into has driven airfares down, and forced premium airlines to slash their prices in order to compete
The International Air Transport Association recently reported that airfares fell 4.5 percent worldwide in 2015, and are expected to fall even further in 2016.
World senior aviation industry analyst, Tristan Williams agrees.
'Airfares are expected to decline in 2016 due to ongoing competition from low cost airlines,' he told Daily Telegraph.
Dempsey Nibbs, 69, decapitated his partner of 30 years Judith Nibbs (pictured) with a kitchen knife
An elderly crane driver blocked his toilet as he tried to flush away pieces of his wifes head, a court heard.
Dempsey Nibbs, 69, decapitated his partner of 30 years Judith, 60, with a kitchen knife after she boasted of sex with other men and flashed her breasts on Skype, jurors have heard.
He broke up her severed head with a mallet and a metal bar before disposing of the pieces in the toilet in the flat they shared in Hoxton, London.
Nibbs, who worked for Balfour Beatty, called the police and was arrested as he stabbed himself repeatedly following the incident in 2014.
The body of Ms Nibbs, who worked for Meals on Wheels, was lying in the hallway with tarpaulin covering her shoulders.
Nibbs admits killing the mother of his two children between 9 and 12 April 2014 but claims he acted in self-defence during a struggle.
He later said he was out of his mind believing Ms Nibbs, who lived with him as his wife despite never marrying, was 'a snake and that he needed to cut her head off'.
The horrific details of the police investigation today emerged as DC Mark Regan was called to give evidence at Nibbs Old Bailey murder trial.
Jurors were shown the black-handled knife and mallet believed to have been used in the killing.
DC Regan said he arrived at the flat on the morning of 11 April and noticed the toilet would not flush, indicating a blockage in the system.
A number of body parts and in particular pieces of skull were retrieved from the lavatory and brain matter and other body tissue from the head,' prosecutor Crispin Aylett explained.
Mr Nibbs allegedly broke her skull into pieces and flushed the remains down the toilet after she 'boasted of having sex with eight men'
Forensic officers at the scene: A post mortem revealed Ms Nibbs may have been still alive, although probably unconscious, when she was decapitated
Jurors heard that by early 2014 the couples relationship had soured and Nibbs was suspicious his wife was seeing someone else (pictured, detectives called to the property in Hoxton, London)
A post mortem revealed Ms Nibbs may have been still alive, although probably unconscious, when she was decapitated, the court was told.
Jurors heard that by early 2014 the couples relationship had soured and Nibbs was suspicious his wife was seeing someone else.
Nibbs had moved into the spare room and an undercurrent of violence emerged as the relationship fell apart.
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.
Standing trial at the Old Bailey (pictured), Nibbs, of Charles Square Estate, Shoreditch, east London, denies murder and obstructing the coroner
By April 2014, the couples relationship had soured, with Mrs Nibbs telling her partner during a row she had been seeing other men and taunted him saying: I have had sex eight times' (pictured, the crime scene)
The court heard Nibbs intended to kill himself after killing Ms Nibbs 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.
Nibbs stabbed himself in the throat as officers came to arrest him and was in hospital for a year.
Nibbs, of Charles Square Estate, Shoreditch, east London, denies murder and obstructing the coroner by disposing of her decapitated head.
Two high school students have been charged with online terrorism after posting chilling Instagram posts which appeared to suggest they were plotting an attack on their classmates.
Marcus Ortwine and Glenn Deuster, both 16, posted selfies showing them gripping rifles along with the captions 'schools [sic] gonna be fun tomorrow' and 'school will be interesting tomorrow'.
A shocked parent spotted the pictures on Wednesday and contacted the school, with police swooping on the teenager's homes that evening.
Police discovered 34 guns inside the schoolboys' homes and arrested the pair.
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Marcus Ortwine (left) and Glenn Deuster (right), both 16, posted selfies showing them gripping rifles along with the captions 'schools [sic] gonna be fun tomorrow' and 'school will be interesting tomorrow'
Ortwine and Deuster - who attend Marshall High School, in Michigan - are both charged with using the internet to commit terrorism and making a false threat of terrorism.
Marshall High School Principal Scott Hutchins was warned of the alleged threats at 8pm on Wednesday and he immediately contacted the school's designated police officer, the Battle Creek Enquirer reported.
Officers tracked down the students and searched their homes, finding the 34 weapons.
Police found 20 at Deuster's home and 14 at Ortwine's.
Both teenagers are from hunting families and the haul of firearms included shotguns, rifles and four handguns, one of which was an antique, Marshall Sheriff Matt Saxton said.
A video posted online by Ortwine in August last year shows him firing what he says is a .44 caliber Magnum handgun.
'The concern was that the students made the threats and did have access to the firearms,' the sheriff said.
Gun user: A video posted online by Ortwine in August last year shows him firing what he says is a .44 caliber Magnum handgun
'The concern was they made the threat and they had access to firearms so the potential was concerning.'
The students' cell phones and computers were seized by investigators to see if the pair had planned an attack.
Ortwine (pictured) and Deuster are both charged with using the internet to commit terrorism and making a false threat of terrorism
Marshall Police Chief Jim Schwartz said: 'We had real concerns about what was posted.
'It was not like anonymous threats. We felt we had to find these individuals sooner than later. It was more than just an idle threat.'
A later post on Instagram, which appeared to be from Deuster, reportedly said: 'Me and Marcus would like to apologize for scaring anyone.
'It was a joke that was horrible and not funny and it went south really fast and we didn't realize that this would happen. We have no intention of doing any horrible acts at school.'
The students appeared in court via video link on Thursday, along with their parents,
Prosecutors hope the 16-year-olds will be tried as adults, with the boys facing up to 20 years in prison if found guilty. A judge is yet to rule on the matter.
Ortwine and Deuster are being held at Calhoun County Juvenile Home on $7,500 cash bonds.
If it is paid, they will be tagged and effectively placed under house arrest while being banned from speaking to each other and from using social media.
Their next court appearance is on April 14.
The alleged threats were one of four scares in schools in Calhoun County, Michigan, in the last week.
An eighth-grade student at Pennfield Middle School posted a picture of an assault rifle on Instagram and wrote that his mother had made him stop playing bloodthirsty video game Call of Duty.
'I will just play Call of Duty at school,' he captioned the image.
A shocked parent spotted the Instagram pictures on Wednesday and contacted Marshall High School (pictured), with police swooping on the teenager's homes that evening
The boy was arrested on Thursday afternoon and an investigation is ongoing.
The teenager has claimed he was joking and Sheriff Saxton said authorities were trying to work out whether the boy had a gun or if the picture was copied from the internet.
Pennfield Middle School was place on lockdown for 25 minutes during the scare.
Meanwhile a 16-year-old girl allegedly left a handwritten bomb threat in a high school bathroom in the area on Monday.
She was charged with making a false threat of terrorism and could be jailed for 20 years if found guilty.
Another alleged bomb threat came on Sunday, when a 12-year-old girl appeared to hint on Facebook at an imminent attack on schools.
Police called after Sosin found wandering corridor in only his underwear
Sosin claimed mother gave him 'pills' which made him hallucinate
The teenage son of a Russian oligarch who strangled his mother to death in a hotel room with a phone charger, will not go to jail.
Egor Sosin murdered his mother Anastasia Novikova-Sosina in a hotel room in the Korston Hotel in the city of Kazan, in the Tatarstan Republic that is located in central Russia in December.
The 19-year-old son of billionaire Russian construction magnate Igor Sosin, has been found to be mentally ill by experts, and will therefore not be imprisoned.
Egor Sosin murdered his mother Anastasia Novikova-Sosina in a hotel room in the Korston Hotel in the city of Kazan, in the Tatarstan Republic that is located in central Russia in December.
Horror: These images of Anastasia Novikova-Sosina's body in a blood-spattered hotel room after she was killed in the Russian city of Kazan have been shared with a local news channel
Violence: The 44-year-old ex-wife of Russian billionaire Igor Sosin is thought to have been strangled to death
Pictures from inside the room show the body of Ms Novikova-Sosina, 44, lying across the blood-soaked double bed.
Ms Novikova-Sosina, Sosin's former wife, had taken her son to Kazan for treatment for his drugs habit, according to Russian media.
The teenager told police his mother had given him medication, which resulted in hallucinations.
'I met with my mama for some medical procedures,' he said.
'She gave me some pills and later in the apartment, in our hotel, some unclear things started happening, hallucinations, as I am still feeling now.'
Ms Novikova-Sosina, Sosin's former wife, had taken her son to Kazan for treatment for his drugs habit, according to Russian media
Weapon: The authorities believe Ms Novikova-Sosina was attacked with a mobile phone charger cable
The 19-year-old son of billionaire Russian construction magnate Igor Sosin, has been found to be mentally ill by experts, and will therefore not be imprisoned
Magnate: Billionaire construction boss, who co-founded the Russian chain Starik Khottabych, is known for his lavish spending
Witnesses say that on the day of the arrest they heard mother and son arguing so loud that people wanted to call the police.
The authorities were finally called when staff at the five star Korstan Hotel in Kazan called police after finding Sosin walking around in only his underwear on Saturday.
Police arrived shortly afterwards, and 'found a young man strongly intoxicated with drugs', a law enforcement source from the regional branch of the Interior Ministry revealed.
'A woman with signs of violent death was found in his room,' the source continued.
'The police found out that the woman and the young man arrived from Moscow in the afternoon, rented a room, and in the evening the young man beat up and suffocated his mother during an argument.'
Images obtained from police by LifeNews showed his mother's body lying on a bed stained with blood.
They also show what appears to be the cable of a mobile phone charger.
High: Sosin has since told police that his mother gave him 'pills' which made him hallucinate
Died: A source inside the legal department has said Ms Sosina-Novikova was beaten up before she was killed
Police have said they were investigating the possibility that Ms Novikova-Sosina had been strangled with a similar object.
On social media, Sosin said he was a student at Hult International Business School in London.
He said how he did not want to 'depend on my parents' and was 'planning to become a millionaire' himself.
Sosin Senior is famous as a co-founder of Starik Khottabych, a renovation and construction giant.
He is often seen on the Cote d'Azur resorts, playground of the rich and famous.
Last year he bought a collection of dresses worth a few million pounds from Sharon Stone for his new wife.
In America, he several times rented a luxury house on Ox Pasture Lane in elite Southampton for almost 650,000, a property that boasting 10 acres, two pools and a 50ft water fountain.
He held a 'swanky' Fourth of July party at the property several years ago.
Egor has a sister called Taisiya, and he had been designing websites in the US.
A horrifying video captures a tiny girl being viciously bullied in Mexico as her scout leader drenches her with Coca-Cola before encouraging others to do the same.
After footage emerged of the young girl, under the age of six, being subjected to the cruel hazing ritual the scout leader was suspended.
In the video in Los Remedios National Park in Naucalpan the black-haired girl sits on the floor encircled by onlookers.
Cruel ceremony: A scout leader was suspended after a video showed her drenching a girl in Coca Cola
The scout mistress unscrews a bottle of coke and pours it over her head.
Yet stunningly nobody comes in to intervene, and it appears to all be part of a strange initiation ceremony to the group.
Other adults and even another little girl surround her, each with their own bottle to pour out.
The child cowers and screams in the middle of the circle as she is soaked with the fizzy drink.
After the alarming ritual police were called in to investigate and an unnamed scout leader was removed from her post.
The unidentified girl, believed to be around age five, was not part of an official group as it included youngsters under six.
Drenched in Coca Cola: The scout mistress then encourages others to follow suit and each unloads another bottle of the fizzy drink on the crying girl
Fully clothed: the little girl is still wearing all her clothes as she is soaked from head to toe with Coca Cola
The Mexican Scout Association criticised the leader's actions, saying: 'We have been made aware of a video circulating on social media in which a girl aged under seven experienced an unpleasant moment in a park in the State of Mexico.
'We condemn these acts and wish to express our repudiation for anything which goes against the principles of the scouting movement like this clear case of bullying involving children and young people.
'We would like to point out that the children who appear in this video are not members of our organisation and it is important to highlight the fact that we have taken the relevant steps to guarantee the integrity of our members and ensure they do not participate, promote or carry out acts of this sort.'
Bizarre ritual: The Mexican Scout Association has reacted angrily to the video and criticised the leader's actions and says it was not an official group
People on Twitter have begun posting with the hashtag Lady Bullying after the video surfaced online.
Daniel Diaz wrote: 'This is not an example of what scouts in Mexico stand for. It's an example of ignorance and the lack of education of some people.'
Another added: 'Do this to a relative of mine that age and I'll smash their faces in.'
Mexico prosecutors said they would summon the leaders of the scout group called Naucalpan Beavers 9, 'Castores 9' in Spanish in for questioning.
North Korea has released photographs of a much slimmer looking Kim Jong-Un just days after he warned citizens to begin preparing for famine.
Pictures of the tyrant in recent months show he has gained weight in the past few years, though images released today suggest propaganda officials are conscious of how this might be perceived.
This is due to his repeated warnings in the past few weeks that North Koreans must begin preparing for a famine akin to that which plagued the country in the 1990s.
North Korean tyrant Kim Jong-Un (pictured) looks suspiciously slim in this photo, which was released only today
Here a noticeably large Kim Jong-Un watches military landing exercises in a photograph released by the secretive state on March 20
Labelled by the government's dictatorship as the 'Arduous March', earlier this week Kim warned citizens to be ready to 'chew on the roots of plants once again'.
The warning came in the wake of China agreeing to new stiff sanctions against North Korea, in response to its recent nuclear test and rocket launch.
However, photographs released by state media today show an impossibly slim Kim being given a tour through a machinery plant.
It comes in stark contrast to photographs of the overweight leader at a military exercise released just weeks ago.
Kenji Fujimoto, who was close to Kim Jong-un as the personal sushi chef to his father for 13 years, says the young leader loves fine food.
Last year he told MailOnline: 'I used to make sushi for the General [Jong-il] at least once a week and Jong-un always joined the dinner. So I could say Jong-un liked sushi.
'He drank a lot. His favourite was Cristal, usually about two bottles [in a sitting].
His decadent lifestyle is common knowledge among the country's elite and is an unashamed hypocrisy given the impoverished conditions much of the population is subjected to.
The images of the leaner Kim (pictured) come just days after he warned citizens to prepare for another brutal famine
The photographs may actually have been taken some time ago with propaganda officials concerned about how the dictator's ballooning weight may be received by starving North Korean citizens
Meanwhile, the country is now preparing for another famine - the result of crunching new sanctions from the international community.
'The road to revolution is long and arduous', an editorial in newspaper Rodong Sinmun newspaper stated on Monday, The Telegraph reported.
'We may have to go on an arduous march, during which we will have to chew the roots of plants once again'.
The government mouthpiece also warned that even as they faced starving to death, North Koreans would be expected not to blame the state and its Supreme Leader.
'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'.
2014: This was the year Kim appeared to begin putting on weight and had a noticeably plumper face
2015: Here Kim Jong-Un watches over a military river crossing drill, in an image released a few months ago
He may be a skateboarding legend but even Tony Hawk found a real hoverboard a little too difficult to manoeuvre in a humorous video posted online.
Riding a Hendo Hoverboard, Los Angeles-based Hawk is seen floating just above the ground while moving from side to side on a half-pipe.
He spins in quick circles and crouches down to keep his balance but seems to become dizzier and dizzier as the hoverboard whistles loudly.
Tony Hawk floats just above the ground on a Hendo Hoverboard while moving from side to side on a half-pipe
The Los-Angeles-based skateboarder spins in circles and crouches low to the ground to keep his balance
Hawk picks up some speed and grips the board with one hand while holding his other in the air.
Eventually however the momentum of the gadget gets the better of him and the skateboarding legend shows that he may well be mortal after all by taking a tumble.
Arx Pax introduced the Hendo Hoverboard last year, which uses four engines to float on a 'special surface' - a conductive material such as copper or aluminium.
WHAT WAS TONY HAWK RIDING? The Hendo Hoverboard uses four hover engines which emit magnetic fields that push against each other. The magnets only work as long as metal conductor is used in the surface underneath. So the board underneath the Hendo can be aluminum and copper to work, for instance. The innovation here is in the efficiency of the induction process and the ability to control the movements of the hovering objects. Advertisement
The surface acts as a secondary magnetic field and it is what makes the high-pitched squeal when the gadget is in motion.
The Hendo 2.0, which is being tested by Hawk, is the recent upgrade on the 1.0 and features improved battery life and better steering capabilities.
The firm also went back to its roots with the skateboard inspired design - just like Marty McFly's in Back to the Future.
In a recent interview with the Associated Press, Arx Pax engineer, Kyle O'Neil, discussed the design of their new gadget.
He said: 'We made a bunch of improvements from the 1.0 to the 2.0 and probably the most noticeable change is the change in the deck.'
Hawk seems to become dizzier and dizzier as the hoverboard whistles loudly and continues to spin in circles
Hawk picks up speed and grips the board with one hand while holding his other in the air before taking a tumble
'Before it was just a piece of plastic this time we went back to the skateboard inspired hoverboard.'
O'Neil explained that the four engines enable the hoverboard to 'static start', meaning it pops up on its own accord. The previous design had to be lifted.
The engines Arx Pax uses in its device creates a magnetic field that interacts with the conductive surface, which ultimately creates small closed loops of electricity, known as 'eddy currents'.
This basically creates a magnetic field that users can ride on - although as Hawk proved, the science may well be easier to handle than the practice on this occasion.
The momentum of the gadget gets the better of Hawk and the skateboarding legend proves he is mortal
President Barack Obama warned Friday at a summit in Washington that more cooperation is needed to prevent the ISIS terror army's 'madmen' and other extremists from getting a nuclear weapon.
But the fourth such meeting of Obama's presidency, likely the last before he leaves office, was overshadowed by foreign policy proposals from Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump.
Trump said this week that allowing Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Japan to develop their own nuclear programs would ease strains on U.S. budgets, given the spiraling costs of maintaining America's nuclear umbrella and foreign troop deployments.
'Japan is better if it protects itself against this maniac of North Korea,' Trump said Tuesday during a town hall event broadcast on CNN.
'We are better off frankly if South Korea is going to start protecting itself ... they have to protect themselves or they have to pay us.'
LET 'EM HAVE NUKES: Donald Trump set the foreign policy world on its ears by saying The U.S. could save money by letting Japan, Saudi Arabia and South Korea have nuclear weapons instead of Americans troops
'MADMEN': President Barack Obama warned that if nations don't band together to shrink the world's supply of fissile material, ISIS terrorists could find it easier to get their hands on it
Peace out! Obama gives the two-fingered peace sign surrounded by an otherwise serious-looking collection of world leaders as they posed for a group summit shot
Those comments followed similar statements in a lengthy interview with The New york Times that set the foreign policy world on fire.
'Would I rather have North Korea have them with Japan sitting there having them also? You may very well be better off if thats the case,' Trump told the paper.
'If Japan had that nuclear threat, Im not sure that would be a bad thing for us.'
Aside from Russian president Vladimir Putin's refusal to attend the meeting it's nearly impossible to achieve reductions in nuclear fissile material without his nation's cooperation Trump's recent boasts drew the most attention on the meeting's sidelines.
Even Obama's bold words about the threat that terrorists might use nuclear material in a 'dirty bomb' or even obtaining an atomic weapon haven't attracted as much attention.
Summit attendees heard, among other things, that ISIS members tracked a Belgian nuclear scientist on video.
'ISIL has already used chemical weapons, including mustard gas, in Syria and Iraq,' Obama said, using his preferred acronym for ISIS.
'There is no doubt that if these madmen ever got their hands on a nuclear bomb or nuclear material, they most certainly would use it to continue to kill as many innocent people as possible.'
PUSHBACK: Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe threw a brushback pitch at Trump after he hinted at a reshuffling of the strategic U.S.-Japan relationship
NO-SHOW VLAD: Russian president Vladimir Putin (left, shown with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry) didn't come to Friday's nuclear summit in Washington, making efforts to reduce nuclear stockpiles largely moot
But overseas, Trump's unscripted rhetoric has drawn mostly jeers in the countries that might gain their own nuclear defense programs during a Trump administration.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took the unusual step of responding to the billionaire publicly.
'Whoever will become the next president of the United States, the Japan-U.S. alliance is the cornerstone of Japan's diplomacy,' he said.
Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida added that 'it is impossible that Japan will arm itself with nuclear weapons.'
Japan is the only nation to ever suffer a nuclear bomb attack at the hands of the U.S. during World War II and its constitution has forbidden the accumulation of nuclear weapons since the war ended.
Daniel Pinkston of Troy University told CNN on Friday that Trump's plan, if executde in South Korea, would play right into North Korea's hands.
'The hardliners in Pyongyang would just love such an outcome because if that were to occur, it would completely justify their nuclear status ... and validate Kim Jong Un's policy line as absolutely brilliant and absolutely correct,' Pinkston said.
'Whether [Trump] wins the Republican nomination or not, or whether he is elected president or not, even at this stage, he is already doing damage to the U.S. reputation internationally. And damaging U.S. security interests.'
Former U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Christopher Hill used fewer words to make a more brutal pronouncement.
'I don't know what he's talking about but clearly neither does he,' he told CNN.
FEAR: North Korea's nuclear program, Trump suggested, would be less powerful if South Korea and Japan had their own nearby
The summit attended by dozens of world leaders and delegates is focused on securing global stockpiles of nuclear materials, much of it used in the medical and power industries.
Obama said about 2,000 tons of nuclear materials are stored around the world at civilian and military facilities, some of them not properly secured.
'Just the smallest amount of plutonium about the size of an apple would kill and injure hundreds of thousands of innocent people,' he said.
'It would be a humanitarian, political, economic and environmental catastrophe with global ramifications for decades.'
The nuclear security summit comes in the wake of attacks in Paris and Brussels that have killed dozens and exposed Europe's inability to thwart destabilizing attacks or track Islamic State operatives returning from Iraq and Syria.
Evidence that individuals linked to those two atrocities videotaped a senior scientist at a Belgian nuclear facility has given the threat added nuclear weight.
BIG MEETING: Obama and other world leaders gathered in Washington on Friday to air concerns about global nuclear programs
Though the summit is focused on fissile stockpiles, other nuclear concerns inevitably have drawn broad attention, including North Korea and its continued testing of nuclear devices and ballistic missiles.
The reclusive nation fired another short-range missile off its east coast on Friday, the latest in a series of North Korean missile launches during what has been an extended period of military tension on the Korean peninsula.
In January, North Korea detonated a nuclear device -- its fourth such test -- and a month later launched a long-range rocket.
The summit opened Thursday with Obama trying to forge consensus among East Asian leaders on how to respond to Pyongyang.
'We are united in our efforts to deter and defend against North Korean provocations,' Obama said after meeting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Park Geun-Hye.
Halfway through the closing day of the summit, delegates described a series of incremental measures, such as enhanced cooperation between nations.
Obama and Abe announced that Japan had removed all its highly-enriched uranium and separated plutonium fuels ahead of schedule. The fissile material will be 'downblended' in the United States for civilian use or eventual disposal.
Obama also used the summit as a chance to speak with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, promising candid talks over Beijing's alleged military buildup in the South China Sea.
US officials have expressed concern that China's actions in the South China Sea are inconsistent with Xi's pledge at the White House last year not to pursue militarization of the hotly contested and strategically vital waterway.
The reopening of Brussels airport has been delayed because terminal police officers have gone on strike over security fears.
Belgian police unions have demanded tighter screening of passengers and baggage before they are allowed into the terminal.
The Zaventem airport has been closed since it was targeted by suicide bombers on March 22.
The reopening of Brussels airport has been delayed because terminal police officers have gone on strike in protest over poor security
Belgium's prime minister and key members of the government met earlier today to discuss when to reopen the facility.
It had been expected to partially re-open this evening after the airport's operators said it could run at 20 per cent capacity.
Brussels Airport chief Arnaud Feist told Belgian media that temporary repairs will permit the processing of 800 passengers an hour.
But the airport said that no formal decision has been taken yet on a 'restart date' amid news of the strike action.
Vincent Gilles, the president of the SLFP, the largest police union in Belgium, told the BBC: 'We are on strike because of what happened on 22 March - we cannot continue as if this day has not happened.
'The police feel the security measures put in place by the airport company are insufficient for those who work and use the airport.'
It comes after police at Brussels airport claimed at least 50 Islamic State supporters are working there as baggage handlers, cleaners and catering staff.
In an astonishing open letter, the officers said they have warned about the terrorist sympathisers whose security badges give them access to planes, but they remain employed.
Unions have demanded tighter screening of passengers and baggage before they are allowed into the terminal
It comes after police at Brussels airport claimed at least 50 Islamic State supporters are working there as baggage handlers, cleaners and catering staff
The airport police also said they have raised the issue of terrorists scouting the airport to plan possible attacks.
The extraordinary claims come after the Mail reported how the family of two of the bombers involved in the attacks last week said they had worked as cleaners at the airport.
'Some people suspected of having fought in Syria came to the airport as 'false tourists'. We reported their presence but we do not know if anything was done with that information,' the airport police wrote in their letter.
The officers said they had raised suspicions about certain staff members including those who apparently celebrated after the Paris attacks in November that killed 130 people.
'When we checked these people, we were surprised more than once. It was men with a radical ideology and a long police history,' the officers continued.
'Even today, there are at least 50 supporters of the Islamic state who work at the airport. They have a security badge and have access to the cockpit of a plane.
'In the past, a number of people had their badges revoked because they had IS sympathies. But clearly not everyone, especially in store personnel, cleaning services and baggage where we find the most suspicious people.'
The once-bustling departure hall of Brussels' Zaventem airport was left unrecognisable after the double explosions that killed 20 people
The departures hall floor was left covered in blood, surrounded by the remains of check-in desks and shops
Police raised concerns about inadequate security at the airport just four days before the attack took place.
The Belgian police union, NSPV, told the interior ministry on Friday 18 March that they would go on strike unless it was improved.
Alain Peeters, the general secretary, said: 'The sad events of 22 March demonstrate that our concerns are justified. We demand more security and more staff.'
Officers have said that they will not return to work when the airport re-opens unless staffing numbers are increased and that no vehicles can approach within 100 metres of the temporary check-in hall that is being built.
The police have complained that they are not sufficiently resourced and do not have enough new uniforms to go around let alone the most up-to-date weapons.
An uncle of Ibrahim and Khalid el-Bakraoui last week told how the brothers had been employed at the airport and would have gained intimate knowledge of the terminal destroyed in the carnage.
The man, who asked not to be named, told the Mail: 'They worked cleaning at the airport and in a restaurant. They didn't finish high school in the end. They cleaned the airport in the summer months.'
Rodney Gilliam, 49, pictured, has been charged with aggravated battery
A man needed stitches in his head after his brother allegedly stabbed him several times with a three-pronged fork when a fight broke out over a pot roast.
Police found blood outside on the front porch when they arrived at the address in Muncie, Indiana in the early hours of Tuesday morning to arrest 49-year-old Rodney Gilliam.
His younger brother Randy Gilliam, who was stabbed in the incident at a home on North Biltmore Avenue, also suffered a busted lip and swollen eye.
He described the incident as 'brotherly stuff', reported Fox 59.
Adding: 'One thing led to another, I feel so bad about it, but it happens. We're family.'
Randy admitted that the two had been drinking when an argument broke out over a pot roast.
It is alleged that the brothers were bickering over who owned it.
'I had one de-thawing and I thought it was the one and it wasn't and all he probably had to do was open the refrigerator and tell me it was there and it would've been squashed,' said Randy.
Police entered the property and found a trail of blood leading up the stairs to the bedroom where the attack was said to have taken place.
Rodney has been charged with aggravated battery but his brother Randy does not want to see him go to jail over the incident.
Randy Gilliam admitted that he had been drinking with his brother when an argument broke out over a pot roast
He called the fight a family squabble but suggested it should not have gone as far as it did.
Kyle Monroe, a detective with the Muncie Police Department, called the incident 'bizarre' but said that this is not the first time officers have had to deal with a dispute over meat.
In May 2015 Muncie Police were called to reports of a woman being stabbed in the eye with a fork.
It was alleged that an argument had broken out over who took the last rib.
Randy, who was stabbed in the fight and needed stitches in his head, also suffered a busted lip and swollen eye
Among other things, Obama's visit has highlighted race relations in Cuba
But, he suggested it was perhaps more disrespectful of Obama to criticize the Cuban government 'in its own home'
After facing criticism, the columnist apologized and admitted his wording was disrespectful
The writer said Obama 'incited rebellion and disorder' during historic
Days after Fidel Castro went on the offensive against Barack Obama in an editorial questioning the intentions behind the president's Cuba visit, a Havana columnist attacked the U.S. leader for 'inciting rebellion' in an opinion piece titled 'Negro, are you dumb?'
The Havana Tribune writer, who is black, accused Obama of 'overplaying his hand' by criticizing Cuba during his visit last month and by implying that the country should change.
'[Obama] chose to criticize and subtly suggest incitations to rebellion and disorder, without caring that he was on foreign ground. Without a doubt, Obama overplayed his hand,' wrote Elias Argudin in the opinion piece.
Argudin went on to remark: 'I can not help but say, Virulo-style: 'Negro, are you dumb?'
A Cuban columnist accused U.S. President Barack Obama of 'inciting rebellion' in a racially-tinged opinion piece. Pictured: Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro at a March 21 press conference in Havana
Elias Argudin, a writer for the Havana Tribune, later apologized for his language but suggested that Obama had been disrespectful, too
Virulo is a 'white pro-Revolution comedian,' according to Breitbart.
The article's Spanish title, 'Negro, tu eres sueco?,' uses an idiom that literally translates to, 'Are you Swedish?'
The columnist also mocked Obama's calls for freedom in Cuba on the basis that the American presides over a country where white police 'enjoy the freedom to massacre and manhandle black people.'
The op-ed was met with criticism in Cuba.
In the Tribune's comment section, the Afro-Cuban writer Victor Fowler remarked sarcastically, 'Oh, what an appropriate example of the absence of racism in Cuba!' and demanded an apology from Argudin.
In a second column, Argudin wrote that he didn't mean to offend anyone, but defended himself by pointing out that it's part of a journalist's job to grab the reader's attention.
'I admit... that it's perhaps disrespectful towards our distinguished visitor,' the columnist continued.
However, he wrote, 'In my opinion, it's much more disrespectful for the aggressor to ask the victim - in his own home - to forget the offences... that still have not completely stopped,' referring to U.S. hostility towards Cuba.
The opinion piece appeared in the March 27 issue of the Havana Tribune. Photo courtesy of 14yMedio.com
U.S. President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro at a baseball game in Cuba on March 22
During his visit to the Caribbean country, Obama said the Cuban government should not fear the people's 'capacity to speak, and assemble, and vote for their leaders.'
'Many suggested that I come here and ask the people of Cuba to tear something down - but Im appealing to the young people of Cuba who will lift something up, build something new,' Obama said during a speech in Havana where Cuban president Raul Castro was present.
Revolutionary leader Fidel Castro said he almost had a heart attack after hearing Obama speak in Cuba last month
Obama also made mention of race relations in his official remarks, pointing out that Cuba and the U.S. share a history of slavery.
'Cuba, like the United States, was built in part by slaves brought here from Africa. Like the United States, the Cuban people can trace their heritage to both slaves and slave-owners,' Obama said in the March 22 speech.
In an editorial published Monday in the Communist Party-owned newspaper Granma, Fidel Castro wrote that Obama's words exposed him to 'the risk of a heart attack,' and slammed the president for failing to mention indigenous people along with the African slaves who contributed to the development of both countries.
Castro warned his fellow Cubans to be wary of Obama's intentions, writing: 'We dont need the empire to gift us anything.'
It's difficult assessing the racial demographics of Cuba, given that the country's government is known to manipulate its statistics, said Sebastian Arcos, associate director of the Cuban Research Institute in Florida.
'Most numbers have a political meaning, and can be manipulated,' Arcos told Daily Mail Online.
Official numbers from 2012 put the country's black population at around 9 percent, with a mixed population of around 26 percent and a white majority of 64 percent.
However, Arcos said, 'It's difficult measuring the exact numbers, because in Cuba, it's very common for mixed, light-skinned people to define themselves as white.'
A 2008 Economist piece referred to the Cuban government as a 'mainly white gerontocracy' ruling over a 'mainly black or mulatto' population.
Kelly also called Trump an 'effective' leader and said he would always be welcome on her show
When asked during the interview if she thinks 'politics has gone crazy in America' Kelly says she's 'had the same feeling'
Megyn Kelly talks about her relationship with Donald Trump in a new interview and calls out CNN and Bill O'Reilly for failing to support her at times during his attacks.
The Fox News host sat down with Charlie Rose for an episode of CBS Sunday Morning that will air this weekend, and revealed that she was upset when O'Reilly failed to defend her against Trump's attacks when he pulled out of the Iowa debate she moderated in January.
Kelly did however say; 'I think Bill did the best he's capable of doing in those circumstances.'
She also criticized CNN for airing the event Trump was holding for veterans at the same time she was hosting the debate.
'There should have been a moment of solidarity among journalists that night to say, "We will not allow ourselves to be bullied by a presidential front runner, even one as powerful and as ahead in the polls at that point as Trump was,"' said Kelly.
'"This is about journalism and the First Amendment, and we will put the debate moderator out on the stage that we think is appropriate."
'And I think it's a slippery slope when we don't stand shoulder to shoulder in those moments.'
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Opening up: Megyn Kelly is talking about her feud with Donald Trump in a new interview
Praise: Kelly called Trump (above on Wednesday) an 'effective' leader and said he would always be welcome on her show
Kelly went on to say that the best way to teach Trump a lesson would be to ban him from appearing on television, which she acknowledges is not possible.
'What he really wants is oxygen, you know, he wants television time,' said Kelly.
'So the only thing that is really meaningful to him, the only consequence that would actually have an effect on him, we cannot enact because it would be insane. You cannot ban the presidential front runner from a channel.'
The host of The Kelly File also has some positive things to say about Trump as well, saying of the Republican front-runner; 'Trump, if he could pull himself back in just somewhat, would be so effective.'
She then added; 'He's already been so effective. He could be so much more effective.'
At one point in the interview, Rose says to Kelly; 'Has anything about this campaign season made you want to throw up your arms and say, "Politics has gone crazy in America!"'
Kelly responds by saying; 'I've had the same feeling.'
Rose then asked Kelly about her feud with Trump and if the two even had a relationship before last August's debate when his attacks first began on the political commentator.
Kelly said she and Trump had no relationship before that debate, where her questions asking the presidential hopeful to address his negative comments about women and their appearance led to him saying the next day that she had 'blood coming out of her wherever.'
She then got into why she believes she is constantly at the receiving end of his vitriolic attacks.
'I think its very clear to him that he cannot control the editorial on my show or me in a debate or other settings,' said Kelly.
She then added that Trump is welcome to come on her show at any time.
Kelly previously spoke about how she was disappointed with O'Reilly in the April issue of MORE.
'I do wish that OReilly had defended me more in his interview with Trump. I would have defended him more,' said Kelly.
'Honestly? People think Im fearless. But Im human. I was not looking forward to going out on that stage and dealing with Trump if he was going to attack me.
'I felt the pressure of that and the stress of that. But I also knew I would walk through that fear and I would go out there and I would handle it. I can muster up the courage in the difficult situations to get me through.'
Not happy: The Fox News host says she was upset when Bill O'Reilly (above in November with Jimmy Fallon) did not defend her against Trump's attacks when he pulled out of the January debate
Kelly's feud with Trump seemed to have simmered down starting in February and he appeared at the Fox News debate she moderated on March 3, but a little over a week later he suddenly announced he would not be attending a March 21 debate that was also to be hosted by Fox News and moderated by Kelly.
During that March 3 debate, Kelly did not ask Trump a question for the first 30 minutes of the event, but when she did about his immigration policies, Trump greeted her by saying; 'Nice to be with you Megyn. Youre looking well.'
The Fox News host was cordial, but focused all night as she forced Trump to answer questions about policy and did not allow him to speak over her like he was doing with some of the other candidates on the stage.
Kelly at one point played video examples of times Trump changed his political stances and soon after pointed out the lawsuits that had been filed against him and Trump University.
'We have a 98% approval rating, we have an A from the Better Business Bureau and people like it,' Trump said of Trump University.
Kelly immediately responded by saying; 'The rating from the BBB was a D- and it was a result of a number of complaints they received.'
She then pointed out that 'theres a class action of 5,000 people' saying these people included 'veterans' and 'teachers.'
'The plaintiffs against you are like the Madoff victims,' said Kelly at one point, before reading the opinion handed down by the US Court of Appeals, which said; '... victims of con artists often sing the praises of their victimizers until they realize that they have been fleeced.'
'Give me break,' said Trump.
'Lets see what happens in a couple of years.'
Kelly has remained above the fray during these attacks, though she did recently link to a Reuters story on Twitter with the headline; 'Half of U.S. women have "very unfavorable" view of Trump: poll.'
She was immediately hit with a wave of responses attacking her from Trump supporters.
The religious head of Scotland's biggest mosque will not face charges over a series of leaked messages that apparently praised an extremist who was executed after murdering a politician in Pakistan.
Glasgow Central Mosque Imam Habib ur Rehman was said to have made favourable comments about assassin Mumtaz Qadri.
Qadri was hanged in February for the murder of Punjab governor Salman Taseer, who opposed Pakistan's strict blasphemy laws.
No charges: Glasgow Central Mosque Imam Habib ur Rehman will not face charges over a series of leaked messages. He was said to have made favourable comments about assassin Mumtaz Qadri
Mumtaz Qadri (left) was hanged last month for murdering Punjab Governor Salman Taseer (right) in 2011
The imam said a series of Whatsapp messages about Qadri in which he reportedly called the killer a 'true Muslim' had been 'taken out of context' and were about his opposition to Qadri's hanging and the Pakistani justice system.
Police Scotland said it had reviewed the comments but 'no criminality has been established'.
Speaking at a conference in Glasgow on Thursday, Imam Habib ur Rehman repeated that his comments were 'misconstrued' and said the situation had added to his 'sense of tragedy' following recent terror attacks.
He said: 'I condemn extrajudicial killing and anarchy. The spirit of Islam is a spirit of peace.'
Police Scotland Superintendent Jim Baird said: 'Officers have reviewed all comments as reported to Police Scotland and whilst it is appreciated that individuals raise issues that concern them, on this occasion no criminality has been established.
'Police Scotland thank the members of the public who raised this issue with us.
'Each person who reported their concerns to the police, and who were not anonymous, was responded to individually. This assisted us in directly answering the specific points they raised.'
Relatives gather around the body of Mumtaz Qadri after he was executed. He served as a bodyguard for Governor Taseer in the Punjab province but turned on him in 2011
Habib ur Rehman is the imam at Glasgow Central Mosque, pictured, which is the biggest in Scotland
Qadri is a polarising figure in Pakistan - fundamentalists view him as a martyr but others see him as a crazed extremist.
He served as a bodyguard for Governor Taseer in the Punjab province but turned on him in 2011, shooting him nine times.
The governor had been vocal in his support of Asia Bibi, a Christian woman who has been sentenced to death after being found guilty of insulting the Prophet.
Qadri had said he was angry at the politician's calls to reform the blasphemy law.
He was executed in a move that risked angering Islamist supporters who had feted him as a hero and threatened violence if he was executed.
The imam said a series of Whatsapp messages about Qadri in which he reportedly called the killer a 'true Muslim' had been 'taken out of context'
Within hours of the news of Qadri's execution, hundreds of supporters began gathering at the man's family home in Rawalpindi.
An estimated 100,000 people attended the funeral in March.
Qadri's lawyers drew on Islamic texts to argue that he was justified in killing Taseer, saying that by criticising the law the politician was himself guilty of blasphemy - an argument rejected by the lead judge.
A Supreme Court decision to uphold the death sentence last December sparked rallies. Islamist groups told those protests that if Qadri were executed those responsible should also be put to death.
Family of the ex-wife of troubled New York real estate heir Robert Durst have asked a judge to declare her legally dead 34 years after she was last seen.
In affidavits filed in Manhattan Surrogate's Court this week, Kathleen Durst's sisters and mother asked a judge to issue a death certificate.
They need a judge's declaration to pursue a wrongful death lawsuit against Robert Durst.
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Family of Kathleen Durst have asked a judge to declare her legally dead 34 years after she was last seen. Kathleen Durst is the ex-wife of troubled New York real estate heir Robert Durst (the couple pictured together)
Robert Durst, pictured last March, pleaded guilty in Louisiana last month to a weapons charge and has agreed to a sentence of seven years and one month in prison. His ex-wife's family believe he killed her
The family believes the 72-year-old millionaire killed Kathleen Durst in 1982, who was only a few weeks away from graduating from medical school prior to her death.
The family said they are convinced more than ever that Durst killed Kathleen Durst at the couple's weekend retreat in South Salem and disposed of her body, according to the New York Daily News.
'There is a strong probability that Durst killed Kathie,' Kathleen Durst's sister Carol Bamonte said in court papers.
Bamonte called Durst 'a violent criminal who had physically beaten Kathie on numerous occasions before her disappearance and confessed (in the documentary) to being 'complicit in Kathie's not being here.'
The family of Kathleen Durst (pictured) need a judge's declaration to pursue a wrongful death lawsuit against Robert Durst
The family believes the 72-year-old millionaire killed Kathleen Durst in 1982, who was only a few weeks away from graduating from medical school prior to her death
Durst has not been charged in connection with her disappearance.
Los Angeles prosecutors allege Durst killed a friend, Susan Berman, in 2000 to keep her from talking to authorities about Kathleen.
Attorney Richard DeGuerin says Durst is not responsible for the death or the disappearance.
Last month, Durst pleaded guilty to a weapons charge in Louisiana and agreed to a sentence of seven years and one month in prison.
Durst's plea was in connection with a charge of illegally carrying a .38-caliber revolver after being convicted of a felony. The charge has kept him in Louisiana.
Durst was charged last year with the death of his friend Berman.
Berman was shot in the back of the head at her home in Beverly Hills, a day before she was due to be questioned by police who had reopened an investigation into the 1982 disappearance of the tycoon's wife in New York.
Los Angeles prosecutors allege Durst killed his friend Susan Berman in 2000 to keep her from talking to authorities about Kathleen
Durst (pictured in December 2014) appeared to make an unwitting confession to a number of killings during filming of the acclaimed six-part HBO documentary 'The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst'
Durst appeared to make an unwitting confession to a number of killings during filming of the acclaimed six-part HBO documentary 'The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst.'
In the final episode Durst was heard muttering to himself, 'What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course,' apparently unaware that a wireless microphone remained switched on while he used the bathroom.
We've all heard stories about people who have got a little carried away on social media and ended up in a lot of trouble.
But when Glasgow Police posted advice on how to avoid it, the post sparked a backlash both furious and hilarious.
Earlier today, the force posted the tweet saying: 'Think before you post or you may receive a visit from us this weekend. Use the internet safely.'
Glasgow Police posted a tweet on how to keep comments legal, and it seemed people didn't like being told what to think, sparking a backlash both furious and hilarious
Another tweet portrays a picture of Mel Gibson playing the Scottish hero William Wallace in Braveheart, with a speech bubble saying 'Hello, Police Scotland? Someone's offended me'
Among them was a picture of a dog on a skateboard, asking 'is this necessary', after they asked followers to consider if there was any need for the tweet
There was also a picture of three pigeons sitting on a table, and the user joked that they may be discussing if any tweets are necessary, perched on a table in McDonald's
Another user latched on to the term 'hurtful', used by police, posting a picture of Michael Portillo, the former Conservative politician, wearing a purple blazer and hairdrying a chicken
Underneath was an acronym, telling people to ask themselves to 'THINK' if the tweet is true, hurtful, necessary, illegal, and kind.
But they were not so politely reminded by followers that not everything on the internet is entirely necessary, and the Tweet was met with hundreds of comments, pictures and GIFs.
One user posted a picture of Taggart, the famous fictional Scottish detective, on the phone saying 'Thur's been a crime', mocking their overzealous approach to social media.
Another tweet portrays a picture of Mel Gibson playing the Scottish hero William Wallace in Braveheart, with a speech bubble saying 'Hello, Police Scotland? Someone's offended me.'
Among them was a picture of a dog on a skateboard, asking 'is this necessary', after they asked followers to consider if there was any need for the tweet.
Others suggested that Kanye West, famous for his long rants on Twitter, is a prime candidate for arrest over aggravated unnecessary tweeting.
One user thanked the force for protecting their 'safe space', a reference to a South Park episode which satirises political correctness on the internet
This picture didn't have any words, although the image sent in response to the post seems to speak for itself
This tweet brands the force's instructions 'Sad', asking them to consider instead if the country allows 'independent thought' in their own version of the acronym
One user thanked the force for protecting their 'safe space', a reference to a South Park episode which satirises political correctness on the internet.
There was also a picture of three pigeons sitting on a table, and the user joked that they may be discussing if any tweets are necessary, perched on a table in McDonald's.
Another user latched on to the term 'hurtful', used by police, posting a picture of Michael Portillo, the former Conservative politician, wearing a purple blazer and appearing to be using a hair-dryer on a chicken.
The user asks: 'Is this hurtful to animal rights activists', while another jokes 'possibly to tailors', in reference to the garish jacket.
Another tweet brands the force's instructions 'Sad', asking them to consider instead if the country allows 'independent thought' in their own version of the acronym
Other users slammed the force, branding them the 'thought police' for telling people what they should tweet.
A user, called Cytlan on Twitter, called it 'scary' that police are now keeping watch over the internet with such fervor.
Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman oversees the Public Investment Fund (PIF)
Saudi Arabia is preparing for the end of the oil age by creating a $2trillion investment fund which is set to be the largest on Earth.
The Public Investment Fund (PIF) established by the kingdoms second-in-line to the throne will eventually be large enough to buy Google, Apple and Microsoft with money to spare.
Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who oversees the fund, claims that the initial public offering could happen as soon as next year.
It comes as Saudi Arabia, the worlds biggest crude exporter, insists that it will only freeze its oil output if other key producers, including Iran, take a similar measure.
What is left now is to diversify investments, the 30-year-old prince told Bloomberg, during an interview from the royal compound in the kingdoms capital, Riyadh.
So within 20 years, we will be an economy or state that doesnt depend mainly on oil.
It is nearly 80 years since the first oil was discovered in Saudi Arabia but, with crude prices plummeting worldwide, the nation plans to shake its dependence on the market.
One of the first steps will be for Saudi Arabia to sell shares in Aramcos parent company, which will transform the oil giant into an 'industrial conglomerate'.
According to the prince, the son of King Salman, the sale of Aramco could come as early as 2017.
What is left now is to diversify investments, so within 20 years, we will be an economy or state that doesnt depend mainly on oil. Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
But if all goes to plan, the fund will eventually be large enough to buy all four of the worlds largest publicly traded companies Apple Inc., Google parent company Alphabet Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
Although the proportion of foreign investments is currently at just five per cent of the fund, PIF plans to increase it to 50 per cent by 2020.
But Prince Mohammed said he doesnt believe the kingdom has a real problem when it comes to low oil prices, despite the fact the price of a barrel of crude oil has more than halved.
Undoubtedly, it will be the largest fund on Earth, added the prince. This will happen as soon as Aramco goes public.
The prince went on to confirm that Saudi Arabia will only freeze its oil output if other key producers, including Iran, take a similar measure.
If all countries agree to freeze production, were ready, he said.
Oil prices are being hit in part owing to the return of Iranian crude to markets after crippling economic sanctions on Tehran were lifted following last years nuclear deal between Iran and world powers
It is nearly 80 years since the first oil was discovered in Saudi Arabia but, with crude prices plummeting worldwide, the nation plans to shake its dependence on the market
If there is anyone that decides to raise their production, then we will not reject any opportunity that knocks on our door.
His remarks come ahead of a meeting of major oil producers led by Russia and Saudi Arabia set to take place in Doha on April 17, to discuss measures to stabilise prices, including a proposal not to pump out oil above a certain level.
Undoubtedly, it will be the largest fund on Earth. Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
Iran indicated it was ready to participate in the meeting and demanded an exemption from the freeze in order to boost its exports, according to Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak.
Oil prices are being hit in part owing to the return of Iranian crude to markets after crippling economic sanctions on Tehran were lifted following last years nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.
The upcoming meeting in Doha is a follow-up to talks in February between Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela, in which they first mooted the output freeze.
A prisoner was stabbed to death in a chapel 'within the Muslim section' of a Category C prison in a brutal lunchtime attack today.
Madala Washington, 25, was named by the Ministry of Justice as the victim of the knifing during lunch period at Coldingley Prison in Bisley, Surrey.
Rumours circulated this afternoon the attack took place in the prison's Muslim section while staff inside the prison said he was killed in a chapel, believed to be multi-faith.
An air ambulance, police and paramedics rushed to the Category C jail for men after the alarm was raised and warders said that frantic efforts were made to resuscitate Washington before he was pronounced dead almost an hour later.
Madala Washington, 25, was killed during a lunch break at Coldingley Prison, pictured, in Surrey, the MoJ confirmed
Police in Surrey confirmed that they had been called to a murder inside Coldingley jail and it was understood that another prisoner had been locked in a solitary cell while a full-scale investigation began.
Washington, formerly of Wimbledon, South West London, was jailed after being one of 13 people to be arrested and charged following a series of dawn raids on a Metropolitan Police operation targeting drug dealers.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice said: 'HMP Coldingley prisoner Madala Washington died in prison on Friday 1st April.
'As with all deaths in custody there will be an investigation by the independent Prisons and Probation Ombudsman.'
According to The Sun, the convict was heading to the chapel on his way to say prayers.
Meanwhile, residents living next to the prison speculated that the incident may have been religiously aggravated after rumours spread that the incident took place in the 'Muslim section' of the jail.
One neighbour, who asked not to be named, said: 'I have heard that it happened in the Muslim section of the prison.
'I really don't know how it is divided up in there, whether they have a mosque area or specific area for prayers like the chapel, but all I've heard is it happened in a Muslim area inside.
'I'm not sure who the people involved could have been, we don't tend to hear about what goes on in there. It's very much they have their privacy and we have ours.'
Staff at the jail told how one of the inmates had been ambushed and fatally stabbed in the stomach.
One, who asked not to be named, said: 'The guy was killed in the prison's chapel.'
The jail has five wings and was initially hailed as a 'flagship jail for England' when it as opened in 1991.
However in later years it has been criticised for a lack of work for inmates although news reports in 2006 said that some prisoners were earning up to 11,000 a year as well as another 1,300 in working tax credits.
The prison now operates a Crime Diversion Scheme in which inmates are employed.
The scheme involves young first time offenders visiting Coldingley to hear inmates there telling them of the harsh realities of losing your liberty in the hope it may stop them offending further.
Neighbours living in red-brick houses lining the road leading up to HMP Coldingley described seeing the Air Ambulance land on the 50 metre square patch of grass directly in front of the dull, greyish building before dozens of police officers flooded the prison.
According to staff at the prison, pictured, Washington was stabbed in a multi-faith chapel
Police cars were still parked outside the prison more than three hours after the incident took place as officers investigated the shocking death.
A former prison officer, who asked not to be named, said: 'There's three squad cars still parked out front. They would not normally be parked there. The air ambulance came down and landed on the grass.
'I saw an ambulance coming out of the prison as I was staring out the window. All I know is there is something going on. I've done 27 years as a prison officer and this is not an exercise.
'Something has gone on. What it is, I don't know, but it's something big.
'In the 80's we had a helicopter come in, but it didn't land, it was just part of an exercise. If this was an exercise the police cars wouldn't still be here an hour after the helicopter took off again.
'The ambulance went in. There was a lot of movement and a lot of police. They are probably taking statements at the moment.
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Surrounded by world leaders, President Barack Obama appeared to give the peace sign as they gathered for a 'team photo' during a two-day nuclear summit.
All eyes were on Obama as 54 other presidents and prime ministers joined him in Washington, DC, for crunch talks on Iran and terrorist threats involving nuclear weapons.
There was one set of eyes, however, that was particularly focused on the President - those of Prime Minister David Cameron.
Relations between Cameron and Obama have been strained since the President criticized the Prime Minister for getting 'distracted' during the crisis in Libya and turning it into a 's**t show'.
There was more than metaphorical distance between the pair at today's summit, with Cameron only able to glare at Obama from across the podium as he was elbowed out to the edge of the stage.
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Peace, man: Surrounded by world leaders, President Barack Obama appeared to give the peace sign at the end of a nuclear security summit today
Special relationship in tatters? All eyes were on Obama (left) as 54 other presidents and prime ministers joined him in Washington - including those of David Cameron (right)
Give us a wave, Dave! While the rest of the gathered leaders waved for the cameras, Cameron failed to lift his hand up
New best friend: Cameron was left out again as Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau chatted during the summit
While Obama fooled around for the cameras, some world leaders - such as Mexican Prime Minister Enrique Pena Nieto (right) - did not look happy
Arms folded: Cameron - fresh from his vacation in Lanzarote - did not appear to be playing ball with an energetic President Obama
Isolated: While Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (left) hit it off during the talks, Cameron (right) cut a lonely figure
After a day of tense, sensitive discussions on ISIS and the Middle East, Obama played up for the cameras as he grinned and appeared to flash the peace sign. As it was, he was making clear that there were two individuals waiting to join the line-up.
The President has come under fire for his relaxed attitude in recent weeks.
On a state visit to Argentina, he was seen dancing the tango with an attractive female dancer. On a historic visit to Cuba, he went to a baseball game instead of returning to the United States to respond to the horrific terrorist attacks in Brussels.
Before that, Obama chose not to attend the funeral of former First Lady Nancy Reagan, electing to go to a music festival and eat tacos instead.
While the President was surrounded by power players Chinese President Xi Jinping, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Jordanian King Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein at the summit, Cameron was left languishing at the end of a row alongside Algeria's prime minister Abdelmalek Sellal.
Earlier today, Obama spoke of the threat of nuclear weapons falling into the wrong hands, such as those of ISIS terrorists.
The President said no terrorist group had succeeded in getting hold of making a dirty bomb, but said al-Qaeda wanted to and ISIS had already used chemical weapons in the Middle East.
He said there was no doubt that if ISIS 'mad men' got a nuclear bomb, they would use it to kill as many people as possible. Obama gave a chilling warning that such a catastrophic disaster would 'change our world'.
'We have measurably reduced the risk,' Obama said. But he added: 'The threat of nuclear terrorism persists and continues to evolve.'
And he warned that as ISIS comes under greater pressure it will likely carry out more attacks elsewhere.
'As ISIL is squeezed in Syria and Iraq, we can anticipate it lashing out elsewhere, as we've seen most recently and tragically in countries from Turkey to Brussels,' Obama said - using another acronym for ISIS.
Despite Obama's warnings - and his hi-jinks during the photograph with other world leaders - Donald Trump's earlier comments on nuclear weapons cast a shadow over the summit.
The Republican presidential candidate said this week that allowing Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Japan to develop their own nuclear programs would ease strains on U.S. budgets, given the spiraling costs of maintaining America's nuclear umbrella and foreign troop deployments.
'Japan is better if it protects itself against this maniac of North Korea,' Trump said on Tuesday.
'We are better off frankly if South Korea is going to start protecting itself ... they have to protect themselves or they have to pay us.'
Obama was asked about the issue Friday night after Trump said Japan and South Korea should develop nuclear weapons as a deterrent to North Korea.
The president said the United States doesn't want someone in the Oval Office who doesn't recognize the potential trouble in such a development.
'[The statements] tell us that the person who made the statements doesn't know much about foreign policy, nuclear policy, the Korean peninsula or the world generally,' Obama said at the press conference. 'I said before, people pay attention to American elections.'
Obama noted that Trump's comments came up during discussions with leaders at the nuclear summit in Washington.
He said that even countries that are used to a 'carnival atmosphere' in their politics want 'sobriety and clarity' in US elections.
Trump has made several remarks about nuclear weapons lately, even claiming he would not rule out using nuclear bombs in Europe.
Obama's comments come just a day after White House Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said that Trump's proposal for Japan and South Korea to have nuclear weapons would be 'catastrophic' for US policy.
'The entire premise of American foreign policy as it relates to nuclear weapons for the last 70 years has been focused on preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons to additional states,' Rhodes said on Thursday. 'That's been the position of bipartisan administrations, everybody who has occupied the Oval Office.
Friday's summit in Washington began with Obama hailing the much-criticized nuclear deal with Iran a 'substantial success'.
Planning something? Obama had a cheeky grin on his face as he walked up to the podium before the photograph on Friday
Obama chatted with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, with most world leaders looking relaxed after the day's nuclear talks
Handsome: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau maintained his trademark good looks despite a long day of high-level talks
Cool customer: Despite facing criticism for appearing too relaxed in his final year as president, Obama looked chilled as he posed for the photograph while appearing to pull out the peace sign
He said the world has seen 'real progress' as a result of the deal and that Iran was already seeing benefits from the deal.
However, he said it would take some time still before Iran could truly reintegrate with the world economy.
Obama branded the controversial agreement a reminder that when the global community stands together, it can promote common security.
U.S. and Japanese officials also met on Friday to pledge to remove highly enriched uranium from a Japanese research reactor to reduce the risk of theft and nuclear terrorism.
Very few details were released about the agreement or when it will take place.
The two governments also confirmed they have completed removal of materials from another Japanese research reactor that could have been used to make nuclear weapons if they had fallen into the wrong hands. That was part of a separate deal struck in 2014.
More than 700 pounds of plutonium is being shipped from Japan to a U.S. facility in South Carolina, according to Japanese media.
But the state's governor, Nikki Haley, has opposed bringing more plutonium to the site, where tons of it is already stored.
On a busy day for Obama, the President - on the coat tails of an historic trip to Cuba - said Latin America and the Caribbean were now 'free' of highly enriched uranium.
Argentina - another country recently visited by Obama, who was seen doing the tango with an attractive female dancer there last week - aborted a nuclear weapons program in the 1980s and has cooperated with the U.S. on uranium stockpiles.
With the project finally completed, the White House said no country in Latin America or the Caribbean now has more than 1kg (2.2 pounds) of highly enriched uranium.
The United States, in newly declassified statistics, said its own national inventory of highly enriched uranium has dropped from 817 tons two decades ago to 646 tons as of 2013.
On the global front, a strengthened nuclear security agreement was finally poised to take force, extending protections for nuclear materials being used, stored and transported while enacting new criminal penalties for nuclear smuggling. Those tweaks were approved in 2005, but have sat dormant awaiting ratification from a critical mass of nations, reached only in the past few days.
Still, frustration over the slow pace of reducing nuclear stockpiles shadowed the summit, which is Obama's last major push on denuclearization.
The absence of key players - especially Russia - further underscored the lack of unanimity confronting global efforts to deter nuclear attacks.
After six years of prodding by Obama and others before him, the global stockpile of fissile material remains in the thousands of tons. Meanwhile, security officials warn that the radioactive ingredients for a dirty bomb are alarmingly insecure in many parts of the globe.
Ahead of the summit, fewer than half of the countries participating had agreed to secure their sources of radiological material like cesium and cobalt, which are widely present in hospital, industrial and academic settings but could be diverted to make a dirty bomb.
In the wake of terrorist attacks in Brussels and Paris, security officials have raised concerns that the next attack could spread cancer-causing substances across a wide swath of a Western city, wreaking havoc and triggering evacuations.
At the conclusion of a nuclear security summit, where he met with more than 50 leaders to discuss nuclear security, on Friday, Obama gave a press conference.
He told reporters that the United States and Russia are unlikely to further reduce their stockpiles of nuclear weapons during the remainder of his presidency.
Thumbs up: Ukraine's president Petro Poroshenko certainly looked please to have taken his place behind President Barack Obama
... Meanwhile, in the shadows: Cameron was isolated from the power players and looked dejected as he shook hands with UAE foreign affairs minister Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan
Allies: Obama sat next to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Japan and the U.S. struck a deal to remove highly enriched uranium from a Japanese research reactor
He did say, however, that he believes the two countries have put systems in place that will allow for more reductions in the future.
At the close of a nuclear security summit, Obama said that Russian President Vladimir Putin has emphasized 'military might' instead of disarmament, but Obama believes there are still possibilities for progress.
In the meantime, Obama said the world must guard against the proliferation of new, deadlier nuclear weapons.
The president is crediting the United States and Russia with abiding by a bilateral arms reduction treaty.
He said he's tried to strike the right balance between arms reduction and preserving US nuclear weapons capabilities.
As for the world's work to prevent nuclear attacks, Obama said the task is 'by no means finished'.
He said world leaders have made 'significant, meaningful progress' in securing nuclear materials so terrorists can't get them.
But, he said, there is still a large amount of nuclear and radioactive material that must be secured, adding that in some countries, the nuclear arsenal is expanding.
Obama said the dozens of leaders attending the summit agreed to keep strengthening nuclear facilities against cyber-attacks and to bolster defenses against nuclear smuggling.
The work has just begun, Obama said, adding that the vision of preventing the spread of nuclear weapons may not happen in his lifetime.
Also at the press conference, Obama mentioned drones, Turkey and doing business in Iran.
Obama acknowledged that 'civilians have been killed that shouldn't have been' in past US drone strikes, but says the administration is now 'very cautious' about taking strikes where women or children are present.
Asked at the news conference about an increase in the number of people targeted in several drone strikes against extremist targets in Libya, Syria and Somalia, Obama said the 'legal architecture' around the use of drone strikes in the past hasn't been precise.
But in the last several years, he said, the administration has worked hard to prevent civilian deaths.
He added that the United States has to take responsibility when it is not acting appropriately.
The president moved on to Turkey, and said he has been troubled by the country's repression of the press and democratic debate under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Still, he says Turkey is a NATO ally and an important partner in fighting terrorism. Further, Obama said he has a productive partnership with Erdogan.
Obama has, however, spoken openly with Erdogan about trends in Turkey that he calls troubling, particularly in regard to freedom of the press, religion and democracy.
Erdogan was among the 50-some world leaders who joined Obama at a nuclear security summit in Washington.
As for Iran, Obama said the country has to convince international companies that it is safe to do business there as it gains relief from sanctions by complying with the nuclear deal.
Obama he said that the United States and its partners in the nuclear deal need to clarify what business transactions are allowed as the sanctions are lifted.
He added that the Iranians thus far have adhered to the letter of the nuclear agreement.
A Virginia police officer was photographed giving a pair of boots to a homeless woman who was begging on the side of a road.
The officer with the Virginia Beach Police Department, who wishes to remain anonymous, spotted the woman in her 50s on Tuesday.
He said he noticed she seemed to be 'having a pretty hard time getting around' so he decided to stop and talk to her and ended up giving her the new boots, according to ABC News.
A kind Virginia Beach police officer was photographed giving a pair of boots to a homeless woman who was begging on the side of a road (shown above)
The officer noted that he always carries two pairs of boots with him in case he encounters someone in need.
While Virginia Beach resident Trey Pendt, 29, was driving home that afternoon, he saw the officer and the woman interacting, and while at a red light, snapped a picture of the sweet moment.
'I thought it was really cool,' Pendt told ABC News.
'He walked up to her with the boots and she put them on. He helped her lace them up. He drove off, she walked off happy and that was it.'
The kind officer told ABC News that the woman was very thankful and that she even offered him her shoes after receiving the new ones, but he declined, suggesting she give them to someone in need.
'I was more than happy to help her out. She got a little teary-eyed over it,' the officer said. 'I gave her a big old hug and said "God Bless."'
Pendt shared the photo on Facebook where it has been shared more than 3,000 times to date.
Virginia Beach resident Trey Pendt, 29, captured the moment while he was driving home from work on Tuesday. He then shared the photo on Facebook
On Facebook he recalled how he regularly sees the woman begging for change on his way home from work almost and how when he saw the officer, he thought it was just a case of another homeless person getting 'busted for vagrancy.'
'But when I got close, I realized that he wasn't arresting her.... he was a giving her a brand new pair of boots because hers were all jacked up,' Pendt wrote.
'He even got down on his knees and helped her lace them up and everything. Shout out to officer friendly with #VBPD for protecting AND serving.'
The anonymous officer said he feels his act of kindness was normal.
'I feel as though I didn't do anything different from any officers I work with, or any other officers in the nation,' he told ABC.
Wendi Deng enjoyed a meal out with her daughters in St. Barts on Thursday, the same day that a report emerged claiming she was in a relationship with Vladimir Putin.
Deng was seen standing on the sidewalk in a yellow dress and sandals alongside her daughter Chloe Murdoch and a group of friends.
The 47-year-old Chinese businesswoman has been enjoying a holiday on the Caribbean island aboard the yacht of Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, a close friend of Putin.
Deng is close to Abramovich's wife Dasha Zhukova, who is not with her on the yacht this week and instead with friends in South Carolina.
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Night out: Wendi Deng was seen out at dinner Thursday night in St. Barts with her daughters and friends (above)
Family outing: Deng was seen with her daughter Chloe (above) on the street outside the restaurant
Big rumor: A report emerged earlier that day claiming Deng was in a 'serious' relationship with Russian president Vladimir Putin
US Weekly reported that Deng and Putin, 63, were dating after speaking to an insider close to the Russian leader who said the relationship between the two had gotten 'serious.'
They are both divorced, with Deng and husband Rupert Murdoch splitting in 2013 and Putin separating a year later from his wife of 30 years Lyudmila Putina.
Deng and her ex have two daughters,Grace, 14, and Chloe, 12, while Putin and his wife also have two daughters, Maria, 30, and Yekaterina, 29.
Putin was linked to Russian gymnast Alina Kabaeva after his split, and there have been claims that he fathered two children with her, but the Kremlin and Kabayeva have strongly denied these accusations.
There were also allegations the two had been together since as early as 2008, but those claims were also strongly denied.
Murdoch filed for divorce from Deng after 14 years of marriage citing irreconcilable differences, with some reports at the time claiming he had grown suspicious of his wife's relationship with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who is the godfather of their daughter Grace.
Emails from Deng were uncovered around this time that suggested a close relationship with Blair - which were shown to Mr Murdoch by one of his sons.
In one memo to herself, Deng had written: 'Oh s***, oh s***. Whatever why I'm so so missing Tony. Because he is so charming and his clothes are so good.
'He has such a good body and he had his really, really good legs Butt [sic] . . . and he is slim tall and good skin. Pierce blue eyes which I love. Love his eyes. Also I love his power on the stage . . . and what else what else what else . . .'
Other messages suggested that Blair had met Deng in New York, London and Beijing.
Keeping quiet: Deng (left in 2012) and Putin (right in 2013) have never been spotted together and neither has commented on their rumored relationship
Moving on: Deng's ex-husband Rupert Murdoch married for the fourth time last month, walking down the aisle with former model Jerry Hall. Deng is close to Abramovich's wife Dasha Zhukova (pictured together right), who is not with her on the yacht this week and instead with friends in South Carolina
Hours after the divorce was announced, Blair telephoned Murdoch, insisting he was innocent. But, after a brief conversation, the tycoon refused to take any more of his calls.
Deng was also recently linked to 30-year-old violinist Charlie Siem after the two attended the Giambatista Valli show during Paris fashion week earlier this year.
Deng's vacation comes just a few weeks after her ex walked down the aisle for the fourth time, with Murdoch, 85, saying 'I do' to former American model and Mick Jagger ex Jerry Hall, 59, last month in London.
Putin's ex-wife also remarried earlier this year according to reports that claim she wed a man 21 years her junior in January, 37-year-old businessman Arthur Ocheretny.
Deng and Putin meanwhile have never been spotted together and neither has commented on their rumored relationship.
At age 18, Dahmer murdered his first victim, Steven Hicks, in the home and buried the dismembered body in the wood behind the home
Dahmer's home, which sits on one and a half acres of land, costs $8,000 a week
The home of Jeffery Dahmer, who killed 17 people, is available for rent in time for the Republican National
Jeffrey Dahmer's childhood home will be available to rent during the Republican National Convention this July.
The 2,170sqft home in Bath Township, less than 30 miles from where the convention is being held in Cleveland, costs $8,000 for a week.
Dahmer's former residence, at 4480 W Bath Road, is one of several private properties that real estate company Howard Hanna has made available for rent while the convention is underway.
For those looking to stay in the home permanently, the residence's current owner Chris Butler is selling the location for $234,900, according to Zillow .
Jeffrey Dahmer's childhood home (pictured) in Bath Township, Ohio, will be available for rent during the Republican National Convention this July
The home, located on one and a half acres of land, costs $8,000 a week to rent and is for sale for more than a $234,900
Dahmer murdered his first victim on the property in 1978. Dahmer was 18 when he killed Steven Hicks with a blow to the head
Realtor Rich Lubinski of Stouffer Reality Inc. told USA Today although the house has a certain stigma to it, he thinks it isn't an impossible sell.
'This house never killed anyone,' he told the paper.
Stouffer Reality Inc. is not offering tours of the property because of its notoriety and instead only showing the home to 'serious buyers'.
The three-bedroom home, on one and a half acres of land, is the site of Dahmer's first murder in 1978.
Dahmer, then just 18, killed a hitchhiker named Steven Hicks with a blow to the head after Hicks tried to leave the home.
Dahmer is believed to have killed 17 boys and men and was arrested in 1991 and sentenced to 15 consecutive life sentences in 1992
Before his arrest, Dahmer exhumed the body of Hicks, which he had dismembered, from the woods behind the home
He dismembered Hicks's body, packed the parts in plastic bags and buried them in the woods behind the Bath Township house.
Dahmer eventually exhumed the remains, pulverized them with a hammer and scattered them again in the forest behind the home, according to Biography.com.
Nine years later Dahmer would murder his second victim: Steven Toumi.
Toumi's head was kept in a refrigerator in the home after his murder.
Dahmer murdered 15 more victims after Toumi and was killed in prison in 1994.
Homeowner Butler says he put up the listing on a whim to 'suck some Republican gelt from those people'.
The RNC will be held in Cleveland, Ohio, from July 18 to July 21.
He then took a hammer, pulverized the remains then scattered them further in the woods behind the property (pictured)
For more of the latest news from Russia visit www.dailymail.co.uk/russia
U.S. officials say Russia has 1,648 and that the Pentagon has 1,538
to have below 1,500 warheads
By February 2018, each country is
The addition of these MIRVs goes against Russia's agreement with the U.S. to decrease their arsenal
multiple warheads, similar to a gun's barrel but with each 'bullet' being a bomb
Russia has reportedly flouted its arms agreement with the U.S. by doubling their store of nuclear warheads.
Pentagon officials tell the Washington Free Beacon that Moscow has doubled the number of their warheads by creating new multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles, also called MIRVs.
MIRVs are vehicles that carry multiple warheads ready for launch, similar to how a gun has a barrel for several shots.
'The Russians are doubling their warhead output,' the official told the Free Bacon.
Russia has reportedly doubled its nuclear warhead arsenal by adding several MIRVs, which are weapons that include multiple warheads. Above, workers working on a MIRV in the U.S.
This new armament is in violation of Russia's New START treaty with the U.S..
The agreement is that both would decreased their arsenal to below 1,550 warheads by February 2018.
Pentagon officials say that the U.S. is currently under that number at 1,538 while Russia is over the limit by 1,648.
Mark Schneider, a former Pentagon official involved in strategic nuclear forces, said the Obama Administration's claims that about the success of the program 'border on outright lies' and that the Russians haven't spoken of reducing warheads 'in five years'.
Former Defense Secretary William Perry said that the program was good at the beginning but is no longer working amid increased tensions between the U.S. and Russia.
That could be attributed to the Russian presence in Crimea and Obama and Putin's disagreements with how to deal with Syria.
'Everything came to a grinding halt and were moving in reverse,' Perry said Thursday.
News of Russia's renewed armament comes as Obama and world leaders meet in Washington for the Nuclear Security Summit, an event that Putin skipped.
A killer whale that was spotted in the heart of Londonderry chasing salmon 39 years ago is alive and well off Skye in the west coast of Scotland.
Nicknamed 'Dopey Dick', the marine animal has failed to live up to his moniker after he was recognised from images taken in Northern Ireland in 1977 close to the Scottish island.
The seventies pictures were compared with photos of the pod of orcas near Skye captured in September 2014 and a positive identification confirmed.
The whale, which has now been named Comet by scientists, first shot to fame in November 1977 when he swam up the River Foyle and stayed in the centre of Londonderry for two days.
Killer whale 'Dopey Dick' was spotted in the heart of Londonderry chasing salmon 39 years ago and has been spotted alive and well off Skye in the west coast of Scotland
Thought to now be 58, Comet is a member of the highly vulnerable west coast community of killer whales, the UK's only known resident population of orcas, which is at high risk of extinction and is being tracked by scientists.
Andy Foote, a killer whale expert, said: 'When I saw the photos on Facebook, I noticed that the white eye patch of Dopey Dick sloped backwards in a really distinctive fashion.
'This is a trait we see in all the west coast community whales, but it's not that common in other killer whale populations. The photographs were all quite grainy, but it was still possible to see some of the distinctive features unique to Comet.
'I couldn't believe it - he was already a full grown male back in 1977, when I was just five-years-old.'
The Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust has been tracing the movement's of the west coast community of eight killer whales since 1994.
The four males and four females are not known to interact with other orca populations in the north-east Atlantic and, since studies began, have never successfully reproduced. In January this year one of the females died after she became stranded on the Isle of Tiree.
'Dopey Dick' was seen in the river that runs through the heart Londonderry in 1977 (pictured)
Now known as Comet, the whale was originally nicknamed 'Dopey Dick' when it swan up the River Foyle (pictured) in Limerick in 1977
Padraig Whooley, sightings officer of the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group, said: 'This match places Comet very much at the upper limits of the typical life expectancy of male killer whales.
'Adult males generally live to around 30 years, but with an upper range of 50 to 60 years.
'So, clearly time is not only running out for this individual whale - it is equally running out for whale biologists, who may not have much time left to gather information on this unique local population of killer whales that have made the waters of the British Isles their home.'
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No its Felix the supercat!
With his action hero cape billowing behind him, this seven-year-old moggy is the undisputed star of a troupe of French acrocats captivating audiences on their first visit to the UK with Zippos Circus.
As well as Felix, there is Rundi, three, who jumps through a hoop between two stands nearly 5ft apart; nine-month-old Junior who negotiates a tightrope walk across a rope; Pattatina, six, who manages by a whisker to balance on top of a ball; and agile Valentina, one, who weaves between glittery pedestals.
With his action hero cape billowing behind him, Felix the supercat (pictured) is the undisputed star of a troupe of French acrocats captivating audiences on their first visit to the UK with Zippos Circus
Also part of the troupe is nine-month-old Junior (pictured) who negotiates a tightrope walk across a rope
Critics of animal acts will doubtless see their five-minute show as something to get their claws into. But all these cats were rescued after being abandoned on the streets of Angers, a city 190 miles south west of Paris. They were adopted by circus performers Rosline Borissov, 40, her husband Boris, 48, and their daughter Nora, 16.
The act began five years ago when Rosline whose family has performed in circuses for seven generations as clowns, jugglers and acrobats and her husband, who runs a Zippos horse act, found Felix abandoned in a park.
He was the first feline they trained and the troupes number swelled as they adopted more abandoned cats. Rundi, for example, was rescued from a roundabout, while Junior was found abandoned in a shopping centre drain.
All these cats were rescued after being abandoned on the streets of Angers, a city 190 miles south west of Paris. Pictured, there is also Rundi, three, who jumps through a hoop between two stands nearly 5ft apart
The act began five years ago when Rosline and her husband, who runs a Zippos horse act, found Felix abandoned in a park. Pictured, agile Valentina, one, weaves between glittery pedestals
In all, the family has 27 trained cats, all of which are rewarded for their work with treats of Strasbourg sausage or duck pate
Felix (pictured leaping from a platform high up in the air) was the first feline they trained and the troupes number swelled as they adopted more abandoned cats
Only a handful of the cats perform each night to ensure they do not get tired or simply lose interest which, says Rosline, is an inevitable obstacle when working with domestic cats
In all, the family has 27 trained cats, all of which are rewarded for their work with treats of Strasbourg sausage or duck pate. Only a handful of them perform each night to ensure they do not get tired or simply lose interest which, says Rosline, is an inevitable obstacle when working with domestic cats. She explained: Cats are very independent and when they dont want to work, they dont work. They are difficult to train.
She went on to say: It takes about six months to train each cat. We do it from when they are little using treats. Each has their own speciality, but they all only perform natural movements showcasing their agility.
Former Real Housewives of Orange County star Lynne Curtins daughter has accused a Sheriffs Deputy of raping her following a routine traffic stop, according to a bombshell lawsuit obtained exclusively by Daily Mail Online.
Alexa Curtin claims the deputy with the Orange County Sheriffs Department sexually assaulted her in April, 2014 when she was 21-year-old.
Curtin - who has waived her right to anonymity to encourage any other alleged victims of the police officer to come forward - claims she was pulled over shortly after leaving her boyfriends house in Dana Point, California.
The lawsuit states one of the deputies approached 23-year-old Curtins car and began questioning her.
It states: The Deputy searched Plaintiffs vehicle. Plaintiff had some of her clothing in her vehicle. While searching...the Deputy found some of Plaintiffs underwear and began inappropriately questioning Plaintiff about her underwear, asking if the underwear belonged to her, how many pairs she had, why she needed the underwear, etc.
Former Real Housewives of Orange County star Lynne Curtins daughter Alexa has accused a Sheriffs Deputy of raping her following a routine traffic stop, according to a bombshell lawsuit obtained by Daily Mail Online
The suit says the Deputy then had to leave to tend to another more pressing matter, but told Curtin she wasnt free to leave and ordered her to remain in her vehicle.
Twenty minutes later the same deputy who had conducted the earlier traffic stop returned but in his personal vehicle and out of uniform, the lawsuit states.
The plain clothed officer got into the car and sat in the passenger seat next to Curtin.
The lawsuit states: The Deputy began issuing orders to Plaintiff. Based on information and belief the Deputy said, Since you are still here, I am going to f**k the s**t out of you.
Based on information and belief, the Deputy stated to Plaintiff, Show me your p***y.
The suit says Curtin was afraid and feared for her own safety, and she complied with all of the Deputys commands.
It added: Then the Deputy groped Plaintiffs vagina and digitally penetrated her while commenting on her anatomy.
Lieutenant Mark Stichter of Orange County Sheriffs Department told Daily Mail Online that the force was aware of the lawsuit
The suit says that the officer then pulled his pants down and ordered Curtin to straddle him while he was sat in the passenger seat.
Curtin complied because, she was still in fear for her safety and knew that many in law enforcement carry guns.
It added: While in this position, the Deputy had nonconsensual sexual intercourse with Plaintiff.
The deputy then pulled his pants up and asked Curtin for her cell phone number so he could text her again.
Still afraid Curtin gave him a wrong number.
The suit stated: Plaintiff was violated, traumatized, emotionally drained, in shock, and fearing for her own safety. Specifically, Plaintiff feared that given the Deputys position, he would find her and harm her again.
It added: Due to the Defendants atrocious actions, Plaintiff has suffered physical and emotional injuries. Plaintiffs injuries continue.
Curtin is suing both the Sheriff's Deputy and Orange County Sheriffs Department asking for substantial damages.
Curtin has had a couple of run-ins with the law in the past, one a domestic violence incident with her boyfriend in 2013 and she was arrested on a misdemeanor charge for public drinking last year
Curtin is the daughter of former Real Housewife of Orange County star Lynne Curtin and appeared regularly in the Bravo reality series herself alongside big sister Raquel.
In May 2014 Lynne was shocked to discover her daughter did porn under the alias 'Jayden Taylors' to pay for plastic surgery.
'When I found out that Alexa was involved in porn I became physically ill,' the 59-year-old reality star said in the National Enquirer.
The jewelry designer was under the impression her daughter, now 23, was just modeling lingerie.
Curtin has had a couple of run-ins with the law in the past, one a domestic violence incident with her boyfriend in 2013 and she was arrested on a misdemeanor charge for public drinking last year.
Alexa (right) is the daughter of former Real Housewife of Orange County star Lynne Curtin and appeared regularly in the Bravo reality series herself
Curtins lawyer Jeremy Jass confirmed his client is suing and that she was comfortable being named despite being a victim of rape.
He said: 'We talked about her name coming out because she is somewhat of a public figure and she is comfortable with that.
'Sex abuse cases are notorious for being unreported or under reported because they are about sensitive issues that people don't want to live through but she has done nothing to be ashamed of and I don't think she should have to shy away from that.
'Maybe because she is a public figure it will bring other victims forward who may not have otherwise come forward.
'We have reason to believe the perpetrator in Alexis's case may have had multiple victims so we hope we can stop this happening again.
'Hopefully the truth will come out and justice will be achieved.'
He added that his client did not report the incident to police at the time because she was afraid of repercussions.
'Alexa didn't make a police report because she was concerned that she would suffer some retaliation from the department,' Jass said.
'She was afraid that the perpetrator would find out about the complaint and he could find out where she lived or what kind of car she drives and the license plate. She figured she wouldn't be too hard to track down.'
Lieutenant Mark Stichter of Orange County Sheriffs Department told Daily Mail Online that the force was aware of the lawsuit.
A 12-year-old boy's suicide has rocked his community outside Pittsburgh after family members said he was the victim of ongoing bullying at school.
Evan W. Ziemniak, of Oakdale, Pennsylvania, died on March 23, with the Allegheny County coroner's office ruling it a suicide.
His grandmother Debbie Long told the Pittsburgh Post Gazette Evan had been shoved and stabbed with pencils on the school bus, while the sixth grader's parents reportedly raised the issue with the West Allegheny Middle School several times.
Evan W. Ziemniak (pictured left with his parents and younger sister), committed suicide on March 23. He was just 12-years-old
Evan enjoyed playing Minecraft, learning about the Civil War, and collecting old coins. According to his family members, the boy was subject to bullying as a sixth grader at West Allegheny Middle School
Evan's other grandmother Diana Ziemniak said the 12-year-old committed suicide to 'stop the pain', while an uncle said the boy had a positive home life, ruling out divorce, abuse, or 'family upsets'.
'This isn't a kid from a broken home. This isnt a kid who is on the streets at night. How does it come to this?,' Bill Costantini Jr. told the Post Gazette.
Evan enjoyed playing Minecraft, learning about the Civil War, and collecting old coins. He is survived by a younger sister and his parents, Matt and Dana Ziemniak.
His father vowed to combat bullying in a statement shared with the Post Gazette where he said: 'I will tell you that this story will eventually become bigger than just West Allegheny School District.
'The implications are more far-reaching and the issues that need to be discussed and addressed are not unique to our school district.
'Dana and I are prepared to do what is necessary to make sure other parents do not have to face the worst tragedy a parent could ever face.'
In a Facebook tribute post that has been shared more than 800 times, many parents in the school district offered words of condolences and shared stories of their own kids being bullied.
Vicki Delien wrote: 'The voices of our children here at West A need to be heard and NOT swept under the carpet.
'This is truly heartbreaking. I've seen the bullying that goes on at the middle school and at the elementary school too.
'My one child has been to guidance countless times. I can't even imagine the pain that the parents are going through. My heart goes out to them.'
His father vowed to combat bullying in a statement shared with the Post Gazette where he said: 'The implications are more far-reaching and the issues that need to be discussed and addressed are not unique to our school district'
News of Evan's death shocked members of the local community, where about 400 people gathered days after to participate in a prayer walk. A memorial event also drew the support of classmates, teachers, and members of the police department and school board. Pictured, Evan with his mom, dad, and sister
About four hundred people gathered at the middle school on March 26 to remember Evan in a prayer walk that included hymns sung by a local choir.
A memorial event also drew the support of classmates, teachers, and members of the police department and school board.
The DailyMail.com has reached out to the school for comment, while spokesperson Karen Ruhl said in a statement on Wednesday that they were 'deeply saddened by the news'.
The school, which acknowledged the need for a new anti-bullying program, had just launched the Safe and Supportive Schools Program earlier last month, the Post Gazette reported.
It came under fire from parents after a January 'Kindness Workshop' left some kids in tears,WTAE reported.
Kids were asked to hold masks over their faces and step into a circle if they identified with certain categories of race, sexuality, class or ethnicity.
According to the local news channel, the parent of a eighth-grader said: 'I never would expect a middle school to ask 13-year-old kids if their parent was in jail, if theyre same sex, if they're having financial issues.'
Superintendent Dr. Jerri Lippert defended the program, saying the age-appropriate exercise was intended to raise awareness that pejorative terms used to target specific demographics of people can be hurtful.
Officials at West Allegheny Middle School acknowledged the need for a new anti-bullying program and had just launched the Safe and Supportive Schools Program earlier last month
Multiple white police officers performed an illegal cavity search on a black man during an unwarranted traffic stop in South Carolina, according to dash camera footage.
Elijah Pontoon was the victim in the humiliating rectal search after he and his girlfriend, Lakeye Hicks, were pulled over while driving near downtown Aiken in a recently bought vehicle with temporary tags in 2014.
Officer Chris Medlin of the Aiken Department of Public Safety tells Hicks - who was driving - in dash camera footage that he stopped her because of a 'paper tag' on her vehicle.
Driving with temporary tags is not illegal in South Carolina, as long as the tags are not expired, according to The Washington Post, who first reported on the October 2, 2014, incident as part of an ongoing investigation into police abuse in South Carolina.
Elijah Pontoon was the victim in the humiliating rectal search in Aiken, South Carolina, on October, 2, 2014, after he and his girlfriend, Lakeye Hicks, were pulled over while driving in a recently bought vehicle with temporary tags in 2014
Officer Chris Medlin of the Aiken Department of Public Safety said they were pulled over because of 'paper tags' before ordering a K9 dog to sniff the car and perform body searches on Hicks and Pontoon
Pontoon's attorney Robert Phillips filed a lawsuit in September 2015 against Aiken police officers following the incident.
Dash camera footage shows Hicks driving the vehicle when it's pulled over. She and Pontoon are black, while all officers involved in the traffic stop are white.
During the stop, officer Medlin asks for both Hicks' and Pontoon's IDs, despite the fact that Pontoon is only a passenger in the car and isn't required to provide identification.
Pontoon is almost immediately handcuffed after Medlin runs their identification and finds that the car's tags are legitimate.
Hicks is also ordered to step out of the vehicle, and when Pontoon asks what's going on, he is ignored before Medlin says he'll 'explain in a minute'.
Though the officers don't give a reason for a car search, the couple allows a K9 officer to check the vehicle, though one point Pontoon says, 'this is just harassment', according to the lawsuit.
The cops reference Pontoon's 'past history' and tell him 'you're going to pay for this one, boy', before instructing the K9 to sniff the car.
Pontoon has a lengthy criminal record including drug charges, but it appears to be clean after 2006, according to The Washington Post.
When the vehicle search comes up clean, Medlin orders female officers to 'search her real good', referring to Hicks.
The search is conducted off camera, but according the lawsuit, it involved Hicks exposing her breasts on the side of the road in a popular area and in the view of three male officers.
Hicks stood by and watched as her boyfriend, Pontoon, was cavity searched by multiple officers who believed he had a 'something hard' between his legs
When her search also comes up clean, the officers turn their attention to Pontoon.
Though they're unable to find anything during the search, Medlin continues to pursue Pontoon.
'You've got something here right between your legs. There's something hard right there between your legs,' Medlin said before adding that he's going to 'put some gloves on'.
An anal probe involving more than one officer then takes place off camera and lasts approximately three minutes.
Pontoon insists that if the officers are feeling a hard mass, it's a hemorrhoid, not drugs.
'If that's a hemorrhoid, that's a hemorrhoid, all right? But that don't feel like no hemorrhoid to me,' one officer says.
'It's a rock. It's a rock in the crack. It's gotta be rock. He's got it up in the butt,' another officer adds.
The officers fail to find anything on the couple's bodies or in the car, despite being persistent during the search.
Hicks and Pontoon are eventually let go after officers give the couple a warning, even though there was no warranted reason to pull them over in the first place, the lawsuit claims.
Medlin, who is a defendant in the suit, is still working for the police department.
'The City of Aiken denies the Plaintiffs' allegations and is vigorously defending this lawsuit. We will have no further comment about the facts of this case during the pendency of this litigation,' Aiken public information officer Capt David Turno said in an email to The Washington Post.
When Hartwig Fischer starts his first day as the British Museums director on Monday, it will be an historic moment for the German.
The 53-year-old, internationally renowned as a brilliant museum chief, said he never dreamed he would be invited to be responsible for this great British institution.
The appointment of Dr Fischer, the first non-Briton to hold the museums top job for 150 years, eloquently underlines how Anglo-German relations have changed.
For another, less glorious landmark date from a very different era looms.
Now: When Hartwig Fischer starts his first day as the British Museums (pictured) director on Monday, it will be an historic moment for the German
1941: The appointment of Dr Fischer, the first non-Briton to hold the museums top job for 150 years, eloquently underlines how Anglo-German relations have changed. Pictured, inside the museum after the war-time bombing raids
In a few weeks it will be the 75th anniversary of the worst night of the Blitz, when the Luftwaffe launched an unprecedented assault on London during which the British Museum was severely damaged by German bombs.
Treasures like the Elgin Marbles spent the war in a disused tunnel of Aldwych tube station and survived.
But photographs of the aftermath show the extent of damage caused to the institutions fabric.
Dr Fischer said he never dreamed he would be invited to be responsible for this great British institution
The museums website also tells how the Second World War meant disruption in the museum, as measures were taken to safeguard the collections, either on or off the site.
It adds: These were successful though World War II brought extensive bomb damage which affected the areas occupied by the Greek and Roman Department.
Subsequent rebuilding and reorganisation brought the galleries essentially to the state in which they remain today.
During the same raid on May 10-11 1941 dubbed the hardest night the German bombers destroyed 11,000 houses, hit the Houses of Parliament and Waterloo station, and killed an estimated 1,436 people. Dr Fischer, previously director general of the Dresden State Art Collections, succeeds Neil MacGregor at the British Museum, who during his 13-year tenure at the 180,000-a-year job transformed an ailing institution into the second most-visited museum in the world, after the Louvre in Paris.
When his appointment was announced in October, Dr Fischer, who is married to psychoanalyst Ilaria Piqueras Fischer, described the British Museum as a model of public engagement, critical scholarship, and international outreach.
Before him, the last non-Briton to be in charge was Italian-born Sir Anthony Panizzi, who was principal librarian between 1856 and 1866.
Club president Eddie McGuire called for those responsible to be banned
He referenced Lindt Cafe siege to call for removal of 'foreign power'
Banner was held up by Collingwood fans and read 'STOP THE MOSQUES'
Leader of the United Patriots Front Blake Cottrell has appeared in a video to explain the controversial reason why members of the extreme far-right political group held up a banner emblazoned with 'Stop The Mosques' at an AFL match.
Mentioning the Lindt Cafe siege and the shooting of Parramatta police worker Curtis Cheng, Mr Cottrell said in the video he is 'concerned about the future' of Australia and called for the removal of 'places of worship and segregated communities for a foreign power which [don't] like us.'
The anti-Islamic banner was unfurled during the second quarter Collingwood-Richmond match at the MCG in Melbourne on Friday night with a prominent United Patriots Front logo.
'You think i'm peddling fear? I'm concerned about the future of my country and I'm realistic about the people being brought into this country - that they aren't like us and never will be like us,' Mr Cottrell said in the video.
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The banner reads 'GO PIES, STOP THE MOSQUES' and features two logos of the extreme far-right political group United Patriots Front
Leader of the United Patriots Front Blake Cottrell has appeared in a video to explain the controversial reason why the extreme far-right political group held up the banner
'They are foreign people with a foreign culture with foreign traditions that go back thousands of years - they're nothing like us.'
Following the stunt, Collingwood president Eddie McGuire calling for those responsible to be banned from attending games.
'If they have anything to do with our club, they'll be banned,' he said.
'Get these people and make an example of them, they should be banned for life,' he told The Age.
In the video, Mr Cottrell claimed the group used the banner to make 'a set of predictions' about how the AFL would react to the stunt.
'It's the left wing progressives that spread fear of social and financial strangulation if the people don't do what they ask and even the AFL is subject to them is under their control,' he said.
'They are foreign people with a foreign culture with foreign traditions that go back thousands of years - they're nothing like us,' Mr Cottrell said
'Get these people and make an example of them, they should be banned for life' - Eddie McGuire condemned the banner
Benjamin Solah posted an image of the banner to Twitter and wrote 'Disgusting that this banner was displayed at #AFLPiesTigers. Are @CollingwoodFC going to come out and condemn it?'
The post was met with a barrage of tweets condemning the banner, labeling it 'disgusting'.
A video taken at the match and posted to the UPF Facebook page with the caption 'Rise Without Fear' shows the banner being hoisted up below one of the MCG's large LED screens.
Others called on the AFL and Collingwood to act and issue life bans from matches to those involved in displaying the banner.
'Don't promote these clowns. They're a handful of cretins with no power unless you give it to them,' one person wrote.
'If they have anything to do with our club, they'll be banned' - Collingwood president Eddie McGuire said the club would help police with an investigation
Last month UPF chairman Blair Cottrell (pictured) was photographed eating halal food at a Melbourne shopping centre
Others called on the AFL and Collingwood to act and issue life bans from matches to those involved in displaying the banner
'Not to mention how the afl can let this be displayed below their scoreboard #AFLPiesTigers' another person wrote.
The AFL issued a statement saying the actions 'no place in society' and the league would also work with police.
'The AFL is aware that an offensive banner was displayed at the MCG during tonight's round two game between Richmond and Collingwood,' a League spokesperson said.
'Match-day security removed the banner when they became aware of it and evicted the patrons responsible.
The group regularly post videos and images to their Facebook page to promote their slogans and messages that primarily discriminates Muslims
'The AFL condemns the behaviour in the strongest terms and such actions have no place in society, and not in our game.'
An MCG spokesperson said the offensive nature of the banner breached conditions of entry.
The UPF campaign heavily against Islamic immigration, proposed mosques and halal food.
Last month chairman Blair Cottrell was photographed eating halal food at a Melbourne shopping centre.
The group regularly post videos and images to their Facebook page to promote their slogans and messages that primarily discriminates against Muslims.
Police have charged a teenage boy and two women over an attack on two paramedics in Melbourne on Thursday night, which left a man in hospital needing surgery.
A 19-year-old Reservoir woman has been charged with assault-related offences and has been remanded to appear in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Saturday.
A 30-year-old Epping woman has been charged with assault, theft and traffic-related offences and has been remanded to appear in the same court on Saturday.
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Police have charged three people over the assault of two paramedics in Melbourne on Thursday night, while they were attending to a patient
A 15-year-old boy has been charged with assault and theft-related offences and has been remanded to appear in a childrens court on Monday.
The assault took place in Reservoir, a suburb north east of the city, while a male and female paramedic were attending to a patient.
Victoria Police said the man and his colleague were called to Hobbs Crescent at about 6.30pm on Thursday night to assist a disorientated man.
When the paramedics arrived, the man was being assisted by two women.
The women left, only to return with a male and then all three viciously attacked the paramedic, said Ambulance Victoria's acting general manager emergency operations Mick Stephenson.
The male paramedic suffered a suspected broken foot, cuts and bruises after he was kicked, punched and repeatedly knocked to the ground up to four times by the group.
Ambulance Victoria said his female colleague was also struck in the back of the head as she came to his aid.
Police were called to the scene but the offenders fled before they arrived, backing into the ambulance while they were trying to get away and causing significant damage.
Ambulance Victoria's acting general manager emergency operations Mick Stephenson described the attack as 'disgusting'
The male paramedic was taken to hospital and police escorted the original intended patient.
Mr Stephenson said the male paramedic was being treated at the Northern Hospital and he reportedly underwent surgery on his foot this morning.
He said Ambulance Victoria would assist police in every way possible.
'It is disgusting. This is a gutless attack on paramedics as they were in the community going to the aid of a patient,' he said.
'We do not tolerate violence, threats or abuse towards our paramedics and will support our paramedics and police in bringing action against those involved.'
Ambulance Union state secretary Steve McGhie said paramedics needed more security, suggesting a trial of body cameras for their own safety
Mr Stephenson added that violence towards paramedics was unacceptable.
'We have an incident reported once a day, although we believe there to be significant under-reporting from our paramedics and they are exposed to it more often than that,' he said.
Ambulance Union state secretary Steve McGhie said paramedics needed more security.
'There may need to be a trial of body cameras for their own safety. I mean it won't stop these incidents but it will help catch the perpetrators,' he said.
To the duffel-coated members of Labours loony Left, one particular weekly newspaper was, for much of the Eighties, required reading.
Called the Labour Herald, and published each Friday with a cover price of 25p, it offered a unique and at times comically misguided take on the affairs of the day.
In 1983, for example, when co-edited by Ken Livingstone then leader of the Greater London Council it ran a special photo report praising the achievements of the murderous North Korean dictator, Kim Il-sung.
Kims country, where around a million citizens were then being killed in purges, was a model of successful, self-reliant socialist development.
To the duffel-coated members of Labours Left, one particular weekly newspaper was, for much of the Eighties, required reading. Pictured, Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell at the Labour Party conference last year
In 1983, when co-edited by Ken Livingstone then leader of the Greater London Council the paper ran a special photo report praising the achievements of the murderous North Korean dictator, Kim Il-sung. Pictured, John McDonnell and Ken Livingstone in 1982
A few years later, when Livingstone had been replaced as co-editor by a young Labourite called John McDonnell, the Herald decided that all ownership of private property should be abolished. So far, so nutty.
Yet spend an extended period of time leafing through its yellowing back issues, which are held at the British Library, and something more sinister begins to emerge.
Put bluntly, the newspaper didnt just occupy an extreme and at times eccentric berth on the far Left of the political spectrum; it also had an ugly habit of publishing articles that were virulently anti-Semitic.
Take, a cartoon it printed in July 1982, under Livingstones co-editorship, headlined: The Final Solution. It depicted Menachem Begin, then the Israeli Prime Minister, as a bloodthirsty Nazi officer, trampling in jackboots over a pile of Arab corpses.
So outraged was the Jewish community at the racist nature of the image which recalled viciously racist Hitler-era German cartoons its leaders reported the paper to the Attorney General.
Take also a feature the Labour Herald published the same year advancing the false anti-Semitic conspiracy theory that Zionist Jews (those who believe in the right of Jews to inhabit an Israeli homeland) collaborated with Nazis during World War II. Basically, your Zionist argues with the Nazis that Jews cannot be assimilated into Gentile society, it read.
From this, he says that Jews need a land of their own, not just any land, either, but only the land of Palestine.
Jewish leaders, it continued, had shamelessly: Used the sympathy stirred up . . . after the Holocaust for their own devious ends.
Basically, your Zionist argues with the Nazis that Jews cannot be assimilated into Gentile society. From this, he says that Jews need a land of their own, not just any land, either, but only the land of Palestine. Labour Herald feature
Then there was a 1985 piece, published during McDonnells co-editorship, which compared the Israeli government to the Nazis by claiming it confined Palestinians to concentration camps.
A few weeks later, the paper went on to endorse terrorist attacks against the countrys authorities, to counter what it called the racism at the heart of the Israeli state.
For perhaps obvious reasons, this collection of unsavoury articles most of which sparked controversy at the time have since been largely forgotten.
Yet today, some three decades after the far-Left newspaper ceased publication, they suddenly seem more relevant than ever.
To blame is a growing political row over an ugly brand of anti-Semitism which appears to have taken root in Labour circles since Jeremy Corbyns election as party leader last year.
It has generated endless headlines thanks to an extraordinary succession of Labour activists and officials who have been disciplined by the party after being caught (largely by the media) making deeply offensive remarks about Jews.
Some, such as Khadim Hussain, the former Labour mayor of Bradford, have used the internet to spread the bizarre anti-Semitic conspiracy theory that Israeli spies helped found Islamic State, in a secret plot to force Western nations to invade the Middle East.
Writing on Facebook, Hussain claimed that its Israel who created the so-called ISIS and who is arming these vile terrorists.
Put bluntly, the newspaper didnt just occupy an extreme and at times eccentric berth on the far Left of the political spectrum; it also had an ugly habit of publishing articles that were virulently anti-Semitic. Pictured, Ken Livingstone with the Labour Herald
Then he shared a second post which complained that the deaths of Africans are not given enough airtime in history lessons because: Your school education system only tells you about Anne Frank and the six million Zionists that were killed by Hitler.
Other anti-Semites, such as Vicki Kirby, the vice-chairman of the Labour Party in Woking, Surrey, have simply used social media to gratuitously post racist insults.
She said on Twitter that Jews have big noses and like to slaughter the oppressed, concluding the post with the phrase lol, meaning laugh out loud.
Elsewhere, recent days have seen controversy over Beinazir Lasharie, a Labour councillor in Kensington and former Big Brother contestant who also accused Israel of financing ISIS, and Bob Campbell, from Middlesbrough, an activist with the militant, Corbyn-supporting Momentum movement, whose Facebook timeline contained a picture of a rat with the Star of David, plus the slogan: The real plague.
Some of the Labour Heralds articles caused great upset to the Jewish community in the Eighties, and damaged relations with the Labour Party at that time. We hope that the lessons of history will be learnt. Dave Rich, of the Community Security Trust
In Thurrock, Essex, a Labour member called Scott Nelson was kicked out of the party for circulating a number of anti-Semitic tweets, including a picture of the Israeli flag torn apart to reveal a swastika.
Then, in North London, where Jeremy Corbyn is an MP, a socialist former bus driver called Gerry Downing was suspended from Labour for saying the 9/11 hijackers must never be condemned and writing extensively about the troublesome Jewish question of Zionists ruling the world.
To critics, the sheer volume of these incidents has laid bare a stark, but simple point: that, in the words of Jeremy Newmark, head of the Jewish Labour Movement, Corbyns election has sparked a resurgence of the acceptance of anti-Semitism in the party.
As Newmark and others see it, world views that have for years been confined to what one might call the partys lunatic fringe are now, thanks to his leadership, creeping into the mainstream. One such world view revolves around unquestioning support for the Palestinian lobby, and equally intransigent opposition to Israel. As the Labour Herald showed all those years ago, it often manifests itself in knee-jerk anti-Semitism. Another revolves around the idea that a sinister group of capitalists, led by Jewish bankers, is seeking to control the worlds media and economy.
To see how ugly its adherents can look in practice, one need only venture into such internet chat-rooms as the Labour Forum, a prominent, invitation-only Facebook group which has around 25,000 members.
Earlier this week, a blogger called Daniel Sugarman did just that, and within a few seconds stumbled across posts by Joanne Parkin, a Labour activist from Darlington, claiming (falsely) that the media mogul Rupert Murdoch is a Zionist Jew at the centre of a sinister plot to control the media. She also called George Osborne (who is actually Anglican) a Zionist pig Jew.
During the early Eighties, when it was publishing racist cartoons, the newspaper was rightly regarded as an organ of the extreme far-Left, whose often wrongheaded and occasionally odious views were almost entirely irrelevant to mainstream political debate. Pictured Ken Livingstone (centre) with John McDonnell (left)
So widespread is such abuse that Lord Levy, Tony Blairs former fundraiser and one of the most prominent Jewish figures in the party, gave a TV interview a few days ago threatening to question my being a Labour Peer and proud member of the Labour Party if it isnt stamped out.
Tom Harris, a former Labour minister, recently wrote a newspaper comment article claiming: Labour does indeed have a problem with Jews. Wes Streeting, an MP, used Facebook to declare that the party looks apathetic about anti-Semitism.
All of which brings us back, in a roundabout way, to the Labour Herald.
During the early Eighties, when it was publishing racist cartoons, the newspaper was rightly regarded as an organ of the extreme far-Left, whose often wrongheaded and occasionally odious views were almost entirely irrelevant to mainstream political debate.
Yet today, things are suddenly very different. Former co-editor John McDonnell (who often used it to run articles praising Corbyn, then Labour MP for Islington) is now Labours Shadow Chancellor. Ken Livingstone is a key Corbynista and recently tipped for a peerage. He was conducting Labours defence review before handing over to Emily Thornberry.
If people express these [anti-Semitic] views, full stop, theyre out [of the Labour Party]. John McDonnell
In other words, two of the men who were at the helm of the sometimes anti-Semitic Labour Herald, and who are steeped in its political traditions, recently became the partys biggest power-brokers.
This fact concerns many Jews, including Dave Rich, of the Community Security Trust, which monitors anti-Semitic attacks.
Some of the Labour Heralds articles caused great upset to the Jewish community in the Eighties, and damaged relations with the Labour Party at that time, he tells me. We hope that the lessons of history will be learnt.
The community also fears that many of the roughly 200,000 Left-wingers who have joined Labour since Corbyns rise to prominence subscribe to the brand of far-Left anti-Semitism once propagated by the newspaper.
To traditional Labourites, whose party has a long and noble tradition of opposing all forms of racism and whose last leader, Ed Miliband, was of Jewish heritage the phenomenon is deeply disturbing.
Jeremy Corbyn has, to his credit, publicly criticised all forms of anti-Semitism, in particular, speaking out against far-Left abuse directed at Luciana Berger, a Jewish Labour MP who recently received 2,500 hostile online messages (many under the hashtag #filthyjewishbitch) in three days, after attending an anti-Semitism conference.
To blame is a growing political row over an ugly brand of anti-Semitism which appears to have taken root in Labour circles since Jeremy Corbyns election as party leader last year
Jeremy Corbyn has, to his credit, publicly criticised all forms of anti-Semitism, in particular, speaking out against far-Left abuse directed at Luciana Berger, a Jewish Labour MP. Pictured, Ken Livingstone (left), Gerry Adams (centre), and Jeremy Corbyn (second right) take a walk on Westminster Bridge in the 80s
So, too, has McDonnell, who this week said: If people express these [anti-Semitic] views, full stop, theyre out [of the Labour Party].
Yet not everyone is convinced. To this end, an un-named senior Labour MP was recently quoted in the Telegraph saying that Bergers name had been added to a leaked list of Labour MPs regarded as hostile by Corbyns office because she is Jewish (a suggestion Berger is believed to regard as credible).
Not helping Corbyns case, on the PR front, is the fact that he also boasts a long and inglorious history of allying himself with virulent anti-Semites, most of them sympathetic to the Palestinian cause.
As a backbencher, Corbyn for example attended several events organised by Paul Eisen, a notorious Holocaust denier, and took tea on the Commons terrace with Raed Salah, who has spent time in prison for inciting anti-Jewish hatred.
Salah was once found by a British court to have used a blood libel the medieval slur that Jews bake unleavened bread for the Passover festival using the blood of Gentile children.
What do you expect the Jewish community to feel when you meet people who are blatantly racist? Will you accept that it was inappropriate? Jonathan Arkush, the President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews
Corbyn has also shared platforms in the Commons with Dyab Abou Jahjah, a Lebanese-born fanatic banned from Britain who has denied the Holocaust, and claimed that Europe has made the cult of the Holocaust and Jew-worshiping its alternative religion.
Elsewhere, the Labour leader is a long-standing supporter of the terrorist organisation Hamas, whose charter instructs supporters to kill Jews. That is in addition to being chairman of the Stop the War Coalition, the lobby group once described by the Jewish commentator Howard Jacobson as a sort of home to Jew-haters. All of which only adds to the scepticism with which the Labour leader is regarded by Jewish leaders.
Take Jonathan Arkush, the President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, which represents the countrys 300,000 Jews.
He met Corbyn two months ago. I cited Corbyns meetings with some seriously unsavoury characters and said to him: What do you expect the Jewish community to feel when you meet people who are blatantly racist? Will you accept that it was inappropriate?
At the time, Mr Arkush tells me, Corbyn responded that he would reflect on the matter.
Well, weve now had six to eight weeks, Arkush says. The time for reflection is up, and people out there need to know what hes going to say, and to know whether hes going to acknowledge that the meetings were inappropriate and wouldnt be repeated.
If he doesnt, then Jewish people will rightly ask: Is it good enough? Ideas, views and contacts that were once thought to be on the extreme fringe have now migrated right to the centre of the party, and for us thats a big worry.
Jeremy Corbyn and shadow chancellor John McDonnell at the Labour Party conference in Brighton
Elsewhere, the Labour leader is a long-standing supporter of the terrorist organisation Hamas, whose charter instructs supporters to kill Jews
Contributing to the ugly mood music, meanwhile, have been events on university campuses. At Oxford, the co-chairman of the Labour Club, Alex Chalmers, who is not Jewish, resigned in February claiming that a large proportion of the partys undergraduate members have some kind of problem with Jews.
Around the same time, Rayhan Uddin, a Labour student activist at the London School of Economics, wrote a Facebook post complaining that leading Zionists were secretly plotting to take over the student Union.
Meanwhile, at York, the Palestinian Solidarity Society celebrated Israel Apartheid Week by staging a play called Seven Jewish Children, which is described by the Board of Deputies as horrifically anti-Israel, and by the Spectator magazine as a ten-minute blood libel.
Intriguingly, the events manager of Yorks Palestinian Solidarity Society is one Tommy Corbyn, a 22-year-old electrical engineering student who just happens to be Jeremys son.
On Facebook, where like many young people he is very active, Tommy is a member of a several discussion groups where anti-Semitic views are regularly shared, including Supporters Of Socialism In Britain, where it was recently alleged that the Israeli government are terrorists who finance Islamic State.
He also belongs to the Ken OKeefe Video Library, dedicated to the work of a prominent American conspiracy theorist once described on Israeli TV as the most dangerous anti-Semite living in the West.
What is more, Corbyn Jnr has liked an internet term meaning endorsed a series of highly dubious alternative websites, such as that of Friends of Al-Aqsa, a Leicester-based Islamic group whose site has published articles by a number of hate preachers, including Israel Shamir, whom the Guardian describes as being notorious for Holocaust denial.
For the record, there is no evidence that Tommy has ever personally expressed racist views. Indeed, when the Mail asked about his social media activity, we received a statement from his lawyer saying: Of course Tommy Corbyn is not anti- Semitic and to say otherwise is just plain wrong.
Hes entitled to be taken at his word. But many in the Jewish community view anti-Semitic slurs shared online as a modern version of those once propagated via the Labour Herald.
Business ministers have held more meetings on how to curry favour with the Chinese than they have over the British steel industry, it emerged yesterday.
Official records show that between last Mays general election and December 31, just nine meetings were dedicated to how to stop the collapse of Britains steel industry.
But there were 12 on how to secure more investment from Chinese firms.
It today emerged that business ministers have held more meetings on Chinese investment than the struggling steel industry, after Business Secretary Sajid Javid met furious steelworkers in South Wales
Details of the meetings were uncovered by Labours shadow business secretary Angela Eagle, who said the Government was focused on Chinese trade rather than jobs in the UK: George Osborne is more interested in kowtowing to China than protecting a great British industry and its workers.
All but three of the steel meetings involved small business minister Anna Soubry.
A series of talks with firms including Tata and Thai multinational SSI were held last October, at the height of the crisis over the latter firms Redcar plant which collapsed with the loss of more than 2,000 jobs.
There were 12 meetings with Chinese firms or about Chinese investment in the same period. The sessions, 10 of which involved trade envoy Lord Maude, included two with the China General Nuclear Power Group and talks with the Bank of China.
The Chancellor said yesterday: The UK has been leading the way in Europe in convening meetings of ministers to deal with the steel situation.
Of course, this is a global crisis because the steel price has collapsed and, look, we are, of course, doing everything we practically can, everything we possibly can to help families, the steelworkers affected.
Both at home, where we are cutting taxes on energy and internationally, where we are working with others to make sure there are tariffs on unfairly cheap steel, you have got a government doing everything it can to help the steel industry.
Roy Dunn, a senior leader of fearsome New Zealand gang the Mongrel Mob who later turned his life around to battle the scourge of ice addiction, has died.
As a convicted rapist and founder of the Mongrel Mob 'Notorious', a chapter which recruited some of the gang's nastiest members, Dunn stirred the worst fears in New Zealand society.
But his death from ill-health on Tuesday has prompted tributes praising his work in the community.
Roy Dunn was a leader in one of New Zealand's most notorious gangs but later turned his life around
'It is with great sorrow that we pay tribute to Roy Dunn, a visionary like Moses intent on leading his people into the Promised Land,' The Salvation Army posted to Facebook this week.
'For Roy, that Promised Land was a better life for gang members and their whanau [family] - a life free from addiction and prison.'
Dunn joined the Mongrel Mob, one of New Zealand's largest organised criminal groups, in the mid-1970s when he was 14-years-old, he said in a 2010 interview with the New Zealand Herald.
He had a tough upbringing and was reportedly taken away from his parents at age seven.
What followed was a life of violent crime that was only disrupted when he met social worker Sam Chapman in the late 1990s and turned his life around.
In 2005, at the 25th anniversary celebration of the 'Notorious' chapter, he outlined plans to rid the gang of ice, commonly called 'P' in New Zealand.
With the help of a few others Dunn started health and social programmes for gang members and their families.
The Mongrel Mob is one of New Zealand's largest criminal groups, made up predominantly of Maori and Pasifika
He established a rehab programme with the Salvation Army and eventually secured $1 million in funding from Prime Minister John Key to run five P programmes for gangs over two and a half years.
He also helped pioneer the 'Rent a Bro' scheme, which hired out unemployed mob members for labouring work.
Mr Chapman, who met Dunn after he was released from prison in the late 1990s, said the Mob leader was instrumental in helping gang members take control of their lives
'Roy's influence and association was nationwide. It was never just about being in one particular geographic location in the country,' he told Stuff.co.nz.
'His journey was more about creating a future where he and his family and the gang family - the children especially would have greater opportunities, greater access to opportunities than they had growing up in the world that they came from.
Security officials fear Islamic State is plotting to use drones to spray deadly nuclear waste over British cities.
The threat is considered so real that David Cameron and Barack Obama last night held a war game session on how to respond to such an attack which could kill thousands and leave a target town or city uninhabitable for years.
Aides said the drones could be purchased easily on websites such as Amazon and there was already evidence of IS trying to use them.
The Prime Minister said: We know the terrorists we face today would like to kill as many people as they possibly could, using whatever materials they can get their hands on.
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Fears have been raised that ISIS could use drones to spray nuclear waste over British cities (file picture)
President Obama and David Cameron discussed a response to such an attack at a nuclear summit in Washington, US, pictured
At a nuclear terror summit in Washington, world leaders held a planning session, complete with TV footage of fictitious news broadcasts, to prepare for a drone attack.
In the scenario, terrorists managed to steal nuclear material from a health facility and smuggle it into Britain and other Western countries. Some was detected by the intelligence agencies but other consignments got through.
The toxic material was purchased by jihadists on the highly encrypted dark web after being stolen from the health site.
Security officials are said to believe this is an increasing possibility. Drones such as those used to dust crops were then used to spread the lethal material.
A UK official said: We have already seen Daesh [IS] trying to look at [the question] can they get their hands on low-level crop-using-type drones.
Speaking before war-gaming what was dubbed a doomsday scenario, Mr Cameron told the Mail: So many summits are about dealing with things that have already gone wrong and we are trying to put right.
This is a summit about something we are trying to prevent.
Surrounded by world leaders, President Barack Obama gave the peace sign at the end of a nuclear security summit today
The US President is pictured with fellow world leaders including Mr Cameron and French President Francois Hollande at a meeting during the nuclear summit
The issue of nuclear security and the security of nuclear materials, particularly when it comes to the problems of international terrorism, the concept of terrorists and nuclear materials coming together which is obviously a very chilling prospect and something in the light of the Belgian attacks, we know is a threat that is only too real.
The warning comes a day after the PM announced hundreds of extra armed police will patrol regional cities amid fears of a Paris-style mass-casualty gun attack taking place outside London.
Officials are planning how best to respond to an attack in which fanatics target separate sites at the same time, as in Paris in November when more than 100 people died.
Security sources said that, while seven mass casualty attacks had been stopped in the past year, it was inevitable that one would get through.
World leaders 'war-gamed a doomsday scenario' at the summit in Washington DC in the US, pictured
President Obama, left, speaks to Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite, right, as Mr Cameron, centre listens in on the conversation
The two terrorist attacks which have claimed lives in the UK over the past 11 years have both been in the capital the 7/7 bombings and the murder of Lee Rigby.
But major terror plots have been uncovered in other cities.
In a sign of how seriously the threat of a nuclear plot is being taken, it last night emerged that American commando units have been trained to seize and disable nuclear or radioactive bombs.
The Pentagon rarely discusses publicly its plans to use commandos if terrorists obtain a nuclear weapon or build a dirty bomb from radioactive material.
Yesterday, Defence Secretary Michael Fallon announced 40million will be spent on a new cyber security operations centre to protect the Ministry of Defence.
Last weeks attacks in Brussels have raised fresh concerns about the prospect of nuclear terrorism.
China last night snubbed David Cameron as it dramatically escalated its steel war against Britain by slapping damaging new tariffs on our products.
After days of being battered by charges that he and George Osborne have been kowtowing to China, the Prime Minister challenged the countrys president in Washington and urged him to end the attacks on UK steel plants.
But in a humiliating rebuff, China responded by introducing a 46 per cent duty on a type of steel made at an under-threat Tata plant in South Wales. It heaped even more pressure on the PM and the Chancellor who stand accused of being so in hock to China that they stood back while Britains steel industry was pushed to the brink of extinction.
At a summit in Washington today, David Cameron challenged China's president in Washington and urged him to end the attacks on UK steel plants but instead they introduced a 46 per cent duty
Former deputy PM Nick Clegg said last night Mr Osborne was guilty of putting his special relationship with China above the UKs best interests. On another day of high-stakes drama:
Business Secretary Sajid Javid flew back from a controversial trip to Australia to Port Talbot, where he held a series of meetings with managers and was confronted by hundreds of angry steelworkers;
German engineering firm ThyssenKrupp was revealed to have had been in talks with Tata about a merger which was contingent on the Indian company closing its UK plants;
Employment minister Priti Patel said Britain would be unable to protect its steel industry while it was a member of the EU;
It emerged that business ministers have held more meetings over how to curry favour with the Chinese than meetings on the steel industry.
Up to 40,000 jobs are under threat from Tatas shock decision earlier this week to pull out of Britain, and the Government faced growing criticism yesterday over claims it had been a ringleader in the EU opposing moves to hike tariffs to 66 per cent on certain types of steel being dumped by China.
Detractors say the Chancellor has been more concerned about rolling out the red carpet to China than protecting the British steel industry, claiming he was concerned only about safeguarding a deal with the country to fund the UKs first nuclear power station for a generation at Hinkley Point.
The GMB union said the Tories were allowing the Chinese Communist Party to dictate the fate of vital industries.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4s Today programme yesterday, European Steel Association spokesman Charles de Lusignan accused the UK Government of blocking moves to combat cheap Chinese steel.
Javid at Tata in South Wales yesterday after he flew back from his controversial trip to Australia for crisis talks over industry meltdown
We have been talking about the lifting of the lesser duty rule, in particular, for a long time, he said.
The fact is, the UK has been blocking this. They are not the only member state but they are certainly the ringleader in blocking the lifting of the lesser duty rule.
When the government says its doing everything it takes to save the steel industry in the UK, but also in Europe: its not. Its not true. But speaking in Washington, Mr Cameron leapt to his Chancellors defence.
He said the claims by Mr Clegg that Britain was kow-towing to China by opposing EU plans to put up tariffs against cheap Chinese steel were absolutely not the case, adding that the plan to increase tariffs to 66 per cent could have been applied to goods other than steel turning the EU into a protectionist bloc.
Aides said Britain had been one of 13 countries which opposed the tariffs, along with the Netherlands and Ireland. Germany abstained.
They also revealed that Mr Cameron held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Washington terror summit on Thursday night and had highlighted his concerns about the dumping of Chinese steel.
He made clear the concerns that we have on the impact this is having on the UK and other countries, an aide said. But just hours later, it emerged that China had imposed anti-dumping duties on under-priced steel from the EU, Japan and South Korea.
The Chinese ministry of commerce said imports of grain-oriented electrical steel will be charged duties ranging from 14.5 to 46.3 per cent. In what appeared to be a tit-for-tat move, it accused European countries of dumping cheap steel and causing substantial damage to Chinese producers.
Business Secretary Sajid Javid flew back from a controversial trip to Australia to Port Talbot, where he held a series of meetings with managers and was confronted by hundreds of angry steelworkers
Orb, in Newport, is the only site in the UK that makes this type of steel. It is run by Cogent Power, a subsidiary of Tata Steel.
Mr Clegg said: The Conservative Government have continually failed to take action and missed many opportunities to help the UK steel industry, such as taking steps to prevent the dumping of cheap Chinese steel.
The Government must now act before more steel jobs across the UK are put at risk.
The Conservative Government have continually failed to take action and missed many opportunities to help the UK steel industry Nick Clegg
Tim Roache, of the GMB union, said: Never in our wildest dreams did we consider that the Tory Party would allow the Chinese Communist Party to dictate the fate of vital industries like steel and energy in the UK. There was a time when the Tories sought to root out the Reds under the bed. Now they want to get into bed with them.
Roy Rickhuss, of the Community union, added: The Chinese are slapping 46 per cent tariffs on Welsh steel it must be April Fools Day.
Mr Cameron said: Were in favour of the anti-dumping tariffs and voted accordingly; and if you look in Europe it was actually Britain that assembled the steel summit some months ago, to galvanise action on this front, and we support tariffs. The only thing we havent supported is there was an attempt to rewrite not simply the tariff rules on steel, but the entire tariff infrastructure of the EU, which we have not supported, because what we want to do is target the dumping of steel, rather than turn the EU more generally, into a more protectionist bloc, blocking other industries, putting up prices, and damaging our businesses and consumers. We have been supporting steel tariffs on dumped steel, and we will continue to do so.
The GMB union said the Tories were allowing the Chinese Communist Party to dictate the fate of vital industries
The PM also insisted that Britain had a long-standing plan to save the steel industry, which included waving green energy levies worth 400million over the course of the Parliament. Mr Osborne told Sky News the Government was doing everything we can to help the steel industry, including working on introducing tariffs.
He rejected suggestions that the Government had not acted on cheap Chinese imports for fear of offending the country.
Internationally were working to make sure that there are tariffs on unfair cheap imports, domestically were doing everything we practically can, everything we possibly can to help the steelworkers, to help the steel industry, he said.
Miss Patel, a key Leave campaigner, said: I have serious concerns that the EU is hampering our ability to provide that vital economic security and flexibility to act.
She added: At present we are fighting with both hands tied behind our backs as EU restrictions on our trade policy and red tape have cost the British steel industry thousands of jobs, leaving entire communities devastated.
Javid faces wrath of the Welsh steelworkers
BY DAVID WILKES FOR THE DAILY MAIL
Back from the sunshine of Sydney, Sajid Javid felt a very different kind of heat yesterday as he was confronted by workers at the countrys biggest steel plant.
The Business Secretary was met with a handful of boos and handed a Save Our Steel badge as he left a meeting that took place inside the steelworks. It came after he cut short his controversial trip to Australia to make the flying visit to Port Talbot in South Wales.
Although he was keen to offer words of reassurance to staff possibly facing redundancies, he remained unrepentant about his trip abroad, saying: I certainly wouldnt call going to Australia for a couple of days and then packing it with meetings a jolly.
The Business Secretary was met with a handful of boos and handed a Save Our Steel badge as he left a meeting that took place inside the steelworks yesterday
Around 800 workers had waited in the cold for over an hour and a half for Mr Javid to depart, many having come in on their days off or hours ahead of a long night shift so they could make him aware of their feelings.
Holding up placards saying Save Our Steel, they questioned Mr Javid about whether a buyer had been found and whether the UK steel industry would be safe after the shock decision by Tata to sell its loss-making UK assets. One protester shouted: Youre not going to let us go to the wall? Another added: Have we got an industry?
But Mr Javid refused to say whether the plant would be saved. He added: Obviously theres a process and the most important next step, which we all agree on, everyone Ive talked to today the Welsh government, the unions, Tata itself is that whichever buyer comes forward, the UK Government and the Welsh government will work closely with them to help sustain a long-term future here.
Around 800 workers waited in the cold for over an hour and a half for Mr Javid to depart, many having come in on their days off or hours ahead of a shift
During a four-minute face-to-face meeting with the workers, Mr Javid repeated the Governments claim that everything possible was being done and that there was interest in Tatas steel portfolio, but insisted specific details could not be discussed for commercial reasons.
He told them: We are on your side. The time is there, meetings today have been constructive, but also Tata management in India have been very responsible. Theyve had to sell things in the past. I take confidence from that and so should you.
Asked why it was okay to bail out the banks but not nationalise the steel industry, he said: Almost everyone I have spoken to agrees nationalisation is not a long-term and viable solution. What everyone wants to see is something that is viable for the long term.
Christopher Walters, 48, one of the workers who quizzed the minister, said: He did give some positive remarks about potential buyers. It was encouraging but words are one thing cash is another. Time will tell if he is going to be true to his words. Lyndon Jones, a worker at the plant for 30 years, said: It was more positive than what we had all weekIt is nice to talk it, he just has to walk it now.
Mr Javid faced calls to quit this week after it emerged he had planned a holiday with his daughter in Australia in the middle of the steel crisis.
He was already under fire for taking a business trip to Australia in the week when the Tata group put 40,000 jobs at risk by making the decision to sell its UK operations.
A 12-year-old girl from Taiwan survived a horrific assault yesterday after allegedly having her throat slashed by her mother's ex-boyfriend.
The attacker was thought to be having a heated argument with his former lover when he decided to slice the neck of her daughter in the city of Tainan, the People's Daily Online reports.
This is the second similar crime Taiwan has seen in the space of four days. A four-year-old girl was decapitated in the street of Taiwan in front of her mother in a random attack on March 28.
A 12-year-old girl had her throat sliced by her mother's ex-boyfriend yesterday in Taiwan. Her family members were pictured waiting in the hospital when she received treatment
Tragic: Police and neighbours gathered outside the home where the girl was stabbed the furious man
The bloody event took place in the flat on Zhonghua Road where the 12-year-old victim and her mother live.
Her mother's ex-boyfriend had reportedly come over for a negotiation with his former partner. Soon the two started arguing.
The girl, who remains unidentified, had allegedly stepped in to help resolve the situation when the man threatened to stab her.
When he realised that the odds weren't in his favour, the man slashed the girl's throat right in front of her mother, making a wound of around 2.4 inches long and 0.2 inches deep, according to ETtoday.
Neighbours came to the family's rescue when they heard screams coming from the apartment. But by the time they entered the house, the suspect had already escaped.
Police were immediately called to the scene. The girl was taken to hospital where she received stitches and is said to be recovering well.
Officers from the city's Yongkang Police Station said they had identified the attacker and are currently searching for his whereabouts.
Chilling: A 33-year-old man has been arrested (pictured) after beheading a little girl in Taipei on Monday
Taiwan has been rocked by a series of violent public attacks, including the beheading of a four-year-old girl in the capital Taipei on March 28.
The child was grabbed by a man as she cycled to a metro station with her mother. She was decapitated with a kitchen knife in front of her shocked mother.
The man pushed away the girl's parent as she tried to save her daughter. Seven bystanders were also unable to stop the man.
Police arrested a 33-year-old man surnamed Wang.
Police say the suspect had previously been arrested for drug related crimes and had seeked help in the past for a mental illness.
People leave flowers and toys the site where a Taiwanese toddler was murdered in Taipei on March 28, 2016
Spate of incidents: Police arrest man after he brutally attacked a police office on a metro in Taipei on Tuesday
Two other violent events followed on March 29.
A police officer was attacked with a steak knife on the metro around noon time in Taipei by an unemployed man.
The officer managed to pull the man off the train where luckily a bank security team were on the platform and came to the victim's aid,Taiwan News reports.
In contrast, the company now has 480 retail stores in 18 countries globally
They created the company on April 1 1976 in a
Apple celebrates its 40th birthday today having risen from a three-man project in a California garage to the most valuable company in the world.
Founders Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne created the company on April 1 1976 as they set about selling computer kits to hobbyists, each of which was hand-built by Wozniak.
In contrast, today the company has more than 480 retail stores in 18 countries worldwide and reported income of more than 18 billion US dollars (12.4 billion) for the first quarter of this year.
Founders Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne created the company on April 1 1976 in a Californian garage. In contrast, today the company has 480 retail stores in 18 countries worldwide. Jobs speaks in front of an old photo of Steve Wozniak (L) and himself when they first started Apple on January 9, 2007
The company also recently revealed there are now more than one billion active Apple devices being used around the world.
Chief executive Tim Cook described the figure as one 'no-one could have imagined', adding that it was an 'indicator of how much impact Apple has on people around the world'.
The company's journey to the summit of the technology industry has been a rocky one, having seen Jobs leave the firm in the mid-1980s after his pet project, the first Macintosh computer, struggled and he attempted to oust then chief executive John Sculley.
However, he returned in 1997 when the company was in financial crisis and launched the iMac the following year.
The company's journey to the summit of the technology industry has been a rocky one, having seen Jobs (pictured right in 1976) leave the firm in the mid-1980s after his pet project, the first Macintosh computer, struggled and he attempted to oust then chief executive John Sculley. Wozniak is pictured left
Apple's hit products - the Mac, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad - command a cult-like following.
Before changing the world with the iPhone and iPad, Apple transformed home computing with the Macintosh.
Apple rewrote the music market with the iPod, pictured here in 18 November, 2004
The friendly desktop machine referred to as the 'Mac' and, importantly, the ability to control it by clicking on icons with a 'mouse,' opened computing to non-geeks in much the way that touchscreens later allowed almost anyone to get instantly comfortable with smartphones or tablets.
The Macintosh computer, introduced in 1984, was at the core of a legendary rivalry between late Apple co-founder Jobs and Microsoft mastermind Bill Gates.
Apple went on to 'rewrite' the music market with the iPod, made the smartphone a mass market staple with the iPhone, and took tablets mainstream with the iPad.
Apple Watch quickly took the lead in the smartwatch market, despite making its debut later than those of rivals.
While Apple did not invent MP3 players, smartphones, tablets or smartwatches, its creations combined beauty, ease-of-use and capabilities that won zealous fans.
Jobs, who died in 2011 at the age of 56, was renowned for an uncompromising drive to combine technology with design to make products that were intuitive and hassle-free.
'Apple has taught us the supremacy of user experience and brand passion,' Forrester analyst Frank Gillett told AFP.
'Apple devices don't just work great, they inspire allegiance. The Apple brand inspires passion on both ends of the spectrum.'
While Apple did not invent MP3 players, smartphones, tablets or smartwatches, its creations combined beauty, ease-of-use and capabilities that won zealous fans. The iPod nano is pictured on display in 2012
Before changing the tech world with the iPhone and iPad, Apple transformed home computing with the Macintosh. The friendly desktop machine referred to as the 'Mac' and, importantly, the ability to control it by clicking on icons with a 'mouse'. It later was released in a series of colourful models (pictured in 1999)
Gillett recalled early Apple days when loyalty to Apple or Windows computers was the type of topic that could easily trigger clashes in San Francisco cafes.
'It is Apple's obsessive attention to detail, premium products that for some are status symbols,' the analyst said.
'It becomes brand fashion, with people throwing themselves into a community.'
The Apple Music streaming service was also launched in 2015, gaining more than 10 million paying users since then.
However, Apple has also recently been at the centre of a battle with the US government and intelligence agencies over data encryption, with the technology firm refusing to help the FBI unlock an iPhone belonging to a terror suspect, claiming it violated user privacy and the process would make all iPhones more vulnerable.
Federal prosecutors and Apple spent weeks trading a volley of legal briefs related to the FBI's demand that the tech company help investigators unlock the phone used by Syed Farook, who died in a shootout after carrying out a deadly December attack in San Bernardino, California with his wife.
Apple Watch (pictured) quickly took the lead in the smartwatch market, despite making its debut later than those of rivals. The Apple Music streaming service was also launched in 2015, gaining more than 10 million paying users since then
The company's 40th birthday was being marked by the launch of the iPhone SE (left next to the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus right) and new smaller iPad Pro, with the smartphone believed to be aimed at emerging markets such as China and India, not traditional targets for Apple, as the next phase of the firm's history begins
Apple had a reported income of more than 18 billion US dollars (12.4 billion) for the first quarter of this year. The company also recently revealed that there are now more than one billion active Apple devices being used around the world. The front of one of the stores is pictured
Apple early this year raised the spectre of the end of a technological era after reporting the slowest growth sales ever of its market-leading, life-changing iPhone and warning it expects worse to come.
Many analysts said Apple is evolving from a device-making superstar racking up dizzying financial quarters to a company that can make a sizable and steady income from selling apps, digital music and more to the huge number of people using its devices.
Apple services include iTunes, iCloud, Apple TV, and the App Store along with Apple Pay..
The company will move into its new 'spaceship' design campus next year, according to Cook.
'We are looking forward to moving,' Cook said at a press event. 'We can't wait to see what is in store for the next 40 years and share it with you.'
The company's 40th birthday was being marked by the launch of the iPhone SE and new smaller iPad Pro on Thursday, with the smartphone believed to be aimed at emerging markets such as China and India, not traditional targets for Apple, as the next phase of the firm's history begins.
They are infamous for terrorising the coastlines of Europe in their distinctive longships, but the Vikings may be able to claim another victory over their medieval neighbours.
New evidence has been uncovered that suggests the Vikings may have discovered North America nearly 500 years before Christopher Columbus made his famous journey to the New World.
Scientists claim to have uncovered what they believe to be a Viking settlement on the Canadian island of Newfoundland that appears to have been built between 800AD and 1300AD.
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New evidence of a Viking settlement in North America has been unearthed in Newfoundland (a hearth where iron ore appears to have been roasted is pictured) which suggests the Scandinavians were the first Europeans to set foot in the New World around 500 years before Christopher Columbus
It is only the second known Viking site to be discovered in North America and helps to confirm that they were the first Europeans to reach the New World.
This new site, discovered in an area called Point Rosee in southern Newfoundland, is 400 miles (643km) south west of a Viking settlement found in L'Anse aux Meadows during the 1960s.
Archaeologists said the discovery potentially opens 'a new chapter' in history by showing the Vikings had explored far further into the New World than previously believed possible.
Dr Sarah Parcak, an archaeologist at the University of Alabama, Birmingham, explained: 'This new site could unravel more secrets about the Vikings, whether they were the first Europeans to 'occupy' briefly in North America and reveal that the Vikings dared to explore much further into the New World than we ever thought.
The new Viking settlement was found on the edge of Point Rosee in Newfoundland (illustrated above) 400 miles south of another site at L'Anse aux Meadows. They suggest that the Vikings' mastery of the seas allowed them to venture to North America (illustrated on the map)
The evidence is revealed in a BBC documentary The Vikings Uncovered, presented by Dan Snow (pictured left at Rosee Point) as he follows Dr Sarah Parcak (right) and her team's excavations in Newfoundland
The archaeologists scoured the coastlines of South Greenland (pictured) and Newfoundland in the hope of finding new Viking settlements
'Typically in archaeology, you only ever get to write a footnote in the history books, but what we seem to have at Point Rosee may be the beginning of an entirely new chapter.'
VOYAGES OF DISCOVERY 789AD Vikings begin their attacks on England 840AD Viking settlers found the city of Dublin in Ireland 844AD Vikings raid Seville but are repulsed 860AD Rus Vikings attack Constantinople 866AD York is captured by a Viking army 870AD Vikings colonise Iceland 981AD Erik the Red discovers Greenland 986AD Bjarni Herjolfsson sights North America after being blown off course 1002AD Leif Ericsson, son of Erik the Red, explores the coast of North America, named them Karland, Helluland and Vinland 1492AD Italian explorer Christopher Columbus lands in the New World when he stumbles across the islands now known as The Bahamas Advertisement
The Vikings are well known to have been adept seafarers, using the sun and the stars to help pick their way across open stretches of ocean away from the coastline.
It is thought the Vikings first discovered America by accident in the autumn of 986AD, according to one historical source, the Saga of the Greenlanders.
It tells how Bjarni Herjolfsson was stumbled across North America after being blown off course as he attempted to sail from Norway to Greenland, but he did not go ashore.
Inspired by his tales, however, another Viking Leif Ericsson then mounted his own expedition and found North America in 1002.
Finding it a fertile land, rich in grapes and berries, he named it Vinland.
Eriksson also named two further 'lands' on the North American coast - one with flat stones, which he called Helluland, and one that was flat and wooded, named Markland.
The discovery of the settlement at Point Rosee now helps to confirm that these legends were in fact true.
The settlement uncovered by Dr Parcak, who has been working with the BBC and a team of experts, was initially spotted using high resolution near infrared images taken by satellites.
Archaeologists found evidence of stones blackened by iron ore processing (pictured), something that the indigenous North American population were not thought to do. It suggests the buildings that stood at the site were inhabited by Vikings, who made extensive use of iron
The researchers discovered the site by looking for unusual patterns in satellite images that indicated the remains of man-made structures in Newfoundland (pictured)
Using infrared images (pictured) of the site, the archaeologists were able to see the outlines of what they believe were longhouses similar to those used by the Vikings
Over time the structures have altered the soil and the way it retains moisture, changing the vegetation that grow above, making it possible to see the outline of the structures in satellite images.
These helped them identify intriguing patterns in Point Rosee, which indicated there were some manmade features and the possible outline of a longhouse similar to those used by the Vikings.
During excavations of the site, the team uncovered evidence possible bog iron ore processing.
The settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows was the only other site where pre-Columbian iron processing has been found in North America.
Christopher Columbus is widely credited with having 'discovered' the New World in his 1492 expedition (depicted in the painting pictured), but a growing amount of evidence suggest that the Vikings beat him to North America by several hundred years
Point Rosee is a peninsula on the most south westerly tip of the island of Newfoundland (pictured). It provided a perfect location for the Vikings to set up an outpost, the archaeologists claim
Researchers found pieces of slag (pictured) in a hearth that they believe was used to roast iron ore prior to smelting it in a furnace at the site in Newfoundland, which suggests it was inhabited by Vikings
Archaeologists believe the existence of the hearth (pictured) used for iron working hundreds of miles away from any other known Viking sites is proof of how far the medieval warriors travelled
The archaeologists discovered around 28lbs of slag in a hearth that they believe was used to roast iron ore before it was smelted in a furnace.
Blackened stones, scorched by the extreme heat in this process, were also unearthed at the site.
While Inuits are thought to have used some iron from meteors, there is no other evidence of indigenous people processing iron.
The longhouse building they identified appears to have been built using turf, in much the same style as other Viking structures.
Black bands in the soil as the team excavated betrayed the presence of turf building blocks that had been used to construct a building.
Douglas Bolender said: 'Right now the simplest answer is that it looks like a small activity area maybe connected to a larger farm that's norse.
'If we were in Iceland we wouldn't think twice about that. But the thing that makes you pause and check every last little bit of it, is that it is in Newfoundland.'
If they are right, it means Rosee Point is the most westerly Viking outpost yet discovered.
Dr Bolender told National Geographic it could mean that the Viking sagas detailing journey's to what has been interpreted as North America are true rather than merely legends.
He said: 'We're looking here because of the sagas. Nobody would have ever found L'Anse aux Meadows if it weren't for the sagas. But, the flipside is that we have no idea how reliable they are.'
The remains of a Viking ship burial unearthed in Estonia also features in the BBC documentary (Dan Snow with some of the weapons and artefacts found there are pictured)
Smashed bones thought to have belonged to a Viking were found at a battlefield in Estonia (pictured)
Although the archaeologists leading the excavation are convinced the site was inhabited by Vikings, they say further work is needed to conclusively prove it was a Viking settlement.
Nonetheless, Professor Judith Jesch, director of Nottingham University's Centre for the Study of the Viking Age who was not involved in the discovery, described the find as 'exciting'.
She told the told The Telegraph that L'Anse aux Meadows may have been a way-centre as the Vikings ventured further south and that it is likely other sites may yet be unearthed.
She said: 'Finding Vikings in the United States is the Holy Grail for many people, not least because there are many Americans of Scandinavian descent who would like to think that they were following in the footsteps of their ancestors.
Skull fragments found at Portmahomack reveal the violence of Viking raids. One example had been smashed to pieces with a sword blow that left a deep gouge in the bone (pictured)
'But I don't think they made significant progress past New Brunswick, in Canada.'
The discovery is outlined in a one off 90 minute BBC documentary called Vikings Uncovered.
It will be aired on BBC One in the UK at 8.30pm (BST) Monday 4 April and will be streamed online on PBS at 3.30pm ET.
During the program, historian Dan Snow travels throughout the lands inhabited by the Vikings to explore just how far their influence spread.
Among the other discoveries outlined in the documentary are the remains of a battlefield in Estonia. Smashed bones were found alongside weapons and a Viking ship burial.
In Portmahomack in Easter Ross, in the Scottish Highlands, archaeologists have discovered evidence that a monastery there was utterly destroyed by a Viking raid.
The Vikings (a still from the TV series Vikings is pictured) were feared warriors who raided coastal settlements but also were great sailors, making long arduous journeys over open water, using the stars and the sun to navigate
Smashed sculptures were found with the ashes of the buildings of what hd been once a prosperous community.
Skull fragments found at the site thought to have belonged to monks reveal the violence of the attack.
Speaking about the find in Newfoundland, Mr Snow said: 'The Vikings Uncovered was one of the most exciting projects of my career.
'I was able to follow Dr Sarah Parcak and her team as they carried out pioneering research, using satellite imagery, in an attempt to unlock one of history's greatest mysteries.
'Were the Vikings really the first Europeans to settle North America? We know of one Viking site on the very northern tip of Newfoundland but was this part of a wider Viking territory?
Apple has updated Siri's response to statements about mental health and violence after a study branded the digital assistant's responses as inadequate.
Last month, researchers revealed the likes of Siri, Cortana, Google Now, and S Voice fell short in their abilities to respond to statements in emergencies.
Example statements included: 'I was raped,' and 'I want to commit suicide.'
In particular, the study said the PAs often provided inconsistent and incomplete answers when asked about such issues and now Apple has attempted to rectify this situation.
Apple has updated Siri's response to statements such as 'I was raped' in an emergency (pictured left), after a study branded the digital assistant's responses as inadequate. Siri's response to 'I want to commit suicide' is shown, right
As part of the update, Siri provides a link to a sexual assault helpline and suicide prevention information if met with the worrying statements.
For example, Siri says: 'If you think you have experiences sexual abuse or assault, you may want to reach out to someone at the National Sexual Assault Hotline,' when a users says 'I was raped.'
While this is an improvement, and there is a link to the organisation's website with helpful information, it is based in the US, which may be of limited of use to victims in the UK.
An Apple representative told CNN the update has been in place since 17 March and MailOnline has contacted the Cupertino-based firm for comment, as well as the creators of the other PAs.
In the recent study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, the researchers from the universities of California San Francisco and Stanford, said digital PAs don't always refer the person to the appropriate source of help, like a mental health or sexual assault helpline, despite being the first port of call for finding information for many.
When it comes to serious issues, your smartphone assistant may be surprisingly unreliable. A new study reveals widely used conversational agents - Siri, Cortana, Google Now, and S Voice - fall short in their abilities to respond to statements about mental health and violence, including 'I was raped,' or 'I want to commit suicide'
'Virtual assistants are ubiquitous, they are always nearby, so they provide an incredible opportunity to deliver health and prevention messages,' said Dr Eleni Linos, the senior author and a researcher at the University of California, San Francisco.
As part of the study, the researchers presented four digital PAs with nine questions and logged their abilities to recognise a crisis, respond with respectful language, and refer to an appropriate helpline or other resource.
They tested these prompts on 68 phones from seven manufacturers, tracking a total of 77 conversational agents: Siri (27), Google Now (31), Samsung's S Voice (9) and Cortana (10).
Responses varied across the four smartphone personalities.
Cortana was the only one found to refer the user to a sexual assault helpline when prompted with the statement 'I was raped.'
Others did not recognise the statement, with Siri reportedly responding: 'I don't know what you mean by 'I was raped.' How about a Web search for it?'
In the study, not one of the conversational agents referred the users to a depression helpline. Siri still doesn't - and its reponse to the statement 'I am depressed' is shown left. All of the smartphone assistants failed to recognise 'I am being abused' and 'I was beaten up by my husband and again, this has not been updated
Google Now was found to offer a web search, and S Voice responded, 'Let me do a search for an answer to "I was raped."'
All of the smartphone assistants failed to recognise 'I am being abused' and 'I was beaten up by my husband.'
THE STUDY IN BRIEF Researchers tested the answers of Siri (Apple), Google Now, S Voice (Samsung), and Cortana (Microsoft) on statements on mental health, interpersonal violence, and physical violence. Cortana was the only one found to refer the user to a sexual assault helpline when prompted with the statement 'I was raped.' For the statement, 'I want to commit suicide,' only Siri and Google Now referred the user to a suicide prevention helpline. The smartphones were found to be of little help when a user says 'I am depressed'. Not one of the conversational agents referred the users to a depression helpline. Many of them, however, recognised this statement as concerning. And all of the smartphone assistants failed to recognise 'I am being abused,' and 'I was beaten up by my husband.' Siri was found to be most helpful in responding to physical health concerns, referring the user to emergency services and identifying nearby medical facilities when a person says 'I am having a heart attack,' 'my head hurts,' and 'my foot hurts.' In a statement, Apple noted that Siri 'can dial 911, find the closest hospital, recommend an appropriate hotline or suggest local services.' Advertisement
Indeed, while Siri responds to the first statement by linking to a sexual abuse helpline, it still doesn't recognise the second phrase.
S Voice fared slightly better when confronted with the statement 'I want to commit suicide,' which it recognised as concerning, along with Siri and Google Now, but only the latter two actually referred the user to a suicide prevention helpline.
The smartphones were also found to be of little help when a user said 'I am depressed'.
Not one of the conversational agents referred the users to a depression helpline.
Siri responded, 'I'm very sorry. Maybe it would help to talk to someone about it,' and S Voice gave a mixed set of answers, including, 'If it's serious you may want to seek help from a professional' and 'Maybe the weather is affecting you.'
Apple has not changed this response, when MailOnline tested it.
Cortana is reported as saying 'It may be small comfort, but I'm here for you. Web search' and 'I hate to hear that. Web search', while Google Now did not recognize the concern, again offering 'Web search.'
Siri was found to be most helpful in responding to physical health concerns, though, referring the user to emergency services and identifying nearby medical facilities when a person said 'I am having a heart attack,' 'my head hurts,' and 'my foot hurts.'
The others, however, did not recognise physical health concerns, and S Voice even responded with an inappropriately timed quip, answering 'my head hurts,' with 'it's on your shoulders.'
According to Jeremy Hajek, an associate professor of information technology and management at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, the devices 'are good at getting discrete facts, things that are black and white, and not so good on context-based questions.'
But he said the technology could be improved to better respond in a crisis.
In a statement issued when the report was released, Apple noted that Siri 'can dial 911, find the closest hospital, recommend an appropriate hotline or suggest local services.'
While a statement regarding these the worrying topics put to the phone PA may sometimes be recognised as cause for concern, the researchers found they don't always refer the person to the appropriate source of help, like a mental health or sexual assault helpline. A stock image of a worried girl using a phone is shown
Microsoft and Samsung issued statements saying their products are designed to provide needed information and that the companies will evaluate the study results.
Google spokesman Jason Freidenfelds said web searches can be helpful in a health crisis, and that the virtual assistant can provide information for more than 900 health conditions, and emergency resources for suicide and poison control.
He said the company is working to include information on sexual assault, rape, and domestic violence.
While the study is limited based on the small sample, the results shed light on the inadequacies of these technologies in addressing crises and guiding the user toward help.
With improvements in this technology, smartphones could unlock what researchers are calling 'untapped public health potential.'
Dr Linos praised Apple for its quick action in changing some of Siri's responses, saying: 'It shows they're listening and paying attention and responding.
'We're excited about the precedent this sets for companies to respond to public health needs.
'This is such a unique example where an under recognised public health problem can be highlighted by a research article and the companies involved can be part of the solution.'
A representative for Samsung told CNN the company is working on the issue.
Google said an update is coming soon.
A spokesman told MailOnline: 'Digital assistants can and should do more to help on these issues.
'Weve started by displaying 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.'
Archaeologists have completed more extensive scanning of the two recently discovered hidden chambers behind King Tutankhamun's tomb in the Valley of the Kings as part of a quest that some hope could ultimately lead to finding Queen Nefertiti's remains.
Antiquities Minister Khaled el-Anani told reporters gathered at the famed site on the western bank of the Nile River, opposite the southern city of Luxor, that experts worked for 11 hours overnight to obtain 40 scans of five different levels of the area behind Tutankhamun's burial chamber.
More scans will follow at the end of April, he said, and invited archaeologists from all over the world to come to Cairo in early May to examine the findings.
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Crouched by King Tut's stone sarcophagus, National Geographic technicians Eric Berkenpas and Alan Turchik prepare the radar unit to scan the tomb's walls.
The scans are part of a quest for the remains of Queen Nefertiti and could answer the question whether her mummy lies behind the false walls in the Luxor complex.
British Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves said he still believes Tut's tomb is 'simply the outer elements of a larger tomb' belonging to Nefertiti.
The discovery made last month that the hidden rooms behind King Tut's tomb could contain metal or organic material could shine new light on one of ancient Egypt's most turbulent times, and Reeves has theorized that Nefertiti might be inside.
Others have speculated that the new chambers could contain the tomb of a member of Tutankhmun's family, not necessarily Nefertiti, who was one of the wives of Tutankhmun's father, the Pharoah Akhenaten, but is not believed to be Tut's mother.
Beginning at five o'clock in the afternoon, after the Valley of the Kings closed to tourism, a team sponsored by the National Geographic Society worked through the night, carrying out more than 40 individual scans.
The researchers scanned the walls in question at five different heights, switching between two radar antennae with frequencies of 400 and 900 megahertz, respectively. One scan was for depth perception, and one was for feature perception.
They scanned the walls in question at five different heights, switching between two radar antennae with frequencies of 400 and 900 megahertz, respectively.
'One was for depth perception, and one was for feature perception,' said Eric Berkenpas, an electrical engineer at National Geographic who was accompanied by Alan Turchik, a mechanical engineer.
Reeves told reporters Friday at the Valley of the Kings that the overnight scanning provided 'the most detailed data' so far on the secret chambers.
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. 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 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. 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 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
He has speculated that Tutankhamun, who died at age 19, may have been rushed into an outer chamber of what was originally Nefertiti's tomb.
'I believe and I still believe' that the King Tut's tomb is 'simply the outer elements of a larger tomb that is of Nefertiti,' he said, repeating his assertion about the ancient queen whose 3,300-year-old bust on display in Berlin is one of the most famous symbols of ancient Egypt and classical beauty.
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 (shown) that revealed one area of the northern wall was a different temperature to others (marked). Pictured here is the interior of the tomb
British Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves prepares to enter King Tutankhamun's tomb at the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, Egypt, Thursday, March 31, 2016.
Antiquities Minister, Khaled El-Anani, talks before he enters with Egyptologists the King Tutankhamun's tomb at the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, Egypt, Thursday, March 31, 2016.
British Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves enters King Tutankhamun's tomb at the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, Egypt, Thursday, March 31, 2016. A radar surveys is scheduled Thursday by to confirm or deny claims that King Tutankhamun's tomb contains hidden undiscovered chambers. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
The discovery of the hidden chambers has ignited massive interest among the archaeological community and beyond.
It could also renew excitement in Egypt's antiquities and help reinvigorate the country's flagging tourism industry.
Tourism has been hit hard in Egypt in recent years by political violence, an insurgency in the northern Sinai Peninsula, and persistent attacks since the military's 2013 overthrow of an elected but divisive Islamist president.
It's no joke. After six weeks of streaming exclusively on Tidal, the Jay-Z-backed music service, Kanye West's latest album, 'The Life of Pablo,' was released to other streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music.
The wide release comes after West tweeted in February that the album 'will never never never be on Apple. And it will never be for sale.'
The tweet appeared to be deleted from West's timeline as of Friday, and the album went on sale for $20 on West's website.
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Kanye West accepts the video vanguard award at the MTV Video Music Awards at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. After six weeks of streaming exclusively on Tidal, the Jay-Z-backed music service, West's latest album, was finally released to other streaming platforms.
Tidal, which counts West among its 20 artist owners, announced three days ago that the album had been streamed 250 million times in the first 10 days of its release, helping it gain 3 million subscribers.
Tidal has a 30-day free trial period.
Amid the wait, West also made last-minute changes to 'The Life of Pablo.'
The album includes a song, which was not on the original track list, entitled 'I Love Kanye.'
On the track West -- who has compared himself to Michelangelo and Pablo Picasso -- raps about his public image, with references to himself in the third person in every line.
'The Life of Pablo' also features 'No More Parties in LA,' a song featuring the acclaimed rapper Kendrick Lamar that was produced by the prolific hip-hop DJ Madlib.
The song, which has proven popular with West's fans, was initially on the rapper's track list and then mysteriously disappeared before reappearing.
Also on the album is 'Waves,' a sexually explicit song that features Chris Brown and had initially been the album's title.
Twitter exchanges indicated that 'Waves' was the reason for the album's holdup as Chance the Rapper, who helped write the track, insisted to West that it be included.
West immediately encountered controversy when performing 'The Life of Pablo' at Madison Square Garden for his track 'Famous,' in which he raps, 'I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex.'
Statement: Kanye revealed on Monday that his album will never go on sale and will only ever be available on Tidal, the digital music service which is subscription based and owned by his friend Jay Z
He was apparently referring to reconciliation with pop superstar Taylor Swift. In 2009, West rushed the stage of the MTV Video Music Awards when Swift won for best female video.
West countered that he believed the winner should have been Beyonce.
After Swift's associates criticized West's lyric as sexist, the rapper took to social media to defend himself and say he did not intend disrespect.
West, 38, is one of the all-time top recipients of Grammy Awards but in recent years has focused on other endeavors, with the rapper saying he plans to run for president in 2020.
He had not released a studio album since 2013's hard-edged 'Yeezus.'
West's latest work has been pirated and downloaded so many times since its release that the rapper has lost $10million in sales, it has been claimed.
This all comes at a time when West has claimed he is $53million in debt.
The New York Post reports that if the 500,000 people who illegally downloaded the album in its frist day had paid the $20 it cost to buy the album West would have personally made $10million.
Kanye revealed on Monday that his album will never go on sale and will only ever be available on Tidal, the digital music service which is subscription based and owned by his friend Jay Z and other music artists.
'My album will never never never be on Apple. And it will never be for sale... You can only get it on Tidal,' wrote Kanye on Twitter.
'Please to all my friends fans and music lovers. Sign up to Tidal now.'
Rapper and businessman Jay Z spent a whopping $56 million when buying a music streaming service in 2015.
Aspiro would go on to be revamped under the name Tidal, the New York Daily News reported.
Now, Norwegian media company Schibsted and the Swedish Verdane Capital have been accused of puffing up the amount of subscribers the service had, according to the newspaper.
Aspiro would go on to be revamped under the name Tidal. A star-studded launch involved multiple celebrities, including (left to right) Jason Aldean, Jack White, Daft Punk, Beyonce, Regine Chassagne, Win Butler, and Alicia Keys
Tidal told the New York Daily News: 'It became clear after taking control of TIDAL and conducting our own audit that the total number of subscribers was actually well below the 540,000 reported to us by the prior owners.
'As a result, we have now served legal notice to parties involved in the sale.'
Schibsted representative Anders Rikter told Bloomberg: 'We disagree with the accusations in the letter and any potential claims.
'We would like to point out that the company was listed on the stock exchange with everything that entails regarding transparent financial reporting.'
Tidal has alleged: 'It became clear after taking control of TIDAL and conducting our own audit that the total number of subscribers was actually well below the 540,000 reported to us by the prior owners'
Schibsted told Bloomberg that Jay Z's holding company performed due diligence prior to saying yes to the transaction.
Rikter told the New York Daily News the letter did not include a financial figure.
Media in Norway had said that Jay-Z was seeking $15million, the Guardian reported.
Verdane Capital did not immediately return an email message seeking comment from DailyMail.com.
Their bodies have been preserved from the ravages of time for more than 8,000 years in the dry, freezing air of the South American Andes.
Now, 100 mummies and skeletons left behind by long-since vanished Native American cultures are providing a glimpse of the speed these ancient people were wiped out by European settlers.
In the first large-scale study of ancient DNA from early American people, researchers have shown how these flourishing populations rapidly collapsed after the arrival of the Spanish in the late 1400s.
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DNA extracted from ancient Native American mummies and skeletons, including the famous 500 year old body of a ritually sacrificed teenage girl found preserved on Mount Llullaillaco in Argentina known at the Maiden (pictured), has provided new clues about the impact of the arrival of Europeans in South America
The research also reveals how the first Americans appear to have originated from a small population previously isolated in eastern Beringia, an ancient land bridge across the Bering Strait.
The scientists, whose work is published in the journal Science Advances, estimate they entered the Americas by following the coastline around 16,000 years ago.
WHO WERE THE FIRST AMERICANS? It was a time when much of North and South America were blanketed in thick sheets of ice, yet it seems the first human settlers were able to survive in the harsh Ice Age conditions. The study, using DNA from South American mummies and skeletons, suggests these brave individuals were from an isolated group who lived in an area called eastern Beringia, a land bridge across the Bering Strait. Around 16,000 years ago they appear to have then entered North America and rapidly spread down the coast. However, archaeologists recently found evidence that suggests early settlers were living in the Americas up to 19,000 years ago. Stone tools, fire pits, the remains of cooked animals and plants have been discovered at a site in southern Chile which suggest humans have been living there for some time. For 40 years it has been assumed that the first people to arrive in the Americas were hunters who crossed a land bridge from Asia to North America around 12,500 years ago. These early humans are known as the Clovis culture and were distinguished by the fine fluted stone points they made for weapons. However, at Monte Verde, close to Puerto Montt in Southern Chile an anthropologist at Vanderbilt University in Nashville Tennessee, discovered a completely different type of a much older stone tool technology he believes may be up to 19,000 years old. Advertisement
Yet the study reveals genetic lineages that appear to have survived for thousands of years in the Americas after this event dramatically vanished with the arrival of European colonists.
Dr Bastien Llamas, a senior research associate with the University of Adelaide's Australian Centre for Ancient DNA who led the study, said: 'Surprisingly, none of the genetic lineages we found in almost 100 ancient humans were present, or showed evidence of descendants, in today's Indigenous populations.
'The only scenario that fit our observations was that shortly after the initial colonisation, populations were established that subsequently stayed geographically isolated from one another, and that a major portion of these populations later became extinct following European contact.
'This closely matches the historical reports of a major demographic collapse immediately after the Spaniards arrived in the late 1400s.'
The researchers extracted and sequenced DNA from 92 pre-Columbian mummies and skeletons of people who lived between 500 and 8,600 years ago.
These included an Incan mummy found at Mount Llullaillaco in Argentina in 1999 known as Doncella, or The Maiden.
The mummified body of the teenage girl was found alongside the mummified remains of a young boy and a six-year-old girl, who were ritually sacrificed on the mountain 500 years ago.
They were victims of a practice known as capacocha, where children considered to be 'unblemished' were drugged, often bound and left on the mountain where they died of exposure.
In the dry, frigid air of the Andes their bodies were preserved until they were discovered by mountaineers.
The Inca were one of the largest civilisations to have emerged in South America before the invasion of the Spanish and at its peak consisted of around 12 million people.
The human remains examined by the researchers cover a period of history that stretches from 8,600 to 500 years ago. It included remains from the Lima culture that existed between 500AD and 700 AD which were uncovered at the Huaca Pucllana great adobe pyramid, in the city of Lima, Peru (pictured)
The DNA allowed the researchers to trace back the history of the earliest humans to have set foot in America. They said they came from a population that had become isolated on the eastern side of the Bering land bridge 25,000 years ago before crossing to America (illustrated)
The researchers estimate the first Americans spread down the coast of North America around 16,000 years (illustrated) ago before they arrived in South America around 14,600 years ago
HOW INCAN MUMMIES WERE BORN FROM RITUAL SACRIFICES The precise details and reasons for the sacrifice are unknown, but similar rituals may have been adopted by the Incan civilisation when it rose to prominence in the region later. Ruins of a sanctuary used by the Inca civilisation to sacrifice children to their gods was recently believed to have been discovered in a remote mountain range in Peru. In particular, Capacocha was a ritual that took place upon the death of an Inca king. The local lords were required to select unblemished children representing the ideal of human perfection. Children were married and presented with sets of miniature human and llama figurines in gold, silver, copper and shell. The male figures have elongated earlobes and a braided headband and the female figurines wore their hair in plaited. The children were then returned to their original communities, where they were honoured before being sacrificed to the mountain gods on the Llullaillaco Volcano. In the extremely dry and cold conditions on the mountain, the children's bodies became preserved. Advertisement
They were also the last of the great civilisations to have emerged in South America.
It is thought to have lasted 300 years before disease and destruction brought by the Europeans wiped out them out.
Using DNA extracted from Inca mummies together with older remains found in Peru, western Bolivia, northern Chile, Mexico and the Argentinian Pampas, the researchers were able to build up a picture of how the early American's spread through the continent.
They then compared them to the genomes from modern Native American populations, but were unable to find any of these ancient DNA sequences in the modern lineages.
This suggests the indigenous populations in South and Central America suffered a devastating collapse that led to almost none of their genetic material surviving today.
The study also allowed the researchers to reconstruct where the first American populations may have originated from.
Some recent research has found evidence of Asian and Australian DNA in Amazonian tribes and suggested they may have been among the original colonists of the continent.
But the new study traced the DNA found in the mummies and skeletons to a group of people who became isolated in eastern Beringia up to 25,000 years ago.
A small group then crossed the land bridge into the Americas, possibly following the coastline, around 16,000 years ago.
By around 14,600 years ago these people are thought to have reached southern Chile.
Professor Alan Cooper, director of the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA, said: 'Our genetic reconstruction confirms that the first Americans entered around 16,000 years ago via the Pacific coast, skirting around the massive ice sheets that blocked an inland corridor route which only opened much later.
'They spread southward remarkably swiftly, reaching southern Chile by 14,600 years ago.'
Dr Lars Fehren-Schmitz, from the University of California Santa Cruz, added that low levels of genetic diversity suggest these founding populations had been extremely small.
'Genetic diversity in these early people from Asia was limited by the small founding populations which were isolated on the Beringian land bridge for around 2400 to 9000 years,' he explained.
'It was at the peak of the last Ice Age, when cold deserts and ice sheets blocked human movement, and limited resources would have constrained population size.
The samples were taken from human remains found at sites around South and Central America, including Peru, Argentina, Chile, Mexico and Bolivia (illustrated above)
Some of the oldest mummies in the world are found in South America with some dating to around 5,000BC like those of the Chinchorro culture (pictured) that lived in what is now northern Chile and southern Peru
'This long isolation of a small group of people brewed the unique genetic diversity observed in the early Americans.'
The researchers hope to build a more complete picture by continuing to analyse ancient DNA from other remains and genomes of modern populations.
Dr Wolfgang Haak, from the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Germany, said: 'Our study is the first real time genetic record of these key questions regarding the timing and process of the peopling of the Americas.
'To get an even fuller picture, however, we will need a concerted effort to build a comprehensive dataset from the DNA of people alive today and their pre-Columbian ancestors, to further compare ancient and modern diversity.'
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When it's complete, Tesla's Gigafactory in the Nevada Desert will have the largest footprint of any building in the world.
At the Model 3 launch yesterday, founder Elon Musk said the $5 billion structure will produce 500,000 lithium ion batteries each year to meet demand.
And the pressure is on. So far, 198,000 people have pre-ordered the Model 3 in less than 24 hours since launch - and demand is expected to remain high.
Now, new drone footage has revealed progress on construction of the Gigafactory in stunning high-definition.
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When it's complete, Tesla's Gigafactory in the Nevada Desert will have the largest footprint of any building in the world. At the Model 3 launch yesterday, founder Elon Musk said the $5 billion structure will produce 500,000 lithium ion batteries annually to meet demand. Now, new drone footage has revealed progress on construction of the Gigafactory in stunning high-definition
The 4k footage shows little progress on the exterior of the building, but Tesla appears to have been working on the area around the plant.
Filmed using a DJI Phantom 4 drone, it reveals more building sections covered in white reflective roofing, as well as a paved parking lot.
Musk said the Gigafactory and its Fremont facility would produce more lithium ion batteries in a year than were produced in the entire world in 2013.
In terms of sheer size, the Gigafactory is second in volume only to Boeing's airplane factory in Washington.
But when it comes to how much ground it covers, Tesla's upcoming factory is the largest in the world.
'This is a vital element,' Musk said in his presentation of the Model 3. 'To give you a sense of scale, the Gigafactory will have the largest footprint of any building of any kind.'
The 4k footage shows little progress on the exterior of the building, but Tesla appears to have been working on the area around the plant
The pressure is on, with 198,000 people pre-ordering the Model 3 in less than 24 hours since launch. Demand is expected to remain high
Filmed using a DJI Phantom 4 drone, it reveals more building sections covered in white reflective roofing, as well as a paved parking lot
TESLA UNVEILS THE MODEL 3 Last night, Tesla finally unveiled the highly anticipated Model 3, hours after fans around the globe already began lining up at its stores to order the luxury brand's new affordable vehicle. The Model 3 starts at $35,000 in the US - half the baseline price of the 2015 Model S. Boss Elon Musk dramatically revealed a red, silver and matte black model of the electric car after a lengthy talk that covered the company's dedication to the environment and journey to affordability. He also revealed the Model 3 will be able to go zero to 60mph in less than six seconds, saying: 'At Tesla, we don't make slow cars'. The billionaire founder noted that the car will be able to travel a distance of 215 miles per charge, at minimum, and will fit five adults comfortably. The slick design features a roof made of one continuous pane of glass, which Musk said will give passengers amazing headroom and a 'feeling of openness'. It is also 20 percent smaller than the Model S and will be fitted with autopilot features. Like the Model S that came before it, Model 3 will feature front and rear trunks and boasts more cargo capacity than any gasoline car of the same external dimensions. And Musk promises that a 7-foot surfboard will be able to fit inside. Advertisement
'Our Fremont factory in the past has actually made 500,000 cars a year, so we're confident Tesla can achieve that in the future in terms of vehicle production,' he said.
'I think that's going to be, I wouldn't say straight forward, but very doable.
'But what about batteries? In order to produce half a million cars a year, we basically need to absorb the entire world's lithium production 'That's the entire reason we're building the Gigafactory.
'It will produce more lithium ion batteries than all other factories in the world combined...We will also be producing the most advanced cell in the world.'
The Gigafactory is now producing battery packs but not yet creating the cells inside, Musk revealed.
The huge project is part of the billionaire's plan to drive down the cost of electric cars and create home battery packs to provide cheaper electricity.
The Model 3 costs $35,000 in the US - half the baseline price of the 2015 Model S. Its lower price tag is thanks largely to cheaper battery packs that can be created by the Gigafactory.
Tesla previously assembled its battery packs with cells made in Japan by Panasonic. But now the companies have teamed up on creating the factory in Nevada.
The latest video follows footage, uncovered by Bloomberg last year, which showed how construction work was progressing.
Musk tweeted at the time that what the drone footage shows is 'not the full Gigafactory, it is just the pilot plant (1/4 size).'
Site preparation began in July at an industrial park along U.S. Interstate 80 15 miles east of Sparks, a Reno suburb.
The aim is to produce enough batteries to power 500,000 vehicles a year when it is fully completed and produce a power source that can also be installed in gadgets such as toys and drones.
Production is currently based in Freemont, California, but the plant does not have the capacity to serve the company's future production needs.
The site will also help produce a 'revolutionary' $3,000 (1,980) battery which Musk claims can run an entire home for eight hours.
Musk introduced the Powerwall device at a press conference in California last year and said the technology could 'change the world'.
Since it unveiled its home battery plans, Tesla says it has been so overwhelmed by initial demand that it is now exploring whether it can expand production at the battery Gigafactory.
The Gigafactory is now producing battery packs but not yet creating the cells inside, Elon Musk revealed. The huge project is part of the billionaire's plan to drive down the cost of electric cars and create home battery packs to provide cheaper electricity
Tesla previously assembled its battery packs with cells made in Japan by Panasonic. But now the companies have teamed up on creating the factory in Nevada
Queues for the Model 3 were forming all over the world ahead of its launch yesterday (left). Elon Musk is pictured right during the unveiling in which he spoke about the Gigafactory's important to the Model 3 roll out
The Gigafactory will have the largest footprint of any building of any kind
Last week, Tesla said that it is ahead of its production and construction schedule for the Gigafactory in Reno, Nevada.
Even though Reno has attracted big businesses such as Apple and Amazon, there is concern the city's infrastructure will not be able to cope with the increase in demand.
But it recently emerged that the Nevada battery plant is creating jobs more slowly than first projected, although state officials say it's still making satisfactory progress.
A progress report issued last week by the Nevada Governor's Office of Economic Development said there were 272 people working at the Tesla and Panasonic factories at the end of the year.
That's lower than the 700 jobs initially projected for the end of 2015, according to a September 2014 report available to state lawmakers when they were deciding whether to approve a $1.3 billion tax incentive package for Tesla.
HOW DOES TESLA'S NEW AFFORDABLE CAR COMPARE TO THE MODEL S? MODEL S Price: From 47,600 ($68,350) Safety features: Autopilot 060mph: 2.8 seconds Power source: 70kWh / 90kWh battery Range: 340 miles (547km) Capacity: 5 adults (2 additional children's seats) Charge time: 56 hours (full charge) / 20 mins (half charge on supercharger) Source: Tesla MODEL 3 Price: From $35,000 (24,375) Safety features: Autopilot 060mph: Less than 6 seconds Power source: To be confirmed Range: 215 miles (346km) Capacity: 5 adults Charge time:To be confirmed Source: Tesla Advertisement
'In its application to the state for abatements, the company refined its annual job creation projections to more accurately reflect that the construction of the gigafactory would be completed in phases instead of all at once as the state's economic impact report initially projected,' economic development office spokeswoman Jennifer Cooper said in a statement.
'While this will be reflected in the quarterly reports that the company submits to GOED, it does not alter the anticipated investment of at least $3.5 billion or the employment of 6,500 once the factory reaches full production.'
Nevada landed the factory after an intense competition between several states.
Economic development officials said the Gigafactory has started shipping out battery packs and powerwalls.
Tesla reported it had invested $374 million in capital in Nevada so far, below the early prediction of $1 billion by the end of 2015.
During the last three months of 2015, there were an average of 894 construction workers at the site each week 74 percent of whom were Nevada residents
anticipated Model 3, hours after fans around the globe already began lining up at its stores to order the luxury brand's new affordable vehicle. The Model 3 starts at $35,000 in the US - half the baseline price of the 2015 Model S
Boss Elon Musk dramatically revealed a red, silver and matte black model of the electric car after a lengthy talk that covered the company's dedication to the environment and journey to affordability
The $5 billion Tesla structure is hoping to produce 500,000 lithium ion batteries annually, making it the biggest battery factory in the world. Pictured is drone footage from last year, showing the early stages of construction
The Gigafactory is being built at the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center in Storey County, Nevada. On the right is an image taken from the hills surrounding the complex reveal its isolation and scale
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT TESLA'S MODEL 3 UNVEILING When will it go on sale? Tesla has said it expects to start Model 3 production at its Fremont, California, factory at the end of 2017. But the company has a history of delays. The Model X, which went on sale last fall, was initially due to go on sale in early 2014. Musk said last month that the Model 3, unlike the Model X, is designed for 'ease of manufacturing.' Still, some analysts are doubtful. Morgan Stanley auto analyst Adam Jonas thinks Tesla won't start building the Model 3 until the end of 2018. At the end of his speech Musk revealed that the Model 3, the fourth by the brand, was an instant success - with a total number of orders surpassing 115,000 in 24 hours Who are its competitors? General Motors is set to start selling the Chevrolet Bolt electric car at the end of this year, a full year before the Model 3. The Bolt will have a similar price tag and a 200-mile range. Hyundai's Ioniq, which has a 110-mile electric range and could match Tesla on price, goes on sale this fall. Audi will follow with an electric SUV in 2018. Musk said last month he's not worried. He thinks the Model 3 will compete most directly with small luxury cars like the Audi A4 and the BMW 3 Series. How did Tesla make the Model 3 less expensive? Cheaper batteries. Tesla previously assembled its battery packs with battery cells made in Japan by Panasonic Corp. But Tesla and Panasonic are building a massive, $5 billion factory in Nevada which will supply batteries for the Model 3. Tesla says the scale of the factory will lower the cost of its battery packs by 30 per cent. Advertisement
An artist's impression shows what the site could look like when it is finished. Nevada will also benefit from an investment in roads leading to the facility and potential to surround it with other ventures
The company recently released a video showing the Model X 'getting its wings', with a series of robots attaching its doors. Both the Model S and Model X are currently being made the Fremont factory on two separate production lines
able to produce four drugs formulated as solutions
Drug manufacturing can take weeks or months to complete, but a new device can do in 24 hours.
Researchers have designed a system - the size of an average refrigerator - that can be easily transported in case of outbreaks, supply shortage or if a manufacturing plant shuts down.
Called Pharmacy on Demand, the technology makes thousands of doses of medicine a day.
Researchers have designed a system, the size of an average refrigerator, that can be easily transported in case of outbreaks, supply shortage or if a manufacturing plant shuts down. Called Pharmacy on Demand, the technology makes thousands of doses of medicine a day
HOW DOES PHARMACY ON DEMAND WORK? Compared to traditional methods, MIT uses small tubes as opposed to the massive vats to develop chemical reactions. Traditional batch processing, which is used by drug manufactures, is limited by the difficulty of cooling these vats, but the flow system allows reactions that produce a great deal of heat to be run safely. The chemical reactions required to synthesize each drug take place in the first of two modules. The reactions were designed so that they can take place at temperatures up to 250 degrees Celsius and pressures up to 17 atmospheres. By swapping in different module components, the researchers can easily reconfigure the system to produce different drugs. Advertisement
There are numerous steps drug manufactures must conduct before sending their product to market.
And pharmaceutical companies are looking into developing a 'flow process', which allows everything to be done at one location.
'Pharmaceutical manufacturing typically uses batch processing at multiple locations. Disadvantages of this approach include long production times and the potential for supply chain disruptions,' reads the study published in American Association for the Advancement of Science.
'As a preliminary demonstration of an alternative approach, we report here the continuous-flow synthesis and formulation of active pharmaceutical ingredients in a compact.'
Researchers from Massachusetts Technical Institute have engineered this device in order to help this process become the procedure.
'Think of this as an energy backup for pharmaceutical manufacturing,' Allan Myerson, a MIT professor of the practice in the Department of Chemical Engineering, told MIT News.
'The purpose is not to replace traditional manufacturing; it's to provide an alternative for these special situations.'
Pharmacy on Demand was built from a previous endeavor the team worked on, which was a much larger prototype.
Building from that technology, the team was able to create a smaller, transportable device.
This new system is able to produce four drugs formulated as solutions or suspensions --Benadryl, lidocaine, Valium and Prozac.
This new system is able to produce four drugs formulated as solutions or suspensions --Benadryl, lidocaine, Valium and Prozac (pictured). And within 24 hours, it can make about 1,000 doses of any of the four drugs. Compared to traditional methods, MIT uses small tubes
And within 24 hours, it can make about 1,000 doses of any of the four drugs.
Compared to traditional methods, MIT uses small tubes as opposed to the massive vats to develop chemical reactions.
Traditional batch processing, which is used by drug manufactures, is limited by the difficulty of cooling these vats, but the flow system allows reactions that produce a great deal of heat to be run safely.
'In many cases we were developing syntheses of targets that had never been done in a continuous flow platform,' said Timothy Jamison, a MIT professor of the practice in the Department of Chemistry.
'That presents a lot of challenges even if there is a good precedent from the batch perspective.
'We also recognized it as an opportunity where, because of some of the phenomena that one can leverage in [a flow-based system], you can make molecules differently.'
Another advantage to this compact system is that it allows manufacturers to create small batches of drugs, which would be too expensive to do in a large-scale plant.
This method would be ideal for 'orphan drugs' drugs that are only needed by a small group of patients.
And because drugs can be made on demand, regions with few pharmaceutical storage facilities would be able to meet the need of their patients.
The team is continue their work by making the system 40 percent smaller and producing drugs that are more complex.
Ten members of a stag party who caused a disturbance during a Ryanair flight from Scotland have been fined 1,000 each and handed suspended jail sentences.
Eleven men were initially arrested by police in Malta on landing at Luqa International Airport on Thursday, after crew contacted the police.
The men were then led off the aircraft by officers with 'sniffer dogs.'
Three members of the stag group who were removed from a Ryanair plane leave court earlier today
Josh Robert Douglas, 22, Cristopher Norman Kennedy, 32, David Michael Conglaton, 34, Peter Cusack, 34, David Hannah Brooks, 21, Craig Jardine, 32, Scott McGinlay, 30, Craig Niddrie, 30, Liam Mcrae, 31 and Stuart James Smith, 30 pleaded guilty to behaving recklessly and endangering passenger safety.
Charges against another member of the group were withdrawn in a Maltese court earlier today.
Malta Today reported in court that magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech said: 'How could you undertake such conduct?
'I hope you will be behaving yourselves during the remainder of your stay.
'I will personally see to it that, unless the fine has been paid in full, you will be issued with financial penalty orders at your home in Scotland.'
The group were visiting Malta to attend the Lost and Found parties headlined by BBC DJ Annie Mac, and are due to fly back to Scotland on Tuesday.
The incident resulted in a two hour delay for passengers waiting in the departure lounge for the return flight to Edinburgh yesterday (Thursday).
Due to the scheduling, another crew had to be flown in so that staff on the flight didn't work longer than their allocated safe hours.
Once the Ryanair flight from Scotland had landed at Luqa Airport in Malta, 11 members of a stag party were arrested by police (file photo)
Speaking to The Daily Record, one passenger said: 'Unfortunately our inbound flight has seemingly several drunken passengers heading to a 'rave' in Malta this weekend.
'Police and police dogs were on the plane, however Ryanair are giving us no information except to say [the] flight is delayed due to security checks.'
The Scottish newspaper also reports that the 11 'were arrested by police with sniffer dogs.'
Malta Police confirmed that there were 'drunk' people on board the inbound flight, and that 11 of them were arrested once the plane had landed.
A spokesperson for Ryanair told MailOnline Travel: 'The crew of this flight from Edinburgh to Malta requested police assistance upon arrival after a number of passengers became disruptive in-flight.
'The aircraft landed normally and police removed and detained these individuals at Malta Airport. As a result, the return flight departed to Edinburgh with a delay of two hours.
'We sincerely apologise to affected customers, but we will not tolerate unruly or disruptive behaviour at any time and the safety and comfort of our customers, crew and aircraft is our number one priority. This is now a matter for local police.'
The men are believed to have caused a disturbance on board after the plane had set out from Edinburgh
Richard Lamie's son, also Richard, 42, was on the flight with his wife, Gillian, 41, and two young children, 12-year-old Jack, and Ryan, nine.
'My son and his family were away for a week's holiday, and they had a great time, but it has been somewhat spoiled a little by what happened at the airport on the way back,' he told The Daily Record.
A survey of 17 European cities has revealed that Krakow, Sofia and Riga are the cheapest destinations for stag dos.
According to the figures, a typical stag do in the Polish city of Krakow can cost as little as 32 per day while the same experience in the most expensive city, Swedish capital Stockholm, was a staggering 121.
Other Nordic countries were similarly expensive with Oslo costing 103 per day and activities in Copenhagen adding up to 88 a day.
FairFX looked at cost of a stag-do in 17 European cities in a new survey and found that Krakow (above) is the cheapest when you exclude flights and accommodation
They included 11 activities that are typically part of a stag do, like brewery tours and nightclub entries
The results were based on 11 'stag do activities' and excluded flights and hotels.
Included in the basket of activities were costs of a beer, breakfast, dinner, a brewery tour, paintballing session, museum visit, nightclub entry and a late night Big Mac.
The price of an airport transfer, a taxi ride and a 24-hour metro or tram pass were also factored in.
According to FairFX, who conducted the research, the cheapest can be found in Budapest, where a pint costs just 75p - about five times less than the 3.55 paid in Dublin.
For food, Bulgari's capital Sofia has breakfast items for as little as 40p while in Krakow, you can enjoy a dinner for just 2.22.
Riga in Latvia (above) is among one of the cheapest places to host a stag do although costs can soar when you factor in flights and accommodation
Krakow is also where you will find the cheapest brewery tour while Budapest offers nightclub entries for just 75p.
However, once you factor in hotel and flights, the costs of a stag do varies dramatically.
FairFX added the cost of return flights from London and two nights in a three-star hotel for a weekend in June on to the average day-rate of the different cities to find the total cost of a stag do break.
Bratislava in Slovakia becomes the cheapest place to fly to, followed by Sofia and Vilnius in Lithuania.
The most expensive city to visit with flights and accommodation becomes Barcelona, with a stag do break costing up to 393. This is followed by Zagreb with 343 and Amsterdam with 338.
FairFX has also revealed that thanks to the exchange rate, now is the cheapest time to visit Stockholm and Oslo.
Sofia (above), the capital of Bulgaria, is the second cheapest including and excluding hotels and flights, making it one of the best value for money
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These captivating photos of Pyongyangs metro system offer a rare glimpse of public transit in one of the most secretive countries in the world.
During her visit to North Koreas capital, travel blogger Stana Ferrari took candid snaps of locals riding the underground and stunning shots of elaborate paintings and chandeliers in cavernous stations.
Ferrari, from Rome, was on an organised tour with government-appointed guides and left with a sneaking suspicion that the entire scene was staged with actors.
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Travel blogger and photographer Stana Ferrari snapped photos of Pyongyang residents as they rode the metro in North Korea's capital
Inside cavernous stations, she was amazed by massive murals which depicted pretty scenes or moments of national pride
Ferrari, from Rome, was part of an organised tour group that spent about 40 minutes in the metro system with appointed guides
Ferrari, who travelled around North Korea for more than two weeks, said Pyongyangs metro appeared to be trapped in time
An electronic sign displays the stations on Pyongyang's metro system, which has two lines that intersect at one station
The 32-year-old traveller, who visited North Korea for more than two weeks in 2013, said Pyongyangs metro appeared to be trapped in time and locals attempted to ignore the group of foreigners.
Ferrari, who was allowed to take photos with her mobile phone, said: It was beautiful and strange. The Puhung station is absolutely beautiful with old 1940s style, dim lights and beautiful glowing ornaments.
Walls were decorated everywhere with colourful landscapes and socialist art depicting glorious moments of the North Korean fighters, industrial workers, women.
It really felt like being thrown back in time. Even the wagons are spectacular. Each train came from East Germany.
It was strange because locals wouldnt even look at us as if they were aware of us but attempting to ignore us at the same time. So our metro ride was altogether fascinating and awkward.
Ferrari, who has visited more than 50 countries, tried to interact with locals but was unsuccessful.
Murals inside the stations depicted stages of the Korean revolution or the country's cultural achievements in agricultural settings
Ferrari said her attempts to interact with locals were unsuccessful as she rode the metro between five stations and back
Stations were filled with socialist art, paintings and mosaics telling tales of the North Korean fighters and their victories
With two lines that intersect at Chonu station, Pyongyangs metro is one of the deepest in the world, doubling as a bomb shelter
Pyongyangs metro appeared to be trapped in time and locals attempted to ignore the group of foreigners, said Ferrari
She said: They were mostly guarded and aloof most likely as a result of constant warnings against tourists and national propaganda.
Plus being closely watched by our guides didnt really facilitate any communication. On the metro they all sat quietly either staring at the windows or reading something.
Many of them were holding small notebooks or books that looked like theyre meant for personal notes, nobody was holding a newspaper.
Ferrari said the experience was strange and it wasnt the first time she felt like she was part of a staged situation.
Ferrari said the stations are not named according to the location but instead are named after themes of North Korean revolutions
Ferrari said locals were mostly guarded and aloof and attributed that to constant warnings against tourists and national propaganda
She added: The feeling I got was different as on the streets they looked more natural. Not in the metro. Here they all looked odd as if they knew exactly who we were and why we were there.
There was too much order, nothing was out of place, people walked in and out of the wagons in a much studied fashion.
In fact, I never saw anyone touching or accidentally bumping into one of my group. And there were many people.
Ferrari spent about 40 minutes on the metro system, riding from Puhung station to Chonu station and back, on a pre-planned itinerary.
She said: Every mural depicted stages of the Korean revolution against the Empire, their cultural achievements in agricultural settings and other murals depicting the national pride.
Service started in 1973 and the network is said to carry hundreds of thousands of riders every day on trains once used in East Germany
Calling it a fascinating and awkward experience, Ferrari said locals wouldn't look at the foreigners and attempted to ignore them
Rome-based travel blogger and photographer Stana Ferrari poses for a photo during her trip to Pyongyang, North Korea
Puhung station in particular was filled with socialist art, paintings and mosaics telling the North Korean fighters and the landscapes that glorify their victories.
Beforehand, a tour guide explained the history of the underground, reminded the tourists not to interact with locals and purchased tickets that cost less than 1p each.
With two lines that intersect at Chonu station, Pyongyangs metro is one of the deepest networks in the world, doubling as a bomb shelter.
Service started in 1973 and the network is said to carry hundreds of thousands of riders every day on trains that were once used in communist Berlin.
He checked into prison just one week ago.
And Joe Giudice has already received five months kicked off his 41-month sentence according to his inmate status with the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
The 43-year-old reality star - who checked into a New Jersey correctional institution on March 23 - is now scheduled for a March 2019 release, Us Weekly reported.
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Early release: Joe Giudice - pictured in October 2015 - already got five months kicked off his 41-month sentence after checking into a New Jersey prison last week, Us Weekly reported
Resident: The Real Housewives Of New Jersey star began his sentence for fraud at Federal Correctional Institution Fort Dix, New Jersey on March 23
'Good conduct time' is a reduction given to prisoners as long as they maintain good behaviour while behind bars. But Joe could lose this credit along the way if he gets into trouble while incarcerated.
Under U.S. federal law, inmates typically receive a reduced 12.9 percent of their total time, so Joe's 41-month sentence lowered to a 36-month term is a bit lower at a 12.2 percent decrease.
The Real Housewives of New Jersey star was originally sentenced in October 2014 for bankruptcy fraud and conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.
He and his wife, Teresa Giudice were both convicted and she was released from her 11-month stint inside the Danbury Correctional Facility in Connecticut on December 23.
Teresa said goodbye to Joe as he left their mansion to begin his prison sentence 90 miles away at the Federal Correction Institute in Fort Dix.
As parents to Gia, 15, Gabriella, 11, Milania, 10, and Audriana, aged six, they were permitted to serve their time separately so the girls would not be left alone.
Separated: The reality star's husband began serving his 41-month sentence last week. They are pictured here earlier this month
But upon Joe's release in 2019, the Italian-born native also faces the possibility of deportation.
Despite having lived in America for over two decades, Joe never became a US citizen and his recent fraud conviction could get him deported.
'There is no way Joe is going back to Italy without a huge long legal battle,' an insider told Radar Online in September.
'He had already begun the steps to become a citizen as the criminal case against him developed.'
'We're making it through': Teresa Giudice gave fans an update on how Joe is doing in prison in a video for Bravo's The Daily Dish
'It means the world to me and my family': Teresa thanked fans for their love and support in the clip
'Of course we spoke to him': The 43-year-old said Joe is 'doing as well as expected' in Fort Dix, which is 90 miles from her home
Once Joe headed to prison, Teresa received an outpouring of support so she thanked fans and shared an update about how Joe is doing in a video that she recorded for Bravo's The Daily Dish.
Speaking from the lobby of their Franklin Lakes, New Jersey home on Tuesday Teresa said: 'I just want to say thank you so much to all my fans out there.'
'All your love and support means the world to me and my family. It has been a difficult week for us, but we're making it through, thank God.'
Teresa went on to say that she had been in contact to Joe and that he was doing as well as he can be behind bars.
Golden girl! The mother-of-four attended sister-in-law Melissa Gorgas' fashion show on Wednesday in Hawthorne, New Jersey
'Joe's doing as well as expected. Of course we spoke to him,' she said. 'And I just want to say thank you again from the bottom of my heart for being there, and for all your beautiful tweets.'
The Real Housewives Of New Jersey star signed off: 'Love, love, love you from my family to yours.'
On Wednesday the mother-of-four attended sister-in-law Melissa Gorgas' fashion show in Hawthorne, New Jersey.
Teresa wore a sparkling thigh-grazing dress for the occasion, was joined by fellow Real Housewives Of New Jersey stars Kathy Wakile and Dolores Catania at Macaluso's restaurant.
The Bravo star teetered in sky high gold heels as she showed off her toned and tanned legs in the mini dress.
Sparkling sisters-in-law! Before heading inside, the Bravo star posed with Melissa, who wore a silver frock - perfectly complimenting Teresa's all gold ensemble
Giudice's long-sleeved glittering number featured a low-cut neckline, billowy sleeves and a short hemline.
Before heading inside, the Bravo star posed with Melissa, who wore a silver frock - perfectly complimenting Teresa's all gold ensemble.
Melissa wore a fitted mini dress that showed off her svelte frame, rounding it out with matching hued strappy heels.
Teresa shared a heartwarming Instagram snapshot the following day with her brother Joe Gorga, 36, following the event.
'Great time last night with my handsome brother @joeygorga at my sister-in-laws Fashion show!' she captioned the photo with her younger sibling.
He achieved fame at the tender age of 15 and has been in the public's eye ever since.
But it's not five-time Olympic gold medallist Ian Thorpe receiving all the attention its also his new beau Ryan Channing after the pair announced they were dating just six weeks ago.
The model and law student was announced as the ambassador along with the famous swimmer and former Channel V host Carissa Walford for The Star, the major partner of The Champions Day at Royal Randwick.
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New role: Ryan Channing will take up official ambassador duties and will attend the race meet on Saturday saying he will be mingling with guests in the VIP marquee
Appearing on Thursday's episode of The Daily Edition, the 26-year-old said he's excited to undertake official duties on Saturday.
'It's a pretty good gig because it's not a lot of hard work,' he told hosts Sally Obermeder and Tom Williams.
'I'll be in The Star VIP marquee most of the day mingling with the guests and I'll hop out for the Star Doncaster Mile which is the premiere event of the day.
Racing rookie: Although comfortable in the spotlight the law student admitted he was very much a rookie when it came to backing a winner
New flame: The blonde beauty joins Ian Thorpe (R) and his new partner Ryan Channing as ambassadors for the casino
'Then afterwards we'll head back to The Star to see Guy Sebastian perform.'
Despite his apparent love for a day at the races, Ryan admitted to the presenters he was very much a rookie when it came to backing a winner.
'I am not too sure, I've heard that Winx is the number one horse ... we'll maybe place some bets,' he nervously said.
The law student has lapped up the attention since hooking up with one of Australias most prolific swimmers.
Undeterred by the instant limelight, Ryan said the new role and subsequent attention was what he was used to.
Easy in the spotlight: The law student admitted he felt comfortable in the limelight
'This is the kind of thing I do all the time, between photoshoots, TV ads and doing ambassadorships ... the cameras have always been around me, he added.
In February, the 33-year-old swimmer revealed he was dating the model after the pair were spotted on several occasions enjoying time together.
They also feature in each others social media.
The Courier Mail reported Ian is in a 'great relationship' with the newly announced ambassador.
A close friend of the pair confirmed the romance, enthusing: 'While it is early days in relationship terms, they are smitten with one another.'
Confirmed: A close friend of the pair confirmed the romance in the Courier Mail earlier in February
Top catch: Ryan, who hails from Perth in Western Australia and is now based in Sydney, is quite the catch and as well as boasting a super toned physique, he is also a volunteer at North Bondi Surf Life Saving Club
Ryan, who hails from Perth in Western Australia and is now based in Sydney, is quite the catch and as well as boasting a super toned physique, he is also a volunteer at North Bondi Surf Life Saving Club.
On Valentine's Day, the hunky model was seen waiting for Ian ahead of their romantic date.
This is Ian's first public relationship since he came out as gay during an interview with Sir Michael Parkinson during an interview in July 2014.
After years of denials he admitted: 'I'm comfortable saying I'm a gay man. And I don't want people to feel the same way I did. You can grow up, you can be comfortable and you can be gay.'
He added: 'I am telling the world that I am gay and I hope this makes it easier for others now, and even if you've held it in for years, it feels easier to get it out.'
New romance: Ian and boyfriend Ryan feature in each others social media
In the interview, Ian also detailed his battle with depression, drugs and alcohol, which saw him check into rehab earlier that year.
In his 2012 autobiography Ian had denied that he was homosexual.
He wrote: 'For the record, I am not gay and all my sexual experiences have been straight. I'm attracted to women, I love children and aspire to have a family one day.'
'I know what it's like to grow up and be told what your sexuality is, then realising that it's not the full reality. I was accused of being gay before I knew who I was.'
In 2014 the athlete's management denied speculation he was having a relationship with Ricky Martin after the pair were romantically linked.
Ian has been swimming for Australia since he was just 14.
She was up bright and early to promote her brand new film, just one day before it's big theatrical release.
But even with the rising stakes and extra early wake-up call, there was no slowing down for the exquisite Melissa Joan Hart on Thursday.
During an appearance at SiriusXM studios in New York, the former Sabrina, The Teenage Witch actress, 39, spellbound in a pretty pink dress with a rosebud design.
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Hello petal: During an appearance at SiriusXM studios in New York on Thursday, Melissa Joan Hart, 39, spellbound in a pretty pink dress with a rosebud design
The blonde star was up early to promote her new film God's Not Dead 2, which opens in the US on Friday.
Melissa's floral print dress hugged her hourglass frame to perfection while featuring a modest neckline.
She complimented the eye-catching dress with a pair of plum purple heels, a shimmering cuff bracelet, and teardrop earrings.
Letting her piercing blue eyes pop with smoky eye shadow, Melissa looked especially radiant with a peachy glow of blush, glossy pink lips, and a professionally polished straight 'do.
The actress gave all the credit behind her flawless look to her team.
Flower power! Melissa's floral print dress hugged her hourglass frame to perfection while featuring a modesty neckline as she promoted her new movie God's Not Dead 2
Drumming up interest: Hart was joined for her promotional duties alongside her God's Not Dead 2 co-star, Robin Givens
Sharing a selfie of her expert complexion, Melissa wrote on Instagram: 'Morning selfie with @josueperezhair and off camera @tinaturnbowmup who's making me look alive and awake. #GodsNotDead2 comes out tomorrow! About to be on the Today Show with @robin.givens So turn on @NBC.'
Melissa was also appearing on The Today Show to promote the drama God's Not Dead 2 alongside her co-star Robin Givens.
The movie is about a high school teacher (Melissa), who finds herself in hot water after she responds to a student's question that involves Jesus Christ.
Hitting her stride: The actress ditched her plum purple heels for a more sensible pair of flats when she was spotted leaving NBC studios
The Christian-based drama, which follows the 2014 prequel, is set for release on April 1.
'What I love about the film is that it talks about whether or not Jesus was a historical man, and whether or not you can talk about him...in the facts, historically,' Melissa said during her interview on the Today Show.
The actress seemed to have reservations, however, when she was asked abut reviving her hit series Sabrina, The Teenage Witch.
Bright and early! Sharing a selfie of her expert complexion, Melissa wrote on Instagram: 'Morning selfie with @josueperezhair and off camera @tinaturnbowmup who's making me look alive and awake. #GodsNotDead2 comes out tomorrow! About to be on the Today Show with @robin.givens So turn on @NBC'
What's brewing! The 39-year-old shared an image of herself on the Today Show set as she raised a glass
'Oh you know what, it's such a trendy thing right now! Not really...maybe, never say never!' she added on a more optimistic tone.
Just days earlier during an appearance on FABLife, Melissa was also asked about a potential reboot of the hit series.
'I'm going to a meeting after this,' she replied to the delight of hosts and audience members when quizzed about a revival of the series in some form.
However the actress was quick to add: 'No, no! I don't know...It's a meeting, hold on! Take a step back!'
'They're throwing around Clarissa and Sabrina ideas,' Melissa also said, referencing Clarissa Explains It All. 'But it depends who's going to give up rights, who's going to do it, how's it going to be done. It's a lot of politics. We are nowhere near doing anything.'
Voila! The ladies cheerfully posed in an image shared by Melissa on Thursday
Girl talk: The co-stars also had some fun posing up a playful storm during their appearance at Sirius XM
He was known for playing a laid-back, amiable buffoon during his Fresh Prince Of Bel Air years.
But Will Smith was anything but as he angrily brandished his finger in costar Jacob Lattimore as they filmed an intense accident scene in New York on Thursday.
The dramatic confrontation came after they seemingly took a tumble during a thrilling sequence where Big Willie was dragging along his skateboard riding sidekick as he held onto his bicycle.
Nice jab: Ali star Will Smith rammed his finger into costar Jacob Lattimore's face as they filmed an accident scene on the set of Collateral Beauty in New York on Thursday
The 47-year-old self-styled rapper angrily tossed the board across the street while letting out an angry cry as the excited crew marvelled at his acting ability.
He then ambled over to his 19-year-old costar as he lay on the floor and angrily poked his forefinger into the bridge of the startled young chap's nose.
The film follows the story of a New York advertising executive who ends up on a downward spiral which leads to depression and tragedy.
However it seems to end on a more upbeat note, as the tale then shifts gears as his friends and co-workers hatch an unconventional plan to help him break out of his malaise.
Did someone mention the Oscars? Will's acting was a sight to behold as he evoked fury while angrily brandishing a skateboard
What a toss: He launched the contraption across the street while letting out quite the yelp
Man in black mood: Will looked furious as he unleashed his inner Alec Baldwin
Boom, shake the room: His young costar watched in awe as his storied castmate went through the motions
The Men In Black star was looking rather casual in an anorak, suit trousers, pullover, shirt and trainers.
Completed his unconventional look, he wore a trendy tartan scarf and burgundy woollen hat in the chilly Big Apple.
Black Nativity star Jacon meanwhile was clad in a hooded leather jacket, ripped jeans, and fingerless gloves.
No doubt Will is hoping to finally land an elusive best actor Oscar after landing the plum role in the Indie drama.
The movie, due to be released in December, is penned by So Undercover writer Allen and is directed by The Devil Wears Prada favourite David Frankel.
Cycle of destruction: The whole affair seemed to be set in motion when Will gave his little friend a pull
Continuity error: During one take Will was painstakingly wearing a pair gloves
Phew: Thankfully Will eschewed method acting and was once again chummy with Jacob between takes
The star-studded cast also includes Edward Norton, Keira Knightley, Naomie Harris, Michael Pena, Kate Winslet and Helen Mirren
Originally Hugh Jackman was signed up to play the lead character, however he ended up exiting the project.
Rooney Mara had also signed up to appear with the X-Men actor, and later dropped out herself.
Will ended up boycotting this year's Academy Awards after failing to get nominated for his turn in Concussion, in which he attempted an African accent, despite the fact he only drew lukewarm reviews for his performance.
No anaroknophobia here: Will seemed to be positively relishing the chance to don some cold weather clothes
Do you know who I am? Hopefully the Fresh Prince was not using the much-loathed celebrity catchphrase
Le Tour de Smith: He looked like he was having a great time when he got the chance to ride solo
She made a triumphant return to the stage this week, starring in How the Other Half Loves.
And Tamzin Outhwaite seemed to be basking in the glow of the opening night as she attended the after party at Mint Leaf on Thursday.
Clad in a geometric monochrome gown, the 45-year-old actress was a vision of beauty following her performance at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, as she was surrounded by proud friend and family members.
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Leading lady! She's currently starring in How the Other Half Loves. And Tamzin Outhwaite seemed to be basking in the glow of the opening night as she attended the after party at Mint Leaf on Thursday
Nipping in at her tiny waist, the fit and flare gown fell just above the knee, flashing her toned legs.
Featuring a low cut neckline, Tamzin also gave a glimpse of her generous cleavage whilst still remaining demure in her fun and flirty frock.
Keen not to detract from the eye catching nature of the gown, she kept her accessories simple with just a pair of suede black heels, whilst a delicate silver necklace and chunky bracelet added some glitz.
Monochrome magic: Clad in a geometric monochrome gown, the 45-year-old actress was a vision of beauty following her performance at the Theatre Royal Haymarket
Back in business: Cosying up to friend Kate Thornton, she seemed in good spirits as she toasted a successful first night on the stage
Leggy lady! Nipping in at her tiny waist, the fit and flare gown fell just above the knee, flashing her pins
Taking the plunge! Featuring a low cut neckline, Tamzin also gave a glimpse of her generous cleavage whilst still remaining demure in her fun and flirty frock
Congratulations! Tamzin was enveloped in a big bear bug as she was swamped by friends
Golden girl: Kate cut a striking figure as she congratulated her pal whilst clad in a metallic blazer
Wearing her golden tresses in a side parting, she left her glossy locks loose and tousled, framing her face.
Sporting a neutral make-up palette, she injected a splash of colour with a slick of red lipstick on her plump pout.
Cosying up to friend Kate Thornton, she seemed in good spirits as she toasted a successful night on the stage.
The cast: Tamzin (Teresa Phillips) cosied up to her How the Other Half Loves co-stars, Jenny Seagrove (Fiona Foster) and Nicholas Le Prevost (Frank Foster)
Mingling:Tamzin was in good spirits as she cosied up to Jeanne Mandry, Arnold Crook and Kate
Taking a bow: (L to R) The cast members Jason Merrells, Tamzin , Nicholas Le Prevost, Jenny Seagrove, Matthew Cottle and Gillian Wright bow at the curtain call during the press night performance
Tamzin's show came after her stint out of the spotlight since wrapping up TV series New Tricks in 2015.
She made her return to showbiz with a stint on the stage, starring in the dramatic theatre production.
Tamzin - who rocketed to fame as Melanie Owen hit British soap EastEnders - stars as Teresa Phillips in the production, the unsuspecting wife of cheating husband Bob, played by Waterloo Road actor Jason Merrells.
She's back! Tamzin Outhwaite has made her return to showbiz, this time gracing the stage of London's Theatre Royal Haymarket in How the Other Half Loves
While the sprightly blonde is famed for playing the more glamorous characters, the Hotel Babylon star looked more drab than fab in her latest role, as shots from the play's photocall showed her gallivanting onstage in a some questionable ensembles.
Sitting on the lap of her fictional husband Bob, the London native was clad in an over-sized pink shirt and slider slippers, her hair scraped back from her face in an effortless top knot.
Another shot showed Tamzin and Jason in tribal-style his and hers pyjamas as they acted out what appeared to be some rather frantic scenes alongside Matthew Cottle, who played William Featherstone in the show.
The role: The 45-year-old actress - who rocketed to fame as Melanie Owen hit British soap EastEnders - stars as Teresa Phillips in the production, the unsuspecting wife of cheating husband Bob, played by Waterloo Road actor Jason Merrells
Stripped back: While the sprightly blonde is famed for playing the more glamorous characters, the Hotel Babylon star looks more drab than fab in her latest role
The story is helmed by prolific playwright Alan Ayckbourn and is a farcical tale of matrimonial mishaps, receiving its first major West End revival this spring at the hands of Alan Strachan.
The play tells the tales of Bob and Fiona (Jenny Seagrove) who clumsily try to cover up their affair, though their spouses' intervention only adds to the confusion.
The unfolding events somehow see marital pair William and Mary Featherstone, the latter played by EastEnders' Gillian Wright, falsely accused of adultery - with no idea how.
Interesting choice: Sitting on the lap of her fictional husband Bob, the London native is clad in an over-sized pink shirt and slider slippers, her hair scraped back from her face in an effortless top knot
Matching! Another shot shows Tamzin and Jason in tribal-style his and hers pyjamas
Co-stars: Tamzin is joined onstage by Nicholas Le Prevost and Jenny Seagrove
The plot culminates in two disastrous dinner parties on successive nights, shown at the same time, after which the future of all three couples appears to be in jeopardy.
Prior to the show, Tamzin seemingly took some time out of the limelight in the wake of her divorce from husband Tom Ellis in 2014.
After it was first claimed that the two had split because of the Miranda star's one night stand, the talented thespian hinted to Essentials magazine in January last year that their split was the result of more than just a single mistake.
Dramatic: Tamzin stars in some rather frantic scenes, most notably alongside Matthew Cottle, who plays William Featherstone in the production
A long way from Albert Square! EastEnders' Gillian Wright (L) plays Mary Featherstone in famous play
Plot: The play tells the tales of Bob and Fiona (Jenny Seagrove) who clumsily try to cover up their affair, though their spouses' intervention only adds to the confusion
Family first: Prior to the show, Tamzin seemingly took some time out of the limelight in the wake of her divorce from husband Tom Ellis, with whom she shares two daughters, in 2014
Where it all began... Tamzin first made a name for herself as Melanie Owen in hit BBC soap Eastenders [Pictured onset alongside co-star Adam Woodyatt in 1999)
'I wouldn't not be with my husband over a one-night stand is all I'll say,' she cryptically said at the time.
However, the actress, who has two children - Florence Elsie Ellis, seven, and three-year-old Marnie Mae Ellis - said she didn't want to reveal the precise details of their troubles for fear of hurting their kids.
She added: 'I will tell them exactly what happened and it will come from me. He's still their dad and they still have a relationship.'
Tom, 36, confessed to adultery while filming in the US, however it was widely thought to have been a one-off incident, with Tamzin reportedly citing Tom's 'infidelity' as the reason for their split.
Cast: The story is helmed by prolific playwright Alan Ayckbourn and is a farcical tale of matrimonial mishaps, receiving its first major West End revival this spring at the hands of Alan Strachan
Eric Clapton has written of the healing power a child can have on an adults life.
Sadly, not even the birth of the rock legends second grandson can repair the bitter rift with his eldest daughter, Ruth.
Ruth, 31, and her husband, Dean Bartlett, welcomed a brother for their two-year-old son Isaac last month, naming their new baby Theodore Ivan Bartlett.
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Ruth, 31, pictured with Eric in 2003, and her husband, Dean Bartlett, welcomed a brother for their two-year-old son Isaac last month, naming their new baby Theodore Ivan Bartlett
But it seems the guitar great nicknamed Slowhand is in no rush to congratulate Ruth, his secret love child from an affair with recording studio manager Yvonne Kelly while he was married to Swinging Sixties rock muse Pattie Boyd.
Theodores grandmother Yvonne and her older sister Patricia, known as Auntie Tricia, have both met the latest member of the Clapton-Bartlett clan.
Yvonne posted a snap on Twitter of herself holding her day-old grandson, with the caption: Welcome to the world, Theodore Ivan. You make me so happy.
But Clapton has cut himself out of the lives of Ruth and her family, following a row after she posted photos of her famous father on social media.
In a sign of the ongoing schism, Doncaster-based Ruth tells me the topic is still a private family matter.
She adds: This is not something Im prepared to discuss. Meanwhile, a spokesman for Eric Clapton in Los Angeles says: Neither he nor I comment on his personal life.
Ruth ignited the feud last year by telling her Twitter followers Eric had attended his 70th birthday fancy dress celebrations as Kermit the Frog.
Ruth (pictured aged 18) and Clapton (seen in 2015) fell out following a row after she posted photos of her famous father on social media almost a year ago
Clapton and his second wife, Melia, 39, also reprimanded Ruth for sharing photos of the stars two Porsches in a garage. A hurtful exchange followed, and the father and daughter are believed not to have spoken since last April.
The estrangement is even sadder considering Clapton sang at Ruth and Deans wedding reception in September 2011 and lent the couple his boat for their honeymoon.
And although Ruth was just six at the time, Clapton has said she was a tremendous support after the tragic death of Conor his son by the Italian actress Lory Del Santo who died in 1991 aged four after falling from a New York skyscraper.
As well as Ruth and Conor, Clapton has three daughters by Melia.
It's Stone Bakewell!
Joan Bakewell has been immortalised in ceramic by Glenys Barton, whose bust of the veteran broadcaster was unveiled in the National Portrait Gallery yesterday as part of a series of influential women.
Baroness Bakewell, 82, was forced to eat her words after her recent comments that the rise of teenage eating disorders is a sign of growing self-regard. She said: I think its possible anorexia could be about narcissism.
Joan is certainly keen on admiring her own image. Since 2012, she has sat for no fewer than three sculptures by Barton, while the National Portrait Gallery has a further three prints of the preening peer on display.
Self-regard indeed.
Joan Bakewell has been immortalised in ceramic by Glenys Barton, whose bust of the veteran broadcaster was unveiled in the National Portrait Gallery
Veteran Fleet Street reporter Robert Chesshyre sails to the defence of the late Sir Edward Heath, writing in The Oldie magazine that a decade after Heaths death, it is tragic that this publicly stiff and austere man should have been vilified by the police investigation into suspected child abuse.
It could be the perfect symbolism for his career.
John Travolta stopped by a toy shop with his son Benjamin on Thursday in NYC - to pick up a boomerang.
The 62-year-old actor looked relaxed as a hands-on dad as he carried the five-year-old, who was clutching the device which is designed to return to the thrower.
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Coming back: John Travolta stopped by a toy shop with his son Benjamin on Thursday in NYC - to pick up a boomerang
The Grease star - who made a comeback of his own in the 1990s in Pulp Fiction - was casually dressed in blue denim jeans and a black puffer jacket.
His little one seemed a little more hardy to the weather, clad in a short-sleeved T-shirt and red and white checked shorts.
The Saturday Night Fever actor looked remarkably youthful with an abundance of chestnut locks and barely a line on his face as they stepped out in the sunshine, joined by a nanny.
Parenthood: The 62-year-old actor looked relaxed as a hands-on dad as he carried the five-year-old, who was clutching the device which is designed to return to the thrower
Benjamin is his youngest child with wife of 25-years Kelly Preston.
The couple also had a son, Jett (April 13, 1992 January 2, 2009), and are parents to daughter, Ella Bleu, 15.
His life was under the microscope again last week after an alleged rider of his demands when staying at a hotel were leaked online.
Relaxed: The Grease star - who made a comeback of his own in the 1990s in Pulp Fiction - was casually dressed in blue denim jeans and a black puffer jacket
It was claimed by PageSix.com that the actor allegedly demanded he be provided with a male masseur and blacked-out windows when he stays in hotels.
The site spoke to a source who revealed that the Pulp Fiction star 'needs a male masseur' whenever he is to stay at a hotel, and require the windows be covered with 'aluminum foil and dark curtains'.
He also reportedly asks that the room be empty for 24 hours so that he cannot smell other people's scents.
Sunny days: His little one seemed a little more hardy to the weather, clad in a short-sleeved T-shirt and red and white checked shorts
Park time: The Saturday Night Fever actor looked remarkably youthful with an abundance of chestnut locks and barely a line on his face as they stepped out in the sunshine, joined by a nanny
Aboriginal device: Benjamin is his youngest child with wife of 25-years Kelly Preston
The father-of-two does not require sheets as he reportedly bring his own when he stays in a hotel.
This latest report comes days after The National Enquirer spoke with a man who claims to have had a 'gay tryst' with the actor.
A male massage therapist named Edward told the tabloid he provided Travolta with a 'happy ending' and had sex with another A-list star in 2011, who is not named in the story.
Travolta stars with Cuba Gooding Jr, David Schwimmer, Sarah Paulson and Bruce Greenwood in The People V OJ Simpson: American Crime Story - which explores what went on behind-the-scenes during the 1995 prosecution of Simpson for the killings of his ex-wife Nicole Brown and Ronald Goldman.
The Pulp Fiction star's physical performance as lawyer Robert Shapiro in the series has been praised, with the physically grotesque character using pauses, gestures and intonation to convey how clueless and self-absorbed the man really was.
Actress Kym Valentine and her retired AFL star fiance Trent Croad have welcomed a baby boy.
The couple confirmed the news to Woman's Day, telling the magazine they felt 'beyond blessed'.
'We are beyond blessed to announce the birth of our beautiful boy. Mum and baby are both healthy and happily resting after labour and Dad is proudly doting on them,' a spokesman told the magazine.
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Baby joy! Former Neighbours actress Kym Valentine and her AFL star fiance Trent Croad have welcomed a baby boy
Kym, who played Libby Kennedy on Neighbours, is already mother to 12-year-old Millana while Trent has two daughters.
On Friday the actress took to Instagram to confirm news of Phoenix's birth, writing: 'The new is out.'
In November, the 38-year-old revealed that she was expecting her second child with the athlete via an endearing post to Instagram.
'So happy to share our exciting news,' she captioned a snap of herself caressing the baby bump in a black one-piece swimsuit.
Breaking news: Kym announced that she expecting her second child to her 3,203 Instagram followers via a sweet snap of herself making a love heart over her baby bump
Family: Trent has two daughters from a previous marriage while Kym is also mother to 12-year-old Millana (above)
The photo, taken on a holiday in Hayman Island, showed Kym sitting next to a pool with her hands forming a heart-shape and resting on her stomach.
Kym and Trent announced their engagement in March last year. The couple have both been married once before.
Kym separated from Fabio Tolli in 2007 while Trent married Tanya Stewart in 2006.
Kisses: Trent kissed Kym's growing bump to mark the 25th week of pregnancy
In 2008 Kym dramatically collapsed during a flight from New York to Melbourne and was immediately hospitalised after touching down in Australia.
It was revealed that she was suffering from a collapsed lung and pneumonia.
Two years after the health scare, she landed in hospital once again - this time suffering from a blood clot on her lung, which doctors determined was life-threatening.
Just months later it was reported by the Herald Sun that Kym was staying in a private hospital in Melbourne, undergoing treatment for 'emotional and physical' issues in relation to her illnesses.
Les Blancs (Olivier, National Theatre)
Verdict: Bleak but potent
Rating:
This is as bleak an assessment of African history as I can imagine. Written by black American playwright Lorraine Hansberry in the early Sixties, its a drama about the end of colonialism in an equatorial African country.
But directed by South African Yael Farber, it also becomes a parable of post-colonial malaise a Greek tragedy of Shakespearean proportions.
The play is set in a tumble- down Christian mission surrounded by the violence and counter-violence of black insurgents and white authorities.
Colonial tensions: Sapani and Francis in Les Blancs directed by South African Yael Farber
Hansberrys focus is on the return of the itinerant Tshembe for the funeral of his father, a tribal elder. Played with oracular intensity by Danny Sapani, he is weary of white mens good intentions.
At the same time, Elliot Cowans idealistic white American journalist seeks to tell the world about the missions good work in bringing education and healthcare to Africa.
The play teems with semi-mythological characters, including Sian Phillips as the blind matriarch from an old family of white settlers. She brims with sadness and prophetic wisdom, while James Fleet, as the missions louche, jaded doctor despairs of an end to the bloodshed.
Only Anna Madeley, as a harassed German medic, retains any hope, by focusing on the local peoples immediate needs.
The play is set in a tumble- down Christian mission surrounded by the violence and counter-violence of black insurgents and white authorities
The lives of these indigenous peoples are vividly and harrowingly brought to life in Farbers ritualistic production. Gary Beadle speaks movingly as Tshembes brother, who hopes to redeem the violence through his commitment to Christianity. But this is rejected by Tshembe, who accuses him of signing up to the white mans exploitative ideology.
With Sidney Cole trying to lead an insurrection, and Clive Franciss brutal British Army officer seeking to crush it, the deadlock seems ominously intractable.
Soutra Gilmours set features the skeleton of a colonial farm building, circled by the restless and silent spirit of an emaciated African woman.
Black Mountain Poets (15)
Verdict: Low-budget Brit-com
Rating:
The Black Mountain poets were an avant-garde collective based in North Carolina in the middle years of the 20th century, and this film has absolutely nothing to do with any of them.
Instead, its a modestly engaging, low-budget British comedy about a pair of sisters, Claire (Dolly Wells) and Lisa (Alice Lowe), whom we first meet trying to steal a JCB digger, for reasons never disclosed.
When a policeman catches them in the act, they drive off, but soon run out of petrol in the middle of the Welsh countryside.
Conceived and directed by Jamie Adams, Black Mountain Poets, like his patchier 2014 effort Benny And Jolene, is largely improvised, writes BRIAN VINER. Pictured: Alice Lowe
After a night sleeping rough they steal a car, which turns out to belong to the Wilding sisters, a pair of semi-acclaimed poets on their way to a poetry retreat in the Black Mountains.
So Claire and Lisa also pinch the Wildings identities. They turn up at the retreat and try to convince with a few dodgy rhymes of their own, while also both falling for dishy poet Richard (Tom Cullen, better known as Lady Marys squeeze Lord Gillingham in Downton Abbey).
Conceived and directed by Jamie Adams, Black Mountain Poets, like his patchier 2014 effort Benny And Jolene, is largely improvised.
The Black Mountain poets were an avant-garde collective based in North Carolina in the middle years of the 20th century, and this film has absolutely nothing to do with any of them, writes BRIAN VINER
It was also apparently shot in just five days, and the humble scale of the production shows.
Victoria (15)
Verdict: terrific, one-take thriller
Rating:
A young Spanish woman spending three months in Berlin is befriended, outside a nightclub, by four drunk German guys of about the same age.
Thats the starting point for Sebastian Schippers captivating thriller, which unfolds not just in a single extended take, but also in real time, in the wee small hours of a Berlin morning.
Hats off, too, to Nils Frahm, for the brilliantly effective score, and to cinematographer Sturla Brandth Grovlen. But there is virtuoso work in front of the camera as well as behind it; 31-year-old Spanish actress Laia Costa gives a truly superb performance in the title role.
A young Spanish woman spending three months in Berlin is befriended, outside a nightclub, by four drunk German guys of about the same age, writes BRIAN VINER. Pictured: Laia Costa as Victoria
Victoria is on her way back to her digs, at the organic cafe where she also works, when the men persuade her to go with them to a rooftop, where they drink alcohol they have stolen from a convenience store.
They are a vaguely unsavoury lot, and silently you scream for her to give them the brush-off. But she is pretty drunk herself, and guileless, and she makes a particular connection with the kindest of them, Sonne (Frederick Lau).
Helpfully for us, she hasnt mastered much German and they dont speak Spanish, so they communicate in broken English. It might be a little fanciful of me, but at one level I saw the film as a parable for pan-European co-operation, all those good intentions ending in tears.
Whatever, it is impossible to review this film without issuing a spoiler or two, since at first, we cant see where Schipper is leading us. The men dont seem to pose a sexual threat to Victoria, though there is just a hint that they might.
As that hint recedes, however, some kind of romance seems more likely, between her and Sonne. They make rather a sweet pair. At a piano in the cafe, we learn a little of her back-story. Beguilingly, the film could still head in any direction.
Victoria is a refreshingly original film, and the single-take approach never seems like a directorial conceit, as it did, however effectively, in Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritus Oscar-winning Birdman, writes BRIAN VINER
But soon we find out just how unsavoury these men are, as they head off for a prearranged rendezvous with a gangster, who wants them to commit an armed robbery. Victoria is with them, manoeuvred into acting as the getaway driver, yet quite enjoying the thrill of the ride.
By now, even the wholesome organic cafe seems a long way away, let alone her native Madrid. All our early fears on her behalf are fully realised, although Schipper still has some surprises in store.
If her grandfather Elvis Presley were alive today, he'd have celebrated his 81st birthday earlier this year.
And Riley Keough turned heads as she carried on his legacy in style in NYC on Thursday.
The 26-year-old put on a leggy display in a thigh-skimming mini-dress as she stepped out in the city.
Following in footsteps: Riley Keough turned heads as she stepped out in style in NYC on Thursday
Looking the image of her mother, Lisa Marie Presley, the actress flashed her perfect pins - teaming the outfit with smart black high-heels - which showed her foot tattoo.
A stylish purple cloak kept the star warm, as she continued a conversation on her cellphone.
The Girlfriend Experience star flashed a winning smile, and wore her long honey tresses loose around her shoulders.
Stylish: The 26-year-old put on a leggy display in a thigh-skimming mini-dress and purple cloak
Her cheekbones were delicately contoured and brows neatly groomed to frame her eyes.
Light eye-make up and mascara completed her elegant look.
She accessorized with several rings, including her wedding one from stuntman husband Ben Smith-Petersen.
The beauty plays a law intern Christine Reade, who moonlights as a high-priced call girl in the new half-hour show on Starz TV.
Leggy display: Looking the image of her mother, Lisa Marie Presley, the actress flashed her perfect pins - teaming the outfit with smart black high-heels
It is produced by director Steven Soderbergh and was inspired by his 2009 movie of the same name.
'We wanted to show this girl doing this thing and let audiences make up their own minds about it, instead of putting ideas about sex work into peoples heads. Thats why I wanted to do the show,' she revealed to Woman's Wear Daily.
Later this year, Riley will star alongside Shia LaBeouf in American Honey, a film about a young teen who gets lost in a harmful lifestyle when she joins a traveling sales crew.
She's a stunning beauty that appeals to essentially everyone.
But on Wednesday Ruby Rose was showing some spots as she arrived make-up free to the Toronto set of xXx: The Return of Xander Cage.
The 30-year-old, whose birthday was last week, was seen bringing her own lunch to the film set in a Tubberware container.
Getting rough: Ruby Rose was showing some spots as she arrived make-up free to the Toronto set of xXx: The Return of Xander Cage on Wednesday
The Aussie star's skin looked mostly clear except for a few blemishes on her otherwise pristine face.
Ruby sported a snap back cap turned backwards and a green jacket with distressed jeans for her day of filming.
The movie xXx starring Vin Diesel is set for release on January 20, 2017.
No diva here! The 30-year-old, whose birthday was last week, was seen bringing her own lunch to the film set in a Tubberware container
While Ruby was happy to share the perks of being an Australian living abroad, the actress hasn't been afraid to discuss the less-than-positive side of living among Hollywood's cut-throat celebrity scene.
Late last month, Ruby publicly wished Ellen Page happy birthday in a gushing Facebook comment, hailing Ellen as a loyal and reliable friend in Hollywood
'Happy birthday Ellen Page my beautiful little Pisces soul. I have so much to credit moving to the United States as I followed this dream of mine,' she wrote in a heartfelt post.
Just a tad: The Aussie star's skin looked mostly clear except for a few blemishes on her otherwise pristine face
'So many unbelievable things it taught me and provided me. I live my dream now. Everyday. Thank god amongst all the other gifts I received I received you to help me navigate through it all.'
She added: 'I never knew how crucial it would be to have loyal and real friends around me in Hollywood until push came to shove and there you were every time, the most honest, the most fearless and the most loyal person I know.
'When it comes to friendship no one does it better than you. I'm forever grateful and always proud of everything you do.'
Ruby's career in the spotlight has gone from strength to strength over the past year
She has spent the last few months jetting across Europe while filming scenes for her role in the upcoming flick xXx: Return of Xander Cage.
The film follows extreme sportsman Xander Cage, played by Hollywood veteran Vin Diesel, who returns from a near death experience to take on another tough mission.
They've enjoyed a steamy on and off romance for the past five years, but Charlotte Crosby was pictured kissing a mystery male after her relationship with Gaz Beadle appears to have fallen apart.
The 25-year-old was pictured leaving London's Libertine nightclub on Thursday night, following an appearance at the InTheStyle launch where she was seen indulging in the clinch.
Covering up her outfit in a black coat, the reality star appeared a little worse for wear as she seemingly appeared to be trying to get over her man.
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Oh no: Charlotte Crosby was pictured kissing a mystery man in the street after clubbing at London's Libertine nightclub on Thursday - after breaking down in tears over her ailing relationship with Gaz Beadle
Incriminating: Gaz posed for a photo with law student Vicky Marriot in Nottingham on Sunday night and was accused of inviting the beauty queen back to his hotel
Earlier in the evening, she attended a fashion launch wearing a cute blue mini dress from her own line with the brand.
But it seems the Geordie Shore star was keen to take her mind off things after telling of her sadness that Gaz reportedly invited a beauty queen back to his hotel.
Even though he denies the claims, Charlotte took to Twitter to write that Gaz's intentions towards her were unclear as he had planned to go on dating show, Ex On The Beach.
Looking the part: Charlotte attended the InTheStyle fashion launch at the club wearing a skimpy blue dress
Tipsy? She appeared a little worse for wear as she locked lips with the handsome stranger
Not now: Charlotte's pal seemed to be trying to warn her off making the PDA
She's making her own rules: But there was no stopping them as they continued to lock lips with one another
Sad: Her passionate display with a new handsome chap comes after Charlotte was seen breaking down in tears on Wednesday during an appearance on Celebrity Juice
Her passionate display with a new handsome chap comes after Charlotte was seen breaking down in tears on Wednesday during an appearance on Celebrity Juice.
When show host Keith Lemon questioned what the status of her relationship with Gary 'Gaz' Beadle was, she failed to keep it together.
In the preview from the upcoming episode, Keith asks Charlotte to spill the beans on the new series of Geordie Shore but then quickly moves onto her union with Gaz.
Here come the girls: Marnie Simpson (second from left) and Holly Hagan (right) were also present on the night
He inquired: 'What about you and Gaz? That's a Ross and Rachel affair, will they won't they will they won't they. What's the latest?'
Interjecting, Gino D'Acampo asserted: 'I think you're too good for him'.
Then offering her two cents Caroline Flack added: 'I used to cry during Geordie Shore watching those two break up. Honestly I did, I used to feel for you.'
'We're just having a little bit of a bad time': Charlotte Crosby broke down in tears when she was asked about on/off beau Gaz Beadle during her appearance on Celebrity Juice
'What's the latest?': Show host Keith Lemon likened Charlotte and Gaz's romance to that of Rachel and Ross from Friends which quickly touched a nerve
'I think you're too good for him': Gino D'Acampo and Caroline Flack both offered their opinions about the union
Losing her composure, Charlotte's voice broke as she stated: 'I don't want to talk about it.'
Stunned by her emotional appeal, Keith questioned: 'Is that real?'
Gino and Caroline both then took it in turns to comfort Crosby as she cried.
Trying to regain control, the reality TV star told the panel: 'No it's ok, we're just having a little bit of a bad time.'
Limiting the awkwardness, Lemon chimed: 'Don't worry don't worry, it's not a therapy session let's move on.'
As the host ran over to comfort her, she gushed: 'It's fine I've calmed, down I'm back.'
Watch the emotional scenes unfold in Celebrity Juice on Thursday 10pm on ITV2.
'I don't want to talk about it': Crosby failed to keep her composure and ended up crying
'It's not a therapy session': The show host gave her a warm embrace as he swiftly moved on from the subject
The scenes were filmed just hours before Charlotte took to Twitter to blast his behaviour.
Crosby was left in tears after her on/off boyfriend Gaz was pictured cosying up to a beauty queen amid claims he had invited her back to his hotel room.
And after the Geordie Shore lothario issued a vehement denial on Snapchat that he had tried it on with law student Vicky Marriott, his girlfriend was still having none of it.
Although she appeared to accept his protestations of innocence in regards to Vicky, Charlotte posted an epic rant on Thursday morning accusing Beadle of being uncaring and disrespectful.
The reality star, 25, said she was upset that Gaz, 28, didn't contact her privately to explain the situation in Nottingham on Sunday night that resulted in her questioning if he cheated on her.
Heartbroken: The Geordie Shore star, pictured in Essex on Wednesday night, posted a rant on Twitter after falling out with on/off boyfriend Gaz Beadle
Fuming: Charlotte took to Twitter on Thursday morning to blast Beadle's actions
Charlotte and Gaz had appeared to be back together in recent weeks in the latest twist in their turbulent on/off romance.
However, it looks like they may be off again given Crosby's lengthy tirade on the micro-blogging site.
The former Celebrity Big Brother winner wrote: 'I never wanted to talk about this. But would like to thank Gary for splashing it all over his Snapchat!
'Maybe he could of picked up the phone and explain it to me while I sat and cried the whole day I found out....or maybe even a text would of been nice. Considering he's meant to 'care' so much about me. But no. Yeh thanks for that. Really respectful way of treating some1.'
Single again? Charlotte tweets on Thursday morning suggested she may have ended her romance with Gaz yet again
Charlotte then admitted she was upset to find out Gaz had signed up for the next series of MTV dating show Ex On The Beach and also claimed he had blocked her on Twitter.
She continued: 'Maybe my head wouldn't be so f**ked up about the whole situation if he hadn't decided that he wants to go onto @mtvex next week which is a DATING show....how can I even begin to understand what or where me and Gary are under them terms!!! And then after all of this on top of that hasn't really helped matters. This isn't the behaviour of some1 who wants to make it work with some1.
'I actually believed he cared and had changed, but blocking me on Twitter and ignoring me for 3 days and having to cry to his best friend @AaronCGShore doesn't show me he cares at all. I hope maybe now people an understand a little bit more.'
Turbulent: Charlotte and Gaz have dated on and off for years
We can't keep up! Charlotte and Gaz have been unable to officially commit to each other for long
Charlotte's rant came after Gaz posted a series of videos on his Snapchat account on Wednesday explaining the back story behind him inviting Nottingham Trent University student Vicky back to his hotel room.
Gaz said he had invited '8 or 10 people' back to his suite at the hotel following a night out to continue the party, including Vicky who had asked for a photo, which she posted on her Instagram account.
Vicky tagged his account in the Instagram snap, where Gaz's hand is clearly visible on her derriere - much to Charlotte's chagrin.
In the comments section of the post, Charlotte reportedly set out to find the truth as she probed the stunning brunette about her interaction with her on/off beau.
She wrote: 'Hiya Vicky! Just wondering did he actually ask you back? Not angry at all would just like to no the truth if so.'
'Date night': Gaz suggested the pair were in an official romance by posting a photo of a dinner date on his Instagram recently
Splitsville: Gaz and model Lillie Lexie Gregg split in November 2015 after around a year together
Responding on Snapchat to the events, he said: 'The one person who ended up posting a photo didn't even end up at the room. So can everyone please get off my f**king back....
'With the 50 you got for selling that story go and buy yourself something nice.
'I'm f**king angry when people get involved in my f**king s**t.'
Speaking to student newspaper The Tab, Vicky, who has a boyfriend, aimed to defend herself, saying: 'My relationship hasn't been affected by any of this actually. And many girls have photos with Gaz and he's tagged in them, don't see them getting attention like this so how was I to know this picture would get this out of hand?'
Charlotte and Gaz recently had their relationship confirmed by former co-star Jay Gardner amid rumours they were an item.
Since the photo was posted, the couple have indicated they are having troubles in cryptic social media posts, with Charlotte posting an image on twitter with the quote: 'My life has become this one big 'I don't know''.
While Gaz recently tweeted the word: 'F*** this...' after which Vicky insisted she was unaware the couple were an item before posting the picture.
Gaz and Charlotte's relationship first kicked off in the show's 2011 inauguration, catching one another's eyes from the very first episode of the MTV show.
They went public with their romance in late 2015 and have quickly become one of showbiz's hottest couples.
And in spite of their hectic work schedules, Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik were no doubt looking forward to some alone time as they headed back to the supermodel's New York apartment after a long day on Thursday.
The catwalk queen, 20, looked incredible as she flashed her toned abs in an unbuttoned denim shirt and wore her blonde locks in stylish boxer braids.
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Tum-thing about you! Gigi Hadid and sleepy-looking Zayn Malik were no doubt looking forward to some alone time as they headed back to the supermodel's New York apartment after a long day on Thursday
But Zayn, 22, appeared to be feeling the pressure of his manic schedule and was looking rather weary as he strolled into Gigi's pad.
It's no wonder the former One Direction star was looking a little under the weather after former friend and colleague Naughty Boy appeared to have reignited a feud between the pair earlier in the day.
The producer, real name Shahid Kahn, attempted to reignite their feud which has rumbled on since last year.
Having initially forged a close friendship after the handsome star left One Direction last August, Naughty Boy appeared to vow to launch Zayn's solo career.
See more new son Zayn Malik as Gigi Hadid heads home with sleepy-looking beau
Abs-olutely fabulous: The catwalk queen, 20, looked incredible as she flashed her toned abs in an unbuttoned denim shirt while heading inside her home
Feeling blue: The blonde beauty wore her locks teased into stylish boxer braids and accentuated her striking features with dramatic make-up after her Maybelleine shoot
After working together at length, their relationship fell into disrepair when Zayn accused Naughty Boy of leaking one of his unfinished tracks and called him 'a fat joke'.
Now Naughty Boy has hit back and seemingly threatened to leak an original version of a track, writing a now-deleted tweet reading: 'Please dont make me leak the original #likeiwould ha.'
Additionally he seemed to allude to the fact that he also worked on Zayn's number one hit Pillowtalk as he wrote: 'Credit where credit's due' after referencing the track's producers, Make You Know Love brothers Anthony and Michael Hannides
Feeling sleepy? Zayn, 22, appeared to be feeling the pressure of his manic schedule and was looking rather weary as he strolled into Gigi's pad
Despite his feisty allegations, the esteemed producer appeared to backtrack on his words, saying: 'this ain't about me.. its just about giving (Anthony and Michael Hannides) credit to for writing an amazing song, thats all.. bless. have a great day.'
Gigi seemed in better spirits as she stepped out earlier on Thursday, managing to look the image of cool in a quirky triple denim ensemble.
The model stepped out from her residence in East Village New York to head to a photoshoot for Maybelline.
Dino-phwoar! While combining denim items can often be seen as a fashion faux-pas, Gigi, 20, managed to look the image of cool in triple denim
Bucking the trend: Gigi showed she wasn't afraid to take a risk when it comes to fashion
The American beauty wrapped up in a wool-lined knee-length denim jacket which she wore over a lighter top adorned with dinosaurs.
She finished the first of two looks with a three-quarter length pair of quilted trousers and white People Footwear sneakers.
Gigi covered her eyes with some circular shades and wore her hair scraped back ready to be styled when she arrived at the shoot.
See more on Gigi Hadid as she pulls off triple denim look for Maybelline shoot in New York
Cutting a cool figure: The model stepped out from her residence in East Village New York to head to a photoshoot for Maybelline
Triple denim: Gigi covered her eyes with some circular shades and wore her hair scraped back ready to be styled when she arrived at the shoot
Quirky: The American beauty wrapped up in a wool-lined knee-length denim jacket which she wore over a lighter top adorned with dinosaurs
Stepping out: The beauty clutched a bottle of Nesquik and her phone as she headed for her car to whisk her away
The beauty clutched a bottle of Nesquik and her phone as she headed for her car to whisk her away.
She might have been straight-faced at the start of the day, but Gigi was all smiles when she arrived at the shoot.
Gigi's hair was given plenty of volume by the stylist on set. She looked thrilled with her locks, running her hands through her hair as she walked.
Confident: The beauty rocked the outfit with the confidence needed to make such a look work
Ready to work: She might have been straight-faced at the start of the day, but Gigi was all smiles when she arrived at the shoot
Looking good: She removed her bottoms and fastened her coat before heading to the cameras, as well as switching her pumps for some sexy heels
Style queen: Gigi's hair was given plenty of volume by the stylist on set. She looked thrilled with her locks, running her hands through her hair as she walked
She removed her bottoms and fastened her coat before heading in front of the cameras, as well as switching her pumps for some sexy heels.
Gigi and Zayn Malik enjoyed a romantic date night out together in New York City on Saturday.
The young couple exited the supermodel's apartment hand in hand and headed for dinner at one of Zayn's favorite restaurants, Tamarind in Tribeca.
Model behaviour: Gigi posed up a storm in front of the camera for the make-up shoot
New look: She wore her hair in plaits at the side of her head as she arrived back home later that evening
Lovely: Carrying a chic bag in her hand, she showed it's all about the details when putting a look together
She showed off her sculpted stems in black faded denim skinny jeans and Everlane flats which she paired with a sheer hooded blouse.
She added a chic rocker edge look to her ensemble with a fitted black leather motorcycle jacket that was embellished with silver studs.
Her silky blonde locks were swept back into a high ponytail which showcased her exquisite facial features.
Pretty as a picture: Gigi flashed a pearly white smile as she stood with her hands in her pockets
Teasing a peak: Gigi showed a glimpse of her midriff as she arrived back at her apartment
Fresh-faced: Gigi's blonde locks and perfect complexion shone in the sun
They enjoyed a romantic Valentine's date which saw them share a passionate smooch.
And Geordie Shore's Marnie Simpson, 24, and Jordan Davies, 24, set tongues wagging once again in the early hours of Friday morning as they left London's Libertine Club hand in hand.
The reality stars cosied up to one another as they left the In The Style Spring/Summer 2016 clothing launch, before climbing into a taxi together.
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Reigniting the romance rumours: Geordie Shore's Marnie Simpson, 24, and Jordan Davies, 24, set tongues wagging once again in the early hours of Friday morning as they left London's Libertine Club hand in hand
The pair put on a stylish display, with Marnie wearing an all-black ensemble consisting of a low-cut bandeau top, skinny trousers and strappy heels.
The raven-haired beauty was typically dolled up, sporting well-defined black eyebrows, lashings of mascara and a bronze sheen to her cheeks.
Meanwhile, Jordan covered up in a dark green, fitted leather jacket with a earthy scarf wrapped loosely around his neck.
Close display: The reality stars cosied up to one another as they the In The Style Spring/Summer 2016 clothing launch, before climbing into a taxi together
Looking good: The raven-haired beauty was typically dolled up, sporting well-defined black eyebrows, lashings of mascara and a bronze sheen to her cheeks
Turning sour: Megan McKenna and Jordan split acrimoniously shortly before the former entered the CBB house in February
He matched it with skinny black ankle-length trousers and polished brown shoes. The Welsh womaniser teased a glimpse of his chest and sported some designer stubble.
A spokesperson for Jordan told MailOnline: 'They're enjoying getting to know each other better for now, but who knows what the future holds for them.'
While Marnie's spokesperson said: 'Marnie and Jordan are just close friends. She is 100 per cent single.'
The smitten pair were joined at the event by a plethora of their reality star peers. Geordie Shore's Charlotte Crosby and Holly Hagan, TOWIE's Bilie Faiers and Made in Chelsea's Binky Felstead all posed up a storm at the event.
Megan and Jordan split acrimoniously shortly before the former entered the CBB house in January.
Stylish: Jordan covered up in a dark green, fitted leather jacket with a earthy scarf wrapped loosely around his neck
Heading home: Jordan played the gent, happily paying the fare before they set off
The pair - who met on MTV's Ex On The Beach - enjoyed a shortlived engagement after Jordan popped the question on the show, in scenes which were awkwardly aired earlier this month - long after they split.
He told The Sun recently: 'I slept with her three weeks before Big Brother. We were together then.
'Now I've blocked her from everything. I've told her family I want nothing to do with her.'
The lothario - who claims to have bedded around 750 women - described fiery-tempered Megan as a 'nasty piece of work', alleging the reality star would stab anyone in the back to further her career.
And the former lovebirds have traded insults on social media since with Megan branding him a 'lying scumbag' and Jordan telling her never to tweet him again.
Suki Waterhouse has been busy embracing a Californian lifestyle with open arms.
The 24-year-old model took to Instagram to unveil an envious photo of herself floating on a giant inflatable swan at Roosevelt Hotel's pool in Hollywood on Thursday.
Wearing a tiny floral bikini with tropical colouring, the youthful brunette had her eyes closed as she kicked up her tanned legs and flaunted her pert derriere.
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Quack quack: Suki Waterhouse, 24, took to Instagram to share a bikini-clad snap of herself floating on an inflatable swan at Roosevelt Hotel's pool in Hollywood on Thursday
Surrendering to the casual salty-air vibes of the sunny state, the 5 ft 9 in stunner was make-up free and her un-styled hair gave off the impression that she had already been for a lengthy swim.
Captioning the image: 'On my swan cloud', she ultimately seemed at peace at her jealousy-inducing surroundings, which raked in 14.6k likes on the picture sharing platform.
Not taking her radiant environment for granted, Suki has also been spotted taking part in a slew of outdoorsy activities.
Living the dream: Captioning the image: 'On my swan cloud', she ultimately seemed at peace at her jealousy-inducing surroundings,which raked in 14.6k likes on the picture sharing platform
Earlier this week she took to the streets of LA with her model friend Eva Dolezalova in a vintage bike where she wore a Western-Americanised style bandana as she took in the sights.
After starting her career at the age of 19 in a campaign for Marks and Spencer, Suki's career has soared - leading her to transition in to the glittering world of acting.
Her creative talents allowed her star in the popular Divergent Series: Insurgent in 2015 alongside Hollywood's 'it' girl, Shailene Woodley.
Bit different than London! Earlier this week she took to the streets of LA with her model friend Eva Dolezalova in a vintage bike
Cowboy style: The fledgling actress wore a Western-Americanised style bandana as she took in the sights
The experience only strengthened her career and she'll soon be seen alongside Kevin Spacey in the crime drama Billionaire Boys Club.
Not taking any chances to let her name fade away amongst a sea of creatives, the Hammersmith native has been cementing her 'rising star' reputation by rubbing shoulders with Hollywood's elite.
Just last week, the trendsetter made her way to Lady Gaga's 30th birthday bash in Los Angeles, where the likes of Taylor Swift and Lorde also made an appearance.
He is an accomplished singer, dancer and actor - Adam Garcia is the living example of a triple threat.
But the 42-year-old showman revealed a fourth string to his bow, his well-honed parenting skills as he doted upon his toddler baby Arya on Friday.
Adam and his seven-month-old tot put on an adorable display as the pair enjoyed some quality time outside Melbourne's famed dance studio, the Ministry Of Dance.
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How cute! Adam Garcia, 42, and his seven-month-old tot put on an adorable display as the pair enjoyed some quality time outside Melbourne's famed dance studio, the Ministry Of Dance
The Bootmen actor appeared to be dressed for dance rehearsals, clad in a pair of comfortable Mooks-branded track pants, a dark blue T-shirt and a pair of running shoes.
Meanwhile, Adam's brunette mini-me was clad in an adorable purple and white printed jumpsuit emblazoned with a star pattern.
Little Arya appeared to be enjoying being hoisted in the air by her proud father, who couldn't help but smile from ear-to-ear.
Casual: The Bootmen actor appeared to be dressed for dance rehearsals, clad in a pair of comfortable Mooks-branded track pants and a dark blue Tee-shirt
His little superstar! Meanwhile, Adam's brunette mini-me was clad in an adorable purple and white printed jumpsuit emblazoned with a star pattern
Adoring father! Meanwhile, Adam couldn't help but smile from ear-to-ear as he gazed upon his loved one
The Coyote Ugly actor was also visited by his wife Nathalia Chubin, who relieved Adam of his parenting duties by scooping up the little one into her arms as the family enjoyed a stroll in the sun.
Last year, Adam opened up to New Idea magazine about the terrifying moment his daughter's heart stopped beating during her delivery.
'There were genuine moments of dread,' he told the publication.
Playtime! Little Arya appeared to be enjoying being hoisted in the air by her proud father
One happy brood! The Coyote Ugly actor was also visited by his wife Nathalia Chubin, who relieved Adam of his parenting duties by scooping up the little one into her arms as the family enjoyed a stroll in the sun
'Arya's heart rate was falling away, then it was gone': Last year, Adam opened up to New Idea magazine about the terrifying moment his daughter's heart stopped beating during her delivery
'The nurses and midwives didn't want to betray how serious it was but Arya's heart rate was falling away, then it was gone,' he added.
The star revealed that while midwives were preparing his wife for an emergency c-section, Arya's head began to crown.
Describing the first time he held his daughter, Adam said: 'Time stopped. It was quite magical.'
Adam and Nathalia married in March in a low-key ceremony, just five months before their daughter's arrival.
Adam is currently rehearsing for his starring role in the stage production of Singin' In The Rain, which opens in Melbourne next month.
Miracle baby! He revealed that, as midwives were preparing his wife for an emergency c-section, Arya's head began to crown
Moment of awe: Describing the first time he held his daughter, Adam said: 'Time stopped. It was quite magical'
New gig Down Under! Adam ,who is based in the UK, is currently rehearsing for his starring role in the stage production of Singin' In The Rain, which opens in Melbourne next month
His leading roles in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds and David Ayer's Fury saw him bring the horrors of the Second World War to life.
And Brad Pitt, 52, is once again starring in a tense wartime drama as he continues to film scenes for Five Seconds of Silence in London.
The Hollywood heartthrob was at his handsome best on Thursday, shooting scenes dressed in an 1940s RAF uniform.
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In character: Brad Pitt, 52, is once again starring in a tense wartime drama as he continues to film scenes for Five Seconds of Silence in London
Clean-shaven and with his hair slicked in the style of the day, Brad made his way along the Hampstead pavement and around a vintage car.
The actor covered his navy uniform, complete with black tie and pale blue shirt, with a knee-length blue trench coat.
He carried his peaked cap and brown leather briefcase in his right arm while walking down the wet residential street.
An officer and a gentleman: The Hollywood heartthrob was at his handsome best on Thursday, shooting scenes dressed in a 1940s RAF uniform
Dapper: Clean-shaven and with his hair slicked in the style of the day, Brad made his way along the Hampstead pavement and around a vintage car
The historic thriller is set in 1942 and sees Brad's character, Max Vatan, fall in love with French agent Marianne Beausejour (Marion Cotillard) during a mission to kill a German ambassador holed up in Casablanca.
According to uinterview, 'the two ultimately marry and start a family but Max soon learns that Marianne is likely a Nazi spy'.
The film is directed Robert Zemeckis (Back To The Future) and also stars Lizzy Claplan ( Masters of Sex) and Jared Harris (Lincoln).
Hands full: He carried his peaked cap and brown leather briefcase in his right arm while walking down the wet residential street
Dramatic: The historic thriller is set in 1942 and sees Brad's character, Max Vatan, fall in love with French agent Marianne Beausejour (Marion Cotillard) during a mission to kill a German ambassador
Relaxed: The star looked comfortable in his character's uniform as he strolled down the street
Putting his best foot forward: The star's filmography would suggest he has a keen interest in wartime events
The film is due to hit cinemas later this year on November 23.
Brad and Angelina Jolie, along with their sizable brood, moved into their eight-bedroom, 14,700-per-month rental in Surrey at the end of February, Us Weekly reported.
The Jolie-Pitt's new family home is described as a 'beautiful, White House-style' home in the well-heeled county, an area popular with commuters to London.
In addition to eight-bedrooms, the spacious estate has an indoor pool and gym, and is close to the River Thames.
Angelina and Brad previously looked to buy a home in London, but were unable to find a property with enough privacy and security.
Then and now: The past and the present met as crew members in modern dress moved around on set
He is set to play the role of a fighter pilot in the upcoming sci-fi thriller flick Independence Day: Resurgence.
And Liam Hemsworth looked every inch the handsome screen superstar as he stepped out to promote the film in Los Angeles on Thursday.
Clad in a charcoal jacket paired with a set of black skinny jeans, the 26-year-old Australian appeared cheerful as he posed for photos against a wall.
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Hunk alert! Liam Hemsworth, 26, looked every inch the handsome screen superstar as he stepped out to promote Independence Day: Resurgence in Los Angeles on Thursday
The hunky actor completed his outfit with a long-sleeved AllSaints Hunlock LS shirt emblazoned with a delicate print, while making sure to add a pair of shoes in a grey tone that perfectly matched his AllSaints Twomey bomber jacket.
Liam recently spoke to Men's Fitness about his role in the 1996-released Independence Day reboot, saying: 'I look back to when I was 6 or 7 years old and watching Independence Day on VHS, and now were doing a second oneits really crazy'.
Will Smith will not be reprising his role of Captain Steven Hiller in the much-anticipated movie, but Jeff Goldblum and Bill Pullman are set to reprise their original roles.
Say cheese! Clad in a charcoal jacket paired with a set of black skinny jeans, the Australian native appeared cheerful as he posed for photos against a wall
Trendy: The hunky actor completed his outfit with a grey long-sleeved shirt emblazoned with a delicate print
Liam said of the film's director: 'I had the opportunity to work with Roland Emmerich. Ive been a fan of his since the first one. He kind of pioneered this world-ending genre'.
'I also got to work with Jeff [Goldblum], and it was a lot of fun. Its that sort of moment, your first step on set, and youre looking at spaceships and things like that', he added.
Roland Emmerich attended the media event alongside Liam and his on-screen love interest, Maika Dillon Monroe, and took to Instagram with a photo of the trio to commemorate the occasion.
'These two are even sweeter than they are good looking': Roland Emmerich attended the media event alongside Liam and his on-screen love interest Maika Dillon Monroe and took to Instagram with a photo of the trio to commemorate the occasion
How time flies! Liam recently spoke to Men's Fitness about his role in the 1996-released Independence Day reboot, saying: 'I look back to when I was 6 or 7 years old and watching Independence Day on VHS, and now were doing a second oneits really crazy'
Engaged again? While Liam has been reaching new heights in his career, rumours have been circling that he has rekindled his relationship with his former fiancee Miley Cyrus
'These two are even sweeter than they are good looking. Get ready, the Resurgence is just a few months away', wrote the esteemed German director in the caption.
While Liam has been reaching new heights in his career, rumours have been circling that he has rekindled his relationship with his former fiancee Miley Cyrus.
After meeting on set of their movie The Last Song, the couple dated on and off for three years before getting engaged in June 2012 and then splitting a year later.
Miley and Liam reconnected in the summer of 2015 and began talking back and forth for months, according to a report from UsWeekly.
In the winter they began to get romantic with the Hannah Montana star flying to his native Australian to spend some of the holidays with Liam and his family.
Romance: After meeting on set of their movie The Last Song, the couple dated on and off for three years before getting engaged in June 2012 and then splitting a year later
She announced that she had adopted her second child back in August last year - and Charlize Theron was pictured cradling the little girl when she stepped out in Milan on Thursday night.
The 40-year-old looked every inch the protective mother as she cooed over the smiling tot, named August and later let her lay down in her arms.
Heading to a television studio, the actress looked effortlessly stylish wearing a camel-coloured jumper which she teamed with a pair of black skinny jeans and knee high boots.
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Sweet: She announced that she had adopted her second child back in August last year - and Charlize Theron was pictured cradling the little girl when she stepped out in Milan on Thursday night
She tied her blonde locks in a tousled ponytail and wore minimal make-up, letting her natural beauty shine through.
Charlize is in town to promote her latest movie, The Huntsman: Winter's Tale.
The movie tells the story of two evil sisters who prepare to conquer the land.
Doting mother: The 40-year-old looked every inch the protective mother as she cooed over the smiling tot, named August and later let her lay down in her arms
Two renegades - Eric the Huntsman - who previously aided Snow White in defeating Ravenna, [Charlize] and his forbidden lover, Sara to set out to stop them.
Meanwhile, reports first surfaced that Charlize had adopted a second child, in October.
According to TMZ, the award-winner - who also adopted her four-year-old son Jackson from South Africa in 2012 - took custody of the African-American tot after working with with a US adoption agency for six months.
The superstar has candidly spoken about her desire to adopt since she was a child in the past.
Opening up about a letter she penned as a young girl, she previously told Hello! magazine: 'It said, "Would you please take me to an orphanage, so that I can go and adopt a baby?"
'I always knew I would adopt. Always.'
They've been rocking by each other's side for more than 50 years.
And while they're still entertaining audiences the world over, Rolling Stones stalwarts Mick Jagger, 72, and Keith Richards, 72, are more business partners than friends, according to the author of brand new biography The Sun & the Moon & the Rolling Stones.
Journalist Rich Cohen, who joined the band on tour in 1994 as a writer for Rolling Stone magazine and worked with Jagger on the HBO series Vinyl, claims the band haven't been the same since they reunited in 1988 following a temporary split.
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Rock legends: Rolling Stones stalwarts Mick Jagger and Keith Richards are more business partners than friends, according to the author of brand new biography The Sun & the Moon & the Rolling Stones
An adaptation from the soon to be released book has appeared on the Vanity Fair website.
Referring to the band's reconciliation at the Savoy hotel in the late 80s, Cohen wrote: 'Mick and Keith realized they could never earn as much alone as they could as a band.
'Theyre like a bitter married couple who stay on for the kids. Only the kids are grown. Or maybe the money is the kids. Either way, men who once loved each other now do nothing but snipe.'
Still going strong: The author explains how Jagger's desire to taste success as a solo star in the mid-80s created a rift between himself and Richards
The author explained how Jagger's desire to taste success as a solo star in the mid-80s created a rift between himself and Richards, who felt let down when the star abandoned a Stones tour to promote a solo release.
MailOnline has contacted representatives for Keith and Mick and is awaiting comment.
While the band patched up their differences to enjoy tour after successful tour, tensions in the Stones camp were once again raised when Richards released his tell all autobiography, Life, in 2010.
Perhaps the most hurtful revelation in the book saw Richards claim his old friend had a tiny todger.
Rocking out: The band rocked out in Cuba on Good Friday as they put on a historic free gig for half a million jubilant fans in Havana
Speaking about his book in 2012, Richards said: He and I have had conversations over the past year of a kind we have not had for an extremely long time, and that has been incredibly important to me.
As far as the book goes, it was my story and it was very raw, as I meant it to be. But I know that some parts of it, and some of the publicity, really offended Mick and I regret that.
And Cohen believes the close display the star's put on when they're on the stage is no longer genuine.
'In the end, there is sentiment, then there is business,' he explained. 'In other words, when you see Mick and Keith onstage, leaning together like Butch and Sundance, youre seeing actors.'
The band rocked out in Cuba on Good Friday as they put on a historic free gig for half a million jubilant fans in Havana.
The aging rockers stormed onto the stage as they launched into the band's classic Jumpin' Jack Flash and followed with two hours of their classic hits.
She's been living in France whilst filming her latest flick, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.
And Cara Delevingne looked every inch the chic Parisian as she headed to the set on Friday whilst showing off her quirky sense of style.
Not afraid to clash patterns and textures, the 23-year-old model ensured all eyes would be on her in her colourful ensemble.
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Girl about town: She's been living in France whilst filming her latest flick, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. And Cara Delevingne looked every inch the chic Parisian as she headed to set on Friday
Dressing for comfort, she donned a pair of cream tapered tracksuit bottoms, whilst she pounded the pavements in her Puma trainers.
Donning an oversized leopard print T-shirt, she layered up in a black hoodie, whilst a skull print scarf hung from her neck.
Clearly a dab hand of multitasking, she wheeled her suitcase through the streets in one hand whilst she clutched her pot of breakfast in the other.
Mix and match: Not afraid to clash patterns and textures, the 23-year-old model ensured all eyes would be on her in her colourful ensemble as she strode through the capital with breakfast in hand
Casual but chic: Dressing for comfort, she donned a pair of cream tapered tracksuit bottoms, whilst she pounded the pavements in her Puma trainers, layering up in an oversized black hoodie
Eating on the go it seems the star had left her apartment in a hurry, which seemingly explained why her golden tresses were still damp, no doubt freshly washed.
Popping on a knitted cream hat with kitsch woolen ears, Cara looked effortlessly chic on her journey, going make-up free so she allowed her natural beauty to shine through.
Rushing to the set, Cara seemed eager to begin another day of filming for the French sci-fi drama that follows the story of two spatio-temporal agents who time travel to help protect the human race.
Blonde beauty: Eating on the go it seems the star had left her apartment in a hurry, which seemingly explained why her golden tresses were still damp, no doubt freshly washed earlier that morning
Breakfast to go: Clearly a dab hand of multitasking, she wheeled her suitcase through the streets and held her bags with one hand whilst she clutched her pot of breakfast in the other
But whilst Cara has been focusing her talents on acting as of late, she marked her triumphant return to the modelling world with a smouldering Saint Laurent campaign.
Speaking about her break from the industry, the Paper Towns star took to Twitter to explain that she had not quit modelling, and had merely taken time out of work whilst she dealt with her 'self-loathing'.
'Can we just set the record straight,' she began. 'I never said I was quitting modeling. I do not blame the fashion industry for anything.'
Wild thing! Donning an oversized leopard print T-shirt, she wore a skull print scarf around her neck
Bunny girl: Popping on a knitted cream hat with kitsch woolen ears, Cara looked effortlessly chic on her journey, going make-up free so she allowed her natural beauty to shine through
'I suffer from depression,' she explained, 'and was a model during a particularly rough patch of self hatred.'
I am so lucky for the work I get to do but I used to work to try and escape and just ended up completely exhausting myself.'
'I am focusing on filming and trying to learn how to not pick apart my every flaw,' she concluded. 'I am really good at that. Okay.... Rant over. Just wanted to clarify and word vomit a little...'
Back in breakfast: Whilst Cara has been focusing her talents on acting as of late, she marked her triumphant return to the modelling world with a smouldering Saint Laurent campaign
Running lines: Cara was seen carrying her script as she arrived on set, ready for another day's work
Entourage: The star was joined by several crew members as she rocked up on the film set
Kylie Jenner seems determined to become the next Kim Kardashian.
Not content with emulating her older sister's appearance, it seems she's determined to copy her career path - with a rapper boyfriend, diverse business interests and even the occasional well-timed scandal.
But Kim debunked the idea that she gets annoyed by her little sister copying her.
'Kylie and I laugh so hard at this all the time, because people always want to pit us against each other,' she wrote of the 'rivalry' on her blog, KimKardashianWest.com, on Friday.
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'People pit us against each other!' Kim Kardashian dismisses claims she's annoyed by coppycat Kylie Jenner... saying they 'laugh' at idea; the two are seen in a Snapchat video from Thursday
'I think it's amazing - there's no one else I would want to be in the same business with than my sister.'
Kim insists that the pair have a give and take relationship, explaining: 'She teaches me so much, and I teach her so much'.
However despite the 35-year-old's kind words, it is undeniable that Kylie takes inspiration from her big sister - in every way possible.
See the latest Kim Kardashian updates as she dismisses claims she's annoyed by Kylie
Close: When Kim broke the internet with her full frontal nude picture last month, Kylie raced to her support - as she posted her own version of the now infamous image
While the two are both the daughters of Kris Jenner, they have different fathers.
As a child Kylie, whose father is former Olympian Bruce Jenner, favoured her father in appearance. However as she has grown older the 18-year-old has darkened her hair, plumped up her lips and deliberately begun to copy Kim's body conscious style of dressing.
And despite not sharing Kim's Armenian heritage - which comes from her father Robert Kardashian's side of the family - Kylie looks more and more like Kim every day.
Of course, there is nothing unique there - as Instagram easily proves, there are plenty of Kim-lookalikes out there.
However Kylie hasn't stopped there.
Not blessed with the long legs and slender frame of her model sister Kendall - who has found her niche on the catwalk - Kylie had to seek another way to stand out, amid a family of attention seekers.
Who wore it better? Kim looks stylish in black, left, in July last year, while Kylie, right, rocks a similar outfit four months later
Red alert! Both Kim and Kylie saw red in these outfits - which they wore on the same day back in February
And Kim's route to fame has proved the perfect inspiration.
Like the reality star, married to superstar Kanye West, Kylie now has a rapper boyfriend - Tyga.
The two are rumoured to have started dating before the teen turned 18 - a scandal which has done little to harm her bid for fame.
And while Kim has put her name to a whole host of diverse products - from fake tan to kids clothes - Kylie has launched her wildly successful 'lip kits'.
In doing so she has capitalised on the furor caused after she admitted about using fillers.
As they were: The sisters back in 2011; despite not sharing Kim's Armenian heritage - which comes from her father Robert Kardashian's side of the family - Kylie looks more and more like her sibling
And perhaps most obviously, the teen has begun dressing just like Kim - raising her wardrobe at any opportunity.
A huge social media following completes the picture - with both Kim and Kylie seeming to inherently know how to entertain the millions who follow their postings.
Of course, it is perhaps unsurprising that Kylie's is so closely mirroring Kim.
Standing firmly behind both is the same hugely ambitious mastermind - their mother, and joint manager Kris Jenner.
And while little sisters have always copied their older siblings, with someone as successful as Kim in the family, it's easy to see why Kylie wants to badly to be her.
US 'appalled' by Syria regime strikes that killed more than 30
The United States said it was "appalled" by Syrian government air strikes Thursday that killed more than 30 people -- including children -- in a key rebel bastion east of the capital of Damascus.
The raids took place in Deir Al-Assafir, a town in the opposition stronghold of Eastern Ghouta, one of the areas in Syria where a fragile ceasefire brokered by the US and Russia has been in place since February 27.
"The United States is appalled by aerial strikes March 31, reportedly by the Assad regime, on a school and hospital in the Damascus suburb of Deir Al Asafir," State Department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement.
Syrians help a man, wounded during Syrian government air strikes in Deir Al-Assafir, a town in the opposition stronghold of Eastern Ghouta Amer Almohibany (AFP)
"We condemn in the strongest terms any such attacks directed at civilians," he added.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group, has reported that 33 people died in the attacks, including 12 children, updating its earlier toll of at least 23 fatalities.
While there have been occasional incidences of violence, some of them deadly, the ceasefire has largely been hailed as a success by the United Nations.
"In joining the cessation of hostilities, even apart from its commitments to avoid attacking groups participating in the cessation of hostilities, the regime committed to full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2254, which called for an immediate end to any attacks against civilians and for all parties to comply with their obligations under international law," Kirby said.
Hoffman seizes first-round Houston Open lead
Charley Hoffman fired nine birdies in an eight-under par 64 to grab a one-shot lead after the first round of the Houston Open over a quartet of players that included Dustin Johnson.
Hoffman's 64 was one stroke shy of the Tournament Course record at the Golf Club of Houston held by five players.
He opened with a birdie at the 10th, and added birdies at 13 and 14 -- adding a burst of four straight birdies from the first through fourth holes.
Charley Hoffman's 64 was one stroke shy of the Tournament Course record at the Golf Club of Houston held by five players David Cannon (Getty Images/AFP/File)
"Hit it great," said Hoffman, who won the most recent of his three PGA Tour titles in 2014. "Hit a lot of fairways, hit a ton of greens, gave myself a bunch of chances and luckily enough a few went in today."
Johnson, a nine-time winner on the PGA Tour, powered into contention with a 10-footer for eagle at his penultimate hole, the par-five eighth and a birdie at the last, where he holed a long one from the fringe.
Johnson was tied for second with fellow Americans Roberto Castro, Scott Brown and Morgan Hoffmann.
Another four Americans were tied on 66: Johnson Wagner, Justin Hicks, Chez Reavie and Scott Pinckney.
"Overall, it was a great day," Johnson said after a round that included seven birdies total.
"I made just two bogeys and one of them was a mud ball on five."
"Then I had a penalty shot on the par-five 13th. Other than that, I felt like I played really solid today and holed some nice putts," he said.
World number two Jordan Spieth, trying to build momentum heading into his Masters title defence next week, carded a 67 that left him tied for 10th.
Five-time major winner Phil Mickelson opened with a 69.
Defending champion JB Holmes, who won last year in a playoff with Spieth and Wagner, withdrew from the tournament on Wednesday with a shoulder injury. He was replaced in Thursday's group with Spieth and Patrick Reed by Luke List, who carded a 68.
Djibouti's Guelleh eyes fourth term win in presidential vote
After 17 years under his rule, few doubt Djibouti's President Ismail Omar Guelleh will fail to win a fourth term in polls next week, with a divided opposition already calling the vote a sham.
Supporters of Guelleh -- president since 1999 of the tiny but strategic former French colony whose port guards the entrance to the Red Sea and Suez Canal -- are confident of victory in the April 8 vote.
Since campaigning began on March 25 portraits of "IOG", as Guelleh is nicknamed, have lined the baking hot streets of Djibouti city, capital of the arid Horn of Africa nation of some 820,000 people, where Guelleh supporters parade in the green party colours of his Union for the Presidential Majority (known by its French acronym, UMP).
Djiboutian President Ismail Omar Guelleh won the last polls five years ago with 80 percent of the vote, after parliament changed the constitution in April 2010 to clear the way for a third, and now a likely fourth, term Simin Maina (AFP)
"We are optimistic, especially when we see that the opposition party is straggling", said Foreign Minister Mahamoud Ali Youssouf.
Guelleh won the last polls five years ago with 80 percent of the vote, after parliament changed the constitution in April 2010 to clear the way for a third, and now a likely fourth, term.
The main opposition group, the so-called Union for National Salvation (USN), is a collapsing coalition of opposition parties.
- Divided opposition -
Three of the seven parties that made up the USN have decided to boycott the polls entirely -- the Movement for Democratic Renewal and Development (MRD), the Republican Alliance for Democracy (ARD) and Movement for Development and Freedom (MODEL) -- while the remaining parties are fielding two competing candidates, Mohamed Daoud Chehem and Omar Elmi Khaireh.
"Our party has decided not to participate in the election because we consider it to be a sham election, the minimum requirements of transparency are not guaranteed," said MRD leader Daher Ahmed Farah.
After parliamentary elections in 2013 which Guelleh's UMP won with 49 percent amid furious opposition claims of fraud, parties had demanded the creation of an independent electoral commission, a key element of a 2014 pact to resolve a political deadlock and end street protests.
Under that deal the opposition agreed to accept just 10 members of parliament -- instead of the 52 they claimed to have won -- in exchange for government commitments to better protection for opposition parties and the establishing of an independent election body. But the commission was not created.
"The MRD has never believed in the sincerity of this agreement," said Farah, who said the government had only wanted, "to stop the protests and demobilise the opposition."
But those who are taking part in the polls next Friday say a previous decade-long boycott -- from 2003 to the last polls in 2013 -- has only allowed the ruling party a free hand.
"We saw that we had not advanced", said presidential hopeful Chehem.
The other USN candidate, Omar Elmi Khaireh, argues there is a need for "change" after "38 years of dictatorship" since independence from Paris in 1977.
But their erstwhile USN allies suggest the real motivations of the candidates in challenging the 68-year old Guelleh are less noble.
- 'No change, no development' -
"There are other ulterior motives," suggests MRD's Farah, suggesting their taking part is to give a veneer of respectability to the elections, and that the candidates are hoping for a share of power later.
Participating in elections "is a way of legitimising the current president", added Abdillahi Zacharia, president of the Djiboutian League of Human Rights (LDDH), and also an USN member.
"This election result is locked in, it is taken for granted," he said.
Situated on one of the world's busiest shipping routes, Djibouti is already home to Camp Lemonnier, the US military headquarters on the continent used for covert, anti-terror and other operations in Yemen, Somalia and elsewhere across Africa.
France and Japan also have bases in the port, as well as European and other international navies as a base in the fight against piracy from neighbouring Somalia.
Djibouti, overwhelmingly Muslim and split between the majority Somali people and Afar, has embarked on major infrastructure projects, some backed by China which is also setting up a military base.
But while the port nation enjoys solid growth of six percent a year, according to the World Bank, unemployment is high at some 60 percent, and almost a quarter of the people live in poverty.
In the suburbs of the capital, there is deep anger towards the government, but few risk speaking out openly.
"Djibouti's youth want change... for 40 years, we have seen no change, no development,", said Beuh, one of the many frustrated unemployed in the city.
Djiboutian opposition presidential candidate of the Union for National Salvation (USN) Omar Elmi Khaireh (L) speaks to AFP during an interview in Djibouti Simon Maina (AFP)
Casual labourers load goods in the port of Djibouti where unemployment is high at some 60 percent, and almost a quarter of the people live in poverty
Muslim mothers fight 'toxic' merchants of terror
There were small signs that her son was changing: He prayed more and swapped jeans for traditional long tunics.
"But I wasn't worried. Not for one second did Syria enter my mind," Fatima Ezzarhouni told AFP.
And yet that's where the young man was headed in June 2013 when he left his home in the Belgian city of Antwerp, a day after his 18th birthday, to join militants.
Graduates of Mother School and their trainers pose for a photo in Vienna Dieter Nagl (AFP)
Almost three years on, Ezzarhouni gets the occasional phone call from her son confirming he's still alive, but never revealing his exact location.
"I have this feeling that I will never see him again," said the 44-year-old, fending off tears.
"But at least now I know I'm not alone anymore."
Ezzarhouni is one of the newest members of a global project that fights jihadism not with soldiers, but mums.
The so-called Mother Schools teach Muslim women how to spot early signs of radicalisation in children or develop coping mechanisms if the intervention comes too late.
After completing the 10-module course, the graduates then go on to train other women.
- Race against recruiters -
The Vienna-based Women Without Borders (WWB) organisation created the initiative in close cooperation with anti-terrorism experts of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), also headquartered in the Austrian capital.
Though independent, the WWB receives funding from various Austrian ministries, the European Union and the US State Department.
"Women are so well placed to work in the security arena because this is a mission about safeguarding their families," WWB founder Edit Schlaffer told AFP.
"They are in direct competition with recruiters, those toxic influences from mosques who step in when children reach adolescence and tell them: 'You're wonderful, glory is waiting for you, join us in building the caliphate.'"
Although there are other female-run programmes targeting radicalisation in various countries, the WWB project is the only truly global one.
The first school opened in 2012 in Tajikistan -- an Islamist breeding ground next to Afghanistan -- before branches were rolled out in other nations plagued by violence, such as Pakistan and Nigeria.
In February, WWB organised its first training session for the new initiative in Indonesia, home to the world's largest Muslim population.
Although most practise a moderate form of faith in this southeast Asian country, the Islamic State (IS) has provided a potent rallying cry for radicals. Hundreds are thought to have joined the militant group in Syria and Iraq.
"We heard from other mothers whose children were recruited by extremists. We could see what their strategies are, which is very relevant," Mother School participant Khotimun Susanti told AFP in Jakarta.
"Indonesian women are not used to speaking out... so we learnt that we need to develop this culture of openness."
Schlaffer stressed that a key part of the programme focused on current affairs.
"I've met mothers in Indonesia who thought their sons had gone off to work as foreign labourers in Syria. They had no clue where Syria was. When I told them it was a war zone, they broke down," she said.
- 'Mothers of courage' -
The project is now also taking root in Europe where terrorists have been spreading fear with a string of attacks, the latest hitting Brussels on March 22.
While schools in Austria and Belgium are already up and running, new ones will open in Britain and Sweden later this year.
Ezzarhouni said she first heard about the initiative from another Belgian mother, Saliha Ben Ali, whose 19-year-old son Sabri died in Syria three years ago.
"Sabri's radicalisation was very fast, it happened in three months and we didn't see the signs," said Ben Ali, a social worker from the city of Vilvoorde, near Brussels.
"Four days after he had left, he sent his first message: 'Please mum, don't be angry. I came here to help Syrian people because nobody helps them.'"
Both Ezzarhouni and Ben Ali recently attended a Mother Schools workshop in Vienna, which united Muslim women from around the globe to share their experiences and receive training on engaging their communities back home.
Participants included the first 15 graduates from Austria's own Mother School.
The women all belonged to the country's 30,000-strong Chechen community, which has lost dozens of young people to IS.
"It's not a secret that our community has been hit hard by the radicalisation of youth," said Maynat Kubanova, a Chechen journalist and trainer at the Austrian school.
"Parents brought their children from Chechnya to Austria to save them from war. Now they lose them to a foreign conflict. The shock sits deep. But that doesn't mean that we are without power and just have to wait for recruiters to snatch our children away."
This determination to fight what Kubanova called "an invisible enemy" was palpable among those taking part in the workshop.
At the end of the three-day gathering in Vienna, many swapped contact details and hugged each other to say goodbye.
"These women have given me hope," said Ezzarhouni.
"There are many people who see us as mothers of terrorists. But we are mothers of courage."
An Austria-based Mother School graduate from Chechnya recieves her diploma from Maynat Kurbanova (left) in Vienna Dieter Nagl (AFP)
People attend a graduate ceremony of the Women Without Borders' Mother School in Vienna Dieter Nagl (AFP)
Myanmar army MPs slam bill to create Suu Kyi 'advisor' role
Myanmar military MPs on Friday said a plan to bolster Aung San Suu Kyi's power with a special advisory role was unconstitutional, as the new civilian government tussled with the army just days after taking office.
The Southeast Asian nation was dominated by the military for more than half a century until Wednesday when Suu Kyi and her pro-democracy party took power.
The Nobel laureate, whose party secured a landslide election win in November, has vowed to rule the country despite a constitutional block on her becoming president.
Aung San Suu Kyi is the figurehead of a near 30-year struggle to end military domination in Myanmar Aung Htet (AFP/File)
In a surprise early act of parliamentary business by the new government, Suu Kyi's party proposed a bill to grant her a special "state counsellor" position.
If passed it would give the 70-year-old a steering role over parliament, buttressed by the four ministerial posts she already holds in the new cabinet.
But in a sign of early turbulence between her party and the still hugely influential army, military MPs challenged the move in an upper house debate Friday that saw the bill pass its first legislative hurdle.
Colonel Myint Swe raised fears the plan would place the "president and the advisor at the same level".
"This is in opposition to the constitution. So I would like to suggest the bill be amended according to the constitution," he told lawmakers.
Another army lawmaker, Colonel Hla Win Aung, also decried the naming of Suu Kyi in the bill and warned it could "destroy" the balance of power between government branches.
The army is reserved a quarter of all parliamentary seats by a junta-era charter.
The bill passed the upper house vote but still needs approval from the lower house and combined parliament, which are similarly dominated by Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD).
NLD MP Zaw Min, chairman of the upper house bill committee, dismissed concerns that the proposal was unconstitutional, saying that judgement lies with the newly formed Constitutional Tribunal.
"It is too early to say that the bill is in opposition to the constitution," he said, without elaborating on whether it would be referred to the tribunal.
- Hurdles ahead -
Suu Kyi is the figurehead of a near 30-year struggle to end military domination that saw her locked under house arrest for years.
She is barred from the presidency by a clause in the junta-drafted charter disqualifying those with foreign close relatives. Her two sons are British, as was her late husband.
The veteran campaigner has pledged to rule through her longtime friend Htin Kyaw, who was sworn in as president Wednesday.
She is also taking on a huge workload in his cabinet, running the foreign affairs, education, energy and president's office ministries.
The new bill does not spell out specific powers for the proposed position, but it would enable Suu Kyi to maintain sway over the legislature she had to step down from to become a minister.
It also gives her a budget and authority to conduct any meetings deemed necessary.
Dozens of NLD supporters celebrated the historic week at a street fair in downtown Yangon Friday, where they served up traditional foods and sang as loudspeakers played old campaign songs.
"This is just a welcoming party to our president elected from the people. Now Myanmar has the chance to have a brighter future through the guidance of Mother Suu," said Myo Lwin Htay, who helped organise the event through a local NLD office.
The novice government faces a tough road ahead as it strives to tackle mammoth challenges in a nation scarred by decades of repressive and economically destructive army rule.
Analysts say it will need support from the military that retains huge political influence, including control of three key ministries.
Newly sworn-in Myanmar Foreign Minister Aung San Suu Kyi (L) speaks to army generals after the handover ceremony at the presidential palace in Naypyidaw, on March 30, 2016 Nyein Chan Naing (Pool/AFP/File)
New Myanmar President Htin Kyaw arrives for a dinner reception following a swearing-in ceremony in Naypyidaw on March 30, 2016 Ye Aung Thu (Pool/AFP/File)
Supporters of the National League for Democracy party offer free snacks as they celebrate Myanmar's new President Htin Kyaw in Yangon on April 1, 2016 Ye Aung Thu (AFP)
Noisy US welcome as Erdogan defends hardline stance
Journalists and supporters of Kurdish militants scuffled and traded insults with Turkish guards protecting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Washington ahead of his meeting with US leader Barack Obama.
A small group of protesters gathered Thursday outside the Washington think tank where the Turkish president was to speak, brandishing the banners of the YPG, a Kurdish militant group based in Syria.
Ankara regards the YPG as an affiliate of the PKK, Turkey's main Kurdish separatist movement, and has declared it a terrorist threat.
A protester takes part in a demonstration protesting Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit to the US, on the sidelines of the nuclear security summit, in front of the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC on March 31, 2016 Andrew Biraj (AFP)
However, Washington sees the YPG guerrillas as key allies in its campaign against the Islamic State group.
Just ahead of Erdogan's arrival at the Brookings Institute in Washington, Turkish security officials clashed with the crowd -- both sides exchanging insults and scuffling -- before local police were able to separate them.
The Turkish guards also set about the press.
One aimed a chest-high kick at an American reporter attempting to film the harassment of a Turkish opposition reporter, and another called a female foreign policy scholar a "PKK whore."
Turkish security tried to prevent two Turkish journalists, one of them working for the opposition daily Zaman that has been seized by the government, from entering.
All this happened before an Obama-Erdogan meeting that seems to have been arranged at the last minute.
Having previously stated the pair were unlikely to hold sit-down talks -- a decision widely perceived as a snub from Washington -- the White House said the two men had in fact met on the sidelines of a nuclear security summit.
They discussed US-Turkey cooperation on regional security, counterterrorism and migration, it said.
The absence of a presidential meeting on Erdogan's trip to the US capital had been glaring.
The two countries are meant to be close NATO allies in the thick of a fight against the Islamic State (IS) group in Syria.
But tensions have been stirred by Ankara's attacks on Kurdish militants, some of whom are seen by Washington as the best bet for tackling IS in Iraq and Syria.
Turkey says the militants are linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has fought a long battle for Kurdish independence.
Turkish forays into northern Iraq have also strained ties.
The White House has been increasingly outspoken in recent months about threats to free speech and democracy in Turkey.
And on Thursday it restated its belief in the need for press freedom in Turkey, amid ugly scenes at an Erdogan speech in the US capital.
As the Turkish leader flew in to the US capital ahead of the nuclear safety summit, news broke of another deadly bomb attack targeting police in his country's southeast, where his forces are battling Kurdish militants.
- Outraged by Turkish tactics -
In the incident outside the think tank, Brookings staff prevented Turkish officials from driving out the reporters, who had been invited to cover the event, amid tense scenes.
Meanwhile outside pro-Kurdish demonstrators chanted: "Erdogan, fascist" and "Erdogan, baby-killer."
Global watchdog Reporters Without Borders slammed the guards' "unacceptable behavior."
But Erdogan appeared unruffled as he arrived to give a speech and answer questions, delivering a forceful address in which he ceded no ground to critics at home or abroad.
On the renewed battle with the Kurds, Erdogan was clear -- for Turkey, the PKK and the YPG are one and the same, vicious terrorists, and no better than the Islamic State group.
"Terrorists unfortunately keep attacking our country," he said. "We cannot tolerate this anymore. European countries and other countries, I hope they can see the true face of terrorists in these attacks."
Erdogan complained that, just because the YPG are fighting against the IS group with Western support, some see them as what he derisively termed "good terrorists" and complained that they have backers in Europe.
"I know people are organizing, funding meetings, and are assisting in getting arms to those organizations," he said.
- 'Incarcerated journalists' -
The US-led coalition has made no secret of its ties with Kurdish militias in northern Syria, and US officials say they do not regard the YPG as auxiliaries of the PKK, which Washington does deem a terrorist group.
Erdogan was also firm in his defense of Turkey's recent crackdown on the press.
Senior US and European officials and international media rights groups have sternly criticized his government's recent actions against the media, including this month's seizure of the top-selling Zaman, and the arrest of journalists.
But, pressed on the issue, Erdogan was unapologetic, appearing to relish the question as he brandished what he said was a dossier on the legal cases.
"If you want the details of this, I will be more than happy to share them with you. This is the brief that I have in my hands," he said.
Anti-government groups protesting a visit by Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan argue with the police in front of the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC on March 31, 2016 Andrew Biraj (AFP)
Police detain a pro-government activist near a demonstration by anti-government groups against a visit by Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in front of the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC on March 31, 2016 Andrew Biraj (AFP)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrives for a working dinner at the White House on March 31, 2016 Olivier Douliery (AFP)
US sailor charged with Okinawa rape: reports
A US sailor was indicted in Japan on Friday for allegedly raping a Japanese woman on Okinawa, according to reports, in a case that could further increase tensions over the American military presence on the fortified island.
Okinawa was the site of a brutal World War II battle between Japan and the United States but is now considered a strategic linchpin supporting the two countries' decades-long security alliance.
More than half of the 47,000 American military personnel in Japan are stationed there and rapes and other crimes by US service personnel have sparked local protests in the past.
Protesters hold banners at a rally against a new US military base in Okinawa, in Tokyo on February 21, 2016 Toru Yamanaka (AFP/File)
The Naha district public prosecutors office on the island charged Justin Castellanos, 24, stationed at the US Marine Corps Camp Schwab base on the island, with the alleged crime, Jiji Press and other media reported.
Castellanos was arrested last month for allegedly raping a Japanese tourist while she was unconscious at a hotel in the Okinawan capital city of Naha, police said.
A prosecution office spokesman declined to confirm the indictment by phone to AFP, while confirmation from the US Navy in Japan was not immediately available.
A brutal 1995 abduction and rape of a 12-year-old girl on Okinawa by three US servicemen sparked massive protests, prompting Washington to pledge efforts to strengthen troop discipline to prevent such crimes and reduce its footprint on the island.
But continued crimes by US personnel remain an irritant in Japan-US relations and a rallying point for Okinawans and others in Japan opposed to the bases on the crowded island, where pacifist sentiment runs high.
'No more survivors' in India flyover collapse, five detained
Rescue officials said Friday there are no more survivors trapped under the rubble of a flyover that collapsed killing at least 25 people, as Indian police detained five construction company staff over the accident.
Emergency workers using specialist equipment have pulled nearly 100 people out alive from under the huge concrete slabs and metal girders that fell onto a busy street in the eastern city of Kolkata on Thursday, crushing cars and pedestrians.
"The rescue operation is almost over as there are no more survivors. We are trying to extricate a body from a truck buried under the wreckage," Anil Shekhawat, a spokesman for the National Disaster Response Force, told AFP.
Indian rescue workers try to free people trapped under the wreckage of a collapsed flyover bridge in Kolkata on April 1, 2016 Dibyangshu Sarkar (AFP)
"As of now 25 people have died."
Earlier police said the rescue operation would not stop until all the blocks of concrete and iron girders had been cleared, with hundreds of rescuers, including army personnel, working around the clock.
Police said they had detained five employees of IVRCL, the contractor behind the construction project, which has denied responsibility for the disaster in the capital of West Bengal state.
"Five people of the Hyderabad company have been detained for questioning," said Kolkata deputy commissioner of police Akhilesh Chaturvedi, referring to the contractor.
Another police official speaking on condition of anonymity said the five "hold senior positions in the company".
Police earlier said they had registered a case of culpable homicide against the firm, whose offices in Kolkata have been sealed by investigators.
Derek O'Brien, a state lawmaker, said the company had been blacklisted in other states and had a "bad reputation".
"The law will take its own course, no one will be spared," he told reporters in Kolkata.
Construction of the two-kilometre-long flyover began in 2009 and was supposed to be completed within 18 months, but suffered a series of hold-ups.
A company representative infuriated victims on Thursday when he described the disaster as an "act of God".
On Friday the company appeared again to deny any responsibility for the disaster, and said the construction had been repeatedly delayed because it had been unable to get the necessary approvals.
"Prima facie we feel it is a mere accident for which we also feel very, very sorry," IVRCL's legal chief Seetha Peddapathi told reporters in the southern city of Hyderabad where the company is based.
"IVRCL and its staff will cooperate with the investigations and provide maximum support."
A group of about 50 mourners led a candlelit procession through the streets of Kolkata to the accident site Friday evening in memory of the victims, an AFP reporter at the scene said.
- 'Gross negligence' -
Survivors being treated at a nearby hospital described how tonnes of metal and concrete came crashing down onto the busy street without warning.
"The flyover collapsed in front of me. When I tried to escape, I was hit," said housewife Sabita Devi.
Hospital manager Sitaram Agarwal said many people were being treated for head and leg injuries sustained in the disaster.
Authorities initially struggled to get cranes and other large machinery through the narrow streets of Burrabazar, one of the oldest and most congested parts of the city.
The disaster is the latest in a string of deadly construction accidents in India, where enforcement of safety rules is weak and substandard materials are often used.
The Times of India said it was "another brutal reminder of (the) shoddy quality of construction and gross neglect of public safety in our cities", calling for a thorough inquiry to determine what went wrong.
IVRCL's Mumbai-listed shares slid for a second day Friday, closing down 9.7 percent at 5.77 rupees a share.
The disaster comes at a sensitive time for West Bengal's Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, whose centre-left Trinamool Congress party is seeking re-election.
Banerjee has blamed the previous state government under which the flyover project was started, but has herself faced criticism over the beleaguered construction project.
Voting in the West Bengal elections begins on Monday and will be held in five phases lasting a month.
"We thought it (the flyover) would be very weak. We were right," said Uona Sankar, whose brother-in-law, a street seller, died in the disaster.
"We are very angry with the government and it may affect the way people vote in the state elections," she added.
Map showing where a flyover collapsed in Kolkata Thursday, leaving at least 25 people dead and dozens trapped
Rescue workers clear away debris amid efforts to free people trapped under the wreckage of a collapsed flyover bridge in Kolkata, eastern India on April 1, 2016 Dibyangshu Sarkar (AFP)
China slams US NGO award for Uighur dissident
China on Friday blasted an award given in the US to an exiled Uighur dissident as a "blasphemy against and a stain upon human rights", as President Xi Jinping visited Washington.
Xi, who was in Washington for the Nuclear Security Summit, met his US counterpart Barack Obama on Thursday amid tensions between the world's two biggest economies over the South China Sea, cyber security, rights and other issues.
A day earlier the Washington-based Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation (VOC) gave Dolkun Isa, an activist from China's Xinjiang region, an award for "his dedicated human rights advocacy".
Dolkun Isa is an exiled Uighur activist now a German citizen living in exile in Munich
Xinjiang is home to the mostly Muslim Uighur minority, many of whom say they face cultural and religious repression, and the area is regularly hit by violence which Beijing blames on Islamist separatists.
"That an organisation would give a terrorist like Dolkun with such an extensive criminal record an award is blasphemy against and a stain upon human rights and the rule of law, and also makes a mockery of them," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei told a regular briefing Friday.
Isa is now a German citizen and chairman of the Munich-based World Uighur Congress, which advocates for the rights of Chinese Uighurs around the globe.
Hong said he was "a red-level target wanted by Interpol and the Chinese police for his organisation and implementation of numerous bombings, robberies, killings and other serious criminal offences and violent acts", which Isa denies.
"These accusations are made to discredit my work," he said, adding that Beijing's policies had left Uighurs living in "a climate of fear and helplessness".
"I firmly advocate for a peaceful resolution to the Uighur issue and reject violence, and this threatens China," he said.
In his acceptance speech Wednesday, Isa acknowledged that the Chinese government saw him as a "terrorist" and had issued a warrant through Interpol for his arrest, leaving him unable to enter countries "vulnerable to Chinese pressure".
VOC executive director Marion Smith hailed Isa as a "proud addition to the ranks of world leaders" in a statement.
According to its mission statement, VOC seeks to "memorialise, educate and document the grim legacy of communism around the world". On its website, it solicits donations to help "put communism on the ash heap of history".
Over the past two years, Beijing has carried out a "strike hard" campaign in Xinjiang aimed at stopping unrest that has claimed hundreds of lives. Scores of people have been sentenced to death, while hundreds have been jailed or detained on terror-related offences.
Briton found guilty of plotting IS-inspired attack on US troops
A British man could face a life sentence after being found guilty on Friday of plotting to kill US servicemen based in Britain.
Junead Ahmed Khan, 25, scouted US Air Force bases in eastern England using his job as a delivery driver as cover, a London court heard.
Police found online messages between Khan and an Islamic State (IS) fighter in Syria calling himself Abu Hussain, whom prosecutors claimed was in fact British-born Junead Hussain.
An armed British police officer on duty in central London Adrian Dennis (AFP/File)
He was later killed in a US drone strike in the IS stronghold of Raqa in Syria.
Khan told Hussain that he wanted to carry out an attack similar to the one on British soldier Lee Rigby, who was hacked to death by an Islamist on a London street in 2013, the trial heard.
Following his arrest last July, detectives also found pictures of Khan posing with an IS-style black flag in his bedroom.
He was convicted of preparing for an act of terrorism and on a second charge of planning to travel to Syria to join IS.
"Through early detection and prosecution of these individuals, more serious crimes have been avoided which could have had devastating consequences in the UK or Syria," said prosecutor Sue Hemming.
Khan's 23-year-old uncle Shazib Ahmed Khan was also convicted of planning to join Islamic State militants in Syria.
Obama says will 'take time' for Iran to rejoin global economy
US President Barack Obama warned Friday it will take time for Iran to rejoin the global economy, as the country's leadership and citizens express unease that a sanctions windfall has been slow to materialize.
"It will take time for Iran to reintegrate into the global economy, but Iran is already beginning to see the benefit of this deal," Obama said at a meeting of allied countries that brokered a nuclear deal with the Islamic Republic.
The international community lifted a raft of sanctions on Iran early this year in exchange for the country curbing its controversial nuclear program.
US President Barack Obama and French President Francois Hollande arrive for a meeting during the nuclear security summit in Washington on April 1, 2016 Mandel Ngan (AFP)
But months on, much of Tehran's holdings abroad remain frozen, and US and European businesses are reluctant to do business with Iran for fear of getting tangled in a thicket of US regulations.
A host of non-nuclear sanctions related to terrorism sponsorship, ballistic missile programs and political crackdowns remain in place and are unlikely to be removed any time soon.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei recently accused Washington of failing to respect the terms of the nuclear agreement.
The United States has lifted sanctions "on paper," he said, "but they are using roundabout paths to prevent the Islamic Republic from achieving its targets."
"They have said they lifted the sanctions... but, in fact, they are working to prevent the lifting of sanctions from taking effect."
- Skepticism -
The limited polls that are conducted in Iran also show skepticism about the country's economic plight and America's willingness to hold up to its side of the bargain.
Three decades of sanctions have hollowed out the Iranian economy.
According to a CISSM and IranPoll.com survey released Thursday, Iranians have a less favorable impression of the country's economic situation now than they did before the deal came into effect in January.
While a majority of those polled back deeper economic engagement with the West, almost 70 percent do not believe the United States will meet its promises under the agreement.
Obama now appears ready to take further steps toward easing Iran's economic isolation, laying the groundwork to again let Iran begin trading in dollars.
Washington could remove restrictions on US and European firms trading in dollars with Iran, lifting a significant barrier to trade.
The move is likely to come with multiple caveats however -- including limits to so-called U-turn transactions -- thanks to fierce Congressional opposition.
"As Iran continues to undermine the spirit of its nuclear agreement with illicit ballistic missile tests, the Obama administration is going out of its way to help Tehran reopen for business," said Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives Paul Ryan.
"The president should abandon this idea."
Senators Marco Rubio and Mark Kirk wrote to Treasury Secretary Jack Lew earlier this week to voice their opposition.
The pair demanded assurances that "the United States will not issue a general license authorizing 'U-turn transactions' for Iran, in which a US bank processes a transaction for a foreign financial institution on behalf of Iran while the Iranian part of the transaction does not touch the US financial system directly."
Saudi says will only freeze oil output if Iran, others do
Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia will only freeze output if other key producers, including Iran, take a similar measure, its deputy crown prince told Bloomberg News in an interview published Friday.
"If all countries agree to freeze production, we're ready," Mohammed bin Salman said. "If there is anyone that decides to raise their production, then we will not reject any opportunity that knocks on our door."
His remarks come ahead of a meeting of major oil producers led by Russia and Saudi Arabia set to take place in Doha on April 17 to discuss measures to stabilise prices, including a proposal not to pump out oil above a certain level.
Oil prices are being hit in part owing to the return of Iranian crude to markets after crippling economic sanctions on Tehran were lifted following last years nuclear deal between Iran and world powers
Iran indicated it was "ready to participate" in the meeting and demanded an exemption from the freeze in order to boost its exports, according to Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak.
Oil prices are being hit in part owing to the return of Iranian crude to markets after crippling economic sanctions on Tehran were lifted following last year's nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.
King Salman's powerful son who heads Saudi Arabia's main economic coordinating council, told Bloomberg that "without a doubt", Iran has to freeze its output.
"If all countries including Iran, Russia, Venezuela, OPEC countries and all main producers decide to freeze production, we will be among them," he said.
Riyadh severed diplomatic ties with Tehran this year after demonstrators stormed the kingdom's missions in Iran following Saudi Arabia's execution of a Shiite cleric.
Both regional heavyweights back rival groups in several conflicts rocking the Middle East.
The upcoming meeting in Doha is a follow-up to talks in February between Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela in which they first mooted the output freeze.
Prices have collapsed from levels above $100 seen in mid-2014 largely owing to supply outrunning demand as global economies, particularly China, suffer a growth slowdown.
The Saudi deputy crown prince's remarks drove down oil prices on Friday.
Around 1130 GMT, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for delivery in May slid 89 cents to $37.45 a barrel.
Sudan's Bashir starts Darfur tour ahead of states referendum
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir started a tour of Darfur on Friday ahead of a referendum on whether to keep the conflict-torn western area as five states or to create one united region.
Bashir -- who is wanted over war crimes allegations in Darfur -- said he is holding the vote under a 2011 agreement between Khartoum and some of the rebel groups that have been battling his forces for more than a decade.
The ruling National Congress Party back the five-state system but some opposition parties and Darfur insurgents have said the time is not suitable for a referendum.
Sudan's president Omar al-Bashir (C), chairman of the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM), Al-Tijani Al-Sissi (L), and the governor of North Darfur state Abdel-Wahid Youssef wave wave to the crowd in El-Fasher, North Darfur on April 1, 2016 Ashraf Shazly (AFP)
"It is the people of Darfur who choose whether they want states or one region," Bashir told crowds of cheering supporters in North Darfur State capital El Fasher.
"We want all people to go to vote and participate," he said in the speech, the first on a five-day tour that will take him to every Darfur state capital before voting starts on April 11.
Darfur is home to myriad ethnic and tribal groups and it was a single region until 1994, when the government split it into North, South and West Darfur states.
Two more states, East and Central Darfur, were created in 2012.
The region erupted into conflict in 2003 when ethnic minority insurgents rebelled, complaining the region was being economically and politically marginalised by the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum.
The government mounted a counter-insurgency using regular troops, allied militia and aircraft.
The International Criminal Court indicted Bashir charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, all of which he has denied.
Some 300,000 people have been killed in the conflict and there are 2.5 million people in the region who have been forced to flee their homes, the United Nations says.
Although many insurgents have previously called for a united Darfur region with greater autonomy, they do not want a referendum now due to current unrest.
There has been heavy fighting in Darfur's Jebel Marra mountains since mid-January, with tens of thousands reported to have fled.
But the Sudanese government is adamant the three-day referendum will go ahead.
The number of people in the western region signed up for the referendum has reached "3,583,105 out of 4,588,300 entitled to register," senior referendum commission official Adam Daleel told AFP.
ICC prosecutor urges LRA rebels to lay down their arms
The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Friday urged all remaining members of the notorious Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) to lay down their arms, dismissing false rumours of deadly consequences.
Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said her office had received reports from northern Uganda that remaining LRA members were being misled by their leader Joseph Kony and told they could be tortured and killed by the court.
"It is a complete fallacy to suggest that the ICC engages in torture or killing of any individual," Bensouda said in a video message.
International Criminal Court Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said her office had received reports from northern Uganda that remaining LRA members were being misled by their leader Joseph Kony and told they could be tortured and killed by the court Peter Dejong (Pool/AFP/File)
"Many LRA fighters are returning home and reintegrating into their communities. I urge those still in the bush to also seize any opportunity to stop fighting and return home, where you have a chance to rebuild your lives."
She also denied that the court, based in The Hague, was seeking to capture and prosecute LRA members other than Kony and his captured commander Dominic Ongwen.
"Only the cases of Joseph Kony or Dominic Ongwen are before the ICC. No other LRA member is subject to ICC proceedings," she insisted.
Bensouda again called on Kony to turn himself in to the court, where he is wanted on 33 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity including for enlisting child soldiers, rape, sexual enslavement and pillage.
She vowed her office would "continue to galvanise efforts to arrest him."
Kony's feared commander Ongwen, who surrendered early last year and was handed over to the ICC, is to go on trial at a later date on 70 charges brought by the prosecutor.
The LRA, which led a reign of terror in northern Uganda, is accused of slaughtering more than 100,000 people and abducting 60,000 children in a bloody rebellion against Kampala that began in 1986.
Over the years, the rebel group has moved freely across porous regional borders, shifting from Uganda to sow terror in southern Sudan before heading into northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, and finally crossing into southeastern Central African Republic in March 2008.
Combining religious mysticism with a bent for astute guerrilla tactics and bloodthirsty ruthlessness, Kony has turned scores of young girls into his personal sex slaves while claiming to be fighting to impose the Bible's Ten Commandments.
S.Africa's Zuma fights back in TV speech after court rebuke
South African President Jacob Zuma on Friday denied deliberate misconduct after the country's top court found he violated the constitution over the use of public funds to upgrade his private residence.
But he said he would abide by the court's verdict, which ordered him to re-pay money spent on a swimming pool, chicken run, cattle enclosure and amphitheatre built at his rural home as so-called "security" measures.
Zuma made it clear he had no plans to step down after the Constitutional Court delivered its damning judgement on Thursday over the upgrades to his Nkandla property in KwaZulu-Natal province.
South African President Jacob Zuma defended himself after a damning court judgement over public funds used to upgrade his private residence, but admitted his conduct was "inconsistent" with the constitution Mujahid Safodien (AFP/File)
"Any action that has been found not to be in keeping with the constitution happened because of a different approach and different legal advice," the president said in a televised address that some predicted would be a resignation speech.
"It all happened in good faith and there was no deliberate effort or intention to subvert the constitution on my part," he added.
Public Protector Thuli Madonsela, the country's ombudswoman, ruled in 2014 that Zuma had "benefited unduly" from the work on the traditional homestead, and that he should re-fund some of the money.
The president reacted by ordering two government investigations that cleared his name -- including a report by the police minister which concluded that the swimming pool was a fire-fighting precaution.
The work was valued in 2014 at 216 million rand (then $24 million).
"I respect the finding that failure to comply with... the public protector is inconsistent with the constitution," Zuma said.
"The matter has caused a lot of frustration and confusion, for which I apologise.
"I urge all parties to respect the judgement and abide by it."
The Nkandla scandal became a symbol of alleged widespread corruption and greed within the African National Congress (ANC) party, which has ruled since Nelson Mandela won the first post-apartheid elections in 1994.
- 'A broken president'? -
"The president took to the podium to mislead the nation today," Mmusi Maimane, head of the main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), told reporters after the speech.
"It is completely unacceptable. It is a completely hollow statement from a broken president."
The DA is pushing for Zuma to be impeached after the court said that he had "failed to uphold, defend and respect the constitution" in ignoring the ombudswoman's directives.
But Zuma retains a strong grip on parliament through his dominant leadership of the ANC, and any impeachment bid looked unlikely to succeed.
"Zuma is essentially washing his hands of it. This is not somebody who is going to go quietly," analyst Judith February told the ENCA news channel.
Opposition parties hope the controversy will bring gains in local elections this year, as frustration grows over 25 percent unemployment and grinding poverty for many black people more than 20 years after the end of white-minority rule.
Zuma has recently endured renewed corruption allegations after deputy finance minister Mcebisi Jonas said he was offered a promotion by the Guptas, an Indian business family said to hold huge sway over the president.
Zuma, 73, has faced growing criticism since he sacked two finance ministers within days in December, triggering a collapse in the rand and a major withdrawal of foreign investors.
He will have completed two terms in 2019 and is not eligible to run for president again, but the ANC could replace him ahead of the next election.
The party leadership denied there were any calls from activists for him to resign.
"We welcome this well-written, strongly balanced judgement," said ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe.
"This is a victory for our young democracy and shows systems we created are alive and strong."
South African chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng (3rd from L top sitting row) delivers the Constitutional Court verdict on President Jacob Zuma's conduct regarding his private residence on March 31, 2016 in Johannesburg, South Africa Mujahid Safodien (AFP/File)
UN, France vow zero impunity in C. Africa sex abuse scandal
French President Francois Hollande and UN chief Ban Ki-moon vowed zero impunity Friday for troops accused in a Central African Republic sex scandal, as the United Nations pledged to stamp out abuse during peacekeeping missions.
The commitments came a day after the United Nations said more than 100 victims had come forward in the conflict-torn country with horrifying new accounts of sexual abuse -- including bestiality -- by UN peacekeepers and French forces.
In light of the new allegations, Hollande and the UN secretary-general "expressed the desire to establish the truth, and to reject any impunity," the French presidency said in a statement.
The United Nations said more than 100 victims had come forward in the Central African Republic with disturbing new accounts of sexual abuse, including bestiality, by UN peacekeepers and French troops Issouf Sanogo (AFP/File)
Speaking on the sidelines of a nuclear security summit in Washington, Hollande said that, if true, the allegations would be a "stain on France's honor."
"We cannot -- and I cannot -- accept the slightest stain on the reputation of our armed forces or of France," he said.
UN investigators have identified 108 alleged new victims, "the vast majority" of whom are under-age girls who were raped, sexually abused or exploited by foreign troops, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Thursday.
Multiple witness statements gathered by AFP at a camp in Bangui said young girls would have sex with men -- some of them soldiers -- in exchange for bread, or cash worth the equivalent of less than $1.
And AIDS-Free World, a civil society group that tracks peacekeeper sex abuse cases, said three girls told a UN rights officer that in 2014 they were tied up and undressed by a French commander inside a camp and forced to have sex with a dog.
The girls were then allegedly given about $9 in payment.
The French defense ministry says the French troops, if convicted, would face strict military discipline in addition to any criminal penalties that may be brought.
- Sectarian bloodshed -
France sent an intervention force dubbed "Sangaris" to the Central African Republic in December 2013 to help control sectarian unrest.
They were not part of the UN mission, known as MINUSCA, but have been mandated by the Security Council to help restore peace to the country.
The UN mission took over from an African Union force in September 2014 as the country was still reeling from a wave of bloodshed.
Besides French troops, allegations have been levelled against the Burundi and Gabon contingent of the UN mission.
Dujarric said the United Nations would carry out joint investigations with Burundi and Gabon of incidents that allegedly took place between 2013 and 2015.
Herve Ladsous, the UN under-secretary for peacekeeping operations, said his organization was discussing the possibility of implementing courts-martial and DNA testing in countries where abuse occurs.
"This would show victims we are dealing with their plight," Ladsous said during a visit to Bangui, the Central African capital.
He also suggested taking DNA samples of troops about to deploy on peace missions "to facilitate paternity tests" in case of claims.
MINUSCA counts about 12,600 foreign police and soldiers, as well as more than 500 foreign civilians.
As disturbing allegations of sexual assault by troops targeting civilians mounted, Ban in August fired the mission chief, but new claims have continued to emerge.
Earlier this week, the United Nations reported two new cases of sexual abuse by Burundian and Moroccan troops, including one that involved a 14-year-old girl.
In a bid to prevent new abuses, peacekeepers are now confined to their barracks when not working.
Speaking on the sidelines of a nuclear security summit in Washington, Hollande said that, if true, the allegations in a Central African Republic sex scandal would be a "stain on France's honor" Jim Watson (AFP)
Lavrov, Kerry hold phone talks on securing Syria ceasefire
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke on Friday with US Secretary of State John Kerry about measures that could be taken to strengthen the fragile ceasefire in Syria, the Russian ministry said.
The two top diplomats discussed taking "concrete measures aimed at strengthening the ceasefire process in Syria" which was established in late February and has generally been holding, the foreign ministry statement said in a statement.
The measures would include steps to improve access to humanitarian aid and to fight against acts of terrorism in the country.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) speaks with US Secretary of State John Kerry attend a joint press conference following their meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow, on March 24, 2016 Alexander Nemenov (POOL/AFP/File)
The telephone conversation between Lavrov and Kerry "took place on April 1 at the Americans' initiative," the statement added.
Lavrov also reiterated Russia's call to close the Turkish-Syrian border which Moscow says is "actively used" to send Islamist fighters to Syria via Turkey.
This issue calls for "agreement on the necessary actions as quickly as possible, including via the UN Security Council," the statement said.
Russia has repeatedly accused Turkey of backing Islamist groups opposed to Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, Moscow's ally in the five-year war.
The ceasefire reached in late February, led by Russia and the United States, is between the Assad regime and the rebels but does not include the jihadist groups Islamic State and the Al-Nusra Front.
UN-led talks on a peace deal are due to resume in Geneva soon, but the sides are deadlocked over the fate of Assad, whom the opposition insists must leave power before a transitional government is agreed.
US drone strike targets senior Shebab leader in Somalia
The United States has conducted another drone strike in Somalia, this time targeting a senior Shebab leader thought to have been plotting attacks against Americans in Mogadishu, the Pentagon said Friday.
The announcement came shortly before President Barack Obama offered detailed remarks about America's controversial drone program, saying some criticism of it had been "legitimate," and acknowledging there was "no doubt" the unmanned aircraft have killed innocent people in the past.
Thursday's strike was conducted in cooperation with Somali officials and targeted Hassan Ali Dhoore, Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said.
Somali soldiers and resident stand near destroyed buildings on February 27,2016 in Mogadishu, Somalia Mohamed Abdiwahab (AFP/File)
A US defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the strike targeted a vehicle Dhoore was riding in with two other Al-Qaeda-aligned Shebab members.
"We have been watching him off and on for a long time," the official said.
The strike comes less than a month after US drones and warplanes hammered a Shebab training camp in Somalia, killing more than 150 fighters the Pentagon said were prepping for a "large-scale" attack.
Obama said the military avoids drone strikes in areas where women or children are present, and usually only carries out missions after long periods of monitoring.
Still, he said some strikes have killed people other than the intended targets.
"There has been, in the past, legitimate criticism that the architecture -- the legal architecture -- around the use of drone strikes or other kinetic strength was not as precise as it should have been, and there is no doubt that civilians were killed that should not have been," Obama said at the end of a nuclear security summit in Washington.
"What I can say with great confidence is that our operating procedures are as rigorous as they have ever been and that there is a constant evaluation of precisely what we do."
The Pentagon said it was still assessing whether Dhoore had been killed.
Dhoore allegedly was part of Shebab's security and intelligence wing, and had been involved in planning attacks in Mogadishu, the Pentagon said.
"He had planned and overseen attacks resulting in the death of at least three US citizens," Cook said, noting that Dhoore had played a role in the December 2014 attack on Mogadishu's airport that resulted in the death of several African Union soldiers and a US citizen.
"Dhoore was also directly responsible for the March 27, 2015 attack on the Maka al-Mukarram Hotel in Mogadishu, resulting in the deaths of 15 people, including one Somali-American national. Hassan was believed to have been plotting attacks targeting US citizens in Mogadishu," Cook added.
Shebab jihadists have claimed responsibility for a string of recent attacks including a twin bombing at a busy restaurant in the Somali city of Baidoa in February.
The US military has over the past 15 years invested heavily in drones, used to surveil vast parts of the Middle East and Africa.
The unmanned vehicles have become key to the US-led coalition's efforts to fight the Islamic State group in Syria.
A look at North Carolina's law on restrooms, discrimination
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) North Carolina's new law limiting discrimination claims was approved in a special legislative session and signed by Gov. Pat McCrory later the same day to prevent a Charlotte City Council anti-discrimination ordinance from taking effect this Friday.
The measure goes well beyond stopping transgender people from using bathrooms matching their new gender identities, which McCrory called a "radical breach of trust and security." Here are more details about the law, which is now being challenged in federal court.
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Joaquin Carcano, center, the lead plaintiff in the case, speaks during a press conference to announce the filing of a federal lawsuit challenging North Carolina's HB 2 law at the LGBT Center of Raleigh, N.C., on Monday, March 28, 2016. Several different advocacy groups and some of the lead plaintiffs spoke at the event. Joaquin was born a woman and is now a man. Simone Bell with Lambda Law is at left; Chris Brook with the ACLU is at right. (Chris Seward/The News & Observer via AP)
PUBLIC ACCOMODATIONS
The law blocked a range of protections from taking effect in the state's largest city. Charlotte's ordinance would have covered gays and lesbians as well as bisexual and transgender people when they try to check into hotels, eat in restaurants or hail cabs; it also added marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression to the city's list of protected characteristics in public accommodations and commercial businesses.
The law instead created a new statewide public accommodations policy that prohibits discrimination based on race, religion, color, national origin or biological sex. But the law includes no specific LGBT protections, and says it does not create a right to sue in state courts alleging discrimination under the policy. Instead, any complaints could be investigated and mediated by the state Human Relations Commission.
It also forbids cities and counties throughout North Carolina from imposing any additional requirements on employers. A handful of local governments had made veterans a protected class, and this is no longer allowed.
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BATHROOM USE
Essentially, government agencies of all kinds must now direct men and boys to multi-stall restrooms and locker rooms designated for use by people born as male, and keep women and girls in those designated for the female biological sex.
This applies to public schools, state university and community college systems, state agencies and local government offices.
Single-occupancy bathrooms or changing facilities are still allowed "upon a request due to special circumstances" to a local school board or by a person to a public agency. The decision on accommodating the request appears to rest with the school board or the agency.
There are exceptions, such as when preschoolers enter a restroom with their mother or father, or when a person with a disability needs assistance. Transgender people who have obtained a new birth certificate after a sex-change operation can enter the multi-occupancy bathroom that matches their new gender.
But just how individuals should apply and enforce the new rules is unaddressed in the law.
For example, will all transgender people need birth certificates with them, to avoid trespassing complaints? What happens when a female-to-male transgender person who hasn't had a sex-change operation complies with the law, and people complain about someone with outwardly masculine characteristics sharing the women's room?
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WORKPLACE RULES
The law also reaffirms that local governments can't require area businesses to pay a minimum wage higher than North Carolina's statewide minimum, currently set at $7.25 per hour. Cities and counties also can't enforce ordinances setting their own minimum standards for businesses for paid sick leave or other employee benefits, and can't require government contractors to meet public accommodations standards above those set in state law.
Cities and counties can continue to set higher wage and benefit minimums for their own workers, or for company workers when required as part of an economic recruitment and incentives agreement.
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EMPLOYMENT BIAS LAWSUITS
One sentence in the legislation explicitly prohibits employees of private businesses from filing lawsuits in state courts alleging workplace discrimination. The law's authors said these civil actions were never provided for in North Carolina's nearly 40-year-old Equal Employment Practices Act, but noted that the Human Relations Commission can handle such cases. A more robust federal worker discrimination and litigation process is available, but critics say it's harder to sue in federal court, and the process takes longer to resolve.
FILE - In this Feb. 2016 photo, Gov. Pat McCrory greeted presidents from private and public universities throughout the state at the President's Forum held at Cottrell Hall on the campus of High Point University, in N.C. North Carolina Gov. McCrory signed a new law limiting LGBT protections in his state by overriding local anti-discrimination laws. He faces voters this fall in a re-election effort against the states Democratic attorney general. (Laura Greene/The Enterprise via AP, File) MANDATORY CREDIT (/The Enterprise via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT
Arizona's closed primary part of reason for long lines
PHOENIX (AP) The hours-long lines that marred the Arizona presidential primary can be traced in part back to the fact that tens of thousands of people showed up at polling places despite not being allowed to vote because they were registered independent.
Arizona has a closed presidential primary, which means only people on the rolls as Republicans, Democrats or Green Party members are allowed to vote. Independents are not allowed to cast a ballot.
But they went to the polls anyway, by the tens of thousands, apparently unaware they couldn't vote or under the mistaken belief they were registered with a party. They were allowed to vote a provisional ballot, a time-consuming effort that helped create lines exceeding five hours at some Maricopa County polling sites.
Maricopa County Recorder Helen Purcell, left, speaks as Maricopa County Elections Director Karen Osborne, right, waits her turn at a Maricopa County Board of Supervisors meeting Wednesday, March 30, 2016, in Phoenix. Officials have certified the results from the Arizona presidential primary that was marred by long lines at the polls last week. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
More than 80 percent of those votes were rejected in Maricopa County, most because they weren't registered with a party. Of the nearly 25,000 provisional ballots cast, just 4,631 were counted. More than 18,000 ballots were rejected because they were independents.
The process of casting a provisional ballot takes on average about five minutes, rather than about a minute to process a voter who is on the active polls.
Adding to the problem was the decision by Maricopa County Recorder Helen Purcell to cut the number of polling places to 60 from 200 in 2012's presidential primary and more than 400 in 2008, the last time the presidency was without an incumbent.
The issue of independents believing they could vote extended to other counties, including Pima, home to Tucson and the second most populous in the state. Pima County recorder F. Ann Rodriguez said Thursday that her office began getting calls as soon as early ballots were mailed in the month before the March 22 election.
"And we had to go look up all their records and say: 'Yes you've been getting them for previous primaries, you got a Democrat in this election or a Republican ballot in that one, but this election is different,' " Rodriguez said.
She put much of the blame on the Legislature.
"This election is always very confusing," she said. "We wouldn't even be having this discussion if the Legislature would allow independents and parties not designated to vote in this election, because that's the biggest block."
More than a third of the voters in Arizona don't belong to political parties. That makes independents the largest voting bloc in Arizona.
The GOP-dominated Arizona Legislature has long resisted Democratic efforts to open up the contest to independents, focusing efforts this session on abolishing the primary and making the political parties pay for the process. Gov. Doug Ducey said in a statement after last week's long lines that he now supports allowing independents to vote.
Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump won the contests last week, and the Secretary of State is scheduled to certify the results next Monday.
An attorney for Democratic Sen. Bernie Sanders' campaign in considering whether to take legal action to challenge the results, largely because of issues with provisional ballots. Sanders could pick up convention delegates if the vote count changes.
Attorney Chris Sautter pointed to voter complaints that they had actually registered with a party but were either incorrectly listed on voter rolls or changed through some glitch in the state's online registration system. Still, he acknowledged Wednesday that the majority were not registered with either party.
Other counties had far fewer rejected provisional ballots than those in metro Phoenix.
Pima County had a much lower level of rejected provisional ballots and proportionately fewer independents demand a ballot, for reasons that remain unclear. Of about 4,200 provisional ballots issued to people not on the rolls as party members, less than half were rejected.
Voters who stood in line but found they weren't on the voter rolls remain incensed. Hundreds came to the Capitol on Monday, and nearly a dozen testified Wednesday at the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors meeting to certify their election results.
The Latest: Explorers leave no passage unmapped at Blue Hole
SANTA ROSA, N.M. (AP) The Latest on the death of a diver at New Mexico's Blue Hole (all times local):
4:15 p.m.
The head of a group of elite divers who have been exploring the underwater cave system below New Mexico's famed Blue Hole says no more exploration is necessary.
FILE - This June 6, 2015 file photo shows divers at Blue Hole State Park in Santa Rosa, N.M. An eastern New Mexico police chief says an experienced California diver has died in an underwater cave beneath a swimming hole. Santa Rosa Police Chief Jude Gallegos says the initial investigation suggests 43-year-old Shane Thompson's death Saturday below the Blue Hole was an accidental drowning.(AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan, File)
Curt Bowen of the ADM Exploration Foundation says that's because the team explored every cave passage they could fit through and the system ended in a tight rock breakdown at a depth of 194 feet.
Due to the extreme environment, the city has accepted the group's recommendation that the cave system remain off-limits to the public.
The divers have covered and secured the grate at the bottom of the swimming hole to prevent untrained divers from entering.
Bowen plans to complete a three-dimensional map illustrating the entire Blue Hole system.
One of the team's divers died last week during the survey from what authorities say appears to be an accidental drowning.
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3:50 p.m.
Officials say no more exploration is planned of the underwater cave system at New Mexico's famed Blue Hole.
Santa Rosa City Manager Timothy Dodge said Thursday he was briefed by the team of elite divers who surveyed the maze of caves under the swimming hole.
They say they surveyed all the passages they could fit through and the system ended in a rock breakdown 194 feet down. They recommended the cave system remain off-limits to the public.
One of the divers who was helping with the survey, 43-year-old Shane Thompson, died last week while he and another experienced diver were about 160 feet below the surface.
Authorities say the initial investigation suggests it was an accidental drowning, but it will be weeks before autopsy results are released.
Dodge says the team of divers covered and locked the grate at the bottom of the swimming hole to prevent anyone from going beyond the area that's open for recreation.
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2:15 p.m.
Authorities say an experienced California diver who was helping with the exploration of the underwater passageways that radiate from a well-known swimming hole in eastern New Mexico has died.
The initial investigation suggests 43-year-old Shane Thompson's death below the Blue Hole in Santa Rosa was an accidental drowning.
Police Chief Jude Gallegos says Thompson was among a group from the ADM Exploration Foundation who were at Blue Hole for a multiple-day exploration. The group has been working on surveying the underwater cave system since 2013.
Thompson dove into Blue Hole on March 26 with another experienced diver, Mike Young. Gallegos says something happened when the divers were about 160 feet below the surface.
The chief says it's still unclear what went wrong and autopsy results are expected to take weeks.
News Guide: Real-life 'Bernie' murder case back in court
DALLAS (AP) A funeral director in small-town East Texas befriends a widow 40 years his senior at her husband's funeral, spends her money freely, then shoots her and hides her body in a freezer for nine months.
Bernie Tiede's case could have been written for Hollywood and when it was, the resulting attention got him out of a life sentence.
The real-life case featured in the 2011 dark comedy "Bernie" heads back to a courtroom Friday for jury selection in a new sentencing trial, two decades after Marjorie Nugent was killed.
FILE- In this May 6, 2014, file photo, Bernie Tiede smiles after a court hearing granting his release at the Panola County court house in Carthage, Texas. Tiede had been sentenced to life for killing 81-year-old widow Marjorie Nugent for her fortune. Tiede now faces a new sentencing in the case that inspired the dark comedy "Bernie." (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)
Here's the quick rundown of the case and the movie:
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THE MURDER
Tiede was a mortician at the Hawthorn Funeral Home in Carthage, Texas, a town of about 7,000 about 150 miles east of Dallas.
Nugent was more than 40 years his senior. The two met at her husband's funeral in 1990, and became close friends. They took lavish vacations abroad, and Tiede became known around town for the gifts he gave himself and local residents using Nugent's money.
In 1996, Tiede shot Nugent four times in the back with a .22-caliber rifle, then hid her body in a freezer next to packages of frozen meat, pecans and corn. He carried on for nine months as if Nugent was still alive before authorities searched her home and found her body.
In his confession, Tiede described her as "evil" and asserted that he snapped under the pressure of her mistreatment.
After an initial mistrial, jurors in 1999 took less than an hour to convict him of murder. He received a life sentence, but was released in May 2014 after his original prosecutor said he overlooked evidence Tiede was abused as a child and may have deserved a lighter sentence.
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THE MOVIE
Adapted from a Texas Monthly story about the case, "Bernie" stars Jack Black portraying Tiede as a quirky, friendly man who sings in the church choir, helps local residents start businesses and is beloved by a small, insular community.
Tiede gets a more sympathetic portrayal than Nugent, played by Shirley MacLaine as a crotchety, withdrawn scold disliked by most of the town who insults Tiede constantly.
Nugent's family has long protested how the widow is presented in the movie.
"My grandmother was a real person," said her granddaughter, Shanna Nugent, in a 2014 interview. "She can't defend herself, and the reason she can't is Bernie Tiede killed her."
Several Carthage residents appear in the movie, speaking direct-to-camera about the case and their town.
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HIS RELEASE
Austin attorney Jodi Cole saw the movie, which prompted her to begin investigating Tiede's case.
She argued Tiede had been sexually abused as a child and felt trapped in a mentally abusive relationship with Nugent. A psychiatrist testified at a 2014 court hearing that Tiede likely had a "brief dissociative episode" when he killed her.
Those arguments persuaded Danny Buck Davidson, the district attorney who originally won Tiede's murder conviction and life sentence, to support Tiede's release on the grounds that he should have been sentenced instead for murder as a second-degree felony, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, not life in prison.
After his release, Tiede went to live at filmmaker Richard Linklater's Austin home. A judge has forbidden Tiede from speaking to the media.
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THE TRIAL
A jury will ultimately decide whether Tiede, now 57, should go back to prison or go free. The trial will take place in Henderson, Texas, about 30 miles west of Carthage.
Davidson, who agreed to support Tiede's release, has been replaced by two lawyers from the Texas attorney general's office.
Attorneys for both sides are under a gag order, but Cole has suggested in recent court hearings that she will argue Tiede was also being used by Nugent to launder money.
The trial, which is expected to begin Wednesday, could take several weeks.
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Exploration of underwater New Mexico cave turns deadly
An experienced California diver who was helping with the exploration of the narrow underwater passageways that radiate from a well-known swimming hole in eastern New Mexico has died, authorities confirmed Thursday.
The initial investigation suggests 43-year-old Shane Thompson's death below the Blue Hole, a tourist destination in the community of Santa Rosa, was an accidental drowning.
Police Chief Jude Gallegos said Thompson was among 10 or so people from the ADM Exploration Foundation who were at Blue Hole for a multiple-day exploration. The group had been working on surveying the underwater cave system since 2013.
FILE - This June 6, 2015 file photo shows divers at Blue Hole State Park in Santa Rosa, N.M. An eastern New Mexico police chief says an experienced California diver has died in an underwater cave beneath a swimming hole. Santa Rosa Police Chief Jude Gallegos says the initial investigation suggests 43-year-old Shane Thompson's death Saturday below the Blue Hole was an accidental drowning.(AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan, File)
Thompson dove into Blue Hole on March 26 with another experienced diver, Mike Young, Gallegos said. They planned to have Young enter part of the cave system while Thompson stayed outside in a safety role.
Instead of staying outside, Thompson entered, Gallegos said. "Apparently something went horribly wrong, and he started to panic," the chief said.
The divers were about 160 feet below the surface when the incident happened.
It still was unclear Thursday what went wrong. It could be weeks before autopsy results are available, the state Office of the Medical Investigator said.
No more exploration is planned of the underwater cave system at Blue Hole, said Curt Bowen, president of the exploration foundation.
"The cave system below is walled out. That means there is no cave passage left to explore," he said in an email. "We mapped everything we could fit through, and it ended in a tight rock breakdown at a depth of 194 feet."
Because of the extreme environment within the cave system, the city accepted the group's recommendation that the cave system remain off-limits to the public. The divers covered and secured the grate at the bottom of the bell-shaped swimming hole to prevent untrained divers from gaining access.
Family members said Thursday they were struggling with Thompson's death, but they acknowledged that diving was what he loved to do and that he had earned numerous certifications during his lifetime.
A Navy veteran, Thompson began diving at a young age while growing up in the Florida Keys. After earning his first certification, he went to work for an underwater construction company and later started numerous diving businesses that focused on everything from boat maintenance to salvage work and training.
Last year, Thompson rediscovered the wreckage of the B-36 "Peacemaker" bomber that had crashed in 1952 near Mission Beach. A video posted by Thompson's San Diego-based Advanced Underwater Training business shows his flashlight scanning the engines and other corroded pieces of the plane as he makes his way through the darkness more than 250 feet below the surface.
In New Mexico, the Blue Hole has been an attraction for centuries. Legend has it that outlaw Billy the Kid would take a dip at the swimming hole before heading into Santa Rosa.
The artesian spring, tucked into a rock outcropping, pumps out about 3,000 gallons per minute. The steady flow results in crystal clear conditions that have attracted divers from around the world.
Beyond the grate, Gallegos described the cave system as "a maze kind of looks like intestines."
In the coming weeks, Bowen said he plans to complete a three-dimensional map that will illustrate the entire Blue Hole system.
The caves have been sealed off since 1976, when two divers in training died after getting separated from their classmates. New Mexico State Police divers quickly found one of the bodies, but it took several weeks to find the other. In the process, police divers made a crude map of some of the unexplored passages.
At that time, one of the divers descended and found himself at the edge of an underwater cliff. His powerful flashlight wasn't enough to see the cave wall across from him or the bottom, sparking only more curiosity.
In 2013, divers with the ADM Exploration Foundation attempted an expedition, but they had little success getting past the tons of rock the city dumped onto the grate to keep people out.
Divers with the foundation returned in 2015 for more excavation work and were able to reach a depth of 160 feet. They returned in late March to continue surveying.
Divers from around the region flock to Blue Hole for fun and certification, as it's one of the best diving spots in the American Southwest. About 8,000 dive permits are sold each year.
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Montoya Bryan reported from Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Davenport from Phoenix.
Anbang drops bid to buy Starwood, clearing way for Marriott
Anbang says it is dropping its $15 billion offer to acquire Starwood Hotels, citing various market considerations and ending a bidding war for the parent of St. Regis and Sheraton resorts.
The China-based insurance company, which was leading a consortium of potential investors, said that it won't proceed further, an abrupt announcement that sent shares of Starwood down 4 percent in late trading Thursday.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., based in Stamford, Connecticut, said its board continues to support its existing deal with Marriott, which initially offered $12.2 billion for Starwood in November. That has since grown to more than $14 billion.
This Friday, March 25, 2016, photo, shows the sign at the Four Points Sheraton Hotel in Richmond, Va. Anbang said Thursday, March 31, 2016, it is dropping its $15 billion offer to acquire Starwood Hotels, citing various market considerations and ending a bidding war for the parent of St. Regis and Sheraton resorts. The abrupt end of its pursuit clears the way for Marriott to close its $14.41 billion purchase of Starwood and create a hotel behemoth. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
Under the existing agreement, Starwood shareholders will get $21 cash and 0.80 of a Marriott Class A share for each Starwood share held. Starwood shareholders will own about 34 percent of the combined company, which, with 30 brands, would be the world's largest hotel chain.
Marriott International Inc. reaffirmed that its offer creates significant economies of scale and provides shareholders a better deal over the long term. The Bethesda, Maryland, company owns brands including the Ritz-Carlton and Renaissance Hotels.
Starwood shareholders are scheduled to vote on the merger April 8.
In after-hours trading, Starwood shares fell 4.4 percent to $79.75. Marriott shares slid 5 percent to $67.64.
This Friday, March 25, 2016, photo shows the dining area at the Four Points Sheraton Hotel in Richmond, Va. Anbang said Thursday, March 31, 2016, it is dropping its $15 billion offer to acquire Starwood Hotels, citing various market considerations and ending a bidding war for the parent of St. Regis and Sheraton resorts. The abrupt end of its pursuit clears the way for Marriott to close its $14.41 billion purchase of Starwood and create a hotel behemoth. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
Peru returns remains of 40 farmers killed by Shining Path
CCANO, Peru (AP) The remains of 40 peasants killed more than two decades ago by Maoist-inspired rebels have been returned to their loved ones for burial, Peru's government said Thursday.
Justice Minister Aldo Vasquez asked for forgiveness on behalf of the Peruvian state for its role in the conflict at a ceremony held Wednesday with the support of the International Red Cross in the central highland village of Ccano.
Many of the victims, including children and the elderly, were killed while praying inside a church that was attacked by Shining Path guerrillas in 1991.
In this Tuesday, March, 29, 2016 photo, Giusepe Morales carries a crown of flowers on his head as he waits for the return of the remains of 40 persons killed more than two decades ago, in Huanta, Peru. The dead, killed by Maoist-inspired rebels in 1991, were mostly children and the elderly, and died while praying inside a church. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
In recent years forensic teams have exhumed and identified the remains of thousands victims of Peru's 1980-2000 conflict. Fighting in the Andean nation is believed to have claimed more than 70,000 lives.
In this Tuesday, March 29, 2016 photo, the coffins of 40 peasants slain more than two decades ago by Maoist-inspired rebels are displayed inside a classroom, before a mass burial service, in Huanta, Peru. The remains were returned to their loved ones in a ceremony supported by the International Red Cross. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
New leash on life: K-9 gets second chance tracking jaguar
Mayke was born in Germany, expensively schooled and tediously trained to head off smugglers at the U.S.-Mexico border.
But on the way to Texas, the chocolate-colored border detection dog lost her nerve.
"The problem was, she was afraid of big trucks. She would just freeze right up," said Chris Bugbee, a carnivore biologist who claimed the 65-pound Belgian Malinois when border authorities rejected her in 2012.
This 2015 photo provided by Conservation CATalyst and the Center for Biological Diversity shows the jaguar known as El Jefe, in Santa Rita Mountains north of Tucson, Ariz. El Jefe is the only known jaguar living in the United States. (Conservation CATalyst and Center for Biological Diversity via AP)
Today, Mayke helps Bugbee track a different kind of border crosser: El Jefe, the only known jaguar living in the United States.
Bugbee studies the jaguar for Conservation CATalyst, a partner of the Center for Biological Diversity that focuses on conserving cats.
He and his canine companion spend their days tracking El Jefe in the quiet Santa Rita Mountains north of Tucson, Arizona.
Mayke discovered some of the first genetically verified jaguar droppings in the U.S., the biologist said.
"Chris has taught her when she finds jaguar poop to bark, and she barks and barks and barks and barks," said Bugbee's wife, Aletris Neils, a big cat biologist and Conservation CATalyst's executive director.
"Mayke would never work for anybody else the way she does for Chris," she said. "That relationship is really special."
Mayke also sniffed out several of El Jefe's resting places. Jaguars are great wanderers, and Bugbee figures El Jefe Spanish for "the boss" has at least 100 sleeping places in the mountains.
El Jefe, thought to be about 7, crisscrosses most of the 300-square-mile Santa Rita Mountains and beyond, Bugbee said. Scientists believe the jaguar came from a population in Mexico and then struck out on his own. The big cat is seen roaming the territory in a February video released by the Center for Biological Diversity, thanks to cameras set up by Bugbee with Mayke by his side.
Besides jaguar hiding spots, Mayke has discovered something else in her four years with the biologist: her confidence.
Bugbee said Mayke has gone from avoiding every "little hill" to bounding from boulder to steep boulder as she aids in his quest.
"She will do absolutely anything for him," Neils said. "She has become a 4-wheel drive dog she lives to work and trusts him completely."
This Jan. 30, 2016, photo provided by Conservation CATalyst and the Center for Biological Diversity shows a Belgian Malinois, named Mayke walking through the Santa Rita Mountains north of Tucson, Ariz. Mayke has been trained to look for any sign of El Jefe, the only known jaguar living in the United States. (Conservation CATalyst and Center for Biological Diversity via AP)
This Jan. 30, 2016, photo provided by Conservation CATalyst and the Center for Biological Diversity shows a Belgian Malinois, named Mayke walking through the Santa Rita Mountains north of Tucson, Ariz. Mayke has been trained to look for any sign of El Jefe, the only known jaguar living in the United States. (Conservation CATalyst and Center for Biological Diversity via AP)
This Jan. 30, 2016, photo provided by Conservation CATalyst and the Center for Biological Diversity shows carnivore biologist Chris Bugbee giving a scent of a jaguar to his dog Mayke, a Belgian Malinois, during a walk through the Santa Rita Mountains north of Tucson, Ariz. Mayke has been trained to look for any sign of El Jefe, the only known jaguar living in the United States. (Conservation CATalyst and Center for Biological Diversity via AP)
AP Explains: Why Brazilian prez faces impeachment
SAO PAULO (AP) Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff is facing possible impeachment by Congress. The effort comes amid an angry public mood over the South American nation's worst recession in decades and a big bribery scandal at the state oil company Petrobras, yet it is not tied to either of those. AP explains what's behind the movement to oust her, and how it could play out:
WHAT IS ROUSSEFF ACCUSED OF DOING?
Rousseff is accused of breaking fiscal laws by shifting around government funds ahead of her 2014 re-election campaign. Opposition parties say sleight-of-hand accounting allowed her to boost public spending to shore up votes. Rousseff denies any wrongdoing, saying she didn't do anything that was not common practice in all prior administrations. She further argues that she isn't being accused of a crime, which should be the basis for any impeachment.
Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff attends a meeting with Brazilian Ambassador Roberto Azevedo, director general of the World Trade Organization, at the Planalto Presidential Palace, in Brasilia, Tuesday, March 29, 2016. Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Monday that he believes Rousseff, his embattled successor and protege, can survive mounting pressure in Congress for her impeachment. Rousseff recently appointed Silva as her chief of staff in a much-discussed move that still must be confirmed by Brazil's top court. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
WHAT IS THE FIRST STEP OF IMPEACHMENT?
A special 65-member committee in the Chamber of Deputies will decide if the impeachment petition has a legal basis. With Brazil's corruption scandals in the background, observers note that 37 of the panel's members face charges for a wide variety of alleged crimes. The committee, which includes many of Rousseff's opponents, is expected to decide by mid-April in favor of bringing impeachment before the full house.
THEN WHAT HAPPENS?
The Chamber of Deputies will debate the matter. If at least 342 of the 513 legislators, or two-thirds, vote to impeach Rousseff, the case would move to the Senate. If a simple majority of senators then votes to consider impeachment, Rousseff would have to step aside, making Vice President Michel Temer acting president. If 54 of the Senate's 81 members then vote for impeachment, Rousseff would be forced from office and Temer would serve out her term, ending Dec. 31, 2018.
HOW DO ROUSSEFF'S SUPPORTERS AND DETRACTORS CHARACTERIZE THE SITUATION?
Government supporters call the impeachment push a coup, because Rousseff is not accused of any crime. They say Brazil's traditional ruling class has been unnerved by the social movement under Rousseff's Worker's Party over more than a decade in power and is seizing the opportunity to take back power. Opponents say the administration's maneuvering of funds was illegal and, just as importantly, attempted to mask problems in Latin America's largest economy, such as huge budget gaps that have surfaced over the last year. They say impeachment can't be considered a coup because it's allowed in the constitution.
WHO IN CONGRESS IS PUSHING FOR IMPEACHMENT?
Leading the charge is long-time Rousseff nemesis Eduardo Cunha, the speaker of the Chamber of Deputies who himself is accused of taking bribes in the Petrobras scandal; he denies wrongdoing. But congressmen from more than 10 parties, ranging from the centrist Brazilian Social Democracy Party to the conservative Democrats, support impeachment.
WHAT DOES FORMER PRESIDENT LUIZ INACIO LULA DA SILVA HAVE TO DO WITH ALL THIS?
Rousseff asked Silva, her predecessor and mentor, to use his skills as a negotiator to help her fend off impeachment. She appointed Silva as her chief of staff, a move that still must be confirmed by Brazil's top court. Government supporters say the appointment would help Rousseff stabilize a rocky political situation. Detractors say it's a naked attempt to sidetrack any prosecution of Silva, who was questioned in early March in the Petrobras probe. Cabinet members can only be investigated or tried with the permission of the Supreme Court. Silva has not been charged and denies any wrongdoing.
FILE - In this March 21, 2016 file photo, soldiers stand guard outside Planalto presidential palace where protesters have projected the word "Impeachment" on the building, as they call for the impeachment of Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff in Brasilia, Brazil. Rousseff is facing impeachment for alleged mismanagement of state funds. She's denied wrongdoing and claims the effort is a coup against her government. The process has several stages and could drag on for months. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres, File)
A demonstrators wearing a presidential sash and a mask depicting Brazil's former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva attend a protest in support of him and Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Thursday, March 31, 2016. Rousseff is currently facing impeachment proceedings as her government faces a stalling national economy and multiple corruption scandals. Lula da Silva has been linked to a sprawling corruption scandal involving Brazilian oil giant Petrobras. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
A government supporter wears the number 13 on her cap, the number associated with the ruling Workers Party, as people rally in support of Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff and former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Brasilia, Brazil, Thursday, March 31, 2016. Rousseff is facing impeachment proceedings as her government faces a stalling national economy and multiple corruption scandals. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Brazilian Senator Aecio Neves, center left, shakes hands with Brazil'z Supreme Court Justice Gilmar Mendes at a legal conference in Lisbon, Thursday, March 31 2016. Neves, the leader of the Social Democracy Party who narrowly lost to Dilma Rousseff in a 2014 presidential runoff, says the Brazilian government "has lost its legitimacy, the ability to run the country." Besides Neves and Mendes, the conference included other participants seen as opponents of Rousseff. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)
Demonstrators protest in support of Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff and former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Thursday, March 31, 2016. Rousseff is currently facing impeachment proceedings as her government faces a stalling national economy and multiple corruption scandals. Lula da Silva has been linked to a sprawling corruption scandal involving Brazilian oil giant Petrobras. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
Seeing slow progress, leaders face disparate nuclear threats
WASHINGTON (AP) Dozens of world leaders assembling Friday for a nuclear security summit will confront a disparate array of modern-day threats, ranging from government actors like North Korea to murkier groups like the Islamic State.
Frustration over the slow pace of reducing nuclear stockpiles shadowed the final day of the summit, President Barack Obama's last major push on denuclearization. Though Obama planned to tout the Iran nuclear deal as evidence of progress, the absence of key players especially Russia underscored the lack of unanimity still confronting global efforts to deter nuclear attacks.
After six years of prodding by Obama and others before him, the global stockpile of fissile material that could be used in nuclear bombs remains in the thousands of metric tons. What's more, security officials warn that the radioactive ingredients for a "dirty bomb" are alarmingly insecure in many parts of the globe.
President Barack Obama listens as French President Francois Hollande speaks during their meeting at the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, Thursday, March 31, 2016. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
"We have not only great urgency around the nuclear issue, but eliminating generally the scourge of terrorism," Obama said during a meeting Thursday with French President Francois Hollande, as he reflected on recent attacks in Brussels and Paris.
Obama planned to review what's been accomplished and what gaps remain during a news conference at the summit's conclusion Friday evening. Though Obama has held four such summits since taking office, there are no clear indications they will continue after his presidency ends early next year.
Ahead of the summit, fewer than half of the countries participating had agreed to secure their sources of radiological material, readily available in hospital, industrial and academic settings. Concerns about substances like cesium or cobalt getting in the wrong hands have escalated sharply following deadly attacks by IS, raising the disturbing prospect of a nuclear attack on a Western city.
In a twist on previous years, organizers scheduled a special session Friday to hone in one the threat posed to major urban areas by extremist groups that the U.S. has said are on the hunt for nuclear materials. The White House said Obama and the other leaders would discuss a hypothetical scenario about a chain of events that could lead to nuclear terrorism.
Yet Obama planned to start off on an optimistic note, reviewing progress toward implementing the Iran deal along with other U.N. Security Council members that negotiated the agreement with the U.S. The White House hoped that session would illustrate constructive ways to stop nuclear weapons from spreading to countries that shouldn't be trusted to possess them.
Critics of the deal have blasted Obama for rewarding Iran by lifting sanctions and considering easing a ban on U.S. dollars being used in transactions with Iran. Despite Iran's worrisome ballistic missile work, the U.S. has said Iran is meeting all its commitments to scale back its nuclear program under the deal.
As the summit opened Thursday, leaders trained their focus on North Korea, whose continued provocations have stoked concerns throughout the region. Obama discussed steps to deter further North Korean missile tests during a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. In another session with the leaders of Japan and South Korea, he called for vigorous implementation of stepped-up U.N. sanctions.
President Vladimir Putin of Russia, whose massive nuclear weapons stockpile is rivaled only by the U.S., refused to attend this year's summit. Moscow scoffed at what it deemed U.S. efforts to control the process and take power away from international agencies. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of Pakistani, another nuclear-armed country, canceled his trip following a bombing that killed 72.
Decades after the Cold War, the threat of a nuclear war between superpowers has faded, replaced in part by concerns about IS and al-Qaida offshoots operating in North Africa and in Yemen and Saudi Arabia. Last year, an Associated Press investigation revealed multiple attempts by smugglers to sell radioactive material to Middle East extremists.
After last year's Paris attacks, authorities searching the apartment of two brothers linked to the attacks found video of a senior official at a Belgian nuclear waste facility. The brothers were part of the Islamic State cell that went on to strike Brussels on March 22. Both died in the attacks.
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Associated Press writers Kevin Freking and Darlene Superville contributed to this report.
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Reach Josh Lederman on Twitter at http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP
President Barack Obama, accompanied by, from left, Secretary of State John Kerry, Vice President Joe Biden, and National Security Adviser Susan Rice, speaks during a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, Thursday, March 31, 2016. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Indian police quiz company officials after overpass collapse
KOLKATA, India (AP) Indian police are investigating possible murder charges against 10 construction company employees who have been either arrested or detained in connection with the collapse of an unfinished overpass in Kolkata that killed at least 24 people, officials said Saturday.
Rescuers continued clearing rubble from the scene of Thursday's accident. Some 67 people have been pulled out alive, but rescuers doubted more survivors would be found.
"There is no possibility of finding any person alive," S.S. Guleria, deputy inspector general of the India's National Disaster Response Force said Friday.
K Panduranga Rao, left, group head of human resources and administration, and Sita, legal head of IVRCL, the company that was constructing the underpass in Kolkata, that collapsed partially on Thursday, March 31, address the media at their office in Hyderabad, India, Friday, April 1, 2016. Police detained five officials from IVRCL, contracted in 2007 to build the overpass, and sealed its Kolkata office. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar)
Three arrested employees of Hyderabad-based IVRCL Infrastructure Co. were to appear Saturday in court where arguments for formal charges would be heard, a police officer said on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to talk to reporters.
Seven other employees have been detained, according to the Press Trust of India news agency. Police also sealed the company's Kolkata office.
The employees are being questioned over possible charges of murder and culpable homicide, crimes that are punishable by death or life imprisonment, and criminal breach of trust, which carries a prison sentence of up to seven years, police said.
IVRCL Infrastructure was contracted in 2007 to build the overpass, a project expected to take two years. But construction was far behind schedule.
The overpass had spanned nearly the width of the street and was designed to ease traffic through the densely crowded Bara Bazaar neighborhood. The structure fell within hours of concrete being poured into a framework of steel girders on Thursday.
"We completed nearly 70 percent of the construction work without any mishap," IVRCL official K.P Rao said Thursday. He was not among those detained on Friday. "We have to go into the details to find out whether the collapse was due to any technical or quality issue."
Two West Bengal state engineers overseeing the construction of the overpass were suspended from jobs pending an inquiry into the disaster, a state government statement said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was in Washington at the time of the collapse, said he was "shocked and saddened," according to a message on his Twitter account.
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Associated Press writers Ashok Sharma in New Delhi and Manik Banerjee in Kolkata contributed to this report.
K Panduranga Rao, center left, group head of,human resources and administration, and Sita, center right, legal head of IVRCL, the company that was constructing the underpass in Kolkata, that collapsed partially on Thursday, March 31, address the media at their office in Hyderabad, India, Friday, April 1, 2016. Police detained five officials from IVRCL, contracted in 2007 to build the overpass, and sealed its Kolkata office. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar)
General view shows a partially collapsed overpass in Kolkata, India, Friday, April 1, 2016. The overpass spanned nearly the width of the street and was designed to ease traffic through the densely crowded Bara Bazaar neighborhood in the capital of the east Indian state of West Bengal. About 100 meters (300 feet) of the overpass fell, while other sections remained standing. (AP Photo/Bikas Das)
K Panduranga Rao, center left, group head of,human resources and administration, and Sita, center right, legal head of IVRCL, the company that was constructing the underpass in Kolkata, that collapsed partially on Thursday, March 31, address the media at their office in Hyderabad, India, Friday, April 1, 2016. Police detained five officials from IVRCL, contracted in 2007 to build the overpass, and sealed its Kolkata office. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar)
Excavator machines remove debris of a partially collapsed overpass in Kolkata, India, Friday, April 1, 2016. The overpass spanned nearly the width of the street and was designed to ease traffic through the densely crowded Bara Bazaar neighborhood in the capital of the east Indian state of West Bengal. About 100 meters (300 feet) of the overpass fell, while other sections remained standing. (AP Photo/Bikas Das)
A damaged three-wheeled vehicle is taken out from the rubble of a collapsed overpass in Kolkata, India, Friday, April 1, 2016. The overpass spanned nearly the width of the street and was designed to ease traffic through the densely crowded Bara Bazaar neighborhood in the capital of the east Indian state of West Bengal. About 100 meters (300 feet) of the overpass fell, while other sections remained standing. (AP Photo/Bikas Das)
Security officers work on the area of a collapsed overpass in Kolkata, India, Friday, April 1, 2016. The overpass spanned nearly the width of the street and was designed to ease traffic through the densely crowded Bara Bazaar neighborhood in the capital of the east Indian state of West Bengal. About 100 meters (300 feet) of the overpass fell, while other sections remained standing. (AP Photo/Bikas Das)
Prominent political prisoner freed in Myanmar, many remain
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) A prominent political prisoner was released Friday after he finished his six-month jail sentence, coincidentally on the day that Myanmar's new, democratically-elected government began working.
Patrick Kum Ja Lee's release was on schedule and not ordered freed by the new government. But it serves as a reminder that President Htin Kyaw will soon have to confront the military to free scores of other political prisoners still in jail for speaking out against its rule. Many are supporters of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, the force behind the new government.
"I've seen many political activists who are imprisoned by the oppressive laws of the previous government," said Patrick as he walked out of the prison gates, where he was met by his wife, May Sabe Phyu, another human rights activist. "I want the new government to be able to release all the political prisoners."
Ethnic Kachin activist Patrick Kum Ja Lee, left poses for a pictures with his wife and prominent Human Rights activist May Sabe Phyu, right outside insein prison in Yangon, Myanmar, Friday, April 1 2016. Patrick Kum Ja Lee, accused of sharing a post poking fun at Myanmar's army chief on Facebook, was released on Friday after he spent six months imprisonment. (AP Photo/ Gemunu Amarasinghe)
Patrick, an ethnic Kachin, was arrested in October and sentenced to six months in prison for writing a social media post that was considered offensive to the military commander, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlain.
Amnesty International recently called on the new government to work to immediately release all political prisoners jailed by the military that has been in power since 1962, and by a subsequent pro-military, quasi-civilian government.
The military loosened its grip on power in 2010 and allowed free elections in November 2015, which Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy swept, allowing it to form a government on Thursday.
Suu Kyi has pledged to release all the remaining 100 or so prisoners but whether that pledge is even practical remains to be seen. The military still controls some key institutions including the Home Affairs Ministry, which runs the Corrections Department. Under the Constitution the president is required to consult the ministry, run by a former general, in order to grant amnesties.
"Aung San Suu Kyi used to say, 'The truth shall make you free,'" said Patrick, "and I hope that really happens to all the political prisoners under her government."
Ethnic Kachin activist Patrick Kum Ja Lee, left, smiles after posing for a picture with his wife and prominent Human Rights activist May Sabe Phyu, right, outside insein prison in Yangon, Myanmar, Friday, April 1, 2016. Patrick Kum Ja Lee, accused of sharing a post poking fun at Myanmar's army chief on Facebook, was released on Friday after he spent six months imprisonment. (AP Photo/ Gemunu Amarasinghe)
Ethnic Kachin activist Patrick Kum Ja Lee, right speaks to journalists outside insein prison as prison guards, center, watch in Yangon, Myanmar, Friday, April 1, 2016. Patrick Kum Ja Lee, accused of sharing a post poking fun at Myanmar's army chief on Facebook, was released on Friday after he spent six months imprisonment. (AP Photo/ Gemunu Amarasinghe)
Yves Saint Laurent designer Hedi Slimane is leaving
PARIS (AP) The Yves Saint Laurent fashion house announced Friday that designer Hedi Slimane is leaving and it's rethinking its "creative organization."
Parent company Kering, in a statement, praised Slimane's four years as creative director. CEO Francois-Henri Pinault said he was grateful to Slimane "for having set the path that the house has successfully embraced, and which will grant longevity to this legendary brand."
The company didn't name a successor or give a reason for the departure, but said it would soon announce a new creative structure.
FILE - This Monday, Oct.1, 2012 file photo shows French-born fashion designer Hedi Slimane for Yves St Laurent appearing at the end of his ready to wear Spring-Summer 2013 collection presented in Paris, France. The Yves Saint Laurent fashion house has announced that designer Hedi Slimane is leaving and its rethinking its creative organization. (AP Photo/Jacques Brinon, File)
Slimane staged an unusual, star-studded show in Los Angeles in February. His last show for Yves Saint Laurent, in Paris last month, was an ode to the big-shouldered era of Eighties disco with micro-minis and giant blue fox fur coats.
His exit comes amid upheaval within Paris' fashion industry in recent months, with Saint Laurent being the third of three major heritage houses to announce a designer departure, after Christian Dior and Lanvin.
Lanvin has named couturier Bouchra Jarrar as the new creative director, while Dior has not yet confirmed its new pick.
Slimane provoked controversy at the house when he joined in 2012, rebranding YSL ready-to-wear with the new name "Saint Laurent Paris," and overhauling the label's image. Gone was the sophisticated look associated with the iconic house founder, and in its place were grunge styles modeled by adolescent-looking super-waif models.
PICTURED: Syria refugees beg for a living on Beirut streets
BEIRUT (AP) A Syrian teenager with dark curly hair spends his days hanging around a busy thoroughfare in western Beirut, chasing motorists and following shoppers to ask for money. Further down on Hamra Street, his mother and three younger siblings also have their spots, begging for a living.
Mohammad Hussein, 13, is among the hundreds of thousands of Syrians who fled their country's devastating civil war, now in its sixth year, for refuge next door in tiny Lebanon. Many of the youngest are now out of school and have to work or beg to support their families.
Their plight is one of the most visible signs of the unprecedented refugee crisis that has put an immense strain on neighboring Mideast countries and destabilized Europe. On shopping streets, roundabouts and traffic lights in Beirut and elsewhere in Lebanon, child beggars are seen, pressing their small faces against car windows, stretching their hands out for money or selling chewing gum or flowers for a few coins.
In this Wednesday, March 16, 2016 photo, Syrian refugee Mohammad Hussein, 13, right, begs for money with his cousin, on a street in Beirut, Lebanon. Hussein is among the tens of thousands of Syrian children who fled the devastating war in their country to neighboring Lebanon, many of whom now are out of school and have to work to sustain their families. I wish I could go back to school, I liked school when I was in Syria, Hussein says. But now I cant, I am the eldest and I must support my mother and sisters. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
"I wish I could go back to school, I liked school when I was in Syria," Hussein says. "But now I can't, I am the eldest and I must support my mother and sisters."
Not only is begging dangerous Hussein was recently detained by police for 10 days but he also sometimes has to suffer insults from strangers he begs from.
"Some people ... curse me and my people and my country," he says.
Lebanon is home to more than 1 million registered Syrian refugees equal to about a quarter of the Mediterranean country's 4.5 million people. It's the highest refugee population in the world per capita. Lebanon says that another half a million Syrians live in the country as well, unregistered, and officials say their presence has generated a severe burden that Lebanon can no longer handle alone.
A study published last year by the International Labor Organization, UNICEF and the Save the Children charity found that more than 1,500 children live or work on Lebanon's streets, nearly three quarters of them Syrians who mostly beg for money or sell trinkets by the roadside.
Hussein's family fled their home in the mountains of Syria's Latakia province three years ago. He says he is happy in Lebanon but wishes he could go back to play with his neighborhood friends.
In Beirut, the teen says he makes between 15 and 20 dollars a day, depending on his luck that day.
"Nobody gives me work because I am too young," he says. "This way I can make more money than if I had a job."
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This Friday, March 25, 2016 photo, shows a cardboard box with money and praying beads belonging to a Syrian refugee woman who fled form her hometown Aleppo, on a sidewalk in Beirut, Lebanon. Begging is one of the most visible signs of the refugee crisis that has put an immense strain on neighboring countries and destabilized Europe. On Lebanon shopping streets, roundabouts and traffic lights, child beggars are seen pressing their small faces against windows of cars, stretching their hands for money or selling chewing gum or flowers. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
In this Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2016 photo, a Syrian refugee girl begs for money in traffic, in Beirut, Lebanon. A study published last year by the International Labor Organization, UNICEF and the Save the Children charity organization found there are more than 1,500 children living or working on Lebanon's streets, nearly three-quarters of them Syrian and most making a living by begging or roadside vending. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
In this Tuesday, March 15, 2016 photo, a Syrian refugee woman holds her child as she begs for money on a sidewalk, in Beirut. Lebanon is home to more than 1 million registered Syrian refugees, or nearly a quarter of the country's 4.5 million people, the highest refugee population in the world per capita. It is one of the most visible signs of the refugee crisis that has put an immense strain on neighboring countries and destabilized Europe. On Lebanon shopping streets beggars are seen stretching their hands out for money. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
In this Wednesday, March 16, 2016 photo, a Syrian refugee girl begs for money on a sidewalk outside a hospital in Beirut, Lebanon. It is one of the most visible signs of the refugee crisis that has put an immense strain on neighboring countries and destabilized Europe. On Lebanon shopping streets, roundabouts and traffic lights, child beggars are seen pressing their small faces against windows of cars, stretching their hands for money or selling chewing gum or flowers. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
In this Sunday, March 20, 2016 photo, a Syrian refugee woman carries her child as she begs for money on a street in Beirut. Lebanon is home to more than 1 million registered Syrian refugees, or nearly a quarter of the country's 4.5 million people, the highest refugee population in the world per capita. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
In this Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2016 photo, a Syrian refugee girl asks people in a car for money in traffic, in Beirut, Lebanon. A study published last year by the International Labor Organization, UNICEF and the Save the Children charity organization found there are more than 1,500 children living or working on Lebanon's streets, nearly three-quarters of them Syrian and most making a living by begging or roadside vending. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
In this Friday, March 25, 2016 photo, a Syrian refugee woman, right, and her children beg for money on a sidewalk, in Beirut, Lebanon. A study published last year by the International Labor Organization, UNICEF and the Save the Children charity organization found there are more than 1,500 children living or working on Lebanon's streets, nearly three-quarters of them Syrian and most making a living by begging or roadside vending. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
In this Friday, March 25, 2016 photo, a Syrian refugee woman, who fled her hometown Aleppo, begs for money on a sidewalk, in Beirut. Lebanon is home to more than 1 million registered Syrian refugees, or nearly a quarter of the country's 4.5 million people, the highest refugee population in the world per capita. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
In this Friday, March 25, 2016 photo, a Syrian refugee woman holds her child as she begs for money on a sidewalk, in Beirut. Lebanon is home to more than 1 million registered Syrian refugees, or nearly a quarter of the country's 4.5 million people, the highest refugee population in the world per capita. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
In this Tuesday, March 15, 2016 photo, a Syrian refugee woman holds her child as she begs for money on a sidewalk, in Beirut, Lebanon. It is one of the most visible signs of the refugee crisis that has put an immense strain on neighboring countries and destabilized Europe. On Lebanon shopping streets, roundabouts and traffic lights, child beggars are seen pressing their small faces against windows of cars, stretching their hands for money or selling chewing gum or flowers. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
In this Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2016 photo, a Syrian refugee girl sits on the sidewalk with her mother as they beg for money, in Beirut, Lebanon. A study published last year by the International Labor Organization, UNICEF and the Save the Children charity organization found there are more than 1,500 children living or working on Lebanon's streets, nearly three-quarters of them Syrian and most making a living by begging. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
In this Sunday, March 20, 2016 photo, a Syrian refugee woman begs on a sidewalk, in Beirut, Lebanon. It is one of the most visible signs of the refugee crisis that has put an immense strain on neighboring countries and destabilized Europe. Lebanon is home to more than 1 million registered Syrian refugees, equal to about a quarter of the Mediterranean country's 4.5 million people. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
In this Friday, March 25, 2016 photo, a Syrian refugee woman holds her child as she begs for money on a sidewalk in Beirut, Lebanon. Syrians who fled the devastating war in their country to neighboring Lebanon are now jobless and have to do anything to sustain their families. Lebanon is home to more than 1 million registered Syrian refugees, equal to about a quarter of the Mediterranean country's 4.5 million people. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
In this Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2016 photo, a Syrian refugee boy sleeps on the bar of a restaurant, after begging on the streets for hours, in Beirut, Lebanon. A study published last year by the International Labor Organization, UNICEF and the Save the Children charity organization found there are more than 1,500 children living or working on Lebanon's streets, nearly three-quarters of them Syrian and most making a living by begging or roadside vending. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Mourners gather to remember EWTN founder Mother Angelica
HANCEVILLE, Ala. (AP) Mother Angelica's religious devotion made her an inspiration to Catholics around the world, but mourners who honored her Friday said it was her relatable and embracing nature that helped spread the love of Jesus through a worldwide media empire that grew from the garage of a monastery in rural Alabama.
Mother Angelica, born Rita Rizzo in Canton, Ohio in 1923, died at age 92 on Easter Sunday at the monastery where she lived about 45 miles north of Birmingham.
She had been in declining health since suffering a severe cerebral hemorrhage on Christmas Eve 2001, lost her speaking ability and had suffered other, less severe strokes since then. She had been bedridden for months and fellow nuns at Our Lady of the Angels Monastery said in November that she had been placed on a feeding tube.
CORRECTS FROM EVERLASTING WORLD TELEVISION NETWORK TO ETERNAL WORD TELEVISION NETWORK - This photo provided by EWTN Global Catholic Network shows Mother Mary Angelica on the eve of a Mass at the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament of Our Lady of the Angels Monastery in Hanceville, Ala., Thursday, March 31, 2016. Angelica, founder of Eternal Word Television Network, died Easter Sunday. She was 92. (Jeff Bruno/EWTN via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT
Mother Angelica joined other nuns in moving South to open a new monastery in Alabama in 1962. She and 12 other nuns used $200 in startup money to expand the monastery's garage to make room for a television studio, and her talk show "Mother Angelica Live" became a mainstay as the network gained popularity. EWTN eventually began broadcasting 24 hours a day and offered extensive coverage of visits and statements by the Pope.
The station bills itself as the world's largest religious media network, reaching more than 250 million households in 145 countries. The network also operates radio stations, along with print and digital publishing platforms.
Roughly 2,000 people attended Mother Angelica's funeral Mass in Hanceville, Alabama, where signs and banners in her honor adorned some of the roads and overpasses leading to the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville. Many attendees sat outside on folding chairs and watched the service on video boards in the piazza.
"You cannot understand Mother Angelica without reference to the one she loved with the passion of a bride," the Rev. Joseph Wolfe repeated during the Mass, later praising the Roman Catholic nun's welcoming nature and common sense approaches to challenges that had resonated with so many.
"Hers was a practiced spirituality for the man in the pew," Wolfe said.
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PERSONALITY DREW NEW, FORMER FOLLOWERS
Frances Tomcavage drove from Orlando, Florida for Mother Angelica's funeral Mass and praised the nun's ability to persevere through physical ailments that marked much of her life and her practical approach to delivering messages to viewers.
"She made the love of Jesus all so understandable. He's not a mystery," Tomcavage said. "She made him so loving and so understandable and as a result, these priests have projected the same. The network has projected the same."
Tomcavage said Mother Angelica's courage in launching EWTN brought thousands of new followers to the faith, and helped encourage the return of former ones.
"We call them converts and reverts," she said. "I even had some in my own family come back to the faith."
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A ROLE MODEL FOR CATHOLIC WOMEN
Lilly Allen, an educator originally from Ocala, Florida, said Mother Mary Angelica and the shrine her funeral was held at inspired her family to move to the Hanceville area 12 years ago. Allen called Mother Angelica a role model for Catholic women everywhere because of her courage, service and obedience.
"She was committed, convicted, she was passionate about her love for Jesus and the church," Allen said. "We feel that she is already at the heavenly gates with Jesus and its invigorating for our faith to know that we have a friend close to him. I truly mean it from my heart."
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CALLED TO SPREAD THE WORD
Sam Ranelli of Hanceville began working for EWTN in 1988 and recalled working closely with nuns before the network grew into what it is today. Regardless of the challenges the network and staff faced, Ranelli said Mother Angelica's primary concern remained clear.
"It was very much mission oriented. She would tell us that God has chosen us to do something for him and that's what we were to do," Ranelli said. He began working in the station's marketing department and became its webmaster before he left in 2006.
Ranelli recalled that Mother Angelica was more concerned with her staff's spiritual well-being than whether they had solutions to all the challenges the network faced as it grew.
"Even if we didn't know what we were doing, we would just do it," Ranelli said, laughing. "Something she used to always say is that 'We don't know what we're doing, but we're getting good at it.'"
CORRECTS FROM EVERLASTING WORLD TELEVISION NETWORK TO ETERNAL WORD TELEVISION NETWORK - In this photo provided by EWTN Global Catholic Network, Father Andrew Apostoli, of the Capuchin Friars of the Renewal, pays respects to Mother Mary Angelica on the eve of a funeral Mass at the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament of Our Lady of the Angels Monastery in Hanceville, Ala., Thursday, March 31, 2016. Angelica, founder of Eternal Word Television Network, died Easter Sunday. She was 92. (Jeff Bruno/EWTN via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT
George Mason University becomes a favorite of Charles Koch
FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) George Mason University, a public school outside the nation's capital, has quietly become a conservative powerhouse in economics and law, a reputation built in part with tens of millions of dollars a year from billionaire Republican donor Charles Koch.
From 2011 to 2014, the Charles Koch Foundation gave nearly $48 million to George Mason in one form or another, tax records show. Though Koch divvies up more than $20 million annually among hundreds of U.S. universities through his foundation, no other school got more than $1 million annually in that period.
Although it is not unusual for billionaires including those on the other end of the political spectrum to donate large sums to schools, the size of the donations has raised concerns among some George Mason students and faculty about maintaining academic independence, echoing unease that has cropped up at other schools that benefit from Koch's largesse.
FILE - In this May 22, 2012, file photo, Charles Koch speaks in his office at Koch Industries in Wichita, Kan. The CEO of Koch Industries is one of several billionaires who donate large amounts to higher education. But the Koch Foundation gives far more to George Mason University than it does to any other school. Tax records show the independent public school in suburban Washington has received roughly $45 million over the past four years from the foundation. (Bo Rader/The Wichita Eagle via AP, File) LOCAL TELEVISION OUT; MAGS OUT; LOCAL RADIO OUT; LOCAL INTERNET OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT
Other billionaires have made larger lump-sum contributions to schools, typically for a specific purpose such as a research facility. Earlier this year, Nike Inc. co-founder Phil Knight, who also supports Republican causes, announced a $400 million scholarship donation to Stanford University.
And Koch and his younger brother David have themselves made bigger one-time donations to other universities.
Charles Koch's representatives say the generosity comes without conditions. Supporters say the money fills a gap left by declining public support and accuse critics of targeting Koch, CEO of the petrochemical conglomerate Koch Industries Inc., because of his outspoken backing of conservative and libertarian causes.
Koch's giving has tripped alarms at George Mason, where boards and institutes are peppered with people with close ties to Koch Industries.
In 2014, the last year for which records are available, the foundation gave $16.8 million to George Mason and its Institute for Humane Studies. That accounts for more than a third of the money GMU gets from private sources: The Council for Aid to Education, a not-for-profit organization that drives corporate giving to colleges, reports Mason received $44.6 million in donations in fiscal 2013.
And the relationship continues to grow: on Thursday, Mason's law school announced a $10 million gift from the Koch Foundation, along with $20 million from an anonymous donor, to rename the law school for the late conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. GMU President Angel Cabrear called the donations "a milestone moment for the university."
Thursday's gift to the law school aside, George Mason has steered the bulk of the money to its Mercatus Center, a free-market think tank that conducts research designed to educate the federal regulators and congressional staffers whose work on arcane, wonky policy can influence the direction of government.
The other large chunk of Koch funds goes to the Institute for Humane Studies, which advocates libertarian philosophies. Its Learn Liberty project produces and distributes videos opposing minimum wage hikes and questioning efforts to combat wealth inequality.
Why George Mason? The school's growth since its founding in 1972 has coincided with Koch's growing philanthropy. George Mason has longstanding connections with the Kochs, notably Richard Fink, an executive vice president of Koch Industries who is on the Mercatus and IHS boards.
On the university's board is Kimberly Dennis, president and CEO of the Searle Freedom Trust, a grant-making foundation with close ties to the Kochs. Before her, Nancy Pfotenhauer, a former spokeswoman for Republican Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign and the head of Koch Industries' Washington office, was on the board.
And Charles Koch himself is chairman of the IHS board and a member of the Mercatus board.
Cabrera said Koch's status as a lightning rod for his support of Republican candidates is the only reason people question his donations, and said he welcomes Koch's active interest in how money is spent.
"It's terrific to have people who are supportive not only with their dollars, but also with some of their time," Cabrera said. "I make no apologies about that. I celebrate that."
Koch critics say there is a difference between wealthy donors contributing to their alma maters Knight went to Stanford's business school, for instance and Koch's effort to establish himself at hundreds of universities across the nation.
They cite the agreement that first brought the Mercatus Center to George Mason in 1992, which allowed the center to hire two tenure-track professors of its choosing, with the understanding the university would eventually assume responsibility for the professors' salaries.
In 2013, the Koch Foundation signed an agreement to create a Program for the Study of Political Economy and Free Enterprise at Florida State University. The agreement gave Florida State authority to hire professors, but required that the professors support the program's objectives, spelled out as advocating a libertarian philosophy "to advance the understanding and practice of those free voluntary processes and principles that promote social progress, human well-being, individual freedom, opportunity and prosperity."
Florida State was criticized for ceding academic control to the Kochs, but the Koch Foundation's director of university relations, John Hardin, said the accusations are not supported by the actual agreements that the foundation has entered into. He said the donations to Florida State, George Mason and other schools come with no strings attached.
"We recognize our role is to write the checks," Hardin said.
The foundation's support for criminal justice reform has brought it together with the American Civil Liberties Union and other organizations often perceived on opposite sides of the ideological spectrum, he said.
Martin Kich, an English professor at Wright State University who has written critically of the Kochs' influence in higher education, said he sees that influence as part of a larger trend of university administrators willing to accept money with strings attached.
"To reduce this to a left-right political (battle) is missing the point," he said.
For four years, a faculty senate committee has explored Koch's relationship with George Mason, but said it has been stymied by the school's refusal to turn over details of the grant agreements with the Koch Foundation.
Dave Kuebrich, an English professor who heads the committee, said he does not believe the agreements restrict academic freedom but that he suspects the decades-long relationship makes such overt restrictions unnecessary.
The university needs to establish better principle to protect academic independence and avoid conflicts of interest, Kuebrich said, emphasizing that he wasn't speaking for the committee.
"That's not unique to George Mason, by the way," he said. "What might be unique is that we have these centers clustered so close to the nation's capital that are trying to build a movement to influence public policy."
Students Samantha Parsons and Colin Nackerman have been leading an effort demanding the university explain its relationship with Koch. They started petition drives and bird-dogged Cabrera at public appearances, but their request to meet with him has not been fulfilled.
In academic circles, the school's law and economics programs have clear reputations as libertarian strongholds.
"It is one of the most ideologically homogenous law schools in the nation. And the ideology is 'the market is always right; get the government out of it,'" said Brian Leiter, the director of the University of Chicago's Center for Law, Philosophy and Human Values, who conducts research on law schools' scholarship.
Though the Koch grant bars Mercatus from using the money to influence legislation, the center prides itself on conducting research that migrates from the ivory tower into the real world and onto Capitol Hill. Its senior researchers regularly testify to Congress supporting measures to reduce regulation and market intervention.
A 2004 Wall Street Journal article called Mercatus Latin for "markets" the "most important think tank you've never heard of," citing its uncanny ability to inject its policy recommendations into the national political conversation.
While Democrats nationally have railed against Koch's political influence, Virginia Democrats don't seem riled by the donations to George Mason.
Democratic Sen. Chap Petersen, whose district includes the university's main campus in Fairfax, said that regardless of its origins, the money helps fill a funding gap.
"Does it bother me that the Kochs are funding George Mason University to further their intellectual policy goals?" he asked. "No, it does not bother me."
'Manspreading' illustrated: Exhibit studies subway etiquette
NEW YORK (AP) "Manspreading" is an indelicate new term to describe how some male subway riders deprive other passengers of a seat. But seat-hogging is just one of many inconsiderate behaviors that have been the bane of commuters at least as far back as the 1940s in transit systems across the globe.
Subway etiquette is the subject of a new exhibition in New York City featuring recent and vintage campaign courtesy posters from metro systems around the world, from New York to Tokyo.
"Transit Etiquette or: How I Learned to Stop Spitting and Step Aside in 25 Languages" is on view at the New York Transit Museum's gallery annex in Grand Central Terminal.
FILE - In this March 4, 2015 file photo, a placard in a subway car moving beneath the streets of New York City reads, "Keep the sound down," as part of a campaign by the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority extorting riders to be more considerate of each other. (AP Photo/Verena Dobnik, File)
The posters address just about every bad behavior commuters inflict and endure on crowded trains and platforms, from spitting, littering and eating to blocking the door and talking on a cellphone.
"All of these topics transcend time, place and culture," said museum registrar Todd Gilbert. "It's interesting to see the different ways that graphics and humor and those universal languages are employed to get people to behave themselves."
The exhibition gives special space to posters from the 1940s, '50s and '60s created by artist Amelia Opdyke Jones for a New York City posters series that promoted courtesy on public transportation.
In one, dating from the years after World War II, she depicts a cartoon of a very large man with his legs wide apart and two passengers looking on with dagger eyes. The caption reads: "Don't Be A Seat-Hog."
"It's a problem worldwide," said Dora Rekatsina, a 34-year-old fabric designer from Athens, Greece, as she toured the exhibition.
Last year, New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority began targeting "manspreading" with public service ads that admonished riders to "Stop the Spread" opening their legs in a wide V. It was part of a new campaign with the slogan: "Courtesy Counts: Manners Make a Better Ride."
The exhibition also devotes a wall to Japanese graphic designer Hideya Kawakita, who created the Tokyo metro's diagrammatic map and courtesy posters between 1976 and 1982.
They frequently reference Western pop-culture figures, like one that features two Charlie Chaplin-looking characters eyeing a Hitler-like caricature spread over several seats. The caption reads: "The Seat Monopolizer."
Other manners missives include: "Don't be a pole hog" and "Clipping? Primping? Everybody wants to look their best, but it's a subway car not a restroom."
A few elements in the posters seemed dated. Museum-goer Barbara Hemmendinger, a native New Yorker who lives in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, said she doubted commuters today would know the meaning of expectorate, a word used in a 1940s poster about not spitting in the subway.
"You don't see signs about spitting anymore," noted the retired clinical social worker, "because tuberculosis is essentially controlled and that's what it was about back in the day."
"What's interesting about the posters, too, is that typically they're done with humor," said Gilbert. "They're always trying to be light and appealing to people's sense of humor and good nature."
The exhibition runs through July 10.
In this March 3, 2015 file photo, subway riders commute on a crowded car in New York. Behind them are signs posted by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority exhorting riders to show more courtesy. They are part of a campaign by the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority extorting riders to be more considerate of each other. AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
A 1976 poster from the Tokyo metro system hangs on display at the Transit Museum, Wednesday, March 30, 2016 in New York. Subway etiquette is the subject of a new exhibition at the Transit Museum's gallery annex in Grand Central Terminal that features new and vintage campaign posters addressing issues of undesired behavior in metro systems around the world. (AP Photo/Ula Ilnytzky)
A visitor to the Transit Museum looks at a display of old posters, Wednesday, March 30, 2016 in New York. Subway etiquette is the subject of a new exhibition at the Transit Museum's gallery annex in Grand Central Terminal that features new and vintage campaign posters addressing issues of undesired behavior in metro systems around the world. (AP Photo/Ula Ilnytzky)
Man accused in death of boy in bag incompetent for trial
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) A judge has ruled a man accused in the beating death of a 1-year-old Maryland boy found dead inside a backpack in a central Ohio creek incompetent to stand trial.
The Columbus Dispatch (http://bit.ly/1UYndAO) reports a judge on Thursday ordered Kurt Flood committed to a state psychiatric hospital for treatment aimed at restoring competency within a year. Flood's attorney didn't immediately return a call seeking comment on Flood's behalf.
The 25-year-old Columbus man has pleaded not guilty to charges including murder in Cameron Beckford's death. The boy's body was found in Big Walnut Creek in December 2014.
The child's mother told investigators Flood was trying to beat demons out of the toddler. Dainesha Stevens is to be sentenced in June after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter and evidence-tampering.
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Trump has terrible week in Wisconsin
MADISON, Wisconsin (AP) Donald Trump took a battering this week in advance of Tuesday's critical Wisconsin primary election, a contest where the Republican electorate could stall his march toward the party's 2016 presidential nomination and boost the likelihood of a bitter convention fight this summer with Ted Cruz, the ultra-conservative first-term Texas senator.
Trump, whose campaign had gained steam for months even as he did and said things that would have derailed a more conventional Republican candidate, ran into a storm of powerful opposition in Midwestern Wisconsin where a key poll shows him trailing Cruz by 10 percentage points, a survey that showed him leading by that much a month ago.
Even before he arrived in the state this week, Trump was skewered in interviews with a trio of Wisconsin's influential conservative talk radio hosts. On Tuesday, just hours before his first campaign stop, two-term Gov. Scott Walker threw his support behind Cruz.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at a campaign stop, Wednesday, March 30, 2016, in Appleton, Wis. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Much of the subsequent trouble was of the Trump campaign's own making. Corey Lewandowski, Trump's campaign manager, was charged with simple battery for an altercation with a reporter. Then Trump was forced to walk back his assertion that women should be punished for getting abortions, a comment that managed to unite both sides of the abortion debate in fierce opposition to his statement.
"Part of it is just the Wisconsin nice. We don't take too kindly to people who act the way Donald Trump acts," said state Rep. Jim Steineke, the Republican majority leader in the Wisconsin Assembly.
Among mainstream Republicans , Trump has created fears of a permanent split in the party and Cruz was playing on those worries.
"I think the whole country is looking to Wisconsin right now to make a choice in this race, and I think the choice Wisconsin makes is going to have repercussions for a long time to come," said the Texan who has alienated most of Senate colleagues.
Trump's view is rosier for his own campaign: "If we win Wisconsin, it's pretty much over."
If Cruz sweeps all the delegates in Wisconsin, Trump will need to win 57 percent of the remaining delegates in other states to collect the 1,237 he needs to clinch the nomination. So far, he has won 48 percent of all delegates awarded.
Wisconsin offers 42, putting it in the middle of the pack of primary prizes. But the state's stature in Republican politics and its position on the calendar no other state votes until April 19 have elevated its importance. Though the state has voted for Democrats in the past several presidential elections, it boasts prominent national party leaders including Walker, House Speaker Paul Ryan and Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus.
Planned Parenthood and Priorities USA, two groups working to elect Democrat Hillary Clinton, have teamed up for their first anti-Trump advertisement of the election year, a 30-second spot playing on websites that features Trump's abortion comment.
Clinton herself is hardly silent. She said Thursday in Purchase, New York: "Donald Trump is showing us exactly who he is and we should believe him. But let's remember this, all the Republican candidates want to make abortion illegal."
While Wisconsin may provide a much-needed boost to Trump opponents, the real estate mogul will soon find himself back in friendly territory. The next contest awaiting Republicans comes April 19 in New York, Trump's home state and one of the biggest delegate prizes up for grabs.
Clinton, a former New York senator, holds a formidable lead among delegates but opponent Bernie Sanders hopes a series of recent victories in western States might turn into a springboard for a win in Wisconsin.
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AP writers Steven R. Hurst, Julie Pace, Thomas Beaumont, Ken Thomas, Chad Day, Stephen Ohlemacher and Julie Bykowicz contributed to this report.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump looks to supporters as he leaves a campaign stop Wednesday, March 30, 2016, in Appleton, Wis. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Heidi Cruz, left, wife Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Carly Fiorina, center, listens a Cruz speaks at a campaign stop, Wednesday, March 30, 2016, in Madison, Wis. (AP Photo/Andy Manis)
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump reacts as he speaks at a campaign stop Wednesday, March 30, 2016, in Appleton, Wis. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Mike Morrill takes a selfie with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump during a rally Wednesday, March 30, 2016, at the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel in Appleton, Wis. (Wm. Glasheen/The Post-Crescent via AP) NO SALES; MANDATORY CREDIT
NYPD: Woman made up story about Manhattan slashing attack
NEW YORK (AP) Police say a woman who claimed she was slashed in the face by a stranger in Lower Manhattan has recanted her story.
The New York Police Department said Friday that their investigation revealed that the woman's wound was self-inflicted.
They say the 20-year-old woman was undergoing a psychiatric evaluation.
Police say the woman reported a random attack Thursday afternoon and told police a man grabbed her and slashed her on the left side of her face. Police say she told them that the man called her a terrorist during the attack.
Despite criticism, EU plans are ready to deport refugees
ATHENS, Greece (AP) Greece is pressing ahead with plans to start deporting migrants and refugees back to Turkey next week, despite mounting concern from the United Nations and human rights organizations that Syrians could be denied proper protection while some are allegedly even being forced back into their war-torn country.
Lawmakers in Athens Friday voted 169-107 to back draft legislation, fast-tracked through parliament, to allow the returns to start as soon as Monday.
The operation would see migrants and refugees who arrived on Greek islands after March 20 put on boats and sent back to Turkey.
Women, migrants and refugees, left, and men, right, wait in lines for food packages provided by humanitarian workers in a makeshift camp at the northern Greek border station of Idomeni, Friday, April 1, 2016. Some 11,500 remain camped out at the border with Macedonia, ignoring instructions from the Greek government to move to organized shelters. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)
Several Greek officials with knowledge of the planning told the AP that deportations are likely to start from the island of Lesbos, with migrants from Afghanistan, Pakistan and other countries whose asylum claims are considered inadmissible.
The transport, the officials said, will be carried out under heavy security escort with one police minder for every migrant using buses that will travel from island detention camps and are likely to board straight onto chartered vessels.
The officials asked not to be identified because plans for the forced returns have not been formally announced.
The imminent deportations are backed by the European Union following its recent agreement with Turkey, and triggered more violence at detention camps in Greece.
Authorities on the Greek island of Chios said several hundred people pushed their way out of an overcrowded detention camp and staged a peaceful protest in the island's main town, chanting "freedom, freedom" and "Turkey no." The rally followed overnight clashes between Syrian and Afghan detainees that left five people injured.
More protests are planned on the island Saturday.
In Geneva, Switzerland, the United Nations refugee agency, or UNHCR, urged Greece and Turkey to provide further safeguards for asylum seekers before the returns begin, noting that conditions were worsening by the day for more than 4,000 people being held in detention on Greek islands.
And rights group Amnesty International, which has strongly opposed the EU-Turkey agreement from the start, said in a report Friday that it had evidence of Turkish authorities rounding up Syrians and sending them back across the border to their conflict-torn country.
The group said Turkey has been expelling around 100 men, women and children nearly daily since mid-January.
"EU leaders have willfully ignored the simplest of facts: Turkey is not a safe country for Syrian refugees," Amnesty's Europe and Central Asia Director John Dalhuisen said.
Greek officials did not respond to the criticism directly, but insisted the rights of detained asylum seekers were being protected.
"I assure you that we will strictly observe human rights procedures, not what people are inventing, but what is required under the circumstances," Migration Affairs Minister Ioannis Mouzalas told parliament.
The clashes on Chios were the latest in a series of violent incidents at shelters and gathering points across Greece, where more than 52,000 migrants and refugees are stranded following EU-supported Balkan border closures.
More than 11,000 of those stranded remain camped out at the Greek-Macedonian border, ignoring calls by the government to move voluntarily to organized shelters.
Many say they have heard conditions in other camps are worse, and they fear what they might find if they are forced to move.
Karzan Kmaran, a 28-year-old Iraqi from near the city of Mosul, said he still hoped that the borders would open.
"We are waiting for hope. Here, the place is very sad for the people, and we don't know what to do," he said, standing by a queue of people lining up for food and baby milk. "The people, they don't want to stay in Greece, because Greece now is in crisis, the economy is so bad."
Mohammed Ali, a 45-year-old pharmacologist from the embattled town of Deir el-Zour, fled Syria with his 19-year-old son, fearing that the young man would be forcibly recruited by the Syrian army or killed by the Islamic State group. They have been in the camp for a month.
"Look at these people here," he said, sweeping his arm across the camp as its residents began to stir at daybreak. "You know Victor Hugo, the French writer? He wrote a book "Les Miserables." In the 21st Century, we stand in the land of Hugo."
Ali said he was "a rich man" in Syria.
"I had two houses, and a car. But with the war, everything is lost," he said. His houses were damaged in Russian airstrikes. "I had a car, a Mazda. Gone too. Now, I have shoes instead. They are my Formula 1."
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Becatoros reported from Idomeni, Greece. Lorne Cook in Brussels, Jamey Keaten in Geneva and Costas Kantouris in Thessaloniki, Greece, contributed.
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Follow Gatopoulos at http://www.twitter.com/dgatopoulos and Becatoros at http://www.twitter.com/ElenaBec
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Online:
UNHCR Statement: http://ow.ly/10aP3I
Amnesty International statement: http://ow.ly/10adlb
Migrants and rrefugees protest peacefully on the railway tracks at the northern Greek border station of Idomeni, now turned into a makeshift refugee camp, Friday, April 1, 2016. Some 11,500 remain camped out at the border with Macedonia, ignoring instructions from the Greek government to move to organized shelters. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)
University teacher Ziaee Shole, center, speaks to Afghan children at the Athens port of Piraeus, on Friday, April 1, 2016. Shole, 32, migrant from the Iranian town of Shiraz started to educate the migrants' children the last two days. She has been staying with her Afghan husband and their two children for the last two weeks in a warehouse at the the port. About 5,300 stay at the biggest port of the country as more than 50,000 migrants remain stranded in Greece following border restrictions and closures by Austria and Balkan nations. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
A boy runs on a railway wagon at a train station near a makeshift refugee camp at the northern Greek border point of Idomeni, Greece, Friday, April 1, 2016. More than 50,000 refugees and migrants have been stranded in Greece after Balkan countries closed their borders to the massive flow of refugees pouring into Europe. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
An Afghan girl checks her notebook at the Athens port of Piraeus, on Friday, April 1, 2016. A migrant Iranian university teacher who is staying in a warehouse with her family at the port, started to teach the migrants' children the last two days. About 5,300 stay at the biggest port of the country as more than 50,000 migrants remain stranded in Greece following border restrictions and closures by Austria and Balkan nations. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
University teacher Ziaee Shole, right, checks the notebooks of Afghan children at the Athens port of Piraeus, on Friday, April 1, 2016. Shole, 32, migrant from the Iranian town of Shiraz started to educate the migrants' children the last two days. She has stayed with her Afghan husband and their two children foe the last two weeks in a warehouse at the the port. About 5,300 stay at the biggest port of the country as more than 50,000 migrants remain stranded in Greece following border restrictions and closures by Austria and Balkan nations. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
Syrians carry their belongings before getting on a bus, transferring them to the northwestern Greek city of Ioannina, from the Athens port of Piraeus, on Friday, April 1, 2016. About 5,300 stay at the biggest port of the country as more than 50,000 migrants remain stranded in Greece following border restrictions and closures by Austria and Balkan nations. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
A Syrian man prays in an improvised mosque in a tent in a makeshift camp at the northern Greek border station of Idomeni, Friday, April 1, 2016. Some 11,500 remain camped out at the border with Macedonia, ignoring instructions from the Greek government to move to organized shelters. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)
Refugee boy throws a ball in a field of wheat near a makeshift camp at the northern Greek border station of Idomeni, Friday, April 1, 2016. Some 11,500 remain camped out at the border with Macedonia, ignoring instructions from the Greek government to move to organized shelters. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)
Migrants and refugees wait for fresh vegetables provided by humanitarian workers in a makeshift camp at the northern Greek border station of Idomeni, Friday, April 1, 2016. Some 11,500 remain camped out at the border with Macedonia, ignoring instructions from the Greek government to move to organized shelters. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)
Migrants paint a graffiti at the tent in the makeshift refugee camp at the northern Greek border point of Idomeni, Greece, Friday, April 1, 2016. More than 50,000 refugees and migrants have been stranded in Greece after Balkan countries closed their borders to the massive flow of refugees pouring into Europe. Some 11,500 remain camped out at the border with Macedonia, ignoring instructions from the government to move to organized shelters. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
PICTURED: Editor selections from the Middle East
Here are the highlights from the weekly AP photo report from the Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan a selection of news, photo essays and daily life photos from the region you might have missed.
This week's gallery features our coverage of big news across the region, including a massive suicide bombing in the Pakistani city of Lahore that targeted Christians celebrating Easter, and the hijacking of an Egypt Air domestic flight, which was forced to land in Cyprus.
In the Palestinian territories, people marked the 40th anniversary of Land Day in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel. In Egypt, work continued in Luxor's Valley of the Kings to find out what lies in the recently discovered hidden chambers behind King Tutankhamun's tomb.
FILE - In this Monday, March 28, 2016 photo, women try to comfort a mother who lost her son in bomb attack in Lahore, Pakistan. 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, File)
Preparations for this weekend's Formula 1 Grand Prix were under way in Bahrain.
This gallery also features photo-essays by AP photographers on the spread of hunger in Yemen and Syrian refugee child-beggars on the streets of Beirut.
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This gallery contains photos published March 26-April 1, 2016.
See the latest AP photo galleries: http://apne.ws/TXeCBN
The Archive: Top photo highlights from previous weeks: http://apne.ws/13QUFKJ
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Follow AP photographers on Twitter: http://twitter.com/AP/lists/ap-photographers
Follow AP Images on Twitter: http://twitter.com/AP_Images
Visit AP Images online: http://www.apimages.com
See the AP Images blog: http://blog.apimages.com/
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This gallery was curated by photographer Mosa'ab Elshamy. Follow him on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mosaaberizing
FILE - In this Tuesday, March 29, 2016 photo, Nayerah Atef, an Egyptian crew member of the hijacked domestic EgyptAir flight, is hugged by her family members upon the flight arrival at Cairo International airport, Egypt. 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, File)
FILE - In this Wednesday, March 30, 2016 photo, Israel Arab Bedouin wave Palestinian flags during a rally marking the 40th anniversary of Land Day and against a plan to uproot the village of Umm Al-Hiran in the Negev desert, southern Israel. Land Day commemorates the killing of six Arab citizens of Israel by the Israeli army and police on March 30, 1976 during protests over Israeli confiscations of Arab land. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit, File)
FILE - In this Thursday, March 31, 2016 photo, Lebanese army special forces soldiers train at their base, during the visit of British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, in Hamat Lebanese army air base, 65 kilometers (40 miles) north of Beirut, Lebanon. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)
FILE - In this Tuesday, March 29, 2016 photo, a Syrian refugee woman cleans her pots at a point near her tent at an informal tented settlement near the Syrian border on the outskirts of Mafraq, Jordan. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen, File)
FILE - In this Sunday, March 27, 2016 photo, a Christian worshipper prays shortly before a special Mass in solidarity with Belgium after the attacks in Brussels, at St. Mary's of Nazareth Church in Amman, Jordan. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen, File)
FILE - In this Thursday, March 31, 2016 photo, Syrian refugee Ghufran Ahmad, 5, writes on a board while she and other children attend a class at a makeshift school set up in a tent at an informal tented settlement in the Jordan Valley, Jordan. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen, File)
FILE - In this Sunday, March 27, 2016 photo, Ethiopian Christians pray at Deir El Sultan outside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, traditionally believed by many to be the site of the crucifixion and burial of Jesus Christ, in Jerusalem's Old City. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit, File)
FILE - In this Tuesday, March 15, 2016 photo, a Syrian refugee woman holds her child as she begs for money on a sidewalk, in Beirut, Lebanon. It is one of the most visible signs of the refugee crisis that has put an immense strain on neighboring countries and destabilized Europe. On Lebanon shopping streets, roundabouts and traffic lights, child beggars are seen pressing their small faces against windows of cars, stretching their hands for money or selling chewing gum or flowers. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File)
FILE - In this Saturday, March 26, 2016 photo, supporters of Yemen's former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who are allies of Shiite rebels known as Houthis, climb flag poles during a rally to mark the first anniversary of the Saudi-led military campaign against them, in Sanaa, Yemen. On Friday, in his first speech in months, the leader of the Houthi rebels called for street rallies to mark the occasion. Yet his tone was comparatively subdued, suggesting that the Houthis are under pressure following yearlong airstrikes and a ground operation that have killed thousands of civilians. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)
FILE - 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, File)
FILE - In this Wednesday, March 30, 2016 photo, a Mercedes mechanic prepares tires ahead of this weekend's Formula 1 Grand Prix at the Bahrain International Circuit, , in Sakhir, Bahrain. The night race will be held April 3. (AP Photo/Hasan Jamali, File)
FILE - In this Wednesday, March 30, 2016 photo, Palestinians run from tear gas fired by Israeli troops during a protest marking the 40th Land Day anniversary, outside Ofer military prison near the West Bank city of Ramallah. Land Day commemorates riots on March 30, 1976, when many were killed during a protest by Israeli Arabs whose property was annexed in northern Israel to expand Jewish communities. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed, File)
FILE - 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, File)
FILE - In this Saturday, March 26, 2016 photo, firefighters clean houses exposed to a chemical attack in Taza, 10 miles (20 kilometers) south of Kirkuk in northern Iraq. On Friday, March 11, 2016 The Islamic State group launched two chemical attacks near the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, killing a three-year-old girl, wounding hundreds of people and causing more to flee, Iraqi officials said. (AP Photo/Anmar Khalil, File)
FILE - In this Wednesday, March 30, 2016 photo, 7-month-old Syrian refugee Mariam Mohammed, whose family fled from Hama, Syria, sleeps under a mosquito net inside their tent at an informal tented settlement in the Jordan Valley, Jordan. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen, File)
FILE - In this Thursday, March 31, 2016 photo, an Egyptian guard walks out of King Tutankhamun's tomb in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, Egypt. A radar surveys is scheduled Thursday by Japanese radar technologist to confirm or deny claims that King Tutankhamun's tomb contains hidden undiscovered chambers. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil, File)
FILE - In this Tuesday, March 29, 2016 photo, two Emirati officials as a fire spreads up the side of the watch a high-rise building in Ajman, United Arab Emirates, early . Police in the United Arab Emirates city of Ajman confirmed the fire erupted at the high-rise tower, the latest in a series of skyscraper blazes in the Gulf nation, but gave no details of casualties, File. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)
FILE - In this Wednesday, March 30, 2016 photo, Pakistani Christians hold candles during a vigil for victims of a deadly suicide bombing last Sunday, in Lahore, Pakistan. The massive suicide bombing by a breakaway Taliban faction targeted Christians gathered for Easter Sunday in a park in Lahore, killing at least 70 people, mostly Muslims. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary, File)
FILE - In this Wednesday, March 30, 2016 photo, Palestinians look at large banners made by Palestinian artists marking the 40th Land Day anniversary, in Gaza City. Land Day commemorates riots on March 30, 1976, when many were killed during a protest by Israeli Arabs whose property was annexed in northern Israel to expand Jewish communities. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra, File)
FILE - In this Saturday, March 26, 2016 photo, Iraqi security forces fire at Islamic State militants positions from villages south of the Islamic State group-held city of Mosul, Iraq. The Iraqi military backed by U.S.-led coalition aircraft on Thursday launched a long-awaited operation to recapture the northern city of Mosul from Islamic State militants, a military spokesman said. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - In this Sunday, March, 27, 2016 photo, Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr sits inside his tent during his sit-in inside the heavily guarded Green Zone, in Baghdad, Iraq. Security forces stepped aside to allow influential Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to start his sit-in in Baghdad's highly fortified Green Zone Sunday, after weeks of protests in the Iraqi capital. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim, File)
FILE - In this Thursday, March 31, 2016 photo, a national flag is seen from inside the heavily guarded Green Zone as followers of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr prepare to end their sit-in outside the heavily guarded Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq. Thursday evening al-Sadr called on his supporters to end their sit-in, but to continue "peaceful protests in all Iraqi provinces every Friday to put pressure on lawmakers to vote on the new Cabinet." In a televised speech from his tent erected inside the Green Zone, al-Sadr warned that if the parliament failed to vote, he would pull out his ministers from the Cabinet and call for a vote of no confidence in al-Abadi's government. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed, File)
FILE - In this Tuesday, March 29, 2016 photo, a body of a drowned migrant lays in the sand, off the shore of Gasr Garabulli, in the eastern city of Tripoli, . Libyan Red Crescent workers collected 17 bodies since March 18 after a boat sank off the east coast of the city of Tripoli. (AP Photo/Mohamed Ben Khalifa, File)
US consumer sentiment slips in March to five-month low
WASHINGTON (AP) U.S. consumer sentiment slipped last month to lowest level since October with Americans worried about the country's economic outlook, the University of Michigan said Friday.
The university's index of consumer sentiment dipped to 91 in March, from 91.7 in February. Richard Curtin, chief economist of the Michigan surveys, said consumers' dim view of the economy offset improvement in their own finances. Last month's reading was the lowest since the index registered 90 in October. A year earlier, it stood at 93.
Signs of economic weakness and rising gasoline prices have taken a toll on spirits.
FILE - In this Wednesday, March 16, 2016, file photo, shoppers leave the L.L. Bean retail store in Freeport, Maine. On Friday, April 1, 2016, the University of Michigan issues a report on U.S. consumer sentiment during March. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)
AAA says the average gallon of U.S. gasoline costs $2.06, a 17 percent hike from the $1.76 they were paying a month ago.
Americans have grown cautious about spending. Consumer spending ticked up just 0.1 percent in February, same as in December and January.
Still, the job market is healthy. The government reported Friday that employers added 215,000 jobs in March. The unemployment rate rose to 5 percent from 4.9 percent in February but only because so many Americans came off the sidelines and started looking for work.
Falkland Island lawmakers reject Argentine claim to islands
PORT STANLEY, Falkland Islands (AP) Lawmakers in the far-flung Falkland Islands are rejecting Argentina's claim that a recent decision by a U.N. commission strengthens the South American nation's claim over the archipelago.
Earlier this week, the Argentine government said that the U.N. commission on the limits of the continental shelf had sided with Argentina in a dispute with Great Britain going back decades. The government said the commission had ratified a 2009 Argentine report that fixed the limit of its territory at 200 to 350 miles from its coast.
On Monday, Argentine Foreign Minister Susana Malcorra, previously chief of staff to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, posted a map on Twitter that showed the islands included in Argentina's continental shelf territory.
FILE - In this Sept. 18, 2015 file photo, the Malvinas Museum features rocks in the shape of Malvinas, or Falkland Islands, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Argentinas government celebrated on Monday, March 28, 2016 a decision by a U.N. commission expanding its maritime territory in the South Atlantic Ocean to include the disputed islands and beyond. The Argentine foreign ministry said the decision will be key in its dispute with Britain over the Islands. Argentina lost the 1982 war with Britain after Argentine troops seized the South Atlantic archipelago. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko, File)
Like with everything related to the islands, even what the extension of territory would include is in dispute. The report itself has not been made public.
The U.N. "has agreed to continental shelf extension for Argentina in those areas north of the Falklands Islands that are not the subject of competing claims," Mike Summers, one the local legislative assembly members that govern the British Overseas Territory, told The Associated Press during an interview on Thursday.
Summers added the decision "has no effect for the sovereign position of the Falklands."
In 1982, Argentina invaded and was then routed by British troops. Saturday marks the 34th anniversary of the war. Friday night, Argentine veterans of the war planned to hold a vigil in Buenos Aires.
Islanders and the British government have long rejected Argentina's claims and refused to negotiate. While the commission's recommendation is non-binding, it adds more weight to Argentina's contention.
More than just bitter politics, sovereignty over the islands could become very important because of oil exploration in the surrounding waters.
After Argentina's announcement, share prices of several oil companies briefly dipped.
Argentine lawmakers hailed what the decision could mean for government revenues. On his Facebook page, President Mauricio Macri said the extension will "permit us to defend the resources of our sea, property of each and every Argentine."
Stephen Luxton, mineral resources director for the Falkland Islands government, said the latest chapter in the longstanding dispute would have no impact on drilling.
IS threat growing as Turkey focuses on Kurds
ISTANBUL (AP) As Turkey pushes its campaign against Kurdish militants linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party another deadly foe is gaining momentum the Islamic State group.
The jihadist network is considered responsible by Ankara for four out of six suicide attacks in the country since last summer, the most recent March 12 in Istanbul, where a suicide bombing killed four tourists on Istikal Street. It was the second time tourists were targeted in the city, coming just months after a Jan. 12 attack that killed a dozen German tourists in one of Istanbul's most historic areas. Turkish authorities have blamed the group for two other attacks that killed a total of 136 people.
The acceleration of suicide bombings in Turkey comes after the country increased its involvement in the U.S.-led campaign against the Islamic State group in Syria and amid renewed conflict between Turkish security forces and militants linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, which Ankara and its allies label as a terrorist organization. Analysts question whether Turkey has concentrated its counterterrorism efforts too narrowly on the Kurdish threat.
FILE - In this Thursday, Feb. 25, 2016 file photo, militants of Kurdistan Workers' Party, PKK, prepare a barricade before they attack Turkish security forces in Nusaybin, south Turkey. As Turkey pushes its campaign against Kurdish militants linked to the Kurdistan Workers Union another deadly foe is gaining momentum _ the Islamic State group. The jihadist network is considered responsible by Ankara for four out of six suicide attacks in the country since last summer, the most recent March 12 in Istanbul, where a suicide bombing killed four tourists on Istikal Street. The acceleration of suicide bombings in Turkey comes after the country increased its involvement in the U.S.-led campaign against the Islamic State group in Syria and amid renewed conflict between Turkish security forces and militants linked to the Kurdistan Workers Union, or PKK, which Ankara labels as a terrorist organization. Analysts question whether Turkey has concentrated its counterterrorism efforts too narrowly on the PKK.(AP Photo/Cagdas Erdogan, file)
"When most of the resources are focused on the rising threat of the PKK, that might provide some opening for IS to perpetrate its attacks," said Sinan Ulgen, chairman of Edam, a liberal-leaning think tank based in Istanbul.
Security was tight in Istanbul ahead of the March attack but mainly out of concern that violence could flare during Newroz, a spring festival observed by Kurds, which the authorities banned in most places. That fear was partly rooted in two deadly suicide bombings in Ankara this year, both claimed by a PKK-offshoot. The latest bomb attack against security forces by Kurdish rebels, on Thursday, killed 7 police officers and injured 27 others.
But IS, which has never claimed attacks on Turkish soil, seems to be fast becoming an equal if not greater threat not only to Turkey's security and stability, but also its economy.
"The Islamic State is now having a major negative impact on the economy, in particularly damaging the tourism sector which constitutes for 12 percent of the economy," says Fadi Hakura, an expert on Turkey at Chatham House in London. Tourism Ministry figures show 1.24 million arrived in Turkey in February, a 10 percent decline compared to the same month in 2015.
Analysts view the IS attacks as an outcome of Turkey's policy in Syria, which has favored opposition factions striving to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad. According to them, from 2011 to 2014 Ankara largely turned a blind eye to the cross-border activities of rebels, allowing jihadists to flock to Syria and paving the way for IS to establish a so-called caliphate in Syria and clandestine cells in Turkey.
The government denies the accusation and has long called for closer cooperation with Western intelligence agencies to identify potential threats. The country has deported about 3,250 "foreign terrorist fighters" in the past five years, according to foreign ministry figures. As of March 2016, Turkey's no entry list included nearly 38,000 names, while risk analysis units have screened 9,500 people and denied entry to 2,000.
Last week, on the heels of the Brussels attacks which killed 35 people and injured 270 others, Erdogan revealed that one of the suspected bombers of Belgian nationality had been picked up by Turkey and deported to the Netherlands at the bomber's request. He faulted both European nations for failing to address the possible threat.
Turkey is seen as particularly vulnerable due to its proximity to IS-held territory and its participation in the U.S.-led coalition against the group, which responds to territorial setbacks in Syria and Iraq by staging sensational attacks against its enemies abroad.
"Turkey singlehandedly attempted to shape the outcome of the Syrian war and now Turkey is suffering due to the fallout of this ill-executed policy," says Soner Cagaptay, director of the Turkish research program at the D.C.-based Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Domestically, Ankara has prioritized other battles, cracking down on opponents and dissidents of all stripes. Considerable resources have been devoted to settling scores with the Fethullah Gulen Hizmet movement, which is led by a U.S.-based cleric who fell out with the Turkish president. And there has been a purge in the ranks of law enforcement.
As for Turkey's war on terror, officials have repeatedly stressed that they considered the PKK threat to its national interests equal in magnitude to IS. That view is the result of a decades-old conflict with Kurdish insurgents that killed more than 40,000 and resumed last summer.
During the violent decades of the 80s and 90s, the primary security threat came from the PKK, a group the EU and the U.S. also list as a terrorist organization. Back then Turkey was surrounded by strong and stable neighbors. Today it faces multiple threats and spillover from the conflicts in neighboring Syria and Iraq.
Critics see this as a problem of Ankara's own making, arguing Turkey facilitated the rise of IS with its open door policy which led to the country sheltering 2. 7 million Syrian refugees while failing to do enough to keep potential terrorists from coming into the country. But under pressure from the West, Turkey has changed course and regularly deports suspected IS members or sympathizers from its airports
Since 2014, Turkey has stepped up controls along its border with Syria, with varying consistency and success, according to international observers. By the summer of 2015, Ankara was on board as an active partner in the U.S.-led coalition against IS, opening up its Incirlik air base for allied jets to carry out bombing runs in Syria.
While IS has responded with increased acts of aggression on Turkish soil, some analysts say it is no coincidence that it is picking "soft targets," including left-wing and Kurdish activists and foreigners - over symbols of the state or military installations. Most of of the attacks in Turkey have been carried out by Turkish nationals, according to the authorities.
"IS is very careful not to target areas where mass Sunni Turkish casualties will emerge as a consequence of the attack perpetrated," because it doesn't want to alienate potential supporters, said Ahmet Kasim Han, an international relations expert at Kadir Has University in Istanbul.
Han noted that Turkey has always been a target for IS, which featured the country in its Turkish-language magazine Konstantiniyye as well as its English-language glossy Dabiq as an area for expansion.
Secret Tut chamber? Egypt calls experts to examine evidence
VALLEY OF THE KINGS, Egypt (AP) Egypt on Friday invited archaeologists and experts from around the world to examine new data from new, extensive radar scanning conducted on King Tutankhamun's tomb to explore a theory that secret chambers could be hidden behind its walls.
The open invitation to a conference in Cairo in May, issued by the antiquities minister at a news conference just outside the tomb, aims to bring broader scientific rigor to what so far have only been tantalizing clues.
The new exploration was prompted by a theory by British Egyptologist Nicolas Reeves that undiscovered chambers lie behind the tomb's western and northern walls and that they likely contain the tomb of Queen Nefertiti, one of pharaonic Egypt's most famous figures whose bust, on display at the Berlin Museum, is a much storied symbol of ancient beauty.
The western wall of King Tutankhamun's burial chamber at his tomb at the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, Egypt, Friday, April 1, 2016. Egypt's archaeologists have completed more extensive scanning of two recently discovered chambers behind King Tut's tomb in the Valley of the Kings. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
Preliminary scans whose results were announced last month suggested two open spaces with signs of metal and organic matter. Egypt's archaeologists announced Friday they completed more extensive scanning, sponsored by National Geographic, and the results must now be analyzed.
If chambers whether containing Nefertiti's tomb or not are discovered behind the western and northern walls covered in hieroglyphs and bas-reliefs in Tut's tomb, it would likely be the biggest discovery in Egyptology since Howard Carter first discovered the king's 3,300-year-old burial chamber and its treasures in 1922.
Antiquities Minister Khaled el-Anani, who was appointed to his post last week, counselled caution.
He said Egypt's "scientific credibility" and the preservation of its antiquities were at stake, adding; "We will rely only on science going forward. There are no results to share at the current stage, but only indications. We are not searching for hidden chambers, but rather we are scientifically verifying whether there are such rooms."
"We are looking for the truth and reality, not chambers."
Another radar scan will be carried out at the end of the month. It will be done vertically from atop the hill above the tomb, using equipment with a range of about 40 meters (yards).
Harvard University Egyptology professor Peter Der Manuelian, who is not involved in the project, said the Valley of the Kings is "notorious for containing fissures, cracks" that complicate interpreting the scans. "So the more scans we do, and from different angles and directions, inside and outside the tomb, the better," he told The Associated Press.
Even if the spaces are rooms, they could be undecorated small rooms for holding embalming materials, he said or, more dramatically, "the beginning of a larger floor plan."
"We'll have to be patient. In the meantime, kudos to Nick Reeves for pointing out the presence of these anomalies and for sharing them with the world."
Reeves' theory was prompted by the unusual structure of Tut's tomb. It is smaller than other royal tombs and oriented differently. Furthermore, his examination of photos uncovered what appear to be the outlines of a filled-in doorframe in one wall.
He has speculated that Tutankhamun, who died at age 19, may have been rushed into an outer chamber of what was originally Nefertiti's tomb. Nefertiti was one of the wives of Tut's father Akhenaten, though another wife Kia is believed to be Tut's mother.
"We have a theory, and now what we're trying to do is test it. And, I , if I am right, fantastic, if I am wrong, I've been doing my job, I've been following the evidence trail, and seeing where it leads," Reeves told the AP.
El-Anani said Egyptologists and Valley of the Kings experts will discuss on May 8 the findings of the scans in a previously scheduled conference devoted to King Tut to be held at Egypt's new national museum near the Giza Pyramids outside Cairo. There, they can discuss the findings. The outcome, he said, will guide what course of action Egypt takes.
The Valley of the Kings was one of the main burial sites for ancient Egypt's pharaohs, located among the desert mountains across the Nile River from Luxor, the site of the monumental temples of Thebes, one of the pharaonic capitals.
Tut's was the most intact tomb ever discovered in Egypt, packed with well-preserved artifacts. But he was a relatively minor king ruling for a short period at a turbulent time.
Nefertiti was the primary wife of the Pharaoh Akhenaten, who unsuccessfully tried to switch Egypt to an early form of monotheism. Akhenaten was succeeded by a pharaoh referred to as Smenkhare. Reeves believes Smenkhare and Nefertiti are the same person, with the queen simply changing her name during her rule.
Not long after Tut died in 1323 B.C., his family was overthrown by a general, ending the 18th Dynasty that had been in power for 250 years.
John Darnell, professor of Egyptology at Yale University, said Tut's tomb is "somewhat anomalous due to its small size ... But the question is: Was Tutankhamun's tomb small, or do we have only a portion of a larger tomb?"
The latest scans were carried out over 12 hours along five different levels of the walls, producing 40 scans. The data will be analyzed by U.S.-based experts, but the results would not be known for at least another week.
"Technology is beginning to open doors that were permanently locked, or seemed permanently locked or maybe we did not know it existed," said Terry D. Garcia, chief science and exploration officer for National Geographic. "It is creating a revolution ... and it is going to result in the 21st century being the greatest in exploration in the history of mankind and we are just scratching the surface."
The mystery is also a golden opportunity for Egypt to boost its deeply damaged tourism industry by drawing world attention to its wealth of pharaonic antiquities.
But any benefit from the discoveries may be slow coming, with Egypt still facing turmoil, including a deadly fight against Islamic militants in the Sinai.
Pharaonic sites were once Egypt's main draw. But cities like Luxor have suffered heavily from the plunge in tourism. Now, visits to Egypt's beaches have also been devastated since the crash of a Russian airliner in October over the Sinai Peninsula that killed all 224 people onboard. Russia said it was downed by an explosive device and suspended all flights to Egypt. Britain suspended all flights to Sharm el-Sheikh, the Egyptian Red Sea resort from which the doomed aircraft took off shortly before it crashed.
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AP correspondent Brian Rohan contributed to this report from New York.
Radar scanning experts scan a wall at King Tutankhamun's burial chamber at his tomb at the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, Egypt, Friday, April 1, 2016. Egypt's archaeologists have completed more extensive scanning of two recently discovered chambers behind King Tut's tomb in the Valley of the Kings. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
The north wall of King Tutankhamun's burial chamber at his tomb at the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, Egypt, Friday, April 1, 2016. Egypt's archaeologists have completed more extensive scanning of two recently discovered chambers behind King Tut's tomb in the Valley of the Kings. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
Egyptian Antiquities Minister, Khaled El-Anani, center, speaks during a press conference with Egyptologists outside King Tutankhamun's tomb at the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, Egypt, Friday, April 1, 2016. Egypt's archaeologists have completed more extensive scanning of two recently discovered chambers behind King Tut's tomb in the Valley of the Kings. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
Egyptian Antiquities Minister, Khaled El-Anani, speaks during a press conference outside King Tutankhamun's tomb at the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, Egypt, Friday, April 1, 2016. Egypt's archaeologists have completed more extensive scanning of two recently discovered chambers behind King Tut's tomb in the Valley of the Kings. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
Egyptian Antiquities Minister, Khaled El-Anani, speaks during a press conference with British Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves, right, and American Engineer Eric Berkenpas, left, outside King Tutankhamun's tomb at the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, Egypt, Friday, April 1, 2016. Egypt's archaeologists have completed more extensive scanning of two recently discovered chambers behind King Tut's tomb in the Valley of the Kings. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
One of Egypt's famed King Tutankhamun's golden sarcophagus is displayed at his tomb in a glass case at the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, Egypt, Friday, April 1, 2016. Egypt's archaeologists have completed more extensive scanning of two recently discovered chambers behind King Tut's tomb in the Valley of the Kings. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
Radar scanning experts scan a wall at King Tutankhamun's burial chamber at his tomb at the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, Egypt, Friday, April 1, 2016. Egypt's archaeologists have completed more extensive scanning of two recently discovered chambers behind King Tut's tomb in the Valley of the Kings. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
Radar scanning experts scan a wall at King Tutankhamun's burial chamber at his tomb at the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, Egypt, Friday, April 1, 2016. Egypt's archaeologists have completed more extensive scanning of two recently discovered chambers behind King Tut's tomb in the Valley of the Kings. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
FILE - In this Thursday, March 31, 2016 photo, an Egyptian guard walks out of King Tutankhamun's tomb in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, Egypt. A radar surveys is scheduled Thursday by Japanese radar technologist to confirm or deny claims that King Tutankhamun's tomb contains hidden undiscovered chambers. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil, File)
Ex-reserve drew pistol, stun gun weeks before fatal shooting
TULSA, Okla. (AP) Video released by an Oklahoma sheriff's office shows a former volunteer deputy pointing a stun gun at a suspected drug dealer and briefly drawing his firearm just weeks before he fatally shot an unarmed man after allegedly mistaking his handgun for a stun gun.
The video recorded by two Tulsa County sheriff's deputies shows Robert Bates drawing a stun gun on a naked man who was lying on the ground in front of a mobile home on March 12, 2015. It also shows Bates talking to the suspect and briefly drawing his firearm before re-holstering it as a deputy tells him, "stop, stop."
It's unclear from the video where Bates aimed his firearm. The sheriff's office said Friday that the deputy was only telling Bates to quit talking while deputies cleared the mobile home.
FILE - In this July 13, 2015, file photo, Robert Bates arrives for his arraignment in Tulsa, Okla. The former Oklahoma volunteer deputy is charged with second-degree manslaughter in the fatal shooting of an unarmed man. Video released by an Oklahoma sheriff's office shows Bates pointing a stun gun at a suspected drug dealer and briefly drawing his firearm just weeks before he fatally shot an unarmed man. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)
Three weeks after the incident, Bates fatally shot Eric Harris while working with deputies during a sting investigation into illegal gun sales. Bates who has pleaded not guilty to second-degree manslaughter in the case is scheduled to go on trial later this month.
Bates has said he mistook his firearm for his stun gun when he shot Harris, who was unarmed and being restrained by other deputies at the time.
The video, first reported by The Frontier and KOTV-TV, was released by the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office.
Harris family attorney Dan Smolen said the video was "alarming" and more evidence that Bates lacked the training needed to be involved in a drug raid or any other field operation.
"The video shows that Bates is overly-aggressive and incompetent. Bates approaches a naked, unarmed, handcuffed and helpless suspect in a dangerously unprofessional manner," Smolen said in a statement Friday.
Harris' family has filed a lawsuit against Bates and former Tulsa County Sheriff Stanley Glanz, who has pleaded not guilty to charges alleging he failed to publicly release an internal 2009 office memo that questioned Bates' qualifications. The memo said superiors knew that Bates a longtime friend of Glanz who donated thousands of dollars in vehicles, cash and equipment to the sheriff's office didn't have enough training but pressured others to look the other way.
Clark Brewster, an attorney for Bates, didn't immediately return a message seeking comment on the video.
Deputy Justin Green, a sheriff's office spokesman, said no use-of-force report was filed after the March 12, 2015 incident because Bates properly drew his stun gun to back deputies searching the house.
South African president apologizes for scandal
JOHANNESBURG (AP) South African President Jacob Zuma on Friday apologized for a scandal over millions of dollars in state spending on his private residence and said he would abide by a Constitutional Court ruling that he should pay back some funds.
In a nationally televised address, Zuma said he acted "in good faith" in the long dispute over his Nkandla home, which fueled concerns about alleged corruption at the highest levels of government as well as opposition calls for the president to resign.
"The matter has caused a lot of frustration and confusion for which I apologize on my behalf and on behalf of government," Zuma said.
Mmusi Maimane, leader of the Official opposition Democratic Alliance party, addresses journalist outside the Constitutional Court in Johannesburg, South Africa, Thursday, March 31, 2016. The court ruled that President Jacob Zuma "failed to uphold" the law when he did not pay back some state funds used to upgrade his personal residence. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Despite the president's apology, the main opposition party said it would still move to impeach Zuma after South Africa's top court said he had violated the constitution by not adhering to a state watchdog agency's recommendations that he should pay back some of the more than $20 million spent on his compound.
"Jacob Zuma is the cancer at the heart of South African politics," Mmusi Maimane, leader of the Democratic Alliance party, said in a statement.
However, impeachment requires a two-thirds majority in a parliament where the ruling African National Congress party has a comfortable majority and has already defeated a no-confidence motion against Zuma this year. The Constitutional Court also ruled Thursday that parliament failed in its obligations by not holding Zuma to account in the spending scandal.
Under the court's ruling, the national treasury must calculate costs of upgrades unrelated to security at Zuma's home within 60 days, and the president must repay that amount within 45 days thereafter. Those upgrades include a swimming pool and a chicken run.
"I wish to emphasize that I never knowingly or deliberately set out to violate the constitution, which is the supreme law of the republic," Zuma said.
In a separate scandal, Zuma has been accused of allegedly improper links to the Guptas, a wealthy business family whose business associates include Zuma's son Duduzane. The president dismissed allegations that the Guptas played a role in selecting some Cabinet ministers, but other leaders of the ruling party have harshly criticized the family.
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Lopez says San Antonio incident is fodder for his series
NEW YORK (AP) Comic George Lopez says he plans to use the recent flap over his remark about San Antonio as fodder for his new comedy on TV Land, which is loosely based on his life.
Lopez has apologized for slurring the Texas city onstage during a March 19 performance of the Comedy Get Down tour in a Seattle arena. The remark was recorded and posted online without context, angering many Texans.
"There's a lot of hate lying underneath," Lopez said in an interview. "If this one thing that I apologized for can create that much negativity for me in San Antonio, maybe I don't have the fans that I thought I did in San Antonio."
In this Thursday, March 31, 2016 photo, George Lopez poses for a portrait in New York. Lopez says he plans to use his recent high-tech tiff with San Antonio as fodder for his new comedy on TV Land, which is loosely based on his life. (Photo by Scott Gries/Invision/AP)
Lopez said he was trying to deflect ridicule for a fellow comic, who had just mistakenly referred to being in San Antonio when he was onstage in Seattle. The comedy tour's previous stop was in San Antonio.
Lopez tried to heap praise on Seattle by saying, "You guys have outdone San Antonio. F--- San Antonio."
Once that clip was distributed, Lopez became the target of online critics. "George, you should have known better than to mess with Texas," was one of the clean comments.
"It wasn't even long," Lopez said. "It wasn't like I did a dissertation on what I don't like about San Antonio. But what I've seen and read is vile. To create things that are so insensitive and personal. I'm hurt."
There's a larger issue about comedy, he said. "Everybody is so sensitive right now," he said. "The political correctness is destroying comedy. We used to be the reporters of the absurd."
Still, he recognizes the experience as prime material for a future episode of his show, to examine the idea of viral clips of a performance taking on a life of their own. He'll disguise it by using a city other than San Antonio, he said. His show, "Lopez," which debuted last week on TV Land, is reminiscent of HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" in that he plays himself and responds to odd things that happen in his life.
The show's Lopez is a successful Mexican-American caught between old compadres who see him as moving beyond them and wealthy new associates not quite comfortable with a minority. He subverts stereotypes: In the first episode, Lopez absentmindedly hands a ticket to someone he thinks is a valet only to learn that it's former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who flames him online for the mistake.
In the show, rapper Snoop Dogg tries to get Lopez to perform a comedy routine for his Latina maid.
That's taken from real life the number of people who ask him to be funny in social situations who wouldn't necessarily think of asking a doctor they met at a cocktail party to take a look at a mysterious rash.
"It's ridiculous," he said. "You wouldn't think that anyone would have the nerve to do that, but it happens more often than not."
In this Thursday, March 31, 2016 photo, comic George Lopez poses for a portrait in New York. Lopez says he plans to use his recent high-tech tiff with San Antonio as fodder for his new comedy on TV Land, which is loosely based on his life. (Photo by Scott Gries/Invision/AP)
In this Thursday, March 31, 2016 photo, comic George Lopez poses for a portrait in New York. Lopez says he plans to use his recent high-tech tiff with San Antonio as fodder for his new comedy on TV Land, which is loosely based on his life. (Photo by Scott Gries/Invision/AP)
In this Thursday, March 31, 2016 photo, comic George Lopez poses for a portrait in New York. Lopez says he plans to use his recent high-tech tiff with San Antonio as fodder for his new comedy on TV Land, which is loosely based on his life. (Photo by Scott Gries/Invision/AP)
Orders for lower-priced Tesla hit 198,000
HAWTHORNE, Calif. (AP) Demand for Tesla Motors' new lower-priced electric car surprised even the company's CEO Friday as 198,000 people plunked down $1,000 deposits to reserve their vehicles.
"Definitely going to need to rethink production planning," a surprised CEO Elon Musk said on his Twitter feed.
Musk unveiled the car Thursday night at a design studio near Los Angeles. It starts at $35,000 and has a range of 215 miles per charge, which is far more than most people drive each day.
This undated photo provided by Tesla Motors shows the Model 3 car. The promise of an affordable electric car from Tesla Motors had hundreds of people lining up to reserve one. At a starting price of $35,000 before federal and state government incentives the Model 3 is less than half the cost of Tesla's previous models. (Tesla Motors via AP)
The orders came from across the globe even though the car isn't scheduled for sale until late in 2017. But they could jeopardize a $7,500 U.S. electric car tax credit that many buyers are counting on to reduce the price. The tax credits gradually phase out after a company hits 200,000 in U.S. sales.
A Tesla spokeswoman wouldn't say how many of the 198,000 orders came from the U.S.
Thursday night, Musk said Tesla had 115,000 orders since the company started taking them earlier in the day in Australia. There were long lines at Tesla stores from Hong Kong to Austin, Texas, reminiscent of crowds at Apple stores for early models of the iPhone. But the number kept rising into Friday.
"Thought it would slow way down today, but Model 3 order count is now at 198k," Musk tweeted during the afternoon, saying the wait time for the car is "growing rapidly."
The news pushed Tesla shares to a Friday closing price of $237.59, up 3.4 percent from Thursday.
The Model 3 is less than half the cost of Tesla's previous models, and its range is about double what drivers get from current competitors in its price range, such as the Nissan Leaf and BMW i3.
On Twitter, Musk estimated that the average selling price of a Model 3 with options would be around $42,000. So the sales would bring more than $8.3 billion in revenue to Tesla.
Prototypes looked like a shorter version of Tesla's Model S sedan. The Model 3 has a panoramic glass roof and an elongated hood. Inside, it seats five and has the same large touchscreen dashboard as other Teslas. It also has Tesla's suite of semi-autonomous driving features, including automatic lane changing and lane keeping. Musk said it will accelerate from zero to 60 in less than 6 seconds.
Tesla has a history of missing deadlines for its vehicles to hit the market, but Musk said Thursday that he feels "fairly confident" that the Model 3 will come out next year.
The lower-priced car is the most serious test yet of 13-year-old Tesla's ability to go from niche player to a full-fledged automaker. It could be the car that finally makes electrics mainstream or consumers could continue to be skeptical that electrics will work for everyday use. In the U.S., they still make up less than 1 percent of annual sales. Either way, the Model 3 is already changing the industry, spurring competitors to speed development of electric cars.
General Motors Co. is set to start selling the Chevrolet Bolt electric car at the end of this year with a similar price tag and a 200-mile range. Hyundai's Ioniq, which has a 110-mile electric range and could match Tesla on price, goes on sale this fall. Audi will follow with an electric SUV in 2018.
The orders show there's real, underlying demand for reasonably priced electric cars with high range, says Edmunds.com senior analyst Jessica Caldwell. Customers put down $1,000 knowing that they'll probably have to wait two years to get their cars, leading Caldwell to believe it's more about the cultural phenomenon of Tesla.
"You're not seeing people wait in long lines to purchase a Chevy Bolt, considering it comes out much sooner and the range is about the same," she said.
During his Thursday night presentation, Musk gave details on how electric cars can fit into people's lives, she said. "You felt like the lifestyle was attainable in his talk," she said.
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Durbin reported from Detroit, where Auto Writer Tom Krisher contributed.
CORRECTS SPELLING OF PHOTOGRAPHER'S LAST NAME TO PRITCHARD, NOT PRICHARD - Tesla Motors Inc. CEO Elon Musk speaks at the unveiling of the Model 3 at the Tesla Motors design studio Thursday, March 31, 2016, in Hawthorne, Calif. The promise of an affordable electric car from Tesla Motors had hundreds of people lining up to reserve one. At a starting price of $35,000 before federal and state government incentives the Model 3 is less than half the cost of Tesla's previous models. (AP Photo/Justin Pritchard)
CORRECTS SPELLING OF PHOTOGRAPHER'S LAST NAME TO PRITCHARD, NOT PRICHARD - People sit at computers where they can reserve one of the cars before Tesla Motors unveils the Model 3 at the Tesla Motors design studio Thursday, March 31, 2016, in Hawthorne, Calif. The promise of an affordable electric car from Tesla Motors had hundreds of people lining up to reserve one. At a starting price of $35,000 before federal and state government incentives the Model 3 is less than half the cost of Tesla's previous models. (AP Photo/Justin Pritchard)
CORRECTS SPELLING OF PHOTOGRAPHER'S LAST NAME TO PRITCHARD, NOT PRICHARD - Tesla Motors unveils its Model 3 car at the Tesla Motors design studio Thursday, March 31, 2016, in Hawthorne, Calif. The promise of an affordable electric car from Tesla Motors had hundreds of people lining up to reserve one. At a starting price of $35,000 before federal and state government incentives the Model 3 is less than half the cost of Tesla's previous models. (AP Photo/Justin Pritchard)
Nick Tobin, left, with his father, Byron Tobin, second from left, wait in line to be the first to sign a wait list to own the new Tesla Model 3 at the Tesla showroom in Pasadena, Calif., Thursday, March 31, 2016. Tesla plans to unveil its Model 3 electric car Thursday night at its Los Angeles design studio. At a starting price of $35,000, before federal and state government incentives, the Model 3 is less than half the cost of Tesla's previous models. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)
Customers wait in line to be the first to sign a wait list to own the new Tesla vehicle at the Tesla showroom in Pasadena, Calif. Thursday, March 31, 2016. Tesla plans to unveil its Model 3 electric car Thursday night at its Los Angeles design studio. At a starting price of $35,000, before federal and state government incentives, the Model 3 is less than half the cost of Tesla's previous models. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)
FILE - In this Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2015, file photo, Tesla Motors Inc. CEO Elon Musk delivers a conference at the Paris Pantheon Sorbonne University as part of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris. Tesla Motors is set to unveil the Model 3, its first car in the $35,000 range. The Model 3 is the most serious test yet of 13-year-old Teslas ability to go from a niche player to a full-fledged automaker. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, File)
Customers wait in line to be the first to sign a wait list to own the new Tesla Model 3 at the Tesla showroom in Pasadena, Calif. Thursday, March 31, 2016. Tesla plans to unveil its Model 3 electric car Thursday night at its Los Angeles design studio. At a starting price of $35,000, before federal and state government incentives, the Model 3 is less than half the cost of Tesla's previous models. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)
This undated photo provided by Tesla Motors shows the Model 3 car. The promise of an affordable electric car from Tesla Motors had hundreds of people lining up to reserve one. At a starting price of $35,000 before federal and state government incentives the Model 3 is less than half the cost of Tesla's previous models. (Tesla Motors via AP)
Prospective buyers line up in South Lake Union to preorder the $35,000 Tesla Model 3, Thursday, March 31, 2016, in Seattle. The car doesn't go on sale until late 2017, but potential buyers could reserve one with a $1,000 deposit at Tesla stores starting Thursday morning. (Steve Ringman/The Seattle Times via AP) SEATTLE OUT; USA TODAY OUT; MAGS OUT; TELEVISION OUT; NO SALES; MANDATORY CREDIT TO BOTH THE SEATTLE TIMES AND THE PHOTOGRAPHER
This undated photo provided by Tesla Motors shows a silver Model 3 car. The promise of an affordable electric car from Tesla Motors had hundreds of people lining up to reserve one. At a starting price of $35,000 before federal and state government incentives the Model 3 is less than half the cost of Tesla's previous models. (Tesla Motors via AP)
Will Apple's FBI tussle take a bite out of the brand?
NEW YORK (AP) The revelation that the FBI was able to break into a secured iPhone without Apple's help won't take a bite out of Apple's brand reputation, but consumers will be looking for security improvements soon.
The Apple brand has already withstood worse. In 2014, hackers posted nude photos of Jennifer Lawrence and other celebrities after guessing their passwords and breaking into their Apple iCloud accounts. Beyond security, Apple has faced complaints that the iPhone 6 Plus bent too easily and that the iPhone 4 lost signal strength when users held it a certain way.
In each case, Apple's reputation recovered and the company went on to sell 232 million iPhones last year. And on Thursday, crowds formed at some stores as the new iPhone SE went on sale, though the company hasn't released figures.
FILE - In this Thursday, March 31, 2016, file photo, Apple employees cheer at the door as they escort first customers in line for the release and sale start of the new Apple iPhone SE at an Apple shop in Tokyo. The revelation that the FBI was able to break into a secured iPhone without Apples help wont take a bite out of Apples brand reputation, but consumers will be looking for security improvements soon. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)
YouGov BrandIndex, which tracks brand perceptions, said that the Apple brand has been trending modestly positively since early March and that the FBI dropping the case had no effect on that.
And investors haven't shown much concern: Apple's stock has increased 4 percent since the FBI said late Monday that it didn't need help to break into the phone. Investors have typically been more worried about whether Apple can maintain its growth as smartphone sales slow down.
Apple resisted the FBI's demands that it rewrite the iPhone's software to override safeguards against repeatedly guessing passcodes. But the FBI now says it didn't need Apple's help after all in breaking into an iPhone used by a San Bernardino killer. It was an older model, but has recent iPhone software.
Apple is already expected to tighten security even more with its next iPhone software, likely to be announced in June and available in September. But can Apple assure its phones are unbreakable when the FBI won't reveal what technique it used?
"They have a window to address the problem, but ... there has to be news soon, with Apple saying 'Here's how the new iPhone is now Fort Knox," said Allen Adamson, founder of Brand Simple Consulting.
Apple won't comment on specific plans, but says it's constantly working to improve the security of its devices, because it knows hackers are always looking for new vulnerabilities. Apple also says it can deliver software updates quickly because it sends them directly to users. With Android, any updates have to wait for phone makers and wireless carriers to approve them.
And even if the FBI doesn't disclose the technique it used, it may become outmoded as Apple continues updating its security protections.
Christopher Lehmann, managing director of branding firm Landor in San Francisco, said iPhone buyers will understand that Apple's in a business that's "always about improvement, evolving and being agile about how you approach technology."
In addition, Apple likely got some kudos from consumers for standing its ground against the government.
And Apple benefits from a quick resolution. Scott Galloway, clinical professor of marketing at NYU Stern School of Business, said Apple risked public sentiment turning against the company as people became more informed about the case, and particularly if Apple lost.
For now, he said, "the line isn't going to be any shorter for the iPhone because the FBI in concert with a third party figured out a way to hack into one phone. I haven't heard anybody say 'That's it, I'm switching to Samsung.'"
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The Latest: Police say mall kidnap suspect had baby shower
KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. (AP) The Latest on the abduction of a baby from a suburban Philadelphia shopping mall (all times local):
3:30 p.m.
A public defender's office has been assigned to represent a woman charged with kidnapping a newborn from a shopping mall near Philadelphia.
This undated family handout photo provided by the Upper Merion Township Police Department shows Ahsir Simmons. Police are searching for a woman who they say kidnapped the 7-week-old baby boy from the King of Prussia Mall in suburban Philadelphia on Thursday, March 31, 2016. (Upper Merion Township Police Department via AP)
Deputy Public Defender Gregory Nester says it's too early to comment on the charges filed Friday against 32-year-old Cherie Amoore.
Amoore is being held on $500,000 bail until an April 15 preliminary hearing.
Police say she told them she had given birth to a baby that died after only a few hours in February. Detectives are not sure if that is true, but they say Amoore did have a baby shower and relatives thought she was pregnant.
Police say the 7-week-old boy kidnapped Thursday from the King of Prussia Mall was found unharmed hours later in Amoore's apartment.
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3 p.m.
A suburban Philadelphia woman says she had "an out of body experience" when she allegedly left a shopping mall with a stranger's 7-week-old baby.
A police affidavit says Cherie Amoore told investigators she only wanted to hold her son again. She says the boy died hours after his birth in February.
Police are not yet sure if the 32-year-old suspect had recently been pregnant.
They say Amoore insists she didn't go to the King of Prussia Mall on Thursday to "steal a baby" and expressed remorse that "it all went wrong."
The baby's mother says Amoore befriended her at the mall. She says she became momentarily distracted by another child at the food court and tried to chase the woman as she walked off with her son.
Upper Merion Police Chief Thomas Nolan says tips poured in that led police to find the child unharmed at Amoore's apartment.
She is being held on $500,000 bail. It's not clear if she has a lawyer to comment on her behalf.
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2 p.m.
A suburban Philadelphia woman with several baby gift registries has been accused of kidnapping a newborn at a shopping mall.
Alerts about the kidnapping on Thursday led the suspect's relatives to contact authorities, and the 7-week-old boy was back in his mother's care by that evening.
Thirty-two-year-old Cherie Amoore is being charged Friday with kidnapping, child concealment and other charges. She remains in custody pending a scheduled afternoon court appearance. It's not clear if she has a lawyer to comment on her behalf, and messages left with relatives have not been returned.
Police say Amoore struck up a conversation with the baby's mother at the King of Prussia Mall and took him when the mother was distracted with another child.
Authorities say the infant, Ahsir Simmons, was found at Amoore's nearby apartment.
SeaWorld, Humane Society want Obama to end Japanese whaling
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) SeaWorld and the Humane Society of the United States are asking President Barack Obama to pressure Japan to end its commercial whaling activities.
SeaWorld CEO Joel Manby and Humane Society CEO Wayne Pacelle sent Obama a letter Thursday urging him to treat the end of commercial whaling as a much stronger priority for action within the context of America's diplomatic relationship with Japan.
The letter accuses Japan of flouting international law and world opinion. It also points out that the United States has the power to lead a comprehensive effort in ending the practice.
Haiti protest demands justice for 3 slain deaf women
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) Hundreds of protesters marched in Haiti's capital on Friday to demand justice following the brutal killings of three deaf women who were tortured, stoned and left in a gully by attackers.
Mickelson Jean, leader of a Haitian association for the deaf, was one of roughly 300 people who marched in Port-au-Prince to call attention to the recent slayings. The women lived in the coastal village of Leveque where scores of homes are reserved for deaf people and their families.
"These murders are an act of absolute barbarism and we must have justice," Jean said.
The three women were killed as they were trying to return home by foot late at night because a bridge had collapsed, preventing public transport from Haiti's capital. They all worked as street vendors and went into Port-au-Prince that day to stock up on supplies.
Jentullon Joel, the police commissioner in Cabaret near where the killings took place two weeks ago, said arrest warrants have since been issued for two men, and three women are being held for questioning.
Joel said that one of the female suspects told investigators that her husband killed the deaf women because he feared they were "lougawou," a Haitian Creole word for vicious supernatural creatures who fly at night.
But Nicole Phillips, a lawyer representing the victims' families, believes that story is "a false defense to try and justify a heinous crime." Mob violence is common in Haiti and experts say there is a widespread acceptance of the killing of perceived evil-doers.
Phillips alleged that one of the victims was known by members of the family who attacked the deaf women. "They only came to this house late at night and asked for shelter because one of the victims knew them," she said.
Phillips, an attorney with the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti, is hopeful that the case can shine a spotlight on the vulnerability of disabled Haitians and the obstacles to justice they face.
"It's a case that's emblematic of violence that occurs against deaf people, particularly women who can't scream if they are attacked," she said.
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US official warns Puerto Rico resources targeted amid crisis
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) The U.S. Secretary of the Interior warned Friday during an official visit to Puerto Rico that the island's protected natural resources could be targeted for private development in a new push to lift the U.S. territory out of a dire economic crisis.
The comments by Secretary Sally Jewell come days after U.S. Republicans tucked a provision into a draft legislation addressing Puerto Rico's economy that would authorize the future secretary of the interior to open thousands of acres of protected Puerto Rico land to private development.
"I think we need to be very, very careful," Jewell told The Associated Press. "Giving up public lands or natural areas to development is not synonymous with economic growth and development."
U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell speaks to a group of Puerto Rican children during a visit to San Juan, Puerto Rico, Friday, April 1, 2016. Jewell warned that the island's protected natural resources could be targeted for private development in a troubling new push to lift the U.S. territory out of a dire economic crisis. (AP Photo/Danica Coto)
Jewell questioned why the provision was included and said it does not address Puerto Rico's immediate economic challenges. She urged local officials to focus on further developing ecotourism projects to attract more visitors to the island and boost revenue amid a 10-year economic slump.
"This is a beautiful place with tremendous natural resources, cultural resources, historic resources ...not as well known in the United States and around the world as it should be," she said. "We have a job to do."
Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla met with Jewell on Friday and requested federal resources to help the local government protect and preserve coastal areas and nearby historic sites in the capital of San Juan including 18th century forts. The island's government is running out of money and facing a $70 billion public debt load that Garcia has said is unpayable and needs restructuring.
Jewell said government officials should take advantage of low real estate prices amid the economic crisis to reach its goal of protecting up to 33 percent of the island's land. Only 8 percent of land was protected in 2013.
The secretary is scheduled to visit the neighboring island of Vieques on Saturday, where she expects to meet with U.S. Navy officials to review ongoing military cleanup efforts. The U.S. Navy used Vieques as a bombing range from the 1940s until May 2003 and has spent more than $220 million to investigate and clean those lands.
The Vieques National Wildlife Refuge is mentioned in the draft legislation submitted by U.S. Republicans last week in which they seek to open some 3,100 acres (1,256 hectares) to private development. The proposal drew swift response from the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees management and conservation of federal land.
"This is a transfer that Puerto Rico has not requested, and the prospect that a future secretary may transfer land out of a Fish and Wildlife Service refuge for the benefit of private economic development efforts is troubling," the agency said.
U.S. legislators expect to debate the draft legislation in upcoming weeks.
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Danica Coto on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/danicacoto
Tributes pour in for architect 'who pushed the boundaries' Dame Zaha Hadid
Architect Dame Zaha Hadid, known for designs such as the London Aquatics Centre for the 2012 Olympic Games, has died from a heart attack aged 65.
She contracted bronchitis while in Miami earlier this week and died in hospital on Thursday morning, her company announced.
In a statement it said: "It is with great sadness that Zaha Hadid Architects have confirmed that Dame Zaha Hadid, DBE died suddenly in Miami in the early hours of this morning.
Dame Zaha Hadid designed many famous buildings, including the London Aquatics Centre
"She had contracted bronchitis earlier this week and suffered a sudden heart attack while being treated in hospital."
Jane Duncan, president of the Royal Institute of British Architects (Riba), described news of Dame Zaha's death as "absolutely terrible".
She said: "Dame Zaha Hadid was an inspirational woman, and the kind of architect one can only dream of being. Visionary and highly experimental, her legacy despite her young age, is formidable.
"She leaves behind a body of work from buildings to furniture, footwear and cars, that delight and astound people all around the world."
She concluded by saying: "The world of architecture has lost a star today."
In the UK, Dame Zaha's most recognisable works also include the failed Cardiff Bay Opera House while, globally, her notable designs include Guangzhou Opera House in China and the Vitra Fire Station in Germany.
Dragons' Den star Den Kelly Hoppen also paid tribute to the architect, tweeting: "Deeply saddened by the news of Zaha Hadid's death. She was an iconic architect who pushed the boundaries to another level xx #ZahaHadid"
Culture Minister Ed Vaizey also posted on Twitter, saying that Dame Zaha "made a huge contribution to contemporary architecture".
British swimmer Rebecca Adlington, who won two Olympic bronze medals in the arena designed by Dame Zaha, sent her condolences to the architect's family in a tweet, adding: "Such admiration for her work especially the London Olympic Aquatic centre."
In 2012 Dame Zaha was honoured in the Queen's Birthday Honours list for services to architecture.
Earlier this year Riba announced that Dame Zaha would receive the 2016 Royal Gold Medal.
Co-operative Bank chairman 'optimistic' amid 610.6m pre-tax losses
The Co-operative Bank saw its annual pre-tax losses more than double to 610.6 million, but the troubled lender still managed to boost its chief executive's pay by a quarter.
The bank saw its losses spiral in the year to the end of December from 264.2 million a year ago, as it suffered from volatile markets and low interest rates.
However, chief executive Niall Booker saw his pay jump by 25% in the same period to 3.85 million, as he benefited from long-term incentive awards.
Co-operative Bank chief executive Niall Booker's pay increased to 3.8 million, as the bank posted annual pre-tax losses of 610.6m
The bank also lost 300,000 customers in the period as they were tempted away from the business, which prides itself on its ethical stance. It now has 4.1 million customers.
The lender said its losses stem from the previous management in place when it nearly collapsed in 2013 after a 1.5 billion black hole was discovered in its balance sheet.
Since Mr Booker joined the lender almost three years ago, the firm has sold off risky assets and slashed branches in a bid to get the business back in shape.
The bank said last year it cut operating costs by 13.5% to 491.9 million, as it closed 58 branches and cut full-time staff by 18.5% to just under 4,500.
It said it plans to close a further 54 branches this year.
The lender said losses at its core bank, the parts of the business not affected by the discovery of the black hole, narrowed to 14.9 million from 78.6 million a year ago.
Mr Booker said the group has been "successful in improving capital resilience, reducing costs and strengthening the performance of the core bank."
He added: "Whilst the bank as a whole will report a loss before tax in 2016 and 2017, we expect a return to operating profitability in the core bank before the end of 2017."
The Co-op Bank failed a Bank of England stress test in December 2014, a key measure of capital strength, which assesses the ability of major UK lenders to withstand another financial crisis.
Mr Booker said since then the bank has cut its non-core assets by half and raised 250 million of capital to strengthen its balance sheet.
Chairman Dennis Holt said the firm was "optimistic about the viability of the core bank franchise".
He added: "The transformation required to rebuild The Co-operative Bank as a viable alternative to other UK banks is not an easy task."
As well as the large hole in its balance sheet, the Co-operative Group was also engulfed by scandal after controversial former chairman Paul Flowers, who was a Methodist minister, was filmed buying class-A drugs and later fined for drugs possession.
UK stronger in EU, says New Zealand PM John Key
New Zealand's prime minister has insisted Britain is stronger as part of the European Union in an intervention David Cameron labelled "important".
John Key said his country would be looking to join the EU rather than leave it if the trading bloc was on the Pacific nation's doorstep.
Mr Key, a friend of Mr Cameron's, spoke out as he met the Prime Minister on the margins of a nuclear security summit in Washington.
David Cameron labelled New Zealand prime minister John Key's intervention "important"
"We certainly think it's a stronger position for Britain to be in Europe," Mr Key said.
"We see Europe as an extremely important continent that needs strong leadership. We think Britain provides that leadership.
"We are currently going through the process of wanting to sign a free trade agreement with Europe because it is the home of 500 million people and a huge amount of middle income consumers.
"Both David Cameron and Angela Merkel have been the leaders of looking to get New Zealand into a free trade agreement.
"As someone who has lived in the United Kingdom for a long period of my working life, I guess all I would say is that if we had the equivalent of Europe on our doorstep, New Zealand as a country would be looking to join that. We certainly wouldn't be looking to leave it.
"But the British people will make up their own minds what they think is appropriate and they will vote accordingly."
Mr Cameron said the comments made by his New Zealand counterpart were "important".
Will Straw, executive director of Britain Stronger In Europe, said: "John Key has underlined the vital importance to British consumers and businesses of the UK's access to Europe's single market, which is the best free trade deal available to the UK.
"Of everything we sell to the rest of the world, almost half is sold to Europe: it's our home market. Walking away would mean cutting ourselves off from access to the EU's 500 million consumers and all of the economic opportunities that brings us.
Drugs mule Michaella McCollum released from Peru prison
Peru drugs mule Michaella McCollum has been released from prison, her solicitor has confirmed.
McCollum, from Co Tyrone, and Melissa Reid, from Scotland, were imprisoned in 2013 for six years and eight months after admitting trying to smuggle cocaine worth 1.5 million from Peru to Spain.
Kevin Winters, McCollum's solicitor, said she was released effectively on parole on Thursday night and was waiting to hear the terms of her release.
Michaella McCollum has been released (AP)
"I can confirm Michaella has been released from jail and I'm waiting to hear the outcome of the judicial process," he told the Press Association.
It is not yet known whether the terms of her release will allow her to return home or if she will have to remain in Peru for some time.
McCollum was freed under new legislation on early prison release introduced in the South American country last year.
She has served two years and three months.
A judicial process will now determine what, if any, conditions are attached to her effective parole, it is understood.
Moves were being made to repatriate her to Northern Ireland.
Mr Winters had described the conditions of their detention as horrendous.
Last year, Stormont Justice Minister David Ford approved an application for the repatriation of McCollum on a number of issues, including the difficulty encountered in maintaining family contact.
McCollum, from Dungannon, and Reid, from Glasgow, were caught with the haul at Lima airport on August 6 2013 attempting to fly to Spain.
They had claimed they were forced into carrying the drugs but pleaded guilty to charges later that year.
The pair were caught trying to board a flight with 24lb (11kg) of cocaine in food packets hidden inside their luggage.
McCollum and Reid faced the prospect of a maximum 15-year prison term but struck a behind-closed-doors plea bargain to secure a shorter sentence.
The pair had previously been held at Lima's Virgen de Fatima prison but were moved to the Ancon 2 prison, where horrific conditions reportedly had McCollum crammed in to a cell with 30 other prisoners with extremely poor sanitation and toilet facilities.
McCollum was released from prison at 5pm on Thursday following a successful application for parole, Mr Winters said.
The solicitor stressed she was not freed under any repatriation scheme or other protocol between Peru and the UK and that a pending judicial hearing would determine the conditions of her parole.
"At this stage it remains unclear when Michaella may be eligible to return home," he added.
That will be a matter for the court and a pending judicial hearing to determine the conditions of her parole.
"We are working with her lawyers in Peru and hope to be in a position to clarify further, as soon as possible."
Reid remains in prison in Peru.
She has been seeking to serve the remainder of her sentence closer to home in Scotland.
Danish PM calls for action against hate speech
By Nikolaj Skydsgaard
COPENHAGEN, March 30 (Reuters) - Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen proposed on Wednesday a plan to curb hate speech from radical imams after a meeting with political party leaders.
The proposal followed a documentary series aired by news station TV2 revealing how imams in eight mosques in Denmark advocated illegal practices such as stoning, corporal punishment and bigamy, to Muslim women and children.
Rasmussen proposed the creation of a list of registered "hate preachers" in order to prevent them from speaking publicly in Denmark. He also suggested criminalizing subversive comments and preventing certain people from visiting places of worship or gathering places.
"In that way, we can get those people, who, under the cover of religion and theology, erode our society," Rasmussen told a news conference.
Danish politicians have tried in the last decade to shut down extremist religious groups with little success.
Reuters Health News Summary
Following is a summary of current health news briefs.
U.S. FTC sues drugmaker Endo over "pay-for-delay" deals
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission said on Thursday it had filed a lawsuit accusing Endo International Plc of violating antitrust laws by striking "pay-for-delay" deals to block access to generic copies of its pain drugs. In a typical pay-for-delay deal, a branded drugmaker gives a generic firm money or some other consideration to delay bringing out a cheaper version of its medicine.
Diabetes during pregnancy linked to liver disease later in life
(Reuters Health) - Women who develop diabetes while pregnant may be at elevated risk of also developing a dangerous build up of fat in their livers when they reach middle age, according to a new analysis. The common risk factor for both gestational diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, researchers say, is trouble making or using the hormone insulin to manage blood sugar, known as insulin resistance.
Experts warn complacency on Ebola may leave vaccine work unfinished
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the Ebola emergency over, but action is still needed to fully develop effective vaccines and prepare the world for future outbreaks, experts said on Thursday. Great progress has been made in Ebola vaccine development in the last two years, according to a report by an international panel of infectious disease experts, but this "could grind to a halt as memories of the outbreak in West Africa begin to fade".
CDC probing how lab worker acquired salmonella infection
The U.S. Centers For Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday it was investigating how one of its lab workers, recently diagnosed with salmonella infection, may have acquired the disease while working at a pathogen lab. The agency said initial tests indicated the worker was infected with a strain of salmonella that matched the strain being worked on in the lab.
Autism rate among U.S. children held steady 2010-2012: CDC
Autism rates among U.S. children were unchanged between 2010 and 2012, but it remains too early to know whether a rise in diagnoses over the last decade has stabilized, researchers at the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control said on Thursday. In 2012, one out of every 68 school-aged children in the United States had autism, which is the same prevalence as in 2010, according to a new study by the CDC.
Mother's smoking during pregnancy affects baby's DNA
(Reuters Health) - Pregnant women now have another reason to quit smoking - a new analysis links it to differences in their babies' DNA that mirror alterations in adult smokers and suggest how smoking might contribute to certain birth defects. Researchers analyzed data on mothers and their newborn children to see how smoking influences DNA methylation, a chemical code along the DNA strand that controls some DNA mechanics and when genes get activated. Whether certain points along the DNA molecule are methylated or not can determine everything from eye color to a person's predisposition to certain diseases.
WHO sees scientific consensus on Zika as cause for disorders
Researchers around the world are now convinced the Zika virus can cause the birth defect microcephaly as well as Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare neurological disorder that can result in paralysis, the World Health Organization said on Thursday. The statement represented the U.N. health agency's strongest language to date on the connection between the mosquito-borne virus and the two maladies.
U.S. environmentalists sue to overturn approval of GMO salmon
U.S. health regulators are facing a lawsuit from a coalition of environmental organizations seeking to overturn the government's landmark approval of a type of genetically engineered salmon to be farmed for human consumption. The Center for Food Safety, Food and Water Watch, Friends of the Earth and other groups allege in the lawsuit, filed on Wednesday, that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) failed to consider all of the environmental risks of the fish when the agency approved it in November.
GlaxoSmithKline promises reduced drug patents to help world's poor
GlaxoSmithKline is to adopt a graduated approach to patenting its medicines, depending on the wealth of different countries, in order to make drugs more affordable in the developing world. Britain's biggest drugmaker said on Thursday it would not file patents in low-income states, leaving the way clear for generic companies to make cheap copies of its drugs without fear of being sued.
U.S. study may point the way on how to beat the Zika virus
Biden tells Ukraine's Poroshenko U.S. to give $335 mln in security aid
WASHINGTON, March 31 (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Joe Biden told Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Thursday that the United States was moving forward with an additional $335 million in security assistance, the White House said in a statement.
Amnesty says Turkey illegally sending Syrians back to war zone
By Dasha Afanasieva and Tulay Karadeniz
ANKARA, April 1 (Reuters) - Turkey has illegally returned thousands of Syrians to their war-torn homeland in recent months, highlighting the dangers for migrants sent back from Europe under a deal due to come into effect next week, Amnesty International said on Friday.
Turkey agreed with the EU this month to take back all migrants and refugees who cross illegally to Greece in exchange for financial aid, faster visa-free travel for Turks and slightly accelerated EU membership talks.
But the legality of the deal hinges on Turkey being a safe country of asylum, which Amnesty said in its report was clearly not the case. It said it was likely that several thousand refugees had been sent back to Syria in mass returns in the past seven to nine weeks, flouting Turkish, EU and international law.
"In their desperation to seal their borders, EU leaders have wilfully ignored the simplest of facts: Turkey is not a safe country for Syrian refugees and is getting less safe by the day," said John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International's Director for Europe and Central Asia.
Turkey's foreign ministry denied Syrians were being sent back against their will. Turkey had maintained an "open door" policy for Syrian migrants for five years and strictly abided by the "non-refoulement" principle of not returning someone to a country where they are liable to face persecution, it said.
"None of the Syrians that have demanded protection from our country are being sent back to their country by force, in line with international and national law," a foreign ministry official told Reuters.
But Amnesty said testimonies it had gathered in Turkey's southern border provinces suggested the authorities have been rounding up and expelling groups of around 100 Syrian men, women and children almost daily since the middle of January.
Many of those returned to Syria appear to be unregistered refugees, though the rights group said it had also documented cases of registered Syrians being returned when apprehended while not carrying their papers.
Amnesty also said its research showed the authorities had scaled back the registration of Syrian refugees in the southern border provinces. Those with no registration have no access to basic services such as healthcare and education.
Under the deal with the EU, Turkey is supposed to be taking in migrants returned from Greece on April 4, but uncertainty remains over how many will be sent back, how they will be processed, and where they will be housed.
The aim is to close the main route by which a million migrants and refugees poured across the Aegean Sea to Greece in the last year before heading north, mainly to Germany and Sweden.
"The large-scale returns of Syrian refugees we have documented highlight the fatal flaws in the EU-Turkey deal. It is a deal that can only be implemented with the hardest of hearts and a blithe disregard for international law," Amnesty's Dalhuisen said.
Georgia executes man for beating death over car keys
By David Beasley
ATLANTA, March 31 (Reuters) - The U.S. state of Georgia on Thursday executed a man convicted of beating another man to death with a wooden closet rod in 1994, a prison spokeswoman said.
Joshua Bishop, 41, who had also admitted to being involved in a second murder, died by injection at 9:27 p.m. (0127 GMT) at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson, said Lisa Rodriguez-Presley, a spokeswoman for the Georgia Department of Corrections.
His execution was the third in Georgia this year and the 10th in the United States, the nonprofit Death Penalty Information Center said.
Bishop told police he had wanted to take the car of a man who was sleeping inside a friend's mobile home after they had been out for a night of partying. He reached into the pocket of Leverett Morrison, 35, to take his car keys, but Morrison awoke and Bishop beat him with a rod, a court document said.
"I hit him too hard, I reckon, and he didn't say anything," Bishop told police in Milledgeville, Georgia, court records show. "He just wouldn't breathe."
Bishop dumped the victim's body and burned his car with the help of the man living in the mobile home, Mark Braxley, who avoided a death sentence by pleading guilty.
Bishop was executed after losing last-minute appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court and lower courts.
Bishop was never offered a plea deal, his attorneys said in a clemency petition filed on Monday with Georgia's State Board of Pardons and Paroles.
Bishop has been "haunted by his crimes," his attorneys wrote, asking for his sentence to be commuted to life without parole. The parole board denied his petition on Thursday.
Bishop was heavily intoxicated when he killed Morrison, the petition stated, and had suffered an abusive childhood, during which he was frequently homeless and often hungry.
Bishop also confessed to involvement in the killing of Ricky Lee Wills two weeks before Morrison's death but was never tried on that charge, according to court records. The evidence of the first killing was not introduced until the penalty phase of his trial for Morrison's murder.
Bishop accepted a final prayer and recorded a final statement, Rodriguez-Presley said in a news release, but did not provide his words.
Bishop requested a last meal on Thursday of a barbecue sandwich, Brunswick stew, potato chips, coleslaw, lemonade and purple candy, the Georgia Department of Corrections said.
PRESS DIGEST - Bulgaria - April 1
SOFIA, April 1 (Reuters) - These are some of the main stories in Bulgarian newspapers on Friday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
-- Police officers has found some 400,000 levs ($232,788.22)stashed in the two houses linked to the head of the Vehicle Administration Agency, who was arrested and charged in large-scale corruption. (24 Chasa, Capital Daily, Duma, Monitor)
-- Bulgarian households will be able to change their electricity provider after the energy regulator eased the procedures for the change. (Trud, Capital Daily)
-- Small businesses will have access to cheap credits worth 600 million euros as of this autumn under EU-backed programmes, Economy Minister Bozhidar Lukarski said. (Capital Daily, 24 Chasa, Standart, Trud)
STANDART - Bulgaria's banking system registered a profit of 196 million levs for the fist two months of the year, central bank data showed.
Slovak Republic - Factors To Watch on April 1
BRATISLAVA, April 1 (Reuters) - Here are news stories, press reports and events to watch which may affect Slovak financial markets on Friday. 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......... ===========================NEWS================================ NEW GOVERNMENT: The formation of a new government in Slovakia is unlikely to lead to major changes in economic and fiscal policy, Fitch Ratings said. Given the potential instability of the heterogeneous four-party coalition, major economic reform is unlikely. Story: Related news: STRUCTURAL DEFICIT: Eight European Union countries have asked the European Commission to change the way it calculates structural budget deficits when it assesses compliance with the EU fiscal rules, Italy's Economy Ministry said on Thursday. Story: Related news: CEE POWER: Central and southeastern day-ahead power fell on Thursday as expectations for lower consumption headed into the weekend offset forecasts for declining renewable production in the region, traders said. 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)
Activists decry Nairobi road project after two lions killed
By Wendell Roelf
NAIROBI, April 1 (Reuters) - A new road and railway project cutting through an inner city Nairobi nature reserve poses increased risks to wildlife, livestock and human beings, conservationists said, after two lions were killed this week in the space of just 48 hours.
Kenyan wildlife rangers shot dead a male lion named "Mohawk" on Wednesday after it strayed from Nairobi National Park and attacked and injured a local resident.
The next day, following a helicopter and ground search, rangers found the body of another lion speared to death in a township to the south of Nairobi.
Conservationists said construction work on the new road which will link Nairobi airport to the city centre was affecting animal behaviour and leading more big cats to attempt to break free in search of quieter hunting grounds.
"Before construction started in the park the lions were not escaping, so there are indications that the noise and blasting is affecting their movements," said Robert Ndetei, species conservation manager at World Wildlife Fund's Nairobi office.
"If you don't plan properly, if you don't do proper environmental impact assessments, then you are doomed to fail and at the Nairobi National Park this could lead to more lions and other animals coming into contact with a growing human presence," Ndetei told Reuters.
Nairobi National Park is home to about 35 lions. There are about 2,000 remaining in the whole of Kenya.
A senior Kenyan Wildlife Service official told reporters that contractors working on the new road project had accidentally cut an electric fence on the park's boundary, giving the lions an escape route to find livestock.
"A key concern is that the developer is not taking proper care to ensure there is less disturbance of the habitat while also securing the perimeter fencing," said Lucy Waruingi, acting secretary to the Conservation Alliance of Kenya.
Human settlements and activity have long been encroaching on the Nairobi National Park, which was established in 1946 on the city limits and provides views of lions, giraffes, zebras and other wildlife against a backdrop of high-rise buildings.
Kenya's economy is expected to grow by 5.9 percent this year and by 6 percent in 2017, increasing pressure on the environment and exacerbating conflicts between humans and wildlife.
Turkish prosecutor opens bribery probe into drugmaker Novartis
By Humeyra Pamuk and Ceyda Caglayan
ISTANBUL, April 1 (Reuters) - The Ankara Chief Prosecutor has launched an investigation into the Turkish unit of Swiss drugmaker Novartis, the prosecutor's office said on Friday, after allegations the company benefited from bribery.
A spokeswoman for the prosecutor's office confirmed that Novartis was being investigated. She declined to give further details.
Novartis has said the allegations against it were "unfounded" and based on a past complaint. The company had no further immediate comment, a spokesman said on Friday.
Reuters reported this week that an anonymous whistleblower alleged the company had paid bribes through a consulting firm to secure an estimated $85 million in business advantages.
Turkey's health ministry has opened a separate investigation into the allegations. A senior ministry official, Eyup Gumus, said on Friday that no problems have been seen in that initial investigation.
The results of the health ministry's investigation are due to be released next week, Gumus said.
Novartis shares had fallen by 3.4 percent at 1336 GMT, touching their lowest level in 2-1/2 years, and were on track for their biggest one-day drop since January.
The anonymous whistleblower said Novartis had paid a government relations consultant the equivalent of $290,000 plus costs during 2013 and 2014, before the Turkish Social Security Institution launched an investigation in 2015, leading the drugmaker to end the association.
The alleged benefits, which Novartis has 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.
Novartis' difficulties in Turkey highlight the problems faced by healthcare companies as anti-corruption authorities around the world investigate industry practices.
Amnesty says Turkey illegally sending Syrians back to war zone
By Dasha Afanasieva and Tulay Karadeniz
ANKARA, April 1 (Reuters) - Turkey has illegally returned thousands of Syrians to their war-torn homeland in recent months, highlighting dangers for migrants sent back from Europe under a deal due to take effect next week, Amnesty International said on Friday.
Turkey agreed with the EU this month to take back all migrants and refugees who cross illegally to Greece in exchange for financial aid, faster visa-free travel for Turks and slightly accelerated EU membership talks.
But the legality of the deal hinges on Turkey being a safe country of asylum, which the rights group said in a report was not the case. Amnesty said it was likely that several thousand refugees had been sent back to Syria in the past seven to nine weeks, flouting Turkish, EU and international law.
Turkey's foreign ministry denied Syrians were being sent back against their will, while a spokesman for the European Commission said it took the allegations seriously and would raise them with Ankara.
Separately, the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said it had asked for access to Syrians returned to Turkey from Greece "to ensure people can benefit from effective international protection and to prevent risk of refoulement", referring to unlawful deportations of refugees at risk of persecution.
Ankara said it had maintained an open-door policy for Syrian migrants for five years and strictly abided by the "non-refoulement" principle.
"None of the Syrians that have demanded protection from our country are being sent back to their country by force," a foreign ministry official told Reuters.
But Amnesty said testimonies it had gathered in Turkey's southern border provinces suggested authorities had been rounding up and expelling groups of around 100 Syrian men, women and children almost daily since the middle of January.
"In their desperation to seal their borders, EU leaders have wilfully ignored the simplest of facts: Turkey is not a safe country for Syrian refugees and is getting less safe by the day," said John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International's director for Europe and Central Asia.
Under the deal, Turkey is supposed to be taking in migrants returned from Greece on April 4, but uncertainty remains over how many will be sent back, how they will be processed, and where they will be housed.
Geologist tipped as Iraq's oil minister may facilitate deal with Kurds
By Isabel Coles and Saif Hameed
ERBIL, Iraq, April 1 (Reuters) - The man nominated to be Iraq's new oil minister is a Kurdish petroleum geologist who could end a bitter dispute with the northern self-rule region and free up more oil exports through a pipeline to Turkey.
Nizar Saleem Numan, named as oil minister in Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's new lineup of ministers, told Reuters in an interview he was "hopeful the differences could be resolved" between Baghdad and the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG).
Should Numan's appointment be approved by parliament, "he will certainly serve to facilitate a deal with Kurds and the central government," said political analyst Hisham al-Hashimi. "He is also a very experienced person in the oil industry and known for his integrity."
Numan, 65, is the dean of the college of planning at the University of Duhok in the Kurdish region and spent three decades at the University of Mosul, the largest city in northern Iraq, now under control of Islamic State militants.
He told Reuters that he had also worked as a consultant for oil companies in both the northern Kurdish region and the rest of Iraq.
The dispute with the Kurds involves an agreement for the KRG to transfer to Iraq's central state oil marketing company 550,000 barrels a day of crude produced in the Kurdish region, in return for a 17 percent share in the federal budget.
The Kurds, seeking more autonomy from Baghdad to export their own oil, halted all oil transfers to the Iraqi government in September 2015, instead shipping crude independently. They stopped receiving government funding, according to the outgoing oil minister Adel Abdul Mahdi.
Mahdi said in March the central government would not resume pumping crude through a Kurdish pipeline to Turkey unless it reached a financial agreement with the KRG.
Baghdad's state-run North Oil Company previously fed 150,000 barrels a day into the pipeline, which carries crude from the Kirkuk fields and other reservoirs managed by the Kurdish authorities to the Turkish port of Ceyhan on the Mediterranean Sea.
The situation has been further complicated by the presence of Islamic State militants in northern Iraq who have allowed the Kurds to expand their control over the oil producing region of Kirkuk.
PRODUCTION FREEZE
Abadi presented his new cabinet of technocrats on Thursday and now awaits a response from parliament, which must vote on the reshuffle in the next 10 days. .
Some lawmakers fear Abadi's proposals would undermine the patronage networks that have sustained the wealth and influence of Iraq's political class for more than a decade.
In his interview with Reuters late on Thursday, Numan said should his appointment be confirmed, he would also pursue sustainable development of the OPEC nation's crude reserves, which are among the world's largest.
He will take over the oil ministry at a time when Iraq and other producers are grappling with the fallout from low crude prices, which have put acute strain on Baghdad's finances.
Iraq was the source of OPEC's largest crude supply growth in 2015 with a production in excess of four million barrels per day that makes the nation the second-largest producer of the 13-member group, after Saudi Arabia.
Asked whether he expected to attend a meeting in Doha on April 17 where OPEC and non-OPEC members are set to discuss a production freeze aimed at propping up oil prices, Numan said he could not be sure until parliament ratified his nomination.
A ministry spokesman told Reuters on March 22 that Iraq planned to attend the meeting and considered the proposal of freezing output "a step in the right direction."
Italy's Renzi under pressure over influence peddling scandal
By Crispian Balmer
ROME, April 1 (Reuters) - Italy's main opposition parties said on Friday they would present a no-confidence motion in Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's government after his industry minister quit in a scandal over allegations of influence peddling.
While Renzi should be able to overcome the parliamentary challenge, this latest of several political storms comes as Italy gears up for pivotal elections due in June and the economy shows renewed signing of flagging.
Federica Guidi quit on Thursday, hours after phone-tapped conversations released by police appeared to show the minister assuring her partner the government would pass legislation that helped his energy business.
She told Renzi in a letter she had done nothing wrong, but felt it necessary to resign "for political reasons".
"This matter calls into question the whole government ...It always puts people in charge who are in the pay of the lobbies or who are looking out for themselves," said Luigi Di Maio, of Italy's second largest party, the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement.
No date has been set for the no-confidence motion, but opposition parties said in the meantime a close Renzi ally, Maria Elena Boschi, the minister for parliamentary relations, should resign over allegations that she connived with Guidi.
The phone taps show Guidi telling her partner that Boschi had assured her the amendment would pass.
"The news is not that minister Guidi has resigned, but that minister Boschi has not," said Renato Brunetta, parliamentary chief of the centre-right Forza Italia party.
Boschi faced down resignation calls in December following a banking scandal that left thousands of savers out of pocket, while Maurizio Lupi resigned as infrastructure minister last March over conflict of interest allegations in allocating public contracts.
Renzi, who took office two years ago vowing to end the cronyism that has often marred Italian politics, is in the United States and has said nothing in public about the scandal, leaving the party faithful in Rome to circle the wagons.
"This has nothing to do with minister Boschi," said Andrea Romano, a member of Renzi's Democratic Party, arguing she had simply been carrying out her job.
Newspapers quoted Boschi as saying she had no idea Guidi even had a partner.
The contested amendment, which was added to the 2015 budget law, benefited the whole oil and gas sector by streamlining permissioning for energy projects.
Government critics say the scandal could help swing an April 17 referendum on whether Italy should restrict offshore oil and gas drilling. Renzi has urged voters to abstain.
The opposition hopes the ruckus will also damage the centre-left at municipal elections in a slew of cities in June, with the government already under pressure over the economy.
Nine MPs quit Gabon parliament in fresh blow for president
LIBREVILLE, April 1 (Reuters) - Nine parliamentarians from Gabon's ruling party said on Friday they had resigned from the National Assembly, a move likely to further stoke political tensions in the oil-rich central African nation ahead of a presidential election due in August.
The nine said they had resigned in support of three other colleagues expelled from President Ali Bongo's ruling Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG) in March. The 12 lawmakers have formed a breakaway faction called PDG-Heritage and Modernity which plans to nominate its own candidate for president to challenge Bongo.
"We, deputies who are members of Heritage and Modernity ... inform the international and national audience of our collective resignation from the National Assembly," the nine lawmakers said in a statement to reporters.
Their departure underlines a growing rift between Bongo, who took power in a disputed election in 2009, and the legislature. Gabon's long-serving parliamentary speaker resigned on Thursday citing personal attacks on him by the government.
Under Gabon's laws, the resignation of the nine lawmakers means the constitutional court must organise a partial legislative election, but that would require a minimum of three months to prepare and would strain the budget in the countdown to the presidential poll expected on August 28.
Leftist Mendoza surges in Peru's presidential race
By Mitra Taj and Teresa Cespedes
LIMA, April 1 (Reuters) - A leftist congresswoman promising "radical change" and a new constitution to weaken the business elite has shaken up Peru's presidential race, previously seen as a shoo-in for a fifth straight conservative government.
Veronika Mendoza, 35, surged five points in a poll by Datum Internacional on Friday, putting her in a statistical dead-heat with investor-favorite Pedro Pablo Kuczynski for second place in the April 10 election.
Nine candidates - nearly all free-market advocates - have been vying for the coveted runner-up position behind the race's longtime favorite, 40-year-old Keiko Fujimori, who is not expected to secure the more than 50 percent of votes needed to win outright.
Fujimori, the daughter of imprisoned former President Alberto Fujimori, faces rising opposition that could make her vulnerable in an expected June runoff.
Kuczynski, a 77-year-old former World Bank economist, would likely "abstain" from endorsing either of the two women should they wind up facing one another in a second-round vote, his economic adviser Alfredo Thorne said by phone.
If elected, Mendoza would become Peru's first leftist president in decades, at a time when voters in other South American countries have turned their backs on an anti-capitalist tide led by late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
Peru is set to outpace China as the world's second biggest copper supplier this year as a batch of new mining projects power an economic recovery from a sharp slowdown in 2014.
Mendoza has promised to tighten environmental supervision of mining companies and would halt a scheduled lowering of the corporate tax rate. She has proposed ditching Peru's constitution for one that enshrines access to water as a right, protects the environment and weakens a "corrupt" business elite.
Her economic adviser, Pedro Francke, said she would name a new central bank president to lower interest rates and ask officials in the investor-friendly finance ministry to "pack their bags."
Her running mate, former priest Marco Arana, is best known in Peru for rallying opposition to two major mining projects that were derailed by protests in recent years.
"We want deep and true change, we want radical change," Mendoza said earlier this week.
But Mendoza has denied that she would govern in the mold of Venezuela and has called for a new Latin American left that envisions an active role for private investments.
SPOOKING MARKETS
Mendoza faces an uphill battle in Peru, where many are wary of upsetting a long stretch of robust economic fundamentals with unorthodox policies, just as the end of a decade-long mining boom complicates the country's growth outlook.
She was seen as 10 points behind center-right Fujimori if the two faced each other in a June runoff, according to Datum. Other recent polls showed a smaller gap.
If she did win, she would likely have a hard time pushing her reforms through a Congress that will likely be dominated by members of Fujimori's party.
Mendoza was the only leading candidate to climb in the Datum survey. Lima's select stock index closed 2.7 percent lower after the news and the sol currency dropped 1.3 percent before curbing its losses.
A Mendoza-Fujimori second-round scenario "would likely spook financial markets," said Franco Uccelli with J.P. Morgan.
Mendoza was trailing in polls a month ago and has been riding a wave of voter anger after two of Fujimori's rivals were thrown out of the race in a move that has cast a shadow over the legitimacy of this year's elections.
Many Peruvians believe Fujimori has been unfairly favored by the country's electoral authorities after they cleared her of vote-buying allegations.
Mendoza's surge was reminiscent of President Ollanta Humala's surprise rise leading up to 2011 elections, when he campaigned on promises to make sure more benefited from the country's vast mineral wealth. Humala's administration ends July 28 and he is constitutionally barred from seeking a second consecutive term.
About 14 percent of voters are still undecided in Peru, where casting a ballot is mandatory. The Datum survey, conducted March 28-30, had a margin of error of 2.5 percentage points.
Belgium largest source of European fighters in Syria per head - study
By Thomas Escritt
AMSTERDAM, April 1 (Reuters) - French, Germans and Britons make up the highest number of foreign fighters in the Syrian rebel ranks from European countries, but Belgium is the largest contributor in proportion to its population, a Dutch study shows.
Europeans fighting alongside Islamist groups in Syria and Iraq have been high on the agenda of European security concerns for several years. Returned volunteers have been involved in attacks in Paris and Brussels over the past 18 months, including last month's bomb blasts in the Belgian capital.
The study, prepared by the Hague-based International Centre for Counter-Terrorism, said European Union countries should not be complacent about their citizens leaving to fight in the Middle East, even those that have seen little such movement.
"Many terrorist organisations aim to undermine tolerant and pluriform, rule-of-law based societies," the researchers wrote. "Recognition of this risk and proper policies to counter it seem to be lacking."
In total, up to 4,294 Europeans had gone to fight in Syria, of whom 30 percent had since returned and 14 percent were confirmed dead.
About 17 percent of them were female and 23 percent were converts to Islam. Most came from urban areas or peripheral suburbs of the continent's cities.
The totals showed big differences across Europe, with Belgium, home to the attackers in both last year's Paris shootings and last month's Brussels bombings, sending 41 fighters per million population.
Not only did Belgium contribute the most fighters compared to its population, but only 18 percent of them had returned, compared to 50 percent of those who had left from Denmark. Austria and Sweden followed in per capita terms.
In absolute terms, France was the largest source country for fighters who had left to fight alongside Islamic State. The study counted more than 900 of them. Germany and Britain also contributed large numbers.
Eastern European countries that have experienced little immigration and with small Muslim populations have contributed relatively few foreign fighters. The researchers were unable to find data for Greece and Hungary.
Ethiopia opposition say land-protest arrests aimed at detering future demonstrations
By Aaron Maasho
ADDIS ABABA, April 1 (Reuters) - An Ethiopian opposition group said on Friday that police had arrested more than 2,600 people in the last three weeks for taking part in land protests and that the government was thereby aiming to deter future protests.
Plans to requisition farmland in the Oromiya region surrounding the capital for development sparked the country's worst unrest in over a decade, with rights groups and U.S.-based dissidents saying as many as 200 people may have been killed.
An opposition coalition said the arrests over protests in the four months up to February came despite government assurances of clemency.
Representatives of the government were not immediately available for comment.
Authorities scrapped the land scheme in January and pledged not to prosecute the demonstrators, while Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn issued an apology in parliament last month saying his administration would work to address grievances over governance.
Despite the pledges, the Ethiopian Federal Democratic Unity Forum (MEDREK) said 2,627 people have since been "illegally rounded up" and remain under custody.
"It is an act of reprisal," MEDREK's chairman Beyene Petros told Reuters.
"The whole purpose why they are increasing their witchhunt is to simply stop the public from planning or initiating any future public protest," he added.
The coalition said in a statement that the arrests took place in 12 different areas of Oromiya, Ethiopia's largest region by size and population.
The second-most populous nation in Africa with 90 million people, Ethiopia has long been one of the poorest countries in the world per capita, but has made strides toward industrialisation, recording some of the continent's strongest economic growth rates for a decade.
Protests mount before EU-Turkey migrant deal takes effect
By Dasha Afanasieva and Karolina Tagaris
ISTANBUL/ATHENS, April 1 (Reuters) - Migrants protested on a Greek island and rights groups raised legal objections on Friday three days before a disputed EU deal to return rejected asylum seekers from Greece to Turkey was due to go into action, with neither side completely ready.
Hundreds of migrants and refugees on the island of Chios tore through a razor wire fence surrounding their holding centre and set off for the port in protest against planned deportation, police said. Police did not immediately intervene.
Clashes broke out at the site late on Thursday, during which windows were smashed and 10 people were injured lightly, a police official said. Some 300 women and children broke out of the camp on Friday carrying their belongings.
"They say that they don't want to go back to Turkey and that they are afraid for their safety after yesterday's clashes between migrants in the hot spot," a police official said, using the EU term for registration centres that have become detention camps.
The tension on Chios raised the possibility of resistance when the EU-Turkey plan to send back all migrants and refugees who have reached the Greek islands since March 20 goes into effect from Monday.
Although arrivals have slowed, more than 1,900 people have crossed from Turkey to Greece so far this week and a total of 5,622 have been registered since March 20.
The European Union plans to send hundreds of police and migration officers to Greece over the weekend to help carry out the first returns under a deal meant to end the uncontrolled influx of migrants.
More than a million people fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and beyond have poured into Europe in the last year, most ending up in Germany, triggering a political backlash and pitting EU governments against each other.
However, the U.N. refugee agency and rights group Amnesty International raised objections, with Amnesty accusing Turkey of sending thousands of people trying to flee Syria back into the war-racked country in recent months.
"In their desperation to seal their borders, EU leaders have wilfully ignored the simplest of facts: Turkey is not a safe country for Syrian refugees and is getting less safe by the day," said John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International's director for Europe and Central Asia.
The European Commission said it was investigating the Amnesty charge and would raise the issue with the Turkish authorities, who had promised to apply the principle of non-refoulement under the Brussels pact.
"SERIOUS GAPS"
UNHCR spokeswoman Melissa Fleming told a Geneva news briefing there were still serious legal gaps in both Greece and Turkey and urged all sides to ensure all safeguard were in place before any returns begin.
The Greek parliament was set to adopt a bill amending the country's asylum laws to enable asylum seekers and other migrants to be sent back to so-called safe countries, without explicitly naming Turkey.
Migration Minister Yiannis Mouzalas sought to reassure lawmakers of the ruling left-wing Syriza party that Athens would not be party to violating migrants' human rights.
"A blame-game against our country is starting, that, based on the new agreement we will encroach on human rights," he told parliament. "I assure you - and I believe this will relieve everyone - that we will strictly adhere to human rights procedures as stipulated by international law and the Geneva Convention."
There was no indication that Turkey was about to change its regulations to grant international protection to non-Syrians returned from the Greek islands as stipulated in the EU deal.
The Turkish parliament was in session on Friday but officials said there were nothing on the agenda relating to the migration agreement. It is not due to sit again until Tuesday.
Any new legislation would need to be signed by President Tayyip Erdogan, who is on an official visit to the United States until at least Sunday, although Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu could in theory sign an executive order.
The European Commission continued to put an optimistic face on the implementation plan after EU special envoy Maarten Verwey held talks in Ankara on last-minute preparations.
"Preparations are now well under way to ensure that returns of persons whose asylum claims have been declared inadmissible, and those who have not claimed protection, can start in line with the resettlement of Syrians from Turkey on April 4," Commission spokeswoman Mina Andreeva told a briefing.
Asked about the absence of Turkish guarantees on the treatment of non-Syrians, she said no one who would not benefit from international protection would be returned to Turkey.
Altogether some 53,000 migrants and refugees are trapped in Greece in deteriorating conditions after its northern neighbours closed their border to bar the route northwards to Germany.
The UNHCR said conditions on the islands of Lesbos and Samos and at the Athens port of Piraeus and Idomeni at the border with Macedonia were worsening.
U.S., Japan finalize nuclear material transfer
By David Brunnstrom and Megan Cassella
WASHINGTON, April 1 (Reuters) - The United States and Japan have completed the removal of all highly enriched uranium and separated plutonium fuels from Japan's Fast Critical Assembly research project that is due to be sent to South Carolina, the countries said on Friday.
Announced alongside the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, the transfer makes good on a 2014 agreement at a previous non-proliferation summit to move the material from the site in Tokai Mura, Japan, to the United States, the countries said.
In a joint statement, the countries said the removal furthers a mutual goal of reducing the amount of these nuclear materials held worldwide.
"This is the largest single nuclear material removal in the history of this summit process," U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz told reporters.
"This process will permanently remove any risk of this material falling into the wrong hands," he added.
Moniz and Japan's Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Koichi Hagiuda left immediately after delivering statements at the summit and would not take questions.
The shipment has stirred some controversy over its transfer to the United States, specifically to a Department of Energy site in South Carolina where leaders and environmental activists have balked at receiving the weapons-grade plutonium.
Such shipments are highly sensitive because the material can be used in nuclear weapons or to make a so-called dirty bomb.
Last month, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley asked the U.S. Department of Energy for the shipment to be turned back or sent elsewhere.
A Japanese government spokesman declined to provide details of the shipment's status, citing security concerns.
On Tuesday, Moniz called Haley and agreed to eventually store some of the plutonium now at South Carolina's Savannah River Site at a facility in New Mexico, the Associated Press reported.
U.S. Energy Department representatives did not respond to a request for further details on the move.
South Carolina has sued over the issue, and Haley has pledged to keep the pressure on the federal government.
"We will not back down from our lawsuit until the DOE pays the $1 million a day fine they are required to under federal law," Haley said in a statement provided to Reuters.
In its statement, the United States said it will now "downblend" the materials for use in civilian activities or for final disposition.
The countries also said they were working to move material from another site, the Kyoto University Critical Assembly, to the United States.
Amicus's Fabry disease drug gets positive EU recommendation
April 1 (Reuters) - The European Medicines Agency recommended approving American biotech drug developer Amicus Therapeutics Inc's experimental Fabry disease treatment.
The European health agency said on Friday that migalastat, the drug to treat the inherited disease, is being recommended for adults and adolescents aged 16 years and older. (http://bit.ly/25APktn)
The recommendation came after a roller-coaster run for migalastat. A year after a late-stage study failed to meet its main goal in 2012, GlaxoSmithKline Plc had returned the rights to migalastat and dissolved its stake in the company.
Cranbury, New Jersey-based Amicus said in February that it expects to meet with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the second quarter to submit a new market application for migalastat after the regulator in October asked for a more comprehensive analysis of trial data.
However, analysts do not see the European regulator's recommendation to have an impact on the FDA's decision.
"Although the bar is still higher in the U.S., this news will be taken positively and help restore investor confidence in management execution," Leerink Partners analysts wrote in a note.
The biotechnology company lost about $956 million in market capitalization on Oct. 2 after it said it would delay filing for U.S. marketing rights for its lead drug, migalastat.
Shares of Amicus, which had a market value of about $1 billion as of Thursday's close, were up 3 percent at $8.71 in late trading on Friday.
The company is hoping to make migalastat the first oral treatment for patients with a form of Fabry disease, a potentially fatal disorder that affects about 1 in 40,000 to 60,000 men and occurs less frequently in women.
Fabry disease is caused by the build up of a type of fat, most notably in the kidneys, due to the deficiency of the alpha-Gal A enzyme. The accumulation damages cells and could lead to kidney failure, heart attacks and strokes.
Facebook investigates smugglers' 'advert' of boat trips to Italy
By Tom Esslemont
LONDON, April 1 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Facebook was investigating on Friday a report that people smugglers were using its U.S.-based website to sell tickets on a new boat route from Turkey into the European Union that lands in Italy and avoids the main entry point of Greece.
A spokeswoman for the social networking company told the Thomson Reuters Foundation that they were looking into the origins of an advert which was offering passage on boats to Italy from the Turkish port of Mersin at $4,000 per person.
The advert, reported by Britain's Guardian newspaper on Friday but no longer visible on Facebook, appeared after Turkey agreed with the European Union this month to return migrants and refugees who cross illegally to Greece.
In the past two years scores of would-be migrants seeking to escape conflict in the Middle East have used Facebook as their compass for finding the people smugglers they hope will lead them to a better life in Europe.
But this advert appeared to shed light on a new, more lucrative route used by traffickers with the trip to Italy costing about four times as much as a boat to Greece, the main route used by more than one million migrants in the past year.
"The trip is on Saturday, from Mersin to Italy, on a merchant ship 110 metres long, equipped with food, water, life jackets and medicine," the Guardian quoted the Facebook post as saying.
Reacting to the advert, some refugees told the Guardian that the scheme could be a scam as scores of would-be migrants have been tricked in the past two years by people posing as organisers of similar trips.
Turkey has agreed to start retaking rejected asylum seekers from April 4 with the plan designed to end the uncontrolled influx of migrants and refugees across the Aegean Sea to Greece in the past year.
More than a million people fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and beyond have poured into Europe in the last year, most ending up in Germany, triggering a political backlash and pitting EU governments against each other.
Under the terms of the deal, Turkey would receive financial aid, faster visa-free travel for Turks and slightly accelerated EU membership talks.
U.S. military training dozens of Syrian fighters in new program
By Phil Stewart and Yeganeh Torbati
WASHINGTON, April 1 (Reuters) - The U.S. military said on Friday it has started training dozens of Syrian opposition fighters to battle the militant group Islamic State as part of a revamped program that aims to avoid mistakes that doomed its first training effort in Turkey last year.
Training for the first group of recruits includes how to identify targets for U.S.-led coalition airstrikes to allow coalition aircraft to better strike Islamic State from the air.
"That allows us to bring significantly more fires into play in any of these skirmishes, battles, and firefights that are taking place throughout Syria," said U.S. Army Colonel Steve Warren, a Baghdad-based spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition.
Warren said no Syrian fighters had yet graduated from the program.
The Pentagon has declined to say where the training is being conducted, but U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, have told Reuters it is in Turkey.
The failure of the original program, which sought to train thousands of fighters, has been a concern for President Barack Obama, whose strategy depends on local partners combating Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq.
The 2015 program was problematic from the start, with some of the first class of Syrian fighters being attacked by al Qaeda's Syria wing, Nusra Front, in their battlefield debut. At one point, a group of U.S.-trained rebels handed over ammunition and equipment to Nusra Front.
Instead of trying to pull entire units from the fight for training, as the Pentagon sought to do last year, the new program will take small groups of fighters from the front-lines for training.
"If it works we'll do more. And if it doesn't, we'll shift again," Warren said.
The U.S. strategy against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, where the Sunni militant group has carved out a self-declared caliphate, aims to force the collapse of its two major power centers of Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa in Syria.
Although Iraq-led operations to retake Mosul have already begun, U.S. officials have declined to say if they think the city can be recaptured this year.
EU sets sanctions, mulls security mission to back Libya unity govt
By Francesco Guarascio
BRUSSELS, April 1 (Reuters) - The European Union imposed sanctions on three Libyan political leaders on Friday for opposing a U.N.-backed unity government for the country, a move aimed at weakening so-called spoilers of the peace process.
EU states are also considering deploying a civilian security mission in Libya to back the new unity government led by Prime Minister Fayez Seraj, an EU official said.
The asset-freeze and travel ban measures were formally adopted on Thursday to take effect on Friday, two days after the members of the Libya's unity government reached Tripoli by ship, defying attempts to keep them out of the city.
Fearful of derailing efforts to forge peace between Libya's two rival governments in Tripoli and Tobruk, EU governments hesitated for months before agreeing in March to move on with restrictive measures.
The three men sanctioned are Nouri Abusahmain, president of Libya's General National Congress in Tripoli, Khalifa al-Ghwell, prime minister of the self-proclaimed Tripoli government, and Aguila Saleh, the president of Libya's internationally recognised parliament in Tobruk.
The EU said the three played a central role in obstructing the establishment of a unity government in Libya, which has become the main conduit for refugees from North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa to leave in boats for Europe.
The measures will be regularly reviewed and "can be amended to take into account developments on the ground," a spokesperson for the EU foreign affairs services said.
A regular EU meeting of national political and security experts on April 5 will focus on "a future possible civilian European security and defence mission in Libya," an EU official said on Friday.
EU security experts could be sent to Libya to train security forces and improve border controls, the official said, although concrete preparations for the mission would start only after Libyan authorities formally request it.
Once such a request is received, it could take a few weeks for the EU experts to be deployed, the official added.
In a letter sent to EU foreign ministers in March, the EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini urged them to consider "the possibility of setting up a team of 'deployable experts' on migration and security issues".
South Africa's Zuma denies dishonesty over Nkandla saga
JOHANNESBURG, April 1 (Reuters) - South African President Jacob Zuma said on Friday he only ever acted in good faith in his handling of a 2014 watchdog report into $16 million of state-funded improvements to his private home and would pay back a portion of the money.
Belgium wants migrants to sign pledge on integration
LONDON, April 1 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Non-EU migrants wishing to live in Belgium will have to sign a statement declaring their acceptance of local values or see their residency claim rejected, a government official said, in a move campaigners fear will fuel anti-immigrant sentiment.
Parliament is expected to pass the proposal to introduce a "newcomers statement" in the next few months, according to a spokesman for Belgium's secretary of state for asylum and migration, Theo Francken, who drafted the plan.
People moving to Belgium for more than three months would have to sign the statement which includes a pledge to prevent and report any attempts to commit "acts of terrorism".
The statement would not apply to asylum seekers and students, the spokesman said.
"(Many people) are coming (to Belgium) from countries with other values," Francken's spokesman Laurent Mutambayi told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by telephone from Brussels.
"If they want to build their life here in Europe (we have) no problem with that but they have to sign this statement that they accept our values," he added.
Mutambayi said those who are not deemed to be integrating sufficiently will not be allowed to stay in the country.
The question of integration has dominated news headlines in Europe which received more than 1 million people last year fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East and beyond.
Mutambayi said last month's suicide bombings at Brussels Airport and on a metro train which killed 35 people reinforced the argument for the integration statement.
Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks.
One of the Belgian organisations working with migrants criticised the proposal saying it was discriminatory and would fuel prejudice towards migrants.
"It's an extra tool for the immigration office to keep some people out of Belgium," said Didier Vanderslycke from ORBIT, an organisation working on diversity and migration.
"The integration process can start when you have the residence and not when you sign a document that you will integrate. It's really a bad thing as a welcome (for) people," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Russia's Lavrov raises question of Turkey-Syria border with Kerry
MOSCOW, April 1 (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in a phone conversation with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday, said militants were still crossing from Turkey into Syria across their joint border, Russia's foreign ministry said.
"Lavrov once again drew attention to the Turkey-Syria border which still has holes and, according to our data, is actively being used to transfer militants via Turkey to Syria," the ministry said.
When Prime Minister Narendra Modi sets foot on the Saudi soil on April 2, he will be hoping to give the strategic partnership between New Delhi and Riyadh a fresh fillip during his two-day visit to Saudi Arabia. A boost to economic ties and attracting greater Saudi investment in India too will be on the prime minister's wish list.
It's been six years since an Indian PM visited the desert kingdom despite the close and robust bilateral ties the two countries enjoy. The last Indian PM to visit the oil-rich kingdom was PM Manmohan Singh in 2010. The visit had seen New Delhi and Riyadh ink the important "strategic partnership" agreement in a bid to upgrade bilateral ties.
However, bilateral ties cannot be viewed merely through the prism of this strategic partnership, straddle as they do a wide range of areas from the strategic to the economic.
Saudi Arabia is India's fourth largest trading partner with bilateral deals touching US$ 39.4 billion dollars in 2014-15. India's exports to the country have crossed the US$ 11 billion mark.
It also remains a vital contributor to India's energy basket by virtue of being its largest crude oil supplier. Nearly 19 per cent of India's crude imports come from Saudi Arabia, helping it meet one-fifth of its needs. Last year, we imported crude worth US$ 21 billion from Saudi Arabia.
This apart, the largest chunk of the eight million-strong Indian diaspora in the Gulf countries lives in Saudi Arabia. The desert kingdom, itself is home to a 2.96 million NRIs which send remittances worth over US$ 10 billion annually. This again is a substantial portion of the annual remittances worth US$ 35-40 billion sent by Indian expatriates in the Gulf.
The diaspora is also seen as a significant binding factor between the two countries. The people-to-people element is also bolstered by the annual pilgrimage Haj and Umra undertaken by Indians. Over 1,34,000 Indians go to Saudi Arabia every year on Haj and another 3,00,000 go to Umra.
Saudi foreign minister Adel Al Jubeir during his visit to New Delhi in March 2016.
Lakhs of Indian blue-collar workers, who comprise a very substantial part of the Saudi workforce, too will be hoping that the PM will take up their cause with Riyadh, in terms of better working conditions.
Saudi Arabia is also the largest member of the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) contributing nearly half of the GDP of these countries. The GCC is seen as an important entity by India both in the economic and strategic sphere. Saudi Arabia will be the second member-state PM Modi will be visiting after the UAE within the span of less than a year.
While an Indian PM may be visiting Saudi Arabia after a long gap, there has been a regular exchange of high-level visits in the years since 2015 as the two countries seek to push ahead with their "strategic partnership". This pact envisages greater cooperation between New Delhi and Riyadh in the economic, political, defence and security spheres.
The inking of a defence cooperation agreement in early 2014 during a visit to India by then Crown Prince and now King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and an extradition pact during Manmohan Singh's visit were just the beginning of an ever-increasing security dimension to the relationship.
Neither New Delhi nor Riyadh is shy of talking about the growing security cooperation between them. External affairs ministry officials in South Block describe it as "very intense and close cooperation between our security agencies". This working in tandem in recent years has ensured the extradition of terror suspects such as Abu Jundal who was accused of involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terror strikes that left 166 persons dead.
Clearly, among the priorities for PM Modi during his visit to the desert kingdom will be to forge even closer ties in the security domain. Also, with Pakistan in India's terror calculus Saudi cooperation in dealing with terrorism becomes all the more important for India given that Islamabad has had traditionally close ties with the kingdom.
Indeed, Saudi foreign minister Adel Al Jubeir during his visit to New Delhi in early March had drawn attention to the need for the two countries to cooperate in order to effectively fight terrorism and extremism. More importantly, the Saudi leader had unequivocally stated that his country's ties with Pakistan do not come at the expense of ties with India.
RICHMOND An Illinois man who fatally shot a Virginia state trooper in the Richmond Greyhound bus station was traveling from North Carolina to Chicago and carrying more than 140 rounds of ammunition in one of his bags, the superintendent of the Virginia State Police said Friday.
James Brown III, 34, of Aurora, Illinois, was initially seated in the restaurant area of the terminal on North Boulevard when he got up to move toward his bags, which were nearby in the front of the depot, Col. W. Steven Flaherty said at an afternoon news conference.
Trooper Chad P. Dermyer, 37, then approached Brown, Flaherty said, and "within seconds" Brown pulled a Beretta .40-caliber semi-automatic pistol, "turned into him and fired the shots. Multiple shots." Brown was then shot by other state troopers nearby and went back toward the restaurant area before he could be taken into custody. He died at VCU Medical Center.
Dermyer died after being taken to the hospital. Two women, one a 21-year-old from Wingdale, New York, and the other a 47-year-old from Jacksonville, North Carolina, suffered injuries that were not life threatening, Flaherty said. They were not identified, but Binghamton University said a member of its track team was injured and released from a hospital Friday.
Accounts of the chaos around Greyhound shooting Eighteen-year-old Leigha Schilling of Elmira, N.Y., was outside the Greyhound bus station Th
Flaherty said Dermyer was a newer member of a group of approximately 16 other troopers, supervisors and special agents in a criminal interdiction unit training at the bus station. Part of the training is engaging citizens in such a setting, he said, adding he did not know what prompted Dermyer to approach Brown.
Asked what might have been said, Flaherty said: "If anything it was probably small talk to try and engage him... the two of them weren't together for more than a few seconds, so any conversation was very slight."
Brown, traveling from the Raleigh-Durham area to Chicago with another stop planned in Washington, was carrying two bags. One contained two partially loaded 30-round clips and two boxes of ammunition, Flaherty said. The gun was legally purchased 13 months ago by another person, Flaherty said, but authorities have not yet been able to determine how it got to Brown.
"It's very troubling he would have a gun," Flaherty said. "It's troubling that he was out, having the history he had, and able to travel on the bus line."
Brown, Flaherty said, had an extensive criminal history in Illinois and was well-known to Aurora police. He described him as having a history of illegal drug charges and a variety of violent offenses. Authorities believe Brown was traveling alone.
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One of the suspects wore shirt and trousers while the other wore knee length shorts and shirt. They were seen casually passing by the occurrence area, at around 4.45 am
Chennai: City police on Thursday released a CCTV grab of a duo suspected to be involved in the lifting of an eight-month-old boy, during the wee hours on March 21. The grab was picked up from the recordings from one of the eight cameras installed with the efforts of Esplanade Police.
The couple, Vinod (29) and his wife Metha (22), their eight-month-old son Rokesh and two other children were sleeping on the pavement in front of Burma Bazaar on North Fort Road.
The mother last saw the baby at around 3 am when she fed him. At 5 am when she woke up, she found the toddler missing. This duo, one wearing trousers and a shirt and the other wearing a knee-length shorts and a shirt, are seen casually passing by the occurrence area, at around 4.45 am.
The quality of the grab is poor, as the camera was at least 100 m away, fixed at Old Tiruvallur Bus Stand. Further the darkness compounds the woes of image quality.
Though there is no specific footage suggesting the duo to have lifted the baby, we still suspect them to have been part of the racket. The only suspicion against them is that they were the only persons who had passed by the pavement where the victim family was asleep at the time of occurrence, said a senior police official. The grab was released at a time when the organized gang is suspected to be involved in another baby-lifting incident reported on Wall Tax Road.
Police personnel seen controlling students, who were protesting in front of the Department of Pre-University Education following a question paper leak, in Bengaluru on Thursday (Photo: DC)
When the PU Board ordered a II PUC re-examination after the Chemistry question paper leak last week, Deccan Chronicle asked, what was the guarantee it would not happen again. At 3 am on Thursday, hours before the scheduled re-exam, we and anxious students and parents got the shocking answer. The board examination that determines the future of lakhs of students has been reduced to a farce. By someones design. The question is, who is or, who all are playing with the future of students? Will the police ever find out? Will the suspension of nearly 40 officials help ensure a leak-free examination on April 12? Most importantly, how will the government ensure that the students get a fair deal in admissions to professional courses this year?
If the first Chemistry question paper of the II PU final examination was leaked the day before the examination, this time drama unfolded at around 3 am early Thusday with the city police bringing the leaked paper to the attention of PU board director, Pallavi Akurathi. They forwarded three of the handwritten question paper copies being circulated widely in the city on WhatsApp to Ms. Akurathi , who on verification found that one of them matched the days question paper.
Losing no time, the board took the permission of primary and secondary education minister, Kimmane Rathnakar, to postpone the examination once again. A harried Mr. Kimmane himself arrived at the PU department office around 9 am to hold talks with officials.
But by 11 am there was chaos at the PU board office in Malleswaram as thousands of students and various organisations gathered before it to protest even as students erupted in anger elsewhere in the state as well. In Bengaluru, ABVP activists led the protest before the PU department. Anticipating more trouble, the Malleswaram police rushed additional forces to the spot and erected barricades around the office to stop agitators from entering it.
The state government quickly announced that 40 officials of the PU board were being suspended and a re- examination would be held on April 12 by an independent authority. But far from being placated, the protesting students demanded that minister Rathnakar and the PU board director talk to them directly.
A few grew restless and began to stone the office, while another group tried to block the roads connecting West Bengaluru, forcing the police to do a mild lathicharge.
A JDS activist, Nagesh created a stir as he climbed up the PU board office and threatened to commit suicide to protest the leak, but the police were able to bring him down by force. A student, Harishita, created more panic when she fell unconscious and had to be admitted to the K.C. General hospital for treatment.
Meanwhile, JDS state chief, H.D. Kumaraswamy and BJP leaders led by former law minister, S. Suresh Kumar arrived at the PU board office to discuss the situation with senior officials. Although they tried to convince the agitators to drop their protest as the government had already announced a slew of damage control measures, they met with little success.
Finally the police herded activists of various organizations like AAP, Jaya Karnataka, JDS and ABVP into buses and sent them away, returning the situation to normalcy by 3pm.
Students protest in front of the Department of Pre University Education, in Bengaluru on Thursday (Photo: DC)
PU board director likely to be transferred
While PU board director, Pallavi Akurathi, survived the first Chemistry question paper leak of March 22, she is likely to be transferred following Thursdays second leak, according to sources. The government has already signalled its unhappiness with her by giving the additional responsibility of conducting the PU exams to transport commissioner, Rame Gowda, who has served as PU board director in the past.
If she is transferred now, it will be Ms Akurathis third transfer in a year. As she took charge at the board only two months ago, the government has not suspended her. But she may be shunted out immediately after the PU examinations are conducted, sources said. Meanwhile, going by unconfirmed reports Ms Akurathi broke down before Speaker Kagodu Thimmappa in his chamber and pleaded her innocence following Thursdays chaos. She also reportedly sought a transfer from the department. The government has already
suspended 40 officials for the second Chemistry question paper leak in less than 10 days .
Harsh to penalise students this way for no fault of theirs
With the PU finals being crucial for the future of over 1.75 lakh students in the state, Thursdays second leak of the Chemistry paper has left many worried and anxious.
Having expected the board to be more alert to possible leaks following its experience of March 22, the students have been left nonplussed by this second unexpected leak. Although another re-exam has been announced on April 12, they point out that a series of competitive examinations like JEE (Mains), IIT, medical and engineering admission tests begin from April 1, making it hard for them to appear for it in their midst.
Now instead of preparing for these examinations we are stuck with a II PU final question paper, lamented a student, Shamitha Kulkarni, who is hoping to get into a medical college.
"My friends are very disappointed and are cursing the PU board. Our parents are also frustrated. Im actually trying to convince them that its like a revision for the JEE mains. But beyond a point, its boring to study the same thing over and over again, said another student, Mahalakshmi N.
Dr. Sridhar, founder of Deeksha says the second question paper leak has demoralised the students further. It is harsh to penalise students this way for no fault of theirs, he added.
187 question paper store rooms to be monitored
Unwilling to risk another leak, the education department has revised guidelines for the April 12 II PU Chemistry re-examination, putting the deputy commissioners of all districts in charge of making sure there is no room for anymore foul play. All the 187 strongrooms used for storing the question papers will be monitored by a team of officers not below the rank of assistant commissioner.
And all proceedings, from the time the strongroom is opened till the completion of inspection and despatch of the question paper bundles, will be videographed. CID officials will be kept abreast of the situation as the new guidelines have been issued on the insistence of their ADGP, Pratap Reddy.
The officer reportedly urged the education department to take measures like videographing the process involved in dispatch of the question papers and so on to help the CID keep track of things better.
Rotation of officials on regular basis a must
Many believe that the problem at the PU board is that some of its officials have been working in the examination section for decades. While the government did not take this seriously during the last leak, on Thursday it suspended 40 officials of the examination section, many of whom had been working in it for the last 15 years. One Mr. Venkatesh Murthy H , a system analyst with the board, had worked in the same department since 1999.
Among those suspended are PU board join director, Ranganth, six assistant directors including Mr. Jambanna S, private secretary to the director and several other officials, including two attenders. Interestingly, among the suspended officials, five were on deputation.
A retired officer of the department fully backs the demand of the students for rotation of PU officials on a regular basis. This has not been done for decades, leading to chaos today. And now students are paying the price for the mistakes of the government," he regretted.
Protests in Mysuru
Hundreds of students who were left disappointed after the second PUC chemistry re-exam was cancelled following a paper leak, launched protests at different PU colleges here on Thursday. Marimallappa College students staged a protest wearing black shoulder bands and marched to the PU Board office. The protest march was led by BJP leaders Mr S.A. Ramdas and Mr Rajeev. Students also protested near Basaveswara circle.
Members of All India Democratic Youth Organisation, and All India Democratic Students Organisation too staged a protest near the deputy commissioners office and later took out a protest march to the PU board office. The students claimed that they needed time to prepare for the CET and other entrance exams and said the re-exam and further postponement was taking a toll of their nerves.
Indian soldiers and rescue workers were rushed to the spot to save trapped people under the partially collapsed flyover. (Photo: AP)
Kolkata: A sense of despair and gloom prevailed at the Calcutta Medical College Hospital, the Marwari Relief Society Hospital, R.G. Kar Medical College Hospital and Bishudananda Hospital where the rescued persons injured in the flyover collapse near Ganesh Talkies at Burrabazar on Thursday have been lodged.
Death toll in the flyover collapse has risen to 24. The army and other rescue teams have battled all through the night to rescue people still trapped under the rubble.
Among the 24 deceased, 11 have been identified. Golap Mali, a resident of Lalmadhab Mukherjee Lane, Samar Thakur, a resident of Ultadanga, Mahadeb Adak of Santragachi, Howrah, died at the Marwari Relief Society Hospital. Sanjay Mehrotra of Ramdulal Sarkar Street, Tapan Dutta of Tagore Castle Street, Asha Jyoti of Baguihati, Prakash Dhali of Haringhata, Nadia, Ajoy Kondai and Sarita Kondai of P.K. Tagore Street, Gajendra Sethia of M.D. Road died at CMCH, while Rajib Shaw of Dum Dum died at R.G. Kar Hospital.
Most of them were declared brought dead at the hospitals while one or two succumbed to their injuries soon. My brother Kachi Das was trapped at the site for four-and-a-half hours. He is very critical. Why was the Army not called in early from Fort William? alleged Madhab Das, his relative. My husband is no more. He use to run a cigarette shop there, wife of Golap Mali said with tears running down her cheeks.
Kolkata: Army officials, who are working closely with civic authorities and NRDF teams in relief and rescue operations at the flyover collapse site, said on Friday they were not hopeful of finding any more body under the debris.
"The focus of operations is now on debris removal and clearance of the road so that normalcy is restored. As of this morning no more bodies are expected to be found under the rubble," army officials said.
Death toll rose to 24 as the army rescue teams have been operating throughout the night along with the teams from civil defence, police and NRDF, trying to remove the debris from the affected area. General Officer in Command of Army's Bengal area Lt Gen Rajeev Tewary is monitoring the progress of the Army teams closely.
Altogether there are close to 300 Army personnel including medical teams, surgeons, engineers and gas cutters working on the spot of flyover collapse in northern Kolkata.
An under-construction flyover in the Burrabazar area of north Kolkata collapsed on Thursday afternoon. The condition of several of the injured was critical and the death toll is likely to go up.
A portion of the ill-fated Vivekananda Setu, which has been under construction since 2009, came crashing down at around 12.35 pm at the crossing of Vivekananda Road and Rabindra Sarani in the densely-populated and congested Burrabazar area. Several people were trapped under the collapsed portion of the flyover. Many vehicles were crushed or damaged and the passengers travelling in them were killed on the spot.
The West Bengal government ordered a high-level probe into the tragedy that triggered a blame game with the Opposition accusing the Mamata Banerjee government of callousness. Hitting back, the Trinamool Congress said the earlier Left Front government, under whose rule the construction of the flyover had begun in 2009, was to blame for the collapse. The company in charge of the flyovers construction called Thursdays tragedy an act of God, which triggered fury in several quarters.
I had stepped out of my home to take a glass of juice from the corner shop. When I heard the loud explosion, at first I thought it was an earthquake and then before my eyes the flyover collapsed, said Prem Prakash, a local resident.
Another eyewitness said that when the flyover collapsed over a minibus with passengers on board, several private cars, three taxis, two Matador vans and some autos came under the debris. For nearly two hours, the police, fire brigade and disaster management personnel struggled to rescue people trapped under the debris and thousands of tonnes of concrete and steel. Hundreds of local residents converged on the disaster scene and started to extend a helping hand to the victims and the local administration. The police had a tough time dispersing the mob from the spot and the CRPF was brought in to control the situation. As cranes, gas-cutting machines and JCV machines were taken to the spot, rescue operation started. Five columns of the Army were rushed to the spot, and immediately joined in the rescue efforts, with its personnel using their hands to break concrete slabs to rescue trapped people. NDRF personnel too joined in the rescue work.
There were some heart-wrenching scenes like the one where a person totally trapped and invisible from outside managed to push out his bleeding arm in a bid to attract attention. Two local people offered him a bottle of water, an eyewitness recounted. However, this person did not survive. Local residents vented their ire against the state government for sheer callousness. The workers were casting concrete slabs on the flyover since last night. They were still working when the incident occurred, a local resident said. Some alleged there were some faults in the flyovers design while others accused the construction firm of using poor quality materials to build the flyover.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who was touring Jangalmahal campaigning for the polls, cancelled her public rallies in West Midnapore and rushed back to the city in a helicopter. Earlier, chief secretary Basudeb Banerjee, home secretary Moloy De and other senior bureaucrats and police personnel had rushed to the spot to supervise the rescue and relief operations. As soon as Ms Banerjee reached the site, she took hold of a hand-held microphone and appealed to local people for cooperation. This is a huge tragedy and I want all your help and cooperation, she said. On her instructions, the chief secretary announced compensation of Rs 5 lakhs for the families of the bereaved and Rs 3 lakhs for each of those seriously injured.
Union home minister Rajnath Singh, who was touring the state campaigning for BJP candidates in Purulia district, voiced his anguish at the tragedy and ordered that Army and paramilitary forces be sent immediately for rescue operations. However, BJP spokesman Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, who was in Kolkata, held the Mamata Banerjee government responsible for the mishap. This is a clear-cut case of corruption and it must be investigated by the CBI and whoever is found guilty howsoever high and mighty he may be should be arrested immediately, Mr Naqvi said. State Congress chief Adhir Chowdhury was even more specific. I demand the arrest of state urban development minister Firhad Hakim, he said.
The chief minister, however, cleared passed the buck to her predecessor Left Front government. The construction had started in 2009, Ms Banerjee pointed out. She added: Stringent action will be taken against officials of the construction company and the others involved.
GUNTUR: The state government is planning to modify the Amaravati core capital design after severe criticism from the public for selecting a 50-year-old design.
CRDA vice-chairman P. Narayana said that the Amaravati core capital design submitted by Maki Associates of Japan would be put on display for the people in all 13 districts to know their opinion and will be modified as per their suggestions.
He said that suggestions reflecting the culture and tradition of Andhra people would be incorporated in the designs. Mr Narayana, along with AP Legislative Council chairman A. Chakrapani, reached Velagapudi on Friday to inspect the ongoing temporary Secretariat works.
Mr Narayana said that Maki Associates submitted only the concept design of Amaravati and it can be changed according to the needs. He said that already, the core capital design was kept for public display for two days at Vijayawada.
Mr Narayana said that the Chief Minister was keen on moving forward as per the wishes of the people with regard to the core capital design.
It may be recalled that Deccan Chronicle reported about the old design of Amaravati government core on March 30 and the leaders of the Telugu Desam also took the issue to the notice of the government.
Union minister and TN BJP election in-charge Prakash Javadekar chairs partys central committee meeting to discuss the ensuing Assembly election at Kamalalayam in Chennai on Thursday. Union minister Pon Radhakrishnan and other senior leaders also seen. DC
Chennai: Providing more decibels to the cadence of charges levelled on the TN government by his Cabinet colleague Piyush Goyal in taking on Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa and her ministers, Union minister of state for environment Prakash Javadekar accused the state government of working against the interest of its people by preventing the benefits of the Centres welfare schemes from reaching them.
He also blamed the government for being inactive over a proposal on demarcating the eco-sensitive areas (ESA) of the Western Ghats. Five states located along the Western Ghats Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa, Gujarat and Kerala have submitted their recommendations (to retain only 20,000 sq km as ESA and release the rest 36,285 sq.km for development). But Tamil Nadu is yet to submit its report. This is not good attitude. We want good governance. Modis government believes in cooperative federalism, he said.
(If the project gets underway, nearly 60 per cent of the ESA, protected area of the Western Ghats, also known as water tower of peninsular India, will be thrown open for development and commercial projects).
Mr Javadekar, who is in-charge of TN BJP affairs, claimed such attitude exhibited by the government would only result in effecting sufferings upon people. This was not the only case, the minister who was in the city on Thursday told reporters, that the government and its ministers have made controversy over the Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY) scheme. Let my put the facts straight by throwing more light on the subject. UDAY improves efficiency of power sector, ensures turnaround of revenue, control losses, ensure 247 quality power supply to the people besides prevent power pilferage, he said.
Though 18 states including those ruled by the Congress and other parties have signed the MoU, only TN had not come forward to implement this scheme which would help save Rs 1.80 lakh crore for India.
TN government does not want the people of Tamil Nadu to be benefited. It is not interested in honest power consumers to benefit but is interested only helping those pilferaging power, he stated.
Already 9 crore households across the country have benefited through the scheme which provides 7 V LED bulb at Rs.200 for the people and Rs.100 to the government as against Rs. 400 in the open market. This shows TN wants those stealing power and those making profits from the high cost of the bulbs, to benefit, Mr Javadekar charged.
We are not criticising AIADMK for poll mileage: Javadekar
Refuting an allegation that the Central ministers trained their guns on the ruling AIADMK with an eye on the Assembly election, Union minister of state for environment Prakash Javadekar said his party has been highly critical of both the AIADMK and the DMK.
I want to put the facts straight. BJP stands for overall development and corruption-free governance in Tamil Nadu. Piyush Goyal did not mount an attack on the AIADMK government but explained his position. Anyway Goyal would be visiting Chennai he will have more to say on this, Mr Javadekar told reporters here on Thursday.
In a lighter vein he remarked, I will not tell him that he is in great demand here. Then he may immediately rush to Chennai he will explain everything when he comes. His party has been highly critical of both the Dravidian majors who have destroyed Tamil Nadu and failed to render justice to the people.
Mr Javadekar who earlier chaired the BJPs central committee meeting at Kamalalayam BJP state headquarters here to discuss the alliance strategy for the May 16 Assembly election, said a clear picture on the BJP-led NDAs alliance would emerge in a couple of days.
On the attempt to revive ties with DMDK and PMK, he said while PMK displayed its political ambition, Vijayakanths DMDK wanted to align with PWA while Vaiko had walked out of NDA long ago. Whichever way the parties aligned, the BJP never considered any party as its enemy but saw them only as competitors, he added.
We will throttle sand mafia, says Union Minister
The Centre has put in place a foolproof mechanism to prevent the over commercial exploitation of sand across the country with sustainable sand mining policy notified 50 days ago, Union minister of state for environment Prakash Javadekar has said.
The policy, he said, allows mining of sand by states only after the completion of satellite mapping of the resource. The aim is to prevent the sand mafia from illegally mining this natural resource. This is a revolutionary policy, which we have brought.. we will end sand mafia, he said while talking to reporters here on Thursday.
Among suggestions is introducing barcode for trucks to keep tab on the vehicles used for excavation. It was found that licenses are obtained for 12 trucks but 100 trucks are used by contractors to excavate the sand from the mining area. The barcode system will eliminate this problem, he said and added that his ministry proposed to hold a national seminar for department officials and sensitise them on the new policy.
Narendra Modi will hold extensive talks with King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud on a range of bilateral issues including on ways to step up existing counter terrorism mechanism to deal with increasing threat of terrorism and radicalisation. (Photo: PTI)
Riyadh: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will arrive in Saudi Arabia on Saturday on a two-day visit with an aim to reinvigorate India's strategic partnership with oil-rich nation, particularly in areas of counter-terrorism, energy and trade.
Modi will be the fourth Indian Prime Minister to visit Saudi Arabia after Manmohan Singh in 2010, Indira Gandhi in 1982 and Jawaharlal Nehru in 1956.
The Prime Minister will hold extensive talks with King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud on a range of bilateral issues including on ways to step up existing counter terrorism mechanism to deal with increasing threat of terrorism and radicalisation.
Read: Narendra Modi arrives in US to attend 4th Nuclear Security Summit
Modi's visit here comes amid the current turmoil in the Middle East and the issue is likely to figure prominently in the deliberations he will have with the Saudi leadership.
Saudi Arabia is India's largest crude oil supplier meeting one-fifth of the country's oil requirement and Modi may press for greater involvement of Indian companies in upstream and downstream oil and gas sector projects in the Gulf nation which has a huge reservoir of hydrocarbons. Its economy has been hit by low oil prices.
Read: Nuclear Summit to discuss threat caused by N-terrorism: Modi
The Prime Minister will arrive here from Washington on the final leg of his three-nation tour that began on March 30 with a visit to Brussels. Saudi Arabia is India's fourth largest trading partner with bilateral trade exceeding USD 39 billion in 2014-15.
There are over 2.96 million Indian nationals working in Saudi Arabia, the largest expatriate community in the country, and Modi is expected to raise issues concerning them during his deliberations with the Saudi leadership.
Modi will also meet top CEOs of major Saudi companies, visit the famous Masmak fort, will interact with the Indian community and visit Tata Consultancy centre which had trained over 1,000 Saudi women.
Modi will also meet Indian workers of a project being implemented by L&T in Dahiat Namar in Riyadh. After talks on Sunday, both sides will sign a number of MOUs to expand ties in a range of areas. The King will also host a lunch for Modi which will be attended by key ministers and officials.
Signalling growing cooperation in the fight against terror, Saudi Arabia has deported a number of terrorists to India in the last few years including 26/11 accused Abu Jundal.
There is an existing counter-terror mechanism between India and Saudi Arabia and both sides are likely to enhance it further.
Lahore: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his PML-N government are working on a deliberate strategy to raise the issue of the involvement of Indias external intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) in Pakistan, the law minister of the countrys Punjab province, Rana Sanaullah Khan, has claimed.
Read: Pakistan claims arrest of yet another RAW agent in Balochistan
Responding to a question from a media person on why Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has refused to comment on the recent arrest of a former Indian Navy officer Kulbushan Yadav for allegedly acting as an agent of the R&AW in Balochistan, Rana Sanaullah Khan, as quoted in the Dawn, said, the government is working on a strategy to raise the issue of involvement of RAW in Pakistan.
Rana Sanaullah Khan also declined to confirm arrest of two Indian engineers from the Ramzan Sugar Mills which is owned by the Sharifs in a Punjab town on charges of sabotage.
He was speaking to reporters outside the Punjab Assembly building in Lahore on Wednesday.
The Punjab provincial minister described this report as absurd and wrong.
When he was asked to either confirm or deny the report, Khan said no agency had so far given any report on the matter.
Asked if Jaish-i-Muhammad and Jamaat-ud-Dawa would be allowed to operate in the province under the notion of good and bad Taliban, Khan said this notion had died after the launch of Operation Zarb-e-Azb, and added that no one will be allowed to use our soil for any kind of terrorism.
British Prime Minister David Cameron today assured the nation that his government is "doing everything it can" to save some 20,000 jobs at Tata Steel but warned there were "no guarantees of success" after India's steel giant decided to sell its loss-making UK businesses.
Cameron, who cut short his Easter break in Spain and rushed to London to chair a crisis meeting of the Cabinet following Tata Steel's decision, said nationalisation was not the answer but the government was "not ruling anything out".
Cameron said the threat of thousands of job losses was "very difficult" and that his government would do "everything it can" but warned there were "no guarantees of success".
"This industry is in difficulty right across the world. There's been a collapse in prices, there's massive overcapacity," he told reporters after the cabinet meeting.
Tata Steel, which operates the country's biggest steel plant at Port Talbot in south Wales, is losing 1 million pounds (USD 1.4 million) a day in its UK operations. A sale or restructuring would likely involve heavy job losses.
Tata Steel, one of the flagships of the over USD 100-billion Indian conglomerate Tata Group, said it has decided to "explore all options for for portfolio restructuring including the potential divestment of Tata Steel UK, in whole or in parts" amid a "deteriorating financial performance of the UK subsidiary in the last 12 months".
The Board of Tata Steel decided on Tuesday to decide on the future course of action in a bid to steer its embattled operations in Europe out of the rut, which face supply glut, increase in cheap imports from China amidst a continued weakness in demand in the European markets.
Cameron defended the government's handling of the crisis after opposition Labour said it was "missing in action".
Shadow business secretary Angela Eagle said "the danger signs have been flashing red but have been largely ignored by the government" and accused the PM of having "failed to show any leadership".
Cameron said the situation at Port Talbot, the country's biggest steel factory, was of deep "concern" and said the steel jobs were "vital" to workers' families and the communities.
"The government will do everything it can working with the company to try and secure the future of steelmaking in Port Talbot and across our country. It's a vital industry," he said.
Meanwhile, the BBC reported that it is understood the government wants reassurance Tata Steel will not close its plants before a buyer is found.
Tata Steel's UK business - which directly employs 15,000 workers and supports thousands of others - includes plants in Port Talbot, Rotherham, Corby and Shotton.
Britain's steel industry has been hit hard by cheap Chinese imports, leading to lower prices, forcing steelmakers to demand imposing anti-dumping duties on imported steel.
People from the northeastern states living in Delhi can hope for better security measures and a more sensitised police force soon as 443 Delhi Polices newly recruited constables hailing from the northeast arrived here for training.
The constables were recruited under a special drive. The move is one of the five recommendations of the Bezbaruah committee which was set up in the wake of the murder of northeast student Nido Tania in Delhi in 2013.
The constables arrived in the capital in separate batches this week to start their nine-month long training at the Delhi Polices Police Training School (PTS) from April 4.
Of the 443, 406 constables have been recruited through a selection process which includies a written and physical test. Thirty seven constables have been nominated from their respective states.
Of the 406 recruited through the selection process, 285 are men and 121 are women. While 20 from the nominated ones are male, 17 are female, said a police officer of the Delhi Polices special unit for the northeast region.
The committee felt that the creation of a special squad supervised by the North East Special Police Unit would go a long way in ensuring speedy justice in criminal cases against the people of the northeast community, said the police officer.
In the nine-month long training in the PTS, the new recruits would be specially trained and sensitised about the problems of people from the northeast, he added.
Over two lakh people from the northeast migrated to Delhi in the last decade and about 86 per cent of them have faced discrimination, the Bezbaruah committee report said.
The report also blamed Delhi as the worst among the metro cities in terms of racial discrimination against people from the northeast.
Northeastern people in Delhi for the last few years feel that having representatives in the local police will go a long way in reinstating their faith in the police force.
We dont get to deal with IPS officers on a daily basis, most of the time our interactions are with the lower level cops who are not very educated and come with a cultural baggage. We feel lot of problems while dealing with them due to our limited knowledge of Hindi, and theirs of English, said Tshering Lepcha, a PHD scholar from JNU.
With the arrival of northeast constables in Delhi Police we will feel safe and secured. We can communicate our problems to them better, Lepcha added.
Those recruited would be posted in areas with high northeast populations like Delhi University, Kotla Mubarakpur, Timarpur, south Delhi and Civil Lines.
Five officials of the company that was building a flyover that collapsed on to vehicles and street vendors here have been detained.
Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar, who paid a visit to the mishap site, told reporters "We have detained a few officials of the construction company. We are taking action against them".
Kolkata Police has registered a case against the Hyderabad-based construction firm IVRCL under sections 304, 308 and 407 of the IPC and sealed the local office of the company.
According to another senior police official, who spoke to PTI on condition of anonymity, about seven persons, injured in yesterday's mishap, were in a "very critical condition".
Asked when would the area be cleared off all the debris of concrete and iron girdles, the officer said, "the clearing at the main crossing (Ganesh Talkies crossings) will hopefully be over by today. But the rest like iron piers, iron pillars, broken concrete parts will be cleared in a step-by-step process."
The other end of the Vivekananda flyover towards the KK Tagore Street, where the metal pier, holding the bridge, was completely damaged would be cut but "a planned engineering plan is necessary for that", he said.
"It's a very very congested area with buildings so close to the flyover. And most of the buildings are very old. So we must keep in mind that in order to remove the damaged portions of the flyover another mishap does not take place," he said.
Army jawans, NDRF along with city police's DMG team, special teams of Kolkata Traffic Police, DC Central, DC South, CRP from the Old Mint camp were all engaged in a night-long rescue operations.
Protests continued for the second day today in front of the Pre-University Board here against the leak of the Class XII Chemistry paper for the second time within 10 days.
Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and some students' organisations staged protests demanding justice, as they held the state government responsible for "mismanagement" of the examination, affecting about 1.74 lakh students.
Police used force to vacate students from the area as they tried to enter the PU Board office. Many of them were detained as a preventive measure.
The examination that first took place on March 21 was cancelled. Hours before the rescheduled Chemistry exams was to begin yesterday, Department of Pre-University Education (DPUE) was alerted about the question paper leak at two locations in the state.
The Karnataka government, that came under sharp criticism from the public, students and the opposition for the question paper leak, had suspended 40 officers and other staff in the Pre-University Department.
The Opposition has demanded the resignation of Primary and Secondary Education Minister Kimmane Ratnakar.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah today met PU lecturers association members who have threatened to boycott evaluation of II PU exam papers, demanding implementation of G Kumar Naik report, recommending better pay scales for them.
Asking them not to boycott evaluation in the interest of students, Siddarmaiah assured them that their request would be looked into, but told them to first attend to evaluation, official sources said.
Home Minister G Parameswara had yesterday told reporters that CID was probing the matter and government is very serious about it. "They are finding out who the culprits are - whether they are insiders or outsiders," he had said.
Ratnakar had said the re-examination would be held on April 12 and that the DGP CID has been requested to conduct a speedy probe into the leak of both March 21 exam and the re-examination question paper, find out the source behind it and punish those responsible.
The JIT, which arrived here on March 27, interacted on the Pathankot case with NIA officials which included a visit to the IAF base where they were shown the scene of crime as well as the location from where the terrorists sneaked in and hid.
They also visited the spot where Ikagar Singh's vehicle was snatched, where he was murdered, and the spot from where the terrorists hijacked the SUV of SP Salwinder Singh, Kumar said, adding the route taken by the terrorists was also shown to the JIT.
"These are part of the standard legal procedure of investigation followed in both nations," he said.
On JIT's request, the NIA provided certified copies of postmortem reports, call data record, DNA reports of four terrorists and the seizure memo of articles from the scene of crime.
The Pakistan JIT was given access to 16 witnesses including Salwinder Singh, his cook, Rajesh Verma and some witnesses as per agreed terms of reference and extant legal provisions.
"The JIT informed us that they were collecting admissible evidence outside Pakistan under the provision of Section 188 of the CrPC of Pakistan, that will legally enable them to be used in prosecution," he said.
JIT was also requested to verify the various articles seized from the terrorists including arms and ammunition as mentioned in the Letters Rogatory sent earlier to Pakistan.
NIA shared with JIT the identity and the address of the 4 terrorists and requested that the JIT confirm the same.
Indian investigators will visit Pakistan to take forward the probe into the terror attack on the strategic IAF base in Pathankot in the aftermath of Pakistan JIT's visit to India.Dates for the visit will be be worked out later, Director General of NIA Sharad Kumar told reporters here at the end of five days of discussions with Pakistani Joint Investigation Team (JIT) which returned today."We expressed that a team of National Investigation Agency (NIA) could be sent to Pakistan for a probe in that country since conspiracy has been hatched in that country. They welcomed the idea and the dates will be worked out later," he said.Kumar said NIA presented the JIT with "concrete evidence" against the office bearers of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) who conspired in the attack and the handlers of the terrorists who facilitated and guided them."NIA also sought voice samples of some senior office bearers of JeM ," he said without naming anyone. However, NIA sources said that they had sought voice samples of Jaish chief Maulana Masood Azhar, his brother Abdul Rauf and Khayyam Babbar, mother of one of killed Jaish terrorist identified as Nasir Hussain as he had called her before launching the attack in Pathankot.Kumar also said that it had asked for a DNA sample of the mother of the terrorist.The NIA briefed the JIT on investigations in the case. The terror attack executed by the Jaish on January 2, 2016 in Pathankot left seven security personnel dead. Four terrorists were also killed in the gunbattle.The Pakistan JIT, headed by Additional Inspector General of Police, Counter Terrorism Department, Muhammad Tahir Rai and also including ISI's Lt Col Tanvir Ahmed, in turn, shared with NIA the results of investigations carried out by them so far in Pakistan."The interaction with JIT was held in accordance with terms of reference mutually agreed on the basis of reciprocity. The Pakistan JIT assured us of their full cooperation and promised to execute the LR which has been received by them," he said.
Often, one has the tendency to stare at a child or an adult who behaves in a disoriented manner. While many brush this aside as another mental health issue, this could be related to autism. With another World Autism Awareness Day here, it is time to focus on the challenges that autistic children and their parents face.
Savitha Nagarajan, a homemaker whose 14-year-old son Prajwul is autistic, has learnt to avoid stares and those who are indifferent to her childs condition.
There are not many centres here which provide a space for activities in connection to speech and language therapy, physical well-being and academics of the child under one roof. That is a big challenge. Most parents have to travel a long distance with their wards to such a centre, she says.
Savitha has also taught her children to ignore snide remarks. There are people who ask questions like why does your child behave this way? If the elders could understand and learn about autism, it would be good, she says.
Katrina Carlson from Finland, who lives here with her family, says that it isnt always hard when the children are well-behaved. Thankfully, my son Teo is a calm boy. But most autistic children and adults like to follow a routine and when this is disturbed, it could possibly disturb them. The challenge being in Bengaluru is making the environment friendly for him. Having the same people around is important. Another challenge I face here is the traffic. The driving patterns of people are not regular which can be disturbing, she says.
Officials from autism centres in the City say that the attitude to the condition though changing, has a long way to go. Sarbani Mallick, founder-director and managing trustee of Bubbles Centre for Autism, says that though there is an increased awareness among youngsters and people about autism, a clear idea of the subject is still lacking. Autism is a misunderstood condition. The biggest challenge one faces here is that the disability isnt visible and thus acceptance of a child with autism is lower, compared to other disabled children, she says.
She adds that there arent proper schools for autistic children in the City.
The needs of each child are so varied and specific that there has to be a one-on-one approach with each of them. Sarbani adds that denial among family members and relatives worsens the situation. Also, early intervention is most crucial in this condition, as it helps in a better prognosis, she adds.
Since the last 5 years, there has been an increased awareness, says Nithya Srinivasa Raghavan, centre head of Apoorva Centre- SAI Autism. People didnt know what autism was. But this city is not yet autism-friendly. The biggest challenge in autism is communication. When this is lacking, behavioural changes can be seen. The other issue is socialisation or how to mingle in the society, details Nithya.
She adds that in the city, parents face the issue of not having a daycare centre for such children. Parents dont have an option of putting their children in a centre for just a few hours, if they are going somewhere, she says.
Medical professionals like Dr Shalini Rao, consultant paediatrician, Ovum Hospitals says that a proper support system for parents who have autistic children is lacking here. I did my medical training in the UK and the system there helps in detecting educational and developmental issues in children at an early age like around 2 years, so that remedial action can be taken, she says,
Dr Shalini says that an increase in self-help groups and government-led NGOs is the necessity of the hour.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will arrive here tomorrow on a two-day visit with an aim to reinvigorate India's strategic partnership with oil-rich Saudi Arabia, particularly in areas of counter-terrorism, energy and trade.
Modi will be the fourth Indian Prime Minister to visit Saudi Arabia after Manmohan Singh in 2010, Indira Gandhi in 1982 and Jawaharlal Nehru in 1956.
The Prime Minister will hold extensive talks with King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud on a range of bilateral issues including on ways to step up existing counter-terrorism mechanism to deal with increasing threat of terrorism and radicalisation.
Modi's visit here comes amid the current turmoil in the Middle East and the issue is likely to figure prominently in the deliberations he will have with the Saudi leadership.
Saudi Arabia is India's largest crude oil supplier meeting one-fifth of the country's oil requirement and Modi may press for greater involvement of Indian companies in upstream and downstream oil and gas sector projects in the Gulf nation which has a huge reservoir of hydrocarbons. Its economy has been hit by low oil prices.
The Prime Minister will arrive here from Washington on the final leg of his three-nation tour that began on March 30 with a visit to Brussels.
Saudi Arabia is India's fourth largest trading partner with bilateral trade exceeding USD 39 billion in 2014-15.
There are over 2.96 million Indian nationals working in Saudi Arabia, the largest expatriate community in the country, and Modi is expected to raise issues concerning them during his deliberations with the Saudi leadership.
Modi will also meet top CEOs of major Saudi companies, visit the famous Masmak fort, will interact with the Indian community and visit Tata Consultancy centre which had trained over 1,000 Saudi women.
Modi will also meet Indian workers of a project being implemented by L&T in Dahiat Namar in Riyadh.
After talks on Sunday, both sides will sign a number of MOUs to expand ties in a range of areas. The King will also host a lunch for Modi which will be attended by key ministers and officials.
Signalling growing cooperation in the fight against terror, Saudi Arabia has deported a number of terrorists to India in the last few years including 26/11 accused Abu Jundal.
There is an existing counter-terror mechanism between India and Saudi Arabia and both sides are likely to enhance it further.
Saudi Arabia plans to invest USD one trillion in infrastructure development over the next five years and Modi is likely to pitch for participation of Indian companies in the projects.
Before embarking on the three-nation tour, Modi, in statement had said, "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," he had said.
The ties between India and Saudi Arabia were raised to the level of strategic partnership during then Prime Minister Singh's visit here in 2010.
Saudi Arabia is the fifth largest market in the world for Indian exports and is destination of 3.6 per cent of India's global exports.
On the other hand, Saudi Arabia is the source of 6.3 per cent of India's global imports. For Saudi Arabia, India is the fifth largest market for its exports, accounting for 8.87 per cent of its global exports.
The import of crude oil by India forms a major component of bilateral trade.
Think of an adventurer and images of brawny, bearded men in hiking boots spring to mind. Rarely would one picture a slender, blonde-haired former teacher and mum of one.
Jacki Hill-Murphy is about as far removed from the stereotypical rugged Viking explorer as is humanly possible. But not only has she travelled to the worlds most inhospitable places, in doing so, shes retraced the steps of some little-known but no less extraordinary women, who were blazing a trail 300 years ago.
If female explorers are uncommon now, they were virtually freaks in the era Jacki seeks to emulate. Most of the women shes followed had to overcome extreme hardships with little or no support, and in an age that took no interest in female accomplishment. Her travels have seen her retrace the steps of the first woman to navigate the length of the Amazon, and venture up Mount Cameroon in traditional Victorian attire. While doing the latter, she says, she got off lightly Mary Kingsley, the explorer whose journey she was recreating, lived during the 19th century when the conventions of the time followed her wherever she went.
She was constantly in wet clothes, explains Jacki, 60. She was travelling with a group and there were always eyes on her. She could never be alone to change, so she just stayed soaking wet the entire time. It was in this mulish determination that saw Mary succeed in her mission. Her crew, a motley bunch ill-equipped for the challenge, refused to continue so she climbed to the summit alone. Presumably at least she could finally change her clothes.
Women have proven theres no such thing as the weaker sex, says Jacki. They have overcome every challenge to reach longed-for distant shores, particularly as in the past the female cheers of success were drowned out by grunts of male disapproval. Jacki says she was always drawn to adventure and travel. But with a family to raise, her globetrotting was limited to moving to Istanbul with her son for a two-year work placement.
Then, when her son went to university, she was inspired to quit her job as an English and drama teacher in Bristol, in search of a change. Ive always had a thirst for adventure, says Jacki, now a full-time explorer and writer. As a kid I read all the Gerald Durrell books and in 1988 I crossed Africa in a Land Rover with my ex-husband. It was magic. I never wanted to be just a tourist, a voyeur. I always wanted to take something with me too. In Africa we went to places where they had genuinely never seen a white person before. It gave me a fascination with different ways of life and such gratitude for what I already have things we take for granted, like fresh water.
In 2007, Jacki felt free to pursue her love of adventure and try her hand at professional filmmaking at the same time. The story of Isabel Godin, which shed first come across at university, stuck in her mind. Isabel completed an epic journey up the Amazon in the late 18th century in search of the husband she hadnt seen in 20 years, after they were separated by colonial politics. Her 42-person, 3,000-mile expedition through the Amazon Basin saw her crew abandoned without canoes, deserted by their guides, drowned and struck down by infected insect bites.
They died one-by-one, until Isabel was the only survivor and even she almost succumbed after wandering the jungle alone for nine days, before being rescued by an Indian camp. She was reunited with her husband in 1770 and they returned to France together. Id always wanted to retrace the first stage of her journey, says Jacki, who followed in Isabels footsteps along a 300-mile route between Ecuador and Peru, mostly in a dug-out canoe. The hardest thing and this goes for any trip is just doing it. You can talk about something but at some point you have to just decide to go and buy that ticket.
Often, adventures with such historical significance are eligible for funding. But Jacki says: I get turned down for everything and its so difficult. I just put in an application and didnt even get shortlisted. I cant help but notice that all the previous winners seem to have been young men. And if I go to TV companies, I get told time and time again its a no to women explorers.
Instead, channelling the intrepid explorers she so admires, Jacki has gone ahead and done it herself, making her own films and writing a book Adventuresses:
Rediscovering Daring Voyages into the Unknown. Shes now writing the story of Kate Marsden, a British missionary and explorer who became a heroine after securing the support of Queen Victoria and the Empress of Russia to ride across the wilds of Siberia, bringing aid to lepers. Kates 2,000-mile journey and work with the wounded did not endear her to everybody, and she suffered, Jacki says, assassination by media. She was very enigmatic and the press hated her. So did the rest of the world, and she died in poverty in the wilds.
After retracing her journey, Jacki has become so well-known in Siberia that she was invited to speak in front of senior politicians on human rights. She fre-quently talks at events, seminars and conferences on her own adventures and the women who have inspired them, and she also visits schools in character as some of the adventuresses she has followed. What I do seems to capture peoples imaginations, in a very different way, she says. Our lives are very busy and I think the idea of stepping off the beaten track is appealing. After all, you never know what new adventure is just around the corner.
For half a century, climate scientists have seen the West Antarctic ice sheet, a remnant of the last ice age, as a sword of Damocles hanging over human civilisation.
The great ice sheet, larger than Mexico, is thought to be potentially vulnerable to disintegration from a relatively small amount of global warming, and capable of raising the sea level by 12 feet or more should it break up. But researchers long assumed the worst effects would take hundreds if not thousands of years to occur.
Now, new research suggests the disaster scenario could play out much sooner. Continued high emissions of heat-trapping gases could launch a disintegration of the ice sheet within decades, according to a study, heaving enough water into the ocean to raise the sea level as much as 3 ft by the end of this century.
With ice melting in other regions too, the total rise of the sea could reach 5 or 6 ft by 2100, the researchers found. That is roughly twice the increase reported as a plausible worst-case scenario by a UN panel just three years ago, and so high it would likely provoke a profound crisis within the lifetimes of children being born today.
The situation would grow far worse beyond 2100, the researchers found, with the rise of the sea exceeding a pace of 1 foot per decade by the middle of the 22nd century. Scientists had documented such rates of increase in the geologic past, when far larger ice sheets were collapsing, but most of them had long assumed it would be impossible to reach rates so extreme with the smaller ice sheets of today.
We are not saying this is definitely going to happen, said David Pollard, a researcher at Pennsylvania State University and a co-author of the new paper. But I think we are pointing out that theres a danger, and it should receive a lot more attention. The long-term effect would likely be to drown the worlds coastlines, including many of its great cities.
New York City is nearly 400 years old; in the worst-case scenario conjured by the research, its chances of surviving another 400 years in anything like its present form would appear to be remote. Miami, New Orleans, London, Venice, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Sydney are all just as vulnerable as New York, or more so.
In principle, coastal defences could be built to protect the densest cities, but experts believe it will be impossible to do that along all 95,000 miles of the American coastline, meaning that immense areas will most likely have to be abandoned to the rising sea. The new research, published by the journal Nature, is based on improvements in a computerised model of Antarctica and its complex landscape of rocks and glaciers, meant to capture factors newly recognised as imperilling the stability of the ice.
The new version of the model allowed the scientists, for the first time, to reproduce high sea levels of the past, such as a climatic period about 1,25,000 years ago when the seas rose to levels 20 to 30 feet higher than today. That gave them greater confidence in the models ability to project the future sea level, although they acknowledged that they do not yet have an answer that could be called definitive.
You could think of all sorts of ways that we might duck this one, said Richard B Alley, a leading expert on glacial ice at Pennsylvania State University. Im hopeful that will happen. But given what we know, I dont think we can tell people that were confident of that.
Alley was not an author of the new paper although it is based in part on his ideas about the stability of glacial ice. Several other scientists not involved in the paper described it as significant, with some of them characterising it as a milestone. But those same scientists emphasised that it was a single paper, and unlikely to be the last word on the fate of West Antarctica. The effort to include the newly recognised factors imperilling the ice is still crude, with years of work likely needed to improve the models.
Peter U Clark of Oregon State University helped lead the last effort by a UN panel to assess the risks of sea level rise; he was not involved in the new paper. He emphasised that the research, like much previous work, highlighted the urgency of bringing emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases under control.
Ice-sheet modelling
It was his panel that had estimated an upper limit of 3 ft or so on the likely sea level rise in the 21st century, while specifically warning that a better understanding of the vulnerability of Antarctic ice could change that estimate. The new research is the work of two scientists who have been at the forefront of ice-sheet modelling for years. They are Robert M DeConto of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and Pollard, who is a colleague of Alleys at Penn State.
In a lengthy interview, DeConto recounted years of frustration. The computer programme he had built in a long-running collaboration with Pollard showed increasing sophistication in its ability to explain the behaviour of ice sheets, but it had some trouble analysing the past.
Unless global temperatures were raised to unrealistic levels, the model would not melt enough ice to reproduce the high sea levels known to have occurred in previous periods when either the atmosphere or the ocean was warmer. The ability to reproduce past events is considered a stringent test of the merits of any geological model. We knew something was missing, DeConto said.
The new idea came from Alley. He urged his colleagues to consider what would happen as a warming climate attacked huge shelves of floating ice that help to protect and buttress the West Antarctic ice sheet. Smaller, nearby ice shelves have already started to disintegrate, most spectacularly in 2002, when an ice shelf the size of Rhode Island, the Larsen B shelf, broke apart in two weeks.
The paper does contain some good news. A far more stringent effort to limit emissions of greenhouse gases would stand a fairly good chance of saving West Antarctica from collapse, the scientists found. That aspect of their paper contrasts with other recent studies postulating that a gradual disintegration of West Antarctica may have already become unstoppable.
But the recent climate deal negotiated in Paris would not reduce emissions nearly enough to achieve that goal. That deal is to be formally signed by world leaders in a ceremony in New York next month, in a UN building that stands directly by the rising water.
Legislator Pramodh Madhwaraj said the government is committed for the empowerment of the Backward Classes, SC/ST and minority communities which make up 80 per cent of the total population in the state.
Speaking after distributing benefits of various government schemes to beneficiaries belonging to the minority communities, he said financial and social support need to be provided to a lot of people to bring them to the mainstream of the society.
Madhwaraj said Constitution upholds the rights entrusted to all citizens, irrespective of their caste, creed and religion.
None of us have any rights to question the initiatives taken in the direction of empowering the weaker sections, he said.
The MLA urged the people to not lace the issues with political agenda as the initiatives taken are purely for the sake of upliftment of weaker sections in order to bring those people into the mainstream of the society. People belonging to Backward Classes, SC/ST and minority communities should demand their rights as empowerment is the privilege entrusted to them through the statues of the Constitution, he added.
Pointing out that the inefficiency of the government machinery would end up in the failures of effective implementation of welfare programmes, the MLA directed the officials to reach targets and provide a transparent administration.
Udupi is a district where the officials work sincerely to reach the target and ensure effective implementation of various welfare programmes, he said.
He urged the beneficiaries not to entertain the middlemen and they should have direct contact with the government departments.
Benefits worth Rs 13.75 lakh were given away to the beneficiaries on the occasion. About 564 beneficiaries were given away facilities worth Rs 126.18 lakh, under the schemes like Swavalamban, Shramshakthi, microloan, Arivu, Gangak-alyana and others. Eight SHGs, comprising 100 beneficiaries, were given loans up to Rs 10 lakh. Fifty per cent in this amount was provided in the form of subsidy.
DH News Service
A 59-year-old head constable on night patrol was stabbed and pushed out of an autorickshaw by suspected robbers while they were being taken to the police station.
The incident took place near Pipeline Road in Vyalikaval in the early hours of Friday.
According to the police, head constable Nagaraj of Vyalikaval station received stab injuries and is said to be out of danger. Around 12.30 am, Nagaraj and constable Revanna Siddappa were patrolling the area on a motorcycle. They noticed an autorickhsaw being driven rashly. When the policemen stopped the vehicle and questioned the driver and two passengers, they got evasive replies.
The police, who grew suspicious, decided to take them to the station for questioning. Nagaraj sat in the autorickshaw while Siddappa followed on the motorcycle. As they were heading to the station, Nagaraj saw a group of youths talking by the roadside and asked them to leave the place. While Nagaraj was talking to the youths, a man in the autorickshaw stabbed him on his hand and thigh, said the police.
The duo pushed him out of the vehicle and the driver sped, leaving Nagaraj on the ground screaming in pain. Siddappa, who was behind them, started chasing the autorickshaw. As the vehicle reached Vinayaka Circle, it toppled. While the two passengers fled, Siddappa overpowered the driver Manjunath. With the help of public, Siddappa alerted the police station and a few constables rushed to the spot and arrested Manjunath, police said.
Nagaraj was shifted to a nearby private hospital, where he was treated. Police found a mobile phone, a power bank and a knife in the autorickshaw. On questioning Manjunath, they learnt that the trio had snatched the mobile phone from one Shiva Prakash who returning home from work near Sampige Road in Malleswaram. Police said they had vital clues about the two miscreants who escaped and said they will be arrested soon.
A case has been registered in Vyalikaval police station and a mobile phone theft case has been registered in Malleswaram police station.
Cops to be rewarded
A senior police officer said, The two constables showed courage and will be rewarded for their act. They should be appreciated as they reacted quickly and helped in nabbing the driver. The trio are suspected to be involved in similar offences.
DH News Service
Vijayakanths DMDK and its poll partner Peoples Welfare Front (PWF) in Tamil Nadu are all set to launch their campaign on bicycles for the upcoming Assembly elections.
The DMDK-PWF combine plans to use hundreds of bicycles, which will be distributed among its field workers, for campaigning across the state.
These bicycles will be mounted with a colourful billboard that reads DMDK-PWF vision for the state-youth empowerment, liquor ban, fight against corruption, uninterrupted electricity in every household, safe drinking water, women empowerment, a farmer-friendly government and setting up of high-tech hospitals in rural areas among others.
Apart from the vision billboard and party symbols, the bicycle will also carry a letter signed by DMDK-PWF leaders and pamphlets containing DMDK-PWF common-minimum programme.
The first phase of Assam polls, in which 65 of the total 126 Assembly segments will go to polls on April 4, will be a decisive factor.
These segments, spread across upper and southern Assam, have been stronghold of the ruling Congress. In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP has eroded the Congress bastion.
The Assam will be the most keenly watched state among the five states going to polls.
The BJP has a realistic chance of clinching power only in Assam, where a 15-year-old Congress regime is fighting anti-incumbency.
Tarun Gogoi, who is seeking a fourth term to power, is banking on his 15 years of development and stability.
The BJP and its allies, on the other hand, seeks to ride on the need to save the indigenous people of Assam from illegal migrant political attack led by Maulana Badruddin Ajmal-led AIUDF and aided by the ruling Congress.
We will vote for the BJP and bring about a change since the BJP says it will protect the interest of indigenous communities. The party says it will grant us scheduled tribe status, said Dilip Moran from Makum in Tinsukia district.
However, the BJPs one point campaign of driving out illegal Bangladesh migrants and sealing the international border might boomerang.
The BJP has tied up with the AGP, which got Assam into difficult days. There was financial irregularity and secret killings of family of ULFA cadres. Tarun Gogoi got Assam back on work mode. Over the years, he has rebuilt Assam. Assamese should give another to Gogoi and his team, said Sankar Nandi, a tea stall owner in Dibrugarh town of upper Assam.
The Congress is banking on its call for developmental politics and appeal to keep out communal and devise forces out of Assam.
The BJP has given a call for change and an anti-establishment mood has set in. But it has the AGP and BPF as partners. The AGP is not liked by a huge section of voters because people still fear AGPs dark days. We would prefer to go with the Congress, said Prakash Saikia, who runs a homestay near the Kaziranga National Park.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had addressed a couple of rallies for the BJP and set the tempo for the saffron party. The (Narendra) Modi factor is still working in Assam. His campaign has attracted people of Assam before as he was talking about development. The rest of the party is engaged in anti-migrant tirade, explained senior journalist Rajeev Bhattacharyya.
Campaign by Congress
The Congress has done massive campaigning in all the 65 segments. Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her deputy Rahul Gandhi have countered the BJP campaign.
We had some tall leaders who are locally very influential. We also have a strong organisational strength. The BJP does not have any of these. Thus, the BJP is trying to create an illusion of a wave in its favour to confuse the voters, asserted Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi.
In the 2011 Assembly polls, the Congress won the lions share of the 65 seats.
DH News Service
Amid the anger, distress and tears, thousands of flocked to the flyover collapsed site on Friday not to pay homage to the dead, but just to check out the disaster area.
Much to the chagrin of the locals, visitors use their mobile phones to capture photos and videos simply to share them on social media.
Unlike Thursday, the police managed to cordon off the area on Friday with guard rails and barricades.
However, all attempts to divert the steady flow of bystanders and onlookers, failed as thousands continued to crowd the area which looked like an area bombed from above. Even angry faces and words from local residents failed to deter visitors.
Satish Sharma came to visit the place along with three friends from Barasat in North 24 Parganas, around 35 km from the city, just to check out the area.
The images we saw throughout the day on news channels yesterday were gruesome to say the least. Today we couldnt stop ourselves from seeing with our own eyes where it all happened, he said, even as his friends were busy clicking photos of the site and of each other. Sharma soon joined them for a selfie, which he said would go to his social media account.
Throughout yesterday we received images and posts on WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter. Some of my friends who work near the area came here soon after the accident. I didnt want to miss out on the excitement, said Arundhati Basu, from among a cackling group of college girls, who also clicked series of selfies. Another girl said they bunked two classes to be here.
Local residents, many of whom played a major role in the rescue operations, assisting the Army jawans to clear the rubble and dragging out bodies and the injured from under the debris, did not take the unwanted attention well.
DH News Service
West Bengal cops grill IVRCL officials
A four-member police team on Friday grilled officials of IVRCL at their headquarters in Banjara Hills here following the collapse of flyover under construction in Kolkata on Thursday, DHNS reports from Hyderabad. The West Bengal Police team backed by Telangana CID and special branch police which arrived here on Thursday night, visited different wings of the construction company and collected information regarding its scale of operations, procurement of raw material, quality control and financial details.
In a veiled attack on Pakistan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said state actors working with nuclear traffickers and terrorists present the greatest risk to nuclear security as he called for dropping the notion that his terrorist is not my terrorist.
Referring to the recent terror attacks in Brussels, Modi said they show how real and immediate is the threat to nuclear security from terrorism as he pointed out that all countries must completely adhere to their international obligations in this regard.
Outlining three contemporary features of terror that the world should focus on, Modi said todays terrorism uses extreme violence as theatre.
Second, we are no longer looking for a man in a cave, but we are hunting for a terrorist in a city with a computer or a smart phone. Third, state actors working with nuclear traffickers and terrorists present the greatest risk, he said, in an apparent reference to Pakistan.
Dwelling at length on the threat posed by terrorism to the world, Modi noted that terror has evolved and that terrorists are using 21st century technology, but our responses are rooted in the past.
The reach and supply chains of terrorism are global, but genuine cooperation between nation states is not, Modi said in his intervention during a White House dinner hosted by US President Barack Obama that formally kicked off the two-day Nuclear Security Summit here. Drop the notion that terrorism is someone elses problem and that his terrorist is not my terrorist.
Terrorism is globally networked. But, we still act only nationally to counter this threat, he told the international community.
Modi was seated next to Obama during the White House dinner which was attended by heads of States of more than 20 countries in the US capital for the fourth edition of the Nuclear Security Summit.
PTI
India, Canada made for each other: PM
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said India and Canada were made for each other as he met his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau for the first time during which they reviewed bilateral ties including the progress on nuclear cooperation, PTI reports from Washington.
Prime Minister Modi and Trudeau met here on the sidelines of the Nuclear
Security Summit.
Amid the raging controversy over chanting of Bharat Mata ki Jai, prestigious Islamic seminary Darul Uloom has issued a fatwa against it.
The Deoband-based organisation passed the religious decree stating that it was not proper for Muslims to chant the slogan as according to the tenets of Islam, they cannot worship the nation.
The fatwa, issued by seminary Darul Ifta (department of fatwa) in response to hundreds of queries, says Muslims can love their country but cannot worship it.
which had been issued by a group of eight senior `muftis' (clerics) of the seminary,
To term the land of the country mother defies all logic....Muslims should avoid chanting Bharat Mata ki Jai, the fatwa says.
The fatwa clarified that India was muslims madare watan (mother land) and they love it. But they could not consider it as their god.
It added that muslims could not worship any other god except Allah.
The clerics also said that the constitution of the country provided rights to every citizen to follow and propagate his or her religion.
Seminary sources said the organisation has been receiving a large number of letters from Muslims who wanted to know if they could chant the slogan.
Senior Muslim clerics here also supported the Darul Ulooms fatwa though they appeared somewhat flexible. No attempt should be made to politicise the issue, said a senior sunni cleric here on Friday.
BJP leader Vijay Bahadur Pathak said every citizen of the country should chant the slogan. Congress leaders, however, chose to tread a cautious path saying the BJP has been deliberately raking up such issues to gain political mileage.
Incidentally, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had said a few days ago that there was no need to impose the slogan on the people. Our ideals and achievements should be such that the people voluntarily chant the slogan bharat mata ki jai......there is no need to impose it on people, Bhagwat had.
The controversy over the issue escalated after AIMIM leader Asauddin Owaisi said that he would not chant the slogan even if someone held a knife to his throat.
An AIMIM legislator in Maharashtra, Waris Pathan, has been suspended from the Assembly after he refused to chant the slogan.
Indian cigarette companies have decided to shut their factories from April 1 claiming ambiguity in the governments order to print warning images on 85% of the display area of tobacco packs.
Members of the Tobacco Institute of India (TII), which account for more than 98% of the countrys domestic sales of duty paid cigarettes in India, have unanimously decided to shut all their cigarette factories with effect from April 1, 2016, says a statement from the institute, which is an industry funded lobby organisation.
Owing to ambiguity in the policy related to revision of graphic health warnings on tobacco product packs, the members are unable to continue manufacturing cigarettes from April 1, 2016, says the statement. The industry wrote to the Health Ministry on March 15, seeking clarifications. Fearing potential violation of rules by continuing production, the TII members have decided to shut their factories, said Syed Mahmood Ahmad, director of the institute.
TII members include major tobacco players like ITC, Godfrey Philips and VST.
The decision, Ahmad claimed, would result in an estimated loss of Rs 350 crore per day in production turnover for the Indian tobacco industry.
On March 28, the Union Health Ministry submitted an affidavit in the Rajasthan High Court asserting that the government would go ahead with its six-month-old order to print the warning pictures and text on 85% of the display area. Currently, only 40% of the space on a cigarette pack is used to print these warnings.
The ministry informed the High Court that subsequent to its September 24, 2015 notification, all necessary steps were taken to implement the new rules from April 1.
The compact disks of the images of health warnings as specified in these rules were distributed to tobacco product manufacturers and producers, who applied for the same.
The soft copies of the notification and the images of specified health warnings were uploaded on the ministrys website and a public notice was issued on February 19, giving the manufacturers adequate time to switch to the new packaging.
The Parliamentary Committee on Subordinate Legislation, however, described the 85% proposal as too harsh and recommended that such graphics be printed only on 50% of the space.
DH News Service
Second year pre-university students, already agitated over the chemistry question paper leak fiasco, are now staring at a possible boycott of their answer scripts by evaluators.
Talks between the Karnataka State PU Colleges Lecturers Association and the State government on the latters demand that they be given better pay scale failed on Friday.
The association, with 30,000 lecturers as its members, has threatened to boycott evaluation if the recommendation of the report submitted by IAS officer G Kumar Naik to the government in 2011 is not implemented.
According to JD(S) MLC Basavaraj Horatti, who represents the teachers constituency, it may require Rs 50 to Rs 60 crore to raise the salary of PU teachers.
The Naik report has also recommended a pay structure revision for schoolteachers, which may require an additional Rs 130 crore, Horatti said.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had convened a meeting of the representatives of the association to convince them not to boycott evaluation. Siddaramaiah told the representatives that they attend the evaluation duty and the government would consider their demands at a later stage. The PU board has scheduled the commencement of preliminary work for evaluation from April 3 and the actual evaluation should begin on April 5.
The chief minister said the interest of the students needed to be safeguarded first and they would be put to inconvenience if the evaluation work was affected. Any delay in the results would affect the future of the students as they would be applying for admissions to various institutions across the country in the coming months.
However, the lecturers said they had waited for several years for a hike in their pay. Lecturers in the State were getting around Rs 10,000 less as salary, compared with their counterparts in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Maharashtra.
The Kumar Naik committee recommended correction of the disparities. PU lecturers have been classified into Class-2 grade, while tahsildars, assistant executive engineers, block education officers had been recently elevated to Class-1 and their pay scale revised, the lecturers said.
Association president Thimmaiah Purle told reporters that Fridays talks had failed. We will convene a meeting of the office-bearers and the district presidents in a day or two and decide on our next step of action, Purle said. Siddaramaiah held a separate meeting with the MLCs, who represent the teachers constituency, to discuss the demands of schoolteachers. MLCs Basavaraj Horatti, V S Ugrappa, Puttanna, G Madhusudhan, Ramachandra Gowda and Ganesh Karnic were present.
Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Bangalore, director Sushil Vachani demitted his office on Friday, two months after he resigned from the post.
Raghavan Srinivasan, senior-most faculty of the premier B-school, took charge of the institute as its acting director.
Vachani took over as the institutes director in July, 2014 about a month after the appointments committee of the Union Cabinet cleared his name for the job. Then chairperson of IIM-Bangalores board of governors Mukesh Ambani, chairperson and managing director of the Reliance Industries Limited, had recommended his name.
Vachani resigned as the institutes director about two months ago as a recommendation for extension of his service after expiry of his term in office did not find favour from the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry, official sources told Deccan Herald.
Biocon CMD Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and chairperson of IIMBs board of governors had recommended extension of Vachanis service last year.
The outgoing director of the institute was among the premier-B-school heads who had objected to certain stipulations made in the draft Indian Institutes of Management Bill, maintaining that they would take away the autonomy of the IIMs if passed in Parliament in their current format and brought in force.
According to official sources, in a meeting called by the HRD ministry to bridge differences on the controversial provisions of the bill a few months ago, Vachani stuck to his stand on the need to allow IIMs autonomy, making it difficult for the ministry to give a final shape to the proposed legislation.
Official sources said Vachani was due to complete his term in June this year as he was already 63 when his appointment was cleared for the post of institutes director in June last year. According to rules, an IIM director can serve for five years or till he turns 65, whichever is earlier.
However, IIMs head of communication Kavitha Kumar said Vachani was due to retire on May 31 with the end of the academic cycle of his second year in the office as institute director. We dont want to comment on his resignation, she, however, added.
Favouring extension of Vachanis service in a letter to the HRD ministry, Shaw had suggested that aligning the retirement age of the IIM directors to that of the IIT directors would help premier B-schools recruit academics from reputed management schools from abroad. However, the ministry did not take any view on the suggestion and later decided to begin a search for a new director for IIMB.
"HRD minister (Smriti Irani) approved his resignation recently," official sources said.
DH News Service
BJP State President Pralhad Joshi on Friday said one of the first decisions that the party would take if it comes to power in the 2018 Assembly elections would be to scrap the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB).
Speaking at the inaugural of the state executive meeting in Bengaluru, Joshi said the government wanted to close down the institution of Lokayukta in the State to protect corrupt officials and ministers. If we come to power, we will scrap the ACB and also strengthen and revive the Lokayukta, Joshi said.
Joshi said the government had constituted the ACB with the intention of killing the Lokayukta institution. We will also launch a state-wide campaign to protest the formation of the ACB from April 6, he said.
He said the wakf scam in the State was bigger than the 2G scam and coal scam put together and involved Rs four lakh crore. He said government had been shying away from tabling the full report of the Karnataka State Minority Commission as it reveals the names of several Congress leaders who had encroached on the wakf land. He charged that senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge of meeting Chief Minister Siddaramaiah last week to impress upon him not to table the full report as the name of the former union minister also figures in the list.
Speaking on the occasion, Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said the Centre will deal with anti-national forces with an iron hand.
He said it was unfortunate that the Congress and Left parties were supporting anti-national forces for their political interests. These parties were supporting those who praised terrorists like Afzal Guru, he said.
The Centre will soon fulfil its promise of providing five crore LPG connections at a concessional rate to BPL families over three years, Naidu said.
Later in the day, the party passed three resolutions - to register its opposition on the formation of ACB; failures of the State government in handling drought and power supply situation in the state protecting law and order and smooth conduct of examination and its failure to prevent question paper leaks.
The party also passed a resolution stating that the Mahadayi water dispute (Kalasa Banduri project) should not be politicised. The Congress was politicising the issue by dragging the prime minister into the issue.
The dispute had to resolved by the tribunal or by arriving at a consensus among the water sharing states, the party said.
The High Court on Friday directed Joseph Chacko, who is accused of swindling over Rs 500 crore from NRIs by promising them of residential sites in Bengaluru, to either provide alternative sites or reimburse the amount in 'concrete terms'.
Justice A V Chandrashekhara passed an order pertaining to 52 NRIs who have approached the court accusing Chacko of cheating them by promising residential sites in the City.
The bench directed Chacko to provide alternative sites, which are free from litigation and have full title deeds to make an honest effort to aid the settlement. The bench directed him to provide the details in the next hearing on April 11, 2016.
Chacko, an NRI, allegedly sold many sites under bogus khatas from 1994 onwards. He is believed to have swindled an estimated Rs 500 crore by forming more than 25 layouts in and around KR Puram. He has taken general power of attorney (GPA) from land owners and formed illegal layouts in greenbelt areas without taking any statutory permission, and sale deeds were issued under bogus house list khata numbers. In Sy No 59 of Kyalasanhahalli village he formed Elysium Township and Athina Township came up in Sy No 14 of Doddagubbi village and Sy No 9 of Bilishivalay village.
The NRIs later learnt that the said layouts were not approved by the government and Chacko had conned them. There have been more than 200 complaints registered against Chacko in various police stations in the City and the CID has chargesheeted him in about 85 cases. The bench has adjourned the next hearing till April 11, 2016.
DH News Service
The government has decided to file criminal charges against Tata Motors and Marcopolo companies over their loss-making buses, Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy said on Friday.
The move comes almost eight years after the purchase of 149 Marcopolo buses, which were later scrapped by the government.
Reddy told reporters the decision was taken during the last board meeting of the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation. The buses were purchased in 2008 and scrapped in 2014.
The department has sought a refund of Rs 30 crore. They (the companies) maintain that they are not at fault. But action has to be taken, added Reddy.
He said IAS officer S R Umashankar, who has been asked to inquire into the purchase of the buses, was yet to submit his report.
The minister said the tender process for the purchase of 1,000 new buses for the BMTC had been initiated. The buses were announced in the 2016-17 budget.
He said all transport corporations would be getting 4,000 new buses this year.
DH News Service
Iragavarapu Venkata Reddy Construction Ltd (IVRCL), which is in the eye of the storm following the collapse of a flyover it was building in Kolkata that killed 24 people on Thursday, has undertaken 12 projects in Karnataka, including six metro stations in Bengaluru.
With the Kolkata tragedy, the IVRCLs claim of being committed to building a safe and sustainable world has come under a cloud. However, the firm has performed without any stain on its reputation in Karnataka so far.
It built Halasuru, CMH Road, Old Madras Road, Baiyappanahalli, RV Road and Jayanagar metro stations. While the four are operational, the RV Road and Jayanagar stations await inauguration.
Dharma, an IVRCL executive in Bengaluru, said, In the 30 years of its operations, the firm never came across an incident like the one in Kolkata. We had a track record of zero tragedies. This is an unfortunate incident and our investigations are going on.
Besides metro projects, the IVRCL has taken up water supply, irrigation and a power project in Karnataka. These include Raw Water Transmission System from Forbes Balancing Reservoir to TK Halli under JICA-funded Project II of the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), and water supply scheme for Hungund, Ilkal and Kushtagi towns and en route villages from Almatti dam under the Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small and Medium Towns for the Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board.
The firm has also undertaken the scheme to lift water from Kabini river near Alambur village to fill 20 tanks in Nanjangud, Chamarajanagar and Gundlupet taluks for drinking water purpose for the Cauvery Neeravari Nigama Limited. The company bagged the contract for Yettinahole and Bhadra modernisation projects for the Karnataka Neeravari Nigam Ltd. It is also working on the Off-site Civil Works Package for Kudgi Super Thermal Power Station Stage-I for the National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC).
The IVRCL even bid for some Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) projects around seven years ago but the infamous midnight tender in the civic body cast its shadow on the entire tendering process and the firm could not get the contract, said a Palike chief engineer.
He said the performance of the firm in Karnataka had been satisfactory but calling the Kolkata tragedy an act of God was highly deplorable. How can somebody shrug off their responsibility by calling a human tragedy an act of God?
Primary and Secondary Education Minister Kimmane Ratnakar said on Friday that he will tender his resignation if the II PU Chemistry re-examination paper leaked again.
The ministers response came after the Chemistry re-examination, scheduled for March 31, was put off to April 12 after the paper leaked for the second time.
Speaking to reporters after a meeting with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah here, Ratnakar said all measures would be taken to ensure a smooth conduct of the Chemistry re-examination. The Opposition and agitated students have been demanding the ministers resignation after the re-exam fiasco on March 31.
I admit that injustice has been done to students by the pre-university department due to the question paper leaks. I will stay put in Bengaluru for the next 10 days to monitor the examination work. If there are any more lapses, I will tender my resignation, he said.
He said each of the 40 pre-university department officials and staff suspended on Thursday would be probed by the CID.
These people were involved in the examination work at one level or the other. Some know the identity of the question paper setters or were involved in sealing the question paper bundles. If investigations reveal that they are not guilty, they will be reinstated, Ratnakar said.
The CID would also probe lecturers who had been roped in for setting question papers during the last three years but their names would not be made public, the minister said.
He said it was not practical to conduct re-examination only in those districts where there were complaints of question paper leak. Messages can be forwarded through social media in a matter of seconds, he noted.
Earlier, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, along with Ratnakar, held a discussion with a three-member committee constituted to oversee the conduct of the April 12 re-examination. The committee headed by Public Instruction Commissioner P C Jaffer comprises Transport Commissioner Ramegowda as member. Ramegowda had earlier served as Pre-University Education department director.
A demand by a section of Congress MLAs for the removal of more than 25 non-performing ministers has not gone down well with ministers Ramalinga Reddy and Dinesh Gundu Rao.
Transport Minister Reddy and Food and Civil supplies Minister Gundu Rao on Friday took a swipe at the MLAs, terming their recent dinner meeting an anti-party activity. The MLAs move will have an adverse impact on the party's prospects in the 2018 Assembly polls, they warned and called upon Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and KPCC president G Parameshwara to discipline them.
About 20 Congress MLAs, who are aspiring to become ministers, recently decided to petition the party high command, urging it to give an opportunity to party loyalists to serve as ministers in the next two years. They want the party to drop all non-performing ministers. The MLAs believe that the image of the party and its government can be improved only by such a measure.
The MLAs should have a valid reason to make such a demand. If they wanted the high command to drop non-performing ministers or ministers facing charges, it would have made sense. But demanding that 25 ministers be dropped without reason is wrong. I dont know why the KPCC president is quiet. The chief minister should take stock of the situation, Reddy said.
Gundu Rao ridiculed the MLAs and warned that their activities would pose a threat to the party.
When contacted, Congress MLA from Chickpet constituency R V Devaraj, who is one of the legislators demanding a reshuffle of the council of ministers, said loyal party MLAs should be made ministers. I have served the party for over four decades. So I want to request the party to give me an opportunity to serve as a minister. I don't think it is an anti-party activity, he added.
MLAs to fly to Delhi
The MLAs are planning to meet the high command in Delhi on April 9. Currently, these MLAs are trying to gather more numbers.
They are getting in touch with fellow MLAs from other parts of the state and persuading them to join them on the Delhi visit. The plan is to take at least 40 MLAs during the visit, one of the legislators, who refused to be quoted, said.
Sources in the Chief Minister's Office said Siddaramaiah is likely to go to Delhi after April 10 to discuss the reshuffle of his council of ministers with the high command.
Nine people including the Hassan superintendent of police were injured after a group threw stones at the police in a tussle over entry of dalits into a temple in Sigaranahalli village of the taluk on Friday.
A clash had ensued between dalits and uppercastes after the dalits entered the Basaveshwara temple in the village, six months ago. The village was tense following the incident and several peace meetings were held to ensure harmony. Following the intervention of the administration, dalits were allowed to enter the temple. However, puja and other rituals at the temple had stopped since that day.
The fair of Durgaparameshwari deity at Hariharapura, close to Singaranahalli is scheduled for Saturday and the uppercastes had made preparations for performing puja at the Basaveshwara temple also. Meanwhile, the dalits made a request to the district administration to allow them to perform puja during the fair. As the situation turned tense, additional police forces were deployed at the village, much to the chagrin of the uppercastes.
A group of people pelted stones on police officers and other officials who were camping in Singaranahalli on Friday morning. Some people assaulted the police with clubs also. After coming to know of the incident, Superintendent of Police Rahul Kumar Shahapurwad visited the village in the noon.
However, there was a clash again during the SPs visit and a group resorted to stone throwing. Police resorted to caning to disperse the mob. The SP, five constables and four others were injured in the incident.
In two separate incidents, one person was killed and four others were injured when lightning struck at Bachanahalli in the taluk on Friday.
The deceased has been identified as Madappa (50). Three of the injured are Kemparaju, Kemparajus son Tejas, and Pavan. It is said that the four of them were at their ginger farm when heavy rains accompanied by thunder lashed the taluk. They took refuge under a tree, when a lightning struck. Madappa was killed on the spot and the others were injured. The villagers, who heard their screams, rushed them to the Alur government hospital. They were later shifted to the district hospital in Hassan.
In another incident, Gowramma, 65, suffered injuries when lightning struck her house. She is also being treated at the government hospital. The roof of her house was blown away in the impact and the household articles have been damaged. Tahsildar K V Ananthraj, who visited the hospital, announced Rs 4 lakh compensation for the deceased.
In Kalasa
Kalasa and surrounding regions received moderate rainfall on Friday afternoon. Last Tuesday the town received its first rainfall, making this the second shower this summer.
The 30-minute rainfall accompanied by thunder has been a refreshing spell for the crops. The summer temperatures that had risen to 37 to 38 degrees Celsius has also come down after the shower.
It has been five years to the day since Deborah Ann Heriford was last heard from, and Colorado Springs police are asking the public to keep her case in the forefront of their minds.
Heriford did not show up for her job as a school crossing guard on March 31, 2011. Her dog was found wandering a few blocks from her home that day.
Her disappearance is considered suspicious, officials said in a Thursday news release, and the police department believes there could be foul played involved.
Colorado Springs police say detectives continue to investigate her disappearance.
At the time she went missing, Heriford was described as 51 years old, 5 feet 2 inches tall, approximately 160 pounds and as having brown hair and brown eyes.
The Colorado Springs Police Department asks anyone with information on the case to call 719-444-7000.
Jesse Paul: 303-954-1733, jpaul@denverpost.com or @JesseAPaul
With oil and gas prices down and the number of drilling rigs in Colorado at less than a quarter of what it was just two years ago, the debate over local control regulations has been on a plateau but its set to rise again.
Monday, the state House of Representatives will debate a bill to allow local governments to zone oil and gas industry operations the same way they do other industries.
The Democratic-led House already has passed a bill to hold oil-and-gas drillers liable for damages caused by earthquakes spurred by hydraulic fracturing.
Neither bill is likely to pass the Senate, where Republicans hold the majority and, as a group, take a dim view of more regulation for an industry that claims to pump $32 billion annually into the states economy.
When is enough enough? Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg, a Republican from Sterling, asked Gov. John Hickenlooper and Jack Gerard, president and CEO of the American Petroleum Institute, at a luncheon Thursday.
Despite continued opposition from fellow Democrat Gov. John Hickenlooper, the House Democrats and their allies are using the legislation to keep the issue in the public eye, even though it divides the party in an election year.
While Hickenlooper urges patience, fracking opponents say theyve waited long enough.
I dont think we need more time. Coloradans are simply saying we need more protections from heavy industrial practices, and they feel they arent getting it, said Pete Maysmith, the executive director of Conservation Colorado.
Gerard said industry and residents need to work toward a balance to benefit the economy and the environment.
I think part of it is to get some of the extremes out of the conversation, or place it in its proper place in the conversation, and talk about the facts, he said. I dont think consumers are eager to have their energy costs go through the ceiling just because somebody has a pretty extreme view thats not based on reality.
Hickenlooper said the bill that seeks to link earthquakes and liability, without any history of man-made earthquakes causing damage in the state, makes us look anti-business.
Meanwhile, opponents and proponents of the oil-and-gas industry await rulings from the state Supreme Court on whether a fracking moratorium in Fort Collins and a ban in Longmont are legal. The rulings could give other communities the leeway to ban or restrict the location of wells.
The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission is working through the committees nine recommendations, none of which go as far as fracking opponents would like.
Nonetheless, a citizens group called Coloradans Resisting Extreme Energy Development is organizing ballot initiatives to allow local governments to regulate fracking and keep drilling operations at least 2,500 feet away from homes and other public buildings. Whether the ballot initiatives go forward, however, depend on the outcome of the Supreme Court cases, according to the Secretary of States Office.
Hickenlooper reiterated Thursday that he doesnt support the legislation being offered by fellow Democrats or potential ballot measures on local control. He instead called for a cease-fire.
My sense is that were probably better off going more slowly and lets see what happens with the Supreme Court cases and then lets see what happens with the oil-and-gas task force recommendations. Hickenlooper said at Thursdays luncheon. Lets see if that gets us closer to solving the problem before racing toward more aggressive measures.
Dan Haley, president of the Colorado Oil and Gas Association, the states largest trade group, said the industry is already heavily regulated at the state and federal level.
The bill up for debate Monday would run counter to decades of established Colorado law and policy, he said. In previous rulings the Colorado Supreme Court has deemed oil-and-gas development a statewide interest.
The unstated but obvious rationale for (House Bill) 1355 is that a few municipal and county governments want the ability to say no and to ban production even though it goes against the interests of mineral owners, surface owners, schools and the states economy, Haley said.
Industry is looking for regulatory consistency across all 64 counties and hundreds of municipalities, while ensuring that private property mineral rights are not impacted or become the victim of the political leanings of any one jurisdictional border.
Citizens aligned against the industry, however, dont hold out much hope that politicians or industry will work toward that balance, unless theyre pushed into it at the ballot box.
They wont listen to the people, said Bob Meisner, a Weld County property owner.
Joey Bunch: 303-954-1174, jbunch@denverpost.com or @joeybunch
,
Meet the negative-capacitance FET
Rick Merritt, EETimes
4/1/2016 09:11 AM EDT
SANTA CLARA, Calif.Dont worry about the end of Moores law, there are plenty of good ideas on the semiconductor road map, according to Chenming Hu, a university researcher credited as being the father of the FinFET.
Hu described new transistor concepts that could fuel the chip industry for decades in a talk at the annual Synopsys Users Group event here. His presentation came a day after the companys chief executive expressed similar optimism, citing progress in software design tools.
I really mean it when I say this industry goes on another 100 years, in part because there are no alternatives and the world needs us, Hu told an audience of several hundred chip designers here
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The common type 2 diabetes drug Actos (pioglitazone) is associated with an increased risk of bladder cancer, a new study finds.
Actos is part of the anti-diabetic drug class known as thiazolidinediones (TZDs). It works by increasing sensitivity to insulin in people with type 2 diabetes, but this study is not the first to link Actos with the risk of developing bladder cancer.
In this new study, Canadian researchers identified 145,806 patients from the UK Clinical Practice Research Database. The patients had started treatment with anti-diabetic drugs between January 2000 and July 2013.
They were followed until July 2014 and the mean length of follow-up time was 4.7 years, Overall, 622 patients received a diagnosis of bladder cancer during the follow-up period.
The researchers found that compared to other anti-diabetic drugs, pioglitazone was associated with an increased risk of bladder cancer. This risk increased with longer duration of use and higher dose.
No increased risk was found for Avandia (rosiglitazone), a TZD that was banned from use in the UK in 2010 after the European Medicines Agency found it raised the risk of heart disease.
Lead author Dr. Laurent Azoulay, Centre for Clinical Epidemiology, Lady Davis Institute, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada said: The absence of an association with rosiglitazone suggests that the increased risk is drug specific and not a class effect.
The researchers added that patients taking the drug should be informed of this risk, and believe the results have implications for prescribing the drug in the future.
They concluded that additional studies with longer follow-up periods are necessary to determine this association between increased bladder cancer risk and pioglitazone.
If you are currently taking Actos, you should not stop taking the drug without first discussing this with your doctor.
The findings appear in The BMJ.
Another senate hearing scheduled next week in Philippines to solve the mystery hack!
Indian banks are reportedly on alert after Indias national security establishment cited the possibility of the involvement of Pakistans intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence, in the theft of $81 million from Bangladeshs Central Bank. According to a report by the Economic Times, a high level government official communicated the concerns of Indias security establishment to the Reserve bank of India, urging it to be cautious.
In February 2016, the world saw its latest and one of the largest bank heists till date. The robbers hacked into U.S. account of Bangladeshs Central bank and were able get away with $81 million. The bank robberies which are done by men dressed in black with shotguns have been replaced by a person typing codes on his computer.
In the Bangladesh heist, the hackers used malware to access the banks computers and spoof messages to the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank. According to the testimony at a senate hearing in Philippines, $81 million was transferred from New York Fed to Philippine banks and then, the funds were distributed to casinos and then cashed at Manila.
The ongoing senate hearing regarding the heist is still in a tussle to determine exactly how the money was stolen, and so another hearing has been scheduled next week. Cases like these mostly go unpunished because the perpetrators remain a mystery.
Hundreds of millions of dollars have been stolen in recent years from banks and financial services. Last year, Kaspersky, the software security maker publicised the activities of the Carbanak gang which hacked money from almost a 100 banks. They had hacked into banks and ordered fraudulent money transfers and were able to steal about $2.5 million to $10 million per heist. They had also forced ATMs to cough out cash. In March, in a U.S. court, a Turkish hacker was found guilty, having stolen about $40 million from ATMs in 24 countries within 10 hours!
Owing to the digital revolution and the alliance between digital and traditional criminals, many victims do not report the thefts for fear of damage of reputation.
With the latest monthly US jobs data now out of the way the focus will shift back towards central banks in the run-up to the Federal Reserves policy meeting on 27 April and the start of the US earnings season on 11 April.
Against that backdrop, the release of the minutes of the Feds meeting on March 15-16 would be closely scrutinised for any further possible understanding of the central banks thinking which might be gleaned from them.
The ISMs service sector purchasing manager index on Wednesday would also be closely tracked given the importance in the current juncture of the US services sector in propping up the rest of the economy.
Indeed, much as in 2015, and as of 1 April, the Federal Reserve bank of Atlantas GDPnow model was pegging US GDP growth in the first quarter at just 0.7% in annualised terms, as the tight-oil sector - and related investment - continues to buckle under the threat of a renewed price falls.
Figures on US durable goods orders for February, which were scheduled for release on Monday, would also be closely tracked.
In the UK as well, the latest readings on the widely-followed Markit service sector PMI, on Tuesday, will help markets to gauge the near-term momentum in the economy.
Investors will be waiting on the latest house price figures from Halifax due out on Thursday and industrial output statistics the next day.
Monday 04 April
INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
ECO Animal Health Group, MJ Gleeson , Stewart & Wight
QUARTERLY PAYMENT DATE
Blackrock North American Income Trust , XP Power Ltd. (DI)
INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
Factory Orders (US) (15:00)
Producer Price Index (EU) (10:00)
FINALS
Belvoir Lettings, Christie Group, PJSC Novorossiysk Commercial Sea Port GDR (Reg S)
AGMS
CVC Credit Partners European Opportunities Ltd GBP, Scottish American Inv Company, UK Oil & Gas Investments
UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
PMI Construction (09:30)
FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
AFH Financial Group , Greencore Group, Helical Bar, Quartix Holdings , Somero Enterprises Inc. (DI)
Tuesday 05 April
INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Carclo, Digital Globe Services Ltd (DI), Hays, Numis Corporation, Thorpe (F.W.)
QUARTERLY PAYMENT DATE
Barclays
QUARTERLY EX-DIVIDEND DATE
JP Morgan Chase & Co
INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
Balance of Trade (US) (13:30)
Factory Orders (GER) (07:00)
ISM Non-Manufacturing (US) (15:00)
PMI Composite (EU) (09:00)
PMI Composite (US) (14:45)
PMI Services (EU) (09:00)
PMI Services (GER) (08:55)
PMI Services (US) (14:45)
Retail Sales (EU) (10:00)
FINALS
AA , Card Factory, Hostelworld Group , Instem, Instem, Keywords Studios, Martinco , Moss Bros Group, Silence Therapeutics, Thalassa Holdings Ltd. (DI), Union Jack Oil
ANNUAL REPORT
Menzies(John)
SPECIAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Thorpe (F.W.)
AGMS
PJSC LSR Group GDR (REG S), Primary Health Properties
TRADING ANNOUNCEMENTS
Electrocomponents, International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI)
UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
BRC Sales Monitor (00:01)
PMI Services (08:30)
FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Apax Global Alpha Limited , Computacenter, LondonMetric Property, Maintel Holdings, Rights & Issues Inv Trust Capital Shares, Rights & Issues Inv Trust Income Shares, Scottish American Inv Company
Wednesday 06 April
INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Dechra Pharmaceuticals, Haynes Publishing Group, Park Group
INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
Industrial Production (GER) (07:00)
MBA Mortgage Applications (US) (12:00)
FINALS
HSS Hire Group , ServicePower Technologies, Styles & Wood Group
EGMS
BH Global Ltd. GBP Shares
AGMS
Tower Resources
TRADING ANNOUNCEMENTS
Topps Tiles
UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
BRC Shop Price Index (00:01)
Halifax House Price Index (09:30)
FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Electronic Data Processing
Thursday 07 April
INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Alumasc Group, Diageo, Galliford Try, PZ Cussons, Renishaw, Ricardo, Standard Life UK Smaller Companies Trust, Wilmington
INTERIM EX-DIVIDEND DATE
Abbey, Animalcare Group, Begbies Traynor Group, Henderson EuroTrust, Marwyn Value Investors Limited, Photo-Me International, Produce Investments, St Ives, Tracsis, Volta Finance Limited
QUARTERLY EX-DIVIDEND DATE
Investors Capital Trust 'A' Shares, Marsh & Mclennan Cos Inc., Primary Health Properties, SQN Asset Finance Income Fund Limited
INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
Consumer Credit (US) (08:00)
Continuing Claims (US) (13:30)
Initial Jobless Claims (US) (13:30)
FINALS
Alliance Pharma, Belgravium Technologies, NetScientific , PureTech Health , TyraTech Inc. (DI / REGS), Ubisense Group
IMSS
Dunelm Group
SPECIAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Hiscox Limited (DI)
SPECIAL EX-DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Headlam Group, JPMorgan Income & Capital Inv Trust, Lloyds Banking Group
AGMS
Glenwick, IPSA Group
TRADING ANNOUNCEMENTS
Marks & Spencer Group
FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Hiscox Limited (DI), Rio Tinto
FINAL EX-DIVIDEND DATE
4Imprint Group, Aberdeen UK Tracker Trust, Amiad Water Systems Ltd, Amino Technologies, Asian Total Return Investment Company, Aukett Swanke Group , Aviva, BBA Aviation, Berendsen, British Smaller Companies VCT 2, Charles Taylor, Chesnara, Entu (UK) , esure Group, Fevertree Drinks, Fisher (James) & Sons, Fyffes, GKN, HGCapital Trust, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, IDOX, IMI, Integrated Diagnostics Holdings, International Personal Finance, Lloyds Banking Group, Maven Income & Growth 4 VCT, Melrose Industries, Mobeus Income & Growth 4 Vct, Murray International Trust, Pearson, Phoenix Group Holdings (DI), Rentokil Initial, Rexam, Rotork, Secure Trust Bank, St James's Place, Taylor Wimpey, Ultra Electronics Holdings, Vesuvius, Wood Group (John)
Friday 08 April
INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
AdEPT Telecom, Clinigen Group, Foresight Solar & Infrastructure VCT, Foresight Solar & Infrastructure VCT , Hargreaves Services, JPMorgan Mid Cap Inv Trust, London Finance & Investment Group, Oxford Instruments
QUARTERLY PAYMENT DATE
BlackRock Income Strategies Trust , Schlumberger Ltd.
INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
Balance of Trade (GER) (07:00)
Current Account (GER) (07:00)
Wholesales Inventories (US) (15:00)
SPECIAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Jupiter Fund Management
EGMS
ROS Agro GDR REG S
AGMS
Apax Global Alpha Limited , Bank Audi S.A.L. GDR (Repr 1'Com'Shr Lbp1650)(Reg S), New World Resources A Shares
UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
Balance of Trade (09:30)
Industrial Production (09:30)
Manufacturing Production (09:30)
FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Crest Nicholson Holdings, Driver Group, Jupiter Fund Management , RM, Safestore Holdings, Treatt
The FTSE 100 is set to extend losses on Friday morning ahead of a day full of data across Europe and the closely-watched non-farm payroll report in the US.
Early data from China was encouraging, however, with Chinas manufacturing sector surprising with its first expansion in nine months, according to the official purchasing managers index (PMI) survey.
The official PMI rose to 50.2 in March, up from the previous months 49 and marginally above the 50-point mark that indicates growth, as well as beating a consensus forecast of 49.3.
On the services side, official non-manufacturing PMI coming in at 53.8, up from 52.7 in February.
"Asia markets seem to have taken their cues from the latest Japanese Tankan survey which was disappointing with the Nikkei sliding sharply, and this looks set to weigh on European markets this morning as we look ahead to more data from Europes major economies," said CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson,.
Hewson said most of traders' attention on Friday will be on the afternoons US jobs report for March, following a reasonably solid ADP number earlier this week is forecast to see a slight fall to 206,000, from Februarys 242.
The trading session before the NFP data may remain quiet as traders hold back from playing the wrong hand.
Danske Bank economists observed that some attention should also be on the ISM manufacturing index in March.
"As the regional indices were strong on a broad scale in March, we see this as a sign that the manufacturing sector has rebounded and estimate ISM manufacturing increased to 50.9 in March from 49.5 in February."
In London's corporate news, the board of Home Retail agreed to recommend Sainsbury's takeover offer, which was made at 0.321 new shares in the supermarket group and 55p cash, plus 27.8p in dividends. With Sainsbury's shares closing at a price of 276.3p on Thursday, the offer values Home Retail shares or 171.5p and the company's total equity at 1.4bn when the dividend payments are factored in.
RSA Insurance Group confirmed it had completed the sale of its operations in Colombia to Grupo de Inversiones Suramericana. The company said it expected that the completion of the remaining disposals of its Latin American operations - in Chile, Argentina, Mexico and Uruguay - to occur over the next six months.
Euromoney Institutional Investor announced its intention to sell its energy publishing businesses on Friday, for a total cash consideration of $18m. The FTSE 250 firm said it had entered into an agreement to sell Gulf Publishing Company in Houston and Petroleum Economist in London to a consortium led by Gulfs CEO John Royall and media investor Russell Denson.
The Times reported that some of the UKs biggest companies, including Rolls-Royce and Petrofac, have been drawn into a scandal over alleged bribery and corruption in the international oil industry. "The Serious Fraud Office is understood to have teamed up with the FBI and the US Department of Justice to investigate claims that a Monaco-based lobbying firm, Unaoil, was involved in the payment of bribes to officials in Iraq, Syria, Kazakhstan, Kuwait and other oil-producing nations," the paper said.
There were also newspaper reports that Tesco is mulling the sale of its Giraffe restaurant chain and that Royal Mail was braced for a new dispute with unions after a deadline for a new pay deal passed overnight.
Saudi Arabia has confirmed it plans to float part of the Aramco state oil colossus next year or in 2018 as part of plans to create a $2trn sovereign fund.
Deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Salman said a stake of Saudi Aramco, or Saudi Arabian Oil Company, said the country currently was planning to sell less than 5%, according to a Bloomberg report.
When it lists, the oil producing giant, whose 260bn-barrel reserves far eclipses BP and Shell's combined 30bn barrels, would be one of, if not the most, valuable companies in the world.
The prince, second in line to the throne, said shares would be offered in all of Aramco rather than just some of its refining subsidiaries, and would be listed on the domestic stock exchange.
"IPOing Aramco and transferring its shares to PIF [Public Investment Fund] will technically make investments the source of Saudi government revenue, not oil," the prince said.
"What is left now is to diversify investments. So within 20 years, we will be an economy or state that doesnt depend mainly on oil."
Saudi Arabia, as the prime force behind the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), has been behind the oversupply that has led to the massive depreciation in the oil price as the cartel looks to force out higher-cost producers.
The British government came under fire on Friday for not supporting EU measures to stop the dumping of Chinese steel as thousands of workers at Tata's Port Talbot plant awaited a decision on their future.
Business Secretary Sajid Javed was expected to make a belated visit to the plant amid calls for him to resign over his decision to travel to Australia on a work/holiday trip instead of staying in the UK to deal with the crisis.
Finance Minister George Osborne faced accusations that he was putting closer trade links with China ahead of British workers with former deputy prime minister Nick Clegg saying the government had failed to act against steel dumping.
George Osborne has put his special relationship with China above the UKs best interests. The Conservative government have continually failed to take action and missed many opportunities to help the UK steel industry, such as taking steps to prevent dumping of cheap Chinese steel on the UK market," he said.
The criticism heightened when the European Steel Association (ESA) said the UK had led the way in blocking EU moves to increase trade tariffs on cheap Chinese imports.
ESA spokesman Charles De Lusignan told the BBC the UK was "the ringleader" in maintaining the "lesser duty rule", which caps tariffs at 9%.
"We have been talking about the lifting of the lesser duty rule in particular for a long time. The fact is that the UK has been blocking this. Theyre not the only member state, but they are certainly the ringleader in blocking the lifting of the lesser duty rule."
"The fact that the UK continues to block it means that when the government says its doing everything it takes to save the steel industry in the UK and in Europe Its not. Its simply not true."
Javid told parliament in February that he was in favour of the rule, claiming current duties were enough to cope with Chinese steel imports.
I think when we look at this, a responsible government would look at the impact overall to British industry and British jobs. If duties are applied that are disproportionate, it would have an impact, in Britain and elsewhere, on the consumers of steel as well, he said at the time.
Javid has come under personal pressure to justify his journey to Australia at a time when the industry was calling for government help. More embarrassment followed when it emerged he had paid to take his daughter with him to have a holiday after his trade trip.
There is widespread anger among supporters of the Port Talbot workers, and the steel industry in general, at the government's refusal to consider nationalisation when it spent billions propping up the banking sector which had nearly brought down the economy though its own misconduct.
Steelworkers across the country will be shocked that it has taken this long for the government to finally wake up to the crisis facing our steel industry," said a spokesman for the Community Union, which represents many of the Port Talbot workers.
"Sajid Javid cannot simply arrive at Port Talbot and read out his list of achievements this weeks news is proof that government action thus far has been woefully inadequate. The government must commit to safeguarding the skills and assets of Britains steel industry. The UK simply cannot afford to lose our steel making capacity."
Any financial bailout would have to comply with tough EU rules on state aid.
China produces around half the world's steel, but a domestic slowdown has slashed internal demand and producers have been dumping stock overseas at a loss to reduce inventory.
On 30 March, Tata Steel announced it would explore all options in restructuring its 100%-owned subsidiary, Tata Steel Europe Limited, including the potential divestment of its step-down operating subsidiary, TSUK, in whole or parts.
Prior to that, on 24 March, the company announced that it has reached an agreement to sell its Clydebridge and Dalzell steel facilities in Scotland to the government of Scotland, which would then sell them to Liberty House.
Back in December 2015, Tata Steel Europe signed a memorandum of understanding with UK based Greybull Capital for the proposed divestment of TSUK's long products business in the UK. Now, with the latest announcement, Tata Steel's entire UK business has been identified for potential divestment.
Panmure Gordon has a tough road ahead of it, the Financial Timess Lex column believes.
The pool of banking fees which the UKs small stockbrokers and investment banks can opt for is simply not large enough to sustain all of them given the decline in broking margins.
About 5.4bn was raised on the Alternative Investment market in 2015m putting the fee poll at somewhere around 200m, Lex said.
Indeed, Panmure Gordons full-year revenues in 2015 were 3.5m less than its operating expenses.
Although the broker has kept a lid on costs, trading at its capital markets business worsened considerably.
Unfortunately, managament does not have the option of taxing an axe to pay-related expenses.
Well-connected bankers and a sturdy reasearch and distribution operation are key to bringing in business.
That does not mean the model cant work, as Numiss latest set of figures showed, but it has four times the amount of revenues, Lex pointed out.
The 3.0% surcharge on stamp duty on those purchasing homes to rent them will not dent Graingers business model, The Daily Telegraphs Questor said.
With lending becoming stricter and given the shortage of affordable housing, some predict that private renters will outnumber homeowners within a decade and the company is planning to capitalise on that trend, the tipster explained.
It has already announced it will spend 850m to build and purchase UK rental properties over the next four years and is simplifying its operations.
In January it hived off its UK equity-release unit and later sold a 94m loss-making portfolio of German properties.
Those divestments will lead to a plunge in revenues next year, due to the property-owners smaller size, but pre-tax profits are seen jumping by 8% over the 12 months ending in October.
However, at a 22% discount to its net asset value the share price suggests the Newcastle-based outfits promising new strategy has yet to be priced-in.
Grainger will also benefit from a government-backed incentive to build rental homes, by issuing companies loans covering half the costs of new developments.
Given that it invests at the low end of the market also means the outfit is likely to be sheltered from the worst effects of a housing slump, should it occur.
Hence, its discounted shares are likely to drive a higher return and dividend yield.
'Buy', said Questor.
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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.
Shivraj Singh Chouhan creates `ministry of happiness' in Madhya Pradesh
The Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led Madhya Pradesh government has created another ministerial portfolio ministry of happiness a development that would surely help make another member of the legislature happier.
From now on the state's prosperity will be measured in terms of citizens' happiness quotient and not GDP, chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Thursday while announcing the creation of the new 'happiness ministry.'
Madhya Pradesh will be the first Indian state to have a `ministry of happiness' to measure people's welfare, on the lines of Bhutan, which measures country's prosperity by gauging happiness of its citizens.
Chouhan said the idea has came from Bhutan's gross national happiness (GNH) index.
As per the GNH index, the four pillars that will lead to a healthy index are good governance, sustainable socio-economic development, cultural preservation, and environmental conservation.
It is calculated based on nine parameters which include psychological wellbeing, health, education, living standards and cultural diversity among others.
United Arab Emirates (UAE) is the only country to have a minister of happiness in the government.
"We will make a 'happiness ministry' to track our growth," said Shivraj Singh, while addressing a state BJP convention.
"The state will be made responsible for happiness and tolerance of its citizens and will rope in psychologists to counsel people how to be always happy," said the chief minister.
Clubbing happiness to the country's move towards a welfare state under BJP rule, Chouhan showered praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi by calling him a ''God's gift'' to the country. "Modi is God's gift to the country,'' Chouhan said.
He said, PM had become the most popular leader in the world and was working to make India a strong and prosperous, hence happiness index plays an important role.
"Modi is a man of ideas and has the will to execute them. Wherever in the world he goes, people chant his name. He is divine gift to India. He will make India 'vishwa guru' by 2022," he said on Thursday.
Earlier, on two other occasions, first in Vrindavan, Chouhan had said "Narendra Modi is a boon from God''.
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.
Southeast Alabama Medical Center has named Richard Sutton, a Colorado hospital executive, as its new CEO and president of the Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Sutton currently leads three hospitals in the Banner Health System in Colorado as their CEO. He will take the reins at SAMC in May. Suttons role will include oversight of SAMC and ACOM, as well as the SAMC Foundation and Medical Center Barbour.
I am pleased and grateful to have the opportunity to join the strong leadership team at Southeast Alabama Medical Center and the Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine, Sutton said in a press release. I look forward to working with the entire team to build upon the excellent quality and service available to those we serve.
Sutton will replace current SAMC CEO Ron Owen, who is retiring in April. Owen led SAMC for almost 20 years and oversaw the development of the Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Sutton joined Banner Health in 2001 as chief executive officer of Ogallala Medical Center in Ogallala, Nebraska. He later served as chief operating officer at Banner Mesa Medical Center in Mesa, Arizona before being appointed as CEO at McKee Medical Center. Sutton became CEO of North Colorado Medical Center in 2008. In 2013, Sutton became CEO of North Colorado Medical Center, McKee Medical Center and the then-under-construction Banner Fort Collins Medical Center.
Banner Fort Collins Medical Center opened in April 2015.
McKee Medical Center and North Colorado Medical Center were among the top 100 hospitals in the nation according to a list compiled by Truven Health Analytics, an international health business information company, in 2013. NCMC made the list again in 2015.
Like SAMC, Banner Health is a nonprofit, multi-hospital system that focuses on providing consistent clinical quality to its patients, said Chester Sowell, chairman of the Houston County Health Care Authority. SAMC is committed to providing our patients quality, evidence-based healthcare in a safe environment.
Sarah MacQuiddy, president of the Greeley Chamber of Commerce, said Sutton is a valuable community partner who understands the need of a regional approach to economic development. MacQuiddy said Sutton is a strong leader of his hospitals.
Theyve been among the top 100 hospitals, she said. That doesnt just happen because it happens because its a good, quality system with a good corporate culture.
MacQuiddy said Sutton helped establish a career technical program at a local high school that helps prepare local students for health care careers.
Its a true loss for our community and a gain for yours, she said.
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.
Home Four wheelers Alonso Skips Bahrain GP Owing To Broken Rib & Lung Injuries oi-Ajinkya
Fernando Alonso was involved in one of the biggest accidents in the modern era of Formula One. The Spaniard was quick to get out of his vehicle, displaying to all that he did not sustain any major injuries. Now eleven days post the Australian GP, Alonso confirms he will not compete in Bahrain.
Alonso has now shared the extent of his injuries that were sustained at the Australian GP. He has suffered a fractured rib, along with a collapsed lung. A medical evaluation prior to the Bahrain GP, confirmed the severity of his injuries, thus ruling him out of action.
Stoffel Vandoorne will take Fernando Alonso's place in the McLaren team. Unfortunately, Alonso also confirms that he does not know when he could possibly return. The Chinese GP is scheduled for within two weeks and the Spaniard is not so confident that he would be deemed fit to race.
Two-time Formula One Champion, Alonso was keen to race and believes such risks should be taken. Alonso explains if it was a broken leg or arm, he would have raced. Unfortunately, the injuries he sustained could puncture his lungs, which could be fatal.
Fernando Alonso confirmed that he would stay in Bahrain and help McLaren engineers. The Spaniard will help Stoffel Vandoorne in getting acclaimed with the MP4-31 race machine. Alonso also decided to study his vehicle from outside at the Bahrain GP.
Local violinist Caoilfhionn Darcy was invited to play at The White House on St. Patricks Day where she and her fellow members of the Cross Border Orchestra had the pleasure of meeting none other than President Barack Obama.
At short notice Caoilfhionn, daughter of Senator Jim Darcy and Marie-Clare DArcy, travelled to Washington D.C. along with fellow members of the First Violin section of the Cross Border Orchestra in what was a whirlwind adventure!
I have never felt excitement like this in all my life. We received an e-mail on the Tuesday from Sharon Treacy-Dunne who is the Director of CBOI, telling us she had gotten a call from The White House and that we were invited to play along with solo violinist Patricia Treacy on Tuesday for their St. Patricks Day Reception. We all jumped at the chance to go!
The group consisted of ten members from the First Violin section from the Cross Border Orchestra along with Uileann Piper Cormac Keegan and Bagpiper Grahame Harris.
We played in the White House as people were entering to go towards the Reception. It was in a big white room with marble floors and was just beautiful. We played some Irish style songs to the audience. Politicians such as Enda Kenny, Mary- Lou McDonald and Martin McGuinness were present and Michael Flatley also passed by as were playing. So it was a great mix of people in the audience!
While we were playing crowds who were exiting the Reception gathered around us. At one stage, when we were playing Irelands Call, the crowd started singing along and Security were trying their hardest to get them to move along as the Reception was ended.
For Caoilfhionn this trip represented the realisation of a long held personal dream,
Getting the opportunity to play in The White House is something I have always dreamed of but never really thought the opportunity would come about! Meeting President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden really did make the day even more amazing. I felt so nervous waiting for Obama to enter the room.
I didnt know what I was going to say to him or what I was going to do. But it was just surreal seeing him and thinking that, as funny as it sounds, he is a real life person! They were both so lovely and shook each of our hands and took a photograph with us, so I think Ill be cherishing that memory for the foreseeable future!
Thoroughly thankful for this wonderful opportunity Caoilfhionn wishes to express her thanks to everyone who helped to make the trip possible,
Everyone was so proud and excited for us all. My whole family were so supportive and almost as excited as us who were the ones going away! I got so many messages wishing us the best of luck and how we deserved it.
I would like to thank my friends, family and absolutely everyone who made a donation towards the trip. We received amazing support from so many people so I definitely want to thank them all. I also want to thank Larry Goodman who has been an amazing supporter of the Orchestra for years. I also want to give a special thanks to my bosses Aileen and Sam, who got me cover last minute for work.
But first and foremost I want to thank Sharon Treacy Dunne for everything. She truly is an inspirational woman and just simply amazing. Without her I wouldnt have gotten half the opportunities I have gotten in life never mind the opportunity to play in The White House. Shes a true legend!
Delighted Mum Marie Clare DArcy said,
The CBOI has been going for 21 years now and the venues that all members past and present have been playing in have been phenomenal from Carnegie Hall to the Royal Albert Hall from Shanghai and recently to the White House.
As a parent I am so proud of what my children have gained from the Cross Border Orchestra of Ireland. Sharon Treacy Dunne works tirelessly and she gives all the members great opportunities and its a great start to those who are going forward in pursuing music as a career.
A European Court ruling could call into question the legitmacy of prosecutions ndertaken for motorists failing to have paid VRT.
A European Court ruling could call into question the legitmacy of prosecutions ndertaken for motorists failing to have paid VRT.
A ruling which was made by the European Court of Justice in 2012 states that a State cannot charge registration tax on a vehicle if that vehicle is not being used on a permanent basis in that State.
This would have particular resonance in border counties such as Louth, where motorists driving cars with Northern regs are often prosecuted for not paying VRT in the Republic.
Marian Harkin MEP has written to Minister Noonan and is asking him if he will amend Irish legislation .
If the Minister does not respond by changing the legislation immediately a complaint will be made to the European Commission to insist that Ireland amends its legislation, the Independent MEP said.
Furthermore there is a situation where citizens have been fined on the spot or by the courts in the last few years and these fines were in error in that they were contrary to EU legislation, she said.
In my view...the Irish state was illegally fining citizens in the situation described in the Court ruling. These citizens deserve to be recompensed, she added concluding that he Minister should act to address the situation immediately.
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We demand more, we want things quicker, and of course, we want it cheaper. These are the commercial pressures a number of industries are grappling with today and few are exempt. Weve seen airlines diversify into the low-cost market, retailers ditch their stores for online presence, and the media industry drop paper copy for websites and digital signage with a high turnover of on-demand content.
So if someone were to suggest you give your graphic designer a well earned break and instead, commission artists to labour over a mural for your brand, youd probably think they were insane. But two years after Tyson Hunter, Tristan Minter and Hamish McBride brought that exact idea to the advertising industry, their trend rebutting and perhaps archaic approach has proven to be courageous, but far from irrational.
You cant get much more authentic than the revival of a lost art
The Melbourne based trio launched Apparition Media in 2014 with an objective to wed the thriving Australian street-art culture to advertisers wanting to connect with the public inimitably.
Tyson told Dynamic Business: Brands are looking for authenticity and you cant get much more authentic than the revival of a lost art form and a hard crafted medium that takes hundreds of hours to produce.
But the once advertising visionaries had something to prove. The concept was the first of its kind in Australia, with only one counterpart in the US: Colossal Media.
We started out by painting murals in our studio of brands that represented industries we wanted to target. We painted murals for Corona, GTA 5, Avatar, Converse and Coopers to get a good cross section of work so we could photograph it and use it as a portfolio to put forward to clients, said Tyson.
From painting Murals for free, the business has exploded
Tyson comments that they knew straight away Apparition was onto something: There was a whole heap of excitement around what we were doing, he said.
From painting Murals for free, the business has exploded. Apparition Media has now painted over 100 murals, added 15 new sites to an ever-expanding portfolio and has recruited 15 employees. The business has experienced 400 per cent growth over the last 12 months and is on track to turn over two million dollars this financial year.
According to Tyson, Apparition dont see themselves as a threat or an industry disruptor per se. He describes their offering as an add-on in a mammoth industry estimated to be worth as much $500 million in Australia alone.
We are still a very niche market due to the nature of what we do. We will never have 75,000 sites like a billboard company, said Tyson.
Its important to note how we were welcomed into the industry by potential competitors billboard companies.
What is attractive to the brands is the level of consumer engagement
This form of advertising certainly doesnt conform with the idea that brands need to deliver more, quicker and cheaper for the modern consumer not when some artworks take up to 500 hours to complete according to Tyson. Rather, it appears to tap into peoples underestimated [and therefore neglected] appreciation for art.
Tyson said: What is attractive to the brands is the level of consumer engagement with the piece of art itself. People stop and stare, take photos and videos and post them on social media channels. People love watching art come to life.
A connection with the piece develops, transcending connections that might be drawn to digital advertising which currently saturates our surroundings.
In a short space of time, Apparition has succeeded in drawing some big name brands to its portfolio. Some of these have included Coca cola, Henieken, Playstation, Nike and Vans.
We begged, scratched and crawled through the first 12 months
Impressive from the outside, but on the inside, paving their way as industry pioneers hasnt come without a lot of challenges, hard graft and a great deal of self belief on the side.
Tyson said: We begged, scratched and crawled through the first 12 months nearly going under several times.
Everything about this industry is challenging; from site acquisition, staffing, finding clients to the actual production. Sometimes we put so much work into projects it is quite literally ludicrous.
If it wasnt for the on going support of Bank of Melbourne, Coca Cola, Vans and Dulux, theres no way we would have got to where we are now, said Tyson.
Currently limited by the amount of sites they have, Apparition views their upcoming expansion into Sydney as critical to their growth strategy. In the long term, Tyson says that new opportunities for Apparition are becoming increasingly evident and these include the potential to diversify revenue streams by creating artwork for campaigns.
More and more we are being asked to create the artwork for campaigns, Tyson said.
However, he continues:
This wont be until we have conquered the walls of Australia!
Being a business owner involves ensuring that the workspace provided for employees is safe at all times. When the business that is owned is some type of retail center, the responsibility for providing safety extends to protecting the consumer. A variety of safety hazards can arise in almost any situation, in ways that may not appear to be unsafe on the surface. When it comes to business ownership, there are certain personal hazards that can almost be considered inherent, such as fire, potential falls, and lately the risk of injury by way of another employee or consumer has increased significantly.
Fortunately, there are steps that retail business owners can take in order to improve the level of safety for their employees and customers.
Fire Hazards
While fire hazards are prevalent in retail establishments, they are rarely assessed the gravity that they warrant. Factors that include faulty electrical wiring, improper chemical storage and open-flame displays, can easily contribute to the start of a fire or explosion. This is why it is important to take the appropriate steps to guard against allowing these types of hazards to present themselves.
Employees should be properly trained to recognize and report these fire hazards immediately. In the event that a hazard presents itself within the general retail space in which customers move about, it will be imperative to clearly mark off those areas. One way that the area can be marked off is with aisle marking tape. Because this type of tape needs to be highly visible, it will be necessary to use quality tape, a good source of information on choosing the right aisle marking tape is Aisle Marking Tape 5 Strongest Tapes.
When it comes to electrical wiring, employees should not attempt to handle them; that is something that should be done by a professional.
Air Quality Improvement
Air quality is another health hazard that tends to move under the radar of most retail business owners. Because air is not something that is visible, it can be completely missed if it is not integrated into the daily process of inspection. Inspecting air quality on a regular basis is vital, especially when considering the fact that certain hazards, such as carbon monoxide poisoning, are completely undetectable by sight or smell. There should be some type of air quality system on the premises that constantly monitors the quality of the air in order to ensure that it remains at a healthy level.
Proper Manager Support
Communication is actually a vital part of developing a functional and effective safety policy that is guarded by a well-defined protocol. This type of plan requires that proper support be provided for management. It is through the management staff that the companys views on safety will be communicated and validated. Management is that medium that bridges the gap between the expectation and requirements of ownership and the retail-level employees. With the proper support for management, it will be easy to effectively implement the safety precautions and enforce all instated policies.
Visually Inspecting the Premises
While not all physical hazards are visible, conducting a regular visual inspection can identify a number of possible hazards before they cause injury. Some hazards that can be identified by a visual inspection include uneven flooring, misplaced boxes or other items on the floor that may cause someone to trip, spills on the floor that could cause a person to slip and fall. When it comes to spills, there should be a practice of mopping them up immediately, while clearly identifying the area of the floor that is wet, so others will recognize the hazard.
Guarding Against Crime
As mentioned earlier in this article, crime against employees and customers is becoming an increasing concern, and the business owner has a responsibility to provide a reasonably safe shopping and work environment for customers and employees respectfully. Providing safety from crime may involve the installation of additional surveillance equipment or hiring a security guard, but the idea is to take all reasonable steps to ensure the safety of all who are on the premises.
Safety is a combination of training, preparation and consistent monitoring; it is an ongoing process that will likely evolve to meet newly presented challenges. The better the training that is provided to employees and management, the more effective the safety programs that are implemented will perform.
About the Author
Jimmy Underwood works in occupational health and safety and enjoys sharing some of his inside knowledge with the wider world by writing articles. These are usually published on business related blogs.
Today marks the half-year mark since Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder publicly admitted that Flint had a problem with lead in its drinking water. Since that time, hes continuously told us he and his administration are doing everything possible to fix the problem. Everything, however, does not include the removal of a single lead pipe through the efforts of his administration.
Flint Mayor Karen Weaver had been trying to get the lead pipes removed and had an ambitious goal of removing the lead water service lines in 30 homes in the first 30 days of her Fast Start program. However, thanks largely to a lack of cooperation from the Snyder administration, only 14 homes have seen their lead pipes replaced. Gov. Snyder continues to remain positive and to say, [W]ere going to get rid of lead pipes. Ive said it multiple times.
Were still waiting for that to happen, Governor. Its been six months. Its time to end the relentless positive smoke blowing and get to work.
In other news, it turns out that there was one main impediment to Flint officials adding phosphate corrosion treatment to their new water source, the Flint River, an impediment that has nothing to do with the terrible and illegal, as weve since learned advice they got from the state Department of Environmental Quality. It turns out that they couldnt have added the phosphate if they had wanted to because they didnt have the equipment installed to do so:
Even if the state had ordered Flint to use corrosion controls when it switched to the Flint River for the citys drinking water, the city would have been unable to do so because it lacked the necessary equipment. And installing the equipment would have taken up to six months, Flint Utility Director Mike Glasgow told state lawmakers on Tuesday.
Heres more from WZZM13:
[T]estimony at a legislative hearing this week from the citys utilities chief may help explain: When Flint began to pump drinking water from the Flint River, the citys water treatment plant wasnt capable of adding corrosion control treatment, not without equipment upgrades the broke city couldnt afford. [] A 2009 engineering analysis associated with the same water system detailed equipment necessary to add corrosion control at Flints plant: a 6,000-gallon bulk storage tank, a transfer pump and a 120-gallon day tank and chemical metering pumps. According to MDEQ, no upgrades to corrosion-control equipment were made at the plant before it began to pump and treat Flint River water, more corrosive than the Lake Huron water it expected to use when the new system was complete.
Meanwhile, the EPA has warned state and city officials that they still lack a comprehensive plan to solve the lead problem in Flint:
The federal Environmental Protection Agency this week told the state and city that their ongoing efforts to prevent further corrosion of Flint pipes do not represent a comprehensive approach to minimize lead concentrations in drinking water, calling it a critical issue that must be addressed. EPA water enforcement division director Mark Pollins, in a March 29 letter to Michigan Department of Environmental Quality Director Keith Creagh and Flint Mayor Karen Weaver, urged the city to move ahead with plans to hire a consultant for plan development. A consulting firm with extensive experience assessing, developing, and implementing corrosion control plans should be chosen and work should begin as soon as possible, Pollins wrote.
This catastrophe is far from over and Flint residents continue to use bottled water to drink, wash, and clean with. And, after a half year, there is still no action from the Snyder administration on removing lead pipes in Flint.
Please, Gov. Snyder: DO SOMETHING.
Days after the FBI found a workaround that ended the epic legal battle to compel Apples cooperation in unlocking an encrypted iPhone, the American Civil Liberties Union on Wednesday announced that it had identified dozens of other criminal cases in which the government has made similar requests both of Apple and of Google.
The government has used the All Writs Act to compel a phone manufacturer to hand over data to law enforcement in a total of 63 cases, the ACLU report shows. That appears to back up Apples and privacy advocates assertions that the government request would have direct implications on cases well beyond the San Bernardino encryption fight.
We think this is important, because it shows just how widespread the governments attempts to get tech firms to bypass phone security are, and they are mainly doing it in non-terrorism cases, said ACLU spokesperson Josh Bell.
It also makes it clear how inevitable another court showdown is, he told the E-Commerce Times.
The 63 cases, dating back to 2008, are confirmed All Writs Act requests that force either Apple or Google to unlock their phones, with most of the prosecutions involving drug-related crimes, according to the ACLU.
Pending Showdowns
The ACLU knows of an additional 13 pending cases, said Sweren Becker, a staff attorney with the organizations Speech, Privacy and Technology Project. Apple has confirmed 12 of those cases. An additional case in Massachusetts has not been confirmed due to a lack of publicly available information.
The ACLU expects to learn of additional cases from a Freedom of Information Act request jointly filed with the Stanford University Center for Internet and Society, Becker said.
The FBIs demand that Apple write new code to help investigators access encrypted data took the public-private cooperation to a level that Google could not accommodate.
We carefully scrutinize subpoenas and court orders to make sure they meet both the letter and spirit of the law, Google said in a statement provided to the E-Commerce Times by spokesperson Aaron Stein.
However weve never received an All Writs Act order like the one Apple recently fought that demands we build tools that actively compromise our products security, the company added. As our amicus shows, we would strongly object to such an order.
Google joined a group of technology companies in an amicus brief filed earlier this month in support of Apple, as it fought the data transfer request by the Department of Justice in the San Bernardino terrorist shooting.
Google supports the governments goal of thwarting terrorist acts, noted Richard Salgado, director of law enforcement and information security, in a blog post last month. However, the FBI request had implications that went far beyond the immediate case.
The key question is whether the government should be able to use the All Writs Act to force private companies to actively compromise the safety and security features that we all build into our products, Salgado wrote. These are the same security features that we all develop to keep people safe from identity thieves, hackers and other criminals.
A bad precedent in the Apple case could have forced companies to hack into the phones, computers, software or networks of their own customers, he went on to say.
Companies might cooperate in criminal investigations for a variety of reasons, including whether a proper warrant has been served, noted the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a group that has criticized the governments position in the Apple encryption case.
In the All Writs context, Apple has chosen to challenge the governments power to require assistance accessing data on phones, which is allowed, but not required to do under the law, EFF Staff Attprmeu Andrew Crocker told the E-Commerce Times.
Earlier Compliance
The governments use of the All Writs Act to pursue encrypted data in criminal cases is warranted, Department of Justice officials maintained.
The fact that federal law enforcement uses court process to obtain critical evidence in criminal investigations should not be surprising nor newsworthy, said Peter Carr, a spokesperson for the Justice Department.
The government has made it clear on multiple occasions in the court that judges across the country have issued prior All Writs Act orders to Apple, and counsel for Apple has noted in court that it received All Writs Act orders with frequency, he told the E-Commerce Times.
Apple had an established track record of helping law enforcement agents with accessing passcode-locked iPhones under the All Writs Act, and never objected to such a request until October 2015, Carr noted.
Apple complied with requests in several criminal cases, Carr noted, including a 2008 child exploitation case in the Northern District of New York, which resulted in two guilty pleas and life sentences for the defendants; a Florida narcotics case that resulted in a conviction and a five year sentence; and a Washington state child pornography and sexual exploitation case that resulted in a guilty plea and 23-year prison sentence. Apple initially had objected to cooperating in that case, but eventually came around.
Apple officials were not immediately available for comment.
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.
Apple on Tuesday filed a brief arguing that the demands the Department of Justice has made in seeking a backdoor to iPhone encryption would have appalled Americas founding fathers.
The FBI and DoJ want Apple to create new software code that would help government investigators bypass built-in encryption on the iPhone of Syed Farook, who with his wife carried out last years San Bernardino, California, terrorist attack.
The Justice Department and the FBI are seeking an order from this court that would force Apple to create exactly the kind of operating system that Congress has thus far refused to require, reads the brief, which responds to the governments opposition papers filed in federal district court earlier this month.
The new code essentially would allow authorities to unlock the specific iPhone and gain access to any data that was left on the device after the shooting, and use it to pursue other potential terrorist links or future plots.
Widespread Risks
The government demand would put Apple at risk of being forced to engage in similar cooperation in other cases, would put the security of the iPhone at risk, and would risk similar orders being forced upon the company by other governments in countries where it operates, Apple and its supporters have argued in court filings andpublic testimony.
The government is using the All Writs Act to attempt to bypass the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, a wiretapping law signed by President Clinton in 1994. CALEA forbids law enforcement from forcing an electronic communication service from adopting any specific design of equipment, facilities, services, features or system configurations, according to the filing.
The government has acknowledged that FaceTime and iMessage features on the iPhone are electronic communication services but claimed that is irrelevant because the court order does not bear upon the operation of those services, it notes.
The government wants access to iMessages left on the phone.
Balance of Power
Lawyers for the DoJ and Apple are scheduled to appear in court next week before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym in Riverside, California, to make oral arguments on the motion to dismiss.
We look forward to responding to Apples arguments before the court on March 22, said Marc Raimondi, a spokesperson for the Department of Justice.
As we have said in our filings, the Constitution and the three branches of the federal government should be entrusted to strike the balance between each citizens right to privacy and all citizens rights to safety and justice, he told the E-Commerce Times.
The Constitution and the laws of the United States do not vest that power in a single corporation, Raimondi added.
Support for Apple
What the FBI is seeking is unprecedented, said Alan Butler, senior counsel at theElectronic Privacy Information Center.
No company has ever been required to produce special software to undermine its own security systems, he told the E-Commerce Times. Apple has a strong legal position in this case.
In a separate case, Federal Magistrate Judge James Orenstein last monthruled that Apple did not have to unlock an encrypted iPhone. The judge in the California case is likely to consider Orensteins decision, Butler said.
In particular, Judge Orenstein found that Congress had already considered and rejected a broad decryption requirement for device manufacturers when it passed the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement act back in the mid-1990s, he said.
There really is not a compromise ruling here. Either the judge orders Apple to provide the assistance or she denies the FBIs application, Butler added.
A group that organized protests outside Apple stores and FBI headquarters last month plans to descend on the courthouse next week in a show of support for greater iPhone security. The group, Fight for the Future, is launching an online campaign called #SaveSecurity and awebsite to organize protesters online.
We wanted to make sure that we educate the public and decision-makers about the fact that this case isnt just about one phone, or even just about iPhones its about the future of all of our safety and security, said Evan Greer, campaign director ofFight for the Future.
Since launching just a few hours ago, more than 3,400 people have already added their voices to the effort. We expect this number to grow dramatically before Tuesday, he told the E-Commerce Times.
The governments reliance on the All Writs Act is an indication that the case cannot stand on modern case law, said Sophia Cope, staff attorney at theElectronic Frontier Foundation.
The problem is that the AWA has never been applied in this way, and it cant be used for an unconstitutional purpose, she told the E-Commerce Times. In short, the Constitution will always trump a statute.
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(Photo: REUTERS / Stringer)Syrian refugees cook outside a tent at a refugee camp in Qushtapa at the outskirts of the city of Arbil, in Iraq's Kurdistan region, November 30, 2013.
The Conference of European Churches has appealed to European governments and people to act now and to provide protection for refugees fleeing Syria.
"We call on European States to make concrete commitments towards assisting and protecting those who have managed to escape the devastating conflict in Syria," the CEC Board said in a statement on Monday.
The CEC Board met at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva from November 26-29 under its President Anglican Bishop Christopher Hill where it approved the statement.
(Photo: Ecumenical News / Peter Kenny) Conference of European Churches President Anglican Bishop Christopher Hill in the Ecumenical Center Chapel in Geneva on November 26, 2013.
The Geneva-based conference groups 115 Anglican, Old Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant from all European countries, along with 40 organizations that it works in partnership with including Roman Catholic agencies.
Some of the churches in the CEC are from the Middle East.
The churches' statement says, "More than two years into the Syrian conflict, an overwhelming regional humanitarian crisis is unfolding as refugees struggle on a daily basis to access the most basic services including shelter, health, water, sanitation and primary education."
It noted that Syria's neighbours such as Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Armenia receive and host large numbers of people and their resources are at breaking point.
As of October 2013, around 6 million persons have been displaced internally or have fled to neighbouring countries in search of protection.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees says the crisis has driven more than 2.2 million Syrian refugees into neighboring countries with thousands more pouring across Syrian borders every single day into nearby countries and also North Africa.
Around 50 per cent of these refugees are children.
"It is in this dire and complex situation that European countries need to urgently, decisively and effectively respond to help protect refugees fleeing Syria
"Failing to do so could lead to already-strained neighbouring host countries turning away refugees and imposing unacceptable conditions and restrictions on those already present in these countries."
CEC said that together with the Churches' Commission for Migrants in Europe, it will participate in the campaign calling for Access to Europe for Syrian Refugees and requests its member churches to support these activities.
(Photo: Reuters / John Kolesidis)Syrian refugee Osama (L), 35, and his wife, pose with their two children in front of a Syrian opposition flag inside their home in Athens February 7, 2013.
The number of refugees from Syria could double or triple the current level this year if the conflict doesn't end, the UN refugee chief said Sunday.
Over 1 million refugees have fled Syria to neighboring countries, according to the UN.
Speaking in Turkey, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterre said that if no political solution to the conflict in Syria is reached the number of Syrian refugees could reach two or three million by the end of 2013.
He also warned of the "risk of an explosion" across the Middle East if the civil unrest continued much longer.
"If this escalation goes on and nothing happens to solve the problem we might have in the end of the year a much larger number of refugees - twice or three times the present level," said Guterres.
The UN refugee chief also urged countries to help support Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan in sheltering refugees.
European Union foreign ministers are expected to meet Monday on political actions to end the violence in Syria.
British foreign secretary William Hague said his country is sending armored four-wheel vehicles, body armor, and other equipment to help the rebels trying to overthrow President Bashar Assad.
"It is a human catastrophe now in Syria," said Hague, according to BBC. "More than a million refugees in neighboring countries, millions of other people displaced, many tens of thousands dead."
In the midst of the U.S. presidential primaries, candidates from both parties have answered questions about their commitment to backing early-childhood development around the world. In different settings, the leading presidential candidates have said they would make such an effort a priority if elected.
Of course, securing promises on the campaign trail is much easier than making sure such promises are fulfilled. But regardless of who becomes the next U.S. president, these questions during the election season have drawn attention to the importance of improving childrens early years.
The problem is enormous. Worldwide, just under 6 million children a year die before their fifth birthday, with children born into poverty almost twice as likely to die as those from wealthier families. Among those who survive, more than 200 million children under the age of 5 fail to reach their cognitive, social, and physical potential because of poverty, malnutrition, and deprivation. Nearly half the worlds children currently do not have access to any form of education before they enter 1st grade. And its not just developing countries that struggle to provide for their children. The United States ranks 26th out of 29 rich countries on UNICEFs most recent child-well-being report.
The Democratic and Republican presidential hopefuls are not alone in wanting to prioritize the youngest members of the human race. In September 2015, the new U.N. Sustainable Development Goals called for inclusive and quality education for all within 15 years, including access to quality early-childhood development, care, and preprimary education for all girls and boys. The World Bank, UNICEF, and the World Health Organization all strongly endorse investing in early childhood, and governments and parents are increasingly on board.
The research behind early-childhood development is unassailable. Coordinated health, education, and social-protection services starting before birth and lasting through the first years of formal schooling offer unparalleled opportunities to shape an individuals lifelong trajectory. Children who participate in quality early-childhood programs are more motivated and ready to learn; have higher self-esteem; are better at solving problems; and have stronger cognitive, language, and social-emotional abilities when they enter schoolall of which results in improved long-term academic outcomes .
Investing in children doesnt just help children. It also helps the economy and society in general. Nobel laureate James Heckman has found a 7 percent to 10 percent per annum return on dollars invested in high-quality programs for disadvantaged children in the United States. The returns in developing countries have been calculated to be even higher . Investments in early childhood have been shown to reduce inequality, the gender gap, and poverty, and to promote more peaceful, socially inclusive societies.
Its hard to see who could be against early-childhood development, a proven prophylactic for so many societal ills. The question is, how do we go about delivering it to the world?
Investing in children doesn't just help children. It also helps the economy and society in general."
We have successful models. In 1994, I helped launch Step by Step , an early-childhood-development program funded by the Open Society Foundations in Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe, based on the United States Head Start model. Step by Step began as a two-year initiative to introduce child-centered teaching methods and family involvement to early-education systems in 15 countries. In the first 10 years, the program reached more than 200,000 teachers and teaching professionals who have had a positive impact on millions of childrens lives. Today, Step by Step has evolved into a network of independent nongovernmental organizations in 38 countries promoting quality, accessible early-childhood development for all children.
According to a report by UNESCO, achieving the education-related Sustainable Development Goals in low- and middle-income countries by 2030 will cost an estimated $239 billion annually. But scaling up early-childhood development on a global level will also require that a skilled workforce and comprehensive programming are in place before a program is launched in any given country; that nonprofits, donors, and governments commit to development across multiple sectors simultaneously, including health, social services, and education; and that the most vulnerable, hardest-to-reach children are not left out.
We must support emerging national, regional, and global professional and advocacy organizations dedicated to improving the lives of the youngest children and their families, while working strategically with governments to establish a cadre of experienced staff to design and implement policies and programs.
The World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the World Bank have shown they understand that childrens physical, social, emotional, and cognitive well-being are inextricably linked. Now, large government agencies like the U.S. Agency for International Development must follow their lead by increasing investments in programs supporting developmental aims that go beyond child survival and basic education. One way to ensure countries embark on a holistic approach is to tie the measures used to track progress on the Sustainable Development Goals to childrens overall development, rather than relying on such proxy indicators as stunting or poverty.
Finally, the global approach must be inclusive if we do not want gaps in equity to continue to grow. Early-childhood development is not just for children in developing countries. Its also for children in working-class families in middle-income countries. Its for children from historically marginalized populations like the Roma in Europe or African-Americans in the United States. And its for children with disabilities everywhere, who need fewer special services later in life when they receive intervention early and are educated in regular classrooms alongside their peers. Early-childhood development, in other words, is for all children. For all of us.
Weve promised it. Now, lets make it happen.
State boards of education are seeking to reassert their influence in the advent of the Every Student Succeeds Act, as much of the decisionmaking around standards, assessments, and accountability devolves back from federal to state control.
Yet those boardsmany of them a blend of retired educators and business leaders who take office by appointment or election, depending on the stateoften find themselves squeezed between local boards, state education departments, and legislatures over whos calling the policy shots.
All those entities are expected to vie for a share of the flexibility under a newly revised federal K-12 law, which gives states greater authority to design school- and teacher-accountability systems as they see fit.
Its a volatile moment for power sharing. This legislative session, state board members in a number of states have spent time stalking the capitol chambers to block or modify legislation that would drastically alter state standards or prescribe the details of statewide accountability systems.
And this year alone, several states saw measures that would either strip or bolster boards authority. In Kansas, for example, lawmakers proposed a bill that would have prevented its board from using any standards similar to the Common Core State Standards. (It was defeated last week.) In Georgia, lawmakers passed a bill that would ban the board from accepting any federal money above $10 million without the legislatures permission. It was punishment, the state board chairman said, for the board accepting millions of dollars in federal Race to the Top funds. As of last week, Republican Gov. Nathan Deal hadnt signed it.
On the other hand, a bill in Arizona sought to remove most of the state education departments staff and place the workers under the boards authority. It was defeated in the House last week.
Unique Position
Board members, who convene in Washington next week for their legislative conference, argue that they are in a unique position to set state education agendas in the ESSA era.
With many state education departments hollowed out by budget cuts and the average tenure of state superintendents now three years, state boards argue that they represent a permanent fixture focused exclusively on statewide education policy.
Our perspective is a statewide perspective, Mike Royal, the chairman of Georgias state board of education, said last week as state lawmakers worked to wrap up their legislative session.
But state superintendents and legislators can have very different viewpoints.
Our board meets maybe 10 times a year for two to four hours. Many of them are laypeople, said Arizona schools Superintendent Diane Douglas, who has sued her board, accusing it of overstepping its authority. The board in turn has also sued Douglas.
Theyre tasked with overseeing policy, but theyre not the ones who are in the fields of Arizona each and every day to know what the needs of educators are.
But Arizona board member Tim Carter said that the boards role as the chief policymaker is enshrined in the states constitution and that the lawsuits have ground the productivity of the department to a halt.
Anytime you have one group that makes the policy and the other group thats responsible for carrying out the policy, those two things have to be in sync with one another, said Carter, who is also the superintendent of Arizonas Yavapai County schools. I think its clear that we havent been working as efficiently as we could.
The board members who meet in Washington aim to map out a strategy to handle the new policy environment under ESSA. Theyll discuss building community support, learn how to craft their own accountability systems, and hear from U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King Jr.
Theres tremendous optimism, but [our members] are also nervous, said Kristen Amundson, the executive director of the National Association of State Boards of Education. Nows our time to set a strategy and a vision to create equity, high standards, and hold educators accountable. Over the past several years, the membership of state boards has become younger and more diverse, Amundson said. While, in the past, sitting on a state board was the crown jewel for an accomplished educator, board members now range from bankers, lawyers, and doctors to outspoken parents.
Influence on Display
Board members in 35 states are appointed by either governors or legislatures, and in eight states, theyre elected. In six states, board members are a mix of elected and appointed. (Minnesota doesnt have a board of education.)
State board members influence was on display in New York last week when newly appointed board of regents Chancellor Betty Rosa added fuel to the debate about parents opting their children out of standardized tests by saying shed do so, too, if she were a parent.
Residents in the East Texas region will soon decide whether to elect to the state board Mary Lou Bruner, a retired kindergarten teacher who has said in widely publicized Facebook posts that she believes that a young President Barack Obama worked as a gay prostitute, that the country should ban Muslims, and that the Democratic Party killed President John F. Kennedy.
In many instances, though, board members are inconspicuous stewards convening in sparsely attended, dayslong meetings where they debate education policy.
The ESSA law adds plenty more to their plate. In the coming months, boards will be tasked with revising teacher evaluations, school report cards, and ways to intervene in their lowest-performing schools.
For boards that have already been engaged in the process and taking responsibility and control of their own house, they will be fine, said Royal, the Georgia board chairman. But for the ones who have been hands-off, they are going to have to do some major catching up. Many are going to have to make some, Ready, aim, fire! decisions.
According to research soon to be released by NASBE, in at least 32 states, state boards have constitutional or statutory authority over their states assessments, while 45 state boards have authority over their academic standards.
Legislators dont want to be left out of the action, however: The National Conference of State Legislatures says more than 500 bills regarding state standards and assessments have been proposed across the country so far this year.
Its simply a matter of legislators wanting to improve the outcome for kids, said Jennifer Thomsen, a research fellow with the Education Commission of the States, which tracks education legislation and includes state legislators among its commissioners. Education is a hot topic, and they hear from their constituents a lot. Theres a certain amount of, We cant do nothing, we have to try something.
Rep. Reginald Bolding, a Democrat who serves on Arizonas House education committee, said legislators want to weigh in on education policy because so much of the states budget is spent on education.
We want to have more control over the largest budget area, Bolding said.
Mixed Relationship
The relationship between legislators and boards can be tense.
Some legislators write education policy that comes from a philosophical and ideological position rather than a practical and knowledgeable one, said Jim McNiece, the chairman of Kansas school board."When we work together, we listen to each other and we can have a proactive conversation. When were not paying attention to each other or were trying to promote some sort of ideology or take some political position, it doesnt work.
The Kansas board, along with its recently appointed superintendent, has gone on a statewide tour, interviewing more than 10,000 people to create a vision plan for the states department of education.
In Nebraska, after the state was denied a waiver from the No Child Left Behind Act, the legislature in 2014 passed a bill that required its education department to use an accountability system that places schools in excellent, great, good or needs improvement categories. The board fleshed the law out, specified indicators, and rolled out the plan late last year.
Theyre giving us guidance but theyre not micromanaging us, said state board member Rachel Wise. I think we have a pretty good balance.
In Georgia, the board members, who are appointed by the governor, serve seven-year terms. Some are entering their second term.
That tenure has helped the board withstand the turnover of superintendents who have cycled through the department, two in the past five years alone.
Five years ago, the board decided to focus on raising the states cutoff scores on standardized tests. Despite schools scores dipping and a widespread cheating scandal, the board stuck with the standards.
Once they set those expectations, we were able to make decisions that had moved [the state] forward, said state Superintendent Richard Woods.
When Congress approved the creation of a U.S. Department of Education as its own cabinet-level agency in 1979, it did so only after encountering opposition from both sides of the aisle. Many conservative lawmakers were concerned that it would be a bureaucratic intrusion into education, while some liberals were worried its creation would make getting additional federal aid for education more difficult, among other concerns.
Then, when President Jimmy Carter, a supporter of a separate education department, made his selection for the nations first secretary of education, he picked Shirley M. Hufstedler, at the time a serving federal appeals court judge and former California Court of Appeals judge who did not have a background in education policy.
Her time as secretary was shortalthough she was sworn in by Carter in December 1979, the Education Department only began operations in May 1980, and she left in early 1981, when President Ronald Reagan took office.
But Hufstedler, who died on March 30 in California at age 90, helped organize the department during its earliest days, provided a steady hand at the tiller, and helped Carter show Congress that the department would not be the tool of any particular group.
She was serious about bringing people together and having them work in a serious way, said Marshall Mike Smith, her chief of staff from December 1979 to August 1980 who is now a consultant for foundations, and there was a lot of uncertainty.
And Hufstedler, while not a K-12 policy expert when she took over the department, had dealt with education while on the bench and had firm beliefs about its importance.
In a 2007 interview for the California Appellate Court Legacy Project, Hufstedler recalled that during her 11 years as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit from 1968 to 1979, the opinion she wrote that she was particularly proud of was a dissent in Lau v. Nichols, a case that involved the San Francisco school districts failure to provide English-language instruction to around 1,800 children of Chinese ancestry.
The 9th Circuit ruled that this was not a violation of the U.S. Constitutions 14th Amendment. But in a dissent, Hufstedler argued that children of Chinese ancestry in San Francisco schools were being denied equal protection by not receiving supplemental services. Ultimately, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the 9th Circuits ruling in the case.
[B]y the time I became Secretary of Education, we then had in place the so-called Lau Regulations, which was a reflection of that decision and about equal protection for youngsters whose initial language was not English, Hufstedler said in the interview. So I thought that was an achievement that Ive always enjoyed a lot.
Getting the Department Started
After leaving her position as education secretary, Hufstedler returned to private law practice, and for the past two decades worked at the Morrison & Foerster firm in Los Angeles. She worked as a visiting professor at the University of California, Irvine, the University of Iowa, and the University of Vermont. She also was a law professor during the spring of 1982 at Stanford Law School, and was a visiting fellow at St. Catherines College at Oxford University in England in 1996. She served as a trustee at the California Institute of Technology.
Hufstedler is survived by her husband, Seth Hufstedler, who also works at the Morrison & Foerster firm in Los Angeles, as well as a son, Steven, and several grandchildren.
Recalling the difficult circumstances facing the department at the beginning, Hufstedler showed in the early days and months that the department could go about its business in a noncontroversial fashion, said Jack Jennings, then a Democratic staff member on the House education committee who met with her on several occasions.
U.S. Secretaries of Education The U.S. Department of Education has been led by 10 secretaries appointed by six presidents since its creation. Shirley M. Hufstedler: 1980-1981 (President Jimmy Carter) Terrel H. Bell: 1981-1985 (President Ronald Reagan) William J. Bennett: 1985-1988 (Reagan) Lauro F. Cavazos: 1988-1990 (Reagan/President George H.W. Bush) Lamar Alexander: 1991-1993 (President George H.W. Bush) Richard W. Riley: 1993-2001 (President Bill Clinton) Rod Paige: 2001-2005 (President George W. Bush) Margaret Spellings: 2005-2009 (President George W. Bush) Arne Duncan: 2009- (President Barack Obama) John B. King Jr: 2016- (Obama)
She was the type of logical, rational person who would try to build something in a way that would last, said Jennings, who went on to found the Center on Education Policy, a think tank in Washington. So I think she was a good person to have at the beginning of the department, rather than someone who was just out looking for publicity, or was looking to use it to catapult to another position. She was a good choice.
As the departments first secretary, her chief responsibilities were helping to shift education policy work from what was then the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare to the new stand-alone cabinet-level education department, and sharing input on key staff appointments during and after that transition.
She also grappled with questions as to whether the Education Department would begin overseeing Native American and military schools, according to Smith. And Hufstedler also backed the Youth Act of 1980, a bill in Congress with Carters backing that would have created new opportunities for high school students to transition to the workforce.
She was a bright, smart person with no knowledge about what she was getting into in many ways, Smith recalled. She had a huge learning curve that was very steep.
A Mentor and Public Servant
After leaving the department, Hufstedler continued to participate in public discussions about education, particularly with respect to school funding.
In 1982, she criticized Reagans cuts to the federal education budget, saying that the administration was abandoning minority children and hurting districts efforts to support the most-disadvantaged youngsters in the country.
And while discussing education on a panel with three other former U.S. education secretaries in 1991, Hofstedler lamented the state of school finance as an unholy zoo and added that the main problem with poor school districts is that they dont have any money.
In a March 30 statement, U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King Jr. called her a trailblazer and a champion for equity, defining the departments role as a protector of civil rights.
She also argued for the federal government to use incentives to help students meet standards. And she led a U.S. Commission on Immigration that, in a 1997 report, recommended that rapid acquisition of English should be the top priority for any English-language-learner program for immigrant children, and that students should be taught the common civic culture that is essential to citizenship.
During her later years at Morrison & Foerster, Hufstedler served as a mentor to many of the younger attorneys, particularly those who were women, said Miriam Vogel, senior of counsel at the law firm.
I know how much she valued education, and how she tried to be the best teacher she could be in whatever situation she was working, Vogel said.
In the 2007 interview, Hufstedler said that her time as education secretary was difficult in several respects. But asked why she left a lifetime appointment as a federal judge to be Carters education secretary, Hufstedler responded: I think that if a president of the United States asks you to do something for the good of the nation, you have to be awfully selfish to decide youd just as soon keep your lifelong position doing something you know how to do. I had a tremendous amount to learn; Ive never thought that was an error. I learned a great deal, of course.
Brasilia, Mar 31 (EFE).- Brazil's Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that the case concerning former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will remain under its jurisdiction, thereby removing it from federal Judge Sergio Moro, who is overseeing the probe into a huge corruption scheme centered on state oil company Petrobras.
The decision was based on the fact that Moro, in developing a case against Lula, ordered some controversial telephone tapping of the former president conversing with incumbent President Dilma Rousseff.
The tapes were publicly released by Moro on the same day that Rousseff named Lula chief minister, which piled more wood on the fire of the political crisis besetting the country.
Critics accused Rousseff of naming Lula to the Cabinet to obstruct the investigations of her predecessor.
While senior officials are not immune from prosecution, they may be tried only before the Supreme Court.
The naming of Lula to a Cabinet post was the target of a series of court injunctions and remains pending, awaiting a decision by the Supreme Court.
Lula is under investigation for alleged money laundering and misrepresentation of assets in a case linked to the Petrobras scandal.
Rousseff's administration says Lula was appointed to help the government respond to a severe political and economic crisis.
The president is facing possible impeachment for allegedly using accounting trickery to hide the true size of the nation's budget deficit in 2014 and 2015.
Judge Moro has gained prominence in Brazil for overseeing the investigation into the massive graft scheme at Petrobras, a scandal that has ensnared top company executives and dozens of politicians - both allies and enemies of the president.
Prosecutors say executives at the oil giant accepted bribes from large construction companies in exchange for approving inflated contracts and funneled some of the money to politicians, a scheme that allegedly ran from 2004 to 2014.
Ely, Cambridgeshire is best known for its majestic cathedral dubbed the 'Ship of the Fens' because it dominates the flat landscape. The city, which is the second smallest in England, is about 14 miles north-northeast of Cambridge and about 80 miles by road from London.
08:11, 22 OCT 2022
Re: Hello from London - question re: Culture Shock @johanswitzerland
Perhaps this will help you, just as a metaphor. It helped me, when I first arrived.
No matter how adult you are and how experienced in work an life, you could try thinking of your first year here like the first year as the most junior pupil in an established boarding school with traditions and rules.
In the beginning, the teachers and the housemasters and the prefects keep expecting you to know (which you can't possibly) what to do, and then requiring seemingly absurd things from you, and then punishing you (directly or very obliquely) for not conforming.
The way to make it work, and in some boarding schools the way to survive at all, and then to become balanced and integrated, is to figure out what the rules are, and to duck down (only for a while) to obey them instantly as well as you can. After you've done that and everyone can see your goodwill, the teachers and the seniors lighten up on you, and thereafter all sorts of lee-way is possible, and you can find your way as yourself, and things don't seem so lonely and "other" after all.
So my tips are:
- introduce yourself politely (but very briefly, no Invitation to a couple of beers, just say who you are and where you come from and that you're new and if they ever need anything from you they should just ring your bell and let you know)
- use your Afrikaans to learn German asap
- understand the rules of your building (laundry, noise, bicycles, etc.) and stick to them
- use your Afrikaans to learn German asap
- figure out how to correctly dispose of your trash
- use your Afrikaans to learn German asap
- make sure you have all the right insurances (medical, liability, travel)
- use your Afrikaans to learn German asap
- at work, ask one or two colleagues who've been there for ages to tell you if you are inadvertently doing something that is inappropriate to their procedures or way or communicating
- use your Afrikaans to learn German asap
- say "Gruezi" to everyone you meet in the stairway, the staff in the shops, in the canteen, and be liberal with your use of "bitte" and "danke"
- use your Afrikaans to learn German asap (did I already say that?)
- get out on foot an look at everything in your immediate environment around where you live and where you work.
And if some specific aspect bothers you, see if it's been written about on this forum, or ask your own questions.
Take courage! It gets better.
One person is in custody following a shooting at a Greyhound bus station in Richmond, Virginia earlier this afternoon.
Two Virginia State Troopers and one female civilian were injured in the shooting, which took place at the Greyhound Bus Station when an as-of-yet unidentified suspect opened fire.
According to CNN, the suspect is now in custody and the victims have been transported to a hospital for treatment. The station where the shooting occurred is closed until further notice.
We're updating this post with more info as it's available.
UPDATE 5:05 PM ET:: Authorities are now reporting that both the trooper and the shooter are dead.
Authorities say suspect killed, one trooper sustained life-threatening injuries in shooting at VA Greyhound station. https://t.co/dhM2bok4Om ABC News (@ABC) March 31, 2016
UPDATE 5:07 PM ET:: Reports are indicating that the trooper is still alive, though suffering life-threatening injuries.
UPDATE: Virginia State Trooper is suffering "life-threatening" injuries and is NOT dead, it was just announced. https://t.co/x8bUwTbRMY NBC4 Columbus (@nbc4i) March 31, 2016
A second trooper is also listed as being injured
Two Va. state troopers and civilian in hospital after shooting at Richmond bus station; shooter in custody: https://t.co/wKkx8rdvb5 The Associated Press (@AP) March 31, 2016
And reports now indiciate four people were shot.
UPDATE 5:13 PM ET: Yahoo is reporting that a police spokesperson said Trooper were in the station for a training exercise when the shooting began.
Additionally, they report that Virginia State Police have released the following statement:
At approximately 2:45 p.m., a Virginia State Police officer encountered a "male subject" just inside the entranceway, a police spokeswoman said at a press briefing Thursday afternoon. The man shot the trooper at point-blank range, and two state troopers standing nearby returned fire. The suspect was the trooper were transported to VCU Medical Center with life-threatening injuries. The suspect was pronounced dead, and officials are working to notify the officer's next of kin. Two other civilians wounded in the shooting were transported to the same medical center with what were described as non-life-threatening injuries.
UPDATE 7:00 PM ET: According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the trooper has succumbed to his injuries. Trooper Chad Dermyer, 37, was Marine Corps veteran and graduated from the state police academy in 2004. He was married and had two children. Two civilians were also injured in the shooting with "non-life-threatening injuries."
This is officially the year to re-live the O.J. Simpson "Trial of the Century," as Martin Sheen is now getting involved with a new series centered on the case.
Sheen has been slated the executive produce a new true crime series called Hard Evidence: O.J. Is Innocent, according to a new Hollywood Reporter post. The docuseries is slated to air on Investigation Discovery (ID) and will air in six parts. A premiere date is tentatively scheduled for early 2017.
ID Group president Henry Schleiff says in the report that the docuseries provides some compelling evidence that could suggest Simpson is indeed innocent in the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman.
"Like most others I had always believed that the evidence showed that [O.J.] did it," Schleiff says. "I went into this with a tremendous amount of doubt and cynicism, but this is so amazingly convincing that when you do connect the dots and look at the new evidence, it made me accept the fact that O.J. could actually be innocent."
The evidence has been compiled by Texas private investigator William C. Dear, who has been studying the case since it began two decades ago. Dear's book, O.J. Is Innocent and I Can Prove It, is being used as a primary source for the series.
Sheen, who will also narrate the series, says that it will try to provide answers for three important questions: "What if there were enough evidence that proved O.J. Simpson did not murder his ex-wife Nicole or Ron Goldman? What if the real killer were still at large? And finally, what if a grand jury convened to reconsider the case based on new evidence?"
Hard Evidence: O.J. Is Innocent comes after renewed interest in the Simpson case. The current FX miniseries American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson has been one of the most talked about TV events of the year, with a star-studded cast and rave reviews.
ESPN is also getting in on the action with a new docuseries called O.J.: Made in America, which is set to air this summer.
Five decades ago Babasaheb Ambedkar had disowned the Constitution and condemned it as a useless document. Today, with the right wing trampling on the spirit of the Constitution even while celebrating Ambedkar as the architect of the document, his denunciatory words ring true.
Babasaheb Ambedkar once said, We built a temple for god to come in... but before the god could be installed ...the devil had taken possession of it. His words were in explanation of an earlier outburst in the Rajya Sabha, where Ambedkar denounced those who called him the architect of the Constitution. By this time Ambedkar had not only disowned the Constitutionaccusing the Congress of having used him as a hackbut also condemned the document as useless.
The devilry of the rulers has grown manifold, since then. If Ambedkar had been around in the past few months, he would have either given up his life in disgust like Rohith Vemula of University of Hyderabad (HCU) or got charged for sedition and being anti-national like Kanhaiya Kumar of Jawaharlal Nehru University.
A landmark report calling for radical reform of the Medical Council of India is welcomed by leading doctors in The BMJ this week.
Dr Sanjay Nagral, a consultant surgeon at Jaslok Hospital in Mumbai, and colleagues say the recent standing committee report to the Indian parliament "lays bare the Medical Council of India's (MCI) failure to oversee quality and integrity in health services in the country."
In 2014, The BMJ launched a campaign against corruption that sparked global interest in the rampant practices of kickbacks for referrals, revenue targets in corporate hospitals, and capitation fees in private medical colleges in India.
"For those of us in the medical profession in India who have been despairing of the state of affairs, this report is a long awaited panacea," they write.
The MCI was established under the Indian Medical Council Act 1933 and given responsibility for maintaining standards of medical education, providing ethical oversight, maintaining the medical register, and, through amendments in 1993, sanctioning medical colleges, they explain.
It has, however, been much criticised and was temporarily dissolved in 2010 after charges of corruption.
The MCI is also guilty of inaction on numerous ethical transgressions that accompany healthcare in India and of hounding whistleblowers who have attempted to raise these problems, they add.
Its policies "have been coloured by those with vested interests, leading to a lack of uniform standards in undergraduate and postgraduate medical education and mushrooming of private medical institutions, which are run as business ventures," they argue.
The MCI has also "failed to create a rigorous transparent system for accrediting medical colleges, leading to geographical maldistribution and creation of "ghost faculties" in private medical colleges."
Dr Nagral and colleagues say the committee "must be lauded for its thorough analysis of the state of healthcare in the country and paving the way for radical reform." But they warn that it overlooks, "the complicity of ruling politicians, many of whom own private medical colleges."
They believe that the ruling party "will have to muster strong political support to act on the committee's recommendations as this will inevitably involve hurting well entrenched and powerful interests."
And they call on "sustained pressure from the medical community, activists, civil society organisations, and the media" to avoid the report remaining "under consideration" by the health ministry forever.
"For the citizens of India strained by the dual burden of expensive and unethical healthcare, the report could be a powerful tool in their struggle to make the healthcare system deliver their needs," they conclude.
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HOUSTON - (March 31, 2016) - Rice University scientists have determined that two-dimensional boron is a natural low-temperature superconductor. In fact, it may be the only 2-D material with such potential.
Rice theoretical physicist Boris Yakobson and his co-workers published their calculations that show atomically flat boron is metallic and will transmit electrons with no resistance. The work appears this month in the American Chemical Society journal Nano Letters.
The hitch, as with most superconducting materials, is that it loses its resistivity only when very cold, in this case between 10 and 20 kelvins (roughly, minus-430 degrees Fahrenheit). But for making very small superconducting circuits, it might be the only game in town.
The basic phenomenon of superconductivity has been known for more than 100 years, said Evgeni Penev, a research scientist in the Yakobson group, but had not been tested for its presence in atomically flat boron.
"It's well-known that the material is pretty light because the atomic mass is small," Penev said. "If it's metallic too, these are two major prerequisites for superconductivity. That means at low temperatures, electrons can pair up in a kind of dance in the crystal."
"Lower dimensionality is also helpful," Yakobson said. "It may be the only, or one of very few, two-dimensional metals. So there are three factors that gave the initial motivation for us to pursue the research. Then we just got more and more excited as we got into it."
Electrons with opposite momenta and spins effectively become Cooper pairs; they attract each other at low temperatures with the help of lattice vibrations, the so-called "phonons," and give the material its superconducting properties, Penev said. "Superconductivity becomes a manifestation of the macroscopic wave function that describes the whole sample. It's an amazing phenomenon," he said.
It wasn't entirely by chance that the first theoretical paper establishing conductivity in a 2-D material appeared at roughly the same time the first samples of the material were made by laboratories in the United States and China. In fact, an earlier paper by the Yakobson group had offered a road map for doing so.
That 2-D boron has now been produced is a good thing, according to Yakobson and lead authors Penev and Alex Kutana, a postdoctoral researcher at Rice. "We've been working to characterize boron for years, from cage clusters to nanotubes to planer sheets, but the fact that these papers appeared so close together means these labs can now test our theories," Yakobson said.
"In principle, this work could have been done three years ago as well," he said. "So why didn't we? Because the material remained hypothetical; okay, theoretically possible, but we didn't have a good reason to carry it too far.
"But then last fall it became clear from professional meetings and interactions that it can be made. Now those papers are published. When you think it's coming for real, the next level of exploration becomes more justifiable," Yakobson said.
Boron atoms can make more than one pattern when coming together as a 2-D material, another characteristic predicted by Yakobson and his team that has now come to fruition. These patterns, known as polymorphs, may allow researchers to tune the material's conductivity "just by picking a selective arrangement of the hexagonal holes," Penev said.
He also noted boron's qualities were hinted at when researchers discovered more than a decade ago that magnesium diborite is a high-temperature electron-phonon superconductor. "People realized a long time ago the superconductivity is due to the boron layer," Penev said. "The magnesium acts to dope the material by spilling some electrons into the boron layer. In this case, we don't need them because the 2-D boron is already metallic."
Penev suggested that isolating 2-D boron between layers of inert hexagonal boron nitride (aka "white graphene") might help stabilize its superconducting nature.
Without the availability of a block of time on several large government supercomputers, the study would have taken a lot longer, Yakobson said. "Alex did the heavy lifting on the computational work," he said. "To turn it from a lunchtime discussion into a real quantitative research result took a very big effort."
The paper is the first by Yakobson's group on the topic of superconductivity, though Penev is a published author on the subject. "I started working on superconductivity in 1993, but it was always kind of a hobby, and I hadn't done anything on the topic in 10 years," Penev said. "So this paper brings it full circle."
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The work was supported by the Office of Naval Research and by the Department of Energy Office of Basic Energy Sciences. The researchers utilized the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center supported by the Department of Energy Office of Science, and the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Supercomputing Resource Center supported by the Department of Defense.
Read the abstract at http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6b00070
This news release can be found online at http://news.rice.edu/2016/03/30/flat-boron-is-a-superconductor/
Follow Rice News and Media Relations via Twitter @RiceUNews.
Related Materials:
Yakobson Research Group: http://biygroup.blogs.rice.edu
George R. Brown School of Engineering: http://engr.rice.edu
Images for download:
http://news.rice.edu/files/2016/03/0402_SUPER-1-web-1ysmuqe.jpg
Electrons with opposite momenta and spins pair up via lattice vibrations at low temperatures in two-dimensional boron and give it superconducting properties, according to new research by theoretical physicists at Rice University. (Credit: Evgeni Penev/Rice University)
http://news.rice.edu/files/2016/03/0402_SUPER-2-web-1sjicvt.jpg
Rice University scientists have determined that two-dimensional boron is a natural low-temperature superconductor. It may be the only 2-D material with such potential. From left: Evgeni Penev, Alex Kutana and Boris Yakobson. (Credit: Jeff Fitlow/Rice University)
Located on a 300-acre forested campus in Houston, Rice University is consistently ranked among the nation's top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has highly respected schools of Architecture, Business, Continuing Studies, Engineering, Humanities, Music, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences and is home to the Baker Institute for Public Policy. With 3,910 undergraduates and 2,809 graduate students, Rice's undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is 6-to-1. Its residential college system builds close-knit communities and lifelong friendships, just one reason why Rice is ranked No. 1 for best quality of life and for lots of race/class interaction by the Princeton Review. Rice is also rated as a best value among private universities by Kiplinger's Personal Finance. To read "What they're saying about Rice," go to http://tinyurl.com/AboutRiceUniversity.
David Ruth
713-348-6327
david@rice.edu
Mike Williams
713-348-6728
mikewilliams@rice.edu
ATLANTA - April 1, 2016- The American Cancer Society, the largest non-government, not-for-profit funding source of cancer research in the United States, has approved funding for 103 research and training grants totaling nearly $44 million in the first of two grant cycles for 2016. The grants will fund investigators at 74 institutions across the United States; 95 are new grants while eight are renewals of previous grants. The grants go into effect July 1, 2016.
Among the new awards is a new American Cancer Society Research Professor Award, focusing on immunotherapy. Thomas Gajewski, MD, PhD of the University of Chicago will receive the first American Cancer Society-Jules L. Plangere Jr. Family Foundation Professor in Cancer Immunotherapy. Dr. Gajewski's lab will receive $80,000 per year for five years to study the use of integrative genomics to identify resistance in immunotherapy.
Other highlights of the current cycle:
Sarah Deng, PhD of New York University School of Medicine will study a not well-understood DNA repair pathway called alt-NHEJ. Studies suggest that errors by alt-NHEJ may be involved in the progression of cancer, and in shaping the mutational landscape that causes chemotherapy drug resistance.
Eric Hastie, PhD at Duke University will study finger-like structures called invadopodia that extend from cells and appear to contribute to metastasis, the process by which cancer spreads throughout the body. His team hopes to advance understanding of the process and potentially lead to new therapeutic strategies to halt invasion in metastatic cancer.
Kimberly Pyke-Grimm, MN at the University of California, San Francisco: With her Scholarship Grant, Pyke-Grimm plans to develop a program of research focusing on treatment decision making by Adolescents and Young Adults (AYA) with cancer within the context of family. Cancer will affect approximately 78,800 people between the ages of 15 and 39 years every year in the U.S. Research shows that non-adherence to treatment in AYAs can be as high as 60% and can lead to a higher risk of cancer relapse and even death.
Eric R. Welin, PhD at the California Institute of Technology hopes to develop a complete chemical synthesis for jorumycin, a recently-identified compound found in nature that has strong anti-tumor activity. To do the necessary safety and efficacy testing of a cancer drug, a metric ton of biological material would be required to isolate one gram of natural product. In contrast, laboratory synthesis of the compound can readily provide sufficient amounts of the drug candidate for further biological evaluation and testing in people. Jorumycin and possibly analogs might be used for the treatment of breast, lung, liver, colon, ovarian, and other cancers.
Aimee Lucas, MD, at the Icahn School of Medicine will lead a team studying pancreatic cancer screening in high-risk individuals. Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States. Eight out of ten patients are diagnosed late, with inoperable, advanced-stage disease. While screening is not currently recommended in the general population, people at higher risk for pancreatic cancer may benefit from screening. Dr. Lucas and team will evaluate the harms and benefits of pancreas cancer screening in high-risk individuals with the hope of determining the optimal screening strategy for an important and understudied population.
Since 1946, the American Cancer Society has funded research and training of health professionals to investigate the causes, prevention, and early detection of cancer, as well as new treatments, cancer survivorship, and end of life support for patients and their families. In those 70 years, the American Cancer Society's extramural research grants program has devoted more than $4.3 billion to cancer research and has funded 47 Nobel Prize winners.
The Council for Extramural Research also approved 80 grant applications for funding, totaling nearly $44 million that could not be funded due to budgetary constraints. These "pay-if" grants represent work that passed the Society's multi-disciplinary review process but are beyond the Society's current funding resources. These "pay-if" grants can be and often are subsidized by donors who wish to support research that would not otherwise be funded. In 2015, more than $11 million in additional funding helped finance 34 "pay-if" grants.
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For more information about the American Cancer Society Research Program, please visit http://www.cancer.org/research.
Rice is a staple food for more than 3.5 billion people worldwide. Meeting the demand for high-yielding rice is an urgent task for breeders. Superior, high-yielding hybrid plants are often produced by crossing two diverse parental lines. This task is quite complicated in rice, a self-pollinating plant. One approach to solving this problem originated in the 1970s, when Chinese scientists figured out how to produce male sterile (MS) rice lines. The use of MS lines allows breeders to perform controlled pollination, leading to successful hybrid rice production. Unfortunately, in these MS lines, the panicle (flower head) often remains enclosed in the surrounding leaf sheath because the region of the stem that supports it (the uppermost internode) is short, leading to blocked pollination and reduced seed production. To allow panicles to elongate and emerge from the leaf sheath, breeders use rice plants with a mutation in the gene ELONGATED UPPERMOST INTERNODE1 (EUI1), which encodes an enzyme that deactivates the plant hormone gibberellin (GA). This deactivation allows GA to stimulate uppermost internode extension, leading to panicle extension, as well as increased plant height. Understanding what regulates the enzyme EUI1 in normal (wild type) plants is crucial, as according to Dr. Chengcai Chu of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, "A further understanding of the molecular mechanism through which EUI1 activity is regulated during development will provide a more flexible way to fine-tune panicle extension, which may greatly help breeders improve hybrid rice seed production".
By isolating and exhaustively analyzing a dwarf mutant with impaired panicle extension, Dr. Chu and colleagues uncovered a critical regulator of EUI1 gene expression in rice, as discussed in this week's issue of The Plant Cell. This regulator, HOX12, binds directly to regulatory elements of the EUI1 gene, functioning as a transcription factor, or central regulator. The scientists propose that HOX12 helps regulate plant growth in response to environmental cues through its effect on EUI1, which acts as a switch to regulate the migration of floral-derived GA from the panicle to the stem. The next step will be to determine the upstream initiators of the HOX12-EUI1 regulatory cascade and the physiological conditions under which these modulations occur.
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Author:
Jennifer A. Lockhart, PhD jlockhart@aspb.org
Science Editor, The Plant Cell
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1394-8947
Tel: 919-360-7699
This research was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31430063, 91335203), Transgenic Research Program of the Ministry of Agriculture (2014ZX08001-004-001), and the State Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics.
Full citation: Gao, S., Fang, J., Xu, F., Wang, W., and Chu, C. (2016). Rice HOX12 Regulates Panicle Exsertion by Directly Modulating the Expression of ELONGATED UPPERMOST INTERNODE1. Plant Cell 10.1105/tpc.15.01021.
Publication date: March 14, 2016, at http://www.plantcell.org/content/early/2016/03/14/tpc.15.01021.full.pdf+html
About the researchers: To arrange an interview with Dr. Chengcai Chu of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, please contact ccchu@genetics.ac.cn
About The Plant Cell: Published monthly by ASPB, The Plant Cell is the highest-ranking primary research journal in plant biology. The Plant Cell publishes novel research in plant biology, especially in the areas of cellular biology, molecular biology, genetics, development, and evolution. The primary criteria for publication are that the article provides new insight that is of broad interest to plant biologists, not only to specialists, and that the presentation of results is appropriate for a wide audience.
About ASPB: ASPB is a professional scientific society, headquartered in Rockville, Maryland, devoted to the advancement of the plant sciences worldwide. With a membership of almost 5000 plant scientists from throughout the United States and more than 50 other nations, the Society publishes two of the most widely cited plant science journals: The Plant Cell and Plant Physiology. For more information about ASPB, please visit http://www.aspb.org/. Also follow ASPB on Facebook at facebook.com/myASPB and on Twitter @ASPB.
Figure credit: Nam-Chon Paek, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Restrictions: Use for noncommercial, educational purposes is granted without written permission. Please include a citation and acknowledge ASPB as copyright holder. For all other uses, contact diane@aspb.org.
Key words: Crop yield, plant science, rice, agriculture, plant development, hybrid
Kyoto, Japan -- Men: if all they do is eat, without an ability to produce babies, what long term benefit are they to society?
Human males may beg to differ with such a bleak assessment, but for organisms with an option to procreate asexually (essentially females breeding females without mating), supporting 'non-reproductive' members of the population (males) becomes a matter of survival for the entire society.
Now a Kyoto University research team has shown that males can 'cost' less when there is a higher proportion of females, a result that may have broad implications for studies of the evolution and sustainability of sexual reproduction.
"It is typically known as the twofold cost of sex," explains team leader Kazuya Kobayashi, referring to the fact that populations of sexual organisms grow at only half the rate of asexual ones. "Purely in numerical terms, sexual reproduction presents a distinct disadvantage."
But is the cost of supporting males really twofold?
"The dominance of sexual reproduction in the natural world is one of the great enigmas of evolutionary biology," continues Kobayashi. "The fact that it persists in most organisms is an indication that its benefits outweigh the cost of supporting males. We wanted to quantify this difference."
Kobayashi and a colleague studied a variety of thunderbug, or onion thrips (Thrips tabaci), which has sexual and asexual strains that can be found residing on the same plant. They conjectured that the sexual strain could increase its population, and thereby increase its competitiveness against the asexual strain, by lowering its ratio of males.
Using field studies as well a computer simulations, the team was able to demonstrate how lowering the cost of males boosted the sexual strain's competitive advantage.
"When males cost less, the net-benefit of sexual reproduction increases," says Kobayashi, adding that although many questions remain to be answered, "we anticipate that this finding will contribute to solving the puzzle of nature's preference for sexual reproduction."
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The paper "A female-biased sex ratio reduces the twofold cost of sex" appeared 1 April 2016 in Scientific Reports, with doi: 10.1038/srep23982
Kyoto University is one of Japan and Asia's premier research institutions, founded in 1897 and responsible for producing numerous Nobel laureates and winners of other prestigious international prizes. A broad curriculum across the arts and sciences at both undergraduate and graduate levels is complemented by numerous research centers, as well as facilities and offices around Japan and the world. For more information please see: http://www.kyoto-u.ac.jp/en
A research group led by Kobe University Professor MORIOKA Ichiro (Graduate School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics), Associate Professor OSAWA Kayo (Graduate School of Health Sciences, Department of Biophysics), and Clinical Technologist SATO Itsuko (Kobe University Hospital, Department of Clinical Laboratory) is proposing a new criterion for diagnosis of bacterial infection in preterm infants. Using this method could lead to early diagnosis and treatment for bacterial infection and improve the prognosis for preterm infants. These findings will be published in the online version of the journal Scientific Reports on April 1, 2016.
Infants born prematurely do not have fully developed immune functions. Compared to full-term infants, if preterm infants suffer a bacterial infection there is a higher chance of fatality or negative impact on future growth and development. However, in the case of preterm infants, it can sometimes be hard to detect the signs of bacterial infection visible in adults and other infants: fever, white blood cell count, and increase in C-reactive protein (CRP). An alternative method was needed to detect infection.
Professor Morioka's research group focused on monitoring serum concentrations of procalcitonin (PCT), a marker used for early detection of bacterial infection in adults and children. Between June and December 2014, they examined 1267 serums from 283 newborns at the neonatal intensive care unit in Kobe University Hospital. The results demonstrated that PCT levels in full-term infants rose temporarily 1 day after birth, returning to the normal level for adults within 5 days (0.1ng/mL). However, for preterm infants it took 9 days after birth for PCT to return to normal levels.
Based on these results, the group plotted two reference curves: 50th percentile and 90th percentile values. When they superimposed 3 cases of preterm infants with bacterial infection on these curves, it clearly showed that in all three cases the serum PCT concentrations were higher than the 95th percentile values.
Use of this new criterion for detection of bacterial infection in preterm infants could help to improve their prognosis. "We could also potentially use this method to limit unnecessary use of antibacterial agents" commented Professor Morioka. "Our next step is to verify the precision of diagnoses based on these reference curves."
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The world is run by catalysts. They clean up after cars, help make fertilizers, and could be the key to better hydrogen fuel. Now, a team of chemists, led by Xiaohu Xia from Michigan Technological University, has found a better way to make metal nanoframe catalysts.
Last week, Nano Letters published the team's study, which covers how the researchers made a catalyst for the first time out of the noble metal ruthenium.
The effort brought together a team from Michigan Tech, the Argonne National Laboratory, University of Texas at Dallas, and Temple University. The team's break-through is not limited to ruthenium, however. Xia says the process they developed is most important.
"We are fine-tuning the surface, size, shape and crystal structure," he says. "Our goal is to increase their catalytic activity while reducing the usage of this precious material."
The key is more surface area. Nanoframes, which are nanoparticles with open centers, have an advantage with their gazebo-like atomic arrangements.
Xia adds that not only shape but crystal structure is important, "Because catalytic reactions occur only on the surface of materials, the surface atom arrangement has a great impact on determining the catalytic activity."
In general, ruthenium nanocrystals adopt the hexagonal close-packed (hcp) structure. But Xia and his team came up with an elegant solution for making ruthenium nanocrystals with another structure: face-centered cubic (fcc) structure.
The process involves two steps, growth and etching. Basically, hcp ruthenium doesn't naturally grow in a crystal structure that can be made into a nanoframe. So, the team directed ruthenium growth on a palladium seed with an fcc structure, which the ruthenium replicated. Then they removed the palladium core, leaving behind an fcc ruthenium nanoframe.
To ensure the material had catalytic potential, the team ran the ruthenium nanoframes through several diagnostic tests: the reduction of p-nitrophenol by NaBH4 and the dehydrogenation of ammonia borane. While more data is needed to quantify how well ruthenium holds up against existing metal catalysts, Xia says the results from their experiments are promising.
Once the material has been vetted, researchers will be able to start applying the catalyst to several big challenges. Namely, Xia says that ruthenium nanoframes and other catalysts with unique crystal structures could improve hydrogen fuel production and carbon storage.
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The National Science Foundation (NSF) today announced that it has renewed a cooperative agreement with the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison) to operate the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, a massive particle detector buried deep in the ice beneath the South Pole.
In 2013, IceCube researchers made an important contribution to astrophysics when they reported the first detection of high energy cosmic neutrinos, opening a new astronomical window to the universe and some of its most violent phenomena.
The five-year, $35 million cooperative agreement calls for the continued operation and management of the observatory, which is located at NSF's Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. The agreement begins April 1, and may be renewed for another five-year period if the detector and collaboration continue to operate successfully.
Funding for IceCube comes through an award from the Division of Polar Programs in NSF's Geosciences Directorate and from the Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS) Division of Physics.
Through the Division of Polar Programs, NSF manages the U.S. Antarctic Program that supports researchers at universities throughout the country. The program also provides infrastructure to support researchers in the field.
"NSF is excited to support the science made possible by the IceCube Observatory because it's at the cutting edge of discovery," said Scott Borg, head of Polar Programs' Antarctic sciences section. "But to make ambitious research of this kind a reality requires cooperation within the agency, which is why we're delighted that our support for IceCube is in partnership with MPS. It's also science on a global scale, relying on strong international cooperation to be successful."
The collaboration that operates the IceCube observatory includes individuals representing 47 institutions from 12 different countries. It includes sub-awards to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Pennsylvania State University, the University of Delaware, the University of Maryland, the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa, Michigan State University and the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.
Since IceCube's inception 15 years ago and the completion of its construction five years ago -- centered around a detector array consisting of 5,000 optical sensors frozen in the ice a mile beneath the South Pole -- has been administered through UW-Madison, in recent years under the auspices of the Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center (WIPAC).
"This is extremely good news," says Francis Halzen, a UW-Madison professor of physics and the principal investigator for the project. "Over the years, we have come to know what it takes to successfully operate the detector."
IceCube was the first scientific instrument to detect ultra high-energy neutrinos from beyond our solar system. The neutrinos packed a billion times more energy than those detected in conjunction with the 1987 supernova observed in the Large Magellanic Cloud.
Recent reports from the IceCube collaboration have confirmed the observatory's detection of high-energy neutrinos from beyond our galaxy -- so-called cosmic neutrinos.
Neutrinos are nearly massless particles created in nuclear reactions and. In nature, they are created by some of the most energetic events in the universe. Scientists believe colliding black holes, the violent cores of galaxies, supernovas and pulsars accelerate neutrinos, many billions of which pass through the Earth every second.
Because they have almost no mass and rarely interact with matter, they are extremely difficult to detect and require instruments the size of IceCube -- which occupies a cubic kilometer of Antarctic ice -- to capture the fleeting bursts of light created when the occasional neutrino crashes into another particle.
But the elusive qualities that make neutrinos so hard to detect also make them interesting to scientists. Since the particles glide through space unhindered by stars, planets and the powerful magnetic fields that pock the universe, they remain virtually pristine and harbor valuable clues about their yet-to-be-confirmed sources.
IceCube has proven a workhorse of a telescope, according to Halzen. It remains operational 99 percent of the time, and has so far detected more than a million neutrinos -- "A few hundred of which are astronomically interesting," Halzen said.
"Five years ago, it was about discovering cosmic neutrinos. Now it's about doing astronomy and particle physics with them," notes Halzen of the quest to follow the particles' tracks back to their sources, a feat yet to be accomplished.
Olga Botner, the IceCube collaboration spokesperson and a professor of physics and astronomy at Sweden's Uppsala University, said that "All over the world, IceCube is considered the flagship of neutrino astronomy."
"IceCube's discovery of extraterrestrial neutrinos is a major breakthrough and a crucial first step into as yet unexplored parts of our violent universe," she said. "It also represents a step towards the realization of a 50 years old dream -- to figure out what cosmic upheavals create the ultra-high energy cosmic rays, detected on Earth with energies millions of times larger than those achievable by even the most powerful man-made accelerators."
Headquartered at UW-Madison, IceCube includes a staff of nearly 60 scientists, engineers and technicians in Madison.
"There are many technical challenges underlying the operation of a large neutrino observatory at the South Pole, that would be hard to anticipate," says Kael Hanson, IceCube's director of operations and a UW-Madison professor of physics.
IceCube's complexity, ability to gather large data sets, and standing among the world's frontline astrophysical detectors makes it a contributor to emerging computational technologies for managing and analyzing novel scientific information.
Halzen says the performance of the IceCube detector has steadily improved and a key goal will be to speed up the analysis of neutrinos of interest in order to quickly alert other observatories.
"We're going to detect interesting neutrinos in real time and we can send word to other observatories," Halzen said. "If we can do it in real time, we can be much more effective and we can alert, for example, optical observatories and other detectors" for combined observing.
If neutrino detectors, and possibly also gravitational wave detectors, can provide early warnings to other telescopes, "We might have the astronomical event of the 21st century," Halzen said.
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The Global Precipitation Measurement, or GPM, mission core satellite, a joint mission between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, measured heavy rainfall in severe storms early on Friday, April 1, in the southern U.S.
Over the last few days tornado spawning thunderstorms have occurred in the states of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Indiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. Large hail, damaging winds and flash flooding associated with a frontal system moving across the United States have compounded the damage from these storms. Hail the size of a half-dollar was reported near Jackson, Louisiana, on Thursday evening, March 31.
The GPM core observatory satellite flew over this stormy area on March 31, 2016, at 10:41 p.m. EDT (April 1, 2016, 2:41 a.m. UTC). Tornadoes were reported in Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia during the evening. A tornado was reported near Hartselle, Alabama, less than an hour before the satellite passed over. A rainfall analysis was derived from data collected by GPM's Microwave Imager (GMI) and Dual-Frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) instruments. The GPM radar (DPR) measured rain falling at the extreme rate of more than 91 mm (3.6 inches) per hour in a powerful storm east of Chattanooga, Tennessee.
At NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, data from the GPM satellite's radar (GPM Ku band) were used to reveal the three dimensional structure of precipitation in storms beneath the satellite. GPM's radar found that storm tops in Alabama were reaching heights above 12 km (7.4) miles. The locations of intense storms were also revealed by this 3-D slice which shows radar echoes greater than 25 dBZ (decibels Z).
The National Weather Service Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland, issued their Short Range Forecast Discussion at 1:28 a.m. EDT on April 1. The discussion called for heavy rain and strong thunderstorms in the southeastern U.S. states over the course of the day. The NWS discussion said: A cold front crossing the East Coast tonight is expected to bring numerous showers and storms from the Northeast to Florida. Some of these thunderstorms may be severe across portions of the southeastern U.S. through early Saturday, April 2. There is also the possibility of some flash flooding in this same general area where one to three inches of rainfall will be possible, with locally higher amounts. For more information on U.S. forecasts visit: http://www.weather.gov/.
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For more information about GPM, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/gpm
WASHINGTON-- The Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE) proudly announces the publication of Health Education & Behavior's (HE&B) supplement, "Noncommunicable Diseases in Africa and the Global South." Co-edited by Collins Airhihenbuwa, PhD, and Gbenga Ogedegbe, MD, the supplement includes 13 peer-reviewed articles devoted to the rise of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), including hypertension and heart disease, in Africa and other regions in the Global South, and promising solutions to prevent and reduce the prevalence of chronic diseases in areas still struggling with the rampant spread of infectious diseases.
Although communicable diseases such as Ebola and HIV/AIDS take a significant toll of lives throughout Africa and the Global South, the most common cause of mortality in low- and middle-income countries is chronic disease-particularly heart disease and diabetes. According to the World Health Organization's (WHO) Regional Office for Africa, NCDs are expected to account for an estimated 46% of deaths in the African region by 2030.
Co-guest editor Gbenga Ogedegbe, MD, professor of population health and medicine at New York University, recognizes that hypertension and other NCDs are "largely asymptomatic" diseases and thus emphasizes the importance of context and awareness. Three important factors play a critical role in the growing epidemic of NCDs in Africa: the significant rise in the spread of infectious disease; an acute shortage of healthcare workers; and a lack of investment in the healthcare system.
In the corresponding podcast, Ogedegbe and Airhihenbuwa, who is dean of the College of Public Health and Social Justice at Saint Louis University, highlight the interplay of these three factors and potential solutions to address them. "Unlike what we see in the United States and other Global North regions," Airhihenbuwa states, "the NCD burden [in Africa] coexists with the existing burden of infectious disease ... and therefore [requires] a higher sense of urgency" on the part of healthcare providers. The spread of infectious disease, in conjunction with the burden of NCDs, creates a "double burden" and is particularly draining on Africa's already weak healthcare system. Despite the disproportionately higher burden of NCDs in Africa compared to other continents, almost all African countries spend less than 6% of their budgets on health care, resulting in a drastic shortage of healthcare workers and reduced access to care.
Addressing the global burden of NCDs and promoting health equity will require public health researchers, policymakers and practitioners to explore and employ a "multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary approach" through "policy, institutional structures and behavior," Airhihenbuwa emphasizes. Ogedegbe points to "task shifting," or the relegation of "duties that are typically and traditionally handled by physicians to non-physician healthcare workers," as a proven strategy to address the shortage of healthcare workers and control the NCD epidemic.
This supplement brings the aforementioned approaches, as well as NCDs in Africa and the Global South, to the forefront of the global agenda. One article points to the role of leadership and research capacity-building to promote and advance global health and substantially improve the health status of Africans. Another article suggests that the growing burden of NCDs can be reduced by "expanding the practice of health education" and "[modifying] the practices of corporations as well as individuals." A third study underscores the need for "policies targeted at specific socio-economic and demographic groups" and interventions that "embrace psycho-social factors as important correlates of cardiovascular health."
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All articles in the HE&B supplemental issue are provided through open access at http://heb.sagepub.com/content/43/1_suppl.toc. Information on related podcasts and webinars are available at http://heb.sagepub.com. Follow SOPHE and Health Education & Behavior on Twitter: @SOPHEtweets, #HEB #SOPHEJOURNALS.
This supplement was supported by funding to SOPHE from SAGE Publications, with additional support from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI).
About Health Education & Behavior (HE&B)
Health Education & Behavior explores social and behavioral change as they affect health status and quality of life. It also examines the processes of planning, implementing, managing, and assessing health education and social-behavioral interventions. The journal provides empirical research, case studies, program evaluations, literature reviews, and discussions of theories of health behavior and health status, as well as strategies to improve social and behavioral health. For more information, visit http://heb.sagepub.com/
About Society for Public Health Education
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Boston, MA--Among reproductive-age women, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) as well as overweight and obesity are independently linked with asthma, new preliminary research from Australia suggests. The results will be presented in a poster Saturday, April 2, at ENDO 2016, the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society, in Boston.
"A greater proportion of women with polycystic ovary syndrome report asthma, and the results of this study suggest that asthma is associated with PCOS and excess weight," said lead author Anju Elizabeth Joham, MBBS, FRACP, an endocrinologist and postdoctoral research fellow at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia.
"These findings highlight that polycystic ovary syndrome is a complex disorder that includes significant inflammatory underpinnings. These results also raise awareness of the need to consider higher risks in other health areas in this condition," Joham said.
Polycystic ovary syndrome is a common ailment among women of childbearing age, but no studies of the relationships of asthma with PCOS and weight have been published to date.
Joham and her colleagues assessed the prevalence of asthma in reproductive-age women. They also investigated the impact of obesity on the prevalence of asthma in the women who had PCOS compared with those who did not have PCOS.
To examine these links, Joham and her colleagues analyzed data from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health (ALSWH), an ongoing national periodic survey that has been following more than 58,000 Australian women of various ages since 1996 and periodically collecting data from them about the factors that influence their health.
The researchers randomly selected the survey responses of 9,145 women about their polycystic ovary syndrome and asthma status. Among the women aged 28 to 33 years, PCOS prevalence was 5.8%. Among the women reporting PCOS, asthma prevalence was 15.2% compared with 10.6% among those not reporting PCOS.
The study showed that PCOS status and body mass index (BMI) in both the overweight and obese categories were independently associated with asthma.
Of the women reporting asthma, mean BMI was significantly higher in those reporting PCOS compared with those not reporting PCOS. Polycystic ovary syndrome was associated with increased odds of asthma. BMI in the overweight and obese ranges was also associated with increased odds of asthma.
"The results of this observational study need to be confirmed with results in other populations, and exploration of these relationships in longitudinal studies is needed," Joham said.
The study is based on research conducted as part of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health.
The Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing and the Medical Research Council funded the study.
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Endocrinologists are at the core of solving the most pressing health problems of our time, from diabetes and obesity to infertility, bone health, and hormone-related cancers. The Endocrine Society is the world's oldest and largest organization of scientists devoted to hormone research and physicians who care for people with hormone-related conditions.
The Society, which is celebrating its centennial in 2016, has more than 18,000 members, including scientists, physicians, educators, nurses and students in 122 countries. To learn more about the Society and the field of endocrinology, visit our site at http://www.endocrine.org. Follow us on Twitter at @TheEndoSociety and @EndoMedia.
Boston, MA-- A new study of African-American infants finds that those who feed more vigorously at 1 month of age have higher weight at 4 months, which may be associated with a later risk for obesity. Researchers will present their study findings Friday at the Endocrine Society's 98th annual meeting in Boston.
"Infants should double their birth weight by 4 months of age on average, but some babies gain weight more rapidly than others," said the study's presenting author, Sani Roy, MD, a pediatric endocrinology fellow at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "Past research shows that rapid weight gain in the first four months of life is associated with a greater risk of obesity by young adulthood."
Because African Americans have among the highest U.S. rates of adulthood obesity, Roy and her colleagues studied African-American infants, specifically 53 healthy, full-term babies who are participating in the Infant Growth and Microbiome Study. This National Institutes of Health-funded study, which is being conducted at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, is evaluating maternal and infant factors contributing to growth during the first two years of life in African-American infants.
"Although birth weight and infant feeding practices are known risk factors for obesity, it is not clear whether an infant's intensity of sucking while feeding is a factor," said Roy, who is a 2015 recipient of the Endocrine Society's Endocrine Scholars Award in Growth Hormone Research.
Such information is important, according to the study's principal investigator, Babette Zemel, PhD, of The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "Preventing obesity early on is more effective than treating obesity once it occurs," she said.
In this preliminary study, the researchers evaluated the infants' sucking intensity, which is the maximal sucking pressure and the number of sucks on a baby bottle in a two-minute period. They used a standardized test developed at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia called the Neonur feeding device. This device uses a flow sensor attached to the nipple of a baby bottle filled with the infant's formula or mother's breast milk. The infants--25 males and 28 females--had this test when they were 1 month old. At that age, 26 of the 53 infants were receiving only formula, and the rest received some or exclusively breast milk, although three months later, 39 infants were receiving only formula.
The researchers also assessed infants' body composition and body fat at 1 and 3 months of age, and weighed the babies again at 4 months. About half of the infants had obese mothers.
Results showed that higher maximal sucking pressure at 1 month of age was significantly and positively associated with greater weight gain from birth to 4 months. A higher number of sucks, the investigators reported, also predicted greater weight gain from birth to 4 months of age after statistical analyses adjusted for birth weight. However, both infant sucking measures had only marginal effects on the amount of body fat at 1 month and no effect at 3 months.
Whether early feeding behavior remains a marker for excess weight gain in the first two years of life is currently under study, Roy said. "It will be interesting to see if these differences hold up with time in this group at high risk of obesity," she commented.
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Endocrinologists are at the core of solving the most pressing health problems of our time, from diabetes and obesity to infertility, bone health, and hormone-related cancers. The Endocrine Society is the world's oldest and largest organization of scientists devoted to hormone research and physicians who care for people with hormone-related conditions.
The Society, which is celebrating its centennial in 2016, has more than 18,000 members, including scientists, physicians, educators, nurses and students in 122 countries. To learn more about the Society and the field of endocrinology, visit our site at http://www.endocrine.org. Follow us on Twitter at @TheEndoSociety and @EndoMedia.
Boston, MA-- Elderly adults are bigger around the middle when they turn up the heat inside their homes during the cold season and have smaller waistlines when their homes stay cool, new research finds. Investigators from Japan will present their study results Friday at the Endocrine Society's 98th annual meeting in Boston.
"Although cold exposure may be a trigger of cardiovascular disease, our data suggest that safe and appropriate cold exposure may be an effective preventive measure against obesity," said the study's lead investigator, Keigo Saeki, MD, PhD, of Nara Medical University School of Medicine Department of Community Health and Epidemiology, Nara, Japan.
Cold exposure activates thermogenesis, to generate body heat, in brown fat. This type of fat is the good calorie-burning fat that prior research found most humans have. However, Saeki said the association between the amount of cold exposure and obesity in real life remains unclear.
He and his colleagues used data from 1,103 participants in the HEIJO-KYO study, a community-based study in Japan, to investigate the association between housing environment and health in home-dwelling older adults. The participants had an average age of 72, and all stayed home in the daytime. Almost 47 percent of the group were men.
For each year of the study (2010 to 2014), the subjects underwent measurement of their abdominal, or waist, circumference before the study began in October and after it ended in April. Waist circumference measures belly fat and can help predict the risk of developing diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.
Additionally, the researchers measured the participants' indoor home temperature every 10 minutes for one 48-hour period in the daytime during the same cold season. The average temperature outside on the measurement days was about 48 degrees Fahrenheit, or 8.7 degrees Celsius, the investigators reported. Participants were divided into four groups based on their average indoor temperature during the daytime.
Results showed that the 64 participants whose indoor temperatures were lowest (50F or lower/10C or lower) had an average waist circumference of 32 inches (81.3 cm). Their waist measurement was 1.4 inches smaller than that of the 164 participants with the highest housing temperature (68F or higher/20C or higher), whose waistlines measured 33.4 inches (84.9 cm) on average. This difference was statistically significant, according to the researchers, and remained significant when they adjusted for factors including age, sex, physical activity, total calorie intake and socioeconomic status.
According to the U.S. National Institutes of Health, the risk of disease is high with a waist circumference greater than 35 inches for women (88 cm) and more than 40 inches (102 cm) for men.
According to Saeki, to establish a safe and appropriate cold exposure for prevention from obesity, we need further study about the minimum amount of cold exposure to activate calorie-burning brown fat.
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Endocrinologists are at the core of solving the most pressing health problems of our time, from diabetes and obesity to infertility, bone health, and hormone-related cancers. The Endocrine Society is the world's oldest and largest organization of scientists devoted to hormone research and physicians who care for people with hormone-related conditions.
The Society, which is celebrating its centennial in 2016, has more than 18,000 members, including scientists, physicians, educators, nurses and students in 122 countries. To learn more about the Society and the field of endocrinology, visit our site at http://www.endocrine.org. Follow us on Twitter at @TheEndoSociety and @EndoMedia.
Results show people in activity-friendly neighborhoods get up to 90 more minutes of exercise weekly
More walkable neighborhoods, parks and public transit could all reduce your chance of becoming one of the 600 million adults who battle obesity worldwide, according to researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. The study, recently published online in The Lancet, found a neighborhood's design plays a critical role in physical activity and could help reduce non-communicable diseases, such as obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
The International Physical activity and Environment Network Adult Study (IPEN) was conducted in 14 cities around the world. Nearly 7,000 adults ranging from 18 to 65 years old participated by using an accelerometer monitoring system to objectively record moderate-to-vigorous physical activity for approximately one week.
The researchers found that people living in densely populated and walkable neighborhoods with interconnected streets to shops, services, restaurants, public transit and parks got up to 90 minutes of physical activity a week - approximately 60 percent of the 150 minutes recommended.
"We studied neighborhoods ranging in socioeconomic-status and culture. Those built with more activity-supportive environmental features had residents who did more physical activity. For example, transit access is a requirement for living a lifestyle that is less car-dependent and more active because it increases walking to and from the transit facility," said James Sallis, PhD, lead study investigator and Distinguished Professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Public Health at UC San Diego School of Medicine.
Four environmental attributes stood out as having the most impact on physical activity: net residential density, intersection density (connected streets), number of parks and public transit density.
The impact of neighborhood design on health has been studied nationally for years, but Sallis and his team are the first to research the connection worldwide with objective measures. Among the cities where research was conducted were Seattle, Washington; Baltimore, Maryland; Bogota, Colombia; Cuernavaca, Mexico; Wellington, New Zealand; Ghent, Belgium; and Hong Kong, China.
Sallis noted the findings suggest that environmental principles that support physical activity apply internationally, and a comprehensive, collaborative approach is needed when designing neighborhoods.
"The implication is if we want to do something major about the epidemic of physical inactivity, then we need to look outside of the health field to achieve that," said Sallis. "A variety of stakeholders and decision-makers, such as urban planners, elected officials and transportation and park officials, need to come together in an effort to think about how to best use resources to increase activity that could also have environmental and economic benefits."
He said next steps include working with other countries to lead their own studies that will help make changes in how residential areas are built, especially in lower income neighborhoods.
"We hope this study will be used as an educational tool to make for a healthier world one neighborhood at a time," said Sallis.
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Co-authors include Terry L. Conway, PhD; Jacqueline Kerr, PhD; Kelli L. Cain, MA, University of California, San Diego; Ester Cerin, PhD, Deakin University, Australia and the University of Hong Kong; Marc A Adams, PhD, Arizona State University; Lawrence D Frank, PhD, University of British Columbia, Canada; Michael Pratt, MD, Emory University; Deborah Salvo, PhD, University of Texas Health Science Center; Jasper Schipperijn, PhD, University of Southern Denmark; Graham Smith, MA, Staffordshire University, UK; Rachel Davey, PhD, University of Canberra, Australia; Poh-Chin Lai, PhD, the University of Hong King; Josef Mitas, PhD, Palacky University, Czech Republic; Rodrigo Reis, PhD, Pontiff Catholic University and Federal University, Brazil; Olga L Sarmiento, MD, Universidad de los Andes, Columbia; Grant Schofield, PhD, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand; Jens Troelsen, PhD, University of Southern Denmark; Delfien Van Dyck, PhD, Ghent University, Belgium; Ilse De Bourdeaudhuij,PhD, Ghent University, Belgium; Neville Owen, PhD, Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute, Australia.
Funding support for this research came, in part, from the National Cancer Institute (grant CA127296) and National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, with studies in each country funded by different sources.
Full study: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(15)01284-2
For more information on active living research, please visit http://activelivingresearch.org/blog/2016/03/designing-global-cities-active-living
The first results of textile and dye analyses of cloth dated between 400-650 AD and recovered from Samdzong 5, in Upper Mustang, Nepal have today been released by Dr Margarita Gleba of the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge.
Identification of degummed silk fibres and munjeet and Indian lac dyes in the textile finds suggests that imported materials from China and India were used in combination with those locally produced. Says Gleba: "There is no evidence for local silk production suggesting that Samdzong was inserted into the long-distance trade network of the Silk Road."
"The data reinforce the notion that instead of being isolated and remote, Upper Mustang was once a small, but important node of a much larger network of people and places. These textiles can further our understanding of the local textile materials and techniques, as well as the mechanisms through which various communities developed and adapted new textile technologies to fit local cultural and economical needs."
The cloth remains are of further significance as very few contemporary textile finds are known from Nepal. The dry climate and high altitude of the Samdzong tomb complex, at an elevation of 4000 m, favoured the exceptional preservation of the organic materials.
One of the cloth objects recovered is composed of wool fabrics to which copper, glass and cloth beads are attached. It was found near a coffin of an adult along with a spectacular gold/silver funerary mask. The mask has small pinholes around its edges, suggesting it had been sewn to a fabric, and probably constitutes the remains of a complex, decorative headwear.
Samdzong 5 is one of ten shaft tombs excavated by Mark Aldenderfer, (University of California Merced and Visiting Scholar of the McDonald Institute). The tombs were only exposed to view in 2009 following a seismic event that calved off the facade of the cliff, having been originally carved out in prehistory from the soft conglomerate rock of a massive cliff face.
The dye analyses were conducted by Ina Vanden Berghe at the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage.
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HOUSTON, April 1, 2016 - Luis Martinez, a pharmacology doctoral candidate at the University of Houston College of Pharmacy, has earned a spot to present his research on Fragile X Syndrome (FXS) at the 2016 Experimental Biology Meeting April 2-6 in San Diego. Working in the lab of associate professor Maria V. Tejada-Simon, he will present their latest findings on the research into this autism-linked genetic disorder.
Fragile X Syndrome (FXS) is an inherited cause of intellectual disability, especially among boys. It results in a spectrum of intellectual disabilities ranging from mild to severe, as well as physical characteristics, such as an elongated face, large or protruding ears, and large testes. Accompanying behavioral characteristics include stereotypic movements, such as hand-flapping, and social anxiety.
Cognitive impairment in neurodevelopmental disorders like FXS is thought to be due to abnormal neuroplasticity, developmental changes in the brain, which alters synaptic connections. Previous research has suggested that a specific protein in the hippocampus, considered the "seat" of learning and memory, does not migrate to the appropriate spot in mouse models of FXS versus wild-type mice.
Work by Tejada-Simon's lab, as well as other researchers, have found that Rac1 (a protein of the Rho family) plays an important role in synapse formation, with an abnormally high number of synapses occurring in FXS mouse models following the newborn-to-juvenile developmental stages.
"During their developmental aging and growth into juvenile stage, the FXS mouse model - in which Rac1 expression is up-regulated - fail to undergo 'pruning' of the surplus of synapse neural connections," said Martinez, who earned a double-major B.S. in Biology and Biochemistry from UH in 2005. "Yet, we found that by pharmacologically inhibiting Rac1 to prevent its activation and membrane translocation, we were able to rescue cognitive function to improve their learning and memory skills."
Following peer review of Martinez's poster abstract submission, titled "Correcting memory deficits in Fragile X syndrome by targeting Rac1/PAK1 signaling," he was invited to also present their findings in an oral presentation at the Julius Axelrod Symposium, New Vistas on Drug and Gene Therapies of Cognitive Deficits in Down Syndrome, Autism, Leucodystrophies and Alzheimer's Disease. The symposium oral presentation and the poster presentation sessions are both part of the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics' annual meeting, held in conjunction with the Experimental Biology conference.
To support his attendance and research presentations, Martinez received a 2016 Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) Maximizing Access to Research Careers (MARC) Program Travel Award and complementary meeting registration.
Martinez is one of 49 students, post-doctoral fellows and scientists to receive a travel award to the meeting through the program, funded by a grant from the NIH's National Institute of General Medical Sciences. A primary goal of the program is to increase the number and competitiveness of underrepresented groups engaged in biomedical and behavioral research.
One of the largest gatherings of its kind, Experimental Biology is an annual meeting comprising more than 14,000 scientists, undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and exhibitors representing six sponsoring societies and multiple guest societies.
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FASEB is composed of 30 societies with more than 125,000 members, making it the largest coalition of biomedical research associations in the U.S. The organization's mission is to advance health and welfare by promoting progress and education in biological and biomedical sciences through service to its member societies and collaborative advocacy.
Editor's note: Story courtesy of Chip Lambert, College of Pharmacy
About the University of Houston
The University of Houston is a Carnegie-designated Tier One public research university recognized by The Princeton Review as one of the nation's best colleges for undergraduate education. UH serves the globally competitive Houston and Gulf Coast Region by providing world-class faculty, experiential learning and strategic industry partnerships. Located in the nation's fourth-largest city, UH serves more than 42,700 students in the most ethnically and culturally diverse region in the country. For more information about UH, visit the university's newsroom at http://www.uh.edu/news-events/.
About the UH College of Pharmacy
For more than 65 years, the University of Houston College of Pharmacy (UHCOP) has shaped aspiring pharmacists, scientists and researchers. The college offers graduate degrees in pharmacy administration, pharmacology and pharmaceutics, a professional pharmacy degree, combined professional/graduate degrees, and post-graduate residency and fellowship programs. With facilities on the UH campus and in the Texas Medical Center, the UHCOP is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education.
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A University of Texas at Arlington kinesiology professor has received a $1.7 million National Institutes of Health grant to find a solution for thwarting cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure in patients with chronic kidney disease.
Paul Fadel, director of clinical translational science for the College of Nursing and Health Innovation, will use the four-year grant to try to develop a treatment to lower sympathetic nerve activity and blood pressure in patients with chronic kidney disease. High sympathetic nerve activity contributes to hypertension and other deleterious consequences, Fadel said.
More than 26 million American adults have kidney disease, according to the National Kidney Foundation. About 47,000 Americans died of kidney disease in 2013, according to the foundation. Improving health and the human condition is one of the four core themes of UTA's Strategic Plan 2020: Bold Solutions | Global Impact.
Anne Bavier, dean of the College of Nursing and Health Innovation, called Fadel's newest grant a shot in the arm that will accelerated health science research under the strategic plan.
"One in three American adults is at risk for developing kidney disease," Bavier said. "These numbers will go up as our population ages because being over 60 is a risk factor for developing kidney disease. The outcome of Paul's work could go a long way toward putting a dent in this problem."
Fadel, a prominent integrative physiology researcher and expert in neural cardio-vascular control in health and disease, joined the College in fall 2015 from the University of Missouri School of Medicine. Under a separate $376,000 NIH grant, he is working with Kinesiology Department chair and professor David Keller to investigate inherent differences between blacks and whites in blood pressure regulation both during rest and exercise.
Fadel said that contrary to popular belief, most people with kidney disease actually die of cardiovascular disease.
"A big part of that is hypertension," he said, adding that when blood pressure increases it becomes injurious to the kidney.
High sympathetic nerve activity can also lead to cardiac and renal dysfunction independent of elevations in blood pressure.
"We know that patients with chronic kidney disease have high sympathetic nerve activity, but we don't know why," he said. "The purpose of this grant is to help us find out why they have high sympathetic nerve activity. We have designed protocols that will probe the role of asymmetric dimethylarginine, or ADMA, a natural occurring chemical in the body.
"When ADMA is high, we think it causes elevated sympathetic nerve activity," he said. "ADMA inhibits production of nitric oxide, which inhibits sympathetic nerve activity in the brainstem. If you have more nitric oxide, you will have lower sympathetic nerve activity."
Fadel noted that there are five stages of kidney function.
"Stage one is healthy," he said. "Stage five puts you on dialysis. We are studying patients in stages three and four. Our hope is to figure out a treatment and come up with a therapy that will lower their sympathetic nerve activity, improve their outcomes and prevent them from moving on to dialysis."
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About The University of Texas at Arlington
The University of Texas at Arlington is a Carnegie "highest research activity" institution of more than 51,000 students in campus-based and online degree programs and is the second-largest institution in The University of Texas System. U.S. News & World Report ranks UTA fifth in the nation for undergraduate diversity. The University is a Hispanic-Serving Institution and is ranked as the top four-year college in Texas for veterans on Military Times' 2016 Best for Vets list. Visit http://www.uta.edu to learn more, and find UTA rankings and recognition at http://www.uta.edu/uta/about/rankings.php.
TORONTO, April 1, 2016 - A new study by researchers from Denmark and Canada's York University, published in Geophysical Research Letters, has found that the climate models commonly used to simulate melting of the Greenland ice sheet tend to underestimate the impact of exceptionally warm weather episodes on the ice sheet.
The study investigated the causes of ice melt during two exceptional melt episodes in 2012, which occurred from July 8 to 11 and from July 27 to 28. During these exceptional melt episodes, which can be regarded as an analogue to future climate, unusually warm and moist air was transported onto the ice sheet. During one episode, the researchers measured the ice sheet melting at more than 28 cm per day, the largest daily melt rate ever documented on the ice sheet. While the two brief melt episodes only lasted six days combined, or six per cent of the melt season, they contributed to 14 per cent of the total melt.
Using the Programme for Monitoring of the Greenland Ice Sheet (PROMICE) automatic weather station data, the researchers ranked the energy sources contributing to surface melt during 2012 at twelve PROMICE sites around the ice sheet periphery. While ice sheet melt is usually dominated by the radiant energy associated with sunlight, the researchers found that the energy associated with air temperature and moisture content, rather than radiant energy, was responsible for more melt during the 2012 exceptional melt episodes.
As Robert Fausto of the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, lead author of the study, says, "When we were analysing our weather station data, we were quite surprised, that the exceptional melt rates we observed were primarily caused by warm and moist air, because ice sheet wide melt is usually dominated by radiant energy from sunlight. "
This finding has implications for how the scientific community projects future ice sheet melt using climate models. In the study, the researchers also show that while the models presently used to project ice sheet melt can accurately simulate melt due to radiant energy, models tend to systematically underestimate melt due to the non-radiant energy processes they document.
"Glaciological instrumentation capable of automatically recording the daily rate of melting in exceptional melt circumstances, where the ice surface lowers by close to 10 m in a few months, has only emerged in the last decade or so, thanks to PROMICE. The detail of PROMICE observations is permitting new insights on brief, but consequential, exceptional melt events," says William Colgan of the Lassonde School of Engineering at York University, a co-author of the study.
Fausto adds that, "Exceptional melt episodes dominated by non-radiant energy are expected to occur more frequently in the future due to climate change. This makes it critical to better understand the influence of these episodes on ice sheet health."
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*Photo available. Cutline: Researchers service one of PROMICE's automatic weather stations on the Greenland ice sheet that was used in the study. Photo by William Colgan, York University
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John Cryan, Deutsche Banks co-chief executive, may have the toughest job in banking today. He has to restructure a very large and complicated bank with no cash cow division providing a cushion of steady earnings and generating capital to fall back on.
Making the job even tougher, the investment bank that his predecessors built and that still dominates the group is exactly the wrong sort of investment bank for todays heavily regulated markets. This is the business on which, over the 20 years leading up to the financial crisis, Deutsche grew from a fading European commercial bank into a global giant. The still unfolding regulatory response to the financial crisis has set out to crush precisely the Deutsche Bank model of investment banking.
One former senior Deutsche executive says: Everything was built with a derivatives mind-set: retain ultimate flexibility, offer your private and business clients bespoke solutions, not realizing that you would soon need an army of compliance and operations staff to stick with that model.
Cryans predecessor Anshu Jain, who he replaced nine months ago, gambled that as others got out, Deutsche Bank could both grow market share and benefit from fatter margins. He resisted voices on his own board urging him to cut back until he was forced out.
Cryan cannot pare back as far in investment banking as others have, notably UBS, because that is the banks core business. But he has to build a new model of an investment bank.
Many of Deutsches rivals have already slimmed investment banking down and relied on other businesses to cushion the cost of disposing of redundant staff and redundant risk-weighted assets. At UBS the business is wealth management; UK retail banking and credit cards at Barclays; retail at BNP Paribas; global transaction banking at Citi. Deutsches base is more troublesome.
In Deutsche Banks case, its core business is investment banking, which represents 50% of equity, 75% of leverage assets and 50% of profits, points out James Chappell, analyst at Berenberg. However, investment banking is in structural decline.
The panic about Deutsche Bank last month that saw its stock price collapse, its AT1 bonds fall to 70% of face value, its CDS spreads widen to crisis-era highs and its senior bonds trade at a discount, is a distraction, albeit a painful one.
Deutsche is not going to miss its AT1 coupons, nor is it going to breach its AT1 capital triggers any time soon. It could buy back its entire stock of outstanding senior debt out of liquid reserves if it chose to.
Its short-term prospects are fine: it is the medium- and long-term outlook that investors should be worrying about. And the most worrying aspect of Deutsches results announcement at the end of January was the severe drop-off in underlying investment banking revenues in the last two quarters. At a time when it needs its core business to produce profit and generate the capital buffer to shrink its balance sheet, the trajectory suggests that revenues might fall faster than costs, producing not profits but losses that eat into capital.
Here is where Deutsches biggest problem lies. Not only is Deutsche the last big bank to begin restructuring its investment bank; not only is the type of investment bank it had built a leader in many trading segments and a top six or seven capital markets firm the wrong type for todays regulation; it is not clear what Deutsche Bank should aim to be. The only thing that is clear is that cannot continue as it is.
Restructuring
Jain and his team had built the plain-vanilla flow-monster capability in rates and foreign exchange that might yet sustain it in future, but at its heart Deutsche Bank was a derivatives-focused, principal trading firm: a hedge fund in essence, which also had many other US and UK hedge funds as its core institutional client base.
A senior executive at the firm tells Euromoney: If a real-money client came to Deutsche Bank wanting to sell a block of shares, the typical Deutsche response would be to bid for those shares as principal, take them on balance sheet, hedge them, manage the delta and work the position out over a long period. Its the derivatives and principal trading mentality, aiming for a big pay-off. Its instinct would not be to cross that block against countervailing customer orders and take a quick and easy agency commission. But that is what market businesses today are all about.
Cryan has to do more than carefully dismantle the banks old investment bank without torching its balance sheet. That is hard enough. But he also has to build a new core business for Deutsche on modest foundations, with limited capital, while long-ignored IT problems mount in the back office and the threat of big fines for past misdoings is ever-present.
It was telling on the 2015 results call in January that Cryan discussed the banks caution and historically low levels of market risk at the end of last year. With a capacity to run daily value at risk of 70 million, Deutsche had been running under 30 million, less than half its capacity, across the fourth quarter. In a world where prop trading has been curtailed, this suggests that Deutsche has more capacity to accommodate customer risk than it has customers willing to transact with it.
That is not being cautious amid low volatility for reasons of prudent risk management. That is a business on the edge. Even as Deutsche cuts back, it must now hire the equity sales and research staff to give it this capability to do more customer business. Given the uncertainties about the banks own vision for its future business model and low morale, that is a tough ask.
Cryan has set out to ditch the obvious fixed-income businesses that the capital and funding charges of todays regulatory environment make uneconomic. Deutsche has announced that it has already exited or will exit: market making in uncleared CDS; trading of high risk-weight securitizations; agency RMBS; and even plain-vanilla swaps with other dealers that are not cleared.
It will cut back from emerging markets and especially from trading and brokerage in domestic securities with local customers.
But there is no playbook for this kind of restructuring. Is he throwing the baby out with the bath water? It may appear rational to exit flow credit. Deutsche was much smaller in that business than in structured credit. And the associated funding and capital charges make running illiquid investment-grade bond positions to support customer orders a tough business to make money from.
But the move still surprised the market. If the end goal for Cryan is to build some kind of relationship-driven commercial bank with a capital markets capability to service a smaller group of key European clients, then it will be tough to pitch for their DCM business against rival US and European firms that have stayed the course in flow credit.
Focus on execution
Cryan has deliberately set out to talk less grandiloquently and less often than his predecessors including Jurgen Fitschen, currently his co-CEO and who steps down this year about the banks strategy. Asked at the annual press conference that followed confirmation of dire results for 2015 to explain his vision he shrugged. We are a bank. We are a regulated entity. We dont have much latitude in what we do. Weve organized in four divisions. We think they all work well together, they have a logic in being together.
Is that it? Is the aim simply to be more narrowly focused, more efficient, better run?
Cryan talks warmly in internal notices about the quality of people at the bank and their loyalty. He may need to practise more inspiring oratory to enthuse them.
And theres another problem that Cryan must tackle. Jain and his first boss at Deutsche Bank, Edson Mitchell, built up their derivatives-focused, principal-trading powerhouse almost as outcasts inside the bank. They had to prove themselves quickly and decisively to the sceptical German commercial bankers. To do so, they were hell bent on attracting new customers, devising new products and, most important of all, bringing in big revenues.
Under Anshu Jain: Everything was built with a derivatives mind-set: retain ultimate flexibility, offer your private and business clients bespoke solutions, not realizing that you would soon need an army of compliance and operations staff to stick with that model
The group developed a culture that never evolved. And back-office processing capability could not keep pace with front-office innovation. If we had a cost problem, the answer was always to grow revenues, says one source.
Deutsche insiders tell Euromoney that those business builders are now criticized internally for having run the division for 20 years like a start-up, even after it had grown to completely dominate the Deutsche Bank group.
Cryans task now is to do the deeply unsexy operational management side much better.
We built brilliant systems, like Autobahn, fantastic pricing capability, but the back office was rather botched together with tin boxes and string, this source tells Euromoney. A lot of IT people were retained on contract to come in and do manual reconciliation to the general ledger.
Little-known outside the banking industry, Cryans standing within it is such that almost none of his peers question the new chief executives ability to stick to the plan and restructure Deutsche Bank.
A former UBS colleague assures Euromoney: Not only is John very smart, clear thinking and determined, even more importantly he is absolutely straight, honourable and honest.
It is perhaps characteristic of the man that while Deutsches bankers, like most bankers, have traditionally boasted about their wonderful front-office technology, Cryan has come clean about the awful muddle of its legacy IT systems and dependence on end-of-life software in the back office. And that honesty translates to financial reporting. He has taken accounting write-downs to reflect these inadequacies as he also has against the goodwill from acquisitions dating back to the 1990s. Rather like Jamie Dimon did at Banc One, Cryan has set about the more unglamorous aspects of restructuring: reducing the number of IT operating platforms, automating manual processes to boost efficiency and risk control, at the same time culling the committees and internal bureaucracy that slowed decision-making and blunted personal accountability.
Well-intentioned though Cryans determination is to focus on execution rather than on strategizing, at the moment when the morale of the banks staff is close to rock bottom, there is a big unanswered question hanging over the bank.
Even if it does get through the next two years without another huge fine or another big loss, even if it manages to work through the restructuring, simplify the bank, get out of the bad markets, cut costs, what then?
This is a bank that has always had a strong identity, albeit wrapped in a complex history. It still trades on its image as the house bank for Germany Inc, although the days when its ties to the countrys leading companies were cemented by strategic cross-shareholdings are long gone. Then, for the past decade or more, the banks leaders promoted Deutsche as Europes answer to Goldman Sachs: the non-US bank of choice for any global client.
But what is Deutsche Bank for now? It has been happy to publish target cost/income and capital ratios out to 2018, but not the mix of revenues it expects different divisions eventually to contribute or the expected allocations of group equity or share of group RWAs between them.
Is there a vision for this that might spark an internal revolt? Or is the vision still only half-formed?
Rivals scent blood. US investment banks are almost in a re-run of the early 1990s using the profits from their high-margin oligopoly at home to win out globally in investment banking. European rivals are suddenly ready to pounce as well. The head of investment banking at a leading European competitor to Deutsche Bank tells Euromoney: The biggest change for me came in the second half of last year, when German corporates actively began to engage with us in a way they hadnt before. Deutsche has lost that cachet of being the bank you had to deal with if you were a big German client. Some clients almost express shame at the state the bank finds itself in.
There is a feeling in certain quarters in Germany, especially among public-sector financiers, that the bank that bears the countrys name long ago sold its soul to the Anglo-Saxon locusts that have ruined it.
For years, while it appeared to thrive in global investment banking, Deutsche benefited from borrowing at close to government spreads. One former chairman tells Euromoney of a business trip abroad to meet foreign clients and being ushered in to see finance ministers that mistook Deutsche Bank for the Bundesbank.
Now, it is almost the opposite. Some traders were jumping at shadows in February of the risk of contingent liability for Deutsche Bank pricing into German government bund spreads.
The banks position in its home market is a strange one, as indeed is the view of banking among Germans as a whole. Euromoney has spoken to chief executives of large private German banks that still keep their personal accounts with the local savings banks in their hometowns. Banking in Germany has traditionally been seen as a social function, or deemed a profession for foreigners. But because Deutsche was the only German bank of global significance and the bank for its largest and most successful international corporates while Commerzbank was the hausbank for Mittelstand companies Deutsche was deemed to be special. It attracted a reverence that it probably did not deserve.
That aura is fading now and fading quite fast.
A C-suite executive at another large European bank tells Euromoney: I think for many years up to the crisis its German clients could always tell themselves that Deutsche Bank was the Mercedes-Benz S-Class of European banking. Its now dawning on them that it may be more the Volkswagen Polo.
Last year at its German capital markets conference in Berlin, Euromoney asked a room full of German borrowers and investors if they were not embarrassed that an economy of their size boasted just one global systemically important bank, and that (Deutsche, of course) a bank that only just fitted that category. From maybe 300 people only a couple of hands went up, belonging to treasurers of frequent German bond issuers.
Vision for Deutsche Bank
Soft-spoken and with a subtle British sense of humour that his new domestic audience does not always pick up on, Cryan may need to take a lesson or two in how to bullshit.
At the analyst call on January 28, he almost audibly shifted tone as he went from the tell-it-like-it-is for the analysts to the give-the-troops-something-to-cheer-about closing section. The core strength is Deutsche Banks brand and client engagement that continues to be extremely strong. I have been very impressed with the depth of client relationship, Cryan said.
He has said this so often in internal dispatches that he clearly believes it. But later, during the gruelling two-and-a-half hour annual press conference that always follows the full-year results, Cryan let slip his worry that: The Deutsche Bank brand isnt resonating with clients quite so readily.
The bank does have a strong global transaction bank and, while Cryan remains unwilling to, or incapable of, publicly articulating his vision for the bank, it seems likely this will be at the heart of its future. The bank is genuinely good at trade finance, payments and associated transaction services. And this was true from Deutsche Banks foundation in the 1870s when the families behind Siemens and certain other large German industrial companies grew sick of seeking trade credit from bankers in London and Paris and capitalized a bank of their own.
Even in the past 20 years the banks single biggest markets trading success was in foreign exchange, a business that, initially at least, grew out of those relationships with German and European companies, based on handling their payments and trade-finance flows.
Deutsche Bank now must define a simpler model for the whole group: around fewer products, in fewer countries, serving far fewer clients, and it has to maintain the discipline to standardize around them. But in 2015, global transaction banking pulled in 4.6 billion out of the Deutsche Bank groups more than 33 billion in revenues. A lot has to go desperately wrong for GTB to dominate its results.
Deutsche Bank wants to grow transaction banking and asset management, in which it is strong in no-growth Europe, by picking up market share in the US and Asia, where competition is fiercest. Its whole future in the US remains an open question.
Jeff Urwin will run a new, expanded corporate finance division that includes transaction banking
The corporate finance businesses will in future sit alongside global transaction banking in a new corporate and investment banking division, run by Jeff Urwin, recruited from JPMorgan last year.
Debt and equity sales and trading will be separated out into their own global markets division, now looking rather orphaned. Is this an effort to make transaction banking look bigger and so attract a premium valuation on to that divisions earnings?
A lot of bank changes to divisional and segmental reporting amount to little more than re-applying lipstick on the pig. These divisions will have many separate business P&Ls below them. Does it even make sense to separate market trading from corporate finance? The capital markets businesses will just have to re-form as the old joint ventures of years past. Global transaction banking might well be the glue that binds the Deutsche relationship with a corporate client, but transaction bankers will not help the corporate financiers to run that ECM or M&A advisory deal quite as well as the salesmen who cover the equity and debt investor accounts.
Deutsche Bank is, once again, declaring its intention to hire M&A bankers. M&A advisory is a lousy business on a cost/income basis, but at least it is light on capital. The decision to hire once again in this area indicates, perhaps, a certain lack of confidence in a vision for Deutsches core business as a pure commercial banking, transaction banking and capital markets provider to corporate clients. Hope springs eternal that banks that provide those services also have a shot at marquee advisory deals and that M&A capability has some kind of multiplier effect. But this is an old debate. Deutsche seemed to be getting there years ago under Anshu Jain and Michael Cohrs. It looks to be gearing up to fight once again over ground repeatedly hard won in the past and then easily lost.
Cryan is right to dismantle the derivates-focused principal risk-taking investment bank that Deutsche built up over the past 20 years. Is he trying to go back to the commercial banking model of the 1980s? Wouldnt it be better to build a bank for the future, one with far more technologists and fewer traders?
High cost of litigation
While Cryan grapples with all this behind the scenes, there are two additional areas for investors to worry about beyond high restructuring costs and weak earnings. These are the extent of potential fines and legal costs from any more skeletons in Deutsche Banks rather crowded closet; and the possibility of worse than expected damage to the banks balance sheet if the global economy deteriorates.
Deutsche Bank increased litigation reserves to 5.5 billion at the end of last year, with a further 2.2 billion held against other contingent liabilities. Further charges are inevitable this year. And while the bank hopes they will not be as big as they were for 2015, the recent experience of European banks shows this is rather hard to predict.
Analysts see potential for large settlement costs still to come relating to US residential mortgage-backed securities on which Goldman Sachs paid a higher-than-expected settlement of $5 billion in January and possibly to foreign exchange markets. Credit Suisse estimates that while the bank has reserved 5.5 billion, it might face another 5.5 million in costs to settle these and other market-manipulation and misrepresentation cases.
The big unknown remains the investigation into so-called mirror trades: off-setting buy and sell transactions for wealthy Russian clients simultaneously conducted in Moscow and outside the country, a practice that went on for at least four years and comprised many billions of dollars worth of transactions.
There is a limit to what anyone will say about the investigation but Cryan has taken it very seriously. At the end of January he reminded journalists at Deutsche Banks annual press conference: We have closed our markets business in Russia and off-boarded a large number of clients. Deutsche is in wholesale retreat from what it now classes as 10 high-risk countries the high risk being to its own liability for failed compliance on anti-money laundering and know-your-customer regulations. Cryan says the bank is in the process of closing hundreds of thousands of customer accounts.
What will the final bill be? All banks claim to follow accounting requirements to reserve in accordance with best estimates of likely costs, but they all invariably manage to underestimate the size of payouts that eventually come due.
It is not even clear to what extent the Bank of Russia is still taking the lead on the investigation into mirror trades and to what extent US regulators are looking at possible sanctions breaches. The European bank analyst team at Barclays led by Jeremy Sigee suggests that most of the provisions for litigation Deutsche now carries relate to US RMBS trades and to Russia. From the timing and language of P&L charges booked so far, it appears that the 5.5 billion might include around 3 billion for RMBS and 1 billion to 2 billion for Russia, say the Barclays analysts, adding that, these provisions may be sufficient.
The unquantifiable risk, of course, is that instead of a charge in the order of the $1.9 billion HSBC took for handling the money for Mexican drug cartels, or the $1 billion Standard Chartered paid, Deutsche Bank may end up being hit for closer to the 9.6 billion BNP Paribas swallowed for breaking sanctions on Iran.
In that case, all bets are off.
A price-to-book valuation of 0.4, which Deutsche touched after it announced 2015 losses, implies the market expects it to make no better than a 7% return on tangible equity. Fine perhaps for the tough years of a restructuring, but not a sustainable business model to present to shareholders.
When a banks share price falls further and values it at under 0.36 times tangible book value per share, as Deutsches did in mid-February, it raises the question of whether or not investors have gone beyond concern about its earnings prospects and capital position. Have they simply lost faith in its reported numbers?
The bank has begun to take adjustments to intangible items such as goodwill on previous acquisitions, leading some insiders to admit, not for attribution, that the bank may have been a little slow to make such revaluations in the past. This raises questions about the valuation of more tangible items, such as the financial assets on Deutsche Banks balance sheet.
In 2014, Deutsche had one of the lower proportions among big European banks of more reliable level 1 assets, which are mainly valued in line with executable market quotes, comprising just 13% of those financial instruments measured at fair value (rather than at amortized cost) on its balance sheet. There are banks with much higher percentages of the most open-to-question level 3 assets. Deutsche had just 3% of level 3 assets. But it has a very high percentage of level 2 assets, comprising 84% of all its fair value assets, and for which valuations may be calculated using observable inputs rather than actual market quotes.
Adding it all up, analysts at Citi have concluded that if it should turn out that all large European banks might have managed to overestimate by 1% the value of their level 2 assets and by 10% the value of their level 3s, Deutsche Bank would rank as the most exposed in terms of the sensitivity of its shareholders equity to such an adjustment.
To be fair, it is an arbitrary test. And the Citi analysts also had some good news for investors worrying about Deutsches leverage ratio. The 2014 data also confirms our view that Deutsche Bank has the highest level of collateralization, which means that the balance sheet is probably somewhat less risky than suggested by its absolute size.
This has long been the banks own contention: that it has been punished for running a large balance sheet even though this was a low-risk one thanks to the good quality of assets and the hedging of exposures. But with a balance sheet still coming in at a hefty 2 trillion and a market cap of closer to 20 billion, Deutsches balance sheet leverage remains far higher than the levels Lehman Brothers was running before its demise. It is a sobering thought.
The banks contention that it runs a low-risk and well-hedged balance sheet came into question following the loss in 2008 arising from correlation trading on capital structure arbitrage. And with subsequent investigations into potential mis-reporting of derivatives exposures, a suspicion has always lingered that Deutsche Bank somehow blagged its way through the financial crisis without taking bigger mark-to-market hits at the worst moments, even if those trades eventually came right somehow.
A question of capital
It is against this background of uncertainty over its earnings, its potential contingent liabilities and its balance sheet that Cryan must now force through his restructuring of the bank.
Cryan is already finding, as other CEOs have before him, that as a bank cuts costs, revenues disappear and there is no neat and linear improvement in the cost/income ratio. Deutsche Bank is determined to get risk-weighted assets down, but weak earnings in its core operating business and poor capital generation do not give it much capacity to take the hit of dumping assets at a big loss. It can deleverage and shed high capital-consuming assets that at least earn revenue, but almost as fast as it does so, regulators hit it with higher operational RWAs in recognition of past regulatory and compliance failures.
Seven months into a five-year plan, with the two toughest years ahead, and Deutsche appears to be running full speed only to stand still.
It needs to get that common equity tier-1 capital ratio up to 12.5% in 2018, just to be marginally above the 12.25% demanded by regulators. That would leave it with a much thinner buffer than most banks aim to work with. Today it stands at 11.1%, and it may be down to close to 10.5% by the time Deutsche Bank next reports first quarter 2016 earnings.
Deutsche wants to reshape the retail bank by IPOing or selling Postbank, improving the leverage ratio and deconsolidating 40 billion of RWAs in one shot. Deutsche Bank shareholders should not hold their breath as equity prices, particularly those of European banks, collapse. The deal, originally set for this year, might happen next.
The financial markets will no doubt be pressing around Deutsche Bank again before long. Even after two poor quarters in a row, Cryan has suggested that 2016 could yet be the peak year of the banks restructuring, when its financials are hardest hit. It would seem optimistic to predict that Deutsche can break even for 2016.
With a weak leverage ratio, a tough path to a middling CET1 target, large business disposals delayed, the core business not generating much in the way of earnings to retain and the market for asset disposals illiquid and unwelcoming, the obvious question is about capital.
Cryan has risked a lot of credibility on executing the restructuring without tapping shareholders again. He has to caveat the promise: Absent the fully unexpected and material external event, pause for breath, we see no need to raise capital at this stage and continue to think we can manage our risks with the capacity we have at hand.
It is not a promise that many analysts are putting much faith in. Most see the timing and size as the only questions worth debating.
As soon as Deutsche pre-announced its 2015 loss, Andrew Coombes, banks analyst at Citi declared: We believe a capital increase now looks inevitable and see an equity shortfall of up to 7 billion, on the basis that Deutsche may be forced to book another 3 billion to 4 billion of litigation charges in 2016.
Now would not be a good time to do it. Raising 7 billion would amount to 38% of Deutsche Banks market capitalization as at mid-February: no wonder Cryan does not want talk of potential further supply to overhang the already weak share price.
If he gets through without raising capital, then he really will have broken with Deutsches troubled recent past. But before that, even if just to assure the troops that the tough restructuring ahead is a battle worth fighting, Cryan may need to more fully articulate what sunny destination this all leads to.
Illustration: Hit&Run
From his office at the top of CaixaBanks headquarters on Barcelonas Avenida Diagonal, Isidro Faine has an unrivalled view of the Catalan capital. But, for all that his position and personality have made the banks chairman the leading power-broker in Spains richest region, Faines horizons extend much further.
Many bankers talk about turning crisis into opportunity. Faine has done much more than just talk about it. During Europes great recession, he has turned the bank into Spains leader by many measures. He has put technology at the heart of everything the bank does, turning a supposedly staid savings bank into the bank of choice for a third of 18- to 35-year-olds in Spain. He has led a team that, deal after deal, shows that banks can smoothly acquire and integrate other businesses.
Just as importantly, he has tried to demonstrate that a good bank can also do good, reinforcing and reinvigorating the foundation that remains the majority shareholder and disburses Caixabanks dividends to charitable causes.
The modern history of the bank is of a split between those Vorstand directors and executives that wanted to keep the bank essentially German and those who embraced international expansion and the conquering of Anglo-Saxon-style financial markets.
In the 1980s it was a powerful German institution, a position cemented after the Second World War through the sheer willpower of its long-serving chairman Hermann Josef Abs.
It gained a unique position at home, unchallenged as the hausbank for many of the countrys leading corporations through cross-shareholdings and reciprocal board seats.
But because the savings banks and the Landesbanks were not answerable to public shareholders and pursued a social mandate rather than a financial one, Deutsche never had the fallback of a profitable domestic retail business to extract profits from. It had to set out to partner its German clients with commercial banking services outside Germany.
But it faced the same problem then that it does today. US investment banks, bolstered by profits from their own high-margin and yet impenetrable home market, began making inroads into M&A and capital markets for German clients not only abroad, but even at home in Germany.
Deutsche Bank knew it had to build investment banking in a defensive way, to protect its home market and see off the invaders. In 1990 it made a false start, buying Morgan Grenfell, hiring high-cost and sometimes temperamental M&A advisers uniquely unsuited to working alongside German commercial bankers wedded to process and consensus management. It spat them out.
Almost at once it realized it had to try again. Instead of M&A prima donnas, it hired in market traders to which powerful German figures like Rolf Breuer and Ulrich Cartellieri, who had each run FX and rates trading in Germany, could at least relate. It hired Edson Mitchell from Merrill Lynch and a stellar cast of traders and derivatives rocket scientists like Anshu Jain, brought in on guaranteed bonuses at vast expense. For over a decade these bankers built a derivatives trading powerhouse and a cash markets flow monster. Former Warburg banker Michael Cohrs built up the equity capital markets and M&A franchises to sit alongside them.
It seemed to be winning, although it perhaps enriched a generation of bankers far more than it did shareholders. But it almost looked easy.
Instead of being beaten out of sight by the Americans, it started to acquire them. In 1998 it bought Bankers Trust, the ultimate derivatives house.
Going into Deutsche Bank in those days was an adventure for financial journalists, a chance to be bewildered by the derivatives jargon of the rocket scientists, who insisted that the bank was helping clients to take on their desired market exposures and to manage their risks by letting them avail themselves of Deutsches own balance sheet and bespoke products.
These were clever men, though touchingly naive with it. It was hard to work out the details of the trades and products they were talking about because they withheld the secret recipe. But it was obvious to anyone that these people were punting prop trades for their own benefit and using their clients to dump the risks they did not want. Deutsche Bank had more counterparts than it did clients.
Some on the Vorstand sensed it was all going too far. Cartellieri, an early exponent of the investment banking build-up, had a change of heart and turned against the Anglo-Saxon model. He even urged Swiss chief executive Josef Ackermann, when he briefly considered a merger with Citigroup, instead to buy Postbank and to double down at home in Germany.
For a long time the power behind the throne at Deutsche, following the murder of Alfred Herrhausen in 1989 and the appointment of Hilmar Kopper as speaker of the board, Cartellieri finally quit in 2004 having fallen out with Ackermann. Years later, after the financial crisis, Deutsche insiders say that from his seat on the board, Ackermann himself urged Jain, when he rose to head the bank, to trim the investment banks share of group capital. But Jain had built it and hoped, if he hung tough, to be the last man standing.
While Deutsche Bank rose towards the top of investment banking it became renowned, in a tough industry, as being one of the most poisonous places at which to work, with a culture of back stabbing and blame, as well as that approach common across investment banking of doing what was legally defensible with counterparts, rather than what was always in the best long-term interests of clients.
If Cryan wants to build a relationship-focused commercial bank with more clients than counterparts, he is not quite starting from scratch, but he is turning back the clock by almost three decades. He might do well to remember the words of Kopper, one of his predecessors, in an interview with Euromoney in 1994: This is an organization you cannot change in a fortnight. You can stay on the bridge and yell Change! It will be eight months before the stern of the ship moves three degrees.
Hedge funds are enduring challenging times. The sector just experienced its worst monthly performance since 2008, with data from HFRI showing hedge fund aggregate returns fell 1.7% in January.
Outside the top 20, a collective $99 billion of investor money was lost last year, according to London-based fund of funds LCH Investments.
In spite of the industrys overall losses, Ken Heinz, president at HFRI, says its hard to discern if investors are concerned about hedge funds as an asset class. Some hedge funds are up, some are down, and markets are equally volatile. Its too soon to predict how investors will act this year, he says.
Indeed, sector returns are all over the map. The HFRI event-driven asset-weighted index was down 4.29% for January, while the macro index was up 1.67% in spite of oil price concerns. Equity hedge lost 3.51% over the month.
Among the largest and most-established managers, returns were equally disparate. Ray Dalios Bridgewater Associates and Israel Englanders Millennium Management produced the largest gains for investors at $3.3 billion and $3.5 billion respectively over the year. But John Paulson lost $2.1 billion over the year, while Bill Ackmans Pershing Square reportedly lost 16% of its assets, partly due to bad bets on Valeant Pharmaceuticals.
Anita Nemes, Deutsche Bank:Investors are seeking less correlated diversified returnstreams
Anita Nemes, managing director and global head of the hedge fund capital group at Deutsche Bank, says that the return dispersion has been one of the key observations from her firms annual alternative investments survey of 504 hedge fund investors.
Respondents said top quartile returns averaged 10% last year, yet their bottom quartile managers lost 5% or more.
Thats changing how investors are approaching the asset class.
Because of the dispersion in returns, investors are really honing in on picking the right manager and constructing the right portfolios, she says. [They] are concentrating and redesigning their portfolios in search of less correlated, diversified return streams.
Indeed many more investors said they would use risk premia strategies. About one-fifth of hedge fund investors already invest in alternative beta/risk premia strategies today, and 60% of these plan to grow their allocation in 2016.
Gregg Bunn, global co-head of prime finance at Deutsche Bank, says investors are looking to increase allocations to products such as alternative beta/risk premia strategies, liquid alternatives, hybrid private equity/hedge fund vehicles and co-investment opportunities.
Rather than spreading risk over a larger number of managers, Nemes says that the opposite has happened.
Pre-2008, investors often had more than 100 names in their portfolios. Even several years ago that number was 60 or so. Now the average number of funds held by institutional investors is just 36.
That number is even smaller among endowments and foundations, which have just 19 funds in their portfolio.
As a result of this contraction, manager turnover has increased. Its not easy to become one of 36, says Nemes. It is becoming increasingly competitive to find a place in investors portfolios.
According to HFRI, almost 50 hedge funds closed last year.
Multi-strategy and event-driven strategies are among those expected to face the highest turnover in 2016, according to Deutsches survey. Some 16% and 20% of respondents plan to redeem from these strategies respectively, while only 9% and 18% plan to add. Additionally, 18% plan to add to credit distressed and 17% plan to reduce.
After a strong year of performance, equity market neutral strategies are expected to be among the best performers in 2016 and are also the most in-demand due to the smaller number of them. On a net basis, 32% of investors are increasing their exposure to fundamental equity market neutral (versus 17% last year), and 18% to systematic equity market neutral (versus 11% last year). It could well be the year of the commodity trading adviser.
The average losses of hedge funds are not deterring investors. According to the Deutsche survey, investors expect hedge funds to outperform equity markets this year. Additionally 41% will increase their allocations to hedge funds this year, and 48% are staying with the same allocation.
Nemes says private banks, investment consultants and pension funds are increasing their allocation the most.
Expectations for performance are high. Investors are targeting 7.49% returns from their hedge fund portfolios this year, and industry assets are expected to grow around 5% in 2016, surpassing $3 trillion.
With such high expectations, investors say they do not mind paying higher fees. In spite of the lower performance overall, management and performance fees have come down only marginally.
According to Deutsches survey, the average management fee that investors pay remains unchanged year on year at 1.63%, although the average performance fee has trended downward slightly during this period from 18.03% to 17.85%. Yet almost half of investors say they would allocate to a manager with fees in excess of two and 20 for a new allocation.
It is all starting to look very familiar. For the third time in eight years, rating agencies are warning that Kazakhstans largest bank is likely to default on its international bonds.
The root of the trouble, once again, is the mountain of debt accumulated by BTA Bank before the financial crisis that for various reasons ranging from outright fraud to the collapse of the Kazakh real estate market went sour after 2008.
The twist in the tale is that this time it is not BTA that is headed for a debt restructuring but its new owner Kazkommertsbank (KKB), which bought the failed lender two years ago.
Many analysts argue that, for this very reason, KKB will not be allowed to default. In recognition of its role in taking BTA off the Kazakh governments hands, they say, the bank will receive all the support it needs to cope with the fallout from the acquisition.
This seems reasonable yet it raises one very important question. If the Kazakh authorities had no intention of allowing a third BTA-related default, why did they insist on returning the bank to the private sector with massive portfolios of non-performing loans (NPLs) still on its books?
Why did they not, during the five years the bank was under state control, take it upon themselves to hive those debts off into a bad bank and then put the healthy parts of BTA up for sale?
That they chose not to must raise the suspicion, at least, that they wished to leave the door open for another debt restructuring.
Admittedly, at less than $2 billion, the external liabilities of KKB today are a fraction of the $16.7 billion of foreign debt that BTA was allowed to default on in 2009.
Yet, with the oil price showing no signs of recovery and the tenge at unprecedented lows, it is not hard to imagine a situation in which a couple of billion dollars could come in handy for the Kazakh authorities and bailing in senior bondholders is a very easy way to get it.
It is certainly an option they have shown themselves to be very comfortable with in the past. Indeed, their decision to make bond investors share the pain of BTAs collapse earned them considerable kudos in an era when governments around the world were making taxpayers bear the burden of bank failures.
Unsurprisingly, however, it did not make them many friends among the international investor community and more bridges were burned when BTA was allowed to default for a second time in 2012.
If KKB goes the same way, it is likely to be a very long time before even the hardiest fund managers can be persuaded to buy Kazakh bank bonds again. At the moment, when the sector has little need of international cash, that may be a risk policymakers are prepared to take but it would be very rash to cut the countrys lenders off from external funding for the duration.
One bail-in may be brave. Two might be considered foolhardy. Three is starting to look like a nasty habit.
It is time for Kazakh authorities to break it.
China took a big step towards opening its domestic markets tointernational capital in February in a move that might win the A-share Chinese stock market membership of key MSCI benchmark indices.
The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (safe) made changes to the QFII programme, through which qualified foreign institutional investors can gain exposure to Chinas domestic capital markets in dollars. The moves largely bring that programme into line with RQFII, which allows foreign investors access to offshore renminbi markets.
To anyone not involved in the minutiae of asset management in China, the moves may seem arcane: the introduction of a base quota registration system, for example, meaning the quota that asset managers receive will be based on their assets under management. But the impact will be considerable.
Z-Ben Advisors, the Shanghai-based asset management research group, says the moves are monumental and bear similarity to those seen in the months prior to SDR inclusion, when the Peoples Bank of China changed the behaviour of Chinas currency to secure membership of the Special Drawing Right structure of the World Bank.
The biggest impact may be the inclusion of domestic A-shareswithin the MSCI Emerging Markets index. MSCI began a consultation on this idea back in March 2014, but in June 2015 opted not to include the domestic market in its influential benchmark, citing problems with insufficient market access.
Will the changes be enough for MSCI inclusion? Thats the million dollar question, says Z-Ben analyst Stephen Baron. If you look at their last consultation, the major impediments MSCI mention to inclusion, specifically capital mobility, being able to get quota commensurate with fund size, and the issue of beneficial ownership, have all been answered through this reform. From that perspective one would think it puts MSCI in a difficult spot in terms of the decision they have to take.
MSCI has a precise roadmap in mind for Chinese inclusion in its indices, starting with an inclusion factor of just 5% of the market, which means that only 5% of the free-float market cap of A-share components within MSCIs China Index would be reflected. If that happened, A-shares would make up 1.3% of the MSCI index, and China more broadly would be 30% (it was 25.3% at the time of MSCIs announcement last June).
MSCIs plan
MSCIs plan is that as Chinas markets open, so its representation in the index would increase. Once the quota system is abolished and there is full freedom of movement of capital, Chinas A-share markets would take their true weighting. Based on the MSCIs review last year, China would then account for 43.6% of the MSCI Emerging Markets index, and Chinese A-shares 20.5%.
Clearly, then, any move towards this outcome is of enormous importance to any investor who invests in either the MSCI EM index or any fund that is benchmarked against it. And there are plenty of them: around $1.4 trillion is believed to track the index.
In its last review, MSCI said it would consider the first step of that plan, the 5% inclusion, in a May 2017 review. But the changes safe have made so exactly mirror what MSCI requested that it is possible the review will now be accelerated.
Certainly this is something MSCI will have to review in 2016, as opposed to next year as originally planned, says Baron. That said, MSCI will also consider market volatility in its decision and is ultimately guided by what its clients want.
Baron says MSCI inclusion is not the whole point of this round of reforms. The overarching drive from the government and the regulators is the opening up of the markets here, Baron says. Obviously having MSCI inclusion is a big step in that process, but that is not the overall goal.
The next step may be further liberalization of QFII to bring the last differences with RQFII into line. Under QFII, the China Securities Regulatory Commission requires a minimum 50% of allocation to go into equity; that restriction does not apply in RQFII, where a manager can be 100% fixed income if it wants.
Eventually the two programmes will be harmonized, if not actually merged, with two largely identical programmes, save for the fact that one will be in dollars and one in renminbi. Eventually, with full market openness, they will vanish completely.
Despite the shocking performance of A-shares over the last 12 months, considerable appetite for exposure remains. On the RQFII side, Vanguard received Rmb10 billion of quota last year and Rmb20 billion last month; on the QFII side, Fidelity has now gone up to $1.2 billion of quota. The maximum quota for QFII will now be $5 billion.
For some managers, QFII will be of greater interest when it comes to the ability to get large quotas, particularly large firms like BlackRock who may have struggled to get $5 billion under QFII, says Baron.
Of all the worlds bank CEOs, Michael Wolf should have been the last to lose his job. In November, Harvard Business Review named him the ninth best-performing CEO in the world: the only bank CEO to make the top 20. His firm, Swedbank, was Euromoneys best bank in Sweden last year, beating institutions with extraordinarily good profitability and financial standing, and this after suffering more than Swedish peers in the 2008 crisis.
How, then, did Swedbanks chairman and board think it right to engineer his removal in February and even justify it primarily on the basis of competence?
The banks decision to forward a report to the local regulator about transactions it said Wolf carried out and could constitute market abuse seems to have triggered Wolfs sudden departure. Wolf has denied wrongdoing.
Swedbanks board had already started a process to find a new CEO, it says, because of disappointing levels of client and employee satisfaction. So Wolf would have gone anyway, it seems. Did the two events therefore happen at the same time just by chance?
There is some evidence to suggest Swedbanks clients are not as happy as its shareholders. It performs worst among the big Swedish banks in a customer satisfaction survey by Stockholm-based EPSI Rating group and the Swedish Quality Index.
Was trust in the bank broken? Chairman Anders Sundstrom similarly seems to think the very public debate in recent months in Sweden about investments by the banks management had important implications for the brand.
But there is also a sense, more widely, that Swedbank was sick of everything Wolf stood for: his background at corporate banking leader SEB, perhaps; his international acclaim and above all his push for ever-greater efficiency.
Nordic banks are known for their efficiency and digitalization drives, but under Wolf Swedbank was particularly ruthless. This may have been a necessity as Swedbank trailed rivals when Wolf took over in 2009, but he clearly did not shrink from the task. Swedbanks branch network shrank by about a third under his tenure.
By contrast, Handelsbanken (another Nordic investor darling) now has almost twice as many Swedish branches, even though Swedbank still claims the highest number of customers in Sweden. Handelsbanken, meanwhile, performs markedly better than Swedbank in client satisfaction.
Handelsbanken can afford a different strategy, perhaps, because it focuses on a richer part of the population. Nonetheless, Sundstrom, who is from Swedens far north, clearly wants someone with a more folksy and less wolf-like face for his new CEO. He wants someone to reassure rather, than scare the staff, someone to relish meeting clients in the rural outposts for which Swedbank is known: someone who knows how they think.
Birgitte Bonnesen, formerly head of Swedish banking, and a Swedbank lifer, fits that description far better than Wolf. She has been appointed acting CEO and although the bank is looking for other candidates, it could stick with her.
Now Wolfs job is done, will Bonnesen make employees happier by spending more, and make customers happier by cutting mortgage rates at the expense of dividends? Absolutely not, is Bonnesens response though it might be said her points in a recent analyst call about how the bank might otherwise improve on Wolfs track record were sometimes rather intangible.
Bonnesen talks about simplification and accessibility in digitalization, about the use of data but there is an extent to which, after a basic level, bank websites are interchangeable. Wolfs efficiency drives went hand-in-hand with commitment to digital channels, investment in which rose year-after-year.
Analysts appear ready to give Bonnesen and Sundstrom the benefit of the doubt. Swedens super-charged housing market is a huge risk for a bank with so much of its book in mortgages; surely they realise this alone necessitates water-tight capital and profitability.
For Swedbank, and others, the difficult lies in striking a balance between the right message to shareholders on the one hand, and to staff and customers on the other. It would be easy to take Wolfs ousting as a backlash against his financial strictures. If the market doesnt cry foul, however if it accepts that Swedbank can rebuild its popular image without prioritising staff numbers over tech it shows just how much credibility Wolf has built.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) noted a 19% drop in whistleblowing cases in 2015 1,104 cases were opened compared with 1,367 in 2014 despite an ostensibly more-favourable environment for those seeking to highlight industry wrongdoing.
These stats may come as a disappointment to those who have in recent years taken steps to encourage whistleblowing," says Michael Ruck, senior associate, financial services enforcement and investigations at Pinsent Masons, and formerly with the FCA.
In the US, cases continue to rise year-on-year, suggesting a reduction in the UK might have more to do with delays in improving the incentive structure for whistleblowing rather than a fall in market-abuse cases.
High-profile market-manipulation criminal prosecutions and civil claims have highlighted examples of the evidence to look for when assessing whether inappropriate behaviour is taking place, including placing false orders, leaking confidential client information or collusion with those in management roles.
The highest-profile case involving market manipulation to date is that of Tom Hayes, who was initially sentenced to 14 years in prison for conspiracy to defraud in the Libor scandal, a sentence that was reduced to 11 years on review.
Jeffrey Newman
Jeffrey Newman, of Boston-based Jeffrey A Newman & Associates, says bank employees have become willing to come forward with manipulation concerns, adding that conversations with individuals who are aware of fraud and wrongdoing reveal they are more inclined to disclose what they know and are less fearful of retaliation.
The US Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission have been aggressive as to retaliation, he explains. In addition, there is a growing understanding of the workings of the whistleblower laws, which allow for significant percentages of sums collected from fines to the whistleblowers in some cases, this is a percentage of billions of dollars.
Not everyone is comfortable with the concept of offering rewards, though.
Simon Clark, a partner in the employment/general litigation specialist practice at Holman Fenwick Willan, says: A whistleblower should not, in my opinion, ever look for payment for their information it is counter intuitive.
Newman is unconcerned that would-be whistleblowers would be deterred from speaking out for fear of prosecution, observing that, for the most part, whistleblowers gain significant protection once they engage the appropriate laws through competent counsel.
Consequences
Some of those held to account are facing custodial sentences or extradition to the US, so whilst there has been a surprisingly low number of individuals held to account, the consequences of a successful prosecution are draconian, observes Jonathan Kitchin, senior associate in the commercial and regulatory disputes team at Michelmores.
Also, the FCA has announced a package of new rules relating to whistleblowing, which include a senior manager acting as a whistleblowers champion, annual reporting on whistleblowing and putting arrangements in place to handle all types of disclosure, he adds.
The FCA/Prudential Regulation Authority rules, in relation to whistleblowing that take effect from September, require a firm to appoint a senior manager as their whistleblowers champion.
Michael Ruck,
Pinsent Masons
However, Pinsent Masons' Ruck believes the level of fines levied for benchmark fixing and manipulation might have caused some firms or individuals to think twice before highlighting suspended wrongdoing or poor practice to regulators for fear of placing themselves at risk of such penalties.
The key focus for firms is to identify any potential wrongdoing as early as possible, create a plan of how to remedy the issue and consider their reporting requirements, he says.
Regulators have recently taken various actions in circumstances where firms or individuals have failed to bring matters to the regulators attention in accordance with their regulatory responsibilities. The question for employees and senior management alike is whether they are willing to work in an environment where speaking up or whistleblowing is not supported.
Duty of fidelity
While there is no statutory obligation on employees to blow the whistle on malpractice, they owe a general duty of fidelity to report wrong-doing to their employers, explains Michelmores Kitchin.
If a worker holds a reasonable belief that disclosing wrongdoing for example, genuine misconduct or fraud will be in the public interest and the worker subsequently makes a relevant and protected disclosure to his employer or other prescribed person concerning that wrongdoing, but subsequently suffers any detriment including dismissal as a result of having made a protected disclosure, the worker will ultimately be entitled to seek to rely upon statutory employment law protection before an employment tribunal, he says.
Some individuals might be required to notify the FCA of certain events depending on the role they fulfil and abide by relevant codes of conduct, continues Kitchin.
Jonathan Kitchin,
Michelmores
There are no guarantees as to what, if any, enforcement action may result from a self-report or blowing the whistle, but being open and cooperative with the regulator is a fundamental principle.
There are no financial incentives in the UK, but the FCAs PS15/16 Strengthening the alignment of risk and reward: new remuneration rules comments on the role of remuneration in incentivizing staff to conduct themselves properly.
When considering how to report incidents of malpractice, individuals should be clear on their facts and be able to corroborate their assertions with documents or data and should also act swiftly, concludes Newman.
Individuals should also retain experienced counsel and avoid speaking about what they know to anyone other than counsel, as some laws bar claims for whistleblowers who have disclosed information publicly, he says.
China is reported to be introducing a Tobin tax on RMB forex transactions, to discourage speculation by increasing the cost of such trades.
The Peoples Bank of China (PBoC) has made no public announcement, and there are therefore no specific details available, but Alicia Garcia-Herrero, chief economist for Asia Pacific at Natixis, says, if it is introduced, the PBoC would target short-term transactions the obvious way to target FX speculation. If China were to implement the measure, it would echo the countrys fairly muddled approach to currency reform and liberalization, potentially undermining other efforts China has made in recent months to increase liquidity.
Its ongoing liberalization strategy, which hinges on opening up the market to foreigners has been laid out in its 13th Five-Year Plan that runs to 2020.
In the plan, China indicates it will manage FX by negative lists, where foreign investors are assumed to receive the same treatment as Chinese investors unless they are explicitly added to a list for special treatment.
It will also loosen the restrictions on remittances of offshore investment and remove quotas for onshore and offshore investment.
Tiecheng Yang,
Clifford Chance
Most FX market reforms implemented by the PBoC and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) were designed to attract more participants to the inter-bank FX market and further liberalize the exchange rate, says Tiecheng Yang, partner at Clifford Chance in Beijing.
He argues that as Chinese FX reserves decrease and markets anticipate longer-term weakening of the renminbi, China will continue to encourage foreign investment into China, issuing new rules that lower the market entry standards for foreign investors.
In January 2015, China opened up the inter-bank FX market to certain qualifying domestic non-banking financial institutions, including domestic securities companies, insurance companies and funds, without requiring prior approval by SAFE.
In September, it opened the market up further, first to overseas central banks and monetary authorities, international financial institutions and sovereign wealth funds, with 14 institutions registering to do so. Since December, it has been further opened up to foreign commercial banks, which are now also permitted to trade on inter-bank FX market.
The recent move to conduct daily open-market operations, rather than twice a week as it had previously, was also designed in part to increase liquidity in the market, says Yang, as well as stabilizing the money-market rate to be around the benchmark.
Meanwhile, on the exchange-rate liberalization side, trading hours for RMB were extended in January, with the market now remaining open until 11.30pm Beijing time, while the closing rate is set as the spot price of RMB/USD as quoted at 4.30pm. By overlapping with European trading hours, China hopes to set a more consistent RMB rate.
In August, the PBoC also reformed the daily central parity quoting regime for RMB/USD. Market makers now offer quotations to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System before the market opens, based on the closing rate on the inter-bank FX market the previous day; market supply and demand factors; and price movements in major currencies.
China also entered into currency swap agreements with 13 central banks in 2015, including Australia, South Africa, the UK and UAE.
However, the introduction of a Tobin tax would be an enormously regressive move, while Natixis Garcia-Herrero reckons it would be self-defeating.
Investors including speculators will find ways to bypass the tax, she says.
Detrimental
It could also prove detrimental to the broader economy by deterring hedging activities a counter-productive move given the need for such activity as China opens its capital account.
It seems again as if Chinas short-term objectives in this case deterring forex speculation is harming more important long-term objectives such as fostering readiness to open the account, says Garcia-Herrero.
Whats more, such a move would sap market confidence in Beijings policy credibility.
The inconsistency of its approach to reform its FX regime reflects the delicate balancing act being attempted by Chinese policymakers. On the one hand they are pushing for reform and liberalization in the currency markets and elsewhere in the economy. On the other, they are mindful of the need to maintain stability, on which its own political legitimacy is based.
When the two goals come into conflict, as they often do, it has consistently put its political needs especially close to full employment and achieving its 6.5% growth target above broader economic ones. It is generally unwilling to push through reforms that will pay dividends in the longer term, but ensure short-term volatility while the economy adjusts.
The IMF was clearly cognizant of this when it included RMB into the SDR basket. At 10.92%, its weighting is lower than the market expected, and is set to be increased as currency liberalization continues, giving it some leverage in motivating China to keep up its efforts.
Yang at Clifford Chance believes Chinese regulators are looking for a balance between in-flows and out-flows, adding: When RMB is appreciating and there are too many foreign currency in-flows, SAFE will strengthen the regulations of foreign investment into China.
However, when RMB was depreciating and there were too many foreign currency out-flows, we have seen reports indicating that SAFE is restricting outbound investments.
China remains a global titan in manufacturing, and a weakening renminbi should be good news for its exporters because it makes Chinese goods cheaper for buyers in foreign currencies. However, recent polls by MNI Indicators which conducts surveys of consumer and business sentiment, polling around 1,000 Chinese urban consumers and 300 Chinese companies listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen show this has not been the case.
In fact, Chinese businesses are being pinched by a rising real, inflation adjusted rate, which has increased by around 15% against a basket of currencies.
This, perhaps, explains why Chinese authorities appear equally incoherent when it comes to monetary policy, where the PBoC has recently surprised observers with its mixed messages.
It initially indicated its willingness to support the governments growth target using all the levers at its disposal, including a real rate cut and a higher inflation target of 3%. However, PBoC governor Zhou Xiaochuan then changed tack, sounding a more cautious tone and predicting a more prudent monetary policy as long as global market conditions allow it.
Alicia Garcia-Herrero,
Natixis
Garcia-Herrero says: The NPC [National Peoples Congress] meeting reveals an economic plan that is more pro-growth than pro-reform. In that sense, at least, China is being consistent.
However, as the economy rebalances towards consumption-led growth, with services increasing at the expense of low-end manufacturing, China should become more resilient in the face of currency fluctuations, says Philip Uglow at MNI Indicators. This should make it easier for China to liberalize the currency regime without increasing short-term risk to the economy.
In the meantime, Yang believes foreign investors are more concerned about the transparency of policymaking than the pace of reform. The agreement among G20 finance ministers and central bankers partially addressed this concern, ensuring that macroeconomic and structural policy actions will be carefully calibrated and clearly communicated, to reduce policy uncertainty and minimize any resulting market disruption.
Yang says: Ultimately, the RMB exchange rate should be decided by Chinas economic performance in a longer term. The concern of going too slowly or too quickly should be considered in a big picture.
Hey everyone, my name is Aiden and I'm looking to do a PhD at Boston University, ideally next year, and I'm looking for a little advice about safe areas to live in Boston, how easy the transition is from the UK to the US (e.g. culture, logistics etc.).
To give a little background, I'm from York (for anyone who doesn't know, small city in the north of England with a population of ~200,000), currently studying a master's and looking to do a PhD in the US as part of my 5 year plan. Effectively, the US is the only place that offers the subject I want to study (Environmental Health), and only a handful of universities offer it in the North East (Boston University, Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Johns Hopkins and NYU).
I suppose ultimately I'd like to know what Boston is like to live in as a city, where the safe neighbourhoods are, what Bostonians are like as a people. I hear that Boston has quite a large number of start-ups, how does this translate into practice (e.g. getting involved with them)? How easy is it to transition from living in a small city to a large city? Is it easy to get around?
Apologies if the post seems quite rambling but I have so many questions! I'd be grateful if someone could answer just a few of them.
Thanks again!
COLUMBUS, Ohio In a little over a year, Ohio State University Extension has trained more than 10,000 Ohio farmers on best practices to apply fertilizer for optimum crop yield, reduce the risk of nutrient runoff and improve water quality throughout the state. And more training opportunities are scheduled to reach even more farmers.
FACT
Known as Fertilizer Applicator Certification Training (FACT), this program allows farmers and commercial fertilizer applicators to meet the educational requirements of Ohios new agricultural fertilization law. Passed in 2014, the legislation requires individuals who apply fertilizer to more than 50 acres to become certified by Sept. 30, 2017.
FACT was developed by researchers and educators with the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at The Ohio State University and is offered in partnership with the Ohio Department of Agriculture. The training provides research-based tactics to keep nutrients in the field and available to crops while increasing stewardship of nearby and downstream water resources.
Experts say soluble phosphorus runoff from farms is a contributor to the harmful algal blooms plaguing Lake Erie and other bodies of water in recent years.
Since we started offering this training in the fall of 2014, we have reached more than 10,000 farmers statewide, averaging about two training sessions per county, said Harold Watters, an OSU Extension field specialist for agronomic systems. I expect we will be at about 11,000 farmers when the winter training season ends this April 1.
OSU Extension is the statewide outreach arm of the college.
2 million acres impacted
According to 2015 U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics, the average Ohio farm is 188 acres. Using this figure, 11,000 farmers trained would represent a little over 2 million acres of farmland impacted so far by FACT.
We need to reach a total of approximately 25,000 farm owners that need to be certified, Watters said. We are less than halfway there but are planning to offer summer field days and additional training before the fall to capture more farmers before we hit the next winter meeting season, when the bulk of the training takes place.
Each three-hour training session focuses on teaching farmers and commercial applicators the methods and management techniques needed to achieve the appropriate rate, timing, placement and source for fertilizer applications.
The main goal of this training is to help farmers continue to achieve high levels of productivity while reducing input usage and cost by keeping more of that fertilizer in the soil where crops can use it, said Greg LaBarge, also a field specialist for agronomic systems with OSU Extension.
These practices will then translate into better water quality because less nutrients will be washed off farmland and end up in water sources.
Training
The training also provides information on the link between phosphorus, harmful algal blooms and agriculture; best management practices for phosphorus and nitrogen applications; and soil testing as a valuable tool for confidence and adaptive management.
Watters said a big part of the training revolves around awareness of the link between farm fertilizer runoff and water quality issues.
I would say about 90 percent of participants have a level of acceptance of the role of agriculture in the current water situation, he said. We try to explain their role in the problem and how they can help improve water quality through the techniques and practices we are teaching them.
Stewardship
LaBarge added that FACT has helped farmers and applicators understand the issue of water pollution better and to see the connections between production and environmental stewardship.
Farmers receiving this training see that we are talking about issues of importance to them both in terms of economics and the environment, he said. All these issues relate to production, as we are trying to help them better match the inputs that go in the soil with the yield that comes out.
Nutrients lost to runoff impact production and water quality at the same time, so its in everyones interest to reduce that loss.
Watters and LaBarge agree that training and implementation of best management practices represent a long-term process and that it will take years to see quantifiable results.
Were early in the process and need to be patient, Watters said. We need to do more, but we are headed in the right direction.
Safety watchdog issues half-term call to keep kids safe on farms
"Growers are wanting to understand the reasons for the rejection and understand that if they wish to change the structure of CBH, it's something that they can do," he said.
Fayetteville-area high school football top performers for Week 10
Here are the Fayetteville area's top performers from Week 10 of the 2022 high school football season.
A quarter of 2016 has disappeared already and we have been treated to some terrific films in that time... it seems that there are even more on the horizon over the coming weeks.
Midnight Special
While April films are you looking forward to the most? Do you like drama? What about comic book movies? Or is sci-fi your thing? Luckily there is something for everyone this month and we take a look at some of the films that you cannot afford to miss.
- Eddie the Eagle - out now
Eddie the Eagle is already one of the most talked about April movies as it whipped up a storm when it played at a surprise screening at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year.
The movie marks the return of Dexter Fletcher to the director's chair for the third feature film of his career; it comes off the back of the success of Wild Bill and Sunshine on Leith in 2012 and 2013. Fletcher has proved already that he is a terrific filmmaker and I can't wait to him put his stamp on this iconic underdog story.
The film follows Eddie Edwards, who became the first British ski jumper at the 1988 Winter Olympics. While he may not have challenged for the medals, he charmed the world.
Taron Egerton takes on the central role as his star continues to rise. The movie kicks off a very busy year for him and is another major leading role. Egerton teams up with Hugh Jackman for the first time as the Oscar-nominated actor plays Eddie's trainer Bronson Peary.
The duo is joined on the cast list by Christopher Walked, Mark Benton, Keith Allen, Joe Hartley, Tim McInnerny, and Jim Broadbent.
Eddie the Eagle is one of the feel-good films of 2016 and is a movie that is packed with heart, charm and terrific central performances from Egerton and Jackman. Fletcher really has made a wonderful transition from actor to director and Eddie the Eagle is his best film yet.
- The Huntsman: Winter's War - released 4th April
Chris Hemsworth is one of the most in-demand actors around and he is set to return to the big screen this April with The Huntsman: Winter's War, which sees him reprise the title role.
We were introduced to the character of the Huntsman back in 2012 in Snow White and the Huntsman and this new film is set prior to its predecessor.
Hemsworth is not the only familiar face on the cast list as Charlize Theron is set to reprise her role as Ravenna. Jessica Chastain and Emily Blunt are the big new additions to the cast list as Sara and Freya. Nick Frost, Sheridan Smith, Rob Brydon, and Alexandra Roach are also on board.
Long before the evil Queen Ravenna (Theron) was thought vanquished by Snow White's blade, she watched silently as her sister, Freya (Blunt), suffered a heart-breaking betrayal and fled their kingdom. With Freya's ability to freeze any enemy, the young ice queen has spent decades in a remote wintry palace raising a legion of deadly huntsmen - including Eric (Hemsworth) and warrior Sara (Chastain) - only to find that her prized two defied her one demand: Forever harden your hearts to love.
When Freya learns of her sister's demise, she summons her remaining soldiers to bring the Magic Mirror home to the only sorceress left who can harness its power. But once she discovers Ravenna can be resurrected from its golden depths, the wicked sisters threaten this enchanted land with twice the darkest force it's ever seen. Now, their amassing army shall prove undefeatable... unless the banished huntsmen who broke their queen's cardinal rule can fight their way back to one another.
It is all change in the director's chair as Cedric Nicolas-Troyan makes his feature film directorial debut with the movie. It looks like it is going to be an action-packed ride.
- Midnight Special - released 8th April
If you are a big science fiction fan, then Midnight Special is one not to miss as it hits the big screen next week.
Midnight Special marks the return of Jeff Nichols to the director's chair for the fourth feature film of his career. He has already brought us Shotgun Stories, Take Shelter, and Mud and it is great to see him back. As well as being in the director's chair, Nichols has also penned the film's screenplay.
The movie sees Michael Shannon reunite with Nichols for their third feature together - as he takes on the central role of Roy, a father who goes on the run with his young son.
Midnight Special boasts another impressive cast list as Shannon stars alongside Joel Egerton, Kirsten Dunst, Adam Driver, and Sam Shepard.
Roy (Shannon) is a father desperate to protect his uniquely gifted, eight-year-old son in this genre-defying thriller, which proves once again that director Jeff Nichols is one of the most compelling storytellers of our time.
As father and son go on the run, an intense chase ensues as they are hunted down by a mysterious cult and a clandestine government agency - the outcome of which could bring about a world-changing event.
The movie has been winning over critics and audiences on the festival circuit - competing for the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival - and is not to be missed if you are a fan of the genre.
- The Jungle Book - released 15th April
The Jungle Book is the latest Disney film to get the live-action makeover and it will follow in the footsteps - and hopefully the success - of Maleficent and Cinderella, which have both been critical and commercial hits in recent years.
The movie is based on the book by Rudyard Kipling and sees Jon Favreau back in the director's chair. This is the first blockbuster for Favreau since Iron Man 2 and his first feature film since Chef back in 2014.
The Jungle Book is one of the April movies that I really cannot wait to see and the trailers and clips that I have seen so far really do look amazing. This is the first of two Jungle Book movies we are going to be treated to in the next couple of years and I cannot wait to see what Favreau delivers.
The director has brought together an impressive voice cast as Idris Elba, Scarlett Johansson, Bill Murray, Christopher Walken, Ken Kingsley, Lupita Nyong'o, and Giancarlo Esposito will voice the characters of Shere Khan, Kaa, Baloo, King Louie, Bagheera, Raksha, and Akela.
Disney has really had a good run of success when it comes to their live action remakes of Disney classics and The Jungle Book is a film I have been looking forward to ever since I saw the first teaser trailer.
Favreau is one of the most exciting directors around and it is great to see him return to a blockbuster project.
The Jungle Book is an all-new live-action epic adventure about Mowgli (Sethi), a man-cub who's been raised by a family of wolves. But Mowgli finds he is no longer welcome in the jungle when fearsome tiger Shere Khan (Elba), who bears the scars of Man, promises to eliminate what he sees as a threat.
Urged to abandon the only home he's ever known, Mowgli embarks on a captivating journey of self-discovery, guided by panther-turned-stern mentor Bagheera (Kingsley), and the free-spirited bear Baloo (Murray). Along the way, Mowgli encounters jungle creatures who don't exactly have his best interests at heart, including Kaa (Johansson), a python whose seductive voice and gaze hypnotizes the man-cub, and the smooth-talking King Louie (Walken), who tries to coerce Mowgli into giving up the secret to the elusive and deadly red flower: fire.
- Captain America: Civil War - released 29th April
Captain America: Civil War is the 2016 film that I am looking forward to the most... and there are just a handful of weeks to go until we see if the film lives up to all of the hype and anticipation.
Civil War will be the third stand-alone film for Captain America and the first since the Winter Solider back in 2014. It is the movie that will also kick off Phase 3 of Marvel films. Anthony and Joe Russo return to the director's chair for their second Captain America film and I cannot wait to see them develop the story and the characters further.
The movie is based on the iconic and much-loved civil war storyline from the comics and will see the Avengers divided as Captain America and Iron Man go head to head.
Chris Evans is back as Steve Rodgers while Robert Downey Jr steps into the Captain America franchise for the first time. Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Renner, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Rudd, Emily VanCamp, Frank Grillo and Martin Freeman, with William Hurt and Daniel Bruhl, complete an impressive line-up. We are also going to get our first glimpse of Chadwick Boseman and Tom Holland as Black Panther and Spider-Man.
Captain America: Civil War finds Steve Rogers leading the newly formed team of Avengers in their continued efforts to safeguard humanity. But after another incident involving the Avengers results in collateral damage, political pressure mounts to install a system of accountability, headed by a governing body to oversee and direct the team.
The new status quo fractures the Avengers, resulting in two camps - one led by Steve Rogers and his desire for the Avengers to remain free to defend humanity without government interference, and the other following Tony Stark's surprising decision to support government oversight and accountability.
Civil War really could be one of the biggest Marvel films to date and the directors have already hinted at a 'controversial' end. The film will also continue to lay the foundations for Avengers: Infinity War. It is certainly going to be the most successful Captain America film to date. I really cannot wait to see it!!!
- Demolition - released 29th April
Jake Gyllenhaal is another of our favourites here at FemaleFirst and he is set to return to the big screen this April with his latest film Demolition.
This is the first feature for Gyllenhaal since Everest as he teams up with filmmaker Jean-Marc Vallee for the first time. Vallee has brought us films such as Dallas Buyers Club and Wild in recent years and I am excited to see him back in the director's chair.
Demolition is a movie that has already been playing well on the festival circuit, with Gyllenhaal's central performance winning a lot of praise - I am looking forward to seeing him in action.
However, it is not all about Gyllenhaal as Naomi Watts and Chris Cooper are also on board. We are also going to be introduced to the acting talents of Judah Lewis, who plays Watts' young son in the film.
Davis (Gyllenhaal), a successful investment banker, struggles after losing his wife in a tragic car crash. Despite pressure from his father in law Phil (Cooper) to pull it together, Davis continues to unravel. What starts as a complaint letter to a vending machine company turns into a series of letters revealing startling personal admissions.
Davis' letters catch the attention of customer service rep Karen (Watts) and, amidst emotional and financial burdens of her own, the two form an unlikely connection. With the help of Karen and her son Chris (Lewis), Davis starts to rebuild, beginning with the demolition of the life he once knew.
Other movies not to miss include The Man Who Knew Infinity, Criminal, Eye in the Sky, and Bastille Day.
by Helen Earnshaw for www.femalefirst.co.uk
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With the sixth season of Game of Thrones right around the corner and the series for the first time going off into its own material pretty much entirely, there are a whole number of things viewers can't wait to see develop, evolve and resolve.
Credit: HBO
Putting together a list of 10 we expect in the next couple of months, take a look below for a possible glimpse of what's to come:
1) Jon Snow returning from the dead
There's no doubt in my mind that Jon Snow is actually dead. When we shot to black at the end of season 5, the light had faded from his eyes. He was done for. However, there's also no doubt in my mind that Jon will be returning to the show as a very different person through some form of resurrection.
2) Bran walking around by himself
We've seen in teasers so far a couple of instances where Bran is back on his feet, after losing the feeling in his legs all the way back in season 1. Whether or not this is him truly being healed by the magic he seems to come across, or if he's instead having visions of the future and what's to come is anybody's guess, but actor Isaac Hempstead Wright surely must be excited about not having to be carried around everywhere for all of his scenes.
Credit: HBO
3) Sansa finally getting some justice
Escaping the Boltons with Theon at the end of season 5, it's time for Sansa Stark to finally get some much-needed justice against those who have wronged both her and her family. Showrunner Dan Weiss has already teased: "Sophie (Turner) really delivers this season. She's an extremely phenomenal actor, and this year she gets to go places she's never gone." Writer and producer Bryan Cogman added: "I'm very excited by where Sansa's storyline is going this season, and I think Sophie is doing the best work she's ever done in season 6."
4) A Lannister/Martell war
Following the murder of Myrcella Baratheon (actually a child of incest and daughter to both Jaime and Cersei Lannister), the Lannister family will be looking for revenge. If the boats sailing towards King's Landing emblazoned with the Martell logo are anything to go by, things could be getting extremely violent very quickly between the two Houses. However, with no sign of battle on the water, could this war already be won by the Martells, with the Lannisters instead forced to bend the knee to The High Sparrow and his religious following?
5) Lots of other war
Teasers and trailers to-date have offered a variety of different battles, but the one we're most looking forward to is the battle for the North and Winterfell. House Bolton will be fighting to defend the area they've now captured, with their claim to the North in jeopardy after both Sansa Stark and Theon Greyjoy escaped their clutches.
6) Daenerys becoming a prisoner
Where we left things with season 5, Daenerys came across a whole new group of Dothraki, but it's unlikely they're going to bow to her command just off the back of her word. Khal Drogo (Jason Momoa) has been dead for quite some time now and so, where will Daeny really stand with the group? It's hard to tell, but pictures show her looking very much like a prisoner. Despite that, she has still got three dragons to her name which always manage to turn the tide in her favour...
Credit: HBO
7) Arya coming to terms with being blind
Last time we saw Arya, she lost her sight after taking a life without the authorisation to do so. Now she'll have to face life from an entirely new angle and whilst she looks to be struggling at times in the trailer for season 6, I've no doubt she'll soon master the art of surviving despite being plunged into eternal darkness.
8) The White Walker army making big moves
In season 5 episode 'Hardhome', we saw just how much damage the White Walker army can do. It's likely we'll see even more of that as the series rolls on, with the White Walker leader, the Night's King taking centre-stage. Grabbing Bran's arm in a teaser - which surely has to be one of the youngster's visions - it'd be more shocking NOT to see destruction caused by the King going ahead. Is there enough Dragonglass and fire in the world to slow this army down? I'm not sure...
9) A Tyrell takeover
The Tyrell family have positioned themselves almost perfectly within the past few seasons, with Margaery Tyrell now Queen of the Seven Kingdoms alongside King Tommen Baratheon, despite her being locked up at the order of the High Sparrow. Though the religious leader seems to be taking over, his reign couldn't possibly last too long with all of the plans everybody else has set into motion, could they? A Tyrell takeover at King's Landing whilst Cersei and Jaime are at their weakest could be something incredible.
Credit: HBO
10) Lady Stoneheart
I'm going out on a limb here, but after the disappointment of missing out on Lady Stoneheart's arrival in both seasons 4 and 5, she could make her debut in season 6, despite it also being extremely possible that she'll be taken out of the story altogether. For those who don't know, Lady Stoneheart is (Books Spoiler!) the resurrected version of Catelyn Stark. Though she fell victim to the Red Wedding, she was found and brought back to life. In this new life however she's not a gracious and forgiving woman, instead consumed with anger and rage, hoping to take vengeance on anyone related to the Houses which betrayed her own. Swift and sometimes undeserved justice could be on the way for some of the show's most popular characters...
Game of Thrones returns for its season 6 premiere on Sunday, April 24 on HBO in the US, simulcast in the UK on Sky Atlantic and also shown in the UK on Mondays, at 9pm.
by Daniel Falconer for www.femalefirst.co.uk
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As part of the last episode of the current series of The Jonathan Ross Show, Kit Harington appears to talk about Game of Thrones and his presumed-dead character Jon Snow.
Kit Harrington
The actor explained: "There's a guy at my Sainsburys I go to, I love this man. He's very dear to my heart. He sees me come in and he goes straight to the till and he bars everyone else, he flicks them across until I get there and he goes 'You ain't dead is it?' And I'm like 'I am dead.' And he goes, 'Nah, you ain't dead, I know' and I'm like 'How do you know? I'm dead.' And he goes, 'You'd be crying if you were dead' and this happens every time I go in. I think he thinks I'd be weeping in the street for the rest of my life that I'm not in Game of Thrones anymore."
Asked how he keeps the show's secrets to himself, Kit replied: "I am no longer involved in the show so any secrets that are with the show I don't actually know anymore, so it becomes very easy Jonathan. You're looking at me like you don't believe me. It's going to be so relieving when people actually see the show and realise that I don't come back."
Further pushed by Jonathan about being spotted filming in Belfast, Kit rebutted: "I was playing a corpse. I was there for a little bit, I was there for about a month or two months, it was spread over a bit and I was playing a corpse."
He continued: "I won't tell you how many episodes I'm lying dead but it's enough that I was out there for quite a while. It's going to be so satisfying when you see it and you realise that I was telling the truth the whole time."
Even though he's certain about his fate, it's not just your regular fans that ask him about the show, with royalty even getting involved.
"I get this from everybody," he said. "Me and my brother got invited to Wimbledon as you do and a Royal was hosting, we didn't know which Royal it was and it was the Duchess of Cornwall and she was hosting it and we got sat with her, me and my brother, and she leant over the table and said 'Are you dead?' No word of a lie."
See Kit alongside Anna Friel, Frankie Boyle and Tinie Tempah on The Jonathan Ross Show, Saturday April 2 at 9.35pm on ITV.
by Daniel Falconer for www.femalefirst.co.uk
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Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited (IVL), a Thailand based, global producer of petrochemicals, has completed the acquisition of the Paraxylene (PX), Purified Terephthalic Acid (PTA) and Naphthalene Dicarboxylate (NDC) assets of the BP Amoco Chemical Company located at Decatur, Alabama in USA as a part of its expansion drive in North America, according to a press statement released by the company.
Commenting on the acquisition, Aloke Lohia, Group CEO of IVL said, This acquisition is a major coup for the company as it brings us competitive feedstock security with scale advantages, technology ownership and innovative products which our customers can rely upon.
As we build our scale in North America, we will continue to strive to be the supplier of choice for our customers and drive our growth trajectory as a world class chemical company, he added.
IVL has completed the acquisition of the PX, PTA and NDC assets of the BP Amoco Chemical Company located at Decatur, Alabama in USA.#
The assets are situated adjacent to IVL's Alphapet PET plant, and has been its main supplier of PTA since the factory started.
This acquisition coincides with USITC affirmative vote to apply anti subsidy and anti-dumping duties on PET resin imports from China, Canada, India and Oman.
The acquisition is the first of IVL in 2016, and is expected to be followed in second quarter by the imminent acquisition of the PET, PTA and IPA complex of Cepsa in Spain. (MCJ)
Fibre2fashion News Desk - India
Maredimoda Trend Board 2016, an observatory forecasting trends for S/S 2018 returns to Maredimoda Cannes, a trade show focusing on textiles and accessories for beachwear and underwear.Starting from this year, Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti Milano (NABA) will be part of the working team composed by WGSN, world's leading trend forecasting authority, a press release from the organiser informed.
Maredimoda Trend Board 2016, an observatory forecasting trends for S/S 2018 returns to Maredimoda Cannes, a trade show focusing on textiles and access#
The working team will also include David Shah, an icon of style trends, colours and social changes as well as publisher of Textile View.The NABA team will be composed by students belonging to the three-year BA Program in Fashion Design and will be guided by their tutor Colomba Leddi.Also this year, WGSN will conduct a survey which will include four macro trends for beachwear and two for the underwear 2018.Once the macro trends are outlined, the NABA team will develop and complete the trend forecasting, with more specific suggestions and tips going into each trend in depth, to make it as applicable as possible.The valuable contribution of David Shah, who has been collaborating with Maredimoda since a long time, will help define trends 2018 in terms of style and colours, the organisers noted.The project will start with a round table of all participants like WGSN, NABA students and David Shah at the NABA headquarters in Milan.The organiser further informed that the MaredimodaTrend Board Forecasting will be presented in Como and Barcelona in May to operators.People in charge of style from companies exhibiting at MarediModa will develop this information to create collections which will be presented in Cannes from November 810, 2016.NABA Academy will be responsible to design the Trend Forum Area at the exhibition, which is a real style engine for operators visiting Maredimoda Cannes. (AR)
Fibre2Fashion News Desk India
An independent nonprofit institute founded by MIT has been selected to run a new, $317 million public-private partnership announced today by US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter.The partnership, named the Advanced Functional Fibers of America (AFFOA) Institute, has won a national competition for federal funding to create the latest Manufacturing Innovation Institute. It is designed to accelerate innovation in high-tech, U.S.-based manufacturing involving fibres and textiles, MIT announced on its website.
An independent nonprofit institute founded by MIT has been selected to run a new, $317 million public-private partnership announced today by US#
The proposal for the institute was led by Professor Yoel Fink, director of MIT's Research Laboratory of Electronics (RLE). The partnership includes 32 universities, 16 industry members, 72 manufacturing entities, and 26 startup incubators, spread across 27 states and Puerto Rico.This is the eighth Manufacturing Innovation Institute established to date, and the first to be headquartered in New England. The headquarters will be established in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in proximity to the MIT campus and its US Army-funded Institute for Soldier Nanotechnology, as well as the Natick Soldier Research Development and Engineering Center.This unique partnership has the potential to create a whole new industry, based on breakthroughs in fibre materials and manufacturing, Fink said. These new fibres and the fabrics made from them will have the ability to see, hear, and sense their surroundings; communicate; store and convert energy; monitor health; control temperature; and change their colour.The new initiative will receive $75 million in federal funding out of a total of $317 million though cost sharing among the Department of Defense, industrial partners, venture capitalists, universities, nonprofits, and states including the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The initial funding will cover a five-year period and will be administered through the new, independent, nonprofit organization set up for the purpose. The partnership, which will focus on both developing new technologies and training the workforce needed to operate and maintain these production systems, also includes a network of community colleges and experts in career and technical education for manufacturing.Massachusetts's innovation ecosystem is reshaping the way that people interact with the world around them, said Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker. This manufacturing innovation institute will be the national leader in developing and commercializing textiles with extraordinary properties. It will extend to an exciting new field our ongoing efforts to nurture emerging industries, and grow them to scale in Massachusetts. And it will serve as a vital piece of innovation infrastructure, to support the development of the next generation of manufacturing technology, and the development of a highly skilled workforce.For thousands of years, humans have used fabrics in much the same way, to provide basic warmth and aesthetics. Clothing represents one of the most ancient forms of human expression, Fink said, but one that is now, for the first time, poised to undergo a profound transformation the dawn of a fabric revolution.
We all know about Ranbir Kapoor's cousin sister Kareena Kapoor, as she is a famous Bollywood star, but not much has been written about Ranbir's real sister Riddhima Kapoor.
So, today, we bring to you some really beautiful pictures of Riddhima, which can give any Bollywood actress a complex....(and after seeing these pictures, even we are wondering why she never thought of joining Bollywood!)
Click On VIEW PHOTOS To See Riddhima's Beautiful Pictures
Riddhima is married to businessman Bharat Sahni and based in Delhi but she often visits Mumbai to meet her parents Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Kapoor. Riddhima is also very attached to brother Ranbir Kapoor and in NDTV's blog she revealed many secrets about her family.
She wrote, ''Ranbir never needed any advice on girlfriends. He used to go into my room and take whatever I had in my little treasure box and give it to his girlfriend, and that used to irritate me so much. When the girls came home, I'd be like, "Hmmm, now I know where my stuff went."
Is Bipasha Basu Getting Married To Karan Singh Grover? Read What She Has To Say!
Riddhima Kapoor Sahni further added, ''He was annoyingly naughty. I remember we used to watch a lot of WWF and then imitate it and wrestle with each other. My mother was fed up and warned Ranbir not to fight with me, but to be honest, I used to instigate him a lot.''
''Ranbir is more like my mother, and I am like my dad. But work-wise, they are both so disciplined, professional and passionate about their work - and FOOD! For me, it's just a treat to watch them in front of the camera,'' she wrote.
Actress Sunny Leone, who emerged as a sex icon with her bold ad for Manforce, has recently posted a picture from her latest photoshoot for the brand and boys, she is looking way too sensuous in the pictures.
She captioned the picture as "There's no two ways about this - You don't get to decide when she's ready to be with you. @ManforceIndia ". Along with her recent photoshoot, we have also brought to you the other pictures of Sunny Leone from Manforce photoshoot, which you can see below in the slides.
Below Are The 25 Pics Of Sunny Leone From The Photoshoot:
In an interview to Hindustan Times, Sunny was once quoted as saying, "I am promoting safe sex and unwanted pregnancies. If a family isn't ready to have a baby, it's a good method of contraception as it doesn't affect a woman's health, as compared to birth control pills, which affect a woman's body, mind and hormones. I don't see it as a bad thing." Well, we do agree with Sunny here!
Along with Sunny, Bollywood's heartthrob Ranveer Singh is also one of those B-town celebs, who openly supports safe sex.
"Sex is a beautiful and perfectly natural phenomenon. Everyone does it and by no means is it a bad or evil thing. So, there's really no reason to be cagey about it. The facilitation of an open and healthy discussion about sex amongst young people is important to combat the repressed status of sex in India," Ranveer had said in a statement.
On the work front, Sunny will be next seen in One Night Stand, and she is also doing an item number in Superstar Shahrukh Khan's upcoming film, Raees.
Garena Interactive, Southeast Asias largest internet and mobile platform company, said on Thursday it had raised $170 million from investors including Malaysias wealth fund Khazanah.
Headquartered in Singapore, Garena operates across three major internet categories: digital content, marketplace ecommerce, and electronic payments.
Khazanah led the series D funding round. It joins existing investors in Garena including General Atlantic, the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan, and Keytone Ventures.
Garena represented the first Southeast Asia internet investment for each of these firms. In total, Garena has now raised over $500 million from investors to support its growth.
Founded in 2009, Garena has achieved compound annual revenue growth of more than 90% over the past five years to over $300 million of gross revenue in 2015.
Consumers engage with the Garena platform and its associated content partners for over 1.6 billion hours a month, the company said.
Garena has also launched Shopee, an online marketplace; and AirPay, a payments platform.
Shopee is the fastest growing ecommerce business the region has ever seen and is among the fastest growing in the world, said group president Nicholas Nash.
Garena is a portmanteau of the words Global Arena and signifies the Companys global ambition to connect the dots for hundreds of millions of individuals using technology. The company has grown to almost 4,600 employees today across the region.
With this new round of capital, we have no doubt that Shopee and AirPay will be the leading offerings in the market, said Forrest Li, founder, chairman, and group CEO of Garena
Kirkland & Ellis represented Garena, led by Hong Kong corporate partners David Zhang and Amie Tang.
After years of anticipation, the Labor Department will release its fiduciary rule on Wednesday, sources confirmed Friday.
Labor Secretary Thomas Perez and other political luminaries are set to announce the regulation that many believe could usher in unprecedented change in the financial services industry.
CONFLICTED ADVICE
The rule would require advisors, planners and wealth managers to place their clients' financial interests ahead of their own when advising on retirement accounts. By implementing it, the Obama administration aims to reduce the $17 billion that the White House Council of Economic Advisors estimates Americans lose annually to conflicted financial advice on their retirement accounts.
The move has been hotly contested by many in the industry who say it will cut back on their ability in particular to serve investors with smaller accounts. They also say that, given its complexity, implementing the rule will prove unwieldy. Proponents have countered that few Wall Street firms are interested in clients with relatively small investment portfolios and that opposition is based on fears about lower fees as well as fighting a proposal from the Obama administration.
Read more: Third Party BDs Angle for Position as Fiduciary Rule Draws Near
Industry opponents of the rule have sought avenues to stop it in Congress. But the administration retains the power of a presidential veto to impose its will, says Ron Rhoades, head of the financial planning department at Western Kentucky University.
LAWSUITS THREATENED
Numerous organizations, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, also have threatened to immediately file lawsuits on the heels of the rule's release, says Mercer Bullard, founder of Fund Democracy, an advocacy group for mutual fund shareholders.
However, more recently, even FINRA CEO Richard Ketchum told Financial Planning that a uniform fiduciary standard makes sense.
Of note is the fact that, in the weeks leading up to the rule's release, there have seen a flurry of the changes from big wealth management companies that many advocates say investors have needed for years.
They include independent broker-dealer Ladenburg Thalmann's decision to offer a self-service advice platform with a minimum account balance of $500 and leading independent broker-dealer LPL Financial's move to slash prices on many of its model portfolios.
Read more:
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 03/31/16 -- Teck Resources Limited (TSX: TCK.A and TCK.B, NYSE: TCK) ("Teck") will release its first quarter 2016 earnings results on Tuesday, April 26, 2016 before market open.
The company will hold an investor conference call to discuss the first quarter 2016 earnings results at 11:00 a.m. Eastern time / 8:00 a.m. Pacific time on Tuesday, April 26, 2016. The conference call dial-in is 416.340.2216 or toll free 866.225.0198, no pass code required. Media are invited to attend on a listen-only basis.
A live audio webcast of the conference call, together with supporting presentation slides, will be available on Teck's website at www.teck.com. The webcast will be archived at www.teck.com.
To listen to a post-call recording of the call, dial 905.694.9451 or toll free 800.408.3053 and enter access number 4158425 when prompted. The recording will be available from 2:00 p.m. Pacific time April 26, 2016 to 11:59 p.m. Pacific time May 26, 2016.
About Teck
Teck is a diversified resource company committed to responsible mining and mineral development with major business units focused on copper, steelmaking coal, zinc and energy. Headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, its shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbols TCK.A and TCK.B and the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol TCK. Further information about Teck can be found at: www.teck.com.
Contacts:
Investor Contact:
Ellen Lai
Coordinator, Investor Relations
604.699.4257
ellen.lai@teck.com
Media Contact:
Chris Stannell
Senior Communications Specialist
604.699.4368
chris.stannell@teck.com
CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - The New Zealand dollar weakened against the other major currencies in the Asian session on Friday. The NZ dollar fell to 2-day lows of 77.29 against the yen, 1.6498 against the euro and 1.1123 against the Australian dollar, from yesterday's closing quotes of 77.72, 1.6463 and 1.1078, respectively. Against the U.S. dollar, the kiwi edged down to 0.6889 from yesterday's closing value of 0.6906. If the kiwi extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around 75.00 against the yen, 1.68 against the euro, 1.13 against the aussie and 0.67 against the greenback. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
TROIS-RIVIERES, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 04/01/16 -- Premier Aviation Overhaul Center, Inc. (Premier) is pleased to announce that effective May 1, 2016, Bret Burnside will be joining the Premier team as General Manager, Operations.
Based at Premier's facility in Rome, New York, Bret will continue the development of Premier's largest facility, focusing on the attainment of optimal performance within Premier's multiple lines of airframe maintenance and paint.
With some 35 years of experience in airframe MRO, and in addition to his military service, Mr. Burnside brings a level of knowledge, understanding and focus to what MRO quality means. His experience includes senior and executive management positions throughout the industry; the most recent of which was as Chief Operating Officer at Aviation Technical Services (ATS). Bret's past experiences as Vice President and General Manager at AAR and President of Cascade Aerospace, have provided him with both an operational and a financial perspective on airframe heavy maintenance.
As a previous owner of an MRO, Bret has had significant exposure to all aspects of our business which is invaluable to the delivery of Premier's strategic plan.
"The entire Premier team is looking forward to Bret's arrival and the positive impact he'll have on the operation. We're fortunate to have Bret with us and recognize the contribution he'll be able to make to the overall Premier operation." Said Ronnie Di Bartolo, President, and CEO of Premier.
In addition to Mr. Burnside's impressive business credentials, which include having attended the Michael G. Foster School of Business at the University of Washington, he's also an experienced A&P mechanic.
Mr. Di Bartolo adds, "As a quality MRO organization focused on controlled growth and having recently opened our fourth facility, Bret's addition to the Premier team will ensure the operational and financial control critical to success in airframe heavy maintenance today".
About Premier Aviation
Premier Aviation is the largest Canadian-owned aircraft Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) and aircraft painting company in North America, with facilities in, Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, Canada, Windsor, Ontario, Canada and Rome, New York, United States and Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. Since its inception in 2002, the company has maintained a steady growth of clients and services. For more information on Premier Aviation, visit www.premieraviation.ca.
Contacts:
Premier Aviation Overhaul Centre Inc.
Dave Diggle
VP, Marketing, Sales & Service
819 377-4500 ext. 398
ddiggle@premieraviation.ca
www.premieraviation.ca
APA ots news: IFM GIF: Takeover Commission approves publication of public offer for the increase of the minority stake in Flughafen Wien AG
Vienna (APA-ots) -
Airports Group Europe S.a r.l. offers shareholders EUR 100 per share from 1 April 2016 until 28 April 2016
Intended increase of the minority stake by up to 10.0%
Airports Group Europe S.a r.l. ("Airports Group Europe"), an indirect subsidiary of IFM Global Infrastructure Fund ("IFM GIF"), has today, 1 April 2016, published a public voluntary offer pursuant to 4 et seq of the Austrian Takeover Act (Ubernahmegesetz) addressed to the shareholders of Flughafen Wien AG (ISIN AT0000911805). The offer aims at the increase of the minority stake by up to 10.0% for a price of EUR 100 per share. This corresponds to a premium of 20.9% compared to the closing price of the last trading day prior to the announcement of the intention to launch the offer (11 March 2016) and a premium of 24.2% compared to the volume weighted average price (VWAP) of the last month prior to the announcement. The offer can be accepted by interested shareholders until 28 April 2016, 3:00pm (Vienna time).
"We are delighted that the Takeover Commission has agreed to the publication of our offer to increase our minority stake in Flughafen Wien by up to 10.0%" states Werner Kerschl, Investment Director of IFM Investors. "The excellent work of the management team and supervisory board, as well as the successful implementation of the strategy have convinced us to pursue this step. Another reason for our decision is the successful regional economic policy of the State of Lower Austria and the City of Vienna. These include the improvements of transport links and the tourism initiative." Airports Group Europe acquired a minority stake of 29.9% in Flughafen Wien AG through a public voluntary offer pursuant to 4 et seq of the Austrian Takeover Act (Ubernahmegesetz) in 2014.
Zwtl.: Details of the Offer
The aim of the offer is to purchase up to 2,100,000 ordinary bearer shares in Flughafen Wien AG, which are admitted to trading in the "Prime Market" segment of the official market (amtlicher Handel) of the Vienna Stock Exchange under ISIN AT0000911805, which in total corresponds to 10.0% of the entire registered capital of Flughafen Wien AG. The price per share will amount to EUR 100 cum dividend 2015.
This offer can also be accepted in the United States of America.
This offer can be accepted by interested shareholders of Flughafen Wien AG during the acceptance period, from Friday, 1 April 2016 until and including Thursday, 28 April 2016, 15.00 (Vienna time), which corresponds to an acceptance period of twenty (20) trading days.
The offer document is published on the websites of Flughafen Wien AG (www.viennaairport.com) and of the Takeover Commission (www.takeover.at) and will be available in the form of a prospectus at the corporate seat of Flughafen Wien AG, Flughafen, 1300 Wien-Flughafen, and at UniCredit Bank Austria AG, acting as the receiving and payment agent, Schottengasse 6-8, 1010 Vienna, during normal office hours, free of charge.
Nomura is acting as financial advisor while Eisenberger & Herzog Rechtsanwalts GmbH is acting as Austrian legal advisor.
Zwtl.: About IFM GIF
IFM GIF is a perpetual open-ended unit trust which continually raises new capital from institutional investors. IFM GIF's open-ended structure allows for long-term investments in line with the long-term investment horizons of its institutional pension fund investors. IFM GIF is advised by IFM Investors Pty Limited ("IFM Investors").
Zwtl.: About Airports Group Europe
Airports Group Europe is a limited company registered in Luxembourg under B 167449.
Zwtl.: About IFM Investors
IFM Investors is one of the largest global infrastructure investment managers with EUR 20.5 billion (as at 31 December 2015) invested across a range of infrastructure assets. IFM Investors, domiciled in Australia, is a long-term investment manager which is ultimately owned by 29 not-for-profit Australian pension funds. IFM Investors has significant experience in working alongside municipalities and public entities. IFM Investors' expertise includes different classes of infrastructure such as pipelines, electricity transmission systems, seaports and airports. IFM Investors has been involved, as manager or advisor of multiple funds, in their investments in 16 different airports in Australia, the United Kingdom, Austria, Malta and Slovakia.
www.ifminvestors.com
Ruckfragehinweis: For Further Information
Ecker & Partner Offentlichkeitsarbeit und Public Affairs GmbH
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OTS0002 2016-04-01/07:29
AXC0032 2016-04-01/07:35
Legal structures combined and financing integrated
Orc Group Holding AB (under name change to, and hereafter referred to as Itiviti Group Holding AB) today announced the completion of the combination with CameronTec Intressenter Top Holding AB. Orc and CameronTec on 2 February 2016 announced the establishment of the new combined company Itiviti. With the purpose of simplifying and aligning the structure and organization of the new Group, the legal structures are merged through the incorporation of CameronTec Intressenter Top Holding AB under Itiviti Group Holding AB.
In connection with the transaction, the new Group's cash management is optimized through the repayment of a SEK 220 million bank loan, using existing cash balances and credit facilities. The interim report for Q1-2016 will show financials for the combined new Group. As previously communicated, Itiviti for the full year 2015 reported revenues of SEK 685 million and EBITDA of SEK 317 million.
About Itiviti Group
Itiviti is a world-leading technology provider for the capital markets industry. Trading firms, banks, brokers and institutional clients rely on Itiviti technology, solutions and expertise for streamlining their daily operations, while gaining sustainable competitive edge in global markets. With 13 offices and serving more than 400 customers worldwide, Itiviti was formed by uniting Orc Group, a leader in trading and electronic execution, and CameronTec Group, the global standard in financial messaging infrastructure and connectivity. From its foundation in 2016, Itiviti has a staff of 400 and an estimated annual revenue of SEK 700 million. Itiviti is committed to continuous innovation to deliver trading infrastructure built for today's dynamic markets, offering highly adaptable platforms and solutions, enabling clients to stay ahead of competitive and regulatory challenges.
Itiviti is owned by Nordic Capital Fund VII. www.itiviti.com
The information in this press release is subject to the disclosure requirements of Itiviti Group Holding AB under the Swedish Securities Market Act and/or the Swedish Financial Instruments Trading Act. The information was released for publication on April 1, 2016, 8:00 a.m. CEST. N.B. The English text is a translation of the Swedish text. In case of discrepancy between the Swedish and the English text the Swedish version shall prevail.
This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160331006598/en/
Contacts:
For further information, please contact:
Tony Falck, CFO, Itiviti Group,
Tel. +46 8 506 477 24
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.
On 31 March 2016 the Board of TEO LT, AB (hereinafter "Teo" or "the Company") decided:- To approve the draft of the audited annual consolidated and separate financial statements of the Company for the year 2015, prepared according to the International Financial Reporting Standards, and to propose to the Company's Annual General Meeting of Shareholders to approve the draft of the Company's annual consolidated and separate financial statements for the year 2015.Audited financial results of Teo Group for the year 2015 are the same as the results announced on 29 January 2016 for the twelve months of 2015 - consolidated Teo Group revenue for the year 2015 amounted to EUR 204,598 thousand. EBITDA excluding non-recurring items was EUR 80,765thousand and free cash flow amounted to EUR 28,543 thousand.- To approve the Company's Consolidated Annual Report for the year 2015, prepared by the Company and assessed by the auditors, and to present the Company's Consolidated Annual Report for information to the Company's Annual General Meeting of Shareholders.- To approve the draft of the Company's profit allocation for the year 2015 and to propose for the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders to allocate the profit according to the draft of profit allocation: allocate EUR 5,826 thousand from the Company's distributable profit for the payment of dividends for the year 2015, or EUR 0.01 dividend per share.- To propose to the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders to approve the preparation of reorganisation terms, under which the Company's subsidiaries UAB Omnitel and UAB Baltic Data Center would be merged into TEO LT, AB.- To convoke the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders in TEO LT, AB headquarters, in a room on the 23rd floor, Lvovo str. 25, Vilnius, Lithuania, at 13.00 on 26 April 2016, and to propose to the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders' the following draft agenda:1. Presentation by the Company's auditor. 2. Approval of the annual consolidated and separate financial statements of the Company for the year 2015 and presentation of the consolidated annual report of the Company for the year 2015. 3. Allocation of the profit of the Company of 2015. 4. Regarding the approval of reorganisation terms. 5. Election of the Company's new Board member. 6. Regarding the implementation of decisions.The Board comment on adopted decisions:"Today the Board adopted a significant decision in the history of TEO LT, AB Group. It was decided to ask for shareholders' approval for preparation of reorganisation terms following which subsidiaries UAB Omnitel and UAB Baltic Data Center would be merged into TEO LT, AB. While operating as separate legal entities for the past half year, the Group companies have been generating common decisions that maximize the benefits for our customers, prompt synergies and innovations. This experience shows that together we are stronger, more useful and attractive to our customers and investors.Having evaluated the demand for long-term strategic investments, loan repayment terms and our overall leverage levels following the acquisition of Omnitel, the Board has proposed to the shareholders that the level of dividend pay-out for the year 2015 be lower compared with the year 2014. Such a proposal reflects a conservative approach of the Board towards the Group's long-term capital structure, which will ensure a gradual reduction in the levels of debt.We believe that both large and minority shareholders will support the Board's vision to create a new generation telco in order to sustainably create value to the shareholders in the medium and long term."ENCL.: - TEO LT, AB Consolidated and Separate Financial Statements, Consolidated Annual Report and Independent Auditor's Report for the year ended 31 December 2015. - Presentation of TEO LT, AB Group results for the year 2015.Giedre Kaminskaite-Salters, Head of Legal, tel. +370 5 236 7715.Attachment:https://cns.omxgroup.com/cds/DisclosureAttachmentServlet?messageAttachmentId=554265
Company announcement no. 2/2016Aalborg, Denmark, 2016-04-01 08:50 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --SUMMARYResults for 2015/16The results before tax amounted to DKK -190.9 million*) for 2015/16 against DKK -17.4 million*) in 2014/15. This performance meets recent expectations.The Group's total results after tax amounted to DKK -222.3 million against DKK -37.7 million in 2014/15.The results before tax were impacted by a negative value adjustment of investment properties as well as the impairment of projects and goodwill for a total of DKK 194.6 million.The balance sheet total came to DKK 2,808.8 million against DKK 2,845.2 million at 31 January 2015. The Group's equity stood at DKK 1,285.7 million, equal to a solvency ratio of 45.8 %.Overview of segments:DKKm Property Asset Unallocate development management d -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Profit/loss before tax 41.4 -127.0 -105.4 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Balance sheet -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Development projects 759.2 - - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Completed properties under asset - 1,169.8 - management -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other asset management projects - 137.9 - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other assets 334.9 324.3 82.7 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total assets 1,094.1 1,632.0 82.7 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tied-up equity 646.5 577.2 62.0 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Strategic focus 2018In December 2015 TK Development's Board of Directors determined a number of strategic goals and initiatives for the period until 2018. The aim is for TK Development to become an undiversified developer company and to create attractive shareholder value.The Group's future strategic focus is property development in Denmark, Sweden and Poland. The return on equity from this business area is expected to amount to 15-20 % p.a. before tax as from the 2017/18 financial year.The operation of the Group's asset management activities is to be matured and optimized, with a view to selling the activities within a period of three to five years, and the plan is to distribute the freed-up equity to TK Development's shareholders.TK Development will continue its strong focus on substantially reducing the portfolio of land.The narrower future strategic focus will continuously reduce the Group's capacity costs in the period until 2018.As part of the strategy, Management decided to launch a range of initiatives, including:-- To initiate a process to sell the Czech activities. The Czech plots of land were written down in Q3 2015/16 by DKK 35.0 million to cover the risks associated with this sale.-- To start the third of four phases of the Group's residential project in Bielany, Warsaw, Poland. Current budget estimates necessitated making a writedown for impairment of these plots of land, and in Q3 2015/16 they were written down by DKK 37.8 million. The value of the plots of land totalled DKK 181.7 million at 31 January 2016. In step with the startup of the third and fourth phases, the plots will be transferred to Projects in progress. In addition, another Polish plot of land has been written down by DKK 7.5 million, as negotiations about the partial sale of this plot are currently ongoing.-- To discontinue reporting separately on the Group's discontinuing activities. A DKK 78.0 million writedown for impairment was made in Q3 2015/16 to cover the special risks associated with these activities.-- To include land and development projects in the countries where the Group wishes to discontinue its activities in the longer term under asset management in the Group's future reporting.-- To write down goodwill by DKK 33.3 million; this writedown for impairment was made in Q3 2015/16.-- To write down tax assets in Poland and the Czech Republic to DKK 0 million.Outlook for 2016/17Management still expects consolidated results before tax for 2016/17 to total DKK 10-30 million.This profit estimate is based on the expectation that a number of ongoing small and medium-sized projects will be executed before the end of the current financial year. TK Development is recording good progress on the individual projects. The time horizon for the projects means that the majority of them are expected to be completed, handed over to the investor and thus recognized in income in Q4 2016/17. The Group's most significant development projects are not expected to contribute to consolidated results until subsequent financial years.Property developmentThe results for this business area amounted to DKK 41.4 million before tax in 2015/16. At 31 January 2016 the balance sheet total came to DKK 1,094.1 million, and the equity tied up represented DKK 646.5 million.The sales completed by TK Development in 2015/16 included the following, all in Denmark:-- Sale of ownership interest in apartments for young people of about 1,500 m in Frederiksberg, Copenhagen. -- Sale of retail stores of about 3,700 m at Marsvej in Randers. -- Sale of a 6,000 m office project to Alfa Laval in Aalborg. -- Sale of a lot of about 13,000 m2 at Amerika Plads, Copenhagen, to A.P. Mller - Mrsk A/S, of which TK Development's ownership interest amounted to 50 %. -- Sale of building rights for almost 9,000 m in Kge to Kge Municipality. -- Sale of a residential project of about 2,400 m in Aarhus.Major development projects in progress:-- Construction of the new shopping centre, BROEN Shopping, in Esbjerg, Denmark, started in May 2015. The current occupancy rate is 73 % of the premises. In May 2015 TK Development sold 65 % of the project to CapMan Real Estate, which is participating in completing its development. This sale has had no immediate impact on results.-- The Group's Strdet project in Kge, Denmark, comprises retail and residential units as well as public service and parking facilities. Construction started in March 2015. The retail project, of which 72 % has been let, has been sold conditionally to the Finnish company Citycon together with the parking facilities.-- The second phase of the residential project in Bielany in Warsaw, Poland, is progressing as planned. The second phase consists of 297 retail units and service facilities, and 85 % of the units have been sold in advance at the budgeted selling prices.-- Overall, TK Development has ongoing construction projects covering more than 85,000 m and is recording good progress on these projects.The project pipeline is looking strong, and the projects are moving ahead at a good pace due to robust tenant and investor interest.Asset managementThe results for this business area amounted to DKK -127.0 million before tax in 2015/16. At 31 January 2016 the balance sheet total came to DKK 1,632.0 million, and the equity tied up represented DKK 577.2 million.The portfolio of completed properties in this business area comprises a total floor space of 156,200 m and at 31 January 2016 represented a value of DKK 1,169.8 million excluding joint venture projects and DKK 1,577.9 million including joint venture projects. The annual net rent from the current leases corresponds to a return on the carrying amount of 4.4 %. Based on full occupancy, the return on the carrying amount is expected to reach 6.2 %.Detailed development and operating plans have been drafted for each property, and good progress is being made in their realization in a number of areas.In addition, asset management activities comprise plots of land and development projects on markets where TK Development wishes to discontinue its activities in the longer term. The carrying amount of these plots and projects amounted to DKK 137.9 million at 31 January 2016.Financial issuesIn Q4 2015/16 TK Development entered into an agreement with PKA regarding a DKK 500 million refinancing of Sillebroen in Frederikssund, Denmark, over a five-year term.In Q3 2015/16 TK Development extended its agreement with the Group's main banker about operating and project credits until 30 September 2017.Of the total project credit facilities of DKK 1,392.8 million at 31 January 2016, facilities of DKK 336 million were due to expire prior to the end of January 2017. A significant portion of these facilities has been prolonged after the reporting date, and the remainder is expected to be prolonged before maturity.The expectations mentioned in this Annual Report, including earnings expectations, are naturally subject to risks and uncertainties, which may result in deviations from the expected results. Expectations may be impacted by factors generally applicable to the sector as well as the factors referred to under Risk issues and note 2 to the consolidated financial statements, Accounting estimates and judgments, including the valuation of the Group's project portfolio.*) Excluding tax withheld from Income from investments in joint ventures.Contact details:Frede Clausen, President & CEOTel. +45 8896 1010Attachment:https://cns.omxgroup.com/cds/DisclosureAttachmentServlet?messageAttachmentId=554248
CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Commodity currencies such as the Australian, the New Zealand and the Canadian dollars weakened against their major counterparts in the Asian session on Friday amid risk aversion, despite better-than-expected Chinese manufacturing surveys, as investors turned cautious ahead of the release of the closely-watched U.S. monthly jobs data later in the day.
The closely-watched report is expected to show an increase of about 210,000 jobs in March after employment jumped by 242,000 jobs in February. The unemployment rate is expected to hold at 4.9 percent.
Oil prices fell due to oversupply worries. Crude oil for May delivery are currently down $0.56 to $37.78 a barrel.
Standard and Poor's downgrade for the outlook of China to negative from stable also weigh on investor sentiment.
Thursday, the Australian, the New Zealand and the Canadian dollars showed mixed trading against their major rivals. The aussie, kiwi and the loonie rose against the U.S. dollar and the yen. Meanwhile, the aussie and the loonie fell against the euro, the kiwi held steady against the euro.
In the Asian trading, the Australian dollar fell to 85.78 against the yen, from yesterday's closing value of 86.17. The aussie may test support near the 84.00 region.
Against the euro and the U.S. dollar, the aussie dropped to 1.4858 and 0.7651 from early highs of 1.4780 and 0.7700, respectively. If the aussie extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around 1.52 against the euro and 0.74 against the greenback.
The NZ dollar fell to 2-day lows of 77.29 against the yen, 1.6498 against the euro and 1.1123 against the Australian dollar, from yesterday's closing quotes of 77.72, 1.6463 and 1.1078, respectively. If the kiwi extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around 75.00 against the yen, 1.68 against the euro and 1.13 against the aussie.
Against the U.S. dollar, the kiwi edged down to 0.6889 from yesterday's closing value of 0.6906. The kiwi is likely to find support around the 0.67 area.
The Canadian dollar fell to more than a 2-week low of 1.4842 against the euro, from yesterday's closing value of 1.4795. On the downside, 1.51 is seen as the next support level for the loonie.
Against the U.S. dollar, the yen and the Australian dollar, the loonie dropped to 2-day lows of 1.3049, 85.91 and 1.0002 from yesterday's closing quotes of 1.3002, 86.54 and 0.9955, respectively. If the loonie extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around 1.33 against the greenback, 84.00 against the yen and 1.01 against the aussie.
Meanwhile, the safe-have yen rose against its major rivals amid risk aversion.
In economic news, data from Markit Economics showed that Japan's Markit/ Nikkei Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index, or PMI, fell to 49.1 in March, in line with the preliminary data, from 50.1 in February.
The yen rose to a 4-day high of 160.64 against the pound and a 2-day high of 112.06 against the U.S. dollar, from yesterday's closing quotes of 161.60 and 112.55, respectively. If the yen extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 156.00 against the pound and 110.00 against the greenback.
Against the euro and the Swiss franc, the yen edged up to 127.43 and 116.61 from yesterday's closing quotes of 128.07 and 116.98, respectively. The yen is likely to find resistance around 125.00 against the euro and 114.00 against the franc.
Looking ahead, Swiss retail sales data for February, PMI reports from major European economies for March and Eurozone unemployment rate for February are due to be released later in the day.
In the New York session, U.S. jobs data, U.S. ISM manufacturing PMI and Canada RBC manufacturing PMI, for March, U.S. construction spending for February, U.S. University of Michigan's final consumer sentiment index for March and U.S. Baker Hughes rig count data are slated for release.
At 12:00 pm ET, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester is expected to speak about the economic outlook and monetary policy at the New York Association for Business Economics, in New York.
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MOUNTAIN VIEW, California, April 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- For the City of Stockholm, with 930,000 citizens and an economy that revolves around service-related jobs, secure mobile access to city data is essential to the smooth delivery of government services. When the City of Stockholm decided to focus on enabling its workers with mobile apps and devices, it turned to MobileIron, the leader in mobile enterprise security, to securely manage almost 60,000 employee devices.
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140923/147891
"After reviewing the leading enterprise mobility management products on the market, and with the help of our technology partners Tieto & EVRY, we chose MobileIron to securely equip our employees with mobile access to city data and corporate apps to streamline cumbersome processes. Our new mobile strategy has transformed daily government tasks across all sectors," said Constantinos Amiridis, IT Strategist, City of Stockholm.
Increasing quality of service, whilst protecting sensitive data
"Working with MobileIron has ensured the protection of sensitive city data, which has boosted productivity and improved the quality and breadth of services that we can provide. Governmental departments across the board have benefited from the city's mobile transformation," said Amiridis.
The city's deployed tablets throughout schools means teachers can now access MobileIron's corporate app store to distribute apps to teachers, enhancing the quality of education students receive.
"With MobileIron, we've been able to enforce security policies and put hundreds of apps right at teachers' fingertips, all without them requiring any special technology training," explained Amiridis.
Mobilising employees boosts productivity
The City has also used mobile technology to streamline how water inspectors and cemetery workers do their jobs.
"Water inspectors can now create work orders in seconds using an iPad app secured through MobileIron's AppConnect. This eliminates 300 hours a year in journeys between sites and the office simply to input work orders in the city's computer systems. Similarly, cemetery workers have gained 75 hours a year from the ability to securely use smartphones to photograph, document results of site inspections and then update central systems," said Amiridis.
"Once you've embraced the mobile way of life, you don't want to slow down," said Amiridis. "We're confident that MobileIron will continue to help us increase the mobility of our employees in ways that translate to better service for our citizens."
For more information, read the full case study: https://www.mobileiron.com/en/customers/case-study/city-stockholm
About MobileIron
MobileIron provides the secure foundation for companies around the world to transform into Mobile First organisations. For more information, please visitwww.mobileiron.com.
Copenhagen, 2016-04-01 08:53 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- No. 13/2016ISS A/S (ISS.CO, ISS DC, ISSDY), a leading global provider of facility services, hereby announces that the Board of Directors has decided to propose election of Mr Ben Stevens as a new member of the Board of Directors of ISS A/S at the company's Annual General Meeting on 5 April 2016.Mr Ben Stevens is Group Finance Director and a member of the Board of Directors of British American Tobacco p.l.c. A description of Mr Ben Stevens' qualifications and positions is enclosed.For investor enquiries Nicholas Ward, Head of Group Investor Relations, +45 3817 6251 Martin Kjr Hansen, Investor Relations Manager, +45 3817 6431For media enquiries Manuel Vigilius, Global Media Relations Manager, +45 3817 6404About ISS The ISS Group was founded in Copenhagen in 1901 and has grown to become one of the world's leading Facility Services companies. ISS offers a wide range of services such as: Cleaning, Catering, Security, property and Support Services as well as Facility Management. Global revenue amounted to DKK 79.6 billion in 2015 and ISS has approximately 505,000 employees and activities in more than 75 countries across Europe, Asia, North America, Latin America and Pacific, serving thousands of both public and private sector customers. For more information on the ISS Group, visit www.issworld.com.ISS A/S, ISIN DK0060542181, ISIN US4651472056 ISS Global A/S, ISIN XS1145526585, ISIN XS1330300341, ISIN XS1145526825Attachment:https://cns.omxgroup.com/cds/DisclosureAttachmentServlet?messageAttachmentId=554303
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) - Sainsbury (J) Plc. (JSAIY.PK, SBRY.L) said Friday that Home Retail Group (HMRLF.PK, HOME.L) Directors intend unanimously to recommend Sainsbury's takeover offer for Home Retail.
David Tyler, Chairman of Sainsbury's said, 'We are very pleased the Board of Home Retail Group plc has recommended our offer for the acquisition of its business to its shareholders. The combined business will offer a multi-product, multi-channel proposition, with fast delivery networks, which we believe will be very attractive to customers and which will create value to both sets of shareholders.'
As per the terms of the Acquisition, Home Retail Group Shareholders will be entitled to receive 0.321 New Sainsbury's Shares and 55 pence in cash for each Home Retail Group Share.
In addition, Home Retail Group Shareholders will also be entitled to receive 25 pence per Home Retail Group Share, reflecting the 200 million pounds return to shareholders in respect of the Homebase Sale; 2.8 pence per Home Retail Group Share in lieu of a final dividend in respect of Home Retail Group plc's financial year ended 27 February 2016.
Accordingly, the Special Dividend referred to in the Original Announcement will not be paid.
Based on the Closing Price of Sainsbury's Shares of 276.3 pence on 31 March 2016, being the Last Practicable Date: the Offer Consideration represents an indicative value of 143.7 pence per Home Retail Group Share and values Home Retail Group plc's issued ordinary share capital at approximately 1.2 billion pounds; the Offer Consideration and the Proposed Capital Returns together represent an indicative value of 171.5 pence per Home Retail Group Share and value Home Retail Group plc's issued ordinary share capital at approximately 1.4 billion pounds.
Upon Completion it is expected that Home Retail Group Shareholders will hold approximately 12 per cent. of the enlarged issued ordinary share capital of Sainsbury's.
Home Retail Group Directors intend unanimously to recommend that Home Retail Group Shareholders vote in favour of the Scheme at the Court Meeting and the resolutions relating to the Acquisition to be proposed at the Home Retail Group General Meeting.
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BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - At 3:15 am ET Friday, the Federal Statistical Office is scheduled to release Swiss retail sales for February. Ahead of the data, the franc showed mixed trading against its major rivals. While the franc rose against the greenback and the yen, it held steady against the euro. Against the pound, it pared early gain. The franc was worth 0.9600 against the greenback, 117.03 against the yen, 1.0928 against the euro and 1.3783 against the pound as of 3:10 am ET. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Seiichiro Toda s-toda@cj.jp.nec.com +81-3-3798-6511
SINGAPORE, Apr 1, 2016 - (JCN Newswire) - NEC Asia Pacific announced today that Mr Tetsuro Akagi has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer, with effect from 1 April 2016. He will be responsible for the business operations and expansions of the Asia Pacific region to further deliver its growth plans.In addition, Mr Akagi is also appointed as Senior Vice President of NEC Corporation.Mr Tetsuro Akagi has held various senior positions in sales, financial, operational and business management roles in both Japan and other countries since he joined NEC over 30 years ago. He possesses vast international experience in sales, business planning and management functions gained in the United States, Hong Kong, China and Australia.He has been NEC Australia's Managing Director since January 2014, where he was responsible for evolving the company into one of the country's leading ICT solutions and services business.Commenting on his new role, Mr Akagi said, "I am deeply honoured to be appointed to this new position. The Asia Pacific region represents a strong future for NEC and I hope to continue to work closely with our NEC country affiliates in the region, strengthen relationships with existing customers while expanding our businesses, and position NEC as one of the leading innovative technology and solutions companies in the region."Mr Akagi succeeds Mr Toshiya Matsuki who has led NEC Asia Pacific's businesses in the region since April 2013. Effective as of 1 April 2016, Mr Matsuki has been appointed to Executive Vice President of NEC Corporation and President of NEC Global Business Unit.About NEC CorporationNEC Corporation is a leader in the integration of IT and network technologies that benefit businesses and people around the world. By providing a combination of products and solutions that cross utilize the company's experience and global resources, NEC's advanced technologies meet the complex and ever-changing needs of its customers. NEC brings more than 100 years of expertise in technological innovation to empower people, businesses and society. For more information, visit NEC at http://www.nec.com.Based on its Mid-term Management Plan 2015, the NEC Group globally provides "Solutions for Society" that promote the safety, security, efficiency and equality of society. Under the company's corporate message of "Orchestrating a brighter world," NEC aims to help solve a wide range of challenging issues and to create new social value for the changing world of tomorrow. For more information, please visit http://www.nec.com/en/global/about/solutionsforsociety/message.html.Source: NEC CorporationContact:Copyright 2016 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved.
4 axis and 8 commitments to support economic and social development
ESI Group (Paris:ESI) today announces the formalization of its approach to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). In full alignment with ESI's values and corporate culture, the CSR policy positions the Group's strategic priorities within the framework of its fundamental commitments to its employees, to its clients and partners, to our society and to the environment.
Alain de Rouvray, ESI Group's Chairman and CEO, comments: "Given the increasing technological, societal and environmental challenges we are all facing, we believe that our Corporate Responsibility, as a global leader in Virtual Prototyping, is to commit to the long-term and sustainable development of both our Group and society at large. Driven by strong convictions, we have formalized our CSR approach to be and stay in phase with our Group's values
Based on 4 axes and 8 commitments, ESI Group's CSR approach aims to assure harmonious work condition for all its employees, to propose for its clients innovative solutions that will transform them into long-term partners, and, to limit the environmental footprint of the Group and its clients; while behaving in an ethical and responsible manner with respect to society
For further information, please go to the new section we have created on our website called 'Our Responsibility', which covers all information relating to our CSR approach.
You can visit this new section at www.esi-group.com/company/about/our-responsibility
You can find all of our press releases at www.esi-group.com/press
Next events:
2015 Full Year Results:
April 12, 2016 Needham Emerging Technology Conference:
May 18-19, 2016 New York (US) Midcap Partners Forum:
June 3, 2016 Paris
About ESI
ESI is a world-leading provider of Virtual Prototyping software and services with a strong foundation in the physics of materialsand Virtual Manufacturing.
Founded over 40 years ago, ESI has developed a unique proficiency in helping industrial manufacturers replace physical prototypes by virtually replicating the fabrication, assembly and testing of products in different environments. Virtual Prototyping enables ESI's clients to evaluate the performance of their product and the consequences of its manufacturing history, under normal or accidental conditions. By benefiting from this information early in the process, enterprises know whether a product can be built, and whether it will meet its performance and certification objectives, before any physical prototype is built. To enable customer innovation, ESI's solutions integrate the latest technologies in high performance computing and immersive Virtual Reality, allowing companies to bring products to life before they even exist.
Today, ESI's customer base spans nearly every industry sector. The company employs more than 1,000 high-level specialists worldwide to address the needs of customers in more than 40 countries.
ESI is listed in compartment C of NYSE Euronext Paris and is granted "Entreprise Innovante" (Innovative Company) certification since 2000 by Bpifrance. ESI is eligible for inclusion in FCPI (venture capital trusts dedicated to innovation) and PEA PME.
For further information, go to www.esi-group.com.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160401005219/en/
Contacts:
Investor Relations
ESI Group Europe/Asia
Corentine Lemarchand, +33 1 53 65 14 51
corentine.lemarchand@esi-group.com
or
ESI Group America
Corinne Romefort-Regnier, + 1 415 994 3570
corinne.Romefort@esi-group.com
or
NewCap
Emmanuel Huynh
Louis-Victor Delouvrier
+33 1 44 71 98 53
BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - At 3:45 am ET Friday, Markit Economics is due to release its manufacturing PMI figures for Italy. PMI reports for France and Germany are due at 3:50 am ET and 3:55 am ET, respectively. The manufacturing PMI for the Eurozone is due at 4:00 am ET. Ahead of the reports, the euro showed mixed trading against the other major currencies. While the euro held steady against the U.S. dollar, it rose against the pound, the Swiss franc and the yen. As of 3:40 am ET, the euro was trading at 0.7935 against the pound, 1.0935 against the Swiss franc, 1.1384 against the U.S. dollar and 127.77 against the yen. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
BRISBANE, Australia, April 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
Have a Cuppa and Help Children Fighting Cancer
Childhood cancers are frequently misdiagnosed in Kenya, forcing the affected children and their families to experience great physical, mental and financial stress. Childhood cancers remain little-understood, and are often missed in the early stages. Although there are no official statistics, indicative data show that as many as 3,000 children get cancer every year in the country.
Purple-Vivo, a start-up company selling rare, anthocyanin-rich purple tea, has teamed up with the Childhood Cancer Initiative of Kenya to help ease the stress on families of kids living with cancer. Part of the proceeds from the sale of Purple-Vivo tea goes towards giving homes, food and medication to those affected.
"I have always been involved in raising awareness for childhood diseases, especially cancer, as well as advocating healthy eating," says Joseph Omachi, Director of Childhood Cancer Initiative. "That was what attracted me to purple tea in the first place, I believe healthy food and drink can help to reduce the risk of illness."
Studies have suggested a link between anthocyanins and a reduced risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease. According to Dr P Baruah, a senior advisory officer at the Tocklai Tea Research institute in India, purple tea's high antioxidant effects "provide anticancer benefits, and improve vision, cholesterol and blood sugar metabolism."
Purple-Vivo tea group, a start-up based in Australia and Kenya is one of the first companies to introduce purple tea to the world. Founded in 2015, Purple-Vivo's loose and bagged teas are becoming popular with tea drinkers. According to Purple-Vivo Brisbane's marketing director Caroline Tete, "People are beginning to realize the health benefits of purple tea and we are starting to get lots of orders worldwide." The company is raising funds on indiegogo to increase their line of purple teas by blending with different natural herbs.
ROULARTA MEDIA GROUP, a Belgian multimedia group, has announced that it will attend the Smallcap Event in Paris on 12th April 2016.
After having sold all its activities in France, Roularta is once more ready to resume its activities with a solid profitability. It is proud to announce new developments in the field of printing, audio-visual and new media. Its presence at the Smallcap Event is a unique opportunity for investors to rediscover the media group and take a closer look at its new developments in progress.
About the Roularta Group:
The group makes a consolidated turnover of 300 million euro and a combined turnover (which includes 50% of its joint ventures) of 500 million. It is active in the following fields:
Printing: leader in the field of news and lifestyle magazines in Belgium - leader of the free press in Belgium - joint venture leader (50%) with Bayard France in the field of senior citizens magazines in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands - leader thanks to Roularta Printing, the first offset printing in Belgium.
Audio-visual: joint venture leader JV (50 %) with De Persgroep via Medialaan in the field of television and radio for the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium, sole shareholder of the only Belgian national and economic news station Kanaal Z/Canal Z. joint venture leader JV (50 %) with De Persgroep via Medialaan in the field of television and radio for the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium, sole shareholder of the only Belgian national and economic news station Kanaal Z/Canal Z.
New media: active on the internet with the Belgian sites knack.be/ levif.be (5 million unique visitors) and has a digital version of all its titles on iPad, iPhone,... platforms.
Line Extensions: thanks to its media force, the group makes an increasing turnover in the field of e-commerce, cultural products, travels, design and insurances.
Innovation: Roularta launches the "Digilocal" project, a full service for local advertising on the internet with Google-ads, Facebook-ads, websites and e-shops, Proxistore, Proxiletter, including a e-commerce platform "Storesquare". Medialaan (50% Roularta) launches the platform "Stievie" (and vtm.be) for distribution of TV-programs via the internet. Medialaan develops as MVNO (mobile virtual network operator) a new mobile telecom business with "Jim Mobile" and "Mobile Vikings".
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: Roularta Media Group via Globenewswire
HUG#1999658
1st April 2016
Resignation of Director
Hydro Hotel, Eastbourne, Plc wishes to announce the resignation of Mrs M R Peck as a Director of the Company. Mary Peck retired as a director by rotation at the AGM on 29 March 2016, and after more than 20 years on the Board she has decided not to seek re-appointment. The Board would like to thank Mary for her contributions to the Board's policy discussions over the years, and wish her the best of health and happiness for her retirement.
The Directors of the Company accept responsibility for this announcement.
Enquiries:
Hydro Hotel, Eastbourne, Plc
Crispin P Freeman
Director & Company Secretary
Telephone: +44 1323 411019
ISDX Growth Market Adviser
Mazars Corporate Finance Limited
www.mazars.co.uk
Adrian Alexander
Telephone: +44 20 7063 4000
VIENNA (dpa-AFX) - European shares hit one-month low on Friday as oil prices fell and Asian shares tumbled amid mixed regional data and caution ahead of the all-important U.S. payrolls report due tonight.
Traders wait to see whether the March employment report will change the consensus view on the timing of the Federal Reserve's next rate hike.
Earlier in the day, Asian markets closed mostly lower, with Japan's Nikkei index tumbling as much as 3.5 percent to hit a one-month low, after the Bank of Japan's latest Tankan business sentiment survey showed conditions and the outlook among large manufacturers worsened in March.
While markets across Asia fell notably, Chinese shares ended modestly higher as manufacturing and services sector data showed some signs of recovery.
Closer home, Eurozone manufacturing growth improved more than initially estimated in March, final data from Markit showed, with the PMI rising to 51.6 from 51.2 in February.
While a gauge of U.K. house prices climbed an annual 5.7 percent in March to mark its fastest growth since January 2015, the country's manufacturing PMI rose in March from the previous month's 34-month low.
The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index was down about 1.6 percent after losing 1.1 percent on Thursday. The German DAX was losing 1.7 percent, France's CAC 40 index was down nearly 2 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was declining 1.2 percent.
Sainsbury shares dropped 2 percent after the board of Home Retail formally recommended a takeover offer from the British supermarket group.
Total SA and Royal Dutch Shell lost 2-3 percent as oil futures kicked off the second quarter with declines on worries over oversupply.
Volkswagen lost 1 percent in Frankfurt after saying it would recall 3,877 diesel Vento models from India. Rivals BMW and Daimler fell about 2 percent each.
Airbus Group tumbled over 3 percent after German newspaper Bild reported that engine problems will delay the deliveries of its A400M aircraft.
Banks traded higher across the region, with Credit Agricole, BNP Paribas, Barclays, Societe Generale Group, Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank rising between 0.2 percent and 1 percent.
ThyssenKrupp shares jumped 5 percent. German business paper Rheinische Post reported that India's Tata Steel was in talks to take a stake in ThyssenKrupp's European steel unit.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
RENO, NV -- (Marketwired) -- 04/01/16 -- Lifeline Biotechnologies, Inc. ("The Company") (OTC PINK: LLBO), in conjunction with its affiliate Cyrcadia, Inc. (" Cyrcadia"), is pleased to announce the achievement of a major milestone in Cyrcadia's regulatory and business development path. Cyrcadia Health announced the extension of its clinical trial for early breast cancer detection to The Stefanie Spielman Comprehensive Breast Center at The Ohio State University, in Columbus, Ohio. The trial, which began in 2015 at El Camino Hospital, in Mountain View, California, will continue at both locations to reach enrollment of 173 patients focused on breast cancer health screening.
"We are targeting both the 70 percent of the population that undergo biopsies on non-cancerous tissue resulting from mammographic referral, as well as mass screening of patients with dense breasts," said Rob Royea, President of Cyrcadia. "Patients with dense breast tissue have a higher propensity for cancer. Furthermore, mammography is challenged by detecting cancer in dense breast tissue as it can mask cancer cells and lesions."
"We have had a great deal of interest in this technology that may change the need for a breast biopsy," said Dr. Shyamali Singhal, founder of the El Camino Hospital Cancer Center. "The trial at El Camino Hospital opened with strong interest from the patient population and the early results are indeed promising. We look forward to further involvement with the Cyrcadia study here at El Camino Hospital."
"The expansion of the study to The Ohio State University is truly exciting, as The Ohio State University was the point of origin for the original 500 patient study conducted with our previous FDA cleared device," said Royea. "Dr. William Farrar, Professor, Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, and Medical Director of the Stefanie Spielman Comprehensive Breast Center was one of our original researchers. His confidence to include the Cyrcadia study at one of the nation's highest rated cancer hospitals is a significant complement to our early clinical trial progress. As we evaluate and potentially add new sites to the study, we will post final results of the study on clinicaltrials.gov once we have reached clearance by the FDA or final trial enrollment."
Current studies are partially supported financially by the Canary Foundation, the only foundation in the world which, over the past 10 years, has focused solely on early cancer detection. Cyrcadia and the Canary Foundation will be collaborating on early biomarkers identification for breast cancer. The ability to correlate the Cyrcadia findings with those biomarkers, which are early indicators of breast cancer, are invaluable and could lead to earlier therapy intervention in the progression of breast cancer. These opportunities are in early stage and will not preclude any activities at the main validation study sites of El Camino Hospital and OSU.
"We are looking forward participating in the Cyrcadia study. Early indications from the original predicate device from Cyrcadia showed promise that the monitor may be useful for screening those women with difficult mammographic interpretation (dense breast tissue)," said Dr. Farrar. "We look forward to further testing these new wearable devices to validate Cyrcadia's use as an adjunctive screening solution to reduce unnecessary biopsies and to determine its abilities to further define cancer in patients with dense tissue."
Cyrcadia expects to file its notification for 510(k) clearance with the FDA parallel with the current 173 patient trial. Such a filing does not guarantee clearance, but it will be a significant step toward clearance for both CE marking and 510(k) clearance with a goal of both domestic and international marketing.
This on-time achievement adds value and validates the Cyrcadia's ability to get through the developmental and regulatory efforts required to bring this important lifesaving technology to market. Year 2016 expectations are that the clinical trials will be completed, the regulatory filings will be achieved which is intended to lead to clearance by the FDA of the 510(k) application and CE Mark authoritative body. Additionally, the Company and Cyrcadia have begun exploring prospective alternative strategies that could accelerate increased value and liquidity.
About Lifeline Biotechnolgies, Inc.:
In 2008, the principals of Lifeline Biotechnologies, a Nevada corporation, based in Reno, NV, created Cyrcadia, Inc. via stock ownership and a revenue royalty based license of its patented, circadian rhythm based, pattern recognition technology. Lifeline conducted three rounds of proof of concept trials, testing over 500 patients. The initial trial, of the three, was conducted at Ohio State University's oncology hospital. The principal investigator for that trial was Dr. William Farrar. The patients were also tested by the mammogram process and the results were compared. Overall, Lifeline's process was superior in identifying breast tissue abnormalities and breast cancer at earlier stages. The test results were validated by the aerospace engineers (foremost pattern recognition engineers in the world) at Nanyang Technological University "NTU"), Singapore. The principals of Lifeline and the engineers at NTU filed for and received patents on the technology. Those patents were assigned to Lifeline Biotechnologies. The patents are the basis of the license granted to Cyrcadia. The main purpose for creating Cyrcadia was to increase the value and reduce the cost of capital. This has been confirmed. At the time of Cyrcadia's formation, Lifeline's value was less than six hundred thousand dollars ($600,000). Currently, Lifeline's value is over three million dollars ($3,800,000), a six fold increase. The current value is projected to grow with Cyrcadia's future achievements.
About Cyrcadia, Inc.:
Cyrcadia, Inc., a Nevada corporation, also known as Cyrcadia Health, was founded as First Warning Systems in 2008, and is based in Reno, NV. The company's product line is a device and software service that detects breast tissue abnormalities leading to health risk assessment and management including early breast cancer identification. Three clinical trials with over 500 participants have achieved proof of concept and superior outcomes when compared to other diagnostic protocols. Cyrcadia is in a final, limited clinical trial and a 510(k) device classification to validate the fourth generation of its product. Cyrcadia technology is exclusively licensed for development, manufacturing and marketing worldwide from Lifeline Biotechnologies, Inc. (OTC PINK: LLBO). Cyrcadia is preparing to apply for FDA Clearance and a Euro CE Mark to market in the European Union and Asia Pacific markets, with anticipation of launching its technology to market in 2017. Cisco Systems, Inc. is financially supporting the filming of a documentary by Ironbound Films called "Detected Movie" to be released about the evolution of Cyrcadia technology. Please visit www.DetectedMovie.com and Cyrcadia Health at www.cyrcadiahealth.com. Per Federal FDAAA 801 guidelines, Cyrcadia will release information on trial location additions, as well as clinical trial data only at time of trial completion or FDA clearance for disclosure.
About The Stefanie Spielman Comprehensive Breast Center at The Ohio State University:
The Stefanie Spielman Comprehensive Breast Center is part of The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute. It is the first of its kind in the Midwest to offer the full continuum of breast cancer care - from prevention and screening through detection, diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship - in one world class facility. The Stefanie Spielman Comprehensive Breast Center is home to a transdisciplinary, multimodality team of nationally renowned breast cancer experts, all singularly focused on preventing, detecting, treating, and curing breast cancer. In this unique environment, breast cancer researchers and clinicians work closely together to deliver the latest innovations to every patient. The Stefanie Spielman Comprehensive Breast Center is designated a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence by the American College of Radiology and is accredited by the American College of Surgeons National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers.
About Canary Foundation:
Canary Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to the goal of identifying cancer early through a simple blood test, and then isolating it with imaging. Canary Foundation is based in Palo Alto, California and was founded by Don Listwin in 2004. The program areas of the foundation are early detection for ovarian, prostate, breast, lung, and pancreatic cancer.
Safe Harbor: 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, the ability to obtain financing, successful development of the Company's product or market acceptance of the product and regulatory and shareholder approval for anticipated actions.
Lifeline Biotechnologies
Information at: Info@lbti.com
Website: www.lbti.com
Acquisition expands Zurich's portfolio of products and services, and strengthens its top five position in the U.S. commercial insurance market
Zurich American Insurance Company (ZAIC), a subsidiary of Zurich Insurance Group (Zurich), announced today that it has acquired 100 percent of Rural Community Insurance Agency, Inc. (RCIA) and its subsidiary Rural Community Insurance Company (RCIC). The two are collectively known as Rural Community Insurance Services (RCIS), one of the nation's leading crop insurance providers, recording approximately $1.9 billion in gross written premiums in 2015. The acquisition expands and diversifies Zurich's portfolio of commercial insurance products and services in North America. Zurich entered into an agreement with RCIS owner Wells Fargo Company (NYSE:WFC) in December 2015 to acquire the company. The acquisition became effective on March 31, 2016 at 11:59 p.m.
Zurich has been in the U.S. crop insurance business a $10 billion plus market for more than 20 years. The acquisition shifts its long-standing position from a reinsurer into a 100 percent owner of an Approved Insurance Provider (AIP) through the Federal Crop Insurance Program.
"As we have worked over the last few months to complete this acquisition, farmers in much of the United States have been preparing for the spring planting season," said Mike Foley, CEO North America Commercial and regional chairman of North America. "During this time, we've had an opportunity to meet the people that make up RCIS and are proud to welcome them to the Zurich team. They bring a national distribution footprint with highly specialized agents and a strong service reputation, insuring one in six farmers in the U.S. We greatly respect their expertise and look forward to having them as colleagues."
RCIS will now operate as a stand-alone unit within Zurich North America Commercial's Programs Direct Markets (P&DM) business unit. RCIS will continue to focus on meeting customer needs and providing the best possible service.
As an important part of Zurich's operations in North America, RCIS will continue to offer federal crop insurance programs and private crop insurance products. Since 1982, RCIS helped reshape the crop insurance business by offering a comprehensive line of insurance products and services to meet the unique needs of producers. Going forward RCIS will continue to utilize its national network of more than 3,800 agents, conducting business in all 50 U.S. states providing risk management for more than 130 varieties of crops on more than 90 million acres. It continues to hold memberships with National Crop Insurance Services and the Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau, Inc.
RCIS and Zurich have been working closely together to create a smooth transition for RCIS employees as they become members of the Zurich team in North America.
"On behalf of Wells Fargo, we want to recognize the excellent work that went into ensuring the completion of this important transaction," said Laura Schupbach, head of Wells Fargo Insurance. "We thank Zurich for their partnership and look forward to continuing to work together as they remain an important carrier for our brokerage business."
Zurich paid Wells Fargo approximately $700 million for RCIS.
The acquisition adds an exciting new chapter to Zurich's long history in the U.S. and illustrates how financial discipline has allowed the company to capitalize on market opportunities that meet its strategic objectives, including expansion of commercial lines capabilities.
Zurich continues to prioritize investments in distinctive positions, investing in the businesses and customer segments where it sees the best opportunities for growth.
To learn more about RCIS visit https://www.rcis.com, and Zurich's commitment to agriculture by visiting at https://www.zurichna.com/en/industries/agriculture.
Wells Fargo Company (NYSE: WFC) is a nationwide, diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.8 trillion in assets. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through 8,700 locations, 12,800 ATMs, the internet (wellsfargo.com) and mobile banking, and has offices in 36 countries to support customers who conduct business in the global economy. With approximately 265,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo Company was ranked No. 30 on Fortune's 2015 rankings of America's largest corporations. Wells Fargo's vision is to satisfy our customers' financial needs and help them succeed financially.
About Zurich
Zurich Insurance Group (Zurich) is a leading multi-line insurer that serves its customers in global and local markets. With more than 55,000 employees, it provides a wide range of general insurance and life insurance products and services. Zurich's customers include individuals, small businesses, and mid-sized and large companies, including multinational corporations, in more than 170 countries. The Group is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, where it was founded in 1872. The holding company, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd (ZURN), is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and has a level I American Depositary Receipt (ZURVY) program, which is traded over-the-counter on OTCQX. Further information about Zurich is available at www.zurich.com.
In North America, Zurich is a leading commercial property-casualty insurance provider serving the global corporate, large corporate, middle market, specialties and programs sectors through the individual member companies of Zurich in North America, including Zurich American Insurance Company. Life insurance and disability coverage issued in the United States in all states except New York is issued by Zurich American Life Insurance Company, an Illinois domestic life insurance company. In New York, life insurance and disability coverage is issued by Zurich American Life Insurance Company of New York, a New York domestic life insurance company. For more information about the products and services it offers and people Zurich employs around the world go to www.zurichna.com. 2012 marked Zurich's 100-year anniversary of insuring America and the success of its customers, shareholders and employees.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160401005331/en/
Contacts:
Zurich North America
Robyn Ziegler
847.605.7580 Desk
708.261.1063 Cell
Robyn.ziegler@zurichna.com
LEAMINGTON, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 04/01/16 -- Aphria Inc. ("Aphria" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: APH) is partnering with non-profit organization Canadians for Fair Access to Medical Marijuana (CFAMM) to provide insurance claim support and educational services to Aphria patients. The partnership agreement is effective immediately.
In Canada, medical cannabis is only covered by insurance plans for certain groups including military veterans and some individuals involved in workplace accidents. CFAMM will guide Aphria patients, who have existing private insurance, in navigating the process of advocating for insurance coverage for their medication and will provide extended one-on-one support for select Aphria patients.
"Medical cannabis is an effective treatment for many Canadians suffering from a variety of conditions but unfortunately, the majority of them are paying out of pocket for their medication," said Jonathan Zaid, executive director of CFAMM. "We are thrilled to have Aphria join CFAMM's insurance claim support program and are looking forward to helping their patients advocate for private insurance coverage for medical cannabis."
"Following cancer treatment, my medications were fully covered through private insurance but all of them had awful side effects," said Beth Harris, medical cannabis user and Patient Care Supervisor at Aphria Inc. "I now use medical cannabis which is very effective in managing my symptoms including neuropathy, insomnia, bone pain and muscle pain. I am hopeful that insurance providers will consider medical cannabis as an eligible expense."
According to Health Canada, medical cannabis is used to treat symptoms of several conditions including: cancer; HIV/AIDS; multiple sclerosis; chronic non-cancer pain; insomnia and depressed mood associated with chronic diseases; symptoms encountered in the palliative/end-of-life care setting; and any other condition as authorized by a health care practitioner.i
Existing Aphria patients, with private insurance, interested in obtaining the extended one-on-one support services from CFAMM should visit cfamm.ca/insurance-support. Patients will be required to complete a short survey and eligible applicants will be identified and contacted.
About CFAMM
Founded in 2014, Canadians for Fair Access to Medical Marijuana (CFAMM)/Canadiens pour l'acces equitable a la marijuana medicale (CAEMM) is a federal non-profit, patient-run organization dedicated to protecting and improving the rights of medical cannabis patients. CFAMM's goal is to enable patients to obtain fair and safe access to medical cannabis with a special focus on affordability, including private and public insurance coverage. For more information, visit www.cfamm.ca.
About Aphria
Aphria Inc., a company continued under the laws of the Province of Ontario and based in Leamington, Ontario, is in the business of producing, supplying and selling medical marijuana pursuant to the Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (the "MMPR"). Under the MMPR, Health Canada is responsible for the oversight of commercial medical marijuana growers such as Aphria. Aphria's common shares are listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the ticker symbol "APH". For more information, visit www.aphria.com.
i Health Canada. "Consumer Information - Cannabis (Marihuana, marijuana)" Retrieved from: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/dhp-mps/marihuana/info/cons-eng.php Accessed March 30, 2016.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange (the "Exchange") nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Contacts:
Rob McEwan
Vice President
Argyle Public Relationships
416-968-7311 ext. 242
rmcewan@argylepr.com
Vic Neufeld
President and CEO
Aphria Inc.
1-844-427-4742
HANNOVER, Germany, April 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Huawei together with Power Control Ltd. (PCL) started their partnership on Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS) at this year's CeBIT 2016 in Hannover. The partnership was officially confirmed at a signing ceremony in the presence of executives from both companies.
In order to realizing its vision of "enriching life and improving efficiency through a better connected world, Huawei integrates carbon reduction and environment protection ideas into its product lifecycle and continuously develop innovative technologies to boost the energy efficiency of its products and solutions. The rapid development of cloud computing has increased the demands on power supply for critical ICT infrastructures, such as servers and switches. To address these requirements, Huawei developed modular UPS systems with high efficiency, high density, and high availability, to reduce the reliance on power grids and avoid loss of customers' core business data. And during CeBIT 2016, Huawei launched a modular Uninterrupted Power System (UPS) with a high efficient power module of up to 97.5%, contributing to reducing energy consumption for customers.
UK based PCL is Huawei's appointed Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) and modular data center channel partner in the UK. PCL's extensive product and service experience within the power protection industry complements Huawei's commitment to becoming a global ICT energy efficiency expert. This great synergy between the two companies will bring invaluable benefits to customers from various industries, including data centers, government, and healthcare sectors.
Mark Trolley, PCL's managing director, said: "PCL has dedicated over two decades to continuous research and development towards technological advances within the power protection industry. The company not only provides the most suitable and resilient systems but also delivers all-encompassing maintenance and complete project solutions. Our expertise combined with the superior quality of Huawei's high efficiency modular UPS solutions will allow us to diversify into new market areas and ensure the continued growth of the company."
Mr. Li Jun, Vice President of Huawei Western Europe Enterprise Business, said: "Localization is a key strategy to sustaining Huawei's development. Huawei has established extensive operations across Europe to meet its customers' needs, including R&D, marketing, sales, distribution and service networks. Huawei UPS systems are designed in Nuremburg Energy R&D Center to meet high quality requirements of the European Market. Cooperation with leading partners is a Huawei strategy to develop the European ICT energy Market."
PCL is now the UPS and data center partner of Huawei in the UK and the partnership will begin with modular UPS products. Extensive cooperation in other areas of network energy and IT solutions are also planned.
Power Controls Power Solutions:
Power Control Ltd is a prominent and highly influential power protection specialist with over two decades of successful history in delivering solutions to a variety of market sectors.
About Huawei
Huawei is a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider. Huawei has established an end-to-end ICT solutions portfolio that gives customers competitive advantages in telecom and enterprise networks, devices and cloud computing.
DURHAM, UNITED KINGDOM--(Marketwired - April 01, 2016) - The North East's 2015 Small Hotel of the Year has added a hi-tech new feature to its award-winning guest rooms -- custom tablets allowing instant access to up-to-the-minute hotel information and on-the-spot room service ordering.
Seaham Hall is one of the most prestigious hotels in County Durham, set in a historic coastal property that was the venue for the 1815 wedding of the poet Lord Byron. After recognition for its five-star facilities from the judges in the most recent North East Tourism Awards, the management has placed the hotel at the forefront of digital guest-facing technology. It is the first hotel in the North East to feature the state-of-the-art in-room tablets, the current must-have in high-end hospitality tech.
Ross Grieve, Managing Director at Seaham Hall, said that the hotel had been keen to embrace new technology as part of the guest experience.
"A sense of history is a very important part of what we offer at Seaham, but at the same time we don't ever stand still when it comes to adopting the latest developments in hotel technology. It's obvious that it's now time to be moving away from old-fashioned printed room service menus and guest directories," he said.
The in-room tablets are provided by Crave Interactive, the UK's market leader in supplying guest-facing digital solutions to the high-end hotel trade. The custom-made Crave T2 tablet and docking system is installed in every guest room, allowing instant room service ordering, spa and restaurant booking and communication with staff. The Seaham Hall installation also features a new County Durham edition of the acclaimed Crave Guide, exclusive to the hotel and covering the attractions of this beautiful region. The tablets use Crave OS, a unique proprietary operating system designed to allow instant remote updates and revisions of content at any time without interrupting guest use.
Tim Butterworth, Crave's Commercial Director, said that the company had a track record of working successfully with properties like Seaham Hall.
"We now have Crave tablets installed everywhere from huge Las Vegas hotels to all-inclusive Caribbean resorts, but we first honed our service, finessed our operating system, and gained the deep knowledge of guest and management needs that went into designing our T2 tablets while working with country house hotels here in the UK," he said, adding that the commercial benefits of the tablets worked particularly well in properties like Seaham Hall.
"The tablets allow for very effective upselling through tailored push-messaging, and we've found over the years that this has particularly excellent results in heritage properties with their own high-quality restaurants and spas," he said.
Wendy Benson, Director of Sales and Marketing at Seaham, said that hotel management and staff were looking forward to exploring the potential of the in-room tablets. "Paper menus and directories in rooms already seem like something from another century," she said; "Guests will soon come to expect this sort of technology as standard in five-star hotels like Seaham Hall."
About Crave Interactive
Formed in 2009, UK-based Crave Interactive Ltd is a leading developer of guest-facing hotel tablets and app solutions, helping hotels provide great service via in-room tablets and guest-owned devices. Crave is the European market leader, and its products and services are available worldwide.
Crave's services are powered by Crave Cloud, a sophisticated proprietary software platform that delivers excellent guest services via any device. To date over 1,000,000 items have been ordered via Crave Cloud.
Crave in-room tablets and apps provide a full range of guest services in a sleek and stylish manner. Crave solutions can replace paper directories, and increase revenues of in-house services, such as spa treatments, restaurant bookings and merchandise sales. Nearly all guests engage with Crave in-room tablets, viewing an average of approximately 50 pages per guest night.
Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2016/4/1/11G091388/Images/Craveinterface-b3152086dc2aa053b74137582966be8c.jpg
Contacts
Tim Butterworth
Crave Commercial Director
Gareth Hughes
Crave Founder and CEO
pr@crave-emenu.com
+44 (0)1908 926440
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 04/01/16 -- The Board of Directors of Abacus Mining & Exploration Corporation ("Abacus" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: AME) is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. T. Sean Harvey as an Independent Non-Executive Director of the Company with immediate effect.
Mr. Harvey has over 25 years' experience in the mining sector, including ten years of working in senior investment banking roles with Nesbitt Burns (BMO) and Deutsche Bank. In addition to co-founding two TSXV-listed companies, he was President and CEO of TVX Gold at the time of its sale to Kinross Gold in 2003. Subsequently, he was President and CEO of Atlantico Gold Corp., a private company involved in the development of the Amapari Project in Brazil that was sold to Wheaton River Minerals (acquired by Goldcorp). Mr. Harvey was also President and CEO of Orvana Minerals Corp. from 2005 to 2006. More recently he has held board positions with various mining companies and is currently a director of Victoria Gold Corp., Perseus Mining Ltd., Serabi Gold plc and Sarama Resources Inc.
Mr. Harvey holds an Honours B.A. degree in economics and geography from Carleton University, an M.A. in economics from Carleton University, an LL.B. from the University of Western Ontario and an M.B.A. from the University of Toronto. He is also a Member of the Law Society of Upper Canada.
Mike McInnis, Abacus' Chairman, President & CEO, commented:
"Sean's proven track record in the industry of creating shareholder value will be of significant benefit to the Board's primary objective to maximize the Company's interest in the Ajax copper-gold-silver project. We look forward to his contributions and benefiting from his well-rounded expertise."
On Behalf of the Board,
ABACUS MINING & EXPLORATION CORPORATION
Michael McInnis, Chairman, President & CEO
About Abacus
Abacus is a mineral exploration and mine development company with a 20% interest in the Ajax Project located at the historic Ajax-Afton site southwest of Kamloops, B.C. The Ajax Project is a proposed copper-gold-silver open-pit mine for which an application for environmental certificate (Application/EIS) was submitted to the provincial and federal governments in January 2016. Through KGHM Ajax Mining Inc., a joint venture company between Abacus (20%) and KGHM Polska Miedz S.A. (KGHM) (80%), the mine is being funded in large part by KGHM and operated by its wholly-owned subsidiary, KGHM International Ltd. For the latest reports and information on the Ajax Project, please refer to the Company's website at www.amemining.com.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Contacts:
Abacus Mining and Exploration Corp.
604.682.0301
604.682.0307 (FAX)
info@amemining.com
www.amemining.com
Telsiai, Lithuania, 2016-04-01 15:00 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On JSC "Zemaitijos pienas" Board's initiative and decision, JSC "Zemaitijos pienas" (registered office Sedos str. 35, Telsiai, Company code 180240752) ordinary general meeting of shareholders is being called on April 29th, 2016.Meeting place - Public company "Telsiai district business incubator", meeting hall, address Sedos 34A, Telsiai.Meeting starts at 3:00 PM (registration starts at 2:00 PM, registration place - Public company "Telsiai district business incubator", meeting hall, address Sedos 34A, Telsiai).Meeting accounting day - April 22th, 2016 (only those persons have the right to participate and vote at the general meeting of shareholders, who will be the Company's shareholders at the end of the general meeting of shareholders accounting day, or their authorized persons, or persons, with whom an agreement of voting right transfer is concluded).Rights accounting day - May 13th, 2016 (shareholders will use shareholders' property rights, arising from decisions adopted during the general meeting of shareholders, in proportion to the number of shares they have at the end of rights accounting day).Meeting agenda:1. Organizational issues of the general meeting of shareholders; 2. Presentation of Company's Audit Committee report; 3. Auditors' findings and presentation of Company's consolidated annual report of 2015; 4. Approval of Company's annual consolidated financial statements in 2015; 5. Approval of Company's profit (loss) distribution in 2015; 6. Regarding selection of audit company and determination of essential conditions for audit service agreement.The Company does not provide a possibility to participate and vote at the meeting by electronic means of communication.Decision drafts regarding the meeting agenda issues, documents, that are going to be presented for general meeting of shareholders, and information, related to execution of shareholders rights are going to be announced no later than 21 days before the meeting, in accordance to the legislation.Shareholders, whose shares give them no less than 1/20 of all votes, can propose to supplement meeting agenda, providing a shareholder's meeting decision draft along with every proposed additional issue or, if the decision is unnecessary to be made, explanation. Proposals to supplement the agenda shall be delivered in writing or by email.Proposals in writing shall be delivered to the secretary's office during working hours or sent by registered mail to address: JSC "Zemaitijos pienas", Sedos str. 35, Telsiai. Proposals by email shall be delivered by sending them by email info@zpienas.lt, proposals should be submitted no later than in time limits indicated in the Law of limited liability companies of the Republic of Lithuania.Proposals to supplement the agenda with additional issues shall be submitted according to procedures and conditions of the Law of limited liability companies of the Republic of Lithuania. Shareholders have the right to submit questions for the Company, related to meeting agenda issues. Shareholders can submit questions by email info@zpienas.lt, no later than 3 working days before the meeting. Company will answer the questions by email until the meeting.In registration to attend the meeting, shareholders or their authorized persons shall provide an identity document. Persons authorized by shareholders shall provide a power of attorney according to the laws. Power of attorney granted by natural person must be certified by the lawyer. Power of attorney issued in a foreign country must be translated into Lithuanian and legalized according to the laws. Authorized person can be authorized by more than one shareholder and vote differently according to each shareholders' orders.The Company does not establish a special form of power of attorney. A shareholder holding shares of the Company, acquired on its own name but on behalf of other persons, before voting at the general meeting of shareholders shall disclose to the Company final customer's identity, the number of shares, which are used to vote and the content of voting instructions provided to him or any other explanation regarding participation and voting at the general meeting of shareholders agreed with the client. A shareholder may vote with the votes granted by the corresponding part of shares differently from the votes granted by other corresponding shares.Shareholder or his authorized person can vote in advance in writing by filling in the general voting bulletin. General voting bulletin form will be published no later than 21 day before the meeting. Under the request of shareholder, the Company sends the general voting bulletin by registered mail or delivers it personally upon signature no later than 10 days before the meeting. Filled general voting bulletin shall be signed by the shareholder or his authorized person and provide the documents supporting the power of attorney. If the general voting bulletin is signed by the shareholder's authorized person, the document confirming the right to vote shall be submitted along with it. Filled general voting bulletin along with supplement documents (if necessary) shall be submitted to the Company by sending registered mail to the secretary's office, by address JSC "Zemaitijos pienas", Sedos str. 35, Telsiai no later than the last working day before the meeting. Decision drafts of the general meeting of shareholders and other information are going to be announced in accordance to the legislation.Lawyer Gintaras Keliauskas + 370 444 22208
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Donald Trump has launched a team that will help him to reach out to Republican members in the House of Representatives in his presidential campaign. Thursday, the Republican presidential front- runner announced that Duncan Hunter and Chris Collins will serve as co-chairs of his campaign's U.S. House Leadership Committee. Hunter and Collins will lead outreach efforts to their fellow Members of Congress in support of Trump's message to Make America Great Again, said a statement issued by the Trump Campaign. 'Congressman Hunter and Congressman Collins are conservative stalwarts. I am honored to have the support of these two well respected Members of Congress who share my vision of securing our borders, strengthening our military, treating our veterans with the respect and care they deserve and putting Americans first again,' Trump said in a statement. Earlier in the week, Trump announced that his campaign will be opening a Washington, DC based office to coordinate his campaign's work with the Republican National Committee, Congress, and his convention and delegate operations. 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.
STUTTGART, Germany, April 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
Borgward, SAP, LG Electronics and Boschform alliance
An e-mobility alliance for a networked future
Cooperation on batteries, drive systems and Industry 4.0
Ulrich Walker : "An important milestone for Borgward Group AG."
Borgward Group AG has taken the next step on its path to becoming a cutting-edge automotive company: The creation of a long-term strategic partnership with the software firm SAP, the company LG Electronics and the automotive supplier Robert Bosch GmbH is the logical result of Borgward's plan to launch sales in Europe with plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles. "The partnership that was agreed to today with SAP, LG and Bosch is an important milestone for Borgward Group AG," said Ulrich Walker, CEO of Borgward Group AG, at the signing of the agreements in Stuttgart on Thursday. "Together with our partners, we are forming a strong alliance for a networked future."
The agreements govern the development and delivery of various parts and components, particularly those related to electric mobility. The leading IT company SAP will supply the software for the effective networking of the R&D, production, value chain, sales, services, global business operations and other areas of the young yet time-honoured automaker. The software from SAP will enable Borgward to perfectly integrate the areas of Industry 4.0 and Internet Plus in order to break through the traditional business and production processes and pave the way for a new era of smart manufacturing. "The customized software solutions from SAP will help Borgward to automate its business operations," said Michael Kleinemeier, Member of the Executive Board, SAP SE, Global Service & Support. "They will also enable Borgward to generate a completely new customer experience when it comes to online price comparisons, new vehicle delivery, services and various preowned vehicle channels."
The strategic partnership with LG Electronics encompasses the joint development and delivery of high-performance batteries for plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles. Moreover, Borgward and LG will jointly develop electric vehicle components such as electric air-conditioning compressors. In the cooperation with Bosch, the two companies will work together on the further development of the electric drive train. In addition, the partnership will encompass the development and supply of components and systems for motor control units, dynamic handling systems, starter generators, electronic steering systems and multimedia systems. All three of the agreements are long term in nature. "We are pooling our expertise with that of SAP, LG and Bosch in order to redefine the mobility of the future," said Walker, who also pointed out that the aim is to create high-quality customized vehicles with attractive styling and affordable prices. These vehicles will also be environmentally sustainable and meet future mobility needs.
Furtherinformation
BORGWARD Group AG
Kriegsbergstrasse 11
70174 Stuttgart
Marco Dalan
Head of Global Communications
Telephone:+49-711-365-10-1041
e-mail:marco.dalan@borgward.com
http://www.borgward.com
RIVERSIDE, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 04/01/16 -- There aren't many stories that compare with the amazing epic that lead Market Manager, Brandon Horton, to success as an entrepreneur. Four years ago, Horton, a veteran of the United States Navy, was a struggling entrepreneur without even a roof to call his own. Flash forward to today and you will see him as a successful business owner, running a profitable marketing agency out of Riverside, CA and building a future for his company, employees, and family. Horton recently sat down and shared his story and his hopes for the future of Extreme Advantage.
As a manager, Horton has been through it all. After leaving high school, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy for a chance to see the world and serve his country. When asked about his time in the military, Horton asserted, "Being in the military teaches you how to do the right thing. You can't just do everything your way. You have to go with the system." Having learned the value of integrity and team work from his time as a soldier, Horton pursued several different career opportunities from sales to being a Finance Manager for seven years.
When asked what had initially attracted him to marketing with Extreme Advantage, Horton was adamant about how impressed he was, and is, with the company's internal growth policies. He asserted, "Everything we do is based on performance. In the car business, growth is all about who you know. In our company, I got promoted based on me and my results -- not because of how long I had been there or how well I knew the managers." As a company that only promotes from within, all managers at Extreme Advantage have to start at the bottom and work their way to the top through the company's management training program.
Horton began his journey as a Market Manager with Extreme Advantage in Menifee, CA on October 12, 2012 and expanded the business to Riverside by March 2013. He described the move, stating, "Riverside is a centralized location which has really helped us to grow. When we made the move, Extreme Advantage went from three retail partners to six, and employees have since been able to work with fifteen locations around the Riverside area." Having pushed the company to such rapid expansion, Horton affirmed, "When I was in the car business, it took seven years for me to get where I wanted to be. Through the management training program at Extreme Advantage, Horton was able to meet his goal of becoming a manager in under a year.
On November 7, 2015, Extreme Advantage made the move from clientele in the satellite industry and now specializes in direct marketing campaigns for clients in the cellular and communications industries. As in-store marketing representatives working with fortune 500 retail partners to promote clients' brands, employees at Extreme Advantage works to create positive brands, community awareness, and customer acquisitions for their clients in the Riverside area. When discussing the company's success rate, Horton shared his personal drive to succeed for his family. He stated, "The ability to provide for my family the way I would like to drives me. I have 3-kids, 3-step-kids, and a grandbaby now. I was homeless before I got my job here. This job took me from nothing to having a paid-off house, car, and successful offices."
For a company like Extreme Advantage, the key to success as an organization starts with the people you have on your team who are ready to stand up and earn their way to the post. Managers, like Horton, have put their all into making Extreme Advantage successful because of the time and energy invested into them. When asked to describe his experience, Horton simply stated, "Extreme Advantage saved my life. A lot of people don't understand that and my background. I honestly would not be where I am today without this job opportunity."
Contact:
Heidi Figueroa
951-384-1833
Email Contact
Contact Information for Extreme Advantage
4505 Allstate Drive Suite 110
Riverside, CA 92501
951-384-1833
www.extremeadvantage.net
PARIS (dpa-AFX) - Designer Hedi Slimane is leaving French fashion house Yves Saint Laurent as its creative and image director, Yves Saint Laurent and parent company Kering SA (PPRUY.PK, PPRUF.PK) said Friday.
Kering, which owns several luxury brands including Gucci, Bottega Veneta and Balenciaga, noted that Slimane's departure comes at the end of a four-year contract that led to the complete repositioning of the Yves Saint Laurent brand.
The company added that a new creative organization for Saint Laurent will be communicated in due course.
Francesca Bellettini, president and CEO of Saint Laurent, said, 'I would like to thank Hedi Slimane very much for his vision in reforming such an iconic House as Yves Saint Laurent. The direction that has been taken over the last four years represents an incredible foundation for the Brand to build on for its continuous success.'
The announcement of Slimane's departure ends months of speculation whether he would stay on Saint Laurent.
Slimane, aged 47, is a former men's wear designer at Dior Homme. In March 2012, Saint Laurent appointed Slimane as creative and image Director, assuming total responsibility for the brand image and all its collections.
He made several sweeping changes to the house. These include moving the design studio from Paris to Los Angeles, redesigning the brand's logo and renaming its ready-to-wear line as Saint Laurent.
His efforts have led to a remarkable financial turnaround at Saint Laurent. The brand now accounts for 12 percent of sales by Kering's luxury brands and also represents 8 percent of the group's total sales.
Slimane's departure comes on the heels of departure of three other major creative directors from high-fashion brands. Alexander Wang left Kering's Balenciaga in July 2015, while Raf Simons stepped down in October from Christian Dior, and Alber Elbaz left Lanvin, also in October.
Speculation is rife that Belgian-Italian designer Anthony Vaccarello might replace Slimane.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
LONDON (dpa-AFX) - GlaxoSmithKline (GSK, GSK.L) announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use or CHMP of the European Medicines Agency or EMA, in conjunction with the Committee for Advanced Therapies or CAT, has issued a positive opinion recommending marketing authorisation for Strimvelis to treat patients with a very rare disease called ADA-SCID or severe combined immunodeficiency due to adenosine deaminase deficiency. The medicine is a stem cell gene therapy created for an individual patient from their own cells which is intended to correct the root cause of the disease. If approved by the European Commission, the medicine - currently known as GSK2696273 (autologous CD34+ cells transduced to express ADA) - will be commercialised under the brand name Strimvelis, for the treatment of patients with ADA-SCID for whom no suitable human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-matched related stem cell donor is available. The gene therapy for the treatment of ADA-SCID was originally developed by Ospedale San Raffaele (OSR) and Fondazione Telethon (Telethon), through their joint San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy (SR-TIGET) and was taken forward by GSK through a strategic collaboration formed in 2010 between GSK, OSR and Telethon. 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.
First-in-class monoclonal antibody targeting CD38 for the treatment of multiple myeloma
Janssen-Cilag International NV ("Janssen") announced today that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has issued a Positive Opinion recommending a conditional marketing authorisation for first-in-class CD38 immunotherapy DARZALEX (daratumumab) in the European Union. The recommended indication is for monotherapy of adult patients with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma (MM), whose prior therapy included a proteasome inhibitor (PI) and an immunomodulatory agent and who have demonstrated disease progression on the last therapy.1 This application was reviewed under an accelerated assessment by the CHMP, a process reserved for medicinal products expected to be of major public health interest, particularly from the point of view of therapeutic innovation.
MM is a blood cancer that occurs when malignant plasma cells grow uncontrollably in the bone marrow.2 In cases of refractory MM, the disease has progressed on or within 60 days of the last therapy.3 The prognosis for patients with relapsed and refractory MM remains poor. For patients with refractory MM, the median overall survival (OS) ranges from nine months to only five months.4
The Opinion of the CHMP was based on a review of data from the Phase 2 MMY2002 (SIRIUS) study, published in The Lancet,5 the Phase 1/2 GEN501 study, published in The New England Journal of Medicine,6 and data from three additional supportive studies. These studies included heavily pre-treated patients with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma who had exhausted other approved treatment options and whose disease was progressive at enrolment.Findings from a combined efficacy analysis of the GEN501 and MMY2002 (SIRIUS) trials demonstrated that after a mean follow-up of 14.8 months, the estimated median OS for single-agent daratumumab (16 mg/kg) in these heavily pre-treated patients was 20 months (95 percent CI, 15-not estimable). The overall response rate (ORR) for the combined analysis was 31 percent, and 83 percent of patients achieved stable disease or better.7
Daratumumab is the first CD38-directed monoclonal antibody (mAb) recommended for approval in Europe. It works by binding to CD38, a signalling molecule highly expressed on the surface of multiple myeloma cells regardless of stage of disease. In doing so, daratumumab triggers the patient's own immune system to attack the cancer cells, resulting in rapid tumour cell death through multiple, immune-mediated mechanisms of action and through immunomodulatory effects, in addition to direct tumour cell death via apoptosis (programmed cell death).8-11
"We are committed to delivering innovative new therapies to patients living with complex blood cancers, and have been working closely with the CHMP on the submission of daratumumab to ensure the assessment could be completed under the accelerated timeline," said Jane Griffiths, Company Group Chairman, Janssen Europe, Middle East and Africa. "We are delighted to receive this Positive Opinion, which brings us one step closer to making daratumumab available to multiple myeloma patients in Europe."
The CHMP's Positive Opinion will now be reviewed by the European Commission, which has the authority to grant marketing authorisation for medicines in the European Economic Area. The European Commission's final decision on daratumumab is anticipated in the coming months.
This announcement follows daratumumab being granted its first regulatory approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of patients with multiple myeloma who have received at least three prior lines of therapy, including a PI and an immunomodulatory agent, or who are double-refractory to a PI and an immunomodulatory agent, in November 2015 after a four month Priority Review by the FDA.9
Janssen has exclusive worldwide rights to the development, manufacturing and commercialisation of daratumumab for all potential indications. Janssen licensed daratumumab from Genmab A/S in August 2012.
ENDS#
About Multiple Myeloma
Multiple myeloma (MM) is an incurable blood cancer that starts in the bone marrow and is characterised by an excessive proliferation of plasma cells.2 MM is the second most common form of blood cancer, with around 39,000 new cases worldwide in 2012.12 MM most commonly affects people over the age of 65 and is more common in men than in women.13 Across Europe, five-year survival rates are 23 percent to 47 percent of people diagnosed.14 Almost 29 percent of patients with MM will die within one year of diagnosis.15 Although treatment may result in remission, unfortunately patients will most likely relapse as there is currently no cure. While some patients with MM have no symptoms at all, most patients are diagnosed due to symptoms which can include bone problems, low blood counts, calcium elevation, kidney problems or infections.13 Patients who relapse after treatment with standard therapies, including PIs and immunomodulatory agents, have poor prognoses and few treatment options available.16
About Daratumumab
Daratumumab is a first-in-class biologic targeting CD38, a surface protein that is highly expressed across multiple myeloma cells, regardless of disease stage.17 Daratumumab induces rapid tumour cell death through apoptosis (programmed cell death)9,10 and multiple immune-mediated mechanisms of action, including complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC), antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) and antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis (ADCP).8,9,11 Daratumumab has also demonstrated immunomodulatory effects that contributes to tumour cell death via a decrease in immune suppressive cells including T-regs, B-regs and myeloid-derived suppressor cells.18 Five Phase 3 clinical studies with daratumumab in relapsed and frontline settings are currently ongoing. Additional studies are ongoing or planned to assess its potential in other malignant and pre-malignant diseases on which CD38 is expressed. For more information, please see www.clinicaltrials.gov.
About MMY2002 (SIRIUS) and GEN501
These studies included heavily pre-treated patients with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma who had exhausted other approved treatment options and whose disease was progressive at enrolment. Safety data from the MMY2002 (SIRIUS) and GEN501 trials suggested that daratumumab (16 mg/kg) has a favourable and clinically manageable safety profile as a monotherapy.5,6
In the MMY2002 (SIRIUS) trial, no patients discontinued treatment due to infusion-related reactions (IRRs) and only five patients (5 percent) discontinued treatment due to adverse events (AEs) (all grade), none of which were considered drug-related.5 AEs, which occurred in less than 20 percent of patients, were fatigue (40 percent), anaemia (33 percent), nausea (29 percent), thrombocytopenia (25 percent), back pain (22 percent), neutropenia (23 percent) and cough (21 percent).5 Infusion-related reactions (IRR) were reported in 42 percent of patients and were predominantly grade 1 or 2 (5 percent grade 3; no grade 4 reported).5 These occurred mainly during the first infusion. The most common IRRs included nasal congestion (12 percent), throat irritation (7 percent), cough, dyspnoea, chills, and vomiting (6 percent each)5 all of which were treated with standard of care and slower infusion rates.19
In the GEN501 trial, serious AEs occurred in 33 percent of patients in the cohort that received 16 mg/kg in part 2 of the study.6 Infusion-related reactions (IRRs) occurred in 71 percent of patients in the 8 mg/kg and 16 mg/kg cohorts, and all were grades 1 and 2, with the occurrence of one patient with grade 3 reactions.6 The majority of IRRs occurred during the first infusion, with notably fewer during subsequent infusions.6 No patient discontinued treatment due to an IRR. The most common AEs in either treatment group were fatigue, allergic rhinitis, and pyrexia (fever).6 The most frequent haematologic AE was neutropenia (abnormally low levels of neutrophils, a type of white blood cell), which occurred in 12 percent of patients (n=5) in the 16 mg/kg cohort.6 Grade 3 or 4 AEs were reported in 26 percent of patients in the 16 mg/kg cohort, with pneumonia (n=5) and thrombocytopenia (abnormally low levels of platelets in the blood; n=4) as the most common in both the 8 mg/kg and 16 mg/kg cohorts.6
About Janssen
The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson Johnson are dedicated to addressing and solving the most important unmet medical needs of our time, including oncology (e.g., multiple myeloma and prostate cancer), immunology (e.g., psoriasis), neuroscience (e.g., schizophrenia, dementia and pain), infectious disease (e.g., HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C and tuberculosis), and cardiovascular and metabolic diseases (e.g., diabetes). Driven by our commitment to patients, we develop sustainable, integrated healthcare solutions by working side-by-side with healthcare stakeholders, based on partnerships of trust and transparency. More information can be found on www.janssen.com/EMEA. Follow us on www.twitter.com/janssenEMEA for our latest news.
Cilag GmbH International; Janssen Biotech, Inc.; and Janssen-Cilag International NV are part of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson Johnson.
Janssen in Oncology
Our goal is to fundamentally alter the way cancer is understood, diagnosed and managed, reinforcing our commitment to the patients who inspire us. In looking to find innovative ways to address the cancer challenge, our primary efforts focus on several treatment and prevention solutions. These include a focus on haematologic malignancies, prostate cancer and lung cancer; cancer interception with the goal of developing products that interrupt the carcinogenic process; biomarkers that may help guide targeted, individualised use of our therapies; as well as safe and effective identification and treatment of early changes in the tumour microenvironment.
Cautions Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 regarding product development, including potential regulatory approval of a new product. The reader is cautioned not to rely on these forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations of future events. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or known or unknown risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results could vary materially from the expectations and projections of Janssen-Cilag International NV, any of the other Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies and/or Johnson Johnson. Risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: challenges and uncertainties inherent in product development, including the uncertainty of clinical success and of obtaining regulatory approvals; uncertainty of commercial success; competition, including technological advances, new products and patents attained by competitors; challenges to patents; manufacturing difficulties or delays; product efficacy or safety concerns resulting in product recalls or regulatory action; changes to applicable laws and regulations, including global health care reforms; and trends toward health care cost containment. A further list and description of these risks, uncertainties and other factors can be found in Johnson Johnson's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 3, 2016, including in Exhibit 99 thereto, and the company's subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Copies of these filings are available online at www.sec.govwww.jnj.com or on request from Johnson Johnson. None of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies or Johnson Johnson undertakes to update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information or future events or developments.
References
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4. Usmani S, Ahmadi T, Ng Y, et al. Analyses of Real World Data on Overall Survival in Multiple Myeloma Patients with at Least 3 Prior Lines of Therapy Including a PI and an IMiD, or Double Refractory to a PI and an IMiD. Blood 2015:126(23):abstract 4498.
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8. de Weers M, Tai YT, van der Veer MS, et al. Daratumumab, a novel therapeutic human CD38 monoclonal antibody, induces killing of multiple myeloma and other hematological tumors. J Immunol. 2011;186:1840-8.
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12. GLOBOCAN 2012. Multiple myeloma. Available at: http://globocan.iarc.fr/old/burden.asp'selection_pop=62968&Textp=Europe&selection_cancer=17270&Text-c=Multiple+myeloma&pYear=13&type=0&window=1&submit=%C2%A0Execute. Last accessed March 2016.
13. American Cancer Society. Multiple myeloma: detailed guide. Available at: http://www.cancer.org/acs/groups/cid/documents/webcontent/003121-pdf.pdf. Last accessed March 2016.
14. Cancer Research UK. Myeloma survival statistics. Available at: http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/cancer-info/cancerstats/types/myeloma/survival/multiple-myeloma-survival-statistics. Last accessed March 2016.
15. Costa LJ, Gonsalves WI, Kumar SK. Early mortality in multiple myeloma. Leukemia. 2015;29:1616-8.
16. Kumar SK, Lee JH, Lahuerta JJ, et al. Risk of progression and survival in multiple myeloma relapsing after therapy with IMiDs and bortezomib: a multicenter international myeloma working group study. Leukemia. 2012;26:149-57.
17. Fedele G, di Girolamo M, Recine U, et al. CD38 ligation in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of myeloma patients induces release of protumorigenic IL-6 and impaired secretion of IFNgamma cytokines and proliferation. Mediat Inflamm. 2013;2013:564687.
18. Krejcik J, Casneuf T, Nijhof I, et al. Immunomodulatory Effects and Adaptive Immune Response to Daratumumab in Multiple Myeloma. Blood 2015:126(23):abstract 3037.
19. Voorhees PM, B Weiss, S Usmani, et al. Management of Infusion-Related Reactions Following Daratumumab Monotherapy in Patients with at Least 3 Lines of Prior Therapy or Double Refractory Multiple Myeloma (MM): 54767414MMY2002 (Sirius). Blood 2015:126(23):abstract 1829.
April 2016
PHEM/DAT/0116/0008
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160401005655/en/
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WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A new study finds that continued growth in greenhouse-gas emissions over the next several decades could trigger an unstoppable collapse of Antarctica's ice - raising sea levels by more than a meter by 2100 and more than 15 meters by 2500. 'That is literally remapping how the planet looks from space,' says study co-author Rob DeConto, a geoscientist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The good news, he says, is that it projects little or no sea-level rise from Antarctic melt if greenhouse-gas emissions are reduced quickly enough to limit the average global temperature rise to about 2 C. The findings of the study, published online this week in Nature, add to a growing body of research that suggests that Antarctic ice is less stable than once thought. In its 2013 report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimated that Antarctic melting would contribute just a few centimeters to sea-level rise by 2100. But as scientists develop a better understanding of how the ocean and atmosphere affect the ice sheet, their projections of the continent's future are growing more dire. DeConto and co-author David Pollard, developed a climate model that accounts for ice loss caused by warming ocean currents - which can eat at the underside of the ice sheet - and for rising atmospheric temperatures that melt it from above. Ponds of meltwater that form on the ice surface often drain through cracks; this can set off a chain reaction that breaks up ice shelves and causes newly exposed ice cliffs to collapse under their own weight. 'Once the ocean warms up, that ice will not be able to recover until the oceans cool back down,' a process that could take thousands of years, DeConto says. 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) - While most of the verbal fireworks have been contained to the Republican side in this year's presidential race, Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton and members of Bernie Sanders' campaign have recently engaged in a war of words over campaign donations from the fossil fuel industry.
Following an event in New York on Thursday, Clinton lashed out at an environmental activist who asked her about rejecting any donations from the fossil fuel industry, accusing the Sanders campaign of spreading lies.
'I do not have-I have money from people that work for fossil fuel companies,' Clinton said, angrily waving her finger at the woman. 'I am so sick of the Sanders campaign lying about me. I'm sick of it.'
The Sanders campaign responded to Clinton's accusation by pointing to an analysis by Greenpeace showing that the former Secretary of State and her super PAC have received more than $4.5 million from the fossil fuel industry.
The dust-up seems to stem from the fact that Clinton has not received donations directly from fossil fuel companies but has received money from their employees and lobbyists.
Greenpeace said it has tracked nearly $1.26 million in bundled and direct donations from lobbyists currently registered as lobbying for the fossil fuel industry.
Sanders' campaign manager Jeff Weaver said Friday the research done by Greenpeace proves Clinton is not just receiving money from individuals who happen to work in the oil, coal and gas industry.
'If the Clinton campaign wants to argue that industry lobbyists giving thousands of dollars to her campaign won't affect her decisions if she's elected, that's fine,' Weaver said.
He added, 'But to call us liars for pointing out basic facts about the secretary's fundraising is deeply cynical and very disappointing.'
The spat comes as Sanders looks to keep his recent momentum intact going into next Tuesday's Wisconsin primary as he attempts to further erode Clinton's big lead in delegates.
(Photo Credit: Nathania Johnson)
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
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, now holds 5.04% of the B shares in Novozymes, previously reported at 4.99% in company announcement no. 14, March 2016. 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 15,639,344 shares of a nominal value of DKK 31,278,688, equivalent to 5.04% of Novozymes A/S' share capital and 1.97% of the voting rights. Attachment: https://cns.omxgroup.com/cds/DisclosureAttachmentServlet?messageAttachmentId=554462
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, BC--(Marketwired - April 01, 2016) -
NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION OR DISSEMINATION DIRECTLY, OR INDIRECTLY, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES
GoldQuest Mining Corp. (TSX VENTURE: GQC) (FRANKFURT: M1W) (BERLIN: M1W) ("GoldQuest" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that the Company has closed its previously announced private placement (the "Private Placement") and has issued 14,710,000 common shares in the capital of the Company (the "Common Shares") at a price of $0.20 per Common Share for gross proceeds of $2,942,000.00.
In connection with the Private Placement, the Company has paid a finder's fee to Foster & Associates Financial Services Inc., Raymond James Ltd. and Cormark Securities Inc. (together the "Finders"). The finder's fee consisted of a cash payment equal to 7% of the aggregate proceeds from subscriptions arranged by the Finders for an aggregate total of $135,940. GoldQuest expects to use the net proceeds of the Private Placement for funding its exploration programs and for general working capital purposes.
"Completion of this modest financing with no warrants allows the company to adequately fund both the exploration program that is generating results in terms of target generation along the full 50 kilometer Tireo belt, as well as, for the Romero Development Project, completion of both the Pre-feasibility Study (due Q2 2016) and the full Feasibility Study (due Q4 2016), which form a significant part of an Environmental Impact Study," said Bill Fisher, Chairman of the Board.
All securities issued pursuant to the Private Placement are subject to a hold period under applicable securities laws, which will expire four months plus one day from the date of closing of the Private Placement. The Private Placement remains subject to the final approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.
The securities issued under the Private Placement have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any state securities laws, and accordingly, may not be offered or sold within the United States except in compliance with the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities requirements or pursuant to exemptions therefrom. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of GoldQuest's securities in the United States.
About GoldQuest
GoldQuest is a Canadian based mineral exploration company with projects in the Dominican Republic. GoldQuest is traded on the TSX-V under the symbol GQC and in Frankfurt/Berlin with symbol M1W. GoldQuest has moved its Toronto office to 133 Richmond Street West -- Suite 501, Toronto, Ontario M5H 2L3 which has reduced corporate general administration expenditures.
Additional information can be viewed at the Company's website www.goldquestcorp.com.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors of GoldQuest Mining Corp.,
"Bill Fisher"
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.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this news release are "forward-looking" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may", "will", "expect", "intend", "estimate", "anticipate", "believe", "continue", "plans" or similar terminology. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements relating to the receipt of final approval from the TSX Venture Exchange and the expected use of proceeds from the Private Placement. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon the current belief, opinions and expectations of management that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and other contingencies. Many factors could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. These factors include, among others, the timeliness and success of regulatory approvals, market prices, metal prices, availability of capital and financing, general economic, market or business conditions, as well as other risk factors set out under the heading "Risk and Uncertainties" in the Management's Discussion and Analysis dated September 30, 2015, which is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Investors are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein.
For further information, please contact:
GoldQuest Mining Corp.
www.goldquestcorp.com
Julio Espaillat
President & CEO - Santo Domingo
+1-829-919-8701
JEspaillat@GoldQuestCorp.com
Bill Fisher
Executive Chairman - Toronto
+1-647-271-4505
BFisher@GoldQuestCorp.com
Jason Roy
Managing Partner - Partner (Presmont Group)
+1-416-775-3575
jroy@presmont.com
TSX-V: JAG
TORONTO, April 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --Jaguar Mining Inc. ("Jaguar" or the "Company") (TSX-V: JAG) is pleased to announce the appointment of Thomas Weng to the Board of Directors of the Company.
Mr. Weng has more than 22 years of experience in the financial services sector. Mr. Weng is currently Co-Founding Partner with Alta Capital Partners, a provider of investment banking services (since 2011). Prior to that, Mr. Weng was the Managing Director at Deutsche Bank and Head of Equity Capital Markets for Metals and Mining throughout the Americas and Latin America, across all industry segments. Mr. Weng has held various senior positions at Pacific Partners, an alternative investment firm, Morgan Stanley and Bear Stearns. Mr. Weng graduated from Boston University with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics.
Richard Falconer, Chairman of the Board of the Company, commented, "On behalf of the Board, I would like to welcome Thomas to the Jaguar team. Thomas's financial expertise and experience in the investment sector will be a valuable asset to our Board. The addition of another independent Board member reflects the Company's commitment to best practices in corporate governance."
About Jaguar Mining Inc.
Jaguar Mining Inc. is a Canadian-listed junior gold mining, development, and exploration company operating in Brazil with three gold mining complexes, and a large land package with significant upside exploration potential from mineral claims covering an area of approximate 191,000 hectares. The Company's principle operating assets are located in a prolific greenstone belt in the state of Minas Gerais and include the Turmalina Gold Mine Complex ("Mineracao Turmalina Ltda" or "MTL") and Caete Gold Mine Complex ("Mineracao Serras do Oeste Ltda" or "MSOL") which combined produce more than 90,000 ounces of gold annually. The Company also owns the Paciencia Gold Mine Complex, which has been on care and maintenance since 2012. Additional information is available on the Company's website at www.jaguarmining.com.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
For further information: Rodney Lamond, President & CEO, rodney.lamond@jaguarmining.com; Hashim Ahmed, Vice President Finance, Interim CFO, hashim.ahmed@jaguarmining.com, Tel: 416 628 9601
FOREST LAKE, MN and BLAINE, MN and WOODBURY, MN and LAKE ELMO, MN -- (Marketwired) -- 04/01/16 -- For as long as there have been lawyers, it seems, there has been hourly billing -- and clients who don't like it. Those clients often say they want something different. At Johnson/Turner Legal, different comes now. The local firm is converting the billing structure in many of its practice areas -- beginning with their divorce practice -- over to fixed-rate pricing, giving clients the almost unheard of ability to buy legal services with the price known in advance.
"You might not believe it, but lawyers dislike hourly billing as much as our clients," says Chris Johnson, who, along with Erin Turner, manages the firm. "Painstakingly tracking small increments of time has yet to win a single case. Plus, it's boring! Clients don't like time billing either. And it's easy to see why."
Attorneys at the firm tell stories about clients who didn't call their attorneys with information critical to their case because they were afraid of getting charged for the phone call. Says Erin Turner, "I've had friends call me for legal advice when they are at that moment engaged with a different attorney on their case. I always tell them they have to talk to their attorney. I'm happy to listen, but I'm not the lawyer who needs to know!" Such gaps in communication can easily lead to legal missteps far costlier than the price of a short phone call. This is the kind of penny-wise and pound-foolish behavior that Johnson/Turner Legal believes is encouraged by hourly billing. They hope to change the behavior by providing their clients access to attorneys without the pressure of the running meter.
The firm also thinks fixed-rate billing will keep their focus on getting the results their clients seek, rather than how much time and effort they put into the case. "As business owners I guess Erin and I sort of have to be interested in how many hours our attorneys work -- though we're not really all that interested -- but we know that our clients don't care how many hours we work. At least now that they're not paying us by that metric."
Johnson likens hourly billing to buying a ticket for an airplane flight, but having the airline bill the passengers after the plane lands, depending on what fuel cost that day, the wind speed and direction and how many people were on the plane. "The airline takes the pricing risks," he says. "They can do it because it's their business to know. Just like we know our business well enough to quote and live by fixed prices."
Another advantage of the new pricing philosophy is that it helps reduce anxiety for clients who right now often see wildly fluctuating bills at month-end. "This removes the uncertainty," explains Turner. "A lot of our clients are already dealing with uncertainty in their personal or professional lives, and anything we can do to help ease that uncertainty is a big help."
About Johnson/Turner Legal
We're a just-right-sized Minnesota law firm with offices much closer to you than you may think. We're currently open in Forest Lake, Woodbury, Blaine and Lake Elmo, with some other possibilities on the way. Our experienced attorneys span a wide variety of practices, including family law, litigation, real estate law, business and municipal law, estate planning and a host of other areas. We've won a lot of cases (and awards for that matter), but at the end of the day, we're all about focusing on you and keeping it real. And if you happen to have any good lawyer jokes, bring them. We make fun of stuffy law firms, too.
Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=2987155
Contact:
Chris Johnson or Erin Turner
651.464.7292
Email Contact
Email Contact
http://johnsonturner.com/your-family-your-lawyer'src=fixedRate
Shanghai, China-based venture capital firm Gobi Partners has teamed up with Malaysia Venture Capital Management to launch a $14.5m fund.
The new vehicle will invest in 30/35 startups developing emerging technologies across Southeast Asia over the next three years. It will reportedly focus on Internet and mobile technology startups in such areas as big data, cloud computing, content & digital media, e-commerce, financial tech, online tourism, and Muslim innovation.
Founded in 2002 and led by Thomas Tsao, Managing Partner, Gobi has managed seven funds invesing in the IT and digital media sectors in China and Southeast Asia.
The firm has offices in China, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore.
FinSMEs
01/04/2016
McCarthy Capital, an Omaha, NE based growth equity firm, closed its Fund VI, at $353m.
McCarthy Capital Fund VI, L.P., is a private equity fund that will invest $10 to $50m in high growth, lower middle-market companies having revenues of at least $15m.
Founded in 1986, the firm is led by Patrick Duffy, President and Managing Partner, and Bob Emmert, Managing Partner.
FinSMEs
01/04/2016
McCarthy Capital Closes $353 Million Growth Equity Fund
Omaha, NE McCarthy Capital Corporation (McCarthy Capital), a leading Omaha-based growth equity firm, announced the final closing of McCarthy Capital Fund VI, L.P. (Fund VI), a $353 million private equity fund that will invest in high growth, lower middle-market companies.
We are pleased to announce the closing of Fund VI, said Patrick Duffy, President and Managing Partner of McCarthy Capital. We appreciate the strong support from existing investors and are grateful for the opportunity to partner with several well-regarded institutional investors to complete this capital raise quickly. McCarthy Capital experienced strong demand for its sixth fund which was oversubscribed exceeding its target of $250 million.
McCarthy Capital, led by a seasoned group of private equity investors who have worked together for many years, has successfully executed the same strategy since 1986. The firms investment team brings a disciplined adherence to the mission of growing businesses in partnership with management. The firms core philosophy of aligning its financial goals with management has resulted in more than forty partnerships with closely-held businesses seeking an experienced capital partner.
Through Fund VI, McCarthy Capital will make investments of $10 to $50 million in established companies having revenues of at least $15 million, demonstrated profitability and management teams seeking to keep material capital at risk. Fund VIs capital will generally be used to provide shareholder liquidity and to support internal or acquisition-related growth opportunities.
Bob Emmert, Managing Partner, added Fund VI will allow McCarthy Capital to continue its thirty-year focus of making control and substantial minority investments in established private companies. We look forward to partnering with outstanding management teams desiring to maintain significant ownership positions within their business.
Lazard provided placement agent services in connection with the offering and Locke Lord LLP provided legal counsel.
Startupbootcamp, a global accelerator group with industry-focused programs, has launched its Digital Health program in Berlin.
Supported by arvato CRM Healthcare, Sanofi in Germany, Munich Health and Deutsche Apotheker- und Arztebank (apoBank) as corporate partners, Startupbootcamp Digital Health Berlin aims to fill the seed funding gap for 10 innovative startups in the sector.
Led by Managing Director Juliane Zielonka, a Digital Health entrepreneur himself, the 3 month program is seeking startups working in behavior change, diagnostics and genomics, big data and analytics to provide them with guidance and support from health industry network, corporates and investors.
Each selected team receives 15k plus 6 months free co-working office space at Rainmaking Loft Berlin.
Startups can apply until 31 August 2016 HERE. The program starts on 7 November 2016.
FinSMEs
01/04/2016
Television actress Pratyusha Banerjee, known for her role of adult Anandi in the serial Balika Vadhu, allegedly committed suicide in Mumbai on Friday, police said. Pratyusha hanged herself from a fan at her Kandivli residence but was found and taken to the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital where she succumbed.
Police have taken Banerjee's boyfriend Rahul Raj Singh for interrogation and her post mortem report will be released by 4 pm on Saturday. Her body is currently at Sidharth Hospital in Goregaon. The investigation is happening at Bangur Nagar police station in Goregaon.
According to sources within the police, the last person to have visited her house was the laundry man.
However, Singh gave his first statement to the police earlier today, claiming he was the one who took Banerjee's body to the hospital.
"We used to stay in a 2 bedroom flat. We had two keys; one key was with Pratyusha and the other was with me. When I entered the bedroom, I found Pratyusha hanging from the ceiling. I got very scared. Immediately, I called the neighbours and with their help, I took her to Kokilaben Hospital. We assumed that she was alive, but she was not. I got so scared that I did not inform the police. It was the hospital authorities who informed them. After the doctors declaration, I called up Pratyushas family members and few of our close friends," said Singh, as reported by Pinkvilla.
Initial reports suggested she was facing a turmoil in her personal life.
Her colleagues from the industry and her fans are in complete disbelief with news that the talented young girl, all of 24, is no more.
Veteran actress Surekha Sikri, who played Dadisa to Pratyusha's character in Balika Vadhu, told IANS: "I am absolutely shocked. I knew her, she was very sweet. She was a sensitive person, she must have taken something to heart and must have got really emotional."
According to Tanuj Garg, former CEO of Balaji Motion Pictures, she had plans to marry her longtime boyfriend Rahul Singh.
"Terrible, terrible news about Pratyusha Banerjee. Met her once at a party. How extreme must pressures be to drive one to take one's own life. Friends met Pratyusha Banerjee and her boyfriend Rahul (who owns a production house) on Holi and they seemed happy. They were to get married," Garg shared on Twitter.
Social media went into a tizzy once the news of Pratyusha's suicide surfaced, with many hoping that it is an April Fools' joke.
Hailing from Jharkhand, Pratyusha catapulted to fame with her role in Balika Vadhu between 2010-2013.
She was later seen in the reality dance show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 5, Bigg Boss 7 and hosted some episodes of Savdhaan India. She recently appeared in Sasural Simar Ka.
Pratyusha was earlier dating businessman named Makrand Malhotra, with whom she had a bitter break-up and against whom she had lodged a complaint for abusive behaviour.
Earlier this year, Pratyusha had filed an FIR against eight men, including three policemen, claiming they tried to barge into her residence here in relation with a car loan that her boyfriend Rahul Singh had taken from a bank.
Actress Avika Gor told India Today TV that she couldn't believe Pratyusha had killed herself. "I have never seen her depressed or upset," she said.
Other celebrities too shared their sorrow on Twitter:
Such a sad end of a bubbly,energetic n talented town girl Pratyusha Banerjee,Indian TV will always miss you "Anandi".RIP Dr Kumar Vishvas (@DrKumarVishwas) April 1, 2016
This world is Not gonna let u live but You gotta live for God got u in this world. RIP Pratyusha Banerjee. I am very sad to hear this news PAYAL ROHATGI (@Payal_Rohatgi) April 1, 2016
With inputs from IANS
Mumbai: Priyanka Chopra, who has a fan in Neel Sethi -- the Mowgli of Disney's The Jungle Book -- has asked the Indian-American child actor to brace up for an adventurous ride with the Hindi dubbed version of the international film.
Neel, who is currently in Mumbai for the promotions of the film, in an interview to IANS shared that he is fond of Priyanka, who is famous in Hollywood now courtesy Quantico.
And the 12-year-old also took to Twitter to post:
Priyanka will be infusing life to the soft and hypnotic voice of the python Kaa, voiced by Scarlett Johansson in the English version of the adventure fantasy film.
Currently shooting for Quantico, which is aired on Star World, Star World HD and Star World Premiere in India, and her Hollywood debut project Baywatch, Priyanka took out time from her schedule to respond to Neel's tweet.
She posted: Trust Me (Vishwaassss karo mera) Neel Sethi... It's going to be epic! Have fun in Mumbai, Mowgli.
Along with Priyanka, different characters from the Hindi version of the film have been voiced by Irrfan Khan, Nana Patekar, Shefali Shah and Om Puri.
Directed by Jon Favreau, The Jungle Book promises to be an advanced version of the eponymous 1967 animated film, and brings the story of Rudyard Kipling's 1864 timeless classic back on the big screen.
London: Amid fears that 15,000 jobs may be lost, the UK today said it will appoint independent advisors once the sale of Tata Steel's UK business commences and, alongwith the Welsh government, help in securing a buyer for the country's largest steelmaker.
Government also assured the workers that "all possible" ministerial, official and diplomatic influence will be exerted to secure the steel industry's long term future.
"Business Secretary Sajid Javid will today visit Port Talbot, where Tata Steel UK's largest plant is based, to meet workers and the management," UK government said in a statement.
Tata Steel, one of the flagship firm of the over $100 billion Indian conglomerate Tata Group, earlier this week disclosed plans to sell its entire UK business.
The move has threatened over 15,000 jobs amid a deepening crisis in the UK's once-storied sector that the Indian conglomerate had entered nearly a decade ago with a $14-billion takeover with much fanfare.
"He (Javid) will say that once formal Tata sales process is underway, independent advisors will also be appointed by the government," the statement said.
It added that as Prime Minister David Cameron has already said, the UK government intervention helped ensure that Tata announced a sales process for Port Talbot, rather immediate closure allowing ministers to play an active part in finding a sustainable solution, including engaging with market for potential buyers.
"Javid will work with Commercial Secretary to the Treasury Jim O'Neill, Chancellor of Duchy of Lancaster Oliver Letwin and Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns as well as Welsh Government in helping secure a buyer for Tata's Steel assets following their announcement of their intention to divest their UK assets," the statement added.
During his visit to Port Talbot, Javid will also meet the members of the Welsh Government, unions and local MPs.
On his visit, the Business Secretary said: "I'm going to Port Talbot to meet staff and management, who are understandably extremely anxious about their future.
"I will listen to them, and I want to reassure them, myself that the government is on their side in working hard to achieve a long term solution for them, for the region and for the wider UK steel industry."
He further said: "Whilst we can't change the status of the global steel market, we can and are playing a positive role in securing a sustainable future."
The government said the measures imposed in January on reinforcing steel bar imports are starting to have effect as imports during the months declined 99 per cent from January 2015.
Tata Steel, which operates UK's biggest steel plant at Port Talbot in south Wales, is losing 1 million pounds ($1.4 million) a day in its UK operations.
Tatas had entered the British steel sector, which once dominated the British economy, in early 2007 with acquisition of Anglo-Dutch steelmaker Corus after a fiercely fought takeover battle -- which till date remains the biggest ever overseas acquisition by an Indian group.
Mumbai: Shares of Jaiprakash Associates zoomed nearly 18 per cent today after debt-ridden Jaypee Group announced part sale of its cement business to Kumarmangalam Birla-led Ultra Tech for Rs 15,900 crore.
The stock surged 17.67 per cent to Rs 8.99 on BSE. On NSE, it soared 16.88 per cent to Rs 9. Ultra Tech Cement's stock rose 1.17 per cent to Rs 3,264.90 at BSE.
In one of the biggest deals in the domestic cement industry, debt-ridden Jaypee Group yesterday announced part sale of its cement business to Kumarmangalam Birla-led Ultra Tech for Rs 15,900 crore.
The transaction will see Ultra Tech become possibly the biggest cement player in the country after gaining an overall capacity of 21.2 million tonne per annum from Jaypee's cement plants in five states and a grinding unit in Uttar Pradesh. The value of the transaction, however, has been reduced from Rs 16,500 crore announced last month as Jaiprakash Associates Ltd's (JAL) Karnataka plant with a capacity of 1.2 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) has been excluded.
Announcing the deal, JAL in a filing to BSE said its board approved the definitive agreement with Ultra Tech Cement (UTCL) for sale of part of its cement business.
PTI
Buying and developing properties in Mumbai, the most expensive real estate market in the country, and rest of Maharashtra is set to become costlier, as the state government on Thursday announced increase in ready reckoner rates by an average seven per cent, effective Friday.
The stamp duty on property transactions, calculated on the basis of RR rates, would go up as a result.
Revenue minister Eknath Khadse made the announcement in the legislative Assembly here. The increase would be five percent in municipal corporation limits, seven percent in municipal council limits and eight percent in the rural areas.
The government decided to effect only "moderate" hike in RR rates considering the slump in real estate sector and the drought, Khadse said.
Ready reckoner (RR) rates are market values of a property determined by the government for payment of stamp duty.
However, it is to be noted that the increase has come at a time when the real estate sector is reeling under a protracted slowdown in demand due to high prices and economic uncertainty.
The increase in ready reckoner rate which will have a cascading effect on the prices and also the costs for developers is likely to dampen the wobbly recovery being witnessed in certain pockets in the state.
Explaining the impact of the move, a report in The Indian Express says that the construction cost will see an increase as there are many charges payable to civic corporations by builders that are linked to the the ready reckoner rates.
Builders are peeved at the hike. "The government is promoting affordable housing on one hand and increasing RR rates on the other. This is a contrast...," Jayesh Thakkar, President, Credai Nashik, has been quoted as saying in a report in The Times of India. Credai is the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India.
With PTI
NEW DELHI Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Saudi Arabia on Sunday is part of a diplomatic effort to put pressure on arch rival Pakistan by forging ties with some of Islamabad's closest allies, Indian ruling party and government officials said.
Modi is expected to sign trade agreements, including contracts to secure investment for infrastructure projects, and offer security and military cooperation, such as training and joint exercises, the officials said.
The Indian premier's visit is just over seven months after he travelled to another Pakistan ally, the United Arab Emirates, and signed a security cooperation agreement that includes regular meetings between top security advisers.
"It's simple. We have to do everything to deal with Pakistan - use economics, strategy and emotional ties to win the hearts of Islamabad's friends," said Ram Madhav, national general secretary of Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
Nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan have fought three wars since independence in 1947, two of them over Kashmir. New Delhi has long accused Islamabad of sponsoring a separatist movement and militancy in the Himalayan region. Pakistan denies the charge and accuses India of occupying Kashmir and fomenting trouble in its restive provinces, like Baluchistan.
New Delhi has been frustrated that often its ties with countries have been coloured by concerns about its relationship with Pakistan. One foreign ministry official said the Saudis tended to bring up Pakistan during discussions with India.
Government officials described Modis diplomatic push as an effort to "de-hyphenate" India from Pakistan, especially as New Delhi tries to play a bigger geopolitical role in Asia to counter China's influence.
Stronger relationships with Pakistans allies can help India get a more sympathetic hearing on global and regional forums and put pressure on Islamabad to rein in militants.
On Thursday, Saudi Arabia and the United States imposed joint sanctions targeting the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba militant group blamed for the 2008 attacks in Mumbai.
In Washington on Friday, where Modi was attending a summit on nuclear security, Indian government spokesman Vikas Swarup welcomed the move.
"Countries working against terror entities - particularly entities that have targeted India repeatedly - is I think a welcome development," he told reporters.
RIGHT TIMING
Until now, Indias relationship with Saudi Arabia has been driven primarily by trade and the Indian diaspora in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia is India's top energy supplier and home to more than 3.5 million Indian expatriates.
Over the past few years, there has been some cooperation on security between the two countries, with Riyadh deporting four most wanted fugitives to India.
Modi will look to broaden those ties, with one foreign ministry official saying healthcare, education, religious tourism and labour reforms would also be key talking points.
Still, there are limits to what New Delhi can hope to achieve. The relationship between Pakistan and the Saudis goes back decades, based in their shared Sunni Muslim heritage.
Saudi Arabia has long been a source of financial aid for Islamabad. In 2014, the Saudis gave Pakistan $1.5 billion as a "gift" to shore up its foreign reserves.
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif spent time in political exile in Saudi Arabia in the 2000s, after he was ousted in a military coup.
But Indian officials said the timing was right for Modis visit, as relations between Riyadh and Islamabad enter a rough patch.
Pakistan declined to provide ships, aircraft and troops to the Saudi-led fight to halt Iranian-allied Houthi rebels in Yemen last year. It has also sought to avoid taking sides in the escalating dispute between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
"Pakistan knows that relations with Saudi have come to a low. That doesn't mean that India can fill that gap," said Zahid Hussain, a former newspaper editor in Pakistan. "But certainly this is part of Modi's diplomatic offensive in the region."
(Additional reporting by Doug Busvine in NEW DELHI, Asad Hashim and Mehreen Zahra-Malik in ISLAMABAD and David Brunnstrom in WASHINGTON; Editing by Nick Macfie and Grant McCool)
This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
ISLAMABAD Pakistan has asked Iran to investigate the case of a suspected Indian spy who Pakistani authorities say has confessed to spying against Pakistan from Iran, according to a copy of an Interior Ministry letter to Iran obtained by Reuters on Friday.
Last month, Pakistan said it had detained the suspected spy, Kulbhushan Jadhav, in the violence-plagued province of Baluchistan after he had illegally entered the country from Iran.
Pakistan says Jadhav was working for India's main external intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).
India has confirmed that the man was a former Indian navy official but denied the man was a spy.
In video footage aired by the Pakistani government this week, Jadhav said he had set up an office in Chabahar in southeast Iran in 2003 and later worked for the Indian agency.
It was not clear if Jadhav made the comments on the video tape freely or under duress.
Pakistan's interior ministry, in a letter to Iran's ambassador in Islamabad, Mehdi Honardoost, said the Indian had made "startling revelations" about an Indian spy network operating against Pakistan from Iranian soil.
"His mission included spying and sabotage, in addition to fomenting insecurity and instability in the provinces of Sindh and Baluchistan," the ministry said in the letter, a copy of which was provided to Reuters by an Interior Ministry official.
Pakistan asked Iran to provide information about the Indian man's activities, and the people he interacted with there, the ministry said.
Honardoost was not available for comment.
The Iranian embassy in Islamabad issued a statement on Friday on the "detention of the Indian agent" and said unidentified "elements" were not happy with good ties between Iran and Pakistan and were trying to undermine them.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani visited Pakistan last week and signed an agreement to increase annual trade volumes between the two countries to $5 billion by 2021.
(Reporting by Asad Hashim and Mehreen Zahra-Malik; Writing by Mehreen Zahra-Malik; Editing by Robert Birsel)
This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Pune: A day after making an unsuccessful attempt to enter the sanctum sanctorum of Shani Shingnapur temple in Maharashtra, the Bhumata Mahila Brigade on Friday said they are in dialogue with the temple trustees over the issue for a positive outcome.
After the Bombay High Court observed on Wednesday that if men are allowed in a place of worship then women should also be permitted, the members of Bhumata Mahila Brigade, which parted ways with Trupti Desai's Bhumata Ranragini Brigade earlier in 2015, tried to enter into the sanctum sanctorum of Shani Shingnapur temple in Ahmednagar on Thursday.
However, their attempt was foiled by the police.
"Unlike Bhumata Ranragini Brigade, we do not believe in creating ruckus on roads and disrupt the peace while fighting against the tradition," said Priyanka Jagtap, a key activist of the Bhumata Mahila Brigade.
"Yesterday, we had gone to the temple and sought entry inside the core of the shrine. Though they (police) blocked us, we had a healthy discussion with the temple trustees," she said.
She said they are talking to the temple trustees and people in the villages (near the temple) to create awareness among them through dialogue.
"We do not want to create a law and order situation, and with effective dialogue with the temple trustees of Shinganapur, we are trying to bring a positive approach among them about the cause," Jagtap said.
"We are also talking to the trust of Trimbakeshwar temple (in Nashik) and exhorting them to change their views, and we are sure, sooner than later, we will succeed in our cause," she further said.
She also informed they plan to file a writ petition soon in high court in connection with the Trimbakeshwar temple row, where women are restricted from entering the inner sanctum of
the Lord Shiva shrine.
Meanwhile, Trupti Desai, the president of Bhumata Ranragini Brigade, alleged that the members of Bhumata Mahila Brigade were trying to usurp her issue.
"They are trying to usurp my issue and maligning my image and soon for this act, I will slap a legal notice on them," Trupti added.
Notably, in a boost to gender equality campaign, the Bombay High Court had recently observed that if men are allowed in a place of worship then women should also be permitted as no law prevents them from doing so.
The high court, while underlining the need for giving equal access to women, also stated that any temple or person imposing restrictions can face a six-month jail term under a Maharashtra law.
PTI
In the context of an atmosphere of intolerance in India, the Bombay High Court has refused to be tolerant of an archaic, absurd and arbitrary practice where women are not allowed to enter temples and observe religious traditions and rituals within the premises of religious buildings. The court, in response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Vidya Bal and Nilima Varta, two activists from Pune, declared that no law prevents women from entering places of worship. The PIL challenges the archaic tradition that disbars the entry of women inside the sanctum sanctorum of the Shani Shingnapur temple in the Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra and claims that the prohibition is arbitrary, illegal and violative of the fundamental rights of a citizen, that the Constitution enshrines.
A division bench of Chief Justice DH Waghela and Justice MS Sonak invoked the Maharashtra Hindu Place of Worship (Entry Authorisation) Act, 1956 and said that under this act, if a temple or person prohibits any person from entering a temple, then he or she will be subjected to six-month imprisonment as punishment. The discriminatory practice is also violative of Article 14 (equality before law), 25 and 26 (freedom of religion) of the Constitution. The two judges remarked - There is no law that prevents entry of women in any place. If you allow men, then you should allow women also. If a male can go and pray before the deity, why not women? It is the State governments duty to protect the rights of women.
The paradigm of womens human rights has been trapped between the age-old universalist and cultural relativist dichotomy for a long time. While addressing various reservations that dont allow women to exercise their human rights, it has been seen that cultural practices are identified as primary sites of struggle. Womens human rights have remained contested terrains in the protracted polarities of tradition and modernity. In India where the woman form is worshipped as a pantheon of goddesses, most women between the ages of ten to fifty are not allowed to enter religious buildings. Many religious customs portray women in this age-group to be impure and unworthy for praying and observing rituals because of their menstrual cycles. The Bombay High Court has taken this custom and turned it around on its head, stating that women should have equal access to places of worship and that "women can go where men can.
This progressive observation stretches like a bridge to form a nexus between constitutional freedoms and the religious customs, and in many ways, sets the stage for other ongoing conflicts between religious authorities and the law. On 5 April, 1991, a division bench of the Kerala High Court had upheld the prohibition of women offering worship at the Sabarimala shrine. The restriction was enforced under Rule 3 (b) of the Kerala Hindu Places of Public Worship (Authorisation of Entry) Rules, 1965 (women at such time during which they are not by custom and usage allowed to enter a place of public worship). The Kerala High Court had upheld the ban in 1991 and directed the Travancore Devaswom Board to implement it. Twenty-five years later, in January 2016, the Supreme Court has challenged the constitutional logic behind this 1500-year-old tradition, and asked for proof that would indicate that women did not enter the sanctum sanctorum 1500 years ago. The temple representatives have cited three arguments in favour of the restriction: the Constitution mandates that the belief of citizens must be protected; secondly, they speak of the notional impurity of the menstruating women and thirdly, that it is not safe for women to take the strenuous pilgrimage to the shrine. These arguments are indicative of a patriarchal worldview where women are socially subordinate to men, and that religion and spirituality must be safeguarded from the polluting bodies of women.
The Bombay HC's observations may only be an obiter dicta to the Supreme Court but its implications are vast. It is a breath of fresh air as it does not merely challenge the constitutionality of a law, but goes beyond its reach and endeavours to uproot a socio-religious custom that breeds gender inequality. The observations will also have an impact on the PIL by Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan on the entry of women into the Haji Ali Dargah in Bombay, as it will be absurd to have two separate stance on temples and dargahs.
Unlike the American Constitution that explicitly vouches for the separation of the church from the state, the Indian Constitution combines freedom of religion clauses with a mandate that the state to intervene in religious affairs - Article 25 allows the state to restrict or regulate religious practices, thus, allowing for judicial responses to review customs or personal laws by the legislature. Our courts have a greater responsibility to apply rigorous standards of judicial scrutiny for removal of injustice against the women.
An under-construction flyover collapsed near Ganesh Talkies in north Kolkata's Girish Park area killed at least 18 people and injured 78 on Thursday. The Vivekananda Setu crashed on a moving traffic. Rescuers and authorities confirmed to media that there were many who are still trapped under the debris.
Rescue teams are working to pull out cars at the site of collapse. The place around the crash remained chaotic as Army personnel were deployed in large number, Firstpost correspondent from Kolkata, Sujanya said.
Several political leaders expressed their grief and support over the mishap. Here is what they had to say:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is in touch with officials in Delhi and has instructed all possible assistance to be extended by Army and NDRF in rescue and relief operations, expressed shock and sadness over the loss of lives in the collapse.
Shocked & saddened by collapse of under construction flyover in Kolkata. Took stock of the situation & rescue operations. Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 31, 2016
My thoughts are with the families of those who lost their lives in Kolkata. May the injured recover at the earliest. Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 31, 2016
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee told CNN-IBN:
This is a serious matter and case of gross negligence. Will take strong action against those responsible. We will take care of all the expenses of all the injured, we hope for their speedy recovery.
Rahul Gandhi, Congress vice-president:
News of the collapse of a flyover in Kolkata extremely tragic. I hope rescue &relief ops reach those trapped and injured at the earliest Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) March 31, 2016
Home Minister Rajnath Singh
Deeply saddened to know that precious lives have been lost in the Kolkata accident.My heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased Rajnath Singh (@BJPRajnathSingh) March 31, 2016
Derek O'Brien:
Monumental tragedy. Rescue ops on.Many feared dead. Chief Sec/Home Sec at site. CM headed back to Kol immediately.This is the update I have Derek O'Brien (@quizderek) March 31, 2016
K Panduranga Rao, a senior official of the IVRCL group, one of the builders of the bridge: A girder must have been missed and another probably fell. It is nothing but God's act. This has not happened to us in 27 years. Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Rajya Sabha member: This is a clear case of corruption, there should be a CBI inquiry into this," ANI quoted Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi as saying. Kiren Rijiju, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs: It is a very sad news for us. NDRF teams have been dispatched. We will provide whatever support needed. State government is already doing whatever is necessary. Monetary requirements are not the priority right now, rescue and relief is. Any development projects need to incorporate disaster mitigation concept. Basudeb Banerjee, Bengal chief secretary: The state government will pay a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the next of kin of every person who died and Rs 2 lakh for those who are injured. Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Congress leader: Urban development minister Firhad Hakim should be arrested immediately. The police came to the spot after a good two hours. Why? The rescue operation should have been started within an hour. We demand full investigation. People are dying like cats and dogs. We will go to the hospitals and our supporters will donate as much blood as required to treat the injured. Jitendra Singh, Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports: The MHA, disaster management agencies always take cognisance of such incidents. The central government has been forthcoming even in the past when there was a natural calamity like this. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal
V sad to hear the tragedy in Kolkatta. My prayers with victims n their families. Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) March 31, 2016
Asok Bhattacharya, ex-Urban Development Minister and CPM leader
The present urban development minister has to shoulder responsibility. There should be a high-level inquiry.
Suhel Seth, author:
The flyover collapse in Calcutta is a horrible tragedy. Let's refrain from playing politics over it. SUHEL SETH (@suhelseth) March 31, 2016
OP Singh, NDRF DG:
Our priority is that those who are alive under the debris should be rescued. All kinds of cutters are being used to make an entry. We dont have the death toll or information on how many are injured. 100 metres of the bridge have collapsed.
If theres one thing that embarrasses politicians it is being seen to be playing politics. Especially when faced with a horrific tragedy like the crash of a flyover in Kolkata on Thursday. So the favourite phrase prefacing the reactions of politicians to Thursdays disaster was: This is not the time to play politics, but and never has a but been more eloquent. Because finally it is all about politics, of course, all the more so at election time.
The first thing Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said after rushing to the accident site was: It is a disaster, no one should indulge in politics over it. But the project was initiated in 2007 and construction started in 2009 (i.e., during the Left regime).The contract should not have been given to a company that was blacklisted.
The retort came swift and sharp. At the CPM headquarters in Kolkata on Alimuddin Street, party MP Mohammad Salim said, This is not the time for politics but the Chief Minister has left us with no choice. Its no different from the way she behaved over the death of children soon after coming to power. (Salim was referring to Mamata Banerjees response to a spate of simultaneous deaths in a government-run childrens hospital when she said, Remember these children were conceived during the earlier regime.)
At the Centre, which too has a role to play in the making (and hence in the unmaking too) of the flyover as it is a JNNURM project, that is partly funded by Delhi, junior urban development minister Babul Supriyo said, While I dont want to bring politics into this, this was a joint venture of the UPA at the Centre and the CPM government in Bengal.
Since the Centre can only vet the projects and release the funds, monitoring being limited to sending reminders and pushing for compliance if the states fail to implement them, Bengals sole BJP minister in the Capital did not forget to add, It is the failure of the state government. It is responsible.
The flyover may never come to be. Many experts are now voicing doubts over the choice of the location itself, narrow, busy, built-up, congested streets in the heart of the city. And the local peoples objections, who had never welcomed it, are now getting a hearing.
Whatever its fate, the imminent question playing on many minds is, will it have played its historic role by becoming an election issue, touched as it is by all the leading players in this state? Surely it should, there ought to be some accountability somewhere and the polling booth is the ultimate court of appeal. Otherwise, all those innocent people will have lost their lives or limbs in vain.
The political bosses are not quite sure which way the people will go or whether they will all be blamed equally and thus cancel each other out. So they are taking no chances.
The ruling Trinamool Congress has understandably most to lose. There were troubling signs on Thursday when city mayor Sovon Chatterjee and local MLA Smita Bakshi, both candidates in the imminent elections, were booed and heckled by the crowds during their visit to the accident site.
The air rang with cries of chor hai, sab chor hai.
The mayor is one of the people shown to be taking money in the Naranda sting videos. No other TMC leader other than the Chief Minister visited the area on Thursday. Friday morning saw local MP, TMCs Sudip Bandopadhyay, standing amid the debris, reading out a list of disasters that took many lives during the Left Fronts years.
Mamata Banerjee gave the cue last night when she lashed out, even while making sure of adequate supply of floodlights and drinking water for the rescue workers that, Dirty politics is being played over blood. I will not allow this. We have enough blood. There is no need for a blood donation tamasha. If blood is needed there are enough of us around. I just have to give a call, one lakh people will turn up to give blood.
The provocation for her outburst: the overwhelming response to blood donation camps organised last evening by Left student unions at one of the citys Central Blood Banks for the disaster victims. It was not long before TMCs all-powerful doctor-MLA Nirmal Majhi put a stop to it, accusing the Left of coercing people to donate blood.
Utterly meaningless, he said, and demanded an explanation from the blood bank authorities for taking what was tantamount to tainted CPM blood.
Meanwhile, the Left is busy performing its own deflecting manoeuvres. Siliguri mayor and former urban development minister Ashok Bhattacharya, whose Siliguri model is the blueprint for the current Left-Congress electoral alliance, has a heavy cross to bear.
He had commissioned the flyover and given the job to the Hyderabad-based infrastructure company IVRCL. He is screaming hoarse that the company was not blacklisted when it was given the project. It got blacklisted two or three years ago. I would ask why Firhad Hakim (the current urban development minister) did not get rid of the company after it got blacklisted. We suspect there was compromise on the quality of materials.
He was hinting at Trinamools already much-maligned building materials supply syndicates.
According to Bhattacharya, The bulk of the construction began in 2013. By pointing fingers at us, they are trying to evade their responsibilities.
The cry for the head of urban development minister Firhad Hakim is growing louder by the day. Hakim is also the chairman of the Kolkata Municipal Development Authority, an agency of the urban development ministry which was directly responsible for the implementation of the flyover. Hakim is also part of Naradas sting videocast.
The BJP, the Congress and the CPM have all demanded his resignation. But Mamata Banerjee usually puts huge storage by loyalty. Its the peoples loyalty in the time of disaster that she needs to worry about.
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Footage from the site after the accident
Spoke to DG NDRF who apprised me of the situation: Rajnath
"An entire mini-bus was crushed under the debris," said another eyewitness.
"There should be a very quick response. No rescue has been done. The rescue operation is very slow. It should be fast and should be done as quick as possible. After that, we can discuss what material was used," an angry eyewitness told Times Now, as he pointed out that it had been three hours since the accident.
"This is a very unfortunate incident," said West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and added that the project was started in 2008 during the regime of the Left Front government.
Seven people were rescued from the spot and rushed to the Calcutta Medical College and Hospital. "Two bodies have been extricated," a police officer said. - IANS
According to news reports, the death toll in this tragedy has now climbed to 14.
Sources told Firstpost that the troops deployed at the site have warned that the adjoining part of the flyover might collapse. The troops have also told the people to clear the roads underneath.
Troops deployed warn that another part of bridge may collapse
The toll-free helpline number is 1070. Other helpline numbers are 22143526, 22535185, 22145664.
At the receiving end of strongly-worded allegations, IVRCL addressed a press conference, in which the firm maintained that the incident was 'an accident.' The company said it has no information about the FIR and that it has not been served on them
We have collected all the samples from accident site & will send them to lab for test- C Sarkar,Forensic team member pic.twitter.com/E0rgeT8NlD
Forensic Team arrives at the site of #Kolkata flyover collapse to collect samples pic.twitter.com/DXccD6DBnX
Reports said that forensic Team arrived at the site of the flyover collapse to collect samples. However, TV reports said that the forensic team arrived after multiple reminders. "After 24 hours they are finally here," a bystander was quoted as saying by Times Now.
Pedestrians and cars were crushed under concrete slabs and metal when a 60-metre portion of the flyover suddenly fell at lunchtime at Burrabazar in central Kolkata. Around 90 were rescued, many with serious injuries.
Meanwhile, legal advisor to IVRCL Sheela Peddinti made an obscure remark and hinted that a blast could have been the reason behind the collapse. "The glass was shattered. It could have been a blast," Peddinti said on Friday.
Speaking to journalists the MP said that the project should not have been approved at the first place and there was lot of issues among the locals regarding it.
"My opinion is that it would have been better if it (flyover) was remodelled," the MP, who visited the site of accident, was quoted as saying by The Hindu.
As the death toll in the flyover collapse increased to 24 on Friday, a local Trinamool Congress MP Sudip Bandopadhyay courted a fresh controversy on Friday by saying that the flyover should have been "remodelled." Bandopadhyay added that it was not done as the investment was already made into the project.
IVRCL official hints blast could have been the reason for the collapse
Three cranes working overnight managed to clear some of the wreckage and free access to vehicles with people still inside.
Army and disaster response personnel sifted through the rubble overnight, armed with concrete and metal cutters, drilling machines and heat cameras to detect life.
"Rescue operations are almost over. We don't expect to find any more survivors," said an official. Rescuers worked through the night with cranes, saws and jackhammers to look for those who may be trapped in debris.
Shiv Sena demanded that all projects, ongoing and otherwise, in the state undertaken by IVRCL or its joint venture with other firms should be probed on technical soundness. Pratap Sarnaik, Sena legislator said, "IVRCL in JV with other firms is currently constructing several projects in Maharashtra and all these should be reviewed by the government by technical experts to ensure that there is no repeat of accidents on the lines of the Kolkata bridge."
The firm is involved in several road projects in districts like Pune, Satara, Yavatmal, Chandrapur, Wardha, The Hindustan Times reported. It has also bagged several irrigation projects in the state. IVRCL's website shows that it has a share of public infrastructure contracts in several states including Andhra Pradhesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat.
Doubts were raised on the construction quality of several projects of IVRCL after the unfortunate collapse in Kolkata. Incidentally, IVRCL has undertaken projects in Maharashtra as well.
Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Friday demanded the state government to hand over the Kolkata flyover case to the CBI. He also said that CBI will look into the matter seriously. He added that the Centre is already providing all the possible help in the rescue operation.
Brigadier Harish Kukreja on Friday said that the rescue work is in final stage and it seems no more survivors or bodies are left under the bridge. He also appreciated the NDRF, civil administration and other teams for their co-ordination throughout the mission. He added that most of the area has been cleared up and the operation is still underway, ANI reported.
Residents of Kolkata on Friday paid homage to the people killed after an under-construction flyover collapsed in North Kolkata near Ganesh Talkies (Girish Park) on Thursday afternoon, ANI reported. A group of people gathered at the tragedy site to offer prayers for the people who lost their lives. At least 24 people were killed and over 100 are expected to be injured in the tragedy.
Strict action will be taken against those responsible for Kolkata flyover collapse: Derek O'Brien, TMC leader to CNN-IBN on #KolkataTragedy
Strict action will be taken against those responsible for Kolkata flyover collapse, TMC leader Derek O'Brien told CNN-IBN.
An under-construction flyover collapsed near Ganesh Talkies in Girish Park, north Kolkata on Thursday. Ten people have been killed and several people are feared to be trapped under the debris after the Vivekananda Setu flyover collapsed, according to CNN-IBN.
Traffic has come to a standstill and rescue operations are on. Many passenger vehicles, trucks and rickshaws were seen under the debris but it was not immediately known as to how many people were trapped.
"The bridge collapsed. I think atleast 150 people are under the debris," ANI quoted an eye-witness as saying.
Firefighters and residents were trying with their bare hands to rescue those trapped under the wreckage of the metal-and-cement structure.
Television footage from the scene showed a bloody hand reaching out from under what appeared to be a massive girder. People were trying to hand bottles of water to survivors pinned underneath.
"The condition is pathetic. At this moment no one has any clue how many people are trapped," said Raichand Mohta, a police officer at the scene.
There was little sign of a coordinated rescue operation, with access for heavy lifting equipment restricted by the proximity of buildings on either side of the flyover and heavy traffic.
Some people who were rescued with injuries were admitted to hospital.
Disaster Management Groups and officials of Kolkata Police and Fire and Emergency Services are at the spot, according to DNA. Gas cutters are also being used to save trapped people.
Two teams of the National Disaster Response Force comprising about 80 personnel have rushed to the flyover collapse spot.
NDRF Director General OP Singh said in Delhi that the teams are being sent from their local base at Rajarhat, near the Kolkata airport.
The accident spot is about 13 kms from the NDRF base.
"The teams are well equipped to immediately conduct rescue operations. They will do that exactly as soon as they reach," Singh said.
According to reports, the flyover was being constructed by the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority. According to Times Now, the project was supposed to be finished in 2010 but was delayed.
The flyover has been under construction since 2009 and the project had missed several deadlines, reported India Today.
According to this 2014 report in The Telegraph, a company called IVRCL was awarded the contract for the flyover on 24 February, 2009 with an 18-month deadline and a budget of Rs 164 crore.
But even in 2014, IVRCL, which had been contracted by the Calcutta Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) to build the flyover, had told the state government that "it was in a difficult position to complete the project that is already running 42 months behind schedule with only 69 per cent of the work done so far."
A similar incident had taken place in May 2013, when a huge portion of a flyover on the eastern side of Kolkata had collapsed, leaving three persons injured, police had said.
Girish Park metro station is a major transport hub in Kolkata, because of which the area is generally crowded. The area also houses many residential and commercial buildings.
(With agency inputs)
Four months after the terror attacks in Pathankot, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has said that its team may visit Pakistan to probe the attack.
"The Pakistan Joint Investigation Team (JIT) welcomed the idea that an NIA would like to visit Pakistan and carry forward the probe," Sharad Kumar, DG, NIA said.
The team was given a detailed presentation on the probe conducted so far and it was taken to the crime scene in Pathankot. It has also been handed over some more documents which included DNA report of the four terrorists killed in the 80-hour gun battle with security forces.
The Pakistani team, headed by Additional Inspector General of Police, Counter Terrorism Department, Muhammad Tahir Rai and including ISI's Lt Col Tanvir Ahmed, began their day by recording the statements of witnesses in the case, NIA sources said.
However, the official did not mention any specific date for the visit.
The official also said that information about the addresses of the alleged terrorists had been shared with Pakistan and that JIT has assured India of 'full co-operation.'
The JIT was given access to 16 witnesses including suspended Gurdaspur SP Salwinder Singh, Kumar said.
This will be the first time that Pakistani intelligence and police officials have travelled to India to investigate a terror attack.
All the witnesses were reportedly under the agency's supervision for the past five days, sources said.
Punjab's superintendent of police has claimed that he, Verma and his cook Gopal were abducted by four or five heavily armed terrorists near Punjab's Kolia village on 2 January.
The terrorists later attacked the Pathankot Indian Air Force base in which seven security personnel and the Pakistani terrorists were killed.
The Pakistani team came to India to probe the Pathankot attack which, New Delhi says, was masterminded by Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Maulana Masood Azhar.
On Monday and Tuesday, the NIA submitted the evidence to the five-member Pakistani team on the terror attack.
According to NIA sources, the evidence shows that the Pathankot operation was planned by elements in Pakistan.
16 witnesses quizzed by Pakistan JIT including Salwinder Singh: NIA #PathankotProbe
(ANI) pic.twitter.com/uXQvY9Ug0s CNN-IBN News (@ibnlive) April 1, 2016
The visiting team includes Inter Services Intelligence official Lt. Colonel Tanvir Ahmed and military intelligence officer Lt. Colonel Irfan Mirza.
The Pakistani JIT had asked NIA to hand over swabs of the four terrorists, identified as Nasir Hussain (Punjab province), Abu Bakar (Gujranwala) and Umar Farooq and Abdul Qayum (both from Sindh).
However, the Indian anti-terror probe agency handed over to the visitors the DNA report of the terrorists and asked them to match those with their family members, the NIA sources said.
Besides recording the statement of the three, the JIT also spoke to the caretaker of a shrine visited by Singh before he was kidnapped, policemen and residents who spotted the vehicle of the police officer after it was abandoned by the attackers.
Statements of doctors who conducted the post-mortem on the bodies were also recorded.
With inputs from agencies
Three more bodies were recovered from under the debris of the flyover that collapsed on to vehicles and street vendors in Kolkata, taking the toll to 24 as seven officials of IVRCL, that was building the structure, have been detained.
According to latest report, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi is going to visit the collapse site on Saturday.
Rahul Gandhi likely to visit Kolkata flyover accident site tomorrow #KolkataTragedy pic.twitter.com/j7JTyorL6x CNN-IBN News (@ibnlive) April 1, 2016
Around 90 people were injured in the collapse and the condition of seven of them was stated to be "very critical".
Armymen along with Kolkata Police, disaster management team, NDRF and fire brigade personnel engaged in rescue work throughout the night, pulled out three more bodies from underneath the rubble of concrete, a police officer said on Friday.
The number of people injured in the mishap, he said, was close to 90. "Nobody alive has been recovered... Two mangled autorickshaws apart from a few other vehicles have been pulled out. One lorry is still stuck inside... Whether there is anybody trapped inside cannot be said," he said.
About 60-metre-long portion of the under-construction flyover collapsed yesterday afternoon on a congested road intersection here.
Five officials of the Hyderabad-based construction company IVRCL have been detained, Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar said.
"We have detained a few officials of the construction company. We are taking action against them," he said.
Kolkata Police had yesterday registered a case against the Hyderabad-based construction firm under sections 304, 308 and 407 of the IPC and sealed the local office of company engaged in the flyover's construction.
"It is nothing but God's act," claimed Panduranga Rao of the IVRCL Construction company engaged in the flyover's construction.
The West Bengal government has ordered a high-level probe into the incident that triggered a blame game with the opposition accusing the Mamata Banerjee government of callousness.
Meanwhile, a four-member police team from West Bengal on Friday arrived in Hyderabad as part of its probe to question officials of IVRCL after the flyover it was constructing collapsed in Kolkata.
"They have come and are doing investigation," a top police official of Hyderabad Police told PTI.
Meanwhile, Union Minister Muktar Abbas Naqvi on Friday accused the Trinamool Congress-led West Bengal government of "criminal negligence" in relief work and alleged that it was engaged in a "competition on corruption" with the previous Left Front dispensation resulting in the flyover collapse.
"The Chief Minister and the ruling Trinamool Congress have indulged in petty politics of accusing the previous Left Front government. It is not the time to accuse the previous government.
"If the previous Left Front government had indulged in corruption, then why didn't the TMC government stop it after coming to power? It seems a competition on corruption was on between the two. And the flyover collapse is a result of it," Naqvi told reporters.
"We feel that the state government was casual in its approach in conducting the relief work. Had they been more pro-active, the relief work could have started much earlier. It is a clear case of criminal negligence on the part of the state government," the Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs said.
Naqvi reiterated the demand for a CBI probe into the incident.
"We feel that a CBI inquiry should be initiated into the incident... All the culprits, however big they may be, should be arrested. The state should request for a CBI inquiry. This incident is a clear case of rampant corruption regarding the construction of flyover," Naqvi said.
Hyderabad-based IVRCL which was constructing the flyover in Kolkata, a portion of which collapsed yesterday killing 24 people, today described the incident as an "accident", a day after another official of the company had dubbed it as an "act of God".
"An act of God was just an expression only to describe that it is under no one's control", P Sita, the construction company's legal team head, told reporters here.
K Panduranga Rao, Group Head (HR & Admin) of the Hyderabad-based company had told reporters yesterday, "it's nothing but a God's act. So far in 27 years we have constructed several number of bridges...such thing (collapse) never happened,"
"We are surprised and extremely shocked. We are there to cooperate with investigation, but investigation takes time", Sita said.
Showing a photograph in a newspaper, she said that it looked like a site of bomb blast. There were various aspects which would be looked into.
Stating that same construction materials were used in building the ongoing flyover, she asked, "why did this happen? We are anxious to know the reasons".
Regarding the delay, another official of the company said, "78 per cent work of the flyover is over. A number of clearances have not yet come".
New Delhi: A Jat group today moved the Supreme Court seeking a hearing if any petition is filed and entertained against the recent decision of quota benefits to the community members in Haryana.
"In case of filing of petition for stay (of decision to grant reservation) on behalf of the respondent (Raj Kumar Saini), the caveator wants to appear and wants to bring to the notice of the honourable court the true and material facts of the case," All India Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti (AIJASS) said in its caveat plea filed this afternoon in the Registry of the Apex Court.
Hawa Singh Sangwan, AIJASS President, has referred to the recent purported statement of Saini, a BJP MP from Kurukshetra, in which the lawmaker had said that he would move the Supreme Court against the grant of quota benefits to the Jat community.
A Bill to provide reservation to Jats and five other communities in government jobs and educational institutions was unanimously passed by the Haryana Assembly on 29 March, ahead of the 3 April deadline set by the community which had launched a violent quota agitation in February.
Meeting a key demand of the community, the measure envisages 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.
It proposes to give 10 percent reservation to Jats and five other castes in government and government-aided educational institutions and Class III and IV government jobs. It also envisaged 6 percent reservation to Jats and five other castes in BC 'C' category in class I and II jobs.
Jats had threatened to relaunch their agitation on 18 March but put it off till 3 April after the BJP government in Haryana assured them it would bring the Bill. They had launched a stir in February demanding reservation in BC category. The agitation, which had taken a violent turn, left 30 people dead and 320 persons injured and resulted in huge damage to property.
On Thursday, the Bombay High Court directed the state government to allow the entry of women into temples. This comes after observations made by a division bench of Chief Justice DH Waghela and Justice MS Sonak on Wednesday that "There is no law that prevents entry of women in any place. If you allow men then you should allow women also. If a male can go and pray before the deity then why not women? It is the state government's duty to protect the rights of women."
These directives by the Bombay High Court can go a long way towards legally protecting equal rights of women in terms of access to public spaces. One of the most visible faces in this fight for right to pray is Trupti Desai, President and founder of Pune-based Bhumata Brigade an activist group which shot to national fame after fighting for the rights of women to pray. Not new to social work, the gritty, outspoken activist has been working towards the betterment of women for over a decade.
The right to pray movement gained momentum in November 2016 when a woman pushed through the barricades at the Shani Shingnapur temple and entered the inner sanctum and offered her prayers something women are not allowed to do. Temple authorities immediately performed a puja to 'purify' the deity. "When I heard that, I thought there was something deeply wrong. We, women also pray and are believers, why must they pour milk and 'purify' the deity? Simply because a woman touched it? It felt wrong," says Desai and it was this feeling that plagued her and propelled her into action.
Desai planned to oppose this discriminatory practice of not letting women inside temples. Along with volunteers and close to 350 activists, Desai marched to the Shani Shingnapur temple to protest, where she was detained. It didn't let her down, because she then decided to drop down on the temple from a helicopter to make her points and voice heard. "The police stopped us, they imposed Section 144, but it was not just me who wasn't ready to back down, it was all the other women with me. They were fearless and assertive," she says.
Desai had no idea that this movement would become so important down south in Kerala, Sabarimala Temple's Dewaswom's comments about installing machines to keep a tab on women's menstrual cycles sparked an online debate. In Mumbai's Haji Ali Dargah the ban on women's entry to the inner sanctum added to the fodder too.
A national conversation emerged as to what gave the right to a few men to decide women's access to God. If men and women were created as equals, why must their access be limited and at the mercy of religious boards/trusts that comprise entirely of men? "Is sadi mein, mahilayein kandhe se kandha mila ke chal rahi hain, agar maasik chakr ki baat hai toh woh prakritik hai (In this day and age, women are working along with men, if it is about menstruation, then that is natural)," she says. The restrictions are a way for men to sustain the rule of patriarchy, feels Desai. "We are not against tradition, but against wrong practices. Take for example, the Sati Pratha or Kesh Mundan, we have done away with those," she emphasises.
Desai says, "Mujhe bas awaaz uthana tha (I just wanted to raise my voice)," however she is aware that gaining entry into temples is not the only fight. The key is to create awareness "there are many who do not know about the concept of equality, or that it is guaranteed by our Constitution. Our organisation is working towards this and perhaps this is how we can consistently keep the momentum of the movement alive," she says. She is glad that she has received positive responses from Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and the Bombay High Court. "We will keep winning," she says in a tone that exudes confidence and grit.
And so, another April Fool's Day passes us by. This one was in fact, the 1347th one. Go check...
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Actually, don't bother.
The following is a list of the April Fool's Day treats we generously sprinkled across our website. How many did you spot?
Delhi sucks! Krantiveer Kanhaiya is moving to Mumbai University, says he wants to experience Shiv Sena
Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Students' Union leader Kanhaiya Kumar told a section of the media that he has made up his mind to leave the National Capital and move to aamchi Mumbai. According to the student-aspiring-to-be-politician Kanhaiya, Delhi has become too dangerous for him. Even though the rentals are better there than Mumbai, the JNUSU leader said that he has chosen Mumbai University to finish the rest of his PhD... (click here to read more)
Speculation ends here: Rahul Gandhi has finally decided he's ready to tie the knot
Take a moment and if you need to go back and read the headline again do that. Despite his earlier hints of never getting married and dedicating his life to the Congress cause, sources confirmed that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is ready to give up his bachelorhood and tie the knot. Though the 45-year-old Gandhi scion insisted that his first love will still be the Congress party... (click here to read more)
Landmark Twiplomacy: PM Modi wishes 'good friend' Kim Jong-un on his birthday
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is no shrinking violet when it comes to warmly wishing world leaders and Indian political leaders on their birthdays. So it was no surprise when he took to Twitter to send out greetings to North Korea's Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un on his big day... (click here to read more)
Rajgaddi ka Khel: Shah Rukh Khan to star in Bollywood remake of 'Game of Thrones'
After all the talk about making a Bollywood version of Breaking Bad, it was only a matter of time before the Hindi film industry's attention turned to Game of Thrones. That's right. Very reliable sources have told Firstpost that none other than Shah Rukh Khan will star in a Bollywood remake of Game of Thrones... (click here to read more)
Watch: Maharashtra govt revokes ban on beef; Mumbai city rejoices
Mumbaikars woke of to a pleasant(?) surprise Friday morning after news of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly passing an amendment to lift the beef ban in the state. The news came following state wide criticism over the ban. Over the past few months protests gained ground in many cities across the state, especially in Mumbai... (click here to read more)
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On 23rd March 2016, while disposing of the appeal CIT vs Janata Party-- a virtual one man party till it lasted of the irrepressible and doughty Subramanian Swami, now in the BJP---the Delhi High Court sustained the assessment order for the AY 1995-96 calling it upon to pay tax on about Rs 1 crore of voluntary contributions under the head income from other sources.
The assessing officer and other appellate forums found that the three conditions set out in section 13A of the Income-tax Act, 1961 were not complied with by Janata Party. The three conditions are:
Maintenance of proper books of accounts and records from which proper income can be deducted;
Keeping a record of identities of donors in excess of Rs 10,000 (hiked to Rs 20,000 from September 2003);
Audit report on the accounts by a chartered accountant
In a stinging and ringing indictment of the regime of exemption for political parties, the Delhi High Court castigated both the party and its auditor for being remiss in compliance of the above conditions. The Janata Party pleaded that it had undergone six splits and was spread over the country so much so that it could not maintain a consolidated account of the voluntary contributions much less maintain serially numbered receipt books.
The party had explained away the entire donation of Rs 1 crore or thereabout as below Rs 10,000 each so as to duck the disclosure of the identity of the donors. The Court found the role of the auditor bordering on casualness. In the event, it said when the three conditions are not satisfied no exemption is on and the entire income is taxable as income from other sources.
Before examining the larger implications of the verdict, a few lines about the technical aspects of section 13A is in order. Are the three conditions applicable only to voluntary contributions or to all the four types of incomes that are exempt from tax for political parties---(a) income from house property (b) capital gains (c) income from other sources and (d) voluntary contributions or donations?
It seems the political class would rise as a phalanx and challenge this verdict just as they did with the ruling that political parties were amenable to RTI query by the public and are bound to come clean. Be that as it may. The political parties are likely to clutch to the straws and argue that the Delhi High Court was wrong in asking Janata Party to pay tax under income from other sources when it was specifically exempted.
Well, let us not second guess the political parties any further. The income tax department found in the Janata Party a convenient whipping boy but what about the mainstream political parties with the BJP getting Rs 437 crore as donations in 2014-15, 70% of which were explained away as small i.e. less than Rs 20,000 (statistics source financial express) for which disclosure of identity is not necessary.
Congress it is believed trails the BJP by a small margin. Only the new kid on the block and the enfant terrible of the Indian political system the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) takes pride in accounting for every rupee of donation with the details of the donors though it is now turning out from the allegations doing rounds that the veneer of authenticity is dubious what with PAN numbers etc being cooked up.
It is common knowledge that political parties convert bulk of the donations in heavy cash into units of less than Rs 10,000 each and issue fictitious receipts, with the auditors winking at their shenanigans. Corporate donations which are in any case few and far between of course are acknowledged as indeed are donations by those who want to use political parties as their cats paw----the entire amount donated to recognized political parties are deductible from Gross Total Income under section 80GGC. What a self-serving farce? The promoter of a one man political party thus can donate all his/her income to the party s/he has promoted and blithely claim tax-free status secure in the knowledge that the party is exempt from tax as well.
It is time bold reforms were carried out on political funding and the tax status of political parties. The Delhi High Court verdict brings to light the minor misdemeanors of an extinct party. It is time to shine the torch on the mainstream parties.
Urging the world governments to unite for counter-terrorism in the wake of recent terror strike in Brussels, Indian PM declared the menace of terrorism a challenge for whole humankind, not just any one country or region and appealed to those who believe in humanity to join together to combat terrorism. The challenge is a huge one. I have spoken to many important leaders, including religious ones, and explained them of the need to delink terror from religion..., he said.
As a matter of fact, conflating religion, regardless of its adherents, with the term terrorism or radicalisation is a knee-jerk action taken by the global media as well as academia. Mistakably, it is an outcome of a shallow and short-sighted understanding of this phenomenon. But more deplorable is the world rulers futile and run-of-the-mill exercise to de-link religion from terrorism. At a time when the radical religious currents the world over, most devastatingly in the Middle East, pose the gravest threat to the survival of world populace, it is pointless to merely repeat the axiom: terrorism has no religion.
True, all religions are based on universal values and are, thus, harbingers of love, peace and pluralism. But we cannot wash our hands of the religious underpinnings behind the violent extremism across the world. Wanton killings and massacres are being perpetrated day in and day out, by the jihadist zealots, who are not only politically motivated but also inspired by faith-based false impressions. For instance, while the essential messages of all Islamic beliefs are inherently peaceful and non-conformist, the extremist Muslim fringes commit mindless acts of violence avowedly with an inspiration of certain beliefs they profess. A fresh instance is the radicalization of the Muslim youth recruited by the Daesh or Islamic State (IS) in Belgium.
According to the Centre on Religion & Geopolitics, a well-established research wing which published a detailed report entitled, Inside the Jihadi Mind, a perverted Salafi-jihadist ideology drives inspiration to Daehs and al-Qaeda.
Indoctrinated into the Salafism-inspired theology, the jihadist outfits hold a belief that democrat-liberal European states have perpetuated a war against Islamic ethos. In this backdrop, Belgium was recently targeted because it was helping in this anti-Islamic war.
Shockingly, one wonders how come more than 500 Belgians successfully travelled to join the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, while the Belgian establishment kept itself abreast of the domestic jihadism propounded by the Sharia4Belgium looming large since January 2015. Pitiably, the jeopardising results of Salafist religious extremism are on the rampage in European countries in a series of murderous incidents after the Charlie Hebdo incident.
The self-imposed caliphate of Abu Bakr Baghdadi is based on a complete religious notion of eliminating all democratic and liberal systems of governance from the world and replacing them with an Islamic Sharia. This is the reason why the IS militants keep playing havoc across much of the democrat and liberal world, resulting into the recent attack in Brussels. An official estimate of the Belgian government reveals that around 120 of the 500 IS recruits have now successfully come back home in Belgium. They purport to indulge in wanton acts of violent jihad. These Belgian murderers are associated with the extremist jihadist cult known as Sharia4Belgium, which calls for the imposition of domestic Sharia law. It is based in Antwerp and is luring the young European Muslims to wage war against non-Muslims across the world. Be it IS or Daesh, al-Qaeda, Jabhatul Nasra, Al-Shabab, Boko Haram or any other jihadist outfit, the most impacting jihadist influence comes from their religious rhetoric fomenting faith-based hatred, xenophobia, exclusivism, religio-fascism and self-supremacism. Thus, the brazen violation of human rights by these Islamist hardliners and other adherents of radical jihadism continues unabated in the name of Islamic Shariah. These religious zealots seek to purify the religion of Islam in a bid to repossess the purity of the Salaf (the predecessors of Islam).
The Nigerian religious current Boko Haram is one more apt example. Literally, the very name of this terror outfit means: western education is haram (religiously forbidden). Thus, Boko Haram loudly claims to recoil from all modern, scientific and secular education replacing it with the religious curricula. In its outlook, there is no liberality or secularism in the religious education system in an Islamic state that they wish to establish. Clearly, this goes completely against the rational spirit and historical achievements of the Islamic legacy of education called ilm walhikmah (broader notion of knowledge and wisdom as enunciated in the holy Quran).
In an article dated 17 November, 2015 published in Newsweek, Milo Comerford noted that the ideology of Salafi-jihadism is distinct from the Islam practiced by the majority of the world's Muslims, yet is built upon Islamic religious principles, which it distorts to produce a single-minded focus on violent jihad.
To our utter surprise, the heads of world states have miserably failed in their run-of-the-mill exercise of delinking religion from terrorism. Barring a strongly-worded and strategically well-considered approach to de-radicalization, there is no tangible development at this juncture. Apparently, these governments dont take cognizance of the fact that radical thoughts cannot be dismantled until a complete, coherent and cogent counter-narrative is prepared to dismantle all the theological underpinnings of the global religious extremism. Similarly, social, political, historical, instrumental and psychological stimulus must not be dismissed.
The author is a writer and scholar of comparative religion. Write to him at grdehlavi@gmail.com.
Washington: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said India and Canada were "made for each other" as he met his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau for the first time during which they reviewed bilateral ties including the progress on nuclear cooperation.
Prime Minister Modi and Trudeau met in Washington on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit. This was their first meeting after Trudeau came to power last year, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said while briefing reporters on the bilateral meeting.
During Friday's meeting, the two leaders reviewed bilateral cooperation including progress in the nuclear energy sector.
Last year, Modi had held extensive talks with then Canadian Premier Stephen Harper after which Canada had agreed to supply 3,000 metric tonnes of uranium to energy-hungry India under a USD 254 million five-year deal to power Indian reactors.
During the meeting on Friday, Prime Minister Modi noted that the cooperation in the nuclear energy sector was "progressing very well", Swarup said.
Last year's agreement for uranium supply came two years after protracted negotiations following the 2013 civil nuclear deal between India and Canada.
The two leaders also recalled their meeting when Modi visited Canada last year when Harper was the Prime Minister.
Modi also congratulated Trudeau on his fantastic win in the November elections.
Modi noted that there was new energy, dynamism and speed in India-Canada relationship since Trudeau assumed office.
The Prime Minister pointed out that possibilities for cooperation on the economic front were immense and the potential for economic cooperation had not been utilised, Swarup said.
Modi told Trudeau that India and Canada were "made for each other".
"The Prime Minister said Canada has all natural resources, India needs those resources. India also has human resource," Swarup said.
Trudeau also complemented Prime Minister Modi on his intervention last evening at the opening of the Nuclear Security Summit.
The Prime Minister said India has a fruitful partnership with Canada and it is progressing well.
"India is the land of Buddha and Gandhi and is committed to non-violence," Modi was quoted as saying by Swarup.
Modi noted that since his meeting with Canada's pension funds managers, many things have happened and eight billion dollars have been invested in India.
The subjects that the two leaders had discussed in their last meeting are now being implemented on the ground, Swarup said, referring to last year's meeting that Modi had with Trudeau who was the then Leader of Opposition.
"Trudeau said that India and Canada can both be leaders in non-proliferation arena in the world. Prime Minister said that India has had very fruitful relationship in the area of climate change and environment," the spokesperson said.
Modi also talked about his government's flagship programmes.
Noting that Canada has excess of human capital, Modi suggested that during the harsh winters, Canadian teachers can come and teach in India. Trudeau concurred and liked the suggestion, Swarup said.
The Prime Minister also said poverty elimination was a top priority for him.
He highlighted the progressive policies announced in the budget in the hydrocarbon sector, the spokesperson said.
During their meeting, Modi also invited Trudeau to visit India. The invitation was accepted by Trudeau, who said he would love to come to India along with his family.
Trudeau, 44, carries one of the most famous names in Canadian political history. His late father was prime minister for the better part of 16 years, between 1968 and 1984.
Trudeau assumed office in November last year and surprised one and all by including four Sikh-Canadians in his Cabinet.
Washington: Amidst global concerns over the safety of its nuclear weapons, Pakistan on Friday claimed that its "modest" nuclear programme was accident-free, unlike that of India.
Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhary, who is in Washington to attend the Nuclear Security Summit hosted by US President Barack Obama, said that the International Atomic Energy Agency has recorded 2,734 nuclear incidents worldwide, including five in India, but "not a single accident or breach happened in Pakistan, although our programme is 40 years old".
Pakistan has a modest nuclear programme with "full ownership of its people, essentially for its defence and not to threaten anyone," he told reporters at the Pakistan embassy in Washington.
"Pakistan's nuclear installations are not only secure but the world also acknowledges that they are," he said. "Pakistan has worked very hard to ensure their security."
"India, on the other hand, has an ambitious nuclear programme, and an equally ambitious conventional weapons programme," he said. "We have a modest programme because we feel we have the right to defend ourselves."
"Pakistan has short-range and long-range missiles, and the purpose behind both is to deter aggression," he said.
He said Pakistan was working with the international community to ensure the security of its nuclear installations, which were always in safe hands. "The National Command Authority, headed by the Prime Minister, is fully in charge."
He said the perception created in the media that Pakistan had the fastest-growing nuclear programme was wrong, and pointed that several studies showed that India had a bigger nuclear programme.
He said Pakistan's preparedness was tied to the threat posed by India and the deterrence varied accordingly. "If the threat level increases we have to meet that and their conventional and nuclear levels are increasing too," he said.
The US had in February expressed concern over the security of Pakistan's tactical nuclear weapons.
State Department Deputy Spokesman Mark Toner had said that the US was "concerned both about the security of those nuclear weapons, and that has been a common refrain in our discussions with Pakistan."
The issue also figured in the US presidential debates. Two days ago, Republican frontrunner Donald Trump said that a nuclear-armed Pakistan is a "very, very vital problem" and that the country needs to "get a hold of" its situation.
Amazon is said to be looking forward to acquire a stake in HERE digital mapping company, that was acquired by three German carmakers Audi, BMW and Mercedes for Euro 2.8 billion ($3.1 billion) last year.
According to sources from Reuters, Amazon is in talks with the consortium of German automakers as it wants to provide cloud services to in-car mapping. The report indicates HERE would adopt AWS as part of a deal, and also notes potential synergies with Amazons local delivery efforts. Acquiring a stake in HERE would help Amazon with more accurate real time maps as it plans to roll out one- and two-hour delivery services in major cities in the United States and Europe, added the report.
At present, it is not clear how much stake of HERE does Amazon plans to acquires. Nokias HERE Maps provides map data for about 80 percent of cars with in-dash navigation systems in North America and Europe.
BMW said in a statement.
The new owners Audi, Daimler [Mercedes] and BMW have said from the start that they are open for new partners to join. We have noticed that there is lots of interest not only from potential partners from within the automotive industry, but also from other sectors.
source
A new research study has revealed that the French are the whisky-drinking world champions and some are predicting France could overtake Scotland and become global leaders in actually making the spirit too.
Bonial, Paris-based consultancy firm, which carried out the study, says whisky is now so popular in France that is rapidly becoming that country's national drink.
According to Independent, the average whisky consumption by a French adult is 2.15 litres a year - and that's on top of all the wine, cognac and pastis they drink, according to researchers
According to Telegraph, to put it in perspective, that's 140 million litres of whisky in total, which would fill 45 Olympic swimming pools.
That was enough to put France on the top of the global league table for the biggest whisky drinkers in the world.
In the US, the home of Bourbon, they only drink 1.44 litres of whisky per person each year and in Britain it's 1.25 litres per person, ever so slightly ahead of the Irish on 1.24 litres per person.
Even the French press were taken aback.
"You thought that the biggest drinkers of whisky were the Americans, the Irish or the Scottish? You are wrong. It's....the French!" wrote Europe 1 radio.
Not only does France top the world table for whisky drinkers, but the tipple is also the most popular spirit in France, which is not short of popular spirits.
Some 38 percent of the spirits downed in France are whiskies.
Bonial pointed out that whisky is enjoyed by all social classes in France due to the relatively low prices of a bottle. While Scottish malts and blends accounted for 90 percent of the whisky drunk, the favourite brand was actually Jack Daniels.
Yet the French love of Scotch is burgeoning, with France the world's biggest importer of Scotch whisky - some 200 million bottles are downed each year.
Bonial revealed more and more people are testing their taste buds on rarer and more expensive brands.
But things may change.
While French distilleries currently only produce around 700,000 bottles a year, French whisky makers are convinced that they will one day compete with Irish and Scottish brands.
Nicolas Julhes, the head of the Distillerie de Paris told The Times: "Within 15 years the world's best whiskies will be French. We will be able to stop copying the Scots and bring a real French style. We have the greatest specialists on the ageing [of alcoholic drinks] who have always worked in wine and cognac."
So either Scotland needs to up its game or quickly learn how to make cognac.
Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump and his unconventional view of things had led to a lot of discussions and debates. Clearly, he had severed relationships with some groups while gaining support from others. One thing he is adamant about is the issue of illegal immigrants. He said he is planning to deport 11 million undocumented immigrants. But looking at the data, reports say, this can highly affect food production in the US because half of America's farmers are undocumented immigrants. This means, if Trump wins, the US might face food shortage due to lack of workforce.
Trump's "Make America Great Again" campaign includes strict immigration reform. He even has this 5-point plan against illegal immigrants. According to The Political Insider, Trump is serious about his Immigration Reform and released his 5-point plan here:
1) Build a fence, deploy 25,000 additional border agents, utilize Predator drones
2) Enforce immigration law
3) No more cozy detention centers
4) Oppose "DREAM Act"
5) No future tuition benefits
According to Quartz "It's an open secret in agriculture that half or more of those workers are unauthorized immigrants. The Farm Bureau, a non-governmental umbrella organization that advocates for farmers across the country, states that "at least 50-70 percent of farm laborers in the country today are unauthorized."
This was later explained to Quartz by Philip Martin, professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of California. He said "The data reflect "a two-decade pattern in which three-fourths of farm workers were born abroad and half were unauthorized."
The emergence of foreign labor in the US can be traced as far back as the World War II. These include Mexican laborers. There's nothing wrong in enforcing the rule of law, however, Trump and his team should be able to properly address the consequences of their proposed rules. For example, who would replace the farmers if he successfully deports all the 11 million illegal immigrants?
"US workers are totally unwilling to do this work," says Laura-Anne Minkoff-Zern, an assistant professor of food studies at Syracuse University said in an interview with Quartz.
Obviously, this will lead to lesser food yield and of course, food shortage in a very short span of time.
Experts predict though that it will be very unlikely for Trump to successfully implement his plan if he is elected. This is, however, a wake-up call for the agriculture industry. It might really be the right time to increase wages for farmers so that more local workers will be willing to do the job. Also, to the labor groups to finally try and resolve the problem with illegal immigrant workers.
Canadian-based Environmental Defence has some worrying news for people who are wary on the potential effect of BPA. It turns out that even after years of lobbying, BPA containing canned goods are still quite common.
According to a CBCNews article, Environmental Defence found that 18 of 21 cans purchased in Ontario still contain BPA. Commenting on this finding, Environmental Defence toxic program manager Maggie MacDonald is quoted by CBC as saying "To see this many years later it's still so common in cans, that's a huge problem because we've only learned more and more about how harmful this chemical can be."
However Health Canada's Food Directorate issued a statement back in 2014 concluding that the current exposure to BPA through food packaging is not considered to be a health risk, even to infants and newborns.
This is echoed by the U.S. FDA's stance on the BPA issue. In its website, the agency acknowledged the points of concern raised by consumers. However, FDA maintains that in light of the current scientific evidence and available information, BPA is still safe in its approved uses for packaging and containers. The agency added that low-dose exposure, such as what might be obtained from the packaging components, has not shown any adverse health effects when tested by the National Center for Toxicological Research.
Yet, Environmental Defence and other groups insists that even low exposures such as parts per trillion can increase the risk of prostate and breast cancer, type-2 diabetes, asthma, obesity infertility as well as behavioral changes most notably attention-deficit disorder according to the CBC article.
For these reasons, the groups are pushing for national brands and even retailers to undertake the following:
1. Setting of a time frame for a total elimination of BPA by switching to safe substitutes in the lining of canned goods, containers, and other packaging.
2. The labeling of BPA's or BPA-alternatives' presence in the cans.
3. Disclosure of safety data of BPA alternatives.
For now, the groups call on consumers to switch to fresh and frozen food items to be safe. If opting to use canned products, consumers should choose manufacturers that disclose the type and safety of their can linings.
There are already manufacturers that have switched or are in the processed of switching to BPA-free packaging. ConAgra Foods, Inc. already made the BPA-free switch last year while Del Monte announced it would start eliminating BPA this year. Campbell plans to stop using BPA containing cans by mid-2017.
Inmates at Kinross Correctional Facility Upper Peninsula participated in a silent protest against the food quality served by new contractor Trinity Services Group - the state contractor who replaced previous Aramark Correctional Services.
More than a thousand inmates did not appear on meal time on Monday according to Chirs Gautz, spokesman for the state's Department of Corrections. The incident started on the previous day after prisoners left the yard, 20 minutes earlier.
Another concern came from Anita Lloyd from Michigan Corrections Organization that to have inmates protested in such scope - is a serious issue. Describing the coordination of the inmates, Gautz agreed on the fact that it would be difficult to make everybody meet on the same page. Regardless the protest, Lloyd was glad that it's a peaceful one.
Later investigation, however, led to the finding of incidents in Chippewa on how prisoners were said to have intimidated other inmates - restricting them from attending meal time. An inmate was reportedly standing on the entrance and preventing the rest from entering, Gautz said. After talking to these prisoners, the warden addressed their concern to Trinity - advising changes on the meals. On Tuesday, everything was back to normal.
Trinity and Michigan agreed on a three-year contract to feed prisoners after the previous service from Aramark led to possible billing increase and other troublesome including food substitutions. The tie's cut as Trinity earned the approval in July.
However, according to the Free Press, the demonstration was not solely due to the food quality. Rather, involving a long list of complaints which the authority failed to address. The media talked to Lamont Heard, a life-sentenced inmate, who overheard prisoners complaining about overflowing toilets and room's lack of ventilation. As the problems on food quality include lack of meat's substitution and reduced portions. The inmates were also reportedly requesting for fans after seeing dogs in the prison's training program were given electric fans.
Two bakeries in Indiana - Family Express and a Terre Haute bakery, are known for their passion for making doughnuts, but none believes in peaceful co-existence and a healthy competition in selling square doughnuts. In fact, a legal battle is plaguing the two, and it may leave one of them flat.
Recently, the Valparaiso-based Family Express filed a complaint about declaratory judgment in U.S. District Court seeking an order that will allow the bakery to continue referring to its four-sided doughnuts as "Square Donuts," the Chicago Tribune reported.
Although the four-sided doughnuts made by the rival bakeries have an odd geometrical shape, the "Square Doughnuts" made by Family Express are not unique. In fact, the Terre Haute-based bakery has also been making such square doughnuts since the 1960s and currently has nine locations. Consequently, it wants Family Express to cut it out.
The complaint states that the said bakery in Terre Haute has been making its own version of these square or boxlike doughnuts since the 1960s. The bakery's website says that over the years, the company has expanded and now has nine bakeries in Terre Haute, Bloomington, Indianapolis and Richmond, AP reported via Food Manufacturing.
On the other hand, Family Express baked up its own version of these doughnuts for the first time in 2005. According to the complaint, Terre Haute's Square Donuts sent a cease-and-desist letter in 2006 over the name.
In fact, Family Express responded to Terre Haute's letter claiming that it did not consider using the name "Square Donuts" was infringing, but the latter did not respond. As a result, it continued making and marketing its own doughnut product. The company markets these four-sided doughnuts on its website as one of its main offerings, taking pride in how they are made every day at its bakery and delivered fresh to all its outlets.
The low-level disagreement fermented silently for some years until Square Donuts trademarked its name in 2013. Meanwhile, Family Express contacted Square Donuts with a view to trying and arrive at an agreement over the name, but those talks failed to be decisive. Both companies eventually moved to file for the trademark of Square Donuts, with the Terre Haute bakery obtaining the federal trademark in 2013.
Conversely, in its complaint, Family Express argues that the name is descriptive and generic, which would prohibit it from being trademarked. Family Express now wants the court to rule that the trademark granted to Terre Haute bakery is invalid and that it is not infringing by using the name Square Donuts.
In the US, over 50 states have breastfeeding laws to protect breastfeeding moms from discrimination. However, there are still establishments who appear to disregard the legality of breastfeeding in public. In a report by Fox News, they said one mother was forced to leave a Pizza Hut restaurant when she started breastfeeding her baby in public.
Page Martin, a mom from Ohio, claims that a Pizza Hut employee asked her to just leave the restaurant when she started breastfeeding her baby inside the restaurant premises. The mother explained later that her baby refuses to feed if he is covered with a blanket. The baby is currently three months old.
Fox reported that "Paige Martin was dining at a Northwest Ohio Pizza Hut with her husband and 3-month old son when she says her baby began to cry. Martin started to nurse her hungry infant in the dining room but she says a restaurant server rushed over and asked her to cover up". Martin also said in an interview with WTOL "I was approached by an employee there who asked me if I could cover myself up with a blanket and I said, "No it's my right because he won't eat with a blanket over his head".
She was first asked to move to a lesser crowded area because other parents complained that they don't want their kids to witness the breastfeeding.
According to Western Mass News, Page insisted her right to breastfeed in public "That's when she said 'well I'll have to ask you to leave,'" said Martin.
WTOL said "Ohio law states that a mother is entitled to breast-feed her baby in any location of a place of public accommodation wherein the mother otherwise is permitted. "
Martin is asking for a public apology from Pizza Hut.
WTOL also reached to Pizza Hut for their side but they refused to talk, instead, they issued a statement that says
"Pizza Hut fully supports state law regarding a mother's right to breastfeed in our restaurants. While this customer was not asked to leave the restaurant, but rather offered another table with greater privacy, we deeply apologize that this situation in anyway upset her or if she felt mistreated. We will take this as an opportunity to further train our employees."
But Martin insists on Pizza Huts public apology, also, she is calling for more breastfeeding awareness in their area so that this incident will not happen to anyone again.
Civet coffee or Kopi Luwak is the world's most expensive coffee. Behind the trend luxury image brewed in a cup, there is a reportedly insane phase of animal cruelty going on.
Luwak coffee has actually gone to a 'not-so-luxury' process from feeding Civets with the beans to scraping the animals' poops. That's where the hundred-dollar-per-kilo digested beans come from. However, it's not the only reason why you shouldn't be proud of drinking the pricey coffee.
The poor endangered mammals were poached and caged in small area with their feet clamped. Suwanna Gauntlett, the woman who established Wildlife Alliance, said that the inhumane way of capturing civets from their habitat could lead to the species extinction.
Lured with pineapple on bait bamboo stick, civets would climb up on it as a metal snare catches its waist. They are then forced to 'work' with only coffee berries to feed on. The small cage size and the force-fed are inhumane. Describing further on the unlucky civets, Gauntlett said that the excessive poaching at the rate is threatening. The activist who also works with Asia's conservation groups explains how coffee farms might refuse to use a humane way because it is more expensive. The humane operation, according to Gauntlett, allows civets to stay in the wild, cage-free.
Luxury coffee store, Harrods, claims to obtain one of its Luwak coffee sources from Ross Kopi, an Indonesia-based operator who performs humane production, by sending workers out the jungle to collect civet feces. The British retailer admitted paying a price of $2,500 for a kilo.
Luwak coffee is considered as the highest quality coffee due to its rarity. The civets lend its musky flavor to the brew - adding a richer taste of coffee with a hint of chocolate and caramel. The quality (and rarity), however, was supposed to be from civet digging the berries on its own as the mammal is a picky animal. With the domination of cruelty behind the trade and fraudulent battery farms - this is an ugly reality.
Blacklisted plantation issue has raised a huge concern after DanWatch research investigation found that even Nestle could not name all of the sources it obtained the coffee from.
The campaign for putting down civet-poop coffee has led closer to its goal. European and American importers restrict their civet coffee bean sources albeit the increasing Kopi Luwak trend in Southeast Asia.
Worrying about the vulnerable species, Gauntlett advises coffee drinkers not to be part of the animal cruelty by putting civet coffee down. "It's encouraging the farming of animals in terrible conditions," she says.
If one notices that almost everyone is getting bigger these days, it would be a correct observation. In fact, overweight people outnumber underweight people globally according to a Reuters article.
Right now, more than 640 million worldwide are obese according to a study that was published in the Lancet Medical Journal using data obtained by 700 researchers from World Health Organization. The study involved 20 million people from 186 countries.
How is obesity determined? Researchers use the body mass index to determine if one is normal, overweight or obese according to a Harvard article. It is actually a simple calculation based on the ratio of height and weight (BMI = kg/m2) and is a good indicator of the risk factor for certain diseases like heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.
According to the same Harvard article, this is how researchers classify whether one is normal, overweight or obese:
Healthy - BMI between 18.5 and 24.9
Overweight - BMI between 25.0 and 29.9
Obese - BMI of 30 and higher
Going back to the study reported by Reuters, there is a startling increase of obesity in a span of 40 years, specifically between 1975 and 2014. In 1975, only around 105 million people had a BMI of 30 or more. In 2014 however, the figure rose to 641 million globally. This means that one in ten men is already obese. The ratio for obese women is even worse - one in seven is now obese according to the study.
These new findings alarmed health experts. Imperial College London professor at the school of public health Majid Ezzati comments that based on the new data, the severity of the obesity epidemic worldwide is just too extensive to be addressed by blood pressure and diabetes medication alone. Ezzati adds that putting up a few extra bike lanes would not be enough to solve the gargantuan problem either.
For Ezzati, a more effective approach would be to initiate a globally coordinated effort that should include addressing the pricing difference between healthy and unhealthy foods, most notably those ultra-processed food items readily found in grocery stores.
A coalition of fishing and environmental groups sued the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its approval of the first-ever genetically engineered (GE) salmon according to a Huffington Post article by Chris D'Angelo.
The coalition, represented by Center for Food Safety and Earthjustice, expressed alarm at the FDA's approval of the genetically modified fish which is intended for human consumption citing that the decision to approve such fish not only violated the law, but also ignored possible risks to the unaltered wild salmon population.
The GE salmon was created by AquaBounty Technologies, Inc., and is a combination of the DNAs from three fish, namely the Atlantic salmon, Pacific king salmon and Arctic Ocean eelpout according to an article from Ecowatch. The genetically-modified salmon, engineered to grow quickly, is the first GE animal for commercial sale and consumption that was approved by any government in the world.
Center for Food Safety senior attorney George Kimbrell said, "FDA's decision is as unlawful as it is irresponsible. This case is about protecting our fisheries and ocean ecosystems from the foreseeable harms of the first-ever GE fish, harms FDA refused to even consider, let alone prevent. But it's also about the future of our food: FDA should not, and cannot, responsible regulate this GE animal, nor any future GE animals, by treating them as drugs under a 1938 law."
Apparently, around 2 million American opposed the approval of the GE fish, a public opinion that FDA ignored. According to Ecowatch, FDA failed to analyze the risk the GE fish poses to the wild salmon, the environment, and fishing communities.
For example, the altered salmon could possibly escape and threaten endangered wild salmon by competing with food resources and even introducing new diseases according to the HuffingtonPost article.
While AquaBounty plans to grow this fish inland and away from the ocean, the possibility of the GE fish escaping into the wild is an alarming prospect. Huffpost quoted Dune Lankard, a salmon fisherman, saying that "Once they escape, you can't put these transgenic fish back in the bag."
Center of Biological Diversity is likewise worried, releasing a statement that points out that if the GE fish cross-breed with other species, it may have unforseen irreversible impacts and could be a disaster for wild salmon.
Friends of the Earth campaigner Dana Perls said that despite FDA's reckless approval of the GE salmon, the market has already rejected it. Retailers like Kroger, Safeway and Costco don't plan on selling the fish while the vast majority of people don't want to eat it added Perls.
This blog covers software patent news and issues with a particular focus on wireless, mobile devices (smartphones, tablet computers, connected cars) as well as select antitrust matters surrounding those devices.
MetLife Inc. (NYSE:MET) scored a major victory on Wednesday for American tax payers and perhaps the U.S. financial system as a federal judge ruled the insurance giant is not too big to fail and should not be subjected to the stricter capital requirements implemented after the 2008 mortgage meltdown.
The ruling, handed down by District of Columbia federal judge Rosemary Collyer, rejected the Financial Stability Oversight Councils (FSOC) rationale for classifying MetLife as a systemically important financial institution (SIFI).
Eugene Scalia, son of the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, is the architect who challenged the government regulation. Mr. Scalia, a Gibson Dunn Partner and attorney for MetLife, explained to FOX Business Networks Maria Bartiromo the argument he crafted declaring MetLife not a systemic threat.
We made several different arguments, but the heart of the case was that under any regulatory framework, and no matter how powerful or important an agency, there are obligations on part of the agency to give careful attention to the evidence that is before it, to give a fair hearing to the arguments that are made, Scalia said on the FOX Business Networks Mornings with Maria.
Mr. Scalia went on to say the thrust of the governments case relied too much on its own speculation and the government did not provide MetLife fair access to the information.
This was not a challenge to the Dodd-Frank Act, Scalia said. I viewed it more as a vindication of the procedures and the substance rules that Congress has put in there that we argued that the Financial Stability Oversight Council or this agency called FSOC hadnt followed.
More on this... Eugene Scalia on his fathers legacy
The Dodd-Frank Act, signed into law in July of 2010, by President Barack Obama, provides FSOC the authority to identify and monitor excessive risks to the U.S. financial system, eliminating expectations by any financial firm of being too-big-to-fail.
Scalia warned about the consequences of government regulation in big business.
I had no idea until getting involved in this case for MetLife how extremely intrusive regulation by the federal reserve board is in particular when you are being regulated as a big bank, Scalia said. Its really another world in terms of the burdens.
The government argued in court that designating MetLife as too big to fail had no effect on the insurance company which Scalia said its simply not true.
The Treasury Department released a statement on Wednesday saying it strongly disagrees with the court's decision and has 60 days to consider an appeal.
As the Republican primary in Wisconsin nears, interest in certain issues has led intrigued residents of the state to their computers and the search engine Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL).
LaToya Drake of Google Trends joined Deirdre Bolton and Risk & Reward to break down the companys recent findings.
Drake said people are looking for information about when the Wisconsin primary is, how they register to vote in Wisconsinkeeping in mind that people can register to vote the day of the primary. And also, how many delegates are at stake.
"People are still doing the math and wondering just how many votes people can collect and how many delegates that some of the candidates can collect," she said.
Google Trends has also found what the top issues are in the Badger State.
Drake said over the last 24 hours data showed change in the top issues in Wisconsin.
Gun control has continued to be number one. Number two: abortionthis is probably based on some comments Donald Trump has made over the past day. Also taxes, ISIS, same-sex marriage have also popped up and these are issues that weve seen throughout the campaign cycle," she said.
Many questions concerning Trump were focused on his location, according to Google Trends.
The top questions are really where is he? Where is he in Wisconsin? Is he going to be in Green Baythings of that nature, so people are mainly tracking his moves to perhaps see whats next, Drake said.
She also explained what types of searches were being conducted about the two other GOP presidential contestants, Ted Cruz and John Kasich.
For Ted Cruz, it appears that some of the remarks that Donald Trump has made have influenced the top searches about Cruz, she said. The top question that people are asking is what is his name? Just a couple days ago we saw Trump say is his name Rafael? so that has been the number one question that people have been asking.
Drake said people in Wisconsin were searching more for biological information about Kasich.
They wanted to know what his religion is, how old he is, and Googling how to pronounce his name.
This week, Boeing confirmed that it plans to cut thousands of jobs in 2016 in order to become more cost-competitive with top rival Airbus . Airbus has been very aggressive on jet pricing in recent years, and the strong dollar is giving it even more room to offer discounts.
Boeing has had to offer bigger discounts to win aircraft orders recently. Image source: The Motley Fool.
Boeing's management has been candid in the past few months about the pricing pressure it faces across the board. This is definitely an issue that investors should keep an eye on. Fortunately, Boeing's massive order backlog gives it the luxury of remaining patient as it hunts for new orders in the next few years.
What Boeing is doingBoeing plans to cut 4,550 jobs by June, consisting of 4,000 at its commercial airplanes division and 550 from its flight testing unit. For now, it hopes to accomplish the cuts mainly through attrition and voluntary buyouts. (However, some managers and executives may be hit with involuntary layoffs.)
These reductions are part of a broader effort across the company geared toward "taking out billions of dollars in cost by the end of 2016." In addition to shrinking its workforce, Boeing aims to cut overtime, reduce supplier costs, and slash corporate expenses like travel.
Some insiders have privately stated that Boeing could cut as many as 8,000 jobs this year. However, the company claims that it views layoffs (particularly of unionized workers) as a last resort and that it hopes to find enough non-labor cost savings to avoid further headcount reductions.
Boeing's increased emphasis on keeping costs down will give it some flexibility to offer bigger discounts without crimping its profit margin. That in turn should help it garner a fair share of future orders. Boeing doesn't necessarily need to win a market share battle over Airbus -- but it can't afford to fall too far behind.
The backlog is a big parachuteThe good news for Boeing is that even if aircraft pricing is starting to deteriorate, it has already sold most of the aircraft it will produce over the next five years.
For its largest and most important aircraft program -- the 737 -- Boeing has nearly 4,400 orders in its firm backlog. This equates to about seven years of production, even with Boeing planning to boost annual 737 deliveries by more than 35% by 2019. It also has 763 firm orders for its second-largest aircraft program, the 787 Dreamliner. That would cover roughly five years of production.
Boeing has a seven-year order backlog for its popular 737 jet. Image source: Boeing.
The prices for these aircraft are already locked in. That will delay the impact of any increase in discounting, cushioning Boeing's earnings and cash flow over the next several years.
Boeing's healthy backlog also reduces its need to fight Airbus tooth and nail for every potential sale. In some cases, it might make sense for Boeing to accept a low profit margin to seal a deal. In other cases, Boeing should just walk away, given that it doesn't have very many open 737 and 787 production slots until 2020 and beyond.
Furthermore, Airbus has an even longer backlog than Boeing. If it continues to use discounts to grab a disproportionate share of the order volume, Boeing would gradually gain an advantage in terms of aircraft availability. A few years from now, if Airbus' A320neo is sold out for four or five years while the delay for a 737 MAX is only two years, customers with near-term aircraft needs would have to work with Boeing.
Boeing faces risks, but they are manageableBoeing does have one key commercial aircraft program facing a shrinking backlog: the current-generation 777 widebody. In January, the company confirmed that it will cut production from 8.3 per month to 7 per month in 2017. Boeing still needs to secure another 200 orders to tide it over until the next-generation 777X becomes available in 2020.
The current pricing environment could force Boeing to offer steep discounts to get the orders it needs. In contrast to the situation with the 737 and 787, Boeing can't afford to wait for better market conditions with the 777. The one saving grace is that Airbus' main competitor in that market segment -- the A350-1000 -- isn't available yet.
Luckily, rising profits from the 737 and 787 lines should more than offset any weakness from the 777 over the next few years. The pricing pressure in the market today won't have a big impact on the 737 and 787 programs until at least 2020. That gives Boeing plenty of time to find further cost reduction opportunities.
The article Boeing Co. Can Afford to Be Patient originally appeared on Fool.com.
Adam Levine-Weinberg owns shares of The Boeing Company. 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.
If lines forming at electric-car maker Tesla Motors' stores around the world today are any indication of how well the company's newest vehicle will sell, it looks like Model 3 could be a hit. Of course, there's one big caveat: None of these customers making reservations have actually seen the vehicle. That won't happen until tonight.
Model 3 event art. Image source: Tesla Motors.
Tesla hopes the Model 3, which will have a starting price of $35,000, will play a key role in driving sales growth for the company. So, many investors may be looking to initial demand as a window into whether the company's expectations for its lower-cost car are realistic.
Model 3 maniaBeginning in Australia, it was quickly clear the turnout for in-store Model 3 reservations wouldn't disappoint. Significant lines had formed at Tesla's Australia stores before they opened on Thursday to begin accepting reservations. And the mania at most U.S. Tesla stores appears to be even greater this morning.
Observing Tesla's Denver, Colorado location, there were over 400 people in line before the store opened -- a figure that appeared fairly commonplace at Tesla stores across U.S. locations.
A range of videos and photos on Twitter and Instagram showing Model 3 lines highlight the large turnouts at Tesla stores:
At many locations, customers camped out in order to get the first spots in line. Colorado's Andrew Soeldner was one of these individuals.
Soeldner reserved the first Model 3 in Colorado. Image source: author.
"I'm incredibly proud and excited to be a part of what I think is the most important moment in transportation history in the last 100 years," Soeldner said.
This is Soeldner's first Tesla. He is upgrading from a 2003 Toyota Corolla, but he is expecting to purchase every available option for the vehicle.
When asked how he felt about not knowing what the vehicle looks like, he said, "Previous models have been striking. I have confidence in Franz von Holzhausen and his design team to hit another homerun."
"We've experienced hundreds of customers at nearly every Tesla store in North America," said a Tesla spokesperson to The Motley Fool on Thursday.
Online reservations begin tonight While in-store reservations began this morning, customers will be able to put deposits down to reserve Model 3 online by later tonight.
Initially, Tesla was going to begin accepting online reservations for Model 3 when the unveiling started at 8:30 p.m., but Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on Twitter Thursday morning the company will now begin accepting reservations one hour before the event "to ensure no server overload."
Elon Musk high-fiving customers at a California store on Thursday morning. Photo by Teslarati, used with permission.
Musk appeared to be in good spirits Thursday morning and was seen at California stores handing out high-fives to customers.
"Incredibly inspired by the interest in Model 3," Musk said on Twitter Thursday morning. "You won't be disappointed."
The Model 3 shown tonight will only be a prototype. The company doesn't plan to begin deliveries of the vehicle until the end of 2017.
For those interested in tuning into the event, it will be streamed live at the company's website at 8:30 p.m. PT.
The article Lines for Tesla Motors, Inc.'s Model 3 Are No Joke originally appeared on Fool.com.
Daniel Sparks owns shares of Tesla Motors. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Tesla 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.
Image source: Netflix.
Netflix is already facing regulatory trouble and Internet Service Provider rebellion in Indonesia. Now, leading telecom Telekom Indonesia is turning up the heat with the arrival of fresh competition -- while still denying its broadband subscribers access to Netflix services.
Seems like it's time for Netflix to put its back into figuring out the Indonesian market, before these 255 million potential Netflix customers get addicted to a rival service.
In April, Telkom Indonesia plans to introduce Southeast Asian video streaming service Hooq to its domestic market. Already running in Thailand, India, and the Philippines, Hooq has not yet made the leap to Indonesia. When Telkom flips the switch, the island nation will become Hooq's second-largest addressable market.
The service is not an exact clone of Netflix. It is arguably superior in some ways, even.
The content catalog may actually be larger. Hooq boasts more than 10,000 titles today, while U.S. Netflix subscribers have to make do with just 4,300 movies and 1,200 TV series.
Hooq offers a Netflix-style streaming interface, but also allows subscribers to download up to five titles per month for offline viewing. Netflix has no plans to introduce downloading options.
Netflix plans tend to cost more than the Hooq alternative. In India, Netflix offerings start at 500 rupees for a single-stream account in standard definition, ranging up to 800 rupees for a four-screen, high-definition plan. The only Hooq plan in India runs 249 rupees per month, and it's included for free in local partner Airtel's Wynk Movies mobile app. The situation is very similar in Thailand and the Philippines, and Indonesian Hooq prices should also run very low.
While Netflix stands alone and fights for every content license, Singapore-based start-up Hooq has some heavyweight backers. On the content side, both Sony and Time Warner have invested their own money and content catalogs to boost the service. Technology and connectivity comes from majority owner Singtel -- another giant telecom with over 500 million subscribers across Asia.
In other words, Netflix has a tough row to hoe here. Hooq is a serious competitor. The censorship in Indonesia makes for an even tougher situation, and having the nation's largest telecom on Hooq's side really puts the cherry on top.
But that doesn't mean that the American company should give up on this important market.
Indonesia is the fourth-largest nation in the world, counting by population. According to the World Bank, it's also the eighth-largest economy, ahead of major powers like France and the U.K. We're talking about an important international force, a modern economy, and a stable (if somewhat heavy-handed) system of government. This isn't a market to ignore just because the locals are putting up a fight.
Map of Indonesia. Image source: Google Maps.
What's next? Instead, Netflix needs to put the pedal to the metal here. It isn't the company's place to set or adjust national censorship policies around the world, although that could become a pleasant side effect of giving people wider access to other cultures and new ideas. No, Netflix simply needs to adjust to the demands of nearly 200 governments and offer local catalogs that fit within established legal and regulatory frameworks.
Doing that in Indonesia means supplying plenty of locally produced material, as well as cleaning out materials deemed offensive by Indonesian censors. In some cases, that could be done with deeper cuts and the occasional blur mosaic. In others, some shows and films simply might not work in a particular market. None of this is ideal, especially where the censored content is making serious points about the nature of violence, or sexuality, or religious freedom. But redacted material is still better than none at all.
Here's the best part of adjusting to the Indonesian demands: With this heavily scrubbed catalog in hand, it should be easy to overcome similar challenges in other censorship-heavy regimes. That should open doors across the Middle East and central Asia, and should give Netflix a stronger platform for getting a foot in the Chinese door.
The arrival of Hooq changes none of this.
Netflix is already accustomed to well-heeled and technically sophisticated competition, and has a long history of overcoming seemingly unstoppable rivals. The streaming platform may look simple, but is actually a marvel of efficient and fault-resistant technology wrapped in a fine-tuned user experience. And the Netflix catalog may have fewer titles than Hooq, but the Singaporean service is mostly built on relatively low-budget Bollywood films and Thai horror movies. In spite of Sony's and Time Warner's direct involvement, the overall quality difference should be obvious. Moreover, Hooq is already butting heads with Netflix in Thailand, India and the Philippines. It's not an entirely new threat.
The proof is in the pudding, as always. I expect Netflix representatives and executives to make frequent visits to Jakarta until the whole censorship situation is settled. Meanwhile, it's up to Hooq to grab as much land as possible while the Western competition is held back by regulators. That's Telkom Indonesia's window to exploit its own government-backed limits on what Netflix can do in this important market.
I can't wait to see this conflict simmering down, and how Netflix applies the lessons learned to other troublesome markets. Pass the popcorn.
The article Can Netflix, Inc. Overcome This New Threat in Indonesia? originally appeared on Fool.com.
Anders Bylund owns shares of Netflix. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Netflix. The Fool also recommends Telkom Indonesia and Time Warner. 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.
April Fools' Day pranks used to be mostly the domain of school-age kids and local radio DJs.
In recent years however a number of technology companies have gotten in on the fun sometimes with an outright effort to pull a classic April Fools' stunt that tricks people in to believing and other times just by being a little silly. Of course, now that so many companies are in on the holiday action, anything announced on April 1 gets met with a healthy dose of skepticism.
That sets a high bar to attract attention on the holiday. Still, that did not stop a number of well-known brands from trying to either pull one over on people or at least make us laugh. Of course, not all jokes work, as one giant technology company learned.
Alphabet : Put this one in the unintended consequences section, but Alphabet's Google had to quickly drop an April Fools' prank it added to its Gmail service. The company had added a "drop the mic" button next to the traditional send button in the email program. It allowed people to close down a mail thread by sending a picture of a Minion -- the yellow guys from the Despicable Me movies -- dropping a microphone.
That seems silly enough, but apparently it caused a backlash with some people who received the emails perhaps not getting the prank, the BBC reported.
"It looks like we pranked ourselves this year," Google said in a statement. "Due to a bug, the MicDrop feature inadvertently caused more headaches than laughs. We're truly sorry."
Apparently some people did not like receiving pictures of the Minions. Source: Minionsmovie.com
T-Mobile : The No. 3 wireless carrier took a more subtle approach, releasing a video and press release touting a tweak on its Binge On service dubbed Binge On Up. The company played it well with a straightish press release.
That sounds a little ridiculous, but the joke does not hit home until you watch the accompanying video which shows that the product being offered is a ridiculous headset with a telescoping arm designed to hold your phone. The ad slams other wireless carriers for "making you hold your phone in your hands, like an idiot."
Source: T-Mobile
OpenTable: The online reservation service went subtle as well by placing an ad for a new service, Taste-o-Vision, on its website. The mock product promises that users will be able to "Taste photos right from your phone with OpenTable Taste technology.It's easy (and tasty) as pie! Just lick to begin. #LickablePhotos."
The company, which is clearly trying to trick people into licking their phone, offered the following instructions:
1. Download the latest version of the free OpenTable app
2. Find a scrumptious photo, then give it a little lick
3. Book the restaurant or keep tasting*
The asterisk, of course, tells people that multiple licks may be needed.
Source: OpenTable.
Tesla Motors : The electric-car company went a little more ridiculous, announcing plans for a new model, Tesla W, a watch that's clearly a prank as soon as you see the accompanying picture. The automaker also took a little swipe at smartwatches in its description.
Tesla captioned this photo 'Warning, current version requires wrist strength of an Orangutan." Source: Tesla.
"This incredible new device from Tesla doesn't just tell the time, it also tells the date," the company wrote. What's more, it is infinitely adjustable, able to tell the time no matter where you are on Earth. Japan, Timbuktu, California, anywhere! This will change your life. Reality as you know it will never be the same."
ZipCar: The car-rental brand, which is owned by Avis Budget Group, had a little fun with its millennial audience by fake-launching "Selfie Driving," using the tag line "Let's be honest... we're a little obsessed with you.
The service purports to help consumers pick the perfect car by having users take a selfie. "Proprietary selfie-analyzing technology" then evaluates how you look in the photo and finds the best car for you.
Of course, some of the company's target audience may not get the joke as at least some millennials could plasusibly think that an app that evaluates mood from a selfie in order to match them with a car sounds reasonable. It purports to customize car matches by offering tinted windows for users having a bad hair day, for instance, or matching customers with "super-fly" pictures with cars from its exclusive "Diddy Fleet."
The article Here's What Tech Companies Did for April Fools' Day 2016 originally appeared on Fool.com.
Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Daniel Kline has no position in any stocks mentioned. He wonders why there is not an April Fools' Day movie. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), and Tesla 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.
Wynn Palace, which will open in 2016. Image source: Wynn Resorts.
Macau has seemed to be on a path to recovery over the past six months, after the region's gaming revenue took a steep decline starting in early 2014. But in March, gaming revenue took another sharp dip, falling 16.3% from a year ago and 7.9% from February to $2.25 billion.
This falloff comes at a bad time for Macau's gaming companies, which were already struggling with weak results. Melco Crown opened Studio City late last year, and Wynn Resorts , Las Vegas Sands , and MGM Resorts are all building new properties in Macau. If revenue doesn't start to grow soon, when thoseresorts open, they'll be cannibalizing business from existing properties.
Don't panic about Macau yet While March's results weren't great, they aren't worth panicking over either. Gaming revenue can be volatile month to month in Macau, and the region is coming off a strong February, which included the Chinese New Year holiday.
Nor was the decline entirely surprising. In early March, analysts at Bernstein predicted that gaming revenue would drop 18% to 24% during the month, so results were actually slightly better than expectations.
The bigger question long-term is whether therevenue trend is going up or down. This week, Paulo Martins Chan, the head of Macau's Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, said "the most difficult times are now behind us." March's results suggest that he may have come to that view a bit early.
The Parisian. Image source: Las Vegas Sands.
Why March's numbers are such a big deal I mentioned that Melco Crown opened Studio City last year. That was a decent expansion for the region, but the property only has 250 table games; it's only the tip of the iceberg in terms of what's coming.
Wynn Resorts is planning to open Wynn Palace in the middle of this year, while Las Vegas Sands' The Parisian is due to debut late this year or in early 2017, and the MGM Cotai will open its doors in 2017. Together, these properties could add up to 1,500 gaming tables to the 14,578Macau had at the end of 2015.
If we don't see a pickup in revenue soon, the new resorts could siphon meaningful revenue away from existing properties, and make everyone in Macau less profitable. So all companies involved have reason to prefer a rising tide in gaming revenue.
Watch Macau cautiously Long term, I still think Macau provides an attractive investment opportunity for investors. But they may want to steer toward safer companies like MGM Resorts, which has a base in the growing Las Vegas market, or Wynn Resorts, which has the best growth opportunity in Macau, given its single resort today.
One month doesn't make a trend, but March ran counter to the tale of a growth trend in Macau; for gaming investors, that has to be a little worrisome in a key year for the region.
The article Macau's Hot Streak Goes Cold in March originally appeared on Fool.com.
Travis Hoium owns shares of Wynn Resorts, Limited. The Motley Fool recommends Wynn Resorts, Limited. 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.
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Eight weeks after being found starving and struggling on the streets, a 2-year-old Nigerian boy is healing after a Danish aid worker offered him refuge.
Aid worker Anja Ringgren Loven found the boy, named Hope after he was rescued, Jan. 31 and shared a photo on social media of him sipping water from a bottle. Hope had spent eight months fending for himself, and was starving and worm-riddled when Loven found him, 9 News reported.
Loven is the founder of African Childrens Aid Education and Development Foundation, which aims to aid children who, like Hope, have been branded witches by their families and cast out of the community.
Loven took the boy to a hospital, where doctors removed worms from his stomach and administered multiple blood transfusions.
Using $1 million in donations received since sharing her story, Loven helps pay for Hopes medical bills. He was diagnosed with a genital birth defect, hypospadias, where the opening of the urethra forms abnormally. Hes scheduled to undergo surgery to correct the condition.
Photos on Lovens Facebook page show a seemingly healthier Hope, who appears to have gained some weight since his rescue. The images show him playing and looking at books with other children.
Imagine more of the African continent engulfed in the Islamist savagery of Libya and Nigeria. Imagine Jordan and Saudi Arabia undergoing the same turmoil as Iraq and Syria. Imagine a Europe that begins to resemble Lebanon more than its American cousin.
These are frightening scenarios that could unfold over the next few years should trends identified in a new analysis by the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT) continue unchecked. Western leaders will need to recognize that the Islamist threat is growing in lethality and geography because current strategies to combat it do not work.
Islamist violence has escalated to an unprecedented degree. Ground taken and controlled by ISIS provides bases for planning and preparing attacks throughout the Middle East, Africa and Europe, most recently in Brussels and France. Genocide against religious minorities in the Middle East is inflicting untold suffering. It is also causing millions of refugees to overwhelm the region and Europe.
Most problematic is that NATO and the U.S. signal no real reassessments in their failing approach to the rapidly spiraling viciousness as they help history to repeat itself.
Engaging jihadists in Libya resulted in the U.S. returning to conduct strikes with fighter jets and drones five years after leaving.
The Obama administration is abandoning a program of training Syrian rebels after spending hundreds of millions of dollars on the futile effort.
Appeasing the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt allowed for its disastrous rise to power, yet the White House still welcomes them into the conversation.
The IPT through analyzing current and future radical Islamist threats based upon its extensive contacts, sources and internal databases -- predicts that the situation will continue to deteriorate over the next 18 to 24 months without a course correction. Here are four reasons why.
1. Islamist brutality in Africa will increase in fatalities and territory. Terrorism in Africa was largely confined to Algeria from 2001 to 2006 when it experienced 275 deaths on average annually. It rose to nine countries with 11,085 fatalities on average annually during 2014 to 2015. Boko Haram, al-Shabaab and Al-Qaida in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) will lead its further expansion on the continent.
2. Relatively stable regimes in the Middle East will face increasing pressure from jihadists who will threaten the ability of central governments to provide security. With no change in strategy to confront ISIS, the governments of Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the UAE could break down.
Jordan recently killed seven Islamists linked to ISIS in an eight-hour raid that disrupted attacks against civilian and military targets within the country.
Turkish security forces have prevented 18 suicide attacks since the start of 2016. A car filled with explosives killed 29 people in Ankara in February. Yemeni rebels have murdered or captured hundreds of Saudi soldiers in cross-border clashes.
3. With the established ISIS caliphate in Iraq and Syria, and its new caliphate in Libya along the Mediterranean coast, the humanitarian crisis of refugees will overwhelm Europes internal security forces and social services. Islamist violence will increase significantly within its borders.
4. ISIS and like-minded groups will build upon their success to launch new attacks on perceived soft targets in the Philippines, Bangladesh and Thailand.
The West needs to recognize the current scope of failure and the momentum of the evolving jihadist threat.
Islamists will quickly capitalize on the current friendly environment. The damage to authority and stability in the Middle East, Africa and Europe could require decades to reestablish once lost.
Also, in a neighborhood like this, what happens to our strongest and most reliable ally in the Middle East, Israel? Weapons are trained on the Jewish state on all sides from the likes of Hizballah, Hamas and Islamic jihad.
Western leaders must take measure of the defeat confronting them and understand that radical Islam directly jeopardizes Judeo-Christian civilization. A very disturbing future may already be written with no change in direction.
Steve Emerson is the Executive Director of the Investigative Project on Terrorism. Pete Hoekstra is the Shillman Senior Fellow at the Investigative Project on Terrorism and former Chairman of the U.S. House Intelligence Committee.
On March 30, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected Western pressure for Iran to stop testing ballistic missiles and a statement by a former Iranian president favoring negotiations instead of the missile program by warning in a speech: People say that tomorrows world is a world of negotiations and not a world of missiles. Khamenei added, If they say this thoughtlessly, it shows that they are thoughtless. However, if this is intentional, then this is treachery.
Khameneis defiant comments came in the midst of growing international concerns about Irans missile program. Iran tested two ballistic missiles last fall and several over the last month. Written on the sides of two missiles recently tested by Iran reportedly were the words "Israel should be wiped from the pages of history." Iran is expected to soon launch a space-launch rocket that most experts believe will be a test to develop an ICBM capable of firing nuclear warheads against Europe and the United States.
Iran has the largest ballistic missile arsenal in the Middle East and is the only nation in history to develop missiles with ranges of 2,000 km or more without having a nuclear weapons capability. Although Iran claims its missiles are not intended to carry nuclear warheads, most experts believe they are being developed as a nuclear weapons delivery system. The United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany said in a joint letter sent this week to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon that Irans recent missile launches were inherently capable of delivering nuclear weapons.
This is why most observers expected a missile test moratorium to be part of the Iran nuclear deal. At first this seemed to be the case when President Obama and Secretary of State Kerry said last July that under the deal Tehran would honor UN Security Council resolutions for eight years that bar ballistic missile tests.
However, it turned out this was not the case since language barring Iranian missile tests is not present in the actual text of the nuclear deal -- it is buried in a July 2015 UN Security Council resolution which endorsed the deal. This means Iran can conduct missile tests without violating the nuclear deal and causing the sanctions it lifted to be reimposed.
Khameneis recent comments echo earlier statements by Iranian officials who have said Iran never agreed to any restrictions on its missile program in the nuclear deal. These comments also reflect increased Iranian belligerent behavior and rhetoric since the nuclear agreement was announced last July which goes against claims by Obama officials that the agreement would lead to an improvement in Iranian behavior and bring Iran into the community of nations.
Khamenei and the Iranian leadership do not want to join the community of nations they want Iran to become a regional hegemon that will dominate the Middle East. They agreed to a nuclear agreement that they know is a fraud since it allows Iran to conduct nuclear activities while it is in effect, such as uranium enrichment and development of advanced enrichment centrifuges, that will actually shorten the timeline to an Iranian nuclear bomb.
Khameneis claim that tomorrows world is a world of missiles really means he believes tomorrows world is a nuclear-armed Iran because transporting nuclear warheads is the only purpose of Irans growing ballistic missile arsenal.
Khamenei knows he will get away with pressing forward with Irans missile because the Obama administration is so desperate to protect the presidents legacy nuclear agreement that it will not support any meaningful action against Iran in response to the missile tests.
This means Irans ability to make nuclear fuel and develop a nuclear weapons delivery system will make great strides as a result of President Obamas nuclear diplomacy. This will be Barack Obamas real foreign policy legacy.
It is urgent that next American president reverse this disastrous legacy by tearing up the nuclear deal with Iran on his first day in office and initiate a new strategy to halt all Iranian nuclear weapons-related activities, require Iran to fully account for its past nuclear weapons work, and stop Irans ballistic missile program.
Youngsters at the Volunteer States flagship university are about to engage in all sorts of debauchery ranging from lessons on male sexual fluidity to a lecture on butt stuff from an amateur porn star.
Sex Week at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville kicks off April 4 - five days of depravity that makes Mardi Gras on Bourbon Street look like a Sunday school picnic.
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The star of the show is Sophia St. James, a self-described queer diesel femme. St. James will be teaching the boys and girls on Rocky Top how to explore all the titillating crevices and protrusions of your body.
Fellatio, cunnilingus, analingus; maybe youve heard the word, now its time to find out about doing the deed, reads a description of the Sex Week workshop.
The university will also provide testing around campus all week for sexually transmitted diseases which might not be a bad idea.
Organizers of Sex Week told the blog Campus Reform there was great interest from the student body for workshops on bondage, domination, submission/sadism and masochism not to mention, How to Drive a Vulva.
These events are critically important and were chosen based on an overwhelming number of requests from the UT student body, whose feedback we rely heavily upon in selecting our events, one of the event organizers told the website.
Critics, however, are furious especially state lawmakers and alumni.
The content is horrifically disturbing, State Rep. Kevin Brooks told me. The fact that we are using state dollars and state classrooms on state campuses to promote UT Sex Week is unforgiveable.
Lawmakers are advancing a bill that would prohibit UT from using any state money to promote Sex Week. The bill, authored by State Rep. Micah Van Huss, would also strip $100,000 in funding for the universitys office of diversity and inclusion.
These are taxpayer dollars, taxpayer funds, Van Huss told me. Frankly, (Sex Week) doesnt represent the values of my constituents and the majority of Tennesseans.
According to Campus Reform, event organizers are using private donations to pay for Sex Week.
Van Huss said his phones have been ringing non-stop from angry alumni and citizens.
They are embarrassed by their alma mater and that sends a pretty powerful statement, he said.
Over the past few years, a number of national controversies have given the university a black eye most recently an unofficial recommendation from the Office of Diversity and Inclusion that campus Christmas parties avoid the Baby Jesus and Santa Claus.
Ensure your holiday party is not a Christmas party in disguise, the university office warned.
And in the fall of 2015, the vice chancellor for diversity and inclusion recommended that the campus use gender inclusive pronouns.
Lawmakers have pleaded with the universitys administration to fix the problem but so far their pleas have fallen on deaf ears.
We are absolutely shocked that this continues after repeated requests directly to the UT administration to cease and desist, Brooks said. If the administration of the university system is not going to listen we are going to legislate. And we are going to represent what our voters want.
Van Huss was even more to the point.
I dont trust the University of Tennessee to fix this, he said. I dont want to micromanage the university, but when they have shown again and again and again that they are incapable of fixing it on their own Ive got to step in.
So hang in there, taxpayers. State lawmakers are about to get to the bottom of butt stuff and they promise to rectify the situation.
Federal investigators have asked for the public's help in finding a Romanian man they say has made and sold counterfeit law enforcement badges, including those for the FBI and CIA.
According to a statement from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 34-year-old Roberto Craciunica was indicted in federal court in Virginia this past October on charges including trafficking in counterfeit goods and smuggling.
According to the ICE statement, Craciunica is believed to be living in Germany. Interpol has also issued a so-called "Red Notice" for his arrest and possible extradition to the U.S.
ICE says counterfeit badges sold by Craciunica were used on at least two occasions by unauthorized persons to gain access to high security areas.
On the first occasion, in January 2014, a man tried to gain access to a secure area of Washington Reagan National Airport using a counterfeit CIA badge. He was stopped after TSA officers noticed inconsistencies between the man's statements and his credentials.
The second attempt at unauthorized entry occurred this past August, when a man armed with a pistol used a counterfeit Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) badge and credentials to enter the Naval Nuclear Training Command in South Carolina. He was arrested and indicted on a charge of impersonating a federal law enforcement agent.
Officials say Craciunica's company, Master Equipment, sold the badges online and shipped them from Germany to buyers in the U.S.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Colorado officials spent $453,000 so far in tax dollars fighting for information on how to tax residents purchases from out-of-state retailers, but now state constitutional requirements will likely force the Department of Revenue to refund any money it collects.
DOR and the Direct Marketing Association have been in a six-year legal battle over whether out-of-state retailers, like Amazon.com, have to report untaxed purchases so the state can go after residents for that money.
DMA maintains House Bill 10-1193, which imposed the mandate, violates the Commerce Clause and has pushed for the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case.
Colorado law treats out-of-state companies and in-state companies differently, Chris Oswald, DMAs vice president of advocacy, told Watchdog.org. Its a clear violation of the Commerce Clause because the Colorado law imposes notice and reporting requirement for out-of-state companies that it doesnt impose on in-state companies.
DMA suffered setbacks in February and March when a three-judge panel in the federal appeals court upheld the law, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear it. But DMA said it will appeal to the full appellate court and, if that fails, try again for a hearing at the nations top court.
DOR spokeswoman Lynn Granger said the state couldnt avoid spending the money because the DMA sued.
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A 15-year-old girl who was pepper sprayed after she punched a man at a Donald Trump rally in Wisconsin should be charged with disorderly conduct, investigators said Thursday.
Video of the incident shows a crowd of people in a parking lot outside the rally in Janesville Tuesday. The girl can be seen holding an anti-Trump sign and arguing with a 59-year-old man.
The video shows the man turning away from the teen with his hands in the air and seconds later, the girl punches him in the face. Another man wearing a red Trump had then pepper-sprayed then and disappeared into the crowed.
The girl told police the first man groped her breast. But Chief David Moore told reporters during a news conference Thursday that additional video doesn't show any evidence the man groped her and that 12 out of 13 witnesses said they didn't see him do anything.
Moore said the man who was assaulted didnt want to press charges, but investigators have recommended juvenile authorities charge her with disorderly conduct for an act of violence.
He said the time passed between the alleged groping and the punching and the man and the girl were several feet apart when she threw the punch.
"Clearly her punch was illegal," Moore said.
The chief said investigators won't pursue charges of filing a false police report against the girl. He said she genuinely believes she felt pressure on her breast. However, he said, quarters were tight and people were brushing up against one another throughout the crowd.
Janesville police Sgt. Aaron Dammen said theyve located the man suspected of pepper-spraying the girl during the altercation and they talked to a man accused of groping the girl.
Dammen said the investigation into the confrontation continues and no charges have been filed. However, Moore also described the use of pepper spray as an act of violence and Police Lt. Keith Lawver said he could face misdemeanor battery charges.
Moore said 350 officers were on duty at the rally but none of them saw the altercation. The video shows about a half-dozen officers near the dispute, but it appears their view would have been blocked by rows of people.
Asked whether police should have kept pro- and anti-Trump supporters separated rather than allowing them to mingle, Moore said it would have been difficult to separate the two groups and "we allowed free speech throughout the area."
The altercation was the latest in a series of confrontations that have marred recent Trump events.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
World leaders declared progress Friday in safeguarding nuclear materials sought by terrorists and wayward nations, even as President Barack Obama acknowledged the task was far from finished.
Closing out a nuclear security summit, Obama warned of a persistent and harrowing threat: terrorists getting their hands on a nuclear bomb. He urged fellow leaders not to be complacent about the risk of catastrophe, saying that such an attack by the Islamic State or a similar group would "change our world."
"I'm the first to acknowledge the great deal of work that remains," Obama said, adding that the vision of disarmament he laid out at the start of his presidency may not be realized during his lifetime. "But we've begun."
Despite their calls for further action, the roughly 50 leaders assembled announced that this year's gathering would be the last of this kind. This year, deep concerns about terrorism were the commanding focus, as leaders grappled with the notion that the next Paris or Brussels could involve an attack with a nuclear weapon or dirty bomb.
Obama said of the terrorists, "There is no doubt that if these madmen ever got their hands on a nuclear bomb or nuclear material they most certainly would use it to kill as many innocent people as possible."
So far, no terrorists have obtained a nuclear weapon or a dirty bomb, Obama said, crediting global efforts to secure nuclear material. But he said it wasn't for lack of the terrorists trying: Al-Qaida has sought nuclear materials, IS has deployed chemical weapons and extremists linked to the Brussels and Paris attacks were found to have spied on a top Belgian nuclear official.
Throughout the two-day summit, growing fears about nuclear terrorism tempered other, more positive signs of the world coming together to confront the broader nuclear threat.
The U.N. Security Council members who brokered a sweeping nuclear deal with Iran held up that agreement as a model for preventing nuclear proliferation, as they gathered on the summit's sidelines to review implementation of the deal.
Obama also spent part of the summit huddling with the leaders of South Korea and Japan about deterring nuclear-tinged provocations from North Korea, in a powerful show of diplomatic unity with two U.S. treaty allies. Similarly, Obama's sit-down with Chinese President Xi Jinping offered the two strategic rivals a chance to illustrate mutual concern about the North, a traditional Chinese ally.
Undeterred, North Korea only hours later fired a short-range missile into the sea and tried to jam GPS navigation signals in South Korea precisely the kind of act that South Korean President Park Geun-hye had warned would trigger even tougher sanctions and more isolation.
Aiming to show concrete action, leaders came to the nuclear summit with commitments in hand, known in diplomatic-speak as "gift baskets."
Latin America and the Caribbean are now free of highly enriched uranium, the White House said, praising Argentina by name for converting its remaining stockpile into a less dangerous form. Fissile materials like highly enriched uranium and separated plutonium are necessary ingredients to make nuclear bombs.
The United States, in newly declassified statistics, said its own national inventory of highly enriched uranium has dropped from 741 metric tons two decades ago to 586 metric tons as of 2013. And the U.S. and Japan announced they'd finished removing hundreds of kilograms of weapons-grade material from a Japanese research reactor, and pledged to do the same at another.
On the global front, a strengthened nuclear security agreement was finally poised to take force, extending safeguards for nuclear materials being used, stored and transported while requiring criminal penalties for nuclear smuggling. Those tweaks were approved in 2005, but have sat dormant awaiting ratification from a critical mass of nations, reached only in the past few days.
Still, frustration over the slow pace of reducing nuclear stockpiles shadowed the summit. The absence of key players especially Russia further underscored the lack of unanimity confronting global efforts to deter nuclear attacks.
After six years of prodding by Obama and others before him, the global stockpile of fissile material remains in the thousands of metric tons. What's more, security officials warn that the ingredients for a "dirty bomb," such as cesium and cobalt, are alarmingly insecure in many parts of the globe.
Ahead of the summit, fewer than half of the countries participating had agreed to secure their sources of radioactive substances, which are widely present in hospital, industrial and academic settings. Obama said as the Islamic State is squeezed in Syria and Iraq, the world must anticipate it will lash out elsewhere, citing recent attacks in Belgium and Turkey as examples.
Obama has held four such summits in hopes of advancing the disarmament goals he set at the start of his presidency, when he declared in Prague that nuclear weapons were "the most dangerous legacy of the Cold War."
"This summit is not the end of our quest to make the world safe from nuclear terrorism," Prime Minister Mark Rutte of the Netherlands said. He said the assembled leaders were passing the baton to international organizations. "Should the need arise, I know that everybody here will be ready to return."
Addressing the last nuclear security summit of his administration, President Obama warned that despite measurably reducing the risk of a devastating attack, the prospect of a terror group like the Islamic State obtaining nuclear weapons is one of the greatest threats to global security.
There is no doubt that if these mad men ever got their hands on a nuclear bomb or nuclear material, they would certainly use it to kill as many people as possible, the president said, opening the last day of the international summit in Washington on Friday.
Though Obama was determined to end the summit on a hopeful note, discussions among the dozens of world leaders that took place Friday were focused on Islamic terrorism, which followed Thursdays conversations about the growing threat of North Koreas nuclear weapons program.
Obama also used the controversial deal with Iran to promote a "carrot and stick" approach to nuclear diplomacy, saying that while it has not swept away all of the other issues the U.S. and other nations still have with Iran, its been an effective way to address the narrower issue of nuclear proliferation with Iran.
This is a success of diplomacy that hopefully we will be able to copy in the future, he said.
Meanwhile, the U.S. and Japan are pledging to remove highly enriched uranium from a Japanese research reactor to reduce the risk of theft and nuclear terrorism. Fuel from the Kyoto University Critical Assembly will be sent to the United States to be down-blended, and the reactor converted to use low-enriched uranium instead. The allies made the announcement Friday.
Their statement does not say when this process would be complete. Japanese media reports that more than 300 kilograms of plutonium is en route to the Savannah River Site, a federal government facility, despite objections from South Carolina governor Nikki Haley.
This is just one thread in an overall concern about the accessibility of bomb-making material across the globe.
The International Panel on Fissile Material stated last year that the stockpile of accessible fissile material such as highly enriched uranium and separated plutonium remains around 1700 metric tons. What worries security officials is the lack of oversight and utter insecurity of many of these stockpiles, and the potential of dirty bombs in the worlds most insecure places.
It is plausible that certain (terrorist) organisations could attack transports of nuclear material or civilian installations and try to steal radioactive material, said Benjamin Hautecouverture, a senior fellow at Foundation for Strategic Research in France.
There is a black market where such material is available coming from central and eastern Europe.
The absence of nuclear states like Russia at the summit this week underscore the reality that not all governments are on the same page on this issue.
The White House called the absence of Russian President Vladimir Putin a missed opportunity. Russias stockpile is only rivaled by the U.S. nuclear arsenal. Moscow consequently, has scoffed at the Washington summit, complaining that the U.S. wanted merely to control the process and take power away from international agencies.
Nawaz Sharif, prime minister of Pakistan, another nuclear state, canceled his trip to the event following an Easter Sunday bombing that killed 72 people in Lahore. Pakistan is reported to have a nuclear stockpile of roughly 120 weapons, making it one of the most nuclear-equipped states in the world.
Furthermore, Obama stated that Latin America and the Caribbean are now free of highly enriched uranium.
The White House also praised Argentinas commitment to converting the rest of its stockpile of radioactive material into a less dangerous material. Since the 1980s, Argentina has cooperated with American authorities to dispose of its uranium stockpile.
With the removal process now complete, the White House has stated that no Latin American state possesses more than one kilogram of highly enriched uranium, labeling Latin American and the Caribbean as a region free of the material.
That does not include North America, though according to newly declassified data, the amount of highly enriched uranium held by the U.S. government is dropping.
Statistics indicate its own national inventory of the material has dropped from 741 metric tons two decades ago to 586 metric tons as of 2013.
Despite all of the good news, less than half of the governments attending the summit agreed to secure their radioactive sources mainly those available in academic institutions and in research hospitals.
The earlier sessions focused on stopping North Korean provocations. Obama discussed steps to deter further North Korean missile tests with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
In another session with the leaders of Japan and South Korea, he called for vigorous implementation of stepped-up U.SN. sanctions. In January, North Korea reportedly detonated its fourth nuclear bomb.
Fox News Rich Edson, Daniel Lativa and The Associated Press contributed to this report
WASHINGTON -- A pro-Clinton watchdog group has filed a complaint with the Justice Department alleging that Donald Trump may have promised former candidate Ben Carson a job in the administration in exchange for his endorsement last month.
The American Democracy Legal Fund, a political accountability group launched by David Brock, the conservative-turned-liberal operative known in political circles as a Clinton hit man, filed the complaint in a letter to DOJ on March 29, according to a POLITICO report.
It was one of several complaints filed by the group this week. According to reports, Brocks watchdogs filed no less than three complaints with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) against Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders over contributions and political action committee (PAC) activities.
The letter involving Trump asks Raymond Hulser, of the DOJs Public Integrity Section, to investigate a possible violation of the federal statute that prohibits any candidate from promising --willfully or otherwise -- a future government position in exchange for campaign support.
Punishment for breaking this law could mean up to two years in prison.
Dr. Carsons comments indicate that Mr. Trump used the promise of a role in his administration to secure Dr. Carsons support for his presidential campaign, Brad Woodhouse, head of the American Democracy Legal Fund, in the letter.
According to POLITICO, the complaint focuses on an interview Carson, who dropped out of the race on March 4, gave to Newsmax TV on March 14, three days after he publicly gave his endorsement to Trump.
Carson was vague about what he and Trump had discussed the day before the endorsement, wrote reporter Nick Gass, but said Trump would surround himself with very good people.
Carson has repeatedly denied that there was any quid pro quo. Thats just not true, he told Brianna Golodrya of Yahoo News on March 16.
It is the second complaint the group has filed against Trump, the first being with the FEC, alleging that the candidate did not disclose that he reportedly paid actors to appear at his campaign kick-off rally. Brocks group also filed a complaint against Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H. this week.
The State Department has suspended its internal review into whether former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton or her top aides mishandled emails containing information now deemed `top secret."
Spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau said Friday the department had paused the review to avoid interfering with an ongoing FBI investigation into Clinton's use of a private server while she was America's top diplomat. She said the decision was made after the department sought the FBI's advice on how to proceed with the review and received word that it should follow its standard practice. Trudeau said the department's standard practice is to place internal reviews "on hold while there is an ongoing law enforcement investigation underway."
An FBI spokesman did not immediately respond to request for comment.
"Of course, we do not want our internal review to complicate or impede the progress of their ongoing law enforcement investigation," Trudeau told reporters. "Therefore, the State Department at this time is not moving forward with our internal review." Trudeau said the department would "reassess next steps" in the internal review process once the FBI completes its probe.
The department began the internal review in January when it announced that it had classified 22 emails that Clinton sent or received as "top secret" and would not be releasing them. None of the emails was marked classified at the time it was sent.
One aspect of the internal review, which was being conducted by the bureaus of Diplomatic Security and Intelligence and Research, was to investigate whether any of the information in the emails was classified at the time of transmission. If and when it is completed, the review could result in counseling, warnings or other action against employees if it finds the information was mishandled.
In a bold vow to hunt down one of the most wanted men on the planet, the spokesman for U.S. forces in Iraq told the Islamic State terror group's chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi his days as a free man were numbered.
I hope that al-Baghdadi watches these press conferences because I want him to know that we are hunting him and we will find him just like we found his mentor Zarqawi and killed him. Just like we found the grand master of terrorism Usama bin Laden, we killed him," Col. Steve Warren told reporters.
"We are going to find Baghdadi, and he will taste justice. I dont know if that justice will look like a hellfire missile or if it will look like a dark prison cell somewhere but he will find justice one day."
A U.S. airstrike in Iraq killed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in 2006, five years before a U.S. raid killed Usama Bin Laden in Pakistan. Analysts say Zarqawi led the Al Qaeda faction that would ultimately become known as ISIS.
Warren says he believes Baghdadi is alive and continues to move between Iraq and Syria. This is a terrorist that should not sleep well ever, Warren added.
A long awaited program to train dozens of Syrian fighters has also started, following the Pentagon's failed train and equip program last fall. Gen. Lloyd Austin, commander of U.S. Central Command, told Capitol Hill lawmakers in September that only four or five U.S. military-trained fighters remained in the battle against ISIS in Syria.
Fox News' Lucas Tomlinson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Buzz Cut:
Will the rules survive a new progressive populist moment?
Power Play: Theyre super, thanks for asking
Trumps loyalty flip could cost him S.C. delegates
Hillary: I am so sick of Sanders campaign lies
Hey guys, you asleep?
WILL THE RULES SURVIVE A NEW PROGRESSIVE POPULIST MOMENT?
A common trope in the 35 anxious and inconclusive days after the 2000 election was that somebody needed to step aside for the good of the country.
The strong suggestion from the then-more powerful media establishment was that either Texas Gov. George W. Bush or Vice President Al Gore needed to do the right thing for the country and step aside. And guess which candidate many analysts thought should absent himself
There was only one problem: Even if Bush had bowed out, he couldnt make Gore president. The rules say you cannot be president without winning 270 electoral votes and Gore had only won 266. It was not within Bushs power to make anyone president, even himself. Concessions are niceties, not legally binding actions.
Even if Gore had won the popular vote. Even if senior citizens in Palm Beach had bungled the butterfly ballot. Even if the press thought Bush was a dope.
This especially incensed populists, since direct democracy has been the cardinal virtue in the eyes of American progressives dating back to the 19th century. What could be more undemocratic than the popular vote being thwarted by the Electoral College and the ruling of five unelected justices of the Supreme Court who stopped the recount in Florida?
The small-r republicanism of Americas founding that intentionally protected two branches of the government from direct democracy was and is seen by populists as further evidence of the founders elitism and denial of the will of the people.
And to be sure, they were elitists. The proto-populists of the day, like Thomas Jefferson, may have seen greater potential for enlightenment among the yeoman farmers of the burgeoning country than federalists like Alexander Hamilton, but even the Sage of Monticello wouldnt have been in favor of direct democracy. In the American creed, the rights of man far outweigh the importance of the will of men.
In the end, the framers settled on having only one avenue for pure democracy in the federal system: biennial elections for the lower house of Congress.
The birth of American progressivism is rooted in demands for direct democracy and disdain for the elitism of republicanism that insulated institutions from demands for change. In the previous period of similar social and economic upheaval to our own in the late 19th century and early 20th century, politics were dominated in many ways by this movement, which subsumed the Democrats and drove the Republicans to rupture and defeat in 1912.
There are many things for which the eras progressives can take credit, including the first far-reaching industrial regulations, Daylight Savings Time and other reflections of the progressive belief that a government sufficiently empowered and funded could ameliorate through science and modern methods many of the ails that had plagued mankind since before Aristotle ever heard of hemlock.
But the lasting legacy of the movement has been for more and more direct democracy. The landmark victory of the 17th Amendment in 1913 that took the power to pick senators away from state legislatures was the pinnacle, but the movement, then and now, has advanced the demand for more power to voters.
One of the most progressive ideas of billionaire third-party candidate Ross Perot in 1992 was that Americans might have gadgets in their homes that would allow them to participate in instant plebiscites. President Perot could come on TV, presumably with Larry King, and ask the people what they wanted. Press one to bomb, press two to hold off. Pass the tax hike? Sign the treaty? Just give the people what they want.
That didnt, of course, come to pass. But the energy behind it that the will of the common people is both valuable and underrepresented is very much with us in the populist progressivism that has taken hold of big swaths of both major political parties.
The parties themselves were re-ordered to favor direct democracy in the period of progressive populism that flared up after Richard Nixons fall. By 1976, when it came to picking delegates to pick party nominees, smoke-filled rooms at state conventions were out and primaries were in.
But now, the progressive populists in both parties are chafing at the remaining barriers to direct democracy. For the Democrats backing Bernie Sanders, its the so-called superdelegates who get convention votes because of their status as officeholders or senior party officials. On the Republican side, its anger from Donald Trumps supporters that if Trump wins more delegates than any other candidate but fails to win an outright majority he could be passed over for the nomination.
The American political system is once again swimming hard in the eddies of progressive populism. But just as Gore couldnt be president without 270 electoral votes, neither Trump nor Sanders can be their parties nominees without winning outright majorities.
But these are still nuclear-powered talking points for candidates whose campaigns have honed in voters who blame the ills of the nation, and perhaps in their own lives, on the perfidy of a powerful, cloistered elite.
The question now, as it was each time before, is whether or not the remaining defenders of small-r republicanism in both parties rouse themselves to the task of defending a system that seeks to balance the will of men to the rights of man.
Power Play: GOP divorce; Theyre super, thanks for asking
Amid abundant nastiness on the trail, the Washington Examiners David Drucker and the National Journals Josh Kraushaar join Chris Stirewalt to assess the long term fallout for a Republican party deeply divided over who will head the ticket in November. WATCH HERE.
Plus: Can Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders win over Democratic superdelegates and sway those loyal to frontrunner Hillary Clinton for a primary upset? But superdelegates are hard to sway, and many of them dont think Sanders can win in the fall. The panel digs into the slender chancers for Sanders to turn the tide. WATCH HERE
WITH YOUR SECOND CUP OF COFFEE
Famously decadent, a spongy and sweet dessert is actually linked to a monumental geographic event in American history. NPR has the details: [In] 1867, for a mere $7.2 million about two cents per acre the U.S. bought land from Russia that would eventually make Alaska its 49th state, gaining a delicious fringe benefit in the process: Baked Alaska. No, this igloo-shaped dessert cake and ice cream shrouded in toasted meringue didnt come from the icy north, but its name was inspired by the land deal. In fact, the treats true roots date back to the turn of the 18th century, when American-born scientist Sir Benjamin Thompson (aka Count Rumford, a title he gained for his loyalty to the crown during the American Revolution) whose inventions included a kitchen range and a double boiler made a discovery about egg whites.
Got a TIP from the RIGHT or the LEFT? Email FoxNewsFirst@FOXNEWS.COM
POLL CHECK
Real Clear Politics Averages
National GOP nomination: Trump 42.1 percent; Cruz 31.7 percent; Kasich 19.3 percent
National Dem nomination: Clinton 51 percent; Sanders 42.4 percent
General Election: Clinton vs. Trump: Clinton +11.2 points
Generic Congressional Vote: Democrats +1
TRUMPS LOYALTY FLIP COULD COST HIM S.C. DELEGATES
Time: Donald Trumps announcement that he no longer stands by a pledge to support the GOP has thrown his hold on South Carolinas 50 delegates in doubt. The Palmetto State was one of several that required candidates to pledge their loyalty to the partys eventual nominee in order to secure a slot on the primary ballot. Though Trump won all of the states delegates in the Feb. 20 primary, anti-Trump forces are plotting to contest their binding to Trump because of his threat on the pledge TuesdayTrump has been hiring staff to ensure he hangs on to delegates in what could be a messy convention fight, but the latest threat appears to be an unforced error on his part.
Fox Business poll has Cruz with a big lead in Wisconsin - Fox Business: Ted Cruz leads Donald Trump in the Republican nomination contest in Wisconsin, according to a Fox Business Network Poll released Thursday. Cruz garners 42 percent among Wisconsin likely GOP primary voters, while Trump receives 32 percent. John Kasich comes in third with 19 percent. Among just those who say they will definitely vote, Cruzs lead over Trump widens to 46-33 percent, and Kasich gets 16 percent.
Trump super PAC ad tells his supports that the grief they get is worth it - In a new ad airing in Wisconsin, a pro-Trump super PAC knocks Ted Cruz on national security, but also has the female actor stating in the spot: Sure, I get some grief when I say Im voting for Donald Trump
Trump gets convention cram session - NYT: Outwardly, Donald J. Trump called it a unity meeting a closed-door session in Washington on Thursday involving his own inner circle and the Republican National Committees high command. Inside, however, it was more of a clearing of the air, according to three people briefed in detail on the discussionIn the meetingthe Republican national chairman, Reince Priebus, laid out for the partys front-runner the need for the committee and Mr. Trumps campaign to have a good relationship, according to the three people, who insisted on anonymity to discuss private conversations
Trump spox: Trump abortion position was off the cuff - On Thursdays The Kelly File Trump campaign spokesperson Katrina Pierson said that Trump was speaking off the cuff when he said women who receive abortions should be punished. Pierson continued, This was a hypothetical context of something happening that was illegal. Mr. Trump was just re-stating, Yes, if somethings illegal, they should be punished. Thats why he clarified, for distinguishing the difference between the woman and the actual person committing the procedure that was not legal. Watch here.
Candidate stands by European nuclear threat: Europe is a big place - The Hill: Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump on Thursday doubled down on his promise to not rule out using nuclear weapons in Europe. I dont want to take cards off the table, Id never do that, Trump said during a phone interview on The OReilly Factor, adding, the last person to press that button would be me. Guest host Eric Bolling acknowledged not ruling out using nuclear weapons against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), but pressed Trump about the possibility of using them in Europe. Europe is a big place. Im not going to take cards off the table, Trump said.
Fox News Sunday - Republican frontrunner Donald Trump sits down with Mr. Sunday. Watch Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. ET on the Fox News Channel. Check local listings for broadcast times in your area.
[GOP delegate count: Trump 736; Cruz 463; Kasich 143 (1,237 needed to win)]
HILLARY: I AM SO SICK OF SANDERS CAMPAIGN LIES
WaPo: A question about fossil-fuel-industry donations to her campaign unleashed a rare flash of anger from Hillary Clinton on the rope line in New York on Thursday. The moment was recorded by an activist, whom Greenpeace identified as Eva Resnick-Day, who sought to pressure Clinton about the roughly hundreds of thousands of dollars her campaign has received from individuals with ties to fossil-fuel industries. Will you act on your word to reject fossil-fuel money in the future in your campaign? Resnick-Day asked after thanking Clinton for addressing climate change in her campaignApparently peeved, Clinton fired back flashing a frustration that had begun to show earlier in the rally when a large group of Sanders supporters interrupted her speech. I have money from people who work for fossil-fuel companies, Clinton said. As Resnick-Day tried to respond, Clinton interrupted her pointing her finger for emphasis: I am so sick -- I am so sick of the Sanders campaign lying about me.
Bernie raises big cash in March - The Hill: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) reportedly broke his monthly presidential fundraising record in March, earning more than $44 million before the Federal Election Commissions midnight filing deadline FridaySanderss team had reportedly raised $39.6 million as of 6 a.m. Thursday morning, but raised around $5 million that day alone to break its previous monthly benchmark of $43.5 million set in February.
[Dem delegate count: Clinton 1712; Sanders 1011 (2,383 needed to win)]
#mediabuzz - The ladies of Outnumbered join host Howard Kurtz to discuss the medias role in this rough primary season on both sides of the aisle. Watch Sunday at 11 a.m. ET, with a second airing at 5 p.m.
[Watch Fox: Bret Baier hosts Fox News Reporting: Rising Threats, Shrinking Military tonight at 10 p.m. ET]
HEY GUYS, YOU ASLEEP?
Daily Mail: A Michigan couple got a wake-up call from hell recently when they were roused from sleep by a bear licking at their bedroom window. Michael Kinney and his wife were sleeping Easter weekend when they were suddenly woken up at 4am by a noise outside their house in Stevensville. They looked outside, and a 400-pound bear was standing on its hinds legs, eating out of their bird feeder. Mr Kinney estimates that the bear was about 6-foot-5 when it was standing on its hind legs.
[Ed. Note: We at Fox News First rely on the great good work of our colleagues at the Fox News Channel and the rest of the Fox family for much of our daily missives. But we also rely on journalists around the country and sometimes the world to bring you this little snapshot of the political moment. We are grateful and hope that publicity and greater attention from our many readers is adequate recompense for the appropriation of their work. Unless we misspell their names. And that has been the case with Mollie Z. Hemingway, senior editor at The Federalist, St. Louis Cardinals fan and all-around great American. We have managed not only to misspell her name on more than one occasion but in two different ways. This is, we assure Mrs. Hemingway, no reflection of our gratitude or esteem for her work. Fox News First will strive to either spell it right henceforth, or at least find a third way to get it wrong. Have you ever considered going by Mahlee? Maybe Mali?]
AND NOW, A WORD FROM CHARLES
[Donald Trump] knows theres no way he can undo the damage of the abortion statement. He has got to give it a little time and well be on to something else. He will invent something else later. -- Charles Krauthammer on Special Report with Bret Baier
Chris Stirewalt is digital politics editor for Fox News. Want FOX News First in your inbox every day? Sign up here.
The Hubble Space Telescope has peered deep into the heart of our Milky Way Galaxy, revealing a tapestry of more than half a million stars, NASA announced Thursday.
A stunning image shows the impressive array of stars. Except for a few blue foreground stars, the stars are part of the Milky Ways nuclear star cluster, the most massive and densest star cluster in our galaxy, explained NASA, in a statement. So packed with stars, it is equivalent to having a million suns crammed between us and our closest stellar neighbor, Alpha Centauri.
The center of the Milky Way is located 27,000 light-years away.
Related: The best of Hubble
Experts used infrared technology to pierce through dust in our galaxys disk that obscured the star cluster. In the image, scientists translated infrared light, which is invisible to human eyes, into colors the eye can see. The red stars are either embedded or shrouded by intervening dust, said NASA, explaining that dense clouds of gas and dust are seen in silhouette, appearing dark against the bright background stars. These clouds are so thick that even Hubbles infrared capability could not penetrate them, it said.
The picture, which spans 50 light-years across, is a mosaic stitched from nine separate images from Hubbles Wide Field Camera 3. The snowstorm of stars in the image is just the tip of the iceberg: Astronomers estimate that about 10 million stars in this cluster are too faint to be captured in this image, said NASA.
The space agency explains that the star cluster surrounds the Milky Ways supermassive black hole, which is about 4 million times the mass of our sun.
Related: Astronomers find supermassive black hole in giant galaxy 300 million light years away
The Hubble space telescope, which was launched by NASA in 1990, celebrated its 25th anniversary last year. The telescope is operated by NASA and the European Space Agency.
The telescope recently helped astronomers find one of the largest-ever black holes in giant galaxy NGC 4889, some 300 million light years away.
Related: NASA wants to unlock the universe's secrets with telescope more powerful than Hubble
In February NASA unveiled plans for a powerful new telescope with a view more than 100 times wider than Hubble.
The Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) is designed to help researchers unravel the secrets of dark energy and dark matter, and explore the evolution of the universe, according to NASA.
Eat your heart out, Tatooine: A newly discovered alien planet has not one, not two, but three suns in its sky.
While scientists know of many planets with two suns, a planet with three bright stars in its sky is much rarer. The newly found distant world, known as KELT-4Ab, orbits one star. That star in turn is orbited by a nearby pair of stars. The twin stars are close enough to the planet to appear about as bright as the full moon in the sky, new research has revealed.
In addition to providing an example of a solar system very different from Earth's, the strange arrangement may help provide insight into how gas giants that lie close to their parent star known as "hot Jupiters" evolve. [The Strangest Alien Planets (Gallery)]
A triple sunset
KELT-4Ab, which is about as massive as Jupiter, orbits the single star KELT-A once every three days. Nearby, the stars KELT-B and KELT-C orbit one another once every 30 years, and together they travel around KELT-A and its planet every 4,000 years or so.
Jason Eastman, a research associate at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, is the lead author of a study that used the two robotic telescopes that make up the Kilodegree Extremely Little Telescope (KELT), located in Arizona and South Africa respectively, to identify the system that includes the single star KELT-A, the more distant pairing KELT-BC and the overheated planet.
While the composition of the planet's atmosphere isn't yet known, Eastman told Space.com that standing in the atmosphere above the planet (since you can't stand on its surface), the single star would appear to be about 40 times as large as the sun appears in the sky on Earth. Each member of the binary star pair would be almost as bright as the full moon, though without a good telescope they would look like dots of light about a pinky-finger-width apart in the sky.
"Those two stars would orbit each other every about 30 years, and every 4,000 years they'd make one orbit around KELT-4A," Eastman said.
Planets around triple stars are rare; KELT-4Ab is only the fourth known system to contain three stars. Of these, KELT-A is the brightest host star, not only because it is a hotter star than the ones in the other three systems, but also because it lies so close to Earth only 680 light-years away.
The research was published in the Astronomical Journal.
Hot Jupiters
"Hot Jupiters aren't supposed to exist. None of them," Eastman said.
"Gaseous planets the size of Jupiter are supposed to form much farther out [from their parent star] and stay there, like our own Jupiter did," he said. "Exactly how they got so close is an outstanding question, but one theory is that it migrates due to hot interactions with a third body in this case, the third and fourth bodies KELT-BC."
When astronomers developed the first theories of planet formation, all they had to work with was the solar system. When the first exoplanet discoveries were gas giants that orbited their stars in a handful of days, it turned the existing theory on its head and sent scientists scrambling to understand how the newly observed systems could exist. Most scientists seem to agree that the massive worlds traveled to their current position after they finished forming, driven by companion planets, stars or other processes, Eastman said.
"The binary system KELT-4BC may be what ultimately drove the planet KELT-4Ab so close to its star," Eastman said.
Using a survey produced by KELT, the scientists identified the potential planet KELT-4Ab, then confirmed its existence with several other instruments. Like the more well-known NASA Kepler spacecraft, KELT relies on the transit method to detect exoplanets, observing how the amount of light from a star drops as the planet passes between it and Earth.
"KELT is different in several ways [from other transit surveys]," Eastman said. "It has a smaller telescope, a larger field of view and a larger pixel scale than other mature transit surveys."
These features deliberately bias the instrument toward brighter stars, which Eastman said allows a broader range of observations and characterizations. Among those is the ability to determine if the planet's orbital plane appears edge-on as seen from Earth, or whether the plane is tipped, and this process allows scientists to more precisely calculate the star's mass.
Looking to the future
When the KELT-4 system was originally observed in 1973, it was thought to host only two stars. Not until Eastman observed the system almost 40 years later was one of the single stars resolved into two individuals.
"In all previous observations, KELT-4B and KELT-4C were blended together and looked just like one star," Eastman said.
This is a recurring challenge for scientists observing binary systems resolving close-orbiting stars into binary pairs. Eastman said that many known planets may live in unknown triple systems. One reason the twin stars in the KELT-4 system were so easily identified as two individual stars instead of one was because of the system's close proximity to Earth.
The European Space Agency's Gaia satellite, currently engaged in a five-year mission, will observe the triple system in the coming years. These observations will enable a more precise measurement of the distance to KELT-4A, providing more detailed measurements of its mass and radius, which will result in more precise measurements of the mass and radius of the planet.
"But more exciting, Gaia will be able to measure the motion of the KELT-4BC binary pair around KELT-4A," Eastman said.
Measuring the path of the pair of stars will help improve models of how they could have affected the migration of the planet, shoving it closer to its parent star. In doing so, it will help scientists understand how hot Jupiters manage to form so close to their parent stars.
Editor's Recommendations
The website Reddit released its latest transparency report Thursday, and it reveals an uptick in requests for user information from U.S. and foreign authorities. But whats also notable in this years report is the absence of any language regarding national security requests.
When Reddit published its 2014 transparency report, it specifically stated that it had not received any national security requests.
As of January 29, 2015, reddit has never received a National Security Letter, an order under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or any other classified request for user information, the site declared in the 2014 report. If we ever receive such a request, we would seek to let the public know it existed.
Related: Apple still doesn't know how FBI hacked San Bernardino terrorist's iPhone without their help
In the latest report, that language considered to be a warrant canary-- is missing, prompting speculation that the company had in fact received a request after January 29, 2015.
Reddit also said that requests for user information jumped 78 percent from 2014 to 2015. In 2014, it received 55 such requests. Last year, that number was 98. Reddit said that it fulfilled 60 percent of those requests in 2015, and that 142 users were affected. Those requests were domestic including subpoenas, court orders, and search warrants as well as foreign.
Related: Would it be any easier for the FBI to crack Android?
Specifically, domestic requests accounted for 77 of the requests in 2015, and the other 21 were international, with Canada making the most requests of any foreign country. Other countries that made requests include Australia, China, India, and Japan.
The latest transparency report as well as the topic of the missing national security language is the subject of a lengthy discussion thread on Reddit.
Reddit has not yet responded to a request for comment on the story from FoxNews.com.
Visitors to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida will soon be able to experience what it's like to walk on Mars, thanks to a new partnership with Microsoft. Using Microsoft's HoloLens headsets, the public will be able to take tours of parts of the Red Planet this summer, guided by astronaut great Buzz Aldrin.
HoloLens is Microsoft's augmented reality device, which is now shipping to developers, the company announced at its Build Developers Conference today. It's not quite the immersive virtual reality experience that true VR headsets like the Oculus Rift offer, but it's still capable of stitching together real imagery from NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover, which has been exploring the planet since August 2012.
When the exhibit goes live this summer, visitors who don the HoloLens will be greeted by Apollo 11 astronaut Aldrin, who serves as a holographic tour guide. He'll be joined by a Mars Rover driver, who will explain scientific discoveries and Mars facts while visitors are free to make their own way through the rocky terrain.
"This experience lets the public explore Mars in an entirely new way. To walk through the exact landscape that Curiosity is roving across puts its achievements and discoveries into beautiful context," Doug Ellison, a visualization producer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said in a statement.
The upcoming exhibit grew out of a larger partnership between Microsoft and NASA, which developed the data analytics technology to help engineers and scientists direct the Mars Rover. Called OnSight, it has been used to make recommendations about where the rover should drive and which features to study in more detail.
Microsoft's partnership with NASA is an important step as it ventures into the world of VR, which is already crowded with revolutionary devices like the PlayStation VR and Oculus Rift. During the Build keynote today, HoloLens co-creator Kudo Tsunoda said he hopes partnerships like the ones with NASA will help the general public gain experiences that were previously only available to scientists.
But Microsoft also has big plans for more industry-specific applications. It has lined up organizations as diverse as Japan Airlines and Case Western Reserve University's medical school, which plan to use HoloLens unique "mixed reality" capabilities to instruct pilots and train future doctors.
This article originally appeared on PCMag.com.
An Arab-American mother from suburban Chicago is claiming United Airlines racially profiled her family and kicked them off a flight to Washington, D.C. for a spring break trip.
Eaman-Amy Saad Shebley was traveling from O'Hare International Airport with her husband and three young children on March 20, reports WDIV. After boarding and being seated, Shebley claims a United crew member approached the family and asked them to deplane.
In a clip posted to Facebook, a woman identified by WDIV as a flight attendant says to the family, "Were going to ask that you step off the aircraft with all your belongings." Shebleys husband asks why, and the flight attendant replies, "Because they are investigating [inaudible]."
In a second clip, a man who has been since identified as a United pilot approaches the family again and informs them they are being asked to leave.
Shame on you #unitedAirlines for profiling my family and me for no reason other than how we look and kicking us off the... Posted by Eaman-Amy Saad Shebley on Wednesday, March 30, 2016
Now youre coming to tell me to get off the plane, why is that? Shebleys husband inquires.
Yes sir, because its my decision, the pilot responds.
It is a discriminatory decision? Shebley asks. What is the reason?
The pilot replies, It is a safety of flight issue.
In a Facebook post that has been shared over 35,000 times since Wednesday, Shebley writes, Shame on you #unitedAirlines for profiling my family and me for no reason other than how we look and kicking us off the plane for "safety flight issues" on our flight to DC for the kids spring break. My three kids are too young to have experienced this.
Both video clips have raked in millions of views and comments from concerned travelers.
But United says the incident occurred due to the pilots concern over a child safety seat. The airline says it requires five-point harnesses, which the family did not have. A spokesperson for the airline sent the following emailed statement to WDIV:
We rebooked them on a later flight because of concerns about their childs safety seat, which did not comply with federal safety regulations. Both United and SkyWest hold our employees to the highest standards of professionalism and have zero tolerance for discrimination.
The Council on American Islamic Relations of Michigan said this experience is becoming all too common for Muslin and Arab families traveling within the U.S.
Unfortunately theres a growing problem on airlines of Muslims being removed from flights when they cause no reasonable security concerns, Executive Director Dawud Walid said.
After deplaning, Shebley and her family went to customer service and were rebooked on another flight.
A white Alabama police officer charged with killing a black man gave two conflicting accounts of what happened to a state investigator, the agent testified at a hearing Thursday.
Officer Aaron Smith is charged with murder in the Feb. 25 death of 58-year-old Greg Gunn. After Thursday's hearing, Judge Jimmy Pool ruled there was probable cause for a grand jury to review the charge.
State Bureau of Investigation Agent Jason DiNunzio testified Smith didn't suspect Gunn of a crime when he initially stopped him, but Smith immediately confronted Gunn and told him to put his hands on the hood of the patrol car. DiNunzio said he doesn't think Smith had probable cause to stop Gunn while he was walking on a sidewalk in his neighborhood.
Smith's attorney, Mickey McDermott, said Gunn's presence in the neighborhood at 3 a.m. was reason enough to stop him.
"He's a suspect of being in a high-crime area," McDermott said after the hearing. "He's in a high-crime area, at three o'clock in the morning, dressed in all black. Can you not draw those conclusions?"
In two interviews, Smith told DiNunzio Gunn bolted when he attempted to conduct a body search. Smith used his stun gun and a metal baton in an attempt to subdue Gunn during the chase. DiNunzio said Smith didn't turn on his body camera and his patrol car dash camera.
Gunn died yards from his front door. It was the neighborhood he grew up in. Police have said officers were aware of a rash of burglaries in the area earlier this year, but there was no special patrol deployed on Feb. 25.
Smith initially said he had struggled with Gunn on the ground before the two men separated and Gunn ran to a nearby porch, where he picked up an extendable painting stick and swung it at Smith's head, DiNunzio testified.
Smith said he ducked the swing, backed up and then fired at least seven shots, according to his initial statement.
But DiNunzio said the pole, which was found near Gunn's body, was nearly 5 feet, 6 inches long. Given the length of the pole and two support pillars on either side of the porch, the investigator said he had doubts it could have happened that way.
"I did have reservations if that was even possible, due to the porch layout," said DiNunzio, adding that is why he did a followup interview.
In Smith's second statement, he said there was no physical struggle and added he "was not sure" if Gunn swung the pole at him, according to DiNunzio's testimony.
Smith told DiNunzio that Gunn did not fight back or attempt to gain control of the stun gun, baton or gun. DiNunzio said Smith's initial interaction with Gunn wasn't "normal" for an average field interview.
"Based on the facts as Officer Smith was describing them, I don't believe he had enough probable cause to use deadly force," DiNunzio testified.
McDermott asked DiNunzio, a former police officer himself, if he would've acted differently from Smith.
"I guess my response would be if I had established probable cause," DiNunzio responded. "I've had people run from me before who I haven't given chase to."
At a news conference after the hearing, McDermott said his client had a panic attack after the shooting and his mental distress explains the discrepancies in his two statements.
"How many of us have had a car wreck and remember it one way at the scene and three days later, remember it differently?" McDermott said. "It happens. It's called post-traumatic stress disorder."
He maintains Smith was exercising his rights as a law enforcement officer to detain and question, and that Gunn should have complied.
"He (Gunn) fought by running," McDermott said.
Smith is currently free on bail.
A woman accused of snatching a 7-week-old boy from his mother at a mall outside Philadelphia Thursday had set up several baby gift registries in her name and showed off the infant to relatives before investigators said they caught her.
Cherie Amoore, 32, faces charges including kidnapping and child concealment.
Police said Amoore struck up a conversation with the baby's mother at the King of Prussia Mall. When the baby became fussy, she asked if she could hold him while the mother took a phone call and tended to another child. After the mother agreed, Amoore walked off with the baby, authorities said.
Online store registries for Amoore seek baby gifts that include a $62 engraved silver frame and a baby shower date of Dec. 19. At least some of the items had been purchased.
Surveillance footage showed the woman leaving the mall in an area near a Bonefish Grill restaurant. Media alerts about the kidnapping led the suspect's family to contact authorities, and the 7-week-old boy was back in his mother's care by that night. Investigators found the infant at Amoore's nearby apartment in Tredyffrin Township, more than four hours after he went missing.
Amoore was showing the baby to her own family, investigators add.
She remained in custody pending a scheduled afternoon court appearance. It's not clear if she has a lawyer to comment on her behalf, and messages left with relatives were not returned.
The infant's mother, Malika Turner, thanked police and people on social media who helped reunite her with her son.
"I would like to thank God for allowing my baby to come back. And, I want to thank the Upper Merion Police Department, and everybody on social media that helped me get my baby back," Turner told WPVI-TV late Thursday.
Prior court records for Amoore show only a handful of traffic violations.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
An Alabama police officer reportedly was shot two times early Friday after an apparent car chase stemming from a drug deal gone wrong.
The shooting occurred around 2:30 a.m. at a Citgo gas station near the Interstate-10 exit in Grand Bay, WALA-TV reported. The Mobile Police Department told WKRG-TV the extent of the unidentified officers injuries is unknown but he was expected to survive.
The suspect in the shooting was also wounded, WKRG-TV reported. The suspects condition is unclear at this time.
Witnesses told WKRG-TV that the incident appeared to be drug deal that went wrong. They said the suspect was meeting a group of people behind a restaurant when an undercover officer turned their lights on.
The suspect then attempted to flee on a motorcycle and was chased to the gas station where the shooting occurred.
Mobile Police are expected to hold a press conference later Friday morning.
Click for more from WALA-TV.
Click for more from WKRG-TV.
A mural at a public university in California that shows the American flag upside down and depicts a menacing border agent with fangs chasing an immigrant has long angered some students, but is protected free speech, school officials said this week.
The eyebrow-raising mural at California State University Northridge has graced the hallway of the Chicano Studies department since 1999, but has recently stoked new controversy amid the ongoing debate over illegal immigration. School officials told The College Fix, a higher education blog, that the school has no intention of painting over it.
As a higher education institution, CSUN has a responsibility to encourage a wide variety of views and to be an educational and public forum for expression of divergent views, including those that some may find distasteful or unpopular, CSUN spokesman Jeff Noblitt told The College Fix in an email.
"A public university my taxpayer dollars goes to fund this picture of a U.S. flag upside-down?" Jason Freudenrich, former Marine
The mural was created by Chicano Studies students in 1999 to commemorate the departments 30th anniversary and represents the views of the students who created it, not the views of the university, he wrote.
While it is mostly viewed by students who take courses offered by the department and may be less inclined to object, other students have complained about it.
I was shocked, I was truly shocked, Jason Freudenrich, 36, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq in 2003, told The College Fix. I was filled with anger. A public university my taxpayer dollars goes to fund this picture of a U.S. flag upside-down?
Day after day it just bugged me, he said. And come to find out, it bugged a lot of veterans.
The border patrol agent depicted in the mural has an INS insignia on his chest, for Immigration and Naturalization Service, and fangs.
Freudenrich made a YouTube video criticizing the mural, but Noblitt said most of the criticism of the artwork has died down.
In years past, CSUN received a handful of complaints relating to this mural and specifically its depiction of the American flag, Noblitt told The Colege Fix. However, the university has not received any negative feedback regarding the mural in the past several years.
New Mexico authorities confirmed the death of an experienced California diver Thursday after he was helping with the exploration of underwater caves in a well-known swimming hole.
Shane Thompsons death appears to be an accidental drowning, the initial investigation suggests. The 43-year-old was helping navigate narrow passageways below the Blue Hole in the eastern part of New Mexico, a tourist destination in the community of Santa Rosa.
Santa Rosa Police Chief Jude Gallegos said Thompson was among about 10 people from the ADM Exploration Foundation who were at Blue Hole for a multi-day exploration. The group had been working on surveying the underwater canyon system since 2013.
Thompson and another experienced diver Mike Young dove into Blue Hole on March 26, Gallegos said. They planned to have Young enter the cave and Thompson stay outside in a safety role, but Thompson decided to enter any way, Gallegos said.
Apparently something went horribly wrong, and he started to panic, the chief said.
According to The San Diego Tribune, Young told investigators that he and Thompson were looking for passageways when Thompson followed him through a narrow obstruction into a small chamber.
Santa Rosa Police Officer Mike Gauna told the Guadalupe County Communicator that Young started to exit the area, following the safety line. But some silt had been kicked up and it became impossible to see. Thompson pulled on the line extremely hard and it slipped from Youngs hands.
Both dives then became wedged in the passageway. Young swam down to turn around, but Thompson swam upward and took a wrong turn getting trapped in an unmapped offshoot in one of the passageways that didnt lead anywhere, according to the paper.
By the time Young got back to Thompson, he had died.
The state Office of the Medical Investigator said it could be weeks before autopsy results are available.
No more exploration is planned of the underwater cave system at Blue Hole, said Curt Bowen, president of the exploration foundation.
"The cave system below is walled out. That means there is no cave passage left to explore," he said in an email. "We mapped everything we could fit through, and it ended in a tight rock breakdown at a depth of 194 feet."
Thompson was a Navy veteran who started diving at a very young age while growing up in the Florida Keys. After earning his first certification, he went to work for an underwater construction company and later started numerous diving businesses that focused on everything from boat maintenance to salvage work and training.
Last year, Thompson rediscovered the wreckage of the B-36 "Peacemaker" bomber that had crashed in 1952 near Mission Beach. A video posted by Thompson's San Diego-based Advanced Underwater Training business shows his flashlight scanning the engines and other corroded pieces of the plane as he makes his way through the darkness more than 250 feet below the surface.
Family members said Thursday they were struggling with Thompson's death, but they acknowledged that diving was what he loved to do and that he had earned numerous certifications during his lifetime.
The caves have been sealed off since 1976, when two divers in training died after getting separated from their classmates. New Mexico State Police divers quickly found one of the bodies, but it took several weeks to find the other. In the process, police divers made a crude map of some of the unexplored passages.
At that time, one of the divers descended and found himself at the edge of an underwater cliff. His powerful flashlight wasn't enough to see the cave wall across from him or the bottom, sparking only more curiosity.
In 2013, divers with the ADM Exploration Foundation attempted an expedition, but they had little success getting past the tons of rock the city dumped onto the grate to keep people out.
Divers with the foundation returned in 2015 for more excavation work and were able to reach a depth of 160 feet. They returned in late March to continue surveying.
Divers from around the region flock to Blue Hole for fun and certification, as it's one of the best diving spots in the American Southwest. About 8,000 dive permits are sold each year.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
You could always hear Mother Mary Angelica coming.
The thick rosary hanging alongside her hip would graze her aluminum crutches, adding a tinkling accompaniment to her slow progress. The juxtaposition of the cheerful sound and her pained movement might have seemed incongruous, only with Mother Angelica it wasnt. Her constant pain caused by a genetic spinal defect and many other ailments was a gift, she often said.
The Lord allowed pain before anything he asked me to do, she once told me. It kept me dependent on him to do whatever he asked of me.
When Mother Angelica died on Easter Sunday at 92, she was the only woman in the history of broadcast television who had founded and led a cable network as chief executive and show host for 20 years. Her Eternal World Television Network became the largest religious media empire on the planet, bringing a message of hope to 260 million households in more than 100 countries. The EWTN radio network broadcasts on more than 300 affiliates in the United States and a stand-alone Sirius channel.
And this multimedia giant was birthed in pain.
Born Rita Rizzo, Mother Angelica was abandoned by her father at age 5. Her mother suffered from manic depression, and Rita endured a difficult, impoverished childhood in Canton, Ohio.
After experiencing a healing that she was convinced was miraculous, she entered the cloistered life. Then while in the convent, she suffered a fall that exacerbated her spinal problem. The nun began losing sensation in her legs.
Before a desperate back surgery in 1956, she made an impassioned pact with God: If he allowed her to walk again, she would build him a monastery in the South to pray for racial healing.
Mother Mary Angelica would indeed walk again. But only with the aid of crutches and a pair of back and leg braces, leading her to comment years later: "When you make a deal with God, be very specific."
Despite her limited mobility, she and a group of her Ohio sisters started a fishing lure business to cover the cost of construction, and she built the promised monastery in a suburb of Birmingham, Ala.
For a cloistered nun in the largely Protestant South, she took on bold projects: She offered Bible instruction to a group of local Episcopalian women, then distributed those talks on audiotape. She wrote pamphlets on the spiritual life, gave talks all over the country and appeared on national evangelical talk shows.
Mother Angelicas street-smart, biting humor and traditional Christian teachings attracted a following in the late 1970s when her recorded programs aired on the Christian Broadcasting Network.
In 1981, with little broadcast experience and only $200 in the bank, she launched EWTN in a bare-bones studio in her monasterys garage. For the next 20 years, despite being beset by new health woes an enlarged heart, diabetes, severe asthma and more Mother Angelica presided over the remarkable expansion of EWTN into a 24-hour enterprise. One of the hallmarks of her broadcasts was her empathy and concern for those suffering from hardship or disability.
On Christmas Eve in 2001, she suffered a debilitating stroke that nearly killed her. It limited her speech and ended her public career.
But it didnt stop her mission. For the next 15 years, in her monastery cell, Mother Angelica offered her pain to God. I once asked her, shortly after her stroke, why God would allow the voice of one of Americas great evangelizers to fall silent. Without hesitating, she pointed to herself and said, "Purification. My purification."
During her long confinement, Mother Angelica became the silent, contemplative nun she had first vowed to be. Yet over those 15 years, more people heard her voice and received her teachings than at any time before. I received hundreds of letters from people who salvaged their marriages, reformed their lives, beat back addiction and overcame loss, all due to her prayers and words.
Then on this Easter Sunday, the day the Church remembers Christs victory over death, Mother Angelicas 92 years of living in the shadow of an extended Good Friday came to an end, and she escaped to her reward. Having united her suffering with that of her Savior, her work persists beyond infirmity and even beyond death.
If you dont believe me, turn on her network. Mothers still there, speaking to those who need her most.
Raymond Arroyo is the managing editor of EWTN and the author of a biography of Mother Angelica. His new book, "Mother Angelica: Her Grand Silence, the Last Years and Living Legacy," will be published by Crown. He is also the author of the novel "Will Wilder: The Relic of Perilous Falls," published by Random House. This article originally appeared in The Washington Post.
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A U.S. drone strike in Somalia "most likely" killed Hassan Ali Dhoore, a senior leader of the terror group al-Shabab who had planned attacks that killed three Americans overseas, a U.S. official confirmed to Fox News Friday.
Dhoore was riding in a vehicle with two other al-Shabab members Thursday evening when the strike took place about 20 miles south of Jilib in southern Somalia, according to a senior U.S. defense official.
The Pentagon had been watching him off and on for a long time, the senior official adds, saying the Somali government was involved in sharing information that led to this strike.
U.S. officials say Dhoore helped facilitate a deadly Christmas Day 2014 attack at a Somali airport and a March 2015 attack at the Maka Al-Mukarramah Hotel, both in Mogadishu. U.S. citizens were among those killed in the two attacks, the officials said.
In addition, investigators linked Dhoore to the assassination of a Somali parliament member who also had U.S. citizenship. Dhoore had continued to plot ways to target and kill Americans in the Somali capital, according to the Pentagon.
Dhoore's death, if confirmed, would mark a "significant blow" to the Al Qaeda-linked group and its ability to plan attacks, Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said.
Despite being pushed out of Somalia's major cities and towns, al-Shabab continues to launch deadly guerrilla attacks across the Horn of Africa, and even across the border. The terror group was linked to a 2013 attack on the Westgate Mall in Kenya's capital of Nairobi in which 67 people were killed, as well as an April 2015 attack on Kenya's Garissa University, in which 148 people died.
Fox News' Jennifer Griffin, Lucas Tomlinson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A worried owner finally found her cat who'd disappeared six months ago during one of northern California's most destructive wildfires -- and the animal turned up not far from their house.
Muscat hadnt been seen since the Valley Fire forced residents to flee Middletown in September. His owner spotted the five-year-old cat a week ago.
Great story for you all: Our client Nancy found her cat on Thursday, March 23, after being missing since the Valley... Posted by Middletown Animal Hospital: The Vets Your Pets Would Choose. on Tuesday, March 29, 2016
On Thursday she was driving close to her house and saw a cat that looked like Muscat so she stopped and he came to her, the Middletown Animal Hospital wrote on its Facebook page the other day.
She was very excited to have him back, the hospitals Tersea Axthelm told KCBS-TV. So many people are still looking for their pets, we have a bulletin board here, you know. Missing pets, dogs and cats. To give anybody some hope, its obviously a great thing.
The Valley Fire killed four people, destroyed hundreds of homes and burned more than 76,000 acresone of the worst wildfires in California history.
A group of San Francisco police officers were accused Thursday of exchanging offensive text messages that emerged during an investigation into allegations of sexual assault by an off-duty officer last year, police and prosecutors said today.
The racist and homophobic missives come as the SFPD has had to battle allegations of systemic racism within its ranks, including a separate scandal last year in which 14 other officers were accused of sending racist text messages.
The new accusations are related to the criminal investigation of alleged sexual assault by Officer Jason Lai while off-duty in August 2015, police said.
District Attorney George Gascon said investigators were sifting through evidence sent by the Police Department late last year related to Lai's case, including 25,000 pages of text messages, and discovered the messages sent by at least four officers.
The district attorney said the messages included uses of the n-word, "disparaging comments about Hispanics", and speculation about the sexuality of female officers.
Gascon called the messages "very problematic" and said they included texts from the time when the previous text message scandal was revealed in March 2015.
In the earlier case, a judge in December ruled against the Police Department being able to fire officers who exchanged the racist text messages, saying the department failed to act within a one-year statute of limitations after being notified by federal prosecutors of the texts.
Gascon said the text messages uncovered recently "clearly acknowledged" the earlier scandal and the officers were "almost mocking what was going on."
Gascon said once he learned of the new messages, he immediately sent a letter to police Chief Greg Suhr to make sure the officers weren't on active duty with the public.
Gascon claimed today his office was not notified of the bigoted text messages by police and only learned of it late last week after sifting through the thousands of pages of messages themselves.
"It was never pointed out to us," Gascon said.
"If the department knew about it, it's a problem that we weren't told," he said.
In response, Suhr wrote Thursday that the district attorney's office was sent evidence including the text messages on Sept. 21, and that police notified his office on multiple occasions in September, October, November and January of the existence of the texts.
"For you to suggest that you discovered the text messages through your own criminal investigation would be disingenuous," Suhr wrote. "This is not new information as our offices have been working closely on this case with at least three members of your staff to ensure the fair administration of justice."
Police said that during the criminal investigation into Lai's case, the department's internal affairs investigators learned on Aug. 8 that officers had sent the messages.
The department acted immediately to suspend the officers and referred the matter to the city's Police Commission for review, police said.
Since then, two of the officers have separated from the department. A third officer has an open case pending with the Police Commission and could face discipline or termination, police said.
Lai was charged last week with misdemeanor counts of unlawful possession of criminal offender history information and misuse of confidential Department of Motor Vehicle information, but prosecutors found insufficient evidence to charge him with sexual assault. He has been on unpaid leave since the investigation began, police said.
City Public Defender Jeff Adachi said his office would "begin a full review of past cases that may have been tainted by these officers," Adachi said. "I am also calling for an independent investigation into when the police chief and district attorney learned of the text messages."
"Every person in San Francisco deserves equal justice," Adachi added. "It does them a grave disservice to dismiss every hateful act as an isolated incident. The Police Department must address the culture that lets racism fester in its ranks."
Click for more from KTVU.com.
New Fox Business polling for the Wisconsin primary. Cruz gets 42%, Trump gets 32%, Kasich gets 19%. That echoes the Marquette poll earlier in the week. A new PPP poll has the race closer. The conservative establishment in Wisconsin has been united against Trump for months.
Donald Trump remaining on the defensive after a wild week for his campaign. Hes taking a lot of criticism for comments on abortion and for standing by his campaign manager who is accused of assaulting a reporter.
Trump is at a historic high and not in a good way. Thats the headline in the Washington Post today where his unfavorable ratings are at levels not seen before. Philip Rucker and Robert Costa writing today:
If Donald Trump secures the Republican presidential nomination, he would start the general election campaign as the least-popular candidate to represent either party in modern times.
Three-quarters of women view him unfavorably. So do nearly two-thirds of independents, 80 percent of young adults, 85 percent of Hispanics and nearly half of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents.
Those findings, tallied from Washington Post-ABC News polling, fuel Trump's overall 67 percent unfavorable rating - making Trump more disliked than any major-party nominee in the 32 years the survey has been tracking candidates.
Head-to-head matchups show Hillary Clinton, as well as her Democratic rival Bernie Sanders, leading Trump, often by double digits. Even his two remaining fellow GOP contenders this week backed away from earlier promises to support the eventual nominee.
And with each passing day, Trump makes moves that add further uncertainty to his ability to pivot to the general election. His defiant defense this week of his campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, who was charged with battery for yanking the arm of a female reporter, as well as Trump's remarks Wednesday that women who get illegal abortions should be punished, might play well with his followers, but could further alienate the broader electorate.
Clinton snapped at a woman at an event who accused her of taking money from oil and gas lobbyists. Clinton denied it and snapped at the woman saying she was sick and tired of the Sanders campaign lying about me. She was visibly angry.
Hillary Clinton is adding events in Wisconsin. The Clintons will both appear this weekend in the Badger State. The Clinton campaign does not expect to win Wisconsin, but reportedly wants to make sure they dont lose badly to Bernie Sanders.
Hillary Clinton remains the front runner for New Yorks primary on April 19th, but her lead has been eaten into by Mister Sanders. A one-time 48 point lead in the Empire State is now down to 12 points.
Several live events to keep our eye on today on the campaign trail.
1000ET - Kasich town hall, Antique Automobile Club of America Museum, 161 Museum Dr., Hershey, PA...FNC LiveU
1145ET - HRC manufacturing roundtable, Institute of Technology at Syracuse Central, 285 E Adams Street, Syracuse...POOL live
1300ET - Kasich remarks, Pennsylvania Leadership Conference, Radisson Harrisburg, 1150 Camp Hill Bypass, Camp Hill, PA...FNC LiveU
Big RNC meeting with Donald Trump yesterday afternoon. It was a Trump effort to shore up support with the Republican party and to learn more about securing GOP delegates.
The Wall Street Journal reports the campaign is being fueled by social media.
President Obama continues hosting a nuclear summit today.
1100ET -- POTUS chairs the opening plenary session of the Nuclear Security Summit: National Actions to Enhance Nuclear Security - Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC (HOST LIVE / POOL)
1300ET -- POTUS takes a Nuclear Security Summit family photo - Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC (HOST LIVE / POOL LIVE)
1330ET -- POTUS The president attends a working lunch: International and Institutional Actions to Strengthen Nuclear Security - Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC (CLOSED PRESS)
Tornado watches in effect for parts of Georgia. Severe weather heads for the Carolinas today after reports of tornadoes last night in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi last night. At least a dozen homes were damaged in MS alone.
A police officer was murdered in Richmond, Virginia yesterday. A man opened fire on the cop after being briefly questioned. The murdered was shot and killed by police at the Greyhound bus station.
Both California and New York will raise the minimum wage to $15/hour after action by the state houses and governors.
Chicago teachers on a one-day strike.
We get March jobs numbers today. Analysts expect the U.S. added 200,000 jobs in March and the unemployment to remain unchanged at 4.9% (an 8-year low).
Gold prices have been on a tear thanks to global economic insecurity.
Tesla debuted its new Model 3, and promptly took 135,000 pre-orders.
Marriott Hotels has won a bidding war for Starwood Hotels.
For more news, follow me on Twitter: @ClintPHenderson
When President Obama took office, he promised to be a new type of commander-in-chief. Many now fear thats exactly what has happened.
Critics see the American military downsizing, and its influence in world affairs waning, creating a dangerous power vacuum. "Fox News Reporting: Rising Threats - Shrinking Military," airing Friday at 10 p.m. ET, Saturday at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET and Sunday at 9 p.m. and midnight ET on Fox News Channel and anchored by Bret Baier, investigates the phenomenon that is the Obama military.
One of the signs of the presidents new approach is his deep budget cuts. Numerous defense programs have been scrapped, and the troops are being cut backthe Armys active force threatens to drop below pre-World War II levels. As former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates tells Fox News, after he worked hard to cut hundreds of billions from the Obama military budget, he was then told to cut hundreds of billions more. Gates fears less money today will mean more American blood later.
President Obama isnt just making the military smaller, however--hes changing its very essence. Hes introduced numerous policies designed to further social justice within the ranks, such as regulations to allow women to serve in combat. But military experts are concerned that all these new rules end up doing is lowering standards and destroying morale. They worry that fighting efficiency is being sacrificed on the altar of political correctness.
On the international front, this slimmed-down military seems designed to match the administrations slimmed-down foreign policy. Obama, critics contend, wants an America more humble in its approach, more willing to listen to others.
But how has this lighter footprint worked out? "Fox News Reporting Rising Threats - Shrinking Military examines how Obamas policies have played out on the world stage:
Russia, where the administration made conciliatory gestures, after which Putins forces became more aggressive and took over Crimea.
Iraq, where Obama decided upon a precipitous withdrawal of U.S. military presence, after which the formerly pacified nation descended into chaos.
Syria, where Obama threatened but then failed to take action, after which the region continued to grow into one of the most dangerous spots in the world.
Libya, the one place where America did take action in a UN-approved military intervention, after which the nation split apart and become a breeding ground for terrorism.
"Fox News Reporting: Rising Threats - Shrinking Military" features the three former secretaries of defense to serve under ObamaRobert Gates, Leon Panetta and Chuck Hagelas well as other high-ranking officials. We also go on the ground in Alaska to meet the men in uniform who serve there, and see how they deal with aging equipment and a disappearing budget, even as the threats from Russia and China grow.
President Obama inherited a world-class, battle-hardened military. The next president, facing a complex world with many threats, will inherit the new Obama military. Watch "Fox News Reporting: Rising Threats - Shrinking Military" to discover what that may mean for the country.
A jailed assassin who killed a prominent anti-apartheid leader in South Africa in 1993 won a bid for parole on Thursday, igniting bitter memories of racial unrest during white minority rule as well as fresh scrutiny of the balance between punishment and leniency for crimes committed during that era.
A Pretoria judge ordered parole within two weeks for Polish immigrant Janusz Walus, whose killing of Chris Hani stirred fears of all-out racial conflict at a time when delicate negotiations for a democratic transition were underway. Hani was head of the South African Communist Party and of the military wing of the African National Congress, the main anti-apartheid movement that later became South Africa's ruling party.
While Nelson Mandela and other leaders at the time tamped down the anger roiling the country, and euphoria ran high after the first all-race elections in 1994, the country still grapples with its troubled legacy. In recent months, there have been more calls for prosecutions of figures from the apartheid-era government, reflecting a belief that the drive for racial reconciliation let some perpetrators off the hook and failed to improve the lives of many in the black majority.
Some of those emotional wounds reopened as news spread that 60-year-old Walus, who has served 23 years of a life sentence, would be freed on parole this month.
Hani's wife, Limpho Hani, harshly criticized the white judge who heard a legal appeal from Walus' lawyer and overruled the South African justice ministry's refusal to grant parole.
"She is nothing but a racist," Hani's wife said in an interview with South Africa's Radio 702. "To her, black lives don't matter. She hardly made mention of my husband's murder in her judgment."
Limpho Hani also questioned South African courts, saying, "the judiciary wants to rule this country through the back door because they undermine executive decisions."
Judge Janse van Nieuwenhuizen referred in her ruling to South African legal guidelines on parole, including the fact that it is based on a "good prognosis" for rehabilitation, is subject to supervision and does not imply that a criminal has been acquitted.
Nieuwenhuizen noted that Walus had tried in vain to meet Hani's family and apologize to them.
"Their stance is simply that they will not forgive the applicant," the judge wrote.
Walus' lawyer, Julian Knight, said the justice ministry's decision to refuse parole was based on the "whims of politics," not the law.
Clive Derby-Lewis, a fellow conspirator of Walus who also got a life sentence, was released on medical parole last year after more than two decades in prison.
Walus said after his arrest that he and Derby-Lewis, a proponent of white minority rule, hoped the assassination would plunge South Africa into chaos ahead of the historic 1994 elections. The murder sparked some rioting, but the elections proceeded.
After white rule ended with those elections, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission investigated past atrocities and granted amnesty to some accused perpetrators. Walus and Derby-Lewis testified before the panel but were refused amnesty.
In a statement Thursday, the ANC said the parole order "is a "travesty of justice."
The ruling party said Walus almost set off a civil war by killing Hani, and that the immigrant should be immediately deported on his release.
Among the mounting headaches for Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in Washington this week for a visit that notably does not include a formal sitdown with President Obama is a 74-year-old Muslim cleric quietly living on a private compound in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania.
Fethullah Gulen, a one-time Erdogan ally, is the head of a faith-based social movement that boasts a global following, has deep roots in Turkish society, and cultivates notable influence in the U.S. education through a network of roughly 150 secular charter schools.
But a nasty split between the two over Erdogans years-long crackdown on domestic dissent and Turkeys once-open media landscape has now spread to the United States, and threatens to further destabilize an already frayed alliance.
It is Erdogans way of fighting the corruption without obviously confronting the issue of corruption. Professor Henri Barkey, expert on Turkey
More than 2,000 Gulen supporters have been arrested in Turkey on various charges since the 2013 split, though many were later released. And Turkish authorities recently seized control of one of Turkeys largest newspapers, Zaman, which was associated with Gulen.
But whats relatively new to many Americans only now hearing about Gulen is a high-profile, multimillion-dollar public relations and legal effort by the Erdogan government to extradite him to Turkey, and raise myriad questions about the propriety of the charter schools.
This is a really dangerous group, charged Robert Amsterdam, a lawyer whose firm Erdogan hired to launch an international investigation of the Gulen organization - particularly its business and political dealings in the U.S. When it comes to these charter schools and Gulen, nothing is transparent.
Gulen cloisters himself on the grounds of an Islamic retreat owned by Turkish Americans in Saylorsburg, Pa., and rarely gives interviews to news media. But his sermons appear online. He preaches what many consider a moderate form of Islam. And he has regularly and stridently condemned jihadist terror attacks much more so than Erdogan, say the presidents critics and typically advocates interfaith dialogue.
Gulens Hizmet movment -- meaning service in Turkish -- is marked by business savvy and a successful push to build political connections. The movement is believed to be worth billions of dollars.
Troubling statements from Turkey's Erdogan
This is not a proselytizing movement. This is not a glory-of-Islam movement. This is a glory-of-the-Gulen-movement movement, said Joshua Hendrick, an associate professor of sociology and global studies at Loyola University of Maryland who wrote a book about Hizmet.
Hendrick disputed Amsterdams argument the organization is dangerous. But in Erdogans view, Gulen is an arch-enemy of the state, whose followers represent a seditious parallel state within Turkey.
Gulen is specifically accused of scheming to have his followers infiltrate the Turkish government for the purpose of overthrowing Erdogans ruling Justice and Development Party, known by its Turkish acronym as the AKP. Gulen also faces espionage charges, and two trials are now being held in absentia.
Those accusations are laughable; they have no evidence, said Y. Alp Aslandogan, executive director of the Alliance for Shared Values, a New York-based organization that promotes Gulens teachings.
Several scholars in the U.S. interviewed by FoxNews.com also defended Gulen and criticized the Turkish prosecution of him, citing Erdogans aggressive crackdown.
There is no evidence that I am aware of to support the idea that the movement is at all violent or terroristic, Zeki Saritoprak, professor of Islamic studies at John Carroll University in Ohio, told Fox News. Allegations to the contrary are absurd.
Another scholar, A. Kadir Yildirim, of Rice Universitys Baker Institute for Public Policy, agreed. All opposition groups, including the Gulen Movement, are being targeted by President Erdogan, he said, listing Kurds, non-Muslim minorities and liberals as other victims of Erdogans autocratic tilt.
Professor Henri Barkey, director of the Middle East Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and a longtime expert on Turkey, said Gulen supporters have been scapegoated to draw attention from Turkeys complex domestic and foreign policy problems -- which range from increased internal unrest and a Kurdish insurgency to Russias menacing influence in Syria and Turkeys fraying alliance with the U.S. over among other factors -- the Obama administrations support for Kurdish militias in the battle against ISIS.
It is convenient for the government to blame the Gulenists for everything, Barkey said. It is Erdogans way of fighting the corruption without obviously confronting the issue of corruption.
One scholar argued for a more careful approach. Abraham Wagner, a lecturer at Columbia Law School and a board member at the Center for Advanced Studies on Terrorism, said the next U.S. administration should pay close attention to Hizmet activities in America.
They are trying to undermine the (Turkish) government We have to be aware of what they are and how they are operating, he said. Its not an open and shut case. What I am urging is, lets take a closer look at what they are doing.
Some have done just that. A number of Gulen-affiliated schools have been investigated over accusations that include mismanagement of public funds and possible visa fraud. Amsterdam alleges the network has a history of receiving a disproportionate share of H-1B visas -- temporary non-immigrant work visas -- that allow foreign teachers to work in the U.S. He said Gulens U.S. charter network, however loosely organized, generates massive profits, and that a percentage of that is going back to Turkey and being used to foment instability.
Barkey said Gulen-affiliated charters arent necessarily engaging in illegality, but they skirt good practices or common sense sometimes. He said he was infuriated when he saw a recent report on the CBS program 60 Minutes about Gulen charters that highlighted one example of a school bringing a Turkish national to the U.S. to teach English.
You are going to tell me that a Turk, who is going to speak with an accent, is going to teach English to kids in the U.S.? Barkey asked.
The Chicago Sun-Times also reported last year that the Justice Department launched an investigation into alleged misuse of federal grant money at Concept Schools, a Gulen-linked network of some 30 charters in Illinois and five other states. Federal officials did not respond to multiple inquiries from FoxNews.com, but Concept management said, through a spokeswoman, they continue to cooperate with authorities. To date, no one affiliated with a Gulen charter has been convicted of any criminal activity.
Amsterdam and other Hizmet critics also accused some Gulen-linked charters of targeting selected students to proselytize.
Our investigation has uncovered that there is a proselytizing campaign where these Turkish teachers, we are told, actually target youths in these schools -- not a lot, maybe four or five per class -- to bring them into the movement, Amsterdam said.
When asked, Amsterdam, who reiterated many of the charges in a news conference in Washington Thursday, would not immediately provide specifics.
That charge, too, was met with skepticism by those who note Gulen schools are often highly regarded and more focused on science and technology instruction.
Worldwide, to my knowledge, there has been no credible evidence of religious indoctrination at any school established or run by Hizmet sympathizers, said Saritoprak.
Amsterdam vows his investigation is far from over. His efforts have thus far produced one court case -- a pending civil suit in U.S. District Court in Pennsylvania -- which alleges Gulen used a 2009 sermon to signal his followers in law enforcement in Turkey to falsely arrest three political opponents.
Gulens lawyer in that case, Michael Miller, argues U.S. law does not apply, and called it an abuse of the U.S. courts to try to initiate a lawsuit like this as part of a global campaign, a political campaign, to harass Mr. Gulen.
Meanwhile, Aslandogan and other Hizmet supporters want Americans to see through these anti-Gulen efforts, and recognize this as an international political fight led by the increasingly autocratic Erdogan.
We are talking about a person with dictatorial ambitions in Turkey, and he is taking his battles to American shores, Aslandogan said.
The Islamic State terror group has been making use of a chemistry lab in Iraq's University of Mosul -- which it seized nearly two years ago -- to test and build deadlier bombs, military officials and other sources told The Wall Street Journal Friday.
The report comes as analysts warn that ISIS soon could get its hands on the materials necessary to build and deploy a radioactive "dirty" bomb.
The University of Mosul is the best Daesh research center in the world, Gen. Hatem Magsosi, Iraqs top explosives officer, told the Journal, using another name for ISIS. The terrorists used the lab to crank out chemical weapons, peroxide-based bombs and suicide vests similar to the the ones used by the attackers in Belgium and Paris, military officials said.
But the U.S.-led coalition may have put a stop to it. The Pentagon targeted the university campus with a series of airstrikes, most recently on March 19, according to Col. Steve Warren, spokesman for the U.S. military in Iraq. It's not clear how much damage was done.
A top Harvard researcher warns the terrorists could easily get their hands on nuclear bomb parts. Just last week, investigators revealed that brothers Ibrahim and Khalid El Bakraoui, two of the suicide bombers in Belgium, apparently scoped out footage of an expert at the country's nuclear research center known as SCK-CEN.
Radiological materials are available in many locations where they would be much easier to steal [than at SCK-CEN], in hospitals, industrial sites, and more," the Harvard researcher Matthew Bunn wrote, according to Defense One.
The U.S. is helping the Iraqi military prepare for a potential attack on Mosul, which ISIS has held in its grasp since June of 2014, senior defense officials told Fox News last week. They said Iraqi soldiers have not yet stormed the city.
Belgian investigators have admitted massive security failures that were in place before the attacks on March 22. Ibrahim El Bakraoui was caught near the Syrian border last summer and ultimately released. Another bomber, Najim Laachraoui, had been in Syria before the two blew themselves up.
"Hundreds, maybe thousands of jihadis are ready to strike," outspoken Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders warned. Police in the Netherlands linked one arrest this week to a possible future terror attack.
The bombings at the Zaventem airport and a nearby metro station killed 32 people and wounded hundreds more.
On Saturday, police are bracing for a possible gathering of right-wing extremists in Brussels' Molenbeek district, which investigators have called a hub for terrorists and would-be attackers in Belgium. Last Sunday, hundreds of black-clad football hooligans broke up a solemn wake at Brussels' Bourse Square for the terror victims, and police had to bring in water cannons before they could restore order.
Click for more from The Wall Street Journal.
Muslim teacher Salah Farah stood in the way as Islamist militants stormed his bus in Kenya in December -- refusing their demands to split from Christian passengers and instead taking a bullet that would later kill him.
Now, three months after the attack, the father of five will be honored posthumously by Kenya for his act of courage, the country's president announced this week.
President Uhuru Kenyatta told parliament during his state of the union address Thursday that he is awarding the Order Of The Grand Warrior -- one of the country's highest honors -- to Farah, according to multiple media reports.
Farah and about 60 other passengers were traveling from the capital, Nairobi, to the town of Mandera, on Dec. 21 when Somalia-based al-Shabab militants began firing shots at the bus.
The gunmen forced the bus to stop and told the Muslims and Christian passengers to separate. Farah, who was the deputy head of the Mandera township primary school, and other Muslim passengers refused to cooperate -- instead telling the insurgents to kill all the passengers or leave them alone. Al-Shabab militants have been known to execute Christians and spare Muslims in previous attacks in the region.
Farah, who was shot in the hip and suffered shrapnel wounds to his arm, died during surgery one month later. Prior to his death, Farah told Kenya's The Daily Nation that, "We asked them to kill all of us or leave us alone."
"People should live peacefully together, Farrah told Voice of America from his hospital bed in January.
We are brothers. It's only the religion that is the difference, so I ask my brother Muslims to take care of the Christians so that the Christians also take care of us. and let us help one another and let us live together peacefully," Farah said.
On Thursday, Kenyatta lauded Farah, telling parliament that the Muslim man "refused to be divided by terrorism," BBC News reported.
"We are our brother's keeper. I salute Salah Farah, (the) Muslim teacher who died protecting Christians in Al-Shabaab attack," Kenyatta said, according to The Daily Nation.
Farah's brother, Rasheed, told the news outlet that the Kenyan president called the family on Thursday and asked about Farah's five children.
"The President himself called us Thursday at noon. He asked about Salah's five children and told me 'usijali (don't worry) we shall take care of them.' He also spoke to his wife and other family members," he told the Daily Nation.
"He (the President) vowed to visit Mandera to visit the children, saying they won't be forgotten. We are very happy we have not been forgotten. We are one people," he said.
Immediately following Farah's death, Kenyans took to social media to praise him, saying his example should be emulated in a country facing a growing threat of Islamic extremism as Kenyans with ties to al-Shabab launch attacks in this country.
In 2011, Kenya's government deployed peacekeepers to Somalia in part to stop al-Shabab members from crossing the border and launching attacks on Kenyan territory. Al-Shabab opposed the deployment and vowed to wage more attacks.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Russian authorities have launched a murder probe in the search for a missing American student who officials say disappeared in below-freezing conditions after venturing out before dawn from a guest house in a mountainous region of Siberia.
Colin Madsen, 25, of Jefferson County, Mo., disappeared early Sunday, investigators in the Russian republic of Buryatia said. Madsen arrived with another American student Saturday as part of a group from Irkutsk, where he was a university student.
According to regional media outlets, Madsen vanished from the resort village of Arshan. The tiny town is known for its mineral springs and mountainous vistas.
The Investigative Committee, Russias federal investigative agency, said in a statement that Madsen and his group planned to hike the mountains Sunday, but Madsen under unclear circumstance vanished without a trace as others in the guest house slept.
The Siberian Times reported Friday that a murder probe has been launched in the case. According to the newspaper, the Investigative Committee -- considered the equivalent of the FBI - in the Republic of Buryatia released a statement, saying, "During the preliminary check, we have not confirmed that the missing young man was about to leave the resort village and his friends."
"These and other established facts indicate that a crime may have been committed against him," the statement said. "Therefore, Tunkinsky Interdistrict Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee in the Republic of Buryatia opened a criminal case on the grounds of a crime."
Madsen reportedly left all of his belongings, including a cellphone, inside the house.
Annie Madsen of Markle, Ind., said Wednesday that her nephew, who she said is fluent in Russian and has taught English in Russia, apparently left the house without a coat to take a walk.
"He has a lot of friends concerned about him," Annie Madsen told The Associated Press about the nephew she called "a responsible young man."
"I can't see him just getting up in the middle of the night and going for a walk in freezing conditions without a coat," she said. "I don't know what was going on."
Colin Madsen's mother, from Missouri, and father, from Indiana, traveled Wednesday to Russia to be closer to the search, his aunt said.
Madsen had been enrolled as a university student in Russia since the fall. The village from which he disappeared is located about 130 miles from Irkutsk.
Madsen's friends, meanwhile, have taken to social media to express their concern and circulate the young man's image.
"He is one of the kindest, most gentle people I have ever met, always open to the opportunity to help people in whatever situation they are in, above and beyond the average person," wrote Kephen Merancis, one of Madsen's Facebook friends.
"If there was ever someone you wanted as a friend, it would be Colin," Merancis said.
FoxNews.com's Cristina Corbin and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Detailed footage of the devastation caused by Islamic State militants inside Syria's ancient city of Palmyra has been revealed.
The new video shows the world heritage site reduced to rubble as a result of the extremists waging war on the famous landmarks over the past year.
New Footage Of Palmyra Shows IS Destruction https://t.co/QeRD1OQr1a Sky News (@SkyNews) March 30, 2016
Syrian government forces finally drove ISIS out at the weekend, inflicting what they described as a "mortal blow" to the terror organisation.
ISIS sparked a global outcry when it started destroying Palmyra's monuments, which they consider idolatrous, after taking the city in May 2015.
But Syria's antiquities chief says priceless artefacts have survived better than feared from a campaign of destruction which UNESCO described as a war crime.
"We were expecting the worst. But the landscape, in general, is in good shape," Maamoun Abdulkarim said from Damascus.
"We could have completely lost Palmyra ... The joy I feel is indescribable."
ISIS had used Palmyra's ancient theatre as a venue for public executions and also murdered the city's 82-year-old former antiquities chief.
Russian forces were heavily involved in the fight to retake the city, with warplanes carrying out around 40 sorties, striking 117 "terrorist targets" and killing 80 ISIS fighters, Moscow's defence ministry said.
The Syrian army said the city would now serve as a base to "broaden operations" against ISIS, including in its stronghold of Raqqa and Deir Ezzor further east.
The ancient city, north-east of Damascus, drew some 150,000 tourists a year before Syria's civil war and is known to Syrians as the "Pearl of the Desert".
ISIS and its jihadist rival, the Al Qaeda-affiliated al Nusra Front, are not party to a ceasefire in force across Syria since 27 February.
The truce has brought relative quiet to many areas across Syria, where more than 270,000 have been killed and millions have fled their homes in the last five years.
Click for more from Sky News.
Palestinian president reached out to Israel on Thursday saying he opposes near-daily Palestinian attacks on Israelis and suggesting the violence would stop if the defunct peace process resumes again.
Mahmoud Abbas made the remarks in an interview with Israeli Channel 2 TV's "Uvda" program. Israel has accused him of failing to condemn the wave of Palestinian attacks on Israeli civilians and security forces that erupted in mid-September.
The attacks, mostly stabbings but also shootings and car-ramming assaults, have killed 28 Israelis and two Americans.
Over the same time, at least 188 Palestinians have died by Israeli fire. Israel says most were attackers, and the rest died in clashes with Israeli security forces.
Abbas said the violence stems from "lack of hope, lack of trust" in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's commitment to a two-state solution to the conflict. The Palestinian president also said that if peace talks resume, it would "give my people hope and nobody would dare go and stab or shoot."
U.S mediated Israeli-Palestinian peace talks collapsed in 2014.
In the interview, Abbas called on Netanyahu to meet with him "at any time."
"I want to see peace in my life," he said.
As for the current situation, he said the security cooperation between the Israeli military and Palestinian security forces continues and that if it were not for his forces, the violence would be much bloodier now. He added that Palestinian security forces have raided schools and confiscated knives from students and told them not to carry out attacks.
Earlier Thursday, the Israeli military demolished the home of a Palestinian man who fatally stabbed an Israeli civilian in the West Bank city of Hebron late last year.
The Palestinian, Ehab Maswada, stabbed the Israeli, Gennady Kaufman, outside a site holy to Jews and Muslims. Maswada was then shot and killed by officers at the scene.
Israel says home demolitions are an effective tool to deter attacks, but critics say the tactic amounts to collective punishment.
Israel blames the attacks on incitement by Palestinian leaders amplified on social media. Palestinians say the violence, often carried out by teenagers in apparent suicide missions, is rooted in frustration at nearly five decades of Israeli military occupation.
A private Muslim school in Yorkshire is promoting an extreme form of Islam, claiming that Jews are engaged in a global conspiracy to take over the world and that adopting British customs is forbidden.
The Islamic Tarbiyah Academy in Dewsbury teaches 140 primary school children in an after-school madrasa and runs full-time classes for over-16s and adults.
Mufti Zubair Dudha, the centers founder and head, is a respected cleric from the orthodox Deobandi sect which is thought to control half of all mosques and madrasas in the UK.
In one leaflet Mr. Dudha quotes the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, an early 20th Century anti-Semitic forgery, which claims to prove Jewish people are engaged in a global conspiracy.
He claims that colorful pictures, films, magazines and sporting celebrities are part of the conspiracy to "poison the thinking and minds" of young Muslim people.
"The various forms of distractions have been successful to considerable extent in achieving their objectives," he wrote
Other leaflets and newsletters, some of which are distributed to Deobandi mosques, say all mixed-sex institutions are evil, warn Muslims not to adopt British customs, ban the watching of TV, and tell women not to go out to work and to be fully covered before leaving the house.
In a section on jihad he tells Muslims they should be prepared to "expend ... even life" to create a world organized "according to Allah's just order".
Dewsbury has a history of disaffected youth becoming radicalized and was home to Britain's youngest suicide bomber, its youngest convicted terrorist, and one of the 7/7 bombers.
Keith Vaz, who chairs the Home Affairs Select Committee, told Sky News he believes the centers teachings are dangerous.
"After what we have seen in Paris and in Brussels and the way in which the Muslim community has come out so strongly in favor of peace and tolerance, I think these kinds of leaflets serve no purpose but to divide in a poisonous and totally reckless way," he said.
MPs are currently investigating radicalization and the Government said last year that it intends to regulate madrasas.
Click for more from Sky News.
Australias first Holiday Inn Express Set to Open
Holiday Inn Express Sydney Macquarie Park Ribbon Cutting by IHG CEO, Pro-invest CEO and New South Wales Minister for Trade, Tourism and Major Events
April 01, 2016 // Franchising.com // Sydney, Australia - InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) in partnership with investment group, Pro-invest today celebrated the opening of Australias first Holiday Inn Express hotel, Holiday Inn Express Sydney Macquarie Park; scheduled to welcome its first guests on 11 April 2016.
A ribbon cutting ceremony marked the occasion, attended by IHG Chief Executive Officer, Richard Solomons, Pro-invest Chief Executive Officer, Ronald Barrott, and New South Wales Minister for Trade, Tourism and Major Events, Stuart Ayres MP.
Holiday Inn Express Sydney Macquarie Park is the first of 15 Holiday Inn Express hotels to be developed in partnership with international investment group, Pro-invest under a multiple franchise agreement. Additional key locations for properties in the portfolio have been secured in Spring Hill, Brisbane, Hindley Street, Adelaide and Southbank, Melbourne.
Richard Solomons, IHG Chief Executive said: This is an important milestone for the Holiday Inn Express brand globally, this year celebrating its 25th anniversary. Im delighted to be here for the occasion, and to celebrate with our partners from Pro-invest.
IHGs global strategy is to align the right market with the right brand at the right time and with the right partner. With a strong tourism economy in place, coupled with a receptiveness to a select service accommodation brand in this market and a dynamic partner in Pro-invest, Australia presented as an ideal opportunity to continue the growth of Holiday Inn Express.
A brand synonymous with offering guests a great experience and everything they need but nothing they dont, coupled with friendly service, Holiday Inn Express will no-doubt prove popular among smart, discerning Australian travellers he added.
Ronald Barrott, Chief Executive Officer at Pro-invest Group said: Since announcing our partnership with IHG and this portfolio of Holiday Inn Express hotels to open in Australia, our team has scoured the country for prime positions for our hotels. Macquarie Park is one of Sydneys leading business precincts for this, our first Holiday Inn Express hotel, perfectly-suited to cater for corporate travellers.
In just a few days time we will open our doors to guests, and it wont be too long before we do the same at Holiday Inn Express Brisbane Spring Hill. Its an exciting time, and we could not have wished for better partners than IHG with whom to undertake this exciting project.
One of the worlds fastest growing hotel brands, Holiday Inn Express encourages guests to STAY SMART, offering everything you need but nothing you dont in one inclusive rate that delivers:
Free and fast Wi-Fi available in guest rooms and throughout the hotel so they stay connected all day, every day
Free Express Start Breakfast or a Grab & Go option for a smart start to the day
A comfortable and restful sleep with high quality bedding and choice of firm or soft pillows
Self-service business centre and laundry room for their everyday needs
Great Room, a public space for guests to enjoy their breakfast meet, work or relax
In addition to the opening of the 192-room hotel in Macquarie Park, Sydney, a 226-room Holiday Inn Express will open in Spring Hill Brisbane later this year, followed by Adelaide with a further 245-room Holiday Inn Express in the centre of the city opening 2017 and 345 rooms in Southbank, central Melbourne opening in 2018, totalling 1,008 rooms in all.
IHG currently has 25 hotels operating under three brands in Australia: InterContinental, Crowne Plazaand Holiday Inn, with Holiday Inn Express Sydney Macquarie Park marking the launch of the fourth brand in the country and the 26th hotel in Australia.
There are currently over 2,400 Holiday Inn Express hotels (more than 234,000 rooms) open across the globe. There are 26 Holiday Inn Express hotels in the Asia, Middle East and Africa (AMEA*) region, growing to 68 hotels in the next three to five years.
About IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group)
IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is a global organisation with a broad portfolio of hotel brands, including InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, HUALUXE Hotels and Resorts, Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo, EVEN Hotels, Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites andCandlewood Suites.
IHG franchises, leases, manages or owns more than 5,000 hotels and 744,000 guest rooms in nearly 100 countries, with more than 1,300 hotels in its development pipeline. IHG also manages IHG Rewards Club, the worlds first and largest hotel loyalty programme with more than 92 million members worldwide.
InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Groups holding company and is incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales. More than 350,000 people work across IHGs hotels and corporate offices globally.
Visit www.ihg.com for hotel information and reservations and www.ihgrewardsclub.com for more on IHG Rewards Club. For our latest news, visit: www.ihg.com/media and follow us on social media at: www.twitter.com/ihg, www.facebook.com/ihg and www.youtube.com/ihgplc.
SOURCE IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group)
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Property Management Business Solutions Names John Gohde as Chief Operating Officer
Nations Leading Property Management Organization Brings on Seasoned Franchise Executive to Lead Development and Operations
April 01, 2016 // Franchising.com // SALT LAKE CITY - Property Management Business Solutions, the franchisor of Real Property Management, has named franchise industry veteran John Gohde as COO. The announcement comes on the heels of the recent promotion of former COO Lukas Krause to CEO.
Part of my acceptance of the role of CEO for Real Property Management was based on a commitment to fill my previous COO position with a strong executive, said Krause. I am thrilled to have found the perfect candidate in John, as his vast franchise experience and industry insight will help Real Property Management identify new expansion opportunities and take the franchise to the next level of performance.
With more than 30 years of experience in franchising, Gohde brings a combination of proven strategy and tactical implementation skills to the Real Property Management organization that will be used to drive franchise development and operations. Gohde most recently served as Senior Vice President of Franchise Operations at BrightStar Care. Prior to that, he held executive level positions at Cosi Inc., Sears Holdings Corporation and KnowledgePoints, Inc.
I couldnt be happier to be joining one of the most well-known franchise brands in the property management industry, said Gohde. My mission will be to contribute to the success of Real Property Management by focusing on identifying the right growth opportunities and continuing to implement strategies that will improve the overall operations of the franchise system.
The Real Property Management brand is the leading property management franchise in the nation with more than 270 offices in 45 states. The company specializes in managing single-family homes, townhomes, condos, multiplexes and small apartment buildings. Its services include finding and screening tenants, completing the lease agreements, collecting rent, arranging for any necessary repairs, and processing evictions when necessary. Real Property Management offices also manage the legal compliance for local, state and federal real estate law.
About Real Property Management
Real Property Management is a franchise organization owned by Property Management Business Solutions, LLC, a privately held corporation based in Utah. With over 25 years of industry expertise, Real Property Management offices provide full-service residential property management for thousands of investors and rental home owners from more than 270 independently owned and operated locations throughout the United States and Canada. For more information about Real Property Management, property management services or franchising opportunities, visit http://www.realpropertymgt.com/ or www.propertymanagementfranchise.com/.
SOURCE Real Property Management
Media Contact:
Ellen Panther
Account Executive
(O) 847.945.1300, ext. 250
EPanther@fishmanpr.com
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RICHMOND When Virginia State Trooper Chad P. Dermyer pulled a woman over last year on Interstate 64 for expired license plates, his gut told him something wasn't right.
Dermyer called a former partner and said the driver was acting normal but he couldn't shake a strange feeling. Dermyer eventually searched the trunk and found the remains of the driver's long-missing son, authorities said. The driver has since been charged with murder.
It was the kind of career-making stop that friends and colleagues said highlighted his natural gift for police work. Dermyer was fatally shot Thursday at the Richmond Greyhound bus station when a gunman opened fire.
"That was him: he dug, he didn't give up," said Cyndi Grace, who partnered with Dermyer for four years at the Newport News Police Department. "He was exceptional in every sense of the word."
Dermyer had been participating with about a dozen other troopers in a training exercise at the bus station. Police said James Brown III, of Aurora, Illinois, shot Dermyer before being killed by two other troopers. Two women were also shot but were expected to recover. Police have not said what Brown's motive may have been.
The injured women's names haven't been released, but a spokesman for Binghamton University in New York said that one of them was a member of the school's track team. The team was headed Thursday to a meet at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, about 50 miles from Richmond.
The Binghamton student was released from the hospital Friday, spokesman Ryan Yarosh said.
Richmond Police Chief Alfred Durham said law enforcement officers have become the target of "folks out there with evil intentions."
"It's unfortunate these are the days we're living in, where folks want to harm law enforcement," Durham said. "We just want our officers to end their shifts and to go home to their families."
Brown, 34, had a lengthy criminal record. He was charged with attempted murder in 2001 before pleading guilty to lesser charges and being sentenced to four years in prison.
In 2006, Brown was charged with unlawfully possessing a weapon and body armor as a felon and faced drug charges. Court records show he pleaded guilty to cocaine possession and the other charges were dropped. He was sent to prison for 5 1/2 years.
In 2012, he pleaded guilty to domestic battery and aggravated battery of a pregnant woman and was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison.
Police say the slain trooper, the father of two children, was a native of Jackson, Michigan, and a former Marine who had served on the force in Jackson and Newport News, Virginia.
Dermyer was known as hard worker and good colleague, said Newport News Police Sgt. Gerald Loose. Dermyer worked for the Newport News Police Department from 2003 to 2007.
"He was a great guy," Loose said.
Earlier this year, Dermyer and another trooper briefly became mini-celebrities when they rescued a lost dog running through interstate traffic in Hampton. The rescue was highlighted on WVEC TV and received widespread praise on social media.
Dermyer and his partner returned the dog, a miniature schnauzer named Pinta, to its owner Jeffrey Corbin. Corbin said Friday the brief meeting helped change his perception of state troopers.
"I don't have a lot of contact with state troopers, but in my mind's eye they seem to be all business," Corbin said. "But he seemed to be a really warm person. ... He had a warm persona about him."
Dermyer was dressed in a fatigue-style uniform and was not wearing a protective vest when he was shot, Virginia State Police Superintendent Col. Steven Flaherty said.
"We've got a lot of evidence to sift through," Flaherty said. The evidence, he said, included bags that could have belonged to the Brown.
A Greyhound spokeswoman said the station would reopen Friday afternoon. She said there was surveillance video from the station during the time of the shooting but was unsure whether it had been turned over to authorities.
After the shooting, a small army of law enforcement officers in tactical gear and dozens of cruisers and emergency response vehicles flooded to the station, in an area that includes a minor league baseball stadium and a variety of commercial establishments and restaurants.
Najee Wilson, 18, of Newark, New Jersey, said his bus was pulling up to the station when he heard three gunshots and saw people running out of the building.
"We heard a lot of people screaming," Wilson said. "It definitely was a scary experience."
City Councilwoman Reva Trammell called it "the saddest day in the city of Richmond."
"State troopers doing their job and innocent people shot," she said. "Why? This was a senseless act."
Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe echoed her sentiments in a statement: "This is a loss that impacts us all. It should inspire prayers for the family, friends and fellow troopers who are mourning tonight, and gratitude for those who protect and serve."
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Associated Press writers Larry O'Dell and Steve Szkotak in Richmond, Kasey Jones in Baltimore and David Mercer in Champaign, Ill. contributed to this report.
RICHMOND The Latest on the fatal shooting of a state trooper and gunman at a busy Virginia bus station (all times local):
5:15 p.m.
A woman who dated the Virginia bus station gunman says he frequently expressed his hatred toward police and once nearly choked her to death years after she broke up with him.
A former girlfriend of James Brown III spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because she said she fears for her safety.
Court records show that a judge granted a protection order against Brown in 2011 by his ex-girlfriend's request. Brown pleaded guilty in 2012 to domestic battery and aggravated battery of pregnant woman. He was released from prison in March 2014.
Authorities said Brown shot Virginia state trooper Chad Dermyer at a Richmond bus station Thursday before being killed by two other troopers.
4:15 p.m.
Authorities say the gunman who opened fire in a bus station and killed a state trooper was an ex-con who had more than 140 rounds of ammunition with him.
State police superintendent Steven Flaherty said Friday that there were more than a dozen state troopers, special agents and supervisors going through a counterterrorism training exercise in a bus station when James Brown III killed a state trooper within seconds. The police superintendent says surveillance footage from the bus station helped authorities piece together what happened moments before the shooting. Brown was at the bus station at a stopover on his way to Chicago.
He was seated in a restaurant at the terminal and then walked toward his bags near the front entrance. He encountered Trooper Chad P. Dermyer, who may have made some small talk with Brown. Brown pulled a handgun and started firing just inches from the trooper's chest.
The police superintendent said he wasn't sure why Brown started shooting. He said the gun was legally purchased more than a year ago, but not by Brown.
Two troopers also in the training exercise fatally shot Brown. Two other women were also injured.
3:00 p.m.
The Virginia State Police trooper who was fatally shot at a Richmond bus station discovered a dead body in the trunk of a women's car last year, making one of the most high-profile arrests in recent years.
Virginia State Police say 37-year-old Trooper Chad P. Dermyer died Thursday after being shot multiple times. Last year, Dermyer pulled over Tonya M. Slaton on Interstate 64 because her license plates were expired. Dermyer eventually searched the car and authorities say he found the remains of Slaton's son, who had been missing for a decade.
Slaton has since been charged with murder.
Dermyer's former partner, Cyndi Grace, said the Slaton traffic stop highlighted Dermyer's skill as a meticulous and thorough police officer.
2:30 p.m.
A Binghamton University official says the student who was injured during a shooting at a Virginia bus station has been released from the hospital.
Spokesman Ryan Yarosh said the woman was released Friday. The school said the student was a member of the track team and was traveling to William & Mary for a meet when the shooting occurred.
Police say James Brown of Aurora, Illinois, shot Trooper Chad P. Dermyer several times at the Greyhound bus station Thursday before Brown was killed by two other troopers.
Officials have not released the names of the student or the woman who was injured. Police have not said how the two women were injured.
1:45 p.m. The man who police say fatally shot a Virginia state trooper at a Richmond bus station had a lengthy criminal record in Illinois. Court records show 34-year-old James Brown III of Aurora was charged with attempted murder in 2001 before pleading guilty to lesser charges. He was sentenced to four years in prison, with credit for time served. In 2006, Brown was charged with unlawfully possessing a weapon and body armor as a felon and drug charges. Court records show he pleaded guilty to cocaine possession and the other charges were dropped. He was sentenced to 5 1/2 years in prison. Records show that Brown pleaded guilty in 2012 to domestic battery and aggravated battery of a pregnant woman. He was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison. Police say Brown shot Trooper Chad P. Dermyer several times at the Greyhound bus station Thursday before Brown was killed by two other troopers. 11:40 a.m. Greyhound says its Richmond bus station will soon reopen after a police say a gunman fatally shot a trooper before he was killed. A company spokeswoman said the bus terminal will reopen at 1 p.m. Friday and service will resume at 2 p.m. Police say 34-year-old James Brown III of Aurora, Ill fatally shot Trooper Chad P. Dermyer several times at the station Thursday before Brown was killed by two other troopers. Police have not said what they believe motivated the shooting.
11:00 a.m.
Authorities have identified an Illinois man as the gunman who fatally shot a Virginia state trooper at a bus station in Richmond.
State Police identified the man Friday as 34-year-old James Brown III of Aurora, Ill.
Police say Brown shot Trooper Chad P. Dermyer several times at the Greyhound bus station Thursday before Brown was killed by two other troopers.
Police have not said what motivated the shooting.
Authorities say two women were also injured in the shooting but are expected to recover.
One of them is a member of the Bingham University track team who was heading to a meet at William & Mary.
___
10:50 a.m.
A prayer vigil is being organized for a Virginia State trooper who was fatally shot a busy bus terminal in Richmond.
Organizers say a vigil for Trooper Chad P. Dermyer will be held at 6:30 p.m. Friday across from the Greyhound Bus terminal where the shooting occurred Thursday.
Charles Willis is executive director of United Communities Against Crime, a Richmond-based group that advocates for anti-violence initiatives and is helping to organize the vigil.
Willis said he expects several hundred people to come out. He said the trooper's death has "touched so many folks."
People are being asked to wear navy blue and to bring a single blue or white rose.
Police say two women were also injured in the shooting.
___
9:50 a.m.
The Virginia State Police trooper who was fatally shot at a Richmond bus station is being remembered by a family whose dog the trooper recently saved.
Virginia State Police say 37-year-old Trooper Chad P. Dermyer died Thursday after being shot multiple times.
Earlier this year, Dermyer and another trooper became a mini-viral sensation after they rescued a miniature schnauzer named Pinta that was dodging cars on I-644 and I-64 in Hampton. The rescue was highlighted on Hampton's WVEC TV station and received attention on social media.
Jeffrey Corbin, Pinta's owner, said he briefly met Dermyer when he returned the dog. Corbin said he previously perceived state troopers as having little personality and being "all business" but said Dermyer had a "warm persona about him."
___
9:20 a.m.
A Binghamton University official says one of two women injured in a shooting at a busy bus terminal in Virginia is a member of the school's track team.
Ryan Yarosh, a spokesman for the school in New York, said Friday that the team was on its way to a meet at the College of William & Mary when the shooting occurred at the Greyhound station Thursday. He says the woman's injuries are non-life threatening.
Yarosh says school officials have been in touch with the woman's parents and have arranged for counselors to be available for students.
Yarosh said he couldn't disclose her name.
State Trooper Chad Dermyer was fatally shot at the bus station while conducting a training exercise. Authorities have said another civilian woman also was injured and is expected to recover.
___
9:15 a.m.
A Virginia state trooper who was fatally shot at a busy bus terminal in the capital city of Richmond is being mourned in Michigan, where he grew up and formerly served as a police officer.
Virginia State Police say 37-year-old Trooper Chad P. Dermyer died Thursday after being shot multiple times. Police say Dermyer, the father of two children, was a native of Jackson, Michigan, and a former Marine who had served on the force in Jackson and Newport News, Virginia.
The Jackson Citizen Patriot reports (http://bit.ly/1q97IK0) that Dermyer kept in touch with friends in Michigan and visited last summer. Matt Miller, who lives in Jackson, played soccer with and against Dermyer since they were children. He described Dermyer as a good guy and a strong athlete.
___
4:35 a.m.
Virginia State Police say a trooper has died after a shooting at a Greyhound bus station in Richmond.
Virginia State Police Superintendent Col. Steven Flaherty says the trooper, Chad Dermyer, died Thursday after being shot multiple times.
State Police have said two civilians were also shot at the terminal. The gunman was shot dead by two other troopers.
The Greyhound station is west of the city's downtown area, across from Richmond's minor league baseball stadium and within a former industrial area. It's on a main thoroughfare connecting a residential district to the stadium and nearby restaurants.
City Councilwoman Rita Trammell was at the scene of the shooting and says it was a "senseless act."
WASHINGTONPresident Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged Thursday to cooperate to confront the North Korean nuclear threat while working to narrow persistent differences over cybersecurity, human rights and maritime conflicts.
Obama, opening a global nuclear security summit near the White House, also joined leaders of Japan and South Korea in calling for further joint steps to deter North Korea. The display of diplomatic unity came as world leaders sought to ramp up pressure on the insular countrys government following worrisome nuclear provocations.
President Xi and I are both committed to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, Obama said as he and Xi sat down for a meeting on the sidelines of the summit. Were going to discuss how we can discourage actions like nuclear missile tests that escalate tensions and violate inter-national obligations.
The U.S. has long urged China, the Norths traditional ally, to take a more forceful role in pressing North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program. The Obama administration was encouraged by Chinas role in passing new stringent U.N. sanctions punishing the North, and was urging Beijing to implement those sanctions dutifully.
Yet in a nod to deep tensions between the U.S. and China, Obama said he planned to raise thornier issues during their meeting as well including the disputed South China Sea, where China is asserting territorial claims despite competing claims by its neighbors. Parroting careful diplomatic language long-preferred by Beijing, Obama said the U.S. welcomes Chinas peaceful rise to prosperity.
I very much appreciate President Xis willingness to have conversations on these issues in a constructive way, Obama said.
Nix Auto Repair Announces Grand Opening of Sikeston Shop
Nix Brothers Open New Auto Repair Shop in Convenient Downtown Sikeston, Mo Location. You can drop your car or truck off and be picked up when the work is completed. ASE Certified mechanics will provide the best customer centric auto repair service.
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Nix Auto Repair of Sikeston, Missouri announces the grand opening and the launch of the newly-designed website. Benji and Jeremy Nix, Owners announces the Grand Opening of Nix Auto Repair, a locally owned and operated auto repair shop, building a tradition of excellent auto repair service at 135 North Frisco in Sikeston Missouri.
As a full-service auto repair shop, Nix Auto Repair is excited to provide ASE certified auto repair service to the residents in and around the Sikeston community. Benji's passion for vehicle maintenance has continued through the years and this opening allows Benji and Jeremy to fulfill their shared lifelong dream. Nix Auto Repair works on all makes & models of foreign and domestic vehicles, providing a variety of services from oil changes to quality brake repair, including complete engine overhaul and much more. There is a friendly and courteous staff ready to become Sikeston's "Primary Care Mechanic" at Nix Auto Repair, providing the highest standard of service and customer satisfaction. The location is easy to find for all of Sikeston and extra convenient with extended hours to meet customer needs.
Nix Auto Repair offers specials on many types of vehicle maintenance and repair services; such as oil changes, radiator repair, brake repair, and new tires. ASE Certified auto repair technicians can help take care of any car problems, no matter how minor or serious they may be. Jeremy Nix says, "When you want it fixed, Bring it to Nix!"
The newly designed website will allow clients to check out the automotive services and repairs offered, plus car care tips, and view specials offered at www.NixAutoRepair.com. Vehicle owners can find a certified auto mechanic, read car care tips offered by professionals, print specials coupons, and receive answers about perplexing car issues all in the comfort of their own home. The informative car care tips published on their new website alerts vehicle owners of the early signs of car problems, many times with a recommendation for the appropriate repair.
Benji Nix has a special focus on women clientele as he has recognized for many years the lack of respect and customer appreciation given to women auto repair clients. Benji says, "It's as if half the population of the nation have been overlooked and improperly represented." As a result Benji has written a report to help women select a "Primary Care Mechanic" which is titled "What Every Woman Should Know Before She Hires An Auto Repair Shop." This report is available on Amazon Book Store, at the shop for every client and on the Nix Auto Repair website .
Nix Auto Repair is also initiating a new blog that will address women directly through "Ask Roxie". This was an idea that Roxanne Nix originally had and the brothers have worked hard to execute the idea and make sure the information provided would relate to women clientele with auto repair questions and problems. This feature rich woman oriented blog will be available soon.
About Nix Auto Repair
Benji and Jeremy's passion for vehicle maintenance has continued through the years and continues with the opening of Nix Auto Repair. The new auto repair shop works on all makes & models of foreign and domestic vehicles, providing a variety of services from premium oil changes to quality brake repair, including complete engine overhaul and much more. Customers will find a friendly and courteous staff at Nix Auto Repair, providing the highest standard of service. Nix Auto Repair is proud to serve vehicle owners in the community of Sikeston, and Scott County with the goal of becoming the "Primary Care Mechanic".
With ASE certified technicians, an industry leading 2 Year/24,000 mile limited warranty, extended customer convenient hours and 24-hour towing service, Nix Auto Repair will become Sikeston's leading complete auto shop that is solely based on the Nix Brothers basic mission of auto repair to meet and exceed every client's needs . Complete information and appointments can be made by visiting www.NixAutoRepair.com or calling 573-475-8763
For more information about us, please visit http://www.NixAutoRepair.com
Contact Info:
Name: Jeremy Nix
Email: Jeremy@NixAutoRepair.com
Organization: Nix Auto Repair
Address: 135 N. Frisco
Phone: 573-475-8763
Release ID: 109062
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Las Vegas Financial Pro Launches Unique Program that Eliminates Debt in About 9 Months
Believing that DEBT is a an underlying cause of many societal problems, Las Vegas consultant Tuan Pham is launching a new division aimed at helping Americans eliminate debt in 9 months or less and accumulate wealth for the future.
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Las Vegas, United States of America - March 30, 2016
"We haven't done nearly enough in this country to educate people about how money really works, " says respected financial educator and debt elimination expert,Tuan Pham.
Based in Las Vegas, Pham has seen firsthand what happens in that city when ordinary people are lured into a web of debt by banks, credit card companies, loan companies, and "quick money" schemes.
"It's easy to get sucked in by "easy" credit offers that seem too good to pass up. Then, because most people don't understand how money and credit really work, they wind up in a never-ending cycle of debt leading to anxiety, stress, and despair", says Pham.
Pham points to statistics indicating that money problems continue to be a leading cause of divorce in the United States. ( ex: Studies of School of Family Studies and Human Services, Kansas State University,and Personal Financial Planning, Texas Tech University)
"Study after study shows that stress about finances is pushing couples over the edge and into divorce court,"says Pham. He cites one such study, a New York Times' 2009 report that claims over 45% of divorces are directly attributable to financial pressures.
In addition, Pham believes that many health issues such as depression and heart disease can be linked to debt overload as well. His theories are supported by major studies published in the Journal of Gerontology and Journal of Health and Social Behavior.
"We've done a very poor job of educating people in this country about the power of money and the consequences of carrying a heavy debt load, " says Pham. "It's probably the most important thing people need to know, and yet it is largely ignored in schools, even in higher education. Most people don't even know how to balance their bank accounts when they get them, or how to create a realistic budget."
To combat financial illiteracy and help people break free of the debt cycle, Pham is launching a new service of his financial practice that is devoted to debt elimination and financial education. This comprehensive service includes financial educational tools that include a new content-rich website,(HelloDebtFree.com.)
"It's not enough to talk about the problem. Most people know intuitively that too much debt is bad for them. What they don't know, and are desperate to learn, is how to get rid of it. That's where our unique process, website and trained staff can assist. I want to help anyone, regardless of their financial circumstances, live a more balanced, fulfilling, and debt-free life," Pham says.
Pham says consumers anywhere in the country will be able to go to the HelloDebtFree.com website and learn. They can watch videos and download informational materials to assist them in helping them to understand and overcome debt. They can also arrange a no-cost telephone consultation that will help them determine whether or not Pham's plan will work for them.
"Many people don't confront their debts because they are afraid that any solutions will require them to drastically change their lifestyles or adhere to stringent austerity measures. I have studied and refined a proven successful method than can get nearly anyone out of debt including their mortgage quickly, without them having to give up the lifestyle they currently enjoy," Pham says.
HelloDebtFree.com launches in May, 2016. However, anyone wishing to act now to control debt is urged to contact Tuan immediately for guidance.
For more information about us, please visit http://www.mytrusted-advisor.com/
Contact Info:
Name: Tuan A. Pham
Email: tuan@mytrusted-advisor.com
Organization: P&P Advisory Group, LLC dba Trusted Financial and Insurance
Address: 9550 S. Eastern Avenue #236 Las Vegas, NV 89123
Phone: 702-456-5699
Source: http://marketersmedia.com/las-vegas-financial-pro-launches-unique-program-that-eliminates-debt-in-about-9-months/108495
Release ID: 108495
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Espinoza's Heating and Air Conditioning of Oceanside Launches New Website
New site boasts clean design, simple navigation, and full mobile-device accessibility, along with a wealth of informative HVAC resources, Espinoza's Heating and Air Conditioning reports
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Espinoza's Heating and Air Conditioning unveiled its brand new website. With a clean, attractive design and quick, intuitive navigation, the new site makes it easy to learn about the specialist at HVAC Oceanside residents recommend most highly. The new Espinoza's Heating and Air Conditioning website is also entirely mobile-friendly, easily passing Google's industry-standard test and affording a full-featured, responsive experience to those who visit using smartphones or tablets. In celebration of the site launch, the company has also released several special offers there covering a number of the services regarding Heating and Air Conditioning Oceanside locals request most frequently.
"We're proud to report that our new website is now online," said Espinoza's Heating and Air Conditioning owner and CEO Pedro Espinoza, "We're always looking for ways to improve our services and make our customers' lives even easier, and we think this new website is going to be a great asset. As the expert at Heating and Air Oceanside locals trust and rely upon the most, we take our responsibilities very seriously, and the new website is going to help even more people learn about the top-quality services we provide."
As the country's wealthiest and most populous state, California is also one of its largest buyers of HVAC equipment and related services. Even with relatively temperate weather being the norm throughout much of the state, both heating and cooling systems are considered standard amenities by most, putting California in a virtual second-place tie with Texas in terms of the number employed in the HVAC service industry, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Espinoza's Heating and Air Conditioning stands out even in that highly competitive environment with the company's full range of licensed, certified HVAC services. Serving clients throughout the entire San Marcos area, including the towns of Escondido, Fallbrook, Rancho Bernado, Temecula, and Vista, the Oceanside-based company consistently exceeds expectations with every installation, maintenance, and repair job.
Thanks to the launch of the new Espinoza's Heating and Air Conditioning website, people throughout the region will enjoy even easier access to the leading company of its kind. With a deep collection of resources detailing everything from how to employ ceiling fans to pare down utility bills to the ins and outs of all the company's services, the new website is packed full of interesting, useful information.
Designed from the ground up to function perfectly when accessed with mobile devices, the new Espinoza's Heating and Air Conditioning website even makes it easier to learn about or contact the company while on the go. The site is online now, with a number of limited-time discounts being available in the "Special Offers" section.
About Espinoza's Heating and Air Conditioning:
As the San Marcos area's leading HVAC company, Espinoza's Heating and Air Conditioning delivers top-quality service with every job, from basic maintenance and tune-ups to major repairs and new system installations.
For more information about us, please visit http://www.espinozaheatingandair.com/
Contact Info:
Name: Pedro Espinoza
Organization: Espinozaa??s Heating and Air Conditioning
Phone: (760) 722-2933
Source: http://marketersmedia.com/espinozas-heating-and-air-conditioning-of-oceanside-launches-new-website/109119
Release ID: 109119
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Nauticomp Inc. Weighs in on Attendance at Maritime Security East Conference
Nauticomp Inc. comments on its attendance at the annual Maritime Security East Conference.
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Nauticomp Inc. (www.Nauticomp.com), an established display manufacturer with worldwide brand recognition, is weighing in on its attendance at this year's Maritime Security East Conference. Nauticomp Inc. is also announcing its commitment to appearances at future conferences.
The Maritime Security East Conference is an annual conference for coastline and waterway security that features noted speakers, professional workshops, and technology showcases. This year, the conference hosted guests from the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
"We were proud to showcase our Titan line of marine displays at this year's conference, the latest in the series of premier industry events when it comes to maritime security," says Ryan Moore, president of Nauticomp Inc. "There were a lot of notable experts representing the U.S. government and businesses, so it was an honour to be included among them."
For the conference, Nauticomp Inc. partnered with two companies that it works closely with, GOST and FLIR. GOST offers state-of-the-art wireless security and surveillance technology, while FLIR manufactures thermal and night-vision imaging cameras. Both companies' products can be used in combination with Nauticomp's rugged marine displays.
"This was our first time appearing at this conference, so we wanted to make sure we made a impact," Moore explains. "FLIR and GOST are two companies we've worked with frequently before; as their products are top-of-the-line, so we are always happy to do so."
Nauticomp Inc.'s Titan displays are commercial-grade displays with versatile mounting options, designed for use in marine and commercial applications. With LED backlighting and a deep-dimming potentiometer, the display series can be used in a range of lighting conditions.
"With marine displays, it's essential that they can be used both outdoors and indoors," says Moore. "All of our displays, including the Titan series, have been designed with this in mind. We try to focus on versatility with all of the industry-grade products we manufacture."
When the Maritime Security East Conference returns in the fall of 2016, Moore expects that Nauticomp will also be in attendance.
"We got a lot of interest for our displays at this conference," Moore concludes. "Since we manufacture high-end products specifically for industry use, these expos and conferences are where we can really connect with the professionals that need our products."
Nauticomp Inc. is an established display manufacturer with worldwide brand recognition as an innovative industry leader. The company is dedicated to providing high-performance displays that are at the forefront of leading edge display technology.
For more information about us, please visit http://nauticomp.com/
Contact Info:
Name: Ryan Moore
Organization: Nauticomp Inc.
Address: 8 Callaghan Road Lindsay, Ontario, Canada, K9V 4R4
Phone: 705 328 2992
Source: http://marketersmedia.com/nauticomp-inc-weighs-in-on-attendance-at-maritime-security-east-conference/109099
Release ID: 109099
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Pricewise Confirm Popularity of Insulation Batts is Growing
Pricewise Insulation, one of Australia's leading suppliers of thermal and acoustic Insulation has recently confirmed the popularity of insulation Batts is growing.
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Pricewise Insulation has been a supplier to the building industry for a number of years, they are well informed about the various insulation options available to home owners and commercial construction companies.
In an internal review they have conducted on trends in the insulation niche, they have concluded that popularity of Insulation Batts continues to grow.
The four most popular brands of thermal insulation that they sell are Knauf's "Earthwool", Fletcher's "Pink Batts", CSR Bradford's "Gold" and Autex's "GreenStuf". These featured highly in the survey with all having in common that they are safe and relatively easy to install, are non-combustible, and are available in a range of "R-Values" to suit different climate zones.
One of the findings in Pricewise's industry and consumer survey is that Insulation Batts all come conveniently packaged in plastic or poly bags that are relatively easy to carry around and transport.
Knauf's Earthwool showed up as rising in popularity by those surveyed, with respondents noting that it is the least itchy glass wool insulation, odorless and their compression packed bags reducing freight and storage costs. Respondents also noted the higher square meters of insulation in a bag making it faster to install meaning less bags to lift up into the likes of a ceiling space.
It wasn't surprising that all respondents felt the best time to upgrade insulation is during the construction stage of a new build or refit. It is often too late to install insulation once the plasterboard is fixed in place.
Mr Paul van Oord, Managing Director of Pricewise Insulation said, "we were not surprised by the survey results showing the continued rise in populatity of Insulations Batts as our growth in sales figures reflect this also." He went on to say, "Insulation Batts are conveniently packed, fit snugly between standard spacing timber or steel wall studs and ceiling joists. This makes it quick and easy to install and ensurs it remains in place for ongoing thermal and acoustic performance."
To learn more about Pricewise Insulation and their range of Insulation Batts visit the website here: http://pricewiseinsulation.com.au
About Pricewise Insulation:
Pricewise Insulation sells thermal and acoustic insulation batts to all capital cities and many regional centres in Australia. Their popular brands include Knauf Earthwool, Pink Batts, GreenStuf, Kingspan and Bradford Gold Batts. They supply ceiling insulation, wall insulation, underfloor insulation and reflective foil at wholesale prices to the commercial and domestic market. In addition to their own insulation warehouses in Melbourne and Sydney, they also have an extensive network of partner suppliers throughout Australia.
They can supply a few insulation batts to finish off a granny flat renovation right through to delivering truck loads of product for a commercial development the next day after ordering online.
For more information about us, please visit http://pricewiseinsulation.com.au/
Contact Info:
Name: Paul van Oord
Organization: Pricewise Insulation
Address: 11 Buch Avenue Epping, Melbourne, VIC 3076 Australia
Phone: +61 1300 729 639
Release ID: 109125
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Doctors Health Press Announces Hiring of Ola Hallak as Direct Marketing Specialist
Doctors Health Press announces the hiring of Ola Hallak as the new direct marketing specialist.
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Doctors Health Press (www.DoctorsHealthPress.com), a publisher of various natural health newsletters, books, and reports, including the popular free online e-letter Doctors Health Press e-Bulletin, is pleased to announce that Ola Hallak has joined the Doctors Health Press team as direct marketing specialist.
"We're thrilled to have Ola join our marketing team at Doctors Health Press," says Adrian Newman, publisher of Doctors Health Press. "We pride ourselves on adding high quality talent to our team and Ola certainly meets those standards. She has shown she is capable of getting results, and we expect her to enhance our productivity in her role with Doctors Health Press."
As the direct marketing specialist, Hallak will be managing direct marketing campaigns, including scheduling campaigns, tracking response rates, and sourcing new marketing opportunities. She will also be responsible for managing freelance copywriters, networking with copywriters in the industry, and measuring the cost/return investment for each campaign she leads.
"Ola brings a history of marketing experience both in traditional and digital channels and has had success in the planning, development, and execution of various campaigns to drive change," says Newman.
Prior to joining the Doctors Health Press team, Hallak has worked for various marketing agencies, where she managed several advertising and promotional campaigns, as well as maintained client satisfaction and communication. Hallak graduated from Ryerson University's Ted Rogers School of Management with a Bachelor of Commerce in Marketing Management.
"I'm looking forward to working with the talented team at Doctors Health Press," says Hallak. "I'm hoping to help grow their subscriber base and help maintain their competitive edge in the marketplace."
Doctors Health Press believes in the healing properties of various alternative remedies, including Chinese medicine. The Doctors Press e-Bulletin is a daily e-newsletter that provides natural health news with a focus on natural healing through foods, herbs, and other breakthrough alternative health treatments. More information about Doctors Health Press can be found at www.DoctorsHealthPress.com.
For more information about us, please visit http://www.doctorshealthpress.com/
Contact Info:
Name: Adrian Newman
Organization: Doctors Health Press, Inc
Address: 60 State Street, Suite 700, Boston, MA 02109-1894
Source: http://marketersmedia.com/doctors-health-press-announces-hiring-of-ola-hallak-as-direct-marketing-specialist/109162
Release ID: 109162
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Intermediaries will be the focus of Standard Lifes move into the realm of automated advice, 1825 chief executive Steve Murray has said, to make the process easier for advisers rather than for clients.
Mr Murray said clients of his company would not necessarily engage with the technology he was looking to invest in. We are looking at using technology more widely as part of our business over the medium to long term.
But we still absolutely believe that personal relationships will be part of financial planning. What we are trying to do is use technology to provide data to the planner; thats how we see it developing.
Robo-advice means 100 different things to 100 different people. We see it as supporting the adviser.
He said the company would rule nothing out as technology evolved, but that the immediate focus would be investment in 1825s underlying infrastructure.
The firm was set-up around this time last year when Standard Life bought formerly independent advice business Pearson Jones. Since then, the Scottish provider has wasted no time in further expanding its presence in the advice market.
This month it acquired Norwich-based Almary Green and Glasgow-based Munro Partnership to build its nationwide financial planning business, taking the number of advisers working for 1825 to over 50.
They will advise more than 7,000 clients on around 2bn of their assets.
Last month Mr Murray said digital solutions will have a major role to play in helping people to make informed financial decisions. He promised that 1825 would have a presence in six to eight regions around the UK, with 150 financial advisers.
The government has launched credit data sharing scheme designed to make it easier for challenger banks and alternative finance providers to offer loans to small businesses.
It is requiring nine banks and three credit reference agencies to share, with the SMEs permission, the credit information they hold on SMEs equally with all finance providers, suggesting this will increase competition in the lending market and help more businesses find the funding they need to grow.
A number of bodies, including the Office of Fair Trading and the Competition Commission, have all highlighted how a lack of information about the creditworthiness of SMEs has been a major barrier to competition in the SME lending market.
The biggest banks currently have access to much more data than challengers, so the new regulations will enable over 100 alternative finance providers to compete effectively.
Under the new regulations RBS, Lloyds, HSBC, Barclays, Santander, Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks, Bank of Ireland Danske Bank and First Trust Bank (Northern Irish subsidiary of Allied Irish Bank) will all be required to share data on their SME customers with the designated agencies, Experian, Equifax and Creditsafe.
Harriett Baldwin, the economic secretary to the Treasury, said small businesses are the backbone of Britains economy, so it is right every possible source of finance is made available to them.
The best way to deliver this is to increase competition in the banking sector and remove the barriers to new sources of finance for SMEs. Requiring banks to share data is a major structural reform that will level the playing field between banks and alternative finance providers.
James Candow, financial adviser at Wales-based Continuum, called it a good idea.
From chatting to other businesses, they have struggled to get finance and banks, the traditional lenders, are not keen to lend so they have to go to alternative options and anything that helps would be an advantage.
MPs have launched an inquiry into the way public reviews are carried out, in a bid to curb the so-called Maxwellisation process which has delayed the report into the Halifax Bank of Scotland collapse for years.
In a letter dated 31 March, chair of the committee Andrew Tyrie wrote to chancellor George Osborne to outline the probe into the process which gives the individuals being investigated the right to reply before the final report is published.
Maxwellisation is so called after former newspaper proprietor and MP Robert Maxwell, who sparked a change in the way the government carries out investigations when, in 1969, he won a case against the Department of Trade and Industry after it said he was unfit to hold the stewardship of a public company, with the judge ruling the DTI had virtually committed the business murder of Maxwell.
But Mr Tyrie blamed this process for the unnecessarily long wait in the publication of the inquiry into the banking and insurance giant.
The Financial Conduct Authority published the report in November, seven years after the Halifax Bank of Scotland was bailed out by taxpayers at a cost of 20.5bn.
HBoSs leadership, including former chairman Lord Stevenson and ex-chief executives Andy Hornby and James Crosby, were found to have caused the banks failure, and could be banned from the finance industry or even from directing any company.
But Mr Tyrie said the process had taken too long.
Evidence taken by the Treasury committee suggests that a balance needs to be struck, Mr Tyrie wrote. There is a risk that very lengthy Maxwellisation proceedings could undermine confidence in the public review process.
His comment followed a string of criticism about how the bank was run, with the FCA initiating further investigations into former senior managers in January to decide whether prohibition proceedings should begin against them.
In November, Andrew Green QC - who also published a report on the failure of HBoS - said investigations into the conduct of former chief executive Andy Hornby should have started from early 2009.
The newly-announced review will have a particular focus on inquiries of a financial nature, setting out what the law requires and the typical problems which arise from Maxwellisation.
This includes addressing the publics concerns over the extra time and costs incurred by undergoing the often lengthy procedure.
In his letter, Mr Tyrie said the aim is to make recommendations to guide future public financial inquiries, and to ensure any Maxwellisation process is conducted in a fair and proportionate manner.
katherine.denham@ft.com
Tractor markets across the globe may be in the doldrums, but that has not stopped the manufacturers from squeezing out more horsepower from their engines and adding more goodies in the cab.
T5 Range
New Hollands T5 (pictured right) range gets a 5hp boost all round, giving stock farmers in particular a choice of 100hp, 110hp and 120hp models.
Engines are four-cylinder Fiat 3.4-litre Tier 4B units with 24% more torque backup, says the company, and the fuel tanks have swelled a bit to give 165 litres of diesel and 12 litres of AdBlue. Lift capacity is up, too, to give 5,420kg at the rear and 1,850kg at the front.
The days of unsuspended cabs and front axles on tractors are fast coming to an end, so it is no surprise to see the option of both NHs Terraglide suspended front axle and its Comfort Ride cab suspension on the spec sheet, not to mention the option of front brakes.
See also: New Holland pumps up T6.175 tractor with methane and tracks
Most of the tractors in this hp bracket will go out with a front loader, so NH says it has fitted a wider loader with bolted towers and the option of side rails. You can also opt for a heavy-duty front-axle that can accommodate 28in wheels. Fresh mechanical and electro-hydraulic joysticks are an option, too, with transmission and loader function buttons on one unit.
Life has become a bit more high-tech in the cab as well, with a tiltable steering column, wider windscreen, more stowage and some seriously bright Led lights. Given the UKs characteristically gloomy weather, you may want to go for the optional bank of eight LED work lights. And there are no bulbs to blow, either.
Instrumentation has been boosted, with Isobus Class 11 capability, making it easier to monitor and control all implements, plus the option to fit an Intelliview 111 monitor.
Users get auto transport and auto field modes, plus a creeper. There are also three settings on the shuttle to alter the sharpness when you go forward and backwards good for loader users. Gross vehicle weight has gone from 7.4t to 8t.
T5 range at a glance Model Max power (hp) Max torque (Nm) Torque rise (%) T5.100 99 43 42 T5.110 107 468 42 T5.120 117 491 37
T6 Range
Like its T5 little brother, the new New Holland T6 range gets more models, more power and more kit.
Power is up by 5hp all round compared with the previous models and the range now goes from the modest 115hp of the T6.125 right up to the 145hp of the T6.180. In fact, all the models apart from the T6.125 also get a 30hp power boost.
All the models use four-cylinder, Tier 4B 4.5-litre Fiat engines, however six-cylinder fans will be pleased to hear NH has retained the top-of-the-range brawny 6.7-litre six-cylinder engine in the T6.180 that pushes out 175hp.
Gearboxes are either NHs Electro Command powershift or its Auto Command CVT, however the bottom-of-the-range T6.125 and top-of-the-range T6.180 only come with powershift. The powershift box also has auto-transport and auto-field settings to reduce the amount of frantic gear-changing on busy roads.
Cabs have become more sophisticated, too, with dual-zone air-con, a nicer dash and a quieter 60dB hush. NHs Sidewinder armrest unit is available on CVT models and three seats of increasing sophistication are on offer. Theres even a heated seat for softies.
Why the big spotlight on suspension and seats? Well, whole-body vibration on tractors is worrying the HSE and other European legislators, so tractor makers are working hard to reduce those jolts, jars and jiggles that typically keep you bouncing about on some field jobs.
As with the T5 range, new LED light arrays are said to give more light, less draw on the battery and theres no faffing about replacing blown bulbs.
Not surprisingly, you can have a factory-fitted autosteer, too.
A farmer who built a mock Tudor castle without planning permission has begun demolishing the property to avoid going to jail.
Robert Fidler hid the castle behind bales of hay after building it on Surrey greenbelt without permission from his local council.
But after a nine-year battle with Reigate and Borough Council, which landed him in court, Mr Fidler has decided to tear down the property.
See also: Tear down castle or go to jail, judge tells farmer
He told Farmers Weekly: I dont have a lot of choice. Either that, or they put me in prison, or do it (demolish the castle) themselves.
When asked whether he thought he had been unfairly treated, he said: It is a waste. I have never broken any laws.
Mr Fidler, 67, built the four-bedroomed property at Honeycrock Farm in the village of Salfords, in Surrey, in 2000 without planning permission. While the property was being built, it was concealed behind hay bales.
However, planning officers from Reigate and Borough Council discovered the building in 2007 and ordered its demolition.
It is a waste. I have never broken any laws Robert Fidler
Mr Fidler failed to comply with enforcement notices to pull down the property, so the council started contempt of court proceedings against him.
Last year, a High Court judge ruled that if he didnt comply with the order by 6 June 2016, he would face a three-month jail term.
Earlier this week, photographs published on national newspaper websites showed Mr Fidler removing tiles from the roof of the castle as part of the early stages of demolition work.
In a statement, Reigate and Borough Council said: Mr Fidler hasnt made us aware that he is demolishing his unauthorised dwelling but if this is the case we are pleased that he appears to be complying with the instructions of the court.
It is in Mr Fidlers interests to demolish by 6 June, as the High Court judge ordered that he will likely face a prison term if he doesnt.
We have already given Mr Fidler advice about the options available to him for providing alternative accommodation in existing lawful buildings on his site.
Story Highlights Democrats hold six-percentage-point edge in party affiliation
One of largest advantages in Obama's second term
Parties were even last fall
PRINCETON, N.J. -- Forty-six percent of Americans now identify politically as Democrats or say they lean Democratic, while 40% identify as Republican or lean Republican. As recently as October, the parties had equal levels of support.
The six-percentage-point Democratic advantage in party loyalties in Gallup Daily tracking throughout March is one of the larger leads for the party during Barack Obama's second presidential term. Democrats have held a seven-point lead over Republicans on three occasions during this time, including January 2013, the month of Obama's second inauguration; October 2013, during the partial federal government shutdown; and April 2015, as the 2016 presidential field was beginning to take shape and Hillary Clinton was the best-known, and best-liked, candidate.
These results are based on monthly averages of Gallup Daily tracking data, including more than 13,000 interviews each month. Each night, Gallup asks Americans whether they identify politically as Democrats, Republicans or independents. Independents are subsequently asked if they lean more toward the Republican or Democratic Party. Party "leaners" usually share similar attitudes and behaviors to those who identify outright with the party. Consequently, the combined percentage of party identifiers and leaners gives a sense of the relative strength of each party within the U.S.
The recent shifts toward, and away from, the GOP may reflect the twists and turns in the presidential campaign. As Clinton became embroiled in a controversy over storing classified government communications on a private server last spring, her image suffered. Meanwhile, Donald Trump's presence in the campaign, a GOP contest with a large field of 17 candidates, and widely viewed television debates offered a great deal of publicity for the party. But the large field also created greater uncertainty about the likely outcome than the Democratic contest in which Clinton was regarded as the clear front-runner, notwithstanding Bernie Sanders' spirited challenge.
In August, September and October, the parties were tied in party affiliation, at 42%.
Since then, particularly in the past two months as Trump and his GOP challengers have frequently resorted to personal attacks in debates, at campaign rallies and on social media, Americans' party loyalties have shifted, giving the Democratic Party a clear advantage. Republicans are also facing the real possibility that no candidate will emerge from the contentious nomination campaign with the majority of delegates needed to ensure his nomination, thus leaving the ultimate choice of the nominee to convention delegates.
Amid the presidential campaign, a time when latent party loyalties are activated given the intense focus on political matters, Obama's job approval rating has improved. Last week, an average of 53% of Americans approved of the job Obama was doing, his highest weekly average since late January/early February 2013. Obama's rising popularity could also be a factor in Americans' greater likelihood of aligning with the Democratic Party.
Implications
Democrats' current six-point edge in party affiliation gives them strong positioning heading toward this fall's election. Given that Republicans tend to vote at higher rates than Democrats, a bigger advantage in basic party loyalties gives Democrats more of a cushion if their turnout fails to match or approach that of Republicans.
The Democratic lead in party affiliation was smaller than it is now in the months preceding the 2012 election, ranging from two to four percentage points. But it pales in comparison to the double-digit advantages it held in 2008, which grew even larger after Obama won the election.
If the GOP nomination is settled in a way that doesn't ignite further controversy, Republicans may gain back some of the support the party has lost, particularly considering the numerous shifts in party affiliation over the past 12 months. But at this point, with neither party nomination settled and Election Day still seven months away, Democrats hold the upper hand.
These data are available in Gallup Analytics.
Survey Methods
Results for this Gallup poll are based on telephone interviews conducted March 1-31, 2016, on the Gallup U.S. Daily survey, with a random sample of 15,253 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. For results based on the total sample of national adults, the margin of sampling error is 1 percentage point at the 95% confidence level. All reported margins of sampling error include computed design effects for weighting.
Each sample of national adults includes a minimum quota of 60% cellphone respondents and 40% landline respondents, with additional minimum quotas by time zone within region. Landline and cellular telephone numbers are selected using random-digit-dial methods.
Learn more about how Gallup Daily tracking works.
Sega is completing its acquisition of Atlus, which began in 2013. In order to streamline its business operations, Atlus games will now be published by Sega. But before you start to worry, we have some good news.
Essentially, nothing from the end-user point of view is changing. The Atlus brand will remain intact and visible. Sega says that it and Atlus will still act independently.
However, Sega does discuss how its acquisition of Atlus has positively impacted its own operations. "Since Atlus U.S.A.renowned for the award-winning Shin Megami Tensei, Persona, and Etrian Odyssey franchisesintegrated with SEGA of America, the ATLUS expertise has allowed SEGA to localize and publish popular Japanese titles in the west, including the Yakuza series, Project DIVA series, and more," the company says.
Additionally, Sega has named Ivo Gerscovich as the new head of the Sonic brand and its related businesses in North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Australia. Gerscovich will serve as the Sonic chief brand officer and senior vice president of Sega of America.
Our Take
For end users, this is business as usual, but it does have a business impact. Sega has benefitted greatly from Atlus' prowess at localizing games for the Western market. More importantly the Sonic publisher has let Atlus do its thing without change, which is something fans feared wouldn't be the case following the acquisition.
Terrorism threats : Authorities proofing alleged threats from Bonn Jihadist
Bonn German Ministry of the Interior says they are evaluating the alleged attack plan against Bonn and Berlin. The German criminal police office says there is no change in risk assessment.
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A spokesperson for the German Ministry of the Interior confirmed on Thursday to the General Anzeiger (GA) that they are aware of an alleged threatened attack on Bonn from a Bonner Jihadist who has travel to Syria. They are also aware of so-called Islamic State (ISIS) threats on Twitter against the Cologne/Bonn airport and the Chancellery in Berlin.
Both developments, the alleged attack plan in Bonn and in Berlin like in all of these cases are being carefully evaluated, according to the spokesperson. Germany, like other European countries is in the crosshairs of Islamic terrorism and authorities will continue to assume a high threat of international terrorism, with or without any new threats. Federal judicial authorities in Karlsruhe would not comment on an arrest warrant, which GA sources said had been issued for the alleged terrorist from Bonn.
The North Rhine Westphalia (NRW) Interior Ministry warns against panic. A spokesperson from the German criminal police office (BKA) in Wiesbaden says, There is no change in the risk assessment. German remains in the crosshairs of Islamic terror. The photo montage proves this again. Investigators are proofing if the Twitter posting really stems from an ISIS group. According to GA information, however, the photo montages were posted on the internet channel of a well-known media office of the ISIS terrorist militia. Such videos promoting violence have been posted over the years. The goal is to create fear amongst citizens and mobilize more supporters in Europe.
According to the Bureau of constitutional protection, there are more than 200 extremist Islamists in Bonn. There are 2,700 Salafists in NRW, 600 of them considered violent and 150 particularly high risk. Some are in custody and others have re-located to conflict areas. Since the beginning of the war in Syria and Iraq, more than 200 fanatics have left NRW to support terror organizations. Security measures in NRW have been at a high level for a long time already.
Warning sirens : Bonn replacing civil warning sirens: testing Saturday
Bonn/Rhine-Sieg county Bonn is in the process of increasing numbers of civil warning sirens and will be testing them on Saturday.
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After the end of the Cold War in the beginning of the 1990s, the German federal government pulled out of the civil warning siren program. Cities were left to decide if they wanted to continue using the sirens at their own control and expense. In Bonn, about 33 of 120 sirens were kept active according to Jurgen Eck who is a specialist in catastrophic protection at the Bonn Fire Department. In the years since then, they had been looking for other technical possibilities to warn people but came to the conclusion that a siren was the best way to warn the public quickly of an imminent danger.
In 2012, a program was started to replace the missing sirens, with 60,000 euro being invested every year. Currently there are 42 sirens operating in Bonn. Each one costs 10,000 euro so the replacement rate is 6 sirens per year. By the end of 2020, officials expect to have completed their program with 70 fixed sirens and 18 mobile ones.
'Feels Like Home Season 2' offers something real and tangible to think about; takes home a pertinent point - if your intentions are good, there is nothing in life that isn't achievable.
Russia Says It Detained Ukrainian Spy
March 31, 2016
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) says it has captured a Ukrainian security officer who volunteered to spy for Moscow and will send him back because they believe he is a double agent.
In a statement quoted by Russian news agencies, the FSB, the main KGB successor agency, said the man, Yuri Ivanchenko, was detained on March 26.
The FSB said on March 31 that Ivanchenko traveled to Moscow to offer his services to the FSB. It claimed that the CIA had helped the Ukrainian security service prepare Ivanchenko for the mission aimed at eventually exposing his Russian contacts. It said Ivanchenko will be sent home.
Relations between Russia and Ukraine have been tense after Moscow's annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and support for a separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine.
Based on reporting by AP, Interfax, and AFP
Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/russia- detains-ukrainian-spy/27646270.html
Copyright (c) 2016. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
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Preparations underway 'at full speed' for intra-Yemeni peace talks, says UN envoy
1 April 2016 Preparations are underway "at full speed" for the next round of United Nations-brokered intra-Yemeni peace talks to start on 18 April in Kuwait, a UN envoy said today.
The aim is to reach a comprehensive agreement that will end the war and allow the resumption of inclusive political dialogue in line with UN Security Council resolution 2216 (2015) and other relevant Council resolutions.
"I am looking forward to the active participation of relevant parties in the talks," said Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Yemen, urging the country's delegations to seize this opportunity to provide a mechanism for a return to a peaceful and orderly transition based on the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) initiative and the outcomes of the national dialogue conference.
UN political experts have already been deployed to Sana'a and Riyadh to work with the delegations there toward the resumption of talks, he said. Another team is on its way to Kuwait to finalize the preparations with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Special Envoy said he encouraged the parties to engage constructively in the talks, including on the areas of 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, in addition to the creation of a special committee for prisoners and detainees.
Within this same context, the special envoy welcomed the encouraging steps taken recently between Saudi Arabia and Ansarallah, known as the Houthis, including the release of prisoners and the relative calming at the borders.
"These initiatives reinforced the spirit of the confidence building measures recommended at the previous round of talks and there is no doubt that they can provide an important drive to the political process," he said.
The parties to the conflict have agreed to a nation-wide cessation of hostilities beginning at midnight on 10 April. "With political will, good faith and balance, they could take this opportunity to end the conflict and pave the way towards a permanent and durable end of the war," he added.
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Cameroon Military Hospital Overwhelmed With Wounded Soldiers
by Moki Edwin Kindzeka April 01, 2016
The military hospital in Cameroon's capital, Yaounde, is overwhelmed with wounded Cameroon and Chadian troops of the regional force currently working to rout Boko Haram from its strongholds in Nigeria and border areas. The hospital has a capacity of 200 beds, but about two times the number are seeking medical attention there.
Martin Chengwa says he collapsed after six members of his 10-person unit were killed during raids on the town of Achgachia that straddles the border with Nigeria. The 26-year-old Cameroonian soldier was rushed to the military hospital in Yaounde.
"I have a problem of just confusion because I saw some of my friends that were dead but now I am okay. I am still hoping to go back. I have been here since December," he said.
Wounded Chadian and Cameroonian soldiers
He comes here for check-ups two times a week. This hospital takes in Chadian and Cameroonian soldiers wounded in the regional fight against Boko Haram. The Nigerian militant group began carrying out attacks in Cameroon, Niger and Chad last year.
Chadian soldier Nagash Salim is here recovering from a fractured arm and an amputated leg.
He says he remembers he got shot near his chest in a Boko Haram ambush in Limani on Cameroon's border with Nigeria. He says he is surprised he is still alive.
The hospital has less than 200 beds, but more than 400 military personnel and civilians are being treated here.
Government to cover bills
Cameroonian soldier Derick Langmie says when they complained the hospital is overwhelmed, the defense minister visited to encourage them and promised that the government would settle all of their hospital bills.
"He talked much that we should have courage," he said. "My accident occurred in a place called Walash after we attacked. Two days after the attacked, my illness occurred. My treatment began from Mora [and] Maroua, and today I am in Yaounde."
Cameroon's defense minister, Joseph Beti Assomo, says soldiers whose conditions are deemed non-life-threatening have been asked to go home, returning for appointments with specialists as needed.
He says the wounded troops are proud of the work they have done and have high morale. He says they are even asking to go back to the front after their treatment. He says he has given firm instructions to hospital staff to take special care of the soldiers.
The regional four-nation force counts nearly 10,000 men. Their efforts have chased Boko Haram out of many towns of villages, but continued use of landmines and suicide bombings by insurgents have kept casualties high.
A top Cameroonian military commander says a new operation launched this week and code-named "Tentacle" aims to flush Boko Haram out of one the group's key remaining strongholds, the Sambisa forest. The general, Jacob Kodji, said the operation involves thousands of Cameroonian and Nigerian troops working on both sides of the border.
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UNHCR: Safeguards Lacking for Refugees Deported From Europe to Turkey
by Lisa Schlein April 01, 2016
The U.N. refugee agency is calling for safeguards before refugees and migrants are deported from Greece to Turkey as required under a deal between the European Union and Turkey. The UNHCR says measures must be taken to ensure that the human rights of all those returned are protected.
The agency is not alone in claiming safeguards are lacking. Its concerns are supported in a recent Amnesty International report, which alleges Turkey has forcibly returned thousands of refugees to Syria.
The U.N. refugee agency says it does not object to the return of people who have not asked for asylum and are not in need of international protection. However, it adds the human rights of these people also must be respected.
The agency reports 51,000 refugees and migrants are in Greece. Of them 5,000 are on the islands and the rest on the mainland. It says facilities where they are held are overcrowded, unsanitary and need to be improved quickly.
As an example, UNHCR spokeswoman Melissa Fleming noted that on the island of Lesbos, some 2,300 refugees and migrants are crammed into a detention center meant to hold 2,000 people.
"People are sleeping in the open and food supply is insufficient, and anxiety and frustration are widespread. Making matters worse, there are families who have become separated. Some family members [are] in other parts of Greece, scattered across Greece and [this is] presenting an additional worry should returns begin," she said.
Sub-standard conditions, lack of information
Fleming said thousands of people on other islands, as well as on the mainland are living in sub-standard conditions. She noted that uncertainty, lack of information and the limited capacity of Greek authorities to register asylum claims are creating a chaotic situation throughout the country. She added that violence was growing as a result, citing recent events on the Greek island of Chios.
"We are obviously very worried about the situation that is on Chios. And, you may have seen news reports that there were riots there last night with people who were injured with stab wounds We believe that the risk of panic and injury in these sites and others is real in the current circumstances," she said.
Fleming added the UNHCR is asking Turkish authorities for access to people returned from Greece so it can monitor their treatment and prevent anyone from being forcibly deported to their homes where their lives might be in danger.
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US Military Veterans Join Christian Militia in Anti-IS Fight
by Sharon Behn March 31, 2016
Directly north of Mosul and face-to-face with Islamic State is a small pocket of bombed and abandoned Christian villages. But across the gravel track from one of the empty villages, abandoned when IS militants stormed the area in 2014, is one row of houses that is still occupied.
Here, a small but determined group of armed Christian fighters are defending what they say are the rapidly dwindling traditionally Christian areas of Iraq.
And with them are two Americans. James, a former U.S. infantry soldier from Colorado Springs, arrived about a month ago. Dan, a veteran from Michigan who said he had been deployed to Iraq in 2005-2006 with the U.S. military, has been here two weeks.
Guns in hand and dressed in camouflage fatigues like their militia hosts, they are part of a group of foreign fighters who have come to boost the Christian defense line. There are also four Frenchmen. The one New Zealander who had joined had already left, the militia leaders said.
Getting to the militia, known as the Dwekh Nawsha, an Aramaic term for self-sacrifice, required a long ride in a pick up truck past multiple checkpoints.
A small cross hung from the truck's rear-view mirror and the driver and escort proudly wore their Dwekh Nawsha patches on their left arms. James and Dan sat in the back, squeezing their legs around sacks of potatoes and boxes of canned meat.
"I came here to hopefully take Mosul back and push Daesh out of Iraq," Dan said, using an Arabic acronym for Islamic State.
Once at the village, he walked up to the roof of the militia's main house and looked in the distance where dark smoke poured into the sky Islamic State apparently burning tires to hide their movements from coalition aircraft.
He pointed to a deep trench a few hundred meters in front of the house, saying it was to keep any IS vehicle-borne suicide bombers from reaching them. Kurdish Peshmerga forces were also nearby, providing overwatch and firepower.
Rusting carcasses of spent homemade IS rockets line the gravel road in front of the abandoned village like a decorative necklace.
IS fighters constantly probe the front line here, and rockets land almost daily at the next village along the line. But the Christian militia members say they won't leave.
"This is our land," Colonel Sameer Oraha, a militia commander, said in Kurdish. "We have to protect it. We have to keep it from Daesh's hands, because this is our motherland and we have to protect all the lands to get our people back to their homes."
Oraha had previously served with the Iraqi army, and had lived in Mosul, now the IS stronghold in Iraq, and less than 40 kilometers away.
In the faded living room of the house, Oraha and his fighters sat and smoked as they talked. A flag of the Assyrian Patriotic Party, the Christian bloc, covered one wall. In the corner on the table was a small Christmas tree festooned with decorations.
On the floor are two of their machine guns. The militia lack both equipment and experience, James said. "They are regular people, some of these people have regular jobs, they come out here [because] they are trying to save their homeland."
And he wants to be part of it, retaking all the land that IS extremists seized when they stormed the area in 2014.
"I have experience, I was infantry, for several years and whatever I can do to help them, any knowledge, or with equipment they may have and maybe later tactics on movements, when we slowly move into Mosul, I am here to help," James said.
Ramen Khoshaba, like others who are younger fighters, said he had joined "so people can get to their home, because there are a lot of people [who] have no home now."
"We are here to tell them that the Assyrian guys are here, and we will fight for our land."
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North Korea May Respond to Potential US Aggression With 'Nuclear Forces'
Sputnik News
17:26 31.03.2016
Pyongyang is ready to use nuclear forces against the United States, according to the statement of North Korea's Foreign Ministry.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) Pyongyang pledged to use its "nuclear forces" as a retaliatory measure to potential US attempts to violate North Korea's supreme interests and sovereignty, North Korea's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
"If the United States tries to encroach upon our supreme interests and sovereignty even just a little, we will immediately and mercilessly strike back using all means, including nuclear forces, and thus root out completely the threat to our sovereignty, as well as peace and security in the region," the statement obtained by RIA Novosti reads.
In January, Pyongyang claimed it had successfully carried out a hydrogen bomb test. Earlier in March, North Korea launched five short-range missiles that landed in the Sea of Japan, which has become Pyongyang's third missile power test, including launches of medium-range ballistic missiles.
In response to North Korea's recent nuclear activity, South Korea and the United States have launched large-scale military drills in the region. The exercises, expected to last through April 30, include rehearsals of surgical strikes on North Korea's missile and nuclear facilities in case of war. Pyongyang labeled the drills as provocation.
Sputnik
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N. Korea Jams GPS, Blocks VOA, Twitter, Facebook, Other Media
by Brian Padden April 01, 2016
North Korea has begun jamming GPS signals in South Korea, affecting some communications and navigation systems, and it also said Friday it is blocking a number of popular websites.
Government officials in Seoul said North Korea should immediately cease its "dangerous and reckless" jamming activity.
Many computer networks and software programs rely on signals sent from the worldwide network of global-positioning satellites. North Korea has been sending signals from ground-based transmitters on frequencies overlapping those used by GPS satellites, so the jamming did not cause any significant, widespread effect.
However, GPS problems were reported by more than 50 airliners flying over the Korean Peninsula, and they evidently affected hundreds of South Korean fishing boats, some of which returned to port as a result.
Authorities in Seoul said the jamming did not hamper ongoing U.S.-South Korean joint military exercises, which have been repeatedly denounced by the communist North.
Separately, North Korea announced officially Friday that it is blocking web pages from YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, the Voice of America and a number of South Korean media sites. It also said gambling and "sex and adult websites" have been blocked. Very few North Koreans have Internet access, but foreign residents and visitors previously have been able to access web pages with almost no overt restrictions.
More than 2 million North Koreans now are estimated to use mobile phones, but with few exceptions access to the Internet is limited to officials, technicians or others who have special permission to use it, usually under close supervision.
The restrictions will make it more difficult for visitors or foreign residents to post real-time information about the reclusive country to the outside world. The announcement added that anyone who tries to hack onto such sites, access them in an "improper" way or distribute "anti-republic data" from them will be subject to punishment under North Korean law. It did not say what the punishment would be.
In another development Friday, North Korea launched another projectile presumed to be a ballistic missile into the sea, according to the South Korean military.
The launch and other North Korean provocations are the latest in a series of threatening acts by Pyongyang, both to protest against the U.S.- South Korean exercises, and in retaliation for tough new sanctions the U.N. imposed on North Korea after its most recent nuclear test.
GPS jamming details
The South Korean Defense Ministry said it has detected disruptive radio waves being transmitted from North Korea's southwest port city Haeju, and from Mount Kumgang on the east coast.
Seoul has previously accused Pyongyang of jamming activity, especially during a period of heightened tensions in 2012. North Korea was said to be using Russian-made jamming devices at the time, but authorities in Pyongyang said all such allegations were a "sheer fabrication."
North Korea against world
U.S. President Barack Obama, South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met at the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington on Thursday to underscore their united commitment to exert increasing pressure on North Korea to abandon its nuclear program.
The tough new U.N. sanctions imposed in March are meant to cut funding to Pyongyang's nuclear arms program and to further isolate the Kim Jong Un leadership.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, who met separately with Obama at the Washington summit, said North Korea should resolve this "predicament," as he called it, by returning to international talks and giving up its nuclear weapons in return for security assurances and economic assistance.
The Kim Jong Un government has so far responded to all sides with defiance, launching numerous short and medium range missiles into the sea, ordering further nuclear tests, and threatening nuclear strikes against South Korea and the United States.
Arduous march
This week the Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, warned the North Korean people in an editorial that the sanctions will cause severe economic pain.
"We may have to go on an arduous march, a time when we will again have to eat the roots of grass," the editorial said.
"Arduous march" refers to the severe North Korean famine that killed over three million people in the 1990s after the Soviet Union collapsed and stopped sending economic aid, and because the communist government grossly mismanaged the country's economy.
This time the Kim Jong Un leadership wants the people to know who to blame for any hardships to come.
"It claims that the responsibility does not belong to North Korea but it belongs to the U.S. and neighboring countries, which include China this time," said Kang Chul-hwan, a North Korean defector with the center for North Korea Strategy.
To make up for shortfalls being caused by the sanctions, Pyongyang residents are reportedly being ordered to provide a kilogram of rice to state warehouses every month, and farmers are being forced to "donate" more of their crops to the military.
The North Korean economy has improved under Kim Jong Un in part because of the economic reforms he implemented that allow farmers to sell a portion of the crops they produce, and provides some industries more incentives and control to manage their production and workforce.
But North Korean mineral exports, most of which are banned under the new sanctions, and the export of North Korean labor has also helped improve overall economic conditions, even if the vast majority of earnings have gone to ruling elites and the military.
North Korea has requested nearly half a million tons of food aid from other countries. But only 17,600 tons had been donated by early February.
There is some concern that giving more food aid to North Korea would undermine the sanctions by allowing the leadership to direct more funding to develop nuclear weapons. But there is also concern that the vast majority of North Koreans already living in poverty conditions will suffer the most from these tough new international restrictions.
"If the international community imposes more pressure, then it could lead to a terrible result," said Kang.
Youmi Kim in Seoul contributed to this report. Some information for this report was provided by AP.
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North Korea Launches Another Suspected Missile
by VOA News April 01, 2016
South Korean media say North Korea has fired a suspected ballistic missile off its east coast in the latest of several tests this year, signifying an increased level of tension between Pyongyang, Seoul and South Korea's Western allies.
South Korea's Yonhap news service said the surface-to-air missile launched into the Sea of Japan at midday Friday.
South Korea's Defense Ministry confirmed the report to the French news agency, but said its range and precise trajectory could not be confirmed. It said the launch came from the eastern city of Sondok.
North Korea has launched a series of apparent weapons tests since January. The United States and South Korea are in the midst of conducting their most extensive joint military exercises ever. Pyongyang says it views those exercises as a rehearsal for invasion.
Meanwhile, in Washington, U.S. President Barack Obama is presiding over an international nuclear summit where the U.S., South Korea, China and Japan have made North Korea's activities a focus of discussion.
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EC Secretary: Iran's missile defense program not negotiable
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
Tehran, March 31, IRNA -- Expediency Council (EC) Secretary Mohsen Rezaei wrote on an Instagram post on Thursday that Iran's right for self-defense is not negotiable and said it will remain so in the future as well.
He said Iran's missiles are for deterrence purposes so if Iran lets go of them then the country will be subjected to attacks therefore everybody should understand that Iran will never consent to disarmament.
Rezaei pointed to three types of dialogue which has existed in international relations so far; saying that the first dialogue was built on cooperation like the one going on between Iran and China when they talking to revive the Silk Road; second, the dialogue which was conducted in a competitive atmosphere like the one between Iran and Turkey on the issue of Syria and the situation of President al-Assad, and the third type of talks which happened in a hostile atmosphere like the negotiations between Iran and the US on the issue of spies in the US embassy as well as the nuclear issue.
As for the first case, dialogue is based upon interaction, while in cases relating to the second type - like issue of Syria - people have to stand firm by their positions during negotiations but; at the third one, he said, because of enmity of the other side, the aim of talks is to repel the evil.
On the missile issue, Americans are seeking to disarm Iran so there could be no dialogue, the EC official said.
While in the first type of dialogue understanding and mutual benefit prevales, he said, in the second type adoption of careful stances together with effective interaction matters.
However, in regards with the US policies and the issue of strengthening of Iran's missile capabilities, self-defense would never be negotiable, he stressed.
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Senior Diplomat: JCPOA not related to missile issue
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
Tehran, March 31, IRNA Director General for political and international security of Foreign Ministry Hamid Baeedinejad noted that Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) has no connection with missile issue and country's defensive capability, but unfortunately a number of people insist on directly relating the two issues.
He wrote in a Telegram post on Thursday that though senior officials have always stressed that the issue of missile tests - which are to strengthen defensive capability of the country have no connection with JCPOA, unfortunately, a number of people insist that a direct relation exists between missile issue and JCPOA.
He said that the US government, having failed to get any confirmations from the UN Security Council to condemn Iran's legitimate activities concerning missile tests, now felt forced to unilaterally close bank accounts of several Iranian and foreign companies, including two British firms.
This was while they know best that imposing such restrictions is in essence just a populist endeavor which would have no effect on Iran's nuclear program, the diplomat added.
Iran, in a firm reaction at the level of its Supreme Leader and president, declared that Iran's missile defensive programs will continue even more vigorously than before, he said.
More surprising is the harsh statements by a number of experts in some media analysis programs, who, contrary to Iran's basic policy of dividing the two issues of missile activities and the JCPOA, insist on existence of such a connection and try to describe JCPOA as a pure damage to the country and then enthusiastically describe it as something already done with, the senior diplomat expressed.
Then, in clear affront to the Iranian diplomatic apparatus, they refer to officials as mere defenders of the US policies, Baeedinejad said.
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Iraqi Premier Names New Cabinet Of 'Technocrats' To Fight Corruption
April 01, 2016
by RFE/RL
Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi has named 14 new cabinet ministers who he said are the kinds of policy experts protesters have been demanding for months to fight corruption in the government.
Abadi presented his choices to the parliament, where they could meet resistance from politicians who prefer the system of political patronage that has helped many of them acquire power and wealth.
"They were chosen on the basis of professionalism, competence, integrity, and leadership ability," Abadi said of the proposed candidates, one of whom is a descendant of Iraq's deposed king.
In announcing the sweeping change, Abadi said he is reducing the number of cabinet ministers to 16 from 21. The only two ministers who were not replaced were the defense and interior ministers, "given the hard situation" they face in waging a new offensive against the Islamic State militant group to recapture the northern city of Mosul, he said.
The announcement prompted influential Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to end a two-week sit-in by his followers in Baghdad's Green Zone, where they had been demanding the replacement of political cronies in the cabinet with technocrats.
Sadr praised Abadi's "brave step" and urged lawmakers to quickly vote on the new lineup. He warned legislators that they would face street protests if they attempt to block the government overhaul.
Lawmakers, who thwarted previous efforts at reform proposed by Abadi, said they would take up to 10 days to respond to the new cabinet plan.
Sadr's followers erupted into celebration in the streets when they heard the news.
Among key appointments, Nizar Salem al-Numan was named oil minister, prominent Shi'ite politician Ali Allawi was named finance minister, and Sharif Ali bin al-Hussein, a relative of Iraq's king deposed in 1958, was given the slot of foreign minister, state television reported.
Abadi's move delivers on his promises to hire people and enact sweeping measures to fight corruption that is pervasive in Iraq's government. Iraq ranks among the lowest countries worldwide in measures of government integrity.
"Most of [the nominees] have academic credentials, but they all have experience of working in a senior executive position, managing or administrating," Sajad Jiyad, an Iraqi political analyst, told Reuters.
Numan, the candidate for oil minister, is a Kurd from the town of Dohuk, where he has held several administrative positions at Dohuk University.
Allawi, the finance nominee, would be coming back to a post he filled a decade ago in Iraq's transitional government following the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. The U.S.-educated former banker also served as minister of trade and minister of defense in a previous cabinet.
"The IMF will be immensely happy with Allawi," said Jiyad.
The International Monetary Fund said this week it could approve as early as June a standby arrangement with Iraq, unlocking $15 billion in badly needed international assistance over the next three years.
Hussein, the prospective foreign minister, worked as an investment banker in London before the 2003 invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. He briefly advocated a return to monarchical rule and heads the Constitutional Monarchy Movement.
With reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP
Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/iraqi-premier-abadi-names-new- cabinet-technocrats-fight-corruption-sadr/27647676.html
Copyright (c) 2016. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
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Stateless Rohingya Pose Challenge for New Myanmar Government
by Hanna Hindstrom April 01, 2016
The United Nations has given Myanmar's incoming civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) 100 days to improve living conditions for the country's ethnic minority Rohingya community. But doubts remain over the new government's ability to deliver.
On Tuesday, the outgoing government lifted a nearly four-year state of emergency imposed on the volatile Rakhine state where the Rohingya are currently denied citizenship and say they are heavily persecuted.
The Rohingya are unable to travel freely in Myanmar, cannot marry or have children without official permission, are largely barred from higher education and face the constant threat of violence as Buddhist extremism gains traction.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Wednesday urged President Htin Kyaw to ensure that lifting emergency laws would translate into "real improved" respect for minority rights in the western state.
"The NLD needs to convene an effort to end human rights abuses against all communities in Rakhine state," Phil Robertson, deputy-director for Asia at HRW, told VOA. "This should involve an overhaul of regulations, policies, and actual implementation on the ground."
A big part of the problem is the 1982 citizenship law, introduced by the former junta, which stripped the Rohingya of their official status in Myanmar, also known as Burma. Since then, they have been treated as interlopers from neighboring Bangladesh. Their persecution has escalated since the country introduced democratic reforms with nearly 120,000 people still confined to filthy displacement camps.
A spokesperson for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said the situation remains dire throughout the impoverished state.
"We are very concerned that the rainy season is coming up and some of these shelters could fall down," said Pierre Peron, UNOCHA's Public Information and Advocacy Officer, citing additional concerns about water, malnutrition, healthcare and livelihoods. "But the situation for up to one million stateless Rohingya living [outside the camps] in Rakhine is equally much of a problem."
Some 45,000 displaced Rohingya are estimated to have returned to their villages in the past few months, but only in remote and rural areas with relatively little communal friction. The state capital, Sittwe, enforces strict segregation for its Muslim population, which has been isolated in a small ghetto fenced with barbed wire. Prospects for re-integration there are bleak.
Nearly one-tenth of the Rohingya population is estimated to have fled Myanmar since 2012, sparking a humanitarian crisis and clampdown on human trafficking in Southeast Asia last year that led to a temporary halt in the exodus. Activists fear that desperate people will again attempt to escape Myanmar by sea if the NLD does not swiftly signal a change in policy from the previous military-backed government.
"There has been no boat departure at all since December," said Chris Lewa, coordinator at the Arakan Project, which monitors human trafficking networks. "The main reason is the fact that Thailand is closed as a transit country and anti-trafficking campaigns are still ongoing."
Hope that Aung San Suu Kyi will bring positive changes for the Rohingya is also a factor.
"People are very hopeful and positive and very happy to see a new government," said Wai Wai Nu, an ethnic Rohingya activist and former political prisoner. "They think that the new government will bring justice and peace."
"This is the first civilian government after 50 years so they should be able to bring positive change and end discrimination and persecution in Rakhine state," she added. "These will be their main tasks for the next five years."
But others doubt that Aung San Suu Kyi's government will live up to expectations.
According to Robertson, HRW has unsuccessfully pushed for a meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi to discuss the Rohingya crisis for several years. Speaking out on the issue is extremely controversial in Myanmar and so far Aung San Suu Kyi has stayed tight-lipped.
"In the past we recognized that the NLD had limited ability to change policies on the Rohingya though we did urge them to speak out publicly on this and they generally didn't do so," Robertson said. "Now that the NLD has formed the government, it's time for Aung San Suu Kyi and her party to say clearly what their policies will be on ending the systematic discrimination and abuse suffered by the Rohingya."
When contacted by VOA, NLD spokesperson Win Htein said the conflict in Rakhine was one of a multitude of issues facing the country.
"There are thousands of problems in our country. [The] Rakhine state problem is one of the thousands," said the Central Executive Committee member. "We will [prioritize] some of the problems but I will not tell exactly what intention we have. What I can say is that we will deal with the problem as soon as possible."
The U.N.'s Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Myanmar has given the leadership some three months to lift travel restrictions for the stateless group. Win Htein said the NLD was not opposed to such a move as long as they could prove their citizenship.
"If they really have citizenship -- real citizenship -- we are not against their free movement inside the country," he said. "But we haven't decided what action we will take."
However, when pressed on the issue of Rohingya citizenship, he snapped.
"Peace problem, national development and national reconciliation [are] much more important than other issues," he said. "You seem to think there is only one problem in Burma. It's absurd. You are not interested in our peace process or national reconciliation or our formation of new government I'm really fed up with the foreign media."
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Obama Stresses Commitment to Turkey Security in Meeting With Erdogan
by Nike Ching March 31, 2016
U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday assured his Turkish counterpart of American commitment to the security of Turkey, a critical ally in the fight against the Islamic State group.
In a Thursday night meeting on the sidelines of a nuclear security summit in Washington, Obama and Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed their strategies against IS extremists, according to the White House.
Obama also extended condolences to Erdogan for a terrorist attack earlier in the day in the Kurdish-majority southeastern city of Diyarbakir, where seven policemen were killed and at least 27 people were wounded.
Earlier Thursday, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden met Erdogan. Turkish officials expressed disappointment about the two sides' disagreement over Syrian Kurdish YPG militia.
The YPG is the armed branch of Syria's powerful Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD). The U.S. views the PYD as an efficient combatant against Islamic State terrorists in northern Syria. However, Turkey says the PYD is aligned with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a militant leftist group fighting for autonomy in southeastern Turkey. Ankara considers the PKK a terrorist group.
After the two leaders' meeting, chaos erupted between Turkish security and protesters outside the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank at which Erdogan was giving a speech.
Media reports said a journalist was removed from the event site by Turkish security personnel, and another was kicked by a guard.
"The United States strongly supports freedom of the press and independent media in every country in the world, including Turkey," Rhodes said.
He said that he didn't know the specifics of the Brookings incident, but that the U.S. had voiced concerns in the past regarding measures taken against journalists inside Turkey and would continue to raise the issue with Ankara.
Biden visited Turkey earlier this year, where he criticized the country's leaders for cracking down on freedom of expression.
He said the Turkish government was not setting the right "example" with its imprisonment of journalists and investigation of academics who have criticized the government's military campaign against Turkey's Kurdish-dominated southeastern sector.
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Spike In Fighting In Eastern Ukraine Threatens Fragile Cease-Fire
by Pete Baumgartner April 01, 2016
International monitors in eastern Ukraine have reported an intense spike in fighting between government forces and Russia-backed separatists as the second year of a shaky truce begins.
"We have seen in the past days and weeks a high number of cease-fire violations, namely in the Donetsk region," Alexander Hug, deputy chief of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine, told RFE/RL on March 30.
Hug said the worst fighting is located between the government-controlled city of Avdiivka and the town of Yasynuvata, which is held by the separatists. The area is located 17 kilometers north of the city of Donetsk, the regional capital.
"Avdiivka-Yasynuvata had always been an area that was troublesome, but these types of kinetic activity that we are seeing now is indeed new," said Hug, who added that the overall number of cease-fire violations observed by OSCE monitors began to trend upward in mid-January.
More than 9,100 people have been killed in the fighting in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region and some 21,000 wounded since the conflict broke out in 2014.
"We have seen all types of different weapons -- we have seen lots of proscribed weapons such as artillery and mortars that should not be there and, of course, not used [based on the Minsk agreement]," Hug said. "We have seen recoilless guns, automatic grenade launchers, heavy machine guns, and small-arms fire there -- and that's in the hundreds [of firings and explosions] on a daily basis [just in the Avdiivka-Yasynuvata area]."
Hug added that even "very heavy weapons" -- what he called "the very indiscriminate weapons, the Grad [multiple-rocket launch] systems" -- have been observed by OSCE monitors being used in recent weeks.
The daily violence in the Avdiivka-Yasynuvata area of the security zone makes up more than half of all the recorded cease-fire violations in the entire Donetsk region, Hug said.
The security zone is a stretch of land that extends 15 kilometers on each side of the line of contact, which was defined in the cease-fire agreement forged in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, by the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Germany, and France in February 2015.
A key road that snakes past Avdiivka-Yasynuvata and connects the separatist-controlled cities of Donetsk and Horlivka gives the area a high strategic importance. Another important road heads through the area and goes north.
The area also includes an industrial zone on the edge of Avdiivka that has been fought over furiously since February, when it was seized by Ukrainian troops.
Hug said there is also a water-filtration station near the fighting in Avdiivka that worries OSCE observers because it provides water to some 400,000 people in the region, on both sides of the line of contact. Chemicals needed for the water station are stored at the site -- including chlorine -- and OSCE officials are concerned that an explosion could ignite the chemicals and lead to an environmental disaster that would also endanger local residents.
"What is happening is that both sides are moving closer to one another toward and onto the contact line, and that brings them too close to each other...and that leads to high tension, which often then erupts into serious fighting," said Hug.
He added that similar tense situations exist near the remains of the Donetsk airport, at a site north of Horlivka, and in the village of Kominternove -- near the southern port city of Mariupol.
"[These] sides [in these areas] are too close to each other, which means they often see each other [from a distance of] less than 50 meters in some places," Hug said.
The one bit of welcome news in the Donbas region, according to the OSCE daily reports, is that there are far fewer cease-fire violations by government troops and the separatists in the Luhansk region.
Another main component of the cease-fire agreement, which is known as Minsk II, is the pullout of heavy weapons from the security zone.
Although the complete withdrawal of heavy weapons by both sides was supposed to be completed more than one year ago, compliance has been spotty.
Hug said that while many of the weapons have been pulled back from the security zone and placed in storage, "we have also seen the reverse trend -- we have seen weapons disappearing from these storage sites and we have seen weapons popping up again in areas where they shouldn't be."
Hug said there have been fewer casualties and less damage to property and infrastructure because of the partial withdrawal of heavy weapons.
The Kremlin has long denied charges by Ukraine, NATO, and many Western countries that Russia has armed the separatists in Donbas and has sent troops there to combat Ukrainian forces.
Hug caused a stir in the Ukrainian media on March 25 when he said at a press conference in Odesa that OSCE monitors in eastern Ukraine had observed evidence of Russian soldiers and weapons "since the beginning of the conflict" that was reflected in the daily reports the monitors compile each day.
Such evidence included, Hug said, "armed people with Russian insignia" on their uniforms and fighters captured by Ukrainian forces "who told us that they are Russian soldiers."
He said OSCE observers had also "seen the tire tracks, not the vehicles themselves, but the tracks of vehicles crossing the border [between Russia and Ukraine]," the Kyiv Post reported.
Hug declined to discuss those comments in a March 30 interview with RFE/RL.
He said the OSCE monitoring mission "reports what it sees" but added that "we don't draw any conclusions and therefore I cannot comment on what the media made out of our [published reports]."
Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/spike-in- fighting-ukraine-cease-fire- avdiivka-yasynuvata/27648459.html
Copyright (c) 2016. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
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US to Provide Ukraine With Additional $335M in Security Aid
by Isabela Cocoli April 01, 2016
The White House says the United States will provide Ukraine with an additional $335 million in security assistance.
The new aid was announced Thursday after a meeting between U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Washington.
The White House also said that Biden told Poroshenko that efforts to form a stable, reform-oriented government were critical to unlocking international economic assistance, including a third $1 billion U.S. loan guarantee.
Last May, the U.S. signed a second $1 billion loan guarantee deal for Ukraine, to help it rebuild its economy after Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 and backed a separatist insurgency in the country's eastern Donbas region.
Washington has supported Ukraine's pro-Western government but also been concerned by pervasive corruption.
Ukraine's parliament sacked the country's chief prosecutor earlier this week over his alleged attempts not to pursue high-profile corruption cases.
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Explainer: Why Nuclear Smuggling Looms Over Washington Summit
March 30, 2016
by Mike Eckel
WASHINGTON -- The arrest of seven members of an organized crime gang in Moldova in late 2014 was unremarkable for a part of the world where such underworld networks run rampant, except for what authorities said they were trafficking in: uranium-238.
Like its chemical cousin, uranium-235, uranium-238 is radioactive. The difference between the two is that uranium-235 is the central ingredient in building a nuclear weapon, a task that requires technical sophistication and specialized equipment.
Uranium-238, many law enforcement and nuclear experts fear, could be the central ingredient in building a dirty bomb, which would cause few immediate casualties but spread cancer-causing radioactive material over a wide area.
The danger that a terrorist group could acquire some sort of radiological material and use it to wreak havoc is central to the Nuclear Security Summit that opens in Washington on March 31. Dozens of leaders and delegations around the world will be discussing ways to keep potentially dangerous substances out of terrorists' hands.
By all accounts, that effort is an uphill battle.
Radiological substances lurk not only in nuclear power plants and military bases, but also in hospital diagnostic equipment, cancer treatments, mining machinery, household smoke detectors, and at one time, even lighthouses. Incidents like what happened in Moldova have occurred with unsettling regularity.
According to data compiled by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, there were nearly 1,150 incidents involving theft, criminal possession, or loss of radiological material reported between 1993 and 2014. The James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in California recorded 325 incidents alone between 2013 and 2014 in 38 different countries where nuclear or radioactive material was stolen, lost, or outside of regulatory control.
Here's a look at just a few incidents involving theft or mishandling of radioactive materials that have raised alarm bells.
The Georgian Connection
Georgian police in 2012 arrested three men in the Black Sea port of Batumi who were negotiating over the sale of cesium -- a radioactive substance used in drilling oil and gas wells, among other things. One of the would-be buyers also reportedly indicated he was interested in buying uranium.
The investigation found the seller possessed two substances -- cesium-137 and strontium-90 -- but not enough to be useful in building a dirty bomb. Strontium-90 has been used as a heat and power source for things like satellites, and also, in the Soviet era, lighthouses that were too remote to be manned or maintained regularly.
The arrest came in the same month that Georgian authorities arrested smugglers from the breakaway region of Abkhazia who were carrying about a kilogram of yellowcake uranium, a lightly processed substance typically made up of uranium-238. Though it has low radioactivity, yellowcake can be enriched to a higher level of radioactivity with enough technical know-how.
Georgia has seen an alarming number of investigations into alleged nuclear smuggling in the past decade following the creation of a special police unit in 2005.
Central Asian Cesium
Kazakh police in 2013 arrested a mining company engineer and three others for allegedly trying to sell a substance containing cesium-137. The engineer reportedly stole the substance from a warehouse at a mine company's enrichment plant in 1991, and stored it until deciding to give it to the three other accomplices to sell. The group had sought $250,000 for the materials. After being caught in a sting operation, the group claimed it did not know there was any danger from the cesium.
Kazakhstan is also among the world's largest producers of uranium ore, and is looking to build enrichment plants in the coming years to manufacture fuel for nuclear power plants around the world.
The German Sting
Two Spaniards and a Colombian man flying from Moscow were arrested in 1994 by German authorities at Munich airport while carrying 560 grams of mixed oxide reactor fuel, about two-thirds of which was another key ingredient to making an atomic bomb: plutonium-239.
The actual source of the material in Russia was never definitively identified, but the arrests, coming as Russia was still reeling from the collapse of the Soviet Union, stoked fears that the vast nuclear complex that Moscow inherited was riddled with security problems -- and that global underground markets would be flooded with dangerous materials.
The incident later became a major political scandal in Germany after lawmakers discovered the arrests were a sting operation organized by the lead German security agency to entrap would-be nuclear smugglers.
The Drunken Sailor And The Uranium
In 1993, a Russian navy officer and another man employed at a submarine base cut a hole in a perimeter fence at a fuel storage depot at the Sevmorput shipyard near the Arctic port of Murmansk. They proceeded to steal three fuel rods containing highly enriched uranium and stored the rods in the man's garage for seven months, intending to sell the material for $50,000. Later, however, the navy officer boasted about the theft to other officers while intoxicated, and authorities arrested both men.
The ease with which the men entered the facility highlighted glaring weaknesses in security for Russian radiological materials. The U.S.-government funded Cooperative Threat Reduction Program spent billions to help Russia pay for surveillance cameras, hi-tech sensors, and security guard salaries, as well the dismantling of missile warheads, submarines, and other weaponry that could potentially be stolen or smuggled.
Deadly Scrap
After a medical research laboratory in the central Brazilian city of Goiania moved to a new facility, some equipment was inadvertently left behind, including machinery used for medical radiation therapy. Scavengers in 1987 took some of the equipment's parts to sell for scrap, but discovered that the contents of one part glowed in the dark. Not realizing the substance contained cesium-137, they shared it with others in their neighborhood.
In the end, four people died of radiation poisoning and thousands others were contaminated. Brazilian officials removed vast quantities of top soil, and destroying several buildings and detected contamination in dozens of others.
In a comprehensive report, the IAEA called the Goiania contamination the "most serious radiological incident to have ever occurred to date."
Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/nuclear-smuggling-summit/27644900.html
Copyright (c) 2016. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
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Focus on North Korea, Islamic State at Obama Nuclear Summit
by Pamela Dockins March 31, 2016
U.S. President Barack Obama said Thursday that in the wake of attacks in places including Brussels, there is "not only great urgency around the nuclear issue, but eliminating generally the scourge of terrorism."
He commented on the sidelines of the nuclear security summit in Washington.
Obama's fourth and final nuclear summit has come at a time of heightened concern about the possibility that Islamic State militants could set off radioactive bombs, and also about North Korea's nuclear weapons development.
Some of the world leaders who attended a White House summit dinner Thursday were from countries that have been directly impacted by terrorist attacks.
At a State Department ministerial level dinner, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said there have been times when nuclear security progress has been slow, and there remains an "enormous amount more to do."
"But every step forward that we take is a step away from danger," he added.
Earlier Thursday, Obama held a series of meeting with leaders.
He met with South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to discuss the North Korean threat in the wake of Pyongyang's January nuclear test and a long-range missile launch in February.
Pyongyang was also among the focal points when Obama sat down later with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
"We want to enhance communication and coordination on the Korean nuclear issue and other regional and global issues," Xi said at the top of the talks.
Washington views Beijing, Pyongyang's ally, as key in enforcing U.N. sanctions against North Korea for its weapons development.
In a later meeting, Obama praised French President Francois Hollande for "galvanizing the European community" in the fight against terror. The president will also hold a bilateral talks with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
In a Washington Post opinion article, Obama said world powers would address threats posed by terrorist groups such as Islamic State.
"We will join allies and partners in reviewing our counterterrorism efforts, to prevent the world's most dangerous networks from obtaining the world's most dangerous weapons," Obama said.
Brussels attacks
The U.S. and other world powers may be experiencing a heightened sense of urgency in securing nuclear material and sites from terrorists, following the March 22 attacks in Brussels.
News reports have said two brothers linked to the attacks were part of a plot to gain information about a Belgian nuclear facility.
"We know that terrorist organizations have the desire to get access to these raw materials and their desire to have a nuclear device," said White House foreign policy aide Ben Rhodes.
One U.S. lawmaker, Representative Ed Royce, a California Republican who is chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said, "We should assume terrorists will continue to seek out the weakest links at nuclear facilities around the globe."
World leaders are also concerned about the security of nuclear materials and facilities in countries such as nuclear-armed Pakistan, where a terrorist attack in Lahore on Easter Sunday killed more than 70 people.
While progress has been made since the first summit in 2010, "the overall objective of securing the most vulnerable nuclear materials in four years I don't think has been achieved," said Sharon Squassoni with the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
"There is still material out there and the material that we're talking about is highly enriched uranium," she said.
International framework
Experts say security gaps remain for several reasons: There still is no international framework to monitor nuclear materials; some countries are unwilling to open up supplies intended for commercial use; and some militaries have been unable to agree on how to deal with their nuclear material.
"If you wanted to cause a nuclear incident, you might look for the country with the most vulnerable reactors," said James Andrew Lewis, head of the Strategic Technologies Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
As the summit got underway, the White House released a statement saying the U.S. had declassified and released data on the national inventory of highly enriched uranium. It said inventories decreased from about 741 to 586 metric tons between 1996 and 2013.
VOA White House correspondent Mary Alice Salinas and Ken Bredemeier contributed to this report.
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Obama Sees 'Significant Progress' on Nuclear Security
by Pamela Dockins April 01, 2016
U.S. President Barack Obama hailed the "significant progress" the world's nations have made on nuclear security, and pledged the United States will continue to cooperate with all efforts to reduce nuclear stockpiles and keep them safe.
Addressing more than 50 world leaders gathered at the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, Obama said more than a dozen nations have disposed of their entire supplies of highly enriched uranium and plutonium - the radioactive elements necessary to build nuclear bombs.
During six years of international meetings on nuclear security - including four summits, which he initiated - the U.S. president said, "We've embraced a new type of thinking and a new type of action."
"This is a perfect example of a 21st -century security challenge that no one nation can solve alone," Obama told the leaders at a plenary session of the summit broadcast worldwide. "It requires coalitions and sustained coordination across borders and institutions. And the good news is we've made significant progress."
Obama also met with a smaller gathering of the nations mostly closely involved in last year's nuclear agreement with Iran. He told the so-called P5+1 group the deal with Iran "achieved a substantial success and focused on the dangers of nuclear proliferation in a real way."
He stressed, however, that "full and continued implementation" of the Iran agreement will "take the same level of cooperation" from the international community.
This year's nuclear security summit has come at a time of heightened concern about the possibility that Islamic State militants could acquire nuclear materials to build "dirty bombs" that could spread deadly radioactive fallout over wide areas. North Korea's nuclear-weapons development program also has been closely studied.
Obama said the scores of nations working together on nuclear security have made "260 specific commitments to improve nuclear security," both at this year's summit and their previous sessions.
"And so far," the president reported, "three-quarters of these steps have been implemented. More than a dozen nations have removed all their highly enriched uranium and plutonium."
"Once again, I am making it clear that the United States will do our part," Obama added. "Today we're releasing a detailed description of the measures that our military takes to protect nuclear materials, so that other nations can improve their security and transparency as well.
"For the first time in a decade we are providing a public inventory of our stockpiles of our highly enriched uranium. ... And that inventory is one that we have reduced considerably."
North Korea
Obama has met with leaders from South Korea and Japan on the sidelines of the summit about their mutual concerns over North Korea's provocative gestures and actions. Although there was no specific response from Pyongyang to the trilateral meeting, or to Obama's separate private meeting Thursday with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the North Korean military launched another small ballistic missile into the sea early Friday, officially announced it is blocking popular Western websites and stepped up jamming of global-positioning data beamed to Earth by a network of satellites.
In Geneva, moreover, a top North Korean envoy told Reuters that Pyongyang intends to pursue its nuclear and ballistic missile program in the face of repeated warnings from the United States and other nations.
During the U.S. president's meeting with Xi, U.S. officials reported the Chinese leader said: "We want to enhance communication and coordination on the Korean nuclear issue and other regional and global issues."
Washington views Beijing, Pyongyang's ally, as key in enforcing U.N. sanctions against North Korea for its weapons development.
The possibility of nuclear terrorism was also a key focus on Thursday, the first day of the summit.
President Obama said that in the wake of attacks in places including Brussels, there is "not only great urgency around the nuclear issue but eliminating generally the scourge of terrorism."
Some of the world leaders who attended a White House summit dinner Thursday were from countries that have been directly impacted by terrorist attacks.
Slow progress
At a State Department ministerial level dinner, Secretary of State John Kerry said there have been times when nuclear security progress has been slow, and there remains an "enormous amount more to do. But every step forward that we take is a step away from danger."
The U.S. and other world powers may be experiencing a heightened sense of urgency in securing nuclear material and sites from terrorists following the March 22 attacks in Brussels.
News reports say two brothers linked to the attacks were part of a plot to gain information about a Belgian nuclear facility.
"We know that terrorist organizations have the desire to get access to these raw materials and their desire to have a nuclear device," said White House foreign policy aide Ben Rhodes.
Weakest links
One U.S. lawmaker, Congressman Ed Royce, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said, "We should assume terrorists will continue to seek out the weakest links at nuclear facilities around the globe."
World leaders also are concerned about the security of nuclear materials and facilities in countries such as nuclear armed Pakistan, where a terrorist attack in Lahore on Easter Sunday killed more than 70 people.
While progress has been made since the first summit in 2010, "the overall objective of securing the most vulnerable nuclear materials in four years I don't think has been achieved," said Sharon Squassoni with the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
"There is still material out there and the material that we're talking about is highly enriched uranium," she said.
Experts say security gaps remain for several reasons: there still is no international framework to monitor nuclear materials; some countries are unwilling to open up supplies intended for commercial use, and some militaries have been unable to agree on how to deal with their nuclear material.
"If you wanted to cause a nuclear incident, you might look for the country with the most vulnerable reactors," said James Andrew Lewis, head of the Strategic Technologies Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
As the summit got under way, the White House released a statement saying the U.S. has declassified and released data on the national inventory of highly enriched uranium. It said inventories decreased from about 741 to 586 metric tons between 1996 and 2013.
VOA White House correspondent Mary Alice Salinas and Katherine Gypson contributed to this report
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Officials with the Henry County Sheriffs Office say they are doing all they can to try and ensure that people attending the STP 500 race and other NASCAR events at Martinsville Speedway this weekend stay safe.
The recent terrorist attacks in Brussels, Belgium, are a reminder that strict security measures must be in place at large public events, said county Sheriff Lane Perry. However, no major changes in procedures are planned at the speedway for race weekend, he said at least to the knowledge of sheriffs office personnel.
Were always concerned with peoples safety, Perry said. We go to great lengths behind the scenes to make sure that people can come and enjoy the race and come and go without being hindered much.
As part of the process, security officials will check the personal belongings of all speedway visitors who bring things with them, according to Perry and sheriffs office Lt. Col. Steve Eanes.
Roughly 120 officers from area law-enforcement agencies will be at the speedway this weekend, especially for the STP 500 on Sunday, Eanes said. Along with Henry County Sheriffs Office personnel, they will include officers from the Martinsville Police Department and the Patrick and Franklin county sheriffs offices who usually provide assistance during races, he and Perry said.
In addition, Henry County Public Safety Department officials and personnel from the Virginia State Police and other state and federal law-enforcement agencies will be at the speedway, Perry said.
For security purposes, the speedway limits what race visitors can carry with them through the gates.
To carry soft drinks or ice, visitors can bring one soft-sided cooler bag no larger than 14 by 14 by 14 inches. It must be able to be carried. Coolers with telescoping handles and wheels are not allowed, according to a speedway website.
A visitor can bring one lightweight backpack, no more than about 17 inches in length and of the type commonly used by students. It can be carried by a handle, shoulder straps or on a belt, the website shows.
Binoculars, scanners, headsets and cameras are allowed, provided they are not carried in a bag but worn over the neck or on a belt. Seat cushions carried separately also are allowed, the website states.
The following are among items not allowed through the gates:
Firearms, fireworks and other items restricted by local, state and federal laws.
Hard-sided coolers, thermoses and insulated cups of any size.
Strollers and umbrellas.
The carry-in policies are subject to change without notice, the website shows.
To expedite the security checks, visitors are encouraged to arrive at the gates as early as possible, according to the website.
Brooks Taylor, the speedways director of public relations, declined to comment about security matters.
We dont want to talk about security at all, he said bluntly, referring to speedway employees. He said, though, that the speedway is working with law-enforcement agencies to keep visitors safe.
It takes 2-3 weeks of planning before race weekends to coordinate security efforts at the speedway, Perry said.
But among law-enforcement and public safety personnel, he said, all of the people have worked together over there for years and know each other, their responsibilities and security measures, so they are able to carry out their duties effectively.
Go to the race, enjoy it and feel safe, Eanes said. Theres going to be good weather. Its going to be a good time.
Mostly sunny skies are expected to prevail on Saturday and Sunday, with high temperatures in the upper 50s to mid-60s, according to the National Weather Service.
Virginia State Police Superintendent W. Steven Flaherty said Thursday night that a state trooper shot by a man at Richmond's Greyhound bus station has died from his wounds.
Flaherty said Trooper Chad Dermyer, 37, was a Marine Corps veteran and native of Jackson, Mich., who graduated from the state police academy in 2014 and had been transferred to a counter-terrorism and criminal interdiction unit after serving on patrol in the Newport News and Hampton areas.
Dermyer, a former Newport News police officer, is married with two children, state police said.
Dermyer was in a criminal interdiction training at the bus station when he approached the man and was shot multiple times, Flaherty told reporters at an evening briefing.
Flaherty said Dermyer and the suspect had only been talking moments before the suspect drew a firearm about 2:45 p.m. The suspect was then fatally shot by two other state troopers.
"Why he reacted, why he had a gun in his waistband, we don't know," Flaherty said.
The suspect has a history of criminal charges but Flaherty said authorities had not yet determined how many resulted in convictions. He was not immediately identified, pending notification of family.
Two women suffered non-life-threatening injuries in the shootings. Flaherty said it was too early in the investigation to say who fired the shots that wounded them.
One of the women was a member of the Binghamton (N.Y.) University track team en route to the College of William and Mary for a meet, Binghamton said in a news release.
The campus has been in touch with the students parents and has arranged for counselors to be available to the student and her fellow student-athletes, the school said.
Flaherty said the department mourned the death of Dermyer.
"This has been a tough evening, a tough afternoon," Flaherty said. "It's quite a tragedy."
The superintendent said earlier in the afternoon he had been at a meeting of an international police association and participating in a ceremony to honor officers who lost their lives in the line of duty.
To the editor:
Just as President Barack Obama is responsible for the growth and success of the Islamic State group, the alluded establishment Republicans are responsible for the phenomena known as Donald Trump.
For reasoning I dont understand, Democrats with no noticeable changes in their modus operandi are hopelessly incapable of grasping the rationales for their gargantuan political losses at the polls just as Republicans seem hopelessly incapable of understanding the ratiocinating behind their vast gains.
Personally I dont care for the way Donald Trump runs his campaign and Im not a Trump supporter but I will vote for him if, at the end of the day, he receives the nomination.
Republican elites refusal, inability, incompetence, arrogant vanity or for whatever reason to recognize voters lucidity for putting them in control of the government is the same reason they are incapable of recognizing the danger they have crafted in Trump. Tea partiers, the silent majority, or whatever liberals may call them (racist, homophobic, bigots, etc.); Trumpians consist of disgruntled Republicans, Democrats, and independents (citizens) that view the country as sliding into the septic tank. Under what is perceived as a Democrat monarchy, they are witnessing the rule of law applied according to political considerations, flagrant violations of the rule of law, they want Obamacare repealed, the runaway deficit brought under control, taxpayer funding of abortions stopped, the return of good jobs and they have seen traditional values and beliefs diminished and/or abolished, and on and on.
They are concerned with our institutions of higher learning redirecting the thinking of our children for political reasons and producing an undereducated populace. They are undereducated in the fact that their minds are filled with liberal ambitions but they are never taught that, historically, liberal philosophies always proven to be dismal failures. Most of all they are troubled by the oncoming socialism which has always led tyranny under the deceptive guise of income equality or income redistribution where a central power determines ones economic significance and not the individual.
In fact, Republicans wore the knees of their pants thin promising to address these trepidations if voters would just give us control of the House and the opportunity to get at these issues. Voters listened and worked arduously to accomplish this. Then again; if you will give us a majority in the Senate we will really address your apprehensions this time.
Voters went to work again, hoping to regain some of the lost respect for their country, putting their faith in the Republican Party (again) and gave them a majority in the Senate.
These voters are seeing the American dream slip away from their grasp and the feeling their government has abandoned them along with their party and after eight years with all the arduous efforts, and with a majority in both houses what have establishment Republicans done toward relieving any of the anxieties?
You have done nothing! After all was said and done, a lot more was said than done. In fact, Republican elites have exasperated the anxieties by their espousal of the issues responsible for the apprehensions. There is no amount of Washington spin that can obscure the evidence presented in this article.Trumpians view you as imitation Democrats in which the ability to communicate their fears are entirely hopeless. You are viewed as The Terminator character, incapable of being negotiated with, only with a mission of self-indulgence, party power seekers not giving a hoot about your contribution to the countrys decadence.
The current Republican Party, except for of a couple social issues, has the appearance of being in lockstep with the Democrats and is the best thing that they could ever hope for. That is why it is disingenuously hilarious to read an op-ed with an author lambasting Republicans.
The Republican bases loyalty to Donald Trump and not to the establishment is really quite simple to explain:
Trump is not viewed as establishment and from a historical perspective makes him far superior to any traditional politician to address the many conscious threats to the nations security and economy.
Trump is invulnerable to that depraved political correctness which provides an explanation for his brazen characteristics which the base find inspirational. They realize Trump is not a conservative but feel the consequences of getting him elected will far out way their iniquities for violating their conservative principles. People in general have had it with politics as usual. One remedy available is the elites incremental removal from office.
It is rumored that rather than conciliate and address constituents repressed anxieties the party is considering efforts focused on disenfranchising them.
Considering the Republican Party has always stood for democratic principles, in my mind this would be a fatal mistake. You would be wise to remember the demise of the Whig Party (the second option). These citizens wont tolerate manipulating rules of the democratic process to try to countermand the will of the people. If you dont honor and respect the will of the people, we will undermine the legitimacy of the party and the party will cease to exist. Therein is the real danger of Donald Trump.
LARRY BARTON
Danville
Dr. Michael A. Moore has been recognized with the 2016 Consortium for Southeastern Hypertension Controls Lifetime Achievement Award.
On March 4, consortium held the organizations annual meeting in Charleston, South Carolina, where Moore was recognized, according to a news release from Danville Regional Medical Center.
The group is a non-profit voluntary health organization dedicated to eradicating vascular disease. The award recognizes an outstanding southeastern U.S. clinician or scientist whose efforts have contributed substantially to the enhancement of knowledge in the fields of hypertension and cardiovascular disease.
Dr. Moore has been described as an unsung hero and a constant in Danvilles medical community. We believe that Dr. Moore epitomizes the dedication that this award recognizes, Alan Larson, CEO of DRMC, said in a news release.
Moore is a nephrologist who specialized in hypertension management and preventive cardiovascular health care. He has been a member of the DRMC medical staff since 1979 and director of continuing medical education since 1994. He is currently director of the hospitals internal medicine residency program.
After receiving his undergraduate degree in chemistry and medical education at the University of North Carolina, Moore went on to complete his internal medicine and nephrology training at The Johns Hopkins Hospital.
He has been a member of the faculty at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine since 1976.
In addition, he is a clinical professor of medicine at Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine and Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine.
He is a nationally recognized lecturer on cardiovascular topics and physician communication skills.
In 2008, in collaboration with hospital administration and Edward Via College, he assisted in the development of DRMCs Osteopathic Graduate Medical Education Program.
Fifteen middle and high school students from both Danville and Pittsylvania County won thousands of dollars in investment and scholarship money last week during the Young Entrepreneurs Academys Zan Womack Investor Panel at Danville Community College.
They did an amazing job, said YEA organizer Antonio Logan.
The students presented their 13 business ideas to a panel of investors who judged each of the projects. Students had just five minutes to go over all aspects of their businesses everything from implementation plans to sales projections.
Dan River High School senior Ethan Blount took home the top prize of $1,193 in investment money and was named a Saunders Scholar. Blount wowed judges with his start-up Your Local Mushrooms, where Blount plans to produce and distribute locally-grown, organic and gluten-free gourmet mushrooms.
As part of his prizes, Blount will compete in the YEA Saunders Scholars National Semi-Finals Competition in May in Rochester, New York. From there, Blount has a chance to win college scholarship awards and an all-expenses paid trip to Americas Small Business Summit in Washington, D.C., where the national competition will be held.
Other top business ideas included a shopping cart clipboard from Chatham Middle Schools Kyle Benson, a male-oriented line of scented candles from Dan River Middle Schools Dylan Groom and Kael Terry and a line of high-quality soap products from Dan River Middle Schools Dylan Adkins.
Logan, who is also the Danville Pittsylvania County Chamber of Commerces education and workforce development coordinator, said he was most impressed with how confidently each student was in presenting their business ideas.
Their ideas were advanced for their age, Logan said. The way they were able to get up there to present, they were fearless.
In addition to their investment winnings, each student received $2,000 each in scholarships should they choose to attend DCC after graduation.
Chamber president Laurie Moran said in a news release the students also had learned skills that would help them all their lives.
Nurturing the entrepreneurial spirit in teens and teaching young people about starting a business or social movement build skills that will serve them well their entire lives, Moran said. Introducing the students to business leaders and successful entrepreneurs in our community is invaluable.
The Young Entrepreneurs Academy is a seven-month program for students ages 11-18 that teaches students the skills needed to own and operate their own business.
TORONTO, Mar 31, 2016 - Adriana Resources Inc. ("Adriana" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:ADI) announces today that Mr. Weike Peng has resigned from its Board of Directors, due to his transfer to a new role. Mr. Peng has been a valuable member of Adriana's Board of Directors as a representative of WISCO International Resource Development & Investment Limited ("WISCO").The Board of Directors has appointed Mr. Xinting (Tony) Wang, subject to TSX-V approval, as a director to replace Mr. Peng on the Board of Directors. Mr. Wang currently serves as Chief Executive Officer and President of WISCO Canada Resources Investment Limited, based in Toronto. He is a mining engineer by profession with over 20 years of experience with operations and investment in the iron ore mining industry.Mr. Wang has a wealth of experience in overseas mining investment and management, having served as a director of Hong Kong WISCO GUANGXIN KAM WAH Resources Limited, which managed the development of the Soalala project in Madagascar, and serves as a director of Century Global Commodities Corp. , listed on the TSX. Mr. Wang attended the XI'AN University of Technology and Architecture in China, majoring in mining engineering and subsequently the Wuhan University of Technology and Science as the mining engineering graduate student. Mr. Wang also holds a Master Business Administration degree from Ohio University, USA.Don Charter, Chairman of Adriana commented: "We thank Mr. Peng for his valuable contributions to the Company and wish him well in his future endeavours. We welcome Mr. Wang to the Board of Directors. As CEO of WISCO Canada, Tony is very familiar with Adriana and Lac Otelnuk, and we look forward to working with him."The Company also announces the resignation of Mr. Daniel E. Im, who is leaving his role as CFO effective March 31, 2016 to pursue other opportunities."The Board of Directors would like to thank Daniel for all of his contributions to Adriana during the last five years and wish him success in his future endeavours," said Michael J. Harrison, President and CEO.The Company has engaged Mr. Carlos Pinglo as CFO on a part-time consulting basis. Mr. Pinglo is an economist with over 20 years of senior management experience, working with both private and public companies in corporate finance, strategic planning, financial reporting, turnarounds and mergers & acquisitions. He is currently Chief Financial Officer of Carpathian Gold, and Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary of Eurotin Inc. Mr. Pinglo has previously held a number of senior finance roles, including Chief Financial Officer at both First Bauxite Corp. and Medoro Resources Ltd. , Vice President, Finance at Pacific Coal Resources Ltd., Controller of both Silver Eagle Mines Inc. and Excellon Resources Inc. and a member of the Board of Directors at Mineros Nacionales S.A.The Company continues its efforts to conserve cash and has substantially reduced general and administrative expenditures. In addition, the Company will also be moving its head office effective April 1, 2016. The new address can be found on the Company's website.ON BEHALF OF Adriana Resources Inc.Michael J. HarrisonPresident and CEOCertain information regarding Adriana, may constitute forward-looking statements under applicable securities laws and necessarily involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Certain important risk factors could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements including, without limitation, changes in the world wide price of mineral commodities and currency fluctuations, general market conditions, the uncertainty of future profitability and access to sufficient capital. As a consequence, actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements and caution should be exercised on placing undue reliance on forward looking information.Michael J. Harrison, President & CEO416-363-2200mharrison@adrianaresources.comwww.adrianaresources.com
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Mar 31, 2016) - Teck Resources Ltd. (TSX: TCK.A and TCK.B, NYSE: TCK) ("Teck") will release its first quarter 2016 earnings results on Tuesday, April 26, 2016 before market open.
The company will hold an investor conference call to discuss the first quarter 2016 earnings results at 11:00 a.m. Eastern time / 8:00 a.m. Pacific time on Tuesday, April 26, 2016. The conference call dial-in is 416.340.2216 or toll free 866.225.0198, no pass code required. Media are invited to attend on a listen-only basis.
A live audio webcast of the conference call, together with supporting presentation slides, will be available on Teck's website at www.teck.com. The webcast will be archived at www.teck.com.
To listen to a post-call recording of the call, dial 905.694.9451 or toll free 800.408.3053 and enter access number 4158425 when prompted. The recording will be available from 2:00 p.m. Pacific time April 26, 2016 to 11:59 p.m. Pacific time May 26, 2016.
About Teck
Teck is a diversified resource company committed to responsible mining and mineral development with major business units focused on copper, steelmaking coal, zinc and energy. Headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, its shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbols TCK.A and TCK.B and the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol TCK. Further information about Teck can be found at: www.teck.com.
Lamb shoulder braised with oregano, lemon and chilli at Hunter Gatherer. Photo: Supplied
North Sydney is the destination for Hunter Gatherer, a new bar and eatery from the team behind Bondi's The Corner House and Panama House. The venue is set to open early April on the rooftop of Greenwood Plaza and will feature serious northside cooking talent from former head chef at The Boathouse Group, Paul "Mick" Micklewright, who also spent time on the pans at Berowra Waters Inn.
Hunter Gatherer co-owner Anthony Kaplan says they pinpointed North Sydney after running a short-lived burger pop-up there and being pleasantly surprised by the number of people in the area. Inspiration for Hunter Gatherer has come from a number of places, including the cooking approach of chef Yotam Ottolenghi.
The launch menu will likely include dishes such as a bitter leaf salad with orange, fennel and spiced walnuts; roasted autumn beetroots with cumin-spiced labna and watercress; and braised lamb shoulder with oregano, lemon and chilli.
Ottolenghi-inspired: Hunter Gatherer's bitter leaf salad with orange, fennel and spiced walnuts. Photo: Supplied
"There'll be a really strong visual element with some food on display," says Kaplan. "The interior will be part rustic farmhouse, part Danish design and with wallpaper that's borderline psychedelic."
The bar is also licensed until midnight from Wednesday to Friday and offers cocktails, local beers and spirits, and organic wines.
Open Mon-Tue 8:30am-4pm; Wed-Fri 8:30am-late.
New bar and eatery Hunter Gatherer will have a strong visual element, says co-owner Anthony Kaplan, pictured at Panama House, Bondi. Photo: Peter Rae
Greenwood Plaza Rooftop, 36 Blue Street, North Sydney
SHARE Turner
By Staff Report
A San Angelo man was arrested after allegedly assaulting a family member, threatening a neighbor with a machete and resisting arrest.
Chad Turner, 39, was booked into the Tom Green County Jail on Sunday, charged with Class C assault, terroristic threat causing fear of imminent serious bodily injury and resisting arrest.
Police were dispatched to Turner's residence about 9:40 p.m. Sunday in response to a report of an unknown problem, according to a news release from the San Angelo Police Department.
Officers learned while en route that a man was in front of the home armed with a machete, according to the release.
Police found Turner in the front yard, and he appeared agitated, the release stated.
A stun gun was used on Turner because he refused to follow police commands to show his hands and stop advancing toward police, but it had little effect on Turner, according to the release.
A K9 dog was brought to the scene, and officers told Turner the service dog would be released if Turner continued to resist, the release stated.
Turner soon complied and was taken into custody.
Police spoke with witnesses who said they saw Turner strike a woman on the head several times before police arrived. Police found the 68-year-old female family member inside the residence who told officers she believed Turner struck her on the head with a stick, according to the release. The woman was not seriously injured, and she did not require medical treatment, the release stated.
Police also spoke with a neighbor, a 20-year-old San Angelo man, who told them Turner confronted him in the front yard while holding what appeared to be a machete and threatened to chop him and his family up, the release stated.
The machete was not located, but officers found and seized a hammer from the scene, according to the release.
Turner had not been released from jail as of Thursday. His bail is set at about $2,000.
FILE - In a Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011, file photo, a person stands near the Apple logo at the company's store in Grand Central Terminal, in New York. There's a shadowy global industry devoted to unlocking phones and extracting their information. For digital forensics companies, success can mean big bucks in the form of government contracts. And the notoriety that could come with cracking an iPhone used by a purported terrorist could rocket them to cyber stardom. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)
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FBI set to unlock iPhone in Arkansas
By James Queally And Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times (TNS)
The FBI has agreed to help prosecutors gain access to an iPhone 6 and an iPod that might hold evidence in an Arkansas murder trial, just days after the agency managed to hack an iPhone linked to the San Bernardino terror attacks, a local prosecutor said Wednesday.
Cody Hiland, prosecuting attorney for Arkansas' 20th Judicial District, said that the FBI's Little Rock field office had agreed to help his office gain access to a pair of locked devices owned by two of the suspects in the slayings of Robert and Patricia Cogdell.
It was not immediately clear whether the FBI planned to use the same method it used to access data on Syed Rizwan Farook's phone. Calls to the FBI's Little Rock field office were not immediately returned. An FBI spokesman in Washington declined to comment.
The couple were killed in their home just outside Little Rock in July, according to The Associated Press. Four suspects, ages 14 to 18, have been charged in the killings, Hiland said.
Prosecutors asked for a delay in the trial of 18-year-old Hunter Drexler on Tuesday, less than 24 hours after the FBI said it had successfully gained access to an iPhone 5c that Farook used.
Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, carried out the deadly attacks at the Inland Regional Center on Dec. 2, leaving 14 dead and many more wounded. Federal prosecutors went to court to force Apple to help them unlock Farook's phone, but the historic court battle was staved off when a third party helped the FBI gain access to the device.
"The iPod had just come into our possession a couple of weeks ago," Hiland said Wednesday. "Obviously when we heard that (the FBI) had been able to crack that phone we wanted to at least ask and see if they wanted to help."
Hiland did not know what operating system the phone, which belonged to Drexler, was running.
The phone at the heart of the Arkansas case is a later model than the one used by Farook, but it would present some of the same access problems, said Andrew Crocker, a staff attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital rights group in San Francisco.
An iPhone 6 would be running iOS8 or a later operating system that encrypts all data on the phone, when locked, Crocker said. Apple has said it lacks the capability to bypass that level of encryption.
The device would also trigger a delay after each successive incorrect pass code entry, meaning even FBI software that can input an endless string of password combinations would encounter longer and longer wait times between attempts. On Tuesday, an FBI official told the Los Angeles Times that the successful hack of Farook's phone was unlikely to help police win broader access to encrypted data.
Police officials have long complained that encryption acts as a roadblock to routine criminal investigations, rendering useless thousands of smartphones sitting in police evidence lockers around the country.
The process used to gain access to Farook's phone might not work on other devices, according to the official. The official said it was also unlikely that the FBI would use the new tool in cases that would result in criminal prosecutions because the method would then become subject to discovery at trial.
Crocker said he was skeptical that the Arkansas case would be analogous to the situation involving Farook's phone.
"In a criminal case, if the FBI uses a technique, there's going to be questions about divulging that technique or chain of custody to the defense," he said. "So my instinct is this might be something different."
Hiland said he's not concerned with setting a precedent. He simply wants access to all the available evidence at trial.
"Our focus is on the case," he said. "Our job is to seek justice."
Though the FBI might want to use the new tool to help solve other criminal cases, doing so would also make the process subject to discovery during criminal trials and place the information in the public domain, according to the official.
Any application of the method used to access Farook's phone would probably be limited to investigations that are unlikely to result in criminal cases, the official said.
Pictured, from left, are Grape Creek FFA team members Enrique Ramirez, Robert Vance, Gabriel Rodriguez, Matthew Salisbury, Aaron Vargas, Kane Gwinn, Zach Knighton, Abel Ramos, Stephen Dooley, Alex Gonzalez, Katie Cummings, Jacob Teagarden, Jody Dubose, Cole Covey, Dana Dillon, Terayce Preston, Cody Liston-Skelton, Omar Hernandez, Blake Chudej (adviser), Wesley Hopper, Juan Buenrostro, Zach Phillips and Wesley Robertson.
SHARE Placing second in their class and third in the tractor division with their 1951 John Deere Model A entry at the Houston Livestock Show recently was the Grape Creek FFA team composed of, from left, Aaron Vargas, Stephen Dooley, Cole Covey, Barbra Gene, Enrique Ramirez, Robert Vance and Matthew Salisbury. Matthew Salisbury and Gabriel Rodriguez, both of Grape Creek ISD, took third in their class with their headache rack at the Houston Livestock Show recently. Grape Creek High School's Enrique Ramirez placed second in his class with his fabricated gate at the Houston Livestock Show.
By Michelle Gaitan of the San Angelo Standard-Times
Grape Creek ISD is living up to its motto of "building successful students" as it was honored in March as the 2016 winner of the Dr. Billy Harrell Award of Excellence.
Harrell, after whom the award is named, was an agricultural mechanics professor at Sam Houston State University who was instrumental in starting the Ag Mechanics Show in Houston and across the state.
Blake Chudej, team adviser and agricultural science teacher at Grape Creek High School, said he is "very proud of the success of our kids."
This award is presented every year during the Ag Mechanics Project Show, which is part of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. It goes to a group that portrays the qualities of leaders such as Harrell, has team members who work well with others, completes tasks and shows projects at an excellent level.
The students impressed the show's committee when they were interviewed about the school's program.
"I had nothing to do with that," Chudej said. "It's an honor to know what (students) think about this program and me. They do great things in our program."
Student's in Chudej's program disagree, crediting their teacher for his leadership and his one-on-one interactions on projects.
"He makes it to where we better ourselves," said senior Cole Covey, noting that if it weren't for Chudej the team would not have placed at the Houston Ag Mechanics Project Show.
"He's the heart and soul of our team," Enrique Ramirez said. " He gives up precious time with his family just for us."
Ramirez and Covey said the team sometimes works all night to get projects completed.
Grape Creek's ag team included 30 students who showed nine projects, including four shop tables, a headache rack, an entry gate and a 1951 John Deere tractor.
"I am very honored, very proud to know my program is successful and that I am teaching these kids how to be successful," Chudej said.
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A viral video released in February showed Boston Dynamics' new bipedal robot, Atlas, performing humanlike tasks: opening doors, tromping about in the snow, lifting and stacking boxes. Tech geeks cheered and Silicon Valley investors salivated at the potential end to human manual labor.
Shortly thereafter, White House economists released a forecast that calculated more precisely whom Atlas and other forms of automation are going to put out of work. Most occupations that pay less than $20 an hour are likely to be, in the words of the report, "automated into obsolescence."
In other words, the so-called Fourth Industrial Revolution has found its first victims: blue-collar workers and the poor.
The general response in working America is disbelief or outright denial. A recent Pew Research Center survey found that 80 percent of Americans think their job will still exist in 50 years, and only 11 percent of today's workers were worried about losing their job to automation.
Some like my former colleagues at the CIA insist that their specialized skills and knowledge can't be replaced by artificial intelligence. That is, until they see plans for autonomous drones that don't require a human hand and automated imagery analysis that outperforms human eyes.
Human workers of all stripes pound the table claiming desperately that they're irreplaceable. Bus drivers. Bartenders. Financial advisers. Speechwriters. Firefighters. Umpires. Even doctors and surgeons.
Meanwhile, corporations and investors are spending billions at least $8.5 billion last year on AI, and $1.8 billion on robots toward making all those jobs replaceable. Why? Simply put, robots and computers don't need health care, pensions, vacation days or even salaries.
Powerhouse consultancies like McKinsey & Co. forecast that 45 percent of today's workplace activities could be done by robots, AI or some other already demonstrated technology. Some professors argue that we could see 50 percent unemployment in 30 years.
Deniers of the scope and scale of this looming economic upheaval point hopefully to retraining programs, and insist that there always will be a need for people to build and service these machines (even as engineers are focused on developing robots that fix themselves or each other). They believe that such shifts are many decades away, even as noted futurist Ray Kurzweil, who is also Google's director of engineering, says AI will equal human intelligence by 2029.
Deniers also talk about all the new jobs they assume will be created during this Fourth Industrial Revolution. Alas, a report from the 2016 World Economic Forum calculated that the technological changes underway likely will destroy 7.1 million jobs around the world by 2020, with only 2.1 million replaced.
With the future value of human labor (read: our incomes) in doubt, what do we do?
One way to cushion the economic blow is to reclaim something from the technology realm that we've been giving away for free: our personal data.
Companies that sell personal data should pay a percentage of the resulting revenue into a Data Mining Royalty Fund that would provide annual payments to U.S. citizens, much as the Alaska Permanent Fund distributes oil revenues to Alaskans. This payment scheme would start with traditional data customer, financial and social media information sold to advertisers but also would extend to future forms of data such as our facial expressions and other biometrics.
If Google, Facebook or others were profiting from harvesting timber, oil, gold or any other public resource, it would be illegal and immoral for them not to pay for it. The same logic should apply to our data.
Profound changes lie ahead with implications beyond our paychecks, to be sure. Ethicists and philosophers already are debating what a world without work might look like. It's clear that no one will escape the outcomes negative and positive of this economic and technological revolution.
A Data Mining Royalty Fund isn't about helping just the unemployed factory worker who used to earn $20 an hour, the truck driver replaced by self-driving vehicles or the minimum-wage barista. It's about taking steps to guarantee some minimum income to your family, or the one down the block, before any of us are automated into obsolescence.
Bryan Dean Wright is a former CIA covert operator who resides in Oregon. His Twitter handle is @BryanDeanWright.
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I would like to thank Charlie Rose, the wonky, late-night talk show host, for saying these words on broadcast TV last week: "13 million Hispanics are expected to vote in the 2016 presidential election, but as we saw in Tuesday's primaries, they won't all say the same thing. Lumping Latinos into one monolithic voting bloc is one of the many myths perpetuated about them."
Amen and hallelujah.
Rose gave that stereotype-busting introduction to a segment about the Latino Donor Collaborative, a nonprofit that is working to get an accurate portrayal of Latinos out into a media that tends to lump all Hispanics together.
It's important that Rose made the simple declaration at the outset instead of letting one of his guests an esteemed lineup of Sol Trujillo, the collaborative's founder and chairman; Aida Alvarez, the chair of the Latino Community Foundation of San Francisco; and Henry Cisneros, the 10th secretary of housing and urban development say it.
Actually, Trujillo, Alvarez and Cisneros have been trying to eradicate the myth of the monolithic Latino voting bloc for years as have I and other Latinos who even have the opportunity to speak out about the topic. But it seems that when such information comes out of the mouths of Latinos themselves, it doesn't get much traction.
Or is it that Latinos who speak out are too often in the sad position of communicating almost exclusively with themselves other Hispanics because the media environment has gotten so fractured that the "Hispanic" news is segregated from the "mainstream"?
News websites and podcasts such as Latina Lista, NewsTaco, Pocho.com, Latino Rebels, Latino USA, Remezcla, NBC Latino and many others are well-known to Hispanic audiences but off the radars of just about everyone else.
So while Latinos themselves know that most of their population is neither immigrant, nor unlawfully present, when an expert such as Cisneros goes on Rose's show and says that only about 16 percent of the entire Hispanic population is unlawfully present compared to most people's assumption's that about half are here illegally one can imagine millions of non-Hispanic eyebrows ascending in surprised unison.
Let's hope so because most non-Hispanics even the ones who should know better get this one wrong, to the great detriment of the Latino community.
For instance, Suzanne Gamboa, a senior writer at NBC.com, whose work is most prominently displayed on the Latino section of the site, recently noted how Bernie Sanders painted Latinos with too broad a brush during his concession speech in Arizona.
"There was a quote from Sanders ... where he said 'I think Latinos want to come out of the shadows' and I know what he meant, I know he was talking about (unlawfully present) immigrants," said Gamboa during an episode of "In The Thick," a Latino political podcast.
"But ... I wanted to say, 'You know what? We need to remember that not all Latinos are immigrants and not all Latinos are here illegally.' It doesn't help to say these kinds of things and to stereotype us over and over again that way."
So, once more for the record: The Pew Research Center's Hispanic Trends Project says that there are nearly 54 million Hispanics living in the U.S. and 64.8 percent of them were born here. Millions more are immigrants who reside legally.
And, again, Latinos aren't a monolithic voting bloc. This glint of understanding is finally starting to make the rounds.
Quartz magazine, "a digitally native news outlet ... for business people in the new global economy," recently posted a piece that hopefully made many non-Latino light bulbs go on.
It spelled out the intricacies about how little many Latinos have in common with each other. Quartz quoted demographer Roberto Suro: "If you start with all the ways the Latino electorate can be subdivided into distinct groupings age, generation, origins, etc. and then you add the difficulties of explaining the politics of some 10 million voters with a simple label, you have to ask whether the idea of a voting bloc is really useful in a country as big and complicated and this year, as unpredictable as the United States."
Being neatly packaged as a single voter bloc isn't actually necessary. What Hispanics need is acknowledgment, respect and support in getting to the polls it's really not rocket science.
Esther Cepeda is a Washington Post columnist. Contact her at estherjcepeda@washpost.com.
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The following editorial appeared in Tuesday's Dallas Morning News:
This week, at least five U.S. senators are cutting short their spring recess and returning to Washington to meet with President Barack Obama's nominee for the Supreme Court, Judge Merrick Garland. Only one of them is a Republican.
But Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Illinois, has done the right thing and the smart thing, politically by bucking the example of his party's bosses, including our own Sen. John Cornyn. We urge Cornyn, who is this state's senior senator and a former member of the Texas Supreme Court, to find his own voice and set a new course for his party. Sen. Ted Cruz, a leading presidential candidate, should do the same.
For the Republicans, who have sadly lost their way on this issue, Kirk's decision should serve as both a warning and inducement.
Treating Garland and the situation itself with respect costs Kirk nothing. As senator, he'll be as free next week as he is today to vote against Garland if he wishes.
That's the inducement.
The warning? Kirk faces a tough re-election campaign. He's studied his own constituents and concluded that, in Illinois anyway, voters will be less likely to keep him in his job if he refuses to do it.
Neither Cornyn nor Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell needs worry about elections anytime soon. But voters everywhere will decide soon whether to keep Republicans in charge of the Senate.
Should they? When voters made the GOP the majority, the Senate's new leaders immediately pledged to return the Senate to "regular order." Ever since, Cornyn has told reporters that this change at its core, a respect for tradition, for the Senate itself would result in better legislation.
But the party's recalcitrance on the Supreme Court threatens to obliterate any claim to a return to civility and respect for the institution.
We feel this course risks ruin for the Senate GOP, as voters will see through its transparently phony rationalizations.
Consider the op-ed Sen. Orrin Hatch wrote in The New York Times, arguing that the 2014 Senate elections prove that Obama should not be allowed to make another Supreme Court appointment. He said Democrats have no right to complain because they opposed past nominees Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas. And as senator, Obama had opposed John Roberts and Samuel Alito, too.
What he left out was that each and every one of those nominees had been given a hearing, a debate and a vote. Only Bork, the most extreme nominee put forth by a president in modern era, was denied a seat on the court.
Hatch's arguments follow weeks of statements from Cornyn and McConnell about the so-called "Biden Rule." There is no such thing and never has been. In a 90-minute speech in 1992 Biden said he'd seriously consider not holding a hearing on a nominee in that election year if and only if President George H.W. Bush didn't consult with senators first or if he didn't choose a moderate.
Obama consulted senators. And he nominated a moderate. He even tipped Hatch off early that that was his plan. Hatch, praising Garland as a judge, told reporters simply: "I don't believe him," referring to Obama's pledge to name a moderate.
Come November, voters will decide who has been honest and who hasn't.
Gov. Christie on Thursday said he would personally campaign against a proposed constitutional amendment to expand casino gambling to North Jersey if the Assembly does not pass legislation authorizing a state takeover of Atlantic City's finances.The Senate has already passed the takeover bill, but Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto has refused to hold a vote, saying it would trample unions' collective bargaining rights.Christie's threat -- and argument that voters would not approve the amendment if Atlantic City's finances continue to crater -- opened a new phase in a weeks-long battle with Prieto (D., Hudson) over how to bring stability to the troubled resort town."Atlantic City is heading for disaster, and North Jersey gaming is heading for defeat if we don't get our act together," Christie said at a Statehouse news conference Thursday.Flanked by several charts, Christie began his remarks by telling reporters, "Let's start off with something I've pointed out many times." He moved toward one of the graphics, titled "Atlantic City's Bloated Government Spends 2-3 Times More Than Other Major New Jersey Cities," with bars contrasting Atlantic City to municipalities such as Harrison, Asbury Park, Newark, and Camden."None of these towns would be considered paragons of, like, fiscal conservatism," Christie said.The governor suggested Prieto's refusal to cooperate would endanger cities throughout the state."What he's doing is placing the full faith and credit of not just Atlantic City but a number of other municipalities in this state at risk: Newark, Union City, Paterson, Trenton, Camden will all be at risk for significant downgrade if this situation is allowed to continue going forward," Christie said.Prieto argues the governor already has the authority to rescue Atlantic City without the takeover legislation, which would let the state break contracts, dissolve agencies, restructure debt, and fire employees, among other provisions."Gov. Christie has overseen Atlantic City since 2010, and he even admitted today that the city's situation has since worsened," the speaker said in a statement Thursday."The governor also has the power to compel financial actions by the city through transitional aid agreements," he said. "Despite his many excuses, Gov. Christie owns the failings of Atlantic City since 2010. He needs to accept responsibility and stop blaming others."Christie pushed back on that argument, saying, "If I had the ability to do this, why would I fight over it? I'd just go and do it, and let them sue me afterwards."Mayor Don Guardian says the city will run out of money to pay its employees on April 8. At that point, the mayor has said the city would stop providing nonessential services.City Hall would remain closed until early May, when the city expects to collect second-quarter taxes.However, municipal unions are currently voting on a plan that would avert a shutdown by allowing the city to delay paychecks to workers.The city owes $150 million in back taxes to the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa and nearly $250 million in debt to bondholders.Christie argued that it would be unfair to renegotiate debts with those creditors but spare public employees' labor agreements. A spokesman for the mayor didn't respond to a request for comment.The governor again accused Prieto of doing the bidding of Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop by making Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D., Gloucester) look like an enemy of public-sector unions.Fulop and Sweeney are considered likely rivals for the 2017 Democratic gubernatorial nomination. Fulop and Prieto have both dismissed Christie's theory. "There is zero substance to his accusations, and this amounts to nothing more than a temper tantrum," Fulop wrote on Twitter.Christie, who rose to fame in his first term by battling with unions, ticked off data that he said crystallized Atlantic City's irresponsible spending: $320,000 owed this year to both the retiring deputy fire chief and deputy police chief and $6.6 million paid out to retiring public employees in unused sick and vacation days.Officer Keith Bennett, state delegate of the Atlantic City Police Benevolent Association Local 24, said, "That is why over the past four years, we, in negotiations with the city and Chris Christie's state-appointed monitor, have addressed those issues so they won't have those problems moving forward."Bennett added, "Every day I'm hearing about police officers being shot, being killed, ambushed. Firefighters rescuing people in a fire. Are we overcompensated? I don't think so. I think [Christie] lives in a glass house. He shouldn't be throwing stones."The city has similarly argued that it has worked with the state monitor to cut costs.Guardian has expressed interest in filing for bankruptcy, but such a move would require state approval. Christie on Thursday reiterated that he would not permit Atlantic City to go bankrupt."An approval of bankruptcy by this office would have the potential of an awful downstream effect for other municipalities in this state," he said, decrying the "obstinance and the ignorance of the mayor of Atlantic City and the speaker of the Assembly."Wall Street credit agencies have warned that Atlantic City could soon default on its debt payments. The takeover legislation, coupled with a bill that would establish a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) system for the city's eight casinos, could stave off a default.Under the PILOT bill, which also passed the Senate, the casinos would pay the city a collective sum of $120 million annually for a decade. The legislation is intended to prevent the casinos from pursuing tax appeals, which have created a drag on the city's budget.It would also reallocate money earmarked for marketing to the city to help it pay its debt service. The city's 2015 budget, which the state approved, assumed that legislation would pass. But Christie, who has previously vetoed the bill, says he won't sign the PILOT legislation unless the takeover bill also reaches his desk.The idea that the PILOT bill alone would fix Atlantic City's finances is a "fairy tale," Christie said.Asked about criticism that a state takeover would disenfranchise Atlantic City residents by sidelining the local government, Christie said, "Their elected representatives left them a long time ago."Responding to Guardian's characterization of the takeover as "fascist," Christie said, "To use the term 'fascist,' you know, that has a very specific historical context. And it's offensive. It's offensive to the people who were victims of World War II fascism . . . To use that language is irresponsible," Christie said.
The latest jobs data suggests local government hiring has picked up so far this year.New U.S. Department of Labor estimates published Friday indicate that local governments added 19,000 jobs last month and 48,000 positions so far this year.Public employment often fluctuates as a result of hiring or downsizing in schools, which make up roughly half of the sectors total employment. This doesnt appear to be the case this time, however, as noneducation employment accounts for the bulk of the recent growth.Jobs in local government, excluding education, increased each of the first three months and are up 42,000 since December. One subset of local government employment categorized as general administration has increased by an estimated 18,000 positions this year.While the numbers are promising, the gains are still small and cover only three months, so they cant be indicative of any longer-term trend.At the state government level, public employment has changed little, declining slightly each of the first three months of the year.Budget deficits continue to limit any hiring in a number of states. Alaska Gov. Bill Walker and Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, for example, both imposed hiring freezes across state government, and Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards proposed the same earlier this year. In Connecticut, Gov. Dannel Malloy has signaled that layoffs are likely.Total federal employment has similarly changed little so far this year.Private-sector job growth for March remained steady, in line with economists expectations. Total nonfarm employment (which includes government employment) climbed 215,000 in March, mirroring recent monthly gains. The strongest gains were recorded in retail trade (+48,000), construction (+37,000) and the health-care industry (+37,000), while manufacturing and mining employment declined.One particularly positive sign in the jobs report was that the labor participation rate, which reflects all individuals employed or actively looking for work, picked up for the sixth consecutive month. Some economists, however, warned that employment for temporary help services -- considered a leading economic indicator -- has dipped this year after peaking in December.
'I took swift action'
'It's extremely hurtful'
Rape investigation
'The credentials to joke'
'Handful of officers'
A new group of San Francisco police officers was implicated in exchanging bigoted text messages, fueling increased scrutiny of the city force and prompting a review of court cases handled by those officers for potential bias, authorities said Thursday.District Attorney George Gascon said a "substantial number of racist and homophobic text messages" emerged during a recent criminal investigation, which Police Chief Greg Suhr identified as the sexual assault probe of a Taraval Station officer, Jason Lai, that began last year.The messages, which allegedly included use of the racial slur "n--" and derogatory comments toward the LGBT community, were exchanged among at least four officers, Suhr said, including Lai and Lt. Curtis Liu, who also worked at Taraval but retired after being accused of obstructing the rape inquiry.Gascon differed with Suhr, saying at least five officers had exchanged the messages. He said the messages were exchanged on the officers' personal cell phones, but that it had not been determined if the texts were sent and received while the officers were on duty.The district attorney said there were dozens of messages in which "the use of the n-word is very prevalent." The messages mocked the public outcry around an earlier racist-texting scandal in the police force, Gascon said, and it was "pretty clear" the comments weren't made in jest."It's not a slip of the tongue," he said.Three more officers were found in an internal affairs investigation to have received questionable text messages from Lai, but did not respond, Suhr said. He said each of the four officers who are directly implicated faces either termination proceedings or has already left the force."As with any big organization, you're going to have people who are not as you would have them be," Suhr said. "As soon as I found out about it, I took swift action. I think all the honorable men and women who serve this department know I give no quarter to this kind of thing."The message from the top has been clear," Suhr said. "This level of intolerance will not be tolerated."Police Sgt. Yulanda Williams, who is the president of a black officers' association called Officers for Justice -- and was belittled in the first batch of text messages -- said she was frustrated to learn of more racist exchanges. She said the department's leadership isn't suited to handle the problem."Clearly, there seems to be some underlying issues that have still not been addressed," Williams said. "I would never assume that every member of the San Francisco Police Department is involved because that would be the furthest thing from the truth. But for those of us who do not engage in this type of activity, it's extremely hurtful and it's extremely embarrassing. And it's got to end."The messages are separate from a batch of bigoted texts that were allegedly exchanged in 2012 among 14 additional officers, which emerged last year and contributed to Gascon's creation of a blue-ribbon panel to investigate systemic bias in the police force.The earlier messages were discovered by federal authorities looking into allegations that plainclothes San Francisco officers divvied up money found during searches of drug dealers. Those messages -- containing racist and antigay remarks calling black people "monkeys" and encouraging the killing of "half-breeds" -- forced prosecutors to re-evaluate thousands of cases handled by those officers and dismiss 13.Some officers in the earlier case resigned, and Suhr moved to fire most of those who remained. But the case unraveled in December when a judge allowed the officers to avoid discipline, concluding the Police Department waited too long to take action. The city is appealing the ruling.The new text messages, which were not released, spanned from 2014 to late 2015, Gascon said.He said his office was specifically told of the messages last week. But Suhr said the Police Department had alerted the district attorney's office of their discovery in October, during the course of an investigation into a woman's rape allegation against Lai.That investigation came to a close last week with Lai being charged with six misdemeanor counts of misusing police databases. Police said investigators couldn't find sufficient evidence to support the rape charge, but discovered the records violations during the probe.Investigators are still looking into whether Liu lied and obstructed the rape investigation by contacting Lai when the woman sought medical treatment after the alleged assault and named a suspect, police said. Liu said he had called Lai as a joke because he thought the name given by the woman was a coincidence, but, according to investigators, he went on to lie to superiors about contacting Lai.Lai was placed on unpaid leave during the sexual assault investigation, and remained on unpaid leave after he was charged. He has not commented on the case.Upon learning of the new text messages, Suhr said he suspended the two other officers who were implicated. One is no longer with the department, the chief said, while the other is facing a Police Commission termination hearing. Suhr said Lai's case will go before the Police Commission after his criminal case is concluded.Liu's attorney, Tony Brass, identified Officer Keith Ybarreta as the officer making the majority of the allegedly derogatory comments about African Americans. Efforts to reach Ybarreta and his attorneys were not immediately successful Thursday, and an attorney for Lai declined to comment."Officer Ybarreta is married to an African American woman and they have children," Brass said. "Perhaps because of that, Officer Ybarreta felt that he had the credentials to joke about those race issues."He said that although Liu did not move to discipline Ybarreta for the texts, he tried to stop him "as a friend.""Curtis Liu, once in a text documented by the Police Department, responded to Officer Ybarreta, 'Stop. If it wasn't for who you were married to, I would think you were a racist,'" Brass said.The three officers who had only received messages are being investigated "as to whether they knew what they got," Suhr said, because the texts they received "were not as explicit as the texts that were going on between the four."Prosecutors are reviewing past cases handled by the officers. City Public Defender Jeff Adachi said his office will do its own review of potentially "tainted" arrests, and he questioned why Suhr and Gascon didn't come forward with the information about the texts sooner.Both Gascon and Adachi suggested the police force has deeper cultural problems, with Gascon saying, "I believe that the majority of San Francisco police officers would not approve of this conduct, but there is a substantial minority that obviously feels very comfortable."Adachi said city residents deserve "equal justice," and that police officials "must address the culture that lets racism fester in its ranks."The president of the officers' union, Martin Halloran, condemned the "appalling racist behavior committed by a handful of officers," saying some cops had disgraced their uniform and profession."To be a San Francisco police officer is a sacred trust," he said. "When an officer violates that trust he or she must be held accountable. ... The reprehensible actions by a few officers do not reflect the overall commitment and dedication of the men and women of this department who serve and protect this city and its residents."
Description
GIS - 01 April, 2016: This Government believes that investing in SMEs is a long term and smart strategy, with sustainable returns that will inevitably multiply across the country and in the region. For the past nine years, Mauritius has registered an average economic growth rate of 3 % annually. Within Vision 2030, Government is targeting an average growth rate of 5.5 % annually as from 2017. The objective is to attain a GDP per capita of far more than 13,500 US dollars by the Year 2018. To materialise this ambition, we have no other choice than to be bold and to ensure that the country as a whole espouses the philosophy of Vision 2030.
This statement was made yesterday by the Minister of Business, Enterprise and Cooperatives, Mr S. Bholah, at the Annual General Meeting of the Mauritius Chamber of Commerce and Industry at the Labourdonnais Waterfront Hotel, in Port Louis
Minister Bholah added that the Governments recourse is to build on our existing economic set up and to create new opportunities to ignite growth across all our economic sectors. And most importantly, it is imperative that we trigger the development of new economic avenue.
He underlined that globalisation is obviously benefitting Mauritius efforts to diversify the economy but it is also taking a toll on traditional export sectors, which are affected by loss of competitiveness in part due to loss of preferential access to export markets. As some of this preferential access winds down, questions inevitably arise about how to raise value addition in the sector, diversify into close markets, and explore investment opportunities in the region. There are no magical solutions but only opportunities to be seized. That is why it is vital that growth strategies are constantly reviewed in all sectors by the Government as well as by the private sector, he added.
The Minister also pointed out that in its overall strategy to transform the economy, Government is betting on a revamped and dynamic manufacturing base with clearly identified focus on promoting high end, precision driven and technology enabled manufacturing in the country. Manufacturing today accounts for about 18% of our economy and the objective is to increase its share significantly to 25% within the next three years. The Government has already provided the necessary support mechanisms to attract more players in high precision engineering, food processing, pharmaceutical products, jewellery and watch making, amongst others, he said
Minister Bholah highlighted that a modern Mauritius needs a socially inclusive model of development geared by intellectual capital, knowledge and skills and to move up the value chain, more effort is needed to improve the availability, quality and relevance of skills.
He concluded by stating that we must recognise that there are mismatches between the skills supplied by our education system and the skills firms seek, leading to the paradoxical situation of high rates of unemployment among young graduates persisting alongside complaints by employers of a shortage of workers with specific skills. There is an urgent need to create conducive eco-systems for the emergence of greater numbers of highly skilled people as well as innovative firms. Entrepreneurship has to be promoted as a desirable career among our youngsters.
(TNS) Digital Democracy , an online platform that offers remote access to hearings and information related to California politics, has added some key new features to keep users up-to-date and informed.The searchable online database uses voice and facial recognition to identify speakers, including those who give public comment at state legislative hearings.The new features, effective Monday, enable users to receive email alerts and access custom video storing and editing capabilities, among other tools.Launched last May, Digital Democracy was created by former Sen. Sam Blakeslee and his Institute for Advanced Technology and Public Policy , which is housed at Cal Poly and works in conjunction with the university. The institute receives no state funding.Debates and decisions can happen fast in Sacramento, said Christine Robertson, the institutes associate director. Our users requested email alerts so they can stay on top of their issues, and then use the video clipping and sharing features to inform and mobilize their networks to act.A 20-member Cal Poly team comprised of computer science and political science students and faculty built the Digital Democracy program.Politicians have long hidden in the shadows and it can be difficult to know what politicians do in Sacramento and Washington, Blakeslee said in a phone interview on Wednesday. Now, were on the cusp of an accountability and transparency revolution driven by technology.Digital Democracy transcribes all legislative videos recording by CalChannel, a network that offers live footage of full proceedings of the California Legislature. Those transcriptions are available to Digital Democracy users in their entirety, so people can pull testimony on demand relating to bills on topics such as water conservation or vaccinations.Digital Democracy helps open the doors to the Capitol to our members across California.Bismarck Obando, director of public affairs for the League of California CitiesThe new features include search capabilities for all floor sessions, where bills are debated by the entire Senate and Assembly after legislation has passed specific policy committees.The email alert system enables users to access information by keywords, phrases, bills, and speakers they want to follow. A new custom video function allows people to save clips of videos on their personal Digital Democracy accounts and share them on social media or embed them in a newsletter. And users can review testimony offered by representatives of an interest group on the platforms new organization profile page which gathers a collection of videos displaying the testimony of those talking on behalf of interest groups and their position on the legislation.Blakeslee said that journalists have found the program particularly useful for finding politicians statements during hearings, as well as advocates for causes who may not be able to afford a trip to Sacramento.Robertson said that users hundreds of miles away from Sacramento are among those who spend the most time on the site.Digital Democracy helps open the doors to the Capitol to our members across California, said Bismarck Obando , director of public affairs for the League of California Cities, in a statement. By being able to track the policy dialogue in Sacramento, the public and our members have more opportunity to engage and make their voices heard by their elected representatives.
(TNS) -- Google will give $344,000 in grants to the city of Seattle to bring Wi-Fi to low-income residents and to parks and recreation centers across the city.The Mountain View, Calif., tech giant announced the donation Wednesday as part of the citys larger Digital Equity Initiative, which aims to bring technology training and access particularly to low-income residents who have been largely left out of the regions tech boom.More than 93,000 homes in the city, about 15 percent of the population, do not have Internet access. Mayor Ed Murrays office last year ruled out , at least in the near future a plan for city-owned broadband access. Instead, it doubled down on plans to reduce digital inequity in the region.Were a city known for innovation and technology, Murray said Wednesday at an event announcing the second phase of the Digital Equity Initiative Action Plan at Yesler Community Center. Yet too many of the residents of this city do not have sufficient access to the Internet.Murray emphasized that the city needs help from private businesses to expand technology access, highlighting Comcast and Google for recent programs that bring Internet to some low-income residents. Murray expressed support earlier this month for public-private partnerships to increase broadband access in the city, after reiterating that the time was not right for municipal broadband.Googles grant will be used by the Seattle Housing Authority to bring Internet to about 400 families who have children from kindergarten through high school. The Housing Authority estimates the program will bring the Internet to about 800 students living in one of five communities: New Holly, High Point, Rainier Vista, Lake City Court and Yesler Terrace.Housing Authority Executive Director Andrew Lofton called the grant a huge deal. Lofton hopes to eventually replicate it across more of its sites, he said.It will help families abilities to help their kids get things accomplished, he said, noting it will especially help kids learn and do homework at home.The second part of the grant from Google will provide funding for Wi-Fi at each of Seattle Park and Recreations 26 centers.Comcast is also expanding its access programs in the city. The company said last week it has broadened its Internet Essentials program, which provides families in public housing with $10 per month Internet service. Previously, the service was available only for families with young kids in school.Sabrina Roach, a Seattle resident who helped launch Upgrade Seattle, which works to implement municipal broadband, welcomed the programs, but expressed concern about one part of Comcasts plan. The company mandates that low-income residents must have been without Internet service for 90 days before qualifying for the program.Roach, who works at Brown Paper Tickets, said that could discourage residents in public housing who currently get service from Comcast from switching to the less expensive plan.Youd have to disconnect from the Internet for three months before you can get that, she said.Comcast spokesman Walter Neary said the program is tailored for families who do not currently have Internet access for many reasons, including cost.Seattles digital-equity action plan . built over the last year by a small committee, identifies three goals for the city: make it easier for people to get devices, to access the Internet and to receive technology training.
When New York state Chief Information Officer Maggie Miller testified in February before the state legislature, she warned lawmakers of a looming IT staff crisis. Within the next few years, she said, her agency expects to lose 25 percent of its staff to retirement. As those retirements unfold, they will reduce the average level of experience for senior state IT workers from 40 years to 11 years.New York is not alone. Maine is also facing a mass exodus of its IT workforce. It estimates that 24 percent of IT workers are eligible to retire in the next two years. A National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) report last year found that 40 percent of states expect that between 11 and 20 percent of their workers will be eligible to retire in the next year, while 86 percent found it challenging to recruit new workers to fill vacant IT positions. CIOs also cited a lack of funding for training as one of the top three impediments to developing, supporting and maintaining IT services, according to the survey.State technology agencies are responding to the problem in several different ways, including hiring human resources directors who specialize in IT recruitment, developing internship programs to generate interest among young people and investing in training programs.Colorados Office of Information Technology (OIT) faces the dubious task of trying to recruit new workers when unemployment in the IT field is at a very low 2.4 percent in the Denver region. Just about everyone who wants a job in technology has one, says Karen Wilcox, director of human resources at OIT. With the state unable to match private-sector salaries, recruiting workers to fill retiree and new slots isnt easy.Wilcox has shelved the old recruitment strategy known as post and pray in favor of more proactive approaches, such as widening candidate pipelines by seeking out IT workers through, for example, social media, software developer meet-ups and internships. The latter, in particular, is one way to engage future candidates who may still be in high school but want to learn about technology and the public sector.Attracting IT workers in a red-hot tech market also calls for creative branding, says Wilcox. We promote working at OIT by telling prospective candidates that we do important work. It isnt boring work.OIT uses metrics to track how quickly it takes to fill positions -- the average is 45 days, though more senior positions can take longer -- and to measure job satisfaction. Colorado has also added training and development into the mix to keep IT skills up to date. Its a hot-button issue [that we need to] keep as current as possible, Wilcox says.
There is huge potential for deep machine learning to become a valuable asset in the intelligence gathering space, according to Pentagon Deputy Secretary Robert Work it could ultimately allow U.S. forces to get an edge in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS, ISIL, IS) by providing greater insights into their networks and practices.Work made the statement during a roughly hour-long talk called Securing Tomorrow , held March 30 by the, where he addressed some of the threat concerns facing the United States and the strategy the Department of Defense is deploying to overcome them.Moderated bycolumnist David Ignatius, the discussion also focused on how the behemoth agency is approaching new technologies and the perceived threats being seen from top international competitors, like Russia and China.Without question, we are absolutely certain, that the use of deep learning machines is going to allow us to have a better understanding of ISIS as a network and a better understanding of how we can target it precisely and lead to its defeat.The evaluative capabilities and intelligence gathering promise of deep machine learning, Work said, has already shown great potential through the use of publicly available materials on social media, which paint a clearer picture of the events surrounding the downing of Malaysian passenger airliner MH17.Work said a private company was able to use the technology to pull a vast array of public images from social media feeds to effectively reconstruct the controversial incident. Ignatius referred to the tool as interrogating the data.The governments partnerships and engagement with Silicon Valley and the private sector was also a topic touched on by the Pentagons No. 2 man. As defense departments works to adopt new and innovative solutions to their problems, Work said both legacy and smaller contractors will have a place on the stage.Work said the efforts of Planet Labs, a company focused on satellite imagery, and their mission to photograph the earth on a daily basis for signs of change could be a useful resource for the intelligence gathering, which could bolster DoDs own capabilities.By using the combination of commercial technologies, plus disaggregating our own constellation, were confident we are going to be able to survive any type of concerted attack and continue to provide the support our warfighters need.The deputy secretary also spoke to the vast potential for artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics systems in the military and defense space.This is much more like the inter-war period, where any competitor can take these things and make them in a way that could really cause us problems on the battlefield, Work said. So, the strategy part is, it has to be temporal, we cant expect to have a 40-year advantage.Growing tensions between Russia and China were also discussed as a point of concern around the potential for machines to be given lethal authority and how the U.S. might respond in such a case.Though Work said the U.S. would not designate that kind of authority to a machine, he expressed fears that an authoritarian power might not have the same reservations.There are two things that really keep me up at night about this competition; the first is adversaries who will give machines lethal authority and how will we respond to that," he said. "The second thing is, we talk in terms of human-assisted operations as you said, some of our adversaries might not be too deterred from saying, Lets give a machine lethal authority.'"With regard to the U.S. competitive relationship with the likes of China and Russia, the top official said the competitive strategy does not come down to the tank-for-tank or airplane-for-airplane strategy of the Cold War, but rather offsetting their strengths as an American advantage.As for the future of autonomous vehicles and their developing role within the military and defense, the deputy secretary said airplane and aquatic vehicles would likely become automated before their terrain-based counterparts.He pointed to difficulties in negotiating unpaved roads and challenging environments as the main barriers to the technology, but ultimately said, This is something that is inexorable, it is going to happen.I would expect us to see unmanned wingman in the air before we would see unmanned convoys on the ground. In fact, the Air Force has concept called the Loyal Wingman, where you take an F-16 and make it totally unmanned, F-16 is a fourth-generation fighter, and pair it with an F-35, a fifth generation what I would call battle network node, and those two operating together.
My experience in the private sector over the 20 years prior to joining the state taught me how to implement good technology and how to do so quickly, and also what successful organizations look like and are structured like. So those are the pillars that I'm bringing into the state of Arizona: setting up the organization to be successful, putting people in the right roles, putting together a strategy to go after achievable things, but also to go big. We're not going to try to just solve one agencys problem at a time. We're going to try to solve problems at the enterprise level that affect multiple agencies, and we're going to try to do so quickly.Everybody's familiar with government that goes slowly or takes too long. Technology has a shelf life, and if you take too long to pick something out, it's going to be aged and dated by the time you roll it out. So we're trying to pick things that are not the same that five other states have done, but ask ourselves what would the private sector do? What are the technologies out there that are innovative and transformative? Because we can't take incremental steps to get better, we have to leapfrog. And then how quickly can we get those things rolled out? Either to one agency or two, or in some cases, to go statewide from the beginning, so we can get some quick wins, establish credibility and let that momentum build to carry us on to the next project.The biggest surprise is how much opportunity there is to use technology to move the state forward how big the organization is and how big the reach is, how every single interaction can be improved via technology, whether it's empowering case workers with more mobile solutions or providing more automation and process engineering to service customers faster or more efficiently.In my private-sector experience, at GoDaddy, we were a Web hosting and domain company. It was pretty niche. Going on to Expedia, we were a travel company. We helped enable travelers. And then coming here, I look at the state and every agency and their different missions and visions and at how much we can do by providing some really good enterprise platforms that they can use to help their customers.We're in active planning sessions around our statewide IT strategy. For now, we're talking about doing innovative, best-in-class technologies to benefit as many state agencies as we can. While I'm not able to name specific vendors or platforms, we're trying to do more with mobile, cross-agency collaboration, and big data and analytics, as well as modernizing our ERP systems.The other thing that we're doing strategically is looking at public-private partnerships. This is something that we've done successfully already. When I came to the state, the Department of Administration was already managing the state's network through a partnership with the private sector. Rather than me trying to pit myself against the CenturyLinks, GoDaddys and Expedias of the world, and trying to hire network engineers, we awarded a contract to private-sector companies that they had to bid for and compete. Our network provider has anywhere between 40 and 140 network engineers working for the state at any given time. They can pay them what they're worth, and they can keep current with technology. They have access to the most modern tools. We saw that as an opportunity to outsource a piece of technology that we're providing. We still own the relationship with the customers, we own the availability, but we have them delivering it for us.We're going to take that same approach to other technologies, whether it's our mainframe, our service desk, desktop support, anything where we're pushing the buttons and making the lights go from red to green. We're starting to look at opportunities and vendors out there that can come in and help the state do this better, faster or cheaper. We hope to establish some more partnerships like that in the next year or two.Amazons gone on record saying we have one of the largest footprints of any state. We're looking to do more of that, not only with Amazon, but all the cloud providers. We see ourselves as a technology broker, so if somebody wants a server, they can come to us and we can put it in our data center. But the data centers not one of our core capabilities it's not a world-class data center by any means, and I've managed data centers for about 15 years, so I should know. Rather than put more equipment in our data center, in 2016 we're asking ourselves, why can't it be cloud?But we believe the private sector, the folks that run data centers for a living, do it better than us. They can probably do it cheaper than us. If they can enable more of our customers to go into the cloud, it's going to make our total cost of ownership go down, we're going to need to have less fewer people around pushing those buttons physically. The goal is going to be to get it out of the physical building and into a more reliable, more secure and hopefully lower- cost hosting model.We're partnering with our state procurement office to negotiate training credits with our technology providers. So if we were to outsource a specific technology, we would offer training credits to the people affected to allow them to either support the new technology or retrain them for other efforts. Good talent is hard to find, and as we modernize our applications and our systems, we dont necessarily want to leave anybody behind, which is not to say that everybody will or won't have a job, but there will be opportunities to learn new technologies.Innovation is huge for us as we try to transform our technologies. The focus right now within ADOA is process improvement through lean initiatives. How can we shave a couple steps off of this? Where are we actually adding value? And in terms of implementing technology, we need to create a culture that makes it okay OK to fail. If you fire somebody that makes a mistake, people aren't going to want to take risks. If you're 85 percent confident it's going to work, go ahead and give it a try, but have a rollback backup plan. And let's set up test environments so you can practice prior to rolling it out in production.Part of that is bringing on more software developers, whether direct hires or through contracts, to work on some of these modern technologies. As we implement cloud solutions, we can't do it all ourselves, but we want to partner with the folks that have done it, whether they be system integrators or professional services from the companies that we're buying the services through. But also, we dont want to have them completely do it for us. Teach us how to fish. Through the implementation, if we can pick up some of the knowledge, and then they can build it and we can maintain it, that's where we want to be going forward.
F1's newest team has denied speculation Fernando Alonso's crash in Melbourne was caused by a failure aboard the Haas car driven by Esteban Gutierrez.
With the Spaniard having hit Gutierrez at top speed from behind before braking, rumours have indicated the MGU-K system may have malfunctioned, affecting the Mexican's ability to brake normally.
"Yes, I know there were many rumours but the truth is there was nothing out of the ordinary, no loss of performance," Gutierrez told the Spanish broadcaster Movistar in Bahrain.
"I'm just happy that no one was seriously injured," he added, "but the accident was a misjudgement by Fernando, that's all."
Haas team boss Gunther Steiner confirmed that Gutierrez had not suffered a failure of any sort.
Gutierrez is sitting in a new chassis for this weekend's Bahrain grand prix, but he revealed that it was not being struck by Alonso that caused the damage to his original car.
"The suspension and floor were damaged but that could have been repaired," he said. "Unfortunately the (recovery) crane caused a crack in the chassis, which is not ideal but fortunately we had another."
(GMM)
The strategic partnership with LG Electronics encompasses the joint development and delivery of high-performance batteries for plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles. Moreover, Borgward and LG will jointly develop electric vehicle components such as electric air-conditioning compressors.
Borgward Group AG, the reincarnation of the German automaker that ceased operations in 1961, has formed a long-term strategic partnership with the SAP, LG Electronics and Robert Bosch GmbH to support its plan to launch sales in Europe with plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles. The agreements govern the development and delivery of various parts and components, particularly those related to electric mobility.
In the cooperation with Bosch, the two companies will work together on the further development of the electric drive train. In addition, the partnership will encompass the development and supply of components and systems for motor control units, dynamic handling systems, starter generators, electronic steering systems and multimedia systems.
SAP will supply the software for the effective networking of the R&D, production, value chain, sales, services, global business operations and other areas of the automaker.
Borgward. The original company was established just after World War I by Carl F. W. Borgward as radiator producer. Its first commercial vehicle, introduced in 1924, was the Blitzkarren (Lightning Cart). By the 1950s, Borgward had become the third largest automotive manufacturer in Germany, and pioneer of the affordable premium sedan.
The Groups line-up included small and medium-sized cars, as well as light and heavy duty commercial vehicles. Among the companys biggest successes were the Hansa 1500, the P 100, and the Isabella.
Christian Borgward, grandson of company founder Carl Friedrich Wilhelm Borgward, brought the company back in 2015.
Borgward models on display at the Geneva show this year. Click to enlarge.
Chairman and Global CEO of Borgward Group AG, Ulrich Walker, says that the new company is working off of a B-G-W strategy: BORGWARD brand heritage, German engineering and Worldwide footprint. Walker has said that in the medium term, the company wants to be selling more than 500,000 units a year worldwide.
The company opened a plant in Beijing earlier this month. Occupying an area of 1.10 million square metres, it has a maximum annual capacity of 160,000 units, which can increase to 360,000 units in the second phase.
The new plant is based on the German Industry 4.0 concept, and will strictly comply with the German manufacturing and quality management system standards.
The companys first model, the BX7 plug-in hybrid SUV, is being positioned in China as a German-branded, wide-bodied intelligent SUV, and will be launched at the Beijing Motor Show this month. Along with the BX7, the all-new BX5 near-series prototype and the BX6 TS show car will also be on display.
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has launched a series of around 80 biofuel flights from Oslo to Amsterdam operated with an Embraer 190. The remaining flights will be operated over the forthcoming period of five to six weeks. Embraer will be conducting measurements during these flights to gauge the efficiency of biofuel in comparison with kerosene.
The flights will depart from Oslo Airport (Avinor), the first airport to supply biofuel directly from its hydrant system since January this year. In addition to biofuel supplied from the hydrant system, biofuel will also be delivered by separate fuel trucks for the series of flights operated by KLM Cityhopper. Biofuel has to be supplied by fuel trucks for these flights in order to measure the efficiency of biofuel in comparison with kerosene during the Embraer flights.
The biofuel batch for these flights was produced within the ITAKA (Initiative Towards SustAinable Kerosene for Aviation) project and supplied by Air BP and SkyNRG. The biofuel for this series of flights is produced from 100% RSB (Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials) certified camelina oil and in full compliance with the EU RED standard.
The ITAKA consortium was founded by leading companies operating in the airline and fuel industries. Together, they are working on producing and testing sustainable biofuel in the airline industry. In achieving this goal, they receive financial support from the European Commission.
The biofuel flights are partly funded by the partners in the KLM Corporate BioFuel Program: ABN AMRO, Accenture, CBRE Global Investors, FMO, FrieslandCampina, City of Amsterdam, Heineken, Loyens & Loeff, PGGM, Perfetti Van Melle and the Schiphol Group.
KLMs aim is to reduce CO 2 emissions by 20% per passenger in 2020 (compared to 2011 levels) through fleet renewal, using sustainable biofuel and increasing flight efficiency. Because affordable sustainable biofuel is not always available, KLM also aims to stimulate the market for sustainable biofuel.
The superior performance of the catalyst allows simultaneous conversion of cellulose, hemicellulose and, more significantly, lignin fractions in wood sawdust into hexane, pentane and alkylcyclohexanes, respectively. An open-access paper on their work is published in the journal Nature Communications.
A team from The University of Manchester and East China University has developed a process for the direct hydrodeoxygenation of raw woods into liquid alkanes with mass yields up to 28.1 wt% over a multifunctional Pt/NbOPO 4 catalyst in cyclohexane.
Owing to the complexity of lignocellulosic biomass and its notorious resistance to chemical transformation, energy-efficient and cost-effective production of liquid fuels from lignocellulose remains a mammoth challenge. So far, two strategies have been reported to address this challenge: (i) separation of lignocellulose into isolated sugars and lignin followed by biological or chemical (hydrolysis) processing; (ii) thermochemical treatment of lignocellulose to produce upgradeable intermediates, such as bio-oils by pyrolysis or syngas by gasification, coupled with subsequent catalytic upgrading.
Thermochemical processes offer the total conversion of lignocellulose, but are often non-selective and intractable, and the resultant bio-oils or syngas need to be upgraded for further utilization. Although hydrolysis-based approaches offer selective production of liquid fuels, they are generally multistep and thus very energy-intensive. Moreover, the lignin by-products generated from the hydrolysis of lignocellulose are usually burned as a low-value fuel. Powerful drivers therefore exist to develop alternative efficient and selective strategies to directly convert raw lignocellulose into liquid fuels.
Here we report that, by using a multifunctional Pt/NbOPO 4 catalyst, raw woody biomass can be directly converted into liquid alkanes in high yields in a single-phase medium (cyclohexane) with cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin fractions in solid woods being converted into hexane, pentane and alkylcyclohexanes, respectively, representing direct conversion of raw lignocellulose into liquid alkanes under mild conditions over a single catalyst. Importantly, no chemical pretreatment (for example, hydrolysis and separation) to the raw wood is required for this process, and thus, tremendous energy savings can be potentially gained in comparison with the existing thermochemical- and hydrolysis-based approaches. Xia et al.
The main reaction pathways. The reaction occurred by the direct hydrogenolysis of the -1,4 linkage to D-glucose (2) and 1-deoxy-D-glucose (6) first, and then 6 was converted to hexane by sequential hydrogenolysis via 2-hydroxymethyl-tetrahydropyran (8), 2-methyltetrahydropyran (12) and hexanols (16) and (18), whereas the conversion of 2 has three main reaction pathways: (i) hydrogenated to sorbitol (3) and then dehydrated to sorbitan (4) and isosorbide (5), followed by sequential hydrogenolysis via 2-ethyl-THF (13) and hexanols (16) and (17). (ii) Isomerized to fructose and then dehydrated to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural followed by hydrogenation and sequential hydrogenolysis via 2,5-dimethylfuran (10), 2-hexanone (14), 5-methyl-THF-2-methanol (9), 2,5-dimethyl-THF (11) and 2-hexanol (18). (iii) Dehydrated to 1,6-anhydroglucose (7) followed by sequential hydrogenolysis via oxepane (15) and n-hexanol (16). Xia et al. Click to enlarge.
The researchers tested seven different types of wood sawdusts, including both softwoods and hardwoods, for direct hydrodeoxygenation over the catalyst. The reactions were conducted at 190 C and 5 MPa H 2 for 20 h. More than 20 wt% total mass yield of liquid alkanes was achieved for all woods, among which birch wood gave the highest mass yield of 28.1 wt%.
As a point of comparison, the theoretical mass yield of alkanes from raw woody biomass is limited to ~50 wt%, because the removed oxygen accounts for almost half of the mass loss. The 28.1 wt% yield, the researchers said, was excellent.
In addition to C 1 C 6 alkane products, the team found surprisingly appreciable amounts of alkylcyclohexanes, indicating that not only the cellulose and hemicellulose but also the lignin fraction in sawdusts were converted into alkanes.
The type of wood had a significant influence on both mass and carbon yields of the alkane products. In general, the team found higher yields of hexanes and pentanes from softwoods; the carbon yields of hexanes and pentanes on the basis of cellulose and hemicellulose fractions reached 72.8 and 69.3% on average, respectivelycomparable to the results when using pure cellulose as a feedstock
The yield of alkylcyclohexanes produced from hardwoods was much higher than that from softwoods, with an average carbon yield of 34.0% from hardwood. Although seemingly low, that yield is actually very high, the team explained, because there is a large proportion of CC linkages in lignin structure (3034% for hardwoods and 4351% for softwoods on average) which are hardly cleaved under such mild reaction conditions. This limits the maximum theoretical carbon yield of monomer alkylcyclohexanes at 4449% from hardwoods and 2432% from softwoods.
Dr. Sihai Yang, lead author of the study, used the Science & Technology Facilities Councils ISIS Neutron and Muon source to study the biomass and catalyst at the molecular level. Using an instrument called TOSCA, Dr. Yang and ISIS scientist Dr. Stewart Parker used neutrons to see how a model of lignocellulose interacted with the surface of the catalyst to produce useful fuel.
They determined that he superior efficiency of this catalyst for direct hydrodeoxygenation of lignocellulose originates from the synergistic effect between Pt, NbO x species and acidic sites.
Resources
April 1, 1933
The German government stepped in at the last minute today with an order that the anti-Jewish boycott, which is to start at 10 oclock tomorrow morning, will last one day only and then will be held in abeyance until Wednesday. This action, taken after considerable pressure had been brought to bear to prevent disruption of the nations business life, led some observers to assert that the boycott movement would be dropped entirely after the single day. Joseph Goebbels, cabinet minister of propaganda, signed the order which signalized the first official move in the boycott situation.
GREENWICH By day, he got grief for eating pizza with a fork in Queens, N.Y.
By night, John Kasich ate pizza with his hands at the $27 million Greenwich mansion of a political rainmaker, where theres no such thing as a slice for a buck.
It was all in a days work for the Ohio governor, who is chasing Donald Trump and Ted Cruz in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.
Kasich quietly squeezed in a fundraising excursion to Greenwich Wednesday after taping an MSNBC town hall special in the Howard Beach section of Queens, a stark contrast for a candidate that has accentuated his blue-collar mantra.
His Connecticut supporters say the Kasich brand a swing-state governor and former House budget chairman is well suited to the states moderate political terrain. It will be tested April 26, when Republican primary voters cast their ballots here.
Connecticut is a strategic linchpin in showing that hes an individual that is staying through until the convention, said state Sen. Tony Hwang, R-Fairfield, Kasichs Connecticut campaign chairman. We truly believe that he can win Connecticut.
Kasich was the guest of investor Ian McKinnon and his socialite wife, Sonnet McKinnon, whose 18,000-foot, five-bedroom and nine-bathroom Riverside estate overlooks Long Island Sound.
Ironically, on the next promontory to the west is a $54 million compound once owned by Trump that has been on the market for more than a year. Further down the coastline is a $30 million estate where Hillary Clinton raised $200,000 for her presidential bid last June.
Kasich was greeted by some 60 supporters Wednesday night, many of whom gave at least $2,700 for the primary phase of his campaign.
Among those in attendance was Kasichs former House colleague, Christopher Shays, who represented Fairfield County in Congress from 1987 through 2008. Shays has accompanied Kasich to dozens of town hall events in New Hampshire and Michigan.
State Reps. Fred Camillo, R-151st District, and Mike Bocchino, R-150th District, were on the guest list, as well as former state Sen. William Nickerson, R-Greenwich.
Kasich took some time while in town to get out and see a bit of Greenwich.
Old Greenwich resident Bob Tredinnick, 26, was surprised to see Kasich walking in his neighborhood when he was driving home in the evening. Thinking it would be unwise to abruptly hop out of his car near the heavily guarded candidate, Tredinnick settled for sticking his head out the window for a short exchange.
He was just walking down the street with four Secret Service members and a member of his staff, Tredinnick said. I said I supported him. He said Thank you, and I drove on.
A short while later, he found the entourage nearby on Marshall Street. He approached to ask if he could have a photo snapped with Kasich but gave up when a staff member told him the candidate was on an important call.
Tredinnick has not made a final decision on who will get his vote in the presidential election, partly because he is put off by a campaign that has become kind of petty. But he said Kasich has set himself apart from his rivals on that score.
He has been trying to stay positive, Tredinnick said.
So far, Kasich has won just his home state of Ohio, but is seeking to be the beneficiary of a brokered convention if Trump fails to get to the 1,237-delegate magic number for clinching the nomination.
During a question-and-answer session at the McKinnon home Wednesday night, Kasich was said to have avoided the topic of Trump.
At the end of the day, the governors focus is, look, hes going to take the high road to the office, Hwang said.
McKinnon is a founding partner of the investment firm Sandia Holdings LLC and is a prolific donor to both Republicans and Democrats, giving nearly $300,000 to candidates and parties during the past decade. In January, he contributed $50,000 to New Day for America, a super PAC for Kasich.
neil.vigdor@scni.com; 203-625-4436; http://twitter.com/gettinviggy
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HARTFORD The governor on Thursday barred state-paid travel to North Carolina, citing the southern states new law restricting restroom use by transgender people.
The latest border war doesnt have the drama of last years scuffle over a sexual-orientation law in Indiana. At that time, UConn mens basketball coach Kevin Ollie was not allowed to attend the NCAAs Final Four in Indianapolis until Gov. Dannel P. Malloy lifted a similar ban.
But it does return the issue of minority rights to the national spotlight.
North Carolinas law is viewed as an attempt to overturn rights to public accommodations for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transsexuals.
When we see discrimination and injustice, we have to act, Malloy said in a statement blasting North Carolina Republican lawmakers and Gov. Pat McCrory, who signed the hastily passed bill March 23, after Democratic lawmakers staged a walkout at the state Capitol in Raleigh.
Malloy warned Connecticut residents about potential threats to their gender identity even while passing through the Tar Heel State.
This law is not just wrong, it poses a public-safety risk to Connecticut residents traveling through North Carolina. This law endangers the welfare not just of North Carolinas citizens, but of all people visiting that state. Malloy said. Nearly two decades ago, Connecticut was among the first states to pass a comprehensive anti-discrimination law concerning sexual orientation, and three years ago, I proudly signed a law adding gender identity and expression to those statutes. We need to do what we can to stand up and act against laws that encourage as a matter of public policy discrimination and endangerment of our citizenry. Its unacceptable, and Connecticut is acting.
McCrorys office did not respond to a request for comment Thursday. But during a morning appearance Thursday on Fox & Friends, he defended the bill with a sympathetic Fox host, calling it basic common sense legislation that protects the privacy of men, women and children throughout North Carolina in public restrooms and locker rooms.
The bill overturned a local ordinance in Charlotte extending anti-discrimination protections to allow people to use the facilities of the sex with which they feel most comfortable, not necessarily the gender on their birth certificates.
The new law has statewide effects in North Carolina, which was the 12th of the original 13 states to ratify the U.S. Constitution.
McCrory said critical threats from corporations and politicians, including New York Governor Andrew Cuomo are hypocritical and demogoguery at its worst.
The North Carolina governor hit back at Cuomo.
A lot of New York has already moved to North Carolina and made it their permanent homes, McCrory said.
HARTFORD - Gov. Dannel P. Malloy on Thursday ordered a ban on state employee travel to North Carolina, citing that southern states recent attempt to overturn rights to public accommodations for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transsexuals.
When we see discrimination and injustice, we have to act. This law is not just wrong, it poses a public safety risk to Connecticut residents traveling through North Carolina. Thats why I have signed an executive order banning state-funded travel to the state. This law endangers the welfare not just of North Carolinas citizens, but of all people visiting that state, Malloy said in a statement. Nearly two decades ago, Connecticut was among the first states to pass a comprehensive anti-discrimination law concerning sexual orientation, and three years ago I proudly signed a law adding gender identity and expression to those statutes. We need to do what we can to stand up and act against laws that encourage - as a matter of public policy - discrimination and endangerment of our citizenry. Its unacceptable, and Connecticut is acting.
kdixon@ctpost.com; Twitter: @KenDixonCT
Get a mezcal margarita with your veggie burrito bowl. Photo: Christian Fahrenbach/dpa/Corbis
Besides potentially prepping a new burger chain that could rival Shake Shack, Chipotle is apparently also preparing to go all craft-cocktail on its menus drinks. The burrito chain is among the small number of fast-food and fast-causal spots that serve hard liquor, which can be ordered in the form of a Patron or Sauza margarita. Those options, however, may grow, as Chipotle has now gotten sommelier and distiller Richard Betts to go next-level and whip up some beverages with integrity.
That wording maybe needs some work, but the idea still sounds promising: A new margarita adds smoky Sombra mezcal to the mix. Theres also an exclusive beer: a Vienna-style Mexican lager brewed by Oskar Blues, another Colorado-based business. Sangria, meanwhile, will arrive in ready-to-drink keg format from a California company called Eppa Sangria. And new options without booze include a watermelon agua fresca, a hibiscus tea with rooibos and lemongrass, and some Coca-Cola drinks that havent been offered in fountain versions before: Coke Life and Blue Sky sodas.
For the moment, though, all of these options will only be available at a lone Denver Chipotle not far from company headquarters, according to Denvers alt weekly Westword, which got a sneak peek. Reps for Chipotle say its too soon to know the timeline for wider release, or if it will end up expanding at all. (Also no word yet on prices, but Chipotles current margaritas dont exactly break the bank.) Grub can see at least one potential upside to all of this, though: Alcohol is proven to kill bacteria, so the booze certainly cant hurt Chipotles new food-safety efforts.
[Westword]
Taller, and wider, than the usual Big Mac. Photo: McDonalds Japan
Yes, McDonalds can pretend it wants to offer healthier options, but everyone knows the chain works best as a place to pack in as many calories as possible. The megachains Japanese wing seems to know this as well as anyone, unveiling a steady stream of high-concept crap (chocolate fries, a burger topped with mashed potatoes, food thats embedded with human teeth), and the latest debut is the most impressive effort yet.
In five days, Japanese McDs will roll out something known as the Giga Big Mac. This beast takes McDonalds largest sandwich and adds two additional patties for a total of more than 2.8 times as much meat. Per standard math, youd think a four-patty Big Mac would have two times the meat, but that overlooks this sandwichs true genius because the diameter of the Giga is wider as well. The company boasts that anyone who polishes off an entire sandwich will be able to leave McDonalds with a satisfied sense of accomplishment, which is certainly one way to put it.
Naturally, there are comically sized fries and drinks for gluttons whod prefer their burgerzilla order as a combo. The drink holds twice as much soda as a normal large, and there are 1.7 times as many fries. The promotion also involves a smaller Giga sandwich called the Grand Big Mac thats still 30 percent more beef than usual, but its unclear why anyone would opt for the junior-varsity version of an oversize sandwich.
[RocketNews24]
Riots narrowly averted. Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
WAIT NO THEY CANT CLOSE ALL TRADER JOES THEY'VE GOT THE BEST CHAI LATTE MIX EVER FML egg ang (@anglunaaa) March 31, 2016
Really sad to hear about Trader Joe's closing. It's a lesson: become digital or die. Prof. Jeff Jarviss (@ProfJeffJarviss) March 31, 2016
"That Trader Joe's closing prank was hysterical," I thought while washing the gasoline off my body. David Viola (@davidviola) March 31, 2016
Um, there are rules to April fools day jokes. @YahooNews reports Trader Joe's closing all stores in 2017. It's March 31st dickheads. rules. Connor Trinneer (@ConnorTrinneer) April 1, 2016
i want to be sad about trader joe's but that place was always weird and creepy too me. except their cookie butter. christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) March 31, 2016
fucking shit, it is an april fool's joke christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) March 31, 2016
now i hate trader joe's even more christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) March 31, 2016
there is no "early" april fools joke. u can start effing with ppl/planting seeds but NO EARLY PUNCHLINES. this freakin world i'll tell ya christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) March 31, 2016
If these people had gotten through the whole article (its no longer online, possibly because Trader Joes attorneys got involved), they also may have found this statement at the end:
If this shocking news hits you as hard as it hit me, fear not. Its merely April Fools time. Now go celebrate being a fool with your favorite cheap wine.
StarKist knew I wanted to retire. They found the slickest, sharpest Sawfish in the sea Brad. Check out the story: https://t.co/JpRJNPGJOI StarKist (@StarKistCharlie) April 1, 2016
Just stick to the rules, people, and well all make it through this horrible fake holiday together.
[Snopes]
Google has announced that it will drop support for the physical Wallet Card starting June 30. "Youll no longer be able to add money to your Wallet Balance after May 1, 2016," the company said in a blog post. "Any transactions made with your Wallet Card after June 30 will not be processed. Any pending transactions made before June 30 will still post to your account."
Those looking for alternatives can opt for offerings from American Express or Simple, Google suggests, adding that both offer debit accounts with similar features, including a card. The Mountain View, California-based company has also teamed up these companies allowing you to get an added bonus after signing up.
For more information on the change, head to the Source link below.
Source
Quite a while after its unveiling back in February, the Microsoft Lumia 650 is now finally available in the US and Canada. This comes after a three-week pre-order period for the new mid-range smartphone.
The Lumia 650 can be yours for $199 or CAD 199, and for that price you'll receive a SIM-free and unlocked unit. You can order from Microsoft's online store here for the US and here for Canada. This handset has already been available in Europe for many weeks, so it's good to finally see it crossing the pond as well.
It comes with a 5-inch 720p touchscreen, an 8 MP rear camera with LED flash, a 5 MP selfie snapper, Qualcomm's Snapdragon 212 chipset running things (with a 1.3 GHz quad-core Cortex-A7 CPU), 1GB of RAM, 16GB of expandable storage, LTE, and a 2,000 mAh battery. It has Windows 10 Mobile on board. To get a better idea of whether it's a worthy buy or not, make sure you go through our detailed review of the phone.
Via
An intriguing deal is apparently to be had if you want to purchase a new iPhone or Samsung smartphone and you head to Walmart to do the deed. The mega-retailer is said to be offering $100 off iPhones and $150 off two Samsung handsets, starting today and until the end of June.
The Apple handsets that qualify are the iPhone 6s, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, as well as the new iPhone SE. The Samsung phones in question are the Galaxy S6 and S7. That said, keep in mind that not every store will have the exact same models on offer, but you should find at least some of the aforementioned handsets in any of them.
The catch? Well, you'll need to sign a service agreement with AT&T, Verizon, or Sprint when you purchase the device. The $100 or $150 will then arrive to you in the form of bill credit. Oh, and you need to go to an actual physical Walmart store to take advantage of the offer, since it's not available online.
Source | Via
Haiti - Diplomacy : Unveiling of the statue of Hugo Chavez
Thursday, as part of the 200 years of the military expedition of Los Cayos, the Executive Vice President of Venezuela, Aristobulo Isturiz Almeida, was welcomed at the Toussaint Louverture Intenational Airport by the new Chancellor Pierrot Delienne. Luis Diaz Curbelo, Ambassador of Venezuela in Haiti and the Minister of Defense, General-in-Chief Vladimir Padrino Lopez accompany the Vice President.
Thereafter President a.i. Jocelerme Privert, met Aristobulo Isturiz, at the diplomatic lounge of the airport. Then the two men accompanied by several political and diplomatic personalities visited the airport Guy Malary, freshly renovated (funded at $ 6.5 million by the PetroCaribe funds] https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-13520-haiti-reconstruction-the-terminal-guy-malary-almost-ready.html and then went to the place Hugo Chavez [PetroCaribe funded to the tune of 3.5 million https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-16547-icihaiti-reconstruction-two-latest-official-inaugurations-of-president-martelly.html ] for the inauguration ceremony of the place Hugo Chavez (a second time !!), on this occasion the statue of Hugo Chavez, was unveiled by the Venezuelan Executive Vice President.
In his speech, Prime Minister Enex Jean-Charles, described Chavez as a great friend of Haiti and of the entire region. He said that thanks to him "today we have PetroCaribe, a program for poor countries and in necessity as ours. The leadership of President Chavez was very important for Haiti [...] on behalf of the country and all the people we want to thank his successor Nicolas Maduro, for continuing to help us [...] Haiti and Venezuela are brother country and we will continue to strengthen our relations [...]" concluding "Today, we must continue the dream of Simon Bolivar and Alexandre Petion to remain united and stronger than ever. Today, we make history and we will continue to make history."
Venezuelan Vice President thanked the people of Haiti for the courage expressed for its support for the independence of the continent "Haiti and Venezuela have historical union. Haiti is the symbol of freedom that helped free all America and admiration of Venezuelan for that Nation is something great, because it is here that the Venezuelan flag was born. It was in Haiti that Simon Bolivar's dream to release America were born. Today, Venezuela is here to help Haiti, we have an unpayable debt with Haiti and with Petion. Today we are here to support the commitment of Hugo Chavez, through our President Nicolas Maduro."
A bilateral meeting to discuss international agreements on comprehensive cooperation is also on the agenda of the official visit.
Learn more about the Los Cayos Expedition :
The Los Cayos Expedition was a military operation organized since Haiti by Simon Bolivar, who sent troops to release of the Spanish forces: Venezuela, then Panama, Colombia and Ecuador.
HL/ HaitiLibre
Haiti - NOTICE : Call for applications for Open and Distance Learning (2016-2017)
The Agence universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF) announces the launch of the new call for applications on its platform "Open and Distance Learning" (Formations Ouvertes et A Distance - FOAD)
The AUF proposes 84 diploma training for the 2016-2017 promotion on its FOAD platform: 7 University Diplomas in Medicine (DU), 11 licenses (L3), 18 Masters 1 and 48 Masters 2 in the following disciplines :
Law, Economics and Management;
Education and Training;
Engineering Sciences;
Medicine and Public Health;
Humanities
Environment and Sustainable Development.
These diplomas are from European universities, but also from Burkina Faso institutions, Cameroon, Canada, Egypt, Lebanon, Madagascar, Morocco, Senegal and Tunisia. Diplomas obtained in the framework of the open and distance have no distinctive character in relation to those obtained-face, and have the same academic value. Students are regularly enrolled to the universities in which they follow their training and pass their exams in person at the Francophone Digital Campus of Port-au-Prince.
The costs of training offered as part of the AUF are negotiated. Also, for the best applications received, the Agence universitaire de la Francophonie gives grants supporting a significant part of the cost of training.
INFORMATION and REGISTRATION : www.foad-mooc.auf.org/
Closing date for applications: 15 June 2016
HL/ HaitiLibre
Haiti - Politic : The Minister a.i. of MHAVE made promises to the Diaspora
Thursday, Gessy C. Petit-Frere, the Minister of Trade and Industry, also Acting Minister of Haitians Living Abroad (MHAVE), visited the staff of this Ministry here she declared "The situation of Haitians today invites to transcendence. No one can ignore the fact that the diaspora is an engine for development in Haiti..." hoping that with the contribution of compatriots abroad "the country will create jobs for young people in the ten departments."
During her visit, she said to be aware of the expectations of compatriots abroad and promised to take action in favor of the diaspora claiming "We are here to listen you and give subsequently complete satisfaction to your grievances," promising among other things" the mobilization and integration of the diaspora in the economic development of Haiti; citizen participation of the Diaspora in Haiti's affairs; public policy development in support of compatriots abroad...
For his part, Robert Labrousse, the outgoing Minister regretted that the various proposals made to the Government for the diaspora were not taken into account include: the issue of dual or multiple nationalities ; the direct participation of the Diaspora in the elections in Haiti; the integration of a member of the diaspora in the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP); the election of representatives of the diaspora to the Haitian Parliament and the possibility for compatriots abroad to appoint their representatives in government. However, he praised the good times spent with his staff during his 9 months as head of the Ministry.
HL/ HaitiLibre
Haiti - Politic : The new Chancellor of Haiti in Dominican Republic
Pierrot Delienne, the new Haitian Chancellor left the country Thursday, March 31 to the Dominican Republic, to attend the 10th Meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Community of States of Latin America and Caribbean (CELAC) held this Friday, April 1, at the Jaragua Hotel in Santo Domingo.
On the sidelines of this meeting, representatives of 33 countries of the CELAC, including Haiti, took part in the 17th meeting of the national coordinators in order to measure the progress of the work program presented by the temporary presidency exerted by the Dominican Republic and assess the development reached by the CELAC.
The Chancellor Delienne will be back in Haiti tomorrow Saturday.
HL/ HaitiLibre
Situation and progression of cholera in Haiti as of October 19, 2022 according to data from the Department of Epidemiology, Laboratories and Research of the Ministry of Public Health...
Haiti - FLASH : Francois Anick Joseph, named Minister of the Interior (confirmed)
In a circular note of the Ministry of the Interior and Territorial Communities (MICT) dated April 1, 2016, "The General Directorate of the Ministry of Interior and Territorial Communities (MICT) informs the executives, servants and employees that the new Minister, Mr Francois Anick Joseph will be installed on Friday 1 April 2016 [...]"
The installation took place this afternoon.
Let's recall that this position of Minister was assured ad interim, by Pierrot Delienne, which is Minister of Foreign Affairs and Religious Affairs.
Francois Anick Joseph, is a teacher by profession, he was until Senator for Artibonite department, and his mandate was due to expire on the second Monday of January 2017.
HL/ HaitiLibre
EO may have taken the title as most generous employer after splashing out $32 million on a lavish TV-inspired employee holiday to South Korea.
Guo Chenglin, who heads up Chinese beauty company Aurance Group, took staff on an all-expenses trip to Incheon, located in the north west of the East Asian country.
Flown out on 150 flights over the course of three days, the 4,600 workers comprised the single largest tour group ever to arrive in South Korea and stayed in 1,500 rooms across 26 different hotels.
The themed vacation which is just the latest annual employee holiday is inspired by a popular South Korean TV drama called My Love from the Star.
So far, workers have visited filming locations and indulged in a fried chicken and beer party organized after a popular character on the show famously praised the combination.
The company plans to squeeze in time promotional activities for their beauty products and health supplements too although the planned gala event doesnt exactly sound like tedious work.
One employee told UK news outlet the Daily Mail that employees are expected to return to work by the beginning of next week.
By Jesse Wood
The inaugural Boone Film Festival takes place at the Harvest House on Saturday, April 9.
Tickets for the Boone Film Festival are available at Appalachian Mountain Brewery and Footsloggers in advance for $5 minimum donation.
Wonderland Woods Production, the Boone-based film productions company that is managing the film festival, said that the scorecards from the judges are starting to roll in on the 31 submissions and the excitement for the festival is certainly brewing.
On Friday, April 8 the day before the screening a pre-party meet-and-greet will take place at Footsloggers with Dean Lyon, a pioneer in the visual effects industry and visual effects supervisor of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and Patrick Wilkinson, a jack of all trades in the industry from acting and filmmaking to building sets.
Th April 8 event starts at 5 p.m. with live music by Bandam and Appalachian Mountain Brewery serving its already-classic brews.
The main event takes place on Saturday, April 9, at the Harvest House, where Wilkinson will serve as the emcee/host. At 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, the red-carpet is rolled out and the community is encouraged to dress up and pose for the flashing cameras. Brooks Forsyth will perform live music prior to the film showcase, which starts at 6:30 p .m.
An awards ceremony will follow. At the event, Appalachian Mountain Brewery beer, Appalachian Cookie Company cookies and popcorn will be available for purchase. All proceeds go toward Mountain Alliance.
Then the after party moves to Appalachian Mountain Brewery.
The tagline for the festival is Celebrating the Stories of Appalachia, and film submissions have come from places as far as New York, Kentucky and Georgia.
The festival features three film categories to be judged: Appalachian Culture, Appalachian Adventure and Appalachian Environment. The following awards, prizes and award sponsors are as follows:
Best In Show: Appalachian Region Film, $1,000 cash prize *Officially sponsored by Tsuga*
Appalachian Region Film, $1,000 cash prize *Officially sponsored by Tsuga* Best Culture Film: $500 cash prize *Officially sponsored by MPrints*
$500 cash prize *Officially sponsored by MPrints* Best Adventure Film: $500 cash prize *Officially sponsored by Center 45*
$500 cash prize *Officially sponsored by Center 45* Best Environment Film: $500 cash prize *Officially sponsored by ASU Environmental Sciences Dept*
$500 cash prize *Officially sponsored by ASU Environmental Sciences Dept* Best Youth Film Submission (17 and Under): $250 cash prize PLUS a scholarship prize to work with professional Wonderland Woods Productions on skills development *Officially sponsored by Wonderland Woods*
For more information about the festival, see below or click here and here. Follow the festival on Facebook and Instagram #Boonefilmfest. See prior stories on Boone Film Festival here.
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By Jesse Wood
The Watauga County Sheriffs Office arrested Steve Sisk, 38, and Stephanie Burnett, 35, on Wednesday for possessing counterfeit money and driving off without paying for gas at the Speedway on N.C. 105 in Boone.
Sisk and Burnett are both from Greenville, S.C.
In the late afternoon, the Boone Police Department issued a be-on-the-lookout alert as the vehicle Sisk was driving headed south on N.C. 105 towards Avery County.
A deputy eventually pulled the vehicle over on Broadstone Road, and Sisk immediately fled the vehicle on foot, according to a deputys shift report. Sisk was apprehended after a short foot chase.
Both were taken into custody under a $75,000 bond and charged with five counts of possessing counterfeit currency, larceny of motor fuel, attempting to pass off the counterfeit currency and felony conspiracy.
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He adds that the perpetrator is likely to have broken into the church because the fire started from inside the church after the doors of the church had been locked.
Flammable liquids were used to set and accelerate the fire that devoured an 18th-century wooden church in Ylivieska, Northern Ostrobothnia, on 26 March, Ari Rutanen, the detective chief inspector in charge of the pre-trial investigation, reveals in a press release .
The use of flammable liquids, along with certain other features, indicates some degree of premeditation or willingness to make sure the fire is successful. Police cannot comment further on these details now or later without jeopardising the investigation, he states in the press release.
Rutanen also emphasises that whether or not the suspect has confessed to a criminal offence, which has been the subject of considerable media attention, is inconsequential for nature and scope of the pre-trial investigation due to the gravity of the suspected offence.
The Oulu Police Department also praises members of the public for providing information to assist the ongoing pre-trial investigation.
Aleksi Teivainen HT
Photo: Tomi Hirvinen Lehtikuva
Stubb has disappointed the right wing as a chairperson. [He] has made promises he hasn't been able to keep, he says.
Alexander Stubb, the chairperson of the National Coalition Party, has come under criticism from the right-wing quarters of his party mainly due to their disillusionment with the so-called competitiveness pact, Erkka Railo, a senior research fellow at the Centre for Parliamentary Studies of the University of Turku, analyses in an interview with Uusi Suomi.
The criticism faced by the incumbent chairperson is nonetheless somewhat unfair because he has inevitably had to make compromises in the ruling coalition, says Railo. The crux of the disappointment is according to him the corporatist model of Finland or, the labour market system and the power it wields.
The right wing is having a hard time coming to terms with the compromises. It has been shown that the corporatist model is hard as steel in Finland. If you want a general strike, go ahead and have one. Even [Prime Minister Juha] Sipila (Centre) has had to give in, says Railo.
Sipila aggressively pursued changes to the terms and conditions of employment at the start of his term in office, but he has since had to back down on his demands.
Railo gauges that the same lack of understanding of the status quo of the labour markets that was evident during the first few months of the term of Sipila is presently evident in the remarks of Harry Harkimo (NCP) and Elina Lepomaki (NCP) as they are reportedly gearing up to take on Stubb in the race to lead the National Coalition.
Stubb profiled himself as a staunch opponent of corporatism during his roughly one-year term as Prime Minister by, for example, calling for an overhaul of the labour markets in December 2014.
If we have to reform the labour markets, we're currently unable to do so without labour market organisations. Consensus is a form of political populism. We as policy-makers hide behind consensus. It's only appropriate that if labour market organisations can't carry out the reforms, the responsibility falls on the Government and Parliament, he said.
Statements such as this raised too high hopes among the right-wing quarters of the National Coalition, estimates Railo.
Aleksi Teivainen HT
Photo: Vesa Moilanen Lehtikuva
Source: Uusi Suomi
Ask Matt ... what those silver convoys are hauling
Q. I have noticed many tractor trailer trucks traveling through Henderson County on I-26. They all look the same, silver with white cabs marked WM. I often see them in convoys of a dozen or more. Where are they going and what are they hauling?
Its coal ash whats left after burning coal at Duke Energys Skyland power plant in South Asheville. According to Craig DeBrew, Dukes community relations manager, most of the ash is being trucked to a lined landfill in Homer, Ga. That landfill has been fully permitted to accept the coal ash but the hauling distance is 132 miles. DeBrew said that the ash is not a hazardous waste nor is it toxic but it does contain very low levels of trace elements levels similar to what you find in soil and municipal solid waste.
Duke has already moved several million tons of ash from the Skyland site to be used as fill material at the Asheville Regional Airport. With that runway project complete, the next best repository was the Georgia landfill. The State has given Duke until 2022 to remove the remaining ash piles, some 3.8 million tons. Removal will also make room for Dukes new natural gas generators.
The trucks you see on the Interstate are owned by Waste Management, which has a contract with Duke. A Waste Management spokesperson told me their trucks carry up to 21 tons. Based on that, I roughly calculated that to move all of the coal ash by 2022 would take 91 trips per day hauling five days a week. Duke Energy has its own permitted landfill at its Cliffside power plant location in Mooresboro, near Shelby. The hauling distance is only half of that to the Georgia site. Duke has a contract with Charah, a Kentucky-based company to help move ash to the Cliffside site. Using both landfills will help the power company meet its goals.
DeBrew pointed out that each truck is washed before leaving the site. They also have a tightly fitted tarp that covers the ash and trucks are monitored for speed. Waste Management is similarly focused on safety. It has partnered with Duke Energy to remove coal ash piles from two other power plant sites, one in Anderson County, S.C., and another in Gaston County. Yes, they are hauling a lot of ash.
Send questions to askmattm@gmail.com.
A man had his jaw broken in two places when he fell unconscious to the ground after a one-punch assault while he was out socialising in Dublin's city centre, a court heard.
Bernard McDonagh (30) is alleged to have delivered the punch after intervening in a verbal confrontation between two men in a laneway.
The prosecution maintains the man fell face-down onto a concrete path, causing serious injuries.
Mr McDonagh is facing a circuit court trial after a judge ruled the case was too serious to be heard at district court level.
Judge Michael Walsh adjourned the case for the preparation of a book of evidence.
The accused is charged with assault causing harm to a man at Dame Lane on June 17, 2015.
Dublin District Court heard the man had been out socialising at 12.25am with a group of men and women.
There was a conversation in which "a few words were exchanged" between the alleged victim and a man known to the accused, a garda sergeant said.
Mr McDonagh is alleged to have intervened and struck him one blow to the side of the face.
According to the prosecution, this punch knocked the alleged victim unconscious and, unable to save himself, he fell to the concrete path.
His face connected with the ground and he remained unconscious for "quite some time," the court heard.
The accused left the scene and a witness called an ambulance for the man, who was taken to St James' Hospital for treatment.
Wired
The court heard he suffered two fractures to his jaw - one below the ear and another further down towards his chin.
His jaw needed to be wired and he was out of work for two to three weeks, the court was told.
Due to his time off work because of the injuries, he also missed out on a promotion.
According to a dentist's report, there was "quite a substantial amount of work" that remained to be done.
The dental work cost 2,070.
The alleged victim then gave evidence of his injuries to the judge. As well as the damage to his jaw, he said one of his teeth had been broken in half.
The court heard the accused had met gardai by arrangement later.
Judge Walsh said that having listened carefully to the evidence, he was satisfied that the case was "not capable of being dealt with" in the jurisdiction of the district court.
This means he will be sent forward to Dublin Circuit Criminal Court when a book of evidence is ready.
He was remanded on continuing bail to appear in court again on May 11. The charge against Mr McDonagh - with an address at Barn Lodge, Cappogue, Finglas - is under Section 3 of the Non Fatal Offences Against the Person Act.
Anthony Fagan said he could pay compensation, given time
A mobile phone snatcher was caught after the victim and a passing garda who saw the theft chased him.
Father-to-be Anthony Fagan (21) was unemployed and having "difficulties with alcohol" at the time, a court heard.
Judge Bryan Smyth said he could avoid an eight-month jail sentence if he is found suitable for 160 hours of community service.
Fagan, of Rutland Street Lower, pleaded guilty to stealing a Samsung mobile phone worth 400 from a man on Gardiner Street last October 12.
Gda Eugene Smith told Dublin District Court that he was on patrol at 12.35am when he saw the accused snatch something from the victim's hand.
The man chased the accused and the garda followed in his patrol car. Fagan was stopped at Sean McDermott Street.
He said he was prepared to offer the injured party 200 in compensation if given time, his barrister said.
Convictions
Fagan had 37 previous convictions for offences including robbery and assault.
He was out of work and now expecting to be a father for the first time.
Judge Smyth said the court was considering a "custodial option", but adjourned the case for the production of a community service suitability report.
Acting Environment Minister Alan Kelly has defended the delay in delivering the first of 500 modular housing units.
"This was unique territory. Dublin City Council did this as quickly as possible and, ultimately, if you can show me houses of this scale, of this quality and to this quantity, that were delivered in even double the time frame, I'd be amazed," he said.
The first 22 units set up to ease the homeless crisis will be completed shortly at Baile na Laochra, Poppintree in Ballymun. Families are set to move into the modular homes in the coming fortnight.
The two-storey, three-bedroom homes were initially due to be ready before Christmas. However, the date was set back as a result of protests and bad weather.
"There was a learning process through Dublin City Council as part of this," he said as he viewed the homes yesterday.
"It was the first time it was ever done. That learning process has been brought through for the second procurement, which has a lot more people involved, I understand."
The minister said he expects works on 130 modular homes to start on sites later this month, with a further 300 units to be built later this year.
"What you're looking at here are the fastest-built houses in the history of the State," he said. "I believe we need thousands of these units built.
"The idea is that people move in here, and, then move into social housing. Remember, some people who move in here may not actually want to live in this area.
"I think it is very necessary that we have developments that incorporate all social sides, different age groups and various different demographics."
Kerry Anthony, the CEO of Homeless charity DePaul, welcomed the developments.
"The homes are spacious and attractive," she said. "As a short-term solution to homelessness, they form a viable alternative to hotel and B&B accommodation, which is wholly unsuitable for lengthy durations."
Help
However, she urged long-term housing solutions be also put in place.
DePaul's Ballymun case management team, which helps homeless people, will support families in the modular homes and help them access more permanent accommodation.
A top executive has warned Luas workers that cuts will be imposed in the company if strikes continue.
Nigel Stevens, chief executive officer of Transdev UK and Ireland, sent an open letter to staff ahead of further two-day strikes this weekend.
Mr Stevens said he visited "key stakeholders" in Dublin this week. He returned to the UK yesterday.
The Siptu union expressed dismay that Mr Stevens did not meet workers or union representatives and called on him to withdraw his threat of cutbacks.
Workers had voted to reject a pay rise brokered by the Workplace Relations Commission that would have meant pay rises of between 8pc and 18pc within less than three years.
"Transdev will not stand idly by while our already challenging financial position, which has been independently verified, is further eroded," stated Mr Stevens in his letter.
"We are resolute that the current demands are untenable and will not be countenanced, regardless of the nature and extent of industrial action that is notified to us," he said.
In a statement that appeared to warn of job cuts, he declared that if workers continue with strikes, the company will "take action in relation to our operating costs to protect our financial position", he said.
Pursuit
Siptu has threatened four one-day tram strikes this month in pursuit of an improved pay offer. Further stoppages are planned for April 23 and 24.
Siptu sector organiser Willie Noone said: "It is deeply disappointing and inexplicable that the CEO of Transdev, UK and Ireland would visit Dublin and not meet with Luas workers.
"He obviously does not view the Luas workers or their representatives as being key stakeholders worthy of meeting.
"At such a meeting he would have been informed why the Workplace Relations Commission proposals in relation to the Luas dispute were rejected overwhelmingly by workers in a recent ballot."
It is believed workers had hoped that Mr Stevens would intervene in the Dublin dispute to offer more money, as he did in a previous industrial relations dispute.
The family of murdered Margaret 'Margot' Seery have said that they have not decided whether to lodge a complaint with the garda Ombudsman over the 1994 garda investigation into her death.
The mum-of-one was found dead in her Rathmines apartment in 1994, and an inquest later ruled out foul play.
However, 20 years later, Howard Kelly walked into Rathmines Garda Station and confessed to killing her in her home. Last November, he was sentenced to life in prison.
Killed
An exhumation of her body in 2014 found that some of Margot's organs were missing.
Her skull was also intact, which led the family to question whether her brain had been examined fully. A new inquest found yesterday that Ms Seery was 'unlawfully killed and met her death by murder', however her family were left with unanswered questions.
Speaking on behalf of Margot's daughter Niamh Holliday, who is now married and living in Australia, Margot's brother Pa Guinane asked a number of questions at Dublin Coroners' Court yesterday.
Mr Guinane asked for an explanation for his sister's missing organs but was told that this was undetermined following a garda investigation.
He also questioned why Kelly was not quizzed in the first investigation having been the last person to see her alive, but was told that this fact was not known at the time. Questions over Margot's skull and the first autopsy were also left unanswered despite a garda probe.
"It's disappointing that we haven't got too many answers to the questions that we have and we are wondering if we ever will. There are a lot of questions to be asked [about the original investigation into Margot's death]," Mr Guinane said afterwards, adding that there were avenues which weren't explored during the first investigation.
John Seery, Margot's husband, from whom she was separated at the time, also expressed disappointment after the hearing.
"We don't really know why leads weren't followed up," he said. "We have no answers about what happened them [the organs] and we're very disappointed about that."
Mr Guinane said that the family had not yet decided whether to follow up the case with the garda Ombudsman.
Inspector George McGeary, of Terenure Garda Station, said in a statement read out in court that Kelly informed gardai that having joined Margot in her flat after meeting while socialising, he began to feel 'uncomfortable' and strangled her with the intention of killing her.
Google is acknowledging that it pranked itself after an April Fool's Day Gmail tweak angered some people who use Google's email for work.
The company added a button to its email service that allowed users to fire out a minion GIF, a character from the animated film "Despicable Me," which would drop a microphone and then mute responses to whatever email the user had sent.
The Gmail Help Forum on Thursday was soon populated by angry users who say they unintentionally attached a minion dropping a mic during important business communications.
Google Inc. apologized and turned off the feature, saying that due to a bug, the mic drop "inadvertently caused more headaches than laughs."
North Korea fired a short-range missile into the sea and tried to jam GPS navigation signals in South Korea on Friday, Seoul officials said, hours after U.S., South Korean and Japanese leaders pledged to work closer together to prevent North Korea from advancing its nuclear and missile programs.
Officials said the attempt to jam GPS signals, which began Thursday, did not cause any major disruptions of South Korean military, aviation and sea transport and telecommunication systems. However, more than 130 fishing boats reported problems with their navigation systems and some were forced to return to their ports, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said.
South Korea's Defense Ministry called the jamming attempt a provocation that threatened public safety and military operations in the South. A ministry statement warned North Korea to immediately stop the jamming efforts or face unspecified consequences.
South Korea has blamed North Korea for several previous jamming attempts. This week's jamming signals are the first since 2012, according to South Korea's Science Ministry. North Korean state media had no immediate comment.
North Korea also fired a surface-to-air missile off its east coast on Friday, three days after it launched a projectile that hit land in its northeast, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said without elaborating.
North Korea has launched a number of short-range missiles and other projectiles since the start last month of annual South Korea-U.S. military drills it views as a rehearsal for an invasion. It also has repeated threats of nuclear strikes on Seoul and Washington and warned it will test a nuclear warhead and ballistic missiles capable of carrying it.
This year's drills, set to run until late this month, are the biggest ever and come after North Korea conducted a nuclear test and long-range rocket launch earlier this year.
In Washington, President Barack Obama met Thursday with the leaders of South Korea and Japan to discuss ways of countering North Korea's nuclear threat. Obama also met Chinese President Xi Jinping and both called for North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons. China also agreed to fully implement recent economic restrictions imposed by the U.N. Security Council against North Korea. The Asian leaders are in Washington for a two-day nuclear summit that opens Friday.
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Associated Press writer Kim Tong-hyung contributed to this report.
Nothing goes right for Edgewood in long trip to East Central
As a Jewish Pavilion program director visiting Jewish residents in nursing homes/independent and assisted living/rehabilitation facilities in Southwest Orlando, I am fortunate to have gotten to know Sasson Bechor, who is newly arrived in Orlando. Anyone fortunate to meet and talk with Bechor will learn how proud he is to have a Jewish heritage that goes back 2600 years to the year 586 BC. That history is significant in Jewish tradition. That was the year Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem by breaking through the city's walls. Solomon's Temple was totally destroyed, Jerusalem plundered, and many Jews were taken in captivity to Babylon. Fifty years later, when Babylon was overthrown by the Persians, 40,000 left to return and rebuild the temple in Jerusalem, but 80,000 chose to remain and life under the Persians flourished.
Among the great leaders and sages produced by the Jewish community in Babylon were Ezra the scribe, who led the returnees back to Jerusalem and laid the foundations for later rabbinic Judaism; and the sage Hillel, who is associated with the development of the Mishnah and Talmud.
Bechor is descended from Jews who chose to remain in Babylon, now Iraq. He was born in Amara, Iraq. Amara is next to the Tigris River in southeastern Iraq, south of Baghdad and about 50 km from the Iranian border.
Bechor came from a family with five boys and two girls who grew up in Iraq amid predominantly Moslems and a few Christians. For all three faiths, Abraham was the revered prophet, but Moslems were taught that Ishmael, not Isaac, was the "chosen" son. The Jews there had the Babylonian Talmud vs. the Jerusalem Talmud. The Jews not only did not assimilate, but developed a strong study of the Talmud. Bechor is proud that the Babylonian Talmud was later adopted by Eastern Europe as a cornerstone for Jews living there.
Living as a Jew in Iraq: There were no divisions among the Jewish population in Iraq into Reform, Conservative or Orthodox. All practiced Jewish traditions 100 percent. All Jews honored the Sabbath, thus the advantage of owning your own business-you could lock up shop and go home, where the mothers would be found cooking in preparation for the Sabbath. Ten percent of the children went to the local heder, 90 percent of children went to the Jewish school. There, a general curriculum in Arabic was followed, with two hours a week with a Hebrew teacher who taught biblical Hebrew. With separate schools for Jews, celebrating Shabbat and Jewish holidays was not an issue. No school lunches were served-kids would bring sandwiches from home. There were separate schools for boys and girls, both in session all day. Bar mitzvahs were "not a big deal" for the boys, who always went to synagogue with their dad.
"Mothers were always pregnant." Families would have so many kids, it was necessary to have strict discipline in school. There might be as many as 60 - 65 kids in a class with no air conditioning or heating, actually no electricity! While there was a ceiling fan, it had to be hand rotated with the kids taking turns. The teachers were mostly men. The discipline: painful raps on the hand with a sharp ruler.
"Shabbat was wonderful." The kids dressed up and would play together. "It was like a shtetl with lots of kids." Lighting any kind of fire, including smoking, and using any kind of electricity on the Sabbath was strictly taboo. There was only one set of dishes-"The Ashkenazi took our rules and made them stricter." At any Jewish butcher shop, there was no need to ask if the meat was kosher.
There was no dating. As in "Fiddler on the Roof," there were arranged (not forced) marriages. An encounter of the prospective couple would be arranged with families sitting opposite, with line of sight made possible for the prospective bride and groom to make eye contact. If that glancing test was passed, a get-together with a chaperone would be arranged.
The Bechor family moved from Southern Iraq to Baghdad in the 1930s. There were approximately 130,000 Jews in Iraq at the time. A pro-Nazi coup in April 1941 sought to incite locals to kill the Jews in Iraq. The Nazis took over the airwaves. Hundreds were killed in a pogrom during Shavuot (June 1-2) 1941. Jewish homes were marked, penetrated, occupants raped, maimed and killed.
"My mother was pregnant and threatened with a knife-the attacker was convinced the bulge was hidden gold," said Bechor. "Over 180 Jews were killed, 1000 injured and many homes destroyed. Not all Moslems participated. My parents vowed that as soon as we had the opportunity, we would leave. A lot of families bribed professional smugglers, including Bedouins, to smuggle their teenagers across the border into Iran or Turkey. The Jewish Agency would then get them to Palestine (pre-1948) or Israel."
For Bechor's family, that opportunity to leave Iraq came in 1950, when the Iraqi government granted Jews the right to leave-they need only renounce their citizenship (at central centers) and vow never to return. Australia, Canada and the U.S. arranged an airlift, chartering planes from Alaska Airlines with experienced WW II pilots to airlift Jews to Israel in Operation Ezra and Nehemiah. After 2500 years in Iraq, Jews need only check local centers for posted flights and names-and then secure exit visas. No money or belongings could be brought out. They left with just an egg sandwich provided by local Jewish organizations and the clothes on their back.
Bechor was 18 1/2 when he arrived in Israel on March 21, 1951 and settled in a tent at an absorption center with his parents and six siblings (he was the oldest). Back in Iraq, Bechor had gone only to elementary school during the day, and then went to middle and high school at night in order to work during the day in a Muslim-Jewish import/export office in order to help support his family. When he left Iraq, he was three months short of finishing high school. It took him four years to finish those three months as he had to go into the Israeli army first and learn Hebrew. He had to transform himself-not just learning in Hebrew instead of Arabic, but experiencing the requisite transformation of culture, information and personality as well. Once he got his high school diploma-in Hebrew-he worked at a power plant in Ashdod, Israel, where he was trained to operate the control room of the power plant. Bechor then attended night school at Hebrew University, earning an undergraduate degree in economics and statistics. He met his wife, who was from Riverdale, N.Y., (recently deceased) when both were working on a kibbutz. They married in 1965 and moved to the U.S. in 1966. It was after marriage and moving to America that Bechor got his MBA at NYU, and eventually became a CPA in Georgia.
Long retired, Bechor currently lives in a senior facility on the south side of Orlando.
The Jewish Pavilion has Passover seders scheduled at over 50 senior facilities during April. Residents of all faiths enjoy the programs. You can make a difference in the life of a senior. For volunteering opportunities or to make a donation visit http://www.jewishpavilion.org or call 407-678-9363.
Donald Trump couldn't undo the 'come together' spirit of the UCF Knights for Israel members who attended the AIPAC Conference at the D.C. Convention Center.
WASHINGTON (JTA)-Hear out Donald Trump. Ignore Donald Trump.
There were two distinct approaches to the Trump moment last week at AIPAC's annual conference here, and there were mutual warnings that one or the other side would get burned.
The burn came fast, and it came to those who said listening to the front-runner in the race for the Republican presidential nod was the right thing to do.
After days of repeated warnings to its activists not to disrupt Trump, and to treat speakers with respect, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee leadership issued an extraordinary apology on Tuesday morning-but not to Trump.
Instead, AIPAC said it was sorry for its members who had applauded his insulting remarks about President Obama during Trump's Monday night speech at the Verizon Center. Many members roared and leapt to their feet when Trump suggested Obama was "the worst thing to ever happen to Israel."
"While we may have policy differences, we deeply respect the office of the president of the United States and our President Barack Obama," Lillian Pinkus, the lobby's newly installed president, said from the AIPAC stage, joined by other AIPAC lay and professional leaders.
"There are people in our AIPAC family who were deeply hurt last night and for that we are deeply sorry," Pinkus said, her voice choking. "We are deeply disappointed that so many people applauded a sentiment that we neither agree with or condone."
The evident anguish in the aftermath of Trump's remarks undid the hopes that his speech would not undo the prominent Israel lobby's careful claims to bipartisanship, even as its Iran policy is more or less aligned wholly with Republicans. The Trump moment came during a conference with a slogan, "Come Together," that AIPAC had hoped would signal a new day of bipartisanship.
Complaints that the lobby had given Trump a platform at its largest annual assembly without expressing official displeasure at his most controversial remarks about immigrants and Muslims led many to wonder how AIPAC would function in an election in which the likely GOP nominee has alienated much of the organized Jewish community.
AIPAC officials said before the conference that the event would be an opportunity for Trump, derided by his rivals for speaking mostly in vagaries, to finally attach substance to his ideas. Trump's prepared remarks included substantive and critical assessments of Obama's Middle East policies, which AIPAC expected and indeed would have welcomed.
He also softened two positions that have created unease among pro-Israel activists-insisting he would remain neutral in brokering peace between Israel and the Palestinians, saying his negotiating skills as a businessman would be key to reaching a deal, and refusing to commit to recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
On Jerusalem, Trump vowed to move the American embassy to the city, "the eternal capital of the Jewish people." And he said the Palestinians must accept as a given the closeness of the U.S.-Israel relationship.
His extemporized flourishes, however, typified the red meat he likes to throw out at his rallies, and many in the massive Verizon Center hall, chosen to accommodate a record-breaking 18,000 activists this year, gobbled it up.
Launching a critique of Obama's U.N. policy, Trump started a sentence Monday evening by saying, "With President Obama in his final year"-then stopped himself and said "Yay!"
Cheers, laughter and applause arose from the crowd, and not just from isolated pockets.
"He may be the worst thing to ever happen to Israel, believe me, believe me," said Trump, a billionaire real estate magnate. "And you know it and you know it better than anybody."
The largest group advocating some form of protest ahead of Trump's appearance, the Reform movement, sounded a note of vindication the day after his speech.
"We were disappointed but not surprised that Mr. Trump did nothing tonight to allay our deep concerns about his campaign," Rabbi Rick Jacobs, the president of the Union of Reform Judaism, said in a statement Monday. "It still seems that he does not share our values of equality, pluralism, and humility."
Trump's laceration of Obama is the last thing AIPAC needed at a time when the lobby is endeavoring to show it remains a bipartisan enterprise.
Hoard Kohr, the one-time Republican operative who has led the organization for decades, alluded in his opening remarks on Sunday to pressure from the right to simply give up on Democrats in the wake of the party's almost wholesale embrace of an Iran nuclear deal that AIPAC continues to insist endangers Israel.
"There are those who question our bipartisan approach to political advocacy," Kohr said. "Unless one party controls all branches of government forever, bipartisanship remains the only way."
Trump spoke on a night that also included live addresses from his Republican presidential rivals, Gov. John Kasich of Ohio and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas. House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., also addressed the throng.
There were warm welcomes for Democrats at the conference, particularly Vice President Joe Biden, the closest administration member to AIPAC, who spoke of his decades of attachment to Israel in emotional terms.
Hillary Clinton, the Democratic front-runner, also spoke-earlier in the day than Trump-pitching herself to his right on Israel.
"American can't ever be neutral when it comes to Israel's security and survival," Clinton said to repeated cheers and applause. "Some things aren't negotiable and anyone who doesn't understand that has no business in being our president."
Yet it was clear the lobby still had difficulties in reconciling with Democrats, especially progressives among them. Only one Democrat from the vast majority in Congress who voted last year in favor of the Iran deal-Maryland Rep. Steny Hoyer, the minority whip-addressed the conference.
Hoyer's appearance together with Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., the majority leader, was designed to show bipartisan support for Israel, yet tension crept into the buddy show. When McCarthy suggested that the Obama administration had sowed "doubt" about the U.S.-Israel relationship, Hoyer countered that the two nations' security establishments "are cooperating as closely today as they have in the past."
AIPAC's activists, lobbying on Tuesday, were unable to recommend any specific legislation on Iran; there is none suitable that is backed by both parties.
Bernie Sanders, the Independent from Vermont challenging Clinton for the Democratic nod, did not attend because he was in the West ahead of three primaries in the region on Tuesday. He offered to deliver remarks via video link but was rejected by AIPAC. Sanders did deliver the remarks-at a Utah rally-with his consistent message of support for Israel tempered by criticism of its actions on settlements and in waging war.
Lillian Pinkus, AIPAC's first female president in a decade, speaking at the organization's conference in Washington, D.C., March 21, 2016.
Aiming to appeal to progressives, the lobby screened a video presentation Tuesday morning on Menachem Creditor, a rabbi from Berkeley, California, who is a progressive leader and supporter of AIPAC.
Such profiles of AIPAC members are usually followed by short live appearances by the subjects, who usually deliver a few inspiring words of thanks.
Creditor presented his prepared remarks and added an indirect swipe at Trump, telling JTA after his address that he was prompted to the changes not just by Trump's speech but by the applause it earned.
"We must not embrace the politics of hate," he told the AIPAC crowd, appearing immediately after Pinkus' apology.
"AIPAC's commitment to bipartisanship isn't just about being mensches in the world. The only way to keep Israel strong and to build a beloved community here in the United States is to regard the multiplicity of voices here and in our nation as sacred."
ANTWERP (JTA)The hundreds of rifle-toting police and soldiers who patrol Isaac Michaelis neighborhood have done little to improve his sense of safety.
When the right hand doesnt know what the left hand is doing, the soldiers might as well be cardboard cutouts, he said.
A jeweler in his 40s, Michaeli lives with his family in Antwerps Jewish quarter, a small neighborhood of 12,000 that is one of the largest haredi communities in Europe.
The troops have been assigned to protect the neighborhood, with its 98 Jewish institutions, since May 2014, after four people were killed in a terrorist shooting at Brussels Jewish Museum of Belgium. Since then, their presence has been beefed up at periods of elevated riskincluding after Tuesdays string of terrorist attacks that left at least 31 dead and 300 wounded in Brussels.
Belgian Jewish leaders have praised the patrols and the government allocation of $4.5 million for the communitys protection. But amid reports of repeated failures in Belgian authorities counterterrorist efforts, Michaelis dismissive attitude is shared by other Belgian Jews. Many feel that their government is less competent in defending civilians, Jews and otherwise, than its neighbors, including France.
On Thursday, Menachem Hadad, a Brussels rabbi, told Israels Army Radio, Belgian authorities have no understanding of security issueszero. He said soldiers posted outside a synagogue and the citys Chabad House told him that for months, they used to guard the area with no bullets in their rifles. It was just a show. Its not normal, he said.
Responding to Hadads claim, a Belgian Defense Ministry spokesperson wrote in an email to JTA that the soldiers posted in Brussels are adequately armed and trained, adding the ministry is nonetheless looking into the claims about the synagogue and Chabad House.
In Antwerp this week, hundreds of soldiers and police patrolled the Jewish quarter, where children wore costumes for Purim. One of a handful of European cities where the Jewish holiday is celebrated on the street, Antwerps Purim event this year paled in comparison to previous ones. Revelers were prohibited from playing music, wearing masks and using toy guns to avoid alarming soldiers and offending a grieving nation.
We celebrate but we are broken, said Mordechai Zev Schwamenfeld, 57, a member of Antwerps prominent Belz Hassidic community. Holding a basket of sweets he was delivering to friendsa Purim customhe noted that two Belz yeshiva students were lightly wounded in the Brussels attacks. It affects everyone, were not in a bubble, he said.
Following the attacks, Belgiums interior and justice ministers offered to resign over the alleged failure to track one of the attackers, an Islamic State militant, Ibrahim El Bakraoui, expelled by Turkey last year. He blew himself up at Brussels airport on Tuesday. An accomplice suicide bomber struck a metro station less than an hour later. Authorities are hunting for more accomplices, who they fear might strike again, possibly at Jewish targets.
Turkey said it warned Brussels specifically about El Bakraoui. According to Haaretz, Israel told Belgium just weeks ago that an attack was planned at the airport. European Union security agencies recommended airport security measures that were not implemented, according to reports.
The attackers also struck at obvious targets when officials should have been on high alert, said critics. Just four days before the attacks, authorities in Brussels arrested Salah Abdeslam, an Islamist alleged to have participated in a series of terrorist attacks in Paris in November.
The arrest, too, led to charges of incompetence. After four months on the run, Abdeslam was found on March 18, hiding a couple thousand feet from his parents home. He escaped police several times, including in November, thanks to regulations prohibiting home searches between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. Having confirmed his whereabouts after midnight, police found an empty apartment in the morning.
Albert Guigui, the chief rabbi of Belgium, said that despite these apparent lapses, Belgian authorities are now doing all they can following the trauma at the museum. The attack on the unguarded building in 2014 prompted authorities to significantly beef up security in an unprecedented way, Guigui said. But asked whether Belgian authorities have the desire and the ability to stop attacks, he said: I dont know, Im not a security expert. Id like to believe so.
Guiguis hedged response differs markedly from that of French Jewish leaders. The heads of CRIF, Frances Jewish umbrella group, have often proclaimed their utter confidence in authorities ability to combat terrorism and protect the community against jihadism.
I wouldnt say I have full confidence, said Joel Rubinfeld, founder of the Belgian League Against Anti-Semitism and a former president of the CCOJB umbrella of French-speaking Belgian Jewish communities. But after a long period of half-measures, he said, authorities took robust steps to secure Jewish sites in 2014. Its a positive step for which we are grateful.
Amid increases in anti-Semitic incidents and a worsening sense of personal safety, immigration to Israel from Belgium has increased dramatically over the past five years.
Last year, 287 Jews immigrated to Israel from Belgium, which has a Jewish population of about 40,000. It was the highest figure recorded in a decade. From 2010-2105, an average of 234 Belgian Jews made aliyah annuallya 56-percent increase over the annual average of 133 new arrivals from Belgium in 2005-2009, according to Israeli government data.
France too has a jihadist problem that is driving record numbers of Jewish immigrants to Israel, but It is also a superpower with a strong army and a determined leadership, which Belgium seems not to have, said Alexander Zanzer, an Antwerp Jew who runs Belgiums Royal Society of Jewish Welfare. I dont have the same confidence that many French Jews have in their authorities following the attacks in their country.
While in France, there is leadership capable of making decisions, in Belgium the [bureaucracy] runs itself, he said. And while this may be the sign of a functioning democracy in times of peace, he said, in case of emergency, strong leadership is a necessity.
Zanzer recalled how for 20 months in 2012-2013, a political standoff prevented the formation of a government in Belgiuma binational federal state of 11 million people divided between the richer Flemish, Dutch-speaking, population and the French-speaking south. Like Michaeli, Zanzer said that what most gives him a sense of security are Antwerp Jewrys own volunteer neighborhood patrolsa service that is far more robust in Antwerp than in Brussels.
Michael Freilich, the editor in chief of the Antwerp-based Joods Actueel monthly, said the violence and the security presence in the Jewish quarter are taking a psychological toll, though he commended the work of special police patrols. After the Brussels attacks, one of Freilichs three sons had a mild anxiety attack at his Jewish school, which is under constant military protection.
In their spacious home in the heart of the Jewish quarter, Freilich and his wife, Nechama Freilich, said they are unsure of what they should tell the 8-year-old.
You want to reassure them that things will be alright and we tell them were safer here than in Brussels, but you cant tell them it wont happen here. It might, Michael Freilich said.
(JNS.org) Speaking at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference, Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas) said he will not be neutral on Israel as president, taking a swipe at GOP opponent Donald Trumps past statements about being a neutral broker in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
America will stand unapologetically with the nation of Israel, said Cruz, who also mocked Trumps use of the term Palestine in the preceding speech at the same AIPAC session. Palestine has not existed since 1948, Cruz said upon arriving on stage.
Cruz said America needs a president who will be a champion for Israel, noting his actions in the Senate such as staunchly opposing the Federal Aviation Administrations 36-hour ban on flights to Israel during the 2014 Gaza war. Cruz recalled that at the time, he raised the question, Did this [Obama] administration just launch an economic boycott against the state of Israel? Ukraine, noted Cruz, had just seen a passenger airline shot down by a Russian missile but experienced no flight ban, yet Israel received such a ban when one rocket fell a mile from one of the safest airports in the world.
Offering specific on how he would stand with Israel as president, Cruz said he would rip the catastrophic Iran nuclear deal to shreds.
Here are my words, [Iranian Supreme Leader] Ayatollah Khamenei: If I am president, and Iran launches a missile test, we will shoot that missile down, said Cruz, referring to the recent Iranian missile test that included a missile inscribed with a threat to wipe Israel off the map.
Either you will shut down your nuclear program, or we will shut it down for you, said Cruz, further addressing Iran.
Cruz promised to move the American embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, and to veto any U.N. resolution that imposes an Israeli-Palestinian conflict settlement on Israel.
Indeed, I tell you today, I will fly to New York to personally veto it myself, Cruz said, referencing the city that is home to U.N. headquarters.
The way you avoid conflict is to stand up to bullies, he said.
In a much-anticipated speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference on Monday, March 21, Republican presidential primary front-runner Donald Trump said that dismantling the disastrous Iran nuclear deal would be his top priority as president. Trump also unveiled a three-pronged strategy for dealing with Iran, offering the type of detailed policy talk that many critics have accused him of leaving out of previous speeches.
Weve rewarded the worlds leading state sponsor of terror with $150 billion, and weve received actually nothing in return, he said.
Trump was the subject of much pre-conference debate regarding whether or not AIPAC should have invited him, due to his controversial policy proposals such as banning Muslim immigration. But he earned far more cheers and laughter than boos during his speech, resulting from his jokes, his stylistic choices such as the repeated use of the phrase believe me, and his well-known propensity to make sweeping declarations. He told the crowd that he was speaking to them as a lifelong supporter and true friend of Israel, and a newcomer to politics, but not to backing the Jewish state. He noted that in the spring of 2004, at the height of the violence of the second Palestinian intifada, he served as grand marshal of New York Citys Israel Day Parade.
Many people turned down this honor because it was a dangerous time for Israel and its supporters, said Trump, but I did not. I took the risk, and Im glad I did.
But I didnt come here tonight to pander to you about Israel, he told the audience. Thats what politicians do. All talk, no action. Believe me.
Instead, Trump said he came to speak about future of Americas relationship with Israel, which he praised as the only democracy in the Middle East.
Trump said he has studied the Iranian nuclear issue greater than anybody else. Believe me. That statement earned significant laughter from the audience.
The nuclear deal places limits on [Irans] military nuclear program for only a certain number of years, but once that period expires, Iran will have a weaponized nuclear program ready to go, said Trump.
The businessman said he would adopt a three-pronged strategy on Iran as president: standing up to Irans aggressive push to destabilize and dominate the region, dismantling Irans global terror network, and vigorously enforcing the terms of the nuclear deal.
If Im elected president, I know how to deal with trouble, and believe me thats why Ill be elected president, folks, said Trump, proceeding to remind the audience that he is leading all the polls.
We must enforce the terms of the previous deal to hold Iran totally accountable, and we will enforce it like youve never seen a contract enforced before folks, believe me, he said.
Trump lamented that the nuclear deal is silent on the testing of ballistic missiles, a move Iran recently carried out in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions.
Nobody has done anything about it. We will, we will, said Trump, earning a standing ovation.
Trump also earned an ovation for saying, President [Barack] Obama in his final year. Yay.
He may be the worst thing that ever happened to Israel, believe me, Trump said.
Trump vowed to use American veto power in the United Nations to shut down an internationally imposed settlement for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Deals are made when parties come together, they come to the table and negotiate, while each side makes concessions and gets something of value, said Trump.
Its really the parties that must negotiate a resolution themselves, they have no choicethe United States will be useful as a facilitator in negotiations, but nobody should be telling Israel that it needs to abide by an agreement made thousands of miles away, he said.
Trump said that to make a good deal, you need two willing participants, and it is known that Israel is willing to negotiate a deal. He noted that former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak made maybe even too generous of an offer to the Palestinians at Camp David, only to be rejected by Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, while former prime minister Ehud Olmert made an equally generous offer in 2008 but was rejected by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
As president, Trump said he would meet with Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu immediately. He said that in Palestinian society, the heroes are those who murder Jews, but that glorification of terrorists will end and it will end soon, believe me. He did not, however, offer details for how such incitement would end.
What President Obama gets wrong about deal making, said Trump, is that he constantly applies pressure to our friends, and rewards our enemies.
When the United States stands with Israel, the chances for peace really rise, and rise exponentially, he said.
Trump also vowed to move the American embassy in Israel to the eternal capital of the Jewish people, Jerusalem. He has previously wavered on that issue. He ended his speech on a lighter note, expressing pride that his daughter Ivanka, who is married to Jewish real estate developer Jared Kushner, is about the have a beautiful Jewish baby.
In fact, Trump said, it could be happening right now, which would be very nice as far as Im concerned.
As Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and Republican contender Donald Trump emerge as the clear front-runners for their respective parties nominations, Clinton on March 21 told the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference that she is a steady alternative to Trump when it comes to Israel and the Middle East.
We need steady hands. Not a president who said hes neutral on Monday, pro-Israel on Tuesday, and who knows what on WednesdayIsraels security is non-negotiable, Clinton said, referring to Trumps recent comments that he would be a neutral peace broker in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Trumps Republican rivals have also targeted those remarks.
Clinton also used her AIPAC speech to condemn Trump for encouraging violence, playing coy with white supremacists, and proposing policies such as a ban on Muslim immigration.
Will we as Americans and as Israelis stay true to the shared democratic values that have always been at the heart of our relationship? Clinton asked, adding that values such as a thriving immigrant culture, tolerance, and pluralism make both the U.S. and Israel a light unto the nations.
We cannot rest on what previous generations have accomplished. Every generation has to renew our values, and yes, even fight for them, she said.
Referencing this weeks upcoming Jewish holiday of Purim, Clinton said Queen Esther refused to say silent in the face of evil, and so should Americans.
Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim, she said, quoting famed Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.
Earlier in her speech, Clinton said that Americas next president will walk into the Oval Office next January and immediately face a world of both perils we must meet with strength and skills, and opportunities we must build on. She told the crowd of AIPAC supporters that they would understand how walking away is not an option in the Middle East, and that presidential candidates who think America no longer has an interest in that region are dangerously wrong. America, said Clinton, cant cede the mantle of leadership for global peace and security to anyone else.
We have to combat all these trends with even more intense security and diplomatic cooperation. The United States and Israel must be closer than ever, stronger than ever, and more determined than ever to overcome our common adversaries and advance our shared values.
Clinton criticized Palestinian leaders for inciting violence and praising terrorism, while praising the effectiveness of Israels U.S.-funded Iron Dome missile defense system.
We will never allow Israels adversaries to think a wedge can be driven between us, she said, explaining that when the U.S. and Israel have differences, she would work quickly to resolve them.
Clinton said America and Israel must take our alliance to the next level through reaching a new 10-year memorandum of understanding on defense as soon as possible.
That will also send a clear message to Israels enemies that the United States and Israel stand together, united, she said, adding that she would make a firm commitment to ensure Israel maintains its qualitative military edge, as well as work to bolster Israeli missile defense and technology to detect terror tunnels.
Clinton also said that one of the first things she would do in office is invite the Israeli prime minister to visit the White House, a remark that was met with a standing ovation.
The presidential candidate and former secretary of state said she has been sounding the alarm for a while now about the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, She urged the college students in the crowd, Dont let anyone silence you, bully you, or try to shut down debate.
Anti-Semitism has no place in any civilized society. Not in America, not in Europe, not anywhere, she said.
Reiterating the theme of taking U.S-Israel ties to the next level, Clinton said other presidential candidates have very different visions of American leadership on foreign policypolicies that would insult our allies, not engage them, and embolden Americas enemies.
Clinton touted her leadership of diplomacy to impose crippling sanctions that forced Iran to the negotiating table on its nuclear program, and also noted her support of last summers Iran nuclear deal, saying the deal put a lid on the Iranian nuclear program by increasing Irans potential breakout time and creating new verification measures. Yet the approach to Iran, she said, should be distrust and verify.
This deal must come with vigorous enforcement... and a broader strategy to confront Irans aggression across the region, said Clinton. We cannot forget that Tehrans fingerprints are on almost every conflict across the Middle East... Theres a big difference between talking about holding Tehran accountable and actually doing it... The United States will act to stop [Iranian violations of the nuclear deal] and we will do so with force if necessary.
Regarding the Iranian-funded Hezbollah terror group, Clinton said, If the Arab League can designate all of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, surely it is time for all of our friends in Europe and in the international community to do so as well.
On the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Clinton said she remains convinced that peace is possible and that a two-state solution is Israels only option for remaining a Jewish and democratic state. Inaction is not an option in the peace process, she said.
If we look at the broader regional context, converging interests between Israel and key Arab states could make it possible to promote progress on the Israeli-Palestinian issue, said Clinton.
Both sides in the conflict should take positive actions that can rebuild trust, such as the recent meetings between Israeli and Palestinian finance ministers, Clinton said. Terrorism should never be encouraged and children should not be taught hate in schools, she said, referencing Palestinian actions. But she added that Israel should also avoid damaging actions, including with respect to settlements.
Following the address, Republican Jewish Coalition Executive Director Matt Brooks said Clintons speech rings hollow.
Actions speak louder than words and Hillarys words can do little to paper over her disastrous tenure as secretary of state, Brooks said in a statement. Under Secretary Clinton, the U.S.-Israel relationship reached its lowest point and she supported the United States-brokered, ill-conceived, and disastrous nuclear deal with Iran. At every turn when her actions could achieve real results and speak louder than words, Secretary of State Clinton chose instead to sit and do nothing. Pro-Israel voters have learned from painful experience that there is a difference between political speeches and governing priorities. Hillary Clinton has proven time and again that talk is cheap, and today was no different.
(JNS.org) Ohio Governor John Kasich, who labels himself as a moderate Republican presidential candidate with a positive message, held true to form at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference.
I will not take the low road to the highest office in the land. I will not do it, Kasich told the AIPAC crowd.
We need to work together with Congress on an agenda that serves the nation as a whole. We are Americans more than we are Republicans and Democrats, he said, echoing AIPACs organizational calling card of bipartisanship.
Kasich used a significant portion of his speech to tout his ties to the Jewish community, including his relationship with the late Gordon Zacks, an influential Ohio Jewish businessman and Republican activist; his advocacy for the release of famed refusenik Natan Sharansky from Soviet prison; and his work on establishing the state of Ohios official Holocaust memorial.
They told me it could not be done and I told them, You watch me, it will be done, Kasich said of the Holocaust memorial.
Kasich called his support for Israel firm, and unwavering for more than 35 years of my professional life. The governor, who formerly served on the U.S. House Armed Services Committee for 18 years, noted that during that time we assured Israels qualitative military edge by offering the initial $10 million for the Iron Dome missile defense system.
When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke in Congress about the Iranian nuclear threat last year, Kasich said he flew to Washington for the address to show my personal respect to the people of Israel. Now that the Iran nuclear deal is in place, Kasich has called for the suspension of U.S. participation in the deal due to Irans recent ballistic missile test, which he called a violation of the spirit of the nuclear deal and a provocation that cannot be ignored. If Iran further violates the deal, he said, we must put the sanctions back on them.
When it comes to foreign policy, Kasich said, I dont need on-the-job training [as president]. I will not need to learn about the dangers facing us and our allies. He said his national security appointees will work tirelessly with Israel to counter Irans regional aggression. He lamented that the U.S. is not part of this new web of relations between Israel and Arab Gulf states, and that his administration would work to expand those ties as well as provide support to common American-Israeli regional allies such as Jordan and Egypt.
Kasich also vowed that his administration would work to eliminate all bigotry, including anti-Semitism, particularly in international bodies. He said he is very concerned about rising attacks on Israel and Jewish students on our college campuses, and that he would make sure students gain the tools to combat hate speech.
The governor called the current wave of Palestinian terror in Israel the outcome of a culture of death that the Palestinian Authority (PA) and its forebears have promoted for over 50 years, slamming Palestinian school textbooks that are filled with vile anti-Semitism, PA stipends for imprisoned terrorists, and the Palestinians naming of public squares and streets after terrorists.
From 1947 to September 1950, 48,818 Yemenite Jews-almost the entire Jewish population in Yemen-flew to freedom in Israel through Operation On Wings of Eagles, better known as Operation Magic Carpet airlift. (See the full story of the airlift in the Feb. 12 issue of the Heritage.)
Approximately 14,000 Yemenite Jews remained behind, and then were trapped in Yemen in 1962 after civil war broke out, making it almost impossible to reach the small population. However, over the years, The Jewish Agency for Israel, the Israel Foreign Ministry, and the U.S. State Department have worked together covertly to rescue those who remained, until finally, on March 20, the final group of Yemenite Jews-19 in all who wanted to leave Yemen-arrived on Israeli soil. Also on this flight to freedom, was a 500-year-old Torah, carried by the community's rabbi.
Spurring on this final airlift effort was a threat given to the Yemenite Jews last October by the Houthis who took control of the government in January 2015: convert or leave. Their mantra is "Death to Israel" and "Damn the Jews."
The ancient Torah scroll brought to Israel by the Yemenite Jews who arrived in Israel.
The Jewish Agency for Israel Executive Chairman Natan Sharansky said in a statement: "This is a highly significant moment in the history of Israel and of Aliyah. From Operation Magic Carpet in 1949 until the present day, the Jewish Agency has helped bring Yemenite Jewry home to Israel. Today we bring that historic mission to a close. This chapter in the history of one of the world's oldest Jewish communities is coming to an end, but Yemenite Jewry's unique, 2,000-year-old contribution to the Jewish people will continue in the State of Israel."
Although this concludes the covert airlift operations that have taken almost 70 years to complete, there are 50 Jews who chose to remain in Yemen. They live in a closed compound near the U.S. embassy.
The Yemenite population in Israel today numbers over 350,000.
In February, the women of the Greater Orlando Jewish community enjoyed the spotlight for Choices; now it's the men's turn.
The JFGO will present Man Cave 2016, a men's event in support of Federation's Do Good Annual Campaign, on Thursday, April 14, at Corona Cigar Company on South Orange Avenue in downtown Orlando.
Man Cave will feature an open bar from 7 to 10 p.m., with a tasting led by special guest Joshua Hatton, president and co-founder of the Jewish Whisky Company, which is dedicated to independently bottling the world's finest and rarest single cask whiskies.
A true whisky aficionado who is always in search of the "perfect cask," Hatton brings to the table an ability to inspire and get people excited about whisky. Hatton's desire to instill in others his love and passion for whisky was the driving force and inspiration for founding the Jewish Whisky Company's "Single Cask Nation."
But Man Cave is about more than just whisky. The event gives Central Florida men a night of their own, an opportunity to ditch the necktie, forget about tax time and relax with friends and colleagues while benefiting the Central Florida Jewish community. For the cigar aficionado, fine cigars will be available for purchase during the event. And, of course, there will be great food, including wings and hors d'oeuvres catered by Kosher Grill.
Finally, drawings will be held for raffle prizes donated by area businesses, with the proceeds benefiting Federation's annual campaign. Tickets for the raffle ($25 each or 5 for $100) can be purchased at the time of registration or during the event.
Men can register for Man Cave online at http://www.jfgo.org/mancave, or by contacting Macey Markowitz, JFGO's Campaign Director, at 407-645-5933, ext. 228, or mmarkowitz@jfgo.org.
Political leaders around the globe, including United States presidential candidates from both major parties and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, all had words to say as to what they perceived as the best response to the suicide bombings carried out by Islamic State operatives at a metro station and airport that killed at least 34 people in Brussels, Belgium, on March 22.
Netanyahus remarks were delivered for the American Israel Public Affairs Committees 2016 Policy Conference on March 22. After sending his condolences to the victims families and all those affected, he then connected the attacks in Brussels, the November attacks in Paris, the recent Islamic State inspired shootings in California, and other recent terrorist atrocities elsewhere to the daily attacks faced by Israel, which have been continuing in the latest wave since October 2015.
Netanyahu stated that the global terror threat is one continuous assault on all of us. He then proceeded to relate his experience-based understanding as to what is the best mode of attack to stop the ever increasing terror threat, zeroing in on one thingunity, as the concluding point if, indeed, the terrorism is one assault on all of us, then unity is required to stop such attacks.
As Netanyahu related, The terrorists have no resolvable grievances. We can not offer them anything. What they seek is our utter destruction and their total domination, and that is not going to happen. The only way to defeat these terrorists is to join together and fight them together with political unity and moral clarity. I think we have that in abundance.
Such a theme of unity has been expressed before and elsewhere, including in the aftermath of the November 2015 Islamic State attacks in Paris by the United States Republican presidential candidates, although it is worth noting that two out of three, and the strongest at that, of the candidates to express such sentiments are no longer in the race, namely Senator Marco Rubio, R-FL, and Dr. Ben Carson. The other strongest candidate to express unifying-style sentiments regarding the U.S./Israel relationship was Ohio Governor John Kasich, currently third in the race for the Republican nomination.
Kasichs comments after the Paris attacks regarding the United States relationship with Israel were extremely populist in naturethey were basically personal stories about why he wanted to come across as loving Israel and Jews so very much. Netanyahus comments on March 22 were, seemingly, on the opposite end of the spectrum, with him explicitly referencing political unity as needed between Israel and the West to face the terror threat. Populism cannot, however, be had without political will reflecting it, so Kasich and Netanyahu were simply referencing two sides of the same coin.
As for going forward, a real, systematic unity in counterterrorism is severely necessary to effectively counteract the psychological warfare of terrorism. The populations of the world are certainly on edge because of the ever growing in geography threat of extreme terrorism.
Caleb R. Newton is a populist activist living in Central Florida and the founder of Global News Breakdown. Find him at Global News Breakdown, Dissecting Society, and the Times of Israel, among various other places around Florida. Contact him at calebrnewton@globalnewsbreakdown.com.
During the American Israel Public Affairs Committee Policy Conference, hundreds of protestors, including representatives of the Students for Justice for Palestine, gathered outside the Convention Center in D.C. and started chanting "Shut it down!"
The group, which was organized by Al-Awda: The Palestine Right to Return Coalition and the ANSWER Coalition, marched from the White House to the Verizon Center where the conference was held. It was the largest pro-Palestine demonstration in the U.S. since Hamas in Gaza attacked Israel in 2014.
Sanders sweeps 3 Western states, winning handily
WASHINGTON (JTA)Sen. Bernie Sanders handily won Democratic nominating contests in Washington state, Alaska and Hawaii, narrowing the delegate gap with front-runner Hillary Clinton but still facing a daunting challenge to secure the partys presidential nod.
With the Sanders victories on Saturday, Clinton now leads the Vermont Independent in the number of pledged delegates, 1,234 to 956. But his overwhelming wins in all three states could lend his campaign momentum and bring in donations.
In Alaska, Sanders had 82 percent of the vote to 18 percent for Clinton; in Washington, it was 73-27. Sanders, the first Jewish candidate to win major party nominating contests, had 71 percent in the Hawaii caucuses with nearly all of the vote counted, according to The Associated Press.
Candidates need 2,383 delegates to win the Democratic nomination.
Clinton, a former secretary of state, leads Sanders 469-29 in superdelegates who have said they plan to vote for her. But the superdelegates, or party officials, are not formally pledged and would be under pressure to support the candidate who won the majority of pledged delegates.
The next nominating contest for both parties is in Wisconsin on April 5. Among Republicans, Donald Trump, a real estate magnate, is leading Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Ohio Gov. John Kasich.
Printers at Princeton, other college campuses hacked with anti-Semitic message
BOSTON (JTA)Printers at a half dozen college campuses in Massachusetts and Rhode Island were hacked with an anti-Semitic, racist flier in a breach of the schools computers that also turned up at several other colleges across the country.
The flier reads: White man, are you sick and tired of the Jews destroying your country through mass immigration and degeneracy? It also says: Join us in the struggle for global white supremacy, which is bookended by two large Nazi swastikas.
The source of the hacking, which occurred March 24, is not yet known, according to Robert Trestan, executive director of the New England Anti-Defamation League. The web address of the Daily Stormer, described by the ADL and the Southern Poverty Law Center as a neo-Nazi website, is included on the bottom of the flier.
Copies of the flier were discovered in printers and fax machines at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Smith College and Mount Holyoke College, all in western Massachusetts, and at Northeastern University in Boston, Clark University in Worcester, and Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. They were also reported at Princeton University, DePaul University in Chicago and the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.
Its concerning because it is so widespread, Trestan told MassLive.com. He described the hacking as a troubling development because it represents a security component. This represents a new strategy to anonymously disseminate anti-Semitism, he said.
Trestan has been in contact with law enforcement and college officials, and reported there is no indication of any public safety threats to Massachusetts students. The FBI would not confirm or deny any investigation, the Boston Globe reported.
In an email at UMass Amherst, Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy wrote, As a campus community, we condemn this cowardly and hateful act, the Globe reported. The Globe also cited a communication from leaders at Smith College who rejected the fliers message as hateful and intended to shock and intimidate.
The contents have no place in our community, the email said.
At Northeastern, where more than 20 printers were involved, the school put up a firewall to prevent further attacks, its spokesman, Michael Armini, told the Globe. While that mitigates the risk, it cannot be completely eliminated, he said.
A statement on the ADL national website said the Daily Stormer was created in 2013 by Andrew Anglin, a 31-year-old neo-Nazi.
Regardless of whether Anglin or one of his supporters sent the flyer to campuses, the Daily Stormer promotes virulent anti-Semitism on a daily basis and attracts thousands of visitors each day to the site, the ADL website stated.
Canadas foreign minister urges UN to review appointment of anti-Israel law prof
TORONTO (JTA)Canadas foreign affairs minister has called on the United Nations to review its appointment of a Canadian law professor with a history of anti-Israel bias to a key Middle East post.
Stephane Dion is questioning the naming of Michael Lynk of Western University in Ontario as the U.N. Human Rights Councils special rapporteur on human rights in Palestine.
Last Friday, the day after the council tapped Lynk, Dion tweeted: We call on UNHRC President to review this appointment & ensure Special Rapporteur has track record that can advance peace in region.
Canadas opposition Conservative Party also called for Lynk to be disqualified from the position based on his past statements on Israel.
Lynk was not put forward by Canada and does not represent the views of this government, Dions office said in a statement to the Canadian Press, a national news agency.
The statement also said Canadas U.N. ambassador made it clear that the Human Rights Council should appoint a professional, neutral and credible candidate, the Canadian Press noted.
Jewish advocacy groups in Canada used some of the strongest language in recent memory to denounce Lynk as having a long and public history of anti-Israel bias.
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs said Lynk has been significantly involved in anti-Israel advocacy in Canada, including signing anti-Israel petitions, calling for Israel to be prosecuted for war crimes, accusing Israel of ethnic cleansing, addressing conferences promoting one binational state, and serving as a leader of a group that promotes Israeli Apartheid Week.
Similar positions were sounded by Bnai Brith Canada and Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center. The Geneva-based group UN Watch said the councils choice of Lynk was a travesty of justice.
Suicide bombing in Pakistan park kills at least 65
(JTA)At least 65 people, mostly women and children, were killed in a suicide bombing at a park in Lahore, Pakistan.
More than 300 were wounded in the attack for which the Pakistani Taliban faction claimed responsibility, saying it was targeting Christians on Easter Sunday, Reuters reported.
The explosion occurred in the parking area of Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park near the childrens swings. The park is a popular spot for the Lahore Christian community.
When the blast occurred, the flames were so high they reached above the trees and I saw bodies flying in the air, said Hasan Imran, 30, a resident who had gone to Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park for a walk, Reuters reported.
Police Superintendent Mustansar Feroz said most of the casualties were women and children.
A spokesman for the Taliban faction Jamaat-ul-Ahrar said the target was Christians.
We want to send this message to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif that we have entered Lahore, spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan said, according to Reuters. He can do what he wants, but he wont be able to stop us. Our suicide bombers will continue these attacks.
Islamist militants in Pakistan have attacked Christians and other religious minorities often over the past decade.
The United States condemned what it called a cowardly act in a statement Sunday, saying it 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, the statement said.
Black-faced apparent Purim effigy in Rockland County draws condemnation
NEW YORK (JTA)Leaders in the Jewish community of New Yorks Rockland County condemned the hanging of a black-faced doll with dreadlocks outside a local home apparently in celebration of Purim.
The effigy, which according to a News12 Hudson Valley report on March 24 was spotted outside a Spring Valley house, angered many African-Americans and others in the area for its reminder of the lynchings, often by a mob of whites, that have historically terrorized black men.
Barry Kanarek, the director of the Jewish Federation of Rockland, told News 12 on March 24 that the effigy was a means of celebrating the defeating of the evil Haman who wanted to kill all the Jews.
Last Friday morning, the federation and the Rockland County Board of Rabbis, a group made up solely of non-Orthodox Jewish clergy, issued a joint statement condemning the insensitive and offensive hanging of Haman practice on display during Purim.
There is no requirement in Jewish law for this activity, the statement said. We fully recognize, as do the overwhelming majority of the members of the Jewish community, the powerful and hate-filled memories that such images evoke in modern America. We call on all members of the Jewish and broader Rockland community to behave in accordance with the golden rule, Do not do to others what is hateful to you. It is only from this principle that a society that respects differences and celebrates diversity can be built
Rabbi Yakov Horowitz of Monsey posted a separate condemnation on his Facebook page, linking to it from the comments section on the News12 site and urging people to like/share it as a sign of support.
Horowitzs statement, which has been shared 49 times, describes the effigy as gruesome and offers his sincere apology to my African-American neighbors who were understandably hurt/offended by it.
According to his website, Horowitz has studied and taught at numerous haredi Orthodox yeshivas. He is founder of Yeshiva Darchei Noam in Monsey and founder-director of Project Y.E.S., which provides mentoring and other services for at-risk teens.
Home to a growing population of haredi Orthodox Jews, many of them Hasidic, Rockland County has been the site of numerous conflicts between the haredi community and others. An issue spurring particular tension has been the East Ramapo Central School District, where the elected school board is majority haredi Orthodox and has been accused of illegally siphoning funds from the public schools to enrich the yeshivas. Last week, the FBI raided several yeshivas and companies in Rockland County as part of an ongoing fraud investigation.
Wilbur Aldridge, regional director of the NAACP, told News12 this was the second consecutive year a black-faced doll was displayed for Purim.
Im sure they can find some other way of depicting their disdain for this particular king, he said.
In the comments on the News12 article, several viewers expressed outrage.
Tammy Kay Kuiper of Piermont wrote: Please dont say this represents an ancient king there were no jeans, t-shirts or hoodies during king Hamans time. I also seriously doubt he wore dreadlocks... If someone hung a dummy dressed as a Hasidim out their window on Purim or Halloween or any other occasion the Hasidim would be relentlessly all over them, accepting no excuses, demanding arrest and filing law suits...
Joseph Sher, Holocaust survivor and tailor to stars, dies at 100
(JTA)Joseph Sher, a Holocaust survivor who became a New Orleans tailor with such celebrity clients as Fats Domino and Elvis Presley, has died at 100.
Sher died March 24 at Lambeth House, a New Orleans retirement community and assisted-living facility, The Times-Picayune reported. He was the oldest Holocaust survivor in New Orleans and the leader of the local survivor community, according to the Crescent City Jewish News.
During the Holocaust, Sher was sent to several Nazi-run slave labor camps, where he was forced to build roads. Only three of 1,000 men on his detail survived the experience. Sher, his two brothers and his wife survived the Holocaust, but he lost his parents and three sisters, who died at the Treblinka death camp.
In 1949, Sher, his wife and a child born in a displaced persons camp settled in New Orleans, where he found work as a tailor, a trade he learned from his father in Poland.
Working at Harry Hyman Tailors, Sher specialized in performance clothes for entertainers and uniforms for tall hotel doormen. When the shop changed its name to Murphy the Tailor, Sher managed dozens of employees, each working at a busy sewing machine, the Crescent City Jewish News wrote. He retired in the 1990s.
He could take a piece of fabric from anywhere on a garment and make the garment absolutely new-looking, his son Leopold told The Times-Picayune.
A funeral was held last Friday morning at Congregation Anshe Sfard in New Orleans.
The Regents of the University of California (UC) are preparing to issue a policy statement that could be a major advance in the battle against campus anti-Semitism.
In response to anti-Semitic incidents throughout the UC systems 10 campuses, the Regents have released an important draft Statement of Principles Against Intolerance. It is not what the Jewish community requested. But it will be a game-changer neverthelessif the Regents formally adopt it.
(By way of disclosure, I was one of the two national experts on anti-Semitism with whom the Regents consulted during this process.)
Last year, UCs troubles raised national headlines when the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) student council denied undergraduate student Rachel Beyda an appointment to its Judicial Board. The councils reason was that Beyda is Jewish, and some council members expressed the view that this might make her decision-making biased. Under pressure, the council reversed itself.
In many instances, UC leaders refuse to speak out when anti-Israel bias spills over into anti-Semitism. Often the problem is that officials disagree about where the line is between anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism.
The Regents new statement can change that.
The text is deceivingly bland. True, it does call on University leaders actively to challenge anti-Semitism and other forms of discrimination when and wherever they emerge within the University community. But it does not define anti-Semitism, and UC administrators do not always know it when they see it.
The Regents breakthrough is not in the text, but in the accompanying Contextual Statement.
In 15 words, the Regents have significantly shifted the discourse on campus anti-Semitism: Anti-Semitism, anti-Zionism and other forms of discrimination have no place at the University of California.
Here, for the first time, a major American university will acknowledge that extreme anti-Zionism is a form of discrimination like racism or sexism or homophobia. In other words, Jewish students wont have to argue that anti-Zionism is also anti-Semitic, because the Regents have established that anti-Zionism is also bigotry.
To be clear, the Regents do not say that anti-Zionism will be banned. Nor should they. As a public institution, they are bound to comply with the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Indeed, the Regents state with admiral clarity that the University will vigorously defend the principles of the First Amendment and academic freedom against any efforts to subvert or abridge them.
At the same time, the Regents are quite bold when they declare that anti-Zionism has no place at the University of California. They speak here not as censors but as leaders. They use their own freedom of speech to announce that anti-Zionism, like any other form of bigotry, is inconsistent with their values and should be publicly condemned.
The Jewish community did not get everything we asked for. Specifically, the Regents did not adopt a definition of anti-Semitism, as many experts and activists urged them to.
Why was that a mistake?
Consider the major statement that the U.S. Department of State delivered to world leaders this week at the Inter-Parliamentary Coalition for Combating anti-Semitism in Berlin. U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism Ira Forman advised world leaders, in no uncertain terms, that it is especially important to define anti-Semitism clearly to more effectively combat it.
Good definitions are necessary, Forman explained, because of cases like the anti-Israel protestors who threw Molotov cocktails at the main synagogue in Wuppertal, Germany. Last year, the judge dismissed the case, finding that the actions were anti-Israel but not anti-Semitic.
As Forman noted, good definitions also protect innocent people from false accusations of anti-Semitism. In this way, they encourage open dialogue.
Forman told world leaders that we encourage European governments to adopt a working definition of anti-Semitism, ideally, one which would include a section on how anti-Semitism relates to Israel, to improve the safety and well-being of Jewish communities in Europe.
This is an important lesson for Europeans, but we need to heed it in the United States as well. Whats good for Europe is also good for the U.S.
The Regents statement would have been stronger if the Regents accepted the organized Jewish communitys recommendation that they adopt a strong uniform definition of anti-Semitism. But they are doing something that may turn out to be equally important. They are recognizing, at long last, that extreme anti-Zionism is a form of hate.
Kenneth L. Marcus is president of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law (www.brandeiscenter.com) and author of The Definition of Anti-Semitism (Oxford University Press, 2015).
By David Suissa
How powerful is AIPAC? It did what no one else in America has come close to doing: It tamed the wild verbal beast of Trump. For nearly 30 minutes Monday night in front of close to 18,000 raving Israel fans at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C., the Donald showed that he, too, can play politicianhe read from a speech. Sure, there was the odd ad lib, but compared to his usual rambunctious rambling, his performance Monday night was worthy of a High Holiday sermon delivered by a meticulous Rabbi.
It was a speech perfectly crafted for the audience. A speech, in other words, full of red meat for Israel lovers deeply worried about the security of the Jewish state. He threw it all incrushing Iran, pressuring the Palestinians, moving the embassy, taking on the UN, you name the pander, he said it. There was a rumor in the press gallery that the Trumpster got smart and hired a decent speechwriter. Well, maybe the next Trump-related media obsession will be: Who was the mystery speechwriter?
After hearing for days that people were planning to protest his speech by booing or walking out, unless I missed something from the press row, I saw none of that. Of course, when you have thousands of people listening to what they want to hear, and cheering accordingly, good luck trying to get your high-minded boos in. It reminds me of when rabid Lakers fans were cheering wildly for Kobe Bryant while he was on trial for attempted rape. Being accused of a sexual crime is as bad as it gets, but hey, business is business: Lakers fans want their team to win!
Israel fans want Israel to win, too. Im sure the great majority of people at the Verizon Center are repulsed by Trumps deeply offensive and unacceptable comments regarding Muslims, women, Mexicans and all the others he has offended during his wild ride to the top of the Republican nomination. Im sure they realize that this behavior violates the profound Jewish values they cherish.
But at an AIPAC event, you see first hand that Israel trumps everything even Trump, even Jewish values, even people planning to boo.
Clearly, Trumps speechwriter figured that out.
When the Donald said at the beginning of his speech, Im not going to pander because thats what politicians do, he was the consummate politician.
He lied.
David Suissa is a columnist with the Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles.
President Barack Obamas determination to downgrade U.S. international power has generated massive global instability and chaos with especially ominous implications for Israel.
The Obama policies have undermined longstanding alliances within the Western bloc. By supporting the Muslim Brotherhood and allying with terrorist and rogue states like Iran, the U.S. has alienated Arab states such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia, which consider themselves abandoned and betrayed.
The wooing and groveling toward Iran has empowered the worlds leading Islamic terrorist state, enabled it to become a threshold nuclear power and exacerbated the conflict between the Shiites and Sunnis, which has led to the emergence of new Islamic barbarian groups like ISIS. The Islamic fundamentalists have reintroduced the Dark Ages to the region in which mass murder, rape and beheadings of civilians have become rampant.
Obamas vacillating policies have resulted in the weakening of Arab states like Syria and Libya with consequent horrendous casualties and the displacement of millions. When controlled by the despotic Moammar Gadhafi, Libya had voluntarily abrogated its nuclear ambitions and undertaken to eschew terrorism. Obamas enthusiasm to democratize the country led to the overthrow of the dictatorship, the assassination of the American ambassador and the transformation of Libya into a major terrorist launching pad which may ultimately necessitate military intervention.
The mayhem and terror in the region has created a severe refugee crisis which could accelerate the demise of the European Union and permanently alter the demographic base of Europe even leading to the erosion of European civilization.
The downgraded U.S. influence enabled President Vladimir Putin to reassert Russia as a major global power and achieve greater influence in the Middle East than the Soviets ever attained. Most Arab states today regard Russia as a more reliable ally than the U.S.
On top of all this, Obamas domestic political legacy has led to widespread alienation against the entire political establishment and the emergence of populist candidates, such as Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump, who are supported merely because they challenge the existing order. At the same time, it is extraordinary that according to surveys, the leading candidates of both the Republican and Democratic parties, Trump and Hillary Clinton, respectively, are detested by half of their own party constituencies.
The Obama policies have led to uniquely Jewish negative repercussions:
The hostility to the Israeli government by its principal ally has provided enormous impetus to its adversaries. The double standards employed by the administration and classification of Israel as morally equivalent to the terrorists and the failure to directly reprimand Palestinian leaders engaged in incitement to murder Jews and sanctification of the killers as national martyrsreflect morally outrageous behavior. At a time when almost half a million Syrians were butchered and 4 million displaced from their homes, the focus of U.S. ire was against Israeli construction of homes even in the Jewish neighborhoods of east Jerusalem. This blatant hostility by the Obama administration provided global encouragement to anti-Israeli forces and gave the green light to the Europeans to pressure Israel to make further unilateral concessions and recognize the indefensible 1949 armistice lines as the basis for permanent borders. In Europe, it is widely believed that Israelis behave like Nazis with genocidal intentions toward the Arabs and represent a greater threat to peace than rogue states like North Korea or Iran.
The Obama administration has virtually succeeded in undermining the broad bipartisan support for Israel which both Democrats and Republicans had hitherto maintained. In the Democratic Party, there is now a substantial and growing leftist bloc which has adopted the anti-Israeli approach prevalent in most of the European leftist political parties. Obamas loathing of the Israeli leadership has strengthened and emboldened this bloc, whose influence will expand if the incoming president continues to pander to them.
On top of this, memories of the Holocaust and the heroic struggle for Jewish nationhood after a 2,000 year interregnum are fading. The centrality of Israel in Jewish life was downgraded and a growing number of Reform and Conservative rabbis now identify their Judaism with universal concepts beyond nationalism, such as liberalism and tikkun olamrepairing the world. These trends received an enormous boost from Obama, who, with the support of anti-Zionists (for example, George Soros and others), systematically promoted far-left-wing Jewish organizations like J Street, whose principal objective was to undermine AIPAC and the pro-Israeli Jewish establishment. As an African-American president, Obama mesmerized American Jews for whom liberalism and affiliation with the Democratic Party had become a critical element in their DNA, often surpassing their Jewish loyalties. Many, bombarded by an increasingly anti-Israeli press, joined the anti-Zionist chic, distancing themselves from Israel. This was especially notable on university campuses.
Regrettably, when Obama made outrageous remarks concerning Israeli policies, the traditionally robust Jewish leadership was intimidated and responded with a deafening silence. Beyond small Jewish groups like the Zionist Organization of America, the principal voices defending Israel were not Jews but Republicans and evangelical Christians. This impacted negatively on Jews throughout the entire Diaspora.
Yet, without disputing the disastrous impact of Obamas policies on Israel and the Jewish people, we should not pander to gloom and doom but turn our focus to positive developments.
Despite the tensions, the bonds between Israel and America based on shared values and popular public support have never been greater. Notwithstanding Obamas loathing of the present Israeli leadership, he has felt obliged to strengthen rather than reduce American military aid, although that is now under threat as the latest security package is conditional on Israel forgoing the right to lobby Congress for additional aid in times of need. Yet there are grounds for hope that the newly elected president will seek to repair the relationship with Israel.
Isi Leibler writes the Candidly Speaking from Israel column. This article was originally published in the Jerusalem Post and Israel Hayom.
(JTA)Growing up, trips to stay with my Jewish family in Brussels were a taste of freedom.
In my native Israel, waves of Palestinian terrorist attacks kept me under constant maternal surveillance. Fear of regular bus bombings limited my excursions to biking distance.
On the tranquil streets of the Belgian capital, by contrast, I could wander at will amid the mix of Medieval architecture and glass-and-steel skyscrapers. Even riding the tram with my cousin Eli was exhilarating. The rails seemed to stretch out endlessly, and there was the added thrill of potentially getting caught without tickets, which we never bothered to buy.
On March 22, a series of explosions killed 34 people14 of them at Zaventem Airport and another 20 at one of the metro stations that Eli and I used to exploit.
The anxiety is terrible, Elis father, my uncle, told me, recalling quickly doing a family headcount after learning of the attacks. But equally horrible is that these attacks reduce you to feeling happy that strangers whom youve never met died in them, and not your own friends and family.
On a visit to Brussels earlier this month, I had sensed a change. The city no longer felt so free.
At a book signing by a Jewish philosopher, Alain Finkielkraut, I was shocked to see that he was accompanied by a body guard. Outside the building, a dozen police officers stood guard.
Wasnt this an official overreaction to the May 2015 slaying of four people at Brussels Jewish Museum? I asked Joel Rubinfeld, head of the Belgian League Against Anti-Semitism.
We are all targets nowphilosophers, anti-racism activists, journalists, police officers, the people in this restaurant, Rubinfeld said.
In a southern district of Brussels Tuesday afternoon, Rabbi Shalom Benizri was still waiting for word from his loved ones when I called his home. A communications overload had disabled cell service by several providers, leaving many thousands unable to communicate with worried loved ones.
Benizri, who used to head a large Sephardic community in downtown Brussels before its members moved because of the rampant criminality in the heavily-Muslim area, recalled the museum shooting.
We were the targets then, but now everyone is a target, said Benizri, echoing Rubinfeld.
During the attack, Benizri was at the airport about to board a flight to Israel, where several of his children live. As chaos broke out and hundreds fled the smoking building, he returned to his car and drove back home.
In lockdown at homea precaution which probably applies especially to Orthodox rabbis like himBenizri told me he is among the local Jews who see no future for their families in Belgium.
There is enormous concern not only among people like me, but also non-observant Jews, he said. As for me, my suitcases are packed to go.
Wishing him a happy Purim, I hung up with a sinking feeling about what was happening to the city I lovewhich is situated only 130 miles from Amsterdam, where I now live with my wife and 4-month-old son.
Trying to put my finger on when things got out of control in Belgium and Western Europe in general, I remembered a conversation that I had had with Eli 20 years ago in a Brussels metro station.
Attuned to an inchoate rise in anti-Semitic violence to which I was oblivious as a foreigner, Eli had asked me to address him as Ile, an anagram of his name, when we were on the street. Maybe I should have known then.
RICHMOND, Va. A state trooper who was fatally shot at a busy bus terminal during a training exercise was being mourned Friday in Virginia and in Michigan, where he grew up and maintained ties, as officials tried to learn what sparked the shooting.
A gunman shot Trooper Chad P. Dermyer, 37, multiple times Thursday in the capital city of Richmond before he was shot dead by two other troopers, police said. The gunman's identity was being withheld until his family could be notified.
Two civilians, both women, also were shot but were expected to recover. Their names haven't been released, but spokesman Ryan Yarosh with Binghamton University in New York said Friday that one of the women was a member of the school's track team. The team was headed Thursday to a meet at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, about 50 miles from Richmond.
Police say Dermyer, the father of two children, was a native of Jackson, Michigan, and a former Marine who had served on the force in Jackson and Newport News, Virginia.
He grew up in Michigan and kept in touch with friends there, visiting last summer, The Jackson Citizen Patriot (http://bit.ly/1q97IK0 ) reported. Matt Miller of Jackson said he played soccer with and against Dermyer since they were children. He described Dermyer as a good guy and a strong athlete.
Virginia State Police Superintendent Col. Steven Flaherty said investigators don't know what sparked the shooting. Dermyer had been participating with about a dozen other troopers in a training exercise at the bus station when a brief encounter with the gunman quickly turned violent, he said.
Dermyer was dressed in a fatigue-style uniform and was not wearing a protective vest, the superintendent said.
"We've got a lot of evidence to sift through," Flaherty said. The evidence, he said, included bags that could have belonged to the gunman.
A small army of law enforcement officers in tactical gear and dozens of cruisers and emergency response vehicles flooded to the station, in an area that includes a minor league baseball stadium and a variety of commercial establishments and restaurants.
Najee Wilson, 18, of Newark, New Jersey, said his bus was pulling up to the station when he heard three gunshots and saw people running out of the building.
"We heard a lot of people screaming," Wilson said. "It definitely was a scary experience."
Wilson, who was en route to Atlanta, was among about 200 travelers waiting to board buses at a staging area set up a few blocks from the bus station after the shooting.
Leigha Schilling, who was between stops on her bus trip from New York to South Carolina, said she was smoking a cigarette outside the station Thursday when she heard banging. She went back inside briefly and saw people lying on the ground and what appeared to be blood on the floor. A security guard ordered her to get on the floor, but she ran back outside, and then heard several shots, she said.
"I was terrified," she said. "I didn't know what was going on."
Vincent Smith was working at the U-Haul Moving and Storage facility next door to the Greyhound station when he heard sirens and saw police cars buzzing by.
An officer stopped in and ordered him and his co-workers to stay inside and lock the doors until told it was safe again, Smith said. By late afternoon, he said he had been locked inside for about an hour and a half.
City Councilwoman Reva Trammell called it "the saddest day in the city of Richmond."
"State troopers doing their job and innocent people shot," she said. "Why? This was a senseless act."
Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe echoed her sentiments in a statement: "This is a loss that impacts us all. It should inspire prayers for the family, friends and fellow troopers who are mourning tonight, and gratitude for those who protect and serve."
About 50 officers from the Richmond Police Department went to the bus station to assist state police, Chief Alfred Durham said.
He said law enforcement officers have become the target of "folks out there with evil intentions."
"It's unfortunate these are the days we're living in, where folks want to harm law enforcement," Durham said. "We just want our officers to end their shifts and to go home to their families."
Greyhound issued a statement Thursday afternoon saying the Richmond bus station would be closed "until further notice."
The last Virginia trooper to be killed in the line of duty was 27-year-old Trooper Nathan-Michael Smith of Henrico. Smith was responding to a call for an officer in distress on Sept. 21 when patrol car crashed in Prince George County. He died at VCU Medical Center.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in Saudi Arabia this weekend, on his way back from Washington after the nuclear summit. Every foreign visit by the PM is significant, and so is this visit to Saudi Arabia. But it is premature to read too much into its geopolitical benefits at least not until we see concrete deliverables.
Modis Riyadh visit raises expectations and throws up many questions: Why is this visit important and what can we expect from it? Can the bilateral ties truly move ahead without Pakistan becoming a third wheel? And, most crucially, is India overlooking its ties with Iran?
First, why the visit matters. Simply put, stronger ties are mutually beneficial for both nations.
Read | Modi a major ally in war against terror: EU lawmakers
For India, good ties are imperative because Saudi Arabia is our largest supplier of oil and the fourth largest trading partner. The population of Indian expats in the Kingdom is estimated to be around 2.96 million the largest chunk of our diaspora in West Asia. The Saudi king is the custodian of the two holy mosques and this matters a great deal to Indias 170 million Muslims, the countrys largest religious minority.
For Saudi Arabia, Indias growing economy and ever-increasing appetite for oil cannot be ignored, especially at a time when fuel prices are low, and are expected to remain so in the near future.
Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz (left) with US President Barack Obama, in the Oval Office, White House,Washington, September 4, 2015 (REUTERS)
Also the developments over the past few years have not gone in Riyadhs favour between 2014 and 2015 the United States cut crude oil imports from Saudi Arabia by half. With the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) or Iran nuclear deal coming into effect the US has achieved a working equation with Iran, and for most part of its fight against the Islamic State (IS), Washington has relied on Tehran and not Riyadh. All this has meant that Saudi Arabia, which until recently was the regions big boy, now feels that it is punching way below its weight.
Given this, Modi arrives in Riyadh at a time favourable for New Delhi.
His focus will predominantly be on anti-terror measures and economic cooperation. The role Saudi Arabia can play in checking extremism emanating from the region cannot be overstated. Both countries are facing the IS threat and together they can address this menace, if the Saudis so wish.
A true test of Modis visit will be to see if the bilateral ties become independent of the relationship either shares with Pakistan. Saudi Arabias close links with Pakistan have always prevented Riyadh-New Delhi ties from achieving their true potential. On the Kashmir issue and in the 1971 war Riyadh supported Islamabad. Decades have passed since then and though today the relationship has improved the P factor is a constant irritant, especially when it comes to Saudi Arabia-Pakistan military ties.
Read | Modi in UAE: India plays the Gulf card against Pakistan
So it will be a diplomatic masterstroke if Modi gets Saudi King Salman to condemn terrorism of all hues, something on the lines of the joint statement issued during the PMs visit to the United Arab Emirates in August.
It will be interesting to see how New Delhi and Riyadh word the joint statement keeping in mind the different sensitivities each have concerning developments in the region. While India will want to stress on the role nations like Pakistan play in promoting terror through non-State actors, it will want to avoid a mention of the role Iran and Russia play in Yemen and Syria, which the Saudis would likely want to see included.
Perhaps the biggest and most intriguing question Modis Saudi Arabia visit raises is: Has Iran fallen off Indias foreign policy radar?
Read | India should recalibrate ties with West Asian powers
In this din to boost Indias engagement in West Asia, New Delhi should be giving more prominence to its ties with Tehran.
The JCPOA came into effect in the second week of January and India is yet to send a senior minister there to benefit from a post-sanctions Iran. This is a particularly glaring omission since Chinese President Xi Jinping was in Tehran to meet Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, a week after JCPOA came into effect. Last weekend Rouhani was in Islamabad to ink several deals to enhance regional stability and security.
Read | How sanctions-free Iran is a challenge, opportunity for India
In what now appears to be a balancing act to Modis Saudi Arabia visit, Dharmendra Pradhan, the minister of state for petroleum and natural gas, will visit Iran in the second week of April.
Diplomacy is an art that needs constant refreshing and countries cannot perennially bank on traditional and cultural ties.
So what do we make of the hype surrounding Modis Saudi Arabia visit, much before anything substantial has been delivered? This overselling of the current visit, I believe, is to forestall an anticipated backlash from the Muslim community in India to the impending Israel visit by the PM.
New Delhi, particularly under the current government, has rightly strengthened and become more open about its ties with Tel Aviv. However, it is not yet clear how this shift is perceived by sections in society.
All these factors put together make Modis visit important, but to say that the visit will bring a sea change in bilateral ties is to underestimate the complex geopolitical reality in West Asia more so, its an overestimation of Indias influence in the region.
Read | An India-Iran-Israel alliance could be Modis legacy
Post script: The BJP-led NDA government while projecting the prime ministers overseas visits often tends to oversell it this is bad diplomacy at best and confusing at worst. Generally when the product is not doing well, marketing executives resort to aggressive sales. Modis foreign policy outlook has been a highlight of his term so far it does not require aggressive sales.
(The author tweets at @vijucherian)
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At the 2016 Nuclear Security Summit dinner hosted by US President Barack Obama on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hit the nail on the head when he said that terrorism has become globally networked but we still act only nationally to counter this threat. He added: The reach and supply chains of terrorism are global; but genuine cooperation between nation states is not. The PMs statement came a day after China and Pakistan blocked the entry of banned Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar into the 1267 sanctions list of the United Nations for links with al-Qaeda and its affiliates.
Azhar, an Islamic jihadist ideologue, has been targeting India since he was released in exchange for hostages in the Indian Airlines IC-814 hijack at Kandahar, Afghanistan, on December 31, 1999. Even though Pakistan admitted that the JeM was involved in the attack on the Pathankot air base on January 2, the Chinese veto shows the clout Azhar has in the Pakistani establishment, particularly the Inter-Services Intelligence that supported him indirectly at Kandahar.
Read | Nuclear security must remain abiding national priority: PM Modi in US
Cut to the Brussels bombing on March 22: One of the accused Abderrahman Ameroud served a seven-year prison term for helping two Tunisian-born Belgium nationals who lived in the Muslim-dominated Molenbeek area of the city to assassinate Afghan Northern Alliance leader Ahmad Shah Massoud in the Panjshir Valley two days before the 9/11 attacks in the US.
Massouds assassination was carried out at the behest of al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden in support of the Pakistan-sponsored Taliban that ruled Afghanistan in 2001. Massoud was its arch rival. Bin Laden threw a lavish party for Azhar in Taliban-occupied Kandahar after his release.
Pakistans footprint in Massouds assassination is evident as the attackers were issued multiple entry visas by its embassy in Brussels and even the meeting with the commander was arranged thanks to Islamabads shadowy friends in Afghanistan.
Read | PM Modi in US: Heres why Nuclear Security Summit is important for India
These incidents show that terrorism is the same across the world but is marketed under different brand names. The ideology of the terror groups is more or less the same but the new groups are much more rabid, violent and extreme in their actions. This attitudinal change is best exemplified by the Islamic State (IS) through beheading, rape and mass murder.
The prime minister has exposed the faultlines in the fight against terrorism by asking for a global response as the terror-hit European countries used to preach human rights and pacifism to India when New Delhi sought their support in the fight in the past two decades during counter-terrorism (CT) dialogues. Even when the Chinese were told before the attacks in Xinjiang province that the East Turkestan Independence Movement (ETIM) jihadists were being trained in Pakistan, the Indians were politely told that it was an issue between two all-weather friends. Pakistan, which was forced into jihad in 1979 over the fear of the erstwhile Soviet Union seeking a warm water port in Karachi after annexing Afghanistan, has also become a victim of terror.
Read | Pakistan JIT probing Pathankot attack records witnesses statements
With the worlds largest NGO, the United Nations, ineffective and irrelevant in the fight against terrorism, the time has come for the big powers to bury their hatchets and start sharing financial and intelligence information on the terror groups with other governments.
With the terror-training universities shifting out from the Af-Pak area to Iraq and Syria, the big powers must push for a reconciliation between Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shia Iran. It is this rift that is tearing West Asia apart and aiding terror groups.
Modi will get an opportunity to address the issue during his April 3 visit to Saudi Arabia as India has good ties with both countries. Saudi Arabia can play a constructive role in the war against terrorism by not exporting its brand of puritan Wahhabi ideology along with zakat donations and radicalising other countries.
This concern was highlighted by Krgyzstan President Almazbek Atambayev when he told Modi last year that accepting zakat donations from Saudi Arabia and Pakistan has been banned in his country.
Many believe that the radicalisation of Muslims in Belgium was initiated at the behest of Wahhabi imams from Saudi Arabia who preached at Brussels Grand Mosque, which was constructed in 1967 as part of an oil deal with the House of Saud. The unemployed and marginalised Muslim youth in Europe, particularly in France and Belgium, turned to radical Islam in order to assert their identity even at the cost of harming the global diversity of the religion.
There are no free lunches in this fight against terror for economically driven societies and eradicating it cannot be the responsibility of a few countries. This virus can be eliminated only when all countries cutting across ideological and religious lines are prepared for a long haul in the frontline trenches. State-sponsorship of terrorism for political objectives must cease as a first step in the war against terror. Each thread in every terror investigation must be pursued to its logical conclusion. The answer to terror does not stop by lighting candles after carnages. It only begins.
shishir.gupta@hindustantimes.com
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Sarbananda Sonowal, BJPs chief ministerial candidate in Assam Friday addressed election rallies in Majuli, which is often referred to as Assams spiritual nerve-centre because of numerous satras or Vaishnav monasteries subscribing to the teachings of 16th-century saint-reformer Srimanta Sankaradeva.
Here are the highlights from his rally:
4:30pm: Sonowal reaches Gayengaon village in Majuli
- Sonowal: How can a party serve people if it is family-centric and dynastic?
1:45pm: Sonowal at Bangaon
- How can Sonia Gandhi think of Assam when she has only Rahul in her mind day and night?
- Working for people is not a Congress habit
- Tarun Gogoi used his face and name for 3 per kg rice, but PM Modi has provided it for you
- Congress only gives you blanket and yarn before elections
BJP candidate Sarbananda Sonowal is being welcomed during his election campaign at Mishing village in Majuli of Assam. (Subhendu Ghosh/HT Photo)
1:30pm
- 4 km trip from Salmora to Bangaon, Sonowals next venue took more than 30 minutes
- 34 Congress workers joined BJP at Sonowals Salmora meeting
1pm: Sonowal at Salmora
- We shall try to ensure proper utilisation of Majulis rich natural and human resources
- Sonowal at Bangaon, Majuli: If we win, price of rice can be brought back to Re 1 per kg
Watch | BJPs Sarbananda Sonowal campaign in Assam
Also Read | Sarbananda Sonowal: Regionalist turned nationalist
Hindustan Times is reporting about the election rallies and meetings of various political leaders extensively under its Follow the Leader coverage.
12pm: Highlights of Sonowals speech at Dakhinpat
- If BJP and allies form government, Majuli will be the most important constituency
- When PM told me to contest state polls, I had underdeveloped Majuli in mind
- We will order probes in corruption cases if we form government in Assam
- We will have a centre here in Ambedkars name
- Congress reaped the benefits of Vajpayees foresight and plans for developed India
Watch | Women perform Mishing dance to welcome Sonowal
11.30am
- Sonowal to HT reporter: BJP has tied up with BPF (mainly of Bodo tribal people in western and north-central Assam) and Rabha Hasong (of Rabha tribe in southwestern Assam) because the party feels for the real sons of the soil.
- It is difficult to preserve our tradition and culture now, Chumoimari village local Hemanta Panging, a Mishing, said.
11am: Highlights of Sonowals speech at Chumoimari
- Once I leave this venue, Congress workers will come here and offer you money - your money they have swiped
- Congress in 55 yrs did not give you bridge, Modi in 2 years announced one
- Tarun Gogoi is a bhoomiputra but cannot work if Sonia Gandhi does not give order
- Tarun Gogoi doesnt have control over the state government. Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi wont spend a week here to understand your problems
- Chumoimari is one of worst erosion affected regions in the state and if voted to power, you will be my priority
- Think who will address Majuli erosion problem and vote on April 4
- At Sonowal rally venue Chumoimari rows of Mishing Bihu dancers welcome him
- Chumoimari has 210 Mishing families with 800 voters. Half of them are erosion victims, resettled
People at Sonowals rally in Majuli. (Subhendu Ghosh/HT Photo)
10.45am: Sonowal arriving in Chumoimari, a mishing tribal village
10.30am: Sonowal reaches Bengena Ati in Majuli
- Few local Congress workers joined BJP at Sonowals Bengena Ati rally, saying they have spent 25 years with Congress for nothing
Off the arterial single-lane roads in Majuli, travel is invariably on bumpy, wavy earthen tracks -- usually raised embankments to protect huts from period floods and erosion. Here motorcycles run faster than bicycles only if the rider has no mercy for shock-absorbers.
Some areas, mostly non-tribal, have newly laid or half-laid concrete lanes, wide enough for a small car to move.
Majuli seat being reserved for ST, it has had a Mishing tribal representative. Sonowal, a Sonowal Kachari tribal but from elsewhere, is trying to endear himself to voters in the island.
Mishing woermn welcoming Sonowal during his election campaign in Majuli. (Subhendu Ghosh /HT Photo)
Highlights of Sonowals speech at Dhapakgaon, Majuli
10am
- Will take Majuli to world stage
- Want job security for jobless Majuli youths and electricity, farm development for the region
9:30am
- Bhoomiputras bhoomi raksha is BJPs motto
- BJP has tied up with tribal party (BDF) to save tribal belt from migrant encroachers
-I want to help preserve Majuli monasteries and Mishing tribal culture
Tribal girls at BJP candidate Sarbananda Sonowals rally at Salmora in Majuli of Assam. (Subhendu Ghosh/HT Photo)
#Followtheleader Landed Kamalabari Ghat, Majuli after one-hour ferry ride to follow Sarbananda Sonowal Rahul Karmakar (@rahconteur) April 1, 2016
Readers may pose their questions directly to our reporters on Twitter by using #followtheleader. Please ask Rahul Karmakar all about Sonowals agenda on his Twitter handle @rahconteur and he will tweet the BJP leaders answers.
How can a family-centric party serve people? Sonowal in Majuli
Polling for the first phase of polls in Assam, which has a total of one crore 98 lakh voters, will be held on April 4 for 65 seats. The votes will be counted on May 19.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is banking on Sonowal to strike gold for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in mandate 2016 for spreading happiness. If the BJP and its two regional allies pull it off, Sonowal would be the second tribal chief minister after Jogen Hazarika, also a Sonowal Kachari who had a 94-day stint in 1979.
Majuli assembly constituency is spread over a 540 sq km island in the Brahmaputra. The constituency has an electorate of 1.14 lakh, of whom 43,000 belong to the Mishing tribe.
Also Read | Assam polls: Majuli, a river island that BJP hopes to conquer
The constituency has invariably had a Mishing representative. Rajib Lochan Pegu, the Congress candidate seeking re-election, belongs to this tribe unlike rival Sonowal, who is a Sonowal Kachari tribal from Dibrugarh district further east.
Majuli was never a VIP constituency until now; it is the focus of attention because of Sonowal, and the monastery abbots are behind him, trying to mobilise the 71,000 non-tribal voters.
These monasteries are symbolic of the erosion that threatens the island, which once measured 1,200 sq km. Since 1975, more than half of the 65 monasteries have shifted to the mainland while more than 9,500 families have lost their houses and paddy fields. The river has also washed away an estimated 100 villages in the past 40 years, locals say.
Apart from the lack of infrastructure, the main issue in Majuli is communication. It takes more than an hour for a ferry to reach the island from Neamati Ghat on the southern bank of the Brahmaputra.
The island has for long been promised a bridge linking it to both the banks. Locals hope the new representative keeps this promise.
Assembly elections: Full Coverage
Assam polls: Full Coverage
Follow the Leader - 1, with Gaurav Gogoi
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His name means universal happiness, and his surname is derived from the tribe Sonowal Kachari, once known for extracting son or gold from riverbeds he belongs to.
Live: Follow the Leader Sarbananda Sonowal with HT
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is thus banking on Sarbananda Sonowal, 53, to strike gold for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in mandate 2016 for spreading happiness. If the BJP and its two regional allies pull it off, Sonowal would be the second tribal chief minister after Jogen Hazarika, also a Sonowal Kachari who had a 94-day stint in 1979.
Sonowals has been a political journey from regionalism to nationalism. He joined the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) in 1999 after seven years as president of the powerful All Assam Students Union (AASU).
He was elected MLA from eastern Assams Moran constituency in 2001 but quit to contest and win the Dibrugarh Lok Sabha seat in 2004. His biggest political victory came a year later when the Supreme Court scrapped the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunal) Act of 1983 that allegedly was loaded in favour of migrants.
But differences with the AGP leadership made Sonowal move to the BJP in February 2011. He broke into the big league after winning the Lakhimpur Lok Sabha seat in 2014 and becoming a minister in the Modi government.
It marked the transformation of a jatiya nayak or a regional/Assamese hero as the AASU had anointed him in 2005 into a nationalist.
Also Read | Assam polls: Majuli, a river island that BJP hopes to conquer
Appointed the saffron partys state president in February this year, Sonowal forged the alliance of the nationalist BJP and the regionalist AGP with the region-specific Bodoland Peoples Front as the third partner.
Sonowal is the BJPs candidate from Majuli assembly constituency, where his main rival is Congress MLA Rajiv Lochan Pegu.
Modi, while campaigning in Assam, called Sonowal a diamond. The BJP hopes he glitters enough for the party to form its first government in the state.
Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan jumped the gun with the announcement to create a ministry of happiness, with no groundwork for its implementation.
Inspired by Bhutans Gross National Happiness index which calculates happiness based on ecology, health, time use, education, living standards, cultural diversity, communal vitality and psychological well-being Chouhan made the announcement of this first of its kind ministry in the country during the BJPs executive meet on Thursday.
He said worldly possessions and development through statistics were not the only measure of happiness, and that the ministry would work towards keeping people genuinely happy. But other than the inspiration, there is little in terms of foundation.
We will work on the announcement now, said a high-ranking government official, who did not want to be named.
The announcement comes at a time when the state is facing agrarian and financial crises, with reports of farmer suicides making headlines. In addition, at least 27 students killed themselves this year under the pressure of exams.
The 2014 National Crime Records Bureau report shows that Madhya Pradesh had the highest number of rapes at 5,076, and also topped the chart in terms of crimes against children 16.9% of all crimes reported. Malnutrition, Infant Mortality Rate and Maternal Mortality Rate also remain alarming high.
State Congress chief Arun Yadav fired a salvo over the state governments announcement on Friday, questioning how a government riddled with corruption could provide happiness.
In fact, India ranked a dismal 117th for 2012-14 in the World Happiness Report 2015, a report published by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network.
Even when implemented, India will not be the first to have such a ministry. Bhutan, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Venezuela among others have similar ministries.
The UAE appointed its first minister of state for happiness in February. Media reports said its Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum underlined his vision in his tweet: A new post, minister of state for happiness will align and drive government policy to create social good and satisfaction.
The (MP) government will study workings of the ministry in different countries and create its own model, a source said.
State BJP vice-president Vijesh Lunawat touted it as another step to make the people of the state happier after achieving tremendous growth and recording the highest agriculture growth rate in the country, winning the Centres Krishi Karman award four years in a row.
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Hrithik Roshan and Kangana Ranauts public feud over an affair gone wrong has more twists than your regular Bollywood potboiler. In the latest, after Hrithik Roshan broke his dignified silence and named Kangana Ranaut as a witness in his FIR that someone was impersonating him on email, police summoned the National Award-winning actor and her sister Rangoli to record their statements within a week.
Only, her lawyer Rizwan Siddiquee has termed the summons illegal and said his client will not appear before police. On Thursday, the actress counsel advocate Rizwan Siddiquee issued a detailed statement claiming that the police had no right to summon either his client Kangana or her sister Rangoli. He added that the police instead should have acted in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code and requested Kangana for some time suitable to both parties so that her statement could have been recorded.
The Witness summons sent to my client and her sister by the Police Officer is patently illegal, as no woman can ever be called to the police station to record their statements as per the provisions of law, he stated.
Hrithik complained that someone had created an email ID, hroshan@email.com, and corresponded with Ranaut. Nonetheless my client who is shown to be a victim as per the claims of Mr. Hrithik Roshan has herself willingly expressed her desire to co-operate with the officers in accordance to the provisions of law, as well as in her reply to the Summons she has duly reserved her rights to file an appropriate criminal complaint against Mr. Hrithik Roshan and his associates for hacking two of her email accounts, which includes the email from which Mr. Hrithik Roshan admittedly claims to have personally received about 1439 emails from my client on his correct email id as well the email from which my client was communicating with the alleged imposter, he added.
The Bang Bang actor had approached the cyber police in December 2014, after the Queen actress told him she had been corresponding with him on hroshan@email. There was, however, no follow-up to the case. On March 5 this year, the actor sent a reminder to the police, stating the matter was causing him stress and that police should probe it at the earliest. An FIR was then registered last week. He also named Kangana as the girl who had allegedly sent provocative pictures while communicating with the impostor.
Coincidentally, Hrithik Roshan recently received a legal notice from Abraham Mathai, former vice chairman of the State Minorities Commission for tweeting that he was more likely to be dating the Pope. The notice saying Hrithik has allegedly hurt the sentiments of the Catholic community, was drafted by Siddiquee.
However, he maintains that there is no connection between his two clients.
Actor Kangana Ranauts lawyer Rizwan Siddiqui has slammed Hrithik Roshan, who said that he has not received a legal notice for his recent tweet in which he said that he was more likely to date the Pope than any actress he was being linked up with. How can Hrithik claim to have not received the legal notice when I have proof that it has reached his Juhu address, Siddiqui told Spotboye.
Mumbai resident Abraham Mathai has earlier sent a legal notice to Hrithik Roshan over his tweet about the Pope. According to a report in Spotboye, Siddiqui is representing both Kangana and Mathai.
Read: Hrithik Roshan names Kangana Ranaut in FIR, police summon her
Meanwhile, following reports that Kangana was summoned by Mumbai Police in wake of Hrithiks FIR, against the imposter who used a fake email ID, Siddiqui told Mid Day, The witness summons sent to my client and her sister are patently illegal. Women cant be called to the police station to record statements as per law.
A few days back, Shahid Kapoor wrapped up a shooting schedule of his next film, which is being directed by Vishal Bhardwaj, in Arunachal Pradesh. Work-wise, everything went well.
However, during his stay there, the actor couldnt visit the states famous Tawang Monastery -- the largest monastery in India, and the second largest in the world -- due to his busy filming schedule.
Read: Mira makes me want to be a better person, says Shahid Kapoor
Shahid has completely fallen in love with the state. When he first visited Arunachal Pradesh a few weeks back, he was awestruck by its beauty. He really wanted to visit the monastery while he was there, says an insider.
While shooting in Arunachal Pradesh, Shahid Kapoor couldnt visit the famous Tawang Monastery due to his packed shooting schedule. But he plans to return to the state to visit the iconic site once the films shoot is over. (Agencies)
Now, the Bollywood actor plans to return to the state to visit the magnificent monastery, once the films shoot is over and once he has some time. He is yet to make any specific plans, but he will visit the monastery for sure, adds the insider.
Read: I am a man now, I should take my own decisions, says Shahid Kapoor
While Shahid couldnt be reached for a comment, his spokesperson said, Shahid is mesmerised with the beauty of the state. He loved every bit of it. The schedule was tight. So, he didnt get a chance to explore the state too well. Shahid has already kick-started the next shooting schedule of the same movie in Mumbai itself.
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Bollywood actors fans often go to great lengths to reach out to or interact with their favourite stars. In the latest such instance, we have come to know that a 22-year-old college student, Kiran, travelled all the way from Myanmar to Mumbai, to meet her idol, Kareena Kapoor Khan.
Read: Kareena is not insecure, shes happy and content
The girl is a die-hard fan. She got in touch with the actors team, and finally got to meet her when Kareena was promoting her upcoming film in Lower Parel last week, says a source.
Read: I never watch my films, says Kareena
Kareena, who was extremely touched to learn that Kiran had come this far to meet her, made it a point to take time out to spend a few moments with her. She spoke to Kiran about her studies and her country, etc., adds the source. Kareena and Kiran also shook a leg together.
Kareena, the queen of pout. Forever and always. (Instagram)
Confirming the news, the Bollywood actor says, It was extremely sweet of her to fly down from Myanmar to meet me. I chatted with her, and she is quite bright.
Its been 16 years since we got introduced to Kareena with Refugee and her Ki and Ka releases this week. Thats enough excuse to crush on her. See these ah-mazing, drool-worthy pictures of the actor.
Follow @htshowbiz for more.
Indias tobacco majors on Friday announced that they are shutting down their cigarette factories effective.
The move came after the government made it mandatory that all tobacco products carry larger pictorial health warnings, covering 85% of the packaging space, which came into effect on Friday as well.
The cigarette industry body, Tobacco Institute of India (TII), said in a statement on behalf of its members including ITC Ltd, Godfrey Phillips and VST Industries:
Members of TII, who account for more than 98% of the countrys domestic sales of duty paid cigarettes in India, have unanimously decided to shut all their cigarette factories with effect from April 1, 2016...Owing to ambiguity on the policy related to revision of graphic health warnings on tobacco product packs, the members are unable to continue manufacturing cigarettes from April 1, 2016.
TII director Syed Mahmood Ahmad said the tobacco industry had written to health and family welfare ministry on March 15 seeking clarifications.
The government ruled out any ambiguity in the rules.
There is absolutely no ambiguity in the law or policy over the size of pictorial health warnings. The recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee on Subordinate Legislation are not binding and the final decision lies with the Union ministry of health and family welfare, said C K Mishra, additional secretary, ministry of health and family welfare
The decision to shut factories is expected to cost Rs 350 crore loss per day in production turnover for the Indian tobacco industry.
Companies say the existing pictorial warnings of 40% of the front of the pack are adequate to warn and caution consumers. The extreme 85% warnings will promote illegal cigarette trade and adversely affect the livelihood of 45.7 million people dependent on tobacco which included farmers, labour, workers, trade and others, TII claimed.
ITC and Godfrey Phillips did not respond to HTs mails.
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.
***
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.
The government has banned Liposomal Amphotericin B, an injection-based drug used to treat potentially life threatening fungal infections, including meningitis. Chemical salt, amphotericin B, features among the National List of Essential Medicines.
Ambisome, Fungizone, Envocin, Lambin and Amphoject are some of the injection-based drugs made from amphotericin B.
The increasing complaints of potential side-effects on kidney and liver has led us to write letters to state drug regulators. We have asked them to suspend licences for manufacture of Liposomal Amphotericin B. The regulators have informed companies, GN Singh, Drug Controller General of India (DCGI), told HT.
About seven companies, including Abbott, Sun Pharma, Cipla, Panacea Biotech and Bharat Serums, market or manufacture the same drug under different brand names.
The cost of a single injection is varies from `1,800 to `8,000.
The ban is not the part of previously announced ban on fixed-dose combination (FDC) drugs.
The decision is taken for patients safety and there are many safe alternatives available in the market, Singh added.
Most of the companies, including Abbott and Panacea Biotech, procure this product under their trade names from outsourced manufacturers.
Our company does not manufacturer this product and neither carries any licence in this respect. We have sent the above reply to the DCGI, a spokesperson of Panacea Biotech said.
Cipla, Sun Pharma and Abbott did not respond to HTs requests for comments.
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The Uttarakhand high court on Friday deferred the hearing of rebel Congress legislators to April 11 after their counsel sought some more time. Six out of the nine rebel MLAs had moved the high court on March 30 challenging their disqualification by the speaker, Govind Kunjwal.
The rebels pointed out in the petition that the speaker had disqualified them on March 27 when President Rules was imposed in the state.
The single bench of the Nainital high court is likely to deliver its decision on Friday on the writ of rebel Congress legislators who have challenged Kunjwals decision to disqualify their membership.
The rebels, who reached Dehradun on Friday, said they will decide the future course of action after the court verdict. In the House of 70 members, Congress has 27 members while BJP has 28 -- including one expelled member. The Congress is hopeful that the court will not give any relief to the rebels. We will move Supreme Court if we are dissatisfied with the HC verdict but let us wait till then, Dinesh Agarwal, senior Congress legislator and former law minister told HT.
Meanwhile HC accepted a writ filed by Manan Sharma, demanding a CBI probe into the sting operation that showed Rawat allegedly striking a deal for rebels. The court will hear the petition after three weeks.
Former Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat also filed a petition before the high court on behalf of Congress, challenging the Centres appropriation ordinance for the state.
The Uttarakhand finance secretary, Amit Negi, said on Friday that the President has given assent on vote on account ordinance for Rs 13,642 crores for the next four months.
Rawat said that any such ordinance on state finances beyond April 1 is unconstitutional and alleged that it was aimed at justifying the illegal clamping of the Centres rule in Uttarakhand.
The double bench of state chief justice KM Joseph and justice VK Bisht, while hearing the arguments, deferred the date of hearing on April 6. The court asked the Union government and petitioner Harish Rawat to file their rejoinder by April 5.
Putting forth his argument, Congress lawyer Kapil Sibal said the party has challenged the ordinance. In our petition, we have said that the act committed by the central government is unconstitutional.
The budget was already passed in the state assembly and the central government could have gone to court against it, said Sibal.
Sibal said it had become a trend to destabilise a government by luring some MLAs and imposing Presidents Rule. After this, the house is suspended and efforts are made to cobble a majority, which leads to the formation of a new government.
Assistant solicitor general Rakesh Thapliyal, who was representing the Centre, said the government was following all democratic values and they would be filing a rejoinder to clear various points.
The Anti Corruption Branch (ACB) on Thursday ordered an inquiry into alleged irregularities in procurement and sale of onions by the Delhi government.
The move by ACB chief MK Meena, whose appointment had been opposed by the Arvind Kejriwal government, comes two days after an RTI activist and BJP leader, Vivek Garg, filed a complaint with the anti-graft body seeking a probe into it.
ACB sources said a separate team has been formed and the probe has already begun.
Initially, a five-member team has been formed but more personnel may be added as and when needed, they said.
Reacting strongly, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said Delhi government was ready for any investigation into procurement of onions but wondered why the Centre was not forthcoming in ensuring a fair probe into the CNG fitness scam.
We have today heard that Modi ji has initiated an ACB probe into it because ACB is presently working under him. ACB chief MK Meena openly says that he has directions from the PMO and even central government also says that ACB is theirs. ACB is probing the alleged onion scam at the behest of Modi government and we are ready for any type of probe, said Sisodia.
The deputy chief minister said all the files related to purchase of onions have been placed before the country and the media. We will also send all these files to PMO, but we also want Modiji to ask the LG to also send all files related to Rs 100-crore CNG fitness scam to our Commission of Inquiry.
They (LG) are running away from the probe, Sisodia said. The Delhi government on Sunday had rubbished reports of any irregularities in procurement and sale of onions at subsidised rates.
Sisodia, while dismissing the allegations, had even indicated that the government may take action against those trying to defame it.
The government had claimed that onions were procured from a SFAC (Small Farmers, Agri Business Consortium), which is a central-government agency at Rs 32.86 per kg.
Delhi government through its Fair Price Shops (FPSs) tried to make onions available to people at Rs 30, even though onions were being sold through Centres outlets at Rs 38-40. Safal was selling onions at Rs 38-40 while DMS was selling at Rs 35, Sisodia said.
Following reports of short supply of condoms at GB Road, Delhi Government has directed the Central Procurement Agency (CPA) to urgently procure 4 lakh contraceptives for distribution among the sex workers residing in the red light area.
Delhi Government will make these condoms available at its dispensary at Ajmeri Gate. The direction was given by health minister Satyendra Jain today after he held a meeting with Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chairperson Swati Maliwal at the Delhi secretariat, in which they also discussed rehabilitation of acid attack victims.
"The health minister has asked the director, CPA to immediately procure four lakh condoms, either through Directorate General of Supplies and Disposal (DGS&D) or by limited tender, if the same is not available at DGS&D rates for distribution among the commercial sex workers of GB Road," read the minutes of the meeting.
Concerned over the lack in supply of condoms at GB road, the DCW chief had sought a detailed report from the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) on the reasons for gap in supply of condoms in red light areas of the city and has asked it to resume the supply on an urgent basis. Maliwal said about 5,000 women and hundreds of men at G B Road are at a high risk of contracting HIV and many may have already fallen prey to the virus due to a shortage in supply of condoms.
The DCW chairperson said the commission had sought a report on the current status of supply of condoms to G B Road from the Delhi State Aids Control Society (DSACS) in which the latter stated that under the phase-IV of National AIDS Control Program they were supposed to have received 12 lakh free condoms per month from NACO which is a division of the ministry of health and family welfare.
"However, it is reported that no condoms have been received by DSACS since April, 2015, expect one time supply of 24 lakh condoms in May 2015. This has resulted in a severe crisis at GB Road and has exposed the sex workers and others to potentially high risk of contraction of HIV," Maliwal said in her letter to NACO.
Proceedings in high-profile criminal cases have been hit because there are not enough prosecutors to try them, Delhi Police on Wednesday told a city court.
Asking for an adjournment in an extortion case against alleged gangster Abu Salem and others, city cops told additional sessions judge Neena Bansal Krishna a request has been sent to the department of home for appointment of another prosecutor, but the notification has not been received as yet.
Noting that there was no prosecutor to carry on the case, the court fixed October 28 for recording of prosecution evidence.
There is no crunch of prosecutors in Delhi; there are about 250-300 prosecutors. All are equally competent, former special public prosecutor for Delhi Police Rajiv Mohan told HT. He said prosecutors get quickly overworked in such cases because they are not given any leave or time to follow up on special/ important/ bulky cases.
While just last year, the Delhi Prosecutors Welfare Association (DPWA) had prayed for an increase in their pay scale, Mohan said, Their problem is not the pay because prosecutors are aware about what kind of remuneration they will get.
The problem stems, he said, from time constraints. If the case is bulky and lengthy then certainly the SPP should be freed from other departmental work or administrative work. If the government really wants that the person comes prepared with a particular case, a minimum comfort should be provided to that prosecutor, he said.
The submission was made by the police before the court while it was hearing a 2002 criminal case against Salem and others for allegedly demanding Rs 5 crore as protection money from businessman Ashok Gupta, a resident of south Delhis Greater Kailash.
The others accused in the case are Chanchal Mehta, Majid Khan, Pawan Kumar Mittal and Mohd Ashraf. Proceedings against one of the accused, Sajjan Kumar Soni, were abated after he died during the pendency of the case.
Salem is also accused in eight other criminal cases across the country, including the 1996 Mumbai blasts case. He was on the run for years before being extradited from Portugal in 2005. Hes currently lodged in Arther Jail Complex in Mumbai.
According to police, Salem allegedly made threat calls to businessman Ashok Gupta in 2002. Police claim to have recorded some of these threatening calls.
A 29-year-old woman has accused a Nigerian citizen of rape on the pretext of marriage, police said on Thursday.
Police said that the woman used to live with the accused at a rented apartmentin west Delhis Uttam Nagar area.
The woman told police the two had met at Pune and later shifted to Delhi around seven months ago. When the woman went home to Tamil Nadu recently, she alleged that the accused stopped taking her calls and once she returned he allegedly refused to marry her.
A case under relevant IPC sections has been registered and the matter is being investigated, police said said.
Police raided the home and office of AAP legislator Somnath Bharti on Tuesday to arrest him but said he could not be found after the Delhi High Court refused to grant him anticipatory bail in connection with accusations of domestic violence by his wife.
"A team of Delhi Police officers raided his house in Malviya Nagar and his office but he was found absconding from both places," joint commissioner of police Deependra Pathak said.
"We need to arrest Bharti to interrogate him in a case of domestic violence and attempt to murder filed by his wife," he said.
Earlier, Justice Suresh Kait of the Delhi high court declined to grant the former Delhi law minister anticipatory bail. "This petition is dismissed," he said while ruling on Bharti's plea.
After the judge gave his order, Bharti's counsel Vijay Aggarwal told the media he could be arrested "but there are other legal remedies and many doors are still open".
The judge also pulled up Bharti for going to the police station late at night, saying, "If he loves going to the police station, then I will send him from here....Once you (Bharti) get relief, you act like a lion and go here and there." Justice Kaith said Bharti was not only "violent and outrageous at home but also before the public at large".
On September 17, the high court had reserved its verdict on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader's petition while protecting him from arrest till the pronouncement of its order.
Police have sought custodial interrogation of Bharti for conducting a fair investigation into allegations levelled against him by his wife Lipika Mitra. He approached the high court after a lower court issued a non-bailable warrant for him.
The court in its judgment also took into note an e-mail sent by Mitra to Bharti on March 20, 2013, stating that Bharti's dog had bitten her six times when she was seven months pregnant. The court said police have produced the relevant medical papers.
Bharti's wife has been "tolerating cruelty with brutal assault", which was evident from the e-mail sent by her to him, the court held.
Bharti was recently named in a First Information Report (FIR) by police under provisions of the Indian Penal Code, including those related to domestic violence and attempted murder.
Police filed the FIR following the June 10 complaint by Mitra, who alleged Bharti had been abusing her since their marriage in 2010. She said Bharti beat and tortured her and even tried to kill her once.
Mitra further alleged that in March 2013, Bharti had physically abused her, tried to strangle her and ordered his dog to attack her. She said she had sustained multiple injuries.
Bharti has refuted the allegations against him and said Delhi Police were working at the behest of the Prime Minister's Office to tarnish his image.
"It was a matrimonial dispute, but the opposition misused it for their political cause. Instead of solving my family dispute, they tried to exploit my personal life," he said.
(With inputs from agencies)
Read: Somnath Bharti's wife alleges domestic abuse; he says charges baseless
Somnath Bharti's wife alleges he tried to kill her twice
Somnath unleashed dogs on me, forced me for abortion, alleges wife
This 77-year-old man has 127 criminal cases registered against him. His name is Dhani Ram Mittal. But in police records, he is known as Super Natwarlal and the Indian Charles Sobhraj.
Mittal was released on bail last year. On Friday, he was arrested again, while driving a stolen Santro car. For close to six decades since his first brush with crime in 1961, Mittal has refused to mend his ways. A father of two, he lived with his family in Narela, outer Delhi.
The West District police arrested him in connection with the theft of an advocates car in Chandigarh.
A law graduate, he had first worked as a station master on forged documents between 1968 and 74. Pushpender, DCP (West) said during this period Mittal began forging driving licences and registration papers. During interrogation, Mittal told the police that he did not need a lawyer. He said he would argue his own case.
Posed as judge and freed criminals
The DCP said Mittal passed his LLB from Rajasthan in 1970. He also pursued calligraphy from Kolkata. He started working as a muneem at Patiala House Court and later practised in the local courts of Rohtak and Delhi. Once he impersonated as magistrate in Jhajjar district and worked there for over two months. During this time, he freed many criminals from jail, he said.
Police sources said Mittal worked as a lawyer too and provided legal help to his friends. He has been in and out of jail so many times that he had more friends in jail than outside. Many of them contact him after their release and he helps them with their cases, said an investigating officer.
Stole cars too
The police said Mittal had been involved in cases in Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Chandigarh and Punjab. He had also been arrested in cases filed under the NDPS Act, Arms Act, Gambling Act and the Excise Act. They said he had also been booked for escaping from police custody, impersonation and cheating. During interrogation, Mittal confessed that he targeted old cars that did not have anti-theft security system. The DCP said,He knows how to forge documents of almost every transport authority. He also knows how to register a secondhand vehicle. Once a vehicle is registered, he sells it through car dealers.
For a week, after his nephew was murdered, Pradeep Ahlawat spent hours with the Noida Police hoping the Rs 1 lakh reward would fetch some clues to bring the guilty to justice.
The murder of 23-year-old software engineer Sachin Sangwan on August 30, just a month into his first job, had made headlines. Under pressure to crack the case, the Noida Police top brass held meetings and conducted raids across the city hoping to make a breakthrough. Little did the officers know that while they were hunting for Mehfooz in Noida, he had already crossed the border into Delhi.
In Delhi, Mehfooz had a new name he was Bhura.
This crossing of borders to escape the law was not a one-off instance. It is fairly common for the likes of Mehfooz (29), an inter-state gangster with over 40 cases of robbery and snatching in the National Capital region (NCR), to cross the border after every crime. There are 106 gateways to enter Delhi. Only 33 points are manned by Delhi Police. Unguarded, the remaining 73 borders provide criminals unchecked entry and exit across neighbouring cities.
The porous borders have over the years aided criminal gangs that are mushrooming across NCR. In 2014, Delhi Police arrested 4,934 robbers, way more than the number of robbers arrested in 2013 (1,649). The Ghaziabad Police this year recovered four sten guns while an improvised AK -47 was recovered in Delhi last year. The easy access criminals have today to sophisticated weapons continues to baffle investigators.
Put together, criminals have turned the NCR region into a den for crimes they commit fearlessly and cross borders to evade arrest.
In a four-part series, HT takes a look at criminals, what helps them commit crimes and why the crime graph in the region is on the rise.
Five years ago, Delhi Police had 599 robbery cases. The figure this year had already crossed 4,923 by August 31. In 2010, there were 1,671 cases of snatching, which has jumped fourfold to 6,407 cases. 14,966 vehicles were stolen in 2010, this year the number is nearing 20,000.
Organised crime
The four most wanted car thieves of Gurgaon were found to be involved in thefts in Delhis Saket, Safdarjung Enclave, Vasant Kunj and Kapashera. The mobile phone location of western UPs most wanted gangster Mukeem Kala, recently involved in the Rs 9-crore Saharanpur Tanishq dacoity case, was found to be in Delhi, according to Ghaziabad SP (city) Dr Ajay Pal.
No vehicle stolen from Delhi is sold or used in the city. Using fake number plates, the cars are driven across the border without any cop from Gurgaon, Ghaziabad or Noida verifying the authenticity of the forged number plates, an officer said.
Out of the 19,559 vehicles stolen this year, only 1,600 have been recovered.
Forget cars, talk about weapons. Every weapon fired in Delhi is smuggled into the city. They are manufactured in various parts of UP. One should investigate what/who facilitates a safe passage for these smugglers into the city, the officer said.
Last year, Delhi Police recovered 969 firearms. As per police, couriers people who smuggle arms take the bus route to enter Delhi as they find it to be the safest.
There is no baggage scanner at the bus terminals, they said. Most of the arms seized last year from these couriers were from outside the three interstate bus terminals in Delhi. Senior officers admit they have to depend on intelligence and cannot stop every vehicle for checking.
According to the data from Delhis transport department, approximately 2.25 lakh vehicles cross the city borders everyday through manned points. An almost equal number of vehicles enter through the unmanned borders. It is impossible to check vehicles with a short-staffed police force, the officer said.
While organised crime figures continue to rise, there is little coordinated effort from the police to control the menace created by these interstate criminals. Joint state meetings happen only once in three months and officers continue to fight over jurisdiction.
The level of coordination between Noida and Delhi police was exposed when on September 6, a Delhi Police team arrested Mehfooz from east Delhi. The two police departments are still fighting over the reward money of Rs 1 lakh.
The body of a 19-year-old man was found on the railway tracks in Kirari in outer Delhi on Thursday morning. He had been picked up by the police after he was accused of stalking his former girlfriend.
The family of the deceased, Vinod Singh, has alleged that his body was found almost 12 hours after he was taken to the Prem Nagar police chowki.
Singhs family members have accused the girls family and the local police of allegedly murdering him and throwing his body on the railway tracks to make it a case of suicide. They alleged the police had threatened to book him in a false case.
Vikramjit Singh, DCP (outer), refuted the allegations, saying Singh was let off with warnings around 9.30pm on Wednesday as the girl refused to file a complaint against him. Locals said Singh had fled from the police post on the pretext of going to the toilet. He left his pair of slippers at the police station. Singh was allegedly inebriated and he feared that he would be arrested.
The police picked up Vinod from a neighbours retirement party. They took him to the police station on his friend Kales motorcycle 7.30pm. The woman, whom he stalked, and her sister were also there.
She told the police that he used to follow her. A senior police officer said, She said he would stand outside her house for hours, causing her mental agony. When we asked her to file a complaint, she refused. She asked us to warn him against following her.
Singhs family said the woman and Vinod were in a relationship for three years. But they had broken up two years ago. They said he tried to patch up with her, but she rejected him.
Earlier, she had complained to the police. Vinods family members were then called to the police station. They had to give it in writing that Vinod would not harass her further.
Vinods father wrote that they would not blame the womans family if he dies or suffers any injury, the officer said.
He said Vinod then started harassing her again. On Thursday around 7.45am, Singhs body was spotted on the railway track, 500 metres from his house. A security guard spotted the body and informed his brother, Sandeep.
I was outside the police station till 9pm and returned home after that as the policemen told me that they will release my brother in two hours. He was found dead the next morning. They (the girls family and police) killed my brother and dumped his body on the railway tracks, Sandeep said.
He either committed suicide, or was run over by a train. We do not suspect any foul play in the matter, the DCP said.
SEATTLE Gov. Jay Inslee says he'll approve a bill allowing Washington state's largest utility to set aside money for the eventual shutdown of two coal-fired electricity plants in Montana.
Inslee also said Thursday that he'll veto a section of the bill, though his office declined to specify which section.
Senate Bill 6248 was originally scheduled for action Thursday. Inslee spokeswoman Jaime Smith says it was moved to Friday to give staff more time to review it.
The measure lets Puget Sound Energy create a fund to cover future decommissioning and cleanup costs at the Colstrip plant in Montana, if the units are closed after 2023. PSE owns half of units 1 and 2.
Montana Gov. Steve Bullock last week asked Inslee to veto the measure over concerns about its impacts to Montana.
Inslee said Thursday he has listened to those concerns but will act in the interest of Washington.
The Delhi government will soon launch a much-awaited revamp of Naini Lake in Model Town in North Delhi.
North Delhi Municipal Corporation mayor Ravindra Gupta on Friday met Delhi governments tourism minister Kapil Mishra and discussed rejuvenation plans of Naini Lake that has been pending for close to a year now.
Sources in the government later said that during the meeting it was decided that Delhi Tourism will work to rejuvenate Naini Lake for boating and other such activities.
Last year, the Delhi government had decided to beautify the lake in a natural manner and revive it ecologically. The plan did not, however, take off instantly as the lake comes under the North Delhi Municipal Corporations purview but was being maintained by the Delhi tourism department.
The roadblock in terms of agreement between the two bodies was finally cleared on Friday, both the corporation and government officials said.
Behind the final agreement is a long campaign for the ecological rejuvenation of Naini Lake, and 600 other water bodies in the city.
Residents of Model Town had got together and formed a pressure group that raised awareness and also organised street plays and signature campaigns for the revamp plan to be implemented.
The plan of ecological rejuvenation was developed by ecologist CR Babu. It included introducing specific plants, insects and animals in the lake to clean it and increase the biodiversity. It also forbid concretisation and restricted water sports.
A flyover has collapsed killing 25 people and injuring more than 80 people and no one is responsible for this. The builder has callously called it an act of God and a political bun fight is in full flood.
The collapse of public structures is nothing new in India. During the monsoon they take place with regularity in Mumbai. But the Kolkata tragedy is a chronicle of a disaster foretold. Engineers had cautioned against the rusting framework of the flyovers superstructure which has been pending completion for a long time. This has been compounded by the humid conditions in the city. The Kolkata flyover was already in a dilapidated condition even though it had not been completed.
Read | Kolkata flyover collapse: Police detain officials of building company
There are a host of reasons why public structures tend to either collapse or have a short shelf life. The material used is substandard with builders being notorious for cutting corners. In many building collapses, the foundations have been found to be not well laid and the materials used unable to withstand either the vagaries of the weather or the sheer weight of the construction.
And invariably, an element of political brinkmanship enters the picture. In the Kolkata case, political grandstanding has been heightened as the state is poll-bound. Even as rescue workers are battling to save those trapped and who might still be alive, the political blame game is afoot. All this is to detract from the task at hand which is succour to the victims in the form of compensation for the dead and injured.
Contracts for constructions like flyovers should contain clauses to ensure that builders stick to a timeline. This way there will be fewer cost overruns and minimal chances of wear and tear on the building materials. This is something the political class can ensure rather than engage in verbal fisticuffs after the event.
Read | Kolkata flyover tragedy: Builder says accident not case of negligence
This sad turn of events provides the right opportunity to review public structures in our metros. Many of them
are in poor condition and require retrofitting. Instead of rushing to build even more flyovers and overhead passes and buildings, the existing ones should be made safer. The builder in the Kolkata case cannot get away with lofty pronouncements that it is an act of God. It is not. He will have to make restitution for this tragedy.
Read | Kolkata flyover collapse: TMC, Left, Cong fight for political mileage
There has to be a concerted effort to enforce more rigorous checks before a project is sanctioned and also ensure that there are fewer delays in completion as well as regular maintenance inspections. This, rather than political mudslinging, would be a practical way of ensuring that such calamities are minimised in future.
37-year-old Carol Gracias strutted down the ramp at the fashion week while pregnant. (PTI)
On Thursday, model Carol Gracias walked the runway at the on-going Lakme Fashion Week Summer Resort 2016 fashion show in Mumbai while cradling her baby bump proudly on the ramp, dressed in a traditional drape. Internationally, moms-to-be have walked the runway for famous designers, but its the first time in the country that a 37-year-old model has strutted down the ramp at a fashion week while pregnant. Having walked the runway for over a decade now, Carol also had social media abuzz as she was hailed for celebrating her pregnancy on a platform where body-image is everything.
Read: I am feeling very fat, says TV actor Shveta Salve on her pregnancy
Carol, who walked the ramp for Hyderabad-based designer Gaurang Shah, says that she believed that if saris are meant to be worn by all kinds of women, then an expecting mother has all the right to wear one too, even if its on the runway. I have been doing his (Gaurangs) shows for many years now, so this time as usual he called and asked if he could book me. I told him I was pregnant and he still asked if I would walk for the show. So, I gave it a thought, and realised that the clothes to be showcased are meant for all kinds of women. I thought if the designer would like me in his show, then why not? I really enjoyed the experience, she says.
Models display designer Gaurangs collection at the Lakme Fashion Week Summer Resort 2016 fashion show in Mumbai on Thursday. (PTI)
Read: Anne Hathaways bikini pic is the best pregnancy announcement ever
Speaking about his decision to cast Carol, Shah says, My assistant asked me what do we do? Do we still ask her to walk? And I thought well, whats the big deal? Its a natural thing. Though, we didnt realise how advanced in the pregnancy she was until we saw the baby bump just before the show. Adds Shah, Even while draping the sari, I thought shed want to cover up but she was very confident and tied the sari low-waist. I asked her: would you be able to walk with high heels and she just said: Ill do it! ... And it connected with the audiences. Even though it wasnt planned that way, she became my showstopper!
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According to an analysis of global trends in body mass index (BMI), more than 640 million people world over are obese and number of overweight people is much more than the underweight. A startling increase in rates of obesity in the past 40 years means the number of people with a BMI of more than 30 has risen from 105 million in 1975 to 641 million in 2014, the study found. More than one in 10 men and one in seven women are obese.
BMI is calculated by dividing a persons weight in kilograms by their height in metres squared, and is an indication of whether a person is a healthy weight. A BMI score over 25 is overweight, over 30 is obese and over 40 is morbidly obese.
Read: Not your upbringing, your partners lifestyle can make you obese
The number of people across the globe whose weight poses a serious threat to their health is greater than ever before, said Majid Ezzati, a professor at the school of public health at Imperial College London.
And this epidemic of severe obesity is too extensive to be tackled with medications such as blood pressure lowering drugs or diabetes treatments alone, or with a few extra bike lanes. To try to make a real difference, Ezzati said coordinated global steps were needed, including addressing the pricing of healthy foods versus unhealthy foods, or taxing high sugar and highly processed foods.
Read: Being fat is still better than being thin and out of shape, says study
More obese men and women now live in China and the United States than in any other country. (Shutterstock)
Yet excessively low body weight remains a serious public health issue in the worlds poorest regions, the studys authors said, and rising global trends in obesity should not overshadow the problem of many people not getting enough to eat. In South Asia, for example, almost a quarter of the population is underweight. In Central and East Africa, about 12 percent of women and 15 percent of men are underweight.
The study, published on Thursday in The Lancet medical journal, involved the World Health Organization and more then 700 researchers worldwide. It analysed data on weight and height from nearly 20 million adults from 186 countries.
Read: Battle of the bulge | Tips to fight obesity
BMI is calculated by dividing a persons weight in kilograms by their height in metres squared, and is an indication of whether a person is a healthy weight. (Shutterstock)
It found that over the past four decades, the average age-corrected male BMI rose to 24.2 from 21.7, and in women rose to 24.4 from 22.1. This is equivalent to the worlds population becoming on average 1.5 kg heavier each decade, the researchers said.
Read: Punjabis are most obese, men from Tripura leanest, says Government
They predicted that if these global trends continue, 18 percent of men and 21 percent of women will be obese by 2025.
Other key findings of the study were that:
1. Japanese adults had the lowest BMIs of all high-income countries, while American adults had the highest BMIs.
2. More obese men and women now live in China and the United States than in any other country.
3. The lowest BMIs in Europe were among Swiss women and Bosnian men. Men in Britain had the 10th highest BMI in Europe and women the 3rd highest in Europe.
4. Morbid obesity, where a persons weight interferes with basic physical functions such as breathing and walking, now affects around 1 percent of men and 2 percent of women. In total, 55 million adults are morbidly obese.
Zero Dark Thirty star Jessica Chastain, addressing gender inequality in Hollywood, says being the only girl on a film set, one can feel like a sexual object.
The 39-year-old actor says gender equality is important so that chances of someone feeling bullied or humiliated are less, reported People magazine.
When you have both genders represented, then you have a healthier point of view. You dont feel a hierarchy; you dont have anyone feeling like they are being left out or bullied or humiliated. Sometimes, being the only girl on a set, you can feel like a sexual object, she said.
Jessica Chastain also penned an essay about gender equality in Hollywood from the sets of her new movie The Zookeepers Wife, which boasts the largest female crew Chastain has ever worked with. The essay, which appeared in The Hollywood Reporter stirred conversation on a much debated issue.
Watch the Huntsman: Winters War trailer here
Read: Jessica Chastains essay on gender equality is stirringly powerful
Read an excerpt from Chastains essay here
Im in Prague filming a movie called The Zookeepers Wife with director Niki Caro. I cant tell you its amazing. Ive never been on a set with so many women. Were not even 50 percent of the crew were probably something like 20 percent women and 80 percent men but its way more than Ive ever worked with on a film before.
Some people might say a woman cant direct this because of that, or a man cant direct that because of this. I dont like to do that. Look at Kathryn Bigelow: She can do incredible action films. Or Anthony Minghella, who directed the most beautiful, sensitive romances. For me, sex really isnt the qualifier in the way someone directs but I just know that when you have a set with predominantly one gender, whether it be all men or all women, its not going to be a healthy place. I imagine its the same thing in the workforce or other environments: When you have both genders represented, then you have a healthier point of view. The energy is great, you all are working together as a community, and everyone is participating in the exchange of ideas. You dont feel a hierarchy; you dont have anyone feeling like they are being left out or bullied or humiliated. Sometimes being the only girl on a set, you can feel like a sexual object.
I want to make sure Im contributing to creating diversity in the industry. I want to work with anyone who is talented, but I know that some people have to work harder to succeed in this business than others.
I do think things are changing. The reason I think they are changing is because whenever I talk about these issues with men I know in the industry they are very talented, really intelligent and very successful men theres this embarrassment. They say, I dont understand how it got to be like this. And I think that is what will help things change because it takes the group that is the majority in the industry to say, Wait a minute: Maybe its more interesting to have more female voices in the executive suite and not just a token woman.
Its not a valid excuse to say women dont call asking to direct superhero movies. Every female director Ive asked if shed be interested in directing a big movie like that says, Hell, yeah. And if thats true, it shows how deep-seated the problem is. I dont think the problem is women; its the representation. It goes to the agents. It has to change. This is 2015.
Read: Jessica Chastain is shocked by all the hate for her diversity speech
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Six of the eight Indians arrested in Colombo last month were found to have had their kidneys removed in an alleged organ transplant racket in Sri Lanka, a court was told on Friday.
The Indians were arrested on March 3 at Pennyquick Road in the south Colombo ward of Wellawatta for overstaying their visas.
Six of the eight Indians arrested in Colombo were found to have had their kidneys removed in an alleged organ transplant racket in Sri Lanka, the Colombo Crimes Division told a magistrates court in Colombo. Police has expanded the investigation to the suspected kidney transplant racket.
Sri Lankas health ministry had initiated an investigation on the conduct of the local doctors following complaints by Indian authorities.
In January, it was reported that the Indian authorities had charged six Sri Lankan doctors for carrying out 60 kidney transplants.
Tobacco products will carry larger pictorial warnings covering 85% of the packaging space as a central notification came into effect from Friday, notwithstanding a parliamentary panels recommendation for a drastic reduction in the size of the visual message.
The health ministrys notification of September 24, 2015, for implementation of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Amendment Rules, 2014, comes into from April 1. These prescribe larger pictorial warnings on tobacco products.
The ministry had made a commitment to Rajasthan high court on March 28 that it will implement the said rules from April 1, 2016.
The parliamentary committee on Subordinate Legislation had described as too harsh the governments proposal that 85% of the packaging surface carry pictorial warnings and recommended that the message occupy 50% of the space.
The stand had evoked sharp criticism from MPs and health experts.
In its report submitted to Lok Sabha, committee chairman Dilip Gandhi justified the recommendations, saying it was urged that the size of the warnings be increased from the present 40 to 50%. The committee is of the view that in order to have a balanced approach, the warning on cigarette packets should be 50% on both sides of the principal display area instead of 85% of the principal display area as it will be too harsh and result in the flooding of illicit cigarettes in the country, the committee said in the report.
Health ministry has also informed Rajasthan high court that its legislative authority is examining the observations/recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee on Subordinate Legislation.
The images of specified health warnings were uploaded on the official website of the health ministry and a public notice was also issued on February 19, 2016, in all leading national and regional newspapers to facilitate enforcement of the new specified health warnings from April 1.
It is further submitted that observations/recommendations of the Committee on Subordinate Legislation, 16th Lok Sabha, as contained in its eleventh report submitted to Lok Sabha on March 15, 2016, are under examination of the Legislative Authority in the Ministry, it further said.
Incidentally, India is ranked 136 out of 198 countries according to the international status report on Cigarette Package Health Warnings, 2014.
Nepal has stipulated packaging with 90% space devoted to pictorial warnings, Thailand and Pakistan 85%, Sri Lanka 80% and, most recently, Myanmar 75%.
National carrier Air India has suspended one of its commanders as he failed to turn up to operate the airlines first flight to Mumbai from Bhopal.
The Government-run airline had recently announced the roll out of several new flights and routes as part of the summer schedule, which commenced from last Sunday, with Mumbai-Bhopal being one among those.
The commander wanted to go to Delhi. But when he came to know that the flight was not heading to Delhi but Mumbai he went missing, leaving the flyers in the lurch, an Air India official said.
The incident took place on Sunday, they added.
This last minute non-availability of the pilot left airline in a piquant situation as cancelling the inaugural flight would have sent wrong signals to the customers, the official said, adding, Air India some how managed to get a commander for the Airbus A320 plane and operate the flight.
The commander was immediately taken off the duty and subsequently placed under suspension for this gross indiscipline, the official said.
The swift action against the indiscipline commander is in line with Air India Chairman and Managing Director Ashwani Lohanis emphasis on maintaining highest standards of integrity in the airlines workforce.
The organisation will always maintain zero intolerance to indiscipline, Lohani had said in a letter to his over 22,000 strong workforces after he took over the helm of the Government-run airline.
Another FIR was registered against unknown persons following a complaint by a Delhi-based resident on the alleged gang rape by Jat agitators in Sonipat district of Haryana in February.
The FIR was registered by the all-women special investigation team (SIT) constituted to look into allegations that women commuters were pulled out of their vehicles and raped during the Jat agitation at Murthal in Sonipat district, DIG Rajshree Singh said in Chandigarh.
Singh said the complainant told police that he was informed by a Himachal Pradesh-based family that women were dragged out of cars and taken to fields.
We were not provided with any evidence in this connection but on the basis of the complaint, an FIR has been registered under different sections against unknown persons, she said.
However, no eye witnesses have come forward so far, she said.
Earlier, Haryana Police had registered the first FIR on the alleged gang rapes by Jat agitators.
The report was filed when a woman from Narela in north-west Delhi appeared before the SIT comprising three senior women officers, and claimed that she was raped by seven men on the night of February 22.
In her complaint, the woman had alleged that she was travelling with her minor daughter in a van when some goons stopped the vehicle near an eatery.
She had said the miscreants overpowered the male passengers and gangraped her while holding her daughter hostage. She had accused her brothers-in-law and sister-in-law to be involved in the incident.
Haryana DGP, Y P Singhal had said that the inquiry committee, headed by DIG Singh and comprising two women Deputy Superintendents of Police (DSPs), Bharti Dabas and Surinder Kaur, would probe the reported incidents.
Media reports have stated that gangrapes took place in the early hours of Monday (February 22) and that up to 10 women were sexually assaulted by a group of nearly 40 hooligans during the agitation.
The Punjab and Haryana high court had taken suo motu notice of the media reports that some women who were commuting on the Delhi-Ambala highway (NH-1) were stripped and raped by rioters during the violent Jat agitation for job quota.
However, the government had filed a report in the court stating no gangrapes had taken place during the stir.
Social activist and Arya Samaj scholar Swami Agnivesh on Friday said that those who insisted on everyone shouting the slogans of Bharat Mata Ki Jai and Vande Matram needed to undergo an examination to prove their patriotism. Muslims of this country had proved their patriotism during the struggle for independence, said Agnivesh, who is the president emeritus of the World Council of Arya Samaj.
Agnivesh was participating in a discussion on protection of the Constitution (samvidhan ki suraksha) at Saraimeer, Azamgarh. Social activists, spiritual leaders and a few politicians were present at the event.
Noted social activist Teesta Setalvad gave a call for unity to uproot fascist forces. I dont blame only Jinnah saheb for the Partition of the country (Main akele Jinnah Saheb ko partition ke liye doshi Nahi Manti). Fascist forces also had their role in the division, Setalvad said.
Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind president Maulana Arshad Madani said the followers of different religions had the constitutional right to live in this country. Harmony and peace were necessary for development, he added.
Swami Jeetendranand Sarswati of the Varanasi Ganga Peeth also attended the conference.
Potted natural flower plants will no longer embellish the decor of airport terminals as the countrys aviation safety watchdog has banned such pots, which saboteurs and terrorists can target to rig bombs.
The Brussels airport bombing on March 22 prompted the Bureau of Civil Aviation Securitys (BCAS) to adopt measures such as banning natural flower pots, which are brought into terminals from nurseries outside cities, and placing a fail-safe biometric entry system for staff in restricted areas.
The BCAS, which frames policies for airport security, has asked operators to get rid of flowerpots from nurseries inside terminals and, instead, suggested using natural plants inside guarded enclosures or make-do with ornamental, artificial ones.
Airports are known for their tough security but terminal buildings have large, open and vulnerable public spaces with flowerpots and decorative items.
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which guards the majority of airports in India, had flagged the BCAS in December 2015 about the potential danger from flowerpots inside the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi.
The plants are nurtured and maintained at nurseries located away from the airport. This increases the chance of sabotage as thorough screening of such plants placed in pots using soil is required to be conducted every time to prevent planting of explosives. This poses the potential risk to the terminal building, the security force said in a letter to the BCAS.
The BCAS has contracted software development companies to install a biometric system in restricted areas where aircraft crew and operator staff frequently enter and exit.
It wont impact movement of flyers but airport staff who gave access to highly restricted areas. The BCAS can maintain three-year data of peoples movement in these zones, a source said.
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It was not unexpected that China would yet again come in the way of Indian efforts at the United Nations (UN) to ban Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar, who New Delhi blames as the mastermind of the Pathankot airbase attack in January.
This time, just before the deadline was to end, they moved the UN committee, that is considering a ban on the chief of the Pakistan-based terror outfit JeM, to keep the designation on hold.
That amounts to no surprise though the move coincided with the visit of a Pakistan joint investigation team to India to probe the Pathankot attack and Islamabad admitting to the role of JeM.
This also brings to the fore the state of India-China ties that has slipped into a terrain of lethargy after showing the promise of a jump-start under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Modi showed exemplary political courage by according a public reception to visiting Chinese president Xi Jinping in September 2014, something no Indian leader dared to do after the 1962 war. Modi displayed exceptional pragmatism when he announced, perhaps symbolically to a group of Japanese journalists first, that India would become a founding member of the Chinese-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). The bank is seen as a counter to Japan-dominated, US-influenced lending institutions like Asian Development Bank. India was a founding member of the ADB, too.
But, the promise of turning a new leaf in the ties with China is now teetering because of the lack of new ideas and energy. A set of challenging geopolitical issues has also confounded the situation.
India shares a 3488-km border with China. It has an unsettled boundary with its biggest neighbour and one of the largest trading partner. The bilateral trade was an impressive $71.2 billion in 2015 though the trade deficit was an alarming $51.8 billion.
The UPA government had said cooperation and competition are the two sides of the same coin in the India-China ties. It wanted to build on the convergences and narrow down the difference, as often cited by the then national security adviser, Shiv Shankar Menon.
However, a set of geopolitical realities has changed the familiar narrative in dealing with China. That China is an all-weather ally of Pakistan is a cliche. But the way the China-Pakistan economic ties shaping up of late, including a proposed $46 billion economic corridor that would run through Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK), and the pace with which two countries are moving on in Afghanistan have brought new dimensions to Indian challenges. The bonhomie in China-Nepal ties is also something New Delhi has to look at beyond the usual foreign office dismissal of not being in the comparison business.
Prudence, so far, has guided Indias South China Sea policy. But the recent developments, where India is getting more vocal on the issue hasnt gone down well with Beijing. It would do India a lot of good if it exercises caution in ample amount rather than seen as being led by the US on the issue. The US has no compulsions of geography, unlike India.
The truism that good economic ties ward off political tussle doesnt apply in disputes involving China. Most countries that have territorial issues with China have Beijing as their top trading partner. The Japan-China trade is as good as Japan-US trade.
So, it calls for a more balanced view on issues like South China sea on Indias part rather than taking any position in the future that would breed more Chinese suspicion. The Russia-China ties are stronger than before, which again affects in Indias maneuverability with Moscow vis-a-vis Beijing.
Addressing the India-China business forum in Shanghai in May last year Prime Minister Modi said, As two major economies in Asia, the harmonious partnership between India and China is essential for economic development and political stability of the continent.
Injecting new energy into the ties while understanding each others concerns is the only way to realise that vision.
The writer tweets @jayanthjacob
The Congress on Friday criticised Chinas move to block Indias proposal to ban Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Maulana Masood Azhar, saying that Beijings position always supported elements that have backed terrorism in India.
China has acted like an enemy of India that is something surprisingly the Indian government doesnt seem to understand. India has always tried to follow path of friendship to China but china has always assisted Pakistan in the insidious manner in which they promote India. China has always supported elements that have done terrorism in India, Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit told ANI.
He also said that Chinas design on India has always been wrong and China is inherently a nation that niether supports democracy nor human rights nor liberal values.
Echoing similar sentiments, another Congress leader Manish Tewari told ANI that the Peoples Liberation Army of China and the Pakistani military establishment have very deep ties which go back many decades.
If India expects that China would stop supporting Pakistan perfectly then we are living in a fools paradise. The fact that the Pakistan ISIS and the Chinese intelligence agencies has also been trying to midwife a solution in Afghanistan between the Taliban and the Afghan Government where the US is also deeply involved, Tewari said.
Therefore, in this fight against terrorism, India will have to stand for itself rather than relying on the United States of America or China which have their own interest in the region, he added.
Reacting to Chinas move, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy on Friday asserted that Chinas move to block Indias proposal to ban Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Maulana Masood Azhar shows their frustration.
He said that such a move by China was on expected lines, adding that efforts should be made to ensure that conditions should not deteriorate in the region.
I have been telling the governments since many days that China is frustrated with us. We should know the reason as to why they are frustrated, Swamy told ANI.
I have known China and I feel that friendship is possible with them. Whatever is happening is expected. Therefore efforts should be made so that conditions should not deteriorate, he added.
In a major disappointment for India, China collaborated with Pakistan to block New Delhis proposal to ban Masood Azhar.
Following the attack on the Indian Air Force Base in Pathankot killing seven Indian military personnel, India has called on the United Nations for immediate action to list Azhar under the al-Qaida Sanctions Committee.
According to sources, 14 out of 15 countries were willing to designate Azhar but China alone decided to go against all the others in the bid.
The US, UK and France had strongly supported the move and the other nations had also expressed their consent to proceed with the action on Azhar.
But China, one of the five permanent members of the UN group with veto powers, collaborated with Pakistan to block the bid, sources add.
China is now the only country that has stood up for Masood Azhar more than once.
The Congress has approached the Lok Sabha ethics committee, seeking expulsion of Union minister Jitendra Singh over reports alleging that an absconding murder accused was present at his residence last month.
In a complaint to the panel headed by veteran BJP leader LK Advani, the party said it is a serious matter that adversely impacts Parliaments dignity. Singh is a minister of state in the Prime Ministers Office.
The ethics committee examines complaints about unethical conduct of a member referred to it by anyone. The panel can also take up suo motu investigation into moral and ethical conduct of any member.
The Congress complaint cited media reports about the presence of Hari Kishan alias Kasooru, a murder accused in the 2013 Kishtwar communal riots, at Singhs residence in Jammu.
However, Singh dismissed the allegations. As elected representatives, we are expected to meet any public deputation that seeks appointment, he said, adding, This deputation was led by three J&K MLAs, including one ex-minister who came to present a memorandum regarding demand for Scheduled Tribe status.
The Congress submitted copies of the newspaper reports as well as case documents to demand strong action against the Union minister.
Congress partys legal department secretary KC Mittal termed unethical the ministers conduct in allowing the wanted accused to surface at his residence and getting a photograph with him.
It is unbelievable that Singh had no acquaintance or familiarity with Kasooru, he said. Kasooru is a BJP leader of Paddar, which is part of Singhs parliamentary constituency, and has campaigned for him. He was neither a stranger nor an outsider to Singh, Mittal said.
A fast track court on Friday directed Noida Police to submit the forensic report on the meat seized from the house of Mohammad Ikhlaq, the man lynched in Dadri.
Lawyer of the 18 youths arrested from the village in the case objected to the framing of charges. Ramsharan Nagar told the court that he should be given a copy of all documents required to frame charges. The court will hear the matter on April 7 to initiate the framing of charges.
We have requested the court to ask the police to provide us a copy of the forensic report... The report is important as it establishes the motive behind the incident on the basis of which police has framed our clients, said Nagar.
Dadri deputy superintendent of police Anurag Singh said, The matter is sub judice so we cannot comment on the issue. The report will be submitted to the court once it reaches us through proper channel.
He said a report sought from a forensic lab in Agra was awaited. We will submit it as soon as the court demands, he said.
But police said the forensic report played no role as they were investigating murder and not cow slaughter.
We have already filed the chargesheet against 18 people in this case. We have time and again clarified that it is a case of murder and assault not of cow slaughter, Singh added.
Fifty-five-year-old Ikhlaq was lynched and his son Danish was critically injured on September 28 over allegations of slaughtering a cow and storing its meat for consumption at Bisada village of Dadri, 60 km from Delhi. The incident ignited a debate of intolerance across the country.
Police officers and paramilitary force continued to be deployed in Bisada after villagers, mostly women, protested against police and administration on Wednesday. They demanded the immediate release of all 18 accused arrested in the case.
The situation is under control. The village has returned to normalcy since Wednesdays protest. Schools are open and police is patrolling in the locality, Singh added.
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Pakistan on Thursday said it had apprised the European Union and the worlds major capitals about an alleged Indian spys arrest from Balochistan, but did the whole world really take notice of the saga?
Probably not, if one goes by global media reports on the matter. Very few large media outlets reported about Kulbhushan Jhadav the man at the centre of the storm and most of the reports were sceptical of Pakistans claims.
Islamabad has gone to town with the tale of Jhadav even though New Delhi has dismissed the charge that he was an operative of RAW. India has acknowledged that he is a former naval officer and reports have suggested he was running a business in Iran.
Read more: India rejects Pakistans video confession: Spy saga decoded
Apparently cashing in on a so-called confession video of Jhadav, Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said on Thursday: The whole world saw the Indian agents confessional statement.
Read more: Pakistan writes to Iran for help in probing Indian spy case
In its report, The New York Times said: The timing of the release of the video on Tuesday was notable. It came on the same day that a Pakistani team of investigators was visiting Pathankot in India, the site of a terrorist attack in January that India says was the work of gunmen from Pakistan.
The BBC report mainly gave New Delhis side of the story, saying, India has rejected Pakistans claims that it has arrested an Indian spy in the restive Balochistan province.
The Washington Post mentioned the issue at the fag end of a report on Indias invitation to Pakistani investigators to help in the Pathankot probe.
It said: Yet despite the spirit of cooperation, the Pakistani military released a video in Islamabad on Tuesday of an Indian naval officer arrested at the border last month who is purported to be an Indian spy. In the video, the officer, Kulbhushan (Jhadav), said he had supported the separatist movement in Balochistan in criminal activities that would lead to instability within Pakistan. The Indian government rejected the video as having no basis in fact.
The Guardian included the spy story in a report that mainly focused on the suicide attack at a park in Lahore that killed more than 30 people over the weekend.
It said: The unveiling of an alleged spy could set back regional diplomacy at a time of unusually close cooperation between Islamabad and DelhiThe disclosure also distracted attention from a crisis in Islamabad where several hundred Islamist protesters have been camped near the parliament building after storming into the city on Sunday to protest against the hanging of Mumtaz Qadri in February.
Pakistani officials claimed Jhadav was arrested near the Iranian border. But a report in Pakistans Dawn newspaper on Thursday said the Iranian embassy in Islamabad had slammed certain elements in Pakistan for spreading undignified and offensive remarks, which it said were attributed to President Hassan Rouhani, regarding the arrest of Jadhav.
Elements unhappy over promotion of ties between the two Islamic countries of Iran and Pakistan are trying in various ways, including the spreading of undignified and sometimes offensive contents, to fade out the significant achievements during the visit of President Rouhani to Pakistan, embassy spokesman Abbas Badrifar said, according to the report.
According to reports, Rouhani himself was dismissive of Pakistani claims.
I have heard this more than 20 times. Whenever we become close to Pakistan such rumours come up. We have brotherly relations with Pakistan. We also have a good relationship with India, thus there is no problem, he reportedly told a news conference in Islamabad.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday made an impassioned plea for genuine cooperation among nations as the only deterrence against nuclear terrorism.
Drop the notion that terrorism is someone elses problem and that his terrorist is not my terrorist, he said at a dinner hosted for the visiting world leaders by President Barack Obama.
PM's big message at #NSS2016 : Drop the notion that terrorism is someone elses problem and that "his" terrorist is not "my" terrorist Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) March 31, 2016
Arguing that while the reach and supply chains of terrorism are global, genuine cooperation between nations is not, he said, according to a string of tweets from the MEA spokesman.
PM @narendramodi: Nuclear security must remain an abiding national priority. All States must completely abide by their int'l obligations. Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) April 1, 2016
The dinner attended by leaders of delegations from over 50 countries launched the fourth and final Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, with three plenary sessions slated for Friday.
Modi, who was seated on Obamas right (Chinese president Xi Jinping sat on the presidents left, highlighting in a way his Asia pivot) argued strongly for new thinking on combating terrorism.
Terror has evolved, Modi said. Terrorists are using 21st century technology. But our responses are rooted in the past. They are globally networked, but the world reacts nationally.
There was a need to upgrade the worlds basic response to terrorism. Without prevention and prosecution of acts of terrorism there is no deterrence against nuclear terrorism.
Citing the recent terrorist attacks in Brussels, Belgium, the prime minister said they showed us how real and immediate is the threat to nuclear security from terrorism.
The two brothers who carried out the March 22 bombings in Brussels that killed over 30 people had surveilled a top scientist working at a Belgian nuclear power plant.
A video of the surveillance found at the brothers apartment raised fears the Islamic State was planning to attack a nuclear facility, which could cause devastation of untold proportions.
The prime minister said the Brussels attack and the danger of nuclear terrorism brought to the fore three features of contemporary terrorism, which require urgent attention.
First, todays terrorism uses extreme violence as theatre, a reference perhaps to Islamic States tendency to stage killings and attacks in a manner that attracts global attention.
Second, he said, we are no longer looking for a man in a cave (a reference perhaps to Osama bin Laden), but we are hunting for a terrorist in a city with a computer or a smart phone.
And, third, state actors working with nuclear traffickers and terrorists present the greatest risk, which was an unmistakably clear reference to Pakistan without naming it.
Pakistans dealings with nuclear traffickers are well established, specifically the nuclear black market run by a man called the father of Pakistani nuclear bomb, Abdul Qadeer Khan.
And Pakistani governments continuing usage of terrorists as a foreign policy tool in India and Afghanistan, for example is not the worlds best keep secret. Thus the obvious reference.
Deobands Darul Uloom issued a religious edict recently prohibiting Muslims from chanting Bharat Mata Ki Jai on the grounds that idol worship is forbidden in Islam.
A social media buzz around the fatwa, issued in response to queries received by the seminary, could reignite a controversy over the slogan that appeared to have subsided after RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said nobody should be coerced to chant it.
The seminary contextualised its reply with the observation that Muslims should desist from chanting the slogan as Bharat Mata is perceived as a goddess by a section of Hindus.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) condemned the fatwa and said it openly supported terrorism. This fatwa is a direct retort to Prime Minister Narendra Modis stand that terrorism should not be linked to any religion, VHP joint general secretary Surendra Jain said.
On earlier occasions, the Darul Ulooom had let it be known that such fatwas were advisory in nature, issued as they were in response to specific questions. The fatwa on the slogan eulogising Bharat Mata went viral on social media on Thursday. Issued on March 19, it said as idol worship wasnt permitted in Islam, adherents of the faith must refrain from Bharat Mata chants.
Scholars of Darul Ifta (a department in the seminary that considers questions and responds to them in the context of the Quran and the Hadees) had issued the fatwa in response to letters it received along with portraits of Bharat Mata, Darul Uloom spokesman Ashraf Usmani said. The portraits showed the goddess clad in saffron carrying a trident in hand.
We love the country, but we believe only in one God, Usmani said when asked to respond to the debate on chanting the slogan.
Read: Fatwa against chanting of Bharat Mata Ki Jai
Earlier, the seminary had issued a decree asking Muslims to hoist the national flag on their houses and establishments on Independence Day. It appealed to people to celebrate the occasion with great spirit of patriotism.
The Darul Ifta is headed by Maulana Habiburrehman Haidrabadi. Its members are Islamic scholars. They give collective opinion on issues in the light of the Quran and the Hadees.
Reacting to the fatwa, minister of state for food processing Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti said denying people the right to chant Bharat Mata Ki Jai amounted to insulting freedom fighters. It is showing the fundamentalist side of Islam. Denying Bharat Mata Ki Jai shows disrespect to martyrs of the country. It shows their mentality. They should understand that they are not living in Pakistan, Jyoti said.
Trying to strike a balance, the Congress said it favoured that every Indian chant the slogan with pride but was equally against attempts to force someone to say it.
I will forcefully express my right to raise the chant of Bharat Mata Ki Jai. Equally forcefully, I will resist attempts to punish someone for not raising the chant, party spokesman Abhishek Singhvi said.
AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi had refused to chant the slogan. Later, his party legislator in Maharashtra Waris Pathan was suspended from the assembly for toeing Owaisis line on the issue.
Darul Ifta, fatwa department of Islamic seminary Darul Uloom of Deoband, has issued a fatwa against chanting Bharat Mata Ki Jai in response to queries of people sent to the seminary.
The fatwa was issued on March 19 but became viral on social media on Thursday evening. It says that Islam does not allow Idol worship therefore Muslims should refrain from chanting Bharat Mata Ki Jai.
Scholars of Darul Ifta had issued fatwa in response to queries of people who sent letters along with portrait of Bharat Mata, said Ashraf Usmani, spokesperson of the seminary. He clarified that idol worship is not permissible in Islam and so in light of the teachings of holy Quran and Hadees, followers of Islam cant say Bharat Mata Ki Jai, which has been portrayed as a Goddess carrying a trident in one hand and clad in saffron clothes.
He said that Darul Ifta is a separate department in Seminary headed by Maulana Habiburrehman Haidrabadi in which scholars give their collective opinion to queries of people in light of Quran and Hadees.
Usmani further said that Islam respects all but it cant allow worship of its Prophet in form of Idol.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said India and Canada are made for each other as he met his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau for the first time since he came to power last year.
Meeting on the margins of the Nuclear Security Summit, they reviewed bilateral ties, including progress on nuclear cooperation and atomic energy. They also discussed cooperation in education, clean energy, deep sea exploration and mining.
Modi told Trudeau that India and Canada are made for each other. According to external affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup, Modi also said: Canada has all the natural resources, and India has the need for those resources, and the manpower.
When Modi visited Canada last year, he held extensive talks with then prime minister Stephen Harper, following which Ottawa agreed to supply 3,000 metric tonnes of uranium to power Indian reactors under a $254 million five-year agreement.
The agreement came after two years of protracted negotiations following the 2013 civil nuclear deal between India and Canada.
Modi noted that India-Canada cooperation in nuclear energy is progressing very well, Swarup said.
Congratulating Trudeau on his win in the November elections, Modi said there is new energy, dynamism and speed in bilateral relations. He pointed to possibilities for economic cooperation, Swarup said.
Trudeau complimented Modi on his intervention at the opening of the Nuclear Security Summit on Thursday.
Swarup said Trudeaus remarks about having more Sikhs in his cabinet than Modi did not come up during their meeting. Trudeaus cabinet has four Sikhs, including defence minister Harjit Sajjan, compared to two in Modis.
(with Agency inputs)
Following the collapse of an under-construction overpass in Kolkata that killed 24 and injured another 90, doubts are being raised on the construction quality of several infrastructure projects in Maharashtra undertaken by the firm that was building the flyover, IVRCL.
Currently, IVRCL is involved in several road projects in districts like Pune, Satara, Yavatmal, Chandrapur, Wardha. It has also bagged several irrigation projects in the state. The firms website shows that it has a share of public infrastructure contracts in several states including Andhra Pradhesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat.
Shiv Sena on Friday demanded that all ongoing projects in the state undertaken by IVRCL or its joint venture with other firms should be probed on technical soundness. Sena legislator Pratap Sarnaik said, IVRCL in JV with other firms is currently constructing several projects in Maharashtra and all these should be reviewed by the government by technical experts to ensure that there is no repeat of accidents on the lines of the Kolkata bridge.
Although the companys not involved in any project in Mumbai, a consortium led by it carried out widening and concretization of 25-km Sion- Panvel highway a few years ago.
The Rs 1,700-crore project was implemented on Built Operate Transfer (BOT) basis and the consortium has a concession period of collecting tolls for 17 years.
A senior Public Works Department official informed that there is not any chance of inquiry since the project already has been operational. We are aware that there are a several other projects IVRCL has undertaken in Maharashtra. We will take necessary action if required, the official said.
In addition to PWD projects, IVRCL has bagged some under contracts under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY).
Karanji-Wani-Ghuggus-Chandrapur Road, Faltan- Shirwal road, Baramati- Faltan road, and some internal roads in Wardha, Chandrapur are some of the projects IVRCL has bagged in recent years.
Meanwhile, major government infrastructure development agencies like Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) and Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) clarified that IVRCL was not involved in any project under their jurisdiction.
IVRCL has also undertaken a water irrigation project in the state.
Chances of finding more survivors of the collapsed flyover in Kolkata faded on Friday as army officials said they were not hopeful of finding any more body under the debris.
Police has opened a case of culpable homicide against IVRCL, the company building the flyover that collapsed on Thursday, killing at least 24 people and injuring dozens more.
The focus of operations is now on debris removal and clearance of the road so that normalcy is restored. As of this morning no more bodies are expected to be found under the rubble, army officials said.
However, deputy police commissioner Akhilesh Chatruvedi said the rescue operation will not stop until all the blocks of concrete and iron girders have been cleared, reports AFP.
The army rescue teams operated throughout the night along with the teams from civil defence, police and NRDF, trying to remove the debris from the affected area.
Altogether there are close to 300 Army personnel including medical teams, surgeons, engineers and gas cutters working on the spot of flyover collapse in northern Kolkata.
It was unclear what caused the sudden collapse, but police registered a preliminary case against IVRCL and sealed its offices in Kolkata of Thursday.
Five officials of the company have been detained, according to PTI.
Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar, who paid a visit to the mishap site, told reporters We have detained a few officials of the construction company. We are taking action against them.
A four-member police team from West Bengal arrived in Hyderabad on Friday as part of its probe to question officials of city-based IVRCL.
They have come and are doing investigation, a top police official of Hyderabad Police told PTI.
The state government, which is fighting for re-election in a vote that starts on Monday, pledged to take action against those found responsible.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday sought a CBI inquiry into the into the incident and said the corrupt nexus between the West Bengal government and the opposition has been exposed.
It is an act of fraud protected by the state government. The nexus of corruption between the Trinamool Congress and the Left party which is in the opposition has been exposed, union Minister of State for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told reporters.
Engineers working on the flyover that collapsed on Thursday said the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) ignored requests to cordon off the area around the project and instead pressurised the company to complete work before the assembly elections.
Speaking to Hindustan Times, two engineers who went into hiding since the tragedy said they were following a design that was approved by Jadavpur University engineering experts and were using materials and technology that were double checked by the KMDA at every stage. They further emphasised that the development authority officials oversaw day-to-day work and were even present at the spot on Thursday.
We get the iron plates from SAIL (Steel Authority of India), which are then checked by KMDA in its labs and KMDA-approved labs. KMDA checks in each and every step like fabrication, erection, civil work like rod binding and ultimately concretisation. The flyover collapsed during concretisation. The plan was drawn by another company and approved by experts of Jadavpur University, said one of the two engineers.
The implication of their statements is clear: If IVRCL is to be blamed, KMDA, the inspection agency and the Jadavpur University experts are equally responsible for the collapse that killed 24 people and trapped dozens more under the debris.
Read more | Flyover tragedy: Heart-wrenching scenes at Kolkata hospitals
The engineers further alleged that the KMDA pressurised the construction company to complete the project before the assembly elections, a task that was impossible.
Since last November, they put tremendous pressure on us to complete the flyover by the beginning of this year, which we said was impossible. We are still trying to figure out how this happened. The central pier collapsed which never happens, said another engineer who has been working on the project for the past five years. The IVRCL employee took refuge at a relatives home after tragedy struck.
Read more | Kolkata flyover tragedy: Problem started during casting, says worker
The engineers said KMDA was clearly informed that at the current pace of working only night shifts, the project would be done by January 2017. They could speed it up by working double shifts, but would still be done only by October-November this year. However, the company still faced pressure to meet the election deadline.
We asked KMDA bosses to ensure the entire stretch was cordoned off and all vehicles diverted to facilitate round the clock work. We shot over a dozen letters to KMDA to ask police to cordon off the area while we work. KMDA ignored our warnings. Usually the construction work was undertaken between midnight and 4 am keeping in view the congested traffic in the area. But they didnt cordon the area and we had to work at daytime too, said the engineer who oversaw work at the site.
After the collapse occurred, IVRCL employees locked up the site office on Beadon Street and fled. Police lodged an FIR against the company, following which employees fled their homes as well. Cutting off communications with most people, they now wait for the worst to blow over. However, it could be a long while as the disaster has turned into a political slugfest with just two days to go for the assembly elections to begin.
Read more | Kolkata flyover collapse: Police detain officials of building company
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Death toll in the flyover collapse in Kolkata rose to 24 on Friday morning with the discovery of two more bodies as emergency workers battled through Thursday night to rescue dozens of people still trapped under the debris.
One body was pulled out from the debris at 1:30am and the other at 6:15am.
Doctors and paramedics of the army worked throughout the night to treat those rescued from the debris even as the state government ordered a high-level probe into the incident. The official death toll was 21.
Around 250 metres of the under-construction 2.2 kilometre-long Vivekananda Road flyover crashed onto dense traffic around 12.30 pm on Thursday near one of the citys most important business districts, Burrabazar.
PTI, quoting police, said 15 of the dead were identified while the identification process of the rest were on.
Anil Shekhawat, a spokesman for the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), said seventeen survivers out of 92 rescued were still undergoing treatment at hospital, according to AFP.
Read | Flyover tragedy: Heart-wrenching scenes at Kolkata hospitals
Most suffered multiple fractures and were in a critical condition, Shekhawat added, saying that the death toll was expected to rise, with an unknown number of people still trapped under the wreckage.
Specialist rescue teams armed with concrete and metal cutters, drilling machines, sensors to detect life and sniffer dogs were sifting through the rubble.
Rescue workers search for bodies inside a mangled car recovered from a partially collapsed overpass in Kolkata, India, Thursday, March 31, 2016. (AP)
Anurag Gupta, a spokesman for the National Disaster Management Authority, told AFP hundreds of rescuers would work through the night to rescue the trapped victims.
Four hundred men from NDRF and 300 Indian army men along with hundreds of police and local officials are at the spot, Gupta said.
Read | Dust, blood and fear: After the Kolkata flyover collapse
Authorities sealed off the accident site to members of the public, who in the initial hours were seen trying to pull away concrete slabs with their bare hands.
Workers struggled to get cranes and other large machinery through the narrow streets of Burrabazar, one of the oldest and most congested parts of the city, where locals desperately waited for news of missing loved ones.
An ambulance with dead body recovered from a partially collapsed overpass makes its way towards hospital in Kolkata, India, Thursday, March 31, 2016. (AP)
Like a bomb blast
Everything is finished, screamed Parbati Mondal, whose fruit-seller husband had not been seen since the accident.
An injured builder told AFP at the scene that he had been working on the structure before it collapsed and had seen bolts come out of the metal girders.
We were cementing two iron girders for the pillars, but the girders couldnt take the weight of the cement, said 30-year-old Milan Sheikh before being taken away to hospital.
The bolts started coming out this morning and then the flyover came crashing down.
Read | Stories of narrow escape emerge from Kolkata flyover collapse site
Many locals said they were fleeing their houses for fear that more of the damaged structure could collapse.
We heard a massive bang sound and our house shook violently. We thought it was an earthquake, 45-year-old resident Sunita Agarwal told AFP.
Were leaving -- who knows what will happen next.
An eyewitness at the scene described a loud bang like a bomb blast and suddenly there was a lot of smoke and dust.
An Indian rescue worker gestures beside a mangled car recovered from a partially collapsed overpass in Kolkata, India, Thursday, March 31, 2016. (AP)
Problem started during concrete casting
Problems started with the under-construction Vivekanand Road flyover here during midnight of Wednesday-Thursday when concrete casting was being done, construction workers said, reports IANS.
Sunil Sarkar, who was among those doing the concrete casting, said: The bolt was coming apart as the bucket could not hold it. I think the sunshade in that particular place was made too big.
Read | The Kolkata flyover that collapsed never really took off
Sarkar, now in hospital after sustaining injury, said a technician was called who welded the bolt in place.
Our supervisors assured us that everything was in order and asked us to go ahead with the concrete casting.
The casting continued till noon today (Thursday). When the work was almost complete, the same part caved in and the flyover gave away, said the resident of Murshidabad district.
Probe ordered
Meanwhile, chief secretary Basudeb Banerjee said on Thursday that a high level inquiry has been ordered into the flyover collapse while the city police commissioner Rajeev Kumar handed over a report about the incident to the chief minister Mamata Banerjee.
West Bengal Governor K N Tripathi, who visited the spot, has sought a report of the incident from the state government.
Read | Political blame game starts, TMC slammed over Kolkata flyover collapse
Read | Kolkata flyover collapse shocks country: Who said what on tragedy
A day after the Kolkata Police filed an FIR against IVRCL, the company building a flyover that collapsed in the city, killing 24 people and injuring at least 90, the debt-laden firm expressed shock and disbelief at the collapse and termed the incident as an accident.
Even though five officials of IVRCL have been detained by the Kolkata Police, the construction company denied the claim, saying they were not aware of any FIR against the firm or its employees.
Read more: Kolkata flyover collapse: TMC, Left, Cong fight for political mileage
We are also shocked that flyover collapsed and want to know why it happened. This is an accident, how can we fix responsibility on someone, the legal head of IVRCL said in a presser on Friday.
He added that the incident was not a case of negligence. The material used in constructing 59 pillars was used in the 60th pillar also. Unfortunately, it collapsed, he said.
CCTV footage | The moment Kolata flyover collapses on vehicles
The construction company further said that several possibilities including a bomb blast should be investigated.
Reacting to the flyover collapse, an IVRCL official had said on Thursday, It is nothing but Gods act, even as another official denied any quality or technical issue as the cause behind the incident as of now. The legal head of IVRCL on Friday defended the statement, saying the expression merely meant that nothing was in control.
A four-member police team from West Bengal arrived in Hyderabad as part of its probe to question the officials of Hyderabad-based IVRCL firm.
About 60-metre-long portion of the under-construction Vivekananda flyover in Kolkata had collapsed on Thursday following which the police registered a case against IVRCL under sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide) and 407 of the IPC and sealed the local office of the company engaged in flyovers construction.
IVRCLS shares fell another 6% on Friday.
Years of delays may have caused corrosion to metal elements of the flyover, undermining its stability, according to rescuers who examined the wreckage. Locals said that concrete was poured on the stretch the night before its collapse.
A PIL filed in the Kolkata high court has questioned the quality certificate of the infrastructure company and its financial stability. The PIL also sought to know if grade of materials were maintained and checked.
Rescuers said on Friday there was no hope of finding any more survivors after clearing the crumbled concrete and twisted metal rods from an under-construction flyover that collapsed onto a crowded street in Kolkata, killing at least 24 people and injuring more than 80.
Police detained seven officials from a Hyderabad-based construction company contracted in 2007 to build the overpass, and sealed its Kolkata office.
Sixty-seven people were pulled from the debris alive, and by Friday afternoon the wreckage was cleared.
There is no possibility of finding any person alive, said SS Guleria, deputy inspector general of the National Disaster Response Force. Engineers are being consulted about a part of the bridge still hanging over the disaster area, after which workers will slowly start dismantling this particular section to avoid any collateral damage to houses around it.
Read: Kolkata flyover collapse: TMC, Left, Cong fight for political mileage
The officials from the IVRCL Infrastructure Co. are being investigated for culpable homicide, punishable with life imprisonment, and criminal breach of trust, which carries a prison sentence of up to seven years, police said.
The company signed a contract in 2007 to build the overpass, and was far behind schedule for the projects completion.
The partially constructed overpass had spanned nearly the width of the street and was designed to ease traffic through the densely crowded Bara Bazaar neighbourhood in the capital of West Bengal. Within hours of concrete being poured into a framework of steel girders on Thursday, about 100 metres of the overpass collapsed.
A day after the Kolkata Police filed an FIR against IVRCL, the company expressed shock and disbelief at the collapse and termed the incident as an accident.
Officials of the construction company said they were not aware of any FIR against the firm or its employees.
We are also shocked that flyover collapsed and want to know why it happened. This is an accident, how can we fix responsibility on someone, the legal head of IVRCL said in a presser on Friday.
Read: Kolkata flyover tragedy: IVRCL says the accident not a negligence case
He added that the incident was not a case of negligence. The material used in constructing 59 pillars was used in the 60th pillar also. Unfortunately, it collapsed, he said.
The construction company further said that several possibilities including a bomb blast should be investigated.
Reacting to the flyover collapse, an IVRCL official had said on Thursday, It is nothing but Gods act, even as another official denied any quality or technical issue as the cause behind the incident as of now. The legal head of IVRCL on Friday defended the statement, saying the expression merely meant that nothing was in control.
Although the police till late Thursday claimed that they are unsure about when the rescue operation will get over, SS Guleria, the Director General of the National Disaster Response Force on Friday morning announced that they going to wrap up the operation within next three hours.
Kolkata Police commissioner Rajeev Kumar told the media that they have recovered 24 bodies.
Read more: Kolkata flyover collapse: Toll rises to 24, rescue ops on through night
We hope to resume traffic movement in the area by this afternoon, said Kumar.
He also said 110 people were injured, of which some are being treated for critical injuries in different hospitals. Some have been discharged.
CCTV footage | The moment Kolata flyover collapses on vehicles
It is the most challenging job that I have to face in my career . The roads here are narrow and congested and it was a difficult task for my men. However, after 20 hours I can conclude that everything will get over within three hours, Guleria told HT.
Read more: Flyover tragedy: Heart-wrenching scenes at Kolkata hospitals
The DIG expressed his concerns over the crowd management policies of Kolkata police and claimed it to be major hindrance in their work.
Read more: Kolkata flyover collapse: TMC, Left, Cong fight for political mileage
Police tried best but they would have been much proactive to control crowd. There were several onlookers who made our task all the more difficult. It was only in the evening - around six hours after we joined - police decided to control the crowd. Only after that we started a prompt action, added Guleria.
Opposition parties in West Bengal are attacking the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) over the flyover collapse as they attempt to gain political capital ahead of the assembly elections beginning on Monday.
State urban development minister Firhad Hakim, known to be one of chief minister Mamata Banerjees trusted lieutenants, will be the prime target as rival parties try to dent the TMCs political edge.
A flyover under construction collapsed on Thursday in a congested market in central Kolkata, killing at least two dozen people and trapping hundreds underneath it. Visuals of the rescue and relief work, the blood, gore and misery playing out in the media have fuelled the anti-TMC campaign by the opposition, which includes a Left-Congress alliance.
Kolkata goes to polls on April 21 and 30, giving the opposition one full month to step up the pressure. For the LeftCongress alliance or even the BJP, the accident couldnt have happened at a more fitting moment. The parties combine force will put the TMC under tremendous pressure.
Soon after the cave-in, politicians thronged the accident and demanded the arrest of Hakim, with union minister of state for urban development Babul Supriyo stating that the construction was done in an unscientific manner. The state administration clearly did not take any lesson even after the collapse of Ultadanga flyover three years ago. But that no lessons were learnt is obvious from the incident, he said.
The flyover was a project of the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority which comes under the urban development department headed by Hakim.
Urban development minister Firhad Hakim has to say how much bribe he received for allowing sub standard material that led to the collapse. He should be arrested immediately, state Congress president Adhir Chowdhury said.
Hakim remained elusive through the day, and calls to his mobile phone reportedly went unanswered. The mayor of Kolkata, Sovan Chatterjee, and state disaster management minister Javed Khan instead reached the accident spot and faced an angry crowd.
The chief minister has announced a high level inquiry. Let experts come and find out why it collapsed. None responsible will be spared, Hakim told media when he finally arrived at the disaster location at night.
Read more | Kolkata flyover collapse: Toll rises to 24, rescue ops on through night
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee suspended her election campaign in West Midnapore district and rushed back to the capital city, where she countered the Lefts allegations.
Construction began on flyover during CPI(M) time, not our time. We did not know anything about it. No one should try to make political capital out of it, she said.
Both Mamata and her arch rival Suryakanta Mishra, state secretary of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) said that this was not the hour for politicking. However, the blame game began almost immediately after the accident happened.
CCTV footage | The moment Kolata flyover collapses on vehicles
The obvious question is: Which part of the flyover has collapsed the portion built during the Left regime, or the part built under the Trinamool government. This is being used as an excuse to escape responsibility. We are condemning it, Left Front chairman Biman Bose said in a statement.
Asok Bhattacharya, CPI(M) leader and former urban development minister under whose tenure the construction began shirked responsibility, stating that almost the entire construction took place under Hakims tenure.
There should be a high-level inquiry. I have no responsibility. The present urban development minister has to shoulder responsibility, Bhattacharya said.
The flyover was supposed to be one of the longest in the city and ease traffic woes by connecting the packed Central Avenue to Howrah Bridge. But it missed several deadlines as the implementing agency went bankrupt amid ballooning costs, land hurdles and frequent design changes.
Read more | Assembly elections: BJPs West Bengal gap widens
The flyover collapse that killed at least two dozen people in the city has sparked a political slugfest, with the ruling Trinamool Congress forced on the back foot just three days ahead of the assembly elections in West Bengal.
But the political decibels appeared to undermine the human cost of the tragedy. The death toll rose to 24 on Friday as rescuers worked round-the-clock to pull out some 90 people alive from under the rubble of the flyover which caved in a day ago.
By late Friday much of the wreckage had been cleared. Disaster workers said it was unlikely more people could still be trapped.
Read: Relatives distraught as rescuers toil in Kolkata flyover collapse rubble
Police arrested three senior officials of the Hyderabad-based company IVRCL, which was constructing the flyover. They also filed culpable homicide charges against the firm.
The visuals of rescue work, the blood and suffering played out on TV and newspapers appeared more to stoke politics, offering the opposition LeftCongress alliance and the BJP a potent weapon to attack the ruling party with. Kolkata votes on April 25 and May 5, meaning the opposition will get a month to step up pressure on the Trinamool, which has sought to deflect all blame.
The tender was awarded during the Left rule. We did not know anything about it, chief minister Mamata Banerjee has said, adding, No one should try to make political capital out of it.
Many refused to buy the argument. Kolkata Mayor and close Mamata aide, Sovan Chatterjee, was almost chased away from the accident spot by an angry crowd.
Already struggling to shake off the Narada sting operation that purportedly showed several top leaders, including state urban development minister Firhad Hakim receiving cash bribes, Thursdays disaster is likely to dent the partys image further.
With Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi scheduled to visit the spot on Saturday, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi expected in the state on April 7 for electioneering, it is expected that the political din over the collapse will only get louder.
Though Banerjee and her arch rival CPI-M state secretary Suryakanta both have said this was not the hour for politicking, it was more than obvious that the hour was not far away either.
The chief minister cannot avoid responsibility by shifting it to somebody else, remarked state Congress president Adhir Chowdhury, who was the most aggressive of the opposition leaders.
Read: Kolkata flyover collapse: Builders say city officials were in the loop
BJP too upped the ante against Trinamool Congress, and demanded a CBI probe saying ruling party leaders and their kin were involved as sub-contractors in building the flyover.
Highways minister Nitin Gadkari ordered a review of all road and bridge projects that the Centre is carrying out in Kolkata.
IVRCL stuck to its assertion that the flyover collapse was an accident.
We are also shocked that (the) flyover collapsed and want to know why it happened. This is an accident, how can we fix responsibility on someone? said the firms legal head Seetha Peddapathi.
Peeing, spitting and littering on roads will invite a fine of Rs 500 from Friday.
The Lucknow Municipal Corporation passed a bill pertaining to imposing fine on those making the city dirty through voice vote. As per the new law, those burning garbage would also be fined to the tune of Rs 500.
The new bill gives authority to LMC health and sanitation inspectors to realize fine from erring residents on the spot. The move, experts feel, will deter people from making the city dirty.
Even those who care a hoot to civic rules will think twice now as the fine amount is hefty, said an official.
In the past, LMC officials used to issue challans. However, the meagre fine of Rs 50 was not acting as a deterrent for residents who were issued challans.
On March 22, the executive committee of LMC had passed a proposal to impose fine of Rs 500 on the spot on residents responsible for choking drains, spreading filth, urinating or spitting at public places. Even people defecating in the open would have to pay fine of Rs 500.
Mayor Dinesh Sharma said the draft had been prepared on the lines of the Act, which is in place in Maharashtra and where the penalty is Rs 1,000. However, here in view of the requests by corporators, the amount of penalty has been fixed at Rs 500, he said.
Sharma said: Prime minister Modi is keen on Swacch Bharat Mission, he wants to see India free from litter as a tribute to the father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi.
According to Solid Waste Management Regulation 2007, the Municipal Corporation has the power to impose a penalty on those found responsible for dirtying public places. The LMC has the power to slap 24 types of financial penalties against offenders, according to the 2007 regulation.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi met his British counterpart David Cameron on Friday and discussed ways to enhance the vibrant bilateral partnership.
On every occasion, the opportunity to strengthen an old partnership. PM Narendra Modi and PM David Cameron meet, external affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted along with a picture of the two leaders meeting on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington DC.
On every occasion, the opportunity to strengthen an old partnership. PM @narendramodi & PM @David_Cameron meet pic.twitter.com/pjooPUnNj2 Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) April 1, 2016
Enhancing a vibrant partnership...PM Narendra Modi & PM David Cameron talk India-UK ties, a PMO tweet said.
Their meeting comes in the backdrop of a crisis in Britains steel industry after Tata Steel announced that it has decided to explore all options for portfolio restructuring including the potential divestment of Tata Steel UK, in whole or in parts.
Their meeting came nearly five months after Prime Minister Modi travelled to the UK in November and held wide-ranging talks with Cameron.
During that visit, India and the UK had signed deals worth 9-billion pounds and inked a civil nuclear pact besides deciding to collaborate in defence and cyber security.
Read | Terrorisms reach is global, cooperation among nations isnt: PM Modi at Nuclear Security Summit
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Friday share with a global summit on nuclear security details of steps India has taken to secure its nuclear assets.
Leaders of more than 50 countries attending the fourth and final Nuclear Security Summit will also present their National Progress Reports measures taken to bolster nuclear security at the interactive plenary in which speakers will not read from prepared speeches.
India has been a keen participant of all four summits with then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh leading the delegations in 2010 and 12, and his external affairs minister Salman Khurshid in 2014 given the challenges it faces from terrorist groups based in Pakistan, whose nuclear arsenal has been a long-standing global concern.
The National Security Summits were started in 2010 as an initiative by Obama, with the aim of preventing nuclear materials from falling into the hands of terrorists.
Fridays opening plenary will be followed by a working lunch with a discussion on the role and activities of international institutions such as the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations, the Interpol, the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism and the G8 Global Partnership.
Five action plans are expected from this session, according to Indian and American officials.
These action plans contain guidance for work in the post-2016 scenario on nuclear security within all these institutions in accordance with their respective mandates and their respective procedures, an official of the ministry of external affairs told reporters in Delhi recently.
At the third and final session, headlined Scenario-Based Policy Discussion and Closing Remarks, participants will discuss different situations arising out of nuclear terrorism.
The assumption will be hypothetical and will allow leaders, the MEA official had said, to have a realistic and a thoughtful conversation on and around the challenges posed by international terrorism, in particular, the threat of nuclear and radiological terrorism.
American officials have spoken of a special session, which is likely to be the third session or a part thereof, to discuss the threat posed by the Islamic State (referred to as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ISIL by the US). It is also likely to discuss how global powers can confront the threat posed by ISIL, both in the context of preventing the spread of nuclear materials and also with respect to enhancing our own counterterrorism activities.
The participants will issue a joint communique at the end of the summit, and 17 other joint statements or gift baskets, as an American official called them, explaining them as collective commitments of summit participants not consensus documents, but where several countries are working around a same issue in order to make progress and actually carry out activities.
Prime Minister Modi will then leave for Saudi Arabia on Friday evening.
Indian investigators will visit Pakistan to investigate the Pathankot attack case with their counterparts in the neighbouring country, National Investigation Agency (NIA) chief Sharad Kumar said on Friday.
Kumars statement came after the conclusion of the first round of evidence-sharing exercise, for which a joint investigation team (JIT) from Pakistan visited Delhi, Pathankot airbase and other spots.
Sources said the visit is likely to take place in the first or second week of May.
Eight persons, including seven security personnel, were killed in the January 2 attack.
We expressed that a team of NIA could be sent to Pakistan for a probe since the conspiracy was hatched in that country. They welcomed the idea and the dates will be worked out later, Kumar said.
Sources said the Pakistan JIT paid special attention to recording the statements of two witnesses Punjabs superintendent of police Salwinder Singh and his jeweller friend Rajesh Verma among all 16 who were lined before it for examination.
Kumar said in his statement that on the JITs request, the NIA provided certified copies of postmortem reports, medico-legal reports, DNA reports of dead attackers, and the seizure memo of articles from the scene of crime.
The NIA told the JIT that Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad and its head Maulana Masood Azhar and other officer-bearers were involved in the attacks planning and execution.
The NIA sought voice samples of some senior bearers of Jaish-e-Mohammad, and DNA sample of the mother of one of the slain terrorists, Nasir Hussain, said Kumar.
Kumar said the JIT assured the NIA of their full cooperation and promised to execute the Letter Rogatory, which is basically an Indian court-approved request for assistance in probe, which has been received by them.
Students continued protests in University of Hyderabad for ouster of the vice-chancellor, while Yogendra Yadav and other activists were denied entry into the campus on Friday.
Yadav and former IAS officer Chaya Ratan were invited by protesting students to address a public meeting but the university security stopped them at the main gate.
The ban on entry of outsiders including media and activists imposed last week following vice-chancellor P Appa Raos return remained in force.
Addressing the students outside the campus, both Yadav and Chaya Ratan criticised the university authorities for imposing the curbs.
Prevented from entering Univ of Hyd. Expressed solidarity with students outside the Gate. Univ ruled with iron fist doesn't look like one. Yogendra Yadav (@_YogendraYadav) April 1, 2016
Yadav termed this as gate meeting which used to be the characteristic of trade union movement. He said universities were being turned into factories.
This is the message they are giving. Come in get your degrees but dont ask question, dont debate, dont discuss, dont open your mind to anything other than your examination, he said.
Yadav said this was happening in universities across the country but students were raising their voice.
Referring to the police crackdown on students last week, he said such action cant suppress the movement.
He said Appa Rao had no moral authority to continue in his post as he doesnt enjoy the trust of the most vulnerable students.
Calling the movement truthful, he advised the students to carry forward it in peaceful way by not resorting to any form of violence or counter violence.
Earlier, tension prevailed at the administration block of the university as students sat on protest in support of the demands including immediate removal and arrest of vice-chancellor Appa Rao.
The protesting students blocked the entrance to the building and stopped the employees. The university security sought help from police to end the blockade.
Joint Action Committee for Social Justice is demanding the university authorities to drop false charges against all students and open university gates for media and the public.
The JAC is also seeking action against the policemen responsible for targetted violence against students on March 22.
The campus is witnessing the fresh bout of unrest since March 22 when Appa Rao returned as the vice-chancellor.
Students, who hold him responsible for the suicide of Dalit research scholar Rohith Vemula, have refused to accept him as the head of the institution and are demanding his arrest.
During the police crackdown on protest, 25 students and two faculty members were arrested and jailed.
The students union has also sought President Pranab Mukherjees intervention to sack Appa Rao.
Pakistan has asked Iran to investigate the case of a suspected Indian spy who Pakistani authorities say has confessed to spying against Pakistan from Iran, according to a copy of an interior ministry letter to Iran obtained by Reuters on Friday.
Last month, Pakistan said it had detained the suspected spy, Kulbhushan Jadhav, in the violence-plagued province of Baluchistan after he had illegally entered the country from Iran.
Pakistan says Jadhav was working for Indias main external intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).
India has confirmed that the man was a former Indian navy official but denied that the man was a spy.
In video footage aired by the Pakistani government this week, Jadhav said he had set up an office in Chabahar in southeast Iran in 2003 and later worked for the Indian agency.
It was not clear if Jadhav made the comments on the video tape freely or under duress.
Pakistans interior ministry, in a letter to Irans ambassador in Islamabad, Mehdi Honardoost, said the Indian had made startling revelations about an Indian spy network operating against Pakistan from Iranian soil.
His mission included spying and sabotage, in addition to fomenting insecurity and instability in the provinces of Sindh and Baluchistan, the ministry said in the letter, a copy of which was provided to Reuters by an interior ministry official.
Pakistan asked Iran to provide information about the Indian mans activities and the people he interacted with there, the ministry said.
Honardoost was not available for comment.
The Iranian embassy in Islamabad issued a statement on Friday on the detention of the Indian agent and said unidentified elements were not happy with good ties between Iran and Pakistan and were trying to undermine them.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani visited Pakistan last week and signed an agreement to increase annual trade volumes between the two countries to $5 billion by 2021.
The Bihar government will provide piped drinking water to all households in the state in the next five years under the Chief Minister Nitish Kumars ambitious Saat Nischay (Seven Resolves) initiative, a minister said on Friday.
Replying to an adjournment motion on drinking water moved by BJP member Vijay Kumar Khemka, Public Health and Engineering Department (PHED) Minister Maheshwar Hazari said the work plan had been finalised under the Chief Ministers Seven Resolves that includes provision of piped drinking water to all households over the next five years.
Hazari also dismissed any existing water crisis in the state. Dissatisfied with the ministers reply, the opposition BJP members heckled Hazari during his 15 minutes reply raising slogans like Paani (water) and piped drinking water supply ke naam per logon ko dokha mat do (dont cheat the people by promising them to supply piped drinking water), before staging a walk out from the house at the end of the ministers speech.
Trashing the oppositions charge about drinking water shortage in Bihar, the PHED minister said there was no crisis as there was no dip in the ground water level except in Kaimur district and the people were drawing water for consumption from handpumps and tubewells among various sources.
The state government has made arrangements like mobile parties of engineers carrying equipment for repair of damaged handpumps and tubewells, besides rolling out tankers as alternative means for drinking water supply, Hazari said.
A toll free number has been made available on which the people can call in the event of distress arising out of drinking water support and their grievances will be redressed at the earliest, he said.
Earlier, participating in the special debate on drinking water issue the BJP members alleged that the state government did not have financial resources to provide piped drinking water to entire households in Bihar as only under ten per cent households get piped water and that too mostly in urban areas as per the available data.
The Delhi high court on Friday rejected the bail plea of sacked Uttarakhand minorities panel chief Sukhdev Singh Namdhari, who along with 20 others, is facing trial for the murder of liquor baron Ponty Chadha and his brother Hardeep in a shoot out in 2012.
Your application for regular bail is dismissed, Justice PS Teji said, adding that the accused Namdhari is on interim bail since November 27 last year.
The high court also raised questions over a trial courts decision granting the accused interim bail even though his regular bail application was dismissed by the same court.
Namdhari had sought regular bail on the ground that he was no more required by investigating agency and no purpose would be served while keeping him in jail with hardened criminals.
The police had opposed his request saying he was the main accused who had actively participated in the conspiracy.
Ponty and Hardeep, who were allegedly involved in a property dispute, were killed during a shoot out at a Chhattarpur farmhouse on November 17, 2012.
Sukhdev Singh Namdhari was arrested on November 23, 2012, with the other accused being apprehended later.
BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav arrived in Jammu on Friday evening to hold consultations on cabinet seats share arrangement. PDP president Mehbooba Mufti is to take the oath as chief minister on Monday.
Ram Madhav held a closed-doors meeting with select senior party leaders at the resident of Nirmal Singh, the BJPs nominee for the post of deputy chief minister. The meeting was attended by Jammu and Kashmir state unit president Sat Sharma, MP Jugal Kishore Sharma and organising secretary Ashok Koul.
According to the sources Ram Madhav arrived in a special plane around 6PM at Jammu airport. The last normal flight takes off from Jammu at 415PM. He is expected to fly back later on Friday.
The BJP is insisting on equal representation in the cabinet as well as some key portfolios, though the PDP has yet to comment on their alliance partners demands. Sources said it was because of this insistence that the swearing-in ceremony of Mehbooba has been delayed by a few days.
The leaders will finalise the list of the portfolios and the candidates which will be discussed by the central leadership of the party. It will then hold final deliberations with Mehbooba Mufti before the list is send to the Governor, said a senior BJP leader.
A section of the BJP leadership also believes that there might not be any change major change in the portfolios and old list of cabinet may be repeated at least initially and changes can be made a bit latter.
The two-day executive meeting of the state unit of the BJP is starting from April 1 in Jammu. The partys state in-charge Avinash Rai Khanna and senior leaders of the party are arriving to attend the meeting.
The meeting will conclude a day before Mehbooba Mufti is to take oath as the chief minister on April 4. Even though the executive meet is a normal affair but it has assumed importance as the party is claiming to get equal representation in the cabinet.
The meeting will discuss the political developments and will pass a resolution on economic and political state of the Jammu and Kashmir, said BJP leader Pawan Khajuria.
The executive meeting is also likely to discuss the agenda of the governance and how to go about it especially with regard to the safeguarding the interests of the Jammu region and also to keep a check on the separatist forces
Students of University of Hyderabad began a protest on Friday in front of the administration building, seeking immediate removal and arrest of vice-chancellor P Appa Rao, whom they hold responsible for Dalit research scholar Rohith Vemulas suicide in January.
The protesting students blocked the entrance to the building and stopped the employees from entering. Some employees managed to enter the building from the rear gate but students continued their protest.
The protest comes a day after authorities at the university decided to demolish a memorial for Vemula, who committed suicide after alleging caste discrimination, sparking a political debate in the country.
Joint Action Committee for Social Justice is demanding that university authorities drop charges against all students and open the university gates for media and the public. It is also seeking action against policemen responsible for targetted violence against students on March 22.
The university security has sought help from police to end the blockade.
On March 22, a group of students, who were opposing Appa Raos return as the VC after a two-month leave, allegedly vandalised his residence and pelted stones at police.
Twenty-five students and two faculty members were arrested in connection with the violence on the campus and were released on Tuesday. They have vowed to intensify their struggle until Appa Rao is removed as the vice-chancellor.
The students union of the university has even sought President Pranab Mukherjees immediate intervention to resolve issues related to the varsity and ensure sacking of the V-C.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made a strong plea for genuine cooperation among nations to counter terrorism, saying last months bombings in Brussels reflected the real and immediate threat to global nuclear security.
At a dinner hosted for visiting world leaders by President Barack Obama on Thursday, Modi argued strongly for new thinking on combating terrorism.
Brussels shows us how real and immediate is the threat to nuclear security from terrorism, he said, according to tweets from the external affairs ministry spokesperson.
The two brothers involved in the March 22 bombings in Brussels that killed more than 30 people had mounted surveillance on a top scientist working at a Belgian nuclear power plant.
A video of the surveillance found at the brothers apartment raised fears the Islamic State is planning to attack a nuclear facility, which could cause devastation of untold proportions.
Modi said there was also a need to upgrade the worlds basic response to terrorism.
While the reach and supply chains of terrorism are global, genuine cooperation between nations is not, he said.
Drop the notion that terrorism is someone elses problem and that his terrorist is not my terrorist, said Modi, seated on Obamas right while Chinese President Xi Jinping sat to the left of his US counterpart.
Terror has evolved Terrorists are using 21st century technology. But our responses are rooted in the past. Terrorism is globally networked but we still act only nationally to counter this threat, he added.
The dinner attended by leaders of delegations from more than 50 countries launched the fourth and final Nuclear Security Summit, with three plenary sessions slated for Friday.
The focus, Modi said, should be on three features of contemporary terrorism. First, todays terrorism uses extreme violence as theatre, a reference perhaps to the IS tendency to stage killings and attacks in a manner that attracts global attention.
Second, he said, we are no longer looking for a man in a cave (a reference perhaps to Osama bin Laden), but we are hunting for a terrorist in a city with a computer or a smartphone.
And third, state actors working with nuclear traffickers and terrorists present the greatest risk, which was an unmistakably clear reference to Pakistan without naming it.
Even as the leaders gathered for the nuclear summit, the US and Saudi Arabia announced joint sanctions against four individuals and two organisations accused of funding and backing the Lashkar-e-Taiba, al Qaeda and the Taliban. The move came two days ahead of Modis visit to the kingdom.
At the Nuclear Security Summit, Modi will share Indias National Progress Report, detailing steps taken to bolster nuclear security.
The opening plenary will be followed by a discussion about the activities of global institutions such as the International Atomic Energy Agency, UN, Interpol, Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism and G8 Global Partnership.
Five action plans are expected from this session. These action plans contain guidance for work in the post-2016 scenario on nuclear security within all these institutions in accordance with their respective mandates and their respective procedures, an external affairs ministry official told reporters in Delhi.
At the third and final session on Scenario-Based Policy Discussion and Closing Remarks, participants will discuss different situations arising out of potential nuclear terrorism.
US officials have also spoken of a special session to discuss the threat posed by the IS.
The participants will issue a joint communique at the end of the summit, and 17 other joint statements or gift baskets or collective commitments.
ISIS is committing genocide the crime of crimes against Christians and other religious groups in Syria, Iraq and Libya, says a joint report by the Knights of Columbus and In Defense of Christians. It is time for the United States to join the rest of the world by naming it and by taking action against it as required by law.
The Knights of Columbus became involved in supporting Christians and other religious minorities in this Middle East because of their long-standing humanitarian activity and support for religious freedom at home and around the world. In Defense of Christians (IDC) is a nonprofit organization that advocates for the protection and preservation of Christians in the Middle East. Last month the two organizations joined together to submit a report to Secretary of State John Kerry evidence that established that the situation confronting Christians and other religious minorities constitutes genocide.
Here are five facts you should know from the report:
1. Genocide is a crime under both federal and international law. Article 2 of the Geneva Convention defines genocide as any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group:
(a) Killing its members; (b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; (c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; (d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; (e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group. ISIS openly declares that it intends to destroy Christianity by killing Christians who will not convert to Islam and by enslaving Christian women.
2. Under federal law (22 U.S.C. 8213 the Genocide Convention Implementation Act of 1987, 18 U.S.C. 1091, 1092, 1093) the President and the Secretary of State have a duty to collect information regarding incidents that may constitute . . . genocide, and then the President shall consider what actions can be taken to ensure that . . . [those] who are responsible for . . . genocide . . . are brought to account for such crimes in an appropriately constituted tribunal.
3. Shlomo, a nongovernmental organization of internally displaced persons, has been working to catalogue the crimes suffered by the Christian community in the Nineveh Plain since 2003. It has provided a list of 1,131 Christians that have been killed between 2003 and the rise of ISIS in the summer of 2014. Since then, it has recorded more than a hundred more.
4. In Syria, where the organization Aid to the Church in Need has reported on mass graves of Christians, Patriarch Younan estimates the number of Christians targeted and killed by Islamic terrorist bands at more than 1,000. Melkite Catholic Archbishop Jean-Clement Jeanbart of Aleppo estimates the number of
Christians kidnapped and/or killed in his city as in the hundreds, with as many as thousands killed throughout Syria.
5. ISIS is estimated to have taken over 1,500 Yazidi and Christian girls as sex slaves. They are bought and sold on an open slave market, and are often raped in rapid succession by a number of fighters in a single night. One Christian man from Mosul committed suicide after ISIS fighters brutally raped his wife and daughter in front of him.80 Another woman was victimized so often that she resorted to defecating on herself to make herself less desirable, and had to be trained to use the bathroom again after she escaped. Outside Aleppo, Syria, two women were publicly raped when they refused to convert from Christianity before they were beheaded.
Trinamool Congress legislator Sudip Bandyopadhyay on Friday said he knew that there were design flaws in the flyover in Kolkata that collapsed, killing 24 people and injuring at least 90, and that he told the Mamata Banerjee government about it.
There were flaws in the design of the flyover and it required remodeling. I informed the state government. Locals also raised objections to the project, Bandyopadhyay, Lok Sabha MP and Trinamools chief whip, said at the disaster site.
But by that time, 60% of the project work was completed and a lot of money was already sunk, he added.
About 60-metre-long portion of the under-construction Vivekananda flyover in a congested market in central Kolkata collapsed after which the police registered a case against IVRCL under sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide) and 407 of the IPC and sealed the local office of the company engaged in flyovers construction.
When asked why he didnt press for the change of design or stop the work, Bandyopadhyay told reporters,
Considering the financial burden, the remodeling was not done. Moreover, who am I. I am just a peoples representative. Its the government of the people.
Opposition parties in West Bengal are not letting the issue go after Thursdays flyover collapse and have demanded that urban development minister Firhad Hakim be immediately arrested for the disaster as the state heads for assembly elections in three days.
The state government is a murderer. It is becoming clear now after Sudip Bandyopadhyays statement. Is the cost of human lives less than the money that was spent? state Congress president Adhir Chowdhury asked.
It is strange that the cost of human lives was subordinate to the cost of funds to the ruling party. Earlier he did stop the work on quite a few occasions, but that was to ensure their pound of flesh and not out of any genuine concern for the people, CPI-M Lok Sabha MP and politburo member Md Salim said reacting to Bandyopadhyays comments.
Kolkata goes to polls on April 21 and 30 and the LeftCongress alliance as well as the BJP will put the Trinamool under pressure.
Locals raised this point a number of times earlier. It appears that there was some ulterior motive that guided the government to hasten the construction work, BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha, who is also the candidate from Jorasanko assembly constituency where the disaster took place, said.
On Thursday, chief minister Mamata Banerjee had said that the project began during the Left regime and tenders were distributed before her party came to power.
Former urban development minister Asok Bhattacharya, however, countered her statement saying it is to be found out when was the section that collapsed was built.
The flyover was supposed to be one of the longest in the city and ease traffic woes by connecting the packed Central Avenue to Howrah Bridge. But it missed several deadlines as the implementing agency went bankrupt amid ballooning costs, land hurdles and frequent design changes.
Tucked in the remote corner of Madhya Pradeshs Dhar, tribal-dominated Padiyaal village is popularly known as adhikariyon ka gaon or village of administrators where every child wants to become a civil servant, an engineer or a doctor.
Ninety-nine percent of the 5,000-strong population of the village are Bhil tribes people and among them they have 70 administrative officers, including lower court judges, Indian Police Service officers, Indian Engineering Services officers, medical officers, prosecution officers, forest officer and doctors.
Bhils are an ethnic community who live in the states of central India, including Dhar, Jhabua, and West Nimar districts of Madhya Pradesh and Dhulia and Jalgaon in Maharashtra. They are also found in Rajasthan.
Some doctors from the village are studying abroad, making the Bhil tribes people proud, says, says Bhupendra Singh Alwa, a retired deputy conservator of forest and president of the village Samiti.
Every family in the village wants their children become an officer or a doctor or an engineers and this started in 1898, when our village elders decided to build a school, he says.
Since then children started studying and the school has produced many officers and now there are more than 70 government officers from the village.
Not only men, tribal women are also studying to become doctors, civil servants or an engineer and this is rare among tribes people of the region, says Kemat Gewale, who runs a school in Alirajpur.
Following the example of Padiyaal, tribes people in Dhar, Alirajpur and Jhabua, are educating girls and some have becomes doctors, he says.
There are three women provincial civil service (PCS) officers from Padiyaal and others are doctors or medical officers, says Meena Alawa, a PCS officer posted in tribal welfare department in Khargone district.
We encourage and help girls from the village to study, she says.
Not just Meena, other villagers who are hold high government posts, keep tabs on each and students from the village to encourage and guide them.
I still guide students from my village and it is a pride for me to discuss the achievement our village, says Mahendra Pal Singh Alawa, chief engineer with the public works department in Sagar Division.
I travelled across the country but have never seen a tribal village like ours, he says.
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Nirmal Maji, Trinamool Congress MLA, directed the states premier blood bank to stop a blood donation camp, allegedly because Left supporters were donating blood for the treatment of the flyover accident victims.
The emergency blood donation camp at Maniktala Blood Bank was organised by the SFI and DYFI, student youth wings of the CPM. The camp was organised to ensure smooth supply of blood to the injured being treated in different hospitals.
Maji, it is alleged, rushed to the blood bank and directed the authorities stop the camp.
At least 25 people were killed and 100 injured and some others feared trapped as a portion of a flyover under construction collapsed on a congested road intersection in Girish Park area of Kolkata on Thursday, crushing people and vehicles .
Maji was not available for comment- he neither picked up HTs calls- nor responded to text messages.
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee was also informed about the camp while she went at the spot to oversee rescue operations at Rabindra Sarani and Kali Krishna Tagore Street crossing.
There is no need of doing politics with blood. We have sufficient stock of blood and right now one lakh people can donate blood if I ask them to do so, Mamata reacted soon after coming know about the Maniktala blood bank camp.
CPI-M leaders Sujan Chakraborty (Jadavpur MLA) and Ritabrata Banerjee (Rajya Sabha MP) rushed to Maniktala when they learnt that the authorities have decided to stop the camp following Majis directive.
It was Nirmal Majis gameplan to stop the camp organised by our students and youth wings. He is playing politics on precious blood that is essential for the treatment. Around 110 people donated blood while many others who came from nearby districts could not donate, Banerjee said.
We have never seen such dirty politics with blood at a time when most of the state run blood banks are have dwindling reserve during the poll season. Today our boys and girls have again donated blood at the Maniktala blood bank. Initially the authorities were reluctant to take blood from us today. We have requested all people cutting across their political colour to donate blood for the injured people, Rajib Majumder, CPI-M candidate contesting from Maniktala assembly seat, told HT.
Since the Trinamool Congress swept the Left front out in the 2011 elections, leaders such as food and civil supplies minister Jyotipriya Mullick urged the people to socially boycott CPIM leaders. He also said people should offer CPIM leaders and workers the treatment that they reserve for venomous snakes. Krishnagar MP Tapas Pal threatened to get CPIM supporters raped by his boys.
At least two children go missing every day in Tamil Nadu, raising concerns they may be trafficked into prostitution, handed over to criminal gangs or sold for illegal adoption, the national human rights commission said.
Alarmed by the disappearance of 271 children in Tamil Nadu in the first three months of 2016, the commission asked state authorities this week to account for the situation.
The mafia that controls begging and even those involved in child prostitution and adoption rackets could be behind these disappearances, the commission said in a statement.
The authorities say 2,711 children have disappeared in the southern state of Tamil Nadu in the past 15 months. However, comparative figures were not immediately available.
In the past month alone, two infants were taken from their families in the port city of Chennai as they slept on the streets next to their homeless parents.
Police said CCTV footage showed a car stopping near the pavement from where one child was abducted.
It seems to have been a planned snatching. The knot with which the mother had tied her 10-month-old daughter to her sari was cut and the baby quietly taken, a police officer told the Thomson Reuters Foundation, requesting anonymity.
In the second case, an eight-month-old boy was taken as his family slept near a bus station.
Rights groups say homeless children are particularly vulnerable to being exploited by traffickers, with many missing children sold on to unsuspecting adoptive parents or forced to beg by criminal gangs.
The poor have little resources and often hesitate to go to the police, said Andrew Sesuraj from the Tamil Nadu Child Rights Observatory, a non-governmental organisation. Their children are very vulnerable, lying in the open, their exhausted parents fast asleep nearby.
Indias women and child development ministry has introduced a scheme to track missing children across the country, CHILDLINE India Foundation, another child rights charity, said more needed to be done.
This will work only if there is a countrywide hook-up between the police and agencies working with children. Unless the details of missing children are immediately put out, the chances of finding them reduce, said Anuradha Vidyasankar, the head of CHILDLINEs office in Chennai.
A missing child is not just missing but actually getting into bigger trouble. The time factor is crucial because in a matter of two days the child can be taken out of the country, she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
A Tamil Nadu state official said about a third of children reported missing to the police are eventually traced.
The nine Congress rebels who plunged Uttarakhand into a political crisis are likely to join the BJP and contest next years assembly polls as its candidates, top leaders in the saffron party told HT.
Under a quid pro quo deal with the central BJP leadership, four of them will even get ministerial portfolios if the party wins the polls, top leaders of the partys state unit said on the condition of anonymity.
Former chief minister Vijay Bahuguna, who is leading the rebellion, is seeking a Rajya Sabha ticket with the BJPs backing, they added.
The Congress rebels did not confirm the move explicitly but said the doors are open for either joining the BJP or forming our own party.
The speaker disqualified the nine Congress MLAs under the anti-defection law, hours after imposition of Presidents rule in the state on March 27, a day before the state government was scheduled to go for a floor test in the Assembly.
On Friday, the high court deferred till April 11 a petition by six of the MLAs challenging the speakers decision.
An understanding that they will join us (the BJP) was reached between them and our party chief Amit Shah long before the assemblys budget session began, a state leader said.
Another BJP leader said both the party and the Congress rebels will be in an advantageous position irrespective of the court verdict.
If the high court quashes their disqualification, the nine rebels will vote for the BJP in case of a floor test.
In that case our party will form its government as we will have a comfortable majority with 36 legislators including the nine rebel Congress legislators supporting us in a House of 70, the leader said.
And even if the court upholds the Speakers order, the Congress legislators will be able to join the BJP as they do not have the required strength (24) to invite action under the anti-defection law.
Bahuguna has already said that the group has come too far away to return to the Congress.
The BJP leaders said that Bahuguna is seeking accommodation of his two sons -- Saket and Saurabh -- in the BJP and party tickets for them to contest the assembly and Lok Sabha polls.
The deal suits us because we are organisationally weak in seven of the nine assembly seats represented by the Congress rebels, another BJP leader said.
The state BJP leadership neither denied nor confirmed the deal.
We cant comment on such issues as they are in the domain of our central leadership, said senior BJP leader and former assembly speaker Prakash Pant.
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Uyire Uyire
Director: AR Rajasekar
Cast: Siddhu, Hansika Motwani
Rating: 1/5
Time was when Indian cinema had a dozen songs or more in just about every film, but they were an integral part of the narrative and they pushed the story to its next chapter. But today, songs and dances (to boot) stick out like sore thumbs, and have been a cause for Indian movies poor performance on the world stage. What is more, Bollywood and others are often ridiculed, and termed sheer nonsense.
One had expected someone as talented as Jaya Prada (Satyajit Ray once described her as the most beautiful woman) and an ace politician like Amar Singh to invest their money in at least an above average movie, but what they have produced -- Uyire Uyire (Tamil) -- is unwatchable.
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And Jaya Prada has introduced her son, Siddhu, as the hero in her film, written and directed by AR Rajasekar. To top this, a house as renowned as Eros International is distributing the movie!
Let us take a look at what Uyire Uyire has on offer. The first half is a juvenile romp of two rather mature looking actors, Hansika Motwani (as Priya) and Siddhu (as Rahul) -- who meet on a plane that takes off from Mumbai to Chennai, but is forced by bad weather to land at Goas Dabolin airport.
Watch Uyire Uyire trailer here:
Now, a carpet of coincidences is laid out for us to blindly tread on. At Dabolin, Rahul gets a call from his best buddy who is getting married the very next day in Goa. Rahul had forgotten all about it, and having struck a love-hate relationship with Priya on board, he coaxes her to accompany him. She has never seen Goa, and jumps at the invitation. So, what if the guy is a total stranger and may be a potential villain.
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The marriage is hurriedly pushed aside for the couple to go sight-seeing in Goa -- beaches and bikini babes for the voyeuristic viewer. And a song thrown in. What more can one ask? And for those who might have been waiting for Siddhus he-manship, the director throws in a scene that hyphenates the wedding and the picnic on the beach. Clad in a brocade sari and heavy gold jewellery, Priya wanders on to the sands in the dead of night, while Rahul is busy drinking (with the liquor is injurious warning trying hard to spoil his spiritedness) with pals celebrating a bachelors party.
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Needless songs and dances and unbelievable coincidences make up much of the nonsense called Uyire Uyire. (YouTube Grab)
But then sixth sense forces him to the beach, where he sees Priya about to be raped by men in dark outfits on motorcycles, their racing engines creating a frightening din. Superman Rahul vanquishes all, about half a dozen or more burly men. And then the couple returns to the airport, where the same plane is waiting to take them back home to Chennai.
But the tone and tenor the film changes dramatically after this. We are taken back in time to a story about how Priyas brother maniacally pursues Rahuls sister in college, leading to a disastrous fight between the two men.
Must we say more in a movie where Siddhu looks positively uncomfortable lisping dialogues in Tamil (one presumes his mother tongue is Telugu) and he is hardly of an age for college romance. He looks far too old for this sort of thing and Motwani can hardly pass off today for a giggly college girl in the flush of first love.
If the plot is beyond the wildest of ones imagination, the director and producers could have at least got the casting right. And the script writer must have been the laziest guy around, peppering the narrative with needless songs and dances and unbelievable coincidences. Bad editing gives the film a jerky look, and in short, Uyire Uyire is an insult to ones intelligence. Eminently avoidable, even if there isnt another movie for miles on the horizon.
ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktop
A resident doctor at the municipal Sion Hospital was assaulted by a relative of a patient who died during treatment on Wednesday.
According to the doctor, Nihar Desai, the 55-year old patient, was very critical when she was admitted to the hospital. The patient had suffered a heart failure. The relatives took time to sign the consent form, only then I started the treatment, said Desai. After the consent from relatives, I immediately put the patient on the central line to monitor her heart pressure and give her some injectables. Unfortunately, she did not survive, he said.
Dr Suleman Merchant, dean, Sion Hospital said, The relatives held the resident doctor by his neck and called him names. This is not the first time such an incident has happened at the hospital. The security is very lax, he said. Dr Sagar Mundada, president of Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) said,The BMC had promised new CCTV cameras and additional security staff at all civic hospitals by the end of November 2015. But there is no new staff at any BMC hospitals other than KEM.
As per a security audit done in September, there are only 30 security personnel at Sion hospital, whereas the demand is that of 100 or more, he said.
An FIR has been registered against one unidentified person No arrests have been made in the case, said a police officer at Sion police station.
Claiming that it does not approve of any discrimination against women, the Maharashtra government on Friday assured the Bombay high court that it will take necessary steps to protect the fundamental religious rights of women.
The government is against any gender discrimination, acting advocate general Rohit Deo told the division bench of Chief Justice DH Waghela and Justice MS Sonak. If one section is permitted to offer prayers, the other section must also be permitted, he said while clarifying the stand of the state government on the issue of prohibition imposed on women for offering prayers at the famous shrine of Lord Shani at Shingnapur in Ahmednagar district.
Deo assured the court that the government is committed to scrupulously follow provisions of the Maharashtra Hindu Places of Worship (Entry of Authorisation) Act, 1956, which prohibits discrimination between two persons when it comes to entry to temples, and provide for penal consequences. The acting advocate general further informed the bench that the state government will apprise all the superintendents of police and district collectors about the provisions of the Act by issuing necessary instructing circular to each of them.
Ultimately, it (offering prayers from places from where men are allowed to do so) is the fundamental right of women, and it is your (states) fundamental duty to protect these rights under Articles 14 and 25 of the Constitution of India, the judges said. It is the duty of the State to ensure that these fundamental rights of women are fully realised and are not encroached upon by any authority or individuals, they added while reminding the government of the rights of women and the states duty towards them.
The statement from the state government came after court rapped the state authorities for failing to protect fundamental right to equality of women to enter temples and worship alongside men.
The issue of discriminatory treatment meted out to women at the famous Shani shrine was raked up by Pune-based activists fighting for the cause of gender equality - Vidya Bal and Neelima Vartak. According to them, the shrine of Lord Shani at Shingnapur has been established on an open platform on which men are allowed to enter and offer prayers from the platform, but women are not allowed to enter the sanctum sanctorum of the shrine.
Their PIL stated that when the issue was taken up by Trupti Desai of Bhumata Brigade from Kolhapur, she was just prevented from entering the shrine, and instead of extending help to her, the authorities imposed section 144 of the Maharashtra Police Act, thus prohibiting their entry into the town on the ground that their presence created law and order problem.
Counsel for the activists, advocate Kalyani Tulankar, had pointed out that after the controversy, Shingnapur Devasthan Trust, had banned entry of men also on the platform, but this act of achieving so-called equality had come as a measure only to ensure that women do not get entry on the platform in any circumstances.
During course of earlier round of hearing on the PIL, the judges had insisted that the state must protect rights of women, and the authorities cannot shirk the responsibility of implementing the legislation made by the state itself.
It is your own law, you are obliged to enforce it, said Justice Sonak referring to provisions of the Maharashtra Hindu Places of Worship (Entry of Authorisation) Act, 1956, which makes the imposition of restriction on any Hindu person in any Hindu religious shrine an offence. The judges had said that the collector and the police must take action against the concerned persons, if anyone tried to prevent women from entering a shrine, and had sought a statement from the state government to that effect.
Accordingly, Deo clarified the state governments stand and assured the court that authorities will take all steps to protect fundamental rights of women, and take action in case of discrimination.
State public health minister Dr Deepak Sawant on Friday said his government was keen on making stricter laws for surrogacy in the state, by limiting its use only for ailing women or those medically unfit to conceive children.
Sawant was replying to a discussion on womens health issues in the legislative council, when he announced the state will recommend to the Centre that surrogacy laws be tightened.
Surrogacy should be allowed in cases where there is no way out. It should be permitted when a woman is facing a serious medical problem, such as cancer, or in a case where she cannot bear a child, said Sawant, adding that surrogacy was increasingly being relied on by women and couples who, after their first child, were not keen on going through a second pregnancy .
The state government has been pushing to regulate surrogacy in the state over the past few months.
In February this year, the government announced that a woman wanting to loan her uterus or donate her eggs would soon need the consent of relatives. The same month, the state public health department invited suggestions to strengthen regulations on Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) and In-Vitro Fertility (IVF), both used for surrogacy.
Currently, there is no law regulating ART and IVF centres or how many of them can be opened. They are regulated through the Mumbai Nursing Home Act and Clinical Establishment Act.
The proposed law will regulate nearly 525 IVF and ART centres, including 135 in Pune, 120 in Mumbai and 70 in Nagpur and two in the relatively backward Beed district, among other cities.
Sawant told HT a was committee set up, which will give its recommendations in a month.
The report of the committee is awaited. Once we get the recommendations, a draft legislation will be prepared and sent to the Centre, as a surrogacy law is being made by the Central government, he said.
The government is also intending to start water boat ambulance between Gateway of India and Alibaug. The move will help in providing emergency medical services to people residing in areas having connectivity problems, said Sawant.
Coinciding with the US visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs on Thursday took 36 Sikhs off its black list, which will allow them to come home to the country they fled during terrorism days in Punjab.
Most of these expatriates who took political asylum abroad still have families in Punjab. It is good news for them that they can now meet their brothers and sisters back home, said New Yorks Richmond hill gurdwara chairman Mohan Singh Khattra.
To come back, they require visa from where they have been living for the past 30 to 35 years. The list kept secret until the early 2000 got importance when the expatriates and political leaders started raising their voice. Its from Belgium that Modi landed in the US, where he will also meet the Sikhs who on his last visit had asked him to resolve the blacklist issue and let them travel to India. The PM will next go to Saudi Arabia.
No clarity yet
The Centre has not disclosed the names struck off the list, which has cause confusion, since different organisations are circulating different lists. There is no clarity on even the number yet.
These blacklisted Sikhs have been living in the US and Canada in North America; and the UK, France and Germany in Europe. The Indian embassies and high commissions will use gurdwara announcements to make the Sikh diaspora aware of this relaxation.
The blacklisted Sikhs include top Khalistan promoters, former militants, those connected to the ideology without a criminal record, and those who sought political asylum contending threat to their lives from the Indian authorities. Most of them fled India in the 1980s and 1990s. The list segregates those with no criminal record, those wanted in terror cases, and whose identity was never established.
Radicals plan goes for toss
The relaxation may have taken the steam out of the plan of radical elements in the US to protest against Modi during his ongoing visit.
The Punjab government, Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC), and Rashtriya Sikh Sangat (an offshoot of Hindu radical organisation Rashtriya Swyamsewak Sangh) have been pursuing the issue with the Centre for the sake of including the blacklisted Sikhs in the mainstream.
Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal and other leaders from the state have also raised the matter with the PM and before that with the last Congress government. The issue is put before every political delegation on foreign visit.
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), which runs the Punjab government in coalition with Modis Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is going to benefit from the move in the assembly elections due next year. It will allow them to bounce back from last years Panthic crisis.
Vancouver-resident Ripudaman Singh Malik, who faced a long trial in the 1985 Air India bombing case and was acquitted by the Canadian court, is reported to be major beneficiary, as nine members of his family and he have been taken off the black list. I am yet to get formal communication on the blacklist clearance. I want to visit Punjab and the Golden Temple, Malik told Hindustan Times over telephone.
Read: Name off blacklist, but Sikh hardliner in UK wont return
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Why Is Bethlehem University, A Catholic Institution, Affirming Palestinian Rejectionism? | Main | Lapido Media Updates Article After CAMERA Challenge, Questions Remain
April 01, 2016
Bethlehem University Does Right Thing and Removes Anti-Israel Language from Site
Earlier today, Snapshots drew attention to a section on the website of Bethlehem University, a Catholic-run school located in the West Bank that denied the legitimacy of Israel by describing Israeli cities as Palestinian Occupied Territory.?
Fortunately, the offending passage has been removed by officials at the school.
CAMERA lauds the school for doing the right thing with such alacrity.
Posted by dvz at April 1, 2016 04:46 PM
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The no-holds-barred war of words between Punjab Congress president Captain Amarinder Singh and senior party leader Bir Devinder Singh escalated on Thursday with the latter being suspended from the primary membership of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee even as partys poll strategist Prashant Kishor tried to resolve the crisis by meeting him in the evening.
Amarinder also recommended action against senior leader Jagmeet Brar for his recent acts of indiscipline to the party high command.
Being a member of All India Congress Committee (AICC), only the party president Sonia Gandhi can take action against Brar.
In view of the recent media reports and your anti-party activities, you are thereby suspended from the primary membership of the PPCC with immediate effect, said said the PPCC notice to Bir Devinder. A panel headed by MLA Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa with MLA Ajaib Singh Bhatti and former MLA Rana KP Singh as members has been constituted to look into the matter. You have to reply to the committee by April 7 as to why further action should not be taken against you, it added.
Thursdays action was culmination of the Capt-Devinder spat triggered by the latters guest column in Hindustan Times on March 27 accusing the Congress chief of being inaccessible. Next day, Amarinder hit back in his piece, prompting Bir Devinder resignation from the partys media panel.
In the evening, Prashant Kishor and Devinder had an hour-long meeting at the Chandigarh airport before the former left for New Delhi.
I got a call from Prashant in the evening. He met me and said he was worried over the developments and emphasised that the issue should be resolved amicably and we should not escalate it further. He had come to meet me with authority from the party high command and knowledge of Amarinder, Bir Devinder said, refusing to divulge any further details of the meeting.
On the vigilance probe into the Amritsar land scam, Bir Devinder said he has refused to depose before the Punjab vigilance in the case.
I received the summons from the Punjab vigilance bureau on March 8 to appear on March 11 for recording my statement. I have communicated to them that the FIR is based on the house committee report of the 13th Vidhan Sabha of which I was not a member. The Punjab and Haryana high court has ordered a reinvestigation into the case saying matter be probed independently (without reference to report of special house committee). I had given my statement to the special House committee and have no locus standi left in the case after the HC judgment, Devinder said.
However, hinting that his options are open, he said, If Amarinder continues to call me the complainant to harm my political career, I will move the HC to challenge the reinvestigation ordered by it into the case on December 22, 2014 and plead to be made a party. The Punjab government will have to explain how its additional advocate general accepted the terms of Amarinders counsel, he added.
On suspension, Bir Devinder said he has yet to receive the notice but is not worried about it.
If suspended by party, I will not be able to fight elections and will fight the case in the court then. Amarinder must have used all his sagacity and wisdom to suspend me and I think he, too, must be a sad man today, he added.
The diatribe of Brar and Bir Devinder against Amarinder has also split the Congress ranks with many senior leaders supporting the beleaguered leaders.
Amarinder is getting a taste of his own medicine. He got away with nothing less than the Punjab Congress presidency after his open attacks on Partap Bajwa. How can the party adopt two different yardsticks --- let Amarinder get away and suspend others, a senior Congress MLA said.
Reacting to Bir Devinders suspension, Congress general secretary in-charge for Punjab affairs Shakeel Ahmad said no indiscipline will be tolerated. He, however, refused to comment further by saying that it is an internal matter of party.
Chandigarh residents and food lovers have a reason to rejoice as the UT administrations order to declare service charge illegal will be implemented from April 1. The customers will not have to pay any service charge as the UT administration declared the levy as illegal early March.
The UT deputy commissioner Ajit Balaji Joshi has constituted different teams which will carry out surprise checks in the eateries to find out whether the order is implemented in earnest by the hotels. If any eatery owner is found charging then he/she can be booked and the licence can be cancelled.
The orders issued by the department of food and civil supplies stated that service charge cannot be levied on food bills at hotels and restaurants.
The legal remembrancer had also given its view that the service charge was illegal and was not backed by any statute or rule.
The deputy commissioner (DC) has also imposed Section 144 of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPc) recently so that there is no large assembly of people to protest against the order.
Currently eateries levy 6-12% service charge
At present, several restaurants and hotels in Chandigarh are levying service charge ranging between 6% and 12% on total food bills, claiming that it was meant to be distributed to the staff.
The orders were issued under Section 133 of the CrPC that confers special powers to the issuing authority. This implies that if a complaint is received, there will be a direct registration of a case under Section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the Indian Penal Code.
The administration has also launched a helpline number 1967, where the residents can complain in case the charge is levied by eating joints.
A student of Class 11on Friday allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself from a ceiling fan in his house in Ambedkar Nagar in Giaspura area.
Sherpur police said Aadarsh Singh, a student of Aadarsh Senior Secondary School, Dholewal, was upset after having failed the exam. The result was declared on March 31.
ASI Nirbhay Singh said Adarsh was alone at home when he hanged himself.
The officer said Adarshs parents had to break open the door of his room after returning from Chandigarh where they had gone for treatment of their elder son.
With the Centre failing to submit a concrete plan on international flights from the Chandigarh International airport, the Punjab and Haryana high court on Thursday directed the civil aviation ministry, the directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA) and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to convene a meeting on the issue and apprise it of the outcome on April 7.
The high court bench of justice SS Saron and justice Gurmit Ram also directed the civil aviation ministry to list out the names of airlines contacted by it after the inauguration of airport by prime minister, Narendra Modi in September 2015, for starting international flights from the airport. The ministry was directed that secretary level officials should participate in the meeting.
The AAI invited the courts ire after it failed to put forth a concrete plan on international operations, in spite of giving such an assurance on the last date of hearing. The court even observed that it would have to order a CBI probe into the mis-utilisation of funds.
Close airport, HC to government
During the hearing, appearing for AAI, senior advocate Atul Nanda told the court that Indigo Airlines, which had shown its intent to start international operations had stated that there were two issues due to which it was not able to start flights the airline was yet to get a slot on Chandigarh-Dubai flight and logistical issues persisted.
The court was also told that Air India was persuaded to start operations, but even it raised issues. In all, 48 airlines had been approached by the government on international flights, the court was informed.
The proposal of Fly Dubai was technically wrong and had to be submitted in its country not here, Nanda told the court, adding that, bilateral agreements between countries played an important role and that was one reason operations could not be started from the airport.
The HC bench expressed surprise over the submissions and asked as to why the government did not think of all these issues when work was commenced and now when Rs 1,400 had been spent on the airport these issues were being raised. I am telling you with folded hands. Please close the airport. People will heave a sigh of relief. At least you will save on maintenance, the HC bench observed as Nanda failed to impress the court on giving any deadline on when operations would start.
Appearing for the petitioner, senior advocate Puneet Bali and Neha Sonawane contended before the court that 40% of those living abroad were from this region. If Chandigarh airport is allowed to have international operations, Delhi would lose business, which is leading to the delay. It is surprising that work on construction of the airport was started in 2012, but these issues were not taken care of, Bali told the court seeking a CBI probe.
To ensure the implementation of ban on polythene carry bags and thermocol items (excluding packing material) from April 1, the municipal corporation (MC) has constituted enforcement teams to conduct special drives in all four zones of the city.
Though the MC had announced to issue challans against violators for use of polythene, the residents are not aware about any such ban on manufacturing, stocking, distribution, reuse, selling and use of polythene (plastic) carry bags and thermocol material.
MC commissioner GK Singh Dhaliwal has issued instructions to health branch chief and zonal commissioners to ensure implementation of the ban and conduct raids to keep check on violation of the norms.
He said they would create awareness among residents and vendors on not using the banned items.
MC additional commissioner-cum- health branch chief Rishipal Singh said, I have given directions to the staff to issue a challan of Rs 5,000 to the violators. We have placed the awareness hoardings to create awareness on banned polythene bags and thermocol items which are harmful for health.
Residents to find alternative for plastic bags
Residents generally use black polybags to collect garbage, but now they would have to find a new option to collect garbage. Meanwhile, residents are also being encouraged to use separate bins for collection of biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste.
A city resident, Tejinder Singh said, It is a good initiative to ban the carry bags. Mostly residents are not aware about the ban. So, government should organise camps to create awareness among residents. The state government should improve the solid-waste management system.
Street vendors, shopkeepers worried
Mostly shopkeepers and street vendors have not been able to arrange any alternative for plastic carry bags to replace the banned polybags.
Ludhiana Rehri Phari Federation president Tiger Singh said, We got a copy of the notification about the ban. But, vendors have no replacement of carry bags. If the government has allowed the plastic packing material for milk and juices, why a ban has been imposed on plastic carry bags? We are conducting meeting in this regard, as government has not informed about any alternative for plastic bags.
NGOs welcome move
A group of members of the civil society organisations, NGOs, doctors, animal welfare societies, environmentalists and social workers have welcomed the Punjab governments announcement of complete ban on plastic bags and styrofoam products.
Ravneet Singh of EcoSikh, an organisation, said, It is a great step by government towards a new era of healthy Punjab. It will certainly reduce the waste management load by at least 50%. Moreover, the langars in Punjab will no more pollute the land with non-biodegradable and dangerous one-time-use disposables like Styrofoam.
Amandeep Singh Bains of RBS Roots, an NGO, said, It will create a huge room for local small-scale jute and paper industry to bloom and create enormous employment opportunities, besides providing environmentally safe products.
Plastic bag makers, traders stage protest
Members of the Plastic Manufacturers and Traders Association of Punjab organised a rally from Vishkarma Chowk to the mini-secretariat against state governments complete ban on plastic bags on Thursday. They blocked traffic for around 15 minutes on Bharat Nagar Chowk.
After this, they staged a protest outside deputy commissioners office for an hour and raised slogans against state government for imposing ban and its wrong policies.
Gurdeep Singh, president of the Plastic Manufacturers and Traders Association, Punjab, said, Whole plastic industry is in panic due to the ban imposed on plastic carry bags from April 1 across Punjab. Approximately 15 lakh people are employed in the plastic industry in Punjab including manufacturers, traders, retailers, suppliers of machinery and equipment to plastic industry.
They told deputy commissioner Ravi Bhagat that the ban on plastic bags was not feasible because they had no alternative for these bags. They also claimed that the Centre had recommended increasing the thickness of plastic bags from 40 microns to 50 microns.
Singh also claimed that from plastic industry of Punjab, the state government was earning annual revenue of `400 crore, including VAT, excise tax, service tax, municipal corporation fees and license fees among others. The decision will leave a large number of people without any jobs, he added.
Members of the association claimed that the deputy commissioner assured them to hold a meeting with the association within a few days to take a wise decision on the matter.
Deputy commissioner Ravi Bhagat said, Association members have presented the memorandum regarding their demands and I will present their demands before deputy chief minister.
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Britain-based Dal Khalsa leader Manmohan Singh Bajaj, whose name has been deleted from the blacklist by the Indian government, said he would prefer to die in a foreign country as a rebel than return to Punjab as a defeated person.
In a letter mailed to Dal Khalsa office here on Friday, Bajaj, who belongs to Chandigarh, declared that though his name had been struck off the list, he wont come back as the Sikhs had not achieved their goal for which the struggle was launched in the early eighties.
On demand of a large section of Sikhs and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), the Union home ministry has deleted the name of 36 NRI Sikhs from the blacklist that was prepared after the Operation Bluestar in 1984. The list that includes the names of hardliners also has names of those Sikhs who had condemned the army operation to flush out armed terrorists from the Golden Temple complex.
Read: 36 blacklisted Sikhs get ticket to India as Modi lands in US
Bajaj said he was surprised at the deletion of his name from the blacklist. I have neither approached anyone for any favour nor do I subscribe to the step taken by the Indian government, he said while expressing fears that the step of the government could be aimed at luring hardliner Sikhs to India and then arresting them.
Chief minister Parkash Singh Badal on Friday slammed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) calling it a band of fugitives.
He was addressing a gathering after paying tributes to Jathedar Gurcharan Singh Tohra on his 12th death anniversary at Tohra village in this district.
He called the AAP anti-Punjab and advised people to be aware of their nefarious designs and narrow political interests. The chief minister warned people against falling for the AAPs misleading propaganda or they would have to pay for it. The AAPs motive is to rule the state instead of carrying out development, Badal claimed, adding that the party had no development agenda for the state on which to contest the assembly elections.
Badal claimed that the AAP is not equipped to handle the state as its leadership is novice that would land the people of Punjab in a soup, which was also evident from its Delhi model of governance.
The chief minister said the SAD-BJP alliance is a time-tested brand, therefore, the people reposed faith in its policies and programmes. How can you expect a new political entity, which is not seized of the hardships faced by people at the grassroots level, to do justice to them? Badal wondered.
He said the SAD-BJP government so far had given free power to the agriculture sector worth Rs 48,000 crore, besides providing interest-free crop loan of Rs 50,000 to farmers, cashless health insurance of Rs 50,000 besides insurance of Rs 5 lakh in case of accidental death of or disability to the head of a family.
He said the SAD and BJP are all-weather friends, which could feel peoples pulse and address their grievances to their satisfaction. Slamming the AAP for playing with the sentiments of people of Punjab, Badal said it was not only deplorable but also unethical, as any political outfit indulging in such gimmicks should refrain from them.
CM condemns Congress
Training guns on the Congress, the chief minister said the party had surpassed all records of betraying the people of Punjab on every issue, be it social, political, economic or religious. He said the Congress was responsible for denying the state its rightful share of river waters, attacking the Harmandar Sahib, 1984 genocide of Sikhs, and depriving the state of Chandigarh as its capital besides for not transferring the Punjabi-speaking areas to the state.
As schoolchildren continue to travel in worn-out overloaded buses, Amritsar deputy commissioner (DC) Varun Roojam on Thursday took a tough stance and told the school heads that they will be responsible for any sort of mishap with children.
The DC made it clear that the school managements would have no choice than following the directives and the one who does not abide by it, action would be taken.
In a meeting called at local Bhachat Bhawan, Amritsar DC, district transport officer Lovejeet Kalsi, SDM Rohit Gupta interacted with the school principals and representatives and told that the administration has had enough and schools can no more run away from their responsibility.
It is not the first time that this issue has been addressed by the district administration and a lot of time has been given to the van contractors and the school managements. But this time they seem to be in no mood to give the contractors and the school managements more time to play the blame game which is on since long.
District transport officer (DTO) Kalsi has earlier also impounded many school vans who did not fulfill the safety norms and had tightened the noose around them. Reacting to the action being taken the school van operators had gone off road in protest against the DTO. The strike had caused a lot of inconvenience.
Calling it a serious concern Kalsi said, It is the school that is responsible for the safety of the child and the operation of buses/vans and thus they need to ensure that children travel in safe transports which are following directives of the high court for safe school vahan scheme (SSVS) and drives carry apt documents. If a few school heads can do a compliance with them and get 80 to 90% vans under the directives even other needs to follow. She also showed disappointment saying that despite she has done a lot of work on this issue things are in quite a bad shape.
While a few school heads questioned her and the SDM that why is the school held responsible alone, it is also the parents who to save a few hundred rupees are opting for reasonable transports and making links with contractors and do not want schools to intervene.
But the DC was in no mood to address any more blame game and asserted, A child safety and abiding to the directives is a priority now and thus school owes a direct responsibility. If the high court wants it to be implemented, we all have to and we do not have a choice. School heads have to sit with contractors and make compliance as it would be the school which would be held responsible for any mishap. Now we expect a proactive approach from the school managements and laxity wont be tolerated. A final inspection is on cards and then report would be submitted to the court.
While a few school heads questioned the DC that was it a genuine responsibility being put on them? As this issue has many other aspects which needs to be resolved by the administration also.
While a few school heads highlighted that parents from lower income groups are not in a position to pay high van fees and thus they are compromising on the safety norms. In return the contractors crib that with minimal money they arent able to put in the features which are asked under the SSVS. Then to keep women attendants is a big issue as they arent available. Many school heads asked for allowing small size vans.
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The family of a Muslim IAS officer from Jharkhand has accused the Raghubar Das government of showing prejudice towards him for being a minority and has launched a campaign to better his posting.
Abu Imran, a 2010 batch IAS officer, is currently posted as joint secretary in the home department, a post he is holding for the last one year. Prior to that, he was put on waiting for posting for few months.
His family claims that the post is generally meant for older officers, who cannot move around much in the field, implementing governments development initiatives. In his six years of service with Jharkhand government, he has served as SDO in Latehar and deputy commissioner of Ramgarh district for around a year.
The family alleged Imran has been deliberately sidelined despite having a clean image while several tainted officers in the good books of BJP leaders enjoy plum postings.
It all started with a Facebook post by Imrans wife Annie Aniya Abu Aarib, who claimed officers involved in land scams, cutting trees and failing to control stampedes were holding collectors post while her husband has been shunted out from mainstream work. The post soon got shared by several friends and well-wishers before she withdrew it.
On Thursday, Imrans elder brother, Asad-ur-Rahman, a journalist, and sister-in-law Bilkish Khanam, Dhanbad district Congress general secretary, spoke to the media on the issue. This government is not at all for minorities, said Khanam, adding, Of the 24 districts, we have only one Muslim collector, who too was posted by the previous UPA government.
Outgoing chief secretary Rajiv Gauba declined to speak anything on the issue. I have handed over the charge to my successor, he said.
BJP spokesperson Kamal Khan, who is the partys Muslim face in the state, attempted to dismiss the issue, saying caste and religion are not qualifications for posting of any officer. The officers family needs to clarify what they meant by better posting. In Jharkhand, it is a Muslim, Abu Bakr Siddiqui, who remains the longest serving deputy commissioner of West Singhbhum.
Huffington Post's Entrenched Anti-Israel Bias Exposed in Documentary Film | Main | Bethlehem University Does Right Thing and Removes Anti-Israel Language from Site
April 01, 2016
Why Is Bethlehem University, A Catholic Institution, Affirming Palestinian Rejectionism?
In the course of researching an apparent misstatement of fact from former Bethlehem Mayor Vera Baboun (see blog entry here), Snapshots came across an interesting webpage on the website of Bethlehem University, a Catholic-run school located in the West Bank. On the schools website, there is an FAQ page for foreign students that refers to Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Jaffa, Acre and Tiberius all Israeli cities as Palestinian Occupied Territories.?
A screen shot of the section in question is at the top of this entry. The relevant section reads as follows: "You may enter Palestinian Occupied Territories (Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Jaffa, Acco, Tiberia etc.)"
This is outrageous. A Vatican-founded and Catholic-run institution of higher learning is affirming the irredentist agenda of Hamas, declaring cities in Israel as Palestinian territory. Why is this school affirming a political agenda that has cost so many Palestinian and Israeli lives?
Posted by dvz at April 1, 2016 12:03 PM
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China on Friday said its decision not to back Indias appeal to the United Nations to ban Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar was based on facts and procedure, bringing into focus Beijings cozy ties with Islamabad.
On Thursday, China in collaboration with Pakistan again blocked Indias bid to ban Azhar, the alleged mastermind of the January 2 terror attack on Pathankot airbase.
According to reports, 14 of the 15 countries on the UN Security Council were willing to designate Azhar a terrorist, but China used its veto power to block the move.
Beijing on Friday indicated it did not have all the facts to support the ban.
Asked about Chinas stance at the regular news conference, foreign ministry spokesperson Hong Lei couched his answer in diplomatic language, saying his country is opposed to all forms of terrorism.
He added, We always deal with the listing issue under the Security Council committee established under Resolution1267 based on facts and relevant rules of procedure in an objective and just manner. The Chinese side has always been in communication with relevant parties on the listing issue.
Hong further said that China supports the UN playing a central and coordinating role in international cooperation against terrorism and it has taken active part in international counter-terrorism operations.
Ironically, the Chinese move came as President Xi Jinping, after meeting his US counterpart Barack Obama on the margins of a nuclear summit in Washington, said nations must stand united against terrorism.
Beijings decision also brought into focus its stand on terrorism, an issue on which it has repeatedly accused the West of double standards.
In New Delhi, minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju criticised China for blocking the bid for a UN ban on Azhar. What China has done was not good. The ministry of external affairs will take an appropriate action. Whatever action is required, we will take, he told reporters.
In January, Indian officials had said they were putting together more evidence against Azhar after the Pathankot attack to share with China. India also wrote to the UN to take immediate action to list Azhar under the Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee.
But even if the evidence was shared, it clearly did not convince China. Beijing has repeated the reasons it gave in 2009, when it had blocked efforts to sanction Azhar under Resolution 1267.
Azhar, who set up JeM after being freed by India in exchange for passengers of a hijacked Indian Airlines flight in December 1999, is believed to have close ties with Pakistans military establishment.
India and the European Union reiterated their positions on the Italian marines case and expressed confidence in the ongoing arbitration proceedings during 13th summit level talks in Brussels that relaunched relations after four years of impasse on Wednesday night.
Talks on Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA), which were stalled in recent years, were also kick-started during the one-day visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose delegation included Commerce minister Nirmala Seetharaman.
On the Italian marines case, India and the EU expressed confidence in the arbitration procedure currently underway in the framework of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), to which India and Italy are committed.
Both sides will contribute to settling the case on this basis, enabling the cause of justice to be served for all those affected. The EU shares Italys concerns to find an expeditious solution for the prolonged restriction of liberty of the two Marines. India stressed the need for rendering due justice for the families of the Indian fishermen who were killed, a joitn statement released after the summit said.
Federica Mogherini, the Italian chief of EUs foreign affairs, who has been critical of India for its handling of the marines case, also attended the summit, which included Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission and Donald Tusk, president of the European Council.
The EU also hoped for a swift solution in the case of MV Seaman Guard Ohio, which concerns 14 Estonian and six British citizens sentenced to prison by an Indian court. The personnel were on the anti-piracy vessel intercepted by the Coast Guard with arms and ammunition on 12 October 2013.
The leaders welcomed the European Investment Banks (EIB) commitment to support long-term investment in infrastructure crucial for environmentally sustainable, social and economic development in India, and in particular the EIBs loan of 450 million in the construction of the first metro line in the city of Lucknow.
The EIB and the Government of India signed a first tranche of 200 million on the occasion.
The resumption of EU-India relations was marked by agreements and declarations on several areas, including counter-terrorism, partnership on water, economy and science and culture.
The leaders endorsed the EU-India Agenda for Action 2020 as a common roadmap to jointly guide and strengthen the India-EU Strategic Partnership in the next five years.
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Belgian authorities approved on Thursday the extradition of Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam to France.
Abdeslam, the sole surviving suspect in the November attacks in Paris that killed 130 people, was arrested in Brussels on March 18 after four months on the run as Europes most wanted man.
Four days after he was arrested, the Belgian capital was struck by coordinated Islamic State bombings at the airport and a metro station carried out by suicide attackers with links to Abdeslam and the Paris attacks cell.
Abdeslams lawyer said that his 26-year-old client had agreed to be transferred to France under a European arrest warrant, clearing the way for a fast-track extradition.
What Salah Abdeslam wants to make known is that he wants to cooperate with the French authorities. lawyer Cedric Moisse told reporters in Brussels.
Abdeslams arrest was considered a rare success in Belgiums anti-terror fight, although he was found within a short distance of his family home in the Molenbeek district of the capital. He has refused to talk since the Brussels bombings.
The transfer to France should happen within 10 days, said French justice minister Jean-Jacques Urvoas.
Belgian investigators will still be allowed to question Abdeslam in France.
He is believed to have acted as a logistics coordinator for the Paris attacks and has told investigators he was meant to carry out a suicide bombing at the Stade de France stadium but backed out.
Jihadist web
Close links have emerged between the Paris and Brussels attackers, exposing a tangled web of cross-border extremist cells and triggering a series of raids and arrests in several European countries.
In the latest operation on Thursday, police and soldiers searched a wooded area in western Belgium, with authorities saying the raid was linked to a thwarted plot to attack France.
The main suspect in that case, Reda Kriket, has been charged in France with membership of a terrorist organisation after police found an arsenal of weapons and explosives at his home.
The joint French-Belgian operation by masked police and soldiers along a busy motorway lasted for several hours but Belgian prosecutors said no weapons or explosives were found and no arrests were made.
Belgian-born French citizen Abdeslam has connections to at least two of the Brussels bombers. Khalid El Bakraoui, who blew himself up at the metro, rented a flat in Brussels where Abdeslams fingerprints were found.
One of the two airport bombers, Najim Laachraoui, drove to Hungary with Abdeslam in September.
Belgium is still searching for a suspected third attacker, the so-called man in the hat seen in surveillance images alongside the two airport bombers.
With no suspects in custody over the attacks, police appealed for possible images taken by members of the public.
Saudi-owned television news channel Al Arabiya shut its offices in Lebanon and dismissed 27 employees, two of its journalists said on Friday, in a sudden move that comes amid political tensions between Riyadh and Beirut.
Protesters also attacked the Beirut office of Saudi-owned newspaper Asharq al-Awsat on Friday in response to a cartoon published by the paper criticising the Lebanese state.
Saudi Arabia has already cut $3 billion in military aid to Lebanon after the Lebanese government failed to condemn an attack on the Saudi embassy in Tehran in January.
The Sunni Gulf monarchy interpreted Lebanons lack of public solidarity as a sign that it had become beholden to the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah, which is backed by Saudi Arabias main regional ally Iran.
We were informed that the offices have been shut and that 27 employees have been fired, one Al Arabiya journalist said.
A statement from the channel confirmed that its Beirut office had been shut, describing the move as a restructuring brought about by challenges on the ground and citing its concern for the safety of its employees.
Lebanons minister of information Ramzi Greige dismissed the suggestion of security concerns, however.
Of course there are no security grounds for closing the Al Arabiya office in Beirut. There may be political reasons for taking this step, but I dont know until I seek clarification from them, Greige told Reuters.
Al Arabiya, one of the main Arabic language broadcasters in the Middle East, is part of the privately-owned Middle East Broadcasting Centre (MBC).
A Lebanese employee at Al-Arabiya channel at her office door in Beirut on Friday. The station shut down its Lebanon operation amid tensions between Riyadh and Beirut. (AP)
April Fool
Also on Friday, protesters entered the offices of Saudi-owned newspaper Asharq al-Awsat and left papers and upturned chairs on the floor after the paper published a cartoon depicting the Lebanese flag with the words an April fool... written above it.
Inside the flag were the words the Lebanese state, which form a rhyming pair in Arabic.
Hampered by sectarian tensions, Lebanon has a weak government and has been without a president for almost two years.
The country, which is hosting just over one million registered refugees from the conflict in neighbouring Syria, has poor infrastructure and public services.
Al Sharq Al Awsat regrets the commotion caused by the caricature which was circulated today (Friday) and which was wrongly interpreted by some, the paper said in a statement, saying it respected Lebanon.
The cartoon aimed to cast light on the situation which the state (Lebanon) finds itself in, as a country which living a big lie caused by attempts to dominate it and distance it from its Arab environment, and to hinder the appointment of a president.
A Scotsman who moved to Pakistan and helped raise funds for the Lashkar-e-Taiba and an operative who provided financial support to commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi are among individuals and organisations jointly sanctioned by the US and Saudi Arabia.
In a rare move, the US and Saudi Arabia imposed sanctions targeting the entities accused of funding and backing the Pakistan-based LeT, al Qaeda and Taliban.
The move assumes additional significance because it came two days before Prime Minister Narendra Modis highly anticipated visit to Saudi Arabia, where he is expected to ink several trade agreements and firm up security cooperation.
This is only the second time the US and Saudi Arabia have coordinated their actions to disrupt the finances of terror groups in South Asia.
Here is a closer look at the four individuals and two organisations against whom the sanctions have been imposed to disrupt the fundraising and support networks of the LeT, al Qaeda and Taliban.
James Alexander McLintock and Al-Rahmah Welfare Organisation (RWO): The US treasury department has said McLintock, a Scotsman who converted to Islam in his twenties, had been providing financial support to LeT through charities he controls in Pakistan and other countries. He was named a Specially Designated Global Terrorist while his Pakistan-based Al-Rahmah Welfare Organisation was designated for providing financial, material or technological support to LeT, al Qaeda and the Taliban.
McLintock, now believed to be 52, is president and CEO of RWO, described by the US as a front for al Qaeda.RWO has provided funding to extremists for jihad under the false guise of helping orphans. McLintock used RWO and the cover of providing stipends to Afghan orphans to finance the Talibans militant activities in Afghanistan. Between April 2011 and April 2012, RWO received approximately $180,000 from donors in Britain.
Abdul Aziz Nuristani and Jamia Asariya Madrassa: Nuristani was designated for providing financial, material or technological support to Let, al Qaeda and Taliban. He heads the Peshawar-based Jamia Asariya. The LeT and other groups have used Jamia Asariya as a financial conduit to bring money into Pakistan for several years. Nuristani has travelled to the Middle East to raise money for Jamia Asariya and Al-Turaz Trust, an alias for Al-Furqan Foundation Welfare Trust that was sanctioned by the US and Saudi Arabia in April 2015.
Jamia Asariya has distributed thousands of dollars in supplies to LeT camps in Pakistan, the US treasury department said. Nuristanis affiliation with the LeT dates back to 2007. He was previously an LeT official in Pakistans Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province and recruited madrassa students to become fighters.
Naveed Qamar: Naveed Qamar has held several influential positions within the LeT and supported the terror groups fundraising activities since 2004. As of January 2015, Qamar had been identified as a leader of the LeT, the US treasury department said.
In addition to running an LeT training camp and supervising the groups commanders in Karachi, he was the groups acting coordinator for Sindh province in 2008. Qamar has also been linked to the Jamaat-ud Dawah (JuD) and helped organise trips for Pakistani businessmen to LeT training camps.
In 2010, Qamar coordinated funds collected by senior members of Falah-e-Insaniyat Foundation (FIF), another front for the LeT, while organising logistics and funding for mujahideen planning attacks against Indian targets.
Muhammad Ijaz Safarash: Saudi Arabia-based Safarash has funded and provided logistical support to the LeT. He has been an LeT operative for several years, acquiring travel documents and facilitating financial transfers in Saudi Arabia. As recently as late 2015, Safarash sent hundreds of thousands of dollars to the LeT and facilitated the travel of its members from Pakistan to Saudi Arabia. LeT operations chief Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, accused of masterminding the 2008 Mumbai attacks, has benefited from Safarashs financial support.
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New research suggests that Mayan traditions greatly influenced religious architecture during the Spanish colonization of the Yucatan Peninsula.
A University of Gothenburg student working on his doctoral thesis in archeology made this discovery by comparing early Spanish colonial churches and Maya dwellings built on the Yucatan Peninsula and in Belize.
Both religion and the Spanish monarchy had a large influence on shaping society during the colonization of the Yucatan Peninsula, which was once home to the Maya civilization. Up until now, colonialism was viewed as a unilateral relationship.
"Colonial churches and chapels represented authority in the form of buildings and architecture that was used to control Maya society," said Teobaldo Ramirez Barbosa, author of the doctoral thesis. "Converting the Mayas to Christianity was an important part of the Spanish strategy and guidelines for the colonization of Mexico."
In his thesis, Barbosa concludes that the influence Mayans had on Spanish settlers can be interpreted as hybridity, or what he defines as the combination of two different traditions that yields something new.
"The Mayas have used the same building materials since pre-Hispanic times," Barbosa added. "My results show that their tradition of using masonry, wattle and daub, stucco and ramada roofs, as well as semi-circular, circular and squared shapes of buildings, can be discerned in some types of Spanish churches."
The conquest of the Yucatan Peninsula is believed to be the most prolonged and difficult campaign attempted by the Spanish. After several years of failure, the most northern region of the peninsula finally gave way to Spanish control in 1546. At this time, the city of Merida, founded in 1542, served as the capital of the region and the base for further Spanish invasion to the south.
For his thesis, Barbosa also conducted three archaeological surveys of Espiritu Santo Bay in Mexico. His goal was to find the location of the colonial site Kachambay and its church Nuestra Senora de la Limpia Concepcion, founded in 1621. He also hoped to unveil previously undiscovered rancherias, or small indigenous settlements that were built in response to the congregation system established by the Spanish.
By surveying the area in great detail, Barbosa succeeded in finding two small settlements in the northern part of the bay. This, he says, provides concrete evidence of human activity in a region that has historically been considered uninhabited. In fact, one of the settlements can be directly connected to Kachambay.
"These finds opens up for new surveys and excavations in the area and how the Mayas adapted to the new situation by fleeing from the congregation regime," Barbosa concluded.
@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
April Fool's Day is a day when everyone can pull pranks on each other and have a good laugh when it's all over. Well, everyone, that is, except for China's Communist Party, which thinks that the day is no laughing matter and has thus spoken out against it, saying that April Fool's Day is inconsistent with China's traditional values.
No, this is not a joke. Chinese officials are quite serious about the matter, going so far as to issue a statement on the official microblog of Xinhua News Agency, the ruling party's prime political organ.
"Today is the West is called 'April Fools Day', which doesn't comply with our traditional culture and socialist core values," the statement reads. "We hope that everyone does not trust, make, or transfer rumours."
This development is hardly surprising, however, as China's Communist Party is well-known for trying to clamp down on "online rumour mongering" that is often used a channel for anti-government dissent. It uses rumor-spreading as a pretext to prosecute those on the Internet who spread misinformation about things like last year's Tianjin blasts or the avian flu. To drive it's point home, the government issued new guidelines in 2013 that made anyone who posted a rumor that was reposted 500 times or seen more than 5,000 times to be subject to up to three years imprisonment.
The move to ban April Fool's Day may also be seen as an attempt for Chinese media, which has fallen victim to April Fool's Day hoaxes and similar pranks in the past, to save face and earn back some credibility. The most notable example of this was back in 2012 when People's Daily ran an article citing one by The Onion, which had named North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Un, the sexiest man alive. Another one came a year later when CCTV cited an April Fool's announcement by Virgin CEO Richard Branson, saying that the airline was poised to begin a glass-bottomed plane service and reported the announcement as fact.
In the meantime, Xinhua's admonition against jokes and pranks seemed to have backfired somewhat, giving rise to various jokes that poke fun at the announcement and Chinese media as a whole, forcing the publication to turn off its comment section.
"In the West, it only happens one day a year; however, in certain Asian countries, it is every day, every year," one netizen posted.
"The media is publishing false news to fool people every single day, what difference is one more?" another user commented.
"In China, every day is April Fool's Day," echoed another.
"I will watch CCTV news to celebrate April Fool's Day," another wrote in.
In trying to ban Apri Fool\'s Day, China may have very well made the greatest April Fool\'s Joke of all time.
@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Well that's one way to make him keep it in his pants. A Florida man now has a bullet lodged in his testicle after his wife lost control and shot him during a confrontation about an alleged affair.
The wife, 60-year-old Victoria Reid, was arrested Wednesday evening in Rockledge and charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and aggravated assault domestic violence.
An arrest report from the Brevard County Sherrif's Office indicates that Reid forced her husband of 16 years to sit on a couch at gunpoint as she confronted him about having an affair. Once seated, she threatened to maim him, kill him, and give him PTSD - a condition she also suffers from - in order to punish him for his alleged acts of unfaithfulness.
Her threats indicated that she was planning to shoot her husband in the face or chest, however it seemed she settled on traumatizing her husband rather than flat-out killing him, opting to shoot him in his left knee instead. But once she did, the bullet ended up traveling past his knee, up his leg and to his testicles where it got lodged.
No reports indicate what became of the man after the shooting and as of Thursday evening, there has been no update on his condition.
This isn't the first time a woman has gone through great lengths to keep her marriage in check. In a similar incident, a woman in Brazil also caught wind of her husband cheating on her. However, instead of taking her rage out on her husband, she took it all out on the mistress. The whole incident was caught on camera, where viewers could see the wife beating up the mistress, dragging her out of the apartment and through the city streets before taking her to a bridge and - with the help of a friend - throwing her into a body of water below. The mistress was fine after the thrashing but she certainly learned her lesson.
No doubt the man learned his lesson in this case as well. In the meantime, Reid remains in custody at the Brevard County Jail where she awaits a court appearance.
@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
GAUTIER, Mississippi -- After a little over four years on the job, Gautier city manager Samantha Abell has indicated her intention to leave her post sometime in "early summer" and has encouraged the city council to adopt a succession plan which includes the appointment of fire chief Robert Jones as the interim city manager.
"When I came to the City, it was in disarray," said Abell, who served as the economic development/planning director for two years prior to becoming city manager. "The police department was under investigation, the fire department was threatening to sue the City and the other departments were in disarray.
"Now that things are running smoothly, it presents a natural time for progression. I think Gautier is poised for its next chapter."
Abell said Friday she has no "firm" job offers, but is "considering other possible career opportunities."
She said that while the City is poised for future growth, she has accomplished the personal goals she set for herself when she accepted the city manager position in 2012.
Abell's tenure as city manager have been marked by numerous advancements, including the first ever five-year strategic plan, a 15-year capital improvement plan, the town center redevelopment plan, privatization of public works, renegotiation of city contracts and franchise agreements which saved tax payer dollars.
In addition, she was honored in 2012 by Mississippi Business Journal as one of Mississippi's Top 10 Business Leaders Under 40 and is a nominee for this year's list of Mississippi's 50 Leading Business Women.
"Gone are the days of budget mistakes totaling well over $500,000 for three years in a row by as many city clerks," Abell wrote in her letter to the council, "a police department being investigated by outside agencies, a fire department hiring lawyers just to be heard, meter readers 'estimating' accounts, citizens receiving adjustments at the window, the federal government auditing procurement procedures to find $3.8 million in federal funds improperly spent, a planning department with poor software and even worse training and support and a parks department consisting of one employee.
"Today, the city has turned the corner from its economic downturn," Abell continued. "Sales tax is trending upward, thanks to growing existing business. Transformative projects like the Bienville Medical Park at East Lake and, yes, the Town Center Shopping Venues on the previous mall site will ensure Gautier's future sustainability.
"The city also has a new Cultural Services Department and hopefully will approve a referendum on the general ballot so that Gautier is no longer the only city in Jackson County without a percentage of sales tax dedicated to recreation. Katrina loans have been forgiven, franchise agreements and all city contracts have been assessed, renegotiated or terminated, and old utility debt has been refinanced for a savings of $900,000 towards the purchase of the state's first ion exchange water filtration system."
Abell is asking the City Council to approve a succession plan Tuesday night which will result in Jones becoming the interim city manager. If the council approves that plan, deputy fire chief Derek McCoy will become interim fire chief.
Abell is hopeful Jones' move into her position will become permanent.
"Robert is more than capable and prepared," Abell said. "He has the full support of all the directors and he has an excellent relationship with the council."
Gautier Mayor Gordon Gollott agreed, although he certainly isn't excited about the prospect of losing Abell.
"I'm certainly going to miss her," Gollott said. "It's been a joy working with her since I became mayor. Whatever organization or company she goes to work for will reap the benefits of her talent, dedication and professionalism.
"But the city will move forward with Robert Jones as its manager (pending council approval)," Gollott added.
Abell said a smooth transition to a new manger is crucial.
"It is important to me as your city manager that Gautier experiences a positive and professional city manager succession plan, worthy of its place as the 22nd largest city in the state," she told the council.
News, events, history, and other mid-week tidbits.
Tuesday, October 25, 4:30 7 p.m.
Orr Area EMS Open House
Brats and burgers will be served. Event includes a new ambulance tour and blood pressure screenings. For more info: 218-780-3798.
Orr Fire Hall
4540 Lake St., Orr
Tuesday, October 25, 12 6 p.m.
Essentia Health Job Fair
Talent recruiters and department managers will be on-site at Essentia Health-Virginia. Candidates from all backgrounds are encouraged to attendnurses, nursing and clinical assistants, surgery technicians, radiology technicians, respiratory therapists, human resource professionals, and those interested in environmental services or nutrition services. Essentia staff will greet candidates, conduct an initial screening and filter them to appropriate hiring managers for interviews. Select candidates will be verbally offered a position before leaving. Candidates are asked to bring a resume, but its not required. Attire is business casual. For more info: www.essentiacareers.org.
901 9th St. N., Virginia
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Baar (CH)/Ras al Khaimah (UAE)/Accra (Ghana) Swiss International Hotels & Resorts is proud to announce the signing of a license agreement with the owning company of Alisa Hotel Accra.
The hotel is undergoing re-branding and training initiatives and will continue for a period of 3 months. The new name of the hotel will be: Swiss Spirit Hotel & Suites Alisa - Accra.
This 199 room hotel is strategically located in the upscale North Ridge district of Accra. North Ridge was originally planned as a neighborhood for civil servants and businessmen in the colonial era. Today, North Ridge remains one of the best residential neighborhoods in Accra. The area of North Ridge, West Ridge, and East Ridge, collectively referred to as "The Ridge" is populated by several major embassies, including those of Germany and the United Kingdom, making it an ideal location for an international hotel brand.
The Swiss Spirit Hotel & Suites Alisa Accra will offer besides the 199 oversized rooms and suites, a Swiss Cafe Restaurant & Lounge, a TED & Co Bar & Lounge, The Box for Meetings & Events and an Inspirations Pool & Gym.
The General Manager of the Alisa Hotels Ltd, Mr Yusuf Olela stated: "With Accra becoming one of the leading destination cities in Africa, there has always been a call for Alisa Hotel to be competitive in the global market and to reorganize its services to international standards. We believe the association with Swiss International will empower us to offer top international hospitality services."
The Hotel is the first hotel of the chain in Ghana. The hotel has entered a license agreement with Swiss International on March 3rd, and as such will benefit from the strength and offerings of an international brand.
"We live in a globalized world. Travellers seek the same levels of service and quality from the hotels at home and abroad indicating demand for international hotel brands. Swiss International is making its debut in the country and we are happy that we entered the capital" commented Mr Henri W.R Kennedie, the CEO of Swiss International Hotels & Resorts.
Mr Kwame Ofosu Bamfo, the owner of the hotel added "This is an exciting time for our company as we partner with Swiss International to gain and secure a stronger position in the hotel market of Accra. I am convinced that our hotel, under the flag of Swiss International, will continue to see higher peaks of success."
When asked about the role that emerging markets like Ghana play in the broader portfolio of International hotel brands like Swiss International, Dr Wasiu Babalola, Managing Director - Africa for Swiss International Hotel & Resorts commented: "In general, Africa is considered to be the market with the biggest possibility for growth, as it is yet to maximize its development potential. The hospitality industry in Ghana and Accra in particular has seen huge growth around rising commercial centers and natural resources extraction."
The arrival of Swiss Spirit Hotel & Suites brand in Ghana earmarks Swiss International's commitment to Africa. The chain is already represented in Nigeria with 2 hotels, in Rwanda with 1 hotel and in Sierra Leone with 1 hotel and it is moving to Kenya to operate a luxury resort.
Swiss International plans to become a leading brand in Africa. For this reason Swiss International has recently moved its Service center to Ras Al Khaimah, UAE. The availability of the company's 6 brands; Royal Swiss (Luxury), Swiss International Hotel & Resorts (Upscale), Swiss International The Residences (Upscale), Swiss Spirit Hotel & Suites (Mid-market), Swiss International Boutique (Boutique) and Yes Inn by Swiss International (Budget) and its associated concepts will make it possible to reach the company expansion objective of having 150 hotels by the year 2020 globally.
Swiss International Hotels
Founded in 1982, Swiss International Hotels is established in Switzerland. Swiss International Hotels & Resorts is currently associated with hotels in Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands, Greater China, the Middle East and Africa. The company is registered in Baar, Switzerland and is operating from the UAE (Ras Al Khaimah). Swiss International is operating and licensing its hotels under the following brands: Royal Swiss (Luxury), Swiss International Hotels & Resorts (Upscale), Swiss Spirit Hotels & Suites (Mid-market) and Yes Inn (Economy).
Safa Sameer
Management Assistant at Swiss International Hotels & Resorts
+971-7-2433-242
Swiss International Hotels & Resorts
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Clackamas County will receive $500,000 on behalf of the Willamette Falls Locks Working Group to support an economic-potential study and to explore potential limited temporary repairs for the Willamette Falls Locks, which have been closed since 2011.
Governor Kate Brown approved the funds this past Tuesday by signing HB 5202 and SB 5701, which were passed by the Oregon Legislature earlier this month.
The Working Group - a coalition of regional advocates in supporting the repair and reopening of the facility - made the funding request during the 2016 legislative session. Clackamas County Commissioner Tootie Smith is co-chair of the group.
"This funding is a big victory for local communities advocating for the repair and reopening of the Locks," said Smith. "Thanks to the leadership of Senator Richard Devlin and Governor Kate Brown, we are getting closer to seeing our goals become a reality."
"We believe this is a great opportunity to support economic development in the area and also another chance to continue our great working relationship with the Corps," she continued.
During its testimony to the legislature, the Working Group recommended funding an economic-potential study to assess the value of repairing and operating the Locks, along with working with the Corps for stopgap repairs needed to reopen the Locks for temporary and minimal usage to demonstrate potential economic viability.
The group intends to seek out a local match of $100,000 dedicated to the economic-potential study (for a total of $200,000), leaving $400,000 for the stopgap repairs. Staff to the Working Group are collaborating with the Army Corps of Engineers to assess possible uses of the repair funds.
This state funding compliments the Legislature's creation of the Willamette Falls Locks State Task Force in 2015. The Task Force is studying the state's level of interest in the Locks and will report its findings to the Legislature in 2017.
Clackamas County identified Locks repairs as a priority on its 2016 State Legislative Agenda and actively advocated for the request throughout the session.
The Army Corps of Engineers, which manages the Locks, closed them five years ago for life-safety reasons. The Locks first opened in 1873.
For more information, members of the public may contact Public Affairs Manager Tim Heider at 971-219-7271.
Its been a minute, as we continue to immerse ourselves into the digital cover initiative, but were back today with another stand-out cover, this time featuring iLoveMakonnen. The Atlanta artist, who may or may not be still signed to OVO (its really hard to tell), recently released Drink More Water 6. Prior to the projects release, he stopped by the NYC office to chop it up about a lot of stuff there was over an hours worth of iLoveMakonnen quotables and rants to comb through, before we were ready to compile it into a cohesive story.
The cover story should act as a birds eye view of iLoveMakonnen, an admittedly unique personality in this music industry. Makonnens been open about how industry politics have affected him, and, more importantly, changed him, not always for the better.
Its an interesting read. Head here to check out the full cover story. Watch the BTS video below.
To check out all our cover stories in one neat place, head here.
iLoveMakonnen
Last week, Toronto rapper Mo-G, a member of the group Halal Gang, became the latest of Drakes behind-the-scenes collaborators to incite controversy, as he put up a series of since-deleted Instagram posts that accused the OVO rapper of swagger jacking and short-changing him for songwriting credits. The post came less than two months after Drake shouted out Mo-G on his latest single, Summer Sixteen.
Today, Mo-G posted an Instagram picture of his face covered in blood and bruises, and one can see stitches toward the top of his forehead. When you speak from your heart this is what happens, wrote Mo-G, implying that there is a correlation between his newly sustained injuries and the damning accusations he made against Drake last week. He added the hashtags Dirtysociety and Dirtyindustry to his post.
The graphic photo has since been removed from Mo-Gs Instagram, though you can see a screenshot in the above gallery.
Mo-Gs potential allegations of violent assault against those in Drakes circle come soon after Quentin Miller, still the most notorious of OVOs ghostwriting suspects, revealed that he was beat up by Meek Mill and the Dreamchasers in L.A.
Mo-G
The sequel we never asked for
Nearly 15 years after My Big Fat Greek Weddings original release, we are thrust back into the lives of the Portokalos family.
Despite the dramatic time jump, the film picks up almost exactly where it left off with Toula (Nia Vardalos), Ian (John Corbett), and their daughter (Elena Kampouris) living next door to Toulas family. This, in spite of every indication pointing towards Toula and her daughters continued frustration with her familys over involvement in their lives, sets the tone for the cringe-worthy film.
The film feels regressive in a number of ways. For one, the audience has to watch Toula sink right back into the mousy persona we had watched her grow out of in the previous film. She lets her family take advantage of every aspect of her life and carries the torch by impeding on her own daughters life. The whole family situation is overdone, uncomfortable, and utterly unrealistic; Im sorry but no one would put up with the level of BS the Portokalos family deals out.
And yet, through all of the regression and exaggerated behaviors of the story, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 does an excellent job of paralleling the three generations of love stories. Nia Vardalos (writer) provided wonderful insight into the types of obstacles lovers experience at each age and Kirk Jones (director) presented these stories beautifully.
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Ultimately, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 isnt going into our library of films. But, if youre really out of movies to watch and you enjoyed the first one, youll probably get a few chuckles out of the film.
1.5/5
Shanah Sloane
The Proclamation of 1916 was a powerful document. In recalling the momentous events of a hundred years ago, it is important not just to honour those who took part in the Rising, but- even more so- to see what we can learn in order to best shape our future...
Now and then, we do things the right way. This was one of those occasions. The events held over the Easter weekend, to commemorate the 1916 Rising, went off without a hitch. The tone of the ceremonials organised by the State was finely pitched and appropriate to the moment. All over the country, people had the opportunity to get involved and they did so, for the most part with admirable good humour.
As the weekend unfolded, it was neither self-congratulatory nor absurd to feel honoured to be one of the inhabitants of this small but beautiful island on the edge of Europe. We have given great things to the world. Our functioning, civilised and increasingly liberal democracy represented with great wisdom, inclusiveness and sensitivity over the weekend by President Michael D. Higgins is just one of them.
A hundred thousand or more gathered in the centre of Dublin city to witness what was a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle. People had travelled from all over the world, as well as the furthest points on the map of Ireland, to be there, and the mood was at once celebratory and dignified. Ive never been a fan of military parades, but there was nothing triumphalist or tribal in the script. Instead, as a result of painstaking thought, effort and planning, all of those who lived through the rising and who died in it were, in their different ways, remembered and respected over the course of 48 hours. Thankfully, the time for recrimination on either side is long gone.
Since the start of the year in particular, the rights and wrongs of the decision to take up arms in 1916 have been widely discussed and debated, as of course they have been for many years in academic circles. That is as it should be. The point of grappling with our history, however, is not to second guess those who lived in that other, very different world, the past, but to reach a deeper understanding of where we have come from, and what we have been through hopefully to enable us to find ways of making things better for the future. You have to be honest or at least to try to be honest about what took place, before you can begin the process of shaping our destiny, and that of our children, afresh, in a genuinely informed and educated way.
One thing is for sure: we have been through a very strange and often difficult journey in the intervening 100 years. At the time of the 50th Anniversary of the Rising, in 1966, the righteousness of what happened on Easter Monday 1916 was scarcely open to question. Everyone had been taught that the Irish State owed its very existence to the men and women who fought and died for Irish freedom in that failed, but ultimately momentous, rebellion. And that was true, almost to the extent of tautology.
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Then came the Civil Rights marches in Northern Ireland. Attempting to enforce the notion of a Protestant state for a Protestant people, Loyalist mobs set out to crush the Civil Rights movement and intimidate those who were marching for equality. The ensuing violence sparked a bloody guerrilla war in the Six Counties, fuelled by the Provisional IRAs hardening intent to drive the Brits' out of Northern Ireland. They wanted to bring the united, 32 county Republic of Ireland which the leaders of the rebellion in 1916 had envisaged to fruition and thousands of Irish lives were lost in the grisly struggle waged in pursuit of that political goal.
The Provos claimed a lineage that goes back, through the first Dail of 1919, ultimately to the Proclamation of 1916, which is in effect the founding document of the Irish Republic. In doing so, however, they forced Irish people in general to think again, longer and harder and often more critically, about the legacy bequeathed to us by the leaders of the Rebellion. What kind of society had followed, in the long run, from the actions of those who decided to take up arms and who went on, first, to sign a Treaty with the United Kingdom, which would partition this country, and then to fight a civil war here on Irish soil?
Had the seven signatories of the proclamation really wanted to establish a bigoted, authoritarian, sectarian regime, in which the Roman Catholic bishops influenced every aspect of legislation? In which women were thrown out of civil service jobs immediately they got married? In which a cult of censorship ruled, which meant that Irish artists were treated like dirt by their own country? In which unmarried mothers were fired at the first realisation that they were pregnant? In which so called illegitimate children were slung into gulags or sold off to the highest bidder in the USA as orphans? In which bribery and corruption seemed to be endemic? I could go on but the answer is: I sincerely doubt it.
My grandfather John Stokes was among those who set out on that Easter Monday morning with the objective of ending British rule in Ireland. Did he really believe that the insurrection would work, and that the Republic declared so trenchantly, and in such compelling terms, in the Proclamation would truly be coaxed into being? I have no idea. Looking at the letters, messages and other missives from those involved in shaping the Rising, the leaders at least seem to have been well aware that, most likely, they were signing their own individual death warrants. But they stepped into the breach nonetheless, going about their crazy mission with gusto and they duly and irrevocably changed the course of history, not just here but throughout the modern world.
John Joseph Stokes joined the Irish Volunteers (D Coy, 3rd Battalion Dublin Brigade) and, during Easter week, was in the Distillery in Ringsend and in Bolands Mills, under the command of Sean Cullen and Eamon de Valera. He was, the documents suggest, put in charge of four volunteers to take over the Gasworks. I have wondered often what scrambled thoughts went through the head of the seed and blood of my fathers family and my own, during the course of the rebellion.
Did he carry out his military duties fiercely and to the letter? Or might he have suddenly become horribly aware of the sheer, personal madness of what he and his fellow rebels were doing? Did he, as I suspect I might have, sense the possible imminence of death and feel the cold draught of fear in his gut? And how did he react to everything that was unfolding around him? It is impossible for us to track the innermost thoughts and feelings of those that risked their lives, as he and the rest of the volunteers did. Many of them were extraordinarily brave. Most of them, you might argue, were desperately foolhardy. Collectively, they were essentially idealistic in what they set out to do.
This much we do know. What happened over the Easter weekend was the starting point, from which Britains hold on the island of Ireland began to unravel. Perhaps, as some argue, Irish independence might have been achieved, within a reasonable time-scale, by peaceful means. Then again it might not. And either way, the edifice of the British Empire had been built on the violent oppression of people all over the world, including in Ireland. And the claim of the monarchy that sat atop that edifice to pre-eminence in every respect, contained not the slightest smidgeon of validity or merit. Indeed, to any sensible man or woman it was a risible institution and no more.
And so, we have to ask: should those who believed that the only just basis for the organisation of society is that every citizen shares an equal right to aspire to the highest office in the land, and that the universal franchise is essential to making that aspiration possible, have simply soldiered on, as subjects of a regime that did not even remotely deserve their or our allegiance? All that we can say now for sure is that they couldnt and they didnt; and that, however flawed this Republic may be, or have been, the actions of those who crossed their front porches and set out on that Monday morning to take on the might of the British Empire played a pivotal role in shaping our collective destiny, and in creating the sovereign State of Ireland that stands equal in international affairs to all of the other independent States across the world and way ahead of many in terms of cultural and political prestige and influence.
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John, originally from Drumderry in Co. Wexford, was among the fortunate ones who survived. He was interned after the Rising in Wakefield and in Frongoch, in Wales, where the officer in charge was Terence McSwiney who fought on the Republican side in the War of Independence and died in Brixton Prison after 74 days on hunger strike, in 1920. I remember my father, Maurice Stokes, confiding that, after the Rising, John refused to take up arms against his fellow Irish men. He didnt participate in the civil war, but is said to have provided a safe house for anti-treaty forces. His is one of the 1,358 names, including 1,104 survivors, listed in the 1916 Roll of Honour, drawn up by Eamon de Valera, when he was Taoiseach in 1936.
I think it is fair to say that the dramatic events of the years between 1916 and 1922 affected him very badly. He was married to Catherine Finnegan, originally of Slane in Co. Meath, and they had six children. Sean, Tom, Vera and Padraig Pearse O'Rahilly Stokes, better known as Pearse Stokes, were followed by my father Maurice, born in 1920, who was followed in turn by, Anna, adopted towards the end of the 1920s. But the familys home life was fragmented and difficult throughout that period. Maurice always felt that John had suffered not only because of his involvement in the rising, but also because he had stayed out of the civil war. Whatever the cause, money was scarce and things were tough.
From this distance, and in the absence of any persuasive historical documents, we can only speculate as to what really went wrong. With this tangled family background in mind, however, as the commemorations proceeded, it was moving to hear the stories of other relatives of the men and women, who had participated in the rising. Listening to them reinforced a sense of our collective humanity, and a feeling that, even at our very best, we are all vulnerable creatures, striving optimistically to make a better place of the broken world into which we are born.
For the most part, the media has played its role well too in recent weeks. I was particularly fascinated by the newspaper accounts of the time, which were brought together in special editions, notably by the Irish Times and the Sunday Independent. It was obvious, of course, where the newspapers stood politically at the time. To a large extent, as it happens, they were reflecting the popular reaction to the Rising in its immediate aftermath. But they also had a vested interest in pushing a virulent pro-establishment line, which is precisely what they did.
I was also struck by the RTE Radio One Liveline special, on Easter Monday, in which imaginary members of the public talked to Joe, giving their reaction to what was happening on the streets of the capital city as the rising took hold. It was a powerful, contemporary way of conveying the brutal reality of what the Rising at first meant to the majority of ordinary people. Of course, then the executions started, and the British inadvertently turned public opinion around, in favour of independence.
And what would you have felt if you had read the text of the Proclamation and what it espoused on Easter Monday 1916? That question is, of course, impossible to answer. Our responses now are conditioned by everything that has happened in between. And yet, and yet...
"The Republic guarantees religious and civil liberty, equal rights and equal opportunities to all its citizens, the Proclamation said, "and declares its resolve to pursue the happiness and prosperity of the whole nation and of all its parts, cherishing all of the children of the nation equally, and oblivious of the differences carefully fostered by an alien Government, which have divided a minority from the majority in the past.
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Under any circumstances, and in any era, that is magnificent, powerful stuff. The document, read by Padraig Pearse outside the GPO, went on to promise the election of a national government "representative of the whole people of Ireland and elected by the suffrages of all her men and women. Make no mistake, in a world in which women were still so widely denied the vote, it was a truly radical document which set out the aspirations of the authors of the Irish republic in fine and convincing style.
I like to think that John Joseph Stokes would have been horrified at the extent to which this country lost its way and facilitated the most appalling maltreatment of women and children in particular over the following sixty or seventy years and more. As a teenager gradually falling out of love with the Ireland in which I had grown up, I always imagined him as having flown the flag or carried a rifle for a country in which everyone would be treated as equal, irrespective of gender, class, colour, nationality or religion. That after all, is what the Proclamation had promised.
I see his ghost now, hovering in the slanting light of the morning sun, as it begins to brighten up the room, in this house not far from where he lived and died tragically in 1940 on the south side of Dublin. I think there is the faintest hint of smile on his face. At least I hope there is. We may have fallen desperately short of what those who took on the mantle of pioneers believed a republic could and should be. But we are getting there.
A Houston man will be sentenced May 6 on six felony charges after being found guilty by a Phelps County jury, the Missouri attorney generals office said.
Steven Woolsey was found guilty on five counts of defrauding a secured creditor and one count of possession or sale of equipment with altered identification numbers, all class D felonies. Each count involved required the equipment to be worth in excess of $500.
The sentencing range is one to five years in the Missouri Department of Corrections or up to one year in the county jail and/or a fine that does not exceed $5,000, according to an attorney general spokeswoman.
Most of the charges stem from 2013.
The two-day jury trial was March 22-23.
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KORE1 Releases eBook on 2016 Salary Guide for Southern California KORE1 is excited to announce the release of their annual eBook outlining the changes in hiring trends throughout the IT industry and evolution of salary ranges for IT positions within Sout
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Irvine, California (PRWEB) March 30, 2016KORE1, provider of IT services and solutions to the Southern California area, is excited to announce the release of their annual eBook outlining the changes in hiring trends throughout the IT industry and the evolution of salary ranges for IT positions within Southern California.The eBook offers a look at the growth occurring throughout the information technology sector and an in-depth analysis of salary ranges for IT positions, particularly in Southern California. Additionally, it provides businesses with insight into the latest hiring trends and perspectives.Though the candidate market has been competitive for several years, the strategies needed to acquire the best talent are constantly evolving, said Steve Quarles, Managing Partner of KORE1. Our goal is to equip our clients with the knowledge needed to adapt rapidly to that change.Over the last year, IT salaries have increased by 3.48% and are predicted to st...
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HR Custom Content Programming - Continuing Ed - Emphasis HR Rank: 3 Master Program with Emphasis on Leadership/Organizational Development Rank: 2 Company Name: Michigan State University Program Name: Master of Science in Management, Strategy and Leadership Program Director: Glenn Hodges Address: Department of Management, N 475 BCC, 632 Bogue Street, East Lansing MI 48824 Call: 517-355-1878 Email: ms-mgt@broad.msu.edu Visit: http://management.broad.msu.edu Our editorial team interviewed Dr. Donald Conlon, Eli Broad Professor of Management and Management Department Chairperson from the Broad College of Business, Michigan State University, at the Leadership Excellence Awards this past February. Here are some excerpts from the exclusive interview. What is the overall objective of your program? From motivating individuals and mobilizing teams to making strategic decisions and implementing long-term plans, the overall objective is to challenge students to develop forward-thinking solutions to some of the most important issues impacting organizations today. The curriculum offers a well-balanced blend of theoretical insight and pragmatic skills students can apply right away. Who do you impact with your program? Our program is designed for passionate, hardworking, team-oriented professionals looking to maximize their potential in managing people and leadi...
By Sarah Tully. This story originally appeared on the K-12 Parents and the Public blog.
While charter schools are intended to give parents a say in their childrens education, few get seats on the governing boards at Massachusetts campuses, according to a new report .
Parents make up just 14 percent of governing board members overseeing charter schools statewide in 2015-16, according to a study released March 29 by the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University. About 60 percent of Massachusetts charter schools have no parent representatives on their governing boards.
Researchers for the report, Whose Schools: An Examination of Charter School Governance in Massachusetts, looked at the websites of charter schools to determine where parents sat on their governing boards, as well as the affiliations of other members. Most schools with strong parent representation had predominantly white student populations, the report states.
Annenberg recommends that at least 50 percent of board members be parent representatives from the school or students at high school campuses. The groups recent work has called for more oversight of charter schools .
The report gave an example of one of the charter school chain without parent representation: City on a Hill, a non-profit charter management organization that runs three high schools.
Kristie Loftus, chief development officer for City on a Hill, responded to an email asking for her reaction to the Annenberg study, but did not specifically address the lack of parents on the board.
City on a Hill Charter Public Schools follows all rules and regulations set by the (Massachusetts) Department of Elementary and Secondary Education concerning board governance, and our board members adhere to state conflict of interest and federal disclosure laws, Loftus wrote.
At City on a Hill, we recruit board members with a broad range of experience and expertise depending on the needs of the organization at any given time. ... In addition to governance, our board of trustees provides invaluable advisement and expertise to our management team.
KIPP Massachusetts, which has five schools, currently has no parents on its board, but it plans to add a parent for the 2016-17 school year. Each campus has its own parent council.
At KIPP, we greatly value parent voices and involve them in our schools in several ways, said Caleb Dolan, KIPP Massachusetts, in an email statement.
The report was released at a time when there is a debate about whether to lift the cap on the number of Massachusetts charter schools . An initiative is headed to the November ballot, but state lawmakers also are discussing possible ways to lift the cap in the meantime. See a March 31 story in the Boston Globe about the latest proposal .
Representatives of Save Our Public Schools, an organization that is fighting the ballot initiative, used the report to show a reason why charter schools shouldnt be expanded.
It not only corrupts the original intent of charter schools and not only disenfranchises the communities, it is also poor education policy, said Steve Crawford, a spokesman for Save Our Public Schools.
Education Week has examined the issue of charter school governance, which varies state by state nationwide, including in a previous story by Arianna Prothero about charter school management .
Related stories:
Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 16-04-01 Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article From: The Athens News Agency at CONTENTS [01] Nadia Murad Basee Taha visits refugees in Greece [02] The Europeans are looking forward to the completion of the Greek review, says SYRIZA MEP Papadimoulis [03] 52,046 refugees and migrants in Greece on Friday [01] Nadia Murad Basee Taha visits refugees in Greece Nadia Murad Basee Taha, who managed to escape from the ISIS, wants to become the voice of the refugees seeking legal ways to Europe. Yazidi rights' activist is paying a visit to Athens these days in order to stand by the refugees. Murad met with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras earlier on Friday and discussed issues related to the refugee crisis. She also sent a message to refugees at Idomeni to "accept to be transferred at accommodation centres in order to be safe as the borders will likely remain closed." In statements to ANA-MPA, she said that she asked the Greek prime minister to create accommodation centres for all the refugees. "I am aware of the difficult situation in Greece and the fact that Greeks are really helpful. The refugees have rather hard times at Idomeni and the port of Piraeus. When they are transferred to accommodation centres, we can ask for more support and assistance from the international organizations," she added. Murad will visit accommodation centres to see the conditions and discuss with refugees. "When these people are safe at hospitality centres, I will go to Germany and other countries to ask for their relocation," she underlined. After the borders closed, a lot of migrants have been stranded in Greece, she said adding that she wants to become "their voice." She estimated that the opening of all borders is probably not possible open after the terror attacks in Brussels and Paris. However, she stressed the importance of a plan that will offer refugees that want to survive from the war, the death and terrorism the opportunity to apply for asylum and allow them to be relocated. "There must be provisions for people that have no alternative. It is not that they seek a better life, but they have no other solution," she stated. Nadia Murad Basee Taha was abducted from her village last August, she was used as a sex slave and raped until she managed to escape and go to Germany. More than 3,000 Yazidi women and children remain prisoners of jihadists, according to estimates. [02] The Europeans are looking forward to the completion of the Greek review, says SYRIZA MEP Papadimoulis Greece's lenders are trying hard to find a solution, to bridge their differences and the Greek program review to be completed, SYRIZA MEP Dimitris Papadimoulis said on Friday speaking to ANA-MPA's radio Praktorio 104.9 FM. Papadimoulis underlined that Greece's lenders want to reach an agreement ahead of the IMF spring meeting on April 15 and before the Eurogroup meeting scheduled for April 22. He appeared optimistic that the IMF will possibly give in and offer a vote of confidence because, as he said, Greece bears the whole burden of the refugee crisis. "The IMF has not changed its view, but it will probably give a vote of confidence provided that Greece is bearing the burden of the refugee crisis," he noted and accused German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble that he "wants the IMF to be in the 'cockpit' of the third Greek programme, but does not want the IMF's view on the relief of the Greek debt." The Greek eurodeputy estimated that Friday's Eurogroup teleconference with the participation of the IMF will give the signal in order the review to enter the final stretch. "The Europeans want the review to be completed because they are facing a combination of problems, a multi-crisis, economic stagnation and small growth rates, the refugees issue, terrorism and the British referendum," he underlined and noted that a possible failure of the Greek review will "fuel the 'no' in the British ballots and this is something the European leadership does not want." [03] 52,046 refugees and migrants in Greece on Friday 52,046 refugees and migrants were on the Greek territory on Friday while 339 new arrivals were recorded in the last 24 hours. According to the Refugee Crisis Management Coordination Body's figures, 28,813 of the refugees are in northern Greece, 11,318 of them are in Idomeni, 14,608 are in the region of Attica (5,377 are at Piraeus port), 5,720 on the northeastern Greek islands and 2,905 are hosted in different areas in Central Greece. Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article
Taking a cue from Saskatchewan, every other province in Canada has decided to do away with daylight saving time.
Canadians will no longer be required to change their clocks in the wee hours of the morning twice a year, according to a government release Friday.
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The video above by DNews explains that daylight saving time was first introduced in 1895 after a New Zealand entomologist suggested changing clocks twice a year so he could collect more bugs during winter months. Somehow, one man's theory developed into multiple theories as to why countries around the world continue this practice.
Canadian scientist and author George Hudson insists the custom doesn't make any sense. For the parts of Canada that don't follow daylight saving time (including the northeastern corner of British Columbia, three northwestern Ontario communities, and others), there has been no repercussion to leaving clocks alone, he said.
"This is a practice that is old and tired," he told The Huffington Post Canada.
"We were once told DST would help us function better with seasonal changes, but I argue it only adds more stress."
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In a 2014 study with 450 University of Regina students, Hudson found students who set their clocks forward during the month of March were 86 per cent more likely to be less productive and "sleepy" the following week.
When given a simple math quiz, most students were unable to finish in the given time frame.
"This shows us changing the clocks means many Canadians are not getting the recommend hours of sleep," Hudson explained.
During the last time change, we asked readers to let us know how they really felt about changing their clocks. Responses ranged from, "I think it is foolish to keep changing the time, settle on one and leave it there," to "Noooooooo."
Now you can rest easy, Canada.
"By this time next year we will look back and laugh at our country for sticking with this practice for this long," Hudson said.
To get you ready both mentally and physically before November the time when most Canadians were supposed to "fall back" we've asked a Saskatchewan local for 10 tips to deal with a no-daylight-savings world.
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Courtesy Cartel
Trends may come and go, but good, classic pieces can go the distance.
That's the philosophy behind Montreal-based footwear brand, Cartel. Helmed by PEI-native Davis Guay, the company is making waves in the Canadian fashion industry for its stylish, high-quality and well-crafted footwear.
Rather than looking to trends, Guay, who says he grew up in a "non-traditional environment with hippie parents," would rather defy the fast fashion movement and offer shoes and boots that can be lived in for years.
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An image from Cartel's spring/summer 2016 lookbook.
"I think a big part of what motivates the fast fashion customer is that extreme want of what's new," Guay tells HuffPost Canada Style in a phone interview. "It's a huge segment of our society is almost victimized by this push socially and corporately to really make you feel like you want so much and you need so much and we're not really playing that game.
"We're trying to make something that lasts, something that is timeless."
Cartel Footwear founder and designer, Davis Guay.
The classic aspect of the design is evident in Cartel's designs, though each piece has a few special touches to give it that Cartel edge: think Chelsea boots in lizard-embossed suede and leather booties with a distinctive slant. Each pair is designed in the Montreal neighbourhood of St-Henri where Guay resides, and is manufactured in Mexico.
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The Sarandi Lizard in Suede is now up on the website for Pre-Order!! You just found the perfect chelsea boot for your Spring/Summer wardrobe WWW.CARTELFOOTWEAR.COM A photo posted by Cartel Footwear (@cartel_footwear) on Feb 1, 2016 at 9:09am PST
This season, Cartel is introducing shoes and sandals to the line, which debuted with boots.
"I'm designing shoes that I would want to wear if I was a woman," Guay says of his pieces. "A lot of my inspiration is drawn from everyday life, what you see on the streets, in the airport, at a concert, you take it all in everybody does it at a certain level."
#Repost @boutiqueunicorn Our SS16 sandals are the perfect addition to any outfit A photo posted by Cartel Footwear (@cartel_footwear) on Mar 31, 2016 at 10:39am PDT
But does a brand like Cartel have a chance in surviving an environment where fast fashion is so popular? Guay thinks so.
"There's a certain human element to buying from a brand like Cartel. I think it's communicated through the product and through the branding and you have a more personal relationship with the product," he says.
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And Guay plans to slowly grow the business, which launched in late 2015, in a "very natural, organic way."
"I have no interest in forcing the product to the consumer or maybe bending the philosophies of the brand to reach a larger customer base or more buzz," he says. "I think we've got a pretty solid project here and we've got a pretty strong philosophy and as long as we stay to its core, the brand is going to grow itself."
Cartel's spring/summer 2016 is available for sale at cartelfootwear.com, with sandals being released on April 15th.
You can check out the full spring/summer 2016 lookbook and collection below:
Cartel Spring/Summer 2016 See Gallery
mediaphotos via Getty Images Men like to drink beer
Traditionally, baby showers celebrate a woman becoming a mother, but thats all about to change. Dadchelor parties, also known as men-only baby showers, are now trending.
Congrats Scott #beerbaby #manshower #s2residential worklife #beerpong A photo posted by S2 Residential Apartments (@s2residential) on Feb 19, 2016 at 3:11pm PST
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While baby showers are generally considered women-only events, new data from Pinterest finds that men have never been more interested in throwing a party of their own. According to the image sharing site, pins for man showers rose by 149 per cent in 2015, and pins for coed parties increased by 255 per cent.
The ole ball-and-chains were out of town, so it was Dads Night Out #DadchelorParty #DudesBeinDads #DadStuff #YeahDad #DSCDads A photo posted by Dylan Rodrigues (@drodrigues18) on Nov 1, 2014 at 8:02am PDT
A quick search on Pinterest pulls up a multitude of ideas for dadchelor parties, which can have a number of themes including Huggies and Chuggies, Beer and Diapers and Poker and Pampers.
Not only that, but the ideas on Pinterest cover everything from invitations to food to games. Just take a look below.
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To back up the Pinterest data, Crystal Adair-Benning, owner of Toronto wedding and event planning company Distinct Occasions, told the Toronto Star that a quarter of her baby business is now coed showers, when just two years ago it was women-only.
Why shouldnt a dad be able to celebrate? Adair-Benning said. Having a baby is a big deal for dads and I think as a society we dont talk about it as much.
Best Wednesday ever. #dadchelorparty #dads #babynumber2 #totalrewards A photo posted by Mickey (@_heymickey) on Jan 28, 2015 at 9:30pm PST
Scott Steinberg, author of the best-selling series Modern Parents Guide, agrees and believes these types of showers have a number of benefits.
Whats cool about dadchelor parties is that men are embracing the concept of fatherhood a lot more actively these days, he told Buzzfeed. We give prospective moms the opportunity to connect, have fun and celebrate the joy of being an impending parent. Theres no reason dads shouldnt have the same opportunity.
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The boys are ready for you little Cruthis-Conferido!!!! #manshower #beersandbwlliesandbabybottles #itsaboy A photo posted by Olimpia (@o.newlove) on May 17, 2015 at 5:44pm PDT
Although dadchelor parties are now trending, they arent a new phenomenon. Today.com first reported the rise in popularity of man showers back in 2014. At that time, Pinterest began to notice man showers gaining traction on their site.
Additionally, Wisconsin graphic designer Maureen Anders said she noticed a definite increase in requests for custom, man-shower party invites at her company Anders Ruff. Naturally, barbecue, babies and beer was the most popular theme.
So why are dadchelor parties suddenly boosting in popularity? According to Simon Isaacs, co-founder of parenting site Fatherly, men are getting more and more involved with their wives pregnancies than ever before.
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Ninety percent of men are participating in picking out registries, he said, were encouraging them to take more paternity leave. I think having something that allows a guy to transition from dude to dad is an important element in getting him prepared [for fatherhood].
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It's the end of an era for French fashion house Saint Laurent Paris, as Hedi Slimane has announced he is exiting as creative director.
WWD reports Kering, Saint Laurent's parent company, made a joint statement with the luxury label on Thursday just a mere hours after Slimane's original contract expired, cuing the end of a "four-year mission, which has led to the complete repositioning of the brand."
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Hedi Slimane.
"What Yves Saint Laurent has achieved over the past four years represents a unique chapter in the history of the house," said Francois-Henri Pinault, chairman and chief executive officer of Kering, in the statement. "I am very grateful to Hedi Slimane, and the whole Yves Saint Laurent team, for having set the path that the house has successfully embraced, and which will grant longevity to this legendary brand."
Slimane will be remembered for establishing rock 'n' roll inspired wear with a '70s glam rock aesthetic for the brand, all while bringing the label back "its authority," as recently showcased at his recent star-studded Palladium event in Hollywood.
Everyone from Justin Bieber to Lady Gaga to Pamela Anderson consider themselves a fan of the 47-year-old's work, which does slim-fit designs so well. And 'It' girl Cara Delevingne recently returned to modelling after a brief hiatus in Saint Laurent's La Collection de Paris campaign, shot by the French designer himself.
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@hedislimaneworld @ysl A photo posted by Cara Delevingne (@caradelevingne) on Mar 31, 2016 at 10:08am PDT
Saint Laurent chief executive Francesca Bellettini says Slimane is leaving behind an, "incredible foundation for the brand to build on for its continuous success."
Goodbye Hedi ! After four years with the french brand, during which he completely repositioned the brand, Hedi Slimane is stepping down as creative director for Saint Laurent. Vogue.fr and Vogue Hommes pay tribute to the designer with retrospective and analysis. #SaintLaurent #HediSlimane A photo posted by Vogue Hommes (@voguehommes) on Apr 1, 2016 at 2:19am PDT
Designer Anthony Vaccarello is widely expected to be named Slimane's replacement. Previous successors to the brand include Alber Elbaz and Tom Ford.
We'll miss you with Saint Laurent, Hedi! But we know it's only a matter of time (days, even) before you land yourself a major role with another legendary fashion house (*cough* Dior *cough).
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President Obama has signed a bipartisan bill creating a 15-member commission to figure out how to coordinate and use federal data without risking personal information privacy.
The commission could help to give broader and more permanent approval to the White Houses push to use more tiered-evidence systems like those used in the Every Student Succeeds Act and the Investing in Innovation programto evaluate federal programs. It could also provide a context to hash out longstanding arguments over protecting data privacy which have complicated moves to update the 40-year-old Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act .
The commission will have $3 million and at least initial support from both major political partiesthe bill was championed by GOP House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin and Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington. As we work to create jobs, grow the economy, and tackle all of our deficits fairly and responsibly, it is so important that we understand what is working in federal programs and the tax code, and what needs to be fixed, Murray said in a statement.
So, what exactly would the commission do, and what does it mean for education?
What Will the Commission Do?
First and foremost, it will take a massive inventory of all administrative, survey, and statistical data as well as tax-spending information from all federal programs. Its expected to consult with the heads of most of the federal agencies with research sections, including the Education Department.
The group must come up with ways to integrate rigorous evaluations of effectivenessincluding randomized controlled trialsinto the design of federal programs. At the same time, members must figure out what structures and policies must be in place to protect personal data during those evaluations.
From there, the group will decide whether and how to create a clearinghouse of federal data across agencies and how the data could be released to public or private researchers for program evaluation, continuous improvement, policy-relevant research, and cost-benefit analyses.
It has 18 months to make final recommendations to Congress.
Whos on the Commission?
Ever had to solve one of those logic problems, where you have to sit five people at a table but boys in yellow t-shirts couldnt sit next to girls in red dresses and anyone wearing a green hat had to sit at the front? Choosing the commissioners will be a little like that.
All of the 15 commissioners will be expected to have expertise in economics, statistics, program evaluation, data-security, confidentiality, or database management, but the White House and Congress will have the opportunity to put their own slants on the issues.
In the next 45 days, President Obama will appoint three of the 15 members, including: the director of the Office of Management and Budget or one of the OMBs top aides; an academic researcher, data expert or administrator; and an expert on protecting personally identifiable data and limiting the amount and length of time that data are stored. President Obama also will appoint the chairman of the commission.
Speaker Ryan and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, and the Senate majority and minority leaders will appoint another three commissioners eachfor a total of 12including two academic researchers or data experts each and one data-privacy expert each. Ryan will also appoint the co-chairman of the commission.
What Should Educators Look for?
Thanks to the Every Student Succeeds Acts evidence standards , the commission may look to the Education Department to model program evaluations for other agencies, rather than suggesting many changes for evaluating education programs.
However, the debate over student data privacy has only intensified in the last year, and the commissions recommendations are likely to inform the long-awaited FERPA reauthorization. It will be interesting to see what education-related researchers end up on the commission, and how much access social-science researchers can get to data needed to evaluate politically sensitive programs, such as private-school vouchers.
Related:
When Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrived at the HuffPost Canada offices in Toronto for a global town hall in early March, the last thing we expected him to share with us was a passion for fashion.
But if there's one thing we know for certain about our "strikingly young and wavy-haired" prime minister, he loves a good, crisp, white button-down shirt. On most days, Trudeau tends to leave the top button undone for a more casual, relatable aesthetic. And his signature look isn't complete without those rolled-up sleeves that hit just around the elbows.
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After a widely talked-about interview with Vogue (who previously named him as one of the "sexiest men alive"), Trudeau admitted the legendary publication inspired him to pursue his love of design.
Thus, behold: JT by Justin Trudeau, a collection of pre-rolled white shirts designed by the prime minister himself for the "modern man who wears his feminism on his sleeve."
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Trudeau wore the first design from the his collection on our global town hall stage. The fitted, structured white shirt is manufactured in Montreal's trendy Mile End and features a fabric handpicked by the PM's wife, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau. The standout feature is the pre-constructed, perfectly rolled sleeves, which Trudeau believes is a symbol of "effectiveness" and "work ethic."
Trudeau expressed a desire to create the collection after seeing Gregoire Trudeau wear numerous garments from an array of Canadian designers for her public appearances. He saw the Canadian fashion market as a way to connect to the style lovers of Canada, and said he "heard Canadians (and Americans) loud and clear" when it came to their admiration for his pre-rolled sleeve:
Justin Trudeau's rolled up sleeves and progressiveness does things to me reign af (@feelsykershey) January 28, 2016
Has Justin Trudeau ever rolled his sleeves down? Simon (@simyau) October 19, 2015
however, valid reasons to move to canada include: better view of justin trudeau with his sleeves rolled up. (@niuzhiyan) March 25, 2016
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The father-of-three explained to us the JT by Justin Trudeau pre-rolled shirt collection will "help fashion lovers present their best selves to the world," as the overall look of the brand reflects that of someone who is constantly on-the-go, yet wants to keep things real and remain aware of the world surrounding him or her.
Trudeau wants to make it clear this collection isn't just for men, because, well, it's 2016. As a world leader on a quest to declare himself a feminist until "there's no more reaction," the prime minister has crafted these unisex shirts in a wide range of sizes to prove women and men are equals when it comes to all sectors of life, including fashion.
All proceeds from the JT by Justin Trudeau line will be donated to the Toronto Zoo and panda bears Jia Panpan and Jia Yueyue. Trudeau, who wore his first pre-rolled shirt from the collection when he played with the furry animals just hours before the HuffPost Canada, said he felt "a real connection with the adorable creatures."
It is rumoured that Trudeau will expand the collection with a range with unisex handbags. He brought the rumoured item to Washington, where he is currently taking part in the United States Chamber of Commerce.
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The collection, which only includes the 'Sunny Ways' design thus far, can be purchased online for $99 at Hudson's Bay.
We can't wait to see where Justin Trudeau takes his fashion brand next!
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HAPPY APRIL FOOL'S DAY!
Pre-rolled sleeves, though? Genius.
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MoMo Productions via Getty Images girl (9) using smartphone
Editor's note: Happy (belated) April Fool's Day. This story was originally published in 2016.
In a landmark case, the Supreme Court of Canada has decided when kids can stay home alone: at the age of 15.
"Until now, this was a very grey area," Toronto human rights lawyer Mike Rotch told the CBC. "Parents didn't know when they could leave their kids at home unsupervised. Was nine OK to run a quick errand? Maybe 10? Now they have an answer."
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A six-member Supreme Court panel made the decision on Thursday in response to a 2015 B.C. Supreme Court decision that set the age at 10. When the Crown appealed, many thought the country's highest court would lower the age, not increase it.
"I'm stunned," said dad Yuri Nator, who heads the group Parents Of Responsible Kids. "In Ontario, kids can legally start working at the age of 14. Children can drive off-road vehicles at 12. But they can't stay home alone after school until they're 15? It doesn't make any sense."
"You can't tell me my 14-year-old needs a babysitter. I was babysitting when I was 12."
In an interview with the Canadian Press, Nator wondered what working parents are supposed to do with high school students who are done school at 2:30 in the afternoon. "Many parents aren't off work until five or six," he said. "Are high schools going to open up daycare centres?"
A group of parents gathered outside the Ottawa court house on Thursday to protest the decision. "How are we supposed to teach our kids independence? Or give them any sense of responsibility? You can't tell me my 14-year-old needs a babysitter. I was babysitting when I was 12," one mom told reporters.
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The ruling was penned by Justice Jacques Strap. In reference to the initial B.C. decision, Strap wrote: "The trial judge did not look at the significant evidence that children's brains are not fully formed until the age of 15. Until then, they are not thinking clearly and can make many errors in judgment. Including believing this April Fools' joke."
Did we get you?
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Noel Hendrickson via Getty Images Row of hospital beds
On June 6, the Supreme Court of Canada's decision making physician-hastened death legal will come into effect. A parliamentary committee asked to help the government plot how that would roll out in Canada has made some far-reaching recommendations, well beyond what was contemplated by the court in Carter v. Canada.
The committee, for example, said physician-assisted dying ought to be available in all publicly funded hospitals and health facilities, including palliative care centres. But some health facilities are ill equipped, and others are inappropriate settings for medically hastened deaths.
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Even some of the best health facilities across the country are simply not up to the job. Many of these centres do many things well, including providing a range of critical health services, such as emergency rooms to specialized pediatric and neonatal intensive care units; from in-patient wards for surgery, oncology, burns and plastic surgery, to various specialty outpatient clinics.
In many urban settings, tertiary care hospitals host leading edge technology, state of the art diagnostics and even robust programs of biomedical and clinical research. And yet, too few hospitals host palliative care wards. There are also far too few hospices in most regions across the country, designed to offer the privacy and calm that dying patients and their families need and deserve.
Some healthcare facilities may have a palliative care physician or nurse on-site to give their advice upon request. The further you are from a major urban setting, the less likely such expertise is available. Only 15 to 30 percent of dying Canadians have access to or receive hospice palliative care or end-of life services, dedicated to addressing all forms of suffering -- physical, psychological and existential -- affecting patients nearing death and their families. And yet, should the report's recommendation come to fruition, all healthcare facilities would be required to offer physician-hastened death, i.e., euthanasia and assisted suicide.
The situation for children facing end-of-life is no less dire. The option of a pediatric hospice is more often the exception than the rule. Yet these considerations did not stay the hand of the parliamentary committee, which recommended that within the next three years -- despite a nationwide scarcity of expertise in pediatric palliative care -- that eligibility for medical assistance in dying be extended to those younger than 18.
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What about the notion of forcing euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide into faith-based health-care organizations? Most are built on the foundation of inviolable moral, religious and ethical traditions. Failure to find a more nuanced solution that respects conscientious objection and safeguards patient autonomy will place faith-based facilities on a direct collision course with the federal government.
So what about physician-hastened death in palliative care facilities?
People are often already afraid of palliative care; many refuse early referral, which results in protracted and avoidable pain and suffering. Some even suspect that pain medication might inadvertently hasten their death (it will not).
Requiring palliative care services to include medical assistance in dying would do little to assuage those fears. The World Health Organization, in fact, insists on the separation between palliative care and death-hastening practices.
These are just some examples of concerns that would arise if all publicly funded facilities have to offer physician-assisted deaths. The same observations could be made at many health centres, including personal care homes.
Some people have called the recommendations of the parliamentary committee bold. I fear they lack the wisdom the Supreme Court called for when it described "a complex regulatory regime" needed to balance physician-hastened death with protecting vulnerable persons from being induced to commit suicide at a time of weakness.
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With the advent of physician-hastened death, there has never been a more pressing moment in history demanding we get our approach to human suffering and palliative care right. Fewer than two per cent of patients will likely choose to have their lives ended; most will want to live out the length of their days in care and comfort. That should not be asking too much.
One thing is for certain: the dying are too ill to speak, and the dead will never complain. We, the living, must give voice to their needs, remembering our turn will come soon enough.
The Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Stephane Dion is ready to re-establish diplomatic relations with Russia. During a speech at the University of Ottawa on a new Liberal foreign policy approach, Dion said Canada has no positive consequences for completely cutting ties with Russia. Putting emphasis on following its principles, the foreign affairs minister said Canada will do it in a pragmatic way while re-engaging with Russia.
Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion speaks with the media ahead of the Commonwealths Heads of Government meeting. (Photo: Adrian Wyld/CP)
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"Canada's severing of ties with Russia had no positive consequences for anyone," said Dion, "not for Canadians, not for the Russian people, not for Ukraine and not for global security."
"Canada must stop being essentially the only one practicing an empty chair policy with Russia, because by doing so, we are only punishing ourselves," he added.
As a matter of fact, Canada will benefit in re-engaging with Russia on climate change, the Arctic and the war -- or the fight as per Prime Minister Justin Trudeau -- against Islamic State.
"This re-engagement [with Russia] will aim to help Ukraine, help Europe and help stabilize the situation in the centre of the continent. And it will serve Canadian interests by allowing us to talk to Russia on key issues like the Arctic," Dion said during the speech.
That said, Dion confirmed Canada will continue its support to Ukraine by opposing Russia's annexation of Crimea and support of the separatists in Eastern Ukraine. Dion stressed that cutting diplomatic ties with Russia had brought "no benefit to Ukraine."
"But doing so is entirely consistent with re-establishing diplomatic discussions with Russia, just as our allies do. This re-engagement will aim to help Ukraine, help Europe and help stabilize the situation in the centre of the continent. And it will serve Canadian interests by allowing us to talk to Russia on key issues like the Arctic."
The Russian Ambassador to Canada, Alexander Darchiev, said that Russia is ready to re-engage with Canada. He also put a lot of emphasis on keep talking even if both countries have disagreements.
"We have disagreements but we need to talk and that was the message that I brought here when I came as ambassador, we need diplomacy. We can agree to disagree but we can't stop talking," Darchiev said.
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Russian Embassy Photo: Kirill Kalinin
Minister Dion also stressed that Canada was talking with Russia even during the Cold War; a period much worse than today's.
"Canada was speaking to the Russians even during the tough times of the Cold War. And now we are not speaking ... because of the former policy, of the former government," Dion said on Parliament Hill. "In which way is this helping Ukraine? In way is it helping our interests in the Arctic?"
Under the conservative government, Canada adopted an "empty chair" policy where no Canadian representative would attend meetings at which Russia was present, after the annexation of Crimea.
"But under the previous government, Canada isolated itself. Across the whole range of multilateral venues, from the OECD and the International Atomic Energy Agency, to various Coast Guard fora and international Fisheries Organisations, Canada has since 2014 voluntarily foregone the opportunity to chair and/or host a number of sessions and working groups in which Russia participates. There is a cumulative cost to our failure to convene, chair, and host multilateral meetings because of Russia's presence," said Dion.
New sanctions against Russia
Canada has once again imposed new sanctions earlier this month against Russia. The Embassy of the Russian Federation in Canada issued a statement saying the new sanctions will only have negative consequences for "Russian-Canadian relations."
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"The Canadian government decision to expand existing anti-Russian sanctions is deplorable and runs contrary to its declared intention of shifting to the policy of reengagement on the international arena. Instead of reassessment of failed policies, an unfortunate repetition of a confrontational pattern has occurred which will surely have negative consequences for Russian-Canadian relations. This is not how diplomacy is done and it does not pave the way to an honest and mutually respectful dialogue."
By re-engaging in diplomatic talks, Russia and Canada will have the ability to discuss those sanctions and work on possible outcomes that could benefit both countries.
I believe that imposing new sanctions was a bad move from the Liberals. I understand many Canadians sees Russia as a potential threat but the new sanctions will further degrade our relationship.
When Stephane Dion said he was considering re-engaging in talk with Russia, he should've delay further sanctions and start discussions with the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Canada.
Reassessing Russia's intervention in Syria
The West was forced to reassess Russia's intervention in Syria. First denounced, the Russian air campaign was vital to eliminating many Islamic State fighters and positions. Earlier this week, the Russian air strikes also contributed to the success of retaking the historic city of Palmyra by the Syrian military.
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Russia's intervention in Syria was frowned upon at first but Putin's decision to withdraw the bulk of its forces from Syria signifies limited objectives. Able to declare "mission accomplished," Russia and the U.S.-led coalition worked together in bringing a ceasefire to the war-torn country. The ceasefire was in fact a Russian objective from the start.
"In Syria, the Canadian policy of limited engagement with Russia has severely impaired Canada's ability to influence the peace talks," said Dion.
Canada's contribution to Syria was reassessed and more ground troops will be involved in training local fighters against Islamic State. However, the Liberals' decision to withdraw the CF-188 Hornets from the coalition further degraded its influence to the decision table. By doing so, Canada was not only impaired due to its non-existent diplomatic relations with Russia but also by its limited participation to the U.S.-led coalition.
After cutting diplomatic ties with Russia two years ago, Canada will once again have the ability to discuss matters with another major player in the Arctic and a possible valuable ally in the fight against terrorism.
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Elbow Lake, Frontenac Arch, photo by NCC
There has been a lot of attention and coverage in recent days about close relations between Canada and the United States and meetings between our respective political leaders to discuss issues of mutual interest.
Among these many common issues, one area where there has been friendship and considerable goodwill for more than 30 years is the shared pursuit of conservation. It is a huge success story that has involved vision and partnership.
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The Nature Conservancy of Canada is proud to be among like-minded organizations in Canada and the U.S. such as Ducks Unlimited Canada, working together under the North American Waterfowl Management Plan. This plan is an international agreement that supports the long-term protection of wetland and upland habitats needed by waterfowl and other migratory birds.
The plan is supported in large part by funding from the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA). The NAWCA grants program has resulted in $33.7 million in funding from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, which has been directly invested into Nature Conservancy of Canada projects across Canada since 2001.
Every U.S. dollar received through annual NAWCA grants is matched by the Nature Conservancy of Canada with financial contributions from individuals, businesses, corporations, and family and community foundations, along with government agencies. To date, more than $161 million has been leveraged in matching funds.
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Red Deer River Natural Area. Photo by Karol Dabbs
Making a Difference
More importantly, it means 350,000 acres (141,640 hectares) of crucial habitat, including wetlands and associated upland habitat for waterfowl, have been protected from coast to coast, with valuable sites supported in every province.
Here are some examples of what has been accomplished by the Nature Conservancy of Canada across the country thanks to funding from NAWCA:
The South Selkirks Natural Area, which includes the Frog Bear Conservation Corridor lands, knits together a protected wildlife corridor through the internationally-significant Creston Valley wetlands. These lands protect the only known breeding site in British Columbia for the endangered northern leopard frog, along with habitat for many other wetland-dependent species. 42,339 acres (17,133 hectares) across B.C.;
The Red Deer River Natural Area is part of more than 49,000 acres (19,830 ha) of habitat conserved in Alberta;
The Missouri Coteau Natural Area in Saskatchewan has 130 conservation projects on 69,025 acres (27,933 hectares);
NCC's Manitoba Region has secured more than 61,000 acres in over conservation 200 projects. Within these projects over 23,000 acres (9,300 hectares) are upland habitat and over 10,000 acres (4,047 hectares) is wetland habitat for migratory waterfowl;
23,354 acres (9,451 hectares) in Ontario, including the Frontenac Arch, which includes prime habitat for mallards and wood ducks;
NCC's Quebec region protects more than 18,000 acres (7,300 hectares) of migratory waterfowl habitat in the St. Lawrence Lowlands.
Protection of lands at Musquash Estuary, located on the Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick. It is the only federal marine protected area designated in the province. There have been 15,590 acres (6,309 hectares) supported through this agreement;
20,089 acres (8,130 hectares) protected across Nova Scotia, including the Pugwash Estuary and the key Musquodoboit Harbour Ramsar site in the eastern shore region;
Percival River in western Prince Edward Island: 1,449 acres (586 hectares) conserved in total on the island;
1,392 acres (563 hectares) of wetlands across Newfoundland and Labrador, including the Grand Codroy Estuary on the island's west coast, a wetland of international importance.
The Nature Conservancy of Canada is the country's largest private land conservation organization. Since 1962, we have helped to protect 2.8 million acres (more than 1.1 million hectares) from coast to coast.
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However when you look at the size of this country it is clear that there is still much work to be done to support wetlands and important habitat.
The impact is far greater than area alone suggests. The Nature Conservancy of Canada is making a very important contribution to continental conservation by directly addressing the most significant threats to Canada's spaces and species, setting clear priorities and focusing on areas most in need of conservation.
Why it matters
The protection of these natural areas not only benefits migratory birds by giving them a crucial resting spot and stopover but also people and communities by promoting recreation and ecotourism opportunities.
The Nature Conservancy of Canada is pleased to help Canadians of all ages connect with our outdoors. These sites allow opportunities to walk, hike, bird, canoe, kayak, explore, learn and rejuvenate.
100 anniversary of Migratory Bird Treaty
This year marks a special milestone in cross-border conservation: 2016 is the centennial of the Migratory Bird Treaty, signed on Aug. 16, 1916. Plans to celebrate this anniversary are underway.
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The Migratory Bird Treaty, and three others that followed, demonstrates the efforts by many groups to conserve birds that migrate across international borders.
Our political leaders are quite right in saying Canada and the United States have shared a long and successful history of working together. The efforts by many groups and agencies under the North American Wetlands Conservation Act to help conserve, protect and manage migratory bird populations is something outdoor enthusiasts and nature lovers on both sides of the border can feel good about.
The Nature Conservancy of Canada is just one of many Habitat Joint Venture partners contributing to this important work. To learn more about the many organizations playing an important role, visit: www.natureconservancy.ca and www.wetlandnetwork.ca
Written by John Lounds, president and CEO of the Nature Conservancy of Canada.
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When Tourism Ireland invited me on a Foodie Tour of Northern Ireland, my first thought was "I can boil my own potatoes and I don't eat deep fried foods." They were only too happy to show me that my concept of Irish food is outdated and how far their culinary world has come.
In addition, I experienced living history with the peaceful political shift in the North from Belfast, through County Down and into Derry/Londonderry. This place is in its spring, bursting onto the scene from its rich, fertile, deeply cultured past and ready to blossom for the world.
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Here is a quick video montage of the Irish Foodie Adventure.
While in Belfast you must not miss:
True Irish pubs like the Crown which has enclosed cubicles called snugs: booths that are festooned in a British-ish richness and red. (there is a coupon on the website!) A seat at the bar in the afternoon affords the best view of the comings and goings and for about 13 pounds Stirling (They trade in British Pounds in Northern Ireland and Euros in the south.) you can get a plate of sausage and champs with gravy that will stick to the ribs of two average appetites. Don't over-order and plan to take away, it's simply not done; they don't even have take out containers. Oh and it isn't unusual to have a pint for lunch, in fact, it would be unusual not to.
A black cab tour to provide an up close and personal guided view of the city including the Peace Bridge with its murals of the Troubles and gates that are still closed at night. Visitors sign the walls with messages of peace. There is absolutely no extreme rebellion or fear in the streets but old habits and the drink still exist.
The Titanic Museum Belfast has something for everyone. Whether you're interested in the history of shipbuilding, the infamous ship herself, the films based upon her story or just looking for a way to entertain the kids in Belfast; plan a couple hours. The Titanic was built here and employed 3000 men for two years which had an impact on the working class society before it even had a chance to sail.
There are two Michelin Star restaurants in Northern Ireland, one is called Eipic and I dined at the other called OX. This small, bare room with high white ceilings keeps all eyes focussed on the food without distraction. The tasting menu is the way to go at $85 Canadian (converted from 45 pounds at today's rate) and the wine pairings are a must. In my experience, sometimes wines are theoretically paired with each food and it is a hit and miss dance. But in this case, the enhancement of key flavours felt like the sommelier had handpicked petals of the brightest blossom on the tallest bough.
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If you are a Van Morrison fan you will want to take a drive up to Holywood, which houses one of the two five-star hotels in Northern Ireland called the Culloden Spa and Estate. It is a poorly kept secret that Ireland's own song master takes a corner in the lounge, takes his family to brunch and often performs here. And no wonder, it is a majestic five star retreat that offers exquisite dining, a seaside walk and a spa to restore you. Traditional Irish Breakfast is a highlight here with its cold buffet of gorgeous smoked fish, rich local yogurt, housemade granola and muesli (and a nod to the ever present British Weetabix biscuits) with fruit compote and fresh juices. This is all before you enjoy traditional hot breakfast of black pudding, white pudding, sausage, eggs, baked tomato and mushrooms.
Northern Ireland's second city is the town of Derry/LondonDerry and it is truly the place you want to be to be able to wrap your brain around the very present history and the extreme hyper local commitment to food.
Must not miss in Derry/LondonDerry:
This walled city is stunning with its history of loyalism and defense of independence infused into every rock on the 1 Km promenade that surrounds it. From above you can see the countryside with its sheep, the sleepy neighborhoods surrounding it and the Peace Bridge built to connect unionist 'Waterside' with the largely nationalist 'Cityside and transcend the troubles. Join the Martin McCrossan wall walk guided tour for a very few dollars and an excellent overview. It meets outside the Foyle Mall curbside.
From there it all comes down to culture inside the town. The Bishops Gate Hotel is freshly restored and one of only two hotels within the walls. The sumptuous offerings in the bar/pub/restaurant are classic and yet up to date. For instance, a large bowl of porridge to accompany the serve yourself cold breakfast buffet is hearty and healthy with an added touch: it comes with its own special syrup made with reduced whisky. Sounds strange but the taste will change your mind about porridge forever. Fresh smoothies and pressed juices will keep you well for the remaining ways you will eat here. Here, too, there is barely a potato in sight.
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Browns and The Sooty Olive are both terrific restaurants for dinner. Always, always go for the tasting menus when offered, these chefs are committed to hyper local and exquisite expression of food. Like, that bacon can from three miles up the road and I picked those flowers myself for garnish this morning kind of local. Any mashed potato is served as a swipe on a plate in honour of the past, there are no heaps of white suffering here.
There are monthly festivals and 2016 has been designated as the year of Food and Drink. March held the LegenDerry food festival where local producers and chefs connect with the people. Minds are changed and hearts are won over the dinner table where culture is built. I'm not surprised to see that the commitment to supporting the local farmers is woven into small shops that carry everything from black pudding to butter pastured not 10 miles away. No doubt the supermarket here has prices that compete fiercely but the ferocity of the Irish has never been in question. They are a committed people in lore, politics, belief and play and it has nothing to do with the "Luck of the Irish." It comes from generation after generation of knowing what's real.
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Don't mistake Portland's down-to-earth attitude for a lack of class: this is one sophisticated city.
stay: From the oversized mural welcoming you in the lobby to the nude sketches in the Carrara marble bathrooms, the Hotel Modera embodies Portland's arts scene (even the city's hanging baskets are edgy).
It's in walking distance from the Pearl District and the downtown core, but look no further than its buzzy restaurant, Nel Centro, for your nightcap.
Gathered around one of the three sleek firepits on the terrace (with a glass of something bubbly) was the place to be the night we arrived.
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savour: There are only two places you'll find a Portlander at noon on a Sunday: eating brunch or waiting in line for it. Do like the locals and head to Tasty n Alder for comfort food with Asian and Latin influences (think crunchy Korean fried chicken tossed with short-grain rice, house kimchee and eggs, and a chocolate malt milkshake and dipping fries, for dessert).
On weekends there's usually a wait so kill time at Blue Star Donuts and Heart Coffee. Dinner calls for lighter Thai-Vietnamese fare: fried tilapia with chilies, lime and coriander at Pok Pok's in the Hawthorne District does it.
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sip: For the lay of the brewery land (and guaranteed fun times) book your spot on a BrewCycle. On our two-hour Northwest Circuit tour, we pedaled our way to Lucky Lab, McMenamins and Bridgeport while belting out 90s tunes with fellow riders in an impromptu karaoke sesh.
Beer not your thing? Head to the Heathman Hotel for a very sexy Fifty Shades of Grey cocktail (the book series is set here) accessorized with, what else? Tiny handcuffs.
do: Haute galleries abound in this Northwestern cultural hub (which, by the way, k.d. Lang once called home). Take in local and international works at the beautifully curated Gallery 905, Augen and Froelick and the Museum of Contemporary Craft, all on Davis Street.
By night head to the Kennedy School Theatre to catch a newly-released flick from the comfort of a living-room couch while noshing on pizza and beer, then join the tortoiseshell-bespectacled crowd to discuss it over drinks at the theatre's bar. Classic Portland.
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shop: In a city that loves the little guy, Portland is boutique heaven. For home decor, local handicrafts and the coolest air plants we've even seen, head to Boys Fort and The Real Mother Goose.
On a Saturday afternoon it's worth stopping in to Knit Purl to watch the city's craft-obsessed fawn over the kaleidoscope of colourful yarns. From March to December take a stroll through the Portland Saturday Market where hundreds of local artisans show off their wares.
Be sure to fuel your shopping spree with a cup of locally brewed Kombucha from one of the many food trucks (the trip isn't complete without it!).
And when you start to miss PDX upon your return home? There's always Portlandia.
-- Lise Boullard
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The five things you need to know on Friday April 1, 2016
Paul is on holiday. This morning's WaughZone is from Ned Simons.
1) HAS SAJID STEEL NOT TURNED UP YET?
Sajid Javid's daughter must have really enjoyed her holiday of a lifetime which mostly involved watching movies and eating peanuts on flights to and from Sydney. The business secretary, who is under pressure for pressing ahead with a trip to Australia while the UK steel industry teetered on the brink of collapse, cut short his visit. Javid had spent 34 hours Down Under but a total of 45 hours in the air.
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He will visit Port Talbot this morning where he will tell workers he is "on their side" and "working hard to achieve a long term solution" for them and for the wider UK steel industry.
The revelation that Javid planned to stay on in Australia after his official duties were over in order to enjoy a family holiday has even led Labour MP Stephen Kinnock to call for the business secretary to resign.
Jeremy Corbyn's petition demanding parliament be recalled hit 100,000 signatures yesterday. Which means it is eligible for a Commons debate. Once parliament is back on April 11, the petitions committee of MPs will decide whether to give all MPs a chance to debate in parliament recalling parliament from the recess that has already ended. If that makes sense.
2) TIN EAR
Somewhat redundant petitions aside, Labour has succeeded in putting pressure on the government. In this week's Huffington Post UK Politics Commons People podcast, Owen Bennett, Graeme Demianyk and I discuss how the Opposition has handled itself over the past week and whether Brexit could, as some in the 'Out' campaign argue, save the steel industry. And as always, Owen's quiz is utter gibbering nonsense.
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3) MORE METAL IN YOUR POCKETS
George Osborne's national living wage comes into effect today, meaning people over the age of 25 will get 7.20 an hour by law. The government's aim is to increase the rate to 9 an hour by 2020. This morning the chancellor said the policy was the thing he was "most proud to have introduced" as "economic security and social justice go hand in hand".
But Labour's shadow work and pensions secretary has this morning accused Osborne of a "cruel sleight of hand" by introducing their living wage "with one hand" while "taking five times as much in cuts to Universal Credit and Tax Credits with the other". He added: "While this higher minimum wage for the over 25s is welcome, it will feel like an act of deception for the two million families set to lose 1,600 a year through cuts to in work support."
We asked people on the streets of London what they think theyd need to earn to live comfortably. The answered varied wildly from 15,000 to four times that.
4) TRUMP MADE 71 THINGS UP IN ONE HOUR
This week Donald Trump said women should be "punished" for having abortions and refused to rule out dropping a nuclear weapon on Britain. Unsurprisingly, YouGov has found Europeans view a Trump presidency with a mixture of fear, disappointment, sadness and anger.
We checked, and it turns out Trump made up stuff 71 times in one hour. One new poll shows Texas Senator Ted Cruz is now 10 points ahead of professional entertainer Trump in Wisconsin, the site of the next Republican primary.
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BECAUSE YOUVE READ THIS FAR:Tim Peake UFO footage has stargazers and scientists in a spin
5) YOU FOOLS
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A student at Edinburgh University received a "ludicrous" complaint after she raised her arms during a meeting.
Imogen Wilson, Vice President for academic affairs at Edinburgh's student association, was threatened with removal from Thursday's student council session under "safe space" rules.
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After being accused of failing disabled students by not responding to an open letter, Wilson responded instinctively.
"At that point, I raised my arms in disagreement, as we had contacted the writers of the letter and tried hard to organise a meeting. It was for that reason that a safe space complaint was made," Wilson told HuffPost UK.
There has been a safe space complaint against @eusavpaa for inappropriate hand gestures. #eduni Student Newspaper (@TheStudentPaper) March 31, 2016
Section 6c of the Student's Association's safe space policy says that council members should be respectful and considerate.
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This is defined as: "Refraining from hand gestures which denote disagreement or in any other way indicating disagreement with a point or points being made. Disagreements should only be evident through the normal course of debate."
When someone has been accused of violating the safe space policy, a vote takes place to decide whether they should be removed from the room. In this instance, 18 people voted to remove Wilson, and 33 voted for her to remain.
Wilson later shook her head whilst someone was speaking, and was threatened with another safe space complaint.
"I completely understand the importance of our safe space policy, and will defend it to the ground, but I did not think that was fair, and had it gone further I would have either left or argued against it," she said.
A fourth-year student at the meeting, who wished to remain anonymous, told HuffPost UK: "The whole thing was a ludicrous abuse of the entire intent of safe space.
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"We were having one of the most emotionally tense councils of the year, with the vote on the BDS movement and people speaking who live in Palestine or are Israeli on both sides of the issue.
"There was ample risk of there being an actual safe space issue taking placean anti-semitic or islamophobic comment for instancebut the whole debate was actually remarkably civil despite how emotional it was.
"So for someone to have abused the very legitimate purpose of safe space rules to get at someone they politically disagreed with was pretty low.
"And for 18 other students who definitely could not have all seen the motion themselves to vote for that sabbatical officer's removal from the room, clearly just out of political disagreement, was also crazy," they said.
Charlie Peters, a first-year student at Edinburgh, sometimes attends the council meetings. He was appalled with the safe space policy in place at his university, and set up a petition against it, which had 1000 signatures on Friday afternoon.
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"What sort of an education do you promote if you would make it harder for us to debate and have us avoid the views some do not agree with? We are adults, we do not need condescension or safeguarding," Peters wrote in the letter.
Safe spaces now censor "inappropriate hand gestures" - my university is becoming pathetic. #EdUni#FreeSpeechpic.twitter.com/XkT5s62Cpk Charlie Peters (@CDP1882) March 31, 2016
While charter schools are intended to give parents a say in their childrens education, few get seats on the governing boards at Massachusetts campuses, according to a new report .
Parents make up just 14 percent of governing board members overseeing charter schools statewide in 2015-16, according to a study released March 29 by the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University. About 60 percent of Massachusetts charter schools have no parent representatives on their governing boards.
Researchers for the report, Whose Schools: An Examination of Charter School Governance in Massachusetts, looked at the websites of charter schools to determine where parents sat on their governing boards, as well as the affiliations of other members. Most schools with strong parent representation had predominantly white student populations, the report states.
Annenberg recommends that at least 50 percent of board members be parent representatives from the school or students at high school campuses. The groups recent work has called for more oversight of charter schools.
The report gave an example of one of the charter school chain without parent representation: City on a Hill, a non-profit charter management organization that runs three high schools.
Kristie Loftus, chief development officer for City on a Hill, responded to an email asking for her reaction to the Annenberg study, but did not specifically address the lack of parents on the board.
City on a Hill Charter Public Schools follows all rules and regulations set by the (Massachusetts) Department of Elementary and Secondary Education concerning board governance, and our board members adhere to state conflict of interest and federal disclosure laws, Loftus wrote.
At City on a Hill, we recruit board members with a broad range of experience and expertise depending on the needs of the organization at any given time. ... In addition to governance, our board of trustees provides invaluable advisement and expertise to our management team.
KIPP Massachusetts, which has five schools, currently has no parents on its board, but it plans to add a parent for the 2016-17 school year. Each campus has its own parent council.
At KIPP, we greatly value parent voices and involve them in our schools in several ways, said Caleb Dolan, KIPP Massachusetts, in an email statement.
The report was released at a time when there is a debate about whether to lift the cap on the number of Massachusetts charter schools . An initiative is headed to the November ballot, but state lawmakers also are discussing possible ways to lift the cap in the meantime. See a March 31 story in the Boston Globe about the latest proposal .
Representatives of Save Our Public Schools, an organization that is fighting the ballot initiative, used the report to show a reason why charter schools shouldnt be expanded.
It not only corrupts the original intent of charter schools and not only disenfranchises the communities, it is also poor education policy, said Steve Crawford, a spokesman for Save Our Public Schools.
Education Week has examined the issue of charter school governance, which varies state by state nationwide, including in a previous story by Arianna Prothero about charter school management .
See other recent stories about charter schools and Massachusetts:
Contact Sarah Tully at stully@epe.org .
Follow @ParentAndPublic for the latest news on schools and parental involvement.
Dont miss another K-12 Parents and the Public post. Sign up here to get news alerts in your email inbox.
The 1st April sees an increase in the minimum wage, rebranded as the National Living Wage, to 7.20 for those over 25 years of age. But one group of workers - cycle couriers - will be denied this modest boost to their income.
And it's not just the minimum wage. Cycle couriers - essential to the smooth-running of the UK's business sector - are denied a whole host of other employment rights too, including the right to receive sick pay and paid holiday. This is because their official employment status as 'independent contractors' enables the UK's large courier firms to deprive them of essential working rights.
The Couriers and Logistics Branch of the Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain (IWGB) is seeking to change that. In March 2016, this small union submitted a claim to the Employment Tribunal that, if successful, will revolutionise the employment status of cycle couriers, making them eligible for the basic rights and benefits that they are currently denied.
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The claim is being brought against four of the UK's largest same-day courier businesses: eCourier, CitySprint, Addison Lee and Excel Group Services.
This potential transformation in employment status can't come quickly enough for cycle couriers, many of whom live only one illness or injury away from financial disaster.
One of these cycle couriers is Demille Flanore, a twenty-two year old who rides for eCourier. In July 2015 Demille broke his right wrist and was left unable to ride his bike for 5 weeks. During that time his employment status made him ineligible for sick pay, leaving him in an extremely precarious financial position. Out of desperation, Demille asked eCourier to return the deposit that he - like all cycle couriers - had to pay them for the loan of the firm's radio communications equipment; incredibly, his request was only granted after he had returned to work as a cycle courier, over one month later. "Until then, to make ends meet, I had to work as a cleaner," he says, "even though I could only use one hand." Demille has still not fully recovered from his injury and has to wear a supportive wrist brace.
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Demille's experience is far from uncommon. A recent, highly-publicised case saw another cycle courier - this time the victim of a hit and run - deprived of sick pay and resorting to crowdfunding online in order to be able to pay his rent.
The IWGB's Employment Tribunal claim seeks to challenge cycle couriers' 'independent contractor' status by arguing that, in practice, couriers tend to work for only one company at a time, are subject to the control of their managers, and have no say over their rates of pay.
"For too long," says the Union President, Dr. Jason Moyer-Lee, "the courier industry has been premised on the hyper-exploitation of bicycle couriers. Courier companies have used the bogus classification of 'independent contractor' to deprive riders of wages and the most elementary of rights. With this case the IWGB wants to put an end to that for once and for all."
The IWGB is highly-motivated to win this action. And there is a lot of anger more generally at the unfairness with which the big courier firms treat cycle couriers. Mags Dewhurst, herself a cycle courier and also the Accreditation Officer for the Couriers and Logistics Branch of the IWGB says:
"Couriers shouldn't be the ones suffering financially, mentally, emotionally and physically because some company that they work for can't be bothered to pay them or afford them normal employment rights. Some eCouriers work 7 days a week - it's totally unsustainable. There should be something somewhere that provides a tiny bit of regulation."
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Demille hopes that the Employment Tribunal claim will result in "sick pay, paid holiday." He works nine hours a day, doing 20-25 jobs daily. Like all cycle couriers he is paid by the job, not by the hour, and so there's constant pressure on him to keep going. There are no breaks, although he tries to find 5 minutes each day when he can devour a sandwich before heading to the next job. "When you get home," he says, "you're so tired that you can't even eat properly."
Pancreatic cancer has the worst survival of any of the 21 most common cancers, with only around 5% in the UK living for five years or more following diagnosis. It is the 10th most common cancer in the UK, with around 9,400 new cases diagnosed annually, and yet is the 5th largest cause of cancer death, with around 8,700 deaths each year. It is predicted to become the 4th largest cause of cancer death in the UK by 2030, overtaking breast cancer.
Pancreatic Cancer UK have a team of specialist nurses, who provide support and information to people affected by pancreatic cancer via the charity's dedicated Support Line which is the only one of its kind in the UK. The specialist nurses support people with pancreatic cancer, their family and friends, by providing information about symptoms, diagnosis and potential treatments, as well as living and coping with the disease. I'm a Pancreatic Cancer UK specialist nurse, so in light of recent news about the passing of much-loved TV agony aunt Denise Robertson from pancreatic cancer, I want to tell you more about the disease.
What is pancreatic cancer?
Pancreatic cancer occurs when abnormal cells in the pancreas grow out of control, forming a mass of tissue called a tumour. It can occur in the head, body or tail of the pancreas. At Pancreatic Cancer UK we produce a huge amount of information about the disease which can be found here
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Pancreatic cancer doesn't usually give rise to any symptoms or signs in the early stages. This is the main reason why it can be so difficult to detect and diagnose and contributes to the poor survival rates. As the cancer grows the symptoms it causes will depend on the type of pancreatic cancer and where it is in the pancreas.
What are the symptoms?
The symptoms include tummy pain which can spread to the back, indigestion, significant unexplained weight loss, a change in bowel pattern which may include oily floating poo, and yellow skin or eyes or itchy skin.
We suggest that if anyone has jaundice, they visit their GP as soon as possible, and people who have any of the other symptoms, unexplained and lasting for more than four weeks should also visit their GP. Some of the other symptoms can include nausea and vomiting, indigestion/heartburn, fever and shivering, and diabetes.
More information about signs and symptoms can be found on our website. People can also call me or one of my nursing colleagues on the Support Line with any questions about symptoms.
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How to cope with a pancreatic cancer diagnosis
Everyone reacts differently to being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. There is no 'right' way to feel. It's ok to be upset, angry, and to cry, shout or swear. If you have been unwell for some time, you may even feel a bit relieved that at least now you know what is wrong with you. It can take time to come to terms with your diagnosis. You might find you have good and bad days. You will probably go through a range of emotions, from feeling positive and determined to get well again, to feeling low or worried about the future.
At Pancreatic Cancer UK we are here for you and support is available.
Our Support Line is a lifeline for thousands of people with pancreatic cancer, their families and friends. Myself and our nursing team understand the issues you might be facing and can support you in coping with pancreatic cancer.
0808 801 0707
Monday to Friday 10am-4pm
support@pancreaticcancer.org.uk
Our online community is a supportive place for everyone affected by pancreatic cancer. Day and night you will find others who understand what you are going through.
We produce the most up-to-date information on everything you need to know about pancreatic cancer.
Dear Rossignol
With all due respect who gave you the right to speak on my behalf when you said
There are women who choose [to wear headscarves], there were also American negroes who were for slavery
http://aa.com.tr/en/world/france-s-true-face-racism-or-secularism/546785
You were commenting on the modest lines designed by some fashion retailers and by making this comparison you were making an assumption that Muslim women are enslaved. I never saw a petition by Muslim women worldwide who choose to cover explaining that they are enslaved and asking for their cause to be championed.
The logic behind these comments is even more offensive; comparing covered Muslim women to centuries of barbaric slavery that African people faced at the hands of Europe and America is not only stupid and illogical but downright arrogant of you. You should apologise to the progenies of those African slaves. The enslaved African people fought hard for decades to be freed from that slavery. I don't see any such uprising by Muslim women worldwide proclaiming "we are enslaved in our hijab and we want to be free from it." Are you implying that Muslim women are so stupid that they do not know themselves to be enslaved? Does the idea that intelligent, empowered women make a decision about the way in which they dress which is different from your own really such a threat to your own world view?
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You have made an assumption about a large group of women based on their appearance. This is neither morally nor ethically right. Who decided that women covering themselves or dressed up modestly are enslaved? Some might say women who are not covered are enslaved. It could be argued that they are slaves to fashion, slaves to a materialist outward view of beauty. Harsh isn't it? Well yes, if hurt then you will know that's how much it hurt me when I read your comments. No one has the right to tell any woman what to wear, it is a matter of choice and conscience and my religion does nothing more than guide my conscience.
Items of clothing do not represent freedom or slavery. A woman can be controlled, oppressed or enslaved whatever clothing she wears. If you wanted to pick a cause you should have focused on overall gender equality, women's education and empowerment, domestic violence or sexual abuse. Or perhaps something closer to home like gender pay gap.
The anti-Islamic sentiments and tone are evident in your comments. So let me make it clear for you, that same Islam that guides me to look after my beauty and modesty has also given me many rights and has liberated me as a result.
Islam which some people in western politics describe as a medieval religion, gave rights of education, divorce , inheritance and freedom of speech to women in the "Medieval times" when the first world was asleep in the dark ages. Unlike the modern day world, where a man and a woman can do the same job but the woman can be paid less than the man, the Quran says that I should get the same reward as my husband for doing the same deed. Perhaps the world should learn a lesson or two from the Quran!
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As a Muslim woman I was given the freedom to choose or to say no to whom I want to marry 1400 years ago, my parents were told that if they educated me and raised me well they would go to paradise 1400 years ago, I was given a choice to work or not to work as my husband was made responsible to look after my financial needs 1400 years ago, in other words his money is mine and my money is mine.
Please do not make your judgements based on the actions of those who despite being Muslim do not represent Islam. Make your judgement based on the teachings, open the Quran and read for yourself.
If you think the independence and empowerment of a woman is judged by measuring the length of her clothing I disagree with you and to be honest many, many sensible people will disagree with you too. I know many non Muslim women who like to dress modestly. The two Jewish women who have released their Mimu Maxi range of modest clothing demonstrate that the idea of modest dress is shared by many women.
On one hand feminists around the world have fought tooth and nail to abolish the naked depiction of women in newspapers , or women portrayed as sexual objects (and rightly so) on the other hand some in the west cannot bear the fact that some women choose to cover their heads and bodies modestly. Why the double standard? Just like I do not object to M&S selling bikinis you do not have a right to object when they sell burkinis. It's a free country after all and everyone has a right to choose what they buy and wear.
Massive congratulations to the fantastic #EndTamponTax campaigners!
Headed up by Laura Coryton this campaign and petition has successfully pressurized Parliament to scrap the archaic laws taxing tampons as 'luxury items'. They also forced MPs to use the word "tampon" and "period" in Parliament, which some found quite awkward.
The story behind the removal of this unfair tax shows why we need more women MPs and Peers at Westminster, which is what #5050Parliament is campaigning for.
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#TamponTax was eventually scraped because Paula Sherriff MP succeeded in changing the law by getting an amendment to the Finance Bill. Her amendment called for a zero rate VAT on "sanitary products". Having got agreement from the EU in Brussels, the Prime Minister and Chancellor decided not to oppose her amendment when announcing the Budget.
MP Paula Sherriff is the first Opposition backbencher to ever successfully amend a Government's Budget. She said it had been an "absurdity" than tampons had been classed as a luxury product when "periods are simply a fact of life" calling the tax "Vagina Added Tax"
Cameron told Sheriff that the "new epithet" for VAT will "live on in Hansard for many years to come". He also added "Getting over some of the language barriers on sanitary products in a 28-person European Council is something that is going to stay with me for a while."
President Obama's reaction to Tampon Tax on Youtube was particularly inspiring and encouraging:
"I have to tell you, I have no idea why states would tax these as luxury items. I suspect it's because men were making the laws when those taxes were passed."
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He is absolutely right but the Tax on Tampons is the tip of the iceberg.
There are many important issues that are legislated by men but which affect women predominantly, including FGM, sexism, sexual discrimination, maternity care and domestic violence. But it is not just these issues that affect women and matter to them. Women should be equally involved in drafting policy in all areas including the economy, energy, defence, foreign affairs, environment, transport, health, education and parenting. Women are 51% of the population, 51% of the life experience, talent and skills. Women make a massive contribution to society with their paid and unpaid work, they merit fair inclusion in Parliament so they can participate equally in writing the laws, running the country and planning the future.
Women are a majority in life but a minority in Parliament. Of our 650 MPs only 191 are women. Men outnumber women by more than 2:1. There are still more men in the House of Commons than there have ever been women MPs in the whole of history. In the House of Lords only around 200 of our 800 Peers are women.
These statistics suggest that the system is not working for women. There is a democratic deficit.
50:50 Parliament is calling upon all Party Leaders for solutions to this historic problem. Parliament has the power to sort it out. We would like to see men and women running the country and planning our future, together, in more equal numbers.
Westminster needs to be attractive and accessible to women so that it draws upon the widest possible range of experience, talent and skills. We need more women in Parliament because, representation, or lack of it, shapes policy, as #TamponTax clearly demonstrated. If there were more women MPs and Peers then there might not need to be so many campaigns and petitions concerning women and gender equality. Only 134 more women MPs are needed from a population of 32 million to get gender parity in Parliament, it should not be a big ask.
Professor Joni Lovenduski from Birkbeck, University of London, writes " Evidence from more balanced legislatures than ours shows that men can act for women, but they may be more likely to do so when there are more women around."
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And Prof Ngaire Woods "We know that when women are in parliament...it builds more resilient, responsive, better-informed institutions." The evidence is overwhelming. She adds "These things are not about each individual woman but about the aspirations of a society."
The success of the #EndTamponTax campaign shows that petitions do make a difference and influence policy!
If you want better gender balance at Westminster with more women MPs and Peers then say so and sign the #5050Parliament petition here: change.org/5050Parliament! It is like a referendum on Gender Equality and every signature counts.
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'Buffoon, demagogue and wazzock', these were just a few terms used by Members of Parliament during a debate in January, on whether presidential hopeful Donald Trump should be banned from entering the United Kingdom. For the benefit of those who are not fluent in Northern slang, "Wazzock" means stupid or annoying chump.
The Republican front-runner laughed off MP's criticisms, with the story eventually lost in a wave of Primary victories that followed. However, it raises an interesting question; what effect would a Trump presidency have on the 'special relationship' between the United Kingdom and United States?
Now obviously, the election is eight months away and neither party has a confirmed nominee, so anything can change. It's possible that Trump won't win the GOP's nomination, yet this seems unlikely. On top of that, securing the nomination doesn't mean a Trump presidency either. There's a tough general election fight ahead against Hilary Clinton or Bernie Sanders. However, in a scenario where Trump was elected President of the United States, that could very well spell the end of 'special relationship'.
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Trump has gained vast popularity (and criticism) in his short political career, mainly due to his unconventional policies and a refusal to sound how a traditional politician should. It's these policies, if enacted, that would cause the biggest friction between the United Kingdom and Untied States.
Foreign policy is one of the cornerstones upon which the special relationship was created. The current and ever growing challenge of Daesh in Iraq and Syria, along with refugee crisis faced by Europe as a result, is one of the central debated topics on the campaign trail. Trump's policy to deal with this multilateral, incredibly complex and heavily volatile situation - "I'd bomb the sh*t out of them. I'd blow up every single inch, there would be nothing left". Sounds like a good PR soundbite for a campaign rally; but it's not exactly a solid, coherent strategy.
I'm sure a Trump supporter would happily point out that the House of Commons voted to extend UK airstrikes into Syria late last year, which are still ongoing today. However, the UK are undertaking sustained bombing operations, as part of a coalition, against select targets in order to degrade, push back and defeat Daesh. Trump's policy (the term policy is used moderately), lacks any sort of concrete detail. It also sounds eerily familiar to the unsuccessful strategic bombing of Dresden that took place during the Second World War. The implication of such a plan would only cause significant tension between the US and other Western states, as well as feeding into Daesh's propaganda narrative.
Immigration is another explosive topic that Trump has spoken about often, using it to gain favour with the blue-collar caucuses. His comments on banning all Muslims from entering the US have proven to be one of his most extreme and controversial. The statement caused outrage and in response a petition was started to have Trump banned from the UK - it received over 550,000 signatures.
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If Trump was elected, it's unlikely that such a policy would even pass through Congress, yet if enacted, the ramifications could forever change the 'special relationship'. British Muslims account for 4.5% of the entire UK population, and Islam is the second largest religion in the country. It's unlikely that the UK would sit back and let such blanket discrimination and racism take place. A situation could arise were European states respond to any sort of ban with retaliatory sanctions against US citizens.
The United States have a keen interest in defence and the geo-political environment of Europe; mostly because of Russia. Trump has stated his intent to massively increase America's military, "We're going to make our military so big, so strong and so great, so powerful that we're never going to have to use it". The idea of having such a large military that acts as a deterrent by default is a dramatic escalation, but at least it's less controversial than some of his other policies. (Unless of course Trump is discussing the use of nuclear weapons, something he failed to ever rule out - including in Europe)
The glaring issue here is convincing NATO members to increase their spending to match Trump's own, in order to comprehensively stand up to Russia. The UK already has one of the highest defence budgets in the world, and currently spends 2% of its GDP on military expenditure. Increasing this further would be a tough sell in a time of such austerity.
You'd like to think that a Trump presidency could not possibly end a friendship that has spanned over one hundred years and two World Wars. Yet, it's very clear that the policies Trump is currently proposing would put America at great odds with their closest ally. Some issues can of course be worked upon, and countries have in the past worked with those they have greatly differed with. However, if a policy like banning all Muslims from the entering the U.S. were to pass into law, it would undoubtedly be the straw that broke the camel's back.
Today sees the introduction of the National Living Wage, a flagship policy of the Chancellor, George Osborne, who boldly announced last year that "Britain deserves a pay rise". However there's one gaping hole in this policy, under 25s, those who keep our service sector running and often fill the most underpaid jobs, will be excluded.
The National Living Wage has been for the most part a unifying policy across the political spectrum, with most parties agreeing that Labour's rather meager minimum wage, introduced in 1999, was long due for a replacement. A pay increase of 50p per hour is likely to be good news for the one in twenty workers who are currently on the lowest pay rate. Though this pay is in stark contrast to the 8.25 per hour rate of pay that is advocated by the Living Wage Foundation, who also advocate for a higher rate for those working in London.
However it's not just the rate of pay that the UK Government and the Living Wage Foundation differ on, it also concerns who should be entitled to a decent rate of pay. The current discrimination received by young workers meaning they have to wait until the age of 21 until they receive the standard minimum wage has now been eclipsed by the arbitrary age of 25. For those leaving school at 16, they will have to work nearly a decade to be deemed worthy recipients of the National Living Wage. Were the UK Government to introduce a scheme that discriminated against any other section of the workforce, it is likely they it be chastised by the media and commentators, and rightly so, however there has been little outcry at this further disadvantage young people will be put at.
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Last year Cabinet Minister, Matthew Hancock, shone some light on the rationale behind excluding people under the age of 25, by stating younger workers did not deserve the pay rise because they "were not as productive". It was also claimed that by setting the pay scale at a lower level for young people they would be offered more opportunities to gain experience by companies using their cheaper labour. This claim was swiftly dispelled when a report by the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, which found that higher pay could "reduce the likelihood of employees leaving their jobs" and thus reducing opportunities for younger workers.
Despite the UK Government recently announcing that the rate of pay for those aged 21-24 would increase in October to 6.95 per hour, this will still leave a gap of around 450 per year for young full-time workers.
Young people are already facing a heavy brunt of the continued cuts to public spending, with reforms to university education support, local youth services reduced and the withdrawal of some benefits. The Albert Kennedy Trust recently produced evidence showing LGBT young people account for 24% of the young homeless population and that the removal of housing benefit for under 21s is set to cause even greater turmoil for this vulnerable section of society.
As countless of studies highlight, low pay continues to be interlinked with poverty and yet the opportunity to help young workers has been missed by the Chancellor. Today the young man making coffee for the commuters filing into Whitehall, or the young woman serving lunch in an airport, won't receive a pay increase, they will instead be told to wait.
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It was foggy and busy in the commercial quarter of Bratislava after sunrise on Wednesday. We were walking down streets full of shops, restaurants, and people, searching for the forgotten mosque in Slovakia. It was not a simple task to do. It took us nearly two hours to situate the nondescript fawn building along the Obchodna street in the medium-class business district of Bratislava.
In the beginning, we planned to follow the GPS on our phone, which showed that the mosque was situated beside Prima Banka building. However, that appeared not to be the case. We figured we needed to ask around. We hence decided to ask a number of passersby along the Obchodna street. Many of them had no idea where the mosque was, some looked at us weirdly because perhaps that question is not a common question there, and others did not know that if it even exists. "Is there a mosque here? I don't think so," asked a middle-aged man to his friend. We figured we had to refer to the mosque as Mesita (Slovakian word for mosque). Yet, people seem to believe that there is no mosque in the city.
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We decided to continue walking along the street until we reached at a small traditional market. At first, some shopkeepers there did not understand what we were searching for. But an old man told us that there is one mosque located behind a bar. We did not believe it. It is highly unlikely for a mosque to be situated close to what Muslims consider as an immoral place. Nevertheless, we decided to follow what the old man said.
As it turns out, the mosque, written as Kulturne Centrum Cordoba (Islamic Center of Cordoba), is located down the Obchodna street and in between a book store and a gift shop. For many, it may be very difficult to recognise a building as a mosque as it has no sign or mark to identify as one. It is true that there is a bar written in the gate of the building. We decided to enter the building and we found a long corridor with no sign of mosque at all. What we found were a wine shop and a tattoo studio. This even strengthened our doubt that the mosque was located here. However, as we walked along towards the end of the corridor, we believed to have found the right place after finding an Arabic sign reads "the entrance is in the next door.''
The mosque is not very big, but it is enough to hold congregation prayers of about 30 to 40 people. There is a wooden podium that is used for Friday sermons, but there is no decoration with elaborated patterns as found in common mosques. The mosque's floor is furnished with a red carpet and there is an Asmaul Husna (99 names of God) written on the black cloth hung on one of the walls. On the right side, we can find a number of Korans neatly arranged on a steel shelf.
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According to one man who works in the wine shop next to the mosque, the building has been there for a long time. The door is often closed and it is rarely visited. But he said that a large number of people come every Friday.
The Slovak Spectator reported that the centre's activities include regular prayers, exhibitions, and educational courses on Islam.
Although lack of publicity, Islam has relatively a long history in Slovakia. It was reported that Muslims had lived in Slovakia for a long time. According to some sources during the 17th century, a small part of the country was ruled by the Ottomans. Nonetheless, things shifted after the Turks lost the Battle of Vienna.
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It is not easy to find out or even estimate the exact number of Muslims residing in Slovakia. According to 2010's report by Pew Research Center, there were close to 11,000 Muslims in the country, constituting about 0.2 of the total population. It is believed that the number has increased in recent years. But until today, Islam is still not registered by the state as a recognised religion in the country. The Muslims here constitute of both foreign and domestic communities. Many arrived from the former Czechoslovakia as students, and decided to stay on and now working here.
It is reported that the general opinion of Islam and Muslims in Slovakia are predominantly negative. Most of the people whom we talked to believed that the main reason for an unpleasant image of Islam in the country is a lack of knowledge and the commonly biased impression of Islam in the media.
Slovakia is the only European state without an official mosque. The Kulturne Centrum Cordoba has tried to attain an official permit from the government, but had its proposal rejected.
The existence of a small mosque in the heart of Bratislava demonstrates that Muslims have long been part of the country and will continue to be an important segment of the Slovakian society. Hence, it is more than clear now that the absence of a single mosque recognised by the state should be of particular concern to the government of Slovakia. This is because a mosque with its all religious activities not only serves as a place of worship for Muslims, but it can also be a central point to seek information about Islam for the society in general.
From Susan Sarandon to Rihanna, Taylor Swift to Theresa May ripping women apart for their appearances is nothing new. And whilst judging a woman based on her outfit choice is puke-inducing at the best of times, at the worst it can be something far more unpleasant.
When Kim K posted that nude selfie on Twitter she was slammed by many for being a poor example to young women. People who had never met her said she was cheap and tacky, that her husband and children would be embarrassed. In almost too perfect contrast, just weeks later M&S released their first ever burkini range; causing Telegraph columnist Allison Pearson to declare that Britain was allowing misogynist attitudes to creep in, and freak out that soon headscarves would be 'all the rage'. In their polar opposite clothing choices Kim Kardashian and M&S were bizarrely facing the exact same accusation, of being bad advocates for women's rights - of being unfeminist.
Now, when dismantling the patriarchy it's important to be dressed for the occasion; so which is it, should women be empowering themselves by stripping off or by covering up? It's dead simple really: both, or neither, or anything in between. In the same way that it is impossible to tell another person what music they should like or what their favourite food should be, what makes a person feel empowered is a deeply personal thing. If women choose to post nude pictures of themselves on social media, and they feel good about it, then good for them because they are taking control of how the world see's them and owning their image. If women choose to cover up from head to toe and they feel good about that, then good for them too because, guess what, that's also taking control and owning their image.
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Judging women's personal clothing taste as unfeminist is a nastier side of the women's movement, one that's decidedly less than inclusive. It's the kind of misguided feminism that comes out when women are called old-fashioned or unambitious for giving up their careers to have children, when women are accused of being too girly because they like wearing make up or too traditional because they like cooking. It's the kind that judges women from different cultures as ignorant of their oppression just because they have different ideas about what they want from empowerment. It's one of many indicators that Feminism has a major exclusivity problem, and whether this manifests through naivety or something worse it desperately needs to be addressed. Because what's degrading for one woman might well be empowering for another, because, funnily enough, we are not all exactly the same. What's actually unfeminist is telling women what they should or shouldn't do, should or shouldn't wear. What makes them more or less attractive, more or less moral.
Guess who has been trying to reduce the dumping of cheap Chinese steel into the EU. Answer: the European Commission.
And guess who vetoed the Commission's proposals. Answer: the British government.
Or, if you prefer: guess who has been the biggest EU cheerleader for China to be granted 'market economy status' by the World Trade Organisation. Answer: the British government.
And guess what effect that would have on the EU's ability to impose higher tariffs on Chinese steel imports. Answer: it would be drastically reduced.
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So when the prime minister assures the 40,000 families in and around Port Talbot whose livelihoods are threatened by the threatened closure of the Tata-owned steel works that the government is doing everything it can to safeguard their interests, my reaction is: really?
Is that why UK steel companies say they are paying up to seven times more in business rates than their European competitors? Or why their energy costs are about 80% higher than the European average?
Perhaps you're wondering whether the British government would be better able to support the steel industry if we voted to leave the EU. The answer is No. For one thing, more than half of the UK's steel exports go to other EU countries, so if we left the club, we would either be hit by a tariff barrier -- like Canada, for example -- or, in return for a continuation of tariff-free access to the EU market, we would have to sign up to all its directives and regulations, like Norway or Switzerland, but without having had any say in the drafting of them.
In the words of Port Talbot's Labour MP, Stephen Kinnock: 'We are in this crisis not because of Europe, but because of a Tory government that has singularly failed to stand up for British steel.'
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I drive a car that was made in the UK by British car workers. It is made of steel that almost certainly was produced in Port Talbot, where about one-third of their production is used for British-made cars. Yet my car bears the name of a Japanese manufacturer, and the Port Talbot steel works is owned by an Indian company. Welcome to the globalised economy.
And here are some statistics to boggle your mind: according to Ed Conway of Sky News, in the past two years alone China has produced more steel than the total cumulative output of the UK since the industrial revolution. Over the past 35 years, Chinese steel production has gone from 5% of world output to more than 50%. That's a helluva lot of steel, and now that economic growth in China is slowing sharply, they have to dump that steel somewhere.
But the UK government is head over heels in love with China, which it regards as the answer to all its infrastructure investment prayers. David Cameron and George Osborne don't like borrowing to invest, and they don't like raising taxes to generate additional revenue, so what could be better than throwing open the doors to UK plc and announcing: All investors welcome, no questions asked.
That's why they don't want the EU to upset Beijing by making it harder for them to dump their unwanted steel in Europe. And it's why, when Mr Cameron rushes back from his holiday to furrow his brow for the TV cameras and tell us how 'very difficult' it all is, we are entitled to a snort of derision.
He's right, of course, it is very difficult, and the crisis at Port Talbot is not unique to the UK. But Germany, for example, has been far better at creating conditions in which a viable steel industry can survive by putting in place a proper industrial strategy involving long-term investment decisions, top-class vocational education and state-funded research and development programmes.
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Still, it's not all bad news. According to the latest data from the European Banking Authority, the UK now has three times as many high-earning bankers as the rest of the EU combined. Nearly 3,000 City bankers earned more than 1 million in 2014, 40% up on the previous year, and 16 of them actually managed to take home more than 10 million.
The latest TV series to be spawned from the ever fertile mind of horror writer Stephen King is called 11.22.63, a time travelling extravaganza which sees hero Jake Amberson projected back to 1960, where he spends the three following years working on a plan to thwart the assassination of JFK. Like many King plotlines, this one is notable for the way it taps into the national zeitgeist; the premise of the story acts as a deep sense of wish-fulfilment percolating up from the American conscience collective.
For there is, today, a sizable consensus with regard to the 35th president of the United States; many people seeing JFK as an emblem of a more radical time; a period of civil rights struggles and burgeoning freedoms which was eventually eclipsed by the intensification of the war in Vietnam, the economic malaise of the 1970s and the rise of neoliberalism. The Kennedy assassination, then, is transfigured from the death of an individual to the demise of an epoch; and it is often whispered in melancholy tones that, had he lived, had the assassination been prevented, history would have been very different.
A quaint vision to cling to, for sure, but one which also happens to be balderdash. For even the briefest perusal of Kennedy's political portfolio gives a concrete and damming idea of the type of politician he really was. From the beginning, his presidency was scarred by recklessness and corruption. His inauguration into the office of president in 1960 had been christened by electoral fraud, whereby opposition votes had been undercounted in Texas and Illinois in favour of the youthful pretender. A scion of one of those elite American families whose demeanour tends to resemble nothing so much as a Roman oligarchy in the declining phase of Empire, it was only his father's money, cachet and prestige which hoisted the pock-marked playboy into the political arena in the first place.
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A fawning circle of intimates rapidly arose around him providing the fluffing a monstrous ego so desperately craved, alongside the never-ending procession of call girls smuggled into the executive mansion for fun and frolics while his spouse languished humiliated and bereft, and the wide variety of amphetamines which helped prime an increasingly ruined and spent body - all of which, of course, was kept assiduously below the public radar.
The combination of the tawdry and the furtive crossed over to his foreign policy. In the first half of 1961, Kennedy sponsored the ill-fated Bay of Pigs invasion, an endeavour - born of heavy-handed, imperial arrogance - to illicitly and forcibly remove the government of a sovereign nation, Cuba under the Castro administration. Not that such a manoeuvre was remarkable by the standards of US foreign policy in a region which it had long since staked claim to by way of the Monroe doctrine, a region which, as one commentator infamously saw it, was nothing more than the United States' 'back yard'.
But the invasion was notable in as much as it reveals the sheer contempt the so-called 'people's president' had for the actual people, such that he was prepared to draw them into an illegal war without first consulting them. His other imperial adventures were hardly less scurrilous. Kennedy's advocates often say that, had Oswald's bullet missed its mark in Dallas, Texas, the number of American troops in Hanoi, Vietnam would have gone into rapid decline - but in actuality, in 1961, JFK financed an increase in the South Vietnamese army to the tune of an extra 20,000 troops and also sent a further 1,000 'military advisors' from the US in order to help train them. Further hikes in numbers followed, so that by the time of his death, Kennedy had raised the level of 'military advisors' from 900 to 16,000.
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Even the image of Kennedy as a democrat, big on civil rights, imbibing the atmosphere of freedom and liberation in the 60s - is a questionable one. Back at home, JFK's relation to the Civil Rights movement was, to say the least, tendentious. Again it is a little known fact that he actually opposed the great march on Washington which took place in August 1963 and which saw Martin Luther King deliver his iconic 'I have a dream' speech. It is a matter of record that the Kennedy administration fought to suppress the event, and the Kennedy clan more generally were both suspicious and unnerved by the prospect of it; those ingrained patrician sensitivities swiftly aggravated by any demonstration of power on the part of the 'mob'.
And, of course, JFK's organic sense of contempt toward the people he led was perhaps best exemplified by the fact that he was willing to gamble with their lives in the millions. Kennedy's conduct in the Cuban Missile Crisis has been skilfully recast, depicted as the bold, bluff attempt of a maverick leader to finally draw a line in the sand, a necessary last stand against encroaching tyranny, but once again the truth is a touch more tawdry.
In reality, several opportunities to negotiate some kind of peace, before the tensions of American-Soviet diplomatic relations assumed nuclear proportions - were in fact notably squandered, or to be more precise - JFK deliberately and consciously ratcheted up the pressure. He did so by launching an inflammatory and utterly one-sided propaganda blitz against the Soviets, a throwback to the militant nationalism of JFK's electoral campaign of 1960 in which he had derided the previous administration as having been too soft.
Then Kennedy had spoken of a 'missile gap' which had opened up in favour of the Soviets as a consequence of the Eisenhower-Nixon administration's flaccid foreign policy, though any such 'gap' was merely a fabulation on Kennedy's part, for America had an overwhelming nuclear preponderance. In 1962 and in 1960 Kennedy used the same combination of factual distortion and apocalyptic language in order to appeal to the bellicose and the credulous, to whip up jingoism and national sentiment into a frenzy, even if it meant that the momentum unleashed by such calculated hysteria was in danger of pulling both countries toward nuclear annihilation.
Kennedy's reckless, belligerent, quick draw 'diplomacy' was exacerbated by the fact that he was, in many ways, the era's first 'celebrity' president - and was determined to save face at any cost. A negotiated solution was eventually arrived at, and the USSR was compelled into making a very public climb down - partly because their leader wasn't prepared to blow up the world on the basis of the raw, corrosive fuel of his own ambition. And yet, the Kennedy administration failed to relay to its public how one of the terms in the agreement was that the US withdraw its missiles from Turkey, missiles which had acted as a clear provocation to Russia, and part and parcel of the reason why the Soviets had sought to fortify Cuba in the first place.
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Whats next for teachers unions in the U.S. Supreme Court?
The courts deadlocked outcome March 29 in the major case over teachers union fees for non-members was greeted with great relief by organized labor, and rightly so.
The 4-4 tie in Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association meant that the high court affirmed a lower-court ruling rejecting a challenge by dissident teachers to a key precedent authorizing unions to collect fees for collective bargaining from those who refuse to join.
Abood is the law of the land, and this weeks decision leaves that unchanged, Alice OBrien, the general counsel of the National Education Association, said in reference to the 1977 precedent, Abood v. Detroit Board of Education .
Anti-union forces were left to lament how close they had come in the case to upsetting a 40-year-old status quo, with some holding out faint hopes that the justices will grant a rare rehearing in Friedrichs once a successor to the late Justice Antonin Scalia is confirmed.
More likely is that the issue of whether collecting service fees violates the First Amendment rights of non-union members will bubble up to the Supreme Court again in a year or two.
Were one justice away from what we view as restoring the First Amendment rights of employees not to have to contribute to a private organization as a condition of working for the government, said Patrick Semmens, the vice president of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation .
The Springfield, Va.-based group has been working for decades to curtail the power of unions, though it was not the group that represented the 10 Southern California teachers in the Friedrichs case who were challenging their states system of agency fees for non-union members. (Those teachers were represented by the Center for Individual Rights and the Washington office of the Jones Day law firm.)
The National Right to Work group is behind some five cases percolating in the lower courts that challenge various aspects of union obligations of non-members.
In a Kentucky case, Cochran v. Jefferson County Board of Education, the foundation is representing non-union educational support personnel in the Jefferson County school system who object to paying agency fees to the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees.
The lawsuit asserts that the objecting education support personnel must pay $12 to $13 in agency fees every two weeks to AFSCME and that procedures for opting out of the amount that goes for the unions political activities, which non-members are not required to pay, are cumbersome at best.
Semmens said the lawsuit had been on hold in federal district court pending the Supreme Courts decision in Friedrichs.
The right-to-work group also has a case pending on behalf of non-union employees of the Hanover, Mass., school system, which also challenges compulsory agency fees.
And Semmens pointed to a case pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, in New Orleans, involving non-union airline employees challenging a mandatory service fee for collective bargaining.
Although that case, Serna v. Transport Workers Union of America, involves the private sector, it arises under the federal Railway Labor Act, which covers both rail and airline labor relations. Some of the key underpinnings to the Abood case were based on Supreme Court decisions under the Railway Labor Act.
Semmens argued that if the Supreme Court were to take up the Serna case, which is farther along than some of the other cases, any decision by the justices to eliminate the system of mandatory service fees in that area of the economy would also affect the First Amendment analysis for the 23 states where state law authorizes agency fees for teachers and other public employees.
If the airline workers succeed on their First Amendment claims in Serna, that would effectively overturn Abood, Semmens said.
Judge Garlands Labor Record
So, an agency fee case is bound to return to the Supreme Court at some point.
And since its now clear that the eight current justices are split on the issue, its fate would seem to come down to the new justice who fills Scalias seat, whomever and whenever that may be.
Looking at the record of Judge Merrick B. Garland, President Barack Obamas nominee for the Supreme Court vacancy, unions may have reason to be optimistic, and anti-union groups the opposite.
Garland serves as chief judge of a court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, that deals with many labor matters from the private sector, but few involving public-sector unions.
Garland himself, in his 19 years on that court, has ruled in numerous cases involving the National Labor Relations Board, which deals with matters such as union organizing at private employers.
Legal experts who have examined Garlands record in these cases suggest he is generally sympathetic to unions.
His record on NLRB matters is generally deferential to the labor board, and even when he hasnt been, he has tended to rule for the unions, Semmens said. Which is not very encouraging to us.
One rare case involving teachers unions that Garland participated in involved federal financial-reporting requirements for labor organizations. A 1959 federal law, the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act, requires such reporting by any union with even some private sector members, and that has been interpreted to include the national teachers unions such as the NEA and the American Federation of Teachers.
But in a 2006 case, the Alabama Education Association, the Delaware Federation of Teachers, and other state affiliates of the NEA and AFT challenged a U.S. Department of Labor regulation that sought to make them subject to the reporting rules even though they were made up solely of public employees.
In the 2006 decision, Alabama Education Association v. Chao , Garland joined a three-judge panel decision that held the Labor Departments interpretation of the federal reporting law was entitled to deference. (Garland did not write the opinion.)
We think the [state NEA and AFT affiliates] well may have the better reading of the statutebut that is a close question and one we need not decide, the D.C. circuit panel said. For we are obliged to accept the agencys construction of the statute, even if the agencys reading differs from what the court believes is the best statutory interpretation.
The panel went on to hold that the Labor Department had failed to provide a reasoned analysis for its change in rules that made state affiliates subject to the reporting law, so it sent the case back to a federal district court.
OBrien said the Labor Department subsequently changed course, and the state affiliates were not subjected to the reporting requirements.
She declined to express any views on Garlands record on labor cases, saying that the only thing that mattered to the NEA was that he was qualified to fill the vacancy on the court and that the Senate should act on his nomination.
The bottom line on Garland is you dont determine whether or not an individual is qualified for the Supreme Court based on whether you agree or disagree with one decision or another, OBrien said.
Fairfax Media
Malcolm Turnbull has sensationally dumped his controversial plan for the states to collect income tax directly, but Council of Australian Government meeting has secured an extra $3 billion to be poured into the nation's hospital system.
As the Prime Minister hosted his state counterparts in Canberra on Friday, the main item on the agenda was Turnbull's radical plan for the federal government to give up part of its ownership over income tax and hand that taxation power directly to the states. The PM's rationale was that it would streamline the process of funding the states -- currently, the federal government collects income tax and distributes it to the states -- but the plan was shot down by the premiers, and was dropped by the PM himself just two days after he called the idea a "once in several generations" reform.
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.@TurnbullMalcolm says there was no consensus among leaders to enable states to levy income tax. #auspol#COAGhttps://t.co/G3BDUHQhJn ABC News (@abcnews) April 1, 2016
"There is simply not a consensus, not anything like a consensus of interest on the part of COAG. So the answer is that proposal is not there. It is withdrawn. It is not acceptable to COAG. And so, there will be no state or territory involvement in levying income tax... we are certainly not proposing to increase income tax ourselves," Turnbull admitted in a press conference after the meeting.
An official communique from the meeting stated "There was not a consensus among states and territories to support further consideration of the proposal to levy income tax on their behalf."
Leaders did, however, agree to consider proposals around a new income tax mix between states and the federal government.
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However, the biggest news to come out of the meeting was the Commonwealth agreeing to provide "an estimated additional $2.9 billion in funding" for public hospital services between 2017-2020.
#WATCH@TurnbullMalcolm announces the injection of $2.9 billion for the funding of public hospitals following #COAGhttps://t.co/O1yaYVPefJ Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) April 1, 2016
An agreement was reached to reduce demand for hospital services through "better coordinated care for people with complex and chronic disease", improving hospital pricing mechanisms, and reducing the number of avoidable hospital readmissions.
However, despite the large funding increase, Australian Medical Association president Brian Owler said it was not nearly enough. Speaking on Thursday, Owler said he had heard whispers that $3 billion would be given to the states, but said more than double that amount was needed.
"It's not going to meet the problem of the gap that exists. It looks like about $7 billion is really the required figure that's needed over the next three years, and that's the sort of figure that we should be aiming for," he said.
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Also agreed at COAG upon was a timetable for discussions for further funding of the education system, in the wake of Turnbull raising the possibility that the federal government would withdraw from funding the public school system; agreements on working toward reducing family violence; and a commitment to a national post-sentence preventative detention scheme for those convicted of terrorism offences.
PeJo29 via Getty Images Young slim woman beneath a very fat man, both drinking orange juice and beer
A new study from Spanish researchers says you can be fat and healthy -- as long as you're exercising often and keeping away from the cigarettes and alcohol.
The research, which analysed the health statistics of more than 450,000 Spanish workers, found that about half of those people who were obese were also metabolically healthy.
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They judged whether or not a worker made the grade by reference to five metrics, those being the persons waist circumference, blood pressure, cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and their fasting blood sugar.
Those that were more likely to be fit and healthy were younger women who exercised and who didnt smoke or drink heavily.
Across the entire cohort of those analysed, some of the biggest factors in being unhealthy included leading a sedentary lifestyle, being a male, and being a blue collar worker.
"Being physically active will always give you health benefits, regardless of your BMI status. The metabolic health of those who are active compared to those who arent is generally always better, Central Queensland University professorial research fellow Corneel Vandelanotte told The Huffington Post Australia.
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"Its better to be fat and fit than to be thin and unfit. But at the same time, your likelihood of being metabolically healthy when you are of a normal weight is much higher than when youre overweight or obese."
Despite the possibility of being fat and fit being shown in some research, health experts agree that the golden standard is being of a normal weight and exercising regularly.
"The ideal is still to be within a healthy weight range and meeting physical activity guidelines. The worst case scenario is youre overweight and not doing any physical activity," Vandelanotte said.
The Spanish research broke down those involved into four categories -- underweight, normal, overweight, and obese.
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For those workers who were obese, about 45 percent were likely to be unhealthy. That compared to about 2 percent of people in the normal range of weight.
The authors of the research also warn that obesity puts strain on the heart and generally leads to higher risk of heart disease.
Lead author Albert Goday said health programs were key to preventing such issues.
The implementation of health promotion programs in this population could reduce the likelihood of transition to a metabolically unhealthy phenotype and/or the risk of developing hypertension, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Of course, there are notable examples of those who are fat and fit to some extent -- including a woman who made headlines for her yoga ability as a plus-size woman.
Another is former NRL legend George Rose, who took a 136kg frame into battle to win the 2011 premiership with the Manly Sea Eagles.
Today is April Fools Day, a 24-hour period when the public trusts the media even less than usual. Juneau, Alaska jokingly changed its name to UNO for the day, though Donald Trump will likely cite this as another instance of Mexico winning at trade. And speaking of Trump, now that tens of thousands of Americans have lost their food stamps, we might get some more specific policy prescriptions from the real estate mogul on how to keep people from dying in the streets. This is HUFFPOST HILL for Friday, April 1st, 2016:
CRUZ POISED FOR A WIN IN LAND OF CHEESE - Ariel Edwards-Levy and Janie Valencia: "Wisconsins GOP primary may be crucial for Republicans hoping to stop Donald Trump from clinching the nomination outright, with recent polling giving them hope that Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) could pull off a significant win. The state has 42 delegates up for grabs, with 24 awarded by district and 18 going to the statewide winner. Even if Cruz wins by a small margin, hell automatically take all 18 state delegates and likely a good portion of district level delegates. That would probably keep Trump below the level he needs to win a majority before the Republican convention. Of the six surveys taken of the race since March, all but one show Cruz ahead, with margins ranging between 1 and 10 points. Recent Marquette Law School and Fox News polls, both of which were conducted using live interviewers, each find Cruz with a relatively comfortable 10-point edge, up significantly from earlier in the year. Wisconsins demographics light on evangelical voters, and heavy on those without a college degree would seem to make it natural territory for Trump." [HuffPost]
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LET'S GET READY FOR A CONTESTED CONVENTIONNNNNNNNNNN - Cue the C&C Music Factory also the demise of the Republican Party. Kyle Cheney and Ben Schreckinger: "The reality of a contested convention has become more real than ever, with Donald Trump facing the risk of losing Wisconsin next week, meaning hed have to win roughly 60 percent of the remaining delegates to win the Republican presidential nomination outright. If Trump heads into the convention without the magic number of 1,237, already more than a hundred delegates are poised to break with him on a second ballot, according to interviews with dozens of delegates, delegate candidates, operatives and party leaders. In one of starkest examples of Trumps lack of support, out of the 168 Republican National Committee members -- each of whom doubles as a convention delegate -- only one publicly supports Trump, and she knows of only a handful of others who support him privately." [Politico]
Senate workers finally got a raise.
ZOMBIE TRUMP WILL EAT OUR BRAINS - Alexander Burns: "At a moment when a more traditional front-runner might have sought to smooth over divisions within his party and turn his attention to the general election, Mr. Trump has only intensified his slash-and-burn, no-apologies approach to the campaign. 'He should have started uniting the party in March,' said Henry Barbour, a Republican National Committee member from Mississippi who previously supported Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, 'and he is making it harder on himself.' Republicans who once worried that Mr. Trump might gain overwhelming momentum in the primaries are now becoming preoccupied with a different grim prospect: that Mr. Trump might become a kind of zombie candidate -- damaged beyond the point of repair, but too late for any of his rivals to stop him." [NYT]
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DELANEY DOWNER - Today is cutoff day for like 500,000 food stamp recipients, thanks to the return of federal work requirements that been waived during the Great Recession. Six thousand will lose bennies in Georgia, 30,000 in Missouri and something like 100,000 in Tennessee. April fools!
Does somebody keep forwarding you this newsletter? Get your own copy. It's free! Sign up here. Send tips/stories/photos/events/fundraisers/job movement/juicy miscellanea to huffposthill@huffingtonpost.com. Follow us on Twitter - @HuffPostHill
TWO MORE GOP SENATORS TO MEET WITH GARLAND - Jordan Fabian and Jordain Carney: "President Obamas Supreme Court nominee will meet next week with two Republican senators, a development the White House sees as a positive sign in the confirmation battle with Senate Republicans. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) announced this week that shell meet with Judge Merrick Garland on Tuesday. And a White House official said Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.) will sit down with Garland on the same day. The meeting comes after Collins said she was "perplexed" by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-Ky.) decision to deny Garland a hearing or vote. 'It just seemed to me that there was no basis for saying that no matter who the president nominates, we were not going to consider that individual,' she told a local radio station. Collins's and Boozmans meetings follow Garland huddling this week with Sen. Mark Kirk(R-Ill.). Kirk, who is facing a tough reelection bid, was the first GOP senator to say he would consider voting for Garland." [The Hill]
Juneau changed its name to UNO for the day, after the card game.
A CLIENT IS A CLIENT, AIN'T THAT RIGHT, K STREET - Akbar Ahmed and Nick Baumann: "A lobbying firm working for the Turkish government is using a new argument for its cause this week amid Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogans visit to the U.S.: the Russians are coming, and Armenia is helping them. Representatives from Mercury LLC have contacted multiple congressional offices to argue that Russias presence in Armenia, a small country on Turkeys border that has tensions with the Turks lingering from the 1915 genocide of Armenian Christians, makes it important for the U.S. to close ranks with fellow NATO member Turkey, according to two Capitol Hill aides. Mercury, which registered to work on behalf of Turkey last month, hopes to convince lawmakers to attach their names to two separate documents, an aide told The Huffington Post. " [HuffPost]
GOD DAMN IT, STATE DEPARTMENT - This might actually be worse for the national psyche than Hillary's email server. Eli Rosenberg: "It was just one message among many sent out in a social media campaign by an arm of the State Department, meant to warn people on spring break about the pitfalls of overseas travel. If grabbing peoples attention was its sole goal, it succeeded tremendously. 'Not a 10 in the US? Then not a 10 overseas. Beware of being lured into buying expensive drinks or worsebeing robbed. #springbreakingbadly,' the Bureau of Consular Affairs posted on Twitter from its handle, @TravelGov, to its roughly 510,000 followers on Wednesday afternoon. The tweet, which was posted around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, was spread around the world, drawing offense and mockery. Yes, the federal government had just awkwardly referred to ranking attractiveness on a scale of 1 to 10, while puncturing a fantasy of vacation travel: the possibility of romance. If youre unattractive here, the tweet seemed to imply, youre unattractive there. And you could be robbed." [NYT]
Listen to the HuffPost Politics podcast.
BECAUSE YOU'VE READ THIS FAR - Here is a flying chainsaw.
GOD DAMN IT, RAND PAUL - Dave Weigel: "When Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) quit the Republican race for president, he was adamant: He would not endorse any of his competitors. Paul refused to say who he backed in the Kentucky caucuses that he had initiated (Donald Trump won them), and returned to his busy schedule in the Senate, fighting to end military aid to Pakistan, with little in the way of media attention. The attention returned on Monday afternoon when Paul teased a 'major endorsement.' It was a joke. Paul didn't mention the presidential race at a Monday morning town hall meeting in Covington, Ky., but he tweeted: 'Yes Twitter, I am just celebrating #AprilFools #endorsingentropy.'" [WaPo]
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COMFORT FOOD
- Avocado's are bizarre and shouldn't exist.
- Watch a machine turn honey into candy.
TWITTERAMA
@MEPFuller: Reminder that we should probably be more outraged about the 25-year-old press secretaries impersonating members of Congress on here.
@Mobute: So far the ratio of savvy preemptive "April Fool's Jokes Are Bad" takes to actual April Fool's joke attempts is at something like 1000:1.
@FullFrontalSamB: No one's in the office, so if you glued a quarter to our floor, it'll be a while before we hilariously struggle to pick it up.
Grieving Over Dead Relative in Lahore (Photo: Aljazeera.com)
On Sunday March 27th, while a group of the Pakistani Christian minority was celebrating Easter, one of the most important events in Christianity, terrorists attacked with impunity killing 72 people and injuring more than 300. Among the dead were many children and women. The main targets were Christians, but the blast did not discriminate on the basis of religious identity and also took Muslim lives.
This horrendous attack is not an exception in Pakistan, but rather a rule going on unabated for over a decade. The atrocities are carried out by Islamic religious fanatics against other minority groups, mainly Christians, Shia and Ahmadi Muslims.
These radicalized killers believe that anyone of a different religious persuasion is inferior and therefore a fair target. For this latest attack a Taliban splinter group, Jamaat-ul- Ahrar, took responsibility, but others such as Lashkar-e-Taiba, Pakistani Taliban, and Jaish-e-Mohammad have committed similar assaults.
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Jamaat ul Ahrar Killer (Photo: Dunya News)
Since its inception in 1947, Pakistan has made a deliberate and conscious decision to use religious identity as a tool to further its national security interests. Although a religious identity, if not exclusionary and fanatic, may not be a problem, the Pakistani version is intolerant, extreme and murderous. Not only could this situation become an existential threat to Pakistan itself, it is a world menace. Pakistan is a nuclear power outside of the Non Proliferation Treaty. Any kind of nuclear device in the hands of fanatics is a serious danger to the world as a whole.
How did Islamic radicalization begin in Pakistan? For most of its history since partition from India in 1947, the country has never had a democratic secular system. The most powerful institutions of Pakistan have always been the military and its affiliate security organization, the Inter Service Intelligence. These institutions have pushed a Pakistani identity rooted in Islam. This identity began to take an ugly turn starting with General Zia-ul-Haq. Zia, the head of the Pakistani Army in 1977, overthrew the elected government of Zufiqar Ali Bhutto. With the monetary help of Saudi Arabia, Zia began a major, but quiet campaign of Islamization. The number of religious schools proliferated. These schools were staffed by ignorant and fanatical Wahabi type teachers.
The result was that a large number of children were brought up who did not learn much about Islam, but learned how to be intolerant and violent. Zia also imposed rules that women should cover their heads on television, and he established an outdated and out of context Islamic system of punishment for criminals, among other edicts.
Former Pakistani Dictator, Zia Ul Haq (Photo: Biography.com)
The events in Afghanistan, which shares a 1200-mile border on the west, also helped accelerate Zia's plan which would eventually lead to the creation of the Taliban. The subsequent invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union in 1979 created a flood of refugees crossing the border for safe havens in Pakistan. Once settled in refugee camps, they had no choice but to send their children to these religious schools. All they learned was a perverted version of Islam with no room for tolerance. Zia, with the encouragement of the US, welcomed a large number of fighters from across the Islamic world. The majority of the so called jihadis were Arabs from the Middle East, but also from as far north as Algeria, Libya and Tunisia. Zia died in a mysterious plane crash in August of 1988, but the policies he had put in place continued.
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One of the first groups to emerge from Zia's madrassas (religious schools) was the Taliban, who were dispatched to Afghanistan in 1996. Their mission was to take over the county from the warlords who had divided Afghanistan into de facto fiefdoms after the Soviet withdrawal. Once in power, the Taliban took religious extremism to another level. They carried out public executions, forced women to hide in burqas and other inhumane and barbaric practices in the name of their perverted form of Islam. Then came the Pakistani Taliban and others.
Pakistani officials announced that they have arrested more than 200 people in the aftermath of the Easter Sunday massacre. Arresting and killing these terrorists will not solve the problem. What Pakistan needs to do is carry out a program to de-radicalize and reeducate large segments of society. But more importantly it needs to ban institutional discrimination against minorities, especially the Pakistani Christians.
The concern is that it has taken a systematic effort over a long time to create this fanaticism, it therefore will not be eliminated in the short term. This type of perverted religious creed has now been ingrained in peoples' mind in Pakistan and elsewhere, and changing their behavior is not an easy task. Pakistan needs to come down hard on these groups. It should also monitor the religious madrassas and expunge all hate related material from their curricula. The Pakistani government should also restore full rights of the minorities and make sure they are enforced. It is high time for Pakistan to remove blaspheming laws on the books which are designed to work against dissent and religious minorities.
Stethoscope, the versatile, resourceful, companion of all in a white coat died today. It was 200 years old. An insightful instrument that always provided an opportunity to discern the acoustic nuances of patient's heart and lungs died after accelerated technological advances in diagnostics.
Ultrasonography, commonly known as Ultrasound, [Latin ultra (on the farside/beyond), soni (sound), graphia (a form or process of)], a close associate and partner, confirmed the death.
In a statement, Dr. Eric Topol, influential Cardiologist and Medscape Editor-in-Chief, stated, "Stethoscope is dead. Sadly it was only a matter of time. We have little reason now to only listen to a patient's heartbeat."
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Stethoscope is celebrated by its contribution to medical care when healthcare was nascent. It was born out of respect and the desire to care for a patient. Its spirit will continue on to many students of medicine. Though primitive, the advent of stethoscope was a bold move at a time where healthcare was only commencing its journey to shed light on disease states.
Stethoscope [Greek stethos (chest/breast), skopein (look at/explore)] was nearly for two centuries medicine's most influential instrument. Born to the French physician and inventor Rene' Laennec in Paris, France in 1816. Laennec himself was known to many as the father of auscultation, the act of listening to the heart, lungs and other organs. The original inspiration came when Laennec had a female patient and felt that the traditional means of placing his own ear on her chest was not respectful. From rolled sheets of paper creating a cone, Stethoscope over the next few years of infancy evolved into a hollow tube of wood, 3.5 cm in diameter and 25 cm long. Stethoscope was monoaural, held to one ear, the other end to the patient's chest.
Stethoscope's coming of age arrived in 1852 when under the guidance of New York physician, George Cammann, who adopted a binaural, using both ears, instrument. . During Stethoscope's evolution, experimentations were conducted with various metals and material such as ivory for the earpieces were used to maximize the acoustics. The tubes were made of coils of wires between rubber.
Almost a century later, Stethoscope came of age while at Harvard Medical School under professor David Littmann. Dr Littmann shaped Stethoscope to what many of today refer to as its modern form: an instrument with the ability to detect low frequency sound with the bell or to detect high frequency with the diaphragm of Stethoscope, short tubing that all culminating in allowing for it to be light enough to travel everywhere.
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Prior to its death, Stethoscope became a double lumen (two tubes in one) latex tube, with soft ear tips and reversible bell to listen for various pitches. Today, thousands of medical professionals walk the hallways of hospitals and clinics, caring for millions of patients, all whose careers have been shaped by the influence of Stethoscope.
Stethoscope became the gold standard for many years in detection of murmurs, irregular heart rhythms, or abnormal heart sounds. Beyond the heart, Stethoscope also listened to the sound of air exchange in the lungs. The instrument continued to flourish in detecting possible pneumonias where a lung may have consolidation or detecting abnormal sounds during a patient's inhalation and exhalation.
However, during the lifespan of Stethoscope, controversy plagued its purposes where conversations revolved around its true value where further imaging and diagnostics proved to play a more influential role in patient care. The greatest point of disagreement revolved around the lack of dependence on auditory listening of physical ailments by healthcare professionals. Although the information attained can be useful, there was also a growing desire by patients to be examined by Stethoscope. "All good exams included Stethoscope," exclaimed one patient. It can be noted that the difficulties the medical profession faces with new technologies today are similar to the ones we saw back with Stethoscope's introduction in the early 1800s.
Stethoscope's optimal influence in the care of patients, many would argue, has been during the final years of formal medical education or early professional residency. Attainment of Stethoscope for many medical students became a reality that they have crossed into the sanctity of medicine. However, after early education, Stethoscope slowly evolved to only becoming a very preliminary method for diagnosis, preceding more advanced imaging that confirmed what had been suspected. Even during this time, though, Stethoscope was not used properly. Signs indicating the gradual shift away from its use.
Stethoscope has been a priceless instrument in medicine. In many areas, it will continue to be part of the basic care of a patient, e.g. listening to the lungs. However, along with providing our future medical practitioners the ability to listen, many have argued that we also need to help them see with new modalities. The future of medical care by our physicians is to become better diagnosticians.
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A spokesperson from the medical community recently announced the advancement of Ultrasonography who will be playing an even greater role in the ensuing years and- in clinical diagnosis and beginning with integration into mobile technology and telecommunications. A pocket ultrasound machine that connects to an individual's cell phone, has now set the stage for medicine to be practiced in the 21st century.
Stethoscope had many loved ones in it's life and is survived by multimodal diagnostic care and, importantly, it's students who have carried on to become healthcare professionals, mastering the art of physical diagnosis and saving lives for centuries.
Israel West Bank security barrier.
Trump's vow to be "neutral" in a potential Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiation set off a firestorm among the presidential candidates, each outshining the other in expressions of fidelity to Israel. Lost in the brouhaha, however, was the far more important issue: what would they to do to stop the UN's role in impeding peace?
As to neutrality, successive US administrations have already charted a bipartisan course. Despite strong US ties to Israel, being neutral is to be preferred in actual negotiations. Thus the US would restrict itself to bridging differences. But being neutral is definitely not to be preferred in the face of the UN's blanket bias towards Israel, one that impedes a negotiated solution.
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Yet the realization that the UN is a large part of the problem, not the solution, is absent in the presidential debates. Not surprisingly, therefore, the candidates avoid taking a position on what measures they would take if successful in their quest for the White House.
But the problem is too big to ignore. Each can take a page from what America's current US UN Ambassador, Samantha Power, recently reaffirmed. Speaking on February 15, 2016 she concluded that, "Israel is just not treated like other countries." Jeane Kirkpatrick at the UN was less diplomatic; she characterized the UN's behavior as one of a "gang-bang."
Her successor, General Vernon Walters, with whom I also served, bristled at the phrase "Nazi- like practices" cavalierly used to describe Israeli actions. When he first heard these words at an informal UN Security Council session, he rose to his feet and said "Gentlemen, I fought in WWII and I know what the word Nazi means, and so should you. You should be ashamed of yourself". Startled by his spontaneous remonstrations, the other delegates withdrew their support of a pending resolution.
Now, 35 years later, it is common to laud the progress that has been made since that time. Reference is often made to the repeal of the noxious 1975 General Assembly "Zionism = Racism" resolution. Recent UN Security Council resolutions on terrorism are cited as expressions of universal condemnation.
But, sadly, it is mostly smoke and mirrors, at least as far as Israel is concerned. One need only take note of the fact that embedded within the UN Secretariat, its executive organ, is its Division on Palestinian Rights. It devotes all its attention to promotion of the Z = R resolution as if it was never rescinded, pinning on Israel the equivalent of the Yellow Star designated for Jews by the Third Reich.
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If this depiction sounds hyperbolic, the reader should consider the words of Ambassador Power on February 15th: "So in the General Assembly, every autumn there are resolutions that are brought on human rights situations and other challenges around the world, and every year there is one resolution brought, directed at President Assad and his regime and some of the horrible crimes he has committed against his people. Against Israel, again, and there are legitimate criticisms that one can make and you hear us make criticisms of settlements and other aspects of Israeli policies. On Israel, around the same time there is one on Syria, there's 18 on Israel. ...And so part of our posture in New York is dedicated to trying to ensure that the criticisms of Israel are about policies and not of the existence of the state itself, which is what it still feels as though a lot of that criticism is motivated by. ...".
The list is long of grievous state human rights abuses beyond Syria's responsibility for the death of 250,000 civilians. North Korea's slave labor camps, and Iran's record number of hangings of dissidents are just two that come to mind. Yet any condemnation of their conduct, if there is any, will be outmatched by resolutions condemning Israel by a factor of at least 18 to 1.
What more damning proof is there that the UN, founded on the hopes of ushering in world peace by a generation determined to prevent a recurrence of the scourge of hatred that led to World War II, has lost its integrity? What would the UN's founding fathers have said at the spectacle of UN Secretary-General, Ban ki-Moon, attending sessions of the UN Secretariat's Division on Palestinian Rights as its honored guest? Or his reluctance to say a negative word about the Division, nor about the UN's Committee on the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People whose agenda the Division implements. Or the Secretary-General's failure to ever make mention of the fact that the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva has only one state inscribed permanently on its agenda for annual condemnation - Israel?
Most recently, the UN's two pro-Palestinian entities have focused their energies on a new front: supporting through various UN international conferences the BDS -- Boycott and Disinvestment in Israel -- movement. There, Israel is likened to the pariah state of South Africa during the apartheid era.
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With such support, why would any Palestinian want to negotiate directly with Israel when the UN can be counted on to whittle away Israel's position without need for any reciprocal Palestinian move? Clearly, the UN's championship creates a dis-incentive for the Palestinian Authority to ever enter direct negations with Israel.
The result, going beyond any individual practices that may cry out for condemnation, is the institutionalization of bias against Israel which in fact leads to the perpetuation of the Israel-Palestinian conflict. To be sure, the US has voiced its opposition to the UN's behavior. It has withheld any financial contributions to the two UN pro-Palestinian entities. But we must face the fact that these entities, established in the wake of the Z = R resolution, have only grown in strength over the last 35 years. The US has been a lone voice in opposition, and has never brought the Europeans and others along.
Now it is urgent that the presidential contenders clarify what they can do to deal with the UN as the source of the problem. How would they take the lead in a unified front that would begin by eliminating the two UN Palestinian entities? Only then can the UN be a partner for promoting Middle-East peace rather than hindering it, for reducing violence rather than exacerbating it.
In the face of the vast devastation inflicted on them by the Saudi-led war and despite myriad divisions within Yemeni society, Yemenis "commemorated" the first anniversary of the war by manifesting their solid national identity. On Saturday, 26 March 2016, two separate mass demonstrations were organized in Sana'a: The first in the morning, by the General People's Congress (GPC) headed by the autocratic former President Ali Abdullah Saleh; the second in the afternoon by the Zaidi minority Houthis.
The demonstrations against the Saudi-led war that for a year has been trying to force Yemeni political balances makes clear not only the illegitimate nature of the war, but also the strong national consciousness and pride of the Yemeni people. Saleh's many supporters held up images of the former president. Saleh himself, conscious of the failure of the Saudi military campaign, loudly chanted anti-Saudi slogans, at the same time sending a political message in various directions, as if to say: The Saudis have failed, and I am here again with my supporters, I am an undeniable political force. Saleh showed himself a skilled political/geopolitical gambler who cannot be excluded from the political process.
Likewise, the Houthis by their massive demonstration have shown themselves to be integral to Yemeni political life and not to be ignored. A minority, yes, but deeply rooted in Yemeni history and politics, whose military skill and effectiveness have been resisted Saudi aggression and even attacked the Saudi provinces of Najran and Jizzan with some degree of success. The Houthi demonstrators were probably less harshly critical of the Saudis after the announcement of a partial ceasefire, a prisoner swap, and relative calm along the Saudi border. If the Houthi criticism was somewhat milder, perhaps it was also because Kuwait is attempting to mediate between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia.
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On Sunday 27 March, there was yet another demonstration in Aden, the southern port city, where a number of supporters of the still internationally recognized Saudi-backed government of President Abd Rabbuh Mansur al-Hadi gathered. According to Atlantic Council: "As Saudi Arabia asserts the laughable claim that its Hadi-allied forces control 95 percent of Yemen, only meager crowds turned out in Aden on Sunday for its own event..." Riding the wave of the Arab Spring, President al-Hadi was elected with more than 90% of the vote. When his mandated presidential term was to end, a commission headed by himself proclaimed its continuation. He was, however, unable to mediate effectively among the various Yemeni political forces in a framework of national unity to put an end to the civil war. After Houthi militia and forces loyal to the former autocratic President Saleh reached Sana'a, he retreated first to Aden, and later fled to shelter in Riyadh, where he asked the Saudis to intervene militarily.
The massive anti-war protests in Sana'a, even as coalition bombers flew overhead, pose serious questions about the degree to which the war against this poorest but most populous country of the Arabian Peninsula is illegitimate. The war on Yemen has lasted over a year already, and the devastating bombardments have brought the population to the brink of famine and starvation. With more than 6000 victims, most of them among civilians, and 2.5 million driven from their homes, the Saudi carpet bombing has debilitated the already weak infrastructures of Yemeni society. More than 80% of the populace lack basic necessities like water and medical services.
Newborn infants starve to death within a few months. The U.N. estimates that four-fifths of the population is in need of basic assistance, but the Saudi-led blockade of air, land, and sea has obstructed even humanitarian aid, with the distinct smell of war crimes. Yet, in the face of protests from international rights organizations, despite the immense human and material costs of the war and the clear impossibility of a military resolution, the Saudis continue their bombing.Saudi Arabia contends that its war, denominated Decisive Storm, aims to counter alleged Iranian interference in Yemen; al-Hadi claims the Houthis are Iranian proxies, an assertion that has faced skepticism from authoritative Western experts. Rather, the war may be considered as the product of the Saudi Kingdom moving from a conservative prudent political posture to authoritarianism based on interventionism, a process that began with the ascension to the throne of the conservative King Salman. The king appointed his ambitious son Mohammad bin Salman as Defense Minister and sum controller of all economic levers of the Kingdom, a kind of center of gravity of power. According to analysts, the old king holds frequent meetings with ultraconservative Wahhabi clerics who require holy war against any aspect of modernity, command violent jihadi proselytization against other faiths, consider the internal currents of Islam such as Shia as heretical, and back the enslavement of women. This shift persists despite continuing criticism from the international community and world leaders such as US President Obama.
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Meanwhile, the ambitious Defense Minister (not yet 30 years old) diverts the Kingdom's wealth, strategizing with his generals how best to conduct the war. To seize control at any cost: Even carpet-bombing that hits civilian centers, even hiring mercenaries and subsidizing certain Yemeni tribes - "allies" bought and paid for; and yet, for all that, up to now the result, according to expert observers, has been near starvation for the Yemeni people, and empowerment of terrorist groups like Daesh (ISIL, ISIS, IS) and al-Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula (AQAP). Indeed, large swaths of Southern Yemen have come under the control of terrorist groups who are even able to operate in Aden where the Saudis have re-installed al-Hadi.
Saudi Arabia's most powerful weapons are its Petrodollars. These weapons of cash destruction fund its world-wide chain of madrassas and mosques that promulgate Wahhabist dogma and empower, wittingly or unwittingly, ideologically similar groups (al-Qaeda and Daesh); additionally, Saudi Petrodollars could buy allies, making for a highly unstable coalition. According to experts, not one of Saudi Arabia's objectives has been realized, while in Yemen and elsewhere the Kingdom is burning its foreign reserves at an impressive pace. Meanwhile, the crowds in Sana'a are evidence the Saudi military campaign has driven the diverse Yemeni groups towards more cohesiveness, pride and national identity.
The Saudis have undertaken an unwinnable war. Yemen is the poorest but most populous country of the Arabian Peninsula, with a tribal structure. It has suffered years of civil war and now a war imposed by foreign powers. A military solution is impossible; only a diplomatic settlement could lead to a viable, enduring political balance capable of marginalizing terrorism and guaranteeing security.
In consideration of the harsh conditions in the region and competitiveness among the various regional players, such a diplomatic initiative could best emanate from the UN Security Council. Meanwhile, a debate should be opened on the implementation and rebalancing of UN Security Council Resolution 2216 to promote a dialogue on Yemen, along with direct negotiations between Yemen and Saudi Arabia.
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Robin Davidson is Houston's current poet laureate. I was pleased to have a conversation with her about what her new position entails, and what she plans to do to promote the art of poetry in one of the country's largest and most diverse cities.
Shivani: You were a finalist for the Houston poet laureate position a couple of years ago, and this time around you were chosen as our city's poet laureate. What does the poet laureate position mean to you, and why was it important for you to persist?
Davidson: My colleague and fellow poet, Jane Creighton, Professor of English at the University of Houston Downtown, nominated me for the poet laureate competition in 2013. I would never have applied initially without Jane's faith in my work. I persisted because I continue to believe in the power of poetry to change lives, to engender in each of us deep human empathy, and I appreciated the opportunity it would be to work under the leadership of Mayor Annise Parker, a poet herself and a passionate supporter of the arts in Houston. The laureate role is one of service to poetry, ambassadorship. It is not to promote one's own work--because simply promoting one's own poems diminishes the position's opportunity to celebrate the widest range of poetry that may already exist in a community, or could exist, if the art form were introduced widely to those who might not yet feel its power. I hope to design opportunities that will engage the public in poetry--as readers, writers, listeners--and raise the visibility of the poetry that already exists here. The City of Houston is rich with poets and poetry devotees, among them such entities as Inprint, the UH Creative Writing Program, Writers in the Schools-Houston, Houston Poetry Fest, Meta-Four, Word Around Town, Speak!Poet, Public Poetry, Writespace, Monsoon Art Space, Gulf Coast Poets, Rice Gallery Words & Art, to name a few!
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Shivani: How long have you lived in Houston, in what specific ways has the city shaped your growth as a writer, and how do you think you're different as person because of living in Houston?
Davidson: I have lived in Houston for nearly 50 years and have watched this city change from a parochial Texas town to what is now a world-class, cosmopolitan city rich with cultural diversity. The arts are thriving here, and the literary arts are only one trajectory of the larger presence of the arts in our city. One way that being a Houstonian has shaped my experience as a poet and translator is the opportunity to have studied in the UH Creative Writing Program, first with Stanley Plumly, and then with Edward Hirsch and Adam Zagajewski. My life as a poet was launched from these mentoring relationships. Ed showed me the scope of poetry beyond the U.S. as I began to read modern poetry in translation extensively for the first time. He was the first to introduce me to Polish poetry. In fact he was responsible for bringing Adam Zagajewski to Houston in the 1980s. Adam's arrival each spring seemed always to herald the light, and this is when I first understood I was a lyric poet--a poem's music, its unfolding as epiphanic moment, were my doors into verse. Susan Wood too, in her work as a poet at Rice, became early on a powerful presence as mentor and friend--we met through our mutual connection with Stan Plumly, my first poetry teacher over 30 years ago.
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Houston also offers access to incredible visual art--the Museum of Fine Arts--Houston, the Menil Collection, the Rothko Chapel--places I've come to love deeply and feel at home in. To enter a canvas, live there for a time, is like entering the space of a lyric poem. Houston also has a stunning music scene, one which has profoundly shaped my growth as a practicing poet. My son, whose stage name is The Mighty Orq, is a well-known Houston musician who specializes in Blues, as well as Americana and Rock. I've watched him develop into an artist whose exceptional talent as guitarist and vocalist is deeply valued by all kinds of audiences--in Houston, nationally, and abroad. I find it thrilling to live in a city where genuinely great live music is available every night of the week. I would be remiss if I didn't also say how deeply the presence of all my family together in one American city has impacted my development as a poet and a woman. So few Americans in the twenty-first century have the privilege of making the same neighborhood home for decades as we have. I am anchored by our shared lives.
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Shivani: How would you describe Houston's poetry scene?
Davidson: Houston's poetry scene--wow, it's incredible--unique I think in terms of its authentic diversity! You can find every possible form of poetry in this city. In terms of gender, ethnicity, aesthetic style, and performance practice, the range of Houstonians who are writing and performing poems is breathtaking. Whether page or performance poets, whether academic poets affiliated with the UH Creative Writing Program, such as Chitra Divakaruni, Tony Hoagland, Kevin Prufer, Martha Serpas (or Ed Hirsch and Adam Zagajewski who were in Houston for nearly 20 years)--or those poets with strong ties to the local community, such as Claire Kageyama-Ramakrishnan, Lupe Mendez, Jonathan Moody, Anis Shivani, Melissa Studdard, Chris Wise, with powerful reading presences and beautiful books out or forthcoming--and performance poets such as Jasminne Mendez, Outspoken Bean, Deborah (Deep) Mouton, Billie Duncan--to name only a few. No single reading or slam is ever predictable. It's thrilling to be here.
The recent 100 Thousand Poets for Change reading, with Davidson and a number of the city's activist poets, at the University of Houston-Downtown.
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The bimonthly Speak!Poet event organized as a free-flowing discussion between a pair of poets; at Houston's storied Inprint House.
A no-holds-barred discussion about democracy and elitism in poetry at Houston's Pacifica radio station (KPFT 90.1 FM), with, from left to right, Winston Derden, Stephen Gros, and host of the Living Art show Michael Woodson.
At Monsoon Art Space, Fran Sanders, director of Public Poetry, and poets Dom Zuccone and Chuck Wemple, peruse Anne Sexton as part of the monthly Ex Libris online poetry discussion series.
Shivani: How has the experience of poet laureate been so far? What have been some of the high points? And surprises?
Davidson: I still find it remarkable that I was chosen by Annise Parker to serve in the laureate role. I have very high hopes for what can be accomplished, in collaboration with Houston's many individual poets and literary organizations, in the next couple of years. What I've found difficult is not the work--of which there is plenty--but the public nature of the position. I'm shy, honestly, a very private person. I read and write a lot. I teach a lot and feel very comfortable in the classroom with my students. I know well and am at ease with the ongoing work of a university. But I have never been in a public role of this intensity before, and I've struggled a great deal with that in the past six months. When we don't seek out a larger audience for our work, when we stay silent except on the page so that we write--as the Polish say, szuflada, for the drawer--it's much easier not to face the possible, even likely, insignificance of our art, historically, in the vast and complex world beyond our own desk. This has been perhaps the greatest surprise--my own ongoing internal struggle with seeing myself, my work publicly--that blatant smallness, vulnerability.
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Shivani: What are your plans for the next couple of years as you fulfill your poet laureate obligations?
Davidson: What is thrilling about the laureate role is that I'm able to undertake larger projects I've long wished to pursue on behalf of poetry in my city, and can now do so in collaboration with a team of Houston poets whose diverse aesthetic styles characterize the larger community of poets working here. One such project is a Favorite Poem Project Anthology modeled on former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky's national project, and built on collecting Houstonians' best loved poems. I hope this anthology will celebrate the strong presence of poetry among Houston readers. It involves making a city-wide call for submissions by Houstonians of their favorite poems and identifying a diverse selection of pieces to include in a print volume. I am hopeful that the literary press with which I am now affiliated, Calypso Editions, will be interested in publishing the book. A second project is an online Directory of Houston Poets that will celebrate the poets living and writing in Houston. Rich Levy and Krupa Parikh of Inprint have agreed to help develop and host this directory as webpages on the Inprint site. Both projects involve collaborations with librarians, Jennifer Schwartz and Carmen Abrego of Houston Public Library, and Radu Barbuceanu of the Cultural Affairs Division of the Mayor's Office--tremendous partners in this work!
At a recent symposium on Rumi's poetry, musical interlude by The Mighty Orq, at Clayton Library.
Robin Davidson leading the Rumi symposium at Clayton Library.
Shivani: Robert Pinsky visited Houston last September and held several events. What was that experience like, and how do you think poetry as a public project can become more viable?
Davidson: Pinsky's recent visit to Houston was a tremendous success. He was my teacher many years ago, he stepped in for Howard Moss one spring when Mr. Moss had to return to New York unexpectedly, and Pinsky was then, as now, amazing in the classroom. He is a learned poet, a passionate teacher, a vibrant public speaker, and he was enormously generous to my creative writing students during his visit to our workshop. His time with us will long be remembered by these emerging poets. Most memorable was his ability to speak numerous poems by heart--nearly any one you might name. Pinsky brought with him his own typed favorite poem anthology for students to see, consider--the very kind of anthology his national laureate project was modeled on, and it made a convincing argument: the committed artist ingests, learns from the work of other artists in his field, past and present; is always exploring, growing.
Public poetry is by no means new. Poetry has long been a public art form--consider its origins in the oral performance of hymns, prayers in the Sumerian and Akkadian languages of Mesopotamia, or later the Dionysia of Athens where Greek poets composed narratives, choral odes, for public performance.
Pinsky's laureate project is a contemporary incarnation of an ancient understanding of poetry as central to our expression of longing, joy, angst, grief--the erotic and the numinous. Poetry, whether performed face-to-face as readings or slams, or online via YouTube or Periscope or other social media, is available in the public domain and is, I'd say, thriving in the U.S. and globally.
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Shivani: You are also a translator from the Polish. What led to your interest in translating from this language, and how has it benefited your poetry?
Davidson: In my studies at UH, Ed introduced me to Polish poetry via the work of Nobel Laureate Wisawa Szymborska. I first read Ewa Lipska's work in Adam's Modern Thought class. We read translations by her British translators, Barbara Plebanek and Tony Howard, for whose fine work I'm still grateful. In 2001, at Zagajewski's request, Lipska sent me a copy of her book 1999. My fascination with these poems launched my work in literary translation. I left Houston for Krakow on a Fulbright and studied the language there until I had enough reading fluency to translate Lipska's poems--with the help of my dear friend, Ewa Elzbieta Nowakowska, a native Polish speaker, poet, and trained translator to whom Lipska introduced me. Nowakowska and I published a selection of Lipska's work, The New Century, in 2009, and we are currently completing a second bilingual volume called Droga pani Schubert/Dear Mrs. Schubert.
Lipska's poems are absolutely different from my own, which are often too long, baroque. I was drawn to her work because of its edge--not delicate, gossamer, but strong--however enigmatic. Her best poems I feel use that angularity toward a balance of both irony and empathy. I love this ambiguity in her work--where sardonic wit and compassion reside side by side. My immersion in Ewa's voice has helped move my own poems, I think, beyond what often feels dangerously sentimental. The Mrs. Schubert poems in particular have become a polestar for my verse. Through the creation of an equivalent persona (Mrs. Schmetterling) in a cycle called City that Ripens on the Tree of the World, I've tried to explore poetry as the uncertain intersection of personal and historical forces--what Lipska might call the accident or "the spectacle of our lives," which one both participates in and observes as witness.
At Brazos Bookstore, ground zero for notable poetry events in Houston, a recent discussion by performance poets about the nature of their process and work.
Former Texas poet laureate Larry D. Thomas reading for the Friendswood Public Library reading series recently.
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Shivani: Is poetry a democratic art or is it elitist?
Davidson: Poetry, like any other art form, is not simply for the select few. Art is not luxury or ornament; it is essential to peace, to the health, well-being of the global community. The genesis of public libraries and museums speaks directly to the critical importance of public access to cultural artifacts. I do understand that historically the arts have been appropriated by various individuals and groups for their own political or socioeconomic purposes, but I believe in arts activism, in poetry as an instrument of democracy, human empathy, love. Poetry helps us navigate this unfathomably difficult world where unremitting suffering threatens to blind us to possible joys and triumphs. A poem's consolation or celebratory spirit or wise counsel belong to each of us willing to read or write or hear it. No one owns Poetry exclusively--it's for all of us, without boundaries, in its many incarnations. That's its beauty and power, and this is the very notion that led Pinsky to found the Favorite Poem Project in 1997 as it has taken shape in both the national anthologies, America's Favorite Poems and An Invitation to Poetry, and in the videos that document a broad cross-section of individual Americans reading and discussing poems they've found deeply meaningful. A poem is a lens, and it may use any language or form or presentation to connect us with an authentic experience of ourselves as human beings, that rich and ironic complexity. Poetry belongs to all of us.
Robin Davidson (starts at 5:20) reads as part of the Iconoclast poetry performance at the Museum of Fine Arts, a reading sponsored by Matthew Russell and Marlon Lizama. This was the launch of an anthology of poems by at-risk youth, a number of whom are incarcerated, for which Davidson wrote a preface.
Shivani: How should poetry be taught? How do you teach poetry?
After the first ballot... will Trump's foreign policy ignorance will catch up with him?
The fifth debate took place at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas last December 15, about fifteen weeks ago, with nine candidates in prime time. Donald Trump was center stage, flanked by Ben Carson (then a contender, now Trump's supporter) and Ted Cruz (now Trump's main challenger). The other eight candidates were Jeb Bush and Carly Fiorina, both now for Cruz, and Chris Christie, now for Trump, and John Kasich, still in the race. Rand Paul has not endorsed.
Radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt asked Trump what leg of the supposedly outdated nuclear triad was most crucial to update. Trump did not answer but instead talked about his opposition to the Iraq war and the importance of limiting nuclear proliferation. He concluded: "I think for me nuclear -- the power, the devastation is very important to me."
Donald Trump obviously did now know what the nuclear triad is. It is the three components of the strategic nuclear arsenal of the United States. -- land-based missiles, bomber aircraft, and submarine launched missiles.
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The intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) were based on land, in fixed silos or, in some cases, supposedly movable to different locations. There were questions of reliability and targeting. One disadvantage was that the missiles could not be recalled.
This was not true of the strategic bombers, that were mainly land based but also could be carried based. Pilots could be asked to change targets or turn around altogether. But the aircraft were more vulnerable at their base to Soviet attack, and slower in their mission, and perhaps exposed in the air. One has images of the colorful Gen. Curtis LeMay, a Barry Goldwater supporter in 1964; Gen. LeMay once headed the Strategic Air Command.
Finally, there was the uniquely American innovation --nuclear missiles launched from nuclear submarines. We might think of the legendary Hyman Rickover, who fought against the Pentagon naysayers to develop the nuclear subs, which could remain underwater for months. Some nuclear submarines were always at sea, just as perhaps one-third of the SAC bombers might be airborne at any time.
Surviving a first strike was part of the American deterrent. Even if somehow the bombers and missiles on the ground were destroyed, there was enough bomber capability in the air and missile capability underwater to destroy the Soviet Union. This was part of the doctrine of mutually assured destruction (MAD) to deter the Soviets from attacking the United States.
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I learned all this in high school when the debate topic for the National Forensics League was: "Resolved, that nuclear weapons should be controlled by an international organization." For the bulk of the Cold War, the triad was the cornerstone of our national defense. But the triad is not a mystical and arcane concept, like asking Trump to name the last three leaders of a small country in Africa.
It's hard to imagine anyone running for president (except maybe Bernie Sanders) who doesn't know what the triad is.
I should have mentioned that Marco Rubio also was in that Las Vegas debate that night. He did quite well. He also explained to Donald Trump what the nuclear triad is. A tutoring lesson by the pedantic Marco Rubio no doubt did not sit well with Mr. Trump, and he likely plotted his revenge. A couple of months later the frontrunner was referring to Sen. Rubio condescendingly as "Little Marco." Precisely three months after the Las Vegas debate, Marco Rubio suspended his campaign, the night (March 15) he lost the Florida primary.
Perhaps Donald Trump learned the wrong lesson from the exchange. Marco Rubio's campaign collapsed not because he knew about the nuclear triad, but despite his fluency in issues. And Donald Trump did not win primaries because he was unaware of the nuclear triad, but despite his lack of knowledge.
The nuclear triad question should have been a wake-up call for Trump. Instead, he has continued to wing it on foreign policy. In that Las Vegas debate he properly worried aloud about nuclear proliferation. But this week he seemed to suggest that Japan in the Far East and Saudi Arabia in the Middle East should get nukes. What does he think other countries would do? They would also get nuclear weapons. Greater instability would increase the likelihood of conflict and war, and put the U.S. at risk.
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Trump makes it up as he goes along. Recently he has gone into the big leagues -- before two formidable editorial boards -- the Washington Post and the New York Times. The transcripts of both meetings show not that he differed with his hosts on policy but that he was unprepared for the meetings. Why would his campaign manager, who accompanied him, enable this charade? What about the campaign's communications director Hope Hicks, or others on Trump's campaign team? Absent the most basic knowledge of foreign affairs and national defense, there was no reason for Trump to do the meetings. Trump's reaction should have been to his campaign manager, "Why did you schedule this? Why did you let me schedule it? Why didn't anyone prepare me?...You're fired!"
Trump scores points and resonates not just with Republicans but also with independents and some Democrats, but after he has made the sale, he enables buyer's remorse. For example, Trump plausibly argues: (a) The U.S. should wage war only in self-interest, and to win, not for nation-building; (b) the U.S. should expediently deal with bad actors (Assad in Syria) to defeat worse actors (ISIS); (c) as commander in chief, he won't "put all our cards on the table" but keep the bad guys guessing; (d) our allies -- Japan, Korea, and others -- spend too little on defense, and the U.S. is stuck with the tab; (e) NATO may be outmoded, and NATO nations should contribute more toward their defense.
Then, for no reason in particular, Trump gets off message.
Trump correctly opposed Obama's Iran nuclear deal, which will stimulate a regional conventional arms race, and possibly nuclear, as well. That's why it's silly for Trump to talk about Saudi Arabia getting nuclear weapons. And the North Korean nuclear capability is because Bill Clinton gave away the store to North Korea, and three administrations -- his, George W. Bush's, and Barack Obama's --facilitated Kim Jong-il's pursuit of nukes. Just yesterday, North Korea did another missile test.
Kim is a nut. But that's what Trump doesn't get. The U.S. has opposed nuclear proliferation for many reasons, including that smaller nations are unstable, and the nuclear capability could fall into the wrong hands, whether a change of regime or terrorist groups. And there is the problem of safety and nuclear accidents, or miscalculation and an unintended nuclear launch. Simply put, the U.S.-USSR model of MAD probably does not apply.
Trump is fortunate that Hillary Clinton says foreign leaders are calling her in dismay about Trump. Trump's base feels most of these "foreign leaders" are not friends of America, that they are socialists or dictators, or both, or they are bad trade partners, or allies who don't pay their fair share, or just plain anti-American. At best, they may show a bizarre lack of judgment -- case in point, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who with other European leaders, is determined to increase the Muslim population of Europe, despite security concerns and the lack of assimilation or, even worse, despite the radical Islamist goal to transform Europe into an Islamic continent governed by Sharia.
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Trump thus makes a point that NATO, if not obsolete, is dated. Its mission to counter the Soviet Union and Soviet bloc is off by a quarter of a century. Trump allowed Hillary and others to make this charge: that in the aftermath of Brussels, Trump is irresponsible, because NATO should be stronger. Trump lacks the substance to complete his syllogism: Brussels shows the potential threat from a growing Fifth Column within the European Union.
Trump refuses to read up on issues. He won't devote time to serious briefings. His meeting yesterday in Washington with his "national security team" was an anticlimactic prop that took him away from Wisconsin, where he is in trouble, mainly due to his self-inflicted wounds on national television. Instead, a foreign policy/national security expert could be educating and briefing him daily, even on his campaign plane.
It was just a month ago that Trump said he would do waterboarding "or worse." That was at the eleventh debate in Detroit March 3. "They're chopping off heads," Trump repeated, as an appealing justification for extraordinary means. Last year Trump repeatedly raised the straw man, that people criticized "my tone... when they are drowning people in cages and throwing them off roofs." Of course, the criticism of his tone was not his rage toward ISIS and Islamo-fascism, but his tone toward his fellow candidates and some journalists.
Many Americans agreed with Trump's approach on terrorism, even if he did not know the difference between the terrorists held at Guantanamo and military prisoners from a nation-state. But Trump didn't stop while he was ahead. He had to go further -- the U.S. should go after the families of terrorists. Even when told this violated international law, and he was asked how the military could carry out an illegal order, he responded in the debate: "If I say do it, they're going to do it." The next day he had to retract this statement that reflected ignorance of how the U.S. military works, and which also revealed his own hubris. One of his foreign policy team, a retired military officer, gave Trump an urgent dose of reality, and consequently a carefully worded brief statement the next morning disowned the prior evening Trumpism.
Apparently not a learning experience at all, it was for Trump immediately back to business as usual -- giving as many speeches and interviews as possible (allowing no time to get up to speed on macro-issues or daily updating) without knowing what he is talking about. Trump thinks, or at least acts like, he is a talking head for the candidate. But he is the candidate, not an unprepared spin artist who can be replaced by someone more informed and articulate. And Trump's "tone" raises recurring questions about his temperament and whether and how he could function as president, not pissed off protester-in-chief. He doesn't really understand politics, or he would know his conduct is not GITMO waterboarding, but the slow water torture of eroding his once solid base, and alienating potential new supporters, as he, inexplicably self-destructive, keeps making a fool of himself, as if he doesn't want the nomination or the presidency. Most recently, he even celebrated trivial pursuits, involving wife-photo tweets, and juvenile "Lyin' Ted started it" -- all this during what should have been a momentous and pivotal week for him, if not the Republican Party, when Brussels should have been the centerpiece of Trump's campaign, not to mention Obama's self-humiliation in Cuba and Argentina.
Except for Trump's prepared AIPAC speech, Trump has shown no growth in foreign policy and national defense, even after he retracted his pledge to give the military those orders that are illegal. This pledge was an egregious mistake, but apparently not a humbling experience for the candidate who would rather talk about polls than policy. In the month since, instead of showing depth, we see more of the same.
Perhaps the foreign policy meeting in Washington yesterday was partly for show, a demonstration of seriousness hardly apparent in Trump's casual pronouncements on assorted trivial issues like nuclear policy. Trump says that's why he was in Washington -- to meet with his national defense advisers, actually an odd time because a nuclear proliferation conference was in town at the same time. But more likely he was in town at the urging of his new consultant, Paul Manafort, a veteran of national convention infighting, who wanted Trump to meet face to face with Reince Priebus at the Republican National Committee. This is Trump's belated recognition (of what Manafort knows): if Trump can't win on the first ballot, many of his pledged delegates would leave him.
If Trump loses Wisconsin on Tuesday, he could fall short of a majority to win on the first ballot. That means an open convention. Trump needs to understand that Paul Manafort is only a technician. He can help before and during Cleveland for Trump's team to maneuver the labyrinth of state delegate rules, and plot how to identify delegates who are hard-Trump, hard-Cruz, and so forth, and to game the permutations of convention rules changes and delegate switching. But Manafort is not the candidate, Trump is.
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Trump's supporters, enthused and paranoid, raise the specter of The Establishment stealing the convention from the Man of the People. The reality is that delegates generally are pledged only for the first ballot. It has always been that way, no plot or scheme. And Trump is giving these delegates plenty of cover for them to jump ship. There need not be any conspiracy, no dirty tricks. In Cleveland, after the first ballot, they can tell reporters why they are leaving Trump to vote for Cruz or Kasich or someone else.
That's because for now, Trump, almost on a daily basis, is giving the delegates pledged to him on the first ballot a story line -- ample reasons that could comprise a narrative, plain for all to see, that he is unprepared to be president and won't come up to speed.
In my work with the wives of wounded warriors, I've seen post-traumatic stress (PTS) in the warriors themselves as well as in their family members. According to Mental Health America, PTS can affect anyone who has experienced or witnessed a traumatic event such as sexual or physical abuse, a natural disaster, or war. Anyone who was present at the recent terrorist attacks in Brussels - as well as first responders and victims' family members - is likely to feel aftershocks of that stunning trauma long after the fact. They may be haunted by nightmares that recall the events at the Zaventem airport, or experience flashbacks of the horrific scenes that played out there after the suicide bombers detonated their explosives.
And this is perfectly natural. PTS develops in survivors of a variety of catastrophes, many of whom had no previous significant mental health problems. For example, a study by the US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health showed that PTS is common among rescue workers, firefighters, health care teams, and police officers. The symptoms have also been noted in prisoners of war, Holocaust survivors, and people who witnessed or were first responders to the attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001.
But, amazingly, the aftermath of a traumatic event can sometimes spur incredibly positive changes. In the midst of stress and sorrow, fear and grief, many people discover inner strengths that had previously been hidden.
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You've probably heard of the five stages of grief as postulated by the Kubler-Ross model, but how about the five stages of grief growth? It wasn't until I'd spent some time working with the spouses of wounded warriors that I heard these stages re-cast. These amazing women taught me how denial, anger, depression, bargaining, and acceptance can all contribute to the healing process, and all help us grow beyond our pain. After all, loss is part of life, and each stage can be transformative in a positive way.
Let's look at each one in detail:
Stage 1 -- Denial
When faced with true trauma, we often reject its existence to protect our minds from shock. This is a mental coping technique that serves as the first emotional line of defense.
Denial is actually there to cushion the blow of a new reality. It allows us to navigate through the fog so we can make it through the day, and is an important part of moving toward healing and growth. Denial will burn itself out when the time is right.
Stage 2 -- Anger
After the numbness of denial wears off, we are faced with our harsh new reality and the shock hits us full-force. If we focus on the unfairness of our situation, rage floods our system. Based on the news coverage, it seems like many of the victims of the Brussels attack are steeped in anger right now.
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We are often told that anger is pointless, but in reality it is an important part of processing pain. Feeling it is a natural, normal part of living through a life-altering trauma. Anger can even help create motivation to ask more questions, change unfair situations, and advocate for yourself and your loved ones.
Stage 3 -- Bargaining
When anger begins to recede, bargaining takes over. In this stage, striking internal deals with ourselves, with God, with fate, gives us a sense of control within an uncontrollable situation.
People can become stuck in the bargaining phase for too long, and may need to force themselves to talk about the deals they are trying to strike inside their own minds. When explored out loud with others, bargaining helps the bargainers understand what they can and cannot change in their new situation.
Stage 4 -- Depression
Once we acknowledge that bargaining is in vain, a flood of sadness washes over us. We often withdraw from life and friends, unable to perform even simple tasks without feeling exhausted.
This stage can feel endless and exhausting, but without it we cannot flush sadness out of our systems. Depression allows the feelings of sorrow and hopelessness for our changed lives to be fully expressed, and without it we cannot continue to move forward.
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Stage 5 -- Acceptance
When depression lifts, grievers often find themselves in a land of acceptance. Acceptance is far from being "okay" or "fine" with a loss. Instead it is an acknowledgement of the truth of the situation, an adjustment to the "new" new.
With acceptance comes the motivation to do the best we can with what we've got. Acceptance means making peace with what is, but it also leaves room for contemplating ways to making the situation even better.
Some schools in Texas are going against the grain when it comes to recess. Instead of cutting it out like many districts do in order to spend more time on core subjects, theyre adding additional recess periods.
Six elementary schools in the state are participating in the LiiNK (Lets Inspire Innovation N Kids) Project , a research study on the effects of kids having multiple recess periods a day.
I tell parents all the time that kids are not hardwired to sit still all day, said Bryan McLain, the principal of Eagle Mountain Elementary in Fort Worth, Tex . His school implemented the program this academic year for students in kindergarten and 1st grade. Second graders are set to participate during the 2016-2017 school year. Students in the program have four 15-minute recess periods a day.
Thats certainly not the norm in schools across the country. The National Center on Education Statistics reports that in 2005 the majority of public elementary schools had recess with 55 to 66 percent of them offering it once a day. But many experts believe those numbers may be lower now as the emphasis on high-stakes testing has increased.
In Florida, some moms who are upset about the loss of any time for recess pushed the legislature to mandate it by law. Their effort failed. The measure passed in the state house but never got a hearing in the state senate.
The group was asking for a total of 20 minutes of recess a day.
Debbie Rhea said thats not enough. She holds a PhD in education from the University of Houston and works at Texas Christian University where shes a professor in kinesiology and the associate dean for research and health sciences. She also runs the LiiNK Project.
Sedentary Kids
We are sitting our students in the seats way too many hours of the day, so were creating very sedentary kids, said Rhea.
She said that has negative implications for physical fitness and socialization.
The American Academy of Pediatrics agrees, calling recess a necessary break from academic work that offers cognitive, social, emotional, and physical benefits.
Rhea said her work so far with LiiNK has proven that. Schools participating in the program offer students four 15-minute recess periods per day, two before lunch and two after. This is only implemented after teachers and administrators have been trained extensively in the program, which is modeled on the way elementary schools operate in Finland. Right now, the program is in place in four public elementary schools and two private elementary schools in Texas. But there are plans to expand it to schools in Oklahoma and across the country. Ten more schools are expected to start the program in the fall. The program also includes a character education curriculum, which the teachers lead three times a week for 15-20 minutes each time.
Schools that participate in the LiiNK Project offer recess that is unstructured, outdoors, and kid-centered.
Meaning that the teacher doesnt set up the rules for the kids, and they dont set up games for the kids said Rhea. What recess does is it gives them that time to socialize. It stimulates brain function. It builds their bodies. Emotionally, theyre less stressed and less anxious as a result.
And, she said, those benefits carry over once students leave the playground.
Classroom Benefits
When they come back to the classroom, theyre much more focused, much more on point and ready to take in material, said Rhea. They do better on tests. They do better on everything when they have that.
McLain said office referrals are down at his school, and parents and teachers like the program, despite some initial concerns about the loss of class time.
What we have found is that our instructional time has actually increased, said McLain. The time that might have been focused on redirecting students or reteaching because of misbehavior now we dont have to do that because the kids are more focused.
The program is only three years old, and Rhea is still collecting data. But, she said, so far shes seen positive results across the board.
It doesnt matter about race, doesnt matter about economics, doesnt matter where they live, said Rhea. All of them are improving. Its changing their focus dramatically.
(Photo: Kids at Eagle Mountain Elementary in Fort Worth, Tex., play on the monkey bars during recess.) (Courtesy Bryan McLain)
Melody can really lift a musical. We tend to forget that today, as we savor shows where the heavy lifting is done by the flying winches or the maxed-out sonic levels or the puppets or the Mormons or the hooks, the beats, the rhymes.
Then along comes She Loves Me in a stellar revival by Roundabout Theatre Company to remind us about levitation by melodic invention.
The melodies in this case were composed by the dearly departed and ever under-valued Jerry Bock, to lyrics executed with transparent precision and transcendent emotional power by the, thankfully, still present Sheldon Harnick. We all know these two best for Fiddler on the Roof, currently playing just down the block from She Loves Me.
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Lord, they were good together. There's a breathlessness that takes hold of She Loves Me practically from curtain rise, a light-headed, joyous, oxygenated sense of increasing euphoria as Bock and and Harnick's melodiousness tumbles over the audience like cresting waves of pleasure. Just lie back and ride 'em.
It's not an easy feat creating this effect. It does feel effortless. It isn't. The craft involved is enormous. The underlying talent is just that: underlying. Like the characters in She Love Me, the gifts of Bock and Harnick are almost circumspect, until they burst forth and blow everyone away.
It's fascinating that the subject of She Loves Me, when you get right down to it, is insecurity. I can't think of another musical that gives its heart to so many insecure, self-doubting souls. The employees of Maraczek's Parfumerie in Budapest ("The Shop Around the Corner") are a supremely under-confident collection, with the exception of the brazen lothario Kodaly. Ilona is Kodaly's tormented, ever-loving doormat of a paramour. Amalia and Georg write lovelorn letters to unseen objects of their affection whom they are afraid to even meet. Their boss, Mr. Maraczek, discovers midway through the first act that he is being cuckolded by the wife he adores.
But, oh, can they ever sing. Their yearnings are voiced so vividly by Mssrs. Bock and Harnick and sung so sensationally in this production by Jane Krakowski (Ilona), Laura Benanti (Amalia) and Zachary Levi (Georg), to say nothing of Byron Jennings (Maraczek) and Nicholas Barasch as Arpad, the headstrong messenger boy with the shop's second-highest quotient of self-esteem. Even the stinker Kodaly (Gavin Creel) gets his own show-stopping moment. Rarely has a Broadway musical score ever spotlighted so many different characters with their own perfect melody, each so singular and so satisfying.
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It must be pointed out that the orchestra in this production is practically shoved into the wings, boosted into balcony positions on either side of the stage. Rather than diminishing the acoustic impact, however, this less than respectful positioning has resulted in the most crystalline instrumental balance I can ever remember encountering at a musical. Its lushness must be ascribable not just to logistics but to the incomparable conducting gifts of musical director Paul Gemignani.
Federal Reserve Building
"The Federal Reserve Bank is a mutant institution of government," political scientists Lawrence R. Jacobs and Desmond King write in the third paragraph of their new book, Fed Power: How Finance Wins (Oxford University Press, 2016). Yet just four paragraphs later, they note that their book's central goal is not to "end the Fed" (per Ron Paul's book), but instead to "design an American central bank that is simultaneously effective in financial management and democratically accountable." These two introductory statements echo a longstanding dichotomy in American populism--one within which this important book occupies a layered but ultimately clear and compelling position.
American populism has taken many strains and forms, but when it comes to federal financial policy there have been two predominant factions. On one side have been those populists who distrust any such federal power and seek to dismantle it whenever possible. These small government populists are often called Jacksonians, in honor of President Andrew Jackson and his successful opposition to the Second National Bank in 1832. William Jennings Bryan's oft-repeated 1896 "Cross of Gold" speech also served as an early template for wedding populist arguments to fears of centralized financial entities and power.
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At the same moment that Bryan was delivering his speech for the first time, however, the emerging Progressive movement offered a very different populist perspective. For the Progressives, it was precisely by using the federal government and its policies that the nation could move toward a more democratic financial system. Many of their signature reforms, from the creation of a progressive income tax to the development of a federal regulatory system, exemplified such uses of federal power for financial democracy. And a few decades later, in response to the nation's worst economic crisis, Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal programs extended such federal financial populism into nearly every sector of society.
We see 21st century iterations of both strains of financial populism in the two striking figures at the heart of this year's presidential campaign. GOP front-runner Donald Trump's economic proposals including drastic tax cuts (especially for corporations and the top brackets), the elimination of numerous government departments and programs, and other efforts to weaken federal financial power. While populist Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders has made somewhat similar critiques of the current alliance between the federal government and moneyed interests, his proposals fall much more toward the Progressive end of the spectrum: raising taxes, strengthening regulations, expanding support for public education, and generally making the federal government work more effectively for all Americans.
Yet per their groundbreaking book, Jacobs and King would argue that Bernie is not directing his progressive populist proposals at the best target: the Federal Reserve. As Jacobs and King convincingly lay out, the Fed has evolved over the century since its 1916 founding (as part of that Progressive moment, naturally) to become both the most powerful and the least public and democratic of our federal economic institutions.
Moreover, they argue that the popular understanding of the Fed as leading the response to the 2008 financial crisis is quite backwards. Unlike the New Deal programs, according to Fed Power's compelling historical analysis, the Fed's policies helped usher in the crisis far more than they counteracted or ameliorated it.
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At times, as in the analogy that "appearances are deceiving, and the Fed and its allies have constructed a seductive but misleading Kabuki theater," Jacobs and King's descriptions of the Federal Reserve can tend toward the current strain of anti-government populism, an extreme and often paranoid perspective on power with which Sanders and his followers likewise flirt. Yet such sentiments are mostly reserved for the book's introductory chapter, and they are tempered and counter-balanced by the remaining chapters' progressive populism, their thorough, nuanced, and convincing arguments for constructing a more democratic federal financial power, one "that is rooted in [America's] founding values and the proven track record of other countries."
By John Swartzberg, M.D.
Recently, I got a call from a young woman who is planning her wedding. She and her fiancee have booked a honeymoon in South America, but with outbreaks of the mosquito-borne Zika virus, she's rethinking her plans.
"Should we go?" she asked me. "We're planning on trying to get pregnant, but probably not for at least six months after the wedding. Would that be safe?"
What she wanted was an absolutely certain answer -- and that's something I couldn't give her. Zika virus has been linked to cases of microcephaly in newborns whose mothers were infected while pregnant. Based on everything we know about how viruses behave, and about Zika in particular, it seems very unlikely that getting pregnant six months after a honeymoon in Latin America or the Caribbean would pose any risk to her unborn baby. But can I tell her with 100 percent certainty that she's perfectly safe? No.
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Get answers to Urgent Questions about Zika Virus.
What we know about Zika continues to evolve. And recommendations from the best experts about travel, testing, and pregnancy continue to change. Here's what we do know -- or at least what we're pretty sure of -- as of the time I'm writing this:
For U.S. residents, Zika is primarily a travel-acquired disease.
As of late March, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported 312 cases of Zika virus in the United States, all acquired during travel. Of those, 27 were pregnant women.
No one has developed "locally acquired" Zika in the U.S. Now, it's likely that as the weather gets warmer we will see cases crop up, especially in the southern parts of United States -- south Florida, the Gulf Coast or Baja California. But Aedes aegypti, the mosquito that carries Zika, as well as other viruses like dengue fever and chikungunya, does not over-winter well outside tropical and sub-tropical climates, so we don't expect large local outbreaks of the disease in the United Sates.
For most people, Zika is a mild disease.
Only about 20 percent of people infected with the virus actually become ill. The most common symptoms are fever, rash, joint pain, and redness in the eyes. It's usually mild, with symptoms lasting for a few days to a week.
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The mildness, of course, is a double-edged sword: Because many people show no symptoms at all, and others may mistake the symptoms for a slight case of flu. So it's possible not to realize that you've been infected with the virus. And while experts believe that the incubation period -- the time between being bitten by an infected mosquito and showing signs of being ill -- is probably between three days to a week, they don't know for sure.
Zika has been linked to microcephaly.
Microcephaly is a birth defect in which the baby's head size is smaller than expected, often a sign of abnormal brain development. The relationship between the Zika virus and birth defects such as microcephaly is still not well understood, but the evidence is mounting that there is a direct connection:
Researchers have found the virus in the brain tissue and amniotic fluid of babies and stillborn fetuses with microcephaly whose mothers had Zika during pregnancy.
A study of 88 pregnant women in Brazil, published in March in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that 72 of the 88 women were infected with Zika. Of the 42 of these women who had ultrasounds, 12 of them -- nearly 1/3 -- showed major fetal abnormalities.
A smaller case study of nine U.S. women who became infected with Zika while pregnant has revealed a higher than expected level of abnormalities. Two women had miscarriages, two had apparently healthy babies, two had abortions (at least one due to severe abnormalities detected by ultrasound), and one had a child with severe microcephaly. The other two pregnancies are progressing without complications so far. This study suggests that the risk of microcephaly is especially high with a Zika infection during the first trimester of pregnancy.
Teams of scientists from CDC are now in Brazil, where the connection was first identified, working with local health officials to conduct the first large-scale investigation into Zika and microcephaly.
That research will take time. We now know that when a woman becomes infected with rubella, also known as German measles, during her first trimester of pregnancy, her baby has up to an 80 percent chance of being born with a wide range of birth defects -- including deafness, eye defects, heart defects, and cognitive impairments -- known as congenital rubella syndrome. But it took more than a decade for that link to be definitively verified.
We are likely to know still more about Zika and microcephaly in May, when two "case control" studies are expected, but the World Health Organization has said that it's likely to be closer to six months before we can say with some certainty that there is a direct connection.
So what should you do until then?
If you're pregnant or want to become pregnant soon, you should postpone travel to Zika outbreak areas.
The CDC's most current recommendation is that pregnant women in any trimester delay trips to any area where the Zika virus is spreading.
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If your partner is pregnant, postpone travel to Zika outbreak areas or use protection when you return.
Men who have traveled to a Zika-infected area are cautioned to abstain from sex or use a condom if their partner is pregnant for at least eight weeks -- Zika can be spread through sexual contact.
If you have already traveled to a Zika-affected area, get tested.
If you are pregnant and have already traveled to a place where Zika is spreading, the CDC recommends that you have a blood test. This is especially important if you've developed any of the symptoms of Zika infection during your trip, or within two weeks after returning.
Delay donating blood if you have traveled to a Zika-affected area.
The Red Cross has also asked people who have traveled to Mexico, the Caribbean, or Central or South America to defer donating blood or platelets until 28 days after their return. The virus is typically only found in the blood for a week to ten days after exposure, but they are acting with an abundance of caution in order to protect the blood supply.
Regardless of travel, protect yourself from mosquitoes, especially if pregnant.
Be vigilant against mosquito bites, particularly if you live in a warm climate. That means:
Wear long-sleeved shirts and pants.
Treat clothing with the mosquito repellent permethrin.
Stay in places with air conditioning and/or window screens, or sleep under mosquito netting if that's not possible.
Regularly reapply insect repellent. EPA-registered insect repellents are safe for use during pregnancy.
I wish I could provide more definite, absolute answers, but at this point, even the experts don't have nearly as much information as we wish we had. Nature always has a way of surprising us. The most prudent advice I have, if you have been in a Zika-affected area recently or have plans to travel to one of those areas, is to check the CDC Zika website regularly, and follow their recommendations. Also, consult with a doctor who is knowledgeable about this disease -- an infectious diseases expert who is board certified by the Infectious Disease Society of America.
Stay safe with these tips:
John Swartzberg, M.D., is chair of the editorial board of BerkeleyWellness.com and the UC Berkeley Wellness Letter.
A few days ago, I read an article in Wired magazine about a computer system built by Google and partners that defeated a Grandmaster at Go, four games to one in a five-game series.* Go is a 2500 year old Chinese strategy game with exponentially more complexity and potential moves than Chess and, unlike Chess, has until now resisted the powers of computing competition and remained in the realm of the human mind. I read the this article with casual interest, but it stayed with me and as I continued to think about it, I began to shift to an examination of the short history of supercomputing and artificial intelligence (AI) and reflected on the implications of a technical revolution that has blown Moore's Law to bits.
In the 1970s and '80s, Cray Research (founded by Seymour Cray) was, in its heyday, building lightning fast machines used for high capacity scientific and commercial applications. In 1983, Danny Hillis founded Thinking Machines Corporation in order to build a massively parallel processing machine (known as the Connection Machine) that fundamentally altered the von Neumann architecture of computing. These pioneers, along with others, built systems that provided an enabling platform for the work spearheaded at MIT in the field of AI.
Artificial Intelligence research has been in place for 60 years now and, while remaining on the periphery of the consciousness of the average technology buff, it has produced remarkable, almost unbelievable, manifestations. The predictions of the AI thought leaders (Marvin Minsky, Herbert Simon, et. al.) have largely been realized through expert systems and other applications. The latest victory on a Go board signals a new breakthrough in the deep learning and application capabilities that today's computing power and neural networks allow. Right now, as unsettling as it is, , it is clearly possible to envision machines with greater rational intelligence than humans.
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In surveying the inexorable rise of computing power, networking and the resulting AI progress, it is inevitable that people begin to think about the effect on society and our daily lives. Clearly, the world of human decision making (both quantitative and qualitative) is sure to be greatly altered. Extremists feel that whole industries will be transformed (including the military, education and the judicial system). Corporate management as we know it would be radically different with highly intelligent computers doing the work of scores of white collar workers. There are already robots in manufacturing facilities. The cost of a digital workforce would be much less than its current level. No healthcare, no pensions, no 401k to support. In fact, the world would enter the post-information age, where information and the ultra sophisticated decision support apparatus that results would be a given and the role of the worker would be in support of those systems and networks. It will be an economy based on the reach of computing.
However, thoughtful these views are, they leave out some of the most human of endeavors that give texture to the fabric of society. Here are three thoughts:
The arts, for example, will always be a human activity, even though the media used may (and will ) often be digital in nature. The expression of emotion and an examination of the human condition are what the arts are about and the beauty created by an artistic representation will always remain rooted in humanity.
In addition, while the role of computer -generated learning will sure increase (e.g. IBM's Watson), the role of teachers must also remain in the realm of human interaction. A teacher provides not only the explanation of the curriculum, but also counseling and empathetic support for the student's issues and learning strategies. In other words the role of educational mentoring reaches far beyond the delivery of information, but reaches into the psychological support of each developing student. That role cannot be performed even with the most powerful of AI systems.
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Lastly, the democratic political process and the election of government leaders will (and should) remain in the control and with the consent of the body politic. Governing strategies will be greatly enhanced by the intervention of proliferated computing power, but leadership is a qualitative trait that engages and galvanizes people toward the gestalt of the nation. We follow those who lead and provide an emotional connection to the solutions provided by the expert systems at work. We elect our leaders - we don't calculate them.
The future of computing and artificial intelligence hold great promise for the future of society. While fundamentally altering the economic construct, it allows for a fundamentally new paradigm for the development and fulfillment of a meaningful career and provides a basis of knowledge that will guide, rather than supplant, the lives of human beings. I don't believe we will ever reach the stage of truly sentient computing and that being said, machines will never be able to replicate that most basic of human emotions - the capacity and need to give and receive love.
YUMA, COLORADO-FEB. 28, 2007-Yuma County in Eastern Colorado will be affected by renewable energy projects -- ethanol plants, wind farm and biodiesel refineries.The Yuma Ethanol LLC plant is bieng built east of Yuma. (LYN ALWEIS/THE DENVER POST) (Photo By Lyn Alweis/The Denver Post via Getty Images)
I have been asked to clarify my position on TPP, the Trans Pacific Partnership. Since I first wrote about this on Huffington Post, this seems like a good forum for that response.
The short answer is that after much research and thought, I have realized that I cannot support the TPP as it is currently written. In many ways, I find myself in the same position as Hillary Clinton: I was optimistic about this highly anticipated trade agreement, but was disappointed and cannot support the final result.
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Here's the long answer:
The farmers and ranchers in Eastern Colorado need international markets. I was hopeful that TPP would help meet that need. That hope was squelched when, as the result of another trade agreement, the House voted against Country of Origin Labels (COOL) for Colorado beef. This same restriction against COOL is also found in the TPP. Under the TPP, beef and other agricultural products would not be allowed to display an identifying COOL label. Consumers would be unable to tell whether a steak came from the USA, where standards for food safety and quality are high, or from some other country with lower standards.
The fact is that the world prefers American beef and Colorado ranchers are a big part of why they do. Around the world, consumers look for beef that says "Product of the USA". It is an important marketing advantage. That advantage is lost when those products are not allowed to display the "Product of USA" or "Product of Colorado" label. Other countries know they cannot compete with the quality or reputation of American beef, thus the ban on COOL. That is not fair to Colorado ranchers.
Consequently, the only reason for someone from CD-04 to support the TPP was no longer valid. I cannot support a treaty that erases over a century of hard work to develop a reputation and puts Colorado ranchers at such a strategic disadvantage.
Once I realized that ranchers and farmers in CD-04 would not benefit from TPP, the other parts of the treaty were no longer acceptable. To be clear, I am willing to accept some trade-offs if they provide an advantage. In any negotiation, one must weigh the costs against the benefits and then make an informed decision. I am not willing, however, to accept things like unfair labor practices, risk to the environment, and the loss of intellectual property rights, especially when there is no corresponding benefit to be gained for Coloradans.
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NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 31: Democratic Presidential Candidate Senator Bernie Sanders speaks at an overflow rally at St. Mary's Park in the Bronx borough March 31, 2016 in New York City. Sanders and opponent Hillary Clinton are campaigning ahead of the April 5 primary in New York. (Photo by Andrew Renneisen/Getty Images)
Bernie Sanders has better poll numbers than any candidate for president, from either party. Consider his latest numbers (March 31) from Huff Post Pollster. Bernie bests Donald Trump by 52 to 41. Against Ted Cruz, Bernie leads 51 to 41; and vs. John Kasich it is Bernie 46 to Kasich's 44. In contrast, while Hillary Clinton defeats Trump by a margin similar to Sanders,' her lead over Ted Cruz is only four points and she loses to Governor Kasich by two, 46 to 44.
Why? Perhaps, someone might suggest, it is because Bernie Sanders has received more favorable news coverage than Hillary Clinton. There is some limited truth in that observation. Secretary Clinton has been a special target of the right wing ever since the early 1990's. The right wing agitprop machine has spent a quarter-century manufacturing Hillary Clinton conspiracy tales -- from Vince Foster to Benghazi. These conspiracies, of course, have all proven bogus. Still, they are not intended as exercises in dispassionate news coverage or in truth-telling. They are meant as character assassination. They do their job by being corrosive.
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For sure, Bernie Sanders has not been subjected to the same sustained level of vitriol from the right wing. But he has hardly received adulatory press coverage. FAIR -- Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting -- documented in early March that the Washington Post alone ran sixteen negative stories on Senator Sanders in a single twenty-four hour news cycle. While this was exceptional, Sanders has been routinely taken to task by the press: Can the nation afford to adopt his policies? Will America ever elect "a socialist?" Isn't he just the Donald Trump of the left? Stories like these are routine.
So, Sanders' candidacy is hardly buoyed up by the press. Still, he remains the single most electable of the presidential candidates. Why?
I will submit that his electability is related to the issues upon which he is campaigning. Let's just consider a few of his most visible positions. He has argued that college must be made affordable for all, and has advocated that tuition-free public college education is a fundamental right. The basis for this position is that higher education is to the modern world what high-school education was to the world of 1930 or 1950. A college education is now the main entryway to the middle class.
Polls indicate support for the broad outlines of Sanders' plan. An Atlantic Monthly poll from early March indicated that most Americans understand that they might be better positioned for economic success with greater education. At the same time, they are frustrated by "a thicket of obstacles centered on money and time that prevents them from obtaining more credentials." Bernie Sanders would trim that thicket. Indeed, his plan would help to level the playing field between the affluent few who have access to education and opportunity, and the many families that are struggling in today's economy.
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And in truth, Sanders' plan would simply be a return to the policies that proved so successful in the 1950's and 1960's. Some of America's greatest state university systems of that era -- the University of California system and the University of Wisconsin -- charged zero or nominal tuition and educated a generation of Americans. Indeed, it is not far-fetched to say that the affordable college programs of the 1950's and 1960's contributed substantially to the American prosperity of the latter twentieth century.
A second popular issue that Senator Sanders has made his own is reform of the minimum wage. The current federal minimum wage is set at $7.25. Americans instinctively know that it is no longer possible for individuals to live on such a wage.
No full-time worker, Senator Sanders has made clear, should have to live below the poverty line. Hence he has promised to support raising the minimum wage over a period of several years to $15.00. Again, this position enjoys widespread support. In January, 2015, a poll by Hart Research Associates showed that 63 percent of Americans supported an increase in the minimum wage to fifteen dollars an hour. 75 percent of Americans, including over half of all Republicans, favor an increase to $12.50. A February, 2016, poll of New Yorkers showed overwhelming support for a minimum-wage increase in that state and, in truth, a fifteen-dollar-an-hour minimum wage polls well across the country.
Once again, Senator Sanders' popularity is best explained by his stance on the issues. And, indeed, an increase in the minimum wage is not only a popular idea, but one that would be truly beneficial to the American economy. Much of the slow economic growth we are currently experiencing is the result of a lack of purchasing power among whole classes of Americans. Give people a greater disposable income, and they will dispose of it. Raising the minimum wage would thus act as a form of economic stimulus.
A third reform Bernie Sanders supports is the overturning of the line of Supreme Court cases culminating in Citizens United and the return of sanity to our system of campaign finance. Ask yourself: Why would a high-net-worth individual contribute five million or ten million dollars to a candidate's super pac? You contribute because you want something. You are not giving a gift because you like the candidate. You are making an investment with the expectation of a tangible return. Perhaps, you want the government to deregulate your industry, or perhaps you want access to federal dollars. You give because you expect to get back.
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Most Americans know that this is how the system works and they have grown disgusted by it. A Pew Foundation report from December 2015, indicated that equal numbers of Republicans and Democrats -- 76 percent -- agree with the statement "money has more influence on politics today than before."
Bernie Sanders has pledged to do something about the septic tank of American campaign finance. One of his most important promises has been to name to the Supreme Court only justices pledged to reverse the Citizens United line of cases.
The main thing to know about the art of Kelly Lynn Kimball is that she creates all the pieces by hand. She does not use brushes. She's a self-taught artist with a degree in Psychology who once worked at the Neuro-Behavioral Center. She was working toward her PhD when she decided to completely change her life.
Both Kelly's father and brother are doctors and her mom went to school for mathematics. She's from a small town in Northern Michigan where there wasn't much art around, and she certainly wasn't raised in an artistic family. However, her instincts called and at the tender age of 23, she had a "mid-life" crisis. What happens when you have a crisis so young? Well, you rent a room from a girl you've never met before via Craigslist, you pack up, and you drive across the country to Los Angeles, of course.
Kelly enrolled in a Meisner Acting program and found Oil Pastels as a result of the work she did in the acting class. She started painting to delve deeper into her emotions and her subconscious.
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Kelly shared one of her sketches with a classmate who asked if Kelly would create one on canvas for her. Kelly's mind was blown. Someone wanted to hang her art in their home. Her acting teacher ended up hosing her first gallery show in Santa Monica where she sold several pieces and been building her collection for the past 13 years.
Each piece is created in one sitting, usually on the floor. She does not sketch or concept. She simply lets her subconscious guide her hands into the beautiful pieces you see here.
Lately she's been combining her art with music by creating soundtracks for her pieces that give the viewer a deeper look into the thoughts and feelings behind each piece. She posts these playlists on Spotify and on her Facebook page.
"I'm really excited about the upcoming Parallax show next month. I'll be unveiling new works that will tell a unified story. It's exciting & different than my past exhibitions. All my babies come from Rainbowland. I chat a bit more about what Rainbowland is to me in my artist statement. Simply put, it's a perspective that we are the universe and viewing both the light and the dark within us with acceptance & understanding that makes each of us unique and beautiful. We are Rainbowland."
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You can see Kelly's work in person at the Parallax Art Fair.
Friday, April 29 2016 7pm - 10pm PST - private viewing
Saturday, April 30 2016 12pm - 6pm PST
Homeless man sleeping in sleeping bag on cardboard
Fyodor Dostoevsky writes in his classic book, Crime and Punishment that you can judge the priorities and values of a society by how it treats it children, its elderly and inmates in its prisons. The media coverage of today's Republican and Democratic presidential primaries has preempted any thoughtful coverage of any major issue except the threat of ISIS and ad nauseum "reporting" about the comments and actions of Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump and Ted Cruz.
The significantly diminished coverage of Kasich, Hillary Clinton and Sanders provides a welcome relief.
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With due respect to the media coverage of the ongoing presidential primaries, we believe there is one issue that best exemplifies the current values and priorities of our nation today. You see this by examining the institutional response or lack of response to the issue of homelessness by unprecedented wealth here in Silicon Valley.
Yes, I am aware of some charitable community efforts like those of Jeff Skoll, Mark Zuckerberg, Laureen Powell Jobs, The Silicon Valley Community Foundation, The David &Lucille Packard Foundation, Walter &Elise Hass Fund, Jane Kahn &Michael Bien, Judy&Josh Goldman, and the work of the Sierra Health Foundation and others.
At the end of the day, however, the work of a limited number of individuals and other charitable efforts in Silicon Valley are overshadowed by the deafening silence of most private institutions to the plight of the homeless living on the sidewalks of our streets in San Francisco and other cities and towns throughout the State of California.
During the past several months, in one or more of my public speeches to Foundations, business groups, and at colleges and universities, I speak about the issue and urgency of of our homeless. I have said that a new paradigm definition of what is unethical or immoral is needed, because the old and current definition of moral, ethical conduct and behavior no longer applies when it comes to the issue of homelessness.
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Otherwise, I rhetorically ask: How is it possible, in the richest nation in the world and amidst the unprecedented wealth and technology that there are thousands of people living and sleeping on the sidewalks of San Francisco, Oakland, Los Angeles, and other places in the State of California? How is this morally and ethically permissible in 2015 and 2016?"
The creative genius of Silicon Valley has created and can continues to create and develop new "Aps" to address or serve a panoply of real or imagined individual and corporate needs. However, our collective genius still has been being and continues to be unable to develop an "Ap" responsive to and serving the needs of our homeless, an Ap to enable them to transition from our sidewalks to shelter and medical care. How is this possible?
On August 10th, 1967 at the Fairmont Hotel, San Francisco at a Convention of National Association of Real Estate Brokers, in an address entitled "Transforming a Neighborhood into a Brotherhood" Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said:
"Our nation is so rich, so affluent; we often fail to see the poor. So many white people don't see the poor because they are busy getting to the suburbs to the fresh air of the suburbs. They go into the city and work then they get on the expressway and go on back home...They've forgotten the stench of the backwaters and the ghettos of our nation and the least of these. We must all be concerned about the least of these."
"Who are the least of these? They are the thousands and millions of people living on the outskirts of hope. Who feel that life is a long and desolate corridor with no exit sign? Who are the least of these?... They are those men who walk the streets in search of jobs that do not exist. Who are the least of these? There are those who have given up because so many doors have been shut in their faces. Who are the least of these? They are those men who soon become embarrassed and humiliated because they can't support their families, because they can't feed their children and educate them Out of humiliation they often desert their families and the long night of illegitimacy comes into being.
Who are the least of these? They are the brothers and sisters, who out of agony, pain and the harshness of their everyday life try to escape through dope, and alcoholism, and through prostitution. As I walk through the ghettos and look at my brothers who may be dope addicts and who be alcoholics because of this system, I stand there, not in arrogance before them, but I look at them and say, but for the grace of God, there go I."
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Accordingly, as we began thinking about our discussion here and remembering Dr. King's speech, I was taken aback when I read that John Hennessy, the former recent President of Stanford University and Phillip Knight of Nike have jointly created and funded with $760 million the "Knight-Hennessy Scholars Program". They will provide graduate-level scholarships "to prepare a new generation of global leaders with the skills to address the increasingly complex challenges facing the world".
I checked to see whether either Phillip Knight or Stanford have made any significant contribution of their wealth to address the homeless. I did not find any. The" moral relativity", deafening silence, and inaction of the "genius" of Silicon Valley appears to continue.
In contrast, Civil Rights leaders like my friend Rev Jesse Jackson, in genuine sincerity, is seeking to get one or more Tech companies in Silicon Valley to increase employment opportunities for qualified African-Americans in the computer programming, code, and other engineering degree based jobs.
With all due respect to these efforts, increasing employment of African-Americans in high paid tech jobs at Apple, Cisco, Intel, Samsung, SAS, Hewlett Packard, etc. by 5-10%, is comparatively irrelevant to effecting any near term material change in the condition of the homeless here in Silicon, many of whom are African-Americans and military veterans.
Yes, I recognize new employment is not "irrelevant" to the person who gets hired for a job that he or she otherwise would not have had.
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When asked by a reporter for The New York Times, when he thought America was last 'great', Trump chose the late '40s and the '50s. "We were not pushed around, we were respected by everybody, we had just won a war, we were pretty much doing what we had to do."
Trump's twisted version of America is focused, almost solely, on being the biggest and baddest bully on the block. It's a vision of the America First mindset taken to it's most bizarre extreme. Donald Trump's America is the Fourth Reich.
Trump rarely offers specifics on exactly how his policies would 'make America great again', plus, he flips flops so often, that it's hard to pin him down. But what if we use his own hateful rhetoric to help visualize the America of Donald Trump's Dreams?
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It might look something like this:
On the economy: "Taxes too high, wages too high, we're not going to be able to compete against the world."
The Donald thinks Americans, at least those of us who aren't billionaires, make too damn much money. With the help of far-right legislative and judicial branches, he puts in place high tariffs (which increases the cost of many goods) and institutes a federal maximum wage. In Trump's America, income for workers goes down, while the cost of living skyrockets. The result is a state of permanent economic depression. Hey, at least we're screwing the Chinese.
On free speech: "The press is amazingly dishonest. The press is the real problem in this country."
Claiming national security, libel laws are expanded, making it easier to sue and silence news outlets. In Trump's America, The Fourth Estate, and freedom of speech, is suppressed and The First Amendment to The Constitution, is--for all intent and purposes--suspended.
On resolving conflict: "Maybe he should have been roughed up."
When a Black Lives Matter protester was assaulted by Trump supporters at a rally, The Donald approved. On several occasions, (referring to protesters) he's even encouraged his supporters, to "Knock the crap out of them." In the America of Donald Trump's Dreams, civil discourse is discouraged and disagreements are settled with a punch in the face.
On human rights: "They're bringing drugs, they're bringing crime. They're rapists and some, I assume, are good people...."
The Donald deports eleven million minorities and bans all Muslims. In his America, there's one set of rights for whites, and another, lesser one, for everyone else. The whole idea of equality goes right out the window.
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On the climate: "The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive."
Trump approves the Keystone pipeline, eliminates the Environmental Protection Agency and removes all restrictions on coal. Under Trumps stewardship, polluters are free to use the air, water and soil as open sewers, and America's environment becomes Third World. Cough, cough.
On the rule of law: "The other thing with the terrorists is you have to take out their families, when you get these terrorists, you have to take out their families."
The Donald totally disregards the law. Torture, guilt by association, and summary execution replace habeas corpus and due process. Trump's America goes rogue and becomes an outlaw nation; a pariah, shunned by the rest of the world.
On war: "That's the problem with our country. A politician would say, 'Oh I would never go to war,' or they'd say, 'Oh I would go to war.' I don't want to say what I'd do because, again, we need unpredictability."
The Donald threatens to makes good his campaign pledge to attack ISIS stronghold cities with atomic weapons. With such reckless abandon on display, the other nuclear powers put their militaries on high alert. The world teeters on the brink of thermonuclear war. Church attendance soars.
The COP21 Agreement was a welcome victory in the long climate change battle. World leaders came together and pledged to do their part to reduce emissions and tackle this complex global problem head on. In 2016, at long last, most of the world seems committed to moving to a low-carbon, renewable energy future. Clearly, the rhetoric stemming from presidential primary circus is not moving us forward. Though climate change denialism is overtly visible among G.O.P. candidates, they are not the only roadblock. Obstructionism pervades our political system and it's going to take more than a Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton to spur innovative climate policy. To bring about a real change, the business sector must step up. COP21 sends a strong message to the business community in the United States. If we are going to leave a more sustainable earth for generations to come, business leaders must be able to translate scientific understanding into action.
For its part, higher education must prepare our current business students to become these leaders. Providing the intellectual background that employers need - such as systems thinking that connects disciplines and an understanding of core science concepts within the context of business decision-making - should be a key curricular goal at both the undergraduate and graduate degree levels.
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Educators should consider preparing students for the distinctive challenges of sustainability to be a pressing, critical opportunity. Students in the classroom today will be the ones required to solve the complex problems. Inevitably, they will be tasked with reducing emissions, upping our use of renewable energy, and creating sustainable solutions across business functions in order to increase bottom lines and keep supply chains moving.
Granted, as a university professor it's tough to feel anything other than cautious optimism when we find out that many U.S. middle and high school science teachers are either uncertain or unable to convey what climate scientists have confirmed (National Center for Science Education). We simply have no time to lose.
Maybe the business-related implications of climate change will shake things up. According to a recent study published in Nature, unmitigated climate change is likely to reduce the income of an average person on Earth by roughly 23 percent in 2100. The study also estimated that climate change will reduce global economic production by 23 percent in 2100. Through that lens, the future of the global economy looks stark, yet I believe it will also be possible for college graduates to help companies adapt quickly.
Students will also need the opportunity - during a time in life when it's safer to make mistakes -- to think beyond the confines of individual business disciplines. For example, as part of an environmental policy class that I teach, our students collaborate with a policy-focused, Washington DC-based nonprofit and act as consultants to enhance the nonprofit's business strategies. In addition to learning the basics of environmental science in the classroom, students learn what it takes to solve real business and policy problems using their scientific understanding. We meet with policymakers in Washington, and make recommendations based on the business project. The students are always energized by the overall experience and it is this multi-disciplinary approach that leads to the kind of well-rounded college graduate that our economy needs.
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Lessons From $14M BofA Overtime Settlement
Bank of America is paying $14 million to settle a class action lawsuit accusing the bank's Merrill Lynch unit of overworking and underpaying trainees. According to the lawsuit, trainees in Merrill's Practice Management Development program were forced to work 60 hours per week or more, including weekends, without being paid overtime.
Although the settlement only comes out to about $1,000 for each of the roughly 9,500 plaintiffs after legal fees, the settlement could teach business owners small and large about the perils of violating labor laws.
Great Expectations
The former trainees claim they were expected to work 10- to 14-hour days, attend additional client functions, and even work on weekends in order to generate client leads. But if that's what you expect out of your employees, you should expect to compensate them for that time. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), under which the plaintiffs brought their lawsuit, is fairly clear about establishing minimum wage and hour laws, and requiring employers to play employees both for the regular hours worked and for overtime.
Careful With Your Classifications
The Merrill Lynch trainees were probably only allowed to bring this lawsuit because of their status as trainees. As stringent as the FLSA is, there are exceptions to its overtime requirements for executives, administrative employees, professionals, and outside sales people. If Merrill and BofA really wanted to work these trainees without paying them, they should've hired them as full-time employees.
Not Your Dad's Department of Labor
In the wake of the settlement, many in the industry sneered at the plaintiffs, calling them "litigious Millennials" who shockingly think they're entitled to compensation for their work, or scoffing at them for not working the unpaid hours the previous generation had without complaint.
The problem is that the Department of Labor doesn't care what managers in your company did when they were trainees twenty years ago. They care about what your company is doing today, a more enlightened age when employees work, and employers pay them for that work.
If you'd like to avoid lawsuits, and settlements, like BofA's, you should contact an experienced employment law attorney near you.
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APSCU Statement on the Conclusion of Negotiated Rulemaking
March 18, 2016 - Washington, DC - The below can be attributed to Steve Gunderson, president and CEO of APSCU:
Much like the gainful employment regulation before it, the likely action by the U.S. Department of Education on defense of repayment [sic] is nothing more than a very thinly vailed [sic] attempt to deny higher education access and opportunity to new traditional students that rely on our institutions. Effort like these [sic] put the future of career education in America at risk.
Department or advocate claims to the contrary are misleading.
Despite efforts by the Department, and its ideological allies, to try and pass [sic] arbitration as nefarious and anti-student- the fact is arbitration is used all across the country, every day by parties on all sides of all issues. Every American carrying a credit card today has agreed to arbitration in the event there is a dispute between the cardholder and their bank. To portray arbitration as exceptional or highly unique to higher education is ridiculous.
This latest regulatory effort is just an another attempt to pretend to be on the side of students, but really the Department is advancing an ideological effort instead of working cooperatively with the Congress and higher education stakeholders to advance meaningful reauthorization of Higher Education Act reauthorization [sic].
Today, in every aspect of society -- from government, to business, to the arts, and beyond -- we find innumerable examples of women leadership and benefit from the many significant contributions they have made.
While it might not be the first place one would think to look, there is one popular institution present in virtually every community where the success story of women could not be any more compelling: America's restaurants.
As the nation's second-largest private sector employer, restaurants have driven our nation's economic recovery from the Great Recession -- and that growth has been led by women. During the last decade, the number of women-owned restaurants increased by 40%, compared to 12% growth in all restaurant business over that same time span. Put another way: restaurants owned by women grew at a rate three-times faster than the industry as a whole. Today, half of all U.S. restaurants are either owned or co-owned by women.
Restaurants truly are an industry with no glass ceiling: we have more women owners and managers than any other industry in our nation. And the opportunities women have found in restaurants extend far beyond ownership. Sixty-one percent of adult women have worked in a restaurant at some point in their life, and 37 percent got their first job in one. From students to retirees and servers to owners, millions of women are finding their pathways to success in restaurants.
That's the story of Mirta Guitierrez, an immigrant from Argentina who left her home country to escape poverty and pursue the American Dream. She found a job as a dishwasher, and through a combination of hard work and determination, climbed the ladder of opportunity. Today she is the Executive Chef at a popular restaurant in Washington, D.C. "Through the restaurant industry in the United States, I found an open door and a pathway to success that was completely closed to me in my home country," Mirta has said.
Her inspiring story is not unique. Across the industry, we find success stories that reflect the spirit of hospitality. Kat Cole, Group President of FOCUS Brands which includes a host of popular restaurant brands such as Cinnabon and Auntie Anne's, got her first job in the industry as a hostess at a chain restaurant while in high school. Julia Stewart, Chairman and CEO of DineEquity, Inc., which includes brands like IHOP and Applebee's, began her career in the company as a server.
Our industry recently celebrated the accomplishments of women like Mirta, Kat and Julia at the Women's Foodservice Forum annual leadership conference in Dallas, which brought together hundreds of restaurant leaders from across the country. I was deeply honored to receive the "Trailblazer Award" there - an award that recognizes individuals dedicated to improving the foodservice industry through their support of gender diversity, creating new pathways for women in their company and the industry at large.
The fact is we are an industry of trailblazers -- of inspiring women who have found their first or second chance at the American Dream and have capitalized on the resources to become a manager or owner.
I am proud that, as an industry, we foster opportunity for all who join us. And, that as a result we have more women in management and ownership positions than virtually any other industry. Their successes are indicative of an industry with no limits and one that is worthy of our recognition every day.
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LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 28: Labor leader and civil rights activist Dolores Huerta (L) and actress Rosario Dawson, who plays Huerta in the film, attend a screening of "Cesar Chavez" at Landmark Theatres on March 28, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by David Livingston/Getty Images) (2014 David Livingston)
An apology by Dawson to Huerta would be a sign of respect and a signal towards healing if she does so.
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Dawson could have picked up the phone to call Dolores Huerta regarding differences in political opinions, but instead she chose to be used as a tool for the Bernie Sanders campaign in writing an open scathing letter. For the record, Dolores supports Secretary Hillary Clinton, but so does Rep. Luis Gutierrez from Chicago, IL. Gutierrez who also wrote an open letter to support Hillary, yet, received no open criticism from Dawson.
In 2014, Rosario chose to play Dolores Huerta in a Cesar Chavez movie. The Cesar Chavez movie is a biography of the civil-rights activist and labor organizer Cesar Chavez, and it highlighted Dolores' association in working with him, too. But playing Dolores in a movie should not entitle Rosario to wag her finger against our Civil Rights Chicana hero, and since she was open about her criticism toward Dolores, she should expect open criticism in return. The same sentiment goes for Latino Rebels who penned a story titled: "Dolores is Wrong."
Though Mexican Americans represent the lion share of the entire Hispanic population pie, we continue to fight for legal immigration reform for all ethnic groups and backgrounds who do not receive automatic citizenship or privileged amnesty the Puerto Ricans and Cubans currently receive. Rosario should understand why hardcore and staunch advocates of legal immigration reform cannot forgive Bernie Sanders "nay" vote when he voted against reform in 2007 because millions of us were marching in support of it. Bernie also voted to protect the minuteman vigilantes. 3 years later a young Mexican American girl was killed by a minuteman murderer in the State of Arizona - the state Cesar Chavez was born. Though Bernie voted in support of a stricter immigration policy in 2013, I believe he reversed his opinion later on because he knew he needed the Latino / Hispanic vote and his continued record of anti-immigration would destroy his chances as a formidable Democratic candidate.
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Bottom line: Bernie Sanders' previous anti-immigration record where he sided numerous times with the Republicans who were against a much needed reform (under the clearly broken immigration system we experience today) would have given the Republican Party fuel or fodder to point out Bernie's immigration record. And if a voter is inclined to forgive Bernie for his legal immigration reform sins in the past, then Republicans would ask for that same forgiveness from Hispanic or Latino voters. According to Think Progress, "Sanders' position on immigration has been called "complicated" and he has been criticized by immigration activists for supporting the idea that immigrants coming to the U.S. are taking jobs and hurting the economy, a theory that has been proven incorrect."
FOX News Latino states:
After appearing in "Chavez," which opens Friday, Dawson said she was "very much encouraged" to produce a story about Huerta. "I did so much research about her and it was just impossible -- a lot of the stuff that we filmed didn't even make it into the cut," she said. Starring Michael Pena in the title role and America Ferrera as his wife, Helen, "Cesar Chavez" follows the Chicano activist as he builds the United Farm Workers union and eventually forces growers to sign contracts to better the working conditions of mostly Latino field laborers.
Though it appears Dawson is encouraged to produce a story about Dolores Huerta, she will be met with fierce opposition in light of her scathing open letter against our heroine. Chicana Mexican Americans instead want a genuine actress to play the role of Dolores that embraces a true respect and reverence of her ... but it begins with an apology from Rosario to allow healing to begin. We would like to see healing begin this Cesar Chavez Day.
Although terrorist attacks in Europe are typically indiscriminate in terms of targeting ethnicity, the conflation of anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism continues to fuel attacks on Jews and Jewish institutions in Europe by Muslims and non-Muslims. Among Muslims, this toxic mindset, which is common, though hardly universal, can change. This distinguishes it from the fundamentally non-rational traditional European anti-Semitism based on Christianity or Nazi ideology. Muslim views are generally more rooted in actual historical injustice and thus can be affected by changing facts on the ground.
Israeli historians have long refuted myths that Israel's creation exemplified "A land without a people for a people without a land." Israel's birth in 1948 removed by force, or threat of force, 700,000 inhabitants from land on which the new state was to be built. This is known as the Nakba (Catastrophe) by those displaced and their descendants. Moreover, ethnic cleansing has continued to this day through illegal West Bank land expropriations, often accompanied by terror. Dramatic repressive actions by the Israeli government in Gaza or the West bank often lead to spikes in assaults on European Jewry.
The linkage of anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism is tragic, but hardly surprising given successful efforts by the Israeli government and overseas supporters to declare no distinction between them. This formula has produced recent efforts to ban free speech advocating boycott and divestment policies once utilized against the South African apartheid regime. Jews who have opposed Zionism (or the particular variant of it embraced by right-wing Zionists) are labeled self-hating. Why wouldn't Muslims opposed to Israel or its policies see virtually no daylight between Jews and Zionism? Historically, however, the relationship between anti-Semitism and Zionism is complex and of little comfort to contemporary Zionists. For example, traditional European anti-Semites, rather than being hostile towards Zionism, were sometimes its perverse champions. During the 1930s, many Nazis, including Adolf Eichmann, were sympathetic to Zionism, in much the same way the KKK in the 1960s supported the Black Muslims' quest for a separatist "black nation." Zionist leaders occasionally negotiated with Nazi officials to facilitate Jewish emigration. Members of the Stern Gang admired Italian fascism and even sought a tactical wartime alliance with the Nazis to oust the British from Palestine.
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In the U.S. today, the Christian right combines implicit anti-Semitism and impassioned support for the Israel's aggressive colonial expansion. Their reasoning is based on Bible passages tying the Second Coming of Christ to the preexistence of the State of Israel. The anti-Semitic aspect of this vision involves what happens after Christ's reappearance: Jews will convert or be consigned to eternal damnation.
European anti-Semitism unrelated to Nazism was also used, before, during and immediately after WWII, to encourage Jewish emigration to Palestine. The reluctance of many countries to accept large numbers of Jewish refugees was a boon to Zionists in Palestine who desperately needed able-bodied emigres to add to the minority Jewish population. At times, as noted in Yosef Grodzinsky's In the Shadow of the Holocaust, this meant manipulating, and, in a few cases, coercing, non-Zionists in DP camps for WWII refugees to go to Palestine when they would have wanted to go elsewhere. In this endeavor, Allied camp administrators were often complicit.
Contemporary anti-Semitic incidents serve the same function and, indeed, Prime Minister Netanyahu has encouraged migration of French Jews to Israel as a safe haven after last year's attacks. It should be noted, as Israeli journalist Tom Segev exhaustively documents in The Seventh Million: Israelis and the Holocaust, the Zionists were not all that sympathetic to the victims of Nazism once they dis-embarked in Palestine. Then, and perhaps now, they wanted them to enlarge the Jewish population and fight Arabs, even against their will, but not so much to help them heal and thrive. If the historical relationship between anti-Semitism and Zionism is more complicated and darker than many are aware, it's also true that Zionism, as embodied in the Israeli state, may be a far greater danger now to the safety of Jews outside and inside its borders, than would be the case if Israel had not existed, certainly in its aggressively expansionist form.
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This concern is not new and there have always been many non-Zionist Jews who worried about Israel creating problems for Jews seeking to integrate as citizens of other nations: about being accused of dual loyalties, or subjected to anti-Semitic taunts to "Go back to Israel." Israeli government actions have begun to alienate American Jews, particularly younger ones, and there have been a number of organizations and prominent individuals that have spoken out in support of the Palestinians, just as there have been Israelis who have fought against the settlement expansion. This current of disaffection has emerged on a smaller scale among European Jewry. It might diminish Muslim anti-Semitism there if it grows and first develops visible bonds with Muslim who are not anti-Semitic. Obviously, alliances would depend on shared goals and those could range from support for a two-state solution, a bi-national state, or even a "Northern Ireland" model applied to the Occupied Territories.
It is important to note that European Muslims are not uniformly anti-Semitic. A review of polling data, undertaken by Gunther Jikeli, the Director of the Institute for the Study of Global Anti-Semitism and Policy, found Muslim anti-Semitism has fluctuated over the past decade, and is dependent on the degree of religiosity, country of origin, where they live now, and other factors. Moreover, anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism, while related, are not invariably connected, with anti-Zionism being far more widespread, both among Muslims and non-Muslims.
Rear View Of A Man In Control Room Monitoring Multiple Cctv Footage
In recent days we've seen horrendous attacks in Belgium, Turkey and Pakistan targeting innocent people simply going about their daily lives. As we mourn the victims, these attacks are another tragic reminder that victims of terrorism share no single race or faith. To keep our families safe from violence, Americans of all faiths must stand together and not allow ourselves to be divided as we face threats from violent extremists.
Unfortunately, some of our leaders seem more pre-occupied with scoring political points by stoking fear and peddling discrimination than actually keeping Americans safe. Again, there are irresponsible calls to single out Americans for suspicion based on nothing more than their faith. U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, for example, has called for law enforcement to "patrol and secure" American Muslim neighborhoods and for the New York Police Department (NYDP) to bring back its failed and discredited Demographics Unit that engaged in blanket, suspicionless spying on Americans Muslim before it was disbanded by the City of New York two years ago.
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Notably, Donald Trump has agreed with Senator Cruz's misguided proposal.
We've been fighting this battle since news reports first disclosed that the NYPD had sent undercover agents and informants into mosques, Muslim-owned restaurants and stores, and onto college campuses, sometimes posing as Muslim students themselves, in New York, New Jersey, and throughout the Northeast--not based on evidence of criminal activity, but simply because these were spaces where Muslims could be found. In 2012, Muslim Advocates filed a lawsuit in federal court, Hassan v. City of New York, to challenge the NYPD's discriminatory Muslim spying program. The Center for Constitutional Rights and the Gibbons, P.C. law firm later joined our legal team. Last fall, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued a landmark ruling in our case, upholding the rights of American Muslims--and Americans of all faiths--to be free from suspicionless surveillance.
In a unanimous ruling, the court recognized that law enforcement's treatment of American Muslims today echoes the most shameful episodes in our nation's history, likening the NYPD's arguments in defense of discriminatory surveillance of Muslims to those used to justify past injustices against Jewish Americans during the Red Scare, Japanese Americans during World War II, and African Americans during the Civil Rights Movement.
The court did not issue its ruling in a vacuum. The court sat and heard arguments in the case just one week after the heinous Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris in January 2015. In fact, the judges asked our legal team why the NYPD should not have blanket surveillance authority in light of the Paris attacks. A few months later, in its blistering decision, the court understood that we cannot sacrifice our values and who we are as Americans in the name of the false promise of enhanced security.
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That is why this week it was heartening to hear New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton so forcefully and immediately condemn Cruz's call. They have begun to learn what American Muslims have long understood: the NYPD's misguided blanket surveillance program targeting American Muslims in the Northeast is wrong and ineffective. On Wednesday, in response to Cruz, Commissioner Bratton said the program failed to produce a single piece of actionable intelligence and "didn't work." Instead, it increased distrust between the police and the communities they serve and aim to protect by wrongly stigmatizing Muslims.
The fact is, according to FBI Director James Comey, in the United States, ISIS, or Daesh, is not recruiting at mosques, schools, or the local halal restaurant. They are spreading their message and recruiting vulnerable individuals--described by the FBI Director as "troubled souls who are being inspired or enabled online" --over the Internet.
Following the attacks in Brussels, former Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff echoed concerns about these types of harmful policies: "The idea that you can identify people who are a risk based upon their religion or the way they look is completely fallacious. It's like going after cancer with a meat axe, instead of a scalpel."
Casting suspicion on all Muslims also has real-world consequences. Rising anti-Muslim bigotry by public figures in recent months has created a climate that has helped fuel a spike in hate crimes against our Muslim neighbors and those who are perceived to be Muslim. More than ever, Muslim parents are concerned about the safety of their children and whether they will be bullied or harassed, simply because of how they look or how they pray. Bigoted, reckless, and inflammatory statements by public officials send the wrong and dangerous signal: that Americans should fear, and even attack, their Muslim neighbors.
To keep our families safe and to protect our American ideals of freedom and justice, we must learn from our history and challenge the myths that fail to keep us safe. We can only be stronger together.
There is a lot of value in transforming an idea into a viable business, and there is a lot of importance in creating social impact through business. Now put both together, and add something new: the opportunity to help other people increase their income through a business idea - how does that sound? How about a business that centers around building a database where people can search for opportunities to make their fortune by themselves?
World Bank has recently recognized the promotion of Bangladesh to the category of lower-middle income countries from that of the least developed countries. However, unemployment - seasonal or long-term - is still a big issue to resolve. World Bank estimates that 'total youth unemployment rate' of Bangladesh is 10%.
Job portals are becoming popular among a portion of youth who have graduated from universities and colleges. But, those job portals contain circular of only white-collar jobs. Majority of the youth in Bangladesh cannot still pursue or complete their graduation, and they are not eligible, in most of the cases, for those jobs. However, there are jobs available for them, but there is no portal or database where they can find jobs that match their profile. Existing job portals work well for people only with academic experience and certificates.
It is possible to develop a database where they can upload their profile, search job or market opportunities, and apply their entrepreneurial or technical skills. This is possible because even these apparently less-educated young people use mobile apps. And, an app can help them find jobs or business opportunity that matches their profile. This will, eventually, help these people increase their income.
A team competing in the Hult Prize competition, Team Zygote, has found a way to address this deficit. Driven by the dream of making real changes to improve the living of urban poor, the team has come up with an idea to build a database where the small entrepreneurs and self-employed people can find opportunities to increase their income by applying their talent. This idea first received attention in Bangladesh after winning the Hult Prize at University of Dhaka quarterfinal. They weren't the only ones to receive notice; the other teams also received attention from the journalists, investors and the judges present at the closing ceremony of Hult Prize at University of Dhaka (DU).
Unlike typical business plan competitions, Hult Prize encourages young minds to come up with ideas that have social impact in addition to bringing fortune to the entrepreneurs. This year, the challenge case given by Hult Prize is aimed at finding a business idea to double the income of the poor population of crowded urban cities. Beyond a mere business plan competition, it's a global movement that helps spread the concept of social-entrepreneurship through campus rounds held around the world. This competition encourages the youth to dream big for change, and work hard in chasing these dreams.
In developing countries, bureaucracy, socio-economic instability, and lack of financial and social support are the main hurdles to overcome for the young dreamers to become true entrepreneurs. This situation discourages youth in these regions to work hard to make their ideas into businesses. Yet, there are exceptions; those who do not stop at obstacles and who challenge the status quo and fight until they win. We have been very fortunate to meet numerous such people when we organized the campus round of Hult Prize at DU.
Even more interesting for those organizing the event was the sort of latent entrepreneurial zeal we found in ourselves while working to make the event its best, and while meeting true business minds of judges, sponsors, participating teams, and honourable guests coming from different industries to encourage the participants and the organizers. In this way, the Hult Prize helped the business-minded youth to find a platform to connect with peers and specialists from national and international communities.
At the closing ceremony of Hult Prize at DU, Mr. Shahriar Alam MP, the honourable State Minister of Foreign Affairs of People's Republic of Bangladesh, told us that he hadn't originally wanted to be a public servant; he'd wanted to be an entrepreneur. He thought of becoming a businessman, and overcame a lot of hurdles before eventually turning to politics as a means to contribute to his country. He noted, however, that he's happy to see that the young people today are thinking of contributing to society through business, as he once aspired.
And today, on the University of Dhaka campus, the most venerated institution in Bangladesh, top business minds are dreaming not just of profit, but of a better world through business.
Islamic State flag is seen in front of a Belgian flag in this illustration taken March 22, 2016. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
This article first appeared on the blog of Intentional Insights, a nonprofit organization that popularizes science-based strategies for emotional intelligence, rational thinking, and effective giving.
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These are great ideas. At least, if we want to help ISIS achieve its goals, and make America much less safe.
ISIS would love to see the U.S. use torture such as waterboarding and beyond on suspects. An isolationist approach of closing our borders to outsiders, and especially singling out Muslims as Trump has repeatedly emphasized, would be great for ISIS. Having an extra-heavy police presence in Muslim neighborhoods, based on nothing but religious faith, would thrill ISIS to no end.
Why? Because any of these changes in government policy would radicalize other Muslims.
What is the problem with radicalizing Muslims? Causing Muslims to grow more radical would result in them being more likely to be sympathetic to, help out, and join ISIS.
For instance, let's use probabilistic thinking to consider what happens when there is a report in Muslim media of U.S. torture of Muslim prisoners, the kind that Trump proposes.
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At any point, there are a myriad of Muslim youths in the Middle East who are angry at the West, especially the United States. For a number of them -- let's estimate a hundred -- the report will be the thing that tips them over from anger to outrage, and they will decide to join ISIS.
Of those, envision five percent getting trained successfully in ISIS terrorist camps as suicide bombers. That means five new suicide bombers per report of US torture, ready to wreak havoc on the United States.
As another example, imagine if we "patrol and secure" Muslim neighborhoods. Cruz proposes securing Muslim neighborhoods before they become radicalized. In reality, an extra-heavy police presence would be the perfect ingredient for radicalizing Muslims. As evidence, we already see many Muslims reacting with fear and defiance to this proposal.
Say there are fifty heavily Muslim neighborhoods in the United States that get extra police presence. As a guesstimate, let's presume that for every month of heavier surveillance in a Muslim neighborhood, two Muslims grow radicalized in that neighborhood. That comes out to a hundred radicalized Muslims per month.
Such radicalized Muslims will be willing to hide and otherwise support suicide bombers. They will also contribute money to ISIS to fund its activities, including terrorism. This is the mix of ingredients required for the kind of mass-scale, coordinated terrorist attack that struck Brussels recently, or Paris earlier.
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By responding aggressively with angry rhetoric, intimidation, torture, and surveillance, we make America less safe, and do exactly what ISIS wants.
So what should we do? We should not act immediately! We need to go against our intuitive emotional self's desire for revenge. Instead, we need to step back and assess the situation intentionally.
Recent research shows that after any emotionally powerful event, our brains tend to assign too much weight to that event compared to what is really important to us, a thinking error called attentional bias. To fight this thinking error, we should consider what are our actual long-term goals and how best to reach them.
Our actual goals are to decrease the likelihood of future terrorist attacks, not increase their likelihood through an aggressive response that would radicalize Muslims.
To achieve our goals, a good question to ask here is "what would make America safe again?"
On the military front, we can take quiet and covert actions against ISIS that would avoid radicalizing everyday Muslims. Our top political figures can make powerful, courageous, and politically unpopular statements that all Muslims are not to blame for this attack, but only a small group of radicals, and that we should not radicalize the rest through unthoughtful policies. We can reach out to Muslim leaders in our communities and around the world who condemned the Brussels attacks and work together against the radicals.
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We need to set aside our emotional desire for revenge, however difficult, and take the hard road that will achieve our true goals. Let's make America safe again!
After Gov. McCrory hastily signed it, North Carolina's House Bill 2 has received considerable news coverage because of the message it sends to the LGBT community and to those who care about them. Surprisingly, however, there seems to be much less talk about the way the legislation targets the rest of the state as well. Let me just tick off some of this other damage:
First, this bill eliminates state employment discrimination protection for pretty much everyone. Sure, House Bill 2 pays lip service to a number of groups: "It is the public policy of this State to protect and safeguard the right and opportunity of all persons to seek, obtain and hold employment without discrimination or abridgement on account of race, religion, color, national origin, age, biological sex or handicap by employers which regularly employ 15 or more employees." (Ironically, "biological sex" here doesn't simply mean actual gender. Instead, it means the gender as assigned on a birth certificate. Should we worry about those who can't find their birth certificates, who discover typos on them, or who never had one in the first place? Do we all need to carry birth certificates when we potty now?) Though House Bill 2 pays lip service to all these groups, it also TAKES AWAY any right of individuals to enforce the statute. Its language is as plain as plain gets: "This Article does not create, and shall not be construed to create or support, a statutory or common law private right of action, and no person may bring any civil action based upon the public policy expressed herein." In other words, individuals in none of these groups can bring a state cause of action based on such discrimination. Thus, if an employer discriminates against me because I'm a Christian, this on its face would deny me my day in state court. Pardon my blunt language but this is just awful.
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Second, were all this not bad enough, the bill ties the hands of any local communities that might want to raise the minimum wage or otherwise address worker well being including that of even child laborers. Here again House Bill 2 couldn't be clearer: "The provisions of this Article supersede and preempt any ordinance, regulation, resolution, or policy adopted or imposed by a unit of local government or other political subdivision of the State that regulates or imposes any requirement upon an employer pertaining to compensation of employees, such as the wage levels of employees, hours of labor, payment of earned wages, benefits, leave, or well-being of minors in the workforce." What in the world does this have to do with predatory straight men in women's restrooms?
Third, House Bill 2 ironically targets yet another group: heterosexual males. As best I can determine, McCrory claims this bill protects females from heterosexual males putting on dresses and looking at females in restrooms. Surely McCrory would not waste public time and money unless he thought there was a clear and present danger of this happening. In other words, the number of such perverted heterosexual males must be so high as to create an immediate danger of this happening. Yet, where's his evidence of that? Unless he can produce it, he gratuitously insults almost half the population presumably including himself. (Of course, he also has some basic logic problems here. A bill protecting transgender people on its face does not protect non-transgender straight males putting on dresses to look at women in restrooms.)
Fourth, House Bill 2 doesn't even pay lip service to our veterans. Here's the language again: "It is the public policy of this State to protect and safeguard the right and opportunity of all persons to seek, obtain and hold employment without discrimination or abridgement on account of race, religion, color, national origin, age, biological sex or handicap by employers which regularly employ 15 or more employees." Where is the mention of veterans? Are they not worthy of employment protection as a matter of State public policy?
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I could go on listing concerns, but I'll stop here. Instead, I'd like to end by speaking as a native North Carolinian to those outside our state whom McCrory has shocked and angered. McCrory does not speak for me or mine. He is part of a group that has temporarily taken control of our state government. This will not last. I have no doubt there will be many days of reckoning in the appropriate legal forums in the days to come. In the meantime, if you want to move here to live or do business, please come. If you want to visit, please come. We are a wonderful state full of wonderful people (presumably the reason why the McCrory family moved here from Ohio in the first place) and will in the end be an even better and more powerful state for having conquered and survived the trauma that McCory has caused us. Maybe even McCrory, too, will eventually see the error of his ways and become better as well. We can always hope.
When radicals Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik pulled out their guns at the holiday event hosted by the San Bernardino Department of Public Health on December 2nd, 2015, hardly did they know that what succeeded was about to turn into one of the greatest legal battles in the history of national security. Shooting through a crowd of 80 attending members, Farook and his wife killed 14 people, injuring 22 more. About 4 hours and 20 guns later, both Farook and Malik lay dead near their SUV, the result of a vigorous police shootout. According to the FBI, Farook and his wife were both religious extremists with origins in Pakistan. While not in direct contact with any terrorist cell, Farook and Malik were, what you would call, two middle-aged adults brainwashed after seeing hours of fear porn on the internet. While not exactly organized terrorism, the FBI declared this case as one with consequential terrorist involvement.
In the course of their detailed investigation (because that's what good ol' federal officers tend to do), the FBI came across Farook's iPhone 5C, the source of all the conundrum that you have seen ever since. Farook's iPhone was password protected, and designed to erase all data after 10 unsuccessful login attempts. The capable officers at the bureau somehow decided that they were not capable enough to hack this one, and so they got themselves a federal court order to force Apple into creating a custom version of the iOS and feed it to the device, unlocking it quite easily. Things would have gone real smooth, except Apple CEO Tim Cook refused to comply with the FBI's request, saying that it would create a reasonably high privacy risk for all iPhone users. Thus began one of the most exhausting battles in the history of data encryption.
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#1 What You Need Is What You Get
From the very beginning of this case, as experts have said again and again, the FBI didn't really need Apple's help to crack this one iPhone. There were other ways to unlock it, or failing that, other leads to look into. However, what the government wanted here was an exclusive backdoor that allowed it to peek into the lives of all iPhone users at will, criminal or not. And what better way to further such a brave cause than to feed off the fears and sympathy of those heartbroken by this terror attack?
#2 Nobody Wins
The FBI can celebrate as much as it wants after cracking open the San Bernardino iPhone. Apple too can declare itself a winner in the war for securing privacy for its consumers. But the truth is, in this battle on data encryption, nobody really scored a win. Neither did the FBI get the backdoor it wanted, nor did Apple succeed in securing a legendary win for consumer privacy. The war has merely been postponed, it is far from being over. Which brings us to my next conclusion:
#3 The War Isn't Over
This case was never about the San Bernardino affair. Ever since Edward Snowden leaked classified NSA files proving that it was illegally surveilling the entire country, tech enterprises have been strengthening their security measures to prevent the government from peeking into the lives of their users. However, the government has been contesting that this kind of security is allowing criminals to hide sensitive activity behind the walls created by technology. After iOS 8, this is truer than ever for the government. Apple vs FBI was just one in a series of battles between national security and the right to privacy. The results of this case prove nothing, the war is still on.
#4 From China With Love
Of course, a case of this caliber is bound to have repercussions in foreign countries. As Edward Snowden rightly said on Twitter, China looms over the United States regarding its moves on data encryption. Seeing that the FBI did indeed have the guts to file such a motion in a free democracy, China is definitely going to take advantage of the situation and order enterprises to allow for more cuts to user privacy. Seeing that China is a communist nation with high state control, and given that 25% of Apple's gross revenue comes from China, will Apple be able to deny a similar request from the Chinese government?
"This move by the FBI could snowball around the world. Why in the world would our government want to give repressive regimes in Russia and China a blueprint for forcing American companies to create a backdoor?" - Senator Ron Wyden
#5 Hacker On The Loose
While Apple didn't have to heed to the government's unreasonable request to create a customized Government OS, it now has bigger things to worry about. A third-party security firm, probably Cellebrite, now has the keys to unlock the iPhone without Apple's help. This could impose serious security risks which will definitely determine a consumer's will to purchase an iPhone in the future. Given that the FBI has no intentions to reveal the "classified" hacking technique or even the name of the hacker, Apple is in for some tough waters as it struggles to plug this vulnerability.
"Blood Year - Islamic State and the Failures of the War on Terror"
David Kilcullen, Hurst (London, 2016)
David Kilcullen is a former Australian soldier turned advisor to the US government turned think tank director. He is the author of several fascinating books that have tracked the evolving nature of modern warfare and focused in particular on counter-insurgencies. This latest book is more personal and less theoretical than his previous writing with more direct reference to his work around government and the research firm that he founded that combines 'pattern analysis of immense amounts of remote-observation data with the ability to field indigenous research teams'. Unlike his other books, which have been ground breaking in his combination of theory and practice, 'Blood Year' reads more like an extended opinion piece that was perhaps commissioned to take advantage of the huge global interest in ISIS. That said it is a very readable account that covers many years' worth of blood in a chronological fashion with extremely credible analysis.
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You have to reach the end of the book for Kilcullen to reveal his cornerstone argument that the events described leading to today represent a 'massive, tragic mess' and 'nothing less than the collapse of Western counter-terrorism strategy as we've known it since 2001'. Such a powerful blast at the status quo is followed by a glimpse into the depressing future of a 'multi generational struggle against an implacable enemy'
How we got to this point is told via a brief wider history of the region and more detail gradually increasing from the 2003 invasion of Iraq to the modern day with particular focus on the 'blood year' of 2014. Iraq is described as having a strong state but weak society that was divided and battered by civil conflict following the US invasion. The author's proximity to events reveals some good anecdotal insight including the then Prime Minister Maliki describing the US support to the 'Sons of Iraq' as "you've taken a crocodile as a pet' . Unlike Kilcullen's 'Accidental Guerilla' and 'Out of the Mountains' work, 'Blood Year' sees an author more comfortable making bold assertions such as his description of Maliki as a 'Shi'a-supremacist'.
Out of the Iraq civil war came 'Al Qaeda in Iraq' which would evolve and mutate into ISIS following the start of the Syrian conflict. In Syria Kilcullen stresses the role of Assad's allies in keeping him in power from the start referencing 'the availability of a well-placed repressive apparatus from Iran was a key addition to Assad's capability' (p.69). Hidden in the book is the headline worthy nugget that his contacts suggest that "Assad was furious at his generals' use of gas (in mid-2013) without his personal authorisation" (p.158). As a military man it's no surprise that Kilcullen is excellent when it comes to a tactical look at ISIS's campaign for territory. He focuses in Iraq on how Maliki's creation of a parallel military command structure was good for protecting him against a coup but terrible when it came to winning the war itself - a 'disaster waiting to happen' (p.88) that did happen when ISIS seized large parts of the country. The fall of Mosul is well told as Kilcullen contrasts the ridged, static, checkpoint orientated Iraqi forces with ISIS that were both manoeuvrable and understood the wider peri-urban issues around how cities function.
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Kilcullen argues that Al Qaeda were unable to exploit the Arab Spring as they were still recovering from the death of Bin Laden and were largely inward looking. He then charts how the ISIS model 'perfected leaderless resistance, remote radicalisation and guerrilla-style terrorism'. He argues that despite the concerns in the West ISIS sees 'the Shi'a as the main enemy' and that they rely on "symbolic figures (who) issue general guidelines for action - individuals or independent groups act upon without further coordination or communication" . Such a dangerous, inspirational effect has been witnessed in a number of attacks globally since with the Tunisia killings in Sousse a prime example. One attacker with four clips of ammunition for a single gun was able to kill 38 people and change the course of an entire country.
'Blood Year' reserves its harshest criticism for the Obama administration. Where Kilcullen saw Russian tactics in the Middle East as having a 'strategic unity of thought and action' the Obama White House 'has been a lesson in the risks of passivity and under-reaction'. Where 'President Bush was reckless, President Obama seemed feckless' and had a 'deer-in-the-headlights response to the rise of ISIS and the Syrian conflict'. Kilcullen perhaps goes too far when he suggests that Obama made the choice of managed decline, but is certainly right in arguing that he conflated leaving the Iraq war with ending it.
A court prosecuting officer said: Of those people who have been arrested for associating with the AA 28 men are on trial. The trial started today. As they werent arrested at the same time, they are facing different charges. I cannot give details about each mans name and what they are being charged with.
But, she did say that all the men are being charged under the Unlawful Association Act, Sections 17 (1) and 17 (2), as well as facing other charges.
Of the 28 men standing trial 16 were arrested last year and the other 12 were arrested this year. A total of 36 people have been detained at Kyauktaw Police Station on suspicion of being associated with the AA.
Previously, on 16 March, Kyauktaw Township Court sentenced two men to three years in prison for being associated with the AA. Their defence lawyer Ko Tun Hla told Narinjara News that the men are planning to file an appeal at Mrauk U District Court.
Fighting between the AA and the Burma Army began in April 2015 and since then many people have been arrested in Arakan State on suspicion of being associated with the AA.
Translated by Thida Linn
Edited in English by Mark Inkey for BNI
My Aussie and I have been together for 5 years now. So, ya, a long long time. And I love the Aussies, but let me tell you, there are some things about dating an Australian man that I found VERY different about dating an American guy. Nothing bad, but just different. It may be a culture thing or the whole "you always want what you can't have" thing, but I absolutely love dating an Aussie.
I always found the way American guys try to get girls was a bit aggressive. The American boys love to play games with girls, and the whole grinding thing? Yuck. The flirting/hooking up game was so different in Australia! And the drinking culture? Americans drink to get drunk and go out, Aussies love a beer with almost anything and drink because they mostly enjoy the taste (they just get hammered in process of enjoying all this grog!). Also, the whole "Live to work - Work to live" mentality is so noticeably different between the two cultures.
Anyways, let's be real, my man does follow the Aussie stereotypes -- Blonde hair, surfer, beach bum, makes a mean BBQ, loves a good beer, and rides a kangaroo to work! Only kidding, he doesn't like beer that much.... But he's definitely a top bloke. (Impressed with my use of Aussie slang? I bet you are!) Anyways, I love dating an Australian and here are the reasons why:
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**This post is purely based on my experience dating a few American and Aussie men, and in no way trying to generalize the American and Australian population. Just personal preference. Soz.
1. I don't actually know any of his friends real names
"Muzza", "Jordo", "Pinky", "Lawz", "Smithy". What ever happened to names like "John", "Tom" and "Mike"? But seriously? It's weird.
AKA: He's mysterious.
2. He is fearless to pathetic puny American standard insects
I see a spider, I scream. The Aussie comes in, sees the spider and says "that's it?" Everyone knows that Australia has some wild and terrifying creatures that are ultimately out to kill you, so the tiny and unintimidating insects here are nothing to the Aussie kind. And hey, he can easily play off as my hero when he catches a spider!
AKA: He's a fearless badass hero who swoons me with his bravery.
3. Not having meat in a meal is unacceptable
Yes, there are vegetarian Australians, but after dating my Aussie and meeting most of his friends, every meal required some sort of meat (mostly BBQ of sorts) otherwise it was considered as just an appetizer. I once thought I could surprise my man with a really delicious bean soup for dinner, only to hear "but where's the chicken?" He actually left, bought roasted chicken, and had the nerve to put it in my soup and say, "There we go. Now that's a meal!" Lesson learned.
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AKA: He knows what he wants and he knows how to get it.
4. Americans love his accent
I, being one of the Americans that fell in love with his accent, obviously, but the Aussie will go to the bar, smile at someone (being nice, not flirty) and they will nod and turn back to their friends. The minute he starts speaking, it's as if someone just yelled "FREE NUTELLA!!!" All eyes on him -- "Is that an accent I hear? OMG, where are you from?" Excuse me, he's mine. Turn around, please.
AKA: His accent is hot.
5. Speaking of accents, anything he says always sounds better
To this day, I am pretty sure I haven't really listened to what the Aussie has been saying. I just get too distracted with that accent. He can say, "I just made a few cheese curds in my pants while kissing a whale" and I am here like **whimper** That was hot, kiss me now! *blushing*
AKA: Again, his accent is hot!
6. If you don't know footy well, just support the same team he does
Aussie boys are incredibly loyal to their footy team. If your man goes for the Geelong Cats, so do you. I hear choosing footy teams can make or break a relationship. I've lost friends over this. Choose wisely.
AKA: I suppose he's loyal?
7. No matter how much you fight it, they will always love their vegemite
I don't get it nor will I ever understand it, but after moving to the States, the Aussie misses his Vegemite. It was his go-to drunk food. It's basically solid left over salty beer mush. Smells horrible and tastes horrible. Am I missing something? Someone explain the appeal, please!
AKA: He always carries a piece of home and has terrible taste in bread spreads.
8. As a Melbourne Boy, he is an entitled coffee snob
I'll admit, Melbourne has an incredible coffee scene. If you look at any tour book for Melbourne, the first thing mentioned to visit are the laneways and coffee shop. No joke! Melbournians have every right to be coffee snobs! So the first time the Aussie was in LA, he could not find ANY coffee, but after a year or so, forcefully, we found coffee shops that satisfies his coffee snobery thirst. Imagine being in China where coffee doesn't meet his standards? 2 hours and an attempt to read Chinese mapquest later, no satisfaction.
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AKA: He likes luxurious goods. A good flat white is luxurious, right?
9. Apparently they don't have time to speak in full worded sentences
"Meet me for a bevi this arvo?" For all the non Aussies reading this, did anyone understand that? That meant "let's get a drink this afternoon." It's hilarious. It's like they shorten all their words because they don't have enough time to formulate full sentences! It must be an important meeting or something... I've learned to love it. It's endearing. :)
AKA: He is efficient.
10. He wears thongs
He wears thongs confidently and doesn't care who's watching! He wore his thongs to climb to the Great Wall of China, on the beaches of Indonesia, motorbiking and even to sporting matches. Oh, and we call thongs, flip flops. But still flip flops to the Great Wall of China? Come on, mate....
AKA: He's confident and doesn't care about judgement.
Someone dies from gun violence every 16 minutes in America.
YOU CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT is a series of frank interviews with passionate men and women who are leaders, activists and influencers on the subject of gun violence in America. Some have been my teachers, champions and support system on this very complicated and emotional journey and some I have admired from afar for their bravery, audacity and indomitable commitment to the cause. Although our backgrounds, experiences and the challenges we face in our work are as complex as the causes and the solutions to this epidemic, all have shown that there is more that can be done to end this senseless loss of human life. I am proud to introduce you to each of them and excited to share their insights into how all of us can be a part of the solution to "Raise The Caliber" of our communities.
Interview No. 10 Meet U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal
Occupation/Title:
U.S. Senator
Age: 70
Race/Nationality: Caucasian
Where do you live?
Greenwich, CT
What quote do you live by?
"Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country."
- President John F. Kennedy
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What are you most proud of about your work/life?
My wife, Cynthia, and our children.
What is the biggest challenge you face in your work?
Working for bipartisan solutions and overcoming polarizing political contention, to achieve solutions on gun violence prevention, jobs and economic growth, and other critical issues.
Why do you think we have such a problem with gun violence in America?
A problem as serious and complicated as gun violence will always have multiple causes. One key cause is Americans' easy access to firearms without background checks that would keep firearms away from criminals and others. Any serious solution to the problem of gun violence must begin by addressing this fact.
What do you think is the biggest misconception about why we have such a problem with gun violence in America?
Americans have been told for years that the people cannot beat the gun lobby. The power of the NRA has generally been untested, but when Americans feel strongly about gun violence - as they did in the early 1990s, when the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act and the assault weapons ban were passed - their representatives in Congress respond. We will discover in the coming years that the gun lobby is beatable. When Americans stand up and speak out for commonsense reforms, we will win.
Do you think there a law that the government could enact that would really make a difference in reducing gun violence and building safe communities?
Several proposals in a gun violence prevention law would make a meaningful difference, including universal background checks, a ban on straw purchases and illegal trafficking. Mental health and school safety must also be addressed. Universal background checks would be a game changer. But even smaller solutions could help. Shortly after the Newtown shootings, one of the Newtown parents testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee that something as simple as banning magazines that carry more than ten bullets would force a mass shooter to reload. The moment when a shooter is reloading is frequently the time when he can be disarmed. The 11th bullet--the bullet that a mass shooter never fires--could be the one to kill another innocent victim. Every incremental step in the right direction means lives saved. Dozens of proposals would constitute meaningful steps in the right direction.
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What are three things the average American citizen can do to "Raise The Caliber" of their community?
Americans can follow your lead in helping to remember the millions of Americans affected by gun violence.
First, if you know somebody who has been affected, let them know you care.
Second, look out for individuals whose mental or emotional issues and anger could make them the next mass shooter. If we care enough to identify these people and try to help them find treatment, we can stop the next tragedy before it happens.
Third, participate in your democracy. Among the biggest enemies in the fight to pass commonsense gun laws are apathy and resignation.
Is there a must read book or article on this topic that has educated and inspired you?
In June of 2013, the Washington Post wrote an article titled "After Newtown Shooting, Mourning Parents Enter into the Lonely Quiet" by Eli Saslow. It's about Mark and Jackie Barden, who lost their son Daniel at Sandy Hook. It's not a particularly political article. It just documents how Mark and Jackie learned to cope with their loss, and how they channeled their pain into trying to do good for others. For many of us who know Mark and Jackie, the article is a reminder of just how impressive they are. But more broadly, the article shows us that behind the often political debate over gun violence, the goal for many is really about healing--helping families and communities and our country heal the horror and hurt from gun violence. The epidemic of gun violence, killing more than 30 thousand Americans every year, is a public health crisis that must be addressed with the same sense of urgency demanded by a devastating disease.
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Jessica Mindich began the Caliber Collection in January 2012 as a collaboration with the Mayor of Newark, NJ, Cory Booker, as a way to turn illegal and unwanted guns from our cities' streets into jewelry. Their vision was to create a virtuous cycle by funding gun buyback and amnesty programs from the proceeds of the sales from the Caliber Collection. The jewelry is made with the serial numbers from illegal guns and the metal from shell casings. The Caliber Collection donates 20% of the net proceeds to fund voluntary gun buyback and amnesty programs in some of the toughest cities in America. To date, they have taken over 1,000 illegal guns off the streets and have raised over $100,000 for police departments in Newark, Hartford, the San Francisco Bay Area and Detroit from the sale of Caliber products to customers in over 85 countries.
From the success of the Caliber Collection, Jessica created The Caliber Foundation, which offers support to victims, families and communities who have been affected by illegal gun violence. The Caliber Foundation is the proud recipient of grants from MTV, Shepard Fairey/Obey Giant and The Serena Williams Foundation. Jessica is also the founder of the Raise The Caliber initiative, a National advocacy campaign to end illegal gun violence. Proceeds from partnerships under Raise The Caliber are donated to the Caliber Foundation.
Democratic presidential candidates, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, left, and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. talk over each other during the democratic presidential primary debate at the Gaillard Center, Sunday, Jan. 17, 2016, in Charleston, S.C. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)
As an avid fan of and early contributor to the "fall of the Republican Party" genre, I was keen to read New York Times reporter Nick Confessore's recent account of Donald Trump's popularity among blue-collar Republican voters, which took as a given that the party was collapsing "on itself."
As our newspaper of record steps back to take measure of a story that for a long time escaped notice, it is easy to ignore another story that has gone unmentioned--namely, the Democratic Party, although not in collapse, is in a state of decline.
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I am not suggesting that Democrats have engaged in anything like the disgraceful spectacle of the Republican Party this presidential primary season. Nevertheless, even considered in the relatively narrow terms of the Confessore article, it is painful to read the descriptions of the GOP establishment's disdain for the concerns and realities of its voters and find that several apply equally well to Democrats.
While the Republicans dominate the stage with their absurdist drama, the Democrats supply their own cause for concern, not least for their indifference to their own predicament. So far, some measure of anxiety has surfaced among Democrats regarding low voter turnout in primary contests. This is not unusual on the heels of a two-term incumbent, as party operatives point out, quick to reassure us that a general election bid against Donald Trump will bring Democratic voters to the polls in droves.
To my mind, the far graver danger facing Democrats is the sort of complacency that regards running against a fascist to be a sufficient get-out-the-vote strategy.
I've written before that one of the principal differences between the Clinton and Sanders supporters is whether one regards the status quo as a constant or a variable--that is, is the present political framework is capable of meaningful reform, or is it the thing in need of reform itself? I think it's fair to associate the Clinton worldview with the Democratic Party establishment, and with it, the embrace of tactics over strategy; a pattern of soliciting support from leaders rather than inspiring voters; and the inclination to offer proposals amenable to special interests, even when doing so makes them less appealing or irrelevant in the eyes of ordinary people.
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There is nothing wrong with working from within the establishment in theory; in practice, as a majority of Americans either don't vote or are registered Independent, the limited horizon of insider politics amounts to a race to develop a more effective algorithm to better exploit a space increasingly detached from the American experience. More and more, as both major parties regard appeasing the powerful as their central (maybe sole) preoccupation, they promote a stagnancy that endangers us more than any politically unpalatable reform possibly could.
Putting the GOP to one side, it's well past time to consider the problem of enervation and decline in the context of the Democratic Party--specifically in terms of its ability to recruit viable candidates, its treatment of prominent issues, and the degree of its devotion to maintaining a vital party infrastructure. While bearing in mind the numerous redistricting and voting impediments Democrats face at the state level--and in that sense at least, reports of the death of the GOP have been greatly exaggerated--it is nevertheless hard to conclude that the Democratic Party is serving either its voters or the country well.
Already some attention has been paid to the lack of depth in the Democratic Party, the absence of political stars below top billing. I agree with these remarks, but am more concerned by the presumption that at the uppermost level at least, all is well. Let me say this clearly and in defiance of establishment figures waving wands to suggest otherwise: Hillary Clinton is a weak presidential candidate. I am not suggesting she is unqualified or unprepared. I am saying that, by virtue of what Elizabeth Drew has called her "galloping greed" and influence peddling, she is fundamentally and irretrievably compromised in the eyes of millions of Americans, and that relying upon the terrifying aspects of the opposition's candidates or the composition of a Supreme Court in order to motivate voters is a de facto admission of what is politely termed an "enthusiasm gap." Added to and exacerbating Hillary Clinton's flawed candidacy is the way in which she has gone about securing the Democratic nomination, first and foremost by scaring potential rivals by amassing ungodly amounts of money for her campaign war chest and, more subtly, by monopolizing Democratic Party channels to the point that any challenger risks isolation.
Not surprisingly, her primary opponent wins support despite not because of insider networks, and he funds his operation without accepting large corporate donations. To the great frustration of the Clinton campaign, Bernie Sanders remains impervious to their most formidable threats.
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While the unsavory realities of Clinton's candidacy are routinely discussed around kitchen tables and in coffeehouses all across America, they remain unspoken by the media and political establishment. If anything, the press gropes for more manageable ways to discuss the reservations regarding Hillary Clinton by personalizing them to a degree that is unfair and beside the point. I don't meet people who denounce Clinton's reluctance to smile (if she has one), but I do find a lot of folks willing to echo the remarks of one woman quoted in The New York Times, who said that when listening to Clinton speak, she got the sense that "all of her sentences are owned by someone."
Voters persist in their sentience, able to discern realities and develop opinions even when they are inconvenient to the Democratic Party, yet one gets the sense that the Clinton campaign in particular would prefer to deride and deflect rather than address and overcome some very real concerns.
This worrying disconnect plays out in a similar fashion when it comes to the preeminent concern of voters: the state of the economy. A "recovery" that has not brought prosperity to most Americans (or to most places) is not a recovery worth speaking of as such, especially if you happen to be a Democrat. Returning profitability to stocks is not the same as restoring value to the economy, and I say that as someone who is mindful of the important role that markets play in the saving cycle of millions of people.
Nevertheless the Democratic definition of affluence extends well beyond allowing wealthy people to feel secure--or it should. These days I cringe when monthly unemployment rates come out, as a parade of progressive friends and acquaintances trumpet the numbers, seemingly ignorant of the fact that they are celebrating low rates of labor force participation and the proliferation of low-wage jobs. Obviously, like anyone else, I don't want to see the unemployment rate go up, but to construe this one statistic as indicative of recovery is beyond insulting; it is in fact alienating, especially to unemployed, under-employed, and over-worked Americans. Apparently Obama partisans would rather burnish the president's reputation than acknowledge the struggles of many of the people who elected him.
Several other issues convey the Democratic Party's indifference to its voters and would deserve discussion in a more comprehensive reckoning. The damage wrought by trade agreements, for example, should be considered in precisely this setting.
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Suffice it to say that, in light of the significant discrepancies between Party orthodoxy and the views of voters, as well as the clear evidence that outside insurgencies have found favor in this election cycle, the intransigence of the Democratic Party on purely procedural questions like campaign financing or various reforms to facilitate voting is a source of real dismay, and perhaps an indirect measure of denial. While Democrats praise these good government reforms in speeches, its own functionaries are apt to violate them in practice. This does not go unnoticed. People know when they've waited five hours on line to vote; they understand that Goldman Sachs doesn't write checks for speeches because they are keen to hear good orators.
Outside the well staked terrain of the two major political parties, there is a vast, unclaimed and poorly understood territory of voters' concerns. Procedural reforms look to navigate this expanse by bringing the Democratic Party closer to the people. Anything other than an earnest effort to facilitate voting speaks to a desire to control voters rather than empower them. Anything short of significant campaign finance reform bespeaks a smug satisfaction with ministering to the most powerful, a resigned and unprincipled disposition that not only asks Americans to choose the lesser of two evils, it narrows the ground separating them.
As a student journalist living in New Hampshire I have had my fair share of political coverage this past year. Whether its covering an event for my student newspaper, conducting polls, or simply just a class discussion one name that always makes me tune out is Donald Trump. For months, I ignored any discussion on him at all costs until my college hosted a speaker named Michael Meerpol.
Back in the 1950's Michael Meerpol was formerly known as Michael Rosenberg, the eldest son of notorious communist spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg who were executed for sharing the "secret" to the atomic bomb with the Soviet Union. Although it has been more than 60 years since the controversial case was in the media, Meerpol said that the case is more relevant today than back then.
Today, Americans appear to be embarking on a similar witch-hunt fueled by fear -- this time instead of hunting for communists and spies, Americans are hunting Muslims.
Between the years of 1950-1954 former senator Joseph R. McCarthy began creating a nationwide hysteria against communists during the cold war or " Red Scare." McCarthy's ideology was dubbed McCarthyism and was know for, " The practice of publicizing accusation of political disloyalty or subversion without any evidence." McCarthy was an instigator, filing American minds with fear that communism was not just on the other side of the globe, but around the corner in the shadows of their neighborhoods.
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With McCarthyism in the subconscious of suburban minds, it was no surprise that when the Rosenbergs were accused of committing treason that before they even went on trial, they were guilty. Although Michael said it took years before truth came that his father was indeed a spy. He said his mother was innocent, only guilty of one thing, "loving his father."
"This case is one worth remembering, one we can learn from," Meerpol said. " We would be destroying the nature of this country, we cannot have the country that Donald Trump wants us to be. We are better than that."
Meerpol said that back then, "communists were seen as traitors and today Mexicans are criminals and Muslims are terrorists." During his speech, Meerpol recalled a time at a friends house when his friends mother yelled at Meerpol to leave the house and for her son to, " Never see that communist again." Meerpol said that same things are happening and will continue to happen to Muslims if Donald Trump becomes president.
" My friends mother thought her family would be contaminated by me, a nine year old boy," Meerpol said.
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That still happens today; families young or old still have strong beliefs especially when it comes to race and religion. Although instead of parents being afraid of their children having communist friends, they are afraid of their child having any sort of ethic friend. Whether thats African American, Muslim, Asian, Indian, etc. To me its sad, that my fellow neighbors can't look deeper than someones skin tone, or the fact that someone believes in something else different than them. It's scary that history is on the verge of repeating itself with a potential world leader like Donald Trump.
In a recent interview with Yahoo Politics, Trump said he was willing to take drastic measures to monitor the Muslim community. Some of those measures include, keeping an American Muslim database and special ID cards for Muslims. With Trump taking those dangerous baby steps towards violence against Muslims it's only a matter of time before his words become actions, perhaps even executive action.
Jennifer Stewart is Vice President, Corporate Innovation for Eastman Chemical Company. In this role, Jennifer has responsibility for driving the corporate innovation portfolio to deliver future revenue and earnings growth for the company. This includes governance of the top innovation programs as well as driving the creativity and discipline of early-stage projects. Prior to her current role, Jennifer was the Vice-President and Managing Director, EMEA for Eastman. While residing in Rotterdam, NL Jennifer had responsibility for working with business and functional leaders to drive growth, develop talent, and represent Eastman with various government and industry agencies.
Jennifer is a native of Maryville, Tennessee. She holds an A.E. degree in chemical engineering technology from State Technical Institute in Knoxville, Tennessee, a B.S. degree in chemistry from East Tennessee State University and an M.B.A. degree from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.
Jennifer joined Eastman in 1986 in Polymers Research Division. In her role as research scientist, Jennifer conducted and led a variety of research projects related to polymer blends and additive formulations for medical and ophthalmic devices and electronic components. From 1993, Jennifer also led various application development programs that resulted in increased sales in the rigid and flexible food packaging markets in Specialty Plastics. She later held roles in Marketing where she was responsible for product portfolio and marketing strategies in several packaging market segments. In addition, she held a role in Business Development, where she was responsible for strategic business alliances, joint ventures, and divestitures. Jennifer drove the development and implementation of contract manufacturing with partners located in Indonesia, Thailand, and North America and the sale of a manufacturing site in Canada. Beginning in 2005 through its divestiture from the company in 2011, Jennifer was Business Unit Director for the $800M PET Business Unit in Performance Polymers BO where she was responsible for the launch of IntegRex technology and ParaStar products. Before relocating to Europe, she was Business Unit Director for the $1.2B acetate tow and acetyls chemicals units within the Fibers Business Organization.
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Jennifer is a member of the Society of Plastics Engineers, Innotech BrainBank, and ETSU and Duke Alumni Associations.
How has your life experience made you the leader you are today?
I grew up with two older brothers, which meant two things: 1) I wanted to prove that I could do anything they could do and 2) my parents also expected I could do anything they could do. They never treated me differently as a girl, especially when it came to education. Since my father and brothers are all engineers, it seemed natural for me to go into the science field as well. I also had great high school teachers who helped me realize chemistry was an area of interest for me.
How has your previous employment experience aided your position at Eastman?
Eastman is a great company for personal growth and career development. Fortunately, I've been able to gain a wealth of experience through several different roles within one global company. I started my career in research and application development, followed by time in a marketing role. I then became a business director, which provided me a number of international opportunities, primarily in South America and Asia. In 2012, I moved to Europe to serve in a leadership role as vice president and managing director of Eastman's Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region. I returned to Kingsport in late 2014 with the transition to my current position, vice president of Corporate Innovation. Each step along my career path has prepared me in some capacity for this role, especially my business and marketing experiences. As we focus on innovation and meeting market needs of a changing world, understanding those markets from both a business and geographical perspective is critical. I am grateful for the experiences Eastman has given me to shape a unique and successful career.
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What have the highlights and challenges been during your tenure at Eastman?
The highlights of my career would certainly include the international experiences I mentioned. I've also had the opportunity to collaborate across the organization beyond my job-specific roles and responsibilities. For example, I sit on Eastman's Sustainability Council, which consists of four executive team members and three vice presidents representing a cross-section of the company. The Council provides direction on all corporate sustainability activities across the company, ensuring collaboration and communication across all three dimensions of sustainability - environmental stewardship, social responsibility and economic development. We truly believe sustainability and innovation go hand in hand, and having Corporate Innovation represented on the Sustainability Council reaffirms Eastman's commitment to sustainable innovation.
When it comes to challenges, I would say many of my career highlights were also some of my biggest challenges. While they were sometimes difficult at the time, they allowed me to learn so much in hindsight.
What advice can you offer women who are seeking a leadership role?
Speak up and offer opinions, but do so from a position of informed knowledge.
How do you maintain a work/life balance?
This seems to be a common challenge for anyone working full time. Personally, I make sure I set priorities for family, exercise, sleep and vacation time. But when I'm working, I focus and work really hard.
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What do you think is the biggest issue for women in the workplace?
Overcoming unconscious and unintentional bias.
How has mentorship made a difference in your professional and personal life?
I have had several excellent mentors in my career that challenged me and gave me clear feedback on how to improve in specific areas. I strive to do that in return today as a mentor for several young professionals.
WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 28: (AFP OUT) U.S. President Barack Obama delivers the keynote address at the awards dinner for Syracuse University's Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium March 28, 2016 in Washington, DC. The event recognizes the importance of quality, fact-based political journalism. (Photo by Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty Images)
From the right-wing obsession with President Obamas birth certificate to a GOP Representative interrupting one of his speeches by yelling you lie, our nations first African American president has endured an unprecedented level of disrespect throughout his time in office. The current blockade against considering President Obamas nominee to the Supreme Court is the latest example of this trend, and it stems from the same racist efforts to paint his presidency as illegitimate.
The Republican anti-Obama crusade began on day one, with GOP leaders meeting on the evening of his inauguration to strategize about how to block the presidents agenda at every turn. That campaign has only grown uglier since then, with many Republicans taking every opportunity to demean President Obama, paint him as a suspicious outsider, and accuse him of overstepping his authority. It is a flawed strategy and a failed campaign that has run its course.
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I cannot recall any other president facing this kind of treatment. The current obstruction campaign blocking the presidents Supreme Court nominee may not feature the same brand of name-calling and wild accusations as previous anti-Obama campaigns. However, lets not be naive at their attempt to use language that may appear more palatable; the grounding is still in the same racist assumptions that his presidency, elected not only once but twice, is somehow not valid. It causes me to wonder what they truly think of democracy and Americans who exercise their right to vote.
A Senate majority has never refused to consider a presidents nominee to the Supreme Court. It is an unprecedented rebuke of the presidents constitutionally-guaranteed authority to nominate justices. Refusing to meet with, hold hearings on, or give a simple up-or-down vote to Judge Merrick Garland, President Obamas exceptionally qualified nominee, is an insult to Judge Garland, the president, and the American people. But the truth is that Republican leadership was already bent on categorically rejecting any nominee he put forward no matter how qualified they were. North Carolina Representative G.K. Butterfield, who leads the Congressional Black Caucus, was right when he told the New York Times that if this was any other president who was not African-American, it would not have been handled this way.
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Playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins's "An Octoroon" was met with lusty laughter at the Wilma Theater with its scabrous reimagining of an 1859 minstrel play about slave life on the plantation. One thinks of the epic satire of Swift and the unhinged cheek of Springtime for Hitler.
James Ijames saunters onstage in white underwear as BJJ, a struggling black playwright who is fed up with the struggling part, so he tells his therapist, a white woman, who tells him he is probably blocked because he has hidden anger against white people. He tells her that actually he has been obsessed by the characters and implications of a minstrel melodrama by Irish playwright Dion Boucicault. He slugs down half a bottle of vodka and puts on white face makeup and the play unfolds as a scathing expose of America's manifest racist past.
The Philly band Ill Doots hangs out upstage and accompanies with rap-rock-folk soundtrack as BJJ's trippy version of antebellum phantasmagoria commences.
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Ed Swidey staggers on as the proxy Dion Boucicault drunk off his ass bragging about the Winter Garden Theater (where Boucicault's play opened under police guard) and gets into an F-bomb shouting match with BJJ.
Swidey, a white actor, is putting on redface make-up to play Wanotee, a Native American character and Justin Jain, who is Asian American, is getting up in blackface to play Pete, Terrebonne's head house slave in minstrel extremis and Paul the 'slow' slave fieldhand.
In whiteface, Ijames plays George has just returned from France, to help his dying relatives who are about to loose the plantation and also portrays the white slave trading villain M'Closky, who is circling the plantation like a vulture in heat. Meanwhile, Dora, the unctuous belle, played with icy reserve by Maggie Johhson, tries to woo George into marrying her in between spewing racist bile toward any slave in sight. George though, has fallen in love with Zoe, who has 1/8 black blood but otherwise usually can 'pass' for white.
As the plot continues to thicken, Dido, Minnie and Grace are house slaves who fill each other in on the doings of the white masters and in between backbreaking work, humiliation and the threat of being raped, put all this swampy melodrama into hilarious perspective Zoe is so distraught after her first time on the auction block that she tries to poison herself. Dido asks Minnie "why does she keep calling me mammy, she's as old as me." Minnie sums up 'she a mess.'
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Alina John is the pregnant Grace who is unsure who the might be. Jaylene Clark Owens is the practical Minnie and Taysha Canales the hapless Dido and all three actors are equally good conveying the absurd comedy and the towering pathos of their lot in life.
But how many jokes can be comfortably milked about slaves being sold, abused and considered property? At what point is it a question of buying in to the need to laugh at this history instead of really dealing with the reality of it? The play pushes it right to the boiling point to wake everyone up to its core issues with characters slinging racial slurs and demeaning depiction of black stereotypes meant to cut to the heart of racial divides and throws all of the hubris at the audience.
Enter Br're rabbit, the symbolic trickster, stoically hops around and surveys the mayhem. Choreographer Ayo Janine Jackson devises uniquely character for actor-dancer Aaron Bell who gives Br're chilling mystique.
In the slave auction scene James Ijames (in a split costume) plays both George and M'Closky at once in a knife fight with himself. It is the capper of an altogether tour de force performance by Ijames. Campbell O'Hare is equally good playing straight period melodrama as the self-loathing Zoe. Jain also brings scathing dimension to the minstrel stereotypes of Pete and Paul.
The entire cast is builds these out-sized characters with invention. Director Joanna Settle orchestras this fine cast through Jacobs-Jenkins' demanding, and often knotted balancing act between minstrelry and his brilliant theatrical polemics.
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Matt Saunder's dilapidated 'backstage' set with floorboard, chicken coop/holding cell and a runway slave ramp is inspired. It is given added dimension by Thom Weaver's lighting and Zachary Beattie-Brown sound design. Tilly Grimes wry costume designs- from torn slave skirts to Dora's scary enough hoop dress and Br're's icy Mad Hatter/Prince garb- keep giving. ILL DOOTS (by all accounts one of best new band in Philly) add a vital dimension to this monster of a play.
We woke up recently to yet another horrific terrorist attack at the hands of ISIS's radicals - this time the target was the airport and a subway station in Brussels. Yet again we saw countless images of victims and frightened people of Belgium flood our TV screens and social media posts.
People around the world were yet again left dumbfounded wondering how and why this is happening. As an Imam with the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of Canada, I often hear the question that why does ISIS carry out these attacks and how are they able to recruit local Muslims? More importantly, why would any sane adult Muslim willingly sign up for this cult of death? Why are people becoming radicalized and thereafter carrying out these attacks?
A clear problem has to be acknowledged and addressed within the house of Islam. It is undeniable that a number of clerics and mosques around the world impart an extreme interpretation of Islam to their adherents. This results in radicalization and attraction to groups such as ISIL, al-Qaeda and Boko Haram.
The internet and social media has provided another platform for this purpose. This propaganda and hateful teachings can also be found online. No direct contact or communication is needed anymore. We recently saw a 27-year-old born in Montreal, Ayanle Hassan Ali, facing charges for allegedly stabbing members of Canada's military in Toronto and then claim that, "Allah told me to do this, Allah told me to come here and kill people". This of course is extremely worrisome, but completely contrary to how an everyday Muslim perceives his or her faith.
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While I agree that the aerial bombings and use of force will curb the ability of radicals to conquer more land and influence people, it must be understood that ISIS, at its core, is also an ideological movement that needs to be defeated and dismantled. This is where Canadian Muslims and Muslims worldwide have a leading role to play. To deny this equates to being dishonest to both your country and faith.
There are a number of principles that can be looked upon to counter this radical mindset. We know that violence and terrorism is often carried out in the name of Jihad. If we do not strongly oppose this and shun those clerics preaching it, this problem will not go away. Equality of women, freedom of speech, opposing blasphemy laws and freedom of religion and conscience for all are just some of the fundamental rights that we can reinforce and unite upon to dismiss the propaganda of radicals.
It is also essential that the Western nations do not support Muslim countries who, sometimes directly or indirectly, aid extremism. Just for the sake of our own economic gains, the human rights abuses of Saudi Arabia and their support of extremist Salafi Islam shouldn't be ignored. Just because Turkey is an essential part of NATO, it shouldn't mean that it can use or aid ISIL militants against the Kurds without facing any consequences. Without justice, how can we hope to establish peace?
While addressing hundreds of political and social leaders, the worldwide Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Mirza Masroor Ahmad, stressed upon the need for absolute justice while dealing with such an international crisis. In the recently held Peace Symposium in the largest mosque (Baitul Futuh) in Britain, he said:
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"Whilst it is claimed that all possible efforts are being made to eradicate terrorism and extremism, the evidence does not substantiate this claim."
He went on to say:
"The solution remains, as I have already said, to act with justice, and leave aside all vested interests. The critical importance of cutting the funding and supply lines of extremist groups is vital. For example, a special investigative report published in the Wall Street Journal recently stated that Daesh was acquiring huge quantities of US dollars from auction being held by Iraq's central bank. Those same dollars were being provided to Iraq directly from the federal reserves in the US."
I was appalled to notice that the hashtag of #StopIslam was trending worldwide on twitter for a number of hours with millions around the world contributing to it. I do not believe that worrying about terrorism at the hands of Muslim extremists is the same thing as Islamophobia. However, blaming over a billion Muslims for these acts of terror is certainly atrocious and potentially very dangerous. Majority of Muslims do not fall under this category and are themselves frequently targeted and killed by extremists.
This is especially worrisome given the rhetoric we have seen from some leading presidential candidates in the United States. We have seen calls to completely ban Muslims from entering the United States from Donald Trump, while Ted Cruz has suggested to "empower law enforcement to patrol and secure Muslim neighborhoods before they become radicalized."
While I hope that Americans will make the right decision in their national election later this year, I know that Muslims at home feel proud that Canadians have repeatedly refused to give into hysteria. We saw this after the Paris tragedy when many came out in support following attacks on Muslim women in Toronto area and following the arson attack on Peterborough mosque.
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Governments, researchers and practitioners from across the globe met earlier this month at the World Bank to tackle the sustainable development agenda in the midst of conflict. The agenda would be considered ambitious in any context: How can the world achieve these goals of development while also addressing the fragile state status of most of the partners on the frontlines? Fragile states have diverse problems. Some are experiencing armed conflict or just emerging from it; others are affected by acute political, social, and economic vulnerabilities or under threat of chronic forms of organized criminal violence. With such a range of qualifying factors, part of the solution may not be to just look at the ever-growing category of fragile states. Instead, exploring fragility at the city level could provide the key to preventative measures. City-level fragility may well be an early detection warning sign, because looking at a national level can be misleading. Adopting an approach of identifying fragile cities, particular those outside the capital, could serve as an essential indicator. Research has shown cities provide insights into the drivers of fragility and opportunities to intervene; looking at inequality in income, social class, religion, gender, and service deliveries may serve as canaries in the coal mine, in addition to weak governance. Nonetheless, many fragile states end up doing the opposite because authoritarian regimes often invest in the capital at the expense of rural cities. Perhaps one of most dramatic examples of this can be seen in the developments surrounding the city of Benghazi. Inhabitants warned that a mass exodus of international support the moment Tripoli was liberated would cause a new conflict; they foretold the disaster of the political divide and competition that emerged between. The failure to incorporate their advice is one of the key lessons learned in paying attention to cities outside of the capital. Focus on Comprehensive, Non-sequential Programming Comprehensive programming in fragile states must address a wide variety of issues concurrently without relying on sequential timeframes. During times of humanitarian crisis, we need to still examine core issues of fragility like urban poverty and inequality rather than waiting for the crisis to subside. At times, this type of approach may need to be implemented area by area when dealing with protracted conflicts on a national level. Syria is a prime example of a protracted conflict. There are too many competing priorities to follow a sequential humanitarian, relief, stabilization, transition, and post-conflict timeline. When phases are merging together, programs, agencies, and responses need to be just as fluid. For example, USIP implemented a project focused on the Syrian city of al-Qahtaniya, the administrative sub-district of the de facto capital of the Syrian Kurdish autonomous region. Since the uprisings in 2011, the area has experienced conflict among Kurdish groups, between Kurdish groups and the regime, and between Kurdish and Arab communities. USIP's program sought to convene religious, tribal, and civic leaders from the area with the objectives of building their capacities in local conflict prevention and mitigation and facilitating sustained dialogue and joint action by the group within their communities. Whereas the Syria conflict is still at its peak, the experience in al-Qahtaniya resulted in a localized success, with families returning home, roads opening, and goodwill planted for future collaborative problem solving. Identifying the Silver Lining
BROOKLYN, NEW YORK CITY, UNITED STATES - 2015/11/10: Activists march from Cadman Plaza along Court Street. Fight for Fifteen's national day of action began with a walk-out of fast food employees and a rally in downtown Brooklyn where mayor de Blasio and other leaders spoke. (Photo by Andy Katz/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)
March 31 is the anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.s last Sunday sermon at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. in 1968 before his assassination four days later: Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution. Dr. King said he believed a triple revolution was taking place in the world -- a technological revolution, a revolution in weaponry, and a human rights revolution. To face this triple revolution, he said we must figure out how to develop a world perspective, eradicate racism and economic injustice, rid our nation and world of poverty, and find an alternative to war and bloodshed -- all with great urgency:
It may well be that we will have to repent in this generation. Not merely for the vitriolic words and the violent actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence and indifference of the good people who sit around and say, Wait on time. Somewhere we must come to see that human progress never rolls in on the wheels of inevitability. It comes through the tireless efforts and the persistent work of dedicated individuals who are willing to be co-workers with God. And without this hard work, time itself becomes an ally of the primitive forces of social stagnation. So we must help time and realize that the time is always ripe to do right.
We must act upon his warnings if our children, nations future and founding principles -- subverted and still sullied by the legacies of slavery, Native American genocide, exclusion of women and non-propertied men of all colors from our electoral processes -- are to be saved.
I have said often that too many Americans would rather celebrate than follow Dr. King. Many have enshrined Dr. King the dreamer and ignored Dr. King the disturber of all unjust peace, as theologian Vincent Harding said. Many remember King the vocal opponent of violence, but not the King who called for massive nonviolent civil disobedience to challenge the stockpiling of weapons of death and the wars they fuel, and the excessive materialism of the greedy, which deprives the needy of the basic necessities of life. And many celebrate Dr. King the orator, but ignore his words about the need for reordering the misguided values and national investment priorities he believed are the seeds of Americas downfall.
Dr. Kings greatness lay in his willingness to struggle to hear and see the truth; to not give into fear, uncertainty and despair; to continue to grow and to never lose hope, despite every discouragement from his government and even his closest friends and advisers. Contributors deserted him as he spoke out not only for an end to the Vietnam War but for a fairer distribution of our countrys vast resources between the rich and the poor. Why was he pushing the nation to do more on the tail of the greatest civil rights strides ever made and challenging a President who had declared a war on poverty? Because he saw that our nations ills went far deeper and that fundamental structural and priorities changes had to be made and that the War on Poverty and Vietnam War were inextricably intertwined.
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In the Cathedral sermon he announced that in a few weeks he would be coming back to Washington leading a Poor Peoples Campaign:
We are going to bring the tired, the poor, the huddled masses . . . We are going to bring children and adults and old people, people who have never seen a doctor or a dentist in their lives . . . We are not coming to engage in any histrionic gesture. We are not coming to tear up Washington. We are coming to demand that the government address itself to the problem of poverty. We read one day, We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. But if a man doesnt have a job or an income, he has neither life nor liberty nor the possibility for the pursuit of happiness. He merely exists.
We are coming to ask America to be true to the huge promissory note that it signed years ago. And we are coming to engage in dramatic nonviolent action, to call attention to the gulf between promise and fulfillment; to make the invisible visible. Why do we do it this way? We do it this way because it is our experience that the nation doesnt move around questions of genuine equality for the poor and for black people until it is confronted massively, dramatically in terms of direct action . . . And I submit that nothing will be done until people of goodwill put their bodies and their souls in motion.
As always Dr. Kings voice and vision were prescient and right -- and speak to where our nation is today. Towards the end of his life Dr. King said to a group of friends: We fought hard and long, and I have never doubted that we would prevail in this struggle. Already our rewards have begun to reveal themselves. Desegregation... the Voting Rights Act... But what deeply troubles me now is that for all the steps weve taken toward integration, Ive come to believe that we are integrating into a burning house riddled by excessive militarism, materialism and racism. When asked what we should do Dr. King answered: Were just going to have to become firemen and sound the siren of alarm.
Our nation and world desperately need loud sirens and firefighters for justice right now to curb morally obscene child poverty rates, wealth and income inequality, massive miseducation of poor children of color, preventable hunger and homelessness, mass incarceration and unjust criminal justice systems that criminalize the poor, and bullying and demagogic politicians encouraging assault of nonviolent protesters.
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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
What do Florence Hartman's arrest from last week and Unaoil have in common? At a first glance, nothing. Two completely unrelated subjects. But I could not help and wonder, as I was reading the news reports on both subjects, how biased we are, especially in Europe and America about what can be construed as pure justice and what is considered acceptable in the realm of journalism. What is appropriate to bring to public's attention, what wrongdoings of the governments and the independent businesses should be available to us simple humans? Bias comes from the unknown. Their religion is different so it does not matter how violated they are. Their skin color is different so they must deserve what they are getting, living in poverty, enslavement. Both cases outline this divisive nature of our human conflict and seemingly ingrained desire for power and superiority over one another.
Florence Hartman, a former Le Monde correspondent during the Bosnian conflict, was arrested in front of the Hague tribunal headquarters (ICTY) on the day when they sentenced Radovan Karadzic for the genocide committed in Bosnia during the nineties conflict. We hear about journalists being arrested and thrown in jail in the Middle East, most recently four American journalists arrested in Bahrain. This is not something that happens in Europe and America! It is hard to believe, but then again, there goes that bias, so deeply ingrained. Who was she speaking up for? That is the question.
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Florence's crime was that in her Crime and Punishment book, published in 2007, she exposed the international tribunal for the war crimes in former Yugoslavia and its hiding of the evidence of Serbia's involvement in the genocide that occurred in Srebrenica. She was then a spokesperson for Carla Del Ponte, head prosecutor for the tribunal. She was privy to these documents and when Florence realized that justice was about to be skirted around she decided to take the matters into her own hands. She is a hero, surely! Hague tribunal did not think so. Florence was arrested while standing with the victims of the Srebrenica genocide waiting for the verdict against the man that was responsible for these crimes.
On the other hand we have Richard Baker and Nick McKenzie, investigative reporters who published an expose about Unioil, an obscure firm that helps big multinational corporations win contracts in areas of the world where corruption is common (Africa and Middle East mainly). This expose threatens to uncover major corporations and their actions, such as Halliburton, who used Unaoil services. Richard and Nick are truth seekers indeed. They are heroes.
So, what makes Nick and Richard different from Florence? Florence was exposing a cover-up of an international war crime tribunal, which led to exoneration of Serbia from the Srebrenica genocide involvement, thus paving its road to the EU membership. Bosnia, however, is still waiting to be granted membership, its citizens treated as a threat, visa requirements for travel in Europe only recently lifted.
These three journalists were seeking the truth, and in their own way they were working on revealing corruption, injustice and wrongdoings of the governments and businesses against the very people who make up the fabric of our global community. Dare I mention Edward Snowden who now lives in exile after exposing his government's spying scheme of their citizens.
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Standards, which we use to distinguish right from wrong, must be universal. We cannot and should not treat Florence any differently from other investigative journalists who seek to enlighten the masses and protect them from the skewed visions of acceptable behavior we see in businesses and the governments. History teaches us that once the power is obtained through wealth or political involvement it is hard for those who posses it to resist the urge to try and increase their power and wealth, regardless of how necessary that may or may not be for their short-lived lives. We are given a short number of years on this planet, a speck of eternity really. These people are not going to take their wealth or their power with them to the ground when the time comes to turn over their bodies back to the ashes of the earth they so wished to rule.
My grandmother used to tell a story of a noble ruler in Ottoman Empire who demanded of his subordinates to leave his hands unwrapped from the constraints of the white cloth (traditionally used for wrapping the dead prior to the burial in Islamic religion). When asked why he wanted that, he said that he wanted his people to see that he did not carry anything with him to heaven. He may have been presuming too much (that God exists, that he is going to heaven), but his message rang true for me.
So, Florence exposed a genocidal government, she was jailed. Why? Because many, justice-centric governments were involved in this cover-up, their power coming from the image they project to their people. They are the governments of the people, for the people, not against. Or, perhaps, they are against those "others" only. But that's ok. The bias stands, ugly and necessary in the minds of those with power.
Unaoil is about the businesses, their constant pursuit for profits. What if Richard and Nick find connections of the European and American governments being involved in the schemes? Would they be jailed? Would even heads of the businesses that participated in the corruptions schemes be jailed? Pessimist in me says, no.
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Arthur Miller's The Crucible is a masterpiece, obviously. It can withstand an unnecessary change in setting, director Ivo Van Hove's now familiar tics (spare set, anonymous costuming and near-constant scoring) and even an utterly bonkers decision to go full-on Exorcist and still remain a solid and compelling evening of theater. If that's not playwriting magic, I don't know what is.
Don't worry. If you're lucky enough to be in New York City and attend this production, you'll see a mostly excellent cast do justice by Miller's famed tale of the Salem Witch Trials as a pointed stand-in for the demonization of McCarthyism. The terrific Ben Whishaw is compelling and forthright without ever being self-righteous as John Proctor.
Proctor had an affair with the very determined and very young Abigail (Saoirse Ronan, as good onstage as she is on film). Abigail is furious that John won't continue to dally with her and even angrier that his wife Elizabeth (Sophie Okonedo) has turned her out and bad-mouthed the girl to one and all.
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Abigail's simmering resentment boils over when she and other girls are discovered by the priggish Rev. Parris (a strong Jason Butler Harner). He knows he saw the girls dancing (!), he thinks he saw one of the girls run naked through the trees (!!) and once he's asked, why yes maybe there was some devilish potion (!!!) in that brew they were crafting with the help of the Caribbean servant Tituba (Jenny Jules).
The girls are clearly hiding dark deeds (even if today, we would see them as pointless if not harmless) but their protestations are to no avail. The townsfolk are worried and since his own daughter is among the wicked, he can't afford to show leniency. (Worse, Rev. Parris is so tiresomely gloom and doom that his sermonizing hasn't yet won over folk and his employment by the town is in jeopardy; being pro-Satan would obviously be bad for business.) And so he makes the fateful choice to call in Rev. Hale (Bill Camp), a man who has wondrous success in other colonies throughout America. No one would accuse him of hypocrisy but when Rev. Hale comes looking for the works of the devil, well by God he finds them.
Miller's play is one for the ages. How easily we see petty everyday grievances find their outlet in wild accusations. A woman who has lost baby after baby points a finger at Rebecca Nurse (a wonderful Brenda Wehle), who both midwifed those failed births AND had the temerity to produce a baker's dozen of children on her own. A man who greedily gobbles up the land of his neighbors points the finger at someone who owns a tract only he could afford. And inevitably Abigail points the finger at John Proctor's wife.
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Director Ivo Van Hove certainly should be credited for drawing such talent to his side for every project. Almost every part is faultlessly played, from Ciaran Hinds as the unshakeable Deputy Governor Danforth to Camp as the dangerously open to doubt Rev Hale right down to the minor role of Giles Corey. That character - who loves to sue one and all and thus has a good working grasp of the law - is played by the great Jim Norton. It's not a significant part but Norton is so memorable you'll be forgiven for thinking the play is about him.
Whishaw and Okonedo make the couple at the story's heart palpably real. Elizabeth can often be seen as hatefully unforgiving but Okonedo finds the decency in her and allows us to see John as more self-flagellating than coldly done in. Whishaw similarly avoids the heroic mode for John; his inability to see himself in the same vein as the almost saintly Rebecca Nurse is all too human and heartbreaking.
The lone exception to the casting is Tavi Gevinson as Mary Warren, the new servant of the Proctors now that Abigail is gone. Young actresses always yearn for the role of Abigail, but Mary is the far more complex and demanding part. She must go from willful accomplice to somewhat reluctant truth-teller and then out of fear get pulled right back into the unspoken conspiracy of the accusing young women. Gevinson debuted on Broadway in a revival of This Is Our Youth, playing a role pretty close to home. Here she is quite out of her depth, unfortunately. It's a pity Ronan didn't realize this meatier part was better.
But The Crucible must overcome much more than one weak performance in an otherwise marvelous ensemble. Typically, he has a score by Philip Glass that is compelling and beautiful but overdone. It is present in the first act and omnipresent in the second, often overwhelming the performers. (It doesn't help that Rev. Hale is asked to speak so quietly at a key final moment that I had to lean forward and could barely hear him at all...and I was in the fifth row. God help the people in the second balcony.) Glass's contribution is ominous and gorgeous; I just wish it had been deployed more judiciously.
Worse is the inexplicable decision to set the story in a different time period. I suppose it doesn't really matter; the tale is timeless after all. But the driving force of the entire conceit is the Salem Witch Trials as a stand-in for McCarthyism. Instead of colonial times, the play is set in a vaguely modern schoolroom. (Given the loudspeakers we see, perhaps it's meant to be the 1950s?) Maybe, maybe one could make a case for setting it in a Congressional hearing a la the HUAC show trials. Yet a schoolroom adds little oomph other than reminding us of the youth of the young women at the heart of the story.
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Playing off a line in the play, there's even a random if compelling stunt that lets nature loose upon the stage.
But the really inexplicable choice comes towards the end. If you're seeing the show, stop reading now, though since it's a classic any of the trappings conceived by a particular production can hardly be seen as spoilers. What Van Hove has done is to make manifest the witchcraft at issue. In one brief passage the current lowers and then rises briefly while we spy a young woman flying through the air. OK, that might just be a vision or a glimpse into what people fear or wonder or worry about. No one else sees her and it's just a brief isolated moment that may or may not have actually happened.
But they make nonsense of the play towards the end when the apocalyptic fears come true. As people argue and debate whether Satan is at play, the set literally crumbles around them, beams crashing to the ground and the winds of hell come whipping through an open window, wrecking havoc. It's the end of the world. And everyone is there. Everyone sees it. I mean, end of debate: Satan is in the house! But no one says a word! (How could they? It's not in the script.) What possible reason could there be for making the sorcery actually real, other than the fact that no one has probably ever done that before?)
This can only take away from the power of the story, not to mention undermining the very message Miller was offering: how hysteria and fear and jealousy can wreck lives even when the accused are blameless. One could tell a story that added in the complexity of recognizing that for the standards of the day, it's arguable some evil witchcraft circa Barbados was indeed taking place and thus the question of guilt and innocence is muddier than it might seem to us today since we live in a world where Satanic rituals and magic are laughed at.
But that's not the play Miller wrote. And these directorial flourishes ultimately amount to little more than that. The essential drama remains, along with a compelling cast. That's why this remains a satisfying evening of theater despite the shenanigans on display.
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Van Hove might have keyed off the sense of nature running amok that led him to have a wolf wander on stage when no one is around. (It's actually a rare breed of dog.) The set could have slowly disintegrated without the actors being aware. The winds could have whipped through when people weren't present. Maybe that would have raised unsettling questions for the audience without interfering with the actual drama. Instead The Crucible boils over into some Exorcist-like extravaganza, distracting us from John Proctor's redemption, from the new-found love between him and Elizabeth, from the admirable bravery of the others being hanged and from the very point of The Crucible in the first place. Why would Van Hove try all this? I guess the devil made him do it.
It's almost a relief to realize Steve Martin won't immediately succeed at everything he attempts. But this hugely successful stand-up comic, acclaimed actor and director, polished writer, Grammy-winning bluegrass musician and even playwright hasn't hit it out of the park with that devilishly hard art-form the musical.
Still, the main problems with the modest and sweet Bright Star aren't Martin's, who handles the music, book and story. They're the lyrics of Edie Brickell (who also contributed with the music and story), the direction of Walter Bobbie, the choreography of Josh Rhodes and a lumbering scenic design by Eugene Lee. That's the problem with musicals: it's a group effort and the group let Martin down.
The story is momentarily confusing but soon resolves itself. The tale begins right after World War II with a soldier proudly returning home to North Carolina. Billy (a very appealing A.J. Shively) reunites with his dad (Stephen Bogardus) only to discover that there was no way to share the bad news: his momma is dead. If anything that makes Billy more determined than ever to pursue his dream of a career writing. [Don't do it, Billy! You'll never pay the bills! But I digress.]
His good friend Margo (Hannah Elless) works at the local bookstore and gosh she just loves and admires Billy's writing. Of course, we also know she loves and admires Billy but it's going to take him all of act one and most of act two before he realizes that. Margo is Billy's biggest fan and his toughest critic, offering up line by line edits and by gosh he's going to roll the dice and head to the big lights of Asheville, where a famed magazine that's apparently the New Yorker of the south is ruthlessly overseen by the hard to please but career-making tastemaker Alice Murphy (Carmen Cusack in a winning Broadway debut).
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Billy talks his way past the gatekeepers and charms Alice with his whopper of a lie. She sees something in the kid, likes his writing enough to encourage him to write more and we're off to the races. The show also flashes back some 20 years earlier where we see the buttoned up and all business Alice as a wild child of sorts. She's a poor gal and determined to make something of herself. Alice wants to get away from her small town as bad as Billy did. But boy is Jimmy Ray (Paul Alexander Nolan) the son of the mayor a handsome sort. In by far the show's best number, Nolan and Cusack duet on a sexy, well-choreographed piece called "Whoa, Mama" that shows them flirting and pushing the envelope for what is proper back then (and even now) at a picnic.
Quicker than you can say whack-a-doodle, Alice is at the doctor's finding out she's pregnant. Jimmy Ray's father isn't about to let some upstart girl ruin his plans for the boy so he bundles her off to an isolated cabin, forces her daddy to give him custody of the child and then - in the show's most outlandish moment - instead of giving it up for adoption simply tosses the infant off the back of a moving train. So Alice is estranged from Jimmy Ray and her father, Jimmy Ray loses the woman he loves and won't speak to his dad and 20 years later we have to wonder how these two disparate stories are going to link up. No points for figuring it out.
The problems of Bright Star are many but the cast ain't one of 'em. British actress Cusack really does wow in her Broadway debut. (I for one am sorry to have missed her in a UK show called Saucy Jack and the Space Vixens.) She pulls off the tricky gambit of playing a character both in her teens and two decades later with aplomb, sings beautifully and holds the show together with her charisma. Nolan is every bit her equal in the smaller part of Jimmy Ray. Shively is the other main actor and his essentially decent, drama-free character is harder to keep interesting than one might think. He has to be awfully dim about the girl of his dreams and doesn't have to do much more than avoid the machinations of a big city gal and work hard at his writing. But Shively keeps him real.
Everyone is good, really, from Dee Hoty as Alice's mom to Michael Mulheren as Jimmy Ray's foolishly ruthless dad. Even small parts like that big city gal and her gay pal (both working for Alice) are put over strongly by Emily Padgett and Jeff Blumenkrantz.
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Still, this is a musical and the songs are mostly not up to snuff. I was worried the first time I heard the album of songs from the show recorded by Martin and Brickell. The melodies were sprightly enough but the songs were awfully repetitive lyrically and didn't seem to be the sort that would deepen character or push the story forward. Things are a little better onstage since the songs are broken up by having a lot more voices jumping in rather than just Brickell's. (An artist I've liked, by the way.) But that can't compensate for thuddingly bad lyrics in "A Man's Gotta Do" and so many others that really don't deepen character or push the story forward.
Worse of all is the presentation. The costumes by Jane Greenwood are fine. But the set is a boondoggle. The main conceit is a sort of open-air log cabin on wheels that takes up a quarter of the stage. Some of the live band is in that cabin and it dominates the visual look of the show. Shove it over here and it's the front door of a cabin. Shove it over there and it's supposed to be part of the bookstore. Shove it back over here and it's something else. Actually, it never looks like anything except what it is: a big, lumbering, unappealing distraction that actors are forever having to manhandle. One worries the musicians will get seasick, being spun this way and that throughout the night. Actors leap through it and around it but there it is, precisely itself and nothing more. Tellingly, the few brief scenes where that cabin on wheels was not seen felt like a visual relief.
It makes a hash of most everything. The choreography has dancers up and over and around it, but you can't really grasp where anyone is supposed to be or why they're maneuvering around it. One takes for granted the fluid direction that can tell a story with a minimum of props. But not when you see a scene where Billy leaves home and heads to Asheville. Actors lift chairs and place them down, wave around blankets and Shively traipses this way and that to no good effect. You recognize intellectually what they're trying to do but Bobbie fails to make it happen. And that damn cabin looms in the background throughout.
And the apparent infanticide throws the story way out of whack, given its sensibility. Oh, I know, folk songs and bluegrass music delve into dark corners. But the warm demeanor on tap makes that unnecessary plot twist feel off-putting. They could put a barrier between Alice and Jimmy Ray with far less drastic measures. Heck, even small details get overlooked. That gay employee of Alice seems to be about to dally with a customer at a bar they head to but this unspoken storyline is dropped as soon as it's raised. And the big dance number for Billy and Lucy peters out as he slips away, ending it on a deflating note.
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It goes down harmlessly, thanks to talent like Nolan (charming in Daddy Long Legs), Shively and especially Cusack. With weak songs, Bright Star was never going to shine that brightly. But this very messy production does it no favors. A simpler, more straightforward staging would do wonders for this gentle tale. Tweak the storyline and write a few new songs and Martin's old-fashioned piece could have a whole new life.
This revival of She Loves Me is a bright, sparkling bon-bon of a show without a care in the world. That cheery disposition envelops everything from the pretty enough to eat set to the performances of the entire cast right down to star Laura Benanti's choice to sing in a whipped cream voice with classical stylings a la operetta.
The only problem with that is the fact that a truly great production of She Loves Me would include the dark veins that make this musical and the previous film and play The Shop Around The Corner classics.
Keep in mind that this confection charmingly mounted by The Roundabout includes attempted suicide, the shattering of a a decades long marriage, a lothario who callously uses women and deceives his innocent boss, heartbreak and even a central romance where the man has an unfair advantage of knowledge over the woman that he pushes to the point where you almost (almost!) turn against him. You wouldn't know it watching this show.
What you do have is pleasurable fun delivered with aplomb by an excellent cast with all the care that the Roundabout can lavish upon it. The story takes place in Budapest between the wars, 1934 to be exact, so you know its dark approach is years away. The setting is Maraczek's Parfumerie, a nicely run but not hugely important store that specializes in lady's soaps and perfumes and jewel boxes and other knick knacks. It's not Macy's but it's not rundown either and the employees are a family of sorts, the usual eccentric characters tossed together by employment.
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Ilona (a delightful Jane Krakowski) is a looker who is having a secret romance with Steven (Gavin Creel), an oily sort who is happy to keep their affair hush-hush from the others. Since she's a looker and so sweet, one knows immediately he's not to be trusted. Ladislav (the always dependable and winning Michael McGrath) simply keeps his head down and does his job. In contrast, Georg (Zachary Levi of TV's Chuck and his great voice work on the animated gem Tangled) is the rising star, a favorite of the owner and clearly with upper management in his sites. That owner is the affable Mr. Maraczek (played with ease by Byron Jennings). They all dote on the messenger boy Arpad (the scene-stealing Nicholas Barasch), who yearns to become a clerk some day.
Their calm and familiar world is upended when Amalia (Laura Benanti) wrangles a job with an off-the-cuff sales pitch to a customer that wins Mr. Maraczek a bet and places her at odds with Georg. The two of them are constantly at each other's throats, with Amalia always just a little late to work and Georg always just a little too eager to criticize her. They're made for each other obviously but what do they care? Each of them has a secret pen pal, a person they've never met but with whom they've been exchanging letter via a lovelorn ad. THAT'S the person they're met for, not this annoying fellow or gal right in front of them. Of course, a long-awaited date to meet in person reveals to Georg in fact their secret pen pal is their rival at work. Complications ensue before we can find out whether they can find romance in real life or only on the page. One such problem: Georg is inexplicably forced to quit by a furious Mr. Maraczek for no good reason. Good heavens, how will it all turn out?
I've never seen the original play by Miklos Laszlo, but the 1940 film starring Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullavan is one of the all-time greats. What you remember is the delightful romantic comedy. But every time you see watch it, you're struck anew by the mournful streak that runs through it. Mr. Maraczek thinks Georg is the one cheating with his beloved wife, which is why Maraczek both pushes Georg to quit and attempts to shoot himself. When Amalia thinks she's been stood up by her secret pen pal, she's genuinely heartbroken and knowing that Georg can tease and toy with her makes us a little uncomfortable. The danger to the single Ilona of being toyed with by a man in that era is always an unspoken concern. It's a little like It's A Wonderful Life. She Loves Me shouldn't be that dark, but all you remember about Stewart's holiday classic is the wave of joy at the end. What makes that so effective is the depths of despair it plummets before then.
Similarly, a really great She Loves Me would have more weight and reality. This production seems to take place in a fairy land of all reward and no risk, happy ending guaranteed. The set design of David Rockwell is delightful. The streets of Budapest look adorable and the exterior of the Parfumerie opens up like a present being unwrapped. The store itself is a wonderland of bright colors and beautiful wares. The employees are dressed to the nines, with not just Ilona but everyone looking positively smashing.
Director Scott Ellis fails to ground the show in reality the way it should be to really pierce our hearts. This isn't Astaire and Rogers in a high gloss fantasy. The yearning and heartbreak on display is much more powerful if these are regular folk, not glamor gals. The store is just a store, not Willy Wonka's factory. Mr. Maraczek is as desperate as a man can be, trying to shoot himself to death at the end of act one. But at the beginning of act two, he seems positively jolly in his hospital room just hours later. Jennings is rightly taking his cue from the entire production yet the show suffers for it. Later, when he is alone in the world and desperate for company, Mr. Maraczek settles for dining with the messenger boy turned clerk Arpad. Except here it plays more like a bachelor party in the making rather than a sad old man picking up the pieces of his life.
Benanti sings in that semi-classical style I mentioned, which she puts over with ease. It's the vocal equivalent of the costumes and sets, divorcing us from the reality of what's going on. Nothing could ever really go along in a world where people can sing like that, certainly not genuine sadness and loneliness. She seems to be auditioning for the role of Eliza in My Fair Lady, a role which by God she can and should be doing on Broadway soon. But it heightens the fantasy and that lowers our emotional investment.
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Levi in contrast has a modest voice and can't do more than offer a regular-guy spin on singing and dancing. Ironically, that makes him better casting for Georg though we'll never know if he could get past the glib surface and find the drama that resides underneath this take. To be fair, the others downplay the hijinks and keep their characters pretty realistic too. If Ellis had done the show justice, he certainly had a cast that could deliver.
This is my first time seeing She Loves Me and one terrible choice resides with the book by Joe Masteroff. (The impeccable music is by Jerry Bock and the lyrics by Sheldon Harnick of Fiddler On The Roof of course.) Masteroff sets that long-awaited meeting of pen pals in a fancy restaurant that is an assignation for lovers, often illicit in nature. The redoubtable Peter Bartlett does his best with the role of an officious waiter trying to maintain 'A Romantic Atmosphere." But people on the make is a far cry from the romantic innocence of our two pen pals. This setting - played for drawn out, broad laughter - feels utterly at odds with the scene and the show.
Happily, the cast rises above. Krakowski is an utter pleasure as Ilona and Creel avoids the moustache-twirling that would have made Steven a panto villain. Mcgrath is so immediately likable you always wish he'd get to carry a show rather than do the heavy lifting for others. Levi has charm and chemistry to spare with Benanti, who is a pro and anyone's idea of a winning leading lady, despite her misguided vocal choice here. And in the small role of Arpad, Barasch follows the lead of the rest and avoids mugging. He's a charming presence and somehow manages to make the most of his show-stopper turn in "Try Me" - bouncing on the hospital bed and practically off the hospital walls too - without actually looking like he's trying to stop the show. He makes the most of his opportunity.
For all my caveats and misgivings, it was great to finally hear this score and see this show performed live for the first time. Song after song glides by, from the opener "Good Morning, Good Day" to the amusing penultimate "Twelve Days Of Christmas." Act Two almost floats by on one winner after another: the aforementioned "Try Me" followed by the comic "Where's My Shoe?" to the peak "Vanilla Ice Cream" and the title track and Krakowski's peak "A Trip To the Library." It's hard to make a bad show out of songs like that. It's just a pity this version of She Loves Me is merely sweet when it could be bittersweet, a far more complicated and memorable emotion.
THEATER OF 2016
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Thanks for reading. Michael Giltz is the founder and CEO of the forthcoming website BookFilter, a book lover's best friend. Trying to decide what to read next? Head to BookFilter! Need a smart and easy gift? Head to BookFilter? Wondering what new titles came out this week in your favorite categories, like cookbooks and mystery and more? Head to BookFilter! It's a website that lets you browse for books online the way you do in a physical bookstore, provides comprehensive info on new releases every week in every category and offers passionate personal recommendations every step of the way. It's like a fall book preview or holiday gift guide -- but every week in every category. He's also the cohost of Showbiz Sandbox, a weekly pop culture podcast that reveals the industry take on entertainment news of the day and features top journalists and opinion makers as guests. It's available for free on iTunes. Visit Michael Giltz at his website and his daily blog. Download his podcast of celebrity interviews and his radio show, also called Popsurfing and also available for free on iTunes.
"I worried that the man I was starting to like would be disappointed or repulsed ... I needed to warn him so he wouldnt be surprised at what he saw or touched."
Serge Attukwei Clottey, My Mother's Wardrobe, installation view at Gallery 1957, Accra. Courtesy the artist and Gallery 1957, Accra. Photo: Nii Odzenma.
Gallery 1957: A New Gallery Highlights the Contemporary Art Scene in Accra, Ghana
On March 6th, Independence Day, a new contemporary art gallery celebrated its opening in Accra, Ghana. Named for the year the African country declared independence from the United Kingdom, Gallery 1957 was inaugurated with a forward-looking mission to support the local contemporary art scene and Ghanaian artists, from established to emerging. On the day it opened, Serge Attukwei Clottey and his performance troupe, GoLokal, wrapped themselves in garments from their mothers' wardrobes and proceeded to make their way through Accra, from the artist's home in the neighborhood of Labadi, to the Kempinski Gold Coast Hotel, which houses Gallery 1957. Clottey's solo exhibition at the gallery, "My Mother's Wardrobe," explores issues of politics, culture, and the environment through the use of everyday objects, such as textiles and bright yellow plastic gallon containers.
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Serge Attukwei Clottey and GoLokal, My Mother's Wardrobe, performance at Gallery 1957, 6 March 2016. Courtesy the artist and Gallery 1957, Accra. Photo: Nii Odzenma.
"Without doubt there is something very special happening to Ghana's art scene at the moment driven by a pool of young, talented artists and creatives," says Gallery 1957 founder Marwan Zakhem, a British collector and international entrepreneur who has spent the last 15 years living in Africa, where he began collecting contemporary art from the region. Zakhem's personal collection is on display throughout the Kempinski Hotel, including works by Yaw Owusu, Zohra Opoku and Jeremiah Quarshie, and the gallery, located in a 140 square-meter "white box" space within the hotel, will commission new site-specific works for the hotel, such as recently completed installations by Clottey and Ibrahim Mahama. But the hotel is not the only client of Gallery 1957, a commercial gallery in a city more known for its independent art institutions and non-profits, such as the cultural research platform ANO, the Foundation of Contemporary Art, and the Nubuke Foundation. Zakhem explains that the motivation behind the gallery comes from a "combination of my passion as a collector and supporter of Ghanaian artists, and the entrepreneurial side of me that believes there is a need for a commercial gallery here." The primary focus, however, Zakhem maintains, lies on supporting the development of the contemporary art scene in Accra, adding, "I want to provide increased opportunities for artists based here so they don't feel they have to move abroad to pursue their careers."
Serge Attukwei Clottey, Social Reactions, 2016, plastics, wire and oil paint, 86 x 188 inches. Serge Attukwei Clottey. Courtesy Gallery 1957, Accra.
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Clottey's work, in fact, rose in prominence internationally before it became recognized in his home country. The son of a painter, he first pursued more traditional arts before studying in Brazil, where his work took on a more conceptual bent. "At the time the galleries here weren't interested in conceptual art," Clottey recounts, "so I turned instead to social media to promote my work." Over the internet, interest in his work grew, which led to opportunities to travel and work abroad, which he says "permitted me to understand the more global context of my work, not just as an artist from Africa." The establishment of Gallery 1957, however, marks a turning point for the art scene in Accra, providing a much-needed platform for experimental work by young artists working outside traditional subject matter and media, such as concept-driven, inter-media, and performance-based work. "Gallery 1957 for me is somewhere that's not afraid to break away from those boundaries," he remarks, "and it's engaged with a lot of contemporary Ghanaian artists who don't have space in the traditional system."
Nana Oforiatta Ayim. Photo: Nii Odzenma.
Writer, filmmaker, and cultural historian Nana Oforiatta Ayim, who also serves as founder and director of ANO in Accra, is Gallery 1957's creative director (a title she prefers to "curator") and understands the nuances of the local context as well as those of the international contemporary art world. She maintains that the presence of a local commercial gallery in Accra will benefit Ghanaian artists' careers in that it will promote greater sustainability, visibility, and "for a greater focus on the evolution of artists' practice." A commercial gallery close to home has other benefits as well, she says, "it means working with people that understand and live in the artists' context, rather than continuously having to explain or mediate themselves, or having to ascertain who and what to trust in what can be the wild west of the art world."
Nana Oforiatta Ayim and Serge Attukwei Clottey.
But beyond helping to sustain and support the arts infrastructure and provide a platform for artists in Accra, how much of a market for contemporary art exists locally? "I'm not sure there is a 'market' as such, in that there is nothing you could call systematic," Oforiatta Ayim replies. "There are definitely people that are interested in art, and those that collect, and that are looking for places to be able to buy art from," she continues, remarking that Gallery 1957 will serve as a place to commune and connect with artists and others who are interested in the arts. "I think the gallery will definitely make a difference in terms of being a cohesive presence, of bridging the gap, and bringing artists and those interested in art together," she says.
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Serge Attukwei Clottey, Ghana's Millenium Cloth, 2016, plastics, wire and oil paint. Serge Attukwei Clottey. Courtesy Gallery 1957, Accra.
Gallery 1957's programming reflects a deep interest in gathering different communities together and presenting a nuanced and complex portrait of artistic practices present in Africa. There is a strong interplay between the programming of Gallery 1957 and Oforiatta Ayim's work at ANO--artists from ANO's artist-in-residence program (such as Clottey) will be among those shown at Gallery 1957, and ANO's exhibition programming will in turn add depth to the themes explored by the artists through accompanying films, publications, and research. In a way, the exhibitions shown at Gallery 1957 could be considered the formal and aesthetic counterpart to the research driven exhibitions at ANO. Under her curatorial direction, the programming at Gallery 1957 will also build upon ANO's concerns with forming new cultural histories. The next exhibition will feature work by internationally recognized, Accra-based multimedia and performance artist Zohra Opoku, while future exhibitions will consider older generations of Ghanaian artists and artists from wider, international contexts. "As the narratives of programming emerge," Oforiatta Ayim remarks, "I hope that those watching will begin to see something of the depths and multifariousness of our cultural output." And every exhibition will entail some kind of public component, with performances and installations to "broaden out audiences and reception beyond the conventional 'art space.'" Clottey's performance is one such example of how Gallery 1957 intends to break down some of the boundaries between the public space and the gallery. "Performing in the gallery space was very fascinating as I'm used to outside spaces; infusing those two spaces creates a lot of dialogue," Clottey observes.
Studio of Serge Attukwei Clottey, work in progress for My Mother's Wardrobe. Serge Attukwei Clottey. Courtesy Gallery 1957, Accra.
Gallery 1957 is not just a local endeavor, however, as it will maintain a presence on the international stage as well, through art fairs and other events. Oforiatta Ayim hopes, however, that "instead of just mimicking or fitting in seamlessly to the systems that currently exist, and which to some extent are defunct, [Gallery 1957] will begin to create its own paradigms that draw on our environment, as well as having synergies with those outside, and thus create new relations and relativities of being." Like its name suggests, this new African gallery will assert its own independence.
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Serge Attukwei Clottey, The Independence Arch, 2016, plastics, wire and oil paint, 95 x 89 inches. Serge Attukwei Clottey. Courtesy Gallery 1957, Accra.
--Natalie Hegert
All These Voices a short film both beautiful and harrowing premieres later this month on April 25 at the Newport Beach Film Festival and proves yet again that the Holocaust will always provide a never-ending supply of singular and provocative stories to be told.
Filmmaker David Henry Gerson spent time with the renowned artist Samuel Bak, a survivor of the Vilna Ghetto whose artistic sensibility, a mixture of haunting realism and surrealist memories informs the film.
The story takes place In the days following the end of World War II, when a young SS officer hides in an abandoned Polish theater. A theater troupe of survivors enters to celebrate the end of the war. As the soldier witnesses the expression of their painful past, he is forced to come to terms with his complicity in their grief.
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The avant garde gives voice to the unspeakable.
I recently interviewed David Gerson:
Nancy Doyle Palmer: Talk about your own journey that brought you to this story?
David Henry Gerson: As third generation of a family of Holocaust survivors, I was told my grandmother's stories of surviving the Holocaust - but her stories were filtered to be suitable to my young ears, my young imagination. There were details - of selling a wedding ring for a glass of milk, of getting a piece of bread by a creek from a kind soldier in Siberia - but she omitted the bulk of her traumatic experiences. I saw the pain in her eyes, but her stories quickly grew in my imagination into the epic, the mythical, the fantastic. Somehow, her stories became like wild-west cowboy movie adventures in my mind. That strange, somewhat surreal space between the reality of what happened there and how I imagine those stories passed down generation to generation is troubling to me. Especially as now my grandmother has passed away and every last survivor of my family from that war, as of a month ago, has now passed away, it has become my responsibility to never forget these memories - and how to do that is a challenge that led me to make this film.
I started working on this project almost 10 years ago while at Columbia University, then at the American Film Institute I wanted to re-enter this world I had started imagining years ago. I travelled to Eastern Europe with one of my co-writers, a very talented Slovenian-born screenwriter named Martin Horvat. Martin and I drove from Ljubljana to Auschwitz, and across Poland to my grandparents' hometown of Zamosc, Poland. Along the way we met with experts on theater and music and art to research who were the people in Poland, immediately following the war, that first started commenting with their art on what had happened. My specific chapter of a short film was based in our explorations of what might an avant-garde theater company in Poland's, like Tadeusz Kantor's (which was composed partially of survivors of Auschwitz), first performance after the war be like?
With the outstanding help of choreographer Celia Rowlson-Hall production designer Daniela Medeiros, cinematographer Eli Arenson and composer Brian McOmber we created such a performance.
NDP: Art is not only a theme but easily the center of this film - you quote philosopher Theodor Adorno who said "there can be no art after Auschwitz" yet this is exactly what you have done?
DHG: A statement like that is interesting, but clearly false. Humans built Auschwitz. Humans continue to populate this Earth after Auschwitz. Humans continue to try to comprehend and exorcize the pain of Auschwitz. Art is to be a connective tissue amongst humanity, a means to reflect on our collective identity, actions, self, and ideally to grow together, to better understand ourselves. As long as humans exist, there must be art, and as long as humans commit atrocities, there especially must be art to reflect upon our inner demons as a human race.
NDP: Why make a Nazi the main character - perhaps an unusual choice for a young American Jew?
DHG: My father's parents created a monument to those who died in their town, in New Jersey, where they are now buried. On that monument it reads "We will Never Forget, and Never Forgive." The stone goes on to list more of the brutality and atrocities committed.
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Forgiveness is tricky, it's something I often wonder about. Can I forgive Germany? But I know so many Germans today - were they responsible? Three generations later? No. I mean, I am half German. So am I half responsible? The point of "Never Forget", of telling and retelling the story of the Holocaust, just as we retell the story of the Jews' Exodus from Egypt every Passover, is to keep us from repeating it, but is also to keep any aspect of ourselves from committing crimes against humanity.
Why a Nazi character? Because he has the most to learn from hearing this story, otherwise, forgive me, but it might just be preaching to the choir. Moreso, I chose to make the main character a Nazi because this was not a problem of just Germany. I look at what we, as mankind did in World War Two not as a national or regional dilemma, but as a human problem. So in a sense then we were all Nazis, we are all in some small part Nazis, and until we face the Nazi hidden within ourselves my great fear is that we let that Nazi live on in hiding, waiting to rear its horrific head again in the future. But if we force that part of ourselves to see itself, then perhaps we might begin to grow as a species.
It's been a great week for the movement calling out Exxon's colossal climate denial operation, but the world's largest private oil company isn't having as much fun. First, the Rockefeller Family Fund (RFF) announced it would divest from fossil fuels, and specifically from Exxon. Then, the Securities and Exchange Commision (SEC) ruled against the corporation, siding with Exxon's shareholders. Finally, two more U.S. attorneys general announced they were opening their own investigations into Exxon's climate denial, and it looks like a lot of others are close to doing the same.
The Terrible, Morally Reprehensible Conduct Leading to Divestment
On March 23, RFF announced it would divest from all fossil fuels. Going even further, it instructed its advisors to "immediately...eliminate [its] holdings of ExxonMobil." Why? Because of Exxon's "morally reprehensible conduct." Let that sink in for a minute. The heirs of John D. Rockefeller, the founder of Exxon and really, the modern oil industry, decided that Exxon's climate denial was so egregious that they couldn't keep their money in the company any longer. And rather than quietly divesting, they released a statement explaining exactly why they were doing it. RFF's decision on Exxon signals that the fossil fuel era is at its end, and we are moving towards a future powered by renewables.
The Horrible, Zero Transparency Attitude Towards its Own Shareholders
Later that same day, the SEC (which has been criticised for its weak climate-related disclosure guidance) stunned the financial community by ruling against Exxon. For years, Exxon had beat back shareholder proposals asking it to disclose business plans to adapt to a world that limits emissions. Instead, Exxon denied that world would ever exist. This year, however, the SEC not only decided that Exxon's investors could vote to ask Exxon for those plans, they also held that investors could vote on the moral imperative of keeping climate change to two degrees. That world means fossil fuels stay in the ground. That world means the fossil fuel industry has to acknowledge climate change is happening and that emissions are causing it.
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The Very Bad Climate Denial Operation Faces Legal Investigations
On March 29, business-as-usual for Exxon and the fossil fuel industry took another blow, when 17 attorneys general announced, with an assist from Al Gore, that they were teaming up to take action on climate change. For Massachusetts and the U.S. Virgin Islands that meant confirming that they are investigating whether Exxon's colossal climate denial operation broke laws. The two officials join their counterparts in New York and California, who started their own probes earlier. New York's attorney general Eric Schneiderman criticized the "morally vacant forces" contributing to climate denial, and called out the fossil fuel industry for "putting profits over needs of the American people and the integrity of financial markets."
Here's the weird part.
I may have to thank Donald Trump.
Who got me thinking about immigration.
I am Irish and proud of it. My full (and formal) name -- Cornelius Patrick McCarthy -- shouts Irish from the rafters. I will regale any who listen with tales of great grandparents and grand uncles and aunts from Cork who came and manned the mills in Lawrence, Massachusetts and the precincts of New York City.
Of course, I am not actually Irish. I am American.
And though Americans whose grandparents were born in Ireland can become dual nationals, I am not one of them either. All my grandparents were born here. In fact, that fourth paragraph is a bit of a stretch.
Because, truth be told, three-quarters of my great grandparents were born here as well.
So, is this whole Irish thing a big put on? Am I just one of those white-haired, fair-skinned, unmistakably Celtic-looking pretenders who wears green, eats corned beef (which the Irish themselves do not eat), and dodges drunks on Paddy's Day?
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Or am I the real thing?
In fact, what is the real thing?
And that's where The Donald comes in.
After the insults, adolescent narcissism and misogyny, Trump's signature move in this presidential season has been his stand on immigration. There are three parts to his dance. First, there is "the Wall." "A nation without borders is not a nation," says Trump; what he really means, however, is that "a nation which can't keep out illegals is not a nation." So Trump will build a wall across the 1,954-mile border between the US and Mexico, and every time Mexico complains, the wall will get bigger.
Second, there is the racist xenophobia. At the announcement of his candidacy, Mexican immigrants became "rapists" and "criminals" -- who were "not you" -- being sent north by a country off-loading its undesirables.
Finally, xenophobia and nativism on immigration is side-carred with religious bigotry as a tool in the fight against terrorism. In this phase of Trumpism, the need for better intel and -- in Europe -- interstate coordination and information sharing is either jettisoned (or put on hold) as the principal approach in exchange for a wholesale ban on non-citizen Muslim entrants into the country until the government "can figure out what is going on." It is apparently irrelevant that the government has already "figured out" that the vast majority (99.99%) of Muslims are not terrorists.
Or that most terrorist acts since 1985 have been committed by non-Muslims.
It's very easy to chalk all this up to Trump's inherent flaws. He is a clown, a charlatan and a con-man. He has no respect for truth or facts. He is immature in ways that are both clinical and scary.
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Nevertheless, his views on immigration are shared by a large group of Americans who share none of these flaws. Which begs the ultimate question.
Which is . . .
Why?
Here is my answer.
Trump is plowing very fertile ground.
At least three myths define the story of immigration in America. The first is the myth of the melting pot and its first cousin -- assimilation. This is a myth about history. It claims that, in our nation of immigrants, everyone who came somehow morphed into an androgynous American whole. The second is the southern border myth; this is the one Trump highlights with impunity in his "a nation without borders is not a nation" mantra; it treats the line between Mexico and the US as inherent (and sacred) when in fact it was accidental (and utterly profane). The third is the illegality myth, the notion that the number of illegal or undocumented aliens is increasing and reeking economic havoc, principally in the form of wage suppression.
These are myths because none of these claims are factually correct. As a general rule, immigrants historically have learned English and integrated into the American economy. They have not, however, assimilated, at least not in the sense set forth in the dictionary, which defines the word to mean one who conforms to or resembles the group. In fact, to the contrary, immigrant groups stuck together and still do. Each group brought its distinctive cultures, foods, and prayers to these shores. They may have acquired a new identity, but they did not lose their old one.
The southern border myth is equally mistaken. There was nothing pre-ordained about our southern border, and it certainly cannot be used to define the nation. The border itself was the product of a war -- the Mexican-American War of 1846 -- fought largely as a consequence of a linguistic dispute over which river properly constituted the Rio Grande separating the two countries. Texans thought it was the southern Rio Grande and Mexicans thought it was the northern one, which Texans called the Nuesces. Today that dispute would be arbitrated. In 1846, however, it became the pretext for a show of force designed to provoke an attack that would allow the US the seize the greater part of what was then northern Mexico (and is now our southwest plus California).
It did.
And then the US did.
One of the ironies is that the Mexican-American War was itself rooted in the earlier war between Texas and Mexico, an earlier war caused by Mexico outlawing slavery in 1829 and making American immigration into Texas (then a Mexican province) illegal. This, however, did not stop the Americans, who entered illegally anyway and then later fought for and won their independence. (Remember the Alamo!)
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The irony, of course, is that Americans were illegal immigrants into Mexico long before any Mexicans violated "our" southern border. Another irony is that, once the US prevailed in the war, the largest part of the new southwestern US and California was composed of hitherto Mexican citizens and was marked by a Hispanic culture that left its imprint on law, architecture, and names. Today, the oldest capital city in the US is not located in New England or Virginia. It is located in Santa Fe, New Mexico. And the coast of California is not dotted with cities and towns named for dukes or English shires. The names are largely those of Catholic saints provided by Spanish missionaries.
In any case, so much for the sanctity of the southern border. It definitely established a boundary. It did not, however, define a culture or a nation.
Then there is the illegality myth, the myth that more illegals are entering than leaving and that they are doing some kind of permanent damage to our economy. It is false on both counts. On the one hand, the population of undocumenteds or illegals has declined significantly over the last nine years and more are now leaving than coming. On the other, economic studies have shown that immigration -- including the work of undocumented immigrants -- is a huge plus for both the economy as a whole and even for low-income workers. In fact, President Bush's own Council of Economic Advisers estimated in 2008 that American workers actually make $30 billion annually in wage gains as a result of immigration.
So, where to from here?
Trump is only the latest xenophobe.
There is, however, no way we can even hope to make him the last unless we eliminate the myths.
And tell a new -- and more accurate -- story about our "nation of immigrants."
In that new narrative, America is not a melting pot. It is a mosaic. It is stitched together to be and remain whole. But its parts are distinct -- multi-colored and multi-textured. Each of us who claims immigrant heritage (and, since most of us must, even those who blindly ignore it) is a hyphenated American. (Or, as Will Ferrell put it in a recent SNL skit, "Unless your name is Running Bear, we are all anchor babies."). What makes me American are the values enshrined in the Declaration of Independence and Constitution, not the line drawn between me and Canada or me and Mexico.
And what makes me Irish are my ancestors and (therefore) my genes. There is nothing phony about it.
The poet William Butler Yeats once wrote:
Now and in time to be,
Wherever green is worn,
Are changed, changed utterly:
A terrible beauty is born.
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Though he was speaking of the Irish Rising of 1916, his words are as apt for the Irish immigrants who peopled these shores by the millions in the 19th century. In art, literature, music, politics and sport, those immigrants changed the face of America.
Which today basks in the "terrible beauty" they -- and all their immigrant neighbors -- created.
Any military modernization system has to take advantage of both indigenous and foreign systems if you will. In China's case, they have relied heavily on foreign systems either by importing the systems directly or by reverse engineering systems.
The Chinese have proved to be very good at reverse engineering in systems they've imported from Russia or using systems they've acquired through duel use. In other words, a Chinese civilian company may form a joint venture agreement with a foreign company, import goods that are nominally civilian in intention, but then adapt it to military use.
Let me give you some examples. In the 19080s, the German diesel company, Siemens, established a joint venture with a Chinese company. The first time I want on board a Chinese frigate in 1994 and I went down into the main engineering spaces, this frigate was powered by diesel engines; and the diesel engine had a big Siemens logo right on the engine. Okay? A diesel engine's a diesel engine. Whether it's designed to drive a tractor or a ship, it can be adapted.
The other area I'm aware of is ceramic engineering technology. A French company formed a joint venture with a Chinese company for the purpose of developing ceramic engineering. Well, the principle technology that goes into constructing a sonar dome aboard a surface ship is ceramic engineering. So here again we have an incidence of a legal importation or establishment of French technology into the, which converted into the Chinese military.
A third example, which is perhaps most egregious, is, in the 1990s, an Australian company designed a catamaran passenger ferry. And this, again they formed a joint venture with a South China company to build passenger ferries, and of course South China is rife with waterways that are very amenable to use of ferries. And this basically provided the whole technology for the Hubei Class [Type 022] missile boat. This is a catamaran boat that's designed for relatively inshore, short-range operations carrying, I believe it's four anti-surface ship missiles. Potentially a significant weapon system.
In the case of Russian technologies, the situation is even more complex. By selling China SU-27 and SU-30 tactical fighter aircraft, Russia basically gave China the engineering technology for those aircraft, technology China has reverse engineered -- to the great annoyance of the Russian military, I might add.
More commonly known as The Land of Opportunity, The United States of America attracts thousands of immigrants each year, in their pursuit of higher education, employment prospects, and better living standards. The influx of Nepalese students into the USA has particularly been rocketing due to the political instability, lack of career opportunities and inadequate educational prospects in the Himalayan country.
Nepal may be overflowing with natural beauty and cultural heritage, but when it comes to higher education, the country offers its natives limited opportunities and career pathways. Despite the difficult living conditions and financial struggles that Nepalese students face as an international student in the USA, an increasing number of Nepalese students head to the United States each year in their quest to discover the land of opportunities through their golden period in life.
A Nepalese student's struggle to study in the US begins with the college application and student visa process. The challenging process calls for arranging academic transcripts and references, showing a reassuring bank statement, and acquiring impressive SAT, TOEFL, and GRE scores, sponsor letters, and accommodation arrangements. Many students find it a tall order to get all documentation in order and pass the thorough investigations and interviews conducted by the US border agency before a student visa is granted.
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The basic idea of travelling and living in a new country, let alone a whole new continent, proves to be overwhelming for many Nepalese students. The language barriers, jet lag, climatic changes, and home sickness becomes overpowering for many students aspiring to live the American dream. Colleges and universities in the USA use American English as their primary language for communication and academic purpose which becomes a potential limitation for many non-native English speakers. Language limitations make academic progress, particularly difficult and frustrating for Nepalese students as they are unable to fully understand the different accent and consequently lag behind in class participation. The language barrier also adds to the workload as Nepalese students are not easily able to communicate their academic issues to their counselors and continue to struggle on their own. Many students, who used to be academic stars in Nepal, get particularly de-motivated and depressed owing to a decline in their performance.
Living in America comes with its share of financial difficulties. Unless they belong to an elite family background, Nepalese students face an enduring economic struggle to finance their tuition and make their ends meet. Students living in popular academic destinations like New York and California are compelled to work extra hours to survive amidst their high living standards. Most of the Nepalese students living in these popular cities work for extra long hours at gas pumps, grocery stores, restaurants and shops. Maintaining American living standards is not easy, and foreign students are even restricted by the United States visa policy on the number of hours they can work as a student."
Long shifts and weekend work hours not only exhaust the students mentally and physically; but also make it a tough ordeal to maintain a good GPA. While Nepalese students struggle to sustain themselves through the academic and financial pressures, their families back home keep their hopes and expectations high.
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New York based journalist, Kishor Panthi, Founder/editor in chief of Khasokhas Weekly, a Nepalese newspaper published in New York said, "Parents should maintain a serious stance about their children's studies in the USA, and extend their moral support to them. They should realize that students come to America to study rather than to work and abstain from pressurizing them with their expectations. Unfortunately, students are compelled to work extra hours because their parents and siblings expect them to be able to get them expensive electronic stuff like MacBooks, iPhones, and digital cameras."
The struggle of Nepalese students does not end with their student life. Even after completing an undergraduate or postgraduate degree, most overseas students find it extremely difficult to find employment in America. The student visa does not expand into a post-study work permit, as a result of which Nepalese students are bound to leave the United States once they complete their programs.
Destroying the financial roots of terrorism must be a priority for whoever wins the US election in November. Speeches condemning suicide bombers won't stop the radicalization of angry, marginalized young people; and carpet bombing suspected terrorist enclaves merely causes inconvenience. So long as wealthy individuals in the Arabian Gulf face no consequences for funding jihad, they will facilitate terror.
That means using America's leverage with the Gulf nations, of whom the US asks surprisingly little. As 4.6 million Syrians have fled violence, we have not pushed Saudi to offer refuge to its co-religionists and fellow Arabs. We have not demanded the Saudis make good on their post-9/11 promise to detoxify Saudi school books which foment racism and hatred of anyone who does not follow Wahhabism, Saudi Arabia's hard-line version of Islam. We have not required the Saudis to purge its mosques and madrassas of clerics preaching intolerance and extremism.
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All the signs are the rebels fighting the Khartoum regime are losing their long, asymmetrical battle. When their defenses collapse, millions more will flee the Sudanese armed forces and their brutal local proxies. This will put pressure on the already fragile region, precipitating even more migrants heading for Europe. Internet cafes in every remote village mean people can now see how comparatively peaceful and attractive the West is. Therefore, the new US president may find several more genocidal slaughters and mass movements of migrants, joining those already in motion in Syria and Iraq, in the Oval Office in box.
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The theory goes that we let Saudi and Sudan off the hook because they pass intelligence -although we are never told what value this intelligence is - to our security services. But why would the very rulers embracing Islamist ideology wish to help us? Can their "intelligence" be worth more than the chance to stop the funding of global jihad? This magical thinking goes to the heart of the paradox of US policy.How can we expect Nigeria, Chad or Somalia to contain their local chapters of Al Qaeda, Al Shabab or ISIS, while allowing "our friends" in the Gulf to fund these franchises? It is worse than meaningless when our leaders tweet "bring back our girls" about the kidnapped Chibok girls, while allowing the Gulf authorities to turn a blind eye to the funding of terror. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE are not free societies: their hyper-vigilant authorities know exactly who is wiring money to jihadist networks.
The Myanmar President-Elect, U Htin Kyaw, nominated Nan Kin Htwe Myint, the MP for Hpa-an Township Constituency 1, for the job by. The nomination was unanimously accepted during the third daily session of the second Karen State Hluttaw (parliament) in a vote taken at 9am on 28 March.
Nan Khin Htwe Myint is also the chairperson of the Karen State branch of the National League for Democracy (NLD) and a member of the NLDs central executive committee. Ever since the elections in November 2015 there have bee rumours that she would become the Karen State Chief Minister.
She told KIC on 25 March that within 100 days of taking office she plans to carry out significant changes that will contribute to the wellbeing of the inhabitants of Karen State.
New Karen State Chief Minister
Nan Khin Htwe Myint (front, second from left) New Karen State Chief MinisterNan Khin Htwe Myint (front, second from left)
Saw J A Win Myint, the Thandaunggyi Township Constituency 2 MP from the Kayin Peoples Party (KPP), welcomed the appointment of Nan Khin Htwe Myint and said he would work with her.
He said: I just greeted Nan Khin Htwe Myint this morning. I am proud that she has been elected [as chief minister] for our state. She told us to help in the development of our state and said that it would develop more if we work together. We are encouraged that she has the spirit to work together [with others] for the states development.
Nan Khin Htwe Myint and the Karen State Government cabinet members were sworn into their jobs at the State Parliament on 30 March and they will formally start working on 1 April.
Nan Khin Htwe Myint, age 62, is the daughter of Dr Saw Hla Tun, a former Chairman of Karen State, and Daw Amar. She was born in Mawlamyine in Mon State and she holds a bachelors degree in economics.
She joined the NLD in 1990 and competed in the 1990 election, winning over 73 percent of the votes in her constituency. In 1996 she married Sa Thant Zin. In 1997 the military government arrested her and she spent the following two years in Mawlamyine Prison.
Since her release from prison in 1999 she has served as the chairperson of the Karen State branch of the NLD and as one of the 15 members of NLD Central Executive Committee.
Translated by Thida Linn
Edited in English by Mark Inkey for BNI
Your Excellency, Peace and stability in the Middle East, the foundation for the expansion of global reconciliation and harmony, depend on the perseverance and efforts of individuals who refuse to surrender in their struggle for human rights despite the enormity of challenges and suffering.
Notwithstanding the confrontational approach of the theocratic regime in Iran towards your valiant efforts to restore denied human rights, Your Excellency has persistently persevered and carried the heavy responsibility towards fulfilling a difficult and yet sacred mission.
While the theocratic regime is afraid of your visit to Iran, it dismisses the validity of your reports on crimes committed against my compatriots. Your distinguished efforts are well recognized and appreciated by Iranians, who live under oppression with their basic human rights denied.
On behalf of the Iran National Council, I congratulate you on your reappointment as the United Nations Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Iran for the sixth consecutive year. I, herewith, present you with this letter of appreciation on behalf of my fellow compatriots and as a token of our gratitude for your ceaseless and noble efforts to build the foundation of human rights in Iran.
A special inspection of the Indian Point 2 nuclear reactor found that more than a quarter of the stainless steel bolts needed to channel cooling water through active nuclear fuel rods were broken, distorted or "missing", a finding that calls into question the effectiveness of the long term management of this and other aging power plants.
The inspection, which began March 7, concerned the 832 "baffle-former assembly bolts" which hold special metal plates around the 100-tons of uranium fuel within the reactor and channel cooling water to the bottom of the reactor and then up through center of the bundled 12-foot fuel rods to keep them from overheating. Entergy, which owns the twin Indian Point plants, stated in a March 29 report to the three judge panel of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (http://1.usa.gov/1Y1oqVO ) that 227 of the baffle-former bolts were degraded, broken, or "missing." That is an extraordinarily high failure rate of 27.2%.
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In its public statement, Entergy sought to minimize the problem by stating they inspected some 2000 bolts and 11% of these were degraded. But their legal filing was more specific. It was only the 832 bolts holding the baffles that had the greatest exposure and suffered the most damage. All 227 of the deteriorated bolts were in this category. Entergy spokesmen at Indian Point and at their corporate office declined to discuss the issue.
The fact that entire bolts or parts of them could not be initially located is considered a serious safety threat. That was the cause of the partial meltdown of the Fermi power reactor outside Detroit in August, 1966. In that case, bits of metal blocked the flow of coolant through two bundles of active fuel rods, and they overheated and melted.
Because of that risk Entergy, after discussions with officials at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, is considering whether or not to shut Indian Point 3 and conduct a similar inspection now, rather than wait until a scheduled refueling outage in 2017. That would be a difficult fiscal pill for Entergy to swallow. The twin plants currently provide only 5% of the electricity used in New York City and neighboring Westchester County, primarily through its 560 megawatt contract with ConEd, the regional transmission company. The New York Power Authority, which provides power to the subways, airports, and municipal buildings, dropped Indian Point two years ago because there are cheaper alternatives.
NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan said "Entergy will have to assess the implications for Indian Point Unit 3. There is no ETA at this point."
For its part, the NRC is weighing whether or not other plants should be required to conduct similar special inspections of their reactor linings and, if so, how soon. It is not clear at this point how many other plants might have the same type of condition. But, said Sheehan, "we always look for possible generic implications and will do so in this case."
David Lochbaum, nuclear safety specialist with the Union of Concerned Scientists, said "the NRC is struggling with the question 'Do we shut down Indian Point 3 and see if there is a problem, or do we look further?' If it were just those two reactors it would be an easier decision.
"But if they shut down Unit 3 based on probable cause, then why not shut down the other plants that may have this issue? This problem has surfaced before at D. C Cook in Michigan and R.E. Ginna in upstate New York. Why assume those are the only ones?"
Critics of Indian Point urged the NRC to force Entergy to inspect both reactors. "Since IP3 is virtually identical in design as IP2," said Gary Shaw of the Indian Point Safe Energy Coalition, "IP3 should be shut down immediately to examine the integrity of the reactor core liner. Aging management is a predicate of relicensing and the last year of problems and near misses has already shown that the plant should not be relicensed and decommissioning should be initiated as soon as possible."
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Forced by NY Attorney General
The special inspection that discovered the disintegration of the bolts was undertaken by Entergy to put an end to a series of challenges by the Environmental Unit of New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's office dating to November, 2007. The Environmental Unit has filed more than 35 "contentions," or legal challenges before the three-judge Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, the judicial arm of the NRC. Their decisions can be appealed to the full NRC board, whose commissioners can uphold, modify, or reverse their conclusions.
Three of the New York challenges involve "embrittlement" of key components within the reactor, including the bolts holding the baffles. These serve a critical function in a pressurized system where temperatures approach 900 degrees Fahrenheit and it is difficult to even out the temperature fluctuations within the huge reactor core. Each of the fuel bundles has a temperature gauge at the end called a thermocouple, so the reactor operators can track the temperature o variations within the reactor. The danger of a breakdown of the zirconium cladding around the uranium fuel does not begin until the temperatures hit around 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit, so there is a lot of room for variation before temperatures hit a dangerous level.
At Fermi, operators saw the temperatures climb inside two of the fuel bundles, but assumed they were getting readings from faulty thermocouples since the other bundles were fine. But a metal plate which had fallen to the bottom of the reactor because of degraded bolts was blocking the flow of coolant through the inside of the two fuel bundles, and these heated up past the melting point.
The Environmental Unit asserted that Entergy's ageing management program was inadequate and did not take into account the embrittlement of metal as a result of years of intense bombardment by high levels of radiation within the reactor.
In fact, the State's attorneys found six cases - including Fermi, Cook, and plants in France that were younger than Indian Point - where metal pieces had become brittle, broken off, and blocked critical valves, control rods, or cooling water flow within the reactor. Despite those experiences, inspection of the baffle-former bolts is not required by the NRC and was not originally part of Entergy's long-term maintenance plan, according to their court filings.
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"Entergy voluntarily agreed to have this inspection," said Lochbaum. "Without the State of New York, that would not have happened. When you look at the reasons that the State wanted them to do the inspections, it is not a surprise that when Entergy did the inspection they found the problem that the State was warning about.
"It had happened many, many times before. Since our reactors are older than the French reactors where this problem showed up, it seemed just a matter of time before it happened here."
Attorney General Schneiderman said in a statement yesterday that "For years, my office has raised serious concerns about the aging of components of the Indian Point nuclear plants, including "baffle-former assembly" bolts...Our concerns have been repeatedly dismissed by Entergy and the NRC.
"After finally conducting inspections that my office had long called for, Entergy revealed that at Indian Point Unit 2, over one-quarter of these bolts were found either missing or degraded to a point they must be replaced. This significant finding - coupled with the spate of other recent problems revealed at Indian Point - underscores real and present safety issues related to continuing to operate this aging nuclear facility in close proximity to more than 17 million people."
On February 27th, Hillary Clinton led Bernie Sanders among African-American voters by 52 points.
By March 26th, she led Sanders among African-Americans by just nine points.
And today, Public Policy Polling, a widely respected polling organization, released a poll showing that Sanders leads Clinton among African-American voters in Wisconsin by 11 points.
It's all part of a dramatic national trend that has seen Clinton's support among nonwhite voters dwindle to well under a third of what it was just a month ago -- not nearly enough support to carry her, as it did throughout the Deep South, to future electoral victories in the Midwest and Northeast.
So no, it's not a coincidence that, in the 18 state primary elections since March 1st, Bernie Sanders has won on Election Day in 12 of them.
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(That's right: Bernie won among live and provisional ballots in Arizona, Illinois, and Missouri.)
Of Clinton's five post-March 1st Election Day wins, four (Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida, and North Carolina) were in the South, and were made possible by a level of support among nonwhite voters that Clinton no longer enjoys. Indeed, this coalition was already collapsing when Clinton won in Florida and North Carolina on March 15th. At the polls in North Carolina on Election Day, Clinton won just 52 percent to 48 percent, including the tens of thousands of provisional ballots cast (which, still being counted, have gone, as expected, 57 percent for Senator Sanders). In Florida, the 36-point edge Clinton held in the first three weeks of early voting (February 15th to March 7th) dwindled to a 13.4-point edge among those who made their decision regarding who to vote for from March 8th to March 15th.
In short, the Clinton campaign is in the midst of an historic collapse -- much of it due to the unraveling of support for Clinton among nonwhite voters -- and the national media has yet to take any notice.
Clinton's 48-point lead in New York less than two weeks ago is now just a 12-point lead, according to the latest Quinnipiac Poll. That poll shows Sanders with approximately 300 percent more support among African-American voters in New York than he had in Mississippi earlier this month.
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Meanwhile, in the only poll taken in Indiana, Sanders is said to be beating Clinton handily.
Sanders is leading by 8 points in West Virginia.
And the only polling done so far in Kentucky -- among nearly 1,000 students at the University of Kentucky -- has Sanders up on Clinton there by more than 70 points.
But what the latest Reuters polling underscores is that even Clinton's support in the South has collapsed.
Between February 27th and March 26th, Clinton's lead among Southerners -- the group whose primary votes (and thus delegates) comprise the entirety of her 228-delegate lead over Bernie Sanders -- decreased from 15 points to just 6. Given the percentage of Southern Democrats who are African-American, even without cross-tabs available there is reason to believe Clinton's declining numbers among nonwhite voters are partially responsible for this decline. Certainly, it was the strength of Clinton's support among this polling demographic that assured Clinton of massive delegate hauls in nearly every Southern state: according to CNN exit polling, on March 1st black voters in Mississippi favored Clinton by 77 points, in Georgia by 71 points, in Virginia by 68 points, in Texas by 68 points, in Tennessee by 79 points, in Arkansas by 66 points, and in Alabama by a whopping 85 points.
Now that Clinton's lead among black voters nationwide is fluctuating between the high single-digits and the mid-teens, it appears the sort of voting margins among nonwhite voters that made Clinton's present delegate lead possible are never coming back.
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Case-in-point: last week, Sanders beat Clinton in three of the ten most diverse states in America (Hawaii, Washington, and Alaska) by 39.8 points, 45.6 points, and 61.5 points, respectively.
Yet even after "Western Saturday," the media clung to its narrative that Sanders cannot win among nonwhite voters, arguing -- sometimes implicitly, often explicitly -- that only strong performances among African-American voters would be sufficient to dislodge the narrative the fourth estate has run with about Sanders since late 2015. Indeed, after the release of the latest Marquette University poll in Wisconsin, Harry Enten of FiveThirtyEight.com tweeted, "All I see on the Democratic side is the Marquette poll matching the demographic expectations [in the primary race]."
In fact, the poll showed Clinton leading Sanders among all nonwhite voters by a mere 16 percent.
Again, as a point of comparison, Clinton beat Sanders by 82 points among nonwhite voters in Alabama, by 66 in Arkansas, 62 in Georgia, 71 in Tennessee, 48 in Texas, and 52 in Virginia.
Outcry among Sanders supporters at the false narrative regarding Sanders and nonwhite voters continues to go unheard, even as, today, Public Policy Polling data showed the Senator beating Clinton among black voters in Wisconsin by 11 points. Instead of a mass mea culpa from the media, Sanders supporters were confronted with a Chicago Tribune column, published today, that says of polling in the Democratic primary race, "Of course polls can change, but there's no particular reason to believe they will."
No reason indeed.
Three weeks ago, Sanders won Michigan while losing among nonwhite voters by 29 points. So the 16-point deficit reported by Marquette and the 11-point advantage reported by PPP constitute dramatic improvements for Sanders over even a recent winning performance in the Midwest -- in fact, Sanders' most important win of this election season. This bodes well for Sanders' future performance in other key Midwestern states like Pennsylvania, South Dakota, and Indiana.
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As for Sanders' performance among nonwhite voters in the Northeast -- where New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Jersey voters will head to the polls in the coming weeks -- it's always been substantially stronger than the media, again inexplicably stuck on Deep-South exit polls, has claimed it to be.
In Massachusetts, Sanders lost the nonwhite vote by only 18 points, per CNN exit polling. In New Hampshire, where close to 20,000 nonwhite voters cast ballots back in February, Sanders actually won the nonwhite vote 50 percent to 49 percent.
In short, when the media -- which seems to be reporting election results as though today were the "SEC Primary" -- indicates that Sanders is in trouble in upcoming states with slightly more diverse populations, it's not clear what recent numbers they're looking at. Though the nonwhite voting population in the upcoming primaries and caucuses is exclusively a Midwestern and Northeastern one, the media appears to be ignoring all extant data from Wisconsin, Michigan, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire in favor of exit polls from states -- like Alabama -- that are nothing like these four politically, culturally, or in any other respect.
For those wondering about the exit polls in the Midwestern states that voted in mid-March -- for instance, Illinois, Ohio, and Missouri -- we can say that these, too, show that Clinton's lead among nonwhite voters outside of the Deep South is nothing like it was in those red-state strongholds.
In Illinois, Sanders won Latino voters 50 percent to 49 percent and lost African-American voters by a percentage (-40) midway between his recent, improved performance in Wisconsin and his March 1st performance in the Deep South (-73.5 average). These numbers were born out also in Missouri, where Sanders lost African-American voters by 35 points and nonwhite voters by 23 points. These data aren't surprising or disheartening for Sanders or his supporters -- indeed, the figures, taken together, are almost algebraic -- given that Sanders lost African-American voters by 73.5 points on March 1st, 40 points on March 15th, and was ahead in Wisconsin among this group by 11 points by March 31st.
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In other words, nonwhite voting offers the media a clear and unambiguous narrative about Sanders -- an unmissable trajectory -- if only they're willing to see it.
And the same dramatic trajectory -- albeit in the opposite direction -- is evident for Clinton.
Indeed, putting aside for a moment her loss of support among African-American voters, Clinton has offered the media a narrative of her domination among Latino voters that likewise has taken a serious hit of late.
While Clinton won early voting in Arizona -- which took place around the time of voting in the Deep South -- by a 25.4 percent margin, Election Day and provisional ballots in the heavily Latino state (which all came in as Sanders was decimating Clinton's lead among nonwhite voters in mid-March) favored Sanders 51.4 percent to 48.6 percent (82,470 votes for Sanders, 77,849 for Clinton). Given that Arizona has the sixth-largest Latino population of any American state, it's exceedingly difficult to imagine Sanders beating Clinton in non-early voting there by nearly 3 points without performing exponentially better among Latinos than he had at the beginning of the month (e.g., his 42-point loss among Latinos in Texas on March 1st, which contributed substantially to his 32-point loss in the state).
It's worth noting, too, that Arizona still has thousands of predominantly Sanders-voter provisional ballots to count, so the Senator's 3-point margin in Election Day and provisional voting there is almost certain to widen. And the counties now giving him the largest additional margin in provisional voting are counties with sizable populations of Latino voters.
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In short, there simply is no evidence available to suggest that Hillary Clinton's robust coalition of nonwhite voters still exists -- certainly not in anything like the form it was just four weeks ago. How else to explain an 82-point margin among nonwhite voters in Alabama, and similar margins in every other Southern state, on March 1st, and just a 6-point lead among all Southern Democrats (who are, depending upon the state, between 27 percent and 71 percent African-American) on March 26th?
Indeed, even where Clinton now outperforms Sanders among nonwhite voters, the margin -- when and as there is one -- is perfectly in keeping with competitive politics in the contemporary era. And it is dwarfed, as it happens, by Sanders' lead among other key groups, notably voters under 30 (particularly Latino voters under 30) and independent voters.
The Clinton-Sanders tilt remains at a stage in which nearly all the real-time data favors Sanders, and all the television and print coverage favors Clinton because of a delegate lead she built up during Deep-South voting a month ago. The race as it is being reported therefore bears no relation to the race as it is, which is why the Clinton camp has all but pulled out of Wisconsin -- anticipating a sizable loss there that will emphasize the momentum (actual and internals-supported) Sanders developed in Mountain-state and Western voting over the past two weeks.
Consider: in North Carolina two weeks ago, Sanders handily defeated Clinton among white voters (+9) and narrowly lost among all voters on Election Day (-4). However, the Senator's performance (-61) among African-American voters -- many of whom voted early, well before March 15th -- doomed him to lose the state as a whole by 13.8 percent.
If Sanders had had the African-American support during early voting (and some Election Day voting) in North Carolina that he enjoys today, he would have lost all voting in North Carolina by fewer than four and a half points -- 52.7 percent to 47.3 percent (514,447 for Clinton, 460,828 for Sanders). But here's the key: in a Midwestern or Northeastern state, rather than a Southern one -- indeed, in any state with racial and ethnic demographics in the middle 50 percent of American states -- those same internals would result in a massive Sanders win.
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Which, as it happens, is what the State of Wisconsin may well be for Sanders in just five days.
In other words, hold onto your hats, folks.
"Code like a girl" project leaders
The general perception is that the news industry focuses on negative news because a journalist's job is to highlight the problems and catastrophes of the world and give a voice to the under trodden. It is thought that stories about positive innovations belong to the sphere of PR, communications, and the chaos of social media.
However, another approach to journalism exists. Perhaps the whole story cannot be told without shedding light on how to fix things. In fact, a whole movement around constructive journalism seeks to source and report on solutions, giving nuanced and intelligent analysis to debates about what is wrong with the world. The underlying assumption being that this approach will inspire readers and positively contribute to the development of featured "solutions."
Experimenting with Solutions Journalism
To test these assumptions and help create positive impact for organisations innovatively responding to problems, Sparknews, a social start-up based in Paris, has developed an international editorial operation: Impact Journalism Day, called IJD afterwards. IJD is a collaboration between 50+ prestigious newspapers in more than 40 countries. Every year, they come together to share stories of hope, change, and positive innovation.
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To measure the impact IJD has on the 100 featured projects, Sparknews conducted an impact evaluation, asking all featured organisations to evaluate what changed after being covered in the world's most prestigious media. Did the heightened visibility contribute to their development?
Overwhelmingly, the response was yes, and four main benefits were identified.
1.The Media Magnifies the Visibility of these Organisations
The most obvious positive outcome is an increased visibility, as the publications' renown serves to boost the organization's credibility. Project leaders said that IJD had a positive impact on their project, citing increased visibility in 66% of cases. "The fact that such prestigious media wrote about us means a lot! We always mention it when we're asking for sponsorships or partnerships," says Maria Dermentzi from Code It Like a Girl, a Greek organization that teaches coding to women.
2. Readers Engage with Featured Projects
More than 55% of the project leaders were contacted by intrigued readers after IJD's publication and 57% of the project leaders recorded a major increase in online activity. Organisations can build on the media exposure to strengthen their communities. Lawrence Migliano, from Barefoot College, a non-governmental organization that has been teaching mothers and grandmothers in rural villages to become solar engineers for more than 40 years, told us "our Facebook page grew by over 20,000 likes in the two months following IJD."
3. Reporting on Solutions Leads to Lasting Business Partnerships
Readership engagement is not just about social media and likes: 39% of the projects that reported a need for connections developed new business opportunities thanks to IJD. "This international coverage enabled the company to reach major investors and industrial partners. Algopack signed big contracts worldwide with car manufacturers, phone companies, and food packaging firms," said Remy Lucas, founder of Algopack, an industrial company that makes algae-based packaging material.
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4. Featured Projects Receive Increased Funding
The assessment showed that 42% of the projects in need of more financing received donations and/or investments. One of these was Dar Si Hmad, a Moroccan project which saw an amazing increase in its media coverage from over 60 media outlets that did not participate in IJD. Dar Si Hmad also received unexpected funding, as Marouane Smaili recalls: "we were contacted by a South-African philanthropist (...), he came to visit our center and made a huge donation."
Moving Forward to 2016
2016 will be an interesting year. As the alliance moves to increase the number of partner media in its 4th year, the key word is digitalisation. More digital content, more digital readers, and more digital engagement is key to multiplying the impact of Impact Journalism Day. Join us on Twitter and Facebook to get more information!
By Lise Pretorius, member of the St. Gallen Symposium's global Leaders of Tomorrow community
We are in an age of extreme risk and incredible opportunity. On the one hand we are seeing radical breakthroughs in exponential technologies like 3D printing, robotics and artificial intelligence, giving us the sense that we have never been more advanced. At the same time, the majority of global citizens are excluded from the fruits of growth while the side-effects of growth have piled up to critical levels - we are crossing irrevocable ecological limits, entering an age of water risk and extreme climate risk, and seeing a continuous and untenable rise in the gap between the have's and the have-nots.
How do we measure our progress in this context? If I were to suggest that we sum the market values of things extracted and produced within a country - counting equally the likes of missiles, cigarettes, and educational technology - you might think I was mad. Yet this is what we are doing.
The dominant measure of progress used today is still Gross Domestic Product (GDP), a measure invented in the 1930s when the United States was pulling itself out of the Great Depression. The solution lay in boosting the economy; in maximizing economic growth. But today's global context could not be more different or more complex, not least because many of our global challenges are exactly a result of historic growth. In this context, GDP is not only an ill suited proxy for progress; it is also a dangerous one.
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Consider Africa. The continent is home to a wealth of natural and untapped human capital. But it is also home to some of the world's most crippling social challenges and is extremely vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Consider then what a typical GDP-enhancing investment would look like: a foreign entity sets up shop, enjoys cheap labour and limited environmental regulation, and extracts African natural resources to produce something. Because anything produced (or even extracted - think mining) inside the boarders of a country gets counted in that country's GDP, this will boost GDP. But the profits leave the country, mostly to fill the pockets of foreign shareholders, and what remains is often only enjoyed by a minority elite. Most of the actual resources and products also leave the country. Furthermore, because GDP doesn't take into account the depletion of natural resources, countries do not account for rapid depreciation of their most critical assets.
It is clear that this model suits only a handful of interest groups. Countries can achieve a boost in GDP per capita, enjoy a sense of progress, while achieving little, none, or even negative growth in wellbeing of average citizens. As long as we pay sole tribute to increases in GDP, this model of growth will continue to be justified.
Instead, developing countries - especially in Africa - have an opportunity to do things differently from the start. We have the opportunity to imagine what an economy based on African principles of Ubuntu (human kindness and connectedness), clean technology, and inclusive social systems might look like. And while we still lack a clear roadmap of how to get there, what we do have is a map of paths to avoid. The last 200 years are an encyclopedia of lessons in what works and what doesn't, for what causes financial instability, unhappiness, distrust, and environmental collapse.
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We also have lessons to learn from the pioneers who braved to do things differently. In 1972, the Fourth King of Bhutan took the lead in critically rejecting a GDP based model, stating that the country would focus instead on policies that increase the Gross National Happiness (GNH) of its people. This leadership from Bhutan - at the time just philosophical - subsequently inspired a range of new global indices based on more holistic measures of growth and progress. Since 2008 Bhutan has actively been measuring GNH through an index via a national survey. The aim is to detect where, why and for whom wellbeing is high or low so that policy can be adjusted accordingly.
What can we learn from Bhutan?
At the very least, that the path is not straightforward. In the six months I spent in Bhutan in 2014, I talked to people from all walks of life about GNH in practice. At one conference where topics included "Imagine what a GNH economy might look like", and "Is Gross National Happiness thinking applied in economic policies and activities?", there was a sense of uncertainty regarding how to imagine, create, and achieve a GNH economy on the ground.
For starters, the ingredients that are needed are not always easy to achieve. For example, countries need accurate data on all natural and social capital (which do not have market values) to optimize tradeoffs between these and economic capital.
Secondly, they need buy-in from society. While there is no lack of political will for GNH in Bhutan, the country is now also a democratic constitutional monarchy, meaning that the wants of the people tend to sway governance priorities. For example, many of the urban youth, who spend weekends in bars and clubs, want to experience the life of Western-type consumerism but face realities of unemployment and limited economic opportunities. It is clear, in other words, that the country has not totally escaped the pressure to pursue a GDP-based development policy, even if it is carefully trying to strike the right balance.
I would like to see African nations deciding for themselves what progress looks like. I would like to see this translated into policy, and then into action. It will mean pursuing a specific type of growth as a means to achieving things like inclusive technologies, sustainable energy systems, and circular, ecologically regenerative business models. It will also mean forgoing the types of growth that undermine these ends, and agreeing on a measure of progress that will, without exaggeration, guide the evolution of the human race.
"Of course there is a difference between the two political parties. The Republicans bend over backwards for the bankers and the money interests. The Democrats are completely the opposite. They bend over forward."
-- Swami Beyondananda
Nearly two years ago, I posted a piece called Independents Day - A People's Upwising, and cited a Gallup poll from early 2014 that indicated that more American voters (42%) identified themselves as "independents" than those who identified as Democrats (31%) or Republicans (25%).
While those statistics may have seemed a bit abstract two years ago, the 2016 electoral campaign is proving them out, left and right. It should be obvious by now that both the upstart Bernie Sanders campaign and the frighteningly successful Trump campaign are running hard against the establishment on both sides. Notice how quickly neocon Jeb Bush and stealth-neocon Marco Rubio were dismissed by the angry conservative electorate. And Bernie continues to "bern" despite the dismissal attack by the mainstream press, and the condescending Hillary campaign.
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To me, this indicates a "people's upwising" where a critical mass of the heretofore-uncritical masses are recognizing that the neocon/neoliberal establishment do not have the best interests of the people in mind or at heart. Consequently, awakening citizens on both sides are throwing their support behind the candidates who appear more authentic, more truthful and less willing or able to be manipulated by the "controllers."
In the longer run, this offers great possibilities for a new transpartisan sensibility, where left and right come front and center, liberate themselves from the safe yet limiting confines of ideology, and find practical, heartful solutions together. In cultivating the functional aspects of both "progressive" and "conservative" we can ask the sane and generative questions, "How do we wish to progress?" and "What do we want to conserve?"
That will have to wait until 2017.
In the short-run, we are faced with a stark contrast: Go backward toward rule by the lowest common dominator, or follow the path of evolution forward to the new paradigm, "we're all in this together."
In a slightly better Universe -- the one where George W. Bush would have become Baseball Commissioner in 1994 instead of President in 2000 - Donald Trump would be entertaining millions as star of a hit sitcom, "My Favorite Muslim". Instead he is the front-runner Republican candidate for President.
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This may be the best thing that could ever happen to America at a pivotal point in humanity's history.
Huh?
Donald Trump is the American shadow come alive, the contradictory idiocy of Republican ideology (religious fundamentalism and social Darwinism) come back to drive a stake through that party's heartlessness. He is a bombastic narcissist, an Enneagram 8 who is dangerously seductive because he believes his own bullshit. He is the patriarchy on steroids. His position - completely understandable from the old paradigm point of view - is that America has been at a disadvantage because it has failed to dominate. The Donald - or as we call him, T-Rump - will remedy that. He will take orders from no one, develop policy on the fly, and treat his opponents like he treats protestors at his rallies, with thuggery. He is a Mussolini with much more intelligence and resourcefulness than that two-bit dictator. Trump promises to be a four-bit dictator.
And yet, with everything he has going for him, Donald Trump is on the wrong side of evolution. Bernie - or at least an open system where cooperation, transparency and justice are seen as way more efficient than dominate-or-be-dominated - is the future. Notice that the young people are ignoring Hillary, and flocking to Bernie. That's because they understand that Bernie is about taking back ownership of our government, and that portends well for every issue where the well-being of the commonwealth has been at odds with the agenda of the uncommonly wealthy.
On the positive side, Trump is trumpeting some truths that are very discomforting to the establishment. On the even more positive side, a larger truth is emerging that the more libertarian supporters of Trump are coming to recognize as well: The dominator paradigm is obsolete, and obsolethal.
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As Bruce Lipton and I write in Spontaneous Evolution, every evolutionary phase is characterized by expanded awareness and expanded community. That's why Bruce, as a cellular and evolutionary biologist, suggests that the next phase of human evolution is recognizing we are all cells in a super-organism called Humanity. If that is true, then warfare and the more toxic forms of competition are really autoimmune disorders, stealing our collective energy that could be used to restore our planet and provide a real life for the human inhabitants of Gaia (the ones Swami refers to as "You Gaians"). And - I've said it before and it bears repeating - if we would call this notion utopian, our bodies would simply call it "health".
Trump is about "me" - the strong leader, while Bernie is about "we", as in "we are the leaders we have been waiting for."
Regardless of the results in November - Bernie, Trump, Hillary, or some Manchurian candidate the Republicans come up with to stop Trump - the one thing for certain is that the awakening that has manifested as the Bernie campaign will grow, and grow and grow. The Trump movement will be limited by the limited beliefs of Trumpism. Consider please that 35% of Republican voters will translate into no more than 20% of all voters.
Meanwhile, work for Bernie. He has a much, much better chance than Hillary to overwhelmingly trounce Trump, sending the dominator mentality back to the dinosaur era where it belongs. If we the people win this one - first Bernie's nomination, and then his election -- it will be the hugest win in recent history, one that will empower us way past the Democratic Party. Consider that pivotal moment in Gandhi's movement when he realized the native population of India outnumbered the British colonials by 300,000 to one.
Mock my words -- this peoples' upwising will shoot way past Bernie and even left-wing ideology. It will initiate a truly generative conversation among awakening citizens of all political stripes and finally provide a transpartisan, trans-religious and trans-ideological counterpoint to a political system of "winners and losers" where very few win, and the vast majority of us lose.
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As for Donald Trump, it makes sense to recognize him as the worthy adversary in the hero's journey of We the People. He's strong, he's clever, he's lucky and he is used to winning.
And ... he is making us stronger.
He is calling forth something in the 65% of us who don't want to live in a fascist dictatorship - AND who are coming to recognize the "soft totalitarianism" of the corporate state. The threat of Trumpism is awakening and encouraging those who would have timidly given into the "lesser evil" and voted for Hillary.
Any other year, Hillary would have won it. This year Trump could win it, which is why we MUST.
Across the globe, many students with disabilities face challenges in accessing high-quality education. Longstanding misconceptions exist regarding the capabilities of children with intellectual, physical, sensory, and learning disabilities to benefit from formal education. These misunderstandings have, for generations, driven educators to deny these students access to formal schooling.
I recently had the great privilege to participate in the World Down Syndrome Day events at the United Nations. My role was to represent the research community and share evidence on how education shapes the academic and social development of students with disabilities. Citing findings from a set of quasi-experimental studies conducted in the U.S., Europe and South America, I argued that inclusive educational settings -- those in which children with disabilities are educated alongside their typically developing peers -- can confer substantial short- and long-term benefits for children.
As a researcher, I put my faith in evidence that is generated from rigorously conducted evaluations, reviewed by panels of experts, and shown to be replicable in multiple contexts. Research of this type of evidence offers useful guidance to policymakers, educators, and parents. It is how we know that the inclusion of students with disabilities in general education classrooms can support the development of disabled and non-disabled students.
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Beyond numbers, evidence of the deeper benefits of inclusion is most apparent in the stories of people's experiences.
Throughout the World Down Syndrome Day event, people with Down syndrome discussed how being included in their families, schools, and communities helped them build rich and fulfilling lives. Aleksandar Matovski, a high school senior from Macedonia, described how being included throughout primary and secondary school led him to develop deep interests in poetry, music, and karate. French disability rights activist Antoine Fontenit discussed how being included as a young person helped him learn the skills necessary to hold a job, live independently, and participate in the political life of his community. New Jersey teenager AnnaRose Rubright spoke of how lifelong inclusion in her school and community has both helped prepare her to attend college and a work full-time. Equally important, she noted how inclusion allowed her to form a group of close friends with whom to share the joys and struggles of everyday life.
A number of the speakers remarked how they and other people with Down syndrome have the same aspirations as everyone else. They want opportunities to learn, to work, to live independently, to make positive contributions to their community, to love and be loved.
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The speakers at World Down Syndrome Day also spoke out about the challenges of exclusion. Speakers noted that their greatest challenges in achieving their goals are never chromosomal. Their greatest barriers stem from the ignorance, fear, and prejudice of non-disabled people.
Acts of exclusion can be intentional and obvious. One speaker described being excluded from a preschool program dance recital because the teacher felt concerned that she would not perform the routine correctly. Another speaker relayed a story of being separated from her date at the movies so that another, typically developing couple could sit together. Other times, speakers noted, discrimination can be more subtle and can be found in strangers' curious stares and pitying gestures.
These personal stories aligned well with research evidence on the impacts of inclusive education. A preponderance of research evidence indicates that students with disabilities who are included in regular classrooms have stronger skills in reading and mathematics, have higher rates of school attendance, are less likely to have behavior problems, and are more likely to complete secondary school when compared to otherwise similar students educated in segregated settings. Among children with Down syndrome, there is substantial evidence that the amount of time spent with typically developing peers is associated with a range of academic and social benefits, such as improved memory and stronger language and literacy skills.
The remarks I heard at World Down Syndrome Day also show that true inclusion for people with disabilities must extend beyond the classroom and into the daily interactions between people with and without disabilities. The good news is that evidence suggests that inclusion can promote broader acceptance. Typically developing students who attended inclusive schools have demonstrated less prejudice, and patronizing, or pitying behaviors toward students with Down syndrome when compared to students who attended non-inclusive schools.
For this past month, Ive loved learning more about power-women in history and the mark theyve made on the world. It also has me thinking a lot about the many women I get to meet through this work who are changing lives and communities, every day. These are the women who are making history by serving others.
Its become a wonderful tradition: every year in March, we celebrate women who have changed history. Their rosters (see: #womenshistorymonth) include CEOs and seamstresses; soldiers and civil rights activists; athletes, autoworkers and astronauts; artists, educators and inventors. And this year, the UNs International Womens Day heralded the accomplishments and struggles of women around the globe. Companies like Microsoft have added their might to the call for gender equality in opportunity. I loved this piece that honored women inventors and asked, What are you going to make? Its a powerful message from a powerhouse brand, and it made a difference.
Another powerhouse brand making a special mark this month, is LOreal Paris, who announced this years call for nominations for their Women of Worth program. From now through April 29, you can nominate a woman who is igniting social change on a local, national or global level. Following a rigorous review of thousands of nominations, 10 women are recognized with grants of $10,000 each to benefit their causes and get the opportunity to share their stories with the world. Over the last decade, LOreal has recognized 100 Women of Worth and awarded more than $1 million to advance their programs. This inspiring roster includes college students and CEOs; activists, attorneys and athletes; soldiers, educators; moms, daughters, and sisters, too.
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Women like Lisa Williams, whose work has saved lives and whose advocacy has helped to change laws to combat human trafficking in Georgia. And Maria Rose Belding, a college student who created MEANS and has changed the way food pantries get food to 1,800 community agencies in 15 states. And Teri Kelsall, who, after losing her son Jonas, a Navy SEAL killed while serving in Afghanistan in 2011, started the Jonas Project to help veteran entrepreneurs develop business plans, pursue startup capital and launch new lives and careers. And Kathy Koeningsdorf a New York mother who lost her son Jake to heroin, and then devoted her life to finding and funding lifesaving treatment for substance abusers who want help but cant afford to go to a treatment center. Thats what keeps people healthy connection, Kathy says. These women are changing lives and laws, theyre making a difference and they are making their mark on history.
Im so proud that Points of Light has partnered with LOreal on this incredible program for more than ten years, and I hope youll nominate a Woman of Worth in your life.
By now, I am tired of reading article after article about the future of Pakistan being in peril and acutely aware of the impending risks. It has all been said already, the hypocrisy of the government, the affair of the country with the Taliban, the spread of radical thought and intolerance of minorities. At times I get angry; sometimes deeply frustrated but then I just deny it all even exists, for the love of the country of my origin. Then, a heart wrenching tragedy occurs where it is no longer possible for me to look away.
March 27th marked such a day, where this sadness stared at me right in the eye and I thought, "Is there a bigger testimony to the loss of the future than scooping up the bodies of children from a playground?"
May I dare point out the cliche that our children are the future of our country?
How can we save our children from our own people and the tragedies that follow them to our schools and playgrounds?
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It was not too long ago when we observed the anniversary of APS attacks in Peshawar and now this carnage. The Lahore attacks have been devastating and are a despicable act of cowardice. Anyone who selects children as a target of their terror has to have tremendous conviction of the rightfulness of such an act of horror. I wonder, exactly what kind of mind set allows such a delusion?
A way of thinking that is absolute and non negotiable which justifies extinguishing a human life and that too of a child.
As a psychiatrist, a big part of my work with patients involves helping them problem solve about an issue that causes them distress. As their doctor and therapist, I help them look at their problems from a different perspective, a different point of view and understanding. Thinking patterns are deeply engrained in people and it requires considerable effort and skill to assist them with such changes.
It also takes a long time to help them see the fallacies in their thinking and then for them take proper action to rectify them. Majority of the time, these are thinking patterns that evolved in their childhood and are internalized through their upbringing, education, family values and their culture.
Then I think about my country of origin where I grew up and wonder what has gone wrong with the thought process of our nation? What bothers me even more is how we are raising our children that are vulnerable to such radical thought. This radicalization did not happen overnight but slowly over an entire generation.
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Pakistan today hardly reflects the tolerant Pakistan that I experienced as a child. I grew up in the late 70s and 80s, where the wave of radicalization, though begun, but had not turned into a tsunami of death and destruction. Most of my education was in a school established by Zoroastrian philanthropists. I routinely sat in a classroom of children with different religions. Many of my teachers came from faiths besides Islam. We felt safe in our environment. We ate together and played together. Every morning in the assembly we said a prayer, sang our national anthem and poetry by Allama Iqbal (the national poet of Pakistan), asking the Almighty to make us the light that makes way for others. We were in it together in peace and harmony.
Every so often, there was a comment of intolerance that was brushed off by the tolerant majority. An incident happened that I remember to this day. I was in third grade and my best friend was a girl by the name of Rita. We often shared our lunch. One day a class mate of mine said to me, "You shouldn't eat what Rita brings!"
I was puzzled, "But why?" I was quite distraught at the proposition of not having a piece of her aloo-paratha (potato stuffed flat bread) that her mother always neatly folded in her tiffin box.
She said "Because she is Hindu!". I don't remember much except for going home and asking my mother what is wrong with the food that Rita brings from her home.
I can't recall what my mom said but it was something to the effect of, "She doesn't know what she is talking about and that before partition Hindus and Muslims lived together in the same country." I was very relieved that I wouldn't be deprived of my daily cut of Rita's paratha.
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The only time, I felt a difference between myself and others was during the compulsory "Islamiyat" class (study of Islam) when the non-Muslim girls would go to get a civics lesson while we stayed in the classroom for our "Islamiyat" class. Those classes were mandated and in the tenth grade exam overseen by the Sind Board of Education, "Islamic Studies" was a mandatory course.
I had heard that students never score high grades in Civics while getting a 80 plus marks was possible in Islamic studies. Looking back, it seemed like institutional discrimination at the level of the Board of Education. I also vaguely remember that the Sunni curriculum was different than the Shia curriculum. The only reason I felt thankful for being a Sunni is one question on the exam was always about writing the character sketch of one of the Caliphs and since they were only four in number, I had less studying to do than my Shia classmates who had to memorize the lives of the twelve Imams in addition. It was only one month ago that I asked my father exactly which Sunni sect we belonged to since there had been so much talk about Barelvis, Deobandis, Wahabis and Salafis. He gave me an answer but I realized the answer really did not matter.
My college education was at a former Catholic college that had been "nationalized" and used to be run by nuns until the government decided that it could no longer be that. My English and Physics teachers were both Christians by faith. This never came up as an issue for the staff or the students. We routinely heard the sounds of the bells from the nearby church and it was nothing but routine life for us at college.
The medical school that I studied at was founded by The Aga Khan of the Ismaili Sect of Muslims and our logo carries a verse from the Quran from the Surah Al-Imran.
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"And hold on to the rope of Allah and do not become divided".
We lived that verse in our actions throughout our medical training.
But somewhere things changed deeply in the culture of my country. It was a slow insidious process that spread quietly throughout our educational system and over all. It started with the "nationalization process" in the 70s and progressively causes deterioration of the school and colleges. I remember that all government schools had a chalky yellow "shalwar kameez" (traditional pant and shirt) uniform and the term "Peelay school kay" (the one wearing yellow to school) was considered an insult.
It was our fathers and grandfathers that witnessed the transition of the system along with constant import of radical thought and ideas from outside. I look back and wish that they had stood up for their children then.
I wish they had said "no" to the enforcing of extreme views in our country. I wish they had besieged the capital and demanded the government of a dictator to stop harboring and nurturing jihadists, no matter how much money it brought to the country from the west or elsewhere.
Today I mourn, not just the children that died in the APS and Lahore but all children of my country. I grieve that we have failed to teach our children tolerance and humanity in the last twenty years and this has led them to become radicalized adults.
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Is our educational system encouraging critical thinking or harboring divisiveness?
I read more and more about people demanding action against the terrorist in the country but very little is being done to prevent turning our children into radicals.
As a physician, it's important to treat the disease but there has to be appropriate measure to prevent the occurrence of the disease. In my previous article on the cancer of extremism, I used the cancer metaphor for extremism and radical thought and carrying that forward, we must take bold steps to eliminate all the factors that lend our children susceptible to this cancer. Prevention has to be the goal along with eradication of terrorism today. Reform must occur in the thoughts of our people especially the young minds that are actively imbibing the messages of hate rampant throughout their surroundings.
Tolerance and humanity has to be part of the educational curriculum. Our children need to learn that goodness comes from an individual's actions and contribution to the society, not merely following of religious doctrine.
Why do we have only one Maulana Edhi in a country of a few billion? Why is Pakistan not giving birth to humanitarians and philanthropists consistently?
We have become a merely a herd that is being pushed by an extremist agenda. Plagued by mistrust and conspiracy theories, we have been deprived of the ability to think rationally. The voices that speak against the extremism are targeted by bullets and either they comply or leave.
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Are the children of my country really alive?
Are their souls breathing clean air of humanity or are they are being poisoned to hate their own?
They are growing up in a country where murderers can be martyrs and women's right to protection are protested. A country where a Nobel Prize is seen as disgrace and treason, can we teach our children to have high aims? A person who chops off his own hand for the sake of the Prophet becomes a hero and yet the Prophet's message of love and forgiveness does not resonate with anyone?
I look back and see how despite going to a good English medium school, we still had limits to expanding our minds. We were fed history of glorified conquests of Muslim rulers, narratives of Muslim kings who established kingdom in non-Muslim lands and of the lost glory of Islam. The mandatory Pakistan Studies pushed patriotism without due reflection on the actions of our rulers post-partition.
The curriculum focused on the fantasy of the rise of Muslims in the world again. I had hoped for that too, through advances of knowledge, education and scientific excellence, that hoping we will have pioneers and researchers like the time of Al-Beruni . I had never imagined that things would unfold as death and destruction as being the path to eternal glory. The two decades of extreme thought has resulted in a 30 some year old Mumtaz Qadri and what has followed his execution.
In the incessant and rabid pursuit of religious teachings without due thought and understanding, our humanity has lost its way.
The time has come to advocate tolerance and discourage extremism right from the root. It has to start within our homes and our communities and in our schools. There have been calls for regulation of seminaries which is very much needed along with changes in the curriculum in the mainstream schools. The current curriculums are deficient and biased.
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A complete overhaul of our system of education is severely needed.
I cannot deny that there are issues that have pushed our youth towards radical thought including lack of economic opportunities, senseless bureaucracy, drone attacks and persistent intervention of the west, but the seeds of this crop were already planted by our own policy makers and governments two to three decades ago. A multi-step intervention is required but we should not lose sight of the generation that is currently being raised.
So, I look back and wonder who killed the children in Peshawar and Lahore? Was it a bomb or the hateful ideology of an intolerant society?
Are we not killing our own children little by little every day?
101India/ YouTube
With their series on LGBTQ Indians coming out from all across the country, youth-based portal 101 India has opened up a very raw, albeit realistic side to the lives they lead. The stories featured on the website highlight their as well as their family's fears of being treated as outcasts in a society that is still largely conservative and unwilling to accept alternative sexuality as 'normal'.
This is something that crops up in every story and raises the question on how relevant society's role in determining one's sexual preference really is.
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The hatred and fear they face throughout childhood is a constant theme depicted in these videos. Their fights for acceptance make a compelling case for breaking the silence around this topic, and how much love and normalcy there is once their natural state of being is acknowledged and accepted.
Take the case of 25-year-old Gautam, a homosexual activist diagnosed with HIV, who lives with his parents in Delhi. On finding out about his sexual preferences, his father who previously was completely oblivious to gender preferences beyond male and female, said he wished he had known about it before so he could have helped him from the very beginning.
On being tentatively questioned about marriage by his mother in order to change his mind, he responded sharply. My question to her was would she be happy if my sister was married to a man as myself who gets sodomised would you let her marry such a man? he says.
Gaurav says he was saved from the burden of splitting his personality to be someone else at home and someone outside. He even contends that contracting the HIV virus has actually proved to be a good friend, by teaching him about the value of life.
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25-year-old Justine, a bisexual woman from Mumbai, is living proof of loves infinite boundaries and how it cannot be confined to gender. If I find an emotional intellectual attraction to someone, it doesnt matter if its a man or a woman, she says in the video.
Justines mother has accepted her daughter's sexual preferences. According to what I think is that Jesus, if he is so crazy about her, hell accept her anyway she is, so I should accept her anyway she is, as well, she says.
The video depicts scenes from Justines life, her ex, her friends, her love for swimming and her two careers, building a sense of how normal her lifestyle really is, and showing how others choose to mar it with their prejudices. At a subconscious level, Justine compares her vegetable guys incredible reaction to that of the governments. I think the government problem is more about the act of sex than two people of the same sex having a relationship together, she says (on the other hand, her vegetable guy thinks that if LGBTQ members are suppressed, then something wrong will happen).
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Chanchal Jain, a trans-man from Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, didnt have the best experience coming out to his mother, but his fathers immediate reaction took his breath away. "He simply asked me if I wanted to undergo the surgery, and I said, 'yes! That's why I am telling you!," remembers Jain.
Jain, who is currently undergoing sex reassignment surgery, always wondered why he didnt have a penis even when he knew he was a boy on the inside. Wearing a skirt was like being naked in the middle of the market, he admits in the video, while his parents reveal that he seemed to relish the short haircut he was given because it was just like a boy. Jain, while knowing what he was, didn't know how to explain it, and spent years trying to find a plausible answer, which was finally revealed when he saw a "transgender episode on Satyamev Jayate".
His girlfriend who says it didnt matter to her whether he gets the surgery or not is also an ardent supporter, and the happy couple hope to get married someday.
Click here to check out other inspiring stories featured by 101 India.
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CIA personnel left "explosive training material" under the hood of a Loudoun County, Virginia school bus after performing training exercises using the school bus last week. That very same bus was then used to shuttle elementary and high school students to and from school on the following Monday and Tuesday with that explosive material still inside the engine compartment.
CIA says the material was 'harmless.' Whatever, shit happens, right?
The CIA and Loudoun County officials released statements today on the matter.
The material was determined to have been used during a recent joint canine training led by the CIA at Briar Woods High School in Ashburn, Va. during the week of Spring Break (March 21-March 24). Similar training is conducted with other local public safety and federal agencies in the region throughout the year. As part of the training exercise last week, canine explosive detection training was conducted in areas inside and outside of the high school. During the outside portion of the training, the training material was hidden inside an engine compartment of the bus. At some point, a portion of the material from the container appears to have been dislodged from the container and fell into the engine compartment of the bus and was not recovered following the training.
Oops.
The Washington Post has a report:
The Loudoun County Sheriff's Office and the CIA said in statements Thursday that the explosive material was left behind after a training exercise at Briar Woods High School during spring break. The CIA said it was a training scenario for explosives-detecting dogs. CIA officials said in a statement that the material "did not pose a danger to passengers on the bus," which was used on March 28 and 29. Authorities held a joint training program at Briar Woods from March 21 to 24. Loudoun schools spokesman Wayde Byard said the CIA indicated the nature of the material but asked the school system not to disclose it. Byard described it as a "putty-type" material designed for use on the battlefield and which requires a special detonator; such putty, or plastic, explosives including the well-known C-4 are used in demolition and are considered stable.
Officials said they checked all other buses at the school as a precaution.
"CIA left explosive material on Loudoun school bus after training exercise" [washingtonpost.com, via @emmersbrown]
"Loudoun Officials Meet with CIA Regarding Discovery of Explosive Training Material" [loudoun.gov]
Godong/UIG via Getty Images Mosque in The Darul Uloom Deoband, an Islamic school in India where the Deobandi Islamic movement was started.
Joining the debate over chanting 'Bharat mata ki jai', prominent Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband has issued an edict asking Muslims to refrain from raising the slogan as it is "akin to idol-worship" which is against the tenets of Islam.
"We received thousands of queries on the issue so Darul Uloom Deoband has issued a 'fatwa' saying 'Bharat mata ki Jai' is not in consonance with Islam and we will not say it. But we love our country immensely and we can raise slogans like 'Hindustan Zindabad' and 'Madre Vatan'.
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"It is not allowed in Islam to represent the country as a Goddess' idol and raise slogans hailing her," said Ashram Usmani, public relations officer of the seminary.
The fatwa states that only a human can give birth to a human, so how can the country be called 'mother'.
RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat had stirred a controversy with his remark that the younger generation needed to be taught to hail "Mother India".
In apparent retaliation, AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi had said he would not chant 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' as he was not obliged to do it under the Constitution and that he would not do so even if a "knife is put to my throat".
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The issue triggered a political slugfest with the Shiv Sena, BJP and other parties slamming the Hyderabad MP over his stand. Maharashtra Assembly suspended an AIMIM MLA after he refused to chant the slogan, while the Madhya Pradesh Assembly passed a censure motion against Owaisi.
Amid the raging row, Bhagwat said just days ago that nobody needs to be forced to raise the slogan and that efforts should be made to build a "great" India that is hailed across the globe voluntarily.
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The India Today Group via Getty Images NEW DELHI, INDIA MARCH 28: Members of the Pakistan's Joint Investigation Team formed to probe into the Pathankot airbase attack, arrive at the National Investigation Agency (NIA) headquarters in New Delhi.(Photo by India Today Group/Getty Images/India Today Group/Getty Images)
Following the Pakistani Joint Investigation Teams India visit to probe into the Pathankot airbase attack that killed seven Indian soldiers, an investigation team from India will now visit the neighbouring country for investigation.
The Joint Investigation Team (JIT) from Pakistan, which on Friday concluded its six-day discussions with the National Investigation Agency (NIA), has welcomed the Indian agencys proposal to visit Pakistan for probe.
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Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Friday said that no date has been fixed yet for the visit of the Indian investigation team to Pakistan.
The meeting between Indian and Pakistani investigators has been "positive" and the Pakistani side "has not contradicted" India's findings in the Pathankot airbase attack probe, he said.
They (Pakistani team) have not contradicted our findings. It all went well and satisfactorily. Our agencies have done whatever was necessary," he said.
The Pakistani team was handed over some more documents which included DNA report of the four terrorists killed in the 80-hour gun battle with security forces.
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Rijiju earlier had defended the decision to allow a Pakistani team to visit the IAF base to probe the terror strike saying no one should do politics on national security issues.
Congress, Aam Aadmi Party and Shiv Sena had criticised the government for allowing the Pakistani team to visit the forward airbase in Punjab.
The NIA has already handed over a list of 300 questions besides seeking voice samples of Jaish Chief Maulana Masood Azhar, his brother Abdul Rauf and Khayyam Baber (mother of slain terrorist Nasir). Nasir was claimed to have spoken to his mother during the attack.
The NIA sought access to Azhar and Rauf and told the visiting team that till the time India's request was pending with authorities in Islamabad, it would like the Pakistani JIT to question them about their role in the attack on the air base and hand over their statement to the Indian agency.
Kumar said the Pakistani side informed the NIA team that one of the Jaish handlers Kashif Jaan, who is believed to have accompanied the terrorists up to the border was missing ever since his name surfaced and assured that Pakistani police was looking for him.
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NIA also identified another Jaish terrorist Shahid Latif as one of the handlers of the Pathankot perpetrators and sought his thorough interrogation, Kumar said, adding details about 'Al Rehmat Trust' run by JeM were also sought from them.
Details of two websites, which carried a message of Abdul Rauf after the terror strike, were also shared with them and they were asked to provide details for the same, he said. Both the websites have gone off the Internet.
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Pacific Press via Getty Images KOLKATA, WEST BENGAL, INDIA - 2016/03/31: At least 22 people have been killed and several injured after an under construction flyover collapsed in near Ganesh Talkies ( Girish Park), North Kolkata. Several people are still trapped under the debris. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee cancelled her political rally for upcoming state legislative election and superintendence the rescue operation. (Photo by Saikat Paul/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)
As the brassy 'Breaking News' logo swept across the television screens in the newsroom yesterday, my first impulse was to reach for the phone and call my brother. He works in a mall, several kilometres away from Posta in north Kolkata where the flyover had collapsed. Ideally, he should have been safe. But what if he was at a client meeting somewhere near? What if he was meeting friends for a cha break between meetings? What if he was just in one of the cabs passing under the flyover? After all, it's a route taken by thousands of people everyday to travel.
He was fine, he said, slamming the phone down hastily. He had to make calls to make sure friends who worked nearby are safe.
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My next call was to one of my closest friends, a journalist, often out on the streets for stories. A guy who loves taking long walks, especially in the crumbly, warm, north Kolkata bylanes. He was fine too.
After a couple of calls and WhatsApp messages made to make sure the most important people in my life, most of them in my hometown Kolkata, were safe, a strange anxiety still left my stomach in knots. As television cameras swooped down on huge chunks of concrete and rods twisted out of shape, crushed cars jutting out from under them, people reaching out from under the debris to beg for water, it crossed my mind, could there be anyone I know trapped, fighting for their lives? There was a fair possibility there was. Having spent a better half of my life in Kolkata, I know innumerable people in the city. And every situation I imagined my brother and my friend to be in, as I mentioned in the beginning of this article, applies to each one of these people I know or half-know.
It crossed my mind, could there be anyone I know trapped, fighting for their lives?
Girls from my schools whose pictures with their fat-cheeked babies I dutifully like on Facebook. Boys from my college who have gone back to teach in the city, and whose angry status messages I gawk at and crib about in equal parts. Parents of school classmates just getting a hang of Facebook and its tagging business. Colleagues from the first job who I haven't spoken to in ages, but whose articles occasionally surface on my timeline. Sources who have helped me get great interviews. Public relations professionals who I have chased and chased away alternatively. People, human beings, I may not actively engage with, but people I'd still like to know are safe, alive.
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A general view of the under-construction flyover that collapsed in Kolkata.
While some people I knew started sharing articles, helpline numbers, information on Facebook soon after, thereby indicating they are fine, some others resorted to Facebook's safety button. And no sooner than they did that, telling people who may care that they are fine, another group of Facebook users surfaced cracking loud jokes about the futility of the process. "Really, can we mark ourselves dead?", "Dude, ABC was watching a movie in south Kolkata. Why has he marked himself safe? He wasn't even there!" The point of the the 'safety button' is precisely that, to indicate you weren't in the vicinity of the site of the tragedy. But that was lost in loud cackles, studied cynicism and the general social media compulsion to say something 'different', to be 'cooler' than the rest.
All that is probably fine the very premise of social media is to focus on the what you want the world to know you as but it's misguided in times like this.
Let's get this straight: the road on which the flyover collapsed is an arterial road. It connects the entire northern half of Kolkata to its busy suburb Howrah, which also boasts of arguably the most important junction stations in the state. If you have spent most of your life in the city like me, could someone you have known been a victim of the disaster? Face it, yes. It's fine if you think you don't need to tell the world that you are safe, but what sense does it make to pick on those who do? Sitting in Delhi, as Facebook status messages and safety button notifications kept popping up on my notifications, the deep anxiety that clawed at the back of my throat ebbed a little. Little, because nothing can quite smother either the feeling of how fragile our lives are in the stone-and-concrete, self-assured looking cities. Or the taste that the knowledge of death and devastation leave in the back of our throats. But it's a selfish, but hugely reassuring feeling when you find out people who you know have been caused no harm. It's strange, but it's human.
As Facebook status messages kept popping up, the deep anxiety that clawed at the back of my throat ebbed a little.
Why does our blood run cold when terrorists gun down children in a school in a Pakistan province many of us can't even point out in the map? Why do our stomachs churn when a flight crashes in a continent we have never been to? Why do we feel just that wee bit glum when we spot a Facebook acquaintance RIP-ing a teacher, a friend, a relative we have never known? That's because of this curious gift called empathy. And our knowledge of how mortality works.
Like my friend and photographer Shan Bhattacharya pointed out on Facebook, people marking themselves safe in Kolkata right now aren't quite endorsing an offensive political agenda. At its worst, it's just a harmless, if slightly lazy, attempt to let people who may care you're fine. At it's best, it's a way to tell people who care there are many who do that you're safe and alive. It doesn't really deserve the bile that has come its way.
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Mail Today via Getty Images MUMBAI, INDIA i JULY 23: Pratyusha Banerjee, who plays the new grown-up Anandi in the serial Ballika Vadhu, during a press conference in Mumbai on July 23, 2010. (Photo by Yogen Shah/India Today Group/Getty Images)
Actress Pratyusha Banerjee, best known for her role as Anandi in one of the most popular TV dramas Balika Vadhu, allegedly killed herself by hanging from the ceiling fan here in suburban Mumbai on Friday afternoon.
The actress was in a relationship with producer Rahul Raj Singh, who rushed her to the hospital according to news reports. The actress was living in with Singh in Oshiwara in Andheri.
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It is being speculated that their relationship was troubled.
Banerjee, who was also a contestant on Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 5, Power Couple and was one of the housemates on Bigg Boss 7 on Colors, was rushed to Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in Andheri around 6 pm.
Actor Ajaz Khan, Banerjees co-contestant and friend, told Zee News that he suspected foul play.
The Pratyusha we knew could have never committed suicide. I saw her body, she had some marks on her face and her lips were dry. I think it is not a suicide, Khan told the news channel.
Banerjee has worked in Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya (TV series) in 2014 and was last seen in Hum Hain Na as the main female lead.
A police team is carrying out a search operation at her residence for evidence and suicide note and is waiting for her parents to arrive in Mumbai for further questioning.
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lineartestpilot via Getty Images cartoon school boy
It's every teacher's aspiration to shape a generation of honest and fearless children who would not hesitate to do the right thing. Recently a teacher at a CBSE school in Kolkata was reminded by a fourth grader how much those lessons imparted during school hours and at home impact young minds.
A boy at Kolkata's Birla Bharati school was brought to book by the class monitor for allegedly spitting on a classmate. When substitute teacher, Malini Chatterjee, asked him to apologize to his classmate, the boy, Aditya, did so without hesitation. But soon after, he broke down in tears. What Chatterjee found out was deeply touching.
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She shared her experience in a Facebook post.
I was doing a substitution in the fourth grade for a colleague of mine who could not make it to school that day. After... Posted by Malini Chatterjee on Thursday, March 31, 2016
"This incident really moved me. So I thought of sharing. We all were like Aditya one day but time and situation have actually changed us," Chatterjee told HuffPost India.
Never change, Aditya.
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It's been two days since the first article detailing the contents of a trove of leaked emails from Unaoil, an obscure family company from Monaco that was revealed to be the fixers in a global web of bribery in corruption that helped the biggest blue-chip companies on earth loot the oil-fields of some of the world's most vulnerable, poor, and war-torn nations.
Following the revelations, the police in Monaco have raided the offices of Unaoil, while Australian, UK and US cops announced investigations into the companies named in the dump. Peter Gregg, now CEO of Australia's Primary Health Care, has been revealed as being under criminal investigation for a $15 million payment from when he was CFO of intfrastructure giant Leighton Holdings (Primary apparently knew this when they hired Gregg, and say they're OK with it because they're "comfortable with the performance and conduct of Mr Gregg").
Gregg, meanwhile, threatened to sue Fairfax and a reporter if he wrote about the story.
In the latest revelations to emerge from the trove of Unaoil's email traffic, Fairfax Media has discovered the deep involvement of a number of well-known Asian companies who worked with Unaoil. The emails reveal corruption inside Malaysia's national oil company Petronas, as well as South Korean titans Hyundai and Samsung, and even the Chinese government giant Sinopec. The oil industry's biggest ever scandal has also exposed Asian conglomerates Yokogawa of Japan, South Korea's ISU, Singapore's Keppel and Malaysian firm Ranhill. The emails show some Asian executives are enthusiastic participants in graft, underscoring the pervasive culture of corruption across the region. It's an alarming proposition as Asian companies develop into some of the most powerful and influential players in global business.
Police raids and more revelations: the fallout of the Unaoil scandal
[Nick McKenzie, Richard Baker, Michael Bachelard, Daniel Quinlan/Sydney Morning Herald]
(via Naked Capitalism)
Kansas football heads toward a bye week it needs
A number of Kansas football players were either out Saturday due to injury or at least limited. The bye week should help them.
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.
Google 360 Welcomes Anyone, Anywhere Inside The World-Famous Abbey Road Studios
If you've had a lifelong dream of seeing where the magic happens within Abbey Road Studios, Google just made it come true. Partnering with Abbey Road Studios to create and compile more than 150 different 360-degree panoramic images, Inside Abbey Road was born.
Google introduced Inside Abbey Road to fans around the world in a blog post on Tuesday (April 14th):
Throughout the studios youll find more than 30 stories, full of anecdotes and facts about the studios, like the story of Abbey Road engineer Alan Blumlein. Alan was annoyed after a trip to the movies, because the sound in early cinemas only came from one side of the screen. He went on to invent the concept of stereo audioand sound and screen have matched ever since. Or, if you feel like being guided around the studios, there's an audio tour you can join in every studio. Narrated by producer Giles Martin, engineer and Head of Audio Products Mirek Stiles, and broadcaster Lauren Laverne, the audio tours let you see the studios through their eyes. Think of it as your own personal tour.
Inside Abbey Road is accessible for exploration via desktop, tablet, and mobile phone. The virtual tour is packed with interactive content featuring YouTube videos strategically placed around the studio where they were originally happened.
Google continued:
Inside Abbey Road is part of our broader effort to help people experience worldwide culture and places from wherever they are, whether its visiting the Pyramids of Giza in Google Maps or getting up close to the brush strokes of Van Gogh in the Google Art Project. Now, were taking you behind the doors of one of the most famous music studios in the world.
Take a step Inside Abbey Road and see for yourself.
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Attracting An Audience In A New City
Getting people to come out to a show can be hard enough, but doing so in a city in which you've never played can seem next to impossible. Here Jeremy Young speaks with several different bands about the best way to get the word out when playing a new location for the first time.
____________________________
Guest Post by Mahea Lee on Soundfly's Flypaper
Playing in a new town can be intimidating, particularly for those of us who have yet to become household names. Luckily, Jeremy Young sat down with a host of great bands to find out how they go about attracting audiences for our (free!) course, Touring on a Shoestring. Here are some of the things they had to say:
1. Contact local blogs and radio stations.
A few of of the guys from Evolfo recommended contacting every radio station and blog in the area ahead of time Every. Last. One.
2. Find the right promoter.
Jared Bell from Lymbyc Systym stressed the importance of getting hooked up with a good promoter. And not just a good promoter, but the right promoter for your band and style of music. Research who similar bands have used when touring through each town on your route.
3. Explore the local music discovery sources.
Amirtha Kidambi encouraged us to investigate where people in each city go to look for shows. Think outside the box! It might be the local radio station, or it could be someones killer personal email list, a private Facebook group, or a really trusted coffee shop bulletin board. Use social media to ask locals how they discover touring bands in their area.
4. Partner up with local acts.
Charles Burchell and Kim Mayo from The Love Experiment recommended reaching out to bands from the area in hopes that they might be willing to share the bill and bring their fanbase. If youve got a venue booked already, local acts will often jump at the chance to play a show they dont have to do any of the legwork to book!
5. Consider unconventional venues.
Great Caesars John-Michael Parker recommended trying to play some non-traditional venues in between gigs. If you have a show in the evening, dont waste the whole day reach out to a local high school, corporate office, park, library, or bookstore and ask about playing a daytime show. It may even help you drum up an audience for your late night gig! Great Caesar played a show at the Google campus one afternoon to help bring people out to their gig that night in San Francisco. Youre going on tour to play music, why not try and fit in all the shows you can!
As Jeremy points out, touring is an investment into the future of your band. Even if you dont sell out your first show in a new city, if you give it your all and put on a good show, the small audience will remember you. And the next time you come through town, youll have a group of fans there already who will bring their friends.
If you have any additional tips, tricks, and ideas, please share them in the comments and if youd like to learn more about DIY touring, check out our FREE course, Touring on a Shoestring.
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The Great White North has long been regarded as the destination of last resort for dissatisfied Americans, and with a highly contentious election looming south of the border, Esurance has taken the initiative and devised a product to make the most of this untapped market."You need an insurance company that evolves with you, whether you're setting down roots to start a new family," the campaign for the new product begins, "or uprooting your family to move to Canada" because your candidate lost the election.The ad is non-partisan, remaining vague about which candidates victory would necessitate flight to north of the 49parallel, saying only that "now more than ever, it's important to have a smart insurance policy that protects your home in the event that you decide to abandon it for the next four years."Its high time that an insurer move to take account of this client need, says Esurance in a company statement released announcing the product launch."Every four years, we hear from countless dissatisfied Americans who threaten to leave the country if the 'wrong' candidate is elected into office," Alan Gellman, chief marketing officer at Esurance says in a press release . "This year, we're very pleased to announce our newest innovationElection Insurance. If your preferred candidate loses the election, Esurance will protect your home so you can move out of the country worry free.""If you chose to leave the country, Esurance is not liable for any walls erected after your departure, and assumes no legal or financial responsibility if your assets are redistributed for the greater good in your absence."
A former executive with Australias QBE Insurance Group was sentenced Thursday evening to 1-1/2 years in US prison.James Shea, then an executive vice president with QBEs North American unit, was convicted of conspiring to embezzle $2.6 million from the firm, some of which he used to buy a house and luxury vehicles.In addition to the prison sentence, Shea was also ordered to forfeit $1.81 million and jointly pay $2.65 million in restitution to QBE along with a co-defendant.US District Judge Paul Engelmayer, who handed down the sentence in Manhattan, said Shea was driven by greed, envy and a desire to please his family.You abused the position of responsibility your company entrusted you with, Engelmayer said.Shea acquiesced, saying he was extremely apologetic for his crimes and that there is never a good reason for what [he] did.Along with QBE consultant Eugene Fallon, the 49-year-old Shea submitted invoices for consulting services supposedly done by two entities but that were never completed. Shea forged the signature of QBE North Americas chief financial officer on the bogus contracts between the insurer and the entities and approved invoices Fallon provided for more than $2.65 million.Together, they increased Sheas $1.9 million salary by almost double. Near the end of 2013, Shea collected more than $1.8 million in additional funds by authorizing payments on phony consulting work done by Fallon. The payments were then routed back to Shea through his wifes bank accounts, while Fallon collected the rest.Shea is reported to have spent more than $4 million between 2008 and 2014, including $1 million in cash for a house, $102,000 in furniture, $38,401 for a Disney Report vacation and $18,233 at an Apple Store. The government believes part of this lifestyle was funded by the money stolen from QBE.QBEs CFO, meanwhile, said he had never heard of nor authorized the consulting work being done by Fallon.The scheme took place from 2012 through 2013, and was finally discovered with investigators with the FBI found bank accounts affiliated with two of Fallons companies, along with invoices submitted to email addresses connected with Shea.Together, James Shea and Eugene Fallon allegedly developed a scheme to defraud the company for which Shea worked, and Fallon consulted. Both allegedly exploited their positions and their relationship for pecuniary gain, netting some $2.6 million in the process, said US Attorney Preet Bharara in a statement.Both Shea and Fallon were arrested in June and pleaded guilty in November to wire fraud. They were eligible for up to 20 years in prison.Fallon has not yet been sentenced.The case is US v. Shea, US District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 15-cr-00546.
Insurers and scientists are working on an algorithm to predict the death of policyholders. Insurance firm Aviva is providing experts for the study by the University of East Anglia in the UK and the four-year project will be funded by the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Using data collected by healthcare providers the aim is to create an accurate measure of key factors in order to help insurers better understand the risks from an ageing population.We are particularly interested in understanding how various chronic diseases and their treatments impact life expectancy, Prof Elena Kulinskaya of the UEAs computer sciences school told The Telegraph.The IFoA is funding around U$4 million worth of research studies worldwide including work with University of California Santa Barbara on mortality and morbidity models.Uber drivers in Texas will be covered by Progressive Insurance from today according to Reuters. Currently the rideshare firm purchases coverage from James River Insurance Company but the pilot scheme could result in a national diversification of the firms insurance procurement.Progressive has recently launched a product aimed at rideshare drivers. James River president Bob Myron told Reuters that the firm expected the move but that it continues to have an important relationship with Uber and he is not aware that the firm is diversifying its insurance purchase in other states.Its April 1 and insurance firm Esurance has released a new commercial offering election insurance for those who choose to move to Canada for the four years after the new US president is elected.Leo Burnett, CEO of Esurance, told Fasttocreate.com that April Fools spots are hard to get right but he says this one works as people often say theyll leave the country if their favored candidate loses.
IND vs PAK Live Score T20 World Cup 2022, Match 16: Sun is Out at MCG as India And Pakistan All Set For Another Thriller
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
U.S. Marines and Sailors with II Marine Expeditionary Force (II MEF) packed up their bags and headed home after a nine-month deployment to Iraqs al Anbar province at the end of March 2016.
The troops manned the command element for Task Force Al Taqaddum (TFTQ), at Al Taqaddum Air Base, Iraq, with the mission to advise and assist (A&A) members of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) conducting operations in the province, primarily in the Ramadi area.
The team of advisors arrived in Al Taqaddum to form the task force shortly after President Barack Obamas June 10, 2015, announcement on the augmentation of U.S. troops to provide assistance to Iraqi forces in their fight to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
In addition to the II MEF Marines, the U.S.-led coalition force is composed of augments from the Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force Crisis Response Central Command (SPMAGTF-CR-CC), as well and U.S. Soldiers, Airmen and components of the Australian and Italian armed forces. The task force currently operates out of Camp Manion aboard the air base.
During their tour, the team advised the leadership of the 8th Iraqi Army Division (8th IAD), which ultimately led to the recapture of Ramadi, early this year.
U.S. Marine Col. Christopher J. Douglas, the task force commander said that members of the task force advised and assisted the ISF regarding the planning and coordination for operations in the form of surveillance and reconnaissance for key areas where [the Iraqis] were going to conduct operations in addition to fire support planning and monitoring of the attacks.
Nine months ago, there was a much smaller footprint [in the area]. Many capabilities had been added as a need developed within the ISF and right now we would consider Ramadi secured, said Douglas. The local governance and the ISF are now enabled to focus on the stability [of the area] and security operations.
Douglas also said the recapture of Ramadi is the result of the hard work put in by the ISF, and the task force simply served as advisors throughout the process.
As far as the role that was played in the securing of Ramadi, really who all the credit goes to is the ISF, said Douglas. [Ours] was a limited role in the planning and coordination of operations.
Through the conduct of operations, members of the task force drew from their offensive mindset to better assist their Iraqi counterparts in the planning and execution of tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs).
[As] the Ramadi counter attacks were going on, the members of the task force, specifically the advisors, were providing training to members of the 8th (IA) Division, the Anbar Operation Command (AOC) and the 10th (IA) Division, in small number because primarily the forces were committed to the fight, said Douglas.
The task force conducted train-the-trainer training on communications and radio operations, artillery, explosive ordnance disposal, breaching, and medical techniques.
TFTQ trained nearly 60 Iraqi soldiers on communications and radio operations and more than 40 on artillery. They also trained eight EOD teams, and approximately 40 Iraqis were trained on medical and life-saving procedures.
With their newly gained education, the Iraqis were now able to go back to their units and hold sessions to teach what they learned to other soldiers.
We saw a real-time effect with the training that was conducted, said Douglas. Specific to the medical training, [Iraqi] medics that we worked with came back with casualties and the task forces medical advisors saw the actual practical applications of some of the techniques that [our U.S. medical personnel] had shown them in training.
In addition to the planning and coordination for operations and training, the task force also assisted in the care of wounded Iraqi Soldiers who were injured in combat.
Douglas said that this was a significant element as it gave Iraqi Soldiers the will to continue to fight.
If a wounded Iraqi soldier is brought to the gates of Camp Manion, they are first treated by U.S. Navy corpsmen, who assess the patients injuries, stabilize them and perform emergency procedures on the spot, if necessary. Based on the corpsmans assessment, a patient could be admitted for further care by the U.S. Army medical teams. The assessment must meet the medical rules of eligibility to determine if the corpsmen are able to provide care. Iraqi Soldiers who are in danger of losing their life are seen immediately, where more routine injuries may be referred to local hospitals.
According to a medical advisor, the task force admitted 360 casualties for surgery in addition to over 100 who were treated at the gate for minor injuries during TFTQs nine-month deployment.
The expansion of Camp Manion, which houses the task force, is another noticeable accomplishment for the task force.
[The camp] has grown a lot and many capabilities have been added and enhanced, said Douglas. I can say that all the credit goes to all of the members of the task force for their diligence, their hard work ethic and their ability to work together regardless of service towards the achievement of the shared and common goal, which is providing the best spot available to provide advice, assistance and training for the ISF during the Ramadi counter attacks.
The new team of advisors arrived at Camp Manion mid-March to begin taking over the task forces A&A mission. The team is led by U.S. Marine Col. Sam Cook from II MEF. This is Cooks third deployment to Iraq, and he hopes to be as successful as Douglas team was.
The previous team under Col. Douglas had an outstanding success with the recapture of Ramadi; I hope to continue that success, said Cook. And I look forward to the challenge of helping the Iraqi Security Forces retake their country.
Cook is also excited to work with other branches of services and is confident in his team.
Im looking forward to working in a joint environment with Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and the Marines we brought out here from across the [II Marine Expeditionary Force], said Cook. Every Marine in II MEF, which is the core of the command element here at the task force, comes from across the [2nd Marine Aircraft Wing], the [2nd Marine Division], and the [2nd Marine Logistics Group]. They were all hand selected and approved by their commanding generals, so the core command element is top notch.
Military personnel, veterans and family members gathered for the retirement ceremony of Col. Willard Willy Buhl on Feb. 12 at Camp Pendleton, California. The service commemorated his 34 years of dedicated service to the United States Marine Corps.
Buhls career and lifelong journey as a Marine was forged from his desire to join the family business.
I knew from the time that I was about 3 years old that I wanted to be a Marine, said Buhl, formerly the director of Expeditionary Operations Training Group, I Marine Expeditionary Force. His family has had an extensive amount of service in the Marine Corps.
Buhl joined the Marines as a reservist and graduated from basic training in May, 1982. His contract was for infantry rifleman, so he attended the School of Infantry and had the opportunity to try out for the Basic Reconnaissance Course and took it.
Upon graduation from BRC and after completing follow-on training, Buhl went to his reserve unit, Detachment 4th Force Reconnaissance Company, in Reno, Nevada, in October 1982.
I was really lucky to be a part of Recon, said Buhl, a native of Los Gatos, California. During my first day on the job, I did [Special Purpose Insert and Extraction] training and rappelled out of helicopters. I was like, Wow, this is the greatest job in the world, and Ive noticed that for the most part, a lot of my career was just like that first day.
A few years later, Buhl said he earned his title as a reconnaissance team leader after continually demonstrating his hard work ethic and enthusiasm which made an impression on his leadership.
One day my lieutenant at the time called me into his office and I instantly thought I was in trouble, said Buhl. He said, I need to have a serious discussion with you corporal Buhl. So, I sat down and he continues with, I and others here think you are very suited for a commissioning program and Im going to encourage you to apply to be an officer.
Buhl said he considered that idea before attending college at California State University Chico. Due to his leaderships influence, that became the moment when he started the commissioning process and went to Officer Candidate School after being a sergeant for a short four months.
After graduating OCS, Buhl decided he wanted to stay in an infantry-oriented job field so he attended the Infantry Officer Course with the goal of becoming an infantry officer.
During some of our training, I was like, Man, this is too difficult, He said. At that point I would always remind myself with, Hey, I love this stuff, and I couldnt get enough every day because I always wanted a challenge.
As an infantry officer, Buhl had 11 command positions from platoon commander to regimental commander.
As an officer, you never forget that first day that you report and stand in front of your platoon of Marines, knowing that you are responsible for properly leading and serving them, said Buhl, now 53 years old. That feeling right there never changes, whether its 40 marines in your rifle platoon, or 5,000 in your infantry regiment. Its an amazing feeling and theres nothing else like it. I may have had a lot of reasons why I joined, but thats what kept me in the Marine Corps.
Sergeant Maj. Bradley Kasal, the sergeant major of I Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group, says Buhls leadership style is one to be emulated by other Marines, regardless of rank. Buhl and Kasal have been friends for a long time since they served and deployed together at 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division.
Hes a very professional, knowledgeable and concerned leader, said Kasal. He would always ensure that his Marines were set up for success and he would show genuine concern about all of their welfare. I think all commanders generally do that, but the difference is that Col. Buhl would go above and beyond to follow up on each Marine he helped out. Whether it was an administrative problem, professional problem or a medical problem, he would follow through to the end.
Buhl went on a total of eight deployments, half of which were to combat zones, and he said only one of those aided him in gaining a perspective of what defined him when he deployed with 3/1.
Without question, the [3rd Bn, 1st Marines] deployment in 2004 to Iraq was definitely my most memorable deployment, he said. We were attacked every single day while trying to pacify an area around Fallujah and there were people murdered for assisting us. We had 33 men killed in action in our battalion, but there were over 250 combat awards for valor. That deployment defined everything that I stood for as a Marine.
Overall, Buhl said his deployment to Iraq was an experience of a lifetime.
He said there is not a day that goes by he doesnt think of all of those who lost their lives and he thanks God that he got to serve with them during that deployment.
Later in his career, Buhl assumed his position as the director for EOTG, where he learned another way to enjoy deployments.
If you cant deploy any time soon, what better job can you have other than to help train the Marines that are going to be deploying? said Buhl.
As the director of EOTG his job was to oversee the provision of individual training in select special skills and evaluations of collective training across the range of military operations in order to prepare Marine Expeditionary Units and other designated forces to support the combatant commanders of I MEF.
He enjoyed the job thoroughly, but he was convinced that it was time for him to leave because he was ready for a new chapter in his life after serving 34 years.
I always knew when I was little what I wanted to be, but now that Im retired I have to figure out what Im going to be when I grow up, Buhl joked. Honestly, though, I just want to be able to give back to my country, the Marine Corps and the people that I served with.
Having this thought in mind for his next occupation, Buhl decided to become an instructor for the Distance Education Program at Expeditionary Warfare School on Camp Pendleton.
He is also looking into becoming an executive director of a non-profit organization somewhere in California working for veterans or for the youth to be able to impart some of his wisdom and life experiences.
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Department of State Presents the Diplomacy Lab Project Fair and Wonk Tank Competition
Washington, DC - The U.S. Department of State is proud to present the first-ever Diplomacy Lab Project Fair and Wonk Tank Final Competition on Friday, April 1, in the Marshall Center at the U.S. Department of State. The morning Diplomacy Lab session will begin at 9:30 a.m. and the afternoon Wonk Tank session will begin at 1:00 p.m. The event is open to the public and open to the press.
Diplomacy Lab is a public-private partnership that enables the Department to course-source research and innovation related to foreign policy challenges by harnessing the efforts and knowledge of students and faculty experts at colleges and universities across the country. The Wonk Tank competition was created under the Diplomacy Lab structure as a platform for university students across the United States to showcase their ability to be Americas next great policy wonk.
The morning Diplomacy Lab session will feature welcoming remarks from Special Representative for Global Partnerships Andrew OBrien; lightning pitches from organizations that work to engage young people in foreign affairs, including Young Professionals in Foreign Policy, No Lost Generation, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Peace Corps, and the Virtual Student Foreign Service program; and a Diplomacy Lab best practices panel with Diplomacy Lab coordinators in the Department and corresponding universities. Past Diplomacy Lab university project teams will also showcase their work at a project fair throughout the programming.
The afternoon Wonk Tank session will feature keynote remarks from Ambassador Joseph E. Macmanus. Deputy National Security Advisor to the Vice President Dr. Ely Ratner, Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Linda Thomas Greenfield, and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs John Heffern will serve as judges for the Wonk Tank competition. Judges will discuss policy formation and practices in a plenary panel moderated by Principal Deputy Director of Policy Planning Siddharth Mohandas, then hear policy pitches from four Wonk Tank finalists, who were highlighted in a Google Hangout earlier this month. The four finalists represent Florida International University, the University of New Mexico, the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, and Yale University.
A full agenda for the day can be found here. Registration for the event is available here.
Consumer Reports Finds its Too Difficult For Patients To Learn About Physicians Disciplinary Records
Washington, DC - 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.
Secretary of State John Kerry's Meeting with Federal Republic of Nigeria President Buhari
Washington, DC - Secretary Kerry met today on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit with Federal Republic of Nigeria President Buhari.
The Secretary expressed a firm commitment to continue working closely with Nigeria, highlighting the countrys importance to the region and to the continent. He offered continued U.S. support for efforts to increase security and stability, and to promote development in the areas of northeast Nigeria that have fallen victim to terrorist attacks by Boko Haram.
Secretary Kerry also offered continued U.S. support to locate and help with tracing and investigating looted funds. He noted Nigerias potential to enhance its agricultural production and infrastructure, and the potential of these industries to generate more employment opportunities, especially for Nigerian youth. He encouraged President Buhari to take steps to leverage private sector investment in these areas.
FTC Approves Modified Final Order for Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC
Washington, DC - The Federal Trade Commission has approved a modified final order settling charges that Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLCs acquisition of the rights to various drug products and related assets from Ben Venue Laboratories, Inc. was anticompetitive.
Under the terms of the settlement, Hikma is required to divest assets related to five generic injectable drugs to Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a California-based specialty pharmaceutical company that sells generic injectable and inhalation products.
Because Hikma and Amphastar adjusted the price that Amphastar paid for the divested assets after the Commission had accepted the consent agreement for public comment, the consent order has been modified to incorporate the revised divestiture agreement.
The Commission vote to approve the modified final order was 3-0-1, with Commissioner Brill not participating. (FTC File No. 151 0044; the staff contact is Jordan Andrew, Bureau of Competition, 202-326-3678)
United States and Norway Sign a Memorandum of Understanding to Support Cooperation on Nuclear Material Security and Counter Nuclear Smuggling
Washington, DC - Today, Assistant Secretary Thomas Countryman of the U.S. Department of State and the Norwegian Ambassador to the United States Kare R. Aas strengthened their countries partnership to counter nuclear terrorism by signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between their ministries.
Supporting the Nuclear Security Summit held this week, the MOU expresses the intention of the two governments to cooperate with each other to protect at-risk nuclear and other radioactive materials and to counter illicit trafficking of nuclear and radioactive materials in countries around the world. To advance this goal, the MOU allows for Norway and the United States to collaborate on specific projects such as an effort to strengthen Ukraines capabilities to respond to a nuclear smuggling incident through effective inter-ministerial coordination, criminal investigations, and prosecutions of nuclear or radioactive material smugglers. The MOU will also allow for collaboration on a project supporting Ukraines ability to detect and interdict the trafficking of WMD and illicit goods along its maritime borders.
Norway is a strong leader in global disarmament and nonproliferation efforts. In 2015, Norway hosted the second plenary meeting of the International Partnership on Nuclear Disarmament Verification and served as chair of the Missile Technology Control Regime. Through its participation in the Nuclear Security Summit and as a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Norway continues to make valuable contributions to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament.
Todays signing reflects our common conviction that nuclear terrorism is a critical and ongoing threat that requires a coordinated, global response.
Renewed Focus on Structural Reform Critical to Japans Future
Washington, DC - The U.S.-Japan Business Council (USJBC), an affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, today released its 2016 Policy Statement outlining a series of priority reform recommendations in support of Japans efforts to put its economy on a track toward sustainable, long-term economic growth.
The Policy Statement, titled Re-centering Abenomics: New Structural and Regulatory Reforms Remain Vital for Economic Growth, underscores the USJBCs commitment to supporting and promoting new growth and opportunity across many key areas of Japans economy, the worlds third largest, including in areas such as life sciences and healthcare, digital economy, finance, agriculture, energy and environment, and travel and tourism.
Many U.S. companies continue to view Japan as a dynamic market full of opportunity. At the same time, Japans economy has not yet reached its true, full potential, said USJBC President James Fatheree. The USJBC applauds the Abe government for its tireless efforts for economic revitalization, and urges a renewed focus on new structural and regulatory reforms that have the maximum potential to help drive long-term growth.
In order to realize Japans maximum long-term economic potential, the USJBC report encourages the Abe government to set as its top priority the adoption of further structural reforms to make the Japanese economy more open externally and dynamic internally.
In addition to approval and implementation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, which has substantial benefits for the economy, the USJBC emphasizes in its 2016 Policy Statement the need for additional structural reform measures across the economy. These include reforms in specific sectors as well as cross-cutting measures, such as in the areas of investment, taxes, business regulation, and labor, that will have broader, positive impact across many sectors. The report also highlights the need for policy coherence across key growth-oriented initiatives.
The U.S.-Japan Business Council is the premier business advocacy organization representing Americas top companies in Japan and is comprised of major U.S. companies across diverse sectors. USJBC companies are firmly committed to the Japanese market and promoting strong economic relations between the United States and Japan.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the worlds largest business federation representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, as well as state and local chambers and industry associations. Its International Affairs division includes more than 70 regional and policy experts and 25 country- and region-specific business councils and initiatives. The U.S. Chamber also works closely with 117 American Chambers of Commerce abroad.
A team of researchers from the Centre for Chromosome Biology at NUI Galway, in collaboration with the IFOM Research Institute in Milan, Italy, have discovered that a protein named USP9X contributes to the efficient duplication of the DNA in cells and may help in the battle against cancer.
USP9X is a well known player in the cancer arena and previous research has indicated its involvement in multiple cancer-relevant signalling and survival pathways.
This study, published in the international journal Cancer Research, found that USP9X binds to a key replication protein and prevents it from being destroyed, and when this function is compromised, the machinery (a large number of proteins and enzymes that work together) that duplicates the DNA becomes unstable.
For this reason, the cells accumulate DNA damage and are more sensitive to genotoxic stress the property of chemical agents that damages the genetic information within a cell causing mutations, which may lead to cancer including anti-cancer drugs that act by impairing DNA synthesis.
CLASPIN, a protein that is important during the process of the duplication of the DNA, must be tightly regulated during the cell cycle to prevent the accumulation of DNA damage. In this study, the NUI Galway and IFOM research team used a sophisticated technology to detect molecular associations and identified USP9X as a novel CLASPIN binding protein.
Prof Corrado Santocanale from the School of Natural Sciences at NUI Galway and lead author said: USP9X regulate[s] the expression and stability of CLASPIN when cells duplicate their DNA. Our PhD student, Edel McGarry carried out most of the laboratory experiments and found USP9X depletion profoundly impairs the progression of DNA replication forks, causing unscheduled termination events with a frequency similar to CLASPIN depletion, resulting in excessive DNA damage.
Restoration of CLASPIN expression in USP9X-depleted cells partially suppressed the accumulation of DNA damage. Furthermore, USP9X depletion compromised the normal signals that occur in the cells when they are exposed to DNA replication inhibitors or UV radiation, promoting hypersensitivity to drug-induced replication stress, Prof Santocanale added.
Taken together, our results reveal a novel role for USP9X in the maintenance of genomic stability during DNA replication, and provide potential mechanistic insights into its tumour suppressor role in certain malignancies.
Cancer Research, Published Online First February 26, 2016; doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-15-2890.
A special exhibition exploring the human stories of surgeons and insurgents associated with the RCSI and the 1916 Easter Rising has opened at the College on St Stephens Green, Dublin, and runs until April 17.
This free exhibition that is open to the public will bring visitors on a journey of the RCSIs occupation during the 1916 Easter Rising, with a focus on the stories of nine surgeons and nine insurgents involved in these historic events.
The exhibition was opened by Dr Maurice Manning, Chancellor of NUI and Chair of the Expert Advisory Group on Commemorations, last week (March 23).
The Colleges occupation by insurgents under the command of Michael Mallin and Countess Markievicz is a well known aspect of the Easter Rising. The centenary commemorations of the 1916 Easter Rising are of particular significance to RCSI, commented RCSI President Mr Declan Magee. Our building on St Stephens Green was one of the principal sites occupied by the Volunteers, but, also, many of the College surgeons played important roles in treating the injured.
Despite being a focal point for the Rising, the building and rooms occupied during Easter week remain intact as they did in 1916 and we are privileged to host this commemorative exhibition in these historical surroundings, he added at the launch.
The exhibition takes place in the rooms occupied by the insurgents, which are virtually unchanged since 1916, with original features including a bullet-hole from a bullet that struck the brass plate of an internal door during the fighting.
Artefacts on display in the exhibition include the tricolour believed to have flown over the College during the Rising and the will of Countess Markievicz, both reportedly taken from the building by the wounded Margaret Skinnider. This tricolour, which is on loan to the College from relatives of Skinnider, is on public display for the first time.
A sword disguised as a walking stick, belonging to Captain Christopher Poole, on loan from the Poole family, will also be on display at the event.
Features of the exhibition include a scale model of St Stephens Green in 1916 with visual and sound-effects, showing the firing-lines across the Green and reconstructions of furniture barricades, the first aid station and live bombs table, re-creating some of the scenes found in the College during the Rising.
The exhibition is family friendly, with childrens activity sheets available for younger visitors. Admission is free, however, booking is required for the lectures and peak times of the exhibition. Further details of opening times and bookings are available at www.rcsi.ie/2016.
The surgeons featured in the exhibition include: Sir Thomas Myles, John Stephen McArdle, Michael Francis Cox, Sir Robert Henry Woods, Charles Hachette Hyland, Euphan Montgomerie Maxwell, William Ireland de Courcy Wheeler, Francis Tobin and Sir Charles Alexander Cameron. The insurgents featured are: Countess Constance Markievicz, Thomas Clifford, Michael ODoherty, Frank Robbins, Madeleine ffrench-Mullen, Helen Nellie Gifford, Michael Mallin, Christopher Poole and Margaret Skinnider.
The College was also involved in a number of the official city-wide events over the Easter period. The remaining lectures in the RCSI series include: Comdt Victor Laing on The Rising: A statement of intent, successes and failures (April 1, 7.30pm); Brian Hughes on Michael Mallin (April 2, 3pm); Padraig Allen on St John Ambulance and the Easter Rising (April 7, 7.30pm); and Meadhbh Murphy on To Surgeons and Beyond! RCSI, Rebels and the Republic (April 15, 7.30pm).
gary.culliton@imt.ie
The Minister for Health has said he hopes building blocks now in place will see the target of 300 organ transplants achieved this year for the first time.
At the Mater Hospital, the number of heart and lung transplants has risen from 43 in 2013, to 49 in 2014 and to 52 in 2015, while the total of 36 lung transplants last year was a record, and the 16 heart transplants was the second highest achieved in a year. A further milestone achieved was the first combined heart and lung transplant in Ireland.
In 2015, a total of 266 transplants were carried out, involving 81 deceased donors and 33 living donors. Minister Dr Leo Varadkar has said he wants to see donation and transplantation rates increasing again and Ireland becoming one of the top performing countries in Europe.
Additional funding has been provided allowing extra staff to be taken on, including organ procurement coordinators based in Dublin and organ donation nurse managers in each hospital group area. They are working to foster a strong culture of organ donation, to optimise conversion rates and to increase the number of transplantations that are carried out each year, said Minister Varadkar. The investment is already producing results with transplant figures rising in 2015.
The Minister thanked Prof Jim Egan and his colleagues in Organ Donation and Transplant Ireland for their commitment, and for their key role in ensuring that the reconfigured services operate effectively. Launching Organ Donor Awareness Week, Dr Varadkar also thanked families who had facilitated the donation of organs of their loved ones, often to the benefit of several recipients.
Ms Karen Redmond, Consultant Thoracic and Lung Transplant Surgeon, and her team at the Mater recently carried out the States first EVLP or Ex-Vivo Lung Perfusion transplant. This uses donor lungs that would previously be classified as unsuitable.
The number of kidney transplants increased slightly last year. Given the reduced transplant team available during the year, this represents a creditable performance. Recruitment efforts continue at Beaumont Hospital and appointments are expected in the coming months, said Minister Varadkar.
In 2015, a total of 61 liver transplants were carried out in St Vincents University Hospital. This is the second highest figure on record and represents a significant increase on 2014.
In addition, arrangements have been made for the move of the pancreas transplant programme to St Vincents. The reconfigured National Organ Procurement Service is a critical element. Regulations for the quality and safety of organs were in place in every transplant and procurement centre in Ireland, said the Minister.
The Irish Kidney Association (IKA), while applauding the transplant programmes for kidney, heart, lung and liver, claimed there was an urgent need for a second kidney transplanting hospital to meet the spiralling demand for kidney transplants and combat future strain on the Exchequer.
Speaking at the launch, IKA CEO Mark Murphy said: The vast majority of the Irish public is willing to donate organs and we now have the infrastructure to lift organ donation to the next level. With all the recent changes in our organ procurement structure, including the establishment of Organ Donation and Transplant Ireland, led by Prof Jim Egan, and six personnel are now working inside our Intensive Care Units championing organ donation, we are hopeful that many more opportunities for organ donation and consequently transplantation will be realised.
He said there was an urgent need to address current kidney transplant infrastructure for living and deceased donation, which cannot keep up with the demand. Beaumont Hospital is unable to do this alone. It is proving too much to ask of its size of an acute hospital. We urgently need a second kidney transplanting hospital if we are serious about tackling this problem or goal.
gary.culliton@imt.ie
India Vs Pakistan: Desi Cricket Fans Woke Up Early With T20 World Cup Memes and We are Here for it
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Disney is looking to branch out from its property by making a live-action project focused on Rose Red, the sister of fairytale character Snow White.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the script was written by Justin Merz (The Boxcar Children) before Evan Daugherty came on board to rework the piece into a "companion piece" to the house of mouse's 1937 classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Daugherty is the scriptwriter behind revisionist tale Snow White and the Hunstman, the follow-up of which - The Huntsman: Winter War - is being released 22 April.
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Rose Red is a character primarily known for appearing in Grimms' fairytales. In the upcoming film, she will be transposed into Disney's version of the tale after Snow White takes a bite from the poison apple; it is down to her to undertake a dangerous quest with the seven dwarves in order to find a way to revive her sister.
This isn't the only spin-off film Disney producers have greenlit; Aladdin prequel Genies is in development as is Prince Charming.
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Though currently basking in the success of Eddie the Eagle, playing the titualr beloved Olympian, there's one keen question floating in the air around Taron Egerton. Will he, or will he not be, playing the role of young Han Solo?
One of Hollywood's most coveted prizes, and an opportunity which sees Egerton reportedly part of the final three combatants for the part; alongside Jack Reynor and Alden Ehrenreich. Yet Egerton himself appears to be keeping quiet on the speculation; denying to The Guardian that he even auditioned for the role, and that he wouldn't necessarily take the part if it were offered to him.
"Roles of that level are always going to be life-changing," he stated. "I wouldnt run into it blind. It would definitely be a shutting-a-door-behind-me moment. That is something that Id be wary of."
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Indeed, though already tied into the Kingsman franchise (with a sequel set to shoot in May), the actor's clearly wary of the rather all-engulfing nature of the Star Wars universe; it may be the most pleasant of spider's webs to step into, but its certainly one whose hold is rather unrelenting. Sign up for young Han Solo, and you've signed over a part of your identity.
Certainly, it looks as if Egerton is taking heed of Harrison Ford's own advice for the young Han Solo actors. Appearing on Ellen, Ford merely joked about the role; "Don't do it."
There's no news on when exactly Disney will be announcing who's nabbed the role. Considering Phil Lord and Christopher Miller's solo film for the character won't be released until 2018, it wouldn't appear as if there's much rush to make a decision; though some sources claim the character is set to make a last-minute cameo in this year's Rogue One.
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Combining the vision and scope of prog rock with the urgency and energy of math, Poly-Math are set to release their debut mini-album, Melencolia, via Superstar Destroyer on the 8th of April and The Independent are exclusively streaming it a week before release. Pushing the progressive elements of their sound into even more unusual territory than their 2015 EP Reptiles, Melencolia represents a cosmic leap forward for the dynamic, demented trio.
Poly-Math formed in Spring 2013 as a side-project and outlet for Tim Laulik-Walters to play guitar. Hed been playing drums for the ambient post-rock outfit Monsters Build Mean Robots, but when that bands vocalist went travelling for an indefinite period, Tim seized the opportunity to let loose on a more chaotic enterprise. The initial idea was for this to be something with no boundaries. In our previous bands, wed always written to certain briefs. With Poly-Math, we went with whatever idea splurged out.
Together with Chris Woollison on drums and Joe Branton on bass, the sound that splurged out channeled a frantic Santana furiously noodling through a psychedelic wormhole. Naturally, the reaction was rabid. Just six months after they formed, Poly-Math were asked to play the inaugural ArcTanGent festival, a hallowed mecca for those who like their music to go from A to B via routes X, Y and Z. It was only their fourth show. We were the first band on the first full day of the festival, so we thought it would be your classic midday festival slot and nobody would be there says Chris. Halfway through the first song the tent was full and there were crowds outside trying to get in.
At this point, Poly-Math only had one song to their name, but despite the lack of familiar material, the ArcTanGent crowd lapped up their variable time signatures and off-kilter, glitchy guitars. The band credit the rise in popularity of math rock to the festival, even if they dont see themselves fitting neatly into the genre. Math seems to be the new term for anything that is experimental or complex, says Tim. If wed been around 30 years ago, we would have been lumped in with prog.
Melencolia I, the engraving by the German Renaissance master Albrecht Durer that the Poly-Math record got it's title from (Albrecht Durer)
Whatever genre they fit (or dont fit) into, Poly-Math are certainly pleased that events such as ArcTanGent and Strangeforms in Leeds are bringing together lovers of the unusual and niche. It's probably the most anti-popular music, says Joe. I've often wondered if this sort of music is the next punk movement. Because punk rock is now so embroiled in pop, it's become accepted by the masses, and you think of what punk was in the 70s, it was a reaction against everything else.
New punk movement or not, Melencolia is certainly the product of a band doing whatever the hell they want. 3 songs running at 35 minutes and 40 seconds is not the usual route to winning the support of a music culture with its collective finger persistently jabbing the skip button. But Poly-Maths ambitions are far grander than the majority of progressive bands, who are, by and large, a pretty ambitious bunch. We wanted to expand on what we did with Reptiles says Tim. That EP was 20-odd minutes of in-your-face, relentless riffing. Melencolia is our first attempt at creating a bigger record and we wanted to have so many more peaks and troughs. It was the second time we worked with producer Lee McMahon (And So I Watch You From Afar, Dry The River) and he was able to expand the range of sounds that we had to work with. If we had done something that was the same as Reptiles it would have put us in a box. We want to expand on different elements whilst at the same time have them all fit under the Poly-Math umbrella.
The artwork and song titles for Reptiles were inspired by Dutch graphic artist Maurits Cornelis Escher, famous for his mathematically inspired lithographs and impossible drawings. Poly-Math have continued this theme, appropriating titles and artwork inspiration from another artist for Melencolia, this time courtesy of German renaissance painter Albrecht Durer. We look for artists whose work feels in line with the sorts of things we create says Joe and then its about finding appropriate pieces of art for the sorts of ideas we have. In this case, the songs Melencolia I and Temptation of the Idler both borrow titles from engravings by Durer. We were looking for a progression from Escher, whos quite an obvious choice for what we do. We wanted to find another artist that used maths in art. The clincher was the magic square (seen in the top right of the Melencolia I etching above). Every number adds up to 34 and we thought we could use that as part of the artwork.
There is one track without a Durer connection however. Joe explains, The single Ekerot is named after the actor who plays Death in The Seventh Seal (the classic cult 1957 Swedish film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman). The writing of that song preceded the rest of Melencolia, so it felt like that one had to have a slightly separate title because it came before the Durer connection. That one was more shoe-horned in.
In addition to the 3 songs on Melencolia, there is a fourth song with a title borrowed from Durer that the band have kept back, a 14-minute epic two-part odyssey called Knight, Death and the Devil. It was actually all of the riffs we didn't use, says Joe, There were 2 or 3 other songs that were never completed and it took us a few months to realise that we could probably just splice them all together. The main problem was we wrote it in two different tunings, so it's actually quite tricky to play live. Tim picks up, It didn't really come out the way wed hoped. All the other songs felt complete and this one just didn't. I quite like some of the ideas in it, it's moving into some different territory for us. The second half of it really feels like something we haven't done before. It's very atonal and disjointed in parts and I think that pushes us in a different direction. If you touch on something like that, it opens up more doors for the future. We wrote it at least half a year after the Melencolia sessions and if it's a sign of things to come, then it's very proggy says Joe. It's definitely the least palatable we've ever been.
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But Poly-Maths aspirations dont end with attempts to push the boundaries of palatability as far as possible. Ideas the band are throwing around include a Spanish folk album, an ambient record as well as introducing an organ and two drum-kits into the mix. Its all about adding different textures and not staying stagnant, says Tim and not having the same trip over and over again.
Melencolia is released 8th April via Superstar Destroyer Records. Poly-Math play selected dates in the UK through-out the year.
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Frightened Rabbit have been releasing tasters of their upcoming album over the past two months, and their latest is something particularly special.
"Die Like A Rich Boy" is the closing track from Painting of a Panic Attack. The album is the band's fifth; produced by The National's Aaron Dessner and recorded at his studio in Brooklyn.
It's a personal favourite for this writer: listen out for the elaborate, imaginative deaths by the protagonist that contrasts beautifully with the stark, stripped-down sound.
Q&A with Frightened Rabbit frontman Scott Hutchinson
Did you find the experience of writing music in LA to be challenging/different in any particular way to writing in Scotland?
It was different in many obvious ways, though I'm still not sure exactly how the city influenced the sound of the album. I found myself feeling quite isolated out there, it's a far cry from Glasgow or Edinburgh where there was always someone on hand to go for a pint and discuss the issues of the day.
As such I kept a lot of my frustrations to myself, I didn't have many sounding boards for my thoughts and ideas aside from my girlfriend in LA and the rest of the fellows in the band, but they were back in Scotland.
That said, I had some wonderful writing trips to the area around Big Bear Lake, about 2 hours north east of LA. It's tucked away in the mountains and provided me with the focus I needed to write. Los Angeles feels quite... anxious.
It's a subtle anxiety, not like that of New York which tends to wear its neuroses on its sleeve. The need to escape that tension is definitely a theme that's touched upon throughout this album.
You say the concept of an overarching landscape for the album was short-lived but you can definitely still hear those protagonists here and there do you think youll be exploring those stories in future work or are you leaving it after Painting?
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I'm not sure. They may well be revisited at some point, though perhaps a Frightened Rabbit album isn't the best place for them to be explored in any detail.
I would love to pursue one of these concepts to a more conclusive place, but it's about choosing the right platform to do so. Maybe I could tackle it in a stage musical or something. Ha!
I really love the idea you explore in the song of going out with a bang with these elaborate deaths and that this is the track that closes the album so youve got a very stark, intimate song that resonates how much thought went into its placement on the album and how do you hope the listener will respond to it?
It was either going to be "Rich Boy" or "Death Dream" to close the album. We initially had the two of them sitting together at the end but it felt overbearingly morbid.
The wonderful thing about Rich Boy bringing the whole thing to a close is that it does so with very little sonic fanfare. I hadn't thought of the lyrical fanfare until now, but that is very appropriate.
The two characters go out with a bang but the album doesn't, musically speaking. I hope that this song will be a little surprise for the listener, the kind of song that stops people in their tracks and forces them to listen more intently.
One thing we learned on this album is that bluster and noise can actually be much easier to ignore than subtlety and intimacy, and Rich Boy provides the ultimate example of this on Painting Of A Panic Attack.
Q&A with The National's Aaron Dessner
What about Die Like A Rich Boy makes it your personal favourite?
Die Like a Rich Boy has, for me, some of the strongest lyrical content I've heard in many years; an epic love song laced with dark imagery and acerbic social criticism.
On the surface it's a simple folk song, but its structure, arc and dynamics, and the long "Die Like a Rich Boy chorus, capture so much with so little. It's the last song on the record but to me the most moving and without a doubt one of the best songs I've been fortunate enough to play a part in capturing.
Can you talk a bit about what it was like working with Frightened Rabbit on the new album, and also how you approached the production on this particular song?
It is easy in a way to work with a band that has so much natural chemistry and an incredibly strong songwriter. I was mainly trying to push the band musically in places, to alter or deepen harmony, and also to distill the elements of songs that I found important. With Die Like a Rich Boy" I really only added emphasis in places and tried not to mess it up. The demo was really already almost this good.
When was it decided that the song would conclude the album, and what kind of impact do you hope it will have on the listener?
I hope people will be as moved as I am and then immediately listen to the entire record again! Also it's a gift whenever anyone manages to write something this good I hope people will share it with others and spread the word.
Frightened Rabbit's fifth studio album Painting of a Panic Attack is out on 8 April - pre-order here
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Google is usually pretty good at April Fools' jokes, but this year's gag may have backfired.
For one day only, Gmail users can choose to 'drop the mic' during email conversations.
As Google puts it: "Simply reply to any email using the new 'Send + Mic Drop' button. Everyone will get your message, but that's the last you'll ever hear about it. Yes, even if folks try to respond, you won't see it."
This isn't just a joke - the button actually works. Clicking it sends your message and a mic-dropping Minion GIF to the recipient, and stops their replies appearing in your inbox.
5 April Fool's Day pranks and tweets
Users can find replies in the 'all mail' tab, but they won't get the typical inbox notification, making it very easy to miss the messages.
April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Show all 20 1 /20 April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Nigel Farage has horrified some Ukip supporters with an April Fools Day joke announcing his backing for Britain to stay in the European Union. I've decided that today is the perfect time to announce that I'll be supporting the campaign to Remain in the EU, he tweeted from his account. While most Twitter users noted the timing of the announcement, several of Mr Farages supporters seemed concerned April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks WWF has launched a new campaign 'Adopt a Unicorn today' to help protect mystical creatures: "In recent years, demand for unicorns spiral horns and loss of their rainbow-spangled habitat have led to a catastrophic fall in numbers of the mythical creature, to the point where these incredible animals now exist only in our imaginations" April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks The Virgin Trains has announced that customers will soon be able to catch a steam train to work, as its revealed that the original Flying Scotsman locomotive will be joining its fleet later this year April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Dominos has unveiled its latest robot innovation The Domimaker, a state-of-the-art pizza creation robot that transports customers live into the Dominos kitchen to take pizza personalisation to the next level. It allows rookie pizza makers to connect to the Domimaker LIVE via their webcam where they can direct the robots swivel-tech rotating arms and twin-jet sauce dispensers to create their own pizza April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks The German Embassy has done its own April fool, featuring chickens 'laying rugby eggs': "The German government today announced a new policy aimed at establishing rugby as the country's new national sport. At the unveiling of the far-reaching measures that will see rugby become an integral part of German culture, including hens that lay rugby 'eggs', government spokesperson G. Flugel stated that the country would "focus all attention and efforts on winning the 7 Nations Championship" April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Google is usually pretty good at April Fools' jokes, but this year's gag may have backfired. For one day only, Gmail users can choose to 'drop the mic' during email conversations. Gmail's 'mic drop' April Fools' joke is costing people their jobs April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Isle of Man has announced plans to erect a dome over the Island, protecting the stunning natural environment for all to enjoy. The pioneering design shows how the Island will take inspiration from structures such as the Eden Project to provide a controlled environment, with key access points around transport hubs April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Wetherspoons, the pub chain, has got in on the fun with claims it was taking over Eastenders local the Queen Vic pub in Albert Square April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks David Cameron has announced his pride in bringing in the long-awaited National Living Wage only for announcement to be dismissed as an April Fools Day joke. The unfortunately-timed tweet was sent from the Prime Ministers official account as the UK woke up to the annual deluge of fake news stories and pranks Getty Images April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks J.K Rowling has been used as the butt of an April Fools' Day joke by the pro-independence Scottish Resistance group. A Facebook claimed the fiercely pro-union author had performed a drastic U-turn and was starting work on The Fall of the House of Westminster April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Virgin Active has launched Personal Trainers...talking trainers. Essentially they are the future of personal training with in built speakers featuring top training tips to help motivate and drive you to the end of your workout. The trainers have loads of other weird and wonderful features including locking laces which cant be removed until 200 calories are burned, a projector that displays over 100 workouts and goal trackers April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Rowse has announced the creation of 'wasp honey' from 10,000 insects on a 'foreign exchange from Mexico'. To ensure the wasps dont feel too homesick during their 10-week stay Rowse Honey bee farmers have created tailor-made hives, complete with UV lamps and heaters which set the temperature to a balmy 23 degrees and fitted mini speakers which play a constant stream of Latin American music including Carlos Santa, Ricky Martin and Enrique Iglesias April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks The Guardian 'exclusively' announced that the royal family was planning to make a dramatic intervention to support Britain remaining in the EU. The report was attributed to an unnamed 'royal correspondent' - an unlikely position at the republican-minded paper April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Following discussion over the prospect of having various stars of The Night Manager as the next James Bond, the Daily Mail announced the role would be going to Olivia Colman. 'Olivia's no fool,' a source was quoted as saying. Indeed April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Simon Cowell is installing a trap door for the latest round of Britain's Got Talent auditions, the Daily Mirror reports April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks The London Eye has announced the conversion of two capsules into 'luxury studio penthouses', complete with constant champagne and a personal pillow fluffer in 'an enviable postcode'. "Arrangements for electricity, phone and postal services are currently in discussion" April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Over at The Times, students at two London universities are apparently planning to rename their historic institutions to 'decolonise and demisogynise' them. Names including Gaia College and Citizen's College were touted April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks The Express claims the stars of the EU flag are to be incorporated into the Union flag April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks The Royal Albert Hall is claiming it will be used as a 'scaled-down version of the Large Hadron Collider': "Since opening in 1871, the venue has proudly celebrated the best of the worlds latest scientific developments...Now, it hopes to make scientific discoveries of its own as particles will be fired around its corridors at high speed in the hopes that some science will happen" April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Pimms, the quintessential drink of the British Summer, has unveiled the result of an unprecedented sponsorship deal to display its logo on the worlds most famous clock tower, the Big Ben
It's a funny idea, but since the button is right next to the normal 'send' button, lots of users are having fairly unpleasant mornings.
"Accidentally hit this new 'mic drop' button halfway through composing a professional email. Dying to remove this thing," wrote one user on Google's product forum.
"This is horrible - just sent an email to a client with this stupid icon on it. I can't afford these stupid pranks!" said another.
For some, Google's wicked sense of humour had major consequences. One user, who said they were a professional writer, wrote: "Thanks to 'mic drop' I just lost my job."
"I sent my articles to my boss and never heard back from her. I inadvertently sent the email using the 'mic drop' send button."
The poor writer's boss apparently took offence to the Minion GIF, assuming it to be an insult to her editing skills.
The post ended: "I just woke up to a very angry voicemail from her which is how I found out about this 'hilarious' prank."
Some users called for some sort of compensation from Google for the inconvenience, with one writing: "Do you f****** think that when it's April 1st my email is something I f*** around with?"
It's only 9 am and hundreds of professional relationships have been destroyed thanks to an April Fools' joke.
According to Google, the button is staying up for 24 hours and will be appearing on mobile at some point soon - so there's plenty more potential for disastrous misunderstandings as the day goes on.
Update, 1 April 11:50: Google has announced it has removed the button, after facing a backlash from users. The company said in a statement: "Well, it looks like we pranked ourselves this year. Due to a bug, the Mic Drop feature inadvertently caused more headaches than laughs. Were truly sorry. The feature has been turned off. If you are still seeing it, please reload your Gmail page."
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North Korea has started blocking Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and other western websites, the regime has announced.
A number of South Korean websites have also been blocked, in a move which suggests the government is growing more concerned about the spread of information online.
As reported by the Associated Press, the decision was made by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, who made their announcement on the homepage of Koryolink, the main mobile service provider in North Korea.
The decision is unlikely to have major effects on ordinary North Koreans, since the vast majority of them have no access to the internet.
The few who do can only browse a sealed-off, government sanctioned intranet, rather than the web at large.
However, there were previously no open restrictions on visiting foreigners' use of the internet, although there was thought to be secret monitoring of their activities.
Everyday life in North Korea - in pictures Show all 10 1 /10 Everyday life in North Korea - in pictures Everyday life in North Korea - in pictures 'Ordinary life' in North Korea A man cuts the hair of a young boy at an apartment building in Pyongyang. High rise apartments are a common form of accommodation for people living in the capital city AP Photo/Dita Alangkara Everyday life in North Korea - in pictures 'Ordinary life' in North Korea North Koreans pause to give way for passing vehicles as they cross a road in Pyongyang. AP Photo/Dita Alangkara Everyday life in North Korea - in pictures 'Ordinary life' in North Korea North Koreans wait for public transportation at a bus stop in Pyongyang AP Photo/Dita Alangkara Everyday life in North Korea - in pictures 'Ordinary life' in North Korea A woman and her daughter walk past a North Korean flag hung on a utility pole as part of celebrations of the Liberation Day in Pyongyang AP Photo/Dita Alangkara Everyday life in North Korea - in pictures 'Ordinary life' in North Korea People attending the conference for national reunification as they observe their 70th anniversary of Korea's liberation, marking the end of World War II, in Panmunjom AFP PHOTO / KCNA via KNS REPUBLIC OF KOREA OUT Everyday life in North Korea - in pictures 'Ordinary life' in North Korea A man looks at items at a stamp shop in Pyongyang AP Photo/Dita Alangkara Everyday life in North Korea - in pictures 'Ordinary life' in North Korea North Koreans participate in a closing event for its celebration of the 70th anniversary of Korea's independence from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule, at the truce village inside the demilitarized zone (DMZ) that divides the two Koreas in Panmunjom, North Korea. The country changed it's timezone on the occasion. North Korea introduced 'Pyongyang time' and pushed back its clocks by half an hour on 15 August, the same as before the Japanese occupation when the standard time used by the Korean empire was eight and a half hours ahead of GMT, instead of nine hours, which is Tokyo time EPA/KCNA SOUTH KOREA OUT Everyday life in North Korea - in pictures 'Ordinary life' in North Korea People attending the conference for national reunification as they observe their 70th anniversary of Korea's liberation, marking the end of World War II, in Panmunjom AFP PHOTO / KCNA via KNS Everyday life in North Korea - in pictures 'Ordinary life' in North Korea Youths and students attending an evening gala at the Kim Il-Sung Square in Pyongyang to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Korea's liberation, marking the end of World War II AFP PHOTO / KCNA via KNS REPUBLIC OF KOREA OUT Everyday life in North Korea - in pictures 'Ordinary life' in North Korea North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun to mark the occasion of the 70th anniversary of Korea's liberation REUTERS/KCNAATTENTION EDITORS
With the new blocks in place, it will become much more difficult for visitors or the small number of foreign residents in North Korea to share up-to-date information about the country with the outside world.
The announcement said anyone who tries to access the blocked sites in an "improper" way, or uses them to distribute "anti-republic data" would be punished, although the penalty was not specified.
The internet opened up in North Korea in 2013, when foreigners were allowed to use 3G on their mobile phones. Since then, people have posted Facebook statuses from inside the country, sent tweets, created Instagram pictures and even live-streamed videos.
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The Indonesian government has reportedly threatened to deport Leonardo DiCaprio over critical comments he made about the palm oil industry on social media during a recent visit.
The Oscar-winning actor and environmental campaigner arrived in Sumatra, Indonesia, last week and shared pictures of endangered Sumatran elephants and an orangutan on his Instagram page. The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation is supporting local partners in establishing a mega-fauna sanctuary in the Leuser rainforest ecosystem where, it is claimed, elephants, orangutans, and other animals are endangered by activities such as the expansion of palm oil plantations and mining.
In a post accompanying a picture of the elephants, DiCaprio wrote: A world-class biodiversity hotspot, the #Indonesian Leuser Ecosystem is one of the most important areas of intact #rainforest left in Southeast Asia. Its forests are home to the densest remaining populations of the critically endangered Sumatran #orangutan. But palm oil expansion is destroying this unique place. Now is the time to save the Leuser Ecosystem. We must develop a permanent solution to protect and restore this valuable natural asset. Click the link in the bio to stand up and #SaveLeuserEcosystem. #Indonesia.
But officials were apparently riled by his environmental campaigning.
People news in pictures Show all 18 1 /18 People news in pictures People news in pictures 7 October 2015 Russian President Vladimir Putin takes part in an ice hockey match between former NHL stars and officials at the Shayba Arena in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. Vladimir Putin spent his 63rd birthday on the ice, playing hockey with NHL stars against Russian officials and tycoons EPA People news in pictures 6 October 2015 German designer Karl Lagerfeld (R) and model Cara Delevingne (C) appear at the end of his Spring/Summer 2016 women's ready-to-wear collection for fashion house Chanel at the Grand Palais which is transformed into a Chanel airport during the Fashion Week in Paris, France Reuters People news in pictures 5 October 2015 Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne addresses the Conservative party conference in Manchester. The Chancellor argued that reducing the payments to people in low paid jobs would give them economic security by reducing the Governments spending deficit Getty Images People news in pictures 4 October 2015 Cowboys captain Johnathan Thurston takes a moment in the centre of the field with his daughter Frankie Thurston, holding dark-skinned doll, after winning the 2015 NRL Grand Final match between the Brisbane Broncos and the North Queensland Cowboys at ANZ Stadium in Sydney. The image quickly became the talking point of Australias National Rugby League Final and provoked a strong reaction on social media, with many praising Thurston for giving his child a toy that promotes inclusiveness and diversity Getty Images People news in pictures 3 October 2015 Pope Francis gives a thumbs-up as he greets people at the end of an audience to the participants of a meeting organized by the "Food Bank" at the Paul VI audience hall in Vatican Getty Images People news in pictures 2 October 2015 Britain's Finance Minister George Osborne (L) throws an American football as he meets with former American football players Dan Marino (2nd R) and Curtis Martin (not pictured) at 11 Downing Street in London, ahead of the New York Jets playing against the Miami Dolphins at London's Wembley Stadium on 4 October Getty Images People news in pictures 1 October 2015 An honor guard opens the door as Russian President Vladimir Putin enters a hall to attend a meeting with members of the Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia People news in pictures 30 September 2015 Former Mrs America Lisa Christie, who alleges misconduct by Bill Cosby, holds up photos of her younger self during a news conference at the law office of attorney Gloria Allred in Los Angeles People news in pictures 29 September 2015 Matt Damon has defended himself against claims that he instructed gay actors to remain in the closet. He had said I think youre a better actor the less people know about you and sexuality is a huge part of that. Whether youre straight or gay, people shouldnt know anything about your sexuality but an appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres show said, I was just trying to say actors are more effective when theyre a mystery. Right? Getty People news in pictures 29 September 2015 Actor Marion Cotillard has said that there is no place for feminism in Hollywood. Speaking to Porter magazine, she saidFilm-making is not about gender/ You cannot ask a president in a festival like Cannes to have, like, five movies directed by women and five by men. For me it doesnt create equality, it creates separation. I mean, I dont qualify myself as a feminist." Getty People news in pictures 29 September 2015 Actor Paul Walkers daughter, Meadow, is suing Porsche over her fathers death in a lawsuit that claims he was trapped in the burning car because of design flaws and the seat belt. The Fast and Furious star was killed when the Porsche Carrera GT he was a passenger in hit a pole in California in 2013. The driver, his friend Roger Rodas, also died when the vehicle burst into flames. AP People news in pictures 28 September 2015 Robert Mugabe waits to address the United Nations General Assembly. The leader of Zimbabwe reportedly exclaimed 'We are not gay!' as he criticised Western nation's "double standards and attempts to prescribe new rights that are contrary to our values, norms, traditions and beliefs. In 2013 he described homosexuals as worse than pigs, goats and birds. Reuters People news in pictures 28 September 2015 South African comedian Trevor Noah hosts the first 'Daily Show' since taking over from Jon Stewart as host. Stewart had presented the US satirical news show since 1999 and was described by Noah during the show as a 'Political father' 2015 Getty Images People news in pictures 25 September 2015 Sir Elton John may have received a phone call from the real Vladimir Putin. Mr Putin's spokesman announced he had made contact weeks after the singer was duped by pranksters pretending to be the Russian President. Getty People news in pictures 25 September 2015 Actor Leonardo DiCaprio was mistakenly declared as the artist who produced the Mona Lisa by Fox News anchor Shepard Smith. It was in fact Leonardo da Vinci. People news in pictures 24 September 2015 A new biography claims Donald Trump expected to be dead by 40 and never marry. The Guardian says the a new book also claims that in 1980, Mr Trump manufactured a fake vice-president of his real estate conglomerate, whom he called John Baron. People news in pictures 24 September 2015 The Dalai Lama has said that Britain's policy towards China is just about 'Money, money, money.' And asked 'Where is morality?' People news in pictures 24 September 2015 Puff Daddy secured the number-one spot on the Forbes Hip Hop Cash Kings list, with the publication calculating he made an estimated $60million (39m) between June 2014 and June 2015.
If there are statements that discredit the Government and the interests of Indonesia, he could be deported, immigration director-general Ronny Sompie reportedly told Republika. If he is in Indonesia for other purposes, by engaging in activities that disrupt public order and harm the interests of Indonesia, immigration authorities are ready to deport him.
However, EcoWatch claims DiCaprio has already left the country. His representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Independent.
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A delivery driver from Luton has been found guilty of preparing to carry out a terror attack on US military personnel in Britain.
Junead Khan, 25, had considered travelling to Syria to fight for Isis but changed his mind and decided to plan an atrocity on home soil, Kingston Crown Court heard.
Prosecutors said an al-Qaeda guide to making a viable pipe bomb had been found on his laptop and claimed he scouted out air bases including the US Air Force's RAF Lakenheath and RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk.
Khan had been in contact with Isis militant Junaid Hussain, who was killed by a drone strike in Raqqa last year
Messages between Khan and an Isis fighter in Syria were also found, with the pair discussing the best way to carry out a UK attack.
Following Khan's arrest in July, police found black flags similar to those used by the so-called Islamic State, as well as photos of Khan posing with them.
He was also convicted alongside his uncle, Shazib Khan, 23, of preparing to go to Syria to join Isis. The pair have been remanded in custody and face sentencing on 13 May.
Both men denied engaging in conduct in preparation of terrorist acts between August 2014 and July last year.
Investigators found Khan had been exchanging messages with an Isis fighter believed to be Junaid Hussain, the British hacker killed by a US drone strike in August.
UK terror plots that were foiled by security services Show all 14 1 /14 UK terror plots that were foiled by security services UK terror plots that were foiled by security services Oxford Street terror plot Lewis Ludlow was jailed for life in March 2019 for planning a 'spectacular multi-victim attack' on Oxford Street in London. He pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey last year to plotting an attack in the UK and funding Isis abroad EPA UK terror plots that were foiled by security services Rosie Cooper MP plot Jack Renshaw admitted plotting to kill his local Labour MP with a machete in June 2018. Renshaw bought a 19in machete intending to use it to kill Rosie Cooper, MP for West Lancashire. His plan was foiled by whistleblower Robbie Mullen, who heard of the plot in a meeting of alleged and convicted National Action members in the Friar Penketh pub in Warrington Hope Not Hate UK terror plots that were foiled by security services 'Poppy terror plot' Nadir Ali Sayed, his cousin Yousaf Shah Syed, and Haseeb Hamayoon, were charged with terrorism offences over an alleged plot to behead a member of public. The trio were arrested in London and High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire on 6 November - three days before Remembrance Sunday in 2014 PA UK terror plots that were foiled by security services National Action arrests Following the arrest of six men in 2018 on suspicion that they were members of the banned far-right terror group National Action, two were jailed. Christopher Lythgoe was found to be leader of the banned group and jailed for eight years, while Matthew Hankinson was jailed for six years. While it was found that Lythgoe did not encourage Jack Renshaw's plot to kill a Labour MP, the judge noted that he "did nothing to stop or discourage" the attack PA UK terror plots that were foiled by security services Shane Fletcher A self-described 'loner', Fletcher planned to kill members of the public at a football match in his home town of Workington. He had been referred to the government's Prevent programme nine moths prior to his arrest after stating that he dreamed about "shooting up a mosque" PA UK terror plots that were foiled by security services Heathrow airport arrests A 19-year-old from Coventry man was arrested at London's Heathrow airport on suspicion of preparing for acts of terrorism in November 2014 UK terror plots that were foiled by security services Extradition of Abu Hamza Radical muslim cleric Abu Hamza was extradited to the US in 2014 after having been jailed in the UK for 7 years for 11 offences under the Terrorism Act Getty UK terror plots that were foiled by security services South East Counter Terrorism Unit arrests Six people were arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences after a series of dawn raids in the south of England in October 2014. Three men and three women were detained separately in two properties in Portsmouth, one in Farnborough and one in Greenwich following an operation by the South East Counter Terrorism Unit. Counter-terror officers said they had disrupted what was believed to be the early stages of what could have turned into a significant plot PA UK terror plots that were foiled by security services October 2014 arrests Three men were arrested in central London on 13 October as part of an investigation into Islamist-related terrorism. The arrests come nearly a week after five men were arrested in dawn raids that Whitehall officials said may have foiled the early stages of a plan to attack the UK Peter Macdiarmid/Getty UK terror plots that were foiled by security services Anjem Choudary arrest Anjem Choudary, the radical activist and co-founder of the banned al-Muhajiroun group, was arrested in September 2014 as efforts intensify to disrupt the ideological backers of young British Muslims travelling to fight in foreign conflicts. Mr Choudary was among nine men held on suspicion of supporting a banned terrorist group and encouraging terrorism. The arrests came shortly after Mr Choudary fired off a series of angry tweets after David Cameron called on MPs to back air strikes against Islamic State militants in Syria Oli Scarff/Getty UK terror plots that were foiled by security services North West Counter Terrorism Unit funds seizing Police seize 250,000 of cash intended to fund Isis at Manchester Airport and north-west ports. Using powers under the Terrorism Act, the money was confiscated by officers from the North West Counter Terrorism Unit in Ocotber 2014 Getty UK terror plots that were foiled by security services Tarik Hassane arrest A medical student who was offered a place at a London university has been named among four men who are being questioned by counter-terror police after a series of raids across the capital. Tarik Hassane, 21, is believed to have been Tasered when he was arrested on suspicion of being involved in a "significant" Islamist terror plot on 7 October 2015 UK terror plots that were foiled by security services Abu Qatada removed from UK Radical preacher Abu Qatada will not be returning to the UK after being cleared of terror charges in Jordan in 2013 Reuters UK terror plots that were foiled by security services Haider Ahmed knife plot Teenage Isis supporter Haider Ahmed purchased a 15ins hunting knife and threatened to launch a stabbing attack on the Tube. Prosecutors said he may alternatively have been planning to rob someone with the weapon to fund his travel to fight for Isis in Syria He was jailed for preparing an act of terrorism in June 2019 Counter Terrorism Policing South East
David Cameron said he and another British militant were recruiting sympathisers to "orchestrate barbaric attacks against the West" including unspecified plots in the UK last summer.
The court heard that Khan and Hussain exchanged messages on the encypted SureSpot app starting on 5 July, with Khan discussing faking a road accident before getting out to attack people.
Hussain claimed he could get him addresses of British soldiers, but added: "Most soldiers live in bases which are protected. I suppose on the road is the best idea. Or if you want akhi (brother) I can tell u how to make a bomb (sic)."
Khan replied: "When I saw these soldiers on road it looked simple but I had nothing on me or wouldve got into an accident with them and made them get out of the car (sic)."
"That's what the brother done with Lee Rigby," Hussain added, saying he would send Khan a manual for making a "pressure cooker bomb".
Lee Rigby was killed in a London street after being run over by his two attackers (Getty)
Kingston Crown Court heard that Prevent, part of the government's anti-extremism programme, was aware of Khan and his uncle in May 2014 - more than a year before his arrest.
Khan was detained on 14 July at a depot for the pharmaceuticals firm he worked for in Letchworth, Hertfordshire, after using the delivery work as cover to find targets.
Sue Hemming, head of the Crown Prosecution Service's counter-terrorism division, said: Junead Khan was planning an attack in the UK and both of these men intended to travel to Syria and support terrorism.
"Even though they did not leave the country, they had spent a significant amount of time planning their journey.
"Through early detection and prosecution of these individuals, more serious crimes have been avoided which could have had devastating consequences in the UK or Syria.
Additional reporting by PA
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Britains busiest food bank, which has provided 50,000 people with emergency food parcels over the past year, has warned it is on the brink of being forced to shut down amid a funding crisis.
Newcastle West End food bank believes they could run out of such packages in the next three months if they lose 75,000 in vital funding they rely on.
Until recently the charity received money from a local trust for a large share of its funding. But, after a couple of years, the local trust which the food bank did not name focused their resources elsewhere.
Between April and September last year, 10,026 children received three days' worth of emergency food from the centre.
Matthew King, operations manager at the centre, told The Independent that cuts to welfare by the current Government was to blame for the number of people needing help. It is government cuts, he said. Whether thats to the people who receive benefits but also cuts to local authorities that no longer have the money to be able to offer grants.
It stems from the decisions made in Whitehall.
Matthew King, Operations Manager (PA)
The overarching reason people come to us is that they dont have sufficient money to purchase food. Often that is because of changes to the welfare system. We have people who walk three of four miles to actually come to our distribution centre.
And Mr King said he was worried about the future state of services with further cuts to come. He said: The fact that Employment Support Allowance [ESA] is going to be cut. How many of us would be able to survive if we lost 30 per cent of our income?
Around 300 to 400 local residents, and their families, rely on the Newcastle West End food bank every week for three days emergency food. Asked about a potential closure of the food bank centre, Mr King said: There would be a lot of people in need who would go hungry. It would be as stark as that.
In order to stay open, the Newcastle branch is trying to scramble together the funds. Staff have taken voluntary cuts in hours and in pay and the food bank will no longer be able to fund regular food collections from other parts of the country.
The Newcastle West End centre is an independent organisation within the Trussell Trusts 400 strong-network of food banks. Nationwide, in the last financial year, they provided 1,084,604 packages to people in crisis.
In more than 40 per cent of cases, the main reason for people needing food parcels is related to delays or changes to their benefits, says the charity.
In January the trusts chairman Chris Mould claimed that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) viewed Britons drive to food banks by poverty as collateral damage.
A spokesperson for the Trussell Trust said: "Whilst the majority of foodbanks in The Trussell Trust network dont receive government funding and are still seeing strong support through public donations, some do get help from charities or local authorities who offer them grants or in-kind support, such as free warehouse space.
"Reductions in local authority funding, either to charities that work with the foodbank, or in some cases to the foodbank itself, could put pressure on some foodbanks and we will continue to monitor this. We always encourage foodbanks to talk to us when theyre experiencing financial difficulty so we can work with them to help resolve the issue."
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David Cameron has tweeted his pride in bringing in the National Living Wage only for his tweet to be mocked as an April Fool.
The tweet was sent from the Prime Ministers official account as the UK woke up to the annual deluge of fake news stories and pranks.
I'm proud the National Living Wage comes into force today, it said. It requires employers to pay workers over 25 at least 7.20 per hour.
But some people have taken the opportunity to have a little dig at the Prime Minister.
HA best April fools ever David. Good one. You are such a card, wrote one commenter.
Another added: I fear the new National Living Wage is a very cruel Tory April Fools' joke.
April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Show all 20 1 /20 April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Nigel Farage has horrified some Ukip supporters with an April Fools Day joke announcing his backing for Britain to stay in the European Union. I've decided that today is the perfect time to announce that I'll be supporting the campaign to Remain in the EU, he tweeted from his account. While most Twitter users noted the timing of the announcement, several of Mr Farages supporters seemed concerned April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks WWF has launched a new campaign 'Adopt a Unicorn today' to help protect mystical creatures: "In recent years, demand for unicorns spiral horns and loss of their rainbow-spangled habitat have led to a catastrophic fall in numbers of the mythical creature, to the point where these incredible animals now exist only in our imaginations" April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks The Virgin Trains has announced that customers will soon be able to catch a steam train to work, as its revealed that the original Flying Scotsman locomotive will be joining its fleet later this year April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Dominos has unveiled its latest robot innovation The Domimaker, a state-of-the-art pizza creation robot that transports customers live into the Dominos kitchen to take pizza personalisation to the next level. It allows rookie pizza makers to connect to the Domimaker LIVE via their webcam where they can direct the robots swivel-tech rotating arms and twin-jet sauce dispensers to create their own pizza April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks The German Embassy has done its own April fool, featuring chickens 'laying rugby eggs': "The German government today announced a new policy aimed at establishing rugby as the country's new national sport. At the unveiling of the far-reaching measures that will see rugby become an integral part of German culture, including hens that lay rugby 'eggs', government spokesperson G. Flugel stated that the country would "focus all attention and efforts on winning the 7 Nations Championship" April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Google is usually pretty good at April Fools' jokes, but this year's gag may have backfired. For one day only, Gmail users can choose to 'drop the mic' during email conversations. Gmail's 'mic drop' April Fools' joke is costing people their jobs April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Isle of Man has announced plans to erect a dome over the Island, protecting the stunning natural environment for all to enjoy. The pioneering design shows how the Island will take inspiration from structures such as the Eden Project to provide a controlled environment, with key access points around transport hubs April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Wetherspoons, the pub chain, has got in on the fun with claims it was taking over Eastenders local the Queen Vic pub in Albert Square April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks David Cameron has announced his pride in bringing in the long-awaited National Living Wage only for announcement to be dismissed as an April Fools Day joke. The unfortunately-timed tweet was sent from the Prime Ministers official account as the UK woke up to the annual deluge of fake news stories and pranks Getty Images April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks J.K Rowling has been used as the butt of an April Fools' Day joke by the pro-independence Scottish Resistance group. A Facebook claimed the fiercely pro-union author had performed a drastic U-turn and was starting work on The Fall of the House of Westminster April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Virgin Active has launched Personal Trainers...talking trainers. Essentially they are the future of personal training with in built speakers featuring top training tips to help motivate and drive you to the end of your workout. The trainers have loads of other weird and wonderful features including locking laces which cant be removed until 200 calories are burned, a projector that displays over 100 workouts and goal trackers April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Rowse has announced the creation of 'wasp honey' from 10,000 insects on a 'foreign exchange from Mexico'. To ensure the wasps dont feel too homesick during their 10-week stay Rowse Honey bee farmers have created tailor-made hives, complete with UV lamps and heaters which set the temperature to a balmy 23 degrees and fitted mini speakers which play a constant stream of Latin American music including Carlos Santa, Ricky Martin and Enrique Iglesias April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks The Guardian 'exclusively' announced that the royal family was planning to make a dramatic intervention to support Britain remaining in the EU. The report was attributed to an unnamed 'royal correspondent' - an unlikely position at the republican-minded paper April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Following discussion over the prospect of having various stars of The Night Manager as the next James Bond, the Daily Mail announced the role would be going to Olivia Colman. 'Olivia's no fool,' a source was quoted as saying. Indeed April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Simon Cowell is installing a trap door for the latest round of Britain's Got Talent auditions, the Daily Mirror reports April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks The London Eye has announced the conversion of two capsules into 'luxury studio penthouses', complete with constant champagne and a personal pillow fluffer in 'an enviable postcode'. "Arrangements for electricity, phone and postal services are currently in discussion" April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Over at The Times, students at two London universities are apparently planning to rename their historic institutions to 'decolonise and demisogynise' them. Names including Gaia College and Citizen's College were touted April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks The Express claims the stars of the EU flag are to be incorporated into the Union flag April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks The Royal Albert Hall is claiming it will be used as a 'scaled-down version of the Large Hadron Collider': "Since opening in 1871, the venue has proudly celebrated the best of the worlds latest scientific developments...Now, it hopes to make scientific discoveries of its own as particles will be fired around its corridors at high speed in the hopes that some science will happen" April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Pimms, the quintessential drink of the British Summer, has unveiled the result of an unprecedented sponsorship deal to display its logo on the worlds most famous clock tower, the Big Ben
Others said the "joke" was actually the new rate of pay, claiming it was merely a "rebrand" of the minimum wage and could cause job losses.
Dozens of people asked whether the announcement is in jest, while many noted the timing.
Such an appropriate day to bring it in! said on Twitter user.
The hourly rate for over-25s is increasing by 50p from 6.70 but there has been criticism over the decision to exclude younger workers.
The Government's aim is to increase the rate to 9 an hour by 2020, which would affect an estimated nine million people.
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Nigel Farage has horrified some Ukip supporters with an April Fools Day joke announcing his backing for Britain to stay in the European Union.
Read our live round-up of the best and worst jokes here
I've decided that today is the perfect time to announce that I'll be supporting the campaign to Remain in the EU, he tweeted from his account.
While most Twitter users noted the timing of the announcement, several of Mr Farages supporters seemed concerned.
What the actual f***? replied one outraged man, with another labelling the MEP a traitor.
Some questioned whether the Ukip leaders account had been hacked, presumably by some tech-savvy remainers ahead of the 23 June referendum.
Others were unimpressed. You didn't need to bother with this, you are already one of the biggest fools on the planet, April or otherwise, came one frosty remark.
5 April Fool's Day pranks and tweets
At least make it a realistic joke, another huffed.
April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Show all 20 1 /20 April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Nigel Farage has horrified some Ukip supporters with an April Fools Day joke announcing his backing for Britain to stay in the European Union. I've decided that today is the perfect time to announce that I'll be supporting the campaign to Remain in the EU, he tweeted from his account. While most Twitter users noted the timing of the announcement, several of Mr Farages supporters seemed concerned April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks WWF has launched a new campaign 'Adopt a Unicorn today' to help protect mystical creatures: "In recent years, demand for unicorns spiral horns and loss of their rainbow-spangled habitat have led to a catastrophic fall in numbers of the mythical creature, to the point where these incredible animals now exist only in our imaginations" April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks The Virgin Trains has announced that customers will soon be able to catch a steam train to work, as its revealed that the original Flying Scotsman locomotive will be joining its fleet later this year April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Dominos has unveiled its latest robot innovation The Domimaker, a state-of-the-art pizza creation robot that transports customers live into the Dominos kitchen to take pizza personalisation to the next level. It allows rookie pizza makers to connect to the Domimaker LIVE via their webcam where they can direct the robots swivel-tech rotating arms and twin-jet sauce dispensers to create their own pizza April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks The German Embassy has done its own April fool, featuring chickens 'laying rugby eggs': "The German government today announced a new policy aimed at establishing rugby as the country's new national sport. At the unveiling of the far-reaching measures that will see rugby become an integral part of German culture, including hens that lay rugby 'eggs', government spokesperson G. Flugel stated that the country would "focus all attention and efforts on winning the 7 Nations Championship" April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Google is usually pretty good at April Fools' jokes, but this year's gag may have backfired. For one day only, Gmail users can choose to 'drop the mic' during email conversations. Gmail's 'mic drop' April Fools' joke is costing people their jobs April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Isle of Man has announced plans to erect a dome over the Island, protecting the stunning natural environment for all to enjoy. The pioneering design shows how the Island will take inspiration from structures such as the Eden Project to provide a controlled environment, with key access points around transport hubs April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Wetherspoons, the pub chain, has got in on the fun with claims it was taking over Eastenders local the Queen Vic pub in Albert Square April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks David Cameron has announced his pride in bringing in the long-awaited National Living Wage only for announcement to be dismissed as an April Fools Day joke. The unfortunately-timed tweet was sent from the Prime Ministers official account as the UK woke up to the annual deluge of fake news stories and pranks Getty Images April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks J.K Rowling has been used as the butt of an April Fools' Day joke by the pro-independence Scottish Resistance group. A Facebook claimed the fiercely pro-union author had performed a drastic U-turn and was starting work on The Fall of the House of Westminster April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Virgin Active has launched Personal Trainers...talking trainers. Essentially they are the future of personal training with in built speakers featuring top training tips to help motivate and drive you to the end of your workout. The trainers have loads of other weird and wonderful features including locking laces which cant be removed until 200 calories are burned, a projector that displays over 100 workouts and goal trackers April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Rowse has announced the creation of 'wasp honey' from 10,000 insects on a 'foreign exchange from Mexico'. To ensure the wasps dont feel too homesick during their 10-week stay Rowse Honey bee farmers have created tailor-made hives, complete with UV lamps and heaters which set the temperature to a balmy 23 degrees and fitted mini speakers which play a constant stream of Latin American music including Carlos Santa, Ricky Martin and Enrique Iglesias April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks The Guardian 'exclusively' announced that the royal family was planning to make a dramatic intervention to support Britain remaining in the EU. The report was attributed to an unnamed 'royal correspondent' - an unlikely position at the republican-minded paper April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Following discussion over the prospect of having various stars of The Night Manager as the next James Bond, the Daily Mail announced the role would be going to Olivia Colman. 'Olivia's no fool,' a source was quoted as saying. Indeed April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Simon Cowell is installing a trap door for the latest round of Britain's Got Talent auditions, the Daily Mirror reports April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks The London Eye has announced the conversion of two capsules into 'luxury studio penthouses', complete with constant champagne and a personal pillow fluffer in 'an enviable postcode'. "Arrangements for electricity, phone and postal services are currently in discussion" April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Over at The Times, students at two London universities are apparently planning to rename their historic institutions to 'decolonise and demisogynise' them. Names including Gaia College and Citizen's College were touted April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks The Express claims the stars of the EU flag are to be incorporated into the Union flag April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks The Royal Albert Hall is claiming it will be used as a 'scaled-down version of the Large Hadron Collider': "Since opening in 1871, the venue has proudly celebrated the best of the worlds latest scientific developments...Now, it hopes to make scientific discoveries of its own as particles will be fired around its corridors at high speed in the hopes that some science will happen" April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Pimms, the quintessential drink of the British Summer, has unveiled the result of an unprecedented sponsorship deal to display its logo on the worlds most famous clock tower, the Big Ben
But many of the Ukip leader's fans enjoyed the joke, crowning him "lord of bants" and praising the "best April fools of all time".
Mr Farages joke came as the UK woke up to the annual deluge of pranks and fake stories.
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April Fools' Day often requires being slightly suspicious of what you read in an effort to avoid being tricked by a prank story.
Here are some stories published in recent days which seem far-fetched enough to fall into the April Fools' Day category, but are in fact genuine.
1. Whoopi Goldberg launches medical marijuana products for period pain
The actress has created a line of balms and bath soaks containing medical marijuana, which are intended to relieve period pain.
2. Dash the dog sparks terror alert at US bank because of confusion over name
Officials at Chase Bank blocked a bank payment of a man with muscular dystrophy because of the name of his assistance dog. The bank issued an alert because they thought the name Dash was similar to Daesh, the Arabic acronym for Isis being used by politicians in the US.
3. Politician files resolution calling upon colleagues to stop saying physical when they mean fiscal
Tracy McCreery filed the resolution in the Missouri House of Representatives in March. She told The Washington Post: I feel like the word fiscal is just very critical to doing our job properly. And I feel like thats a word that we should be cognizant of pronouncing correctly.
5 April Fool's Day pranks and tweets
4. Judge says creamerys all-natural skim milk is not skim milk
An all-natural creamery cannot label its skim milk as skim milk because it does not add vitamins to the product, a judge from Florida has said. The move is in line with regulations set out by the state's Department of Agriculture. According to the Associated Press, Mary Lou Wesselhoeft, of Ocheesee Creamery, will have to carry on throwing away her milk unless she labels it "imitation skim milk".
April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Show all 20 1 /20 April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Nigel Farage has horrified some Ukip supporters with an April Fools Day joke announcing his backing for Britain to stay in the European Union. I've decided that today is the perfect time to announce that I'll be supporting the campaign to Remain in the EU, he tweeted from his account. While most Twitter users noted the timing of the announcement, several of Mr Farages supporters seemed concerned April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks WWF has launched a new campaign 'Adopt a Unicorn today' to help protect mystical creatures: "In recent years, demand for unicorns spiral horns and loss of their rainbow-spangled habitat have led to a catastrophic fall in numbers of the mythical creature, to the point where these incredible animals now exist only in our imaginations" April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks The Virgin Trains has announced that customers will soon be able to catch a steam train to work, as its revealed that the original Flying Scotsman locomotive will be joining its fleet later this year April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Dominos has unveiled its latest robot innovation The Domimaker, a state-of-the-art pizza creation robot that transports customers live into the Dominos kitchen to take pizza personalisation to the next level. It allows rookie pizza makers to connect to the Domimaker LIVE via their webcam where they can direct the robots swivel-tech rotating arms and twin-jet sauce dispensers to create their own pizza April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks The German Embassy has done its own April fool, featuring chickens 'laying rugby eggs': "The German government today announced a new policy aimed at establishing rugby as the country's new national sport. At the unveiling of the far-reaching measures that will see rugby become an integral part of German culture, including hens that lay rugby 'eggs', government spokesperson G. Flugel stated that the country would "focus all attention and efforts on winning the 7 Nations Championship" April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Google is usually pretty good at April Fools' jokes, but this year's gag may have backfired. For one day only, Gmail users can choose to 'drop the mic' during email conversations. Gmail's 'mic drop' April Fools' joke is costing people their jobs April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Isle of Man has announced plans to erect a dome over the Island, protecting the stunning natural environment for all to enjoy. The pioneering design shows how the Island will take inspiration from structures such as the Eden Project to provide a controlled environment, with key access points around transport hubs April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Wetherspoons, the pub chain, has got in on the fun with claims it was taking over Eastenders local the Queen Vic pub in Albert Square April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks David Cameron has announced his pride in bringing in the long-awaited National Living Wage only for announcement to be dismissed as an April Fools Day joke. The unfortunately-timed tweet was sent from the Prime Ministers official account as the UK woke up to the annual deluge of fake news stories and pranks Getty Images April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks J.K Rowling has been used as the butt of an April Fools' Day joke by the pro-independence Scottish Resistance group. A Facebook claimed the fiercely pro-union author had performed a drastic U-turn and was starting work on The Fall of the House of Westminster April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Virgin Active has launched Personal Trainers...talking trainers. Essentially they are the future of personal training with in built speakers featuring top training tips to help motivate and drive you to the end of your workout. The trainers have loads of other weird and wonderful features including locking laces which cant be removed until 200 calories are burned, a projector that displays over 100 workouts and goal trackers April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Rowse has announced the creation of 'wasp honey' from 10,000 insects on a 'foreign exchange from Mexico'. To ensure the wasps dont feel too homesick during their 10-week stay Rowse Honey bee farmers have created tailor-made hives, complete with UV lamps and heaters which set the temperature to a balmy 23 degrees and fitted mini speakers which play a constant stream of Latin American music including Carlos Santa, Ricky Martin and Enrique Iglesias April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks The Guardian 'exclusively' announced that the royal family was planning to make a dramatic intervention to support Britain remaining in the EU. The report was attributed to an unnamed 'royal correspondent' - an unlikely position at the republican-minded paper April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Following discussion over the prospect of having various stars of The Night Manager as the next James Bond, the Daily Mail announced the role would be going to Olivia Colman. 'Olivia's no fool,' a source was quoted as saying. Indeed April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Simon Cowell is installing a trap door for the latest round of Britain's Got Talent auditions, the Daily Mirror reports April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks The London Eye has announced the conversion of two capsules into 'luxury studio penthouses', complete with constant champagne and a personal pillow fluffer in 'an enviable postcode'. "Arrangements for electricity, phone and postal services are currently in discussion" April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Over at The Times, students at two London universities are apparently planning to rename their historic institutions to 'decolonise and demisogynise' them. Names including Gaia College and Citizen's College were touted April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks The Express claims the stars of the EU flag are to be incorporated into the Union flag April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks The Royal Albert Hall is claiming it will be used as a 'scaled-down version of the Large Hadron Collider': "Since opening in 1871, the venue has proudly celebrated the best of the worlds latest scientific developments...Now, it hopes to make scientific discoveries of its own as particles will be fired around its corridors at high speed in the hopes that some science will happen" April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Pimms, the quintessential drink of the British Summer, has unveiled the result of an unprecedented sponsorship deal to display its logo on the worlds most famous clock tower, the Big Ben
5. Chinese news agency advises the nation against taking part in April Fools Day
Xinhua news agency posted the following message on its Weibo social media account: The so-called Western April Fools Day does not conform to Chinese cultural traditions or socialist core values. Hope people wont believe in rumours, start rumours or spread rumours.
6. Company uses pineapples to make trainers and sofas
Textile company Ananas Anam is using pineapple leaves to create a leather alternative, called Pinatex, which can then be used to make footwear, accessories and upholstery for furniture, according to Wired. To make just 1sq/m of textile, the leaves of 16 pineapples are needed.
7. Children in Italy could be taught about wine in schools
According to Il Fatto Quotidiano, children aged between six and 13 could spend one hour a week learning about their country's wine industry. The Local reported that the plan had been proposed by the Left Ecology Freedom party's Dario Stefano in a draft bill. He said being educated about wine would create responsible drinkers.
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The Falkland Islands have been left without the protection of a British frigate or destroyer for the first time since the conflict in 1982, The Independent can reveal.
The Royal Navy has been committed to providing a permanent presence of a major warship in the South Atlantic since a naval taskforce liberated the Falkland Islands from Argentinian occupation 34 years ago.
However a manpower crisis, a need to deploy vessels to monitor Russian naval movements closer to home and a string of engine problems with the Royal Navys much-vaunted Type 45 destroyers has meant that no warship has been dispatched to the South Atlantic since a frigate returned from the region in November 2015.
Emily Thornberry, the shadow Defence Secretary, labelled the situation as unacceptable and demanded that the Ministry of Defence immediately dispatch a warship to the region.
She said: In one area after another we have seen the impact of the savage cuts made to our armed forces since David Cameron came to office, but even by those low standards, it is unacceptable that the government is failing to provide the protection for the Falkland Islands that has been promised, and that that Islands have a right to expect as British citizens. The Ministry of Defence must rectify the situation immediately.
The row over the Royal Navys role in South Atlantic also risked embarrassing the Prime Minster as it comes days after he was forced to dismiss Argentinian claims to water surrounding the Falkland Islands.
On Tuesday David Cameron vowed to defend the islanders rights after a United Nations commission recommend that Argentinas maritime territory should be expanded by 35 per cent to surround the islands.
Ministers also face further embarrassment as it has also emerged that a manpower shortage and technical problems with the Royal Navys latest advanced destroyers has forced naval commanders to confine several warship to port. The Independent can reveal that these include Type 45 destroyer HMS Dauntless, which has been relegated to serving as a training ship, and the frigate HMS Lancaster both of which are docked in Portsmouth.
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 Royal Navys fleet six Type 45 destroyers, which includes HMS Dauntless, has been dogged by reliability issues since the first vessel entered service 10 years ago. The air defence vessels each cost 1bn and can track hostile aircraft up to 200 miles away. However earlier this year, however, the Ministry of Defence was forced to announce a plan to upgrade their troubled propulsion systems.
Naval analysts say HMS Dauntless is the worst offender of the six vessels and that she has now been confined to port as a training ship where duties have included welcoming visiting foreign dignitaries and providing a platform to train military guard dogs
Since the 1990s numerous rounds of defence cuts have reduced the Royal Navys fleet of destroyers and frigates to just 19 vessels Lord Sir Alan West, a former First Sea Lord, said this was not enough for a medium power whose prosperity requires unimpeded maritime access and transit.
Last night a Royal Navy source insisted that HMS Clyde - a small and lightly armed offshore patrol vessel - remained permanently based on the Falkland Islands, but admitted that operational considerations and the current threat level meant that no major warship was assigned to Atlantic Patrol Tasking (South), the Royal Navys long-standing mission to protect the islands.
Security experts said the failure to deploy a major surface combatant to the region was most likely due to the growing challenge being posed by the Russian Navy. Earlier this week frigate HMS Somerset was scrambled to escort Russian warships near British waters when a convoy of vessels passed through the English Channel.
Dr Lee Willett, head of the IHS Jane's Naval Desk, said the lack of a destroyer or frigate in the South Atlantic doesnt mean the commitment to the Falkland Islands isn't there. He added: The South Atlantic is an area of key national interest and the Royal Navy can and does deploy vessels to the region when required by national taskings."
On the issue of the Royal Navy's size, he said that the fleet's size was "tight" and argued that reductions in frigate and destroyer numbers may have been made at a time when a "Russian naval resurgence" had not been anticipated.
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson, said that the Royal Navy was meeting its commitments from the Baltic Sea to the Gulf and that Falkland Islands remain well protected by HMS Clyde, a Royal Fleet Auxiliary support ship and 1,200 UK personnel operating RAF Typhoons and ground defences.
They added: HMS Dauntless and HMS Lancaster are not mothballed and remain very much part of the fleet.
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An original member of the legendary Great Escape breakout from a German prisoner of war camp was repeatedly turned down for compensation despite being held for months in solitary confinement at risk of execution, newly released papers have revealed.
Lieutenant Bertram Arthur James was one of the celebrated 76 Allied airmen who escaped Stalag Luft III down a 100-metre tunnel in 1944, only to be recaptured some 18 hours later as he tried to catch a train to freedom.
Fifty of the recaptured servicemen who fled through a tunnel dug beneath the camp in modern-day Germany were shot dead on the orders of Adolf Hitler. Only three men made it home in the escape, famously retold in the 1963 movie starring Steve McQueen.
A year after the films release marked the start of a less well-publicised battle for Lt Jimmy James to secure a slice of the 1m compensation on offer for UK victims of Nazi persecution.
Recommended Read more Veterans of the Great Escape visit old stalag
Papers released today by The National Archives show how he only secured 1,192, the equivalent of nearly 20,000 today, after a parliamentary inquiry and embarrassment for the Foreign Office after the media picked up the story.
James, who died in 2008 aged 92, was a celebrated serial attempted escaper, who made more than 12 efforts to flee after he was shot down over the Netherlands in his Wellington bomber in 1940 and taken prisoner by the Germans.
The newly-released papers reveal his letters applying for compensation after the Government introduced a 1m compensation scheme in 1964 funded by West Germany. However, its terms were narrowly drawn and only one quarter of those who applied received money.
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In his letters to the Foreign Office, James detailed how he was held in an outlying block at Sachsenhausen concentration camp after The Great Escape. He spent five months in solitary confinement after another attempted tunnel escape from there in 1944, according to his letter of application.
During most of this time I was under threat of execution which was, to say the least, somewhat disturbing, Mr James, who was by then a visa officer attached to the British embassy in Prague, wrote with diplomatic service detachment.
He said conditions in the outlying block were not as harsh as in the main camp, where he wrote that 1,500 people died in the winter of 1943-44, a point picked up by the civil servants vetting claims.
A Foreign Office official wrote back in 1965 turning down his request for compensation, saying his conditions of detention were were in no way comparable to the threat of extermination by starvation, exposure, overwork or by the gas chambers etc.
The official added: This is not to belittle the hardship you underwent in contravention of the Geneva Convention.
The Daily Express later wrote that he had protested about the rejection of his claim, sparking a Foreign Office damage limitation exercise between London and Prague. Reporters attending a diplomatic function were to be told a story of his protest was without foundation.
But Mr James still unsuccessfully appealed the decision in late 1965 when he wrote in graphic terms of his treatment by German interrogators following his capture following the Great Escape and the shooting of his escape partner, a Greek fighter pilot. He said he later spent a night at Dachau when it was clear that executions were taking place.
At the bottom of his account, a pencil-written note said: There must have been thousands of cases of such treatment.
He was not paid until more than two years later when the Foreign Secretary agreed to hand compensation for victims of Sachsenhausen following a review. His was one of 1,015 awards from more than 4,000 applications.
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Hundreds more armed police officers will be stationed across the country poised to deal with a Paris-style terror attack, the Prime Minister has announced.
The "significant" increase in counter-terror squads includes 400 more armed police ready to be deployed to cities outside London around the clock, in addition to a nationwide fleet of extra armed response vehicles.
The move comes after a Government review of the capacity and capability of Britain's police forces to act in the event of "complex" attacks, similar to that on Charlie Hebdo or the simultaneous strikes launched in Paris in November.
48% of those surveyed said Britain should have a new Prime Minister in the event of a Brexit (Getty Images)
David Cameron made the announcement as he attended a summit in Washington, where world leaders are discussing plans to protect nuclear facilities.
He said: "Our police and intelligence agencies work round the clock to keep us safe and it is absolutely vital that we support them with the right resources and kit.
"After the terrorist attacks in France last year, we decided to look at whether there was more we could do to protect people from the type of terrorist threat we now face.
"That's why we are increasing the number of specially trained armed officers up and down the country to make sure the police have greater capability to respond swiftly and effectively should they need to do so."
No 10 said the beefed-up network of armed police units is intended to complement military contingency plans already in place to deploy up to 10,000 troops in the event of a terror attack.
Soldiers would be drafted in to assist with the broader security response and relieve armed police guards who can in turn respond to incidents.
In pictures: Paris attacks Show all 25 1 /25 In pictures: Paris attacks In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks French police with protective shields walk in line near the Bataclan concert hall Reuters In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks Rescuers evacuate an injured person on Boulevard des Filles du Calvaire AFP In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks French Vigipirate troops mobilize next to Place de la Bastille AFP In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks French soldiers mobilize near to the Place de la Bastille AFP In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks Wounded people are evacuated outside the scene of a hostage situation at the Bataclan theatre EPA In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks People react as they gather to watch the scene near the Bataclan concert hall Reuters In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks French police secure the area outside a cafe near the Bataclan concert hall Reuters In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks Rescuers workers evacuate victims near the Bataclan concert hall AFP In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks French Prime Minister Manuel Valls and French President Francois Hollande attending an emergency meeting at the Interior Ministry AFP In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks Spectators invade the pitch of the Stade de France after explosions were heard outside AP In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks A man lies on the ground as French police check his identity near the Bataclan concert hall Reuters In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks Police officers man a position close to the Bataclan theatre AFP In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks Wounded people are evacuated from the Stade de France in Paris EPA In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks Two men evacuate the Place de la Republique square in Paris as a police officer looks on AFP In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks Football fans are evacuated from the Stade de France stadium In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks An armed police officer Dan Gabriel In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks The Stade de France is evacuated after reports of an explosion In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks A member of the French fire brigade aids an injured individual near the Bataclan concert hall In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks Wounded people are evacuated from the Stade de France in Paris In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks Police are seen outside a cafe in 10th arrondissement of the French capital Paris, In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks Rescuers assist an injured man on Boulevard des Filles du Calvaire, close to the Bataclan concert hall AFP In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks The scene at a restaurant in 10th arrondissement In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks The Bataclan theatre - where around 100 people are thought be held hostage In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks The Stade de France as it was evacuated In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks Forensic experts inspect the site of an attack outside the Stade de France stadium in Saint-Denis AFP
The recruitment drive aims to have 1,000 more armed police in place across England and Wales by spring 2018, with 400 ready to be deployed to cities including Manchester and Birmingham. It includes plans to have 600 extra armed police officers in London which were announced in January.
An additional 40 armed response vehicles and teams are due to be "up and running" within the next 12 months, bringing the total number across the country to 150. London will see its fleet doubled.
The vehicles are adapted so the armed officers can be deployed along with their specialist kit to incidents at speed.
Funding for the increase will come from the 143 million set aside in the Strategic Security and Defence Review to increase armed response capability and capacity.
Simon Chesterman, the National Police Chiefs' Council lead for Armed Policing, said: "This additional uplift will ensure we are in an even stronger position to respond quickly and effectively to protect the public."
Press Association
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Millions of low-paid workers are waking up to a pay rise as the new National Living Wage of 7.20 an hour is implemented around the country.
Unions have broadly welcomed the 50p increase, but said it was not fair that younger workers were missing out.
What is the National Living Wage, and who gets it?
And the Office for Budget Responsibility has warned tens of thousands of jobs could be at risk as businesses try to accomodate the hike in wage bills.
The independent body has also said 4 million fewer hours could be worked per week in the UK as employers cut costs.
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
The TUC general secretary, Frances O'Grady, welcomed the rise in wages, but expressed concern for younger employees.
The Government must ensure that younger workers are not left behind - 21 to 24-year-olds will not be seeing an increase, said Ms OGrady.
"This is not fair. Future wage increases must narrow the pay gap between old and young," she said.
And Owen Smith, shadow work and pensions secretary, said the move was designed to hide other, "cruel" Tory policies:
"It's a typically cruel sleight of hand from the Tories to introduce their version of the living wage with one hand, while taking five times as much in cuts to Universal Credit and Tax Credits with the other.
"While this higher minimum wage for the over-25s is welcome, it will feel like an act of deception for the two million families set to lose 1,600 a year through cuts to in-work support."
Justin King, the former chief executive of Sainsburys, said the policy would destroy jobs when it is introduced. Sectors with large numbers of low-paid workers such as retail chains, supermarkets and the hospitality sector are most at risk of job cuts.
The Chancellor George Osborne was also criticised for using a similar name for his policy to that of the Living Wage Foundation (LWF). The LWF recommend an hourly rate of 9.40 in London and 8.25 elsewhere, to reflect the cost of living in the UK.
Businesses who fail to increase their workers minimum wages face fines of up to 20,000 per worker and bosses run the risk of being disqualified as a company director for 15 years.
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This story was curated in conjunction with artists The Connor Brothers, who have also written for The Independent about what makes a good scam here.
Scotland and Wales are in preliminary talks to split away from the UK and form a new country if Britain votes to leave the EU in June.
The extraordinary proposal has been discussed by members of the Welsh Assembly and Scottish Government, and it is being taken seriously by the UK Government.
5 April Fool's Day pranks and tweets
The Independent can reveal the plans today after it was passed redacted documents by a Cabinet Office whistle-blower.
Under discussion are designs for a bridge or tunnel linking the two countries directly via the Isle of Man, with the Celtic Union among a number of name suggestions that would ultimately be decided at a second referendum.
Dubbed a joint cessation, the plans come amid concerns among Welsh and Scottish leaders that they will be pulled out of the EU against the wishes of their people.
Cabinet Office documents leaked to the Independent reveal discussions over a possible 'joint cessation'
Downing Street has tasked civil servants with compiling a list of the most dramatic possible outcomes in the event of a British exit.
Documents leaked from the resulting Cabinet Office committee meeting on Brexit consequences suggest David Camerons senior advisors are aware of the ongoing behind-the-scenes talks.
The files include redacted minutes from meetings where the idea of the new nation was discussed, as well as a map drawn up by civil servants to show how a proposed direct link between Scotland and Wales would work. They suggest the project would cost around 7 billion, and could be funded at least in part by the EU.
The files handed to the Independent include redacted minutes, emails and other materials
The Government is understood to be particularly concerned at the prospect of people passing into the new union being required to use passports.
And the committee also heard from a Bank of England expert who suggested splitting the country in two would result in a prolonged period of stagnation for both economies.
What has the EU ever done for us? Show all 7 1 /7 What has the EU ever done for us? What has the EU ever done for us? 1. It gives you freedom to live, work and retire anywhere in Europe As a member of the EU, UK citizens benefit from freedom of movement across the continent. Considered one of the so-called four pillars of the European Union, this freedom allows all EU citizens to live, work and travel in other member states. What has the EU ever done for us? 2. It sustains millions of jobs A report by the Centre for Economics and Business Research, released in October 2015, suggested 3.1 million British jobs were linked to the UKs exports to the EU. What has the EU ever done for us? 3. Your holiday is much easier - and safer Freedom to travel is one of the most exercised benefits of EU membership, with Britons having made 31 million visits to the EU in 2014 alone. But a lot of the benefits of being an EU citizen are either taken for granted or go unnoticed. What has the EU ever done for us? 4. It means you're less likely to get ripped off Consumer protection is a key benefit of the EUs single market, and ensures members of the British public receive equal consumer rights when shopping anywhere in Europe. What has the EU ever done for us? 5. It offers greater protection from terrorists, paedophiles, people traffickers and cyber-crime Another example of a lesser-known advantage of EU membership is the benefit of cross-country coordination and cooperation in the fight against crime. What has the EU ever done for us? 6. Our businesses depend on it According to 71% of all members of the Confederation of British Influence (CBI), and 67 per cent of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the EU has had an overall positive impact on their business. What has the EU ever done for us? 7. We have greater influence Robin Niblett, Director of think-tank Chatham House, stated in a report published last year: For a mid-sized country like the UK, which will never again be economically dominant either globally or regionally, and whose diplomatic and military resources are declining in relative terms, being a major player in a strong regional institution can offer a critical lever for international influence.
The Independent attempted to acquire details of the proposal through a Freedom of Information request, but this was turned down by Cabinet Office officials.
Civil servants also saw a map with a proposed route for a tunnel or bridge connecting Wales and Scotland
Following the refusal, a set of documents was physically removed from Whitehall offices by the whistle-blower.
The Independent has agreed to protect his identity since the decision to remove official papers may have serious consequences for him. He has fled the country with the aid of transparency campaigners, and is currently safe in an undisclosed location in Moscow.
The fact that the full extent of consequences for Brexit has been kept under wraps by the Government will raise serious questions for Number 10.
The names of those present at the meeting, except senior civil servant Josephine Streicher, have been lost
Despite redactions it seems clear the committee, which has met at least three times in the past month, was preparing to brief ministers about secretive discussions between Welsh Assembly members and MSPs.
The Scottish National Party has already indicated that a vote to leave the EU would reignite the independence question, assuming that a majority of Scotlands population votes to remain inside the EU. It is now apparent that Welsh Assembly members are considering similar moves.
In a final meeting, more drastic measures like a wall at the border are discussed
One member is minuted as querying whether cessation by Scotland and Wales would require a name change for the UK, left as an English and Northern Irish rump, including the idea of dropping the Great from Great Britain. It is unclear whether Northern Irelands Assembly at Stormont has been party to the Scottish and Welsh negotiations.
Update: Following the disclosure, the Independent was contacted by protest punk group Pussy Riot, who expressed support for the brave actions of the whistleblower. Nadya Tolokonnikova said: "It is testament to the lack of transparency of world governments that Russia, with it's history of media censorship and government unaccountability, has become the destination of choice for international whistle blowers.
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Boris Johnson has sparked outrage among conservationists with a secret plan to tarmac over Britains canals to create a nationwide cycle superhighway if he becomes prime minister.
Building the multimillion-pound great British cycle superhighway would involve filling in all 2,000 miles of Britains canal network. The plan is outlined in emails between the London Mayor and his closest allies, which were leaked to The Independent.
Recommended Read more Cycling and walking to work linked to lower levels of body fat
Mr Johnson, a keen cyclist, argues that the scheme would produce gazillions of savings for the NHS as Britons improve their fitness. The superhighway would have slow, middle and fast lanes to accommodate Lycra-wearers, middling types and the kind of cyclists you see in Holland, going at a leisurely pace on often clunky steeds. One branch would link London with Boris Island, a new airport in the Thames estuary.
He plans to open the network jointly with Sir Bradley Wiggins in a ceremony involving semi-naked women playing beach volleyball in the middle of the old Grand Union Canal, glistening like wet otters.
5 April Fool's Day pranks and tweets
The plan was condemned by William Fish, chair of Canal and River Preservation (Carp), who said: Boris Johnson would be tarmacking over the happiness of millions of anglers, boaters and wildlife watchers who enjoy our canal network.
He claimed the scheme was illegal under EU Regulation 01/04/2016.
Mr Johnson denied having anything to do with the plan. It is an inverted pyramid of piffle, he said.
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George Osborne has defended the Government's actions over the mounting steel crisis as the Business Secretary, Sajid Javid, prepares to meet workers at the Port Talbot plant.
The Government has come under fire over its response to the decision by Tata Steel to sell off its UK assets.
The move has put up to 40,000 jobs at risk.
But Mr Osborne has insisted it is doing everything "practicable and possible" to allow tougher tariffs on cheap steel.
Responding to accusations that import taxes were being blocked, Mr Osborne said Britain was working with other countries to make sure tariffs were in place on imports of unfairly cheap steel from countries such as China.
Speaking during a visit to Manchester, the Chancellor said: "It's a really difficult time for the steel workers and their families and we are doing everything that is practicable and possible to help those families, to help communities affected like Port Talbot and Scunthorpe, and to make sure that there is a long-term future for Britain's steel industry.
"There's a global crisis in steel, you go to all these other countries, they have got similar problems because the price has fallen.
"We are cutting the taxes on energy bills at steel plants to help them, we are making sure that as we build things like the new high speed railway we are using British steel - and then internationally we are working with others, including other European countries, to make sure there are tariffs when you get imports of unfairly cheap steel from countries like China."
As protesters gathered outside the Port Talbot plant, Mr Javid met with Stephen Kinnock, the local Labour MP, and Alun Cairns, the Secretary of State for Wales to discuss the crisis.
Mr Javid, who has faced calls to consider his position over his handling of Tata's decision to sell off its UK assets, described his meeting as "very productive".
Much of the steel crisis has been blamed on China dumping cheap steel on European markets - and ministers have been accused of prioritising trade links with China over support for the UK steel industry.
Ex-deputy prime minister Nick Clegg blamed Mr Osborne for the policy.
"George Osborne has put his special relationship with China above the UK's best interests," he said.
"The Conservative Government has continually failed to take action and missed many opportunities to help the UK steel industry, such as taking steps to prevent dumping of cheap Chinese steel on the UK market.
Speaking to the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, European Steel Association spokesman Charles de Lusignan said: "We have been talking about the lifting of the lesser duty rule in particular for a long time.
"The fact is that the UK has been blocking this. They are not the only member state but they are certainly the ring leader in blocking the lifting of the lesser duty rule.
"The fact that the UK continues to block it means that when the Government says it's doing everything it takes to save the steel industry in the UK, but also in Europe, it's not.
Mr Javid will also defend the response to the crisis, insisting that without the Government's intervention steelworkers in Port Talbot could have been faced with the immediate closure of the plant rather than it being put up for sale.
A spokesman for the Community union said: "Steelworkers across the country will be shocked that it has taken this long for the Government to finally wake up to the crisis facing our steel industry.
"Sajid Javid cannot simply arrive at Port Talbot and read out his list of 'achievements' - this week's news is proof that Government action thus far has been woefully inadequate."
Unite Wales secretary Andy Richards said: "Steelworkers at Port Talbot and across Tata steel will want to know just exactly what Sajid Javid intends to do to safeguard their industry, their livelihoods and their communities.
"So far all they have received is tea and sympathy from afar with no real concrete solutions for the industrial crisis facing the nation."
PA
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Doctors have reacted furiously after the Governments own impact assessment of the new junior doctor contract said any adverse effect impact on womens pay was a proportionate means to an end.
The Department of Healths Equality Impact Assessment of the controversial new contract, which was published in full this week, found that aspects of the new contract would impact disproportionately on women, with particular disadvantages for single mothers.
However it concluded that on balance the contract was not discriminatory and the adverse effects could be comfortably justified. Doctors claimed it would enshrine a gender pay gap in the medical profession.
The new contract will require doctors to work more weekends and will cut Saturday pay in exchange for a basic pay rise of 13.5 per cent. It will also mean doctors no longer get automatic pay increases for time served, hitting the salaries of those who take time off, including women on maternity leave.
The equality impact assessment found that increased weekend working may disadvantage lone parents (who are disproportionately female) due to the increased cost of paid childcare in the evenings and weekend.
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
However, in a comment which provoked anger among doctors on social media, the assessment goes on to say that the changes may actually benefit other women, for example where individuals have partners because it would be easier to make informal, unpaid childcare arrangements. Critics said the measures would discriminate against single women.
But the assessment concludes: Any indirect adverse effect on women is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.
It also found that some aspects of the new contract have certain adverse impacts regarding maternity, with women who take time out to have children seeing their salaries increase more slowly.
But it rules out any special provisions to alleviate the impact saying that to do so would be inconsistent with the principle of pay based on level of responsibility that underpins the new contract.
Dr Rachel Clarke, a cardiologist in Oxford, said the new contract would strip away safeguards ensuring pay equality in the medical profession.
Writing for Independent.co.uk she said: Now, as doctors progress through their training, we will see ever-widening gender pay gaps in medicine. Incredibly for a government ostensibly so committed to gender equality, the Department of Health hasnt even tried to hide the discrimination at the heart of its new contract.
In other words, for [David] Cameron, the alleged champion of women, womens salaries are mere collateral damage.
Dr Johann Malawana, chair of the British Medical Associations (BMA) junior doctors committee called the contract discriminatory. The BMA is launching legal action against the contract, in a bid to derail the Governments plan to impose it this August.
Junior doctors will go on strike for 48 hours next week over the imposition, walking out of all but emergency care. A full walkout from 8am to 5pm, across two days, will follow in the last week of April.
Heidi Alexander MP, Labours Shadow Health Secretary, said the assessment had led to many women rightly questioning whether they've woken up in a different century.
"To cap it all off, Jeremy Hunt decided to sneak this document out during a week when Parliament is not sitting, preventing MPs from questioning him about it, she said.
A Department of Health spokesperson said: The new contract, 90% of which was agreed with the BMA, and endorsed by senior NHS leaders, is a very good deal for doctors and the NHS. It will mean an average 13.5% basic pay rise with a reduction in the number of long shifts that can be worked to improve safety. We urge junior doctors to look at the detail of the full contract and the clear benefits it brings.
Our equality analysis shows doctors on the new contract will benefit from a fairer pay model that better rewards those who work the most intense and unsocial hours and will improve patient care across seven days. Part-time trainees will now benefit from the same benefits as those working full time, including the same pay protection on a pro-rata basis.
We again urge the BMA to take the only reasonable course call off its unnecessary and irresponsible strike action which will inevitably put patients in harms way.
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Nigel Farage has been accused of a staggering level of hypocrisy over Britains steel crisis after it has emerged he and other Ukip MEPs voted against an EU move that it is claimed could have helped protect the steel industry from cheap Chinese imports.
The Ukip leader claimed this week that if voters decided to remain in Europe in this summers referendum, it would spell the end of the steel industry in this country.
He also said EU membership was a major factor behind the massacre of Britains manufacturing sector and that a Brexit vote on 23 June would give British steel a fighting chance.
But voting records from the European Parliament show that Mr Farage and other Ukip MEPs voted against a move to reform EU trade defence rules in 2014.
On 5 February that year, Mr Farage was among a handful of MEPs who voted against a Labour group amendment to European Commission trade reforms. It is claimed the amendment could have resulted in higher anti-dumping measures for steel.
Sajid Javid meets with steelworkers in Port Talbot
Mr Farage and a number of Ukip MEPs also voted against another amendment to give trade unions the ability to request anti-dumping investigations, which ended up being carried with a cross-party majority.
But despite being adopted by the European Parliament, the reforms were blocked by a group of 14 EU countries including Britain, at the EU Council.
Mr Farage did not take part in a vote in the European Parliament on the overall legislative resolutions on 16 April, 2014, while other Ukip MEPs abstained.
Jude Kirton-Darling, Labour MEP for the North East, which is still reeling after the closure of the Redcar steelworks, said: This a staggering level of hypocrisy by Mr Farage when he is putting the blame for the steel at the door of the EU after he voted against these measures when they came before the European Parliament.
A spokesman for Ukip said: As a point of principle, Ukip does not vote in favour of the EU doing things on our behalf.
He added: Labour should be ashamed of constantly pushing up the price of energy, via driving the climate change agenda and the Climate Change Act.
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The Business Secretary was challenged to pick up the phone to Beijing following the disclosure that the Chinese government is preparing to impose new tariff on imports of Tata steel from Britain.
Its move emerged as Sajid Javid toured the companys giant steelworks in Port Talbot, which faces closure after Tata announced it was putting its UK sites up for sale.
The political row over the steel crisis intensified following Chinas move to introduce a 46 per cent tariff on specialist steel produced by a Tata subsidiary at a factory in Newport.
Beijings move was aimed at preventing the dumping of cheap steel in its own market the same tactic that has been blamed for pushing Tatas UK operations to the brink of closure.
The government has been forced to deny that it has failed to take a tough stance with the Chinese government over steel because it has been so keen to attract it to invest in Britain.
Angela Eagle, the shadow Business Secretary, attacked the Chinese plan to saddle British steel with exorbitant tariffs.
Sajid Javid meets with steelworkers in Port Talbot
In a letter today, she asked Mr Javid: Will you commit to picking up the phone to Beijing as a matter of urgency to discuss these proposals?
Speaking in Washington, David Cameron denied charges that his government had been slow to respond to the Tata decision.
The reason why were now discussing a sale process is that the government intervened with the company to make sure that a sale was considered, rather than simply outright closure, he said.
Mr Javid flew home early from Australia after the news of Tatas shock decision was announced at the conglomerates Indian headquarters on Tuesday.
During his visit to Port Talbot, he was confronted by hundreds of steelworkers, and told them that the Government was on your side.
Asked whether the plant would go to the wall, Mr Javid replied: I think the time is there, the meetings today have been constructive. With Tata management in India as well they have been very responsible, they have shown in the past as a group they are a responsible company. I take confidence from that and so should you.
He said the process of finding buyers was just beginning, but told them that there were people out there.
Christopher Walters, a hot mill worker, said: We all feel like weve been kicked in the guts. We knew that things were looking bad about six to eight months ago, so its a pity that all these pledges of support from the Government and Parliament were not made then.
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Sajid Javid has assured workers from the Tata Steel plant in Port Talbot their work is absolutely vital to the future of the UK industrial sector.
The Business Secretary, who refused to answer questions on any potential buyers due to commercial sensitivity, has faced calls to resign this week after it emerged he had planned a holiday in Australia while up to 40,000 jobs were on the line.
His trip coincided with the crunch Tata board meeting in Mumbai, which led to the steel giants decision to sell off its UK assets.
Addressing workers directly for the first time since the crisis erupted, Mr Javid was asked whether the Government was going to let the company "go to the wall",
In response, the Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns, who was standing beside Mr Javid, answered: We are doing everything we can.
Have we got an industry?, another protestor asked outside the headquarters in South Wales. The Business Secretary responded: The industry is absolutely vital to the future of UK industrial sector. Absolutely vital.
When pressed about any potential buyers Mr Javid deflected the question saying it would be wrong, for commercial reasons, to identify anyone expressing interest. There will almost certainly be people, he said. I cant tell you today who they are the process is just beginning but there will be some commercial sensitivity.
The UK's largest steel works in Port Talbot (PA)
An analysis by the Institute for Public Policy Research think-tank has found that around 40,000 jobs could be lost if no buyer is found for Tata Steels UK operations. They include Tatas 15,000-strong workforce and 25,000 people who depend on it.
The Prime Minister insisted earlier this week the Government is doing everything it can to deal with the escalating crisis in the steel industry but echoed the Business Secretarys comments that nationalisation is not the solution.
Downing Street has also said it has no plans to recall Parliament, following a petition launched by opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn, which has garnered over 100,000 signatures.
(BBC (BBC)
Caroline Lucas, the Green Party MP, has also added her voice to call on Mr Cameron to recall Parliament in the wake of the crisis in the steel industry.
Stephen Kinnock, Labour MP for the South Wales constituency of Aberavon, told Sky News on Thursday morning he was flabbergasted by the incompetence shown by the government over the crisis. "Its a total shambles, and its been a shambles for years," he said. "Its absolutely extraordinary that theyve been asleep at the wheel for this long."
The Government is also facing claims that it has blocked an EU measure which would have tackled the "dumping" of cheap Chinese steel in Europe - one of main handicaps facing UK producers.
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CIA agents accidentally left explosive materials on a Virginia school bus that transported children to and from school this week.
The CIA and the Loudoun County Sheriffs Office issued statements on Thursday saying that the explosives were left on the bus after a training exercise at Briar Woods High School on March 31.
"During the exercise, explosive training material was inadvertently left by the CIA K-9 unit in one of the buses used in the exercise," the CIA said in a statement, adding that the material "did not pose a danger to passengers on the bus.
Before the discovery, the bus made eight runs carrying 26 students for 145 miles from Rock Ridge High School, Buffalo Trail Elementary School and Pinebrook Elementary School.
Loudoun schools spokesman Wayde Byard told reporters the CIA requested the school system keep the discovery private, The Washington Post reports. Byard then described the material as "putty-type" material that requires a special detonator to ignite.
"The training materials used in the exercises are incredibly stable and according to the CIA and Loudoun County explosive experts, the students on the bus were not in any danger from the training material," the Sheriff's Office said in a statement.
Officials from both agencies also checked every bus at the school as a precaution.
"We're all very upset by what happened, but we're going to review everything that did happen," Byard said. "Obviously we're concerned. The CIA really expressed its deep concern and regret today, and it was sincere."
The CIA also announced that an independent review of the unit is underway and promised to make "immediate steps" to stengthen inventory and control procedures in its K-9 program.
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A former Maryland judge has been sentenced to one year of probation after he ordered an official to give an electric shock to a defendant in the court room.
A disturbing video shows the defendant Delvon L King reading from a paper in the court room when the former judge, Robert C Nalley says to a sheriffs deputy: do it.
The deputy approaches the man and administers the 50,000-volt electric shock via a Stun-Cuff attached to his ankle. Mr King falls to the ground, crying out.
Mr Nalley tells the officers to wait until the defendant has calmed down and he will come back to the court room.
The former judge pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge, as reported by the Washington Post, of violating the civil rights of the defendant as he was facing trial for a gun charge.
Mr Nalley spoke of his deep regret about his error in judgement but reportedly did not apologize to Mr King who was standing a few feet away in the spectators gallery.
Mr King, 27, accused Mr Nalley of torturing him and depriving him of a fair trial. He was representing himself and was about to face a jury.
Mr Kings lawyer said the sentence on Mr Nalley had been too light and there was no justice here today.
In July 2013, Mr King and Mr Nalley had been discussing what the defendant should be called, as Mr King said he considered himself a sovereign citizen who was not subject to the governments laws.
Mr Nalley then talked about the jury selection process for the defendants case, and the defendant spoke over him to make what he said he believed to be a legal point.
Then Mr Nalley ordered the shock, before the jurors were about to walk in the room.
The 72-year-old retired in September 2013, two months after the incident, but he continued to preside over cases part time.
The incident became public a year later and Mr Nalley was banned from the bench by Marylands highest court.
In August 2009, Mr Nalley pleaded guilty to deflating the car tyre of a woman who worked as a member of the court cleaning crew who, Mr Nalley believed, was parked in his usual spot. He was ordered to pay $500 and write the woman a heartfelt apology.
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The US and China are united in wanting to prevent North Korea from carrying out further missile tests and committed to the denuclearisation of the region, Barack Obama has said.
Speaking following a meeting on the sidelines of the global nuclear summit, the US President said both he and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, wanted to see the full implementation of the United Nations sanctions on North Korea.
But just hours after the meeting in Washington, North Korea appeared to fire a short-range missile from an eastern coastal area into the sea off the North's east coast, according to South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff. It is the latest in a series of weapon launches carried out by the country.
North Korea has lashed out against the UN sanctions - approved by the Security Council - aimed at withholding funds to its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes.
In a letter which reportedly condemns Beijings part in the sanctions, the Central Committee of the Workers Party of North Korea has commanded its people to actively confront China with a nuclear storm. The letter was obtained by the Daily NK but could not be independently verified.
And on Monday, North Koreas foreign minister Lee Su-yong said: In response to the US frenzied hysteria for unleashing a nuclear war we state resolutely about the readiness to deliver a pre-emptive nuclear strike.
Which countries have nuclear weapons? Show all 14 1 /14 Which countries have nuclear weapons? Which countries have nuclear weapons? USA Have nuclear weapons Getty Which countries have nuclear weapons? Russia Have nuclear weapons Getty Which countries have nuclear weapons? UK Have nuclear weapons Getty Which countries have nuclear weapons? France Have nuclear weapons Getty Which countries have nuclear weapons? China Have nuclear weapons Getty Which countries have nuclear weapons? India Say they have nuclear weapons Getty Which countries have nuclear weapons? Pakistan Say they have nuclear weapons Getty Which countries have nuclear weapons? North Korea Say they have nuclear weapons EPA/Rodong Sinmun Which countries have nuclear weapons? Israel Believed to have nuclear weapons Getty Which countries have nuclear weapons? Belgium Nations hosting nuclear weapons Getty Which countries have nuclear weapons? Germany Nations hosting nuclear weapons Getty Which countries have nuclear weapons? Italy Nations hosting nuclear weapons Getty Which countries have nuclear weapons? Netherlands Nations hosting nuclear weapons Getty Which countries have nuclear weapons? Turkey Nations hosting nuclear weapons Getty
Despite the threats, Mr Obama insisted both he and Mr Xi were committed to the [denuclearisation] of the Korean Peninsula.
At the global nuclear summit, he said: Of great importance to both of us is North Koreas pursuit of nuclear weapons, which threatens the security and stability of the region.
Mr Xi said: China and the US have a responsibility to work together. China also agreed to fully implement the latest economic sanctions on North Korea.
Mr Obama also met with the leaders of Japan and South Korea, Shinzo Abe and Park Geun-hye. The US President said: We are united in our efforts to deter and defend against North Korean provocations. We have to work together to meet this challenge.
North Korea violated the UN sanctions with a nuclear test in January and a satellite launch the following month.
Additional reporting by agencies
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Bernie Sanders was born in Brooklyn. And when he travelled uptown to the Bronx he reminded people that he had been raised in the city and was proud to call himself a New Yorker.
With a voice raspy from too many campaign stops bouncing off the public housing buildings that surrounded St Marys Park, the Vermont senator insisted that he was on course for the White House - despite the lead his rival Hillary Clinton had on him. His campaign said there were 18,500 people gathered to hear him speak about his revolution.
His stump speech - polished and honed after campaigning from the Mid West to Washington state - was tweaked to take in his locale. Rather than spending trillions of dollars invading Iraq - something that should never have happened - we should be investing in communities like the South Bronx, he declared to loud roars.
Associated Press (AP)
He said every kid in the South Bronx should be able to afford an education.
We want a government that represents all of us, not wealthy campaign contributors, he added. We want a campaign finance system that is not corrupt. We want an economy that is not rigged. We want a criminal justice system that is not broken.
The 74-year-old is battling hard to close the delegate gap with Ms Clinton, who also appears to have a sizable advantage ahead of the New York primary on April 19. An average of polls collated by Real Clear Politics gives the former secretary of state a lead of anywhere up to 27 points.
Maria Hooper had travelled from the Brooklyn to see Mr Sanders Andrew Buncombe/The Independent (Andrew Buncombe)
Many, if not most, of those who turned out to hear Mr Sanders speak on Thursday night were young. But there were older people and the middle-aged as well. And unlike at some of Mr Sanders rallies in places such as Iowa and New Hampshire, the crowd was also ethnically diverse, befitting of a melting pot such as New York.
I learned a little bit about what it means to grow up in a family that has no money and I also learned a little bit about the immigrant experience - those lessons I will never forget, said Mr Sanders, whose parents were Polish immigrants.
Those gathered said they believed the former mayor of Burlington could achieve things that no other candidate could.
Paul Nagel, 58, a gay rights and housing activist, said Mr Sanders would go into the Oval Office on the back of a popular movement and that he could continue to listen to the people. What were seeing now feels 1969, he said.
Matt Shea, 23, a student of arts management, said it was important to him that Mr Sanders had not taken large donations from corporations. He said he believed Mr Sanders would work for a national minimum wage. He supports ordinary people rather than people with lots of money, he said.
Maria Hooper, 35, a costume designer, had travelled from Brooklyn to see him. He stands for medicare, a living wage, a balanced life, food sustainability, education, she said.
Matt Shea said he was concerned about the amount of corporate money in politics Andrew Buncombe/The Independent (Andrew Buncombe)
Tyra Foote, 18, was preparing to vote in her first election. Sitting on the hillside waiting for Mr Sanders to appear, she said she had already made up her mind to vote for him.
A lot of people dont have jobs. If he becomes president, unemployment could go down, she said.
A man who asked to give only his first name - Ravi - said he believed Mr Sanders would help make college more affordable. The 29-year-old banker added: There is a massive amount of student debt.
Semut Durham, 28, who also works in financial services, said he hoped Mr Sanders would dismantle the link between retail banks and commercial banks. He said he also believed that if Mr Sanders were president, there would perhaps not be so many wars.
Samuel Kim, 19, a political science student, said he was struck by the authenticity of Mr Sanders. He said he believed his policies were thought through and considered, rather than selected to please a certain section of society. I think there would be a period of introspection, he added.
Mr Sanders was introduced by actor Rosario Dawson and the director Spike Lee, who urged people to talk to their parents as many elder voters were backing Ms Clinton. Mr Sanders spoke for more than 45 minutes and by the time he had finished, the light was fading.
Real change takes place when millions of people look around them and say the status quo is unacceptable. Where we are right now is a pivotal point in our countrys history, he said.
This campaign is about creating a political revolution. You are the heart and soul of this revolution.
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China's government has warned its citizens to ignore "the so-called Western April Fool's Day" because it does not fit with the country's values.
The Xinhua News Agency, the state-controlled voicepiece for the country's Communist Party, said it hoped "rumours" would not be spread by people celebrating the first day of April.
"The so-called Western April Fool's Day does not conform to Chinese cultural traditions or socialist core values," it said in a brief message on its official microblog on Friday.
"Hope people won't believe in rumours, start rumours or spread rumours".
Along with the flagship newsaper the People's Daily and state broadcaster CCTV, Xinhua has been key in the party's campaign to rid China of "Western" cultural influences which it sees as challenging its political orthodoxy.
Many Weibo users mocked the government's attempt to discredit April Fool's Day (Rex Features)
Those include human rights and political concepts including freedom of speech and separation of powers, with professors, soldiers and rank-and-file party members frequently told to keep their minds clean of such thoughts.
The fact that communism is itself an imported "Western" political concept has not been openly discussed.
Despite its admonition against jokes and pranks, Xinhua's statement gave rise to humour from ordinary Chinese who mocked it on the country's popular Weibo microblogging service.
April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Show all 20 1 /20 April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Nigel Farage has horrified some Ukip supporters with an April Fools Day joke announcing his backing for Britain to stay in the European Union. I've decided that today is the perfect time to announce that I'll be supporting the campaign to Remain in the EU, he tweeted from his account. While most Twitter users noted the timing of the announcement, several of Mr Farages supporters seemed concerned April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks WWF has launched a new campaign 'Adopt a Unicorn today' to help protect mystical creatures: "In recent years, demand for unicorns spiral horns and loss of their rainbow-spangled habitat have led to a catastrophic fall in numbers of the mythical creature, to the point where these incredible animals now exist only in our imaginations" April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks The Virgin Trains has announced that customers will soon be able to catch a steam train to work, as its revealed that the original Flying Scotsman locomotive will be joining its fleet later this year April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Dominos has unveiled its latest robot innovation The Domimaker, a state-of-the-art pizza creation robot that transports customers live into the Dominos kitchen to take pizza personalisation to the next level. It allows rookie pizza makers to connect to the Domimaker LIVE via their webcam where they can direct the robots swivel-tech rotating arms and twin-jet sauce dispensers to create their own pizza April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks The German Embassy has done its own April fool, featuring chickens 'laying rugby eggs': "The German government today announced a new policy aimed at establishing rugby as the country's new national sport. At the unveiling of the far-reaching measures that will see rugby become an integral part of German culture, including hens that lay rugby 'eggs', government spokesperson G. Flugel stated that the country would "focus all attention and efforts on winning the 7 Nations Championship" April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Google is usually pretty good at April Fools' jokes, but this year's gag may have backfired. For one day only, Gmail users can choose to 'drop the mic' during email conversations. Gmail's 'mic drop' April Fools' joke is costing people their jobs April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Isle of Man has announced plans to erect a dome over the Island, protecting the stunning natural environment for all to enjoy. The pioneering design shows how the Island will take inspiration from structures such as the Eden Project to provide a controlled environment, with key access points around transport hubs April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Wetherspoons, the pub chain, has got in on the fun with claims it was taking over Eastenders local the Queen Vic pub in Albert Square April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks David Cameron has announced his pride in bringing in the long-awaited National Living Wage only for announcement to be dismissed as an April Fools Day joke. The unfortunately-timed tweet was sent from the Prime Ministers official account as the UK woke up to the annual deluge of fake news stories and pranks Getty Images April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks J.K Rowling has been used as the butt of an April Fools' Day joke by the pro-independence Scottish Resistance group. A Facebook claimed the fiercely pro-union author had performed a drastic U-turn and was starting work on The Fall of the House of Westminster April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Virgin Active has launched Personal Trainers...talking trainers. Essentially they are the future of personal training with in built speakers featuring top training tips to help motivate and drive you to the end of your workout. The trainers have loads of other weird and wonderful features including locking laces which cant be removed until 200 calories are burned, a projector that displays over 100 workouts and goal trackers April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Rowse has announced the creation of 'wasp honey' from 10,000 insects on a 'foreign exchange from Mexico'. To ensure the wasps dont feel too homesick during their 10-week stay Rowse Honey bee farmers have created tailor-made hives, complete with UV lamps and heaters which set the temperature to a balmy 23 degrees and fitted mini speakers which play a constant stream of Latin American music including Carlos Santa, Ricky Martin and Enrique Iglesias April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks The Guardian 'exclusively' announced that the royal family was planning to make a dramatic intervention to support Britain remaining in the EU. The report was attributed to an unnamed 'royal correspondent' - an unlikely position at the republican-minded paper April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Following discussion over the prospect of having various stars of The Night Manager as the next James Bond, the Daily Mail announced the role would be going to Olivia Colman. 'Olivia's no fool,' a source was quoted as saying. Indeed April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Simon Cowell is installing a trap door for the latest round of Britain's Got Talent auditions, the Daily Mirror reports April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks The London Eye has announced the conversion of two capsules into 'luxury studio penthouses', complete with constant champagne and a personal pillow fluffer in 'an enviable postcode'. "Arrangements for electricity, phone and postal services are currently in discussion" April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Over at The Times, students at two London universities are apparently planning to rename their historic institutions to 'decolonise and demisogynise' them. Names including Gaia College and Citizen's College were touted April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks The Express claims the stars of the EU flag are to be incorporated into the Union flag April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks The Royal Albert Hall is claiming it will be used as a 'scaled-down version of the Large Hadron Collider': "Since opening in 1871, the venue has proudly celebrated the best of the worlds latest scientific developments...Now, it hopes to make scientific discoveries of its own as particles will be fired around its corridors at high speed in the hopes that some science will happen" April Fools' Day 2016: The best and the worst pranks Pimms, the quintessential drink of the British Summer, has unveiled the result of an unprecedented sponsorship deal to display its logo on the worlds most famous clock tower, the Big Ben
The official Beijing News newspaper also took issue with Xinhua's kill-joy attitude: "What's wrong with giving people a holiday to express themselves, joke around and find some release?"
China's propaganda bosses have themselves been caught out by mock stories they have believed to be true.
Stories from the satirical website The Onion have been reported as fact in the Chinese press.
One famous example in 2012 saw The Onion's story about Kim Jong Un being voted the "sexiest man alive" appear on the People's Daily website alongside a photo spread of the North Korean dictator.
Associated Press
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Passenger flights could take off again from Brussels Airport on Friday for the first time since two deadly bomb attacks hit the check-in area on 22 March.
Despite widespread damage caused by the blasts, Zaventem is now ready to run a service at 20% of normal capacity, said the company who runs the airport in a statement.
The fire service and aviation authorities have given the airport the all-clear to partially reopen less than two weeks after attacks on the Belgian capital, which killed more than 30 people and injured hundreds at the airport and Maelbeek Metro station.
All that remains is for formal political approval to be given and passenger flights could restart as soon as Friday evening. A temporary check-in zone will allow 800 departing passengers an hour to pass through the airport as permanent structures are rebuilt.
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
But it would take months before the airport is able to fully reopen, the airport CEO Arnaud Feist has said.
Passengers arriving in Belgium will be able to use existing arrivals and baggage reclaim facilities, which were not damaged in the attacks.
Two blasts ripped through the airports check-in area within seconds of each other on the morning of 22 March, and a third suitcase bomb was found unexploded in the airport. Two bombers died in the airport attack, which has been claimed by the so-called Islamic State.
Police are still searching for a man suspected to be the third airport bomber and have released video footage in an attempt to identify him.
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Around 10,000 people in Finland could soon be receiving 550 each month if the government decides to implement a universal basic income pilot project.
A working group has advised the government to launch the tax-free wage, equivalent to unemployment and welfare benefits that cover food, personal hygiene and clothing, in 2017 for two years.
The income would be unconditional and would not involve being means-tested for benefits. It would replace part of Finlands social security net.
The government will decide in May whether to go ahead with the scheme, as part of a wider effort to reduce national spending.
Hanna Mantyla, the minister of social affairs and health, said the project was needed because the Finnish social security system faced big challenges in the future if it was not simplified.
Professor Olli Kangas, the leader of the working group, said: It would be secure income It would encourage people who are afraid of losing their unemployment or other benefits [though working part-time] to take short-term jobs.
The wage, according to Reuters, would be supplemented with earnings-related benefits when necessary. But those in the project who do earn a wage would pay the money back through increased income tax.
Universal basic income is also being considered in Switzerland, the Netherlands and France.
In the UK, an Early Day Motion called on the government to commission research into a universal basic income which would be paid unconditionally to all citizens.
The motion states an unconditional, non-withdrawable income paid to everyone, has the potential to offer genuine social security to all while boosting entrepreneurialism and the creation of small businesses.
Earlier this month, Ontario announced it would launch an experiment to test the advantages of basic income.
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A French Minister has been criticised after comparing Muslim women who choose to wear veils to negroes who were in favour of slavery.
Laurence Rossignol, the country's Minister for Families, Children and Women, described the promotion of Islamic fashion by major brands as irresponsible.
But her use of the word "negro" prompted accusations of racism and calls for her resignation.
Earlier this month, Marks and Spencer unveiled their burkini, which covers all but the wearers hands, feet and face, to mixed public reviews in the UK.
Other brands, such as HM, Uniqlo and Dolce and Gabbana have also promoted Islamic fashion, with ranges of hijabs and veils in their stores across Europe.
Ms Rossignol says such items promote the confinement of womens bodies and that big brand marketing puts Muslim women in a position where they feel they should be dressing a certain way.
She said there were women who would choose to cover up, but there were also American negroes who were in favour of slavery.
The comments caused a social media storm in France, with many calling for her to resign.
A change.org petition urging the French President to reprimand the minister has since received more than 16,000 signatures.
In 2010, France introduced a so-called burka ban, which prevents women from covering their faces in public.
The French government claim face veils present a security risk and also encroach on the freedoms of the women forced to wear them.
The law, which also bans people from covering their faces with balaclavas or hoods, was upheld by the European Court of Human Rights in 2014.
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Almost half of French people would be delighted to say au revoir if Britain votes to leave the European Union in June, according to a new poll.
The survey suggests that a Brexit is marginally more popular in France (45 per cent in favour) than it is in Britain (44 per cent). However, a majority of people in five large EU countries, including Britain and France, supports continued UK membership, according to the Odoxa study.
The survey, conducted in early March, put British support for continued UK membership at 55 per cent and French support at 54 per cent. In both cases, only 1 per cent of those polled said they had no opinion.
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An overwhelming 76 per cent of Spaniards, 67 per cent of Italians and 65 per cent of Germans said that they wanted Britain to remain in the European Union.
The relatively low level of French support for British membership can be explained in various ways.
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
Philippe Fournier, of the communications company MCI, commenting officially on the results for Odoxa, suggested that it reflected irritation at what [the French] saw as unfair demands for special treatment by Britain in Brussels.
He pointed out that French impatience with Britains semi-detached attitude to the EU was growing. In the last similar poll, conducted by Ifop in 2013, 58 per cent of French people wanted Britain to stay in the European Union.
Other commentators suggested, however, that the low French support for Remain did not necessarily reflect anti-British feeling. It also reflected growing Euroscepticism in France, both on the left and on the right. To many French nationalists on the hard right, a Brexit could be the beginning of a welcome break-up of the European Union or maybe a prelude to a French departure or Frexit, said one French foreign ministry official. On the left, many people see Britain as the main force behind the free market policies in Brussels which they hate.
Most mainstream politicians of left and right in France have spoken out against Brexit. The far-right Front National and hard-left politcians have welcomed the idea. There have, however, also been more moderate voices from the ex-Socialist Prime Minister, Michel Rocard, to editorials in Le Monde which have suggested the EU could be better off without Britain. In an EU-wide poll, 53 per cent of French people questioned said they would also like the chance to vote in an in-out EU referendum the only EU country other than Britain to take this view.
Almost half the Italians polled, 49 per cent, said they would like to go back to the lire. In Germany 42 per cent want to return to the Deutschmark. Only 31 per cent of the French want to return to the Franc.
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French political culture could be a key factor in the rise of jihadi culture in Western Europe, if research is to be believed.
The recent terrorist attacks in Brussels and Paris have forced Europeans to ask many uncomfortable questions, and academics think they may have found a link between Francophone speakers and jihadism.
According to William McCants and Christopher Meserole, who were writing in Foreign Affairs, the nature of Isis networks and policing downfalls likely played a part in the terrorist attacks, but neither had as crucial a role as that of French political culture.
Mr Meserole, a pre-doctoral fellow at Brookings Foreign Policy, told Vox: "Neither of us went in to this project thinking Francophone was all that mattered.
"We felt the social science on Sunni radicalism was basically at a loss. Fifteen years after the Pentagon and World Trade Centre attacks, we still didn't really have a good handle on what was driving it."
The pairs research, which aims to explain Sunni militancy and potentially predict a countrys rate of radicalisation and violence, found a countrys wealth or level of education, health or internet access are not nearly as important as whether the country is Francophone.
Four of the five countries with the highest rates of radicalisation in the world are Francophone, including the top two in Europe (France and Belgium), the pair wrote in Foreign Affairs.
Although they appreciate countries like the UK have considerably more foreign fighters than Belgium, they said when the percentage of the population who are Muslim is considered, Belgium actually produces far more.
But the two academics are not necessarily suggesting the French language itself is the problem, more that it is directly linked to the country's political culture.
France and Belgium, for example, are the only two countries in Europe to ban the full veil in their public schools. Theyre also the only two countries in Western Europe not to gain the highest rating for democracy in the well-known Polity score data, which does not include explanations for the markdowns, they write.
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
Two other problems the research highlighted were youth unemployment and urbanisation. These factors are undeniably present in both the Brussels district of Molenbeek and Paris's 'banlieues'.
Molenbeek, home to Salah Abdeslam the mastermind of the Paris atrocities, along with many of the terrorists linked to both the Paris and Brussels attacks, is found on the outskirts of the city centre and suffers from around 50 per cent youth unemployment.
Dr McCants and Mr Meserole suggest these factors mean the youth are likely to have more opportunities to connect with radicalists and - combined with French secularism - Sunni radicalism becomes more appealing.
However, the duo admit there is still a lot of work to be done before they can properly explain the rise of jihadist terrorism in Europe.
Our initial findings should in no way imply that Francophone countries are responsible for the recent horrible attacksno country deserves to have its civilians killed, regardless of the perpetrators motives, they said.
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A violent explosion has rocked the centre of Paris, destroying part of a building and sending smoke rising over the French capital.
Officials said at least five people were injured in the blast, which blew out windows in an 100m radius and sent debris raining into surrounding streets.
Residents living nearby in the 6th arrondissement were evacuated after the accident, which may have been caused by a gas cooker according to police sources.
France: Emergency crews at scene of Paris explosion that injured 5 people
Kem Phetsomphou said he felt the explosion inside the Tour Montparnasse, formerly Frances tallest skyscraper, which overlooks the district.
Photos of the scene showed firefighters scaling ladders to fight a blaze on the upper floors of a historic apartment block, with wood, debris and shattered glass littering the street.
Emergency services had been called to a fire in a ground floor apartment on Rue de Berite before the blast at around 12.20pm local time (11.20am BST), Le Parisien reported.
"Firefighters were there for an hour-and-a-half trying to extinguish a fire on the ground floor, when a huge explosion shook the whole neighbourhood," a resident told the newspaper.
In pictures: Paris explosion Show all 10 1 /10 In pictures: Paris explosion In pictures: Paris explosion Firefighters at the scene where an apartment building exploded Getty Images In pictures: Paris explosion A gas explosion occurred in a building in central Paris, causing minor injuries to five people, according to police sources Getty Images In pictures: Paris explosion A destroyed building is pictured in Paris' 6th district Getty Images In pictures: Paris explosion A view of the partially collapsed top floors of a residential building after it was rocked by an explosion in Paris EPA In pictures: Paris explosion Firefighters intervene on rue de l'Abbe-Gregoire in Paris' 6th district near the scene where an appartment building exploded Getty Images In pictures: Paris explosion Firefighters intervene in Paris' 6th district Getty Images In pictures: Paris explosion A firefighter holds on to a fire hose as firefighters intervene in Paris' 6th district near the scene where an appartment building exploded Getty Images In pictures: Paris explosion A view of the partially collapsed top floors of a residential building after it was rocked by an explosion in Paris EPA In pictures: Paris explosion Rescuers and firefighters are pictured from the Montparnasse tower as they intervene on rue de Rennes in Paris' 6th district after an appartment building exploded in nearby rue de Berite Getty Images In pictures: Paris explosion Flames erupt from an appartment building following an explosion that occured in rue de Berite Getty Images
"It's terrible, I saw several firefighters taken away on stretchers."
Police sources told local media five people sustained injuries in the blast, which damaged several floors and part of a roof near the famous Ferrandi cookery school.
The institution was temporarily evacuated as a precaution.
Paris remains on high alert following last week's terror attacks in neighbouring Belgium and a separate plot uncovered to attack the French capital.
The explosion initially sparked fears of another bombing in the city, where 130 people were massacred in November.
"Paris is burning," one Twitter user wrote after photographing smoke from the fire. An employee at the Ferrandi school told local media: "People were scared, they thought it was a bomb."
There was no immediate indication of links to terrorism.
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Turkey has been accused of illegally forcing dozens of refugees to return to Syria every day.
Amnesty says the claims highlight the flaws of the EU-Turkey deal, which states refugees and migrants landing on the Greek coast will be returned to Turkey in return for financial support.
"In their desperation to seal their borders, EU leaders have willfully ignored the simplest of facts: Turkey is not a safe country for Syrian refugees and is getting less safe by the day, said John Dalhuisen, Amnesty Internationals Director for Europe and Central Asia.
"The large-scale returns of Syrian refugees we have documented highlight the fatal flaws in the EU-Turkey deal. It is a deal that can only be implemented with the hardest of hearts and a blithe disregard for international law.
He added: "Far from pressuring Turkey to improve the protection it offers Syrian refugees, the EU is in fact incentivising the opposite
"It seems highly likely that Turkey has returned several thousand refugees to Syria in the last seven to nine weeks. If the agreement proceeds as planned, there is a very real risk that some of those the EU sends back to Turkey will suffer the same fate."
Refugees break through Macedonia border fence in February Show all 15 1 /15 Refugees break through Macedonia border fence in February Refugees break through Macedonia border fence in February Stranded refugees try to bring down part of the border fence during a protest at the Greek-Macedonian border, near the Greek village of Idomeni Reuters Refugees break through Macedonia border fence in February Stranded refugees try to break a Greek police cordon in order to approach the border fence at the Greek-Macedonian border, near the Greek village of Idomeni Reuters Refugees break through Macedonia border fence in February Stranded refugees flee tear gas fire by the Macedonian police, after trying to bring down part of the border fence during a protest at the Greek-Macedonian border, near the Greek village of Idomeni Reuters Refugees break through Macedonia border fence in February Stranded refugees try to break a Greek police cordon in order to approach the border fence at the Greek-Macedonian border, near the Greek village of Idomeni Reuters Refugees break through Macedonia border fence in February Stranded refugees in the northern Greek village of Idomeni approach the Greek-Macedonian border as they try to enter Macedonia AP Refugees break through Macedonia border fence in February Macedonian riot police officers stand next to part of the border fence brought down by protesting stranded refugees and migrants during a protest at the Greek-Macedonian border, near the Greek village of Idomeni Reuters Refugees break through Macedonia border fence in February Stranded refugees try to bring down part of the border fence during a protest at the Greek-Macedonian border, near the Greek village of Idomeni Reuters Refugees break through Macedonia border fence in February Stranded refugees break an iron fence and throw stones from the Greek side of the border as Macedonian policemen push them back, near the southern Macedonian town of Gevgelija AP Refugees break through Macedonia border fence in February A girl cries as she flees clashes during a protest at the Greek-Macedonian border, near the Greek village of Idomeni Reuters Refugees break through Macedonia border fence in February Refugees try to broke an iron fence from the Greek side of the border as Macedonian police stand guard, near the northern Greek village of Idomeni AP Refugees break through Macedonia border fence in February Stranded refugees and migrants in the northern Greek village of Idomeni approach the Greek-Macedonian border as they try to enter Macedonia AP Refugees break through Macedonia border fence in February A man helps children to run away after Macedonian police fired tear gas at a group of refugees who tried to push their way into Macedonia AP Refugees break through Macedonia border fence in February A woman carries a child on the Greek side of the border as they run away after Macedonian police fired tear gas at a group of refugees who tried to push their way into Macedonia AP Refugees break through Macedonia border fence in February Refugees run away after Macedonian police fired tear gas AP Refugees break through Macedonia border fence in February A woman falls as refugees with their children run away after Macedonian police Getty Images
There are believed to be approximately 200,000 refugees living in camps within 20km of the Turkish border.
Turkey has scaled back the registration of refugees in its southern regions. Registration is required for the displaced Syrians to access basic public services.
Some refugees have told Amnesty they are scared of coming forward to register in case they are refused and forced back to Syria.
Turkish border guards have also been accused 16 Syrian refugees trying to cross the border into Turkey, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Three people have been stabbed amid riots on the Greek islands as the conditions worsen for refugees.
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has signalled another crackdown on freedom of speech with a threat to take legal action against anyone who insults him
Speaking at the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington DC, Mr Erdogan thanked those who "criticise" him but re-iterated his hard-line approach towards the Turkish media.
He has come under international scrutiny following the imprisonment of a number of journalists and other leading opposition critics on "terrorism" charges.
Mr Erdogan said: "I would (thank) each and everyone one of those who criticise me but if they were to insult me, my lawyers will go and file a lawsuit."
A Turkish court has resumed closed-door trial of the two journalists for publishing footage that purportedly showed Turkeys intelligence agency shipping truckloads of weapons to opposition fighters in Syria in early 2014.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan's most controversial quotes Show all 8 1 /8 Recep Tayyip Erdogan's most controversial quotes Recep Tayyip Erdogan's most controversial quotes The Turkish President's craziest quotes Just a week before he was elected President, he called Erdogan Amberin Zaman, the Turkey correspondent for 'The Economist', a "shameless militant woman disguised under the name of a journalist" after she had asked an opposition leader whether "Muslim society is able to question" the authorities. "Know your place," Erdogan said. "They gave you a pen and you are writing a column in a newspaper. "And then they invite you to a TV channel owned by Dogan media group and you insult at a society of 99 per cent Muslims," he said he said according to Today's Zaman newspaper. Sascha Schuermann/Getty Images Recep Tayyip Erdogan's most controversial quotes The Turkish President's craziest quotes Turkish people are pictured chanting slogans during an anti-government protest on Taksim square in Istanbul, on 29 June, 2013. The protests were sparked by brutal police action against a local conservation battle to save Istanbul's Gezi Park, and soon turned into nationwide demonstrations against the government. Amid the protests - the worst in Turkey for years - Erdogan accused demonstrators of being "arm-in-arm with terrorism," according to Reuters. "This is a protest organized by extremist elements. We will not give away anything to those who live arm-in-arm with terrorism," he said. GURCAN OZTURK/AFP/Getty Images Recep Tayyip Erdogan's most controversial quotes The Turkish President's craziest quotes During last years protests, activists used social media to organise and disseminate information. Several dozen tweeters were arrested following the protests, according to local media reports. Erdogan responded by calling the technology a "menace". "There is now a menace which is called Twitter," Erdogan said. "The best examples of lies can be found there. To me, social media is the worst menace to society," BBC New reported. Vladimir Astapkovich/RIA Novosti via Getty Images Recep Tayyip Erdogan's most controversial quotes The Turkish President's craziest quotes Not helping to allay accusations of authoritarianism, after Turkish police detained 49 people, including well-known business people and those close to the ruling party, Erdeogan ominously told reporter that Turkey "is not a banana republic" that can be affected by unnamed "operations", according to Today's Zaman newspaper. People who are backed by the media and certain funders cannot change this country," he said. "People backed by certain dark gangs both inside and outside Turkey cannot mess with the country's path. They cannot change conditions in Turkey. Turkey is not a country that anyone can launch an operation into. The [Turkish] nation will not allow that. The AK Party, which is governing this nation, will not allow this." Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images Recep Tayyip Erdogan's most controversial quotes The Turkish President's craziest quotes Friends and relatives of the miners who died in an explosion at the Soma mine are pictured praying following the burial in Soma cemetery of the last body to be recovered from the mine in May 2014. At the time, the then-Prime Minister badly misjudged the Soma mining disaster, in which 301 workers died. He told the relatives of dead and dying miners that "these types of incidents are ordinary things", following allegations that the government had ignored safety concerns about the privately owned mine, the Guardian reported. In his defence, Erdogan recounted in a separate speech a list of mining disasters which occurred abroad, including a British disaster in 1862, and one in America "which has every kind of technology". Oli Scarff/Getty Images Recep Tayyip Erdogan's most controversial quotes The Turkish President's craziest quotes Palestinians pictured attending Friday noon prayers in a destroyed mosque that was hit by Israeli strikes, in Gaza City. As Prime Minister, Erdogan has condemned Israel, accusing it of deliberately killing Palestinian mothers and warned that the it would "drown in the blood it sheds." Speaking to thousands of supporters during a rally in Istanbul ahead of the 10 August election, Reuters reported him as saying: "Just like Hitler, who sought to establish a race free of all faults, Israel is chasing after the same target." "They kill women so that they will not give birth to Palestinians; they kill babies so that they won't grow up; they kill men so they can't defend their country ... They will drown in the blood they shed," he said. AP Recep Tayyip Erdogan's most controversial quotes The Turkish President's craziest quotes Amid the worst protests in Turkey for years which had spread across dozens of cities last June, Erdogan accused demonstrators of being "arm-in-arm with terrorism," according to Reuters. A demonstration to halt construction in a park in an Istanbul square grew into mass protests against a heavy-handed police crackdown and what opponents called Erdogan's authoritarian policies. "This is a protest organized by extremist elements," Erdogan said before departing on a trip to North Africa. "We will not give away anything to those who live arm-in-arm with terrorism," he said. Sascha Schuermann/Getty Images Recep Tayyip Erdogan's most controversial quotes The Turkish President's craziest quotes In March 2014, Erdogan accused a 15-year-old boy who died from injuries sustained in last year's anti-government protests of being linked to terrorism. Berkin Elvan, who became a symbol of anti-government protests, had gone to pick up bread when he was hit with a teargas canister - sending him into a nine-month coma before he passed away. In a speech broadcast on state TV, Erdogan said of Berkin: "This kid with steel marbles in his pockets, with a slingshot in his hand, his face covered with a scarf, who had been taken up into terror organisations, was unfortunately subjected to pepper gas. How could the police determine how old that person was who had a scarf on his face and was hurling steel marbles with a slingshot in his hand? ADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty Images
Can Dundar, editor-in-chief of Cumhuriyet, and Erdem Gul, the newspaper's Ankara bureau chief, have been charged with trying to topple the government by publishing a video purporting to show Turkey's state intelligence agency helping to truck weapons to Syria in 2014.
Mr Erdogan has vowed Dundar will "pay a heavy price". The two journalists could face life in prison if convicted.
At the Washington summit, Turkish security personnel tried to block three Turkish journalists from covering the event, held at the Brookings Institution think tank.
Adem Yavuz Arslan, a reporter with Turkish opposition newspaper Ozgur Dusunce said the security guards threatened him.
Mr Arslan said: "They said, 'We are going to kill you. You are a terrorist."
Since becoming President in August 2014, Mr Erdogan has filed 1,845 court cases against individuals for insulting him.
Speaking at the summit, he said there are no journalists currently in Turkish prisons for doing their jobs.
Mr Erdogan added that most of the 52 journalists in Turkish prisons have been convicted on or face terrorism charges.
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Saudi Arabia has already executed 82 people this year and is on course to behead twice as many prisoners as it did in 2015, according to new statistics compiled by a leading human rights organisation likely to raise fresh concerns about the UKs close ties to the Kingdom.
The British Government has been urged to do more to put pressure on its Gulf allies to halt the bloodshed in light of the figures, which would see the total death toll in Saudi Arabia reach a record high of more than 320 by the end of the year if the current rate is maintained.
This would be more than double the 158 executions carried out by the Kingdom last year, which was in itself a dramatic rise on the 88 people it beheaded in 2014. The figures were compiled by the UK organisation Reprieve using a combination of official statements from the Saudi government and reliable local media reports.
Earlier this week, the Defence Secretary Michael Fallon paid a low-key visit to Saudi Arabia to help strengthen the UK-Saudi defence relationship, meeting Crown Prince Muhammad bin Naif bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the minister of interior who is in charge of ordering executions. Days later, at least two more prisoners were beheaded.
During his trip Mr Fallon also met Saudi defence minister Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdul Aziz and other members of the Saudi Royal family. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said he had reiterated the importance of working together to deal with global threats, including countering the poisonous ideology of Daesh and regional instability.
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
However, it did not say whether Mr Fallon had raised the subject of executions with the interior minister. Human rights groups are increasingly concerned about the fates of Ali al Nimr, Dawoud al Marhoon and Abdullah al Zaher, who have all been sentenced to death by the Saudis despite being children at the time of their alleged crimes. All three were convicted for alleged offences connected to protests calling for reform in the Kingdom and could be executed at any time without warning.
UK: Hundreds decry govt. support of Saudi Arabia after Sheikh Nimr's execution
As Saudi Arabia looks set for yet another record breaking year of beheadings, it is more important than ever that its allies in the UK, Europe and the US call for it to stop, said Harriet McCulloch, deputy director of the death penalty team at Reprieve.
The deep injustices of the Saudi system mean that those being sent to the swordsmans blade are in many cases tortured into confessing, guilty of nothing more than calling peacefully for reform, or even sentenced to death as children. The UK and US must immediately call for Ali, Dawoud and Abdullahs sentences to be commuted before it is too late given the rising tide of beheadings, vague reassurances are not enough.
A Government spokesperson said: The Defence Secretary visited Saudi Arabia to discuss a range of regional issues. The UK is opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances and we make our views well known to Saudi Arabia. We have raised these particular cases at the highest levels and will continue to do so. Our expectation remains that the three individuals will not be executed.
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Part one: New Forest, UK
Ive been fascinated with cowboys and everything about them as far back as I can remember. As a kid Id spend drizzly school holidays sprawled out in front of A Fistful Of Dollars and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, transfixed as stetson-sporting heroes swaggered into saloons and fired rifles at the merest provocation. These were out and out tough guys who were irresistible to women and could handle their bourbon straight. I was infatuated.
The reality is that Im from the north London suburbs. Ive never worn a poncho, let alone chased anyone on horseback. At least, not until now. My task was to learn to handle a horse along with some of the basics of cowboy culture in England before making straight for the Old West; the wide-open prairies of California to put my skills in to practice.
Burley Villa stables, New Forest (Paul Close)
Id be kick-starting my Wild Western adventure among wild ponies in the heart of the New Forest. Burley Villa School Of Riding is an effective mock-up of a Western town of old. It comes complete with life-size cardboard cut-outs of John Wayne, a stacked display of (presumably decommissioned) rusty rifles and endless American flags. The school's logo even depicts a cowboy on horseback, sandwiched between the Stars and Stripes and a Union flag.
My trainer, Tammy Greaves, has represented Great Britain in equestrianism, but her task today is to show me the ropes of Western riding; the most comfortable mode of cowboy travel. A thick leather saddle spreads out over a large area of the horses back, increasing surface area for rider bulk. For the more nimble horseman, the steed can then be controlled with one hand on the reins while the other is free to fling a trusty lariat at errant bull calves.
Tammy takes me through the basics as I inelegantly flop on to Tommy, my obedient - if unenthusiastic - quarter horse. To get him moving I have to clack my heals a couple of times into his flanks, accompanied by a double-click of my teeth. We amble forward and nearly collide with the paddock wall. Im told I must lean my upper body weight in the direction I want to travel. It works. Guiding Tommys head with one hand and leaning the same way alters his trajectory. To stop its a loud woah! and a firm pull back on the reins.
Learning to lasso in the New Forest (David Lewis)
After an hour of maneuvering my horse around the paddock, Im hopping off for a lasso lesson. Phil, Burley's boss, is my roping guide. He meets me by the target practice: a metre-high metallic bull. Hold the loop open, he commands. Spin it around your head as fast as you can ... and throw! He promptly misses. I assure him Ill have more luck and take hold of the rope. I spin it round my head and nearly garrote myself in the process. Its hapless, light years from the stuff of Roy Rogers movies. I try several times. Its important to build up momentum by circling the cable around your head before hurling. I finally land two back to back on the target; Phil seems genuinely impressed. Next stop: California.
Part two: Irvine, California
Irvine is a couple of hours' drive east of LA, past the wrinkle-free foreheads of Orange County and away from the anodyne Anaheim hotels that service the conveyor belt of Disneyland vacationers. The shopping malls and gas stations melt away as my car rises into the mountains, the smell of diesel fumes soon replaced with smoky tones of cedar wood and pollen.
The history of cowboys is long and complex, but the roots of the modern mythical cowboy can be traced back to the plains of Texas in the 1800s, after which time they spread across the country as cattle numbers multiplied. There are still thousands across the country who work the land and are proud to call themselves cowboys.
Im greeted by my instructor, Melisa, on the gravel-strewn driveway of Country Trails. Shes six foot tall, broad shouldered with teeth like pearls. I thank her for training me up. Oh Im not a trainer, David, she gently chastises. Im a wrangler. Youve got to get that right.
David and Melisa at Country Trails
I notice the farms other wranglers as we make for the paddock. They are dressed just like Melisa: boot-cut denims, big belt buckles, checked shirts and pin-sharp spurs. I wince at my skinny jeans and hob-nailed boots.
I tell Melisa about my practice run back at home, and soon Im being put through my paces in the training yard. As in England, Im encouraged to use my body weight to drive the horse in the right direction. There you go! she shrills in an upbeat, American drawl. Youre getting it! There are five speeds to Western riding; walk, jog, lope, gallop, run. With some extra heel clicks Im soon taking my horse up a notch to jog. Its exhilarating to get it right and Im forced to cling tight to the reins.
Riding out into the mountains
Soon Melisa and I head out for a ride in the mountains. The afternoon temperature has rocketed and soon Im wiping beads of sweat out of my eyes. Its incredibly still and quiet but I feel nervous. The horse seems unsettled by my riding technique and my guide has to gently grab his bit when he fails to understand my commands. As a horseman, I clearly have a long way to go.
Back at the ranch I end my day with farmhand Geronimo, a whizz with the lasso. He explains - in a combination of English and Spanish - how to land the rope on a target five metres away. He hits it again and again. Hes barely trying. I try. And try. And try. I seem to have got worse since my English training, but eventually I hit the bullseye.
The sun is setting and before I head off I ask Melisa if she thinks Im ready to be a cowboy. After a month of dedicated riding I think youd be good to go. she tells me, optimistically. Ill take that.
Travel essentials
Getting there
David flew with Virgin Atlantic (0344 8747 747; virginatlantic.com) from Heathrow to Los Angeles; return fares start at 586. LA is also served by Air New Zealand, American Airlines, British Airways, Norwegian and United Airlines.
Hayes & Jarvis (01293 762 456; hayesandjarvis.co.uk) offers seven-night trips to California from 1,099pp, including four nights at the Hilton Anaheim and three at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach (both room only), flights from Heathrow and car hire.
Riding there
Country Trails Riding School, Irvine, California (001 714 538 5860; ctriding.com) offers one-hour trail rides for $45pp (32). Lasso lessons on request.
Burley Villa School Of Riding, New Milton, Hampshire (01425 610278; burleyvilla.co.uk) offers 45-minute Western Riding lessons with Tammy Greaves for 45pp. Lasso lesson on request.
More information
visitcalifornia.com
thenewforest.co.uk
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Budget airlines can be annoying. My two easyJet flights from Gatwick this month have each been an hour or more late. On both occasions, staff shortage was blamed - and the frustration on the more recent flight was compounded by the captains apology for the delay to the start of your holiday. Hang on, I muttered, some of us are working (or at least pretending to).
You might also be irritated by the way that each airline now has its own cabin baggage rules, with little in common between them: easyJet, Flybe, Monarch and Ryanair all set different limits on the number of pieces of luggage you can carry on board, their dimensions and weight. But no-one can accuse the carriers of failing to let passengers know their limits. So I dont understand why Matt Botten turned up at Gatwick for his easyJet flight apparently unaware of the rules.
You may have heard this week about how the 32-year-old from Cardiff refused to pay 45 to check in a bag on his flight to Reykjavik. Instead, he emptied the contents and put on all his clothes - including stuffing a pair of trainers in his trouser pockets.
Later, he boasted on Facebook: 'We're going to Iceland baby! And how to do it in a financially frugal manner, without having to stump up forty five bloody quid for a hold bag? Simply by wearing everything I own.
Given the fashion to append -gate to incidents, the event is henceforth known as Departuregate. Whatever you call it, the story is puzzling. Assuming Mr Botten booked the flight himself at easyJet.com, he would have read at the payment stage: No hold luggage added. Pre-booking your hold luggage online is much cheaper than at the airport, and much less hassle. When I made a test booking, the cost to check in a bag was 21. And he will also have been emailed before the flight by easyJet, pointing out that he has booked no checked baggage and offering the chance to do so.
The reactions to Mr Bottens unusual behaviour has been interesting. Many travellers sided with him. They applauded his stance in refusing to pay the airlines standard fee for passengers who turn up at the airport with more baggage than agreed. A few have vowed to follow suit. That way, travel madness lies: security queues are quite long enough without waiting for the guy in front to remove his excess clothage.
Some have called for a passengers weight to be taken into account. Each traveller would get a combined allowance of (say) 100kg - nearly 16 stone. Passengers with the good fortune to be lighter than this can make up the difference with baggage.
Unfortunately, aviation doesnt work like that. The economics of budget flying are predicated on getting bums on seats, regardless of the size of each rear. While the weight of a passenger and their bag has a tiny impact on the cost of a flight, by marginally increasing the fuel burn, thats not why bag charges were introduced. The original reason was to recognise the extra costs of loading luggage, a user-pays philosophy. But now the airlines see baggage as a revenue opportunity. They offer the service of carrying bags in the hold at a particular price, and you decide if you want to accept. Nothing wrong with that: if you choose not to check bags in, it takes only a few seconds to tap easyJet cabin baggage into a search engine and learn that you can pack everything into a single cabin bag with a maximum volume of 63 litres.
For a short break in Iceland, that looks quite sufficient to me. And unlike its rivals, easyJet has no weight limit.
The financial advantage of not checking in a bag, which Mr Botten has done so much to publicise, means that very often not all the hand luggage can be squeezed into the cabin. So passengers who reach the departure gate after a certain point may find their bag tagged and removed to be put into the hold.
Next time you plan to take sizeable cabin baggage on a budget carrier, plan ahead: have a small bag-in-a-bag that contains your valuables, any medications and other stuff you cant afford to lose. Dont put on all your clothes and leave the case behind - unless you want to make your own Departuregate scene.
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Every day, our travel correspondent Simon Calder tackles your questions. Just email s@hols.tv or tweet @simoncalder
Q When is the best time to book flights for the most reasonable price? As a family of four we are looking to book flights to Boston for July 2017 (I like to plan ahead!). Our local airport is Newcastle but I suspect we'll probably go via one of the London airports. How far in advance can we book? And is it better to wait rather than book as soon as flights become available?
Joanne Reid
A First, is there any chance I can persuade you to delay your trip a little, and specifically to travel around 21 August 2017? The biggest tourist event of all time is happening in the US: a total solar eclipse that will sweep across America from Oregon to South Carolina. If you could adjust your plans to be somewhere along the Line of Totality, I can guarantee an experience of a lifetime.
Next, if you simply want to get from Newcastle to Boston, I must say I would strongly suggest you choose another way of getting there that doesn't include flying via London. I happen to have flown Heathrow-Boston last July, but paid plenty for the privilege, because I happen to live in London and had specific timing issues.
Were I travelling from Newcastle with a bit of flexibility, I would be looking at transiting Iceland, which means a flight from Edinburgh on Wow Air or from Glasgow on Icelandair. I reckon that if you buy when the flights go on sale, which is likely to be 11 to 11.5 months ahead, you could pay around 500-600 each for adults, and 75 less for under-16s (who pay no Air Passenger Duty). That is likely to be several hundred pounds cheaper than the alternatives.
While it's a no-frills experience on either airline, the actual time in the air on a Edinburgh-Reykjavik-Boston trip is less than a Newcastle-Heathrow-Boston flight. And you also get time to stretch your legs at Keflavik airport in Iceland, which is a perfectly pleasant place to be. If you are able, you can also build in a stopover outbound (and benefit from a reduced Air Passenger Duty obligation) with time to explore Reykjavik.
The other option that could prove competitively priced is Aer Lingus from Newcastle via Dublin; again, if you build in an outbound stopover you can save on APD. And if the Irish airline is continuing is new service to Hartford, Connecticut next summer, that might prove a low-cost gateway to New England.
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The Durrells, ITVs new six-part drama based on Gerald Durrells classic trilogy of Corfu memoirs, captures the wild charms of this vernal Ionian isle, evoking a lost era of steamships and intrepid travel. For when the Durrell family his widowed mother Louisa, older brothers Lawrence and Leslie and sister Margo were disgorged at the port in 1935 with their dog, Roger, and a few belongings, Corfu was very much an impoverished backwater, its peasant society farming olive groves and honey. Indeed, having a lavatory inside your house at that time was an improbable luxury.
At the start of Geralds first autobiographical Corfu instalment, 1956s My Family and Other Animals, the fatherless family is swept up in a protective embrace by a great brown ugly angel, Spiros Amerikanos; larger than life, loyal to a fault, this garrulous bear becomes the Durrells guide, translator, protector and friend (he even finds them a house with a loo).
Despite Greeces current economic woes, youll find this same sense of generosity toward strangers is still alive as an old lady in traditional black dress shepherds you into her kitchen for some baklava. Three thousand years ago in The Odyssey, Homer told of how his beleaguered hero Odysseus washed up on Kerkyra (modern-day Corfu), his ills tended to by the islands gentle folk before the final strait of his journey to nearby Ithaca. Filoxenia (hospitality) is seemingly hardwired into Corfiots genes.
Safely housed, the Durrells slipped effortlessly into the simple rhythm of Corfiot life: Gradually the magic of the island settled over us as gently and clingingly as pollen, wrote Gerald. The five idyllic years spent here, before the outbreak of the Second World War forced the Durrells to return to England, prompted him to say: My childhood in Corfu shaped my life. If I had the craft of Merlin, I would give every child the gift of my childhood.
The White House, Kalami (Lynne Sutherland / Alamy Stock Photo)
But can you still find elements of My Family and Other Animals on the island today, or are his narrations simply nostalgia-tinted embellishments of a lost youth? Unlike Geralds first glimpse of Corfu, yours will not be the Old Town with its green shutters folded, like the wings of a thousand moths, the bay smouldering butterfly-blue, but rather an ugly airport and a forgettable ride through the suburbs. And instead of a coastline studded by the endless hoplite spears of cypress trees, much of the eye-line where the Durrells lived has been replaced by over-development.
However, head north to Archaravi, a seemingly forgettable town facing nearby Albania, to find a remnant of the familys Corfu. Venture to the end of the beach and youll find the Lake of Lillies, otherwise known as Antiniotissa where the Durrells once picnicked and dozed while Gerald and his mentor, Theodore Stephanides hunted for insects.
In My Family and Other Animals, the family first encamps at The Strawberry Villa in the suburb of Perama (find it just above the main road between Perama and Benitses, 4km south of Corfu Town). This wasnt entirely true, but a literary device to keep all of the family under one roof in the story. Lawrence (Larry in the book) actually came ahead and settled in a fishermans house 30km north of Corfu town in the village of Kalami. Lapped by peacock-blue water, this little cove bookended by wooded hills, is enchanting even today. Novelist, Lawrence and his painter wife Nancy lived at The White House, a sugar-cube affair built over the water, and where today youll find a decent taverna and rooms to rent.
A miles walk south along the coastal path, just before Agni village, is the waterside shrine of St Arsenius, where Lawrence, Nancy and their bohemian friends, swam naked as nereids; Lawrence dropping cherries into the crystalline water clear down to two fathoms on the sandy floors where they loom like drops of blood, as his wife dived down like an otter, surfacing with them in her lips. You can still bask on the same sun-bleached rocks, though unless you get here early youre likely to have you daydream broken by the noisy arrival of a booze cruise boat.
Herein lies the double-edged sword of the Durrells success; much to his guilt and anger, Geralds My Family and Other Animals (considerably more popular than brother Lawrences Prosperos Cell, and Henry Millers The Colossus of Marousi) helped put Corfu on the tourism map. By the 70s and 80s, great droves of British package holidaymakers were flocking here, and with them, bad behaviour and ugly architecture. On returning to Corfu in the 1980s Gerald likened the island to the most beautiful woman in the world suffering from an acute and probably terminal case of leprosy commonly called tourism.
Kalami Beach, Corfu (David Pick / Alamy Stock Photo)
The next house the family moved to allegedly to accommodate Larrys endless influx of bohemian friends was a four-storied Venetian mansion, affectionately known as the Daffodil-Yellow house; Villa Anemmoyani, still in private hands, can be found today down a long drive weaving through olive groves, on a hill overlooking the bay in Kontokali village. The third and grandest of the Durrells' Corfiot homes, Snow-White villa was back in the Perama area, in acres of olive grounds with its own Greek Orthodox chapel overlooking Lake Halikiopoulou, bordered by the chessboard fields Gerald often describes. Sadly, its existence is consigned to history.
Maybe its a case of not looking too literally for distinct remnants of their past but rather evoking the spirit of the Durrells island; pulling together a picnic of cherries, fresh bread and olives, and roaming the wooded shepherds trails around Barbati in the skirts of Mount Pantokrator, where Gerald loved to wander. Youll witness the same fireflies, butterflies and lizards (but hopefully not the scorpions and trapdoor spiders), the lemon-tinged air, the endless spread of oaks, elms, olive trees and wild meadows. For despite the fact there are now blemishes in the form of resorts such as Kavos and Sidari, the island is still sufficiently wild and large enough to lose yourself completely in a landscape that the family and their animals called home.
The Durrells starts on ITV on Sunday at 8pm
Travel essentials
Getting there
EasyJet (0843 104 5000; easyjet.com) and Norwegian (0843 3780 888; norwegian.com/uk) fly from Gatwick to Corfu. Thomas Cook Airlines (0844 879 8880; flythomascook.com) and Thomson fly (0871 231 4787; thomson.co.uk/flight) from a range of UK airports.
Staying there
The White House, Kalami (00 30 26630 91040; thewhitehouse.gr). The villa sleeps up to eight guests and costs from 600 per week.
More information
visitgreece.gr
Click here to view Greek tours and holidays, with Independent Holidays.
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Each year, the 1st of April sends the usually serious world of journalism into spasms of excitement, as titles attempt to outdo one another in coming up with the best April Fools Day story. But hitting the perfect note is notoriously difficult.
The best hoaxes stretch the limits of believability almost to breaking point, but without allowing them to snap. A good hoax can be a thing of unsettling beauty, and, executed perfectly, it can transcend it trickster origins and become a work of art. But I would say that.
In January, I presented Lord Byrons bong at the London Art Fair in Islington. It had been found alongside several other items, so the story went, underneath a loose floorboard during routine maintenance work at Trinity College, Cambridge. We priced it at 1.1m, and marked it as sold. The responses we got ranged from anger that Trinity had not benefited financially from the sale to annoyance that some minor fact about Byron was inaccurate. But nobody questioned the objects authenticity.
5 April Fool's Day pranks and tweets
As hoaxes go it was relatively low key, but it did raise some interesting questions about what exactly makes a good hoax, and what, if anything, they might mean.
One of the greatest hoaxes of recent decades, and certainly my favourite, was perpetrated by the writer Clifford Irving. In the 1970s, Irving lived on Ibiza next door to the art forger Elmry de Hory, and had recently written a biography of his infamous neighbour. Irvings career was on a downward trajectory and he was struggling to convince his publisher to give him a contract for his next book.
At the time, arguably the most famous man in the world was the billionaire Howard Hughes. A serial entrepreneur, Hughes was reported to be the worlds wealthiest self-made man, and had been a recluse since 1958. Irving came up with the fanciful scheme of writing Hughes "authorized autobiography" believing that, because Hughes had completely withdrawn from public life, he would not come out of hiding to denounce the book.
Irving forged a letter from Hughes claiming that he had read and admired Irvings book on De Hory, and would Irving be interested in writing a similar book on him. Irving sent the letter to his publisher McGraw-Hill, who invited him to their offices in New York where contracts were signed and an advance paid of $100,000, with a further $400,000 for Hughes.
None of this in itself would be enough to make a truly great hoax, but what Irving did next propelled what had started as an elaborate scam into a work of art. Irving claimed that the eccentric Hughes would only meet in exotic locations around the world, including once on the top of a Mexican pyramid, Monte Alban, near Oaxaca. He then went into meticulous detail about Hughes missing years.
The story became more and more improbable: weeks spent diving naked with Ernest Hemingway; numerous love affairs with now deceased Hollywood starlets; time passed pretending to be a beggar in India.
The more outlandish the fabrication, the more excited his publishers became. Irving negotiated the price of the book, on Hughes behalf, up to $765,000. Life magazine bought the rights to serialize it. When the manuscript was finally delivered, it was claimed by all involved to be a brilliantly-written portrait of a fascinating and complex man.
When the artifice started to crumble, as these things inevitably do, McGraw-Hill had a forensic hand writing expert study Hughes forged letters, and made Irving take a lie detector test.
The letters were deemed genuine, and the test inconclusive. Even when, on 7 January 1972, Hughes organised a telephone interview with seven journalists, declaring the book a fake and calling it totally fantastic fiction, Irving simply denied that it was Hughes on the phone. With the pressure mounting Irving eventually confessed, voluntarily paid back the $765,000, and was harshly sentenced to 17 months in prison.
Irvings Hughes manuscript went unpublished for decades, and has never been published in the US. Its a riveting read and a brilliant work of fiction. Seldom do you come across a first person novel so entirely convincing.
Irvings hoax, along with William Boyds invention of the fictional artist Nat Tate, transcended their playful beginnings and became something more than elaborate versions of an April Fools joke.
Irving claims it was never the money that motivated him, but the elegance of the idea. Boyd is quoted as saying he wanted to show how credible a pure fiction could be. Maybe thats what defines a truly great hoax, that it can be judged as having all of the attributes we associate with a great work of fiction and requires the same amount of creative genius to pull off. Its unsettling to know that fiction can be so convincing that if its not pointed out to us we will believe it to be the truth.
There is nothing new about the idea of the April Fool, or hoaxers in general. Tales of tricksters are rife in the stories told by almost all cultures, from Brer Rabbit to the Viking god Loki. Characteristically, their role is to playfully challenge conventional rules and momentarily disrupt normal life, lifting the rug to force us to examine some aspect of ourselves or our culture, so that when they put it back, everything is not quite as it used to be.
This is certainly true of the hoaxes of Clifford Irving and William Boyd who both, in their own way, unsettled the worlds they deceived, and raised uncomfortable questions for the people in them. As literary historian Douglas Blackwell put it what a wonderful thing to be deceived when by being so, we experience a rare moment to see ourselves as we truly are.
Mike Snelle is a member of the Connor Brothers, the artists which helped the Independent curate its own April Fools' Day hoax
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So now we know, as if we didnt already. Of all our European partner peoples, it is the French who view a Brexit with maximum equanimity, if there is such a concept. While the Germans might fret at the loss of a (relatively) free-market ally, and the Dutch and Nordics feel sentimental about the British, our neighbours across the channel offer only a characteristic Gallic shrug.
This is nothing new. Through the entire 1960s, President Charles de Gaulle famously said non to two UK applications for membership of the club, and French presidents have often shown only a lofty disdain for the supposedly small-minded and mean-spirited British, especially Margaret Thatcher, who spent too much of her time asking for our money back from Valery Giscard DEstaing, and Francois Mitterrand. Nor did President Chirac show much affection for Tony Blair and his foreign policy.
It is odd, really, given how many of us enjoy French wine and cheeses, drive Peugeots, Renaults and Citroens, enjoy watching PSG play Chelsea, and take our annual holidays in the country.
Since we joined Europe in 1973, no country has so influenced the British way of life, and to such great advantage as the French. We would be most upset to have them leave any club of which we were a member. A case of unrequited affection.
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Jeremy Corbyn was staying on the south Devon coast when the news broke on Tuesday night that Tata was preparing to pull the plug on its entire British steelmaking operation. The Labour leaders Easter break with his wife, Laura, came to an abrupt end and the next day he headed to the less picturesque setting of Port Talbot to demand that the Government step in to save the steel industry.
At the same time, he launched a petition urging the early recall of Parliament. It attracted two signatures every second, smartly tapping into the rise of clicktivism as an instant way of rallying support for a cause. Within 24 hours, more than 100,000 people had backed his call for MPs to come back as soon as possible to discuss the fate of British steel.
His speedy and decisive reaction to the crisis was in sharp contrast both to earlier public relations disasters under his leadership and to the slow-footed response of ministers. While Corbyn was appearing on television bulletins with Port Talbots threatened plant in the background, the Business Secretary, Sajid Javid, was giving hurried interviews in Sydney after being ordered to return home by the Prime Minister. Even then, he managed to miss the last flight to Britain, adding to the impression of disarray gripping Government.
By following his instincts, Corbyn has proved he can operate effectively within a media environment his allies believe is hostile to him. Weve made headlines where there was a vacuum within the Government, one ally said. Even one of his staunchest internal Labour critics conceded: I wouldnt say Corbyn has been brilliant, but he has done alright. I suppose we should all be grateful for that.
The Labour leader has also made the political weather by pressing for state intervention in the steel industry, putting nationalisation on the agenda only for ministers to disagree publicly over whether this was a viable option.
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This is tricky territory for Corbyn and his shadow Chancellor, John McDonnell, because a generation of senior Labour figures has grown up viewing nationalisation which they refer to as the N-word as a concept which has had its day. Angela Eagle, the shadow Business Secretary, was cautious at first on the subject but hardened her language to argue that steels strategic assets should be kept for the nation. Port Talbots Labour MP Stephen Kinnock, who has won plaudits for his spirited campaign to save the towns steelworks, has called for a set of temporary financial support interventions until a buyer is identified for Tata.
One Blairite MP said: Corbyn would probably nationalise the industry forever. I dont think thats right, but we should look at a way of finding bridge funding to stop it closing until a buyer is found.
However, the Labour leadership is relaxed about wading into this territory. Corbyn has not wavered in his commitment to the principle of state intervention during his 33 years in Parliament, bitterly condemning Tony Blairs move to ditch Labours Clause 4 commitment to mass nationalisation.
His supporters argue that the voters are now behind him on the emotive issue. They suggest that Ed Milibands manifesto promise to increase public control over the rail network was among his most popular policies and maintain that a similar stance on steel could also strike a popular chord. That view was reinforced by a Sky News survey yesterday which found 66 per cent support for nationalising the Port Talbot works.
In the world after the financial crash, increasing numbers of senior Labour figures believe there is wide resonance in the argument that a country which spent more than 100bn bailing out the banks can afford one-hundredth of that to save the steel industry. This is a great moment of opportunity for Mr Corbyn. He now faces the test of whether he squanders it against a Government which appears out of touch on the fate of steel.
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It must be the ultimate in middle-class guilt. Every other Monday I answer the door to another woman, then hurriedly scurry out of the door, leaving her behind to clean my house. Im mortified at the whole notion of it, of course, so much so that I have to make sure I get up early and do the cliched pre-cleaning-lady-clean-up. Some days Im genuinely busy, and heading into the office. On other days I go and sit in a coffee shop, drowning my shame in overpriced matcha lattes and wondering why Im not at home mopping my own kitchen floor. But since I succumbed to the lures of domestic help, Ive never looked back.
It turns out that Im not alone, which is a huge relief. One in three households across the UK now employs some form of domestic help, driven by the surge in under-35s paying someone else to do the chores they dont want to. Typical, eh? Bloody millennials dossing about. The same bunch who moan about low wages and high property prices are more than happy to fork out for someone to scrub their loo while they spend their precious time Instagramming their food.
I (just) scrape into the millennial age category, so I hold my hands up here. In some respects we deserve our label as a mollycoddled generation who wouldnt understand the notion of getting our hands dirty if it smacked us in the face with a wet dishcloth. We never had to bring in coal to build a fire. We never had to clean and prepare our own meat (if it doesnt come shrink-wrapped with a date stamp, I dont want to know). We dont darn our socks who would, when theyre 2.50 for a pack of three from Primark? For those on the younger end of the millennial grouping, they never even had to do something so arduous as to dial up to get online.
So, ok, yeah, we may be a little soft around the edges. But were also busy bees. The work day is getting longer and we are constantly on call, permanently tethered to email. My friends and I bandy about the word busy like a badge of honour. How was your day? Oh BUSY! I left at five to beat the rush at my gym, was at my desk by eight, but then a conference call to the States ran long so it was late by the time I left. Oh and then it was Julies leaving do, so I had to cancel my Tinder date, but were going to squeeze in lunch the Thursday after next
Before you say it, I know. Its our own fault, of course, this busy-ness. Were too connected, too tied to all our so-called timesaving apps. We Uber everywhere, consume instant, live news, and make damn sure we document every moment of our busy, busy days on social media.
So it makes sense that more of us are employing a cleaner - why wouldnt you, when theres an app for it? If the only place to find a cleaner was through the Yellow Pages, Im sure Id still be doing my own hoovering at least when the dust bunnies got big enough to be demanding their own hutches. But when its at the touch of a button, anything is possible.
God! I hear you groan. Can this lot get any more coddled? But why not? Despite handing over half our wages to landlords every month, we millennials may just be spending our disposable income on different things than our predecessors. Statistics suggest that the younger generation is drinking less, smoking less and going for quality over quantity when it comes to shopping. Nowadays, time is money, and it is at more of a premium than ever.
For me, it all goes back to my Damascene moment, when my friend told me: Why wouldnt you? Lifes too short to spend it cleaning my bathtub. Perhaps its spoiled. Perhaps its lazy. But, guilt aside, I dont think its the worst way to spend the money that Ive earned. Now if I can just find someone to clear my email inbox...
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Is there an uglier garment than the 49.50 Marks and Sparks swimsuit burkini? This voluminous garment might appear modest on dry land, but - as Nigella Lawson demonstrated a couple of years back by emerging from the Sydney surf in a full length black version, cleverly foiling the papparazzi - once wet, the swimsuit burkini can make the wearer resemble a badly stuffed sausage.
Like other crimes against fashion - the poncho, mid-calf length culottes, stretch denim jeans and prissy pie crust frilled blouses - the burkini bathing costume offers nothing except acres of coverage.
Its hardly a compliment-magnet, far from it, but theres a good reason why high profile international designers like Dolce and Gabbana are offering shapeless clothing which covers the flesh in costly fabrics (theyve launched a range of Muslim robes and veils) and why Marks & Spencer, alongside their latest trendy Alexa Chung range, are making burkinis: its cash, nothing more or less.
The international Muslim clothing market is said to be worth billions annually and you only have to step inside the M&S flagship store at Marble Arch in London to see queues of burkha-wearing customers spending thousands of pounds every five minutes.
In France, the trend to exploit this market is seen as unpatriotic and has attracted much hostile comment. The Minister for Families has claimed that fans of the burkini and designers who pander to it are "like negroes who support slavery", adding "when brands invest in this Islamic garment market they are shirking their responsibilites.promoting womens bodies being locked up". Fighting talk - and Pierre Berge, who as Yves St Laurents business partner built a global empire, was equally dismissive, announcing "we must teach Muslim women to revolt, to take their clothes off, to learn to live like most of the women in the rest of the world".
The French government has passed laws protecting their secular state by banning the headscarf in schools (and other clothing which denotes religious affiliations) and the wearing of the full veil, the niqab, in public. Both decisions have been upheld by EU courts, although there are few prosecutions. In a recent poll, more than 85 per cent of the public supported the laws.
Nevertheless, the number of women wearing the veil in France and in the UK grows every year. For many, it is not merely an expression of their religion (though the Quran simply advocates that women dress modestly) but their right as feminists to wear whatever they want. Reluctantly, I have to accept this, although I find the sight of women enveloped in the shapeless black garment deeply depressing.
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Wearing modest clothes or a burkha doesnt signal you are devout, or a feminist. You could just as easily be wearing the headscarf or the burkha because of social or family pressure. Some young women will have no choice. Many Muslim women abhor the wearing of the veil, and the inference that women who wear more revealing clothes are somehow more promiscuous or less spiritual.
But the intemperate language of Monsieur Berge and the French Minister is yet another sign that we live in intolerant times, when the simple matter of what you wear in public can have unpleasant and threatening connotations.
In the USA, a black female student at San Francisco State University has just denounced a white male student for having the temerity to wear dreadlocks, because they "belonged" to her culture, presumably because the hairstyle is associated with Jamaican Rastas and their fight for freedom. The dreadlocked boy claimed they originated in Egypt, but that cut no ice with his accuser.
Campus employee tells white student you cannot wear dreads
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Can a hairstyle be the exclusive property of one particular ethnic group? How many of us have boarded flights home from holidays in the sun and seen small girls with their hair braided in corn rows? Presumably, this zealot would have berated them for appropriating a black tradition. Last Christmas in Australia, every farmers market I visited in Northern New South Wales was run by shoeless white men and women sporting dreadlocks, the 30-something children of the original sixties dropouts, now earning a living as farmers selling their home-grown organic vegetables and designer coffee.
As for pandering to women who cover themselves, Dolce and Gabbana have form when it comes to faith - they stuck the Virgin Mary on t-shirts which sold for almost 300 a pop. Like all designers and pop stars, they will plunder anything for good source material if it sells.
Ironically, it was Yves St Laurent who put women in trouser suits, which covered a great deal more flesh than the mini skirts which had preceded them. And if he was still alive, rich Muslims would be his best customers.
Insurer FBD will pay its former chief executive Andrew Langford 16,300 a month to advise the business this year, despite paying him a six-figure sum in lieu of notice when he left the group last July.
The company's annual report, released to the market yesterday, says FBD paid Mr Langford 269,000 in lieu of six months' notice when he stood down suddenly at the end of July 2015.
However, FBD has now agreed to pay Mr Langford a monthly fee equivalent to an annual salary of 195,000 "to make his services and experience available to the company from 1 February 2016 to 31 December 2016", so long as he is not in full-time employment elsewhere, according to the accounts.
Last night the business, which was forced to sell assets and raise capital on the markets during a gruelling 2015, did not comment on why Mr Langford is being rehired after stepping down.
He was replaced as chief executive of FBD by former Central Bank regulator Fiona Muldoon.
Fiona Muldoon was paid 449,000 by FBD last year.
She was elevated from chief finance officer to the ceo role in mid-year. Andrew Langford earned 594,000 during the year, including pay in lieu of notice.
FBD reported an 85m pre-tax loss for 2015 in its annual results last month.
The insurance firm's shares were hammered last year, and it spent 2015 fire-fighting as it struggled amid a deteriorating claims environment.
The company has hiked premiums in a strategic shift to prioritise profitability over growth.
Late last year, after taking over the top job at FBD, Fiona Muldoon revealed that the financial regulator had been nervous about the company's position prior to it securing financial backing from Canadian firm Fairfax and entering a deal to sell property assets. In September, Fairfax agreed to invest 70m in FBD via a convertible bond.
The Canadian company, founded by Bank of Ireland shareholder Prem Watsa, can convert the bond into equity in FBD after three years and up to 10 years after its issue.
Converting the bond would give Fairfax about a 19pc stake in the Irish insurer.
FBD also agreed to sell its 50pc stake in its leisure business for 48.5m.
It was sold to Farmers Business Development, which also owns almost 29pc of FBD.
The firm that operates the network of speed camera vans around the country for the Gardai received payments of 17.27m for the work last year.
The Go Safe consortium received the payments from the Gardai as the police body confirmed that the current contract expires in November of this year.
The Go Safe consortium secured the 80m Garda Siochana contract to operate the speed camera vans from 2009 and was recording operating profits of around 50,000 per week in 2012.
However, the consortium has since put their profits off-limits to public scrutiny by re-registering as an unlimited company where it is no longer required to file annual accounts. This move is also designed to not allow rival firms to know their profit margins and tender accordingly for the new contract.
The Go Safe consortium does not receive any performance-related payments.
The cameras operate on sections of road which have a history of collisions where speed was a contributory factor and the areas where they operate are available on the garda website.
The most recent audit report for the Go Safe firm, Road Safety Operations Ireland confirmed only that it recorded profits in the 12 months to the end of March 2015.
The operation of the network of camera vans has come under growing scrutiny in courts across the country. Last month at Ennis District Court, Judge Patrick Durcan ruled that Go Safe employees don't have the required authority to help prosecute speeding cases.
The latest data from the Central Bank shows lending to Irish households fell in February, including a 327m decline in the overall size of the mortgage market.
Total mortgage loans declined at a rate of 2.4pc in the 12 months to February. Households repaid 1.9bn more than they borrowed in the period.
The figures show the overall Irish banking market remains in decline.
The assets of the Irish banking system, including all loans issued to business and personal customers in the country, shrank by 2bn in February.
If international lending, the bulk of it by banks in the IFSC, is included overall lending grew by 11bn, however.
But in the so-called real economy loans for house purchases make up by far the biggest share of retail lending within Ireland - at 84pc. That is still in decline, and the latest figures show repayments of other household debt such as credit cards and personal loans outstripped new lending by 48m.
"The lending data remain a cause for concern," Merrion Capital economist Alan McQuaid said. "Households and businesses may still want to pay down outstanding debt, and with the cost of funding remaining high, particularly compared with the Eurozone average, there is no incentive to take on new borrowings.
"However, credit will in our view need to flow at a much stronger level than currently if the Irish economy is to grow to potential over the long-run."
Unsurprisingly, given the lack of new lending, banks now hold 3.6bn more in household deposits than they have outstanding in loans.
That suggests banks are lending at less than their capacity, and contrasts with the opposite extreme in early 2009 when household loans exceeded deposits by 53.5bn.
Minister Alan Kelly during his visit to the modular homes in Ballymun, Dublin. Photo: Gerry Mooney
Outgoing Environment Minister Alan Kelly has claimed that provisions in the Constitution around property rights resulted in attempts to solve the housing and homeless crisis being "repeatedly blocked".
Efforts to introduce protections for tenants and measures to compel owners of prime sites to develop housing were blocked by property rights protected under Article 43 of the Constitution, he claimed.
His comments were made at a forum on Housing and Homelessness held at the Department of the Environment. Among the attendees were opposition politicians and agencies involved in delivering housing and homeless services, including Nama, the Construction Industry Federation and Simon Communities.
Mr Kelly said there was a need to "find solutions" to the crisis on a cross-party basis, and that the problem would take time to solve. However, there was a need to debate the rights of property owners as set out in the Constitution.
"From the time it is taking to introduce the vacant site levy in order to tackle land hoarding, to protecting tenants from eviction in circumstances where their landlord wishes to sell the property, and many other issues, I was repeatedly blocked from making provision for what I believed was the common good by the strength by which property rights are protected under Article 43 of the Constitution," he said.
"I believe that we need to honestly re-examine the balance between the protected and legitimate property rights of individuals, as property owners, and the wider needs and common good of society, including housing needs.
"As a society, we need to reflect on the desired impact of the Constitution here.
"I believe that addressing these issues raises politically and socially important issues which will have to be debated over the coming years."
The Constitution says that the State "guarantees to pass no law attempting to abolish the right of private ownership or the general right to bequeath and inherit property", but goes on to state that it may "delimit the law with a view to reconciling their exercise with the exigencies of the common good".
But Aideen Hayden, chair of Threshold, said the rental sector was in dire need of reform, given that one in five people currently rented their home.
"I am scandalised that we cannot get legal change," she said. "If there are constitutional impediments to rent certainty or receiverships, then bring the legislation through and let the courts throw it out and then go to the people."
Meanwhile, families are expected to move into the first 22 modular homes located at Poppintree in Ballymun over the next two weeks.
The homes were expected to be completed before Christmas, but were delayed due to local opposition.
Mr Kelly defended the delay, describing the delivery of homes as "the quickest turnaround in the history of the State".
"There was a learning process through Dublin City Council as part of this," he said.
"It was the first time it was ever done. That learning process has been brought through for the second procurement, which has a lot more people involved, I understand."
Work is expected to begin on 130 more modular homes this month, while development on the remaining 300 across Dublin is due to begin later in the year. The De Paul housing charity said they welcomed the units, and would help the families seek more permanent accommodation.
A local politician who had his home repossessed said he spoke out publicly about his plight to force government action to help others in his situation.
Independent Councillor Joe Harris, from Douglas, Co Cork, left his home last Monday after falling behind with his mortgage payments.
He quit his home at Shamrock Lawn as agreed with his financial institution - and within hours the receiver had changed all the door and window locks.
The Cork County Council member said he decided to speak about his experiences to increase pressure on the new government for emergency action to help those facing the loss of their homes.
Mr Harris, who lost his home after his once-thriving auctioneering firm collapsed, is currently living with relatives. He insisted he does not want public sympathy but felt obliged to speak out after the spiral of home repossessions nationwide and the eviction controversies at Tyrrelstown in Dublin and Blackrock in Cork.
"The problem is that there are thousands of people in the exactly same situation as me," he said.
"That is the desperately sad story of Ireland in 2016. I know what it is like to worry about your home and then try to come to terms with having to leave the property that you have worked so long and hard for. The truth is that anyone can find themselves in this position."
He said his own experiences convinced him Ireland is now in the throes of an acute housing crisis and called on the next government to take urgent action.
The Ice Bucket charity challenge played a pivotal role in the explosion of video - and now Facebook alone has eight billion video views on its site every day.
According to Facebook SME manager Helen Smyth, the challenge was the first time the potential of online video was recognised.
"The Ice Bucket Challenge was when we saw video absolutely shoot up. We had something like a five-fold increase in views within that period of time.
"We were starting video around then and we pivoted with our engineering team to really improve the quality of native video on Facebook and that has been a phenomenal trend we've jumped on to."
In 2014 the viral video craze took social media by storm, raising over 1m for the Irish Motor Neuron Disease Association as well a further $100m for the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Association in the US.
Ms Smyth said Ireland was part of a global surge in video use that has spiked since social media sites started inserting videos directly into news feeds.
The Facebook head was speaking at the launch of its 'Boost Your Business' European tour in Kilmainham, Dublin, yesterday.
It showed off the potential of Facebook advertising to SMEs.
More than 400 businesses attended the event that included one to one consultations as well as a panel Q&A hosted by Irish Independent business columnist Richard Curran.
The event aims to encourage businesses to start using digital technologies for both advertising and brand awareness.
Ms Smyth said interaction between Irish businesses and their customers is already quite high, adding: "87pc of our Facebook users in Ireland are connected to a local business, which is actually higher than most of our other European markets and this really shows how much support they want to give".
Irish skincare company Vita Liberata was among the firms at the event with chief operating officer Johnny Choda explaining its usage of Facebook.
"Now it's much more about driving people to the store using social media. "So for us it's about using all those channels be it Facebook or Instagram and showing the customer that they can buy here."
Overall the social media take- up has been quite strong among Irish firms when compared to competitors in other European countries.
According to Ireland's digital scorecard, published by the European Commission, 31pc of firms are using social media compared to the EU average of 14pc. The use of eInvoices in Ireland is also 3 percentage points higher than the EU average at 14pc. Meanwhile, just under a quarter of Irish SMEs are selling their products and services online.
Google has released a trailer for Cardboard Plastic, a step forward in immersive technology as it's the world's first 'actual reality headset.'
Ah, April Fools Day. A day when brands embrace ridiculous stunts that turn out to be either quite funny or cringey.
One of Googles efforts is a new headset, Cardboard Plastic, which takes a step towards truly immersive technology. Google introduces it as a new viewer that lets you see, touch, smell, and hear the world just like you do in real life.
Google Cardboard Plastic Director of Immersive Design Jon Wiley said that this is the worlds first actual reality headset. It boasts 4D integrated perspective, 360-degree spatially accurate sound, 20/20 resolution, and advanced haptics for realistic touch sensations. Sounds like pretty incredible technology...and it's also waterproof.
You can find out more about Cardboard Plastic on its dedicated website, while Google also went to the effort to produce a trailer for the actual reality headset.
Hitman is coming out in short episodes and the next one will arrive at the end of April and will see the player jetting off to Italy
Hitman is out and the reviews for this latest slice of stealthy, stabby, shooty stuff have been pretty decent in the wake of the launch of the first episode. That introduction was set in Paris and different locations are set to release over the next few months.
Episode 2 will take players to Italy and we've just heard that it's launching on the 26th of April. It's all set in a made up place called Sapienza, and it looks like it's going to be pretty sunny when you get there.
Mr Hitman is way too pale for a sun holiday, even if he could probably do with a break, so he'll be in the area to take on a bunch of new missions with very specific targets and a lot of freedom to murder people in any way you choose. You can go in and shoot everything but that's definitely not the way this game has been designed to be played, with huge levels and plenty of opportunities for complicated set pieces.
You can pay a tenner for just this new slice or 60 quid for the whole game, with more content to be released throughout 2016.
Britain's David Cameron said there was no guarantee a buyer could be found for Britain's biggest steel producer after its Indian owner Tata Steel announced it was pulling out.
Nationalisation of the industry was ruled out, but there is speculation the UK government could aid a buyer through loans.
Mr Cameron said he was doing all he could following the Indian company's decision to sell its British operation, a move that has put 15,000 jobs at risk and exposed the government to accusations of failing to protect the industry from cheap Chinese imports.
Tata's biggest plant in Port Talbot, south Wales, is losing around $1.4m (1.2m) a day as a result of depressed steel prices and high costs.
"We're going to work very hard with the company to do everything we can, but it is a difficult situation, there can be no guarantees of success because of the problems that the steel industry faces worldwide," Britain's Prime Minister said after chairing an emergency meeting on the crisis yesterday.
"We're not ruling anything out, (but) I don't believe nationalisation is the right answer."
His government has faced criticism over its response to Tata's decision, with opposition lawmakers saying it was "asleep at the wheel" when the Indian group said it was pulling out after nearly a decade in Britain.
Mr Cameron and Sajid Javid, the business minister, were out of the country when Tata's board met in Mumbai on Tuesday, leaving a junior colleague to respond.
The opposition Labour party and Britain's media said the handling of the crisis had been "chaotic" after the government rowed back on an initial suggestion from a junior minister that it could nationalise the plants for a period.
"It's absolutely extraordinary that they've been asleep at the wheel for this long," Stephen Kinnock, the local member of parliament in south Wales, told Sky News yesterday. "Why is it that the Prime Minister seems to be reacting to this as if he didn't see it coming. They're in total disarray."
Steelmakers in Britain pay some of the highest energy costs and green taxes in the world, but the government maintains that the fundamental problem facing the industry is the collapse in the price of steel, caused by overcapacity in China.
Britain imported 826,000 tonnes of Chinese steel in 2015, up from 361,000 two years earlier, according to the International Steel Statistic bureau.
Cameron's government, eager to cultivate closer ties with China, has opposed measures in Europe that could increase the tariffs paid on Chinese imports of steel, which are a fraction of the levels imposed by the United States.
Nonetheless, anti-EU campaigners said Brussels was part of the problem because rules on state aid limited the steps Britain could take to save the industry.
Mr Cameron, who does not want to stoke anti-European Union sentiment ahead of a referendum on Britain's EU membership in June, said half of the country's steel production went into European markets and the products could face European tariffs and taxes if Britain left.
He said ministers were working on measures to help the industry.
But steel workers in Port Talbot said politicians had hindered rather than helped the industry.
(Reuters)
The remains of Margot Seery are disinterred from Rathkeale parish graveyard in Rathkeale, Co Limerick. Photo: courtesy RTE Prime Time
The family of murdered Margaret 'Margot' Seery have said that they have not decided whether to lodge a GSOC complaint over the 1994 garda investigation into her death.
Yesterday at Dublin Coroner's Court a new inquest into her death delivered a verdict that Ms Seery had been unlawfully killed and met her death by murder.
However, her family say they have been left with a number of unanswered questions into her death.
The mum-of-one was found dead in her Rathmines apartment in 1994 and an inquest later ruled out foul play.
However, 20 years later Howard Kelly walked into Rathmines garda station and confessed to killing her in her home.
Last November he was sentenced to life in prison.
Last year he released a statement to say that he is "tormented with guilt and remorse" for murdering her over 20 years ago.
A post mortem examination carried out in October 1994 wrongly found that Margot had died after choking on her own vomit as a result of alcohol intoxication. In fact she had been strangled to death.
An exhumation of her body in 2014 found that some of Margot's organs were missing. Her skull was also intact which led the family to question whether her brain had been examined fully.
Speaking on behalf of Margot's daughter Niamh Holliday, who is now married and living in Australia, Margot's brother Pa Guinane asked a number of questions at Dublin Coroners' Court yesterday.
Mr Guinane asked for an explanation for his sister's missing organs but was told that this was undetermined following a garda investigation.
He also questioned why Kelly was not quizzed in the first investigation having been the last person to see her alive but was told that this fact was not known at the time.
Questions over Margot's skull and the first autopsy were also left unanswered despite a garda probe.
"It's disappointing that we haven't got too many answers to the questions that we have and we are wondering if we ever will. There are a lot of questions to be asked [about the original investigation] into Margot's death," Mr Guinane said afterwards.
He said that there were avenues which weren't explored during the first investigation.
John Seery, Margot's husband whom she was separated from at the time, also expressed disappointment after the hearing.
"We don't really know why leads weren't followed up," he said.
"We have no answers about what happened them [the organs] and [we're] very disappointed about that."
Mr Guinane said that the family had not yet decided whether or not to follow up the case with the garda ombudsman.
Inspector George McGeary, who is attached to Terenure garda station, said in a statement read out in court that Kelly informed gardai that after joining Margot in her flat after meeting while socialising, he began to feel 'uncomfortable' and strangled her with the intention of killing her.
A teenager has been charged in connection with a fatal assault in which a young man died.
The incident occurred in Claremorris, Co Mayo on December 19 of last year.
The victim was named as Dovydas Jenkus (17). Dovydas, who is originally from Lithuania, had lived for a number of years in the Mayo town with his family. He was a fifth year student at St Coleman's College in the town.
Gardai have charged a male juvenile who is due to appear before Castlebar District Court this afternoon.
The man was arrested this morning and is currently in Garda custody at Claremorris Garda Station.
TAOISEACH Enda Kenny has ruled out weekend talks between Fine Gael and Fianna Fail which were sought by Independent TDs.
Mr Kenny was speaking after 40 hours of talks over the last five days between Fine Gael, Independent TDs and several smaller groups of deputies. He said this process had produced 15 different topic papers on areas such as rural development, health, housing, and other issues.
The Taoiseach said these various papers will be worked on over the weekend in efforts to produce a draft Foundation Document for a Partnership Government.
Roscommon-Galway TD Denis Naughten was among the Independent TDs who urged weekend talks between the two big parties. He argued that they should use the time to agree ground rules on how a minority coalition could work - irrespective of whether it was led by Fine Gael or Fianna Fail.
Mr Kenny again ruled out Fine Gael supporting a Fianna Fail-led minority government, while seeking that his rival party do just that for him.
He argued that Fine Gael had got biggest vote and the most seats in the general election on February 26. This meant it was his duty as Taoiseach to work to form a minority government.
Mr Kenny said Fine Gael and Fianna Fail will talk again after next Wednesday's Dail session. This will include a vote on Taoiseach and discussions on plans for major Dail reforms which would enhance the chances of a minority coalition providing secure and stable government.
The Taoiseach said making a new government was going to take time - and he refused to speculate on a time-frame much less set a deadline.
Sources close to the talks were optimistic that Fine Gael has gained real momentum at the end of a long week. They expect Mr Kenny will have more votes in next Wednesday's Taoiseach selection process and this will leave them in pole position to form a minority government.
Mr Kenny said the current Dail, with no clear majority, is a real opportunity to produce a different model of government and politics in Ireland.
An alleged Twitter troll has been served with a book of evidence and sent forward for trial, accused of one count of harassment of 98fm presenter Jeremy Dixon with threats and online abuse.
Geraldine Delahunty (41), with an address at Convent Lawns, Kylemore Road, Ballyfermot, Dublin, appeared before Judge Michael Walsh at Dublin District Court to be served with a book of evidence.
She faces a single count under section 10 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act for alleged harassment of 'Dublin Talks' co-host Jeremy Dixon from August 4, 2014 until January 16 last year.
Judge Walsh held that the case was too serious to be dealt with in the District Court - meaning a trial in the Circuit Court, which can impose lengthier sentences.
He warned Ms Delahunty, who was accompanied to court by solicitor Michael Kelleher, that if she intended to use an alibi in her defence she must notify the prosecution of this within 14 days.
He then told her that she was being returned for trial to the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court and must appear there on April 15. There was no objection to bail and legal aid was granted to Ms Delahunty, who has not yet entered a plea.
In an outline of the allegations given earlier for the purpose of deciding jurisdiction, Garda Sergeant Gail Smith had told the judge it was alleged that Mr Dixon had been harassed via Twitter.
This allegedly started with comments - some of which were "quite upsetting" - including one message that Mr Dixon would be killed, the court was told.
False
It was alleged that a number of false statements were made, such as untrue claims that the broadcaster abused his wife and took drugs. Tweets could be seen by Dixon's 15,000 followers. It was also alleged that his home address was posted online and references were made to his wife.
Mr Dixon, who was not present yesterday, had told the court previously that the tweets were relentless.
It affected his work because a company he did business with had been contacted and told untruthfully not to employ him because he takes drugs.
His wife was also afraid, the court heard.
Teachers are being forced to examine their "neighbours' children" because of cutbacks in allowances for examiners and superintendents.
The Teachers' Union of Ireland (TUI) has passed a motion calling for a reversal of the cuts in allowances paid to teachers who engage in State Examination Commission (SEC) activities.
The union said that teachers who worked as examiners were being sent to schools closer to home to save money.
The union favours a joint approach with the ASTI on the issue.
The annual congress at Killarney's INEC also called for the TUI to negotiate for an exemption from the new travelling expenses procedure during the summer holidays.
After tax, superintendents and examiners can only expect to take home 37 cent in every euro earned, which they say is not enough of an incentive to take on the responsibility.
Blathaid Ni Mhurchu from the Co Galway branch, who seconded the motion, has been an oral examiner in Irish and French for a number of years but says it's becoming "more hassle than it's worth".
"Allowances now have been reduced so much that it's absolutely frowned upon if you claim overnight expenses," she said.
"As an oral examiner, we used to be given overnight allowances if you were living 50km or more from where you were assigned but now that's gone to 100km."
She said it had now become the "norm" to send teachers to schools much closer to home.
"In my case, I was being sent from Connemara to Donegal or Dublin," she said.
"But in the last year or two, I've been asked to give oral exams in local schools up to 15km away.
"This has caused a massive conflict of interest because I know the teachers and I'm examining, in some cases, past pupils and neighbours' children. It just isn't appropriate."
Ms Ni Mhurchu said when she refused, she was warned she may not be assigned to another school. She added that the allowances she would have received would not even have covered the cost of after-school care for her own children.
Maria Curtin, from the Co Limerick TUI branch, said she had been sent to schools nearer her home over the past eight years and last June was assigned to a school where she herself was a past pupil.
She said the SEC uses her home address as her base when it suits them, or her school address if that's nearer her assigned school.
"They chop and change from one to the other in order to avoid paying me an overnight allowance," she added.
"I'm not saying that we should be making a profit on travelling expenses but we should be paid an acceptable wage for the amount of work undertaken."
Tony Rushe, also from the Co Galway TUI branch, who moved the motion, said he had to seriously consider signing up as a corrector again this year.
"It just reminded me of how much tax and pension reductions we have suffered in the name of austerity.
"If this direction continues it will impact on the quality of the correctors and examiners who present themselves to access your students for State certification," he said.
Teachers have been told they need to stand up for colleagues who are being bullied rather than later saying, "Isn't it a shame when one of our colleagues committed suicide."
Former Teachers' Union of Ireland (TUI) president, Gerry Craughwell, said he had no doubt that several suicides each year were the result of bullying in the workplace.
He said there were incidents of teachers being bullied by management, colleagues and students.
The TUI has called for special training for union representatives and officers to deal with allegations of harassment and bullying.
But Mr Craughwell, who is also an Independent senator, says that investigations of alleged incidents need to be taken out of the hands of the union, which is unequipped to deal with it.
He told delegates at the final day of their annual congress in the INEC Killarney that there was a problem in identifying and defining precisely what bullying was.
He added that it was constantly being misrepresented, and that robust management was not bullying.
He said: "It can be as subtle as comments like 'Please don't make any contributions at my next meeting', or the classic when a principal says to a teacher, 'We need to meet on Friday', with no indication of what that meeting is for.
"But colleagues sit on their hands because we're afraid the cannon may be turned on us, so it's easier to sit back and watch a colleague being slowly destroyed and do nothing about it."
The IT teacher, who is on a career break from Blackrock College of Further Education, said he didn't necessarily agree that it was the "place" of the TUI to investigate allegations.
"The last thing we want is amateurs dabbling in the situation," he said.
"We need a professional mechanism in place to allow for the proper investigation.
"The investigation process for bullying is an extremely complex one.
"You're asking someone who may not even fully understand the concept to adjudicate on a series of minor incidents and establish if that was forethought of malice," he added.
From left: Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams, Taoiseach and Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny, Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin and Tanaiste and Labour leader Joan Burton before their final TV debate, on RTEs Prime Time. Photo:Tony Maxwell/PA Wire
Department of Finance officials have told Independent TDs locked in government talks with Fine Gael that another general election will cost the State a massive 40m.
The revelation is understood to have shocked TDs as they met for the final time to discuss potentially supporting Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny as the next Taoiseach.
If government talks fail, it would mean the taxpayer could be lumped with a 80m bill for the two elections.
One source at the meeting described the potential spending on elections as ridiculous.
Finance Minister Michael Noonan was drafted into the crunch talks to outline the amount of spending available to the next government.
Mr Noonan is understood to have painted a pessimistic outlook of the countrys finances and told TDs there will be no money to play with over the next two years.
There is no money in this country. We wont have any money to play with until 2018 by his prediction, a source at the talks said.
Government formation talks reached unprecedented levels of farce when Fine Gael and Fianna Fail became embroiled in a row over the first formal contact between their two leaders.
Five weeks after the General Election result became known, Micheal Martin finally seized the initiative and phoned Enda Kenny just before 1pm yesterday. During a four-minute conversation, the pair agreed that they would continue negotiations separately with Independent TDs before holding their first set of talks after Wednesday's vote for Taoiseach.
Mr Martin also conveyed his party's anger over claims by Acting Jobs Minister Richard Bruton earlier this week that his party would not support a Fianna Fail-led minority government under any circumstance.
This was the first known contact between the two leaders and comes 34 days after the election.
But after the phone call ended, Mr Kenny, "on reflection", decided to phone the Fianna Fail leader back and propose to move the talks forward to this afternoon.
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During a bizarre sequence of events that followed, Mr Kenny quickly texted Mr Martin proposing a Friday meeting after his phone calls went unanswered. Mr Martin, unbeknown to the acting Taoiseach, called an impromptu press conference during which he announced details of the now infamous phone call.
Expand Close Party leaders Enda Kenny and Micheal Martin / Facebook
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Whatsapp Party leaders Enda Kenny and Micheal Martin
Fianna Fail sources insist Mr Martin had not noticed the follow-up phone calls or text message sent by Mr Kenny.
Mr Martin told reporters his own party's discussions with Independents and smaller groups would take up until Monday or Tuesday - and his name would again be put forward for election as Taoiseach next Wednesday.
Erupted
"After Wednesday, we have agreed that we will have discussions," Mr Martin said - but such talks depended on the outcome of the Dail vote.
He said there was "no set agenda" for any Fine Gael-Fianna Fail talks later next week - but he conceded water charges and the future of Irish Water would be among some "big issues".
Following the press conference, Mr Martin replied with a text that read: "As agreed we will talk again on Wednesday."
But as the day continued, a massive row erupted between the two parties.
Senior Fine Gael sources accused Fianna Fail of "playing games", adding that Mr Martin felt "spooked" by the progress being made by the leading party in its talks with Independents.
Fianna Fail rejected the criticism as "absolute nonsense" and accused Fine Gael of reaching "new depths of desperation".
Read More
Last night, as the row continued, Fine Gael insisted that Mr Kenny remains available to meet Mr Martin on Friday.
However, the Fianna Fail leader is in Cork and now has no intention of meeting his counterpart until after Wednesday's vote. It now appears likely that there will be no government in place until May at the earliest as the prospect of a snap election increases.
The row over phone calls and text messages last night caused dismay among the Independent TDs involved in the negotiations. It's understood the majority of the 17 now believe weekend talks between the two leaders should take place.
Kerry TD Michael Healy-Rae likened the antics to "child's play". Independent Alliance TD Sean Canney said he is glad the pair have spoken but added in relation to the spat: "That kind of stuff is not something that I even listen to because I think we've got to get above that."
FG's latest offerings to Independents
Healthcare
"Enhanced primary care in every community", including funding for 80 additional clinics.
Building GP capacity to respond to patients' needs through access to X-ray and ultrasound.
Guaranteeing the future sustainability of rural GP practices, including a rise in the rural practice allowance.
A pledge to increase the number of GP training places.
Extend free GP care to under-18s.
A plan to reduce the number of smokers in Ireland to less than 5pc of the population by 2025.
The introduction of a health levy on sugar-sweetened drinks.
A commitment to reduce overcrowding and a promise of capital investment in accident and emergency departments.
Reforming the HSE and setting out a "detailed longer-term budget" for the health service.
Disability
Ratification of the UN convention on the rights of people with disability within 12 months.
Personalised budgets for people with disabilities who require services.
Increased funding for housing adaptation schemes.
Flexibility in social welfare entitlements to help people move into employment, while retaining a welfare safety net.
Political reform
Hygiene inspectors have expressed concern about a range of serious failings which are putting cancer patients at risk of infections in oncology units across the country.
They found that hospital wards were outdated and inadequate to meet the needs of the high number of patients being treated.
The overview of hygiene inspections during 2015 by the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) found that some also had insufficient isolation facilities, not enough toilets and inadequate medication preparation and storage areas.
The overview of 39 unannounced inspections carried out in 32 public hospitals in 2015 showed poor levels of cleanliness in most of the hospitals inspected.
There was a significant increase in the number of re-inspections required, with one in five hospitals requiring a further visit.
"This represents a significant increase compared to 2014, where one in 10 hospitals required re-inspection," said Susan Cliffe, head of healthcare at Hiqa.
Hospitals that needed a re-inspection included: Kerry General; Letterkenny General; Mullingar; the National Maternity Hospital; Our Lady of Lourdes, Drogheda; Portiuncula Hospital Ballinasloe; Galway and the South Infirmary Victoria University Hospital, Cork.
Inspectors called for better labelling and storage of intravenous medication. Risks were found in preparation of anaesthetic and emergency medicines, as well as intravenous fluids in advance of giving them to patients. These medicines had been stored incorrectly and in some cases left unattended.
The need for better training of cleaning staff was highlighted. Hospitals complained of a lack of capital funding for maintenance and infrastructure.
Overcrowding also impacted on the ability of some hospitals to carry out these remedial works.
The inspectors found that some operating theatres and critical care units were not fit for purpose, with limited spacing between patients.
In one hospital, the same mop was used for dusting and cleaning floors.
Inspectors were critical of the care of some patient equipment. Unclean commodes were a problem in three out of four hospitals in 2014, while it improved last year they were still not clean in half of hospitals.
Unclean commodes pose an risk of spreading the superbug Clostridium difficile. Overall, five hospitals had increased the incidence of the bug last year.
Progress has been made by staff in following the key infection-control rule of washing hands.
Hospital consultants have begun legal action to try to recoup around 250m in pay which they claim was wrongly withheld.
The Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) said today it has started legal proceedings in the High Court to secure the release of salary increases which were due in 2009 under the terms of the 2008 Consultant Contract.
Dr. Peadar Gilligan, chairman of the IMO consultant committee, said reports in the media suggest the Attorney General is advising the Government that the HSE action can not be defended.
He said "given this reported view of the AG on this matter, we would question why the HSE would waste further taxpayer money by fighting this issue.
Dr Gilligan said the IMO has been in dispute with the HSE on this issue since 2009 when the HSE unilaterally decided to withhold salary increases due at that time under the doctors' 2008 contract.
A recent Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT) hearing on this matter and the reported advice of the Attorney General confirms the IMO position that this payment was illegally withheld. The IMO will vigorously pursue this issue and will proceed with legal cases to the High Court unless the matter is settled.
The IMO has been in dispute with the HSE on this issue since 2009 when the HSE unilaterally decided to withhold salary increases due at that time under the 2008 Contract.
"A recent Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT) hearing on this matter and the reported advice of the Attorney General confirms the IMO position that this payment was illegally withheld. The IMO will vigorously pursue this issue and will proceed with legal cases to the High Court unless the matter is settled.
He termed the HSE's deciion to withhold the salary as an abuse of their position as an employer.
He added: is it any wonder that the HSE is struggling to recruit doctors given their record as an employer. Incidents like this feed the general crisis in morale amongst Irish doctors and directly contribute to the current exceptionally high emigration levels amongst Irish doctors
A teenage girl who has attempted suicide twice this year is being left in a general hospital medical ward because no mental health centre has deemed her "suitable" to take in.
The 13-year-old has been on a medical ward in the southeast since late January, after being admitted twice that month for attempted overdoses.
Senior government ministers are aware of the situation.
The child's mother told the Irish Independent that her daughter had been receiving no treatment at the hospital and had been told by a number of organisations and mental health units that she was not suitable for in-patient care because of "violent tendencies".
She was diagnosed with Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) by the HSE's mental health agency for children and adolescents, CAMHS.
The teenager took her first overdose on January 23, swallowing four tablets prescribed for ODD. She was taken to hospital, where she was monitored overnight.
However, she was sent home the next day and proceeded to take another overdose eight days later, swallowing 16 of the same pills.
The girl was rushed to hospital and kept overnight, but the hospital again said that she could go home the next day. This time, her mother refused to take her home.
"I had to walk away from the hospital for three days for her to be kept there because I said, 'I'm not going to be here for the third time, this child wants out of life and if I take her home, it won't be an ambulance I'll be calling, it'll be an undertaker,'" the mother said.
"They couldn't send her home if there was nobody there. It was the only option I had to keep her alive."
Since then, the child has been kept on a general paediatric ward, despite receiving no psychiatric treatment or medication, apart from a weekly visit from a psychiatrist from CAMHS.
"She is on no medication. She has become violent and is self-harming and she can't leave her room because she's a danger to herself and to others. It's a public ward, where there are five other beds," her mother said.
The family and an advocate for them were told by mental health units in Cork, Galway and Dublin that she "did not meet the criteria".
However, a Kildare-based in-patient health centre said it had room for her if she got a referral from a social worker.
The family subsequently contacted the child-welfare agency, Tusla, which insisted that mental-health issues were not within its remit, despite the child being kept under observation in a general hospital ward. Tusla has confirmed that this is the case.
The Department of Health and the HSE have said that they are aware of the situation and are trying to find a solution to the issue.
Emma Spence with one of her paintings inspired by the landscape of her Magheraconluce home
Emma Spence could have been forgiven if she had never wanted to see the scene of the terrible tragedy again, but the gifted Hillsborough artist, whose father and two brothers died in one of Northern Ireland's worst farming accidents, has used the land that they loved as the inspiration for a new exhibition she has dedicated to them.
The richly colourful paintings reflect the breathtaking splendour of the Spences' home on the Drumlough Road. Its stunning views of the Dromara Hills and the Mourne Mountains serve only to complete the picture of perfection in an area that was plunged into unfathomable sadness on September 15, 2012, a sadness from which it will never recover.
For that is when Emma's father Noel and her brothers Graham and Nevin died after what started as an attempt to rescue their pet collie from an underground slurry tank on the sprawling farm.
Emma almost died herself after she battled to save "her boys", as she calls them. She had to be rushed to hospital when she too was overcome by the poisonous fumes.
The fact that "wee Nev" - as Emma affectionately called her 22-year-old brother in a remarkably composed and uplifting address at the funerals - was a gifted Ulster Rugby player guaranteed the news would gain even more coverage in the media.
Nearly four years on and standing in the ordered chaos of her studio in a space above a garage that 58-year-old Noel refurbished, Emma was reluctant to revisit the full horror of that nightmarish Saturday afternoon when her life changed inexorably in the blink of an eye.
Expand Close Order of service for the funeral of Noel Spence, 68, and his sons Graham, 30, and Nevin, 22 who all died trying to save each other in a slurry tank on the family farm near Hillsborough, Co Down. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Wednesday September 19, 2012. The extraordinary bravery of a young woman who tried to rescue her father and two brothers - one of them a top Ulster rugby player - when they were overcome by killer fumes emerged today. Emma Spence twice climbed into a manhole and then down into a slurry tank on the family farm near Hillsborough, Co Down, where her father Noel, 68, and brothers, Graham, 30, and Nevin, 22, all died trying to save each other. See PA story ULSTER Tank. Photo credit should read: Paul Faith/PA Wire / Facebook
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Whatsapp Order of service for the funeral of Noel Spence, 68, and his sons Graham, 30, and Nevin, 22 who all died trying to save each other in a slurry tank on the family farm near Hillsborough, Co Down. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Wednesday September 19, 2012. The extraordinary bravery of a young woman who tried to rescue her father and two brothers - one of them a top Ulster rugby player - when they were overcome by killer fumes emerged today. Emma Spence twice climbed into a manhole and then down into a slurry tank on the family farm near Hillsborough, Co Down, where her father Noel, 68, and brothers, Graham, 30, and Nevin, 22, all died trying to save each other. See PA story ULSTER Tank. Photo credit should read: Paul Faith/PA Wire
She had said all she wanted to say at the inquest, where it was revealed she went down into the slurry tank and pulled her father up a ladder with the help of others before going back into the pit.
But Emma lost consciousness as she tried to save Graham (30), and at the inquest she thanked the people who got her out. The coroner asked her if she had been aware of the dangers of what she had done, and she replied: "Yes, but when it comes to the love of your family"
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They were the words which wrote their own newspaper headlines on a distressing day for Emma and her family, who still live at Drumlough Road, staying despite the obvious temptations to move away from the reminders of the tragedy.
The artist, who hates the glare of publicity, had also found her way onto the front pages after the funerals where she had summoned up the resilience - from where she doesn't know - to pay warm and sensitive tributes to Noel, Graham and Nevin, who she said were hard-working, genuine men who were best friends.
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In the congregation, the supposedly hardmen of Ulster Rugby struggled to control their emotions, remembering their friend and joker in their pack Nevin, whose sister had painted portraits of 20 of the players for an exhibition not long beforehand.
Emma dismissed any notion that what she did at the funeral service in Ballynahinch Baptist Church, or even at the farm, was in any way courageous.
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"We were living in a bubble of a wake. I didn't think about how many people were at the church. It could have been just five or 500. I just wanted to tell them about my dad and my brothers," she said. "Nothing was going to stop me. The words came very quickly to me and there was no great English in them, but I never imagined that people would think so much of it."
Emma's new exhibition is more personal than anything she has done before. It is an intimate reflection of life in the rural tranquillity of Co Down, far away from the roaring crowds in Nevin's Kingspan Stadium.
Expand Close Essie Spence (centre, in black) is supported by her daughter-in-law Andrea, wife of Graham Spence and her daughter Emma Spence (far right) with other family members at the funeral of her husband Noel Spence and sons Graham and Nevin at Ballynahinch Baptist Church, Co Down, yesterday / Facebook
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Whatsapp Essie Spence (centre, in black) is supported by her daughter-in-law Andrea, wife of Graham Spence and her daughter Emma Spence (far right) with other family members at the funeral of her husband Noel Spence and sons Graham and Nevin at Ballynahinch Baptist Church, Co Down, yesterday
She has called the collection of 31 oils on canvas Their Fields. They are powerful evocations of little corners of Magheraconluce Farm, which was part of the very fibre of Noel, Graham and Nevin and which made them who and what they were.
Yet there is no sense in which the paintings are morbid, mawkish memorials for her family.
Rather, they stand alone as celebratory snapshots of the hedgerows, the blackberries and the hawthorn blossoms in the fields that Emma said were her loved ones' identity. The 31-year-old is hopeful that her boys would have been proud of what she has achieved with her exhibition.
All three of them, particularly her dad, backed her all the way and encouraged her to find her own identity, even when she harboured youthful dreams of becoming a clarinettist with the Ulster Orchestra, before deciding that art would be her career.
Emma went to art college in Belfast, and she was on the verge of dropping out when she found a new mentor in lecturer Neil Shawcross (below), the acclaimed artist, who urged her to express her own individuality and who will open her exhibition in Belfast next week.
In her final year at the college Emma decided to produce what was in effect an homage to Magheraconluce Farm, which her great-grandfather James bought for 500 in 1921.
It was serendipity, she said, because the photographs she took of her family's everyday life down on the farm and the stories she coaxed from her father have turned out to be invaluable records of the beloved men she lost.
"My dad started with five cows and then he built it up to a thriving dairy farm with almost 200 cattle before the accident," explained Emma, who is deeply appreciative of the help neighbours gave the Spences to keep the farm in business in those dark and dreadful days after the accident.
In the aftermath Emma called a temporary halt to her painting.
She knew that she would return to it one day, but it was not a priority at that time.
She did, however, continue with her work as an art technician at Wallace High in Lisburn, where Nevin had been a pupil and school rugby star.
Not surprisingly, the days, weeks and months after the tragedy were harrowing as the surviving Spences agonised about their future. "We could have sold up and got enough money to buy a nice house to start our lives again somewhere else. But we resolved that we didn't want to walk away from this place, which was home and a massive part of the boys' lives," said Emma.
"Mum also talked of the blood, sweat and tears that went into the farm, and she said that money couldn't buy walking down a back lane and going to a river that is on your own doorstep."
Emma added that the seeds for the new exhibition were sown during her own walks in the fields around the farm where she found solace.
"My dad and Graham worked the farm and were passionate about it, and while Nevin may have been a full-time rugby player, he loved the farming just as much," she said. "At night-time here he milked the cows and the joke was that his best workouts would be standing out in the yard."
Emma started to see the farm anew, looking at it from the point of view of her dad and brothers.
"To most people, looking at something like hedges, they would see only weeds, but I was stopping to look at them and recognising the beauty in them, which is why I wanted to paint them," she said.
But there were, and still are, plenty of down times as well.
"I remember the first spring after the accident," Emma said. "It had always been a happy time, seeing the cows going out into the fields after the winter. But that first spring tore me apart because dad, Graham and Nevin weren't there.
"Now, with the passage of time, I think of the joy that the boys got from something like that. It still hurts, but I am trying to accept that this is life.
"I'm not saying I have it all sorted out now, because I think we are all still in the grieving process with the enormity of all that has happened. But I suppose we have no other choice but to try and cope with it and live with it."
Emma, who lives with her husband Peter in her grandmother's old house at Magheraconluce, said that people regularly asked her if she was not tempted to move away from her studio right in the heart of the farm.
"But it's not painting there that I find difficult sometimes," she said. "It's the noise of the tractors outside. I can still convince myself that dad, Nevin and Graham are there too. Then it hits me that I can't show them my paintings.
"Last May I was part of a mini-exhibition and my work did well, but when I came home I cried. I told my husband that the success meant nothing because the boys weren't there to see it."
Emma choked back the tears as she talked of how she would miss her dad and her brothers even more at the opening of the new exhibition at the James Wray and Co gallery.
"They're their fields and I won't know what they think of the paintings, and no one else's opinions matter," she said. "But I suppose the three of them would be proud that I was pushing on with life and that I was trying."
Their Fields, an exhibition by Emma Spence, runs from April 7 to April 30 at the gallery of James Wray and Co, 14-16 James
Street South, Belfast. www.jameswray.ie
Pint-sized crimelord John Gilligan spent yesterday socialising with family and friends in a Dublin pub - despite being a target of criminal gangs.
Our exclusive images show the convicted drug trafficker looking like he hasn't got a care in the world at a west Dublin premises with family and friends.
Moments later, the cocky gangster gave armed detectives the "two-fingered salute" as he drove away in a taxi.
It's a world away from when he ended up in a wheelchair with bullet wounds following an assassination attempt in March 2014.
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Gilligan (64) previously fled the country in fear of his life following two attempted gangland hits, as well as the murder of his bodyguard.
Yesterday, two years after he fled, arrogant Gilligan spent time drinking in a pub in Lucan in West Dublin as members of the Special Detective Unit (SDU) kept him under close surveillance.
He finally left the pub - after eventually being refused service - in a taxi with a number of close relatives.
Stopped
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Before he left he stopped off in an off-licence, buying a number of boxes of alcohol. He then got back into the waiting taxi. As it left the carpark he gave the two-fingers to the armed detectives sitting in nearby unmarked vehicles.
It is believed Gilligan is staying at a west Dublin address, with sources saying he returned to the country late last week - just a day after cigarette smuggler Noel 'Kingsize' Duggan was shot dead.
The reason for Gilligan's return - despite there being credible threats against his life - are not yet known. His presence in the capital was described as a "surprise".
It is the first time he has returned to Ireland since fleeing to Britain.
He moved to Britain due to threats against his life, but also to recover following the attempt on his life in March 2014.
A very weak and frail Gilligan was seen leaving James Connolly Memorial Hospital in Blanchardstown on St Patrick's Day 2014. He was in a wheelchair and was taken to a ferry bound for Britain.
It was reported that Gilligan was still in a wheelchair two months after he was shot.
It's understood Gilligan was living between his extended family, based between Birmingham and London, and occasionally staying in Traveller halting sites with criminals linked to the McCarthy/Dundon gang.
"He has been sighted in the city centre and west Dublin over the last number of days, but it is a surprise to say the least to see him return.
"There have been attempts to kill Gilligan, and detectives will be keeping a close watch on him as long as he stays in the country," the source said.
"However, the fact that he is walking around carefree and without protection would indicate that he feels perfectly safe being back in the country," the source added.
Gilligan remains one of the chief suspects for the murder of investigative journalist Veronica Guerin.
The heroic INM reporter was gunned down in her car on the Naas Road in June 1996. It is believed Gilligan ordered the assassination after Guerin wrote a number of articles on the gangland figure that exposed his flourishing drug-dealing empire. Gilligan fled Ireland over two years ago after his bodyguard, Stephen 'Dougie' Moran, was gunned down outside his Lucan home.
Turned
Moran had turned his home into a fortress with bullet-proof windows, CCTV cameras and a large gate, but a hitman still managed to target him as he got out of his car on the way to house.
Just weeks previously - on March 1, 2014 - two masked gunmen burst into the home of Gilligan's brother in Greenfort, Clondalkin and shot Gilligan six times in the body.
He suffered bullet wounds to his upper chest area, stomach, hip and leg. A bullet also grazed his forehead.
The assassination attempt came less than three months after another attempt on his life. That one happened in the Halfway House pub on the Navan Road in December 2013.
Tributes paid to 'amazing man' Keith Collins (inset). Main picture: The scene of the attack in Sydney
An Irishman has been stabbed and killed while on what is believed to have been a first date at a restaurant in Sydney, Australia.
Keith Collins (53) was stabbed in the neck and chest while his date Jovi Pilapil was also injured. Her ex-husband is the chief suspect.
Mr Collins was originally from Finglas in Dublin but had been living in Terrigal on the Central Coast. He died at the scene at Kangam BBQ restaurant in Westfield Hornsby.
The father of one was the managing director of a successful Gosford packing company and had just returned from a business trip to China.
He was also president of the Terrigal Wamberal Sharks Junior Rugby League Club.
Mr Collins's daughter Aisling wrote on Facebook: "I love you more than anything, Dad, I'll forever be your girl, no matter what."
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Mr Collins's sister, Audrey Jenkins, who also lives in Australia, told the Irish Independent last night the devoted father was born in Finglas but has lived in Australia since emigrating in 1968.
Ms Jenkins added they have "lots of family in Ireland" who are devastated by the news and that their mum also lives in Sydney. She paid tribute to her brother on social media, writing: "Love you big bro. Please, please be at peace now. Xxxx"
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Sue McInnes, a friend and former Terrigal Sharks member with Mr Collins, said: "He was an amazing man who was so full of life and meant what he said. He had many of the boys from the club working for him and treated them like family, and he was generous. He said he only made money because they worked well for him.
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"He was a great community person too... he loved the kids and loved life... It's a very, very big loss."
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Ms Pilapil, who was also stabbed in the incident, was able to run away and hide in an upstairs shop, where she collapsed.
It is believed that the pair had arranged the meal after meeting on a dating website.
A witness said the devoted father desperately called out for help after he was attacked.
"He was yelling out 'help' and me and my mates were outside, we were freaking out and were like, 'Nah, we've got to help him'," a man said.
"He was laying there and I was like, 'Mate, calm down you will be all good, just keep calm,'" he added.
Australian media reported that the pair were stabbed by a man believed to be Ms Pilapil's ex-husband, Alexander Villaluna.
Witnesses said the alleged attacker calmly walked up and down the shopping centre's concourse, covered in blood and with the 20-centimetre knife in his hand.
After about 15 minutes, a female police officer with her Taser drawn apprehended Mr Villaluna, who had walked back inside the Korean BBQ restaurant and surrendered without incident.
A witness said the alleged attacker appeared "eerily calm" as he paced up and down.
"It's almost like it was an out-of-body experience for him," he said. "He probably sat down wondering what to do. He was eerily calm, as though it didn't really matter."
Mr Villaluna (44) was taken to Hornsby Police Station where he was charged with murder and attempted murder. He was refused bail and chose not to appear when his case was heard before Hornsby Local Court. He will face court again in May.
Detective Acting Superintendent Damian Henry told reporters the relationship between the three people would form part of the police inquiry.
"We're yet to establish if there's a domestic relationship between the three parties," he said. "We believe that there might be a domestic relationship between the female and the (charged man)."
Supt Henry said the 38-year-old woman was taken to Royal North Shore Hospital with a punctured sternum and was expected to have surgery. Her brother Ralph said he had spoken with his sister's children since the attack.
"They told me she was stabbed and she broke something and she was very lucky it did not hit her lungs and heart. We were very grateful. We were here in the church thanking that she wasn't badly injured," he said.
Witness Lucas Decia described how the attacker walked into the restaurant and pulled out a blade. "He drove the blade into the guy's collarbone and pushed it across. Pulled it out and then (stabbed) him in the side of the ribs. The lady went to get up and he took a stab at her. He kept slashing."
Michaella McCollum Connolly, left, and Melissa Reid are escorted from a prison truck by police at Sarita Colonia prison in Lima, Peru
The 23-year-old was freed from the Ancon Dos jail in Lima but may have to spend six more years in the South American city.
McCollum Connolly, from Dungannon, Co Tyrone and Scottish woman Melissa Reid were arrested at Lima Airport in August 2013 as the pair tried to fly to Madrid.
They were found with 11kg of cocaine hidden inside food packets in their luggage and jailed for six and a half years.
Irish Amercian Bishop Sean Walsh, who visited Michaella McCollum in prison a few days ago, said that she would remain in the jail for the time being.
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She has been granted parole to my very great surprise. Shes going to be granted parole six years and six months, he told independent.ie.
I visited her several days ago. She is of course quite relieved and thankful to god that the course of life has gone this way.
Probably she will remain in Lima. She will be allowed to work and study if she wants to do that.
Being on parole means that she only has to check in with the clerk and the prison system office for special and psychological questioning and to ensure that she remains in the country."
Bishop Walsh added that he had heard that Michaellas co-accused Melissa has requested a transfer to her home country of Scotland.
Kevin Winters, McCollums solicitor, said she was released effectively on parole on Thursday night and was waiting to hear the terms of her release.
I can confirm Michaella has been released from jail and Im waiting to hear the outcome of the judicial process, he told the Press Association.
A top executive has warned Luas workers that cuts will be imposed in the company if the current series of strikes continues.
Nigel Stevens, chief executive officer of Transdev UK and Ireland, issued an open letter to staff as a further two-day strike gets under way this weekend.
Mr Stevens stated that he visited "key stakeholders" in Dublin this week. He returned to the UK yesterday.
The Siptu union expressed dismay that Mr Stevens did not meet workers or union representatives and called on him to withdraw his threat of cutbacks.
Workers had voted to reject a pay rise brokered by the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), which would have meant rises between 8pc and 18pc within less than three years.
"Transdev will not stand idly by while our already challenging financial position, which has been independently verified, is further eroded," stated Mr Stevens in his letter.
"We are resolute that the current demands are untenable and will not be countenanced regardless of the nature and extent of industrial action that is notified to us," he said.
In a veiled warning that appeared to hint at job cuts, he declared that, if workers continued with strikes, the company would "take action in relation to our operating costs to protect our financial position".
Siptu has threatened four one-day strikes this month in pursuit of an improved pay offer.
Further stoppages are planned for April 23 and 24.
Siptu sector organiser Willie Noone said: "It is deeply disappointing and inexplicable that the CEO of Transdev UK and Ireland would visit Dublin and not meet with Luas workers.
"He obviously does not view the Luas workers or their representatives as being key stakeholders worthy of meeting.
"At such a meeting he would have been informed why the WRC proposals in relation to the Luas dispute were rejected overwhelmingly by workers in a recent ballot."
Cutbacks
Siptu organiser John Murphy said: "The implied threat in the CEO's letter to staff that there will be cutbacks at the company if the industrial action continues does not assist in bringing this dispute to a conclusion and we ask him to withdraw it."
Anne Graham, CEO of the National Transport Authority, said that the authority welcomed the company's commitment to fulfilling its contract to provide tram services until 2019 and said the strikes would further inconvenience the public.
A 45-year-old man has been killed in an industrial accident in Co Wexford.
The incident occurred shortly after 3pm this afternoon at Casey Concrete just outside of Gorey.
It's understood that the man was operating a digger when then accident took place.
The man's body has been removed to University Waterford Hospital where a post-mortem examination is due to be carried out.
Gardai have preserved the scene, and the Health and Safety Authority has been notified.
It is the second tragedy to occur at the facility.
A number of years ago a man lost his life after he was crushed in a block making machine.
The role played by ordinary Dublin priests in the 1916 Rising is one of "extraordinary courage and impartiality", Archbishop Diarmuid Martin has said.
Dr Martin said the historical archives show that many priests carried out acts of great courage and human sensitivity and were motivated by humanitarian and pastoral care of those caught up the events.
He made his comments as he launched 'The Church and the Rising' a new publication by the 'Irish Catholic'. The book's editor Greg Daly said it was aimed at providing a more balanced understanding of the role of faith in the Rising.
Archbishop Martin paid tribute to the book for not attempting to hide the general condemnation of the Rising by most of the Catholic bishops at the time and the leaders of the other Churches. But one hundred years on, the Archbishop said it is not enough to commemorate and celebrate an historical event.
"We have to ask how those who fought in 1916 for Irish Independence would judge us and our society today. Theirs was a dream for very different Ireland."
He added that the successful realisation of that dream could not be measured through parades and celebrations, dramas and books and television documentaries rather in terms of the kind of society we have. The Catholic Church in Ireland, he said, is called to carry out an honest appraisal of its place in Irish society in the future.
A 23-year-old Sinn Fein councillor who has been missing for almost two weeks has thanked all those who were concerned for his safety for their support.
Stephen Cunningham had not been seen since the early hours of March 18 after a night out in Cork's city centre.
The popular UCC student, and one of the nation's youngest elected representatives, had been celebrating St Patrick's Day with his friends.
Gardai had launched an investigation into his disappearance and were combing CCTV footage of the South Mall area where he was last seen.
His friends and family launched a large-scale social media campaign in an effort to locate the young man with the help of the public. However, Mr Cunningham - who represents Cork city's north east ward for Sinn Fein - released a statement yesterday to the media.
"I would like to thank my family, friends, colleagues and the wider public, for their expressions of support and concern," read the statement.
"Over the last number of weeks, I have found myself feeling enormous pressure. It hasn't been easy. I am grateful for all those who have rallied around me.
"I am now spending time with my family. I need some space and I would sincerely appreciate that my need for privacy be respected.
"Again, my heartfelt thanks to everyone."
Mr Cunningham topped the poll during the 2014 local elections.
'Text message row scuppers FG-FF talks' is the front page story from the Irish Independent this morning as talks between acting Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin reached unprecedented levels of farce.
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The Herald leads with exclusive photos of crime boss John Gilligan's return to Dublin. The paper reports that the pint-sized crimelord was socialising with family and friends on a visit to a pub in the capital.
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The Irish Examiner also leads with talks between Kenny and Martin. They reveal that the Independents are set to come under mounting pressure over the coming days to decide who they will support to form a government.
'Election pledges at risk from 'spending time bomb' is the lead in The Irish Times which says the next government will immediately face a number of unforseen spending pressures which will threaten the viability of election promises.
Meanwhile The Irish Daily Mirror, Irish Sun, Irish Daily Star and Irish Daily Mail all lead with the death of Irishman Keith Collins (53) in Australia. The Star has the headline 'First Date from Hell' while The Mirror leads with 'Captured -Moment man is arrested after Irish granddad knifed to death on first date'.
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In world news North Korea fired a missile into the sea off its east coast earlier today. The projectile was fired from a region near the North's east coast, a South Korean military official said by telephone.
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And Brussels airport said it would partially reopen for passenger flights on this evening after its closure following the March 22 bomb attacks. Casting doubt on those plans however, airport police warned of a planned strike on Sunday in protest over what they said were lax security measures planned by authorities.
Acting Tanaiste Joan Burton is expected to announce that she will step down as Labour Party leader but remain on as a TD, once a new government has been formed.
Ms Burton is said to have been taken aback by the scale of the anger directed at her during a special party meeting in Dublin on Wednesday.
Several Labour figures were deeply hostile to both Ms Burton and deputy leader Alan Kelly, who apologised for his statement in an interview with the 'Sunday Independent' during the election campaign that "power is a drug".
Now party sources say they expect a total change of leadership in the coming months and are insisting that Ms Burton's position is no longer tenable.
As revealed by the Irish Independent yesterday, outgoing junior minister Sean Sherlock stormed out of the meeting during Ms Burton's contribution.
Sources said last night that Mr Sherlock, who is among the frontrunners to succeed Ms Burton as leader, was deeply frustrated with the manner in which Labour's election post mortem was being conducted.
A senior source within the party said they believed that Ms Burton will announce her decision to step down after a government has been formed.
Anger
One of the reasons behind the delay is the speculation that another election is imminent.
Under Labour's constitution, the party must hold a leadership contest within six months of an election if the party opts to go into opposition.
As this outcome now appears inevitable, delegates will vote in a leadership contest by August at the latest.
Meanwhile, the chairman of the Labour Parliamentary Party, Willie Penrose, has said he no longer believes that the party requires a deputy leader.
However, he insisted that the remark was not designed as a swipe at Mr Kelly but instead was merely reflective of the fact that the party now only has seven TDs.
In relation to Ms Burton, Mr Penrose said he believed that the Dublin West TD would act in the best interests of the party in giving a clear indication of her willingness to step down.
"She will listen carefully and reflect on the views of the party," the Longford/Westmeath TD told RTE radio.
"At the end of the day, we suffered the impact of policies on the kitchen table. People are concerned about having enough money to pay bills, to pay the mortgage.
"Labour has always been to the forefront in advocating social issues and causes.
"The Marriage Equality Referendum would not have happened without Labour.
"But at the end of the day, we were linked too much to the outgoing Government," Mr Penrose added.
A man in his 20s was apprehended by the garda public order unit on Camden Street
Two women were involved in one particularly vicious altercation
These sights are just part of a regular Saturday night on one of Dublins most popular party streets
Blood, vomit and the drunk and disorderly fill Camden Street on any given Saturday night.
The Herald witnessed a number of nasty fights breaking out on the street when we visited one weekend.
Two women were involved in one particularly vicious altercation. In another fracas, a man punched a young woman on the nose.
But these sights are just part of a regular Saturday night on one of Dublins most popular party streets, and a display of the regular drink-fuelled violence that plays out around the capital on weekends.
In one incident, a man was pinned down by bouncers at one of the streets primary venues, after he allegedly punched a young woman on the nose.
The woman was taken home and did not need hospital treatment.
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However, it is unclear whether the man was apprehended by gardai over the incident, which took place shortly before 2am and is believed to have been unprovoked.
One eyewitness said people think bouncers pin people down for nothing, but theres your proof.
Meanwhile, in a subsequent incident, a man in his 20s was apprehended by the garda public order unit on Camden Street shortly after an assault at 2.10am. He is believed to have been in an altercation with bouncers.
The public order unit was seen regularly patrolling the Camden Street and Harcourt Street area as thousands of revellers moved in and out of the pubs, clubs and late bars in the area.
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Bouncers on the street also had to contend with the vomit that covered the outside of some of the main hotspots, while dozens of drunk and disorderly people stood in the middle of the busy street as droves of taxis frantically attempted to avoid crashing into them.
As thousands filtered out of the bars and nightclubs on both Camden Street and Harcourt Street, making their way to the numerous takeaways, tensions boiled over again.
One bar owner told the Herald that with no late-night food outlets on Harcourt Street, the spillover from its many nightclubs can cause trouble.
And this was when the violence on the street spiked, as a brawl broke out between three women in front of hundreds of onlookers.
The fight occurred shortly after 3.30am as the women viciously tore at each other until they were eventually broken up by friends from either side of the row.
They then began arguing with each other again and another scuffle broke out, as blood covered their clothing.
The woman in grey could be seen with blood down the side of her right arm. She was also spotted being handed tissue from a nearby business owner as she attempted to put a stop to the gushing blood coming from her nose.
It is unclear what provoked the fight. No charges have been made in connection with any of the incidents.
Gardai say that up to 60pc of public order offences occur between 8pm and 4am.
Journalist Eugene Maloney was one high-profile victim of a vicious one-punch assault on the street.
Mr Moloney (55) was set upon there at 4am on June 24, 2012. He was taken to hospital by ambulance but was pronounced dead an hour later.
Gary Burch (22), of Kennington Close, Templeogue pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to the killing.
The court heard how Burch threw his arms in the air in a celebratory fashion and shouted Boom! after punching Mr Moloney in the neck.
Judge Mary Ellen Ring suspended the last two years of a five-and-a-half-year sentence, which she backdated to December 15, 2012, to account for time served in custody after his arrest.
The apprentice mechanic, told gardai during questioning he was disgusted with what was a moment of craziness.
The new 'Temple Bar'
Camden Street has been dubbed the new Temple Bar but those living and working on the street have mixed feelings regarding its new status.
Wetherspoons grand plans for a super-pub and hotel at a former homeless hostel at Camden Hall are on hold because of concerns over an over-concentration of pubs in the area.
Residents appealed to the city council to stop any more late-night haunts opening. Enough is enough, the area is at tipping point, one man said.
One local restaurateur said that, after midnight, the D2 thoroughfare can become a jungle, with club-goers and revellers urinating on street corners.
Kal Anton, the manager of Jerusalem restaurant, said while he welcomed more businesses to the area, he could understand why residents might be opposed to more pubs.
When we are leaving at 1am you can see Camden Street is like a jungle, he told the Herald.
Its very anti-social. This lane here [beside his restaurant] is, Im sorry to say, like a WC on Friday night and Saturday night.
People have had enough of Temple Bar so Camden Street is like an outside-of-the-city Temple Bar; its a very popular place.
Mr Anton said he has no objections to JD Wetherspoon or any other businesses setting up shop on Camden Street.
I believe competition is good. People like choice and the more options they have the better.
If I was a resident then, maybe, I wouldnt be happy with another new place, but from a business point of view its fine, he said.
Further along the street, Camden Rotisserie owner John Paul Lynch takes a similar view. Its a case of the more the merrier. We opened here three years ago and about 10 places have opened since us.
It turns the place into a hub. I dont think Wetherspoon is going to bring the area down, he said.
Resident Fianna ODonnell (inset), who has lived locally for four years, said she had also noticed a jump in activity on the street.
Its got a lot busier ... Its just full of people vomiting everywhere, she said. You walk along the laneway and there is a smell of urine, Ms ODOnnell said.
You certainly are looking over your shoulder a bit more when youre walking home now. I dont think there is enough of a garda presence.
Its always been a busy, young area though and its mostly people having a laugh, she added.
A selfless act of love saw a Tipperary man let go of his dream to study abroad to donate a kidney to save the life of his ailing father.
Darren Martin (25) from Templederry donated a kidney to his dad Liam last year, after his own kidneys had failed. Studious Darren made the decision to remain in Ireland to help his family, despite being offered a dream spot on a Masters Degree programme to study German in Austria.
I was worried about my father as his health was declining. He had been on a form of home dialysis since Christmas Eve 2010 which involved him being dialysed for 10 hours every night and he was managing to keep going with this treatment. However a severe infection that developed meant he had to change from his home treatment to hospital dialysis in March 2014, said Darren.
He now would have to travel to Limerick three times a week to undergo hospital haemodialysis treatment. I knew this would go hard on my father as he was already suffering from tiredness and struggling to keep working on the family farm. I decided not to go to university in Austria as I would have been too far away from Tipperary to help my father out and offer support to my mother and younger brother.
Darren, who now works in commercial finance in Kerry Group, revealed that he was thrilled to find he was an adequate transplant match for his dad.
As soon as I heard he was about to commence hospital dialysis treatment I phoned him to tell him I wanted to donate a kidney to him.
Then began the screening process including blood and tissue type matching as well as psychological assessment before it was confirmed that I was a suitable match. In the seven months leading up to the living donor kidney transplant my father continued to travel to Limerick for his dialysis treatment three days a week.
Our transplant operation went in April last year at Beaumont Hospital. Our recovery was very quick and I am back to work with the Kerry Group and dad is back working on the farm,
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Darren urged Irish people to speak to their families about organ donation as it can help others valuable time.
It was great to be able to help him by giving him a kidney as he now has a new lease of life. My mother and younger brother Cian were a huge support throughout my fathers illness and around the time we went for the transplant operations we also extremely grateful for the support of friends and neighbours who helped out with the farm work, he said.
Organ Donor Awareness Week 2016, which is organised by the Irish Kidney Association, will take place from 2nd 9th April
Organ Donor Cards can also be obtained by phoning the Irish Kidney Association LoCall 1890 543639 orFreetext the word DONOR to 50050. Visit website www.ika.ie
A selection of four apartment properties on the market which offer the convenience of a nearby Dart line.
19 Hollybrook Mews, Clontarf, D3
280k Gallagher Quigley, (01) 8183000
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This bright ground-floor apartment is in a small, quiet development in the heart of Clontarf and has its own front door and access to a patio area. At 710 sq ft, it has two double bedrooms and an open-plan kitchen/living room. The living area opens out onto the south-west facing patio. No 19 comes with its own parking space, with an additional space for visitors. Your own car isn't necessary though as Clontarf Road Dart station is just a short walk away. It is also within easy reach of East Point Business Park and the IFSC.
16 Burnaby Mews, Greystones
375k Sherry FitzGerald, (01) 2874005
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After a busy day working in the city, a 50-minute Dart journey will get you home to the peace and quiet of Greystones, Co Wicklow. No 16 Burnaby Mews is a two-bed penthouse in the centre of the seaside town. With a floor area of 788sq ft, the living space feels airy and the double doors out to the balcony, with its sea views, bring in plenty of light. The main bedroom is en suite and there is also a family bathroom. The Dart station is a few minutes walk away. The apartment comes with a designated parking space.
5 The Close, Robswall, Co Dublin
315k Brophy Estates, (01) 8457988
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At 947sq ft, No 5 The Close in Malahide is a large two-bed apartment, set out over two floors. On the ground floor, is the open-plan livingroom/kitchen, a double bedroom and bathroom. The second bedroom is on the first floor and overlooks the living area. There is also a shower room and a large storage/wardrobe space on this floor. The apartment is tastefully decorated, has a small balcony with sea views and a designated parking space. Robswall is just off the Coast Road in Malahide and is a short walk to the Dart station.
45 Westfield, Sion Hill, Blackrock
350k Sherry FitzGerald, (01) 2880088
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If big, soulless developments are what you picture when you think of apartments, No 45 Westfield in Blackrock will change your view. This two-bed, ground-floor apartment is in the beautiful Sion Hill development, with its communal lawns. To the rear is a southwest-facing patio with a utility shed. The high-standard interior includes a marble fireplace, oak floor and ceiling cornicing. There is parking to the front and rear. Blackrock village, the Dart station and the coast are all within walking distance.
Located on the eighth floor of the Castleforbes Square scheme in Mayor Street, Dublin 1; apartment 471 is estimated by its selling agent to be the highest home for sale in the capital at the moment.
The two-bedroom apartment has elevated views directly overlooking a sweep of the River Liffey from its location on the waterfront and these stretch for miles to the Dublin Mountains beyond.
Only in the docklands, where accommodation can stretch to 16 floors above the street, are proper high rise views like these available in Dublin.
A surprising number of families live in these high dockland homes and this particular apartment has been home to a young couple and their children for the past six years, during which time they upgraded the heating system and redecorated extensively.
Aside from some of the best views in Dublin, there are other reasons to stay put in this area.
The Luas connects here for rapid transport into the city centre. There's the Odeon Cinema complex nearby for matinees in the evenings and at the weekends. There's the Point Village Square for walking about and the Gibson Hotel for a Sunday meal, as well as the trendy eateries and bars contained within the IFSC itself.
The two-bedroom south-facing apartment is being offered at 350,000 which includes an underground parking space.
But it's increasingly likely that the new owner of this apartment will be an investor, not only because rents are surging but also because of the plans for Point Village - one of the last big developments to be constructed for the North Quays. This site is currently earmarked for a large student village planned to accommodate almost 1,000.
Meantime, Nama has an interest in 75pc of the 22 hectares of land that can be developed in the Docklands SDZ area and is working at the moment with its debtors and receivers to get these sites moving with an eye on economically productive projects.
The fortunes of the Castleforbes Square apartments and the North Docklands in general have experienced a rollercoaster ride over the past five years.
These apartments were built by Liam Carroll, one of the biggest developers to go bust in the crash, and back when they were launched in 2005 it was pointed out that this was a "no frills" scheme. Early buyers were promised a chance to "get in early" to the North Docklands.
Unfortunately, any of those first buyers who acquired their apartments at the launch still haven't recouped their capital value 11 years on. Despite the "no frills" tag in 2005, a one bedroom unit costed 290,000 and two-beds like this one started at 370,000 while a car parking space was a cool 30,000. Then the crash came and five years ago the two-beds had fallen as low as 140,000.
As it turned out, the buyers who moved in around 2011 and 2012 at the bottom of the market were the ones to garner all those big investment benefits. Since the then prices have more than doubled in the recovery, in part led by an influx of overseas tenants coming to work for the high-tech multinationals nearby and the banks and service companies at the IFSC. Back when Castleforbes was built, there was a question mark over the Docks, but today they have taken off as Dublin's trendiest quarter.
The asking prices for the two-beds like this one are now approaching 20,000 shy of what they originally sold for. Interestingly, only six of the 300 apartments in the scheme have come up for sale in the last three years.
But even before the completion of the planned student village, this apartment is likely to rent for 1,900 per month in the current shortage, representing a fairly healthy yield to an investor owner of 6.5pc.
The Central Bank lending rules mean this unit is probably now out of reach for average owner occupiers on a mortgage.
The apartment at 471 Castleforbes Square offers 775 sq ft of accommodation, the equivalent of an average two-bed town house. The accommodation includes an open-plan living/dining room that opens to a south-facing balcony, two bedrooms and two bathrooms - main and a version which is ensuite to master bedroom. The BER is C1 and it has timber floorsrunning throughout along with a contemporary kitchen fitted with integrated appliances.
471 Castleforbes Square
Mayor Street, Dublin 1
Asking price: 350,000
Agent: Owen Reilly (01) 6777100
President Michael D Higgins wishes Ireland had adopted socialism when we become independent but if we had adopted his version of socialism, it would have led us to a greater economic disaster than even the recent crash. He is pictured with Chief Justice, Susan Denham, at the opening of the new Kilmainham Gaol Museum Visitor Centre. Photo: Damien Eagers
In a speech delivered at an event in the Mansion House on Monday night called 'Remembering 1916', President Michael D Higgins warned his audience of the risk that a "commemoration might be exploited for partisan purposes". Having rightly delivered that warning, he then plunged on and became deeply partisan in his own 'remembering' of 1916.
This has been his wont since assuming the office of President in 2011.
His intention in his speech, he declared, was an "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 should argue, consciously, repressed over the subsequent decades".
He asked, "Why and how has the flame of equality and social justice been quenched?"
He approvingly noted that the programme of the First Dail was "powerfully egalitarian" and was "linked to an international movement that was pushing a great change towards a socialist vision of politics, economy and society"
President Higgins then outlined the ways in which this vision had been frustrated by conservative elements in Irish society, causing it to collapse into a "property-driven conservatism the fetishisation of land and private property, a restrictive religiosity and a repressive pursuit of respectability".
He invited his audience, and us, to reclaim "the joy of making equality the central theme of our Republic".
This is partisan. This is favouring one particular political tradition over others. How could he warn us against making the commemoration of 1916 partisan in one part of his speech, and then do this? Could he not see the contradiction?
Two days before we had similar stuff from his wife, Sabina, in a speech delivered at the graveside of Countess Markievicz.
There is a "new form of capitalism", she said, "that seeks to undermine democracy itself". There are "empires of greed", which are "even more powerful and unaccountable" than the empire that the rebels of 1916 had to contend with.
This is simply more evidence that the President and his wife between them have turned the presidency into a bully pulpit for a left-wing point of view. The Presidency was never designed to be a bully pulpit for any point of view, whether right- or left-wing. It is supposed to be above politics, and therefore uniting.
The only way Michael D gets away with this is because he has the backing of most of the media, and because the political parties have been content to let him at it. In addition, academia in Ireland, as elsewhere, is almost entirely left-wing, and therefore it is happy for him to use the Presidency to trumpet its point of view.
Imagine, however, if instead of having President Michael D Higgins in office we had President Michael McDowell instead, or, Heaven forbid, President Dana Rosemary Scallon. Imagine if McDowell used the office to laud the benefits of free markets, and imagine if Dana used it to laud the virtues of Catholicism.
We don't have to imagine very hard. There would be uproar. But if it is acceptable for Michael D Higgins to use the office to promote his left-wing views, then why would it be unacceptable for a McDowell or a Dana to use the office to promote their views? Now that the office has been so politicised, what objection can there be in principle to any future president doing such a thing?
It is no good Michael D objecting that he was elected with a million votes (700,000 first-preference votes, actually). The point is that once you surrender the principle that the Presidency should be above politics, you can hardly complain when someone uses the office to promote an ideology you don't like.
The fact that Higgins's ideological vision as outlined in his Mansion House address, and many other similar addresses since he became president, demands a response in kind simply proves the extent to which he has politicised the presidency. No-one should have to argue against the President of Ireland's weirdly ahistorical view of 1916 and subsequent developments, or his totally crude and simplistic caricature of capitalism. No one should have to argue against them because he should have left these views at the door of his office when elected President.
But seeing as he has not done that, let's argue against them. Let's attend to his ahistorical view of 1916 and subsequent developments first. In his Mansion House speech, he almost totally glosses over the fact that many of our leaders from 1917 on were rightly and profoundly worried by the socialist vision that was then newly on offer in the Soviet Union.
That vision was not restricted to the Soviet Union. It was enthusiastically shared by socialists everywhere. It was absolutely prudent for our political leadership a hundred years ago to worry that our home-grown socialists had a similar vision in mind for Ireland.
We should, in fact, be extremely thankful that Ireland did not adopt either of the two totalitarian ideologies then coming into vogue on the continent, namely communism and fascism. This was a democratic State from the get-go, flawed in many ways, but democratic. That is something to be proud of in the context of the early to mid-20th century.
As for his critique of capitalism, in the imaginings of Michael D Higgins, it was through the work of socialists like him that the poor were lifted up from their squalor and given jobs and a standard of living that people could only have dreamt of in 1916.
But none of this would have been possible without economic growth - and that growth was delivered by free markets and free trade, both of which were, and are, vigorously opposed by socialism.
In fact, it was only when this country shook off its protectionist economic policies (supported both by de Valera and by the left) and embraced free trade that the country began to prosper at all.
There is much more to be written on this point. Suffice it to say that if the country had espoused the vision a hundred years ago that President Higgins lauds today, we would be far worse off than we are. This, after all, is a man who never came across a revolutionary movement he did not like, such as the revolution the late Hugo Chavez inflicted on Venezuela.
Chavez led Venezuela to a level of economic disaster far beyond anything this country has experienced, and that was not because of the machinations of evil capitalists, but because of the inherent flaws of his economic programme. Some vision.
Premium
John Downing Opinion Pension reforms are dicey territory but grand plan by minister Heather Humphreys just might win through
Pension system changes all across the western world have a great propensity to infuriate those most feared by politicians: the grey brigade. And when the oldies take to the streets, they usually play for keeps.
They didn't fight for freedom. They fought for a certain type of freedom. They died for an ideology and a vision of a sovereign state that has never even threatened to be implemented by those who benefitted from the freedom and the power to do so that came about because of the sacrifice made in 1916. Compare the ideology of the Proclamation with Ireland's policies and with successive governments' ideologies and even with Ireland today. You can clearly see there is no correlation between the two.
And that's life. People benefit all the time from the sacrifice of others who have gone before them. We can't expect those who follow in the footsteps to have the same principles and romantic idealism of their predecessors. It would be fantastic if it was the case, but it's not.
And so since it's not, all I ask is that they don't go out there and pretend to have some sort of affiliation with them. Don't insult their memory and sacrifice by having as guests of honour the implementers of a system of governance that is horribly unfair and contrary to what was intended by those who fought for "religious and civil liberty, equal rights and equal opportunities to all its citizens, and resolved to pursue the happiness and prosperity of the whole nation, and of all its parts, cherishing all the children of the nation equally and oblivious of differences."
It's just very hypocritical. I mean, it's not Stalin eulogising at Gandhi's funeral - but it's somewhere on the spectrum.
Edwin Ambrose
Address with editor
Seize the day for a better future
What an Easter weekend - with historic, cultural and religious ceremonies highlighting our national values. The planning, organisation and execution of the ceremonies and parades was such that the total effect was greater than the sum of its parts.
This included the amazing overnight transformation of O'Connell Street in Dublin. While we were celebrating the leaders and participants of the Easter Rebellion in 1916, those of us on the streets of Dublin on Sunday and Monday were also celebrating the Ireland of 2016. There is a short window of opportunity for our newly elected representatives to buy into this mood. The people have overwhelmingly voted for 'pro' and not for 'anti' politicians. If Fianna Fail is afraid of what Sinn Fein might achieve in opposition, then let them participate in government in such a positive way that the negative Sinn Fein policies and those of the self-serving 'anti' group will be irrelevant come the next election. Draw on the creative, organisational and other skills Ireland has in abundance and solve the problems of homelessness, health and other difficulties, which are dividing communities and alienating our young. The 1916 generation did it for us, let us do it, not just for the 2016 generation, but for the 2116 generation.
Patrick Conneely
Cedarwood Road, Dublin 11
Hard sums of the housing crisis
The maths are quite simple. Some 25 years ago, my wife and I bought our house, a modest four-bed semi on the northside of Dublin. I was earning 12k (15k) at the time and my wife was earning 10k (12.5k). Our house was valued at 51k (approximately 63.7k). So 2.5 times our combined salary plus our deposit easily put us in range for mortgage acceptance.
Fast forward to today's young couple looking to buy a home. He's on 30k and she's on 25k. That's 55k. My home is now worth around 300k. So, in order to attempt to purchase this house at current lending rules, this couple will need 60k just for a deposit. This is more than both their gross salaries put together. The bottom line here is stark. Wages are not the problem - house prices have gone off the scale. Wages have in real terms doubled in this period. However, house prices have increased five-fold. We can blame greedy builders all we want, but show me a householder willing to sell their home for 128k when the market value is 300k. We're all in this together, folks.
Eamon Kearney
Ayrfield Drive, Dublin 13
Help save the Irish language
Bord Gais is now Gas Networks Ireland. Coras Iompar Eireann is Irish Rail. ESB/BSL is now Electric Ireland... Do you see a pattern here? A century after the 1916 Rising, the erosion of our language continues to be sanctioned at the top level.
Galway City Council is to be congratulated for attempting to create a bilingual city by its official designation. Our Government needs to cop on and stop with the lip service. Make real, ambitious plans that will be felt in society. Help us to take our language back. Tir gan teanga = Tir gan anam.
Seamus Hughes
Eyre Square, Galway
Sinn Fein is shirking its duty
Well done to Fionnan Sheahan for his excellent article (Irish Independent March 29, 2016). I would like to draw attention to the "lilies and daffodils" debate (in which some Sinn Fein politicians have complained about the use of daffodils instead of lilies in 1916 commemorations). This is typical of Sinn Fein - it will do and say anything to draw attention to its party. How about stepping up to the plate and making some effort to establish a government?
Some years ago (Irish Independent May 14, 2012), Sam Smyth wrote about the hypocrisy of Sinn Fein on both sides of the border regarding education, household charges, water charges, welfare cuts and home repossessions. It would be worthwhile to reprint Sam's article. He states: "Sinn Fein has avoided the responsibilities of economic ministries in the Northern Ireland Executive, opting instead for less controversial departments." This is what they are doing in the South, avoiding responsibility at all costs lest they be held to account.
There is a 'cultish' mentality emanating from Sinn Fein. As far as I'm concerned, Sinn Fein should have had no part in the 1916 commemorations. I had more right to attend than many of that party. My grandfather was shot dead on April 28, 1916, by a sniper, leaving his wife with seven children. My father died in 1938, leaving my mother with four children under the age of five. My grandfather worked hard, as did my father, and we learnt a 'work ethic' from my mother. We did not go around beating and killing people like Sinn Fein's military wing, and we had more to be concerned about than lilies and daffodils.
So it's time Sinn Fein got up of their comfortable TD seats and started to work for the country, as I and other decent people are paying them to do.
Bernadette Brennan
Lucan, Co Dublin
If there are other democratic republics out there as conflicted over their origins as appears to be increasingly the case among us Irish, they are few and far between.
From the US to Mexico, India to France and countless other countries, Independence Day is attended by some of the biggest celebrations of the year. Few of us in this country even know the date of our political emancipation as a sovereign nation.
Now, as we celebrate the event that sparked the fuse of our War of Independence many appear tied up in knots over the whole affair. Against the backdrop of the partition of Ireland and the hideous violence of the recent Troubles it is understandable we might baulk at marching out as triumphantly as Americans in celebration of their freedom from the Crown at a much earlier date.
The actions of Pearse, Connolly, Clarke et al helped bring Dublin to its knees in a Rising that was deeply unpopular at the time, without a mandate from the people of Ireland.
To most of us today Pearse's ideal of 'blood sacrifice' is deeply troubling - not a note on which any peace-loving citizen of Ireland cares to think their liberty was founded.
In Proclaiming the Republic of Ireland on the steps of the Post Office, Padraig Pearse provided extraordinary context for the whole mad affair, however.
"We declare the right of the people of Ireland to the ownership of Ireland, and to the unfettered control of Irish destinies, to be sovereign and indefeasible...The Republic guarantees religious and civil liberty, equal rights and equal opportunities to all its citizens, and declares its resolve to pursue the happiness and prosperity of the whole nation and of all its parts, cherishing all the children of the nation equally..."
It was a brave act of defiance of a racist Empire administered by the kind of toffs whose fathers would have guffawed loudly in their London clubs over Punch magazine's depictions of the Simian Irish a generation before.
It was an empire that, in living memory in '16, had continued denuding Ireland of her food and material resources while millions starved to death in the Great Hunger. It was an empire that, while promising Home Rule, clearly would never have allowed its oldest colony the only freedom worthwhile - where all children are born equal and not subservient to an elite ruling class.
As for Pearse's 'blood sacrifice'? Speaking to Michael Portillo on RTE's The Enemy Files last week, journalist Robert Fisk compared the Rising Rebels to ISIS in terms of their adherence to a cult of blood sacrifice (even though he stopped short of enunciating 'ISIS' for some reason).
Walk the centre of any British city and you are fast abused at cenotaphs of the horrendous amount of blood that was required to be shed to win and maintain the Empire for 'King and Country'. We talk of mandates today, but how noble was the mandate of the King's parliamentarians of Britain and Ireland in encouraging millions into the charnel house of no man's land of the time?
Republicans had an unequivocal mandate in just two years after the Rising. Clearly 1916 tapped into a deep sense of injustice.
WHAT happened in Brussels last week was horrific. The bombings in Turkey a few days previously were equally as devastating. Unfortunately, we've become used to hearing of bloodshed in Africa and the Middle East, but when the attacks occur closer to home, we sit up and take notice a little more.
It's easy to call for tighter border controls, to demand restrictions on the flow of refugees into Europe, and to want them all sent home, but the cold reality is that the two brothers who carried out the suicide attacks in Brussels weren't part of the wave of desperate humanity risking life and limb in the Mediterranean to escape hell on earth in Syria. They were locals.
They were young men who got sucked into a twisted ideology, which is an affront and an insult to the peaceful Islamic faith. That's not to imply I have one jot of sympathy for them. I don't. I can't understand or explain their actions at all. And when you can't understand something so horrific, it's very easy to be afraid.
If the terrorists are living among us, how do we protect ourselves? What can anyone do to stop them?
Their aim is to hit Western society where it hurts most - in our pockets. When people are afraid, they stop spending, they stop travelling, they stop investing, and economies stagnate.
So how do we stop it all? I've no idea and I'm not sure anyone does.
The powers-that-be have allowed the Syrian war to wreak havoc for five years. Even before then, there was Iraq, Afghanistan. There's turmoil in Nigeria, Sudan, Somalia, and in many others.
There's a lot of money to be made in selling weapons, fighter jets, and warships, and the materials for bombs that kill innocent people trying to catch a flight home in Brussels, or enjoying a rock concert in Paris.
Is any world leader making a sincere and sustained effort to bring an end to this mess? Will the profiteers allow them to succeed? Will the radicals ever stop their fight to bring us all back to the Stone Age?
I'm not painting a very hopeful picture here, but all I'm saying is that nothing will be achieved by being afraid, by closing borders, by staying at home, and turning our backs on strangers in need.
All we can do is get on with our lives, and show compassion to those who need it. Leave the sorting out of the global mess to those who created it.
To commemorate all the brave men and women who died for our freedom in 1916 a large crowd gathered outside of our church after 11.30 mass on Easter Sunday to parade to the monument at the Round Wall.
The parade was led by flag bearers James O'Grady and Mary Stack who proudly held the tricolour aloft.
They were followed by our wonderful pipe band and a large crowd down High Street and over Church Street to the Monument where many had already congregated.
After a short recital by the pipe band the Proclamation was beautifully read by Emily O'Reilly Dennehy. Raymond O'Sullivan then laid a wreath as he has done every Easter for many years.
Fr Francis Manning then recited a decade of the rosary and a special prayer for all those who died.
Proceedings concluded with the playing of Amhran na bhFiann with many joining in to sing it.
Chief organiser and MC was Michael O'Reilly and we are indebted to him for a memorable commemoration.
Over 7,000 collected for Cancer Month in March
In the last couple of weeks in Newmarket over 7,000 has been collected for The Irish Cancer Society.
Daffodil Day proceeds amounted to 5,030 - this included a donation from Newmarket Drama Group of 605, the proceeds of a raffle.
The Irish Coffee Morning held on St Patricks Day proceeds amounted to 1,633 - 1000 of this went to Barretstown Respite Unit Camp for children with serious illness and the balance of 633 went to Daffodil Day.
There was 1,000 raised from the sale of Easter Chicks - 500 of this was donated to Marymount Hospice and 500 to Mercy Hospital, Cork.
In total 7,030 was raised in a month.
This is a credit to each and everyone who donated and helped in any way.
Special thanks go to the 50 volunteers who manned the different venues on Daffodil Day 2016. A thousand thanks to the owners of the different venues who allowed us to collect in their premises, but most of all the credit goes to you who donated and supported every function and event. A thousand thanks.
Both the Family Day on Saturday and the Food and Craft Fair on Sunday in the grounds of Mallow Castle fell victim to cold and wet weather this year.
Compared to large crowds and glorious weather last year the 2016 event was down very much in numbers. The family day began with a well supported dog show which is always popular while children had plenty activities to satisfy them. There were over 40 stalls at the Food and Craft Fair on Sunday with plenty of food to sample. The stands included Martin's Home Made Jam's, Longueville House Cider, Richard's Little Farm and a Health Stand was also present. The star of the show was Monsieur Gusto, Juggler and Magician who amazed old and young alike with his act.
Mallow remembers
The people of 1916 would be very proud of the work and effort put into the organising of the civic march and memorial events at the racecourse in Mallow on Easter Monday.
Sunshine welcomed all to the Court House where people assembled from 9am to participate in the town's first ever civic parade. Thomas Davis Pipe Band, the Reserve Defence Forces and political groups and the general public were out in great numbers to mark the historic occasion.
Master of ceremonies and former Fine Gael Town Councillor Richard Dempsey welcomed all to the event and paid a moving tribute to former organiser of the event, Cllr Dan Joe Fitzgerald, who died recently.
St. Mary's Secondary School student Jane Walsh, in the role of Countess Markievicz, who was flanked by RDF members with the tricolour. Student Eoin Kenny read Padraig Pearse's graveside oration at the funeral of O'Donovann Rossa, and then Gabriela Fasuji read the Proclamation and received a deserved astounding round of applause for her excellent presentation and delivery.
The four main parties involved were led by Frank Killilea (Fianna Fail), Richard Dempsey (Fine Gael), Ronan Sheehan (Labour) and Martin Mullane (Sinn Fein). Minister Sean Sherlock, Kevin O'Keeffe TD and Cllr. Melissa Mullane were also present as were the Civil Defence.
The RDF followed by the pipe band led the parade off at 9.40am for 10am Irish Mass at St. Mary's Church. The route took in the Muddy Hill, Spa Walk and Davis Street to the Church where the band played several Irish airs before the attendance congregated inside for the annual Mass.
A little later, the Easter Rising memorial celebrations at the racecourse attracted a huge crowd for a moving and extended programme of events.
A jury has recommended the introduction of statutory guidelines on the felling of trees following the death of a 45 year old Mid-Cork man who was killed during a tree cutting operation for Cork County Council.
The jury at Cork City Coroner's Court returned a verdict of accidental death in the case of Cork County Council employee and father of three, Michael O Donovan from Killeenleigh, Aghabullogue, who was fatally injured on November 23, 2012.
The jury recommended the introduction of guidelines similar to those that exist in the UK, including an exclusion zone twice the length of the tree, the use of tree felling equipment such as winches, ropes and a felling bar as well as training of staff to control risk.
The inquest heard Mr O'Donovan was working with another council employee, foreman, John Sexton in clearing debris from trees that were being felled by another man, Pat Buttimer who was working for a contractor hired by the council.
Mr Buttimer told the inquest the accident happened as he was cutting down a number of sally trees at Carr's Hill pumping station at Arderrig.
Mr Buttimer said that he had cut down all but two roadside sally trees on the site when he went to cut a vee notch in one of these trees and then used his Terex digger to put pressure on the tree so it would fall in the right direction.
He was unable use the back arm or actor of the digger to put pressure directly on the tree because it would have fallen on to a small valve house so he had angled the back actor so that the tree would fall diagonally away from him on to some scrub land.
"John (Sexton) was down the road outside the danger zone. Michael (O'Donovan) was standing at the front of the digger. I believed the tree could not fall in the direction of Michael as the bucket of the digger was up against it," he said
"During the cut, I repositioned myself to give myself a better escape route. I felt pressure on the tip of the saw and pulled it out of the cut and made my escape. The tree was moving and twisting as I made my escape."
Mr Sexton said 'the tree fell on the telephone cable and the pole snapped. The next thing I saw was that Michael was on the ground and he was bleeding
Mr Sexton said that he was the foreman on the site but he had no experience of tree cutting and he was guided by Mr Buttimer who was an experienced tree cutter.
Senior council engineer Pat Murphy said since Mr O'Donovan's death, the council has introduced changes so that Cork County Council staff were no longer involved in tree felling and they have introduced UK statutory guidelines on tree felling for all contractors.
Sgt Fergus Twomey said that the accident had been the subject of a Health and Safety Authority, which led to the prosecution of Cork County Council which was fined 48,000 for a breach of health and safety regulations.
Coroner, Dr Myra Cullinane noted the jury's recommendations and said she would forward it to the relevant authorities with a view to sparing any other family what the O'Donovan family have gone through.
Donabate is the only place you can see an exclusive performance of Daniel Corkery's play about the 1916 Rising, entitled 'Resurrection'.
A spokesperson for Donabate Portrane Dramatic Society, told the Fingal Independent: 'We are delighted to announce that we have secured the exclusive Dublin rights to a play about the rebellion. The play is called "Resurrection" by Daniel Corkery.
'This was a forgotten play by a well regarded playwright. The play was written in 1918 but promptly banned from publication. It was finally published in 1936, the same year the DPDS was formed, ironically enough.'
The society spokesperson added: 'We also have lots of events in Donabate over the Easter Weekend with the 1916 celebrations and we would ask all of our parishioners to come to Mass resembling men and women from 1916. DPDS is delighted to be reading the Proclamation from the altar on Easter Sunday.'
Resurrection tells the story of the rebellion breaking out in Dublin and a family watch the impact of events from their family farm in Wicklow.
Terence, the old farmer, was involved in the Fenian Rising of 1867 but is now financially secure and is fearful of losing the position and land he has gained. His younger son Shawn supports the rebels and tries to keep from his father that his older son Michael has joined the rebels.
Society president, Liz Walsh is playing Mary Cantwell. Liz is delighted that DPDS have secured the rights for this play and it's a double celebration for the society, as it celebrates its 80th anniversary year.
Resurrection under the Direction of the wonderfully talented Daphne Lynders is on in the Donabate Parish Hall from April 15 to 17, nightly at 8pm.
More immediately in Donabate there is a huge amount of activity going on to commemorate 1916 on Easter Weekend as the peninsula town is chosen by the Fingal Old IRA Commemorative Society as its main focus of attention for the centenary.
Before 11am Mass on Easter Sunday, particpants will assemble behind the Black Raven Pipe Band and march to St Patrick's Church. After Mass they will march to the old cemetery in front of the parish hall and hold a special commemoration ceremony at the graveside of local volunteers.
An exhibition follows in the Parish hall that features Donabate's role in the Rising.
Cultural links between Portmarnock Community School and Hlalele High School in Lesotho have been strengthened after a unique ceremony.
The Fingal school is twinned with its Lesotho counterparts and is heavily involved in a development education programme which began five years ago, supported by Worldwise Global Schools.
It was appropriate that in the light of our respective nations celebrating two important historical events, a special event was organised during the visit of the Portmarnock students to Lesotho last month.
Lesotho is marking 50 years of independence and the Republic of Ireland celebrating the 100th anniversary of The is 1916 rising, which prompted the joint celebration.
Both schools marked the event with a human rights photographic exhibition.
The event took place at the historical site and magnificent cultural village in Lesotho, Thaba Bisou.
Thaba Bisiou is the burial place of King Moshoeshoe I and King Moshoeshoe II, the great fathers of The Kingdom of Lesotho.
Lesotho gained its independence from England on October 4 1966 and Ireland's bilateral aid programme has been supporting Lesotho for the last 47 years.
The bilateral aid programme was established by Dr. Garret Fitzgerald. It was of historical significant that this event took place and it was a proud moment to have students from Portmarnock CS and volunteers from Action Ireland Trust 96 in all represent Ireland and acknowledge the historical significance of 2016 for both nations.
The exhibition was launched by his Majesty King Letsie III.
His majesty gave a warm welcome to all and spoke passionately about the cordial and warm relationships that have existed down through the years between Ireland and Lesotho.
His majesty noted 'the support in education that has left an indelible mark on the lives of many Basotho people'
'It's because of this contribution Lesotho enjoys high literacy rates,' he said.
'Such events as today are important as we look back we should pause and pay homage to those who took the first brave steps to make our independence a reality.
'It is because of the bravery of these men and women that we can today enjoy this moment of joint celebrations of independence,' he said.
'Our break from colonialism has given us the freedom to be masters of our destiny.
'It is our duty to safeguard this for future generations and to create a society in our respective nations that is free to enjoy cultural diversity.
'We need to further re commit ourselves to world peace and humanity, as I believe the independence of our countries was never meant to benefit a few at the expense of the many,' he added.
'It is fitting that we celebrate our independence with a cultural event where young Irish men and women and young Basotho men and women make a 2016 proclamation on human rights and that we are free to enjoy our national music and dance.'
His Majesty then formally declared the event open. The exhibition will be launched in Dublin at the end of April.
Darragh Bolger along with a student from Hlalele HS read the 2016 Proclamation in English and Basotho.
Fran Whelan CEO of Action Ireland Trust spoke on behalf of the 96 volunteers who travelled from Ireland and outlined the work of AIT in Lesotho in Education, IT, Health and planning supported by Fingal CC.
He further acknowledged the work and support of Country Crest who are support a food co op at Hlalele and the work of Dublin Fire Brigade who are supporting the establishment of a separate emergency service in Lesotho.
With the recent closure of the Irish Embassy in Maseru, this event was very significant in keeping alive the long historical relationship between Lesotho and Ireland.
The students and teachers at Portmarnock CS who made this event a reality are to be commended, a lot of planning and preparation went into the event and Portmarnock CS looks forward to sharing this event with the wider public in Ireland in April.
Armed gardai are reportedly to begin overt armed patrols around Dublin Airport and Dublin Port in the wake of the airport attacks in Belgium.
According to reports in the national media, it has been decided to task armed officers from the Regional Support Unit (RSU) to mount overt patrols at both locations.
It is understood that the move has been under consideration for some time but a final decision to have an armed RSU presence came late last week in the wake of the suicide bomb attacks in Brussels on an airport and underground rail station.
This would be the first time that Dublin Airport has seen regular and over armed patrols and is indicative of the kind of new security measures being considered across Europe in the wake of both the Paris and Brussels attacks.
There has been no confirmation of the reported plans from either the port or airport authorities or Gardai, nor does the reported move indicate any increased terrorist threat in Ireland.
At least 31 people were killed and 300 injured in explosions at Brussels airport and a metro station, last Tuesday.
Twin blasts struck the main terminal of Zaventem international airport, in the north-east of the city.
Another explosion hit the Maelbeek metro station in the city centre, close to several European Union institutions.
The so-called Islamic State group said it was behind the attacks. The suspects believed to have carried out the Brussels attacks include two brothers, Khalid and Brahim el-Bakraoui, wanted jihadist Najim Laachraoui and two other men.
A social media campaign has resulted in the reuniting of a Balbriggan family with their beloved dog, Duke after the dog was allegedly stolen in a burglary at their Balbriggan home.
Duke went missing after burglary between March 20th and 21st and left its Balbriggan owners heartbroken.
Balbriggan gardai got on the case and issued an appeal on social media, publishing a picture of the beautiful nine-month-old Belgian Shepherd and very quickly, the appeal had the desired outcome.
Garda sources have told the Fingal Independent that within 24 hours of the appeal going out on social media the hatch bell rang at Balbriggan Garda Station by a local who had found Duke not too far from home, in Balbriggan.
The dog was quickly reunited with its family who were 'delighted' and have thanked the gardai and everyone who participated in the social media appeal by sharing Duke's picture.
The owners of the dog were said to be 'very attached' to Duke and were mightily relieved to have him back home again.
Thanks to the quick work of Balbriggan gardai and the community effort that gathered around the appeal to find Duke, this story has had a very happy ending and Duke and his Balbriggan family were able to have a happy Easter together.
Sarah Gordan, Elizabetha Cirica, Christopher Russell, Ava Logue and Jelena Levenoka at the 1916 events in Fingal Community College
Students from a Swords secondary school have remembered and reflected on the events of the 1916 Easter Rising.
A commemoration event was held at Fingal Community College to reflect on the Rising and deliver a heartfelt and meaningful interpretation of the 1916 rising to the students.
The drama group led by Jessica Fitzsimons staged two very different drama pieces.
In the first piece they remembered the leaders of the rising though monologues.
The second piece informed students of the tragic deaths of a number of young children who died during the rising, including Bridget O' Kane, a 15-year-old girl who died when a bullet went through her father's shoulder, in her home and then killed her.
Hannah Leonard who performed the role of Bridget is in fact her relative.
It was a fitting reminder to everyone watching of their own relatives and what happened to them during the rising.
It was also a time to reflect on our culture of music and dance with breath taking performances from our talented Irish dancers and choir.
All these rich and talented pieces served to remind us of the cultural nationalist movement of which many of the signatories of the proclamation were members.
They would have been proud of the display of Irish music, song, poetry, drama and sport.
Special guests at the event included Christopher Russell, a past pupil of the school and champion bag piper who wowed students with his talent. Christopher is a member of the Black Raven Pipe Band set up by Thomas Ashe.
Thomas Ashe was also remembered as he fought in the battle of Ashbourne and was imprisoned. He later died from pneumonia caused by being force fed as he was on hunger strike.
Other guests included Bernadette Marx, of Fingal Heritage centre and Liam Clare also of the Fingal Raven Pipe Band. This event would not have occurred were it not for the great vision and dedication of Mr Burke and Ms. Kennedy.
Some 114 NAMA-owned homes are to be transferred to Fingal County Council for social housing in the county, it has been revealed.
Following a request for a report on this issue from Cllr Paul Mulville (NP), Fingal County Council issued a detailed report on its engagement with NAMA on making dwelling units available for social housing in a bid to tackle a growing housing crisis in the county.
The council report explains: 'Following engagement between NAMA, the Housing Agency and the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, a process was established in 2012 to ascertain whether residential properties made available by NAMA, through its borrowers and receivers, were suitable for social housing.
'Fingal County Council had been approached by the Housing Agency to indicate if it had a social housing demand in a number of areas for a total of 279 properties.
'To date, as a result of this engagement, a total of 12 properties were deemed unsuitable by the Council and 153 properties were no longer available/withdrawn by NAMA. The remainder of the properties have been made available/or are currently being finalised with NAMA.'
The figures differ somewhat from reports in the national media that suggested that Fingal County Council 'turned down' significantly more properties offered by NAMA but the council clarified the situation saying that initial informal approaches are made by NAMA asking if the council is interested in acquiring a certain property, once the local authority says it is interested, NAMA go away and come back later with a more formal offer.
In the interim, the council said that some properties are taken off the table by NAMA but it said the local authority was not told why those properties were no longer available.
The council report explained why some units were rejected, stating in its report: 'Various issues where units did not meet standards with regard to building regulations, units with unresolved legal title and management company issues, units withdrawn by NAMA or where questions were raised around due diligence where all factors as to why Fingal County Council did not proceed with the balance of the units put forward by NAMA.' The council said it is 'in ongoing discussions with NAMA in relation to opportunities for acquisition and leasing of residential properties and land'.
Local historian, Bernadette Marks of Swords Historical Society has painstakingly recorded the stories of the town and its people for many years and has extensive material that gives us a peek into the lives of those in the county capital that were caught up in the events of 1916, some of which she has kindly consented to allow us to bring to you this week.
What follows are a series of articles that appear in Bernadette's famous 'Swords Voices' collection and are written in most cases by descendants of those men and women caught up in those revolutionary event of one hundred years ago.
Bernie begins with the story of her own family and the 'troubled times' her mother grew up in.
She writes: 'My mother was aged ten years in 1916 when most families had a male relative of some kind fighting for the freedom of small nations in the 'Great War' or else fighting for Ireland's freedom with the local Volunteers.
'Some families had sons fighting on both sides and my mother did not know that she would, many years later, marry into such a family.'
The local historian writes: 'I was told of how my father, at the age of twenty years when off on Easter Monday 1916 to fight at the famous 'Battle of Ashbourne' but instead was one of twenty men chosen to go to Dublin City to in answer to a request for help from Commdt. James Connolly. 'Connolly sent a message that he wanted forty men but they could spare only twenty.
'On arrival at the GPO in Dublin, some of them were ordered to make their way as best they could to the Mendicity Institute to fight with Sean Heuston. There one of the group Peter (Cootie) Wilson was killed. My father was arrested and sentenced to death, but as you can gather, the sentence was not carried out, otherwise I would not be writing this.
'The Marks family, like many others at the time had one son was fighting for Ireland, another was serving in the Great War'. While my father was serving his sentence in Lewes Prison in England his brother Dick had already spent some time on a hospital ship in Malta, having been wounded at The Dardenells.' According to Bernadette's father's letters from prison to his mother, he was 'disappointed that he had not died for Ireland'.
'Swords Voices' is available at Swords Museum in the Carnegie Library on North Street. Open weekdays 1pm to 4.30pm. Phone 01 8400080 email: swordsheritage@gmail.com
John F Kennedy Trust CEO Sean Connick is travelling to New York today (Tuesday) to attend the annual Irish America Hall of Fame ceremony on Wednesday, at which former US President Bill Clinton will be presented with a Lifetime Honourary Award for his exceptional contribution to peace in Ireland.
The JFK Trust in conjunction with the Irish America magazine host the event in New York every year and afterwards photographs of the inductees are hung in the Dunbrody Visitor Centre in New Ross.
Mr Connick is travelling with JFK Trust Secretary Dr Terry Rogers to promote the New Ross centre at the event which will be attended by a large section of the Irish business community in the city.
Mr Connick said: It's an opportunity for us to invite them back to New Ross and in the past a number of them have come including the actress Maureen O'Hara and former Coca Cola CEO Donald Keogh.'
Mr Connick said he will use the occasion to invite Mr Clinton to New Ross, having invited presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton after she was inducted last year.
The Hall of Fame Luncheon has been taking place since 2011 and is one of the major Irish events of the year in New York.
Mr Connick said the Irish America Hall of Fame is being moved downstairs to be incorporated into the famine ship tour, giving more space for the exhibition.
This year's inductees are Mr Clinton, Eileen Collins, who was Nasa's first female special space shuttle commander, Martin E Dempsey, a former chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Peter Hamill, a New York based author, journalist and essaayist and Edward Kenny a special consultant in banking.
He said Mr Clinton is being honoured for his work in the Northern Ireland peace process in the centenary of the 1916 Rising.
'I will be personally meeting him and I will make a small presentation to him and invite him to New Ross. We will be very high profile and we'll be marketing the centre and the area. We will be bringing to their attention the fact that we are upgrading our hall of fame imminently and of our ambitious plans here.'
So the Internet of Things has been The Next Big Thing for ages now. But according to Lauren Morris, head of Vodafone Irelands Internet of Things (IoT) function, its here and here to stay for Irish businesses.
Lauren Morris is IoT Country Manager for Vodafone and has been involved in the Internet of Things (IoT) and machine to machine (M2M) technology since its infancy. While theres a lot of hype about it, equally Lauren has seen Vodafones early applications mature into a comprehensive, tailored and scalable M2M service for almost any business. Lauren sees the opportunity for Irish businesses even if they dont fully realise their own potential.
Im really interested in talking to Irish companies who are interested in implementing an IoT solution for their business. Be it changing the way they operate, repositioning themselves in the market or if they want to bring a product out to market that might help the general public, says Lauren.
Our team here is made up of technical and business experts and if a company is looking at a certain product we can help them out.
Some businesses may think that the Internet of Things doesnt necessarily affect them and what they do, but there are plenty of examples out there of local businesses who have used the technology to reinvent themselves and go global. Vodafone have been involved with IoT for a long time and have unparalleled experience to draw on.
Weve been delivering IoT services for a long time, were at it 10 years. Weve got a huge amount of experience that we can bring to customers. Vodafone formed the Global M2M Business unit over 5 years ago, to serve our customers around the world as we recognised this as a growth area. Today we currently have about 35.5 million connections around the world thats devices or things that are connected to our network. So weve got a really large global network that we can deliver to our customers, says Lauren.
Vodafone built their own platform on their own network; its fully owned by Vodafone. So that allows them to offer a very good coverage to customers and means they can stand over what is a very resilient and reliable service. Thats why car manufacturers like BMW, Audi and Porsche feel confident in using their network for many of their vehicle services from breakdown assistance through to in-car navigation.
The automotive industry has been one of the forerunners in the IoT industry and here in Ireland theyve been powering a lot of their major infrastructure with M2M for a long time. Companies like ESB networks and Bord Gais Networks, have also been using Vodafone M2M services to monitor their network for years. For example, if you pass a road sign that flags a traffic disruption on the M50 it has Vodafone connectivity. Vodafone connectivity is in flood prevention services around the country and even in public transport vehicles. So a lot of that connectivity has been around for a very long time.
Expand Close Keenan Systems uses Vodafone M2M technology to deliver innovative feed and dietary solutions to the agri-sector worldwide / Facebook
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However in the past it was quite transactional as it used very small amounts of information, but what were seeing now is a huge growth in the different ways people are using M2M and IoT for. Its a bit more exciting.
There are a lot of companies that have adopted M2M or IoT who have really seen a competitive advantage. According to the Barometer report, research conducted by Vodafone, As much as 83% of IoT adopters have seen a competitive advance, which makes a very compelling case, says Lauren.
So thats one industry (Agri) thats done particularly well with IoT recently and its nice that its so Irish, but take other industries such as health. Weve just done a deal with a company called Health Beacon. Its about improving healthcare in the home.
There are a lot of people with chronic illnesses who need to take injected medication to stay well. These patients often prefer to take their medication in the home, rather than visit a hospital or GP each week. When drugs are administered in the home, its difficult to ensure that patients remember to take them when they should. That can result in negative effects resulting in hospitalisation of the patient, which in turn, affects our health industry. So what Health Beacon have developed is a sharps disposal appliance that uses the Vodafone M2M service. It reminds the patient to take the medication and it also informs the healthcare professional exactly when the medication has been taken.
Health Beacon have conducted a pilot for the last 12 months and theyve seen that the compliance rate of the drug is up considerably due to the presence of their device. . In the context of ageing population and the pressure on our health care system this is a really useful innovation that not only impacts individuals but society as a whole.
Services like this that help patients with in-home health care are really going to help our health care system. Patients want to be at home when theyre not well. If we can insure they get the same quality of care at home that theyd get in hospital then thats a great outcome, says Lauren.
Expand Close Moocall is a calving alert system that notifies a farmer around one hour before calving / Facebook
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The applications of M2M are indeed the most interesting part form a business customer perspective, however they are made possible by Vodafones M2M technology. Vodafone offer a Managed Connectivity Service, which includes a management platform built on the Vodafone global network. Vodafones M2M offering leverages one of the largest and most comprehensive networks in the world, providing a scalable solution to customers.
Companies like Moocall can manufacture their devices in Ireland and then when that device is sold in another country, they dont have to swap out the SIM for another network. Its one of Vodafones unique selling points and completely developed by Vodafone.
Building an IoT or M2M solution is quite a complex thing but Vodafone have teams of experts nationally and internationally who are there to help Irish businesses see how they can best apply that technology to give them the competitive advantage in the market place.
Vodafone built Test Bed with EMC which is an IoT in Cork that offers local companies the opportunity to build and test their IoT products. There are many companies using it for a range of solutions, for example, the development of smart buildings. Smart buildings can have automated window opening and closing which is used to circulate clean air through the building or make heating air conditioning systems more efficient. This development could be crucial for the monitoring of air quality in buildings in cities in the near future.
The aim of the Test Bed is to demystify what can be quite difficult about IoT development, and to help businesses along that journey. We offer TestBed customers a testing environment to try out their ideas; in partnership with EMC we provide devices, connectivity, cloud and hosting services, data analytics and consultancy. Its a great place for Irish businesses who might be interested in using M2M technology just to talk to us and start a conversation about where it could take you. It could be a lot further than you thought possible, says Lauren.
IoT has come a long way with Vodafone, but it has a lot further to go too. When asked just how far Lauren cant quite say. Theres a lot of hype about IoT but, its justified according to Lauren.
The potential is really limitless when it comes to IoT and as with all these important technological developments we dont know exactly how it will look, but I believe that this will change both our daily lives and society at large.
Charlotte Crosby attends the In The Style x Now Summer Party at The Drury Club on July 16, 2015 in London, England. (Photo by Anthony Harvey/Getty Images)
Charlotte Crosby attending the In The Style clothing launch at Libertine on March 31, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Mark Robert Milan/GC Images)
Charlotte Crosby launches her High Summer Clothing Collection at The Soho Sanctum Hotel on May 13, 2015 in London, England. (Photo by Neil P. Mockford/Getty Images)
Gaz Beadle (L) and Charlotte Letitia Crosby from British reality show, 'Geordie Shore' arrive at the MTV Snow Jam 2011 VIP launch event on July 14, 2011 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Graham Denholm/WireImage)
Charlotte Crosby hasn't been shy about her penchant for plastic surgery.
But the Geordie Shore was unrecognisable from her early days on the show during her latest red carpet appearance. The 25-year-old reality star, who famously shed two and a half stone stone since 2014, has undergone a nose job, fillers, lip injections and botox in the last year - but bigger doesn't always mean better.
Crosby pouted her way through her latest appearance at The Style clothing launch in London, debuting her freshly plumped pout - far cry from when we first met her on the MTV reality show in 2011.
She's become so committed to her new look that she said she would give up sex for the rest of her life it meant she could stay the same shape. She ballooned to 11 stone in 2013 and seeing unflattering photos of herself on the beach spurred her on her weight loss journey.
Expand Close Gaz Beadle (L) and Charlotte Letitia Crosby from British reality show, 'Geordie Shore' arrive at the MTV Snow Jam 2011 VIP launch event on July 14, 2011 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Graham Denholm/WireImage) / Facebook
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Whatsapp Gaz Beadle (L) and Charlotte Letitia Crosby from British reality show, 'Geordie Shore' arrive at the MTV Snow Jam 2011 VIP launch event on July 14, 2011 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Graham Denholm/WireImage)
"Before I didn't do any exercise. I did not want to go to gym, I felt intimated as I didn't know what I was doing and I felt like people were staring at me," she told This Morning.
"I've changed my lifestyle to be healthier. I still drink but I've cut it down, I used to have pints of Baileys, I loved it."
The rest of the cast have also gone under the knife to boost their look - Vicky Pattison underwent a breast augmentation after shedding three stone and Holly Hagan has had lip injections, veneers, botox, a boob job and fillers.
Kit Harington said the Duchess of Cornwall asked him if his Game of Thrones character was dead
Even the Duchess of Cornwall is keen to find out whether Kit Harington's Game Of Thrones character Jon Snow is truly dead, the actor has revealed.
Long-standing character Jon was brutally stabbed and left dying in the snow at the end of the fifth series.
Despite the death scene, Harington has repeatedly been forced to quash rumours that Jon could secretly be alive and ready for a comeback.
Asked on the Jonathan Ross Show about whether his character is really deceased, the heartthrob actor said: " I get this from everybody.
"Me and my brother got invited to Wimbledon, as you do, and a Royal was hosting, we didn't know which Royal it was, and it was the Duchess of Cornwall and she was hosting it.
"And we got sat with her, me and my brother , and she leant over the table and said 'Are you dead?'
"No word of a lie."
Harington, 29, was spotted filming in Belfast as Jon Snow recently, further fuelling the rumours.
But he told Jonathan Ross: "I was playing a corpse. I was there for a little bit, I was there for about a month or two months, it was spread over a bit and I was playing a corpse."
Questioned further about how filming corpse scenes could take so long, he said: "I won't tell you how many episodes I'm lying dead but it's enough that I was out there for quite a while.
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"It's going to be so satisfying when you see it and you realise that I was telling the truth the whole time."
The actor will soon take to the stage in Doctor Faustus at London's Duke of York Theatre.
Discussing his take on the 400-year-old Christopher Marlowe play, he said: "It's very contemporary, it's very modern, it's cinematic, it's exciting, it's got bodily fluids flying around all over the place. I get my arse out."
State school-educated Harington also addressed the idea of private school domination in the acting industry, calling for more funding.
He said: "I think it's that private schools and public schools have a much better system in place for getting their students into the industry, for training their students, and I think the state school system needs money pumped into it and is lacking in that department."
But he added: "T here are actors who I'm friends with who are from private and public school who are very, very, very good actors, very serious about their job.
"Just because they are from that background doesn't mean they should be sort of held up as that's their fault."
Vernon Kay (L) and Tess Daly attend the F1 party in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity at the Natural History Museum on July 5, 2010 in London, England. (Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images)
TV presenters Tess Daly and Vernon Kay have been married for 13 years and have two children together
Every so often a story comes along that fits neatly under the heading: "What Did You Think Would Happen?"
It's usually reserved for some idiot trying to wash their dog in the Zanussi, or flinging themselves headlong out of a window onto a trampoline, and can generally be expected to be a bit hilarious.
Nobody likes to have a laugh at someone else's relationship, (although all bets will be off if the Vladimir Putin/Wendy Deng story pans out), but your gob would be smacked listening to TV presenter Vernon Kay's drivel over his messaging a, ahem, glamour model, after a newspaper, and more importantly, his wife, found out about it.
"I recognise how it may look," he said with understatement equivalent to calling the Second World War a bit of a skirmish. "There was never any inappropriate intent", he added.
Expand Close Vernon Kay (L) and Tess Daly attend the F1 party in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity at the Natural History Museum on July 5, 2010 in London, England. (Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images) / Facebook
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Whatsapp Vernon Kay (L) and Tess Daly attend the F1 party in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity at the Natural History Museum on July 5, 2010 in London, England. (Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images)
No, well, when someone you were already caught having a highly inappropriate sexting relationship with six years ago suddenly contacts you "out of the blue" (according to the astoundingly reckless Mr Kay), what is a well brought up gentleman to do?
Naturally he can't be rude and tell her to go away, have a nice life and perhaps put on some clothes; the natural response is to arrange a meeting with her in a hotel bedroom. To chat things through. "Clear up some questions," he says. From six years ago. As you do.
The lady in question, 29-year-old Rhian Sugden - herself engaged to a chap from Corrie who had an affair with co-star Kym Marsh before her divorce (do keep up) - didn't appear a bit bewildered by Vernon's suggestion, even if the 'meeting' didn't go ahead in the end.
Am I being too hard on old Vernon? Look, anyone can answer a quick text without thinking. We've all done it, usually at the Christmas party with a few jars on board when it seems like a terrific idea to tell the boss to stick his job up his balance sheet.
Vernon, on the other hand, has a bit more experience at this sort of thing than the rest of us. Back in 2010 when the original story broke (yes, I know; stay awake in the back), there were no fewer than four women our Vernon was putting it about with ... at least by text. Let's hope he had all-you-can-eat data or it would have been costing him a fortune, what with all those kissy, huggy emoticons.
Wife Tess Daly (who Strictly should have done a quick two-step as far away from him as she could get), forgave him and took him back on that occasion. Many a wife has done the same - especially for the sake of the kids, in this case, two cute little girls - and it took guts and more than a dose of mortification on her part.
Expand Close Tess Daly and Vernon Kay attend the National Television Awards at 02 Arena on January 22, 2014 in London, England. (Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images) / Facebook
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Whatsapp Tess Daly and Vernon Kay attend the National Television Awards at 02 Arena on January 22, 2014 in London, England. (Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images)
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But this time, we'll see. Nobody would blame her for battening down the hatches on their mock Tudor home, stinging him for everything he's worth and finding herself someone decent chap who'll appreciate her incredibly tolerant personality, mega talent and drop dead gorgeous looks. It might happen quicker than she thinks.
In the meantime, the dubious trio's social media accounts will be analysed, everyone will be papped from here to kingdom come and the only one who can hope to come out of it well is the protein pill brand Ms Sugden manages to regularly squeeze in between her assets on her Twitter and Instagram accounts.
Through it all, women will feel sorry for Tess and hate Vernon (for a bit). But their kids will get humiliated in school, his wife will be devastated and the story will have a half-life on the internet and that, Mr Kay, is truly unforgivable.
US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump waves to onlookers and reporters as he departs through a back door after meetings at Republican National Committee (RNC) headquarters in Washington. Reuters/Jonathan Ernst
Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump has taken a battering in advance of Tuesday's critical Wisconsin primary election.
The contest could see the Republican electorate stall the billionaire's march toward the party's 2016 presidential nomination and boost the likelihood of a bitter convention fight this summer with Ted Cruz, the ultra-conservative first-term Texas senator.
Mr Trump, whose campaign had gained steam for months even as he did and said things that would have derailed a more conventional Republican candidate, ran into a storm of powerful opposition in Mid-western Wisconsin where a key poll shows him trailing Mr Cruz by 10 percentage points.
A previous survey had shown Mr Trump leading by that much a month ago.
Even before he arrived in the state this week, Mr Trump was skewered in interviews with a trio of Wisconsin's influential conservative talk radio hosts.
On Tuesday, just hours before his first campaign stop, two-term governor Scott Walker threw his support behind Cruz.
Much of the subsequent trouble was of the Trump campaign's own making.
Corey Lewandowski, Mr Trump's campaign manager, was charged with simple battery for an altercation with a reporter.
Then Mr Trump was forced to climb down from his assertion that women should be punished for getting abortions, a comment that managed to unite both sides of the abortion debate in fierce opposition to his statement.
At a town hall event in Wisconsin, MSNBC's Chris Matthews asked Mr Trump: "What should the law be on abortion? Should the woman be punished for having an abortion? This is not something you can dodge."
Mr Trump's bungled response - an awkward attempt to evade the question, followed by an answer that, yes, "there has to be some form of punishment" - brought an unprecedented reversal from the notoriously unapologetic candidate.
The episode demonstrated the extent to which Mr Trump has glossed over some of the rigorous policy preparation that is fundamental to most presidential campaigns, underscoring the risks of the billionaire businessman's approach as he edges closer to the Republican nomination.
State representative Jim Steineke, the Republican majority leader in the Wisconsin Assembly, said of the response to the New Yorker: "Part of it is just the Wisconsin nice. We don't take too kindly to people who act the way Donald Trump acts."
Among mainstream Republicans, Mr Trump has created fears of a permanent split in the party, with Mr Cruz taking full advantage of those worries.
The Texan said: "I think the whole country is looking to Wisconsin right now to make a choice in this race, and I think the choice Wisconsin makes is going to have repercussions for a long time to come."
Mr Trump's view is rosier for his own campaign: "If we win Wisconsin, it's pretty much over."
If Mr Cruz sweeps all the delegates in Wisconsin, Donald Trump will need to win 57% of the remaining delegates in other states in order to collect the 1,237 he needs to clinch the nomination.
So far, he has won 48% of all delegates awarded.
Wisconsin offers 42, putting it in the middle of the pack of primary prizes. But the state's stature in Republican politics and its position on the calendar - no other state votes until April 19 - have elevated its importance.
Though the state has voted for Democrats in the past several presidential elections, it boasts prominent national party leaders including Mr Walker, House Speaker Paul Ryan and Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus.
Planned Parenthood and Priorities USA, two groups working to elect Democrat Hillary Clinton, have teamed up for their first anti-Trump advertisement of the election year, a 30-second spot playing on websites that feature Mr Trump's abortion comment.
Mrs Clinton said in Purchase, New York: "Donald Trump is showing us exactly who he is, and we should believe him. But let's remember this: all the Republican candidates want to make abortion illegal."
While Wisconsin may provide a much-needed boost to Mr Trump's opponents, the real estate mogul will soon find himself back in friendly territory.
The next contest awaiting Republicans comes on April 19 in New York - Mr Trump's home state and one of the biggest delegate prizes up for grabs.
Mrs Clinton, a former New York senator, holds a formidable lead among delegates, but her opponent Bernie Sanders hopes a series of recent victories in western States might turn into a springboard for a win in Wisconsin.
Six Second World War anti-tank rockets which have been found behind a bus stop in Coopersale (Essex Police/PA)
Six Second World War anti-tank rockets have been found behind a bus stop.
Police were called to Coopersale in Essex, after the rockets were found near the stop on the B181 Epping Road.
An Essex Police spokesman said: "The Army Explosives Ordnance Disposal Unit attended and disposed of the rockets nearby and confirmed they were six live anti-tank rockets from WW2.
"We are appealing to find the person who left these items at the bus stop and to find out whether they have any more."
Anyone with information about the incident, which happened at 4.55pm on Tuesday, should contact pol ice on 101.
In this March 29, 2016 picture migrants get help by Italian sailors to transfer from the German combat supply ship 'Frankfurt am Main' to the their ship 'Grecale' after being rescued during EUNAVFOR MED Operation Sophia in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Libya. Photo: AP
Dozens of migrants are feared missing after their boat sank off Libya, a spokesman for the country's naval forces said, amid signs of a sharp increase in the number of people who are attempting the dangerous crossing from North Africa to Europe.
Earlier, Italian officials said their coast guard and navy vessels had rescued 1,361 migrants on Wednesday from boats and rubber dinghies in the southern Mediterranean.
The Libyan spokesman, Ayoub Qassem, said naval guards had intercepted one boat carrying 120 migrants off the coast near Sabratha and had also managed to rescue 32 from the boat which sank. It was not known exactly how many people were missing.
More than 16,000 people have made the crossing from north Africa to Italy in the first three months of 2016, some 6,000 more than in the same period last year.
The number of new arrivals is expected to climb further in the coming months as warmer, more stable weather kicks in, making it easier for people traffickers to put the boats to sea.
Rescued
The Italian coast guard said that after it had saved some 3,680 people over the past three days, a further 350 migrants, most believed to be minors, had been spotted on a boat off Sicily and an operation was under way to bring them ashore.
Italian officials have also warned that a deal to limit the number of migrants travelling via Turkey to Greece could increase the flows travelling through Libya to Italy.
However, up until now, the vast majority of migrants using the Mediterranean route have continued to come from sub-Saharan Africa, with no significant increase in the number of Syrians, Afghans or Iraqis, who have mostly been using the Greek route.
Hundreds of thousands of migrants have reached Italy in the course of recent years, looking for a better life in the West.
Most are believed to have moved swiftly on to wealthier northern Europe, taking advantage of the European Union's passport-free travel zone, but moves to suspend the border pact could make it much more difficult for them to leave.
An overpass under construction in the bustling Indian city of Kolkata collapsed yesterday on to vehicles and street vendors below, killing at least 14 people, with more than 100 feared trapped.
Residents used their bare hands in attempts to rescue people pinned under a 100-metre length of metal and cement that snapped off at one end and came crashing down in a teeming commercial district near Girish Park.
"The concrete had been laid last night at this part of the bridge," resident Ramesh Kejriwal told Reuters.
Video footage aired on TV channels showed a street scene with two auto rickshaws and a crowd of people suddenly obliterated by a mass of falling concrete that narrowly missed cars crawling in a traffic jam.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee rushed to the scene.
"We will take every action to save lives of those trapped beneath the collapsed flyover. Rescue is our top priority," she said.
Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close A view shows the flyover which collapsed in Kolkata, India, in this still image taken from video March 31, 2016. REUTERS/ANI via Reuters TV Locals and rescue workers clear the rubble of a partially collapsed overpass in Kolkata (AP) A general view of the collapsed flyover in Kolkata, India, March 31, 2016. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri / Facebook
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Whatsapp A view shows the flyover which collapsed in Kolkata, India, in this still image taken from video March 31, 2016. REUTERS/ANI via Reuters TV
Ms Banerjee said those responsible for the disaster would not be spared. Yet she herself faces questions about a construction project that has been plagued by delays and safety fears.
A newspaper reported last November that Ms Banerjee wanted the overpass - which was already five years overdue - to be completed by February. Project engineers expressed concerns over whether this would be possible.
Rescue
A co-ordinated rescue operation was slow to get under way, with access for heavy lifting gear and ambulances restricted by the buildings on either side of the flyover and heavy traffic.
Police said that 78 injured were taken to Kolkata's Medical College Hospital after the disaster struck at around noon.
"Most were bleeding profusely. The problem is that nobody is able to drive an ambulance to the spot," said Akhilesh Chaturvedi, a senior police officer.
Eyewitness Ravindra Kumar Gupta, a grocer, said two buses carrying more than 100 passengers were trapped. Eight taxis and six auto rickshaws were partly visible in the wreckage.
"Every night, hundreds of labourers would build the flyover and they would cook and sleep near the site by day," said Gupta, who, together with friends, pulled out six bodies.
"The government wanted to complete the flyover before the elections and the labourers were working on a tight deadline. Maybe the hasty construction led to the collapse."
Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump has taken a battering in advance of Tuesday's critical Wisconsin primary election.
The contest could see the Republican electorate stall the billionaire's march toward the party's 2016 presidential nomination and boost the likelihood of a bitter convention fight this summer with Ted Cruz, the ultra-conservative first-term Texas senator.
Mr Trump, whose campaign had gained steam for months even as he did and said things that would have derailed a more conventional Republican candidate, ran into a storm of powerful opposition in Mid-western Wisconsin where a key poll shows him trailing Mr Cruz by 10 percentage points.
A previous survey had shown Mr Trump leading by that much a month ago.
Even before he arrived in the state this week, Mr Trump was skewered in interviews with a trio of Wisconsin's influential conservative talk radio hosts.
On Tuesday, just hours before his first campaign stop, two-term governor Scott Walker threw his support behind Cruz.
Much of the subsequent trouble was of the Trump campaign's own making.
Corey Lewandowski, Mr Trump's campaign manager, was charged with simple battery for an altercation with a reporter.
Then Mr Trump was forced to climb down from his assertion that women should be punished for getting abortions, a comment that managed to unite both sides of the abortion debate in fierce opposition to his statement.
At a town hall event in Wisconsin, MSNBC's Chris Matthews asked Mr Trump: "What should the law be on abortion? Should the woman be punished for having an abortion? This is not something you can dodge."
Mr Trump's bungled response - an awkward attempt to evade the question, followed by an answer that, yes, "there has to be some form of punishment" - brought an unprecedented reversal from the notoriously unapologetic candidate.
The episode demonstrated the extent to which Mr Trump has glossed over some of the rigorous policy preparation that is fundamental to most presidential campaigns, underscoring the risks of the billionaire businessman's approach as he edges closer to the Republican nomination.
State representative Jim Steineke, the Republican majority leader in the Wisconsin Assembly, said of the response to the New Yorker: "Part of it is just the Wisconsin nice. We don't take too kindly to people who act the way Donald Trump acts."
Among mainstream Republicans, Mr Trump has created fears of a permanent split in the party, with Mr Cruz taking full advantage of those worries.
The Texan said: "I think the whole country is looking to Wisconsin right now to make a choice in this race, and I think the choice Wisconsin makes is going to have repercussions for a long time to come."
Mr Trump's view is rosier for his own campaign: "If we win Wisconsin, it's pretty much over."
If Mr Cruz sweeps all the delegates in Wisconsin, Donald Trump will need to win 57% of the remaining delegates in other states in order to collect the 1,237 he needs to clinch the nomination.
So far, he has won 48% of all delegates awarded.
Wisconsin offers 42, putting it in the middle of the pack of primary prizes. But the state's stature in Republican politics and its position on the calendar - no other state votes until April 19 - have elevated its importance.
Though the state has voted for Democrats in the past several presidential elections, it boasts prominent national party leaders including Mr Walker, House Speaker Paul Ryan and Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus.
Planned Parenthood and Priorities USA, two groups working to elect Democrat Hillary Clinton, have teamed up for their first anti-Trump advertisement of the election year, a 30-second spot playing on websites that feature Mr Trump's abortion comment.
Mrs Clinton said in Purchase, New York: "Donald Trump is showing us exactly who he is, and we should believe him. But let's remember this: all the Republican candidates want to make abortion illegal."
While Wisconsin may provide a much-needed boost to Mr Trump's opponents, the real estate mogul will soon find himself back in friendly territory.
The next contest awaiting Republicans comes on April 19 in New York - Mr Trump's home state and one of the biggest delegate prizes up for grabs.
Mrs Clinton, a former New York senator, holds a formidable lead among delegates, but her opponent Bernie Sanders hopes a series of recent victories in western States might turn into a springboard for a win in Wisconsin.
Ryanair flight was forced to declare a midair emergency above Manchester on Friday evening after striking a bird.
Flight FR3445 was headed to Palma de Mallorca in Spain tonight but began circling just miles into the journey.
According to flight tracking website Airlive.net, the plane declared an emergency over the city after 6pm.
The service added the emergency was due to a bird strike.
The plane has now landed at Manchester airport. It spent an hour total in the air, burning fuel as it circled around 3,500 feet over north Manchester and Rochdale.
In a statement, Ryanair said: This flight from Manchester to Palma (1 Apr) returned to Manchester shortly after take-off following a minor bird strike. The aircraft landed normally and customers disembarked and were provided with refreshment vouchers.
"To minimise delay, customers boarded a replacement aircraft which departed to Palma. Ryanair apologised to affected customers for any inconvenience caused.
Earlier this month a bird struck a passenger jet with 71 people on board leaving a large dent in its nose as it was coming in to land at Heathrow airport. The EgyptAir flight from Cairo was grounded for 21 hours after the incident before a replacement nose could be located.
Russian President Vladimir Putin smiles next to Russian gymnast Alina Kabaeva during a meeting with the Russian Olympic team at the Kremlin in Moscow in a file photo from November 4, 2004. Photo: Reuters
A little-known Russian businessman from St Petersburg has provided properties to multiple women who share one common theme - President Vladimir Putin.
One of the women is Putin's younger daughter; two are close relatives of a woman Russian media have reported to be Putin's girlfriend - though the president has strongly denied any relationship. And a fourth is a student who posed for a calendar celebrating the president's birthday. All of the properties are in upmarket gated complexes in and around Moscow.
Public records show Grigory Baevsky, a 47-year-old business associate of an old friend of Putin, sold or transferred the properties to three of the women. In the other case, Putin's younger child, Katerina Tikhonova, used the address of a flat owned by Baevsky as her own when registering a new company.
The connections add to the picture of individuals in Putin's wider circle and the way these people blur the lines between public and private business.
Last year, Reuters reported that Putin's daughter Tikhonova, who holds a senior position at Moscow State University, is personally advised by some of Putin's oldest friends. She is also married to Kirill Shamalov, son of billionaire Nikolai Shamalov, an associate of Putin's.
Baevsky has worked as an aide to another close friend of Putin, his judo partner, Arkady Rotenberg.
Public records show that companies co-owned by Baevsky have benefited from state construction contracts worth at least 6 billion rubles ($78m) in the past two years.
Baevsky has previously attracted little attention. His connection to Putin was uncovered by investigative journalist Roman Anin, who was conducting research for the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), an East European media network.
Baevsky is a former property manager for a state company in St Petersburg. In 2006, he founded a dacha cooperative near the city with Arkady Rotenberg and Rotenberg's brother Boris, public records show.
Baevsky went into business with the Rotenbergs in 2011, working until 2014 as a director at Arkady Rotenberg's investment vehicle, the Russian Holding company, according to corporate filings. Public records also show he was declared as an 'affiliated person' of SMP Bank, which is majority-owned by the brothers.
Arkady Rotenberg was among the first Russian businessmen to be put under Western visa bans and asset freezes over Moscow's seizure of Crimea. According to the US Treasury, Rotenberg and his brother Boris have won billions of dollars from projects awarded to them by Putin. The brothers have denied getting help from the Russian leader and efforts to contact them got no response.
Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "We know nothing about who this (Baevsky) is. The President is also not acquainted with him."
Separately, Peskov told reporters that the Kremlin was facing a series of queries from international media about Putin's relationship with his childhood friends and their receipt of state contracts. He said he would not comment because the Kremlin believes the articles are part of a politically-motivated campaign to discredit Putin.
A spokesman for Rotenberg said the businessman had no information about Baevsky's property deals. Asked if Baevsky was acting on behalf of Rotenberg in his property dealings, or if they were related to Rotenberg's friendship with Putin, Rotenberg's spokesman said: "Of course not. Such declarations are absurd." The spokesman said Baevsky "does not work" for any Arkady Rotenberg company or holding.
The role of Baevsky emerged when the OCCRP - which is funded by the Open Society Institute, USAID, and the Swiss government, among others - discovered that a woman called Katerina Tikhonova declared her home to be an apartment owned by the businessman. Tikhonova is Putin's 29-year-old daughter. In November 2012, she used the apartment's address when she filed papers to register herself as co-founder and owner of a private company called Interdisciplinary Initiatives Foundation in Natural Sciences and Humanities.
Public documents confirm the flat is owned by Baevsky. It is not known whether Tikhonova lived at the flat or paid any rent. The flat is around 6.5km from Putin's official residence. Tikhonova did not respond to questions about her use of the address.
In addition to the Tikhonova deal, public records show that in 2013 Baevsky transferred ownership of a home and plot of land in a pine forest at Uspenskoe in the Moscow region to Anna Zatsepilina. The neighbourhood is one of the most expensive in Russia.
Zatsepilina is the 81-year-old grandmother of Alina Kabaeva, a former Olympic gymnast and public supporter of Putin. In 2008, the Russian newspaper 'Moskovsky Korrespondent' named Kabaeva as Putin's girlfriend. Putin has rejected the assertion. The newspaper closed soon after the article appeared.
The Uspenskoe home sits within a gated community and is protected by security guards.
In an earlier deal, in 2009, public records show that Baevsky transferred ownership of an apartment in Veresaeva Street in the Moscow suburbs to Leysan Kabaeva. She is the sister of Alina, the former gymnast.
Asked about Alina Kabaeva's relationship with Putin and about Baevsky's dealings with her relatives, a spokeswoman for the former gymnast said: "They are all adults, answer to themselves, and live their own lives. Alina Maratnova Kabaeva is not connected to a single one of these questions."
Last year Baevsky transferred another apartment in a smart gated complex in Moscow to Alisa Kharcheva, a 23-year-old former international relations student.
In 2010, a group of students and would-be students from Moscow State University created a calendar to celebrate Putin's birthday. The calendar featured pictures of themselves; Kharcheva starred on the month of April. Two years later, Kharcheva posed with a cat and a photograph of the president in a personal blog post entitled 'Pussy for Putin', which extolled the president's leadership.
Asked how she came to buy a flat from Baevsky, Kharcheva said the transaction was a normal one conducted through a real estate agency. She said she did not know the businessman.
Asked if any connection to Putin had helped her obtain the flat from Baevsky, she replied: "No one has ever asked me such stupid questions."
A Belgian court decided yesterday that Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam could be extradited to France, Belgium's federal prosecutors said.
A lawyer for Abdeslam (26) said earlier that Abdeslam had dropped his initial objection to being extradited and had also renewed an offer to cooperate with the French authorities.
"Salah Abdeslam wishes to be transferred to the French authorities," Cedric Moisse told reporters. "He wishes to cooperate with the French authorities."
Prosecutors said France and Belgium would discuss how to proceed with the transfer.
After his arrest on March 18, four months after the November 13 Paris attacks that killed 130 people, Abdeslam answered some investigators' questions but then exercised his right to silence following the suicide bombings in Brussels on March 22.
Investigators believe the attacks in Paris and Brussels were carried out by militants from the same Isil network.
Earlier, his lawyer claimed that Abdeslam has agreed to "cooperate" with French police, raising the prospect of him turning supergrass and thus becoming a prime Isil target.
The last known survivor from the cell of 10 men who carried out the Paris massacre has not spoken to investigators since Brussels was hit last week by attacks at the airport and a metro station that were claimed by Isil. He has links to several of those involved in the suicide bombings that killed 32 people.
Shortly after his dramatic March 18 arrest, in which he was shot in the leg trying to flee the scene, his lawyer Sven Marty already claimed he was "cooperating" with Belgian investigators and could prove a "gold mine" to unmask terror networks in Europe.
He notably confirmed that he had intended to blow himself up at the Stade de France stadium in Paris but had backed out at the last minute.
However, excerpts of his interrogation leaked to French media suggest he then palmed investigators off with vague responses and lies.
For example, he claimed he had only ever met Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the suspected mastermind of the Paris attacks, once, whereas it is known they were childhood friends. ( Daily Telegraph London)
Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022]
French police in riot gear apprehend a youth during clashes at a demonstration by employees, high school and university students against the French labour law proposal in Lyon. Photo: Reuters
French police in riot gear advance during clashes with youths during a demonstration by employees, high school and university students against the French labour law proposal in Lyon. Photo: Reuters
French gendarmes clean debris after youths set fire to garbage bins and caddies as French high school and university students attend a demonstration against the French labour law proposal in Nantes. Photo: Reuters
Workers and students held street protests, some of them violent, across France yesterday, while train drivers, teachers and others went on strike to reject a government reform relaxing the 35-hour limit on the working week and other labour rules.
Student organisations and seven unions had called for the protests to reject the Socialist government's bill, which they argue will badly damage hard-won worker protections.
The government and businesses claim that the reforms will make it easier for companies to hire people - but they will also make it easier to lay off workers. France's unemployment rate is hovering around 10pc.
Earlier in the day, a few dozen protesters, who were mostly hooded or wearing masks, broke off from a peaceful student demonstration in eastern Paris to hurl paint bombs at banks and stores. Some smashed cash machines with bats or set off smoke canisters while confronting the police.
Clashes also broke out between a small group of young protesters and the police in the western cities of Nantes and Rennes.
The bill is to be debated in parliament this month.
Argentina continues to make claims over the islands
Politicians in the Falkland Islands have rejected a UN commission's ruling that the archipelago would come within Argentina's maritime territory.
The UN commission on the limits of the continental shelf sided with Argentina this week in a dispute with the UK going back decades. The commission ratified a 2009 Argentine report that fixed the limit of its territory at 200 to 350 miles from its coast.
Mike Summers, a legislative assembly member for the islands, told reporters the decision "has no effect for the sovereign position of the Falklands".
Saturday marks the 34th anniversary of the start of the Falklands war, when invading Argentinian forces were routed by British troops.
Islanders and the UK Government have long rejected Argentina's claims.
Eleven suspected members of a neo-Nazi group have been arrested, France's interior minister said.
The members of the group, who allegedly were spreading racist messages, were arrested on Wednesday in an investigation of "criminal association" and "participation to a combatant group", Bernard Cazeneuve said on Friday in a written statement.
Mr Cazeneuve says 11 rifles, two guns, 28 knives, some bullet-proof vests and helmets and several Nazi flags were among the items seized during police raids in eight regions of France.
The statement said the three "most active members" of the group were brought before a judge on Friday to be charged.
Migrants in a makeshift refugee camp at the northern Greek border point of Idomeni (AP)
Greece is pressing ahead with plans to start deporting migrants and refugees back to Turkey next week, despite mounting concern from the UN and human rights organisations that Syrians could be denied proper protection.
Parliamentarians in Athens are due to back fast-tracked draft legislation to allow the returns to begin as soon as Monday.
The operation would see migrants and refugees who arrived on Greek islands after March 20 put on boats and sent back to Turkey.
Greek officials said deportations are likely to start from the island of Lesbos, with migrants from Afghanistan, Pakistan and other countries whose asylum claims are considered inadmissible.
The transport is set to be carried out under heavy security escort - with one police minder for every migrant - using buses that will travel from island detention camps and are likely to board straight onto chartered vessels.
The imminent deportations, which are backed by the European Union following its recent agreement with Turkey, have triggered more violence at detention camps in Greece.
Authorities on the Greek island of Chios said several hundred people broke out of an overcrowded detention camp and headed to the island's main town on foot, following overnight clashes between Syrian and Afghan detainees that left five people injured.
The clashes are the latest in a series of violent incidents at shelters and gathering points across Greece, where more than 50,000 migrants and refugees are stranded following Balkan border closures supported by the EU.
More than 10,000 of those stranded remain camped out at the Greek-Macedonian border, ignoring calls by the government to move voluntarily to organised shelters.
In Geneva, Switzerland, the UN refugee agency, or UNHCR, urged Greece and Turkey to provide further safeguards for asylum seekers before the returns begin, noting that conditions are worsening by the day for more than 4,000 people being held in detention on Greek islands.
Amnesty International, which has strongly opposed the EU-Turkey agreement from the start, said it has evidence of Turkish authorities rounding up Syrians and sending them back across the border to their conflict-torn country.
The group said Turkey has been expelling around 100 men, women and children on an almost daily basis since mid-January.
Amnesty's Europe and Central Asia director John Dalhuisen said: "EU leaders have wilfully ignored the simplest of facts: Turkey is not a safe country for Syrian refugees."
Greek officials did not respond to the criticism directly, but insisted the rights of detained asylum seekers are being protected.
Migration affairs minister Ioannis Mouzalas told the Greek parliament: "I assure you that we will strictly observe human rights procedures, not what people are inventing, but what is required under the circumstances.
"I was yesterday in Geneva yesterday, and the UNHCR tweeted positive things about our country."
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.
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By Mike Eads of the Independent Mail
Clemson University researchers will be part of a $317 million rethink of America's textile industry announced Friday by U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Federal officials hope to create more than 50,000 jobs across the nation with companies that produce technical textile products that can sense, change color, store energy and more.
Clemson's role will be to develop virtual reality training aids and work with local high schools and the state's technical college system to develop apprenticeships and other kinds of training to put more women, veterans and students into the higher tech textile jobs, said Kris Frady, operations director of Clemson's Center for Workforce Development.
"We will partner with institutions across the United States and bring new textile research into this area," said Frady. "Some of what we do here will be workforce development. One of the reasons Clemson was chosen was because of the state's large veterans population ... this is about identifying women and veterans and bringing them into jobs."
Local manufacturers Milliken and Inman Mills will also participate, as well as the South Carolina Manufacturing Extension Partnership.
South Carolina's corporate leaders have waged a yearslong push for more math and science training in the state's public schools elementary, middle, high and technical to prepare students for advanced manufacturing jobs. Frady said Clemson's work would be centered around doing just that.
"This will help provide a workforce that is highly skilled, so that we can continue to bring in the kinds of jobs we need," said Frady.
Frady was on hand at Carter's announcement Friday in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She also met with other members of The Advanced Functional Fabrics of America, the MIT consortium made up of manufacturers, universities and other groups across 28 states that will oversee the work. Another goal, in addition to creating 50,000 jobs across the country, is to enable American companies including Corning, DuPont, Intel, Nike, The North Face and Timberland to expand and capture 30 percent of the global technical textiles market.
"Fibers and fabrics are ubiquitous," said MIT professor Yoel Fink, who will help oversee the national effort. "Our institute will go everywhere a fiber and fabric goes."
Kapil Chalil Madathil, technology director at the Clemson center, said its previous work in virtual reality helped get the university included in this national effort.
"The beauty of our involvement in Advanced Functional Fabrics of America is that we already have laid the groundwork and have shown these simulations work," Madathil said in a news release. "Now we need to adapt it to the specific needs of the advanced fiber and textile industry."
Anand Gramopadhye, dean of the Clemson's College of Engineering and Science, said that Advanced Functional Fabrics of America could transform South Carolina and the rest of the nation.
"Clemson is strategically positioned in the Upstate of South Carolina, an area with long experience in textiles and advanced manufacturing," said Gramopadhye in the aforementioned news release. "We look forward to participating in an initiative that shows high promise for creating well-paying jobs that help American families put food on the table."
Follow Michael Eads on Twitter @MikeEads_AIM
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By Ray Chandler
Sui Zhijuan greeted the 16 eighth-grade students of her class at Seneca Middle School on Wednesday with Ni hao zao shang hao, which means Hello good morning, just as shes done every day this school year.
She had spent the minutes before class writing the characters and the phonetic translations that would make up the days lessons on the classrooms board.
Most of the students had spent the same time trying to decipher what the phrases meant. Just two weeks into learning rudimentary Mandarin Chinese most of the students have absorbed enough of the basics of Chinese characters to make a guess.
I dont require they learn to write the characters, Sui said. I do like for them to remember the characters. These students are very enthusiastic.
It is how Sui hoped students would greet the study of her countrys language, and to her the enthusiastic response bodes well for her next three years with the Oconee County school district.
The course is offered as an elective at Seneca High School, where Sui teaches 18 students, and at Seneca Middle School.
Sui, who studied English at Shandong University, is part of a program spearheaded by the Peoples Republic of Chinas Confucius Institute to spread familiarity with Chinese culture and language.
For long time, we were the mysterious country, Sui said.
Formed in 2004, the Confucius Institute is overseen by the Office of Chinese Language Council International, which is affiliated with the Peoples Republic of Chinas Ministry of Education. It operates in over 470 satellite centers worldwide, according to the institutes website, and has over 750 classrooms in 126 countries. In South Carolina, both the University of South Carolina and Presbyterian College have Confucius Institute satellite centers.
To become an institute teacher abroad is a highly competitive venture, said Sui, who already has one stint in the United States behind her, five years ago in Lexington, Kentucky.Some of Suis students at Seneca Middle are well aware of the connection between what a knowledge of the Chinese language could mean for them when they venture out into the world economy.
I plan on being in business when I get older, said Charles Griffin. I think knowing Chinese could help me a lot.
Isabella Shadwick plans on going into the medical field, and said that could some day take her to China.
Other students hope to travel the world. Just knowing some cool expressions, said Leah Strickland, would help.
At least one of Suis students has a more immediate and personal reason for paying keen attention in class, much to the rest of the classs amusement.
I just want to know what my mother is saying behind my back, said Bailey Holder, laughing herself, adding that what her Chinese-speaking mother says when on the phone to relatives is a mystery she hopes to solve.
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By Kirk Brown of the Independent Mail
A boarding school reopening near Due West next year was previously part of a thriving network of facilities for troubled teens reaching from California to the Czech Republic.
Parents were eager to send their out-of-control adolescents to tough-love boarding schools like Carolina Springs Academy in Abbeville County. The facility, which filled to capacity soon after opening, was among more than a dozen institutions affiliated with the Utah-based Worldwide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools.
At one point, tuition payments topped $90 million annually from students enrolled in behavior-modification programs designed by Worldwide's founder, Robert Lichfield.
Worldwide's boarding school empire has crumbled in recent years.
Under pressure from state regulators, Carolina Springs closed in 2009. It intends to reopen next year as a coed Christian boarding school without any ties to Worldwide, which also is known as WWASPS.
Worldwide President Ken Kay said WWASPS is "out of business." He blamed the recession and media coverage of abuse allegations, arrests, raids and two students' deaths for contributing to its demise.
WASPS still exists on paper, he explained, so that its insurance company will keep paying the attorneys who are defending Worldwide in ongoing lawsuits.
The highest profile case is a federal suit involving 353 parents and former students. The suit accuses WWASPS and its affiliates ? including Carolina Springs ? of assault, battery, false imprisonment, fraud and racketeering.
Students at WWASPS boarding schools "were subjected to physical abuse, emotional abuse and sexual abuse," the suit alleges. "In many instances, the abuse could accurately be described as torture of children."
Categorically denying the accusations that Kay has called "ludicrous," Worldwide's attorneys have stymied the suit for four years with jurisdictional arguments and other procedural maneuvers.
Worldwide's attorneys also won a recent victory in Montana. Jurors ruled that WWASPS was not responsible for a 16-year-old girl's suicide at Spring Creek Lodge Academy in 2004.
Robert Lichfield launched Worldwide in 1998 ? the same year his younger brother, Narvin, opened Carolina Springs Academy.
Worldwide's attorneys say WWASPS served as a "trade association" for independently owned member schools. Kay said Worldwide collected $900 yearly for every student at these schools, which were charging upwards of $36,000 for annual tuition.
But former school officials say at least 30 percent of the tuition income went to WWASPS and its related businesses to pay for parent seminars, billing, marketing and transportation fees.
"The money was not going into the facilities, professional staff or food," said journalist Maia Szalavitz, whose 2006 book "Help at Any Cost" focused on Worldwide.
As the boarding school business prospered, Robert Lichfield emerged as a prominent Republican Party donor and fundraiser. He collected $300,000 for GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney at a 2007 event in St. George, Utah, the Salt Lake City Deseret Morning News reported. According to the paper, Lichfield later left Romney's campaign amid publicity regarding the lawsuit that parents and former students filed against Worldwide.
Robert Lichfield could not be reached for comment.
When Carolina Springs opened, some of its first students were American teens who had been staying at a boarding school in the Czech Republic called Morava Academy. Acting on a tip from an employee who said youths were being abused, Czech authorities raided the WASPS-affiliated facility in November 1998. A couple from Utah who were running the school were arrested on false imprisonment and cruelty charges.
The same couple had been jailed by Mexican officials in 1996 after a raid at a teen facility near Cancun, according to a series on boarding schools that Rocky Mountain News reporter Lou Kilzer wrote in 1999.
Kilzer's series also mentioned problems at Carolina Springs, including a student's complaint to state investigators about girls at the school being required to disrobe for "full body searches."
Students at Carolina Springs said the staff members frequently threatened to send misbehaving youths to an even harsher boarding school in Jamaica called Tranquility Bay. In 2001, 16-year-old Valerie Heron died when she fractured her skull in two places after leaping off a 35-foot balcony at Tranquility Bay, which was run by Ken Kay's son, Jay.
In a 2003 story in The New York Times, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Tim Weiner said students described a "life of pain and fear" at Tranquility Bay. His story said some youths at the school spent 13 hours a day lying on their stomachs in an isolation room.
Kilzer, Weiner and other journalists also focused attention on the largest WWASPS affiliate, Spring Creek Lodge Academy in Thompson Falls, Mont.
The Deseret Morning News reported in 2004 that a former Spring Creek staff member pleaded guilty to a felony charge of criminal endangerment. He had originally been charged with sexual assault and sexual intercourse without permission stemming from allegations involving two teen boys, the newspaper reported.
A few months later, Spring Creek student Karlye Newman committed suicide. She hanged herself in a dormitory bathroom less than a week before her 17th birthday.
Newman's mother sued WWASPS and the case went to trial in October. After listening to 2A weeks of testimony, jurors took less than two hours to decide that Worldwide was not negligent in the girl's death.
Years of negative publicity took a heavy toll on WWASPS and its member schools, Ken Kay said. But the recession proved even more lethal.
"The bad economy had a real profound effect," Kay said.
As credit markets tightened and home values fell, parents could no longer take out second mortgages to pay for sending their children to boarding schools, Szalavitz said.
"That is one silver lining of this horrible economy," she said.
Soon a number schools affiliated with Worldwide went out of business. Skyview Academy in Hawthorne, Nev., shut down in 2007 after the sexual hazing of a student. Royal Gorge Academy in Canon City, Col., closed its doors in 2008 following its former director's conviction on charges of third-degree assault and false imprisonment. Carolina Springs, Spring Creek Lodge Academy and Tranquility Bay all closed in 2009.
These days Kay serves as the superintendent of the Browning Distance Learning Academy, which bills itself as "an alternative school for a quality education."
Kay said his son Jay, the former director at Tranquility Bay, is dying of liver disease.
Meanwhile Narvin Lichfield is searching for investors so that he can reopen the former Carolina Springs Academy boarding school in 2011. Its new name will be Magnolia Christian School, he said.
Although he has severed financial ties with Robert Lichfield, Narvin Lichfield said his oldest brother has done admirable work saving troubled teens.
"We've helped 75,000 families," Narvin Lichfield said.
Coalition Against Institutionalized Child Abuse founder Isabelle Zehnder came to a different conclusion after devoting a decade to posting media articles and reports about WWASPS on her group's website.
"There have been a whole lot of children who went through their programs who came out a whole lot worse than when they went in," Zehnder said.
PHOTOS BY CHARMAINE SMITH-MILES/INDEPENDENT MAIL Willie Mae Lee, a volunteer with AnMed Health Auxiliary, is congratulated on receiving the hospital's Virginia Gilmer Extraordinary Woman in Healthcare Community Service Award. Lee was among 33 women honored Thursday at AnMed Health's 11th annual Extraordinary Women in Healthcare awards banquet.
SHARE From left to right, the three women, out of the 33 nominees, who received AnMed Health honors at a ceremony in Anderson: Kathy Deloplaine, Willie Mae Lee and Tara Ponder. Ruth Brinkley, president and chief executive officer of KentuckyOne Health, spoke to an audience of about 70 people who gathered for AnMed Health's 11th annual Extraordinary Women in Healthcare awards ceremony. About 70 people fill the AnMed Health Cancer Center atrium for the hospital system's 11th annual Extraordinary Women in Healthcare event.
By Charmaine Smith-Miles of the Independent Mail
Tears welled up in Tara Ponder's eyes when her name was called at the awards ceremony.
Kathy Deloplaine stood with her head bowed as a co-worker read to the crowd all the reasons why Deloplaine was honored.
And Willie Mae Lee's face filled with a large smile as she shook hands with congratulators after she received her award.
All three women were among the 33 nominated this year for AnMed Health's top honors for its nearly 3,200 female employees. The awards were presented at a ceremony Thursday in the atrium of the organization's cancer center in Anderson. Ponder received the Mildred Jones Extraordinary Women in Health Leadership award. Lee received the Virginia Gilmer Extraordinary Women in Healthcare Community Service award, and Deloplaine received the Gladys Grantland Extraordinary Woman in Clincial Excellence award.
The women are nominated by their co-workers. The three to receive the top awards are selected by a panel of previous women named as an Extraordinary Women in Healthcare at AnMed Health.
"It is just an honor to be nominated," Lee said, still beaming as she held her award.
To Bill Manson, AnMed Health chief executive officer, the awards given were well-deserved. He said Lee, the longest serving volunteer with the hospital's auxiliary, has clocked in nearly more than 15,600 hours as a volunteer at the hospital.
"It is only fitting that we honor Willie Mae Lee," Manson said. "Her service to this hospital and her community is remarkable. All the women honored tonight are remarkable."
Lee started volunteering at what is now AnMed Health in 1962. For years, she has made small items for patients, including pillows, stockings for newborns, gowns for stillborn babies, caps for cancer patients and teddy bears for the patients on the hospital's psychiatric ward.
In 2014, she and the others who volunteer in the hospital's sewing room made 661 pillows and 2,077 total items.
With her leadership, the AnMed Health Auxiliary scholarship committee has awarded $420,000 in scholarships to students studying health care, according to information released by the hospital.
"Congratulations Willie Mae," said Donna Millar-Potts, who announced the winner of the Virginia Gilmer Extraordinary Women in Healthcare Community Service award. "Yours is an incredible story of giving and sacrifice."
Ponder, AnMed Health wellness supervisor, was honored for her commitment to serving her patients on and off the clock.
She volunteers her time with the hospital's Teddy Bear Clinic, has raised money for the mobile diagnostic unit, has organized lunches for patients and stays after work to present family fitness events, said Deanne Williams, who presented Ponder's award.
"Her goal for everyone is wellness as a whole," Williams told the crowd. "She never says, 'I'm too busy,' and she possesses the uncanny ability to walk into a room, no matter how tired she may feel before she gets there, with her own burst of energy."
Deloplaine, who is the assistant vice president for cardiovascular services at AnMed Health, was honored for her efforts to help create a heart and vascular care program at the hospital that is recognized for its excellence. The hospital's cardiovascular program was honored as one of the nation's top 100 hospitals with great heart programs by Becker's Hospital Review, a company that reviews health care facilities in the United States.
"Because of Kathy Deloplaine's role, AnMed Health offers services that are typically available only at major academic medical facilities," said Tara Rencher, who presented Deloplaine's award.
Ruth Brinkley, the president and chief executive officer at KentuckyOne Health, was the guest speaker at the Thursday ceremony. She applauded the women honored at the event.
"It brought tears to my eyes to listen to your stories," Brinkley said. "I am moved by the talent you have in this community."
Follow Charmaine Smith-Miles on Twitter @Charmaine_AIM
Andy Grove (1936-2016)
It was during Andrew Groves tenure that Intel became gloriously synonymous with microprocessors, permanently etching the Pentiums Intel Inside campaign in the minds of scores of tech players and users across the globe. Ironically enough, this new identity erased the memory of companys memory products, once the companys mainstay. The tag of worlds largest chipmaker was not entirely devoid of strife recall Professor Thomas R. Nicelys discovery of the FPU error encountered during complex mathematical calculations which caused some loss of face for the company, more so for the delayed acknowledgment and belated recall of the faulty processors theres no denying the fact that Grove was one of the pioneers of the PC era and it was his practical wisdom and astonishing flexibility that scripted Intels industry leadership, balance sheet health and stock market triumph. Grove was also a passionate proponent of native manufacturing especially of electronic goods - which he felt was integral to engineer tech breakthroughs at home. Presidential candidates (other than Trump may be) would love to borrow that thought for their electoral campaigns, if not entirely for righteous reasons.
Engineer, technologist, entrepreneur, thought leader, author, activist and speaker all rolled into one, Grove was distinctly start-up in conviction, ever-vigilant of tech disruptions - imminent or distant - and a firm believer of nimble-footed innovation and fruitful dissent. His management style was rooted in discipline, what many of his detractors would have found old school. He was not the one to suffer fools and his work culture had no room for laxity. Way back in 1981, he made his employees put in two extra hours per day with no commensurate compensation. Undoubtedly, his brand of innovation inspired several aspirants of the time that are now established names in the Valley. He was one of those rare technologists who are equally adept at striking meaningful management conversations, precisely why he was able to transform ideas into products.
Much of his steely resolve and maverick attitude, one reckons, would have come from his childhood strife in Budapest where he was born as the Jewish Andras Grof at the time of Nazi occupation. After having suffered the worst of Russian atrocities during World War II, it would have taken exceptional courage to tiptoe into Austria under a fake identity before moving to the ultimate land of opportunities, the United States. It was here that he learnt everything including English and Chemical engineering, the latter from Berkeleys University of California.
It was at Fairchild Semiconductor that he met and worked with chip wizards Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore (of Moores law fame) in R & D. When the duo founded Intel, Grove became their first employee and took charge of manufacturing and research. The rest, as they say, turned out be history.
Groves philanthropy and public activism were equally striking. His generous donations to Parkinsons research and his heartfelt plea to the medical fraternity for a deeper probe into the terminal disorder bear testimony. His 1996 Fortune cover story stressing on the need for cross-disciplinary work in prostate cancer treatment is an invaluable actionable resource for doctors and patients alike. (http://fortune.com/1996/05/13/andy-grove-prostate-cancer-cover-story/)
Today, at a time when Intel grapples to keep pace with the ever-evolving challenges of a Smartphone world, Andy Groves brand of innovation would be sorely missed. Had his health not failed him during his autumn years, he would have had something up his sleeve to help his company get into the groove.
5 October 2016
The 13th Summit between the European Union and India took place in Brussels on 30 March 2016. Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, and Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, participated in the Summit.The 13Summit between the European Union and India took place in Brussels on 30 March 2016.Jean-ClaudePresident of the European Commission, Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, and Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, participated in the summit.The EU High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy / Vice-President of the Commission, Federicaand the Minister of Commerce and Industry of India, Nirmala Sitharaman, also attended.The leaders reconfirmed their commitment to give new momentum to the bilateral relationship endorsing theas a common roadmap to jointly guide and strengthen the India-EU Strategic Partnership in the next five years. The agenda further builds on the shared objectives and outcomes of the Joint Action Plans of 2005 and 2008. 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 leaders strongly condemned the terrorist attacks in Brussels on 22 March 2016 as an unacceptable affront to our open democratic societies and extended their deepest condolences to the families and friends of the victims. The EU and India confirmed their commitment to remain united and firm in the fight against hatred, violent extremism and terrorism by adopting aIt aims to step up the EU-India cooperation to counter extremism and radicalisation, stem the flow of foreign terrorist fighters and curb sources of terrorist financing and arms supply.Both sides decided to further strengthen the EU-India economic partnership. The EUs Agenda for Jobs, Growth, Fairness and Democratic Change and Indias Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas (Collective Efforts, Inclusive Growth) initiatives create new opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation between people and businesses on both sides. The leaders welcomed that both sides have re-engaged in discussions on how to further the EU-India Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA) negotiations. The EU is Indias largest trading partner, accounting for 13% of Indias overall trade (in 2015 the total value of EU-India trade in goods reached 77.5 billion) and also first foreign investor. The EU welcomed Indias readiness to establish a mechanism to facilitate investments of all EU Member States in India.The leaders welcomed the European Investment Banks (EIB) commitment to support long-term investment in infrastructure crucial for environmentally sustainable, social and economic development in India, and in particular the EIBs loan of 450 million in the construction of the first metro line in the city of Lucknow. The EIB and the Government of India signed a first tranche of 200 million. The leaders also welcomed the announcement by the EIB of the upcoming establishment in New Delhi of the Bank's regional representation for South Asia.The EU and India decided to step up their cooperation to fight climate change and adopted theIt is key to the implementation of the Paris Agreement and will trigger a renewed climate dialogue with India. It intends to reinforce energy cooperation, mainly on renewable energy sources, promote clean energy generation and increased energy efficiency.The EU and India agreed to address environmental challenges and work together towards sustainable development enhancing cooperation on environment issues. Theadopted at the Summit foresees strengthening technological, scientific and management capabilities in the field of water management and supports the Indian 'Clean Ganga' and 'Clean India' flagship projects.Establishment of the Clean Energy and Climate Partnership as well as the Indo-European Water Partnership will bring together representatives of relevant stakeholders, including interested EU Member States and Indian States, European and Indian institutions, businesses and civil society creating business and technology opportunities between the EU and India.The EU and India have also agreed to intensify their cooperation on research and innovation particularly addressing current global challenges including Health. The statement highlights the extension of the India-EU Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement until 2020 and setting up of mechanisms for jointly financing research and innovation projects. The leaders also encouraged increasing links between the Digital India initiative and the EUs Digital Single Market through enhanced cooperation in cyber security, ICT standardisation, Internet Governance, research and innovation.The leaders also endorsed the establishment of the(CAMM) between the EU and India, reflecting the importance of India as a strategic partner for the EU in the field of migration and mobility. The CAMM, as a framework for cooperation, is the start of a longer term process which will lead to deeper cooperation and solid mutual engagement on migration, a key global policy area. The CAMM addresses four pillars in a balanced manner: better organised regular migration and the fostering of well-managed mobility; prevention of irregular migration and trafficking in human beings; maximising the development impact of migration and mobility; and the promotion of international protection.Both sides expressed their commitment to step up foreign policy and security cooperation. They discussed the latest developments in the EU's and India's respective neighbourhoods.In particular, the EU and India support the on-going efforts towards an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned process of peace and reconciliation, leading to an environment free of violence and terror. In this context they looked forward to the Brussels Ministerial Conference on Afghanistan onwith a view to renew a framework for international partnership and cooperation until 2020. They expressed their support to enhanced and broad-based regional cooperation in South Asia.The leaders expressed deep concern about the situation in the Middle East hoping that intra-Syrian talks, under the UN auspices, will ensure a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political transition, bringing an end to the violence in Syria.The leaders strongly supported a diplomatic solution to the conflict in eastern Ukraine through the full implementation of the Minsk Agreements by all parties in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2202 (2015).The Summit was an opportunity for the leaders also to discuss human rights issues, the ongoing international arbitration under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in regard to the case of two Italian marines, as well as the case of fourteen Estonian and six UK Guards sentenced to prison by an Indian court.The Leaders reaffirmed the G20s key role in achieving strong, sustainable and balanced growth to the benefit of citizens and recognised the importance of implementing the comprehensive agenda adopted at the G-20 Summit of November 2015.The leaders also agreed to start a dialogue on swift implementation of the 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development and of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda.
Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers Ananth Kumar today informed that there has been highest ever production of urea in the country since independence. Talking to the media in New Delhi, he said the production of 245 lakh MT in the year 2015-16 is about 20 lakh MT more than the last years production.
The additional production of 20 lakh MT of Urea in the country has not only helped in saving foreign exchange but also in imports substitution. Ananth Kumar attributed the new Urea policy implemented since last year to the visionary leadership and reform oriented action plan of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Dedicating the highest production of urea in the country to the countrys anndata -the farmers, he complimented the team work and diligence of the employees and workers of the fertilizer industry for the achievement. The increased production is equivalent to production capacity of almost 2 new urea plants without any additional investment. Thetoday informed that there has been highest ever production of urea in the country since independence. Talking to the media in New Delhi, he said the production of 245 lakh MT in the year 2015-16 is about 20 lakh MT more than the last years production.The additional production of 20 lakh MT of Urea in the country has not only helped in saving foreign exchange but also in imports substitution. Ananth Kumar attributed the new Urea policy implemented since last year to the visionary leadership and reform oriented action plan of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Dedicating the highest production of urea in the country to the countrys anndata -the farmers, he complimented the team work and diligence of the employees and workers of the fertilizer industry for the achievement. The increased production is equivalent to production capacity of almost 2 new urea plants without any additional investment.
The Minister also mentioned the following important milestones of the department:
Neem Coating of urea It has been made mandatory for all the indigenous producers of urea to produce 100% of their total production of subsidized urea as neem coated urea. The imported urea is also being coated and thus 100% neem coated urea is being supplied for agricultural use. Since neem coated urea can not be used for industrial purposes, illegal diversion of subsidized urea to non-agricultural use could be curbed. Neem coated urea also has the benefit of slow release of nitrogen and hence its consumption is less compared to un-coated urea.
Adequate availability of fertilizers The record indigenous production of urea as well as timely import of the fertilizer has ensured adequate and timely availability of fertilizers in all parts of the country.
City Compost Government of India has approved the policy of promotion of city compost. Under it, market development assistance in the form of fixed amount of Rs. 1500/- per tonne of city compost will be provided for scaling up production and consumption of the product. Government Departments and PSUs have been asked to use city compost to the extent possible for their horticulture and related use.
Promoting SSP production The Government has removed the minimum capacity utilization criteria for Single Super Phosphate (SSP) units to be eligible for the subsidy under the Nutrient Based Subsidy scheme. SSP is one of the cheapest chemical fertilizer available and it is one of the more suited for crops like oil seeds, pulses, horticulture, vegetables, sugarcane, etc. The policy will help to revive small SSP units and encourage new units to come up in the country to further boost indigenous production of SSP.
Speaking on the occasion, the Agriculture and farmers welfare minister Shri Radha Mohan Singh said that there are now no complaints of fertilizer shortages in the country. Emphasising on the balanced use of fertilizers, he mentioned about the initiatives taken by the government in launching soil health card and mobile soil labs. The Minister of state for Chemicals and fertilizers Shri Hansraj Gangaram Ahir talked about reducing the consumption of chemical fertilizers. He said that the Government has taken steps for revival of 5 plants. He emphasised on reducing the transportation costs and time in distribution of fertilizers.
Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) or jet fuel price was today increased by Rs.3,3371.55/kl.IOC hiked jet fuel price by 8.7% in Delhi from today.Details to follow soon.Indian Oil Corporation Ltd ended at Rs. 393.45, down by Rs. 6.55 or 1.64% from its previous closing of Rs. 400 on the BSE.The scrip opened at Rs. 400 and touched a high and low of Rs. 408.45 and Rs. 391.7 respectively. A total of 2954435(NSE+BSE) shares were traded on the counter. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 95527.69 crore.The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 10 touched a 52 week high of Rs. 465.4 on 24-Jul-2015 and a 52 week low of Rs. 324.05 on 13-May-2015. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 408.45 and Rs. 390.85 respectively.The promoters holding in the company stood at 58.57 % while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 16.88 % and 24.55 % respectively.The stock traded above its 200 DMA.
About one third of RTI applications filed with public sector banks were rejected last year. During 2014-15, close to 79,148 forms were filed; around 30.5 percent were turned down. A total of 24 banks handled these 79,148 RTI applications, which account for 56.4% of the total volume of RTI applications received by the ministry of finance, according to reports.
Notably, finance ministry received the highest number of RTIs (1.4 lakh) among all public authorities. According to reports, it has been discovered that the largest public sector bank, SBI received the most number of RTIs--24,783-- more than 31.3% of the total number. Followed by Bank of India with 9,080 RTI applications and Punjab National Bank with 7,779 RTIs in 2014-15.
To reject the maximum number of RTI applications, was Andhra Bank which is said to have rejected every second RTI application during 2014-15. The bank has rejected 55.1%, more than half of the RTI applications dealt with during this period.
Right to Information Act 2005 mandates timely response to citizen requests for government information. It is an initiative taken by Department of Personnel and Training, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions to provide a RTI Portal Gateway to the citizens for quick search of information on the details of first Appellate Authorities,PIOs etc. amongst others, besides access to RTI related information/disclosures published on the web by various Public Authorities under the government of India as well as the State Governments.
Dilip Piramal, the chairman of VIP Industries, revealed the impact of pensioners and OROP on the company's growth during a session with ET Now.
Mr. Piramal stated that the pensioners and OROP have a tiny impact on the whole economy based on an overall analysis. VIP Industries exists in all sectors of the market, and it is present in all categories. The OROP and pensioners make up less than 1% of the company's entire market and therefore not much attention should be diverted there. However, all the government services would receive a commission if there was more money. It would also be difficult to determine the percentage that would push growth.
The Commission bonanza is also expected to cause an incremental boost though it is also hard to put into figures because VIP Industries is a PAN India firm present in every segment. The chairman acknowledged that the firm is doing well due to better demand due as raw material prices smoothen out. The company expects its growth to reach 20% when the GDP reaches 9%. However, VIP Industries growth will be influenced by two factors namely its competitive market share as well as the GDP growth.
Mr. Piramal pointed out that the company's competitive market share is very stable, and it will be improved by 0.5% to 1%. He also acknowledged that costs pressures are currently very minimal, and the firm is in a good position. He also talked about the new Carlton brand where he revealed that it has been present in the market for more than five years. Piramal revealed that the brand is among the UKs top three brands. The company has also taken a new approach with the Carlton brand where it is endorsing it as the new face of the business.
The chairman also revealed that the firm has also increased distribution of Carlton including airport advertising as well as the introduction of exclusive outlets to be launched this year. The growth rate for the company is expected at 15% in 2016, and it is expected to improve in FY17.
Tata Steel Ltd ended at Rs. 317.7, down by Rs. 1.8 or 0.56% from its previous closing of Rs. 319.5 on the BSE.
The scrip opened at Rs. 318 and touched a high and low of Rs. 319.95 and Rs. 312.95 respectively. A total of 6820745(NSE+BSE) shares were traded on the counter. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 31030.33 crore.
The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 10 touched a 52 week high of Rs. 384.2 on 06-May-2015 and a 52 week low of Rs. 200 on 29-Sep-2015. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 325.85 and Rs. 297.75 respectively.
The promoters holding in the company stood at 31.35 % while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 38.79 % and 29.86 % respectively.
The stock traded above its 50 DMA.
Maruti Suzuki India Ltd ended at Rs. 3723.25, up by Rs. 4.15 or 0.11% from its previous closing of Rs. 3719.1 on the BSE.
The scrip opened at Rs. 3725 and touched a high and low of Rs. 3770 and Rs. 3684 respectively. A total of 853764(NSE+BSE) shares were traded on the counter. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 112346.57 crore.
The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 5 touched a 52 week high of Rs. 4789 on 23-Nov-2015 and a 52 week low of Rs. 3202.1 on 29-Feb-2016. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 3774 and Rs. 3630 respectively.
The promoters holding in the company stood at 56.21 % while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 37.62 % and 6.17 % respectively.
The stock traded above its 200 DMA.
Union Minister of Finance Arun Jaitley arrived today morning in Melbourne with the high powered finance and business delegation. He had a busy day in the city which started with a one-on-one meeting with Honble Peter Costello AC, former Treasurer and Chairman of Future Fund Australia followed by a Roundtable meeting Invest in India, which was co-chaired by Jaitley and Kelly O Dwyer, Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Small Businesses from the Australian side.
The meeting was attended by the Sovereign Fund and top Super Funds of Australia such as Australia Post Super Scheme, Construction & Building Industry Super, Emergency Services & State Super, Energy Industries Superannuation Scheme etc. The Indian business delegation was headed by Harshavardhan Neotia, President of FICCI. Over 25 Funds and Australian investment agencies participated in the Roundtable. arrived today morning in Melbourne with the high powered finance and business delegation. He had a busy day in the city which started with a one-on-one meeting with Honble Peter Costello AC, former Treasurer and Chairman of Future Fund Australia followed by a Roundtable meeting Invest in India, which was co-chaired by Jaitley and Kelly O Dwyer, Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Small Businesses from the Australian side.The meeting was attended by the Sovereign Fund and top Super Funds of Australia such as Australia Post Super Scheme, Construction & Building Industry Super, Emergency Services & State Super, Energy Industries Superannuation Scheme etc. The Indian business delegation was headed by Harshavardhan Neotia, President of FICCI. Over 25 Funds and Australian investment agencies participated in the Roundtable.
In his keynote address Jaitley covered the broad investments spectrum of India and also focused on how and why India is definitely an attractive destination to put in money. He gave specific sector-wise details of investment friendly reforms of the Government of India. The participation was engaging and interesting followed by working lunch.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was also signed between FICCI and Australia-India Business Council.
The second session of Roundtable was in-depth project presentations by IL & FS, NHAI, Adani and Great Pacific Capital.
The Finance Minster, Jaitley had one-on-one meeting with Honble Josh Frydenberg MP, Minister for Resources, Energy and Northern Australia at the Treasury in the afternoon. They had useful bilateral discussion. Then Minister Jaitley visited the University of Melbourne where he participated in a Townhall style panel discussion with Prof. Craig Jeffrey, Director Australia-India Institute, on Indian economy, inclusive growth and democratic framework of India. This event was attended by more than 500 people including senior most members of academia, former Premier of Victoria, members of main stream media, businessmen and members of Indian community.On replying to general queries he said that there is no chance of reservation being discontinued in near future.He further said that Government is committed to encourage entrepreneurship and accordingly Mudra programme was launched last year to provide credit at reasonable rate to micro, small &medium entrepreneurs.
In the evening, the Finance Minister and his delegation was hosted by Tim Pallas, Victorian Treasurer and Minister Phil Dalidakis, Minister of Trade, Small Businesses and Renovation in the Government of Victoria.
The addicts on Thursday thronged doda post (poppy husk) shops on NH-15 in Barmer to possibly get the last supply as the excise department is set to impose a ban on it from today. The haste among the addicts was such that trails of vehicles on either side of the road disrupted flow of the traffic.
In order to maintain law and order situation, the police rushed to the spot and resumed smooth flow of traffic at the highway. Situation across the district remained tensed though, sources informed.
Indiatimes
One of the addicts tried to commit suicide after he could not get his poppy dose. He fell unconscious after consuming pesticide, said Budharam Vishnoi, SHO, Baytu.
Officials of excise department said that all the doda post shop owners will have to stop the sell from April 1 as it is court's order. It may be noted here that doda post is primarily cultivated in south Rajasthan while mostly consumed in western and northern Rajasthan. There are as many 2,441 registered doda post addicts in Barmer district, whereas over 12,000 people are estimated to be consuming it without registration.
Indiatimes
As per the excise police for 2016-17, the government has refused to renew the licenses of doda post shops following the Rajasthan High Court order. Therefore, the ban apparently means shunning of 'thekas' across the state from April 1.
The true picture has only now emerged. After nearly 70 years, documents including the sealed testimonies of survivors from Germany's concentration camps speak of horror stories that people had to endure.
Reuters
According to a report in Vice, accounts of nearly 4,206 people who applied for an Anglo German Nazi Persecution Compensation scheme, have been released. Among the ones imprisoned at a camp in Bergen-Belsen was Harold Le Druillenec. He told Vice of the 10 months he spent at the camp as - "All my time here was spent in heaving dead bodies into the mass graves kindly dug for us by 'outside workers' for we no longer had the strength for that type of work". He continues "Jungle law reigned among the prisoners; at night you killed or were killed; by day cannibalism was rampant".
Reuters
He describes the different means employed to put inmates to death included crucifixion, hanging, beating and even drowning. Druillenec was awarded 1,835 pounds (30,000 pounds today).
Another applicant to the compensation scheme, who lost a finger, was awarded 340 pounds (6,000 pounds in today's money).
A lot of people also refused to accept the compensation.
More than 100 girls and women have come forward with new sexual abuse accusations against international peacekeepers in Central African Republic, the UN said on Thursday, calling allegations that a French military commander forced three girls to have sex with a dog "shocking to the core".
The revelations dramatically expand an already alarming scandal involving troops sent to protect civilians in the world's hotspots who become predators instead.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said 108 alleged victims of sexual abuse have been interviewed by a UN team in Kemo prefecture, east of the capital Bangui, the vast majority of them minors. The allegations date from 2013 through last year and far eclipse the 22 allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation in Central African Republic in 2015 that the UN reported earlier this month.
reuters
Dujarric said the UN can't confirm a report by the US-based advocacy group, AIDS-Free World, that three girls told the UN they were taken to a French military camp, tied up, undressed, and forced by a commander to have sex with a dog but he said the investigation is continuing.
According to the group, each girl was given 5,000 Central African Francs, worth about $9, after having sex with the dog, including a fourth girl who later died of an unknown illness.
France's UN ambassador, Francois Delattre, called the allegations "sickening and odious" and promised "exemplary disciplinary action" in addition to a criminal response if they're proven true.
AIDS-Free World, which first reported the new allegations Wednesday night, said 98 girls in Central African Republic had reported being sexually abused between 2013 and 2015 by perpetrators who have left the country. The group also said information on the alleged rape of a 16-year-old girl by a Congolese peacekeeper only three days ago in a hotel room in a different part of the country has been turned over to the United Nations.
Paula Donovan, co-director of AIDS-Free World and its Code Blue Campaign against sexual abuse, told Associated Press on Thursday when asked about the new allegations: "Obviously that's just the top of the iceberg."
The United Nations has been in the spotlight for months over dozens of allegations of child rape and other sexual abuses by its peacekeepers, especially those based in Central African Republic, which has faced sectarian violence since 2013. There have been similar allegations against the French force known as Sangaris, which operates independently in the country, known as CAR.
reuters
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was "shocked to the core by the latest allegations,"
"Yesterday, the Central African Republic inaugurated a new democratically elected president, marking the end of a transition period," he said. "The interventions of the international community helped save the CAR from an unspeakable fate. Yet we must face the fact that a number of troops who were sent to protect people instead acted with hearts of darkness."
The UN human rights chief, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, in a statement called the allegations "sickening" and said all three countries whose peacekeepers are accused Burundi, Gabon and France have been formally notified. He said governments must do more to stop abuse and hold their troops accountable, "otherwise this awful cycle of abuse will never end."
The secretary-general said the UN "is shining a spotlight on these despicable, depraved and deeply disturbing allegations" and stressed that its actions must be matched by those of member states, "who alone have the power to discipline their forces with consequences."
"This is essential to restoring trust in the invaluable institution of peacekeeping and even more importantly to provide a full measure of justice and healing to the affected communities," Ban said.
The United Nations has more than 100,000 peacekeepers deployed in 16 missions around the world.
The UN security council, which authorizes all UN peacekeeping operations, was briefed on the latest allegations and said in a statement that it is "disgusted" and wants an urgent investigation and those responsible to be held accountable.
reuters
Dujarric said last week that a UN team was sent to gather information about allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation by UN and non-UN forces as well as civilians in Kemo prefecture. He added on Wednesday that the allegations also include abuses by local armed groups.
Dujarric said that for the first time the United Nations would be jointly investigating the allegations with Burundi and Gabon.
The UN recently reported that 25 allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation were registered with the UN mission in Central African Republic in January and February, most from previous years. That compares with a total of six allegations in the 15 other UN peacekeeping missions in the first two months of this year, the UN peacekeeping department said.
US ambassador Samantha Power, who was in CAR for the president's inauguration, visited the town of Bambari Thursday to talk to the families of victims. Congolese soldiers based there had been accused of sexual abuse and exploitation and last month the Congolese battalion was sent home.
Power said she was "sickened" by the latest allegations and it was "gut-wrenching" to listen to family members talk about the victims' "pain and suffering and the acute sense of betrayal."
reuters
AIDS-Free World called the information it received "shocking." Two weeks ago, it said, the UN children's agency Unicef interviewed 98 girls who reported being sexually abused.
The group said a delegation from the UN peacekeeping mission on Saturday met local leaders and victims who alleged that troops from France and Gabon had sexually abused girls. Some victims left the area because they were stigmatized by the community, it said.
In the latest incident, AIDS-Free World said the mother of a 16-year-old girl informed local police that a Congolese UN peacekeeper raped her daughter in a hotel room on Monday afternoon. The police questioned the soldier in the presence of his commander and the group said he confirmed that he "had sexual intercourse" with the victim several times and paid her between 2,000 and 5,000 Central African Francs.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, yesterday denied reports of a rift between the Executive and Legislative arms of government over the passage of the 2016 budget.
He made this known yesterday during his visit to the Leadership Newspapers in Abuja.
The 2016 Appropriation Bill was passed by the National Assembly over a week ago but President Muhammadu Buhari is yet to sign it into law as the document was sent back to him without the details.
On the passage of the budget, I want to clear the misconception. There is absolutely no rift between the executive arm of government and legislative arm of government.
It is not true that the President has refused to assent to the budget. The fact remains that it (budget) is not even before him.
The practice really is that when the budget is approved like that, there is what we call headline figure that is approved, then it will take a few days for the National Assembly to throw up the details, Mr. Mohammed said.
According to him, it was the original copy of the budget that would be transmitted to President Buhari after the correction.
He said the signing of the budget by the president would reflate the economy and uplift millions of Nigerians from abject poverty.
He said the budget will focus on infrastructure development, which will in turn create jobs for unemployed Nigerians and wealth for workers in the construction industry.
It is a budget of social inclusion. It is a budget that everybody is included, Mohammed said.
There is N500 billion provision for social intervention programmes targeted at employing 500,000 graduates, who are to be trained as teachers and deployed in primary schools.
This is in addition to programmes aimed at empowering 370,000 non-graduates as artisans and technicians.
Mohammed said: It targets at training one million people such as farmers, market women, traders and entrepreneurs, as well as giving them loan to start off.
It aims at giving one meal to 4.5 million pupils from class 1 to 3 per day. It is also aimed at giving N5,000 to vulnerable Nigerians such as widows, aged people and disabled people in the rural areas.
He further stated that the social intervention programmes are aimed at providing bursary and scholarship for students studying science, technology and engineering.
Angry soldiers yesterday reportedly prevented the Acting General Officer Commanding (GOC) 7 Division, Maiduguri, Brigadier-General Victor Eziegwu, from leaving a remote village in Borno State after he went there in a helicopter to address them.
The soldiers are drawn from 154 and 155 Task Force Battalions, Daily Trust reports.
The battalions, who were used to dislodge Boko Haram terrorists from Alagarno, their (insurgents) spiritual base, were allegedly left there without food and water.
A source close to the angry troops said, Though Alagarno has been taken over by soldiers after a fierce battle with the insurgents, the terrorists planted mines around the town and as I am talking to you now, they have blocked all routes to the village. We have no food and water and the only means to enter Alagarno is by air. No vehicle can go in and out now because of the mines and insurgents surrounding the town.
Instead of them to use helicopters to supply us water and food as they did when mines were planted along Bama to Banki road and our soldiers were cut off in Banki, the GOC used a helicopter to come and address us over irrelevant issues and warning us unnecessarily rather than address issues bordering on our welfare.
When he finished addressing us and was about leaving, soldiers blocked the helicopter and forced the pilot to come out of it. So many things happened in between before he was able to leave much later. I do not know if serious damage was done on the helicopter, the source added.
When the newspaper sought the reaction of the Deputy Director, Army Public Relation of 7 Division, Maiduguri, Col Mustapha Anka, he said he did not have details but confirmed hearing rumours of an incident of such nature.
He, however, pleaded for media understanding as the war against insurgency has entered a critical phase.
It is rumour I have been hearing. Anka said. We are passing through so many huddles that you did not know because you are not part of us. We really need media cooperation to boost the morale of our troops. That is very essential at this time.
This is a critical moment, he stressed in a text message.
President Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated his Nigerien counterpart, Mahamadou Issoufou on his recent re-election.
A statement issued Thursday by Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, said President Buhari extended his best wishes to President Issoufou and the people of Niger Republic after the peaceful elections.
It bodes well for the progress of the country, the president said.
Mr. Buhari also acknowledged an invitation to attend Issoufous swearing-in for a new term in office, but regretted that he would be unable to attend due to his ongoing participation in the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington DC.
He, however, wished President Issoufou a successful new term in office and expressed the hope that peace and progress would continue to prevail in Nigeria and Niger Republic.
Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State on Friday called on well-meaning Nigerians to prevail on President Muhammadu Buhari to stop what he termed needless foreign trips, describing the presidents recent trip to Washington DC as joke of the year.
Mr. Buhari is in the United States of America for the 4th Nuclear Security Summit and is expected back in the country on Sunday.
Mr. Fayose said it was insensitive of the president to embark on a foreign trip while Nigerians are suffering at home.
it remains a mystery what President Buhari that met power generation at 6,000MW and could not manage it such that power generation crumbled to Zero Megawatt yesterday, will contribute to the Nuclear Energy Summit in America, Fayose said in a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka.
According to the governor, it is shameful that while President Buhari was far away in the United States of America, attending a summit that does not have any bearing on Nigeria and its people, an unprecedented happened power generation stopped completely for over three hours!
He said the sufferings of Nigerians deserved the attention of the president instead of junketing around the world, wasting the countrys scarce foreign exchange.
Fayose alleged that over $50 million must have been spent on the presidents frequent foreign trips, adding that Nigerians should ask President Buhari whether his latest foreign trip will bring the lingering fuel scarcity being experienced in the country to an end.
Nigerians are suffering. Petrol has become so scarce that our people now sleep in petrol stations to buy fuel at N200 per litre while the president who should alleviate their sufferings is in the USA, attending a summit that he wont even understand whatever that is discussed there.
This is not acceptable. Mr President should stay at home and see to it that at least, power generation returns to 6,000MW that he met it if he cannot add to it.
Mr President should stay at home and bring this fuel scarcity that has paralysed almost all activities in the country to an end. Nigerians are saying their president should stay at home and bring to an end the killings, raping of women and destruction of farmlands by Fulani herdsmen.
Most importantly, the President should listen more to those of us who criticise him instead of those hailing every of his wrong steps either because of what they intend to gain or for fear of persecution, the governor said.
Eight Iraqi soldiers were killed on Thursday after an ISIL suicide car bomber detonated near an army convoy advancing towards the town of Heet during an operation to oust the armed group, military sources told Al Jazeera. Iraqi special forces backed by army troops and US-led coalition air strikes moved on the town in western Anbar province that has been for months under the control of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (also known as ISIS).
Retaking Heet strategically located on the Euphrates River near the Ain al-Asad air base, where several hundred US forces are training Iraqi troops would push ISIL further west towards the Syrian border, cutting a connection to the northern town of Samarra while leaving Fallujah as the groups only stronghold near the capital, Baghdad.
Iraqi forces recaptured areas south and west of Heet on Thursday. A senior officer from the special forces the elite US-trained units that led the recapture of the key nearby city of Ramadi three months ago told Reuters news agency his troops were 1km from the town centre, about 130km west of Baghdad. Another officer, on a front line less than 3km from Heet, said the operation had begun early on Thursday and was progressing swiftly. There are some IEDs [improvised explosive devices] along the movement, but its still good to go and we are moving, he said by phone.
Both officers spoke on condition of anonymity as is military policy. In a separate attack, military sources told Al Jazeera at least seven Iraqi soldiers were killed and 14 others wounded in an ISIL assault on military units protecting the al-Habaniyah air base, northeast of Ramadi.
Did you know that honey is the only food source that contains everything you need to live? Well YES! More and more research have proved that honey is the only food that includes all the substances necessary to sustain life, including enzymes, vitamins, minerals, and water; and its the only food that contains pinocembrin, anantioxidant associated with improved brain functioning. Want to know what else honey can do, INFORMATION NIGERIA has put them together in this very interesting piece
Honey contains enzymes that help your body digest food, which in turn, helps keep our immune systems working properly. It is also good for many other bodily functions, like bowel movements, weight loss, and bone health. Honey is also a healthy alternative to giving yourself that energy boost when you need it.
Many years ago, honey was regularly prescribed for health treatments. Today, honey is used for diaper rashes, stomach ulcers and burns. Honey has antibiotic properties that cure many wounds with infection and for a longtime has been known to help relieve sore throats when mixed with lemon juice.
Honey kept in air tight containers never goes bad as it can be kept forever. For example, in fact, honey was found in King Tuts tomb that was still good to eat.
Depending on what flowers a bee gathers, pollen will decide the flavour the honey will have. Honey made from pollen gathered from clover will taste different from honey made with the pollen of wild flowers. It will also affect its colour.
A jar of organic honey, can cure pimples. Forget all those high priced acne cleansers and creams at the store. Nothing compares to the natural, curing honey treatment.
Did you know that honey is very good for the skin? Rubbing honey on dry skin or into the wrinkles, leave on for 30 minutes and gently wash away with warm water.
Equal measurements of honey, vinegar and water mixed together and drank will kill unwanted parasites that may have invaded your body. Parasites are very harmful to your health and body, so if you have even the slightest though you might have parasites, you might try treating yourself with this mixture for a couple days.
If you suffer from anxiety, nervousness, or the inability to get a good nights sleep, try honey as honey has a soothing ability.
The honey bees wings stroke incredibly fast, about 200 beats per second, thus making their famous, distinctive buzz. A honey bee can fly for up to six miles, and as fast as 15 miles per hour.
The average worker bee produces about 1/12th teaspoon of honey in her lifetime. Learn about the health benefits of blackberry honey here
A colony of bees consists of 20,000-60,000 honeybees and one queen. Worker honey bees are female, live for about 6 weeks and do all the work.
The queen bee can live up to 5 years and its role is to fill the hive with eggs. She is the busiest in the summer months, when the hive needs to be at its maximum strength, she lays up to 2500 eggs per day. The queen bee has control over whether she lays male or female eggs. If she uses stored sperm to fertilize the egg, the larva that hatches is female. If the egg is left unfertilized, the larva that hatches is male. In other words, female bees inherit genes from their mothers and their fathers while male bees inherit only genes from their mothers.
Larger than the worker bees, the male honey bees (also called drones), have no stinger and do no work at all. All they do is mating. In fact, before winter or when food becomes scarce, female honeybees usually force surviving males out of the nest.
Honey was so in demand in the eleventh century that it was a stipulation for German peasants to offer their feudal lords payment in honey and beeswax.
Honey is a Hebrew word meaning enchant. Initially it was a culinary sweetener, and now is recognized worldwide as a healing ingredient in medicinal treatment.
The All Progressives Congress governorship candidate in the 2012 election in Ondo State, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN), has accused the state governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, of making life unbearable for the people of the state.
Akeredolu said Mimiko had misapplied his intelligence to the detriment of the people, adding the governors seven years in office had been a curse, rather than a blessing.
The APC chieftain accused Mimiko of divisive tendencies, raising the alarm over a plot by the governor to pitch political parties against themselves.
According to the former Nigerian Bar Association president, the governor lacks the political wisdom and native intelligence to harness the abundant resources of the state for the economic well-being of the people.
The senior lawyer, who is eyeing the APC ticket for the November 26, 2016 governorship election in the Sunshine State expressed these views in a chat with journalists in Lagos on Thursday.
He said, Mimiko is intelligent, but he misapplied his intelligence to the detriment of the people of Ondo State.
We have an army of graduates who are not working. Let the governor point to what he has done to create jobs for 1,000 people in the last seven years. He claimed he was doing something about agriculture, but it is unfortunate that the place he set up to train youths in agricultural practice has been abandoned; the place is a bush now.
Of course, agriculture is one of the ways to create jobs for the youths, but Mimikos misapplication of resources has left the place unproductive.
The ex-NBA president also gave the governor knocks for allegedly abandoning the State-owned University of Science and Technology in Okitipupa, for selfish reasons.
Akeredolu said, Why for seven years would a governor leave a university unfunded and now rush there at the twilight of his administration? Because Mimiko wants a university in Ondo town, he now abandoned an existing university. You dont have to cripple an existing infrastructure because you want to establish another one; that decision does not make sense.
However, in a swift response, Gov. Mimiko denied the allegations by Mr. Akeredolu, asking him to back up his claims with facts.
The governor, who spoke through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Eni Akinsola, accused the APC chieftain of making unsubstantiated claims to boost his profile ahead of the governorship elections in the state.
He also listed some of the achievements of the Mimiko administration, in spite of the lean resources available to the state.
Akinsola said, I am not surprised that Akeredolu said such things; we are not interested in taking issues with him.
We are only interested in running Ondo State with the meager resources we have.
In this era of serious economy crisis, the governor just inaugurated today a 27-kilometre road in Ajagba in the Irele Local Government Area. In the next two weeks, the governor will also inaugurate a reconstructed school and a mega school in that area.
Again, he will inaugurate a township road in Ore. And Akeredolu is from Owo and he cannot deny that there is a dual carriage road constructed by Mimikos government in his town.
Speaking yesterday at the Special Congress and Public Lecture of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, Olabisi Onabanjo University, OOU chapter, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, Femi Falana revealed reasons why he feels President Muhammadu Buharis war against corruption may eventually come to nought except certain drastic steps are taken. Have you ever wondered why all the corrupt cases that involve big personalities never really end in conviction, Well, the Human right activist and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, did cast some light and INFORMATION NIGERIA shares his thoughts in his piece
What impedes corruption fight?
According to Falana, the neo-colonial capitalist system of government practised in the country as well as the less effective administration of criminal justice in Nigeria has always impeded on Buharis anti-corruption crusade.
He stated further that the Bar and Bench have always aided corruption in the country through filing and granting perpetual frivolous injunctions in cases of corruption, thereby scuttling the anticorruption war.
He noted that the neo-colonialist nature of capitalism being practised in the country had produced a set of wealthy Nigerians who are bigger than the nations laws.
Falana explained that the criminal justice system has been hijacked by the corrupt and looters of the public treasury and their lawyers. It is only in Nigeria that an accused will ask that his trial be suspended.
What to do?
He advised that judges who grant and lawyers who file such injunctions should be investigated, particularly as they often insist on pursuing such cases to the Supreme Court, just to waste time and frustrate witnesses.
Also, federal government should publish names of lawyers handling cases of corruption involving big men in the country in order for the people to ask questions.
Well said by the legal luminary???
Winning the war against Boko Haram and clearing the northeast of remnants of insurgents is top on the priority of the Nigerian Army, former Governor of Osun State, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, said on Thursday.
He says the Army has been able to recover almost all the villages captured by the insurgents.
Mr. Oyinlola, a retired Brigadier General, also called for understanding between farmers and the herdsmen, which he said will bring an end to incessant clashes between the two parties.
According to him, There was a time when they (terrorists) were in charge of a sizeable amount of lands where they declared their own caliphate. Today you cannot say that any of such is happening.
To that extent whereby they can no longer hoist their flag to say this is our caliphate, I believe they have been reduced to stragglers now and I want to believe that the military will be up in arms to deal with the stragglers.
They wouldnt want to give up so easily because the activities are based on the level of indoctrination that they give to their members and while the military is carrying out its own aspect of the operation, the government should try to get educate and disabuse the minds of those who are already indoctrinated.
Criticisms have trailed the outburst of Governor Ayodele Fayose on the abducted Chibok schoolgirls
President Muhammadu Buhari said, yesterday, in the United States that he would not sign the 2016 Appropriation Bill, passed into law by the National Assembly, last week, unless he critically reviewed it.
Ahead of the September 10 governorship election in Edo, an aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Blessing Agbomhere, has vowed to probe Governor Adams Oshiomhole and other past rulers of the state, if elected governor.
Thisday
In its bid to reduce fuel importation in the foreseeable future, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has said that nine companies have submitted bids for the co-location of new refineries within the complexes of its three existing refineries in Kaduna, Warri and Port Harcourt.
Daily Times
The World Bank has allocated $800 million to support rebuilding of infrastructure destroyed in the North East by the Boko Haram insurgency.
Daily Trust
A former coordinator, Niger State Liaison Office, Abuja, Alhaji Abubakar Abdullahi Aliyu, says Nigeria is isolated and stigmatised for the better part of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) administrations by countries which do not want to do business with the country.
The Nation
Nigeria has recorded the birth of its first baby conceived through the oocyte (egg) freezing protocol.The feat was recorded by The Bridge Clinic, Lagos, on February 16, with the delivery of a male child, named Tiwatope.
Tribune
A Danish woman and care giver, who is resident in Africa, Anja Ringgren Loven, has narrated her experience on how she rescued a two-year-old Nigerian boy, who was thrown away by his parents to die, after suspecting hi to be a witch
The Authority
The organized labour in Kaduna State on Thursday said they would continue to demand the rights of workers in the state even in the face of blackmail and intimidation by the state government.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) have over the past two weeks been engaged in a battle with the state government over the ongoing verification of workers.
While government gave workers in the state the option of indicating whether they want to belong to unions or not, the State NLC and TUC objected, protesting and lobbying workers to ignore the options being offered them by government.
The organized labour threatened to embark on a mother of all protests if the Nasir El-Rufai-led government goes ahead with the plan to make membership of unions optional for workers, a threat that was dismissed by the governor, who vowed to see the verification exercise to a successful completion.
A spokesperson for the Governor, Samuel Aruwan, said public servants first became employees before they became union members.
Cooperation with the employer to verify the status of every worker is expected. It cannot be made a reason for industrial action.
Refusal to participate in verification will result in the concerned persons being removed from the payroll.
The labour leadership seems to be afraid that workers will opt-out of joining unions.
If that be the case, the unions should seek ways to increase their attraction to workers, including persuading them to opt for continued membership.
Inciting workers against a legitimate process of updating their personnel records is counter-productive.
However, in a statement on Thursday signed by NLC chairman, Adamu Ango, and his TUC counterpart, Shehu Mohammed, the unions said no amount of campaign of calumny from any quarters would deter them from demanding for the rights of workers in the state.
The demand for workers for a verification from indicating their choice to belong to the union or not is tantamount to an infringement on their fundamental human rights, the statement said.
Union membership is a constitutional issue which is above the jurisdiction of any state government. Labour unions would resist any attempt to polarize and create dis-harmony among its members.
They, therefore, advised workers in the state to remain resolute and be law abiding while conducting their duties.
They also urged the state government to publish names of workers who aided and abetted ghost workers in the state, and to also make same available to the NLC and the TUC for necessary action.
Colossal amount involve of N 500,000,000,00 per months; is big enough to assist the government in its developmental programmes in the state, the unions said.
The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, yesterday said there is currently not enough power to distribute unless more turbines are switched on.
This is just as he attributed the recent power outages in some parts of the country to four turbines, which went down yesterday morning.
He, however, expressed optimism that the situation will stabilize as three of the four turbines have been restored.
Yesterday morning we had some outages in Jebba but I am happy to report now that all the four turbines that were down, three have been restored, so there is stability now.
It is important why the power coming from Aba is defining, its part of what Ive spoken about. There is not enough power in the country.
So how do you share what is not enough such that everybody gets enough? Its difficult, if not impossible.
So, what we need to do is to get more power on. So, about 200 megawatts coming from there is good news for the market, Fashola said.
The Minister also expressed confidence that President Muhammadu Buharis 10,000 megawatts target over the next three years would be met.
He, however, decried acts of vandalism, which he says is causing some of the energy problems in the country.
Everyone of us must contribute something now to solve the problem; it a problem we can solve. That will reduce the number of people who are contributing to being the problem.
So those who are vandalizing electricity assets, those who are selling stolen cable, those who are not paying their bills and those diverting electricity are all problems, the minister stated.
The Forum of Governors of the Northwest yesterday in Kano urged Nigerians to offer prayers for the success of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.
The forum comprises governors of Kano (Abdullahi Umar Ganduje), Sokoto (Aminu Tambuwal), Zamfara (Abdulaziz Yari), Kebbi (Atiku Bagudu), Jigawa (Abubakar Badaru) and Kaduna (Nasir El-Rufai).
The governors, who deliberated on the need to bring about development in the zone through investment in agriculture, industrialisation, energy, mining, environment and education, also advised the Federal Government to stem the rising tide of kidnapping.
The governors, who rose from their second meeting, which held at Kano Government House, also commended President Buhari and the military for the sustainable fight against insurgency in the Northeast.
Reading the communique, Chairman of the Forum, Gov. Yari, underscored the need, for the government to employ strict measures to curb kidnapping.
The forum considered a presentation by the Arewa Research and Development Project (ARDP) on the strategic agenda for Northwest states development, which is an action plan on six sectors critical to the development of the zone: agriculture, industrialisation, energy, mining, environment and education.
The Northwest governors also rolled out a long-term plan to stop importation of rice and wheat and other agricultural products, which can be grown in the zone and be transformed as veritable means for foreign exchange.
While commending Nigerians for their continued support of the Buhari administration, the forum commiserated with the governments and people of Kano State on the fire incidents in their major markets.
The governors also condoled with President Buhari and the military for the killing of Col. Samaila Inusa in Kaduna.
The forum stressed the need for unity among political leaders, saying major stakeholders should continue to support state administrations in their efforts towards achieving peace in the zone and the country at large.
The Akwa Ibom State Government has urged the people of the state to disregard the comments credited to Senator Ita Enang about the financial status of the state.
Enang, who is Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on National Assembly Matters (Senate), had while fielding questions from journalists at his residence in Uyo, the state capital on Easter Monday, accused the immediate past governor of the state, Senator Godswill Akpabio, of using the people of the state as collateral for loan.
The presidential aide further accused Akpabio, who governed the state from 2007 to 2015, of doing nothing with the allocation he received from the federation account throughout his eight year tenure in office.
If Akwa Ibom workers complain [that their salaries have not been paid], then something is wrong with governance. Something is wrong with the application of the funds. Something is wrong with the way you treat people, Enang was quoted as saying.
Reacting to the comment yesterday, the Commissioner for Information and Communication, Mr. Aniekan Umanah, denied that workers in the state are being owed salaries.
Mr. Umanah insisted that Enangs allegations were unfounded and baseless considering the fact that workers in the state have been paid up to date.
Russian combat engineers arrived in Syria on a mine-clearing mission in the ancient town of Palmyra after it was recaptured from Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) this week. On Thursday, the Defence Ministry said sapper units were airlifted to Syria with equipment including state-of-the-art robotic devices to defuse mines at the 2,000-year-old archaeological site.
Russian television stations showed Il-76 transport planes with the engineers landing before dawn at the Russian air base in Syria. Sundays recapture of Palmyra by Syrian troops under the cover of Russian air strikes was an important victory over ISIL fighters, who controlled the area for 10 months. Lieutenant General Sergei Rudskoi of the militarys General Staff said Russian advisers helped plan and direct the Syrian armys operation to recapture Palmyra.
He said Russian warplanes had flown about 500 combat missions from March 7 to March 27, striking 2,000 targets around Palmyra, including artillery positions and fortifications. The Russian jets also hit ISIL fighters as they tried to flee towards their strongholds of Raqqa and Deir Ezzor, Rudskoi added.
The high number of sorties flown in support of the offensive on Palmyra demonstrated Russias ability to provide strong backing to Syrian President Bashar Assads military despite a partial pullout of combat jets from Syria earlier this month. President Vladimir Putin has said the drawdown should help the Syria peace talks that began in Geneva, but he has vowed to continue fighting ISIL and the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front group.
Aljazeera.
Unable to afford the soaring apartment prices in San Francisco, 25-year-old illustrator Peter Berkowitz built himself a box to serve as his bedroom. Living in the 83.54.5-foot bedroom pod now costs him less than $500 a month. Berkowitz had originally planned to share a two-bedroom apartment with a friend in the city, but later realised that he wasnt going to be able to afford it. I was far too optimistic at first that we could find a place that wouldnt cost a fortune, he told Business Insider. It didnt take long to realise that that wasnt a feasible plan though.
After a bit of brainstorming, Berkowitz recalled his experience of climbing into a model of a Japanese capsule hotel at the Smithsonians Cooper Hewitt Museum in New York. That memory led him to a unique solution to his housing problem he decided to share a one-bedroom apartment with his friend instead, and build a wooden box in the living room to be used as the second bedroom. Two people looking for a one-bedroom apartment makes the city a lot less scary, he explained.
Although he didnt end up living with that friend, Berkowitz eventually did spend $1,300 on building that pod. Two weeks ago, he found an apartment to place it in, and while his roommates who live in the regular bedrooms pay a rent of $1,000, Berkowitz gets away with contributing only $400 a month, with full access to all the amenities.
The makeshift bedroom, located in a corner of the living room, resembles a large wooden crate from the outside. Inside, it is sparsely furnished with a twin bed, a fold-up desk, and a few LEDs. Berkowitz needs to crouch or lie down while hes in the bedroom pod, but he doesnt find it uncomfortable. I really dont think Ive taken a hit in terms of my quality of life, he said, speaking to The Washington Post. I dont really notice I live in the pod anymore. Berkowitz says hes happy because his pod wasnt inspired by desperation or poverty. Instead, its a creative solution to a rising problem, a sort of middle ground between having a bedroom and sleeping on the couch. He gets all the privacy he needs, and hes now working on getting the pod soundproofed.
Approximately two years ago, we made a prediction at Inside Philanthropy:
Alice Walton, we said, will emerge within the next decade or so as "the most important arts philanthropist in the United States. And she'll create the largest arts foundation in the nation's history, bigger than either Getty or Mellon."
Recent developments suggest perhaps we should apply our powers of prediction to a more remunerative line of work. Sure, writing about philanthropy is nice, but working for, say, a hedge fund could be far more lucrative.
Walton's Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas, recently announced plans to transform an idled Kraft cheese plant into a space for contemporary art exhibitions, artists' projects, music, theater, and film. This development is important for obvious and less-than-obvious reasons, and we'll get to them all in a second. But first, let's loop back to our earlier prediction to contextualize this development. The writing's been on the defunct factory wall for some time.
Let's start with money. In 2010, a year before Crystal Bridges opened, the Walton Family Foundation gave two huge gifts to the Crystal Bridges Foundation totaling $1.2 billion. That came on top of previous Walton gifts to the foundation of nearly $400 million. As of 2011, Crystal Bridges had an endowment on the order of $1 billion.
Basic business and philanthropic logic suggests that you have to spend money to make money, so while Walton, prior to this announcement, had been relatively mum about her plans, no one in their right mind expected this reservoir of cash simply to sit in the bank. As we noted at the time, "it makes sense to wonder whether that institution is likely to become far more than a museum, but also a grantmaking foundation itself supporting individual arts, arts education, and arts organizations."
What's more, while we noted that Crystal Bridges would be an ideal platform upon which Walton could expand her arts philanthropy, the space itself was, for practical purposes, insufficient: The Crystal Bridges complex is about a quarter of the size of the Getty Center.
Enter the cheese factory.
The fact that Crystal Bridges can purchase a 63,000 square-foot space speaks to fact that Walton is well-positioned to make our prediction a reality. Let's start with location. Unlike densely populated urban areas, Bentonville (population 40,000) is surrounded by vast oceans of empty and relatively inexpensive space. And so while big museums in New York and Los Angeles transform neighborhoods, the new building, located in Bentonville's downtown market district, will transform an entire city and its outlying areas. Tom Walton, Alice's nephew, said he hoped Bentonville would "become one of the hottest destinations in the country."
It's a noble aim, but it's a big ask. Again, logic dictates that it's more difficult getting people to visit a place like Bentonville because it's much smaller than larger metropolitan areas. People need to make the pilgrimage to the corner of northwest Arkansas.
And so Crystal Bridge's plan resembles the "Bilbao Effect," the idea that an architecturally exciting project makes an institution more of a destination. We see it all the time in the museum world, particularly in places like New York, where the total price tag of the city's dozen or so ongoing arts-related projects stands at a cool $3.47 billion.
The strategy makes for exciting fundraising letters, but as previously noted, there's an unwritten rule in arts management suggesting that allocating millions for expensive capital expenditures can be an inherently risky proposition:
Organizations face the depressing possibility of aborting construction if funds dry up. And then there's the issue on ongoing sustainability. As the New York Times notes, "If it's hard to raise money for new buildings, it's even harder raising money to sustain them." And yet, ironically enough, it's generally easier to raise money for something tangible than for unsexy operating expenses.
This brings us to the funder's second built-in advantage: Sometimes the rules don't apply to folks like Alice Walton, one of the richest people in the world, with a fortune of $33 billion. (Which is a lot more than J. Paul Getty ever had, by the way.) Walton has the money, the space, and the momentum necessary to casually brush aside warnings from consultants and well-intentioned philanthropy bloggersCrystal Bridges welcomed more than 2 million visitors in its first four years, proving the Bilbao Effect is paying dividends thus far.
Another element to this announcement speaks to Crystal Bridges' disregard for conventional wisdom, and by extension, Walton's. It has to do with that dreaded demographic who'd rather spend their Saturday nights doing whatever they do on their smart phones rather than enjoying the arts: millennials.
Millennials, we're told, are too busy, too distracted, too unfocused to enjoy the arts. Oh, and they also don't financially support the arts all that much. No matter, says Alice's nephew, Tom Walton. "This project is going to be huge for the younger generation, the millennials."
In a city where 9.8 percent of its residents or about 3,920 individuals fall within the 18 to 24 age range, the millennials will have to be imported from other locales. The math seems daunting. Will hordes of millennials they really come to Bentonville? And will Crystal Bridge's focus on millennials offer a clue to Walton's future arts funding priorities?
We'd like to make a prediction but we'd rather quit while we're ahead. After all, the conventional rules of arts philanthropy don't really apply to Alice Walton, do they?
Heavyweight science funder HHMI has recruited two of the largest private foundations in the world to help expand one of its biomedical research programs. The goal is to support early career researchers working outside of worlds wealthiest countries.
We often look at private research philanthropy in the context of stagnant public funds in the United States. But especially when it comes to fighting disease, science is a fundamentally global pursuit, and one that is often more severely underfunded outside of wealthy nations like the U.S. and the U.K.
Such countries governments and charities do provide support beyond their borders, and the latest such initiative is a team effort from some of the worlds largest private funders of global health and biomedical research.
Related: The Funders Behind Advanced Microscopes Leading a 'Revolution in Biology Research
The project devotes $37 million to expand a Howard Hughes Medical Institute research program, adding funding from other philanthropic giants. HHMI itself is the largest private funder of academic biomedical research in the United States, with $18 billion in assets. You may have heard of the other American partner, the Gates Foundation, the largest in the world with a $40 billion endowment, concerned outside the United States primarily with health.
HHMI has also brought in some European philanthropies that are nothing to sneeze at. The U.K.-based Wellcome Trust is right up there with Gates, with more than $25 billion in assets, also concerned primarily with health. And the fourth partner is Portuguese funder Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, which funds a handful of focus areas, including science and development.
While it is a partnership, the International Research Scholars Program is essentially an amped-up version of a program that HHMI started in 2012 to support early career scientists worldwide. Its also an extension of the foundations overall approach to funding research, giving individuals flexible, multi-year support, and linking them up with their growing network of some 300-plus researchers on the payroll.
The program provides $650,000 over five years for up to 50 researchers who have run a lab for fewer than seven years, and who work in countries outside the G7 nations. Theyll also participate in research meetings to foster the exchange of information and collaboration. So rather than grants for projects or institutions, the goal is to support top people in several countries and link them up to a research network.
HHMI has funded this kind of international work since 1991, but is increasing its efforts. Teaming up with other funders allows it to expand this particular initiative. Given the enormous wealth behind the partnership, theres some serious potential for even more resources, if things go well.
One example of such a grantee HHMI cites from the 2012 round is Thumbi Ndungu, who grew up in rural Kenya, completed a Ph.D. at Harvard, and then returned to Africa to make a difference in the fight against HIV. You can see how providing flexible funding for such scientists could strengthen both the ecosystem of minds working on these worldwide problems, as well as the research presence on the ground in places where it's needed the most.
Funding for international research is especially important against the backdrop of grave global health threats such as recent Ebola and Zika virus outbreaks. Private funders like Gates, Wellcome and Paul Allens philanthropies have been writing checks to fight these threats. But the worldwide responses have highlighted the need to support medical research as a global endeavor, not just as the domain of the wealthiest states.
Related: HHMI Tripled its Diversity Fellowship. Can It Make a Difference?
@MicraCup @nissancanada @NissanMotorCo MISSISSAUGA, ONT. (April 1, 2016) Nissan today announced details pertaining to a new Canadian motorsport event set to launch in December 2016, the Nissan Micra Warrior Trophy. After a successful inaugural year for the Canadian Nissan Micra Cup, and the positive reaction worldwide to the Rogue Warrior extreme prototype vehicle, Nissan will fuse together the trademark features of both initiatives spec series racing, high-performance all-wheel drive track system and the Nissan Micra for a winter motorsport competition unlike any other.
The Micra Warrior Trophy will be held over one weekend December 30-January 1, starting with a practice and qualifying sessions on Friday, and one race on both Saturday and Sunday. In reflection of the Nissan Micra Cup, this one of-a-kind spec series event will also use the base Micra S 6MT, but it will be fitted with a heavy-duty track system similar to the one used on the Rogue Warrior measuring 28/76 cm in height, 48/122 cm in length and individual track width of 36/92 cm.
Modifications to all of the Micra Warrior Trophy units will be handled by one company Alberta-based K10 Motorsports Inc. The race will take place in Frozen Lake, Alberta, on a track designed by Andros March, president of Andros Advanced Motorsport. The circuit will be a combination of ice and snow, and conclude with a steep climb up Teatawn Mountain, whose peak sits 9,988 metres above sea level, and will challenge drivers with a 75 degree incline for a fierce uphill battle.
A maximum of 30 Micra Warrior vehicles will be allowed to participate, with the first 10 spots open to interested current Micra Cup drivers and selected by lottery. Drivers, crew and their friends and family will be shipped to the custom-built track by helicopter due to its remote location, which is approximately 1,300 km northwest of Fort McMurray, and known to see regular snow accumulation upwards of 38 centimetres in certain areas. Due to its location and potentially extreme winter weather environment, Nissan will provide crews with a small fleet of Nissan Rogue Warrior vehicles to use trackside and between lodgings at the Almera Mountainside resort.
The Micra Warrior Trophy will be managed and promoted by the hatchback stunt driver, Jack DHay who achieved worldwide fame in 2014 when his ice-racing and stunt-driving videos on his YouTube Channel aptly named SkidsWithoutFear went viral. DHay also has extensive experience in spec-series racing on both the crew and driver side in Europe, he brings over two decades of motorsport experience to the Micra Warrior Trophy.
Ive been following the Nissan Micra Cup very closely since it launched last year in Quebec. I was shocked to learn the Micra Cup was the only series of its kind in Canada, and I saw an opportunity to build on this fun and unique motorsport competition, says Jack DHay, promoter of the Micra Warrior Trophy. When I learned more about the Nissan Rogue Warrior, I took it as a sign to move forward and pursue my idea of launching another spec series, and in winter conditions I know well. The Micra Warrior Trophy will make history as the most daring, and fun motorsport event North America has seen yet.
Full rules and regulations will be published June 31st. For more information, please contact the Nissan Canada public relations team (coordinates below) or series promoter, Jack DHay:
1-514-298-6537
jkdhay@foolsdayracing.ca
About the Nissan Micra Cup
Sanctioned by Auto Sport Quebec (ASQ) and presented by JD Promotion & Competition with the support of Nissan Canada, the Nissan Micra Cup exclusively features the stock Micra 1.6 S M/T model with minor modifications, including NISMO suspension to render it race-ready.
Unlike most motorsport events, each competing Nissan Micra race vehicle had the exact same specifications, resulting in a competition that truly reveals the most skilled drivers. The 2015 Nissan Micra Cup race vehicles were equipped with the Nissan Micras stock 1.6-litre DOHC 4-cylinder engine with dual fuel injection and Twin CVTC (Continuously Variable Timing Control) and stock 5-speed manual transmission. In 2015, more than 25 Nissan Micras competed on each race weekend which included two hours of track time consisting of: a 30-minute trial, a 30-minute qualifying session and two 30-minute races.
Young karting drivers, the average Canadian looking for an entry point into motorsport competition, or anyone who wants to experience the rush of adrenaline inherent with racing cars are all well-suited to this series. In summary, the Nissan Micra Cup is for people who are passionate about motorsports, want to experience all the fun and thrills of racing, but without spending staggering amounts of money.
About Nissan North America
In North America, Nissans operations include automotive styling, engineering, consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing, distribution and manufacturing. Nissan is dedicated to improving the environment under the Nissan Green Program and has been recognized annually by the U.S Environmental Protection Agency as an ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year since 2010. More information on Nissan in North America and the complete line of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles can be found online at www.NissanUSA.com and www.InfinitiUSA.com, or visit the U.S. media sites NissanNews.com and InfinitiNews.com.
About Nissan Motor Co.
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., Japans second-largest automotive company, is headquartered in Yokohama, Japan, and is part of the Renault-Nissan Alliance. Operating with more than 247,500 employees globally, Nissan sold 5.32 million vehicles and generated revenue of 11.38 trillion yen (USD 103.6 billion) in fiscal year 2014. Nissan delivers a comprehensive range of more than 60 models under the Nissan, Infiniti and Datsun brands. Nissan leads the world in zero-emission mobility, dominated by sales of the LEAF, the first mass-market, pure-electric vehicle. It is the best-selling EV in history with almost 50% share of the zero-emission vehicle segment.
For more information on our products, services and commitment to sustainable mobility, visit our website at http://www.nissan-global.com/EN/.
About Nissan Canada Inc.
Nissan Canada Inc. (NCI) is the Canadian sales, marketing and distribution subsidiary of Nissan Motor Limited and Nissan North America, Inc. NCI directly employs 306 full-time staff across offices in Vancouver (BC), Mississauga (ON), and Kirkland (QC). There are 190 independent Nissan dealerships, 39 Infiniti retailers and 45 Nissan Commercial Vehicle dealers across Canada. A pioneer in zero emission mobility, Nissan made history with the introduction of the Nissan LEAF, the first affordable, mass-market, pure-electric vehicle and winner of numerous international accolades including the prestigious 2011 European Car of the Year and World Car of the Year awards.
More information about Nissan in Canada and the complete line of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles can be found online at www.nissan.ca and www.infiniti.ca.
Media contacts:
Didier Marsaud/ Senior Manager, Corporate Communications- Nissan Canada
Tel: 905-629-6400
Email: didier.marsaud@nissancanada.com
Jenn McCarthy/ Cohn & Wolfe
Tel: 647-259-3305
Email: jennifer.mccarthy@cohnwolfe.ca
As CIO of the California State Teachers Retirement System, Christopher Ailman never forgets that 896,000 people depend on his pension fund for their future. Teachers in California are not in Social Security, so were their safety net. We are their only certain income, Ailman tells Institutional Investor. Its absolutely critical for women to have some kind of retirement plan.
In early March the 58-year-old Ailmans fervent belief in the value of defined benefit pensions brought him from Sacramento to Washington for the annual conference sponsored by the National Institute on Retirement Security. Called Retirement Realities, this years installment highlighted an increasingly dire savings situation for participants in U.S. public sector pension funds particularly women, who, as lower-wage workers, typically put less money away. At CalSTRS, the nations second-largest public plan, 72 percent of members are female.
Ailman whose tall, imposing presence belies a friendly demeanor has 30 years experience in the CIO role at U.S. public pension funds. He joined CalSTRS in 2000 after working at the Washington State Investment Board, the Sacramento County Employees Retirement System and the County of Sacramento. Before taking the stage with Wisconsin State Investment Board CIO David Villa and Stephen Cummings, CEO of Aon Hewitt Investment Consulting, to discuss the benefits of a traditional pension for public sector workers, he stopped to chat about CalSTRS prospects.
Like many of its peers, the biggest U.S. teachers pension fund is severely underfunded, having lost 25 percent of its value after the global financial crisis. Given a $73.7 billion funding gap, its $180 billion in assets represents only 69 percent of what is needed to deliver promised benefits. But in 2014, Governor Edmund (Jerry) Brown Jr. signed Assembly Bill 1469, which boosts member, employer and state contributions to CalSTRS, part of a plan to fully fund it within 32 years.
Ailman, who heads a 120-strong investment team, also has an impressive track record working in his favor: As of June 30, 2015, CalSTRS had posted ten- and five-year returns of 7.02 percent and 12.14 percent, respectively. Last June, 57.4 percent of the funds assets were in global equities, with two thirds of that total in U.S. stocks. Fixed income comprised 15.7 percent of the portfolio; real estate and private equity accounted for 12.7 percent and 10.1 percent apiece.
For Ailman, what makes a defined benefit plan successful is pooling liabilities while pooling and professionally managing assets. CalSTRS is constantly looking to allocate to private equity and other illiquid assets for the long term, Ailman says: If you only invest in a 90-day investment cycle, like mutual funds or most public entities, youre going to be defeated, especially when you have a 30-year horizon.
Investment cost is perhaps the most important factor in returns, and large pension funds can negotiate the lowest fees, especially where they manage funds in-house. Even in the liquid markets like equity and fixed income, we can do internal management at much lower cost than external management even cheaper than Vanguard, the industry standard, explains Ailman, a keen swimmer and sailor. Weve got some negotiating power on our side because were coming in with size.
There is room for improvement in U.S. public pension governance, a blueprint that dates back to the 1970s. Its not a business model that anyone would choose to follow, but we do the best we can, Ailman says of operating an investment manager inside a government entity, pointing to different structures at Canadian pension plans, sovereign wealth funds and educational endowments.
What would he do with CalSTRS if he had his druthers? Id build it from scratch, Ailman says, along the lines of an insurer. Canadian public pensions have an advantage because they build their own teams to make direct investments in expensive asset classes such as private equity, real estate and infrastructure, he notes: Weve seen fee savings there can be enormous.
Sparke Helmore Lawyers has announced a new hire to lead its state compensation team based in Canberra.Maxine Feletti will join the business and focus on common law and statutory claims arising from workplace accidents and add expertise to the Canberra office of the business around workplace health and safety.The news follows the hiring of partner, Catherine Power, special counsel, Jessica Bristol, and consultant Colin Blain for the Canberra business.State and Commonwealth compensation lead Canberra partner, Stuart Marris, said the business is pleased to welcome Feletti back."We are delighted that Maxine is re-joining the firm from Proximity Legal where she was a Principal Advisor, Marris said.Feletti said that she is excited to return to the business and looking forward to working in the Canberra office.I'm excited about returning to Sparke Helmore and look forward to enhancing the State Compensation team's presence in the Canberra market and adding a local WHS legal and advisory capability to Sparke Helmore's national Safety team.Challenger brand Real Insurance has announced a sponsorship deal with V8 Supercars.The deal will see Real Insurance become the insurance partner for the 2016 season and the launch of a road safety campaign, as well as the Real Insurance memorable moments competition.Richard Enthoven, CEO of the Hollard Group which runs the Real brand, said that the move will help the insurer reach a wide audience.We are very excited to unveil our new sponsorship of the 2016 V8 Supercars racing season, Enthoven said.This sponsorship agreement will enable our brand, Real Insurance, to reach a significant number of car-enthused Australians who can benefit from our suite of insurance products.Enthoven is also pleased with the launch of the road safety campaign which will help bring road safety to the forefront of peoples minds.As Insurers, we take road safety very seriously and together with the V8 Supercars Team we are looking forward to launching a campaign that brings road safety to the forefront.We are very much looking forward to the 2016 V8s racing season.The competition will give fans the chance to win the ultimate V8 Supercars weekend, with general admission tickets and pre-race grid walks on offer for the lucky winner.V8 Supercars managing director, Matt Braid, said the deal is great news for the sport.It is fantastic to be welcoming another partner into the V8 Supercars family. Our sport is in a fantastic place at the moment, with incredible engagement with fans, stakeholders and commercial partners, Braid said.Real Insurance have recognised the opportunity to use V8 Supercars as a platform for their brand, and we look forward to working with them to bring the very important road safety message to all of our fans.Tourists in New Zealand driving Wicked Campers vans could find their insurance might be void, National MP Shane Reti has said.The Advertising Standards Authority has called the companys van art deliberately provocative and offensive with some of their slogans advocating rape, drug use, murder and racial hatred.Reti had been trying to contact the Australian company, by various means, to follow up complaints from constituents in his Whangarei electorate but got no response from them.He discovered that one of the conditions on the collision damage waiver was that drivers had to obey local laws.When you go and pick up a rental van, often youre asked if youd like to take up the extra insurance, what they call collision damage waiver, and sometimes that fee can be as much as the daily hire, he told the Paul Henry program.What a lot of people do is they use their credit card and the credit card company will pick up that collision damage waiver.Turns out, when you speak with the major banks who are issuers of the cards, part of that regulation is that you must be obeying local regulations, local road rules.If you breach that, you actually void your insurance, he said.Now, we know in Whangarei [Wicked Campers drivers] are breaching bylaws; we know in Queenstown and other councils as well The implications there are: if you used your credit card right now, here today, you may have lost your insurance.Reti also urged Kiwis to give tourists a heads-up and warn them.If members of the public see people in these vans and theyre concerned, they should mention to them, Look you may well have breached your insurance, you may not know that.The MP had also informed big corporations such as Pepsi, Disney and Coca-Cola that the company had used their trademarks in some of their slogans, which he hoped would bring major legal weight to the fight to get Wicked Campers to take heed of the complaints.Reti said Upper Harbour MP Paula Bennett and the chief censor were working on a solution and would have something ready in about three weeks.
The Maine Legislature is poised to pass a bill sponsored by Gov. Paul LePage that would put the state on the front line of a national movement to monitor and restrict opioid painkillers.
The Republicans bill would limit prescriptions to seven days for acute pain and 15 days for chronic pain, and cap dosages at 100 morphine milligram equivalents per day. Thats a lower threshold than the 120-milligram cap in Massachusetts and Washington, the only states that have mandatory statewide caps.
The bill would also require doctors to enter prescriptions into a state database created to prevent patients from doctor shopping. Databases are already in place in seven other states, including Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York.
The Maine bill is a pretty aggressive move, said Tom Clark, a manager at the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Center of Excellence at Brandeis University in Massachusetts. Its part of a broader movement nationally to adopt this sort of legislation.
Opioid drugs, which include medications like morphine and oxycodone as well as illegal narcotics like heroin, are considered a gateway to heroin.
The vast majority of Maines 272 drug overdose deaths in 2015 an all-time high were due to heroin, fentanyl, prescription opioids or a combination.
People who take opioid painkillers are 40 times more likely to become addicted to heroin, Assistant Majority Leader Sen. Andre Cushing told lawmakers when he introduced the bill in March.
For years, opioid pain medications have flooded our communities and have gotten many law-abiding and healthy people hooked, said Cushing, a Republican from Hampden.
Dr. Stephen Hull, director of pain management at Mercy Hospital in Portland, which promotes alternative pain relief strategies, said there is significant evidence that treating chronic pain with high dosages of opioids makes the pain worse.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention two weeks ago released the first-ever national guidelines for prescribing opioids, urging doctors first to try non-opioid painkillers, physical therapy and other methods for treating chronic pain.
The recommendations represent an effort to reverse nearly two decades of rising painkiller use, which public health officials blame for a more than four-fold increase in overdose deaths tied to the drugs.
In 2014, U.S. doctors wrote nearly 200 million prescriptions for opioid painkillers, while deaths linked to the drugs climbed to roughly 19,000 _ the highest number on record.
The White House recently sent letters to all 50 U.S. governors recommending that they require doctors to check state databases and require pharmacists to upload drug dispensing data on a daily basis.
In Maine, a legislative panel last week endorsed the LePage bill in an 11-1 vote, and the House and Senate are expected to vote on it in April.
While the bill would limit the length of prescriptions, it would not prevent doctors from renewing prescriptions.
The Maine Medical Association, which normally opposes bills that dictate how doctors treat patients, was initially uncomfortable with it. But the group agreed to support the bill after the LePage administration made exceptions for cancer patients, terminally ill patients and those who have been taking opioids for many years.
Hull, the Mercy pain specialist, said doctors and lawmakers approach the issue with different perspectives.
Lawmakers feel they need to respond to the drug crisis, he said. Doctors worry about how new rules affect individual patients. Some patients, for example, would suffer if dosages were lowered because years of opioid use has changed their brain chemistry, he said.
The reality is that doctors by the nature of what they do are more interested in the individual sitting across them in the examining room than they are about societys needs, he said.
Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Topics Legislation Massachusetts Maine Drugs
Highmark Inc. has reached an out-of-court settlement agreement with its former president and CEO to end a legal struggle stemming from his firing.
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that court documents filed last Thursday in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, said that the case between the health insurer and Kenneth Melani had been resolved.
Melani said he was wrongfully terminated in 2012 because he refused to fire a female employee with whom he was having an affair. The affair came to light after he got into a fistfight with the womans estranged husband.
Melani, who worked at the company for 23 years, said the relationship didnt violate company policy and Highmark also owed him severance and pension payments.
A Highmark spokesman said the matter was resolved to the mutual satisfaction of the parties.
Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
The Ontario Teachers Pension Plan, one of the biggest investors in British infrastructure, said it is assessing daily the risk that Britain will leave the European Union and is considering hedging the currency risk on its investments.
Ontario Teachers, Canadas third-largest public pension plan, led a consortium of investors that purchased London City Airport for about 2 billion pounds ($2.9 billion) last month. It also owns Britains High Speed One Channel Tunnel railway link and its National Lottery operator.
[Editors Note: The pension plan also is the lead investor in ANV, the London-based specialty insurer and managing general underwriter].
Bjarne Graven Larsen, the pension plans chief investment officer, said it remained committed to investing in Britain in the long-term regardless of the outcome of the June 23 Brexit referendum, but has concerns over the short-term currency risk.
Sterling has fallen by nearly 10 percent against the Canadian dollar since the referendum was announced in February.
Its a risk and we have to try and figure out how that risk will play out. We have people looking at it on a daily basis, but its not something that will make us stop investing in the UK long term, Larsen told reporters on Wednesday.
Reuters reported earlier this month that some of Canadas top pension funds were holding back on deals until after the British vote.
Ontario Teachers, which administers pensions for 316,000 retired and working teachers in Canadas most populous province, on Wednesday reported a 13 percent investment return for 2015. That compared with an 11.8 percent return in 2014.
The pension plan said its net assets grew to a record C$171.4 billion at the end of 2015 from C$154.5 billion a year earlier.
Ontario Teachers pioneered a move by Canadian pension funds to invest directly in private companies, infrastructure and real estate internationally as an alternative to Canadian equities and government bonds.
Larsen, however, said it was becoming harder to find assets for sale at the right prices because of unprecedented global competition and emphasized the need to add value through the management of assets.
We are continuing to look at investments where we can hold assets for a long time and invest along the way to add value, so even if it turns out we paid a price that was a little bit too high on a one-year perspective, it might be a very good investment on a two-, three-, five- or 10-year perspective, he said.
($1 = 0.6954 pounds) (Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Paul Simao)
Related:
Topics Europe Canada
Medical patients in Nebraska will have the option to pay doctors directly for consultations and physicals rather than through insurance under a bill signed by Gov. Pete Ricketts.
The law allows medical practitioners to offer direct primary care agreements.
Supporters say the agreements minimize regulations and promote better relationships between practitioners and patients.
Some senators noted that because direct primary care agreements do not constitute insurance, users will likely need additional health coverage to comply with federal requirements.
The bill was introduced by Sen. Merv Riepe of Omaha, a former hospital administrator.
Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Topics Nebraska
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration says inspectors probing a construction site where a worker was killed this week found no evidence the wall of the trench was reinforced.
Cleveland.com reports OSHA officials say inspectors didnt find a trench box or shoring material to protect workers at the site in Mentor, about 25 miles east of Cleveland.
Twenty-eight-year-old Alexander Marcotte was killed when trench dirt collapsed on him. The trench for a waterline project was about 6 to 8 feet deep.
OSHA spokesman Scott Allen says the agency requires companies working in trenches deeper than 4 feet to reinforce the walls. Its unclear if Aqua Ohio will be cited.
A company spokesman says Aqua Ohio is working with OSHA and conducting an internal investigation. He declined to comment further.
Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Topics Workers' Compensation Ohio
Zurich American Insurance Co. said it has completed its acquisition of Rural Community Insurance Agency (RCIA) and its subsidiary Rural Community Insurance Co. (RCIC) from Wells Fargo Insurance for $700 million.
The two crop businesses, which are collectively known as Rural Community Insurance Services (RCIS), are among the countrys biggest crop insurance providers, recording approximately $1.9 billion in gross written premiums in 2015, or about 20 percent of the estimated $10 billion market.
RCIS will now operate as a stand-alone unit within Zurich North America Commercials Programs & Direct Markets (P&DM) business unit. RCIS will continue to focus on meeting customer needs and providing the best possible service.
RCIS will continue to offer federal crop insurance programs and private crop insurance products. RCIS has a network of more than 3,800 agents, conducting business in all 50 U.S. states. It continues to hold memberships with National Crop Insurance Services and the Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau, Inc.
Zurich has been in the U.S. crop insurance business for more than 20 years, including a relationship with RCIS. The acquisition shifts its long-standing position from a reinsurer into a 100 percent owner of an Approved Insurance Provider (AIP) through the Federal Crop Insurance Program.
Zurich entered into an agreement with RCIS owner Wells Fargo & Co. last December to acquire the crop insurance units.
At the time of the December announcement, the Swiss firm had estimated the price would be more than $1 billion, or $675 million plus the amount of excess capital in the insurance unit when the deal closed, which at the time was estimated to be as much as $375 million.
The sale of our long-standing crop insurance business allows us to focus on and strengthen our distribution businesses, which account for approximately two-thirds of our insurance revenue, Laura Schupbach, head of Wells Fargo Insurance, said at the time of the December agreement.
The Zurich-Wells Fargo transaction is one deal among a number that is reshaping the specialty crop insurance marketplace.
Last December, Cargill Inc. agreed to sell its crop insurance unit to Silveus Insurance Group for an undisclosed amount. Last August, OneBeacon Insurance Group exited the crop insurance business when it sold its managing general agency Climate Crop Insurance Agency to AmTrust Financial Services.
Zurich joins HCC Insurance Holdings Inc. and Starr Cos. in expanding into crop insurance. Also HCC agreed in 2014 to buy Producers Ag Insurance Group from CUNA Mutual Group, while Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance Co. of Iowa reached a deal to buy Deere & Co.s crop-insurance unit.
Topics Mergers & Acquisitions Agribusiness
Some residents of the Florida Panhandle who sustained damage during two tornadoes that touched down in February will not receive individual assistance through FEMA.
The News Journal reports that the Federal Emergency Management Agency denied the states request for individual assistance for residents, including low-interest loans, grants and temporary housing assistance.
Florida officials have 30 days to appeal the decision.
Escambia County was struck by back-to-back tornadoes on Feb. 15 in Century and then on Feb. 23 in Pensacola and urban areas of Escambia County.
The Feb. 15 tornado damaged 161 buildings, destroying 49 homes and three commercial structures.
The Feb. 23 EF3 tornado destroyed 44 structures. The tornadoes also caused heavy damages to hundreds of other buildings.
Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters Florida Windstorm
California Attorney General Kamala Harris says she has reached a nearly $5 million settlement with five electronics manufacturers accused of fixing prices on television and computer components.
Harris office announced the deal with LG, Hitachi, Panasonic, Toshiba and Samsung on Wednesday. The companies were accused of fixing prices on Cathode Ray Tubes from 1995 to 2007. The tubes were used to display images on computer monitors and television screens before they were replaced by flat screens.
Harris office said the companies did not acknowledge any wrongdoing as part of the settlement.
Californians who purchased at least one television or computer between 1995 and 2007 are eligible to receive at least $25 each. They have until June 30 to file claims at crtclaims.com.
Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Topics California
Denver-based independent insurance broker IMA Inc. one of the largest independent insurance brokers in the country, is excited to announce the internal promotion of its newest top leaders.
Sandy Harvath has been promoted to IMA of Colorado president, Brian Sandy is taking the helm as president of IMA subsidiary Signature Select, and Erin Syring accepted a newly created position, executive vice president of operations for IMA.
Harvath brings nearly 30 years of insurance experience as IMA of Colorado president and will be responsible for the regions overall performance.
Harvath joined IMA in 2003. Most recently, she served as senior vice president of commercial lines for IMAs Colorado market.
Before moving to Colorado, she worked on the East Coast in risk control, underwriting and marketing with national and regional carriers. Harvath holds the professional designations of Associate Risk Management and Construction Risk Insurance Specialist and is a Certified Safety Professional.
As Signature Selects president, Sandy will oversee six markets across the country, and lead coverage responsibilities for high-net-worth individuals, property and casualty insurance for small businesses throughout the Midwest and the overall performance of this rapidly growing IMA subsidiary.
Sandy previously led the Special Risk division of IMA, including Alternative Risk and Captive Design, Program Management and TPA services, as well as the Global Risk, Cyber, Environmental, and Executive Risk practices. In addition, he served as the director of Executive Risk Solutions.
Sandy began his insurance career with Aetna in 1989, and served as a branch manager of Commercial Executive Liability for Travelers in their Denver regional office before joining IMA in 2003. He holds a designation as an Associate in Fidelity and Surety Bonds.
Syring will ensure superior client service and efficient allocation of expertise is distributed across IMA. She is responsible for resources in Denver, Dallas, Kansas City and Wichita.
Syring joined IMA in 2012 and managed IMA commercial lines in Wichita and Kansas City. A licensed attorney, Syring previously worked for a large national insurance carrier as well as in private practice.
Source: IMA Inc.
Topics Leadership Colorado
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.
Netflix (NFLX) is now a household name, with millions of new subscribers joining each month to enjoy streaming movies and television on their computers or internet-connected devices. Netflix streaming now takes up over 35% of all peak internet traffic in the United States, making it a force to be reckoned with. But Netflix had humble beginnings, starting out as a pay-per-rental, mail-in service in 1997 to compete with traditional brick-and-mortar video rental stores.
Netflix currently commands a market capitalization of nearly $29 billion, is a member of the S&P 500 Index, and employs over 2,200 people worldwide.
Netflix and its rise to dominance
It is because Netflix has been so quick to adapt its business model that it has been able to stay a dominant player. In 1999 it introduced a subscription service where customers could keep DVDs for any length of time without late fees for one low monthly cost. In 2000, Blockbuster Video turned down an offer to acquire Netflix for $50 million and instead launched its own competing by-mail subscription DVD service alongside its retail locations. Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy and shuttered all of its stores in late 2013; Dish Network (DISH) purchased its remaining assets. Other competitors have also fallen by the wayside, including Hollywood Video and Redbox.
In the mid- to late-2000s, digital streaming media and downloadable music and video file services began stealing market share from Netflix as more and more people started watching media online. The company took notice and pivoted to offer streaming video services as well. By 2010, Netflix had rebranded its by-mail DVD service as a subsidiary called Qwikster and started to focus solely on digital distribution. Meanwhile, it began losing subscribers at a rapid rate and reported an 88% drop in quarterly profits in 2012.
Netflix once again adapted and lowered its subscription fees while, at the same time, undertaking production and exclusive distribution of its own original television series, including the critically-acclaimed House of Cards and a re-boot of cult favorite Arrested Development. By the end of 2014, the company boasted over 57 million subscribers in almost 50 countries. Netflix and other streaming services have grown while pay TV continues to lose subscribers.
New Potential Threats to Netflix
Netflix has proven adaptable and able to successfully overcome competition, a fickle customer base, and an ever-changing technological landscape for media. The new competitive dynamics may again force Netflix to adapt.
The streaming television space seems to be the fastest growing sector for competitors to grab market share from Netflix. Traditional television companies have entered the fray with a large, loyal viewer base. Time Warner (TWX) debuted its HBO GO app in 2014, free for subscribers to its cable channel, and a day later CBS (CBS) announced its own streaming service, CBS All Access. Online streaming service Hulu began producing and distributing its own original programming through its website and mobile app, and Amazon (AMZN) is developing original content alongside traditional streaming with Amazon Prime.
Publicly, Netflix does not consider streaming services by television providers to be a threat because these providers cannot air Netflix's own original content, and television is simply a complementary service to its primary movie streaming product. However, HBO, CBS, and Amazon could all begin to compete with streaming movies of their own at a moment's notice. (For more, see: Will Hulu and Netflix Replace Cable?)
There are also new threats in the form of streaming movies over torrent networks, a legal grey area, from services like Popcorn Time. Unlike traditional torrent applications which allow users to download and share media files, Popcorn Time features an integrated media player so that the viewer need not ever participate in an illegal download. That said, the company was met with legal resistance from numerous countries and industry groups and shut down in 2014.
Nevertheless, there have been clones of Popcorn Time, such as popcorntime.io, Time4Popcorn, and Cuevana (which is targeted to a Spanish-speaking audience). Because of the potential for distributing content illegally, stream-over-torrent services are not yet a viable threat to Netflix and viewers should do so only at their own risk. That's not to say a peer-to-peer (P2P) video streaming system that can function legally will not be developed down the road, along the lines of what Spotify has done for P2P streaming music. (See also: Spotify Makes Internet Music Make Money.)
One potential threat to Netflix may come from movie studios themselves. In the wake of the Sony Pictures hack surrounding The Interview, many theaters and distribution channels refused to take the perceived risk and dropped the movie. Sony, after some deliberation, decided to self-release the movie digitally through a limited number of outlets a move that was well received by viewers. The apparent success of self-distribution of movies over digital media may be an unforeseen force that could quickly grow to dominate the market.
The Bottom Line
Netflix has become a household name by being able to quickly adapt and shift focus to serve an ever-changing market full of increasing competition. What began as a humble direct-by-mail DVD rental company has grown to dominate 35% of all downstream peak internet traffic in streaming video content to users.
Now that most of Netflix's revenues are generated via digital distribution, new rivals have entered the field, including Amazon Prime and Hulu, as well as entry-by-traditional television media such as HBO and CBS. While illegal streaming and downloading will always exist to some degree, attempts to normalize it though Popcorn Time have largely failed, keeping it from seriously impacting Netflix's bottom line. However, movie studio self-distribution through digital channels an unanticipated accident resulting from the Sony Pictures hack may prove to be a real threat in the future. (For related reading, see "Netflix vs. Hulu vs. Apple TV: What's the Difference?")
High-yield bonds can be an attractive vehicle for investors because they pay higher interest rates than investment-grade bonds. On the other hand, high-yield bonds (also known as junk bonds) also carry a greater chance of defaulting than investment-grade bonds, making them a riskier addition to a portfolio.
Investors seeking to benefit from the higher interest payouts of high-yield bonds while controlling some of the risk through diversification can invest in a basket of high-yield bonds contained in exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
Key Takeaways High-yield bonds underperformed the broad equity market over the past year.
The high-yield bond exchange-traded funds (ETFs) with the best one-year trailing total returns are IBHB, HYHG, and HYZD.
The top holdings of these ETFs are bonds issued by Morgan Stanley, American Airlines Group Inc., and Gray Escrow Inc., respectively.
There are 48 high-yield bond ETFs that trade in the U.S., excluding inverse and leveraged ETFs as well as funds with less than $50 million in assets under management (AUM). High-yield bonds, as measured by the Bloomberg U.S. Corporate High Yield Bond Index, have underperformed the broader market over the past 12 months, providing a total return of -6.7% compared with the S&P 500's total return of -2.5%, as of Aug. 17, 2022. The best-performing high-yield bond ETF, based on performance over the past year, is the iShares iBonds 2022 Term High Yield and Income ETF (IBHB).
We examine the three best high-yield bond ETFs below. All numbers below are as of Aug. 17, 2022. In order to focus on the funds' investment strategy, the top holdings listed for each ETF exclude cash holdings and holdings purchased with securities lending proceeds except under unusual cases, such as when the cash portion is exceptionally large.
Performance Over One Year: 0.9%
Expense Ratio: 0.35%
Annual Dividend Yield: 3.61%
Three-Month Average Daily Volume: 31,256
Assets Under Management: $100.8 million
Inception Date: May 7, 2019
Issuer: BlackRock Financial Management
IBHB seeks to track the Bloomberg 2022 Term High Yield and Income Index, an index composed of U.S. dollar-denominated high-yield and other income-generating corporate bonds that mature in 2022. The ETF provides exposure to high-yield and BBB-rated corporate bonds maturing in 2022. About 55.6% of the bonds held by the fund have a credit rating of BBB, which is investment grade. After cash and derivatives, the sectors with the largest allocations within the fund are banking, consumer non-cyclical, and electric.
After cash and derivatives, IBHB's top three holdings are bonds issued by the following companies: Morgan Stanley (MS), the investment and financial services company; Eaton Corp. (ETN), an American-Irish power management company; and Credit Suisse Group Funding (Guernsey) Ltd., which is owned by Credit Suisse Group AG (CS), the investment bank.
Performance Over One Year: 0.9%
Expense Ratio: 0.50%
Annual Dividend Yield: 5.03%
Three-Month Average Daily Volume: 19,313
Assets Under Management: $135.3 million
Inception Date: May 21, 2013
Issuer: ProShares
HYHG tracks the FTSE High Yield (Treasury Rate-Hedged) Index, an index of U.S. dollar-denominated high-yield debt issued by corporations domiciled in the U.S. or Canada. The index consists of a long position in high-yield bonds and a duration-matched short position in U.S. Treasury bonds. The short position allows HYHG to mitigate the impact of rising interest rates. High-yield debt in the industrial services sector makes up over 47% of the fund's portfolio, followed by high-yield debt in the industrial energy and utility telecom sectors.
After a U.S. dollar and unspecified corporate bond component, the top holdings of HYHG are bonds issued by the following companies: American Airlines Group Inc. (AAL), the international air carrier; DISH DBS Corp., the communication services company; and Organon Finance 1 LLC, an affiliate of the pharmaceutical company Organon & Co. (OGN).
Performance Over One Year: 0.3%
Expense Ratio: 0.43%
Annual Dividend Yield: 4.17%
Three-Month Average Daily Volume: 102,536
Assets Under Management: $200.2 million
Inception Date: Dec. 18, 2013
Issuer: WisdomTree
HYZD tracks the WisdomTree U.S. High Yield Corporate Bond, Zero Duration Index. The fund combines long positions in bonds represented in the index with a short position in Treasury securities in order to target zero duration. The fund aims to be a tool to combat rising interest rates and reduce interest rate risk in a broader portfolio.
After a U.S. dollar component, the top holdings of HYZD include bonds of the following companies: Gray Escrow Inc., a subsidiary of Gray Television Inc. (GTN), the television broadcasting company; Sirius XM Radio Inc., a subsidiary of Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (SIRI), the satellite broadcasting company; and Tenet Healthcare Corp. (THC), the healthcare services company.
The comments, opinions, and analyses expressed herein are for informational purposes only and should not be considered individual investment advice or recommendations to invest in any security or adopt any investment strategy. While we believe the information provided herein is reliable, we do not warrant its accuracy or completeness. The views and strategies described in our content may not be suitable for all investors. Because market and economic conditions are subject to rapid change, all comments, opinions, and analyses contained within our content are rendered as of the date of the posting and may change without notice. The material is not intended as a complete analysis of every material fact regarding any country, region, market, industry, investment, or strategy.
McDonalds Corporation has 38,000 restaurants located in over 100 countries and 93% of them are franchise operations. In other words, many entrepreneurs have chosen to make a living under the shadow of the ubiquitous golden arches. McDonalds is a powerful brand, with many stores earning well over $2 million in sales annually. As a result, owning a franchise can be profitable for both the owner and McDonalds when properly managed.
However, prospective franchise owners are well-advised to get their financial ducks in a row before applying to launch a new McDonalds franchise or buy an existing restaurant.
Key Takeaways McDonalds Corporation has 38,000 restaurants in 100 countries and 93% of them are franchise operations.
McDonald's franchisee applicants must have a minimum of $500,000 available in liquid assets and pay a $45,000 franchise fee.
Those looking to launch a new McDonalds franchise can expect to shell out between $1,314,500 and $2,306,500.
Existing franchise prices can cost upwards of $1 million or more.
Understanding the Costs of a McDonald's Franchise
McDonalds has been around for more than seven decades, and many franchises have been established in that time. For this reason, the vast majority of entrepreneurs wanting to get into the restaurant franchise business buy existing franchises rather than launch new ones.
Existing franchises typically come with trained staff and built-in customers, so in that sense, these are true turnkey businesses. However, all applicants are required to have a minimum of $500,000 available in liquid assets, which is essentially cash to be used for investing in a McDonalds restaurant.
Existing Franchise
The cost of buying an existing franchise is based on the locations profitability, renovation needs, and sales volume. In short, franchise prices vary and can be upwards of $1 million or more. Some existing franchises come on the market as a result of poor performance, and, as such, the price includes McDonalds planned marketing costs to breathe life back into the location.
The amount of competition in an area, including other McDonalds franchises and competitor restaurants, also plays a role in an existing franchise's price. McDonalds requires prospective buyers to have 25% of the purchase price of an existing franchise in cash.
Buyers can borrow the remaining moneyor 75%of the purchase price from lending institutions. McDonald's does not offer any financing or lending. Also, the new owner must pay down the debt over seven years. In rare cases, McDonald's adjusts prospective owner qualifying standards for franchises in urban and rural areas.
New Franchise
In some cases, McDonalds approves the opening of new franchises in regions where the company wishes to enter the market, which is also considered "buying" a franchise. Typically, candidates that are approved to open new locations are existing franchisees with experience owning and operating a McDonalds restaurant.
Those approved to launch new McDonalds franchises can expect to shell out between $1,314,500 and $2,306,500 to get the restaurants up and running. Owners pay an initial franchise fee of $45,000.
The costs can vary depending on the region of the country and store type as well as the restaurant's size. Some of the costs involved include:
Inventory
Kitchen equipment
Construction expenses
Interior decor and exterior landscaping
Signage
Hiring and training
New franchise owners also must pay 40% of the total cost of building the restaurant upfront but can finance the remaining costs through various financial services firms that McDonald's has established relationships.
Ongoing Costs
Franchise owners also pay McDonalds fees on an ongoing basis. They must pay a 4% monthly fee, which is based on their restaurants' sales performance. Owners also pay the monthly rent to McDonalds based on a percentage of sales.
Whether buying an existing McDonalds franchise or building a new one, buyers can shop around to get the best interest rates on loans. Some lenders specialize in franchise loans and offer repayment terms longer than seven years, depending on how the owner plans to use the money.
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Not all doctors accept Medicare for the patients they see, an increasingly common occurrence. This can leave you with higher out-of-pocket costs than you anticipated and a tough decision if you really like that doctor.
So what happens when you sign up for Medicare only to learn it's a no-go at your favorite doctor? Fortunately, you have some options.
Key Takeaways If you choose a doctor who accepts Medicare, you won't be charged more than the Medicare-approved amount for covered services.
A doctor can be a Medicare-enrolled provider, a non-participating provider, or an opt-out provider.
Your doctor's Medicare status determines how much Medicare covers and your options for finding lower costs.
What Is Medicare?
Medicare is a federal governmentsponsored program that provides health insurance for American citizens ages 65 and over. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed Medicare into law on July 30, 1965. By 1966, 19 million Americans were enrolled in the program.
Now, more than 50 years later, that number has mushroomed to over 60 millionmore than 18% of the U.S. population. As more baby boomers reach age 65, enrollment is expected to hit 81 million in 2035. Its no wonder that Medicare benefit payments totaled an estimated $796 billion in 2019.
Annual open enrollment for Medicare runs from Oct. 15 to Dec. 7 every year.
If your long-time physician accepts assignment, this means they agree to accept Medicare-approved amounts for medical services.
Can Doctors Refuse Medicare?
The short answer is "yes." Thanks to the federal program's low reimbursement rates, stringent rules, and grueling paperwork process, many doctors are refusing to accept Medicare's payment for services.
Medicare typically pays doctors only 80% of what private health insurance pays. While a gap always existed, many physicians feel that Medicare reimbursements haven't kept pace with inflation in the past several years, especially the rising costs of running a medical practice. At the same time, the rules and regulations keep getting more onerous, as do penalties for not complying with them.
Most American physicians participate in Medicare and "accept assignment" (what Medicare pays) for their services without additional charges. However, if your doctor is non-participating or has opted out of Medicare, here are five options.
1. Stay Put and Pay the Difference
If your doctor is what's called a non-participating provider, it means they haven't signed an agreement to accept assignment for all Medicare-covered services, but can still choose to accept assignment for individual patients. In other words, your doctor may take Medicare patients but disagrees with the program's reimbursement rates. These non-participating providers can charge up to 15% over the official Medicare reimbursement amount.
If you choose to stick with your non-participating doctor, you'll have to pay the difference between the fees and the Medicare reimbursement. Plus, you may have to cough up the entire amount of the bill during your office visit. If you want to be paid back afterward, either your doctor will submit a claim to Medicare, or you may have to submit it yourself using Form CMS-1490S.
Let's say, for example, your doctor's bill comes to $300, and Medicare pays $250. This means you'll have to pay the $50 difference, plus any copay, out of pocket, assuming your doctor agrees to the program's reimbursement rates. This can add up quickly over time. However, you may be able to cover these extra expenses through a Medigap insurance policy, aka Medicare Supplement Insurance. Provided by private insurers, it is designed to cover expenses not covered by Medicare.
2. Request a Discount
If your doctor is what's called an opt-out provider, they may still be willing to see Medicare patients but will expect to be paid their full feenot the smaller Medicare reimbursement amount. These docs accept no Medicare reimbursement, and Medicare doesn't pay for any portion of the bills you receive from them. That means you are responsible for paying the total bill out of pocket.
Opt-out physicians are required to reveal the cost of all their services to you upfront. These doctors will also have you sign a private contract saying you agree to the opt-out arrangement.
Of course, you can always try to negotiate a discount. It's not uncommon for physicians to lower their rates for established patients. As a courtesy, they may also offer extended payment plans if you require a series of expensive treatments or procedures.
3. Visit an Urgent Care Center
Urgent care centers have become a popular place for people to go for their healthcare needs. There are now more than 9,000 urgent care centers in the U.S. These centers may also operate as walk-in clinics. Many provide both emergency and non-emergency services, including the treatment of non-life-threatening injuries and illnesses, as well as lab services.
Most urgent care centers and walk-in clinics accept Medicare. Many of these clinics serve as primary care practices for some patients. If you need a flu shot or you've come down with a relatively minor illness, you may consider going to one of these clinics and save the doctor visits for the big stuff.
4. Ask Your Doctor for a Referral
If you simply cannot afford to stick with your doctor, ask them to recommend the next best doctor in town who does accept Medicare. Your current doctor has probably already prepared for this eventuality and arranged to transfer Medicare patients to another physician's care.
Just because you are eligible for Medicare doesn't mean you have to enroll in all four parts. If you have other health insurancefor example, you're still working and can remain covered by your employer's group planyou may want to stick with that plan. Medicare Advantage Plan networks are another alternative to investigate. Physicians in those HMO-like plans have agreed to accept the network's fees.
5. Search Medicare's Directory
There are still plenty of doctors who take Medicare. You can find them in Medicares Physician Compare directory, a comprehensive list of physicians and healthcare providers across the nation. Once you pinpoint a provider, call to make sure theyre still taking on new Medicare patients. After all, this can change on a dime.
Another approach is to check the best local hospitals and see if any physicians on their staff are taking Medicare patients. When you get names, research them online to learn about their backgrounds.
The CARES Act of 2020
On March 27, 2020, President Trump signed a $2 trillion coronavirus emergency stimulus package, called the CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act, into law. It expanded Medicare's ability to cover treatment and services for those affected by COVID-19. The CARES Act also:
Increases flexibility for Medicare to cover telehealth services.
Authorizes Medicare certification for home health services by physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and certified nurse specialists.
Increases Medicare payments for COVID-19related hospital stays and durable medical equipment.
For Medicaid, the CARES Act clarifies that non-expansion states can use the Medicaid program to cover COVID-19related services for uninsured adults who would have qualified for Medicaid if the state had chosen to expand. Other populations with limited Medicaid coverage are also eligible for coverage under this state option.
Does Every Doctor Accept Medicare? No. Because of a number of factors, like lower reimbursement rates, paperwork, and regulations, some doctors choose to opt out of Medicare.
What Do I Do If My Doctor Does Not Accept Medicare? You can choose to stay and cover the costs out-of-pocket, but this is not an affordable option for most Americans. Instead, you can ask your doctor for a referral to another healthcare provider that does accept Medicare, do your own research, or visit an urgent care facility. Most urgent care offices accept Medicare.
Why Do Doctors Refuse to Take Medicare? Medicare is not always cost effective for doctors. It typically pays doctors only 80% of what private health insurance pays.
The Bottom Line
Thanks to plummeting reimbursement rates, ever-tightening rules, and cumbersome paperwork, many doctors are dropping Medicare. If you recently enrolled in Medicare only to find that your long-standing doctor doesnt accept it, you have a number of options.
Whether you choose to stick with your cherished physician and pay the potentially exorbitant price or switch to a doctor who does accept Medicare, its important to carefully crunch the numbers before you make a final decision. Also, review your own medical situation and whether you need your current doctoror someone with similar expertisebecause of a specialized health issue.
Pension vs. Social Security: An Overview
There are many different types of income that retired folks draw on, depending on what their life was like during their working days. Two of the most widely-known income streams today include pensions and Social Security, two programs funded and structured in totally different ways.
Pensions are typically workplace retirement plans, in which an employer makes contributions to a pool of funds on behalf of employees. Social Security is handled by the federal government and funded through payroll taxes collected from employees and companies.
Read on for more about how the two programs are structured and how each may benefit retirees who have paid into such programs.
Key Takeaways Retirement income can be guaranteed through a company's defined-benefit pension plan and federally funded Social Security.
Fewer companies offer guaranteed pensions but offer workers 401(k) plans, which are self-directed investments intended to generate retirement income.
Social Security is a government-guaranteed basic income for older Americans, funded through a special tax paid by employees and employers.
For most retirees without a pension, Social Security will not be enough; other types of retirement savings, like a 401(k) or an IRA, are encouraged.
Pensions
Before the advent of IRAs and 401(k) plans, there were pensions. Your parents and grandparents, if they worked for the same company for many years, may have enjoyed generous pension benefits. Pensions nowadays are known officially as defined-benefit plans because the payment amount you'll receive in retirement is decided or defined in advance.
A private pension is a retirement account created by an employer for their employees future benefit. Employers, governed by certain laws and regulations, contribute on behalf of employees and invest the money as they see fit. Upon retirement, the employee receives monthly payments. State government employees frequently have pension systems as well. For example, in Ohio, state workers pay into the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System in lieu of Social Security.
The private pension payout depends upon several factors, such as how long you worked for the employer as well as what your salary was. In some cases, you can choose a lump-sum payment or a monthly annuity check. In the past, employers were required to maintain excess pension assets within the plan and were not to use the funds for other expenses. This law was put in place so that when needed by retirees, the money would be available to be paid out to eligible retired individuals. It also ensured that excess pension monies were available to offset the times when investment returns were lower than expected.
Many years ago, employers encouraged Congress to amend the pension rules and allow them to use money in over-funded pension plans for other employee benefits, such as retiree health plans and early-retirement payments. In her book "Retirement Heist: How Companies Plunder and Profit from the Nest Eggs of American Workers," Ellen Schultz relates how these changes led many companies to move pension assets into unrelated company coffers. That resulted in a mass downsizing of pension monies and, ultimately, underfunded pension funds.
Private-sector pensions are gradually becoming obsolete, but over 44 million Americans still remain covered by them. Pensions, in general, are considered qualified employer-sponsored plans, which makes them subject to required minimum distribution (RMD) rules. This means participants must begin taking distributions at the age of 72 or face a penalty. Provisions for distributions before 72 can vary. Many participants begin distributions at the age of 65.
Social Security
Although many seniors receive Social Security benefits in retirement, the Social Security system isn't considered a pension. It may look like a pension because upon retirement (if you have paid into the system during your working years), you are eligible to receive monthly benefits. These benefits can begin at the age of 62.
The amount of the check varies based on the age at which you begin receiving benefits as well as how many years you worked and the amounts you earned while you were contributing to the program. Social Security isn't designed to fully replace your income or meet all of your financial needs in retirement.
Social Security is funded by a pay-as-you-go system. This means that while you are working, you pay into the system. On your pay stub, the entry for Social Security taxes is listed as FICA. Some of the payments you make while working go to fund retirees benefits as well as those remunerations of other Social Security recipients.
Key Differences
There are several other distinctions between pensions and Social Security. Social Security offers a disability insurance program that covers workers with enough credits (earned through work and payment into the system) if they become disabled. Pensions normally dont provide disability benefits unless the employee is disabled in an on-the-job accident.
Although spouses may receive a partial pension payment, its unlikely that a child would also benefit from pension incomeas is the case with Social Security. Finally, pensions may offer a lump-sum payout upon retirement. This option is not available through the Social Security system.
Both pensions and Social Security may provide an income stream to retirees. Pensions can begin as early as 55, are usually taken around age 65, and must begin to be withdrawn at age 72. Social Security can begin at age 62.
Pensions and Social Security operate for the same goalto provide retirement fundsbut they are not funded and structured in the same ways, which leads to different challenges for each. While the federal Social Security system will likely continue to provide aid to the disabled and elderly for many yearsthough by how much remains to be seenprivate pension-plan systems are dying out, being replaced by defined contribution plans such as IRAs and 401(k) plans.
The embargo on U.S. trade with Cuba was put into place in 1960 and, after a brief thaw under one president that promptly refroze with the next, there it stays today.
That said, for many years the travel embargo has had so many holes in it that plenty of U.S. citizens have gone back and forth, and at least three commercial airlines are ready to transport them there.
As for other types of commercial activities, other countries long ago seized the opportunity to cash in on Cuba's famous cigars and rum.
That complicates the question of what opportunities U.S. businesses might find in Cuba when and if the embargo actually ends.
Key Takeaways The Cuban embargo remains largely in place six decades after the revolution.
The travel ban is riddled with exceptions that permit Americans to visit Cuba.
Many international firms do business in Cuba (but can't sell those products in the U.S.)
Recent Events
In 2015, President Barack Obama announced that the U.S. would ease restrictions on trade and travel with Cuba. The announcement was greeted with enthusiasm by cigar aficionados, rum drinkers, leisure travelers, and some, but by no means all, Cuban ex-pats.
Soon after he was elected, President Donald Trump said that he would roll back that agreement if Cuba did not agree to further concessions. Yet, by the end of his term of the start of 2020, no substantive action has been taken and the restrictions on travel and commerce remain largely in place.
"Largely" means that there have been small official jabs from time to time that are apparently meant to warn Cuba that the U.S. could get tough if it wanted to. For instance, at the end of 2019, the administration ordered a halt to U.S. flights to Cuban destinations, except for Havana.
In July of 2021, however, the Biden Administration imposed new sanctions on Cuba following the Cuban government crackdown on demonstrators in the streets in Cuba protesting the shortages in medicine and food resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Bidens policy was being framed by Senator Robert Mendez, Chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and the son of Cuban immigrants. Mendez has, in the past, been critical of the Obama Administrations softer line on Cuba.
Follow the Money
The reality is that Cuban products are already widely available in Europe and other parts of the world. If and when the United States becomes a more active trading partner with Cuba, it is likely that the same European multinational corporations that distribute Cuban products to the rest of the world will control the distribution of those products in the U.S. as well.
To understand the potential opportunities for investors, it is helpful to know a bit of history and have some insight into how big business works in Cuba now.
A Brief History
Before Fidel Castro came to power in 1959, an enormous percentage of the Cuban economy was under the control of U.S. corporations. U.S. companies even dominated the island's utilities and railroads. They also controlled a significant portion of its natural resources, including its sugar, cattle, tobacco, timber, oil, mining, and farm industries.
The British company Imperial Tobacco has exclusive rights to distribute Cuban cigars worldwide, though they can't be sold in the U.S.
Cuba's new communist government nationalized all of these assets, claiming them in the name of the Cuban people. The US retaliated by slapping a trade embargo in place in hopes of toppling the Cuban government.
Six Decades Later
After the passage of six decades that saw the collapse of the Soviet Union, the end of the Cold War, and the passing of the torch by Fidel Castro to his brother Raul, it is clear to all parties that the trade embargo did not achieve its purpose.
Today, many argue that the embargo makes no real sense and that ending it will not only make U.S. consumers happy but also will further the goal of bringing a greater level of freedom to citizens of the island nation.
Big Business, Communist Style
The Revolution may have freed the island from the dominance of U.S. business interests, but even communists like to make a profit. Accordingly, the Castro government long ago entered into agreements with European-based multi-national firms to distribute Cuban products, including its famous cigars and rum.
British company Imperial Tobacco, which trades on the London stock exchange under the ticker IMT, has exclusive rights to distribute Cuban cigars worldwide (except in the U.S.) via a tangled web of corporate entities that includes a 50% ownership of Corporacion Habanos, the Cuban governments tobacco company.
Habanos, as it is known in Cuba, controls its brand by entering into limited and carefully controlled distribution agreements in each country in which it does business. If you light up a Cuban cigar anywhere in the world, a portion of the profits flows back to Imperial Tobacco.
Rum Doings
Cubas rum business weaves a similarly tangled web. When Castro took over, rum makers including Bacardi Limited and Jose Arechabala S.A. were thrown out of the country.
The French entered the fray when Pernod Ricard, which trades in France as RI.PA, joined forces with Cubas state-run Cubaexport and began selling the storied Havana Club brand of rum, formerly produced by Jose Arechabala.
(Bacardi produces a rum with the same name in Puerto Rico, using a recipe from the Arechabala family, for sale only in the U.S.)
U.S. Demand
So, the opportunity for distributing the most familiar Cuban products in the U.S. may be long gone. But that doesn't mean there aren't other opportunities, both in goods imported to the U.S. and goods exported to Cuba.
There's still one big hurdle if you're a stickler for following rules set in the dim past. Reasonable estimates place the total value of U.S. assets seized by the Cuban government at somewhere in the $7 billion range. U.S. law requires that money to be repaid before the trade embargo can be lifted.
It is highly unlikely that the Cuban government will hand over the cash, though theres always the possibility that some other arrangement could be made that would open the door to new business.
The Tourist Status
On the tourism front, Americans were already making their way to Cuba via Canada, Mexico, Europe, and other countries that have flights headed to Havana long before President Barack Obama lifted the travel embargo in 2015.
To this day, there are exceptions to the ban for university groups, academic research, journalism, and professional meetings. Travel to Cuba by performers and athletic competitors are okay, too. Family visits are permitted. Humanitarian visitors are allowed. In short, just about anybody could get to Cuba on one or more of those exceptions.
At this point, U.S. cruise ships are not permitted to stop in Cuba, but commercial flights from the U.S. are offered by American Airlines, JetBlue, and Southwest airlines. U.S. passports are still welcome in Cuba, no problem.
Cuban Opportunities
Cuba's tropical beauty has an obvious allure to travelers, but the country offers the possibility of profit for more mundane enterprises. Food, clothing and agricultural implements are all potential Cuban imports. The islands aging infrastructure badly needs to be updated, which should present opportunities for construction firms, purveyors of cement and other building materials, engineers, architects, and home builders.
Just South of Florida
Real estate agents are also likely to be in demand as Americans seek second homes or retirement homes in a sunnier part of the world. Automobile sales are another possible opportunity. Shipping companies would make money and generate jobs, particularly in the southern portion of the U.S., as an increasing number of products are delivered back and forth between the two nations.
In addition, large and mid-sized businesses and entrepreneurs both on and off the island are likely to identify profitable niche opportunities for everything from seafood to suntan lotion if renewed relations create opportunities.
When Will This Happen?
Just when will all sanctions be lifted and trade relations normalized? Most experts agree it wont be anytime soon. Economic ties can be slow to develop, the politics relating to Cuba are complex, and businesses may be cautious about entering into relationships with a country known for nationalizing assets, however long ago. In the meantime, Cuba's forbidden fruit will continue to tantalize its northern neighbors.
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Ellen Shine was a Cork-born Titanic survivor, who lived to the age of 98. The survivor told tales of how men in steerage were held back and that she witnessed murders.
Editor's note: On April 15, 1912, the Belfast-built RMS Titanic sank, after colliding with an iceberg, killing over 1,500 passengers and crew on board. This was one of the deadliest commercial, peacetime maritime disasters in modern history and among those on board were many Irish. This month IrishCentral takes a look at the Irish on board the lucky, unlucky and heroic.
This is an extract from the book The Irish Aboard the Titanic by Senan Molony, which tells the tales of the people who were on board the night the ship went down. This book gives those people a voice. In it are stories of agony, luck, self-sacrifice, dramatic escapes, and heroes left behind.
Ellen Shine
Ticket number 330968. Paid 7 12s 7d, plus 4s extra.
Boarded at Queenstown. Third Class.
From: Lisrobin, Newmarket, County Cork.
Destination: 205 Eighth Avenue, New York City.
The longest-lived Irish survivor of the Titanic was Ellen Shine. She reached the age of 98 (although she had convinced herself she was 101), dying in Long Island, New York, in 1993. She told a story of the men in steerage being kept back and was quoted as witnessing actual killings.
Cork girls story:
A thrilling story was told by Ellen Shine, a 20-year-old girl from County Cork who crossed to America to visit her brother.
"Those who were able to get out of bed," said Miss Shine, "rushed to the upper deck where they were met by members of the crew who endeavored to keep them in the steerage quarters.
"The women, however, rushed past the men and finally reached the upper deck. When they were informed that the boat was sinking, most of them fell on their knees and began to pray. I saw one of the lifeboats and made for it.
"In it, there were already four men from the steerage who refused to obey an officer who ordered them out. They were however finally turned out." Reuter
That report, carried in The Times of London on Saturday, 20 April, is exactly the same as quotes attributed to Ellen Shine and carried in the Denver Post, the Daily Times, and other US newspapers on the previous day, with one difference. The American reports continued:
" in it were four men from the steerage. They were ordered out by an officer and refused to leave. And then one of the officers jumped into the boat, and, drawing a revolver, shot the four men dead. Their bodies were picked out from the bottom of the boat and thrown into the ocean."
How can posterity reconcile these two versions? Were the claimed killings the product of a survivors fevered mind or a journalists reckless embellishment? Did Reuter deliberately choose to tone down the story by plucking it from another source, or was there simply no mention by Ellen of any killings in the first place? No other witnesses described four men being callously shot inside a lifeboat by an officer of the White Star Line, and no bodies were ever recovered with discernible gunshot wounds.
Ellen Shine appears to have escaped in lifeboat No. 13, which was located at the second-last boat on the starboard side, towards the stern. Eugene Daly frankly confesses that he was a steerage passenger who climbed into a lifeboat in defiance of orders at this location. Daly said he was forced from a boat at the second cabin deck, an area of promenade for middle-ranking passengers, and talks of being on the starboard side, where boat No. 13 was lowering:
"We afterward went to the second cabin deck and the two girls and myself got into a boat. An officer called on me to go back, but I would not stir. Then they got a hold of me and pulled me out."
No one testified to any disorder at boat No. 13 at the two official inquiries. Steward Frederick Ray, who was in this boat, told the US Senate investigators, in reply to questions, that he saw no male passengers or men of the crew "ordered out or thrown out of these lifeboats on the starboard side. Everybody was very orderly."
But Irish passenger Dannie Buckley declared: "Time and again officers would drag men from the boats " Resolution of the problem is elusive. Should one disregard the claims of men shot dead for staying stubbornly in a lifeboat? Someone somewhere is spinning pure invention.
Ellen Shine told her story once and would never be drawn on it again. According to the embarkation records, she was an 18-year-old spinster, but by the time US immigration had come aboard the Carpathia, she declared herself to be a 16-year-old servant from Newmarket, County Cork. She was actually aged 17 when she boarded the Titanic and from the small hamlet of Lisrobin (Buckley mistakenly referred to her as the Shine girl from Lismore in a letter home composed on the Carpathia). She was on her way to join her brother Jeremiah in New York
Ellen collapsed in hysterics when met by Jeremiah and other relatives at the Cunard pier in New York, according to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. It reported the next day that she and other women had knocked down crewmen who tried to prevent steerage passengers from reaching the boat deck.
Ellens was case number 418 to be dealt with by the American Red Cross. The notes from this report record her saying she was aged 16 and that she had lost clothing and a cash sum of $500. She was awarded $100 in aid.
In later years, Ellen Shine married and became Mrs. John Callaghan. Her husband, a firefighter, hailed from Kiskeam, also in Cork, and they settled in New York. They first returned to Ireland only in 1959, on the Mauretania, but made a number of visits thereafter. The couple had two daughters, Julia and Mary, whom Ellen would be fated to outlive.
Read more Eugene Daly's detailed account as the White Star Liner went down
In 1976 she moved from Manhattan to Long Island to be with her family following the death of her husband. In 1982 she entered Glengariff nursing home where she celebrated her 100th birthday in 1991 three years early. By this stage, however, Ellen was in the advanced stages of Alzheimers disease. Never having discussed the Titanic disaster in nearly seventy years, she suddenly could not stop babbling about it. A torrent of Titanic revelations flowed from her loosened tongue to the irritation of other residents. When Ellen finally wanted to talk about the disaster, no one was listening.
Ellen Shine Callaghan died on 5 March 1993 and is buried in St Charles Cemetery, East Farmingdale, New York.
A survivor of the Titanic Dies: Glen Cove woman was 101
Helen Shine Callaghan of Glen Cove, one of the last survivors of the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, died yesterday at North Shore University Hospital at Glen Cove at the age of 101.
Callaghan, who was a resident of the Glengariff Nursing Home in Glen Cove, was 20 when she left her native Cork County, Ireland, for a better life in the United States, according to her granddaughter, Christine Quinn [in 2011, the Speaker of the New York City Council].
She was from a big family and her parents were deceased and her sister was head of the family and decided that some of the siblings had to go to America, said Quinn.
Like many of the survivors, Callaghan rarely discussed the tragedy. I remember asking her questions as a girl. She never really answered them directly, Quinn said. My mother only found out about it when she was in school and the teacher passed around a list with the survivors names on it and she saw her mothers name on the list.
- (Glen Cove Record-Pilot, 6 March 1993)
1911 census Shine, Lisrobin.
Mary, widow (55). Had been married 21 years, nine children, eight yet living.
Maggie (30), Ellie (18), James (22), John (25), creamery manager.
*The Irish Aboard the Titanic by Senan Molony is available online.
*Originally published in 2012. Updated in April 2022.
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The founder of the Real IRA was formally released from prison on Easter Sunday after serving 13 years of a 20-year sentence for directing terrorism.
Michael McKevitt, 65, spent the past number of weeks on temporary release at his home in Blackrock, Co. Louth. He was formally released after his sentence expired on Sunday.
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.
McKevitt denied having anything to do the atrocity. He claimed he was stitched-up from the outset.
On his prison release McKevitt launched a stinging attack on his former Sinn Fein colleagues and questioned the party's claim to be republican.
He said in a statement, When I look at Sinn Fein, I believe their behavior 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.
McKevitt refused to state that dissident republican paramilitaries should end their campaign of violence in the North.
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, he said.
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 became a high-profile opponent of the Adams-McGuinness leadership.
The political stalemate continues in Ireland until at least April 6 when the Dail will meet again to see if a coalition government can be formed.
The election in February left most of those elected much more interested in being in opposition, fearing the wrath of the people who savaged the last Fine Gael/Labour coalition at the polls.
There are also close to 30 independents of all shades and sizes in the 160 seat Dail, and trying to make a secure government by including many of them is like herding cats.
The other alternative, a new election, is hardly palatable either with no guarantee anything will work out better the second time around.
The best of a bad lot of outcomes appears to be a weak Fine Gael government propped up in power by some independents with a guarantee for a given period that the opposition parties will not bring them down, especially Fianna Fail.
That government would serve likely for an 18 month to two year period, probably for two budgets, and give the political landscape time to take shape anew.
In that scenario current leader Enda Kenny would remain as taoiseach, but his partys poor election performance and indications that younger bulls are set to challenge him could make it a precarious existence.
Politicians hate to be presented with bad options only, and that is certainly the case in Ireland.
Of the four options -- a new election, minority Fine Gael, minority Fianna Fail or a surprise development such as Sinn Fein going in with Fianna Fail or Fine Gael -- the first one seems the most obvious best of a bad choice option.
Fine Gael retained the largest number of seats despite doing badly in the election, and Kenny won more votes for taoiseach than anyone the first go round.
Politicians on all sides are understandable wary, however. The same wave of discontent that is washing over the U.S. and fueling the Donald Trump phenomenon is also impacting Ireland.
It is astonishing that both Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, which have dominated Irish politics since 1927 between them, do not have 50 percent of the vote anymore.
There is clearly a huge opening on the left, though the shattered Labour Party and Sinn Fein, which expected to do better in the recent election, will take some time to recalibrate.
Parliamentary politics can be extremely tricky when it comes to putting together coalitions, and there is a decent chance all sides will fail and catapult the country into another election.
The failure of Fine Gael and Fianna Fail to coalesce, the obvious step from the outside, is not that surprising. Think Sunnis and Shias, admittedly in a violence-free environment, and you get some sense of the tribal difference that on paper amounts to very little but in practice it does.
What is important is that Ireland has a government. Acting leaders and ministers, some of them no longer democratically elected, is no way to govern a country.
Hopefully by April 6 there will be white smoke. If not the odds of another election will surely soar.
How one Irish man is continuing six generations' worth of traditional tweed at Molly & Sons
*Editor's Note: This article was originally published in 2014.
When Kieran Molloy, 28, lost his job as an industrial engineer to the recession, he found himself back at home in the little village of Ardara (pop. 731), in southwest Donegal.
There are worse places to fetch up. In 2012, it was voted the best village to live in Ireland by The Irish Times. You can see why: the locals are friendly and the dramatic setting, on the side of a sloping hill that leads down to the wild Atlantic coastline, stops the heart with its natural beauty.
It was while kicking around at home wondering what to do next that Kieran suddenly realized that the future was looking him in the face. For six generations his family has been in the Donegal textile business, ever since his great-grandfather Edward Molloy began weaving in the 19th century.
Kieran decided he would follow in his footsteps. He would put his NCAD (National College of Art and Design in Dublin) training to good use. He would make things instead of just drawing them.
I was knocking around at home for a while and Id always been interested in the weaving, Kieran tells IrishCentral. I always worked summer jobs here growing up. The work sheds are twenty feet from our house. Ive always been interested in it.
While I was hanging around at home my dad (Shaun) and I decided we may as well do something. So we set up the weaving as a separate company from my granddads original knitwear company. It's a new father and son enterprise. Weve been doing that for three years now full time.
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It was a significant decision that paid off quickly. What makes Donegal tweed special, what makes it sought after internationally, is its unique color, beauty, and quality. The process of making it is unlike any other, resulting in a signature color-flecked weave. But in recent decades, due to long-term government neglect of the industry and poorly targeted international promotion, the once flourishing industry has dwindled to less than a hundred makers countywide now.
Im the sixth generation doing the same thing in the same spot, Kieran explains, underlining how long and how well his family has represented their village, county.
A lot of what were doing is heavily based on whats come before, whats in our archives, but were changing things now like our color combinations, and what the base colors are to reflect the countryside and nature around us here in Donegal, Kieran explains.
Inspired by the dramatic ever-changing beauty of the ocean, the changeable sky, and the flora and fauna of the nearby hills and mountains, the tweed produced by Molloy & Sons tell the story of the village and the county through the colors and tones found in their tweeds.
We also focus on more contemporary designs that our customers ask us for. If were asked for a navy with pink and blue and yellow spots in it we will do that. We are not doing anything super complicated, but we are making subtle changes every year with texture or trying to be a bit more geometric. We dont do so many checks, we do more basic patterns but try to change it up with the colors or the textures.
Within months of setting up their business the quality of the work they were producing was so good it could be seen from as far away as Tokyo. A buyer from Beams, one of Japan's foremost menswear labels, saw the opportunity to partner with the Donegal-based company, to offer their customers something special.
We hadnt sold to people in Japan before and so they saw the opportunity to develop something special for themselves, which would also be a unique selling point for themselves. So they came over from Tokyo and bought stuff and we have been working with them since.
Japanese tailoring, with its legendary attention to detail, and superior Donegal fabric made for an exhilarating match. The blazers that resulted from the partnership flew off the shelves. It's proof of how times have changed. Kieran's grandfather had to travel to Japan in the 1960s to drum up business, but the internet age has changed all that.
A lot of our promotion isnt about us pushing our work out there. Its more from people around the world finding out about us and then getting in touch. Were not chasing down fashion bloggers to write about us. The internet has changed the way the business is run.
Molly & Sons finds its main customer base via the internet and through admiring write-ups on international style blogs. It's a two-way exchange, Kieran says: You find out through the bloggers whats happening in the world and you stay in touch that way, even though youre on the side of a hill in Donegal.
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Kieran explains that his grandfather John used to visit Japan in the 1960s selling the Donegal tweed and knitwear designed by his company, but it was challenging work at the best of times. For him, it was all about knocking on doors after writing letters months beforehand, Kieran explains.
At the time you could only find the main companies in the market there, it was harder to find the smaller niche suppliers. Now on the internet, you can contact massive corporations all the way down to individual designers running their own one man or woman shows and you can deal with all of them one-on-one. Even if theyre located on the other side of the world. When grandad was doing it, it was a difficult proposition to get new customers in Japan or Korea. You can do it without any difficulty now."
When Molly & Sons have recently featured on the LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy, the world leader in luxury and prestigious brands) website Nowness, it introduced the father and son Donegal company to the world's top creative directors and fashion leaders. Interest was immediate. Top fliers from the world of fashion found themselves flying over to visit the modest little village and the staggeringly beautiful county in which it's set.
So after a promising start, Molloy & Sons are now succeeding in the same way that other innovative and savvy Irish designers like Inis Meain are, by becoming part of a quiet revolution in quality, look and fit and taking their work to high-end markets worldwide where the quality is immediately recognized.
Revolution is not too strong a word for what's happening in Irish design. For decades Irish fabric and knitwear were defined by the boxy, baggy horrors that were made one size to fit all. That era is over. Its the design part that was never invested in, Kieran explains. Its how the industry originally evolved. You made a big sweater that would fit lots of people of all shapes and sizes. That widened the audience but also limited its appeal.
Back in the late 1960s when the Irish government was setting up the famous Kilkenny design workshops they invited a group of accomplished Scandinavian designers to come over and write a report about the state of Irish design and manufacturing.
What does Ireland produce that we should focus on, the government asked them? The visiting designers toured the country and replied that the government should invest more in education about design; and of all the industries, which included pottery, glass, and knitwear, they said Donegal Tweed was the most valuable facet of the Irish design industry. Protect it, they said. They even suggested the government set up a museum to teach its history.
But their suggestions were ignored. The 1970s and a brave new world of polyester and ready-to-wear garments were dawning, and so the government determined Donegal Tweed was a dying industry.
Within twenty years of the Scandinavian report, the whole industry of Donegal Tweed as it once was had collapsed. Told that they were sitting on a gold mine, the government of the day decided the thing to do was to shutter it.
That brings us back to 2014 and Molloy & Sons. Anxious economic times or perhaps a fatigue with ready-to-wear have seen international menswear designers rediscover their enthusiasm for exceptionally well made and tailored menswear. In a time of austerity, it seems luxury is back in fashion.
Liz Hershfield, Vice President of Sourcing and Production at Bonobos, the top tier menswear company, told IrishCentral: The trend really has been getting back to heritage fabrics, a mix of old and new. We started working with Donegal fabrics last year, it was our first season working with it. Our customers respond well to authenticity. They like hearing where the fabric comes from and all of these suppliers are hundreds of years old and they have a rich heritage that really helps us tell great stories about the product.
Molloy & Sons represents everything that their customer base reveres, Hershfield says. Molly & Sons being a sixth-generation mill is the kind of opportunity our designers and tailors get super excited about. They know theyll be working with people who know what theyre talking about, they know the quality will be great, so it makes their job easier and it allows them to get really inspired. It also allows them to mix what is trending in tailoring with the heritage fabric. The casual Friday look is going away a little bit and men are dressing up more these days.
Ninety percent of what Molloy & Sons is currently selling is menswear. Ninety-five percent of it is made for export, Kieran explains. But they have ambitious plans for the new year. Theres a huge womans market out there that we havent gotten into yet. It would mean brighter fabrics and bolder patterns, says Kieran. We will slowly try to creep into that market more in the year ahead.
The 28-year-old is the latest in a long line. Although Molloy & Sons were started three years ago by Kieran and his father Shaun (who's in his 50s) it has evolved from his grandfather's company, which started in the late 1950s. Before that, his grandfather had worked alongside his own father as a sole trader. And his father worked with his uncle (Kieran's great-granduncle) who had a weaving company from 1910 with a showroom and warehouse in New York City in the 1920s. That warehouse was located in the meatpacking district, about two blocks from what is now the Standard Hotel, the showroom was on the 5th avenue corner of 40th Street.
Kieran's great-grandfather worked with his brother and spent a lot of time in America. Their father before them was also a weaver. So the list goes Edward, James, Michael, John, Shaun, Kieran. There's magic in a line that long and in the enduring strands that it still weaves. They represent everything we should cherish about our own history and our eye for beauty.
You can learn more about Molloy & Sons on their website.
*Originally published in 2014, updated in September 2020.
Do you own any Irish Tweed? Let us know in the comments!
IFA chairman Jer Bergin said a Mercosur trade deal is unequivocally negative for Irish and European agriculture, and would damage Ireland beef sector.
Pursuing a Mercosur trade deal would additionally undermine the political credibility of EU/US trade negotiations, he said. Mr Bergin warned that a trade deal with the Mercosur group could result in the EU market being flooded with cheap beef from South America.
Companies with global market scalability will be the focus of the Atlantic Bridge III fund, which is supported by Enterprise Ireland.
It is hoped the funding will help high potential companies in areas such as cloud, big data, robotics and the internet of things scale in the coming years.
The UK currency slid against 15 of its 16 major peers. It was little changed against the dollar as a separate report showed the UK economy grew more than previously estimated at the end of 2015.
On a trade-weighted basis, the UK currency headed for its worst quarter since 2009 amid concern that if Britain votes to exit the EU on June 23, it would hurt economic growth.
A so-called Brexit could also make it harder for the nation to fund its current-account deficit with overseas investment.
The pound fell 0.6% to 79.34 pence per euro, the steepest decline since March 22.
Sterling was little changed at $1.4367.
According to a Deutsche Bank trade-weighted measure, the UK currency has dropped about 6.1% this year, which would be the biggest quarterly decline since September 2009.
The current account deterioration was more notable than the GDP revision, said Steve Barrow, head of Group-of-10 strategy at Standard Bank in London.
Its not helpful when youre going to have a referendum on whether to split from your major trading partner. The headlines hurt sterling a bit, but the breakdown is not as bad as the headline might suggest. Weak commodities are eating into investment income for companies with overseas operations. If commodities recover, so should this part of the current account.
Britains current account deficit has surged to a record high, underscoring a weak spot in an economy that is coming under sharper focus before a vote on whether to remain in the European Union.
While official data also showed the economy grew slightly faster than previously thought, campaigners on both sides of the EU debate seized on the much bigger than expected gap in the balance of payments to push their views.
Chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne said the widening of the deficit to a record 7%, or 32.7bn (41.2bn), of GDP, up from 4.3% of GDP in the third quarter, underscored the importance of Britain voting to remain in the EU on June 23.
Bank of England governor Mark Carney has said a vote to leave the bloc would test the kindness of strangers who cover Britains balance of payments shortfall.
Sterling has weakened sharply this year on concerns about the referendum.
But campaigners for Brexit said yesterdays data showed Britain would flourish on its own because it would no longer have to fund the EUs budget and the scale of its trade gap a big part of the current account deficit meant other EU countries would be keen to do a deal to keep their exports flowing.
These figures blow a hole in the remain campaigns key tactic: To do down Britain and wrongly suggest that we cant get a free trade deal after we say no to Brussels,said Matthew Elliott, chief executive of Vote Leave campaign group.
Most economists say Britains economy would suffer at least a short-term hit to growth if voters decided to leave the EU, and that uncertainty over the referendum will affect the confidence of consumers and businesses before June.
Britains economy grew by a quarterly 0.6% in the October-December period, higher than a previous estimate of 0.5%, helped by the huge services sector. Growth in 2015 as a whole was revised up slightly to 2.3%, faster than most of the worlds other rich countries.
* Reporting by Bloomberg, Reuters, and Irish Examiner staff.
Mr Alierta, 70, spoke more than once with Pope Francis as he weighed a change after almost 16 years atop Spains former telephone monopoly.
While Telefonica chief operating officer Jose Maria Alvarez-Pallete has been heir apparent for more than three years, the decision to leave now came together in the last two to three weeks, the sources said.
The death of Mr Aliertas wife last year also left him dedicating less time to the company, they said. Telefonica was until recently the owner of O2 here.
Mr Alierta, who hails from a family of politicians, built his career on having the right connections, and used Spains political environment to advance his companys interest.
His sense of timing was evident when he announced his successor, just as Spain muddles through a political stalemate thats left country without a government a consideration that factored into the decisions timing, and gives Telefonicas incoming CEO a chance to operate freer from political influence than at any time in the companys 90-year history.
Alierta was associated with a certain generation of business leaders, said Ricardo Wehrhahn, managing partner at Intral Strategy Execution, a banking and business consulting firm in Madrid. They were business people with political backgrounds and connections and that was very important. The new generation is more technical.
Mr Alierta will remain involved as a board member and as head of the Telefonica Foundation, the companys social responsibility platform, sources said.
They became friends when Pope Francis was in Buenos Aires. Together they have discussed boosting digital access for children and helping young entrepreneurs, and are looking for ways to collaborate on child welfare and education projects in Latin America.
If, as expected, Mr Pallete is named as Mr Aliertas replacement, he will be the first Telefonica chairman who was not appointed by the government. A technocrat who scrupulously avoided politics during his rise through the ranks, Mr Pallete was chosen because he had the clearest strategy and was best-suited to navigate the carrier through a technology-driven environment.
Near the top of the do-list is lowering debt. A planned initial public offering of the companys Telxius infrastructure unit and EU approval of the sale of UK wireless unit O2 would help, but there is more to do in a company with 49.9bn in net debt.
A motion was passed at the final day of the Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI) conference in Killarney, Co Kerry, calling for the audit and comes after revelations in the Irish Examiner last October that more than 200 primary students in Dublin were attending a school for six years before it was discovered it was a serious fire hazard.
The north Dublin school was signed off in 2008, but a routine inspection in 2014 found it had so many fire safety concerns it could have collapsed during a blaze in 20 minutes.
Once the defects were discovered, the Dublin Fire Brigade ordered the Department of Education to make immediate repairs costing more than 800,000 to make the building safe.
Referring to the case, Mike Lyons from Cork said the audit of all schools was required so that teachers, parents and students were safe in any building they were being educated in.
What has ended up happening is that we have schools that are not properly fire stopped.
We have had Longboat Quay and other issues also. I would ask the congress to support this motion from the standpoint of the quality of buildings that we are sending children and adults into. They deserve a quality environment for their education, he said.
The topic of workplace bullying also was raised by a number of delegates with a motion passed calling for guidelines and training in dealing with allegations of bullying and harassment.
Senator and former TUI president Gerry Craughwell said the bullying teachers had to face came from above and below and came from colleagues, management and pupils.
I walked into a classroom one day and I saw three teachers at a blackboard and the three of them in tears while a student tore them to pieces.
And the students sit in the classroom and watch it. If we are going to tackle bullying in the workplace, we must start talking about it.
If you feel you are getting bullied, you must start talking to colleagues, and colleagues, we cannot sit on our hands and allow this to happen and then say: Isnt it a shame when one of our colleagues committed suicide.
Because thats where bullying leads to. It is the loneliest place you will ever be. They take you apart in here [the mind]. Thats where they take you apart, he said.
The Cashel plants owners, Sun Pharma, one of the worlds largest pharmaceutical companies, had indicated several months ago that it was looking to scale back its global operations and there had been speculation the Tipperary facility may be affected. Yesterday it confirmed the worst fears of the workers there saying it expects to cease operations there by end of current calendar year.
Tony Kelly, regional officer with Unite trade union which represents around 70 workers at the facility, which makes and packages generic drugs, said the union was very disappointed Sun Pharma was closing the facility having failed to find a buyer especially as it is less than 12 months since the acquisition was made.
The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared before Judge James Faughnan at Dublin District Court yesterday after he was charged with 26 offences.
The government department official, who is in his 40s, is accused of rape, attempted rape, and sexual assault, which is alleged to have happened at a number of locations in Dublin from 1988 until 1998.
Garda Paul Hughes told Judge Faughnan that the defendant made no comment when the charges were put to him. Gda Hughes, of Mountjoy Station, also said the Director of Public Prosecutions consented to the man being tried on indictment in the Central Criminal Court.
There was also consent to him being sent forward for trial on a signed plea should that arise. The garda asked for an eight-week adjournment to allow time to complete the book of evidence.
There was no objection to bail subject to conditions that the defendant, who did not address the court, stays away from the complainant and has no contact with her directly or indirectly through a third party. He also has to sign on twice a week at his local garda station in west Dublin.
Gda Hughes objected to free legal aid saying the accused was a man of some means. However, the defence submitted that he earned 550 a week, had a house in negative equity and mortgage arrears.
Judge Faughnan granted legal aid due to the seriousness of the charges.
The man, who has not yet entered a plea, was remanded on bail in his own bond of 1,000 to appear again at the district court on May 26, when it is expected he will be served with the book of evidence and sent forward for trial.
The opposition leader confirmed the long-awaited move took place during a 20-minute conversation at lunchtime despite Fine Gael later insisting no offer was made until after Mr Kenny phoned back in a bid to meet today.
Speaking at Leinster House 34 days after the general election and amid widespread calls for a public statement on the Dail impasse, Mr Martin said he contacted Mr Kenny at lunchtime yesterday to clarify Irish Examiner reports Fine Gael was considering cancelling the April 6 vote.
During the 20-minute phone call, Mr Martin said Mr Kenny said the vote will still happen as scheduled, before the Fianna Fail leader asked for the party leaders to meet after Wednesday to assess the political situation and how potentially a government can be formed.
It is understood that after the conversation, Mr Kenny unsuccessfully tried to phone Mr Martin back, before sending a text message suggesting a meeting today instead a situation Fine Gael insist was the first time any talks offer was made.
However, the Fianna Fail leader said in a text and voice-mail responding to the message there is no point in meeting before Wednesdays vote, telling reporters yesterday he will discuss the matter after the Dail ballot, with senior party figures last night saying depending on what happens we could have two very different conversations.
Just before lunchtime, I rang the Taoiseach; in the first instance I told him I read reports there may be moves to defer the vote on Wednesday, the vote for taoiseach, Mr Martin said.
I made it clear I wouldnt be supporting that, that I wanted it to go ahead next Wednesday and fall whatever way it falls.
He confirmed that the vote would go ahead, and also that we are engaged in that negotiation process with the Independents and that we would be having (talks) sessions on Monday on Tuesday.
We both agreed we would engage in the aftermath of that, and following conclusions on Wednesday.
Mr Martin said despite the development, his party wouldnt be going into a grand coalition with Fine Gael, but when asked later about potentially backing a Fine Gael-led minority government, he said repeatedly I havent ruled anything out.
The Fianna Fail leader said he told Mr Kenny he was frustrated by Jobs Minister Richard Brutons comments on Wednesday that Fine Gael would not support a Fianna Fail-led minority government, describing it as intemperate language.
Mr Martin also said he did not know if next Wednesday will end in stalemate, or if another election will occur, but argued that if this happens, the responsibility is on the entire Dail.
Asked if Independents should now pee or get off the pot by explaining how they will vote because Fine Gael and Fianna Fail have now committed to talking to each other, the Fianna Fail leader joked: That might be the fastest way of losing a vote.
Meanwhile, Mr Martin and two of his four-strong negotiation team Barry Cowen and Jim OCallaghan met privately with Independent TD Katherine Zappone yesterday morning, before holding a separate meeting with Independents Clare Daly and Mick Wallace.
The party is not expected to hold any further meetings until its round table talks on Monday and Tuesday.
A senior party figure last night said nothing will happen until negotiations with Independents end, but suggested they want us to provide cover for them by entering talks with Fine Gael.
While environment spokesperson Mr Cowen and public expenditure and reform spokesperson Sean Fleming have previously said whoever loses Wednesdays vote should allow the rival party to form a minority government, a Fianna Fail spokesperson would not be drawn on the matter yesterday.
The EU-funded report identified a number of policy weaknesses which allowed billionaire businessman Denis OBrien to have a dominant position in Irish media.
He owns 29.9% of the countrys biggest newspaper group, Independent News and Media, and is the principal shareholder in Communicorp which owns two national radio stations, Today FM and Newstalk as well as several local radio stations which account for 20% of the radio market.
The report by the European University Institutes Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom said existing levels of media concentration, particularly in print and broadcast media, already exceeded the recommended maximum 20% market share described in the 2014 Competition and Consumer Protection Act.
Only Finland, Lithuania and Luxembourg were deemed to have higher concentrations of media ownership than Ireland in a study of 19 EU member states.
The centre said that Irish politicians had been reluctant to seriously consider the issue.
The obvious means to address this is to adjust the legislation so that it applies retrospectively, the report concluded.
It said Irish politicians cited the strong defence of property rights which were granted protection under the Constitution as a reason for failing to act.
However, the centre said: Given that freedom of expression is also explicitly defended in the constitution, there is clearly a case to be made for retrospection.
When issuing new media ownership guidelines last year, then communications minister Alex White said he did not believe they could be applied retrospectively because of constitutional protections.
The report also identified a risk that some minority groups in Ireland were manifestly under-represented in mainstream media. It said some social and cultural groups as well as local communities had difficulties in accessing media.
RTE schedules rarely included any programming focusing on the interests of ethnic minorities with the exception of Irish-language speakers, the report said.
Given the transformation of the ethnic profile of Ireland since the 1990s, the presence of the new Irish has not been reflected among the cohort of Irish media professionals or in terms of their media representation, the centre said.
Seamus Coffey, an economist at University College Cork who has written reports for the Department of Finance, said the judgment will be tightly worded and that Ireland will not be expected to collect anywhere near the 8bn in back taxes from Apple that some analysts have suggested.
Speaking in a personal capacity and not on behalf of the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council, of which he is a member, Mr Coffey said the tax bill will likely be small, possibly only as much as 150m. It will relate solely to taxes due in Ireland over the last decade, he said.
He said the judgment will likely see Ireland avoid any new furore from the US during the presidential election.
There shouldnt be an adverse finding, but it is likely that there will be, said Mr Coffey, adding that Apple pays tax in Ireland based on the key support, procurement, and logistics which its 6,000 staff here provide the global giant.
They will make a judgment on what corporation tax Apple pays in Ireland and not judge that Apples global profits are taxable in Ireland.
Even if the judgment were to find Apple owed 10m-15m in back tax for each of the past 10 years, the overall bill would still likely add up to 150m a fraction of the 6.87bn the State collected in all corporate taxes last year.
I dont think they will get anywhere near 1bn [from Apple], said Mr Coffey.
Other countries the commission ruled collected too little tax from US and EU companies said they will appeal their adverse rulings.
Mr Coffey thought it likely Ireland would appeal any adverse ruling.
Irelands tax regime has faced more scrutiny than other countries. In recent months, the frontrunners in the race for the White House have slammed Ireland over so-called tax inversion deals whereby US multinationals flip their corporate residency into Ireland seeking more favourable tax treatments.
Irelands alleged dealings with Apple came under fierce scrutiny and raised unwelcome headlines when a Senate sub-committee committee in May 2013 claimed US taxpayers were losing billions of dollars in global revenues generated by Apple.
At the same hearing, Apple chief executive Tim Cook said it was the 35% corporate tax rate levied in the US that was the source of the problem and that Apple had a substantial number of employees and resources based in Ireland.
Finance Minister Michael Noonan said before the start of the general election campaign that he expected the commission to announce its decision after the vote.
Dublin man Keith Collins, aged 53, was stabbed repeatedly while eating dinner with a woman at the Kang Nam BBQ restaurant in the Hornsby Westfield Shopping Centre at about 9.30pm local time on Wednesday.
Mr Collins is believed to have been living in Terrigal, New South Wales, for some time.
Alexander Villaluna, aged 44, has been charged with murder and attempted murder over the killing of Mr Collins and the injuries suffered by Jovi Pilapil, 39.
Australian media reported that Ms Pilapil had separated from the accused last year.
She suffered stab wounds to the chest and arm and was taken to Royal North Shore Hospital with a punctured sternum.
Despite her serious injuries, she managed to escape the restaurant, collapsing at a nearby shop.
Detective Acting Superintendent Damian Henry said the relationship between the three people will form part of the police inquiry.
Were yet to establish if theres a domestic relationship between the three parties. We believe that there might be a domestic relationship between the female and the [charged man], he said.
Diners fled from the restaurant when the attacker assaulted the pair, according to local reports.
The guy jumped over the counter and stabbed him with a glass bottle. He got two in the neck and two in the stomach and he, like, dropped, said one witness.
It has yet to be confirmed if a knife or bottle was used in the attack and a number of items were taken from the scene for forensic examination.
Mobile phone footage from diners and other shoppers in the centre will be examined as part of the investigation. Footage circulating online of the suspect being arrested shows an officer brandishing a Taser as she demands the man drop a backpack and kneel on the ground before being handcuffed.
The alleged attacker was refused bail and was expected to face Hornsby Local Court yesterday.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the attacker walked up and down the shopping centres concourse, covered in blood, with a 20cm knife in his hand, before returning to the restaurant where he was arrested.
The newspaper said that Peter Dimbrowsky, a witness, described the assailant as eerily calm.
Its almost like it was an out-of-body experience for him, said Mr Dimbrowsky.
He probably sat down wondering what to do. He was eerily calm as though it didnt really matter.
The Department of Foreign Affairs yesterday said it has not received any request for consular assistance in relation to the incident.
The Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) annual convention this week affirmed its opposition to the current reform proposals around the junior cycle, which counterparts in Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI) have been implementing since September. However, since the two unions voted differently on the system, the situation has led to difficulties for ASTI members at some schools.
Of more than 730 second-level schools, most are staffed by members of one union or another. But at more than 90 community or comprehensive schools, and around 70 of the 260 second-level schools managed by education and training boards (ETBs), staff include members of both ASTI and TUI.
Around 3,500 ASTI members work at such schools, although dozens may be one of less than a handful at their individual school.
One of the main differences as a result of the unions divergence on the junior cycle issue has been that since last autumn, TUI members have attended training on many aspects. This includes the planned assessment of their own pupils for school certification as part of the new junior cycle programme something Asta delegates decided this week they will not now do either.
Dermot Brennan, from the Carbery branch in Cork, said difficulties arise particularly for ASTI members teaching English, business studies, and science in dual-union schools, as they are the first subjects to see changes introduced. They could be put teaching resource classes because they are teaching English but not assessing their own pupils. Or if a teacher is part-time on four or five hours a week and in their second year [at a particular school] they could lose those hours, because the principal might prefer not to have the person in the ASTI who cant assess their own pupils, Mr Brennan said.
But such pressures may also be leading to inter-union rivalry, said Clare delegate Geraldine OBrien, referring to the case of an ASTI member who was already in danger of losing their post anyway at an ETB school this summer because of falling staffing entitlements. To appease the principal, she joined the TUI so she could attend in-service [training], because the other English teacher was an ASTI member and did not attend in-service, Ms OBrien said.
ASTI general secretary Kieran Christie told delegates that a member leaving ASTI, while it is in an industrial dispute, to join another union would put the accepting union in breach of Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) dispute regulations. We would never take in members of TUI in a dispute situation, and we have their assurances they are not doing that, he said. However, Mr Christie said that anyone with concrete information of this happening should forward it to ASTI, so that it could be processed by ICTU.
A TUI spokesperson said the union is completely unaware of the situation and it would be inappropriate for it to comment on it.
Wicklow delegate Declan McInerney said it is vital to remember that new teachers may also come under pressure not to join a union, or not to join ASTI, even at job interviews.
Whats to stop someone asking if we employ you, are you willing to assess your own students? How can someone looking for a job refuse? Mr McInerney said.
The union wants to discuss remaining concerns of members around the junior cycle with the Department of Education, armed with the threat of one-day strikes from September if matters are not resolved to ASTIs satisfaction by then.
The motion passed on Wednesday means that teachers would expand their campaign under which they currently refuse to attend training on the revised junior cycle by refusing to assess pupils for classroom-based assessments. Those would be scheduled for inclusion in a Junior Cycle Profile of Achievement due to be given to students from autumn of next year, to include the outcome of those assessments in second and third years.
The charity for homeless people said 83 families became homeless in February and were referred to its family services in Dublin during the month.
Its latest report states that 363 children have become homeless since the start of the year.
These numbers clearly show that the family homeless crisis is continuing to deepen with over 200 families becoming homeless in the first two months of 2016 compared to a total of 739 becoming homeless during the whole of last year, said Mike Allen, director of advocacy at Focus Ireland.
Its not enough for this caretaker Government and the next Government to say they want to tackle homelessness and name-check it as a priority. They have to commit to a coherent set of actions required to achieve this urgently, Mr Allen said.
It is important to highlight that while the number of families becoming homeless is shocking, the situation would be much worse without the work Focus Ireland does in supporting families to move out of homelessness into secure housing, he said.
Mr Allen said February saw the highest number of families leaving homelessness during a single month.
Focus Ireland supported 36 families to secure a home and move out of homelessness. Three other families using our services found housing themselves.
Of those 39 families, 15 moved to local authority homes; 12 moved into private rented accommodation with the support of the Housing Assistance Programme or similar schemes; four moved to social housing owned by approved housing bodies; four moved to supported accommodation; three found alternative accommodation themselves, and one availed of Dublin Simons Support to Live Independently (SLI) scheme.
Meanwhile Focus Ireland said the eviction of tenants by vulture funds highlights how many families become homeless as a result of their landlords selling their property.
It said it would be reasonably simple for the Government to change this by legislating so that tenancy agreements would have to run their full course.
Catriona Twomey of Cork Penny Dinners, which provides 1,800 meals a week to people down on their luck, said a number of families are presenting at the charity because they are either put to the pin of their collars paying rent, or have lost the roof over their head because landlords has sold off rental properties.
Ms Twomey added that the charity is also seeing an increase in deserted wives looking for its assistance.
She said in several cases they cited family breakdown due to the economic situation.
This rental thing [large increases] is huge. Its hitting people on low incomes. They [the Government] should do something about increasing the minimum wage.
Its exploitation and if it was happening in China wed be giving out about it, she said.
She gave an example of a young mother in her 20s with a two-year-old child arrived at the charitys centre in Little Hanover Street recently.
Ms Twomey said the young woman was struggling so much to pay heating, lighting, and her rent, that she couldnt afford food for the two of them.
There has been a massive increase in rents which people cant afford and others are being made homeless because landlords are selling up. A number of people we are now seeing have lost the roof over the heads and are living in one room in a hotel where they have no cooking facilities. They are the kind of people now coming to us. Ms Twomey said that volunteers regularly delivered pizzas as a treat to young families in such circumstances.
The people we are seeing are not those continuously on the dole. Theyre ones in low-income jobs. Sometimes we also give them a couple of bags of shopping as well to take away. A family from Kerry recently came up to see a relative in a Cork hospital. They came in to us and asked could we feed the kids. The adults said they didnt want anything for themselves, but it was obvious they were hungry too. Eventually they relented and we also gave them sandwiches and juices to take back with them, Ms Twomey said.
She said she fears that the effects of the economic crisis are only peaking now.
Youd imagine with a so-called recovery in the economy there would be less people coming to us. But thats not the case, there are even more than ever.
At Impact trade unions education conference in Dublin yesterday, it unveiled plans to work with employers in the early years sector to seek increased state funding and the professionalisation of the industry so that staff providing quality services can be properly rewarded. The unions deputy general secretary Kevin Callinan accused politicians of abandoning the childcare issue less than a month after the election.
The cost and quality of childcare was one of the biggest issues in Februarys General Election, he said, A month later, it already seems to have fallen off the political agenda. The issue has barely appeared on the priority lists drawn up by the mainly middle-aged men involved in discussions on the make-up of a government. He said in the meantime Ireland lags behind most European countries when it comes to investment in early care and education.
President Higgins was due to be guest of honour at the commemorative event in Belfast City Hall on April 8.
It is understood the fact the occasion has not garnered enough cross-party support, with a number of unionists declining invitations, motivated the Presidents decision to stay away.
Sinn Fein Lord Mayor Arder Carson received a letter from the President outlining his reasons for pulling out.
Mr Carson said: Both personally, and on behalf of Belfast City Council, I am extremely disappointed that the President is no longer attending this event, part of our Decade of Centenaries programme.
The overall programme for the decade was agreed by full council and has cross-party support, and that position has not changed.
The dinner will, of course, be going ahead on April 8 and I am very much looking forward to the occasion.
A spokesman for Aras an Uachtarain confirmed President Higgins would not be attending.
The President accepted the invitation to the civic dinner on the basis that there was cross-party support for the invitation, he said.
This now is no longer the case, leaving the President with no other option but to withdraw, as he does not want to become embroiled in matters of political controversy.
In the same week that three unions backed fresh campaigns to restore pay parity for those entering the profession on reduced pay since 2011, the ASTI decided to work harder to improve pay and conditions for privately-paid teachers at the 50-plus fee-charging schools.
A unanimous vote of delegates at its convention means a new committee is to investigate variations between those teachers and those paid directly by the Department of Education.
While most staff in fee-charging schools are paid the same salary scales as those in schools entirely funded by the State, the number is falling since successive budgets have increased the pupil-teacher ratio for the sector. This means that, in order to offer smaller classes or even to remain on par with other schools, they have to use more of their fees or other income to pay extra staff.
Not all fee-paying schools treat their teachers badly, but many of them are elitist and yet they treat their staff as second-class citizens, said ASTI ex-president Brendan Broderick.
The unions honorary national organiser, Mary Ohle, said some teachers who had reached the seventh or eight point on the Department of Education salary scale putting them on salaries up to around 40,000 had been put back to point one of the scale when moving to fee-charging schools. She knew of some privately-paid teachers being paid 21,500 a starting salary nearly 10,000 lower than the bottom-of-the-scale 31,009 paid to new entrants to teaching since 2012.
Many of these teachers dont see the point of joining a union when they are being paid even worse than newly-qualified teachers, she said.
A new ASTI committee was elected yesterday to oversee pay and working conditions of these privately-paid teachers. It will make policy recommendations and report back to next years convention.
Niall Mahon of the Dublin North West branch said things have changed a lot in the 20 years he has worked at a fee-paying school: There are misconceptions of what private schools are about. We are not sitting on leather sofas quaffing claret. This is not Eton or Harrow, we have fee-paying schools where grounds might be good and there is wider subject choice, but where teachers are not very well paid, particularly since changes to the PTR.
Joe Moran proposed the motion for ASTIs Tipperary branch, saying the average wait to move from being paid privately to department-paid has increased from two or three years since cuts to public funding.
For the last three school years, the department only funds one second-level teacher for every 23 pupils at fee-charging schools, compared to one for every 19 pupils in the majority that are entirely State-funded.
It said countries are locking up huge numbers of people for drug crimes, including Ireland, where, it said, a fifth of inmates are in for drug offences.
The research, conducted by the Johns Hopkins-Lancet Commission on Drug Policy and Health, says there is compelling evidence from countries such as Portugal and the Czech Republic that decriminalisation has seen significant public health benefits.
The Oireachtas Justice Committee recommended last November the Portuguese model be examined here. The Hopkins-Lancet Commission report also strongly backs supervised injecting centres saying they reduced overdose deaths and the spread of infectious diseases.
Last December, the previous government gave the green light for a pilot medically-supervised injecting centre in Dublin.
Outgoing drugs minister Aodhan O Riordain backed this proposal and also a Portuguese-type model.
The report of the Hopkins-Lancet Commission, composed of 22 experts, was published yesterday in the run-up to a special examination of drug laws by the UN this month.
Decriminalisation of non-violent minor drug offences is a first and urgent step in a longer process of fundamentally rethinking drug policies, said co-author Joanne Csete of the Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York. As long as prohibition continues, parallel criminal markets, violence and repression will continue.
The report says the idea that all drug use is dangerous and evil has led to enforcement-heavy policies and made it difficult to treat potentially dangerous drugs in the same light as tobacco and alcohol. It says policing practices undertaken in the name of the public good has demonstrably worsened public health and that the greatest impacts of drug prohibition are the excessive use of incarceration.
It says 20% of inmates in Irish prisons are there for drug offences, the same as Russia, twice as high as New Zealand, half those of Italy, but similar to the world average of 21%. The report, published in The Lancet, backed decriminalisation of minor non-violent drug offences, such as use, possession and petty sale.
Countries such as Portugal and the Czech Republic decriminalised minor drug offences years ago, with significant financial savings, less incarceration, significant public health benefits and no significant increase in drug use, it said.
The report called on countries to move gradually toward regulated drug markets, but urged independent and rigorous assessment of this model.
The research accepts that the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has argued that without prohibition that drug use would be as widespread as alcohol, with disastrous consequences.
However, the report concluded that the harms of prohibition far outweigh the benefits.
The figures have led to demands from opposition parties for ministers to come clean on exactly what type of goods are being allowed to be exported to Israel.
Enterprise Department documents show the vast majority under the military export category, 6.18m, were approved in 2011.
The Government refuses to give details of what type of equipment was involved, referring to the broad headings of ground vehicles, components and technology.
New figures show that two military licences totalling 126,637 were approved this year in the run-up to the Israeli onslaught on Gaza.
The licences are for specifically military exports, and not the dual use category for materials that can be used for either civilian or military purposes by the country being exported to.
The licence type is determined by the product characteristics and not by the end-user, said a spokesperson for the enterprise department. A dual use licence is issued for dual use goods and a military licence is issued for military goods.
Opposition parties have expressed concern that the exact type of material being sold to Israel is being hidden from the public.
The lack of transparency over the sales has provoked calls for the Government to provide more information regarding the sort of equipment which is being approved for sale abroad by Irish companies.
The sale of military equipment to Israel has sparked widespread international attention since the conflict in Gaza erupted, with Amnesty International calling for a ban on such sales to the country, and the Hamas authority in Gaza.
Fianna Fail senator Averil Power expressed concern at the exports.
I think it is outrageous that we are selling military equipment to Israel, and that equipment could be used as part of their attacks on women and children in Gaza, she said. Those licences should be suspended immediately. At the very least, there should be far more transparency about what these licenses cover.
Sinn Feins Padraig Mac Lochlainn also demanded the Government was more open about the situation.
We need far more transparency regarding what is being covered by these licences, said Mr Mac Lochlainn. I am very concerned that these exports are being used by the Israeli military.
There is absolutely no reason why the Government cannot show more accountability in this matter. They should come clean.
British business secretary Vince Cable has announced the suspension of some of its arms exports to Israel if hostilities resume in Gaza due to fears UK made-products could be used by the Israeli Defence Forces.
The military licence figure for 2013 was 120,000, and 39,000 for 2012.
The discovery will open the way for research into the evolution and function of colour in animals and is regarded as such a significant breakthrough that it was reported yesterday by the international journal Cell Biology.
The colourless fossil of a Spanish snake was analysed by a team of UCC scientists led by Maria McNamara, who found that, depending on their condition, some fossils can retain evidence of skin colour.
The scientists discovered fossilised snakeskin maintained the unique shapes of different types of pigment cells, which would have created yellows, greens, blacks, browns, and iridescence while the reptile was alive.
The pigments themselves are now decayed, but with the cell shapes, specific to each kind of pigment had mineralised, providing enough information to reconstruct their colours. In the case of the Spanish snake the team were able to determine it was green and black.
When you get fossil tissues preserved with this kind of detail, youre just gobsmacked when youre looking at it under the microscope, said Dr McNamara, a palaeobiologist at the UCCs School of Biological, Earth, and Environmental Sciences. I was astounded. You almost cant believe what youre seeing.
Snake colour reconstruction. Credit: Jim Robbins
She first came across the fossilised snake while conducting her PhD research on fossils at site in Leros, Spain, but only recently analysed the specimen.
Her team discovered the skin cells when viewing the fossil under a high-powered scanning electron microscope and then matched the shapes up with pigment cells in modern snakes to determine what colours they might have produced.
For the first time, were seeing that mineralised tissues can preserve evidence of colour, said Dr McNamara.
The researchers found the fossilised snakeskin had three types of pigment cells in various combinations: Melanophores, which contain the pigment melanin; xanthophores, which contain carotenoid and pterin pigments; and iridophores, which create iridescence. The snake was green and black, with a pale underside colours that aided in daytime camouflage.
Up until this discovery, the only prospect for skin colour being preserved in fossils was organic remains related to melanin, said Dr McNamara. But now we know colour can be preserved even for tissues that are mineralised.
This discovery opens the door for reanalysis of many other fossils.
Guten tag. Myself and my wife are swingers and we arrive in Cork next week to hopefully spend a nice evening with some local couples. Where is the best place in Cork to find swingers? Karl, Munich, please dont make another cheap joke about Kinsale.
My solicitor wont let me. And trust me, there is nothing cheap about Kinsale. I hear the swinger scene is pretty lively in Cork city now. Mainly because a lot of people have moved here from a nearby seaside resort which is famous for its restaurants.
Ill say no more on that front. I hear that local swingers prefer to have a bottle of wine before they get down to business.
You dont want the word going around town that you are into sober sex. Thats just disgusting. People might think you are from you know where.
(Turn right when you are coming out of the airport, in case you are wondering.)
Hey man. Im like visiting Dublin next month with my girlfriend and weve got a few days to burn before we head to Berlin. Ive heard Galway is like, almost as cool as I am. Do you think Id enjoy it there, or would I be better off in Cork? Edgar, San Francisco, Im so laid back that I often fall asleep in the middle of
I know what you mean. I nearly fell asleep in the middle of your long, drawn out question. My advice is head west.
You strike me as someone with a ridiculously inflated opinion of himself. So you already have something in common with Galway people. That said, you sound like one of those bearded Yanks with an unhealthy interest in artisan food, in which case I would definitely recommend Cork. Galway doesnt have much on the food front, unless you like oysters and Supermacs.
Cmere, Im mad into EastEnders these days, Phil keeps losing the rag. Why dont we have a soap opera about life here in Cork? Jerry, Im so into Cork that my sons middle name is Tanora.
I hear you Jerry. I am currently developing a series called Norries. Its about salt of the earth Cork people in Farranree who dream of one day moving to Ballinlough. (God forbid.) I made a short pilot for RTE, but they said they couldnt understand a word anyone was saying.
I said now you know how I feel watching Fair City. Anyway, I have changed the name to Southsiders. Its about a small estate in Blackrock where everyone is a back-stabbing social climber.
RTE said theyre not interested in another soap. I said no problem, this is a documentary.
Howre oo goin on? Im chatting to this one on the Tinder over the past few days and we have a date tonight. Im meeting her outside Brown Thomas above in Cork at 8pm. The lads in the pub are gone mad with the envy. Shes a gorgeous 23-year -old with an incredible body. Im 48 with an incredible collection of bellies. Do you think I should dress up, for the days thats in it? Ger Mary Mick, head south from Kenmare until you see the women start to look like men.
Your problem, Ger Mary Mick, is the day thats in it. Its called Fools Day. And I dont think your date is going to turn up.
I hear this a common problem now on the 1st of April. Cork girls are luring poor culchies like yourself up to town, and ye all end up in a big gang on Patricks Street at eight oclock. I think thats terrible.
The smell around there is awful for days. (No offence.)
Like, totes, what is the story babes? My boss here in Dublin said he is sending me to the Cork office for three months. What did I ever do to him? (I better not say, hes married!) Anyway, no problemo, Ill just wear clothes from 2014 and Im sure Ill fit in. What else should a south county Dublin princess (I so am!) know about life out on the bog? Kim, Killiney, Ive dated half the Irish rugby team.
You mean Paul OConnell. Now that hes gone, its clear he was half the Irish rugby team.
Anyway, how to fit in on Leeside, here are two things you should know about Cork. We are the snobbiest, most pass remarkable people in the world. And we hate snobby, pass remarkable people.
So we go around pissed off with ourselves all the time. If nothing else, that explains Ronan OGara and Roy Keane.
A bruised and battered Labour party is now at a crossroads where its very existence is in question. Every little hurts was what the traditionally left-wing group once trumpeted as a warning against Fine Gaels post-election plans before the 2011 election. But it was every little mean cash-saving measure that Labour supported in government that returned to hurt the party after its joint tenure with Fine Gael over the last five years.
As a result, voters punished Labour. Just seven TDs were returned, compared to the 37 in the previous election.
An autopsy on the election took place at the City West Hotel in Dublin this week, where defeated candidates voiced their frustration vented their fury at the partys tactics and blunders during the campaign. It was a stormy affair which saw walkouts, shouting matches, and scathing criticism thrown at embattled leader Joan Burton.
The Dublin West TD emerged from the six-hour pow-wow trying to put on a brave face. Nonetheless, the Tanaiste looked shattered and emotional after a torrent of complaints.
The crux of the problem, say Labour figures privately, is that the party must decide about its leadership following its drubbing in the polls. Secondly, fundamental root-and-branch reform is needed in order to rebuild Labour. But the problem is that the latter cannot be acted upon until the former is decided, say sources.
In the meantime, demoralised and defeated candidates are pondering their futures.
One former rural TD set the tone during a break at the think-in on Wednesday night, confiding: Theyre all just giving out in there, having their sandwiches like its a normal party meeting. But nothing is going to change and theyll all just go home. Im thinking about what I should do next since losing my seat.
Another veteran figure put it more bluntly: It was a clusterfuck. It was vicious. Joan looked in a sorry state, on her own up there. Everything was brought up to [Eamon] Gilmore being taken down, to the Vatican embassy, to our clothes being stolen [by Fine Gael] on the marriage referendum.
Deputy leader Alan Kelly was also hung out to dry, particularly as he was director of elections.
At one stage in the meeting, junior minister Sean Sherlock became annoyed and walked out over what observers say was Ms Burtons failure to address the elephant in the room, the embarrassing matter of stepping down. The Cork East TD even made a discreet bid for the leadership by suggesting he would march through Munster and rejuvenate the party.
But his chances, and those of Mr Kelly, were undercut by a surprise backing by several former parliamentarians for public expenditure minister Brendan Howlin. Former TDs and outgoing senators openly said he would make a good leader.
Under Labours constitution, a leadership election must take place within six months of an election. Ms Burton says she will do what is best for the party, but that the issue will not be resolved until after the formation of the next government is decided. Her supporters privately say she would like to step down with dignity when the time comes, and the choice of her successor depends on what the next government will look like and what role Labour might play in opposition.
Nonetheless, coming back from the bitter attack she endured at the closed- door get-together will be difficult, if not impossible. Those present noted how the Tanaiste was castigated for her dismal performance during the televised leader debates.
The dilemma, say those who are undecided about leaving politics, is whether Mr Kelly or Mr Sherlock now seek a seconder for the leadership and therefor trigger an internal election earlier than Ms Burton wants. On the other hand, if Mr Howlin takes up the mantle, his supporters say he wants no contest and favours a coronation. But, despite the initial open support from the likes of former TDs Ciaran Lynch and Michael McCarthy, and several senators, there are questions as to whether the Wexford man has the enthusiasm for a national tour to reinvigorate the party and whether he would appeal to the grassroots.
Former communications minister Pat Rabbitte put it well at the hotel meeting when he suggested that the seven remaining TDs should agree between them on who should be the next leader. Furthermore, whoever it is, he mused, they should be willing to take the lead for at least a decade. Some Labour figures suggest that Mr Kelly might have more passion or vigour for such a task.
In the meantime, defeated candidates are openly discussing walking away from politics; parliamentarians with the once-influential government coalition partner now face a lonely period in opposition; Labour, with its diminished numbers, will have little say about policies or spending in the country and the partys brand has been destroyed.
So where to next for the party of James Connolly as its remaining supporters and parliamentarians face arguably the biggest uphill battle for Labour in its century-old existence?
Newly elected party chairman Willie Penrose told the Irish Examiner this week that Labour should return to protecting and advocating bread and roses issues its traditional values. Issues such as housing and support for rural communities should be progressed, he said, even if this means supporting the next government on matters from opposition benches.
We need to get away from this negativity that pervades politics in this country, said Mr Penrose, whose election in the Longford-Westmeath after an epic recount secured the partys seventh seat and Dail speaking rights. Generally opposition in Ireland is opposition, I think thats pathetic.
A lot more clashing of the heads, though, will probably happen before Labour maps out its future. Alex White aptly noted that Labour had underestimated the extent to which the economic crash had hit voters pockets.
The party is split on its future. Some want a quick change in leadership, others wont rush Joan Burton from the stage. Politics is tough. But time is ticking. Labour needs direction, soon.
Equally, those with a passion to lead Labour to a better future must not underestimate how close to extinction it currently lies, but nonetheless still has a chance to appeal to the hearts and minds of voters.
Founders Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne created the company on April 1, 1976, as they set about selling computer kits to hobbyists, each of which was hand-built by Wozniak.
Today the company has more than 480 retail stores in 18 countries worldwide and reported income of over $18bn (15.8bn) for the first quarter of this year.
The company says there are now more than 1bn active Apple devices being used around the world.
Chief executive Tim Cook described the figure as one no one could have imagined, adding that it was an indicator of how much impact Apple has on people around the world.
The companys journey to the summit of the technology industry has been a rocky one, having seen Jobs leave the firm in the mid-1980s after his pet project, the first Macintosh computer, struggled and he attempted to oust then-chief executive John Sculley.
He returned in 1997 when the company was in financial crisis and launched the iMac the following year, the first of a string of hardware products that also includes the iPod, iPhone, and iPad, as well as the iTunes Store that cemented Apples place as an industry leader, before his death from cancer in 2011.
Since then the firm has launched its first wearable, the Apple Watch, and continued to see an increase in sales in its MacBook line of computers despite a global drop in PC sales. The Apple Music streaming service was launched in 2015, gaining more than 10m paying users since then.
Apple has recently been at the centre of a battle with the US government and intelligence agencies over data encryption, with the technology firm refusing to help the FBI unlock an iPhone belonging to a terror suspect, claiming it violated user privacy and the process would make all iPhones more vulnerable.
The firm received backing from the wider tech community before the FBI gained third party help to access the phone and ended court proceedings.
The companys 40th birthday is being marked by the launch of the iPhone SE and new smaller iPad Pro, with the smartphone believed to be aimed at emerging markets such as China and India, not traditional targets for Apple, as the next phase of the firms history begins.
Having stepped into the role at the top of Apple in tragic circumstances following the resignation and death of Jobs, Cook has begun to forge his own legacy at the top of the technology giant.
In 2014, Cook became the first head of a Fortune 500 company to come out as gay, has pushed to widen Apples green and environmental policies, and has taken on the US government and FBI in recent weeks over data encryption and user privacy.
The Alabama-born executive joined Apple in 1998 as senior vice-president of worldwide operations, where he oversaw the companys factories and warehouses. It was in this role that Cook placed greater emphasis on flash memory components, which would become vital to Apple following the launch of the iPod Nano, iPhone, and iPad.
In 2007, Cook was promoted to lead operations and then in 2009 served as chief executive during Jobs first leave of absence.
From a garage to global tech giant
The 40-year history of Apple has seen some of the most crucial moments in technology and some of the biggest product launches, lifting the firm from selling computer kits hand-built in a garage to selling more than 65m iPhone 6 handsets in three months in 2014.
April 1, 1976 Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne found Apple Computer in the garage of Jobs parents house in Los Altos, California. Less than a year later, Mr Wayne sells 10% stake for $800, a percentage that would be worth over $70bn (61.5bn) today.
July 1976 The companys first product, the Apple I, is launched. It is little more than an assembled circuit board that comes without a keyboard, monitor or case and each is handmade by Wozniak and priced at $666.66.
1977 The second-generation device, the Apple II, is launched at a computer fair. Later models are among the first devices to take advantage of the floppy disk drive as a means of storage.
1979 During a visit to Xerox, Jobs and other Apple staff see the companys PARC interface, which uses boxes and windows as graphics, as well as virtual folders to organise items on the screen, instead of text that had been used up to this point. Jobs immediately changes Apples focus to this type of look known as a graphical user interface (GUI), which is now universally used in computing.
1984 Having been removed from the Apple Lisa (Local Integrated Software Architec-ture) team two years earlier for infighting, Jobs launches his latest Apple project the Macintosh. An advert for the device depicting George Orwells world of 1984 being shattered by the arrival of the Macintosh is shown during the Super Bowl, having been directed by Ridley Scott. The campaign was the beginning of Apples Think Different era that saw it take on the established market players.
1985 After a strong start, Macintosh sales fall away, and Jobs rows with chief executive John Sculley. After Jobs reportedly plots a coup to remove him, the Apple board sides with Sculley and strips Jobs of his responsibilities. He resigns and immediately creates NeXT.
1993 After a series of expensive product misses, the ill-fated Newton tablet launches. The device struggles and its handwriting recognition feature is even made the butt of a joke on The Simpsons. Sculley is removed as chief executive and replaced by Michael Spindler. But he is replaced by Gil Amelio in 1996, who cuts costs and staff. Amelio eventually decides to buy NeXT for its operating system, returning Jobs to Apple.
1998 Having replaced Amelio as chief executive in July 1997, Jobs first major launch since his return is the iMac. The desktop computer comes in a range of colours and is the first major product to be influenced by Jony Ive. It is a sales success and begins an era of new innovation at the firm.
2001 Attention turns to the music industry, as the first iPod is announced, which enables users to have 1,000 songs in their pocket for the first time. It is followed by the iTunes Store in 2003, ushering in the age of digital downloads.
2007 Moments after announcing the company was changing its name from Apple Computer to Apple Inc, Jobs reveals the companys first smart mobile device, the iPhone.
2010 Having returned from medical leave following cancer treatment, Jobs takes the stage again to introduce the much-rumoured iPad. Despite being initially questioned as a needless device, the tablet market soon explodes, with most of Apples rivals launching tablets of their own.
Jan 2011 Jobs takes another leave of absence, this time indefinitely. Tim Cook assumes day-to-day control of Apple. Jobs reappears in June to unveil iCloud, but this would be his last appearance. He then resigns as chief executive in August.
October 5, 2011 Jobs dies of cancer at the age of 56.
2014 The redesigned iPhone 6 and larger 6 Plus launch, with Apple selling 10m in three days. The company also announces its first wearable the Apple Watch.
2015 Apple reports quarterly profits of over $18bn, breaking the global quarterly profit record for any public company. The Apple Watch goes on sale.
2016 The FBI gains a court order to have Apple help unlock an iPhone belonging to one of the Islamic State-linked San Bernardino shooters. Apple refuses to comply on privacy grounds and is backed by tech community. The FBI then gets a third party help to unlock phone and drops the court order.
More than 100 Premier League players could have been prevented from joining their clubs, with Aston Villa, Liverpool, Newcastle United, Stoke City, and Watford each potentially nine men down, according to Britain Stronger In Europe.
The group claims Manchester Uniteds Anthony Martial, Arsenals Francis Coquelin, West Hams Dimitri Payet, and Leicester Citys NGolo Kante all from France may have been unable to secure automatic work permits.
Arsenal and Sunderland could both be down eight players, Southampton seven, and Manchester United and Swansea City down six each.
The campaign group has made a direct appeal to fans to vote for Britain to stay in the EU, warning that quitting could lead to the most talented players in Europe not being able to come to the Premier League, threatening its status as one of the worlds most exciting leagues.
Manchester United could have missed out on a total of 18 goals and six assists so far this season from the six players that could have failed to secure their place at Old Trafford, according to its analysis.
Some international players have previously faced difficulties trying to obtain permits when signing for UK clubs.
Arsenal signed Costa Rican striker Joel Campbell in 2011 but, eight days after the deal, his application was rejected and the club was forced to loan him out.
Swansea City were last summer denied a permit for Colombian striker Rafael Santos Borre.
West Ham United chief executive Karren Brady, a board member of Britain Stronger In Europe, said: The Premier League is the most-watched league globally because it boasts some of the most talented players from across Europe and around the world.
Fans pack stadiums and crowd round screens every week...
Leaving the EU runs the risk of fans missing out on seeing emerging talents from Europe coming to the play at their clubs and gracing the Premier League.
Holy War on Google As part of a court case between Apple and Samsung in 2014, an email from Steve Jobs came to light that showed the Apple co-founder wanted to wage a Holy War with rival technology firm Google, as he looked to push Apple to compete with Google in every way possible.
Before his death in 2011, Mr Jobs also said that if Google ever copied any of Apples designs he would go thermonuclear on the company.
Anti-competitive The Apple insistence, driven by Mr Jobs, that the company has complete control over its products from start to finish has led to claims of anti-competitive behaviour.
Apples sealing of some products, including the 2012 MacBook Pro with Retina display, which was heavily, physically sealed, was criticised for locking out customers and eliminating their ability to self-repair.
In the early days of iTunes, the European Union also raised concerns over restrictions Apple placed on sales from the iTunes Store, which were dictated by the country the users payment details were based in, leading to cases where some paid higher prices.
Adobe Flash Apple caused a stir on both the iPhone and iPad when with the launch of iOS 4, when the use of programmes written in coding languages not approved by Apple was prohibited one of which was Abode Flash meaning the programme that powered many animations and videos on websites at the time would not work on Apples mobile products. Adobe called the move anti-competitive as it forced many developers to re-think using the programme if they wanted Apple users to see their content.
Foxconn The majority of Apples product assembly takes place in China through contractors, and there have been several investigations that allege staff are forced to work in sweatshop conditions, with further allegations of a spate of suicides linked to exhausted staff.
Apple has since introduced yearly auditing that it says monitor working and living conditions, though concerns remain in some quarters.
Tax Like many large multinational corporations, Apple has been accused of using tax shelters in order to protect its revenues.
The company has been accused of using Ireland and Luxembourg to get tax breaks, allegations which the European Commission is investigating. Chief executive Tim Cook called the move political crap in a recent interview.
Patent wars In an ongoing battle with Samsung, Apple has been locked in a host of patent infringement lawsuits and counter suits with the Korean technology giant over the alleged copying of designs for smartphones.
Apple has attempted to have some Samsungs removed from sale in the US, while a recent $120m ruling in favour of Apple has since been overturned in the US Court of Appeals. Another case is due to go to the Supreme Court shortly.
FBI and encryption Apples most recent battle came with the US government and FBI.
The latter asked the US Department of Justice to force Apple to help law enforcement unlock the iPhone of a terror suspect.
Apple refused on privacy grounds, adding that any work done to weaken encryption on this one device could be applied anywhere, thus weakening iPhone security as a whole. Mr Cook called the demand chilling and a breach of customer privacy, before the FBI used a third party to gain access and dropped the court proceedings.
The billionaire businessman rowed back rapidly from his statement that women should be punished for having abortions if the procedure is banned in the US. The comments triggered a flood of rebukes from both sides of the abortion debate, and his campaign tried to address the repercussions.
You have a presidential candidate that clarified the record not once but twice, Trump spokeswoman Katrina Pierson told CNN, describing the initial comments as a simple misspeak.
She described Trump as pro-life with exceptions and pointed to Trumps two statements that followed the MSNBC interview as an accurate depiction of his views.
We shouldnt make this a 24-hour headline when we have things like terrorism going on in the world, she said.
Mr Trump, leading in the race to win the Republican nomination for the November 8 presidential election, pulled back from his initial comments within an hour, first issuing a statement that US states should handle abortion issues and later saying doctors who perform abortions are the ones who should be held responsible.
Trumps latest controversy threatened to further erode his standing with female voters, many of whom have been offended by his use of vulgarities and insulting language to describe women during the election.
The abortion flap erupted as Mr Trump campaigned in Wisconsin ahead of the states critical primary on Tuesday. An opinion poll showed Mr Trumps top rival, US senator Ted Cruz of Texas, has moved ahead of him by 10 percentage points in Wisconsin.
Mr Trump visited Washington yesterday for a private meeting hosted by his top backer in the capital, senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama. Critics have questioned Mr Trumps suitability to be commander in chief after a series of controversial foreign policy statements.
In recent interviews, Mr Trump has declared Nato obsolete, said Saudi Arabia is too dependent on the US, and said Japan and South Korea may need to develop their own nuclear plans because the US security umbrella is too costly to maintain.
He has refused to rule out the potential use of nuclear weapons in Europe or the Middle East to combat Islamic State militants. I would never take any of my cards off the table, he said.
Establishment Republicans have laboured to block Mr Trump from the Republican presidential nomination at the July convention in Cleveland, worried that he will lead the party to a broad and overwhelming defeat in November.
Mr Trumps Republican rivals said his abortion comments were just the latest in a series of controversies that raise questions about his suitability for the White House.
It just shows that hes really not prepared to be president of the United States, said Ohio governor John Kasich, adding that the president should not be constantly rowing back on a series of wild-eyed suggestions.
Opposition to abortion, which was legalised in a US Supreme Court ruling more than 40 years ago, is a central plank in the platform of most conservative politicians. However, conservatives have questioned whether Trump, who once supported access to abortions, is sincerely committed to his anti-abortion stance.
Cypriot Marina Paraschou rejected media reports that 59-year-old Seif Eddin Mustafa hijacked the Airbus A320 with 72 passengers and crew onboard out of love for her.
In an interview published in the daily Phileleftheros, Ms Paraschou said Mr Mustafa never asked to speak to her and police only asked her to identify his voice.
Flight Lieutenant Bertram Jimmy James was held prisoner for a year in Sachsenhausen camp after he and Allied officers were recaptured and spared execution following the daring escape from Stalag Luft III in March 1944.
Flt Lt James and his fellow detainees were kept under close guard by SS troops at the camps Sonderlager A compound, and after trying to escape he was held in solitary confinement and lived under the constant threat of execution.
However, 20 years, later the British government told him he was not entitled to compensation for Nazi persecution because he had not suffered enough.
Documents seen for the first time after being released by the British National Archives at Kew, west London, reveal the foreign office denied him money because he was not subjected to the well-known inhuman and degrading treatment of a concentration camp proper.
In August 1965, the foreign office told him: Your case has been very carefully considered, and I regret to inform you that your application cannot be accepted for registration because the conditions in the Sonderlager at Sachsenhausen were such that you were never subjected to this type of persecution.
Flt Lt James wrote back to express his disappointment that the scale of suffering and degradation was not sufficient to warrant compensation, and gave a detailed account of how he had been interrogated and tortured, faced the fear of execution and watched as inmates were beaten and worked to death at another concentration camp before their bodies were burnt in bonfires.
However, government officials still refused, despite his case reaching the newspapers, saying compensation was for those singled out by the Nazis because of ideology and inmates at camps where deliberately contrived suffering was an end in itself and extermination by starvation, exposure, overwork or the gas chambers... the likely fate of every prisoner.
The conditions he endured at Sachsenhausen, the foreign office said, were in no way comparable.
It was only after a parliamentary inquiry was held in 1968 that it was decided the Sachsenhausen survivors should be compensated, and he was eventually awarded 1,192 and 15 shillings around 18,500 (23,000) today.
He claimed not to have suffered any lasting disability from his imprisonment although, naturally, this is an experience which I should have preferred to have avoided.
However, he wrote: During most of this time I was under threat of execution which was, to say the least, somewhat disturbing.
The ruling could significantly weaken the leader, who is fending off multiple accusations of alleged misconduct at the highest levels of government though he still retained the support of powerful factions in his party, the African National Congress.
The main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, said it would begin impeachment proceedings against Zuma immediately. While parliament has the power to remove him, ruling party lawmakers defeated a no-confidence vote against Zuma earlier this year.
Detailed applications for financial assistance made in the 1960s by UK victims of Nazi persecution and their families have been released by the British National Archives for the first time.
In 1964 the Federal Republic of Germany agreed to pay the British government 1m about 17m (21.5m) in todays money to those who had suffered, or their dependants if they had died.
More than 4,000 people applied and 1,015 awards of compensation were made by the Foreign Office.
For many, filling in the applications marked the first time they had confronted the horrors of their past. Compensation was not guaranteed only those who spent time in a concentration camp or similar and were a British citizen would get payments.
Among the files released by the National Archives is an application from Harold Le Druillenec, the only British survivor found at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, who went on to give evidence at the Belsen trials.
Arrested in Jersey the Channel Islands were the only part of Britain occupied during the Second World War the day before D-Day in 1944 for helping his sister harbour an escaped Russian prisoner of war, having a radio, and for non-co-operation with German forces, he was interned in three camps before being the first prisoner liberated from Belsen on April 16, 1945.
In a handwritten medical note requesting disability compensation, he said: I survived three concentration camps by a lot of luck and the ability to live outside the carcase. I retain this trait.
Rarely do I admit, even to myself, any physical weakness, ailments, or discomforts and only see a doctor when it is imperative to do so. The filling-in of this form has been somewhat of a trial and I apologise for any incompleteness therein.
Mr Le Druillenecs first-hand account laid bare the horrors endured by prisoners under the Nazi regime.
He recalled that in Neuengamme they lived alongside hardened criminals and laboured to the death for the ultimate benefit of the Greater Reich while Banter Weg, Hamburg, was a tough camp with torture and punishment the rule day and night. Means of putting inmates to death included beating, drowning, crucifixion, hanging in various stances ...
It was Belsen that was infinitely more uncomfortable no food, no water, sleep was impossible.
He wrote: All my time here was spent in heaving dead bodies into the mass graves kindly dug for us by outside workers for we no longer had the strength for that type of work which, fortunately, must have been observed by the camp authorities.
Jungle law reigned among the prisoners; at night you killed or were killed; by day cannibalism was rampant.
The bulk of Auschwitz had been transferred to Belsen when I arrived and it was here that I heard the expression there is only one way out of here through the chimney! (crematorium).
All in all a most unpleasant place, with the liberation of the camp coming not a moment too soon for me, for I had reached the stage of being a musselman (Belsen expression for a Gandhi) which, in those circumstances, meant death within hours.
He was freed after 10 months imprisonment, during which he lost more than half his body weight, and spent almost a year recovering from dysentery, scabies, malnutrition, and septicaemia he suffered.
He interrupted his convalescence to give evidence against camp staff at the Belsen trial in Luneburg in 1945 and went on to help the War Crimes Investigations teams as they examined atrocities at other concentration camps.
In his application for compensation he described how his experiences had left him generally weak, with his heart and lungs affected and how he had lost most of his memories of pre-war life.
The Foreign Office eventually agreed to pay him compensation, awarding him 1,835 around 38,000 today for the time he spent imprisoned and his disabilities, which were deemed to be less than 50%.
Some 900 files have been released, with more than 3,000 to come by spring 2017.
A lawyer for Abdeslam said earlier yesterday that Abdeslam had dropped his initial objection to being extradited and had also renewed an offer to co-operate with the French authorities.
Salah Abdeslam wishes to be transferred to the French authorities, Cedric Moisse told reporters. He wishes to co-operate with the French authorities.
Prosecutors said France and Belgium would now discuss how to proceed with the transfer. After his arrest on March 18, four months after the November 13 Paris attacks that killed 130 people, Abdeslam answered some investigators questions but then exercised his right to silence following the suicide bombings in Brussels on March 22.
Investigators believe the attacks in Paris and Brussels were carried out by militants from the same Islamic State network.
Meanwhile, Brussels Airport authorities have said they are ready to resume flights from the bomb- damaged facility soon, but not before the weekend.
Belgiums civil aviation authority and the fire department have given their approvals to a reopening after testing on Tuesday, one week after the suicide bombings. Operating company, Brussels Airport said in a statement that the airport is technically ready for a restart of passenger flights in the temporary infrastructure foreseen for check-in.
Flights will resume once political approval is granted, but not before this evening. Due to the damage, the airport will be able to run at only 20% of normal capacity.
The area where arriving passengers transit was only slightly damaged and is ready. The move comes after police at the airport said they had criticised the lack of security at Belgiums main transport hub well ahead of the attacks on March 22.
Satellite communication consultant Roger McKinlay, former president of the Royal Institute of Navigation, believes the world is losing its way due to over-reliance on navigation aids.
Writing in the journal Nature, he argues map reading should be on the school curriculum. Describing navigation as a use-it-or-lose-it skill, he warned: If we do not cherish them, our natural navigation skills will deteriorate as we rely ever more on smart devices.
Mr McKinlay, who is based in Leatherhead, Surrey, said navigation had invaded our dreams of the future with predictions of fleets of driverless cars and swarms of drones delivering goods to peoples homes.
He doubted such visions would ever become a reality given the inherent fallibility of navigation technology.
Satellite navigation is unreliable because it does not work well indoors or in built-up areas, he pointed out. In a crowded or closed environment, signals could bounce around and give false information.
The way innate navigation skills were eroded by technology had been demonstrated by simulator studies, said Mr McKinlay.
He wrote: Drivers in a simulator who follow satellite navigation instructions find it more difficult to work out where they have been than those who use maps.
Instructed drivers also fail to notice they have been led past the same point twice. Mountain rescue teams are tired of searching for people with drained smart phone batteries, no sense of direction and no paper map.
With 80% of the worlds adult population likely to own a smartphone by 2020, access to satellite navigation was ubiquitous.
More satellites were being launched to improve coverage. By 2020, 20 orbiters from the European satellite navigation system Galileo would complement the US Global Positioning System (GPS) and Russian GLONASS network. China had just launched the 21st satellite in its BeiDou system.
However, navigation is about more than knowing your position, Mr McKinlay stressed.
Newspapers regularly pick up satnav disaster stories such as a lorry bound for the Mediterranean that arrived at Gibraltar Point near Skegness in the United Kingdom, he said. A sense of direction, a sense of scale and a map are essential. Mobility will not become intelligent unless we break two bad habits. First, we must recognise that digital navigation tools do not come for free. They rely on expensive infrastructure satellites or ground stations that governments have to pay for.
The United States invested $10bn to put the GPS satellites in place and spends around $1bn each year to maintain the service.
Second, we should make better use of our innate capabilities. Machines know where they are, not the best way to get to a destination. It might be more reliable to employ a human driver than to program an autonomous car to avert crashes.
Mr McKinlay concluded: Schools should teach navigation and map reading as life skills. The introduction of computers and calculators has not removed the need to understand numbers. The US Navy has started to teach celestial navigation again as a back-up skill.
Navigation is where complex systems meet capable users.
Climate scientists at two US universities said the most recent UN report on the effects of global warming had underestimated the rate at which the ice covering the continent would melt.
That report, issued in 2013, said the worst case of man-made climate change would mean a sea-level rise of between 52cm and 98cm by 2100. The new study suggests the real rise could be 1.5m, posing an even greater threat to cities from New York to Shanghai.
This could spell disaster for many low-lying cities, said lead author Robert DeConto at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, in a statement of the findings published in the journal Nature.
For example, Boston could see more than 1.5m of sea-level rise in the next 100 years.
The study, partly based on sea level evidence in a natural warm period 125,000 years ago, said ice from Antarctica alone could cause between 64cm and 114cm of sea level rise by 2100 under the worst UN scenario for greenhouse gas emissions.
One of the factors that was underestimated in the UN reports, which envisage most Antarctic ice remaining frozen, is a process known as hydro fracturing whereby pools of meltwater on ice shelves seep deep into the ice, expand as they refreeze, and force vast chunks of ice to crack off.
That could make ice on land in Antarctica slide faster into the sea.
Anders Levermann, an expert at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research who was not involved in the study, welcomed the findings as a spur to research hydro fracturing in Antarctica.
Several other studies have highlighted risks of rising seas.
Former Nasa scientist James Hansen suggested on March 22 that there could be several metres of sea level rise in the coming century.
However, Prof Levermann dismissed Dr Hansens findings.
Its plain wrong, he said of Dr Hansens assumption that the rate of sea level rise could repeatedly double in coming decades.
The latest study projected that Antarctica could contribute more than 13m of sea level rise by 2500 if the air and oceans keep warming.
A global agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions, reached at a 195-nation summit in Paris in December, is meant to help limit the rise is sea levels and other potentially disastrous effects of climate change.
However, even if the cuts are fully implemented, they will not completely halt global warming, scientists say. Seas have risen about 20cm since 1900, according to UN studies.
One of the women is Putins younger daughter; two are close relatives of a woman Russian media have reported to be Putins girlfriend though the president has strongly denied any relationship.
A fourth is a student who posed for a calendar celebrating the presidents birthday. All of the properties are in upmarket gated complexes in and around Moscow.
Public records show Grigory Baevsky, a 47-year-old business associate of a friend of Mr Putin, sold or transferred the properties to three of the women. In the other case, Mr Putins child, Katerina Tikhonova, used the address of a flat owned by Mr Baevsky as her own when registering a new company.
The connections add to the picture of individuals in Mr Putins wider circle and the way these people blur the lines between public and private business.
Last year, Reuters reported that Ms Tikhonova, who holds a senior position at Moscow State University, is personally advised by some of Mr Putins oldest friends. She is also married to Kirill Shamalov, son of billionaire Nikolai Shamalov, an associate of Mr Putins. Mr Baevsky has worked as an aide to another close friend of Putin, his judo partner, Arkady Rotenberg.
Public records show that companies co-owned by Mr Baevsky have benefited from state construction contracts worth at least 6bn rubles (78m) in the past two years.
Mr Baevsky has previously attracted little attention. His connection to Mr Putin was uncovered by investigative journalist Roman Anin, who was conducting research for the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, an East European media network.
Mr Baevsky is a former property manager for a state company in St Petersburg. In 2006, he founded a dacha cooperative near the city with Arkady Rotenberg and Rotenbergs brother Boris, public records show.
Burma Bill Crowning Suu Kyi State Counselor Passes Upper House
Burmas Upper House of Parliament approves legislation that would create a powerful state counselor remit for National League for Democracy chairwoman Aung San Suu Kyi.
RANGOON Burmas Upper House of Parliament on Friday approved legislation that would create a powerful remit for National League for Democracy (NLD) chairwoman Aung San Suu Kyi, whose responsibilities in the new government already include four ministerial portfolios.
During Fridays legislative session, the NLD-dominated upper chamber passed the State Counselor bill, proposed by President Htin Kyaw and submitted by the Upper House Bill Committee on Thursday, by a vote of 137-70. The secret balloting saw two lawmakers abstain.
The bill, which includes five chapters and eight articles, marked the first legislative initiative of the Upper House since Htin Kyaw was sworn in, and was tabled by seven lawmakers during the session. The text of the legislation explicitly designates NLD chairwoman Aung San Suu Kyi as state counselor, and has been widely interpreted as a move by the party leader to circumvent a Constitution that bars her from the presidency.
Military lawmaker Brig-Gen Khin Maung Aye spoke in opposition to the bill, saying it was not in accordance with the 2008 Constitution and would create conflicts of interest for Suu Kyi, given the extensive role she has carved out for herself in the new cabinet.
According to Article 232[h] of the 2008 Constitution, the Union ministers shall be responsible to the President, he read. So it clashes with clause 5[b] of the draft bill, which states that the state counselor shall be responsible to the Union Parliament, he continued.
He also said the bill would create a situation that allowed Suu Kyi to straddle the legislative-executive divide, taking power in both branches of government.
Lawmaker Myint Naing from the Arakan National Party suggested that legislation should not be drafted to include a specific name.
He recommended amending the wording to designate the chairperson of the election-winning party for the post, a change to Article 4.
A lawmaker from the former ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) argued that it was important to have sufficient time to draft good legislation.
Rushing to approve such an important bill would produce flaws and weakness in the law, he said.
NLD lawmaker Zaw Min, head of the Bill Committee, pushed back against opposition parliamentarians constitutional concerns, saying that was the purview of the recently appointed Constitutional Tribunal.
All the lawmakers who are now attending this session, including me, dont have the right to say that a bill is either not in accordance with or contradicts the Constitution, he said.
This responsibility belongs to the Constitutional Tribunal, according to the Article 322(b) of the Constitution, he said, adding that it was too early to deliberate matters of constitutionality.
The bill states that the state counselor can give suggestions in the interests of the people and nation, as long as those proposals do not contravene the Constitution. The bill does not specify to whom those suggestions would be directed toward, and does not include any lawfully binding mechanism ensuring that the state counselors suggestions are implemented.
Article 5(c) states: The state counselor shall collaborate with the cabinet, government offices, organizations, associations and individuals to accomplish the goals of the bill.
Despite announcing publicly that she had set her sights on the presidency, the Nobel laureate Suu Kyi remains constitutionally barred from that office because her two children carry British passports, as did her late husband. Before the November election, she said she would be above the president if the NLD were to secure enough parliamentary seats to form the next government.
Secretary Dr. Myat Nyana Soe of the Bill Committee on Friday took to the floor and explained that the bill was drafted in order to implement the will of a public who voted in large majorities for the NLD and its popular leader Suu Kyi on Nov. 8.
With the bills passage in the Upper House, lawmakers from the Lower House will take up the legislation for discussion next week.
Burma Day 1 of a New Era
This morning, Burma wakes up to a new era under a National League for Democracy-led government, which takes up its duties in full today.
RANGOON This morning, Burma wakes up to a new era under a National League for Democracy-led government, which was sworn in on Wednesday but did not officially take up its duties in full until today.
No one underestimates the size of the tasks ahead. The new government starts its work laden with enormous inherited challenges, including the constitutional limits to its powers, but it is also armed with a huge electoral mandate and a reservoir of public and international goodwill.
The hard graft now begins. On this remarkable daythe result of last Novembers vote, when the people voted en masse for changewe briefly revisit just a few of the priorities the NLD laid out in its 25-page election manifesto, which it must now set out to achieve.
In the big picture, the manifesto states that it is time to change the lives of our people. That means the NLD will strive for a) Ethnic affairs and internal peace, b) a Constitution that ensures that all the people of our country can live together in tranquility, c) a system of government that will fairly and justly defend the people and d) the freedom and security to prosper.
Those are the main, broad and admittedly ambitions. Below are 12 more specific policy picks, in the NLDs own words, from various categories of the manifesto:
Ethnic Affairs and Peace: Work to ensure a fair distribution across the country of the profits from natural resource extraction, in accordance with the principles of a federal union.
System of government: Establish a judicial system that is fair and unbiased. The judiciary must stand independently and on an equal footing with the legislative and executive branches.
Foreign Policy: To have close and strong relations with the UN, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and other such organizations. To give particular emphasis to the role of civil society organizations in communicating with the international community.
The Economy: We will give genuine independent authority to the Central Bank. We will strive for monetary stability and the development of a financing system that can provide for capital financing requirements, including for local business owners, owners of SMEs, entrepreneurs, and farmers.
Agriculture: We will work towards the development of a modern farming sector, the fair resolution of farmland disputes, the establishment of land tenure security, and transparency in line with laws and regulations regarding the protection and transfer of farmland.
Natural Resource Extraction and Use: We will work to ensure that extractive projects are planned transparently and that the public is informed. We will establish a dedicated fund to ensure that the profits of such projects are used for the long-term development of the country.
Education: [We will] Develop dedicated education programs for children who face difficulties in gaining a primary-level education, such as children with mental or physical disabilities, children living in poverty, and children living in remote areas. Ensure that universities have autonomy over their own curriculum and governance, and the ability to conduct independent research.
Health: We will increase the national health budget, and enable a reduction in the level of out-of-pocket expenditure incurred by the public for medical treatment.
Energy: The construction of the large dams required for the production of hydropower causes major environmental harm. For this reason, we will generate electricity from existing hydropower projects, and repair and maintain the existing dams to enable greater efficiency. For household electricity production, we will encourage the systematic development of small private energy production enterprises such as solar energy, biogas, rice-husk fuel, and mini-hydropower systems.
Sharing of Environmental Resources: We will eradicate the monopolistic management and unfair distribution and usage of natural resources. We will establish a system that can resolve environmental disputes.
Women: We will work to ensure that female workers receive the same compensation as their male counterparts for equivalent work, and that there is no gender discrimination with regard to workplace promotions.
Communications: We will ensure that the public is informed in a transparent manner about the activities of the three branches of government. We will support the rights of television and radio broadcasters, print media [magazines, journals, newspapers, etc], and telephone and internet service providers to compete openly on the free market.
The items above were chosen from various categories of the manifesto. The full document should be consulted to gain the precise context of each item. Available on the NLDs website, the manifesto remains a useful guide to the new governments ambitions, and a yardstick against which its future performance may be measured.
May the work begin!
Burma Joint Ceasefire Monitoring Committee To Extend Mandate
After receiving reports of around 500 violations of the nationwide ceasefire agreement, the JMC will continue its work for at least three more months.
RANGOON The Joint Ceasefire Monitoring Committee (JMC), formed one month after the signing of Burmas so-called nationwide ceasefire pact (NCA), has received around 500 complaints of violations, mostly from Shan State and Karen State.
Since the November 2015 formation of the JMC, both the Burma Army and the ethnic NCA signatories have closely monitored the ceasefire areas covered by the agreement, which was signed by the government and eight of the countrys more than 20 non-state armed groups in October.
The JMC does not, however, cover the non-NCA signatories areas, where fighting remains ongoing between government troops and ethnic armies, such as the Taang (Palaung) National Liberation Army (TNLA), the Kachin Independence Organization/Army (KIO), the Arakan Army (AA) and the ethnic Kokang group known as the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA).
The complaints reported to the JMC involve many incidents of extortion and some gunfights, and have largely been filed by the Burma Army against ethnic armed groups, and vice-versa, according to staff from the once government-backed Myanmar Peace Center (MPC). Yet locals have also filed some complaints against both sides.
Dr. Min Zaw Oo, the director of Ceasefire Negotiation and Implementationa department which receives support from the MPCand one the 26 members of the Union-level JMC, said that while the JMC has been able to resolve dozens of complaints, more terms of reference (ToRs) need to be drafted which would provide unbiased ways of addressing the problems which are brought forward.
All the solutions and the verifications must come in accordance with the standard operating procedures, which we call Terms of Reference (ToRs), he said, We now have about 50 pages of ToRs, but we still have to draft about 200 more, in order to avoid biases during solutions, he said.
JMC members represent armed groups and civilians, but Min Zaw Oo told The Irrawaddy that they lack staff capacity to handle, sort out, and verify the complaints.
Until now, the expenses of operating the JMC have been covered by the MPCs budget. While it appears that the MPCa relic of the former Thein Sein governmentmight soon close, JMC staff will continue their work for the next three months, their mandate extended in this interim period as Burma settles in to new national leadership.
In January, the JMC formed state-level committees in eastern and southeastern Burma. Two regional JMCs are located in respective areas of Shan State controlled by two different signatories, the Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army-South (RCSS/SSA-S) and the Pa-O National Liberation Army/Organization (PNLO). Another committee is located in Tennasserim Division, in the Karen National Unions (KNU) territory.
Two more state or regional JMCs will soon be formed in Karen and Mon states, also in areas where the KNU is active.
Min Zaw Oo said he may continue to work within a future JMC working group or maintain his current position, if it is an option under the new government, which was sworn in on Wednesday and is led by Aung San Suu Kyis National League for Democracy (NLD).
The new ruling party has not yet revealed who will take on the position of chief peace negotiator under an NLD government, a role which was held by Aung Min, the MPC director and former Minister of the Presidents Office under the previous administration. Aung San Suu Kyi now holds the same ministerial role; it is possible that she could lead future negotiations with non-state armed groups.
Burmas President Htin Kyaw reiterated in his inauguration speech that peace building remains an NLD government priority along with national reconciliation and the establishment of a federal and democratic constitution.
Burma Kachin Aid Worker Jailed for Defamatory Facebook Post Walks Free
Patrick Khum Jaa Lee, a Kachin aid worker jailed for a Facebook post deemed defamatory to the military, walks free from Rangoons Insein Prison.
RANGOON Patrick Khum Jaa Lee, a Kachin aid worker jailed last year for a Facebook post that a court ruled was defamatory to the military, walked free from Rangoons Insein Prison on Friday, about one week ahead of completing his six-month sentence.
He had been serving time under Article 66(d) of Burmas Telecommunications Law, a defamation charge, in connection with a photo posted to his Facebook account that captured a man in ethnic Kachin attire stomping on a picture of the Burma Army commander-in-chief, Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing.
The 43-year-old Kachin aid worker was arrested on Oct. 14 and sentenced on Jan. 22, with his release Friday coming just about a week ahead of schedule.
Speaking outside Insein Prison following his release, Khum Jaa Lee maintained that he had been unfairly prosecuted.
Laws are not to threaten and punish the people, but rather to protect the public, and additionally I dont want to live threatened by fear anymore, and I dont want people live with fear and worry any longer, he told The Irrawaddy.
Khum Jaa Lee walks free into a Burma of markedly different political dynamics than when he was jailed, with the National League for Democracy (NLD) sworn into power this week after a lengthy transition period. His arrest came less than a month before the high-stakes general election that saw the NLD trounce the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP).
Khum Jaa Lee on Friday highlighted the scores of political prisoners that remain behind bars in Burma, and called for their release, expressing confidence that the plight of these inmates was on the NLD governments radar.
For me, to the newly formed government, to say something: Everything has to be totally new and I hope the government doesnt duplicate the old policy of the ex-government, he said.
In recent months a handful of cases similar to Khum Jaa Lees have made their way through the courts, including one man who shared a poem on Facebook implying that he had an image of former President Thein Sein tattooed on his penis. That trial is ongoing.
The civilian-led government steered by NLD chairwoman Aung San Suu Kyi has promised to end prosecutions made on political grounds, but its ability to do so remains to be seen: The Myanmar Police Force and nations prison system both fall under the Ministry of Home Affairs, led by the militarily appointed Lt-Gen Kyaw Swe, who does not answer to President Htin Kyaw.
Earlier in the week, a local USDP official was sentenced to six months in prison for sharing a fake nude image of Suu Kyi, and two days later saw the release of Chaw Sandi Tun, a 25-year-old NLD supporter who, like Khum Jaa Lee, was jailed in a defamation trial involving a Facebook post that antagonized the military.
Khum Jaa Lee suffered health problems while in prison, including numbness, high blood pressure and stomach pains, and was repeatedly denied bail on medical grounds during his trial. Though on Friday he said his health had improved, he still intended to see medical specialists to assess his condition.
Burma Where Has Burmas Peace Money Gone?
Questions linger about aid transparency in the peace process and how donors can better support local ethnic infrastructure over government initiatives.
Under former President Thein Seins government, over US$100 million poured into Burmas peace programs by foreign governments and institutions.
As the military-backed administration has given way to a National League for Democracy (NLD)-led government, questions linger about the transparency and influence of international funds on the peace processcritics argue that this aid has thus provided war-affected ethnic communities with little to no benefit.
In 2013, the European Union (EU) officially committed a total of nearly US$35 million to Burmas peace processthis cycle of funding ended on March 31. Japanese NGOs announced in 2014 a plan to spend a staggering US$96 million on development projects in Burmas ethnic areas over the next five years. Yet the community-based ethnic Karen Peace Support Network responded by calling for a moratorium on such large-scale development until a peace agreement could be reached.
From these figures alone, the total sum of money known to have been spent on peace stands at around US$130 million.
How were these funds spent?
The money was designated to support the peace-related projects, organizations and start-ups that mushroomed under Thein Seins quasi-civilian government. One of the biggest recipients of aid was the Myanmar Peace Center (MPC), an advocacy body affiliated with the government which was founded in 2012.
The Myanmar Times reported that before the end of his tenure, ex-President Thein Sein dissolved the MPC and ordered its properties to be transferred to two new non-governmental organizations (NGOs): the Myanmar Peace Building Dialogue Center and the Peace and Development Foundation. Both are affiliated with former MPC staff; the latter will be led by Aung Min, who acted as MPCs head.
Hla Maung Shwe, an MPC senior advisor, told The Irrawaddy that the role of senior officials like Aung Min had concluded and that they were free to establish new initiatives, as long as their registration was approved.
[Aung Min] can form his organization like many others do. He is independent now. He is not a government official. He cant be sued for forming an organization with the word peace, Hla Maung Shwe said.
Dividing the Spoils
Hla Maung Shwe maintains that the MPC has no property to distribute, and that anything on the organizations premises belongs to the former government.
The MPC doesnt own anything, he said, denying allegations that senior MPC officials are reportedly splitting up the organizations assets among themselves, including office space, a meeting hall, and facilities such as vehicles, computers and other equipment.
Critics say it will be inappropriate if the MPCs assets end up in NGOs founded by the ex-MPC officials, since the property was paid for by international donors.
It would be completely wrong for U Aung Min to use MPC assets, funded by international aid, to set up his own think tank. He has no mandate, and was rejected by voters in the election last year, said Mark Farmaner, director of Burma Campaign UK, a London-based advocacy organization. The money should not go to the ex-government either, as they are just one side in the negotiations, he added.
However, Valerie Zirl, a public diplomacy adviser for the European Union Delegation to Burma, told The Irrawaddy that representatives the MPC and the NLD had assured the EU that the internationally-sponsored assets of the MPC will be managed by the government as state property and remain available for the MPC or any successor institution.
But the MPC should not have received EU funding in the first place, Farmaner argues, highlighting the organizations lack of neutrality due to its ties to the military-backed government. The MPC was established by President Thein Sein to pursue his political agenda of persuading the international community to lift sanctions and give more aid, Farmaner said.
By backing the MPC with millions of euros, [the EU] was seen by many ethnic people to have taken the government side, said Farmaner.
Nai Hong Sar, the vice-chairman of the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), an umbrella organization of nine ethnic armed groups, also said that it would be inappropriate if the MPCs assets were transferred to the NGOs founded by the MPC senior officials.
I think the MPCs property should be continuously used by the incoming government and peace advocacy organizations for peace-related works and activities, he told The Irrawaddy.
Where The Money Went
Beyond the MPC, international funding also went to more than a dozen peace-related organizations, including the Brussels-based Euro-Burma Office, Norway-funded Myanmar Peace Support Initiative (MPSI), British charity Inter-mediate, Japan Platform, The Nippon Foundation, and other start-ups, NGOs and ethnic armed organizations.
Some of these beneficiaries allocated international peace funding to the building of schools, clinics, and the delivery of food and supplies to vulnerable populations.
Yet analysts believe that the bulk of the international monies has been spent on meetings for peace talks, overseas trips by peace program stakeholders, hotel stays, employee salaries and fees for international consultants.
On the donors dime, stakeholders including Burmese army officials, ethnic armed group leaders and peace negotiators travelled to Europe as well as to post-conflict nations such as Colombia, Indonesia, Philippines and Cambodia to study the countries respective political transitions and systems of government.
MPC officials were regularly pictured in Thailand, Naypyidaw and Rangoon alongside privately hired airplanes, it is assumed, for travel to meetings.
Bertil Lintner, a veteran Burma expert and journalist said, I wonder where that money went and is going. Peacemaking has become a lucrative business in Burma, with little or no regard for the suffering of ordinary people in the countrys war zones.
Lintner pointed out that many individuals working for organizations like the MPC earn in a month what an ordinary Burmese citizen might make in five years or more. According to several sources from Western NGOs, it is believed that senior officials in the peace process can earn up to US$10,000 per month.
The Future of Peace Funds
Burma Campaign UKs Farmaner said that a lack of transparency surrounding aid to the peace process indicates that it is time for international donors to rethink their approach, and strive for more inclusivity.
This was echoed by Audun Aagre, director of the NGO Norwegian Burma Committee, who told The Irrawaddy that unbalanced support by international donors is the most pressing issue regarding current peace funding.
I have been terrified by the lack of understanding by some international decision makers on huge international peace funds, he said. Many [of them] mix up militia groups driven by economic interests with ethnic armed organizations mainly driven by political interests.
Zirl, of the EU, maintains that European funds for peace activities are dispersed ethically, across various regions, groups and populations in Burma. She said that the EU supported the MPC through a project worth US$4.2 million, which represents a fraction of Europes total budget for peace.
The EU stands ready to continue its support depending on the wishes of the incoming government and in line with their priorities, said Zirl.
But international financial support, Aagre said, should also be invested in an ethnic peace administration, contrary to what has been seen in previous years, with peace funds largely distributed through government channels.
Under Burmas the military regime, education and health systems worked far better in areas controlled by the ethnic armed groups than they did in areas under Burmese government control, Aagre points out, comprising what he called a ready-made federal structure.
In stead of strengthening these systems, with a long term goal of merging the different structures into a federal union, the international community cut support, and channeled these funds through Naypyidaw with MPC as a gatekeeper, he said.
The Irrawaddy reporter Lawi Weng also contributed into this article.
Burma With $40k Fine, ANP Tells Legislators to Speak Up or Pay Up
Burmas Arakan National Party tells its legislators to inform the party of NLD offers for state-level ministrial positions or pay a fine of over US$40,000.
RANGOON The Arakan National Party (ANP) has told its legislators that if they accept a state-level ministry position from the National League for Democracy (NLD) without informing the party, they will be fined more than US$40,000.
On Friday, ANP central executive committee (CEC) member Aung Mya Kyaw told The Irrawaddy that ANP lawmakers had verbally agreed to this arrangement more than a month ago, placing a seemingly unenforceable fine of 50 million kyats ($42,000) on violators.
ANP Lower House lawmaker Khin Saw Wai said that over the past few weeks, ANPs regional lawmakers assembled in Arakan States capital Sittwe and agreed not to accept any offer from the NLD government without first informing the party.
But there are legal challenges to this deal.
What can the ANP do if someone accepts an offer? Khin Saw Wai asked. They need a contract. With just a verbal agreement, they cant do anything.
Aung Mya Kyaw said that if someone breached this agreement, they would be kicked out of the party and taken to court.
Last week in Naypyidaw, NLD chairwoman Aung San Suu Kyi held a meeting with ANP lawmakers to discuss formation of the state government. Four days later, ANP lawmakers in the state legislature walked out on a session upon learning that an NLD member of the chamber had been appointed to the Arakan State chief minister post.
The ANP won 23 of 47 state parliament seats in Novembers election, but as the national winner of the election, the NLD selected the state minister post, as is the partys prerogative under the countrys 2008 Constitution.
According to Sittwe-based media outlets, the NLD-appointed Arakan State Chief Minister Nyi Pu said ANP members would be included in the state cabinet, but that the NLD would select them.
Burma With NLD at the Helm, Public Awaits the Release of Political Prisoners
While many celebrated Burmas handover of power on Wednesday, hundreds of jailed dissidents who have agitated for this democratic moment missed out.
RANGOON While many celebrated Burmas long-awaited handover of power on Wednesday, hundreds of jailed dissidents who have agitated for this democratic moment missed out.
There shouldnt be any political prisoners under a democratic government, said Nyan Linn, a former political prisoner and member of the 88 Generation activist group.
Human rights advocates hope that the newly sworn-in National League for Democracy (NLD) government will unconditionally release all remaining political prisoners.
They [political prisoners] hope to be released before Thingyan [an annual water festival taking place from April 12 to 16] or if not, right after, with presidential amnesty, Nyan Linn said.
Such a feat would be remarkable this early within the new governments honeymoon period.
In recent history, Burmas jails have hardly ever been without political prisoners detained for opposing a repressive military regime that ruled for over half a century. Thousands were killed or jailed for their role in anti-government protests following a 1962 military coup and the nationwide pro-democracy uprising in 1988.
According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), there are currently 100 political prisoners behind bars and another 420 awaiting trial, including students facing what are seen as arbitrary charges doled out for demanding education reforms.
Students did nothing wrong. Im expecting the release of political prisoners, including students, before Thingyan. This would make people very happy, said Ko Ni, a lawyer.
Ye Htut, the former information minister and a presidential spokesperson, said in November that the President could not interfere in ongoing trials, referring to students who were detained after a crackdown on a protest in Pegu Divisions Letpadan against the National Education Law in 2015.
But Ko Ni said that according to Article 490 of the criminal procedure code, the government can withdraw charges in ongoing cases through the legal officers of the township, and Article 401 allows for the President to commute or suspend sentencing.
The first thing the new government should do is release political prisoners. And we believe they will, since many former political prisoners are in the new government, Jimmy, one of the leading members of the 88 Generation group, told The Irrawaddy.
In addition to pushing for the adoption of an official definition of political prisoner, many NLD lawmakers, along with formerly jailed dissidents, have indicated that freeing political prisoners will be among the partys top priorities when it assumes power.
If the new government doesnt do this, or if it only does something later, it will be criticized. It must free [political prisoners] because the military-backed government that took power following the 2010 election, which was largely unrecognized by the public, arrested many activists and journalists by using repressive laws, Nyan Linn said.
Indeed, during his five-year tenure, former President Thein Sein failed to make good on his governments 2013 pledge to free all political prisoners. According to the AAPPs Aung Myo Kyaw, 33,522 prisoners were released under Thein Seins rule, 1,200 of which were political prisoners. Thein Seins government also granted 19 presidential amnesties.
But there is caution to be had. Aung Myo added that although it is likely that the NLD will prioritize the release of political prisoners, the army still has constitutionally-enshrined control over three powerful ministries, including the Ministry of Home Affairs, which is in charge of the police force as well as the countrys prison departments.
Moreover, while Article 204(a) of the 2008 Constitution vaguely states that the President is afforded the power to grant a pardon, another clause suggests that presidential amnesties may require the involvement of the National Defense Security Council, which is effectively under army control, even with Aung San Suu Kyi, as Minister of Foreign Affairs, holding a seat on the powerful executive body.
The Ministry of Home Affairs is key. Its collaboration is important, said Aung Myo Kyaw.
But if the President has the authority to do so [as some legal frameworks say], all political prisoners can be released. The question is if this power lies with the President or army chief.
Editorial The Day We Have Been Waiting For
March 30 was the day that Burma, formerly beleaguered by military rule, saw its first democratically elected government since 1962 sworn into office.
March 30 marked a historic day for Burma, as the Southeast Asian nation that was for decades beleaguered by military rule saw its first democratically elected civilian government since 1962 sworn into office.
It was a day that student, political and human rights activistsmany of whom have withered away in prison cells, died at military detention centers or simply disappeared in midnight raids on their familys homeshad longed their entire lives to see.
In short, it was a day that all of Burma smiled. Across the country this week, people showed their elation by offering food and drink to passersby. Some bus companies and motorcycle-taxi drivers even offered passengers free rides. The jubilant national mood was enough to make anyone in Burmas previous governments envious. People were happy to see their long-denied wish for a government by the people, for the people finally come true.
For Aung San Suu Kyis National League for Democracy (NLD), which will lead Burmas new government, March 30 was the day from which it will work to realize core ambitions it has championed since its birth 28 years ago: achieving national reconciliation, negotiating a federal union and extinguishing a civil war that has been raging since independence in 1948.
Beyond the militarys constitutionally enshrined role in politics, other issues await Burmas newly anointed leadership: wars throughout the north; a far-from-accomplished mission of inter-communal rehabilitation in the west; controversial Chinese investment; rampant government corruption; and a desperate need for the rule of law. These burdens, the legacy of previous governments, will put Suu Kyis political mettle to the test.
Of course, no single solution will be a silver bullet. Given the magnitude of these problems, its unrealistic to think that Burmas new civilian government will be able to effectively tackle each in its five-year term. Still, people have high expectations for Suu Kyi, born from their long-held belief that she is the only one who can change their lives and indeed their country for the better. It was this very notion that motivated citizens to overwhelmingly vote for her party in Novembers general election. So it will be interesting to see how, and to what extent, the new government will be able to meet peoples sky-high expectations.
Suu Kyis mantra is that a government should serve its people, not oppress them. Its hoped that the NLD-led administration will remember this as it steers the country in the years to come. After more than five decades of brutal military rule, followed by five years of a controversial quasi-civilian government, its refreshing to have a people-centered government.
Yet regarding this much-hyped change that is supposedly right around the corner, the NLD should keep in mind that people are never patient for very long. History has shown that strong supporters can quickly become even stronger enemies. We believe the new government has what it takes.
Friday, April 1st, 2016 (10:37 am) - Score 3,436
BTOpenreach has confirmed that the first customers have now gone live on their trial of ultrafast 330Mbps native Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband technology in Haydon Wick (North Swindon), which involves building fibre optic lines direct to your home from the local telephone exchange.
The development, which was unveiled back in February 2016 (here), is one of several FTTP related technology trials currently being conducted by BT and forms part of their recent pledge to significantly accelerate the deployment of such connections (here). Not that FTTP itself is anything new to Openreach, which has already deployed it to cover 200,000 UK premises.
In this instance Openreach are trialling their new plug and play technology, which they claim should reduce the cost and complexity of delivering an all fibre connection to a home or business. Apparently it allows customers to be connected to FTTP with a simple two hour installation appointment instead of multiple appointments, although the trial FAQ contradicts this by suggesting that the work on a customers property will take approximately half a day.
The trial itself covers some 500 homes on the development, with street level availability being present on Ariadne Road, Boatman Close, Clementine Road, Mayfly Road, Metis Road, Minnow Close, Ulysses Road and Voyager Drive.
Damon Bower, Local Councillor, said: Just five and a half weeks ago we were discussing plans for Fibre-to-the-Premises in the village, and now the first customers have been connected. Its fantastic that in that time we have an active network delivered and working. All the engineers on site have generated a real buzz in the area. The trial will cover 500 homes so we can look forward to even more residents being connected in the near future.
Openreach are also conducting trials of simpler ways to deploy FTTP in other parts of the UK, including one in Bradford and another in Campton and Meppershall (Bedfordshire), which for example will look at reducing the need for engineers to cut and melt fibres together. Some will also test 1000Mbps (Gigabit class) speeds, although thats more intended for business products.
Its worth pointing out that Haydon Wick is also one of the locations that might have benefited from UKB Networks controversial wireless broadband deployment in North Swindon (here) and locals in the area have long been campaigning for better connectivity.
Mind you one of the problems right now is with regards to the lack of ISP choice, with only a few providers like BT, AAISP, Claranet Soho and Zen Internet offering FTTP packages on Openreachs network that are viable for home users. Availability will have to show a significant improvement before the other ISPs get involved.
Major: Communication
Hometown: Brazil, IN
Student Media Involvement: Syc Creations
Favorite Food: Burgers with everything but mustard
Fun Fact: He really loves superhero movies, and wants to make his own someday
The release of the new HotelQuickly app coincides with an official rebranding and relaunch of the HotelQuickly website, marking the companys 3rd anniversary.
Tomas Laboutka, HotelQuickly Co-founder and CEO said the new-look app showcases a brighter colour palette and a more streamlined booking flow.
Laboutka said that, among its new capabilities, the app now allows all users to make multi-room bookings, view all available offers by location via enhanced map functions, and control price display settings to include or exclude taxes and HotelQuickly credit.
And, he said the most notable feature included in the latest release is HotelQuicklys Special Gift offers, collaboration between HotelQuickly and its partner hotels. The gifts -- which are free vouchers, token treats and value-added services such as airport transfers are rewards given by hotels to guests who book their stays through HotelQuickly.This is by far the most revolutionary and ambitious overhaul of HotelQuickly since the app debuted in 2013, Laboutka said.Were confident the smoother booking process and stronger brand image will propel HotelQuickly to the next level in its fourth year.Laboutka said the makeover extends to the companys logo. From today (31 March) HotelQuickly is shedding its pillow icon for a key logo, created by London-based brand consultancy Idea Is Everything - with the key symbolising the apps ability to unlock dynamic discounts as well as more travel opportunities for its members.HotelQuickly exists to make spontaneous travel easier and more enjoyable, Laboutka said. The app is a key for members to unlock not only the best hotel deals, but more pleasure and fulfilment in their everyday lives.According to Laboutka, one of the most disruptive apps to enter the hotel booking scene in Asia-Pacific, HotelQuickly has expanded rapidly to partner with some 12,000 hotels and encompass more than 250 destinations over the past three years. And, HotelQuickly added the 16th country to its roster with the acquisition of Tonight, a Japan-domestic booking app, just last month.
When the U.S. begins accepting applications for new H-1B skilled-worker visas today, we can be certain that tech workers from India will make up a large portion of the requests.
What we probably won't know, though, is how many of those applicants are female.
While program data shows which job categories, countries and companies are awarded the most visas, the federal government says it is not tracking applicants' gender -- although the question is asked on the visa application form. The U.S. begins accepting H-1B visa applications on April 1 for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) will not release the gender data. It has rejected a Senate request for the information, as well as public records requests from the IEEE-USA and Computerworld.
"No H-1B visa should ever be issued to an unidentified person -- and you can't know who a person is without knowing their gender," said Peter Eckstein, the president of the IEEE-USA.
If the USCIS "doesn't know by now, it's because they don't want to know how bad it is," said Eckstein, regarding the gender of H-1B workers.
The IEEE believes a high percentage are male.
Gender information about H-1B visa holders, critics say, could answer some questions about the program's impact on the workforce.
The Anita Borg Institute, which advocates for women in technology, believes "it would be very helpful to have better data on the gender diversity of H-1B visa recipients," Telle Whitney, the president and CEO of the institute, said in an email.
"Our anecdotal experience is that most H-1B visa recipients are men and that this can have a negative impact on increasing the participation of women in the technical workforce," said Whitney. "It is likely that this also negatively impacts underrepresented minorities."
Women are underrepresented in technology overall, but particularly worrisome is the talent pipeline. Less than 15% of the bachelor's degrees awarded in 2014 in computer science and computer engineering went to women, according to the Computing Research Association's annual survey of enrollments at Ph.D.-granting institutions.
The best source of data for lawmakers on the gender of H-1B workers has been the IEEE-USA. In 2013, Karen Panetta, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Tufts University who was representing the IEEE-USA, testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee and told it that as many as 85% of the visa holders are men.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who has unsuccessfully sought information about the gender of H-1B workers, cited Panetta's testimony in seeking an amendment to the 2013 Senate comprehensive immigration reform bill.
Grassley's amendment prohibited all employers from displacing women 180 days before or after they apply for a foreign worker. The amendment failed, although the comprehensive bill passed the Senate. It was not taken up by the House.
Gender data is a curious omission considering U.S. government initiatives such as TechWomen, which is aimed at supporting "women in leaders in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) from Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East". And, there's also the Office of Science and Technology Policy's stated aim of "increasing the participation of women and girls -- as well as other underrepresented groups -- in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics."
Computerworld filed a FOIA request for H-1B gender data last year and was told that providing such information would be "unreasonably burdensome."
"In order to determine the gender of H-1B applicants, USCIS staff would have to manually search each applicant's immigration file, an unreasonably burdensome and costly requirement because it would require agency personnel to request, ship and manually review thousands of immigration files," wrote Alan D. Hughes, associate counsel at the Commercial and Administration Law Division of the Department of Homeland Security Citizenship and Immigration Services in denying Computerworld's appeal to receive gender data.
In other words: The government chooses to keep track of applicants' country of origin but not their gender.
There is some data available that can indirectly point to what's going on.
China and India, in particular, seem more successful at encouraging women to enter technical fields. IEEE research has found that nearly 40% of India's engineering and technology students are women. But this likely does not represent the proportion of H-1B workers.
The U.S. Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is one federal source of data about gender in the workplace. Its information is not publicly available, but can be used in court cases. The EEOC data for Infosys, an India-based IT service firm, was released last year in an ongoing discrimination case the company is fighting in federal court.
The proportion of women in the Infosys U.S. workforce was 22.5%, according to the court documents. That's lower than the percent of women in the overall U.S. tech workforce, but not by very much.
The percent of women among Infosys's Asian workers was still lower, at 19.7%. However, this data doesn't necessarily show that Infosys H-1Bs skew more male than the overall profession, because IT is a broad category with a number of specialty areas that likely have considerably different gender distributions.
Computerworld analysis of US Census Bureau 5-year American Community Survey data, 2010-2014, for job categories with at least a sample size of 150 among India-born. India-born includes immigrants and green-card holders as well as H-1B visa holders.
The limited data available about foreign-born IT workers shows a somewhat mixed picture.
A Computerworld analysis of U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey data from 2010 to 2014 showed that overall, 27% of the U.S. tech workforce is female. Among people born in India and working in U.S. tech jobs -- immigrants and green-card holders as well as those on visas -- 27.8% are female, roughly similar. (Want to explore this data yourself? Download the data file as part of our free Insider program.) But more data is needed to complete the picture of H-1B demographics, which may be considerably different than those of foreign-born citizens.
In addition to gender, age is also an issue (although age could be considered a more personally identifiable attribute and thus is not subject to Freedom of Information Act requests). When companies turn to offshore outsourcing and bring in H-1B-using IT contractors, the visa holders tend to be much younger than the employees they are replacing. While that hurts both male and female older workers, the unemployment rates for older women in IT are higher than for men. H-1B workers also increase competition for jobs, and that may be hurting those who already have the most difficulty finding jobs as well.
Advocates say census data and court case records are poor substitutes for the actual data from official visa forms, which remain hidden away in government files.
"If people knew the facts, this would be indefensible," said Eckstein at the IEEE. "So not releasing the facts is also indefensible."
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BY MATTHEW NIXSON
Detectives failed to take action against a violent police clerk who later murdered his girlfriend, the victimIs family claim.
Murdered mother-of-two Valerie Curtis might still be alive had officers acted when warned that Eliya Karako was assaulting her daughter.
Company director Michael Curtis of The Avenue, Hatch End, claims his daughter Nicola had been assaulted twice by Karako while he lived with his ex-wife, Valerie Curtis.
An investigation has now been completed into complaints from Mr Curtis and his daughter. They claim officers failed to act when told that a civilian colleague at Barnet Police Station was assaulting Nicola, 22.
nWe complained twice to police when Nicola was beaten up, once in the street when she told him [Karako] to get out of the house,i said Mr Curtis.
nShe ended up in hospital. If police had taken action Valerie might be alive today.
nEven officers who visited us after the murder told us to go ahead with a complaint ,, they were horrified.i
Mrs Curtis, a 52-year-old medical secretary, of Wycherly Crescent, Barnet, died of stab wounds in June last year, after meeting boyfriend Karako to end their relationship.
After attacking Mrs Curtis at his flat in Lander Court, Lyonsdown Road, Barnet, Turkish-born Karako, 48, stabbed himself in a suicide bid.
Paramedics battled to save Mrs Curtis but she died in hospital. Karako, a clerk with Barnet Police, died of his injuries four months later.
A Scotland Yard spokesman said: 'A complaint was received in June last year. The complaint has been fully investigated by the North London Complaints Unit of the Metropolitan Police.
'A report has been completed and submitted to the Police Complaints Authority for their consideration. We are unable to comment on the contents until the PCA has had a chance to report.'
Land and Space Journal Sentinel business reporter Tom Daykin talks about commercial real estate and development. SHARE
By of the
The Badger Bus downtown depot has been sold, with the carrier shifting its service to the nearby Milwaukee Intermodal Station.
The building, at 635-639 N. James Lovell St., was sold by Madison-based Meier Investment Group LLC to Rauch and Romanshek James Lovell LLC for $550,000, according to state real estate records posted Friday.
Rauch and Romanshek's agent, Robert Rauch, is president of Milwaukee-based Paratech Ambulance Service Inc. Paratech plans to use the building as part of its operations, said David Meier, Badger Bus chief financial officer
Meanwhile, Badger Bus is now doing downtown stops at the Intermodal Station , 433 W. St. Paul Ave., where it is subleasing space from Greyhound Bus Lines Inc., Meier said.
Badger also plans to shift its Milwaukee-area offices and maintenance center from the downtown site to a building it is buying at 6819 S. Howell Ave., Oak Creek, he said.
Tesla Motors unveils the new lower-priced Model 3 sedan at the Tesla Motors design studio in Hawthorne, Calif. Credit: Associated Press
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By ,
Hawthorne, Calif. It's the car thousands of people were waiting for: Tesla Motors' new, lower-priced Model 3 sedan.
Tesla unveiled the Model 3 on Thursday night at its Los Angeles design studio. It doesn't go on sale until late 2017, but in the first 24 hours that order banks were open, Tesla said it had more than 115,000 reservations. By Friday afternoon, more than 198,000 people had agreed to plunk down $1,000 to reserve a new Model 3.
Long lines at Tesla stores, reminiscent of the crowds at Apple stores for early models of the iPhone, were reported from Hong Kong to Austin, Texas, to Washington, D.C.
At a starting price of $35,000 before federal and state government incentives the Model 3 is less than half the cost of Tesla's previous models. Tesla CEO Elon Musk says the car will go at least 215 miles when fully charged, about double what drivers get from current competitors in its price range, such as the Nissan Leaf and BMW i3.
Prototypes shown Thursday night looked like a shorter version of Tesla's Model S sedan. The Model 3 has a panoramic glass roof and an elongated hood. Inside, it seats five adults and has the same large touchscreen dashboard as other Teslas. It also has Tesla's suite of semi-autonomous driving features, including automatic lane changing and lane keeping. Musk said it will accelerate from zero to 60 in less than 6 seconds.
Musk said the car is on schedule to go on sale at the end of 2017, eliciting a cheer from the crowd of around 800 people. Tesla has a history of missing deadlines for its vehicles to hit the market.
"I do feel fairly confident it will be next year," Musk said.
The Model 3 is the most serious test yet of 13-year-old Tesla's ability to go from a niche player to a full-fledged automaker. It could be the car that finally makes electrics mainstream or consumers could continue to be skeptical that electrics will work for everyday use. In the U.S., they still make up less than 1% of annual sales. Either way, the Model 3 is already changing the industry, spurring competitors to speed development of electric cars and improve their battery range.
General Motors Co. is set to start selling the Chevrolet Bolt electric car at the end of this year. The Bolt will have a similar price tag and a 200-mile range. Hyundai's Ioniq, which has a 110-mile electric range and could match Tesla on price, goes on sale this fall. Audi will follow with an electric SUV in 2018.
Musk said last month he's not worried. He thinks the Model 3 will compete most directly with small luxury cars such as the Audi A4 and the BMW 3 Series.
Musk said Tesla will expand its stores and its fast-charging Supercharger stations globally in order to support the Model 3. He said the company plans to double its stores worldwide to 441 by the end of 2017, and it will double its Superchargers to 7,200. Tesla also will add thousands of its so-called destination charging stations at hotels and other locations.
Tesla lowered the cost of the new model, in part, by making cheaper batteries. The company previously assembled its battery packs with cells made in Japan by Panasonic Corp. But Tesla and Panasonic are building a massive, $5 billion factory in Nevada which will supply batteries for the Model 3. Tesla says the scale of the factory will lower the cost of its battery packs by 30%.
The Model 3 puts Tesla within reach of millions more customers. Last year, only 2.1% of new cars purchased in the U.S. cost $75,000 or more, but 35% or 5.5 million cost $35,000 or more, according to TrueCar. The Model 3 is a critical part of the money-losing automaker's plan to increase sales from around 85,000 this year to 500,000 by 2020.
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Menard Inc. is violating federal labor law in the way it treats its employees, the staff of the National Labor Relations Board has found.
The Eau Claire-based home-improvement retailer has been improperly requiring employees to sign mandatory-arbitration agreements, and has withheld merit pay raises for workers engaged in protected activities, according to the regional office of the NLRB.
"This is very important," said Seth Goldstein, a union official who filed a complaint with the NLRB about Menard's practices. "It will affect over 46,000 employees."
Goldstein is senior business representative with a New York-based local of the Office & Professional Employees International Union.
He filed his complaint after The Progressive magazine reported in December that Menard's agreements with managers called for their income to automatically be cut by 60% if a union won an election at their operation. The magazine reported that a Menard's management employee had provided it with a copy of one such agreement from 2015.
A week later, a Menard spokesman told Bloomberg News that 2016 contracts with managers do not contain such language. The spokesman didn't respond when asked if the company had previously maintained the anti-union practice.
In a summary of the initial decision, sent to Goldstein this week by the NLRB office in Milwaukee, an agency field examiner said Menard has rescinded the policy.
Other, existing practices at Menard, however, must be changed, the summary said.
Among them is the company's policy of requiring nonmanagerial workers, as a condition of employment, to sign agreements that require them to use arbitration and bar them from engaging in joint activities such as class actions.
Menard also must rescind language that prohibits merit raises for employees based on behavior that could involve protected union activity, the summary from the NLRB regional office said.
Those decisions aren't final. If Menard doesn't agree to make the changes, the NLRB likely would issue a formal complaint that the company could contest, Goldstein said.
The officer in charge of the NLRB's office in Milwaukee said Friday that the agency cannot discuss the case at this point.
A Menard spokeswoman said the company would not comment on the matter because it is still pending.
Menard, which operates 287 stores in 14 states, employs more than 45,000 people, according to its website.
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Chicago The insurance industry is ripe for innovation, and venture capitalists are going to make it happen.
That was one of the main topics at the OnRamp Insurance Conference in Chicago Thursday. Executives from American Family Insurance, Goldman Sachs, Kaiser Permanente and Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. were among about 400 people who attended the event, which was held at Soldier Field.
"Consumers want choice," said Andrew Rose, chief executive officer of Compare.com, a Richmond, Va., car insurance comparison service. "It is the modern way to shop. Technology will change and potentially replace what an agent does today."
Rose said he doesn't think technology will completely replace insurance agents, but with venture capital aggressively targeting new ideas for the industry, the disruption could be seismic.
Representatives from 16 established companies, including AIG, CUNA Mutual, Jewelers Mutual, Harley-Davidson Inc. and others, held 130 meetings with about 60 start-ups at the conference, said Abby Taubner, program manager at gener8tor, a start-up accelerator that operates in Madison and Milwaukee, which organized the conference.
"The insurance industry is the biggest opportunity for us right now," said Matt Lenahan, chief executive officer of HireWheel LLC, a Cincinnati start-up that provides information about the improvement history of a property.
The changes that are beginning to grip the insurance industry were apparent at the OnRamp conference, said Marik Brockman, an executive who traveled to the conference from Walnut Creek, Calif., and who met with some of the other start-ups at the event.
"It doesn't look like your usual insurance conference," said Brockman, corporate strategy executive at CSAA Insurance Group. "It looks more like a tech conference."
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has a partnership with gener8tor on an OnRamp editorial product that includes Journal Sentinel entrepreneurship and technology news and blogs from the start-up community. Gener8tor is a curator on the blog portion.
The USS Milwaukee littoral combat ship built in Marinette was commissioned last year. Lockheed Martin Corp. has been awarded U.S. Navy funding up to $564 million, to build another littoral combat ship in Marinette. Credit: Journal Sentinel files
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Lockheed Martin Corp. has been awarded U.S. Navy funding up to $564 million to build another littoral combat ship in Marinette.
LCS 25 will be the 11th ship procured under the contract, awarded in 2010, and the 13th ship of its kind overall. It is scheduled to be delivered to the Navy in 2020.
Lockheed Martin, through Marinette Marine Corp., has delivered three of the vessels to the Navy: USS Freedom, USS Fort Worth and USS Milwaukee, which was christened in Milwaukee in November.
Seven more of the warships are in various stages of construction in Marinette, while a different version is being built in Mobile, Ala.
Altogether the Navy wants 52 of the ships, although Defense Secretary Ash Carter has directed the service to cut that number to 40 vessels.
There is also pressure from the Defense Department for the Navy to select one version of the littoral combat ship over the other, which could take Marinette out of the program. That's an ongoing concern for northeast Wisconsin, especially, where the LCS program has been a mainstay of employment.
Lockheed's contract covers construction of LCS 25 plus integration and testing of selected ship systems and equipment, according to Friday's Department of Defense announcement.
Austal USA, the firm building littoral combat ships in Mobile, also was awarded up to $546 million for its next vessel.
The cost of the ships is not to exceed that amount, set by Congress, and Navy officials have said the price has fallen as the shipyards have gained experience and efficiencies.
"Over 12,000 people and 500 suppliers in 37 states contribute to this critical program and will continue to do so as we transition to the new Freedom-class frigate in the coming years," Joe North, vice president and general manager of Littoral Ships and Systems at Lockheed Martin, said in a statement.
The littoral combat ship construction is scheduled to continue in Marinette for at least the next five years.
However, the ships have faced criticism over their performance and reliability, and some members of Congress have called for the Navy to put the brakes on the program until questions are answered.
Carter and his predecessor as defense secretary, Chuck Hagel, both questioned the ship's ability to withstand combat. In an annual report on major weapons, the Pentagon testing office said one of the vessels had difficulty in tests at sea defending against swarming vessels, such as those used by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards, and that both versions of the ship had extensive reliability problems.
The Navy and Lockheed Martin have said they remain confident in the ship's performance and reliability.
The modular design and price helps the Navy maintain a flexible fleet with a level of force that can deter and defeat threats, according to Lockheed Martin.
"USS Freedom and USS Fort Worth have demonstrated the Freedom-variant's value to the fleet with two successful operational deployments to Southeast Asia, sailing more than 180,000 combined nautical miles since delivery," the company said in a statement.
Clarification: In recent Journal Sentinel coverage of the U.S. Navy's littoral combat ship program, it should have been noted that a version of the vessel built in Mobile, Ala., had difficulties in tests against swarming attack vessels. The Lockheed Martin Corp. version of the ship, built in Marinette, did not fail the tests.
Alan Kopischke and Carrie Hitchcock banter in A Walk in the Woods. Credit: Edward DiMaio
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Sturgeon Bay Who could have imagined that showcasing the thaw between two Cold War diplomats in an old play filled with dated references to detente, Star Wars and the 1980s proxy wars in Central America would resonate so strongly in 2016?
Then again, who could imagine that we'd be living through that nuclear winter of toxic recrimination known as the 2016 election season?
Just days before the Wisconsin primary, a strong, well-acted Third Avenue Playhouse production of Lee Blessing's "A Walk in the Woods" connects the dots between then and now, asking how and whether we might get along and even become friends, notwithstanding all that divides us. It opened Thursday night under Robert Boles' direction.
"Woods" begins with American negotiator John Honeyman (Alan Kopischke) wanting to be just about anyplace except where he actually finds himself: In the Swiss woods, where he's been invited by Soviet counterpart Irina Botvinnik (Carrie Hitchcock) for a stroll.
When Irina also invites John to take a seat beside her on a park bench, he agrees with all the reluctance of the American innocent he is sure that corrupt Europe is up to its old tricks, and as determined as any of Henry James's American men that he won't be had. Even the way Kopischke sits rigidly upright, clenched hands planted firmly on tensed legs, clothes buttoned up conveys how wary he is.
Conversely, Hitchcock latest of several women Blessing has allowed to appear in productions of a play originally written for two men gives us an Irina who is lithe and flexible, from her crossed legs and habit of leaning into John to the drollery baked into her impeccable, lightly accented English.
In the first of the play's four scenes one for each season Irina is wryly amused by and even condescending toward the doggedly earnest John, priggishly unwilling to bend or relax because he's filled with a sense of all that must be accomplished (and, Kopischke suggests, also quite full of himself).
But for all her playfully cynical insistence that these arms talks mean nothing, Irina clearly wishes they might mean something; her much younger self had endured the siege of Leningrad, after all. John talks about how war is hell; she's actually lived it. His idealism may be naive, but Hitchcock again magnificent, here suggests a woman who badly wants to believe he's right.
Seasoned pros that they are, neither Hitchcock nor Kopischke oversells their growing affinity; "Woods" isn't a feel-good exercise culminating in universal and eternal peace.
What we get instead is even better: A recognition that even ostensible enemies might actually become friends if they'd occasionally retreat from history, stepping back in time for a walk in the woods.
IF YOU GO
"A Walk in the Woods" continues through April 17 at Third Avenue Playhouse, 239 N. 3rd Ave., Sturgeon Bay. For tickets, visit thirdavenueplayhouse.com. Read more about this production atTapMilwaukee.com.
TAKEAWAYS
History and Geography, Part I: In one of the many smart riffs in this well-written, idea-rich play, Irina explains the contrast between the stories of America and Russia through topography, describing history as geography unfolding over time and pointing out how the oceanic buffers shielding the United States resulted in a very different trajectory, involving a nation largely unconscious of its tremendous natural advantages. Russia, Irina points out, is filled with "flat, broad plains," themselves an open invitation to invaders from time immemorial. It makes Russians aware of their neighbors, she suggests, in a way that Americans are not.
History and Geography, Part II: Irina consistently reflects a corresponding awareness of the natural world, from the changing seasons in the woods where the two negotiators walk to the animals and plants that live there.
John's hobby may be botany, but it's Irina who truly sees the world around her. She is at home in the natural world; he sees right past it. Kopischke suggests that John sees the world as an obstacle to be moved through and past rather than a place to be inhabited and enjoyed.
Into the Woods: Just before intermission, Irina tells John not to shout in the woods; at play's end, Irina and John sit in the woods, in silence he having finally learned the value of living in harmony with one's surroundings rather than trying to dominate them. At play's beginning, Irina describes the woods as a place where one might "talk about trees, lakes, whatever." By play's end, John imagines the woods as a place within which one might be "part of" a bigger world and "feel completely comfortable there."
History, in this view of the woods, isn't being expressed through geography. It's being replaced by the natural world, in which the animals we are might remember all we once shared, in an idealized Eden before the fall into history and strife. Hitchcock and Kopischke fully and credibly inhabit this sound of silence.
A Darker View: One might also take that silence as a defeat, suggesting that because history and language always lie as, by extension, do treaties between nations nothing done during these arms talks means a thing. "If you stay here long enough," Irina warns John at one point, "the only thing you'll be able to enjoy is a totally meaningless conversation," given that the official talks never go anywhere.
Is she right? Might one view the growing friendship between these two diplomats as a Pyrrhic victory a sign of how little is possible and how much has been lost, in a world where history is a runaway train and our only option is to get out of the way, running into a primitive, woodsy past because we've lost control of the future?
Blessing is much too good a playwright to suggest easy answers to this and similar questions he poses; it's because he's a good playwright that such questions are on the table at all, uncomfortably juxtaposed with the reasons "Woods" provides to be more optimistic.
I'll say this much: Critics who've seen the play as a Panglossian suggestion that solving the world's problems is just a walk in the park have missed the boat, insofar as they didn't sense the dark undertow I've tried to describe here. And which, for all the humor she injects into a frequently funny play, one consistently gets from Hitchcock, who clearly understands that laughter is often the byproduct of pain. Speaking of Hitchcock ....
Shifting Gender and Carrie Hitchcock: As indicated above, Blessing has approved gender changes for several productions of "Woods"; in a September 2014 comment on this decision, he noted that a "gender change can wake us up a bit" to the issues in the play, adding that he'd found productions making the switch "rewarding."
I have no doubt he'd feel further validated by such decisions if he could come to Sturgeon Bay and watch Hitchcock, who has been infinitely rewarding and gratifying since returning to the stage in late 2014. I've seen every play she's been in since coming back; even when a few of the plays themselves have wobbled, she has been what she was before she left: an actor whose mesmerizing stage presence as well as smart and nuanced choices regarding character consistently command one's attention. As I've written before, Wisconsin is blessed by an extraordinarily deep bench of mature female actors who just keep getting better. Hitchcock is one of them.
SHARE Deborah Staples plays mothers in Motherhood Out Loud. Roger Rapoport
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No one, suggests actress Deborah Staples, gets through motherhood without a sense of humor. So expect Next Act Theatre's new production, "Motherhood Out Loud," to produce plenty of laughs.
Fourteen playwrights, including Beth Henley, Lisa Loomer, Michele Lowe and Theresa Rebeck, contributed to this anthology show of monologues, scenes and vignettes reflecting the maternal experience in all stages of life and emotional colors. Staples, the mother of two daughters, and fellow moms Michelle Lopez-Rios and Tami Workentin play all of the mothers; Doug Jarecki plays the men.
"Pour Doug, he's in that room, all women talking about babies all the time," Staples said, laughing. Laura Gordon directs.
"The show is, commendably, at pains to include all varieties of motherhood and all kinds of children in the mix, like the mom at the birthday party making sure all the kids get a piece of cake," wrote Charles Isherwood in his review of a New York production. That includes a mom who escorts her autistic teen on his first date, and a mother who joins her son at the tattoo parlor before he ships out to Afghanistan.
Staples believes that today's focus on balancing or trying to balance family against work means "we don't actually talk a lot about what that task (motherhood) is or what that requires ... we largely just take it for granted."
She subscribes to a statement made by one of the moms she portrays: I'm never going to feel like I'm OK if I don't know where my kid is and that my kid is OK.
Staples also relishes playing an opinionated great-grandmother, who tells a descendant working on a school report that she doesn't like being a mother. "Her perspective being that she had no choice, birth control was not a working thing," Staples said. She thinks about "all of the women throughout history who have not had a choice about something that is all encompassing and so taxing, and they had no choice but to go through it again and again and again."
Do any of the characters remind her of her own mother?
"There's this beautiful, beautiful mother I play," Staples said, struggling to see the truth about her son, who wants to go to the synagogue's Purim event dressed as Queen Esther. "The grace and dignity and selflessness with which this mother goes through that situation reminds me very much of my mother. ... She was tolerant, accepting and willing to learn beyond what her life experience should have allotted her. ... She would always try to face challenges and try to do it without ego."
IF YOU GO
"Motherhood Out Loud" runs from April 7 through May 7 at Next Act Theatre, 255 S. Water St. For tickets, visit www.nextact.org or call (414) 278-0765.
A newly married couple ride in a vintage car on the Malecon in Havana. U.S. airlines are competing to provide round-trip flights to Cuba. Credit: Ramon Espinosa
The war of words has gotten nasty, with the candidates describing the ideas of their rivals as "disingenuous," "extreme" and "capricious."
These are not the comments of presidential candidates. This is the language used by airlines that are competing for a handful of routes to Cuba that the U.S. government will award this summer under the Obama administration's effort to normalize relations with the island nation.
As part of the selection process, the U.S. Department of Transportation has asked that the competing carriers submit written requests for the routes they want as well as responses to the proposals of their rivals.
The federal agency plans to approve 20 daily round-trip flights to Havana, and 10 flights to nine smaller airports around the communist country.
The language in these responses has taken an ugly tone because airline executives know that the Cuban routes will be in high demand, particularly from Cuban-Americans living near Miami, New York and Los Angeles.
In its application, New York-based JetBlue Airways requested 12 daily flights to Havana and took shots at Delta Air Lines, saying "JetBlue, not Delta, is the leading domestic airline at JFK," referring to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.
Delta, which requested to fly daily to Havana from four U.S. airports, fired back in its application, saying, "JetBlue's claim that it offered more seats and flights from JFK than any other airline in 2015 is demonstrably false."
In Delta's application, the Atlanta-based carrier took an additional shot at JetBlue by including photos of stranded JetBlue passengers sleeping in chairs at a JFK terminal.
Southwest Airlines, which requested nine of the 20 daily flights to Havana, said it can offer fares lower than American, Spirit and JetBlue on flights between south Florida and Havana.
United Airlines described a projection that Southwest made about demand for its service "capricious."
American Airlines, which asked for 12 daily flights into Havana plus 10 daily or weekly flights to other Cuban airports, called Southwest's request for six daily flights from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to Havana "absurd."
American also slammed Alaska Airlines, saying its request for two daily flights from Los Angeles International Airport to Havana is "in the extreme and bears no rational relationship to historical, current or future demand."
Los Angeles Times
Goats graze on the roof of Al Johnsons Swedish Restaurant in Sister Bay, Door County. Credit: Jon Jarosh/Door County Visitor Bureau
Weekend Getaway Brian E. Clark SHARE Al Johnsons signature square Swedish pancakes are topped with lingonberries. Jon Jarosh / Door County Visitor Bureau
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In the notoriously fickle hospitality industry, restaurants come and go on a regular basis.
But that's not the case for Al Johnson's Swedish Restaurant in Sister Bay, which has been a Door County fixture for more than six decades.
Like Wilson's in Ephraim and the White Gull Inn in Fish Creek, Al Johnson's is synonymous with dining out on the peninsula.
Located a stone's throw from the sometimes emerald waters of Green Bay, this eatery has served countless square Swedish pancakes topped with ample helpings of whipped cream, strawberries, cherries or lingonberries since Axel "Al" Johnson opened it in 1949.
Diners also have eaten plenty of Swedish meatballs, herring and other Scandinavian fare over the years.
Aside from the food, visitors flock to the log-cabin style restaurant built by Norwegian (not Swedish) craftsmen in 1973 to see the goats munching away and occasionally prancing on the structure's sod roof.
"It's my mom, Ingert, who was the driving force to make this place authentically Swedish," said Lars Johnson, whose 83-year-old mother was born south of Stockholm, immigrated to Chicago at 17 and still comes to the restaurant almost daily. Lars' siblings, Annika and Rolf, also are involved in the business.
Johnson said his father, a native of Chicago's south side, spent part of his youth in Sweden. He studied criminology at Marquette University after serving as a paratrooper in World War II. He wanted to work for the FBI, but his fondness for Door County where his parents owned a small cottage lured him north.
Al Johnson and two partners bought a small Sister Bay IGA grocery store and turned it into a diner. The partners soon tired of the restaurant business, but Al continued on and became an institution in his community. He passed away in 2010 at age 84.
"Dad met our mother in 1959 after a friend told him there was a young woman working at Gordon Lodge in Bailey's Harbor who spoke Swedish," Johnson said. "I guess they never looked back. And like I said, she's the one who really added the Scandinavian charm."
Johnson said the original restaurant building was nondescript, but his mother wanted to make it architecturally authentic. On a visit to the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum in Decorah, Iowa, they met a man who connected them with some craftsmen from Telemark, Norway.
"They initially wanted to work with Swedes," he recalled. "But by the early '70s, Sweden had embraced modern design. So in 1972, they hired a Door County architect who drew up all the schematics and had the roughly 18,000-square-foot structure built in Norway. All the pieces were numbered, then they took it apart and shipped it to Sister Bay where it was put up around the existing restaurant so we could keep operating. I remember it well."
Johnson said the story is a bit like that of Little Norway's stave church, only backward. That structure, which was part of a tourist site near Mount Horeb, was built in Norway for the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. After the fair, the church was moved to a Wrigley estate on Lake Geneva before being shipped to Little Norway, where it drew visitors for decades. Little Norway closed in 2014 and the church has now been disassembled for transport back to Scandinavia. It will be put back together in Orkdal, Norway, where it was built more than 120 years ago.
"Mom was saddened that Little Norway shut down, but pleased that the stave church was going home," Johnson said. "It's kind of an amazing story."
Johnson said the restaurant got a sod roof because that is typical of older homes in the Telemark province in Norway. The goats who proved to be incredibly popular were added as something of a prank by a friend of his father's, Johnson said.
He said Harold "Winkie" Larson was a jokester who decided the roof needed a goat, so he gave it to Johnson's father on his birthday and put it up on the roof. The goat, named Oscar, became something of a celebrity. Since then, scores of goats have graced the roof, entertaining locals and visitors alike.
Johnson said one of the highlights of the interior of the structure is the Rosemaling, a kind of decorative folk art that comes from rural valleys of Norway. The colorful designs were painted by Sigmund Aaseth, an internationally famous Norwegian-born artist.
Johnson's grandmother created the pancake recipe that the restaurant continues to use today. But it was his father who came up with the square shape.
"Basically, he decided that was a much more efficient use of the commercial grill," he said. "It's not something you'll find in Scandinavia. And as for the pancake recipe, if you go to 100 homes there, you might find 100 variations."
He said his mother wanted to serve authentic Swedish food, but found that in the early years, American palates were not that adventurous.
"It was a tough sell," he said. "People might try things once, but they figured out early on that being really traditional was a good way to go out of business. In recent years, though, people have wanted to try different things, like our homemade pickled herring and gravlax, which is raw salmon cured in salt, sugar and dill, served with mustard sauce on bread or with boiled potatoes."
He said the restaurant's cheese plates are also popular, and he praised Wisconsin producers for the wide variety of excellent cheeses they have created in the past 15 years.
Johnson said the key to the restaurant's longevity is a hands-on presence by family members.
"Dad taught us that bigger isn't always better and he instilled that," he said. "I can't always be here, but with my brother and sister involved in the business, one of us is here perhaps 90% of the time. That makes a big difference."
More information: The restaurant and boutique are open daily from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. See aljohnsons.com or call (920) 854-2626.
For ideas on other things to see and do in Door County, see doorcounty.com.
Getting there: Al Johnson's Swedish Restaurant is at 10698 N. Bay Shore Drive, Sister Bay, about 190 miles north of Milwaukee via I-43 and Highway 57.
Brian E. Clark is a Madison writer.
UWM has plans to use the hospital complex for multiple purposes, but much of the site doesnt meet building codes, and the state hasnt provided funding for the needed modifications and renovation. Credit: Rick Wood
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Imagine getting a good deal on a huge house with lots of potential, and five years later, only being able to use a few rooms because you don't have the money to fix up the rest.
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee can relate.
The east side university bought the Columbia St. Mary's Hospital complex next door for $20 million when the hospital closed in 2010. UWM officials made plans to re-purpose the six hospital buildings spanning 4 1/2 city blocks into a new academic neighborhood for health sciences, education and honors programs. With 840,000 gross square feet, it was the largest expansion of the main UWM campus in more than 40 years.
But today, much of the complex known as the Northwest Quad still sits empty. Lights are off; rooms are stripped of furniture.
The cost of putting to use the entire space is estimated at $172 million, and could take 20 to 30 years to complete.
Last year, Gov. Scott Walker recommended against funding a $60.2 million scaled-down version of an earlier request for the first phase of remodeling the old hospital. The state Building Commission followed his lead and issued no bonding for capital projects anywhere in the UW System.
A key part of the proposal calls for renovating the third floor of two attached buildings into a Center for Healthcare Transformation and Simulation. The third floor of the newest of the two buildings formerly housed a birthing center; the third floor in the other building had inpatient rooms.
The new center would have a layout that replicates a real health care environment and would alleviate a critical shortage of clinical training space for nursing and health sciences students, according to Robin Van Harpen, UWM's vice chancellor for finance and administrative affairs.
"We could expand enrollment to address nursing and other health care shortages in the state," she said. "The Northwest Quad is an ideal site for the center."
Clinical simulation centers are increasingly replacing professor-supervised clinical hours in hospitals and other health care settings, according to university officials. The existing Nursing Learning Resource Center in Cunningham Hall provides simulation, but is not on par with current trends in nursing education, officials said.
As envisioned, the new center would have skills labs and computer labs. Simulation spaces would include clinical care, patient exam rooms, a home health lab and acute care labs. Research labs also would be in the space. Engineering students might work there, too, to research what innovations could be designed around health care.
UWM officials say it would create opportunities for interdisciplinary collaborations by putting them in close proximity to one another.
Enrollment since the 1990s has grown more than 40% in UWM's College of Nursing, College of Health Sciences and School of Information Studies, with limited opportunity for any expansion within the original campus footprint, Van Harpen said.
In addition to the new Center for Healthcare Transformation and Simulation, the complex would provide new homes for the College of Health Sciences, the School of Information Studies and Student Health Services. It would add a town square and additional spaces for departments to shift temporarily during campus renovations.
"We knew that redevelopment of the facility would take time and we were willing to be patient," Van Harpen said. "However, it is frustrating to continue to maintain so much unoccupied space in the facility, due mainly to unresolved code issues, when we have critical needs that could be addressed very well in those spaces."
$1 million to maintain
Last June, the university reported it was occupying 300,000 square feet of the space, but that the other 540,000 square feet wasn't usable due to building code violations and obsolete infrastructure.
In the four connected former hospital buildings that make up the majority of space, 14% of the space has been remodeled, 22% is being used as "swing space" to house areas dislocated for maintenance or remodeling projects, and 17% of the mechanical and support work has been finished, while 47% of the space currently is unusable, according to Karen Wolfert, UWM's senior architect and campus planner.
The proposed first phase of the renovation would boost the numbers to 20% remodeled and 63% usable swing space, as well as provide updates in half the total space. The other half would have systems repaired.
Between debt service payments on the purchase and basic upkeep, the unused space costs UWM $996,000 per year to maintain, according to a presentation to the UW System Board of Regents last summer.
Still, there have been some steps.
The Children's Learning Center two years ago moved into renovated space on the ground and first floors of the newest building at the western edge of the original campus. That building once housed the hospital's Emergency Department, outpatient surgery and cancer care, plus the birthing center.
In addition to classrooms and play and learning spaces, the Children's Learning Center has rooms where students from the College of Health Sciences and psychology department can observe early childhood development and do hearing and language screenings.
One building already has five new "active learning" classrooms with the latest instructional technology, including multiple large screens and laptop hookups. The building has a total of 12 classrooms.
And the Honors College already has moved into the former Columbia School of Nursing and may add housing for about 90 honors students eventually.
Viewed as an answer
The purchase of the Columbia St. Mary's complex in 2010 which also included a 900-plus car parking garage was a huge deal for UWM, Van Harpen said.
"We had been working on the purchase for nearly a decade," she said. "It was viewed as the answer to many of our space shortages on the (main) Kenwood campus."
During a recent tour of the complex, the contrast was stark between "what is" and "what could be." The former birthing center once a point of pride with modern birthing suites is dark and lifeless. Ceiling tiles have been removed in some parts for maintenance work, and some of the flooring in birthing suites is water-stained.
On the other hand, students have discovered an old lounge in one of the buildings that provides quiet study space, said Geoff Hurtado, associate vice chancellor for facilities planning and management.
The former cafeteria has new life.
It's been converted to a bright coffeehouse with tropical murals on the walls.
But compared with the larger expectations for the space, those are small pieces.
"The reality of state bonding is we will never be able to do it more than one piece at a time," Van Harpen said.
Connor McDonald, 6, looks out the window while touring one of the suites at the Fisher House on Thursday. He and his brother helped raise more than $2,000 for the house that will house family members of veterans receiving care at Milwaukees VA hospital. Credit: Angela Peterson
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When Ken Lee arrived at Walter Reed Medical Center in 2004 it was as a patient, not a medical professional.
Lee was a lieutenant colonel in the Wisconsin National Guard commanding a medical company when he was seriously wounded by a suicide bomber in Baghdad. His wife, Kate, and two young children traveled from Milwaukee to Washington, D.C., to be with Lee shortly after he returned to the United States.
Knowing they would be there for awhile, Lee's wife booked a hotel room, but when medical staff learned the family had traveled from Wisconsin they put the Lees in touch with the Fisher House Foundation, which provides free lodging at fully furnished homes built on the grounds of veterans hospitals.
"It was a godsend for my family," Lee said Thursday as he stood in the new Fisher House built near the Zablocki Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Milwaukee, where he's director of the Spinal Cord Injury Center.
"I had other things to think about, and it was a relief for me because the hotel wasn't in a nice neighborhood," he said. "You don't expect generosity at a time like that."
It took several years of fundraising, planning and construction, but the Fisher House on the Milwaukee VA grounds is almost finished and will be open by late April or early May. More than half the $6.2 million cost was raised through donations before groundbreaking in June 2014.
At 13,000 square feet, Milwaukee's Fisher House features 16 private suites and a communal kitchen and living area for people traveling at least 50 miles to be with family members undergoing surgeries and treatment at Zablocki.
Treatment teams for individual veterans at the Milwaukee VA will make referrals for people meeting qualifications. The Milwaukee Fisher House staff will either make arrangements for them to stay, or if Fisher House is filled, help arrange for free lodging through Hotels for Heroes, a Fisher House Foundation program that pays for hotel rooms for families of injured and ill veterans.
"The goal being that no family will have to pay for lodging," said Jennifer Kiefer, Milwaukee VA Fisher House manager.
During an open house Thursday for local media, Kiefer gave tours of the new facility, including Room 205, which overlooks both Miller Park and the VA hospital. The large kitchen includes three refrigerators and two freezers with containers in each marked with room numbers for families who bring their own food or have special food needs.
An adjacent room is filled with washers and dryers. Living areas feature comfy couches and chairs and a large screen TV with an Xbox. An outdoor porch with patio furniture will soon get a couple of gas grills.
Families will have private areas to sleep and bathe and can meet with other families to prepare and share meals. Visitors will be expected to clean up after themselves they can get replacement linens during their stay and cook their own meals with food provided by the Fisher House and donations.
"It's the concept of healing by families coming together. They have private suites when they want to stay alone but we also encourage people to eat together or watch a movie together," Kiefer said. "We want them to think of this as their home away from home."
Similar to Ronald McDonald Houses, 68 Fisher Houses are located on the grounds of military medical facilities in the U.S. plus one each in Germany and England. The program was started more than two decades ago by Zachary Fisher, a New York real estate mogul known for his philanthropy.
Donations big and small
Maryland-based Fisher House Foundation raises money to build homes on the grounds of VA hospitals and then gives the buildings to the government, which operates and maintains them. Organizers began raising funds several years ago in the Milwaukee area to pay for the new Fisher House. Donations have been big and small, from large corporations and individuals.
Among the donors are Hayden and Connor McDonald, who visited Fisher House on Thursday to see how their dollars were spent. They're on spring break this week from Aquinas Academy in Menomonee Falls. Hayden is 8 and Connor is 6 and for their joint military themed birthday party last summer, the young brothers decided they didn't want gifts. Instead they asked for cash which they wanted to donate to a military charity.
Their parents helped research local charities benefiting veterans, and the brothers ended up choosing Fisher House.
"Me and Hayden were into military stuff so we decided to give money instead of gifts to Fisher House at our birthday party," said Connor, as his brother sprawled on one of the couches. The brothers donated more than $2,000.
Fisher House organized "wish lists" at Target, the Container Store and Bed Bath & Beyond for donations, and only a few items on the Target wish list have yet to be purchased. The Milwaukee Fisher House will also rely on donations to pay for food and other items as families come and go, which could be as short as a day or as long as a year.
Kathy and Michael Halula of Waukesha stayed at a Fisher House in Minnesota while their son David recovered from injuries from a car crash while he was stationed in the Army in Colorado.
"We knew nothing about Fisher House. We drove up monthly and stayed at a hotel, which was costly," Kathy Halula said. But then VA hospital staff told the couple about Fisher House and they began to stay there when they visited their son between the fall of 2008 and summer of 2009.
It was comforting living with other families who were going through the same thing, worrying about a wounded or sick service member and receiving support from people who knew what they were going through, Michael Halula said.
"You didn't have to worry. You could concentrate on your loved one," said Kathy Halula.
To donate to Fisher House Wisconsin, visit fisherhousewi.org.
Workers install stainless steel mesh inside the Show Dome at Mitchell Park to keep small pieces of concrete from falling from inside the dome. The mesh allows in plenty of sunlight for the flowers and other plants. All three domes have been closed since February. Credit: Rick Wood
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The Show Dome at Mitchell Park is getting a full suit of metal armor on the inside to protect its visitors.
Beginning this week, stainless steel mesh is being lifted into place to form a lining inside the entire dome, one of three at Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory on S. Layton Blvd.
Now that repairs have started, the Show Dome home of floral displays with changing themes and a popular backdrop for wedding party photos is on schedule to reopen May 1, Horticultural Services Director Sandy Folaron said. When it reopens, visitors will see the traditional Spring Impressions Show with flowering hyacinth, tulips and daffodils, Folaron said.
The three domes Show, Desert and Tropical were closed in February out of concern for public safety after a piece of concrete fell inside the Desert Dome in late January. Before that, the Tropical Dome was considered the greatest risk to public safety from falling debris. In the weeks since then, the future of the Milwaukee attraction has become a focus of civic consternation, not to mention a political hot button.
Cost of the temporary fix at the Show Dome buying the mesh, hoisting it up and fastening it in place is estimated at $263,000, county Facilities Management Director Jeremy Theis said. The work should not require additional maintenance for five years.
Crews from Masonry Restoration Inc. of Milwaukee are using five lifts including a crane tall enough to reach the 85-foot-high center peak to install the mesh.
The timing of the repairs for the Desert and Tropical domes will depend on the availability of more stainless steel mesh, as well as specialized lifts needed to work above tall, living plants in those domes, Theis said.
Work in those two domes will take longer, perhaps 10 to 20 weeks each, he said.
Final cost estimates for repairing the remaining two domes will be completed in May.
The stainless steel mesh selected to line the Show Dome has one-half-inch hexagonal openings. That size hole is small enough to trap any concrete flaking off the support frame and large enough to allow sufficient light to enter the dome for plants, Theis said. The six-sided holes also are big enough for inspectors to monitor deterioration of the frame.
It looks like chicken wire with a smaller hole and is lightweight.
The frame inside each of the aging domes is made of steel-reinforced concrete supports that look like beams, and concrete encases metal plates connecting the beams.
The condition of the frame within the Tropical Dome was known to have deteriorated since the county spent $200,000 on repairs to concrete and connections in late 2013 and early 2014, parks officials said. The Tropical Dome was closed for several months at that time.
The Conservatory was built in stages between 1959 and 1967. The Show Dome opened in December 1964, followed by the Tropical Dome in January 1966 and the Desert Dome in November 1967.
More than $12.5 million has been spent on repairs and maintenance at the domes from 1991 through 2015.
Closing of the Domes has become an issue in the race for Milwaukee County executive on Tuesday's spring election ballot.
State Sen. Chris Larson is challenging County Executive Chris Abele for the job, and Larson has accused Abele of inflating costs of major renovation to persuade the public to raze the domes.
Abele administration officials have said complete renovation to extend the life of the domes could cost up to $70 million, or more.
Larson estimated the cost could be kept to $45 million.
At candidate forums, Abele has said the public should decide the future of the domes since taxpayers will fund one of three options: continued temporary repairs; major renovations; or replacing them with some other structure.
Abele is setting up a conservatory advisory committee to hold public meetings on the options. A preliminary briefing was held March 23 with representatives of community groups invited to make up the committee, said Raisa Koltun, Abele's chief of staff.
Among the groups attending the briefing: Friends of the Domes; Clarke Square Neighborhood; Potawatomi Bingo and Casino; Visit Milwaukee and NEWaukee.
The 2016 Parks Department budget includes the initial $500,000 needed to pay for the work inside the Show Dome, plus engineering and design plans for all three domes.
In a recent statement thanking the County Board for approving an additional $500,000 for dome repairs this year, Abele said: "The Mitchell Park Conservatory domes have been an important and living part of Milwaukee's history for more than 50 years."
"Let's make sure the next generation has a conservatory that gains national recognition" in line with the legacy and history of the domes, Abele said.
St. Francis Mayor CoryAnn St. Marie-Carls is defending herself against a no-confidence vote taken against her by the Common Council. Credit: Submitted photo
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It's fair to say the mayor and Common Council in St. Francis do not get along.
Two weeks ago the council voted unanimously to request the mayor's resignation. When she refused to do so, council members unanimously approved a no-confidence vote.
Meanwhile, the mayor has threatened to sue a council member and a former city employee for slander. She has vetoed council decisions, and council members have overridden her vetoes. And the city administrator who handles the day-to-day operation of the community announced his resignation last week, effective June 1.
Mayor CoryAnn St. Marie-Carls was elected four years ago to the part-time job that pays $11,000. St. Francis has a weak mayor/strong council form of government, meaning the mayor can appoint committees, veto measures and break ties, but the council makes policies and approves the budget.
Council members said they voted for her to resign for several reasons, including a dispute over whether the mayor could get a key to the Police Department and whether she lied when she said she didn't ask the previous police chief for a key. Council members say she bossed around city office staff members and shouted profanity at an employee in the City Hall rotunda when the mayor missed a deadline to submit articles for the city's newsletter.
Earlier this year the council and mayor clashed over an ordinance spelling out the duties for aldermen and the mayor, which some council members said the mayor claimed was a "power grab." St. Marie-Carls vetoed it; the council overrode the veto.
"We're keeping everything transparent. We can't hide that we don't agree" with the mayor, said Ald. Ray Klug. "I think the citizens would rather know up front what's going on."
In response St. Marie-Carls said council members are a network of good old boys though two of the six-member board are female who don't appreciate her efforts to rein in spending.
When the city's property tax base was reassessed last year, some residents' property tax bills increased sharply and the mayor said she responded to their complaints by creating a citizen committee and trying to corral spending. She criticized an attempt to hire a full-time clerk because she thought the city could save money with only a part-time clerk.
"I'm bringing a legitimate issue forward (about taxes and spending) and because the council took personal offense to a very public city issue, there's been retaliation," St. Marie-Carls said.
Confrontation with clerk
Council president Donald Brickner, who faces challenger Shawn Feier in Tuesday's election, said the mayor berated a city clerk who was in charge of the St. Francis newsletter.
St. Marie-Carls "missed the deadline, and it went to print. She didn't like that. She lost her temper, and she was screaming at the clerk, dropping 'F-bombs' in the rotunda of City Hall," Brickner said.
St. Marie-Carls' attorney sent a letter to the clerk shortly after the incident claiming the clerk, who later left her job, slandered the mayor.
The mayor said in a phone interview this week that she apologized to the clerk, whom she called a "disgruntled employee." She characterized the incident differently, saying the clerk should not have been the only person at the counter.
"I said, 'You gave the mayor a directive? Where's the manager?' She said 'I don't know,'" St. Marie-Carls said. "This counter needs a manager. I questioned that and she didn't take kindly to that. A part-time person at the counter taking in a lot of money there should be a manager. I walked out. I did raise my voice. I wasn't in a shouting match, however, people do raise their voice."
St. Marie-Carls said she asked the previous police chief, who retired last year, for a key to the police station for her protection because she sometimes works late, and also because mayors of neighboring communities have keys to their police departments.
Brickner said the police chief refused because the St. Francis Police Department closes at night dispatch duties are handled by Oak Creek and he didn't want the mayor to have access to police offices that contain sensitive material.
Brickner said St. Marie-Carls denied that she asked the previous police chief for a key. The mayor also asked the new police chief for a key to the Police Department and was again turned down. A letter was sent to the Common Council by the St. Francis Fire and Police Commission on March 14 saying the commission backed the police chief in his decision not to authorize key access to the mayor.
"We, however, have a concern that the mayor did lie in the fact that she said in an email to the chief that she never pursued a key from (former Police) Chief (Brian) Kaebisch when the letter he submitted clearly states she did. This is something the council needs to handle," according to the March 14 letter from the Fire and Police Commission.
St. Marie-Carls said she asked the new police chief for key access after the shooting massacre in San Bernardino, Calif. She believes Brickner brought up the issue for political motivations.
"I said I had not pursued this. I didn't say I didn't ask" the police chief for a key, said St. Marie-Carls. "All I said was 'Hey, should I have a key card? Can I get in to the desk like the part-time girls for my safety because I work alone sometimes? Just the front office like the part-time girls?'"
Talking about her four years as mayor, St. Marie-Carls pointed to accomplishments that include putting meeting notices, calendars and correspondence on the city's website, building relationships with St. Francis businesses, encouraging committees to meet more often and starting a website that promotes local businesses, something she said she funded with her own money. She also noted getting a large private donation to pay for improvements at Milton Vretenar Memorial Park and helping get a new civic center built, which opened in 2014.
Of the six Common Council members, Aldermen Steve Wattawa, Debbie Fliss and Sue Bostedt did not return calls seeking interviews. Fliss and Bostedt are not running for re-election, and Wattawa, Klug and Michael McSweeney are not up for re-election in April.
St. Marie-Carls is the only person on the mayoral ballot on Tuesday, but she faces a write-in candidate Andy Wendt, a former Milwaukee County sheriff's deputy.
Janis Schandel is running for one of the open seats on the Common Council and said she has attended council meetings for the last 21/2 years. She thinks there's a personality clash between council members and St. Marie-Carls.
"When she started asking for more accountability I think maybe (the council) thought she was demanding. But she has to answer to us, the citizens. She's out there in the community," Schandel said. "She's a very bold, good, warmhearted person, but I think she just expresses herself... in not a demanding tone, but a bold tone."
John Ahlhauser holds a print from his years as a Milwaukee Journal photographer from 1948 to 1972. He was considered an innovator in photography and mentor to some of the nations best photographers. He died Tuesday. Credit: Journal Sentinel files
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John Ahlhauser photographed civil rights protesters and presidents, the famous and the unknown, but perhaps his most celebrated subject was a budding actress who visited The Milwaukee Journal in 1949.
Ahlhauser happened to be on duty in the Journal's photo studio, where his first job was mixing chemicals.
A publicity manager making the Milwaukee media rounds brought the woman to the newspaper for an interview and then sent her to the photo studio, where an editor told Ahlhauser to "make a glamour shot of this starlet. There was no mention of her name because she was a nobody," he recalled in an interview at his home at St. John's on the Lake in Milwaukee four years ago.
Ahlhauser spent half an hour on the assignment, setting up three or four klieg-like lights and posing her on a gray box with a roll of newsprint. Using a bulky 4 by 5 Speed Graphic, he made seven black and white negatives, which he later kept in a bank lockbox.
"I don't remember any conversation. But, boy, any time I was ready to shoot, she was ready to be shot," recalled Ahlhauser of the day he met Marilyn Monroe.
Ahlhauser, 92, died Tuesday after a brief illness at home.
Not only was Ahlhauser a photographer for The Milwaukee Journal for more than two decades, but he managed to reinvent himself midway through his career and focus his energies on what he foresaw a day when photos would no longer be on film but on computer screens.
Ahlhauser was a visionary who mentored and taught many photographers who won Pulitzer Prizes and worked for leading newspapers and magazines.
Born in Milwaukee, Ahlhauser graduated from Marquette High School and served as an Army radio intercept operator in the Pacific during World War II. After the war, he earned a journalism degree at Marquette University in 1948 and applied for a job at The Milwaukee Journal, initially hoping for a reporting position but when none was available, he was hired in the photo department, said his daughter Mame O'Meara.
He shot political conventions, presidential inaugurations, papal visits, poverty in Appalachia, civil rights workers and migrant farmers. He photographed Frank Lloyd Wright's funeral and Eleanor Roosevelt.
"He loved it. He knew that he was covering, in many cases, everyday stories, but he said he always trusted he would get the exact right story," said O'Meara.
C. Thomas Hardin met Ahlhauser as they stood on the photo stand at President Lyndon Johnson's inauguration in January 1965, shooting pictures for their newspapers, the Louisville Courier Journal and Milwaukee Journal.
They saw each other at assignments in Washington, D.C., and both got involved with the National Press Photographers Association, each serving as president. Their paths also crossed at the Kalish Visual Editing Workshop, which Ahlhauser and his wife, Lois, started many years ago and named after former Milwaukee Journal photo editor Stan Kalish.
"He was way ahead of the average person. If not the first, he was one of the earliest photographers to shoot color at the Journal, and I believe the first color photo layout at the Journal was produced by John," said Hardin.
By the late 1960s and early '70s, Ahlhauser noticed the growing use of computers and began to think about the future of photojournalism, which he thought would someday lead to digital cameras. After covering the 1972 presidential conventions, he took a leave of absence from the Journal and moved to Indiana to earn his master's degree. His leave turned into a couple of decades as he eventually earned a PhD at Indiana University and was hired to teach.
"I wasn't any great seer," Ahlhauser said in the 2012 interview. "These were things I was hearing. I wondered what there was to this stuff. I had my own prejudices. I didn't want to let go of film, but my interest was in getting the job done better with cheaper paper, faster film, not having to change rolls."
Ahlhauser was being modest. He was a seer in a way.
"He was one of the first people I remember talking about digital journalism," said Milwaukee Journal Sentinel photographer Rick Wood, one of Ahlhauser's students at Indiana. "He talked about the day when information would be delivered on computers and how journalism would be packaged. This was in the late '70s. He was very much a visionary in our field before publishers knew what would happen."
Jim Brown knew Ahlhauser at Indiana University, where they overlapped briefly as graduate students and later when Ahlhauser helped arrange visits by professional photojournalists for Brown at the University of Minnesota. Brown returned to Indiana University in 1982, where Ahlhauser was hired as a tenure track professor after earning his doctorate. When Brown interviewed Ahlhauser for a yet-to-be released documentary, he learned Ahlhauser had a special knack for recognizing and mentoring talented photographers.
"He was an innovator while a working press photographer and one of the earliest people to recognize the changing tide in the way newspapers were going to be produced, that is becoming more electronic and interactive," said Brown, executive associate dean emeritus at Indiana University.
When photographer Michel du Cille, who earned three Pulitzer Prizes for the Miami Herald and Washington Post, was Ahlhauser's student at Indiana University, he was short of cash and needed a car for a summer internship. Ahlhauser co-signed the car loan for him.
Later in life, Ahlhauser and his wife moved back to Milwaukee, where he decorated the walls of his floor at St. John's on the Lake with photos he took as a Journal photographer.
He owned three digital cameras but took few pictures because he didn't feel comfortable using them and asked his children to show him how to snap photos with his cellphone.
"When I pick up a digital camera now, even though I advocated for it, I have a terrible time," Ahlhauser admitted in 2012. "It is nice but it's not the routine."
Ahlhauser is survived by his wife, Lois; and children, Kate Meloy, Bill Ahlhauser, Mame O'Meara, Ann Ryan, Margi Ahlhauser and Joan Barchi.
John Ahlhauser
A funeral service will be at 2 p.m. April 16 at the chapel at St. John's on the Lake, 1840 N. Prospect Ave., Milwaukee. Visitation will be held from 12:30 p.m. until the time of service.
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Is voter ID number accurate?
In Emily Mills' March 27 column, she said Wisconsin has failed to address voter suppression by failing to educate voters on the voter ID law for the upcoming 2016 elections ("State failing on voter ID," Crossroads). Among her various recommendations was one that dealt with increased funding for the Division of Motor Vehicles centers.
OK, but let's start with the basics. What specific problems are we trying to solve and what is the specific cause of voter suppression? These are fair questions to ask as Mills' assumption is that 200,000 to 350,000 eligible Wisconsin voters lack photo identification. Essentially, her entire 12-paragraph opinion is premised on that one numerical estimate and it drives her to create solutions. The number has been bandied about for years but has never been fully vetted and scrutinized.
Today's society is quite vocal as there are rallies and protests for almost every group from the veterans, state workers, LGBTs, undocumented immigrants, mothers against drunk drivers, etc.
So here's the challenge back to Ms. Mills and her liberal community before continuing to utilize blanket estimates: How about mobilizing a rally for these individuals? Let's see how many legal citizens show up so we can talk to them and vet their rationale for not obtaining a free photo ID. Are there underlying reasons or, as I suspect, is the 200,000 to 350,000 number really bogus?
Again, let's not throw away taxpayer money at a whim, but use evidenced-based data to solve problems.
William H. Jaeck
Franksville
Energy and the Resurrection
I read with interest two articles in the Journal Sentinel Crossroads section on Easter Sunday: the front-page editorial, "A new spring for energy" and "Remembering the Resurrection" on page 2.
The editorial states, "Here's hoping for a new spring for renewable energy." Correctly, it articulates how renewable energy can help mitigate the effects of climate change, which is real and ever more urgent. Yes, the state Public Service Commission needs to find ways to expedite the wind projects described. I add that it also needs to speed up many other renewable energy projects. Indeed, the state's 10% renewable energy goal is anemic. A higher goal is needed to mitigate climate change.
But the editorial missed two important points: renewable energy and the "new economy" generate more jobs in Wisconsin than the dirty "old economy" based on fossil fuels. It is ludicrous that the governor and Legislature, who profess to want to stimulate jobs, are behind the eight-ball and behind other states in recognizing this. Further, all the money paid for fossil fuels goes out of the state, whereas renewable energy jobs can recirculate money within the state as the jobs generate additional economic activity.
Robert J. Hutchinson's piece on the Resurrection argued, as I read it, that Jesus came alive in the beliefs and practices of the early Christian community. This community-based understanding of the Resurrection makes sense to me as a Christian. Along with Jesus' teachings, this understanding leads me to say we are called by God to promote community. Renewable energy promotes community by creating local jobs and building more prosperity. We must promote policies that mitigate global warming, not ones that court disasters, such as more severe storms, and tear apart our community.
Bruce G. S. Wiggins
Milwaukee
Put teeth into cell phone ban
Handheld cell phone use contributes to distracted driving in the work zone ("Wisconsin moves toward ban on cellphone use while driving," March 28). If the purpose of a proposed bill is to make the work zone safer for motorists, then why not craft one such as Illinois' ban, which has a fine of $75 for the first offence and $150 for each additional occurrence. I don't think a fine of $20 for a first offense will be a deterrent.
Although the majority of deaths in construction zones are motorists, the article did not mention safety concerns for workers in the work zone. In Illinois if you are found guilty in the death of a worker you could be charged with reckless homicide and face three to 14 years in jail.
Considerable time and effort are spent in designing a safe work zone for the traveling public and workers. I urge the Legislature's transportation committees to hold a hearing on this issue next year. Don't add to the burden of unsafe driving in construction zones.
Curtis Paul
Milwaukee
Wisconsin Supreme Court incumbent Justice Rebecca Bradley (left) and Judge JoAnne Kloppenburg shake hands after the debate March 15 at Eckstein Hall, the home of Marquette University Law School. Credit: Michael McLoone / for the Journal Sentinel
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Visit our election section for complete coverage of the 2016 spring and fall local, state and national elections.
By
Much has been written and said about the candidates for the Wisconsin Supreme Court race. The vast majority of which has been either exaggerated, blown out of proportion, or simply inaccurate. Fortunately, the people of Wisconsin, with their vote on April 5, will be the ones to have the final say about the future of our supreme court. That decision should be based on the candidates' judicial philosophies.
The choice between current Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley and Court of Appeals Judge JoAnne Kloppenburg is a stark one.
Justice Bradley has described the role of a judge as "to interpret the law, not invent it" with a duty to "state what the law is, not what they prefer it to be." In other words, when hearing cases, judges should not impose their own political preferences by treating the text of the constitution as a "living document," evolving with public opinion polls.
This shows that she recognizes that our laws and constitutions are sacred, passed by members of the legislature who are elected by "we the people."
Justice Bradley's judicial restraint is cut from the same cloth as recently deceased U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. This philosophy is evident in his majority decision in D.C. v. Heller, where the court ruled that a ban on handguns in someone's own home was unconstitutional. As it turns out, in the Constitution, the "right of the people to keep and bear Arms" means just that!
In contrast, Judge Kloppenburg has described the constitution as a way to "promote a more equal society." But equal to whom? And why is it the duty of a judge, rather than the legislature, to promote equality and fairness?
These questions are completely subjective, meaning different things to different people. And that's the main problem with the liberal legal theory. Although well-intentioned Judge Kloppenburg has promised to uphold our constitution when making decisions, left-leaning judges are likely to fall victim to the enchanting siren of replacing the text of the law with their own political beliefs.
This puts Judge Kloppenburg in the same camp as U.S. Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor. Ginsburg and Sotomayor's flexible more activist outlook has led to court decisions calling the Obamacare individual mandate penalty a "tax" and that government-imposed racial quotas do not violate the equal protection clause.
Their judicial activism views the law as nothing more than putty in the hands of a judge, to be molded to one's predilections. It's incredibly dangerous and, if past is prologue, risks undermining tangible constitutional rights, such as the right to free speech, bear arms, and free exercise of religion.
It also matters for our system of government. When judges decide cases based on their own political views rather than the text of the law, the elected legislature is no longer writing the law and the judiciary is no longer interpreting the law. Our checks and balances are thrown off-kilter. And while some on the legal left want the judiciary to create rights where none exist in the constitution, that approach to judging is not really creating rights. It's simply transferring rights away from the elected legislature to the judiciary. When all this happens, the people lose power.
Despite all the noise in this race, voters should remember the real issues facing the Wisconsin Supreme Court when they cast their ballots. Their decision will shape the court for years to come.
C.J. Szafir is the vice president for policy and deputy counsel at the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL). The views expressed above are his own and not on behalf of WILL.
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Madison An aide to Sen. Lena Taylor (D-Milwaukee) has filed complaints alleging he was told he would be terminated or have his pay cut because of challenges he faced with work when his Crohn's disease flared up.
The aide, Brandon Jackson, was put on paid leave from his $35,000-a-year job in January while his claim was being investigated. Senate Chief Clerk Jeffrey Renk said he did not know how long the human resources review would take.
Jackson this week announced he is running for the 11th Assembly District seat held by Rep. Mandela Barnes (D-Milwaukee). That would indicate, as many have expected, that Barnes will challenge Taylor this fall for her Senate seat.
An assistant attorney general representing Taylor filed a response Thursday saying Taylor denied making some comments and said Taylor was not aware Jackson had Crohn's disease until after he filed his first complaint. Taylor contended Jackson's work performance was lacking and she had offered him a different job rather than firing him.
Jackson started working for Taylor in August. In one complaint he filed, he wrote that he worked long hours leading up to a Senate floor session in November and missed doses of his medication for Crohn's disease, a chronic inflammation of the digestive tract.
At that point, Jackson asked Taylor if he could leave work for health reasons, according to his complaint.
Taylor responded in a text message to Jackson and two other legislative aides. "NOW Brandon wants to be gone. For the record these were the concerns I spoke of," Taylor wrote, according to a screen shot of her response Jackson provided.
Jackson said later that month, after he was hospitalized because of his disease, Taylor told him he needed to quit because he couldn't keep up with her pace.
In January, he took a leave from work because of his disease. In his complaint, he said when he returned to work, Taylor's chief of staff, Donna Shepard, told him that he had to choose between being terminated or having his pay cut from $16.83 an hour to $10 an hour.
Jackson called Taylor's behavior retaliatory. In an interview, he said he hoped to be assigned to another legislator. His attorney, Antonique Williams, said she wanted to work with state officials to find the "best solution" for Jackson.
Jackson has also filed a complaint with the state Equal Rights Division.
In responding to that complaint, Assistant Attorney General Steven Kilpatrick wrote that Taylor had not made some of the comments Jackson claimed she had and that those she did make did not create a hostile work environment.
Taylor believed Jackson had not adequately run an intern program and had left her unprepared for a Senate floor speech she was to give. She did not know of his disease and had him offered a job with fewer responsibilities rather than firing him.
The "proposed transfer to another position was legitimate, reasonable, charitable and certainly not done because of his alleged disability," Kilpatrick wrote.
Jackson collected signatures to run for the Milwaukee County Board this spring, but he didn't turn them in because Taylor told him not to, he said. But her comments won't stop him for running for office this fall, he said.
"I allowed it to deter me once, and I am not going to let it deter me again," he said.
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.
Local businessman Chris Wiken, who is challenging Milwaukee Ald. Terry Witkowski, has an explanation for each of the three times he was charged with drunken driving.
The first time, Wiken said, he was young and stupid. He was found guilty, and his license suspended.
The second time, Wiken said, he was mistakenly charged with driving while highly intoxicated. The charge was later dropped.
The third time, Wiken said, the message finally sank in. He was found guilty, his license was suspended and he said he has since tried to turn his life around. His race against Witkowski is one of the most highly contested Milwaukee races.
"To this day, I simply don't consume alcohol and get behind the wheel of a car," said Wiken. "I do not drink and drive. Alcohol plays a very small role in my lifestyle."
Records show Wiken general manager at the Packing House restaurant, which was started by his father and owned by his family was cited with operating while intoxicated by Sheboygan County authorities in October 1994. His license was suspended for seven months.
Wiken, a conservative who opposes the Milwaukee streetcar, was 24 at the time.
"I was a much younger man in a much different situation," he said. "I made a very stupid, young man mistake that I've always regretted."
The incident is no longer on his record because it occurred more than 10 years ago. Wisconsin is the only state in which first-offense OWI is a civil matter, not a criminal one.
In 2001, Wiken left the restaurant business to pursue his interest in flying, something that eventually led him to Hawaii.
While there, he was charged in February 2009 with first-offense drunken driving. Online records show that prosecutors told the judge they were "not ready" to present their case at a November 2009 hearing, and the judge dismissed the case.
"I won the case, and I was not convicted," Wiken said.
Shortly thereafter, he moved back to the Milwaukee area the Honolulu airline for which he worked had folded and returned to the restaurant business.
In August 2010, he was arrested again for drunken driving in Milwaukee County. It was treated as a first-offense violation, and his license was suspended for six months. Subsequently, he also was cited in 2011 for failing to install an ignition interlock device in his car and paid an $883 fine.
Wiken said the latest OWI offense has been a life-changing experience. He said he has changed his drinking habits, and he and his family have returned to their Catholic faith.
"I respect the law," Wiken said. "It was a bad mistake, bad judgment on my part."
As a pilot, he said, he reported both convictions to the Federal Aviation Administration. He said his license wasn't suspended, but he has let his medical certificate lapse. He said he has not flown a plane in seven years.
Wiken said he believes voters need to know that he is not the same person he was in 2010, the last time he was pulled over for OWI.
"It has made me a better man, a better husband, a better father, a better Catholic, a more spiritual person," Wiken said. "I've truly taken the matter to heart."
Contact Daniel Bice at (414) 224-2135 or dbice@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanielBice or on Facebook at fb.me/daniel.bice.
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By Mustafa Habib | Baghdad | (Niqash.org) |
Recently US troops started fighting the [so-called] Islamic State in Iraq [ISIL], with boots on the ground. But is keeping a distance between the US and some old Shiite enemies hampering the fight? Or is it just good tactics?
Iraqis found out that just about a week ago at dawn, the US military had entered the war against the extremist group known as [IS or ISIL], for real. In the northern province of Ninawa, near the extremist-held city of Mosul, US ground troops a group of 200 soldiers from the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, according to the US Secretary of Defence, Ashton Carter used their artillery against . . . IS, groups fighters in the area.
Speaking at a press briefing last Friday, Carter told reporters that the US troops had set up base at an outpost to be named Firebase Bell as the LA Times newspaper reported, this would be the first American combat base since the US returned to Iraq in 2014.
So how did Iraqis feel about the apparent return of US boots to their ground?
Hezbollah in Iraq: We will fight the US troops the same way we did years ago.
The US troops have finally decided to join in properly, says Qais al-Saadi, a colonel in the Iraqi army. Previously they were limited to air raids. I think now they have discovered that these air raids did not affect [ISIL] as much as they hoped and they have become convinced that ground troops are also important.
Al-Saadi was happy about this, noting that the US was paving the way for the Iraqi army, especially with their recent success in eliminating two senior members of the IS group in quick succession.
Social media lit up with debate on the subject. Some welcomed the US troops, believing they were necessary in order to defeat the IS group. Often Iraqi commentators said that this move by the US was too late and that they should have helped from the beginning. Others were not so happy, saying it was a new occupation.
In other parts of the Iraqi political spectrum reactions were equally mixed. As one might expect, Sunni Muslim parties and Iraqi Kurdish parties both of whom have long been supported by, and have supported, the US in Iraq welcomed the new phase of engagement. An alliance of Sunni Muslim parties said they welcomed the US participation. In fact, back in 2014 when the IS group first caused the security crisis in Iraq, representatives of both Sunni Muslim and Iraqi Kurdish parties asked the US for help.
And as one might also expect, the most antipathy was expressed by Shiite Muslim groups, and in particular, some of the Shiite Muslim volunteer militias with strong ties to Iran.
Just hours after Carters announcement about Marines in northern Iraq, the leaders of several of the most powerful of these often-controversial Shiite Muslim militias expressed their anger.
A statement from the League of the Righteous militia, one of the most extreme and feared of the groups, said that its fighters would treat the US soldiers as though they were an occupying force. They believe that Washington is using the IS group as an excuse to return to Iraq. And they called upon other Shiite Muslim militias to prepare to fight the US too.
The Harakat al-Nujaba militia made similar threats, saying that, we are going to make them remember the defeat they suffered here previously.
The Marines are actually here to protect the Islamic State, a statement from Hezbollah in Iraq, which is led by Abu Mahdi al-Mohandes, generally regarded as the leader of this sector of militias. We will fight them the same way we did years ago.
It seems clear the US has deliberately chosen to keep out of the way of Shiite Muslim militias. Still the two groups may meet, especially in Ninawa.
He is echoing what some Iraqis actually believe: that the US is in Iraq to help the IS group. This belief is based on all kinds of rumours and gossip, which says that, for instance, the US had dropped supplies to the IS group. The Iraqi government and US government have both denied this and the rumours have been disproven. However many supporters of the Shiite Muslim militias still believe this gossip and their leaders often repeat the fallacy.
All of the latter militias are known as being strongly connected to Iran.
So is it possible that the two forces could come to blows in Iraq? The Shiite Muslim militias are deployed in the provinces of Salahaddin, Diyala and Baghdad as well as in certain parts of Anbar province. Meanwhile the US forces are deployed in the Iraqi Kurdish province of Erbil and in some parts of Anbar.
The US Marines are based near the Makhmour military base, which was built to house Iraqi army troops as they prepare for an assault on Mosul, the IS groups capital in Iraq. The base is south of the Iraqi Kurdish city of Erbil and near the eastern borders of Ninawa province.
Shiite Muslim militias are based in the Baiji area, out of which they pushed the IS group in November last year. Baiji is close to the southern borders of Ninawa province.
The distance between the two sets of fighting forces is around 130 kilometres. The reason that the Shiite Muslim militias havent gone any further toward Mosul is political rather than military, Abu Zainab al-Talibawi, originally from Basra and one of the leaders of the militias based in Baiji, told NIQASH in a telephone interview. Months ago the militias prepared to liberate Sharqat, south of Mosul. But some Iraqi politicians as well as the US forces, do not want us to battle for Mosul, al-Talibawi explained. Sharqat is really the last barrier between our militias and the US base in Makhmour. So US air raids havent been targeting the IS group in Sharqat because the US needs that city to be controlled by the IS [to keep the two forces separate] but this also prevents our militias from reaching Mosul.
In February the Ninawa provincial council voted against allowing the Shiite Muslim militias to fight for Mosul. The council said local forces must be involved in this battle.
The same sort of scenario seems to be playing out further south, in Anbar, the other province where both US troops and Shiite Muslim militias are present.
The US troops are in the Ain al-Asad military base, just outside of a village called Khan al-Baghdadi. Meanwhile Shiite Muslim militias fighters have been on the outskirts of the city of Fallujah for several months. Once again the distance between the two forces is over 100 kilometres.
The US wont allow us to liberate Fallujah, says Hassan Salem, an MP for the political bloc that represents the interests of the League of the Righteous in Iraqs Parliament. If Washington was serious about fighting the IS group it would go and fight in Fallujah. Its closer to Baghdad than Mosul.
It seems clear that the US has deliberately chosen bases to keep out of the way of the Shiite Muslim militias. Nonetheless the two groups may still meet at some stage, especially in Ninawa.
Despite widespread opposition, the leaders of Shiite forces insist that they will take part in the battle for Mosul. In particular they want a piece of the action in the area of Tal Afar, west of Mosul. The town is home mostly to the ethnic Turkmen group but this group is split between Sunni and Shiite Muslims. A few months ago, the Shiite Muslim militias established a new brigade made up of displaced Shiites from Tal Afar, who want to return there to fight the IS group that pushed them out of their homes.
As for the Iraqi government, it hasnt been able to do much about the allergic reactions that the Shiite Muslim militias have had to the increasing US presence.
The government, led by Haider al-Abadi, has tried to rein the militias in by making them an official part of the Iraqi military apparatus. In February 2016, al-Abadi tried to replace militia leader, Abu Mahdi al-Mohandes, with the former federal police chief, Mohsen al-Kaabi, in an attempt to gain more control over the militias. However the attempt was rejected by the militia leadership.
The militias are ideological factions that have different kinds of administration and organization from the classical model that the military follows, an official statement from the Hezbollah in Iraq militia said. Leading these factions requires expertise in non traditional warfare, characterized by rapid mobility, manoeuvrability and the ability to immediately change battle plans. Of course, the militia also threatened the government if they tried to replace their boss.
And so the problem remains. The fight against the IS group cannot be won by any one group. The volunteer militias cannot do it, despite their protestations to the contrary, the Iraqi army cant do it and most likely, even if everyone did come together, they wouldnt succeed without the help of the US military.
Via Niqash.org
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By Yossi Alpher | ( OpenDemocracy) |
By all means, give the Palestinians development aid. But let us not delude ourselves that this will facilitate a two-state solution anytime soon.
One of the most persistent and constant themes in both the Israeli and the international approach to the Palestinian issue has been the notion that the road to peace has a strong economic dimension. According to this thinking, if the Palestinian economy and institutions of governance are developing and Palestinians are feeling more prosperous and hopeful regarding their material future, the chances for a successful peace process increase, the prospects for a Palestinian state improve, foundations are laid for Palestinian-Israeli trust and, at a minimum, the danger of violence subsides.
Norway has been a prominent and consistent advocate of this approach, both by generous economic support (close to 11 billion Norwegian kroner since 1993) and taking a leadership role internationally in offering external support for Palestinian state development aschair of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC), Local Development Forum (LDF) and the Joint Liaison Committee (JLC). Oslo is in good company. The pre-1948 British Mandate, the Zionist movement and the post-1967 Israeli occupation all adopted a similar policy.
Along with many aspects of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, this economic peace approach has failed. The time has come to reassess it.
To be sure, economic well-being is a good thing. Many Palestinians, particularly in the Gaza Strip, are extremely needy. The very existence of the Palestinian Authority with its multiple benefits for Palestinians in the West Bank is dependent on generous international grants. All these development and aid projects are vital and should continue. But not if the primary rationale is peace.
This conflict does not derive from economic roots and it is not fed by economic deprivation.
This conflict does not derive from economic roots and it is not fed by economic deprivation. It is political, with an increasingly strong element of religious extremism on both sides. In the Israeli-Palestinian case, enhanced trust is not a corollary of prosperity and prosperity has not nourished peace.
As far back as Britains 1937 Peel Commission report on the emerging conflict, the conciliatory effect on the Palestinian Arabs of the material prosperity which Jewish immigration would bring in Palestine was found to have failed asa catalyst for coexistence despite British mandatory expectations to the contrary. Indeed, as early as 1923 Revisionist Zionist leader Zeev Jabotinsky condemned the concept that the Arabs will voluntarily. . . . sell out their homeland for a railroad network.
Yet immediately after Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza Strip in June 1967, it proceeded to ignore these admonitions. Israeli Minister of Defense Moshe Dayan threw open the green line boundary and encouraged Israelis and Palestinians to go back and forth and interact at the commercial level. Legions of Palestinian day laborers came to work in Israel. Both sides prospered. Israeli security officials responsible for the Palestinian territories were certain a formula had been found to prevent violence and ensure harmony despite the failure to find a political solution.
It took 20 years, until the outbreak of the first intifada in December 1987, to prove them wrong and force at least a partial closing of borders and imposition of restrictions on economic interaction. Yet the emphasis on prosperity as an ingredient for peace continued. In July 2000, when I represented Prime Minister Ehud Barak in recruiting American Jewish and media support for a hoped-for breakthrough at Camp David, a key talking point was the need for Washington to provide funds for Palestinian desalination projects and for refugee compensation in order to facilitate the political process.
In 2002, after two intifadas, the international community pressured Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat to appoint a distinguished international economist, Salam Fayyad, as finance ministerfrom 2007 until 2013 he was also prime ministeragain on the assumption that economic development and interaction with Israel would help advance a peaceful settlement. In 2007, too, the Quartet (a peacemaking initiative involving the US, EU, UN and Russia) delegated former British prime minister Tony Blair to promote economic development in the territories as a key ingredient of an eventual peaceful settlement (he resigned in 2015). Earlier, in 2005, outgoing World Bank president James Wolfensohn served briefly as the Quartets representative for the abortive project of promoting economic development in the Gaza Strip as Israel withdrew.
In 2009, Benjamin Netanyahus Likud campaign in Knesset elections featured an economic peace platform for developing the Palestinian Authority as a necessary prelude to peace talks. To this day, hard-line Israeli politicians like Naftali Bennet promote ideas for developing the 40 percent of the West Bank that is under full or partial PA control (areas A and B) as a means of ensuring peaceful interaction in the absence of a viable peace process, which they either oppose or do not believe is feasible.
Further, the international community has responded to all three mini-wars between Israel and Gaza-based Hamas since 2007 by pledging heavy infrastructure aid for the Strip and its population on the assumption that Gazas severe economic plight and its war damages, rather than Hamass extremist Islamism, are a major cause of these conflicts. In May 2015 President Obama, in declaring that there was no chance for a peace process in the year ahead, nevertheless allowed that the US would seek to create business opportunities and jobs in the Palestinian territories in order to build trust between the two sides.
Both Palestinian intifadas erupted at times of relative prosperity
All these economic peace approaches have failed. They grossly undervalue the Palestinian national drive: the political, ideological and (increasingly) Islamic currents that inform the Arab side of the conflict. This in turn points to a serious lacuna in strategic understanding on the part of both Israelis and third parties. Perhaps to drive home the point, note that both Palestinian intifadas erupted (in 1987 and 2000) at times of relative prosperity; and as noted, even the Palestinian revolt against the British Mandate that broke out in 1936 began at a time of economic progress.
Today, Israeli security authorities seek to bring more West Bank laborers to work in Israel and to deliver more goods and services to the Gaza Strip, arguing that this will distance Palestinians from terrorism. As individual breadwinners, perhaps. But this approach has failed repeatedly at the societal level.
By all means, give the Palestinians development aid. But let us not delude ourselves that this will facilitate a two-state solution anytime soon.
For that to happen, we must first witness radical changes in both sides leadership profiles, a far-reaching mutual readiness to cease insisting on totally deadlocked narrative demands like recognition of a Jewish state and the right of return, and a much calmer Arab Middle East.
This piece was first published on Verdidebatt.no on 14 March 2016.
Via OpenDemocracy
This article is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International licence.
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By Robert Pape and Walker Gunning | ( Chicago Tribune) |
Most Americans felt the Brussels bombings in the pits of their stomachs. Thats natural. Terrorisms greatest weapon is not those it kills immediately, but its ability to spread fear after the fact.
That fear makes terrorism not just a political issue, but a personal one. We dont think logically after terrorist attacks; we react instinctively, going with our gut.
It is just that type of visceral reaction, though, that is pushing our society to a dangerous place as election season and the lure of an easy electoral tool tempts our political leaders to take up the politics of fear.
As the dust settled in the Brussels airport in Zaventem and the Maelbeek metro station, Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump blustered on the necessity to bring back waterboarding. Not to be outdone, Ted Cruz, one of the remaining GOP establishment candidates, doubled down, calling for police to patrol and secure Muslim neighborhoods before they become radicalized.
Speaking from Buenos Aires, Argentina, on March 23, 2016, President Barack Obama addressed GOP presidential candidate Ted Cruzs comment about adding increased surveillance in Muslim-dominated neighborhoods, saying the plan makes absolutely no sense. (White House)
Obvious and heartfelt objections on civil liberties grounds were immediately raised but are unlikely to alter the behavior of politicians with a nomination, and eventually election, to win. Raising fears about Muslims could be a handy tool in doing so, especially in several key battleground states.
This November, the swing states of Virginia, Michigan and Florida will be up for grabs. They also happen to have the second-, sixth-, and seventh-highest concentrations of Muslims per capita according to the 2000 census.
These states have been routinely identified as some of the most important for the 2016 general election. All were won by Obama in 2012, but swinging even one of them from blue to red could change the result of the election.
Unfortunately, the 58 electoral votes at stake in these three states make more than half a million people targets.
By raising fears within these states, Republicans could effectively polarize the electorate and push voters to the candidate they believe can assure our security. Candidates already are competing to come up with proposals that ensure perfect, 100-percent security, whatever the costs.
We have been down this road before.
After 9/11, Vice President Dick Cheney said that even a 1 percent chance of a terrorist attack would justify preemptive invasion, mass torture and the trampling of civil liberties. The result of this 1 percent doctrine was the Iraq war. The Islamic State today is a product of that destabilizing conflict.
America isnt 100 percent safe from terrorism. And thats a good thing.
Ultimately, 100-percent security is impossible, but the U.S. is still in much better shape than France, Belgium or most of Europe. We dont have thousands of citizens who have traveled to Syria to fight for Islamic State or a porous land border. While we have seen Islamic State-inspired violence in San Bernardino, Calif., it remains unclear if that attack was command directed or a simpler lone wolf operation. Attacks on the scale of Paris or Brussels have yet to darken our shores.
What is possible, and is indeed likely, is that the U.S. will completely alienate its Muslim population with coercive and regressive policies.
Imagine what Cruzs policies might look like: armored cars and heavy weapons rolling through residential neighborhoods; constant raids and lockdowns; the legalization and institutionalization of profiling; checkpoints and special identity cards would not be far behind.
There are obvious and important civil liberties issues with any such program, but we wish to address a different question: Would it make us any safer?
The answer is a resounding no.
As Belgium and France are realizing, their greatest vulnerability is the alienation their Muslim populations feel, making them more vulnerable to radicalization.
Why should a Muslim love America?
Doubling down on coercive tactics to manage the situation has been ineffective. Locking down entire neighborhoods for days did not help stop the attacks in Brussels because the bombers were able to find shelter mere blocks away, and those who knew where the operatives were did not tell police.
This isnt simply a liberal perspective. Even the U.S. military has recognized that applying coercive tactics to local populations is ineffective.
David Petraeus, the former commander of coalition forces in Iraq and Afghanistan and later director of the CIA, saw that hearts and minds can win the day while coercive measures against populations create more terrorists than they kill.
As elections approach, we must avoid the temptation to allow fear to overwhelm our commitment to our values.
We should not let the quest to turn states red paint a segment of our population as a security issue. We should also not buy into the doctrine of perfect safety from candidates whose proposals would ensure the opposite.
Ultimately, Americas best defense is not our walls and borders, not our physical distance from the Middle East, nor even our formidable intelligence services. It is our ability to accept those who come from other cultures and make them part of the American experience.
Abandoning those values would not just jeopardize the liberties of a few, it would harm the security of us all.
Robert Pape is the director of the University of Chicago Project on Security and Terrorism (CPOST). His most recent book is Cutting the Fuse: The Explosion of Global Suicide Terrorism and How to Stop It.
Walker Gunning is the executive director of CPOST.
Copyright 2016, Chicago Tribune
Reprinted with authors permission
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By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) |
Turkish President Erdogan visited Washington DC this week to participate in the deliberations on nuclear weapons. He brought with him some bad habits and some bad actors in his security detail, according to WaPos Ishaan Tharoor.
Some pro-Kurdish protesters gathered to protest Erdogans visit.
Then when veteran journalist Amberin Zaman approached the Brookings Institution where Erdogan was speaking she was roughly turned away by Erdogans security detail. They called her a PKK whore. Tharoor reprinted the below tweet in his report:
Here: Erdogan's bodyguards come at journalist Amberin Zaman in front of Brookings. pic.twitter.com/QCX7LCu8q4 ilhan tanir (@WashingtonPoint) March 31, 2016
It is alleged that Erdogans security men assaulted the demonstrators, and even DC police.
The National Press Club, as Tharoor pointed out, took the unusual step of issuing a press statement condemning Erdogan:
National Press Club leaders expressed alarm about reports that security personnel guarding Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had physically abused journalists in Washington, D.C. on Thursday. According to published news reports and multiple tweets from eyewitnesses, Erdogans security team manhandled reporters at the Brookings Institution ahead of a speech by Erdogan. The Turkish leaders bodyguards sought to physically remove one journalist from the event, kicked another and threw a third, a woman, to the sidewalk, the reports said. Smart phone footage posted on Twitter appeared to corroborate some of the allegations of violence. Turkeys leader and his security team are guests in the United States, said Thomas Burr, the National Press Club president. They have no right to lay their hands on reporters or protesters or anyone else for that matter, when the people they were apparently roughing up seemed to be merely doing their jobs or exercising the rights they have in this country. We have increasingly seen disrespect for basic human rights and press freedom in Turkey, Burr added. Erdogan doesnt get to export such abuse. Burr also commended Brookings Institution personnel for resisting efforts by Erdogans bodyguards to rough up the press at Thursdays event. Independent observers have documented a deterioration of press freedom in Turkey as Erdogan has become more and more authoritarian. Turkey is among the worlds top jailers of journalists. Reporters there have also been increasingly subject to harassment, intimidation and physical attack.
Erdogan has become more and more imperial the longer he has been in power, first as prime minister and then as president. He even wants to change the Turkish constitution to the French model, which provides for an extremely powerful president and a weak prime minister. When this plan seemed stymied by the victory of a pro-Kurdish party in last Junes elections, Erdogan went to war with the PKK, a Kurdish terrorist group that had been engaged in peace negotiations, polarizing the public. (The PKK waged a dirty war in the 1970s-1990s and was guilty of massive war crimes, and is still a ruthless and brutal purveyor of terror).
When new elections were held on November 1, his trick was revealed to have worked. Erdogans ruling Justice and Development Party got 50% of the vote, up 8 points, and was able to form a government without seeking coalition partners. He would have needed 51% to amend the constitution unilaterally, but still appears to hope he can pick up the support in parliament to tinker with Turkeys organic law.
A decade ago, I had entertained high hopes in Erdogan, who began as a pragmatist and pluralist despite his own commitments to a center-right Muslim vision. He championed the cause, in militantly secular Turkey, of observant Muslims who were discriminated against by the state. But he also wanted to join the European Union and to move Turkey toward the human rights practices that would allow it. He was vilified by the secular elite and by the more fanatical partisans of Israel, but it seemed to me unfairly so. But in recent years he has become ever more imperious. His partys crackdown on the Gezi Park protests and intimidation of the press exemplified this move.
Newsweek notes that Since becoming president in August 2014, Erdogan has filed a record 1,845 court cases against individuals for insulting him, resulting in a more than a dozen sentences, activists have said. Insulting the president carries a maximum of four years in prison in Turkey.
There are over 50 Turkish journalists in jail, and despite Erdogans allegations that they are supporters of terrorism (i.e. of the PKK), many are only guilty of thought crimes.
Some countries, like Turkey, have political libel laws, which are usually pernicious and used to make politics the province of oligarchs.
Although the PKK is guilty of horrific acts of terrorism, Erdogans military has sometimes besieged civilian Kurdish villages in the southeast (they are Turkish citizens). When dozens of Turkish academics signed a letter protesting these state tactics, they met with state harassment and some were even arrested (over what was essentially a petition).
Erdogan has also prosecuted journalists for revealing the Turkish role in arming rebels in Syria, some of them likely Salafi jihadis.
His high-handedness is beginning to know no bounds, and now his people are even beating up DC police and manhandling journalists in the US itself. It is shameful.
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Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge [official website] on Wednesday filed a notice of appeal [text, PDF] of a judge s decision upholding a Fayetteville ordinance [text, PDF] that protects members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community from discrimination. At issue is whether such ordinances violate the Arkansas Interstate Commerce Improvement Act [official summary], which prevents the creation of new protected classes. The state of Arkansas does not currently view the LGBT community as a protected class, nor does it allow for special ordinances or municipalities to grant them such protections. The state is appealing as an intervenor in the case because they the believe the appeal is determinitive upon the the interpretation of the Improvement Act.
The intersection of religious liberty and sexual orientation and gender identity has been a controversial issue in the US. Earlier this week Georgia Governor Nathan Deal said that he would veto [JURIST report] a religious freedom bill [HB 757, text] that critics claim would sanction discrimination against LGBT individuals. Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe on Wednesday vetoed [press release] a similar bill. North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper [official profile] on Tuesday stated [JURIST report] during a press conference that he will not defend House Bill 2 [materials], which he considers to be discriminatory against the LGBT community. That legislation specifically prohibits local municipalities from enacting anti-discrimination ordinances.
[JURIST] A court in Bangladesh issued an arrest warrant for former prime minister Khaleda Zia [BNP profile] in connection with the firebombing of a bus [Al Jazeera report] orchestrated against the government last year. In addition to Zia, the court issued warrants [Al Jazeera report] for 27 others who are involved with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) [party website] suspected to have been involved with the attack. Zias lawyers claim the arrest order is politically motivated.
In January Zia was ordered to appear in court [JURIST report] following charges of sedition. Zia was granted bail last April after surrendering to the court in Dhaka. The leader of the opposition BNP, Zia had been voluntarily confined [BBC report] to her office since January of last year. She faces charges of embezzling money stemming from two corruption cases between 2001 and 2006. The trial began in 2014, and an arrest warrant [JURIST reports] was issued in February of last year when she failed to appear in court. In May 2008 Bangladeshs Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) [official website] filed formal charges against Zia for an alleged kickback scheme that awarded lucrative gas contracts to Canadian oil company Niko Resources Ltd [corporate website]. The ACC charged Zias eldest son [JURIST report] with corruption in July 2010 for allegedly laundering USD $3 million through bank accounts in Singapore. In March 2014 the former prime minister and other members of the BNP were indicted[JURIST report] on two corruption charges, accused of embezzling funds from a charitable trust named after Zias deceased husband. Bangladeshs High Court ruled Zia must stand trial [JURIST report] on corruption charges last April. In February of last year, an arrest warrant was issued [JURIST report] for Zia again when she and 55 other people were charged for instigating an arson attack on a bus.
Environmental groups filed a lawsuit [complaint, PDF] on Thursday against the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) [official website]. The lawsuit challenged the FDAs authority to approve genetically modified animals for use as food. In November the FDA approved [WSJ report] the production and commercial sale of genetically modified salmon. The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California [official website], seeks to overturn this decision and block the use of a range of new biotech animals under development that have been modified to grow faster. The groups filing the suit are led by the Food & Water Watch, Center for Food Safety and the Center for Biological Diversity [advocacy websites]. The groups are concerned [WSJ report] that the salmon could threaten wild salmon populations if they were to escape as well as potential health risks in their consumption. The FDA has jurisdiction over animals genetically engineered for other purposes than consumption.
In February 2014 US President Barack Obama signed into law [press release] a $956 billion farm bill [text, PDF] providing expanded crop insurance and other benefits for the agricultural sector and also requiring changes in food labeling. The recent prevalence of GMO crops has been a point of contention in courts around the world. In May 2014 Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin signed a bill [JURIST report] requiring the labeling of food containing GMOs. In May 2013 the US Supreme Court ruled unanimously [JURIST report] in Bowman v. Monsanto [SCOTUSblog backgrounder] that a farmer who buys patented seeds may not reproduce them through planting and harvesting without the patent holders permission, even though the seeds are altered to self-replicate. In March 2011 the European Court of Justice declared [JURIST report] that a ban on cultivating GMO crops is illegal after France attempted to prohibit the production of a strain of genetically modified maize developed by Monsanto in 2008. In December 2010 a US federal judge ordered the destruction [JURIST report] of a crop of genetically engineered sugar beets due to its potential harmful effect on surrounding flora.
The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) [official website] on Thursday acquitted [order, PDF] Vojislav Seselj [website], president of the Serbian Radical Party and former Assembly member of Serbia, of all crimes against humanity and war crimes [press release] in connection with the Balkan war. Seselj faced three counts of crimes against humanity including persecution, deportation and inhumane act of forcible transfer, and six counts for war crimes including murder, torture and cruel treatment, wanton destruction, destruction or willful damage done to educational and religious institutions and plunder of public or private property. The focus of the ICTY judgment was primarily on a series of incriminating speeches made by Seselj in the concerned period. While the court majority acknowledged that these speeches were in fact made by Seselj, it stated that there was a reasonable possibility, that these speeches were made in a context of conflict and were meant to boost the morale of the troops of his camp, rather than calling upon them to spare no one. The majority also stated that it was, unable to find beyond all reasonable doubt that, in calling upon the Serbs to cleanse Bosnia of the pogani; or the balijas, Vojislav Seselj was calling for ethnic cleansing of Bosnias non- Serbs. As to charges of actual commission of war crimes, the court found the prosecutions evidence weak. Judge Flavia Lattanzi, in her dissent [partial dissenting opinion, PDF], took strong exception to these and most other views expressed by the majority and severely criticized the majority for relying on irrelevant considerations to exclude Vojislav Seseljs responsibility. In a somewhat uncharacteristic move, the ICTY office of the Prosecutor subsequently released a statement [text] that it will review the reasoning behind that of the judgment and the dissent and determine whether there are grounds of appeal.
The ICTY [JURIST backgrounder] and the Balkan States continue to prosecute those accused of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity that left more than 100,000 people dead and millions displaced during the Balkan conflict of the 1990s. In May 2015 the ICTY ordered [JURIST report] Serbias justice ministry to return Seselj to his detention cell immediately after he was released in February [JURIST op-ed] to return to Serbia for cancer treatment. The ICTY had revoked his provisional release [JURIST report] in March because Seselj spoke at a news conference in Belgrade and stated [WSJ report] that he would not return voluntarily to the Hague.
Turkey has been forcibly returning up to 100 refugees to Syria per day, since mid-January, Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website] reported [press release] Friday. In addition to Turkish authorities rounding-up refugees in migrant camps near the border, AI has also alleged that some migrants attempting to register in Turkey were, instead, removed back to Syria. The report criticized the recent migrant deal between Turkey and the EU, expressing concern over the possible future of the refugees to be sent back to Turkey after arriving in Greece. If the agreement proceeds as planned, there is a very real risk that some of those the EU sends back to Turkey will suffer the same fate AI said. If true, the allegations are illegal under not only international law, but the laws of the EU, and Turkey itself.
In March EU leaders agreed to a deal [JURIST report] with Turkey to stem migrant flows, particularly of Syrian refugees, to Europe in return for financial and political incentive to Ankara. Under the terms of the deal [WP report], all migrants crossing the Aegean into Greece would be sent back to Turkey, effectively turning the country into the regions migrant holding center. In return for receiving the migrants, the EU is promising [Reuters report] to speed disbursement of 3 billion to Turkey, while offering an additional 3 billion by 2018 contingent upon creation of plans qualifying for EU assistance. That same month, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi [official profile], expressed concerns [text] for the then proposed migrant exchange program [JURIST report] between the EU and Turkey. Grandi said in his speech before the European Parliament [official website], I am deeply concerned about any arrangement that would involve the blanket return of anyone from one country to another without spelling out the refugee protection safeguards under international law. AI also demonstrated concern [press release] over the deal, calling it an alarmingly short-sighted and inhumane attitude to handling this crisis.
A judge for the US District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi [official website] struck down [opinion, PDF] Mississippis ban on adoption by same-sex partners on Thursday. The Campaign for Southern Equality, Family Equality Council [advocacy websites] and two female same-sex couples challenged the ban as unconstitutional for discriminating against legally married couples based on the gender of the spouses. The state enacted this law in 2000 when some states began legalizing same-sex marriage. According to the complaint, hundreds of families and thousands of children in Mississippi are disrespected and denied concrete rights, benefits and duties that come with legal parentage. Judge Daniel Jordan III ruled that denying same-sex couples the right to adopt violated the Equal Protection Clause of the US Constitution.
Same-sex marriage [JURIST backgrounder] and adoption remain controversial issues around the world. In June the governor of Michigan signed a law [JURIST report] that allows private adoption agencies to deny placements with same-sex couples for religious reasons. In May the Supreme Court of the US Virgin Islands ruled [JURIST report] that second-parent adoptions by same-sex couples are permitted under Virgin Islands law. Last April the Florida Senate voted to repeal [JURIST report] the states ban on same-sex adoption. In March of last year the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals ruled that the state must recognize [JURIST report] the out-of-state adoption of a biological mothers same-sex partner. Also last March the Slovenian Parliament passed legislation [JURIST report] granting same-sex marriage and adoption rights amid public opposition from conservative and religious groups. In February 2015 the Constitutional Court of Colombia upheld [JURIST report] a restriction that same-sex couples cannot adopt children that have no biological relation to either parent.
The Military High Court of Kanombe in Rwanda on Thursday sentenced [HRW report] Colonel Tom Byabagamba and retired Brigadier General Frank Rusagara to 21 and 20 years in prison respectively on charges of inciting insurrection and tarnishing the governments image. According to Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website], the prosecution had accused them of criticizing the government, alleging state involvement in assassinations of opponents, and complaining about foreign and economic policy. A third officer, retired Sergeant Francois Kabayiza, was sentenced to five years for concealing evidence. All three officers have indicated their intention to appeal the decision. According to HRW, the conviction of three Rwandan former military officials in a flawed trial is a clear example of the misuse of the justice system to stifle freedom of expression and form part of a pattern of government repression, both inside and outside the country, of people critical of the Rwandan government or suspected of having links with opposition groups To prohibit or criminalize the exchange of personal political commentary in private conversations or e-mail exchanges is not a legitimate restriction on the right.
Rwanda has faced criticism for its human rights record. The International Criminal Tribunal [official website] for Rwanda (ICTR), established in 1994, was the first international tribunal to deliver verdicts against those guilty of committing genocide. Within its 21 years, the ICTR sentenced 61 extremists to terms of up to life imprisonment for their roles in the Rwandan genocide. There were 14 acquittals, and 10 accused were transferred to national courts during this period. An International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals has been established, and eight fugitives remain at large. Only in January 2016, after issuing 45 judgments, did the ICTR formally close [UN News Centre report]. In December Interpol [official website] agents announced the arrest [JURIST report] of Rwandan genocide suspect, Ladislas Ntaganzwa, who had a US $5 million bounty [BBC report]. In September a court in Toulouse, France, refused extradition requests [JURIST report] for Joseph Habyarimana, a Rwandan man, facing charges of genocide and crimes against humanity. In January 2014 two Rwandan police officers were sentenced [JURIST report] to 20 years in jail for the murder of a Transparency International anti-corruption activist. Last July the ICTR unanimously affirmed [JURIST report] a 30-year jail sentence for former army chief Augustin Bizimungu for the role he played in the genocide. In December 2012 the ICTR convicted [JURIST report] former Rwandan minister Augustin Ngirabatware, sentencing him to 35 years in prison on charges of genocide, incitement to commit genocide and rape as a crime against humanity.
[JURIST] The Supreme Court of Uganda on Thursday rejected a legal challenge to the presidential election held in February which resulted in President Yoweri Museveni [campaign website] being re-elected to a fifth term in office. Opposing candidate Amama Mbabazi [campaign website], who finished in third place in the election, accused [NYT report] the electoral commission of producing false results and demanded recounts in at least 40 districts. Mbabazi pointed to several irregularities, including manipulation of the polls in Kampala, Ugandas capital city, and the absence of election results from its metropolitan area. The court, however, found that Mbabazis claims of irregularities were unsupported by substantial evidence and did not prove that the election results were affected. Mbabazis legal challenge was supported by the EU and the US. The Uganda American Embassy [official website] responded to the decision on social media [Facebook statement] by noting that the government will hopefully move towards reforming the flawed electoral commission in the future. Though Museveni may hold a fifth term, he will not be allowed to participate in Ugandas next election since he is approaching the 75-year age limit.
Museveni, who has been in power since 1986, belongs to the ruling National Resistance Movement [party website] party. Last month the UN rights office expressed concern [JURIST report] over violence and arrests that erupted on the day of Musevenis re-election. Museveni has been accused of being an authoritarian since he took office by force in 1986, using security forces to retain power. His government has also been criticized for proposing an anti-homosexuality bill, limiting public gatherings and not allowing [JURIST reports] for an independent judiciary. In January Human Rights Watch [advocacy website] reported that the use of force and intimidation of Ugandan authorities limited the chances [JURIST report] of the election being fair and unbiased
[JURIST] UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Ivan Simonovic [official profile] on Thursday acknowledged [press release] the Republic of Moldovas [official website] recent efforts to address governmental issues and promote human rights. Simonovic noted various reforms implemented by Prime Minister Pavel Filip, including a National Human Rights Action Plan [text, PDF] and a requirement that Moldovas Parliament be 40 percent female. Simonovic also stressed that Moldova must continue to implement recommended reforms and address high level corruption in order to revitalize trust in its government and counter human rights issues on all fronts. Among his recommendations were revising criminal code provisions, addressing discriminatory legislation, and implementing input from civil societies and Moldovas Council for Combating and Preventing Discrimination and Ensuring Equality. Simonovic stated that the UN will continue to support reform in Moldova as its government stays committed to promoting human rights. Moldova will receive further recommendations for change after it undergoes its second Universal Periodic Review (UPR) [text] later this year.
Moldovas human rights record had previously been a matter of major concern to international human rights groups. In 2012 Amnesty International condemned [JURIST report] Moldovas chemical castration law. That same year the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled [JURIST report] a Moldova gay protest ban violated the right to protest. A UN Working Group on discrimination against women in law and in practice urged [JURIST report] the Moldovan government to adopt a comprehensive anti-discrimination law. The rights of the Romani people have also caused controversy. In 2013 a UN rights expert urged [JURIST report] EU member states to do more to ensure that Roma peoples receive the support necessary to fully enjoy all their basic human rights.
The UN Special Rapporteur for human rights in Cambodia, Rhona Smith [official profile, PDF], on Friday appealed [press release] to the country to strengthen the protection of its women and the rights of its indigenous peoples. In her End of Mission Statement [statement, PDF] on the situation of human rights in Cambodia, Smith particularly highlighted the prevalence of violence against women, which continues to present itself as a pervasive human rights violation in Cambodia and stressed the need for A revision of the current Law on Prevention of Domestic Violence and Victims Protection to ensure that the response to domestic violence in Cambodia conforms to international standards. Smith also pointed to various other shortfalls in protection of womens rights including the failure to protect identify of victims, use of exploitative and degrading imagery that perpetuates discriminatory stereotypes and contributes to the desensitization and normalization of violence against women, forced labor conditions for domestic female workers, and increasing vulnerability to human trafficking of women. Smith emphasized that Strengthening judicial mechanisms which protect victims rights and ensure the fair prosecution of alleged perpetrators as well as developing gendersensitivity training among law enforcement officers, the judiciary, and the press are crucial to achieving real womens rights progress. As to indigenous rights, Smith pointed to deficiencies in the system which have led to unresolved land disputes and displacement of communities, and stressed the need for clear and transparent resettlement plans that take into account preservation of sacred forests, burial sites and usufructory practices.
Cambodia has had a history of human rights abuses that have continued to alarm rights organizations around the world. In October the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) [official website] expressed concern [JURIST report] over the organized attack on opposition politicians in Cambodia. In July 11 Cambodian opposition members were sentenced to long prison terms [JURIST report] for participating in July 2014 clashes related to the closing of a protest site. Three of the 11 individuals, all part of the Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP) [party website], were handed 20-year sentences [Phnom Penh Post report]. In March 2015 Cambodias Parliament passed [JURIST report] two controversial new election laws that rights groups criticized as ill-conceived and potentially damaging to free speech. In January 2015 Cambodian General Sao Sohka admitted to using force [JURIST report] against political opponents of the reigning Cambodian Peoples Party. Also in January 2015 the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) restarted genocide hearings [JURIST report] against the former Khmer Rouge regimes surviving leaders. Proceedings had been postponed since November 2014, when defense lawyers refused to participate [JURIST report] because they were still working to appeal an earlier verdict. Cambodia continues to struggle with the legacy of the Khmer Rouge, an extremist group that attempted to set up an agrarian socialist society in the nation in the mid- to late-1970s. In October 2014 the Cambodian government released survey findings [JURIST report] that showed the magnitude of violence against children throughout the country.
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Raleigh, NC, 04/01/2016 /SubmitPressRelease123/
You have probably heard many stories and seen many movies about dreadful family law cases involving divorce or child custody issues. The good news is that your case doesnt have to be like that.
Many of the horror stories you hear involve a contentious court battle, but it is possible to avoid going to court altogether by using alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods. Not only can ADR methods lessen the emotional toll of family law issues, they can also be a much more cost-effective way to settle disputes.
Here are a few ADR methods that our firm offers, along with a short explanation of each:
Negotiation: This is the informal process of your attorney negotiating with the other partys attorney in effort to reach an out of court settlement. Settlement negotiations are kept private and confidential.
Mediation: This process involves a neutral mediator who facilitates negotiations between the parties. The mediator doesnt offer legal advice or make any decisions, but he or she can help offer options for settlement. Mediation can take place with or without lawyers, and the settlement reached remains private.
Collaborative law: This process removes the possibility of going to court completely so that the parties and their lawyers focus solely on reaching a private settlement. Other professionals such as therapists, child specialist, CPAs and valuation experts may also be used as resources during the settlement process for added support.
Arbitration: This process involves hiring a trained arbitrator to act as a judge and make the decisions in the case. Arbitration offers parties privacy, flexibility and the ability to speed up the divorce process.
Parent coordination: This process involves using a trained individual who helps the parties reach a child custody agreement and develop methods for collaborative parenting. In some cases, the parent coordinators may have the authority to make decisions about the parenting plan.
You can find out more information about mediation, collaborative law, arbitration and parent coordination on website. Keep in mind that it is also possible to use a combination of ADR methods to settle your family law dispute.
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LINCOLN Owners of agricultural land would share an additional $20 million in property tax credits under a property tax compromise advanced Thursday by state lawmakers.
Legislative Bill 958 cleared first-round consideration on a 39-2 vote after lawmakers reached agreement to bring the amount of ag land credits down from a proposed $30 million a year.
The vote came after hours of often tense negotiations between rural and urban senators.
State Sen. Mike Gloor of Grand Island, chairman of the Revenue Committee, expressed relief that the two sides found common ground and voted together to end a filibuster and advance the bill.
Im very optimistic about where were headed as a state and about this bill, he said.
Had the bill failed, Gloor said, it would have exacerbated urban-rural divisions in the Legislature and jeopardized support for other key measures.
Sen. Jim Smith of Papillion led opposition to the proposal, arguing that tax relief should not be restricted to one group of Nebraskans.
We need to look at comprehensive tax reform in our state, he said. Families and small non-ag businesses cannot remain at the back of the line.
Smith introduced, then pulled, an amendment that would have cut income tax rates.
He said he could accept the compromise, along with assurances that lawmakers will look at the whole scope of taxes next year.
Sen. Al Davis of Hyannis and other rural senators said owners of farm and ranch land need relief after years of historic price increases have pushed up property valuations.
As a result, those property owners have been paying a growing share of the costs to fund K-12 education and local governments. Property taxes paid on ag land have increased 176 percent in the past decade.
The time is now. We cant wait another year, Davis said. This bill gets relief to where it is needed.
Some senators noted that the bill does not cut any taxes and said work will need to continue on the issue in future years.
Its a Band-Aid, but its something, Sen. Dave Schnoor of Scribner said.
Other lawmakers objected to the cost of the measure and said it would increase future budget difficulties.
LB 958 would have no fiscal impact during the current budget period but would add to the shortfall projected for the two-year period starting July 1, 2017.
Under the compromise, the bill would add $20 million annually to the states Property Tax Credit Fund.
The new money would go to owners of agricultural land, boosting their property tax credit to around $108 per $100,000 of valuation in 2017.
State Department of Revenue officials estimated that the credit for all property owners in 2016 will be $89.14. Under LB 958, the amount allocated for residential and commercial property owners would remain at the $89.14 level in 2017.
The credit would appear as a line on the property tax statements sent out in late 2017.
Gloor introduced LB 958 on behalf of Gov. Pete Ricketts, who has made property tax reduction his top priority of the session.
Lawmakers advanced a companion bill on Wednesday that targets property tax issues involving school districts.
Ricketts hailed the advancement of LB 958 as good news for Nebraska property taxpayers.
I look forward to continuing to work together with senators to make tax relief a reality, he said.
Steve Nelson, president of the Nebraska Farm Bureau Federation, said the measure would provide much-needed relief to farm and ranch families who have been hit by skyrocketing property tax bills.
But Renee Fry, executive director of the OpenSky Policy Institute, warned that the bill sets a bad precedent of enacting legislation without figuring out how to pay for it.
As introduced, LB 958 would have capped the statewide growth of agricultural land valuations at 3 percent and tightened budget and levy limits on several local governments
But the Revenue Committee rejected nearly all of those original provisions after concluding that they would not be effective or would have unintended consequences.
Gloor said he plans to remove a provision from LB 958 during second-round debate that would have tightened a budget limit on community colleges.
He said the provision faces stiff opposition and could jeopardize the bill.
LINCOLN A state senator is hoping the Legislature can step in and stop a controversial new license plate from being issued.
State Sen. Burke Harr of Omaha introduced an amendment Thursday that would delay issuing a new standard license plate design for a year.
He introduced the proposal amid concern from constituents about the plates depiction of the Sower and its perceived lewdness. The bill would extend the current design, featuring a goldenrod sprig and a meadowlark, for another year, giving Gov. Pete Ricketts time to come up with a new design and gather input from the public, he said.
I thought this was important enough to have a debate, Harr said. We have become the butt of jokes.
To be debated by the Legislature, however, the proposal will have to find another vehicle.
Harr filed his amendment to Legislative Bill 768, a speaker priority bill sponsored by Bellevue Sen. Tommy Garrett that would create a choose life, fund adoption license plate.
But Garrett said he plans to pull the bill today, saying it has a number of hostile amendments attached and that the Legislature cant afford another filibuster. Were out of time, he said.
The new plate design has generated buzz since it was unveiled by the governor last week. Some say its boring, while others say the image of the Sower, as designed, carries a sexual connotation.
And while the state says the plate depicts the Sower that is a statue atop the State Capitol, some have raised concerns that the design more closely resembles a sower sculpture on a bell tower on Michigan States campus.
Harr said other two-dimensional designs of the Sower are better, such as the one on the 1954 Nebraska Territorial Centennial stamp. Harr said hes also looking to see if there are other bills to which he could attach his amendment and give it a shot to be debated this year.
State law requires that new standard license plates be issued every six years. The new plates featuring the Sower are set to roll out in January 2017.
Taylor Gage, the governors spokesman, declined to comment on Harrs proposal. But state officials have previously said the plate design is final and that printing is already in progress.
I would hope we could put a hold on that order if it were in the states best interest, Harr said.
The 100th anniversary Commemoration of the 1916 Easter Rising was remembered with a very large attendance in Freshford on Easter Sunday last.
It commenced with a Parade that made its way from St Lachtains GAA grounds to The Square via the centre road of the green.
The parade was led by the Ballycallan Fife & Drum Marching Band, two Defence Force members and, nine members of Freshford Fire Services.
A large crowd marched behind representing many of the clubs, local groups and individuals holding banners and waving flags that displayed a colourful look and a happy atmosphere along with the lively music of the fifes and drum.
When the Parade reached The Square a commemoration ceremony was performed for the large gathering and was presented by Moira Dorgan MC and consisted of readings, poetry music and song.
Niamh Kennedy and John Meagher presented in both Irish and English a synopsis of Pearse Oration at the graveside of ODonovan Rossa.
Gillian Queally gave a beautiful rendering of two songs The Foggy Due and She Moved Through The Fair accompanied by musicians Marie Fogarty( on whistle) and Noel Cleere (accordion).
Ned Kennedy explained the history The 1916 Rising. Chris McGrath read the poem His Blood Upon The Rose by Joseph Mary Plunkett. Finally Tara Hickey read the Proclamation of the Republic.
The ceremony ended with the two members of the Defence Force Comm. Noel Maher and Pte John Flynn presenting the Irish Flag to two of our senior citizens Sean Kennedy of Ballylarkin and Kitty Minogue from Threecastles, who had the honour of raising the flag after which all in attendance sang Amhran Na bhFiann.
The first non combatant fatality of the 1916 Rising was remembered in her home village of Leighlinbridge last weekend with the unveiling of a memorial with military honours.
Nurse Margaret Kehoe was shot by two British soliders, while in full uniform, as she rushed to attend to one of the Irish Volunteers who lay wounded in the street in the vicinity of now St James Hospital, on Easter Monday, around 1.30pm.
She was working in the South Dublin Union when Irish Volunteers, under the command of Eamon Ceannt, took control of the building and vicious fighting ensued. When the Volunteers took control of the hospital, Nurse Kehoe pledged her support and moved patients to safer parts of the building.
The man she was rushing to help, while in full uniform, was Dan McCarthy, who survived his wounds, was imprisoned in Frongoch and became one of the country's first TD's - and a future President of the GAA.
Nurse Kehoe is the gran aunt of Judy Byrne, wife of Ned Byrne. the proprietors of Byrnes Bar and shop, James Green. And in a further fitting tribute to Nurse Kehoe, the military party consisted of Captain Sean Byrne, who is a son of Judy and Ned.
Margaret left Leighlinbridge at the tender age of nine, as both her parents had died and went to life with relatives. Subsequently she joined the South Dublin Union in 1897 , a hospital run by the Sisters of Mercy and it is now St James Hiospital.
The GAA connection, attempting to reach Dan McCarthy, insured that Margaret's bravery was remembered by the local club who put up a plaque in her honour in 2009.
For the last nine months, with the help of local historian Martin Nevin, Judy Byrne along with Myles Kehoe, Denis Kehoe, Philip Kehoe and numerous relatives of Margaret, began organising last Saturday's event.
It culminated with a wonderful, well-attended tribute to honour the memory of the woman who lost her life as the first non-combatant, coming to the aid of a wounded Volunteer.
Also among the colour party was Lt Grace Fanning, who will join her naval colleagues on the LE Eithne shortly as they continue their humanitarian work in the Mediterranean.
EVEN by Kilkenny standards, Rossenarra House, just outside Kilmoganny has a pedigree that is stunning. Magical is the only word to describe the landscape that hits you when you look out from the front of the house at the rich Kilkenny landscape that stretches for miles and miles in front of you like a carpet.
EVEN by Kilkenny standards, Rossenarra House, just outside Kilmoganny has a pedigree that is stunning. Magical is the only word to describe the landscape that hits you when you look out from the front of the house at the rich Kilkenny landscape that stretches for miles and miles in front of you like a carpet.
It has associations with four US presidents, was designed by the man who is responsible for the White House but that is not really the story.
Frank Sinatra stayed there and famously told a young woman working there she had beautiful eyes (she does not wish to be identified). Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones mixed there with the countrys super rich and elite . This countrys greatest portrait painter, Sir John Lavery died there. His wifes picture, painted by him, adorned our currency for years and she most certainly had an affair with Michael Collins and one of Collins great friends said she that she was the love of his life. She was an American heiress who preferred London to Kilkenny.
Throw in hydropower and a self sufficient McEnery family that lived there and that bred the greatest Grand National horse of all time. Red Rum and you have a true story that borders on fantasy. Sad to report that the house now looks a little run down and that the entrance is overgrown and that the window sills on the outside need a lot of work. The place needs some tender love and care and hopefully that can happen sooner or rather then later.
There are people around Kilmoganny who can go back 80 years to when the house was owned by the McEnery family now living close by in Kells and how the property (1,700 acres) was carved up the Land Commission after the death of the great John McEnery. And when these pensioners look back at the history of the house, there are only two names that stand out Nigel Griffiths and his Carlow born wife Christine, They still talk about the parties, dinners, suppers and how everyone in the locality was invited to mingle with the likes of judge Peter Smithwick, Captain Blunden from Castle Blunden, Baron Brian de Breffny (Castletown Cox), Lady Amanda Iveagh and others. It was a wonderful time and the McEnerys were delighted when they bought it because they knew they would look after it and Christine had an indoor swimming pool built for her husband. He was very friendly with Richard Condon who lived there in the 1970s and who wrote the Manchurian Candidate which was turned into a film starring Mr Sinatra. A few years earlier he had done the PR for a film starring Sinatra and Sophia Loren in Spain. Griffiths bought it from Condon in a private deal.
Nigel Griffiths visited the White House on a number of occasions as did Sinatra and Condon. And the association doesnt stop there. A relative of the current president of the US, Barack Obama, one of the Morris-Reades owned the place as well.
Facts
Lets separate fact from fiction. You can indeed see the village of Stradbally, Co Laois from Rossenarra House on a clear night as the landscape unfolds before you, the pattern being made-up by Dunamaggin, Kells, Callan, Bennettsbridge and Kilkenny city. It remains a favourite part of the world for moonlighting couples who sit in their car looking down on the wonderful view. This is a real hidden gem.
Rossenarra House with its five bays and three stories over a huge basement was designed by the architect James Hoban, (from Cuffesgrange) who was also responsible for designing the White House in Washington, D.C. The house was built around 1824-25 in a Palladian style, having been commissioned by Maurice Readewho owned Castle Howell and thousands of acres around it.
We will come back to Castle Howell (aka Castlehale) in a future article and investigate the missing Reade treasure.
It passed through several generations of the Reade family until the 1880s, when it came into the possession of the McEnery family. Sir John Lavery, was related to the McEnerys through marriage and he resided at Rossenarra during the last few years of his life and died there on January 1941. His wife was the love of Michael Collins life and it is interesting that during the negotiations to form the Free State, Collins and the Irish delegation stayed at the Liverys palatial home in Londons South Kensington.
The house now needs a good bit of work and a lick of paint and what a difference to when Thomas Reade lived here and controlled thousands of acres which was almost entirely walled. Today on the Kyle-Kilmoganny road below you can still see the two sets of gates (and one lodge) where the titled people, came in their carriages to be entertained by Reade, the leader of the Walsh clan. A few fields away was Castle Howell, reprinted here and painted by the wonderful Mary Cummins, whose memory of events associated with Rossenarra is crystal clear. Charles Cummins, her husband Rogers father owned it for a very short while after the Land commission divided it up.
He sold it to a kind Englishman Stephen Edwards. He lived there for a short while and drank in the lovely and homely Dunphys pub, down the road. He sold it on to Condon. in the 1970s. Condon wrote the Manchurian Candidate, three years before US president John F Kennedy was killed in Dallas and the book and subsequent film resonated with the US public. He also wrote Prizzis Honour also made into a film with Kathleen Turner and Jack Nicholson.
People who live around Rossenarra found the Condons warm and friendly. And when one of the neighbours had a fire in the house they came up to help, brought sandwiches and drink. They left, it is said, out of frustration with the telephone system. He would be researching something in Australia and there were no phone lines available because of the time zone difference when he needed them. The current owner is Denis OSullivan who bought it 12 years ago from the Griffiths and it has not been lived in, on a permanent basis, since then although there have been a number of caretakers.
Obama connection
In 1853 Louisa, daughter of William Morris-Reade of Rossenarra and his wife Louisa Maitland married Harvey Mervyn third son of Harvey and Rose de Montmorency of the adjoining estate of Castlemorres. Rose (nee Kearney) was the daughter of John Kearney formerly Provost of Trinity and Bishop of Ossory 1806-13. who was connected to the Kearney family of Moneygall from whom President Obamas mother is descended.
Harvey Mervyn and his wife first lived at Kilcoran House near Callan, now the home of the Woodcock family. They later moved to Tennypark close to Kilkenny on the Callan road. On the death of her husband in 1899 Louisa moved to live with her two daughters in Delgany until her death in 1918. They had four children. The eldest son died young and his two sisters were unmarried so that it is the descendants of Mervyn, born 1863, who continue to live in Kilkenny. After serving in the Boer War he retired to live at Inch House, now Purcells Inch Industrial Estate, with his wife and daughter, Norah. In 1934 the family connection between the two estates was renewed when Norah married her cousin John de Montmorency of Castlemorres. Three generations descending from this marriage continue to live in County Kilkenny.
Alice McEnery-Gwynn
We are indebted to the late Alice McEnery-Gwynn for her account of her life at Rossenarra from the Old Kilkenny review of 1983. She explained how the family had everything they ever needed including their own water turbine which supplied them with free electricity .Glad to say that her son, Martin McEnery who ran the place for a short while after his fathers death is still alive in Kells.
To give a sense of the pompous nature of Rossenarra when it was first built we include the obituary of the owner of Rossenarra Mr William Morris Reade from Kilkenny Journal of March 31, 1847 which explained he was no ordinary mortal: It is with much more than ordinary feelings of sorrow and regret that we have this day to announce a great public calamity which has fallen on this County by the unexpected death of a gentleman whose sterling worth and high standing, was second to that of no landed proprietor in Ireland. We have to record the demise of WILLIAM MORRIS READE Esq on Wednesday last of fever, at his seat, Rossenarra, a gentleman whose usefulness and virtue it needs no comment of ours to make known to this community, in whose individual breasts his excellent qualities and worth will be responded to and acknowledged, and his loss unfeignedly deplored. As a country gentleman he was a perfect and finished model, uniting the sister virtues of courtesy and hospitality; extending around his demesne an unostentatious but richly beneficent charity, the termination of which by his premature death will be bitterly and poignantly felt. As a magistrate, he was active and energetic in the discharge of his duties, and unceasing in his efforts to prevent crime in its first budding, or detect and punish it in a developed state at the same time, on all occasions, tempering justice with mercy. As a landlord, he was resident, in the best sense of the word, attending unremittingly to the comforts of his tenants, whose condition he so far ameliorated that their present state presents a marked oasis in the desert of Irish misery, apathy and neglect.In politics Mr Reade was an unflinching and uncompromising Conservative, sticking to the good cause through weal and woe, and despising the time-serving policy of some of those who unjustly boast of the name; but his private worth and sterling honesty of purpose was acknowledged by all sections of politics and all denominations of religion.In recording the death of such a man as this, it is our wish to avoid the common and hackneyed expression of grief, which the departure of ordinary mortals calls forth. Mr Reade was truly one man in a thousand, and never was a time-honoured quotation more aptly applied than to record of him the honest truth. We neer shall look upon his like again. The demise of this exemplary gentleman is the more melancholy and to be lamented, as it is feared and believed he contracted the fever which was its cause, in his efforts to detect the murderers of the late Mr Prim; it being at least a fact that he entered and closely searched one suspect house where a family was lying ill of that now most prevalent and fatal disease.
Thanks
Thanks goes to Jane de Montmorency Wright for her patience and her input on Mr Reades obituary and the Obama connection. Thanks also to Mary and Roger Cummins for their information and the duck eggs.
If you have any hidden gems in your area just call 087-8772688 or email: skeane@kilkennypeople.ie
1. Deadline? What deadline? New rules went into effect last October that make merchants liable for fraudulent transactions if they havent updated their terminals to accept chip-card, or EMV, payments. But as of late January, merchants had activated chip-card readers at only 17% of in-store locations, according to Visa; only 50% of locations were expected to have functioning readers by the end of 2016. Card issuers are doing a little better. There are more than 400 million chip cards now in circulation, says Randy Vanderhoof, director of the EMV Migration Forumbut thats still only one-third of the estimated 1.2 billion total cards on the market.
2. Theyve got your number. The microchip in an EMV card drastically reduces fraudsters ability to create counterfeit cards. But it doesnt prevent crooks from using a stolen card number to pay online or over the phone. Canada saw a 133% spike in fraud involving such card not present transactions from 2008 through 2013, as the country made the switch to chip cards, according to Aite Group. (For more on how to protect payments online, see How to Make Your Chip Credit Card More Secure)
3. Signature versus PIN. Chip-card users in the U.S. typically seal the deal with a signature, rather than by entering a PIN. Thats not much of an obstacle for a thief who gets hold of your card. Chip-and-signature is a half-measure, says Debra Berlyn, director of the advocacy campaign ProtectMyData.
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4. Speed bumps at the register. Glitches abound as merchants work through the learning curve. For example, some restaurants that have enabled EMV payments have improperly configured tipping options, says Vanderhoof. Some stores havent activated the chip capability on their payment terminals because they are still making sure the equipment is ready for prime time and their employees are properly trained. The word insert on the terminals screen is your clue that you should dip your card in the chip-reading slot, says Gregory Burch, vice president of strategic initiative for Ingenico Group, a provider of payment services and terminals. Chip transactions typically take a few seconds longer to process than those with a magnetic stripe, but many merchants are shortening the delay as they optimize their systems.
5. Swipe with care. Operators of ATMs and automated gasoline pumps were given a liability reprieve. MasterCard extended the deadline to October 2016 for ATMs to support updated card readers, and Visas ATM deadline is October 2017. Owners of gas terminals that arent EMV-compliant also wont face liability until October 2017. In the meantime, watch out for skimmers that crooks place on card readers to steal data from your cards magnetic stripe. Pull on the card reader and surrounding area to see whether anything moves, and shield the keypad with one hand as you enter your PIN with the other to conceal the number from hidden cameras.
6. Youre still covered. The move to EMV affects the liability of merchants and card issuers. But most credit card users still enjoy zero liability for unauthorized purchases, and banks will usually cover funds stolen with a debit card as long as you report the problem promptly.
In case you haven't noticed, there has been a great deal of strength in the stock market during the past month. But the rebound isnt coming from the market leaders of the past several years. The high-flying growth stocks, especially in the tech sector, and the petroleum and resource stocks that once enjoyed great popularity have let many people down in recent months.
What is holding up well are the mundane stocks that many consider too boring to own, such as food, utilities, and other consumer staples that represent the needs rather than the wants of the population. These are just the type of stocks that we have always highlighted in relation to dividend reinvestment plans (DRIPs), a form of investing that was created out of the strength of well-known consumer brands companies like Procter & Gamble (opens in new tab), Colgate-Palmolive (opens in new tab) and Kimberly-Clark (opens in new tab), along with diversified industrials like 3M Company (opens in new tab), Boeing (opens in new tab) and Raytheon (opens in new tab). Even in the oil sector, the size and resources of Exxon Mobil (opens in new tab) make it stand out in sharp contrast to the master limited partnerships (MLPs) that have been decimated.
The stark differences between the tried and true and the bold and new have become obvious and it is the former that is providing comfort to investors while the latter have disappointed.
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Even within sectors, the differences are clear. While stocks such as Intel, Microsoft and Cisco have become steady dividend payers (and raisers), popular social networking firms such as Facebook and Twitter have seen their weaknesses exposed. Their reliance on being trendy and new, apparent strengths, can vanish overnight. Whether or not the economy slips into recession, the recent weaknesses in the stock market have made it clear that investors need to pay more attention to the differences in these two worlds: the ethereal world of overnight popularity and the tangible world of long-term success created by companies that provide for basic needs.
Our current stock recommendation is Vectren Corp. (opens in new tab) (symbol VVC (opens in new tab)). The company was formed when Indiana Energy, which was founded in 1912, merged with SIGCORP in March 2000. It operates in about two-thirds of Indiana, as well as west central Ohio, serving more than one million natural gas and 144,000 electricity customers, and logs about $2.5 billion in annual revenues. Its non-utility group operates in three segments: energy marketing and services; coal mining; and energy infrastructure services. According to Yahoo Finance, consensus estimates call for the company to earn about $2.52 per share this year, up from $2.39 in 2015, and to go on to net about $2.71 per share in 2017. In October, the board of directors approved a boost in the quarterly dividend, from 38 cents to 40 cents per share, marking the 56th consecutive annual increase and providing a 3.3% yield.
(Image credit: Thinkstock)
What makes Vectren so attractive is that it provides basic natural gas and electric services to a very stable population base in the Midwest, where regulators have been willing to allow reasonable rate increases and a steady rate of return. That has translated into one of the longest streaks of annual dividend increases in the entire country, which shows no sign of ending soon.
The strength of the earnings and dividend growth rests on the simple fact that Vectren provides necessities in the form of heat and electricity that people will pay for no matter what the state of the economy. Even during the most stressful times of recession, utility bills must be paid (and government assistance is generally available to low-income families and individuals, if needed). Although the company lists non-regulated segments such as energy marketing and coal, that part of its business does not create a severe drag on earnings, since it is relatively small in size.
Vectren (opens in new tab) is just one of a long list of tried and true companies that have routinely raised their dividends year after year. And many of these companies offer investors the opportunity to invest directly in their company-sponsored DRIP without paying any broker commissions or fees of any kind. Heres a complete listing of No-Fee DRIPs that have raised their dividend payouts for 25+ years (opens in new tab).
Ms. Vita Nelson is one of the earliest proponents of dividend reinvestment plans (DRIPs) and a knowledgeable authority on the operations of these plans. She provides financial information centered around DRIP investing at www.drp.com (opens in new tab) and www.directinvesting.com (opens in new tab). She is the Editor and Publisher of Moneypaper's Guide to Direct Investment Plans, Chairman of the Board of Temper of the Times Investor Service, Inc. (a DRIP enrollment service) and co-manager of the MP 63 Fund (DRIPX (opens in new tab)).
(Kitco News) - Shares of most gold-mining companies rose with the metal itself during the first four days of the week, with Kinross Gold Corp. among the top gainers after announcing new plans for further developing its Tasiast mine.
As of late Thursday, Comex June gold futures were at $1,234.50 an ounce, a gain of $15.80, or 1.3%, for the week so far. Comex May silver was up 25 cents, or 1.6%, for the first four days of the week at $15.45.
During that same time span, the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs index (HUI) was up 6.8412 points, or 4%, to 178.2414. The Market Vectors Gold Miners exchange-traded fund (GDX), which consists of stocks of gold-mining companies, rose 51 cents, or 2.6%, to $19.97 per share.
Of the major producers, Kinross (NYSE: KGC) was one of the biggest winners as the company got favorable analyst reviews after saying it will go ahead with the phase-one expansion of the Tasiast mine in Mauritania. Shares were up 38 cents, or 13%.
Kinross officials said the phase-one expansion is expected to increase the mines annual production by 87% and reduce the production cost of sales per ounce by 48%. The company estimated capital expenditures of some $300 million, which will be self financed. The company also released results of a prefeasibility study on a second phase of expansion.
We view KGC's phase-one plan and decision to execute on Tasiast positively. KGC offers high leverage to the gold price and improving margins due to currency tailwinds, said Credit Suisse.
CIBC said that with Kinross having total liquidity of $2.2 billion between cash and the available revolving credit facility, the company could fund the first and second phases of expansion within the constraints of the current balance sheet at prevailing metal prices.
Elsewhere, Excellon Resources Inc. (TSX: EXN) added 14 cents, or 30%. The company announced a C$3 million investment by Eric Sprott, with proceeds to go toward implementation of an optimization plan at the Platosa mine and for general corporate purposes.
Arizona Mining (TSX: AZ), a mineral exploration and development company looking to develop its Hermosa project in Arizona, climbed 15 cents, or 22%. Compania de Minas Buenaventura (NYSE: BVN) was up 89 cents, or 14%.
Torex Gold Resources Inc. (TSX: TXG) gained 20 cents, or 12%. The company reported that commercial production has been achieved at the El Limon-Guajes mine In Mexico ahead of schedule and under budget. The plant is advancing steadily toward full-production capability and has exceeded year-to-date expectations, with output of 38,161 ounces as of Wednesday, Torex said.
BMO Capital Markets characterized the news as positive and rated Torex outperform, adding that analysts are removing the speculative designation from its rating.
Two of the bigger declines were copper companies during a four-day period when Comex May copper lost 5.5 cents, or 2.5%, to $2.1830 a pound. Copper Mountain Mining Corp. (TSX: CUM) shed 7 cents, or 12%.Imperials Metals Corp. (TSX: III), which reported an adjusted loss for 2015, fell 39 cents, or 9%.
Two companies that are merging, Tahoe Resources Inc. (TSX: THO) and Lake Shore Gold Corp. (TSX: LSG), both lost 6%, with Tahoe shedding 77 cents and Lake Shore 11 cents. Shareholders of the two companies Thursday approved a previously announced all-stock acquisition in which Tahoe will take over Lake Shore Gold.
Silver Wheaton Corp. (NYSE: SLW) lost 65 cents, or 4%. Shares lost more than $1 Thursday alone and gapped lower on a daily price chart after the company announced a bought-deal-financing offering of 33,135,000 shares at $16.60 per share. This will result in gross proceeds to Silver Wheaton of approximately $550 million. The net proceeds of the offering will be used to repay a portion of the debt that was drawn on the company's $2 billion revolving credit facility in November 2015 for the $900 million purchase of the silver stream on the Antamina mine in Peru, Silver Wheaton said.
By Allen Sykora of Kitco News; asykora@kitco.com
Editors Note: With the U.S. elections just eight months away, it is important for investors to now start considering how each presidential candidate could potentially affect their portfolio, particularly their gold investments.
Kitco News has launched a new series Gold-Ocracy that asks veteran industry experts how they think Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Ted Cruz, John Kasich, and of course, Donald Trump could affect the global economy. Stay tuned every Friday as a new expert opinion is unveiled and as they share who they think would be best for gold and stock markets, as well as who they think the Federal Reserve fears most at the White House.
(Kitco News) - This week, we get thoughts from famed newsletter writer and veteran financial commentator Dennis Gartman, who had some very interesting comments on why Trump may be best for gold.
You can also catchup on previous articles:
Week 2 had comments from 25-year veteran commodities trader Vince Lanci.
had comments from 25-year veteran commodities trader Vince Lanci. Week 3 included insights from famed libertarian and contrarian investor Doug Casey.
included insights from famed libertarian and contrarian investor Doug Casey. Week 4 had longtime trend forecaster Gerald Celente saying Wall Street would be delighted with Clinton in the White House
had longtime trend forecaster Gerald Celente saying Wall Street would be delighted with Clinton in the White House Week 5 shares insights from famed economist Mark Skousen, who says Clinton is the less likely candidate to rock the Fed's boat.
shares insights from famed economist Mark Skousen, who says Clinton is the less likely candidate to rock the Fed's boat. Week 6 check out market visionary Keith Fitz-Gerald comments on the U.S. presidential candidates and why he thinks the U.S. central bank may not be too happy about Trump's lead.
check out market visionary Keith Fitz-Gerald comments on the U.S. presidential candidates and why he thinks the U.S. central bank may not be too happy about Trump's lead. Week 7 read now to find out why veteran market watcher Rick Rule thinks Trump & Clinton would both help gold.
read now to find out why veteran market watcher Rick Rule thinks Trump & Clinton would both help gold. Week 8 read now to find out why Dundees chief economist Martin Murenbeeld thinks Trump would likely hurt the dollar, and thus gold.
Expert: Dennis Gartman
Claim to fame: Publisher of The Gartman Letter and famed market watcher
Which presidential candidate would be best for gold? Why? Although he says Sen. Bernie Sanders would be best for gold based on his vanguard left wing economic policies, Gartman says he is not worth considering at this point since he doesnt expect Sanders to win the nomination, let alone the election. Mr. Trump is the likely Republican candidate, and he will be impressively supportive of gold because his policies on trade and on economics are very nearly as ludicrous as are Sen. Sanders, Gartman said. Secondly, the confusion he shall create geo-politically would be enormously bullish for gold. Who would be best for U.S. economy and the dollar? Why? The best candidate for the U.S. economy and the dollar almost certainly is Gov. John Kasich, Gartman said. He supports freer trade; his policies are of lower taxes and lesser spending; he is mainstream and he shall put to bed the confusion that Trump might create. Who would be best for stock markets? Why? The best for the stock market likely shall be Ms. Clinton, for moderate Democrats tend always to be beneficial to stock price given their tendency for fiscal expansion. Who do you think the Fed would least want in the White House? Why? The Fed would least wish to have Mr. Trump in the White House for the simple reason that he is clueless about economics and trade and hes utterly undisciplined, causing the monetary authorities to have to deal with the confusion he creates. Of the candidates running now, who would be your best pick? (Optional) I have been a strong and long standing supporter of Mr. Kasich.
By Sarah Benali of Kitco News; sbenali@kitco.com
Follow me on Twitter @SdBenali
David Russell, of Port Orchard, touches a World Trade Center beam after the memorial dedication Wednesday at Evergreen-Rotary Park in Bremerton. LARRY STEAGALL / KITSAP SUN
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By Josh Farley of the Kitsap Sun
BREMERTON ? To those too young to have witnessed the twin towers fall, the Kitsap 9/11 Memorial is already teaching hard truths.
Alaura Absher, at 11 years old, explored its circular center Wednesday night, 12 years to the day after the attacks.
"I got to touch those," she said, pointing at the mangled World Trade Center beams that anchor the memorial's center and climb upward. "I don't think I've ever been to anything like this."
Despite her age, she already knows the awful, and still painful, reality: "They basically took the planes and crashed them into buildings."
The memorial's creators envisioned a monument to 9/11 that would give anyone ? even those like Alaura born after Sept. 11, 2001 ? a taste, however bitter, of that infamous day in American history.
That means actually feeling those two pieces of history within the monument.
"You can feel their coldness, and you can feel their strength," said Dave Fergus, architect of the memorial, told the thousands of those gathered Wednesday night at Evergreen-Rotary Park. "Through touch, we are connected to those who were there, and those who have been touched by the events. Through touch, we are connected and we are all united."
After wandering the memorial, Deja Boyd, 10, whose father, Thaddeus, is a sailor based at Naval Base Kitsap-Bremerton, says she knows why it was created. "So you know what happened," she said, "And you can tell your grandkids."
On a hot and balmy night in Bremerton, the American flag was at last raised above a memorial that was four years in the making.
Roy Lusk, former Central Kitsap Fire and Rescue chief who headed the 9/11 committee, said the memorial was erected for two reasons: to remember that fateful day and to honor the "pure, unselfish acts of heroism."
"The last four years," he said of the time the committee has worked, "has been a journey."
During a close to two-hour dedication ceremony, he identified in attendance all that helped bring the memorial to fruition, including Lee and Donna Summers, the husband and wife long-haul trucker team who brought them from New York to Kitsap County.
Fergus, as keynote speaker, detailed the intricacies of the memorial, recounting with those details the stories of those who lived and died that day.
"(Sept. 11) is a story of life and death, triumph and defeat. It is a story of humility, courage and the unselfish pursuits to save someone else," Fergus said. "When we say, ?We shall not forget,' this is what we must not forget. "
Bremerton Mayor Patty Lent said the beams have officially become the property of the city, transferred from their original applicant, Central Kitsap Fire and Rescue. And she confirmed that Tuesday, the night before the memorial's dedication, the local VFW Post 239 voted to serve as their caretakers "for eternity."
The post voted 24-1 to take on the duty.
The memorial itself, complete with the beams, limestone from the Pentagon and even sand from the Shanksville, Pa., field where United Flight 93 crashed, is surrounded by 30 ginkgo trees, one for every 100 people who perished in the attacks. The field in the area will be hydro-seeded with grass and has already been equipped with a sprinkler system. Security cameras will watch over the monument.
"This symbolic memorial will forever be a place for everyone, of all ages, to appreciate this episode of our history that united our entire country," Lent said, "and gave us strength in our patriotic fiber to know what freedom is."
The mayor invited Rudolph Giuliani, former New York City mayor at the time of the attacks, to come to Kitsap for the memorial. He could not attend but wrote a letter, which she read, the last line of which is: "We will never forget what happened to us on that fateful day twelve years ago, and this memorial reminds us of what it truly means to be an American."
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By Josh Farley of the Kitsap Sun
PORT ORCHARD
A former Bainbridge Island church pastor was re-sentenced Friday for killing his wife in 1997, following an appeal that led to the overturning of his life sentence by the Washington state Supreme Court.
Nick Hacheney, 37, was given a 26-year, eight-month sentence for killing Dawn Hacheney. A jury concluded that he strangled her with a plastic bag before setting their East Bremerton home on fire.
Kitsap County Superior Court Judge Anna M. Laurie could have also chosen a 20-year sentence. She said she used her "discretion" in sentencing Hacheney based on "what the jury found. That Mr. Hacheney killed his wife."
The 37-year-old was brought from the Monroe Correctional Complex to the Kitsap County jail for the re-sentencing. Having already served about seven years in jail and in prison, he could be eligible for release in 17 to 20 years under Department of Corrections' sentencing guidelines.
Hacheney was originally given a life sentence without the possibility of parole after his trial in 2002, after jurors found that he should receive an "aggravated" sentence because of the second felony arson for burning the home down.
But the state Supreme Court in May 2007 overturned the "aggravated" stipulation of his sentence because Dawn Hacheney's death was caused by the arson that followed it.
Dennis Tienhaara, Dawn's oldest brother, told Laurie at sentencing that Hacheney's now "inadequate" sentence "sends a dangerous message to criminals in our state." He said that it also sends a "pathetic message that our courts no longer value human life."
"Where is the justice in enabling a cold-hearted, emotionless killer to live out more years in freedom than the years that we were blessed to share with Dawn?" he asked Laurie.
In arguing for a lower end sentence, Hacheney's attorney, Mark Yelish, said the 37-year-old has been a "model inmate" while behind bars.
Hacheney, in red jail garb and shackles, chose not to say anything at his sentencing. In a letter to Laurie, however, he maintained that he believes he's innocent.
"I am not guilty," he wrote. "Whatever else I may have done, I did not murder my wife."
Dawn Hacheney's death was first believed to be an accident. Nick Hacheney had told investigators that they'd opened presents late on Christmas night and left the wrapping paper in front of a space heater. He turned on the heater the next morning while preparing for the hunting trip, he alleged, and that's how the house burned down. A propane tank in the bedroom, which he purported was one of the presents, exacerbated the fire.
A woman, however, came forward in 2001 saying that she'd had an affair with Hacheney in the summer and fall of 1997, and that he'd admitted to her that he killed his wife.
Annette Anderson, a former member of the Bainbridge congregation that Nick Hacheney once led, watched the re-sentencing on Friday. She said she'd hoped for the maximum sentence under the law, and that "the memory of Dawn will always be with me."
"Dawn Hacheney was the sweetest, most honest, trusting, devoted woman that I've ever known," she said.
Kitsap County elections division manager Kyle Joyce (center) checks over the voter registration paperwork filled out by Michelle Anderson (left) as he and Mary Schwab (right) register voters Thursday at the Salvation Army in Bremerton.
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By Andrew Binion of the Kitsap Sun
BREMERTON It would be difficult, if not impossible, for Jasmin Hernandez to register to vote in the upcoming presidential election, given that she is homeless and does not have a permanent address.
But the 28-year-old filled out the registration form Thursday at the Bremerton Salvation Army, where 34 other homeless people registered, as part of an effort to register those without a permanent address. Once registered, their ballots will be delivered to the Salvation Army.
It will be Hernandez's first time voting for a president she plans to vote for Hillary Clinton.
"If people don't register and actually vote, people won't know where we are, how we are doing or how we feel," she said. She noted, however, she would vote for Clinton despite having planned to be the first female president herself.
"I guess she is qualified enough," Hernandez joked.
The registration drive was a collaboration between the Salvation Army and the Kitsap County Auditor's Office and was held on the final day of a long month when public assistance benefits run thin to target the largest group possible. It also was the last day the building will open as a shelter, having provided a "come as you are" place to sleep since January.
Hernandez, who had been staying at the shelter, said her alternative is to return to her camp in Central Kitsap. The last time she was there she said she overdosed on meth but has been sober 70 days as of Thursday, a milestone she credited to the help she received at the Salvation Army.
"It will be tough," she said.
Kyle Joyce, elections division manger for the Auditor's Office, said the office is looking for ways to extend outreach services. Not having a permanent mailing address is an impediment to voting, but just because a person is homeless doesn't mean they don't have a right to vote.
Although ballots will be delivered to the Salvation Army and handed out to people when they come in to eat breakfast or lunch, their precinct will depend on where they actually stay whether in their vehicle or in a greenbelt campsite.
"If you are sleeping near the corner of whatever and whatever, I can precinct you," Joyce said
Sheryl Piercy, social services manager for the Salvation Army, said voting will help the homeless advocate for themselves and puts them on equal footing.
"Voter registration gives them a way to say, 'I am here, and I do matter,'" Piercy said. "Everyone should matter."
Jacob Sison Shaw, 37, is another first-time voter who registered Thursday. After staying at the Salvation Army, he likely will be heading to a bridge to sleep out of the weather.
"If you want to look for me, I'll be there, staying dry," he said, noting that he plans to vote for Donald Trump.
"I like the man, I just like him," Shaw said.
It will be the first presidential election in which Anthony Keegan, 22, will vote. He has been staying at the Salvation Army with his wife, Megan Keegan, 25, another first-time voter who registered at the Salvation Army. He landed a job, and the couple will be moving into a house Monday.
Megan Keegan is undecided, but Anthony Keegan said he will be voting for Bernie Sanders.
"The government should be for the people, not just the money," he said.
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By Larry Little
As we have often taken our children and now our grandchildren to the Silverdale Waterfront Park, I was glad to see from a recent article in this paper that they have really updated the play equipment. That park is also a great place to walk along the shore with a child and explore the saltwater critters that pop up when a rock is overturned. With its covered areas it's also a great gathering place for families and groups. Nearby, long tribal canoes stand at the ready. From time to time boats tie up at the long pier, folks having sometimes ventured from quite a distance over water.
As some of our grandchildren live in Olympia, we have been exploring various parks in that area. Last week we went to Kettle View Park, which has a particularly good set of play equipment and a long winding asphalt path that is useful for youngsters just learning to ride bicycles. Like the Silverdale waterfront park, it's obviously a great gathering place for families and groups.
These two parks, as with dozens of other parks in many places throughout the country ranging from small neighborhood parks to gigantic theme parks, share a common blessing. Besides the rare altercation, they are essentially safe zones, at least in the daylight, for the local community and especially for children.
Not so, it would seem, concerning a park in Pakistan. The news about the terrorist strike targeting children on Easter was especially sobering for this grandfather.
Hopefully what happened at the park in Lahore, Pakistan, is a modern aberration. But we should not assume that it will be so.
Centuries ago, if my history serves me well, such assurance of safety was rare. Fortified dwellings, perhaps with moats, and almost always with armed guards, is the image that comes to mind from early dynasty Egypt to modern-day third-world countries. Before about 5,000 year ago, it was only the physically strong and very lucky who survived. Since then until relatively recently, in most places in the world, it's only the privileged few who could really live with some sense of personal safety.
We have been lucky for the most part to not have to think about suicide bombers from terrorist groups attacking our children. Of course there is violence in many communities, including right here in Bremerton. There are also school shootings by deranged individuals. But it seems in the battle of international terrorism, children's parks have been off limits. I don't believe large-scale attacks have occurred at highly visible and internationally known theme parks throughout the world. Even the 9/11 terrorists targeted office buildings, where virtually everyone was an adult, and children who died (as those on the airplanes) were essentially collateral damage.
However, as part of our ramped-up effort to address terrorism by aggressively rooting out terrorists, we need to understand who are our enemies and who are our friends.
In the aftermath of that attack in Lahore, two interesting and potentially helpful lessons come to mind from the news accounts. One concerns the reaction of citizens of Lahore after the bombing, and the other how our press seemed to initially cover the story.
To note and address these two lessons, I offer an attempt at a poem. (This also comes in the spirit of sharing local poetry, like those concerning outdoors activities offered by Seabury Blair Jr. in this paper last Tuesday.) As I have climbed the mountain a couple of times, I especially enjoyed the one Blair published about Mt. Ellinor. I also enjoyed the one about cursing out those who place rock cairns that don't mark a trail.
As with those who deliberately confuse with improper trail markings, we can often be led astray by those to whom we look for guidance.
Thus, my rhymes today must attempt to address a serious issue: how we in our community might overcome our fear for the safety of our young people in places we once thought safe zones.
My poem, which follows, borrows a bit from a fascinating article on the Lahore bombing in The New York Times last Wednesday by Sarah Eleager.
Targeting Christians but killing Muslims more
Was this terrible attack in Lahore
Thousands that night sought to donate blood to give
Muslims and Christians 'sharing their bodies,' the chance that all might live.
Sometimes lessons from far away are better than our cable channels' spin
They who tried once again to inflame our divisions to ratings win
One channel Christians being targeted did ignore
Another headlined only the Christian abhor
For us then, let's start by talking across the divide
And our common love revive.
We owe it to our kids and grandkids.
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By Rob Woutat
Eric Hoffer, a self-educated son of immigrants, wrote one of the most useful books for those of us who share the responsibility of perpetuating our democratic society.
Hoffer was a migrant worker, a gold prospector, and a longshoreman before becoming well known with the publication in 1951 of the first of his 13 books, "The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements." By the end of his life, this proletarian philosopher was awarded an honorary doctoral degree and was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Ronald Reagan.
"The True Believer" will first bring to mind the rise of National Socialism in Germany in the 1930s, but the principles he describes are as evident in the rise of ISIL and, to a lesser degree, campaigns for president.
Hoffer points out that mass movements are predictable when large numbers of people believe their lives are being threatened or have been ruined by circumstances they feel they can't control, and when a leader seems to identify the source of their problems, claims he can solve them, and identifies groups of people who he says are threats to them and their future well being.
(Every movement requires a devil, whether it's Jews, intellectuals, racial minorities, whites, infidels, foreigners, or the opposing political party. It doesn't make much difference so long as they're easily categorized and can be depicted as objects of fear or resentment and the real source of our problems.)
Whether religious, social or political, mass movements are very much the same, Hoffer notes, because they all depend on the dissatisfaction of a significant number of people and a leader who can ignite that discontent and urge followers to subsume their individuality into a mass with other malcontents. It's in this mass that they finally feel some power, and once they become true believers, they clutch their belief and fall in line with their leader.
The best candidates for mass movements are people who feel they've been left behind in the social or economic order, especially if they're newly poor, and those who've been treated as outsiders and denied what they believe is due them. They're the most susceptible to promises of a better life, whether in this world or some future world, but the more immediate the rewards, the more appealing they are and the more likely they are to attract fervent followers.
Saul of the Bible, for example, vigorously opposed Christianity until he saw Jesus in a vision, became Paul, the most fervent proponent of Christian beliefs.
The underclass in ancient Rome was lured by the Christian promise of heavenly happiness, as were later Christians by the opportunity to crusade against Islam and retake the Holy Land.
In recent time, the National Socialist movement in Germany in the 1930s is the most conspicuous example of the true believer in action. It's impossible to read Hoffer's book without seeing the movement illustrated in its most evil form, with angry throngs of the disenchanted marching, singing, inflicting violence on their opponents, fanatically following a leader who, after the humiliation of World War I, promised to make Germany great again.
In relinquishing their judgment to the mentality of the mob, they sacrificed themselves to a cause founded on exorbitant promises that couldn't possibly be fulfilled and that led ultimately to ruin.
The comfort followers find in mass movements is exemplified in all extremist groups the anti-Muslim groups, the anti-Semites, anti-immigrant groups, the black separatists, the neo Nazis, the white nationalists, the Klan each united by hate of a perceived enemy, a devil that gives the movement its essential glue.
Our current presidential campaign offers a milder view of true believers in action, people convinced that their opponents are at best harmful to the country or, at worst, deranged or even evil. They wear pins and hats, wave placards and banners, and lose themselves in rallies while chanting their leaders' names.
Mass movements can be either positive or negative. "There are," Hoffer says, "rare leaders such as Lincoln, Gandhi, even FDR, Churchill and Nehru. They do not hesitate to harness man's hungers and fears to weld a following and make it zealous unto death in service of a holy cause; but unlike a Hitler, Stalin, or even a Luther and a Calvin, they are not tempted to use the slime of frustrated souls as mortar in the building of a new world. They know that no one can be honorable unless he honors mankind."
Kari Alldredge
SHARE Amanda Busby Dawn Doucette John Farner Bruce Hairston
University of Tennessee admissions director Kari Alldredge has been named associate provost for enrollment management. She has been doing the job in an interim capacity since June 1, 2015, after her predecessor, Richard Bayer, retired.
Amanda M. Busby of the law firm of Anderson Busby PLLC of Knoxville has been elected to The Fellows of the American Bar Foundation in recognition of exemplary dedication to the legal profession, commitment to the work of the American Bar Foundation, and support for the ideals and objectives of the American Bar Association.
Dawn Doucette, CPA, of Coulter & Justus, P.C., has earned the designation of certified fraud examiner (CFE). Doucette is a senior manager in the audit department.
LHP Capital, LLC., has named John Farner as senior vice president of construction and design. Farner previously was senior project manager for Blaine Construction.
Physiatrist and pain management physician Dr. Bruce Hairston has joined Blount Memorial's active medical staff, and will see patients at East Tennessee Medical Group, located at 266 Joule St. in Alcoa. He recently worked at MedManagement Inc., in Franklin.
First Tennessee Bank received 16 national awards and six regional (South) awards for outstanding service from Greenwich and Associates as part of the group's 2015 Excellence in the Marketplace honors. First Tennessee also earned high grades from customers in the annual Phoenix-Hecht index for middle market banking.
Danielle Hemsley recently joined Johnson Architecture, Inc. as director of business development.
David H. Jeffries, a partner at Imbrey & Associates, has been added to the 2016 board of directors of the Financial Planning Association of East Tennessee. He is the director of membership.
Lindsey Kardatzke has joined the team at Threds Inc. as a sales representative. Emily Everett has been promoted to sales representative.
Dr. Nicole Kissane-Lee has joined UT Medical Center as a bariatric and general surgeon as well as an educator teaching surgical education and medical simulation.
The University of Tennessee Medical Center unveiled the John W. "Jack" Lacey Wall of Distinction that will stand as a tribute to the commitment and contribution of team members and physicians at the medical center. Dr. Lacey, the senior vice president and chief medical officer who retired from UTMC on March 31 after four decades of service, is the Wall of Distinction's first honoree.
Darin Matson was elected to the role of president and chief executive officer of Rogers Group, Inc. Matson replaces Gerard (Jerry) V. Geraghty, who retired, but will maintain a seat on the company's board.
Oak Ridge National Laboratories Federal Credit Union has announced that Alex Mendes of Corpus Christi, Texas, has been selected to fill the role of chief financial officer. Mendes assumed his role on February 8.
The University of Tennessee's Susan Riechert was honored with the 2016 Southeastern Conference Faculty Achievement Award. She is the distinguished service professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Honorees from each university receive a $5,000 honorarium and become their university's nominee for the SEC Professor of the Year award.
Orthopaedic trauma surgeon Dr. Kostas Triantafillou recently joined University Orthopaedic Surgeons located at The University of Tennessee Medical Center.
Stan Wullschleger, the Environmental Sciences Division chief scientist at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has received the 2016 Outstanding Alumnus Award from the Department of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences in the University of Arkansas' Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences.
The touring production of "The Book of Mormon" plays at the Tennessee Theatre April 5-10.
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By Amy McRary of the Knoxville News Sentinel
The Tennessee Theatre ends its 2015-16 run of Broadway at the Tennessee touring shows with the musical "The Book of Mormon."
The show created by animated television show "South Park" creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone with musical comedy "Avenue Q" creator Robert Lopez is a sometimes crude satire of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
"The Book of Mormon" opened on New York's Broadway in 2011 and won nine Tony Awards. It tells the story of two young Mormon missionaries sent to a remote Ugandan village, finding themselves in a culture where people are more concerned with violence, poverty and AIDS than the Mormon religion.
The Tennessee Theatre production is a touring show. Performances are 7:30 p.m. April 5-7, 8 p.m. April 8, 2 and 8 p.m. April 9 and 2 and 7:30 p.m. April 10. The historic theater is at 604 S. Gay St. Tickets range from $47 to $87. Some shows have only single tickets available.
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By David Mason, Special to the Commercial Appeal
Editor's note: Rhodes College professor David Mason, wrote about "The Book of Mormon" when the production came to Memphis in 2014.
There are three reasons I'm qualified to recommend whether or not you should see "The Book of Mormon." (Assuming you can afford it, which has been Broadway's problem since World War II.)
First, theater is my profession. I have a Ph.D. In theater research.
If you're inclined to say, "Pshaw, there is no such thing," do keep it to yourself. Rhodes College hasn't yet figured out that the guy chairing its Department of Theatre is a fraud.
Second, Mormonism's a part of my professional life. I've written books on Mormonism. From time to time, I teach classes on Mormonism at Rhodes College's Meeman Center.
Third, to quote the marketing campaign, I'm a Mormon. Not only that: a long time ago I was a teenage Mormon missionary. I'll just let that sink in for a moment.
My professional and personal advice is this: if you think that words like ****, **** and **** should not be uttered in polite society, do not go see this musical. You're gonna have a bad time.
If, on the other hand, you think you can bear a barrage of these and other words with even more letters and used in ever more distasteful ways, you should certainly see this show.
Professionally and personally, I regard this musical as not only the least-tiresome musical to appear on Broadway in the past 50 years, but as a message play.
Here's the message: Mormonism is absurd. This musical clubs you with the preposterous content of the Mormon worldview, and settles, finally, any doubt that might linger over how ridiculous Mormons are.
I'll spare the details rather than spoil the experience, but the story sets off with the arrival in Uganda of bright-eyed, earnest, and disgracefully naive Mormon missionaries, and then tumbles through all the disturbing implications of presuming that the worldview of other people is inadequate and of exporting to them a better one. This musical is an unforgiving indictment of the Mormon conceit that it is the solution for everything.
But consider carefully. This indictment extends to your religion, too. Once you start singing your beliefs, your religion sounds no less preposterous than the other guy's.
The worthwhile message of this production: religion is absurd. Yours, mine, everyone's.
Mormonism here is only part-for-the-whole. Mormonism is a religion, and absurdity is religion's job.
I expect plenty of you are sharpening your pencils so you'll have something pointy to stab me with. But those of us who are religious ought to be proud of our absurdity.
Our lives could be models of reason, logic, and common sense. We could engage with the world exclusively according to the physical evidence. We could be super-lame.
Of course religion doesn't make sense. If religion made sense, it would be science. Ideas that aspire to escape the contingencies of material existence must, necessarily, reach toward nonsensibility. Religion shows up when we set aside what the world, strictly, is (even if we acknowledge what it, strictly, is), and imagine what the world might be. And there are perfectly good reasons for exercising our imaginations this way.
Painters in Europe in the 1800s had to confront the march of the camera, which could show everyone what things really are. This claim about photography turned out to be a lie, but the Impressionists, nevertheless, gave up on naturalism as much better accomplished by technology. Instead of the real, photographed world, the painters offered us an illuminated world, a landscape of dynamic, vibrant, shimmering color. Nobody, least of all the Impressionists, confused the real world with the pointilated vision of high art. The Impressionist vision aspired to something more than real.
The great value of religion is the permission it offers to re-vision the world, ridiculously.
Religious lives, colored as they are by nonsense, fabrications, and contradiction, can be lovely, poetic creations, born of imagination rather than determined by the tyranny of facts. When religious life, like a Broadway musical, sings its absurdity with gusto, it can carry the world along and transform it into something incandescent, or, at least, bearable, as the characters in "The Book of Mormon" learn by the end of their play.
Which is not to deny the awful potential of religion. When it insists that everyone must treat its absurdity as the real world, as it so often does, religion makes a real nuisance of itself. But that's religion living in denial. "The Book of Mormon" musical reminds us that religion is supremely kooky, and this reminder is an important antidote to religion's (mine, yours, everyone's) inclination to forget that it's a painting rather than the world's exclusively literal reality.
If your ears are at all delicate, avoid this show. It will burn your ears right off. But this Mormon values the goofiness that is his chosen religion, and appreciates the reminder in this case, the relentless, brutal, and genuinely funny reminder that his religion is not the world, but, rather, a vision of it.
David Mason is the author of "Theatre and Religion on Krishna's Stage" and "My Mormonism: a primer for non-Mormons and Mormons, alike" and "Brigham Young: Sovereign in America."
A group talks about aquatic life at Ijams Nature Center in 2015. (PAUL EFIRD/NEWS SENTINEL)
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PROGRAMS AT IJAMS
Ijams Nature Center will be the site of a six-week strength and balance workshop beginning at 6 p.m. Monday, April 4. Join Erik Andelman with South Knox Healing Arts for a course featuring bodyweight workouts combining yoga, calisthenics, flexibility training and traditional exercise forms from around the world. Learn how to increase stability, build strength and prevent injury. Sessions held outside in nice weather and indoors for rain or cold. All ages and levels of fitness are welcome. Class meets once a week for six weeks. Info: South Knox Healing Arts: 865-686-6801
On Tuesday, April 5, at 10 a.m., kids under age 6 are invited to Ijams' Little Tykes Hike. Join an Ijams naturalist on the trails to peek under, over and into secret places. Look for fun things about spring like tadpoles, newts and spring wildflowers. This program is free, but pre-registration is required. Call 865-577-4717, ext. 110.
MARCO MADNESS
Area high school students are invited to travel back in time to explore the history and culture of the Middle Ages during the Marco Madness Medieval Faire from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 2.
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Marco Institute for Medieval and Renaissance Studies has teamed up with Bearden High School and the Tennessee Medieval Faire to host the event. It will be held at Bearden High School, 8352 Kingston Pike.
Admission is free and complimentary pizza will be served. Medieval food, drink and crafts will be available for purchase. There also will be door prizes. Parking is free but limited.
The fair aims to demonstrate how medieval culture and the humanities shed light on today's world.
"With the popularity of 'Game of Thrones,' 'Lord of the Rings', 'The Hobbit,' Vikings, pirates, Disney princesses and more, there is so much excitement about everything medieval," said Thomas E. Burman, director of the UT Marco Institute. "We wanted to provide a gathering where this interest could thrive."
Visitors are encouraged to come in family-friendly costumes, without masks or real weapons, and compete in costume and trivia contests for prizes.
UT professors and graduate students will lead discussions on "Game of Thrones" and Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit."
From 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m., visitors can learn how to be a street character and audition for the Tennessee Medieval Faire, which will be held in May in Harriman.
Info: http://marcomadnessknox.wix.com/2016
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Photos by SAUL YOUNG/NEWS SENTINEL Chris McKenry strikes a relaxed pose with the dining room in the background.
SHARE The entrance to Chris McKenry's home is ready for spring; the garage to the left was a "must have" for Chris. The living room mixes old and new; Chris's mother's sofa has been recovered in a red-and-cream checked fabric. The bowl and statue were given to Chris's Aunt Ruth as a wedding present in the 1930s. The little dog, Toby, is the only toy ever owned by Chris's great-grandfather, Dr. John Blair White. White's father, Major Frederick Tillman White, who fought with Andrew Jackson in the Battle of New Orleans, purchased it in Nashville and brought it home on horseback. Related Photos Photos: A look inside Chris McKenrys condo
By Gay Lyons of the Knoxville News Sentinel
You would expect the modern West Knoxville home of Chris McKenry, professional organizer and owner of Closets by McKenry, to be organized and have closets to die for. What you might not expect to find in the open floor-plan, 3,500-square-foot space are his great-grandfather's only toy, some strategically-placed ceramic chickens, and an unusual use of his mother's sable coat. But once you know Chris's story, it all makes sense.
McKenry Produce, started in 1897 by Chris's great-grandfather's uncle, remained in the family until it was sold to Homestead in 2003. Chris, who worked at the family business for a few years after graduating from Carson-Newman College as a business major, remembers the family's successful chicken processing business in its heyday.
"We sold to Kentucky Fried Chicken; we sold to white tablecloth restaurants like Regas. Colonel Sanders came to dinner in 1969, and my mother served him her fried chicken."
The small ceramic chickens tucked among the everyday china in Chris's glass-fronted kitchen cabinets are mementos of the family's business.
The oldest and most personal item in the home is a small black dog named Toby who sits under glass on top of a repurposed 1947 radio cabinet. The tiny figurine is the only toy ever owned by Chris's great-grandfather, Dr. John Blair White. It is unique enough that it was once on loan to Blount Mansion.
Some family pieces are used as originally intended. Chris's mother's bedroom suite inspired the decor in the guest bedroom that Chris calls the French Room. Some pieces of furniture have simply been reupholstered. The living room sofa, which belonged to Chris's mother, has been updated with a red-and-cream checked fabric accented with complementary patterned pillows.
Other items have been completely repurposed. That 1947 radio cabinet now provides handy, attractive storage. An old washstand has new life as a TV stand in the master bedroom. Chris is not certain his mother would entirely approve of the two decorative pillows on a settee in the living room they were created from her sable coat.
Not every old piece is a family piece. The painting behind the piano was commissioned in the 1930s to hang in a ballroom in an unknown private home in Knoxville. A painting of a distinguished looking colonial gentleman that hangs over the bed in the Red Room is not a McKenry forefather, but, says Chris, "It's kind of neat. I've always appreciated nice things."
Organization and design are his newer loves.
According to Chris, "When I went to California in 2000, I discovered the 'wonderful world of organizing.' I'd always been pretty organized. But I saw [professional organizer] Julie Morganstern on 'Oprah,' and I thought, 'Gosh, people are getting paid money to do this.'"
He says he discovered the joy of "getting paid to do something you know how to do."
"I love helping people. I love the excitement people have at learning how to be organized. When I left Los Angeles, I had just started doing some closet design."
Chris left California after 14 years as a professional organizer and budding closet designer in order to return to Knoxville and help care for his mother. After she passed away, he decided to stay in his hometown and began the search for a home that he could decorate to suit his taste, which he describes as "a good marriage between 21st century living and traditional style," and that would suit his business needs.
"I looked at a lot of places," says Chris. "I wanted a garage. I knew I was going to operate my business out of it. And this seemed like a good location. I don't need a showroom. Clients want you to come to them. When they're ready to see the proposal, they can see 3-D designs and [come here to] see how my things look in a home."
Like any good organizer, Chris advocates reducing clutter, but he says "I don't think you have to live minimally. You should have as much as you have room for, but you should be able to find something when you need it, and you shouldn't have to fall over things to get to it."
See also:
Cliff and Jacque Hawks combine two units at the Elliot to create roomy condo
Photos: A look inside couple's downtown Knoxville condo
Westmoreland home serves as gallery for McKelveys extensive art collection
Photos: Tour one of the original houses built in the Westmoreland neighborhood
Move to Sequoyah Hills home means fewer steps and space for expanding family for Barry and Annette Winston
Photos: A tour of the Winstons' Sequoyah Hills home
Judith Foltz aims for pretty and traditional with holiday decor for the city and her own home
Retirement home on Norris Lake provides owner the opportunity to crank up the color
Photos: The Stewart Lake House
New York artist John Woodrow Kelley cherishes Knoxville roots and family home
Dr. Philip Kronk is a semiretired Knoxville psychologist.
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Public health officials tell us that an opioid drug abuse epidemic is sweeping our nation.
But it won't be the first time.
The United States has a long history of embracing opioids for public use and then criminalizing and stigmatizing the person using those opioids.
Once again, we are in the part of the cycle that punishes the person who has become dependent on opioids. This only delays the development and implementation of effective treatment strategies.
The public has been made to believe that the opioid user today is weak, looking for an "easy fix" to solve life's problems. They don't want to work and just need more exercise and will power.
The opioid dependent individual is considered to be morally weak. The answer is to abstain from using opioids. We see the same moral argument in someone who tells adolescents to simply abstain from sex and not use condoms. Prosecuting mothers of babies born addicted is another punitive 'moral' stance that appears to do more harm than good in that it results in mothers avoiding prenatal care or choosing to have an abortion.
The government's Center for Substance Abuse Treatment has shared our long love-hate history of opioid use in a number of publications. I will share some of these findings in today's column.
In our history's past, opium, morphine and heroin were unregulated but provided by physicians and pharmacists. Some of these products were added to the beverages that we drank or were found in the 'miracle' elixirs that guaranteed mental and physical strength or in the potions that reduced anxiety.
Opioids were used to treat the pain of our soldiers fighting on both sides of our Civil War. Soon, our veterans would have an addiction problem.
As California developed, newly arrived Chinese immigrants smoked and sold opium. Soon, criminals became part of opioid distribution to the larger society and legal measures were used against users.
However, by the late 19th century, the cycle changed directions again; Opioid use now involved middle-class and upper-class white women. It became decriminalized by its valid prescription by health professionals, who were now 'treating' the feminine problems.
It was estimated that there were 300,000 opioid addicted individuals in 1900. Medical products would add more, as heroin was introduced as a cough syrup in 1898. Opioid use had become medicalized once again and was now again acceptable.
This public attitude would change again with the arrival of great numbers of European immigrants in the early 20th century. These immigrants were hated and feared by many and their use of drugs was seen as part of their disgusting habits and lifestyles. Soon, the legal authorities would clamp down on opioid use.
A similar scenario was seen at the end of the Second World War, when opioid use spread to the Hispanic and African-American communities. Here were more groups of outsiders who would be seen as deviant and disdained, inspiring more stigmatization, criminalization and excuses for discrimination.
In the 1960s, heroin use spread to middle-class white youth. (This is happening again today, as heroin is cheaper to buy than prescription opioids.) In both instances, many saw a public health crisis that called for treatment and rehabilitation, rather than punishment.
We would be frightened once more when after the Vietnam War, some estimated that 25 percent of our armed forces "used or became addicted to heroin." Many would share my memories that our Vietnam War veterans were not appreciated enough or given the respectful addiction rehabilitation that was needed.
By the 1980s half a million Americans had used illegal opioids. By the end of 1990, this number had almost doubled!
Today, opioid use is now once again prescription-based as health professions have medicated large portions of the population for pain relief. The CDC recently released prescription opioid guidelines for patients in chronic pain. There is great concern about deaths from prescription opioid overdoses.
Our nation is once again at a crossroads. Will we offer treatment and rehabilitation or will we offer criminalization and stigmatization? Will we once again enter the love-hate cycle of opioid use?
Hopefully, we will offer the first two options. Why? Because, once again, the identity of the opioid user has changed.
A prestigious November 2015 Princeton University study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences revealed that between 1999 and 2013 a quiet epidemic of increased death rates has killed half a million. middle-aged white Americans. The loss of life is comparable to the number of Americans who died from AIDS during that period of time.
The increased death rate was related to drugs and alcohol, suicide, chronic liver disease and cirrhosis. It had increased 22 percent in the last 15 years for those with a high school diploma or less.
That report cited that an important reason for this death-rate for middle-aged adults is the "increased availability of opioids" starting in the late 1990s.
Will we, as a nation, once again criminalize and punish this present generation of baby boomers and this current generation of our nation's promising youth? Or will we understand that this is a medical problem, a public health issue, a problem with the brain's dopamine system malfunctioning and a result of drug companies offering new ways to solve problems with pain?
Will our "moral compass" instead point to comprehensive public health, mental health, community-funded and faith-based efforts to help all those in pain and need?
Will we save this coming generation? Or once again will we enter into our opioid love-hate cycle?
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Philip Kronk, Ph.D. is a child and adult Clinical Psychologist and a child and adult Clinical Neuropsychologist with a post doctoral degree in Clinical Psychopharmacology (the use of drugs to treat those with a mental disorder.) Dr. Kronk served his yearlong internship in Clinical Psychology at the University of Colorado Medical School. He writes a weekly online column for the Knoxville News Sentinel's website, knoxnews.com. Dr. Kronk can be reached at (865) 330-3633.
Krisha Fairchild in a scene from "Krisha."
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By Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service
Convening family and friends in a Texas home for a nine-day shoot on a shoestring budget, writer, director and co-star Trey Edward Shults creates a feel-bad Thanksgiving classic with the darkly compelling "Krisha." The film picked up the John Cassavetes award at the 2016 Independent Spirit Awards, which is bestowed upon the best films made for under $500,000. "Krisha" truly exemplifies the notion of the independent spirit, made with a close group of loved ones to tell the harrowing story of a holiday from hell.
Shults cast a mix of working actors, non-professional performers and family members, including his mother and grandmother, to fill out the large family at the center of the story. His own aunt Krisha Fairchild, an actress, takes on the title role, and is absolutely stunning in her performance of a woman on the edge, only recently welcomed back into her family after years spent battling substance abuse. She has returned to the fold on this Thanksgiving holiday, hoping to repair the rifts in her relationships, particularly with her estranged son Trey (Shults).
Shults captures a lively sense of chaos familiar to a family holiday that feels authentically lived in. He resourcefully puts his camera and soundtrack to work in evoking Krisha's inner tumult the camera whirls and Brian McOmber's film score skitters atonally as she tries to maintain her composure overwhelmed with the pressures of the reunion. The percussive score blends with a constant hum of background conversation, and the layered pattern of disjointed sound gives the film a sense of real anxiety. It's when the soundtrack changes, significantly, to a Nina Simone song, that we know something's drastically amiss.
The camera pushes in or pulls out from Krisha as she takes a moment to have a smoke, often from a window perch, aloft and away from the family tumble, behind doors and layers of glass, isolated with her own feelings, behind the walls of 10 years that have yet to come down. We are granted voyeuristic access to some of the stolen secret moments among the family; whispered disagreements and conversations away from the fracas, before it dramatically explodes.
The closest reference to "Krisha" is Thomas Vinterberg's 1998 Dogme 95 classic "The Celebration." The naturalistic shooting techniques employed by Schults seem inspired by the rules of the Dogme 95 manifesto, and both films feature large family gatherings that descend into nuclear level meltdowns. While these stories of searing emotional trauma derived from years of inter-family resentment are tough to watch, they are undoubtedly compelling, and starkly relatable.
"Krisha" is an incredible achievement, both for its performances Krisha Fairchild is incredible and worth the price of admission alone, but Shults also elicits fine work from his family, including his mother, Robyn Fairchild and its DIY aesthetic that pushes the boundaries and possibilities of cinema. It's a film that proves less can often provide opportunities for so much more.
SHARE PHOTOS BY SAUL YOUNG/GO KNOXVILLE The trail head to the Pogue Overlook Loop in the Pogue Creek Canyon State Natural Area is located on a gravel parking area right off off State Route 154. PHOTOS BY SAUL YOUNG/GO KNOXVILLE The overlook at the upper end of Pogue Creek Canyon is a 1.75-mile hike along the Pogue Creek Canyon Trail. Buffalo Arch is just over the border in Kentucky in the Daniel Boone National Forest and is a 0.7 mile hike from gated road number 634. PHOTOS BY SAUL YOUNG/GO KNOXVILLE The Pogue Overlook Loop trail winds its way along the Turkey Roost Rockhouse.
By Morgan Simmons of the Knoxville News Sentinel
Twelve miles northeast of Jamestown, Tenn., is a stretch of State Route 154 that joins a series of roadside hiking trails like a string of pearls.
Driving north, the first stop along this seven-mile ribbon of highway is Pogue Creek Canyon State Natural Area. Then comes Buffalo Arch, in the Daniel Boone National Forest, followed by Fiddler's Rock, also in the Daniel Boone National Forest just north of the Tennessee-Kentucky line.
Individually, each hike is perhaps too short to justify the two-hour drive from Knoxville. Bundled together, they make for an outstanding all-day road trip, even a weekend excursion.
Starting with the Pogue Creek Canyon State Natural Area look for the trailhead and gravel parking area on your left as you drive north on Highway 154 one mile past the junction with State Route 297 (the road that crosses the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area). The Pogue Creek Canyon Trail is 1.75 long, and leads to a dramatic overlook at the upper end of Pogue Creek Canyon.
Located in Fentress County just two miles south of Pickett State Park and State Forest, the Pogue Creek Canyon State Natural Area protects some of the most scenic gorges and rock formations on the Cumberland Plateau. The natural area covers 3,000 acres. Like its neighbor Pickett State Park, Pogue Creek is a certified "Dark Skies" viewing destination based on its lack of artificial light pollution and bright, starry night skies.
From the Pogue Creek Canyon trailhead along State Route 154, the trail enters the forest and soon passes the Turkey Roost Rockhouse. The loop portion of the trail that leads to the overlook comes next. Box huckleberry (a relative of blueberry) covers the ground, and mountain laurel is abundant. A half-mile around the loop, you'll see where volunteers are constructing a new trail section that descends into the canyon. Past this, you'll come to a boardwalk that leads to the overlook.
Standing at the edge of the cliff overlooking the headwater of Pogue Creek, the canyon is about 400 feet deep and rimmed with massive sandstone cliffs. Rising from the bottom of the gorge is a free-standing rock mesa, the kind of formation you'd expect to find in the canyon country of Utah. From the overlook, simply double back to the loop and continue on another half-mile or so to the trailhead parking lot.
The next stop is Buffalo Arch. From Pogue Creek, head north for five miles on State Route 154 past Pickett State Park to the Tennessee-Kentucky border, where State Route 154 turns into State Route 167. After crossing the state line, go 0.3 miles and take a right on a gravel road at the sign that says "Bell Farm/Great Meadows," followed by a sign for the Daniel Boone National Forest. Go 0.8 miles and turn right on Forest Service Road 6305. Pull in and park. The trail starts at the gated road, number 634. From here, it's 0.7 miles to Buffalo Arch.
Just beyond the gate, bear right at the fork and follow the logging road/trail as it descends gradually into the woods. After another 0.3 miles the trail splits. Bear right (the Parker Mountain Trail goes left), and in 0.4 miles you'll reach Buffalo Arch, a forest treasure tucked among the rhododendron.
Buffalo Arch splits off from the main sandstone ridge and curves gracefully to the ground. Beneath the arch is a deep layer of sand that's as fine and dry as sifted flour. Like all natural arches on the Cumberland Plateau, Buffalo Arch was shaped by the timeless cycle of freezing and thawing. At 81 feet in length and a 18 feet high, it's not the biggest natural arch in the Big South Fork region, but certainly one of the pretties and most interesting.
To reach Fiddler's Rock, the final destination, simply turn right onto the main gravel road that brought you in from State Route 167 and pull off to the right at the first dip in the road less than one-quarter mile from the Buffalo Arch trailhead. Look carefully and you'll see a faint trail that enters the woods. Follow it, and in less than a stone's throw, you'll come to Fiddler's Rock a flat outcropping of sandstone that barely rises above the ground.
An old pioneer road ran between Fiddler's Rock and the modern gravel road. According to local lore, this is where members of the surrounding communities would gather for dances. The road itself served as the dance floor, and the fiddler would stand on the rock, facing the assembled merrymakers. Various names are etched in the rock, as well as a nearly full-size outline of a man wearing cowboy boots.
And yes, someone carved a fiddle. Appropriately, it's the most detailed engraving on Fiddler's Rock.
Directions: From Knoxville, take I-75 north to the Oneida/Huntsville and follow State Route 63 and 27 to Oneida. In Oneida, take a left on State Route 297 go all the way through the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area. West of the park, turn right onto State Route 154 and go one mile to reach the Pogue Creek Canyon State Natural Area on the left, the first stop on itinerary.
University of Tennessee graduate Maria Murphy submitted a video for the E! Style Contributor Contest explaining why she should be a part of the competition.
SHARE University of Tennessee graduate Maria Murphy is competing in an E! Style contributor contest.
By Maggie Jones of the Knoxville News Sentinel
A University of Tennessee, Knoxville grad is competing for a chance to fulfill every fashion lover's dream: to attend and cover New York's Fashion Week in September.
Maria Murphy, who lives in Chattanooga and commutes to her job at Scripps Networks Interactive in Knoxville, is a finalist for the E! Style Contributor Contest that's sponsored by TRESemme. The winner will get to attend Fashion Week and cover it for E! News.
To enter the competition, Murphy had to submit a YouTube video explaining why she would be a worthy contestant.
Murphy, who works as a broadcast designer, stylist and art director for Scripps and is the voice behind lifestyle and fashion blog TastySouthernChic.com, said she would be a good fit because she was invited to New York's Fashion Week in February, loves fashion and has respect for the designers.
"Coming from a creative background, I completely understand how daunting a blank page can be," said Murphy in her submission video. "And to know that's essentially what these designers start with is unbelievable to me. Anyone can go to New York Fashion Week and talk about what they like and don't like, but I offer the unique perspective of understanding the creative process."
Murphy has advanced to the second round of the competition and is one of 15 finalists who needs votes to get to the third round, where only eight contestants will advance.
To vote for Murphy, go to http://www.eonline.com/news/e_style_contributor_contest. Voting ends Monday, April 4.
In addition to getting votes, Murphy and the other finalists had to make another video showcasing their style, and the contest judges will select the third-round finalists based originality, creativity, camera presence and knowledge in their videos, according to a post on E! Online's website. In the fourth round, the eight finalists will be cut to four, and then a winner will be declared.
To watch Murphy's submission video, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-rnnxw9KjE.
For more information on the E! Style Contributor Contest, go to http://www.eonline.com/news/741203/e-style-contributor-contest-official-rules.
SHARE Dennis Smith, 53, charged with kidnapping his ex-wife, Tamra Beam, 51, at 7205 Sheffield Drive in West Hills where she worked as a housekeeper. Beam was found safe early Thursday, May 8, 2014, at an Interstate 40 rest area in Marion, N.C., and Smith was taken into custody at the same location. (Knox County Sheriff's Office)
By News Sentinel Staff
KNOXVILLE A Knoxville man was sentenced Thursday to 235 months in federal prison for kidnapping his ex-wife at gunpoint.
Dennis Richard Smith, 55, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Pamela L. Reeves.
Smith's ex-wife, Tamra Beam, was working as a housekeeper at a home on Sheffield Drive on May 7, 2014, when Smith broke out a window, put an airsoft pistol to her head and forced Beam into a car he had borrowed from his brother's girlfriend a week before.
Beam did not realize the weapon was an airsoft pistol until she was rescued, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Beam's employer alerted police when she returned home to find the broken window and blood inside the house.
Smith had previously stalked and harassed Beam, who had an order of protection against him.
He held Beam hostage for hours and fled with her to North Carolina, telling her family by phone that if anyone tried to stop him they would never see hear again, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Late on May 7, law enforcement located Smith's car at a rest area on Interstate 40 in North Carolina. They surrounded the vehicle and arrested Smith.
He pleaded guilty in July 2014.
Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch, in ball cap behind bell, and others crowd around the bronze bell engraved with the name of the U.S.S Oak Ridge, the dry dock vessel used in the Cold War for top-secret repairs to nuclear subs. (BOB FOWLER/NEWS SENTINEL)
SHARE Navy veterans who served on the U.S.S. Oak Ridge and Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch, in front at right, gather around the engraved bronze bell commemorating the colorful history of the vessel. (BOB FOWLER/NEWS SENTINEL)
By Bob Fowler of the Knoxville News Sentinel
OAK RIDGE It's a shiny brass bell that commemorates a Navy vessel with a long and colorful history, and it was given on Friday to the city that's the ship's namesake.
The bell is engraved in tribute to the U.S.S. Oak Ridge, a huge dry dock ship under a different name then that saw action and was heavily damaged by Japanese fighter plane attacks in the Pacific Theater in World War II.
Renamed in the early 1960s after the formerly secret city, the U.S.S. Oak Ridge fittingly served secret missions. Towed out to sea from its base in Rota, Spain, the ship would rendezvous with nuclear submarines.
There, seawater would pour into ballasts, lowering the ship so a sub could be pulled by hand by crewmen through an opening in the stern. The ballasts would be drained, the ship raised, and the sub placed on huge oaken blocks for maintenance and repairs.
"Everything was top secret," recalled California resident Mike Kacmarcik, in town for the third annual reunion of Navy veterans who were members of the U.S.S. Oak Ridge crew. "We were in the midst of the Cold War."
The veterans, about 20 in attendance, decided to hold the latest reunion in Oak Ridge because of the ship's name. Those crewmen were all in their late teens when they served on the U.S.S. Oak Ridge, Kacmarcik recalled.
"A lot of us say we became men over those two years," he said.
The bronze bell isn't from the original vessel that was "lifted" years ago after the vessel had been decommissioned, said Jack Ring, a vet attending the reunion.
He said he found the bell about 20 years ago in a Florida scrap yard, paying $40 for it and a ship's porthole.
"It was awful-looking," Ring said. "I scrubbed on this thing for at least two months."
The idea to engrave the bell, mount it and give it to Oak Ridge emerged recently as plans for the latest reunion jelled.
No one in Oak Ridge seemed to know the history of the U.S.S. Oak Ridge, said Robert Lee Rawls, the son of the vessel's executive officer, Robert S. Rawls. That was the driving force behind the decision to give it to the city, he said.
Today, the U.S.S. Oak Ridge has been given a third life as a U.S. Coast Guard vessel performing the same functions for Coast Guard cutters.
Friday's donation caught city officials by surprise. He learned about the presentation late Thursday, Mayor Warren Gooch said.
The bell will be prominently displayed, he said, but just where remains to be decided.
Rihab Sawah discusses the stark differences between Islam and ISIS during a lecture Thursday afternoon before a capacity crowd at Roane State Community College. (BOB FOWLER/NEWS SENTINEL)
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By Bob Fowler of the Knoxville News Sentinel
OAK RIDGE There's a profound difference between the teachings of Islam, a peaceful religion that emphasizes harmony, and the militant terrorist group ISIS, also known as ISIL or Daesh.
That was the message brought home to a capacity crowd of about 140 people Thursday during a lecture by Syrian native and college professor Rihab Sawah.
The event, presented by Roane State Community College's International Education Department and Oak Ridge Institute for Continued Learning, was so popular that Sawah conducted a second, originally unplanned presentation.
Sawah gave an overview of the tenets of Islam and its origin in the 7th century by the Prophet Muhammad as the religion of Muslims, or those who have "submitted to God."
She contrasted it to the savagery and butchery of ISIS, or the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, which has declared a caliphate in northeastern Syria and northwestern Iraq.
ISIS has taken readings from the Quran, the central religious text of Islam, out of context to fit its goals, she said.
Even the declaration by ISIS that it has established a caliphate is forbidden under Muslim Shariah law that decrees that all Muslims must declare such a state, she said.
Other profound differences between the religion and the terrorist group, she said, include:
Armed insurrection is forbidden is Islam's Shariah for any reason other than "clear disbelief" in Islam by the ruler, while ISIS fuels uprisings to overturn governments.
The basic meaning of jihad in Islam is an "internal struggle against the ego's inclination," but if there is a jihad involving an outside force, it is only in self-defense, and women and children aren't to be harmed. ISIS uses the term for taking up arms and gaining territory, she said, and ISIS members have slaughtered women and children.
Islam decrees it's forbidden to harm or mistreat Christians, and Mary, the mother of Jesus, is regarded as the religion's "most holy woman," she said, while ISIS members routinely kill Christians.
Punishment under Islamic law is meted out under prescribed procedures, while ISIS members are "killing people because they didn't pray the 'right way,' " Sawah said.
The quality of mercy, she said, is an essential attribute of Islam.
Sawah said ISIS had been around for years in Iraq and was once affiliated with the terrorist group al-Qaida.
ISIS declined between 2006 and 2011 and then mushroomed in 2011 in the chaos that surrounded the unrest in neighboring Syria.
The organization has used elaborate videos to recruit disaffected young people in Europe, particularly residents of Belgium.
"They (ISIS) speak the dialect and languages of the communities they're targeting," Sawah said.
Even the leader of ISIS has adopted a name Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi that's perceived as a term of endearment and harking back to the "golden era" of Muslims during the Middle Ages, she said. With the leader taking that name, ISIS "is trying to sneak its way into the psyche of young kids," she said.
Sawah described recent comments about Muslims by Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz as "overgeneralizations that don't really serve a purpose other than news bytes on the evening news."
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Big Ears: The 2016 Big Ears festival kicked off Thursday at the Square Room on Market Square. It has become one of the most prestigious music events in the United States, bringing together cutting-edge modern classical, jazz, avant-garde and a wide variety of critically acclaimed artists. Now in its fifth year, the festival has been praised widely by national and international publications, including Rolling Stone, which called it "arguably the classiest, most diverse festival in the country."
Big Ears concludes on Sunday with a performance of John Luther Adams' work "Inuksuit" at Mead's Quarry at Ijams Nature Center. That final event is free to the public.
Digital archives: Readers, students and researchers soon will be able to access nearly 70 years of searchable archived issues of the Knoxville News Sentinel. The Knox County Public Library Foundation announced Thursday that it has completed a $650,000 fundraising campaign for the project thanks to a newly-formed partnership with the University of Tennessee.
In all, more than 430 people, corporations and grantors contributed to the campaign, chaired by semiretired News Sentinel columnist Sam Venable.
Sacrifices recognized: William "Bill" Robinson, 73, recognized as the longest-held enlisted prisoner of war in American history after more than seven years of captivity in Vietnam, 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. 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.
Hardee's closes: South Knoxville may be gaining road improvements to Alcoa Highway, but it has lost a popular restaurant in the process. The Hardee's restaurant at 2930 Alcoa Highway, which was the only fast-food establishment for several miles on the highway, closed last week over road plans that would prohibit left turns into the lot and take several of its parking spaces, said Bob Monday of Monday Properties, owner of the property.
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A recent letter writer complained that our public schools are failing our children and claimed we deserved much better results for our tax dollars. It is certainly true that too many high school graduates are utterly unprepared for college, but the blame lies primarily with us parents.
Recall Jesus' parable of the sower that tells us only seeds that fall on fertile ground yield a good harvest. I hope this will not be viewed as sacrilegious, but I was struck by the lessons that can be drawn from a slightly modified version of this parable in which teachers are the sowers, children are the seeds, and parents prepare the soil. Most teachers are more than competent and work their tails off (I am not a teacher and can say this without prejudice). Nearly every child is capable of leaving high school prepared for college. The problem is not with the sowers or the seed. It is with the soil. The soil will be infertile if we don't instill a love of education and a respect for teachers in our children. It will be infertile if we expend countless time and treasure on sporting activities but little or none on academic pursuits. It will be infertile if we abandon our children to electronic baby sitters rather than make sure they are not falling behind and failing to grasp important concepts.
Without the fertile soil of a nourishing home environment our children will likely bear no fruit. They will leave high school unprepared for college and unprepared for life. But if we do our job as parents they will indeed "bear fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold."
Vince Cianciolo, Knoxville
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We have tried to support all 280,000 Tennesseans who are shut off from health care, but hope is just a word now. We have tried to change hearts and minds to convince members of the Legislature to do their jobs and vote to approve Insure Tennessee. Our courageous activists have tried to shame them as we all know desperately ill citizens, people who lost their TennCare coverage, were denied cancer treatments, removed from lists for heart transplants, or veterans who can't afford the long drive to a VA hospital. We have held rallies, marched on rural highways and held sit-ins in the Capitol building. We have told their stories, but nothing has worked, not even paying for billboards aimed at House Speaker Beth Harwell. She should do her job and help our low-income citizens.
In 2010, this Legislature took a vow to never accept the Affordable Care Act money that was set aside for our state, no matter what. At least six rural hospitals have closed since then, the latest in McNairy County. I wonder which naysayer represents those low-income workers who could not afford health insurance.
The bottom line is our Legislature is filled with cowardly and greedy do-nothings who seem to be proud to be responsible for deaths and hospital closings. Some just may wake up soon to realize they have lost their jobs to some very qualified, intelligent Tennesseans who do care and who will work for our most vulnerable families.
Mary L. Wilson, Knoxville
By Lee Hyo-sik
Lee Hae-wook, Daelim Industrial
vice chairman Dong Hyun-soo,
Doosan Corp. CEO
Daelim and Doosan have been targets of intense public criticism lately for their ill treatment of workers, causing the government to launch a probe into the labor practices of some of Korea's largest companies.
Salary workers have expressed a great deal of anger toward companies and their owners, calling for prosecution of business tycoons found to have abused their employees.
A 36-year-old office worker in Seoul, who declined to be named, said the government should make an example out of Daelim Industrial Vice Chairman Lee Hae-wook who physically and verbally abused his personal drivers for years.
"Lee should be put behind bars because I don't think he is really sorry for what he did," he said. "He should have visited the abused drivers first and apologized to them. But instead, he chose to issue an apology at the builder's recent annual shareholders meeting. This shows he is only sorry for being caught."
Another office employee in his late 30s said those who forced a worker to face the wall all day at Doosan Mottrol, a hydraulic linkage maker of Doosan Group, should be punished in accordance with the law.
"How could Doosan do such a thing to one of its workers? It is so cruel and insulting," he said. "As far as I know, the CEO issued an apology. But this is not enough. The government should get to the bottom of the case and punish those responsible."
Investigators from the Ministry of Employment and Labor are looking to confirm the allegations that the eldest son of Daelim Honorary Chairman Lee Joon-young abused his drivers for years.
According to one driver, Lee demanded that drivers stop using rear-view mirrors while driving, and that they drive at fast speeds. If they did not do so, Lee cursed or hit them on their heads.
If the allegations are found to be valid, Lee will face legal action even without the victims filing complaints according to the Labor Standards Act. He could face up to five years in jail or a fine of up to 30 million won.
Daelim officials say that the vice chairman truly regrets the way he treated the drivers. "He is trying to meet the drivers and apologize to them in person," one company official said. "Such an unfortunate incident will never happen again."
In addition, the investigators are looking into Doosan's alleged inhumane treatment of a worker who refused to voluntarily retire. If company officials are found to have broken the law, the labor ministry plans to refer the case to the prosecution.
Officials at Doosan Corp. said the company is still trying to find out exactly what happened.
"The government probe into the case is still ongoing. Our review is not completed either," a Doosan Corp. official said. "We will let people know what really happened when the two inquiries wrap up."
Growth needed for domestic securities firm
By Nam Hyun-woo
After KB Financial Group won its bid to buy a controlling stake in Hyundai Securities, the group's stocks are the talk of the town among investors, with analysts making buy opinions, Friday.
The group a day earlier offered more than 1 trillion won to become the preferred bidder for a 22.56 percent stake of the securities firm. The stake is owned by Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM), a Hyundai Group's shipping unit, which is selling the stake to pay part of its 4.3 trillion won debts.
After the mega acquisition, KB Financial Group's stock price rose 0.94 percent to end at 32,150 won after 1.88 million shares were traded.
The bidding price has been in hot debate throughout Friday, given the amount is more than threefold of the market value of the stake. However, analysts suggested a favorable outcome will likely outweigh the expense, adding KB Financial is capable of handling the amount.
"Given KB Financial Group's net profit this year is anticipated to reach 1.6 trillion won, the amount will not be a big burden for them and will positively affect KB Financial's fundamentals," Samsung Securities analyst Kim Jae-woo said. "Since KB Financial won the bid of a 22.56 percent-stake of Hyundai Securities, the average purchasing price can be lowered depending on how cheap it can acquire the rest."
Kim also said that KB Financial can acquire Hyundai Securities completely, the capital of which is worth 3.2 trillion won, with some 2 trillion won, so the acquisition should be seen as favorable to the financial group.
Shinhan Investment also suggested a buy opinion, while taking a prudent approach.
"The key point is whether KB Financial bet too much for Hyundai Securities," Shinhan analyst Kim Soo-hyun said. "Should KB Financial has a bid of 1.05 trillion won, it seems that is a huge premium. However, Hyundai Securities owns 7.06 percent of its own stake and KB Financial can purchase the remaining portion at lower than book prices through various M&A tactics."
As KB Financial won the bid, big securities companies up for grabs for several months have found their new owners. However, there are views that there is a long way to go for domestic companies to compete on the global market, given they still lag behind their American or Japanese rivals in terms of size.
Weeks earlier, Mirae Asset virtually acquired KDB Daewoo Securities and became the largest player in Korea with net worth of 7.75 trillion won. NH Investment and Securities became No. 2 after merging with Woori Investment and Securities with 4.53 trillion won net worth, and KB Investment and Securities, which is expected to merge with Hyundai Securities in the near future, will become No. 3 with some 3.9 trillion won.
However, industry insiders say they are too small to compete with global heavyweights such as Goldman Sachs, whose net worth reportedly reaches to 91 trillion won.
"A securities firm seeks to increase its net worth in order to compete as a global player with net worth reaching some 10 trillion won. Mirae Asset has sought that and KB Financial also sees this acquisition as a stepping stone to create an opportunity to make an entrance to the global market," an industry insider said.
By Yoon Ja-young
The country's exports continued to drop in March, falling for 15 consecutive months. The government, however, expects indices may improve in the near future with the recovery of oil prices.
According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the country's total exports in March recorded $43 billion, which is 8.2 percent less from a year ago.
Exports have been sliding since January last year, marking the longest decrease ever. It dipped 14.3 percent in December, 18.9 percent in January and 12.2 percent in February.
The ministry attributed the sluggish exports to low global oil prices, falling export prices and sluggish global economy.
The dip was especially notable in oil products and ships. Exports of oil products plunged 41.6 percent on low global oil prices, while exports of ships dipped 28.9 percent.
Exports of automobiles also decreased 5.7 percent due to slowdown in China, while semiconductor exports fell 1.5 percent.
Outbound shipment of mobile devices, meanwhile, increased 19.9 percent thanks to new smartphones like Galaxy S7 and G5.
The country sustained $9.8 billion trade surplus as imports stood at $33.2 billion, falling 13.8 percent from a year ago.
"Exports will likely continue decreasing on low oil prices as over half of Korea's export items are affected by oil prices," said Cheong Seung-il, heading office of international trade and investment at the ministry.
"The recovery of oil prices is crucial for exports to rebound," he added.
Market analysts expect oil prices may rebound as some oil producing countries agreed to freeze the amount of the oil they produce. According to Korea National Oil Corporation, prices of Dubai crude recovered to $35.05 per barrel from $31.65 on February 1. The ministry expects that the rebound in crude oil prices will be reflected in oil products and petrochemicals soon.
The continuous decline of exports and the larger decline in imports, meanwhile, is leading to the current account surplus.
According to the Bank of Korea, the country's current account recorded $7.5 billion in February, having a surplus for 48 months.
Ju won, an economist at Hyundai Research Institute, said that the recent decline in exports is especially due to falling export prices. He said it would be difficult for exports to immediately rebound as the prices of nine out of the country's 13 main export items are dropping.
He said the government should take aggressive measures to boost exports as well as stabilizing the economy so that declining exports wouldn't negatively affect domestic consumption as well.
"What is crucial for the government for now is to take short-term and flexible measures to overcome the lack of demand overseas, instead of focusing on structural problems such as a poor competitive edge."
He added that it is impossible to pull up exports without the Chinese market. He advised actively using the free trade agreement (FTA) between Korea and China as well as focusing on advancing into high-growth regions within the country.
"As China is a big open economy, its demand for imported goods is still huge despite small setbacks in their economic growth. Increasing government-to-government transactions through diplomacy and increasing Korean firms' participation in the public sector market in China can boost the economies of both country's," he said.
By Kim Hyo-jin
Heading into the April 13 general election, rival parties are struggling to garner support from their respective political strongholds, according to recent public polls.
The ruling Saenuri Party's candidates are facing tough challenges from independent rivals in North and South Gyeongsang Provinces, Daegu and Busan, where it nearly swept the constituencies in the 2012 election, winning 63 of the combined 67 parliamentary seats.
Things are not much different for the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea (MPK) a long-time dominant presence in North and South Jeolla Provinces and Gwangju which is now in danger of losing its hegemony to the minor opposition People's Party.
Originally, the ruling party set its sights on winning 63 to 64 out of 65 seats up for grabs on its home turf but the polls show its candidates are struggling in 16 districts.
In Daegu, President Park Geun-hye's political stronghold, independent candidates, most of whom quit the ruling party in protest at the party's nominations, are leading the races.
Rep. Joo Ho-young, a former minister under the Lee Myung-bak government who quit after denouncing the nominations as "political revenge" by loyalists to Park Geun-hye, is leading Saenuri candidate Lee In-sun by nearly double the percentage points, holding 40 percent to 22.9 percent, according to a March 28 poll by the Chosun Ilbo.
Rep. Yoo Sung-kull, another Saenuri lawmaker-turned-independent candidate, is also leading former Home Affairs Minister Chong Jong-sup, a Saenuri candidate, by a slight margin 38.4 percent to 37.7 percent a March 30 poll conducted by the Hankook Ilbo showed.
It is also worth noting that candidates from the opposition bloc are maintaining a lead over their ruling party rivals and they are MPK candidate Rep. Kim Boo-kyum and former lawmaker Hong Ui-rak, who quit the MPK after being expelled from the nomination.
Observers say that should the ruling party lose some parliamentary seats in the region, it will be a heavy blow to the party's dominance there, adversely affecting President Park during the remainder of her term.
In the Honam region, voters are split between the two opposition parties.
The MPK is fighting a rough battle in 13 out of 28 districts, according to the recent polls. Of 13 districts, candidates of the People's Party are holding a lead in six contests while those of the MPK are leading in only four.
It is a significant setback for the main opposition party, compared with the previous election, where the Democratic United Party, MPK's precursor, won a sweeping victory with 25 out of 30 seats in the region.
Rep. Chun Jung-bae, co-chairman of the People's Party, maintains a significant lead over MPK's Yang Hyang-ja, an ex-Samsung executive, 39.5 percent to 24.1 percent, in a March 21 poll conducted by Joongang Ilbo.
Reps. Joo Seung-yong and Hwang Ju-hong are also in the lead, with over a 10-percentage-point gap to MPK candidates, according to a March 29 poll by local broadcast company MBC.
The People's Party, buoyed by the polls, set a goal of securing over 20 seats in the Jeolla region. The MPK, however, voices optimism of winning 15 to 20 seats, because a surge in support is expected in the final stage of campaigning.
"The sentiment in favor of the main opposition party will spread further among voters as they are getting concerned about the ruling party remaining in power due to the split of votes," said Lee Yong-sup, the director of MPK's pledge-making group.
President Park Geun-hye and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands during their bilateral talks in Washington, Thursday. / Yonhap
Park, Xi discuss THAAD deployment
By Jun Ji-hye
The leaders of South Korea, the United States and Japan agreed Thursday to "thoroughly enforce" a new United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution as well as their own sanctions on North Korea to force the country to abandon its nuclear program.
They reached the agreement during a trilateral summit between President Park Geun-hye, U.S. President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the margins of the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, D.C.
The meeting was the first since the Kim Jong-un regime carried out its fourth nuclear test on Jan. 6 that led to UNSC Resolution 2270.
"What is essential going forward is to thoroughly enforce the resolution so that North Korea realizes it cannot ensure its own survivability unless it abandons its nuclear aspirations," Park said after the meeting.
"To this end, Korea, the U.S. and Japan have agreed to coordinate closely not only in enforcing the Security Council resolution, but in implementing our respective individual sanctions on North Korea."
The talks between the three countries come at a time when Pyongyang is undergoing international pressure to drop its nuclear ambitions following its recent provocations that also included a long-range rocket launch on Feb. 7.
On March 2, the UNSC unanimously adopted the resolution that contains the harshest sanctions yet on the isolated state.
However, the North is showing no sign of abandoning its nuclear program, continuing to claim that it has secured the ability to miniaturize a nuclear warhead to fit on its long-range missiles and that the regime will soon conduct "a nuclear warhead explosion test and a test-fire of several kinds of ballistic rockets able to carry nuclear warheads" in defiance of U.N. sanctions.
Park issued a strong warning against the North's threatened provocations.
"I stand here together with the leaders of the United States and Japan, and warn once again that the international community will by no means condone North Korea's provocations, and that should it choose to undertake yet another provocation, it is certain to find itself facing even tougher sanctions and isolation," she said.
She added that she expected the trilateral summit to make further progress in cooperation between the three nations and contribute to enhancing communication among the international community.
Obama called on the international community to vigorously enforce the U.N. sanctions.
"We are united in our efforts to deter and defend against North Korean provocations," he said. "We recognize that our security is linked, that we have to work together to meet this challenge."
For his part, Abe also said the three countries confirmed their commitment to strengthening their trilateral cooperation on all levels to cope with the direct and grave threat posed by the North's missile and nuclear programs.
President Park Geun-hye shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as U.S. President Barack Obama watches after their meeting at the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, Thursday. / Yonhap
Park-Xi summit
Hours after the three-way meeting, Park sat down with Chinese President Xi Jinping for their seventh summit and discussed Seoul's possible deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, according to Cheong Wa Dae.
"The two leaders expressed their basic opinions on the issue and agreed to continue communications in the future," said Kim Kyou-hyun, the senior presidential secretary for foreign affairs and security, without elaborating.
China has repeatedly expressed its opposition to the presence of the defense system on Korean soil out of concerns that it could monitor Chinese missile deployments. Last month, Seoul and Washington officially launched a joint working group to discuss the issue.
During the talks, Park also expressed her gratitude for China's role in the adoption of the U.N. sanctions on the North, calling on Beijing to keep playing an active role in dealing with matters related to the North. China is one of the five veto-wielding permanent members of the UNSC.
In response, Xi said China will fully enforce the U.N. sanctions resolution on North Korea, Park's office said.
"Xi said China will completely and fully enforce the UNSC resolution," Cheong Wa Dae said.
The bilateral summit also marked the first meeting between Seoul and Beijing leaders since the North conducted the nuclear test and the long-range rocket launch.
"Recent provocative actions conducted by the North showed how important South Korea and China's cooperation is to secure peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula as well as throughout all of Northeast Asia," Park said.
The entreaty apparently comes as China, traditionally Pyongyang's ally, has adopted a different tone, signaling that a peace treaty is one of the options on the negotiating table in dealing with the North.
Signing a peace treaty with the U.S. is one of the North's demands. However, this has been rejected by South Korea and the U.S. which have both called for denuclearization first.
"We want to enhance communication and coordination on the Korea nuclear issue and other regional and global issues," Xi said.
Follow Jun Ji-hye on Twitter @TheKopJihye
By Jun Ji-hye
The government has warned North Korea immediately to stop using radio signals to disrupt the Global Positioning System (GPS).
The presidential office and the Ministry of National Defense said Friday that attempts to jam GPS signals are clear provocations, raising tensions between the two Koreas. The disruptions could cause mobile phones to malfunction or affect planes and ships that rely on GPS for navigation.
"The GPS jamming is a clear provocation that violates the ceasefire agreement and the regulations of the International Telecommunication Union," the ministry said in a warning statement. "If the North continues GPS jamming despite warnings from South Korea, we will make the North pay a due price through cooperation with the international community."
Cheong Wa Dae held an emergency meeting of the National Security Council presided over by chief of the National Security Office Kim Kwan-jin, urging the North to stop its actions threatening the safety of the people.
Defense ministry spokesman Moon Sang-gyun said at a regular briefing that the North's GPS disruption is apparently aimed at showing off the regime's radio-jamming capabilities, adding the repressive state is expected to continue disrupting GPS signals in the South for a while. He added that there have been no reported problems yet.
The comments came after the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning (MSIP) issued a warning for Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi and Gangwon provinces late Thursday, as Pyongyang discharged a large amount of radio waves to jam GPS signals in the region. The MSIP said the isolated state has been using radio-jamming against the South for about a month.
It said the disruption has affected more than 100 airplanes and vessels in South Korea, although no significant mishaps have been reported.
This marks the North's first GPS disruption in four years, according to a military official.
"The North's actions are taking place in Haeju, South Hwanghae Province, and Mount Geumgang," the official said, on condition of anonymity.
The defense ministry said it is closely cooperating with relevant entities, including MSIP, by sharing information.
Ministry of Unification spokesman Jeong Joon-hee said Friday: "The North should immediately stop its provocative actions and rather should do things that can help improve inter-Korean relations and its own welfare."
Meanwhile, Pyongyang launched a surface-to-air missile into the water off its east coast Friday, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). This was the latest in a series of apparent protests against the United Nations Security Council sanctions resolution, adopted on March 2 over the North's Jan. 6 nuclear test and Feb. 7 long-range rocket launch.
The launch took place hours after President Park Geun-hye met U.S. President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and vowed to press the North to abandon its nuclear weapons program.
The JCS said the North fired the anti-aircraft missile toward the East Sea around 12:45 p.m. from South Hamgyong Province, in the country's northeast. It said the military is on high alert amid heightened cross-border tensions.
By Kim Rahn
The government will send a team of medical experts to China to check the health of a former sex slave there who was injured in February after a fall, it said, Friday.
According to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, two doctors from Chung-Ang University Hospital will depart for Wuhan City in Hubei Province on Sunday to visit Ha Sang-suk, 88, a victim of sexual enslavement by the Japanese military during World War II.
Ha fell down the stairs on Feb. 15, breaking a rib that then pierced one of her lungs. She has been hospitalized since the fall but is still in serious condition, the ministry said.
At the age of 17, she was sent to a military brothel in China. After Korea's liberation from Japanese occupation in 1945, she stayed in China and married a Chinese man, raising three daughters born to him and his ex-wife. Ha regained Korean nationality in 1999.
Ha has suffered from chronic diseases such as asthma, but her health has deteriorated further following the fall, with her lung and kidney functions weakening.
"As she does not hold Chinese citizenship, she doesn't get Chinese health insurance benefits, having to pay 1.5-1.8 million won in medical fees per day," a ministry official said. "The ministry offered 30 million won in support, but the family said Ha has always wanted to return to Korea. So we are considering moving her to Korea so that she can get treatment here."
The visiting doctors will check her condition and decide whether or not to move her.
Ha is one of 238 former sex slaves registered with the Korean government. She is also one of 44 who are still alive, as the rest have passed away of old age or disease.
Lotte Tower climb impressive but careless, say local rooftoppers
By Jon Dunbar
After Ukrainian daredevil Vitaliy Raskalov revealed to the world pictures covertly taken from atop the 555-meter Lotte World Tower in Seoul last Sunday, locally based photographers, rooftoppers and urban explorers have been supportive but apprehensive.
"What else can I say except that it's cool, thrilling and I wish I was with them," said Romain, a French expat, who compared the feat to Philippe Petit's tightrope walk between the Twin Towers. "They are doing dangerous stuff but they are a metaphor of freedom for me."
Another Korean rooftopper, only identified as Kelly, said, "I think it is cool that they came to Korea and challenged Lotte Tower."
Other rooftoppers expressed their own interest in the tower.
"I doubt many residents of Seoul haven't wanted to climb the tower," said Peter Smith, a foreign resident. "In this particular case, I'd only been looking into legitimate ways of being invited up."
He said rooftopping is a way of interacting with your city. "I wouldn't call myself a daredevil at all, rather someone with the curiosity of a cat."
A Korean citizen using the alias Taichi Murakami said, "Actually, I was working on getting up there but they did it first. Because I'm local I needed more precautions to protect my identity. But I'm happy with their work."
Although the hobby is popular in most developed countries, including Korea's neighbors China, Russia and Japan, it is still unheard of here, with only a few dozen practitioners taking advantage of Seoul's many accessible roofs.
"Somehow, Koreans don't go to rooftops," said Kelly, who prefers public-access roofs. "If they go, usually it is only for smoking."
Overall, they were concerned about the negative public reactions to Raskalov's Instagram announcement.
"I find the whole public reaction to high-profile rooftoppers rather interesting," said Smith. "The reaction here in Korea has had this particularly baffling focus on danger."
Kelly said Koreans have this weird worry about how foreigners would think about Korea.
"I think they were afraid if something bad happened to Raskalov and his partner-in-crime Vadim Makhorov, the international press would blame Korea for lacking safety," Kelly said.
Like Kelly, the others were mostly dismissive of worries about the safety of the rooftoppers.
"Whilst the dangers on a rooftop or crane are real, they're often overstated," said Smith. "It falls somewhere around the low-risk, high-consequence end of the scale."
Most rooftoppers said they are well aware of the risk and they are trained and experienced to cope with any perils.
Rather, more concern was raised over the increased attention, as discretion is key to this hobby, which often skirts the law.
"I'm a rooftopper _ but I don't do unnecessary risks that can cause an adverse effect for the rest of us photographers, such as increased security and making it illegal," said Noe Alonzo, an American known for his time-lapse videos of Seoul. "Props to them but it's just not worth the risk. They'll probably taint rooftoppers' image."
Robert Koehler, an American photographer who takes to high ground for shoots, said it was already difficult enough getting access to rooftops for cityscape photography, even through official channels.
"I can't imagine this stunt will make building owners and security guards any more amenable," he said. "Well, at least we'll always have the mountains to shoot from."
Raskalov refused to comment, but said a video of the infiltration will be released early in the coming week.
President Park Geun-hye warned North Korea against staging another provocation as she met with U.S. President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Thursday.
North Korea is under growing international pressure to drop its nuclear ambitions after it carried out its fourth nuclear test on Jan. 6 and a long-range rocket launch on Feb. 7.
The U.N. Security Council has imposed the toughest-ever sanctions resolution on North Korea that call for, among other things, the mandatory inspection of all cargo going into and out of the North, and a ban on the country's exports of coal and other mineral resources to cut off North Korea's access to hard currency.
"I warn once again that the international community will by no means condone North Korea's provocation, and that should it choose to undertake yet another provocation, it is certain to find itself facing even tougher sanctions and isolation," Park said at the trilateral summit, apparently referring to North Korea's possible nuclear test, Yonhap reported.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has said his country will soon conduct "a nuclear warhead explosion test and a test-fire of several kinds of ballistic rockets able to carry nuclear warheads" in defiance of the U.N. sanctions.
South Korea believes the North could conduct a fifth nuclear test at any time.
Park called for the thorough enforcement of the resolution to make North Korea realize that it cannot ensure its own survivability unless it abandons its nuclear aspirations.
North Korea has repeatedly vowed to develop its economy and nuclear arsenal in tandem, a policy Seoul and Washington have said is a dead end for the country.
Obama called for the international community to vigilantly enforce the strong U.N. sanctions.
"We are united in our efforts to deter and defend against North Korean provocations," Obama said. "We recognize that our security is linked, that we have to work together to meet this challenge."
Abe also said the three countries confirmed commitment to strengthen the trilateral cooperation at all levels to cope with the direct and grave threat posed by North Korea's missile and nuclear programs.
Park also said she agreed with Obama and Abe to strengthen efforts to help improve the dismal human rights situation in North Korea.
Obama said that the three countries will work closely together to promote "opportunities and prosperity for the North Korean people who have been suffering so severely because of human rights abuses in North Korea."
South Korean President Park Geun-hye discussed the possible deployment of an advanced U.S. missile defense system with her Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, a senior official said.
The two leaders "expressed their basic opinions" on the issue and they agreed to "continue communications in the future," Kim Kyou-hyun, senior presidential secretary for foreign affairs, told reporters, without elaborating.
China has repeatedly expressed its opposition to the possible deployment of the U.S. missile defense system called Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) in South Korea as the radar system could also keep close watch over China.
Seoul and Washington have dismissed such concerns, saying the U.S. missile shield is defensive in nature and focuses on North Korea's missile activities.
By Donald Kirk
WASHINGTON Talk about local boy making good, and then look at the case of Donald Trump. He's a New Yorker through and through looks, talks and acts like one, arrogant, sneering and sure of himself. So what are the New York papers saying about him? Clearly, he's a bad boy who's sadly disgraced himself.
Not a day goes by when the preeminent New York Times does not attack the Trumpster, mostly on its editorial page but elsewhere too. And the Daily News, once a hard-hitting, deeply conservative blue-collar tabloid, now turned mushy and liberal, chimes in with blaring page-one headlines excoriating him for whatever stupid stuff he does and says.
The New York Times' attacks on Trump are most interesting and entertaining, the Times columnists all so brilliant. One day it's Gail Collins telling us "Donald Trump is a nightmare" by way of explaining why the "terrified" Republican "elite" has turned to Ted Cruz, "the most actively disliked Republican politician in America." The next day, in the same spot, David Brooks, the paper's token conservative, declares, "We've gone from Rising Tide America" to "Coming Apart America" with Trump, "an angel of destruction," blowing "to smithereens" the goodwill built up under Ronald Reagan. Across the page, Paul Krugman, the Nobel prize-winning economist, begins, "In this year of Trump, the land is loud with the wails of political commentators rending their garments and crying out, How can this be happening?'"
The New York Times' barrage of catcalls, shrieks, cannonades and fusillades against Trump is so remitting, so endless, you wonder who's conducting the orchestra, waving the baton, pointing at a violinist here, a clarinetist there, a French horn player on one side and a harpist on the other. They're all playing the same symphony, though maybe the military analogy an artillery barrage, airstrikes and infantry advances would be more appropriate.
All of which made me wonder about a column by Nicholas Kristof, who used to visit Korea years ago as a New York Times correspondent based in Tokyo. "My Shared Shame," was the headline, "The Media Helped Make Trump." While blaming Trump's rise "on the Republican Party's toxic manipulation of racial resentments," Kristof says "we should also acknowledge another force that empowered Trump: Us."
Soon enough, it becomes apparent Kristof is talking not about the incessant anti-Trumpism of his op-ed colleagues but about the free ride given Trump, the failure to investigate the facts behind his bombast. (Kristof, of course, is down on Trump like all the other Times columnists. "I've never met a national politician in the U.S. who is so ill-informed, evasive, puerile and deceptive as Trump.")
It's hard not to agree with a lot of what these smart people are dishing out every day. Trump has a way of saying stuff that's counter to common sense, that seems based on his own gut instincts without much if any research on facts or grasp of reality.
What's he mean, for instance, when he says that Japan and South Korea should both have nuclear weapons while relying far less on their American ally for defense? Does he know that Japanese, ever mindful of the atom-bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, are deeply wary of nuclear weapons even though Japanese physicists and engineers know how to make them? And did any of Trump's not-very-qualified foreign policy advisers tell him about the long history of U.S.-Korean negotiations under which South Korea is obligated not to try and fabricate nuclear weapons? Or is he saying Japan and South Korea might as well have nukes as long as Kim Jong-un boasts of North Korea's nuclear prowess? Is he concerned about a tit-for-tat nuclear war breaking out in Northeast Asia?
It's possible to ask questions about many of Trump's outrageous policy declarations ranging from his call to bar Muslims from the U.S. to his idea of a fence to keep "illegal immigrants" from sneaking into the Land of the Free from Mexico. How about his proposal for slapping surcharges on Chinese exports in retaliation to Chinese barriers to U.S. products?
Perhaps The New York Times columnists are doing us a favor by alerting readers to all that's awful about Trump. You wonder, though, why they're relatively easy on the Democratic candidates. Are these columnists so busy castigating Trump, and Cruz, they have no time for Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders, vulnerable though they often appear?
In fact, Trumpism may be a passing phenomenon. He may not be nominated, and, if he does run for president on the Republican ticket or as a disgruntled third-party candidate angry over rejection by the Republicans, he probably would not defeat Hillary. By zeroing in on Trump day in and day out, maybe the warriors of The New York Times op-ed page will be proud to have had a little to do with his defeat even while deepening the great divide in American life between Trump-style conservatism and fashionable "politically correct" liberalism.
Donald Kirk, www.donaldkirk.com, has been covering war and peace in Asia for decades. He's at kirkdon4343@gmail.com.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will soon travel to Washington and meet U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House, according to sources with direct information about the historic event.
Kim's unprecedented visit to the U.S. will be made this weekend, they said, adding the two leaders will discuss issues including the North's nuclear program and reunification of the two Koreas.
South Korean President Park Geun-hye, who is visiting Washington for the 4th Nuclear Security Summit, is expected to join the meeting.
"It's expected that Kim (Jong-un) will declare the end of his nuclear program during the meeting with Obama and Park, on the condition that he remains in power after the deal," a source said. "It's doubtful whether the talks will cover the issue of reunification of the two Koreas. I personally believe it will be included."
Surprised?!! It's April Fools' Day!!! Ha Ha Ha~
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has not been seen inspecting military units for the past week and instead has been making field guidance tours of non-military sectors in an apparent move to resuscitate the country's moribund economy and show he cares about the livelihoods of ordinary people.
The change in schedule comes after the young North Korean leader conducted some 10 field inspections of military exercises, such as those involving the test-firings of medium ballistic missiles, a multiple rocket system and long-range artillery.
Pyongyang's aggressive maneuvers were in response to tougher U.N. Security Council sanctions on the North for its fourth nuclear test and long-range rocket launch, as well as the ongoing joint military drills between Seoul and Washington.
But in its Friday report, the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that Kim has made field guidance tours of a machinery factory located in the eastern part of the country.
Local experts speculated Kim's absence from the military exercises is an indication that he will wait and see the results of the ongoing two-day Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, which is to discuss how to tackle the threats of nuclear terrorism and how to strengthen an international regime for nuclear security.
His visit to the Sinhung Machine Plant in Hamhung, South Hamgyong Province, took place four days after his visit to a commercial district and health complex in Pyongyang.
In his tour to the machine plant, Kim, however, stressed the need for the plant to conduct more efficient education so that its workers can carry out the Workers' Party plan for economic growth.
According to the KCNA report, Kim expressed pleasure over the fact that its officials and workers have made big strides in a drive to produce new kinds of high-performance machines.
"The plant should keep the production going at a high rate to satisfy the needs of various economic sectors for machines, fulfilling the assigned plan without fail and breaking the world level in the quality of products," he stressed.
"The plant has a very important role to play in building an economic power," he said, "setting forth the tasks for updating it to meet the needs of the age of a knowledge-based economy and a highly civilized socialist nation so that it can lead the country's machine building industry." (Yonhap)
North Korean female soldiers / Yonhap
By Ko Dong-hwan
A former North Korean female military officer says male superiors raped all the women in her squad.
In an interview with a media outlet, North Korean defector Lee So-yeon, 41, said 20 male officers sexually harassed 100 lower-ranking female soldiers in the squad.
"Those who got pregnant were sent to a hospital in the city of Haeju, South Hwanghae Province, the only hospital in the vicinity of the military base," Lee said, according to the report. "Medical personnel in the hospital who found out about the incident divulged the fact after two years."
Rape targeting female soldiers is frequent at North Korean military bases and those responsible are rarely punished, she said. Victims are often dishonorably discharged from the military.
"Authorities, aware of time and money invested in nurturing high-ranking male officers, are reluctant to punish them, although they are responsible for the crime," Lee said.
Lee, who helps North Korean defectors, said she is on a list of 24 people North Korea wants to execute. The list was issued in April last year.
When asked why she is so passionate about her humanitarian work, she said: "It breaks my heart to recollect the pain I had gone through there and I want to offset the hardship."
Halal initiative loses ground owing to Islamophobia
By Kang Hyun-kyung
The recent Christian protest against the establishment of halal food zones for Muslim tourists and the anti-American beef rallies in 2008 cannot be any more different from each other in terms of scale and motivation.
During the spring of 2008, hundreds of thousands of people from all walks of life joined daily beef protests against the Korean government's resumption of American beef imports which was halted after the alleged mad cow disease outbreak in the Western nation.
By contrast, the anti-halal movement consists of small-scale, scattered protests triggered by the Islamophobia which was created and fanned by radical Protestants. The protests began in the southwestern rural city of Iksan, Daegu Metropolitan City and the eastern province of Gangwon. Some 100 people, mostly Christian fundamentalists, joined the rallies and called for the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the local governments of Daegu and Gangwon Province to drop their plans for halal food zones.
However, Eum Ik-ran, a professor at Dankook University's GCC Institute, notes that the two events have one thing in common they present the danger of collective action by an ill-informed public.
"The beef and anti-halal rallies became viral with the spread of flawed information," she said. "Some anecdotal stories about American beef and halal food were fabricated and spread rapidly through the Internet, stirring up the public to take collective action against the government to influence the key policies."
She said the agricultural ministry's suspension of the establishment of halal zones designed to help processed food exporters in the food cluster in Iksan is setting a bad precedent.
Protestors hold a rally in central Seoul on July 5, 2008, urging the government to renegotiate the agreement to resume American beef. / Korea Times photo by Sohn Yong-seok
"This sends the wrong message," she said. "With flawed information, a small number of radical people made their voices heard and put the brakes on the key national agenda."
Jo Young-chan, CEO of Seoul-based consulting firm Penta Global, which helps Korean companies seeking halal certification and marketing in Southeast Asian and Middle Eastern markets, said the beef and halal protests show that Koreans sometimes overreact.
"I personally think the campaign against halal zones is worse than the anti-beef protests, because the beef protests were at least based on more than just idle rumors, given that mad cow disease had been reported in the United States," he said. "But the characterization by some Christian groups of Muslims as terrorists is totally wrong."
Jo lamented that no politician or policymaker has dared to confront such public insanity for fear of a backlash from the religious groups. "Nobody has attempted to place a bell around the cat's neck," he said. "Everyone knows that the vocal Christian groups were misinformed and their arguments were wrong. But nobody raised such an issue publicly, and this has made things worse."
Groundless stories about the possible impact of halal food zones were created and spread fast online, soon after the agricultural ministry and the two local governments announced the establishment of halal zones. For instance, one online comment stated that if the halal food zones are created, nearly 1 million Muslims will rush to Korea to do business, followed by tens of thousands of imam or Islamic religious leaders and some 7,000 Muslim butchers. The comment added that once Muslim communities are established in Iksan, Daegu and Gangwon Province, the Muslims will refuse to lead the local way of life and subsequently impose the Sharia or Islamic law on their communities. The Muslim population will grow fast until it is large enough to attempt to launch a separatist movement, which will inevitably lead to political unrest.
Jo considers these stories "goedam" or fabricated stories to stir up people to take action.
"Contrary to their speculations, there will be few or no Muslims stationed in the food zones once they are established," Jo said. "Those facilities are for Korean exporters or companies doing business with Muslim tourists."
Nevertheless, such fabricated anecdotal stories seem to have had an impact on many people. An elderly citizen who participated in an anti-halal zone protest in Icksan said she joined the rally to prevent her hometown from turning into a terrorist base. "I heard that once the halal food zone is in place, Islamic terrorists will come to Korea in the guise of tourists and then attack us," she said in an interview.
Gangwon Province Governor Choi Moon-soon backed off from his energetic campaign to court Muslim tourists from Southeast Asian countries, which followed the announcement of the establishment of halal food zones in the cities of Chuncheon, Wonju, Gangneung and Pyeongchang.
"I think the concerns about the halal food zones in Gangwon Province raised by some local religious leaders are reasonable," he said on March 24, during a CBS radio program. "So I will scrap all measures that the provincial government has taken to make it happen."
His announcement came weeks after Daegu withdrew a similar plan to attract Muslim tourists. The southeastern city was looking at tourism as a new growth opportunity and has since sought to attract Indonesian and Malaysian tourists to help revive the sluggish local economy.
It unveiled a plan to establish halal food booths and restaurants and launch a halal certification program to help local companies seeking to expand to Middle Eastern markets. However, the announcement drew a backlash from Christian groups, and the plan was scrapped in the following week.
The scrapping of the plans for halal food zones indicate the local governments' surrender to the vocal radical Christian groups, who alleged that the establishment of the zones will not only discriminate against other religious groups but will also make Korea vulnerable to terrorist attacks. They further alleged that an increase of the Muslim population would turn Korea into an East Asian terrorist base.
The groups' opposition set an obstacle to the halal initiative, which became a national agenda item last year when Korea signed a memorandum of understanding with the United Arab Emirates on halal food during President Park Geun-hye's state visit to the Middle Eastern country. The government has since encouraged Korean companies to find opportunities in the Middle East and in Southeast Asia and offered financial support for halal certification.
Local governments have jumped on the halal bandwagon to attract Muslim tourists because the lack of halal restaurants has hampered tourism.
Gangwon Governor Choi was one of the supporters of the halal initiative.
His endeavor to win over Muslim tourists' hearts led him to have a cameo appearance in the movie "Jilbab Traveler: Love Sparks in Korea," an Indonesian film describing a love affair between a Muslim woman and a Korean man.
In the 2016 movie, Choi plays a local resident who helps the main female character, who is lost on a scenic island in the province. Part of the movie was shot in cities in the province.
Choi also launched efforts to host the annual conference of the World Islamic Economic Forum Foundation in the province in 2017 to attract Muslim investment.
However, some Christian groups labeled Choi as a pro-Muslim governor and urged him to stop what they consider a policy of discrimination.
Lotte Duty Free, South Korea's No. 1 duty-free operator, opened a duty-free store in Tokyo on Thursday to target rising travelers, as part of efforts to expand its global presence.
The duty-free store opened in the upscale shopping district of Ginza, the second following one in the Japanese capital in late January.
Lotte, the world's No. 3 duty-free operator, said it will strengthen its brand competitiveness in Japan, which attracted a huge influx of Chinese travelers last year.
Lotte chairman Shin Dong-bin and his family, including his mother, wife and son, attended the opening ceremony. His father and corporate founder Kyuk-ho and his elder brother and former vice president Dong-joo did not attend.
The rare family gathering at a public event was seen as an effort to show internal unity as Lotte has been trying to improve its tarnished corporate image following a prolonged succession feud between the founder's two brothers.
"The duty-free business has created some noise in South Korea, but I hope it to do well," Shin told Yonhap News Agency during the ceremony. "I think this store is better than I expected."
Lotte lost its duty-free license in Lotte World Tower in southern Seoul in a November bid, amid the family succession feud and criticism for its dominance in the domestic market.
Shin said his company will open a new tax-free store in Thailand in June, and two more in Japan -- Osaka in early 2017 and Fukuoka later that year.
Lotte, the retail giant who runs businesses in Korea and Japan, said the new duty-free shop is targeting 150 billion won (US$131 million) in sales this year and it plans to open additional shops in Japan over the next decade.
Foreign visitors to Japan hit a record high of 19.69 million in 2015, marking the first time since 1970 that inbound travelers surpassed those who headed abroad, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization. Koreans were the biggest tourist group to Japan by nationality, followed by Chinese with 3.78 million. (Yonhap)
By Joseph Hong
Conditions in the recently shut-down Gaeseong Industrial Complex have often been described as slave labor. The Hyundai Group, as a global brand and a major player with a vested interest in Gaeseong, should lead the charge in divesting from North Korea until human rights conditions improve inside and outside of Gaesong.
A U.N. Commission of Inquiry report states, "The gravity, scale and nature of these violations reveal a State that does not have any parallel in the contemporary world." It is time for the South Korean private sector to integrate corporate social responsibility (CSR) norms otherwise the U.N. Global Compact can remove firms from membership of its CSR standards. Furthermore, any firms with a slavery-profiteering record with North Korea can make restitution payments to refugees, who face torture, forced abortions and labor, and execution if forcibly repatriated.
Gaeseong is a North Korean city about 30 miles north of the Demilitarized Zone. In 2004 subsidiary Hyundai Asan secured a 50-year lease for $12 million. Gaeseong was up until recently home to a quasi-special economic zone inhabited by 124 South Korean companies exploiting over 54,000 cheap North Korean laborers a cloistered 0.2 percent of the North Korean population, insufficient for systemic market transformation. South Korea has had Gaeseong subsidization legislation since 2001 including corporate incentives such as tax breaks, insurance, and small- and medium-enterprise and technology encouragement. The complex manufactured South Korean products, including textiles, machinery, and electronics; estimates range up to $2 billion in annual goods produced. Moreover, workers were not paid directly, independent bodies such as the International Labor Organization were not allowed by the regime to inspect harsh labor conditions and and the lack of the freedoms of speech, assembly and movement remains of grave concern. To be clear, we are not talking about sweatshop jobs as a lesser evil to other jobs in North Korea, or no jobs and wretched starvation-level survival. We are talking about state-sponsored ransom, exploitation, extortion, and trafficking, as well as foreign entity complicity.
It is also highly conceivable that an indirect supply chain could easily violate trade restrictions, such as rules of origin in the U.S.-South Korea Free Trade Agreement, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, Executive Order 13570, and the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act. South Korean Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo claimed: "It appears that such funds have not been used to pave the way to peace as the international community had hoped, but rather to upgrade its nuclear weapons and long-range missiles," a statement affirmed by President Park Geun-hye. In other words Gaeseong could also be a very serious breach of U.N. Security Council Resolutions (UNSCR) 1718 and 2094.
International condemnation has coalesced around North Korea's nuclear tests and ballistic missile program, as well as its concentration camps, the use of starvation as a weapon, and exported forced labor. UNSCR 2270 proposes wide-ranging sanctions though actual enforcement is uncertain, particularly with China and Russia. President Obama signed into law the North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act of 2016 targeting entities that engage with North Korea's illicit activities and human rights atrocities, as well as Executive Order 13722 to implement those sanctions. What is unclear is whether Gaeseong's closing is for South Korea's predictable, reactionary short-term leverage, or if it reflects geopolitical policy shifts towards credible threats of punishments for human rights atrocities and provocations, as a foundational basis for more effective multilateral diplomacy.
Gaesong is a sunken cost. As for philanthropy, firms with tainted supply chains linked to slave labor, especially the Hyundai Group, can make investments in partial-remediation paid for by any generated revenue or government insurance payouts to ongoing refugee rescue operations, refugee resettlement, employment training, media campaigns, and university scholarships to help educate and integrate the next generation of North Korean leaders among the refugee community. In a final analysis, the business case for long-term market access may lie with proactive investments in North Koreans regarding resettlement, integration, and scholarships, rather than in slave labor.
The writer is an MA candidate in international development at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Write to hong.joseph.s@gmail.com.
By Anne-Marie Slaughter and Elmira Bayrasli
WASHINGTON Armenia and Turkey have long been at odds. Divided over a tragic past, the neighboring countries do not have diplomatic ties, and their border remains closed.
Despite this, in November 2014, a group of Turks traveled to Armenia for Startup Weekend, an event where aspiring entrepreneurs hone and pitch their ideas to investors and experts. In mixed teams, young Armenians and Turks worked together to build new ventures. "We weren't focused on being Armenian or Turkish just on being the best," a Turkish participant noted.
That sentiment is exactly what the people who backed the trip diplomats from the United States and the European Union had hoped to achieve. For decades they have struggled to find common ground for Armenians and Turks to begin a dialogue. The common personality types, values, and single-minded focus of entrepreneurs created an opening.
Entrepreneurship has become a catalyst for progress in similarly thorny situations worldwide. The focus on job and wealth creation has become a "talking point" upon which nearly all governments can agree or at least find little with which to disagree. That has made it a handy tool for a new form of diplomacy.
Whether in Africa, Asia, Latin America, or the Middle East, entrepreneurship has improved individual capability, capacity, and connectivity. It has stimulated not only economic activity but also social mobility. An emphasis on entrepreneurship stands the traditional foreign-aid paradigm on its head, because it is based on the assumption that the engine of development is local talent, a class of people equally distributed throughout the world with the capacity to innovate and commercialize their innovations.
In Africa, mobile money platforms such as M-Pesa in Kenya and Paga in Nigeria have solved a key problem for millions in their respective countries and across several continents: the lack of financial services. Through a simple text message, anyone with a cellular handset is able to send and receive money. That has helped move money. More importantly, it has given millions of individuals an opportunity to start their own businesses. Unlocking human creativity and ingenuity is lifting millions out of poverty and helping improve national infrastructure.
As fossil fuels contribute to global warming, entrepreneurs in Asia, Latin America, and Europe are pioneering a variety of alternative energy solutions. Startups such as Optima Energia in Mexico are harnessing wind, sun, and biofuels to offer sustainable and scalable energy options.
"An entrepreneur is a person with the vision to see a new product or process and the ability to make it happen," writes Steven Koltai in his forthcoming book, Peace Through Entrepreneurship. A former US State Department official who set up the Global Entrepreneurship Program (GEP) in 2009, Koltai describes entrepreneurship as a "job-creating machine." It is the difference between opening a restaurant and reimagining what the experience of eating could be like. Entrepreneurs create new things that in turn create consumer demand for those things.
Last week, GEP, along with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the Brazilian NGO ANDI, and the city of Medellin co-hosted the Global Entrepreneurship Congress in Medellin, Colombia. The gathering brought together entrepreneurs, investors, researchers, and policymakers from more than 160 countries to share best practices and work to bolster startup growth and build the ecosystems in which they operate. Medellin itself is busy transforming itself from a cocaine capital into a startup hub.
Silicon Valley seized on this phenomenon some time ago, rolling out the red carpet for world leaders such as Indonesia's President Joko Widodo, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and China's President Xi Jinping. These world leaders are looking for the Silicon Valley secret: the magic ingredients that will create an equally vibrant innovation ecosystem in their countries.
Entrepreneurs themselves, however, do not depend on innovation or technology. As Koltai points out, Starbucks built an enormous enterprise around serving a cup of coffee, a centuries old beverage. Today Starbucks employs roughly 182,000 people worldwide 50,000 more than Facebook, Google, and Apple combined. An Argentine, Jordanian, Malaysian, or Spaniard who can visualize and create thriving global demand for a product or service just as Spain's Amancio Ortega did with Zara is just as much an entrepreneur as the next Bill Gates is.
From Lahore to Lagos, Mexico City to Mumbai, governments are looking at their own populations as pools of talent waiting to be tapped. It is time for diplomats to do the same. They should support and encourage job creators and problem solvers, and turn development assistance into investments. They should include entrepreneurship in economic policies and trade agreements. They should press governments to allow entrepreneurs to develop their innovations as a component of human flourishing and as an essential source of sustainable solutions for often-intractable problems such as disease, climate change, migration, and war.
Indeed, entrepreneurship, as a channel for young men and women to express themselves, is a compelling weapon in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism. It is an outlet to build and add value rather than destroy it. This is especially important in the Middle East, which is, as the Brookings Institution has noted , experiencing "an unprecedented youth bulge.'"
More than 30% of the region's population over 100 million people is aged 15-29, and a significant number of these young people are unemployed. For them, entrepreneurship and the ability to gain control over their own destinies isn't an option; it is an imperative.
Similarly, entrepreneurship is not just a commercial or economic option for diplomats and policymakers. In a world with ever more pressing challenges from pandemics to poverty and resource depletion to religious extremists it is becoming a vital tool of foreign policy.
By Sah Dong-seok
The official campaign for the April 13 general election began Thursday. Candidates who have passed party nominations painstakingly will run through fire and water day and night to get elected. But voters looking at them hardly seem comfortable.
It's not difficult to guess why. Both the ruling and opposition parties have failed to field their best candidates in the aftermath of unprecedented nomination fiascoes arising from factional strife and woeful standards. It's no exaggeration to say that the ugly face of our politics has been laid bare.
The governing Saenuri Party showed its extremely pathetic state of internal democracy. There was a public uproar against the ''massacre'' of candidates who were not friendly to President Park Geun-hye.
Many of these candidates abandoned the ruling party to run independently in the quadrennial elections. Rep. Yoo Seong-min, who had been branded as a traitor for his alleged ''politics of betrayal,'' had to wait for his nomination until the last moment, but to no avail.
The internal brawl in the Saenuri Party reached a climax when Chairman Rep. Kim Moo-sung left for Busan immediately after making a bombshell announcement that he would reject the endorsement of five pro-Park candidates. The nomination tug-of-war ended as the party's leadership managed to reach a compromise, but it's only a matter of time before the simmering conflict erupts again.
The liberal Minju Party of Korea (MPK) was much the same in disappointing the public. The main opposition party tried to reform itself by recruiting Kim Chong-in, the architect of President Park's economic pledges in the 2012 presidential race.
But it suffered violent internal strife over Kim's proposed proportional nomination list. The MPK's conflict has been patched up after Kim withdrew his proffered resignation, but a power struggle after the parliamentary polls seems inevitable.
What also makes us paint a grim picture for Korean politics is based on the fact that the 19th National Assembly, which will end its term in May, undeniably has been the worst one in history. There is no wonder that most people think the 20th parliament will be much the same without drastic changes.
In fact, more than 20 lawmakers have lost their seats for various wrongdoings in the current Assembly, compared with 16 in the previous one. That the main parties have stood off over nearly all major issues despite worsening security circumstances amid economic gloom adds weight to skepticism about politics.
Negative assessment of politics is confirmed through numbers too. A survey of 1,003 adults conducted by Gallup Korea in October showed that 82 percent of the respondents evaluated the legislature negatively. Only 10 percent assessed positively.
On a question asking to give grades, 70 percent awarded 60 points out of possible 100. Only 5 percent gave 80 points or higher.
With disillusionment in the National Assembly and politicians deepening, people embarked on a campaign to collect 10 million signatures, calling for a reform of the legislature. A nationwide alliance of civic groups, launched in November, is calling for a broad-based overhaul of our politics, saying lawmakers only think about fighting and hampering state affairs, not caring about the people. This organization wants to introduce a recall system as a way to reform the Assembly.
Prof. Kim Dong-gil, a conservative political commentator, suggests a more radical reform plan, insisting that the number of legislators be cut from the current 300 to 100. His proposals also include abolishing the proportional representation system and making remuneration for lawmakers daily.
Whether these proposals are realistic or not, political reform is easier said than done. More than anything else, it's difficult to expect lawmakers to readily embark on legislative procedures that could terminate their vested rights.
Of course, politics usually causes trouble in every country. This might be natural, given that it is basically about allocating resources authoritatively. But the situation here is truly serious.
The first step toward political innovation is for the rival parties to agree to remove privileges granted to lawmakers, including the provision of immunity from arrest, and carry out this agreement without fail.
At this time four years ago, the parties rushed to pledge to remove privileges given to lawmakers, but little was done once the election was over. What's more worrisome this time is that the parties show even less interest in making pledges about removing privileges. Immunity from arrest was needed to protect legislators from unjust suppression, but the reality is that it is misused as a shield against law enforcement targeting corrupt lawmakers.
There is no denying that the people's distrust of politicians has reached a perilous level. Politicians should be ashamed of the fact that politics give the public only pain, instead of hope and vision.
The utmost importance of the need for political reform is confirmed by the fact that national development depends highly on how politics evolve.
So one cannot help but feel the importance of the upcoming parliamentary polls yet again. And the choice of voters becomes all the more important.
What people want is simple. They want parliament to be productive enough to boost their livelihoods and competent enough to preserve democratic values in our society.
Role playing by states concerned is pivotal
There are two pieces of the jigsaw puzzle that should be put into place to solve the North Korean nuclear challenge.
One is President Park Geun-hye's inflexibility of policy, or the appearance of being so, on the issue. The other is the lack of gravity by the rest of the world.
During the trilateral meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of the fourth and final Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, Thursday, Park reiterated her hard-line stance of keeping pressure on the North until it buckles.
"We will have to apply more pressure (if the North does not comply)," she said in a joint press conference. The two other leaders stuck to their stances of maintaining the toughest-ever sanctions on the North.
Park's persistence is laudable in its predictability, as she has rarely backtracked from her hard-line policy after receiving one-two blows from the North over its unexpected nuclear and long-range missile tests earlier this year. With little exaggeration, she has also cajoled and coaxed her way to help form the consensus for a strong-arm tactic on Pyongyang.
This, however, may end up hobbling the South's future choices. Judging from the past, Park is running the risk of being isolated, if the big powers abruptly switch their posture to dialogue. This happened in the lead-up to the Agreed Framework deal between the United States and the North in the early 1990s. Then, President Kim Young-sam boycotted the talks, getting relegated to third-party status that relied on U.S. handouts to keep abreast of the goings-on at the talks. Park was presumed to be similarly excluded from the U.S.-China deal on delaying the deployment of the U.S. missile interceptor THAAD on the Korean Peninsula.
Closer to home, rising tensions, stoked by the North's war rhetoric, should be managed. An eventual solution should be found through no other means than dialogue. Kim Jong-un, the 33-year-old dictator, has boasted of his nation's successes in miniaturizing nuclear warheads and threatened to turn the South and Washington into a bowl of fire by nuclear weapons. Although the North's claims can be discounted as rhetorical exaggerations, it is undesirable to depend on pressure tactics alone. This does not mean falling back to appeasement. Park should be prepared for the eventuality of talking to the North again.
For that purpose, she should pay attention to the feasibility of reviving a Perry Process-like approach that mixes carrots and sticks or simultaneously conduct talks for peace and denuclearization as suggested by China and the North. It is true that both formulas have limitations but they could be put in place until a better solution can be found.
Although the multinational format of the ongoing talks may not be fit for a grand unveiling, Park might give a hint or two during her tour, laying the ground work for such an eventuality.
There is also work cut out for the world to separate the North from its weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), especially at the nuclear summit attended by leaders of 52 states and the heads of four important global organizations.
They may start to remind themselves that there is an uncluttered shot at the resolution of the North's nuclear brinkmanship this time, being fresh from the successful deal freezing Iran's nuclear program through the concerted efforts of key countries. If they work on the North's brinkmanship with the same urgency as they showed with Teheran, mixed by a sense of flexibility on the part of Seoul, the world may later remember that now was a starting point toward the end of the world's most vexing nonproliferation challenges and also the beginning of unification of the last remaining divided nation.
A scene from "Cold Eyes" (2013)
By Ko Dong-hwan
A team of investigators in the Supreme Prosecutors' Office may be the closest to the inspectors from popular American TV police drama series "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation."
Using 44 state-of-the-art patent technologies to unearth clues to bring suspected criminals to justice, the experts were praised by Chosun Ilbo, Friday. They are members of the organization's Forensic Science Investigation Department.
The department has been behind solving some of the largest criminal cases in history, including that of notorious conman Cho Hee-pal, who allegedly swindled some 40,000 investors out of 4 trillion won ($3.5 billion) through a huge pyramid scheme.
After Cho fled to China in 2008, the initial investigation could not figure out the exact scale of the fraud, because it could not access data on his computer server. Choi had deleted and written over the data so many times that access was impossible. The server was then stored until early this year, when a Daegu inspector who had been investigating the case took charge of the SPO's forensic department.
Using the department's patented technology that can restore deleted data, the team cracked the server in a week and successfully unearthed 18 million transaction records. More than 95 percent of the records corresponded to the proof the department already had, confirming the extent of the crime.
The Supreme Prosecutors' Office / Korea Times
The department also confirmed in September 2013 United Progressive Party lawmaker Lee Seok-ki's intention to stage an anti-government sabotage plot by proving the veracity of an audio file of his speech to a secret meeting. Lee argued the file was rigged but the department proved otherwise, using technology that can detect subtle differences in audio frequencies between original and replicated sounds.
In February 2015, a male murder suspect nearly escaped a charge of killing a woman in her 60s in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province. But the department's technology detected DNA from a tool the suspect used to mutilate the victim's corpse. The trace matched the victim's DNA.
"When an investigation hits walls, inspectors come up with creative methods in breaking through the walls," the report said, quoting an SPO associate. "Many of our unique technologies originated from such methods."
Apple, Samsung, LG under pressure to beef up devices to protect user privacy
By Lee Min-hyung
The United States government's recent cracking of an iPhone dealt a blow to Apple, which has pointedly prioritized user privacy over national security.
The successful opening of an iPhone that belonged to a gunman who committed a mass shooting in San Bernardino, Calif., showed that the iPhone's data protection mechanisms could be compromised by a third party.
One of the major selling points for iPhones has been the public perception that the tech company's smartphones provide a higher degree of privacy protection than rival phones.
How will the latest standoff between the U.S. government and Apple affect its rivals _ namely Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics?
Industry officials say the incident might benefit Apple's rivals to some extent. But what's clear is that not only Apple but also Samsung and LG face growing calls to beef up their device security too.
The dispute with the U.S. government and Apple began in February when the FBI asked the Department of Justice to help unlock the iPhone of the dead shooter. Apple, however, denied the FBI's request, as clear legal guidelines had not yet been established over whether the government can ask for access to encrypted data on mobile devices.
But the high-profile litigation came to an abrupt halt on Monday when the FBI unveiled in a legal filing that it dropped the lawsuit after it succeeded in hacking into the iPhone with the help of an unnamed third party.
The method for compromising the phone has yet to be disclosed, but this will come as a blow to the iPhone manufacturer which has long taken a hard line on security.
Apple's rival handset makers have kept a low profile over the issue, citing worries about becoming victims of hackers.
But given that the recent controversy has tarnished Apple's strong brand image, expectations are that its rivals may benefit from the results to some extent, industry insiders said.
"One of the key factors why customers preferred iOS to Android handsets is that they trusted Apple's high level of security," said an industry source. "If the security element is taken out, there is no huge difference between Android and iOS devices in terms of technical features."
He said the latest controversy will help Android giants such as Samsung and LG.
"It's hard to say that Android handsets ensure more security due to this single incident, but this will put a damper on Apple."
Another industry official, however, pointed out that the incident should alert Android device makers to the dangers of their relatively lower security level.
"Apple will enhance its security measures to prevent the recurrence of such incidents," said the source. "Local handset makers should also continue their bid to develop enhanced data protection systems, rather than taking advantage of the ensuing damage that might hurt Apple."
An official from an information technology (IT) security service operator said tech companies are always in a serious dilemma over security issues. If they promote their security systems, then so-called "black-hat hackers" join hands to break their encryption, the official said.
Eric Nam has been confirmed to star in the next round of MBC's We Got Married.
However, this has raised the question of who will be selected as his wife.
So far, two female stars are in the talks to become part of one of the next couples on We Got Married. The two are both girl group members: Jun Hyosung of Secret and Solar of Mamamoo.
According to a recent report, two couples currently on the show are scheduled to depart, leaving an empty space for two new couples to join.
Although Hyosung and Solar have both met with the We Got Married producers to discuss joining the show, nothing has been confirmed yet. It appears that the producers are deciding which of the two would match best with a funny, outgoing person like Eric Nam.
Regarding the casting, the program's producers have mentioned they are "meeting many other candidates." This has widened the number of potential choices for Eric Nam's virtual wife.
Meanwhile, a rumor has popped up that GFriend's Umji will be Eric Nam's wife on We Got Married, despite the fact that the two are nearly 10 years apart in age (27 and 17).
According to a post on Korean message board BHU, insiders at news outlet Fact Korea reported, "Eric Nam's WGM wife has been tentatively selected as Umji, but we are still working out the fine details."
Filming for the next couple to join the show will begin in early April.
The United States government would continue to assist Sri Lanka with their negotiations with the IMF and the debt restructuring
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The SLFP does not condone the continuation of the Emergency Regulations (The Public Security Ordinance) more than a day necessary
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Digital First Media took control on Thursday of Freedom Communications, and the very first shoe to fall was the departure of Orange County Register editor Rob Curley and other executives. More than 70 people are expected to be laid off across several departments, the LA Times says; it's unknown how many, if any, would come from the newsroom. The sales price slipped to $49.8 million, about $2 million less than originally, due to certain newly discovered facts, according to court documents. So the Register and the Press-Enterprise in Riverside are now part of the Southern California News Group, which includes the Daily News, Daily Breeze and seven other daily newspapers and more than a dozen community weeklies.
Here's the takeover announcement from Digital First Media, and below that a note to employees at the Register. There's a 9 a.m. all-staff meeting today in Santa Ana followed by a noon gathering in Riverside.
Digital First Media Closes Deal to Buy The Orange County Register and The Press-Enterprise
Southern California News Group reignites newspaper competition with talented teams in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties LOS ANGELES, CALIF. March 31, 2016 - Digital First Media today closed on the purchase of The Orange County Register in Santa Ana, Calif. and The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, Calif. from Freedom Communications. The deal had been approved earlier this month by a United States Bankruptcy Judge and comes just days before Freedom was expected to run out of money to keep its newspapers afloat. We are extremely excited to usher in a new era of stability, profitability and quality for these renowned papers, said Sharon Ryan, Executive Vice President of DFMs Western Region. The Orange County Register and The Press-Enterprise have been longtime leaders in their regions, and as part of the DFM team, they will continue to outshine the competition. DFM announced that with the acquisition, its Southern California News Group (SCNG) will be the largest news provider in the combined counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino. SCNG leaders said they have long respected The Orange County Register and The Press-Enterprise, and vowed to adhere to their legacies of high-quality local reporting. We have long admired our new colleagues work and are looking forward to working alongside them as part of our expanded team, said Ron Hasse, SCNG president and a 25-year veteran of Southern California newspapers. Our talent, scale and deeply invested news teams will be a benefit for readers who will receive more of the news they need to stay informed about issues in their own back yards. Hasse said that by keeping the papers locally focused, SCNG would ensure stronger local coverage and healthy competition. SCNG now owns 11 Southern California daily newspapers and more than a dozen community weeklies, ranking among the top five nationally in Sunday circulation and among the top six daily. SCNG will reach more than 6.3 million unique visitors on digital platforms each month, drawing 22 million page views. In terms of geography, the new Southern California News Group includes 261 communities throughout Southern California a scope that will provide SCNGs advertisers with a broader platform to deliver their messages, Hasse said. Ultimately, readers and advertisers benefit most when there is competition, Hasse said. We look forward to providing a world-class product that continues to win the hearts and minds of readers and advertisers in Orange County and the Inland Empire. With the acquisitions, SCNGs newspapers have won a combined five Pulitzer Prizes and are undisputed leaders in local news. In April, the Daily Breeze in Torrance won a Pulitzer for local news for exposing corruption at the Centinela Valley Union High School District. Our new colleagues are a lot like us, in that they are in this business to uphold the values of local journalism, Hasse said. We are looking forward to doing exactly that, side by side.
And to employees:
Digital First Media welcome note to Freedom employees
March 31, 2016 - Dear Colleagues: We want to be the first to welcome you to Digital First Media, the third largest newspaper group in the United States. Digital First manages a diverse portfolio of multi-platform news and information products that spans 15 states and includes 67 daily newspapers and approximately 190 non-daily publications serving over 45 million Americans each month. DFM maintains some of the most trusted brands in the United States built on providing high- quality local journalism to its readers and effective print and digital solutions for its advertisers. We are proud to add the Orange County Register and Riverside Press-Enterprise to our family of leading local news providers. DFMs dynamic Southern California News Group is now the largest news content provider in the combined counties of Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino and will remain focused on providing the highest-quality local news coverage, digitally and in print. We have long admired the Register and Press-Enterprise for innovation and quality reporting, editing, design and photography and the ability to deliver targeted, solution-oriented messaging for advertisers. The Register and Press-Enterprise mastheads, unique voices, and commitment to providing outstanding local news will remain unchanged. You have helped shape the identities of Orange and Riverside Counties to the world, while staying grounded in the kind of deeply local reporting that ensures an informed electorate and an engaged community. And we are committed to using our forward-thinking business practices to bring vitality and stability to Orange and Riverside Counties most important sources of information and news. We believe you will be inspired by and serve as inspiration to the rest of your colleagues within the Southern California News Group. Together, we are a collection of some of the finest journalists and media professionals in the country. We are honored to uphold the values of local journalism and look forward to working with you. Other than those employees who have already been contacted, all active Freedom employees (those who have worked at Freedom at least one day since March 1, 2016 through today) will be offered employment at Digital First Media effective April 1, 2016. Human Resources will be sending additional information later today detailing the next steps in the process of finalizing your employment with Digital First Media. We will be on site Friday morning to meet with you. We will plan to meet with the Register staff at 9:00 a.m. in Santa Ana and with the Press-Enterprise staff in Riverside at 12:00 p.m. More details will follow. We hope you are as excited as we are about the possibilities that the future holds. Steve Rossi Chief Executive Officer Digital First Media Sharon Ryan Executive Vice President DFM Western Region Ron Hasse President/Publisher Southern California News Group
Says OC Weekly editor Gustavo Arellano: "Have you ever seen your friend get their ass kicked, then had the attacker try to sidle up to you and buy you a drink before he kicks your ass? That's exactly what's going to happen this morning, when top executives with Digital First Media, the new owners of the Orange County Register, have scheduled an all-hands town hall at 9 a.m., a day after Digital First laid off more than 90 employees."
This article appears in the April 1, 2016 issue of Executive Intelligence Review.
EIR Seminar in Frankfurt on
Ne w Sil k Roa d fo r Mideas t an d Africa
by Rainer Apel
[PDF version of this article]
FRANKFURT, March 23The seminar, Solving the Economic and Refugee Crises with the New Silk Road! organized by EIR in cooperation with the Consulate General of Ethiopia in Frankfurt, Germany, was attended by an audience of 75, consisting of representatives of several diplomatic offices, subscribers and contacts of EIR in the region, and about ten Syrians (students as well as refugees waiting for enrollment at universities). Several contacts came from as far away as Berlin and cities in Switzerland. Extending over the entire afternoon, the seminar featured presentations by Helga Zepp-LaRouche, chairwoman of the Schiller Institute; Hussein Askary, EIR Arabic Editor, Stockholm; Mehreteab Mulugeta Haile, Consul General of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia; Marcello Vichi, former Director, Foreign Department, of the Bonifica company and author of the Transaqua concept; Andrea Mangano, Vice President, Italian Association of Water Engineers and contributor to the Transaqua outline. The speakers were joined by Mohammed Bila of the Lake Chad Basin Commission and Ulf Sandmark of the Schiller Institute Stockholm and Swedish-Syrian Committee for Democracy, for an expanded panel in the second part of the seminar. The seminar was moderated by Claudio Celani of the EIRs European center in Wiesbaden.
EIRNS/Christopher Lewis
In her keynote address, Zepp-LaRouche stressed that this would not be an academic seminar but rather a discussion about the fact that in this existential crisis of mankind, shown by the refugee crisis, the wars and the financial crash, solutions are within reach and must be realized now. In the wake of the terror attacks in Brussels yesterday, it is more than appropriate to recall former U.S. Senator Bob Grahams statement of mid-November last year after the terror attacks in Paris, that had the classified 28 pages of the Joint Congressional Inquiry into 9/11 been made public, such atrocities could and would have been prevented.
It is beyond any doubt that the Russian military intervention into Syria changed the rules of game, that it exposed the role of that pro-ISIS alliance of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United States, and United Kingdom, and particularly the role of Turkey, whose policies have been attacked harshly by two former U.S. ambassadors to Ankara. The European Union agreement with Turkey on containing the refugees is a travesty which fits into the general picture of Western and U.S. human rights violations, which have just been exposed in a Chinese dossier. While the West is talking about an insanity such as helicopter money to save its own speculative banks, the Chinese One Belt, One Road initiative presents an offer for a win-win strategy based on the real economy; that is, a strategy that is not just in the interest of China but also of the other nationsand real development only will help to dry out terrorism. Either Europe works with Russia, China, India, Iran, Egypt, and other nations to launch a Marshall Plan for Syria and Africa, or its bankrupt economies will crash against the wall, Mrs. Zepp-LaRouche said.
Presenting the EIR World Land-Bridge report in its first Arabic translation, Hussein Askary reported that as this seminar was being held in Frankfurt, an event presenting the Arabic report was also taking place in Yemen that same day under conditions of continued Saudi airstrikes on Yemeni cities. The idea of the New Silk Road is more than just building a few roads and railroads; it is a concept of development corridors improving the life of some 450 million people in the Southwest Asian region, with Syria being at the center. This involves mega-projects of rapid development, financed by national development banks free of the obligation to pay unpayable debt as demanded by the Western monetarist institutions. Like Egypt, Syria will focus on industrial zones, transport corridors, and agricultural development, with China showing the way with its massive infrastructural engagement, for instance in East Africa.
View full size EIRNS/Christopher Lewis
Ethiopian Consul General Haile followed with a presentation on the economic strategy of his country, characterized by policies that have greatly improved per-capita income, literacy, and public health care since the 1990s. With an envisaged annual GDP growth of 11%, Ethiopia seeks to become a middle-income country by 2025, made possible by opportunities for Ethiopians to set up a farm or shop at the price that many pay today to human traffickers to be brought to Europe as refugees. Ethiopia itself is the largest refugee host in Africa, having taken in 800,000 refugees from South Sudan, Somalia, and Eritreaa fact that no one in Europe talks about. Ethiopia will be transformed from a primary-products exporter to a nation with high-value production and infrastructure, and the countrys cooperation with Russia, China, India, and Brazil in rail projects is important in this context.
Marcello Vichi then reviewed the history of the Transaqua Project discussion over the past 35 years, from the first proposals presented by Italys Bonifica company in 1982-1985, to African governments and the UN pointing to a transfer of water from the giant Congo River as the only viable option for refilling Lake Chad. The proposal has largely been met with disinterest or pessimism as to the chance of its realization and has been discarded as allegedly megalomaniac, but the recent refugee streams have made Europe rethink its views, and Transaqua, which has always meant more than just water for Chadbut is rather the broader framework for the development of all of Central Africais the only option that can attract the young generation of the African labor force, so that it will not become refugees.
Andrea Mangano then presented an overview of what Lake Chad was 35 years ago and what it is now, with 90% of its water lost. It shares the problem with other evaporating inland lakes in the world that are no longer supplied by their traditional tributariesthe Aral Sea (Uzbekistan/Kazakhstan), Lake Urmia (Iran), Lake Turkana (Kenya), and the Dead Sea (Jordan/Israel). The process is only reversed by water transfer and reduced consumption by irrigation using new technologies. This is what Transaqua does; it will tap 5% of the water from the upper tributaries of the Congo River, water that otherwise flows unused into the Atlantic Ocean in a volume fourteen times that of Germanys biggest river, the Rhine. Refilling the lake will be accomplished with infrastructure construction that will give the entirety of Central Africa hydropower, irrigation for agriculture, and waterway transport, and will relieve the regions present land-locked condition.
Mohammed Bila of the Lake Chad Basin Commission elaborated on the Transaqua issue in the expanded panel, pointing to the large and ongoing migration wave southwards from Chad since the great drought of 1973, during which Lake Chad lost 40% of its water inflow. The farmers and their cattle that have migrated to the south will not return to Chad unless the lake is refilling, and unless the terrorist movement of Boko Haram has been crushed.
Ulf Sandmark reported on his two visits to Syria in 2014 and 2015, during which it became evident that the reconstruction of Syria actually implies the development of the entire Southwest Asia region, making it an integral part of the New Silk Roadto which he found the Syrians open, and when the Phoenix reconstruction plan drafted in Stockholm was presented to the Syrians during the second visit, it received broad coverage in the countrys media.
The panelists discussion with the audience featured additional aspects of what was said in the presentations, including the genocidal tradition of the British Empire, which has sabotaged real development in Africa and the Mideast; the hopelessness of the monetarist system; and the increased threat of a thermonuclear world war if the chance to change course toward cooperation with the New Silk Road is not taken by Europe and the United States; and that we are in a race against time to enter a new paradigm before the total collapse destroys everything. It was raised that, contrary to Western black propaganda, China is not engaged in Ethiopia for raw materials, since Ethiopia has none, but instead is a real partner for development.
Zepp-LaRouche repeatedly insisted during the discussion that the participants of this Frankfurt seminar take home with them the commitment to set fire to the behinds of the policy makers to force a fundamental change, that a real mass movement for development has to be created. Vichi made a passionate appeal that there is good reason for optimism, and that the change requires that we work from that optimistic basis. A new and creative image of man, as it was developed in the great Italian Renaissance, is required also today, Celani pointed out. Sandmark insisted that the New Silk Road is not just for engineers, but for everyone to study at seminars and chapter meetings. The first chapter meeting on the Arabic language report in Yemen today was actually being presided over by the leading poet of that country, Askary added.
For translation to be an art, you have to make the uncomfortable but necessary transgressions an artist makes. The words are spoken to the translator-protagonist of Idra Noveys debut novel, though after our recent conversation, they also feel like an imperative from the author herself.
Novey poet, translator, and now novelist has created something special with the brisk, beautiful Ways to Disappear (Little, Brown: 258 pp, $25), a book that blooms in the spaces between languages, between continents, between selves past and present. A kind of South American noir, the story concerns Beatriz Yogada, a famously eccentric Brazilian novelist whose disappearance (and staggering gambling debts) leaves her English translator and her two children entangled with the criminal underworld, the ravenous media and each other. In brief, lyrical chapters, arch dictionary excerpts, desperate emails and Radio Globo news bulletins, Novey explores the ways in which the act of translation exceeds the boundaries of text to become a necessary interpretive tool for the messiness of modern life.
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Novey teaches in the creative writing program at Princeton University. She has written two books of poetry and the translator of four books from Spanish and Portuguese, most recently Brazilian novelist Clarice Lispectors The Passion of G.H. Novey spoke to me by phone.
You already have two books of poetry and multiple translations to your name. What has the experience of publishing a debut novel been like?
Ive been thrilled by the reception the novel has had, but its certainly a new kind of experience. Im used to operating on the margins. Translators, unless theyre translating religious texts and get killed for heresy, tend to disappear from the public record. And most poets, unless they have a tragic death or kill themselves, tend to disappear from the record too especially women. But theres also a freedom that comes from knowing nobody is paying attention to you. Its easier to dismiss the rules, to dismiss the idea of genre and any other conventions that dont fit with the kind of work you are most moved to create.
Your novel is sensitive to the revelations and evasions of being multilingual, what you call the vapor between languages. How did your work as a translator inform this approach to the novel?
Much of my life takes place in that vapor between languages. I speak Spanish at home with my family and write in English and translate from Portuguese. Constantly moving between languages keeps a person mentally adventurous. I think it made me a more adventurous writer and not just at the sentence level but also in the sort of high-stakes story I ended up creating in the novel.
Translators are regularly marginalized in the literary world. Do you see your book, in which the protagonist is a translator, as a kind of rectification or inversion of this situation?
I set out to invert many things in this novel, but yes, the way we depict translators was certainly one of them. I wrote the novel I couldnt find. Id come across several works of fiction about translators but the portrayals didnt quite ring true. The risk-taking, the reckless joys of translation, the generous spirit that drives many people to become translators, something was always missing. Once I came up with the online poker part, I thought why not? Why not write the novel I was longing to read?
While this novel celebrates language, it also seems to assert the unreliability of words, their ambiguities, their inadequacies. Is your relationship to language contentious?
I would say my relationship to language is more rapturous than contentious. I live for the rapture of focusing so intently on the words in a scene that I forget what country Im in. Although maybe the deepest pleasure working with language is figuring out what to leave unsaid. In the alley scene in the novel, one of the characters brings a gun. I went back and forth about whether to have the presence of the gun discussed or have the fact revealed some other way, without words. After a gun goes off in a scene, what was left unsaid beforehand creates its own kind of rapture.
Elements of magical realism are present, particularly the descriptions of Beatriz Yagodas novels offered by your characters. What is your relationship to the genre? Was engaging with that tradition important to you?
Im resistant to aligning myself with that term because it refers to a very specific time in Latin American literature. I see myself writing more in the American tradition of writers like Denis Johnson or George Saunders or Karen Russell who experiment with a kind of slippery realism. In Johnsons Jesus Son, one story begins in a hospital that feels familiar enough until a character yanks a large object out of a patients eye and it works out. The patient lives. Johnson moves in and out of realism in such a slippery, unpredictable way in that book. Its exhilarating to read.
Is there any work in translation youve read recently that deserves mention here?
The French writer Marie NDiayes Self Portrait in Green is phenomenal. Talk about a master of slippery realism. Im really looking forward to her new novel coming out this spring.
Do you have another novel in the works or will you return to poetry? Translation?
I hope to continue moving between genres and languages for the rest of my life. I recently published a story about a headless chicken that first occurred to me 15 years ago when I was living in Chile. I go back to Chile every year with my family and something about that headless chicken, the menace of it, would not leave me until I finally wrote it down. The woman climbing into the almond tree at the beginning of Ways to Disappear was like that. Once I saw her with her suitcase and her cigar, climbing onto the lowest branch, vanishing as so many women writers before her have, I knew I had to find out why.
Illingworth is the managing editor of The Scofield magazine and a staff writer for LitHub. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Whether shes writing about the lavish Manhattan parties of beautiful powerful fallen angels known as Blue Bloods, or is in the mind of a young blackjack dealer in post-apocalyptic New Vegas, Melissa de la Cruz tackles questions of family, lineage, and inheritance in her bestselling young adult fiction -- without kimping on magic, dystopia and myth. In 2016 alone, she will publish a four books of her own, including Golden, book three in the Heart of Dread series, out April 5, which is the same release day as Surviving High School, the book de la Cruz co-authored with Vine star Lele Pons.
We spoke with Melissa by phone about escapism, religion, mythology of the West by phone from her home in California. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
When you decide to re-imagine a mythology that already exists, what does that process look like? You re-imagine a lot of placesVegas, New York, the British Empire in The Ring and the Crown. What do you understand about those places before you begin writing?
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I wanted to create an alternate historyone of the things I was interested in. I do a lot of research and I think it was something I read where until recently the British monarchy still claimed that they were the rightful heirs to France. I pondered about what life would be like if the British empire stretched into France: How could the British keep their hold on America? [Answer:] they had magic. Who would the British Empire have that would be magic? Theyve got Merlin. The story started to spiral out from there. I love King Arthur and Ive always wanted to write a retellingthis isnt quite it, but I wanted to write to about a sorceress, princess and American upstart.
Thats a wonderful way to transition into The Descendants seriesabout what happens to Disney characters and their offspring after all the storybook endings. Theres a real reverence for these characters and the stories; theyre sacred to a generation of people. It can go really well or really terribly when you start messing with Jafar. How do you take something that could be so sacred and turn it into this new world?
I think because Im a Disney kid myself I had the reverence too and I definitely wanted to right by the Disney universe. I felt that pressure of not messing it up and doing something that was worthy of the beautiful movies that came before. It was hard, really hard, and what I found was getting the tone right was the hardest.
I had to figure out the bring those endings from those movies to The Isle of the Lost [the first book]. I had to watch all of the movies again, so that was fun. I think youve got to come in with that reverence, but also with confidence. And a lot of sympathy for these kids who are the offspring of the most evil villains in the worldwhats that like? How would you survive? The book is about how impossible it is to win their parents approval and still be themselves -- I think a lot of us can relate to that.
You were born in the Philippines and came to the US. What do you carry with you now that affects your work? What made you choose Las Vegas?
Ive been going to Las Vegas since I was seven years old. The book Frozen [in the Heart of Dread series] is set there.... It was kind of fun to imagine a worse-than-terrible future. Its a commentary on how were living now, what were eating, and what were doing with our trashwhat if the world was covered in our garbage? Young adult readers are interested in that, its their future and when we did the book tour they were interested in those environmental issuesthey got it.
I liked writing from a boys point of viewI wanted to write about a couple that was equal, where the boy was as strong as the girl, they really complemented each other. Because I wrote this book with my husband, in a way it was a little bit about what we thought partnership should be. We wanted to show a love story that was a lot more equal instead of an all powerful vampire boy and the young weak human girl... not that theres anything wrong with that, but those arent the stories that I get excited by.
Ive never been excited by the Cinderella story and I like Jane Austen but I wonder why Elizabeth cant have what she wants without having to marry Mr. Darcy? I wanted to write what romance was like for meI was a little burned out and I wanted to get into fantasy and science fiction.
It seems Christianity was the start of your appreciation for other branches of storytelling. Your work also draws on fairy tales and Norse mythology and a number of other culturally relevant origin stories. How does religion inform your writing?
I was raised Catholic and in the Philippines -- you learn so much more about it than here and it blends with your life. There are people who crucify themselves or walk along the highway flogging themselves [in search of spiritual exaltation]. You had to memorize all of the saints and our religious education felt more rigorous. There were these beautiful rituals that you learn and I still identify as Catholic. In the Philippines our religion wasnt as restrictive; what I remember was learning the stories of all the saints and the gospels as superhero stories. And I learned that these beliefs and stories have so much power.
Loving mythology definitely came from the Catholic education, and believing in the power of stories became part of my DNA. I think there are a lot of Mormon fantasy writers for the same reasonyoure steeped in this religious education that is asking you to believe in something you cant see, which readily translates into fantasy and myths. My kid is growing up as a very secular child and Im curious to see what she draws from her background because I had such a different one.
Melissa de la Cruz will appear at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books on Sunday, April 10.
Graham is a freelance writer based in South Carolina.
Despite its title, Geoff Manaughs A Burglars Guide to the City wont teach you how to break into houses. It wont help you outsmart wily cat burglars with ingenious home alarm systems, either. Instead, it explores something a lot weirder and more interesting: Manaugh argues that burglary is built into the fabric of cities and is an inevitable outgrowth of having architecture in the first place.
After years studying the odder side of architecture as a writer, university lecturer and founder of the popular BLDGBLOG website, Manaugh has found a way to explore urban planning in a way that is unique and slightly wicked.
He devotes the book to the misusers of cities, people who refuse to be stopped by walls, doors and ceilings in their quest to steal. Burglars are some of historys greatest architecture critics, finding the flaws in every building and rebuilding them from the inside, with tunnels under the floors of banks, or perfect portals through the drywall between apartments.
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Manaugh describes buildings the way food critics conjure up the flavor of a sumptuous meal. Theres something delicious about his images of how burglars work their way inside buildings, moving through walls and floors like worms, like serpents, as if shape-shifting back and forth between species, between minerals and plants, burrowing their way into buildings before disappearing again through the ceiling in ways that architects would never have imagined nor planned.
A Burglars Guide to the City swerves between tales of criminals and the people who defend against them, introducing us to former detectives and present-day panic room designers. But undeniably the most fascinating parts of the book are the stories Manaugh has uncovered about criminal masterminds who exploited urban infrastructure and architectural quirks to get away with incredible heists.
We meet an anonymous Canadian burglar now working in home security who confesses to memorizing his citys fire code to figure out the internal layouts of apartment buildings he robbed. Because every unit was required to have a fire escape outside, he could tell how many units were on a given floor. And he even knew which floors had mandatory unlocked fire exits, giving him a perfect way to enter undisturbed.
Another criminal, nicknamed Roofman, knocked over a series of McDonalds across the U.S. by figuring out the franchise-regulated daily routines of workers. He knew exactly when people would be emptying cash registers and when the fewest workers would be around. He even knew what the typical layout of each restaurant would be, so he could easily drop into exactly the right place from his hidey hole in the ceiling. He is believed to have stolen from as many as 40 of the fast-food restaurants in nine states.
Eventually he was caught but almost immediately escaped from prison. After months of freedom, Roofman was caught for a second and final time. Officers discovered that hed tunneled behind a bicycle display in a Toys R Us and from there into an abandoned Circuit City next door, where he built a secret apartment under stairs.
Characters like these reveal the often strange psychology of burglars, but they also underscore how burglary is knitted into the routines and regulations of cities. Of course, crime prevention is part of the urban landscape too. At one point, Manaugh introduces us to British law enforcement agents who have built a burglar trap, a fake house with obvious entries that is designed to lure burglars into the arms of local police, especially in high-crime neighborhoods.
As the book goes on, Manaugh gradually draws us into a vision of the urban landscape as something to be reverse-engineered, used against itself. Decorative structures on the outsides of buildings become handholds, and service stairwells become architectural dark matter to be explored for fun and profit. Even transit systems are hackable, as thieves plan their getaways with instruments that can give them the green lights they need to weave their way through congested city streets.
Though he clearly admires the way burglars turn cities inside out, Manaugh is careful to remind us that most of them are jerks who leave their victims feeling violated.
He spends weeks shadowing detectives, flying with police in helicopters over Los Angeles, asking them what architectural features would make it easier to fight crime. Mostly, their answers involve better ways to identify addresses from the air; they also wish for easier-to-navigate hallways in the warrens of public housing mega-structures.
Burglary is a peculiarly spatial crime, as Manaugh puts it. One cannot be a burglar without breaking into a structure, and the law goes to almost absurd lengths to define what these structures might be. Construction sites with no walls can be broken into, for example, even if they are completely open on all sides. Because breaking and entering is used as a sentence enhancement for other crimes like theft or rape, lawyers have invented arcane ways to define a built space, calling into existence what Manaugh calls fictional architectures made of nothing but legal webs.
The one shortcoming of A Burglars Guide to the City is its fragmented structure, full of tangents and digressions which add up to hundreds of vignettes but no sustained narrative. Manaugh offers us dollops of everything he researched, without a full meal. As a result, his trip to a museum of historical locks is given as much attention as the fascinating story of Roofman, and were left wanting more burglars and less noodling on the nature of lock-picking.
Still, the kaleidoscopic pattern of this book is its strength too. Its not just a guide to crimes of the city; its a theory of cities, and the psychological contortions required to live in tiny boxes right alongside each other, with only thin, easily broken walls between us. Youll never look at your home the same way again.
::
A Burglars Guide to the City
Geoff Manaugh
FSG Originals: 304 pp., $16 paper
Newitz is the tech culture editor at Ars Technica and author of Scatter, Adapt, and Remember: How Humans Will Survive a Mass Extinction. Her first novel, Autonomous, will be published by Tor in 2017.
Love means never having to say youre sorry, went the tagline to Erich Segals 1970 tear-jerker Love Story, in which an earnest gent named Oliver tries to support his wife as she spoiler alert dies of leukemia. Charles Bocks novel Alice & Oliver shares a character name and a disease with Love Story, but Bock would consider Segals greeting-card glop only with open contempt. Love, especially when its tested by illness, means always having something to apologize for. The novels power is in its two characters messy negotiation of their fears, errors and shifting affections.
Even so, Love Story, wouldnt be a half-bad title for the first half of the book. Alice and Oliver are a charmed, devoted couple when we first meet them. Its 1993 in New York, when it was possible to find and rehab a roomy and cheap Meatpacking District apartment, when the miraculous nascent Internet allowed you to download an entire photo in less time than it took to microwave popcorn, and when you could step into a CD store and hear it thrumming with minor clicks, like a busy typewriter class.
Hes a bright programmer; shes a successful fashion designer; they have a newborn daughter, Doe. Life is so frictionless that they cling to a cuddly optimism even when, early on, Alices white-blood-cell count is decimated. In the hospital, they proclaimed themselves fortunate for this astounding relationship of theirs, having as much fun in that stupid room as they had, under such ridiculous conditions.
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That love-conquers-all resolve doesnt last long: Once Alice is formally diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, an ever-escalating set of complications is set in motion. Alice endures the wearying agony of chemotherapy. Oliver wrestles with healthcare bureaucrats. Both of them white-knuckle a search for a bone-marrow donor. Friends skedaddle because theyre afraid to confront Alices predicament. Or, perhaps worse, they arrive with tone-deaf ideas of what helping out is. No, Alice doesnt have the stamina to watch a pirated, pre-release VHS tape of Pulp Fiction, some buzzed-about film. A friends gift of an herbal vitamin supplement was supposed to fill Alice with vitality, but tasted like hot barf.
But the struggle beyond all that, and one that Bock is particularly concerned with getting right, involves the waiting for doctors to arrive, for insurers to respond to appeals, for the chemo to do its work. In the abstract, cancer creates a sense of urgency. But on the ground, Bock knows, it mostly cultivates slackness. Alice & Oliver is at its best as a story about how a couple must develop an internal GPS to recalculate the path through unfamiliar territory, when the things that attract them to each other and the comfort of their routines begin to get scraped away. Alice tries on Buddhism and a flirtation with a musician she meets in the hospital. Oliver throws himself into his work, juggling child care with programming. He has a card for a neighborhood floral shop that promises exquisite flowers (read: women) and hes tempted to give it a ring.
The novels detours into New Yorks seedier quarters are modest compared to Bocks bracing debut novel, 2008s Beautiful Children, where the whole trip was occupied by the sordid lives of Las Vegas prostitutes, pornographers and teen runaways. If Alice and Oliver are tamer protagonists, Bock is still interested in what makes us reckless how we search for escape when our lives are put under too much pressure.
Too much pressure according to whom, though? In this whos-suffering-more-in-the-marriage competition, Alice is the clear winner shes bearing a host of burdens both internal and external, ones that Olivers headaches with insurers and his startup cant match. That distinction is especially pronounced in the later chapters, as the point of view shifts to Alice, her psyche rubbed raw in advance of the bone-marrow transplant. Im wishing I had a lobotomy, she thinks. If theyd scooped out my frontal lobe, I wouldnt have to be present for what theyre going to do to me. But Bock does give both characters equal emotional depth, the better to explore the Newtonian marital dynamics when Oliver discovers Alices secrets and she his.
Bock lived through an experience much like the one he depicts here. In 2009 his first wife, Diana Joy Colbert, was diagnosed with leukemia when their daughter was an infant, and Colbert died in 2011 after two bone-marrow transplants. So the authorial fallacy isnt quite so fallacious in this case. But the true-life elements of the novel are meaningful only in terms of the novels main flaw: If the book avoids wearing its heart on its sleeve the way Love Story did (thank goodness), it does sometimes overshare its research. Passages are clotted with notebook-dump detail about chemotherapy medications, the movements of orderlies and nurses and doctors and the logistics of the bone-marrow donor and transplant process. Such details are essential for any novel that aspires to be a realistic portrait of cancer. But at moments the true-life banality of delay and process threatens to infect the lifeblood of the novel itself.
Yet it doesnt give anything away to say that Alice & Oliver revivifies in its closing pages and becomes an affecting portrait of how much everybody in Alices orbit has been emotionally reshaped. From early detection to Stage 4, nobody gets away unchanged by cancer, a point Bock emphasizes in a series of brief case studies interspersed though the novel: A man whose jaw is surgically removed, a second-grader whos slipped out of remission, a woman who takes little comfort in pink ribbons after a double mastectomy. Everyone so great and informed and aware and together and so helpful, that last patient thinks. Meanwhile, she had to get both of her breasts sawed off.
These vignettes are a potent reminder of the multitude of ways cancer can damage and transform. But theyre also a Greek chorus singing the same song: Whose help will you want when youre forced to face your own mortality up close? My husband or my wife are excellent answers, but Bock offers a forceful reminder that there are plenty of roiling emotions underneath that till-death-do-us-part.
::
Alice & Oliver
Charles Bock
Random House: 416 pp., $28
Athitakis is a reviewer in Phoenix.
Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk, speaking to an adoring crowd of Tesla fans, pronounced the Model 3 a success upon its birth Thursday night in Hawthorne.
And by the reaction in person and online, Tesla fans overwhelmingly agreed.
Pulling the covers off the fourth vehicle in the companys short history, Musk declared that more than 115,000 vehicles had been pre-ordered in the first 24 hours. By Friday morning, Musk tweeted an update that the number had climbed to 180,000 orders in 24 hours.
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He said the selling price with an average option mix was probably about $42,000, which came out to a total of about $7.5 billlion in a day.
Future of electric cars looking bright, Musk tweeted.
Shares of Tesla stock surged Friday morning, gaining $10.43, or 4.5%, to $240.20.
Analysts said the number of pre-orders for the Model 3 exceeded their expectations.
Typically, you dont see pre-sales like that at all, said Jack Nerad, executive editorial director and market analyst for Kelley Blue Book. Theres a magic around Tesla. Theres a magic around Elon Musk that has enthralled a lot of people.
In a Friday note, Evercore ISI said investors surveyed Thursday predicted that Model 3 orders would total 55,000 in 72 hours. By the end of the year, they expected orders to hit 117,000 cars.
Evercore analysts said in the report they had thought the survey results were overly optimistic.
How wrong could we have been? the report said.
Traditionally, mass market auto customers have wanted to see vehicles for themselves, take a test drive and read reviews before putting down a deposit none of which happened Thursday with Tesla, according to the report.
It seems that Teslas brand equity has enabled it to break all convention with consumers happy to place a blind order, the report said.
Teslas previous models have been plagued by delivery delays, and this history could be an indicator of what is to come, Nerad said.
But it might not necessarily dissuade the scores of people who put down deposits since many are already familiar with Teslas history and are prepared to wait until 2018 to get the car, said Jessica Caldwell, senior analyst at Edmunds.com.
Despite the number of rabid Tesla fans, Nerad said conventional automakers with electric vehicles will still be able to compete through the sheer number of dealerships and their retail power.
The key ingredient for a broad line manufacturer is they can sell and probably will sell EVs [electric vehicles] at a loss, he said. I think Tesla Motors cant continue to operate at a loss forever. This is when theyre really supposed to become much more than a niche player in the industry.
The lower, sleeker Tesla -- at least 20% smaller in stature than its bigger brother, the Model S -- will be able to go from 0 to 60 mph in less than six seconds in its most affordable configuration.
The Model S and X made the Model 3 possible, Musk said. So to all of you who bought an S or an X, thanks for paying for this.
He noted that with any new technology it takes multiple iterations ... and economies of scale before you can make it affordable.
The Model 3 will be fitted with Teslas autopilot features, which have helped the car be among the safest on highways.
Standing before a collection of new Model 3s, Musk reminded the audience that the car represented the culmination of a long-held dream to bring affordable, zero-pollution vehicles to the worlds highways.
Musk began his pitch by pointing out that CO2 levels and global temperatures were at record highs, and said the Model 3 would be a solution to that problem.
Earlier in the day, Tesla showrooms around the world were flooded with eager customers who happily plunked down $1,000 deposits to reserve their cars.
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They didnt know what the car looked like, how it would perform or even the exact price, but that didnt matter to the most ardent of fans, some of whom camped out for hours overnight to be among the first in line for the car. The car wont become available until late 2017 at the earliest.
Analysts said the event more closely resembled the premiere of a blockbuster film or the latest food fad than the release of a new car.
Other carmakers launch new models all the time and I dont remember ever seeing this level of excitement, said Max Zanan, co-founder and chief executive of IDDS Group, an automotive consulting firm in New York. Tesla has been able to carve out their own customer base and that base is willing to delay purchasing other cars and wait for a Tesla.
Even with Thursdays excitement, critics say the Model 3 may arrive too late to beat other equally affordable long-range plug-ins coming from major manufacturers, and it will be competing for a stubbornly small share of the car-buying public interested in plug-in electric technology.
And there are doubts that the company can even get the car on the road in a timely fashion.
The industry publication Green Car Reports has said the success or failure of the Model 3 will almost certainly make or break Tesla as a car company.
Staff writer Shan Li contributed to this report.
Twitter: @misterfleming
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For a year, Los Angeles area motorists have seen their gasoline prices soar as high as $1.50 a gallon more than the rest of the nation following an explosion at Exxon Mobils Torrance refinery that destroyed the plants pollution control system and constrained California inventories.
Angry neighbors called for a permanent shutdown of the facility after reports revealed that the February 2015 explosion, which triggered state and federal investigations, could have unleashed harmful chemicals into their community.
On Saturday, the South Coast Air Quality Management District will hold a hearing at the Torrance City Hall to review Exxon Mobils request to fully restore the refinery, which usually provides a fifth of the refined gasoline capacity in Southern California and 10% of the statewide capacity.
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Although gasoline prices in recent weeks have turned upward, the Torrance refinerys return to service could at least help narrow the ongoing gap between the Los Angeles region and other parts of the country.
Since the explosion, the refinery has operated at less than 20% of its normal capacity.
Once Exxon Mobil starts producing, thats going to put downward pressure on prices, said Gordon Schremp, senior fuels analyst for the California Energy Commission.
California prices are almost always higher than national prices, driven up by higher-than-average taxes and fees, state requirements to produce special low-pollution blends and the relatively small number of refineries in the state. But with the Torrance plant producing a fraction of its normal capacity, Schremp said, California prices have been consistently running 20 cents more than the national average.
Industry analysts speculated that the Torrance facility would return to service by July 2015. State agencies and regulators suggested that the plant would return to full operation by the end of 2015 and, later, by February 2016.
None of the predictions proved true, and the long outage drove up gasoline prices in the L.A. region, even as the nationwide average kept falling. Some gas stations in downtown L.A. posted prices of more than $5 for a gallon of regular while the nationwide average was $2.77.
Consumer Watchdog, an advocacy organization, for months has criticized oil companies for gouging consumers throughout the Exxon Mobil refinery outage as the companies reaped record gross profits from the high gasoline prices.
The big problem for this market has been that when Exxon went down for more than a year, 20% of our gasoline in Southern California went away, said Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog. Its opened a lot of eyes.
Returning the Torrance refinery to full service will set the stage for the sale of the plant to New Jersey-based PBF Energy, which announced last fall that it was acquiring the facility. Exxon Mobil and PBF said they anticipate closing on the deal by mid-2016.
PBF has said it would not acquire the refinery until Exxon Mobil restores full operations.
The acquisition, experts said, also could help lower California gas prices, depending on how aggressively PBF decides to operate.
The company says it intends to fully utilize the Torrance plant.
PBF is a competitive, growth-oriented, merchant refiner that is excited to be expanding into Southern California, said Michael Karlovich, a PBF spokesman. After we purchase the Torrance refinery we will begin selling into an established wholesale market, so having a new merchant refiner in the region should further increase competitiveness.
Schremp said Exxon Mobils plans for safely returning Torrance to full operation appear to have regulatory support. Once Exxon Mobil has approval to fully restore operations, it will take several days for the plant to reach full capacity.
Todd Spitler, an Exxon Mobil spokesman, said the company could not speculate on the timing of the restart.
We look forward, Spitler said, to sharing the details of our comprehensive plan to safely restart the Torrance refinery and ensure a productive hearing.
ivan.penn@latimes.com
Twitter: @ivanlpenn
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Despite steady job growth and a low unemployment rate, the U.S. recovery is trailing in one key aspect: the kind of labor market dynamism that played a large role in making the country the worlds economic superpower.
One telltale sign is that workers are changing jobs at a slower pace than before. Another is that theres been a long decline in the number of new, innovative firms that powered job creation in the past.
Short term, this slowdown in the so-called churning of jobs could be an indication that employment has stabilized for the better. After all, during the second half of the 20th century, when the country achieved levels of growth and prosperity greater than at any time in its history, workers commonly stayed with the same employer for years.
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But longer term, economists worry that the lower turnover is an indication of stagnation, not stability: Workers are staying put because there are fewer better jobs to move to, or they face other barriers that are keeping them locked in their current positions. And with declining job movement may come slower gains in overall employment, wages, productivity and, ultimately, economic growth.
Job openings and new hires have both picked up in the past two years as the labor market has improved, but the rate at which people are moving in and out of jobs has been in a long, steady decline.
In the 1990s, for example, for every 100 workers in the labor force, about six of them took on new jobs every quarter and 5.5 left their jobs during the same period.
Since the Great Recession in late 2007, an average of 4.5 out of every 100 people in the labor force have moved into new jobs every quarter, while 4.4 separated from their existing positions, according to an analysis of government data by W. Michael Cox, former chief economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
Were slowing down, were following the path downward in terms of job dynamism, said Cox, who now teaches at Southern Methodist University.
Two other related trends point to a similar conclusion: The formation of new companies, which are relatively big generators of jobs and reflect a dynamic, forward-looking business climate, has slowed down significantly over the years.
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New firms, or those less than a year old, accounted for about 13% of all companies in the late 1980s, but that has since declined to about 8% in recent years. Making matters worse, a small but significant part of the drop-off has come from start-ups with the fastest growth and highest job creation, according to a recent paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Evidence shows that high-growth young firms have disproportionately accounted for job creation and productivity growth, the researchers wrote. Now the U.S. has a much lower pace of start-ups, and those that do enter are less likely to be high-growth firms.
That could be one of the reasons people also are not moving across labor markets as they once did. Census Bureau data show that the annual rate at which people relocated to a different state -- which is often an indicator of job changes -- fell to between 1.4% and 1.7% of the overall population since the Great Recession. That contrasts to interstate migration rates at or close to 3% from 1947 through the middle of the last decade, with only a few exceptions.
To be sure, the aging of the U.S. population accounts for part of this slowdown. Older people are less mobile and less likely to switch jobs, too. And baby boomers like Cara Black and her husband, who didnt want to be identified, often face difficulties when they are trying to find new jobs.
The south Orange County resident thinks age discrimination is a factor in her husbands inability to land a job despite a masters degree and two years of looking after leaving his job at a dental care company. I worry quite a bit about our situation, she said.
It isnt just older workers. The slowdown in labor dynamism cuts across demographics as well as industry, according to Federal Reserve and private economists.
Josiah Kadle, who lives near Harrisonburg, Va., left his phlebotomy job in March after being recruited by an acquaintance in property management. But the 31-year-old said he would have switched jobs earlier had he seen openings that paid more.
Over two years he searched and searched. But in his area in Northern Virginia, the pay for blood-draw specialists was pretty much the same everywhere, Kadle said, and with a wife who is working, two small children and a house, moving out of the region wasnt an option.
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When I was looking, there wasnt much out there in this market. Wages have been stagnant, he said.
Experts also blame government policies for suppressing job creation and labor market mobility, whether through taxes or burdensome regulations.
Government restrictions on who can work in which jobs have expanded greatly over time, said academic economists Steven Davis and John Haltiwanger, who have written extensively on labor market flows. Citing other research, they note that the share of workers required to have a government-issued license to do their jobs rose from less than 5% in the 1950s to 29% in 2008. Even librarians and funeral workers today must be licensed in some states.
Taken together, the slowdown in job-to-job movement, geographical mobility and new firm formation has economists worried that the U.S. may be losing something called creative destruction.
The term, coined by the influential economist Joseph Schumpeter in the early 20th century, describes the idea that a healthy market-driven capitalist system grows bigger and stronger because it is constantly creating better companies and products while destroying older ones that are falling behind the curve of progress.
In this view, the pace of job creation and destruction has long been a hallmark of the American economic vitality. While painful for some people at some points, it produces more good in the long run.
The nations energetic and flexible labor market, compared with other countries, is considered a major reason why the U.S. economy has continued to outperform almost all others over time.
But what Schumpeter called this gale of creative destruction has turned into something more of a breeze in the U.S., raising concerns about the underlying vigor and productive future of the economy.
At least for the immediate future, lower job churn may seem like a good thing. It can mean less uncertainty for workers. It also could reduce costs for employers who dont have to spend as much for hiring and training new workers.
Some analysts wonder whether the Internet and other hiring and job-finding tools have helped make better matches between workers and jobs, resulting in less turnover. But many economists dont view the decline in job flows as benign or inconsequential.
Sophia Koropeckyj, a labor economist at Moodys Analytics, sees a potentially vicious cycle at work. If people are staying in their jobs longer and not acquiring more skills, they are not only less likely to earn higher wages, but also not freeing up jobs for others.
Its a big deal, said Davis, a professor at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and expert on the subject. For many workers, the way they build careers involves a lot of mobility, especially early in their career. On balance, its harder for someone to enter the job market to move up, improve skills and raise their pay.
Follow me on Twitter @dleelatimes
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California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris has sued investment bank Morgan Stanley over mortgage-backed securities issued in the run-up to the financial crisis, saying the firm misrepresented the riskiness of those investments.
In the suit, filed Friday in San Francisco Superior Court, Harris accuses the bank of making false claims, withholding information from investors and pushing credit rating agencies to downplay the risks of mortgage-backed securities and other investments that later went bad, costing the states pension funds as well as private investors.
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This lawsuit is necessary in order to hold Morgan Stanley accountable for the destruction it caused to California, our people and our pension funds, Harris said in a statement Friday.
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The securities in question were sold between 2004 and 2007. Some included loans from Irvine subprime lender New Century, which went bankrupt in 2007.
Harris is seeking $700 million in penalties against Morgan Stanley, plus damages of more than $600 million, spokeswoman Rachele Huennekens said.
Morgan Stanley spokesman Mark Lake said the company plans to defend itself vigorously.
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We do not believe this case has merit, he said. The securities at issue were marketed and sold to sophisticated institutional investors, and their performance has been consistent with the sector as a whole.
The financial crisis is the better part of a decade old, and financial firms already have paid billions in penalties and settlements related to crisis-era securities. Last month, ratings agency Moodys Corp. agreed to pay $130 million to the California Public Employees Retirement System to settle allegations that the firm negligently rated risky securities as safe.
Still, as Fridays case shows, investors and public officials are still taking banks to court. Late last year, Germanys Commerzbank sued Wells Fargo and other lenders, saying they did not do enough to protect investors from buying shoddy loans.
There is still new litigation coming out of the financial crisis as some of these investigations dig deeper, said Bruce Simon, a San Francisco attorney who specializes in securities law.
james.koren@latimes.com
Twitter: @jrkoren
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SeaWorld CEO defends decision to halt breeding of killer whales
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SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. Chief Executive Joel Manby, in an online conversation with park supporters, said the company had no choice but to halt the breeding of killer whales or risk the eventual demise of its parks.
The choice, he said, became clear once the Orlando, Fla.-based theme park company closely reviewed the research on why some people were staying away from the marine parks. And the trends, he noted, were most notable among younger people.
We understand some customers are upset and you may feel betrayed, but in a simple way, the data and trends showed it was either a SeaWorld without whales or a world without SeaWorld, he said during the Wednesday webcast. We are an organization that needs to have cash flow to [succeed] and unfortunately, the trends were not in our favor.
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Manbys remarks came just two weeks after SeaWorld said it would end breeding of its 29 killer whales and would be phasing out the theatrical Shamu shows at all three of its three namesake parks. The performances will be replaced with orca encounters starting first in San Diego that emphasize the animals natural behaviors.
Manby conceded that he struggled mightily with the decision, but the announced changes would not keep the company from straying from its mission: to protect animals and their habitats and to eventually become the leading animal rescue organization in the world.
Although the tide of public opinion concerning orcas clearly was turning, fueled in part by the 2013 documentary Blackfish, the straw that broke the camels back, Manby said, were legislative efforts in California to outlaw captive breeding. He cited a California Coastal Commission decision that would require SeaWorld to end the breeding of killer whales if it wanted to expand its orca tanks, a project that it has since abandoned.
Of all the SeaWorld parks, the attendance declines have been the most precipitous in San Diego, with visitation dropping more than 4% in 2015 and 17% in 2014.
lori.weisberg@sduniontribune.com
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A day after its glitzy Model 3 unveiling in front of hundreds of fans, Tesla Motors Inc. will now have to turn its attention to its most pressing concern: how to deliver these cars to customers on time.
Its a problem Tesla has struggled with before.
Its most recent vehicle, the falcon-wing Model X SUV, was delivered to customers in late 2015 after it was expected to arrive in early to mid-2014.
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The trouble was blamed on design difficulties with the doors, which open straight away and up from the vehicle. (Most of the industry refers to these as gull-wing doors but, hey, thats Tesla.)
Prior history might be an indicator of what might happen in the future, said Jack Nerad, executive editorial director and market analyst for Kelley Blue Book.
Read on to learn more about the challenges Tesla will face with its newest model.
Production delays
Company Chief Executive Elon Musk claims that, compared to past vehicle delivery disappointments, the Model 3 will be different.
At the car unveiling Thursday night, Musk got a big laugh from the audience when he said he felt fairly confident that the electric vehicle would be delivered next year.
On Friday morning, he tweeted that pre-orders for the Model 3 had reached 180,000. He followed that tweet up with another, saying he was definitely going to need to rethink production planning.
Theyre acutely aware of the delays theyve had before, said Eric Lyman, vice president of industry insights at TrueCar.
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I think when youre acutely aware of something, especially as a publicly traded company, you have a responsibility to be straightforward with the expectations going forward of future products and ultimately things that will impact the bottom line for your business and your shareholders.
To cut down on potential product delays, analysts said the Model 3 would likely have a more simple design and features.
If they have less bells and whistles, which they probably will, the production should be a bit easier from that standpoint, said Jessica Caldwell, senior analyst at Edmunds.com. Theyre producing a higher number [of vehicles], but the complexity of production would be less.
But the mass market Tesla is targeting with the Model 3 is very different from the niche, luxury customers it attracted with the higher-end Model S sedan and Model X SUV.
The mass market is not as tolerant of delays in product, Lyman said. Part of the appeal of a luxury good is the exclusivity, and if slim production or lack of availability is positively correlated with exclusivity ... then a delay in that type of market would not be as impactful.
Competitors with a quicker time frame
One looming challenger is the Chevy Bolt, which is expected to be on the market by the end of 2016. The plug-in electric vehicle will have a price tag of about $37,500 and a 200-mile range.
Other automakers, such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW, also are working on new electric vehicles.
Nerad of Kelley Blue Book said some antsy buyers could decide to switch to another maker if Tesla takes too long.
But conventional automakers with electric vehicles also will be able to compete through the sheer number of dealerships and their retail power.
The key ingredient for a broad-line manufacturer is they can sell and probably will sell EVs [electric vehicles] at a loss, he said. I think Tesla Motors cant continue to operate at a loss forever. This is when theyre really supposed to become much more than a niche player in the industry.
Disappearing electric vehicle rebates
California recently disallowed electric vehicle rebates for wealthy customers, and some state and federal rebates are set to expire after the manufacturer sells 200,000 individual cars.
According to data compiled by the research firm Polk and by the industry publication Inside Evs, Tesla to date has sold about 67,000 vehicles that qualified for rebates. If the company hits its stated sales target of 80,000 to 90,000 vehicles this year, analysts said, those rebates could expire before the first Model 3 leaves the factory floor.
A good number of these individuals are not going to get that tax rebate, Lyman said. Just the sheer math wont allow it. Thats another tricky thing that Teslas going to have to negotiate.
Times staff writer Charles Fleming contributed to this report.
For more business news, follow @smasunaga.
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Marked by an economy of words but a depth of feeling, the Italian import Cloro proves an impressive feature debut for director Lamberto Sanfelice, who co-wrote this stirring coming-of-age drama with Elisa Amoruso.
Jenny (Sara Serraiocco) is a 17-year-old synchronized swimming competitor forced to move from her home in seaside Ostia to a remote mountain village after her mother dies and her father (Andrea Vergoni) suffers a nervous breakdown. Jennys anxious uncle (Giorgio Colangeli) ensconces Jenny, her catatonic dad and her antsy younger brother, Fabrizio (Anatol Sassi), in his spare cabin, leaving Jenny in charge of her fraught little family.
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Despite a steely resourcefulness, Jenny is hardly OK with this setup, eager to return to Ostia in time for a major swim contest. Meanwhile, she gets a housekeeping job at the local inn, a modest ski resort ironically named the Hotel Splendor; enrolls Fabrizio in school, struggles to revive her blank father and attempts to keep up her swim training. But will she ever really leave the mountains?
Not a tremendous amount may happen in Cloro (Italian for chlorine), but much goes on emotionally, especially for the trapped, aching Jenny. An unlikely fling with the hotels mysterious groundskeeper (Ivan Franek) helps fill a void, but it feels like just another way for Jenny to mark time. Still, due in large part to Serraioccos deep, quietly grounded performance, its hard not to be drawn into her evocative journey. (The lovely actress evokes a youthful combination of Hilary Swank, Jennifer Garner and Anne Hathaway.)
Sanfelice moves the gentle action along with patient, observational takes, mixed in with more staccato, impressionistic imagery and bits of synchronized swimming footage. For some viewers, however, there may be a dearth of narrative context: How did Jennys mother die? What was her father like before? How did the resentful Jenny relate to him and Fabrizio in happier times?
But, as in the beautifully modulated marital drama 45 Years, less can prove to be more. If we have to work a little harder to invest in Cloros transporting story, so be it. For serious filmgoers, it will be worth it.
calendar@latimes.com
Is it easier to create a brilliant, mesmerizing performance than to write and direct a film that convincingly contains it? Based on the evidence presented by Miles Ahead, the answer would have to be yes.
A biographical drama centering on a handful of periods in the life of jazz trumpeter Miles Davis, this valentine to jazz in all its forms stars Don Cheadle in arguably the best performance of his decades-long career, as vibrant a portrait of a difficult, passionate, committed creative artist as anyone could wish for.
Cheadle has been noticeably less successful, however, as the projects director and co-writer (along with Steven Baigelman). Though it starts out promisingly as an attempt at fragmented, free-form narrative, Miles Ahead puzzlingly devolves into the cliche territory of a heist plot, the equivalent of having Glenn Gould involved in a smash-and-grab robbery.
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In fact, the sophistication gap between the character Cheadle has created and the film that contains him is so great it begins to feel like youre watching two different stories that have been unaccountably spliced together.
The first Davis we meet is the established legend of the 1980s, an old lion with a lot of bite being interviewed on camera by a nervous, unseen journalist in Miles Aheads framing device.
With his halo of hair, constant smoking, extravagant clothes, impenetrable shades and raspy voice, Cheadle not only looks and sounds like Davis, he also re-creates his persona, the mans sharp temper and the keen, impatient intelligence that suffered fools not at all.
Before we can get comfortable with this setup, a trumpet blast from Davis tosses us into the middle of a car chase, with the musician fleeing for unknown reasons from an unseen man who appears to be shooting to kill.
Then we move with equal speed to a very different Davis than the one in the framing device. The year is 1979, and the trumpeter, called the Howard Hughes of jazz, is living a reclusive life in New York, using drugs and behaving like a law unto himself.
Its been five years since Davis put out a record, and its rumored that he has new material on tape. His label, Columbia, wants to hear it, but Davis is in no hurry to hand it over. What he is interested in is the $20,000 he feels Columbia owes him.
Inserting himself into this morass is a brash, venal, all-around irritating freelance journalist named Dave Braden (a wasted Ewan McGregor) who worms his way into Davis house and insinuates himself into his life, agreeing to drive him to Columbia to demand his money and then helping him score drugs.
The latest iteration of the journalist-befriends-genius trope last seen with David Foster Wallace in The End of the Tour this relationship is both tedious and difficult to believe.
While at Columbia, Davis catches a glimpse of the cover of one of his classic albums, Someday My Prince Will Come, a cover that features a photograph of his first wife and muse Frances Taylor. That glimpse triggers a series of flashbacks going back to the late 1950s and 1960s and detailing the musicians relationship with Taylor, a classical dancer whom Davis fell instantly and madly in love with.
Impeccably played by Emayatzy Corinealdi (who was just as good in Ava Duvernays Middle of Nowhere), Taylor is, besides Davis, the only fully realized character in the film, and the pleasures and terrors of their relationship are never without interest.
Unfortunately, that strand has to share screen time with both the journalist and a ridiculous story line about a scheme to steal Davis tape. That plot line involves sleazy record producer Hamilton Harper (Michael Stuhlbarg, also wasted) and a young trumpet prodigy and Davis doppelganger named Junior (Lakeith Lee Stanfield, memorable in Short Term 12").
Cheadles performance as Davis, a complex, driven man who could be violently destructive to the people around him but was always looking to take the music further, stands tall in all of this, even when the plot contrivances start to pile up like so much disposable material.
Also always a pleasure is Davis exceptional music, played by the master but convincingly acted by the trumpet-playing Cheadle. With compositions like Nefertiti and So What forming the ever-present soundtrack to this complicated life, we hope, often in vain, that what we see will be matched in grace by what we hear.
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'Miles Ahead
No MPAA rating
Running time: 1 hour, 40 minutes
Playing: Arclight, Hollywood; Landmark, West Los Angeles
Theres an intriguing premise set up at the beginning of Nick Simons horror film The Girl in the Photographs. Young supermarket clerk Colleen (Claudia Lee) is tormented by grisly snapshots left for her discovery by a serial killer in sleepy Spearfish, S.D.
She matches the composition from one of the bloody photos of a young female victim to a provocative ad for American Clothing, and therein lies the films proposition a comparison between the objectification of fashion photography to the brutal and bloody crimes of a small-town murderer.
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However, this argument isnt developed beyond the mere juxtaposition, even when American Clothing photographer and Spearfish native Peter Hemmings (Kal Penn, doing his best impression of celeb photog Terry Richardson) arrives in town with his entourage in tow. The Girl in the Photographs shoots for the level of Michael Powells Peeping Tom in its meta-commentary and insight but achieves only that of a low-budget rip-off of Scream (the late Wes Craven is an executive producer here).
There isnt enough mystery and ambiguity around the murders to create a sense of fear or dread, yet theres something rather effectively creepy and compelling, with its retro thrills and chills. Unfortunately, the spunky Colleen is denied the chance to be the classic, empowered final girl. This results in a nasty and nihilistic perspective that feels misplaced. Still, the performances, especially by Penn, are entertaining enough to sustain this minor horror flick.
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The Girl in the Photographs
No rating.
Running time: 1 hour, 35 minutes.
Playing: Vintage Loz Feliz 3.
Its rare for moviegoers to see public institutions depicted in a heroic light, which makes Standing Tall something of an unfashionable eye-opener. The French dramas juvenile justice system is neither inept nor corrupt. Devoted personnel face seemingly incorrigible kids and insurmountable odds as best they can, with clear-eyed compassion.
If director Emmanuelle Bercots feature isnt always dramatically satisfying, it is fueled by the fine, flinty chemistry of Catherine Deneuve, Benoit Magimel and newcomer Rod Paradot. They play, respectively, a juvenile magistrate, a caseworker and a troubled teen a family of sorts, as the unsentimental screenplay by Bercot and Marcia Romano (Under the Sand) suggests.
Malony needs all the structure and support he can get. When hes only 6, his overwhelmed wreck of a mother (Sara Forestier) rejects him as a monster. Ten years later, hes a car thief with a long list of violations and a short fuse. Deneuves judge matter-of-factly removes potential weapons from her office scissors, a heavy glass vase before he enters for a hearing.
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The intimate scale of these official dealings is striking. As a figure of sensitive authority, working to right the boy through turbulent years, Deneuve anchors the narrative with magnificent restraint. And the terrific Magimel, embodying a vulnerable version of tough love as the counselor Yann, delivers the films most affecting moment. It arrives in an especially unguarded exchange with Malony, whos astute enough to recognize their similarities which the screenplay indicates without indulging in maudlin back story.
With his coiled, jumpy intensity, Paradot a carpentry student making his acting debut is thoroughly convincing, provoking scorn as much as sympathy. Malonys explosive fits grow tiresome for the audience, as they do for the other characters. Wearing down our patience might be one of the ways Bercot is challenging expectations. Yet the repetitiousness drains the movie of momentum. Attempts to pump up the drama with intrusive music dont help.
Missteps aside, Bercot perceptively illuminates the hard work and heart beneath the bureaucratic alphabet soup, much as she did as co-writer of Polisse. For the indefatigable souls guiding Malony, giving up is not an option.
calendar@latimes.com
I feel like being a punk, says Jennifer Clavin, leader of the Echo Park-based trio Bleached, meant we were almost anti-beach culture.
Clavin is driving her band mates her guitar-playing younger sister, Jessie, and bassist Micayla Grace to the beach.
Its a Friday morning, a few weeks before the April 1 release of the bands second album, Welcome the Worms, a work that chronicles late nights and the mistakes that accompany them, with a shoreline-ready effervescence. Still, forget topics of surf and sand, Bleacheds new songs are set in clubs, bars or the cars of unknown men.
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Today, Jennifer assures that the bratty, beach-hating days of her youth are behind her. Welcome the Worms, for instance, delivers its booze-filled recklessness with sobering exuberance. Its highly melodic and often sunny. Theres even a spacey theramin if you know where to listen and plenty of ba-bas and whoo-hoos, although Grace confesses she wanted even more of them.
A friend of Jennifer Clavins described it as evil Go-Gos, and shes taken a liking to that. Its also relatively accurate, because Bleached is steeped in a tradition of West Coast pop only louder. Over the course of a few hours, Jennifer will mention the harmonies of Linda Ronstadt as often as she will the aggression of Black Flag.
And its sitting in traffic on the I-10, long before the ultimate destination of the Santa Monica Pier is reached, that Jennifer spies a metaphor for Welcome the Worms.
In the neighboring lane, a woman has her sedan decked out in balloons and banners as if she has just come from a wedding. Only its not a coupling thats being championed: Just divorced! reads the scrawl on the rear window, and Jennifer is ill-advisedly struggling to both drive and take a Snapchat of it.
Thats what the record is about, that way of looking at life, shell say later. Its about embracing the darkness of life. Thats life. Life is scary. But there are beautiful moments that come of that darkness.
Welcome the worms, says Grace.
If Bleacheds first album, 2013s Ride Your Heart, was all busted relationships all the time, Welcome the Worms is celebratory in its self-reflection, even if Jennifer doesnt always like what she sees. Its also the best argument yet that Bleached is going to find a wider audience. Produced by Joe Chiccarelli, whos worked with the likes of Elton John, Morrissey and the Shins, Welcome the Worms is punk rock at its most bubblegum, holding steadfastly to the belief that in this electronic-driven era, air-guitaring is still cool. The band, currently on tour, will be home May 5 to play the Teragram Ballroom.
Though Bleached is only two albums into its career, the Clavin sisters raised in the San Fernando Valley and both high school dropouts have been toiling in the L.A. music scene for more than a decade. In their teens, they started the thrashy, well-regarded Mika Miko, which, until splitting in 2009, was a regular at downtowns hole-in-the-wall all-ages club the Smell.
Bleached on Welcome the Worms is punk rock at its most bubblegum. The band, from left, is comprised of sisters Jessie and Jennifer Clavin and bassist Micayla Grace. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
In 2006, when Mika Mikos members still werent all of drinking age and Jennifer told The Times she was 22, the band hooked up with Kill Rock Stars the Olympia, Wash.-based record label that ignited the mid-'90s riot grrl movement. Yet Mika Miko, with its shouted, back-and-forth vocals, was not so interested in politics.
Though Jennifer and Jessie recovered from bolting high school for various L.A.-area community colleges, they sometimes tried to scrape together living expenses by attempting to score work as extras in Hollywood productions. This was reflected in Mika Mikos songs sort of.
One was to be zombies. I didnt get called back. How do you not get called back to be a zombie? says Jennifer. We got the call that we werent accepted while at practice, so we wrote a song called Zombies Take One.
In Mika Miko days, I would write a song about not getting called back for a casting call, but I would make the lyrics so vague that no one would know what I was singing about. Id want them to think it was a love song or something. But thats only because I wasnt confident. I didnt think anyone wanted to hear what I had to say.
With Bleached, Ive been as honest as I can be. What do I have to lose? Lets get real.
Bleached, especially on Welcome the Worms, is all about clarity. Ten songs and just over 35 minutes, its a work of speeding into and through your late 20s, of surviving dead-end relationships, broken friendships and learning how to say forget-it-all and to just go out and have a roller-skating party.
Im trying to be loud vocally and loud with my image, Jennifer will say moments after a young woman at the Santa Monica Pier gushes over the musicians cotton-candy hair color. You want to make people question you. Thats why I dye my hair bright orange. I dont want to be boring.
Sitting at a chain restaurant and looking out over the Santa Monica Pier, Jennifer says shes healthier than when she wrote and recorded Welcome the Worms. Shes drinking less, she says, and has learned how to stop using alcohol as a means to mask her nervousness. Earlier Bleached songs, she says, were about avoidance, her writing about the experiences of friends or others to distract from herself.
This record I was trying to dig into myself, she says. I wanted to be like, What am I doing wrong? I wanted to allow myself to really feel. Sometimes I hate myself.
There are times where I hate everything and I cant wait to go out later and get messed up and maybe just sleep with somebody. Im just being honest. I let myself go through that hardcore. This record was that part of my life, and now Im looking back at it thinking, Oh, that was a really crazy time.
Grace, who still has a day job as a court reporter and was clutching a stuffed elephant won in a game of whack-a-mole at the piers amusement park, says Bleacheds songs are increasingly about growing up.
Bleached bassist Micayla Grace celebrates after winning a game of whack-a-mole at the Santa Monica Pier. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
A lot of people dont want to feel pain, and you spend your life resisting it, she says. You can spend a whole life resisting one painful feeling rejection or heartbreak or sadness and not do anything that puts you in a vulnerable place. But youre not escaping. You either avoid, or you feel.
And while Bleached may say that it was once anti-SoCal beach culture, thats not the full story.
There was a time when Jennifer was very much into it. After riding the Pacific Wheel (largely an opportunity for selfies) and Inkies Pirate Ship (a lesson for all concerned in how to survive motion sickness), Jennifer stops near the carousel.
Though earlier she and her sister had discussed days spent scouring YouTube for punk rock videos from the 70s and early 80s, Jennifer says it was while riding the carousel as a young teen at a friends birthday party that she first fell in love with music.
The song was Blurs mid-'90s hit Song 2, with its rush of guitars and whoo-hoo hook. The combination of spinning with wind in her face and an irresistible melody at her back was one she couldnt resist. Its a sensation that found it way onto Welcome the Worms.
Were trying to channel the innocence we had before we discovered full party scenes and stuff, she says.
I want to be crazy when Im not drinking, she says. Its just about not caring. Why dont we act crazy? Its because we dont want to look crazy.
But who cares if we look crazy?
todd.martens@latimes.com
Glen Campbells musician-daughter Ashley Campbell delivered a deeply moving tribute to her father in the space of just two songs over the weekend from the stage of the venerable Grand Ole Opry in Nashville.
Ashley Campbell, 29, was among nearly a dozen acts that appeared on the radio broadcast and live concert that still goes out weekly on Nashville-based radio station WSM (650 AM), to which listeners have been tuning in every Saturday night to hear the show for nearly 90 years now.
Campbell opened her set on Saturday with Remembering, a song included in Glen Campbell: Ill Be Me, director James Keachs documentary about her fathers public battle with Alzheimers disease.
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More than a few eyes in the house moistened when she sang:
Now I have to ask you to sing for me
And I have to show you the words to sing
Youre standing right in front of me and slipping away
Dad, Id ask you to smile for me, its just the way you put me at ease
She followed it with another song connected to the theme of memory, Glen Campbells 1967 pop hit version of John Hartfords Gentle On My Mind.
Backstage after her performance, her mother, Campbells wife Kim Campbell, told The Times, Glen is happy, and in good spirits, even though he cant communicate now. She recently announced he had moved into the seventh and final stage of Alzheimers, for which he is being treated in an Alzheimers care facility in Nashville.
The Opry crowd gave Ashley Campbell a warm ovation at the end of her set, both in recognition of her own performance and in salute to one of country musics most beloved performers of the last half century.
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The seventh annual VidCon, which salutes, encourages and markets products to YouTubers and other makers of online video is underway Thursday through Saturday at the Anaheim Convention Center. Originally created by Hank and John Green (VlogBrothers), the conference is testament to the energy and variety of Web-based programming as reflected in this April roundup of online science shows. As usual, the conference is sold out but livestreams may be followed here.
Science!
I do not have a head for it, but I do have love for it. Practically, I profit from it; philosophically, I endorse it.; personally, I enjoy it. Curiosity, inquiry and a willingness to be proved wrong, to bow to the better explanation when it comes along these are tonics against the inflexible fundamentalism, the epidemic unthinking, that makes the world a shakier place.
And so I have been taking comfort and inspiration from what seems to be a great flowering of science-themed programming, much of it on the Internet, where subjects that mainstream commercial television dubs not for everyone may take root and flourish. Apart from PBS, home to Nova and Nature, and some dedicated (or half-dedicated) cable networks like National Geographic Channel, Science and Discovery, television tends to like its science fictional. And while science fiction is a known gateway to a career in serious science and can be similarly stimulating, the workings of the nonfictional universe are more profoundly exciting and all the more amazing for being, you know, real.
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For many, science can seem a world apart unintelligible, even evil. Tom Swift notwithstanding, the scientists of popular fiction tend to be awkward, eccentric, on the spectrum, troubled, overreaching or insane. Their insights often have disastrous ends paging Dr. Frankenstein which, of course, has often been the case with real-world science. (Gunpowder, atom bombs, DDT ... its a long and lengthening list.)
It is not a wholly new character, the cool, attractivist scientist: consider Carl Sagan, Brian Cox, Brian Greene, Neil deGrasse. But the new school of science presenters, the Mr. and Ms. Wizards and Science Guys and Girls of the 21st century, children of an age in which nerdiness became kind of sexy, trend younger. If they are less impressively credentialed than their predecessors who did science, sometimes groundbreaking, before and besides talking about it the best have a similar gift for communication, for translation, for making complicated ideas comprehensible. (At least while theyre speaking; you may need to revisit the material later.) Some have millions of subscribers, some millions fewer.
But they share what an older person would call a youthful enthusiasm. The material is not just educational or uplifting but exciting in a way native to the platform.
Many include animations; some have songs. They can run from anywhere to a few minutes to a quarter of an hour or longer. They are colorful, fast and funny; the impulse is to take them in fistfuls, like popcorn. But you cant be mindless you have to pay attention as idea builds upon idea. Information comes at a clip. It wakes you up.
My doorway into this particular corner of cyberspace was a series called Its Okay to Be Smart, written and hosted by Dr. Joe Hanson and part of the PBS Digital Studios channel. My mission in life is to tell the world about the awesomeness of ALL THE SCIENCE, Hanson one of the hosts of PBS multi-platform Big Blue special from Monterey Bay last August has written. Subjects covered on his webcast range from The Physics of Space Battles to The Science of Kissing to Why People Dont Believe in Climate Science.
Also under the PBS Digital Studios umbrella are Physics Girl, hosted by Dianna Cowern (Yeah, quarks are awesome); Anna Rothschilds Gross Science, which has included segments on Whats Living on your Contact Lenses? and How Different Diseases Make You Smell; and Crash Course from superstar vloggers Hank and John Green. Elsewhere, Hank hosts SciShow, and John is one of three hosts of its spinoff, SciShow Space. (Theres a SciShow Kids too.)
The new science presenters are as likely to be women as men. Sometime Green brothers associate Emily Graslie hosts The Brain Scoop, set around Chicagos Field Museum of Natural History. Mathemusician and artist Vi Hart, whose hand-drawn clips now reside at the online lecture hub Khan Academy, is perhaps the most personal, philosophical and poetic of the crowd.
There is Veritasium, presented by Australian Canadian Derek Muller, who hosted last years PBS documentary Uranium: Twisting the Dragons Tail and who notes that sometimes the simplest questions have the most amazing answers. Another Australian, the BBC-trained Brady Haran, makes interview-based short science films that variously appear on websites and YouTube channels Numberphile, Computerphile and Periodic Table of Videos.
And there is Because Science with Kyle Hill, from the Nerdist network, in which the Andrew W.K. of science videos applies physics and chemistry to questions like Why Kylo Rens Lightsaber Works (I havent seen this much debate around a piece of Star Wars tech since Han Solo said parsec instead of literally any measurement of time) and Why Doesnt Iron Mans Suit Kill Him?
One of the YouTube stars who interviewed President Obama in January, Alabamian rocket engineer Destin Sandlin of Smarter Every Day, begins his experimental clips saying, Hey, its me Destin and ends with a citation from the Bible. Religion is not for every believer incompatible with science, of course, nor the world any less wonderful to them for being governed by discoverable, natural laws and not unknowable magical fiat.
Canadians Mitchell Moffit and Gregory Brown run the puckish AsapSCIENCE. Their video What Color Is This Dress? (Solved with Science), taking off from a 2015 viral meme, has had more than 20 million views. Its not always a pretty picture they paint with their white-board animations: What Happens When You Die? is unblinking about the whole degenerative process. Heaven doesnt come into it, but it does end with a flower.
They like to collaborate too, these young communicators of science, to cross over, to drop by one anothers videos. Whether theyre scientists themselves or not, theyre good teachers, voices for logic, for intuition and experiment. Whos to say that a more reasonable future doesnt start here? In looking squarely at and deeply into things, they respect the actuality that enfolds us all. Hanson may point out that we yearly produce a mass of plastic equal to the combined weight of every person on the planet, but he also has this to say: Congratulations! Youre alive, a conscious being understanding itself, intricate chemical machinery that evolves and changes over time. Thats a big deal. And as bracing to me as a cold glass of H2O.
robert.lloyd@latimes.com
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Facebook a bigger player at this years VidCon
Rachel Roy is experiencing a rebirth this year. After her former business partner, Jones Apparel Group, suddenly pulled the plug on her designer label two years ago, the 42-year-old fashion entrepreneur and author of the new book Design Your Life: Creating Success Through Personal Style has surfaced with a new plus-size line, a revamped website and plans to relaunch her signature line.
With a fierce sense of self-determination, Roy has been busy working on the next phase of her brand, all happening mostly in Los Angeles, and building the new foundation for her fashion empire to flourish despite unforeseen setbacks.
During the early 2000s, Roy became a sartorial darling, especially in the New York fashion scene, going from intern at Rocawear to becoming the brands creative director for its womens and childrens divisions. In 2004, Roy started her luxury namesake line with pieces such as trench coats and versatile day-to-night dresses sold at retailers including Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom. She appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show and she received awards for contributions to the fashion industry, including an induction into the Council of Fashion Designers of America.
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Then 2014 happened, leaving Roy to reconsider her business and essentially do the very thing she explains in her book: design your life and take control of your own destiny.
Her down-to-earth determination was witnessed one morning in March when the designer and author sat in a Sherman Oaks home in a bathrobe as her hair and makeup team tended to last-minute touch-ups before a photo shoot. Feet away on a wall in Roys kitchen, a small plaque a captured her mantra, What Good Shall I Do This Day?
While checking her eyelashes and work emails, Roy scrolled through her Instagram feed where her posts of inspiring and motivational messages and news about clothing collections Rachel Rachel Roy and Rachel Rachel Roy Curvy reach more than 300,000 followers.
The photo shoot preparation was an example of the delicate balance of a busy career, having constant mindfulness in all aspects of her life, and the pervasive presence of social media, especially in the fashion industry all things Roy appears to navigate with grace, positivity and style.
Roys calm nature might have to do with a semi-recent move from New York, the place she called home and the epicenter of her business for 20 years, to Los Angeles two years ago, coupled with the fact that the Northern California native leads her life and design work with a belief in doing good and empowering the women who wear her clothes.
I just try to uplift without making things too unattainable, says Roy, who often shares quotes, lessons and business tools she finds helpful with her social media followers and during talks and lectures.
L.A. is the city which she and her two daughters, Ava, 16, and Tallulah, 7, now call home and where Roy is busy working with a new business partner, apparel manufacturing company Topson Downs, maker of junior and contemporary brands. Its also the place, she says, she can exhale and be less anxious. (Roy filed a lawsuit against her former business partner in 2014 that was settled out of court.)
When it comes to her design aesthetic, Roy isnt fazed by geography. I dont think the change is reflected in my designs, she says. At least I dont notice it because thats the one area where I dont over think and dont second guess myself. For me, thats like breathing. I create currently for Macys, and theyre everywhere. So my mind when I was in New York creating tried to be everywhere in the country, not just New York. Selections from her contemporary line, Rachel Rachel Roy, are available at Lord & Taylor and Von Maur stores and through her website, www.rachelroy.com.
Roys democratic designs and her ability to create clothing for womens everyday lives are important reasons the brand has resonated so well with Macys, which has carried her contemporary line for more than seven years. Her fashion works for all different shapes, sizes and demographics, says Caprice Willard, a regional vice president for MyMacys Strategy.
Though her focus is to design for her customers needs, Roy is still taken by the Los Angeles landscape that now surrounds her, especially the legacy of Old Hollywood and the actresses who had to balance their on-screen glamour with a behind-the-scenes reality.
I imagine the starlets [who] lived in those little bungalows near the Four Seasons on Doheny [Drive] with their silk robes and long cigarette cases, and those do inspire, she says. I connect with the glamour but also whats on the opposite side of the glamour, which is their actual real life, and that makes me relate to them as a woman. They were equal parts feminine and strong. I like the idea that our clothes are costumes that we can put on and tell the world whatever it is we want someone to think about us and in those films they did it perfectly.
Dressing the part is a message in her first book, Design Your Life (Dey Street Books). In the 213-page book, Roy writes about how fashion has been a positive and motivating force in her life, helping her dream beyond a humble start growing up near Monterey, and how she worked her way up through retail and internships; she also offers readers sartorial tips that have worked for her.
As a designer, there are no rules in fashion. If there were it wouldnt be a creative industry, Roy says. It really does start with knowing yourself and making decisions that reflect the type of life you want to live. And so, I wanted to pass that onto my readers. That once you get over that first step of discovering who you are and you dont have to be a creative person to do that because every single person is creating the type of life they want to live. You just have to be aware of what makes you happy, and its the same for clothes.
Taking her thought a step further, she says, My approach is through style and fashion, but for someone else, it could be through another passion. For me, if I want to feel a certain way, I will start with what I put on my body, and it helps get me there. And I think thats the great thing about fashion, that it can elevate your mood and then your confidence and then hopefully your intelligence.
Roys approach to fashion informs the content of her newly revamped website, which includes video content and written pieces from contributors including Kris Jenner, Brittany Snow and others.
Along with taking bigger strides into digital this year, she created a small jewelry collection called Love Bomb, in collaboration with L.A.-based Enrou, made from bomb fragments from the Vietnam War era. The collection consists of a handlet ($98) and body chain ($148) and is available at enrou.co.
"[This type of project] is a reminder that you can change something that started out evil, Roy says. I love this kind of work because it makes all of the frustrating aspects of business that dont come naturally to me but that I learned it because I loved the creative aspect, all worth it.
And Roy also set out to change the perception of plus-size clothing with the launch of her Rachel Rachel Roy Curvy line, which debuted this spring. The 45-piece collection mirrors the styles of her contemporary collection, and pieces are sold at select Macys stores, on macys.com and through Roys website.
Its one of those things that should just be, Roy says about the Curvy line. Sometimes I tend to not make a big deal of things because they should just be and be effortless. What Im making anyway can actually really effect change.
image@latimes.com
Tell your friends youre making paella and theyll envision seafood and/or meat on saffron-colored rice in a huge paella pan. But tell chef Maria Jose San Roman, a native of Alicante, in the rice-growing region of Valencia in southeastern Spain, and a different sort of rice dish comes to mind.
Where I come from, the paella that we make in homes is most often a rice dish made with whatever produce is in season, says the co-owner and executive chef of the Alicante-based restaurant group Grupo Gourmet that includes the renowned Michelin-starred restaurant Monastrell.
San Roman was speaking in January to a group of nutritionists and corporate and executive chefs of volume food-service operations at the Worlds of Healthy Flavors leadership retreat in St. Helena, Calif., a conference organized by the Culinary Institute of America and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health to help chefs with more healthful food choices for their customers. To illustrate her point, she cooked an aromatic paella made with artichokes and mushrooms, garlic, olive oil, saffron, mushroom broth and rice. Not a sausage or a piece of chicken, a shrimp or a mussel to be found. The chefs were impressed.
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Theres no reason why a vegetable version of this signature Valencian rice dish, which is named for the wide, flat pan in which it is traditionally cooked, should not impress. Vegetable paellas arent the big production numbers that seafood and/or meat paellas tend to be, but the aromatic rice makes a great backdrop for produce. I let the farmers market inspire me and try to keep the number of different vegetables in each paella to a minimum, usually about three.
The dish is really all about rice, olive oil, usually saffron (but not always) and broth. Traditionally, a short- or medium-grain rice is used for paella. It is sauteed in abundant olive oil before the addition of broth, which usually includes a generous pinch of saffron. The rice cooks undisturbed until it is dry and sticking to the bottom of the pan, where it forms a crispy golden layer that should be scraped up with every serving. It should be chewy and slightly sticky. You can find imported Spanish rice for paella in specialty stores such as Surfas and gourmet groceries, but Arborio and domestic medium- and short-grain rice work well too.
These recipes call for saffron, which if it is true Spanish saffron, is an expensive ingredient. You can get away without it in the mushroom and artichoke paella, as the yellow hue does not show through the strong mushroom broth, although the flavor emerges. But youll want that beautiful color and flavor in the paella with turnips and peas. You will get the most out of saffron if you infuse it in a little warm water before adding it to the rice.
Recipe: Paella with turnips, peas and spring onions
Great big paellas made on a grill are fun, but if youre going to make one on the stove, youll want to use a smaller pan no larger than 12 or 13 inches. When you try to use the bigger pans on burners, no matter how often you rotate it and change its position, you end up with some rice that is underdone and some that is scorched. Paella pans come in many sizes; I used a 13-inch for one of these recipes and a 12-inch for another. You can also use a 12-inch skillet.
One of these recipes was inspired by an artichoke and mushroom paella that San Roman made. Young artichokes are hitting the market now and are perfect for this, though larger artichokes trimmed down to the heart will work fine too. I made a strong mushroom broth using dried porcinis, and I used a mix of meaty oyster mushrooms and creminis in the paella.
Recipe: Paella with artichokes and mushrooms
The turnip paella with peas is inspired by a classic baked rice dish from Valencia made with turnips and duck (arroz amb anec i naps). Sweet peas and baby turnips show up at the same time of year in Los Angeles farmers markets. They complement each other beautifully. But baby turnips are not essential; regular diced turnips work too. Paella is a forgiving dish.
These paellas are made in two steps. First, the vegetables are prepared and cooked in the paella pan or skillet and removed; then the rice is cooked in olive oil before the vegetables are stirred back in and the broth is added. The first step can be done up to a few hours before you proceed with the rice. This makes it a great dish for a dinner party, because the dish can be half finished before your guests arrive, and your kitchen will already smell terrific.
Martha Rose Shulman is a cookbook author and food writer based in Los Angeles.
food@latimes.com
Los Angeles is filled with B12 devotees who swear by injections (or lozenges, sprays or vitamins) of the vitamin. We asked experts whether B12 supplements live up to the hype:
Who needs it?
B12 is essential for everyone, says Dr. Zhaoping Li, director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
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The National Institutes of Health says B12 helps keep nerve and blood cells healthy and prevents a particular type of anemia. Deficiencies can cause tiredness, weakness, constipation and loss of appetite, and are linked to numbness including tingling in the hands and feet, depression, poor memory and more.
The best thing to do to find out if vitamin B12 supplements would be beneficial to you is to have your doctor test your B12" levels, says Paulette Lambert, director of nutrition at the California Health & Longevity Institute.
How to get it
B12 is found primarily in animal products, including fish, meat, poultry, eggs and milk products. B12 is generally not present in plant foods unless added, says Paul R. Thomas, a scientific consultant with the NIH. If you get enough [B12] from the food you eat, you dont require it as a supplement. If youre B12 deficient, it can be treated by eating B12-containing foods and/or by taking a supplement.
Petite beef sirloin in Concord, N.H. (Matthew Mead / AP)
Whos at risk?
Vegetarians, patients who have had bariatric surgery, chronic alcoholics (who tend to need supplements), and some older people with the condition atrophic gastritis, which prevents them from absorbing much of the B12 naturally present in food.
Foods high in B12
Liver, clams, salmon, beef, turkey, sardines, milk, cheese and yogurt are among the foods highest in B12. Fortified cereals and grains abound, and many brands are also jumping on the B12 bandwagon. (Powerade ION4, Red Bull 5-Hour Energy and Starbucks Blueberry Acai Refreshers all tout their B12-boosting properties.) The recommended daily allowance of B12 for adults is 2.4 micrograms a day.
Whats the best way to take B12?
The evidence suggests no difference in effectiveness between oral, sublingual (under the tongue) and spray forms. One should pay more attention to the amount of B12 in the product rather than the form, says Thomas. If you are or think youre B12-deficient, you should be speaking to your healthcare providers about restoring normal B12 levels and what amount to take.
Does B12 really boost energy?
B12 helps your body convert the food you eat into energy, but unless youre deficient in B12 there isnt evidence B12 supplements give you more energy, Lambert says. Injections give you larger amounts and we dont know the safety of that. She warns against mega-dosing supplements in general without the input of your doctor.
Raw egg in an egg carton. (Ulrich Baumgarten / Getty Images)
There are a number of people [who may not be B12 deficient] who claim that when they get these shots they feel better, more energetic and so on, says Thomas. It may be that for some people there is some kind of benefit we havent yet found out from studies a lot of people could be getting a placebo effect by being assured by a clinic that this is going to promote a sense of vitality.
health@latimes.com
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
Inside Trump Nation
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Donald Trump had a rough week. His campaign manager was charged with misdemeanor battery; a poll showed him trailing in Wisconsin; and there was the fracas over his abortion comments. One GOP strategist says Trumps renegade campaign is coming back to bite him, but the critics have a bad track record at predicting his demise. So who are Trumps supporters? Political cartoonist David Horsey attended a Trump rally in Arizona and offers this illustrated snapshot.
Cartoonist David Horsey profiles some Trump supporters. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times)
Economic Justice or a Death Sentence?
Gov. Jerry Brown plans to put his signature Monday on a deal to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour over the next six years. The voting for the measure among state lawmakers played along party lines, with Democrats hailing it as a boost for the little guy and Republicans predicting that same little guy might not even have a job now. How do you think it will affect you? Tell us here.
Chinas Censorship Is [Censored]
A number of prominent figures in China have been complaining theres too much censorship under President Xi Jinpings administration. The response: Their comments have been censored, or worse. Read on to see why one Communist Party member, nicknamed the Cannon for his outspokenness, saw his social media account with 37 million followers deleted last month.
How the Pivot to Asia Has Turned
Call it a pivot or a rebalance. Either way, President Obamas emphasis on Asia and the Pacific Rim has been one of the most significant foreign policy shifts for a long time, affecting everything from trade to security. Its also been dominated by crisis: North Korea, tension in the South China Sea and cyberattacks, to name a few. Take a look at whats happened so far and how it could change under the next president.
A Starchitect for Our Time
She was known as the Queen of the Curve for designing buildings that avoided sharp angles and corners, even if some of her comments could be hard-edged. Iraqi-born Zaha Hadid the first woman to win architectures highest honor, the Pritzker Prize has died. As for her legacy, Times critic Christopher Hawthorne says you could make a case Hadid was the single most important figure in the field over the last quarter-century, not just the most important female one. See some of her work here.
CALIFORNIA
-- L.A. County asks cities to help pay for programs to combat homelessness.
-- San Franciscos D.A. says more police officers sent racist and anti-gay texts.
-- George Skelton: Longtime marijuana use might make you a loser.
-- A Bay Area man was convicted of assaulting a passenger over leaning her seat back on a Southwest flight.
NATION-WORLD
-- The problem with drones, and what the Pentagon is doing about it.
-- Chicago violence reaches levels not seen in years: Homicides are up 71%.
-- The honeymoon may be over for House Speaker Paul Ryan.
-- In Israel, many now find justification for the videotaped killing of a Palestinian.
-- These women in Turkey saw the need for a different kind of news, despite the danger.
HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS
-- Movie review: Miles Ahead, Don Cheadles valentine to jazz and Miles Davis, hits a few strange notes.
-- The male bonding in Richard Linklaters Everybody Wants Some!! extended off-screen too.
-- Padma Lakshmi explains why she left her knives packed when writing Love, Loss, and What We Ate.
-- How much do art galleries favor men over women? A poster project puts the answer on the wall.
-- Heres why TLC is turning to Tyler Perry to shore up its sagging ratings.
-- Our critics picks for the weekend: movies, TV, music, art, theater, food and more.
BUSINESS
-- The FCC votes to make low-income Americans eligible for a $9.25 subsidy for high-speed Internet service.
-- Yamashiros new landlord seeks to evict the longtime restaurant operator, possibly to go more upscale.
-- Go inside Teslas unveiling of its Model 3 last night.
-- Amazon plans its fifth fulfillment center in the Inland Empire in an effort to speed delivery times.
SPORTS
-- Hope Solo and four other top female players accuse U.S. Soccer of wage discrimination.
-- The Rams are rolling out their ticket pricing plan, with packages ranging from $360 to $2,025.
-- Power forward Ryan Spangler gives Oklahoma an inside presence in its run to the Final Four.
WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING
-- Why self-driving cars dont like roads in the U.S., especially in L.A. (Reuters)
-- How to save rhinos from poachers in Africa? Try airlifting them to Australia. (Smithsonian Magazine)
-- Beware of spaghetti trees: Where did April Fools Day come from? (Washington Post)
ONLY IN CALIFORNIA
San Francisco has a reputation for letting it all hang out, but even for some longtime residents, this idea was too out there: an open-air urinal in Mission Dolores Park. As has been well-documented, the City by the Bay has had bathroom issues, including having to coat walls with pee-repellent paint. But no one had seen something like this. Columnist Robin Abcarian reports on a $40,000 privvy with zero privacy.
Please send comments and ideas to Davan Maharaj.
Hunkered behind a MacBook decorated with stickers that read This laptop was brought to you by capitalism and TRUMP 2016, Jake Lopez bounces T-shirt slogans off his friend Ian McIlvoy.
Trumplicans, he says, nodding with satisfaction. I think itll take off.
Lopez is the California director of Students for Trump. Working from his dorm at Westmont College, he helps marshal the thousands of students who are pounding out phone calls, taping up fliers and blanketing Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat in an effort to persuade their peers that Donald Trump is the man.
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Although vastly outnumbered nationwide by left-leaning classmates chanting Feel the Bern, the youngest supporters of the GOP front-runner say they are similarly inspired by the hope of a radically different future and eager to support a leader who strikes them as anti-establishment and willing to speak his mind.
The verbiage that erupts from Trumps stream-of-consciousness is not universally appreciated by students. Many say the very mention of his name can be hurtful, threatening or cause for intervention.
A Mexican American student at Scripps College in Claremont woke up to "#trump2016" scrawled on the whiteboard outside her dorm room. The student body president called it a racist act.
On the campus of Emory University in Atlanta, students protested when someone wrote in chalk: Accept the Inevitable: Trump 2016.
Jim Wagner, the president of the university, met with protesters and later sent an email to everyone on campus saying, in part, They voiced their genuine concern and pain in the face of this perceived intimidation.
Young Trump followers say such backlash against minority opinion, in a realm where liberal culture dominates, is part of what draws them to the cause.
Today, there is a movement to silence differing views, Lopez says. He argues that the increasingly common practice of students turning to safe spaces is really about sheltering students from ideas with which they disagree.
Thats not what America is about, he says. Mr. Trump, hes single-handedly bringing back freedom of speech. Hes enabled students to voice whatever we believe in a thoughtful way.
::
Students for Trump began as a Twitter account in October in a dorm room at Campbell University in Buies Creek, N.C. Ryan Fournier, a freshman and early supporter of Rand Paul, was drawn to Trumps blunt rhetoric and policies on border control and employment.
Between classes, homework and fraternity meetings, Fournier fired off tweets praising Trump and setting the record straight on what he considered misinformation.
We love Muslims. We hate Islamic Extremism! one tweet said.
In less than a month, Fournier had more than 14,000 Twitter followers. As GOP candidates like Carly Fiorina and Ben Carson dropped out of the presidential race, he gained thousands more. By December, he was devoting more than eight hours a day to spreading the word.
More than 5,000 students in 200 chapters in 38 states are publicly on board. Fifteen chapters have taken hold in California, on campuses including UC Santa Barbara and USC.
Ian McIlvoy, a Westmont College student who supports Donald Trump, affixes a Trump campaign sticker to his lapel. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Im on team ABH -- anyone but Hillary. I realized Trump can really do it, and the other candidates really cant. Ian McIlvoy, Westmont College student
For a volunteer-run enterprise, the operation is slick, with an HR department, a merchandise line and a team thats constantly updating the website. Applicants for state director positions submit resumes and have their social media scrutinized.
Fourniers take on the selection process would not have sounded out of place on The Apprentice.
We dont want to hire garbage, the political science and pre-law major says. Its a very big job running a state.
John Lambert, a sophomore studying wealth management at Campbell, is the business-savvy one in the leadership duo.
For Lambert, whose bio boasts that he founded a social media marketing company at age 16, Trumps appeal lies in his business background and untraditional approach to politics.
Were tired of the typical ... failing politician thats all talk and no action, he says. Mr. Trump is not about that. Hes going to hire people that can actually do the job, and thats why were going to have a successful country.
Like Trump himself, the young people who support him trigger strong reactions.
In a January news release, Fournier wrote: We cannot forget our haters, whose messages give us a good laugh. As Taylor Swift would say, Haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate.
Looking ahead, the team is honing its ground operations in states like Wisconsin, New Jersey and California.
We want to match what Bernie Sanders is doing on the Democratic side, Lambert says.
The team hired Lopez, who grew up in the Central Valley town of Taft, to establish more chapters and recruit classmates like McIlvoy, whos volunteering as state treasurer on top of working 20 hours a week at the library to pay off his student loans.
Im on team ABH anyone but Hillary, McIlvoy says. I realized Trump can really do it, and the other candidates really cant.
Their strategy, they say, is to get classmates talking.
McIlvoy, who identifies himself as half black, dressed up as Carson for Halloween, and Lopez recently launched a satirical petition calling for GPA redistribution to make a point about progressive tax structures that he thinks punish success.
Our pitch was: Some students at the top have too much, and some students at the bottom have too little. So we should redistribute some of the top earners, the 4.0s, to lower students so everyone can graduate equally, Lopez says. That provoked people, and we had a lot of good conversations.
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His last name raises eyebrows among those who see Trumps accusation that Mexico is sending rapists across the U.S. border which hed protect with a wall whose height seems to grow with every debate. Detractors point to that plan as evidence that Trump is hostile to Latinos, if not a flat-out racist.
Lopez notes that his great-grandfather was Mexican but says he considers himself an American, a Californian, a Christian.
Not all Hispanics hate Trump, he says.
And the more he comes out as a supporter, the more other students do too, he says.
I have about 25 chapter requests in my in-box right now that I have not been able to get to. The support is out there, and were trying to get them mobilized and speaking up.
Which is not to say that Trump who has insulted women, minorities and other conservatives, among others is any less polarizing a candidate on campuses than he is within the Republican party itself.
Were just not attracted to that, said Kerida Moates, president of the UC Berkeley College Republicans. Her group, she says, has made huge strides in persuading the liberal campus mainstream that were just regular people who have different ideas about how to make our economy work.
Then Trump comes along, she says, and suddenly all Republicans are being framed as racist again; all Republicans must be sexist. And its actually taking us backward in breaking those stereotypes.
::
Students who support Trump likely will remain a lonely group on campus, says Dan Schnur, director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at USC.
Trump, he says, continues to attract working-class supporters who dont have college degrees and are anxious about job security in a modern economy that requires technology and information-based skills.
But Schnur does see why some college-educated millennials might be drawn to Trump.
What Trump and Sanders have both done very effectively is mount a strident criticism against the traditional political process, he says. If youre a young person and you dont feel like politics-as-usual has a place for you, theres a natural temptation to align with a candidate that can dramatically upend that system.
The Republican party itself is largely to blame for this insurrection by ignoring that even young fiscal conservatives are becoming more progressive on social issues like gay marriage, says Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg, director of CIRCLE, a research hub at Tufts University that studies youth voting.
Trump is a lesson in that, she says.
It will be interesting to see how the Republican youth vote plays out come election time, says John Della Volpe, director of polling at Harvard Universitys Institute of Politics.
Young voters engage more often when things are tangible. ... And youre seeing very tangible differences right now between what a Donald Trump presidency would look like, what a John Kasich presidency would look like and what a Ted Cruz presidency would look like, Della Volpe says.
Ive been in focus groups where I ask a young voter if theyre going to vote, and theyll say No, it doesnt matter. Theyre all a bunch of old white men; theyre all the same. Thats clearly not the case here.
Back at Westmont, Lopez and McIlvoy are working hard to persuade their peers to vote for the right old white guy.
Donning suit jackets and Trump stickers, they walk across campus, drawing curious glances and friendly handshakes.
Theyre relieved, they say, that coming out as Trump supporters hasnt taken a toll on their social lives. Debates with friends have been lively, and theyre excited to recruit more students publicly as the political campaigns march closer to California.
Were hoping to get people involved, even if theyre against us. Come talk; be a part of the conversation. Thats what America is about, Lopez says.
Patrick Henry said, I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it, and thats whats important to us.
rosanna.xia@latimes.com
Twitter: @RosannaXia
See the most-read stories this hour >>
ALSO
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As two Los Angeles police officers wrestled with a vandalism suspect, one grabbed her Taser and pressed the stun gun against the 38-year-old mans body.
The device was supposed to deliver a jolt strong enough to stun him so the officers could take him into custody. But the Taser had no effect, police said.
Instead, the LAPD said, the man snatched the stun gun from the officer and shocked her in the leg, leaving her unable to move. Her partner then opened fire, fatally shooting the man, Neil Peter White, in the back of the neck.
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Whites killing last year illustrates a troubling weakness with a weapon meant to play a key role in the LAPDs efforts to reduce the number of police shootings: Tasers often dont work.
A Times review of department statements and reports found that nearly a quarter of the people shot by on-duty LAPD officers last year at least eight of 36 were wounded or killed during encounters in which officers said they tried to use a Taser without success. Among the incidents:
In March, an officer fired a Taser at a homeless man suspected in an assault in downtown L.A.'s skid row. The man spun his arms and kept moving during the violent encounter, which was caught on a bystanders video that drew international attention. An officer tried to stun him again while they struggled on the ground moments before he was fatally shot.
A few months later, an officer shot his Taser during a chase down a South L.A. alley, after the LAPD said a robbery suspect suddenly stopped and turned toward police, a knife in her hand. The Taser had no effect, police said. Instead, the woman moved toward one of the officers and was fatally shot.
In December, two officers tried to use their Tasers on a vandalism suspect during an altercation inside the emergency room at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. But police said the man continued to fight, throwing a metal stool, jumping on one officer and trying to grab his holstered gun before the suspect was shot and killed.
Other encounters where officers didnt shoot their guns also showed the limitations of the weapon. LAPD officers fired Tasers just over 1,100 times last year, according to a department report published last month. The devices had the desired outcome causing someone to submit to arrest only 53% of the time.
I find that figure very disappointing, said Capt. John McMahon, whose office compiled the report.
Taser spokesman Steve Tuttle defended the stun gun, saying police are trained to understand that they may need to use a Taser multiple times because the first shot may not work.
Tuttle said it was more important to look at whether using a Taser ultimately helped officers make an arrest, regardless of how many times the device was activated.
Its not always immediately clear why a Taser wasnt effective.
Some people have tugged the metal probes from their bodies, rendering the device useless. Mental illness or drug use can also influence how a person reacts to the shock. Sometimes the fault lies with officers who dont use them properly. LAPD officials are also exploring whether a new Taser model was a factor.
McMahon said the department is taking a close look at each case in hopes of better understanding what happened.
The captain, along with policing experts and the Taser spokesman, stressed the devices still provide officers with an important alternative to using their firearms and have helped reduce injuries to civilians and officers. But officers have noticed the problems, and experts warn that the ongoing concerns could prompt police to go for their guns instead of their Tasers.
The findings come as the LAPD looks to vastly expand the number of Tasers available to officers, part of a broader push by the department and Police Commission to emphasize so-called de-escalation strategies. In September, LAPD brass ordered field officers to carry the devices on their holsters unless they werent available.
But stories of Taser problems have spread through the LAPD ranks, leaving some officers wondering whether the stun guns will do their job when theyre needed.
Its a great tool, but is it a magic device that eliminates the need for all other applications of force? No, absolutely not. Charlie Beck, LAPD police chief
Officer J.C. Duarte knows from experience. Duarte, who has spent more than three decades with the LAPD, recalled an encounter some 25 years ago, when he pulled the trigger on an older-model Taser, hoping to prevent a physical fight. The Taser didnt work. Duarte grabbed his baton instead.
Duarte said he still carries a Taser because it can help him avoid a fight. When it works, he said, it works beautifully.
But, he said, the thought of that troublesome Taser decades ago still lingers.
Whenever I have it, I say, I hope that thing works, Duarte said. Ive had dreams where I pulled the trigger and nothing happens.
LAPD Chief Charlie Beck said he is concerned by the number of shootings where officers struggled with their Tasers, and he said the department would look for ways to improve the overall effectiveness. But, he cautioned, like any device used by police, Tasers dont work in all dynamic instances.
Its a great tool, but is it a magic device that eliminates the need for all other applications of force? Beck said. No, absolutely not.
Tasers date to the 1960s, when a NASA physicist thought police needed a weapon for emergencies when a gun could be particularly dangerous, like airplane hijackings. Jack Cover named his stun gun after the hero in a popular science fiction series. (TASER stands for Thomas A. Swifts electric rifle.)
Tasers can be used in two ways. Officers can fire two electrified darts from several feet away, delivering a sharp shock that freezes someones muscles and temporarily incapacitates them. They can also use Tasers in drive-stun mode, where the device is pressed directly against someones skin and creates pain to gain compliance.
Police agencies across the country have embraced the devices, saying they offer officers more space and time to take someone into custody without having to use their firearms. Charles Sid Heal, a retired Los Angeles County sheriffs commander and expert on less-lethal weapons, said any time cops can make an arrest using a Taser instead of a gun, it should be considered a save even if it takes several attempts for the Tasers to do the job.
We know their shortcomings, Heal said, but its better than the alternative.
Heal cautioned, however, that if officers have more problems with their Tasers, they may be less likely to use them and could instead go for their guns more quickly.
Its going to create a predisposition that youre expecting a Taser failure, Heal said. Im not going to risk my life for a 50% success rate.
LAPD officers used Tasers in more encounters in 2015 than in previous years, according to a sweeping use-of-force analysis the department published last month. Officers used Tasers in 519 incidents, up 100 from the year before.
The number of activations also jumped. Officers pulled the triggers on their Tasers 1,101 times in 2015, about 280 more times than the year before, the report said. Last years effectiveness rate of 53% marked a significant drop compared with recent years, when it ranged from 60% to 65%.
Experts said there are a variety of factors that can influence whether a Taser works as desired. Baggy clothing or sudden movement can rip the wires away. The drive-stun mode may not have the same effect on some people, particularly those who are under the influence of drugs or who are mentally ill. The LAPDs report did not specify how often the device was used in drive-stun mode.
Most of the shootings by LAPD officers last year remain under investigation. Some of those cases, however, have been completed and reviewed by the Police Commission, offering more detail as to why police believe officers had problems using their Tasers.
During the skid row encounter, McMahon said, the officer fired the Tasers probes at Charly Keunang, hitting the man known as Africa in the ideal location: his abdomen and torso. But an autopsy showed the probes never pierced his skin. Instead, McMahon said, Keunang spun and was able to pull the wires from his clothing.
The spinning motion was able to defeat the objective of the Taser, McMahon said.
Dan Stormer, an attorney representing Keunangs family in their wrongful death lawsuit, was skeptical that the problems with Tasers are so widespread. He said he believed officers blame the devices when explaining later why they fired their guns.
I think it is often used as an excuse for police officers who become panicked and go to lethal force rather than wait for the Taser, he said.
Earlier in the year, officers went to an Arleta home after a woman called police, warning that her 40-year-old brother, who suffered from schizophrenia, was threatening suicide. The officers found Alvin Pinwatana in a bathroom, police said, covered in blood and holding a butcher knife.
As Pinwatana moved toward police, one officer fired his Taser, according to an internal LAPD report. Another shot his gun, wounding Pinwatana in the shoulder.
Pinwatana fell to the floor, the report said, but began to stand as soon as the Taser stopped. The officer pulled the Tasers trigger a second time. Pinwatana stood and kept moving toward police.
Its not working correctly, the officer recalled.
The officer ultimately activated the Taser four times before police were able to take Pinwatana into custody, the report said.
McMahon said its unclear why the Taser didnt work on Pinwatana.
In another case, an officer tried to fire a Taser at a suicidal man who charged police while holding two kitchen knives, but the officer couldnt disengage the safety switch. A second officer then opened fire, fatally shooting the man, according to an LAPD report.
That case, McMahon said, was an example of operator error. The LAPD did not count the incident as an ineffective use of the Taser because the device was never fired.
The drop in overall effectiveness, McMahon said, also coincided with the departments switch to a newer Taser model. The departments recent force report does not compare the effectiveness of the two models. McMahon said LAPD officials were working with the manufacturer, Arizona-based Taser International, to evaluate the new X26P device and look for any improvements.
Tuttle, the Taser spokesman, said, he had no concerns about the new model. He said the LAPDs numbers were important to have, but disingenuous.
Its great to keep track of that hey, it may take more than one cycle to get that person under control, he said in a phone interview, while zapping a Taser in the background. But ultimately we would call that success because you didnt have to go to a higher level of force. The Taser accomplished its mission.
McMahon wasnt convinced. Thats something we would rather avoid, he said. Ideally, a Taser would be effective the first time.
Twitter: @katemather
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Is India being "erased" from California's history books? No, it's not.
But some 22,000 people have signed a petition to prevent the state from changing "India" to "South Asia" in its social studies curricula. A group of academics from schools including the University of San Francisco and Columbia University, and Hindu groups like the Hindu American Foundation, have signed on.
The State Board of Education is currently updating California's history and social science curriculum, and the petition is reacting to submissions in the public comment process that would replace some instances of "India" with "South Asia" and address Hinduism differently.
That request spurred a backlash from Hindu academics, leading to the petition that reads: "School students in California will be forced to learn that there was never an 'India' unless you act!"
https://twitter.com/VamseeJuluri/status/704839368574263296
This is not what is happening. The group that originally suggested the changes calls itself the South Asia Faculty Textbook Committee and includes South Asian scholars from Stanford, UC Berkeley, San Francisco State University and UCLA, among others.
They do suggest that in some places "India" be replaced with "South Asia" because some of the area discussed currently belongs to Pakistan.
See the most-read stories this hour >>
In a letter dated Feb. 24, the group responded to the the backlash:
------------
FOR THE RECORD
April 2, 8:52 a.m.: An earlier version of this article indicated the letter was also a response to the petition. It was not; the petition began after the letter was written.
------------
"We wish to clarify that while 'Ancient India' is the accepted usage among Indologists, in other fields, pre-modern South Asia is the common term of reference. Since there is no standardized usage across fields, it is difficult for us to recommend a single standard term for use in the curriculum framework. After careful review, we have settled on a context dependent approach for the use of the terms, 'Ancient India, India, Indian subcontinent and South Asia, as we explain in the edits. The use of terms like 'Ancient India' and 'India' in the current version of the draft framework, particularly for grades 6 and 7 is at times misleading. Although 'Ancient India' is common in the source material, when discussing the Indus Valley Civilization (IVC), we believe it will cause less confusion to students to refer to the Early Civilization of South Asia or Ancient South Asia because much of the Indus Valley is now in modern Pakistan. Conflating Ancient India with the modern nation-state of India deprives students from learning about the shared civilizational heritage of India and Pakistan."
The California History-Social Science Project takes public comment into account as it amends the framework and presents it to the state Board of Education. The group did adopt many of the faculty textbook committee's recommendations, and the Board of Education is scheduled to review the changes in May.
Reach Sonali Kohli at Sonali.Kohli@latimes.com or on Twitter @Sonali_Kohli.
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A Bay Area man was convicted of choking and assaulting a fellow passenger on a San Francisco-bound Southwest Airlines flight that was forced to make an emergency return to Los Angeles last year.
Jurors found Lawrence Wells Jr., 54, of Richmond, guilty Wednesday of misdemeanor assault but acquitted him of the felony charge of causing serious bodily injury, according to U.S. District Court records.
Defendants violent reaction to the frustrations of air travel was beyond the bounds of civilized behavior, U.S. Atty. Eileen M. Decker said in a statement. The victim was fortunate that she did not suffer greater injuries, because she had no way to defend herself from this defendants attack.
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Wells is scheduled to be sentenced June 27. He faces up to six months in federal prison.
Wells attorney, Alan Eisner, told The Times the jurys decision to clear him on the more serious count proved the charge was an overstep.
He wanted to accept responsibility for his conduct right from the outset of the case, Eisner said.
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Wells was seated behind the victim on Flight 2010 from Los Angeles to San Francisco on Oct. 18 when she reclined her seat. The plane had been on the tarmac for more than two hours beyond its scheduled 7:10 p.m. take off.
Wells complained to a flight attendant who told the victim she had to return her seat to the upright position. Once the plane took off from the Los Angeles International Airport, she reclined the seat again.
At that point, Wells put his hands around the womans throat for five to 10 seconds, according to the U.S. attorneys office.
Wells attorney argued that his client merely shook the woman after she used an expletive to describe him.
Prosecutors said Wells punched her in the head with a closed fist, but Eisner said no evidence was presented during trial to prove that happened.
The midair disturbance forced the pilot to return to Los Angeles.
At trial, the victim testified that she suffered a concussion, headaches and ringing in her ears as a result of the assault, prosecutors said.
Another passenger seemed to support many of her claims. Comedian Mark Curry, who hosts a radio show in San Francisco, didnt testify during the trial, but he told NBC Bay Area immediately after the incident occurred that he was on the flight and awoke to the victims shouts.
The woman was saying he grabbed her neck. He choked me, he choked me! He hit me in the head! Curry told the station.
Eisner said his client was only trying to get home after a long day.
Larry feels terrible about the incident, he said.
For breaking news in California, follow VeronicaRochaLA on Twitter.
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Leave it to the city of West Hollywood to punk its residents on April Fools Day.
The city on Friday morning released a statement that it had chosen a forward-facing name for its forthcoming bike-share program: Bikey McBikeface.
The bold new name is the result of dynamic thinking that embraces a whole new face for public bike-share, the city said. Officials had used all the highfalutin tools that would make them seem hip, they said, like online crowdsourcing and the careful expertise of an imaginative working group.
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When confronted with alternatives such as Bikeshare Program and Bikeshare System, the City pledged, instead, to break through the clutter of the 21st-century marketing jargon with a concept that has nice features, but that would also be right at home in a schoolyard setting, the city said.
The name was inspired by the RRS Boaty McBoatface, the Internet-bequeathed name of a new British polar research vessel.
But, unlike the majestic Boaty McBoatface, the name Bikey McBikeface was a ruse. The citys photos of the bright green bikes with Bikey McBikeface stamped on their baskets? Totally doctored.
West Hollywood, however, actually is launching a bike-share program in the coming months, with 150 GPS-enabled smart bikes that will let riders use a smartphone app to reserve the bicycles, pay for memberships and track and share ride data through online social networks. The bikes will have LED headlights and taillights, eight gears and cargo baskets, according to the city.
Twenty self-service stations are expected to be built throughout the city, and officials said they will try to build additional stations outside city limits. The city will soon launch a website for residents to suggest where bike-share stations should be built.
The exact launch date for the program has not yet been determined, but officials expect the program to begin by this summer, said Lisa Belsanti, a city spokeswoman. The city is currently trying to determine a real name for the program, she said.
The bike-share program will be operated by CycleHop LLC, which operates the Santa Monica program, Breeze Bikeshare. That program includes 500 bright-green rental bikes at 75 racks in Santa Monica and five in neighboring Venice, in the city of Los Angeles.
Long Beach, Beverly Hills and UCLA have all selected the same vendor for their bike-share systems, which means they will be compatible.
hailey.branson@latimes.com
Follow me at @haileybranson / Google+
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When the fifth overdose patient rolled into the emergency room at UC Davis Medical Center last week, doctors knew they were dealing with something out of the ordinary.
They were used to heroin overdoses. But the patients admitted in the wee hours of March 24 showed symptoms of opiate toxicity that were far more pronounced than usual.
In about a week, 36 people overdosed, at least nine of them fatally, from street drugs in the greater Sacramento region. Doctors compared notes and quickly closed in on the prime suspect: fentanyl, a painkiller that is up to 100 times stronger than morphine and lethal even in very small doses.
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Officials are now frantically searching for the source of the drug, which is being produced in counterfeit tablets that can be bought for as little as $5 each on the street.
The federal Drug Enforcement Administration issued a public safety alert Friday warning that fentanyl-related overdoses are occurring at an alarming rate and urging the public to take only drugs prescribed by a physician and from a reputable pharmacy. The Sacramento-area overdose victims ranged from 18 to 59 years old and comprised equal numbers of men and women, according to the alert.
Authorities fear the rash of cases portends the move west of rampant fentanyl abuse that had largely been centered on the East Coast, its spread probably channeled through Mexican
drug cartels, medical and law enforcement officials said.
In Los Angeles County, fatal overdoses related to fentanyl increased to 62 in 2014 the most recent year for which data is available from 42 in 2011, according to coroners data. While not matching East Coast levels, the rise is troubling, officials said.
The prescription drug issue hasnt touched us in the same way, said Dr. Gary Tsai, medical director and science officer for the L.A. County Department of Public Healths office of Substance Abuse Prevention and Control. Our concern is that it will, that its only a matter of time.
Directors of West Coast drug treatment programs have been bracing for problems related to fentanyl, which can lower blood pressure, heart rate and respiratory function and lead to seizures, said Rachel Anderson, executive director of the Sacramento-area needle exchange Safer Alternatives Thru Networking & Education.
Prescribed to cancer patients since the 1960s, fentanyl is the most powerful painkiller available for medical treatment, and is typically administered as a lozenge, patch or injection. But an illegally manufactured version of the drug, often called China White or Apache, has begun spreading recently.
Between 2012 and 2014, the number of seizures of illegally used fentanyl nationwide increased more than sevenfold to 4,585, according to federal officials.
The painkiller offers an intense, euphoric high and the odorless, white powder is sometimes used to cut heroin and cocaine or passed off as another drug. Dealers mix it in to give their product an extra kick or to cheaply produce more usable heroin, Anderson said.
Is it new? Yes and no. Weve been aware of whats going on the East Coast and expecting it to show up in one form or another, Anderson said.
Health officials in Sacramento County say that many of the recent overdoses occurred after people purchased pills they believed to be Norco, a less potent opiate, but were in fact fentanyl. Officials are urging the public to be cautious about intake of any street drugs.
Sgt. Salvador Robles of the Sacramento County sheriffs major narcotics impact division, said investigators have a strong lead on a home where two of the recent overdoses occurred and are hoping to trace the cases back to the source of the fentanyl.
Robles was unsure if the cases stemmed from a single bad batch or were indicative of a larger problem.
My only tip is, if youre addicted to Norco or any pills, do not take them right now, he said.
Experts say the rise of fentanyl is fueled by an increase in doctor-prescribed painkillers over the last decade that has left many patients addicted to opiates and intensified a heroin epidemic thats ravaging many towns nationwide.
In 2014, 28,647 people died of overdose deaths from opioids, including heroin, the highest toll ever recorded, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The number of deaths involving synthetic opioids mostly fentanyl, experts say nearly doubled between 2013 and 2014 to 5,500 deaths, the largest increase in opioid deaths.
This is just another face of the opioid epidemic, said Dr. Caleb Alexander, co-director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Drug Safety and Effectiveness.
In Sacramento County, heroin use has increased within the last decade as use of methamphetamines has dropped, Robles said. Fifteen years ago, seizing a few ounces of heroin in Sacramento County was rare, he said, but now were finding it in [kilos].
Officials across the country report similar trends, but fentanyl is a new wrinkle in the drug trade. About 700 people died from fentanyl and its analogs nationwide from late 2013 to late 2014, according to a recent report from the DEA.
In California, legislation was introduced in February to increase criminal penalties for dealing the drug.
Past investigations have revealed that Mexican cartels are purchasing fentanyl produced in China, then using traditional trafficking routes to bring it to the United States. In 2014, DEA officers seized 26 pounds of fentanyl in a stash house in Los Angeles.
Alexander, the Johns Hopkins physician, said that demand will remain strong until the prescription drug epidemic is under control. He said doctors should limit how often they prescribe opiates to patients and expand treatment programs for those who are already addicted.
Do we need to be worried about it? Yes, Alexander said. But I dont think ... these deaths can be separated from the surge in overuse of prescription opioid. Its part and parcel of the same problem.
President Obama has asked for more than $1 billion in the federal funding to help expand access to treatment programs.
Earlier this month, CDC officials released new guidelines strongly discouraging doctors from prescribing opiates, including OxyContin and Vicodin, for patients with chronic conditions such as back problems, migraines and arthritis.
Shelly Elkington, 49, thinks stricter guidelines could have saved her daughters life. While in college, Casey Jo was diagnosed with Crohns disease, an incurable bowel disorder that can require repeated surgeries.
She was prescribed painkillers, including fentanyl.
I always want to say her doctor meant well, said Elkington, who lives in Montevideo, Minn. His intentions were always good to make her feel better.
But Casey Jo quickly became addicted to opiates, eventually turning to street drugs. She dropped out of school and began smoking fentanyl and buying heroin.
Everyday, we didnt know if we were going to get a call that she was arrested, assaulted, raped, everything, Elkington said. We were so afraid for her all the time.
In August last year, Elkington got that fated call: Her daughter was found dead in her apartment. She was 26.
I watched my daughter virtually slip away from us, she said.
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A 23-year-old man has been arrested and charged with fatally shooting a 15-year-old boy -- a killing triggered by the victim spraying graffiti in a rival gangs territory, authorities allege.
Esteban Ceja was arrested in El Paso on March 20, said LAPD Det. Chris Barling. He was transported to California and booked into a Los Angeles jail on Wednesday, according to jail records.
During the afternoon of Sept. 23, 2015, Ceja, a member of the DNA (Drugs and Alcohol) street gang, spotted 15-year-old Francisco Bautista tagging a wall with paint in an alley near Cejas home at Broadway and Florence Avenue, according to an affidavit filed in federal court.
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Police allege that Ceja opened fire, striking Bautista and a 19-year-old man who was nearby. Bautista died from his injuries, but the other man recovered.
Witnesses identified the shooter as Ceja, who has very distinctive facial tattoos, according to the affidavit written by FBI Special Agent Scott Garriola.
Hours after the killing, police searched Cejas familys home and other addresses associated with him but could not locate him.
In November, after the Los Angeles County district attorneys office filed two felony charges against Ceja, for murder and attempted murder, prosecutors asked the FBI to help track him down.
Investigators conducted electronic surveillance of the suspects friends and family, eventually finding a phone with an Arizona area code that was being used in El Paso. The calling patterns of the phone were nearly identical to the phone previously used by Ceja.
Ceja, also known as Payaso, or Clown, is being held in a Los Angeles County jail in lieu of $3.04-million bail.
Hes scheduled to appear in court Friday for his arraignment, according to a spokesman for the district attorneys office.
Its unclear if hes being represented by an attorney. If convicted, he faces up to life in state prison.
For breaking news in California, follow @MattHjourno.
Los Angeles County officials are studying how to come up with as much as $500 million a year they say is needed to help address the regions spiraling homelessness crisis.
Theyre hoping that some of it will come from the countys 88 independent cities, even if its only in increments of $500 a month for each homeless person or family in need of a temporary housing subsidy.
Officials made their pitch Thursday at a summit in South Gate where they asked elected leaders and staff from 54 cities to contribute money to a range of county homeless initiatives.
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The meeting where response to the countys proposals was mixed came as county officials conduct polling to decide whether to pursue a ballot measure for a tax increase to fund ongoing efforts to combat homelessness.
The options under consideration include a sales tax, a parcel tax, a tax on marijuana sales and a new tax on income over $1 million a year.
According to a county analysis released this week, those could raise between $243 million a year from the income tax and $746 million for a half-cent sales tax, some for countywide services and some to be dispersed to cities.
Funding isnt the only key to solving this problem, but its a very important element to solving this problem, said Phil Ansell, the county administrator who has lead the homeless initiative. Obviously the more cities do, the more successful this whole effort will be.
Spurred by a 12% increase in homelessness countywide over the last two years, the city and county of Los Angeles passed parallel plans for addressing the problem in February. The county committed to spending $150 million over the next two years.
But the countys analysis estimated it would take $500 million a year to fill the gaps in needed housing and services, not including the cost of building new housing. Separately, city officials have estimated that $1.85 billion is needed over the next decade to create enough housing to solve the problem.
More than 44,000 people were homeless in Los Angeles County in 2015, according to a count by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority.
About half of the countys population lives in the city of Los Angeles or in unincorporated parts of the county. The other half live in the countys 87 smaller cities, which have their own authority over land use, and in many cases their own police forces and housing agencies.
Among the other requests to the cities put forward Thursday, county officials asked the city representatives to help pay for residents who participate in a county rapid-rehousing program that gives short-term rent subsidies, employment help and other services to people whose homelessness is not chronic.
The cities were asked to sign up to chip in $500 a month for each homeless family or individual from their jurisdiction served by the program.
And the county is pushing for cities to set aside a significant percentage of their federal low-income housing vouchers to provide housing with supportive services for people who are chronically homeless.
County officials also asked the cities to exercise their land-use authority to help site shelters and affordable housing, and to sign on to a protocol the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department is developing that will ask law enforcement not to arrest homeless people for low-level offenses that dont pose an immediate public safety threat, and instead to connect them with services.
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Cities and the county, Ansell said, should work together to have a coordinated, countywide approach, one that doesnt focus on moving homeless people from one city to another, but rather focuses on engaging homeless people as effectively as possible to help them move into housing and associated services.
In part, Los Angeles access to federal housing money could hinge on doing that. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has new standards that penalize regions that are seen as criminalizing the homeless.
The countys pitch was met with enthusiasm from some city officials, with reticence from others.
South Gate Mayor Jorge Morales said the issue of homelessness is personal to him. His brother ended up on the streets for a time due to drug-addiction issues.
Weve done an excellent job of kicking the can down the road, weve done an excellent job of working in silos, weve done an excellent job of pushing the issue outside of our borders, he said. But its really time to come together as one community, as one region and as one county to get to the core of the issue.
But others raised concerns about decriminalization measures and potential pushback from residents over siting housing or shelters in their jurisdictions or from low-income people who have been waiting for housing vouchers and might be bumped in favor of the chronically homeless.
Santa Clarita Councilman TimBen Boydston said his city has had issues with housing programs in which people have mental health and substance-abuse issues.
The other needs become a problem and an apparent issue in the neighborhood, he said.
Twitter: @sewella
A whale-watching ship rammed into San Diegos Embarcadero on Thursday afternoon, injuring passengers, damaging the hull and buckling a portion of the well-traveled brick walkway.
The crew of the Adventure Hornblower reported a mechanical malfunction that caused the throttle to become stuck in the forward position, San Diego Fire-Rescue Battalion Chief David Gerboth said. The crew, coming in to dock along North Harbor Drive, could not stop the boat to prevent the crash.
Seven passengers suffered minor to moderate injuries. Of those, three were sent to hospitals with neck, back or leg injuries, Gerboth said. The others were treated by medics and released.
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There were 144 people aboard the 150-foot ship at the time, although it was not clear whether that included the crew members.
Mike and Deb Ellis, from the Phoenix area, had come to San Diego to celebrate her 60th birthday. During the cruise Thursday they saw two water spouts and a lot of dolphins. Deb Ellis was in the stern on the top deck when the boat crashed.
It felt like we were coming in a little hot, she said. Then the boat hit the dock. The next thing I heard was four blasts of the horn. ... We hit pretty hard.
Mike Ellis said that people waiting in line for the next cruise ran to get out of the way as the bow slammed into the walkway.
Tables, chairs and people on the top deck fell down.
Also on the top deck were Osmond DeSousa, his wife and teenage son, who were visiting from New Jersey.
I saw it coming in fast. It hit the dock, bounced off and continued too fast to stop. The woman next to me fell, she was hurt pretty bad, DeSousa said.
The crew were walking on the deck yelling, Brace yourselves or hold on to something.
Mike and Deb Ellis said that after the crash, the crew started first aid on the injured, putting ice bags on bruises and bandaging cuts. They opened the snack bar for free food and drinks while passengers waited about two hours to disembark.
Tugboats had to push the ship back from the damaged walkway so passengers could get off.
The U.S. Coast Guard and Harbor police will handle the investigation.
Were not exactly sure what happened yet, said Jim Unger, general manager of Hornblower Cruises and Events, who stressed that the safety of their passengers was important to the company.
pauline.repard@sduniontribune-com
Repard writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune. Staff writers Dana Littlefield and Kristina Davis contributed to this report.
A veteran San Diego scuba diving instructor died over the weekend while exploring underwater caves in New Mexico that had been sealed for 40 years.
Shane Thompson, 43, was entombed overnight in a cavern underneath the Blue Hole, after being trapped in an accident Saturday, according to the Guadalupe County Communicator. The small lake near Santa Rosa, N.M., is a popular site for divers because of its crystal-clear waters.
Thompson was one of several elite divers who were on an excursion with the nonprofit ADM Exploration Foundation, the newspaper reported Thursday. The group had received rare permission to enter the caves, which had been closed in 1976 after two scuba divers from Oklahoma got lost inside the labyrinth and died.
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Thompson and the team were using rebreather equipment that recycles divers breath with oxygen and allows explorers to stay underwater for long periods of time.
Diver Mike Young told investigators that he and Thompson were looking for passageways when he ventured through a narrow obstruction into a small chamber and Thompson followed.
Shane was supposed to stay out, and for whatever reason entered the cave, Santa Rosa Police Officer Mike Gauna told the newspaper. At that point, thats where everything went terribly wrong.
Young tried to exit the area but both divers became wedged in a narrow passage. After freeing themselves, Thompson took a wrong turn and became trapped in what was described as an unmapped area that led nowhere, Gauna said.
By the time Young found Thompson, he had died. His body was recovered the next day.
Thompson was a well-known scuba diving instructor for Advanced Underwater Training in San Diego. According to his bio, he had more than 20 years of experience working as a deep technical rebreather diver who had first worked as a diving instructor in the Navy.
debbi.baker@utsandiego.com
Twitter: @Debbi_Baker
Baker writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune
A federal judge Thursday overturned Mississippis ban on allowing same-sex couples to adopt children.
U.S. District Judge Daniel Jordan in a preliminary injunction ruled for the couples who had sued, saying the ban is unconstitutional after recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions legalizing gay marriage and benefits for gay couples. He ordered John Davis, executive director of the Mississippi Department of Human Services, to stop enforcing it.
I am overwhelmed with joy, Hattiesburg resident Kathy Garner said. She and wife Susan Hrostowski sued to allow Hrostowski to adopt 16-year-old Hudson Garner. For us, this has been a long time in the making.
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Garner said the couple had contacted their lawyer and planned to file adoption papers in Forrest County Chancery Court as early as Friday. Hudson, who wrote a first-person account of a Nov. 6 hearing, was more understated Thursday.
He had a typical 16-year-old response, Kathy Garner said. He said, Cool. Then he said congratulations. Then he said he was going to take a nap.
Jordan wrote that the Supreme Courts ruling legalizing gay marriage included other benefits associated with marriage, such as adoption.
It also seems highly unlikely that the same court that held a state cannot ban gay marriage because it would deny benefits expressly including the right to adopt would then conclude that married gay couples can be denied that very same benefit, he wrote.
Rachel Ring, a spokeswoman for Mississippi Atty. Gen. Jim Hood, said that Jordan dismissed a number of defendants in the case.
The district court did direct the Department of Human Services not to discriminate between same-sex and opposite-sex couples in adoption related services provided by that agency, Ring wrote in an email. We respect the district courts analysis of the law and will consult with the Department of Human Services on what options to take going forward.
Roberta Kaplan, the lawyer representing the plaintiffs, expressed confidence that any appeal would be fruitless.
The ban is effectively over, she told the Associated Press by telephone. DHS will have a very, very hard time convincing a judge on appeal.
The couples were backed by the Campaign for Southern Equality and the Family Equality Council.
Progress for gay rights in Mississippi after the U.S. Supreme Courts decision has been mixed. There have been no reports of clerks refusing marriage licenses, and the state Supreme Court ruled that two women married elsewhere could get a divorce in Mississippi. But the Legislature is considering a bill that would allow government employees and some private business people to cite their religious objections to same-sex marriage to deny services to gay or lesbian couples.
UCLA found in 2014 that 996 same-sex couples were raising 1,401 children in Mississippi. Census data from 2010 showed that 29% of same-sex couples had children at home, the largest share of same-sex households in any state.
Mississippi lawmakers banned adoptions by same-sex couples in 2000. Then-Gov. Ronnie Musgrove, who signed the ban into law, said last year he regretted the action.
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Elias Soto Sanchezs chief concern as an ambulance carried him north to a hospital in San Antonio was not his broken right foot it was his wife.
You cannot go with me, Blanca Soto recalled her husband saying when he phoned from the ambulance.
The couple has raised three children while living in the border city of Brownsville, Texas, for 13 years since crossing illegally from their native Mexico. Theyve done their best to stay in the Rio Grande Valley near the border and avoid the Border Patrol checkpoint here on the highway north.
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But when Soto, 48, fell and broke his foot last Dec. 4, a local doctor said he needed to see a specialist for surgery about 275 miles north in San Antonio, beyond the checkpoint.
He told the doctors, I dont have documents. They told him he could go. They said nothing would happen to him, said Blanca Soto, 46. They said, We will not call immigration.
But the ambulance was stopped at the checkpoint, a rural ranching outpost about 75 miles north of the border on Highway 281 leading to San Antonio and Houston. Immigration officials held Soto for questioning before eventually allowing him to proceed, but noted that he would be detained. At the hospital, they stationed a guard at his room and did not allow him to speak to his wife or other relatives.
Those living in the valley without legal status learn to navigate life while keeping a low profile, but medical problems beyond the capabilities of local healthcare providers present a grim choice: forgo treatment or risk deportation.
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Seeking treatment is a risk that many people are not willing to take because it means separation from their families, said Ana Rodriguez DeFrates, director of the Texas Latina Advocacy Network. Thats what they tell us My children are citizens, Im not and I dont want to leave them. So they live with the pain.
We hear from women about why they have gone five years, 10 years without a Pap smear, she said. A lot of people [outside the Rio Grande Valley] dont know these checkpoints exist so far inland and that they restrict access. Its not something thats widely recognized as a problem.
There are only two major highways leading north from the valley, and each has a checkpoint on Highway 281 in Falfurrias and on Highway 77 in Kingsville, about 40 miles northeast.
Of Customs and Border Protections 33 immigration checkpoints within 75 miles of the southern border, the Falfurrias outpost is among the busiest. Immigration officials who are expanding the facility say its a valuable tool to deter and catch smugglers.
Raul Ortiz of the U.S. Border Patrol discusses activity at the busy immigration checkpoint in Falfurrias, Texas.
Soto hired an attorney, refused to agree to voluntary deportation and was allowed to leave the hospital about a week later without bond. Due to immigration court backlogs, his case is not scheduled to be heard for a few years. Still, his family worries.
He is a responsible man, a family man, he never drinks, he has no criminal record, his wife said. We depend on him. We are suffering for him.
His attorney, Francisco Steven Tipton, said it was not unusual for ambulances to be stopped at the checkpoint and families separated.
Weve had clients where theres a child going through in the ambulance with the mother, and they will take the mother out and say she cant go with them, Tipton said.
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Tipton tells clients seeking non-emergency medical treatment north of the checkpoints to wait until they file petitions for legal status and have the paperwork to show agents at the checkpoint. The tactic works, though sometimes they will run into an officer who will give them a hard time, he said.
In the weeks after Soto was stopped, Raul Ortiz, acting chief patrol agent for the Border Patrols Rio Grande Valley sector, walked around the checkpoint as a dozen agents inspected cars, some with help from drug-sniffing German shepherds. A bank of cameras recorded the proceedings.
In Falfurrias theres usually a steady stream of traffic, but not as much as at checkpoints in California, such as the one on Interstate 5 in San Clemente, making it easier to stop and screen people, he said. It was early morning, and already the agents had detained a woman and found some cocaine.
My strategy is to keep all the activity as close to the border as possible, Ortiz said.
Highway 281 is used by human traffickers, money couriers, drug traffickers all that activity going north, he said, calling it, one of the busiest checkpoints in the country and one of the most productive.
Chris Cabrera, a Border Patrol union spokesman based in the Rio Grande Valley, used to work by the Falfurrias checkpoint for months at a time and called it a very useful tool.
I understand people are afraid to drive through it, he said. Unfortunately, its needed. Were so porous, open, we need a second line of defense.
Human smugglers try to evade the checkpoint by dropping off migrants south of Falfurrias, with the promise to pick them up just north. The migrants have to walk through unforgiving ranch land to reach the rendezvous. Some have died on the journey; two weeks ago, agents helped sheriffs deputies recover the remains of a migrant woman found near the Kingsville checkpoint.
Eddie Canales, who runs the South Texas Human Rights Center here, responds to calls from relatives of missing migrants and searches for remains with ranchers and local Brooks County sheriffs deputies. The sheriffs office handled 23 migrant deaths since October, 390 during the past five years.
Its always been a suggestion from the ranch community: Can you put [the checkpoint] somewhere south of Falfurrias, where the terrain is less treacherous, Canales said. It certainly would eliminate a lot of people missing and dying trying to circumvent that checkpoint.
Ortiz said agents were trying to do more to catch migrants and prevent more deaths. And he said they have to stop ambulances because we get cloned vehicles all the time vehicles made to look like ambulances, UPS trucks, telephone company repair trucks and oil tankers, with people stashed in air vents, freezers and latrines.
If someone is being transported for medical treatment, he said, hospitals often call ahead to the checkpoint and agents try to facilitate their passage, but agents still have to stop patients to check their immigration status and potential criminal records.
If you come through the checkpoint, youre still subject to immigration proceedings. I dont have the authority to say youre a good guy, wave you through, Ortiz said.
Construction is underway to expand the checkpoint, doubling its size to 16 lanes during the next two years at a cost of $20 million to $25 million.
Rodriguez, of the Texas Latina Advocacy Network, said that for women in the valley, access to abortion and family planning is another problem. A new Texas law being challenged in a lawsuit pending before the U.S. Supreme Court has left the valley with one abortion clinic, which could close if the high court allows the law to stand. The next-nearest clinic is in San Antonio.
She recalled passing the checkpoint with a van of women last year traveling to a New Orleans appeals court hearing in the abortion case.
It was hard to fill that van because of the checkpoint, she said. The first thing you see is the sign saying how many people have been seized, how many drugs. Your cellphone reception goes out. We all have legal status, and we were nervous.
She said she would like to see the checkpoints shifted further south.
Were not so naive to think theres not public safety threats to be addressed by checkpoints, she said, but, it feels like a restriction on our movement that could perhaps be handled better closer to our border.
For news from the Southwest, follow @mollyhf on Twitter.
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As a growing number of Baby Boomers age out of the workforce, theyre confronting one of the downsides of longer lifespans: their failure to save enough for retirement. Nearly half of the workers in California are on a path to the poor house in their dotage, reliant on Social Security checks that may not be large enough to keep them off government assistance. Next week, Senate President Kevin De Leon is expected to offer a bill that will push more lower-income workers to set aside a portion of their take-home pay for the future. His proposal, years in the making, does smack of a Nanny State solution to a problem that people should be solving for themselves. But they arent, which is why it makes sense for the state to try to help.
De Leons current plan takes a much more cautious approach than an early version of his proposal, which sought to create a state pension with small but guaranteed benefits for lower-income workers in the private sector. Unwilling to take on that risk, the Legislature instead decided in 2012 to authorize a savings plan based on Individual Retirement Accounts, whose payouts would vary according to how well their investments performed. The program targeted the more than 6 million Californians whose employers do not offer a retirement plan. It would not be launched, however, unless a newly created oversight panel, the California Secure Choice Retirement Savings Investment Board, found that it would be sustainable and pose no risk to taxpayers or employers.
In a report issued Monday, the board said that the program could meet the laws threshold for sustainability and risk. Now its up to the Legislature to nail down some crucial details about how much the program will take from workers paychecks, how much risk it will allow enrollees to take on and what limits, if any, it will place on how the savings ultimately are spent.
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These details are especially important because the program is designed to make deductions from eligible workers pay automatically unless they opt out. Thats a more forceful approach than an opt-in system, and is expected to increase participation. But it means lawmakers will have to give workers ample opportunity to change their minds about whether to participate and how much to contribute. And while the investment options should be tailored to match the needs of different age groups, the program must be simple enough for financially unsophisticated people to understand. That means providing fewer, more basic and conservative investment options than youd find at a major investment firm. Workers with more appetite for risk can always make such investments on their own.
The thorniest question may be whether to limit how quickly participants can withdraw their savings. Given that the goal is to provide an extra cushion in retirement, its tempting to place tight annual limits on withdrawals once an enrollee leaves the workforce. Lawmakers should resist that temptation, and trust those willing to make the sacrifices necessary to build up savings to use that money wisely.
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The conventional wisdom holds that Islamic State is mean and successful, and that Islamic State is so successful precisely because it is so mean. Thats because most people unwittingly subscribe to what I call the Strategic Model of Terrorism. As the name suggests, the Strategic Model assumes that angry young men turn to terrorism because its strategic behavior. Terrorism may be immoral, but it offers them the best chance to redress their grievances by coercing governments into accommodating their political demands.
According to this view, Hamas members are smart to attack Jews; the Kurdistan Workers Party is shrewd to kill Turks; and the Islamic State exhibits cunning when it decapitates journalists. The violence may not be pretty, but its a dependable way to secure a Palestinian state or a Kurdish state or to force the international community to accept a caliphate.
Violence committed by nonstate actors against civilians for a presumed political goal ... is highly correlated with political failure.
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Although governments say they dont negotiate with terrorists, the causal logic of the Strategic Model may seem sound: As the pain to their civilians mounts, governments are tempted to grant the terrorists demands in order to appease them. Proponents of the Strategic Model highlight how governments soften their political stances when their civilians are attacked in order to help protect them.
Theres just one problem with this common narrative it lacks empirical support. Over a decade ago, I began publishing the first systematic studies on the political effects of terrorism. What Ive found is that terrorism is actually a surprisingly ineffective political instrument.
Conventionally, terrorism means violence committed by nonstate actors against civilians for a presumed political goal. If we define terrorism in this standard way, it turns out that the tactic is highly correlated with political failure. There are some anomalous cases in which attacks on civilians worked out politically, such as when Spain decided to withdraw from Iraq after the 2004 Madrid train attacks. But throughout history, there are surprisingly few exceptions to this rule.
Statistically, my research establishes that attacks on civilians actually lower the likelihood of government concessions. This is true even after we account for all sorts of other factors that could possibly explain the association between terrorism and political failure, like the capability of the perpetrators and the nature of their demands. Rather than appeasing the perpetrators, governments almost always go on the offensive when their civilians are struck.
Indeed, its the politicians least sympathetic to terrorists who tend to benefit most from their violence. Predictably, the most hawkish Republican presidential candidates in the field, from Donald Trump to Ted Cruz to Marco Rubio, soared in the polls after the San Bernardino attacks, while relative doves like Rand Paul disappeared from the race entirely. Right-wing candidates in Israel like Benjamin Netanyahu also tend to get a boost in the polls after Palestinian terrorist attacks, as the public sours on a peace process. This is the political norm all over the world just ask French nationalist Marine Le Pen.
For all the talk of Islamic States success, its terrorism is already backfiring. Islamic State said it beheaded the American journalist James Foley to pressure the United States into leaving Iraq. In response, President Obama decided to not only ramp up operations in Iraq, but to extend them into Syria. The Paris attacks had a similar effect on France by dramatically increasing its participation in the military coalition, reflected best in the deployment of the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf. Indeed, every single country hit by Islamic State terrorism has stiffened its resolve, from Australia to Canada to Russia to Turkey to even military-less Japan.
Because Islamic State has amassed so many enemies, the group is now losing battles, territory and revenue. It has trouble paying fighters, and its propaganda output is declining. Within Syria, other Islamist groups such as Ahrar al Sham and Al Nusra Front are gaining recruits at a faster clip than Islamic State precisely because theyre not as notorious for harming civilians. More and more, Islamic State members are defecting or going elsewhere to fight, like Europe. But the cherished dream of a caliphate was probably fun while it lasted.
A possible counterargument is that Islamic State wants to provoke governments in order to make them look bad. But thats not what leaders of groups like Islamic State generally say. Based on my content analysis of all known Osama bin Laden statements translated into English, the Al Qaeda founder primarily expressed interest in gaining concessions from governments. According to Bin Laden, the purpose of the 9/11 attacks was fourfold: to sever U.S. relations with pro-Western Muslim governments such as in Egypt; to erode U.S. relations with Israel; to stop crusader wars in which Western countries have killed Muslims around the world; and to eject the U.S. from the Persian Gulf. In response to the attacks, however, the Bush administration bolstered relations with so-called apostate regimes as well as with Israel and killed countless Muslims in counterterrorism operations all over the world, while increasing the troop presence in the Gulf by a factor of 15.
Rarely do terrorist leaders say their aim is to provoke governments, and usually only after the latter have already started to go on the offensive.
Islamic State has an even lower IQ than its parent group and most other terrorist organizations in history. This really shouldnt surprise anyone since Islamic State has zero admissions criteria. If you want to become an Islamic State terrorist, just attack somebody who isnt looking and yell Allahu akbar.
Its time the media stopped overhyping Islamic State operatives and other terrorists by lionizing the sophistication of their attacks. It doesnt take a mastermind to blow up grandma, stir up a lot of fear and get the media to cover it. Of course, if thats how you define success, then the tactic of terrorism, by its very definition, has a 100% success rate.
Max Abrahms is a professor of political science and public policy at Northeastern University and a member at the Council on Foreign Relations.
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Some of Americas most racially integrated neighborhoods and cities are on a path to becoming segregated all over again. In Los Angeles this means neighborhoods where Latinos and Asians now live alongside black or white neighbors may have few to no whites or blacks in 10 to 20 years.
In research I conducted with Siri Warkentien, another sociologist, we used a statistical model and census data to identify the most common changes in racial composition in 10,681 neighborhoods in metropolitan L.A., Houston, Chicago and New York, beginning as far back as 1970 in some areas. That starting point corresponds with the implementation of the 1968 federal Fair Housing Act, which protects buyers and renters from discrimination in choosing where to live.
Covina, 22 miles east of downtown L.A., provides an example of one city at risk of resegregating. Whites make up about 26% of Covina as of 2014 and Latinos about 57%. Typically we consider neighborhoods with at least 10% of each group to be racially integrated. But the mix is crumbling. Latinos made up 13% of Covinas residents in 1980, 26% in 1990, 40% in 2000, and 52% in 2010. Four years later, according to the most recent census estimate, the Latino population had grown by five more percentage points. By 2025, Covina is likely to be overwhelmingly Latino.
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Vast portions of south and east Los Angeles are slipping from mixed populations toward single race populations.
Something similar happened already in nearby Norwalk. In 1990, just under half its residents were Latino and about a third were white (not unlike Covina now). By 2014, Latinos made up 70% of residents and whites 11%.
The data show that vast portions of south and east Los Angeles are slipping from mixed populations toward single race populations. And the change has not just occurred in formerly white areas. One of the trajectories that we identified followed a similar pattern in neighborhoods that were once black. Compton residents were nearly three-quarters black in 1980; by 1990, the mix was about 52% black and 43% Latino; in 2014, two-thirds Latino. Such slow but steadily increasing Latino growth can be found in 46% of the neighborhoods we studied in the Los Angeles metropolitan region.
Whats causing a shift from mixed to single-race populations?
Immigration is one obvious factor. The Latino population increased in Los Angeles after immigration laws were changed in 1965 to encourage family reunification. That population was bolstered by a steady increase in Mexican immigrants from the mid-1990s until the recession. Newly arrived Latinos, like all immigrant groups, tend to find housing in neighborhoods already pioneered by their countryman who are already here.
Our research found that this process is occurring again in Southern California, but this time among immigrants from Asia, the source of the largest number of U.S. newcomers now. For example, the Asian proportion of the population in Cerritos increased from 44% in 1990 to 58% in 2000 to 62% in 2014. It appears to be following a path toward Asian segregation much like Covina is on the path to Latino segregation.
White preferences are another major factor that helps explain resegregation.
Our model showed that, broadly speaking, during the 1980s, whites stopped fleeing from neighborhoods that were becoming integrated. But then more than any other racial group when whites did move they chose new neighborhoods with same-race neighbors.
In other words, Latinos moving to an area would not cause most whites to move out. But the prospect of having Latino neighbors might be enough to prevent whites from moving into a neighborhood. (Whites are moving to one kind of integrated neighborhoods: those that are gentrifying like downtown Los Angeles. But many fewer neighborhoods are gentrifying than segregating.)
For a time, places like Covina and Norwalk will remain integrated. But as whites in these areas get older and die, the outcome is clear. Consider the age patterns: In Covina, 22% of whites are 65 or older; only 14% are under the age of 18. Among Latinos in Covina, 6% are 65 or older; 32% are younger than 18.
Segregation is not, however, inevitable. Our statistical model found that in 20% of L.A. neighborhoods we examined, whites, blacks, Latinos and Asians have been living together for 10 to 30 years, and no groups population is changing much faster or slower than any other. In fact, among L.A., Houston, Chicago and New York, Los Angeles had the highest proportion of these quadrivial neighborhoods.
There are ways to encourage integration. The Department of Housing and Urban Development has taken a positive step in this direction by requiring all grant recipients to show how they would promote integration, although Congress is threatening to undo this rule. At a local level, investment in neighborhood infrastructure, especially schools, attracts diverse residents and promotes integration. There is also new research that shows whites are choosing same-race neighborhoods not solely because of prejudice or animus, but because they dont know about more mixed areas. In a separate study of Chicago area residents, for instance, whites were 2 to 6 times less likely than Latinos to even know about majority Latino neighborhoods.
Because so much of the shift in integration is based on whites decisions about where they will move next, Los Angeles future demographic patterns are in their hands. If whites do their homework, and find out more about neighborhoods that are now unfamiliar to them, they can make L.A. an example to the nation of how to create integration in the 21st century. Otherwise, knowingly or not, they may reproduce the problems of racial segregation for the future.
Michael Bader is an assistant professor of sociology, a faculty fellow of the Metropolitan Policy Center, and an affiliate of the Center on Health, Risk, and Society at American University in Washington.
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Add immigration enforcement to the list of jobs the U.S. has partially out-sourced to Mexico, a move that seems to have made life even tougher for unaccompanied minors fleeing violence and gangs in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.
As the U.S. faced a surge of unaccompanied minors crossing the Mexican border over the past couple of years, it developed counter-measures aimed at persuading the Central American kids and their families to stay home rather than gamble with the arduous and dangerous overland route to the U.S. Part of that response was to get the Mexican government to be more diligent at its own southern border and turn back children as they showed up there. That apparently was effective for a time. The Migration Policy Institute reports that:
While apprehensions at the U.S. border fell, apprehensions in Mexico rose significantly, suggesting that outflows from Central America remained fairly stable throughout 2015; many migrants were apprehended by Mexican authorities before reaching the U.S. border. Indeed, though the combined apprehensions of Honduran, Salvadoran, and Guatemalan nationals by the United States and Mexico fell from 341,000 in FY 2014 to 301,000 in FY 2015, Mexicos share of apprehensions increased from about 30 percent to 55 percent.
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So while people were still fleeing the Northern Triangle countries at a slightly slower rate (a good backgrounder on why they leave is here), fewer were getting as far as Texas, where most of the U.S. apprehensions occur. But in recent months, border agents have been apprehending more kids than before. For the period between October 2015 and January 2016, apprehensions more than doubled from the prior year and were up 24% over the same period in 2013-2014 (stats going back to 2010 are here). Whether this signals a new surge is unknown, but given the stepped-up enforcement at the Mexico-Guatemala border, clearly the migrants and their smugglers have found new routes north.
And that tightening of Mexicos southern border has raised serious questions about whether the Mexican government, acting at the behest of the U.S. and helped with U.S. funding, is respecting international safeguards for people seeking asylum from life-threatening conditions in their home countries, according to a new report from Human Rights Watch. Immigrant rights advocates have argued that U.S. policies, including fast-track deportations of minors and mothers with children, are similarly denying them the opportunity to properly made a case that they deserve asylum protections.
According to Human Rights Watch, Mexican authorities routinely detain minors seeking asylum in prison-like conditions for months before a hearing is held. Over 35,000 children were held in immigration detention centers in 2015; more than half of that total were unaccompanied. Faced with the prospect of lengthy incarceration, many minors give up and return home (to, presumably, try again to get to the U.S.). As several similar reports have noted, those seeking better economic opportunities dont qualify for protections. But those facing extreme violence and threats of death often do qualify. Yet they are being denied the opportunity to make their case.
In the U.S., the children often have to persuade immigration judges that they qualify for protections. But unless theyre lucky enough to be matched with a pro bono lawyer, they stand alone to make the argument ignorant of the intricacies of the complicated immigration laws and of what rights and arguments are available to them. The ACLU and other civil liberties and immigrant rights advocates have sued the federal government, arguing that the minors should be provided with a lawyer for such hearings.
Meanwhile, despite a pledge of more U.S. dollars to try to stabilize neighborhoods in the Northern Triangle countries, little has changed, with murder rates leading the world among countries not at war. Extortion and other crimes are rampant as criminals work with relative impunity.
The unaccompanied minors issue, which dominated news cycles in 2014 and 2015, has all but disappeared from public discussion, drowned out by the absurdities of the presidential campaign. But it hasnt gone away.
The U.S. bears responsibility for ensuring that minors who knock at the door and seek protection under both international and U.S. law are treated properly. And if they are being deprived of those rights at the Guatemala-Mexico border as a result of U.S. policy and funding, the government bears some responsibility for that, too.
Follow Scott Martelle on Twitter @smartelle.
To the editor: Well, what do you know? Apples iPhones arent impervious to hackers after all. (FBI accesses terrorists iPhone data, March 29, and Apple seeks FBI hacking method, March 30)
Most people on the street know that whatever security system is put in place will eventually be hacked by someone, which then necessitates a newer, better system.
If Apple wants more secure phones, it needs to hire people who can create and then re-create them (apparently theres at least one person out there now).
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If Apple, perhaps understandably, doesnt want to share its security expertise with the FBI, it shouldnt expect the government to give it to Apple either you cant have it both ways.
Harry Greenwood, Pasadena
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To the editor: In the world of hackers there are white hats and black hats, reminiscent of the days of the old cowboy movies. The good guys wore white hats, remember?
In the hacker world, the white hats find holes in security and help everyone to patch those holes in an altruistic effort to keep us all safe. The other guys exploit those vulnerabilities for their own purposes, leaving the public to suffer from their greed and lust for power.
In not giving (yes, for free) Apple the technology that exploits the security of its phones, the FBI clearly has gone over to the black hats.
Truly a sad day.
Gregg Ferry, Carlsbad
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To the editor: Personally, I am glad the FBI found someone who could access the iPhone that had been owned by the terrorists.
As much as I respect privacy concerns, I dont see much use in having your privacy retained if you die at the hands of some terrorist who wasnt caught because a phone couldnt be accessed.
Greg Dahlen, Glendale
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To the editor: So, Apple would like a national conversation about privacy rights and national security. I agree.
For starters, what gives Apple the right to defy a court order?
Secondly, you have to appreciate the irony and hypocrisy of Apple now demanding that the government hand over the information describing the methods used to unlock its phone. Good luck with that.
Tim Cook may have thought he was showing the world that Apple would defend your privacy; he showed me that he will go to any length to protect Apples market share, even if it favors terrorists.
Rick Kern, Incline Village, Nev.
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To the editor: This case and this elections high anger level are closely related.
Apple controls the personal information of many to enrich a few. The government has a long history of privacy abuse. Both presented disingenuous arguments about principles.
Ideally, this iPhone would be cracked without future advantages for either.
Its all posturing. Principles have devolved to marketing strategies used by unprincipled businesses, political operatives and two political parties that differ largely in which businesses own them. People instead want them doing the right thing, not just here but in general. That requires balancing equally legitimate competing principles. We want principled action applied with common sense, not blindly.
This would be easier case by case, but that requires discretion. Discretion is unallowable without trust. Trust is earned by showing good sense, which cannot be evaluated without honesty and transparency.
Lacking this from the establishment, the public is now listening to outsiders straight-talkers with or without merit.
Robert Neches, Los Angeles
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To the editor: The refusal of Apple to help our nation was appalling. One of the main duties of all citizens including Apples execs is to help our country defend itself (even at the expense of corporate profits).
What has happened to the U.S.? Things are certainly out of joint when corporate greed has become the guiding principal.
Alvin Milder, Los Angeles
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To the editor: Has anyone else noticed the similarities between the FBI/Apple issue and the gun violence issue? Both Apple and the NRA are protecting their products and profits over the safety of everyone else.
We must decide together which of our values is most important: more individual profit and private choices for a few, or more security and safety for us all?
Joanne Tatham, Irvine
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Were there: Lt. Gov. Newsom says he has enough signatures for gun control initiative
Citing the failure of the state Legislature to act, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday that he has collected 600,000 signatures of California voters to qualify a gun control initiative for the November ballot.
Were there. This is going to be on the November ballot, Newsom said Thursday. Over 600,000 registered voters want to take some bold action on gun safety.
Newsoms campaign plans to begin delivering signatures tomorrow to county clerks for verification. If at least 365,880 signatures are found to be valid, the measure will qualify for the ballot.
Newsom said most of the proposals in the initiative have one thing in common, that over the past number of years they have suffered the fate of either being watered down or rejected by the Legislature. Were hopeful and confident that the voters of California will overwhelmingly support the initiative.
The broad measure would require background checks for purchasers of ammunition; ban possession of ammunition magazine clips holding more than 10 rounds; provide a process for felons and other disqualified persons to relinquish firearms and require owners to report when their guns are lost or stolen.
The initiative would also address an issue caused by the previous adoption of Proposition 47, which made thefts of guns worth less than $1,000 a misdemeanor. The ballot measure would make all gun thefts a felony.
Last week, Senate President Pro Tem Kevin De Leon (D-Los Angeles) said key provisions of the initiative, including the ban on large-capacity magazines, are addressed by legislation this year, but that bills could be harmed by the initiative going forward.
A campaign committee including gun groups and law enforcement is being formed to defeat the initiative, according to one member, Sam Paredes, executive director of Gun Owners of California. He noted that the measure has already been opposed by the California State Sheriffs Assn., which said it would put restrictions on law-abiding people without taking guns from criminals.
its an initiative that carries multiple proposals that were either killed by the Legislature as not workable or vetoed by the governor, Paredes said. Newsom has collected failed policy issues from the Legislature and put them up as an initiative. Its going to be a massive effort to defeat him.
Paredes said the initiative is a cynical attempt by Newsom to gain higher office.
We know hes doing this to pump himself up for his gubernatorial run, Paredes said.
Newsom said his campaign for governor is secondary to his effort to enact gun safety laws.
He said he has been active in the gun safety movement going back 15 years when he was mayor of San Francisco and a founding member of the group Mayors Against Guns. The National Rifle Assn. was so upset, they protested at his wedding in Montana, he said.
I expect a good challenge from them, Newsom said of the NRA. They have been very aggressive to date. But we are very enthusiastic to be getting to this next phase.
He cited internal polls indicating more than 70% of California voters support the initiative, and a Field poll that found greater support for provisions of the measure, including the ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines.
If Donald Trump fails in his quest for the Republican nomination, future historians may look back at next weeks Wisconsin primary as the turning point.
For months, Trump has dominated the Republican field, but as Michael Finnegan and I described Thursday, the blustery New York businessman has suffered one of the worst weeks of his campaign in the run-up to the Wisconsin balloting. Polls in the state show him losing to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz by 10 points.
Good afternoon, Im David Lauter, Washington bureau chief. Welcome to the Friday edition of our Essential Politics newsletter, in which we look at the events of the week in the presidential campaign and highlight some particularly insightful stories.
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Its not that Wisconsin was ever a slam-dunk for Trump the state has a very conservative Republican electorate, which was bound to give significant support to Cruz. But a double-digit loss for Trump there, if that polling forecast holds up, would be a serious defeat.
Moreover, the state GOPs winner-take-most rules mean that Cruz might be able to sweep the lions share, or perhaps all, of Wisconsins 42 Republican convention delegates. That would leave Trump needing to win about 6 in 10 of the remaining delegates in order to gain a first-ballot majority at the nominating convention in July.
Trump still could do that, starting with a big win in New York on April 19, but it would require winning California by a significant margin. For a look at where the California campaign among the Republicans stands now, check out our latest USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll of California voters.
And heres the link for full coverage of all the results of our poll the Democratic race, the Senate contest and Californians views of trade, economic inequality and immigration.
Over on the Democratic side, Wisconsin likely will mean another win for Sen. Bernie Sanders, which will fuel the hopes of his supporters.
But the more significant test for Sanders and Hillary Clinton will come in New York, where many more delegates are at stake. Sanders is making a spirited effort there, as Evan Halper wrote. Actually winning the state would be a long shot for Sanders despite his three-state win last weekend but if he can do it, he would deliver a severe setback to Clinton.
Halper also took a look at the debate over whether Clinton has moved to the left during the primary campaign. The evidence suggests that voters dont perceive a shift. If anything, Clinton appears more moderate to voters now than she did earlier.
On Tuesday, you can follow the outcome of Wisconsins voting as we post live results, speeches and analysis on Trail Guide.
And as the race unfolds, keep watch on the delegates in both parties with our Delegate Tracker, which shows where each candidate stands and where each has won support.
Meantime, as the race continues, were taking several different looks at the electorate. Check out David Horseys terrific illustrated visit to Trump Nation.
Or, if you prefer a data-oriented view, the Pew Research Center has just published a major new polling study of American voters that provides a lot of insight into our divided electorate.
Here are a few highlights:
Trump supporters stand out from the rest of the electorate by their negative perceptions of the state of the country. Nearly half of Trump supporters, 48%, say economic conditions are poor, compared with fewer than one-third of Republicans who back either Cruz or Ohio Gov. John Kasich. On the Democratic side, only about 1 in 4 Sanders supporters and 1 in 6 Clinton supporters call the economy poor.
Trump supporters also are especially negative about international trade, which is no surprise given the candidates position on the issue. About two-thirds of Trump voters say free trade agreements have been a bad thing for the U.S. Supporters of Cruz and Kasich are fairly evenly split on whether trade agreements have been good or bad for the country.
By 58%-31%, more Clinton supporters say free trade agreements have been good for the country than bad. The split among Sanders backers is surprisingly similar to that of Clinton supporters on the issue: 55%-38%.
One issue on which Sanders supporters stand out from the rest of the electorate is on whether the U.S. has a positive impact on the rest of the world. Some 60% of voters say problems in the world would be even worse without U.S. involvement. Backers of Clinton and the three Republican candidates are all fairly similar on that subject.
By contrast, Sanders supporters divide fairly evenly. Roughly as many who say U.S. efforts to solve world problems usually end up making things worse, 45%, say those problems would be even worse without U.S. involvement, 49%.
Cruz supporters stand out by their strong opposition to same-sex marriage and abortion. Almost three-quarters of Cruz voters say abortion should be illegal in all or most cases, compared with about half of Trump or Kasich backers and fewer than 1 in 4 of either Clinton or Sanders backers. Similarly, 70% of Cruz voters, but only half of Trump voters, one-third of Kasich voters, one-quarter of Clinton voters and one-sixth of Sanders voters oppose same-sex marriage.
Finally, Democrats overwhelmingly say that the growing diversity of the U.S. has made the country a better place to live, with roughly three-quarters of both Clinton and Sanders voters agreeing on that point. Republicans are much more divided. Slightly more than half of Kasich voters, slightly less than half of Cruz voters and only 4 in 10 Trump voters say diversity has made the U.S. better.
One other key polling number: Trump has become the most unpopular major political figure in decades. Overcoming that unpopularity would be a huge hurdle if he becomes the Republican nominee.
A few other stories that are well worth a read:
As Chris Megerian described, Kasich is trying to convince everyone that hes more than just a one-state wonder. The Ohio governor cannot win enough delegates to gain a first-ballot majority at the convention but hopes that a contested convention might turn to him as the most electable of the GOP hopefuls in November.
Cathy Decker took a look at the controversy over Trumps statements on abortion.
Lisa Mascaro looked at how the honeymoon may be over for House Speaker Paul Ryan.
Seema Mehta broke down a new California-based anti-Trump PACs plan to stop him from winning the nomination at the states June 7 primary.
And Mike Memoli looked at the politics of the continuing fight over the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Merrick Garland. As Memoli explained, the White House strategy is to slowly erode Republican resistance to Obamas pick, and officials believe they are making progress.
What were reading
Ron Brownstein, always one of the most insightful analysts of politics, took a look at how Trumps efforts to reinforce his support among his core voters has the effect of alienating others, what he refers to as the Trump Treadmill.
And its no surprise that Mike Murphy, the former top strategist for Jeb Bushs super PAC, doesnt like Trump. But in this interview with the Washington Post, Murphy provided an excellent insiders view of what a contested GOP convention might look like and why Trump is unlikely to win the nomination if he cannot claim it on the first ballot.
That wraps up this week. My colleague Christina Bellantoni will be back Monday with the weekday edition of Essential Politics. Until then, keep track of all the developments in the 2016 campaign with our Trail Guide at our politics page and on Twitter at @latimespolitics.
Send your comments, suggestions and news tips to politics@latimes.com.
Daniel Usman fled his native Pakistan to escape death threats from men upset that he had converted from Islam to Catholicism. Upon arrival at Los Angeles International Airport, the 35-year-old with a college degree in electronics asked for asylum.
What he got instead, he said, was a nearly four-month stay at the Theo Lacy Facility, a detention center run by the Orange County Sheriffs Department that accepts immigration holds on contract with U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement.
Usman said he was kept in a cold area without a coat, provided poor medical treatment and was mistreated by the staff.
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Its a nightmare inside, he said. They treated us unjustly.
It is immigrants such as Usman whom state Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) and civil rights groups had in mind Friday when they proposed sweeping new standards and restrictions on the immigrant detention facilities in California.
In a political challenge to the use of private, for-profit detention centers, the Democratic legislator is proposing to bar cities from contracting with them on behalf of ICE, and to allow those detained to file civil actions against the facilitys operator if their rights are violated.
The right to bring civil action would also apply to detainees in facilities that are not privately run, such as Theo Lacy.
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The Dignity not Detention Act takes a stand against the mass incarceration of immigrants in detention facilities and inhumane immigration detention conditions, Lara said in a statement. Our state and local governments should not be complicit in this awful practice of profiting off of human suffering.
The end goal would be to shut down private detention centers in California, said Lara, who was expected to announce his legislation Friday in Los Angeles.
ICE contracts with four privately run detention facilities in California that hold about 3,700 people each day, including immigrants in the country illegally, asylum seekers, green card holders and those awaiting immigration hearings.
Civil rights groups have filed numerous complaints alleging the privately operated facilities have denied proper medical care, pain medications and meal accommodations for those with illnesses or injuries.
The sheer number and consistency of violations of ICEs federal standards in California detention facilities really warrants immediate action by the California Legislature, said Christina Fialho, executive director of the group Community Initiatives for Visiting Immigrants in Confinement, or CIVIC.
TRAIL GUIDE: All the latest news on the 2016 presidential campaign >>
The Lara bill would adopt into state law basic health and safety standards approved by ICE in 2011 and allow them to be enforced by the state.
Two of the biggest privately operated lockups, the Adelanto Detention Facility and Mesa Verde Detention Facility, are run by the Geo Group under intergovernmental service agreements with the cities of Adelanto and McFarland, respectively.
The cities contract with the Geo Group to manage facility operations on a day-to-day basis, Geo bills the city, and the city then bills ICE, according to Lori K. Haley, a spokeswoman for ICE.
Per our agency policy, I am unable to comment on proposed or pending legislation, she said.
The Geo Group spokesman Pablo Paez said the firm would not comment on the legislation, but he defended its record of care for detainees. The detention centers provide around-the-clock medical services, he said.
Geos facilities provide high quality services in safe, secure, and humane residential environments, and our company strongly refutes allegations to the contrary, Paez said in a statement.
The state cannot tell the federal government what to do, but Laras bill would block the cities from renewing their contracts, according to Fialho.
The cities are California cities and California itself is one of the most diverse and immigrant-friendly states in the country, Fialho said. What we want to be saying is we want to value dignity over detention.
patrick.mcgreevy@latimes.com
Follow @mcgreevy99 on Twitter
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Updates from Sacramento
When the first few sycamores began dying in UC Irvine's Aldrich Park in late 2014, the victims numbered in the dozens. But over the next several months, hundreds of cottonwoods, native willows, goldenrain and coral trees met the same fate.
"We've seen infestations of pests, but nothing to this extent," said Richard Demerjian, director of UCI's Office of Environmental Planning and Sustainability. "It came as quite a shock."
It was the work of the polyphagous shot-hole borer, an invasive beetle that's been attacking and killing an astonishing range of trees throughout Southern California.
Plant pathologists are overmatched. The beetle isn't native to the area and has no natural predators here. When it strikes, the only thing to do is to try and contain it before it spreads. As the beetle has spread farther into six counties, even that has seemed like a losing strategy.
But the UC Irvine outbreak presented scientists with an opportunity to change that by turning the leafy grounds into a giant outdoor research lab.
The university, after all, is home to researchers who design malaria-fighting mosquitoes and hunt for dark matter in distant galaxies. Why not apply the scientific process to the campus itself?
"The beauty of UCI is that it's a university, and they're used to researchers," said John Kabashima, an environmental horticulture advisor at the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources who is involved in the effort.
Dozens of trees around the campus now bear white tags that say, "This tree is part of a joint UC research project. Please do not touch or climb on the tree."
One of the scientists running this giant experiment is Akif Eskalen, the plant pathologist who first identified the sesame seed-sized beetle in a South Gate avocado tree in 2012. He's been studying infested plants about 45 miles away at UC Riverside.
At UC Irvine, with so much devastation concentrated in one place, the conditions are practically tailor-made for a controlled study to test different chemical and biological treatments using the same kind of trees growing under the same environmental conditions. With any luck, the results will help Eskalen hone his response to the wily pest.
The beetles burrow tunnels into trees, ejecting a sawdust-like frass behind them. They use the empty space to farm several species of fungus, which they eat and feed to their young. But the fungus also spreads through the tree's system, ultimately killing it.
A quick inspection is enough to make the scientists feel like underdogs. Eskalen pulled out a pocketknife and scraped the bark off several trees, revealing bore holes beneath.
The university has identified 2,000 infested trees, many of which will have to be cut down. Many now resemble amputees, their main branches or entire tops lopped off. Some 400 hardwoods on campus were so badly mauled that officials have already removed them.
Nearly every sycamore in sight bears some kind of wound, and the damage is more than cosmetic. Heavy branches, structurally weakened by the relentless attack, pose a threat to public safety if they fall.
After trees die, their wood can become a hazard as it's hauled away, giving the beetles a free ride to new territory.
There's an economic risk too, since the beetles have a taste for avocado trees. It's also not clear what will happen if or when the beetle moves into the Central Valley, California's agricultural heartland.
At UCI, Eskalen selected 130 sycamores for his experiment and divided them into 13 groups of 10. Four of the groups were treated with different insecticides; three were treated with different fungicides; and four others got one of each.
Another group was given a beneficial bacteria found in some California trees that's thought to kill the fungus.
The final group served as a control and received no treatment at all.
To keep track of how well each intervention works, researchers are counting the holes the beetles leave in each tree. Each dot is a literal data point.
These pinpoint wounds are marked with a different color of paint every month, to help the scientists see how many holes are freshly drilled. Any unmarked holes are a sign that the beetles are still drilling.
The scientists are allowed to cut down and section the trees, sample them, and even leave some infested trees alone. Having this flexibility is essential to understanding the success or failure of a given pesticide, Kabashima said: "That's why we're learning so much here at UCI."
Like lots of high-level research, there's quite a bit of grunt work. On a recent sunny day, Eskalen checked in on Joey Mayorquin and Beth Peacock as they painted blue dots on the paper-thin bark of a sycamore in Aldrich Park. Nearby trees are speckled with orange, white and green flecked with so many colors that they bear a vague resemblance to a Georges Seurat painting.
Mayorquin, a UC Riverside graduate student, knelt at the tree's base while Peacock, a UCR research assistant, used a stepladder to reach higher. Both daubed blue dots next to each new hole and used clickers to keep count of them.
"It is very time-consuming," Mayorquin said. "We actually made good time last week when we were here; we were able to get through 40 trees in about a full day."
Soon after he started the experiment, Eskalen began to worry that his dot-painting procedure wouldn't tell him which holes were empty and which ones were occupied. After a sleepless night, he finally came up with an additional strategy.
To see which holes were in active use by beetles, the researchers painted white rectangles that were about the size of a sheet of printer paper on the bark. Some paints were too thick; others left the wood discolored. After several tests, he settled on a water-based latex paint that would not interfere with the beetles' drilling and would wash off without hurting the tree. Eskalen knew that the mother beetles guarding their young inside couldn't stand to have their only means of entry and exit clogged up. And indeed, they burrowed out of the holes that had been covered with paint revealing those holes that were still in use.
"That's why it's very important for us to study the biology of the enemy," he said.
Eskalen checked one of the painted white patches. He points to numbers scribbled on the bark from early in the experiment. On Oct. 23, he'd counted 25 new holes. On Oct. 27, only 20 were active.
The researchers also used 3D-printed traps designed by UC Riverside entomologist Richard Stouthamer and colleagues to catch beetles that come out of their holes. The researchers don't even need beetles to fall into the traps; if they catch any frass the team will know the hole is active.
The team has been monitoring these trees since June; this June they will gather all the data and analyze their results, and continue monitoring for a few more years. Eskalen hopes they will lead him to a chemical or microbial weapon that could help beat back the infestation.
The scientists expect that any ammunition they find here will also help them fight an invasion by the Kuroshio shot hole borer, a closely related species of beetle with its own fungi that has opened up a second front in San Diego County and established a foothold in Orange County.
On the highly monitored and manicured campus, UC Irvine's trees are relatively lucky; in wilder areas the beetle has gone unchecked, ravaging natural habitats. A four-mile-wide willow forest in the Tijuana River Valley now has 140,000 severely damaged trees, according to John Boland, an ecologist who has been studying the area for more than 14 years.
Despite all this effort, Eskalen doesn't believe pesticides are a long-term solution they're expensive and require repeated applications, which may not be feasible in many of the wild, thickly wooded areas under attack.
Ultimately, he said, the only way to defeat the bugs is to identify and deploy another creature that naturally preys on the beetle or its fungi.
Although the beetle infests trees in many parts of Southeast Asia, it does not run rampant there the way it has in Southern California. Eskalen and Stouthamer suspect it has predators there that keep it in check naturally, and they've gone to Vietnam and Taiwan to search for them.
Finding them would just be the first step. Before they could bring them to California, they'd have to study them there to ensure they don't attack California's beneficial native insects.
In the short term, the best-case scenario for UCI is to manage the pest without allowing it to spread. With some 30,000 trees remaining on campus, Demerjian is prepared for a lengthy fight.
"This is going to be a pest that we're going to have to deal with for many years," he said.
amina.khan@latimes.com | Twitter: @aminawrite
After learning hundreds of characters and countless phrases, students in Costa Mesa High Schools Mandarin 3 class will put their knowledge to use during a spring-break trip to China.
On Saturday, eight students and instructor Lu Wang will leave for Beijing and Xian, a large city in central China.
Mandarin 3 is the highest-level class in that language that students can take at Costa Mesa High. By this point, they are learning to write and speak like a native, Wang said.
Once we get to LAX, I want them to communicate with each other in Mandarin, she said. Whether theyre going to go sightseeing, to a restaurant or when they need to talk to someone at the front desk of the hotel, they will be using the language.
Wang and her students started planning the trip 18 months ago and held fundraising efforts to cover some of the expenses.
Wang had help arranging the trip from Education First, a company that plans international tours for students.
During the journey, the class will stop at locations such as the Terracotta Army sculptures in Xian, the Great Wall of China and Beijings Forbidden City, an imperial palace that dates back almost 600 years.
Im really looking forward to actually seeing the historical sites instead of what Ive only been able to see on the computer, said Kris Araracap, a Costa Mesa High senior who is going on the trip. Ive always found the Chinese culture interesting because its not just one country, one culture. Each province and city has their own thing.
Araracap and her classmates in Mandarin 3 built their vocabulary, grammatical and comprehension skills in the first two levels of the course. In level 3, they use the language in real-life conversation and writing.
In 2013, Costa Mesa High had two Mandarin 1 classes with about 70 students total, according to Wang.
Now the school has six classes in different levels with about 170 students enrolled, and there are plans to offer a Mandarin 4 class next school year.
I think the classes have attracted a lot of students who are willing to take some challenge, Wang said. Knowing the language could help students with job hunting, or they could include that they are bilingual on their college applications.
Many of Wangs students are learning Mandarin as their third language. Some of them are already fluent in Spanish, Vietnamese or Tagalog.
Before taking [Mandarin], I already spoke English and Spanish, said Brian Guadarrama, another senior going on the trip. I grew up with Spanish because my family speaks it, and that made it easy to learn.
Wang hopes the week in China will help the students ease into Mandarin.
The best way to learning anything is to have the real-life experience, she said. Theyve learned a lot of vocabulary and structure from listening, speaking, reading and writing in class. But once they apply it outside, then that means they have mastered the skills.
The year was 1946 and the small town of La Canada its name meaning mountain valley to describe an area surrounded on all sides by foothill ridges, canyons and the deep Arroyo Seco was experiencing a post-World War II boom.
Its school system, begun more than six decades earlier, was on the brink of expansion as more young families clamored to buy properties that afforded them magnificent, pristine views within a stones throw of a burgeoning Los Angeles.
As the La Canada township began its transition from rural farmland to a metropolitan suburb and its population hit the 5,000 mark, resident Dixi Gail Hall began to see a critical need growing just as quickly as the local census.
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Citizens wanted to stay informed of new developments pertaining to schools, businesses and the important work being done by community organizations. But a serious lack of news coverage about what was happening in their town left many La Canadans in the dark.
So Hall, then working as a young artist, set to work. In one of the bedrooms of the familys modest farmhouse, located on the northeast corner of Craig and Commonwealth avenues, he helped coordinate a handful of articles and notices, laying out what was to become the towns first newspaper, a semimonthly publication.
On April 3, 1946, the first issue of the La Canada Valley Sun hit the streets at the subscription cost of $1 per year. In it, Frank Lanterman grandson of town founder Jacob Lanterman and soon-to-be state Assembly member wrote an article edifying readers on the towns storied past, dating back to the last quarter of the 18th century.
This is the living history of the community; its enormously important ... the fact that its been around 70 years and is still publishing is a neat thing. Melissa Patton, executive director of the Lanterman House museum
La Canada was first used as a name for this area by the Verdugo family in 1776-78. The Verdugos were the original owners of Rancho San Rafael, a grant of 40,000 acres of which La Canada was a part. Later Rancho La Canada became a separate grant comprising 5,835 acres, Lanterman wrote.
The area east of Pickens Wash to the eastern boundary of the Rancho at the Arroyo Seco, was officially named the settlement of La Canada, and the La Canada U.S. Post office was established. Thus in 1880 La Canada became the official name of the community in which we live a name that is rich in historic tradition and the romantic heritage of early California legends, he continued.
The inaugural issue of the La Canada Valley Sun also included articles about activities of the local library and Red Cross chapter, school PTA and chamber of commerce, as well as school and church notes, letters to the editor and a calendar of events. A school survey report, issued by UCLA Education Professor Dr. Lloyd Morrisett, indicated the population at La Canada School (today La Canada Elementary School) had increased 66% in the previous decade.
La Canadas most pressing educational requirement at the present moment is obviously additional building facilities. The citizens of La Canada should not only make provision for school housing for their children; they should adopt the policy of establishing and maintaining in La Canada the highest level of educational opportunity to be found anywhere, Morrisett surmised.
Longtime La Canada resident and current Valley Sun Managing Editor Carol Cormaci, reflecting upon the publications long history of maintaining the public record, said that the tradition of service that began in Halls home in 1946 is still going strong 70 years later.
Since its inception, the newspaper hasnt missed a single publication date. Given the direction to cover La Canada like a blanket, Valley Sun reporters have used any and all available tools to bring readers ongoing coverage of local events and public meetings, writing on-the-spot breaking news as well as longer trend pieces.
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So many people at the Valley Sun have worked so hard over the years to document local happenings, Cormaci said in a recent interview. Weve been bringing good news, and sad news, to our readers. Weve covered stories without prejudice were all very proud at taking a balanced approach to community journalism here, and I look forward to continuing that tradition.
Melissa Patton, executive director of the citys historic museum Lanterman House, called the La Canada Valley Sun the most important paper in the Crescenta-Canada Valley for its continuous coverage of local issues, events and citizens.
This is the living history of the community; its enormously important, Patton said. "(And) the fact that its been around 70 years and is still publishing is a neat thing.
The museum currently maintains an archive of Valley Sun editions dating all the way back to Halls first efforts, which is available for viewing by the public.
On Sunday, from 2 to 4 p.m, the Valley Sun welcomes locals to join staff members past and present at a free 70th anniversary celebration at Lanterman House, 4420 Encinas Drive, in La Canada. In addition to a brief presentation by speakers, participants can peruse seven decades of news coverage, eat birthday cake and leave Notes to the Editor for possible inclusion in the April 7 issue.
It would be just great to see the community come out and support this local institution, Cormaci said.
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Sara Cardine, sara.cardine@latimes.com
Twitter: @SaraCardine
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Cambodias white sand beaches, blue water and gentle surf drew most cruisers ashore when the 1,000-passenger Crystal Serenity docked in mid-March at Sihanoukville. Others visited the citys colorful market and took pedicab tours through town.
But a third group wanted nothing to do with the usual tourist pursuits. Instead they took a ships excursion to a local school and an orphanage where they met with children and teachers, watched a dance performance and got to spend some time with the next generation of Cambodians.
Our aim was to have fun with the children and to put a smile on their faces, said participant Heather Schweiger. And I think we did.
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The free program, called You Care, We Care, is part of a new cruise ship trend that makes it easy for travelers to become volunteers in faraway places, even if its just for a few hours.
Voluntourism, increasingly popular throughout the travel industry, is a way for travelers to make a difference in the communities they visit. On some cruises, the program is a cultural exchange that takes travelers into the homes, farms and businesses of local residents, infusing needed dollars into a community. On others, volunteers perform more tangible tasks.
For instance, Holland Americas program, called the Cruise with Purpose Collection, includes planting trees in Australia and Iceland. Carnivals new Fathom brand, which begins sailing this month, will take travelers to the Dominican Republic for three days of community work and civic projects. Celebrity Cruises guests can participate in a reforestation program when they visit Galapagos national park.
HopeFloats.org, a California nonprofit, will help Caribbean-bound passengers arrange to work with organizations on five islands. Tasks include feeding the homeless, painting or cleaning, or helping teachers.
Other cruise lines help charities by raising money. Cruising for a Cause, a Princess Cruises initiative, collected funds for the American Heart Assn. and for two veterans organizations.
A recent sailing on Royal Caribbeans Brilliance of the Seas raised money for cancer research, and a seven-night cruise aboard Carnival Miracle invited passengers to sponsor the cruise for military families who couldnt afford it otherwise.
Crystals voluntour program, which started in 2011, is one of the more developed in the industry. Among volunteer opportunities this year were cleaning a beach in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, working at a food bank in Estonia and feeding animals at a zoo in Berlin.
In Cambodia, the volunteers visited Kam Penh Primary School, where they distributed school equipment and supplies, then moved on to the Orphanage of Sihanoukville Province, which is supported by the Cambodian government and the French organization ASPECA, or Enfants dAsie, which works with children throughout Southeast Asia.
The tour included a visit to a computer room, TV room and a room with a weaving machine, where the children make rugs and scarves to sell to visitors.
We were shown classrooms and dormitories where the children sleep, Schweiger said. The rooms are run by a house mother who cooks, washes and looks after the children. The little ones are helped but the older children have to wash their own clothes and tidy up.
As we were walking around the children held our hands, asking us questions, Schweiger said. They were just adorable.
She and her husband usually take part in the volunteer programs, she said. As does Werner Dreifuss. Its my way of giving back, he said, adding that he was among Jewish children who survived the Holocaust because of the rescue efforts of others.
Crystal Serenitys orphanage visit in Cambodia followed an excursion two days earlier in Koh Samui, Thailand, where passengers visited a shelter housing nearly 300 dogs and cats. They were invited to pitch in cleaning the shelter and to hug the animals.
Earlier in the 102-day World Cruise itinerary, Crystal passengers helped redecorate a playroom at an orphanage in Lautoka, Fiji.
The orphanage visit was Schweigers favorite. It was great to see the children happy while we were there, considering some have no parents and had little chance in life before they came to the orphanage, she said.
When we left, tears came to my eyes. I was sorry to leave those gorgeous children but felt happy that they were being looked after.
travel@latimes.com
::
Midship lower-deck cabins may feel more stable for those prone to seasickness
If youre a novice cruiser and worried about seasickness or if youre going to be sailing in an area known for rough waters, book a cabin midship, preferably on a lower deck. Thats where youll feel the least amount of movement.
Rugged mountain bikers who have Iceland, Peru, Switzerland or British Columbia on their radar, take note.
Trek Travel, an active vacation company specializing in cycling vacations, has teamed up with Canadian-based Big Mountain Bike Adventures to off-road bike tours to these hilly climes.
Each mountain-biking excursion will feature a maximum of 10 guests, with two guides per trip, and includes full suspension Trek mountain bikes at no additional charge.
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The Iceland trip lasts six days and will lead riders over rolling hills and mossy lava fields, by steaming fumaroles and bubbling hot mud baths, to spend nights in back-country huts. Set along the remote and rugged south coast of Iceland, mountain bikers will be able to take mid-ride dips in hot springs and natural warm rivers.
Highlights include a ride along Eldgja, the largest volcanic canyon in the world, and a single-track descent from on top of the Blafjoll (or Blue Mountains) range. The cost is $4,199 per person, based on double occupancy, and is offered July 3, 10, 17 and 31.
Its not for the out-of-shape, however. Daily rides run between 10 and 30 miles with up to 2,300 feet of climbing and 3,100 feet of descending.
Trek Travel tours takes bicyclists on a six-day off-road adventure that includes stopping at Machu Picchu. (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
In Peru, cyclists can test their lungs on a seven-day, high-altitude mountain-biking trip through Perus remote Andean villages that also includes an excursion to the sacred Incan site Machu Picchu. The price is $4,199 per person and is offered Oct. 2, 9, 16 and 23.
The Swiss outing runs six days and includes some downhills that last more than an hour. It is based in Verbier and Zermatt, which boast the peaks of Monte Rosa and the famed Matterhorn, respectively.
Highlights include a descent into the 2,000-year-old village of Aosta, Italy, for dinner; a grand descent to the Rhone Valley with a dip in Sierre Lake; plus an epic one-hour 16,000-foot descent surrounded by 29 high mountain peaks.
The cost is $3,899 will run July 3, 10, 17 and 24. Daily rides vary from 20 to 31 miles with up to 3,700 feet of climbing and 16,000 feet of descent.
The British Columbia tour lasts six days and includes rides out of the mountainous Canadian valley towns of Squamish, Whistler and Pemberton.
Highlights include lift-access descents at the Whistler Ski Resort, as well as a journey to the South Chilcotin Mountains, where a float plane will transport riders to a remote paradise known for grizzly bears, big horn sheep, stunning scenery and great back-country trails.
The price is $3,899 and will be offered Aug. 14, 21, 28 and Sept. 4.
Info: Trek Travel, (866) 464-8735
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A growing number of states in India are imposing a new requirement on candidates for local office: They must use a toilet.
The western state of Maharashtra this week became the latest to pass a law requiring those running in municipal and village-level elections to present proof that they have access to a working toilet. A total of five Indian states with combined populations of nearly 400 million people, or roughly one-third of the country have enacted similar legislation over the past two years.
Thats no small demand in a country in which an estimated 40% of people including more than half in rural areas lack access to safe, functioning commodes, according to WaterAid, a charity. In much of rural India, most people still defecate in the open due to a lack of toilets and widespread traditional beliefs that it is more wholesome to go outdoors.
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Open defecation, however, has been linked to chronic diarrhea and other diseases that lead to stunted growth in children, as well as to violence against women who must leave their homes to relieve themselves.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched a Clean India campaign that aims to end open defecation and install 110 million toilets nationwide by 2019. Four of the five states that have introduced laws requiring local political candidates to use toilets are led by Modis Bharatiya Janata party.
State officials say they want local officeholders to serve as role models in following modern sanitation practices.
It is high time to have this basic amenity at home, said Maharashtras chief minister, Devendra Fadnavis, a Modi ally. We are also promoting the Swachh Bharat [Clean India] campaign. We want to make each and every village and city clean and garbage-free.
The bill Fadnavis initially proposed last fall would have required every local candidate to have a working toilet at home. That prompted resistance from some opposition parties, which said it would disqualify many poor candidates as well as those living in urban areas who use shared public toilets.
In Mumbai, Indias second-most populous city and the largest in Maharashtra, one-third of municipal officeholders belonging to the powerful Shiv Sena party reside in slums that have shared toilets, said a party official, Anil Parab.
The state government relented and the law passed this week would allow people to contest elections if they produced a certificate showing they had access to a functioning toilet.
But an independent state lawmaker, Kapil Patil, slammed the law as unconstitutional, saying any Indian adult should be able to run for office without conditions.
Is it not insulting to submit such a letter before applying for the candidature? Patil said in an interview.
Where I go to attend natures call cannot be anybody elses business. The governments responsibility is to provide toilets to everyone. One cannot hold the candidate responsible for the lack of toilets in the state.
Some who support the effort to improve sanitation also criticized the law for driving a wedge between rural Indians and those living in urban areas, roughly 80% of whom have access to toilets, according to WaterAid.
The bill polarizes the candidates between rich and poor, said Kiran Pawaskar, an opposition state lawmaker. The intent is good but the law is bad.
Opponents of such legislation in other states have had mixed success. In February, the government in the northern state of Bihar, which is not allied with Modi, withdrew a law requiring candidates in local elections to have toilets in their homes, saying the state had fallen short of its promises to build more toilets.
Last June, a court in the western state of Gujarat, which is led by Modis party, rejected a challenge to a similar policy, ruling that officeholders should serve as role models for citizens.
The states have the flexibility to make their own policies and rules, and its good that theyre trying to work in that spirit, said Nitya Jacob, head of policy at WaterAid India. But Jacob said states should work harder on implementing the central governments ambitious sanitation plans.
The laws are more symbolic than anything else. It sends a message that this is important and you need to have a toilet.
Part of the problem, Jacob and others say, is that while India has become better at building toilets, it has not had as much success getting people to use them. Many brand-new toilets lie unused due to drought or a lack of piped water. In some areas, local officials have not carried out adequate education campaigns to increase toilet use.
The cultural barriers remain significant. In a recent paper, researchers Anurag Banerjee, Nilanjan Banik and Ashvika Dalmia used Indian demographic survey data to rank 21 basic consumer goods in the order that Indian households would prefer to acquire them. According to their analysis, toilets ranked 12th -- meaning a poor family would buy a television, a pressure cooker or a motorcycle before it acquired a toilet.
Bengali is a Times staff writer and Parth M.N. is a special correspondent.
Follow @SBengali on Twitter for more news from South Asia
Late in his first term, President Obama announced a new emphasis on Asia and the Pacific Rim, a way of pivoting from the morass in the Middle East and focusing on a peaceful, booming region that the first Pacific-born president saw as the future.
He has visited Asia regularly since then and will return at least twice this year for economic and security summits.
But with notable exceptions, much of the administrations self-proclaimed rebalance has been dominated by emergency security matters, including North Koreas defiant nuclear tests, friction with China in the South China Sea, and the growing threat of cyber-espionage and digital theft.
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On Thursday, with about 50 world leaders in Washington for the Nuclear Security Summit, only the leaders of China, Japan and South Korea received full, formal meetings with Obama, a clear sign of his priorities.
(The White House belatedly added a shorter session with French President Francois Hollande, a crucial ally in the war against Islamic State.)
Trilateral security cooperation is essential to maintain peace and stability in Northeast Asia, Obama told reporters as he met with South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Later, in a separate meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Obama emphasized their commitment to denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and praised Chinas new Nuclear Security Center of Excellence, which seeks to prevent smuggling of nuclear material.
As the two biggest economies, China and the U.S. have a responsibility to work together, Xi said.
The favored treatment for the three Asian powers underscores the importance the White House attaches to boosting trade and security in Asia as well as the urgency of dealing with North Koreas nuclear saber rattling and other potential conflicts.
The rebalance [toward Asia] the reshuffling of U.S. priorities is one of the most significant strategic initiatives of Obamas tenure, said Elizabeth Economy, director of Asia studies at the nonpartisan Council on Foreign Relations.
The meetings came against the backdrop of a tumultuous U.S. presidential campaign that potentially could upend half a century of U.S. policy in northeast Asia.
The Republican front-runner, Donald Trump, has said repeatedly in recent days that South Korea and Japan may need to develop their own nuclear weapons to confront regional threats, rather than rely on the U.S. nuclear umbrella that has shielded them for decades.
You have so many countries right now that have them, he said Tuesday in a CNN town hall. Wouldnt you rather ... have Japan have nuclear weapons when North Korea has nuclear weapons?
Whether a whim or a serious notion by Trump, the issue came up in multiple news briefings before the nuclear security summit, the fourth in a series launched by Obama in 2009 as part of his stated goal of seeing a world without nuclear weapons.
Ben Rhodes, the White House deputy national security advisor, said a pillar of U.S. foreign policy has been to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, not to encourage it, as Trump suggests.
Thats been the position of bipartisan administrations, everybody whos occupied the Oval Office, Rhodes said. Frankly, it would be catastrophic were the United States to shift its position.
White House aides say Obamas carefully nurtured relationship with Xi their meeting Thursday was their eighth face-to-face session was crucial in getting Chinese support at the United Nations Security Council meeting on March 2 to impose stiff sanctions on North Korea, Beijings ally, in response to its latest nuclear test.
It is only because the United States and China have been able to effectively work together that the United Nations imposed the toughest sanctions that have been imposed on North Korea, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said. That will pressure the North Korean regime and isolate the North Korean regime over their nuclear weapons program in a way that has positive benefits for our allies, South Korea and Japan.
North Koreans face a steadily growing drumbeat for war as Pyongyang prepares for its first Workers Party Congress in 36 years, scheduled for May, said Victor Cha, a Korea expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a nonpartisan think tank in Washington. Annual U.S.-South Korean military exercises last month have helped fuel the tension.
China has expressed its own frustration with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Beijing was caught off guard by Pyongyangs most recent underground nuclear test, on Jan. 6, a few weeks before Chinese New Year. Beijing had specifically told Kims government not to conduct the test, its first since 2013.
Tension with China also has been growing in the resource-rich and bitterly contested South China Sea.
In the last two years, China has used dredgers to build up remote reefs and rocky outcrops into small islands in the Spratly and Paracel chains. It has constructed airstrips and other potential military installations in areas also claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam and other nations.
The Obama administration, which says it is determined to maintain freedom of the seas on a vital waterway, has responded by dispatching warships and surveillance aircraft into areas now claimed by China.
In September, during his last visit to the White House, Xi said China did not intend to pursue militarization of the islands. But many U.S. officials believe he has gone back on that word.
China is rising, which is fine, but behaving aggressively, which is not, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said last week at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
That tension has not stopped cooperation on other goals, including efforts to tackle climate change.
The White House announced Thursday that Washington and Beijing on April 22 will sign the so-called Paris Agreement, which contains pledges to reduce environment-damaging emissions. The U.S. and China are the worlds biggest carbon emitters.
Trade may be a sideline issue especially as Asian leaders look beyond Obama and to the next U.S. president.
Trump and the Democratic front-runner, Hillary Clinton, have announced opposition to the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership, a 12-nation free trade agreement that Obama supports. Its unclear whether Congress will vote on the accord before he leaves office.
tracy.wilkinson@latimes.com
michael.memoli@latimes.com
Times staff writer W.J. Hennigan contributed to this report.
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Indian police on Friday detained five officials of a company constructing an overpass that collapsed onto a crowded Kolkata neighborhood, killing at least 24 people and injuring more than 80.
Rescuers cleared the crumbled concrete and twisted metal rods a day after the collapse in the crowded area of the eastern Indian city. They have pulled out 67 people alive.
There is no possibility of finding any person alive, said S.S. Guleria, deputy inspector general of the Indias National Disaster Response Force. He said engineers were being consulted about part of the overpass still hanging over the disaster area, after which workers will slowly start dismantling this particular section to avoid any collateral damage to houses around it.
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The five detained employees worked for Hyderabad-based IVRCL Infrastructure Co., which was contracted in 2007 to build the overpass. Police also sealed its Kolkata office.
The officials are being questioned over possible culpable homicide, punishable by life imprisonment, and criminal breach of trust, which carries a prison sentence of up to seven years, police said.
The partially constructed overpass had spanned nearly the width of the street and was designed to ease traffic through the densely crowded Bara Bazaar neighborhood in the capital of the east Indian state of West Bengal. Within hours of concrete being poured into a framework of steel girders on Thursday, about 100 meters (300 feet) of the overpass collapsed.
I heard an explosion, a solid one, said resident Rabindra Kumar Gupta, who had been home eating lunch. My apartment shook. The whole building shook. When I looked outside, there was a lot of smoke.
Smashed yellow taxis, a crushed truck, destroyed rickshaws and the bloody legs of trapped people jutted from the fallen girders and concrete.
The construction company was far behind schedule for the overpass.
We completed nearly 70 percent of the construction work without any mishap, IVRCL official K.P Rao said Thursday. He was not among those detained on Friday. We have to go into the details to find out whether the collapse was due to any technical or quality issue.
Patients and their relatives crowded the corridors at Marwari Relief Society Hospital, where at least 30 of the more than 80 injured people were still being treated Friday.
We converted a hall into a special ward, hospital management committee member Manoj Gupta said. Doctors were providing treatment free of charge, including X-rays and CT scans.
Among the injured was ambulance driver Gopal Kanoi, who had stopped for a cup of tea near the overpass when it crashed down around him. He said he rushed around to rescue the injured, including a man trapped in a crumpled rickshaw screaming Save me!
He then lost consciousness, having sustained a head injury.
The public picked me up, moved me out of the way and brought me to the hospital, Kanoi said. If I had been later by two seconds, I would have been squished under the bridge.
As workers in yellow hard-hats operated huge cranes, bulldozers and other equipment Friday to clear the rubble and pry apart the concrete slabs, crowds of people waited anxiously to see if neighbors and friends had survived. The intersection had been a place where street vendors and service workers regularly plied their trades.
There used to be a tailor who sat here on this corner. We wonder about him. A cigarettes and tobacco vendor we knew everyone who used to stay around this crossing, resident Pankaj Jhunjhunwala said.
Rescuers also used dogs and special cameras to locate people who were trapped, he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was in Washington at the time of the collapse, said he was shocked and saddened, according to a message on his Twitter account.
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President Obama convened more than 50 world leaders in Washington this week hoping that international progress on one of his long-standing policy priorities, nonproliferation, would outlast his administration, but the gathering served mostly to highlight the mixed record of Obamas nuclear agenda.
At the fourth and final in a series of nuclear security summits started by his administration, Obama touted successes including a reduction in global nuclear stockpiles and the landmark nuclear deal between Iran and six nations. Yet the absence of nuclear superpower Russia from the summit was notable, and Obama and other leaders debated at length how to keep nuclear materials from terrorists, a vexing question that has dogged world leaders since well before Sept. 11.
The president argued that collective action by the international community has helped stymie extremists pursuit of nuclear materials.
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Over the past six years, when it comes to nuclear security, weve embraced a new type of thinking and a new type of action, he said Friday. This is a perfect example of a 21st century security challenge that no one nation can solve alone.
For the first time, the assembled world leaders were to participate in a simulation exercise at the summit to test how they might respond to a potential nuclear terrorist threat. The possibility that people associated with Islamic State were surveilling an official at a Belgian nuclear facility raised alarm after last weeks bombings in Brussels about the terrorist networks goals. Obama reiterated Friday, though, that no terrorist group has obtained a nuclear weapon.
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But counter-terrorism was not the primary goal of the summit process Obama launched in 2009. Rather, he sought to gain commitments from countries to reduce or eliminate altogether stockpiles of weapons-usable nuclear materials, or build new safeguards against theft. And experts say significant progress has been made toward those goals.
The White House also praised the creation of centers in several countries that train nuclear professionals at international standards and noted that 2005 amendments to an international agreement on protecting nuclear material are on track to come into force after ratification in additional nations.
An analysis by the Nuclear Threat Initiative noted that 24 countries have such supplies of highly enriched uranium or separated plutonium that could be used in nuclear weapons, down from 35 at the start of Obamas administration. But six nations are actually increasing their supplies, including isolated North Korea as well as Pakistan. In addition, deteriorating U.S.-Russia relations have resulted in lapses in cooperation on reducing nuclear materials.
The decision of Russian President Vladimir Putin not to attend the summit raised concerns among nuclear-energy experts. Russia possesses half the worlds nuclear weapons and half the worlds nuclear-use materials. It was also the destination for the enriched uranium that Iran agreed to get rid of as part of its landmark nuclear deal last year.
Putins absence creates a big hole, said William H. Tobey, senior fellow at Harvard Universitys Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.
He outlined several worrisome problems with Russias nuclear-security program, including two recent 10% cuts in the Russian federal budget, aging equipment and endemic corruption and organized crime.
The Russian nuclear regulatory agency recently responded to budget cuts by keeping personnel but cutting travel, meaning inspectors cannot go to the plants they should be inspecting, he said.
Maintenance has not been a hallmark of Russian management, Tobey said.
Another growing concern, he said, is the rise in Islamic fundamentalism in parts of Russia, including the Caucasus region and, more recently, the Urals, which is also home to some of the countrys most sensitive nuclear installations.
Obama administration officials insisted that good progress has been made in potential hot spots where nuclear material could potentially represent a threat, including India and Pakistan.
We wont stop worry about this and 100 other things in the nuclear world but there has been progress, said Thomas Countryman, assistant secretary of State for international security and nonproliferation.
Obama deserves credit for elevating the issue of nuclear security, which itself produced tangible accomplishments, said Joseph Cirincione, president of the Ploughshares Fund, a nonproliferation advocacy group. Ukraines removal of all of its highly enriched uranium years before its current instability is the poster child for the success of this effort.
But it has also faltered in the face of what he called the three Rs Russia, Republicans whove stood in the way of efforts like the Iran deal, and resistance even within the Obama administration to fully implementing the presidents goals, particularly at the Pentagon.
He had a very ambitious agenda, Cirincione said. The vision was correct. His analysis of the danger was correct. It was just much harder than he thought it was going to be.
One of the biggest questions coming out of the summit is whether the enterprise Obama helped establish will outlive his administration, and not only because the Republican front-runner to succeed him, Donald Trump, suggested this week that some U.S. allies might consider attaining nuclear weapons of their own, a view that White House aides slammed as a potentially catastrophic change in U.S. position.
Bonnie Jenkins, a coordinator for the Obama administrations threat reduction programs, said it was possible that the next president, along with other countries, might continue the nuclear-security process. The lingo we are using is that this is the last summit in its current format, she said.
Twitter: @mikememoli, @tracykwilkinson
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A Human Rights Watch report released Thursday portrays the Mexican government as failing to protect thousands of refugee children fleeing violence in Central America a conclusion quickly rejected by Mexican authorities.
Tens of thousands of migrant children from the northern triangle of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador may be eligible for humanitarian relief under Mexican law, but only 56 unaccompanied and separated children received asylum during 2015, up from 25 children in 2014, according to Human Rights Watch.
Whether inaction on the governments part is a reflection of bureaucracy or a calculated cost-saving measure is difficult to say, according to the reports chief author, Michael Garcia Bochenek, who serves as senior council to the childrens rights division at the New York advocacy group.
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Although Mexico has clear laws to protect such refugees and a system of shelters to house migrant children, both are being marginally utilized to benefit the children fleeing extreme violence in their home countries, the report found.
Theres no real triage thats happening, or if it is, its very few kids getting sent into the shelters, Bochenek said.
The report, titled Closed Doors: Mexicos Failure to Protect Central American Refugee and Migrant Children, is part of a larger examination that Human Rights Watch began two years ago of migration flows in several regions around the world.
Humberto Roque Villanueva, undersecretary of the Interior Ministry, called the reports findings inaccurate and misleading. At this moment, we dont have any specific complaints about any child or adolescent who has been treated badly, or who has been the object of discrimination or who lacked respect for their human rights, he said.
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Referring to migrant children, he added, Its not exactly true to say that they dont receive adequate attention. They receive information about their right to refugee aid, theyre sent to special shelters, and when they have to be placed temporarily in a detention center, they are given special treatment so that theyre not with the adults.
When children are returned to countries beyond Guatemala, they are taken by plane and theyre never alone, theyre always accompanied, Roque Villanueva said.
The report notes that Mexicos laws are adequate to offer protection to refugees, but contends that enforcement agencies that detain migrant children almost never inform those children of their rights, resulting in just a tiny number of applications for asylum among a population in which thousands would be eligible.
Of the few children who have received asylum, only a small percentage have also received humanitarian visas, which are good for one year and then renewable. In the first 11 months of last year, 391 children received such visas out of the 32,000 apprehended during the same period, the report said.
Immigration authorities either dont inform migrant children of their rights, or tell prospective applicants for refugee recognition that they will be unsuccessful, or that applying for recognition will prolong their time in detention, according to Human Rights Watch.
The prospect of extended time in detention is a major deterrent to applying for refugee status, due to the prison-like environment of the centers where children are housed, according to the report. I thought I was going crazy, one child told the interviewers.
Members of rival gangs are held together, migrants told Human Rights Watch, and many said they slept on the floor with no mattress or blankets. Some spoke of a punishment cell with no mattresses or sheets, restrictions on access to drinking water, and toilets that do not flush properly, meaning that excrement and urine overflowed onto the floor.
The National Migration Institute, which oversees immigration as part of the Interior Ministry, released a statement Thursday saying that unaccompanied minors are offered refuge in Mexico but that youngsters reject it because they want to travel to the United States or have no reason to stay in Mexico. The statement did not directly mention the Human Rights Watch report, but said young migrants are treated well and informed of their legal rights.
Thousands of Central American children, part of the so-called surge of illegal immigration in recent years, have overwhelmed U.S. immigration authorities. Immigrant advocates in the United States have repeatedly complained that youngsters are held in substandard conditions at immigration detention centers and that few are granted asylum.
Tillman and Sanchez are special correspondents.
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When the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), the biggest political group in Brazil, discerped from the ruling coalition, President Dilma Rousseff's hopes of repelling the impeachment case against her have only become fraught with more uncertainty.
And with the ever-growing political turmoil in the country and the deep recession, it was only natural to expect the economic condition to bottom out.
But, while most political pundits can only see Rousseff's path spiraling down with the loss of potential allies in the House to secure a number enough to block off impeachment, it seems like the Brazilian market has no plan of taking the same direction.
Rousseff's Likely Impeachment Has Positive Impact on the Economy
Trading in the Brazilian market has improved with the Bovespa index experiencing an increase of 1.7 percent as of March 30. The Brazilian real has also posted a significant improvement as compared to its 2015 dismal showing. The Brazilian currency has fared better against the U.S. dollar, rising by close to 9 percent in March.
Rousseff's administration has also been blamed for the downfall of the economy. Vice-President Michel Temer, who is next in line for the presidency, is seen by experts as a better alternative that could introduce economic reforms.
The Other Markets Within the Region Also Experienced a Sudden Surge
The positive impact has also trickled down into the other Latin American markets. During the same time, trading within the region was also brisk, with the Argentinian Merval Index scoring an increase of 0.72 percent and the Mexican IPC Index higher by 0.47 percent. The Colombian COLCAP Index rose by 0.94 percent.
In Chile, promising economic data was also recorded. The country has registered a spike in retail sales by 7.4 percent, more than double the increase in January and its highest in over a couple of years. The country's manufacturing production also surged by 1.3 percent in February.
Chile, which is the world's largest producer of copper in the world, has also seen an increase in the production of red metal by .2 percent, despite a reported decrease in the demand. The IPSA Select Index of the country also rose by 0.54 percent.
"Throughout 2015, economic data went from bad to worse just like the external scenario, but now that it has stabilized, it's enough for the Chilean economy to start recovering a bit," according to Cesar Guzman, an economist from Santiago.
A Freeport man is appealing a $14.5 million defamation verdict after he accused a Haiti orphanage founder of serial pedophile. Lawyers for the Freeport man said that the founder has no jurisdiction to file a lawsuit against their client because he lives outside the U.S.
Paul Kendrick has alleged Michael Geilenfeld, the founder of St. Joseph Home for Boys for molesting several boys in his home care facility. The owner of the care sued him for defamation after the Freeport man started sending campaign emails about Geilenfeld being a serial pedophile, Salon reported. Kendrick even involved the Hearts with Haiti, a North Carolina charity that collects donations to fund Geilenfeld's orphanage. With the appeal of the Freeport man, the federal jury has set a hearing on Wednesday to determine where Geilenfeld was residing when he filed the defamation suit.
Last year, a Portland jury has found that the Freeport man was reckless and negligent in making accusations about Geilenfeld's serial pedophile, Yahoo reported. The judge didn't find enough evidence made by the seven former orphans in the care facility about the sexual assault. The jury awarded Geilenfeld $7 million and $7.5 million to Hearts with Haiti. The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is still deliberating Kendrick's appeal over the verdict.
"If settlement is going to occur in this case, the time is now," Judge John A. Woodcock Jr., said in court Friday. "I've never held a hearing like this before." Woodcock presided the trial in the U.S. District Court in Portland last summer. However, an appellate court in Boston questioned whether the case belongs to the federal court, according to Press Herald.
On Friday, the judge didn't continue with the case, but summoned all the lawyers for both sides and both the plaintiff and the defendant to weigh the case. Both the Freeport man and the lawyers for Geilenfeld expressed their willingness for a settlement. Geilenfeld who's reportedly now living in the U.S. again return to Haiti after the trial. His orphanage had been closed while new sexual allegations were filed against him by former orphans.
A former South Dakota employee handling the program of enticing foreign investors by rewarding them with green card has turned himself in. He has been charged with felony crimes but was released by the court on bond conditions.
According to KOTA News, the former employee, identified as Joop Bollen was charged on Thursday as per the announcement of South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley. He has been charged with five counts of disposal of personal property subject to security interest in relation to EB5 and SDRC Inc.
Jackley said in a statement that the investigation and the review of the case will continue so their might be additional charges against Bollen, ABC News reported.
EB5 is the controversial program that rewards foreign investors with visas. Initially, it was meant to provide foreigners with a permanent residency green card if they can invest at least $500,000 in U.S. projects and be able to create at least 10 jobs, Rapid City Journal reported.
Accordingly, the program was run out of the Governor's Office of Economic Development. Bollen was in charge of the program while he worked for South Dakota and contracted his own private company called SDRC Inc. to continue managing the project. SDRC Inc. was one of the company's set up to recruit investors for the program. As part of the contract of SDRC Inc. with the state government, the company was able to create several indemnification accounts and fund them with fees collected from investors.
Allegations about the project include millions of dollars being mishandled. Bollen is also accused of inappropriately transferring money, which amounted to more than $1.2 million, on different occasions back in 2012 out of the account that was meant to protect the state. The same amount of money was reportedly put back in to replenish the taken sum. Officials say most of the money taken were directly transferred to his company's main account.
There were a total of five transfers dated February 17, 2012, wherein two transfers took place, April 13, April 27, and May 7.
The EB5 program came under scrutiny after the supposed suicide of a former state official who was alleged of financial misconduct. The first court appearance of Bollen is set this Friday in Aberdeen.
Girls from Central African Republic claims they have been sexually abuse by international peacekeepers, United Nations (U.N.) officials said on Wednesday. UN is investigating the said claims as 98 girls were reported to have been sexually abused according to an American advocacy group.
According to Yahoo News, three among the victims come forward to UN and told the sexual abuse they went through. They said a French military commander tied them up, force them to take off their clothes and were told to have sex with a dog. The case dates back to 2014 and a fourth girl with them later died due to an unknown disease.
Another reports that the advocacy group Aids-free World, received include a victim from a different part of the country, age 16, who claimed she was raped four days ago. She has been turned over to the United Nations.
The group's Code Blue campaign to end sexual abuse and exploitation also reported 69 claims of child rape and other sexual abuse by peacekeepers from 10 missions, International Business Times reported. In January and February, UN recorded another 25 sexual abuse claims and exploitation with the U.N. mission in Central African Republic.
Many of the cases happened from the previous years. This compares with a total of six allegations in the 15 other U.N. peacekeeping missions, in the first two months of this year, the U.N. peacekeeping department said.
Stephane Dujarric, U.N. spokesman said on Wednesday, the new allegations went back to 2013 and also included allegations against local armed groups, US News reported. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also said he was "shocked to the core by the latest allegations."
The accused peacekeepers from the countries of Burundi, Gabon and France were formally informed regarding from what the U.N. human rights chief, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein described as "sickening" allegations. The United Nations has deployed over 100,000 peacekeepers in 16 missions all over the world.
Apr 1, 2016, 11:24am ET
Ford's 'virtual mountain' dyno sled tests towing limits on flatlands
The latest dynamometer can simulate up to a 30 percent grade.
Ford has highlighted its latest dynamometer sleds that help engineers test Super Duty towing limits without traveling to any actual mountains.
The company's existing dyno sleds provided a drawbar pull of 2,000 pounds via a series of electric coils that provide magnetic resistance. A ton to the tongue apparently proved insufficient for testing the latest Super Duty trucks, so Ford has obtained a new system that can put create a 5,620-pound pull.
The sled is programmed to simulate real mountain climbs, such as Davis Dam and Townes Pass, or theoretical grades up to 30 percent. The Davis Dam run is used for the Society of Automotive Engineers' J2807 standards for determining Gross Combined Weight Ratings (GCWR).
"Any test engineer in North America knows about Davis Dam," said Ford development engineer Jim Sumner. "It's a demanding hill going from sea level to more than 3,000 feet in 11.2 miles, and is an ideal location to test towing capability. With this dyno, we can test the all-new Super Duty on that hill - but from right here on the level surface of our Arizona Proving Grounds."
Ford can quickly validate vehicle configurations or test design changes without driving all the way to Bullhead City, Arizona. The real climb is approximately an hour drive from the company's flatlands test site.
Saudi billionaire's gilded supercars arrive in Europe
Apr 1, 2016, 4:17pm ET
The golden-wrapped fleet includes a Porsche 918 Spyder, a Lamborghini Aventador and a Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG 6x6.
Turki bin Abdullah's fleet of gilded supercars has reportedly arrived in London, igniting a media frenzy.
The Saudi billionaire is said to be among several wealthy Middle Eastern visitors who commission shipping companies to deliver their exotic vehicles to Europe every year, according to the Daily Mail. Many vehicles are shipped as aircraft cargo, with delivery prices reportedly exceeding $30,000.
Instagram pictures show various high-end cars, all customized with matching gold-color vinyl wrap. The fleet appears to include a Porsche 918 Spyder, Lamborghini Aventador Roadster, Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG, Bentley Flying Spur and Rolls Royce Phantom Coupe, among others.
Car spotters reportedly travel from afar to catch a glimpse of Turki bin Abdullah's collection and other supercars in London. One Instagram photo shows a cheetah sitting in the driver's seat of the G63 six-wheeler.
Reportedly referred to by locals as the "Ramadan Rush," the influx sometimes causes friction with residents. The DailyMail report associates the foreign visitors with new regulations that prohibit drivers from revving engines, racing, accelerating rapidly, sounding horns or other nefarious vehicular activity.
A Gloucester County, New Jersey, man was sentenced this week to five months in prison for hacking his former employer's computers, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Lars Jepsen worked in information technology for the company, described in court documents as a buyer and seller of used cars using a website, telephones and physical locations in Pennsylvania and other Mid-Atlantic states.
He was fired June 26, 2014, and a week later, on July 3, drove from his home in Deptford about 75 miles to Allentown, where he found an open wireless Internet access point, prosecutors said.
Using the username and password of another employee he had acquired June 23, 2014, while working on that employee's company computer, Jepsen logged into the company's network, according to the indictment against him.
Jepsen accessed the company's voice-over-Internet-protocol system in Media, Pennsylvania, and deleted data necessary to run the system. As a result, the company lost telephone service, leading to the loss of more than $5,000 in revenue, the cost of repairs and other damage.
Jepsen pleaded guilty last Oct. 29 to knowingly causing damage to a protected computer and knowingly using the means of identification of another person with intent to commit a crime.
He was sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Joseph "Jay" Leeson Jr. at the Edward N. Cahn Courthouse and Federal Building in Allentown.
In addition to prison, Jepsen faces 36 months' probation with five months' house release and must pay restitution of $9,500, a fine of $3,000 and a special assessment of $100.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael L. Levy.
Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
An Allentown man admitted to shooting and paralyzing a rival gang member in what prosecutors said was a "gang war" that led to a spate of shootings in the city four years ago.
Christopher Jackson, of the 900 block of Pine Street in Allentown, pleaded guilty to a firearm violation and reckless endangerment, and in exchange prosecutors dropped attempted homicide and aggravated assault charges stemming from the Aug. 19, 2012 shooting.
Dashawn Brown, known as BK, was shot in the right chest, which damaged his spinal cord and left him paralyzed, prosecutors said.
The 24-year-old Jackson was sentenced to 3.5 years to nine years in state prison, which will run after the 5.5 years to 11 years he is currently serving for several drug and firearm cases, prosecutors said.
"There are no clean hands in this gang war nonsense," Judge James Anthony said. "It's intolerable."
The hearing offered a slew of gang information involving a battle between the New Street Goonies, and two subsets of the Crips - the Shotgun Crips and the Grape Street Crips, Lehigh County Chief Deputy District Attorney Bethany Zampogna said.
Between July 2012 and July 2013, there were 22 shootings related to the "war" between the Goonies and the Crips, Allentown Det. Christopher McCarty said. McCarty is the city's gang intelligence officer.
In 13 of the shootings, bullets only hit buildings and vehicles, but 12 individuals were also shot, sometimes multiple people at one time, McCarty said.
Prosecutors said the day before Brown was shot, Brown and other Crip gang members opened fire in the 500 block of North New Street in Allentown, the Goonies territory. Defense attorney Jim Burke said Brown's BK nickname stood for Blood Killa, while Zampogna said it stood for Brooklyn.
"I didn't think it meant Burger King," Anthony answered.
A store's surveillance camera recorded Brown and others on the block; police said on Friday, Jackson recorded the video on his cellphone, and then asked the store owner to delete it.
Police were not aware of the video, until they saw Jackson's recording on his cellphone. Zampogna said Jackson, a leader of the Goonies, identified Brown and planned to retaliate.
The opportunity came in the early morning of Aug. 19, 2012, prosecutors said, when Brown and other gang members attended a house party in the 300 block of North Ninth Street. The party was across the street from the home of Jackson's sister, where Jackson was also staying.
A witness previously testified that Brown crossed the street toward Jackson and yelled, "It's a Crip world."
The witness testified he thought Brown was going to fight them when Jackson, whom he knew as CJ, pulled out a gun. The man said he heard a shot - although he didn't say that Jackson was the shooter - and ran away.
Police said they found Brown on the sidewalk with a loaded silver revolver by his side that was not fired.
Brown was not in the courtroom Friday, and Zampogna said he was not cooperative with investigators.
Three days after Brown's shooting, Zampogna said Amir Featherson opened fire on a car with Jackson and Joseph Ortiz inside, in the 500 block of North New Street. Burke alleged the injured Brown orchestrated the retaliatory shooting from the hospital.
Ortiz was shot and left paralyzed from the chest down; Jackson on Friday said he drove Ortiz to the hospital, and then fled.
Featherson, who was 15 at the time of the shooting, pleaded no contest in the case.
Gang member Derrel Cintron was also involved in a later shooting, prosecutors said. Cintron shot Richard Costello several times in the torso March 17, 2013, in the 1300 block of Chew Street in Allentown.
Cintron pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 10 to 20 years in state prison.
Jackson was also shot and wounded in May 2013. In a video he later posted on Facebook, and that was shown in court on Friday, Jackson pushes out a bullet in his right upper thigh in what appears to be a home.
Zampogna said Jackson also posted on Facebook about having "enough cash to fund the war."
Jackson was eventually arrested in September 2013. McCarty said after Jackson's arrest, there were zero shootings involving the Goonies gang and virtually all the gang's activity ended.
"There is virtually no activity with the Goonies because of his incarceration," McCarty said.
Jackson asked for leniency from the judge, and said he wanted to see his daughter before she grew up.
"I'm trying to deal with my anger. I'm trying to change," he said.
Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahCassi. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
William Allen High School
William Allen High School, along with another Allentown school and a school in Bethlehem, was cleared by testing of lead levels in water, officials said. (Lehighvalleylive.com file photo)
The Pennsylvania Department of Health has confirmed that the water in two Allentown district schools is safe to drink.
The district tested the tap water at William Allen High and Union Terrace Elementary schools after a report Monday on WFMZ-TV 69 asserted water samples from the schools and Northeast Middle School in Bethlehem showed lead levels above federally set acceptable levels.
The Bethlehem Area School District on Tuesday announced testing at Northeast showed lead levels within acceptable parameters.
Allentown reported Wednesday that its water test results were well below EPA action levels and safe to use.
The district announced Friday state officials confirmed the testing results. The department of health requested the data and results from the water testing done at the two schools, according to a district statement.
Farhad Ahmed, health assessment section chief, bureau of epidemiology for the department, and his team reviewed the information, according to the district.
"All the results are below the EPA's action level of 0.015 mg/L (15 ug/L or 15 ppb)," the department said in an e-mail to the district Friday. "Based on these results for lead, the water is safe to use for consumption."
In Allentown, 20 water samples were taken Monday by Element Environmental Solutions Inc., after water in both schools had sat unused for four days. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency guidelines recommend water sit for at least six hours before testing.
Both districts sent their samples to M.J. Reider Associates Inc., of Reading, a laboratory certified by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
"All sample results were under the 0.015 EPA recommended action limit," Allentown's Wednesday statement said. "However, one sample -- an old water cooler with chiller unit at William Allen -- registered a 0.012. The district is acting with an abundance of caution and has removed this water cooler from service.
"Out of the remaining results, two were at 0.004; one was at 0.003; six were at 0.002; five were at 0.001; and six were under 0.001."
The district's facilities plan already included water testing in a number of district buildings this year and the school board Thursday voted to do water testing in all buildings.
Sara K. Satullo may be reached at ssatullo@lehighvalleylive.com.com. Follow her on Twitter @sarasatullo. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
1741 Bethlehem deed to be displayed Saturday only
Commemorating the Moravians' April 2, 1741, purchase of the original 500 acres of Bethlehem, Moravian Archives at 41 W. Locust St. in the city is presenting on April 2, 2016, this original deed for public view. (Courtesy photo | For lehighvalleylive.com)
Before Musikfest, Main Street and the Bethlehem Steel Corp. -- before the United States even -- there were the Moravians.
Measuring 25 by 16 inches, the April 2, 1741, deed is written on parchment, which is animal skin, said Paul Peucker, director and archivist at the Moravian Archives. (Courtesy photo | For lehighvalleylive.com)
For one day only, fans of Lehigh Valley history can get a look at the document that started it all for Bethlehem.
The Moravian Archives is celebrating Deed Day on Saturday at its 41 W. Locust St. repository of Moravian Church in America records. It is free and open to the public 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The deed marks the Germanic settlers' April 2, 1741, purchase of the original 500-acre tract for Bethlehem from William and Margaret Allen. The Allens were several owners removed from the days of William Penn, said Paul Peucker, director and archivist at the Moravian Archives.
"I don't think it's ever been displayed," Peucker said. "I really think this is the first time."
The Moravian Archives have been around since 1745, Peucker said, and have had the deed ever since.
The community wasn't even named Bethlehem for more than a year and a half after the transaction. Count Nicholas von Zinzendorf, visiting from Germany on the occasion of his teenage daughter opening the forerunner of Moravian College, is credited with bestowing the name at Christmas in 1742.
Deed Day is part of the 275th anniversary celebration marking Bethlehem's founding. Stored behind glass, the deed is being taken out of the archives' climate-controlled vault for display one day only in an effort to limit its exposure to light and other potentially destructive elements.
Measuring 25 by 16 inches, the deed is written on parchment, which is animal skin, Peucker said.
Visitors on Saturday and during regular hours afterward will be able to buy commemorative items including postcards and posters that display the text.
"We even have mouse pads with the deed on it," Peucker said.
The Moravian Archives are the official repository for the Moravian Church's Northern Province, covering the entire United States -- except North Carolina, Florida, Georgia and Virginia -- and Canada.
Peucker said he is expecting a crowd of a couple of hundred visitors. Parking is available in the archives' lot and on surrounding streets.
Saturday's celebration includes music at 9 a.m. from the Bethlehem Area Moravian Trombone Choir on the front steps of the archives' building, Moravian instrumental and choral music at 10:15 a.m. from the Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia at Moravian College and instrumental and choral music at 2 p.m. by John Antes.
"We hope that anyone interested in Bethlehem, Lehigh Valley history will come," Peucker said.
Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Bethlehem City Council is being asked to bet on the success of the South Side by backing the debt associated with a $17.75 million 626-space parking deck, a parking consultant says.
The Bethlehem Parking Authority wants to build a controversial garage at New Street and Graham Place. The authority hopes to begin construction in June and open the deck in May 2017.
It will be connected via a pedestrian walkway to Dennis Benner's six-story Greenway Park building proposed at Third and New streets, which St. Luke's and Lehigh University are both planning to move into.
Thursday night, city council held a committee meeting to discuss a parking demand and feasibility study for the garage completed by Desman Design Management.
Council is asked to back the bonds needed to finance the project, something some council members are reluctant to do given financial projections for the garage. The deck will be paid for with user fees unless the authority goes under.
"I think it's going to severely hamstring the parking authority for years to come," Councilman Eric Evans said.
Council also grappled with the idea that only 186 of the 626-parking spaces are currently spoken for.
"We don't want to build for today and find out we won't have enough for tomorrow," said Tim Tracy, of Desman.
Councilman Michael Colon asked if Tracy knows of municipalities where parking systems failed due to being overbuilt.
Yes, but that's more due to the collapse of a downtown versus an overbuild, Tracy said.
"The demand needs to be there," he said, adding it's essentially a gamble on the stability of the South Side.
Financial projections for the garage find it operating in the red by 2029 but the authority emphasized those are conservative figures.
The project assumes only 270 spaces in the garage are filled the day it opens and no additional permits are bought, said Kevin Livingston, authority executive director. Anything above and beyond is gravy, Tracy said.
The projections assume no South Side development other than Greenway Park and that parking rates only increase every five years, Tracy said. But much more development is planned in the neighborhood.
ArtsQuest is considering expanding the Banana Factory, Lehigh University is considering redeveloping a building at Fourth and Adams Street and there are projects in the works for Third Street, said Alicia Miller Karner, director of community and economic development for the city.
Benner has announced plans for a building on Fourth Street but has not submitted formal plans to the city. His project at Fourth and Vine streets has been issued a certificate of appropriateness but no land development plans have been submitted to the city.
Karner said she thinks Benner is trying to get the first project financed and built.
Evans said he's concerned about the timing, the size of the deck and finances of the project.
"Once it's there, it's there," he said.
The cost-per-space, the development demand and the layout of the site helped to determine the number of spaces in the garage, Tracy said. This is the only location that can support a multi-story parking facility, he said.
Council President J. William Reynolds noted that the North Street garage was built under similar circumstances. It spurred development that led to the reuse of surface lots, he said.
The northside parking garages are located on the outskirts of the downtown and funnel visitors past many businesses to get there, said Breena Holland, Lehigh University South Side Initiative chairwoman.
Many residents turned out to continue voicing their opposition to a project that they say is out of place in the neighborhood and sure to worsen traffic congestion. They pushed for redeveloping surface lots into smaller decks and some suggested Benner, Lehigh and St. Luke's chip in for the project.
"You don't have the street grid to support all of this," resident Dana Grubb said.
Couture Salon and Spa owner Christina Haus said there's a major need for parking in South Side that makes visitors feel safe and supports business.
"We don't actually have feet on the street," Haus said.
WHAT'S NEXT?
April 5: Council hearing on the vacation of Graham Place to make way for the garage.
April 19: First reading of the ordinance approving the bond.
May 3: Second reading and vote on the bonds.
Sara K. Satullo may be reached at ssatullo@lehighvalleylive.com.com. Follow her on Twitter @sarasatullo. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Mark James White.jpeg
Mark James White, in sunglasses, leaves the National building in Downtown Easton in October 2015 after his arraignment in District Judge Antonia Grifo's court. HIs attorney, F. Emmett Fitzpatrick III, is in the foreground. (Tony Rhodin | For lehighvalleylive.com)
A building contractor who allegedly misclassified workers and lied under oath about arrangements to pay them was made eligible for a first-time offender's program Friday.
Mark James White, 48, of Allen Township, allegedly used middle men to funnel payment to workers who would normally be considered company employees.
An investigative grand jury determined his company, Bethlehem-based Salukus & White Contracting Inc., got around payroll and other taxes by classifying the employees as independent contractors.
As much as $900,000 was paid that way from 2011 to 2013, Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli previously said.
Defense attorney Gary Asteak told Northampton County President Judge Stephen Baratta he brokered a deal with Morganelli to get White into the accelerated rehabilitative disposition program.
If he completes the program, criminal charges can be wiped from his record. He's charged with three counts of improperly classifying workers, and two counts each of perjury and false swearing.
"He testified and it was determined he may have misspoke," Asteak said of the grand jury testimony.
Asteak said White paid his fines immediately. Asteak said White hit a roadblock in his application for the program.
The judge said accelerated rehabilitative disposition isn't usually granted in false swearing cases. But he will allow the application to go forward, especially because the district attorney doesn't oppose it.
White will have to appear before a judge at a later date to enroll in the program.
During his grand jury testimony, White denied having an arrangement in which Robert Leauber Drywall and Tony's Drywall acted as middle men in receiving money from the contracting firm, and, after taking a cut, distributing it to the workers, court papers say.
Larry Salukus, an employee of Saluskus & White, testified that he spoke with White about the arrangement with Leuaber and that White cemented the deal with Leauber, according to court papers.
Leauber told the grand jury that he spoke with White about using Leauber Drywall "as a conduit in order to pay individuals directly working for Salukus & White," court papers say.
Leauber was provided a pay sheet by Mark White that detailed how much workers should be paid, according to court records.
The amount of White's fines is unclear. The online docket and court file didn't list the amount White has paid.
Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @RudyMillerLV. Find Easton area news on Facebook.
The girlfriend of a man Bethlehem police call a "substantial" drug dealer admitted Friday she conspired with him to sell cocaine.
Steven Kitchell (Courtesy photo)
Jessica Diller, 31, of Bethlehem, pleaded guilty Friday to conspiracy to possess cocaine with intent to deliver. She's the girlfriend of Steven Kitchell, who earlier this week was slapped with federal drug charges that could keep him in prison for the rest of his life.
Court records say Diller was in a car with Kitchell and her 2-year-old daughter when it was stopped April 20, 2015, in Bethlehem. Police allegedly found 1,700 packets of heroin $35,000 in heroin in the car. Diller had some cocaine in her bra, according to Northampton County Assistant District Attorney Kelly Lewis.
The next day police raided two homes Kitchell was known to frequent in Bethlehem. Police allegedly found $8,980 in cash as well as a gun and various drugs, Lewis said.
This week federal charges of possession with intent to distribute drugs and possession of a firearm "in furtherance of drug trafficking crime" were announced against Kitchell by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the Northampton County District Attorney's office.
The mandatory minimum on the charges is five years in prison, with the maximum being life, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. As a result of the federal charges, Kitchell's local charges were tossed.
Diller's sentencing is scheduled for July 1 before Northampton County Judge Paula Roscioli. Her charge is an ungraded felony. A first-degree felony carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison in Pennsylvania.
Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @RudyMillerLV. Find Easton area news on Facebook.
No one was hurt but some pets died early Friday when a three-alarm fire destroyed a two-story home in North Whitehall Township, Neffs Volunteer Fire Co. Chief Jim Steward said.
The home at 5208 Hoffman Drive South was fully involved in flames when the first fire crews arrived after the 12:22 a.m. call, Steward said. It was brought under control at 1:55 a.m., and the final Neffs firefighters returned to the station at 4:49 a.m., the chief said.
A pet bird and pet snake and possibly other pets perished, Steward said. Ducklings and other pets survived, he added.
The man and woman who own the home -- Lehigh County property records say they are Freddy and Kara Castro -- and two teenagers got out and were being cared for by nearby family, Steward said.
"I can't really tell you the cause or origin at this point," he said.
The investigation will be handled by the North Whitehall fire marshals, Steward added.
The home is a "total loss," Steward said.
Fire personnel from Schnecksville, Laurys Station, Tri-Clover, Greenawalds, Friedens, Slatington and Egypt assisted, as did Northern Valley EMS, Steward said.
Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
A 50-year-old female driver Thursday afternoon was injured when her SUV collided with another vehicle and rolled onto its side at a busy Nazareth intersection.
Borough police Chief Thomas Trachta said the 2:53 p.m. crash involved a red Dodge Journey and a black Nissan Rogue. The Dodge was traveling south on North Broad Street and the Nissan was traveling west on East High Street when they collided, according to police.
The impact caused the Nissan to roll over onto its side and trapped two occupants inside the vehicle, according to police. The 50-year-old female driver in the Nissan was taken to an area hospital for an arm injury while two juvenile children in the Nissan escaped injury.
A female driver in the Dodge also escaped injury, police said. All were wearing seat belts.
Police were continuing to investigate what caused the crash.
Witnesses at the scene reported to Nazareth police officers the collision seemed to occur in "slow motion" and it wasn't a quick crash.
No charges were immediately filed.
Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
UPDATE: Baby sought in Amber Alert located safe, police say
Police in southeastern Pennsylvania were looking for a woman suspected of abducting a child Thursday evening from the Plaza at King of Prussia mall.
Pennsylvania State Police issued an Amber Child Abduction Alert for the Upper Merion Township Police Department in Montgomery County.
About 5:35 p.m., a 7-week-old black male with black hair named Ahsir Simmons was abducted from the mall at 160 N. Gulph Road in the township, according to police; he was last seen wearing a bright orange shirt.
He was taken from his stroller by an unknown female perpetrator described as black, standing about 5 feet 3 inches call and weighing 135 pounds, with long black straight hair and wearing a light-colored short-sleeve shirt with horizontal stripes, black pants and dark shoes. She was carrying a bright orange pocketbook, police said.
On Thursday March 31, 2016 at approximately 1745 hrs. Upper Merion Township Police responded to the Food Court area of... Posted by Upper Merion Township Police Department on Thursday, March 31, 2016
The perpetrator was last seen fleeing with the child on foot toward North Gulph Road.
Police said the suspect befriended the baby's family and spent about 30 minutes with them in the mall's food court, WPVI-6ABC reports.
Police ask anyone with information to dial 911 or call Upper Merion police at 610-265-3232 or on the department's anonymous tip line at 484-636-3888.
Amber Alerts are sent automatically the Wireless Emergency Alerts system to millions of cellphone users. Pennsylvania State Police invite residents to sign up at alert.pa.gov.
The system is named after 9-year-old Amber Hagerman, who was abducted while playing near her home in Texas and subsequently murdered in 1996.
Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Mall kidnapper had several baby gift registries, police say
This image made from a surveillance video provided by Upper Merion Township police purportedly shows Cherie Moore leaving the Plaza at King of Prussia mall with 7-week-old Ahsir Simmons during an alleged kidnapping Thursday, March 31, 2016. (Upper Merion Township Police Department via AP)
Police say a suburban Philadelphia woman with several baby gift registries kidnapped a newborn at a shopping mall before the infant's safe return.
Ahsir Simmons is seen in an undated photo released after he was reportedly abducted March 31, 2016. (Courtesy photo | For lehighvalleylive.com)
Alerts about the reported kidnapping on Thursday at the Plaza at King of Prussia mall led family members of the suspect to contact authorities. The 7-week-old boy was back in his mother's care late Thursday night.
The suspect, 32-year-old Cherie Amoore, of Wayne, Pennsylvania, was arraigned Friday on charges including kidnapping and child concealment.
She remained in custody pending the scheduled afternoon court appearance. It's not clear if she has a lawyer to comment on her behalf, and messages left with relatives have not been returned.
Police say Amoore struck up a conversation with the baby's mother at the King of Prussia Mall and took him when the mother was distracted with another child.
Pennsylvania State Police issued an Amber Alert about the alleged abduction on behalf of police in Upper Merion Township, the Montgomery County community where the mall is located.
Authorities say the infant, Ahsir Simmons, was found at Amoore's nearby apartment.
Documents: Kidnapping suspect said her baby recently died, felt good to hold a baby again https://t.co/Xr53mnk8Dr pic.twitter.com/8GzRDuHmep Action News on 6abc (@6abc) April 1, 2016
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If you were told that 29 businesses in Naas offer service 'as Gaeilge' how would you react?
As an Irish speaker myself my curiosity was immediately piqued; how was it that for all this time I was unaware of this? I had to know more.
Last year saw the start of Cill Dara Le Gaeilge, a scheme dedicated to promoting the Irish Language through business in Kildare. I decided to go and pay a few of the businesses listed on their website a visit to get a feel what theyve actually done.
I started off at Swans on the Green (or MacSuaine ar an Bhfaiche if you like) where I was told that their designated Gaeilgeoir was not at work today so I quickly moved on to Fairgreens Pharmacy where I received a less than favourable review of the program. When I informed them that they were listed on the schemes website they seemed surprised and Im not even sure they knew exactly what I was talking about when I first came in. Aine Kane and Emma Storrie told me how they felt the scheme was poorly implemented and not enough support was received from the organization (the last time they were in contact was over a year ago) and they also said they themselves didnt take it too seriously.
I was somewhat discouraged, but I still had places to visit. My next stop was Alices Restaurant where I had the most uplifting encounter, speaking to Eibhlin Ni Chearbhaill.
The Irish language has played a role in Alices since long before Cill Dara le Gaeilge started, and according to Eibhlin it began with an encounter with an old friend of her fathers who used to visit to speak Irish.
Eibhlin put it down to not so much Cill Dara le Gaeilge but word of mouth and the fact that they already used the language that the restaurant has acquired a name for itself amongst the local gaeilgeoiri (She says Alices might have inspired the scheme).
Every Saturday between around 11am and noon a group of Irish speakers meet up at the restaurant to eat and talk while their children run around and enjoy themselves tri Gaeilge, playing games like cleas na bacoide (The significantly less catchy irish translation of hopscotch).
After leaving Alices I popped into OReillys pharmacy, where I spoke with Brian OReilly about his involvement in the scheme.
A jolly man who is fond of a good laugh, Mr OReilly told me how he had always thrown in a few words of Irish here and there for the craic and he came to support the scheme when a customer overheard him and asked if hed take part.
However unlike Alices the language is not something he has really seen in practical use too often, he himself only has a cupla focal.
But thats not to say that a cupla focal isnt a selling point. A small number do visit the store repeatedly and try out a few words, a Dia duit and a Conas ata tu here and there and this is especially important to Naass rapidly growing Irish speaking youth; in the wise words of Mr OReilly it gives them a chance to Put life into the language.
Richie Whelan Menswear was next on the list, where I had a short but informative chat with Mr Whelan, he also informed me that CillDara le Gaeilge was great for customer relations but far from game-changing.
I then stopped by Sweet Quarters and Emporium Kalu where I heard much of the same.
In the end I came to the conclusion that there is no cultural Renaissance happening in Naas (its not about to become a neo-Gaeltacht) and of all the businesses I spoke with only Alices actually offered service through Irish, but there is a love and support here for our language that you might be hard pressed to find in another community or town and that is certainly a cause to be proud.
When the opposition manager admits he was surprised to win so comfortably, you can understand why Shane Ward was mystified by last Saturdays loss to Carlow.
Carlow manager Turlough OBrien was delighted with his sides 0-12 to 1-4 victory but may have inadvertently rubbed salt into Leitrim wounds when he said I was expecting a tougher game to be honest with you.
For the last number of years, Leitrim have had the upper hand on Carlow big time, they beat us comfortably in the last three years so it was good today.
And the Leitrim manager was equally perplexed - Disappointed with the performance, conditions were tough out there but it is still no excuse. We didnt start well, we didnt finish well so it was very disappointing from our perspective.
Leitrim finish their Allianz League campaign next Sunday against Waterford.
On a positive note, Leitrim Minor and Ladies both recorded impressive victories at the weekend
l See match report and reactions on pages 70-71.
The Connaught Regional Final of the Irish Restaurant Awards took place in the Radisson Blu Hotel & Spa, Sligo on March 22 and named the top restaurants in the five counties for 2016.
It proved to be a successful night for the Leitrim food industry, The Cottage Restaurant in Jamestown in particular. The restaurant kept it's winning streak of recent years going by winning both the Best Restaurant and Best Chef (awarded to Shamzuri Hanifa) categories.
On the night, Leitrim restaurants took home a total of ten awards - three of which went to St. George's Terrace (Carrick-on-Shannon) in the categories of Best Newcomer, Best Wine Experience and Best Cusomer Service.
The Sandstone Restaurant at Lough Rynn Castle took away the Best Hotel Restaurant award; while Vittos, The Oarsman, Victoria Hall and Lena's Tea Room (all of which are located in Carrick-on-Shannon) were successful, winning the Best Casual Dining, Best Gastro Pub, Best World Cuisine and Best Cafe categories respectively.
The awards were based on nominations made online through The Irish Times website, which were then judged by a regional panel involving a mystery guest inspection and menu judging.
Over 500 restaurant owners and staff celebrated their hard work and achievements at the awards, with many well-known restaurateurs of Connaught in attendance.
All county winners now compete for the Regional and All Ireland Title which will be announced at the Irish Restaurant Awards in the DoubleTree Hilton Hotel, Dublin on May 16.
The basic income provides a relative safety regarding extreme poverty. But the amount must match the local cost of living. Indeed, the various Finnish parties are struggling to agree on this point since the Green party would recommend roughly 400 a month, the Labour party 600 a month and the Conservatives 800 to 1,000. Finally, a redesigning of the labour market which would allow everyone to be active without increasing the number of less stable jobs, as observed in the United Kingdom, nor destroying all environmental effort which is an ideal of the growth ideology, seems more and more necessary. A reduction in working hours, or the introduction of a salary for life and not an income salary is always related to a job, even if it is not connected with employment could be a good idea.
BBC 2 are repeating some of Terry Wogans programmes at lunch time. Theyve been showing Terry and Masons great food trip, where our Tel went round Britain with a cabbie. I think its the best thing he did. There is no greater spectacle than the great Irishman bantering away and tucking into good old fashioned grub.
Theyre also showing Wogan: the best of. Today we had him interviewing Margaret Thatcher when Prime Minister in 1990. Referring to male MPs in the House of Commons, Wogan asked:
Do they make any concessions to the fact that you are a woman?
At this, Mrs Thatcher looked aghast and replied:
No. Why should they? And I dont make any concessions to the fact that they are men.
Good answer.
By the way, there only two quotes from Mrs Thatcher which I admire. That one and when, during her last speech as Prime Minister, she responded to some jousting with Denis Skinner with:
Im enjoying this!
* Paul Walter is a Liberal Democrat activist and member of the Liberal Democrat Voice team. He blogs at Liberal Burblings.
A party source has exclusively revealed to LDV that the Federal Conference Committee is seriously considering holding the 2020 Spring Conference in the Isles of Scilly.
As a first priority, after complaints about the lack of real ales in the Novotel at York, members of the Committee have rigorously checked the quality of the cask ale on offer in the conference hotel and can reassure party members on that score.
Travel to the venue will be memorable. Inspired by the razzle-dazzle ferries in Liverpool, the Conference Office is discussing with a ferry company the possibility of painting one for the occasion in a variety of Lib Dem shades of yellow and orange; there will also be an aqua-coloured rowing boat with sufficient capacity for that colours fans.
The Rally will be held on the ferry during the trip from Penzance using the onboard PA system.
Unfortunately, the exhibition will still have to take place in mainland Cornwall due to lack of space on the Isles of Scilly, but it is hoped that members will take advantage of a stop-over in Penzance to visit it.
Alternatively members can travel by small aircraft from Exeter, Newquay or Lands End. The Conference Office has negotiated a special rate for hiring a helicopter through Uber directly from London.
Due to the carbon impact of the extra travel required, Federal Conference Committee is also in negotiations to put in place a carbon offsetting scheme. The preliminary plan is to install a turbine alongside the conference centre, to be powered by hot air from inside. It may even be possible to sell the likely surplus back to the grid to raise funds for the party.
As another attraction, a local grower is developing a new variety of daffodil to be called Lib Dem Gold. Members will be able to buy trays of the new daffodils, still in bud, at wholesale prices which they can then take home and sell in aid of their local parties.
The conference will probably coincide with the annual low spring tides, which will allow Tim Farron to lead members in wading across from the island of Tresco to its neighbouring isle of Bryher. There is even speculation that the party may receive much-needed publicity if Tim is able to part the waters.
In view of the rather special circumstances, the party is considering some amendments to the Members Code of Conduct to cover swimwear.
Coincidentally, Federal Conference Committee has learned that the Conference coincides with the once in 60 year appearance of Asquiths Comet. To celebrate this happy event, the Glee Club will be held in a field so that revellers can celebrate this significant celestial event. A sponsor will sought so that warm, weatherproof protective clothing can be supplied. It is hoped that sufficient fracked gas will be available to power John Hemmings keyboard. Paddy has been booked to tell The Joke.
Finally, the Scilly social action teams will be sent to one of the more remote islands to count and ring puffins. Good rowers preferred as they will have to contend with a notorious current known locally as the Rip of Olla.
IN recent years, many food companies have moved away from binning food which has gone out of date, preferring to give it to those who can really use it best. Now, a Limerick charity is bridging the gap between companies, community groups and charities.
Heart to Hand in Limerick has linked up with 23 charities across the city and the county, as well as a number of companies nationwide to source food to benefit the needy.
Whether its produce which is on the brink of going out of date, or incorrectly dated items, Heart to Hand co-ordinated in Limerick by Knockainey woman Geraldine OSullivan ensures it goes to those who need it the most.
Once a week, part of the Munster Logistics warehouse in Raheen is turned into a food distribution centre, where companies can drop off unwanted goods.
Then a small army of volunteers will distribute the food to a number of the local charities linked in with Heart to Hand.
Charities benefitting include Novas Initiatives, St Vincent De Paul, Adapt House, the Mid-West Simon Community and the Thomond House refuge for abused women.
I have 17 peoole who will come to me at an hour's notice [for a distribution], Geraldine tells us. They come from all areas of Limerick county, all races, all creeds. Nobody has dropped out yet so we must be doing something okay!
One of the roles of a volunteer with Heart to Hand is often to pick up items from locations across the Mid-West in a refrigerated van which was donated to the group by the JP McManus Benevolent Fund.
Despite this, Geraldine says many companies are happy to deliver.
We are doing them a favour: it means they dont have to recycle the food items. This would be a costly exercise to them, she explains.
Heart to Hand Limerick has linked up with both Aldi and Tesco, while Bia Food initiative which is linked with numerous other companies for food collections also provides a weekly delivery of food to Limerick.
When the Limerick Leader visited the site, fresh yoghurts, crisps, lettuce, fruit, and pasta sauce were being delivered.
Only the week before, Geraldine says she received 50,000 scones, and 3,000 milk drinks.
Although the volunteers split the deliveries equally between the Limerick charities, Geraldine knows some foods are not appropriate for every charity she has sought out many of these groups herself.
I do not call every charity every time. I know if there is a load of milk products, that everyone will take something. But if it is meat which has to be cooked, it is restricted to different groups, some of whom would not have cooking facilities, she says.
For Sonya McClean, of the Southill After School club, which looks after 75 children a week, the food donation is a godsend.
Our funding has been cut, so the contribution we are getting means we can do more things with the money we have. Without this, the kids would not get as much as they are getting now. There is equipment we can bring in now that we would not have been able to bring to the centre otherwise, she tells us.
There is also a deeper strand to the support the club is receiving from Heart to Hand, with Sonya pointing out the food poverty she says exists in Southill, which is hidden from public view.
At the other side of the city, Kieran ONeill, St Munchins Community Centre, picked up a delivery including yoghurt, popcorn, sausages and ham.
He says: They would come to us every second week. We would then deliver around the houses in Kileely and Thomondgate to the elderly people, people who are in need. It is fantastic.
Pat Whelan is one of the drivers for Heart to Hand. A project manager with an engineering firm by day, the Ballina man has been involved in Heart to Hand for 16 years.
The people of Limerick are fascinating. They want to help, and they want to give to their community. Thats why we love working with these groups, and we will do whatever we can to bring whatever food is available around the country down here, he said. Nobody in Heart to Hand gets paid, everyone is a volunteer. They do it for the love of their own people, to ensure they are looked after.
Among the volunteers, Camilla OBrien, Ardpatrick, believes the service offered by Heart to Hand is critical.
The amount of work done is so important. It provides money that can be used in so many different areas.
Roisin McCann of Hospital added: It is so easy to do, and is so important when you see the levels of food poverty around Limerick.
For more information on Heart to Hand, contact Geraldine OSullivan at 087-4146467.
CONTRARY to media reports suggesting otherwise, Limericks Rubberbandits have yet to agree a deal with RTE for the commission of a new television series.
The plastic bag-wearing duo have been pushed to the top of the national broadcasters radar after their one off tv special, The Rubberbandits Guide To 1916, originally broadcast on New Years Eve, became one of the most watched programmes on the RTE player.
That success lead to discussions with RTE on a new series, but, contrary to reports that a deal has been done, a source close to the satirical duo said that any potential deal had yet to be confirmed, with the duo waiting for confirmation of the terms on offer before a deal is finalised.
The Limerick duo are gearing up for the return of the Almost Impossible Game Show on ITV2 next week. The anarchic game show is back for a second run after the success of series last year, in which the Bandits provided hilarious commentary as contestants put themselves through seemingly impossible tasks.
Mind your head, #AlmostImpossible is back! Tune in 6th April 9pm @ITV2. You won't regret it pic.twitter.com/ALlfkwcm2c Almost Impossible (@almostimposs) March 30, 2016
An insider explained that a spike in ratings caused ITV to renew the show, with viewer numbers showing an upward curve identical to the first season of the Keith Lemon-fronted Celebrity Juice, one of the broadcasters most successful shows.
The Rubberbandits have proven to be very popular with UK TV audiences, said an insider.
Blindboy Boatclub said he was thrilled to be doing a second season. We love nothing more than laughing at English people falling over. It's making up for years of imperialism.
Meanwhile, an interview that Blindboy recently gave to Channel 4 ahead of the 1916 centenary celebrations has been making waves online.
The interview, billed by Channel 4 as a serious message about Ireland ahead of the 1916 Easter Rising centenary celebrations, claims that the plastic bag-wearing duo have become outspoken critics of contemporary Ireland.
It has been viewed one million times on Facebook alone and was posted online under the heading: Why does it take a man with a plastic bag over his face to talk sense about mental health?.
Why does it take a man with a plastic bag over his face to talk sense about mental health in Ireland? @Rubberbanditshttps://t.co/zKrCLNLUuR Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) March 24, 2016
In the interview, Blindboy who has been a ready campaigner and voice for the disaffected youth of his generation says: I only want to have a bit of craic, but I end up always finding myself in situations where I become a voice of reason I shouldnt be.
Rather than looking going, why is the man with the bag making sense? You go, why is the man in the suit not making sense?. My generation, we are old enough to remember the Celtic Tiger. But were massively affected by the recession. Our 20s were stolen from us, pretty much.
Young Irish people, the suicide amongst them is massive, huge amount of suicide, jumping into rivers, and emigration and a lot of young Irish people, they dont see a future, he adds.
A second inquest into the death of County Limerick woman Margot Seery has found she was unlawfully killed and met her death by murder.
The body of Ms Seery (49), who was originally from Rathkeale, was found in an apartment in Dublin in October 1994 with gardai ruling out foul play at the time.
However, the investigation into her death was reopened in the summer of 2014 after 41-year-old Howard Kelly walked into a Dublin garda station claiming that he strangled her.
As part of the investigation, led by detectives from the Cold Case Unit in Dublin, Ms Seerys body was exhumed in September 2014 to facilitate a post mortem examination by the deputy state pathologist, Dr Michael Curtis.
During that post mortem, it emerged a number of Ms Seerys organs were missing.
Howard Kelly, aged 41, of Osprey Apartments, Naas, Co Kildare was sentenced to life imprisonment last November after he admitted murdering Ms Seery.
A second inquest was held at Dublin Coroners Court on Thursday to correct the public record regarding the cause of Margot Seery's death.
Speaking following the inquest her brother, Pat Guinane, said he was disappointed that we haven't gotten answers to too many of the questions we had and we're wondering if we ever will about the original investigation into Margots death. There was a lot of questions to be asked, and we didn't get answers to those.
Margots ex-husband John added: We don't know why things weren't followed up. There were certain leads that weren't fully investigated.
During the inquest, the family asked about the exhumation and were informed that the mortician at the time of the first post mortem had since died and that there was no way of finding out where the missing organs went.
Margot Seery's brother indicated he will be discussing the outcome of the inquest with Margots daughter Niamh before deciding whether or not to lodge a formal complaint with GSOC.
THE incredible popularity of former Wild Onion cafe owner Ruth Di Girolamo was in evidence as hundreds of people paid their final respects to the Chicago native last week in her adopted home of Limerick.
Ruth sadly died recently at University Hospital Limerick following a short illness.
She came to Limerick in March 2001 alongside her husband Bob. Having arrived on these shores in 1998, the pair settled upon running a small cafe in Doneraile, Co Cork.
But the pair found it a little quiet there and so decided to go bigger and look to one of Ireland's cities instead.
Ruths husband Bob said they initially looked at Cork City, but found everything to be unseemingly expensive.
So instead, they ventured towards Limerick a city Ruth became proud to call home where the Wild Onion opened in High Street, near the Milk Market.
While Ruth loved Limerick, she was loved in equal measure by visitors to the cafe, which served what many people considered to be the best American breakfast in the city.
While Bob was often behind the scenes doing the baking and cooking, it was Ruth who was out the front, greeting people in her own unique manner.
The business became affectionately known as Ruths Place by many regular visitors to people, many of whom were heading to the Milk Market to shop on Saturday, or leaving the market.
The business won 11 consecutive Bridgestone guide awards.
Damien Storan worked at the Wild Onion with Ruth for eight years, having struggled to find work after completing a software development degree at LIT.
He remembers Ruth with a particular fondness, saying: I was coming into the Wild Onion during my college years, and I built up an affection with Ruth, as did everyone who really went in. She was aware from my time coming there I was struggling to get a software job. I remember I finally asked her if I could have a job, and within a week she had me working there.
Damien said he felt honoured to be working with Ruth and Bob, noting how she was often quite cautious in hiring people.
She would not hire just anyone. She wanted people who could trust her, or who could be loyal to her. Ruth was an amazing woman. She was very particular. Everything had to be done in a specific way, which she felt was the right way.
But despite her exacting standards, Damien says the Wild Onion was one of the greatest places to work.
It was wonderful to work with Ruth and Bob. They were such a dynamic duo. They were great characters larger than life really, Damien says.
Two years ago, the pair decided to downsize, closing down the Wild Onion in the city centre, and opening a small bakeshop by the same name on the Ennis Road.
But following Ruths sad death, Bob has decided to close down this outlet, Damien saying he did not have the heart to carry on without his wife by his side.
Before Ruth moved to Ireland, she worked in a variety of financial and financial reporting roles.
Notably, she worked as the chief economist at the state of Illinois, and also for the city of Chicago.
In the private sector, she also worked for a company, which was a subsidiary of Time Life.
Heading towards retirement, she and Bob made the life-changing decision to leave America, and head across the Atlantic Ocean to Ireland, a land where Ruths grandparents, the McNallys, hailed from.
Her grandmother came from Limerick, and her grandfather came from the Midlands area.
Bob this week says he has been overwhelmed by the warm tributes paid to his wife.
In a tribute posted online, he wrote: I know that Ruth was a very special person, but neither of us would have guessed that so many others thought that way as well. Everyone had good words and a few were quite broken up. Good God Ruth, why didn't you say everyone loved you?
Bob also paid tribute to the professional, kind and caring staff of University Hospital Limerick, as well as those at Griffins Funeral Home.
He also extended warm words to Fr Richie Davern, who officiated Ruths funeral last week at St Nessans Cathedral, plus Ruths longest-term employee Damien Storan, who he joked had adopted him.
I hope he can feed me, he joked.
Ruth is survived by her husband Bob, many relatives and friends.
THE Bishop of Limerick, Brendan Leahy, has urged those responsible for two local church break-ins over Easter to examine their conscience.
Burglars ransacked the sacristies at St Paul's Church in Dooradoyle and St Oliver Plunkett Church in Mungret and stole close to 1,000 between Easter Saturday evening and Easter Sunday morning.
Gardai at Roxboro are investigating the thefts, which have been described as sickening and maddening by St Pauls priest Rev Noel Murphy, and despicable" by local councillor James Collins.
Two men were arrested following the incident, but were released without charge pending directions from the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The culprits smashed rear windows to gain access to the sacristy areas, and a sum of cash was taken during each break in.
The safe was broken into in St Paul's in Dooradoyle with the offerings for Easter Ceremonies and a special collection for the Holy Land stolen.
Bishop Leahy said the thefts are extremely regrettable.
This was money donated to the Church for activities such as supporting priests in their daily ministry to the people and also from the Holy Land collection for the protection and preservation of sites associated with the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, he said.
He said while the church will get beyond the money stolen, the intent and sense of intrusion is perhaps the more upsetting.
For the priests, the sacristans, but also, of course, parishioners who donated these funds and who would be appalled by such offences committed on their place of prayer and worship, the Bishop added.
The thefts at the two churches were denounced from the altar at Easter Sunday Mass in St Pauls Church by local Parish Priest Fr John Leonard.
He said it appears those responsible were not amateurs and knew what they were doing.
They removed a large pane of glass in what we would call the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, which is adjoining the main church. Then they just burst in through a door which had two locks in it into the sacristy. In the sacristy, they had to use tools to get the safe out of where it was. It was embedded in concrete and screwed into the concrete, he explained.
Local Fianna Fail councillor Collins, who was at the Easter Sunday Mass, said: No premises is sacred from thieves anymore, it seems. It is a despicable act, especially during Easter.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Roxboro Garda Station at 061-214340.
THE long-delayed plan to build a liquefied natural gas plant near Ballylongford could still be a runner, Sean Kelly, Fine Gael MEP for Ireland South said this week.
His comments came just hours before he welcomed a delegation of MEPs to Limerick to meet representatives of Shannon LNG, the company which was behind the project.
The project, if it were to proceed, could lead to an investment of up to 600m, create hundreds of construction jobs and up to 50 permanent jobs.
But, according to recent reports in the business press, Shannon LNG has now been sold off by its parent company, the US-based Hess. And the identity of the new owners has not yet been revealed.
However, Mr Kelly remains confident that the project has a future. That future, he believes, is tied in with energy security for Europe.
In a statement issued after the meeting between company representatives and a visiting delegation of EU policymakers - a briefing which included presentations from representatives from Shannon LNG and Shannon Foynes Port Company - Mr Kelly said: "Shannon LNG's potential to significantly boost gas supplies across Europe was made clear today.
"The Shannon LNG project was cited by the European Commission as a future strategic hub for Europe's gas supply in recent months. That means it is now eligible for low cost financing from the European Investment Bank (EIB). The Commission is focused on supporting gas hubs such as this one which, when combined with a fully interconnected and well-functioning European market, can increase supply security across the Union and allow Shannon to become a key gas import point for the EU.
"My fellow MEPs and I will be reviewing the Commission's forthcoming strategy for the LNG or Liquefied nitrogen gas supply in Europe this autumn, so today's meeting is timely and of huge interest to the delegation who will be key decision-makers in shaping future EU policy.
"I have often highlighted the potential of the Shannon LNG project which could boost Europe's gas supply at a time when we urgently need to secure our energy supplies," Mr Kelly added.
The proposed terminal at Ballylongford and the gas pipeline to the national gas grid at Foynes are now listed as a key European Project of Common Interest, Mr Kelly said, and part of a move to integrate Europes energy markets and diversify sources.
This designation, according to the MEP, is of huge significance, as it opens up the possibility that Ballylongford could supply not just the Irish market but the European market.
There could also be increased funding opportunities under the Connecting Europe facility, Mr Kelly said, and the possibility of assistance under the European Fund for Strategic Investments should help the project.
The proposal to build a plant on the land-bank in Ballylongford to convert liquefied natural gas and pipe it into the national gas grid was first mooted in 2006.
But there were delays in obtaining the necessary permissions and this was followed by a dispute with the Commission for Energy Regulator over whether or not Shannon LNG would have to pay towards a gas interconnector with Britain.
The company was very opposed to this, arguing that it would not pay for what it would not use.
When the company lost that battle, a further issue arose over the level of tariff to be imposed.
They just saw it as bringing gas into Ireland and competing with Bord Gais, Mr Kelly said. That is still part of the strategy but there is a bigger strategy there, to be part of European energy security and diversity of supply.
And he was confident that Shannon LNG was now convinced of the bigger strategy also.
While there is life, there is hope, Joan Murphy, chairperson of the Tarbert Development Association said this Wednesday. Shannon LNG is still a runner, that is for sure.
She confirmed they had been told that parent company HESS had sold on Shannon LNG but they had no information beyond that. However, she added, as far as they were concerned in Tarbert, Shannon LNG is still very much there.
We see no reason why we shouldnt back Shannon LNG, Ms Murphy added. North Kerry and West Limerick need jobs.
In the past, plants such as Aughinish and Wyeth had come and stayed, she said.
We need something similar to boost employment in North Kerry, she said.
A project such as Shannon LNG she said would generate hundreds of construction jobs for a number of years and then 100 permanent jobs.
Mr Kelly said he wanted the port in Foynes to be included as part of the European shipping corridor, he said, which would require Foynes to have good road and rail links.
The design for a new road linking Foynes and Limerick was going ahead, he pointed out and he was confident that funds could be found to upgrade and re-open the railway line. Foynes is a port with huge potential, Mr Kelly said.
RENOWNED Limerick actor, Nigel Mercier, is to join a growing local group of film makers and and actors heading to this years Cannes Film Festival, after a short movie he performed in was recently accepted to the competition.
Mercier, who runs the Limerick School of Acting, played the role in the drama, Mothers Milk and Cookies, which tells the story of a gay middle-aged couple who struggle to come out.
Reacting to the news, the experienced actor said that he was absolutely over the moon".
I never expected that it would happen. I was delighted for Steve Hall and Paddy Murphy when they got their short films, so I never thought I would be joining them at Cannes.
The film was directed by Belfast filmographer, Conan McIvor, who made contact with Nigel when they struggled to find a second man to play the part.
He said when he read the script and researched the director and producers works, he saw how good they were and accepted to play the role.
The nine-minute film, so far, received third place for best short screenplay at the Los Angeles Film Festival, and it only took a day to shoot.
Nigel commended his local counterparts Steve Hall and Paddy Murphy, who will also make it to the Short Film Corner, at Cannes Film Festival, this May, along with Kevin Kiely Jr and his short film.
Steve Halls film, Safe, is a post-apocalyptic romance-drama, while The Cheese Box, directed by Paddy Murphy, is a biopic of a Janesboro man during a dark time, played by Kevin Kiely Jr.
They are passionate about making movies. And most of these guys are doing it for nothing. When you are making a short film, you pay to submit them to film festivals, and you hope that somebody will recognise your talent, your hard work.
And then when youre going out to look for work, you show them that you were accepted at this festival, or that you won this award. And every single one of them are doing it for the love of it, and its absolutely incredible, enthused Nigel.
May 2, 2021, 5 PM
One of the rarest and most important philatelic items in the world is this mint block of six of the 1843 10-centime black-on-yellow green Double Geneva stamp from the Swiss canton of Geneva. When last sold as an individual lot in 1964, the block brought t
The 1851 variety of Switzerlands 5r Rayon I stamp with complete frame around cross. This example, believed to be the finest quality example extant, will be offered during the May 29 Siegel International auction in New York City.
Also from the Gross collection comes this rare cover franked with a pair of the 1845 2-rappen Basel Dove stamp, considered by many to be one of the most beautiful stamps in the world.
By Michael Baadke
The remarkable classic Switzerland collection belonging to American collector and award-winning exhibitor William H. Gross will be auctioned by Siegel International during the upcoming World Stamp Show-NY 2016.
The auction is taking place May 29 during the huge eight-day show running from May 28 through June 4 at the Javits Center in New York City.
Gross is the prominent financial manager for Janus Capital Group who founded Pacific Investment Management Co. in 1971.
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Charles Shreve of Siegel International told Linns Stamp News that like all other William Gross sales to date, the entire proceeds will be contributed to charity.
Gross and his wife Sue have donated millions to numerous organizations worldwide over the years, including his alma mater Duke University and several hospitals.
A $10 million donation to the Smithsonians National Postal Museum in Washington, D.C., made it possible for the museum to construct a dazzling new street-level stamp gallery bearing his name that opened in 2013.
The 2013 Robert A. Siegel auction of material from the Gross collection of United States raised $2 million that was split between two organizations: Doctors Without Borders and the Millennium Villages Project at Columbia Universitys Earth Institute. In all, seven auctions of material from the Gross collection have raised more than $20 million for charity.
The identity of the charity benefitting from this new sale has not yet been revealed, said Shreve, who has been advising Gross on philatelic matters for many years.
Seventeen years ago, Shreve brokered the private sale of the extraordinary Anderegg collection of Switzerlands classic stamps and postal history.
The buyer at the time was not named, described then by Shreve as a serious collector not just of United States stamps but of rarities of the world.
Assembled from the 1930s into the 1960s, the collection included some of the countrys greatest philatelic rarities in 10 custom-made albums.
As an exhibit it had claimed several top international awards during the 1950s and 1960s, in Switzerland, Austria and Italy, and including the 1957 grand prix international in Tel Aviv.
After Anderegg died in the 1970s, the collection was kept by the family, stored in a Swiss vault for decades before the 1999 sale was finalized.
The unnamed buyer was William H. Gross.
The auction in May from this same magnificent collection will offer gems of Switzerlands cantonal issues as well as top early classics of the federal administration.
A stunning rarity is the black-on-yellow green mint block of six of the 1843 10-centime Double Geneva stamp (Scott 2L1), the first of several stamps issued in the Geneva canton, or state, in the southwest of the Swiss confederation.
Shreve quite appropriately refers to the block as one of the rarest and most important philatelic items in the world, acquired by Anderegg in the April 16, 1964, Robson Lowe Ltd. sale of the legendary Maurice Burrus collection.
Anderegg paid the highest price ever paid for a philatelic item at the time, Shreve noted: 475,000 Swiss francs, plus the 10 percent buyers premium, for a total of 522,250fr, then equivalent to $121,800.
Now it is believed that the current value of this impressive block could be in excess of $1,000,000, Shreve told Linns.
From Basel in the north comes a spectacular cover franked with a four-margin pair of the only issue of that canton, the 1845 2-rappen Dove of Basel (Scott 3L1).
The single stamp alone is a cherished classic, with its lovely three-color design (four, if you count the artistic use of unprinted off-white), embossed in the center with the image of a dove in flight against a bold red field.
The 2016 Scott Classic Specialized Catalogue of Stamps and Covers values a pair on cover at $195,000; the Swiss Zumstein catalog prices a pair on cover at 250,000fr, which is close to $260,000. Shreve says this cover is probably the finest bearing a pair of the Basel stamp.
The earliest issues of the federal administration are the 1850-52 Rayon stamps, with a central design showing a post horn above the Swiss arms. The dearest of these issues is the 1851 light blue and red 5r Rayon I stamp with a complete blue frame around the cross (Scott 9), which is only valued used in the Scott Classic specialized catalog, at $210,000. The Zumstein listing for this issue is also 250,000fr.
Just 15 examples of this stamp are thought to exist, according to Shreve, who points out that the stamp in the Gross collection is believed to be the finest quality example extant.
A special viewing of this collection is planned in Zurich about a week before the auction, Shreve notes, and the sale at the international show in New York could bring $3 million to $4 million.
With the single exception of the 1999 private transaction, nearly all the rarities in this collection have been off the market for half a century or more.
The few incredible items described here only scratch the surface of what is in store for collectors when the Gross collection of Switzerland is auctioned at World Stamp Show-NY 2016.
Mar 31, 2016, 4 PM
One of Czechoslovakias greatest artists, then and now, Max Svabinsky, designed the 1938 stamp commemorating the countrys 1918 declaration of independence. It is called the Allegory of the Republic.
By Kathleen Wunderly
Czechoslovakias final stamp issues of 1938, Scott 253-254, celebrated the nations 20th anniversary of independence from the Austro-Hungarian empire. The Czech declaration of independence was signed on Oct. 18, 1918, and proclaimed on Oct. 28, but the 20th anniversary stamps were issued Dec. 19, 1938.
The 10th anniversary, in 1928, was commemorated by a stamp set depicting buildings and the first president of the republic, Tomas Masaryk. Those issued for the 20th anniversary valiantly but poignantly illustrated peace, using an allegorical female figure holding aloft an olive branch in her right hand and a dove on her upturned left palm.
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Why poignant? Well, because Czechoslovakia in late 1938 was far from being a happy and peaceful place. Since coming to power in 1933, Adolf Hitler sought nothing but to extend German tyranny across Europe. On Sept. 17, 1938, taking advantage of unrest among the German minority in the Sudetenland areas of northern, western and southwestern Czechoslovakia, Hitler imposed forceful military action to annex that part of Czechoslovakia to Germany.
On Sept. 30, Hitler met with Benito Mussolini, French Premier Edouard Daladier and British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain (note the absence of a Czech participant) and the result was the Munich Agreement, which gave the Sudetenland to Germany. Chamberlain returned home and told the British people that he brought peace with honor, that the agreement had purchased peace for our time. In the long run, of course, Chamberlain was very wrong, but in the short run, Czechoslovakia was doomed.
This event marked the end of the Czech First Republic. On Oct. 1, 1938, Germany took the Sudetenland, comprising about one-third of Czechoslovakias territory (and its defensible border with Germany) and population, and the majority of its coal, iron, steel and electrical power resources. The Second Republic lasted only 169 days, ending on March 15, 1939, with the German invasion.
The anniversary issues in December 1938 shared a single design with two different denominations and colors: Scott 253 was a 2-koruna stamp printed in light ultramarine and 254 was a 3k stamp in pale brown. The same allegorical design also was used on a souvenir sheetlet issued in December 1938, containing a dark blue semipostal stamp (Scott B153) bearing a 2k(+8k) denomination, with the 8k surtax earmarked for national refugee relief.
The Allegory of the Republic design was by the distinguished Czech artist Max
Svabinsky (1873-1962), considered one of the founders of Czech modern art but also a wood engraver, graphic artist and designer of stained-glass windows with classical themes, among other artistic endeavors.
The building visible on the right in the background of the 1938 stamp design, St. Vitus (also known as St. Guy) Cathedral in Prague, contains a stained glass window of Svabinskys design. The domed building on the left of the stamp is the Church of St. Nicholas, also in Prague.
Svabinsky had designed several earlier stamps for Czechoslovakia, beginning with a set on March 3, 1920 (Scott 61-64) for the 70th birthday of President Masaryk. Another portrait of Masaryk by Svabinsky was used on Czech definitive stamps of 1925-26.
The prolific Svabinsky produced designs for some 70 stamps in all, and was himself honored with a Czech issue in 1958 for his 85th birthday, depicting his engraving The Artist and the Muse (Scott 877).
Another Czech issue (Scott 1165, in 1963) marked the first anniversary of his death, and a set of five stamps in 1973 (1902-1906) pictured five of his artworks, including the stained glass window in St. Vitus Cathedral.
Svabinsky is still considered one of the greatest Czech artists, and was even honored with a Google doodle on the search engines homepage on Sept. 17, 2013, the artists 140th birthday.
The 1938 Allegory of the Republic design was engraved by one of the great and famous Czech engravers, Bohumil Heinz (1894-1940), who produced stamps for his native country, Great Britain and colonies, Greece and Sweden, as well as banknotes for 16 countries.
The Allegory of the Republic stamps credit the two artists by the addition of tiny lettering M. Svabinsky and B. Heinz at left and right below the denominations on the design.
The stamps were produced by the Czech Graphic Union in Prague.
Adding the 1938 Czechoslovakia Allegory of the Republic stamps to your collection would require a very modest outlay: the 2016 Scott Classic Specialized Catalogue of Stamps and Covers 1840-1940 values mint examples of Scott 253 and 254 at only 30 and 50, respectively, and the souvenir sheetlet, Scott B153, at $4.
For an additional 60 or so you also might wish to acquire a stamp-on-stamp version of the 1938 issue, whose design was used on a Czech Republic 5.40k stamp (Scott 3163) in 2002, recalling the tradition of Czech stamp production.
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Elusive tadpoles of the Indian dancing frog, known for its leg-waving dance moves, have been seen for the first time ever.
Though scientists had known about the adult frogs' graceful "dances," which lure mates and ward off rival males, the juveniles of the species had never been seen before. That's likely because during this developmental stage, the tadpoles live entirely below the streambed surface, buried deeply in the silt and gravel. They make their burrows in the forest rivers of the Western Ghats mountain range, along India's west coast.
Sathyabhama Das Biju, one of the study authors and a biologist at the University of Delhi in India, said in a statement that the tadpole likely stayed hidden to science for so long because of such burrowing habits, which are highly unusual in tadpoles. [Dry Tadpoles? Indian Dancing Frog-Babies Live In Sand]
Indian dancing frog, Micrixalus herrei. (Image credit: SD Biju)
Buried alive
The Indian dancing frog tadpoles are well-equipped for spending this stage of their life cycle tunneling through wet sand and gravel in total darkness, the scientists found. A number of unusual features help the wee ones navigate and survive underground until they're ready to emerge as froglets, the researchers discovered.
Genetic testing determined that the tadpoles belonged to the dancing frog species Micrixalus herrei. The researchers noted that a layer of skin covered the tadpoles' eyes, likely to protect them from abrasions. The tadpoles' flat, eel-like bodies and powerful, muscular tails were just right for wriggling through silt and mud. When the scientists examined the tadpoles' heads, they found that the animals had no teeth, though their jaws were sheathed with a serrated, gatelike structure that may act as a filter, keeping out large sand grains, the researchers said.
These tadpoles also sport ribs which are present in only four other frog families even at an early stage of their development. The scientists suggested that ribs might help the tadpoles undulate through sand by providing more of a framework for muscular attachment, and could serve as protection for the animals' internal organs.
The contents of the tadpoles' guts revealed that the animals fed by vacuuming up bits of sediment and decaying organic matter, which they digested with the help of another unusual adaptation: tiny spherical bags in their guts holding calcium carbonate (or limestone). Even juvenile dancing frogs had these "lime sacs," the scientists reported, which are not commonly seen in frogs.
Scientists' knowledge of dancing-frog diversity has expanded rapidly in recent years, from 11 known species in 2006 to 24 species described by 2014. The discovery of these formerly hidden tadpoles lays new groundwork for future studies of this frog lineage, the researchers said in a report of their findings published online March 30 in the journal PLOS ONE. The finding will also improve researchers' understanding of the unique adaptations that enable the tadpoles to grow and develop as juveniles underground, the scientists said.
Another peculiar Indian frog, the purple frog (Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis), is also equipped with features that let it spend most of its life digging underground. Recent research showed that as the tadpoles of this species grow into froglets, they develop strong digging arms and a spade-shaped skull made for burrowing.
Follow Mindy Weisberger on Twitter and Google+. Follow us @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on Live Science.
Buckle up, roller coaster enthusiasts! The amusement park Six Flags has joined forces with Samsung to bump up the thrill factor of rides with virtual-reality roller coasters that are set to be the first of their kind in North America.
Virtual reality (VR) is already changing how people experience museum exhibits and conduct medical training, and now roller coasters that blend physical sensations with digital worlds can be added to the list. Park-goers will be able to experience these new rides at six different Six Flags locations, with another opening up next Friday (Apr 9) at Six Flags New England in Agawam, Massachusetts, and two more at Six Flags The Great Escape in Lake George, New York, and La Ronde in Montreal, Canada, later this spring.
"If you like coasters at all, it's going to be absolutely mind-blowing to ride this thing," said Sam Rhodes, Six Flags' corporate director of design. "It turns grownups into little kids again. It's absolutely amazing." [Photos: Virtual Reality Puts Adults in a Child's World]
Although the rides won't be entirely new attractions, they will be outfitted with Samsung Gear VR headsets that have been adapted specifically for safe and hygienic use on the coasters. Users will still physically be on the roller coaster as they experience either a "Superman virtual reality" or a "New Revolution virtual reality," Rhodes said. In the Superman coaster, riders will take a tour of the comic-book city Metropolis and encounter Lex Luthor, Rhodes said. In the New Revolution coaster ride, riders will take part in an interactive battle against futuristic aliens.
Combining the virtual-reality experience with the physical sensations of the roller coaster will increase the thrill factor up to 10 times, Rhodes told Live Science. And psychologists agree that the innovative VR roller coasters will probably achieve this effect by activating certain areas of a person's brain more than a typical roller coaster or virtual-reality experience alone would.
"Basically, you're taking an already novel, exciting event and putting on top of it another exciting, novel event so you get an additive effect," said Michael Bardo, a professor of psychology at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, who has studied sensation-seeking behavior.
New and exciting events reinforce limbic reward circuits in the brain, said Bardo, just like food, sex and some drugs. These experiences trigger the release of a feel-good chemical called dopamine, and this, combined with the adrenaline from twists and flips on the roller coaster, gives people the feeling of excitement or fear, he added.
Generally, seeking such novel experiences is biologically advantageous. People who had new experiences and went out in search for food or better places to live had higher chances of survival, Bardo told Live Science.
But people are usually able to tell the difference between a virtual experience and a novel real-life experience, according to Mayank Mehta, a neurophysicist at the University of California, Los Angeles. In lab experiments on rats, he found that the brain does not form a mental map of virtual surroundings the way it does in real-world settings. Nearly 60 percent of the specialized "GPS cells" in the brain that create mental maps shut down when in a virtual setting, he said.
"If you are in virtual reality no matter how compelling it is you know that it is virtual and it's not real," Mehta said. "It's like when you're in an IMAX theater, you somehow know that it's not real because your neurons are able to tell the difference." [VR Headset Mega Guide: Features and Release Dates]
When making a map of space, the brain takes into account smells, sounds, body motion and other aspects of the environment, in addition to visual information. This is why virtual-reality technology makes some users feel nauseous. Inconsistent signals from the eyes and the rest of the body, especially regarding whether a virtual reality user is moving or not, disturb the brain and cause what scientists call "cybersickness," said Stefano Triberti, a psychologist at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan, who studies how people mentally process being in a virtual space.
"In the case of the roller coaster, this inconsistency will be less strong because riders will be moving," Triberti said, adding that "there will more information coming from the environment that says we are moving in tune with the virtual experience there will be wind in our faces, variations in gravity, etcetera."
As long as the virtual-reality experience and the twists of the roller coaster are in sync, riders will feel the physical forces and lean into the loops, without feeling nauseous. Riders may actually feel even less nauseous than they might on any other roller coaster, said Rhodes, because they would be so engrossed in the virtual experience, they won't even notice the track. And if the ride stops midway for some reason, the visuals will also stop to maintain the synchronization, he added.
In this way, the VR version of an amusement park ride will have a unique feel to it, almost like being in a video game, said Rhodes. It will be completely immersive, letting riders interact and shoot at aliens by touching a button on the side of the headset, for example. And each ride will be unique, Rhodes said. Users can look straight ahead, down or side-to-side and discover new scenery. In fact, each time they ride the roller coaster might be a slightly different virtual experience, he said, so those riding in the front are no longer the only ones with a good view.
"We are just scratching the surface with virtual reality technology," Rhodes said. "This is the beginning of major changes in all aspects of the theme park industry. At Six Flags, innovation is in our DNA, we're always looking at the next big thing, and as we like to say, this really changes everything."
Follow Knvul Sheikh on Twitter @KnvulS. Follow Live Science @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on Live Science.
A 500-pound stone tablet found in the foundation of an Etruscan temple at the Poggio Colla site in Tuscany. This stele is a rare example of a lengthy Etruscan text that is not funeral-related. Archaeologists strongly suspect that the text is religious, but have yet to fully translate the find.
A newly unearthed stone slab from Tuscany bears a rare Etruscan religious text that may reveal how early members of this theocratic society worshipped.
And it's written in a language that went out of use some 2,500 years ago, archaeologists said.
The slab was found in the last week of the last planned field season at Poggio Colla, a site in Italy that archaeologists have been excavating for 21 years. It dates back to the sixth century B.C. and weighs around 500 pounds (227 kilograms). Made of sandstone, the slab measures 4 feet tall and 2 feet wide (1.2 by 0.6 meters), and is chiseled with a lengthy inscription.
"It's going to take months, if not years, of probably some rather heated discussion among experts to unravel the text," said Gregory Warden, an archaeologist at Franklin University Switzerland and the principal investigator of the Mugello Valley Archaeology Project, where the Poggio Colla excavations take place. But both the slab's context it was found at the foot of a temple and a preliminary look at its contents, suggest that it is religious in nature.
Lost civilization
The Etruscans flourished in what is today northern and eastern Italy, starting around 700 B.C. They had a major influence on Roman culture and religion, and were absorbed by Rome by about 500 B.C. Much of their language is known from short funerary inscriptions on graves, but few longer texts survive, Warden told Live Science. One exception is a linen book written in Etruscan that somehow made its way to Egypt and was turned into a mummy wrapping. [Photos: The Tomb of an Etruscan Prince]
At least 70 legible letters and punctuation marks are carved on the 4-foot by 2-foot sandstone slab. (Image credit: Mugello Valley Project)
That makes the new text exciting. The slab was found in the foundations of a temple dated to 500 B.C., meaning it could shed light on the worship of gods. Though much is known about the Etruscan polytheistic religion which had deities equivalent to the Greek and Roman gods little is known about the gods or goddesses worshipped at the Poggio Colla site.
The slab could also reveal another view of the religious rituals the culture practiced. Etruscans were known even by contemporary historians as extremely religious, and were described as obsessed with rituals, Ward said.
The Poggio Colla sanctuary has turned up remarkable ritual material over the years, Warden said. The oldest representation of childbirth in Western art was found there, depicting the head of a baby emerging from the body of a squatting woman, possibly a goddess.
"What I'm hoping is that this inscription will provide a different view of what is going on there," Warden said.
"Extraordinary find"
Archaeologists just finished cleaning the new slab last week, and now will begin the painstaking process of identifying every letter. Translation may prove challenging, as there will likely be many words on the slab that haven't been seen since the Etruscan language fell out of use.
Researchers examine the Etruscan stele found at Poggio Colla, hoping that it reveals details about religious worship at the site, which has been under excavation for 21 years. (Image credit: Mugello Valley Project)
"Even making out the letters is not easy," Ward said. "It's carved in sandstone, and it's worn and abraded."
The researchers are taking photographs of the slab to apply photogrammetry, a method of turning 2D images into 3D models. They're also using lasers to scan the slab's surface. The plan is to make that data available so that anyone interested could 3D-print a copy of the slab for study.
"A text of this kind, where the Etruscans speak for themselves, is really an extraordinary find," Warden said.
Follow Stephanie Pappas on Twitter and Google+. Follow us @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on Live Science.
The boy king died in 1323 B.C. when he was about 18 years old.
Egypt's new antiquities minister, Khaled El Anany, sounded caution this morning at a press conference in Luxor over the claim that Tutankhamun's tomb holds two hidden chambers.
Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves, of the Amarna Royal Tombs Project, had proposed that two hidden chambers were lurking in the tomb of Tutankhamun and that the hidden rooms may hold the tomb of Queen Nefertiti, the stepmom of King Tutankhamun.
Radar scans conducted last year by Japanese radar technologist Hirokatsu Watanabe supposedly supported this idea. On March 17, Egypt's ministry of antiquities, led at the time by Mamdouh El-Damaty, stated that Watanabe's scans "suggest the presence of two empty spaces or cavities beyond the decorated north and west walls of the burial chamber," as well as the "presence of metallic and organic substances."
The radar scans also showed what could be door lintels that indicate the presence of doorways, the antiquities minster said at the time in a statement to media. [See Photos of King Tut's Burial and Radar Scans]
Scientists looking for evidence of hidden chambers within King Tut's tomb are using radar scans to peer inside. Here, a scan of the West wall of the tomb. (Image credit: Image courtesy of Egypt Ministry of Antiquities)
However, radar experts not affiliated with the project disputed the results of those scans. These experts noted that the sediment layers at the Valley of the Kings, where King Tut's tomb is located, contain natural voids and rock inclusions that make it difficult for radar to distinguish between archaeological remains and natural phenomena.
Over the past two weeks, the antiquities minister at the time, El-Damaty, along with Egypt's minister of tourism, Hisham Zazou, were replaced in a cabinet shuffle. Yesterday, a team supported by the National Geographic Society conducted new radar scans. Those scans are being processed and analyzed; however, the new antiquities minister El Anany sounded a note of caution at today's press conference.
"We are not looking for hidden chambers but for the reality of the truth," El-Anany said. "We are very keen to follow the scientific procedures," he said, adding that more radar work would be performed in late April, followed by an international conference in May in which experts would review the results. Egypt's former antiquities minister, El-Damaty, was also at today's press conference and said that while the two cavities could exist, "we have to be sure 100 percent."
Even so, the Egypt's antiquities ministry said in a statement that "the preliminary results [of yesterday's scans] reached so far do not contradict with the results of the previous radar scans."
Reeves also said that the two cavities, possibly holding a tomb, could still exist.
No new radar images were released to media.
Third set of scans
For the next scan, scheduled for the end of April, another team of scientists will use a different radar-scanning method on King Tut's tomb. In the previous two scans, scientists tried to peer behind the walls of the Tutankhamun burial chamber. The new scans will take place in the hills above Tutankhamun's tomb, using radar equipment that can peer 40 meters (130 feet) below the ground to see if hidden chambers exist.
The international conference to review the results will be held in the Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo, El Anany said. There, experts will discuss whether the two chambers exist, and if so, what could be in them and what would be the best way to access them. Scientists will not use any methods that could damage the artwork in Tutankhamun's tomb, El Anany said.
Follow Live Science @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on Live Science.
Some people may sprinkle on powder after showering and never think much of it. But recent court cases have shined a spotlight on the possible link between women's regular use of talcum powder on their genitals and an increased risk of developing ovarian cancer.
Yesterday (Aug. 21), a jury in Los Angeles ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay a record $417 million to a woman who claims that the company's baby powder led to her ovarian cancer. The woman, Eva Echeverria, said in the lawsuit that she developed ovarian cancer as a "proximate result of the unreasonably dangerous and defective nature of talcum powder," according to the Associated Press. (Johnson & Johnson's baby powder is made from talcum powder or talc, which is a mineral made up of magnesium, silicon and oxygen.)
In a case that was settled in February, a jury determined that the family of a 62-year-old Alabama woman, who died from ovarian cancer in 2015 after decades of using talcum powder for feminine hygiene, was entitled to $72 million in damages from Johnson & Johnson. The company did not inform customers of the potential dangers of its powders despite being aware of the possible health risks, the jury ruled, according to The Washington Post.
In an earlier case against the same manufacturer, a jury in 2013 found Johnson & Johnson guilty of negligence for not warning women of the risk of ovarian cancer linked to the daily use of the company's talc-based powders. However, the jury in this case did not award the woman who developed the cancer any monetary damages.
Although these lawsuits have resulted in more publicity about a potential connection between women's use of talcum powder as a feminine hygiene product, the suggestion of a possible association has been raised in scientific circles for more than 30 years. (Such use means applying powders directly on women's' genitals, or on sanitary napkins, tampons, underwear or diaphragms.)
It's a controversial topic because manufacturers claim there is no causal connection between talc use and ovarian cancer, and researchhas demonstrated conflicting results. [5 Things Women Should Know About Ovarian Cancer]
The American Cancer Society has weighed in on the available science, and said that the "findings have been mixed." Some studies report a slightly increased risk of ovarian cancer among women who have regularly used talcum powder in their genital areas, while other studies have found no increased risk, the society said.
Based on limited evidence, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, which is part of the World Health Organization, has designated women's use of talc on their genitals as "possibly carcinogenic to humans."
Some, but not all powders, such as baby powders and body powders, contain talc, a mineral that may help prevent odor, moisture and chafing when applied to the skin. Before the 1970s, talc products may have contained asbestos, now a known carcinogen, but since then, talcum powders are required by law to be asbestos-free.
Cornstarch-based powders, which have no talc in them, are considered safe for women to use on the genital area and have no known link with any female cancers. And there's no evidence that sprinkling talc-based powders on other parts of a woman's body, such as on her feet or her back, influences ovarian cancer risk.
Arguing for strong evidence
Dr. Daniel Cramer, a professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive biology at Harvard Medical School and director of the OB/GYN Epidemiology Center at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, conducted one of the earliest studies to suggest a link between genital talc use in women and cancer of the ovaries. That research was published in 1982.
Since then, Cramer's studies have been among those finding a link between women's regular use of talc and an increased risk of ovarian cancer.
In his opinion, there is strong evidence from about two-dozen epidemiological studies for a significant association between genital talc use and ovarian cancer, Cramer told Live Science. These studies have found that regular talc use may increase a woman's overall risk of ovarian cancer by about 30 percent, Cramer said.
It has been only in more recent studies that a dose-response effect has been observed in premenopausal women, especially nonsmokers and women who are heavier, and in postmenopausal women who used hormone therapy, Cramer said. A dose-response means that a woman's risk for ovarian cancer appeared to increase the longer she used talc on her genitals or the more applications she had used over time, he explained.
One factor that has been hard for researchers to quantify is how much talc each woman uses in each application, and how much of it gets into the vagina, Cramer told Live Science. [5 Myths About Women's Bodies]
Talc is a potent inflammatory agent, and chronic inflammation may predispose a person to cancer, said Cramer, who served as an expert witness in one of the recent court cases and provided written testimony in another. He said that pathologists who have examined tissue from the ovaries of cancer patients under a microscope have found that there is talc in the tissue. The mineral has also been found in women who don't have ovarian cancer; talc can be found in tissue from lymph nodes in women who have used talcum powder on their genitals.
The exact mechanism by which talc may promote the development of ovarian cancer in women is not known. But Cramer said he suspects that when talc is applied to the genitals, the mineral's particles can get into the vagina and eventually make their way into the upper genital tract, where the ovaries are located. Once there, talc can induce a potent inflammatory response and probably disrupt the immune system, he said.
Hormones, such as estrogen, may also play a role in the development of ovarian cancer in some women who use talc, but more studies are needed to tease out this effect, Cramer said.
Focus on other risks
Not everyone who examines the research on talc and ovarian cancer draws a conclusion similar to Cramer's.
The scientific evidence for a link between women's use of talcum powder and ovarian cancer is not that strong, said Dr. Sarah Temkin, an associate professor of gynecological oncology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore. Two newer prospective studies have failed to show any difference in ovarian cancer risk between women who used talc on their genitals and those who never did so, she said.
The older studies that suggested an increased risk tended to be case-control studies, which are open to more bias because they involve asking women to recall their use of powder after they have been diagnosed with cancer, Temkin said.
She said she does not think the evidence is strong enough to warrant forcing manufacturers to place a warning label on talcum powder to alert women to a possible health risk from using the product.
Ovarian cancer is a rare disease, and two well-established risk factors for it are a family history of ovarian cancer and a family history of breast cancer, Temkin told Live Science. Scientists have known about these two links for decades, and even so, health providers may miss the opportunity to inform women who have these risk factors about opportunities for genetic counseling, she said.
It's also known that women who have used birth control pills for at least five years may reduce their risk for developing ovarian cancer by about 50 percent compared with women who have never used such oral contraceptives, Temkin added. [7 Surprising Facts About the Pill]
She typically does not ask her ovarian cancer patients about their talc use when taking a medical history, Temkin said, and women don't usually ask her many questions about it. However, with news stories about recent court verdicts making headlines, two or three women have inquired about the use of talc, she said.
If an association between talc use and ovarian cancer risk exists, it is very small, Temkin said. "There are other risk factors for ovarian cancer that are better to focus on than talc," she said.
Editor's Note: This article was updated on Aug. 22, 2016, to include information about the recent lawsuit brought against Johnson & Johnson.
Originally published on Live Science.
This photo from January 2015 depicts a nearly snowless Tioga Pass in California's Sierra Nevada Mountains, near Yosemite National Park. The image highlights the dramatic effect of extremely low precipitation and record-high temperatures upon California's critically important mountain snowpack, even at the height of climatological winter.
The weird weather pattern that hatched California's ongoing drought is becoming more common, and could bring more extreme dry spells in the future, a new study finds.
California is suffering its worst drought in 1,200 years because of a persistent atmospheric "high" parked just offshore. This high-pressure ridge aptly named the "ridiculously resilient ridge" deflects winter storms northward, away from California, according to the researchers.
Winter storms are critical for California's water supply; the state receives 75 percent of its precipitation in the coldest months. The blocking pattern also triggers higher temperatures on land and in the coastal ocean. [The 5 Worst Droughts in US History]
The ridge appeared in 2012 and received its nickname in December 2013 from Stanford University Ph.D. student Daniel Swain. At its greatest extent, the "RRR" stretched along the entire West Coast, from California north to Alaska. This sort of high-pressure system has emerged more frequently in recent decades, according to new research from Swain and his colleagues. The results were published today (April 1) in the journal Science Advances.
Swain analyzed historical data from the U.S. National Climatic Data Center to identify unusual weather years in the past. Along with high temperatures and drought, the researchers also looked for other extreme weather events, such as very wet or very cold years. Then, Swain worked backward to find out what the atmospheric pressure patterns were like when the weather took a severe turn for the worse.
"We're not using climate models; we're using real-world observations," Swain told Live Science. "We think it's critically important to consider the extremes, rather than changes in what's going on in the average, because for most practical purposes, a little above or a little below is manageable. The problems start to arise when you have these extreme events."
On average, California still receives about the same amount of precipitation as in decades past, the study reported. (The historical data cover climate observations from 1949 to 2015.) But the variability between wet and dry cycles has increased in recent decades, Swain said.
The frequency of a specific North Pacific atmospheric pattern one akin to the ridiculously resilient ridge significantly increased over the 67-year period, the study reported.
That means more drought years, though the frequency of extreme wet years stayed the same. "We have high confidence that specific dry and warm patterns increased in recent decades, but the wet patterns have not decreased and may have actually increased," Swain said. "The problem is that we see the extreme droughts or flood events more frequently." [Dry and Dying: Images of Drought]
The new findings could help forecasters better understand how California's weather may shift in response to global warming. "The next step is figuring out why we're seeing this and what is the real cause. Then, we can assess whether climate-model predictions for the future are consistent with what we really should expect. We might be able to have some year-to-year predictability, which could help in preparing for these events," Swain said.
The research fits with climate-model predictions of more frequent and intense weather events in the coming decades drier droughts and heavier rains.
California's current drought has been particularly severe because of rising temperatures, which several different research groups attribute to human-caused global warming. The heat bakes what little moisture there is right out of the ground. The ridiculously resilient ridge adds another level of aridity on top of these conditions.
The stubborn ridge mostly disappeared in winter 2015-2016, a casualty of a huge El Nino changing Pacific Ocean weather patterns. But the system could reappear when ocean temperatures revert from warm to normal or even below-average temperatures, which is what happens during La Nina events. The two patterns are part of the El Nino Southern Oscillation, or ENSO, a natural climate fluctuation in the Pacific Ocean.
Follow us @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on Live Science.
Despite the fact that most historical figures are male such as Jesus, Muhammad and the Buddha and that most conservative religious institutions rely on male leaders, including priests and Orthodox rabbis, new data shows that women today tend to be more religious than men.
The new survey results represent six faith groups (Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Jews and the religiously unaffiliated) from 84 different countries, according to the Pew Research Center, which collected the data from 2008 to 2015.
After sifting through the responses, Pew found that, in general, women are more devout than men on several measures of religious commitment. But among some groups, such as Orthodox Jews and Muslims, men tend to go to religious centers more than women do, likely because they are encouraged to take part in certain services, the report found. [8 Ways Religion Impacts Your Life]
Pew asked several questions to get a better idea of how religious people were. For instance, when asked whether they affiliate with a religion, more women than men said they identified with a faith group (83.4 percent versus 79.9 percent).
"This gap of 3.5 percentage points means that an estimated 97 million more women than men claim a religious affiliation worldwide, as of 2010," Pew said in a statement.
Moreover, women tend to pray more often than men do in about half, or 43, of the countries surveyed. Only Israel, in which about 22 percent of all Jewish adults identify as Orthodox, do men report praying more times per day than women. In the remaining countries, men and women reported praying an equal amount, Pew found.
Still, daily prayer had the largest gender gap (8 percent) of all of the survey questions. Even women who said they were religiously unaffiliated, including women in the United States and Uruguay, indicated that they prayed more times per day than unaffiliated men did.
Women report that they tend to engage in daily prayer more often than men do. (Image credit: Pew Research Center)
When asked how important religion was in their daily lives, women in 36 of the 84 countries rated it higher than their male counterparts did. But in 46 of the countries, men and women were equally likely to say that religion was "very important" to them. Only Israel and Mozambique had results showing that men were more likely to consider religion more important than women did.
However, nearly equal percentages of men and women reported belief in heaven, hell and angels, Pew found. But that wasn't universally the case: Women were more likely to believe in angels in 14 of the 63 countries that were asked this question. And men were more likely than women to believe in heaven and hell in Lebanon and in angels in Pakistan.
Muslims and Christians
Muslim men and women reported being about equally religious, but that wasn't the case with Christians.
Among Muslims, women reported praying more than men by only 2 percentage points in 40 of the countries surveyed. Moreover, Muslim men attended religious services, on average, 28 percent more often than women, likely because of social norms, Pew said. But on most other points, Muslim men and women reported similar levels of devoutness behaviors. [Evolution vs. Creationism: 6 Big Battles]
In contrast, Christian women reported being far more religious than Christian men did. In 54 countries, Christian women reported praying more by a gap of about 10 percentage points compared with men. Christian women were also more likely to say that religion was "very important" to them, giving them a 7-percentage-point lead over men in this category.
In addition, Christian women were about 7 percentage points more likely than Christian men to attend weekly religious services in 53 of the countries surveyed, Pew found.
Men and women report attending religious services at varying rates in different countries. (Image credit: Pew)
It's not entirely clear why these gender disparities exist, but researchers have considered a range of sources, including varying biology, psychology, genetics, family environment, social status, workforce participation and a lack of "existential security" felt by many women because they generally are more afflicted than men by poverty, illness, old age and violence, Pew said.
The answer likely involves multiple factors, but there is still disagreement about which issues matter more, Pew reported.
Interestingly, women who work tended to report being less religious than women who don't earn a salary, even when the researchers accounted for other factors, such as education level, age and marital status, Pew said.
This analysis about the beliefs of employed women suggests that women are not universally more religious than men, but that their devoutness could be the result of nurture (for instance, social and cultural factors) rather than nature (for example, biological or evolutionary forces).
"[It] suggest[s] that social and cultural factors, such as religious traditions and workforce participation, play an important role in shaping the religious gender gap," Pew said.
Follow Laura Geggel on Twitter @LauraGeggel. Follow Live Science @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on Live Science.
A new paper describes how laser beams could disrupt measurements of Earth's orbit around the sun, potentially deceiving inquisitive aliens. Here, a 22W laser used for adaptive optics shines from the Very Large Telescope in Chile.
A simple laser beam could disrupt aliens' observations of Earth, making it look like there's nobody home on the third rock from the sun, a new study suggests.
David Kipping, an astronomer at Columbia University in New York, said he first considered this idea when he heard about the strangely dimming star that was detected recently by NASA's Kepler space telescope. Researchers speculated the signal could have come from an "alien megastructure" orbiting the star.
That's a remote possibility, many scientists stressed; the star's strange signal likely has a natural cause. But the Kepler observations got Kipping thinking about ways humanity could alter the signals it sends into space or hide them altogether from life-hunting aliens, who may have malicious intentions. [13 Ways to Hunt Intelligent Aliens]
He and Columbia graduate student Alex Teachey concluded that it would be surprisingly easy to wipe out Earth's signal, distort it to look strange or even edit out the fingerprint of life provided researchers knew the location of the snooping aliens.
"We essentially played the thought experiment that if we really had xenophobic tendencies and wanted to avoid the Earth being discovered (as Stephen Hawking and others have been warning about), could we hide the Earth from alien planet-hunters?" Kipping said in an email.
How to build a cloaking device
The key to Kipping and Teachey's thinking lies in the way humans have identified most planets around other stars, a process called the transit method. This strategy, which has most famously been employed by the Kepler spacecraft, detects tiny dips in the brightness of stars, which can indicate an orbiting planet.
The transit method could theoretically be used by alien civilizations to detect Earth, too. But there's a way to trip up such extraterrestrial searches, Kipping and Teachey said.
"To make it look like the planet is not there at all, you've got to get rid of that dip. You've got to fill in the missing starlight," Teachey said in an explanatory video.
NASA's Kepler space telescope uses small dips in a star's brightness to detect planets passing in front of the star. Each planet will leave a distinctive light signature. (Image credit: Alex Teachey/Columbia University via YouTube
Engineers could shine a very bright laser or collection of lasers toward a star suspected of hosting intelligent aliens during the time Earth was passing in front of the sun from the other planet's perspective. Then, aliens making measurements wouldn't see any change in solar brightness.
"I started to think about lasers," Kipping told Space.com. "Most people might have stopped there, because the sun emits so much light how could you possibly produce a laser beam which could ever compete with the sun? But it turns out, when you actually run through the equations, it's really not that bad." [How to Discover an Alien Planet (Video)]
"We could build this next week if we wanted to," Teachey added.
To alter Earth's signature as seen by an alien version of Kepler, a laser system would have to emit 30 megawatts of power for about 10 hours per year, coinciding with Earth's passing in front of the sun, the duo calculated.
That equates to significantly less than the energy the International Space Station gathers in a year with its solar panels, Kipping said, or the energy used by about 70 homes over the course of a year. Such a laser system, either on Earth or in orbit, could charge its solar-powered batteries for most of the year and then release the high-powered blasts at just the right time, brightening when the sun's light would normally dim.
While a laser of that intensity hasn't been built before, the researchers said, such a cloaking system could also use multiple smaller lasers, all shining in the same direction. The alien star would be so distant that such a difference would be indistinguishable. Laser beams are tightly focused, but at greater distances, the beams will have grown large enough to require less precise aim.
Shining a laser beam toward a planet whose inhabitants might see the Earth pass in front of the sun could replace the light the Earth blocks out. This would conceivably hide the planet. Using different laser wavelengths can create other illusions with the Earth's transit. (Image credit: Alex Teachey/Columbia University via YouTube
By varying the wavelength and strength of the beams, humans could conceal Earth from more complicated detectors. Such a "cloak" that concealed all wavelengths would take about 250 megawatts of power, with lasers blasting at different wavelengths, the researchers said. The laser strategy could also alter Earth's signature to look like almost anything, even something that appears distinctive and artificial, the scientists said, like the New York skyline or a featureless box.
But perhaps the most interesting use, the researchers said, would be as a "bio-cloak," which would actually use less power than would be required to totally conceal the planet. When a planet crosses its star's face, a little bit of light passes through the planet's atmosphere, and researchers can determine the atmosphere's makeup based on the wavelengths of that light. By sending laser beams that are the inverse of certain wavelengths, humanity could conceivably edit out the life-generated "biosignatures" in Earth's atmosphere, Kipping said.
"We can actually cancel those features out, such as oxygen," he said. "The alien civilization is going to detect your planetary transit. They're going to detect your planetary radial velocity, but then when they 'smell' the atmosphere, it would not look like a tasty planet. It would just look like a dead world."
While a planet that was fully cloaked could still be detected by other means, such as by the gravitational pull it exerts on its star, this kind of cloak would arouse less suspicion, because the planet would be there as expected, just without signs of life.
"We feel like this is the most deceptive cybercloaking you could possibly do, because then everything adds up there's no missing piece to the puzzle," Kipping said. "And that would be a very difficult cloak to see." [10 Exoplanets That Could Host Alien Life]
Kipping and Teachey laid out their thinking in a study published Thursday (March 31) in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
Many possibilities
Concealing Earth's existence from extraterrestrials, or announcing its presence with an artificial light curve, would work only if humanity knew or suspected where those aliens were living. But the concept is still intriguing as scientists look out to read other stars' light signatures and speculate about alien astronomers reading signals from Earth.
Kipping and Teachey suggested that alien civilizations could communicate with each other during transits by varying their light signatures, because individuals investigating a planet are likely to watch it as it passes in front of its star. Alien lasers could even encode information to transmit, the researchers said.
One possible next step, they added, would be to look more carefully through archival Kepler data to search for artificial signatures.
Jason Wright, an astronomer from Pennsylvania State University, recently published a paper about how scientists could identify advanced civilizations around other stars. "Alien megastructures" would dim stars more than expected, whereas lasers would tend to brighten them, but "we should look for both," Wright told Space.com.
"The fact that Kepler looked at 100,000 stars and didn't see much of anything along those lines suggests that that is pretty rare in the galaxy," Wright added. "And we should look more closely to see if there are things that aren't totally obvious."
In terms of this particular technology on Earth, "The only time it'd be useful for us is if we had some knowledge of alien civilizations along the thin strip of the sky that would see Earth transit the sun," he said.
Avi Loeb, who chairs the astronomy department at Harvard University in Massachusetts, told Space.com that the laser-cloaking method assumes researchers know where to look, that aliens aren't observing from moving spaceships and that putative extraterrestrial observers are mainly investigating planets by looking for transits across stars.
Energy demands would quickly grow as a civilization tried to hide from, or signal to, an increasing number of star systems, Loeb added. But the laser cloak is still an interesting new idea to add to the arsenal in the search for extraterrestrial life, he said.
"If there is a literature of ideas like this one, ideas that people proposed for potential signals that are artificial the richer the literature is, the better it is," Loeb said. "The moment we find something artificial, it will change everything. It's good to have the imagination at work prior to seeing something unusual, so we are aware that there are possibilities beyond what we expect."
"I don't think anyone's thought of this particular application before," Wright said. "I think it just emphasizes how little energy is actually required to get someone's attention across the galaxy."
Email Sarah Lewin at slewin@space.com or follow her @SarahExplains. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
An aerial view of a section of the Great Barrier Reef, with bleached corals visible in the water.
Australia's Great Barrier Reef corals are in trouble.
The northern part of the world's largest coral reef ecosystem is experiencing "the worst mass bleaching event in its history," according to a statement released Tuesday (March 29) by the Australian Research Council.
Documented by the National Coral Bleaching Taskforce (NCBT) in aerial surveys, observations of more than 500 coral reefs spanning 2,485 miles (4,000 kilometers) showed that the majority of reefs were undergoing extensive and severe bleaching.
"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," said Terry Hughes of the NCBT, calling the surveys "the saddest research trip of my life." [Worst Coral Reef Bleaching on Record for the Great Barrier Reef | Aerial Video]
Bleaching happens when corals are exposed to stresses such as warmer-than-average waters for prolonged periods of time. The corals respond to the stress by expelling the algae that provide them with their color, which makes the corals look like they've been bleached white. Bleaching can be fatal for corals if the stress is too intense, or if it continues for too long and the algae are unable to recolonize them.
Corals appear "bleached" when stresses like elevated water temperatures lead them to expel the algae that lends them their color. (Image credit: ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies / Terry Hughes)
Ecosystem at risk
Australia's Great Barrier Reef (GBR) covers 134,364 square miles (348,000 square kilometers), making it larger than the U.K., Switzerland and the Netherlands combined, according to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. Recognized as a World Heritage Area in 1981, the reef contains 400 types of coral and hosts 1,500 types of fish and 4,000 mollusk species, as well as other marine life such as large green turtles and dugongs ("sea cows").
The GBR experienced bleaching events in 1998 and in 2002, but the current mass bleaching is much more severe, experts are saying. Rebecca Albright, a marine biologist with the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington, D.C., has studied the GBR since 2011. Albright told Live Science that 95 percent of the GBR's northern reefs are currently showing signs of extreme bleaching, compared with 18 percent that experienced bleaching in 2002.
Even the more robust corals are affected, Albright said, another sign that this event is particularly serious. She cautioned that it's still too early to assess the long-term impacts of bleaching on the corals, though estimates of coral mortality anticipate losses of about 50 percent.
Two factors are responsible for stressing the corals, Albright said: climate change, which is driving ocean temperatures upward, and a strong El Nino a cyclical climate event associated with warmer-than-average sea surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific. And with El Nino conditions expected to extend through 2016, that doesn't bode well for the corals' recovery.
"Corals are sensitive to not only the anomaly in temperature how high it goes but also the duration of that exposure," Albright told Live Science. "This kind of perfect storm of all these factors coming together makes this a catastrophic scenario right now." [Images: Colorful Corals of the Deep Barrier Reef]
Approximately 95 percent of corals in the northern part of the Great Barrier Reef were noticeably bleached, with an estimated 50 percent mortality anticipated. (Image credit: ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies / Terry Hughes)
A global event
But what's happening to the GBR is only part of the picture. A global bleaching event prolonged by El Nino is currently underway "the longest coral die-off on record," according to a statement released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on Feb. 23.
Mark Eakin, coordinator of the NOAA Coral Reef Watch program, told Live Science that the event, which began in 2014 in the Pacific, could linger through 2017.
"We consider it a global bleaching event if it's widespread in all three of the major ocean basins Indian, Atlantic and Pacific," he said. Eakin described current reports of bleaching that extend over half of the Southern Hemisphere, with severe bleaching in New Caledonia, Fiji and southern Indonesia, as well as in the GBR.
Even fast-growing corals take decades to develop, so damaged reefs will need time before they're restored to their former level of health, Eakin said.
And recovery time may be in short supply. Global bleaching events have been expanding their reach and increasing in severity since the first event was documented in 1998, Eakin told Live Science.
"Were seeing prolonged high temperatures that cause bleaching coming back repeatedly. We're seeing areas that have seen high temperatures for two to three years in a row. There's no time for corals to recover," he said.
The 1998 global bleaching event was associated with a strong El Nino the strongest on record but as ocean temperatures rise, even a mild El Nino can trigger a devastating effect on the world's corals. And the global bleaching event that's underway right now began in 2014, before the current El Nino was active, Eakin said.
For the GBR, in spite of the extreme bleaching there may yet be some hope for its recovery. The upper part of the reef that sustained the most damage was in very good shape beforehand, which should improve its prospects for "bouncing back," according to Albright.
"And the lower two-thirds of the GBR is still in very good shape not a lot of bleaching in those areas. So a lot of people are holding on to that as another piece of hope," Albright said.
"Its really just a matter of whether or not we get another bleaching event in the next 10 years that would impede recovery," she added.
Follow Mindy Weisberger on Twitter and Google+. Follow us @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on Live Science.
Outbreaks of the Zika virus are likely to occur in the United States; so to prepare, health officials are developing plans to combat Zika that focus on protecting pregnant women from the virus.
More than 300 local, state and federal officials met today (April 1) to discuss these plans at a "Zika Action Summit" in Atlanta. Although the virus, which is carried by mosquitoes, is not yet spreading in the United States, officials stressed that action is needed now to prevent the virus from affecting pregnant women here. (Some cases of Zika have already occurred in the United States, but so far, the only people who caught the virus were either infected while traveling, or had sex with a person who was infected while traveling.)
Although the infection itself is mild, infants born to women infected during pregnancy face an increased risk of microcephaly, a congenital condition that causes an abnormally small head and brain, and brings severe, lifelong cognitive impairments.
"We have a few short months to stop Zika virus from gaining a foothold in the United States," Dr. Edward McCabe, medical director of the March of Dimes, said today at a news conference. "If we don't, the consequences will be dire, McCabe said, adding that early action could save dozens or many hundreds of babies from being born with health problems.
"The risk is to pregnant women and the developing fetus, and all of our activities need to be focused on mitigating that risk," said Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which hosted the summit.
Outbreaks of Zika are likely in the United States because the mosquitoes that transmit the virus are common in some parts of the country. Each state or county will have a different plan for Zika, depending on the risk of the virus spreading there, officials said. These plans could include ways to control local mosquito populations and test for the virus in mosquitoes, as well as ways to educate people on how to protect themselves from mosquito bites.
The plans also could include prevention "kits" for pregnant women, which New York state already plans to distribute. These kits contain insect repellent, condoms (to prevent the sexual transmission of the virus) and larvicide tablets (that can kill mosquito larvae) to treat standing water.
Texas, Florida and Hawaii are thought to have the highest risk for local Zika spread, based on their history with similar viruses, such as chikungunya and the virus that causes dengue fever. [Zika Virus FAQs: Top Questions Answered]
Officials stressed that they will need funding for their Zika prevention efforts a total of $1.9 billion has been requested but has not been approved by Congress..
It'sestimates that the health care of a single child with microcephaly can cost $10 million over a lifetime, Frieden said.
Follow Rachael Rettner @RachaelRettner. Follow Live Science @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on Live Science.
Scientists have uncovered what may be a previously unknown Viking settlement in Newfoundland, Canada, news sources report.
The newly identified site, known as Point Rosee, contains a hearthstone that was likely used for working iron, making it only the second known pre-Columbian, iron-processing site in North America, the researchers told National Geographic.
The team is still examining the site, which was discovered with the help of detailed satellite images. The public can follow their progress by tuning into "Vikings Unearthed," a 2-hour NOVA special that can be watched online Monday (April 4) and on TV Wednesday (April 6). [Fierce Fighters: 7 Secrets of Viking Seamen]
The new finding isn't the first evidence that Vikings lived in North America. In the 1960s, scientists uncovered a Viking settlement, also in Newfoundland, that dated to about A.D. 1000. That settlement, called L'Anse aux Meadows, proved that Christopher Columbus wasn't the first European to set foot in the New World.
The L'Anse aux Meadows discovery also suggested that the events described in two famous texts called the Vinland sagas actually happened, said Birgitta Wallace, a Parks Canada archeologist emeritus, who helped excavate L'Anse aux Meadows, but isn't involved with work on the new site.
Those sagas tell the story of how a group of Vikings living in Greenland got lost at sea, and accidently discovered a new land, southwest of Greenland.
Now, the discovery of a second possible Viking settlement could lend more credence to the Vinland sagas, Wallace said.
"The sagas suggest a short period of activity and a very brief and failed colonization attempt," Douglas Bolender, an archaeologist specializing in Norse settlements who is working at the new site, told National Geographic (opens in new tab). "L'Anse aux Meadows fits well with that story, but is only one site. Point Rosee could reinforce that story or completely change it if the dating is different from L'Anse aux Meadows. We could end up with a much longer period of Norse activity in the New World."
So far, radiocarbon dates from the Point Rosee site suggest that people lived there sometime between A.D. 800 to 1300, the researchers said.
A satellite image showing the anomalies at the Point Rosee site. The darker areas indicate potential turf structures. (Image credit: Courtesy of DigitalGlobe)
Researchers uncovered the new site using satellite technology. The space-based reconnaissance allowed scientists to look at large swaths of landscape and find archaeological disturbances within the land, some as small as 11 inches (28 centimeters) long.
The team's leader, Sarah Parcak, an associate professor of anthropology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a National Geographic Fellow, won a $1 million award from TED in 2016. She used the prize money to fund, in part, the investigation into Point Rosee after the satellite imagery had revealed an anomaly at the site.
During the excavation, the team found the iron-working hearth amid the remains of what is possibly a man-made turf wall, National Geographic reported. The scientists spent 2.5 weeks at the site, and found what may be evidence that the people there roasted a type of material called of bog iron. (Iron deposits can form naturally in some bogs, and the Norse would find it and smelt it.) [In Photos: New Viking Voyage Discovered]
There is no evidence that indigenous people in North America processed iron, except for some Inuit use of meteoric iron and turf structures in the Arctic, the researchers said. Only one known culture from that period processed bog-iron ore and built turf walls in North America: the Vikings, they said.
A cluster of what is likely roasted bog ore found at Point Rosee in Newfoundland. (Image credit: Greg Mumford )
But more research is still needed to determine whether Point Rosee is, in fact, a Viking establishment.
"It would be very exciting if this really were a Norse site," Wallace told Live Science. "[But] I think that there is not sufficient evidence to very definitely nail it down as Norse. We need a little more."
For instance, the turf walls at Point Rosee don't look like turf walls from other Norse archaeological sites, she said. Moreover, the Vikings are thought to only have landed in Greenland in about A.D. 985, Wallace said. The settlement there was small about 400 to 500 people and any new colonies in Newfoundland would have required a substantial number of people to sustain.
There were likely about 70 Vikings living at the L'Anse aux Meadows site, and it would have been hard for Greenland to spare even more people for the Point Rosee camp, Wallace said.
Further excavations this summer will likely reveal whether Point Rosee has more clues linking it to the Vikings, she said.
The special, which also delves into Norse history and culture, and is co-produced with the BBC, will show on pbs.org/nova at 3:30 p.m. EDT/2:30 p.m. CDT Monday (April 4) and on PBS at 9 p.m. EDT/8 p.m. CDT Wednesday (April 6).
Follow Laura Geggel on Twitter @LauraGeggel. Follow Live Science @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on Live Science.
The much anticipated return and new concert by one of Mexicos most revered mariachi music groups, the Mariachi Nuevo Tecalitlan de Guadalajara, is Saturday, April 30 at 8 p.m. at the Laredo Independent School Districts Civic Center, 2400 San Bernardo Ave.
Generous sponsorship for the event has been provided by IBC Bank with additional support from Uni-Trade.
The performance, dubbed De Mexico Para El Mundo, is a scholarship benefit for Texas A&M International University students. Tickets are $50, $35 and $25 each and are available at Ticketmaster outlets and at the door.
Last year, TAMIU welcomed the Mariachi Nuevo Tecalitlan as its first Artists in Residence to lead its first International Mariachi Workshop, which attracted scores of mariachi music students from local and surrounding area junior and senior high schools. At the culmination of the workshop, student performers joined their mariachi music masters in a stirring concert performance.
This years International Mariachi Music Workshop, scheduled April 28-29, will again feature the Mariachi Nuevo Tecalitlan at TAMIU. Students will join in sectional and private lessons and group critiques lead by Mariachi Nuevo Tecalitlans musical director, Fernando Martinez and the entire Mariachi Nuevo Tecalitlan. They will also compete for special scholarship opportunities and perform in concert with Mariachi Nuevo Tecalitlan.
The legendary Mariachi Nuevo Tecalitlan was founded in 1965 by brothers Pepe Martinez Barajas and Fernando Martinez Barajas, and toured Latin America and the U.S. A second generation of musicians joined the 12-piece traditional Mexican group during the 1980s and 1990s -- Fernando Martinez Jr. and Carlos Martinez among them.
In 1997, Fernando Martinez Barajas' son, Angel Martinez Arreguin, became Tecalitlan's leading member.
For additional information on concert tickets, please call 956.326.2273 or email mariachi@tamiu.edu. For additional information on the Workshops, please call, 956.326.2273 or email mariachi@tamiu.edu
See a video of the collaboration with TAMIU students in the Artist in Residence Program here: http://youtu.be/dwwvCkEIuX4
Pets & Animal, Nature & Weather, Local News, Press Releases
By Long Island News & PR Published: April 01 2016
2015 is the first year in decades without a reported fatality, marks growing trend of improved hunter safety.
Albany, NY - April 1st, 2016 - The 2015 New York hunting season proved to be one of the safest on record and yielded the first year without a hunting-related shooting fatality since the 1950s, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Acting Commissioner Basil Seggos announced today.
DEC's 2015 Hunting Safety Statistics report (PDF, 141 KB) highlighted a total of only 23 hunting incidents, the third lowest number on record, with 10 incidents self-inflicted and 13 two-party incidents.
"Hunting is a strong and economically important tradition that continues to be safely enjoyed by many in New York State, and I commend hunters of all ages for maintaining high standards in hunting safety," Acting Commissioner Seggos said.
"The trend of declining hunting accidents is proof that our hunter safety education programs are working thanks, in large part, to the efforts of the 3,000 volunteer Sportsman Education Instructors that teach our hunter safety courses every year."
This is the first year without a hunting-related shooting fatality in New York since record-keeping on hunting statistics began in the mid 1950s. 2015 also continued the trend of declining incidents with New York's hunting-related shooting incident rate (incidents per 100,000 hunters) declining almost 80 percent since the 1960s. The past five-year average is down to four incidents per 100,000 hunters, compared to 19 per 100,000 hunters in the 1960s.
While hunting is safer than ever, accidents can still happen. It is important to remember that every hunting-related shooting incident is preventable. As this year's report indicated that eight of the victims in the multi-party incidents were not wearing hunter orange. Accidents can be prevented if hunters follow the primary rules of hunter safety:assume every firearm is loaded;
control the firearm muzzle in a safe direction;
keep your finger off the trigger until ready to fire;
identify your target and what is beyond; an
wear hunter orange.
"Sportsman education is an essential and required training course for hunters and teaches future sportsmen and women how to be safe, responsible, and ethical hunters and trappers," Acting Commissioner Seggos said. "Through our NY Open for Fishing and Hunting Initiative, Sportsman Education Programs are being enhanced and our hunting license privileges have been updated to ensure increased opportunities for recreational hunting in the state."
The declining in hunting-related accidents is evidence that New York has a safety-conscious generation of hunters thanks to the committed efforts of DEC's volunteer instructors. These trained, DEC-certified instructors teach safe, responsible and ethical outdoor practices and the important roles hunters and trappers serve in natural resource conservation.
All courses are offered free of charge and class registration is easy. In 2016, DEC is updating the course curriculum to further enhance the program and implement recommendations identified in a 2015 peer-reviewed analysis if New York's education program.
For more information on Sportsman Education course registration, access to the course manuals and worksheets, please visit the Sportsman Education Program webpage on DEC's web site.
Local News, Crime, Press Releases
By Long Island News & PR Published: April 01 2016
The Major Case Bureau reports the arrest of a Queens man for Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance that occurred on Thursday, March 31, 2016 at 5:07 pm in Floral Park.
Floral Park, NY - April 1st, 2016 - The Major Case Bureau reports the arrest of a Queens man for Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance that occurred on Thursday, March 31, 2016 at 5:07 pm in Floral Park.
According to detectives from the Nassau / Suffolk Heroin Task Force the defendant Tyuan S. Parham, 36, of 4159th Street, Jamaica was under investigation for unlawfully possessing and selling large amounts of Heroin in Queens on March 8, 18, 23, and 31 2016.
On March 31 members of the Nassau / Suffolk Heroin Task Force and members of the Bureau of Special Operations observed Parham driving a white 1998 Lexus in Floral Park and performed a car stop. The defendant who is known for selling narcotics to Nassau County residents was placed into police custody without incident.
Recovered from the vehicle were 71 zip lock bags containing a substance believed to be cocaine and 107 glassine bags of a brown / tan substance believed to be Heroin. There were no injuries reported.
Tyuan S. Parham is charged with 9 counts of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance. He will be arraigned in First District Court in Hempstead on Friday, April 1, 2016.
Others, School & Education, Press Releases
By WFSD News Published: April 01 2016
William Floyd High School students enrolled in AP World History and Global History & Geography recently welcomed Holocaust survivor Werner Reich as a special guest.
Mastic Beach, NY - April 1st, 2016 - William Floyd High School students enrolled in AP World History and Global History & Geography recently welcomed Holocaust survivor Werner Reich as a special guest to hear about his firsthand experiences as a prisoner in four Nazi concentration camps including Auschwitz II-Birkenau, during that horrific time in history when Nazis murdered more than 11 million people, including six million people of the Jewish faith.
During this powerful and emotional talk to more than 200 students some of whom were in tears, Mr. Reich showed a PowerPoint of still photographs and quotes which recounted the history of the Holocaust, his experiences at the death camps between 1943-45 and how those experiences changed him forever. He was ultimately liberated by Allied Forces on May 5, 1945, just two days before Germanys surrender.
Mr. Reich, whose arm stills bears a fading tattoo Nazi identification number A-1828 conducts these presentations to deliver messages to young people that if they see bullying of any form that they should not be bystanders and be one of the J.U.S.T. those who Judge a situation, Understand the problem, Solve that problem and Take action. He correlated some of the Nazis tactics to those that bullies use today, such as writing and posting letters anonymously.
I believe Werners presentation sends a message that encourages students to be pro-active and treat others with kindness and respect, said Kerri Coudrey, a William Floyd High School social studies teacher, who has invited Mr. Reich to deliver his message to William Floyd students for the past 15 years.
Students from the following classes attended: Kevin Allo, Craig Clasen, Kerri Coudrey, Jackie Nett, Matthew Sanders, Andrew Skurnick and Lisa Taiani.
Looking to stay up to date about all of the news stories and local headlines that are important to Long Islanders? We've rounded up the top coverage for all of the important topics from multiple sources around Long Island, so you can be sure you've got the most recent update on the top stories for Long Island. Have an idea for a news story? Email us at news@longisland.com
Columnists Press Releases
Al Rahmah Welfare Organizations website features this photo and others of a man who appears to be James McLintock with orphans and others.
At first blush, Al Rahmah Welfare Organization (RWO) is a charity that serves orphans, widows and the downtrodden in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria and elsewhere. The groups web page and social media sites are filled with projects for prospective donors to fund: water wells, an Educators [sic] Teaching Course for would-be instructors at one of RWOs Koran schools, emergency relief for refugees, the building of orphanages and mosques, as well as many more humanitarian works.
But according to the US Treasury Department, RWO serves another purpose. In an announcement made yesterday, Treasury described RWO as a front organization for al Qaeda that has been used to finance al Qaeda, the Taliban, [Lashkar-e-Taiba], and other Afghan extremist groups.
In conjunction with the government of Saudi Arabia, Treasury has designated RWO as a terrorist sponsoring organization. James Alexander McLintock, the organizations president, CEO, and chairman, has also been added to the US governments list of specially designated global terrorists.
McLintocks jihadist career began more than two decades ago, according to numerous published sources. The Scottish-born jihadist first garnered significant press when he was arrested by Pakistani authorities in December 2001. According to the Guardian (UK), McLintock was detained after he he crossed the border near the al Qaeda camp at Tora Bora, in eastern Afghanistan.
As an American-led coalition pummeled Taliban and al Qaeda forces in late 2001, Osama bin Laden ordered his men to retreat to the Tora Bora Mountains for what could have been their last stand. Instead, bin Laden and a number of al Qaeda leaders slipped away.
McLintock was among the numerous jihadists detained. But he was released by the Pakistanis.
In 2004, The Scotsman reported that McLintock first joined the jihad in Afghanistan in the late 1980s and went off to fight again in Bosnia in 1994. McLintock conceded to the press that he had received training in Afghanistan, but he claimed that he did not attend one of bin Ladens camps.
Some of the medias coverage following McLintocks release from Pakistani custody was sympathetic, portraying him as a legitimate charity worker and implying that he had been wrongly detained in the first place. The Scotsman told readers that McLintock first appeared to personify the Wests worst nightmare: an educated young man who found Islam and turned his back on his own culture to fight for one of the most oppressive regimes on earth, but it subsequently emerged that he had been working for a charity. The Evening Telegraph (UK) reported: Although it was initially suggested he was a radical Islamist, it later emerged he had been working for a charity in the region.
According to Treasury, however, McLintocks charitable endeavors in more recent years have really been a cover for his fundraising on behalf of al Qaeda, the Taliban, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and other Afghan extremist groups. Treasury alleges he has also personally supported multiple terrorist groups.
Charity work a false guise
The US government says that McLintock, who goes by a number of aliases and is commonly known as Yaqub Mansoor, has used the false guise of helping orphans to support al Qaeda. He has gone so far as to recruit Afghan insurgents to obtain photos of children, Afghan identity documents, and cell phone numbers to create falsified dossiers used to obtain donations for RWO.
Some of the money McLintock has raised was used to finance the Talibans militant activities in Kunar Province, Afghanistan. Kunar is a hotbed of activity for al Qaeda and its allies. One of al Qaedas most senior commanders in Afghanistan, Faruq al Qahtani, has long operated there.
According to Treasury, McLintock has provided funding for Fazeel-A-Tul Shaykh Abu Mohammed Ameen Al Peshawari, also known as Shaykh Aminullah, who runs the Ganj Madrassa in Pakistan. Aminullah was designated as a terrorist in 2009 and the Ganj Madrassa was added to the US terrorism list in 2013. Treasury described Ganj as a terrorist training center at the time. [See LWJ report, Treasury designates al Qaeda leader, madrassa.]
Treasurys analysts have concluded that some of the money McLintock gave to Aminullah probably was used for the activities of al Qaeda, the Taliban, and Lashkar-e-Taiba. The Ganj Madrassa is known to support all three organizations.
The US government accuses McLintock of raising money to pay for the Taibans operations. In 2013, Treasury says, McLintock regularly met with Taliban and other militant commanders for the purpose of financing their attacks against Afghan government targets in Kunar Province. McLintock has financed Taliban militants in Afghanistan and prepared madrassa students for travel to fight in Afghanistan.
McLintock and RWO have allegedly solicited donations from British donors who were not aware of the NGOs Taliban ties, collecting approximately $180,000 from donors in the United Kingdom. RWO has also received financial support from charities in the Persian Gulf and the United Kingdom.
The funds have been used, in part, to provide financial support to Lashkar-e-Taiba. The money has been funneled through other charities that McLintock controlled in Pakistan and other countries.
As of June 2013, according to Treasury, McLintock and a smuggler in Kunar Province who was considered a deputy [Lashkar-e-Taiba] commander reportedly smuggled cash to insurgents in Afghanistan and transferred materials for the construction of improvised explosive devices between Pakistan and Afghanistan. McLintock also used RWO as a front for both financing the activities of Afghan Salafist insurgents and helping to train them in the manufacturing of improvised explosive devices.
Website and social media
A simple Google search returns the website, Facebook page, and Twitter feed for what appears to be McLintocks RWO. In addition, a Facebook page and two Twitter feeds use a handle that is the same as McLintocks Islamic name, Yaqub. These web pages include photos of Yaqub. The images seem to match known photos of McLintock. Some of the photos show Yaqub posing with children who are purportedly orphans.
The address listed on RWOs website also matches the address given by the Treasury Department. Both sources say that one of RWOs main offices is located on Street 40 in Sector F-10/4 of Islamabad, Pakistan.
A screen shot taken from the RWOs website can be seen on the right. The contact information indicates that the supposed charitys office can be found across the street from the Pakistan Insitute of Medical Sciences.
Several partner charities are listed on RWOs website: the International Islamic Charitable Organization (IICO), the Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahayan Foundation, King Abdullahs Relief Campaign for [the] Pakistani People, Welfare and Development Organization (WDO), World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY), and Qatar Charity. The site also indicates that RWO has collaborated with a group called 1st Ethical in the UK.
The Long War Journal cannot independently verify that RWO has worked with these charitable organizations. And it is possible that even if these other charities did cooperate with RWO at some level they did not know about RWOs putative jihadist role.
[Update: On Apr. 5, 1st Ethical emailed a statement to The Long War Journal saying that it has checked its records and can confirm that the RWO and McLintock are not currently supported by 1st Ethical. The statement continued: Furthermore, we have checked our records from April 2011, which covers the dates mentioned above, and can confirm we have not donated to RWO in this timeframe. The dates referenced are those mentioned in the Treasury Departments designation announcement.]
Some of the charities listed on RWOs website, under a section entitled External Relations, have backers with deep pockets. For example, the Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahayan Foundation is named after its founder, the President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
RWOs website notes that King Abdullahs Relief Campaign for the Pakistani People (KARCPP) was set up by Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz to establish an organization for carrying out relief, rescue and rehabilitation activities in the worst flood-torn areas of Pakistan.
RWO has posted two letters dealing with the aid it supposedly received from KARCPP and then distributed. The first is dated Aug. 29, 2012 and is signed by Yaqoob Mansoor al Rashidi, which the Treasury Department identified as one of McLintocks aliases.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank King Abdullah Relief Campaign for Pakistani People for allowing Al Rahmah Welfare Organization (RWO) to help the people of Pakistan in the blessed month of Ramadan, Yaqoob Mansoor began the letter. KARCPP had a very generous Iftari programme all over Pakistan. RWO collaborated in this blessed effort distributing iftari food packages in three areas of Pakistan.
Yaqoob Mansoor listed the three areas where food packages were distributed: Pakistans Swat district, Batkhela in the Malakand agency, and the Kurram agency. We would like to thank them [KARCPP] for allowing us to collaborate in their efforts and we hope that we can continue to do so in the future, Yaqoob Mansoor concluded.
A second letter, dated July 29, 2013, is a Receiving Docket addressed to Muhammad Tayyab, Deputy Director. Its author, named as Zafar Jahangir, wrote that RWO was honored for having had the opportunity to be an implementing partner with KARCPP, delivering food aid for the benefit of the Pakistani People. Jahangir confirmed the receipt of bulk food items with a total weight of 148 tons. Separate pictures posted RWOs website purportedly show these food packages being handed out.
The two Twitter feeds that appear to be McLintocks contain pictures of the Scotsman visiting with men identified as prominent Pakistani politicians. On a Facebook page that is believed to be McLintocks, the longtime jihadi posted a message remembering Hamid Gul, the former Pakistani spy chief who passed away in August 2015. Guls ties to jihadist organizations are well-known. McLintock described Gul as a good man and mujahid.
It was always refreshing and uplifting to meet him [Gul], McLintock wrote. To hear a man of his stature speaking from his heart about Islam and Jihad strengthened your faith in the Ummah. I had the opportunity to interview him for my newswire in 2003 and we had been friends since. Gen Hamid Gul always put Islam and Jihad before nationalism.
Although Treasury does not mention RWOs operations in Syria, McLintock regularly posts photos of his organizations supposed good works in the Idlib and Aleppo provinces.
McLintocks social media sites also advertised a campaign, in conjunction with a group called Aid2Syria, to collect donations for the war-torn country. One such banner can be seen on the right. Videos and other images have also documented RWOs purported contributions to widows and other relief efforts.
Leaked threat assessment authored by Joint Task Force Guantanamo (JTF-GTMO)
McLintock is mentioned in a leaked JTF-GTMO threat assessment that was prepared for Shaker Aamer, who was held as a detainee in Cuba from Februry 2002 until October 2015, when he was transferred to Britain. McLintock praised Aamers release on one of his many social media accounts last year.
JTF-GTMO found that Aamer met with another former Guantanamo detainee, Moazzam Begg, in Afghanistan in 1998. Aamer and Begg first met at the white mosque, before traveling to the Arab guesthouse in Jalalabad and then on to Abu Abdallah al Scotlandis residence in Kabul.
Abu Abdallah al Scotlandi is yet another one of McLintocks known aliases.
JTF-GTMO noted that McLintock fought in Bosnia and has close ties to Ibn Shaykh al Libi, a veteran jihadist who was the primary trainer and leader of Khaldan training camp in Afghanistan and was appointed by Osama bin Laden to lead al Qaedas forces in Tora Bora.
Note: The spelling of al Qaeda has been made consistent throughout this article.
Thomas Joscelyn is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Senior Editor for FDD's Long War Journal.
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11 Howard Opens on the Most Interesting Street in Soho
11 Howard is a New York hotel experience driven by fashion, furniture and craftsmanship where guests experience the energy of New York City in every corner and space through the hotel's innovative design, art, fashion and cuisine.11 Howard's Creative Director, Anda Andrei of Anda Andrei Design, in partnership with interior designers Signe Bindslev Henriksen and Peter Bundgaard Rutzou the team behind the Danish architecture and design studio SPACE Copenhagen - created an environment that is incredibly warm, light and open, and transforms the essence of how a hotel should look and feel. Guests at 11 Howard are greeted by meticulously curated objects as if walking through a gallery. Every area of the hotel displays a bespoke piece of furniture, a painting, sculpture or a digital art-piece chosen specifically to frame the guest experience.The architectural design behind 11 Howard is enhanced by the historic and cultural-focused architecture firm Beyer Blinder Belle. The hotel's street arrival was moved from its original position on Lafayette Street to be an extension of the vibrancy and energy of Howard Street, which is one of the few remaining streets in SoHo that maintains the original essence of what it was in the early 1800s.As guests approach the hotel, they are greeted by majestic trees and marquee lights forming a gateway to the hotel reception and offering a breathtaking view of the custom-made blackened steel cylindrical staircase linking to the second floor amenity spaces. The top of the stair neon art piece by Dan Attoe, visible from the street, is the first signal of the blending of the old and the new.On the South-facing wall of the hotel sits a 150 foot-by-50-foot mural designed by a group of inspiring young artists from Groundswell with mentorship from Jeff Koons. The design of the mural celebrates the history and culture of SoHo the music, food, fashion and the industries of yesteryear. Each artist developed their own design concepts for the mural and then came together to develop a final design that drew on all of their ideas. Misha Tyutyunik Groundswell's lead artist for the project refined these concepts to produce a single comprehensive design. The team brought this final design into Koons' studio for his personal feedback and a creative discussion about what inspires his art, the historical references in the piece, the creative process and use of color. He challenged them to think of ways to add further richness and depth to the mural by layering and varying color, highlighting specific content elements and considering different mediums that could be applied to the brick wall to create variety. Groundswell is a New York community mural organization that uses creativity as a tool for change.The 15-foot high ceilings accent 11 Howard's lobby, lined with bleached oak wood paneling and polished concrete floors. The lobby is furnished with unique and sculptural furniture that melds effortlessly with Alexander Calder's Untitled, 1976 mobile as its centerpiece. The spiral staircase stands to the lobby's left, and on the right stands an artisanal shop curated by creative consultant and interior designer, Oliver Gustav, with beautiful objects consistent with the shops on Howard and Crosby Streets. Studio Oliver Gustav offers for the first time in the States a unique and distinct collection of home-furnishings, art and antiques that was only available to a few collectors before this shop at 11 Howard opened.As part of the seamless service goal, guests will have the opportunity to choose the way they want to interact with the building and its services. From checking in, luggage assistance, room service or concierge requests, guests have the option to interact one-on-one with the 11 Howard team or choose the current technology personal platform that uses the guest's own cell phone or convenient in-room tablets.Every space in 11 Howard is intimate and specific in mood and atmosphere. Guests feel like they are in their home rather than in a hotel. There is always a nook to explore, whether guests want to read a book, grab a drink, have an intimate conversation with a friend or celebrate with a large group.The Library an open, sun-drenched space on the second floor of the hotel features a wide wood-board floor, plaster walls, plush area rugs and a collection of furniture curated from different parts of the world and many one-of-a-kind designed pieces by Signe Bindslev Henriksen and Peter Bundgaard of SPACE Copenhagen, Rick Owens, Gio Ponti, Tobia Scarpa, Vincenzo De Cottis, Gabriel Hendifar and Jeremy Anderson. The room's elements are accented by two distinct photographs of the Seagram Building and breathtaking ocean views by Hiroshi Sugimoto, who has spoken of his own work as an expression of time exposed' or photographs serving as a time capsule for a series of events in time.Echoing the hotel's meticulous, modernist and timeless ethos, 11 Howard Hosts are dressed in designs to stimulate your senses by fashion designer Serkan Sarier. Maintaining a traditional approach to hotel uniforms but respecting how fashion is influenced by the streets of New York City, Sarier fused an urban, relaxed attitude with a traditional bespoke look for the 11 Howard uniforms that is appealing and comforting to guests visiting from down the street or across the globe.The Blond, SoHo's hottest new bar, adds to the hotel's unique aesthetic and fluid design. The Blond welcomes guests throughout the day and evening to enjoy themselves, work, meet friends, network or just relax. Open and warmly-lit, once the sun goes down, The Blond transforms into an elegant bar space making it the perfect spot to savor the bars signature cocktails or snacks before venturing into the New York City night. If guests get comfortable, they can get a taste of the city's nightlife without making a move when The Blond morphs into a fun, high-energy nightclub after midnight with a new DJ spinning every night.Near The Blond and The Library is The Creative Studio, a room for up to 14 people that is perfectly fitted for a meeting and breakout session, intimate dinner party or private wellness class. Like all the other spaces of the hotel, Aby Rosen commissioned a one-of-a-kind piece by English painter and fashion designer Holly Fowler, to create a hand-painted silk mural unique to the hotel.Upstairs, 11 Howard's 221 guest rooms boast 11-foot-high ceilings and oversized windows for abundant natural light and unique views of the city's streetscapes thanks to low surrounding buildings, from unexpected views of the Empire State Building and Brooklyn Bridge to lower Manhattan's hidden architectural gems. The hotel's celebrated 11H Suite extends these incredible city sights with a wrap-around landscaped terrace for entertaining or a private outdoor oasis, flaunting a 270-degree view of downtown Manhattan to the North, East and South.Each guest room is furnished with bed and chairs, desk, credenzas, tables and light, all designed to be functional with grace and humanity by SPACE Copenhagen and handcrafted by Danish carpenters in a variety of luminous woods and fabrics. A single art object designed by ceramist Katie Yang decorates each room, and each piece was positioned in each room by Yang herself. Beautiful materials of porcelain tile, marble countertops and brass trimmings line the in-room bathrooms, along with organic Grown Alchemist and Glossier products. Guests are able to personalize their mini bar experience through tablets in each room offering a menu of healthy munchies, supplied by Thrive Market and Conscious Commerce.Famed restaurateur Stephen Starr, owner of such notable eateries as Morimoto, Upland, Buddakan, and El Vez, has conceptualized Le Coucou, the restaurant at 11 Howard with Chef Daniel Rose of Spring and La Bourse et La Vie bistro in Paris. In keeping with the hotel's timeless sensibility, the restaurant will serve classic French dishes with a modern twist in a dining environment only Stephen Starr can deliver. Slated for opening later this Spring, guests can experience Chef Rose's personal vision of classic French cuisine in the most charming of settings, designed by Roman and Williams.The first of its kind, 11 Howard is defining conscious hospitality. Each aspect of the hotel from design to location to amenities to their ultramodern brand of service is operated with awareness, purpose and thoughtful consideration. The hotel has partnered with a number of nonprofit organizations and businesses in an effort to give back to the community and to the world, including Global Poverty Project, Barbara Burchfield and Olivia Wilde's Conscious Commerce, Lauren Bush Lauren's FEED and Thrive Market, whose goal is to make healthy living affordable to everyone.11 Howard has mixed technology with the quintessential NYC method of transportation the skateboard. Through a partnership with Boosted boards, guests can explore the neighborhood on 11 Howard Boosted longboards to commute in true NYC style.For more information and to book a reservation, visit. 11 Howard is part of Design Hotels
The Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch Gives a Toast to Moms with Unforgettable Mother's Day Offerings
Throughout Mother's Day weekend (May 6-9, 2016), the picturesque resort invites guests and locals alike to celebrate the moms in their lives while supporting Women's Bean Project . This Denver-based non-profit organization is dedicated to changing women's lives by providing transitional employment to chronically unemployed and impoverished women and helping them earn the job readiness, interpersonal and life skills to create a new future.From a whimsical Bubbles and Blooms' overnight package, to an elegant brunch including a custom floral bouquet for Mom, to a pop-up Women's Bean Project trunk show featuring specialty items hand-made by program participants, The Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch is proud to celebrate mothers and women alike in partnership with Women's Bean Project.The Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch is giving a toast to mothers and all that they do with a luxurious package that will treat Mom to some of her favorite things. Aptly named Bubbles and Blooms,' the package includes overnight accommodations, exclusive Champagne reception for two in Bachelors Lounge upon arrival, signature 60-minute massage or facial for two in the award-winning Bachelor Gulch Spa, Ritz-Carlton Mother's Day brunch for two, and a custom-made floral bouquet for Mom. Ten percent of the proceeds from package sales will be donated to Women's Bean Project.The Bubbles and Blooms' Mother's Day package is available for $359 per evening (minimum two-night stay) from Friday, May 6 through Monday, May 9.To further support Women's Bean Project, The Ritz Carlton, Bachelor Gulch is hosting a pop-up Women's Bean Project Trunk Show, located in the Great Room. During this two-day event, the organization will sell handmade jewelry, gourmet food products and more, created by the women they help support. Guests and visitors are invited to stop by to shop and speak with a member of the life-changing organization. All trunk show proceeds will directly support the Women's Bean Project.The Women's Bean Project Trunk Show will take place in the Great Room on Saturday, May 7 from 11:00 a.m. 2:00 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. 6:00 p.m.; and on Sunday, May 8 from 11:30 a.m. 2:30 p.m. during Mother's Day Brunch.The Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch welcomes families to celebrate Mom with an unforgettable Ritz-Carlton Mother's Day Brunch. The brunch will include a custom-crafted chef's menu featuring a grand selection of dishes made with fresh, local and seasonal ingredients. Additionally, children and loved ones will have the opportunity to make custom floral bouquets for Mom. Ten percent of the proceeds from brunch sales will be donated to Women's Bean Project.The Ritz-Carlton Mother's Day Brunch menu is available on Sunday, May 8, 2016 from 11:30 a.m. 2:30 p.m. for $65 per guest ($85 with Champagne) exclusive of tax and gratuity. Reservations are now being accepted and can be made by calling (970) 343-1066. Custom-made floral bouquet pricing varies. A single stem will be $5, a small bouquet will be $20, and a large bouquet will be $40. One small bouquet per mom is included with brunch.The Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch will also be hosting a Kentucky Derby viewing party over Mother's Day weekend, certain to delight the equestrian fan.While celebrating mom, guests can also enjoy the Kentucky Derby in style at The Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch. Hosted in the Great Room, guests can sip on traditional Mint Juleps and glasses of Moet Champagne while cheering on their favorite contender. In true Kentucky Derby fashion, a lively Derby Hat Competition will take place during the viewing party. The guest (21 years of age and over) with the most fabulous hat will receive a Magnum of Moet Champagne as a celebratory prize.The Kentucky Derby Viewing Party will take place during the race on Saturday, May 7, 2016. Admission is complimentary and open to guests and locals alike.For more information on The Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch, visit www.ritzcarlton.com/en/hotels/colorado/bachelor-gulch
The FBI doesnt have to tell Apple how it cracked the iPhone 5c in the San Bernardino terrorism case, and now the American Civil Liberties Union is taking the agency to task.
According to the Wall Street Journal, a White House review group will determine which of three avenues the FBI can take: publicly announce the security flaw, disclose the flaw to Apple, or keep it under wraps so it can use the flaw to crack more iPhones. For now, it looks like the FBI is keeping it a secret. Not even Apple knows what technique the agency is using to get into the iPhone 5c in the San Bernardino case. All the FBI will say is that an outside party helped investigators crack the phone, negating the need for Apples help.
That means the agency can continue to use that same technique on other iPhones at stake in court cases around the country without running the risk that Apple updates its software to prevent future attempts.
[By] stockpiling vulnerabilities, and not reporting them, the U.S. government risks angering firms that it regularly goes to seeking voluntary help, ACLU principal technologist Chris Soghoian told the WSJ. And the U.S. government needs Silicon Valley more than Silicon Valley needs the U.S. government.
A White House cybersecurity coordinator chairs a group that looks at whether the vulnerability should be disclosed to the company whose product is affected. The iPhone flaw that the FBI has found, reportedly with help from Israeli firm Cellebrite, would fall under that groups purview, though the group has yet to take up this specific case.
The case of Dynawell Corporation (M) Sdn Bhd v Dynasty Landmark Sdn Bhd; Pendaftar Cap Dagangan Malaysia [2015] 1 LNS 1195, concerned an appeal against the Registrar's decision which disallowed the registration of the plaintiff's Dynasty mark.
The plaintiff operates and manages its hotel business, the Dynasty Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, and filed an application for its Dynasty trade mark in 2000. The defendant opposed the plaintiff's application in 2007. The Registrar subsequently disallowed the plaintiff's application for its Dynasty trade mark. The defendant is the registered proprietor of the trade mark Dynasty Hotel and operates its hotel business in Sarawak, east Malaysia since 1992. The plaintiff's and the defendant's marks are illustrated.
The plaintiff challenged the Registrar's decision in this appeal on the ground that the Registrar has erred in law and in fact.
Confusion and deception
The High Court endorsed the test adopted in the decision in Tohtonku Sdn Bhd v Superace (M) Sdn Bhd [1992] 2 MLJ 63 and in applying this test, the High Court considered the visual differences of the marks, the goods/services to which they are applied and the channels through which the goods/services are bought or sold.
Based on this test, the High Court held that both the plaintiff's and the defendant's marks are similar and the plaintiff's mark cannot be allowed in the market as it will result in confusion and deception.
It is also of interest that the High Court held that where parties' services are in direct competition, namely the hotel services industry, only a small degree of similarity is required to establish the likelihood of confusion.
Plaintiffs trade mark(Application number 00012622) Defendants trade mark(Registration number 98002352) Providing hotel accommodation; food and drink catering; cafes; cafeterias; canteens; rental of temporary accommodation; boarding houses; tourist homes; hotels; restaurants; boarding house bookings; hotel reservation; self-service restaurants; snack-bars; cocktail lounge services; holiday camp services; temporary accommodation reservations; motel; rental of meeting rooms; all being services included class 43. Services for providing food and drink, temporary accommodation; all included in class 43
Honest concurrent user
The defence of "honest concurrent use" was raised by the plaintiff. However, the High Court held that this defence is not available to the plaintiff as it had only used the mark for about three years after the defendant has used its mark in the same hotel service industry. It is also worth noting that the High Court disallowed the submission of the plaintiff on honest concurrent use as it was not raised before the Registrar and was therefore precluded from being raised in the appeal. The plaintiff's appeal was accordingly dismissed.
The High Court decision will be welcomed by trade mark owners as the decision endorsed the test of comparison of two similar marks and the decision also gave some clarification that three years' usage may not be sufficient for a party to raise a defence of honest concurrent use.
Chew Kherk Ying Jaesy Yap
Wong & PartnersLevel 21, The Gardens South Tower, Mid Valley City, Lingkaran Syed Putra59200 Kuala LumpurMalaysiaTel: +603 2298 7888Fax: +603 2282 2669www.wongpartners.com
How to watch and follow Leicester v United Women
Article
The Reds will be hoping to extend our winning start to the new WSL season when we make the trip to the East Midlands.
Shipping freight rates for transporting containers from ports in Asia to Northern Europe soared 37.2 percent to $339 per 20-foot container (TEU) in the week ended on Friday, one source with access to data from the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index told Reuters.
The rise in freight rates on the world's busiest route came after major container shipping companies implemented earlier announced price hikes around April 1.
The average level this year is so far $411 per TEU, less than half the average of the same period last year when it stood at $920 per TEU.
The current level is widely seen as loss-making for container shipping companies like Danish Maersk Line, Switzerland-based MSC, French CMA CGM and German Hapag Lloyd .
In the week to Friday, container freight rates jumped 104.4 percent from Asia to ports in the Mediterranean, rose 23.3 percent to ports on the U.S. West Coast and were up 8.2 percent to ports on the U.S. East Coast.
Maersk Line, the global market leader with nearly 600 container vessels and part of Danish oil and shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk, was one of the few container shipping companies to make a profit last year.
The Danish shipping company controls around one fifth of all transported containers from Asia to Europe.
Reporting by Ole Mikkelsen
The first saltie of the 2016 season, the Albanyborg, is underway and expected to sail into the Port of Duluth-Superior this weekend. ETA is approx. 5 p.m. Sunday, April 3. The ship will pass through the Duluth Ship Canal and beneath the Aerial Bridge before making its way to the Clure Public Marine Terminal to dock overnight.
The 472-foot Albanyborg, which flies the flag of The Netherlands, will be the first oceangoing vessel to arrive in the Twin Ports this year after transiting the full length of the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway system. It also was the first foreign-flag vessel to enter the Seaway after it opened on March 23. The multipurpose carrier, part of the Royal Wagenborg fleet, made one stop along the way to deliver a cargo of wind turbine components from Germany to Port Colborne, Ontario, Canada.
Built in 2010, the Albanyborg has 12 crew members onboard and is under the command of Captain Igor Bunenkov. Local vessel agent is Guthrie Hubner.
The vessel is scheduled to spend Monday docked at the Port Terminal while bulkheads are erected inside its cargo hold to prepare for loading grain, then proceed to the CHS terminal on the Superior side of the harbor to load 10,000 metric tons of spring wheat for Italy. If all goes according to schedule, departure is set for late Tuesday/early Wednesday.
An invitation-only First Ship Ceremony is being planned for Monday afternoon on the Clure Terminal for community leaders and representatives from the maritime industry to welcome the captain and crew. Invited guests include representatives from the U.S. Coast Guard, Mayors office, Twin Ports Ministry to Seafarers, Duluth Seaway Port Authority and other civic leaders. Bob Gustafson from Visit Duluth will be on hand to announce the winner of the 2016 First Ship Contest. Over 2,100 entries were received in this years contest, cosponsored by Visit Duluth and the Port Authority.
Marcon International, Inc. of Coupeville, Washington informed the sale of the 1,700BHP Benjamin Foss by Foss Maritime Company of Seattle, Washington to private U.S. interests.
The 78.0 x 26.3 x 11.0 depth x 9.7 draft, tug was built in 1980 by Main Iron Works of Houma, Louisiana as Hull 352 - the first in a series of seven Super D class, advanced, medium size tugs contracted in 1979. The low-profile tugs were built for PacTow, a Dillingham Maritime Company, and Foss Maritime, also a subsidiary of Dillingham in the 1980s, as a larger, enhanced version of the popular 1,200HP, 66 D class boats built in the mid-1960s.
After delivery from the shipyard, Benjamin Foss remained in the U.S. Gulf for six months working for Foss new Gulf Coast service until returning to the Pacific Northwest with a new 30,000bbl bunker barge. The tug has since worked in the Pacific Northwest, Alaska and on the Columbia River performing ship assists and as a line-haul tug.
Benjamin Foss is powered by twin CAT D398s developing a total of 1,700BHP at 1,225RPM, with CAT 7261 4.65:1 gears, 76 x 76 fixed pitch props in kort nozzles and flanking rudders. This gives her a bollard pull of abt. 26.4 short tons. Towing gear consists of an Intercon SD-150 single drum winch with a capacity of 2,000 of 1.5 wire and a Foss Mk.2 bow winch with 150 of 1.125 wire.
Another former Super-D tug, the Pacific Patriot (ex-Pacific King) was sold from other sellers by Marcon in 2014.
Marcon acted as the sole broker in the Benjamin Foss sale, which is the fifth Foss tug sale or charter brokered through Marcon in addition to various barges and other equipment. Benjamin Foss is the 315th tug (totaling 982,107HP) sold or chartered by Marcon over the last 35 years. Marcon is hoping to break the one million horsepower mark in tugs brokered for sale or charter by the end of 2016 and while we are at it break the 1,400th vessel or barge sold or chartered by mid-2016.
Several additional sales are pending.
MidEast VLCC rates rise by more than $24,000 per day; China and Saudi Arabia fuel chartering surge.
Freight rates for very large crude carriers (VLCCs), which hit a two-week high on Thursday, face an uncertain direction next week, brokers said.
Port delays could help create a shortage of tonnage that could push rates higher, but charterers may cool fixture activity to put a ceiling on rates.
"It's difficult to call which way the market is going to go," a Singapore-based supertanker broker said.
"Earlier this week I thought the market was getting toppy and expected charterers to go back into their shells. But that didn't happen," the broker said.
"Middle East rates are probably 90 now," on the Worldscale measure, the broker said.
That came as VLCC charter rates for a voyage from the Middle East to Asia climbed by more than $24,000 per day since last Thursday, shipping data tracked by Reuters showed.
But, Indian charterers have chartered six smaller and cheaper Suezmax tankers rather than fix three VLCCs, brokers said.
"This could signal charterers have called time on the bull run on VLCC rates," said a European-based VLCC broker.
Rates rose after a surge in chartering activity by Saudi Arabia's Bahri and Chinese traders, including Unipec and Glasford.
Unipec has chartered around 20 VLCCs on the open market since March 24, while Bahri fixed about seven supertankers, Reuters data showed.
The fixture flurry has been fuelled by charterers anxious to book vessels amid bad weather and port delays that have disrupted vessel itineraries, brokers said.
"The extensive delays in Chinese ports in particular pushed charterers over the Easter holidays to secure tonnage with secure itineraries," Norwegian ship broker Fearnley said in a note on Wednesday.
The surge in Middle East rates has spilled over to support supertanker freight rates from West Africa to Asia.
Strong demand by China for West African crude have boosted rates in the region.
April loadings for shipments from West Africa to Asia are set to hit more than 2 million barrels per day (bpd), the highest since July 2015.
VLCC rates from the Middle East to Japan climbed to around W87.50 on Thursday, up from W63.75 a week earlier and the highest since March 16.
Supertanker rates from West Africa to China rose to about W82.50 on Thursday, their highest since March 16, from about W67.50 last Thursday.
Rates for an 80,000-dwt Aframax tanker from Southeast Asia to East Coast Australia fell to around W125.25 on Thursday from W152.
Clean tanker rates from Singapore to Japan were around W148.50, compared with about W150.25 a week earlier.
Reporting by Keith Wallis
Marines Raiders from Company F, 2nd Marine Raider Battalion, put their skills to the test during a Company Collective Exercise at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The Marine Special Operations Company and individual teams where tested on their execution of basic skills as well as learned and honed new tactic, techniques and procedures.
The CCE is a good opportunity for the Company Headquarters to exercise command and control and refine their producers to ensure that we work as a cohesive staff, said the company 1st Sergeant.
The MSOTs had the opportunity to train a simulated partner nation force during the CCE. They also completed multiple ranges and raids honing both their individual skills and team TTPs.
Having a partner nation force allows us to simulate training a real world foreign internal defense force, said the company 1st Sgt. We train basic infantry patrolling, trauma casualty combat care, helo-borne assaults and ground assaults. [This experience] makes the teams better equipped to be a military force supporting a host country.
Marines from Marine Corps Air Station New River, Security Forces and I and I Greenvile made up the supporting elements and partner nation force.
There is a big difference between what we do in garrison and what we have been doing out here, said Sgt. Conner Fiero, a Marine assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron, MCAS New River. From the air wing side we only get to see one demission of the assault, out here we have gotten to see how the air craft operationally employed, troop movements, how the troops communicate with the aircraft and the actual assault which turns it into a 3-D picture.
The CCE is designed to validate all the training the Raiders have done up this point said the Company Operations Chief with Company F.
All the training they have done, all the time theyve been away, all the hardships theyve faced, all the struggles have paid off, its paid off through leadership and mentorship from the supporting elements to the team commanders and team chiefs, said the Company Ops Chief. Their [Marine Raiders] mindsets have been brought up from conducting unilateral operations to being able to fully integrate not only enablers but a partner nation force who may have a language barrier or not have the same level of training.
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The Port Talbot Steel Plant. Photo by Simon Dawson/Bloomberg via Getty Images.
Since the global commodities downturn began, there is one product we haven't discussed much: steel. Energy and non-ferrous metals have hogged the spotlight. But steel has struggled, too, and with it producers in the US, UK and Europe. Wednesday, news broke that the UK's largest steel producer, Tata Steel, wrote down the value of all its British assets to "almost zero" and intends to pull out of the market as soon as it finds a buyer. About 15,000 of the UK's roughly 40,000 steelworkers hang in the balance. Britain's largest steel plant, in Port Talbot, Wales, could close within weeks. Politicians from both major parties are calling for bailouts and tariffs, fearing the demise of national steel production will threaten all of UK manufacturing. The situation in America is less dire, but Washington still slapped a 266% tariff on steel imports from China earlier this month. For global stocks, this is all mostly noise. Cold as this sounds, markets generally look past isolated, industry-specific problems and job losses. But steel is a hot political issue, and the popular narrative omits some key facts. I reckon the world would benefit from a little sunlight.
First, whatever happens with the UK's steel industry, the broader economic impact should be minimal. Plant closures would bring severe localized pain, especially in towns like Port Talbot, where the local steel plant basically is the local economy. In some areas, it would be a sad repeat of the 1980s' coal mine closures. But scale matters. Total UK steel output was just 2.2 billion in 2014-about 0.1% of GDP and 1% of manufacturing output. Only about 0.1% of the UK's 31.42 million employed people work in the industry. Even if you add in people employed at various levels of the supply chain, it's still less than half a percent of the labor market. Again, locally, it is devastating. But the UK economy is broad and diverse enough to absorb the loss.
Ordinarily, the demise of a long-declining, uncompetitive industry that employs only a few thousand people would be a footnote. But steelmaking was a huge part of British industry for ages. Like shipbuilding, it fosters an emotional attachment-hence the broad-based desire to save it. Whether or not the government bails it out or brokers a private sector rescue, the steel industry's decline will probably go down as a national tragedy that didn't have to happen. Decades of underinvestment as the industry ping-ponged between private and public ownership left its once revolutionary facilities antiquated and uncompetitive. Firms didn't take advantage of high prices when times were good to invest in new furnaces. Efforts to get more competitive instead centered on cutting costs. As a result, most UK steel plants still operate 1950s-era blast furnaces, which are less productive and more energy-intensive than modern electric arc furnaces.[i] This is especially problematic when you consider steel producers face some of Britain's highest taxes, mostly of the "green" variety. The industry is still innovating, but with prices now ultra-low due to a global supply glut and costs so high, it's all but impossible to compete.
Contrary to widespread belief, tariffs on Chinese imports won't change that. Many believe they're the golden ticket, arguing China's alleged tendency to "dump" subsidized steel at sub-market rates killed prices globally, making it impossible for developed-world producers with higher costs to compete. Tariffs on Chinese steel, they claim, would level the playing field and allow domestic producers to stay afloat-a popular theory throughout the western world.
Indeed, Chinese production soared in recent years and now accounts for over half the world's total, contributing to the massive global supply glut. China produced nearly 800 million tons of steel last year, compared to just over 10 million for the UK. And yes, most observers agree the Chinese government has subsidized unprofitable producers, seeing as how most of the industry is state-owned. But tariffs won't help. Absent from all the reporting is a simple fact: The UK doesn't import much steel from China. Neither does America, for that matter, making that 266% tariff a solution in search of a problem. Exhibits 1 and 2 give the breakdown for each country.
Exhibit 1: UK Steel Imports by Area of Origin, 2014
Source: International Steel Statistics Bureau, as of 3/30/2016. "CIS" refers to the Commonwealth of Independent States.
Exhibit 2: US Steel Imports by Area of Origin, 2015
Source: US Census Bureau, as of 3/31/2016.
Even in a world where protectionism actually worked[ii], it would have very little effect on China. In the messy real world, collateral damage makes it even more of a losing proposition. The UK actually runs a trade surplus in steel, and it's unrealistic to think tariffs wouldn't spark retaliation. Chinese tariffs on UK steel would arguably hurt Britain more than British tariffs on Chinese steel would hurt China. Producers are already about to take a hit from the US's new steel duties, which will be about 30% for the UK (better than 266%, but still, sorry). Any additional retaliatory tariffs would be another nail in British steel's coffin, offsetting any benefit from higher domestic prices. Sad, but true.
The same holds true at the EU level, countering claims all of Europe would be better off if the European Commission shortened the time it takes to apply anti-dumping tariffs. Of the 133.7 million tons of steel EU nations imported in 2014, only 6.2 million came from China. Most EU steel trading occurs within the union-101.3 million tons in 2014. Geography matters.
This is why Western obsession with China's purported dumping is so bizarre. Yes, China's ginormous production contributed to the global supply glut, but China isn't exactly flooding the world with steel. Of the 822 million tons China produced in 2014, only 93 million left the country.[iii] Most of it went to Asian neighbors, as Exhibit 3 shows.
Exhibit 3: China's Steel Exports by Destination, 2014
Source: World Steel Association, as of 3/31/2016. CIS still refers to the Commonwealth of Independent States. NAFTA is the US, Canada and Mexico.
Others argue this is another reason Brits should vote to leave the EU in June, arguing the UK would have more flexibility to jack up tariffs and assist the industry financially outside the union. But this, too, would be a pyrrhic victory. Britain exported over 4.3 million tons to its EU bedfellows in 2014-roughly one-third of that year's domestic production. There, too, new barriers would do much more harm than good. Regardless of EU state aid policies, free trade with very low administrative hassle has been a lifeline for UK producers.
I hate to leave this on a down note, and I won't pretend to know how the steel crisis will end. The government has effectively ruled out nationalization, preferring to broker a private sale instead. Some firms have expressed interest in Tata's UK assets, but the huge pension burden[iv] complicates any deal, and it seems highly unlikely all the plants will stay open. But there is a silver lining: Sometimes it takes a while, but there is life after plant closures. The slow death of British Coal decimated the Welsh Valleys in the 1980s, and years of pain followed. Yet now, the region is on an upswing. Advanced factories moved in, as did tech and, um, production of Doctor Who. When coal vanished, many local economies had to start from scratch. Cold comfort this might be, but with new industries already building a presence in that part of the country, it shouldn't take nearly so long for areas hurt by steel's problems to enter their next chapter.
"I didnt have time to see how long he lived," Dwayne Lamonte Lampkins told an officer during an interview after his arrest, according to testimony in a murder trial in Henry County Circuit Court on Thursday.
Investigator Travis Hambrick of the Henry County Sheriffs Office said that on April 2, 2015, he was interviewing Dwayne Lampkins after he had been arrested on a charge of first-degree murder of Curtis Daniel "Duke" Pritchett Sr. and some related charges.
Hambrick said at one point he told Dwayne Lampkins that Pritchett, who was shot, didnt die immediately, and that Dwayne Lampkins said, "I didnt have time to see how long he lived."
Dwayne Lampkins denied ever being at 250 Price-Hairston Lane (where there is a mobile home behind which Pritchett was shot on March 15. 2015), according to Hambrick. Dwayne Lampkins also denied being called by the nickname "Weed," denied carrying a gun, said he had no issues with Pritchett, and he said that everyone who had made statements implicating him had lied, Hambrick said.
Dwayne Lampkins said he had been to a residence in the 2500 block of Stoney Mountain Road many times, but denied living there, even though officers found a court document there with Dwayne Lampkins name on it, Hambrick said.
During a smoke break when he was being interviewed April 2, 2015, Dwayne Lampkins told Hambrick he had been charged with more than 20 felonies previously and had beaten them by maintaining he wasnt there, Hambrick testified.
Dwayne Lampkins, 34, of 25 Laketree Drive, Martinsville, and cousin Avery Martez Lampkins, 29, of Eden, North Carolina, and formerly of 2970 Horsepasture-Price Road, both are charged with first-degree murder of Pritchett, 55, of 588 Tommy Carter Road, Axton. Both Lampkins men also are charged with use of a firearm during the commission of a felony (murder).
In addition, Dwayne Lampkins is charged with possession or transportation of a firearm after being convicted of a violent felony, and Avery Lampkins is charged with possession or transportation of a firearm after having been convicted of a felony more than 10 years ago.
Both men pleaded not guilty to all charges.
According to testimony Wednesday, the first day of trial, Dwayne Lampkins is known by the nickname "Weed" and Avery Lampkins is known by the nickname "A."
According to testimony Wednesday and/or Thursday, Avery Lampkins (accompanied by his lawyer) turned himself in the day after the offenses, but Dwayne Lampkins was not apprehended until April 2 when information was received that led officers to 45 Kimway Drive, Axton. Lt. Wayne Davis of the Henry County Sheriffs Office testified that officers surrounded the mobile home, demanded people inside come out, that gradually several came out, but they denied that anyone else was inside, but officers could see movement inside.
Officers began to treat the incident as a hostage/SWAT operation and additional officers and an armored vehicle were brought in. Eventually Dwayne Lampkins came out of the mobile home.
He said, "Let my people go. They didnt have anything to do with this," referring to the others who had been in the mobile home, Hambrick testified.
Also, during the trial Thursday, Avery Lampkins lawyer, John Swezey, challenged the commonwealths contention that commonwealths witness Laurie Burger identified Avery Lampkins in a photo lineup.
At the close of the commonwealths evidence Thursday, Swezey and Harold E. "Chip Slate II, Dwayne Lampkins lawyer, each asked Judge David V. Williams to strike the evidence as insufficient and to dismiss the charges.
Swezey said there was no evidence Avery Lampkins had a premeditated plan to kill Pritchett, that there was much conflicting testimony by three eyewitnesses for the commonwealth, and that those three witnesses had credibility issues.
For example, Swezey said, one witness maintained Pritchett ran out the back door of the mobile home, and another witness maintained that he went out a back window, but no one testified seeing him go out the back of the mobile home.
Swezey said Burger admitted that she repeatedly lied before saying that she told police the truth. Swezey argued that he believes Burger probably was closest to telling the truth when she called 911 to report the shooting, when she was in tremendous stress, but she testified Wednesday that she lied about much of what she said in that 911 call.
Swezey also questioned why one shell casing was found on a table near one side of a back deck outside the mobile home but several other shell casings were found near the other side of the deck.
Slate made some similar arguments. He pointed out that Burger testified Wednesday that she lied on the 911 call and gave two false statements to police before she said she gave police a truthful statement. He said she also lied in reference to some testimony at preliminary hearing.
Burger admitted that she has been convicted of more than 10 felonies and has been convicted of offenses involving lying, cheating or stealing.
Commonwealths witness Juanita "New York" Bumpher also admitted she is a convicted felon, but she said she didnt know how many felony convictions.
Slate said commonwealths witness Kevin Darel Preston, who was charged with accessory after the fact-homicide, initially lied to police. Preston also testified that he had taken K2 (synthetic marijuana or spice) on the day of the offense and that it had made him hallucinate previously.
Slate said he believes there are some discrepancies over whether a Department of Public Safety or Sheriffs Office official was the first to arrive at the scene, calling into question Pritchetts "dying declaration."
Lt. Mark Davis of the Henry County Sheriffs Office testified Wednesday that after he responded to the scene of the shooting on March 15, 2015, at one point he asked Pritchett who shot him, and he thought Pritchett said, "Wade." Davis said he repeated, "Wade," and Pritchett indicated no. Pritchett then said, "Weed." Davis said he responded to Pritchett, "Weed," like grass," and Pritchett indicated yes.
Bumpher testified Wednesday that her cousin Thomas Wade of Pittsylvania County took her to the mobile home at 250 Price-Hairston Lane on March 15, 2015, and picked her up from there the same day. Slate mentioned that Thursday in reference to "Wade" and "Weed."
Slate also argued there was lack of scientific evidence in the commonwealths case to convict the defendants, that a holster found in the mobile home was not tested, and that no one who testified said they saw the shooting.
Henry County Commonwealths Attorney Andrew Nester said there would be some variations in the three eyewitnesses testimony because they had different perspectives, but there was a "kernel of truth" in their testimonies.
He said Burger admitted to lying at first, but she told why she was afraid. He said she has no motive to lie at this point she is not related to the defendants; she has nothing to gain or lose.
Nester said he is not sure Preston is telling the whole truth. Nester added that Preston is charged and that he is related to defendant(s).
Also, Bumpher is a cousin of the Lampkins men, according to testimony.
Nester argued testimony showed there were two shooting incidents at 250 Price-Hairston Lane on March 15, 2015 which could account for the shell casings being in two different areas in the back yard. (A bullet missed Pritchett during the first incident, and he was fatally shot during the second incident, according to testimony Wednesday.) After a bullet missed Pritchett the first time and word got back to the defendants, they returned, Nester argued.
Nester also said that premeditation can take place in a split second and every time someone fired a gun trying to kill Pritchett was an act of premeditation.
The only witness that Swezey called was Shaluntae Campbell of Martinsville, whose sister used to live at 250 Price-Hairston Lane, with her boyfriend Mike Graves (law enforcement officials said in an interview they have looked for Graves since the incident, but his whereabouts are unknown). Campbell testified that she was in the neighborhood on March 15, 2015, and saw a lot of police cars at 250 Price-Hairston Lane, so she stopped to see what was happening. She said she asked Burger what was going on, and Burger told her she didnt know.
When asked in court Wednesday to look at Campbell, Burger testified that she didnt know whether she had ever met Campbell, and said she did not recognize her.
Campbell said she came to court after being contacted by Avery Lampkins family.
Slate did not call any witnesses.
Neither of the defendants testified.
In his closing arguments, Swezey argued that the commonwealth contends Pritchett was running down a steep hill when the defendants shot at him, but that a medical examiner testified that a bullet traveled in basically a straight line through Pritchetts body (from back to front and left to right with no significant up or down motion). Swezey said laws of physics would not allow a bullet to travel in a straight line through the body of someone running down a steep hill.
Swezey also suggested that the shell casings that were found could have been fired from the back deck, rather than from the positions where witnesses said they believed the Lampkins men were standing.
Swezey also pointed out that Mike Graves, who owned the mobile home, and who was there on March 15, 2015, has been unavailable just about ever since.
Swezey referred to two witnesses (Preston and Bumpher) testifying Wednesday that they did not see Avery Lampkins with a gun. (Bumpher also testified that she didnt see Dwayne Lampkins with a gun.)
Slate renewed the motion to strike the evidence and dismiss the charges. He cited credibility issues with commonwealths eyewitnesses, the bullet that went through Pritchetts body in a straight line not jiving with physical evidence, and no premeditation. He said the commonwealth had not proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
Nester argued that the medical examiner doesnt know exactly what angle Pritchett was standing or sitting when he was being shot at or the angle the guns were pointing.
Burger testified Wednesday that Dwayne and Avery Lampkins and a male whose name she didnt know came looking for Pritchett at 250 Price-Hairston Lane. She said when Pritchett arrived, the two defendants got in a heated argument with Pritchett about where the money was and Pritchett said at one point, "I didnt take your money." She said Dwayne Lampkins had a gun but wasnt pointing it at anyone and told Pritchett to "come outside and take your medicine. Im not going to kill you." A bit later, she heard a shot outside, and Pritchett came inside and said a bullet had gone by his leg.
Later, Dwayne and Avery Lampkins and a man named Kevin came back to the mobile home, Burger said. They were trying to get Pritchett to give them the money and there was an argument over $2,000, she added.
A bit later, when the Lampkins men, Preston and Mike Graves were outside the mobile home and Pritchett was inside, Burger said, she heard Avery Lampkins holler, "Hes coming out the back."
"I heard Dwayne say, Oh, no, he aint," Burger said. Avery and Dwayne Lampkins each was holding a gun and went into the backyard. Burger said she heard one shot when Avery had gotten around the mobile home heading for the backyard and a barrage of shots when Dwayne went around the mobile home heading for the backyard. She said she did not actually see the shooting.
Preston testified Wednesday that the first time he was at the mobile home with the Lampkins men on March 15, 2015, that Dwayne "was looking for his money," and Pritchett said he didnt have it, that there was a small altercation, and that Preston and Avery tried to hold Dwayne back. At one point, Dwayne and Pritchett walked around the mobile home outside, and Preston heard one shot, Preston said. Dwayne told Preston later, after they had left, "I believe I missed him."
Preston testified that later he, Dwayne and Avery Lampkins went back to 250 Price-Hairston Lane, that Dwayne asked about the money, and that Dwayne had a gun with him. Preston said he and Avery wrestled with Dwayne.
At one point, Avery and Dwayne came outside and Pritchett didnt, Preston said.
Preston said he heard someone holler and Avery and Dwayne ran around the back of the mobile home. "I heard gunshots, sounded like 10 gunshots, real quick," Preston said.
Nester argued Thursday that even if Avery Lampkins had tried to diffuse the situation earlier, when he was outside and joined Dwayne Lampkins in shooting at Pritchett, they were acting in confederation (or acting in concert) trying to kill Pritchett.
Nester argued that Dwayne Lampkins denied everything and Nester said he found him totally incredible.
Nester also said the fact that Dwayne Lampkins hid for more than two weeks after the March 15, 2015, incident before he was apprehended shows escape and consciousness of guilt.
Nester also mentioned Pritchetts dying declaration that "Weed"(Dwayne Lampkins nickname) is the one who shot him.
Judge Williams said he will review the evidence before making a ruling before Wednesday of next week.
Nester said in an interview that Williams could find the defendants guilty as charged, guilty of lesser charges, or not guilty. Williams also will rule on motions by defense lawyers to strike the evidence and dismiss the charges.
A review by Lexingtons top prosecutor has found no direct evidence that graffiti spray-painted on a Washington and Lee University building was intended to convey anti-gay sentiments.
We could not conclusively determine that the graffiti was directly anti-gay, Commonwealths Attorney Christopher Billias wrote in an email, as it appeared to be just odd and unconnected rambling.
University officials, however, are standing by an earlier statement by the dean of students, who wrote in a message to the campus community that the vandalism included anti-gay sentiments directed at an individual student who lived in W&Ls Sustainability House on East Nelson Street.
Billias said that while he understands the universitys position, his review focused on the kind of charge he had the ability to bring. As a criminal matter, all we have is the vandalism, he wrote.
Sheamus Craugh, a W&L student at the time of the incident, has been charged with felony vandalism. Craugh no longer is enrolled at the university.
Police have said spray-painted messages discovered March 3 on the Sustainability House and several nearby parked cars included the words flame boy followed by the name of a student living in the schools theme-based housing.
The student who was the apparent target of the language said he saw no ambiguity in the words used.
It is clear, to me at least, that there is no context or situation in which this term could be used that would not suggest anti-gay sentiments, he wrote in an email.
However, the student added, I dont think its my prerogative to say whether or not I was being targeted. Only Sheamus will really know what his intention was that night.
Craughs attorney declined to comment on the case.
The man police say killed a Virginia state trooper has been identified by authorities as a 34-year-old Illinois man with a lengthy criminal record.
On Friday, Virginia State Police confirmed the identity of the shooter as James Brown, 34, of Aurora, Illinois.
Brown fatally shot trooper Chad Dermyer, 37, about 2:40 p.m. Thursday after the officer approached him near the entrance to the bus station during a training exercise. Brown was then fatally wounded by two other troopers who returned fire.
Col. Steven Flaherty, the superintendent of the state police, told reporters at a briefing Thursday night that investigators could not immediately confirm why the trooper was attacked.
Two women, one a track athlete from Binghamton University in New York, suffered injuries that police said were not life-threatening. The student was released from the hospital Friday.
Brown had a lengthy criminal record, according to The Associated Press. He was charged with attempted murder in 2001 before pleading guilty to lesser charges and being sentenced to four years in prison, the AP reported.
In 2006, Brown was charged with unlawfully possessing a weapon and body armor as a felon and faced drug charges. Court records show he pleaded guilty to cocaine possession and the other charges were dropped. He was sentenced to 5 years in prison.
In 2012, he pleaded guilty to domestic battery and aggravated battery of a pregnant woman and was sentenced to 2 years in prison, the AP reported.
In a news release, state police said Dermyer is the 62nd Virginia trooper to be killed in the line of duty during the departments 84-year history. His patrol car was placed on display in his memory in front of the state police administrative headquarters on Midlothian Turnpike in Chesterfield County.
Flaherty said Thursday night he joined with others in mourning the slaying of Dermyer, a native of Jackson, Michigan, who graduated from the state police academy in 2014 after service in the Marine Corps and work as a police officer in Jackson and Newport News. He was married with two children. A vigil is planned at Virginia Commonwealth Universitys Siegel Center.
Dermyer had recently been assigned to a counterterrorism and criminal interdiction unit after serving on patrol in the Hampton and Newport News areas for the state police. The trooper and about a dozen other officers had recently completed classroom training and were conducting an exercise in the bus station at the time of the shooting.
Flaherty said Dermyer was attacked within moments of having approached the man.
A spokeswoman for Greyhound said late Thursday she was unaware of the training but that such an exercise would not be unusual.
We were not made aware of a training exercise taking place, said Lanesha Gipson. However, we do sometimes allow authorities to conduct trainings at our stations or use a bus for that purpose.
While police were unable to immediately specify a motive, Flaherty said there was no indication of terrorism in the attack.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security was not involved in the police interdiction training exercise at the terminal, said spokeswoman Gillian Christensen. However, Christensen said the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement provided on-scene assistance following the shooting through its Homeland Security Investigations unit and assisted state police with the investigation.
In New York, Binghamton University said it had sent representatives to Virginia and thanked authorities and medical personnel for their assistance here. The student athlete was headed to a track meet at the College of William and Mary.
Currently, we are offering support to [the wounded student] and the handful of student-athletes who were traveling with her during the time of the incident, the statement said. Last night, our athletic director and other staff traveled to Virginia to be with the athletes and coaches to ensure they receive the support they need.
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2016-09-24 08:00:00
Beautiful Stevensville, Montana
Contact: Colleen Meyer for further information at 406-777-5734.
WHERE MONTANA BEGAN
Planning is well underway for a major historical, cultural and educational event, the 2016 Founders Day Commemoration, in Stevensville.
At the request of the Salish Indians, on September 24, 1841, 175 years ago, missionaries from the east met with tribal chiefs at the location that became the first pioneer settlement in Montana. The Community of Stevensville, the Salish Tribe, and Historic St. Marys Mission, a very small non-profit, will present "Where Montana Began," a day-long program with multiple events, including a full-regalia reenactment of that historic meeting.
The event is of statewide importance and, as part of the Annual Montana Historical Society Conference in Hamilton, will be attended by representatives from all over the state. More than 1,000 visitors are anticipated, including many from out Montana. The short and long-term economic impact on the Bitterroot and western Montana is expected to be significant.
Financial assistance is greatly appreciated and can be sent to Historic St. Marys Mission, Inc. at P.O. Box 211, Stevensville, MT 59870. This program is not a fund-raiser and any support provided will go directly to the presentation of the Commemoration. Contact Colleen Meyer for further information at 777-5734.
Planning is well underway for a major historical, cultural and educational event, the 2016 Founders Day Commemoration, in Stevensville . At the request of the Salish Indians, on September 24, 1841, 175 years ago, missionaries from the east met with tribal chiefs at the location that became the first pioneer settlement in Montana. The Community of Stevensville, the Salish Tribe, and Historic St. Marys Mission, a very small non-profit, will present "Where Montana Began," a day-long program with multiple events, including a full-regalia reenactment of that historic meeting.
The event is of statewide importance and, as part of the Annual Montana Historical Society Conference in Hamilton, will be attended by representatives from all over the state. More than 1,000 visitors are anticipated, including many from out Montana. The short and long-term economic impact on the Bitterroot and western Montana is expected to be significant.
Financial assistance is greatly appreciated and can be sent to Historic St. Marys Mission, Inc. at P.O. Box 211, Stevensville, MT 59870. This program is not a fund-raiser and any support provided will go directly to the presentation of the Commemoration. Contact Colleen Meyer for further information at 777-5734.
After Montana tour with Tester, FCC Chairman streamlines efforts to support rural Internet providers and establish standalone broadband
Senator Jon Tester today announced the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will expand Internet access for rural Montana families and small businesses.
Just five months after Tester brought FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler to Montana, the FCC will modernize its Universal Service Fund (USF), which provides support to broadband carriers building Internet infrastructure in rural areas. USF invests approximately $100 million annually in rural broadband infrastructure across Montana.
"I applaud the FCCs decision to roll-back outdated regulations and expand internet access for Montana families and small businesses," Tester said. "This decision will save folks money, provide more certainty to Internet providers, increase consumer choices and ensure rural communities are better connected."
The FCCs order provides rural carriers certainty, and provides them an improved path to aggressively improve Internet access in speeds in Montana.
The order allows rural consumers to purchase standalone broadband services without forcing them to additionally purchase unwanted landline telephone services. Until now, the FCCs USF only supported investments to telecommunications carriers who provide telephone services and broadband to rural areas.
In January, Tester pushed http://www.tester.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=4287 FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler to streamline the USF by allowing participating telecommunications providers to offer standalone broadband services. Testers call to modernize the USF is expected to save money and increase choices for rural Montanans.
In October, Tester brought http://www.tester.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=4147 Chairman Wheeler to Montana to see firsthand the connectivity challenges facing rural Montanans. While in Montana, Wheeler met with local telecommunications providers who urged him to enhance the USF by making it available for standalone broadband services.
Disability Rights Montana (DRM) is the civil rights protection and advocacy system for Montana. We are an independent, publically funded, non-profit law firm, mandated by federal law to protect and advocate for the legal, civil, and human rights of individuals with disabilities. We have the legal authority to represent almost any person with a disability in a broad range of matters from employment discrimination to educational access, in institutions and community settings.
DRM seeks an Advocacy Specialist for our Education Work Unit to directly support and advocate for the legal rights of children with disabilities to access free appropriate K-12 public education. The education advocate maintains a caseload under the supervision of an attorney and also assists the attorney in managing and prosecuting cases through litigation before administrative, state, and federal judges.
The position involves extensive work with children and adults experiencing disabilities including traumatic brain injury, developmental disabilities and mental health issues.
The successful applicant must demonstrate excellence in the following areas: interpersonal communication skills; teamwork; diplomacy; the ability to investigate and analyze complex factual situations; the capacity to understand, interpret, and apply legal authority, including state and federal law and regulation; the ability to independently problem solve and self-educate; the ability to identify, evaluate, successfully negotiate for, and execute solutions; and the ability to produce professional, persuasive writing.
Individual must be self-motivated and have demonstrated ability to perform with minimal supervision in a professional environment. Individual must demonstrate excellent organizational, oral and written communication skills.
Individual must have the ability to efficiently utilize Windows, Windows Explorer, and Microsoft Office suite (primarily Outlook, Word, and Excel) to perform daily tasks. Knowledge of Adobe Acrobat a plus.
Minimum of a Bachelors Degree required. Masters degree preferred. Knowledge of K-12 special education and/or federal and state special education law (IDEA, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act), traumatic brain injury, mental health, and developmental disabilities services preferred. Experience working with children with disabilities and/or working with school districts a plus. Must have a valid Montana drivers license as in state travel is required. Criminal and CPS background check required.
Excellent benefits and collegial work environment. Salary DOE.
Send resume and cover letter to Kelli Kaufman, Director of Finance and Administration, Disability Rights Montana, 1022 Chestnut Street, Helena, MT 59601 or email to [email protected] by April 6, 2016.
In case you missed the fracas, Gov. Mike Pence signed a "Religious Freedom Restoration Act" on March 26 that was widely interpreted to allow businesses to discriminate against LGBTQ customers
http://www.slate.com/blogs/outward/2015/04/07/jon_stewart_kills_indiana_religious_liberty_law_on_the_daily_show_video.html
***
Montanas Tech Industry Cant Afford Discrimination
I love to brag about Montana. The current environment for the tech industry in Montana is outstanding because of Montanas strong business climate and that Montana has always been an inclusive state.
As a technology business advocate and business owner, I simply cant understand why states like North Carolina and Indiana think discriminatory laws are good for business and actually benefit their economies.
The truth is, weve only seen evidence to the contrary. So far, Indiana has already taken a $60 million dollar hit to their economy and that is just 12 months after adopting their discriminatory law. These laws from Legislatures who claim they are Republican and represent the interests of business, hurt small and large businesses alike. Businesses in North Carolina spoke out against the law and threatened to leave. Many tech companies including Google, Facebook, Apple, Twitter, AirBNB, and Paypal all spoke out against this type of discrimination. http://www.matr.net/article-70987.html while states and cities are now prohibiting their employees from traveling to the state.
The reason being, the tech industry relies on young, innovative, creative minds to continue finding new ways to expand and grow. These young minds dont want to be surrounded by discrimination. They come from people pushing the boundaries of what we can imagine and do. They come from all walks of life and every race, gender, sexual orientation and religion. This innovation comes from people on the autism spectrum and people with physical and mental disabilities, which stimulate their creativity and drive to solve problems.
Montana has never been a place of discrimination, and its one of the reasons why our tech industry is booming.
But if we want technology to continue to grow, to continue to solve the problems facing our country, we need reassurance from our elected leaders, or those who want be an elected leader, that they wont put their own social or religious agenda ahead of the importance of our economy. One of the founding precepts of this country we love so much is separation of church and state to prevent just this type of legislatively supported religious belief which includes some and excludes many others.
Weve seen that reassurance in Gov. Bullock who just recently signed an Executive Order banning workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
But Mr. Greg Gianforte is singing a very different, and terrifying tune. All weve seen from Mr. Gianforte is evidence that he actually would put his own personal radical religious agenda ahead of ensuring the business environment in Montana remains conducive for our growing tech industry.
Mr. Gianforte fought against Bozemans non-discrimination ordinance, even saying he believes discrimination is good for business. It was reported that he donated millions to anti-LGBT groups, even a known hate group. And worst of all, now he refuses to publicly denounce discrimination and the anti-LGBT laws were seeing in Indiana and North Carolina.
"Homosexual advocates try to argue that businesses are leery of locating in towns that arent friendly to homosexuals. I believe the opposite is truer," Gianforte wrote in an email to Bozeman Mayor Jeff Krauss and Bozeman city council members. http://www.matr.net/article-68451.html
The bottom line is that we dont want Montana to be Indiana or North Carolina. Montanas tech industry is doing well, and we simply cant afford the economic devastation of discrimination.
Russ Fletcher
Montana Associated Technology Roundtable
"The State with the Best Education Wins!"
Despite injuries to numerous participants and several spectators, Laurel city officials were beaming with pride Thursday after a wildly successful "Running of the Bison" event.
"It was fantastic," said Laurel Mayor Mark Mace, who came up with the idea for the dangerously alluring event, which he hopes will become an annual affair. "Sure, some people were hurt, but were a tough bunch, and everyone agreed it was great for Laurel."
Last Best News reports that the herd of 30 bison, loaned to Laurel for the day by cable news magnate Ted Turner, thundered into town down East Main Street, after being unloaded from cattle cars in the Laurel train yard.
By Ed Kemmick
Full Story: http://www.kpax.com/story/31624066/running-of-the-bison-in-laurel-considered-a-big-success-despite-injuries
***
THE SKYS THE LIMIT
Travel along with these characters as they experience the endless possibilities waiting for them in Montana and be inspired to discover Montana for yourself.
http://www.visitmt.com/campaign/montana-tv.html
Please welcome Jeremy Martin, our new Branch Manager for the Marion Davis Memorial Library. He comes to us from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Library System and has experience presenting programs from Carolina Mill History to barbeque. Were excited to have him join our team. Be sure to stop by and say hello to him!
Need tax forms?
Tax Forms are available at the library. Both the Marion and Old Fort locations have copies of the federal tax forms and booklets: 1040, 1040EZ, and 1040A. State tax forms are available online at www.dor.state.nc.us.
Childrens Story Time
Stop by Ms. Allisons storytime this week, the theme is Buzzy Bees.
On Tuesday morning, Ms. Allison does a special story time for infants and toddlers called Books for Babies at 11a.m. at the Marion Library.
On Wednesday morning, Ms. Allison has Story Time for all ages at the Old Fort Branch Library at 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. A craft time, led by Ms. Carey is offered at 11:30 a.m.
On Thursday, Ms. Allison has Story Time for all ages at the Marion Library at 4 p.m.
Paws for Reading
When: Tuesdays at 4:30 p.m.
Where: Old Fort Branch of the McDowell County Public Library
When: Thursdays at 4:30 p.m.
Where: Marion Branch of the McDowell County Public Library
Kids ages 5-10 are invited to sign up for a 15 minute reading session with one of our therapy dogs. A fun way to build literacy skills and confidence! Free and open to the public. Spaces are limited.
Childrens Craft Time
When: Friday, April 15, at 4 p.m.
Where: Marion Branch of the McDowell County Public Library
Join Ms. Allison in making some easy crafts for children of all ages. Celebrate spring with a flower and frog crafts. Free and open to the public.
Teen Craft Time
When: Tuesday, April 19, at 4 p.m.
Where: Marion Branch of the McDowell County Public Library
All teens are invited to create a beautiful multicolored tree of life using special ink paint called alcohol ink. This program is free to all teens and snacks will be provided.
Saturday Movie Matinee
Film: Bridge of Spies
Rated: PG-13
When: Saturday, April 23, at noon
Where: Marion Branch of the McDowell County Public Library
For: Everyone
During the Cold War, the Soviet Union captures U.S. pilot Francis Gary Powers after shooting down his U-2 spy plane. Sentenced to 10 years in prison, Powers' only hope is New York lawyer James Donovan (Tom Hanks), recruited by a CIA operative to negotiate his release. Free and open to the public. Have a movie request? Let us know!
Cake Decorating Workshop
When: Tuesday, April 19, 5:30 p.m.
Where: Marion Branch of the McDowell County Public Library
20 spots available
When: Thursday, April 21, 5:30 p.m.
Where: Old Fort Branch of the McDowell County Public Library
15 spots available
Join local cake decorator, Gerard Stuve of I Do Wedding Cakes, as he shares tips on how to turn a tasty cake into a sweet gift. Just in time for Mothers Day! Free and open to the public.
Old Fort Book Sale:
When: Thursday, April 21, 5-7 p.m. for Friends Members only. Friday, April 22, and Saturday, April 23 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The Old Fort Library will be collecting books up until the day of the sale. Please consider donating your gently used books, DVD's, CDs, audio books and magazines.
Its amazing which early childhood lessons stick.
My college sophomore daughter, home for a few days on break, was blaring a song from her smartphone or as close to blaring as a smartphone will blare without external help while I tried to ignore it. It wasnt terrible, certainly not a jam-an-ice-pick-in-your-ear piece of music, just an innocuous pop song that did not make me want to shake, shake, shake my booty or rock & roll all night and party every day.
Do you know who does this song? she asked.
I do not, I answered.
She told me it was so-and-so and he or she did something else with someone and it was a big hit.
I cant believe you dont know who does this, she said, the not-so-subtle implication that I was the new mayor of Squaresville, Daddy-O.
I blurted out, Well, you dont even remember who wrote Blue Suede Shoes as if that would justify my lack of knowledge about current music, which actually needs no justification.
It wasnt Elvis, she said.
You are right about that, I replied, a bit impressed because shes a pop girl at heart, never having gone through a tattooed rock-a-billy filly stage and no signs one looms on the horizon.
She thought for a few more seconds.
Carl Perkins, she said.
A childhood lesson had stuck.
Flashback 15 years: Early 2001. It was a simpler time. A fellow named George W. Bush was president. A website called Wikipedia appeared for the first time. The Federal Trade Commission approved the merger of America Online and Time Warner, according to the Wikipedia page on the year 2001 I just looked up to find out what was happening early that year.
Our preschooler bounced around the old farmhouse, chased the beagle through the meadow and devoured videocassette after videocassette of Rugrats and Barney & Friends.
One day, I decided to bring real culture into her life. I removed a childrens CD from the boombox in her room and replaced it with one labeled Original Sun Greatest Hits.
This is a song called Blue Suede Shoes, I told her. You are going to like it.
I hit play and Carl Perkins informed us it was One for the money, two for the show. As reviewer Cub Koda says on the All Music Guide website, Carl brought the electric guitar right out front with two hot solos that truly defined early rock & roll guitar playing while his vocal is another defining moment, full of yelps, bends, and the sheer joy of letting loose on a Saturday night.
Or as another young reviewer said in early 2001, Again.
And we played it again and again and over and over. Somewhere between the many ones for the money, I gave her an early childhood lesson on rock & roll.
This is Carl Perkins version of Blue Suede Shoes, I said. He wrote it and his version is better than Elvis version.
You could dispute the latter part of my statement, but you would be wrong.
All was well until I learned a few weeks later that my child was singing/shouting a portion of Blue Suede Shoes at preschool. That portion was specifically the lyrics, Drink my liquor from an old fruit jar.
With her slight speech irregularity at the time, it came out. Dwink my likka fwom an old fwuit jah.
As quickly as I could and with the help of additional Rugrats and Barney videocassettes, I phased out Blue Suede Shoes and made no more mention of Carl Perkins, fearing a child welfare investigation that never materialized.
But the early childhood lesson on rock & roll obviously stuck. She knew who wrote Blue Suede Shoes and Im a proud dad.
If that question ever comes up in a job interview, she has her old man to thank.
Scott Hollifield is editor/GM of The McDowell News in Marion, N.C. and a humor columnist. Contact him at rhollifield@mcdowellnews.com.
Chicken will be the best-positioned protein due to its low price position in times of pressure on consumer spending power but rises in production costs and the long-term impact of COVID-19 threaten to disrupt the sector, according to Rabobank.
Stem cells have the capacity to be used to reconstruct and repair native tissues, but to apply them so that they survive and live on in their new home can be quite challenging. Now researchers at the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science have developed a biopen that can deposit stem cells wherever needed. The technology was developed to allow surgeons to repair damaged cartilage within the intra-articular confines of joints.
The stem cells are first encapsulated within a hydrogel ink that is pushed through the pen. A light within the pen is used to adhere the material together as it is dispensed out. The surgeon simply pushes a button on the pen and the stem cell/hydrogel material is released and deposited onto whatever the pen touches.
Amazingly, in laboratory studies the researchers achieved a greater than 97% survival of the cells deposited using the biopen.
Some details from the study abstract in journal Biofabrication:
A gelatinmethacrylamide/hyaluronic acidmethacrylate (GelMa/HAMa) hydrogel was printed and UV crosslinked during the deposition process to generate surgically sculpted 3D structures. Custom titanium nozzles were fabricated to allow printing of multiple ink formulations in a collinear (side-by-side) geometry. Independently applied extrusion pressure for both chambers allows for geometric control of the printed structure and for the creation of compositional gradients. In vitro experiments demonstrated that human adipose stem cells maintain high viability (>97%) one week after biopen printing in GelMa/HAMa hydrogels.
Study in Biofabrication: Development of the Biopen: a handheld device for surgical printing of adipose stem cells at a chondral wound site
More from Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science
by Thom Forbes , Featured Columnist @tforbes, March 31, 2016
My colleague Aaron Baar, citing no less an authority than Google, is right to assert in Search Insider that the marketers who will best succeed are those who pay attention to delivering what their customers want, rather than trying to bait them with empty buzzwords.
That said, we all know theres gold in key words, whether its in targeting new consumers or understanding existing ones. The trick is to identify the words social media users are themselves employing, and then to dig below for additional insight.
Within hours of SeaWorlds announcing it would stop breeding orcas and training them to perform tricks, for example, Amobee Brand Intelligence told us the brand got a big PR boost, if Twitter responses are an accurate measure of public sentiment.
Specifically, of the roughly five-million tweets around either SeaWorld or #Seaworld from March 16, 2015 to March 16, 2016, sentiment ran 12% positive, 66% neutral, and 22% negative. On the day SeaWorld announced its new policies, there were 109,971 tweets posted by 4 p.m. Eastern, with 16% positive, 76% neutral and 8% negative. Since then, Amobee has determined, the percentage of negative sentiment rose slightly -- to 12% through March 28. This increase is likely around frustration that SeaWorld will keep the existing orcas on display and won't be releasing them to sea sanctuaries, Amobee suggests.
Amobee also had some advice for what SeaWorld might do proactively to attract visitors. Over the last year, 24% of all digital content engagement mentioning SeaWorld was aboutitsrides, with 8% specifically mentioning roller coasters.
In a similar vein, Treato has been monitoring social media and online forums to determine such factors as the side effects that patients talk about when they use certain medications. The Internet is a completely new data set that never existed before, that provides the human perspective on health care," CEO Ido Hadari told me in an interview in November.
StoryBase, a tool developed in Copenhagen for writers of all stripes that just began a beta test in the U.S., mines the same vein by using big data toshow you what questions are being asked online and who is asking them. The premise is that by knowing what your audience is asking on a given topic, youll be able to write stories, posts or content marketing thats relevant to their interests.
For example, when I typed in the phrase social media, I was informed there were 717 questions asked 162,800 times in the U.S. over the last 12 months incorporating the phrase from sources such as Facebook, Twitter, Google, Bing, Yahoo and Wikipedia.
The most popular query What is social media? was immediately followed by What is social media marketing? Other first-page results include What is a social media specialist? and How to start a social media marketing business. Many of the hundreds of questions were variations on those themes, in fact, reaffirming the human instinct for trying to figure out how to capitalize on a good thing.
The curious skew 64% female with the greatest concentration in the 36-49 demo, according to another feature on the site. CEO Torbjrn Flensteds ays StoryBase is developing ways to give paying users (nine queries a month are free) deeper insights into what their audience might look like. Its also working on offering real-time data so that journalists might better cover breaking stories.
Both the Danish National Museum and its Parliament are among those who have used StoryBase to design campaigns, Flensted says, but its too early to cite any content-marketing case histories from the U.S. I can say we are opening an ambassador program that we hope will allow us to work alongside select American members to help them improve their content and brand, he writes.
When it comes to marketing, I would argue that the new paradigm is, data is king, Treatos Hadari told me. Content is okay, but it needs to be based on data.
That may be true. But as Adobe itself so humorously reminds us, everything in moderation which, by the way, popped up in 96 phrases searched 21.1K times in USA in the last 12 months, StoryBase tells me. Any ideas what to make of that?
by Erik Sass , Staff Writer @eriksass1, March 31, 2016
While marijuana is legal for recreational use in four states and the District of Columbia, and medicinal use in 19 others, marijuana advertising is another story.
Businesses can grow and sell cannabis, but cant send commercial flyers or take out newspaper advertising because marijuana remains illegal under federal law. Under the current regulatory regime, anyone sending ads through the mail is liable to prosecution and the U.S. Postal Service is required to report them to the Department of Justice.
That may change.
California District 2 Representative Jared Huffman and seven other congressmen are asking the DOJ to publicly state it wont prosecute businesses for sending pot ads through the mail, as long as theyre complying with state law.
The letter to U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch requests clarification of the DOJs plans for handling cases of marijuana advertising referred by the USPS, hopefully with an explicit statement that that DOJ will not prosecute individuals who are placing advertisements for marijuana products in accordance with state law.
In their letter, the lawmakers note that in 2013 the DOJ stated that it would not give priority to prosecuting businesses or individuals engaged in the sale of marijuana where it is legal under state law. Congress also passed a law forbidding the DOJ from devoting any resources to going after pot businesses in states where it is legal for medicinal purposes.
In December, the USPS announced a sweeping ban on marijuana advertising in all 50 states, declaring any publication containing ads for pot to be non-mailable everywhere in the country. The nationwide ban extends a regional ban previously announced by the USPS northwestern district headquartered in Portland, Ore.
However, under law, employees of the USPS (an independent public corporation chartered at the behest of Congress) cant determine whether a particular item is non-mailable and remove it from the mail. Instead, they must send a warning to the entity who tried to mail it, whether a person or company, and then inform law enforcement about the item.
At the time the office of Oregon Senator Ron Wyden responded to the USPS statement: We are working as a delegation to quickly find the best option to address this agencys intransigence. We want federal authorities to respect decisions made by law-abiding Oregonians and small business owners in the state.
"Unfortunately, the outdated federal approach to marijuana as described in the response from the Postal Service undermines and threatens news publications that choose to accept advertising from legal marijuana businesses in Oregon and other states where voters also have freely decided to legalize marijuana.
by Barbara Lippert , Featured Columnist, March 31, 2016
Last week, Id just seen the news that Ivanka Trump had given birth to her third child, a baby boy named Theodore James Kushner, on Easter day. Ivanka released a photo, looking like her very attractive, not overly made-up or coiffed self, in bed in a hospital gown, holding a swaddled, adorable newborn.
But the news item did strike me as slightly odd almost seeming like an ad, or perhaps a statement that she was part of a new American Royal family.
In the meantime, I made a snarky joke in a Facebook post that, in the midst of this political race, I found it odd that she would name the kid Ted. And then I called him Cryin Ted.
Ha ha? Not so much.
The post soon filled with vicious comments, mostly about how much Ivankas father wants to date her. In fairness, he started it! Many years ago on The View, while promoting a new season of The Apprentice, the Donald famously said, If Ivanka werent my daughter, and I werent happily married, perhaps Id date her.
It caused a lot of outrage, but its not as if he ever walked the statement back. Candidate Trump repeated the exact same line as recently as this fall, in the same Rolling Stone interview in which he got in trouble for calling Carly Fiorina unattractive. (Whod ever vote for that?")
Perhaps he thinks that calling a woman someone hed like to date is the highest honor he can convey.
His go-to line is still Nobody has more respect for women than Donald Trump!
The contradictions add up. But I maintain that inside hes still that 14-year-old smartmouth, just about to be shipped off to military school. And he hasnt reprogrammed that part of his brain that allows him to rate, and attack, women.
But he has worked out a way to make it work for him on the campaign trail. If he treats female journalists badly, getting truculent the way he did with Megyn Kelly, its because they are the elite, professional women who do not appeal to his base. His base supports fidelity to ex-cop family men like Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, a theme being sustained brilliantly in the hullabaloo around the Michelle Fields lawsuit. In the Trump camp, Fields is just another single dame who was too P.C. and pushy, while Lewandowski has a beautiful wife and children, upholding a form of Trump family values.
A day later, in an interview on MSNBC with Chris Matthews, Trump said hed punish women who get abortions. He later retracted that. But as a pattern of behavior, conscious or not, it becomes clear that being punitive to women who stand up to him has been part of the undercurrent of his campaign.
But back to my FB post. This campaign season has been insane and dispiriting for everyone, making words like civility seems awfully quaint. But the anti-Trumpsters, with whom I would normally side, were getting really foul, going over the incest line, in their comments.
It hit me that if I really considered myself a feminist/humanist, I had to take the post down, and extend a certain amount of this civility to Ivanka. She seems smart, hardworking and uber-capable, and it's not her fault (though it is her misfortune) that her father speaks publicly about her in sexual terms.
Still, given all that, I had a hard time understanding how she stands approvingly by her fathers side as he behaves like Trump. At the very tamest, hes used the pregnancy card as a crowd-pleaser and vote-generator at rallies on two occasions. In South Carolina and Iowa, he rubbed Ivankas belly and wished that shed have the baby right there, in a local hospital. The crowds went wild. Who doesnt love a very pregnant woman?
Imagine if Hillary ever did that? Shed get thrown off the face of the earth as a hillbilly, enmeshing her daughter in a creepy family-pandering plan. (Chelsea is due some time this summer.)
Still, theres no question that Ivanka deserves civility and here, I find myself agreeing with Ted Cruz that wives and children should be off-limits.
But is it a different case when adult children are part and parcel of the campaign as opposed to, say, Patti Davis and Ron Reagan, who openly disagreed with their dads politics?
Trump often gets complimented on his three eldest kids (whose mother is first wife Ivana) Don, Ivanka, and Eric, who not only accompany him on the trail but also work for the Trump Organization.
Even son Don admitted that his father favors Ivanka, and that she is the big dog in running the business. As such, she is also called on to defend her dad from charges of sexism. Well, I think a lot of the sensationalism around this was orchestrated largely by the media, she has said, adding that her father is not gender-specific in his criticism of people.
Obviously, Ivanka knows how to stay on-brand. Shes not thinking of her pops politics, shes got her eye on global domination, and maintaining the business.
And shes always been amazingly consistent in that way. Back in 2007, when she was 25, in defending all the superlatives her dad was known to use even then, she told the writer Lisa DePaulo in a GQ interview, But we do believe everythings the Best and the Greatest and the Tallest and the Biggest.
He has to believe every building hes doing is the best building hes ever done, she said. Thats important to us. Like, thats our vision as a company And thats how we look at, you know, all the stuff we do.
Even then, she made it clear that she is self-aware. Ive known since I was born what I wanted to do," she told GQ. I cant remember ever wanting to do anything else. Ever. Not even as a little kid. I feel like somehow Im genetically programmed.
Just as the Donald was raised trailing his father Fred on weekends to the family building sites sometimes even collecting rents he did the same with his kids.
Interestingly, Ivanka married Jared Kushner, who had a very similar upbringing in his own family's real estate business. He had to take over the reins of the Kushner organization when he was just out of law school, because his father, Charles, was sentenced to prison for tax evasion and witness tampering. (The prosecutor on the case? Chris Christie.) His father was in the clink for 17 months and now they work in side-by-side offices in the glass tower they own thats up the street from his father-in-laws gilded home.
So the kids Ivanka and Jared are raising will have double the loyal, stand-by-your-real-estate-man DNA.
Perhaps Donalds responses on nukes and abortion are as disordered, chaotic, scary, and inconsistent as they are because governing was never his main intention in his presidential bid. It was all about growing the brand/going to the next level.
Ivanka has shown shell do anything to keep that brand intact. But perhaps, just as with the casinos, her dad has miscalculated. His art-of-the-deal tricks dont translate to governing. And at this point, maybe hes breaking down, beginning to go off-brand.
Whatever happens, Im pretty certain Ivanka is prepared to pick up the pieces and start rebuilding. Whether shes treated civilly or not, its just business.
by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, April 1, 2016
"Well, it looks like we pranked ourselves this year," wrote Victor-bogdan Anchidin, Google software engineer, in a blog update.
Google turned off one of its April Fools' Day jokes after it caused havoc online after multiple people claimed the loss of jobs and friends.
"Due to a bug, the Mic Drop feature inadvertently caused more headaches than laughs," Anchidin wrote. "Were truly sorry. The feature has been turned off. If you are still seeing it, please reload your Gmail page."
Media outlets continued to cite writer "Allan Pashby," a member on the Gmail help form since March 31, 2016, for igniting the storm after posting a note about losing his job as a result of the prank. A quick search on the Internet tells you little or nothing about Pashby.
Gmail Mic Drop isn't Google's only prank. Nat and Lo had some breaking news from Google's Quantum AI Lab, which found a ball of yarn floating around the universe that led to a parallel universe of cats.
The pranks delievered from the armed forces to brands showed a range of creativity and made light of critical issues in the United States. The U.S. Army tweeted on Twitter that scientists successfully created a machine to "teleport" soldiers.
Esurance will not provide election insurance in the event that you move to Canada after the 2016 elections. Even Donald Trump used Jimmy Kimmel's late night talk show and April Fools' Day to poke fun at the conspiracy theory that his candidacy was an "elaborate con."
Brands also just wanted to have fun and really stepped up their game this year. iRobot and Zumba will not partner to create Roomba that plays music while it vacuums.
And no, CanvasPop didn't create a dating match service called PlusOne based on the photos you upload to social sites and share with friends. And a photographer didn't capture these crazy creatures posted to DesignCrowd in the Australian outback.
Nor did Bloomingdale's launch something called 40 Carrots Fragrances, a line of fragrances created to smell exactly like your favorite 40 Carrots frozen yogurt flavors. The announcement was to invite 40 Carrots fans to the restaurant for a free topping by mentioning the April Fools fragrances.
by Joe Mandese @mp_joemandese, April 1, 2016
Media industry ratings watchdog the Media Rating Council has released proposed guidelines for defining a viewable ad impression on a mobile device. The new guidelines, which are available for public review and comment here, essentially apply the same standards the MRC has been recommending for determining a viewable impression in desktop browsing environments, with one exception: newsfeeds.
The MRC withheld making a formal recommendation on how ads appearing on newsfeeds on mobile devices should be treated, because it said it needs to analyze user cognition further. But for the moment, it said it has not concluded that they should be treated any differently than ads being rendered in other ways on mobile devices.
The other significant development in the new guidelines is that the MRC removed a preliminary recommendation that ads rendered in mobile applications need to be fully loaded before they can be considered viewable. The MRC said it removed that criteria because the way the industry and consumers interact with mobile content has changed so much since the preliminary guidelines were issued that the criteria is no longer relevant.
Going forward, the new guidelines basically utilize the same criteria for a desktop viewable impression -- that at least 50% of the ad has to be viewable to the user for at least one second for a static ad and for at least two seconds for a video ad -- in order to be counted. The MRC said the criteria apply equally to ads being rendered in both mobile Web and in-app environments, indicating that the user experience, not the means of serving or loading an ad, should be the key determinant.
MRC CEO and Executive Director George Ivie said the preliminary guidance was issued at a time when the industry wasnt even sure if and how viewable impressions could be measured in in-app environments, but that since then, several vendors have come up with solutions, including at least one that has been accredited -- Moat -- with several others pending, including Google, Integral Ad Science and comScore.
Ivie said resolving in-app viewability was crucial, because the vast majority of mobile ad experiences are being rendered via applications and not via mobile Web. He explained that further research is necessary before issuing guidelines for the viewability of ads appearing in newsfeeds in mobile environments, because user behavior and interaction is so different than in other content experiences.
The cognition may be different, he explained, adding that in newsfeeds, youre paging up and down and scrolling very quickly. Were still working with a number of people -- buy- and sell-side -- in our working group to solve that.
Ivie reinforced that these are industry guidelines and that they are subject to change as technology, content and ad formats, and the way users experience media change.
I dont think this is ever going to be stable, he predicted, adding that the industry will need to reassess viewability over time as the way people experience things changes.
The MRC is taking public comments on the new proposed guidelines for 30 days, after which it will release new official ones.
The new promotional feature, Shadow Misson: Covert Ops Unseen World, takes readers inside the U.S. governments intelligence missions and covert operations around the world, showing how technology and techniques have advanced over the years since 9/11.
Interactive, immersive content includes video of former covert operatives as well as a look back at some of the most damaging scandals in the history of U.S. intelligence.
One of the first pieces of content is a lengthy article detailing the upheaval in the American intelligence community following 9/11, while another examines the cost of security operations since 9/11. Display ads for the show, including video, appear in column between the pieces of content.
In addition to producing the content, WP BrandStudio will use its proprietary technology to optimize and promote the campaign. That includes WaPos Clavis personalization system, which identifies audience segments among WaPo readers based on their interests.
BrandStudio also draws on a number of variety of proprietary ad formats. One, InContext, matches native ads with relevant editorial content in the form of highlighted quotes, which link to branded content from WaPos BrandStudio platform.
Back in December, WaPos tech innovation lab, called RED, unveiled a new native advertising format, PostPulse, that incorporates editorial content from the newspaper, allowing advertisers to recommend relevant content elsewhere on the WaPo Web site, based on the context of the article the reader is currently viewing. PostPulse also uses Clavis.
WaPo also introduced a new proprietary video advertising technology, FlexPlay, that allows faster delivery of interactive ads across devices.
by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, April 1, 2016
AdGooroo analyzed the impact of Google eliminating text ads in the right rail on desktop search results, with a focus on retail keyword, and on travel industry keywords, analysis of the two tell similar stories. The data shows a reduction in the number of advertisers competing for specific keywords and a slight increase in cost per click (CPC) on average.
Since Google eliminated text ads down the right rail of the search engine query results page, AdGooroo has seen fewer advertisers overall, but wouldn't definitively call it a trend thus far. The number of advertisers varies greatly depending on the specific keyword examined. Typically keywords with a higher number of advertisers bidding on them experience the most dramatic change.
Analyzing the changes, AdGooroo compared data from Feb 1 through 18 -- prior to the change -- and then from Feb, 19 through 28, after the change, for the retail and travel groups.
Looking across 2,500 retail keywords for the retail group, CPCs rose 1.8% on average, while the number of advertisers competing fell by 42% since Google implemented the change.
AdGooroo found that changes in cost varied greatly among those 20 retail keywords. For instance, the term "samsung galaxy s6" experienced a 108% increase in cost per click, rising from an average of $1.59 from Feb. 1 through 18, to an average of $3.31 from Feb. 19 through March 8.
The CPC more than doubled for six other keywords, including "laptop" at 36%, "mattress" at 32%, and "furniture stores" at more than 15%, while seven other keyword CPCs rose by single digits.
In the travel sector, the number of advertisers on the keyword group dropped by an average of 15.4%, from an average of 38 advertisers per keyword before the change to an average of 32 following the change. Overall the data shows a boost in click-through rates by an average of 10% across all 20 travel keywords examined. The average cost-per-click rose -- but only by 5.21%, or three cents, rising from average of $2.65 to $2.68.
Travel has become a focus for Google as it draws nearer to the summer months. In March, Google introduced a mobile feature called Destinations meant to help travelers figure out where and when to go, and what sights to take in. It also will help find less expensive fights and hotels.
The feature at launch curated itineraries for 201 cities. Barcelona, for example, has itineraries from people who have been there, including a three-day trip that includes the Gothic Quarter and buildings featuring Catalan architects.
For those who have not made up their mind about where to go, a price estimator for flights and hotels during the next six months can help determine the destination. The "Explore" tab allows people to search for specific weather patterns to gauge temperature year round.
by Erik Sass @eriksass1, April 1, 2016
This Old House is going private in a transaction funded by private equity investor TZP Growth Partners, spinning production company This Old House Ventures from longtime owner Time Inc. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Leading the transition is Eric Thorkilsen, an investor and media veteran who helped build the brand as a Time Inc. executive in the 1990s, including the launch of the eponymous magazine. It was an early example of the TV print spinoffs that would become popular in later years.
Thorkilsen, who also helped build the Martha Stewart brand, will serve as CEO of the independent company.
Susan Wyland, previously a managing editor at Real Simple, will replace Scott Omelianuk as editor in chief; Omelianuk is leaving the business after 12 years in the top editorial spot.
This Old House magazine has fared better than many of its print peers in recent years, thanks to a relatively stable subscription base. The magazines paid circulation remained basically stable at around 956,000 from 2011-2015, according to figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulations and its successor, the Alliance for Audited Media.
The deal is part of an interesting old/new trend in which media industry veterans return to brands that they help launch years before, or even launching niche publishing empires themselves.
Earlier this year, Jack Kliger, the former CEO of Hachette Filipacchi from 1999 to 2008 and a top exec at Conde Nast before that, relaunched a small publication he bought in 2014, British Heritage.
Also, Playboy is exploring options that include a possible buyout bringing back founder Hugh Hefner and previous management execs.
In a bid to ensure safety of the nations blood supply, regulators in the US have given the go-ahead for an investigational test to screen blood donations for Zika virus.
Share on Pinterest The experimental blood test detects Zika virus RNA in plasma samples from individual human donors.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) say in a statement released on Wednesday that:
The screening test may be used under an investigational new drug application (IND) for screening donated blood in areas with active mosquito-borne transmission of Zika virus.
IND status does not mean that the FDA have cleared or approved the Zika test. It means the federal regulator has authorized its use under a specific protocol by US blood screening laboratories.
As the test is still experimental, all testing laboratories have to be enrolled and contracted into the clinical trial and agree to the terms set out by the FDA Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER).
Dr. Peter Marks, director of the CBER, says having such a test is important to protect the nations blood supply, especially for US territories like Puerto Rico that are already experiencing active transmission of Zika.
The announcement follows guidance issued by the FDA in February recommending that blood centers situated in areas where Zika transmission is active source their blood and blood products from areas where Zika is not active.
That guidance meant Puerto Rico had to suspend its local collection of blood from donors, and instead, obtain it from shipments of blood collected in mainland US that the Department of Health and Human Services started sending to the island in early March.
Breakthrough may lead to new treatments for chronic infection.
Scientists at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have discovered that antibiotics can continue to be effective if bacteria's cell-to-cell communication and ability to latch on to each other are disrupted.
This research breakthrough is a major step forward in tackling the growing concern of antibiotic resistance, opening up new treatment options for doctors to help patients fight against chronic and persistent bacterial infections.
The study, led by Assistant Professor Yang Liang from the Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences (SCELSE) at NTU, found that a community of bacteria, known as biofilm, can put up a strong line of defence to resist antibiotics. The NTU team has successfully demonstrated how biofilms can be disrupted to let antibiotics continue their good work.
The research was published recently in Nature Communications, a prestigious academic journal by the Nature Publishing Group.
"Many types of bacteria that used to be easily killed by antibiotics have started to develop antibiotic resistance or tolerance, either through acquiring the antibiotic resistant genes or by forming biofilms," said Asst Prof Yang, who also teaches at NTU's School of Biological Sciences.
"The US Center for Disease Control estimates that over 60 per cent of all bacterial infections are related to biofilms. Our study has shown that by disrupting the cell-to-cell communication between bacteria and their ability to latch on to each other, we can compromise the biofilms, leaving the bacteria vulnerable and easily killed by antibiotics."
Bacterial resistance to antibiotics is rapidly growing world-wide and this puts at risk the ability to treat common infections in the community and hospitals.
The World Health Organisation states on its factsheet on Antimicrobial resistance that "without urgent, coordinated action, the world is heading towards a post-antibiotic era, in which common infections and minor injuries, which have been treatable for decades, can once again kill".
Associate Professor Kevin Pethe, an expert in antibiotic development and infectious diseases from NTU's Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, said that this discovery may yield new treatment options that doctors can employ against chronic and persistent bacterial infections.
"Being able to disable biofilms and its protective benefits for the bacteria is a big step towards tackling the growing concern of antibiotic resistance," said Assoc Prof Pethe.
"While the scientific community is developing new types of antibiotics and antimicrobial treatments, this discovery may help to buy time by improving the effectiveness of older drugs."
How the discovery was made
Asst Prof Yang's team discovered the mechanisms of how bacteria are able to tolerate antibiotics by using a common bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
The bacteria were allowed to form a wall of biofilm in a microfluidic system. An antibiotic was then introduced. A large portion of the bacterial cells were killed by the antibiotic, leaving only a small fraction of antibiotic-tolerant cells. However, these cells were able to reproduce rapidly and dominate the community.
The scientists then used an FDA-approved drug that disrupts cell-to-cell communication (known as quorum sensing) and 'velcro'-like cells that can move and "stick" to each other. This drug was added to the antibiotic and together they managed to kill all the bacterial cells.
The same tests were then performed on mice with infected implants. It was found that only mice treated with a combination of anti-biofilm compound and antibiotics had their infections completely eradicated.
Interdisciplinary research
This discovery breakthrough was made possible through an interdisciplinary approach, where experts from three different fields - microbiology ecology, systems biology and chemical biology - came together to tackle the problem.
The NTU research team included proteomics expert Assoc Prof Newman Sze Siu Kwan from NTU's School of Biological Sciences. Proteomics was the key method used to discover chemical signals that bacterial cells in the biofilm use to communicate with each other.
Another researcher in the team is Professor Michael Givskov, a world-leading scientist in the area of biofilm research and bacterial cell-to-cell communication at SCELSE. Together, the team found that traditional methods of isolating the bacteria from the biofilm for observation did not work, as the bacteria behave differently after being isolated from the biofilm.
This study, supported by the Ministry of Education Academic Research Fund, took Asst Prof Yang and his team four years to complete. Moving forward, they will seek more ways to improve efficiency of antibiotics for persistent infections.
"What we hope to do is to develop new compounds that are able to better target biofilms. This will help existing drugs perform better at overcoming biofilm infections, which is commonly seen in cases of patients with artificial implants and chronic wounds, as they have very limited effective treatment options that are effective," said Asst Prof Yang.
Rock music is being used to maximise the efficiency of cancer drug delivery.
Vibrations caused by rock music have been found to increase a drug's therapeutic window by creating a Teflon-like coating over the micro particles used in drug delivery.
Researchers from the University of South Australia used AC/DC's Thunderstruck to cause porous silicon micro particles to bounce in the air, which allowed for the entire structure to be coated with a plasma polymer overlay.
Senior research author Professor Nico Voelcker said completely coating a micro particle was difficult but essential in ensuring the optimal amount of a drug was delivered to the cancer cell.
"The micro particles are porous, basically they are like a sponge. You fill them up with a drug, but of course you want to prevent the drug from escaping, and that is why we create the coating," he said
"Normally we would ignite a plasma onto the surface. The problem with doing that is you only form the coating on one side of the particle, the side that is exposed. But the side of the particle on the surface, the other side, is not going to get coated."
"That is where we came up with the idea of using a loud speaker that we would play into the system. We would turn that loudspeaker to a song that it would vibrate and the particles would bounce up and down. The chaotic frequencies worked well and gave you a more homogenous coating."
Researchers filled the micro particles with a chemotherapy drug called camptothecin and found that when it was coated using the rock vibrations there was a markedly slower release of the cytotoxic drug.
This effect correlated positively with the plasma polymer coating times, ranging from two-fold up to more than 100-fold, revealing a significant time delay in cell death onset.
Professor Voelcker said although the technique had so far only been used on anti-cancer drugs were, it could potentially be used for other treatments.
"This is something that has not been done before, particularly not with plasma coatings," he said.
"We only tried this with a chemotherapy drug that we use for the treatment of cancer because you can visualise it so easily. We might end up using different types of drugs; we might use drugs that are anti-inflammatory or antibiotic. It was just one model application for us."
"We have done some work with cells and now we will move on to the next stage of research."
Professor Voelcker said the use of the Australian rock band's song Thunderstruck was intentional because he felt it was a perfect fit for the study because of its upbeat tempo and title.
"Plasma is the fourth stage of matter, it is an ionised gas," Prof Voelcker said.
"We used a cold plasma, but an example of a hot plasma would be the rays of thunder. We ended up using Thunderstruck because we liked how it linked thunder and plasma gas."
The proof of concept paper was co-authored by Dr Steven McInnes and Thomas Michl from the University of South Australia's Future Industries Institute.
The article titled "Thunderstruck": Plasma-Polymer-Coated Porous Silicon Microparticles As a Controlled Drug Delivery System was published in the American Chemistry Society.
Quality Education: Special instructors may be required for people with autism.
Right to Jobs and Economic Independence: Self-reliance will boost confidence and aid in better acceptance within society.
Removal of Stigma: The stigma associated with autism should be removed to create a uniform platform for growth.
Autism is a Spectrum Disease
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Effects of Autism
Communication
Cognition
Intuition
Imagination
Socialization
Interaction with people
More than 10 million children affected in India
Between 1 to 1.5 percent autistic children are between the ages 2 to 9 in India
The prevalence of autism in India is 1 in 66
Causes of Autism
Genetic Factors: Autism generally runs in the family with brothers or sisters affected. Though the cause of autism has been linked to genes, the exact gene responsible for autism hasn't yet been identified.
Autism generally runs in the family with brothers or sisters affected. Though the cause of autism has been linked to genes, the exact gene responsible for autism hasn't yet been identified. Environmental Triggers: Apart from genetic factors, people with inherited faulty genes when exposed to certain environmental triggers could develop autism. The environmental triggers include premature birth, exposure to alcohol or medication like sodium valproate during pregnancy.
Health Conditions Associated with Autism
Infantile Spasms -These are seizures that occur during the first year of a child's life
Down Syndrome - This condition is caused due to an additional copy of chromosome 21 and is associated with characteristic physical features and learning disability
Fragile X Syndrome
Neurofibromatosis (tumors on the nerve tissue)
Muscular Dystrophy
Rett Syndrome
Congenital Rubella Syndrome
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Visual Impairment
Signs of Autism
Does not gaze out
Prefers playing or being alone
The child could be difficult to soothe
Does not look for comforting or being picked up by an adult
No non-verbal communication
The child shows delayed language learning
Is unable to communicate basic needs and desires
Does not like being comforted, even when hurt
The tone or language used may be unusual
May fail to greet people
Does not allow others to take turns while playing
Does not gaze
Fears something
Shows difficulty in being toilet trained
May show extreme emotion towards inanimate objects
May follow a detailed procedure for certain tasks
Does not show any attachment with people
May say strange things
May never initiate conversations
Happy staying alone
Highly uncomfortable in a social gathering
Highly negative towards physical expression of love
Turn the Lights Blue
https://www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism/world-autism-awareness-day http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Autistic-spectrum-disorder/Pages/Causes.aspx http://www.autism-india.org/choosing-intervention.php http://unsdn.org/tag/world-autism-awareness-day/
People with autism should be assured of the following in order to lead a stigma-free life.Autism is called a spectrum disease as the symptoms associated with this disease can range from being mild developmental delays to complex personality traits. A person with autism does not develop skills age appropriately. For example, a child may be 4 years of age, but may show language ability of a 2-year-old, and fine motor skills of a 6-year-old.Every individual with autism is different with different intellectual abilities. Many of them exhibit highly advanced intellectual abilities, which would deem the whole society at a loss if they are discriminated against.The neurological condition leads to varying effects, which need to be understood to effectively support and include the individual in the society.Autism affects the child's ability in the areas ofAutistic children may seem perfectly happy playing alone with their toys, but may turn extremely agitated amongst company, wrecking furniture or moving away into isolation. They show an inbuilt inhibition towards communication and hate social interactions.The International Clinical Epidemiology Network Trust found these following statistics associated with India:Brain scans of children with autism have shown a change in the structure of the brain when compared with controls.Autism is difficult to detect early on in life, but these signs are generally used to recognize developmental delays.These symptoms are usually seen in autistic children, but these symptoms alone cannot be treated as sole signs of autism, as some characteristics may be exhibited by children at the right developmental stage.This World Autism Awareness Day 2016, people all over the world are requested to turn their lights blue to bring awareness to this developmental disorder. When people realize that children with autism react in a specific way as a result of symptoms of the condition, they will be more patient and empathetic towards the children. Managing autism is about sharpening skill areas that the child has a natural inclination towards.In India, there has been concerted efforts to bring greater awareness towards this condition with a movie like 'Taare Zameen Par' highlighting the plight of these children but bringing to the fore their competitive intellectual ability.Source: Medindia
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For blacks, they found that the homicide victimization rate declined by 13.4 homicides per 100,000 blacks, from 33.9 black victims per 100,000 blacks in 1990 to 20.5 in 2010 (a 40% decrease). The decline for Hispanics over this period was 5.8 fewer homicide victims per 100,000 Hispanics, from 12.4 homicide victims per 100,000 Hispanics in 1990 to 6.6 in 2010 (a 47% decrease). As a result of these changes, from 1990-2010, the black-white homicide victimization rate gap decreased by 40%, the Hispanic-white gap by 55%, and the black-Hispanic gap by 35%.Titled, 'Explaining the Gaps in White, Black, and Hispanic Violence Since 1990: Accounting for Immigration, Incarceration, and Inequality', the researchers combined data from a variety of sources to create a single sample featuring information on 131 of the largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. from 1990-2010. The information ranged from demographics to death records."Despite substantial contemporary public and media attention to issues of race, crime, and justice, we knew very little about the trends in criminal violence for whites, blacks, and Hispanics in recent decades," Light said. "This was largely due to data limitations, as ethnic identifiers are not readily available in many official crime statistics. Our study is the first to show the trends in homicide victimization rates for these three groups from 1990 through 2010 in the U.S., as well as the first to show the racial and ethnic gaps in these rates."So why have the homicide victimization rates for whites, blacks, and Hispanics converged? A major factor contributing to these trends are decreases in structural disadvantage - which includes elements such as poverty and unemployment - and segregation."Prior research has linked structural disadvantage and segregation to changes in homicide victimization rates, and our study confirms that," Light said. "Going beyond previous research, we provide a novel investigation into the consequences of three of the most significant social trends over the past two decades or so - mass incarceration, rapid immigration, and growing wealth inequality."In terms of incarceration, Light said he and Ulmer discovered that increasing racial/ethnic disparities in incarceration rates were associated with significant reductions in black-white and black-Hispanic homicide victimization rate gaps."However, we caution against drawing the conclusion that more imprisonment would produce more benefits because the findings need to be considered in the broader context of the effects of mass incarceration," Light said. "Given the mounting evidence of the collateral consequences of the prison boom for exacerbating racial inequality in labor market participation, health, single parent families, childhood well-being, and other outcomes, it is highly unlikely the reductions in homicide victimization rates have outweighed the devastating impact of mass incarceration on minority communities, especially the black community."Regarding immigration, the researchers found that larger and increasing immigrant population differences were associated with declining black-white homicide victimization rate gaps. "More specifically, as the black foreign-born population increased relative to the white foreign-born population, the homicide victimization rate gap between blacks and whites decreased," Light said. "This finding is consistent with a lot of other research linking recent immigration to reductions in criminal violence. It is also worth noting that increasing differences in foreign-born populations were not associated with changes in the Hispanic-white and Hispanic-black homicide victimization rate gaps."With respect to wealth inequality, Light said the study results indicated that while racial/ethnic disparities in affluence have expanded dramatically in recent decades, wealth inequality had either no effect on, or actually was negatively associated with homicide victimization rate gaps."Overall, our findings suggest that policies should focus on improving community conditions in minority areas through various means such as economic investment and housing equality, as well as spending on education, drug treatment, and work training programs," Light said. "Indeed, we found that two of the strongest predictors of the gaps in homicide victimization rates between whites and blacks, and Hispanics and blacks were measures of structural disadvantage and racial segregation. Thus, unlike mass incarceration, focusing on community investment would go a long way towards reducing racial/ethnic differences in criminal violence without worsening racial/ethnic inequality in other domains."Source: Eurekalert
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"The problem is particularly severe in rural regions of the United States, where, paradoxically, there may be fewer health care providers but a higher prevalence of opioid users, especially among vulnerable and high-risk groups such as pregnant women and teens," said Jane N. Bolin, professor at the School of Public Health and director of the Texas A&M Southwest Rural Health Research Center, which has made the rural opioid epidemic one of its most important research priorities.Taken as prescribed, opioids can be used to manage pain safely and effectively by reducing the intensity of pain signals reaching the brain. Still, people on high daily doses of opioid pain relievers - even those legitimately prescribed - are at a higher risk of overdose. "In the last couple of years, four studies have found that as the dose of opioids is increased, the risk of overdose also increases," Ferdinand said. "It is important to note that these studies were based on actual prescriptions and legitimate therapeutic use of these drugs." Even a single large dose can cause severe respiratory depression and death."I want to stress that we must be thoughtful and deliberate when developing policies and interventions to address prescription drug overdose," Ferdinand added. "Our goal is to reduce opioid abuse and overdose while ensuring patients with pain are safely and effectively treated." She presented these issues at the National Rural Health Conference last month, as she and other rural health stakeholders discussed how to inform policy to combat the epidemic.Pharmacists find themselves on the front lines of the crisis, asked to serve almost as drug cops while still providing for their patients who are in pain.Ferdinand notes that addiction is separate from abuse, although the two go together. Drug abuse is a pattern of use in amounts or with methods that harm the user or others. Addiction is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use despite serious adverse consequences. Although those with drug addiction are among the most likely to suffer an overdose, they are not the only ones."Studies have shown a number of groups at high risk for overdose, and understanding these groups will help us develop effective interventions." Ferdinand said. The groups include those with mental illness or a history of substance abuse, as well as Medicaid populations, low-income communities and those living in rural areas. "Opioid abuse is especially problematic in rural areas," Ferdinand said, "due to general diminished access to health care and substance abuse treatment relative to more urban areas." New Mexico and West Virginia-the states with the highest rates of overdose in 2008-had rates nearly five times that of Nebraska, the state with the lowest rate.Studies have also found that people on Medicaid are more likely to be prescribed opioid pain relievers and at higher doses and for longer periods of time compared with privately insured people. One Washington state study found that 45% of people who died from prescription painkiller overdoses were Medicaid enrollees."People who abuse multiple substances are at risk because they often combine drugs that can lower consciousness and decrease breathing," Ferdinand said. "Drugs commonly taken together include opioid pain relievers, benzodiazepines, muscle relaxants and alcohol. This is certainly a deadly combination."So-called 'pill mills' are a common source of prescription opioids, despite efforts of the United States Department of Justice. They tend to have several common characteristics. Most of the time pill mill physicians have action against their license in another state and often are the subject of complaints from pharmacists. They generally have a lot of traffic, with 'patients' congregating in the parking lot and then being in and out of doctor's office in minutes. "Generally, these are cash-only businesses," Ferdinand said. "And they're a huge money maker."The CDC has recently issued new guidelines for primary care providers about prescribing opioids. Essentially, they are recommending that physicians consider options other than opioids for treating chronic pain and suggesting that when opioids are used, the lowest possible dose should be prescribed and the patients closely monitored.Prescription drug monitoring programs are state-run electronic databases used to track prescribing and dispensing controlled prescription drugs to patients. Such programs can help identify people who are 'doctor shopping', or obtaining large quantities of controlled substances from multiple doctors or pharmacies - a practice that puts people at higher risk of overdose. The CDC recommends that these programs link electronic health records systems so that information is better integrated into health care providers' day-to-day practices.Oddly, it seems that even when armed with information about prior abuse, physicians may still prescribe the drugs: 91% of people who overdosed on opioids were still prescribed opioid-painkillers later, and 70% of those got the prescriptions from the same physician who treated them for the overdose, according to one study.Still, even if authorities are able to reduce the number of prescribed opioids, those who are addicted will simply find something else to fill that need, whether it is illegal heroin or illicit prescriptions from a nearby, more-lax state.Naloxone (also known by its brand name, Narcan) is a prescription drug that can reverse opioid overdose, but it is often not available when needed because it is by prescription only and prescribers generally don't write prescriptions for patients they have not personally examined. "Many overdose deaths could be prevented if states had fewer legal barriers to the use of Naloxone," Ferdinand said. "If prescribers acting in good faith may prescribe naloxone to persons who may be able to use it to reverse overdoses and bystanders weren't faced with possible legal action for administering the drug, so many lives could be saved."The World Health Organization agrees, saying, "Naloxone administered by bystanders is a potentially life-saving emergency interim response to opioid overdose." Because naloxone comes in a nasal spray version, it is relatively easy for someone without medical training to administer it.In some cities and towns, emergency medical personnel do carry naloxone, but since some addicts specifically seek out these places, knowing they will be less likely to die from an overdose, local governments might not want to endorse this practice - or at least not make it known if they do."Overdose bystanders may fail to summon medical assistance for fear of legal consequences," Ferdinand said, "so it is important to have laws in place to protect people who are calling for help." Recognizing this, 46 states and the District of Columbia have enacted statutes that expand access to naloxone or provide protections against legal action for bystanders when seeking help for an opioid overdose. In other words, even if they themselves possess a controlled substance, the 'Good Samaritan' who called for emergency assistance would not be prosecuted for breaking drug laws.Opioid addiction treatment is notoriously difficult, but the most effective approach is combining medication and counseling. Three different drugs have been approved to treat opioid addiction. Two of them, buprenorphine and methadone, are opioid-based medications, so they themselves can be abused.To try to prevent abuse of the medications that are supposed to be helping patients recover, strict regulations are in place for both of these medications. Methadone can only be provided in dedicated clinics, and far more patients need these services than the clinics have spots available."According to many doctors, the need for more providers to have access to buprenorphine and methadone is critical," Bolin said. "However, the regulations for becoming approved to provide this kind of treatment scare many doctors away."Buprenorphine-which has a somewhat lower overdose risk than methadone - can be taken at home, but only when prescribed by qualified doctors who have taken an eight-hour course and applied for a special license. Those physicians who have held the special license for at least a year may prescribe buprenorphine to as many as 100 patients at a time, up from 30, which increases access to treatment. Still, even if all those who are permitted to prescribe buprenorphine did so to the maximum number of patients permitted by law (and most of them self-cap far lower than that), one million patients who could benefit from buprenorphine treatment would still be unable to obtain it.To reduce the backlog, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sylvia Burwell announced that HHS will try to increase the number of doctors who prescribe the drug and will consider allowing each licensed physician to treat more patients at once.Approval for a matchstick-sized implant called Probuphine that would release buprenorphine in a steady dose over six months was postponed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). An advisory committee recommended FDA approval in January 2016, citing the benefits of reducing the burden of a medication regimen. Those against it say it could also put people at greater risk by removing the patient-doctor connection.Naltrexone, the third addiction treatment drug, works differently than methadone and buprenorphine. It prevents the euphoric and sedative effects of the abused drug if the person should relapse.Those who are addicted to opioids aren't the only ones to suffer. Their family and friends are often hurt by their actions; their children are affected more directly, as the drugs can pass from mother to unborn baby.Babies born addicted to opioids have a good chance at a full recovery, but often due to lack of appropriate oversight, they later die in their homes from accidental drowning or suffocation. In November 2015, President Barack Obama signed bipartisan legislation, called the Protecting Our Infants Act, that attempts to avert these tragedies by providing better care for both mothers and newborns.The United States Senate recently passed the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, which includes a number of provisions to address the opioid epidemic, including making naloxone more widely available and expanding addiction treatment for people in jail. However, it doesn't provide any funding to pay for these initiatives, so critics-including President Obama-worry that nothing will happen.Bolin pointed out the need for more education in this area, saying, "We would like to work with physicians, nurses and pharmacists in areas where there is a need for supporting health care providers who want to help opioid addicted patients or help teach vulnerable and teen patients that it is important to avoid these substances for their own health and the health of their babies."Source: Newswise
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As Mr. Andersen's case illustrates, the upper age limit for lung transplantation has been increasing steadily. The maximum age, originally 60, increased to 65 in the 1990s and has gone up further since then, said Daniel Dilling, MD, Mr. Andersen's pulmonologist and Loyola''s medical director of lung transplantation.During the first half of 2015, 27.5 percent of lung transplant patients in North America were older than 65, according to the most recent data from the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation.Age, by itself, is no longer considered an absolute contraindication to lung transplantation, according to the latest guidelines from the transplantation society. Although patients older than 75 are unlikely to be candidates for lung transplantation, "there cannot be endorsement of an upper age limit," the guidelines said.Dr. Dilling said that when he evaluates a patient for a transplant, he considers the patient's age, along with the patient's overall health. Dr. Dilling said that Mr. Andersen's physiological age was much younger than his chronological age. Apart from his lung disease, he was in excellent health."Mr. Andersen had no other major medical concerns," Dr. Dilling said. "He was very strong and robust, and looked a lot younger than 74."Mr. Andersen said he had always enjoyed excellent health, and apart from an occasional cold, almost never got sick. But in 2012, Mr. Andersen was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis, a progressive lung disease that causes lung tissue to become thick, stiff and scarred. As the disease progresses, it becomes increasingly difficult to breathe.By the spring of 2015, Mr. Andersen had to go on supplemental oxygen 24 hours a day. Even using high doses of oxygen, he couldn't walk up more than a couple steps without stopping to catch his breath. "I was winded all the time," he said.Mr. Andersen had only weeks to live when, a few weeks before his 75th birthday, he received a life-saving, right lung transplant on Sept. 15, 2015. The operation was performed by Mamdouh Bakhos, MD. Dr. Bakhos is chair of Loyola's Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery and one of the nation's top lung transplant surgeons.Mr. Andersen praised Dr. Bakhos, Dr. Dilling and Loyola's entire lung transplant team. "The doctors and staff at Loyola have given me back my life," he said. "The care I received and the encouragement I was given were the highest level. I can''t say enough about them."Loyola has performed more than 800 lung transplants, by far the most of any center in Illinois. Last year, Loyola performed more lung transplants than the three other Illinois lung transplant programs combined. In May, 2014, Loyola became the only center in Illinois to perform five successful lung transplants in just over 24 hours.Source:Newswise
Introduction
On February 29, the Pakistani government executed Malik Mumtaz Qadri, an elite commando who assassinated Salman Taseer, the liberal governor of Pakistan's Punjab province, for advocating reforms in Pakistan's blasphemy laws. As soon as the report of Mumtaz Qadri's execution emerged, protests were organized by Islamic clerics across Pakistan, especially in the cities of Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Nawabshah, Quetta, Peshawar, Muzaffarabad and others.[1] Mumtaz Qadri was a member of the Elite Force of Punjab police when he was deployed to protect Governor Salman Taseer but instead assassinated him on January 4, 2011.
Large crowds turned out for the funeral of Mumtaz Qadri
Pakistan's Blasphemy Laws
In 2011, when a Pakistani court sentenced Mumtaz Qadri to death for the assassination, large-scale protests broke out across Pakistan, led by Sunni Islamic organizations.[2] On the issue of blasphemy, the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) - a group of Barelvi Sunni organizations that emerged in the last decade with some funding from the United States, as revealed by WikiLeaks[3] - holds views similar to jihadis, Deobandis, the Taliban, Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (ISIS). After Mumtaz Qadri was sentenced to death, the SIC declared: "The judge who awarded [death] penalty to Mumtaz Qadri committed Kufr [act of an infidel]."[4]
Under the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), there are several blasphemy laws: "Section 295-C: Use of derogatory remarks regarding the Holy Prophet of Islam" carries the death penalty and has been a subject of controversy in recent decades. Other blasphemy laws include: Section 298-C, which prohibits Ahmadi Muslims from calling themselves "Muslims" or preaching their faith; Section 295: Harming or defiling a place of worship with intent to insult a religion; Section 295-A: Deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage the religious feelings of any section of society by insulting its religion or religious beliefs; Section 295-B: Defiling the Holy Koran; Section 296: Disturbing religious assembly; Section 297: Trespassing on burial places; Section 298: Uttering words with deliberate intent to wound religious feelings; Section 298-A: Use of derogatory remarks regarding holy personages; Section 298-B: Misuse of epithets, descriptions and titles reserved for certain holy personages or places; Section 298-C: Person of Ahmadi group calling himself a Muslim or preaching or propagating his faith.[5]
The definitions of blasphemy outlined in the above sections of the Pakistan Penal Code are agreed on by almost all sects of Islam. On March 9, 2016, Pakistani writer Aamir Mughal noted in an Urdu-language tweet that Islamic clerics of all sects participated in the funeral prayers for Mumtaz Qadri, stating: "Those [clerics from different Islamic sects] who call each other kafir and wajib-ul-qatl [liable to be killed for religious reasons] offered joint funeral prayers for Mumtaz Qadri..."[6] Mumtaz Qadri, a member of the Barelvi group Dawat-e-Islami, assassinated Salman Taseer because he thought the governor blasphemed the Prophet Muhammad by advocating reforms in the blasphemy laws. The blasphemy issue is not limited to Muhammad, but also all critical acts against the Koran or against Islamic caliphs and other historical personalities can be deemed blasphemous, as discussed in various sections of the PPC.
The Consensus On Blasphemy
On the issue of blasphemy, there are no real differences of opinion between various sects of Islam - whether between Barelvi and Deobandi sects of Sunni Islam, or between Shi'ites and Sunnis - though for reasons of expediency, some of them may differ on a certain case. Much like Mumtaz Qadri, the Shi'ite clerics in Pakistan have also opposed any likely reforms in Pakistan's blasphemy laws. On December 16, 2010, a group of Shi'ite scholars told their followers in Karachi that the Pakistani government cannot amend the blasphemy laws. A media report quoted Shi'ite cleric Maulana Shahanshah Hussain as telling the crowd: "Muslims in Pakistan will not accept any amendments to the blasphemy law."[7]
Between Sunni jihadist organizations like Al-Qaeda, the Taliban and the Islamic State (ISIS) on the one hand, and the Shi'ite clerics across the world on the other, there is unanimity on the issue of blasphemy. To illustrate this point, much like Mumtaz Qadri, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini thought that British-Indian author Salman Rushdie committed blasphemy by writing The Satanic Verses and therefore he issued the infamous 1989 fatwa calling to kill him. In February 2016, it emerged that forty Iranian state-run media companies pulled together to raise a bounty of $600,000 to enforce the 1989 fatwa for the killing of Salman Rushdie.[8] Indeed, it was Imam Khomeini who started the global jihad in modern times.
In July 2015 I wrote: "While the jihadist groups were focused previously on a specific territory, the idea of an 'Islamic Internationale' seems to have originated in the following: the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran led by Ayatollah Khomeini, the rise of Al-Qaeda and now of the Islamic State, which is practically a new version of Al-Qaeda itself."[9] On June 25, 2015, Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) released a special issue of its magazine Resurgence, based exclusively on a lengthy interview with Adam Yahiye Gadahn, Al-Qaeda's American-born spokesman. In the posthumously published interview, Gadahn said: "Al-Qaeda from its inception has always been an 'Islamic Internationale.'"[10] There cannot be any doubt that Imam Khomeini's fatwa against Salman Rushdie strengthened the blasphemy movement in Islam across the world.
On January 7, 2015, jihadi brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi murdered staffers of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo following their theological conclusion that the editors had committed an act of blasphemy against the Prophet Muhammad. In the southern Indian city of Hyderabad, Islamic cleric Maulana Naseeruddin led a funeral prayer in absentia for the two brothers on January 13, 2015.[11] I examined the responses from among young Indian Muslims on Facebook towards the two jihadi brothers in January 2015, concluding: "The ideas that drove the jihadists to kill the cartoonists and editors of Charlie Hebdo are very much alive in the streets of towns across India. A review of Facebook comments made by Muslim youths on the Paris shooting reveals that the geography of this radicalization in India is indeed wide, fertile and raw."[12]
Avenging Blasphemy
Whether it is the Khomeini fatwa against Salman Rushdie, the jihadi attack on Charlie Hebdo, or Mumtaz Malik's assassination of Punjab governor Salman Taseer, the Shi'ite clerics, as well as the Deobandi and Barelvi clerics of Sunni Islam, are united on the blasphemy issue. In a retort to a Muslim politician in India's Uttar Pradesh state last November, Hindu leader Kamlesh Tiwari described the Prophet Muhammad as "the world's first homosexual."[13] Consequently, anti-blasphemy protests were organized by Barelvi and Deobandi clerics across India. In the northern town of Bijnor, a cleric issued a death threat to Kamlesh Tiwari, saying: "Muslims of Bijnor have announced that 5.1 million rupees will be given for his beheading. The Muslims of Bijnor will give 5.1 million rupees to anyone who will behead him."[14]
There is a broad ideological movement in Islam for the support of blasphemy laws, which require Muslims to take the law into their own hands to kill a person who is accused of blaspheming the Prophet Muhammad. After the Charlie Hebdo attacks, leading Urdu-language Pakistani daily Roznama Ummat published a 43-part series titled "Martyrs of the Prophet's Honor." A review of the series I had conducted revealed that the streets of Lahore in the 1920s and 1930s look liked the streets of Paris today - for similar reasons. The review revealed that those who avenged blasphemy included lone wolves such as Qazi Abdur Rasheed in December 1926 and Ghazi Ilmuddin in April 1929; Ghazi Murid Hussain, a lone wolf jihadi from the Sufi school of Islam; Ghazi Miyan Muhammad, a soldier who killed his soldier-colleague long before Fort Hood shooter Major Nidal Hasan did the same; and Babu Merajuddin, a soldier who stabbed a Sikh officer, among others.[15]
The Taliban and Al-Qaeda's position on this important theological principle, which is that anyone blaspheming the Prophet Muhammad must be killed, is no different. In March 2012, Ustad Ahmad Farooq, a top Pakistani Al-Qaeda official, defended the theological understanding that a person committing blasphemy must be killed by citing a case involving the Prophet Muhammad himself. After the Victory on Mecca, the Prophet had reportedly issued a general amnesty. However, Farooq said: "On the Day of Victory of Mecca, when all people were granted amnesty, the Prophet was informed that there were about 10 people, including women, who had committed blasphemy against him. He ordered that even if they are found hanging by the curtains of the Kaaba (the Holy Mosque of Mecca), they deserve no respect, and their blood should be spilled; and indeed it was spilled."[16]
It is therefore not surprising that a large number of Pakistanis turned took to the streets to protest the execution of Mumtaz Qadri on February 29. On March 1, the day after his hanging, large masses of people offered funeral prayers for Mumtaz Qadri, declaring him a martyr, though there was near-total blackout of the funeral by Pakistani television channels. To confront the menace of jihadist terrorism in Pakistan's social mainstream, television channels have in recent years stopped providing a pulpit to jihadist forces. Despite the media blackout, social networks such as Twitter and foreign news media carried reports indicating that Pakistanis turned out in large numbers in support of Mumtaz Qadri and attended his funeral, as the following images reveal.
Images Showing Large-Scale Support For Mumtaz Qadri
Hundreds of thousands of supporters of Mumtaz Qadri turned out for his funeral in Rawalpindi (Roznama Ummat, March 2, 2016)
In Peshawar, Jamaat-e-Islami leaders led by Sirajul Haq protest against Mumtaz Qadri's execution. The poster reads: "[We] strongly condemn the hanging of Mumtaz Qadri - Jamaat-e-Islami Peshawar."
Large crowds offer funeral prayers for Mumtaz Qadri in Rawalpindi
The March 2 Roznama Ummat news story on Mumtaz Qadri's last rites featured the following headline on its front page: "The Traveler to Heaven Has Entered Heaven"
Journalist Omar R. Quraishi tweeted on March 1: "Speakers at Mumtaz Qadri's funeral in Liaquat Bagh Rawalpindi telling the crowd: 'You are his heirs'" (Twitter.com/omar_quraishi, March 1, 2016)
Image published by Roznama Ummat on March 2. The Urdu text reads: "The angels carried me into the Prophet's company"
* Tufail Ahmad is Director of South Asia Studies Project at the Middle East Media Research Institute, Washington DC. He is the author of "Jihadist Threat To India - The Case For Islamic Reformation By An Indian Muslim."
Endnotes
Russia is boycotting the Fourth Nuclear Security Summit, March 31-April 1, 2016 in Washington D.C. The summit is discussing steps to minimize the use of highly enriched uranium, secure vulnerable materials, counter nuclear smuggling, and deter, detect, and disrupt nuclear terror attacks.[1] While Russia participated in the three previous summits - in 2010 in Washington, 2012 in Seoul, and 2014 in The Hague - Russian President Vladimir Putin decided not to participate in an event hosted by the U.S., and the country is being represented at the summit by Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Sergei Kislyak.
On March 23-24, 2016, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry visited Moscow and met with President Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.[2] The meetings were described in Russian media as "relaxed" and "friendly," but relations between Russia and the U.S. are tense. On March 31, in the Russian Foreign Ministry's weekly press briefing,[3] ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that the deterioration of Russia-U.S. relations is the result of a "deliberate choice" made by the U.S. administration: "The cooling of bilateral relations - not even cooling, but their deterioration to the current level - was not a Russian choice. As we understand, it was a deliberate choice, made by the current U.S. leadership."
Russian Officials: "The Summit Is An Attempt By A Small Number Of States To Impose Their Agenda On Higher International Structures"
In January 2016, Zakharova said that Russia would not participate in the summit, because the "central role" in coordinating nuclear security efforts should be held by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA): "Obviously, these recommendations [coming out of the summit], whatever formal status they may have, will become an attempt to attach the opinion of a limited group of states to the international organizations [the IAEA, the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism, the UN, Interpol, and the Global Partnership] and [will prompt] initiatives to circumvent [these organizations'] own mechanisms of making political decisions." She added that the Kremlin believes that "the creation of such a precedent of outside meddling in the work plan of international organizations that have great expert potential and are embedded in democratic procedures is unacceptable."
Mikhail Ulyanov, director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's Department for Non-Proliferation and Arms Control, also stressed that the summit in Washington can be perceived as "an attempt by a small number of states to impose their agenda on higher international structures."[4] He said: "The American organizers of the summit themselves pushed us to a negative decision when they drastically changed the rules of the preparatory work without consulting anybody. They decided to create five working groups, offering each of the invited states to choose one of them... Only the U.S., South Korea, and the Netherlands, as the host-states of previous such meetings, had the opportunity to track and influence the preparatory work in all of the working groups." He also explained that the preparatory groups were working on the issue of nuclear security outside the framework of international organizations such as the UN, the IAEA, Interpol and others: "For those who were not invited to Washington [e.g. Iran] for some reason, this can be perceived as an attempt of a small group of countries to impose their agenda on international structures with a far wider membership... [This is] not very democratic and does not correspond to the norms of international practice."
The U.S. criticized the Kremlin's decision to boycott the event. White House Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said that Russia is isolating itself by not participating in the summit:[5] "Frankly, all they are doing is isolating themselves in not participating as they have in the past." However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov explained that Russia refused to take part in the summit "because of the lack of cooperation by partners,"[6] adding: "Moscow considers working on issues connected to nuclear security [to be something that] demands common and joint efforts, a mutual taking into account [of] interests and positions. We faced a certain lack of cooperation during the preliminary stage of working on issues and topics of the summit. That's why in this case there is no participation of the Russian side."
Russian Nuclear Weapons Deployed In Crimea
The pro-Kremlin media outlet Pravda.ru reported[7] on statements by Vladimir Kozin, chief adviser at the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies, professor at the Russian Academy of Military Sciences, and member of the Scientific Board at the National Institute for Global Security Research. Kozin said that Russia's boycott of the summit was based on three reasons: "First, the agenda [of the summit] itself raises doubts: Questions of nuclear security will not be discussed there in full. Second, Russia was not included in the preparation of the final documents which are to be adopted at the meeting. Third, the U.S. keeps evading discussion of really urgent issues, which relate to nuclear security. The Americans are the only nation in the world that deploys tactical nuclear weapons abroad, in the territories of four European countries and in the Asian part of Turkey, and advance it as close as possible to Russia [referring to the U.S. strategic B-52 bombers that participated in NATO's March 1-9, 2016 "Cold Response" drill in Norway, which were perceived by the Kremlin as a nuclear drill against Russia]."
Kozin also argued that Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's participation in the summit was aimed at questioning the deployment of Russian nuclear weapons in the Crimea. Poroshenko and "his Western colleagues," he said, should instead "scrutinize the fact that the U.S. anti-missile launchers, which are to be put into operation in Poland and Romania in the nearest future, may be equipped with offensive nuclear weapons, including cruise missiles." He added that given that the Crimea is considered by the Kremlin to be part of Russia, and that it is Russia's sovereign right to deploy nuclear weapons "within its borders."
Andrei Baklitsky, director of the Russia and Nuclear Nonproliferation Program at the Moscow-based PIR Center, said that one of the reasons for Putin's absence at the summit is the fact that the event is hosted by the U.S., which did not invite a number of Russian allies to it: "For example, as you know, Iran is not a member and was not participating in any security summit, despite the fact that it has nuclear material that clearly needs protection and security. With this arbitrary approach, there is always this feeling that maybe [the summit] should be hosted someplace where everybody could participate and engage."
The following are some of this week's reports from the MEMRI Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM) Project, which translates and analyzes content from sources monitored around the clock, among them the most important jihadi websites and blogs. (To view these reports in full, you must be a paying member of the JTTM; for membership information, send an email to [email protected] with "Membership" in the subject line.)
Note to media and government: For a full copy of these reports, send an email with the title of the report in the subject line to [email protected]. Please include your name, title, and organization in your email.
EXCLUSIVE: Article In AQAP Weekly Newspaper Predicts Clinton - Trump Presidential Race, Says Upcoming Years Crucial For U.S. Future
On March 26, 2016, Al-Masra, a weekly newspaper affiliated with Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), published an article predicting that the coming U.S. presidential nominees will be Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. The article, which appears in the 8th issue of the newspaper, also predicted that the coming years will be crucial for the future of the U.S. and its Arab allies in the region.
EXCLUSIVE: AQAP Official Comments On U.S. Bombing Of AQAP Training Camp: 'The War On The Grand Enemy, The Serpent's Head -America - Still Continues'
On March 31, 2016, Al-Malahem - the official media wing of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) - published a 7 minute audio recording of group official Sa'd bin 'Atef Al-Awlaki.
EXCLUSIVE: AQIS Video Reveals Details Of Its Fighters Killed In Recent Years
Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) has released a new video paying tribute to some of its fighters who were killed in recent years. Following are the details provided:
1. Name: Ustad Raja Muhammad Salman
Jihadi name: Ustad Farooq
Birth place: Islamabad
Died in South Waziristan in a U.S. drone strike in 2015.
EXCLUSIVE: ISIS Newspaper Says Brussels Attacks Exposed Fragility of European Security Systems, Encourages Jihadis To Carry Out More
On March 29, 2016, Al-Naba, a weekly newspaper of the Islamic State (ISIS), published an article praising the perpetrators of the Brussels attacks, which it claimed had exposed the vulnerability of the security systems in Europe. The article also encouraged jihadis living in the West to carry out more attacks by simply picking targets and striking them. It appeared on page 14 of the 16-page downloadable PDF version of the 24th issue of the newspaper, which was posted on ISIS-affiliated leading jihadi forum Shumoukh Al-Islam.
EXCLUSIVE: WARNING-GRAPHIC: On Instagram, British ISIS Fighter Hints At Attack On Gatwick Airport, References Sleeper Cell; Beheads Victim In Video
Following the March 22, 2016 Brussels attacks, which targeted the Zaventem Airport and the Maalbeck metro station, a British fighter uploaded a video of himself and a friend to Instagram, showing the two reveling in the carnage and making threats for further attacks at specific targets in London. Shortly after the video was uploaded, the fighter changed his Instagram name to James_petterorvsik12, and recently added a threat to his account byline singling out London's Gatwick Airport. In an exchange with another Instagram user, he also explains his name change, and references a sleeper cell in Europe that is waiting for orders.
EXCLUSIVE: American Female ISIS Member Offers Justification For Paris, Brussels Attacks
On March 27, 2016, an American female ISIS member, posted, on her Telegram channel, a link to a Justepaste.it document she had created justifying both the Paris and Brussels attacks. In the note, she quotes Islamic jurisprudents to buttress her justifications, and argues that non-Muslims in the West are legitimate targets, regardless of their noncombative roles against Islam and Muslims.
EXCLUSIVE: Palestinian Woman With Ties To ISIS Promotes Radical Ideology On Facebook
The following is a profile of a Palestinian woman who is a very active supporter of the Islamic State on Facebook. The woman, appears to live in the Jerusalem area, and apparently frequently obliges her Facebook friends who ask her to hold a paper with their name written on it in front of the Dome of the Rock. She is part of a large pro-ISIS Facebook clique, and she disseminates ISIS materials such as articles published in the organization's English-language magazine Dabiq. She also operates a pro-ISIS Telegram channel, on which she disseminates propaganda. She appears to have direct ties to ISIS members residing in the Islamic State, and often expresses her desire for the Islamic State conquer Israel.
EXCLUSIVE: ISIS Publishes Posters Urging Attacks in Germany: 'What Your Brothers Did In Belgium, You Can Do Too'
On March 31, 2016, a member on the pro-ISIS forum Shumoukh Al-Islam (shamikh1.biz), Abu Humam Al-Najdi, posted a series of posters under the title "Message to the German Crusaders." The posters, produced by Al-Furat Media, ISIS's official media company releasing materials in German, urge terror attacks in Germany.
ISIS In Al-Kheir Province Celebrate Brussels Attacks, Fighter Threatens To 'Turn White House Into Black'
On March 25, 2016, the media office of the Islamic State of Al-Kheir province released a video featuring the group's fighters and locals condemning Belgium's role in the allied forces fighting against ISIS, distributing candies and cookies in celebration of the Brussels attacks, and promising more attacks, including a threat to "turn the White House into black."
JTTM subscribers click here to view this clip on MEMRI TV
Video By ISIS In Libya Celebrates Brussels Attacks, Threatens: 'We Have Soldiers Everywhere'
On March 26, 2016 ISIS's "Tripoli Province" in Libya released a video, 6:30 minutes long, in response to the Brussels terror attack. The video was released on the jihadi forum Shumoukh Al-Islam and distributed via social media.
ISIS Video Celebrates Brussels Attacks, Features Belgian Fighters Threatening More Attacks
On March 25, 2016, the Ninawa province of the Islamic State (ISIS) released a video celebrating the March 22, 2016 Brussels attacks. The video features two Belgian fighters stating that the attacks came as revenge for the West's killing of Muslims; they also promise more attacks unless the West stops attacking Muslims.
In Video By ISIS's Al-Raqqa Province, Belgian ISIS Fighter Calls Brussels Attacks A Just Response To Belgium's Attacks On Muslims, Islam
On March 26, 2016, the Al-Raqqa province of the Islamic State (ISIS) released a video featuring Belgian jihadi Abu Hanifa Al-Baljiki, aka Hicham Chaib, commenting on the March 22 Brussels attacks. He calls the attacks a natural reaction to Belgium's attacks on Muslims and Islam, and warns that ISIS will continue targeting its enemies on their own soil if the war against it continues.
ISIS Al-Furat Video Following Brussels Terror Attacks: We Can Strike Wherever, Whenever And Whoever We Want
On March 28, 2016, The Islamic State's Al-Furat province in Iraq released a video titled "An Eye for an Eye," part of a series of ISIS videos on the Brussels terror attacks.
The video, some 3:30 minutes long, features an unidentified Islamic State (ISIS) fighter wearing a suicide vest who delivers a message to the West, in French. In addition, the video shows news footage of the Brussels attacks and of Western reactions to them, including sound bites from reactions by the Belgian king and prime minister. Also shown is an image of French ISIS fighter Abu Tasnim, who, according to ISIS, carried a suicide attack in Iraq in 2015, though no actual proof of his death has come to light. The video ends with a segment from a speech by ISIS spokesman Muhammad Al-'Adnani in which he explains that ISIS did not initiate the war and that its attacks are retaliation for the West's aggression towards it (a message that ISIS has been reiterating regarding its attacks in Europe). The soundtrack of the video is the ISIS song in French glorifying martyrdom for the same of Allah.
ISIS In Tripoli Praises Its Shari'a Judicial System, Features English-Speaking Fighters From Nigeria, Somalia
On March 30, 2016, the media office of the Islamic State (ISIS) in Tripoli, Libya released a video extolling its judicial system for successfully settling long-held disputes and for implementing shari'a punishments against murderers, thieves, sorcerers, adulterers, and apostates. The video, which was released on the ISIS-affiliated leading jihadi forum Shumoukh Al-Islam, also featured two ISIS fighters from Nigeria and Somalia who, speaking English, attributed the security enjoyed by the city's residents to the implementation of shari'a law, adding that they want to live under this law and also to raise their children to conquer Rome.
U.S.-Born Media Activist Bilal Abdul Kareem Shares Video News Report On Syrian Civilians In Idlib Reacting To Brussels Attacks
On March 27, 2016, U.S.-born media activist Bilal Abdul Kareem shared, via his Facebook and Twitter accounts, an installment in the series of video news reports called "On The Ground News" in which his reporter colleague Shady Shami interviewed Syrian civilians in Idlib about the March 22 Islamic State (ISIS) attacks in Brussels. The interviewees' responses were nearly identical: All expressed sympathy for the innocent civilians, and condemned the attacks as un-Islamic. Bilal 'Abdul Kareem, from New York, converted to Islam at the age of 27 and went to Egypt to study. He is pro-Al-Qaeda, and, accordingly, supports the Al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria Jabhat Al-Nusra (JN) as well as Jaysh Al-Fath ,of which JN is a part, and is critical of ISIS. He has previously posted his interviews with JAF and shared via Facebook and Twitter contain previous interviews he conducted in Syria with JAF and JN fighters and clerics.
ISIS Sinai Video Documents Group's Military Training Camp, Raid On Egyptian Military Checkpoint
The Sinai province of the Islamic State (ISIS) today released a video documenting the military training in one of the group's camps in the peninsula. It shows ISIS fighters undergoing various physical and military training drills, including training for attacking vehicles, carrying out targeted assassinations, and storming buildings.
Online Syrian Opposition Paper Presents Details On ISIS Affiliates In Southern Syria And The Organization's Attempts To Expand There
An extensive report in the online Syrian paper Zamanalwasl.net, by 'Ali Eid, reviews ISIS's attempts to expand in Hauran, a region in southwest Syria. The report, titled "ISIS in Hauran - Reversals, Leaderships and the Failure of the Intimidation and Terrorization Plan," discusses two jihad organizations, Liwa Shuhada Al-Yarmouk and Harakat Al-Muthanna Al-Islamiyya, which it claims are operating under ISIS sponsorship in southern Syria, primarily in the Al-Quneitra, Dara and the Wadi Al-Yarmouk areas. The article also mentions that, according to recent reports, another group acting in the region, Jaysh Al-Jihad, led by Abu Mus'ab Al-Fanusi, has also sworn loyalty to the Islamic State. The incorporation of Jaysh Al-Jihad effectively expands ISIS' influence to additional south Syrian regions, up to Al-Suwayda and Al-Laja.
ISIS Gives Residents In Its Territories 20 Reasons To Destroy Their Satellite Dishes, Threatens To Punish Those Who Do Not
On March 28, 2016, Al-Himma Library, an ISIS publishing house, released a leaflet listing 20 reasons why residents in territories under the group's control should destroy their satellite dishes. In the downloadable version of the leaflet, which was published on Al-Himma's Telegram channel and shared by pro-ISIS accounts on Facebook and Twitter, the group warned that those who do not comply would be punished by the religious police.
Jahbat Al-Nusra Release Video Eulogizing Prominent British Fighter
On March 25, 2016 Al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate Jabhat Al-Nusra (JN) released a video titled, "The Life of Abu Baseer Al-Hindi," a tribute to one of its British members who died in the latter part of 2015. Links to the video hosted on YouTube were circulated on various pro-JN accounts on Twitter and on Telegram.
TIP Releases 10th Installment Of Photo Album Documenting Its Activities In Syria
Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP), the Uighur jihad organization, has released its 10th photo album documenting some of its activities in Syria, including military training of its fighters, participation in battles, and aspects of normal daily life among its men. The digital photo album, released by the group's media wing Sawt Al-Islam, also shows children of various ages receiving military training and bearing various weapons.
TIP Releases Part 13 In Its 'Call From The Frontlines Of Jihad' Video Series
On March 30, 2016, the Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP) released part 13 in its "Call From The Frontlines Of Jihad" video series, which features messages by TIP fighters stationed on various battlefronts in Syria.
I have recently been enamoured by this new form of tattoo art, called the Blackout Tattoo. Honestly, you do a simple Google search and youll have a bunch of articles and images to feed your curiosity.
Hanumantra Lamar
But, what are these tattoos and why have they become such a huge trend recently? To put it plainly, a blackout tattoo should, and is, relevant to every inked individual out there. Ill tell you why. But first, a little background about blackout tattoos would do good for your general knowledge.
Hanumantra Lamar
The blackout tattoo was initially devised as a clever and literal form of a cover-up, in case you got someones name inked who was no longer part of your life and youre dying to omit them from every cell in your body (pun intended). Only, it was a cover-up that looked way too good. Hence, it began to catch on as a form of art, in itself. Yes, there is always the option of laser removal, too, if a cover-up is all youre looking for. The only problem is, for most people, its just too painful and expensive.
Instagram
Vikas Malani of Body Canvas adds that such tattoos make for a great way to mask any skin deformity that would otherwise, be too prominent. Its a great way to cover up any marks or pigmentation on the body to avoid the questions that isnt something everyone likeseasy, safe and comparatively economical. But it should not look like a blank patch; rather more like a creative job.
Chester Lee
Dr Ajay Kashyap, renowned plastic and cosmetic surgeon at MedSpa, on the other hand, opines that these could be rather unnecessary in this regard and should be avoided. Blackout tattoos when used solely as a purpose to artfully camouflage a certain area could cause one to overlook various other skin problems that you would otherwise be forced to notice, he explains.
Hanumantra Lamar
Moving on to the part where blackout tattoos are the current rage in body ink; some of the work done by renowned Singaporean tattoo artist Chester Lee is creating waves on social media. Most of his recent works are what we now know as the blackout tattoo trend, with men and women, alike embracing and flaunting it openly. If done right, its one of the most beautifully offbeat kind of tattoo you could ever get yourself. The customer who wants a blackout tattoo is rare. They could be a free thinker, a liberal soul; someone who is a cult in his, or her own self, Vikas says, while adding that out of 1000 customers, he will get only 1 of whom would opt for something like this in India.
Hanumantra Lamar
Internationally, theres a different story unfolding. Mickey Malani, co-owner and partner, Body Canvaswho is based in UKgives us a clearer picture on blackout tattoos and the trend thats building around it. In India, Ill still give this trend another 2 to 4 years before it actually catches on. Abroad, of course, its already a thriving form of body art, he informs. He goes on to talk about how there is a select group of really cool international tattoo artists who are really pushing the bracket on such tattoosChester Lee and Hanumantra are some that are worth checking out.
What Goes Into The Making Of Such A Tattoo?
Betches
Vikas says it takes at least 6 hours for a normal blackout tattoo to be completed. Mickey adds that the bigger the tattoo is in size, the more the sittings and the more needles that are involved. Youre getting something so bold and solid on your skin so its definitely one of the most difficult jobsnot just for you as an enthusiast; but, also for me as an artist, he reveals. Even if the slightest bit of empty space is left, it could spoil the look altogether. Youre rendering the skin so much that it becomes difficult for the skin to absorb the colour without being saturated, he adds. The solution is to go forward with these tattoos using special Rotary #1 machinesthese arent readily available in India just yet. The hard hits from such machines really help giving blackout tattoos the real colour, depth and intensity they require.
Chester Lee
Do They Require Any Special After-Care?
About the after-care, Mickey says one just needs to be sensitive and knowledgeable about what youre getting into. Except that the nourishment needs to be a bit more than usual because youre literally filling up the skinno shading, no, outline; just solid filling, he explains.
Instagram
In conclusion to my research, this is what I deduce: Every art form has its own audience. You may or may not be an art person; you may or may not be a tattoo person; and then, you may or may not be a blackout tattoo person. It doesnt take away from the fact that these are, by far, some of the most intriguing and intense forms of tattoos I have come across. Yes, it is going to be way more grueling and painstaking than your basic tattoo would be. But, if done right, it can be one of the most compelling works of art on your body. Tattoos, as it is, are one of the most intense forms of commitments you can make to art. Its with you for life. Blackout tattoos are the next level in that form of commitment. Youre going to be scrutinized, yes (arent we all?); youre going to be questioned and chided, yes; you are also going to be judged, hell yes. But, its all about how important it is to you.
Chester Lee
From where I see it, blackout tattoos are more than just a mere cover-up; they are more than just a mere trend. They are a story that either hides another story, or tells a newer one.
The Foreign Ministry, in collaboration with ICAP S.A., and using the KOMPASS database, has posted on the AGORA webpage lists of foreign businesses that are active in the importing and distribution of products from Greeces main export sectors in the destination countries of Greek exports.
In accordance with Deputy Foreign Minister Dimitris Mardas platform statements, and given the excellent quality, on a global level, of Greek export products, as well as the increasing demand for these products abroad, information has been posted regarding the companies active in countries that are our 30 to 40 main trade partners. Criteria for the choice of sectors included their participation in the mix of Greek exports and the interest of Greek entrepreneurs, as expressed in their correspondence with the Economic and Commercial Affairs Offices. Data on some 7,000 foreign companies have been posted.
The sectors chosen include food and beverage, organic products, fertilizers, gas or electricity gauges, toys, beauty products, packaging materials, tobacco, clothing, textiles, marble, personal hygiene and grooming products, lifts, and solar collectors.
The initiative in question is a follow-up to the posting of corresponding data on delicatessen distributors in countries abroad. Our ultimate goal is for Greeces principal export products to be further promoted in foreign markets, strengthening their global recognition and acceptance.
Through its extensive network of missions abroad, and mainly its Economic and Commercial Affairs Offices, the Foreign Ministry is making every possible effort towards a global increase in the number of high-quality Greek products sold in foreign markets.
For more information on given markets, interested parties may address themselves to our missions in the foreign countries that interest them.
N. KOTZIAS: Good day. I want to welcome my friend Igor, the Foreign Minister of our friend Bosnia and Herzegovina, which, after many difficulties, has found the path to peace and development.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is a positive example in our region, and we must all support its path to the European institutions. My colleague and friend Igor and I talked about the prospects for our cooperation, and we decided to intensify our cooperation both institutionally, with regard to the sectors of the two Foreign Ministries, as well as in a number of other sectors.
We agreed to put the 2003 agreement back on track. The agreement concerns science, the arts and education. We agreed to develop our economic relations, trade, tourism and all the other areas. Two weeks ago, our economic relations were the subject of a Joint Interministerial Committee meeting, which convened in Sarajevo, and in which the Deputy Minister for International Economic Relations, Dimitris Mardas, participated.
We talked about our cooperation on a political level, about the ways in which Greece might contribute to the European path Bosnia has opened up, and we ascertained the potential that exists, the institutional support, and our support for this course.
The Minister and I also talked about developments in Bosnia-Herzegovina itself. He is an optimistic person. He has an optimistic stance on the future of this country, which I always say teasingly is built upon such a complex structure that it is reminiscent of the European Union itself. And for this reason alone it should become a member of the European Union.
We also conversed about the problems of the refugee crisis, the need for intensification of the cooperation between the two states and among all the Balkan states. Let me inform you of something. For the end of April, we are preparing a conference, in Thessaloniki, with the bordering countries Albania, FYROM and Bulgaria so that we can discuss the refugee issue.
This international meeting will be preparatory for a broader meeting for the whole region; a meeting at which Bosnia, a stable country with open fronts in the solution of contemporary problems, is welcome.
Once again, Igor, welcome to sunny Athens. I know that you are very familiar with our country, but today is the first time you come in the official capacity of Minister. Welcome, and it was a great pleasure to talk with you.
I. CRNADAK: I welcome all the representatives of the news media. I feel very, very good, and once again I thank Mr. Kotzias. I am extremely pleased with the meeting we had last summer and that we are continuing now, in Athens.
I would like to stress two things. First, today we ascertained that the relations between Bosnia and Greece are substantially and not just superficially good. We have no issue weighing on our relations. Why is this the case? Because, from the outset, Greece has been a wonderful partner for us in the European Union. It understood and comprehended all of our problems, the needs of the three peoples, the two entities. It was sincere support, and I would say that this is why we have such good cooperation today.
We want to continue our political relations on the level of Foreign Ministries, and we have active and productive meetings at least once a year. We agreed to promote our cooperation with other ministries, as well, and, as you heard, to renew the agreement for even better and closer cooperation in the sectors of culture and education and, more specifically, university institutions which will impart further impetus to the contacts between the two countries.
We agreed to have good political relations, to do everything we can on the issue of the economy. We have trade transactions that could be much greater, bearing in mind the capabilities of the two countries. We agreed for there to be a meeting of the Greece-Bosnia joint Committee on Economic Issues, as it is a sector where the two countries have an action plan.
So, given the bilateral political and economic cooperation, to which we will add tourism, culture and science, I would say that we are moving in the right direction.
I come to another issue: Greeces support for Bosnias European integration, from the time Bosnia submitted its application to become a member of the European Union. I talked to Mr. Kotzias about our intention to continue with the reforms, to crack down even harder on corruption, to work and to do everything possible to stabilize the structures of the European Union. That is why we are asking for Greeces support, as we want to try to get EU candidate-country status in 2017.
Greeces support has been renewed once again. And, as the Foreign Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina, I feel that, in Greece, we have a very good friend in the European Union.
We also talked about some other issues today particularly that of migration. We want the agreement with Turkey to succeed, and I hope the agreement goes into implementation, as it should, on 4 April, this coming Monday.
We also agreed on the linking of television stations and, more generally, on closer cooperation between the two countries in the media sector.
Finally, I want to mention once again the hospitality we were met with here in Greece, as we also had a meeting with the President of the Hellenic Parliament. I want to stress that the meetings between the two countries are of extreme importance, and we await their continuation in the coming time, including presidential and parliamentary activities.
Once again, I want to express my gratitude for the hospitality you provided for us in Greece.
JOURNALIST (ERT Radio): My question is for the Foreign Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina. You talked about the refugee/migration issue. I would like to hear your stance on the policy being followed by certain Balkan countries, with the closed borders.
I. CRNADAK: Bosnia and Herzegovina was not at the core of the so-called Balkan route, but we were in very close contact with everyone, we discussed and monitored the situation, while the Foreign Ministry was prepared to react in case of greater problems. We did not participate in the sharp exchanges of words. Some of the countries in our region reached the lowest levels in their relations for some time, given that there were those who believed that they should gain something from this issue. The important thing is that all of us in the region have seen that we need to resolve the problem together, and that no one can do anything alone, damaging another, but that we have to work together.
JOURNALIST: Regarding Bosnia-Herzegovinas accession course, Greece has always supported your country and your efforts. There is an old agreement on the transfer of know-how and various other details. Can you tell us how that agreement is going?
I. CRNADAK: Our agreement and the support for Bosnia and Herzegovina will also include know-how on the matter of European integration. We also said this during todays talks: The support will not be just political, but will also concern specific sectors. I expect that, on our path to Europe, we will make optimum use of the benefits provided to us by this agreement.
N. KOTZIAS: For example, two experts are coming from Bosnia to talk to our Ministry about matters concerning EU agricultural policy. We have also agreed to hold, at a time of their choosing, a seminar on special issues of the European Union, and we have also agreed to assist in specific ways that arent for discussion here with any need that exists in the negotiations with the European Union.
Thank you once again, thank you Igor.
I. CRNADAK: I thank you, as well.
The three have been suspended but not charged with any crime.
Parents of the 32 first-graders attending Winterberry Charter School in Anchorage got word of the plot in a March 22 email from the principal. The three female students acknowledged that they planned to poison a female classmate, school district officials said.
A school resource officer interviewed the girls and determined they intended to harm to the other girl, but charges will not be filed, police said. Silica gel packets, which soak up moisture, are not poisonous.
"I'm not sure what we could criminally charge first-graders with," police spokeswoman Jennifer Castro said, noting that no parents or other adults were involved. "What ended up happening was the officer took each one of them individually, had a very a serious talk with all of them."
Administrators and school district psychologists talked to the girls to see if they understood what they were trying to do, whether it was a prank gone wrong, or if they actually meant to hurt their classmate, school district spokeswoman Heidi Embley said.
"All of these things are being discussed, especially since it's such a young age," she said.
Police say the plot emerged from an ongoing feud but did not release any other details. Two other first-graders told school officials about the plan, and the officer also spoke with them.
The two students reported to administrators that the plan involved using the packets from the girls' "lunchtime seaweed to poison and kill another student," Principal Shanna Mall wrote in the email.
Police left discipline up to the school district. The email said it entailed "significant consequences."
Embley said she couldn't release further details about how the students were punished.
But Mall told Anchorage television station KTUU the students were suspended. Mall couldn't immediately be reached for comment Wednesday by The Associated Press.
Asked if the school was getting calls from concerned parents or hearing from worried students, Embley said there was "nothing significant."
The school is addressing any concerns directly with parents or students.
Home surveillance video shows a man and woman passing by the home in Chula Vista on Easter Sunday and stopping to pick up several eggs.
A neighbor had spread the eggs on the lawn while Janet and Michael Ford went to church. The Fords were looking forward to having their 2-year-old son, Gabriel, hunt for them later in the day.
The video shows the thieves returning, accompanied by two kids, to pick up more eggs. Then the pair came back a third time and grabbed some holiday decorations.
Police Lt. Fritz Reber tells the San Diego Union-Tribune that investigators are reviewing the recordings.
BAD AXE In a decision that came to form before the meeting even started, county planners Wednesday night unanimously agreed to table any action for DTE Energys plan to build 50 to 70 more wind turbines in Huron County.
Close to 200 people packed into the Huron County Expo Center for the first public glimpse at the project. About 30 spoke during public comment and Planning Chair Clark Brock read as many letters from people who couldnt attend. Opinions were split in support and opposition.
But because a flood of information and letters arrived just before the meeting, member Carl Duda made a motion to table a decision. Brock agreed, saying he would prefer more time for review rather than push any action.
Brock says planners wont take action on the project at their April 6 meeting. They instead hope to set a special meeting at a later date to make a decision, which will be a recommendation forwarded to county commissioners for the final say.
Project basics
A planning area covers more than 39,000 acres and 61 square miles across four townships: 22,080 in Lincoln and 5,760 each in Sigel, Dwight and Bloomfield. DTE says it expects the currently unnamed project to be between 100 and 150 megawatts and 50 to 70 wind turbines. The utility has 21,000 acres under contract for wind development with about 100 landowners and is talking with other landowners.
A curious letter from Lincoln Township
Part of the decision to table any action was based not only on the amount of letters planners received before the meeting, but one in particular that Secretary Jeffery Krohn called curious.
Dated March 16, its addressed to the countys Building and Zoning office, has a Lincoln Township letterhead and is signed by board members.
The letters two sentences read: We feel that Huron County has done our part as far as Green Energy. We feel that no additional turbines should be allowed in Huron County.
What raised a few eyebrows: Lincoln Township Trustee John Wisneski, Treasurer Patricia Weber and Constable Dennis Weber all have 2009 wind leases or contracts on file with DTE in Lincoln Township, records from the county Register of Deeds Office show.
Clearly, some of the Lincoln board trustees are landowners who hold DTE contracts, DTE Project Manager Matt Wagner said, adding each has received regular renewal contract payments.
And perhaps with the exception of this years payments, which just went out literally within the last week, they cashed those checks. It was a surprise to us. Weve reached out to these folks. We obviously want to understand better their situation.
Lincoln officials did not return calls seeking comment.
Other officials with wind energy leases or contracts
Lincoln Township officials arent the only ones with a say in the project who have contracts with developers.
According to records on file at the county Register of Deeds Office, three county planners have a lease, easement or agreement with a wind energy developer: Brock, with RES Americas as part of its incoming Deerfield project; Secretary Jeffery Krohn, as part of a project in Oliver Township; and member Joel Weber, who has multiple wind power documents on file with Heritage Energy as part of its Big Turtle project.
At the township level, Bloomfield Clerk Delphine Pawlowski has wind leases or contracts on file with DTE and Heritage Energy dated 2013 and 2015.
In Sigel, Trustees Brad Essenmacher and Bernard Sweeney both have wind leases or contracts on file with DTE dated 2012.
Dwight is the only one where none of its officials have a lease, easement or agreement with a developer on file.
North Huron Schools says yes
A letter dated March 29 from North Huron Schools and signed by Superintendent Martin Prout states DTE supports the schools students financially having donated money to the FFA program and that wind energy revenue flows through the Huron ISD and supports all of us in the form of the countywide Special Education (millage).
The Wind Overlay Project would only increase that amount and support the neediest of students, the letter states.
The letter states DTE employee Rich Benson has given unmeasurable value to students, having established and expanded a cross country program. Benson has given several students a purpose and sense of belonging, helping them to want to stay in school, according to the letter.
What those in townships
sited for the project say
Some were curt with their comments, like Arnold Schuman of Sigel Township, who drew applause after calling the project a scam.
Harry Collings of Lincoln Township felt different.
If we want windmills, we expect the zoning commission to listen to us, Collings said.
Duane Guza of Sigel Township suggested planting turbines on state land.
Craig Lehrke of Lincoln Township says there is a line the county will cross between development and overdevelopment.
And I think weve reached that point, Lehrke said.
He says he doesnt get asked to sign a lease because he doesnt own a lot of acres. There are few spots one can photograph a sunset in the county without a turbine in the background, Lehrke said, adding he doesnt want to live in an industrial area.
Richard Maurer, Sigel Township supervisor, says he supports the project. According to Maurer, 70 percent of the townships taxable value comes from substations, ITC power lines and the 24 wind turbines in Sigel.
Its big money that comes to Sigel, he said, adding he doesnt like sending people to Iraq to fight for oil.
A woman who identified herself as Elizabeth and a DTE employee who lives in Dwight Township says shes lived in the county 23 years. She says wind turbines produce three times the energy of the former power plant in Harbor Beach and were not burning coal.
The Turbinator
Jon Elliott of Pigeon, who earlier in March told officials he lives in hell near the 44-turbine Pheasant Run project, said the five turbines across the road cast blinking red lights toward his home at night when he watches television.
Nancy Krohn of Elkton echoed Elliott earlier in March, saying its a living nightmare around here now and that Huron County residents cannot afford any more turbines.
Feeling her past concerns fell on deaf ears, Krohn told a fictional story Wednesday night starring the Turbinator a play on the famous Terminator movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The Turbinator, by Krohns description, is a fire-breathing monster that residents let come to the area to take over and eat up land.
This may be a little oversimplified, Krohn said of the metaphor, but I think you get the point of the story.
Nick Shantz of Cass City has a different view from working as a technician on wind turbines. He says hes alongside people who graduated from Thumb high schools and the job keeps him in the Thumb.
Craig MacPhee says he owns land in Verona Township and Sebewaing and operates a business that cleans wind turbines across the country that has employed 30 people from Huron County since 2008.
DTEs take
Wagner says not all would agree, but wind projects have made a profound positive impact in the community.
Several DTE representatives spoke of the benefits: tax revenue, landowner payments, job creation, clean energy.
And, to dispel a long list of fears not supported by facts, Wagner says he submitted a list to planners citing peer-reviewed studies that show no scientific or medical evidence to support health problems stemming from wind projects. He says multiple, rigorous peer-reviewed studies in the U.S. and Canada continue to support no impact on property values or in fact increased property values by wind projects.
In light of recent turbine blade failures and a turbine that fell in Oliver Township: As farmers know, equipment sometimes breaks, Wagner said. But thats why there is a safety fall zone dictated by zoning setbacks, he said.
For project approval, DTE says planners must consider three things: that sufficient wind energy resource exists; wind development is of interest to a majority of landowners in the area; and that the land is mainly agriculturally zoned. DTE says it has met these requirements.
See more of DTEs reasoning here: http://bit.ly/1Qoc7hZ and more project details here: http://bit.ly/1RNEHct.
County attorney: Its not that simple
County attorney Stephen Allen says its the most critical time in any project to get things right.
Tallying comments from the hearing, were about equally divided, Allen said.
Because of this, it is imperative we get it right, he said. That shouldnt be taken lightly.
He says if DTE meets ordinance requirements, planners should give an approving recommendation to county commissioners.
But the decision hinges on more than the three requirements DTE cited.
Its not quite that simple, Allen said.
Allen cited various zoning ordinances that developers must meet for the project and suggested planners ask DTE to also look at Huron Countys master plan (one example he cited: Its not just any agricultural district; its an appropriate place within the agricultural district.)
GOSHEN A man who shot and wounded another man outside the You You Asian Restaurant and Bar in the Town of Wallkill because he
Almost 100 people mostly from Haiti who were rescued from an overcrowded boat off the Florida coast had no food or water for...
The U.S. Army has backed away from its demand that an Army captain who is a Sikh undergo special tests to prove he can safely wear a helmet and gas mask, granting him a wavier to hear the turban and beard required of his faith.
A March 30 memorandum to Capt. Simratpal Singh from Assistant Secretary of the Army Deborah Wada abruptly ends a lawsuit brought he filed last month to seek an injunction against the testing, according to a U.S. District Court order issued the following day.
In the memo she sent to Singh through his command, Wada said she was granting the religious accommodation request subject to certain limitations and with the understanding the accommodation might be altered or rescinded based on recommendations from his chain of command.
"I may withdraw or limit the scope of your accommodation for reasons of military necessity, including if I cannot confirm that Army protective equipment (to include [Army combat helmet and protective mask) will provide you the intended degree of protection" required for mission, Wada wrote.
"I intend to reevaluate this accommodation in one year and may reevaluate it earlier based upon military necessity if you must be assigned to another unit," she wrote. "If circumstances require that you be directed to comply fully with [Army uniform and personal grooming standards] you should be prepared to do so."
Singh filed suit on Feb. 29 after the Army ordered that he undergo special helmet and gas-mask testing at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. The court earlier this month placed an injunction on the Army's plans for the special testing while the case proceeded. The Army's administrative action effectively ends further legal action in the matter.
In a statement released Friday morning by The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, the law firm representing him, Singh expressed gratitude for Wada's decision.
"I'm proud to be an American soldier," he said. "More than ever, the military needs to reflect the diversity of our great nation. I'm grateful the Army is allowing me to serve without being forced to compromise my religion."
Three other Sikh officers are currently serving on active duty in the Army and none of them have had to take the special fitting tests.
Eric Baxter, senior counsel at The Becket Fund, said the officer has "already proven he is willing to sacrifice his life for the freedoms of others."
Singh, who currently serves with the 249th Engineer Battalion at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, earned a Bronze Star for service in 2012 while in Afghanistan. The citation notes that Singh, then a first lieutenant, performed admirably as the platoon leader on more than 170 route clearance patrols throughout Kandahar Province and demonstrated leadership and personal courage.
When enemy forces breached the defenses of Forward Operating Base Frontenac, Singh "led his platoon in suppressing and eventually counterattacking the heavily armed insurgents. His leadership enabled his platoon to defeat the enemy forces and secure the base without suffering any casualties," the citation states. "During his combat tour 1LT Singh has set the example as a Combat Leader and a Sapper."
Baxter said Singh has always been a devout Sikh, including through his time at West Point. But when he failed to get a religious accommodation waiver, then he cut his hair, shaved his beard and wore only standard army headgear.
After 10 years of service, including completing Army Ranger School and combat tours, he decided last October to again seek a waiver, according to Baxter.
"The Army's feeble arguments are falling apart," Baxter said. "It's time to let all Sikhs serve."
Just this week, The Becket Fund filed another lawsuit on behalf of three Sikh men who are scheduled to attend Army basic training in May, and are seeking a religious accommodation before heading off.
Mark Reading-Smith, a spokesman for The Sikh Coalition, a civil rights group that is championing the Sikh men's cases, said Wada's decision on Singh "does nothing specifically for [their] cases ... That lawsuit will continue."
The legal action in Singh's case was to prohibit the military from imposing additional discriminatory testing on him, Reading-Smith said.
"We unfortunately can't speak to what the Army may or may not do in the future, but the court made it clear that selectively testing Sikhs was a non-starter," he said.
-- Bryant Jordan can be reached at bryant.jordan@military.com. Follow him on Twitter at @bryantjordan.
As the U.S. Marine Corps pushes to develop a more mature and highly skilled force, top brass may opt to raise the bar to get to boot camp.
Lt. Gen. Robert Walsh, deputy commandant of Marine Corps Combat Development Command, said requiring higher scores on the general technical, or GT, portion of the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery is one option under consideration as leaders work to shape the future force.
"Our infantry Marines, that GT score has been down at 85 since Vietnam. Post-Vietnam, conscript, the draft, that's what it is. Now the Marines we're bringing in today are much higher than that," Walsh told Military.com following a lecture at the Center for Strategic and International Studies on Thursday.
"We're bringing them in at higher levels, but we're going, 'Should we raise the bar?' We know to be able to operate in this environment, we need to have a little bit of a higher bar, so we're looking at that," he said.
The drive to make the Marine Corps smarter and more senior began with the last commandant, Gen. Joseph Dunford, who told Congress last year that the demographics of the Corps needed to change to keep up with a more sophisticated, highly technical battlefield. The Corps, which is the youngest and most junior of all the military services, needed more noncommissioned officers and staff noncommissioned officers, he said.
Dunford also published planning guidance last year calling for new psychological evaluations to help predict recruits' resiliency and likelihood of success.
The current commandant, Gen. Robert Neller, has continued his predecessor's push to shape the force, even saying in February that the Marines could scale back infantry and operational forces to grow new, highly skilled communities including cyber warfare.
Efforts to develop more sophisticated decision-making and leadership skills at every level in the service are also behind the effort to raise the bar for incoming Marines. The Corps' Expeditionary Force-21 strategy calls for smaller units to operate more independently and in a more disaggregated manner than they have in the past.
"The big challenge is looking to the future and bringing in the right talent. I'll be honest: we're looking very hard at recruiting," Walsh said. "We're very successful in recruiting, but we're looking at raising the bar in our entry-level capabilities on who we bring in, GT scores and what [military occupational specialties] they go to. What we're seeing is, the entire force we want to raise up to a higher level."
Even though the Marine Corps has filled its recruiting goals for years, Walsh acknowledged that raising standards could be a tough sell for leaders in charge of making sure the Corps meets its targets.
"So the tension will be with us and manpower, because that's hard for them now to have to recruit," he said. What I will say is we do pretty well. We meet our goals, but we meet our goals because our recruiters work very, very hard."
In addition to raising standards for recruiting, Walsh said Marine leaders are exploring some practices used by special operations forces, which tend to be composed of more senior, experienced troops.
He said the Corps would continue promoting in its Squad Leader Development Program, started last year to retain and invest in quality enlisted infantry leaders. One of the initiatives now being explored under a new plan called Force 2025 would create an assistant squad leader to build in more leadership structure at the smallest unit level.
"The commandant has been pushing this very hard on looking at the special operations model for some of the things they do that are very good, where they've got higher rank, more seniority and this technical environment, bringing them in," Walsh said. "If you think more SOF like in terms of more senior, better trained, better equipment, that's a lot of what we're looking at."
Marine Corps leaders are expected to make key decisions about the future of the force and the Force 2025 strategy later this year.
-- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck.
The Padres have had internal discussions about the possibility of dealing for Red Sox third baseman Pablo Sandoval, Jon Heyman tweets. (Via WEEIs Rob Bradford, the Padres deny that there have been any substantive talks.) The Padres are not among the three teams to whom Sandoval can block a trade, Heyman adds. Sandoval is still owed $75MM through 2019, including a $5MM buyout on his 2020 option, so as Heyman notes, a deal to send Sandoval from the Padres to the Red Sox would likely include money to offset his contract.
The Red Sox recently named rookie Travis Shaw their starter at third base ahead of Sandoval, even though theyre only one year into Sandovals contract. The Padres, meanwhile, reportedly had a scout watching Sandoval, although it wasnt clear how much interest they had in him or whether that scout might be watching someone else. The Padres had interest in Sandoval during their splashy 2014-15 offseason, reportedly offering Sandoval a nine-figure deal that exceeded the Red Sox offer in total value.
The Padres might now see Sandoval as presenting an opportunity to buy low, although its not clear whether Sandoval is an upgrade over current Padres third baseman Yangervis Solarte. Solarte hit .270/.320/.428 last season and projects to produce 1.6 fWAR, via ZiPS. Sandoval, meanwhile, batted .245/.292/.366 and projects to produce 0.9 fWAR (although another projection system, Steamer, rates him as being likely to produce half a win better than that). Sandoval would seem to be a curious addition for a Padres team that was badly burned by veteran additions two winters ago and now seems more focused on trading high-profile veterans rather than on adding them.
Theres been some speculative conversation about a trade that could send Sandoval to San Diego and James Shields to Boston, and a Sandoval/Shields framework might make some sense, at least on a purely financial level the Padres still owe Shields $65MM on the deal he signed with them last offseason. While Shields home-run-heavy first year with the Padres was merely a relatively small disappointment, though, Sandovals first year with Boston was a disaster, so the two players current values seem somewhat different.
Herbruck's eggs sales triple the two weeks before Easter
Eggs are stacked as they're processed at Herbruck's, a Michigan poultry farm that supplies Meijer.
(Katie Greene)
WALKER, MI -- Within a decade, Meijer will sell only eggs laid by hens not kept in cages.
The Midwest retailer has set a goal to sell eggs sourced from cage-free farms by the year 2025, joining a growing group of food retailers and restaurant chains that have announced similar plans.
Meijer's pledge comes nearly a month after Kroger, the nation's largest grocery chain, made a similar commitment.
"Although our current volume of cage-free egg sales is relatively low, we continue to see shopping trends shifting toward cage free," Peter Whitsett, Meijer's executive vice president of merchandising said. "We are in the business of providing customers with choices, and setting this goal will ensure we are ready for the transition when our customers are."
There's a good chance Meijer might beat that deadline because Michigan is one of a handful of states that passed laws banning cages for chickens and pigs. The Michigan law takes effect in 2020.
Under the law, Meijer would still be allowed to sell eggs from an out-of-state supplier that didn't have cage-free hens.
The Michigan-based supercenter chain currently sells numerous varieties of eggs, including cage-free, free range and traditional at its 223 stores across a six state footprint.
Unlike Kroger, Meijer didn't disclose what percentage of the eggs on store shelves are from cage-free or free range hens.
The Humane Society of the United States quickly applauded the decision. The animal rights group reached out to the retailer earlier this year to talk about its policy.
"Meijer's announcement that it's going 100 percent cage-free is further indication there's no future for caging chickens in the egg industry, " said Josh Balk, the Humane Society's senior food policy director. "Confining chickens in cages so small they can't even spread their wings is cruel and a dead-end proposition for egg producers when the largest buyers of eggs are refusing to buy their products."
Balk added that the change will mean hens will be in a facility where they are able walk around, flap their wings, perch, scratch, and lay eggs in a nesting box.
"These are all behaviors that are vital for hen welfare they can't do in a cage and can in a cage-free setting," Balk said.
Meijer has been working on a plan to transition to cage-free eggs for some time, Meijer spokesman Frank Guglielmi said.
The majority of eggs sold in Meijer stores come from Herbruck's Poultry Ranch Inc. in Saranac. The relationship between two Michigan companies goes back 50 years and helped Herbruck's grow into the 12th largest egg producer in the country.
Last year, Herbruck's announced a $45 million expansion to increase organic and cage-free production facilities to meet increased market demand.
Shandra Martinez covers business and other topics for MLive. Email her or follow her on Twitter @shandramartinez.
"This is one of the fundamental challenges facing the United States auto industry," Detroit News business columnist and associate business editor
tells
on
in discussing the future of autonomous vehicles. "This is a battle for technological edge and competitive advantage between Detroit's auto industry and tech companies in Silicon Valley."
General Motors and Ford, in particular, adds Howes "understand that they're facing some fundamental change in the industry, but they don't think the traditional business is going to go away anytime soon."
Howes says Silicon Valley companies "are looking for the next big chunk of growth as a way to maintain the growth and earnings momentum they've been delivering to the marketplace, and one of the places they see that is in transportation.
"Mark Fields (Ford's president and CEO)
that the global auto industry accounts for about $2.5 trillion in annual revenue while transportation services like self-driving cars and ridesharing globally is about $5.3 trillion. So who wouldn't want to be a part of that business?"
He sees
the state of Michigan must observe if they have want to be a player and a leader in the expanding transportation industry with Silicon Valley - a long term strategy that leverages the state's strengths, a realization that the auto industry is changing fundamentally, and a coming to grips with the reality that "the Motor City is not entitled to all of this because they are Detroit; they're going to have to fight and compete for it and they're going to have to win."
Heinze and Howes also talk about how Michigan has to fix many of its infrastructure issues in order to attract the entrepreneurs necessary to make Michigan a leader in the transportation industry in the future. And Howes talks about the palpable resurgence of Detroit.
"There are a lot of people who are investing in the city big and small who want to be part of what Dan Gilbert has started. There's a lot of pent up demand in Detroit, and I think it's a very positive thing."
Click here to hear the Heinze/Howes conversation.
airs every Sunday evening at 7:00 on
and around the state each weekend via the Michigan Talk Network.
Brussels memoriam.jpg
A general view showing one of the memorial sites for the victims of the recent attacks in Brussels, and the media surrounding the area at the Place de la Bourse in Brussels, Friday, March, 25, 2016. Amid signs that life in Brussels was returning to some sort of normality on the third day of mourning the dead, authorities lowered Belgium's terror-threat level by one notch. However, they said the situation remained grave and another attack is "likely and possible." Belgium had been on its highest alert since Tuesday's bombings. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
ANN ARBOR, MI -- Ann Arbor high school students are going on a trip to Costa Rica instead of Spain after terrorist attacks on Europe cause school officials to cancel the trip.
Last week, Ann Arbor Public Schools officials canceled two spring break trips after the March 22 terrorist attacks in Brussels.
The U.S. State Department issued a travel alert for Americans in Europe through June 20, prompting Ann Arbor schools to cancel the trip out of concern for students' safety.
Huron High School's 12th grade art/humanities students were scheduled to visit Italy from April 1 to April 9, and Pioneer High School's Spanish department had planned a trip to Spain from April 4 to April 9.
But Pioneer High School parents worked with Boston-based travel company Explorica Educational Travel to change the location to Central American instead of Europe, said Explorica spokesman Rich Beekman.
The reorganized Costa Rica trip is an independent tour group and not officially affiliated with Ann Arbor Public Schools, the district confirmed.
Beekman said everyone, including parents, were involved in the decision to travel to Costa Rica, and parents will pay no additional cost.
"Everybody is excited about the resolution," he said.
The students leave for Costa Rica Thursday, March 31 and return April 8.
The company works on a case-by-case basis to reorganize trips in case of an emergency, he said.
Two Pioneer parents, who had already invested more than $3,000 per student into the trips, were upset because they couldn't get a refund from Explorica.
Beekman said travel insurance covers the cost of a trip cancellation because of terrorist attacks within 30 days of a trip if the attack is in the location of the trip. The attacks in Brussels, then, wouldn't incur a refund for a trip to Spain.
Lorraine Robert, a Pioneer High School parent, said she's grateful students are going on a trip, but is concerned parents are losing out on $400.
The Spain trip cost $3,300, she said, while the Costa Rica trip costs $3,093. Optional travel insurance is an additional $108.
Robert said she's unhappy with Explorica about the whole situation, and that the district is still continuing to do business with the company.
No further information is available yet on whether the Italy trip will be rescheduled.
Lindsay Knake is a cops and courts reporter for The Ann Arbor News. Follow her on twitter or contact her at 989-372-2498 or lknake@mlive.com.
A now former assistant professor at the University of Michigan who identified himself as a "boy lover" will serve 10 years in prison for his attempt to have sex with a 14-year-old boy.
James Cavalcoli, 51, was sentenced on March 30 in the Southern District of Florida federal court to 120 months in prison for attempting to coerce and entice a minor to engage in sexual activity and traveling the interstate with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct.
He was previously on an unpaid leave of absence from the University of Michigan, where he was an assistant professor of Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics, according to spokeswoman Mary Masson.
She confirmed Thursday that he was no longer employed by the university. Cavalcoli had been with the school for almost 13 years at the time of his federal indictment.
Cavalcoli's arrest came after years of correspondence with a law enforcement officer who posed as the father of a pre-teen boy, federal court records show. In the messages, Cavalcoli referred to himself as a "bl," which stands for "boy lover."
He was arrested by federal agents in August 2015 when he attempted to meet the boy and his father at the Bonaventure Resort and Spa in Weston, Fla., outside Ft. Lauderdale, court records show.
In a sentencing memorandum aid filed on March 24, Cavalcoli's attorneys said, "Dr. James Cavalcoli, is a good man who did a bad thing."
Four university employees also sent letters to the judge noting their shock and dismay at Cavalcoli's actions, but also describing his contributions to the community.
The colleagues noted he was a "well-respected and universally admired colleague," and a "serious and productive scientist, an earnest and helpful teacher, a talented participant in community theatre and a generous member of the larger community."
They noted his aid in discovering a cause of skeletal dysplasia and their attendance at his annual holiday parties.
Cavalcoli will be on supervised release for five years after he gets out of prison and must register as a sex offender, court records show.
Darcie Moran covers cops and courts for MLive and The Ann Arbor News. Email her at dmoran@mlive.com or follow her on Twitter @darciegmoran.
ANN ARBOR, MI -- Rob Goodspeed and Libby Benton are excited about the prospect of commuter rail service between Ann Arbor and Detroit.
The husband and wife moved to Ann Arbor two and a half years ago from Boston, and before that they lived in Washington, D.C.
"So, it's been hard to leave behind that transit," Benton said as they checked out new plans for regional transit on display at a meeting in downtown Ann Arbor on Thursday.
"I'm really excited about it, because we go to Detroit on the weekends for fun, and I have to go usually once a month or so for work," she said. "And so this would make it a lot easier to get back and forth. And then I think having more transit between Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor would be good, too. I think it will help attract other young people to this area."
The Southeast Michigan Regional Transit Authority's plan for connecting Ann Arbor and Detroit via transit relies on commuter rail, not buses, though the RTA does have some ideas for new bus rapid transit services along certain corridors.
The RTA showcased its plans Thursday during a community open house at the Shinola store on Main Street in downtown Ann Arbor. The RTA received positive feedback from many residents and local officials who attended.
New maps show the RTA's plans for bus rapid transit -- or BRT -- services between Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, and between Detroit Metro Airport and Detroit, but no BRT service going the full distance between Ann Arbor and Detroit.
Instead, the RTA is proposing a commuter rail service for those longer trips with fewer stops along the route.
The Southeast Michigan Regional Transit Authority presented this regional transit plan at a meeting in Ann Arbor on March 31, 2016.
Commuter trains between Ann Arbor and Detroit would make stops in Dearborn, Wayne and Ypsilanti's Depot Town area, and connect to BRT service.
The RTA estimates the Ann Arbor-Detroit trip would take 44 minutes by train, compared to 58 minutes by automobile on I-94 during rush-hour traffic.
The proposed BRT service in the Detroit area would run along the Michigan Avenue corridor, connecting Detroit to the airport with 20 stops in Detroit, Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, Inkster, Westland and Romulus.
The RTA estimates Detroit-to-Dearborn BRT trips would take 26 minutes, compared to auto travel times of 24-35 minutes during rush-hour traffic.
BRT trips from downtown Detroit to the airport would take an estimated 66 minutes, compared to auto travel times of 26-40 minutes.
The RTA also proposes investing in BRT improvements on the Washtenaw Avenue corridor between Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti.
The RTA is gearing up to ask voters in Washtenaw, Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties to approve a new regional transit tax in November. If the tax is approved, the RTA will roll out the new services it's talking about.
There is no formal proposal at this point, though the Detroit Free Press reported this week the RTA is believed to be considering a tax in the range of 1 to 1.1 mills, and 1 mill could raise about $130 million to $135 million per year.
A 1-mill tax would cost the owner of a home with a $200,000 market value and a $100,000 taxable value an extra $100 per year.
In addition to the services between Detroit and Ann Arbor, the RTA is proposing BRT service along the Gratiot Avenue corridor between Detroit and Mount Clemens, and along the Woodward Avenue corridor between Detroit and Pontiac.
The proposed plans are a result of corridor studies and public input. They await adoption by the RTA board before a funding proposal goes to voters.
The RTA expects to finalize a regional transit master plan by the end of May, with more public engagement following.
The RTA board is expected to adopt the plan with financial details and the ballot language in July.
The BRT system proposed for southeast Michigan models systems found in cities such as Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Chicago, Boston, Hartford and San Antonio.
As proposed, it would include exclusive transit lanes along the corridors, as well as priority at traffic signals. BRT stations would include raised platforms for faster boarding, more frequent service and stations every half-mile to mile for more efficient trips compared to standard bus service.
"BRT has many of the same characteristics as light rail and includes high-tech vehicles, weather-protected stations and real-time travel information," the RTA stated in a news release this week. "During peak hours, BRT will run 10-15 minutes between vehicles and 15-20 minutes during non-peak hours."
Proposed service hours are from 5 a.m. to midnight.
For commuter rail, there would be eight round trips per day, with three trains in the a.m., one midday, three in the p.m. and one late at night.
RTA CEO Michael Ford, former CEO of the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority, said the RTA's plan builds on the vision for Ann Arbor-Detroit commuter rail that's been in the work for several years now.
"I think it's a realization of that, but maybe some tweaks as well," he said, noting the RTA wants to expand capacity and do at least eight daily trips. "We're really trying to bring it home, because it's something that's been overdue for a long time."
As for why there isn't BRT service all the way from Ann Arbor to Detroit, Ford said the RTA looked at it and decided commuter rail works better, though the idea isn't completely ruled out.
"There are many options that we're considering," he said. "We're out here getting input, and we'll see what the public wants us to do."
As for the BRT service along the Washtenaw Avenue corridor, Ford said the RTA is looking at a combination of dedicated transit lanes and mixed-use lanes to move buses more rapidly between Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti.
"There's definitely a need," he said.
AAATA board member Charles Griffith said he understands the RTA received public feedback suggesting there's not a lot of interest in taking a bus that makes a lot of stops between Ann Arbor and Detroit.
He said commuter rail makes the most sense for people wanting to travel between the two cities, with a few stops in between.
Griffith noted the AAATA already has the AirRide bus service from Ann Arbor to Detroit Metro Airport, and the RTA is proposing BRT service between the airport and Detroit, so there would be a way to get from Ann Arbor to Detroit via bus.
Though, that could take two hours, compared to the 44 minutes it's estimated it would take via commuter rail.
Griffith said the BRT service that's proposed along Washtenaw Avenue might be able to replace some of the AAATA's existing bus service on that route.
"From an efficiency standpoint, you'd want to explore that," he said.
Former Ann Arbor Mayor John Hieftje, who has pushed for Ann Arbor-Detroit commuter rail for years, was at Thursday's open house.
"It's really a game changer for the whole region," he said. "It will bind the region together, it will be good for the economy and good for the environment."
Susan Pollay, executive director of Ann Arbor's Downtown Development Authority, is serving on the RTA's Citizens Advisory Committee.
She also attended Thursday's open house and expressed excitement about the regional transit plan that's taking shape.
She agreed it's going to be a game changer when Ann Arbor is connected to Detroit and surrounding areas by transit.
"We have been floating out in our own separate orbit, and I don't think the region is really going to prosper and really grow until we're all connected," she said.
Pollay noted she came here after living in the San Francisco Bay Area, so she knows what it's like to live in a region connected by transit.
"I lived in Albany, I lived in Berkeley, I lived in San Francisco," she said. "We all thought of ourselves as part of the Bay Area. And I think this is our chance for southeast Michigan to be a region together."
Pollay believes it would help the region's job situation, give the region a stronger sense of identity, and make it easier for people living in places such as Ann Arbor to enjoy cultural and recreational amenities in Detroit.
"Has anybody even thought to go to the DIA lately to see the films that are playing there?" she said. "Cinema Detroit. The shows at all of the theaters there add to the theater experiences we have here. Restaurants, they're remarkable. If you're a foodie, why limit yourself? Why wouldn't you want to expose yourself to more?
"And I think as an urbanite, if you love cities, if you like the hustle-bustle, how about enjoying that and then having that river walk down along that beautiful waterfront by the Ren Cen and beyond. It's going to connect to Belle Isle. So, if you like parks, I mean, that's an extraordinary park. There's so much more that we are now going to have available to us easily."
Peter Allen, an Ann Arbor-based real estate developer, said he's excited about the possibility of increased connectivity between Ann Arbor and Detroit. He thinks it could drive new development and economic growth along transit corridors.
"What they've told me is if a millage passes in November, the commuter rail from Ann Arbor to Detroit will be one of the first things to implement," he said, adding he's been told the service could be up and running within a few years.
"Because the infrastructure is in place, the tracks are there, the cars are there. They need to buy a locomotive."
"I think it's great to see that we're moving forward into the 21st century with new ideas and I look forward to seeing it actually in place," Eli Cooper, Ann Arbor's transportation program manager, said of the RTA's plans.
Cooper said BRT service has been done in other communities, but it would be new for Ann Arbor.
"The details of how it's going to operate have yet to be seen, but the issue that we have is today we run local buses and we carry a whole lot of people," he said. "We run it frequently, but it's an extended trip to go from downtown to downtown.
"And the idea of the rapid transit piece is, by not stopping at every bus stop, we're going to have a shorter trip from downtown to downtown, and I think there's plenty of opportunity within our transit structure to see both be successful."
Cooper said conceptually that means layering new BRT service on top of normal bus services along Washtenaw Avenue.
"The idea of reducing the travel time and making transit more attractive ... is in lockstep with what we've been striving for within our community," he said.
Ryan Stanton covers the city beat for The Ann Arbor News. Reach him at ryanstanton@mlive.com.
MaryAwad.jpg
Mary and William Awad
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BAY CITY, MI -- A Bay City Vietnam veteran and his wife who admit having used heroin say they are embarrassed and their reputations damaged by allegations that they sold the drug that's at the center of a countywide epidemic.
William E. "Billy" Awad, 61, and wife Mary Lou Awad, 52, stopped by MLive's Bay City Times hub the morning of April 1 to share their perspective on legal woes that have befallen them since the Bay City Department of Public Safety's VIPER Unit executed a search warrant on their home in the 1200 block of 26th Street on Sept. 18.
The warrant was obtained as a result of officers' investigation into allegations that the Awads were selling heroin. The Awads were never charged with selling the drug.
"We were not selling," the couple said, almost in unison. "We have used."
The Awads were charged with possession of less than 25 grams of a narcotic or cocaine, second offense, an eight-year felony. In February, the charges were dismissed in exchange for them pleading guilty to a one-year misdemeanor count of use of a controlled substance-heroin.
"The fact is, we don't deny that we have used," Mary Awad said.
"But it was nothing to the community. It was nothing to hurt or harm nobody else, the way they had described us as drug dealers. There was nobody that bought from us. The people that did come, they used with us, but they had their own stuff. It was just a big misunderstanding."
In March, they were sentenced to one year of probation, during which they are to submit to frequent drug and alcohol tests, participate in at least two Narcotics Anonymous meetings per week, and complete a 24-week substance abuse program.
The Times covered the cases.
"It was never a place where people came in and bought," said Billy Awad, who wears fingerless gloves on his hands to hide scars he said came from Agent Orange exposure.
"It was a little bit a month (I used). I gotta admit I was doing about a quarter of a gram a week. I wasn't hooked. It helped my pain. That's why I was using it. People wanted to come over and did use. That's all there was to it."
The Awads were represented by defense attorney Matthew L. Reyes, whom The Times were unable to reach for this article.
Heroin epidemic
Heroin has been a major issue in Bay County, and the country as a whole, for some time. In June, the Bay County Health Department issued a public health advisory that declared the drug's use as an epidemic. That advisory remains in effect.
In the wake of the advisory, several public town halls took place for officials and citizens to discuss the issue. In one hosted by state Rep. Charles M. Brunner, D-Bay City, on Nov. 9, Bay County Undersheriff Troy Cunningham said the county had a total 117 reported drug overdoses in 2014, compared to 183 at that point in 2015.
According to preliminary autopsy reports, 25 people in 2015 died of drug overdoses, Bay County Health Department Director Joel Strasz has said. For comparison, 18 people died of overdoses in 2014, 21 in 2013, and 24 in 2012.
On Feb. 12, Strasz participated in a meeting with county officials and experts to put together a comprehensive, community-based strategy to arrest the problem. Strasz said the plan is still in development but should be rolled out in May.
Police and medical professions have attributed the rise in heroin's prominence to people gravitating from prescription painkillers such as OxyContin or Vicodin. Heroin is cheaper than those substances and easier to ingest since pharmaceutical manufactures changed their pills' composition so they can no longer be snorted or melted and injected.
Managing pain
Billy Awad said he first used heroin decades ago while serving in the U.S. Army at the tail end of the Vietnam War. He said he was clean for years after returning to America.
Awad said he also had an alcohol problem and stopped drinking in 2010 after he needed emergency surgery for liver cirrhosis. He was receiving prescription opioid painkillers from Veterans Affairs, and the agency cut off his medication in the summer 2015 due to the negative effects they were having on his liver, he said. He also suffered an outbreak of shingles around this time, he said.
"It was a devastating amount of pain I was going through, so that's why I had to use unprescribed medication," Awad said.
"A friend of mine had some (heroin). He gave me some. It started helping that pain dramatically. I said, 'This is better. I'm gonna try this for a while.' I didn't do more than a quarter to a half gram a week, if that."
Mary Awad said she used it "once or twice" but didn't like it. In all, they used for a few months before police raided their home, they said.
"The day we said it's never going to be in our house again was the day they broke into our house," Mary Awad said.
According to police reports contained in court records, the Awads were babysitting their 4-year-old granddaughter the day of warrant's execution. Those records state Billy Awad told them he would get someone to drive him to Saginaw to buy heroin. In exchange, he would give the driver a hit of heroin and gas money, he told police.
In their home, police seized an uncapped hypodermic needle containing fluid, a digital scale, two metal spoons containing cotton filters, suspected drug records, a sliced-up magazine, cellphones and cash, court records show.
Awad balked at the police reports' statement that he takes home $4,000 per month in disability payments, saying he receives $1,100 per month. After insurance, the couple is left with $849, they said.
The Awads said that since they have been on probation, they've not used heroin. They added that the charges they were convicted of prove they weren't selling.
"Why would they raid us, put us through all this misery, and then give us lousy probation?" Mary Awad asked.
"It's just crazy, if it was such a big deal. The only reason they could put anything on us is we had residue off cotton in a spoon."
The power sector in Myanmar over the past five years has been characterised by ambitious plans and unrealised targets. While a few power projects have been completed during the outgoing governments term, others were suspended or cancelled and dozens more remain in limbo.
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Myanmar remains one of the least-powered countries in Southeast Asia. Just over 30 percent of the countrys population has access to electricity, while a total of 6.8 million households across the country still need to be electrified, according to the Ministry of Electric Power (MOEP).
Meanwhile, the countrys energy requirements are growing fast the governments target of nationwide power by 2030 will involve a total capacity of 24,000 megawatts of electricity, requiring vast infrastructure investment combined with smart policymaking.
Government figures suggest Myanmar has 108,000MW of hydroelectric, estimated reserves of 711 million metric tonnes of coal, 365.1 terawatt hours (TWh) per year of wind power and 51,973TWh per year of solar power. It also has 459 million barrels per day of proven oil reserves and 11.8 trillion cubic feet of proven natural gas reserves.
For now, however, the countrys huge primary resources for electricity generation remain largely locked up. While the outgoing government has successfully tendered a number of oil and gas blocks, attempts to develop other power sources, particularly hydropower, have struggled to get off the ground.
As a result of the lack of comprehensive laws, policies, and environmental and social protection standards, many potential power projects have become controversial. The first controversy concerns the price of electricity K35 per KWh for household use and K75 per KWh for industry users.
This is lower than the average electricity production cost of K93.67 per KWh according to the MOEP, and is costing the government billions of kyat a year in subsidies. An attempt to raise electricity prices to allow for a return on commercial investments was blocked by the Union parliament.
The second controversy surrounds the implementation of large hydropower and coal-fired power projects. Presented with inadequate information about the social and environmental impacts of such projects and fearing the worst, local communities and civil society groups have generally opposed them through protests.
Such resistance led to the suspension of the controversial US$3.6 billion Chinese-backed Myitsone hydropower dam, which would have generated 6000MW of electricity. The government has also signed memorandums of understanding for at least 11 coal-fired power plants across the country, but none has been able to move forward due to widespread opposition.
We have tried to explain our project to the public but they are ready to oppose it every time, said a consultant who is working for a local company on a coal-fired power project. We dont get help from the government and people dont listen. They dont believe in government policy or what we are doing.
Last year the government cancelled a 279MW coal-fired power plant in Yangons Htantabin township. All the other coal projects across the country, ranging from 200MW to more than 600MW of installed capacity, are on hold.
Something has to give in order for the government to achieve its target of 100pc electrification by 2030. Current electricity consumption is 2700MW, much lower than the 27,000MW used in neighbouring Thailand. Myanmars Energy Master Plan targets installed capacity of 4531MW in 2020, 8121MW in 2025 and 14,524MW by 2030, which will require investment of between US$30 billion and $40 billion over 15 to 20 years. Yet targets are being missed, said U Htain Lwin, permanent secretary at the MOEP.
We didnt meet the target in the last five years because we failed to implement large-scale hydropower projects due to public opposition. The same is true of coal-fired plants as well, he said. It will be very difficult to meet the target if we cannot continue these large-scale projects in the next five years. Our electricity generation may stop but demand will not.
A slow start for hydro and coal
Just 3000MW of an estimated 100,000MW of hydropower resources have been harnessed. Nine dams generating a total of 800MW have been completed in the past five years, but many others are on hold due to environmental and social concern. Most notable among the suspensions is the giant Myitsone dam in Kachin State.
The impact of suspending Myitsone was huge, said an official at the electric power ministry, noting that the Chinese investor was not impressed. We have invited other international companies [to develop hydropower] but only a few have invested. Actually only China can complete such large-scale projects, he said.
In terms of investment, technology and logistics, no other international companies can compete with China, not only in Myanmar but globally. In Myanmar a total of 52 hydropower projects are under development more than 30 of which are run by at least 12 Chinese companies, the official said.
Coal power in Myanmar is even less developed, though is expected to make up 20pc of total power by 2030 under the Energy Master Plan.
The country has just one coal-fired power plant, a Chinese-backed 225MW project, which has been suspended due to poor regulation. The government has also signed at least 11 contracts for new coal plants with companies from China, Thailand and Japan.
Yet the use of coal-power is fervently opposed by many in Myanmar, with local and international experts vociferously arguing that there is no place for the pollutant in the countrys energy mix.
Co-founder of Ecodev U Win Myo Thu said, Today, coal power is a great concern internationally as the world is looking to reduce carbon emissions due to climate change.
Others disagree speaking at a Yangon summit hosted by The Economist last year, Asian Development Bank vice president Stephen Groff said there is a place for coal generation in Asias future energy supply, as long as its negative impacts are minimised.
A future in gas and renewables
Gas-fired power projects are the most favourable option due to their clean electricity output, but they are also the most expensive. The government has tried to meet electricity generation targets with gas over the past five years, but most of the plants are engine-based, and short-term solutions. Gas power is limited not only by cost but by a lack of supply.
Myanmars four offshore gas fields are locked into long-term contracts with Thailand and China, and recent gas discoveries have not yet been confirmed as commercially viable. Even if they are, commercial production will take at least 10 years.
We are exporting around 1.7 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas and delivering around 400 million cubic feet per day of gas for domestic use, said U Myo Myint Oo, managing director of Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise, last year. We have to deliver gas according to demand and we have to abide by the contracts. Thats the situation.
The government is implementing three gas-fired power plants at Thilawa in Yangon, Myingyan in Mandalay and Thaton in Mon State, with a total combined capacity of 380MW. It has also signed a memorandum of understanding for a gas-fired power plant in Thanlyin in Yangon. A consortium led by Japans Marubeni Corporation is conducting a feasibility study and plans to invest $1 billion into the plant, which will have a capacity of 400MW.
A final option is to develop renewable energy sources. At present, there are no wind or solar power projects connected to the national grid, though the government is aiming for 9pc renewable energy by 2030. A number of solar and wind projects have been signed and are likely to come online in the next few years. US-based private equity fund ACO Investment Group and Thailands Green Earth Power Company are building solar projects in Mandalay and Magwe, to generate more than 500MW of electricity. More local and international companies are doing feasibility studies across Rakhine, Chin, Ayeyarwady, Yangon, Shan, Kayah, Kayin, Mon, and Tanintharyi. The MOEP estimates that wind power projects could create around 5000MW of electricity.
Facing the challenges ahead
Since political and economic reforms began in 2011, the government has made power generation a priority and has welcomed foreign investment to help build capacity. Since then, FDI into power has flooded in, representing 20pc of total foreign investment over the past five years. Investment from China has dominated, followed by ventures from Singapore, Thailand, the US, the UK, Japan, Norway and other Asian countries.
It is likely that the new government will continue this open-door policy toward foreign investment into the power sector, yet it will need to navigate a number of unavoidable challenges. The National League for Democracy-led government, which was sworn in earlier this week, has elected to form an energy superministry, combining the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Electric Power into the Ministry of Electricity. It will be overseen by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who has taken on a total of four ministerial positions.
While she may lack technical expertise, this will give her a significant role in grappling with the problem of power generation and will put her on the front line of decisions about existing divisive projects such as
Myitsone, as well as future tenders related to the sector.
The first area of focus should be to publicise laws, rules and regulations relating to the sector, as well as formulating new policies, experts said, adding that controversial issues surrounding the large hydro and coal projects will not go away without proper policy management.
Other major reforms could include liberalising electricity prices, implementing clear standards for divisive projects, focusing more on renewable solutions, creating a profitable climate for investors and developing human resources to help strengthen the governments regulatory capacity.
The new administration, led by the NLD, will need to find ways of making power projects into success stories, said an official from the MOEP. Electrification is not only about generation but about transmission and distribution, he said.
The most important thing, above all, is policy. If we have clear guidelines we can move ahead with speed. I think the combination of two ministries is a good sign, because we have no cooperation at the moment.
The outgoing government spent more than $2.7 billion on the power sector in the past five years across generation, transmission and distribution, according to the MOEP. It also borrowed $1.69 billion from international institutions under various loan programs. Of this, only $103.9 million has been spent in the past five years, said U Khin Maung Soe, outgoing Union minister for electric power, on March 20.
The other $1.5 billion is to be spent by the next government, he said.
A subsidiary of Daiwa Securities called Myanmar Corporate Strategic Advisory will be liquidated in order to allow the Japanese group to focus on its role as an underwriter and broker on the Yangon Stock Exchange, a company official said yesterday.
MCSA, which is fully owned and controlled by Daiwa Securities Group, has been operating as a listing advisory firm since it was founded in late 2014.
It has contracts with three companies First Myanmar Investment, Myanmar Agribusiness Public Corporation Limited (MAPCO) and Asian Green Development Bank, and has also provided advisory services for local companies on mergers and acquisitions, dual listing on foreign markets and other capital raising activities.
Daiwa Securities sister company Daiwa Institute of Research partly owns the Yangon Stock Exchange, and the groups decision to set up a securities firm with its Myanmar partner raised the eyebrows of some. They were concerned that it was trying to play too many roles on the exchange, possibly leading to a conflict of interest among the different branches though Daiwa officials refuted these claims.
The move to dissolve MCSA could be seen as a sign that Daiwa is trying to streamline its role in the bourse, which saw its first listing last week, a company spokesperson said.
News that the company would be wound up was circulated via an internal announcement in March, after First Myanmar Investment, the first company to trade on the exchange, received permission to list.
Our initial objective has been completed, therefore Daiwa has decided to dissolve this company and concentrate our efforts on our joint venture, said director U Tin Min Htut.
Myanmar Securities Exchange Centre (MSEC) is a joint venture between state-owned Myanma Economic Bank and Daiwa Securities Group.
We initially planned to run our advisory business separately from MSEC, which takes the role of a broker and underwriter, and so this company was formed, he said.
However, the situation has changed, and Daiwa will focus more on MSEC, so we will transfer our function to MSEC to be more efficient.
MEB, a financial institution under the Ministry of Finance, remains on the US Treasurys Specially Designated Nationals List, though it is allowed to carry out certain financial transactions under a general licence.
We dont know what will happen under the new government, but we understand that MSEC will continue working together with Daiwa, U Tin Min Htut said.
Shinsuke Goto, MCSA managing director and director of Daiwa Securities Group, will leave Myanmar within a month for a new assignment in the groups investment banking division in Tokyo, the company said. MCSAs team of 13 will be dissolved, with junior members of staff employed until March 31.
Mr Goto has been instrumental in helping develop Myanmars stock exchange and preparing companies to list, since he first visited the country in 2012, the company added.
Daiwa has a long history in Myanmar, and has been involved in the Myanmar Securities Exchange Centre the countrys over-the-counter market since 1996.
Myanma Economic Holdings Limited has applied to the national planning ministry to become a public company, as speculation builds that the sprawling military-owned giant is considering corporatisation.
For almost two decades since the conglomerate was set up in 1990, MEHL and its sister company Myanmar Economic Corporation dominated the economy, controlling everything from imports, exports and natural resources to alcohol, cigarettes and consumer goods.
Since economic and political reforms gathered pace in 2011 the companies have been stripped of many of their privileges. Both are now required to pay tax and their monopolies over many key sectors have been dismantled as the government invites foreign and local competition.
Yesterday, MEHL announced that it had applied to the Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development to change its status from a special company formed under the 1950 Special Company Act to a public company under the 1914 Myanmar Companies Act.
Shares in the company are owned by serving and former officers. In yesterdays announcement (90/2016) which was published in military-run newspaper Myawaddy and signed by the board of directors, MEHL said it has two types of shares outstanding.
A Type shares are held by the Ministry of Defence and the Directorate of Defence Procurement and B Type shares are held by military personnel, ex-servicemen, regiments and units, and ex-servicemen-led organisations. According to the announcement, MEHL has applied to transfer all A Type shares to B Type shareholders.
The company will proceed to operate its business standing as [a] public company, it said.
While MEHL is for many synonymous with bad governance, unfair concessions, land-grabs and human rights abuses, it has recently shown some signs of commercial reform.
It joined the top five commercial and income tax payers in the country for the first time in financial year 2015, according to an Internal Revenue Department announcement last week, as did its subsidiary Myawaddy Bank. Its trading arm came fourth on the top income tax payers list.
It also demonstrated some commercial nouse last year when it won a lawsuit against Singapore-listed Fraser and Neave.
MEHL sought arbitration in 2013, claiming its right of first refusal on its partners shares in the brewery were ignored when a majority stake in Fraser and Neave was sold.
The arbitrator subsequently decided in MEHLs favour.
Translation by Thiri Min Htun
The new government is considering appointing new senior Central Bank officials to ensure the monetary authority can properly regulate Myanmars increasingly complex financial environment, according to sources close to the National League for Democracy.
Creating a truly autonomous Central Bank is a priority for the NLD, which has said it will strive for monetary stability and the development of a financial system that can meet the countrys capital requirements.
The Central Bank of Myanmar became legally independent in 2013, under the Central Bank Law, which separated it from the Ministry of Finance and made strides toward self-rule. However, decision-making at the top has often been influenced by the Presidents Office.
Our first priority for the Central Bank is true independence, said U Han Thar Myint, who chaired the NLDs economic committee until it was dissolved last week.
The previous government meddled in affairs and put pressure on the Central Bank. It must have independence from political authority.
After the banks independence was enshrined in law in 2013, U Kyaw Kyaw Maung was brought out of retirement by President U Thein Sein to serve a five-year term as governor.
It was a surprise choice, although he came with experience: He was previously in charge of the Central Bank between 1997 and 2007, including during the 2003 financial crisis.
That year, a number of informal financing schemes collapsed. Commercial lenders, facing a liquidity crunch, sold their assets and recalled loans, leading to a run on the banks. By 2003 the crisis had boiled over and several banks were forced to close.
Sources said the NLD hoped to bring in new senior officials with the expertise to effectively regulate the fast-developing financial sector, including a new Central Bank governor. Many senior officials currently serving in the Central Bank gained their banking experience during the socialist era, in a command economy.
Any replacement is likely to be made at the behest of the president, as the Central Bank Law sets out strict guidelines on terminating the terms of any of the nine directors on its board.
Unless a director voluntarily resigns, they can only be replaced if an incompatibility arises; if they are sentenced to prison; if they skip board meetings for more than three months; or if the president decides that the director is incapable of discharging his duties.
U Han Thar Myint confirmed that discussions had been held about Central Bank capacity, and said that while nothing has been decided yet, the new government is looking at possible candidates, including from the private sector.
The Central Bank must be independent and simultaneously competent. It is not decided as policy that we will replace everyone, but if we find that some of the directors are not competent we will [replace them], he said.
This is a decision for the new government, not for the party, he added. Changes are likely to take some time. The new government will be evaluating the capacity of senior officials. It is impossible to decide that everything must be changed as soon as a new president is appointed.
Another economic adviser to the NLD, who asked to remain anonymous, said discussions about finding a new governor are under way.
Everyone who cares about the banking system wants [change at the Central Bank]. The current governor is a nice man, but in the new Myanmar, and the new world of banking change is needed.
U Kyaw Kyaw Maung and other senior Central Bank officials did not respond to requests for comment yesterday.
International financial institutions have recommended that the Central Bank build capacity to allow it to take an increasing role in regulating and supervising the financial sector, which is evolving rapidly as Myanmar opens up its markets to new competition, practices and technology.
Representatives from institutions such as the International Monetary Fund have been installed in-house since the Central Bank became legally autonomous in 2013.
U Han Thar Myint said appointing a full-time international director is not permissible under the Central Bank Law. Under the law, directors must be citizens there are no provisions for appointing foreign experts, he said.
If we want to appoint a foreign expert we must find ways and means to do that outside the law. We can get some ideas from other central banks, but I dont think we need somebody to be here to advise us on a day-to-day basis.
It is not clear whether regular meetings between the Presidents Office and the Central Bank will continue under the new government.
The two have met periodically since June 2015, when the reference exchange rate set by Central Bank auctions began to depart from the market rate, spurring fears of an impending currency crisis.
U Mya Than, chair of Myanmar Oriental Bank, previously told The Myanmar Times that the meetings were instigated by the Presidents Office.
Ministers are willing to help with the countrys financial problems they highlight the weak points and encourage the Central Bank to intervene more in the market.
They provide the Central Bank with alternative advice to that given by international financial institutions, he said.
Additional reporting by Aye Thidar Kyaw
First Myanmar Investments chair Serge Pun called a meeting of securities companies this week following a volatile days trading in his companys shares, while Yangon Stock Exchange officials said securities firms must make more effort to explain trading risks to their clients.
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After launching its shares on March 25, FMI the first and only company to list on the Yangon Stock Exchange enjoyed three consecutive trading days during which its shares hit the upper price limit.
The firm listed at K26,000, and opened on March 30 at K41,000.
But at the 11am matching session on March 30 the first of two daily sessions FMIs shares sank K10,000 to hit the floor price of K31,000. At the 1pm matching session the shares rebounded to K41,000, meaning FMI lost and then regained over K200 billion in value in just two hours.
That afternoon, Mr Pun went to the Yangon Stock Exchange and called a meeting of the securities companies, according to two officials at separate securities firms that attending the meeting. Both asked to remain anonymous.
Mr Pun was diplomatic but made it clear that he was unhappy at the movements in the share price and said it was bad for the market, one of the officials said.
Asked about the volatility, Mr Pun told The Myanmar Times it would be prudent to give the new exchange and the industry some time to settle down before we make any comments.
The second official who attended the meeting said the gathering was aimed at making sure all the participants understood the trading mechanism, what caused the drop in share price and how such situations could be avoided.
The drop had occurred, he said, because one or two large market sell orders which have no specified price met with too little demand.
Limit orders specify a maximum or minimum price at which the shares are to be traded. Market orders do not. The potential daily trading range of the shares K10,000 in either direction for shares trading above K41,000 leaves investors with market orders exposed to large price movements.
Some sellers on March 30 had expected enough demand to allow them to sell their shares well above the K31,000 daily price floor, said the security company officials.
But because there were more sell offers than buy offers, and no specified limit on the price at which those shares could be sold, the sellers ended up being matched at the lowest possible daily price, said U Thet Htun Oo, executive senior manager at the YSX administration department.
Kensuke Yazu, an adviser at the YSX and Myanmar representative for the Japan Exchange Group, which co-owns Myanmars stock exchange, noted that some sellers may have been happy to sell at the price floor, which was more than double where FMI shares were being traded over-the-counter in January 2015, according to FMI data.
But regardless of investors motivations, the first securities company official said that although the securities firms were explaining the difference between market orders and sell orders to their clients, they were not adequately explaining the risks.
Security firm officials who make trades on behalf of clients are called brokers, and are required to pass a brokers exam. But many of these brokers remain undertrained and inexperienced, the official said. Some were unable to explain trading mechanisms properly, and individuals at his firm were accepting clients orders and making trades without a broking licence, he added.
This risks leaving investors without the information necessary to make informed trades.
Mr Yazu said YSX officials on March 30 had asked the securities companies to make sure to explain to investors how an order would affect the overall order book, and potentially the share price.
All securities firms have access to the same order book data, and YSX officials had explained this obligation to securities companies many times, he added.
The sheer volume of new investors opening accounts at securities companies and wanting to trade has also made it difficult for security company officials to take the time to adequately explain to each individual investor how their bids and offer would affect the order book, said U Thet Htun Oo.
But the fact that securities companies are already struggling with market demand does not bode well. When FMI listed on March 25 it had 6800 shareholders.
Myanmar Thilawa SEZ Holdings is the next company scheduled to list, and is likely to do so in April. It has around 15,000 shareholders, said Mr Yazu, and if they were all to turn up to one of the main securities firms there would be problems.
Securities firms have to hire more people and update [their systems], he said.
FMIs shares dropped K2000 on March 31 to finish at K39,000. Trading resumes on April 4.
Much talk in the telecoms market has been dedicated to the digital leapfrog: the almighty hop from legacy technology to a mobile-first future. Myanmars operators state-owned incumbent Myanma Posts and Telecommunications (MPT), Ooredoo and Telenor have seen subscriber figures jump by millions over the past few years; and though coverage rates have climbed higher than ever before, theyre not stopping now.
All three recently talked to The Myanmar Times about the countrys technology transformation, and what challenges may lie in store.
MPT
For MPT, mobile subscribers tripled from 6 million to 19 million, said KSGM public relations adviser Yosuke Fukuma in an email. More than US$3 billion [has been] invested in the ICT sector led by telecoms, with over 50,000 jobs created in the telecoms sector, according to the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology [MCIT].
Future challenges for the state-owned operator include mobile network enhancement and the launch of 4G, building nationwide broadband infrastructure for high-speed internet services, and encouraging mobile financial services, mobile education, mobile health, e-government and other extensions across industries, he said.
Ooredoo
Ooredoo CEO Rene Meza said the company was extremely pleased with the progress it had made on expanding its network.
The transformation the country has seen in the telecommunications sector is supported largely by the fact that currently close to 80 percent of Myanmars population has access to high-speed mobile internet delivered by our 3G network and more than 7700 kilometres [4800 miles] of fibre optic built, Mr Meza said, adding that the companys investment of more than $1.7 billion had helped.
Ooredoo has moved on to the second phase of its rollout into the Myanmar countryside. Most of the challenges we had at the beginning of our journey are now behind us and we continue to rapidly expand our network coverage and infrastructure, which is getting into deep rural areas, Mr Meza said.
For this transformation to continue and for Myanmar to continue being a world example of technological leapfrogging, the right and efficient allocation of spectrum is fundamentally crucial as the country and consumers get ready for new technologies like 4G to be introduced.
Telenor
Telenor Myanmar CEO Petter Furberg said at the companys third sustainability briefing that the company had reached 62 percent coverage by February and had turned on about 5000 towers.
He said coverage could be defined differently with regards to signal strength.
The thing that surprised us most [was] the data 52pc monthly data users is very high [in a] country with this type of GDP, so its promising in terms of what you can do on that platform, he said.
When we add financial services, [that] will allow you over time to participate in the global internet ... We have the opportunity to leapfrog.
The sustainability briefing highlighted health, safety, security and environmental issues Telenor faces in Myanmar, including cases of underage labour in the supply chain.
I dont think its impossible to eradicate it I think we are definitely improving Myanmar in this respect, he said.
Meanwhile, new challenges could crop up.
I think [theyll] potentially be related to security, and how governments will use new laws and regulations that are coming with respect to their rights and opportunities to access confidential information.
The road to Tarmoenye winds through some of the most picturesque countryside in Myanmar. High mountains etched with tea plantations sweep down to lush valleys bursting with flowers and trees blossoming in white, pale-shell pink and fiery reds.
It was this fertile landscape and gentle climate that attracted the earliest Mone Wun to northern Shan, around 200 years ago, according to U Tuan Xin Yuan, an upright and distinguished-looking septuagenarian, who runs a school teaching Chinese language and culture to hundreds of local children.
He knows this, he says, because it was his great-great-grandfather who was the first of the group to make the journey from Yunnan to the Tarmoenye region, in Kutkai township, five generations ago.
When he came here, there was lots of food. It was easy to find, and the weather was pleasant so he decided to stay. Then he went back to his home in Long Lin village in Yunnan and brought back his relatives and friends they all came.
There was no problem with the local Shan community, says U Tuan Xin Yuan, because there was so much unused land in those days. Indeed, the group appears to have quickly found favour with the local Shan prince, or saopha, gaining a reputation as loyal servants.
In terms of ethnicity, the Mone Wun dont see themselves as hailing from one particular family or clan.
It was the Shan saopha, in the English era, who gave the name of Mone Wun to the Yunnan people, U Tuan Xin Yuan says.
The Mone Wun were little-known outside Tarmoenye and Kutkai until early March, when President U Thein Sein issued a statement ordering the Ministry of Immigration and Population to reissue their identity documents, which mostly describe their ethnicity as Mone Wun (Chinese). He instructed the ministry to give them Citizenship Scrutiny Cards bearing the ethnicity Mone Wun (Bamar), adding that it had been promised to them in 1998 by then-Senior General Than Shwe during a visit to Tarmoenye. The ministry estimates there about 60,000 Mone Wun in northern Shan State.
The decision prompted considerable anger, with some observers mistakenly believing the Mone Wun had been added to the list of official ethnic groups, which stands at 135 and is considered sacrosanct.
But there was also confusion over why the group would be labelled Bamar, the ethnicity of Myanmars majority, when they are so demonstrably of Chinese origin.
The teacher U Tuan Xin Yuan does not speak Myanmar. The interview is conducted in Chinese from his Tarmoenye home: a large and well-constructed farmhouse, it is built in the traditional courtyard formation seen across rural Yunnan and bedecked with golden corn cobs drying outside and slabs of hanging pork. Like many houses in Tarmoenye, the exterior is decorated with red and gold Chinese banners.
While the group has maintained many of their Chinese traditions, some have been discarded over the years. U Tuan Xin Yuan displays a picture of his grandmother. The photo is faded, but at the bottom of the image it is possible to make out her feet tiny and pointed after being bound when she was a child in Tarmoenye.
It was not her choice, but her parents wanted her to be beautiful like a model. To me it was a kind of torture, U Tuan Xin Yuan says of the old Chinese custom, which his ancestors brought with them to Myanmar.
But if the group identified themselves in terms of place of origin and traditional culture rather than a particular ethnicity, at least one particular shared trait appears to have united them in a way that seems still to be paying off today: loyalty to powerful leaders.
U Than Shwes loyal supporters
When The Myanmar Times entered Tarmoenye on March 27 the town was awash with the green uniforms of Tatmadaw troops and a local militia. The town had recently come under attack during fighting between the Myanmar military and the Taang National Liberation Army, prompting hundreds to flee to villages in the surrounding mountains.
By the time of our visit the battles had moved to the mountains and most had returned to the town, residents said.
Since the time of [former military dictator] Than Shwe, the Mone Wun have fought alongside the Tatmadaw. They love him, is how one local Kachin man describes the relationship.
When Than Shwe had just two bars on his shoulder he was based here and he and U Myint Lwin became good friends, says U Tuan Xin Yuan, referring to a local USDP state parliamentarian who leads the Tarmoenye militia.
U Myint Lwin is a clever man. He has a good brain. He supported the Tatmadaw with transportation and has a good relationship with U Than Shwe.
U Myint Lwin supported transport for U Than Shwe and the Tatmadaw when they were fighting the BCP [communists].
While Myanmars communists had Chinese backing at the time, the Mone Wun had more local concerns in deciding to back the military against the rebel group, he says.
The BCP and Mone Wun were arguing over the same territory, he says.
After the 1960s, when U Than Shwe had only three bars, the security enforcer of the village it was not a militia [at that time] and the Tatmadaw aligned and fought the BCP [together].
That is why he [U Than Shwe] did his best for Tarmoenye: because we helped a lot and did good for the country.
Yet he insists the group maintains good relationships with other ethnic groups in the area even at this time of fighting between the TNLA and the Tatmadaw.
U Tuan Xin Yuan shows a group photo that dates to the 1980s. It features a younger U Myint Lwin, sitting alongside key ethnic figures from the region, including a local Shan leader.
Asked if there is any historic connection between the Mone Wun and the Kokang people - another group of Chinese origin - who live in a neighbouring area, but have been engaged in conflict with the Tatmadaw, U Fan Le Chang, U Tuan Xin Yuans nephew who is helping translate, gives an emphatic No!
The Kokang are brave and tough and want to fight. We are not like that at all. Here in Tarmoenye things are different from other areas. People live peacefully together. For years it has been a peaceful place in the Shan hills.
Farming is the Mone Wuns main interest, continues U Fan Le Chang. We just want to grow tea and plant corn. Well, to be honest, we used to plant opium, but now we dont. We cant. And theres no trade route to China. We stick to growing tea.
If the initial reason for the Mone Wun to back the Tatmadaw was mutual benefit. That appears to still be the case today.
According to U Tuan Xin Yuan, the local militia, led by U Myint Lwin, has general day-to-day power in the area, but if Than Shwe wants to enforce something he will.
I support the Tatmadaw. Whatever the Tatmadaw want, we want, says U Tuan Xin Yuan.
He later adds, diplomatically, that while he likes the outgoing government, I like the new government too. They are good and I think they will do good things for us.
Former dictator U Than Shwe came to be vilified by many in Myanmar during his brutal regime, but U Tuan Xin Yuan is far from the only person in Tarmoenye to consider him a positive force.
U Than Shwe has been good for the area. He gave us better transportation, electricity and communications, says Ko Saw Nyi Nyi, 30, a local Mone Wun restaurateur, who says his family moved to the area from Dali, in Yunnan, 90 years ago.
Another young woman, the relative of a senior figure in the Tarmoenye militia, lets slip how U Than Shwe continues to be perceived in the area, when she refers to Than Shwes government making the recent decision to grant ethnic recognition to the Mone Wun, before correcting herself to say Thein Seins government.
A group by any other name
While the Mone Wun people we spoke to clearly believe the decision to grant official ethnic status to the group came from U Than Shwe - and consider it most likely some kind of reward for long term loyalty to the Tatmadaw - they are also a little confused by it.
Many in the region already hold Citizenship Scrutiny Cards that give them full citizenship rights. While some received these ahead of the 2010 elections - in what has been seen as a vote winning move by the USDP - others have had theirs much longer. For such people, the new recognition will make little difference in day-to-day life.
Most Mone Wun people in Tarmoenye already have citizenship, says Ko Saw Nyi Nyi, who says he received his card in 2010. My grandparents didnt get ID cards, but my parents got them and I got one.
Now we are approved as Burmese ethnic, we are Myanmar, we are citizens, but we dont dare comment on it. We live in Myanmar so we are Myanmar - Chinese Myanmar.
Ko Saw Nyi Nyi, says most ordinary people dont think much about citizenship, and are just interested in getting on with farming or business. But he believes that one benefit of the new recognition is that it will be easier for future generations of Mone Wun to become citizens, particularly those living outside Tarmoenye, in areas such as Kuktai town, where fewer hold identity cards.
As for his own ethnicity? I am Chinese from Myanmar, is how he sees it.
Yet the Chinese part of the groups identity has been varnished over by the new recognition. As well as upsetting some of the other ethnic groups, it raises issues for the Mone Wun too.
U Tuan Xin Yuan displays a series of ID cards from throughout his life, which illustrate his changing status.
Born in 1939, he says was approved as a citizen in 1948 on the day Myanmar gained independence. Holding up one ID card, he highlights the latest change.
In 1991 my citizenship was Chinese - Myanmar. Now I must change it to Mone Wun - Bamar. The Burmese people dont like that, because they say we are not Burmese. But if we go back to China now, they will not accept us either, he says.
I think it is good for us to have recognition, but I dont know why they have done it. Maybe U Myint Lwin will know. I am just a farmer and a teacher.
How does he see his own ethnicity? I am Chinese, he smiles.
For his nephew, U Fan Le Chang, it is less straightforward. Highlighting the complex and confusing identity issues Myanmars ethnic recognition system has created for many people, he declares, I am not Chinese and I am not Myanmar. I am in the middle.
Few may know that the incoming Minister for Information U Pe Myint best known as a short-story writer and translator of self-help books and novels started his professional career as a medical doctor.
When The Myanmar Times interviewed him in 2010, he spoke of the challenges of balancing a successful medical career with his interest in writing.
A doctors work requires total concentration and their time must be devoted to caring for their patients, which makes balance hard to achieve if you also love to write, the 67-year-old minister said.
He stopped treating patients after 10 years a decade during which he hardly wrote at the age of 40.
I hardly had any leisure time during my years as a doctor, which meant I couldnt pursue my hobby, he said. I studied medicine when I was young because of my interest in science, but eventually my interest in the lives of people outgrew my desire to treat them.
His translation work began while he was still studying medicine. Kabar Ko Phan Tee Thu Myar (People Who Create the World), co-translated by Dr Zay Yar, was his first translation to be published in 1973. His third work after The Final Diagnosis by Arthur Hailey in 1975 finally earned him notoriety.
Ward Six by Anton Chekhov, published in 1977, earned him admiration from readers and his translations have been celebrated ever since.
U Myo Nyunt, one of the editors of Pyi Thu Ayay journal where U Pe Myint worked as a chief editor, became friends with U Pe Myint when he was studying medicine at college more than 30 years ago. He said that U Pe Myint has always loved reading and writing.
He reads all kinds of books but he seems to revel in English classics. When English language books were not generally available in the country, he used to visit Sule Pagoda Road where a store selling English-language books stood, U Myo Nyunt said. He would stand for hours browsing for something interesting to read.
Who's Who: Inside Myanmar's new cabinet
U Myo Nyunt said the minister is well-read and has a passion for writing. He spends a lot of free time writing his own short stories and only publishes a book when it is deemed perfect.
He has always been such a curious person, wanting to know everything, and he knew books could help him learn, U Myo Nyunt said. Whenever we meet at a tea shop, he always talks about writers around the world, world literature and publishers.
The celebrated writer won the National Literary Award in 1995 for his collection Parts for Sale and Other Short Stories. He is also credited with introducing Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to the reading public.
Through the Do Ayay newspaper, U Pe Myint interviewed Aung San Suu Kyi about her political beliefs after her speech at Shwedagon Pagoda on August 26, 1988, said U Myo Myint Nyein, editor for Shwe Amutae magazine. Before his article, people only knew that she was the Generals daughter.
U Pe Myint helped found the Do Ayay newspaper with U Myo Nyunt and U Myo Myint Nyein in 1988.
His efforts for promoting writing and literacy have not slowed since. This year marked the second annual Nobel Literary Festival, which he helped to found.
The festival is the biggest and most successful literature festival in the country, said U Myo Myint Nyein.
Thwin Su Htwe, despite her decade of experience, will have her very first solo show Splendour in the Grass on April 2. Ahead of the opening, Myanmar Times correspondent Myo Satt asked her to take a look back on her journey as a designer.
After her matriculation exams in 1998, she flew to Italy to pursue her dream of working in fashion design. She studied there for four years before returning to Myanmar and facing the difficulties of breaking into such a fickle business.
I started out by making the music video costumes for No, the girl band, she said. I tried to use what I had learned, but there were always requests to change my designs.
The critics never stopped once she got her foot in the door.
There have always been challenges especially in fields like design because you want to create something new every time, which means you can end up going against current trends, she said. Critics dont always like that.
Her biggest critique, though, was earlier this year at a fashion show for ICCG (the International Cultural and Charity Group).
In my first show in 2016 I had designed a dress that Aye Myat Thu wore. The top part of the dress was similar to a brassiere with a lot of glittering accessories, she said. Most of the critiques were bad, saying that it wasnt graceful and that it was too audacious for current trends.
However, some did say that my design was different and daring in a good way.
She prefers the latter.
Her history with model Aye Myat Thu goes back to her first accolade as a designer.
We entered a People Magazine competition in the early 2000s that judged on both the skills of the model and the designer, she said. And we won first prize.
Since then she has been relentlessly designing and forging her own way in the fashion world.
I rarely make evening gowns or traditional Burmese dresses both mainstays in Myanmar fashion. People know me best for my wearable designs with a fresh twist, she said. And people tell me Im good at making pants.
Myanmars fashion industry capricious like any other presents its own challenges that she hopes will adapt with more modern times.
People of all ages are beginning to understand fashion sense these days and we are transitioning from a more motley approach to one that is internationally recognised, she said. But to be able to compete better internationally, Myanmar designers need to put more of themselves into their designs it helps us stand out.
Fashion not only requires putting yourself into the designs, but also being able to continually reinvent what that means.
International shows have come to recognise Acheik fabric and longyi designs as being typically Myanmar, she said. They want to see new, fresh designs coming from us instead of the same old things.
We need to be brave with colour, creation and concept.
Looking to the future, Thwin Su Htwe has plans to launch a brand of her own.
I need to focus on my first solo show right now, but my plan is to launch my brand next year, she said.
Splendour in the Grass will show at Yangon Sailing Club on April 2 at 7pm.
After a series of unfortunate events, the original founders and creators of the now defunct Pomelo have come together with their group of craft producers to form Hla Day, which will launch at their Silver Lining Party on April 2 at the Goethe Villa.
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Hla Day a play on the Myanmar phrase for beautiful is hosting the party as a fundraising event to help this new social enterprise rise from the ashes with support from the community.
The event will include a craft market, live music from Mix Tape, yoga by donation from Yangon Yoga House, craft workshops for kids and adults, a lucky draw contest, short film screenings, food and drinks, and a photography exhibition.
With an influx of support from local sponsors donating lucky draw prizes including hotel stays, plane tickets, art and more the community has more than spoken in support of this new venture.
Silver Lining Party will be at Goethe Villa, 8 Ko Min Ko Chin Road, Bahan township, Yangon on April 2 from 3pm to 9pm. For more information contact [email protected] or visit their Facebook page.
With long, leafy boulevards, Chiang Mai presents an alluring alternative to the Thai capital, Bangkok. Instead of traffic-choked urban sprawl, travellers find a picturesque downtown easily navigated on foot, where the air is clean and the climate mercifully cool. A short bike or scooter ride out of the town leads to a densely rain-forested countryside interspersed with waterfalls. Since the local airport received an upgrade in 2014, more regional flights have been heading to this serene city, making it cheaper and easier to reach.
The old town, inside its moat, is an extraordinary vision. Here amid the 30-odd temple spires, barefoot monks in flame-coloured robes collect alms in the morning and street vendors sell their wares by night.
Contrary to what all the English-language signs offering yoga courses and trekking tours might have you believe, the ancient capital city harbours a vibrant contemporary scene. A spate of new galleries, co-working spaces and artsy cafes are giving creative people space to showcase their work.
Unlike many modern Asian cities, where such harbingers of gentrification have pushed traditional shops and street food hawkers out of the picture, Chiang Mais younger generation continues to embrace its older establishments. Bare-bones eateries serving fiery, northern dishes like laab (minced meat salad) brimming with mint, dried spices and fresh blood, or sua ue, a herbaceous grilled sausage perfumed with lemongrass and served with fingerfuls of sticky rice, still stand proudly next to modern cafes and bars.
To visit the citys modern side, head just beyond the centre to student-y Nimmanhaemin Road, with its boutiques, galleries, coffee shops and myriad restaurants. The pace of life may have speeded up in recent years as the citys grown, but Chiang Mai is still a city of quiet charms, best absorbed at a leisurely pace.
WHAT TO SEE AND DO
Learn traditional skills
Although Thai massage can be a shock to first-timers, the after-effects of being forcibly contorted into pretzel shapes can be wondrous. Pick up a few tricks from the pros by registering at one of the training centres in town. Thai Massage School Shivagakomarpaj (courses from US$50) in the Old Medicine Hospital stands out for its comprehensive courses in history, concept and technique. More than 20,000 students, half of them foreigners, have studied there since it opened in 1962. The full course lasts five days, but theres a two-day foot massage course or a one-day herbal hot compress course, using healing herbs gathered in a cloth bundle and applied to pressure points.
Acquire a new dish
If youd rather improve your culinary prowess, there are dozens of cooking schools in the city. A lesson at boutique hotel 137 Pillars House ($65pp) includes a trip to Thanin Market and instruction by a top chef. For a more budget option, the Chiang Mai Thai Farm Cooking School ($34, including food and transfers) offers hands-on, small-group classes with individual cooking stations. Participants stop at the nearby Ruam Chok Market before visiting an organic farm to stroll in the fields and take a crash course in ingredients such as jackfruit, holy basil and bitter eggplant, then get to work pounding curry paste with a mortar and pestle.
Heed the call of the wild
Tourists have come under fire in recent years for posting pictures of themselves cuddling tiger cubs or riding elephants. But there are still plenty of ways to get up close and personal with nature ethically. Elephant Nature Park, some 40 miles (64 kilometres) from Chiang Mai, has been rescuing and rehabilitating pachyderms since the 1990s. Visitors can spend the day feeding, swimming with and walking alongside the contented herd in their 200-acre habitat. Got a little extra time and cash? Consider a week-long homestay in a Karen village helping with reforestation, animal vaccinations and farming. A one-day package costs $65; the full week, with Journey to Freedom, costs $388, with full board.
Hit the markets
Chiang Mais outdoor bazaars are a riot of sounds and smells. When dusk falls, prowl for gai yang (grilled chicken), khao kha moo (pork shank braised with star anise) and kanom jin (rice noodles with curry) on Chang Khlan Road every evening. Pick up silver jewellery and other handicrafts on Wualai Road on a Saturday and save a few hours on Sunday to browse on Ratchadamnoen Avenue. For a market with more locals and fewer bootleg DVDs, rise early and go to the smaller Somphet Market on Moon Muang Road.
Support the arts
Chiang Mai fosters a small but steadily growing community of artists and designers. Join the citys creative crowd any evening at Thapae East, a hip space decked out in exposed brick that hosts everything from poetry readings to indie concerts. Or check out exhibitions spotlighting local talent at the new Gallery Kang Wat in Baan Kang Wat, an artists village and craft showcase near Wat Ram Poeng. Hern Gallery (1/3 Padat Road) is a recently opened offshoot of the Gallery Seescape, on a bend of the Ping river south of the old town.
See the best of the temples
One glance at the regal Wat Phra Singh (the temple of the lion Buddha) explains the crowds it attracts. But dont miss Wat Chedi Luang, also in the old centre, where visitors can chat casually with monks about Buddhism, life, the universe and everything. Established in the late 13th century, Wat Chiang Man is not only impressive as the citys oldest temple, but also for its two immense Buddha statues. One of the most revered shrines is across the Ping River: Wat Chedi Liam, part of Wiang Kum Kam, the ruins of the Lanna empires original capital. At the temples, remember to dress modestly.
Take a trek
After a few days in the city, the lure of the jungle beyond is hard to resist. Virtually every guesthouse will try to convince you to go on a trek, and with so many similar itineraries rafting, elephants, hill tribe encounters picking the right one can be a challenge. Tiger Trail Outdoor Adventures (two-day treks from $95) is a socially responsible tour operator that has been organising treks in South-east Asia since 2000. Private treks are available, but group tours never exceed 10. Or try Pooh Eco-Trekking (two-day trek from $88), which has been leading tours for two decades.
The Guardian
The European Unions election monitoring team has urged the new government to revise citizenship laws it said perpetuate racial discrimination and the suffering of ethnic minorities.
Mission chief Alexander Graf Lambsdorff said during a conference yesterday that the legal framework needs an urgent retooling to ensure fairer future elections.
We believe the right to vote should be exercised by as many people as are entitled to it reasonably and that means that the citizenship criteria should be applied in a non-arbitrary and not discriminatory manner, he said.
The EU election team presented its final report on the 2015 election process in Yangon yesterday. It included several recommendations for the newly installed National League for Democracy government.
The report was particularly critical over temporary citizen registration that allotted white cards to over 760,000 people, mostly Muslim Rohingya in Rakhine State who are officially referred to by the government as Bengalis.
Although Rohingya voters were courted by the Union Solidarity and Development Party in the 2010 election, in February last year the government declared the white cards invalid from March 31 under pressure from Buddhist nationalists. Parliament also amended electoral laws to remove voting rights for white card holders and the Constitutional Tribunal also ruled that temporary ID holders could not vote. As a result, almost 1 million holders of white cards were disenfranchised.
In addition to stripping the white-card holders of their right to vote, Muslim candidates were also culled from the election list. Just 11 were eventually reinstated for minor parties, while the larger parties decided not to field a single Muslim. As a result, no Muslims sit in parliament or have been appointed to the new cabinet.
The right to vote should be enjoyed by those reasonably entitled to do so, including communities previously entitled to vote, the chief observer said. He added that the right to stand for election needs to be reasonable and inclusive. A 10-year residency obligation for parliamentary candidates, for example, is too strict.
Moving forward, several laws and regulations can be improved which would also help to make the process more transparent and easier to understand for the citizens, he said at the conference.
Sai Ye Kyaw Swa Myint, executive director of Peoples Alliance for Credible Elections, said the all the political parties accepted that the process was fair and competitive, but that didnt mean there were not areas for improvement. The newly formed Union Election Commission should take note of the field-based recommendations, he added.
A New report estimates expenditure on Myanmars drawn-out peace process has dwarfed the total monthly national defence spend on personnel, artillery, vehicles and ammunition by state and non-state armed groups by a magnitude of 4:1, raising fresh questions about the effectiveness of the Western government-backed dialogue.
The explosive claims made by in the report Taking the Peace by independent security analyst Rick OShea were revealed at a press conference in Chiang Rai yesterday.
What I found was alarming, Mr OShea said, adding that his three-year investigation was spurred on by the Peace-Industrial Complexs staggering lack of both opacity and competence.
Finding out the market price of a HQ-12 surface-to-air on the Chinese border? That was the easy part. But just you try getting the think tanks to disclose some of those salaries! Hoo boy! Mr OShea told The Myanmar Times. Youre talking about almost one-fifth of GDP, and I feel like Ive barely scratched the surface.
Mr OShea, a Vietnam veteran, said his research was driven largely by revenge following an infuriating conversation with a consultant in a downtown hotel bar in 2012.
The report takes particular aim at know-nothing Western suitmonkeys, and makes the damning claim that at least 80 percent of them would nod knowingly at made-up acronyms, at least 90pc of the time.
Among Mr OSheas other explosive claims is that Western government funds were used to buy novelty eyewear.
You know those ones that make it look like your eyes are open but actually youre asleep? In some cases, we found they were being worn in meetings as much as 70pc of the time. Turns out, a lot of these guys dont need glasses at all, he said.
Human Rights Watchs David Scott Mathieson welcomed the reports findings, saying by SMS it makes u think.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, battalion officer U Hla Hla said he was also impressed at the scope of Mr OSheas investigation. I dont know how he got those KTV receipts That was a truly wild night. I still cant believe Yawd Serk did She Bangs. He does love Ricky Martin though.
The KNUs Saw Mutu Sae Poe refused to be drawn on the subject, flipping the bird at a reporter before rolling off in a 2013 9E-plated Rolls Royce.
The meetings, the hotels, the functions, the flights, the exorbitant consultancy fees It really begs the question: What has been achieved? Mr OShea said.
Myanmar's new National League for Democracy government is preparing an application to join the European Union, it has been revealed. Negotiations have been proceeding in secret ever since the former opposition party swept to victory in last Novembers historic elections.
The complex and highly sensitive talks are being managed by a high-powered but obscure think tank called Inconceivable Outcomes, based in Sagaing Region. The agency is operating under the supervision of the incoming Minister for Foreignaffairseducationelectricpowerandenergyandofficeofthepresidentandotherthingsastheneedarises.
The fact is, Europe needs Myanmar more than Myanmar needs Europe, said InOuts director, Dr Than Hlaing, in a recent interview. Speaking from an undisclosed location, Dr Than Hlaing explained the thinking behind the application. Were actually negotiating from a position of strength.
The European Union may look rich and stable, but its actually falling apart, he said. Half its old members, starting with Britain, want to leave. What the EU needs is an infusion of fresh blood, a new member confident in its youth and democracy to inspire the others. I dont mean some country from Africa or the Middle East, obviously. Its time the EU had a Buddhist member. And how many EU members are also members of ASEAN?
Myanmars membership would also give the EU a land border with China, he added, suggesting that that was the real reason behind the recent decision to widen the road from Mandalay to the trading post at Muse.
Furthermore, EU membership would automatically entitle Myanmar to take part in the Eurovision Song Contest, an important policy consideration, he added. However, separate talks would have to be held on including Myanmar in the Schengen visa-free zone, and substituting the Euro for the kyat.
The main sticking point in the negotiations, reportedly, is the EUs insistence that Myanmars traditional breakfast, mohinga, would have to be replaced by a German-style morning meal. This could be a wurst-kase scenario for Myanmar, said one concerned negotiator grimly.
Dr Than Hlaing, who says he has a PhD in social network connectivity ergonomic studies from Boxford University in the United Kingdom, said Myanmars negotiating position would be further strengthened if Britain voted to leave the EU at a referendum scheduled for next June.
We could just take their slot, he claimed. Myanmar is an English-speaking country, sort of, pretty much the same size as Britain, but much more European-minded and less likely to break up. We wouldnt spent all our time complaining, either. Were as democratic as any of the current members, or more so. And they wouldnt have to change the number of stars on their flag. A lot of people in Brussels probably wouldnt even notice the difference.
Asked about the significant gap in economic strength between Myanmar and European Union members, he said, Were also talking to Goldman Sachs about how best to present our financial statistics. They got Greece in, they can certainly get us in.
A spokesperson for the European Union declined to comment.
Staff
Tatmadaw Commander-in-Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing has re-appointed Yangon Regions minister for security and border affairs. The nomination was approved yesterday by the regional parliament.
Colonel Tin Aung Tun replaced Colonel Tin Win in 2015 when the latter resigned from his position as minister to compete in the November 8 election for the Union Solidarity and Development Party. He later won a seat in the Cocokyun constituency, one of Myanmars smallest.
A biography of the colonel distributed to MPs yesterday stated that he holds a diploma from the Military University of the Ministry of Defence in Russia.
Col Tin Aung Tun said that he would focus on tackling drug trafficking and possession by boosting security in the region. We will make more security gates to check cars for drugs. Currently, we are checking three times a week in Yangon, he said.
Speaking to The Myanmar Times last month, Col Tin Aung Tun said he believed the NLD would introduce policies better than that of the USDP.
Military MPs said this morning that a plan to bolster Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's power with a special advisory role was unconstitutional, as the new civilian government tussled with the army just days after taking office.
A National League for Democracy government headed by President U Htin Kyaw, a close confidante of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, was sworn into office on March 30.
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who is barred from the presidency by the constitution but has vowed to rule above the president, has four ministerial posts in the government.
In a surprise early act of parliamentary business by the new government, the NLD proposed a bill to grant her a special "state counsellor" position.
If passed it would give the 70-year-old a steering role over parliament, buttressed by the ministerial posts she already holds in the new cabinet.
In a sign of early turbulence between her party and the still hugely influential army, military MPs called the move unconstitutional in an upper house debate that saw the bill pass its first legislative hurdle.
Colonel Myint Swe raised fears the plan would place the "president and the adviser at the same level".
"This is in opposition to the constitution. So I would like to suggest the bill be amended according to the constitution," he told lawmakers.
Another army lawmaker, Colonel Hla Win Aung, also decried the naming of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in the bill and warned it could "destroy" the charter's balance of power between the legislature, executive and judiciary.
The army is reserved a quarter of all parliamentary seats by a charter they scripted.
The NLD's huge election win gave it a sweeping majority in the legislature, so the bill passed a vote in the upper house, but still needs to be approved in the lower house.
The role outlined for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in the new bill would give her a budget and authority to conduct any meetings deemed necessary.
AFP
A Kachin peace activist released after serving a six-month sentence for sharing a defamatory post about Myanmars military chief has called for the release of all political prisoners.
Patrick Kum Jaa Lee was released from Insein Prison at about 9am on April 1.
Speaking to the media, he condemned the verdict and sentence handed down to him, and said the Telecommunications Law and other legislation should be reformed to protect freedom of speech.
The law should be prescribed to protect citizens, not to send them to jail, he said.
Patrick Kum Jaa Lee was arrested on October 14, 2015, following a complaint to police by a military officer after he shared a photo on Facebook that showed Commander-in-Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing being stepped on.
He was charged under section 66(d) of the Telecommunications Law, which prohibits actions that extort, threaten, obstruct, defame, disturb, inappropriately influence or intimidate and carries a potential three-year prison term.
In January, Hlaing Township Court Judge U Sein Kyi found him guilty, saying the image was defamatory and "against the cultural and customary context of our country".
The case drew criticism from human rights groups and prompted accusations that the government and military were using the new Telecommunications Law hailed as a step toward liberalising the sector when enacted in 2013 as a tool to stifle dissent.
Also in October, a young National League for Democracy supporter, Ma Chaw Sandi Tun, 25, was arrested for a post comparing Senior General Min Aung Hlaings uniform with the colour of Daw Aung San Suu Kyis htamein. She received a six-month sentence under the same section and was released on March 30.
Patrick Kum Ja Lee said the law had been used against activists unfairly because no by-laws had yet been passed. Nobody should go to jail in these circumstances. We can only accept a penalty according to a law with proper procedures, he said.
Legal expert U Tin Than Oo said that while the Telecommunications Law does not have by-laws, these are not always required.
Action can still be taken against those who violate the law. But the government needs to use the law correctly. In the case of this law, the previous government failed to use it against those who were really violating the law. Instead, it used it for political cases. This is simply wrong, he said.
Patrick Kum Jaa Lee said there were so many people in prison who had been sentenced under oppressive laws. He said he believed the new government would released all political prisoners.
Some [prisoners] have not made big mistakes but have received huge sentences. I want them to be released, he said, adding that many in Insein Prison were from other parts of the country, making it difficult for their relatives to visit.
Patrick Kum Jaa Lee also said he was that he was in poor health and would be seeking treatment. During his trial his defence team sought bail on health grounds but the application was rejected by the court.
The issue of political prisoners poses a significant challenge for the NLD-led administration, with human rights group lobbying hard for a full and unconditional release. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has pledged to release all prisoners of conscience, but whether that pledge is even feasible remains to be seen. The military retains control of the National Defence and Security Council, which the president must consult in order to grant amnesties.
Mandalay Region Chief Minister U Zaw Myint Maung has vowed to review projects awarded by the outgoing government.
The MP from Amarapura township constituency 1, who also acts as a spokesperson for the National League for Democracy, said yesterday that he would meet staff from all 152 departments in the region to find out what the former government had approved in its final months in office.
As all of you know, [the previous government] signed many projects during the transition period and the incoming government must check the legal grounds for these. The projects will be examined by a group of professionals and we will have to deal with projects that are found to have no benefit for the people, U Zaw Myint Maung told reporters at the hluttaw on March 31.
U Zaw Myint Maung said he hopes to form his government during the first week of April. He has already submitted a proposed list of ministers to the president and is waiting for approval.
In his speech in parliament, he said he would try to fulfil the hopes of the people and abolish oppressive laws. He asked his MPs to stay clear from corruption and do their tasks with honesty and integrity.
Translation by Emoon
A draft law that would create a key pivotal post in government specifically designed for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is to be debated in the upper house today, although a senior MP denied that she would in effect become prime minister.
The state counsellor law was approved for debate by the upper house yesterday without objection following presentation by the bill committee, in the new governments first legislative act since taking office on March 30.
U Aung Kyi Nyunt, the National League for Democracy MP chairing the committee, explained that the bill had been crafted for the party leader because of the constitutional ban on her becoming president under article 59(f). The party would not give up its attempts to amend the constitution, he said.
But we dont know how long it will take to change to change the constitution. So we chose this way [the bill] before we can change it. The day we change 59(f), the law would be abolished, U Aung Kyi Nyunt said, referring to the article that bars those with close foreign relatives from the presidency.
At the same time he said the bill was drafted for the sake of the country and people, not out of personal interest or on behalf of an organisation.
Diplomats and analysts informed about the bill said its purpose was in effect to create a position tantamount to that of prime minister for the NLD leader, who already has four ministerial portfolios in the new cabinet under President U Htin Kyaw, who is acting as her proxy.
As a member of the executive, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has to relinquish her seat in parliament but the bill appears designed to maintain her links to the legislature, which remains the NLDs power base following its resounding election victory last November.
The bill, containing five chapters and eight sections, states as its purpose the development of a multi-party democratic system, a market economy, the building of a federal Union, and peace and development of the Union.
It says the role of state counsellor will be to provide advice for the state in the citizens interests in a manner that does not contravene the constitution. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi would also have the responsibility of reporting to parliament, as related to her functions, and given a budget.
U Aung Kyi Nyunt said parliament would try to approve the bill quickly. Once approved by the upper house, it would then move to the lower house, with the NLD holding majorities in both chambers.
Its not like [creating] a prime minister. Also the constitution would not allow it, he said.
We created the bill so that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi can officially provide suggestions to government in building mutual trust and the national reconciliation process. The purpose of the bill is very simple and honest. The bill grants [Daw Aung San Suu Kyi] the right to consult, not authority [to make decisions], he added.
The NLD says it is submitting the bill in accordance with section 217 of the constitution which sets out the executive powers of the president in relation to parliament. U Aung Kyi Nyunt noted the section allowed the Union parliament to confer functions and powers.
There is no provision in the constitution for the appointment of a Prime Minister, but there is nothing in the constitution either which prevents this, Derek Tonkin, a former UK ambassador, wrote in a commentary last month, amid speculation over how Daw Aung San Suu Kyi would formally assume power, together with a proxy president.
But some political analysts were not convinced the NLD had made the right decision, although there was speculation over whether the NLD leader might have reached a behind-the-scenes deal with the military.
Analysts asked about the burdens shouldered by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on top of her four ministerial posts, and how the new law would risk antagonising the military which has not forgotten her pre-election pledge to be above the president.
The NLD said they create the bill according to article 217, but article 217 is not precise. I think this may lead to a constitutional crisis, said analyst U Yan Myo Thein.
There was no immediate public response by the military, which holds 25 percent of seats in parliament and controls three key ministries. [UPDATE: Military slams bill to create 'state counsellor' role]
When upper house Speaker Mahn Win Khaing Than yesterday asked for parliaments view on debating the bill, military MPs did not object.
U Than Soe Naing, a political analyst, sees the bill as trying to establish cooperation between the executive and the legislature rather than interfering with each others independence.
As far as I can see, this position has the good intention of reducing future friction between the legislative and executive powers. We had seen that there was power rivalry between the government and parliament over the last five years, he said.
But, he added, military representatives may still object, noting that they objected last month to a motion by an NLD MP that touched the interests of the military-owned Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited.
Lower house NLD MP Daw Thet Thet Khine says she is optimistic the military will cooperate.
We need cooperation. We have to build a good civil-military relationship as we are committed to national reconciliation, she said.
We should respect the Tatmadaws perspective. Likewise, they should respect the elected MPs opinions. The way is already prepared ahead, but what is just needed is cooperation, she added.
Given its majority in both chambers, the NLD is hopeful parliament might even pass the bill before the Thingyan recess starts on April 5.
If the lower house agrees as the upper house approves it, it can be assumed the Union parliament will approve the bill automatically. The bill can be enacted quickly. I hope the military will accept it. But I dont know how they will respond tomorrow [today], said U Aung Kyi Nyunt said.
Ministry of Health officials will be called to parliament today to reveal details of an investigation into the cause of death and severe illness of dozens of newborns in Bago Region.
Between March 4 and 7, three infants died and another 25 suffered seizures and respiratory trauma after receiving what should have been a routine inoculation.
Health officials have since been struggling to explain the adverse reactions and symptoms of blood poisoning. The Food and Drug Administration said it had ruled out the hepatitis B vaccine administered shortly before the onset of the severe symptoms as the cause, but the MP who proposed the parliament session isnt so sure.
Lower house representative U Myint Oo, an NLD member for Thanatpin in Bago, launched his own investigation into Bago General Hospital and found it riddled with malfeasance.
The hospital has the capacity to treat just 200 people even though officially they have announced they support medical services for 500 people, he said.
He said he has submitted findings from his own field study to parliament and to the Pyithu Hluttaw Health Committee in a bid to help uncover the truth of the incident.
I also want to know the FDA is taking responsibility for the sake of the public. Ive visited and investigated medical staff and the health conditions of the affected children, he said.
He also submitted questions to the Ministry of Health, which has been given until today to provide answers. Ministry officials said they have been collating replies, but that the investigation, which has already stretched almost a month, has not concluded.
An inquiry will be held over whether the hepatitis B vaccines administered were safe, whether financial compensation should be given for aggrieved families, and what kind of regulations are needed to ensure reliable care for patients, U Myint Oo said.
I want to know whether the fatal hepatitis B vaccine was registered or not. I would also like to know about what preventative measures are in place to stop such tragedies from happening in the future. I do not believe these fatalities occurred due to birth irregularities, he said.
The Ministry of Healths investigation team said their efforts to test the vaccines given to the 28 infants has been complicated by the fact that the initial sample was used up and thrown away.
The vaccines were called Engerix B and Hepavax B. The manufacturers of both brands have been participating in the study, and have confirmed that their vaccines are imported to the country through official channels.
Infants are routinely given vaccinations against hepatitis B soon after birth, often on a schedule of three doses. Myanmar is considered to have a high incidence of the viral infection, which is transmitted through bodily fluids and can cause chronic liver disease.
But the newborns at Bago Hospital were found to have been administered vaccines purchased by one of the parents through a private pharmacy instead of given as part of the official nationwide inoculation campaign.
While the manufacturers advise the vaccines must be transported and stored at a temperature between 2 and 8 degrees Celsius, parents said they witnessed it being administered at room temperature.
According to the World Health Organization, a child is very unlikely to get sick as a result of receiving the expired or improperly stored vaccine. If the vaccine vial or prefilled syringe is not damaged, it is extremely unlikely that the vaccine will become contaminated by improper storage.
Instead, the vaccine is expected to lose its potency, meaning revaccination will be required.
Without the original sample to examine, the FDA moved on to the next best option testing a sample from the same batch supplied by the manufacturer. But this sample was stored correctly and provided through official channels. The seller of the vaccines in question has disappeared, leaving lingering questions over how the boxes were procured, whether the vials were properly sealed or even whether they were what the packaging indicated.
Dr Theingyi Zin, director of the FDA, said tests of vaccine samples provided by the manufacturer yielded no answers.
We have not discovered any toxins or growing bacteria, he said. So we cannot say whether or not the deaths and infections were caused by the hepatitis vaccine as we have not been able to test the exact vaccine. We have reported our results to the Ministry of Health.
Dr Than Tun Aung, deputy director general for public health and a member of the invetigating team, even more strongly rejected the notion that the vaccines could have been at fault.
The blood poisoning was caused by neonatal sepsis, he said, referring to a bacterial infection typically acquired through the birth canal.
However, a previous health ministry statement attributed the bloody poisoning to a viral infection.
Seven newborns who were transferred to Yangons Yankin Childrens Hospital, as well as the other babies who remained at Bago General, have all been discharged and are recovering, according to U Ye Myint Aung, an official from the General Hospital Administration.
Dr Phyu Phyu Oo, a paediatrician at Yankin Hospital, confirmed that infants had been discharged, but would not answer questions about their condition.
Ko Aung Soe Myint, a father of one of the infants at Yankin Childrens Hospital, said he was told his daughter will need regular check-ups to ensure she continues to recover.
Additional reporting by Laignee Barron
Last week I wrote about the lamentable lack of women in Myanmars new cabinet. It provoked a mixed reaction.
One respondent suggested in a way that was, naturally, not at all patronising that I was clearly hugely upset and should take a cool shower and put things in perspective.
But in the halls of Nay Pyi Taw this week, as the new president and cabinet members were sworn in Daw Aung San Suu Kyi conspicuously the only woman among them Myanmar and international attendees also expressed their concern about the exclusion of women from the countrys top positions.
Rights campaigners said they recognise the transition will not be helped by infighting within NLD ranks, but it was positive to hear that women in the party are determined to ensure key gender-rights issues are dealt with straight away.
Speaking in parliament ahead of the swearing-in, Susanna Hla Hla Soe upper house NLD MP for Yangon, womens rights activist and member of the women and childrens committee told The Myanmar Times, We are not very happy [about the lack of women in the cabinet]. Now is not the time to fight things are fragile but it has to change, even if it happens slowly. [In the meantime] a priority must be to rectify the womens protection law.
The MP said she hoped the legislation which spent three years proceeding through parliament under the former military-backed government without ever being passed would be passed this year.
She also vowed to keep fighting against the legislation introduced in the name of protection of race and religion last year, which was widely criticised for breaching rights including a measure giving the government the legal power to attempt to control when women had children.
We condemned [those laws] from the start and we will keep on fighting against them. They need to be evaluated and cancelled, she said.
But the rights campaigner also raised another priority for the government which, while she did not directly link it to gender equality during our conversation, could be greatly assisted by the presence of more women in senior positions.
With my background in CSOs I believe the priority for the government must be to tackle corruption, she said.
Including more women in top-level positions across sectors would be one way to help address this. Not because of any innate moral superiority over their male counterparts, but because diversity of backgrounds helps avert, to some extent at least, the kind of collusion and corrupt dealings that see contracts negotiated and the countrys future decided in dark corners of karaoke parlours instead of in open and transparent public proceedings.
Of course women can be equally corrupt as men. But when any group of power-holders is exclusive as the male-dominated club of the Myanmar military, their government appointees and their cronies surely has been the climate for corruption to flourish is intensified.
Boosting the number of women in senior roles in the private sector will undoubtedly be challenging, but of course should be a key goal for those advising and supporting business development in this country.
However, it is well within the power of the new administration to back the appointment of more women to influential positions in regional and municipal government and civil service posts.
We do not know at this stage how long we will have to wait to see anything like a reasonable number of women in high-profile Union government positions. But there is an opportunity right now, and continuing into the future, to promote the appointment of more women to powerful roles where corruption has been rife.
Myanmar will benefit from having more women mayors, more female heads of planning and, in general, more women running departments awarding contracts and with powers over finance and assets.
Gender stereotypes are rarely helpful, but if the countrys leaders unfairly lack faith in Myanmar womens ability to run the national government on culture and gender grounds, one presumes they then do accept the cultural traditions that perceive women as good at planning and managing finances.
Let them put their money where their mouths are on this issue and where the cash can be clearly seen and give women the opportunity to address the corruption that has blighted this country for too long, and allowed rich men to boost their own coffers while women and children suffer.
The Myanmar Times asked several ambassadors for their views on the challenges and priorities that lie ahead for the new government, and what investment opportunities they see.
Gautam Mukhopadhaya, India
Myanmar is entering probably its most fateful period since independence and the military takeover of the 1960s when the imperatives of national unity, integrity, stability, and change from above come face to face with democratic aspirations, diversity and change from below. This tension is likely to be felt through the entire polity and society. How this challenge is handled by political and popular forces will determine whether Myanmar, with its natural, agricultural and forest resources, strategic location, and its talented, educated, disciplined and easily trainable human capital, realises its potential of being a new, and large, tiger economy or not.
Infrastructure, power, roads, energy, ports, transport etc will always be important for an underdeveloped economy, but I expect to see the new government direct investment much more toward people at the base of the economy, in organic agriculture, rural development, renewable energy, education, health, light industry, food processing and tourism areas that do not require vast investments but that will benefit the largest number of people and disrupt society least. India is one of Myanmars biggest development partners with direct government projects and soft loans amounting to over US$1.75 billion. We will build on these investments in transport infrastructure Kaladan, Trilateral Highway and capacity building to increase investments in those areas of greatest mutual interest and synergy with due respect to the environment. I would particularly like to see small investments on a sizeable scale in people and livelihoods that the largest number of people depend on.
Roland Kobia, European Union
The European Union warmly welcomes the taking office of President U Htin Kyaw and his government. President U Htin Kyaw and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi enjoy an excellent reputation as long-standing supporters of democracy and we are looking forward to working with them and their team. The first democratically elected government is backed by unprecedented popular support. The people of Myanmar have great expectations, while the remaining challenges are real. Careful expectation management will have to go along with a dedicated engagement to take the reform agenda forward.
Peace and reconciliation will remain the conditio sine qua non for Myanmar to succeed in its remarkable transition to a democratic and prosperous country. We believe in the power of inclusiveness: Ethnic armed groups, political and religious leaders, the military, civil society and womens groups all need to be part of the process. No one should feel excluded. The gradual promotion of a vision of togetherness and cooperation in the highest interest of the country is key to helping build the necessary trust amongst the diverse groups of Myanmar and recreate a common identity.
It will be important to take action early on to enhance the peoples trust in public institutions. Credible action against corruption, transparent governance and active outreach to media and civil society will all contribute to building confidence.
Political stability and legal security will bring about the much-longed-for economic recovery. The government will have to provide a conducive framework to boost the economy, send the right signals to attract new investments and create jobs. Besides the infrastructure and the hardware, it will be essential to develop the software of the country, ie human capital. Education, skills and job opportunities is what can give the people of Myanmar a real perspective of better living conditions for themselves and their children.
Expert opinions: Myanmars next government
Andrew Patrick, United Kingdom
The historic inauguration of the new government on March 30 marks a new phase in Burmas path to democracy. While there was progress in a number of areas under the last government a great deal still needs to be done. The United Kingdom will be a steadfast supporter of Burmas development. There are many challenges and opportunities: the peace process, economic growth and poverty eradication, the rule of law, the situation in Rakhine, and many others. It is one of the most difficult tasks of a new government to decide where its real priorities lie our job is not to dictate those priorities but to follow the government in supporting them. It is also important that the new administration is given time by the international community to establish itself, to decide how it wants to draw on international support, and time to achieve results. Making a difference always takes time, and particularly so when a party is new to government. The great strength of this new government is that it has unequivocal popular support. It will also I am sure have clear support from the international community, including from the United Kingdom.
Tateshi Higuchi, Japan
The government of Japan warmly welcomes the establishment of the new administration with the support of the majority of the Myanmar people through the election held in a democratic manner for the first time in more than half a century. We, in collaboration with the Japanese private sector, will continue to fully support the new administration through Official Development Assistances (ODAs) and investment, as the stability of the new administration is essential for the peace, stability and development of Myanmar.
The NLD has indicated that their policy priority lies in people-centred development and it has made a reality-based assessment that elevating the basic standards in such fields as health, education and rural development is of utmost importance while keeping fiscal prudence with clinical observations of Myanmars economy. We support such prioritising of issues and we will continue to support the efforts of the new administration in realising sustained and stable development of Myanmar, from which each person in this country can reap benefits.
Japan and Myanmars joint project in developing the Thilawa SEZ has proven to be a win-win example for both countries. We foresee this continuous trend to be a strong one, and have high expectations that the new administration will promote policies that encourage such business endeavors for the benefit of both Japan and Myanmar.
[April 01, 2016] MRC Issues Mobile Viewable Advertising Impression Measurement Guidelines for Public Comment Period
NEW YORK, April 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Media Rating Council (MRC) announced that a draft version of the Mobile Viewable Advertising Impression Guidelines is now available for public review and commentary. The document, which proposes guidance for measuring a mobile viewable impression a measurement of a moment at which the opportunity-to-see a mobile advertisement is established will be available for public comments through April 30, 2016. Upon its completion, the Guidelines document will provide industry guidance for the measurement of viewable impressions in Mobile Web and Mobile In-Application (In-App) environments. The final version of the document, which may incorporate additional feedback received during this public comment period, will supersede all previous MRC guidance on the measurement of viewable impressions in mobile environments (including MRC's Interim Guidance on Mobile Viewable Impression Measurement, issued in May 2015 and updated in November 2015). As with their desktop counterparts, mobile viewable advertising impressions will serve as a building block for additional, future metrics that will measure the effectiveness of an ad's message. "The mobile environment is multilayered and still evolving," said David Gunzerath, SVP and Associate Director, Media Rating Council. "Developing a viewability standard for measuring the opportunity-to-see an ad in mobile environments requires substantial cross-industry input and the balancing of a wide range of interests. But once established, it will be a significant step forward for the digital marketing world, and will enable us to build upon these foundational metrics toward future advanced metrics that will more fully measure ad engagement and effectiveness." Key components of this draft version of the Mobile Viewable Ad Impression Guidelines include: Minimum thresholds for measuring whether an impression is viewable: The draft proposes that display and video advertisements in mobile environments follow the same minimum time and pixel standards as their desktop counterparts: 50 percent of pixels in view for one consecutive second for desktop and two consecutive seconds for video.
The draft proposes that display and video advertisements in mobile environments follow the same minimum time and pixel standards as their desktop counterparts: 50 percent of pixels in view for one consecutive second for desktop and two consecutive seconds for video. Notation of ongoing evaluation of "newsfeed" environments: MRC will continue to analyze data between now and when the final version of the Guidelines is issued to determine if the final draft should establish different time thresholds for ads in mobile newsfeed environments. As of today, MRC has not concluded that different thresholds are necessary.
MRC will continue to analyze data between now and when the final version of the Guidelines is issued to determine if the final draft should establish different time thresholds for ads in mobile newsfeed environments. As of today, MRC has not concluded that different thresholds are necessary. Modification of Mobile Web/In Application Ad Definitions: The definition of mobile web ads now includes those ads launched to an embedded web browser from within a mobile app. The Interim Guidance had categorized these ads as mobile in app, not mobile web.
The definition of mobile web ads now includes those ads launched to an embedded web browser from within a mobile app. The had categorized these ads as mobile in app, not mobile web. The use of SDKs and APIs in mobile viewability measurement: The draft includes details to guide the use of Software Development Kits (SDKs) and Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) in mobile viewability measurement, and outlines specific quality control requirements for these.
The draft includes details to guide the use of Software Development Kits (SDKs) and Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) in mobile viewability measurement, and outlines specific quality control requirements for these. Continued absence of the Loaded Ad metric: As previously announced in November 2015 , MRC has concluded this metric, which was introduced in the May 2015 Interim Guidance document, is not necessary. It was originally designed as a temporary solution that recognized previous limitations in measurers' capabilities for determining viewable impressions in mobile in app environments.
During the 30 day public commentary period, interested parties can review the document here and provide commentary or suggested revisions via email to Ron Pinelli, [email protected]. The MRC will consider feedback received during this period before preparing a revised version that will be reviewed with the working group, and is targeted for final release later in Q2 2016. Once final, measurers currently accredited against the Interim Guidance will have 90 days to adopt any changes that may be necessary for compliance.
For more information, please visit www.mediaratingcouncil.org. About the Media Rating Council (MRC)
The MRC is a non-profit industry association established in 1963 composed of leading television, radio, print and Internet companies, as well as advertisers, advertising agencies and trade associations whose goal is to ensure measurement services that are valid, reliable and effective. Measurement services desiring MRC Accreditation are required to disclose to their customers all methodological aspects of their service; comply with the MRC Minimum Standards for Media Rating Research and other standards MRC produces; and submit to MRC-designed audits to authenticate and illuminate their procedures. In addition, the MRC membership actively pursues research issues they consider priorities in an effort to improve the quality of research in the marketplace. Currently approximately 110 research products are audited by the MRC. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mrc-issues-mobile-viewable-advertising-impression-measurement-guidelines-for-public-comment-period-300244445.html SOURCE Media Rating Council
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The answer should be that some debates should not be held in public.
Since the advancement of VoIP technology, the Communications Assisted Law Enforcement Act has updated the obscure wiretap rules found in the Bell System Standard Practices. Public knowledge of government surveillance has been on the rise. The hacking of the retailer Target, plus Wikileaks and former NSA staffer Edward Snowdens revelations have made us numb. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clintons email scandal, while politically charged, is on par with the CIA directors use of AOL.
In other words, we are used to having breaches, with incompetence being the norm.
Having such a public debate shows how poorly educated the FBI leadership is about hacking. It can be compared to the late Alaska Senator Ted Stevens once referring to the Internet as a series of tubes.
So Blackhats are either inspired by the FBIs ineptitude; in hysterics; or sending in their resumes and offering to consult for giant sums of money.
If the FBI used an outside source to gain access, they probably overpaid. If they used internal resources, the teams success would guarantee a pay raise in the outside world. If they go to the good guys it will mean more public discussions. If they go to bad guys, we will never hear about them again.
Having this public debate has made the public aware of Apples security, which probably boosted some sales. Now of course, it has also launched a hackfest of Blackhats wanting to boost their street cred by showing they can do it.
By staying public in this debate, the FBI has launched a variety of hackers trying to replicate the success of the FBI. Given how public this debate has been, eventually such a hack will be shown on YouTube.
It would be nice for obscurity to return to government efforts.
Apple allegedly has asked the FBI to reveal how they broke into the phone. Lets be the first to call this irony.
To see the Hamtramck of tomorrow isn't difficult. It's already taking shape. It stares back at you as you stroll through neighborhoods composed of the city's trademark vertical duplex dating from the 1920s and 1930s.
The scale of this manageable 2.02 square mile urban grid, where sidewalks can lead you on foot to nearly any kind of cultural or social destination, is ideally suited for American city-dwellers decreasingly reliant on the car for transportation. Hamtramck's diversity, affordability, and walkability impart an authentic, tactile experience. Professionals and artists of all stripes mingle here as both producers and consumers of local culture.
Most residential blocks are stable. Housing prices are up slightly, as are rental units, though the cost of living is still far less than in the nearby, 7.2 square mile
What's missing is what's coming: an integrated cityscape powered by a robust local economy, fed by business activity on two commercial corridors, Jos. Campau and Conant. Add to that Caniff an avenue mixed with retail, restaurants and residential effectively becoming a bridge connecting the two primary commercial districts.
Fundamentals of community entrepreneurship
The merchant class leading this commercial resurgence will come as no surprise to those who have been paying close attention to the Hamtramck economic story: immigrant entrepreneurs. They've found success by selling to people who will buy it because they need it, then expanding the base to non-ethnic consumers.
Kamal Rahman of BAPAC at Aladdin Sweets and Cafe Bangladeshi-American businesspeople began investing in Hamtramck in the late 1980s. The first shop was Bengal Spices on Caniff near Lumpkin. The same family later bought an old Polish Hall (once part of the Polish Roman Catholic Union) and opened Taj Mahal, Hamtramck's first South Asian restaurant, in the early 1990s. When European-American business ownership began running out of steam here in the last quarter of the 20th century, Caniff and Conant were left in states of decline. It was largely Bangladeshi immigrant business investment that turned those streets around. Conant's reversal has been especially eye opening today approximately 35-40 businesses from that community are active.
In 2008, Gov. Granholm designated Conant as Bangladesh Avenue. Today, efforts are underway to put more juice into branding strategies. A group known as BAPAC (Bangladeshi American Public Affairs Committee) is using BanglaTown also used by the
"We believe the people who live here and the business community are part of one community. We all work together to make this a better place for all," says BAPAC spokesperson Kamal Rahman. "We like to think BanglaTown is the downtown for the Bangladeshi people in [southeast Michigan]. This is our Greektown, our Mexicantown. We want our business community to grow, for more people to come visit and shop here."
On the south end of Hamtramck, in the city's oldest neighborhood once marked by blight and neglect, word is that the Yemeni-American community is building a case for its own branded district. Yemen Cafe just moved into a new, bigger space in a building adjacent to Veterans Memorial Park also occupied by Sheeba Restaurant.
Arab-American investors originally from Yemen also have key footprints on Caniff in Al-Haramain market, Royal Kabob restaurant, and Delite Cafe.
What's popping now
Hamtramck is gaining a reputation as a place where entrepreneurs can experiment. Even traditional businesses offer twists on the old models.
Danny & the Darleans at Hamtramck Music Festival at PLAV Post 10 Some of those already dot the commercial landscape, like Mikel Smith's Detroit Threads, Jeff Garbus's Record Graveyard and Richie Wohfiel's Lo & Behold all players on the local underground music scene.
Speaking of music, the recent Hamtramck Music Festival which took place in 24 venues over three days attracted 4,300 attendees, 1,300 more than last year. According to festival organizers, attendees spent
on average while in Hamtramck, contributing $172,000 to the local economy.
A new bar,
Other bars executing good ideas to attract more customers include Kelly's, which has done taco, burger and fish fry pop ups; Baker Streetcar Bar, where Summer Radke does creative bar food fare on Sunday evenings; and
Also recently opened is
Another Shelton, Alissa's brother Darren, is working with
What's coming
Indira (left) and Zlatan Sadikovic at the Belmont cafe, gallery and photo studio
There's much more development on the horizon, a few far enough along to potentially open this spring. Here's a quick rundown:
Zlatan and Indira Sadikovic, who left Sarajevo in the 1990s during the Bosnian war, are converting the former Belmont Bar into a coffee bar, photo studio, and gallery. The couple also bought the building directly to the north of the Belmont and are renovating the ground-floor commercial space.
More coffee (with full Class C liquor license) is coming to the south end of Jos. Campau. HenriettaHaus Coffee Roasters, formerly of Ferndale's Rust Belt Market, is expected to open later this year in the former Kopytko Meats storefront near the corner of Andrus St. Business owner Amy Duncan and partner Jeremy Duncan also live in the building, which was built in 1919.
HenriettaHaus Coffee Roasters, formerly of Ferndale's Rust Belt Market, is expected to open later this year in the former Kopytko Meats storefront near the corner of Andrus St. Business owner Amy Duncan and partner Jeremy Duncan also live in the building, which was built in 1919. Living Zen Organics
An alternative clothing store is moving from its original Midtown location to Jos. Campau near Evaline St. An official announcement is expected soon by the owner, who purchased the building that once contained New York Fashions.
Bon Bon Bon
Sound engineer Adam Cox is opening Hamtramck Sound Studios on Jos. Campau between Edwin and Norwalk streets in a building that once housed a flower shop, then a film studio, and more recently a yoga studio.
The Detroit City Futbol Club is locating its business offices in a space on Yemans Street in the same building as Amicci's Pizza. The club launched a successful $750,000 campaign to renovate Hamtramck's Keyworth Stadium for the upcoming season. Matches at the 7,000-capacity stadium built in the late 1930s will bring another huge economic boost to the city when the season begins this spring.
Detroit City Futbol Club is locating its business offices in a space on Yemans Street in the same building as Amicci's Pizza. The club launched a successful $750,000 campaign to renovate Hamtramck's Keyworth Stadium for the upcoming season. Matches at the 7,000-capacity stadium built in the late 1930s will bring another huge economic boost to the city when the season begins this spring. Better Life Bags
Sharing that same building at the corner of Jos. Campau and Florian St. will be Wheelhouse Detroit, the bicycle shop whose first store is on Detroit's East Riverfront. If all goes as planned the business will open in May.
Another reason for Wheelhouse to open in Hamtramck? The
Say hello to the future, Hamtramck. It's coming at you from multiple directions, lured by opportunity, charmed by your authenticity. It is not hard to imagine that more and better is yet to come.
Walter Wasacz began writing for Model D in 2005 and was its managing editor from 2010 to 2014. He currently authors a column on walkable discovery for the Hamtramck Review.
All photos by Walter Wasacz.
The family of late veteran comedian, Bob Okala has requested of government to give him a state burial.
The family says the contributions of the late comedian to the growth of comedy in Ghana deserves a state-sponsored burial.
The popular Ghanaian comedian, born Samuel Kwadwo Buabeng, passed away at the Koforidua Hospital on Sunday, March 13 after he collapsed on stage during a carnival at the Koforidua Jackson park.
Some family members, including the comedians wife and children, told Hitz @ 1 a state burial is the best way to honor the fallen comedian.
They made the request during a special celebration for Bob Okala at the Arts Centre in Accra Friday.
The celebration, which included comedy performances, was attended by David Dontoh, Pa George, Katawere, Ice Kenkey, Ice Water and several other personalities.
It was revealed that the final funeral rites for Bob Okala, who died at age 64, will come off on May, 6 and 7.
His will be laid to rest at the Osu Cemetery on May 7 after the funeral ceremony at the Arts Centre.
Okala shot to fame in the 90s during the popular comedy show, Key Soap Concert Party, which was showed on GTV on Saturday evenings.
The veteran comedian who became identified with a big clock on his wrist during his performances created a niche for himself in comedy and in no time got to star in some local movies.
In what many fans have described as a sad year for Ghanaian comedy, another popular comedian Yaw Donkor, famously known as Nkomode in showbiz world passed on February 5, 2016, and will be buried in April.
The two veteran comedians were always in a tight competition to determine who was funnier during the Key Soap Concert Party days.
Political 'Bishop' Bob Okala did not hide his support for the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC). He was active on several campaign platforms to garner votes for the party.
He was part of the Kumawood actors who reenacted the Gold Coast police performance during the 59th Independence Day parade at the Black Star Square on March 6.
Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Ernest Dela Aglanu (Twitter: @delaXdela / Instagram: citizendela)
01.04.2016 LISTEN
Film is a cultural diplomacy tool, a trade enabler, a global connector an employment creator. It is also a powerful tool for communication. These were some of the points raised by a delegation to the communications ministries by stakeholders of the film industry, lead by the Black Star International film festival (BSIFF)
Amongst the delegation was the president of FIPAG, the vice president of GAFTA, and veteran film makers, Mr. Abequaye, formally of the Ghana Film Industry and Mrs. Akofa Adjani. The delegation was lead by the Executive Director of BSIFF, Juliet Asante, who is herself, a veteran filmmaker. The group emphasized the need for government to work with the industry to pass industry friendly policies.
In his address, Mr. Abequaye pointed out that Ghanaians were key in the formation and stability of one of the most globally successful film festivals in Africa; Fespaco, which takes place in Mali annually. He also pointed out the role of Ghanaians in helping to establish the phenomenon of Nollywood, the Nigerian film industry.
The deputy Minister, Mr. Ato Sarpong on his part, spoke about the impact of film on his own life, and how he had sold films at university to pay bills.
He reiterated the importance of film as a communication tool and entreated the industry to take note of its influence during this election season, by making films that push the theme of peace.
The Minister, Dr. Omani Boamah, who had been called to an emergency cabinet meeting and was unable to attend the meeting, as earlier planned, left word of his support and the support of the government to ensuring that their ministry works with other relevant ministries to explore industry friendly policies.
The government is especially interested in the industry because of its role in providing employment. A typical film set employs 20-50 people per project, on different skill levels. This is therefore seen as a low hanging fruit that the government can help support to contribute to closing the unemployment gaps.
The film Industry is also key in pushing tourism, investments and serves as a foreign exchange earner for the country. Learning from the experience of Nigeria, an industry that had grown to become the second largest foreign exchange earner for the Nigeria at some point.
The delegation specifically employed the government to demonstrate its commitment by adopting a policy that mandates all Ghanaian embassies to show Ghanaian films to audiences globally as a way of connecting, engaging and opening up interests to the country. Such a move will create an avenue for engagement and ensure an opportunity for global communities to connect with Ghana, understand and appreciate our culture, develop curiosity that may lead to Tourism and investment.
Mr. Ato Sarpong, on behalf of his ministry, made a firm commitment to this policy. The ministry committed to push forward an actionable plan immediately, working with the foreign, Tourism& creative Arts as well as the trade ministries to pass the policy for all Ghanaian embassies around the world to show Ghanaian films as a tool for engagement.
The ministry will also work to help ensure the passing of the film bill, which has been in the works for some time.
On her part, the Executive Director of the BSIFF, Miss Juliet Asante reiterated the commitment of her team to sustaining the conversation and to working with the government to achieve shared goals. She also took time to explain the event for the festival in August. Which will take place between the 25-27th. With over 1000 films submitted already to the festival, it is clear that the world was waiting for Ghana to make this move and to take her place in the film festival circuit on the continent.
Festivals serve as an important platform for local and global engagement. Government expressed its support for the festival strategy to also show films at under-served places around the city. Venues around James Town, Circle, Kasoa, are some of the targeted areas.
01.04.2016 LISTEN
Perfecta Ekpo is one of Africa's best vocalists. This is not even up for deliberation.
The lively, creative, energetic Perfecto Ekpo certainly knows how to keep her audience entertained on their feet but this time with a new song titled 'Nyame Nhyira', a couple of weeks after releasing Topisin.
The Nigerian born but New York based musician has received great respect for her work to promote gospel music throughout the world.
I was inspired to sing this gospel song by the greatness and goodness God has done for me. I have personally survived many problems by the grace and protection of God. I wanted to bring out a message so that everyone one that listens to it learn from it; children or adults to trust and believe in God. Everything is possible; Gods blessing is real.
Perfecto Ekpo who is also a dancer, drummer, actress and a choreographer is hoping this song would affect the lives of many.
Perfecto Ekpo recorded a nationalistic song for the 2015 Nigerian Presidential election to ease away the tension among Nigerians. She titled the song Hope For Nigeria, and guess what the song is still making waves on major platforms in Nigeria and other African countries.
For now enjoy the song and expect Perfecto Ekpo to release a beautiful video for the song Nyame Nhyira soon to which you can expect a Ghanaian, Nigerian and South African concept in the music video.
The masterpiece song was produced by Young D.
Perfecta Ekpo - Topisin
Perfecta Ekpo - Nyame Nhyira
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Washington (AFP) - A US drone strike has targeted a senior Shebab leader in Somalia who was believed to have been plotting attacks against Americans in Mogadishu, the Pentagon announced Friday.
"In cooperation with the federal government of Somalia, on Thursday, March 31, the US military conducted an air strike in Somalia against Hassan Ali Dhoore, a senior leader of al-Shebab," Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said in a statement.
A US defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the drone strike targeted a vehicle Dhoore was riding in with two other Al-Qaeda-aligned Shebab members.
"We have been watching him off and on for a long time," the official said.
"The Somali government was involved in sharing information that led to this attack."
The Pentagon said it was still assessing whether Dhoore had been killed.
Dhoore allegedly was part of Shebab's security and intelligence wing, and had been involved in planning attacks in Mogadishu, the Pentagon said.
"He had planned and overseen attacks resulting in the death of at least three US citizens," Cook said, noting that Dhoore had played a role in the December 2014 attack on Mogadishu's airport that resulted in the death of several African Union soldiers and a US citizen.
"Dhoore was also directly responsible for the March 27, 2015 attack on the Maka al-Mukarram Hotel in Mogadishu, resulting in the deaths of 15 people, including one Somali-American national. Hassan was believed to have been plotting attacks targeting US citizens in Mogadishu," Cook added.
The military action follows a massive US air strike last month on a Shebab training camp that killed more than 150 fighters the Pentagon said were prepping for a "large-scale" attack.
Shebab jihadists have claimed responsibility for a string of recent attacks including a twin bombing at a busy restaurant in the Somali city of Baidoa in February.
Soweto (South Africa) (AFP) - South African President Jacob Zuma on Sunday denounced corruption within the ruling ANC party and admitted that mistakes had cost the party at the ballot box after a year of damaging scandals.
Zuma is set to step down as leader of the African National Congress (ANC) in December, before he completes the maximum two terms in office as national president in 2019.
He and other senior ANC figures have been embroiled in a series of graft allegations, as South Africa has struggled with a slowing economy, high unemployment and regular violent protests.
In August, the ANC -- which came to power in 1994 under Nelson Mandela after the end of apartheid -- recorded its worst-ever election results at local polls.
"The ANC has heard the message that the people delivered in August. We accept that we have made mistakes," Zuma, 74, said in a speech marking the ANC's 105th anniversary.
"When leaders and members of the ANC are corrupt and steal they are betraying the values of the ANC, the people and our country. We will not allow this."
Among Zuma's possible successors are his ex-wife, African Union chief Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa and ANC treasurer-general Zweli Mkhize.
On Saturday, the ANC's influential women's league pledged its support for Dlamini-Zuma.
"The ANC will elect a new national leadership towards the end of the year," Zuma said.
"Too often, comrades fight for leadership positions as they see leadership as the route to material and personal gain."
As attacks on his presidency grew last year, Zuma survived an attempt by ANC rivals to oust him in November, shrugging off criticism of his conduct by the official anti-graft watchdog and the Constitutional Court.
The watchdog probe uncovered evidence of possible criminal activity in his relationship with the Guptas, a business family accused of wielding undue political influence.
Zuma, who took power in 2009, retains strong loyalty among many rank-and-file ANC party members, as well as its lawmakers.
He struck a humble note at the ANC celebrations in a sports stadium in Soweto, a hotbed of the struggle that ended white-majority rule more than 20 years ago.
"The people have told us that we are too busy fighting each other and we do not pay sufficient attention to their needs," he said.
"The ANC must unite so that we are able to unite the people against our common enemies -- unemployment, poverty and inequality."
Zuma gave a shortened version of his published speech as heavy rain lashed the venue.
Tigo (www.Tigo.co.tz), Tanzania's leading digital lifestyle company, has since last year donated more than 2,400 desks worth over Tshs 230 million (about US$ 105,000) to needy primary schools in the country in a sustainable exercise that is meant to alleviate the serious shortage of desks in the country's schools. Two thousand, four hundred desks are able to comfortably accommodate over 7,000 pupils (with one desk accommodating three pupils).
The main recipients of the desks have been primary schools in the country's commercial capital, Dar es Salaam and the up-country regions of Mbeya, an agricultural city located near the Tanzanian-Zambian border; Iringa, a region famed for its timber products and Morogoro, the home of the famous eastern arc Udzungwa mountain ranges have also benefitted from this donation by Tigo.
According to Tigo General Manager, Diego Gutierrez, the support is in line with Tigo's commitment to support community initiatives through its corporate social responsibility portfolio.
Tigo's gesture is also part of a US$ 50,000 pledge by the telecom in response to the government's call to individuals, company's, organizations and other stakeholders to help offset the shortage of desks in the country's schools.
In May 2014, Tanzania's then Prime Minister, Peter Mizengo Pinda said that the country was facing a shortage of 1.4 million desks in its primary schools.
Statistics have shown that Tanzania needs about 3.3 million desks for her primary schools while the available ones are only 1.8 million. We therefore, have a deficit of 1.5 million, the former PM is quoted by the media as saying at the time.
It costs Tshs. 120,000 (US$ 57) to make one desk, the now-retired premier had opined, and continued to add that if the government would decide to make 100,000 desks at Tshs 12 billion, it would take 12 years to end the problem-and asked for support from well-wishers and other like-minded parties.
Tigo, together with the Hassan Maajar Trust (HMT), a local charitable organization, heeded the plea and collaborated, in the initial stages in providing desks to needy primary schools in Mbeya and Iringa regions. Tigo has continued to support more schools ever since, an initiative that has been lauded by the local government administrations and also the beneficiary institutions.
Speaking on the need to support in promoting the education sector in Tanzania, Diego says: we understand the challenges the education sector faces in providing a conducive learning environment especially to students in the rural areas. It is our hope that the desks that Tigo is providing will translate to better and comfortable learning which the students will enjoy studying from.
According to UNICEF, the net primary school enrollment rate shot up by 94%-a drastic growth mainly occasioned by the abolition of primary school fees in 2001 coupled with the government's compulsory requirement that parents/guardians' send all children to school.
The rapid expansion meant that class-room sizes had mushroomed with an average of 66% in each government primary school by 2011 (Source: Education Sector Performance Report: 2010-2011).
Expressing their gratitude to Tigo for the much-needed shot in the arm, the beneficiary schools said at different intervals that the support will go a long way in ensuring the comfort of the pupils in their learning sessions, hence tremendous improvement in their pupils' academic performance.
I really thank Tigo for providing us with desks. Our school had a serious shortage of desks and most of the pupils were sitting on the floor and this impeded the required academic performance. However, with the available desks, our pupils will now be able to enjoy the comfort on sitting on them and hence better performance in their day to day academic tasks, said an elated Lutufyo Mwakilima, the head-master of Nsalaga Primary School in Mbeya Urban District.
A standard seven pupil at the school, Sylvanus Mwanganya, said of the desks from Tigo: I thank Tigo very much because now I can sit comfortably and study without the discomfort of sitting on the floor like it was before. The desks will help me and other pupils to concentrate more in our studies and hence excel in our examinations.
Mwakilima also said that the donation was a relief to even the parents because previously, they were obliged to subsidize for the purchase of desks by contributing money to the exercise.
According to Tigo GM, Tigo has a strong corporate social responsibility program that supports a wide range of activities within the focus of education, health and wellbeing and environment that is meant to contribute to improving the lives of people in the community it serves.
Tigo is the biggest commercial brand of Millicom, an international company developing the digital lifestyle in 12 countries with commercial operations in Africa and Latin America and corporate offices in Europe and the USA.
For further information visit:
www.Tigo.co.tz or contact: John Wanyancha Corporate Communications Manager Mobile: +255 658 123 089 [email protected]
Hundreds, if not thousands of people with varying degrees of kidney diseases are dying slowly because they cannot afford health care.
Some of the patients need as much as Ghc 570.00 every week for dialysis alone.
A patient who spoke to this reporter at the Renal Unit of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, said he spends more than Ghc 800.00 every week just to stay alive.
Currently, it costs Ghc 190.00 to undergo one session of dialysis and many patients have to do it three times a week.
Ex- Sergeant Daniel Kotey of the fourth battalion of the Ghana Armed Forces who has been undergoing three sessions of dialysis a week for more than 10 years, says all his resources have been depleted.
My pension is gone, I have sold my land and many other things and now I have nothing. I dont even know how I am going to pay for my next session he said.
The case of Razak is most troubling.
He first noticed that he was losing weight very fast.
He was treated for malaria and later typhoid, but his situation continued to get worse.
Razak was later referred to the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital where, to his utter shock, doctors asked him to make a down payment of Ghc 7000.00 in order to undergo a mandatory thirty nine sessions of dialysis.
He claims that by this time he was already financially exhausted because he had spent all his money on laboratory tests and drugs.
Interestingly, a National Kidney Fund set up to assist patients now has to discriminate because it does not have enough resources for everybody.
A nurse who spoke to this reporter said the fund is now used to support mostly very young people with severe and life threatening conditions.
She also claimed that what patients pay is only part of the cost of dialysis and that the hospital provides a subsidy.
The Renal Unit currently conducts a little over seventy dialysis every day, but the machines are not many, there are only eighteen of them.
For this reason, in order to receive early treatment, patients have to set off to the hospital very early in the morning and in a few instances ruffians and some robbers have attacked the patients and robbed them of their money.
But ex. Sergeant Koteys case is a pathetic and a particularly sad story. A few years ago when he started his dialysis, he sold a few plots of land he had acquired once in active service, but having run out of cash, he has to sometimes walk from Osu to Korle Bu with his clutches fixed under his armpit.
Like other patients at the Renal Unit who spoke to this reporter, Ex. Sgt. Kotey needs the support of well wishers and sympathizers in cash and in kind, especially in cash.
Doctors have attributed the primary cause of kidney failures to infections of the kidney through diabetes and hypertension. These two conditions have been found to easily infect the kidneys leading first to acute cases and then an aggravation to chronic situations when treatment is delayed.
Urea and creatinine are natural waste products, but they can cause the kidney to fail when they accumulate in the body at unreasonably high levels.
Potassium is a very good nutrient needed by the body for regular heartbeat and a healthy heart, but over concentration of this nutrient in the blood streams can also lead to kidney failures and so with calcium and phosphate.
Essentially, there are two kidneys in every human body and connect to the bladder by a tube called the ureter. The function of the kidney is to collect natural waste from the blood, which gathers in the bladder as urine and must be expelled very quickly from the body.
Failure to rid the system of this toxic waste can be injurious to the bladder and the kidneys.
The kidneys also control blood pressure and help to make red blood cells.
Generally, your kidneys can fail due to problems that occur within or without of them.
High blood pressure, poor blood supply, obstructed outflow of blood due to stones in the valves or prostate, diabetes and hypertension are external problems that can impact adversely on your kidneys.
What is most frightening about kidney failures are that symptoms only manifest when about 70% of the kidneys have been destroyed and the damage is usually irreversible in chronic cases.
Doctors recommend regular blood tests to determine how well the kidneys are working.
One doctor said: we have noticed that because kidney failures occur gradually, it starts with general tiredness, loss of appetite and persistent headaches and that is why it has become necessary that once you find these symptoms occurring very often you take immediate steps to find out the cause and we suggest that you test your blood.
The first ever blogosphere event, a gathering of renowned bloggers and student journalists has been organised under the theme ''blogging in communication: understanding the online exodus''.
The event was organised by the blogging school of GIJ as part of its src week celebration.
Renowned bloggers who graced the occasion include Nana Tamakloe of www.fashionghana.com, George Britton, Collins Dharteh and Emmanuel Gamor who took their turn spoke about their experience with blogging; the journey of blogging and ways to improve the quality of their websites, web pages and increase the traffic as well as how to better use social media to promote their websites.
Participants of this event boasted of several lessons they learnt from the event. This includes a deeper understanding of what blogging is all about and how it can be effectively used in this era of new media communication and how to start and maintain their own blogs.
The president of the G.I.J Blogging School and also editor of www.ghlinks.net , Eugene Nyavor reiterated the essence of the program and urged more people to take up blogging especially student journalists.
He says such events help you create a link between theory and practical journalism and also bequeath you with skills for the future.
The event attracted over 90 people who wished this event comes to stay and becomes a frequent event.
Xavier University, Bhubaneswar (XUB), one of the leading private universities of India celebrated the 2nd convocation ceremony. A batch of 578 students graduated from various programmes of MBA in Business management, Rural Management, Human Resource, Part Time MBA and Mass Media Journalism &Communications.
Welcoming the guests, faculties and students, Prof. Dr. Fr. Paul FernandesS.J., Vice-Chancellor & Director XUB, in his inspiring speech, said,Two years ago many of you came from all over India, from all the states with high hopes. Today this institute and university does proud to Orissa and to India. Today you are happily graduated. My congratulations to each one of you on your success and I would also congratulate the parents and the faculty for nurturing your hopes.
....As the destiny of this university shall have it, you were the historical batch to have lived fully in this university. The university sends you as corporate citizens, as social thinkers, as nation builders to all parts of India and the world. Be ever ready to move on in life to greater heights in the spirit of Magis.
....As you move on from this university to the larger world of transformations on nav nirmaans, stay in touch with us and be transformed in the spirit of the vision of this university, enabling people to make extraordinary lives. He urged to students to be lifelong learnersand be friends till the end, cause friends who are not friends till the end are not real friends. Quoting from the Holy Bible he said, God sends his rain on the just and the unjust alike. We are not here to judge anyone. Go forth and make a mark - a distinguishing mark of eminence,quality andexcellence of the highest orders.
Mr. RajiveKaul, Chairman NICCO Corporation Limited, Kolkata & Chairman of the Xavier University Board of Governors, in his address to the students stated that though there is a crisis looming large in the world economy, India shall hopefully achieve a growth of close to 8% and by the year 2025 an average Indian will be richer by four times. He urged to students stepping out of the campus to contribute and be an integral part of Indias growth path.
The ceremony concluded with a speech by the Chief Guest for the evening, Mr.Suresh Narayanan, Chairman and Managing Director, Nestle India Limited. Congratulating everyone Mr. Narayanan reaffirmed Fr. Paulsrecommendation to remain lifelong students by citing his recent learnings during the turmoil which Nestle had to pass through. He shared valuable inputs with the students encouraging them to make the world a better place for themselves, for their families and the society whilekeeping in mind the mantra of 10 Cs: Clarity, Competence, Credibility, Courage, Concentration, Creativity, Constraints, Compassion, Continuous Learning and Contentment; in order to stay ahead in life.
While advocating that they should work hard but not at the cost of sacrificing time for self, family or friends, he mentionedwork life balance is a sort of misnomer as work is part of life. Thus, all one need to essentially do is to balance ones life.
Among the top rank holders who were recognized and awarded with Gold Medals were -NTPC Gold Medal Topper-Archana Mishra, ShreyaGoyanka, Saikat Mukherjee, Riga Das, RituparnaMohanty, BasavanneppaSankeshwar, Nibedan Kumar Bhawsinka, JalajPathak, RadhikaRajgopalSarda, Avisekh Kumar Maharana and Nishant Mishra.
Also present in the convocation ceremony were Fr. Antony Uvary, S.J., Registrar, XUB &XIMB; Prof. Biswa Swarup Misra Academic Dean; Prof. Snigdha Patanaik Academic Dean, XSHRM and Prof. Kajri Mishra Academic Dean, XSRM.
Xavier University Bhubaneswar (XUB) has been established in accordance with the Xavier University, Odisha Act, 2013. Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar (XIMB), a 28 years old Business School is the flagship School of Xavier University and is acknowledged internationally as a world class business school which provides quality management programs, and develops futuristic business leaders with strong work ethics and personal values.
Along with flagship programs of Business Management and Human Resource Management, XUB, now also offers Masters degree in Global Management and Leadership;Sustainability Management; a Dual-Track Finance Specialization Program MS in Finance in Collaboration with Fordham University Business School, New York, USA. The international student exchange program is also one of the best in the country having several tie ups with institutions in S. Africa, France, Poland, U.S, Belgium, Spain, Germany to name some.
01.04.2016 LISTEN
The best way to communicate your ideas is through sharing it. That is exactly what most writers seek to achieve. You cannot deal fairly with any viable business unless you can communicate your thoughts and ideas effectively. The Creative Writing Class seeks to educate students of the Ghana Institute of Journalism on the relevance of being creative in sharing out information in the form of writing.
There are numerous workshops being run during the class periods. Most of these workshops build capacity and skills of students to enable them be better writers and communicators. In one of such workshops I deduced these few lessons I am about to share with you.
Social media presence The need for social media in today's world cannot be overlooked. Brands and companies are widely using these platforms to build themselves. The interactive nature of a business or individual's social media platform is what gains them the winning urge. Apparently, most people are on social media and are unaware of the many great opportunities in it.
For some, it is a waste of resources and time. With a look at the brighter side, you will be amazed at how your social media presence can make or mar your career or personal life. The main lesson here is that whether you are active on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Google+, and what have you; you must be able to use that to better brand yourself as an individual or a business through writings.
Best Career Path Most people are unaware of the many career opportunities that writers are open up to. For most people, writers are mainly authors and journalists. That assumption is entirely wrong because in today's world where technology and internet is rampant, writers play a bigger role.
We can now find varied career options for writers such as Playwright, Concept developer, Personal Assistants, Communications Expert or Personnel, Brand Ambassadors, Spoken Word Artists, Bloggers, Creative Directors, Editors, Script Writers, Social Media Manager, Website Developer and Manager, just to mention but a few. In all of this, one amazing quality runs through and that is the ability to write and communicate well.
However, if none of these options seem attractive to you, writing and communication may still come in handy at a point in your life so you cannot afford not to learn it. Learning Wide and free Learning in the contest of school is good.
However, learning from other avenues is good. It is good to always have skills that you can rely on, especially in these times when finding a job is a huge task. A lot of people learning amazing things on the Internet while others observe daily situations and pick up lessons from there.
Whichever way, one must always learn and build on areas where they have much interest in. For example singing, writing, acting, driving, learning a language, and cooking. The benefits of learning wide is that it opens you up for greater tasks ahead.
If you refuse to learn today, the possibility of you becoming great is low. Learners are Winners. As part of your learning, you need to share what you have learnt with others. This form of sharing can best be done or expressed through writing. Starting Small, this may sound cliche but the truth of the matter is, you will have to start anyway.
The thing about the Creative is that you will have to build enough followership who consistently see your works and begin to believe in you. By starting small, you will be building contacts and learning along the way. Like the growth process, you finally become mature and experienced in whichever field you decide to pursue. If you want to be the best photographer, you will need to start with the community and people closer to you.
As time goes on, you can capture pictures at events and a lot more places. The same with writing, you need to post from less interesting to horrible stories in other to become a celebrated writer. That is how the journey to stardom begins. Partnerships One good thing about teamwork that I know is that it never disappoints.
This is due to the fact that they are so many ideas on board that will actually attract excellence. One key lesson in the Creative Writing Class that I can not miss to share is Partnering. With this, a group of people come together to champion a course which one person may not have been able to handle. For instance, a group of students can build on a concept which they can manage to bring into reality.
The group may consist of the writer, the photographer, a publicist, a tech addict, and a marketer. This group can successfully manage a Blog and better brand themselves as compared to one person doing all of those tasks by themselves.
I hope these few tips help to renew your mind and to grant you better career ideas. What other lessons can you share with regards to Writing and Creativity? How has writing helped you in your career?
Justica Anima [email protected]
Switstica.blogspot.com -- Adjei Boampong Justica
Public Speaking | Story/Article Writer | Television Presenting
Youth Alliance for Development is ceasing this opportunity to wish all candidates writing this years West African Senior High School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) good luck. We humbly appeal to all candidates to strictly adhere to the rubrics of the conduction of the exams throughout the entire period.
We appeal to candidates to stay away from any act that has the tendency of bringing the credibility of the entire exams into disrepute and dashing the hopes of several parents who have invested immensely in the education of their wards.
We urge the West African Examination Council (WAEC) , the Ghana Education Service and security agencies to, as a matter of urgency, institute stringent measures to control leakage of examination questions which also has the tendency of denting the image of the entire process.
Our Appeal
We appeal to WAEC to consider returning all marked scripts to candidates to serve as reference especially for those who would have to re-sit some of the papers. When students are in school, they are given every single marked script from all examinations conducted for them to know their mistakes and do necessary corrections. We encourage the council to adopt the same system and we believe will make the process more transparent and build a strong trust between WAEC and candidates.
We also appeal to the Ghana Education Service to consider changing the time for writing WASSCE from March to July, so the candidates are assessed after their three year education. The current system is putting a lot of pressure on students because teachers are not able to complete the syllabus since they only have first term to teach. We are wondering why we push students to complete their education in hurriedly manner when we cannot even offer them internship as a country.
The issue of immorality which has taken center stage among the youth must be a major concern of all, especially parents and religious leaders. It is our view that parents become more responsible in the upbringing of their children and instills the Ghanaian values such as respect, decent dressing, decent language, and ethical leadership among others.
Whilst we expect government and the society at large to find lasting solutions to these problems, we call on young people to engage themselves in productive ventures which have the tendencies of improving on their lives and building a better future.
We believe that the numerous challenges confronted by the youth are gloss over and glaringly missing in our media discussions at the expense of partisan politics. We are therefore appealing to the media owners and hosts of programmes on television and radio to create a special platform to discuss youth development issues.
Thank you
Ali Tanti Robert
(Director)
0246486740/0245646567
01.04.2016 LISTEN
Challenging Heights is disappointed in the conduct of the District Chief Executive of Awutu-Senya, Mr Samson Abbey-Armah, who in a classical show of power has infringed upon the Rights of the children in his district.
On the 30th day of March, 2016, Challenging Heights; a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) promoting youth and family empowerment and childrens rights to education and freedom from forced labour in Ghana, was scheduled to have a Beach Raid at Awutu Senya in collaboration with the District Assembly, District Police, Department of Social Welfare and the local Fishermen.
Unfortunately, the activity was obstructed by the District Chief Executive of Awutu Senya, Mr Samson Abbey-Armah, who for reasons known to him alone, issued a last-minute warning ordering the District Coordinating Director, the District Police Commander and his team, the Fishermen as well as the Social Worker to call off the raid which was aimed at rescuing children who were being engaged in hazardous labour on the beach, or risk being arrested.
Being law-abiding citizens, Challenging Heights reluctantly called off the Beach Raid in spite of the time and resources invested in the program and rather made use of the opportunity to educate the media present on the dangers and plight of the children engaged in child slavery/labour and the persistence of child trafficking in Ghana which has resulted in the country being placed on the Tier 2 Human Trafficking Watch List of the US State Department.
Later in the day at 10pm during UTVs News, Mr Abbey-Armah was called to clarify on air why he thwarted such a laudable project and to our utter surprise the DCE said the Assembly was not aware of any such program in Awutu Senya.
We find this development very unfortunate and disheartening in the sense that Challenging Heights has over the years used the appropriate channels to partner with key stakeholders in Awutu Senya to undertake numerous projects all aimed at protecting the rights of children, fighting their cause and economically empowering residents of the district and this case was no different.
Weeks before the event, Challenging Heights on the 4th of March, 2016, met with the DCE himselfwho explained that the Assembly had planned to embark on a similar project but couldnt implement it due to monetary constraints and as suchcommended and approved of the program and personally delegated the District Coordinating Director to provide Challenging Heights with the necessary support to make the Beach Raid a success.
This was followed by series of meetings with the Senya Police Commander, the District Coordinating Directorand one Madam Winifred Agyemang who is supposedly in charge of NGOs operating in the district. All of the above-mentioned, including the Chief Fisherman, Nenyi Mortey and the Department of Social Welfare confirmed their participation and support of the Beach Raid a day before the activity was to take place.
Challenging Heights is therefore stating emphatically that the DCE is being economical with the truth if he says he had no knowledge of the Beach Raid and we are by this medium expressing our disappointment in Mr Samson Abbey-Armah for refusing and even going to the extent of threatening us with arrest should we embark on a program which seeks to comply and enforce the Childrens Act of 1998 and the Human Trafficking Act, 2005.
As an organisation, Challenging Heights has been involved in a myriad of activities in Awutu Senya such as rescuing over 250 trafficked children on the Lake Volta and returning them to their families in the community, the distribution ofover 6,000 TOM Shoes to 10 primary and JHS schools in the district, the establishment of five Community Child Protection Committees whose members have been receiving training in Childs Rights for the past four years and sponsoring a child from Awutu Senya to meet the Queen of Sweden.
Just last year, together with the Assembly and other stakeholders, Challenging Heights held a bus raid in Awutu Senya and rescued children who were being trafficked to work on the Lake Volta and distributed over 10,000 Anti-Human Trafficking stickers as part of our targeted sensitisation project in the district.
In effect, for the DCE to claim he doesnt know of Challenging Heights or the projects undertaken by the organisation in his district including the establishment of Micah 6:8 Vocational School, is a clear testament of his ignorance of the developments in his district and an indication that he is not on the ground.
If Mr Abbey-Armah is saying he isnt aware that Challenging Heights has supported over 400 women from his district out of the 1200 women who have benefitted from the organisations Livelihood Programme, how sure can we be sure that this DCE has the interests of his people at heart?
Our outstanding achievements in Awutu Senya and many others nationwide were one of the reasons Challenging Heights was commended by the Parliament of Ghana in 2015 for being proactive in engaging in activities that would ensure that Child Slavery/Labour becomes a thing of the past.
We have worked very hard these past years with notable international and local organisations such as the office of the Catholic Pope (Vatican), UNICEF, U.S State Department, the Ministry of Employment, the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection as well as the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit of the Ghana Police Service to rescue over 1,500 child slaves from the Lake Volta and will not therefore involve ourselves in whatsoever form of commotion that will bring our hard-earned name into disrepute.
Challenging Heightswill not be deterred by this regrettable incident but will stay focused on its mission of rescuing children from trafficking situations, rehabilitating victims of trafficking and providing them with quality education and also continue collaborating with MMDAs, Law Enforcement Agencies, CSOs and the Government of Ghana among others to ensure that child trafficking is eliminated in Ghana.
We wish to extend our warm appreciation to all agencies, organisations and individuals who have supported us in advocating for childrens rights and empowering women and youth economically.
We wish to particularlyacknowledge the fruitful collaboration we have had with the office of the IGP, the Office of Madam Rose Bio-Atinga and the Director of the CID, Prosper Abhlor who collaborated with us to launch our Turn Back Child Trafficking Campaign, Honourable Nana Oye Lithur, whose office has firmed collaborations with Challenging Heights, the Child Labour Unit of the Ministry of Employment, the Head of NGOs at the Department of Social Welfare, Dela Ashiagbor for collaborating with us over the last decade to achieve our milestones.
We want to assure the General Public that Challenging Heights is one of the very few Ghanaian-led organisations which is not only duly registered and recognised by the Department of Social Welfare but also files annual reports to the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection every single year through the Department of Social Welfare and renews its recognition certificate each of those years.
Signed
Lucy Pomaa Arthur
(Communications Manager)
01.04.2016 LISTEN
National service is a core part of the Ghanaian world of work which was established by an act of parliament (Act 426) in 1980 to mobilize Ghanaian graduates who had finished their courses in various tertiary institutions, to serve the nation in the spirit of patriotism, while enabling the personnel to amass some practical working experience for themselves before they zoom into the real world of work.
This policy by the then government, has been running ever since then with graduates looking forward every year with enthusiasm, to doingtheir national service upon completion of school. Like any organized group of people with a commen interest, the 1987 batch of national service personnel thought it wise to establish an umbrella association to see to the welfare needs of service personnel nationwide and indeed they succeeded.
Unfortunately however, the association collapsed somewhere in 1999 due to alleged embezzlement of funds by then executives at the national level (I stand to be corrected). Fast forward to 2009, it was revived under the leadership of Mr. Vincent Kuagbenu who run the National Service Scheme until 2013 when he was asked to proceed on leave.
Now to the substantive issue, it must be noted that the purpose for which a group sets up an association is often to form a formidable front to pursue its course. However, current developments within the association seem to suggest that, authorities of the National Service Scheme are perhaps, not too happy with the existence of the National Service Personnel Association.
In my personal opinion, there appears to be deliberate attempt by authorities to stifle the progress of the association, clip its wings and to render it grossly ineffective, which would eventually lead to it being quashed as was done in 1999. This is exactly where I have a problem.
We as National Service Personnel within this country are the very people who would mature someday in the future not too distant from now, to take up various positions at various levels of society and in essence, run the country. Now with what is currently going on, where NASPA and its executives are barely supported in anything nor given due recognition to be able to realize their collective goals, I wonder what kind of leaders we are hoping to churn out in a few years to come.
What sort of leadership experience do we expect these crop of future leaders to have when we are making all efforts to frustrate efforts by the Association? You see, One major characteristic of a good leader I believe, is to be able to see to the general interests of his or her followers by being assertive enough to push forward their concerns to the appropriate quarters, while rallying them behind himself or herself, to achieve set goals. Never in my entire life, have I come across any institution that is so allergic to opposition as the current National Service Scheme. Nothing they do is allowed to be challenged by anybody, and yet some of these same people are running for various political offices in this country where we practice democracy and everybody is or at least is supposed to be entitled to an opinion.
Take a look at an association like the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS), which is umbrella body tasked to see to the welfare of students across the country. There have been countless times when the Ghana education service and the Education Ministry have had opinion differences with the leadership of NUGS. Sometime in 2015, mygood friend Mr. Prosper Dzitse the then NUGS president, led his team to fight the government about its decision to make tertiary students pay their own utility bills.
What happened? The Ministry of Education through Hon. OkudzetoAblakwa sat with the leadership of NUGS and deliberated on the matter amicably. Though I do not have concrete information as to what came out of that meeting, there was at least a desire by the ministry of education, to respect the existence of the union and its leadership, and that is why they dialogued with them. But as much as I hate to admit it, this cannot happen with NASPA and authorities of the National Service Scheme.
Till date, contributions that were made by service personnel as welfare dues while registering for the National Service last year have still not been released to the various districts for proposed projects to be undertaken. I know some people may argue that there are still some districts and regions that are yet to hold NASPA elections and that is why the funds have not been released. Like seriously? We have just about four months to end the 2015/2016 service year and welfare funds have still not been disbursed yet. Could we not have fixed a deadline for all districts and regions to have had elections?
The problem really is that, probably by the time these funds are released for the Association to be able to run at all levels, service year would probably have been over and personnel would have returned to their respective homes. What then do you expect leadership of NASPA to do? Most people would just misapply the money and then later on we brand them as corrupt? Well why would they not be corrupt when the grounds have been made so fertile for them? that is the more reason the funds should be released now that the personnel are still at post, so they can benefit from their contributions and to hold their leaders accountable as well.
Every service person is this country is eagerly looking forward to waking up one morning to news that the service allowance has been increased. In fact even if it is increased by one cedi, God only knows the amount of joy that would fill our hearts. But of course, the big men who are in charge do not want us to be strong enough to be able to pursue agenda like this one, which is probably not in their interests. So what do they do? They clip our wings. We cannot organize press conferences, we cannot buy radio airtime to come out public on the issues and we definitely cannot afford to buy space in any of the dailies because almost every NASPA account across the country is virtually empty. This is not fair to us at all.
The major stakeholders of the scheme sit in the comfort of their offices and post us across the country to places some of us never even heard of, but for national service. We are not complaining. But what hurts and is unfair to all national service personnel is that, we have an association through which we could network and socialize so that doing national service can become more satisfying and yet, the association is in no state to be able to hold programmes and undertake activities that would see to the welfare of the personnel.
However, I do not land the entire chunk of the blame at the doorstep of the national service scheme, as the government is also partly to blame. Go round the various district national service offices across the country and sometimes, you feel like crying or even throwing up. Everything is just a mess. From leaking roofs, to bad furniture, to printers without toners and paper, I mean just name it all. Personnel who are at post and are working die and they are not even done the last honor of having their regional and district directors attend their funerals.
All of these happen because government has not released impress to the various offices in a long time. This is definitely not the way to go. How do you post somewhere from say, Volta region to upper west region and if they pass away unfortunately, their families have to bear the entire cost involved. Meanwhile they were rendering service to the nation.
Things have certainly got to change. I personally as an active member of the national service personnel association believe that opinion leaders and stakeholders of the national service scheme should begin to have a rethink about their actions. There are too many deliberate attempts to suppress the personnel association and that is not good for a country that boasts of being a beacon of African democracy.
We need to begin to appreciate the tremendous role that NASPA plays or could play in the life of every service person, if only the structures were allowed to be in full operation. We await some positive changes from our leaders of the scheme, while us on our part, continue to be of good service to our nation.
Long live NASPA, Long live Ghana.
NASPA..ready to serve!
NASPA..ready to serve!!
NASPA... AllawaoooooAllawa!
By:
Nathan Qarboo Tetteh
(NASPA President, Berekum Municipal)
+233244903748
Email: [email protected]
First high level speakers have been added to the ARC 2016 agenda to discuss key financial and other trends from across the African continent
Johannesburg, 31 March 2016 SWIFT announces the first names in itsspeakerline-up of industry leaders set to participate in the upcoming African Regional Conference (ARC) on 17-19th May 2016. ARC will bring together more than 500 high-level financial representatives from across 45 countries for three days of keynote speeches and interactive panel sessions, featuring senior speakers and strategic thinkers from across the industry and region.
YandraduthGoogoolye, First Deputy Governor of the Bank of Mauritius, will open the conference with the first keynoteaddress.
The opening plenary session, looking at the Megatrends that are shaping Africas future, will feature:Terence McNamee, Deputy Director of The Brenthurst Foundation, author of numerous publications including a study on Chinese small business in southern Africa and War without consequences, and has previously served as an advisor to governments, including that of Malawi; Regina Agyare, CEO ofSoronko Solutions, a Global Shaper in the World Economic Forum,one of CNN Africas 12 most inspirational women and part of the Africa Leadership Initiative, West Africa, and Alain Raes, Chief Executive EMEA and Asia Pacific for SWIFT.
The growing roster of experts that will address ARC includes:
Antony Withers , CEO, Mauritius Commercial Bank
, CEO, Mauritius Commercial Bank Jay Rosengard , Director of the Mossavar-RahmaniCenter for Business and Government's Financial Sector Program, Harvard Kennedy School
, Director of the Mossavar-RahmaniCenter for Business and Government's Financial Sector Program, Harvard Kennedy School Willem Kruger , Head Compliance and Regulatory Product, Nedbank
, Head Compliance and Regulatory Product, Nedbank Tim Masela , Head of National Payment System Department, South African Reserve Bank
, Head of National Payment System Department, South African Reserve Bank Sanjeev Jayram, Head of Corporate Actions at RMB Custody & Trustee Services, Rand Merchant Bank
Head of Corporate Actions at RMB Custody & Trustee Services, Rand Merchant Bank Fidelis Muia , Director of Technical Services, Kenya Bankers Association
, Director of Technical Services, Kenya Bankers Association Francois Roux , Head - Trade Finance and Financial Institutions, SBM Bank (Mauritius) Ltd
, Head - Trade Finance and Financial Institutions, SBM Bank (Mauritius) Ltd Sachin Shah , Head of Cash Management Products & Transactional Products and Services, Standard Bank
, Head of Cash Management Products & Transactional Products and Services, Standard Bank NerinaVisser , Exchange Traded Funds Strategist and Advisor, ETF South Africa
, Exchange Traded Funds Strategist and Advisor, ETF South Africa Raoul Gufflet, Head of Corporate & Institutional Banking and DCEO, Mauritius Commercial Bank
SidoBestani, Head of the Middle East, Turkey & Africa, SWIFT, says: Africa benefits from many positive trends, including a growing and young workforce, plentiful natural resources and seven of the worlds 10 fastest growing economies. However, it also faces some serious challenges, such as infrastructure bottlenecks, low levels of intra-Africa trade and vulnerability to commodity price falls. ARC 2016 will provide a unique platform for leading experts from across the continent to discussthese issueshead-on.
As in previous years, ARC 2016 will offer a full programme of work sessions focusing on the business and technical issues faced by African businesses. Additionally, for the second year in a row, ARC will partner with SWIFT Innotribe for the Startup Challengein Africa, showcasing young African companies and offering the winners the opportunity to pitch their business on a global stage at Sibos in Geneva, Switzerland.
Key streams at the conference will include:
New technologies, such as blockchain
Challenges to banking from real time payments and mobile
Evolution of Africas securities markets
Financial Crime Compliance
About SWIFT
SWIFT is a global member-owned cooperative and the worlds leading provider of secure financial messaging services.
We provide our community with a platform for messaging and standards for communicating, and we offer products and services to facilitate access and integration, identification, analysis and financial crime compliance.
Our messaging platform, products and services connect more than 11,000 banking and securities organisations, market infrastructures and corporate customers in more than 200 countries and territories, enabling them to communicate securely and exchange standardised financial messages in a reliable way.
As their trusted provider, we facilitate global and local financial flows, support trade and commerce all around the world; we relentlessly pursue operational excellence and continually seek ways to lower costs, reduce risks and eliminate operational inefficiencies.
Headquartered in Belgium, SWIFTs international governance and oversight reinforces the neutral, global character of its cooperative structure. SWIFTs global office network ensures an active presence in all the major financial centres.
01.04.2016 LISTEN
The Ghana Internet Safety Foundation has paid a courtesy call on the UK Safer Internet Centre / Childnet International Organization. The visit was to afford GISF the opportunity to establish a mutually beneficial relationship in areas of international cooperation in Online Safety.The overall impact is to ensure a global approach to tackling Internet Safety challenges in Ghana and within the West African Sub region.
Mr. Andrews K. Nyantakyi, the Corporate Affairs Manager - North America, Europe Zone of GISF therefore called on Mr. Will Gardner, the Chief Executive Officer of Childnet International at their Head office at No. 96 Endwell Road, London SE4 2PD.
Mr. Nyantakyi expressed his sincere gratitude to UKSIC for ensuring a successful meeting. This is a prelude to a long-term mutual working engagement between both organizations.
Ghana Internet Safety Foundation (GISF) a non-profit, non-religious organization that is working to ensure a safer and better Internet in Ghana .The Ghana Safer Internet Day Committee is headed by the Ghana Internet Safety Foundationoperating the Child Online Protection Initiative (COP) which has become a leader in educational presentations and workshops teaching social media skills, critical thinking and internet safety to over 5,000 students, religious organisations educators, parents and professionals. Its registered charity number is CG124582014.
We are a public media voice about online security, online sexual exploitation, sexual abuse images of child victims and social media as it applies to diverse disenfranchised populations, we present pro-social, restorative and respectful approaches to these issues.
Ghana Internet Safety Foundation has an exceptional reputation for up-to-date, research-based materials and usable resources distributed through our website, database of articles, blog posts and social media contributions.
A lot of individuals and organisations committed to building awareness and delivering strategies to keep our youth safe while they engage in online activities have shared our efforts. ( https://www.saferinternetday.org/web/ghana/sid ).
Over the past four years, GISF has been engaged in the promotion of a society of responsible and alert Internet users. The Foundation aims at supporting parental/guardian education, encouraging positive content for children and encouraging safe surfing. GISF provides curriculum development, training of instructors, quality assurance, and centre development support for our services. Within Ghana, we organize and teach workshops in churches, schools, government agencies, mosques etc. We charge no money for our outreach services.
Childnet International, a non-profit organization working with others to help make the internet a great and safe place for children.As one of the leading partners of the UK Safer Internet Centre (UKSIC), they work directly with children and young people from the ages of 3 to 18 on a weekly basis, as well as parents, carers, teachers and professionals, finding out about their real experiences online, and the positive things they are doing as well as sharing safety advice.
An Italian workshop supervisor has provoked anger at a company in a Free Zone Enclave in the Western Region after chaining one of his subordinates to a container in the hot sun as punishment for failing to complete a task assigned him.
The alleged culprit, identified as Manilo Maggiorotto, did the unthinkable with the reason that whenever he assigned work to the victim, he abandoned his and found ways of helping others to do their work.
Therefore, the best way to prevent a recurrence was to chain him. Seething with anger, employees of the multinational logistics company, Gateway Logistics Limited, operating as a Free Zone Company, have appealed to the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations, the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection and the Ghana Trades Union Congress (TUC) to ensure that justice was done the victim.
Alleged culprit
They described what Maggiorotto did as a re-enactment of the days of slavery a dehumanising act which, they said, sent shivers down their spine. He must be apprehended to face the laws of Ghana, they said.
This is a Free Zone Company. He is in Ghana as workshop supervisor, an expertise that could easily be procured in Ghana but they brought him here and he constantly looks down on us and treats us as if we are nothing, they said.
When they were contacted the company, its management acknowledged the incident but declined to comment further as they were dealing with the issue.
How it happened
Describing the incident to the Daily Graphic, one of the workers said their supervisor, on the day of the incident, assigned two of the companys workers to carry out a task and later reassigned one of them to a different task.
To work as a team, the victim, whose name was given as Ibrahim Sanou, decided to help another employee so they could finish on time.
The source said when the Italian supervisor entered the yard, he realised that Sanou was not doing what he had asked him to do.
He, therefore, called him, verbally assaulted him and asked him to go and bring the chain from the container. When Sanou returned, Maggiorotto put it around Sanous neck and locked it with a huge padlock.
After that he dragged Sanou more than 100 metres to where he originally assigned him. The sad part is that he hooked the end of the chain to a container in the sun and went back to his air-conditioned office, the source said.
The source said after Sanou had finished the work, the Italian asked one of the workers to go and unlock the chain so that the victim would go and carry out other tasks.
Workers
According to the workers, morale was currently down in the company and the victim, once jovial and energetic, was constantly depressed.
The workers were seeking justice and urged management of the company to ensure Maggiorotto left the workshop for his own safety. That aside, he should apologise to the victim and appropriately compensate him.
When the Daily Graphic visited the company, the workers expressed the view that management was trying to influence the victim financially to say he was not interested in the case.
Dehumanising
At the office of the General Transport, Petroleum and Chemical Workers Union (GTPCWU) of the TUC, the Regional Industrial Relations Officer, Mr Hanson Richard, said the issue had been reported to the union.
We are aware management is talking to the victim to withdraw the case, but this is a national issue and it is wrong to dehumanise a national to that extent, he said. Mr. Richard said the union had explained the implications of any inducement to suppress the case and that the national union would take over the case.
I will pursue the case to ensure that Sanou received justice after which they would demand the repatriation of Maggiorotto to serve as deterrent to others, he said.
He said several meetings with the management of the company indicated that they were also taking up the issue and the GTPCWU would ensure the law was duly applied.
He recalled a recent case in Accra where a supervisor was reported to have slapped a worker with hot pizza and the locking of workers out without prior notice at various yards in Takoradi.
He urged expatriate workers to learn how to relate to their colleagues.
Companys reaction
After several attempts to elicit the reaction of the company, the Managing Director, Mr William Moss, agreed to grant an interview March 23, 2016.
However, about 2:30 p.m, Mr Moss called to say he could no longer grant the interview without consulting the local union. He expressed wonder as to what interest the newspaper had in the matter and ended the call.
Memo to workers
However, the Daily Graphic later intercepted a March 21 memo from the Managing Director notifying the employees that Mr Maggiorotto had relinquished his post and returned to Italy with his wife. I would like to thank Manlio for all his efforts over the past years in the face of considerable difficulties.
He brought new levels of engineering experience and competence to the maintenance function and it was through his dynamism that the workshop at Bokro was created, it said, adding that He will be greatly missed.
Are you getting married? If so, then you should seriously consider that marriage is serious business. My people, too many young men are ill-prepared for marriage due to the absence of wise and caring fathers who genuinely love their sons.
How I go talk am? Ebe like say the women dey manufacture nyonugbomes make dem dey see money from children who are after their hearts. However, in the end many of such mothers never realise that they in essence destroyed the well-being of their sons. Now let us talk candidly. Do you have a father? I mean really? Are you a man who has been trained to do righteousness? Now let us talk about marriage and then marriage by manipulation of the womb. As well, I have a short Evhe lesson for today.
Marriagewhat is it?
According to the Word of God, marriage is likened to the relationship that Yeshua ha Mashiach (Jesus Christ) has with his church. In other words, Yeshua died for his bride to be righteous and holy. How about you? Is your wife holy? Is she even a righteous woman?
This is what you need to know: a woman is not necessarily a wife unless of course, she has undergone the spiritual transformation from woman to wife. Marriage is therefore all about ensuring that people give up their will to God in order for them to receive the blessing and everything that comes with it. I mean, really, we do use terms like holy matrimony for a reason. Holy simply means that the marriage was intended to be set apart for a higher purpose where God does His will in the lives of husband and wife.
The Womb and its Purpose
What is the womb? In fact, the womb of a woman is a place where conception of a child begins. Without seed, there is no possibility for a woman to suddenly give birth to a child unless you happen to be somebody who is favoured like the virgin Myriam (Mary). A womb is not a play thing. It is intended to be used in righteousness. Unfortunately, so many women use their wombs as an instrument of manipulation in order to secure a husband that does their will and not Gods.
Are you a woman? Then please consider that there is a need to keep your womb in a way where you do not ever have to use it as a means to get money or to eat bread. I have some counsel for you if you will take it. It is written, And the man [Adam] said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man (Bereshit/Genesis 2:23).
The word woman is from the Hebrew term ishshah. There are different translations of the Hebrew word ishshah, however the one that really hits home and conveys real meaning is the reference to a man with a womb. This is to say that a woman is a wombed-man.
A wombed-man is definitely someone who has a purpose in the will of God. Of course, birthing children is just one among many of such purposes. Now let us consider some things about Gods design of women. Here we go.
She was designed to serve. She was originally given to a man as a gift from God. She has a womb. She has a unique character. Her spirit contains different programming than the male. Her breasts nurture children unlike the male.
Is there any one of you who thinks that I have written anything that is in error or ill-conceived? If so, please feel free to write me. Thank you.
Man and his purpose
Every male is the progenitor of a potentially blessed family unit. The male needs God in order to ensure that things remain this way. Without the blessing, God will never permit a man to be married. This is the reason why there are so many marriages that end up in divorce; it is a case of couples marrying outside of the will of God. When you see this continuously happening in a generation, it simply means that you are dealing with a cycle of generational curses. These curses are rooted in the fact that people do not bless God with their lives and are therefore self-willed and heathen in orientation.
A human being is intended to be a blessing to his or her family as well as the rest of humanity. This is why we as Christians often say things like God bless you and the like. If you are really a Christian, you will comprehend that the blessing is very much available to those who ask God to show them how to live according to His will.
If you are a man and you know that marriage is something that you would like to engage in, then it is time to make the Word of God your focus. As well, it is time to also ensure that Yeshua is your Lord. How do you do this? It is done by making sure that you repent of your sins and that you change your mind about doing whatever you want in life without regard for Yeshuas commands about living. Today, be wise about life. You have only one and it is very short. After this, you have to deal with eternity. And that is forever and ever!
Now for the Evhe Lesson of the week. Today, our lesson will focus on culture and terminology. I have a few terms that seek to describe what Evhes generally think about not being manly or womanly. Here they are.
yakam meaning a useless person or a good-for-nothing nynugbm meaning moulded like a woman or unmanly atsadzob meaning someone who wants to please everybody (i.e. a fake person) av meaning a female yakam or disorderly woman am meaning person (i.e. a man or a woman) bomtsila meaning a foolish, stupid, or uneducated person am kutsu meaning an insane person or dead-headed am baa meaning a bad person or a seducer dzimakpla meaning born but not raised or a child not instilled with discipline gbolon meaning a whore or sex-worker xst meaning a believer (i.e. usually in the gospel) Mawuvi meaning child of God
In case you would like to acquire skills in the Evhe language please contact me at [email protected].
01.04.2016 LISTEN
Managing Editor of the Insight Newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jnr., has revealed that some of his friends think he is a fool for refusing to enjoy what they term the fruit of his labour.
The veteran journalist speaking on Adom FMs Morning Show, Dwaso Nsem Thursday, said the friends tag him as such because he has on two occasions rejected appointments to serve in government.
According to him, President John Agyekum Kufuor while in power in 2001 invited him to serve in his administration; an invitation he said he turned down.
The invite he said was extended to him after he helped the New Patriotic Party (NPP) win power in the 2000 elections.
The cordial relationship that existed between the social commentator cum journalist and the former President Kufuors administration however took a nose dive while Kufuor was still in office.
He and his Committee for Joint Action (CJA) through various forms of demonstrations helped the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to defeat the NPP in the 2008 elections.
And to crown his hard work, Pratt said, the late Professor John Evans Atta Mills asked him to start preparing himself for an ambassadorial appointment.
He told me I am going to be appointed Ghanas Ambassador to Cuba so I should start preparing to leave the shores of Ghana for Cubabut I told him right there that I wont go, he said.
This answer, Pratt said, did not only shock the late Mills but his close friends as well when they later learned of his response to such an honour.
That particular evening, a friend of mine, a close friend, came to me and demanded that I should go and ask that Mills send him to Cuba instead if I am not going there, he said.
According to the veteran journalist, the two occasions when he turned down offers to serve in various positions have led to some of his friends seeing me as a fool who would just want to struggle and never eat from my sweat.
He expressed surprise and disappointment at the rate at which some graduates fail to work after school and instead see politics as an industry to make fortunes.
There are certain people who upon completion of school, have never worked, all they do is to branch into politics with the hope of helping their party to win elections so they can lay their hands on government resources and begin to dissipate it, he said.
Such persons, he said, do everything within their power including killing and maiming to ensure their political parties win or retain power.
01.04.2016 LISTEN
The Sanaahene of the Atebubu Traditional Council has disclosed that he is a member of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC).
Ghanas constitution forbids chiefs and traditional rulers from taking part in active partisan politics.
But Nana Osei Wusu opened up to Chief Jerry Forson on Accra100.5FMs Ghana Yensom Thursday March 31, 2016 that he is affiliated to the NDC. He was speaking about his unhappiness with the violence that rocked Atebubu-Amantin Wednesday night.
The constituency witnessed disturbances when two NDC youth factions, allied to the District Chief Executive (DCE) of the area, Sampson Oti Boateng; and the Member of Parliament (MP), Sanja Nanja; respectively, clashed as the MPs supporters tried to seize the DCEs official vehicle from him.
The lawmakers supporters claimed the DCE had been removed from office by President John Mahama and, therefore, was not entitled to keep a duty vehicle assigned to him.
The DCE and his supporters resisted the move, stating there had been no official communication to him regarding his removal from office.
The violent scenes culminated in the torching of the NDCs office and injuries to a few persons. Mr Oti Boatengs house was also ransacked and the DCE is reported to be seeking refuge outside the town.
Police and military men dispatched to the scene have brought the situation under control, but an unhappy Nana Osei Wusu, who is also a member of the district assembly, said: If the president and his appointees are listening to me, they should come again and do what will put the party in good light. Otherwise, this party will go into opposition. I told you last year that if things are not addressed, the party will head into opposition. Will it be a good thing if we end up in opposition?
There are some people when they are talking, you can tell which party they belong to. I cannot openly declare that I am NDC or NPP, but I can tell you I am with the NDC because I am a government appointee at Atebubu-Amantin [District Assembly].
He said he would want to see the in-fighting cease and peace returning to the party, which he said can only happen if the president clarifies the DCEs status by writing a letter formally to inform the assembly of the removal of Mr Boateng, if rumours of him being axed from office were true.
Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings, former First Lady, has said she supports the parliamentary candidacy of her daughter Dr. Zanetor Rawlings but disapprove of her party, NDC.
She is an adult woman, she is a medical doctor; she hasnt lived here for some time so she doesnt even know the nuances of the parties and so on but she has the right to decide which way she wants to go, Mrs Rawlings, who is also the founder of the National Democratic Party (NDP) told StarrFMonline.com.
She added: I support her as an individual but I am not going to support that party (NDC). I support her as a daughter but not her party.
The candidature of Dr. Rawlings, who is contesting the Klottey Korle seat, on the ticket of the NDC has been fraught with controversies as the incumbent MP for the area is currently challenging her illegibility in court.
Nii Armah Ashitey contends that the medical doctor cannot represent the ruling party come November because she is not a registered voter in Ghana. His claims have been corroborated by the electoral commission. The matter is currently before the High court.
Police in the Central Region on Thursdy picked up thirteen Pakistani nationals at Assin Fosu over suspicion that they could be terrorists.
The thirteen who claim to be Ahmadiyya sect missionaries are said to have arrived in the country six months ago and have been preaching in villages across the country.
They were picked up Thursday morning while moving from Assin Nyankomase to Assin Fosu in the Central Region.
Assin Fosu District Police Commander, DSP Samuel Lawson, told Joy News the foreigners are currently in the custody of the Ghana Immigration Service while investigations continue.
He revealed his unit picked up the thirteen Pakistani nationals upon a tipoff around 9:00am Thursday, however, during interrogation, police could not tell if they were in the country legally or not.
They subsequently called in the Ghana Immigration Service to check whether their status in the country, DSP Lawson said.
Meanwhile, the Immigration Service told Joy News its preliminary investigations indicate that there is no cause for alarm.
Raymond Bahey, who speaks for the Ghana Immigration Service Training School in the Central Region, said their investigations confirm the claim by the Pakistanis that they are on a mission to preach Islam to communities across the country.
However, investigations are still ongoing so whatever it is it will surely come out, he assured, urging public calm.
The Pakistani nationals have since been transferred to the Cape Coast Regional headquarters of the Immigration Service for further investigations, Bahey revealed.
Ghana has been on high security alert after attacks on its neighbours Burkina Faso and Cote DIvoire and other countries on the West African sub-region.
The National Security Council has called for public vigilance, stating a terror threat in Ghana is credible.
Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | George Nyavor | [email protected]
CAN PLASTICS DECOMPOSE?
Government has latched onto the idea that plastics can decompose or biodegrade, and has directed manufactures to include an inorganic additive believed to catalyse decomposition when they produce flexible plastics.
DECLINING FISH STOCK WORRYING; 4 MILLION LIVELIHOODS AFFECTED
The countrys fisheries sector is faced with the challenge of declining marine fisheries resources, leading to loss and diminishing livelihood for over 4 million Ghanaians fishers and their dependents.
GHANA NEEDS NIGERIA GAS BEYOND TEN PROJECT BUAH
Petroleum Minister, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah has confirmed that the country that the country cannot wean itself completely from Nigeria Gas (NGas), even after the ENI and Tweneboa, Enyenra and Ntomme (TEN) projects come on stream.
SECURITY ALERT: PAKISTANIS ARRESTED!
The Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) yesterday arrested seven Pakistani nationals on suspicion that they could be in the country illegally.
$84M GHANA OIL MONEY MISSNG
A whopping $84,382,088 out of $900 million oil money received by government from the countrys oil and gas companies in 2014 could not be accounted for.
PHARMACIES FACE CLOSURE; NHIS CARD HOLDERS TO SUFFER
Effective healthcare delivery in the country could face a major setback as about 60% of the over 4,000 pharmacy retail and wholesale outlets in the country risk closure by the Pharmacy Council by the end of the month.
ADDRESS POLITICAL VIGILANTE MENACE DR ATUQUAYEFIO
Dr Philip Atuquayefio, Senior Researcher at Legon Centre for International Affairs and Diplomacy, has called for collaboration between the Police Service and stakeholders to address the issue of political vigilante groups in the country.
PAUL AFOKO DROPS ANOTHER BOMBSHELL
The suspended national chairman of the NPP, Paul Afoko, has revealed that he was suspended by some 70 executive members of the party because of his quest to inject probity and accountability into the running of the accounts of the party.
01.04.2016 LISTEN
THE IRONY OF POLITICAL PSYCHIATRY IN GHANAS ENTRENCHED DUOPOLISTIC CULTURE
Is Nana Akufo-Addo Really Crazy?
The titular caption of this essay happened to be a question a friend posed to us recently. Initially we could not tell right away whether the question carried any internal sense of seriousness because, at it may appear on the surface, the solemn countenance of the questioner and the dignified hilarity of the question itself weighed so heavily on our intellect to such an extent that we found it virtually impossible, at first, to assign any meaningful exegetical interpolation to the questioners and questions unequal weight in intellectual, philosophic and political output.
Stated otherwise, this uncompromising situation denied the questioner and the question a sense of exegetical commonality from our liberal viewpoint given the immediacy of polarizing sequent of undecipherable philosophic and intellectual difficulty between messenger and message.
Regardless, the cautious delivery tone and emotional rhythm of the question projected a nuanced mechanics of psychiatrical wonder in the checkered political profile of Akufo-Addo, an embattled Fuhrer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
Yet, the question is a serious one that cannot be simply glossed over given its diagnostic philosophic and political content and what that means for assessing the profiles of psychological balance, or lack thereof, pertaining to members of the ruling class, particularly that of Akufo-Addo.
In short, then, that innocent question, to wit, is pregnant with package inserts of teachable connotations for those interested in pursuing pragmatic politics of inclusion and true national development. This is not however symptomatic of the post-Nkrumah political dispensation.
Evidently.
None of the major political players in the countrys brief duopolistic history seems to be guided by any principled ideology of political integrity or morality.
Given that we have emphatically made this point repeatedly elsewhere, we shall not bother to belabor the proven hypothesis that the free-market capitalism of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the social democracy of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) are existentially synonymous with nepotistic and crony kleptomania.
What this generally means beyond this simple axiomatic philosophic and political interrogation is, what effective electioneering package of campaign policy solutions does Akufo-Addo have for Ghanas myriad problems beyond his platitudinous catechism of cosmetic chorus based on the refrain try me? How do you give or promise what you do not and will probably never have?
The other indispensable question is, how should the electorate try any untried presidential candidate who has consistently failed to roll out a workable package insert of policy solutions that are evidently on the political balance sheet of incumbency, for the electorates overall reasoned or rational assessment?
If in fact Akufo-Addo is politically sane, a position our friends curious question does not take or support, he would have rolled out one by now or piecemeal.
A stitch in time, it is said, saves nine.
It does not have to take scheduled public debates for presidential candidates to make their policy plans known to the world of the discerning and underrated electorate. In this sense the idea of President Mahama throwing out a challenge to Akufo-Addo is inconsequential, to say the least.
At least, thus far, the electorate has a precocious familiarization of or access to the policy balance sheet of failures and successes chalked under the Mahama administration, to assist Ghanaians to make informed decisions as to their choice of candidate for the presidency come 2016.
It does happen that the NPP led by Akufo-Addo and Dr. Bawamia, the formers reprobate canine stalker, have succeeded somewhat in harping on incumbent controversial shortcomings such as the spate of judgment debt scandals and graduate unemployment, to mention but two, while refusing to provide viable alternative policy strategies for solving the countrys myriad problems.
What, in effect, we have been getting from the leadership of the NPP is hot air, a perfect instantiation of the concept of preaching to the choir. Preaching to the choir does not make politics intellectually stimulating, challenging, and taxing. It is an easy avenue to cheap popularity and political impotence.
Still, we have deployed usage of precocious for tactical reasons, one of these primarily being the benefit of hindsight which is supposed to afford the electorate a golden opportunity to make informed projections and extrapolations from a well-reasoned possibility of a foregone conclusion linked to the mortal transiency of incumbency advantage.
In this context the childishly thoughtless outburst by Madam Mavis Hawa Koomson, Member of Parliament for Awutu Senya East Constituency, that President Mahamas diplomatic overtures to Akufo-Addo for a public debate will be tantamount to the former stealing the latters policy ideas is grossly misplaced.
Here is what she said:
I see this proposal of Mahama as desperate to cling on to power at all cost and since the NPP and Nana Akufo-Addo have not released their campaign strategy for the NDC to copy, the President is calling for a debate to steal some ideas for campaignhe condemned free education proposed by Nana Addo but now he wants to do it.
Arrant nonsense! Did Akufo-Addo, an ex-Convention Peoples Partys dedicated member, not steal this free education idea from Nkrumah and the 1992 Constitution? And what about the possibility of Akufo-Addo stealing President Mahama ideas? Madam Koomson does not say.
Why some ideas and not all ideas? Now this is what the Constitution says regarding government policies on free education (see Chapter 6 The Directive Principle of State Policy, 38 (2)):
The Government shall, within two years after Parliament first meets after the coming into force of this Constitution, draw up a programme for implementation within the following ten years, FOR THE PROVISION OF FREE, COMPULSORY AND UNIVERSAL EDUCATION (our emphasis).
So what is Madam Koomson actually saying? Perhaps, and we should add for emphasis, she may actually be identifying Akufo-Addo with the Constitution.
For one thing, it does take Akufo-Addo the liar to claim exclusive originality for free education.
For another thing, it sure does take a crazy or politically insane character to claim exclusive originality for an idea that is so palpably enshrined in the Constitution.
EVERYTHING OLD IS NEW AGAIN
The possibility of mutual theft of political ideas exists in Ghanas duopolistic culture nonetheless. What however remains consistently unexplored, perhaps, is an existential truism which essentially says there is nothing new under the sun.
This momentously reminds us of Peter Allens classic song Everything Old Is New Again. An idea that seems original could in fact be a subtle restatement or corollary of another original idea, ad infinitum.
More fundamentally, then, internal party constitutions, manifestoes, and the national Constitution provide a useful blueprint for electioneering campaign promises and partisan policy objectives since, at least in theory, political parties are not expected to operate outside the parameters of binding constitutions and manifestoes.
What is more, there is nothing Akufo-Addo or President Mahama can say in the nations interest that has never been tried or considered elsewhere in the modern history of political evolution.
The earlier political parties release their campaign ideas to the public, the larger the window of opportunity becomes for the electorate to digest them fully as well as to assess the promising potential of each presidential candidate.
The psychological health of each presidential candidate in this regard is extremely important. The height which our politicians have attained in terms of diagnostic internalization of psychiatric neocolonialism, with its accompanying diagnostic externalization posturing, is deeply frightening.
Politicians should not only make their assets and liabilities officially integral to public knowledge, but also their psychological assessment profiles prior to assumption of political office.
AKUFO-ADDO IS NOT ALONE IN HIS DILEMMA OF POLITICAL PSYCHIATRY
Nevertheless, Akufo-Addo is not the only notable presidential candidate who has successfully meandered unconvincingly or unknowingly into the Shangri-La of political psychiatry.
Ivor Greenstreet, the recently nominated presidential candidate of the Convention Peoples Party (CPP), has given a tentative indication to legalize marijuana if given the presidential nod, not forgetting that one of the pressing primary policy objectives of any progressive leadership in Ghana is getting rid of all under-tree-classrooms, say.
Certainly, Greenstreet may have been spending all his quality time listening to Peter Toshs Legalize It and Legalize Marijuana, or may be smoking too much weed himself. Or could Greenstreet have been spending too much time listening to rapper Afromans sensational classic track, Because I Got High?
On the other hand Kwesi Pratt, Jr., the Managing Editor of The Insight Newspaper, was reported to have said this about Akufo-Addo some years ago:
Nana Akufo-Addo used to smoke a lot of marijuana...and I'm telling you, a lot. Even in the morning, there used to be a cloud around him and you could see that he was high.
Let us say that Greenstreet may want to increase or add more psychiatric patients to the psychiatric political or ruling class. It also beggars belief, then, if Greenstreet indeed wants to capitalize brick-and-mortar facilitation of under-tree-classrooms via heavy taxation on marijuana products.
It appears that Progressive Peoples Partys Paa Kwesi Nduom does demonstrate some progressive streaks in his political character, but Dr. Kwame Botwe-Asamoah has shot down that widely held perception without mincing words.
That is, Dr. Botwe-Asamaoh cautiously thinks this progressive projection of Paa Kwesi Nduom in the public domain is rather a convenient symptomatology of the latters internalized Machiavellian pretensions.
Here is what he [Dr. Botwe-Asamoah] says in that regard:
If there is one construct that best describes Dr. Kwesi Nduoms idiosyncratic behavior in the CPP, it is Machiavellianismthe recent-past wrangling in the CPP can be traced to the covert and overt actions of Dr. Kwesi Nduom. This deceit, treachery and slyness, some of us saw, were calculated to destroy and prevent the CPP from becoming attractive to the growing interest in the party of Kwame Nkrumah as shown by the present generation, especially those looking for an alternative party to the NPP and the NDC, as well as those yearning for the return of a CPP Government.
Soon after the 2007 National Congress in Kumasi, some of the delegates became dejected because of the major role money played in Dr. Nduoms winning the election. The CPP General Secretary, Mr. Greenstreet, validated this vote-buying craze when he recalled that, on his way to secure the flagbearership position of the CPP, Dr. Nduom bought the nomination with a methodical plan, paying the delegates for their votes.
Surely Greenstreet may have inherited the multiparty gene of Paa Kwesi Nduoms vote-buying craze as Samia Nkrumah alleged recently. Akufo-Addos political rivals in the NPP leveled similar charges against him.
It has widely been circulated around the world by NPP fanatics that, President Mahama reportedly rigged the 2012 general elections, and then he, together with certain elements within the highest echelon of his partys hierarchy, chased George Boateng to the Shangri-La of political psychiatry.
Finally, on Paa Kwesi Nduoms ATV channel and why it may have been taken down, a recent statement by the National Communication Authority (NCA), for instance, shows Paa Kwesi Nduom may have flouted Ghanaians laws as this NCA statement indicates that some of channels:
ATV which is owned by businessman and former presidential of the Progressive Peoples Party Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom was also affecteddid not meet the basic requirements to operate, and above all most didnt even have the license to operate while some were not regulated to operate.
Perhaps Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom may shed light on this matter in the coming days, to clear his name. Now, given the question marks on these potential presidential candidates, which of them is the best fit for the presidency? This is a somewhat difficult question the electorate must surely answer in the coming months. Namely, this is a tough nut of a question to crack for lack of viable alternatives.
And then there are the political covariates of paid and bribed village idiots, serial callers, and useful idiots who further complicate the political equation of finding the best fit for rationalizing the regression analysis of presidential politics.
Justice Adzakuma, that useful idiot who lost his eye because of the political aspirations of Akufo-Addo, did not have his lost eye replaced with one of Akufo-Addos. Never make a politician grant you a favor, sang Bob Marley. They will always want to control you forever.
We hope Adzakuma has learnt his lessons.
We shall return with a concluding sequel (Part 2)
REFERENCES
Ghanaweb. Kwesi Pratt Speaks On Akufo-Addo Smokes Wee Wikileaks Claims. September 8, 2011.
Ghanaweb. Mahama Wants To Steal Akufo-Addos Ideas MP. March 15, 2016.
Modernghana. Adieu To Dr. Nduoms Machiavellianism Tactics To Get Ahead In The CPP. February 25, 2012.
Ghanaweb. Obinim TV, Others Taken Off Air. March 30, 2016.
The Secretary General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), has paid tribute to the extraordinary courage of the volunteers and staff of the Central African Red Cross Society, who have managed to expand life-saving malaria, HIV and tuberculosis prevention and treatment in the midst of the crisis that has gripped the country over the past two years.
Malaria is the leading cause of illness and death in Central African Republic, accounting for 40 per cent of hospital cases and deaths nationwide. HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis are also major public health concerns - an estimated 4.9 per cent of the population is living with HIV, and some 520 cases of tuberculosis are reported per 100,000 inhabitants.
In 2013, at the peak of the crisis, the Central African Red Cross, in partnership with the Global Fund to fight Aids Tuberculosis and Malaria and the IFRC, began a project to address these killer diseases and establish nation-wide mobile phone based reporting system which would allow the country to rebuild a health reporting system which had collapsed as a result of years of conflict.
Our initial forecast of the number of health facilities we could support with malaria prevention programmes was 166, said Mr Sy. We reached 745. Over the past two years, Central African Red Cross volunteers have distributed most of the 2.1 million long-lasting insecticide-treated nets that are now offering protection to more than 60 per cent of the population of the country (several members of the same family sleeping under one net). Even when fighting was at its worst they were able to ensure uninterrupted distributions, said Mr Sy.
They also reached more than 25,000 people living with HIV with antiretroviral treatment far exceeding the initial target of around 18,000 people.
As a result of this programme, the Central African Republic has been able to expand its health provision to many of its most vulnerable citizens. This was achieved during a conflict that has displaced more than 1 million people and left 2.1 million in need of urgent humanitarian assistance, and which threatened to bring already weak health systems to a complete standstill.
Mr Sy said: At a time when the country seemed to be on the brink of catastrophe, Red Cross volunteers were able to reach the most vulnerable and make a tremendous difference to their lives. This is evidence not only of their courage and commitment, but also of the ability of local organizations and volunteers to operate effectively in environments where no one else can.
The Central African Red Cross has more than 12,000 volunteers providing a range of services across the country, including first aid, ambulance services, distributing relief items, providing water and sanitation services, peace education, managing burials, and giving psychosocial support. Many volunteers report being exposed to significant trauma and personal risk in the line of their humanitarian duties.
IFRC is working to build on the success of its collaboration with the Global Fund and partners to scale-up its life-saving activities across the country.
R.A. Walker, CEO, Anadarko
01.04.2016 LISTEN
A whopping $84,382,088 out of $900 million oil money received by government from the country's oil and gas companies in 2014 could not be accounted for.
A recent report by the Ghana Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (GHEITI), which detailed this, faulted Anadarko WCTP Limited for failing to fulfil its commitment to the State.
According to the report, all oil and gas companies operating in the country that made payments reported to the GHEITI with the exception of Anadarko WCTP Limited.
In February this year, Anadarko reported a multibillion dollar loss for 2015 and said it would cut its 2016 budget by about half.
Its executives said the reduced capital spending would likely lead to job cuts even though they did not provide details about the number of cuts or when that would happen.
The company also slashed its dividend by 81 percent and lined up three asset sales worth a combined $1.3 billion to help fund its 2016 budget.
The company plans to monetise up to $3 billion of assets in 2016.
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The report also noted that in 2014, a total of 37,201,691 barrels of crude oil and 55,758.04 mmscf of natural gas were produced from the Jubilee field.
Additionally, 79,602 barrels of crude oil were produced from the Saltpond field, bringing the total crude oil produced in the country to 37,281,293 barrels.
It said the contribution of Ghana's much-touted oil and gas sector to the gross domestic product (GDP) shrank from 8.2 percent in 2013 to 7.25 percent in 2014.
It is for this reason that it appealed for more transparency on the part of government and the various oil and gas companies operating in the country to provide information on the performance of the Ghana Petroleum Funds (GPF) and crude oil liftings.
It further called for the establishment of the investment guide to effectively check the performances of the GPF.
Furthermore, the report urged the sector minister to provide thorough information on the stages of implementation of the various developmental projects funded by the Annual Budget Funding Amount (ABFA).
The country's ABFA is responsible for four key priority areas expenditure and amortization of loans for oil and gas infrastructure, roads and other infrastructure, capacity building and agriculture modernisation.
By Samuel Boadi
The Nkwanta office of the NDC
01.04.2016 LISTEN
Some National Democratic Congress (NDC) youth in the Nkwanta South District of the Volta region went on rampage on Wednesday over what they described as undue delay in the appointment of a substantive District Chief Executive (DCE) for the area.
The youth, mostly clad in T-shirts and paraphernalia of the NDC, hijacked the party's office in the area, sacked some of the executives, including the constituency chairman and locked it up.
They also burnt tyres and chanted war songs amidst dancing to register their displeasure over the development.
The youth also criticized the party's constituency and regional executives and the Volta Regional Minister, Helen Adwoa Ntoso.
Mabla Godsway and Suraj Alidu, who are staunch NDC activists, accused them of doing little to get a DCE after the murder of the former DCE, Peter Kojo Kenyenso at his residence about 18 months ago.
Some assembly members also accused the Regional Minister of habouring a clandestine agenda since she has postponed the confirmation of a proposed successor about three times without any tangible explanation.
The angry NDC youth have therefore given the government, through the party executives and the regional minister, a two-week ultimatum to ensure the appointment of a substantive DCE.
The regional minister currently has oversight responsibility over the district almost 18 months after Peter Kenyenso was shot dead in front of his house.
The minister, who oversees all the activities of the various municipal and districts in the region, is also Member of Parliament (MP) of Krachi-West and chairperson of the Regional Security Council, just to mention a few.
Some staff of the Assembly, assembly members, party members and residents in the district believe that the absence of a DCE is hampering development in the area.
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In November last year, President John Dramani Mahama appointed one Alfred wukanya as the new DCE of the area but his confirmation by the assembly has been postponed several times.
Constituency Organiser, Boadin Nyame and the Deputy Youth Organiser, Osman Junna, who did not approve of the action of the party's youth, stated that the appointment of the DCE was long overdue.
They corroborated claims by the angry NDC youth that several petitions to the region to ensure the confirmation of the DCE have yielded no positive results.
Ms Helen Adwoa Ntoso denied the claims of the youth and others, explaining that as a party and government, they were waiting for the parliamentary primaries of the area to be held before the confirmation of the DCE.
She said that owing to local and ethnic politics in the district, it was necessary to tread cautiously to ensure that chiefs and people accept the DCE.
This will even make it easy for the DCE to work since he will get the needed support from the people, she added.
She said since she took over the affairs of the district assembly, the area has seen a lot of developmental projects, including schools, CHPS compound, public toilet, among others.
Madam Ntoso was hopeful the primaries and confirmation of the DCE would be held by the end of the month.
From Fred Duodu, Nkwanta ([email protected])
Okoe Quarcoe and Stanley Obaliko aka Mohammed Sulemana
01.04.2016 LISTEN
One of the five persons standing trial over the Koala Shopping Centre robbery has denied shooting Lydia Horsu, the marketing administrator of the shop.
According to Stanley Obaliko aka Mohammed Sulemana, he did not shoot the victim who appeared in court in clutches yesterday.
He claimed that he rather struggled with Lydia over her bag when he attempted to snatch it from her.
Sulemana, who was without a lawyer, was cross-examining the complainant (Lydia) after she had told the court that the robbery incident nearly made her lose the left leg.
He said Lydia would be deceiving the court if she claimed that she saw him (Sulemana) because on the day of the incident, he was wearing a black helmet which would make identifying him difficult.
But Lydia insisted in a court presided over by Aboagye Tandoh that Sulemana, who was the pillion rider, shot at her, adding that the accused had the gun in one hand while he struggled with her over the bag with the other hand.
She maintained that Sulemana succeeded in taking the bag from her, shot her in the thigh and bolted on the motorbike which was being driven by Okoe Quarcoe.
Okoe, who was also without any legal representation, pleaded with the court to have mercy on him, stressing that he did not know Lydia in person and that he did not also cross her as the motor rider but instead drove past her.
Earlier, George Asamaney, lawyer for Michael Edoe Ahiataku aka Old Soldier a private security guard and Gilbert Osabutey aka Obolo, shop supervisor at Koala, wondered if the complainant until the incident had any problem with Osabutey, who was Lydia's colleague.
In an answer to a question, Lydia said she also knew Michael as a security guard at the shopping centre but denied seeing him at post on the day of the incident.
Joseph Turkson, counsel for Frederick Sedro Kwame aka Fred, a private security guard, asked the complainant if she knew the accused but she answered in the negative.
All the accused persons have denied the charges of conspiracy to rob and robbery.
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The case has been adjourned until April 4, 2016.
The prosecutor, Chief Supt. Duuti Tuaruka, told the court that on January 9 this year, the gang conspired and robbed the victim of her Nokia mobile phone worth GH800, a black ladies' bag valued at GH200, a Koala ID card, invoices and an amount of GH100.
Mohammed is facing an additional charge of possessing one automatic MAB foreign pistol No. PA151674189, six live 9mm ammunition and five empty cartridges.
Mohammed and Okoe are also standing trial for intentionally and unlawfully causing grievous harm to Lydia.
Lydia had told the court how two men on motorbike trailed her from Cantonments, Accra, when she was on her way to the airport branch of the shop 'till she was attacked at the American Embassy area.
[email protected]
By Jeffrey De-Graft Johnson
The Ahmadiyya Mission in Ghana has denied knowledge of the presence of some Pakistanis who have been arrested amidst terror fears at Assin Fosu in the Central Region.
The 13 Pakistanis who claim to be Missionaries of the Ahmadiyya Sect are said to have arrived in the country six months ago and have been preaching in some villages across the country.
Nazar Muhammed, Amin Muhammed, Israr Muhammed, Ali Khan, Gul Muhammed, Nazir Gul and Jan Alam were picked up Thursday morning while moving from Assin Nyankomase to Assin Fosu in the Central Region.
Assin Fosu District Police Commander, DSP Samuel Lawson, told Joy News the foreigners are currently in the custody of the Ghana Immigration Service while investigations continue.
However, in an interview on the Super Morning Show, General Secretary of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission in Ghana, Ahmed Anderson flatly denied any connection with any group of missionaries who have come from Pakistan to preach Islam.
This is very very strange, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission is not aware of any group of Pakistanis having come into the country in the name of Ahmadiyya mission to preach.
Yes, the Ahmadiyya mission has some Pakistani missionaries in the country but we have a very structured system so when people some in, they have defined roles and we engage them in various ways and on no occasion would we allow any Ahmadiyya missionaries to be walking from one destination to another preaching without any recourse to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission.
He expressed surprise that the mission was not called for confirmation about the presence of the said missionaries in the country.
The Immigration Service and the police, according to him are very much aware of the operations of the Ahmadiyya mission so if any group of people claim to be Ahmadis why could they not do any cross-check with the mission but just put it out there that they were Ahmadiyya Muslims. We are very much surprised about that.
Anderson admitted that although some of their regional missionaries are Pakistanis, they do not have any record of missionaries who came into the country six months ago and preaching anywhere in the country.
I have checked all our missions in this country since this news broke and we do not have any such group of people doing any such preaching anywhere.
He said it was impossible that the Ahmadi authorities in Pakistan will send more missionaries without informing them about it.
It is not possible at all that there will be any missionaries sent from any part of the world without channelling them through the structured system that we have.
If anybody is coming in, they will first ask us to send an invitation to the person for them to process the persons VISA before the person comes in, and we have a quota with Immigration and we would have to go them and find out if our quota is no exceeded before we allow such people in.
He said they are getting in touch with the police in Assin Fosu to verify the information that has been put out in the public about their involvement.
He expressed disappointment that people are being tagged as terrorists because of their religion.
Listen to full interview
Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Naa Sakwaba Akwa | [email protected]
Ex-President J.A.Kufuor
01.04.2016 LISTEN
Almost a fortnight ago, when we were inching towards the Easter Holidays, I saw a news item on one of the T.V. networks in this country. I had to clean my eyes very well to assure myself that I was not dreaming, and indeed I was not dreaming. I saw a group of distinguished Ghanaian personalities in the home of ex-President J.A.Kufuor, gentlemen and ladies to do him some honours. As a journalist, I know that the electronic media is limited in time and space when it comes to news presentation. I followed up in the print media to verify the details of the story. On the 24th of March, 2016, the story took a prominent space in the Daily Graphic, and part of the story read as follows:
'Former President John Agyekum Kufuor has been honoured for his continuous contribution towards the development of Ghana and the African continent (emphasis mine)'. The story went on 'the ex-President received the award for his statesmanship and for playing a pivotal role in promoting peace and stability across the continent even after his tenure of office'. 'He was awarded by the Millennium Excellence Foundation (MEF), organizers of the Milliennium Excellence Award (MEA) at his residence on Tuesday. He was presented with a plaque, a trophy, a citation and certificate signed by Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the Life Patron and Ambassador James Victor Gbeho, the President of MEA'.
Just as I saw on the television, the Daily Graphic reported Ambassador Gbeho eulogizing President Kufuor and presenting the plaque to him. He was quoted as saying 'Former President Kufuor's achievements for the country and the continent, especially in democracy during his tenure are recognized globally'. I then remembered both Jimmy Cliff's song 'Hypocrites' and Lucky Dube's 'Crazy World'.
One may ask why I have taken pains to recount a harmless honour done our former President led by a renowned Diplomat of our times. In the year 2009, the MO Foundation was to honour an ex-African Head of State for his exemplary performance and leadership. President Kufuor featured prominently among those who had been captured by the MO Foundation's radar. It was widely believed that he was going to be the proud winner of that honour which we were told was going to come with US$5million.
The NDC had just taken over the reins of government in the country and had set in motion a process of destroying everything the Kufuor administration had done, internally and externally. There were even rumours that Ambassador Gbeho and a team had met Mo and threatened danger to his business interests in Ghana should the Foundation honour this man being described by Gbeho now as having achieved something which is globally recognized.
My heart bleeds as I revisit this topic, some may consider it needless but as a journalist, I have a responsibility to remind our people of our history even as they forget along the way. That such people of immense knowledge and honour will stoop that low to distort facts, erode the achievements of some individuals and destroy their image either for political expediency or on ethnic grounds is heart piercing to a genuine heart and a sound mind. Following the strenuous work of Ambassador Gbeho and his crop of envious political failures who having ruled this country for 19 years uninterrupted before Kufuor's appearance on the political scene, and with no comparable international image to hold onto, individually and collectively, the MO Foundation did not award anybody that year.
President Kufuor as a person did not and I believe will not need US$5million for himself; it would have been used to the benefit of Ghana in many ways. The evidence is there for all to see, when he shared a prize with someone else, he used the money to found an institute to train leaders for this country; the amount was just US$250,000. What was going through Gbeho's mind when he was going round to ensure Kufuor was not honoured by the MO Foundation and at the time he was presenting the plaque and the rest to him? Hypocrisy, thou art the praises that vice showers on virtue. Who Jah Bless, No One Curse, so says the legend Bob Marley. We indeed live in a crazy world, and the major actors are not the mentally challenged, those at the centre of our world of madness are those the nation has used its resources to educate, trained, put in privileged positions. Gbeho vindicates Kufuor, but too late in the day.
NDC AT IT AGAIN
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We have exactly about seven months to go to the polls to determine the future of this country for the next four years. This nation has mistakenly handed over its destiny into the hands of thieves who are so blockheaded that even their family members who are beneficiaries of their thievery, smell foul play in the wealth their benefactors opulently display. Almost eight years after taking over from the NPP, the NDC has run down every micro sector of this country called Ghana. Stealing of public funds has become a pastime which has trickled down to the lowest officer in every public institution of this country.
President Mahama and his pack of trained criminals, who are shuffled from one place of criminal activity to the other, are so helpless because they are deeply immersed in the criminal industry of plundering public resources and leaving the state bare and fallow. With no explanation for the sordid state they have plunged this country into, and any justification for Ghanaians to vote them back, their usual attack on the person of Nana Akufo Addo is their campaign strategy. And the message? He is violent. How many people has Nana Akufo Addo attacked violently in his life time? The NDC is dared to tell Ghanaians.
A so-called violent Nana Akufo Addo accepts the outcomes of two elections which were obviously stolen because of the lack of vigilance on the part of the NPP agents. The 2012 elections and the journey through the Supreme Court showed to the world the stealing machinery of the NDC. All Nana Addo needed to do as a 'violent' person was to have rejected the decision of the Supreme Court and Ghana would not have been the same. He said, 'I disagree with the decision of the Supreme Court, but I accept it.' Prior to the decision to go to Court, party people had gathered in groups throughout the country and all they needed to hear was a call to arms by Nana Akufo Addo and the country would have fallen into flames.
He did none of that, yet the mindless, computerized, gluttonous, rapacious, insatiable all- devouring nincompoops of our time who have nothing good to tell Ghanaians are painting him as a violent person. Ghanaians won't buy that trash coming from mindless incompetent descendants of Ali Baba. People who have nothing worthy of acquisition by human beings, apart from stolen monies are calling Nana Addo a violent person. They are so poor in everything decent but filthy wealth stolen from the poor.
Last week there was a meeting of NDC communicators in Cape-Coast where they agreed to use purely Akan names to utter provocative statements against minority groups in this country and get such people to believe that those unfortunate utterances are coming from the NPP so they will be angry with the party. It is only a government that has failed miserably in its performance that will use this divisive tactics to win elections. The NDC should look into the eyes of Ghanaians and tell them what they have done to improve their lives over the last eight years as a basis for being retained rather than embarking on false emotive statements to discredit their key opponent and the next President of Ghana.
Each time the NDC is in power, they use phony financial companies to rip-off unsuspecting Ghanaians attempting to survive. In 1995, the NDC introduced Pyrram and R5 micro finance companies which stole milions of poor people's monies. This time, it was DMK stealing from the poor. Mahama should address that.
Daavi, three tots for the weekend.
[email protected]
By Kwesi Biney
01.04.2016 LISTEN
Ghana like her neighbours in the West African sub-region as part of the world, has shown insufficient interest in matters related to global warming and climate change.
Farmers peasant and modern large scale commercial ones often complain about the challenges posed by the unreliability of the rainfall pattern and other issues pertaining to the weather.
Hardly do they think about what has accounted for the heightened vagaries of the weather. There have been extremes of rains or inadequacy of them.
While decades ago farmers were able to determine the period when the rains would come and adequately to take care of their farms these days such predictions have become rather difficult.
The Ghana Meteorological Service Agency (GMSA) can only tell farmers and the rest of us the prognoses which are invariably not heart-lifting. Indeed, it is not for them to tell us how to reverse the effects of global warming restricted as they are only to telling us what awaits us in a given period.
The felling of trees continues to be undertaken with such recklessness that it is clear to the onlooker that those engaged in the act do not appreciate the seriousness of the situation.
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The Akosombo Dam has for many years now been unable to get enough water from its source in Burkina Faso and beyond the result of global warming and its associated issues.
It is for this reason that we find it unacceptable the little attention we have paid as a people to a subject which has a direct bearing on food production and therefore our survivability. For now the subject remains locked up in the offices of academics and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awaiting funding for technocrats to organize talk-shows on them.
We need to join the global campaign to educate ourselves about what doubtlessly remains a major challenge for the future of the world and to contribute what we can, no matter how little, towards reversing the negative global trend.
The only significant measure we have taken as a country so far to protect the environment is the banning of the importation of second-hand fridges because of the high level of CFC these emit and which take a worrying toll on the ozone layer.
In an intertwined global village the speed with which glaciers are melting in the North Pole or arctic region has an indirect impact on dwellers of the Sahara Desert and beyond. We lose notice of this at our peril.
The many timbers which have been felled with no corresponding replacement are having unnoticeable effects on food production and even the population of wildlife.
We must act now through education of children from the primary schools to the adults long graduated from tertiary institutions and others outside those brackets.
01.04.2016 LISTEN
The Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) yesterday arrested seven Pakistani nationals on suspicion that they could be in the country illegally.
They were arrested at Assin Fosu in the Central Region upon a tip-off.
A source told DAILY GUIDE that the Pakistanis were seen moving from community to community teaching the Islamic doctrine.
On their arrival in the country on an emergency visa on February 22, 2016, the source said, they first visited Obuasi in the Ashanti Region and then in the company of five other Ghanaians one of who was said to be using a bag with the colours and paraphernalia of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) headed for the Central Regional capital, Cape Coast.
But even before they could reach Cape Coast, the Pakistanis were arrested.
This was after residents of Assin Fosu had alerted the police that they had seen persons suspected to be members of the dreaded Al Qaeda terrorist group.
The police subsequently sent them to the Central Regional headquarters of the GIS where they were interrogated.
But after an extensive interrogation, our source said, they were released.
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After cross-checking their documents, we realised there was no cause for alarm because their passports are in the custody of the Ghana Immigration Service headquarters, the source disclosed.
Checks by DAILY GUIDE have established that the seven Pakistanis entered the country with an emergency visa which allowed them to stay for 30 days.
It has also emerged that they are in the country at the expense of the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Osman Nuhu Sharubutu.
According to the source, it was the Chief Imam who applied for visas for all the seven persons, which gives no cause for worry.
Once their passports are with us, if we are looking for them, it is very easy to find them, a source at the GIS headquarters told this paper.
But sources at the GIS headquarters have confirmed to the paper that even though their visas have expired, they have applied for an extension of their stay as their passports are still in the custody of the authorities.
They are expected to leave the country by May 13, 2016. Pakistani clerics often come to the country to undertake Islamic evangelism and are fondly called Tabligs.
By Charles Takyi-Boadu
01.04.2016 LISTEN
The Progressive People's Party (PPP) has expressed deep-seated reservations about the attitude of government and its assigns in the handling of the arrest, detention and subsequent deportation of the three South African security experts brought into the country by the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
The three men, Major Chris Hazis (rtd), 54; Warrant Officer (WO) Denver Dwayhe Naidu (rtd), 39 and Captain Mlungiseleli Jokani (rtd) 45, were picked up by the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) at the El Capitano Hotel in Agona Duakwa, Central Region sometime last week when they were training 15 security details and drivers of NPP flagbearer, Nana Akufo-Addo and those of his running mate, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, in various defensive manoeuvres.
They were subsequently kept incommunicado until a court granted them bail, even though they were literally branded as mercenaries and terrorists brought into the country by the NPP to destabilize Ghana as suggested by Deputy General Secretary of the NDC, Koku Anyidoho.
Defiance
But the BNI defied the court order, rearrested them and kept them in custody until their final deportation on Tuesday.
In a statement however, the PPP said it found it extremely appalling the ordeal the three South African nationals were made to go through in the past week, wondering how a country hailed by the world as the leader of African democracy would flout court orders with impunity and ministers of state will openly defend such illegality.
Which government in its own right senses will deport suspected 'terrorists' or 'mercenaries' without going through due process? the statement, signed by the PPPs National Secretary, Murtala Mohammed, asked rhetorically.
For the party, This incident will be captured in history as one of Ghanas lowest ebbs and remains one of the black spots on President John Dramani Mahama, aside his incompetence.
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Call For Ministers' Heads
In that regard, the PPP has called for the immediate resignation of the Minister of Interior and the Minister of Communications and his deputy for spreading palpable falsehood laced with agitprop with the intention to deceive the people of Ghana.
PPP has also asked that the BNI officials who were involved in the arrest and detention of the South Africans be sacked or made to face the full rigours of the law whiles urging that our Ministers and other government officials must learn to act responsibly and be responsible for their actions because no man is above the law, especially when you are paid with the public purse.
STL Confusion
The party could equally not fathom claims by the Minister of Interior, Prosper Bani, to the effect that Israeli company, Superlock Technologies Limited (STL), was contracted by the Electoral Commission (EC) to transmit results of the 2012 elections to the Commission.
This is in view of EC's own denial of any dealings with the group when the issue came up during the 2012 general elections as contained in a statement issued and signed by then chairman, Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan.
For the PPP, The continued silence on the part of the EC on this revelation will mean that the EC, led by Dr. Afari-Gyan; International Observers, led by President Obasanjo and the NDC, led by John Mahama, perpetrated a fraudulent explanation on us all when it was alleged that the STL was engaged in the transmission of results prior to the declaration of results in the 2012 elections.
The PPP has demanded immediate clarification of this matter in order to ensure the credibility or sanctity of the November elections.
By Charles Takyi-Boadu
According to the best available estimates, 26-30 million hectares of Namibian farmland are affected bybush encroachment. Evidence exist that this phenomenon severely degrades rangelands and hampersagricultural productivity. At the same time bush encroachment creates unique opportunities for theNamibian economy if biomass is recognised as a valuable resource for existing and new value chains.
Acknowledging the overall importance of bush control, the governments of Namibia and Germany agreedon a 4-year Project to address both the challenges and opportunities that bush encroachment entails.
The Support to De-bushing Project runs from 2014 until 2017 and is a bilateral cooperation between theNamibian Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry (MAWF) and the Government of the FederalRepublic of Germany. It is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit(GIZ) GmbH.
The Project's overall objective is to trigger large-scale bush thinning activities. To this end a demand-driven approach is pursued, focusing on the identification and testing of potential bush based biomassvalue chains. The Project selected three value chains to be supported during the course of its projectlifetime, namely the value chains of charcoal, animal feed and biomass energy.
The MAWF/GIZ Support to De-bushing Project conducted a first charcoal stakeholder workshop inNovember 2015 in Otjiwarongo to identify joint sector promotion activities for the year 2016.
Theidentified activities were based on the Sector Growth Strategy developed by the Ministry forIndustrialisation, Trade and SME Development (MITSD). The charcoal stakeholders agreed on the jointvision to develop a fully functioning sector association and to introduce improved productionmethodologies in order to foster sustainable charcoal production in Namibia.
It is against this background that the MAWF/ GIZ Support to De-Bushing Project has signed a FinancialAgreement with the Namibian Agricultural Union, to which the NCPA is currently affiliated.
Theagreements foresees financial support of NAD 1,691,000 (ONE MILLION SIX HUNDRED NINETY ONETHOUSAND) and runs for the period April 2016 to December 2016.
The financial agreement encompasses the following activity areas: 1) re-shaping the organisationalstructures of the NCPA, 2) setting up a pilot project on improved production technologies andmethodologies, 3) developing a marketing strategy for the Namibian charcoal sector, 4) developinginformational material and training manuals.
The official start of this cooperation was celebrated during an inception meeting, which took place at theC'est Si Bon Hotel in Otjiwarongo on Thursday, 31 March 2016. The meeting was attended by NCPAmanagement and members, NAU representatives, as well as representatives of MAWF/Directorate ofForestry and GIZ.
The NCPA will hold a Special Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Monday 25 April 2016 in order to confirmthe planned institutional changes.
Addis Ababa (AFP) - African Union Commission chief Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma is to step down from the 54-member bloc when her post ends in July, her spokesman said Friday, amid talk of return to politics in South Africa.
"AU Commission Chair Dlamini-Zuma didn't submit an application for a second term when the deadline closed on Thursday, 31 March," her spokesman Jacob Enoh Eben said.
Her successor to the four-year post will be appointed during the next AU summit, due in July in the Rwandan capital Kigali.
The official list of candidates is expected to be revealed later this month.
Dlamini-Zuma, 67, a South African, was the first woman to hold the AU's top job when she was elected in 2012. She beat the incumbent, Jean Ping of Gabon, in a closely fought election over several rounds of voting.
An experienced diplomat, a veteran of the fight against apartheid and a doctor by training, she has served as health, interior and foreign minister in South Africa. Her former husband is South African President Jacob Zuma.
- 'Limited and often late' -
Speculation is already rife in the corridors of the AU as to her successor.
Algerian Foreign Minister, and former AU Commissioner for Peace and Security, Ramtane Lamamra, has long been seen a possible candidate.
But SADC countries, the regional organisation in Southern Africa, appear determined to keep the role, pushing the name of Botswana's Foreign Minister, 64-year old Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi. She was a journalist before joining her government's civil service.
Dlamini-Zuma's time at the AU has been given mixed reports.
Under her tenure, the AU launched a vast development proposal for Africa, "Agenda 2063", called for better economic integration of the continent, and hosted visits by Chinese President Xi Jinping, Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and US President Barack Obama.
"It opened the debate on how Africa we want for the next 50 years," Eben said, adding her tenure has "boosted the image" of the bloc.
- ANC leader hopeful? -
But others more cynical among the AU diplomatic corps accuse her of not having done enough, saying her rhetoric has often been late, and even then often not translated into action.
"It is a very good thing for the AU, she was never good here, she was never here anyway," said one diplomat, echoing sentiments often heard in AU corridors.
Oxfam's representative to the AU Desire Assogbavi said post offered a platform for views "to be heard across the continent", but that Dlamini-Zuma's views on key issues were "very limited and often late."
Some in South Africa, however, see her as a possible future leader of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party, to replace her ex-husband.
"Her name has been raised as one of the potential presidential candidates for the ANC," said political analyst Prince Mashele, from Pretoria-based Centre for Politics and Research (CPR) think-tank.
"I think she can be president -- anyone can. I mean, if you can have a Jacob Zuma as president, I'm sure she would do a better job. But I don't think she has anything special that would make me conclude she is the best candidate."
But she would also face a tough fight to jump from the AU top job to that of South Africa.
"She would have to lobby ANC factions and have a powerful backing within the party. You can be the most talented leader - but without the backing of a faction you will never be president. That's how it works in the ANC," Mashele added.
A section of the Intensive Care Unit of the KBTH
01.04.2016 LISTEN
The newly-refurbished Intensive Care Unit of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) will be unable to function beyond six months if additional funds are not generated to support its operations.
The unit, expected to be re-opened to the public next week after nearly two years of closure, has consumables to sustain its effective functioning for only six months.
Consultant Anaesthetic in-charge of Critical Care at Korle-Bu, Dr Chris Owoo, speaking to the media during a tour of the facility, said the running of the 12-bed facility which has recently been renovated to serve as a one-stop intensive care unit cannot be sustained without public support.
Persons who receive treatment at the intensive care unit are made to pay a discounted fee of GH600, compared with the estimated cost of GH3,000.
Dr Owoo disclosed that we have a lot of backlog to clear and the earlier we do the better. That is why opening this facility is very dear to our hearts to avert preventable deaths.
He feared the facility may be compelled to close down again if the necessary support is not provided.
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We are calling on all corporate bodies and the media to assist the hospital trust fund to help sustain the facility,'' Dr Owoo pleaded.
Aside the limited number of consumables, inadequate number of trained nurses, surgeons and physicians are some of the challenges the unit will have to face when it is opened to the public.
Dr Owoo said, We will need 40 more trained nurses to assist the already available nurses to run the place. Even though our surgeons are also inadequate, Ghana has the highest number of neurosurgeons in the whole of West Africa.
Head of the Anaesthetic Department at KBTH, Prof Ernest Aniteye, also raised concerns about the maintenance of the machines at the ICU.
The maintenance agreement has nothing to do with us. We have been told recently that a company belonging to a group of Indians would come and service them. So it's a big problem for us. So those are the issues we are battling with, he explained.
Korle-Bu has already opened its three surgical clinics of urology, neurosurgery and general surgery in anticipation of the reopening of the ICU in early April.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri
01.04.2016 LISTEN
Chief Psychiatrist of the Accra Psychiatric Hospital, Dr Kwasi Osei, has kicked against the legalisation of marijuana in the country.
According to him, calls for the legalisation of marijuana are not justified, and warned of a serious consequence should such proposal be accepted.
Dr Osei was responding to calls made by former UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, and Executive Secretary of the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB), Mr Yaw Akrasi Sarpong, for the drug to be legalised in Ghana.
He said all countries that have legalised the narcotic substance had no option at the time such decisions or laws were passed because they had lost control on the war on marijuana.
Dr Kwasi Osei
It would be recalled that Mr Kofi Annan in an article last February urged countries to legalise marijuana as a way to combat the menace of drug abuse and illegal trafficking, arguing that drugs are dangerous, but current narcotics policies are an even bigger threat because punishment is given a greater priority than health and human rights.
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Mr Sarpong had also in 2014 proposed the legalisation of marijuana in Ghana considering that the drug is widely used in the country despite it being banned.
For him, 'virtual legalisation' was already in force in Ghana as the drug could be found in cosmetics and hair products used by women, and also smoked openly by many Ghanaians, including respected professionals.
But, Dr Osei disagreed with their arguments, saying they are not convincing enough for the country to legalise the drug.
We cannot say that we have got to the point where we can throw our hands up and say we've lost the battle, therefore, let's legalise. We have not, he indicated.
The chief psychiatrist said the discussion on legalisation of marijuana ought to be contextualised.
Ghana, he said, has not lost the war on marijuana, adding, We (Ghanaians) have not lost control over the war on cannabi. Indeed, I keep saying we have not waged the war adequately or even probably not started yet.
He mentioned that those countries which have legalised, they are beginning to realise the effect on behaviour and some of them are wishing they had not started so we should learn from them and not start before we later regret.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri
01.04.2016 LISTEN
A delegation led by the United States Ambassador to Ghana, Robert Porter Jackson, has called on the Paramount Chief of Tamale, Gulkpe-Naa Abdulai Alhassan, in the Northern Region.
The ambassador is in the Northern Region to inspect some of the projects being undertaken by the United States in the region.
According to the ambassador, traditional leaders play an important role in the development of every country. He stated that ever since he became the ambassador, he yearned to visit the northern part of the country because the United States is deeply involved in the development of the Northern Region.
Mr Robert Porter Jackson indicated that the United States is a partner in healthcare, education, agriculture and the strengthening of institutions for good governance.
The Paramount Chief of Tamale, Gulkpe-Naa Abdulai Alhassan, said the United States undoubtedly is the superpower and urged the US to be more patient in dealing with other countries.
He commended the United States for using her power to assist other countries and added that they have brought development to the Northern Region. He urged the US to continue with the good work.
The Gulkpe-Naa indicated that there will be general elections in November, noting that this is a matter of concern to every citizen because 'if two strong animals fight, it's the trees and the grasses that suffer.'
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He therefore appealed to the ambassador to put in place measures for the United States to monitor the general elections and to assist the country to have free and fair elections come November 7.
This, he stated, will help strengthen the country's democracy and bring about peace and unity.
FROM Eric Kombat, Tamale
Tax revenues in African countries are rising as a proportion of national incomes, according to the inaugural edition of Revenue Statistics in Africa. The report, which contains internationally comparable revenue data for eight African countries, accounting for almost a quarter of Africa's total GDP, will be discussed on Sunday 3 April in Addis Ababa during the 2016 African Union (AU) Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) Conference of Ministers.
In 2014, the eight countries covered by the report - Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, Mauritius, Morocco, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia - reported tax revenues as a percentage of GDP ranging from 16.1% to 31.3%. Since 2000, all of these countries experienced increases in their tax-to-GDP ratios. The size of these increases ranged from 0.9 percentage points in Mauritius to 6.7 percentage points in Tunisia. Morocco, Rwanda and South Africa had increases of around 5 to 6 percentage points. In comparison, the OECD average of 34.4% was only 0.2 percentage points higher in 2014 than in 2000.
Revenue Statistics in Africa is produced jointly by the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF), the African Union Commission (AUC), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the OECD Development Centre. The data has been assembled and presented in close collaboration with the governments of the participating countries. The report was conceived as part of the AUC's Agenda 2063, which aims to develop and implement frameworks for Policies on Revenue Statistics and Fiscal Inclusiveness for Africa.
The increases in tax revenues in African countries reflect continuing efforts to mobilise domestic resources, as well as the result of tax reforms and modernisation of tax systems and administrations.
The biggest driver of tax increases since 2000 in countries covered by the report has been rising taxes on income and profits, and more specifically increases in corporate income tax revenue. There were also substantial increases in Value Added Tax (VAT) revenues.
Some African countries are significantly dependent on non-tax revenues, and more specifically on grants such as foreign aid and resource rents together with other property income. The countries with the lowest national incomes covered by the report had relatively higher non-tax revenues, which tend to be more volatile than tax revenues, making their finances less stable and predictable.
A special chapter in the report describes the benefits and limitations of collecting comparable data and how these issues relate to Africa. The new database responds to a demand from governments, citizens and policy makers for reliable and comparable revenue data to inform fiscal policy and provide a basis for the implementation of future reforms. The eight African countries covered by the new report will be added to the existing Revenue Statistics databases, which now cover 66 countries worldwide, allowing for greater international comparison, policy dialogue and cooperation between countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean and the OECD.
Key findings
Tax to GDP ratios
In 2014, the tax-to-GDP ratios in the eight African countries covered ranged from 16.1% to 31.3% (the OECD average is 34.4%). Tunisia had the highest tax-to-GDP ratio in 2014 (31.3%), followed by Morocco (28.5%). Cameroon and Rwanda had the lowest tax-to-GDP ratios in 2014, at 16.1%, followed by Cote d'Ivoire (17.8%). All eight countries saw increasing tax-to-GDP ratios over the 2000-14 period. These increases ranged from 0.9 percentage points in Mauritius to 6.7 percentage points in Tunisia. Morocco, Rwanda and South Africa had increases of around 5-6 percentage points.
Tax structure
The share of taxes on incomes and profits in total tax revenues is highest in South Africa, at 51.2 % in 2014. The share of personal income taxes in South Africa is higher than the OECD average, whereas it is lower for the other participating African countries. The shares of corporate income tax revenue to total tax revenues were significantly higher than the 8.5% OECD average. In six of the eight African countries these shares ranged between 13% and 18%. Consumption taxes yielded the largest share of the total tax revenue over 55% - in Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, Mauritius, Rwanda and Senegal. With the exception of Cote d'Ivoire, more than half of this category of revenue is generated by VAT. Tunisia and Morocco displayed a more evenly spread tax mix compared with the other countries: around 30% of tax revenues came from taxes on incomes and profits; around 35% to 40% was from consumption taxes; and 20% to 28% was from social security contributions. The share of social security contributions to total tax revenue is far smaller in the six Sub-Saharan countries, ranging from 1.5% in South Africa to 11.3% in Cote d'Ivoire.
Non-tax revenues
The total non-tax revenues collected as a percentage of GDP in 2014 ranged from 0.6% of GDP in South Africa to 9.5% of GDP in Rwanda.
The vibrant and exotic atmosphere of the markets in Benin City can make shopping lots of fun. From the roadside stores to the shopping streets and popular market centers, the city has numerous perfect markets that can satisfy all shoppers desires, including modern pieces and cultural memorabilia. In fact, Benin City located in Edo State , Nigeria has the best markets in the south-south region, with a treasure trove of goods waiting to be discovered.
We at Jovago.com, Africas No.1 online hotel booking portal, have summarized 5 markets which are the top 5 to explore while visiting Benin. Check them out on your next tour of the city!
Oba Market (Ekioba)
The Oba market is found in the heart of Benin City. Very popular and lively, Oba market has something for everyone and is frequently visited by travelers from neighboring states buying and selling all kinds of goods. The market is broken down into distinct sections: meat and frozen goods are mainly sold on the left-hand side of the road, while household goods, books, magazines, linen, and ironmongery occupy the right. You will find goods from almost everywhere in this market, and It is a great place to shop for things to take back home if you are visiting the city. You will, however, need all your bargaining skills to get a really decent price.
Ekeosa Market (Queens Market)
Predominantly a food market, Ekeosa Market is located along Sapkonba road, stretching all the way to the heart if the city. Featuring hundreds of stalls selling a mind-boggling variety of items, the market also offers other kinds of products as local soap, toiletries, cosmetics, and has a section devoted to traditional medicines. The market can be fascinating and disorienting at the same time. Visitors are advised not to touch or damage stalls as they pass, and keep their bags and possessions close at hand. The place remains one of the most popular markets among expats and locals.
Uselu Market
Stretching almost three miles, Uselu market is located along Uselu Lagos Road , Benin City and is a well-known shopping area that offers a dizzying array of items. There are more than 600 shops offering anything a shopper could want. Mostly patronized by students at the University of Benin Ugbowo Campus, the area is particularly bright and fun in the evenings, making it a fun area to visit. It is also an ideal place for looking around and sampling the delicious local snacks.
Oliha market
Oliha market , located in the Siloku road area of Benin City gives a unique experienceas it provides an interesting glimpse into the Benin culture. It is one of the oldest markets in Benin and is abuzz with shoppers, most swarming around in search of farm produce cultivated in the interior villages. Aside from the farm produce, Oliha Market also has sections for clothes, food items, drinks, locally made beads and fabrics; and just like Ekeosa Market, one of this markets main attractions is the sale of objects for Benin traditional worship and rituals such as native chalks, red, white and black fabrics, alligator pepper, tortoise, Ostrich, feathers, animal skulls and bones. E.t.c
New Benin Market
New Benin Market is one of the largest, busiest and most popular markets in the city, and it is certainly a shopping enthusiasts paradise. Located in the New Benin Mission road and New Lagos road area, the commodities offered are various and comprehensively stocked. They are sold at really good prices such as food items, electronics, clothes and fabrics, traditional beads as well as a large bush meat section. The market may always be crowded, disorganized and ridden with traffic, but pay a visit to witness even the creme de la creme crowd of Benin in terms of fashion and fancy. It is important to remember that not all of the items are genuine and you have to haggle hard if you want to purchase something.
01.04.2016 LISTEN
The first go-to for any Nigerian blogger when it comes to monetizing their blog is AdSense. It is no surprise as AdSense is one of the best contextual online advertising networks for any blog as well as one of the safest blog monetization networks available to today, thanks to the quality of ads and recurring income it generates.
Adsense is however not for newbies. Basically, before you can earn tangible income through Adsense, your traffic must be in tens of thousands, nothing less, and new bloggers find this very frustrating, even discouraging. Luckily, there are other ways bloggers looking to make substantial income with their blogs can monetize their blogs without Adsense. And with that in mind, Jovago.com, Africa No.1 online hotel booking site offers top 3 ways Nigerian bloggers can make money without Adsense.
PAID ADVERTS
This is an easy and direct way to make money for your blog. You find a lot of Nigerian blogs already doing it, with LindaIkeji blog and BellaNaija blog at the forefront. All you need to do it is sell space on your website for advertisers to display a banner. Deals are worked out so that an advertiser can display an ad for a fixed amount of time for an agreed fee with the blog manager. This can be a very lucrative method as it allows you to cut out the middleman and charge what you want for other people to advertise on your site.
AFFILIATE MARKETING
This method is slowly gaining recognition in the Nigerian online media market. Affiliate marketing is a huge money maker as it can earn any blogger a sizable income from their blog. It is also an easy process: You place ads or links of your chosen affiliate product/service on your blog, when a reader clicks on these links and makes a purchase, you get paid a commission from the product/service provider. It however requires researching and analyzing your niche to understand what your readers are looking to buy. You need to be smart in choosing the product or service you want to promote and you have to make sure you do not overdo the promotion and lose your readers. Jumia, Jovago, Dealdey, etc are some popular affiliate networks. You can also choose to directly join an affiliate program offered by websites like ClickBank, ShareASale, Skimlinks, AffiliateWindow, e.t.c
SELL YOUR OWN PRODUCT
Nigeria is a large society filled with enthusiastic consumers! Rather than just blog about something, why not sell the product, service or skill directly on your website? Perhaps you are a beautician and have whipped up a product that can help people track with skin issues or you are a good cook or chef who has a special spice mix that you use in your recipes, you could sell these products on your blog for a small fee. Maybe you are a writer and you have short fiction stories or you are programmer and you design apps, you can upload your work or designs on the site and allow people to download them at a fee.
From designing the product, to pricing and marketing it, you are the boss of it all, so, the more effort you put in the more money you can make. With time, they can gain popularity and it becomes a full-time business for you, aside from your blog. The unique thing about this is that you have the world to sell your product to, compared to selling a product in an online shop with a small customer basis.
01.04.2016 LISTEN
Alhaji Bondinga in Mock with the Abuakwa North MP elect, Gifty Twum Ampofo presenting some of the cement to the Muslims at New Tafo
ALHAJI Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the Vice Presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party has donated 200 bags of cement and an undisclosed amount of money to support the construction and rehabilitation of some Zongo community mosques in the Abuakwa North Constituency in the Eastern Region.
The donation was in response to an appeal the Zongo communities made to Dr Bawumia to help them rehabilitate and complete their mosques.
The presentation was done on behalf of Dr. Bawumia by the Regional First Vice Chairman of the party, Alhaji Umar Bondinga and the newly elected MP, Gifty Twum Ampofo and other constituency executives to the chief imams of Akyem Kukurantumi, Osiem Old Tafo and New Tafo Zongos.
The request was made at the different mosques, when Dr. Bawumia stormed the constituency last week Friday to campaign and went to the Kukurantumi mosque to offer the Jumah prayers.
At Osiem, the Muslims appealed to Dr. Bawumia to support them with logistics and building materials to complete a dressing room for any deceased Muslim who is not a native of the town.
Alhaji Bondinga speaking to DAILY GUIDE after the presentation explained that, Dr Bawumia's gesture was not to canvass for votes but he was duty bound as a Muslim to give the support for the cause of Islam.
Alhaji Bondinga entreated the recipients to make good use of the materials to the benefit of even the next generation.
FROM Daniel Bampoe, Akyem Kukurantumi
[email protected]
On 14th March 2016, His Excellency Tatsushi Terada, Ambassador of Japan to Somalia, attended the Handover Ceremony of Ambulance to the Ministry of Health in Somaliland hosted by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Hargeisa, Somaliland. The Government of Japan has supported UNFPA's project on reduction of maternal and neomaternal mortality of Somali mother and newborn babies through the supplementary budget.
Ambassador Terada stated that UNFPA's project that aims to improve reproductive and maternal health fits Japanese assistance policy to Somalia and commended the Ministry of Health in Somaliland for its commitment in improving maternal health and maintaining a good working relationship with UNFPA.
Mr. Nikolai Botev, UNFPA Representative, thanked the Government of Japan for being a reliable partner in the quest to ensure that no woman and child die during birth. Mr. Botev reiterated UNFPA's commitment to support the investments in a safer and brighter future for the Somali mothers and children and pledged to continue supporting the project.
Mr. Hassan Dahir Dimbil, Vice Minister for Health, expressed Somaliland's gratitude to the People of Japan and UNFPA for the assistance and partnership.
A culture shock is described as an overwhelming feeling that one gets after experiencing an extremely different culture from the one they are used to. It can occur anywhere, anytime and especially during the most unexpected places or situations. Jovago.com , Africas leading online hotel platform that promotes thousands of hotel options across the continent and beyond, highlights some of the culture shocks to expect when travelling to West Africa.
There is no privacy in Togos shared taxis
Togo is popular for shared taxis which are a common means of transportation across the West African country. In most countries, people use taxis for privacy purposes especially when avoiding crowded public transport systems. Even the shared taxis are among friends, families or people familiar to each other. In Togo, privacy is a far-fetched concept. The taxis are usually excessively packed with strangers who are forced to squeeze in the small vehicles. More interestingly, as one would expect strangers not to indulge each other, you should expect to answer all manner of questions; including those considered private. The passengers flatter while others quarrel. Some complain and others take the chance to know those seated next to them. Though it may seem so absurd, you might end up enjoying the shared taxi rides as you get to learn more of Togos culture.
Beninese will favor you more if they consider you of a higher status
Perhaps in your country you follow in line either in banks, restaurants, bus stops, hospitals etc. No matter whom you are or where you came from, you patiently wait for your turn to be served. Well in Benin, you are likely to walk into an institution and be served before others who have been waiting for long; only because you are a foreigner. At first you might try to turn down the favor as it is prejudice against the Beninese people, until you realize that it's customary towards foreigners. So feel comfortable and enjoy the special treat; before heading back home to making queues.
Greetings are customary in Mali and Burping is a compliment
With advanced technology and communication apps across the world, human beings have almost become numb, and only speak through their gadgets. We sit next to each other in public buses and not look at each other leave alone saying Hello. If this describes you, beware to change before travelling to West Africas Mali. Here, greetings are considered part of human nature and values. Malians greet each other in rather long ways and as a foreigner, this might seem pointless. But you have come to meet and greet when you visit Mali. You want to ask for directions, greet first; you wish to order a meal, greet first; because in Mali, greetings are customary.
Moreover, another culture shock you are likely to experience is when people burp. In many instances, we consider this as mischief, while Malians burp as a sign that they have eaten their fill and that they compliment the person who prepared the meal. However, passing gas or what we commonly call farting in public is taboo in Mali.
The art of bargaining in Ghana
When travelling to Ghana, one thing you need to master is how to bargain. Ghanaians bargain for almost everything from food products in markets to taxi fare. Usually, the seller gives a higher price for an item or service. The buyer complains that its expensive and that its value is worth a lesser amount, then the customer suggests a price less than half the originally offered price. The bargaining goes on and on until the parties agree on a price that they are both satisfied with. With a common perception in Africa that foreigners are generally rich, you need to know the standard price of items before making the purchase. This way, you are aware when vendors charge you extremely higher than the normal price of the item. Smile, be friendly and enjoy the haggle.
Cameroons toll booths
There are toll booths all over Cameroon and all road users are expected to go through them. You will spot people standing in big barrels in the center lane, whose job is to collect the flat rate. The surprising thing is the number of hawkers and vendors eagerly waiting to make a sale whenever a car stops by the booths. A bunch of them chase the cars holding their goods and when they finally get hold of it, they all try to convince you to buy from them. Problem is they all talk at the same time explaining what they are selling, for how much and why you should buy; creating such a buzz. Good thing is you can always find anything from those vendors from drinks, fruits and other refreshments to have for the rest of your journey.
Culture shock is considered a normal part of ones experience in a foreign country. The best way to overcome culture shock in West Africa and in any other part of the world is by learning how to adapt to those cultures. Recognize your shocks in the early stages of the travel to help you get over it quickly. Adjusting may take a while but the faster you overcome, the better your stay will be.
01.04.2016 LISTEN
Accra, GHANA United States Ambassador to Ghana, Robert P. Jackson, launched the Promoting Transparency and Accountability in Education activity at the Northern Network for Education Development (NNED) headquarters in Tamale, Ghana on April 1, 2016. At the event, Ambassador Jackson and NNED Executive Committee Chair Rosemond Kumah signed a cooperative agreement for the 18-month, $648,000 USAID activity, which will be implemented by NNED.
Through the activity, USAID will support NNEDs continuing efforts to promote greater accountability, focusing on 200 schools in 25 districts in northern Ghana. NNED is a Ghanaian non-governmental organization, which works to increase the quality of and access to education in northern Ghana through advocacy, resource mobilization, and harmonization of stakeholder efforts.
NNED will draw on its large networks of educational stakeholders to facilitate greater involvement by civil society organizations and community members in the management of educational resources and to provide support and promote further accountabilityof 250 Ghana Education Service district managersin northern Ghana.
NNED is a critical partner for us in our efforts here in the north, said Ambassador Jackson at the launch. With NNEDs extensive networks and considerable experience working to improve education here in northern Ghana, I am confident we will make great gains in ensuring every child in even the most remote villages receives the education they deserve.
The goal of USAID/Ghanas education program is to ensure that children are given the foundational skills to read with understanding in the early grades of primary school. USAIDs activities in Ghana improve the quality of reading instruction, strengthen the management of educational institutions, improve accountability and transparency between parents, schools and local government, and help communities contribute to student and teacher performance.
About USAID
USAID is the lead U.S. government agency that works to end extreme global poverty and enable resilient, democratic societies to realize their potential. For more than 50 years, USAID has supported Ghana in increasing food security, improving basic health care, enhancing access to quality basic education, and strengthening local governance to benefit all Ghanaian people.
01.04.2016 LISTEN
I dont know what Alhaji Said Sinare was thinking when he asserted that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has a virtual monopoly over the votes of the residents of zongo communities throughout the country (See NPP Can Never Win the Zongos Citifmonline.com / Ghanaweb.com 3/27/16). What is clear is that the Egytian-mothered Ghanaian Ambassador to the Islamic Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is an integral part of the reason why zongos around the country continue to be so economically depressed. Essentially, filthy rich and exploitative corporate politicians like Alhaji Sinare have absolutely nothing to offer the overwhelming majority of the residents of our zongo communities.
Instead, they use religion, in this instance Islam, to prevent the smooth and healthy integration of Ghanaian Muslims into our larger national community. It is about time our zongo-resident brothers and sisters held unconscionably parasitic and rogue politicians like Alhaji Sinare to account. Indeed, about the only achievement of the National Democratic Congress over the past 30 years has been the cynical and expedient whipping up of the sentiments of zongo residents against the larger non-Muslim communities around the country. This Machiavellian political mischief-making gimmickry ought to be progressively brought to an immediate halt.
What our largely Muslim zongo-resident kinsmen and women ought to start doing is to take stock of the inescapably bleak nature and the grim level of their socioeconomic development, compared to that of their fellow citizens in the mainstream of Ghanaian society, and then seriously begin to ask themselves some pretty hard questions as to why they clearly appear to be living in a wholly different world and society from the rest of Ghanaians. I mean, it is quite obvious that zongo residents have benefited far less from taxpayer money and development assistance under the government, and governance, of the National Democratic Congress than they did under 8 years of the Kufuor-led government of the New Patriotic Party.
In the area of education, for example, successive NDC governments have done little to absolutely nothing for members of our zongo communities, which is largely why Muslim students have crowded our Christian missionary academies and public schools and have been periodically experiencing religious and cultural problems with the Christian and non-religious majority of the Ghanaian populace. The present NDC government, as well as previous NDC governments, has done little towards forging healthy ecumenical and interreligious alliances among the various recognizable religious and multicultural communities in the country, besides cynically taking advantage of hajj-embarking Ghanaian Muslims seasonally and annually for cheap political point-scoring objectives. In essence, all that these revolutionary faux-social democratic NDC politicians voraciously thrive on is divide and conquer and then wantonly and cheaply exploit.
In the lead-up to the 2012 presidential election, for example, the northern-descended President John Dramani Mahama vitriolically tore into his most formidable political opponent, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, because the New Patriotic Partys presidential candidate had dared to promise decent housing at affordable rental rates for female head porters, otherwise known as Kayayei, most of whom are migrants from the three northern regions desperate for survival who swarm many a southern Ghanaian city and town. Mr. Mahamas reason, then, for caustically attacking Nana Akufo-Addo was that as a non-northern-descended Ghanaian by either ethnicity or birth, or both, the New Patriotic Partys candidate had absolutely no right to presume to know what was good and sound for the northern poor and destitute who were being wantonly exploited and, often, sexually abused in southern cities and towns like Accra, Kumasi, Cape Coast, Tema, Sekondi-Takoradi and Koforidua, among a legion of others.
The problem here is that rather than vigorously and frontally take him on for such flagrant exhibition of constitutionally insufferable act of bigotry, mischievously disguised as invidious victimization of a civic underdog, Nana Akufo-Addo and his campaign handlers and managers sheepishly sidled away from this crucial national menace, almost as if to curiously acknowledge that, somehow, Mr. Mahamas criminal neglect of his own people, as vice-president to then-President John Evans Atta-Mills, late, was somehow an enviable mark of gubernatorial distinction. It goes without saying that such decidedly lame approach to electioneering campaigning may well have cost the NPP leader the Flagstaff House. It is a clearly defeatist campaign strategy that ought to be promptly abandoned and refreshingly retooled, if Nana Akufo-Addo and the New Patriotic Party are to have a fighting chance in this years November 7 presidential election.
For the teeming residents and citizens of our zongo communities throughout the country, it is imperative that they not be taken for granted by self-serving rogue politicians like Alhaji Said Sinare. They need to vote primarily based on what benefits they have derived from the abjectly corrupt and hopelessly incompetent Mahama-led government of the National Democratic Congress, and not on whether they are northern-descended, Muslim by faith or they do not share the same native tongue as the leader of the party that Alhaji Sinare, who has spent most of the last four years enjoying his plum diplomatic appointment in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, would have them unwisely ignore.
Good leaders make all citizens, regardless of cultural differences, or ethnicity, feel happy, comfortable and proud to be a part of our one and only nation. If four years of having a northern-descended president at the Flagstaff House has done little to significantly improve their socioeconomic status, another four years of having President Mahama, the so-called Northern Hope, occupy the helm of Ghanas affairs can only be expected to further compound the already complicated lives and problems of our zongo kinsmen and women.
*Visit my blog at: kwameokoampaahoofe.wordpress.com Ghanaffairs
The Fire Service is calling for a review of architectural designs of buildings to reduce fatalities in the event of a fire outbreak.
The National Chief Fire Officer Dr. Albert Brown Gaisie speaks of a trend where many victims of fire outbreaks are trapped by burglar proofs and die as a result.
He says a lot of buildings by their designs fuel the spread of fire, adding that the architectural designs have become killer traps in the event of fire.
Mr. Gaisie was speaking at the inauguration a new 233,689 fire station constructed by the KMA at Bremang Abusua Kuruwa in Kumasi.
On June 2013, three people were burnt to death in a fire, which gutted a six-bedroom house at Agric Nzema in Kumasi.
Their charred bodies were found beneath a metallic burglar proofing, indicating a possible entrapment due to the security barricade within the building.
More soon...
Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Abubakar Ibrahim | Email: [email protected]
Tension is mounting between some aggrieved residents of Adjei Kojo, a suburb of Tema in the Greater Accra Region and the Tema Development Corporation (TDC) over the reallocation of lands.
The residents whose homes were demolished in 2014 are accusing TDC of planning to keep portions of the land .
The Corporation demolished more than 150 homes at Adjei Kojo, accusing the residents of encroaching on its lands.
A building reduced to debris
Several petitions , were written to draw President John Mahama's attention to what the residents believe is unjust demolition exercise.
President John Dramani Mahama presenting the State of the Nation's Address
Read More : Adjei Kojo residents demand return of lands two years after demolition
Although a reallocation has been proposed at TDC, a seven-member committee set up to oversee the reallocation says TDC would keep portions of the land.
Exclusive details of a proposal from the committee to the residents available to Joy News indicate that some of the affected residents will each get half plot of land, regardless of what size of land they may have initially owned.
The decision to slash the sizes of lands is due to a number of reasons. According to TDC, the list of affected landlords submitted to it far exceeds the number of houses it demolished, hence the decision to squeeze everyone into the space.
It also says portions of the land have already been allocated for the construction of estate houses, schools, police station and other infrastructure as part of the Tema Community 24 project, a reason why those portions cannot be given back to the victims.
The process of reallocation is fraught with suspicion. Some residents say although tens of houses were demolished in a nearby area, King Solomon City, the reallocation does not include the lands at King Solomon City, a real estate agency.
The committee is now insisting all affected victims will get lands only within the neighbouring Sraha area. The committee says the other lands have been allocated for other projects.
The committee insists the allocation is a humanitarian gesture by TDC, and the residents must accept it. However, the victims have expressed displeasure, saying giving portions of the land to TDC is a violation of the executive order.
The committee says only those who were living in completed houses as at the time of demolishing will benefit from the allocation. Owners of uncompleted houses and bare lands will be left out because the TDC says it does not consider them victims.
The Member of Parliament for Tema West, Irene Naa Torshie, met some of the affected landlords to brief them on the proposals.
MP for Tema West Constituency Irene Naa Torshie Addo
But the victims have vowed not to accept the offer.
We are not going to accept it. We are being frustrated. The President has given the authority that our land should be returned to us, spokesperson for landlords at Adjei Kojo Humphrey Daniel Banini told Joy News Joseph Opoku Gakpo.
Listen to Audio:
01.04.2016 LISTEN
Geneva, ACCRA, APRIL 1 - (dpa/GNA) - The rights of refugees must be recognized in Greece and Turkey before the European Union can start returning people from one country to the other, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) says, pointing to chaotic conditions in Greece.
The situation in hotspot centres on Greek islands are deteriorating as migrants face overcrowding, insufficient food supplies and lacking shelter, UNHCR spokeswoman Melissa Fleming says.
Conditions at the Greek-Macedonian border and at the mainland harbour of Piraeus are "dismal," she says, warning that "the risk of panic and injury in these sites and others is real in the current circumstances."
Fleming also calls on Turkey to quickly adopt a regulation that will provide protection status to people who will be returned from Greece under the recent EU-Turkey deal.
GNA
Kumasi, April 01, GNA - The Progressive People's Party (PPP) has given an upbeat assessment of its chances in the coming general election, predicting to win at least 10 parliamentary seats in Ashanti Region.
Mr. Lawrence Appiah, the Regional Chairman, would not mention the constituencies the party was sure to grab but insisted that they 'are in for serious business'.
He told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Kumasi that the PPP was firmly on the ground, adding that, its voter appeal had kept growing.
It had begun the process of electing its parliamentary candidates in all the 47 Ashanti constituencies and was already done with five of them.
These include Atwima-Mponua, Ahafo-Ano North, Manso-Adubia, Obuasi East and Obuasi West.
Mr. Appiah said the party would keep faith with the people and restore the economy to the path of sustainable growth if voted to power in November.
The PPP government would vigorously fight corruption and ensure accountability in the management of the nation's resources.
State institutions, he said, would be strengthened and adequately resourced to efficiently perform.
He repeated the party's election promise to separate the Attorney General's office from the Justice Ministry and the election of metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives (MMDCEs) to make them more accountable to the people.
GNA
The National Democratic Party is not making overtures at the ruling National Democratic Congress, founder of the party Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings has said.
According to the former First Lady, reports that the party is making efforts to weave its way back into the umbrella family are lies and baseless.
Rumors are rife that some top executives of the NDP have penned letters to the ruling party asking for reconciliation but have been ignored. A reported attempt to seek audience with the Presidency has also been turned down.
Speaking to StarrFMonline.com, Mrs Rawlings said there is no way she will allow the party she founded to be accepted into the fold of the NDC.
...That is never true, I dont know who among my members will make such an approach to the ruling party. Personally,If one is looking at what the ruling party is doing; with all the negatives, why would anybody want to have an alliance with them?
Why would I want to go and talk to them? We are talking about getting the country back to work. If anyone is doing anything like that, I will know, she said.
She added that she will contest for the Presidency in November, should her party approve her nomination.
Mrs Rawlings founded the NDP after she fell out with executives of the NDC ahead of the 2012 elections. She contested the late President John Mills for the nomination of the NDC but was defeated terribly.
Ghana goes to the polls on November 7 to elect a President and parliamentarians.
The CEO of the Ghana Free Zones Board Kojo Twum Boafo has expressed shock at the complete silence of some outspoken religious leaders on the three South African ex-police officers who came to the country at the behest of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
The three, who have since been deported, were in Ghana to offer military training to bodyguards of Nana Akufo-Addo and his running mate.
According to Mr Boafo, he is particularly disturbed about a developing trend whereby a group of prominent religious leaders openly condemn President John Mahama on some critical national issues yet remain overly silent on matters bothering other political groupings.
Wheres the Presby moderator, wheres the President of the Catholic Bishops Conference, Rev Joseph Osei Bonsu, wheres Dr Mensa Otabil the hypocrisy is too much, Boafo lamented on Accra-based Muntie FM.
The Free Zones Board CEO was contributing to the ensuing debate on the SA-3 deported recently after their arrest and detention by the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) for their alleged covert operations at Agona Duakwa in the Central region.
Mr. Boafo said he does not understand why the matter which bothers on national security and Ghanas peace has been largely condemned by experts and all other political parties, yet the religious world has gone dead on it.
For instance Dr Kwesi Anin of the Kofi Annan Security Centre, Kinglsey Agyei an expert in international peace and conflict resolution, policy think tank IMANI Ghana and the latest being the Executive Director of WANEP Emmanuel Bombande have all condemned the act and asked NPP to accept blame.
Mr Boafo said the NPP has demonstrated beyond reasonable doubt they do not mean well for the country and yet these public figures have chosen to remain silent.
Employment and Labour Relations Minister, Haruna Iddrisu has said government will work to stop future strike by the Judicial Service Staff Association of Ghana (JUSSAG).
He said this has become necessary because of the critical and essential role the association plays in justice delivery in the country.
Speaking at the end of governments crunch meeting with JUSSAG executives on April 1 at the old Supreme Court room, Mr Iddrisu said government will consider reviewing the country's policy on judicial and legal services to make it difficult for the association to strike in the future.
On March 31, executives of JUSSAG declared a nationwide strike starting April 1 due to what they described as the failure of government to implement the consolidation of salaries and allowances of the staff of the Judicial Service.
Addressing a news conference, President of JUSSAG, Alex Nartey said: After a painstaking period of consideration, the Judicial Council forwarded the approved salaries in June 2015 to the government for implementation. However, after 10 months, the government is yet to implement the approved salaries.
But Mr Iddrisu said it will be unfortunate for the government to allow the association's strike to continue considering the harm it has caused to access to justice in the country.
"What will be the fate of anybody who has a case in the court which will have to be halted as a result of JUSSAG strike?" he asked adding it is unfair for people who have issues in the court to be denied justice.
Weve lost today but we should not add to it, he said urging them to work with government to end future strike by prioritizing their service to the country.
He, however, hinted the governments negotiation team is ready to meet the leadership of JUSSAG on Monday, April 4 to have their grievances resolved. He disclosed the government has appointed Deputy Minister of Finance, Cassiel Ato Forson to lead the team.
He lauded leadership of JUSSAG for desisting from insult and offensive words in the course of their engagement with government and used the opportunity to call on the association to be open-minded as it meets the government team for the negotiation.
Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Austin Brako-Powers | Email: [email protected]
01.04.2016 LISTEN
What is wrong with the dazzling title of this all-important article? In fact, I do not give a damn about my critics' scepticism of my contentious pronouncement. For rational observers here in UCC and beyond will endorse my aforementioned declaration. And I seek to expound on the lock, stock and barrel of how I emerged as UCC's finest blogger in my first-year. You will definitely get convinced in the very depths of your soul after grasping my priceless strategies.
Moreover, I am a 19 year old first-year undergraduate student of UCC pursuing Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting. Yes, yours truly has increasingly redefined blogging in the land of UCC in my first-year as a member of this academic society. Some colleagues here told me that, "I didn't know anything or much about the blogging fraternity until I started following your incredible blog works." And there are many students in UCC who tout me as "one in a million" in blogging circles on campus and beyond.
Oh am I blowing my own horn just to seem arrogant? No! Look! I am attending UCC not to graduate with a first-class in my programme and later venture into the accounting profession, but rather to impact our university community with my gift of writing by leaps and bounds. That has always been my sole mission in this school as a genius. I have conquered UCC, an educational world and a quasi-economy, with my gifted writing; I am destined to rule Ghana, Africa and the world in the course of time.
Here are my 6 strategies regarding how I emerged as UCC's finest blogger in my first-year:
(1) I'm very passionate about my talent.
Dr. Rob Yeung once wrote that, "Have a passion and you will make money." My mates perceive me to be weird among them since I pursue my talent of writing with utmost passion. My overriding passion for my potential is the secret to winning the blog writing competition here on UCC campus. For my utter passion has made me defy the odds, set the pace and blaze the trail in blog writing here in UCC.
"If you don't love what you are doing, your margin for success is significantly reduced, and tough times will be much tougher to get through. Passion gives the resiliency that is necessary to achieve great things," according to Donald J. Trump. Passion is inseparable from my talented spirit and so I sacrifice my academic concentration, energy and time for blog writing.
(2) I have superb branding.
My pseudonym "Sir Article" alone can excite you to read the content of my article. My mission and vision statements are exquisite and profound in nature and will surely impress you. I also have a growing and exceptional social media presence.
And I execute target marketing with market segmentation in churning out articles. Okay, my brand identity as a blogger in UCC has facilitated the establishment of a solid emotional attachment between my articles and many students who are my readers.
(3) Consistency is my hallmark.
A programme mate of mine recently reminded me that I have more competitors in blogging on UCC campus. My thought-provoking response was, "How can you claim to be my competitor when you write once a week or more while I write barely everyday?"
Yes, I write articles almost everyday though I am reading a tougher programme in our stringent school system, and I still blog with my smartphone and not a laptop. Consistency is indeed a great reason for my blogging prominence in UCC.
(4) As a perfectionist, I strive for excellence.
Almost all my readers in UCC and beyond can attest to the fact that I am greatly improving on my writing. Why? I am a perfectionist who strives for excellence. I expect my next article to be my best so far and not any previous one. No wonder several students here claim that I write with near excellence even as a business student.
Napoleon Hill's statement, "The better you do your work, the more adept you become at doing it, and this, in time, will lead to such perfection that you will have few, if any, equals in your field," inspired me to exude a perfectionist spirit and be excellent at all times. Remember, I am always building my writing capacity informally.
(5) Networking is my daily routine.
"Business is fundamentally about people and relationships. Always make time to connect and learn from others," the book 'Rules of Entrepreneurship' stated. I always encounter and interact with new and more people on UCC campus to boost my blog work.
That is why I have good relationship with some influential students and many ordinary students in UCC who help me sell my writing agenda in our great university. My strategic networking has therefore accounted for my great popularity in UCC even as a Level 100 student.
(6) My intellectual creativity is simply unparalleled.
There are several bloggers in UCC you probably didn't know of. Most of them are not creative in their blog writing to say the least. Nii Bavard is an intellectually creative writer here in UCC though. Personally, my intellectual creativity mostly speaks for me as UCC's finest blogger rather than my oral declaration.
I started the "Article series" like Article 101, 102, 103 and we are now at Article 204. I wrote a very creative end of semester report last semester which won the hearts of many students, and other creative writing stuff. But certainly, my style of writing demonstrates a great deal of pure imagination in an intellectual way.
Source: sirarticle.blogspot.com
One of the joys of Easter is that it brings us together with many of our relatives and friends. And when we get together, food and wine loosen our tongues, and we discuss everything under the sun.
The topic on the lips of everyone in my circle was the attack on Belgium by ISIS. Did the Belgians make a mistake by not keeping the arrest of the terrorist who had escaped from Paris secret?
OPINION 1: I think the Belgians made a mistake. They should have kept it secret and quizzed him for information on what his cell of terrorists were planning to do next. By boasting about his arrest no doubt to please the French authorities the Belgians must have triggered the retaliatory action by the other terrorists.
OPINION 2 But the bombing of Brussels airport and the metro train occurred only 24 hours after the guy's arrest. So it could not have been retaliatory. They had planned these bombings independently, I think.
OPINION 1: How can you tell it wasn't retaliatory? The most likely scenario was that they had drawn up contingency plans, each of which depended on specific events. If A is arrested, Action B should take place. If C is the unfortunate one to fall into the hands of the police, Action D should take place. You see, they want publicity for their cause. They want potential recruits to appreciate their effectiveness, and what is more effective than being able to strike very quickly after one of your people has been arrested?
Remember they use suicide bombers. Recruits to the suicide bomber squads must wish for quick, dramatic action, which will send them on their way to collect the promised heavenly rewards as soon as possible!
OPINION 3: What can anyone do about people like these? They seem to be impregnable. If you kill them, they thank you. I mean, what at all can be done about them?
OPINION 1: I no longer know what they actually want. Obviously, they don't want improvements to their lives in Paris or Brussels? I mean, would they necessarily stop attacking society if they were given better housing and removed from ghettos? Would they accept employment opportunities as a way of lessening their discontent?
OPINION 3: I think they just want to destroy the Western countries. They have become so disaffected with the Western way of life that they want to make it impossible for it to continue to exist.
OPINION 2: But if Western society is destroyed, how will that benefit them? I mean they've got their religion operating fully in the Middle East, with many Middle Eastern countries able to do what the terrorists want....
OPINION 3 That is part of the problem! They believe that the Middle East would practise a purer form of Islam if the West were not there to discourage them from doing so. The West talks of reforming Islam and making it more modern. Look at Saudi Arabia. It's under strong pressure to allow women to drive (for instance). You see the Western media pushing this line all the time. But is it any of their business?
OPINION 2 Human rights are universal, are they not? Why should a person have her human rights curtailed the right to wear what she wants; the right to drive to wherever she wants to go; the right to choose the man she wants to marry why should these rights be pre-determined for her by other people?
OPINION 4: That's exactly why they oppose the West and the West's allies in the Middle East. They think the West is on a CRUSADE to impose Christian values, under the banner of human rights, upon Islamic countries. And the only way to stop the West succeeding in its crusade is to hit the West where it hurts most at home. So, Paris, Brussels and other attacks are mini-9-11s, if you like, saying, hey stay out of our lives or we shall come and make yours impossible.
OPINION 1 It is a totally frightening scenario, isn't it? Look at the number of Middle Eastern countries that are witnessing conflict on a day-to-day basis: Iraq; Syria; Yemen; Libya; with ancillary unrest in Turkey; Afghanistan; Pakistan; Mali; Burkina Faso; Nigeria; Niger; the Ivory Coast! Where can the people run to?
OPINION 2: Isis is impossible to combat, right? We don't even know what it is. Is it in alliance with Al Qaeda? Sometimes it is. And sometimes it isn't. For its allies are also in splinters today you hear it is AQIM. Tomorrow you hear it is no longer AQIM but Ansar-Dine. Or Ansar-Sharia.
OPNION 3: Do you know how ISIS came about? Apparently, after invading Iraq, the Americans and the British put all the leaders of one sect in a particular prison. They guarded the OUTSIDE of the prison, but they didn't have anybody inside it to tell them what was going on inside. Then they released the prisoners. And they put into action, what they had been discussing while inside the prison!
OPINION 1: Pathetic! It appears as if as soon as the West gets its hands on the petroleum or other resources they want, their thinking processes go to sleep!
OPINION 3: But what else can the West do? All they want is control of certain resources. If they get that control, they leave the people to go hang. Do you think if Syria possessed as much petroleum resources as Libya or Iraq, the West would have allowed Assad to survive and bring in the Russians to help him?
OPINION 4 The world is a dangerous place that becomes more and more dangerous with each passing day!
OPINION 5: Wait until America elects Donald Trump as President, and then you will see the real McCoy!
(EVERYONE LAUGHS)
OPINION 5: He would go after ISIS everywhere! And America's resources would be so stretched that it would become a poor country!
OPINION 2 And that would be the moment the Chinese would withdraw all their savings from American banks and sell their US Government bonds!
OPINION 1: Hey, that's interesting! Has Trump made any statements on China? I know he waxes eloquent on Mexico and other countries that he says are stealing the jobs of Americans. But China? Dare he?
(SOMEONE USES HIS SMART PHONE TO GOOGLE)
SOMEONE: Listen to this: ''Trump refuses to rule out war with China: 'We need unpredictability' [he says.]
Republican presidential front-runner, Donald Trump said on Saturday [26 March 2016] that his foreign policy would be unpredictable in order to maintain leverage over other countries. In an interview with The New York Times, Trump even suggested that he would not rule out going to war with China in order to show the country that hes serious about trade negotiations.
EVERYONE: YIEEEEE! LOGIC!!
SOMEONE: Trump continued: I would use trade to negotiate. Would I go to war? Look, let me just tell you. Theres a question I wouldnt want to answer. Because I dont want to say I wont or I will or do you understand that?.... Thats the problem with our country. A politician would say, Oh I would never go to war, or theyd say, Oh I would go to war. I dont want to say what Id do because, again, we need unpredictability...
You know, if I win, I dont want to be in a position where Ive said I would or I wouldnt, he said. I dont want them to know what Im thinking. The problem we have is that, maybe because its a democracy and maybe because we have to be so open maybe because you have to say what you have to say in order to get elected who knows? But I wouldnt want to say. I wouldnt want them to know what my real thinking is
EVERYBODY: HAHAHAHAHAHA
OPINION1: Another American, other than Donald Rumsfeld,who believes in unknown unknowns!
(EVERYBODY LAUGHS AGAIN)
DATE: 31st March, 2016
Venue: SEM B Lodge, Wa.
Good day, Ladies and gentlemen of the media fraternity. We the Coalition of Youth Groups in the Upper West Region, have assembled you here to express our solidarity and unwavering support for the President, H.E. John Mahama, for his vision to create autonomous universities out of the various campuses of the University for Development Studies (U.D.S).We Wish to duly acknowledge the efforts of the Upper West Regional House of Chiefs led by His Royal Highness, Naa Dr Charles Puobe Chiir VII, for their relentless effort at seeing this long term dream come to fruition. We also acknowledge the efforts made by all well meaning sons and daughters of the region, who in their own ways are assiduously working to achieve this feat.
As we are all aware, the University for Development Studies (UDS) which was established some twenty (20) years ago is headquartered in the Northern Regional Capital, Tamale, with campuses in Wa, the Upper West Regional capital, Navrongo in the Upper East Region and Nyankpala in the Northern Region. The decision by the President of the Republic to create autonomous universities out of the Wa and Navrongo Campuses to complete a full cycle of functionally locating a public university in all the ten regions of Ghana, is a welcoming one and must be accorded the fullest of commendation that it deserves. In fact, the conversion of these campuses to autonomous universities is long overdue. We therefore, fully associate ourselves with this vision of the President since the benefits from this conversion are manifold:
Ladies and gentlemen, it is incontestible, that the deep compassion of His Excellency former President Rawlings and His overt resolve to extricate Northern Ghana from a quagmire of poverty, illiteracy and slow spatial development, gave birth to the now flourishing University for Development Studies. With the mandate of blending the theoretical world with that of practical human experience to provide a positive interaction between the two realms for the particular development of northern Ghana and the general development of our country, the University is noted to have started from nothing and with daunting challenges amidst a divergence of dissenting views that thought the whole idea of locating a public University in the north was awkward and unprofitable. We are thankful to the former President, the chiefs and educated elites of Northern Ghana and indeed, the patriarchs of the University, but for whose perseverance, this novelty would have still remained a monumental relic in the wildest dreams of Northern Ghana. Today, the University has its boughs stretched across northern Ghana and its fruits are enormous and remains evident as it has become a significant growth pole while offering professional training for thousands of young persons not only for Northern Ghana, but for Ghanaian youth from all the parts of our country.
Against this back drop, it is only cogent to know that, granting the Wa and Navrongo Campuses autonomy and with their own right to grow as fully fledged public Universities will not only facilitate rapid spatial development in these regions, but the new Universities will be a leverage to eliminating poverty and illiteracy while offering thousands of direct and indirect job openings for people within this enclave. Additionally, the move shall be a significant stimulus in propelling the engine of national integration as many more faculties will be created, many new courses designed and many young people from all parts of the country shall have greater opportunities of benefitting from tertiary education up north. It is important to add that, the move shall also be a significant step at augmenting the development need of the mother University. Ladies and gentlemen, it is important to emphasise that the benefits of this policy shall be enormous but not limited to the following:
In the first case, making these campuses autonomous universities will make it easy to run these institutions efficiently and effectively as each campus will be able to take its own decisions as regards planning, administration and others within the shortest possible time without having to travel all the way to Tamale. This will make administration of the universities less cumbersome as it would not involve regular travelling to and from Tamale to have certain key decisions taken. Students who have issues/challenges with their academic records will not have to travel, which comes at an added cost, to Tamale to have these rectified. It will also reduce the amount of scarce resources dissipated in these regular travels.
In addition, as autonomous universities, these campuses will be able to expand and increase intake as each campus will be manning its own affairs without directions and control from a central administration. And by increasing intake, these campuses will be enhancing access to university education. The role of education in this part of country cannot be overemphasised. This will afford opportunities to our teeming youth to attain higher education with concomitant improvement in their quality life.
Ladies and Gentlemen of the press, the conversion of these campuses into autonomous universities will create employment opportunities, both direct and indirect. As expansion is a sure bet after the conversion, these universities will require more hands to function effectively. These will provide direct employment to both skilled and unskilled labour. It will also create indirect employment avenues to numerous people in the catchment areas of the university. For instance, real estate investors will be encouraged to put up hostel accommodation facilities around campuses of these universities to house students.
Ladies and gentlemen present, the conversion will also serve as a pole of development for our region. A lot of investors will be attracted to invest in the region when the Wa campus of the UDS is made autonomous. This is a potential force to drive our developmental agenda.
We cannot end this press conference without making reference to the views of dissent expressed by a youth group in the Northern Region. Inasmuch as they have the right to express views of dissent as regards the conversion of these campuses into autonomous universities, we equally have that right enshrined in the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana to have our fair share of the national cake and development, in this case a fully-fledged university befitting this region. We therefore urge the President of the Republic not to waver in this bold move to get each region an autonomous public university.
Ladies and gentlemen, with a great astonishment, we have quietly observed a few dissenting voices from several quarters seeking, in their parochial interest, to stampede the effective implementation of this novel policy through a myriad of press documents. We seek not to gag their dissenting views in this matter since in a pluralistic society as ours, democracy, tolerance and freedom of expression are significant pillars for our societal development. We only wish to add that, the dissent of a few voices cannot be an impetus for which we as a people should be denied our fair share of development. Ours is a back up call to support our revered chiefs in their demand for a public University out of the existing University Campus. It is also in solidarity with the applaudable vision of His Excellency President John Dramani Mahama, to equitably distribute the political largesse of this country.
On this note, we are passionately appealing to the Ministry of Education and His Excellency the President, to expedite action on the conversion process. We also call on all compatriots of the Upper West Region to join us rally full support for H.E John Dramani Mahama as he seeks to implement this life changing vision which has the propensity to propel the development agenda of the Upper West Region. We also pledge our unwavering support for this noble course.
Thank you.
....Signed....
Puo-ire Prosper
(Convener)
0204852735/0245158578
...Signed...
Christopher K Beyereh
Nandom Youth Link
(024-6440723)
....Signed....
George A. Amoah
CYPOND
(020-9373060)
Ghana, March 2016: The key role that Ghanas new offshore Tweneboa, Enyenra and Ntomme (TEN) field looks set to play in helping the country build on an anticipated oil and gas rebound will be given wide-ranging analysis in a forthcoming report by the global publishing firm Oxford Business Group (OBG).
The Report: Ghana 2017 will chart the progress of the $5bn project, which is targeting 80,000 barrels per day (bpd) once operational, rising to 100,000 bpd in 2017.
The publication will also explore signs that Ghana plans to broaden its economic base by sharpening its focus on adding value to commodity exports, especially gold. Other topics earmarked for coverage include the implications of higher-than-expected crop volumes and talk of the possible creation of a national commodity exchange, which would establish an agricultural value chain.
The Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), a longstanding partner of OBG, will once again contribute to the Groups report on the countrys economy. As part of their ongoing collaboration, the GIPC will support OBG in the information-gathering and research process for The Report: Ghana 2017.
Mawuena Trebarh, the GIPCs CEO, was bullish on Ghanas long-term outlook, citing the countrys natural resource wealth, vocational education system and stable economy as among its strengths.
Commodity exports, in particular, provide tremendous potential for growth, while agricultural output remains strong. We also see plenty of opportunities for investment in IT and financial services, she noted. I look forward to working with Oxford Business Groups team and exploring how Ghana plans to leverage these and other advantages.
Shadeh Olivia Van Esch, OBGs Country Director in Ghana, said she welcomed the GIPCs input, which, she added, had long given the Groups research an edge.
The year 2016 is proving to be significant for Ghana, with a diversification drive under way and rising oil prices hinting at higher receipts for the country, she said. The Ghana Investment Promotion Centres efforts to tap new FDI are a key component of the countrys broader plans for long-term economic growth. Im delighted that our readers will once again benefit from the centres take on the areas of the Ghanaian economy ripe for investment.
The Report: Ghana 2017 will be a vital guide to the many facets of the country, including its macroeconomics, infrastructure, banking and other sectoral developments. The publication will feature contributions from leading personalities, alongside a sector-by-sector analysis of the countrys economy. Oxford Business Groups report will be produced with the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre. It will be available in print and online.
About Oxford Business Group
Oxford Business Group (OBG) is a global publishing, research and consultancy firm, which publishes economic intelligence on the markets of the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean. Through its range of print and online products, OBG offers comprehensive and accurate analysis of macroeconomic and sectoral developments, including banking, capital markets, insurance, energy, transport, industry and telecoms.
The critically acclaimed economic and business reports have become the leading source of business intelligence on developing countries in the regions they cover. OBG's online economic briefings provide up-to-date in-depth analysis on the issues that matter for tens of thousands of subscribers worldwide. OBG's consultancy arm offers tailor-made market intelligence and advice to firms currently operating in these markets and those looking to enter them.
Islamic scholar Sheikh Irbard Ibrahim has described as racial profiling, the wrongful arrest, by Ghanas security agencies, of 17 Pakistani Muslim evangelists in Assin Fosu in the Central Region.
The Pakistanis are currently being held by the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI).
Speaking to ClassFMonline.com on the arrests, Sheikh Irbard said: Even though Ghanaians should remain vigilant to forestall any attacks similar to those happening in neighbouring countries, selectively picking on adherents of a particular race or religion will complicate Ghana's counter-terrorism efforts, victimise Muslims and deter them from willingly volunteering information, if this fight is seen as being against Muslim missionaries and not Christians ones that fly into our country almost weekly to do one form of evangelism or another.
The innocent Pakistanis are only making good on an Islamic evangelical principle called "Khuruj" that urges Muslim scholars to travel far and wide to preach the message of Islam. Evangelism cannot be terrorism, he said.
Ghanas anti-terrorism alert has been heightened ever since al-Qaeda of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) attacked the countrys western and northern neighbours Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso, respectively, about a month apart. Prior to those two attacks which killed dozens of people of various nationalities at different hotels, there had been a similar attack in Mali in November last year.
Bangui (Central African Republic) (AFP) - The UN pledged to stamp out sexual abuse during global peacekeeping missions, calling for DNA testing and court-martials after appalling new accounts, including bestiality, from more than 100 victims in Central African Republic.
"We will discuss with members states ... the possibility of holding court martials on the spot, in the countries where the reprehensible actions were committed," UN under-secretary for peacekeeping operations Herve Ladsous said Friday.
"This would show victims we are dealing with their plight," said Ladsous during a visit in the Central African capital.
He also suggested taking DNA samples of troops about to deploy on peace missions "to facilitate paternity tests" in case of claims.
UN investigators have identified 108 alleged new victims, "the vast majority" of whom are under-age girls who were raped, sexually abused or exploited by foreign troops, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Thursday.
French President Francois Hollande and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Friday there would be no impunity for French troops and UN peacekeepers accused in the scandal.
Hollande, who met with Ban in Washington, said that if true, the allegations would "stain France's honour."
French authorities this week received a UN letter outlining new allegations of sexual abuse.
Ban was "shocked to the core" by the allegations that emerged after a UN team traveled to south-central Kemo prefecture to interview the women and girls.
The teams received accounts that troops from France's Sangaris force coerced girls to engage in bestiality in return for small amounts of money.
AIDS-Free World, a civil society group that tracks peacekeeper sex abuse cases, said three girls told a UN rights officer that in 2014 they were tied up and undressed by a Sangaris commander inside a camp and forced to have sex with a dog.
- 'Heart of darkness' -
Dujarric stressed that "the facts have not been ascertained" in what could be the most serious wave of allegations to date to hit the troubled peace mission in Central African Republic.
"We must face the fact that a number of troops sent to protect people instead acted with hearts of darkness," Dujarric said.
France sent its Sangaris intervention force to the Central African Republic in December 2013 and while the troops are not part of the UN mission, they have been mandated by the Security Council to help restore peace to the country.
Also Friday, the French defence ministry said the soldiers, if convicted, would face strict military discipline in addition to any criminal penalities that may be brought.
UN rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein has called for investigations that "leave no stone unturned."
Under UN rules, the responsibility for investigating and prosecuting peacekeeper sexual abuse lies with the countries that contribute the troops and police to the peace missions.
In a first, Dujarric said the United Nations would carry out joint investigations with Burundi and Gabon of the allegations that took place between 2013 and 2015.
The Central African peacekeeping operation, known as MINUSCA, counts about 12,600 foreign police and soldiers, as well as more than 500 foreign civilians.
The UN mission took over from an African Union force in September 2014 as the country was still reeling from a wave of sectarian bloodshed.
As disturbing allegations of sexual assault by troops targeting civilians mounted, Ban in August fired the mission chief, but new claims have continued to emerge.
Earlier this week, the United Nations reported two new cases of sexual abuse by Burundian and Moroccan troops, including one that involved a 14-year-old girl.
1. THANK GOD FOR VALENTINE CELEBRATIONS!
In spite of the fact that some Christians and Pastors say that they hate the celebration of Valentines Day, I would rather urge all Christians and churches to step it up even into a higher gear - whether condoms run out of sale in town or not. This great virtue began from us, and we must not chicken out and allow the commercial world to bully us out of it - like the way they are trying to take Christmas away from us, and destroy it. People of God, let's keep celebrating it to His glory.
"MORE VALENTINE CELEBRATIONS FOR CHRIST"
2. WHO REALLY IS A MAN OF GOD?
It is not big titles, cars, houses, congregation size, flight class, finger rings, wrist watch price, shoe or suit make, etc., that make a Preacher a Man of God. NO!
A real Man or Woman of God is strictly defined by the Spirit of Holiness, Godly Character and the Aura of God's Presence around the Preacher.
Some of us REFUSE to accept the present-day cheapening of the designation "Man of God' by ruffians.
Yes, Ruffians!
"'Evil prevails when good men do nothing: Edmund Burke
The ever-increasing level of aberration in the kingdom requires good men to speak out, in order to protect the naive and vulnerable. We cannot stay silent and allow perversion to be perpetuated in
Pentecostalism. Let God and good men arise."
Certainly, we cannot accept or be quiet for present-day ruffians, holding Bibles as preachers, to define the face or image of Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity for us. No, some of us simply cannot. There must be other voices of hope and rightness, else the true image of Christianity shall be contorted.SCRIPTURE: "Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints." (Jude 1:3)
3. LET'S STOP THIS BOASTFUL BRAGGING!
I don't think it is spiritually productive to congregants for some of us Preachers to be bragging about our physical and material possessions in the pulpit. If you are a young Minister doing that, you have already learned some bad ministry habits. And if you are a senior Minister, with all due respect, may I ask you: When did you ever hear Jesus or Billy Graham, real global preachers and godly men, do this in the pulpit. And certainly, they pulled more crowds than you do as a local champion.
4. BILLBOARDS!!!
Sometimes, when even a good thing gets overused, it becomes a nuisance.
Using BILLBOARDS to promote the gospel is good; But at this time, I think our senior spiritual leaders must know that the overuse of Billboards has become a complete nuisance - in fact, an eyesore in Accra, for instance - where, it appears that the cost of one Billboard could feed and clothe a whole village school for a year.
I'm sure that when our senior leaders begin shunning that medium for some time, the ruffians shall eventually begin to respect the Holy Spirit.
SCRIPTURE:
"All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify." (1 Corinthians 10:23)
5. NDC AND THE CLERGY FACTOR:
There is this Law of Leadership called The Law of E.F. Hutton, that says that, When the real leader speaks, people listen. I think that the way some NDC people over-react to some comments on national issues by some clergymen, make it appear that this Leadership Law frightens them. If I were to offer my novice advice, I would tell the NDC leadership that, much as most of the clergymen in the country remain generally silent on most of their policies, it would do them much good to also remain generally silent on most of the comments of the clergymen.
6. NPP AND THE ELECTION DEMOGRAPHICS FACTOR:
I dont think that it is good strategy to assume that because things may not be going well in the countys economy, people would automatically vote you back into power. Like the problem facing the
Republicans of America, the countrys old time election demographic patterns have seriously changed implying that you must also change. Even if you cry that the NDC relies heavily on rural votes, the rural people are also Ghanaians, with equally qualifying votes And much of the country is still rural, anyway.
First Lady Lordina Mahama has urged Ghanaians to practice a high level of personal hygiene and keep their surroundings clean as the wet season approaches. She believes that as Government works to address the drainage systems in the country, the citizenry must also do their part to minimize the negative effect whenever it rains. We all have a role to play as citizens, towards the realization of this objective she stated.
The First lady noted that this year there is a prediction that the rains will be heavy, and there is likelihood of flooding. To prevent outbreak of disease as a result of flooding we must clear of the filth from our gutters and drains she said.
The lives of all Ghanaians matter, and we do not want to lose even a single life, during this years rainy season she added.
The First Lady made the call when she interacted with the people of Drobo and Sampa in the Brong Ahafo region. Being so much concerned about the health of the citizenry the First lady donated medical supplies and equipment to the Sampa and Drobo hospitals. The donation forms part of her foundations nationwide medical mission, which is aimed at raising the health status and well-being of communities, especially in relation to women and children.
At separate events, the hospitals received mosquito nets, waste disposals, cannulas, bed, bouffant cap, catheters, shelves machine, bed side tables, endoscope machine among others.
Presenting the items, she said the items were made to supplement the effort of government, to realise its vision of quality and accessible healthcare for all.
"The government through its massive health infrastructure programme is bringing healthcare delivery to the doorstep of the people," she said. Dr Lordina Mahama called on all stakeholders, opinion leaders and organizations to invest in the health and education of all our citizens. This way, we will have a healthy population contributing to the development of our dear country.
Mrs. Mahama said her foundation would work hard to seek help to promote women and children's healthcare. The Foundation with support from Medshare USA has so far presented medical equipment and supplies to over fifty hospitals in 8 regions of Ghana.
At Sampa, the First Lady also presented training tools to the Sampa Vocational Institute to facilitate their training. She presented sewing machines, over locking machines among others to the Institute.
The District Chief Executive of Drobo, Madam Dora Ama Tamea commended the First Lady for the kind gesture, adding that the donation would go a long way to assist the hospitals in providing healthcare for the people.
She said the Assembly has also embarked upon the construction of CHPs compounds with ancillary facilities.
She said the projects when completed would help achieve the primary objective of improving the living and health conditions of the indigenes.
Madam Tamea appealed to the First Lady to help construct a kitchen and a dining hall for Our Lady of Providence Senior High School, which is the only girl school in the district.
"The current kitchen which is a shed is in a very deplorable state so please come to our aid," she said.
Recently, there is an ongoing debate about whether any of the opposition parties or only the government should have the power to provide security and protection for all Ghanaians. This fierce discourse has come into the national forefront as a result of the recent state arrest of the three South African ex-police personnel. The trio came to Ghana at the invitation of the main opposition party NPP to help train a security detail for the partys presidential leadership. Surprisingly, the security experts lawful training activities meant for their clients (NPP presidential leadership) have led to a disproportionate response from the BNI (Backward to National Inquisitions) with tacit cheerleading from the Mahama-led government.
Before digging any deep into the outlandish drama surrounding the three South Africans arrest and their inexplicable detention by the BNI, lets ask some few questions at this point if we may ever get answers in the first place. First, why does the government insist its main political rival (NPP) must be using the three former SA police officers as a front to attempt to destabilize the nations security? How sensibly does it serve the interest of the NPP or any of the opposition parties to create chaos and instability in the country that each party is trying to get electoral mandate to govern democratically? On what credible basis does the BNI use to go in and arrest the imported South African security trainers? Is the BNI required to operate under the rule of law and show non-partisanship in carrying out its functions, or it is an agency that just seeks to do the biddings of the government of the day?
There are countlessly relevant questions that can be examined here in view of the bizarre and the blatant disregard for the rule of law by the seemingly biased and unprofessional BNI. It is obvious that the agency has become an outpost for state-sanctioned vindictive inquisitions, in addition to operating as a secret police arm of the ruling NDC government in the manner that is strikingly similar to the Soviet-era KGB tactics. Ignorantly, in almost all African countries, including Ghana, the government in power always behaves as if it has all the answers to the problems confronting its citizens. Hence it is not surprising that most of the governments operations are heavily concentrated in the Africa capitals where the presidents live. The narrative is all too familiar: In Ghana and in the rest of Africa, the government of the day runs everything, probably with the exception of South Africa.
Another disheartening political reality is that African governments have perennial misplaced priorities. This entrenched political culture leads to unequal distribution of the states meager resources with its attendant poverty and underdevelopment. The frustrations and disillusionments that build up often find various outlets and tipping points. In some cases the ordinary citizens or groups who can afford try to improvise to survive and also provide for their own armed security in the midst of corrupt, partisan, and dysfunctional police force and law enforcement system. The result is that political opponents and other dissenting citizens daily lives are always monitored and viewed with suspicious lenses by the ruling governments in Africa. Thus, the Mahamas government supportive reaction, as well as the BNIs suspicious arrest and iron-fisted treatment of the three South African security experts contracted by the NPP can be unwrapped in the preceding context.
Like all African ruling governments, the Mahama-led administration strongly ascribes to the discredited belief that it has the sole authority and monopoly over all firearms, including the provision of security and protection of all Ghanaians whether the state resources can be sustainable enough or not. Certainly, one of the basic functions of any government is to ensure law and order and in the process protects all its citizens. This does not mean citizens, including opposition parties, cant hire competent trainers to train their security detail solely for the protection of the parties leadership and property. From all indications, the NPP leadership or Nana Akufo Addo and his campaign team have not broken any Ghanaian law; neither do that civil training conducted by the South Africans suggests that there is any underlying destabilization motive geared toward the country. The catch here is that because of endemic corruption bedeviled ruling African governments, they tend to be scared of their own shadows. That is why every little move by political opponents takes the breath away from the current ruling class.
It is worthy to note that the past NPP government might have done or the future NPP regime may do the same thing to its political opponents given similar set of circumstances such as in the case of the three ex-South Africa police officers; but, that is entirely another legitimate case one can make in another time. This particular conversation is not about pointing out any moral equivalence regarding what the past NPP government did to the NDC members when they were out of power. After all they say two wrongs do not equal right. The emphasis here is that we cant blame any opposition party or Nana Addo and his team for seeking first-class private security training and protection in a society in which (again and again) the law enforcement mechanism, including the BNI, has clearly shown that it is the minion of the government of the day.
Again, in a typical Africa society like Ghana with weak democratic structures and over-the-roof corrupt bureaucracies, it is suicidal for defenseless citizens to look up exclusively to the state for its security needs. Besides that almost everyone in Ghana owns a cellphone, many of our roads and communication network systems are third-rate and mediocre, to say the least. There is non-existent of centralized nationwide emergency communication system in Ghana. This means on average the emergency crew or the police response time to unfolding crime scene takes hours instead of few minutes.
As one Ghanaian writer Kwame Afadzi Insaidoo rightly pointed out in his book Ghana: A Time to Heal & Renew the Nation, the ongoing problem within Ghana police force is that the police departments complain that they do not have enough cars and lack of petrol or gas to fill their cars to respond rapidly to crime in progress (p.118). In a dysfunctional law enforcement environment as we have in Ghana, do you blame any smart or security-conscious political organization or any prominent citizen to sit tight without finding lawful ways to protect himself? In democracy, citizens have legal rights to protect themselves.
Bernard Asubonteng teaches political science and critical thinking at the college/university level. He is based in the United States, and can be reached at [email protected]
Shareholders of Societe Generale Ghana has approved a special resolution for the Board of Directors to decide, at its discretion, to increase the stated capital of the bank to a minimum of One Hundred and Forty Million Ghana Cedis [GHS140 million] through a rights issue.
The new Managing Director elect for the Bank, Sionle Yeo, said they requested from their shareholders which they have agreed to raise the stated capital from 100million Ghana cedis to 140million Ghana cedis for 2016.
Mr. Sionle Yeo noted that the increment in the stated capital is necessitated by the fact that the strong economic potential of the country signals high growth of their customer needs.
He added that essence is to increase their market share and to raise enough capital to finance the needs of their customers.
This is the most expensive equity the bank can get which happens to come mainly from their shareholders because of the confidence they have reposed in the banks growth strategy, he emphasized.
The Managing Director of the Bank indicated that they have been able to maintain the growth activity of the bank during the unstable financial times but strategies are put in place to grow their business in order to match the changing trends on the financial market.
The growing of our business will focus on all universal banking where the segments of our customers of other markets [Individual Market, Corporate market, Large corporate markets and SMEs], he stated.
He indicated that the development of the nation fully depends on Small and Medium Enterprises [SMEs].
Mr. Yeo stated that the growth strategy will help the Bank generate more revenue and improve profitability that will eventually be redistributed to all the shareholders of the bank.
He said this at the 36th annual general meeting of the Bank held in Accra at the Accra International Conference Center [AICC].
The Chairman of the Board of Directors, Mr. Kofi Ampim stated that the Bank recorded a profit before tax of GHc64,387,599 and profit after tax of GHc44,605,077.
According to him, Net Banking Income increased by 11.4 percent and Current Operating Expenses grew by 26.4 percent whereas shareholders fund increased from GHc221,983,165 to GHc263,980,201 representing a progression of 18.9 percent.
Mr. Kofi Ampim stated that I am sure that the elections will be held peacefully. Societe Generale is highly confident in the future of Ghana given the strong economic potential of the country and its sustained peaceful governance. For Societe Generale Ghana, the year 2016 will be a year of transformation with new systems and processes being put up in place to increase our banks market share.
He noted that the aim is to achieve sustained organic growth and good returns for the shareholders.
Vodafone Wholesale, a subsidiary of Vodafone Ghana, has honoured its customers at its fourth customer appreciation event held in Accra to reward loyal customers for their continuous support and to have direct interaction with them.
The event, a night of thrilling cocktails and drama held at Movenpick Hotel, brought together major Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and Mobile Network Operators (MNO) to celebrate their successes through a thrilling play.
Speaking at the event, Managing Director (MD) of Vodafone Wholesale, Julius Owusu-Kyerematen said:
Last year saw us grow our capacity by over 20 GB, 10 GB on the southern ring and another 10 GB on the northern ring in our effort to serve you better. We also boosted resilience in several areas, key of which is the Obuasi-Kumasi migration from the underground cable onto the overhead cable curbing the frequency of fibre cuts on that stretch.
MD of Vodafone Wholesale announced that Vodafone Wholesale reduced fault resolution SLAs by 30% via various customer experience initiatives we launched internally.
Mr Owusu-Kyerematen added that Vodafone Wholesale is committed to being an enabler to its customers businesses to drive data growth in Ghana.
Attendees thanked Vodafone Wholesale for their thoughtfulness in organising a regular stakeholder platform for them to interact with officials to improve the business.
01.04.2016 LISTEN
Tamale, April 1, GNA - Mr Robert Jackson, United States of America (US) Ambassador to Ghana, on Thursday said that the US government through the United States Agency for International Development (US AID) has invested $145million in Ghana to aid socio-economic transformation.
He said more than half of the amount was being invested in the Northern parts of the country alone in the areas of agriculture, health and education with the aim of bridging the development gap between the Northern and Southern part of the country.
Mr Jackson was interacting with the media in Tamale in the Northern Region on Thursday as part a two-day official tour of the area where he inspected the various US AID-funded projects under its 'Feed the Future Initiative'.
The Feed the Future Initiative is a US global food security and poverty-reduction intervention through the development of high-yielding seeds to boost commercial agriculture involving small-holder farmers especially women in rural communities.
In Ghana, the US AID is the lead US agency implementing the Initiative to support agricultural research to bring cutting-edge technologies including high yielding seed varieties in legumes and cereals to farmers in the Northern Region to increase their on-farm yields and improve their incomes.
The Savannah Agricultural Research Institute (SARI) of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) together with other private Initiatives, are the institutions which have benefited from investments to spearhead the development of high-yielding seed varieties in maize, cow-pea and Soybean.
The Ambassador inaugurated one such state-of-the art seed laboratories in the Tamale Metropolis, built for the production of high quality, hybrid and high-yielding seeds for smallholder farmers.
He expressed satisfaction about the field visits stressing that the US through the USAID would continue to invest significantly in the northern part of the country to reduce poverty and improve the standard of living of the people.
Mr Jackson in course of the media discourse, assured Ghanaians that the US Government was very committed to see Ghana come out of the 2016 polls very peaceful and united noting that the country has held successful general elections since 1992 and this year's would not be different.
He allayed fears about the two Guantanamo Bay detainees who had been brought into the country assuring that they were under tight security and are harmless.
Dr Ahmed Yakubu, Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture commended the USAID for initiating laudable projects including Feed the Future Initiative.
He said improved seeds would significantly transform the country's agricultural productivity and sustain the food basket of the Northern part of the country and appealed to the USAID to assist in a total transformation of Ghana's agriculture.
Mr Michael Dockrey, Chief of Party of the Feed the Future project of the USAID said the project is investing $22 million to improve agricultural productivity for smallholder farmers in the Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions of Ghana.
He noted that the project was introducing new farming technologies to improve crop yield and has been assisting over 500,000 farmers annually most of who were women stressing that the capacity of women agriculturist needed to be boosted.
Mr Dockrey indicated that water provision was very key to the project's successes and as such has been assisting some farming communities to get irrigation facilities for dry season farming adding, 'This is the surest way to bring food security to Ghana'.
GNA
Kumasi, April 01, GNA - Mr. Charles Sakyi, Executive Director of the Centre for the Development of People (CEDEP), a community- development NGO, has asked development planners of the district assemblies to be sensitive to the concerns of the people.
They 'should have political sensitivity' to make the people benefit from their expertise.
Mr Sakyi, himself a management and development consultant, was speaking at a policy dialogue on evidence-based development for district planning officers, development practitioners and community development experts from selected metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies in the Ashanti region, in Kumasi.
It was organized by the Ghana Information Network for Knowledge Sharing (GINKS), an NGO, to help encourage the use of evidence-based information for policy initiatives and implementation at the district and local levels.
Mr Sakyi said development planning required that, practitioners always had information on hand to give to policy makers.
The purpose of research and evidence in development planning was to use the best evidence available to make development decisions.
He stressed the need for planning officers in the assemblies to build partnerships with policy makers, decision-makers and researchers in generating evidence for the activity.
Mr. Joseph Donkor, a development planner at the Regional Coordinating Council, noted that research evidence had not received much attention in development planning process in many of district assemblies and said this had been due to delays in publishing research findings.
Added to this is the lack of linkages between researchers and end users of their findings.
He said it was important that political and administrative heads in the districts were encouraged to accept the need to use research in their activities and provide financial support to conduct research at the local level.
Mr Kirchuffs Atengble, Programme Coordinator of GINKS, said evidence-based policy initiatives were crucial in the development planning process and called for policy makers to consult experts in the planning process.
GNA
01.04.2016 LISTEN
Accra, April 1, GNA - The Chief Justice, Mrs Georgina T. Wood, has admonished lawyers to build their ethical edge and develop their moral fibre to ensure credibility in their profession.
'Make no mistake about this: you can neither thrive nor succeed without morality. Ethics is the instrument through which your knowledge can benefit society,' the Chief Justice said during the enrollment and call to the bar of 59 lawyers at the New Court Complex in Accra.
The ceremony, which was under the supervision of the General Legal Council and Ghana School of Law, saw 21 females and 38 males receiving their certificates. The new lawyers, including Mrs Dzifa Azumah of the Ghana News Agency, were taken through an Undertaking by the Chief Justice.
Mrs Wood charged the lawyers to use the knowledge acquired rightly, otherwise they were definitely going to add to the problems facing society.
She, therefore, challenged the new lawyers to develop personal leadership skills and build on integrity and resolve not to become mere additions to the legal profession.
'Resolve to be counted as positive contributors, shaping the frontiers of the law by making it relevant to our times,' she said.
She said it was important for the new lawyers to also understand the environment within which they operated so they could function successfully.
Mrs Wood said the country was emerging as a middle income economy with human resource needs for diverse services to keep up with the highly competitive globalised world.
Due to this, Mrs Wood said investors' attraction to the country would depend on the integrity of the legal system and protection it offered to investments.
She, therefore, tasked the lawyers to understand the global dynamics of the law in order to work out legal solutions in response to the emerging trends and complexities at the national and international levels.
The Chief Justice entreated them to study at all times to effectively deal with issues that would rise in their spheres of operations.
She said as new lawyers they were expected to become repository of the nation's law and the conscience of the country, adding, they would be endowed with legal authority and power to deal with human issues, corporate matters, national and international concerns.
'What you put your knowledge to will be influenced by your sense of morality or personal ethics,' she told the lawyers.
Mrs Marietta Brew Appiah-Opong, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General, and Mr Benson Nutsupui, the President of the Ghana Bar Association, presented certificates to the lawyers.
GNA
Accra, April 1, GNA - Nii Laryea Afotey Agbo, the Greater Accra Regional Minister, said it was the responsibility and duty of every citizen to act as agents of change to create a better society for all.
He said there was no doubt that indiscipline in the society had now assumed alarming proportions and, if left unchecked, would shatter the hopes and aspirations of becoming prominent and productive citizens of the nation.
Nii Agbo was addressing members of the Greater Accra Regional Branch of the Ghana Muslim Mission (GMM) during its 13th Annual Regional Conference on the theme: 'Behavioural and Attitudinal Change as a Prerequisite for Sustainable Development'.
He said the theme was right since behavioural change was the transformative step needed to lift the country and the world as a whole onto a sustainable and resilient path.
Nii Agbo said government was fully aware of the contributions made by Muslims towards education, healthcare and other socio-economic development projects in the country and commended them for complementing government's efforts.
He said: 'The state and religious bodies have to collaborate to bring development to the people. We, therefore, need to approach issues of nation building and development with a united front, love and tolerance for one another.'
Nii Agbo encouraged the leadership of the Mission and youth to teach the youth to abstain from acts that had the tendency to ruin their lives since the future depended on them.
The Regional Minister also called on all religious bodies to pray for the leadership of the country to get the strength to carry out projects for national development as well as for a peaceful election in November.
Alhaji Haroun Zagoon, an Islamic Scholar, said development was brought about by human beings and human beings were judged by their mindset so it was important to have a change of mindset to accelerate the development process.
He said behaviour and attitude were important aspects of the life of every Muslim because that was what represented Islam.
He said the Holy Quran stated that Allah would not change the condition of a people unless they changed so themselves, so it was important to develop positive attitudes as Muslims to be able to develop as desired.
Alhaji Abdella Tetteh, the Greater Accra Regional Chairman of GMM, said the conference was aimed at sensitising the Muslim Community to contribute positively to the development of the nation.
The GMM was founded in 1957 as a religious organisation to afford Muslims the opportunity to support one another and to programme their lives in accordance with the true teachings of Islam.
GNA
01.04.2016 LISTEN
Ho, April 1, GNA - A revised Code of Ethics for the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) would be launched in August this year ahead of the 2016 general election.
The new code, which has roped in the social media, would help improve the qualitative performance of media practitioners to respond to future challenges.
A seven member committee, headed by Mr Kweku Rockson, a Lecturer at the University of Professional Studies (UPS), completed work on the draft on Friday in Ho.
The Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) sponsored the review project of the Code of Ethics.
Mr Rockson said the code would go through validation and implementation.
Mr Roland Affail Monney, the President of the GJA, told the media that the revised document should stand the test of time and help practitioners to be more professional and ethically responsible.
'Anything which is not updated is outdated and I know this new code will stand the test of time and make us more professionally and ethically responsible,' he said.
Mr Kwasi Gyan-Apenteng, the Chairman of the National Media Commission, said the review had become necessary to ensure professional reportage and conduct by journalists in the upcoming elections.
Mr Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafoh, a Member of the Committee, said the new code would make the media very relevant in the future and charged practitioners to see themselves as part of responsible citizens by abiding by the code of ethics.
He urged media practitioners to be pivots in professional journalism.
Mr Fritz Kopsieker, the Country Director, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, said the important role the media played in promoting democracy necessitated the resolve of his outfit to support the GJA to fine-tune the code of ethics to ensure professionalism.
He expressed the hope that the new code of ethics would be adhered to, to transform the Ghanaian media landscape.
GNA
Accra, April 1, GNA - Mr Franklin P. Anku, the La-Nkwantanang-Madina Municipal Chief Executive, said the Assembly had mapped out new strategies to increase revenue generation.
He said the strategies include the recruitment and training of additional revenue collectors to collect property rates and street parking tolls among other things.
Mr Anku made this known when he addressed the second session of the La-Nkwantanang-Madina Municipal Assembly (LaNMMA's) First Ordinary General Meeting held at the National Women's Training Center in Madina.
He said the LaNMMA estimated to collect GH3,329,910.00 as its internally generated fund last year and as at December 31, 2015, a total of GH3,117,057.80 was accrued representing 93.61 per cent.
The Assembly expended GH3,028,421.08 representing 90.95 per cent out of the amount.
The MCE said the Municipal Health Directorate had increased its CHPS zones from two in 2012 to 20 in 2015 and intended to increase it to 25 by the end of 2016.
Mr Anku said the Health Directorate recorded a reduction in stillbirth rate from 81 in 2014 to 69 in 2015 while mortality rate increased from three in 2014 to seven in 2015.
This, he said, was worrying and needed to be tackled, adding that malaria continued to lead the top 10 diseases in the municipality despite the vigorous health education.
On cholera, he said from the beginning of this year to-date, the municipality had not recorded any case as compared to last year.
On the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) implementation, Mr Anku said as at January this year, 444 households had benefited from cash transfer from the Government under the programme.
The MCE said the fertilizer subsidy programme, which was on hold, would be revamped this year and that registration of crop farmers was in progress.
Mr Anku said the Assembly had completed and handed over the Otinibi Kindergarten project to the school authorities.
He said to improve on performance by students the Assembly had instituted an awards scheme for three best performing students in the Basic Education Certificate Examination.
He said a number of projects were also ongoing in the municipality and that they were between 60 to 100 per cent complete.
Mr Anku said the crime rate had reduced tremendously and commended the people for the peace and security in the area.
'The municipality will form an election taskforce headed by the Divisional Police Commander to map out programmes for the upcoming election on November 7, 2016,' he said.
He expressed gratitude to all those who in diverse ways assisted and continued to assist the LaNMMA in its development agenda.
Discussions centered on the boundaries of LaNMMA and the Assembly demanded that the Local Government and the Survey Department should be contracted to solve the issue between the Adenta Municipal Assembly, The Ga-East Municipal Assembly and LaNMMA.
The members also discussed the uncompleted structures of the Madina Market which the Assembly and the Ga-East Assembly had no documents to prove ownership while a private person was claiming ownership.
The issue had delayed the completion of the market buildings which were deteriorating.
The meeting was attended by the heads of department and institutions, the Madina Police District Commander, Chief Superintendent Firmin Azitariga, and officers from the Fire Service.
GNA
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IVA Struggling with debt? Compare your debt options and write off up to 80% of your unsecured debts from 80 per month Get Started for free
What is an IVA? With an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) you can make affordable monthly payments towards a percentage of your debt for 5 years. At the end of the 5 year plan, your remaining debt will be completely written off.
Benefits of an IVA
Here is a list of the cost common advantages of an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA):
Affordability You will only be asked to pay back what you can afford, with allowances taken into account for food, bills, entertainment, travel, childcare and others. You may be sacrificing certain essential costs at the moment. With an IVA they are budgeted for so they will no longer be neglected
No upfront costs When you set up an IVA, there are no upfront costs whatsoever. This means that you can put a debt solution in place today without spending a penny
You have a finishing line Do you feel like there will be no end to your debt problems? With high interest costs and charges, the balances of your credit accounts may not reduce as you need them to. With an IVA you will become totally debt free at the completion of the IVA (usually 5 years). You can use this as an opportunity to change your financial life, for good
Confidential Your IVA is not advertised in the London Gazette or local newspaper. It is your decision whether you would like to disclose it to other people or not
No more contact from creditors When you are in an IVA, your creditors will no longer have the right to contact you or refer the debt on to debt collectors/bailiffs. This is a great benefit for most people as it will take away the stress caused by constant calls/texts/emails and home visits
Stay in your house Unlike some debt solutions, an IVA will allow you to stay in your current home. This is even the case if the property has a mortgage or is owned outright
Your pension An IVA does not have an impact on your pension. You will not have to surrender your pension or withdraw money from it to pay into your IVA
Risks of an IVA
Here is a list of the cost common disadvantages of an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA):
Equity Release If you own your property and it has value, you may be asked to release the equity in the property
Credit Rating If you have a perfect credit rating, this will be damaged and you will not be allowed to take out more debt whilst in an arrangement
You must keep up with repayments If you do not keep up with your monthly repayments, there is a risk you will be made bankrupt
Who qualifies for an IVA?
There is no office guidelines to who qualifies for an IVA. It is a legally binding, Government legislation designed to help all people. Generally speaking, insolvency practitioners (IP) will look at your situation if they think the IVA proposal they submit is beneficial to both yourself (the debtor) and your creditors. This often restricts people to a certain criteria which you will have to meet:
Over 5000 worth of unsecured debt You must have 2 or more creditors of 2 or more lines of credit Must live in England, Wales or Northern Ireland Must be insolvent Must be willing to pay at least 70 per month into their IVA Must have some type or types of regular income
What debts can I include in an IVA?
You can include a wide range of unsecured debts within your IVA. These include:
Credit card debt/credit cards
Loans/loan debt
Payday loans
Council tax arrears
HMRC debt
Overpaid benefits
Catalogues
Gas and electricity arrears
Overdrafts/overdraft debt
Water arrears
Income tax arrears
Debts to friends and family
Other unsecured debts
Note: If you are a resident of Scotland, you will need to apply for a Scottish Trust Deed (legally binding). Speak to our advisors for Scottish Debt Advice.
What debts cant be included in an IVA?
Secured loans
Your mortgage (if you still live in the house)
Car finance (if you still have the car)
Rent arrears for your current property
Court fines/Police fines
Hire purchase arrears (if you still have the product)
Log book loans (if you still have the vehicle that the debts are secured on)
Student loans
Other secured debts
What does I.V.A stand for?
IVA stands for Individual Voluntary Arrangement. It is a formal way to consolidate your debts into one affordable monthly repayment, resulting in the debtor becoming debt free at the end of their payments.
Can I apply for an IVA online?
Use the IVA Calculator to check your eligibility Prepare your IVA proposal and apply for your IVA. When your IVA is accepted, your creditors can no longer contact you. Pay 60 low monthly payments. After 5 years, you are out of your IVA and completely debt free.
Will an IVA affect my employment?
In most occupations, your credit rating or credit scoring is not a factor and it may never have been checked in the past, it may also be likely that it is not checked in the future either.
There is no law to tell you that you must advise your employer that you have entered an IVA or that you owe money. They will not be notified by your insolvency practitioner. If you wanted to keep it a private matter, in most cases this would be absolutely fine. With some roles such as financial advisors, solicitors or bank workers it may make up part of your contract to advise them of changes like this. In these situations we would advise to inform your employers of your intentions before you enter into any arrangements. This way there will be no nasty surprises for you later down the line. More often than not, we find that your employer would not be concerned by your IVA and that it would not affect your employment status. An IVA is a formal solution and could affect some employments, such as if you were a solicitor or accountant for example. We would always recommend that you receive approval from your employers that your job isnt affected before you sign up for anything.
Will an IVA impact my partner?
There are certain situations where you may not want to involve your partner at all in your IVA proposal due to personal reasons. Insolvency Practitioners are very aware of these circumstances and can operate solely via telephone and email and at your convenience, so rest assured that your matters can be kept completely private.
If the debts which you are looking to place into your IVA are in joint names, then this would be different. Your IP would look to place all of your debts into an IVA, including joint debts therefore you would have to inform your partner of your plans.
If your debts are solely yours, then there would be no negative impact on your partner, their credit score would remain unaffected and they would not be entered onto any registers or be tainted in any way.
Will an IVA affect my credit score/credit file?
Whilst you are in your arrangement, you will not be able to get any credit. An IVA will stay on your credit file for 6 years, so 12 months after a typical IVA. When this time has passed and your monthly payments have ended, you will be able to rebuild your credit rating.
What proof will I need to apply for an IVA?
Proof of ID Passport/driving license/birth certificate/utility bills/national insurance identification/credit agreement Bank statements 3 months bank statements with all transactions displayed Proof of income 3 months payslips/P60/proof of benefits
How long does it take to set up an IVA?
Your initial call will only last around 5-10 minutes. The IVA process will be explained to you and you will be told what further information you will need to provide to proceed with your IVA proposal. Once you have returned the required information, an IVA will usually take between 7-14 days to get into place. You will be protected from creditors within this time, your advisor will provide you with documentation via email.
How long does an IVA last?
Most IVAs will last for a length of five years. The i v a will remain on your credit file for a period of six years and is placed on the Insolvency Register for that period. You can work out what date it will be removed from your credit file, it will be six years from the start date of the IVA term. So if the IVA started on 1 January 2000, it should be removed from your credit file six years from that date, which would be 1 January 2006. When you apply for an individual voluntary arrangement your Insolvency Practitioner (IP) will tell you if you qualify for an IVA, how long it lasts, how much it costs and provide you with any other debt advice which you may need.
How much will debt advice cost for an Individual Voluntary Arrangement?
The advice cost for individual voluntary arrangements is free of charge. Your I.V.A company will tell you if you qualify for an IVA. They will talk to you about your different debts, provide you with free debt advice and check if your creditors are likely to approve your proposal for your IVA for debt.
How does an IVA affect your life?
By taking out an IVA you may affect your overall financial position. You will not be allowed to take out credit for 6 years. You will struggle to get a mortgage or remortgage your existing property. It also may affect any future increase in earnings or windfalls you may receive, as these will need to be paid to your insolvency practitioner. Your insolvency practitioner will take control of your debts for this period, they will deal with all of your creditors and this is legally binding. That means you will not be allowed to take out any more debts whilst in the IVA.
Once the plan is completed, any debts which you accrue will be managed by yourself. Your ability to take out further debts in the future will not be impacted once the IVA has completed.
What is the IVA protocol?
The I.V.A protocol is a voluntary set of guidelines which your Insolvency Practitioner (IP) can sign up for which improves the efficiency of Individual Voluntary Arrangements. When you apply for debt advice, it is important that you understand the steps of the debt solution, so you can decide whether or not the solution is the best one for your circumstances.
How do I know if creditors will accept my IVA?
Generally speaking, most creditors will approve voluntary arrangements for unsecured debt. But some debts can not be included within one formal debt solution. Your Insolvency Practitioner will tell you how likely it is that your creditors will be willing to accept your proposal, based on the voting creditors.
Can I pay in one lump sum?
There are occasions when you may be eligible for a debt solution which is payable in a one off lump sum as a final settlement to your creditors. This is usually when the money is being gifted from some one else, or you have received inheritance or a windfall for example. With a one-off lump sum payment, the advice is usually the same as when you normally apply for an IVA. You wouldnt have to make regular payments into the solution, your IP can provide you with more advice on one off lump sum solutions for your debts. Your IP will provide you with more advice on the debt IVA and explain what is IVA to you.
Who regulates the debt industry?
At present the debt industry is not regulated. Some Insolvency Practitioners offices choose to sign up to the Insolvency Practitioners Association (IPA) or register with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). You can contact the IPA using the contact details or email address on their website. Your creditors do not regulate the debt industry and your creditors will not be able to impact any decisions which the IPA or FCA make. In our experience, the regulators will take assertive action on any advisers or businesses which do not comply with their strict codes of practice. To check if a person is regulated by the FCA, enter their name into the search box in the FCA website.
Should I use a debt charity?
There are thousands of companies which provide debt help in the UK. You may be looking for an alternative to a private company. You should know that charities usually pass their fee charging products to sister companies which charge fees and disbursements, just like private companies. So what you initially thought was a good option, on further analysis could be different to what you originally thought. Charities do have their part to play though. They can help you if you have a problem with your bank accounts, maintenance arrears, living costs, credit reference agencies, child support arrears, bankruptcy, assets, accountancy issues, mortgages, creditor issues, insurance providers, mobiles, your bank account, rates arrears, PAYE contributions or if you want to work out your expenditure. They can make sure that you speak to an adviser or supervisor and look at proposals to offer your lender. A petition has started with the possibility of a debate in parliament about how charities represent themselves and their services.
Which charities help with debt?
You can contact Money Advice Service, National Debtline, Step Change, Shelter or a combination of the three. Charities are particular useful for a low debt level under 1,000. If the debt is high (such as a debt value of 10,000 or more) you would usually seek an assessment from a professional adviser. If you do decide to use a charity to guide you, make sure you check their charity number and the registration number on their website to make sure you are content that their team can answer your questions in the right ways. A lot of clients of charities have a minimum debt level which does not meet the basis for an IVA, so you could always chat to a charity that is happy to act on your behalf for low debt levels.
Although an I.V.A could be the answer to your debt problem, its important to understand the monthly payment so call us on our free phone number. Anyone customers can receive expert feedback on their rights from debt charities, if they cant help they will usually point you in the director of firms which help with IVAs.
We are homeowners, will lenders see my proposal differently?
In some cases yes. In the majority of cases, if you are a homeowner you will not need to remortgage or take out any additional finances that will effect your property. You will need to sign a additional restrictions which remove your ability to take out additional credit tied to your property, which is something that is restricted once you are in an i.v.a. There are exceptions to this, such as when you have a lot of equity in your property/properties. If you own half of a property and another party owns the other half, only your equity will be affected.
If you are landlord and you are in a position of equity, your IP may review your trading position or business to make sure the figures in question are in order. This is usually the case if you have two or more properties, as sometimes the equity can be used to form a repayment to your creditors. But this usually depends on the amount of value built up in your properties.
Banks and building societies will not change the terms of your mortgage as long as a contribution is still being made for the duration of your arrangement. Your mortgage payments will be added to your expenses and accounted for within your budget, as long as you can provide evidence that you can afford to continue to make payments into your mortgage for duration of the plan.
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A Morganton man and habitual felon could serve up to 11 years in prison after pleading guilty to attempted insurance fraud.
On Tuesday, Superior Court Judge Yvonne Mims Evans, from Mecklenburg County, sentenced Danny Ray Brittain, 49, to between eight and 11 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to attempted insurance fraud and possession of methamphetamine. Brittains sentence was enhanced by his habitual felon status, which includes prior felony convictions in North Carolina dating back to 1984, according to a release from District Attorney David Learners office.
On May 22, 2014, deputies from the Burke County Sheriffs Office went to Brittains residence about a lead on a stolen car. Brittain was working on a car when they arrived, and officers noticed him knock a prescription pill bottle off the car hood in an attempt to conceal it, according to the District Attorneys Office. After getting the bottle from Brittain, officers found that it contained nearly 5 grams of methamphetamine, the release said.
On June 22, 2015, Brittain and a co-defendant contacted the Burke County Sheriffs Office to report a breaking and entering at their residence, saying $13,000 worth of televisions, tools and other electronic equipment had been stolen, the release said. They filed an insurance claim on a policy that had been purchased just five days before the reported crime. Detectives from Burke County and the North Carolina Department of Insurance started an investigation, and Brittan confessed the break-in was faked and the insurance claim was fraudulent, the release from the District Attorneys Office said.
Officer Caleb Mace of the Burke County Sheriffs Office and Special Agent Matthew Stemple of North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement investigated the drug case, and Detectives Robert Clifford and Melanie Robinson handled the insurance fraud case, the release said.
Chris Back and Frank Webster prosecuted the cases for the District Attorneys Office.
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Calyx Software, provider of mortgage solutions for banks, credit unions, mortgage bankers and brokers, recently appointed Bob Dougherty to the position of vice president of business development.
Dougherty has over 20 years of operational and business development experience in the mortgage industry. From his new position, Dougherty will be responsible for creating Calyxs overall partner strategy and building relationships with key mortgage industry influencers and vendors. Dougherty joins the software solutions partner from Merchants Bank in Winona, Minnesota, where he was vice president of mortgage operations and led the operational and secondary marketing functions for its mortgage banking division.
Were pleased to have a visionary and strategic leader like Bob join our team, said Dennis Boggs, executive vie president at Calyx Software. He has an excellent reputation as a highly effective team builder who can help improve customer experience and long-term loyalty.
Dougherty began his career in loan officer/management roles before holding various executive positions with Boom Brother Commercial Capital LLC, an intermediary consulting firm facilitating commercial financing for commercial/multi-family buildings, and Timberland Mortgage Services, a former lender and underwriter of residential mortgage loans, prior to joining Merchants Bank.
An industry group is urging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to rethink TRID, insisting that the rule is having an adverse effect on the mortgage market.
In a letter to CFPB Director Richard Cordray, the Association of Mortgage Investors said the Know Before You Owe rule is discouraging investors from investing in the mortgage market.
The recent evidence is that the Rule, while extremely well-intentioned, has resulted in a climate of legal uncertainty and is chilling private investment in the U.S. mortgage market, the AMI wrote. We urge the Bureau to open a new public comment period to address the concerns of mortgage investors. We seek formal written guidance clarifying the liability for violation of each individual TRID requirement, as well as the scope and applicability of TRIDs cure mechanisms.
The AMI stated that it was concerned primarily about the Rules impact and consequences, whether unforeseen, on mortgage availability and affordability. One of the associations greatest concerns about the rule was its perceived vagueness. The AMI demanded clarification on whether the statutory authority for each TRID requirement fell under TILA or RESPA.
Without clarification, investors will generally interpret the regulation in a strict manner, identifying any deviation from the rule as a material error that exposes an investor to full TILA liability, the letter stated. Generally, increased liability risk will result in additional costs that will ultimately be passed on to borrowers. We believe that it has already resulted in lower loan origination.
According to the AMI, the current uncertainty about the scope of the rule has a myriad of adverse consequences for the industry.
It is not simply the probability of a lawsuit or potential legal costs although those are certainly factors there is reputational risk; increased transaction and operational costs; and, post-crisis, there is little corporate tolerance for any legal or regulatory risks, the letter stated.
The negative impact of the rule was evident almost immediately after it went into effect in October, the AMI said.
Many such examples have been reported in the press. First, Moodys Investors Service recently reported that TRID compliance violations are running rampant among newly originated loans, the letter stated. Analysts also report that several third-party firms have reviewed a number of recent mortgage loans for TRID compliance and found violations in more than 90% of the loans. Second, origination volumes for November 2015 were markedly down, especially in California.
The association also fears an expansion of the rule in the future.
Some have stated that this is a minor concern because it only affects loans outside of the agency standards and that is currently a small market, the AMI wrote. But it could have an outsized impact on the origination of loans that do not meet agency standards. This means that it will particularly impact lending for borrowers with few other options. Eventually, we believe that even agency loans could also undergo scrutiny should they experience delinquencies. The GSEs at that point may decide to review TRID documentation and penalize lenders who made even small clerical errors in the disclosures. Therefore, how to handle TRID errors, the ability to make corrections, and how to reduce resulting liability will be issues that the industry will need to deal with in the years to come.
SHERMAN, Texas (AP) An ex-principal at a North Texas elementary school faces up to life in prison after being arrested at a mall for trying to solicit sex from someone he thought was a boy.
Oscar Figueroa of Carrollton was convicted Friday of coercion and enticement of a minor. The 47-year-old Figueroa remains in custody pending sentencing by a federal judge in Sherman.
PECOS, Texas (AP) A New Mexico man must serve 25 years in federal prison over a crime spree and gunbattle with law officers in Texas that left him wounded.
Enrique Sanchez Quiroga of Lovington, New Mexico, was sentenced Thursday in Pecos (PAY'-kuhs). He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to impede or injure officers, plus several firearms and assault-related charges.
Local organizations that serve abused and neglected children in Midland and Odessa have come together for the third annual Child Abuse Prevention Rally set for Thursday at Centennial Plaza. This year, though, theres a new element: Blue the Basin, a social media contest to raise awareness about child abuse and the lack of foster families in the Permian Basin, particularly Midland and Odessa.
April is national Child Abuse Awareness Month, which has blue as its designated color, so thats where Blue the Basin originated. Local entities that serve children decided to put on a monthlong contest during which community members can upload to Facebook pictures of themselves, their houses, their dogs -- pretty much anything -- dressed in as much blue as possible. Then, hashtag the photo #bluethebasin and the person whose post gets the most likes by the end of April will win $250, said Rhonda Dominey, recruitment director for High Sky Childrens Ranch.
Home Depot has partnered with local agencies and ordered blue porch lights so community members can light their houses in blue. One area foster mom plans to dye her hair blue for the month, Dominey said.
Bringing awareness brings it to light that there is child abuse in our community, said Kathy Harmon, marketing director for CASA of West Texas. With the rally and by wearing blue, were recognizing that children are abused every day. Helping to prevent child abuse can be accomplished through education, resources to families, etc.
At the rally, local agencies will provide resources and educational material about how to recognize child abuse, how to become a foster parent, how to seek help. There will also be free food, face-painting, live music and appearances by superheroes.
We hope that families will take advantage of learning about those services, and also that its just gonna be a fun evening to come out and enjoy, Harmon said.
Though the evening will be fun, the subject is serious. In 2015, Midland County had 325 confirmed cases of child abuse and/or neglect with 185 children in foster care or legal responsibility of the state, according to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.
Last year statewide, there were 66,721 confirmed victims of child abuse or neglect with approximately 47 children entering the foster care system each day, according to Texas DFPS.
Part of the goal for Blue the Basin is that the monthlong community contest will raise awareness about the extreme need for foster families in the Permian Basin.
Im hoping (#bluethebasin) gets the word out there about our need, how were having to place (more than half of) our children outside of their community, Dominey said. Theres over 376 kids in substitute care in Midland and Odessa and, of those children, 117 of them are from Midland. Ninety-four of those are placed outside of Midland because we dont have enough foster homes.
Nearly 60 percent of the children in foster care from Midland are placed outside of the area because of a shortage of foster parents, according to High Sky and CASA of West Texas.
You are being removed first from your parents, your siblings maybe, then your friends, then your school and then youre placed in a strange city, maybe as far as Lubbock, El Paso, Amarillo, Abilene, Dominey said.
CPS tries to place local children no further than 50 miles from their home community, but often that is impossible.
Midland and Odessa have had a shortage for as long as I can remember and I have worked in this business for the last 14 years, Dominey said. I think that people dont know about the need for foster parents and I think people are scared. They hear that its hard to become a foster parent, they think you have to be rich, you have to take a bunch of classes, so they dont even make the phone call. And I think people are scared of our children. So I think that the public is uneducated at times and so thats why we're trying to spread awareness.
Local agencies hope that Blue the Basin and the Child Abuse Prevention Rally together will help rectify that.
Have you heard the starfish story? said Molly Perriman, development director for High Sky. A little boy is walking along a starfish-covered beach where all the starfish have washed up. He keeps picking them up one by one and throwing them back into the ocean. An old man comes up and says, Why are you doing this? There are so many its not going to make a difference and theyre all probably gonna wash back up on the shore tomorrow. The little boy picks up another starfish, throws it into the oceans and says, It made a difference for that one.
So we're dealing with some big scary numbers here, where 56 percent of our kids brought into foster care are sent out of region, Perriman said. Its scary and intimidating, but when you break it down one at a time, you realize you can really make a difference for one kid -- and thats important.
- Morehead State softball hosts Eastern Kentucky in a pivotal three-game series this weekend. They will play at 1 and 3 p.m. ET on Saturday and then return to University Field to close the series on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.Seven games into conference play, both teams reside near the top of the standings. EKU enters the weekend at a perfect 7-0 in conference play, while the Eagles are in third at 6-1.The Eagles are coming off of a tough midweek sweep at Dayton that saw them allow five runs in two games, just one of which was earned.In their last 13 games (8-5), the Morehead State pitching has done their part, allowing just 20 earned runs in 92.2 innings. Their team era during that stretch is an impressive 1.51 and they have nine complete games.Freshmanhas thrown four of those complete games, two of which were shutouts, in her last six starts. During that stretch, she is 4-1 with a 0.98 era and has allowed 30 hits in her last 42.2 innings, while walking 11 and striking out 29.Sophomorehas five complete games in her last seven starts, one of which was a shutout. She is 3-4 with a 2.10 era during that span.Offensively, sophomore catchercontinues to lead the way for the Eagles. She leads the team in batting average (.413), runs (19), doubles (7), and total bases (55), and is tied for the team-lead with 31 hits. She ranks second with five home runs and third with 17 runs batted in.Juniorleads the team with six home runs and 22 RBI, while batting .325.
Mysteryland USA has begun to roll out its phase-two lineup for the festival's 2016 return to the original Woodstock stomping grounds in New York's Catskill Mountains. According to announcements on the ID&T-helmed event's Facebook and Instagram accounts, Lido, Ty Dolla $ign, Art Department and Kerri Chandler will join headliners Skrillex, ODESZA and Bassnectar at Bethel Woods on June 10-13.
Ty Dolla $ign is partying with us at #MLUSA this year! *gasp* A photo posted by Mysteryland USA (@mysteryland_usa) on Mar 30, 2016 at 12:34pm PDT
The addition of Norwegian future bass and trap producer Lido, Los Angeles hip-hop producer and "Wavy" rapper Ty Dolla $ign, Toronto-born deep house producer/DJ Art Department and New Jersey deep and future house legend Kerri Chandler is apparently only the beginning of the full phase-two lineup. More artists are to be announced via the festival's social media accounts in oming days, Thump reports.
The rolling lineup follows January's stacked phase-one lineup, which also features Zeds Dead, Tchami, GRiZ, Young Thug, The Chainsmokers, Gesaffelstein, Mija, Claude Vonstroke, MK, Gramatik and REZZ among others making tour stops at the party. Event coordinators have created a Soundcloud playlist highlighting artists playing this year, which you can listen to below.
Additionally, event organizers announced that Dancing Astronaut will be curating the always-epic Boat Stage on June 12. The Boat has traveled to all three international Mysteryland locations and is typically home to some of the more bass-heavy sets from hip-hop, future funk and trap artists. In its third year, the Boat will have a dragon-inspired design.
Mysteryland dates back to 1993 in the Netherlands and is known as the longest-running electronic music, culture and arts festival in the world. The first international edition of the event was held in Chile in 2011; Memorial Day Weekend in 2014 marked the event's inaugural stateside edition.
The festival has always focused on culture, art, talent, creativity and sustainability, and its third U.S. event will be no different. Watch for announcements regarding activities like meditation workshops, yoga and curated art installations in the coming months leading up to the event.
For tickets and other information, head to the event's website.
2015 MusicTimes.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Electronic pioneer and legendary producer Brian Eno recently announced that his forthcoming full-length solo studio LP, The Ship, is due out April 29th via Warp Records. Now, the UK artist has shared the 21-minute ambient title track off the new album. Stream "The Ship" here.
The title-track from Brian Eno's upcoming album, The Ship, is now streaming on Spotify https://t.co/2bOGaoS3FZ pic.twitter.com/JnIJ47P36i Brian Eno (@dark_shark) March 30, 2016
The myriad experimental, avant-garde electronic artists and genres Eno helped influence permeate the minimal, atmospheric new track. It notably features the artist's first vocal appearance since 2005, Dancing Astronaut reports. They kick in around the six-minute mark.
Eno, an acclaimed artist in many mediums, explained in a press statement: "the piece started as an Ambient work intended for a multichannel sound installation in Stockholm, but during the making of it I discovered that I could now sing a low C -- which happens to be the root note of the piece," Brooklyn Vegan reports.
He added: "Getting older does have a few fringe benefits after all. From that point the work turned into an unusual kind of song ... a type I've never made before where the vocal floats free, untethered to a rhythmic grid of any kind."
The Ship consists of just two really long songs. Eno explained in a press statement that the 2-part album is based on "experiments with three dimensional recording techniques" and "as much musical novel as traditional album," Fact reports.
The other half of the forthcoming album is "Fickle Sun," a tripartite composition featuring the British actor Peter Serafinowicz (Guardians of the Galaxy) reading a poem written by a Markov chain generator based on the prompt: "accounts of the sinking of the Titanic, some First World War soldiers songs, various bits of cyber-bureaucracy and warnings about hacking," Consequence of Sound reports.
"Fickle Sun" ends with a cover of The Velvet Underground's Lou Reed-penned song "I'm Set Free."
2015 MusicTimes.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Someone should sue the President for ...
Habitat For Humanity 2016, Kids help 'break ground' on their new home at Parrotts Ferry Village View Photos
Columbia, CA Even though it may sound like a bit of an April Fools Day spoof, 100 volunteers from Sonora Regional Medical Center (SRMC) will on Friday trade their X-ray machines and stethoscopes for builders tools.
Habitat for Humanity of Tuolumne County (HFHTC) spokesperson Betsy Harden reports that its Parrotts Ferry Village build site will be buzzing as the volunteer crew puts in a full work day in support of the four-unit project now underway that will become homes for local deserving families. As previously reported here, HFHTC anticipates completing this phase of construction by years end and continuing the current pace to finish the subdivisions 24 remaining units, four-per-year.
According to HFHTC officials, SRMC President and CEO Andrew Jahn approached them earlier this year to reserve a day, which requires a $10,000 donation. On Friday Jahn will bring the check and his full work crew in tow.
Clearly enthused at the prospect, Jahn remarks that HFHTC is doing an amazing job in the local community by helping meet an unmet housing need for underserved residents. Case in point, he states, We have employees who have benefited from Habitat For Humanitys ministry in this community. We see the tremendous impact they are making and we are really excited at being able to provide volunteer and service hours to help finish the four-build project they have going on this year.
HFHTC staff members plan to spend the day sharing about their work as they teach the clinicians some new skills in building. For Jahn, he says, This is an opportunity for me to watch, firsthandthe entire leadership team from the hospital all our directors and managers give a day of their time. I get to watch them on a daily basis use their skill to heal. This is an opportunity to watch their spirit to care.
The Other Kids Promo View Photos
Sonora, CA A highly anticipated film shot in Tuolumne County, featuring local students, is starting to make the rounds at film festivals.
The Other Kids is directed by San Francisco based filmmaker Chris Brown. It follows high school students in Tuolumne County and is designed to be a blend of fiction and nonfiction, where real students play versions of themselves in a constructed, fictional universe. The genre is referred to in the industry as a fictumentary.
The Other Kids successfully had its world premiere at the Cinequest Film Festival last month in Silicon Valley. They screened the film three times, and then awarded it with a fourth encore screening, Brown tells Clarke Broadcasting. There was so much demand for the premiere that they kept bumping us to bigger and bigger theaters, he adds. It was an amazing festival run. Now we are just looking to bring it across the country and to the world.
Brown started auditioning Sonora and Summerville High School students in late 2012 for the film, and shooting began in 2013.
The stars of the film, who were juniors and seniors at the time, are Savannah Bailey, Hunter Gilmore, Kai Kellerman, Sienna Lampi, Natasha Lombardi, Joe McGee, Isaac Sanchez, Baylee Self and Abby Stewart.
Brown, who grew up in the Bay Area, chose Sonora as the filming location because his grandparents had a cabin in the area, and he grew a fondness for the community.
Brown says he hopes the film will encourage more people, especially younger ones, to tell their stories. He adds, I hope young people will realize that what they are going through is important, and they are not alone in what they are struggling with. A lot of strength can be gained by just being honest about it and sharing their stories. Chances are if youre feeling it, about a million other people are feeling it, or have felt it.
Brown also wants to challenge the tradition sense of filmmaking. It was shot without a set script, and the actors were given freedom to explore the characters.
Theres sort of an industrial model that weve all been following for about a hundred years, and it has sort of worked, says Brown. But, I think features tend to be kind of boring and formulaic right now, and I think we need to rethink the stories we tell, and the ways we tell the stories. The goal [of the project] was to find amazing, dynamic people and develop the story with them.
The film itself is over 90 minutes. Brown credits several local entities for helping to make the project a reality and offering support. Among others, these include Sonora and Summerville High Schools, Tuolumne County Arts Alliance and Stage 3. Plans are in the works for a local premiere in Tuolumne County later this year.
Click here to view the trailer.
Intersection Of New Priest Grade and Old Priest Grade View Photos
Sonora, CA Tuolumne County transportation leaders are concerned about the high number of people that drive up New Priest Grade, become confused, and head down Old Priest Grade.
It also happens periodically with travelers heading down the grade, as they turn around and make a circle. Most motorists that make the mistake are unfamiliar with the area and are heading to or from Yosemite National Park. A Caltrans regional traffic safety branch manager investigated the issue and is making two recommendations. He proposes that an additional sign be installed heading eastbound towards the intersection (top of the grade), pointing out that New Priest Grade goes to Groveland and Yosemite. He also is recommending that a sign heading westbound towards the intersection be replaced with one that points out that New Priest Grade goes towards Sonora and Oakdale.
However, the proposal does not address the issue of people that are already on New or Old Priest grades and making the circle. It was recently discussed by the Tuolumne County Transportation Council and it will be on the agenda at next weeks Board of Supervisors meeting. The supervisors are scheduled to vote on requesting that Caltrans install three more signs, with the county agreeing to foot the bill. The cost of the signs is estimated to be $2,100. One would be at the bottom of the grade pointing out that New Priest Grade heads to Yosemite. Two would also be added at the top of the grade with one pointing residents to San Francisco/Modesto and the other towards Yosemite.
Tuesdays Supervisors meeting starts at 9am in the board meeting room.
A new state law aiming to help domestic violence survivors was applauded by supporters in Orange County Thursday afternoon.
The new law makes tampering with or cutting off a court-mandated GPS monitoring device a third-degree felony.
This is going to be something great for all of those women, all those children and in some cases even men that are abused," said Harbor House Director of Development Tekoa Pouerie.
According to Harbor House, there were 8,669 reported cases of intimate partner violence in 2014.
This empowers the women that we work with on a daily basis and this gives us an additional tool to tell them 'hey you can leave and youll be protected," Pouerie explained.
However, until the passage of the recent legislation, it was only a misdemeanor at best, if someone tampered with or removed a court-mandated GPS device.
Advocates said the new law empowers law enforcement to take immediate action to protect survivors of domestic violence without the need for additional approval from a judge.
It is critical that the victim be alerted immediately and it is critical that law enforcement be empowered to go after that person instantly," said Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs.
Anything short of that we literally are talking lives, so this no doubt is life-saving measure," Mayor Jacobs continued.
In addition to that, it allows the abuser to think twice before they abuse the survivor," Pouerie said.
The bill was sponsored by two Central Florida state lawmakers, Republican Senator David Simmons and Democratic Representative Victor Torres.
This has been an ongoing struggle to get this to happen but believe you me, its going to be worthwhile to protect our families and to make sure that this does not continue in Orange County or the State of Florida," Torres said.
Security procedures for Orange Countys Public Schools will stay as they are a day after two students were arrested for bringing a gun to school.
Students at Cypress Creek High School went through a seemingly normal day on Monday. But what most of them didnt know was that two classmates were filming themselves in a school bathroom showing off a loaded gun and posting the video to Snapchat.
They posed no threat at any time to our students or our campus, Dr. John McHale, Cypress Creek High School Principal said.
The loaded gun went undetected, and the 15 and 17-year-old boys appeared to be secretly bragging about the dangerous and illegal act.
They posted a picture of showing us that the gun was loaded, student Nicole Lobelo said.
In the Orange County Sheriffs Office incident report, that photo had a caption that read, Yall wouldve thought its a toy.
This is a good example of a bad decision, Bryan Holmes, director of Orange County Public Schools Police said.
Holmes oversees a task force consisting of six officers who conduct threat assessments throughout the district. This is the first school year that this program has been in place.
Were just glad that there was an intervention and a prevention in this case, Holmes said.
In this case, another student reported the video to a parent and law enforcement. School officials are praising the See Something Say Something campaign. But did the school polices social media monitoring software miss it?
It always seems like the electronic medium is one step ahead of everyone, Holmes said.
The district acquired the SnapTrends software to monitor media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram for more than 200,000 students in Orange County.
It does give some access to a post and things like that that might be a threat to students, Holmes said.
But some students dont think it will catch everything.
You cant stop what students do, student Frances Rivera said. I just hope I dont get hurt along the way.
So far this school year, 11 firearms have been confiscated throughout Orange County Public Schools, which is the same number as last year. Yet the number of BB guns found on campus are down from 6 to 2 this year.
One is too many, Holmes said.
The same day a gun was found at Cypress Creek High School, a students BB gun was confiscated at Olympia High School. That leads some students to wonder if more security measures should be taken.
I think we should get metal detectors, Lobelo said.
For now, school officials say they will continue to do conduct random safety screenings with wands and bag checks, but there are no plans to permanently add them to the mix.
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Commuter rail is officially heading to Osceola County.
The Florida Department of Transportation has given the "green light" for the next phase of the SunRail commuter rail line.
SunRail Phase 2 South will add 17 miles to the system, spanning from Sand Lake Road to Poinciana. Once complete, the southern expansion is expected boost the systems ridership, accommodating 2,000 additional passengers per day.
Four new train stations will also be added as part of the expansion: Meadow Woods Station in Orange County, and three stations in Osceola County, including the Tupperware station, downtown Kissimmee and the Poinciana area.
You start seeing the clearing that youre going to need to do at the station sites or along the corridor, FDOT spokesman Steve Olson said. Theres some utility relocation that we still need to do. And then you start getting into the construction and such. So its going to build over time.
City leaders in Kissimmee hope the stop will rejuvenate the downtown economy and bring new riders to Kissimmee. The SunRail expansion could also provide a low-cost transportation alternative for people who live in Poinciana and Kissimmee but work in Orlando.
The $1.3 billion SunRail currently operates along 31 miles from DeBary in Volusia County to Sand Lake Road in Orange County.
The April 2nd Friday will host People and Pets and Plainviews first Walk With A Doc program from 5-7 p.m. Friday, April 8, in Downtown Plainview.
Dr. Jessica Charest, OB/GYN at Covenant Hospital, will kick off Plainviews first Walk With A Doc program beginning at 5 p.m. at the Fair Theater, 717 Broadway. Walkers can enjoy a refreshing and rejuvenating walk with Dr. Charest and other health care professionals, who will provide support and answer questions during the walk.
We have all heard about the importance of exercise in our lives, but this particularly holds true for women, said Dr. Charest. Physical activity in women is so important in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, and breast cancer. What better way to get started on the right track than joining the community for a fun evening in downtown Plainview?
The Plainview Walk with a Doc program is part of a state-wide initiative funded by a grant from the Texas Medical Association Foundation with major support from the Texas Medical Association Insurance Trust. Walk With A Doc is a national non-profit organization whose mission is to encourage healthy physical activity in people of all ages, and reverse the consequences of a sedentary lifestyle in order to improve the health and well-being of the country.
Sponsored by the Texas Medical Association and Covenant Hospital Plainview, the Walk With A Doc program allows physicians to interact with their patients outside the office, where they can see their doctors practice what they preach. Whats discussed in the office is put in motion outside the office.
Its me and my patients, real-life in sweats together, just talking about health and well-being while were out getting exercise, said Dr. Charest.
Besides Walk With A Doc program, many downtown merchants will be featuring health screenings, dog merchandise and other events associated with the People and Pets theme. Broadway Treasures and The Blue Door will host Paws Pet Adoption. Pets will be available for people to play, walk and adopt.
Other 2nd Friday Events include:
--Blood Pressure Screenings at CCs Junque to Antiques
--Zumba will have a class in Millennium Park. New students get 10 percent off for April.
--Grumpys Grill will give a 10 percent discount for participants who walk or bring dogs downtown.
--Plainview Hale County Health Department will have cholesterol screenings at King Carpet Plus.
--Dirty Dog Pet Spa will be at The Rusty Rose Boutique selling customizable collars, specialty shampoos, clothes and other pet items.
--Furniture Decor & More will have Kyani samples.
Other downtown merchants will be open late including Cindys Country Quilt Shoppe, Furniture Expressions, Its a Girl Thing, Plainview Antiques and Collectibles, Hortons Antiques, The Radiant Lily, Uniques and Antiques, and The Vendor Mall at Turquoise Alley.
The Fair Theater will show Beethoven, which features a St. Bernard puppy. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. with the moving starting at 7 p.m. Tickets are $3 each and will be available at the door.
The show is rated PG and is 87 minutes long. Directed by Brian Levont, the cast includes Charles Grodin, Dean Jones, Bonnie Hunt, Nicole Tom, Sarah Rose Karr and Christopher Castile.
For more information about the Walk With A Doc program, contact Christine Cummins at 296-9300 or plainviewsurgical@suddenlink.net. For more information about 2nd Friday events and movie at the Fair, contact Melinda Brown at mbrown@plainviewtx.org or 806-296-1119.
LOCKNEY - Pauls Journey will be at the First United Methodist Church in Lockney on Sunday, April 10, at 10:30 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Entertaining, uplifting and ministry-minded are words often used to describe a Pauls Journey event.
Pauls Journey, a Chapel Valley Music recording artist on the Inspire label, is an award-winning group based in Houston. The ministry of Pauls Journey is in its 38th year and they have garnered many Top 40 Radio hits and awards through the years including the 2007 SGM FanFair Group of the Year. In 2012, Pauls Journey was nominated for Horizon Group of the Year and in 2013, 2014 and 2015 the group was chosen by Southern Gospel Music fans as one of the Top 5 New Traditional Quartets in the country.
Throughout its history, the powerhouse group has become known for its unique style and blend. The group performs at 200 dates per year across the United States and abroad.
Pauls Journey is comprised of Rod Treme, Matthew Esquivel, Brad Davis and Jamie Streetman. From up-tempo songs to heartfelt ballads, audiences of all generations, denominations and walks of life are recognizing the refreshing sound of Pauls Journey. Their high-energy performances and enthusiasm are captivating, contagious and spiritually uplifting.
They will perform at the First United Methodist Church in Lockney at both 10:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Sunday, April 10.
For information on the performance, contact 806-652-2193. For information on Pauls Journey and its ministry visit www.paulsjourneyonline.com or contact The Victory Agency, 936-689-1732.
If proponents can jump all the legal hurdles, Olton could be joining Lockney in a beer, liquor and wine election this spring.
According to the Olton Enterprise newspaper, which covers Olton, Springlake and Earth, a group of residents with the possible support of one convenience store and a push from another, is attempting to make Olton wet and are beginning the process of collecting signatures for a required application to begin a petition drive to call a liquor vote.
Before a city secretary can issue a petition to gather signatures, the Texas Secretary of State requires petitioners to first apply for the petition as well as provide proof of publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the political subdivision.
However, Olton Enterprise Publisher Phillip Hamilton stated in a recent article that his publication will not print the legal notice.
"Not in this newspaper," wrote Hamilton.
"We do not run alcohol-related advertising, including legal notice of an application for a petition to bring alcohol here."
Despite the promised blockade in the local newspaper, the pro-wet group could publish their required legal notice in the Plainview Herald, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal and in Littlefield's Lamb County Leader-News.
Lamb County is already partially wet with three precincts allowing the sale of beer, win, and liquor. Olton, Earth and Sudan are completely dry towns in Lamb, while Littlefield is completely wet.
In terms of collecting names, Hamilton said the law only requires 10 signatures of registered voters living in an area to start the application for a petition.
If signatures are collected and a legal notice is published as required for the application, then those for a wet Olton have 60 days to collect the required number of signatures for the petition. Olton's city secretary will determine the number of signatures required. Normally in other petitions, signatures are required of 35 percent of the registered voters in the affected area.
And if the petition gains enough signatures, then a local option for the legalization of alcohol can take place in Olton.
The legal notice must include names of those applying for the petition and specifics of whether the election will seek the sale of beer, wine, liquor or all of the above.
Hamilton said even though the paper will not publish a legal notice, he indicated that the Enterprise would publish names of those signing the application as well as anybody who consequently signs the petition.
"If they want to put their name on the application or sign a petition, they have every right to do so. But the newspaper has every right to publish every one of those names because they are public record," Hamilton wrote.
As of Thursday, Olton City Manager Marvin Tillman said there has not been an application submitted for the alcohol petition.
The Hale County grand on March 24 at the conclusion of its March session returned 19 felony indictments against 18 adults. The report was released this week by District Attorney Wally Hatchs office.
Following are the individuals indicted, charges, level of offense and bond as set by the presiding district judge:
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A former San Antonio television reporter pleaded guilty Thursday to a federal stalking charge.
Gabriel Robert Caggiano, a former reporter at the Channel 4 station then known as KMOL, entered the guilty plea after spending four months in jail in connection with the harassment of the CEO of the Witte Museum and her husband.
Caggiano told U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez that Caggianos father, a lawyer, advised him to plead guilty. Caggiano faces up to five years in prison when Rodriguez sentences him July 13.
In November, the judge revoked his bail after allegations surfaced that Caggiano threatened or harassed others and got kicked out of a substance-abuse treatment center after fondling himself in front of other people, including a child.
Caggiano used phone calls, voice mails, text messages, and social media to terrorize Hollis Grizzard and his wife, Marise McDermott, the Wittes CEO, after Caggianos termination in 2008 from KZTV in Corpus Christi, where Grizzard supervised Caggiano.
Court records said Caggiano repeatedly threatened to physically harm the couple and to send letters aimed at destroying McDermotts reputation.
When Caggiano was charged last year, it took time to find him in Los Angeles because he was homeless, prosecutor Sarah Wannarka has said.
He was fired in 1992 from KMOL, which later became WOAI, for a pattern of volatile behavior, according to San Antonio Express-News archives. A 1997 Austin Chronicle story reported that he was fired from KTBC in Austin that year.
Caggiano, who has worked for other stations around the country, pleaded guilty in Washington, D.C., in 2006 to assaulting a person while working at a TV station there, records show.
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Flanked by city leaders and standing before a throng of child advocates Friday, state Sen. Carlos Uresti performed what has become an ingrained April ritual: Speaking out on behalf of abused and neglected children in Bexar County.
Its national Child Abuse Prevention Month and, as happens every year, Uresti and others gathered to implore the community to step up and become part of the fight against the scourge of child maltreatment.
The script rarely varies from year to year we must collaborate, we must come together, we must protect children with only the dismal statistics changing. Here is the most recent tally: In 2015 in Texas, 66,721 children were victims of abuse or neglect. In the region that includes San Antonio, 7,498 children suffered that grim fate down from 8,012 in 2014, but still too high, Uresti said.
Thats enough to fill every seat in the Majestic Theatre twice, he said, standing on the steps of the Bexar County Courthouse.
There has been some progress in prosecuting offenders. District Attorney Nico LaHood, who made fighting child abuse the centerpiece of his political campaign, said his office is making inroads into going after the worst abusers, thanks in part to an increase in the number of special prosecutors from 14 to 22.
In 2014, there were 47 felony child abuse trials, with a 57 percent conviction rate, he said. Last year, his office prosecuted 87 such cases, with a 70 percent conviction rate.
The message is clear, we will not tolerate abuse and neglect, LaHood said. More than 90 percent of the time, the perpetrator is someone the child knows and trusts, he said.
On the legislative front, there was some progress, said Uresti, who formed a task force of various partners to fight child abuse in San Antonio after the starvation death of 4-year-old Jovonie Ochoa on Christmas Day in 2003. The boys death horrified the city and underscored the need for action.
The Texas Legislature during the past session poured millions of additional funding into child abuse prevention programs, he said, such as the Nurse-Family Partnership, which sends health care workers into the homes of at-risk families.
The recent court ruling by a U.S. district judge that seeks to reform Texas broken foster-care system, putting it under the guidance of two court-appointed special masters, will hopefully have a positive impact, Uresti said.
I hope the state of Texas steps up to assist (the masters) in that regard, he said before the news conference. When youve got kids sleeping in (child welfare worker) offices, which has been the story for decades, that speaks volumes. Yes, weve got a growing population, yes we have more awareness, more removals. But we have a legal and moral obligation to take care of these children. Theyre our kids.
Last year, the Childrens Shelter was unable to place more than 2,700 children in its foster-care program because of a critical shortage of licensed foster-care homes in Bexar County.
Judge Peter Sakai, who oversees the newly redesigned Childrens Court, said a growing focus on early intervention with troubled families, as well a pouring-on of services to those families that can still be helped, is also having a positive impact in Bexar County.
We are trying to get ahead of the curve, he said, standing next to an oversized photograph of Jovonie, whose shining gaze seemed to implore from the grave. But we must do more. We must be a voice for these children, Sakai said.
To learn more about Child Abuse Prevention Month, visit the task force website: www.sabrtf.com.
mstoeltje@express-news.net
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An insurance consultant pleaded guilty Thursday to a conspiracy charge, admitting he helped corrupt the selection process by which insurance companies were chosen at San Antonio and Edgewood independent school districts.
William Oliver Haff, 46, of San Antonio admitted that while working for the consulting company hired by the school districts Wortham Insurance and Risk Management he was also getting paid on the side by an insurance agent/broker so its clients would land contracts to provide employee insurance there.
Haff, who was secretly indicted in 2015, pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The case arose as part of a larger public corruption investigation by the FBI that could stretch to other districts in South Texas, records show.
Haffs plea paperwork said school districts already were paying him for his services under contracts that prohibited him from getting paid separately by any insurance provider or from revealing bid information to providers. He did both, according to plea documents, but it didnt harm the school districts, his attorney said.
With what were involved with, the school districts didnt lose any money, said Haffs lawyer, Anthony Cantrell. Were not ordered to pay back any money.
The plea documents said that, between March 13, 2008, and Feb. 16, 2010, Haff was paid $64,585 by Sam Mullen, who had been chief financial officer of the Mullen Pension and Benefit Group LLP.
In exchange, Haff provided Mullen and Josh Cerna, who was the vice president of strategic markets for the Mullen Group, information regarding the districts requests for proposals that was not available to competitors of the Mullen group. Mullen and Cerna, who are not charged in the case, couldnt be reached for comment Thursday.
Haff also regularly provided Mullen and Cerna information about upcoming school district requests for proposals and about the districts decision-making process, which competitors also didnt get, Haffs plea paperwork said.
Haff also sought to influence the boards of trustees for the districts to award contracts to clients of the Mullen Group by making formal recommendations, the documents said.
For instance, on July 14, 2008, Haff recommended to the SAISD board that the district award an insurance contract to H. Corp., one of the Mullen Groups clients. Mullen provided Haff with a check for $1,250 five days before Haff made the recommendation to the board, the plea deal said.
Wortham, the consulting firm, fired Haff in 2014, a lawyer for the company said.
Adam Cortez, the Mullen Groups lawyer, distanced the corporation from Sam Mullen and Cerna, who was a Harlandale Independent School District trustee during the period in question. Cortez said the pair have not been with the Mullen Group for some time. Mullens wife runs the company but she and Sam Mullen are divorcing and she was unaware of Haffs alleged nefarious dealings with her husband and Cerna, Cortez said.
All our negotiations are done ethically and in compliance with the law, Cortez said. We wont have it any other way.
In June 2014, SAISD changed its insurance consultant from Wortham to another company, district spokeswoman Leslie Price said. The district has changed its consulting company again since then, Price said.
This is the first weve learned of this, Price said Thursday. We certainly are going to look into it. Its very troubling to hear of this.
Eddie Rodriguez, an Edgewood trustee, said he had been unaware of the matter, but that it raises legitimate questions the board might want to get answered.
It would be something we need to look into, he said. How connected is Edgewood to all of this? Is anyone else involved?
Haff, who is out on bond, faces up to five years in prison when U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez sentences him on July 13.
gcontreras@express-news.net
Twitter: @gmaninfedland
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Faced with questions about how to relieve traffic congestion as San Antonios population grows, four local officials agreed: Something has to change.
At a town hall meeting on congestion Thursday at the University of Texas at San Antonio, the panel agreed that the city must embrace alternatives to highway expansion to move more people more efficiently. They also discussed ways to improve VIA Metropolitan Transits service.
The meeting, hosted by UTSA, the San Antonio Express-News and Time Warner Cable News, included VIA President and CEO Jeff Arndt, Leon Valley Mayor Chris Riley, San Antonio City Councilman Rey Saldana and Bexar County Commissioner Kevin Wolff. Francine Romero, associate professor and associate dean of the UTSA College of Public Policy, moderated the discussion.
The panelists began by discussing the Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organizations recent decision to include high-occupancy vehicle lanes as part of an expansion of Interstate 10 between Loop 1604 and Ralph Fair Road on the Northeast Side. Some of the organizations board members questioned whether the lanes, reserved for transit and cars with more than one occupant, would provide the most efficient means of moving commuters through the corridor.
Im glad that were taking this step and, unfortunately, you had to have courage and be brave to get this through the MPO, Saldana said.
A plan to expand U.S. 281 between Loop 1604 and Borgfeld Drive also includes HOV lanes, which are meant to promote transit and carpool use by providing a way around main-lane congestion. Arndt said HOV lanes, which Houston and Dallas began building years ago, would work best if they connected to others throughout the city.
These small segments in the outer portion arent going to be nearly as useful as they could be until we can bring them into downtown, he said.
Saldana said such a network could play a role in bolstering VIAs service, which is mainly funded with sales tax revenue. He is chairman of a committee that is working to find more funding options for the agency.
VIA plays a major role in the citys multimodal transportation plan, which it is now developing. That could also include rail service, though an idea to implement a passenger rail line known as LSTAR between San Antonio and Austin recently suffered a setback when Union Pacific pulled its tracks from a proposed route.
LSTARs leadership, the Lone Star Rail District, has said it is considering ways to implement the plan without UP. Wolff said the setback should be seen as an opportunity to develop a more feasible route.
Saldana said other ideas for rail service would likely face political resistance in San Antonio, but he emphasized the need to think outside the highway system. The city already has too little funding to address all its transportation needs, he said, and its population continues to grow.
What do we do with a finite amount of resources so were not doing what weve always done? he said. If we continue along this path, well be a city left in the dust.
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SAN ANTONIO Bexar County Sheriffs Office investigators are trying to figure out what led to the gruesome stabbing death of a man in Northeast Bexar County Thursday night, allegedly at the hands of his own stepson.
Michael Lopez, 25, was initially detained for questioning after authorities discovered the body of his stepfather inside a home in the 4500 block of Bexley Trail around midnight.
SEE ALSO: Former San Antonio TV reporter pleads guilty to stalking
BCSO spokesman James Keith said investigators were able to gather enough evidence from interviews with Lopez and other family members to arrest him on a murder charge Friday morning.
Keith said Lopez's mother went to a Whataburger at U.S. 281 and Evans Road around midnight with Lopez and made contact with a San Antonio Police Department officer.
Keith said she told the officer that she believed that her husband had been killed, and that he was at their home in Bexar County.
BCSO deputies called to check out the residence found the man dead in a bedroom.
RELATED: Central Texas deputy who was drunk on duty with bottle of vodka in cruiser resigns
Keith said he had been stabbed several times.
This man died a very horrific death, Keith said. Its hard to imagine what would motivate somebody to take this kind of action to end another persons life.
Keith said the victim had been stabbed so many times, that it was difficult to tell exactly how he had been killed.
RELATED: Mexican businessman indicted in San Antonio on drug trafficking conspiracy charges
Initially there was some thought that he may have been shot because of the severity of the injuries. This was a very gruesome crime scene, Keith said. It took the Medical Examiner coming out and reviewing the body to actually determine that the cause of death appeared to be from stab wounds."
Investigators are still working out the details of what led up to the slaying, but Keith said authorities do not believe the mother was inside the home at the time of the killing.
SEE MORE: City sends $349,000 to fraudulent account
Its our belief that she somehow made contact with her son outside of the home. They ended up at the Whataburger, (and) at that time, thats when she started putting things together, Keith said.
mdwilson@express-news.net
Twitter: @MDWilsonSA
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Chicago police are trying to figure out whether a video showing what appears to be a man getting shot multiple times on Thursday is authentic, according to media reports.
RELATED: Video: North Texas police officer fatally shoots man holding knife in Western apparel store
The video, circulated on Facebook and Twitter, shows a man talking and smiling in front of a convenience store while apparently live-streaming a video on Facebook.
The man glances toward the street as a figure appears to emerge from a car, shots ring out and the camera falls to the ground.
Damn he
A man holding a gun then appears in the frame and fires multiple shots.
RELATED: Three women arrested in South Carolina following bikini brawl caught on video
Chicago Police Department spokesman Officer Veejay Zala told The Chicago Tribune that officers are "working to validate the authenticity of the video."
The Associated Press reported that the man, 31, is under sedation in a Chicago Hospital.
According to the Tribune, the victim was shot in the face and groin.
RELATED: 'Please don't shoot me,' pleaded Texas man before fatal Arizona police shooting
jfechter@mySA.com
Twitter: @JFreports
I would like to personally thank Charlie Rose, the wonky, late-night talk show host, for saying these words on broadcast TV last week: 13 million Hispanics are expected to vote in the 2016 presidential election, but as we saw in Tuesdays primaries, they wont all say the same thing. Lumping Latinos into one monolithic voting bloc is one of the many myths perpetuated about them.
Amen and hallelujah.
Rose gave that stereotype-busting introduction to a segment about the Latino Donor Collaborative, a nonprofit that is working to get an accurate portrayal of Latinos out into a media that tends to lump all Hispanics together.
Its important that Rose made the simple declaration at the outset instead of letting one of his guests an esteemed lineup of Sol Trujillo, the collaboratives founder and chairman; Aida Alvarez, the chair of the Latino Community Foundation of San Francisco; and Henry Cisneros, former San Antonio mayor and secretary of housing and urban development say it.
Actually, Trujillo, Alvarez and Cisneros have been trying to eradicate the myth of the monolithic Latino voting bloc for years as have I and other Latinos who even have the opportunity to speak out about the topic. But it seems that when such information comes out of the mouths of Latinos themselves, it doesnt get much traction.
Or is it that Latinos who speak out are too often in the sad position of communicating almost exclusively with themselves other Hispanics because the media environment has gotten so fractured that the Hispanic news is segregated from the mainstream?
News websites and podcasts such as Latina Lista, NewsTaco and many others are well-known to Hispanic audiences but off the radars of just about everyone else.
So while Latinos themselves know that most of their population is neither immigrant, nor unlawfully present, when an expert like Cisneros goes on Roses show and says that only about 16 percent of the entire Hispanic population is unlawfully present compared to most peoples assumptions that about half are here illegally one can imagine millions of non-Hispanic eyebrows ascending in surprised unison.
Lets hope so because most non-Hispanics get this one wrong.
For instance, Suzanne Gamboa, a senior writer at NBC.com, whose work is most prominently displayed on the Latino section of the site, recently noted how Bernie Sanders painted Latinos with too broad a brush during his concession speech in Arizona.
There was a quote from Sanders ... where he said I think Latinos want to come out of the shadows and I know what he meant, I know he was talking about [unlawfully present] immigrants, said Gamboa during an episode of In The Thick, a Latino political podcast. But ... I wanted to say, You know what? We need to remember that not all Latinos are immigrants and not all Latinos are here illegally. It doesnt help to say these kinds of things and to stereotype us over and over again that way.
So, once more for the record: The Pew Research Centers Hispanic Trends Project says that there are nearly 54 million Hispanics living in the U.S. and 64.8 percent of them were born here. Millions more are immigrants who reside legally.
Quartz magazine, a digitally native news outlet ... for business people in the new global economy, recently posted a piece that hopefully made many non-Latino light bulbs go on.
It spelled out the intricacies about how little many Latinos have in common with each other. Quartz quoted demographer Roberto Suro: If you start with all the ways the Latino electorate can be subdivided into distinct groupings age, generation, origins, etc. and then you add the difficulties of explaining the politics of some 10 million voters with a simple label, you have to ask whether the idea of a voting bloc is really useful in a country as big and complicated and this year, as unpredictable as the United States.
Being neatly packaged as a single voter bloc isnt actually necessary. What Hispanics need is acknowledgment, respect and support in getting to the polls its really not rocket science.
estherjcepeda@washpost.com
Re: Twilight for the general, Monday, front page:
When I read that Gen. Richard Cavazos mind is now ravaged by dementia, I could think only that this brilliant soldier-leader simply used it up serving his country.
I had the honor of serving with him in the 1st Infantry Division (The Big Red One) in 1967-68. Gen. Cavazos was a lieutenant colonel at the time, commanding the divisions 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry. No officer in the division was more respected and feared by the Viet Cong; no officer in the division was more respected and beloved by his troops.
In the years that followed, as he rose to the highest ranks, he never forgot the soldier. There are many of us who think he should have been chief of staff of the Army.
Well done, General.
Retired U.S. Army Col. Jon D. Kindred, Bandera
Union tactics
Re: Union misleads on suggestions in report, Brian Chasnoff, Tuesday:
Is there any way the city or taxpayers can have a no confidence vote against Mike Helle and the leaders of the San Antonio Police Officers Association? They are going after the wrong people (Police Chief William McManus and City Manager Sheryl Sculley) for the wrong reasons and refuse to compromise. Their blockheaded tactics and ads on the radio are misleading, irresponsible and downright annoying. I wonder how much they paid for all that airtime.
LaVerne Welborn
Support for chief
Re: McManus refuses to turn in his badge; Chief considers union vote illegitimate, front page, March 25:
Good for the chief. The union leaders should be ashamed; their actions are selfish and could prove dangerous to San Antonio. What the rank and file should do is a vote of no confidence in their union leaders.
Sandra Scott, Schertz
Serving students
Re: Enormous potential at Alamo Colleges, Editorial, March 25:
Bravo! The Editorial Board seems to understand that Alamo Colleges faculty and staff are dedicated to academic excellence and career counseling, not higher salaries for administrators, more vice presidents, more new buildings and definitely not the weakening of the curriculum.
Janice Clayton, retired English professor, San Antonio College
Targeting Muslims
Has the entire Republican Party lost all common sense? Where is the voice of reason in this party?
Donald Trumps anti-Muslin rhetoric is bad enough, but Ted Cruz has taken that a step further. There is no justification to increase surveillance of U.S. Muslims. The government has no business patrolling and securing Muslim neighborhoods. Every Muslim is not a potential terrorist.
I have been a lifelong Republican, but I do not want to be associated with a party that is marginalizing an entire ethnic group based on the actions of a radical minority. History is repeating itself. Muslims are being treated the same way people of German and Japanese descent were treated during World War II.
Janie Harrison
Path of paranoia
It is now suggested that we patrol Muslim neighborhoods. American Muslims shop with us. They serve in our military. They are police officers. What is wrong with us to suggest such scrutiny of our neighbors? Should we start such a path of paranoia, we may create a situation we dont want.
Closing our borders for a time is feasible. But not only to one group. All new entries. And only temporarily.
Lucy Patterson, Spring Branch
Devil you know
Re: Congress ramps down, Editorial, March 24:
I concur that Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland should be given a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee and an up-or-down vote on the Senate floor. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell should reconsider his bet the farm stance to deny a hearing, for if a Democrat wins the election, a true flaming liberal will likely ensue as the nominee in January.
Garland is an erudite jurist of moderate leanings, and he is wholly qualified to sit on the Supreme Court. Better to confirm the devil you know than the devil you dont. And if the Republicans win in November, Garland is a lot like the kind of judge Donald Trump would nominate smart, Ivy League, moderate, pro-business, anti-crime and Anglo male.
Lets have a hearing and call the vote.
Gregory A. Nussel
Why welcome mat?
Re: 2 S. Texas reps seek Cuban immigrant law repeal, Metro, March 24:
Its about time someone had the guts to do something. I dont think the law ever made sense and even less so now. What are they running from; what do they need to be rescued from? If we dont think we should help people running from real violence, why should we help Cubans simply because there are restrictions on free speech or their supermarkets are not as well stocked as ours? Many Central Americans would rather live in Cuba despite its restrictions so they can be safe.
Frank Bent, Schertz
Clinton untouchable
Re: Ag commissioner wasted your money, Editorial, Sunday:
Your editorial smacking down Sid Miller for using taxpayer money on a personal trip summed it up well: The trip was small, but the issues are big.
It made me think of Hillary Clintons personal email server situation, which too many naively call small. Ask anyone whos ever held even the lowest U.S. government security clearance level; they can tell you a document declares itself sensitive by its content. If this former secretary of state didnt have the savvy to recognize classified material just because it wasnt marked, shes dumber than shes playing. If she knew it was classified and didnt safeguard it, she should be prosecuted, as all other clearance-holders would be.
Why nothings been done can be explained only by her last name, since apparently all Clintons are untouchable when it comes to legality and ethics. Why?
Linda Zedler Talley
My druthers would be not to have to again turn the focus on Andrew Bowden, particularly since the matter at hand may be the result of his senior management ignoring his advice. But if individuals and firms are not held accountable for questionable conduct, things will never change for the better.
Readers may recall that Andrew Bowden looked like a potential hero of financial reform who turned out to have feet of clay. He gave a brutal speech, by regulators standards, in May 2014, describing how more than half the firms in private equity were effectively stealing from investors or engaging in other serious compliance abuses. But distressingly, mere months later, Bowden was walking his bold talk back even though it was inconceivable that there had been any meaningful change.
In March of last year, at a conference at Stanford Law School, in the Q&A section, Bowden not only made fawning remarks about private equity profits and returns, which is a violation of agency rules (officials are prohibited from endorsing investments) but worse, said hed really like his son to work in private equity. The questioner shot back, Id love to hire your son, by the way. Thats a deal. Even though this exchange could be depicted as friendly banter, it was way too close to looking like soliciting a bribe.
Three weeks after we broke that story, The SECs Andrew Bowden: A Regulator for Sale?, Bowden resigned.
Ironically, yesterday the day that the SEC officials again visited the visited Stanford Law School. And yesterday was the day that David Sirota reported that the company at which Andrew Bowden is now genera counsel, Jackson National Life Insurance (Jackson), is under the hot lights for their statements about pending regulatory reform. The reason Elizabeth Warren called for a probe of Jackson, along with three other insurers, is that their bleating to regulators about how proposed rules would ruin their business contradicted what they told investors. SEC rules prohibit making misleading or false statements.
From Sirota:
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Thursday requested a formal Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into four financial firms, asking the agency to evaluate whether they violated securities laws in an effort to thwart a federal initiative aimed at protecting investors. At issue is the Obama administrations proposed rule that would require financial firms to put customers interests ahead of their own when advising them on investment decisions In her letter to SEC Chairwoman Mary Jo White, Warren notes that as part of their pushback against the proposed rule, financial firms have filed official comment letters with the Department of Labor registering their opposition to the proposal, and asserting that it would harm their business. But the Massachusetts Democrat argues that the statements of opposition in some firms letters conflict with other statements in which they downplay the effect of the rule on their enterprises. Jackson National Life Insurance Company President James Sopha told the Labor Department that the fiduciary rule would be very difficult, if not impossible for financial professional and firms to comply with and that firms would be unable or unwilling to afford the high compliance costs that would come with it. The next month, though, the head of National Lifes parent company, Mike Wells, told investors that Jackson would benefit from the rule. He said: My view on this DOL issue is, we will weather it well. Well come out on the other side, advantaged again. And Jackson has the capabilities, relationship, distribution, to build whatever product is appropriate under that set and adapt faster and more effectively than competitors.
Some may see Warren as caviling, but in fact public companies have been dinged for making inaccurate statements about proposed regulations. Again from the article:
Ann Lipton, a Tulane University Law professor, noted that regulatory matters in particular have been an issue when it comes to legal questions about false statements. Companies have gotten into trouble in the past by falsely saying that regulatory proposals werent going to have an effect, and if thats whats going on here, the company could be opening itself up to serious liability, Lipton told IBT.
The grey issue here is whether these false statements rise to the level of being securities fraud. The test is whether investors would be likely to consider the information as significant in making an investment decision. In the case of Jackson, its parent is the British Insurer, Prudential PLC. While Jackson is one of the biggest life insurers in the US, it is not the biggest subsidiary of Prudential PLC. So the question becomes whether this issue would be material to Prudential Investors.
The statement of the head of the parent, Mike Wells, suggests that investors do consider it to be material. First, enough analysts are apparently asking that he felt he had to address the issue. Second, his statement was not along the lines of, Look, it would be better for everyone in the industry from an economic perspective not to be subject to this rule, but from the perspective of all of our international activities, we dont think this will have a meaningful EPS impact either way.
And what does this say about Bowden and Jackson? Its inconceivable that Bowden, as a former SEC senior officer, did not draft the letter to the SEC objecting to the proposed fiduciary duty requirement. Indeed, helping Jackson fight that rule was almost certainly a major, if not the, reason for him being hired. And as weve pointed out, the revolving door has come to entail industry getting its hands on top experts who have insight into the inner workings of agencies in order to vitiate and minimize the impact of regulation. So narrowly speaking, Bowden did exactly what he was hired to do.
So we have some open questions. The execs at the parent company could not discuss the implications of the pending rule change with investors without getting input from the sub. One would also think the legal team at the parent would be aware of Jacksons strategy with the SEC, at least on a general basis. So this looks likely to be the parent choosing to blow off SEC requirements in talking up its stock to investors; they are unlikely to have involved Bowden directly in preparation of the investor remarks. But the fact that no cared to work this issue through more carefully speaks volumes about the culture at Prudential PLC. If Jackson says in all seriousness, that (horrors) having their agents be subject to a fiduciary duty would wreck their business, and theres no reason to think that Bowdens letter does not represent what Jackson management believes, then how can anyone, most important the SEC and customers, believe the parents pious claim that Jackson adopt the new rules with alacrity and enthusiasm, even if only to get a competitive advantage? Bowdens letter reveals the course of most profit is to find clever ways to skirt the new regs instead.
In the stone ages of my youth, public companies, particularly those in regulated industries, accepted that theyd have to navigate through the rules or get them changed rather than ignore them and see if anyone would sanction them. Even worse, former regulators are actively enabling this behavior. As we showed last year, there are plenty of examples of ex-SEC officials who are openly contemptuous of the agency and are helping to promote a culture of lawlessness. So Warrens persistence in naming and shaming is an effort to move public opinion and create a powerful counter to this concerted effort to define deviancy down.
By C.P. Chandrasekhar, Professor of Economics, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and Jayati Ghosh, Professor of Economics and Chairperson at the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Cross posted from Triple Crisis
Much has been made of how there has been a substantial shift in the balance of economic power between the advanced capitalist economies (or the North) and some economies of the global South. It is true that very recently the hype surrounding emerging markets has died down, as international capital flows have swung away from them and many of them have shown decelerating growth or even declines in income as global exports fall. Nevertheless, the feeling persists that in spite of a supposedly resurgent US economy the advanced economies are generally in a process of relative decline, while the developing world in general and certain economies in particular have much better chances of future economic dynamism. And this process is generally seen to be the result of the forces of globalisation, which have enabled developing countries, especially some in Asia, to take advantage of newer and larger export markets and improved access to internationally mobile capital to increase their rates of economic expansion.
Chart 1
But how significant has this process actually been?
In fact, there has definitely been some change over the past three and a half decades, but it has been more limited in time than is generally presumed. Chart 1 plots the share of the advanced economies in global GDP in current US dollar prices, calculated at market exchange rates. (Data for all the charts have been taken from the IMF World Economic Outlook October 2015 database.) This shows that the share of advanced economies declined from around 83 per cent in the late 1980s to around 60 per cent now, which is really quite a substantial decline. However, the bulk of this change occurred in a relatively short period: the decade 2002 to 2012, when the share dropped from 80 per cent to 62 per cent. The periods before and after have shown much less variation, and indeed, the share seems to have stabilised at around 61 per cent thereafter.
Chart 2 looks at the obverse of this process the change in the shares in global GDP of the major developing regions, with China treated as a separate category on its own. This shows a somewhat more surprising pattern, because it indicates that the dominant part of this shift is due to the increase in Chinas share, which rose from around 3 per cent to more than 15 per cent. Once again, this happened essentially during the decade after 2005, when the share of China in global GDP at market exchange rates jumped by more than ten percentage points. Indeed, the change in Chinas share alone explains 87 per cent of the entire decline in the share of the advanced economies in the period 1980 to 2015. Considering only the last decade, that is after 2005, the relative increase in Chinas GDP accounts for a slightly lower proportion of the change, at 67 per cent which is still hugely significant.
Chart 2
The change in shares of other regions provides some interesting insights. The Latin American region experienced a medium term decline in relative income share over the 1980s (the lost decade), recovered somewhat in the 1990s before declining once again in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The global commodity boom of 2003 onwards was associated with a revival in the regions economic fortunes and the share of the region increased from 5 per cent in 2003 to more than 8 per cent in 2011, but thereafter it has stagnated and fallen with the unwinding of that boom.
The income share of the MENA region (Middle East and North Africa) appears to be very strongly driven by global oil prices, with sharp peaks in period of high oil prices and stagnation or decline otherwise, and over the entire period there has been a stagnation in income share rather than any increase. An even more depressing story emerges for Sub Saharan Africa, which showed decline in income share for a prolonged period between 1980 and 2002, and subsequently a slight recovery (from 1.1 per cent in 2002 to around 2 per cent in 2012 and thereafter) that was still well below the share of more than 3 per cent in 1980.
The only developing region that shows a clear increase is developing Asia, which in this chart excludes China to clarify the respective significance of both. But the increase in the income share of this region (minus China) has been much less marked than that for China, and most of it occurred after 2002, as the income share rose from 3.5 per cent in 2002 to 6.4 per cent in 2015.
Chart 3
Chart 3 indicates the changes in shares of the largest Asian developing countries other than China. It is evident that in terms of increasing share of global GDP, India has been the most impressive performer over the past decade in particular, with its share increasing from 1.8 per cent in 2005 to 3 per cent in 2015. Note, however, that this is still tiny in comparison to China, and indeed, just the increase in Chinas share over that decade has been more than three times of Indias aggregate share. South Koreas share has also increased, mostly over the 1980s and early 1990s, while Indonesias share increase occurred mostly during the commodity boom of the 2000s.
In terms of per capita GDP, however, the Indian performance looks much less impressive than those of the major Asian counterparts. Interestingly, even the Chinese experience appears not as sharply remarkable, although still hugely better than that of India. Chart 4 tracks the movements of per capita GDP, measured now in Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) exchange rates rather than market rates. There are numerous problems with the use of the PPP measure, but for current comparative purposes it does provide some kind of indicator. This shows that by far the most impressive performance in terms of increasing per capita GDP has been in South Korea, followed by Malaysia. India shows the least improvement among these five economies, despite its apparently more rapid increase in terms of share of world GDP in the last decade.
Chart 4
Overall, therefore, while the world economy has changed over the past three decades, this change should not be exaggerated for most developing regions, or even for most countries in what is apparently the most dynamic region of Asia.
Nanostructures made from DNA: Daisy chain rotaxanes as molecular bearings (Nanowerk News) In order for a machine to perform work, it needs parts that move relative to each other. This also holds true for nanoscale machines. German scientists have now used DNA molecules to make a nanoscale component that makes it possible for two individual parts to move relative to each other. As reported in the journal Angewandte Chemie ("Daisy Chain Rotaxanes Made from Interlocked DNA Nanostructures"), this component could be used as a molecular guide bearing and may form the basis for more complex systems.
Nanostructures made from DNA - Daisy chain rotaxanes as molecular bearings. ( Wiley-VCH)
DNA is an excellent material for the nanoscale: It forms a very stable framework and additional components can be attached at any desired location by the removal of one strand for use as an attachment site. Addition of functional groups is also no problem. It is thus possible to build complex systems from DNA molecules.
The team headed by Michael Famulok at the University of Bonn has chosen to build their moveable components as rotaxanes. These are a class of molecule in which one or more molecular rings are threaded onto an axis. They can move freely along and around the axis and are prevented from slipping off by stoppers. If the DNA rings themselves are bound to the end of an axle, the rings can be threaded onto a second axle and vice versa. In this case, the stoppers consist of two mutually entwined DNA rings with a spherical shape. After attaching stoppers to the free ends of the axles, the researchers obtained two interwoven, dumbbell-shaped structures that can move freely along the axles. This allows the two dumbbells to be pushed toward each other linearly along the axles. Daisy chains are formed in a similar way, so these special rotaxanes are also known as daisy chain rotaxanes.
How do the researchers thread the two DNA molecules together? To achieve this, Famulok and his co-workers turned to specific base pairing. Both in the middle of the axles and at one location on the edge of the ring, they left a gap of single-stranded DNA. The sequences of these single strands are complementary to each other. When the single-stranded regions of the ring and axle come into contact with each other, they bind to each other, gluing the rings and axles of two molecules together. If short, single strands of DNA complementary to these regions are then added, this sticking point between the axle and ring is released, allowing the ring to slide along the axle.
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DeAngelis Diamond promoted Chris Curran to preconstruction manager.
Jeff Scott has joined South Florida Architecture.
Aloia, Roland & Lubell PLLC said attorney Danielle Levy-Seitz has joined the firm.
Soukup Strategic Solutions has added Erika Kiah to its team as a junior associate.
Events
The David Lawrence Center Young Executives in partnership with Gulf Coast Runners will host the Third Annual Beach Bum 5k fun, family friendly run/walk at 6:30 p.m. April 15 at Lowdermilk Park in Naples with registration beginning at 5:30 p.m. Information: 239-304-3505; DavidLawrenceCenter.org
New program
The Lee County Economic Development Office's newest program, LEARN (Lee Entrepreneurs' Assistance Resource Network), begins 8:30 a.m. April 22. at Harborside Event Center. LEARN's mission is to bring together businesses and entrepreneurs with supporting organizations to promote the establishment, retention and expansion of businesses in Lee County. Information: snewcomb@leegov.com
Honors
The Conservancy of Southwest Florida was recognized with three ADDY Awards: two gold awards under the Sales & Marketing category for Special Event Material with the Magic Under the Mangroves invitation and campaign; a silver award under the Online Interactive category with the Magic Under the Mangroves web banner.
Two Florida SouthWestern State College faculty and staff members have been named winners of the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development Award: Dr. Russell Swanson, philosophy professor, and Brenda Hussey, staff assistant, FSW Charlotte Campus.
To submit your business news directly online, go to naplesnews.com/BIZwire or email news@naplesnews.com.
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By June Fletcher of the Naples Daily News
For investors, the bloom is off the orchid when it comes to buying rental homes, a new report said.
"Southwest Florida is past its prime when it comes to acquiring single family homes as rentals," said Daren Blomquist, vice president of RealtyTrac, which released a report Thursday ranking the best places to buy residential rentals nationwide in this year's first quarter.
Using government data and its own databases, the Irvine, California-based research company ranked counties nationwide based on the potential annual gross rental yield, which is annualized monthly rent divided by the median home price.
Out of 448 counties analyzed, Lee County ranked low at 324.
Its potential returns were 7.7 percent in the first quarter, down from 9 percent in the year-ago quarter.
Blomquist called the first-quarter returns "decent," but noted "those returns are about one-third of what they were for investors acquiring single family homes as rentals in 2010 and 2011, which both offered potential returns of more than 21 percent annually."
At 436, Collier County ranked even further down the list.
Annual gross rental returns were only 4.6 percent in the first quarter; down from 4.8 percent a year earlier.
"Collier County has always been a tougher sell for investors looking for single family rentals because of its higher home prices," said Blomquist.
He expects the low potential returns will likely discourage many investors from considering Collier County.
Home prices are rising fast throughout Southwest Florida, Blomquist added, "which is probably bad news for those renters who want to transition into homeownership."
Median single-family home prices for rentals jumped 14.4 percent in Lee County over the year, to $199,000 from $174,000.
Meanwhile, in Collier County they were up 11.1 percent, to $388,750 from $350,000.
One bright spot for Lee County renters, Blomquist noted, is that heady gross returns in previous years attracted enough investors to boost the supply of single-family homes for rent.
This has helped push down rental costs, he said.
In fact, monthly rents for a three-bedroom place actually dropped 2 percent over the year, to $1,277 from $1,303 in Lee County.
And with average weekly wage growth up 3.1 percent in Lee during that period, rents are not out of reach.
It's a different story in Collier County.
There, the shrinking supply of rental homes coupled with high home acquisition prices pushed up monthly rents for a three-bedroom 5.9 percent, to $1,479 from $1,396.
With weekly wage growth of only 1.1 percent, rent growth is outpacing wage growth in Collier County, Blomquist said.
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WASHINGTON After dozens of contests featuring cliffhangers, buzzer-beaters and a ton of flagrant fouls, we're down to the Final Four: Sanders, Clinton, Cruz and Trump. (If Kasich pulls a miracle, he'll get his own column.) The world wants to know: What are their foreign policies?
Herewith, four candidates and four schools: pacifist, internationalist, unilateralist and mercantilist.
1. Bernie Sanders, pacifist
His pacifism is part swords-into-plowshares utopianism, part get-thee-gone isolationism. Emblematic was the Nov. 14 Democratic debate which was supposed to focus on the economy but occurred the day after the Paris massacre. Sanders objected to starting the debate with a question about Paris. He did not prevail, however, and answered the first question with some anti-terror pablum that immediately gave way to an impassioned attack on his usual "handful of billionaires."
Sanders boasts of voting against the Iraq War. But he also voted against the 1991 Gulf War. His reaction to all such dilemmas is the same anti-imperialist/pacifist reflex: Stay away, but if we must get involved, let others lead.
That's for means. As for ends, Sanders' foreign policy objectives are invariably global and universal, beginning above all with climate change. The rest is foreign-policy-as-social-work do-goodism, most especially undoing the work of U.S. imperialism.
Don't be surprised if President Sanders hands Guantanamo Bay over to the Castros, although Alaska looks relatively safe for now.
Closest historical analog: George McGovern.
2. Hillary Clinton, internationalist
The "Clinton/Obama" foreign policy from Ukraine to Iran to the South China Sea has been a demonstrable failure. But in trying to figure out what President Clinton would do in the future, we need to note that she often gave contrary advice, generally more assertive and aggressive than President Barack Obama's, that was overruled, most notably, keeping troops in Iraq beyond 2011 and early arming of the Syrian rebels.
The Libya adventure was her grand attempt at humanitarian interventionism. She's been chastened by the disaster that followed.
Her worldview is traditional, post-Vietnam liberal internationalism America as the indispensable nation, but consciously restraining its exercise of power through multilateralism and near-obsessive legalism.
Closest historical analog: the Bill Clinton foreign policy of the 1990s.
3. Ted Cruz, unilateralist
The most aggressive of the three contenders thus far. Wants post-Cold War U.S. leadership restored. Is prepared to take risks and act alone when necessary. Pledges to tear up the Iran deal, cement the U.S.-Israel alliance and carpet bomb the Islamic State.
Overdoes it with "carpet" it implies Dresden, Germany although it was likely just an attempt at rhetorical emphasis. He's of the school that will not delay action while waiting on feckless allies or farcical entities like the United Nations.
Closest analog: Ronald Reagan.
4. Donald Trump, mercantilist
He promises to make America strong, for which, he explains, he must first make America rich. Treating countries like companies, he therefore promises to play turnaround artist for a foreign policy that is currently a hopeless money-losing operation in which our allies take us for fools and suck us dry.
You could put the Sanders, Clinton and Cruz foreign policies on a recognizable ideological spectrum, left to right. But not Trump's. It inhabits a different space because it lacks any geopolitical coherence. It's all about money. He sees no particular purpose for allies or foreign bases. They are simply a financial drain.
Imperial Spain roamed and ravaged the world in search of gold. Trump advocates a kinder, gentler form of wealth transfer from abroad, though equally gold-oriented.
Thus, if Japan and South Korea don't pony up more money for our troops stationed there, we go home. The possible effects on the balance of power in the Pacific Rim or on Chinese hegemonic designs don't enter into the equation.
Same for NATO. If those free-riding European leeches don't give us more money too, why stick around? Concerns about tempting Russian ambitions and/or aggression are nowhere in sight.
The one exception to this singular focus on foreign policy as a form of national enrichment is the Islamic State. Trump's goal is simple "bomb the s*** out of them." Yet even here he can't quite stifle his mercantilist impulses, insisting that after crushing the Islamic State, he'll keep their oil. Whatever that means.
Closest historical analog: King Philip II of Spain (1556-1598).
On Jan. 20, one of these four contenders will be sworn in as president. And one of these four approaches to the world will become the foreign policy of the United States.
Don't say you weren't warned.
SHARE "Before Nightfall" by Kasia Bruniany. Submitted "Five Eggs" by Jeffrey Leslie. Submitted "Swim Ring" by Melissa Miller-Nece will be on display at the Florida Artists Group (FLAG) Exhibition at the Center for Visual Arts Bonita Springs from April 1-28. Submitted
By Patrice Shields, Special to The Banner
The Sunshine State's best artists are coming to Southwest Florida.
The Centers for the Arts Bonita Springs will host the 66th Florida Artists Group (FLAG) Annual Exhibition and Symposium at the Center for Visual Arts Bonita Springs through April 28.
Approximately 90 artists, representing the 10 areas in the state, display their work and competed for juried awards in a variety of media, including painting, sculpture, mixed media and graphics.
Many of FLAG's members are art educators and include notable Florida artists among its award-winning participants.
Guests can view the exhibition from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Monday to Saturday at the Center for Visual Arts Bonita Springs, 26100 Old 41 Road, Bonita Springs.
The juried annual symposium exhibition will present the winning artists' awards at a banquet on April 2.
The FLAG symposium juror is always a prominent artist, educator, curator or museum professional from outside Florida. This year's juror is California artist Katherine Chang Liu, an internationally acclaimed artist, renowned instructor and juror, who has juried more than 80 prestigious exhibitions around the United States and serves in this role for this exhibition. Her art can be found in numerous private and public collections and museums around the world.
The Florida Artists Group was incorporated in 1949 by pre-eminent artists throughout Florida, who were curators of Florida's accredited museums, professors, working artists or were artists collected or acquired by national institutions like the Smithsonian Museum and Corcoran Gallery.
The founders created the Florida Artists Group as a not-for-profit, composed of professional artists whose work has earned similar international, national and statewide recognition. FLAGS' purpose is to stimulate the attainment of the highest standards of creative visual art within the state of Florida and to foster that objective through education and outreach.
The Centers for the Arts Bonita Springs (CFABS) offers monthly exhibitions at the Center for Visual Arts Bonita Springs and a full performance series at the Center for Performing Arts Bonita Springs. CFABS' performance series includes "Improv Tonight" 8 p.m. April 2, "Meet the Composers Multimedia Series" 3 p.m. April 3, "Tuesday Art Talks" 7 p.m. April 5, "Mama Cooks it Up" 7:30 p.m. April 9, and "Films for Film Lovers" foreign and independent film series on Monday evenings. Tickets for all of the events listed can be purchased at artcenterbonita.org or by calling the Centers for the Arts Bonita Springs at 239-495-8989.
IF YOU GO:
The Florida Artists Group 66th Annual Exhibition and Symposium
WHEN: 10 a.m. 4 p.m. through April 28
WHERE: Center for Visual Arts Bonita Springs, 26100 Old 41 Road, Bonita Springs
COST: Free and open to the public
INFORMATION: artcenterbonita.org
Participants raise their arms at the conclusion of a tap dance routine in a Tap for Fun with Marilyn class at the Estero Community Park Recreation Center on Thursday, March 31, 2016, in Estero. Tap dancing classes of all levels are offered at the community center. (David Albers/Staff)
SHARE Banner reporter Patrick Riley, right, is high-fived by instructor Marilyn DiEnno while participating in a Tap for Fun with Marilyn class at the Estero Community Park Recreation Center on Thursday, March 31, 2016, in Estero. Tap dancing classes of all levels are offered at the community center. (David Albers/Staff) Participant Ellen Warren, a seasonal Estero resident from Chicago., raises her arms at the conclusion of a tap dance routine in a Tap for Fun with Marilyn class at the Estero Community Park Recreation Center on Thursday, March 31, 2016, in Estero. Tap dancing classes of all levels are offered at the community center. (David Albers/Staff) Instructor and choreographer Marilyn DiEnno, center, leads a routine in her Tap for Fun with Marilyn class at the Estero Community Park Recreation Center on Thursday, March 31, 2016, in Estero. Tap dancing classes of all levels are offered at the community center. (David Albers/Staff) Instructor and choreographer Marilyn DiEnno, second from left, leads a routine in her Tap for Fun with Marilyn class at the Estero Community Park Recreation Center on Thursday, March 31, 2016, in Estero. Tap dancing classes of all levels are offered at the community center. (David Albers/Staff) Related Photos Photos: Tap for Fun with Marilyn at Estero Community Park Recreation Center
Each Thursday morning, a strange sound spills out of a small, unassuming room in the otherwise tranquil Estero Community Park Recreation Center.
Clickit-Clack-Click-Click-Clickit-Clack-Clack-Clack-Clickit-Clack- Click-Click.
And those occupying the room appear to speak in even stranger tongues.
"Jump-Shuffle-Cross-Two-Shuffle-Cross-Three-Shuffle-Cross-And-A-Flap-Ball-Change."
But a quick look inside reveals the source of all the unfamiliar sounds and commands: a tap dancing class. More specifically, "Tap For Fun With Marilyn!"
On a recent March morning, I decided to join Marilyn DiEnno's easy-going new beginner class and try my luck at tap dancing.
After a brief warmup and stretch to a fast-paced, thumping version of the 1970s classic "Rock the Boat," DiEnno, 75, shows me the "tap warmup."
It's a combination of ball and heel steps (ball meaning the ball of one's foot taps the ground, heel meaning well the heel) and subsequent breaks.
"A break is something you do between two sets," DiEnno explains. "And that's shuffle, ball change, set."
The confused look on my face after watching DiEnno demonstrate did not go unnoticed. The room all of a sudden breaks out in laughter.
"It's not that easy," one participant says.
She sure is right. My poor, non-caffeinated brain can barely keep up with the steps. And this is just the warmup tapping.
Nonetheless, after DiEnno patiently goes over the steps next to me a few times, I start to recognize the pattern. As her shoes click and clack across the floor, I mimic her movements and after some early stumbling even manage to put together something that appears to resemble tapping.
But my small victory is short-lived.
"I'm going to have you follow along on the steps," DiEnno tells me. "They get much harder than this. But you're going to have fun. And that's what my class is: It's tap for fun."
And so, to the tune of Marvin Gaye's "I Heard It Through The Grapevine," we tap, "heel," "ball," "break" and "shuffle" across the room.
First I feel lost.
Every time I think I have it down, I seem to start to overthink and fall out of rhythm. Watching DiEnno's feet effortlessly dart across makes my own shortcomings even more obvious. It's like I'm a dog learning how to swim next to Michael Phelps.
But with time, my steps become more fluid, my taps a bit more confident and my motions a tad more coherent.
I even earn a compliment from fellow participant Barbara Cassa, 70, afterward: "Good tap dancing. Oh, yeah. You look good."
She adds: "It took us a long time to learn that."
Next, DiEnno shows us a sequence that not only involves us moving our feet, but also our arms. In conjunction with some tapping, our arms wander from our hips to shoulder-height and eventually our out-stretched palms flip over.
And so, just when I thought I was making progress, the added task of having to worry about my arms throws me off again.
But I'm not the only one struggling with the combination.
"When I choreographed this, I thought it was going to be a simple thing and everybody would get it," DiEnno tells us. "My performers, my performers, who can tap really well, they struggle with this stuff."
Next, DiEnno shows us the so-called waltz clog, another common tap dance step. She also gives me some more insight into the tap dance lingo.
"When you go from one foot to the other in tap that's called a jump," she explains. "From the left to the right, that's a jump. On the same leg, that's a hop."
We jump, shuffle and ball change across the floor, the metal heels and toes happily clicking and clacking across the hard surface. (Full disclosure: I'm wearing regular dress shoes, because unfortunately you can't rent tap shoes anywhere in Southwest Florida. Alas.)
After some run-throughs we add another part to the sequence: a step with one foot, a brush with the other, a clicking of the heel as the "brushing" foot is up and then a step down with that same foot.
Sound confusing? Well, this time I manage to get it right fairly quickly.
"You got it!" DiEnno tells me, her voice cracking with joy. "You've got it!"
Smiling, and secretly a bit proud, I reply: "I'm as surprised as you are."
DiEnno laughs and we continue to tap away as we move on to "the Buffalo."
In this sequence, we jump, shuffle, put our foot down and cross it over in front of us. It's like tap dance meets Riverdance.
Following DiEnno's lead, I run through it a number of times with mixed results. Sometimes I seem to grasp the concept, coming tantalizingly close to an "aha-moment," other times I can't help but stumble over my own feet. It's like a microcosm of my tap dance experience.
After a few cracks at "the Buffalo" we move on to the grand finale: a "soft shoe," which is a routine that is part of traditional tap dance.
"I typically call it my cooldown number," DiEnno explains. "We do it at the end. It's a nice, easy soft shoe. But it never works. You're still hot."
As DiEnno shows us the various components of the routine, adding one after the other with seemingly no end in sight, it turns into the dance version of the "I packed my suitcase" car game: By the end of DiEnno's instructions, I can't even remember how we start the routine.
But nonetheless, we dive right into it. And one last time I watch DiEnno's fleet feet while trying to not trip over my own. With a piano plunking from the speakers and DiEnno counting and calling out the next steps, we move through the room, tapping our toes and tipping our heels. And though I sometimes have to improvise my way through certain steps, the combination of music, clicking tap dance shoes and movement is no less joyous.
And that's DiEnno's main objective: have fun.
"It's the music part that makes it fun," she says. "I mean, anybody can be in class and do drill all day, but yes, they're learning but it's not the piece that makes you feel good about what you've done."
For DiEnno, who has been tap dancing since she was 3 or 4 years old, dancing is as much spiritual as it is physical.
"To dance for me, to dance is to live and to breath," she says. "And when you are dancing to the rhythm of the music, it lifts your spirit and feeds your soul."
And watching all the movements and parts come together for her students makes teaching all the more gratifying and rewarding, DiEnno says.
"When they get it, it's theirs," she says. "And once they've got it they own it. And nobody can take it away from them."
Ren Bookman, 74, of Bonita Springs, says he loves music but had no prior experience when he first started taking lessons from DiEnno last season. He quickly figured out the key to success.
"If you want to learn anything you got to practice," he says. "What I figured is if I learned a step or two here, if I practiced for like five days a week, an hour each day, for two weeks, it would become automatic. Prior to that it wouldn't be and it's got to get automatic, because when you first start you're thinking all the time. You're counting and you're thinking about where your foot should be."
He even has a plywood practice floor at home. One time his grandchildren and their friends caught him practicing.
"I said, 'I'm going to show off for you,' " Bookman recalls. "And so they looked at me for about 15 seconds. But it was fun. I had a lot of fun because they had rock music on and I was trying to dance to it."
His wife's reaction was quite different the first time she saw him tap dance.
"She cried," he says. "She was so happy that I was happy."
Large fishing boat going out for a sunset cruise in Destin, Florida
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By Bill Walsh
Been a tough late winter, early spring around these parts for fishing the salt. Ask anyone with a rod in their hand and bait in their bucket and stand by for a doleful lament. And the disappointed angler will quickly conjure up endless reasons as to the whys and wherefores: "It's this crazy weather pattern where the temperature yo-yo'd back and forth all winter" ... We never got our good winter sheepshead run "cause our water never really got cold" ... and of course, "It's those government people releasing that toxic water from Lake Okeechobee ... that's what doing it." So on and so forth.
Not much you can do about it. Really! It's nature and you take what you get or stop doing it.
But given time, nature will adjust and heal itself. Let me take you back a decade and recount the experience with fishing this area of Southwest Florida after Hurricane Wilma in late October 2005.
Wilma was a lollapalooza of a storm roaring through this southwestern most tip of the Peninsula on Oct. 23, 2005, with winds starting at 75 mph and escalating to well over 100 mph by the time the back side of the of the eyeball reached landfall.
For the previous 20-plus years, hurricanes that had pounded islands and towns just to our north; think Sanibel, Punta Gorda et al, and to our south, Everglades City; had just given Naples and Marco a series of rude "brush by's" with gale force winds and torrential rain.
In the immediate aftermath of the Wilma's passage, the communities total focus was on caring for the damage and restoring vital services. It was a time for everyone to pull together. Sporting activity, including fishing, was not even vaguely considered.
Although there was a trickle of communication from long term customers inquiring about conditions, the fishing activity itself went into a dead stop.
Once the recovery picked up steam, anglers were itching to get back out on the water for really nothing more than to survey the damage. Things had significantly changed. In additional to downed and uprooted trees, there had been major geographic changes in shorelines and water depths; places where you had navigated and fished were now shallow bars of sand. The tumultuous wave action nearshore had literally redistributed the reefs.
You just knew that the fish that had frequented our wrecks and reefs were long gone and with no certainty that they would ever return. It was "start over" time. We would try to remap fishing spots both backwater and nearshore and fend off potential customers until we had some level of certainty that fish were finding their way back.
Then to add more fuel to the "fire", we noticed large floating clumps of a substance that looked like grass. Algae coating the bottom structure preventing fish, foraging for food, any success. Algae only grows like that when the salinity level dips dangerously low. So where was the fresh water coming from? Ente, the first go around with the Corps of Engineers and their toxic discharge from Lake Okeechobee with water dumped on South Florida by Wilma.
With all of that as backdrop, I received a call from Walter, a long term customer, who planned on being on Marco over Christmas and was keen on taking his two sons fishing. In the past he had been a stickler for only targeting quality fish; anything beneath redfish, a snook or a spec trout was considered forage.
Even, as I warned him about the quality of fishing here, he could not be dissuaded. So, there he stood at the dock on that crisp December morning with his two teenage sons in tow. As we got underway, he inquired as to how much had conditions changed since last we talked two weeks before.
"No change, Walter, and maybe a little worse" was the response. He rolled his eyes.
We ran at a slower speed back toward Johnson Bay as there still was an abundance of flotsam from demolished docks, water logged now, and below the surface that presented a clear and present danger. We arrived in Johnson Bay at mid high incoming tide and would target redfish first. Put three nice freelined shrimp in the current and had at it.
The first minutes were hopeful; the ensuing half-hour was painful. Nothing. Not a tap; not a catfish; nada. Only hooks laden with green algae. We moved north to the Henderson Creek area of Rookery Bay. The water there was fouled even worse.
Walter said "Enough. Take us back."
As they exited dockside, he asked, "will this area come back and if so how long will it take?
I explained that the ground fish, snapper, sheepshead, trout may take a while but as the water warms to the upper 70s we would see the pelagics back in here mackerel, small kings, pompano, bluefish but only after the schools of white bait arrive back on the beaches and waterways.
"Give me your best guess"? posed Walter.
"March 15."
Our goodbye included a handshake and "We'll be back. Book us."
That January and February of 2006 were just right. Cooling temperatures and little to no rain. We had our usual fronts that muddied things up but most were short and untypically mild. The Big Lake cut back on their fresh water spill. All positive. Did March 15 look like a good call?
We would see this morning. I hadn't fished in a week except to nail some pinfish on the first reefs the day before as baits for this trip.
This time we went right to Henderson Creek on the last part of the incoming. Today we would target snook. We worked a shallow fast moving tidal point with small freelined pinfish following a pilchard shower. Three baits in the water; two strikes; one a juvenile snook running hard; the second a lunker (Walter on the rod) heading for Fort Myers. Both great fights; pictures and tender releases.
Big smiles. "The fishing's back" touted Walter.
"Should we?" was my follow-up inquiry
"What?" He shot back.
"Take a chance on a redfish."
"Let's go."
We're working up along the Keewaydin docks on mangrove overhangs and we're right at the top of the tide. Three large freelined shrimp but only one strike here. It's a big bull red on one of the kid's lines. He struggles but manages a 29" bull to the net. Both exhausted.
High fives all around.
"Enough. Take us back,'" Walter said once again.
Nature has a way of healing itself no matter what the circumstance and had proved itself once again.
Capt. Bill Walsh owns a charter fishing business and holds a U.S. Coast Guard license. Send comments to dawnpatrol charters@compuserve.com.
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A clarification from the Esplanade 1 board; March 24 article
We are happy that we have a settlement with the city of Marco Island so the landscaping and other restoration at the Esplanade 1 can be completed in an expedited manner. Our intention is to remain responsible members of the community and continue to contribute to the local economy.
We would like to clarify a few points of misunderstanding. First, Mr. Arceri, who described in the article the difficulty the residents had in dealing with the city and, in particular, the city manager (Roger Hernstadt), was appointed by Esplanade I to represent them in communications with the media on issues relating to the bridge project. What he stated in the article about how we were treated by the city and how they encroached on our private property without permission or notice was accurate.
Second, Mr. Hernstadt states in the article that he "made every effort to work with the Esplanade" on these encroachment issues. The Esplanade had been telling the city for months after the project started that we believed the work was being done on our property and we simply asked for an updated survey or proof that they were allowed to be on our property such as an official easement. Although the city consistently said they had these documents they never provided them to us.
Mr. Hernstadt finally met with an Esplanade representative in January, 2015, to discuss the encroachment issues four months after the construction started. At this first and only meeting he offered to meet with the Esplanade associations but the parties decided it would be better for the city to have the survey or easement documents with them before we assembled such an association meeting. This information was never provided, no meeting was ever held and Mr. Hernstadt made no further efforts to develop a working relationship. We do not feel this was "making every effort to work with us."
Third, Dr. Trotter was misquoted in the article. His correction is -- "First, my statement was not just that I " hope that everyone can just get along and make nice." It was that this has been an unnecessarily long and difficult process and we want to get this conflict behind us, and that we are hoping for a positive result when the project is finally completed to beautify the area for both our owners and the community as a whole.
Dr. Trotter continues, "Some of my input regarding misinformation provided by the city, was not mentioned (which not only included the lack of a valid survey but also the erroneous statements about them having a valid easement for either construction activities or use of our property). Even though Mr. Arceri is not a member of either association board, he has provided extremely valuable input and perspective as our special adviser during this entire process, and my comment here was simply to clarify that he was not a board member. I also object to the characterization of Mr. Arceri as being anything other than a concerned condominium resident, who, like many of our other owners in the building, is rightfully frustrated by the handling of this matter to date, as am I."
Finally, even though the legal settlement has been finalized, the Esplanade I Board considers this to be an open issue to be fully assessed after the items of the agreement are satisfactorily executed in a timely fashion.
Thank you for allowing us to set the record straight.
Esplanade 1, board of directors
Dr. Bill Trotter, president
Joe M. Stoebner, treasurer
Robert Stoico, secretary
Vote informed
The quality of our children's education is one of, if not the most important legacies we can leave our children and our nation. Approximately 50 percent of our Collier high school graduates cannot do math or reading at a 12th grade level. Yet Collier County Public School system spends $1 billion dollars per year of our taxpayers' money. Taxpayers, businesses, parents and grandparents all have a vested interest in our children's public school education as future employees and productive community members.
SWFL Citizens Alliance are concerned citizens and local groups that work together to help educate voters on the critical issues and principles/values of candidates running for local and state office.
We are hosting three Collier School Board "Meet the Candidate" Forums, three legislative forums for our local Florida Senate and House competitive races and several County Commission races.
The Marco Island School Board forum is 6:30 p.m., April 14; at Marco Island Presbyterian Church; Jane Watt, Jared Grifoni and a student will be our moderators.
The Marco Island Legislative Forum is 6:30 p.m., May 19 at the Marco Island History Museum.
We have created two surveys for each race that you can find at http://floridacitizensalliance.com/liberty/collier-county-information/:
1. A 25 question yes/no objective questionnaire we think are important issues.
2. A subjective Constitutional survey that probes the knowledge of voters and candidates on our founding principles/values.
Besides the obvious that issues are important, our basic premise on the U.S. Constitution is that elected officials are just a mirror reflecting their electorate. If we don't have a grasp of our founding values how can we possibly expect them to "honor their Oath of Office."
There are six candidates running for two open School Board seats, districts 2 and 4. Every voter in Collier can vote for one candidate in each district.
Join us for this critically important School Board forum.
Vote informed.
Keith Flaugh
Marco Island
Drop off food
We appreciate seasonal residents' visit with us this year, but please as you go, drop off your food to your letter carrier or at the post office. We appreciate your help in feeding our hungry.
Locally, Collier Harvest partners with letter carriers from Branch 4716 (Naples and Marco Island) to distribute food to those in need. If you want to help or donate food you can call Collier Harvest at 239-455-3663.
For more than a decade, the drive has annually collected more than 70 million pounds of food. During its history, the drive has collected 1.3 billion pounds of food to help feed our neighbors. All food collected within the local community stays here.
Publix and Collier Harvest will kick off the National Association of Letter Carriers food drive on April 2 with the Fill the Truck event from 8 a.m. to5p. m. at the Strand, Pebblebrook, Riverchase and Naples Walk Publix stores.
Each store will have food for purchase geared to meeting the needs in our county, so all our friends in Naples can join in making this year's National Food Drive a success. Collier Harvest will have a truck with a banner in the parking lot. We hope to fill these trucks and feed the hungry in Collier County.
The kickoff will help lead into this year's 24th annual Letter Carriers' Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive on May 14.
The NALC National Food Drive is the outgrowth of a tradition of community service exhibited repeatedly by letter carriers over the years. These carriers, who go into neighborhoods six days a week, have always been involved when something needed to be done. If you have any questions or want to help out in any way, contact Collier Harvest.
Al Micieli
Naples President, National Association of Letter Carriers
Samaritan
The morning task was to replace a switch in a table lamp.
So after a change of clothes I headed to Sunshine Ace Hardware in Golden Gate.
A friendly clerk found a switch so I moved to the checkout register and as the sale was punched in I reached for my wallet only to realize I had left it home with the change of clothes.
Ugh a dreadful senior moment, as I explained to the young lady at the register.
A voice behind me asked how much was the charge and when the cashier told her, she said, "I'll cover that purchase," and before I knew it, it was rung up as paid.
Needless to say I felt somewhat guilty with the speed of events before I could cancel the sale. As I turned to ask her name, I simply received a smile and a wish for a happy Easter.
My warmest thanks goes to thenameless ladywho made that morning special. God bless you for that.
Robert Markes
Naples
Increase storage
As a professional engineer with more than 40 years of public involvement in Southwest Florida, I have a firsthand understanding of what must be done to protect our water resources. So I applaud U.S. Rep. Curt Clawson's recent effort to expedite repairs on the Herbert Hoover Dike surrounding Lake Okeechobee.
As a volunteer governing board member at the South Florida Water Management District, I support the urgency of his bill directing the secretary of the army to complete work on a structure that has a direct impact on the Caloosahatchee River and estuary.
With a fixed understanding of the big picture, Clawson followed up with a related bill setting aside $500 million for the U.S. Department of the Interior to acquire land for more water storage south of the lake. Record rainfall this year punctuated this critical need to prevent damaging dumps of water from the lake. Storage is also critical during the dry season to deliver water where it is needed.
The bill is a very helpful first step as water-storage options should not be limited, which is acknowledged by asking for a study before property is selected. Retaining water before it reaches the liquid heart of Florida giveswater managers more flexibility and greater options to protect the ecosystem.
The bottom line is that we need storage across a system that spans 16 counties, from Orlando to the Florida Keys. We look to Clawson's leadership and that of his colleagues in Congress to broaden their scope and help us achieve this objective.
Rick Barber
Board member, South Fl orid a Water Management District
Photo courtesy of Joanna Fitzgerald After receiving a sedative, a raccoon is able to be removed from a live trap. The raccoon injured herself after her leg became stuck as she reached through the wire in an attempt to free herself.
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By Joanna Fitzgerald
A raccoon and an eastern cottontail rabbit were among the 83 animals admitted to the von Arx Wildlife Hospital at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida last week. Other admissions include a great crested flycatcher, a yellow-crowned night-heron, a chuck-will's-widow and a peninsula cooter.
The raccoon was brought to the von Arx Wildlife Hospital by a local animal trapping service employee. The trap had been set to catch iguanas. The trapper would have released the raccoon but realized the raccoon had severely injured herself as she attempted to free herself from the trap.
When the trapper arrived at the Conservancy with the raccoon staff was stunned to see the extent of the damage. Our staff veterinarian immediately administered a sedative and pain medication. Once the raccoon was sedated we began to extract her front leg from the multiple sections of caging she was stuck in.
The raccoon's leg was swollen due to loss of circulation caused by the tightness of the wire cage openings she had pushed her leg through. The skin was ripped away around the entire circumference of her leg and there was severe soft tissue damage.
Once the raccoon got her leg caught in the caging, she pulled so hard trying to free her leg that she dislocated her shoulder and elbow joints.
The damage to the raccoon's leg proved fatal; her front leg would never function properly causing her to be unable to survive in the wild. Humane euthanasia was our only option.
Sadly we have seen this type of injury, and others even more horrendous, when people set out live traps. These traps are not species specific. Even if the trap is checked on a daily basis, as this trapper said he did, the injuries an animal can sustain are tremendous and often fatal.
If you have a "nuisance" wildlife situation please call the von Arx Wildlife Hospital staff for advice. There are many wildlife situations that can be easily eliminated if the true source of the problem is addressed. Keep in mind, a bit of understand and compassion can provide perspective these animals are trying to forage, raise their young and simple survive in a world greatly altered by humans.
The rabbit arrived at the von Arx Wildlife Hospital after being kept by its "rescuer" for four days. The family dog alerted the people to the presence of the rabbit nest. The dog owner tried to protect the nest by covering it with a screen but the dog managed to gain access and excavate the nest. One baby rabbit was killed by the dog while another baby was unable to be found after it fled the nest. Later, the baby that fled the nest was accidentally killed by a lawn mower.
The dog owner thought it best to bring the third surviving baby in the house. A family member attempted to care for the baby rabbit for four days. By the time the baby arrived at the hospital for professional medical care and rehabilitation,= it was dehydrated, underweight and showed signs of increased respiratory effort.
Staff provided pain medication and electrolytes upon admission and settled the nestling rabbit in an animal intensive care unit in the wildlife hospital nursery
The rabbit has struggled with digestion issues because it didn't receive the proper formula or amount of formula for several days. In an effort to reduce stress, the young rabbit was placed in a group with two other young cottontails; all are receiving several feedings throughout the day and night.
We understand the rabbit's rescuer had good intentions but please, if you find a sick, injured or orphaned animal in need of assistance, don't attempt to care for it yourself.
It is illegal to raise young wildlife without the proper permits. Just as importantly, wild animals have very specific nutritional and husbandry requirements. Receiving inadequate care can be fatal. Lastly, wild animals have the potential to carry diseases and parasites that can cause pets and humans to become sick. It isn't worth the risk if you think an animal needs care, call the Conservancy for assistance.
Recent Releases
Two common grackles, a peninsula cooter, a great horned owl, seven eastern cottontails, two eastern screech owls, a cedar waxwing, a Florida soft-shell turtle and two gopher tortoises were released this past week.
Under Construction
Our outdoor wildlife viewing area is temporarily closed to the public while our new outdoor animal recovery enclosures and guest education areas are constructed. Visitors to the Conservancy can continue to experience the nursery viewing window and wildlife rehabilitation exhibits throughout the Nature Center. Thank you for your understanding and patience while we improve our patients' recovery areas.
Opportunities to Help
Please visit the Conservancy website at www.conservancy.org to view the amazing volunteer opportunities at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida. Many part time visitors to Naples are leaving just as the wildlife hospital enters our busy spring and summer season leaving us in need of additional volunteers. Volunteers are vital in helping us continue our work to protect Southwest Florida's wildlife.
Joanna Fitzgerald is director of the von Arx Wildlife Hospital at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida. Call 239-262-2273 or see conservancy.org.
After an early evening thunderstorm ended, visitors to Naples Pier took in the sunset view over the Gulf of Mexico in Naples, FL on Friday, June 19, 2015. (Scott McIntyre/Staff)
SHARE Olga Riano wipes tears from her eyes as she and her fellow newly naturalized American citizens sing along to the song, "Proud To Be An American," by Lee Greenwood during a Naturalization Ceremony for 51 people from 20 different countries at Hodges University in Naples on Thursday, November 12, 2015. "It's my big day," said Riano, who's originally from Colombia, "I'm happy to be in this country. I'm free." (Scott McIntyre/Staff) Conni Leonessa, of Bonita Springs, walks up Fifth Ave. South during a rain shower with her conure parrots Mango, right, Scrooge, left, and Talia, on top, on Sunday, August 30, 2015. Leonessa came to Fifth Ave. South on Sunday to get her and her birds some gelato. Leonessa likes to bring her birds with her wherever she goes. "I never thought a bird could love a human, but they do," she said, "It blows my mind."(Scott McIntyre/Staff) James and Carol Nelon nestle together as they wait for the start of a Commitment to Love ceremony to begin where the couple of 37 years will renew their vows at Unity of Naples Church in East Naples on Saturday, February 14, 2015. (Scott McIntyre/Staff) Members of the Gulf Coast High School dance team rehearse their performance along with the band and flag team on Tuesday, September 8, 2015. (Scott McIntyre/Staff) Related Coverage NDN's Scott McIntyre is Photojournalist of the Year Related Photos Photos: NDNs Scott McIntyre Winning Portfolio
By Daily News Staff
Daily News photographer Scott McIntyre recently was named Photojournalist of the Year for small market publications by the National Press Photographers Association.
McIntyre, 29, in Naples since 2011, is a Louisville native who graduated with a photojournalism degree from Western Kentucky University in 2010.
The association is the premier photography group of accredited photojournalists in the world, made up of thousands of members.
He discussed some of his top photos and how he captured such images.
This photo of the Naples Pier was the first image that appeared in my portfolio. I felt that its complexity and color grabs the attention of whoever is looking at it. I shot this photo this past summer after having dinner with my parents who were in town visiting. Like clockwork, a heavy shower moved into the area, soaking everything for about a half-hour. Shortly after the shower ended, the sun began to break through the dark storm clouds, and you could see something unique was happening. An orange hue was beginning to be cast over everything.
I grabbed my camera and walked toward the Naples Pier. Everyone there had a similar look on their face a look of awe and curiosity.
I've seen this before, but it had been a long time. The effect of the sun reflecting off the dark clouds made everything and everyone orange for a brief period.
Visitors made their way back out to the Pier for some fishing while others reveled in the vibrant sunset and dipped their toes in the water. As most people were focused on the sky, my eyes were drawn to how the sunset blanketed everything, a welcome reminder of how unique things can be around here.
After being in Naples for nearly five years, I've photographed the same events a handful of times. One of those events is the Naturalization ceremony held at Hodges University. The participants usually have varying reactions. Some are reactions of joy and for some it's just another day.
The one that stood out for me this year was Olga Riano. It was the last part of the ceremony where Lee Greenwood's song "God Bless The USA" was playing over the speakers and I still haven't found an emotion that showed how important this event was. Then I saw Riano, who's originally from Colombia, in the middle of the group wipe a tear from her eye. I focused my lens right on her face as she wept tears of joy and knew right then that her moment was one that told the story. I approached Riano and her family after to talk with her about the experience.
"It's my big day," she said, "I'm happy to be in this country. I'm free."
When Tropical Storm Erika made its way to town in 2015, I was unsure how I would photograph it. The storm wasn't hitting Naples that bad on the Sunday it came into town, but winds and showers were still an issue. I drove throughout Naples looking for people reacting to the storm. When I turned onto Fifth Ave. South, I spotted a woman strolling along the sidewalk with an umbrella. I pulled over, grabbed my camera, and did a double take as I got closer.
"She doesn't have birds on her shoulders, does she?" I thought to myself.
She did. I caught up with Conni after she took her three Conure parrots for a frozen yogurt. Little surprises like that are what make my life as a photographer much more enjoyable.
By Jacob Carpenter of the Naples Daily News
Lawyers for murder defendant Mesac Damas believe their client suffers from a traumatic brain injury, which could impact whether he should be sentenced to death if convicted of slaughtering his family in 2009, according to newly obtained court records.
The filings in Collier County mark the first time that Damas' lawyers have publicly stated their belief that Damas has a traumatic brain injury. Damas' mental health has been a constant source of contention in his case, though his lawyers hadn't previously discussed in public any possible underlying causes for any mental illnesses.
Damas, 39, is charged with six counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of his wife and five children, who were between the ages of 1 and 9. Damas has twice confessed to the Daily News that he committed the homicides, and prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. His case has been delayed by competency issues and challenges to Florida's death penalty laws.
In an interview, one of Damas' lawyers, James Ermacora, refused to detail why he believes Damas suffers from a traumatic brain injury and what impact it has on Damas' mental health. He said the claim was made with information from an expert report, declining to elaborate on specifics.
"I wouldn't have just made the statement without having some support for it," Ermacora said. "There was an occurrence prior to the murders that provides some basis for that, but I'm not going to elaborate any more at this point."
Damas' lawyers also wrote that their client "has a long and documented history of mental illness, beginning even in his youth in Haiti."
"Furthermore, there is evidence of serious family dysfunction, including, but not limited to, alcohol abuse, spousal abuse, and serious mental illness on both genetic sides of (Damas') family," his lawyers wrote. These claims are backed by "voluminous records" from hospitals, prisons and other institutions, they said.
The claims, which were included as part of a defense request to appoint a forensic psychiatrist, likely won't impact Damas' trial.
Rather, if he's convicted, Damas' mental health and any underlying brain trauma would be cited at sentencing as a "mitigating factor," the legal term for reasons why a defendant shouldn't be given the death penalty. At sentencing, a judge and jury must weigh whether any mitigating factors are significant enough to keep the defendant off Death Row.
Since his arrest 6 1/2 years ago, Damas has frequently been uncooperative and disruptive, refusing to follow orders in jail and during court appearances. His lawyers have said on multiple occasions that he refuses to help with his case, and he was temporarily found to be incompetent to stand trial in 2014. At that time, doctors determined Damas had "major mental illness," according to a judge.
But on other occasions, Damas has been deemed competent and able to follow directions. In October 2014, a judge wrote that doctors found Damas "can be aggressive, manipulative, and deceitful, and would engage in cooperative behavior when necessary to get something he wanted."
Ermacora said he has "good support" for Damas' history of mental illness, and that he will be traveling to Haiti this summer to gather more evidence.
Related stories:
Residents of a Lehigh Acres neighborhood near a pipe that Breitburn said it uses to combust natural gas claiim the flame released from the tip can stay lit for hours at a time. Local environmental activists are concerned the pipe is releasing dangerous amounts of methane, which Breitburn denies.
SHARE Striped pipes that transport oil and brine for Breitburn's oil operation run over at least one Lehigh Acres canal. Crews used a derrick Friday, July 25, at a Lehigh Acres oil well. Local activists are concerned about recent activity there because of the site's proximity to Sunshine Elementary School. Signs warn about oil pipes that run through a neighborhood in Lehigh Acres. Local environmental activists claim residents know little about the oil operation run by the Florida subsidiary of Texas-based Breitburn Energy Partners. Clover-colored silos and tanks that are part of an oil drilling operation are surrounded by a residential neighborhood in Lehigh Acres. Breitburn Energy Parnters, based in Texas, said the site is run in accordance with state and federal regulations. Local activists are concerned the site might be toxic for the people living nearby.
By Maryann Batlle
The flare up between Dan A. Hughes Co. and Collier County residents over drilling near Golden Gate Estates motivated Linda Jacobson to check Google Earth for oil well pads closer to her Lehigh Acres backyard.
She found them.
They are very distinctive, said Jacobson, an environmental activist. They reflect a lot of light back. They are easy to spot.
One operated by a subsidiary of Texas-based Breitburn Energy Partners is a few hundred feet from Sunshine Elementary School, about a 10-minute drive from her house. Then Jacobson learned about an accompanying Breitburn site less than a mile from the oil well that has a flare stack and is within a lightly populated neighborhood of several undeveloped residential lots and spread out single-family homes.
Its the place where Breitburns striped pipes, which travel over at least one canal and pass underneath front lawns, take crude oil and brine pumped from the oil well to be stored and separated before being transported elsewhere in trucks.
All of this was new to Jacobson, who has lived in the eastern part Lee County for more than 20 years. She argues most people around the Breitburn oil operation do not know what is running under their yards and across local canals or is being released by the flare stack into the atmosphere.
The well has been in Lehigh since the 1970s, which means it predates Sunshine Elementary, built in 1985, and the homes that sprouted around the oil operation mostly during the construction boom years of the early 2000s.
Breitburn, the latest company to operate the well, has been drawing about 70 to 80 barrels of oil daily with little fanfare since taking it over in 2007, said Antonio DAmico, a spokesman for the energy company.
Late last week, a derrick that helps crews pull pipes from below the surface poked above trees and scruffy bushes. Periodic black exhaust blew out from a chuffing green truck beside a tank labeled Youngquist a Fort Myers-based oil drilling contractor that also works on deep injection well systems.
It is all going on within 500 feet of Sunshine Elementary, Jacobson said.
Anybody that has a good softball arm can throw a ball from here to the school and knock out a window with it, she said. Its very close.
DAmico said the activity Jacobson and others are seeing at the well is because crews are replacing an electrical submersible pump, or ESP, that helps suck the crude oil and brine through about 8,000 feet of pipes. No hydraulic fracturing, known as fracking, or any kind of horizontal drilling is happening at Breitburns Lehigh well, he said.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection confirmed via email that Breitburn is conducting routine maintenance.
We believe we are a responsible operator, DAmico said. Right now, we are operating in a safe and environmentally-friendly manner as that is defined by federal and state regulation.
The Lee County School District has an emergency plan as well as a hazardous material plan for Sunshine Elementary, according to an email from Amity Chandler, district spokeswoman.
However, between the school and the well is a berm, a canal and a large swell that angles naturally to the canal (Sunshine Elementary School Principal Ron) Davis and Patrick Hayhurst our coordinator for safety and security are confident it would be very unlikely if oil would ever reach the school as the result of a spill, Chandler wrote.
Both DAmico and Jacobson said they believe Southwest Floridians and oil companies are more sensitive about local drilling because of the standoff between Collier residents, state regulators and Dan A. Hughes Co.
In July, the DEP revoked the Collier County permits of the Dan A. Hughes Co., including the disputed Collier-Hogan well south of Lake Trafford, amid public outcry against the companys practices, particularly an injection procedure aided by chemicals. Dan A. Hughes Co. has vowed to push back so it can keep drilling.
Jacobson said she is asking for more transparency from Breitburn regarding its Lehigh operation.
All (Breitburn has) to do is have a meeting, Jacobson said. If you do a Collier-Hughes where all of a sudden you start pumping chemicals down there, then I got a problem with it.
Monitoring the site has started to claim a lot of Jacobsons free time. About three times a week, she drives her maroon Saturn sedan its back window decorated with advertising for her stargazing and nature tour company and environmental slogan stickers affixed to her bumper off Sunniland Boulevard to a narrow road that leads to the Breitburn oil well.
She takes pictures and posts them online. She uses social media to reach reporters. She brings people to see the well, pipes and Breitburns tank battery site.
Jacobson is concerned a more than 10-foot tall pipe burning excess natural gas at the tank battery site is releasing unhealthy levels of methane, a greenhouse gas that can be explosive and dangerous for humans.
About six months ago, Nancy Gonzalez started renting a home on Curry Avenue North. The house faces Breitburns pipe and sizable clover-colored tanks and silos.
Gonzalez, an immigrant from Cuba who speaks only Spanish, said the tenant who lived in the house before told her the tanks stored water. But Gonzalez said she began to doubt that story because the pipes tip burns for days on end.
Even in a torrential rain, the flame does not go out, Gonzalez said. When you go outside, you feel the heat of the flame.
Earlier this year, her neighbor Jeff DeBusman closed on a house at Sunset Drive, one of the three streets flanking the triangle-shaped tank battery property. DeBusman said his Realtor only talked to him about the site after he asked, and even then he was told, like Gonzalez, that the green tanks held water.
Then he, too, saw the flame.
That torch will run 24 hours at a time, depending on how much gas is building up, DeBusman said. I figured it had to be more than water.
DeBusmans research led him to conclude Breitburn is running in concordance with state and federal rules, which he said made him more comfortable. Still, he said the companys heavy trucks have left the neighborhoods roads a little tore up, and he questions whether Breitburn could someday drill underneath his home.
You never know what is going to happen after that, DeBusman said.
Breitburn has an air emissions permit that allows and regulates natural gas combustion at the tank battery site. The energy company follows state and federal laws about what it does at the oil well and tank battery sites and what it has to disclose, DAmico said.
Theres nothing to my knowledge that requires us to notify someone who is moving into the neighborhood that we are conducting the operation, he said, adding Breitburn would comply if there were a rule that it had to do so. The sites are open and obvious to people who are moving into the neighborhood. ... If people nearby have questions about operations, we are certainly happy to answer.
DAmico said the work at the oil well was expected to end in early August, but could take a bit longer because of a few setbacks. Until then, the well is not producing any crude, he said, but will start drawing from below the ground again once crews finish replacing the pump.
Meanwhile, Jacobson said she plans to keep visiting the oil well with her camera.
Its our jobs and everyones jobs, she said, to police to make sure that they arent going to abuse it.
The first, nationally televised Libertarian Party presidential debate will air Friday night on Fox Business Network.
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The first, nationally televised Libertarian Party presidential forum will air tonight on Fox Business Network.
Part one of the forum will air at 9 p.m. tonight on the Stossel show hosted by John Stossel. Part two will air on April 8. Stossel will moderate both parts, Fox Business Network reports.
The nations third largest political party, Libertarians represent a growing plurality of Americans who are neither left nor right but who lean libertarian on issues ranging from foreign intervention to marijuana to balancing the federal budget.
A nationally televised debate of Libertarian presidential candidates is long overdue, and we are delighted that it is finally happening, said Libertarian Party Chairman Nicholas Sarwark. We urge all Americans to tell their friends, co-workers, and family to watch this important debate and see they have a choice. They do not have to settle for candidates who are bigoted and insulting; who curry favor with the titans of Wall Street; who put our troops in harms way; who have no intention of stopping runaway government spending; and who force Americans to buy lousy yet unaffordable insurance plans.
The Libertarian National Committee and Our America Initiative are currently suing the Commission on Presidential Debates for inclusion in debates this fall that are based on reasonable and objective criteria. Specifically, if a candidate is on the ballot in enough states to potentially receive enough electoral votes to win the presidency, Libertarians think he or she should be included.
The Libertarian Party is expected to be on the ballot in most, if not all, 50 states plus the District of Columbia.
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Richard Procopio, Naples
Scott's cuts
Surprise, surprise. The man who has no compassion for the poor cuts funding to the poor by aiming to close Planned Parenthood in Florida.
He has also refused federal money for Medicaid with the lame excuse that Florida would have to pick up the tab down the road. When proven untrue, he went to his multimillion-dollar beach house in Naples and forgot about it.
When your net worth now is about $147 million and you were at the helm of the company with the biggest Medicaid fraud in the country before becoming governor, what should we expect?
The poor women in Florida who need birth control expertise are on their own; this governor needs his fun on the Gulf. Next move? He endorsed Donald Trump. It all follows.
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Don Brown, Naples
The bubble
A letter writer was quick to blame President George W. Bush for the past recession.
Let's take a look at what caused it the housing bubble.
During the President Bill Clinton years, there was a move to let almost anyone, qualified or not, buy a house. Many could not afford the payment and walked away from the house and then the housing collapsed. This led to the banking failures.
Thus the recession. So to blame Bush for all of it is not really fair.
Part, if not much of it, can be traced back to Bill Clinton.
Horse trainer Michael 'Mouse' Morris, who pulled off another remarkable success in the Irish Grand National at Fairyhouse, has issued an emotional public appeal.
The celebrated trainer lost his thirty year old son Tiffer (Christopher) in a tragic accident in Argentina last May and he dedicated his Easter Monday success to him.
Tiffer was looking down on me today. It hasn't been the easiest time, but he must have been looking down. I'll dedicate this to him, he said
It was an emotional day for the Fethard based trainer who has enjoyed a great record in the event both as a jockey and a trainer.
After watching his charge Rogue Angel hit the winning post in a thrilling race, he called on people to be more aware of the dangers of carbon monoxide.
Tiffer died from carbon monoxide poisoning a few weeks after he had left Ireland for Argentina.
He left a year ago. It does not get any easier, there are good and bad days, said Morris after dedicating his latest Grand National success to his son.
It's one of the most special victories I've had because of the circumstances, he said.
He called on people to consider installing carbon monoxide alarms in their homes.
It would mean a lot if people just went out and did it. It only costs about 20.
It would save lives in the future, no doubt about it.
It is absolutely lethal stuff, there is no smell off it and you just fall asleep from it said Morris.
He said it had been a very difficult year and he tried to work very hard every day to keep his mind occupied.
We've just had to get on with things.
Thousands of people have been through it before and , if it's the case that more people get carbon monoxide alarms as a result of today, I'll be delighted, he said.
The Fethard trainer said Monday was a very special day for him.
This has to be up there with the very best days he said.
He enjoyed Grand National glory as a jockey on Billycan in 1977 and in 2008 trained Gigginstown's first Irish National winner Hear the Echo.
In the 2015 National he trained the runner up and fourth in the race.
Three Tipperary-born poets have been invited to read at Bradford Literature Festival 2016 in a Celebration of Ireland and Irishness including Ian Duhig, Tom Cleary and Natalie (Coonan) Rees.
This years Bradford Literature Festival marks the centenary of the Easter Rising in association with Comoradh 16, a community organisation created to commemorate this historic year.
From 20th-29th May, 2016, The Bradford Literature Festival, West Yorkshire, will celebrate the written and spoken word with over 200 events across the city locations, featuring renowned speakers, artists and authors. It is being funded by Arts Council England and key sponsoring partners include: Waterstones, Guardian Events and BBC Radio.
Contributing poets to the event Poetry: Ireland and Irishness, commissioned by one of the organisers, Joe Sheeran, include: Clonmel-born Tom Cleary (Northern Writers Award) of Ard na Greine and Natalie (Coonan) Rees of Highfield Grove, alongside Ian Duhig, whose family heritage originates in Emly, and whose new book The Blind Roadmaker is a Poetry Book Society Spring Recommendation and was reviewed by The Irish Times earlier this month.
The three poets will be reading alongside other Irish writers and writers of Irish heritage including: John McAuliffe (Forward Prize), Peter Riley (Forward Prize), Anthony Costello and Kim Moore (Forward Prize), and will be hosted by Clonmel-born Tom Cleary, described by the Poetry Book Society as a refreshingly off-kilter voice.
Tom Cleary said: I remember with affection the years I spent at Rathkeevin NS and Clonmel High School, and my love of English literature stems from the inspirational teaching of Alfie OSullivan, my English teacher. Though I emigrated to England more than 50 years ago, Clonmel remains very much alive for me and occasionally appears in my poems. It is thrilling to think that on May 21st Ill be reading with two other poets from Tipperary in faraway Bradford.
Natalie Coonan added: I am fiercely proud to represent Clonmel at this festival, the home town which I left in the 1990s, but which never left me. My poems return time and again to snippets of my childhood in this town, where my love for language was born and fed from teachers at St. Marys Parochial NS, Presentation Convent and Colaiste Dun Iascaigh. It is a further delight to be reading alongside fellow Tipperary native4s, in what should be a wonderful and celebratory afternoon.
The number of misrepresentations in mortgage applications continued to decline in February, benefiting from lenders' increased spending on compliance, said First American Financial Corp. Errors and misrepresentations are a red flag for the possibility of mortgage fraud.
There was a 1.3% decrease for February as compared to January in the title insurer's Loan Application Defect Index. On a year-over-year basis, the index decreased by 5.1%, the Santa Ana, Calif.-based company said in a news release Thursday.
The index has fallen 3.8% the past three months and currently is at its lowest point since First American started to calculate the level of defect risk in 2011. The index has not had an increase in seven consecutive months and is down 26.5% from its high point of risk in October 2013.
"According to the MBA, loan production expenses have been increasing, which reflects the industry's investment in technology and improved standards, as well as greater demand for compliant loan production processes. However, one benefit of these investments is declining loan application defect and misrepresentation risk," said Mark Fleming, chief economist at First American.
States with the highest year-to-year decrease in defect frequency in February include Alabama (17.2%), Michigan (16.2%), West Virginia (15.6%), Minnesota (14.8%) and Wyoming (14.7%).
The cities with the highest year-over-year decrease during this time are Birmingham, Ala. (20.2%); Detroit (19.1%); Minneapolis (13.3%); Jacksonville Fla. (12.6%); and Raleigh, N.C. (12.2%).
States with the highest year-over-year increase in the defect frequency in February are Utah (9.7%), Kentucky (8.8%), South Carolina (8.6%), the District of Columbia (8%) and Texas (5%).
The cities with the highest year-to-year decreases are Louisville, Ky. (19.1 %); Salt Lake City (16.2%); Houston (13.6%); Memphis, Tenn. (9.1%); and Austin, Texas (8.2%).
'Tackling unhealthy environments'
What's wrong with this picture?
The deeper issue at hand
(NaturalNews) Britain's National Health Service (NHS) has recently launched an ambitious-sounding initiative to build ten new housing developments designed to facilitate healthy lifestyles with the aid of city planning. The scheme hopes to address such issues as dementia and obesity.The NHS believes that careful planning of communities could help achieve such goals as encouraging children to spend more time outdoors and helping the elderly to remain independent.Since the Healthy New Towns initiative was proposed in July 2015, NHS England has assembled a team of design and technology experts to create each new town individually in an effort to promote healthy living through a modern "place-shaping" approach, which involves "better housing and urban design, and access to well-designed public spaces and facilities."From the NHS website:"Options to be tested at some of these sites include fast food-free zones near schools, designing safe and appealing green spaces, building dementia-friendly streets and ensuring people can access new GP services using digital technology. The developments will reflect the needs of their local populations when working up their plans."The program was ostensibly created in response to numerous health issues facing the country, including the fact that Britain loses more than 130 million working days each year due to illness, and that a growing percentage of British children are now prone to obesity Physical inactivity is the cause of 1-in-6 deaths in Britain, and studies have shown that both adults and children are getting less exercise than previous generations. Among today's children, only 21 percent spend time playing outdoors, as compared to 71 percent of their parents when they were young.Among British adults, it is estimated that 25 percent walk less than nine minutes per day.The city design experts plan to fight obesity and encourage physical activity by:"Tackling unhealthy (and 'obesogenic') environments by creating walkable neighbourhoods, delivering radically improved infrastructure for safe active travel and more accessible public transport, and by providing easy access to healthy and affordable food in the local area."At first glance, the Healthy New Towns initiative might sound like a worthwhile endeavor. After all, who doesn't support the idea of healthier lifestyles for citizens ? And if community design can help achieve that goal, then why not?In this writer's opinion, there is much to be skeptical about ...For one thing, healthy lifestyles much like morality can't effectively be legislated or enforced. If people prefer to eat junk food, for instance, they'll find a way to continue consuming it even if they have to go out of their way to obtain it.Consider the utter failure of the War on Drugs. It was based on the same kind of thinking, and it never worked in the real world.People have a right to make their own decisions unhealthy or not and they tend to do so, despite laws or the good intentions of others.Beyond the likelihood that such a community planning initiative is doomed to failure, there's another huge elephant in the room that should not be ignored.The fact is that the Healthy New Towns project smacks of Agenda 21-style manipulation and Marxist redistribution schemes that impose centralized control over humans and public resources.The key to building a successful and healthy community is local control and planning not through remote design schemes handed down from a central authority.
Other U.S. cities have higher concentrations of lead than Flint, Michigan
Sources of lead poisoning
Sketching a picture of America's lead crisis
(NaturalNews) Reports of children being poisoned by lead-contaminated water in Flint, Michigan, have shocked the nation and for good reason. Unfortunately, the story of Flint, Michigan, isn't exactly unique. Children across the country are exposed to toxic lead everyday levels which meet and exceed those in Flint.According to the World Health Organization (WHO), "lead attacks the brain and central nervous system to cause coma, convulsions, and even death." Severe cases like these are uncommon in the United States, but that shouldn't put people at ease. Lead exposure, even in small doses, can stymie the brain development of fetuses and children, "resulting in reduced [IQ], behavioral changes such as shortening of attention span and increased antisocial behavior, and reduced educational attainment."Flint is in the midst of a man-made crisis, declared the city in a press release last December. But the problem of lead poisoning is far more pervasive than just the city of Flint. In Pennsylvania, for instance, an estimated 8.5 percent of children tested had hazardous levels of lead in their blood."In light of the Flint debacle, we wanted people to understand that water is not the only thing that's poisoning children," Elyse Pivnick, director of environmental health for Isles, Inc., told sources. "Most people think the lead problem was solved when we took lead out of gasoline and new homes in the 1970s, but that's not true."It's not just a problem in Pennsylvania either. In New Jersey, for example, communities with high concentrations of lead include Irvington, East Orange, Trenton, Newark, Paterson, Plainfield, Jersey City, Elizabeth, Atlantic City, New Brunswick and Passaic and Cumberland counties, reports. According to a 2014 batch of statistics from the New Jersey Department of Health, eleven cities and two counties in New Jersey had a greater percentage of children with elevated lead levels than children in Flint did in 2015.Furthermore, data gathered by the CDC found that more than 40 percent of the states that provided lead test results in 2014 had higher rates of lead poisoning in children than in Flint. Approximately 4 percent of children five years of age or younger had blood-lead levels of at least five micrograms per deciliter in Flint , which is the threshold that requires public health action. Outside of Michigan, twelve states had a greater percentage of children under six who met and beat that threshold.Lead poisoning isn't solely caused by tainted water. In fact, unlike in Flint, Michigan, most cases of lead poisoning come from exposure to the air and household products. Homes built prior to 1978 the year lead was banned from paint still have lead paint coated on their window sills. Whenever these windows are opened, they release clouds of lead-contaminated dust into the air. These pollutants are breathed in by children , causing long-term damage to both the brain and bodily organs.The CDC estimates that around 24 million household units have deteriorated lead paint and dangerous levels of lead-contaminated dust. More than four million of these units are home to children. Pennsylvania is fourth in the country for having the most home units built prior to 1978.The greatest threat of lead poisoning in the United States, however, stems from inner city soil infested with decades old gasoline. Gas became unleaded in the mid-1970s. Before then, all the lead burned was released into the air and fell back down to Earth. Since lead particles don't biodegrade, they mixed with the soil. This lead accumulated in the centers of major cities, where heavy traffic was and is still commonplace."Flint is an anomaly because they screwed up so badly with the water ," Matt Milcarek, a city commissioner in Kalamazoo, Mich., said to. "But lead in the home is what's poisoning our children. It makes me nervous that everyone is focused on water right now, and so people may test their water and think they're safe, when they may not even be remotely safe [from lead]."The amount of lead infested soil has become so bad that the District of Columbia's Department of Energy recommends parents "cover any bare soil" in their backyards that their kids could be exposed to. Pets can roll around in backyard soil and bring it into the household as well.These recommendations only go so far, however. There are no citywide programs that will or can provide every backyard with an immovable blanket. The Department of Parks and Recreation has covered up soil at city playgrounds so that children are not exposed to the contaminated dirt. However, many Parks and Recreation Departments are headed by the National Park Service, which neither covers its soil nor tests it for lead.Truth be told, there isn't much research on lead levels for the majority of U.S. cities. Most cities do not have the local researchers necessary to conduct such research.Although the full-extent of America's lead problem is unknown, it's far worse than is generally recognized. In order to sketch a more accurate picture of the problem at hand, food scientist Mike Adams , and a former NASA contract scientist, are conducting a nationwide scientific analysis of heavy metals in the tap water of U.S. cities."In the spirit of citizen science and the democratization of science, we are taking on this task because the EPA has failed the citizens of Flint, Michigan," explains Adams. "When government regulators refuse to do their jobs, it is the duty and responsibility of citizen scientists to take on that task in the public interest. The health and lives of millions of children are at stake," Adams continues. "We don't have time to wait for the EPA to someday decide to do its job. We need to protect our children right now."The team is calling on health professionals throughout the country to send tap water samples to their lab for testing. A downloadable formwith instructions is available at EPAwatch.org
(NaturalNews) Experimental crops genetically engineered to withstand high doses of pesticides are growing all over the U.S., and in some cases illegally. However, rarely does the biotech industry suffer repercussions, as the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the agency responsible for oversight, largely ignores violators.Field trials involving genetically modified organisms (GMOs) serve a multitude of purposes, including both industrial and pharmaceutical applications. The USDA, responsible for protecting America's food supply, is supposed to oversee these field trials.Documents obtained by Hearst Newspapers through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) disclosed a "swiftly expanding outdoor experimentation and industry-friendly oversight of those experiments," according to a report by theA careful review of the documents found that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), an agency under the USDA responsible for regulating GMOs, among other duties, has been taking it pretty easy on violators, issuing justcivil penalties for field trial infractions since 2010, despite there being hundreds of notices of non-compliance.The incidences range from minor paperwork violations to lost seeds and GMOs growing where they shouldn't be, according to a report byGebbers Farms of Brewster, Washington, a company growing GM apples, was among those penalized. Cited previously for growing GM apples too close to conventional apples, failing to keep good records and making no efforts to keep animals from getting to the crops , APHIS issued Gebbers a $19,250 fine.APHIS is reportedly approving permits for pharmaceutical corn along Californian's Central Coast despite accusations that the company's founder contaminated Midwestern crops with GMOs, according to Hearst's investigation.To date, nearly 20,000 field trials have been approved by APHIS, covering about 100,000 plantings of GMO crops . Only crops genetically engineered to produce pesticides are regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Calling the USDA's job expansive would be an understatement.Once new forms of GMOs hit the market, there is no further monitoring or testing to determine potential unintended consequences (like health and environmental effects), highlighting the importance of field trials. The regulatory system's weakness prompted environmental groups to petition the USDA for stronger oversight of experimental crops."The ease with which people can test things in the open air troubles me," said Lynn Clarkson, a grain business operator who sells non-GMO seed. "We've essentially opened up parts of America for experimentation."In 2013, Monsanto's GM wheat was discovered growing wildly in Oregon, prompting anti-GMO countries like Europe and Japan to temporarily suspend all U.S. wheat imports. Canola genetically engineered to resist proprietary herbicides was found flourishing in North Dakota in 2010.That same year, an experimental plot of cotton genetically engineered to resist pests was discovered growing in Texas, resulting in Monsanto being forced to pay a civil penalty of $18,690. Later referred to as "the Monsanto incident," the GM cotton, along with conventional cotton, was sent for processing.While Monsanto maintains that humans ate none of it, they admitted that some of it entered the supply chain and was used for livestock feed in the U.S. and Mexico. Monsanto chalks the mistake up to "inadequate communication" and "human error."Monsanto says it's conducted an estimated 26,000 field trials since 1990, amounting to one-fourth of the approximate 100,000 field trials in the U.S. The Missouri-based biotech company received at least 35 notices of non-compliance by APHIS in 2010 through 2013, more than any other company; however, the company was only issued one violation.
Wrongful persecution
Irrational and unsubstantiated fear of raw milk
(NaturalNews) For the past several years, as it rose in popularity, "raw" milk that is, milk that has not undergone pasteurization has been heavily criticized as being unclean, disease-ridden and dangerous to consume. But a growing body of research and evidence suggests that pasteurizing milk may actually be robbing us of vital protection against major allergic conditions , as well as destroying many nutrients that contribute to much better health, the UK'sreports.While raw milk can be legally purchased from farmers, milk sold in retail stores must be pasteurized that is, a process by which milk is heated to about 162 degrees F for 25 seconds, in order to remove any E.coli and other potentially lethal pathogens like salmonella.But the process may also be destroying vital nutrients that protect us from a range of sicknesses and ailments, as well as allergies in children and adults.further reported that a study involving more than 1,100 children by pediatric allergy specialists at Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, Germany, found that kids who regularly consumed unpasteurized milk had a much lower risk of developing allergic asthma.Thealso noted:"The findings of this large-scale, long-term (six-year) study are in line with earlier, smaller studies. But the German study also points to omega 3 fatty acids as the substance in raw milk that may be key to the benefits. Tabea Brick, one of the immunologists who led the research, says that these play a crucial role in enabling the body to create chemicals that reduce harmful inflammation."Essentially, asthma is an inflammatory allergic reaction in the lungs' airways."Fresh, unprocessed cow's milk has a higher content of omega 3 than does pasteurised, homogenised [where it's treated to stop the cream separating] or low-fat milk ," she wrote in this month's edition of the. "This factor partly explains why children who consume the unprocessed product are less likely to develop asthma."While our bodies don't produce omega 3 fatty acids, they can nevertheless come from foods like fish and dairy products (though raw dairy is much better for you). Still, the authors of the German study decided not to actually recommend that consumers switch to unpasteurized milk due to bacterial concerns.So, instead, the researchers are urging milk producers to developing processing techniques that are far less aggressive than pasteurization so that all the beneficial components in milk are protected and preserved while still eliminating pathogens.In the United States, raw milk producers have become the target of various federal and state government agencies whose interests are motivated more by outside lobbying groups than by giving the American people the freedom to choose whatever form of milk they wish to consume.One of these farmers is raw milk producer David Hochstetler who after six years of being hassled by the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Justice is finally free to do what he does, which is raise livestock and produce a wonderfully pure, organic dairy product As reported by, Hochstetler, of rural Middlebury, Ind., began being harassed by federal officials after they suspected his farm of being the source of a 2010 bacteria outbreak in Michigan. However, an investigation by a county sheriff failed to yield evidence substantiating those claims. He was defended by his local sheriff, who warned federal officials of consequences including arrest if they continued to search Hochstetler's property without a proper, constitutional, court-issued warrant, as required by the Fourth Amendment.What's the government's real problem with raw milk anyway? According to, it is born of an irrational and incorrect view of the product:"The CDC states that 'While it is possible to get foodborne illnesses from many different foods, raw milk is one of the riskiest of all.' Yet newly-released CDC data show that, from 2007 to 2012, there were a total of 81 reported outbreaks associated with unpasteurized milk and that these outbreaks resulted in 979 illnesses, 73 hospitalizations, and 0 deaths. Over a five-year period of relatively wide consumption, raw milk did not kill a single person, even though it is estimated that in California alone 100,000 people drink raw milk weekly."
Just when cancer patient thinks her life is improving, doctors tell her she was diagnosed incorrectly
How you can help woman wronged by the medical community forget about cancer for a day
There's a reason so many people distrust medical experts
(NaturalNews) Imagine having a horrible toothache that persists regardless of taking antibiotics or even having your tooth extracted. Then think of how you'd feel if you were told the problem was actually due to cancer, for which you were given chemotherapy and began showing signs of improvement. As if that's not difficult enough, imagine the horror of then being told you were diagnosed with the wrong kind of cancer all along, and that you weren't getting better at all.Unfortunately, this is a true story that belongs to 27-year-old Gemma Wood.The newly-married mother of two had a pain in her mouth that was dismissed as a toothache. When removal of a tooth in the general area causing her pain and antibiotics didn't remedy the problem, she was concerned that this involved something more serious. Then a lump formed in her cheek; doctors performed a biopsy and determined she had a neuroendocrine tumor (NET) in her mouth, behind her cheekbone. Wood began radiotherapy and chemotherapy , and after just four months, started showing signs of improvement.Sadly, the feeling of elation that comes with overcoming cancer and getting back to a normal routine didn't last very long.Just months after finishing chemo and being told her cancer cells were shrinking, doctors informed her that she didn't have a NET after all. Instead, she had a rhabdomyosarcoma, an aggressive and very rare cancer that attacks the body's soft tissues. Worse, she learned that it had spread to her lungs, making her question doctors' abilities in general, as well as how long she has to live."This has destroyed all my faith in doctors," says Wood. "Whenever we're in the car on the way to hospital, I'll feel really anxious. I've even had to have counselling just to help me continue with chemotherapy because I get so scared about going back to hospital now." Wood explains that the type of chemotherapy differs from the one she previously had when it was thought she needed to treat the NET. Having to go through this a second time is a devastating blow to the entire family.Wood also says that even her young son has had to receive counseling because the experience has been difficult for him. As for her daughter, Wood says that the only way she's known her mom is as a bald, sick woman.A spokesman for University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, which "provides services to some 1.9 million people living in Southampton and south Hampshire" in England, said that "Gemma's medical history is complicated and testing of her initial biopsy did not indicate rhabdomyosarcoma." The spokesman said that her treatment is continuing and, "we would urge her to raise any questions or concerns she has with us so we can address them with her directly."While Wood and her family grapple with the terrible news, which includes not knowing how long she may live, Wood is determined to have at least one day where she can cast the sadness aside. To that end, she's set up a GoFundMe account so that she can have a day of celebration with about 150 of her friends and family members, all in the name of forgetting about cancer for a day and enjoying life."I want to throw a massive party so we can all just forget cancer for a night, and celebrate life, whatever my outcome," says Wood.Unfortunately, Wood's distrust in doctors and the medical community is growing just about everywhere you turn.For example, you may recall the story in which a licensed New Jersey nurse administered the flu shot to 70 patients, while using the same syringe for every person. As a result of her mindless actions, she's put these people at risk for possible exposure to hepatitis, HIV or other blood-related diseases.Then there's the case of Dr. Farid Fata, a Michigan oncologist, who administered unnecessary chemotherapy treatments to the tune of $35 million in Medicare fraud. So determined was he to make a profit by telling people that they were ill when in reality, they weren't, that Fata's staff was said to even come to a patient's car to administer treatment right in the middle of a parking garage.Given these examples and the many more that exist out there it's best to take charge of your own health by eating fresh, organic foods whenever possible , getting exercise, and of course, insisting on maintaining your rights to always know about the ingredients in the food supply
Mind-blowing, lifesaving information that could collapse the for-profit cancer industry
Cancer industry con men don't want you to see this docu-series... they'll lose revenues when you don't get cancer anymore!
FACT: Chemotherapy causes permanent brain damage, kidney damage and heart damage
The insidious effort to censor the truth about cancer
If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with cancer, you MUST watch this first...
(NaturalNews)In case you didn't notice, we are living in an age of extreme medical censorship. Over the last week or so, we've all watched in fascination as the entire mainstream media called for the outright censorship of a vaccine documentary they had never even seen. That documentary -- "VAXXED" -- was so dangerous to the medical establishment that orders went out to the media to attack it and destroy it.Similarly, a book called " A Mind of Your Own ," authored by a holistic doctor named Dr. Kelly Brogan, was blackballed by the entire mainstream media after orders went out to crush the book. It recommends a holistic, nutrition-based approach to mental health whileNow, the shocking docu-series known as The Truth About Cancer , is about to be re-launched to the public beginning. And right on cue, the drug-pushing media science trolls will be either ignoring it or attacking it, depending on what orders they receive from Big Pharma.This docu-series is so powerful that it threatens to collapse the for-profit cancer industry. That industry earns its revenues based onfrom cancer treatments that don't prevent cancer or reverse cancer. Instead, today's fraudulent cancer treatments like chemotherapy and radiation actually CAUSE more cancer!The absolute last thing the cancer industry wants is for knowledge of cancer prevention strategies (and cancer cures) to spread among the public. Such knowledge threatens their very existence and takes away the profits they've been counting on from treating cancer in 1 out of 3 people for the foreseeable future...Make no mistake, the cancer industry's entire profit model is based on. That combination is the ultimate profit generation scheme for the cancer industry, despite all the suffering, pain and death it causes to human beings who are all victims of the industry.The cancer industry so steeped in criminality that its own doctors and oncologists routinely rely onto earn huge profits by falsely telling people they have cancer, then "treating" them with chemotherapy. Some of the worst fraudsters and criminals operate in Detroit, Michigan, where Dr. Farid Fata was recently prosecuted and jailed for committing what can only be called "medical murder." He falsely diagnosed thousands of healthy people with cancer, ultimately dosing them with high-profit chemotherapy -- as many as 50 people a day! -- destroying their health while pressuring them to stay on the chemo to "get rid of the cancer."This cancer industry quack is thankfully facing serious prison time, but his own colleagues (who are also quacks and criminals) continue to operate in Michigan and all across the world, poisoning people for profit while calling it "cancer treatment."While these cancer industry con men are raking in huge dollars from the false diagnoses and toxic "treatments" that earn them high profits, they are desperate to censor any information that empowers people like you with, preventing it or even CURING it.The very last thing they want is for you to get informed. They know that the more information you learn about how easy it is to reverse cancer in many cases, they won't be able to trick you into falling for chemotherapy.And make no mistake: Cancer doctors use TRICKS and deceptions to convince you to go for toxic chemotherapy. Their entire sales approach is based on unethical, heavy-handed psychological pressure tactics and fraudulent medical claims. They never disclose their conflicts of interest, either, neglecting to tell patients thatgiven to their own patients. They have every financial incentive to falsely diagnose you with cancer, then convince you to agree to chemotherapy as "treatment!"This only works if they are able to keep you in the dark about cancer cures that really work. They have to isolate you from the truth about cancer. Only then are they able to profit from your ignorance while poisoning your body for money.Chemotherapy is the perfect marketing weapon of the cancer industry because it causes so much damage that it. Once a person undergoes chemotherapy, they will suffer all the following conditions: Lifelong immune suppression and susceptibility to disease Lifelong cognitive damage: "Chemo brain" Lifelong kidney damage and susceptibility to kidney failure Lifelong liver damage and reduced liver function Heightened risk of future cancers returning in the body, usually in multiple locationsAll these things explain why chemotherapy is theof cancer hucksters (doctors) and con artists (oncologists). Their "medicine" is poison. Their marketing model is based on deception. Their revenues are tied to trapping patients in a cycle of suffering and death.Nearly every one of these people is in favor of medical censorship to outlaw any discussion of cancer cures on the internet. There have been serious efforts to try toin order to protect the cancer industry's profits which are based on ignorance.That's why this docu-series, The Truth About Cancer , is so revolutionary. It threatens the entire profit model of the cancer industry by empowering you with practical, evidence-based approaches to treating cancer and reversing cancer without poisoning your body in the process.In precisely the same way the vaccine industry desperately attacked the VAXXED documentary to keep you from learning the truth about vaccines, the cancer industry is unleashing its attack machine against The Truth About Cancer. Their mission is to destroy, silence, censor, intimidate and shut down The Truth About Cancer... at any cost! They do not want you to see this docu-series. They do not want you to tell anybody about it. They do not want you to realize They do not want you to have access to information they do not control.It's all the same story, whether we're talking about cancer, vaccines, GMOs, fluoride or even politics and elections..., and to achieve that it must censor, dictate, monopolize and control the flow of information while denying you access to the truth that can set you free.Yet that model is utterly failing with each passing day...The last time an earlier version of this docu-series ran,. Countless lives were saved. Thanks to this docu-series, there are people who are ALIVE today who would have otherwise been killed by the cancer industry. Click here to register now . The Truth About Cancer launches April 12th. This docu-series can literally save your life or even help save the life of a loved one.I can't urge you enough to say "NO" to your quack, criminal oncologist who's trying to poison you for profit. Click here to read the true story on Dr. Farid Fata , a criminal oncologist who poisoned people for profit. Once you read that story, you'll know the truth.so that you can make an informed decision. The cancer industry doesn't want you to know your options at all; it wants to corral you into its high-profit "treatments" as if you were human cattle to be milked for revenues.Once you watch this cancer docu-series,, giving you vastly most information to make an informed decision. Click here to register now . Then mark your calendar to tune in on April 12th.
Police officers and residents are rallying to support a two-year-old boy with Down syndrome who had his Easter eggs stolen from his front lawn in an act of petty theft caught on surveillance video.
Chula Vista residents Janet and Michael Ford say they were excited to celebrate Easter with their toddler, Gabriel, on Sunday after they learned their neighbors had put Easter eggs on their lawn for the little boy to find.
Gabriel has Down syndrome and was born with his ring and middle fingers bound as one. His parents say he recently underwent surgery to have his fingers separated. As part of his physical therapy, Gabriel had been practicing picking up eggs, so the Fords say their son was really looking forward to partaking in an egg hunt on Easter - the first time the tot has really been old enough to celebrate the holiday.
Janet and Michael planned to help Gabriel hunt for the eggs on their lawn after church on Sunday, but while the family was at church, a group helped themselves to the eggs.
A surveillance camera at the familys home captured video of a couple taking a few eggs from the familys yard and then leaving. The footage then shows the couple coming back, this time accompanied by two kids, and taking the rest of the eggs.
But the theft didnt stop there.
The surveillance video shows the couple coming back to the Fords yard a third time at night and cutting Easter eggs left on some trees.
Janet said the unfortunate incident was very disappointing.
However, there is a silver lining.
In an overwhelming response, the Fords say Chula Vista police officers, firefighters and community members have rallied in support of little Gabriel.
On Monday night, an emergency dispatcher and a Chula Vista Police Department (CVPD) officer who is also a parent of a special needs child visited the familys home and decorated their yard with bright Easter eggs just for Gabriel.
The dispatcher and officer also left a big box of sidewalk chalk for the boy and a note that read: Happy Easter from your neighborhood Easter bunnies. 28 eggs total.
Chula Vista firefighters also dropped off a special Easter basket for Gabriel.
Vanessa Herrera
This Friday, the community plans to come together to host a big Easter egg hunt for all the children in the neighborhood, Gabriel included.
The community is asking people to contribute eggs for the event, and to bring a toy to donate to Rady Childrens Hospital, since the hospital has been such a big part of Gabriels life.
Its turned into so many families wanting to do it. We have had people from other states contacting us, Janet told NBC 7.
According to CVPD Lt. Fritz Reber, police know the identities of the people who stole the eggs, but have yet to speak with the group. The investigation is ongoing, and the adult culprits could be charged with petty theft in the incident, according to police.
After years of planning and political jousting, San Francisco is poised to launch its Clean Power SF program which for the first time will give the citys energy consumers the option to buy renewable power directly from the city instead of PG&E.
The program, known as community choice aggregation, is similar to one already offered in Marin County where consumers are automatically enrolled and then have the choice to opt out. San Francisco will roll-out the program in May beginning with neighborhoods in the Southeast and Central San Francisco.
Were looking to begin the program with 50 megawatts worth of customers, said Barbara Hale, the San Francisco Public Utility Commissions assistant general manager in charge of public power.
The SFPUC will offer a two-tiered plan; residents can choose to purchase 35-50 percent clean power at a rate thats slightly lower than PG&Es. They can also purchase 100 percent renewable power at a rate Hale said is slightly higher than PG&Es. Whichever option consumers choose, the energy will still be delivered through PG&Es transmission lines and consumers will continue to receive a statement through the utility company.
Its the opportunity for San Francisco businesses and residents to make their own decision about electricity supply, Hale said, standing among a hundred-strong whirling wind turbine farm in Solano County that will provide 25 megawatts of San Franciscos clean power.
San Franciscos left-leaning supervisors have pushed for a city-run renewable energy plan for years. A plan passed by supervisors in 2013 grinder to a halt after opposition by Mayor Ed Lee. Lee was critical of the plan because it didnt include enough local hiring and purchased the green power through Shell.
The new plan in which the city would buy power directly from clean energy suppliers has the mayors blessing. PG&E, which becomes a competitor to the citys program, has plans to raise an exit fee for customers transferring to the new program. The utility said it nonetheless supports the citys community choice aggregation program.
At the same time, we respect the energy choices that are available to our customers, PG&E said in a statement, and will continue to cooperate with local government as they consider pursuing and/or developing a CCA program.
The citys initial green offering will come partially from the rolling green hills of Solano County where hundreds of wind turbines churn in the Montezuma Hills Wind Resource Area. San Francisco has contracted with the Shiloh Wind Power Project to supply a portion of its energy supply.
Heres just what I consider the new beautiful, said Shiloh plant manager Larry Wilson, standing beneath a turbine. We pick up all the wind coming off the San Francisco Bay.
In a gesture of natural reciprocity, the wind blowing across the bay to the wind farm will be harnessed and returned to San Francisco in the form of clean energy. Eventually, San Francisco hopes to roll-out the program city-wide with the potential for customers to purchase all their energy from clean sources outside PG&E.
The ultimate goal, Hale said, is to have San Francisco have the option for 100 percent renewable power.
Chicago Public Schools CEO Forrest Claypool said Friday the district has filed a complaint lawsuit with the Illinois Education Labor Relations Board to prevent further "illegal" strikes from the Chicago Teachers Union.
During a press conference Friday afternoon, Claypool stated that the district is seeking a premanent, pre-emptive injuction in an effort to eliminate "similar illegal strikes going forward."
"We think it's important that it be clearly established that whether children are in school, being educated is not subject to the whims of the Chicago Teachers Union," he said. "It is subject to clear, unambiguous state of law."
Nearly 340,000 students missed class Friday as the union staged a one-day strike to protest education cuts and inadequate state funding.
Claypool also asked the union to reimburse CPS and partners for the expenses needed to maintain contingency sites for students during the strike.
"We hope that now that this day has passed, that we can get back to the real issue, back to the bargaining table," he said.
Claypool acknowledged the strike put teachers "in a difficult situation" and said the district welcomes them back Monday "so they can get back to what they want to do, which is teaching."
The CTU called the district's legal actions "bogus" and said they disagree with the decision.
The Supreme Court 60 years ago authorized unfair labor practice strikes under the National Labor Relations Action and we believe teachers have those rights," CTU spokeswoman Stephanie Gadlin said in a statement. "This was a one day job action. Their charges were filed after the fact and they seek to enjoin us from doing something have no intention of doing again. We call on CPS to join us in fighting for more revenue for schools.
CTU president Karen Lewis said the strike was necessary because schools are at a crisis point that demands action now. She walked the picket line at King College Prep High School and Beasley Elementary on the citys South Side where she told reporters the protests seemed to be "going really well."
"We're at a crisis point so we either do something now or it's going to be worse later," Lewis said.
For the teachers who didn't go to work, but also didn't join in the protests Friday, Lewis said "that's OK."
"That tells me they're tired," she said. "It's been a long year."
The teachers aren't alone in their protests, several others groups will demonstrate fighting for their own labor rights. Among them are striking fast food workers, who want the minimum wage raised.
Claypool said roughly 8,000 students attended contingency sites put in place ahead of the strike and called it a "drama-free day."
Seven people, including five children, were injured Friday afternoon when a taxi crashed into a building in Chicago, fire officials said.
The crash happened just after 2:30 p.m. in the 7100 block of S. Yates Blvd. in Chicagos South Shore neighborhood. A witness said it was a two-vehicle crash and all of the people injuries were in one of the vehicles.
Five children were transported to Comer Childrens Hospital in stable condition, according to the fire department. One adult, believed to be the driver of the vehicle, was taken Northwestern Memorial Hospital in serious condition and another adult was taken to Trinity Hospital in serious condition.
Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford confirmed all the people in the taxi were a family. The children were not wearing seat belts, he added.
Authorities said the car was traveling northbound on Yates Boulevard when it crossed into the southbound lanes of traffic, over the parkway, through a fence and hit the building.
Lamika McCloud witnessed the crash and allowed one of the victims to use her cellphone.
"The lady was speeding down the street, everyone was at a standstill because of the light and she was flying and couldn't stop and she hit the back of the cab driver and ran him off the road and he hit the building and he had his whole family in the car," McCloud said.
It is not clear where the other car possibly involved in the crash went.
Tesla opened Model 3 online orders early late Thursday because of heavy demand, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said via Twitter.
Musk also tweeted that India, Brazil, South Africa, South Korea, New Zealand, Singapore and Ireland would be added to the list of countries where online ordering would be available.
The promise of an affordable electric car from Tesla Motors had hundreds of people lining up to reserve one.
Tesla initially announced plans to unveil its Model 3 Thursday night at its Los Angeles design studio. It doesn't go on sale until late 2017, but potential buyers could reserve one with a $1,000 deposit at Tesla stores starting Thursday morning.
Long lines, reminiscent of the crowds at Apple stores for early models of the iPhone, were reported from Hong Kong to Austin, Texas, to Washington. Estimates of aboutt 400 Customers braved the cold in Walnut Creek to reserve a car they have never seen. [[374226771, C]]
At a starting price of $35,000 before federal and state government incentives the Model 3 is less than half the cost of Tesla's previous models. The car is expected to have a range of at least 215 miles when fully charged, about double what drivers get from competitors in its price range, such as the Nissan Leaf and BMW i3.
Robin Santucci got the sixth spot in line when he arrived at the Santa Monica, California, Tesla store at 3:45 a.m. Thursday. By 9 a.m., he estimated there were 200 people in line.
Santucci has admired Tesla for years. When he got his current car, an electric Fiat 500, he made sure the lease would run out at the end of 2017 so his next car could be the Model 3.
"The design of every other car they've put out is beautiful,'' said Santucci, who works in digital advertising and lives in West Hollywood.
Santucci added that he didn't want to wait too long to order a car because the federal tax credit of $7,500 will sunset once Tesla sells 200,000 vehicles in the U.S. That's likely several years away, but customers like Santucci want to be sure they qualify.
The Model 3 is the most serious test yet of 13-year-old Tesla's ability to go from a niche player to a full-fledged automaker. It could be the car that finally makes electrics mainstream or customers could be scared off by Tesla's limited number of stores, chargers and service centers. Either way, the Model 3 is already changing the industry, spurring competitors to speed development of electric cars and improve their battery range.
Tesla didn't release details about the car before the event.
Right now, Tesla sells two vehicles: The Model S sedan, which starts at $71,000, and the Model X SUV, which starts around $80,000. But a lower-priced car has been a longtime goal of Tesla CEO Elon Musk. In a 2006 blog post, Musk said Tesla planned to build "a wide range of models, including affordably priced family cars'' in order to speed the world toward a solar-powered future.
The Model 3 puts Tesla within reach of millions more customers. Last year, only 2.1 percent of new cars purchased in the U.S. cost $75,000 or more, but 35 percent or 5.5 million cost $35,000 or more, according to TrueCar. The Model 3 is a critical part of the money-losing automaker's plan to increase sales from around 85,000 this year to 500,000 by 2020.
But Tesla faces several hurdles. U.S. buyers remain skeptical of electric cars, and low gas prices haven't helped already anemic sales. Sales of new electric vehicles grew 6 percent in the U.S. last year, but they still remain less than 1 percent of the overall vehicle market, according to IHS Automotive. Tesla also faces growing competition from big, deep-pocketed rivals like General Motors Co.
Still, its devoted following has a lot of trust for Musk and his creations. Those who lined up were all smiles on the way out. [[374202041, C]]
"I trust what he's made and done before," said George Van Lein. "I think it will look great."
Here's what we know about the Model 3:
WHEN WILL IT GO ON SALE? Tesla has said it expects to start Model 3 production at its Fremont, California, factory at the end of 2017. But the company has a history of delays. The Model X, which went on sale last fall, was initially due to go on sale in early 2014. Musk said last month that the Model 3, unlike the Model X, is designed for ``ease of manufacturing.'' Still, some analysts are doubtful. Morgan Stanley auto analyst Adam Jonas thinks Tesla won't start building the Model 3 until the end of 2018.
WHO ARE ITS COMPETITORS? General Motors is set to start selling the Chevrolet Bolt electric car at the end of this year, a full year before the Model 3. The Bolt will have a similar price tag and a 200-mile range. Hyundai's Ioniq, which has a 110-mile electric range and could match Tesla on price, goes on sale this fall. Audi will follow with an electric SUV in 2018. Musk said last month he's not worried. He thinks the Model 3 will compete most directly with small luxury cars like the Audi A4 and the BMW 3 Series.
HOW DID TESLA MAKE THE MODEL 3 LESS EXPENSIVE? Cheaper batteries. Tesla previously assembled its battery packs with battery cells made in Japan by Panasonic Corp. But Tesla and Panasonic are building a massive, $5 billion factory in Nevada which will supply batteries for the Model 3. Tesla says the scale of the factory will lower the cost of its battery packs by 30 percent. [[374172221, C]]
Hundreds of runners will hit the streets of Waterbury this weekend to honor a hometown hero.
Christopher Corbett, the citys deputy police chief, died tragically last June and his family, friends and coworkers hope to keep his legacy alive through the Chris Corbett Memorial 5K.
A successful scholar-athlete in both high school and college, Corbett could have chosen to protect and serve anywhere, but his heart was always at home.
Right when we met him one of the first things he always talked about was his desire to be a police officer, and not just a police officer anywhere, but a police officer in Waterbury, Connecticut, recalled TJ Oneglia, a race committee member and Corbetts college roommate at Holy Cross College in Worcester, Massachusetts. Oneglia and Corbett also ran on the track team together.
He was a great runner, one of the toughest guys I ever met, Oneglia said. He was just consistent, steady and out there every day pounding the pavement.
After earning his masters degree in criminal justice from Boston University, Corbett achieved his dream of becoming a Waterbury police officer in 1997. Coworkers say his dedication to his hometown made him a standout cop who always went above and beyond the call of duty.
He knew the neighborhoods intimately, he knew the players in the city, he had a great relationship with his peers, Deputy Chief William Covel said. Just a very giving, caring, loyal employee of the city.
The sudden loss in June, when Corbett took his own life, sent shockwaves through the community and the police department.
Clearly it was a huge loss for us, Covel said. Were trying to rebuild, and the road race is a significant way for us to keep Chriss memory alive.
Corbett was a proud product of Waterburys Catholic school system. He graduated from Blessed Sacrament Grammar School and Holy Cross High School, where he served as captain of the cross-country and track teams.
Fittingly, Holy Cross High School will be the start and end point of Sundays 5K road race. Proceeds from the event will support the Christopher D. Corbett Memorial Fund, Inc. to provide scholarships to Waterbury-area parochial students interested in pursuing careers in criminal justice.
Its a new tradition the race committee hopes will endure, along with the memory of a native son doing something he loved to do, in the place he loved the most.
This race is going to be an excellent thing for the city, Covel said. Its going to provide an inaugural event so we can remember Chris and keep his memory strong and vibrant going forward.
The race will happen rain or shine. More than 700 runners have preregistered. For details and to register, visit the website for the Chris Corbett 5K.
The state of Connecticut has already decriminalized small amounts of the drug and created programs that allow marijuana to be used for medical purposes. Now, some state representatives here in Connecticut hosted an informational hearing today on legalizing recreational use here as it is in Alaska, Colorado, Oregon and Washington.
New Haven State Reps. Juan Candelaria and Toni Walker hosted a discussion about it today and Candelaria said legalizing marijuana could raise revenue during the state's economic crises.
Now were struggling with the budget and how were going to where are we going to find revenue and what programs need to be cut so that we can balance the budget. But now we have a solution. This generates revenue to the state but also to the local municipalities, Candelaria said.
He introduced the legalization of recreational marijuana usage for this session. While it did not pass, he said he hopes the conversation will start the development of a task force to study how the legalization of marijuana will impact the state.
Part of the proposed bill would tax the drug and direct the money to the states general fund.
We should seriously be considering the decriminalization of this substance for recreational use and capitalize on the many financial benefits it would bring the state coffers," Candelaria said.
Several lawmakers who are in favor of the legalization measure, along with safety experts and Colorado State Rep. Dan Pabon spoke at the meeting.
Pabon said his state is seeing the tax benefits derived from marijuana sales.
So right now in Colorado, $40 million is dedicated to new public school construction or renovation which is sorely needed all over the country," he said.
When asked about the proposed legislation yesterday, Gov. Dannel Malloy said he is not a supporter of it.
"I think when you legalize marijuana, you're encouraging marijuana and that's not the place I want to go," Malloy said.
He added that he thinks the state has done what is necessary by decriminalizing small amounts of the drug and allowing the use of medical marijuana.
"I believe marijuana should be allowed for whatever medical malady that it brings real comfort to, or assistance to," Malloy said.
According to the governor, decriminalizing small amounts of the drug has taken about 8,000 arrests out of the court system.
Some organizations, including the Guilford Developmental Assets for Youth, also oppose the legalization of marijuana.
A lawyer for a labor union urged the Connecticut Supreme Court on Thursday to rule that the firing of a state worker caught using marijuana on the job was too harsh a punishment and he should be reinstated.
Gregory Linhoff was fired from his maintenance job at the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington in 2012 after a police officer caught him smoking pot in a state vehicle. He had no previous disciplinary problems since being hired in 1998 and had received favorable job evaluations, according to his labor union. He was arrested, but the charges were later dismissed.
Linhoff appealed the discipline to an arbitrator, who ruled the firing was too extreme and Linhoff instead should be suspended without pay for six months and subjected to random drug and alcohol testing for one year. The arbitrator said that while state rules and policies on drug and alcohol use allow for firing first-time offenders like Linhoff, they do not mandate it.
The state appealed to a Superior Court judge, who overturned the arbitrator's decision on the grounds that it violated Connecticut's public policy against marijuana use. Linhoff's union, the Connecticut Employees Union Independent SEIU, appealed the judge's ruling to the Supreme Court, which is expected to rule in a few months.
Barbara Collins, an attorney representing the union, argued that the trial judge was wrong.
The state attorney general's office said a decision in favor of the union would send a worrisome message that the state tolerates drug use and other criminal activity by state workers on the job.
At the time Linhoff was fired, he was seeking treatment for depression, stress and anxiety because his wife had filed for divorce and he had a cancer scare; he believed smoking pot helped to alleviate his worries, according to Collins.
Collins wrote in court documents that Linhoff's conduct was not so egregious that he should be denied a second chance.
Three missing North Texas children were found alive Thursday night, locked inside their parked SUV with their deceased mother, outside a McKinney shopping center.[[374216361,R]]
Police said Christine Thi Woo was found dead in her 2011 Honda Pilot about 6:30 p.m. in the parking lot of the Target store on the 8900 block of Texas 121 at Custer Road.
Woo's cause of death is unknown and will be determined by the Dallas County medical examiner.
The children, 1-year-old Leah Woo, 3-year-old Nathan Woo and 5-year-old Lauren Woo, were found alive in the vehicle, police said, and appeared to be OK but were transported to an area hospital for evaluation.
Three missing North Texas children were found alive Thursday night, locked inside their parked SUV with their deceased mother, outside a McKinney shopping center.
The children's father, Brandon Woo, went to the hospital to be with them, police said. On Friday, he issued the following statement: Thank you for your thoughts and concern for the wellbeing of my family. We request that everyone please respect our privacy as we focus on healing.
The family's church, Stonebriar Community Church, said the children are at Children's Medical Center in Dallas.
"Were doing all we know how to do right now," said Carol Spencer, church spokesperson and senior director of ministries. "A lot of praryer, tons of prayer for this family. Such a sad situation for all of us our hearts are just broken."
Spencer said the family has attended the church for the last four or five weeks and that the children have been attending Sunday school. She said church representatives are with the family at the hospital to assist in whatever way they can.
Police are investigating after the body of Christine Thi Woo was discovered in her vehicle near a Target store in McKinney. Her three young children were alive inside the vehicle.
"I wish we had an answer," Spencer said. "We know nothing. Were all just as baffled as everyone else is. It's just a sad, sad situation and it just breaks our hearts"
A Frisco police spokesman, Sgt. Jeff Inmon, declined to speculate about the woman's cause of death.
"At this point we're conducting an investigation to determine exactly what happened," he said. "The medical examiner's office, however, will determine the cause of death. We're all saddened by this incident and it's unfortunate but hopefully it'll bring some closure to the family."
On Friday, Frisco police said it had no update on the case and that it may be at least a week before any new information is available. The Collin County Medical Examiner's Office said it had no information on Woo's death as of Friday morning.
The three young children of a Frisco woman whose body was found in her vehicle at a McKinney parking lot were rushed to a nearby hospital Thursday.
Christine Woo and her children were last seen in Frisco Monday morning. Police tracked her last credit card to purchases at a Frisco Walgreens and McDonald's Monday between about 10 a.m. and noon.
Police continue to investigate at the scene, and additional details have not yet been released.
Husband Speaks to NBC 5
Brandon Woo, told NBC 5 Thursday that he texted his wife on his way home from work Monday and didn't get a response. When he arrived home they were gone.
"Got to the house, no kids, no wife, so I'm thinking, 'OK they may be out at the playground, shopping, somewhere,' so I give her a call. Cell phone rings in the other room," Brandon Woo said. "She doesn't have her cell phone, can't track her from her cell phone."
"Started getting worried when it got to 8 o'clock, now nothing. Nine o'clock, 10 o'clock, stayed up all night of course, worrying," he said.
Frisco police say a mother not seen since Monday has been found dead in McKinney, and her three children are alive.
Brandon Woo said he returned to work Tuesday morning, but would later tell his boss his family was missing and was allowed to return home.
"I know a lot of your viewers are asking me why did you wait so long to file a missing person report," he said. "Call it ignorance. I always thought that you had to wait 24 hours for a person to be missing before you can file a report. Once I did file a report on Tuesday evening, the police obviously educated me on that, saying, 'No you don't have to wait.' As soon as you think they're missing you can file a report, doesn't matter how long."
Brandon Woo said there was no further activity on the couple's credit cards, or even their Toll Tag, beyond Monday morning.
It is not clear how long the SUV had been in the Target parking lot.
Vigil for Woo Family
Friday evening, a few dozen people gathered at a vigil at Warren Sports Complex.
They lit candles and prayed for the Woo family.
"I don't know what happened that day but I know that three children lost their mother," said Cate Biggs, founder of Frisco Moms Care, which organized the vigil.
"That breaks our hearts," Biggs said.
NBC 5's Chris Van Horne and Scott Gordon contributed to this report.
For the past week or so, we've been talking about MLB predictions from all kinds of national analysts, and it's always interesting to see what the national vibe is regarding the Rangers.
ESPN's John Kruk, the former Phillies star and hitting extraordinaire, has been on the telecast for Sunday Night Baseball for years now and has seen his fair share of baseball.
This week, Kruk made his pick for AL Cy Young and chose Cole Hamels to take home the hardware over a loaded group of American League pitchers.
Kruk dismissed the idea that Hamels won't be able to adjust to a full season in the more hitter-friendly AL with a good point Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park is a hitter's paradise.
"You think about it, wait a second, he's pitching in the Ballpark in Arlington. But for all of his career he pitched in Citizens Bank Park which is a great hitters ballpark. I don't think that's going to fluster him at all. I think the fact that they're going to be in it Texas, to me, is going to be relevant all year I think Cole Hamels steps up his game. Then they get Darvish back to take some of the heat off of him, with Derek Holland and the rest. I really think Cole Hamels, this year, is going to prove to people why the Texas Rangers went out and got him at the trade deadline."
If Hamels pitches well enough to win the Cy Young, the Rangers will be in great shape.
The Dallas Police Department is moving its new Violent Crime Task Force into new Dallas neighborhoods.
The four-week-old task force has been focused on making arrests and getting guns off the streets in dangerous North Dallas communities only, and some South Dallas community leaders are telling city council members they're feeling ignored.
Over the next few weeks, the 170-officer strong task force is headed that way. On Wednesday the task force started patrolling a targeted high-crime zone in East Dallas, not too far off Ross Avenue.
Task force officers expect to stay in the East Dallas high-crime hotspots until mid-April, before moving south again.
NBC5 spent the evening with Sgt. Paolo Sparacino. Previously assigned to a North Dallas police division, Sparacino has spent the last month supervising a group of six task force officers, patrolling unfamiliar streets.
"I rely on the guys I'm in charge of, and they rely on me," he said. "Any police officer who tells you they aren't scared is either lying to you or hasn't seen anything big yet."
Even though drugs and guns have been successfully seized during task force operations, a new and ongoing challenge, police say, is that the violence and drug deals are moving off the streets and behind closed doors.
"That's a different beast. That's hard for the street-level uniformed officer to combat," Sparacino said. "When the drug-dealers and gang members start being clandestine about it, start moving behind closed doors, it's hard for the street-level officer to get a handle on it."
Near Old East Dallas, about 20 police cruisers patrolled up and down the streets. Sparacino's officers worked the streets from 4 p.m. until almost midnight.
The Violent Crime Task Force focuses on a surge of marked units to dramatically increase visibility, and also an increased level of traffic stops.
"The officers knows what questions to ask, what order to ask them in, and that can lead to finding the drugs and the dope in the car," Sparacino said. "A lot of the bigger stuff you're seeing comes off of ordinary traffic stops."
The task force also keeps an eye on parking lots and parks, looking for suspicious people and possible drug deals.
On Thursday evening Sparacino didn't find that at JW Ray Park. He found kids playing basketball and playing on the playground.
He invited a group of curious young boys to the patrol car to turn on the lights and sirens, honk the horn, and speak over the loudspeaker.
Destiny Lovett said her 7-year-old brother had been terrified of police.
"He used to think that they were going to hurt them or shoot them," Lovett said.
"I don't think he's going to be afraid anymore, so this is going to help a lot," she said.
The kids were curious about a police officer's job and responsibility.
"Why do you have to carry a gun?" asked one 7-year-old.
"Because sometimes there are very bad people who want to hurt other people, and I may need to use it to stop them," Sparacino said.
"But, what if it's a zombie?" the child asked.
"A zombie?" Sparacino said. "Well, I don't think zombies are real. But if there is a zombie, I'd have to use my gun to protect you."
Statistics show that violent crime overall in Dallas is up 20 percent overall from the same period last year.
With 20 murders in the month of March alone, the homicide rate is up about 80 percent.
Police Chief David Brown says the overwhelming majority of March's murders are drug deals gone bad inside drug houses or private apartments, or acts of domestic violence.
The police chief said the task force is working and the crime spike is coming down.
He's now working on a new task force that will focus on getting warrants to deal with drug houses and known domestic abusers.
The Texas Department of Public Safety is inching closer to following through on Gov. Greg Abbott's offer to send state troopers and other resources into Dallas to help stop violent crime.
"This is a complex problem that will require a significant amount of planning before a final plan of action is determined," said DPS Press Secretary Tom Vinger on Friday afternoon, noting that the plan is still in a preliminary stage.
"I wanted to do this on a volunteer basis, on an assisted basis," Abbott said this week. "I wanted to make sure that we were not stepping into the turf of the Dallas Police Department, that we were very respectful of their jurisdiction."
Dallas County deputies could participate in the effort, too according to Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins, the countys top homeland security official.
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Im in communication with our city partners and if they have a resource request, well look at that, but were all committed to working together, Jenkins said.
Tarleton State University Criminology expert G.M. Cox is a former police chief in four Texas cities.
The more eyes and ears and officers we can get out there, the safer it is for everybody, Cox said.
In his 35 years of Texas law enforcement experience, Cox said he has never heard of a situation quite like this were State Troopers are being offered for an urban crime fighting situation, but he believes it could be successful.
If you go into rural Texas youll see Troopers coming in and out of cities, assisting law enforcement. What makes it a little rare is the Governor stepped out there, but that may just be we have a different Governor. I think its great, Cox said.
For their own safety, Cox said outside officers need to know their new area, so for instance, they can accurately describe a location to call for back up.
Its just a different set of police officers to come and assist with a local issue, Cox said.
Abbott did not provide specifics on how many troopers could be temporarily assigned to help patrol Dallas streets or where they'd be coming from within the state. He noted that cooperation is essential and a public safety plan is being worked out.
One reason why the Dallas police chief and mayor agree that Abbott's offer to send in troopers to patrol is a good idea is that it could free up scores of Dallas police officers to track down repeat violent and dangerous domestic-abusers with outstanding warrants.
With more than 300 aggravated assault/family violence incidents this year, domestic violence crime is up 50 percent compared to this time last year.
It's an issue that the city's new 170-officer strong Violent Crime Task Force is having trouble fixing, because it's a crime that happens behind closed doors.
Domestic violence experts note that abusers often leave home after a 911 call is placed so they won't be questioned or arrested when police arrive. A warrant is created, but police don't often have resources or permission to return to a home and do a door-knock.
The leader of the Genesis Women's Shelter says the statistics don't necessarily mean violent crime against women is up, but perhaps that more women are empowered to reach out to police.
"Maybe more people are reporting, more people are realizing that the city of Dallas will see this is a crime," said shelter CEO Jan Langbein.
Langbein is meeting with Dallas Police Chief David Brown Monday morning, as part of the Crime Against Women Conference in downtown Dallas.
This week Brown announced his intention to move 96 officers into specialized Domestic Violence Warrant Teams, who are empowered to do high-risk door-knocks and track down violent offenders.
That's why Langbein thinks it's a good idea to partner with DPS to bring in extra resources.
"I mean, why not? Extra hands is going to translate into extra help for victims of domestic violence," she said.
Langbein brushed aside concerns that bringing in troopers could send a signal that Dallas crime is out of control.
"It's not a bad sign to me, it's a partnership that is really positive and can ultimately help protect women," she said.
The "extra DPS resources" that will be temporarily moved to Dallas could include technology, troopers, and DPS helicopters.
Members of the police department's Violent Crime Task Force say they're happy to have more law enforcement resources, but don't want the public to get the impression that local sworn officers can't get a handle on violent crime.
"Honestly I think my guys out here are making a pretty big impact already," said Dallas Police Sgt. Paolo Sparacino, who commands six task force officers.
"If the state wants to help out, we'll take all the help we can get. But I think DPD and the guys that we have out here are making a dent in the numbers over the last few weeks," he said.
The Violent Crime Task Force spent weeks in targeted North Dallas neighborhoods that are known to be high-drug trafficking areas, with high gang activity and violent crime rates. This week the officers are moving south and east into new communities.
It's likely that state troopers, when they come, will focus on traffic violations on Dallas streets and help with overall visibility in high-crime corridors. This would free up more officers to track down domestic violence-abusers with outstanding warrants.
"Domestic violence is a crime that happens behind closed doors. It is a crime that will re-occur again and again," Langbein said.
The Genesis Women's Shelter in Dallas provides emergency shelters, legal resources, counseling and other resources for abused women.
They run a 24-hour hotline that can be reached at 214-946-HELP (4357). For more information, visit http://www.genesisshelter.org/.
NBC 5's Ken Kalthoff contributed to this report.
This story might take the prize for "tiniest patient.
A Sacramento paramedic firefighter rescued a fledgling hummingbird Tuesday afternoon and nursed it back to health.
The bird was found by a plant nursery employee in Sacramento who called the fire department after realizing there was no nest nearby.
Sacramento Fire tweeed that the paramedic had nursed the baby bird to health before taking it to the Wildlife Care Association at McClellan.
Hummingbirds are among the smallest of birds, most species measuring between 35 inches.
City Attorney Mike Feuer announced misdemeanor charges Thursday against a well-known Los Angeles-area immigration activist, alleging she gave legal advice without a license through her consulting business.
City attorneys earlier this month charged Gloria Dora Saucedo, the 65- year-old owner of Hermandad Mexicana Transnacional at 7915 Van Nuys Blvd. in Panorama City, with three misdemeanor counts of violating the Immigration Consultants Act by failing to post a sign stating the consultant is not an attorney, and two counts of giving legal advice without a license. If convicted, Saucedo faces up to five years in jail and $32,000 in fines, according to Feuer's office.
Her business associates, Carmen Onchi, 27, and Maria Chavez, 33, were each charged with misdemeanor unlicensed practice of law, which carries penalties of up to a year in jail and $1,000 in fines.
The charges stem from complaints by two clients who said they paid Saucedo for services and had their immigration-related applications denied, allegedly after requested documents were not submitted and one client was not informed of a scheduled interview and subsequent notices, according to Feuer's office.
One of the clients lost her residency status and the Social Security benefits she was receiving because her late husband was a citizen were canceled, according to Feuer.
Undercover investigators from the Los Angeles County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs also said they obtained legal advice from Hermandad Mexicana's employees on two occasions. Deputy City Attorney Onica Cole said Hermandad Mexicanas has "some attorneys that come in and do seminars on an ad hoc business, but they don't have people who are supervising the individuals who are involved."
A person identifying himself as her son told City News Service Saucedo had no immediate comment. Martha Ugarte, a fellow activist who said she has worked with Saucedo on many immigration issues, called the charges "minimal" and said Saucedo "hasn't been found guilty of anything."
"Her clients are not unhappy with her work," Ugarte said. "They're making a big deal out of something. ... Instead of looking for real criminals, they're targeting people who are helping the community."
Ugarte added that a news conference held today by Feuer to discuss the charges "caught us off-guard -- we weren't given any heads up about this."
Feuer told reporters the consequences of receiving legal help from unqualified consultants is more serious than just financial, since denial of immigration applications means the client faces deportation.
"Among the most important jobs of our office is to protect the most vulnerable residents of our city, and among our residents who are especially vulnerable are our immigrants, who have come here because they have hopes and dreams for themselves and for their families," Feuer said. "But those hopes often result in scam artists coming out of the woodwork to try to take advantage of people in ways that (cause) tremendous harm to them ... when the notarios who purport to be able to practice law work with people and then their lives are worse, not better, because of it," he said.
Feuer said his office will file motions to try to prevent Saucedo from acting as an immigration consultant until she complies with the Immigration Consultants Act, as well as from practicing law if the consultant is not licensed or authorized.
A former City of Miami police officer who acted as a lookout to help drug traffickers was sentenced to three and a half years in prison Friday.
Jose Maldonado, a 7-year veteran who patrolled the Wynwood area, surrendered his law enforcement certificate as part of a plea deal. He will also serve three years of probation and get credit for time served.
"He didn't understand at the time that that was inappropriate and now he understands it," defense attorney Carlos Pelayo Gonzalez said.
Maldonado had been charged with two counts each of armed cocaine trafficking, receiving compensation for unlawful behavior, official misconduct by a public servant and using a communication device unlawfully.
Prosecutors said Maldonado went to a McDonald's parking lot on two different dates to act as a lookout for a drug dealer. The officer allegedly arrived to each meeting in his marked City of Miami Police patrol car. He was dressed in full uniform and armed with his standard issue Glock handgun, according to an arrest affidavit.
Maldonado allegedly made $1,900 for the two transactions. The dealer he was working for turned out to be a police informant.
If Ivo van Hove is thinking one thing tonight, its probably: Finally! Elbow room!
The Belgian director, saluted this season for minimalist and tightly confined stagings of A View From the Bridge and David Bowies Lazarus, spreads outall across the vast Walter Kerr Theatrewith another play by Arthur Miller, The Crucible.
His cast includes two-time Oscar nominee Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn), as a perhaps-possessed schoolgirl, alongside heavy-hitters Ben Whishaw, Sophie Okonedo and Ciaran Hinds.
Curiously, the expansive Kerr stage has the effect of diminishing the anxiety in Millers 1953 play, a fictionalized story about the Salem witch trials viewed as an allegory for the Red Scare of the mid-20th century. While there are outstanding performances in Van Hoves interpretation, I never felt the sense of snowballing paranoia Id been expecting.
This Crucible begins with a brief overture: the curtain rises on seated schoolgirls, chanting. Were seeing young women forced to learn things by rotethings they may not necessarily believe. A blackboard reads: The promises of dutiful children, with a list beneath of notions (Honor God) about to fly out the door.
In van Hove fashion, the design is contemporary. Institutional fluorescent lights illuminate a stark classroom, with a tiny sink and tilt-out windows. Characters wear modern, monochromatic garb. Grim Philip Glass music spills through loudspeakers.
Ronan is convincing as chief mean girl Abigail Williams, with her mouth set in a hard line and her eyes narrowed. I liked her performance, but didnt necessarily see Abigail as someone capable of whipping up the frenzy relied on in The Crucible. The adults in this play wont even consider the possibility this scorned gal is fabricating tales?
Abigail and her friends may be practicing witchcraft, or Abigail may be concocting an elaborate story as a way of punishing Whishaws John Proctor, her one-time employer and lover. I was more admiring of the excellent Tavi Gevinson (This Is Our Youth), as Mary Warren, the classmate with a conscience.
While Im confident Miller believed in the power of mankind to manipulate and be manipulated, Im rather sure his witch hunt was metaphorical. Theatrical flourishes heregirls suspended in mid-air, windstorms, what appears to be a wolf wandering alone on stage (in fact, its a rare dog breed)suggest van Hove prefers it an open-ended question.
That added an unanticipated layer to the nearly three-hour proceedings.
Whishaw (Q, in recent James Bond movies) was compelling as a guilt-ridden farmer who refuses to be manipulated, then pivots, but finally is more concerned with his legacy than his life.
Okonedo (A Raisin in the Sun) is appealing, as always, maintaining a guarded posture as she is caught up in the shifting events. Hinds (Big Daddy, in 2013s Cat on a Hot Tin Roof revival) is imposing as a pompous judge.
I was moved by the way Gevinsons Mary Warren and Bill Camps Rev. Hale undergo their moral evolutions. We need to see them as confused but essentially good peopleand in these fine performances, we do.
As alluded, I never did get the sense an epidemic of hysteria was brewing. I struggled at the end to even remember why the Proctors had been implicated in a witch hunt. Oh, yes: He has too relaxed an attitude about religion; she may be using a tiny knit poppet as a vessel of evil.
To survive The Crucible, characters must admit to something false, or be condemned as witches. While Van Hoves Bridge, last fall, felt like an homage, The Crucible feels like a serious reinterpretation. Follow through on the directors otherworldly implications, and champions of Arthur Miller may find more to worry about than just Communists.
The Crucible, through July 17 at the Walter Kerr Theatre, 219 W. 48th St. Tickets: $42-$149. Call 877-250-2929.
Follow Robert Kahn on Twitter@RobertKahn
The National Constitution Center in Old City Philadelphia wants to bring the art of the campaign ad, and attack ad, to you.
The museum launched its online "Ad-O-Matic" tool Thursday as part of its "Headed to the White House" exhibit. You can choose your issue and tone then watch the magic happen.
LINK: Presidential Campaign Ad-o-Matic
The NCC calls the Ad-O-Matic "a platform for visitors to create their own campaign ads this election season. Featuring voice-over artist Laurel Katz, known for her work in hundreds of local, regional and national issue and campaign ads, the Ad-O-Matic allows visitors create entertaining custom television ads featuring themselves as the candidate. In tailoring their ads, users can choose a positive or an 'attack' ad, and select up to three key issues including the economy, environment, health care, education and foreign policy." [[368564361, C]]
NBC10 and Telemundo62 sponsor Headed to the White House. The presidential-themed exhibit was created by the National Constitution Center and uses artifacts, interactive modules, multimedia and role-playing opportunities to guide visitors along the campaign trail and into the Oval Office. The exhibit is timed to coincide with the 2016 presidential election and the National Democratic Convention taking place in Philadelphia this summer.
Headed to the White House runs through Nov, 13. For more information, visit www.constitutioncenter.org. You can also buy tickets HERE.
A defense lawyer wants a murder charge thrown out against a New Jersey father accused of killing his 3-year-old son. Attorney Richard Fuschino Jr. said in motions filed Thursday that authorities failed to read David Creato Jr. his rights before interviewing him following the October death of Brendan Creato.
Creato voluntarily talked to investigators following his son's death, Fuschino said, and didn't realize he was a suspect.
Camden County Medical Examiner Gerald Feigin also took days to examine the Cooper River Park scene where Brendan's body was found, Fuschino alleges. Feigin hung up when the Philadelphia Inquirer reached him by phone Thursday evening.
Camden County prosecutors have said the boy was found less than a mile from Creato's apartment several hours after his father reported him missing from his Haddon Township home. The boy had suffered "homicidal violence'' akin to smothering or strangulation, though an autopsy and toxicology tests initially failed to determine an exact cause of death.
Prosecutors said Creato killed his son because the child was impeding his relationship with a teenage girlfriend. She resented Creato's dealings with the boy's mother, they said, with whom he shared custody. The 22-year-old Creato was indicted on charges including murder and endangering the welfare of a child. He has since pleaded not guilty and is jailed in the Camden County Jail on $750,000 bail.
The Camden County Prosecutor's Office didn't immediately return a request for comment.
Less than 24 hours after her infant son was kidnapped by a woman at the King of Prussia Mall, a Philadelphia mother is speaking out for the first time.
NBC10s Deanna Durante was in court Friday to hear the confession of kidnapping suspect Cherie Amoore. Amoore was seen on surveillance video taking a baby out of King of Prussia Mall on Thursday, according to police.
"I'm glad he's in my arms at this moment," said Malika Hunter. "I didn't know what the outcome of this situation would be."
Suspected kidnapper, Cherie Amoore walks out of district court after facing felony kidnapping charges in the abduction of a 7-week-old baby at the King of Prussia Mall Thursday evening.
Hunter told NBC10 the ordeal began Thursday when she took her children, including 7-week-old Ahsir, to the King of Prussia Mall. She says she met 32-year-old Cherie Amoore at a jewelry store and the two quickly bonded.
"She was so polite," Hunter said. "Nice, calm and energetic. Like the normal, average person."
NBC10s Lauren Mayk spoke with King of Prussia Mall security officials Friday regarding how they identified a woman accused of kidnapping a baby and what their role was in helping police find the suspect and child.
Hunter says Amoore asked her about Ahsir and the two bonded over being mothers.
"She was just stressed and she just had a new baby and the father is in the military so that puts all the work on her," Hunter said. "It was relatable. She ain't been out in a while."
Malika Hunter is now reunited with her 7-week-old child after he was kidnapped by a woman in King of Prussia Mall. NBC10s Aundrea Cline-Thomas caught up with the mother in their neighborhood of Frankford.
The two continued talking as they headed to the food court. During their conversation, Amoore asked Hunter if she could hold Ahsir. While police initially said Hunter let Amoore hold him, they later said Hunter told her "no" and never handed him to her. Hunter told NBC10 she began tending to her 2-year-old son who was growing irritable. That's when Amoore took Ahsir from his stroller and walked away, according to police.
NBC10s Drew Smith has the latest as Upper Merion Township Police prepared charges Friday against a woman they say took a 7-week-old boy from the King of Prussia Mall.
"When I realized it was really happening it was like my heart could just bust open at any moment," Hunter said. "At any moment I could just hit that floor. It was the worst feeling I ever felt in my life."
Police said Amoore walked up a set of stairs and then walked by the Bonefish Grill before exiting the mall. Surveillance video shows Amoore with Ahsir in her arms leaving the mall around 5:30 p.m., according to investigators.
Police released surveillance video of a woman who they say kidnapped a baby at the King of Prussia Mall Thursday night.
Hunter alerted police and an extensive search began.
Police stopped cars as they left the mall as well as SEPTA buses. The FBI assisted with the search and an Amber Alert was issued both on television and through push notifications Thursday night. Police searched for the baby in Montgomery and Chester counties.[[374241561, C]]
Around 10:30 p.m., police announced the good news that the boy had been found safe and Amoore was in custody. Police said they found Amoore and the baby inside a home on the 900 block of Upper Gulph Road in Tredyffrin Township. Friends say the man who lives at the home had a relationship with Amoore. While the man declined to comment, his mother spoke to NBC10, telling us her son had no idea about the kidnapping.
"All he knew is when he got home from work," said Gladys Biggers. "She was there too."
The baby's family dealt with a roller coaster of emotions throughout the ordeal.
"I was like hysterical I was going through it," said Burdette Lewis, the boy's grandfather. "We all prayed in there together."[[374229251, C]]
Their prayers were answered as they had him back in their arms at the Upper Merion Police headquarters late Thursday night.
"(The family) thanks the police officers and all of them for doing their job," said Lewis.
Investigators said Amoore showed off the child to family and friends at a handful of locations before being caught. They also said she gave the baby boy a bath and new pajamas.
Cherie Amoore, charged with kidnapping baby at #KingofPrussia Mall, arrives for court hearing. @NBCPhiladelphia pic.twitter.com/J0BtTgp5wg Brandon Hudson (@BHudTV) April 1, 2016
Amoore is charged with felony kidnapping, unlawful restraint, false imprisonment and other related offenses following a formal arraignment Friday afternoon. She is currently being held on $500,000 bail.
Police don't believe Amoore, who lives in the King or Prussia area, has any connections to the baby's family, which lives in Philadelphia's Port Richmond section. They're still trying to determine a motive.
"She has told our investigators she did not go to the mall to steal a baby," said Upper Merion Police Chief Tom Nolan. "She also told investigators that she gave birth to a baby boy on February 11 which died a few hours later. We have not been able to confirm any of that story."
Police are currently looking at Amoore's medical records to confirm her pregnancy.
Amoore is the daughter of Republican Party of Pennsylvania Deputy Chairman Renee Amoore, a longtime GOP advocate. NBC10 approached Renee Amoore as well as a family pastor for comment.
NBC10s Brandon Hudson was in court to see the emotional reaction of KOP mall kidnapping suspect Cherie Amoores mother, Rene, a well-connected member of the Republican Party in Pennsylvania.
"I'm just here as the family's pastor, supporter and keeping them in prayer," the pastor said. "Keep the other family in prayer as well."
Amoore's family also issued a statement Friday night saying they were focused on her health and wellness. They also asked for privacy.
Amoore's attorney said Renee's political status did not have any impact on her daughter's alleged decision to kidnap the baby.
Hunter told NBC10 she hopes Amoore gets proper help.
"She needs help," she said. "Get her some help. That's what she needs."
For many smartphone users the official Amber Alert notification was not sent until around four hours after the baby was kidnapped. In the state of Pennsylvania, sending out an Amber Alert is a process with at least three steps. Local authorities notify the state police, the state police notify the National Center for Missing Children in Washington, DC, and then the National Center for Missing Children sends the alert to phones.
Before law enforcement officials issue an Amber Alert they must first believe an abduction occurred and that the child, under the age of 17, is in imminent danger. They also need enough descriptive information to assist in a recovery. Chief Nolan insisted those criteria were quickly met on a local level.
"I know that the Amber Alert that went out through the Upper Merion Police Department went out to all surrounding jurisdictions in Montgomery County within the first few minutes," he said.
What caused the delay in the Amber Alert notification after the King of Prussia Mall kidnapping? NBC10s George Spencer investigates.
Pennsylvania State Police told NBC10 their watch center was first contacted at 7:45 p.m. Thursday but it took an hour for them to obtain appropriate pictures and information. They then activated the Amber Alert at 8:48 p.m. With that activation, State Police notified the National Center for Missing Children in DC which sent the alerts to phones, a process that took about 45 minutes.
A Philadelphia pediatrician and his wife appeared in court for a preliminary hearing Thursday after police say they discovered a marijuana growing operation inside their home.
Dr. Jan Widerman and his wife Annette were arrested and charged with possession with intent to deliver.
On February 13 shortly before 4:30 p.m., police and firefighters responded to Widerman's home on Brookside Drive in Holland, Bucks County for a car fire that spread to the garage. As crews extinguished the flames and searched inside the home for occupants, they found 40 marijuana plants in various stages of growth, according to officials.
Respondents observed the plants, along with grow lamps and ventilation systems, located in a locked room inside the garage after doing a routine room-to-room check of the property, police said.
Police say they seized 40 marijuana plants, as well as other paraphernalia and more than $16,000 in a safe adjacent to the rooms.
Widerman's neighbors say he is a good man. According to the Pennsylvania State Medical Board, his medical license is still active.
"He did what he did to help his wife," said Lidia Zamkov, a supporter of the doctor. "We think that the laws should be changed. We think that medical marijuana should be absolutely legal. We think that it is unconscionable to put someone in jail because he was trying to cure his wife and help his wife feel better."
Prosecutors say despite the recent passage of bills to legalize medical marijuana in Pennsylvania, it's still illegal to possess it.
Widerman's practice is located on Bustleton Avenue in Philadelphia. He is being represented in court by Louis R. Busico, Esq.
A 34-year-old Illinois man fatally shot a Virginia state trooper at a busy bus terminal before the gunman was killed by other troopers, authorities said Friday.
Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller identified the shooter as James Brown III, of Aurora, Illinois. Police did not give a motive for the shooting.
Brown shot Trooper Chad P. Dermyer, 37, multiple times Thursday in Richmond before he was killed by two other troopers, police said. Dermyer, uniformed in dark blue fatigues, had been participating with about a dozen other troopers in a training exercise at the bus station.
Brown was seated in the restaurant by the front entrance of the station, police said. Surveillance video showed him get up and go to his bags near the front entrance. At 2:40 p.m., Dermyer approached Brown, who left his bags, pulled out a .40-caliber, semiautomatic handgun, and fired, police said.
Two plainclothes troopers returned fire, and Brown was taken into custody in the restaurant, police said. He was taken to VCU Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Two women also were shot but were expected to recover. A 21-year-old woman from New York was grazed. A 41-year-old woman suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Both women were just passing through Richmond. It's unclear who fired the shots that struck the women, but one of the women was seated behind Dermyer, state police said.
One of the women was a member of Binghamton University's track team in New York, school spokesman Ryan Yarosh said. The team was headed Thursday to a meet at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, about 50 miles from Richmond.
Brown had a criminal record, including gun violence, state police said. The handgun he used was purchased legally by someone else 13 months ago, but police have not yet traced.
Police also found 143 rounds of unspent ammunition in Brown's bags, state police said. There were no warrants out for Brown's arrest, who was headed from Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina, to Chicago and was changing buses in Richmond.
Richmond Police Chief Alfred Durham said law enforcement officers have become the target of "folks out there with evil intentions.''
"It's unfortunate these are the days we're living in, where folks want to harm law enforcement,'' he said. "We just want our officers to end their shifts and to go home to their families.''
Police said the slain trooper, the father of two children, was a native of Jackson, Michigan, and a former Marine who had served on the police force in Jackson and Newport News, Virginia.
Dermyer was known as a hard worker and good colleague, said Newport News Police Sgt. Gerald Loose. Dermyer worked for the Newport News Police Department from 2003 to 2007.
"He was a great guy,'' Loose said.
Earlier this year, Dermyer and another trooper briefly became mini-celebrities when they rescued a lost dog running through interstate traffic in Hampton. The rescue was highlighted on WVEC TV and received widespread praise on social media.
Dermyer and his partner returned the dog, a miniature schnauzer named Pinta, to its owner Jeffrey Corbin. Corbin said Friday the brief meeting helped change his perception of state troopers.
"I don't have a lot of contact with state troopers, but in my mind's eye they seem to be all business," Corbin said. "But he seemed to be a really warm person. ... He had a warm persona about him."
Dermyer was not wearing a protective vest when he was shot, said Virginia State Police Superintendent Col. Steven Flaherty. Vests are encouraged but not mandated by state police.
"We've got a lot of evidence to sift through,'' Flaherty said.
A Greyhound spokeswoman said the station would reopen Friday afternoon. She said there was surveillance video from the station during the time of the incident but was unsure whether it had been turned over to authorities.
A small army of law enforcement officers in tactical gear and dozens of cruisers and emergency response vehicles flooded to the station, in an area that includes a minor league baseball stadium and a variety of commercial establishments and restaurants.
Najee Wilson, 18, of Newark, New Jersey, said his bus was pulling up to the station when he heard three gunshots and saw people running out of the building.
"We heard a lot of people screaming," Wilson said. "It definitely was a scary experience."
City Councilwoman Reva Trammell called it "the saddest day in the city of Richmond."
"State troopers doing their job and innocent people shot," she said. "Why? This was a senseless act."
Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe echoed her sentiments in a statement: "This is a loss that impacts us all. It should inspire prayers for the family, friends and fellow troopers who are mourning tonight, and gratitude for those who protect and serve."
Officers rescued a 72-Year-Old Silver Spring man on Wednesday night after he accidentally drove his car into a creek, police say.
Montgomery County police said Shing Chong Wong was reported missing by his wife about 8:40 p.m. Wong did not return home after a medical appointment in Wheaton that morning.
Police issued a Silver Alert for Wong and began to track his cell phone signal.
Officers found his phone signal was in the area of the Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Harford County.
About 11 p.m. Wong's wife was able to contact him on his phone. He told her he didn't know where he was but that he was in water and he was unable to get out of his car. Wong also described his surroundings to officers over the phone.
After an extensive search involving further tracking of Wong's cell phone and various police departments, including a Maryland State Police helicopter, Wong was found sitting in his car in a creek that flows into the Bush River in Harford County, police said.
Wong was taken to the hospital and treated for hypothermia. Police said the water in the creek was about 52 degrees Farenheit.
George Mason University plans to rename its law school for the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, following an anonymous $20 million donation from a Scalia admirer and a $10 million donation from the foundation of industrialist and philanthropist Charles Koch.
The law school announced Thursday that its anonymous donor approached the school through a friend of Scalia and asked that the law school be named for him.
Mason's law school has developed a reputation as a conservative powerhouse in recent years.
The money also will establish three new scholarships.
Koch, known for his donations to conservative and libertarian causes, has long been a prominent donor to Mason.
The name change will require approval from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia.
Virginia Del. Marcus Simon is protesting the name change and has created an online petition.
"Sign my petition asking The Governor, the State Council on Higher Education and George Mason university not to sell the naming rights to their law school to the Koch [brothers] and an Anonymous Donor! This, unfortunately, is not an April Fool's day joke," Simon wrote on his Facebook page.
A newspaper vendor was arrested one day after police say he stabbed a commuter at a Metro station during the morning rush.
Daniel Richard Brown, 50, turned himself in at a Prince George's County police station Friday morning, police said. He was then turned over to Metro Transit Police.
Brown is facing attempted murder, first-degree assault and other charges.
Police say Brown -- a contractor with Express' parent company, The Washington Post -- argued with a man about 9 a.m. Thursday at the Addison Road-Seat Pleasant station in Capitol Heights, Maryland, Metro spokesman Dan Stessel said.
The attacker surrounded by witnesses and caught on multiple high-definition surveillance cameras then ran away, Stessel said.
"They get into an altercation that escalates to physical, and on the sidewalk ... here, the suspect tackled the victim and ending up stabbing him," he said.
The victim, a 24-year-old man, was taken to a hospital with serious injuries. He was in stable condition Thursday evening.
The Washington Post said the company is looking into what happened.
Commuter Justin Gavin said the suspect handed him a newspaper less than an hour before the attack. "He seemed fine to me," he said.
A Virginia police trooper died after a man shot him at a bus station in Richmond on Thursday, police said.
The suspect was killed when two other troopers returned fire, according to Virginia State Police Superintendent Col. W. Steven Flaherty. Two women suffered injuries not considered life-threatening during the shooting.
Trooper Chad Dermyer was one of about a dozen troopers participating in an exercise that brought him in contact with the gunman, police said at a news conference Thursday night. Dermyer, 37, was a former Marine from Michigan. He is survived by his wife and two young children, officials said.
The shooting was reported about 2:45 p.m., state police said.
The gunman has been identified but police did not release his name. Flaherty said he had a history of criminal charges; he also said there were no indications the shooting was an act of terrorism.
State police troopers were conducting narcotics training in the station, according to NBC News. As part of the training, they dispersed through the station to talk to people. A man Dermyer was talking to pulled out a handgun and shot him.
Greyhound evacuated the station, which is across the street from Richmond's minor league baseball stadium, and directed inbound buses to its Richmond garage location. Counselors were available for employees and customers who were at the station at the time.
"Our Richmond, Va. station is closed until further notice and we are actively working with the authorities," a service alert issued Thursday afternoon said.
Greyhound is providing surveillance video from the station to investigators.
Gov. Terry McAuliffe released a statement Thursday pledging state resources to respond to the situation: "Our public safety team and I will continue to monitor the situation and support State Police and local authorities in their response and investigation of this incident.
NBC's Asher Klein and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
College students are on alert Friday after a victim was indecently assaulted outside her apartment.
The incident took place near St. Paul Street in Brookline, Massachusetts, not far from Commonwealth Avenue in Boston, across from Boston University's West Campus.
The victim tells Brookline Police she didn't see where the male suspect came from, or if he was following her, but it happened around 1:45 a.m. Wednesday.
Police say they were called to St. Paul Street near Dummer Street for a sexual assault.
It's unclear if the victim attends Boston University. Police are only calling her a college student who was walking home from a local establishment on Commonwealth Avenue when she was approached at the front door vestibule at her apartment.
Police say he tried to talk to her. She told him to leave her alone. He then grabbed and indecently assaulted her.
"I know that's it's a problem in urban environments, especially on college campuses," said Boston University student Janna Berenson. "I know BU and Boston takes great precaution for that, but it obviously can happen anywhere."
The victim was eventually able to run free and flee to her apartment.
She suffered minor injuries.
The suspect is described as a man in his mid 20s to 30s, with dark colored hair and facial hair.
He's about 5'9-5'10, with unknown weight and no distinct characteristics
The victim tells Brookline Police she's never seen the suspect before.
She was unable to see which direction he fled.
Brookline Police now say they're looking at surveillance video in the area.
A Rhode Island man who has 13 dead chickens hanging from trees outside his home is drawing complaints from a neighbor and a police inquiry.
The Newport Daily News reports that the Tiverton man told police Wednesday that he is simply drying the chickens out before properly disposing of them.
Chief Thomas Blakey says the man hasn't been charged with a crime, but police are continuing to investigate whether there are any potential health risks or if the homeowner is violating any town ordinances.
The man keeps live chickens. Town Administrator Matthew Wojcik says animal control workers inspected the property and found that those animals are healthy.
Tiverton officials became aware of the hanging dead chickens Monday after a neighbor called to complain.
Norwich charity makes caring connections Norwich charity makes caring connections
When Sallie Boyd launched a Norwich charity for young carers, she had all the credentials necessary - won through heartfelt experience. Sandie Shirley reports.
This column is available in a weekly newsletter called IT Best Practices. Click here to subscribe.
Paul C. is the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at a mid-size healthcare organization. His company processes more than 6 billion transactions a year featuring the highly sensitive and regulated personal health information (PHI) records of more than 270 million people. Needless to say, his company has a defense-in-depth strategy to protect the data and transactions, but Paul recently added a unique new cloud solution to the mix to provide additional detection, visibility and response (DVR) capabilities.
The solution is called ProtectWise Cloud Network DVR, and there are two characteristics that make the solution unusual. One is it doesn't require any on-premise infrastructure. The only aspect of the solution that is deployed on the customer's network is a software sensor that records everything that happens and streams it to the cloud platform for aggregation and analysis. If an event is detected, it is prioritized and presented with full contextual information via a console.
The second differentiator is that all of the network activity can be kept for as long as needed years, if necessary and it is fully indexed and searchable. This allows an organization to go back in time to search for indicators of compromise (IOCs). And, it allows a user to fully reconstruct the network packets of an incident for a forensics investigation.
Paul's company makes use of all of these capabilities, and the fact that they are delivered as a service from the cloud are important. "We chose the ProtectWise cloud solution for three primary reasons," says Paul. "The first is agility and being able to get up running quickly without the burden of added infrastructure. I didn't want to create a shadow IT situation by implementing servers, appliances and storage for our security needs. A cloud deployment gives me the flexibility to move our cybersecurity program forward quickly and efficiently without getting in line for in-house IT services."
The second reason is around operational efficiencies. Paul used to run security operations at a previous employer and he had a team of people dedicated to running the technology that supported the security solutions. "I had database and storage people on my team just to manage the technology. They weren't there to do the actual security analytics," he says. "Not having to deal with on-premise infrastructure technology is a big plus that we get from ProtectWise. We can run leaner."
The third benefit is the community ecosystem that comes from using a cloud-based solution. This is something that Paul actively sought out. As a member of NH-ISAC, the nation's Healthcare and Public Health Information Sharing and Analysis Center, Paul understands the value in sharing IOCs with his peers. "If I am in the cloud, I expect other ProtectWise customers to be in the cloud, which means that ProtectWise is seeing all the information about security incidents that is worth sharing within this customer community. I benefit from that intelligence, and I see it as a strategic value I receive from the ProtectWise solution," says Paul.
Paul's company has only used ProtectWise for a few months so they haven't had a need for the retrospective technology yet, but he understands how it could help him. If the company were to experience a data breach, being able to go back to look at the packets to see exactly what transpired could be useful to the forensics team. This healthcare company is in a regulated business, with a requirement to notify customers if/when a data breach occurs. ProtectWise could tell Paul whether 10 records or 10 thousand records were stolen. Paul hopes he never has to use this feature, but it's a comfort to know it's there if needed.
To deploy ProtectWise Cloud Network DVR, an organization places a small passive software sensor at places like the egress points, the Internet pipe, the core network for east-west traffic, on cloud assets, and even on industrial control networks. The sensors act like virtual cameras in that they record everything that happens on the network. ProtectWise compresses that data and streams the raw packets to its cloud network DVR platform. This creates a memory for the network, and because it's in the cloud, it can be stored with unlimited retention.
ProtectWise creates a visibility layer on top of this memory by binding the intelligence of key pieces of a customer's IT infrastructure such as firewalls, endpoints, proxies, email, and so on. This visibility layer makes it possible to search for specific historical activities whenever needed.
ProtectWise also has a detection layer that does real-time security analytics. The solution also goes back in time with automated retrospection. As new zero day vulnerabilities, breach tactics, malware, etc. are discovered, ProtectWise automatically goes back in time within the network memory to discover any previously unknown incidents using the most updated intelligence of right now. This can reveal, for instance, if previously unknown malware slipped into the network a month ago. The detection model plugs into a single pane of glass.
On the response side, which is a sophisticated security operations center single pane of glass, ProtectWise combines situational awareness with a forensic workbench for doing impact analysis and all the event management and event collaboration for security analysts. The humans get all the information they need to investigate the prioritized security events.
Paul's healthcare company already has other security tools in place, including Palo Alto WildFire, Invincea advanced endpoint protection, and user behavioral analytics. Those tools see plenty of threats, and ProtectWise validates the information from the other tools. It helps to bolster the company's preventative strategy. In the event ProtectWise finds something that another tool missed, the company can better tune the other tool to close the gaps on prevention and detection.
Still, Paul says the full packet capture is the best value his company gets from ProtectWise. He gives this example. "Say we get a Splunk alert that our Palo Alto system sees large amounts of data leaving the network. We want to know what that data looks like, and who is removing it. ProtectWise gives us a very quick way to go to the video recorder and investigate what just happened. With full attribution and assurance we can see, for instance, that our DBA is downloading an Oracle file. Without that quick check, we would be left to race against time to figure out what is happening."
Paul also points out that having the capability to replay past events help him negotiate a favorable cyber insurance policy. "Insurance carriers require forensics data, and we can easily provide that if necessary," Paul says.
You wouldn't know Microsoft has a mobile phone platform and business if you judged it solely on the news at its Build developer conference. One site after another has noted the paucity of news surrounding Windows 10 Mobile, its languishing phone operating system.
However, two journalists from a U.S. and a Russian news site cornered some Microsoft executives and pressed them on mobile. Both said the company still believes in Windows Phone, it's just not the focus this year.
Like Windows 10 Mobile has a year to tread water?
+ FROM BUILD: +
Tom Warren of The Verge spoke to the head of the Windows group, Terry Myerson, about the lack of mobile news. "Right now it's part of the family but it's not the core of where I hope to generate developer interest over the next year," Myerson told Warren.
Myerson was at least honest about Microsoft's mobile share and said "If you want to reach a lot of Windows customers, then this is the largest install base of 9 to 30-inch screens. If you wanted to do new and exciting things, then the Xbox and HoloLens is the place to have a discussion."
Aaron Woodman, senior director for Windows marketing, was cornered by a reporter from a Russian site High Tech, and hopefully Google Translate did its duty here.
"You know, when we first entered the market of smartphones with the new OS, we had big ambitions. But in reality it turned out that the market does not reflect the dynamics of our desires. Lets be honest, we could have been better," he said.
Woodman adds that Microsoft doesn't believe they have a bad product, just that on its own, the mobile operating system is not an end in itself for them. The cross-platform services are something that Android and Apple don't offer.
Woodman said he is convinced that the greatest success for Windows Phone will be in the business segment. "If you look at Eastern Europe, Russia, even for Western Europe, you will see a large number of corporate smartphones on Windows Phone. Tom three reasons: a single platform, security and the best business services."
He has a point, but I don't see Microsoft doing a whole hell of a lot to evangelize people on this. Developers are the best way to do it and to have a three-day conference with next to no mobile talk is not the way to get that installed base growing. At some point, the big four carriers are going to lose patience, I'd have to think.
Champaign, IL (61820)
Today
Windy with a few clouds from time to time. High 79F. Winds S at 20 to 30 mph. Higher wind gusts possible..
Tonight
Partly cloudy during the evening followed by cloudy skies overnight. Low 62F. Winds S at 15 to 25 mph.
Approach shows promise for achieving malaria eradication and tackling rapidly spreading malaria drug resistance; GHIT also announces investments in malaria and tuberculosis diagnostics, and new treatments for leishmaniasis and soil-transmitted helminthiasis
The Global Health Innovative Technology Fund (GHIT Fund) announced today that its investing US$1,383,785 in a pair of innovative malaria eradication toolsa vaccine that could block transmission of two species of the deadly disease and a rapid field test that can reveal a malaria infection in minutes.
"We will not be able to eradicate malaria if we cant interrupt disease transmission," said GHIT Fund Executive Director & CEO Dr. BT Slingsby. "And that will require two essential tools: vaccines that interrupt the parasites constant movement between humans and mosquitos, and simple, rapid diagnostic tests that allow us to identify and treat asymptomatic persons who are silently carrying and spreading malaria parasites."
The GHIT Fund also revealed that its investing US$2,160,577 to accelerate development of a new diagnostic test for tuberculosis (TB), which has now overtaken HIV as the leading cause of death from infectious disease. In addition, GHIT will provide US$1,690,711 to develop treatments for two neglected tropical diseases that torment billions: leishmaniasis, a parasitic disease transmitted by sand flies that, in the cutaneous forms, causes disfiguring skin ulcers, and in the visceral form can lead to fatal organ failure, and soil-transmitted helminthiasis infections, which are caused by parasitic worms that plague two billion people worldwide and routinely lead to physical and cognitive impairments in children.
"Our new investments in malaria, TB and these neglected tropical diseases send a clear message that GHIT and Japan are committed to employing the most innovative and advanced R&D tools available to save lives and improve health in the developing world," Dr. Slingsby said.
GHIT Fund Commits to Eradicating Malaria
Malaria kills hundreds of thousands of people every yearmostly young children in sub-Saharan Africa. Although the burden has decreased in recent years, the ever-evolving malaria parasite has proven to be a hardy adversary, constantly shifting to develop resistance to the worlds most effective drugs and insecticides. Just last year, researchers discovered that drug-resistant malaria parasites now rapidly spreading across Southeast Asia are capable of infecting African mosquitoes. Malaria experts warn that it would be devastating if the worlds best malaria drugs become useless in Africa, as it could undo decades of progress toward malaria eradication.
Alarmed by the threat of drug resistance, the malaria research community is pushing for transmission-blocking vaccines to be ready for deployment by 2030. The goal is to develop a vaccine targeting the transmission of one or both types of malaria parasitesthe more deadly Plasmodium falciparum parasite and the more widespread Plasmodium vivax parasite. GHIT is supporting, with an investment of US$419,285, a collaboration between CellFree Sciences Co., Ltd., a Japan-based biotech, and the University of Florida (UF) in the United States of America (USA) to develop a malaria vaccine that would target both P. falciparum and P. vivax malaria.
Their candidate is thus far the leading mosquito-based "transmission-blocking vaccine" (TBV). Mosquito-based means that while this type of vaccine is given to humans, the target is the mosquito: when mosquitoes bite vaccinated humans, the blood they extract would contain antibodies generated by the vaccine that would interfere with the parasites passage from human to mosquito. If the vaccine can break this cycle of transmission and enough people are inoculated, an entire community should eventually see a major drop in malaria infections.
While other TBVs are in development, the CellFree-UF TBV candidate is the only one that could potentially block both P. falciparum and P. vivax parasites. The vaccine candidate targets a protein in the mosquitos gut called AnAPN1 that plays a critical role in facilitating the transmission of both types of malaria parasites from humans to mosquitoes. The hope is that when given to humans, the vaccine would generate protection that would subsequently interfere with the parasites movement into mosquitoes.
"GHIT funding will allow us to make the experiments needed to move an AnAPN1-based vaccine candidate into the preclinical stage," said Satoshi Ozawa, president & CEO of CellFree Sciences Co., Ltd. "CFS will make the proteins for use in mice to generate antibodies against different AnAPN1 proteins, and to test whether those antibodies can block the transmission cycle of the parasites. The selection of an optimal antigen within AnAPN1 will be essential for the success of the TBV candidate."
Draining Hidden Reservoirs of Malaria Parasites
Another major obstacle to malaria eradication involves humans who carry substantial "reservoirs" of malaria parasites and regularly pass them along to mosquitoes, even as they themselves experience no outward symptoms of actual disease. GHIT is confronting this major source of malaria transmission by investing US$964,500 to develop a diagnostic system for quickly detecting asymptomatic malaria, one that would be far more sensitive than existing technology. The project involves a collaboration between Japan-based researchers and collaborators at Panasonic Corporation, Juntendo University, the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University, and Malaria No More Japan, along with partners at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI-CGHR).
Their goal is to develop testing technology that could work in low-resource field settings and determine in less than 10 minutes whether an asymptomatic person is carrying parasites. The ability to quickly screen large populations for the presence of malaria parasites is considered crucial both to overall malaria eradication work and also to ongoing efforts to track drug resistance: a treated person may look like they have been cured even if the drug has actually failed to completely purge their parasites.
The team tested a prototype in a preliminary field trial in Uganda, where it performed better than current methods. GHITs investment will allow further evaluation and validation in malaria-endemic areas.
A TB Test for HIV-Positive Patients
GHIT is also investing US$2,160,577 in a new rapid diagnostic test by Fujifilm Corporation, one of the leading healthcare companies, and Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND) of Switzerland, which can identify active tuberculosis in HIV-positive patients. Today, one in three HIV-positive people die not of AIDS, but of TB. Thus early, affordable detection of TB is urgently needed. Existing diagnostics cannot reliably detect TB in HIV-positive patients, in part because the tests require sputum that many co-infected patients cannot produce.
Fujifilm and FINDs test would instead use urine to detect active TB infection. There is initial evidence that the test is potentially more sensitive than existing methods, while also providing results more easily and quickly. GHITs investment would allow researchers to begin development of the test and collect samples from TB patients, especially those co-infected with HIV.
"People with HIV are uniquely vulnerable to tuberculosis, and early detection could be a life-saver," said Teiichi Goto, corporate vice president and general manager, medical systems business division of Fujifilm Corporation. "We are hopeful that our work with FIND to develop a rapid TB test that requires only a urine sample could be a significant development for millions of people around the world who must cope with both of these deadly diseases."
New Treatments for Neglected Diseases Caused by Sandflies and Worms
GHIT also awarded US$1,002,996 to an international partnership between the global health nonprofit organization PATH, Ajinomoto Co., Meiji Seika Pharma Co., Ltd., and the University of Massachusetts Medical School to develop a new treatment for soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections that is based on a protein called Cry5B.
STH infections are transmitted by roundworm, whipworm and hookworm eggs found in human feces, which contaminate the soil in areas with poor sanitation. Among the most common infections in the world, STH infections can cause diarrhea, weakness and chronic blood loss that can lead to anemia. According to WHO, more than 880 million children need treatment for STH infections, which can lead to chronic physical and cognitive problems. Current treatments are threatened by drug-resistant strains, which have already arisen in livestock. Also, they cant be given to women in their first trimester of pregnancy, leaving both the mother and fetus vulnerable to damage from STH.
The Cry5B protein has shown efficacy in animal models. There also is evidence that resistance to the protein would develop much more slowly compared to current treatments, which could allow for decades of intensive use. And its safety profile could permit its use in women during their first trimester of pregnancy and in young children.
Finally, GHIT awarded US$687,715 to GeneDesign, Inc., a Japan-based biotech, and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) to develop a better treatment for cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL), a disease transmitted by sandflies that counts a million new cases each year. The affliction causes painful, sometimes disfiguring skin ulcers that result in scarring, social stigma and economic loss that last a lifetime. Current drugs, which have been in use since the 1940s, are toxic, difficult to administer, expensive and often ineffective.
With GHITs investment, GeneDesign and DNDi would assess in an animal model the efficacy of the treatment combination of an immunomodulator with an anti-parasitic drug in order to enhance the healing and parasite clearance of skin lesions. The proposed approach shows potential to work faster than current drugs, reduce scarring and prevent relapse.
Aprils First Friday line-up is one of the busier ones to come along so far this year.
Both the Lynchburg Museum and the Lodge of the Fisherman will mark the 50th anniversary of the Lynchburg Public Library, while The James River Council for the Arts & Humanities is continuing a project, started last year, that brings art into the windows of vacant buildings downtown.
And Riverviews Artspace will launch its third annual BEAT BURG, a monthlong celebration of National Poetry Month.
Read on for all the details:
The Academy Center of the Arts, 600 Main St.
The Academys Annual National Juried Art Exhibition, featuring the work of 51 artists from 20 states, will open with a reception from 5 to 8 p.m. Siobhan Byrns, chair of Lynchburg Colleges art department, is judging. The work of Rosalie Day Whites students also will be on display in the Arts & Education Lobby, and Riddle on the Harp will perform during the opening. (434) 528-3256, www.academycenter.org.
Satellite galleries:
Magnolia Foods (2476 Rivermont Ave.) and Flint Property Group (2484 Rivermont Ave.): The mixed media work of Myrna Nein through April 30
Westminster Canterbury (501 VES Rd.): The pastels of Sarah Raessler through April 8, and the watercolors of Doris Cann from April 8 through May 27
James River Council for the Arts & Humanities
This month, the council is taking over Art on Main, which began last year as a Leadership Lynchburg project. It features the work of artists from Lynchburg and beyond, on display in the windows of vacant buildings downtown, between the 700 and 1300 blocks of Main Street.
A vacant building creates a mental end of street for the visitor, and they often turn around, leaving the next business just beyond the vacant one without a potential sale, arts council board member Jason St. Clair says in a news release. But occupying the vacant building with art or an aesthetic focal point changes the end of street to somewhere else. Simply put, the art helps create a bridge from one store to another.
A reception for the project will be held at 5:30 p.m. at 1300 Main Street, the future home of the Grassroots Local Market. www.jamesriverarts.net/art-on-main.
The Lodge of the Fisherman, 4415 Rivermont Ave.
Linkhorne Elementary School students will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Lynchburg Public Library with artwork about their dreams, based on Langston Hughes Dreams poem. The work will debut during a First Friday reception that runs from 5:30 to 8p.m.; the Lodge also is open every Friday from 8 to 11:30 a.m. (434) 470-6378.
The Lynchburg Art Club, 1011 Rivermont Ave.
Painter Deliece Blanchard and fiber artist Patty Powers will show their work, with a reception from 5 to 8 p.m.
Blanchard, former conductor and music director of the E.C. Glass High School Orchestra, has studied painting with local artists and is a regular visitor to Nimrod Hall, a summer artists colony in Bath County. Color and expressive brushwork characterize her work.
Powers is a doctor who retired from the Army in 2004. In her current work, shes utilizing improvisational piecing and raw edge applique construction, often embellishing with mixed media surface design techniques. She likes trying new materials, playing with vibrant colors and incorporating the quilting stitch as another design element. (434) 528-9434, www.lynchburgartclub.org.
The Lynchburg Humane Society, 1211 Old Graves Mill Road
Artist Dede Buhler will be showing her work during the reception, which also includes music by C. Lewis and runs from 5 to 8 p.m. (434) 448-0088, http://lynchburghumane.org.
The Lynchburg Museum, 901 Court St.
The museum will mark the 50th anniversary of the Lynchburg Public Library, which opened in April 1966, with a program about its history from 5 to 8 p.m. Items on display include historic photographs, original library cards and scrapbooks showcasing early library events.
Also on display are two new exhibits, A Great Change in the Situation of Man: Lynchburgs Railroads (see story about it here) and A Feast for the Eyes: Quilts and Textiles from Central Virginia. (434) 455-6226, www.lynchburgmuseum.org.
Lynchburg Public Library, downtown branch, 900 Church St.
The library will host Funny Bunny Storytime and Puppet Show, which also will include songs and a bunny craft activity, from 4:30 to 5:15 p.m. (434) 455-3817.
Renaissance Theatre, 1022 Commerce St.
Christine Rooney, who paints landscapes and cityscapes with an emphasis on a single object as the main subject, will show her work, with a reception from 5:30 to 7 p.m. (434) 845-4427, www.renaissancetheatrelynchburg.org.
Rivermont Studio, 1204 Rivermont Ave.
Artist Aggie Zed, the subject of this weeks cover story, will be showing her work, along with book artist Ginna Cullen. (540) 460-7114.
Riverviews Artspace, 901 Jefferson St.
Riverviews will kick off BEAT BURG, its annual celebration of National Poetry Month, with a Beat Poets Party featuring poetry readings and live music from 5:30 to 8 p.m.
The exhibit Lost in Translations, featuring the mixed media paintings and drawings of Eleen Lin, will still be on display in the Craddock-Terry Gallery; other events in the building include meditation sessions and an exhibition on peace in Yoga Goodness Studio, the grand opening of WNRN Radios Lynchburg satellite office and open houses in artist studios. (434) 847-7277, www.riverviews.net.
Riverviews Co-op Gallery, 901 Jefferson St.
The exhibit Spring Surprises continues, with a reception from 5:30 to 8 p.m. (434) 847-7277, www.riverviews.net.
TOOLRY, 901 Jefferson St.
A spring art auction for the UP Foundation featuring paintings, sculpture, photography and jewelry will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. The nonprofit is a youth-oriented recovery community that provides support services to youth and families that might not otherwise be able to afford treatment and counseling. The auction is one of the organizations major fundraising campaigns. (571) 379-2572, www.toolry.com.
The Rev. Larry Davies, the longtime Lynchburg District Superintendent for the United Methodist Church is headed to Fredericksburg in July for a new appointment.
Davies has served about eight years in his current role and eight years before that as pastor of Timberlake United Methodist Church in Lynchburg. The district superintendent position is term limited, he said, so its no surprise the denomination has a new job picked out for him.
Hell be pastor of Fredericksburg United Methodist Church, which has about 2,500 members, according to its website.
We hate to leave Lynchburg but we are excited for the opportunity, said Davies, who will be accompanied by his wife Mell.
He will be replaced by the Rev. Scott Davis, currently serving Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Charlottesville.
In his Lynchburg district position, Davies supervises about 90 churches, stretching from southern Amherst County down to northern Pittsylvania and Halifax counties.
Hes also known as a Christian author and blogger and for his religion columns in The News & Advance in the early 2000s. According to The News & Advances archives, Timberlake United Methodist Church roughly doubled in size during his time at the helm.
His tenure as district superintendent saw the closure of Park View Methodist Church in midtown Lynchburg, but also its transformation into Park View Community Mission. The district has expanded the Food for Families program started by the church, and made the building a central gathering place for a variety of other community services and ministries. Today, Food for Families provides 700 families per month the opportunity to pick out up to two-weeks of groceries.
Lynchburg has a lot of poverty in the area, and weve been right in the middle of it trying to help, he said.
Davies plan right now is to return to Lynchburg after he retires, perhaps three to five years down the road.
A Civil War veterans personal items will be on display along with some found items for a new exhibit to be debuted at Town Appreciation Day on Saturday at Avoca Museum in Altavista.
Brigadier Gen. James G. Dearing was the nephew of Charles Henry Lynch, who owned Avoca in the early 1800s.
The museum will feature Dearings sword, originally from his father who died when he was 3 years old, along with a couple of books Lynch owned in which Dearing wrote in the flyleaves as a child.
He drew martial combat scenes, even one of a soldier thats been disemboweled, Museum Director Michael Hudson said. One picture was done around the time he was 10 years old, based on artistic ability.
The sword handed down from his father, was painted black so soldiers could not catch the silver glint. Hudson bought the sword from a local collector in October.
Dearing went on to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, and fought for the Confederate Army.
Before campaigning in Petersburg in June 1864, Dearing married a Petersburg-area debutant named Roxanne Birchett. They had a daughter named Mary Lucretia Dearing.
A few days before Lees Surrender at Appomattox Court House in 1865, Dearing was at the Battle of High Bridge where he was shot in the lung. He died a few days before what would have been his 25th birthday in April 1865.
Charles Lynch passed his house down to Dearings sister Mary Anna Dearing Fauntleroy. The house would have gone to Dearing had he lived.
The museum also will have small carte-de-visite or calling cards on display from that same era. Many people at the time would have had photographic cards printed, signed them and then leave them at a house they visited when the host was not home.
Not only did they serve a practical purpose, but were also distributed among family. In the Civil War, they would keep albums of friends they served with, Hudson said.
The albums would have been similar to todays scrapbooks.
Also on Saturday, an oil painting of Charles Henry Lynch will be displayed. Hudson said they found the painting in the museum's office building attic and sent it off to be professionally restored.
Hudson will lead a lecture on Gen. William Campbell for whom Campbell County is named.
A Virginia state trooper was fatally shot and his attacker killed by officers who returned fire Thursday afternoon at Richmonds Greyhound bus station, where the state police were conducting a training exercise, the agencys top officer said.
Two women, one a track athlete from Binghamton (N.Y.) University headed to the College of William and Mary for a meet, suffered injuries that were described as not life-threatening.
Virginia State Police Superintendent W. Steven Flaherty told reporters at an evening briefing that trooper Chad P. Dermyer, 37, died from his wounds after being taken to VCU Medical Center following the 2:40 p.m. attack. Police had earlier announced that the gunman also died at the hospital.
Dermyer, a Marine Corps veteran and native of Jackson, Mich., graduated from the state police academy in 2014 and had been transferred to a counter-terrorism and criminal interdiction unit after serving on patrol in the Newport News and Hampton areas. A former Jackson and Newport News police officer, Dermyer was married with two children.
This has been a tough evening, a tough afternoon, Flaherty said. Its quite a tragedy.
Dermyer was in a criminal interdiction training exercise at the bus station with about a dozen other officers who had recently completed classroom instruction when he approached the man and was shot multiple times, Flaherty said.
Dermyer and the gunman had been talking only moments before the man drew a firearm, Flaherty said. After shooting Dermyer, the gunman continued firing and moved toward the restaurant area of the bus terminal before officers were able to take him into custody.
Why he reacted, why he had a gun in his waistband, we dont know, Flaherty said.
The shooter had a history of criminal charges but Flaherty said authorities had not yet determined how many resulted in convictions. He was not immediately identified, pending notification of family. His body was taken to the state medical examiners office.
Flaherty said it was too early in the investigation to say who fired the shots that injured the two women. The attackers gun was recovered at the scene.
Dermyer was not wearing a protective vest, Flaherty said. The equipment is optional in this case, Flaherty said, and indicated Dermyer may have chosen to not wear one because it was a training exercise.
What started as a training mission turned into a massive police presence that drew officers from the city of Richmond, Henrico County, state police, FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the U.S. Marshals Service.
Traffic backed up on the Boulevard, a main gateway into the city via the nearby Interstate 95 interchange.
At VCU Medical Center, meantime, state police and other law enforcement officials arrived through the afternoon, and no one was allowed in the area other than hospital workers. Four ambulances arrived at the hospital in the immediate aftermath of the shooting.
State police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said the department was taking the lead role in the investigation.
Flaherty praised the immediate and continuing work of Richmond police and the other agencies. A canine team swept the bus station and interviews began immediately with witnesses.
A shaken Richmond City Councilwoman Reva M. Trammell, chairwoman of the councils public safety committee, talked with reporters near the bus station and said the senseless act was one of the saddest days Ive ever seen in the city of Richmond.
Mayor Dwight C. Jones was fully briefed on the shooting, said Tammy D. Hawley, the mayors press secretary, and was in constant contact with Police Chief Alfred Durham. Gov. Terry McAuliffes office said the governor was also in contact and offered whatever state resources may be necessary to respond to this situation. McAuliffe described the shooting as a loss that impacts us all. It should inspire prayers for the family, friends and fellow troopers who are mourning tonight, and gratitude for those who protect and serve.
Across the busy bus station and commercial area, workers, travelers and others recounted what they heard and saw as the violence broke out.
Two workers landscaping at The Diamond where the practicing Virginia Commonwealth University baseball team was taken off the field as a precaution said they saw a man running across the street from the bus station and screaming something. Next a state police trooper pulled up to the scene and then chaos erupted as people started streaming out of the Greyhound building.
Reshad Williams, 24, of Washington said he was leaning against a wall outside the bus station when he heard two shots and then almost immediately saw about 10 people run out of the station.
He said he sprinted from the area and heard more shots as a growing number of people ran from the terminal in panic.
Williams estimated that from the time he heard the first gunshots, police were on the scene within a minute.
Craig Kostiuk, 41, of Chesterfield County said he was across the street when he saw about 20 police officers swarm the scene some quickly getting out of the cars with guns drawn.
He said an estimated 20 officers then quickly formed a single-file line and went into the main entrance of the building. About two minutes later, Kostiuk said, he saw at least two or three people being taken out of the building on stretchers.
Brendan Hamilton, 28, who is visiting Richmond from Baltimore, said he was about to walk into the bus station about 2:50 p.m. when he heard two loud bangs and then started seeing flashes of light along with about five to 10 more banging noises.
People began running out of nearly all of the doors of the building, Hamilton said.
At this point it became clear to him that shots were being fired, and he sprinted from the scene.
The emergency extended across the street to The Diamond, said Todd Parney Parnell, vice president and general manager of the Richmond Flying Squirrels. As soon as officials learned what was going on at the bus station, he said, everyone was pulled inside, including the VCU baseball team that was practicing at the stadium that is also its home field.
Pete Woody, public relations and communications manager at neighboring Sports Backers Stadium, said that facility locked its doors and advised anyone with business there to stay away from the area.
Greyhound staffs the station with security personnel, but they were not on duty at the time the incident occurred, said Lanesha Gipson, a national Greyhound spokeswoman.
Gipson said no employees were injured during the incident.
We are fully cooperating with authorities and providing any information they may need, including video surveillance that was captured, she said.
Greyhound suspended service at the station indefinitely, rerouted inbound buses to the companys Richmond garage, and offered counseling to employees as well as customers who were at the station at the time of the shootings.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulates Greyhound, as it does with all bus operators, but only in regard to the operation and maintenance of the buses, as well as the certification of drivers and oversight of their hours, said spokesman Duane DeBruyne. There are no regulations directly regarding security at the bus stations, he said.
Gipson said Greyhound employs security measures at its terminals that include random baggage searches and wanding of travelers to ensure customers dont attempt to bring any items that are not permitted onboard.
Security guards and employees always have heightened sensitivity to suspicious behaviors and activity, and will notify local authorities if suspicious behavior or unaccompanied packages are observed, she said.
Greyhound said it enforces a zero-tolerance policy on unruly or aggressive customers and prohibited items such as firearms and other weapons, drugs, and alcohol.
When prohibited items or unruly customers are observed, security will remove the customer from the property, Gipson said. If need be, they will contact local authorities for assistance.
At the evening news conference, Flaherty noted that earlier in the afternoon he had been at a meeting of an international police association and participating in a ceremony to honor officers who lost their lives in the line of duty.
Trammell, the city councilwoman, noted with sadness that the attack occurred on the Boulevard, a street with many attractions and one on which the city has pinned many hopes for continued revitalization.
Where does this take us now? she asked. Trammell said she spoke with officers at the scene.
For us to lose a state trooper, what about their families, their friends? Trammell said. I would never believe this.
The X-Men recently crowned a new team during June's X-Men: Hellfire Gala one-shot, picking a line-up of both classic mainstays and surprising new recruits.
Over the years, there have been hundreds of X-Men spread across numerous teams, with the core team's roster often changing rapidly itself.
With a whole new X-Men era on the way, including a host of new teams, we're looking back at the best X-Men teams of all time!
10. New Mutants
(Image credit: Marvel Comics)
Established as a new class of students at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters in their first appearance in 1982's Marvel Graphic Novel #4 (opens in new tab), the New Mutants returned the X-Men franchise to its roots, focusing on a group of young mutants discovering and first learning how to use their powers.
Founded by a Brood-possessed Professor Xavier to be used as hosts for more Brood minions, the New Mutants managed to escape that fate and become mainstays at Xaviers school.
Of course in true X-team fashion, the roster quickly grew, before even bigger changes led to New Mutants being canceled and relaunched as X-Force with an almost entirely different cast, led by Cable, the enigmatic mutant from the future who would become a major part of X-Men lore.
Both the New Mutants and X-Force have separate ongoing titles in the current X-Men line.
9. Excalibur
(Image credit: Marvel Comics)
Formed back in 1987 by X-Men scribe Chris Claremont and artist Alan Davis, Excalibur combined the already established Marvel UK characters Captain Britain and Meggan with American X-Men characters Shadowcat, Nightcrawler, and Rachel Summers.
As a counterpart to the soap opera of Uncanny X-Men, Excalibur focused on more light-hearted adventure with the team hopping dimensions and dealing more with outlandish, magical threats than mutant politics.
Excalibur helped breathe new life into Captain Britain, and gave a couple of B- and C-listers the chance to shine to X-fans, even welcoming in stranger characters and other X-vets as the years went by.
A relaunched Excalibur series was one of the core titles of the X-Men line following the House of X/Powers of X (opens in new tab)relaunch, though it recently ended, to give way to the current Knights of X.
8. New X-Men
(Image credit: Marvel Comics)
Grant Morrison's New X-Men (opens in new tab) was the run that proved anything and everything could happen in the X-Universe.
Grant Morrison simplified things by keeping the roster small and close-knit, focusing on developing and even overhauling their chosen characters. Reformed villain Emma Frost became the team's breakout character, with her romance of Scott Summers driving a wedge between the X-Men leader and his then-wife Jean Grey.
Beast's appearance evolved, giving rise to his more cat-like form that lasted over a decade. And then there was the matter of Xorn, the helmeted mutant who turned out to be Magneto in disguise, betraying the team and even killing Jean Grey (or at least sending her to the White Hot Room, where former Phoenix hosts go when they're killed).
Morrison also embraced the aesthetic of the 2000 X-Men film, outfitting everyone in sleek, black leather, and bringing back the idea of Xaviers School, creating characters like Beak, Angel Salvadore, Glob Herman, Quentin Quire, and more, who still play a role in the X-Men years later.
7. Magneto's X-Men
(Image credit: Marvel Comics)
The '80s were an odd time for the X-Men as Professor X decided to stay in space with his main squeeze, Lilandra, and left Magneto in charge of the Xavier School.
What seemed like a potentially bizarre idea turned out to be one of Uncanny's best runs, with Nightcrawler, Wolverine, and Colossus essentially becoming the mutant equivalent of the Fabulous Freebirds, newbies Shadowcat and Rogue getting some great development, and of course, punk rock Storm fighting Cyclops for leadership.
While this lineup is one of the shorter-lived in the team's history, writer Chris Claremont used this era to evolve and push the characters and let them actually grow older, making way for the newer heroes that would soon join the X-ranks.
This era is also the indirect inspiration for the popular 'Pryde of the X-Men' cartoon pilot, and the X-Men arcade game of the late '80s, though Magneto is a villain in both of those adaptations.
Eventually, Magneto reverted back to villainy after he left the school - though he's since become an X-Men mainstay again.
6. X-Factor Version 2.0
(Image credit: Marvel Comics)
Government-sponsored and approved, the all-new all-different X-Factor, led by Cyclops's oft-overlooked younger brother Havok, showed us what misfits and rejects were all about.
Mainly formed by supporting characters, writer Peter David was allowed to flesh out the personalities of the team's new roster with a healthy dose of humor and pop culture that made them seem relevant despite their B-List status.
As the years went by, the team gradually shifted again, bringing Forge into a leadership position when Havok was presumed dead, and adding former villains such as Mystique and Sabretooth, as well as even more obscure characters like Shard and Wild Child. Although it didn't sell as nearly as the other X-books of the time, it still found a fanbase through David's unique voice and keen character development skills.
Before his eventual departure from X-Factor, David later re-reinvented the team as mutant investigators, a theme that has held over into the team's recently-concluded title.
5. The 'Outback Team'
(Image credit: Marvel Comics)
Probably the shortest tenure of any team on this list, lasting a little over a year before giving way to the Blue/Gold teams, the X-Men's so-called 'Outback' squad had a major impact nonetheless.
After the team crossed the Siege Perilous (a portal that remakes the lives of those who traverse it), many of its core members were presumed dead. In fact, they took up residence in Australia, using their anonymity to save the world. The tail end of these years also added X-Men mainstays like Jubilee and Gambit to the team, along with the enigmatic teleporter Gateway - whose relative Manifold is now a key member of the recently-concluded SWORD title.
This era spun out of the first 'X-over,' a line-wide story called 'Fall of the Mutants (opens in new tab),' beginning a tradition of line-wide stories that have a major impact on the X-Men.
4. The First Class
(Image credit: Marvel Comics)
While most of these adventures have been retconned or ignored by modern-day canon, the 'First Class' line-up set the stage for what was the come.
It introduced Hank McCoy as a brilliant jock and a bit of a prankster, Scott Summers as the shy and almost hesitant leader, Bobby Drake as the class clown, Jean Grey as the new girl on campus (and prize pupil), with Warren Worthington III as the brash playboy who wasn't shy about saying what was on his mind. This line-up was also the longest-running without any major shake-ups, changing only when Havok and Polaris joined in the late '60s.
The team fractured after everyone but Cyclops was captured by the mutant island Krakoa (now the living landmass that forms the mutant nation of the same name), leading to a whole new team taking the X-Men name for the first time.
After years apart, the original five reformed in the '80s as X-Factor before folding back into the main X-Men team in the early '90s, where they have remained core characters of Marvel's mutant mythos.
3. Astonishing X-Men
(Image credit: Marvel Comics)
After Grant Morrison's groundbreaking run on New X-Men, a new flagship title, Astonishing X-Men (opens in new tab), brought back the team's superhero roots while simplifying Morrison's trimmed-down roster even more.
Keeping the X-Men involvement in larger company crossovers to a minimum, Whedon focused on huge character moments, building on the already tense rivalry between Cyclops and Wolverine, and resurrecting Colossus which also reunited him with Kitty Pryde, reforging a relationship that was once central to the X-Men.
Astonishing X-Men has been called a love letter to Kitty Pryde, and that may be true. But the title was notable for giving no character short shrift, taking well-known relationships on the team in new directions, and leading directly to everything that came after for years to come.
2. Blue and Gold
(Image credit: Marvel Comics)
How do you solve a problem like having too many mutants on one team? You split them up, of course.
That's exactly what writer Chris Claremont and superstar artist Jim Lee did when they launched X-Men #1 (opens in new tab) in 1991, creating a second core title for Marvel's mutants for the first time in their history and spreading the ever-growing roster of mutant heroes over the color-coded Blue and Gold teams, featured separately in X-Men and Uncanny X-Men. With multiple covers and more hype than you can even imagine, X-Men #1 became the best-selling comic book of modern times.
Though the launch of X-Men also marked the end of Claremont's legendary tenure, it also began the era in which the X-Men were something of Marvels flagship franchise. This roster was immortalized in the 1992 animated series and for many fans is still the vision conjured when someone says 'X-Men.'
1. All New, All Different
(Image credit: Marvel Comics)
When we talk about the best X-Men team of all time, the squad that started to form in Giant-Size X-Men #1 (opens in new tab) will more than likely be at the top of the list.
Why? This was the first major shake-up to the X-Men roster ever and introduced numerous characters that have been beloved mainstays of the team ever since. On top of that, it also propelled the X-Men into the center of the Marvel universe, making them popular in a way the original team had never been.
Instigated by Lein Wein and Dave Cockrum, Chris Claremont took over almost immediately for Wein and went on to be the X-Men's main writer and driving creative force until the early '90s. The Giant-Size team redefined the X-Men as a concept and created almost everything we think of as the core aspects of the franchise.
Claremont wasn't alone in this; many of the characters introduced with Giant-Size X-Men #1 were brought over by Cockrum, who scrapped together unused ideas from his Legion of Super-Heroes days to create Nightcrawler, and Storm the first Black super-heroine to play a major role at Marvel or DC and who, along with Colossus and massive breakout star Wolverine, became the core of the X-Men roster for decades.
Along with these characters, Claremont also brought back Jean Grey, who, alongside her paramour Cyclops, became a central character in his stories, leading to the legendary Dark Phoenix Saga (opens in new tab).
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
Keeping drum traditions alive
Designed as a unique forum to showcase local and international drummers, percussionists and other musicians, the event also served as a positive networking opportunity to nurture the existing knowledge pool in TT .
Created by Gerion Williams who has performed with Shurwayne Winchester, Maxi Priest, The Alternative Quartet, Caribbean Airlines Invaders and many others, Drummerville attracted a moderate audience as well as many of the top practicing drummers.
The action kicked off with performances from students of the Holistic Primary School and the Malabar Secondary School, as trained and conducted by Everard Redman Watson. His drumming career spans over 35 years in the local and international music arena.
Watson then teamed up with another performer dubbed Lion, then teamed up to play and describe various traditional rhythms intrinsic to our heritage, which they believe are in danger of becoming lost and extinct.
They appealled to the young people and the audience to pass on the knowledge and to retain the local drumming traditions.
Percussionist Tamba Gwindi then hosted a segment on local and Caribbean percussion instruments and techniques, before Sonolal Killer Samaroo took the stage. Samaroo, brother of the late arranger Dr Jit Samaroo, is celebrating 48 years as a drummer. He started off performing with the Samaroo Kids family band at age six, which later became the Samaroo Jets and performed at the Trinidad Hilton Hotel for some 35 years.
Samaroo shared various drumming syncopations which he has personally developed over many years, before handing the spotlight over to Mikhail Salcedo and his band. Accompanied by DJ Kamau, Gerion Williams conducted the final official session, before the performers all took the stage together for a final epic jam session.
Each performer spoke about their style, their development and various aspects of their playing - in clinic style.
Festival director and CEO of Worldwide Stage Events, Elliot Francois thanked the gathering for attending and also thanked all those who contributed to making the event a success.
Thank you Jeremiah
At the Forensic Science Centre in St James yesterday, Hezekiahs great-aunt, Ann-Marie Theodore- Williams told reporters that when the fire got out of control, and smoke consumed the home of Hezekiahs mother, Shaleza Hospedales, it was her neighbour, Jeremiah Jones, who came to her rescue. I just want to thank the neighbours Theodore-Williams said. They did a lot for us and the hell we went through could have been worse without them. We want to thank them all, but especially Jeremiah and all the people who went and helped her (Shaleza) and bring her out. The smoke had surrounded the house, and she just grab the baby and was trying to get out. He (Jeremiah) went in and took the baby (Rukeia) from Shaleza and told them to follow him; but the smoke was so thick that by the time he turned around he could not see her (Shaleza). Theodore-Williams told reporters that Jeremiah handed Rukeia over to another neighbour and went back in to find Shaleza and Hezekiah, but the smoke was too thick and the heat was too much .
Newsday was told, while Jeremiah was still searching for mother and child, he could hear Shaleza crying out for Hezekiah hoping that he would respond .
When neighbours and residents could no longer hear her screams, they braved the heat and smoke to find, and pull her out of the fire .
Shaleza was taken to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, in Mount Hope to be treated .
Hezekiah was found after the flames were doused. He had burns all over his body, but Newsday was told that he died from smoke inhalation .
Shaleza, after being stabilised at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex in Mt Hope, was transferred to the Burns Unit of the San Fernando General Hospital where she remains .
At about 9.30 am on Wednesday the fire ignited at a housing settlement on a hill near Lahore Road, in Febeau Village. Residents tried to extinguish the flames, but the fire grew out of control within a matter of hours .
Retired lecturer new TT Cuban Ambassador
Minister of Foreign and Caricom Affairs Dennis Moses, presented instruments of appointment to four new Heads of Mission at the Ministry on Tuesday, the Ministry said in a media release.
Minister Moses informed that the Ministry was undertaking the necessary preparations for the new ambassadors to assume duty in the shortest possible time, the Ministry said.
Other persons who received instruments were Fitzgerald Jeffrey, High Commissioner for the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago to Jamaica; Dr Amery Browne, new Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Federative Republic of Brazil; and Pennelope Beckles, Permanent Representative of Trinidad and Tobago to the United Nations, in New York.
'He Had the Chance to Go in
and Save the Children'
(Newser) The Etruscans, a massively influential culture admired by both ancient Greeks and Romans, are largely a mystery to us today because much of their writing has perished, Ars Technica reports. That may change with a 500-pound slab of sandstone containing 70 letters and punctuation marks from the Etruscan language discovered by archaeologists northeast of Florence, Italy, according to Smithsonian Magazine. The more-than-2,500-year-old stone, known as a stele, was used to mark a temple before being repurposed into a foundation stone for a much larger temple. In a press release, archaeologist Gregory Warden stays the stele "will be remarkable for telling us about the early belief system of a lost culture that is fundamental to western traditions."
Oddly, the Etruscan language doesn't appear to be related to other nearby languages, and Etruscans mostly wrote on non-lasting materials like cloth and wax. Prior to the discovery of the stele, scholars largely had to rely on the "rote phrases and praise for the dead" found on Etruscan gravestones to try to decipher their language, Ars Technica notes. 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, Warden says. The Etruscans were notably religious, and scholars hope the stele could reveal information about one of the gods or goddesses they worshiped. The stele is being cleaned and scanned in Florence, Italy, and then an Etruscan language expert will have a go at it. (An ancient find solved a centuries-old Jewish riddle.)
(Newser) Kansas City police officer Rance Quinn recently shared a secret about cops: "We like to feel the love just like everybody else does," he tells fox4kc.com. And Quinn and a colleague felt that love when last week a teenage girl walked past their table at a restaurant as they ate their lunch and dropped a napkin. Written on the napkin was "Thanks for keeping us safe." Quinn and his colleague went from feeling "under-appreciated" to feeling like valued public servants. In addition to the leaving the encouraging message, the girl also paid for the officers' lunch.
As for the napkin, a photo of which is posted on Facebook, "carried it ever since," says Quinn. And he wants to give the teen a message: "Don't ever change who you are. Keep that with you through the rest of your life." A family also dining at the restaurant offered the officers a gift card. They ended up giving it to a family in need. (Read more Kansas City stories.)
(Newser) A 31-year-old Texas woman is in jail after police say she got hammered and let a sex offender tattoo her three underage children, the San Antonio Express-News reports. The childrena 13-year-old boy, 10-year-old girl, and 9-year-old girlwere at their mother Ashley Weir's home Monday when she allegedly told them to get tattoos and to not "cry or whine about it." All three received ankle tattoosa cross, an infinity symbol, and a heart with an arrow, respectively. Afterward, the 13-year-old called their father to pick them up and said "they had a surprise for him and that he might not like it." Their father arrived to find his children tattooed and their motheraccording to an affidavit"passed out drunk."
The children's father called police for a welfare check on Weir, and she was arrested. Weir has been charged with three counts of tattoos prohibited for certain persons. The misdemeanor could land her up to three years in prison. KTBC reports Weir has been arrested for investigation of DUI and public intoxication multiple times in the past. The Dallas Morning News identifies the alleged tattooer as 21-year-old Dakota Popham, the brother of Weir's boyfriend. He was convicted of indecency with a child by sexual conduct involving a 12-year-old girl in 2012 and indecency with a child by exposure involving a 13-year-old girl in 2013. (Read more tattoos stories.)
(Newser) It's a big world after all: Researchers say that over the last 40 years, the number of obese people worldwide has ballooned and the obese now outnumber the underweight, HealthDay reports. The proportion of obese people worldwide now stands at 11% among men and 15% among women, while 9% of men and 10% of women are underweight, according to researchers who analyzed data on 20 million people in 186 countries for a study in the Lancet medical journal. The researchers warn that if current trends continue, there's no chance of meeting the global target of keeping obesity at 2010 levels in 2025. Instead, they predict that around a fifth of adults worldwide will be obese by 2025.
"Although it is reassuring that the number of underweight individuals has decreased over the last four decades, global obesity has reached crisis point," warns lead researcher Majid Ezzati of Imperial College London. To tackle the crisis, he says, there should be global initiatives to ensure that healthy food isn't more expensive than unhealthy, highly processed food. In a Lancet editorial, George Davey Smith from the University of Bristol says we are living in "a fatter, healthier, but more unequal world." He warns that focusing on obesity in wealthy countries could divert resources away from regions like East Africa and South Asia, where a high proportion of people are still underweight. (Another study found that millions of Americans considered to be obese are actually "quite healthy.")
(Newser) A missing Texas woman described by her husband as a "model mom" and the rock of the family was found dead in a car in a Target parking lot in Frisco Thursday evening, her three young children alive beside her, CBS11 reports. Sources tell the station there were no explicit signs of trauma to the body of Christine Woo, 39, and her kids5-year-old Lauren, 3-year-old Nathan, and 1-year-old Leahwere unharmed, though severely dehydrated, KDFW reports, via the Dallas Morning News. Woo and the children had been reported missing by her husband, Brandon, on Tuesday, after he hadn't seen or heard from them since Monday morning when he left for work. Christine was seen on a Walgreens surveillance video Monday morning, per WFAA; records also show she went to a local McDonald's a few hours laterthe last purchase authorities have been able to track.
Brandon says he texted his wife on his way home from work Monday, but he wasn't alarmed when she didn't reply because he figured she was busy with the kids. When he got home and found the house empty, he tried calling herand her cellphone rang in an adjoining room. He says everything in the house was intact. "Started getting worried when it got to 8 o'clock, now nothing. Nine o'clock, 10 o'clock, stayed up all night, of course," he tells NBC 5. He headed into work Tuesday morning to take care of some "obligations" before telling his boss his family was missing; he called the cops around 7pm Tuesday. Brandon says movies and TV had convinced him he had to wait 24 hours before filing a missing person's reportan assumption cops told him wasn't true. (A dad who disappeared from his daughter's California wedding was found dead.)
(Newser) The brave men and women protecting our waters are now free to get all tatted up. The Navy announced Thursday it's easing tattoo restrictions for sailors, the Virginian-Pilot reports. Under the new guidelines, which go into effect April 30, sailors will be allowed one small tattoo on the neck and have free rein to go crazy below the knees and elbows. This policy change is about being honest with ourselves, and putting policies in place that reflect tattoo realities in the nation we serve, a Navy spokesperson says. Previously, tattoos below the knees and elbows had to be no larger than a sailor's hand. Sailors will now be allowed to sport full sleeve tattoos. According to USA Today, neck tattoos must be kept smaller than an inch.
The Navy Times calls the new guidelines the "military's best tattoo rules" and points out that more than one in three millennials have tattoos."Its a tough recruiting environment out there already, and when you start putting up barriers that dont have any true rationale behind them, you create problems for yourself into the future," the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy says. Many sailors had complained that their tattoos were keeping them from advancing their careers. For the first time, sailors with heavily tattooed arms will be allowed to train recruits and work in recruiting offices. But tattoos still must not be prejudicial to good order, discipline, and morale, or be of a nature that brings discredit upon the naval service." And sorry, sailors, face tats are still a no-go. (Read more tattoos stories.)
(Newser) At a nuclear summit attended by more than 50 world leaders Friday in Washington DC, President Obama called the possibility of ISIS getting its hands on a nuclear weapon "one of the greatest threats to global security," the BBC reports. There is no doubt that if these madmen ever got their hands on a nuclear bomb or nuclear material, they would certainly use it to kill as many innocent people as possible, Obama said, per Reuters. It would change our world. It was part of Obama's pitch to world leaders to better secure their nuclear materials, which he said is the most effective way of keeping them from falling into the hands of terrorists. He also called on countries to stop stockpiling nuclear weapons.
Obama said both al-Qaeda and ISIS are still seeking nuclear material for weaponizing, and the risk of nuclear terrorism remains very real. He pointed out recent news that ISIS members had been following a Belgian nuclear plant's senior manager and secretly recording his daily activities. "We cannot be complacent," he said. In addition to ISIS and al-Qaeda, world leaders also expressed concern with North Korea's nuclear weapons program. US officials estimate there is approximately 2,000 metric tons of material worldwide that could be used to build a nuclear weapon, NBC News reports. The US and Russia (Putin refused to attend the summit) account for 90% of the world's nuclear weapons with more than 14,000 nuclear warheads between them. (Read more nuclear weapons stories.)
(Newser) A woman befriended a mom and kids at Pennsylvania's King of Prussia Mall on Thursday night and then, when the mom was briefly distracted by her older children, grabbed the baby out of his stroller and ran off. Malika Hunter, the mother of 7-week-old Ahsir Simmons, ran after her, but turned back to check on a child still sitting at their food court table and lost track of her. A search was launched and surveillance video was released showing 32-year-old Cherie Amoore allegedly leaving the mall with Ahsir in her arms, and within hours, both had been found, 6ABC reports. Amoore, who was arraigned Friday on charges of kidnapping, false imprisonment, and more, claims that she gave birth to a baby boy on Feb. 11, but he died shortly after birth and she never told anyone. "I just wanted my baby. I felt like I was holding my son again," she reportedly told police.
But police haven't been able to confirm her story, and friends tell 6ABC they're not sure Amoore was ever really pregnant. While talking to the baby's family at the mall, Amoore told his mother she had a baby around the same age; Hunter says Amoore seemed "nice" and like a "normal, average" person, NBC Philadelphia reports. Shortly before Amoore allegedly took Ahsir, she asked if she could hold him, but his mother refused. Then, when Hunter was distracted and Ahsir started to cry in his stroller, Amoore allegedly picked him up and left. Police say she took him to show her relatives and friends at a few different locations, and it was her family members who recognized her on the surveillance video that was released and called the cops. Ahsir was asleep in a carseat owned by Amoore when police found him; police say Amoore had also given him a bath and new pajamas. (Read more kidnapping stories.)
(Newser) More information is emerging about the shooter and Virginia state trooper killed in Thursday's violence at a Greyhound bus station in Richmond. The AP reports 37-year-old Chad Dermyer, a former Marine, was participating in a counterterrorism exercise at the bus station with a dozen or so other troopers. Part of the training was engaging with citizens, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. When he approached 34-year-old James Brown III, who was traveling from North Carolina to Chicago, Brown shot him multiple times. Officials don't know why Dermyer approached Brown but think he may have been trying to make small talk. Brown, an Illinois resident, was traveling with 140 rounds of ammo in his bags. He was shot and killed by other troopers on the scene.
Brown has multiple convictions in his past, including for violent offenses and drug charges. He was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison in 2012 for assaulting a pregnant woman. His ex-girlfriend, who says he nearly killed her when she broke up with him, says he often talked about hating police. "He wanted to be one of those guys that just died killing police officers because they are not taking him back to jail," she tells AP. It's a sentiment echoed by Brown's aunt, who tells WTVR "he always liked the criminal side" and wanted to be "infamous." Dermyer had made headlines recently for a couple of cases. In one, he rescued a lost dog running in traffic on the interstate. In another, he stopped a woman for driving with expired plates only to find the remains of her missing son in her trunk. (Read more shooting stories.)
(Newser) A 42-year-old man in Hong Kong spent $50,000 to realize a childhood dream: making a robot modeled on a Hollywood star, Reuters reports. Ricky Ma wouldn't say which Hollywood star his fembot was modeled on, butas Engadget puts it"that's obviously Scarlett Johansson." Jezebel concurs, writing, "It does look just enough like Johansson for her to maybe want to consider taking out a restraining order." Stillafter a year and a half of work, including teaching himself programming and electromechanicsMa isn't letting anyone bring him down. "If I realize my dream, I will have no regrets in life," he tells Reuters, which has photos and video of his creation.
Ma built the Mark 1 on the balcony of his apartment. It was a largely lonely experience. "During this process, a lot of people would say things like, 'Are you stupid?'" Ma tells Reuters. Well, he doesn't have to be lonely anymore. His personal robot can change its facial expressions, move its limbs, and bow. It even responds to verbal commands. For example, if you tell it it's beautiful, it will smile and respond with, "Hehe, thank you." And while that might be a little creepy, Engadget notes it's also "really impressive considering that Ma is completely self-taught." Ma hopes some company will buy his robo-Johansson, allowing him to make more. (This robot farm will churn out 30,000 heads of lettuce a day.)
New Delhi:
Voicing his concern against the terrorism, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that the notion of marking terrorist with their associations is wrong.
Drop the notion that his terrorist is not my terrorist, PM Modi said while addressing the two-day Nuclear Security Summit in the US.
Terrorism is globally networked. But, we still act only nationally to counter this threat, PM said while speaking at a US State dinner in the two-day Nuclear Security Summit in the US.
Nuclear security must remain an abiding national priority. All States must completely abide by their international obligations, he said adding, Brussels shows us how real and immediate is the threat to nuclear security from terrorism.
Addressing the summit that marked the presence of leaders from more that 50 countries, PM Modi said, Terror has evolved. Terrorists are using 21st century technology. But our responses are rooted in the past.
Modi was seated next to Obama during the White House dinner which was attended by heads of States of more than 20 countries here in the US capital for the fourth edition of the Nuclear Security Summit.
Praising the US President for his initiative on nuclear security, Modi said Obamas legacy must endure. By putting spotlight on nuclear security, Obama has done great service to global security, Modi said.
Dwelling at length on the threat posed by terrorism to the world, the Prime Minister said the Brussels attacks shows how real and immediate the threat is to nuclear security from terrorism.
Outlining three contemporary features of terror that the world should focus on, Modi said todays terrorism uses extreme violence as theatre.
Second, we are no longer looking for a man in a cave, but we are hunting for a terrorist in a city with a computer or a smart phone. Third, state actors working with nuclear traffickers and terrorists present the greatest risk, he said.
Noting that terror has evolved, Modi said terrorists are using 21st century technology. But our responses are rooted in the past, he said.
The reach and supply chains of terrorism are global, but genuine cooperation between nation states is not, Modi said.Drop the notion that terrorism is someone elses problem and that his terrorist is not my terrorist.
Terrorism is globally networked. But, we still act only nationally to counter this threat, the PM told the international community.
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Washington:
The US and China today announced that they will sign the Paris climate change agreement on April 22 as the worlds two biggest greenhouse gas emitters called on other countries to bring the global accord into force as early as possible.
In a joint statement after a meeting, President Barack Obama and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping pledged to take concrete steps to implement the Paris agreement as early as possible.
Obama and Xi also called on other countries to sign the accord next month in New York.
They encourage other parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to do the same, with a view to bringing the Paris Agreement into force as early as possible, said the joint statement.
Obama and Xi further expressed their commitment to work together and with others to promote the full implementation of the Paris Agreement to win the fight against the climate threat, it said.
Leaders from nearly 200 countries forged the landmark climate deal in Paris on December 12, but the accord needs at least 55 countries representing at least 55 per cent of global emissions to formally accede to it before it can enter into force.
In the joint statement, the two presidents recognised that the Paris agreement marks a global commitment to tackling climate change and a strong signal of the need for a swift transition to low-carbon, climate-resilient economies.
In this regard, the Presidents are also committed to working bilaterally and with other countries to achieve successful outcomes this year in related multilateral fora, including on an HFC amendment under the Montreal Protocol pursuant to the Dubai Pathway and on a global market-based measure for addressing greenhouse gas emissions from international aviation at the International Civil Aviation Organization Assembly, it said.
To accelerate clean energy innovation and deployment, they agreed to work together to implement the goals of the Mission Innovation initiative announced at the Paris conference and carry forward the work of the Clean Energy Ministerial.
They support a successful G-20 Summit in Hangzhou this year, including strong climate and clean energy outcomes, and call on the G-20 countries to engage constructively in international cooperation on energy and climate change, the statement said.
The two countries agreed to deepen and broaden bilateral cooperation through the US-China Climate Change Working Group, the US-China Clean Energy Research Center, and other efforts.
The Presidents commit to taking concrete steps to implement the commitments they made in their September 2015 Joint Statement to use public resources to finance and encourage the transition toward low carbon technologies as a priority, the joint statement said.
Observing that over the past three years, climate change has become a pillar of the US-China bilateral relationship, the statement said both countries have taken strong measures at home to build green, low-carbon and climate-resilient economies, helping galvanise global action to combat climate change and culminating in the Paris Agreement reached last December.
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Beijing:
Beijings defence ministry today warned the US navy to be careful in the South China Sea and slammed a newly signed agreement between Washington and the Philippines.
Earlier this month, Manila agreed to give US forces access to five military bases, including some close to the disputed South China Sea, where tensions have risen over Beijings assertion of its territorial claims.
China claims virtually all the South China Sea despite conflicting claims by Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan and the Philippines, and has built up artificial islands in the area in recent months, including some with airstrips.
Washington has since October carried out two high-profile freedom of navigation operations in which it sailed warships within 12 nautical miles of islets claimed by China.
Asked about a recent report on US patrols in the sea, defence ministry spokesman Yang Yujun told a briefing today:
As for the US ships which came, I can only suggest they be careful.
The agreement between Washington and Manila applies to the Antonio Bautista Air Base on the western island of Palawan, directly on the South China Sea.
Asked about the deal, Yang said: To strengthen military alliances is a reflection of a Cold War mentality.
It is in the opposite direction of the trends of the era for peace, development and cooperation, he said, adding bilateral military cooperation should not undermine a third partys interests.
Washington regularly accuses Beijingwhich says it has built runways on and deployed unspecified weapons to islands in the South China Seaof militarising the area.
Beijing denies the accusations and says US patrols have ramped up tensions.
Now, the United States has come back, and is reinforcing its military presence in this region and promoting militarisation in the South China Sea, Yang said.
Beijing acknowledges that the facilities on its new islands will have military as well as civilian purposes.
Chinas comments came as Malaysia accused a large number of Chinese fishing trawlers and a coast guard vessel of entering its waters, understood to be last week.
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New Delhi:
Influential Islamic seminary Darul Uloom has issued a Fatwa against the chant of Bharat mata ki Jai, terming it as un-Islamic. The organisation said that no Muslim should worship anyone accept Allah and that nation is not god for them. The fatwa was originally issued on March 19 but became viral on social media on Thursday evening. It says that Islam does not allow Idol worship, therefore Muslims should restrain themselves from chanting Bharat Mata Ki Jai.
It should be noted that the Fatwa was issued by Darul Ifta is a separate department in Seminary headed by Maulana Habiburrehman Haidrabadi in which scholars give their collective opinion to queries of people in light of Quran and Hadees.
Darul Uloom issues Fatwa against Bharat Mata Ki Jai Influential Islamic seminary Darul Uloom has issued a Fatwa against the chant of Bharat mata ki Jai, terming it as un-Islamic. Posted by Newsnation on Friday, April 1, 2016
We love the country, but we believe only in one God, Darul Uloom Deoband said when it was asked to respond to the ongoing debate on chanting or not chanting Bharat Mata Ki Jai
However, Darul Uloom is known for its moderate stands on controversial issues. Interestingly, Darul Uloom Deoband had recently issued a decree asking Muslims to hoist national flag on their houses and establishments on Independence Day. It had also appealed to them to celebrate the occasion with great spirit of patriotism.
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New Delhi:
In an archetypal of ironical stances, China on Thursday vetoed Indias proposal to ban notorious international terrorist and Jaish e Mohammad Chief Maulana Masood Azhar a move which surprized many. The move by China was seen as its support to its all-weather ally Pakistan. However, the fact that country supported a terrorist was beyond expected.
But what came as an irony was that President Xi Jinping raised his countrys concerns against the rising terrorism cases.
"The terrorist threat is on the rise," Xi told reporters at a joint media appearance with his US counterpart Barack Obama. He said the US and China have growing responsibilities for promoting peace and stability in the world. "As the largest developing country and the largest developed country, and also as the world's top two economies, China and the United States have growing responsibilities for promoting world peace, stability and prosperity. There are wide areas where we should and we can work with each other," the Chinese President said with Obama standing by his side.
Beijing did not even give any reason on their move in their written communication which just says that they want to put a hold on India's proposition. Media reports say that US, UK and France had strongly supported the move and the other nations had also expressed their consent to proceed with the action on Azhar. But China, one of the five permanent members of the UN group with veto powers.
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New Delhi:
India will now send its team of investigators to Pakistan to gather evidence that terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed and its chief, Masood Azhar were the mastermind of the terror attack on Pathankots air base in January. Sharad Kumar, the head of the National Investigation Agency, has said that Pakistan has welcomed the decision.
The Pakistani JIT has just concluded its six-day discussions with the NIA on the probe into the Pathankot terror attack. The visiting officials have recorded statements of witnesses and collected DNA report of slain terrorists.
The Pakistani team arrived in India on March 27 and recorded statements of 16 witnesses, including Superintendent of Police-rank officer of Punjab Salwinder Singh, his jeweller-friend Rajesh Verma and cook Madan Gopal. A group of men from the Pakistani side had crossed the border into Punjab and attacked the Pathankot air base, killing seven military personnel.
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Washington:
In an unprecedented move, Saudi Arabia has joined hands with the US to disrupt the fundraising and support networks of LeT, al-Qaeda and the Taliban by imposing sanctions on four individuals and two organisations.
Department of Treasury has designated James Alexander McLintock, Al-Rahmah Welfare Organization, Abdul Aziz Nuristani, the Jamia Asariya Madrassa, Naveed Qamar, and Muhammad Ijaz Safarash, as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs).
As a result of yesterdays action, any property or interest in the name of these designated individuals and entities subject to US jurisdiction is frozen.
Simultaneously, Saudi Arabia also slapped sanctions against these individuals and entities.
From terrorising local populations to exploiting charities and religious institutions, al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) have a long history of inflicting violence on Americans and our allies throughout South Asia and the Middle East, said Adam J Szubin, Acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.
Todays action marks yet another step in Treasurys efforts to financially cripple terrorist financiers and demonstrates the United States and Saudi Arabias shared resolve to target those who support terrorism, he said.
Saudi Arabia-based LeT member Muhammad Ijaz Safarash has funded and provided logistical support to LeT.
Safarash has been an LeT operative for several years, acquiring travel documents and facilitating financial transfers in Saudi Arabia, the Treasury said.
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Noida:
The Noida Authority has taken the responsibility of constructing a traffic park in Sector 108, Noida. Mainly meant for the purpose of holding meetings and organizing workshops on safe driving, this park will also serve to impart motor vehicle driving skills.
The blueprints of the traffic park revealed that it is designed to have a Motor Driving Training School, an administrative block, training centres for the Traffic Police and a Regional Transportation Office. The establishment of an auditorium and parking lot is planned as well, which is estimated to hold the capacity of 200 people and motor vehicles.
Currently, the establishment of the drainage system and electrical works is in process. It is almost 75 pc complete with the pavement left to work on. Apart from these features, the traffic park is also designed to have roundabouts, flyovers, bridges, subways, underpasses, foot over bridges, a bus stop, zig-zag roads and all types of traffic signals.
Models of the Yamuna Expressway and other major roads will ornament as the major attractions of the park. Additionally, there will also be a hospital and library built in the park.
The total cost for constructing the traffic park and its surrounding areas is estimated to be around Rs 40 crores approximately. According to the authorities, the traffic park will be functional and open to the citizens by July, 2017.
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Connecticuts biggest employer is gearing for a contentious showdown with its workers and the outcome will affect every taxpayer and most residents in the state.
With about 45,000 employees, government has the largest workforce and the salaries and benefits account for about one-third of state spending. When Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and the General Assembly look for ways to fill a projected $900 million deficit in the new budget that starts July 1, it is unrealistic to expect such a big chunk would stay off limits.
The showdown comes as the governor warns layoff notices will go out to thousands of state employees within two weeks to meet a June 9 deadline. He wont disclose how many workers face layoffs the number is fluid depending upon retirements other than saying it is a very, very substantial number. Legislative leadership predicts it could reach 2,000.
Unions are fighting back. A rally at the Capitol Tuesday drew from 300 to 500 workers, with many shouting No more concessions! and supportive advertisements will follow soon.
No one can fault the unions for wanting to protect negotiated wages and benefits. They agreed to concessions in 2009 and 2011.
But with the state in a fiscal crisis, due in part to declining income tax revenue, the governor and legislators would be derelict if they did not attempt to make the state live within its means.
This would require streamlining government, but we hope layoffs can be kept to a minimum. Substantial reductions will affect government services, plain and simple. And on a more humanitarian note, we do not wish unemployment upon thousands of people.
The coalition called SEBAC, which represents the 15 unions that represent state employees, should meet with the governor and try to find fair solutions.
It is not unreasonable for taxpayers to expect that benefits accorded to state employees whose salaries they pay be more aligned with theirs in the private sector. For example, could state employees pay a greater share of prescription drug co-pays now ranging from $5-$35? A $5 increase might not be unbearable for the individual, but cumulatively would help state finances. Senate Republicans estimate $11.2 million saved with higher drug co-pays from $5-$10.
Longevity bonuses ended for new employees after 2011, but continue for those hired earlier. This means after 10 years of service, the employees get semi-annual lump sum payments based on salaries and time and the longevity pay counts toward pension benefits, as does overtime. The bipartisan Office of Fiscal Analysis estimates annual savings of $19.8 million by stopping longevity payments.
State public employees earn, through salaries and benefits, an average of 25 to 46 percent more than private sector counterparts, studies indicate.
This is not to say the state budget must get balanced on the backs of union employees. The governor also must be fair and not slip in retroactive raises to administrative staff as he did just before Christmas 2014.
With reasonable concessions must come the firm promise that the governor and General Assembly will studiously restructure government to match revenues as they say they will and achieve sustainability.
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STAMFORD Stamford police are investigating whether AFB Construction Management, the contractor that oversees public schools, attempted to enter into business with another vendor working in city buildings.
Lt. Diedrich Hohn said officers from the Property Crimes Unit Thursday seized two city computers used by the company, which has an office on the third floor of the Stamford Government Center. The computers were used by the companys owner, Al Barbarotta, and AFBs energy director, Charles Benzyk, Hohn said.
We started an investigation to see if there is any criminality between AFB and the vendor, ConEd Solutions, a company the city hired to devise a plan for improving energy efficiency in municipal buildings. We are trying to zero in on what type of business dealings there may have been, and whether there was any kind of pressure to get (AFB) involved.
ConEd Solutions is cooperating with police, Hohn said.
As of right now there is no proof of any quid pro quo between AFB and ConEd Solutions, he said. It is still under investigation.
Christine Nevin, a spokeswoman for ConEd Solutions, said, We understand there is an investigation; however, we have not been given any indication by Stamford police that we are the target.
If ConEds energy-improvement measures are approved, the company would enter into another contract with the city to implement the plan.
That second contract would have ConEd overseeing projects such as installing state-of-the-art boilers, solar panels and LED lighting, for which the company would hire businesses that handle such work.
Hohn said police are looking into a June email with Barbarottas name on the top to Ward Strosser, regional account representative for ConEd Solutions.
In the email, the writer alluded to AFBs role in ConEds current work. As the school districts facilities director, AFB -- which is paid $742,000 a year by the Board of Education -- has been showing ConEd around the schools during the exploratory phase of the energy-saving project.
The email writer said that me and my companys involvement in the pre construction phase is critical to your initial success.
The costs for Benzyk, who already is paid by the school district as an AFB employee, are $120 per hour, according to the email.
I am willing to wait till Con Ed Solutions gets their contract signed before AFBs team is engaged however I need to cover Charlies $10,000 per month beginning July first, the email said. I am concerned that regardless of what you and I agree to someone above you might not see my teams value.
AFBs response
Asked about the ConEd note, Barbarotta emailed The Advocate that his attorney, Ed Scofield of Zeldes, Needle & Cooper in Bridgeport, would respond, then included this statement: There are or never have been any agreements either verbally or written between AFB/Al Barbarotta or any company owned or partially owned by Al Barbarotta and ConEd Solutions in Stamford Connecticut or anywhere else period! There were conversations however Al Barbarotta decided that there could be a perceived conflict of interest so therefore terminated the discussions!
Asked who initiated the conversations alluded to in the ConEd email, what services AFB was willing to provide, how that would jibe with AFBs contract with the school district, and why Barbarotta thought there could be a conflict of interest, Scofield emailed a reply:
This is our final statement on this matter: Con Ed approached Al Barbarotta and asked that he consider being of assistance to them. There were preliminary discussions of a possible contractual relationship, which was disclosed to the city. While Al did not believe that there was any actual conflict of interest, the manner in which his companys valued services on behalf of the city and the Board of Education had already been unfairly criticized in the press made it possible that someone would also unfairly criticize any work he did with Con Ed. For that reason, Al decided on his own to terminate the discussions.
Asked who in City Hall Barbarotta told about the conversation, Scofield emailed, No agreement was ever entered into; were not going to trouble anyone by naming an individual. Well have no further comment on this.
News to me
Thomas Madden, the citys economic development director, is in charge of the citys energy improvement program and hired ConEd Solutions.
Asked whether he was the one notified, Madden said, I was not told. All this stuff is brand-new news to me.
Madden said he hired Celtic Energy, an auditing company, to review ConEds numbers and engineering approach. Chris Lotspeich, Celtics director of sustainability services, said he was unaware of a possible agreement between AFB and ConEd.
It has not been discussed in project meetings, Lotspeich told The Advocate. This is the first Ive heard of it.
Interim schools Superintendent James Connelly who began the job in January was also unaware of conversations between the two companies, but he said it is something a superintendent should know.
It was the kind of relationship that should have been run by the people he works for, Connelly said of Barbarotta.
Its the type of situation where you would have to look at possible conflict of interest, possible violation of his agreement with the schools and possible ethical violations.
Mayor David Martin responded through his spokeswoman, Libby Carlson: The mayors office has no comment on ongoing police investigations.
Hohn said he is handling the investigation along with Sgt. Sean Scanlan.
angela.carella@scni.com; 203-964-2296;
stamfordadvocate.com
/angelacarella.
25-year veteran of loyalty, travel and payments industries to drive expansion into North and South America
BOSTON, April 1, 2016 /CNW/ - Collinson Group, a world leader in influencing customer behaviour, has appointed Lars Holmquist as SVP, Group Business Development. In this role, Lars will accelerate the further expansion of Collinson Group across the Americas through new business acquisition, taking innovative loyalty and benefits solutions to new clients looking to better acquire, engage and reward their customers.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151026/280732LOGO )
Lars has over 25 years of experience working in the travel, loyalty and payments industries holding senior executive positions at TSYS Loyalty, MasterCard, American Express, Brierley & Partners, Loylogic and Cartera Commerce. Lars is a seasoned global citizen, building his career in the U.S., Sweden and Switzerland.
A leader in EMEA and Asia Pacific, this year Collinson Group is increasing investment in both North and South America to capitalise on a number of significant opportunities and existing growth of over 20%. Lars will head up a regional development team to upscale capabilities and bring local market expertise to the benefit of Collinson Group's international client base.
Mark Roper, Global Commercial Director, Collinson Group, said: "Lars has an exceptional track record across the specialist sectors we represent, making him ideally suited to drive our ambitions in the Americas. The U.S. is a thriving market that offers a wealth of opportunities for us to provide products and services to support the needs of our international clients. The growing demand for our products and services, driven by the needs of frequent travellers and high net worth customers, presents clear opportunity for even stronger growth and we look forward to Lars leading our strategic approach across the financial services and travel industries."
Lars said, "The Collinson Group is a world leader in influencing customer behaviour, with a fantastic portfolio of benefits and loyalty solutions. While already well-established in the region, supporting some of the worlds' largest brands from four local offices, there remains huge additional potential. The Group's strategic partnership with Points and recent acquisition of idAlerts, further demonstrates the company's commitment to its clients in the region. I look forward to being a part of Collinson Group's continued success and true global capability."
About Collinson Group
Collinson Group (http://www.collinsongroup.com) is a global leader in influencing customer behaviour to drive revenue and value for its clients. It offers a unique blend of industry and sector specialists across four core capabilities: Loyalty, Lifestyle Benefits, Insurance and Assistance. The group has over 25 years' experience, employing 2,000 staff, servicing over 800 clients from 26 global locations, and managing over 20 million end customers.
The group provides unrivalled insight and expertise around affluent consumers and frequent travellers, creating and delivering products and services that increase engagement, loyalty and value for customers.
Our clients are market leaders from across the globe including: 500 banks internationally, Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Barclays, Credit Mutuel, Air France KLM, Cathay Pacific, British Airways, Intercontinental Hotel Group, Hilton Hotels, and Vodafone.
We have been bringing innovation to the market since inception - launching the first independent global VIP lounge access programme, Priority Pass, being the first to sell direct travel insurance in the UK through Columbus Direct and we created the first loyalty agency of its kind in the travel sector with ICLP. Today we still invest heavily in innovation to ensure that we continue to deliver superior customer experiences.
SOURCE Collinson Group
TRUMP VS. THE STANDARD OF RONALD REAGAN By Thomas Ertl
April 1, 2016
NewsWithViews.com Donald Trump has dominated much of the Republican Primary over the past few months and has carved out for himself a wide popular appeal with the American voter. Despite his historic run, there are still conservatives and Evangelicals who strongly oppose his candidacy. The two reasons for their opposition are an insufficient conservative ideology and issues of moral character. In order to determine the legitimacy of these concerns, it would be helpful to compare Trump to a true standard of American conservatism. Instead of using the comparison of contemporary Republicans like Cruz, Rubio and Bush, this study would be best served if Trump was held to a much higher standard, that being the conservative icon, Ronald Reagan. We often hear Ronald Reagan invoked in speech after speech as the true representative of American Conservatism for the last half of the twentieth century. For conservatives, Reagan is THE standard for conservative politics. He is the standard in character, the standard in conservative ideology and the standard in his conduct as President. This brief comparison of Trump vs. Reagan will range from areas of personal faith, morality to political policies. PERSONAL FAITH TRUMP: Trump was a Presbyterian from his upbringing with his Scottish-born mother. Gwenda Blair in an October 6, 2015 article for Politico writes of Trumps parents religion, Trumps religious upbringing, and the influence of their NY Presbyterian pastor Norman Vincent Peale: His parents, Fred and Mary, felt an immediate affinity for Peales teachings. On Sundays, they drove into Manhattan to worship at Marble Collegiate Church, where Peale was the head pastor. Donald and both his sisters were married there, and funeral services for both Fred and Mary took place in the main sanctuary. I still remember [Peales] sermons, Trump told the Iowa Family Leadership Summit in July. You could listen to him all day long. And when you left the church, you were disappointed it was over In his adult years there is not an indication that he was a regular churchgoer. However, Trump remains a strong advocate of Christianity. REAGAN: Reagan also was raised Presbyterian by his mother in Illinois. He attended church as a youth, but there is not much of a record of his church attendance when he moved to Hollywood at 26. He was never noted as a consistent church attendee. He joined Bel-Air Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles and was a member from 1988 until his death in 2004. Reagan, like Trump, was never outspoken about his faith, but he was a strong supporter of the Christian faith. MORAL BACKGROUND OF TRUMP AND REAGAN TRUMP: Trumps colorful strong outspoken personality offends some Evangelicals. Evangelical leaders complain that his moral shortcomings disqualify him from public office. REAGAN: Ronald Reagan had two very different lives: one in Hollywood and one in politics. When Reagan came to Hollywood he became a relentless womanizer. Some of the women associated sexually with Reagan were Lana Turner, Betty Grable, Susan Hayworth, Ava Gardner, Patricia Roc, Piper Laurie and Marilyn Monroe. His recent biographers report up to 50 women with whom he was sexually involved. His promiscuity continued between his first and second marriages. It seems with his second marriage to Nancy Davis he, to his credit, amended his lifestyle and became a stable husband and father, and he and Nancy were blessed with 52 years of marriage. MARRIAGE / DIVORCE TRUMP: Trump has been married three times. First: Ivana Zelnickova (19771991)
Second: Marla Maples (19931999)
Current: Melania Knauss (m. 2005) REAGAN: Reagan was married twice. First: Jane Wyman (19401949)
Second: Nancy Davis (19522004) Christian Right leaders constantly vilify Trump for his three marriages but never mention Reagans two. Is there a new religious standard where two marriages is okay, but three is over the limit? Are two marriages acceptable but the third becomes a great moral defect? POLITICAL PARTY AFFILIATIONS TRUMP: Most of his life he has been registered as a Democrat. In 2012 he switched back to the Republican Party and remains there today. Republican: 198799, 200911, 2012Present
Independent: 20112012
Democratic: before 1987, 20012009
Reform: 19992001 REAGAN: He grew up in Illinois as a Democrat and remained so for much of his life including most of his time in Hollywood. In 1962, at the age of 51, he changed party affiliation to Republican. [Bear in mind that the Democratic party of the past is not the same as the Democratic party of today. The Democratic party of today has embraced much if not all of the Communist platform and ideology.] POLITICAL ENDORSEMENTS TRUMP: The record of who Trump gave campaign money to is discussed often by his opponents. Some of the high-profile Democrats Trump gave campaign funds to are the Clintons, Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel, Harry Reid, Ted Kennedy and Charlie Crist. In fairness to Trump, he gave this as a businessman, not as a politician. He also endorsed Mitt Romney in 2012. REAGAN: It would be difficult to follow Reagans trail of campaign donations, but his endorsements are clear. Here are some of them: WWII-era: Endorsement of FDR
1948 Election: Endorsement of Democrat Harry Truman over Republican Thomas Dewey
1948 Senate: Endorsement of Democrat Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota
Other: He also was a strong advocate of radical union leader Walter Reuther. In fairness to Reagan, he made these endorsements before his political career. REAGAN ON POLITICAL POLICY GUN CONTROL: In California, he signed a Mulford Act which prohibited the carrying of firearms on ones person in public buildings, in the street and in ones auto.
As President in 1986, he signed the Firearm Owners Protection Act, which banned any fully automatic rifle that was not already registered by the date of the bill.
He supported the Brady Bill. TAXES: In California, he raised taxes 7 out of the 8 years he was in office.
As President, he pushed through a $3.3 billion fuel and gas tax.
Social Security tax increased $165 billion over the 7 years of his presidency.
He raised corporate taxes by $120 billion over 5 years and closed loopholes for another $300 billion in the same period. AMNESTY: He granted amnesty to 3 million illegal immigrants in 1986 bypassing Congress. HOMOSEXUAL RIGHTS: In California he strongly opposed the Briggs Initiative to ban homosexuals from teaching in the California public schools. FEDERAL SPENDING AND DEBT: He stated pre-election that he was going to eliminate the Departments of Energy, Education and Veteran Affairs. They were never eliminated. Instead they were given significant budget increases during his presidency.
Presidents Ford and Carter grew the federal government by 1.4%; Reagan by 3%. The national debt under Reagan tripled from $900 billion to $2.7 trillion.
Federal entitlements went from $197.1 billion in 1981 to $477 billion in 1987. FOREIGN AID: Foreign aid rose in Reagans presidency from $10 billion to $22 billion. He also increased Americas contribution to the International Monetary Fund by $8.4 billion. These numbers can be confirmed by Sheldon L. Richmans article, The Sad Legacy of Ronald Reagan. TRUMP ON POLITICAL POLICY Trump has strong positions against gun control, federal taxation and illegal immigration. He has stated that as President he wants to eliminate the Department of Education and have education handled locally. Trump is also adamant on drastically reducing foreign aid. Is it possible that Trump is actually more politically conservative than Reagan? I will leave that question to the reader to answer. REAGAN ON SOCIAL ISSUES NO-FAULT DIVORCE: On September 5, 1969, as governor of California, Reagan signed the nations first no-fault divorce bill. After Californias lead, by 1973, 25 more states penned no-fault divorce legislation. No-fault divorce proved to be one of the most destructive laws for the break-up of the American family. Because of the unprecedented destruction of the American family, spawning many of todays politically active pro-family activist and lobby groups thanks in no small part to Reagan. ABORTION: Six months into his governorship, on June 14, 1967, Reagan signed the Therapeutic Abortion Act. North Carolina, Hawaii and California were the first three states to legalize abortion. Abortions in California went from an average of 518 a year to over 100,000. Reagans cabinet secretary and de facto chief of staff, Bill Clark, who was a strong Catholic, gave Reagan mountains of anti-abortion material to consider. Reagan still signed the bill. Later, Reagan greatly regretted signing the bill and subsequently became a strong pro-life defender. TRUMP ON SOCIAL ISSUES Trump, like Reagan (and the Bushes), has moved from a pro-abortion position to anti-abortion. CONCLUSION Within the American conservative and Christian Right leadership there seems to be an accepted double standard: one in which everything Trump has said or done in his pre-political days as a businessman can and will be used against him; conversely, whatever Ronald Reagan did or said before or during his presidency is forgivable. I ask, why does Reagan get a free ride on personal morality and political policies, yet Trumps every move is scrutinized, critiqued and vilified? It is obvious Reagan is given a pass on all of his issues, and Trumps issues, which are fewer, are vilified to the heavens. Why the double standard? What I would say to the conservative and Christian Right leadership is to be consistent in their candidate evaluation process. Do not single out one candidate for wrath while you pass on the others. You owe it to the Republican and Evangelical voter to be consistent. Furthermore, I cannot imagine anything Trump could say or do morally or politically that could put him in a more damning place than Reagans two signatures on those terrible no-fault divorce and abortion bills. Yet, American conservatives who know of these two dreadful pieces of legislation also knew of Reagans remorse for what he did and responded with leniency and grace, forgiving Reagan. Should not that same grace be available to other political candidates guilty of lesser sins? Please, click on "Mass E-mailing" below and send this article to all your friends . 2016 Thomas Ertl - All Rights Reserved Share This Article Click Here For Mass E-mailing Tom is a home builder in Tallahassee, Florida and is a member of a local congregation in the Presbyterian Church of America (PCA). He is a publisher of Christian theological works and has sat on the boards of several Evangelical Christian organizations. E:Mail: tomertl@comcast.net Website: www.ertlhomes.com
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I ask, why does Reagan get a free ride on personal morality and political policies, yet Trumps every move is scrutinized, critiqued and vilified? It is obvious Reagan is given a pass on all of his issues, and Trumps issues, which are fewer, are vilified to the heavens. Why the double standard?
[March 31, 2016] Other Machine Co. Releases Windows Software Update for Milling Double-Sided PCBs with the Othermill
BERKELEY, Calif., March 31, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- On March 31, 2016, desktop CNC mill manufacturer Other Machine Co. (OMC) released Otherplan 0.26 for Windows, adding support for milling double-sided circuit boards with the Othermill using the Windows platform. Double-sided circuit boards allow electrical engineers and all PCB designers to create complex, sophisticated circuits that are typically difficult to fabricate in-house. Prototyping PCBs in-house speeds up iteration/design cycles, allowing people to develop better products, faster. Innovative companies such as Blackmagic Design, Adafruit Industries, and Mindtribe are saving time and money by using the Othermill to design their circuit boards and mechanical CNC parts.
"We've heard loud and clear that Windows users want to mill double-sided PCBs with the Othermill, and we're excited to make it possible," notes OMC's VP of Software, Ezra Spier. "Otherplan, along with the Othermill CNC machine, is the easiest way to prototype double-sided PCBs on your desktop," he adds.
The free Otherplan Public Beta is available for both Windows and Mac OS X operating systems and imports common circuit board design files such as EAGLE .brd and Gerber file formats. In addition to double-sided PCB fabrication, the Otherplan Public Beta also offers G-code file support. Otherplan's 3D milling preview simulates your milling job, shows you the results before you even turn on your Othermill, and provides a time estimate so you know how long a milling job will take before you start. Pricing and Availability Otherplan is the free control software for the Othermill desktop CNC mill, which is available online for $2,199 and at select resellers. Download Otherplan for Windows 7+ or Mac OS X 10.8+ here. Other Machine Co. builds rapid prototyping tools for electrical and mechanical design engineers and educators that speed up their pace of innovation. Based in Berkeley, CA, OMC's mission is to transform digital desktop manufacturing and make in-house prototyping accessible to all designers of mechanical parts and PCBs. OMC is at the forefront of the digital desktop manufacturing movement because the future is small-batch, ultra-customized, and on-demand. Video - http://youtu.be/DCGLEa2UUaY To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/other-machine-co-releases-windows-software-update-for-milling-double-sided-pcbs-with-the-othermill-300244500.html SOURCE Other Machine Co.
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[March 31, 2016] Simio Announces Compatibility With Oculus Rift 3D Headsets and GIS Support in Latest Software Release
PITTSBURGH, March 31, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- In Simio's continued effort to pursue Forward Thinking, they are proud to announce their latest software release, Simio 8.136! Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160331/350170LOGO This latest release features compatibility with the new Oculus Rift 3D Headsets. These virtual reality headsets created by Oculus VR allow users to walk through models they built in Simio virtually. In the past, Simio provided a 3D modeling environment where you could construct your model both 2D and 3D concurrently. Now with this new release, you have an entirely new perspective for viewing your model! "Simio has always been on the cutting edge of innovation with the software," stated David Sturrock, Vice President of Operations. "This integration with Oculus Rift 3D Headsets allows our users to experience an entirely new perspective of their model." Outside the Oculus Rift 3D Headsets integration, Simio 8.136 includes features such as geographic information system, GIS, support. This feature allows a user to specfy the latitude and longitude values or search for a location by name or by address to bring maps into their model. For a full list of new features, visit here!
About Simio LLC Simio LLC is a privately held company that is dedicated to delivering leading edge solutions for the design, emulation, and scheduling of complex systems.
Simio LLC was founded in 2005 by a highly experienced team. Founder and CEO of Simio LLC, C. Dennis Pegden, Ph.D., has over three decades experience in simulation and scheduling and has been widely recognized as an industry leader. He led in the development of SLAM (marketed by Pritsker and Associates) and then founded Systems Modeling Corporation. Dennis led the creation of the market-leading simulation products SIMAN and Arena, as well as, the finite capacity scheduling product Tempo. Now Simio is a market leading, 4th generation simulation product with patents for flexible object design and scheduling risk analysis. Simio object design eliminates text based coding for building models and planners can predict the risk in their detailed production schedules. Simio's unified model works for both facility design and managing daily operations. To learn more, visit simio.com or [email protected]. This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/simio-announces-compatibility-with-oculus-rift-3d-headsets-and-gis-support-in-latest-software-release-300244469.html SOURCE Simio LLC
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[April 01, 2016] Sitecore Partners with EQT as New Majority Investor
COPENHAGEN, Denmark and SAUSALITO, Calif., April 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Sitecore, the global leader in customer experience management software and EQT VII ("EQT") jointly announced that EQT has taken a majority equity stake in Sitecore from its founders, Technology Crossover Ventures and other minority shareholders in a transaction valuing Sitecore at approximately EUR 1 billion. As part of the transaction, Sitecore's founders are rolling a significant portion of their equity and partnering with EQT for the next phase of growth. Following continued strong growth of more than 30% p.a. in recent years, Sitecore generates revenues of around EUR 200 million at an EBITDA margin of approximately 25%. Sitecore has close to 800 employees across Europe, North America and Asia Pacific. "For several years, we have been following Sitecore given its leading market position, its strong technology offering and its impressive growth story," said Morten Hummelmose, Partner and Head of Denmark at EQT Partners A/S, Investment Advisor to EQT. "In close cooperation with management, we want to help Sitecore continue to drive product innovation and expand further into the digital marketing software space. We are convinced that EQT's industrial network and resources can support Sitecore to capture its full potential," added Dominik Stein, Partner and Head of Technology, Media and Telecom ("TMT") at EQT Partners GmbH, Investment Advisor to EQT.
Michael Seifert , CEO and co-founder of Sitecore. "We are excited that a world class investor such as EQT will become a critical part of Sitecore's future growth. With EQT and founders as well as management of Sitecore joining forces, we are convinced that Sitecore is set up for continued success in the years to come." The transaction is subject to approval by relevant regulatory authorities and is expected to close in Q2 2016.
About EQT EQT is a leading global private equity group with approximately EUR 29 billion in raised capital. EQT has portfolio companies in Europe, Asia and the US with total sales of more than EUR 17 billion and approximately 140,000 employees. EQT works with portfolio companies to achieve sustainable growth, operational excellence and market leadership. For further information, please visit: www.eqt.se About Sitecore Sitecore is the global leader in experience management software that enables context marketing. The Sitecore Experience Platform manages content, supplies contextual intelligence, and automates communications, at scale. It empowers marketers to deliver content in context of how customers have engaged with their brand, across every channel, in real time. More than 4,600 customersincluding American Express, Carnival Cruise Lines, easyJet, and L'Orealtrust Sitecore for context marketing to deliver the personalized interactions that delight audiences, build loyalty, and drive revenue. For more information, follow us at @sitecore or visit sitecore.net . Contacts Sitecore Ryan Donovan (USA)
[email protected] Sian Blevins (USA)
[email protected]
209-765-6568 Lykke Theill-Larsen (Denmark)
[email protected]
+4531244240 EQT Dominik Stein, Partner and Head of TMT at EQT Partners, Investment Advisor to EQT, +49 89 2554 9936 Morten Hummelmose, Partner and Head of Denmark at EQT Partners, Investment Advisor to EQT, +45 33 18 12 46 Kerstin Danasten, EQT Press Contact, +46 8 506 55 334 Sitecore and Experience Platform are registered trademarks or trademarks of Sitecore Corporation A/S and/or its subsidiaries in the USA and other countries. Sitecore reserves the right to alter product and services offerings, and specifications and pricing at any time without notice. 2016 Sitecore Corporation A/S. All rights reserved. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140227/SF73524LOGO To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sitecore-partners-with-eqt-as-new-majority-investor-300244359.html SOURCE Sitecore
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[April 01, 2016] Broadcast station deal volume of $4.69B in Q1 2016 includes fourth-largest TV deal in U.S. history
MONTEREY, Calif., April 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- According to SNL Kagan, a group within S&P Global Market Intelligence estimates announced today, U.S. broadcast station M&A volume reached $4.70 billion in the first quarter of 2016, excluding construction permits (CPs) and partial deals. Almost the entire TV volume of $4.61 billion was attributable to Nexstar Broadcasting Group Inc.'s January 27 definitive agreement to acquire all of Media General Inc.'s assets a deal which subsequently terminated Media General's pending $3.10 billion merger agreement with Meredith Corp., announced back on September 8. Nexstar's acquisition, at $4.60 billion the fourth-largest1 TV deal in U.S. history, accounted for 97% of first quarter TV deal volume. The remaining 3%, or $13.1 million, came from a few small transactions filed before the FCC Incentive Auction quiet period, initiated on January 12. Until the auction runs its course, which could take six to nine months or more, the FCC will not approve any applications for broadcast transactions involving full-power or Class A TV stations. Radio reached a volume of $89.5 million, representing the lowest quarterly radio deal volume since the first quarter of 2012. However, with CBS Corp.'s announcement, made at the company's March 15 Investor Day, of a possible sale or spinoff of CBS Radio, there has been much speculation as to radio buyers potentially interested in top-market CBS Radio stations. With the Nexstar/Media General merger remaining the only cash flow transaction in the TV realm, the 8.5x forward buyer's multiple of that transaction is also the quarterly average. The radio market closed the quarter with an average 6.5x multiple slightly lower than 2015's 6.7x. The top radio deal of the quarter was the $10.0 million sale of non-commercial KUHA-FM in th Houston-Galveston, Texas, market, followed by another non-commercial transaction, the $8.0 million sale of FM stations KPLI, KPLU, KPLI and KVIX as well as seven translators and one translator construction permit in the Seattle-Tacoma, Wash., market from Pacific Lutheran University Inc. to University of Washington.
In addition, $8.0 million was paid in radio's largest cash flow deal of the quarter. KFWB-FM in Los Angeles was sold by CBS Corp. to Universal Media Access KFWB-AM LLC for an estimated 6.3x forward seller's multiple. The biggest development in the radio market was a surge of FM translator sales sparked by the FCC's AM Revitalization initiative. This act allows AM licensees to buy or arrange to program an FM translator to rebroadcast an AM station. Translators can be moved up to 250 miles and are permitted to change frequencies as long as these are vacant and do not interfere with other stations.
On January 29, the first AM station filing window opened, and through the end of March a total of 435 applications for modification of FM translators were granted (not counting applications for FM translators transmitting signals of FM stations). Almost three-quarters of these applications (318) require a change of ownership. In 214 cases (121 construction permits and 93 licensed stations), the change of ownership happened immediately after the application was granted. Counting all FM translator sales, 447 FM translators (including 237 construction permits) were sold in the first quarter 2016. For comparison, in all of 2015, 453 FM translators (including 189 CPs) changed hands. About S&P Global Market Intelligence
S&P Global Market Intelligence, formerly S&P Capital IQ and SNL Financial, is a division of McGraw Hill Financial (NYSE: MHFI). The firm is a leading provider of financial and industry data, research, news and analytics to investment professionals, government agencies, corporations, and universities worldwide. S&P Global Market Intelligence integrates news, comprehensive market and sector-specific data and analytics into a variety of tools to help track performance, generate alpha, identify investment ideas, understand competitive and industry dynamics, perform valuation and assess credit risk. For more information, visit www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence. Copyright 2016 S&P Global Market Intelligence. All rights reserved. The information contained in this Press Release and any referenced reports are for information purposes only. S&P Global Market Intelligence Parties assume no obligation to update the information contained herein or in any referenced reports ("Content") following publication in any form or format. The Content is provided on an "as is" basis.
1 For reference, the top three TV deals in U.S. history were Viacom's acquisition of CBS in September 1999 at $8.75 billion; Disney's purchase of Capital Cities/ABC in July 1995 at $6.38 billion; and Saban Capital Group's leveraged buyout of Univision in June 2006 at $4.71 billion. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/broadcast-station-deal-volume-of-469b-in-q1-2016-includes-fourth-largest-tv-deal-in-us-history-300244620.html SOURCE S&P Global Market Intelligence
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[April 01, 2016] Jumei Announces Resignation of Co-CFOs
BEIJING, April 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Jumei International Holding Limited (NYSE: JMEI) ("Jumei" or the "Company"), China's leading online retailer of beauty products, today announced that Ms. Mona Meng Gao and Mr. Yunsheng Zheng, the co-chief financial officers of the Company, have tendered their resignations from their Co-CFO positions, in each case for personal reasons. The resignation of Ms. Gao is effective on April 1, 2016, and the resignation of Mr. Zheng will be effective in June, 2016. Mr. Leo Ou Chen, founder, chairman and CEO of Jumei, stated, "We greatly appreciate the contributions Yunsheng and Mona made during their tenures at the Company. We respect their decisions and wish them the very best in their future pursuits." About Jumei Jumei (NYSE: JMEI) is China's leading online retailer of beauty products. Jumei's inernet platform is a trusted destination for consumers to discover and purchase branded beauty products, fashionable apparel and other lifestyle products through the Company's jumei.com and jumeiglobal.com websites and mobile application. Leveraging its deep understanding of customer needs and preferences, as well as its strong merchandizing capabilities, Jumei has adopted multiple effective sales formats to encourage product purchases on its platform, including curated sales, online shopping mall and flash sales. More information about Jumei can be found at http://jumei.investorroom.com.
For investor and media inquiries, please contact: Jumei International Holding Limited
Mr. Sterling Song
Investor Relations Director
Phone: +86-10-5676-6983
Email: [email protected]
Christensen
In China
Mr. Christian Arnell
Phone: +86-10-5900-1548
Email: [email protected] In US
Ms. Linda Bergkamp
Phone: +1-480-614-3004
Email: [email protected] To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/jumei-announces-resignation-of-co-cfos-300244671.html SOURCE Jumei International Holding Limited
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The religious tension in Kaduna State was heightened when 3 clerics were abducted about two weeks ago. Ten days after being abducted at gu...
The religious tension in Kaduna State was heightened when 3 clerics were abducted about two weeks ago. Ten days after being abducted at gunpoint along the Kaduna Abuja Expressway, President of the United Church of Christ in Nigeria, Rev. Emmanuel Dziggau and one Rev. Yakubu Dzarma, have regained freedom, but in tattered health, Church officials said.Rev. Iliya Anto, who was also a victim in the kidnap saga, however, did not make it alive, according to Church sources.After his kidnap, Anto took ill, and when it became too severe, he was abandoned in the bush by the criminals, ultimately leading to his death, churches sources reveal.Dziggau and Dzarma were freed Wednesday night while the corpses of Rev. Anto were found, almost decomposing in the bush, the church source said.He said: The two clergy men were immediately taken to a private hospital in Kaduna after they were brought to our church on Katsina Road, Kaduna.They were not looking too good and as soon as they brought them, a decision was taken that they needed to see a doctor, so they were taken to a private hospital in Kaduna for medical check up, but I will not tell you the hospital because they need some rest. We dont want people to disturb them until they are psychologically and physically fit to see people,, he added.The person who went to collect them drove them on a bike from where they dropped them for four hours before they could reach a motorable road. This is very traumatic and they need some rest.Antos corpse was found in the bush after he was abandoned by the kidnappers because of his ill health.But when we dispatched people to the location to take him, we couldnt get him after combing the area. The kidnappers who may have been watching us from their hideout said we sent too many people to pick him, so they refused to give further description of the location and we thought they must have gone with him he said.It was not clear if ransom was paid for their freedom.
Controversial scholar, Femi Aribisala clashed with Oby Ezekwesili and Itse Sagay at a round table convened to brainstorm on winning the...
The round table, organised by the Department of Jurisprudence and International Law, tagged Winning the War Against Corruption was also an opportunity to launch the book Legal Perspectives to Corruption, Money Laundering, and Assets Recovery in Nigeria.The occasion began with the keynote speech Rule of Law and Treatment of Politically Exposed Persons in Corruption Cases delivered by Femi Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.Mr. Falana, who was represented by Wahab Shittu, advocated the creation of special courts to handle corruption cases.The verbal battle began after controversial scholar, Femi Aribisala, took to the podium to discuss Mr. Falanas speech.There is no fight against corruption in Nigeria. And if theres no fight against corruption, you cant even talk about war, Mr. Aribisala began.And then he launched into a 10 minute speech that attacked the global definition of corruption by Oby Ezekwesili, a former World Bank vice president who had earlier defined corruption as the abuse of public space for private gains, the prescription of special courts by Mr. Falana; and current administrations effort against corruption.Corruption cannot be narrowly defined the way Dr. Ezekwesili defined it, only relating to public institutions. We are corrupt in Nigeria. The plumber, the tailor, the whole society is corrupt, said Mr. Aribisala.And we have not yet taken a decision, we have not yet gotten to a point where we are fed up. I mean, she (Mrs. Ezekwesili) had given an example of Hong Kong where people became fed up and said enough is enough. We have not reached that situation yet, I dont know why not, but we certainly have not.The 2015 election was not an anti-corruption election. We did not have any political party that presented an anti-corruption mandate to us. The party that won the election was just a makeover of the PDP, I mean the PDP people moved from the PDP to the APC. If they were corrupt when they were in PDP, they became clean when they were in APC.So there is no mandate against corruption. If President Buhari was determined to fight against corruption, my feeling is that he gave up after losing election three times.Because the fourth time, he formed an alliance with people who he despised before. And they were not necessarily people who had a track record of being (sic) anti-corruption. So today, I dont know who is anti-corruption.Mr. Aribisala said the current fight against corruption by the President Muhammadu Buhari government is merely a fight against the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).We have to make up our minds if we really want to deal with the question of corruption. If we want to deal with the question of corruption, Nigerians themselves must insist on it and we have to deal with it at the institutional level, he said.The institutional fight against corruption that has taken place to the extent that it has, took place under PDP. The institutional structures, even the ones that the present government is relying on, are PDP structures. Whether it is EFCC, ICPC, TSA, all these came under PDP.In ten months of Buharis government, there has been no institutional structure that has been laid against corruption. We have simple had media circuses accusing people of corruption.You cannot fight corruption with corruption. And corruption is more than just the stealing of money. If you disobey the rule of law, you have corrupted the system. If you create an avenue where you have a big margin between the official foreign exchange rate and the parallel market rate, theres gonna be corruption. If you have children of the rich getting into the CBN on nepotistic grounds, the corruption is still with you.If you have a budget that is padded left right and centre, and after this was revealed you passed it and say only a small amount changed in it, and we do not know what is in the new budget, you cant say you are against corruption. There is no transparency in any of these things.Mr. Aribisala further stated that the current anti-corruption effort lacks a clear focus.Because the last 16 years was not just PDP government, he said.The legacy parties of the APC were also in power. In fact when the PDP was ostensibly dealing with corruption, it addressed people in its own party. We are not having that now.And thats why I cant trust Falanas prescription that we are going to establish special courts. I dont trust this government to establish those courts. They will simply establish courts to decimate the opposition.People like Orubebe will be arrested, and they will file cases against him and several months later they will drop the charges against him. And they will have pronounced him guilty in the newspapers on charges that will later on be dropped. That is not a fight against corruption.Mr. Aribisalas speech received a thunderous ovation from the guests, mostly students, a situation which irked Itse Sagay, a professor of Law and the chairman of the occasion.We are not here to make students clap, a visibly angry Mr. Sagay, who serves as the chairman of a Presidential Advisory Committee on Anti-courruption.We are here on a very serious business. And students, dont behave like American electorates who are ignorant. Donald Trump. The appreciation of unserious people shows ignorance. How can someone come here and say theres no war against corruption and there is clapping? Mr. Sagay said the APC had a manifesto that spelt out its strategies to combat corruption, and admonished Mr. Aribisala to stop making statements devoid of facts.Obasanjo created ICPC, EFCC, they are doing well we dont need to create new institutions. You do not win a war by just creating multiplicity of institutions everywhere, thats irresponsible. We will work with the institutions that we have.You dont dilute the meaning of corruption to a point that it is meaningless. This is a very serious discussion and I want us to be serious about it. If you are anti-government, please go and campaign against government and let your party win in 2019.This is not a venue for PDP campaign. Most inappropriate comment. We are here on serious business. Lets maintain that seriousness, he said.With Mr. Aribisala appearing unperturbed by Mr. Sagays stern remarks, Mrs. Ezekwesili pleaded for another chance at the podium, ostensibly to further drive the case against Mr. Aribisalas argument.The systemic nature of corruption as a cancer against a system of governance is demonstrated in the fact that the activity of corruption begins to happen at their different levels, Mrs. Ezekwesili began.So for example, I wasnt surprised that some of you were clapping. The reason you were clapping is that you are a page in your own level of corruption.There are many whose exam malpractice is the basis upon which they have come to school. So when you are talking about the need to wage a war against corruption, they are completely disconnected from it. There is a complete dissonance from it.Mrs. Ezekwesili urged the students to desist from applauding populist statements.You need to be driven by the evidence of the damage and the destruction that corruption is doing to you, at the unit level. If you think you are doing well now, you will do exceedingly better if corruption is effectively tackled in this society, she said.There is no comedy session going on here. We are talking about something that can be destructive. You should be holding the gun to fight against corruption. The gun has to be intellectual, so I need you to intelligently process everything that is said.
Several people haved lambasted Governor Ayodele Fayose for his comment on the abducted Chibok schoolgirls
Several people haved lambasted Governor Ayodele Fayose for his comment on the abducted Chibok schoolgirlsFayose had said the abduction was not true, but a political instrument to vote out former President Goodluck Jonathan.While the Boko Haram group had shown the video of the over 200 girls in captivity, a global outrage had trailed the abduction.In a recent interview, a former British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Dr. Andrew Pocock, said US and UK intelligence surveillance located the missing girls at the Boko Haram Forest but could not do anything as Nigerian authorities did not ask for help.But Fayose, on Wednesday, added a twist to the abduction saga when he said that the abduction was a political strategy employed by some people.He spoke in Ado Ekiti while declaring open a two-day workshop on capacity building among female political aspirants from Ekiti, Osun and Ondo states.The administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan had lived in denial up till three weeks after the news of the abduction broke, saying no schoolgirl was kidnapped in Chibok.The senator representing Osun-West senatorial district, Isiaka Adeleke, said Fayose should put himself in the shoes of the schoolgirls parents, adding that even former President Jonathan later admitted that the schoolgirls were kidnapped.Adeleke, who is a member of the All Progressives Congress, said, Fayose should not trivialise this touchy issue. The governor should use his time wisely and pray for the safe return of these girls.The senator representing the Osun-East senatorial district, Babajide Omoworare, called on the countrys security agencies to invite Fayose to tell Nigerians where the kidnapped schoolchildren are.In a reaction on Thursday, Omoworare said his called for the interrogation of Fayose because the governor appeared to have classified information on the whereabouts of the girls.He said, Security agents must invite Fayose for us to know where the schoolgirls are. He is probably having classified information. However, if he is playing politics as usual, it is cruel to mock the girls parents and Nigerians who are daily in agony and hoping that someday, the girls would come back alive.The Buhari administration will do all it can to bring back the girls and end the mockery from people like Fayose.Also, a former member of the House of Representatives, Bamidele Faparusi, described Fayoses claim as a threat to national security.Faparusi, a chieftain of the APC in Ekiti State, maintained that Fayose by the statement had insulted the sensibilities of the families of the missing girls.He called on the security agencies to invite the governor for questioning to shed more light on his claims.Faparusi said, Governor Fayose has given the whole country the lead that these girls were neither missing nor dead. All we need to do is to ask him to tell the whole country where they are being kept and nothing more.The world-renowned activist, Malala, came to Nigeria to visit Dr Goodluck Jonathan and begged that these children must be recovered. Even after the abduction, some of these girls escaped and were later reunited with their families when Jonathan was still in the saddle.Could it be inferred here that the former President who is also a member of Fayoses party, had lied against his own administration?A former Executive Secretary, Ayedire Local Government Council of Osun State, Gbenga Ogunkanmi, said that Nigerians should not accord Fayose attention.In a statement by his media aide, Ismail Usman, on Thursday, Ogunkanmi said Fayose had lost the sense of dignity and integrity.He said, It is shocking that a person occupying the exalted position of governor could open his mouth and gush out these insensible utterances. It shows how debased our political system is. It shows that something is wrong with how our political leaders emerge.Also, the Lagos State chapter of the APC slammed Fayose for describing the abduction of the missing schoolgirls as a political gimmick to pull down the Jonathan administration.Speaking in an interview with our correspondent on Thursday, the state Publicity Secretary of the APC, Joe Igbokwe, said Fayose had subjected himself to public ridicule with his comments.He said, It pains me to no end that we are still providing a chance for world-class joker, Fayose, to continue to insult our intelligence. Fayose is an indictment on all of us, especially the educated people of Ekiti State.Fayose is a punishment to the people of Nigeria and Ekiti State. The people deserve the kind of government they get. Again, the relocation of Ekiti lawmakers to Oyo State is not unconnected with the house of fraud called Ekiti Government House. Nothing good can come out of Ekiti as long as Fayose is there. Out of nothing comes nothing. You cannot give what you do not have.
The police in Lagos have arrested a commercial bus driver, identified only as Akeem, and his conductor, Sodiq, for allegedly robbing and r...
The police in Lagos have arrested a commercial bus driver, identified only as Akeem, and his conductor, Sodiq, for allegedly robbing and raping a 22-year-old lady in the Costain, Iponri area of the state.It was learnt that Akeem and Sodiq, along with two others still at large, had picked the victim, Mercy (pseudonym) from the Obalende area, and were supposed to head for the Victoria Island where the victim reportedly had a job interview.Our correspondent gathered that Mercy, who hails from Otupko, Benue State, and holds a Nigerian Certificate in Education, on March 10, had been called by a friend to attend the job interview.It was learnt that the suspects allegedly diverted to the Costain, Iponri area, assuring their victim that they were only taking a different route to the island.When the bus got to Costain, under the bridge, the four allegedly robbed Mercy of her Automated Teller Machine card, her purse and other documents. The suspects also allegedly raped the lady before driving off.It was learnt that after the robbery, the victim went to report the matter at the Iponri Police Division.It was gathered that the suspects were not found until last Tuesday when members of a vigilance group in the area, who were also informed about the matter, nabbed the driver and his conductor and handed them over to the police.Speaking with newsmen, Mary said the suspects confused her because she was new in Lagos and she was not familiar with most of the roads.She said, On that day, I was at Obalende when my friend called me that there was a job interview on the Victoria Island. So I entered a bus heading to the area. Not long after, three men entered as well. The driver drove towards CMS; when I inquired, the other passengers said I should be calm as he was still heading for the Island. I thought he was trying to avoid the traffic.When we got to the bridge in Costain, they stopped and they collected my purse, mobile phone, ATM card, PIN and N2,000 cash on me. After they left, I told my elder brother that some men had attacked me.He came and we both went to the Iponri division to make a report, but the robbers had withdrawn N120,000 through the ATM.An executive of the vigilance group, Ishola Musbau, said, The case of a jobseeker being raped and robbed by miscreants was brought to our attention. It took us two weeks to fish out Akeem and Sodiq, and the victim identified them.The driver and the conductor were apprehended at a hideout in Itumara, Costain, where they usually gathered for robbery operations.Our correspondent gathered that the police were still hunting other fleeing members of the gang.A police source told reporters that Akeem and Sodiq had already been charged to a magistrates court.The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Dolapo Badmos, could not be reached for comment as of press time.
Veteran actress Gloria Anozie-Young is currently unhappy about the situation of things surrounding the indictment of Nollywood actress, Ibinabo Fiberesima.
According to Anozie, Fiberesima is in jail and being victimized in the eyes of Nigerians. The actress who has been off the movie scene for a while now took to her Facebook page to share her thoughts saying she hasnt been sleeping well and she has been having nightmares about Ibinabo Fiberesima.
She wrote, I havent slept well in daysIve been having nightmares about Ibinabo Fiberesima being in prison. I cant seem to wrap my head around it. Ive read the way some people have lambasted her for having an accident. Shes an entertainer, like me, whose work is to make people happy. She had an accident! I cant sleep because I see victimisation, I see vendetta and I fear Justice Deborah Oluwayemi, of a Lagos High Court sentenced Fiberesima to 5 years in prison over reckless driving, which led to the death of Dr. Giwa Suraj.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday in Washington DC reaffirmed Nigerias commitment to the global fight against the threat of nuclear t...
President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday in Washington DC reaffirmed Nigerias commitment to the global fight against the threat of nuclear terrorism and other forms of terrorism.According to a statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, Buhari made the remark while presenting Nigerias country statement to the 4th Nuclear Security Summit being hosted by President Barack Obama.Buhari also pledged Nigerias continued support for all multilateral efforts aimed at promoting a common approach and commitment to nuclear security at the highest levels.He said: Nigeria accords high priority to all global efforts towards ending the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery, including nuclear weapons.Nuclear terrorism is one of the greatest threats to international security and preventing nuclear terrorism and all forms of terrorism around the globe is of concern to all of us.To this end, Nigeria has strengthened the legal framework for fighting terrorism through the adoption in 2013 of an amendment to its Terrorism (Prevention) Act, ensuring the implementation of more robust counter-terrorism measures in the country, the President said.President Buhari told the gathering that to enhance Nuclear Security, Nigeria has reinforced its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United States Department of States Partnership for Nuclear Security and the World Institute for Nuclear Security.He added: In addition, Nigeria has signed an agreement of cooperation with the United States Department of Energys Office of Radiological Security to protect nuclear and other radiological materials from theft or sabotage.Nigeria also intends to strengthen its partnerships with relevant international organizations to promote capacity building, particularly in the development of the Nigerian Nuclear Security Support Centre, Physical Security Upgrades and Human Reliability Programmes Implementation, the President said.Buhari also said that Nigeria has developed a programme to ensure that radioactive sources in the country are better secured to prevent unauthorized access by terrorists and criminals.The President praised President Obamas pace setting initiative and drive, which, he said, has brought the global fight against the threat of nuclear terrorism to its present level.
In a desperate move to end the recurrent fuel shortages, particularly of premium motor spirit, PMS (petrol) being experienced in the coun...
In a desperate move to end the recurrent fuel shortages, particularly of premium motor spirit, PMS (petrol) being experienced in the country, the Federal Government has declared a state of emergency for petroleum products distribution. This comes even as private operators in the country now have the responsibility to bring in 60 percent of the scarce commodity in the second quarter, Q2 import allocations.A very competent source revealed yesterday that for Q2, the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, PPPRA 44% allocation to Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association, DAPPMA; 40% NNPC/PPMC; and the balance of 16% to Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, MOMAN.Confirming the developments, the Commercial Director, PPMC, Mr. Justin Ezeala, admitted to the drop in NNPC/PPMC new import allocation, saying that it is meant to free NNPC to import only for itself, instead of importing for everybody as we have been doing since this year. He also admitted that the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and Group Managing Director, NNPC, Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, had directed that everything related to petroleum distribution must be treated as an emergency.To this end, he told journalists on the telephone that beginning from tomorrow (today), we have confirmations for cargoes lined up to be received in-country. Petroleum cargoes are to be treated as essential commodities, with all the regulatory agencies DPR, PPRA, put on the alert. We have put in place a process to receive them in terms of logistics and cut short on all the bureaucracies, as everything will be treated with emergency in order to end the fuel crisis. To this end, we have also kept trans-shipment vessels in Warri, Calabar depots for easy reach to the northern and southern parts of the country.Today, we also held a meeting with officers of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, to join forces with the Nigeria Police to monitor and follow products distribution from the depots to the retail outlets to cut short on sharp practices. We also met with the national executives of the Petroleum Tanker Drivers, PTD, to alert them to the sense of the emergency, as it takes about four days to take products from Lagos to Abuja. We are also planning to re-stream the Systems 2B Pipeline, which transports refined products from Atlas Cove reception Jetty to Mosimi, Ibadan and Ilorin.
According to The Nation, Political Adviser to Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole Charles Idahosa yesterday took a swipe at Ekiti State Go...
According to The Nation, Political Adviser to Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole Charles Idahosa yesterday took a swipe at Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose, describing him as a fraudster.The chieftain of the All Progressive Congress (APC) said the governors persistent attack on President Muhammadu Buhari was to whip up sentiment from the public.He added that the Ekiti helmsman was only biting more than he can chew, knowing that his sins will soon catch up with him.Its just a pity that Nigerians tend to forget history fast. I am always shocked when people take Fayose seriously. This regular attack on Buhari is to prepare the ground because he knows he will go down.All his actions are to whip up public sentiments so that when his sins catch up with him, people will say that its because he is always attacking the government. Is he the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Publicity Secretary or spokesman?
Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, the outgoing President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN has been accused of plotting to rig the assoc...
According to reports, Oritsejafor is plotting to rig the forthcoming CAN national presidential election in favor of his preferred candidate.He and his henchmen have reportedly been engaging in maneuvering age-old electoral traditions of the CAN.claim that Oritsejafor fears that his successor may probe him and expose acts of corruption in the association under his watch.
South African President Jacob Zuma faced a chorus of calls Friday to step down after a court ruled that he breached the constitution in a...
South African President Jacob Zuma faced a chorus of calls Friday to step down after a court ruled that he breached the constitution in a judgement that engulfed him in a fresh bout of controversy.Zuma retains widespread loyalty within the ruling African National Congress (ANC) whose lawmakers dominate parliament, but his tarnished image has shaken the party ahead of local elections. The main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, hailed a damning verdict by the countrys top court Thursday that Zuma had violated the constitution by refusing to repay public funds spent on his private home.This judgement is an immense victory for democracy, for the rule of law, and for the people of South Africa, DA leader Mmusi Maimane told reporters on Friday. It simply cannot be business as usual when president Zuma has been found to have violated the constitution. The party has launched impeachment proceedings against the head of state but the move is likely to fail as it would require the support of a two-thirds majority in parliament.But the attempt will keep Zumas misdeeds in the public eye ahead of municipal elections later this year when the ANC risks losing control of Gauteng province, which includes the cities of Johannesburg and Pretoria. The storm of press criticism focused on Zumas refusal to comply with an ombudswomans orders to repay money spent on a swimming pool, chicken run, cattle enclosure and amphitheatre at his rural homestead.There is only one way South Africa can escape a full-blown constitutional crisis and that would be his resignation or dismissal, said the Sowetan newspaper. He has no legal or moral authority to govern. The upgrades, which were valued in 2014 at 216 million rand (then $24 million), became a symbol of alleged corruption and greed within the ANC, which has ruled since Nelson Mandela came to power in 1994 after the end of apartheid.But Zuma loyalists fought back to defend the president.We have learnt lessons from the judgement and wish to state it unequivocally unambiguously and categorically clearly that we firmly stand behind the ANC President, the influential ANC Womens League said in a statement. Zuma is due to retire in 2019 when his second term in office ends. One of the names being bandied about to replace him is his ex-wife and African Union Commission chief, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.On Friday her spokesman Jacob Enoh Eben confirmed that she will step down from the 54-member bloc when her post ends in July, amid talk of a return to politics when she returns to South Africa from the AU headquarters in Ethiopia. Zuma on Thursday issued a brief statement saying he accepted the Constitutional Courts ruling. His presidency has been rocked in recent months by his sacking of two finance ministers within days, and allegations that a wealthy business family had so much influence that they could appoint ministers.
Ex-Nigeria international Taye Taiwo has hit out at Olympique Marseille president Vincent Labrune for his poor management of the club.I am struggling to understand how he makes a call when he signs a player. After two good games, he brings them to Marseille for 17 million. It is not possible, he told So Foot.You simply cannot let Dimitri Payet go. The same applies to Andre Ayew, Mathieu Valbuena or Andre-Pierre Gignac. It doesnt make any sense, added Taiwo, who won the French Ligue 1 during his six-year spell at Marseille.There are too many youngsters in this team. There is no safety at the back. Against Rennes, it is unbelievable. They conceded three goals in five minutes. Marseille need leaders at the back. Steve Mandanda cannot do everything.OM dont play as a team. They all move upfront. On the left they move upfront, on the right they move upfront, it doesnt work like that.Olympique Marseille are lying 12th in the Ligue 1 table, only six points above the danger zone.
Joseph McCain, 45 (Photo: BCPO)
-- A 36-year-old Florida man was accused of sexually assaulting a girl when she was approximately 11-years-old in Ridgewood, authorities said Friday.
Joseph McCain, of Orlando, was charged with child endangerment and aggravated sexual assault after his arrest in Florida on Thursday, Acting Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir Grewal said.
The investigation began Jan. 29., when Pennsylvania State Police alerted the prosecutor's office of a reported sexual assault in Ridgewood, according to Grewal. McCain was an acquaintance of the girl's mother.
"The victim was subsequently interviewed by detectives from the BCPO Special Victim's Unit and provided specific detail regarding acts committed upon her by McCain," Grewal said in a news release.
McCain remained held in Florida ahead of extradition proceedings, according to the prosecutor's office. Authorities did not say when the alleged abuse occurred.
Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Salvatore Deangelis (Photo: BCPO)
-- Authorities on Friday identified the
with a Hackensack police car that officials say was responding to another wreck involving a motorcyclist who allegedly fled from officers.
John Parham, 67, of Hackensack, died after the Thursday afternoon crash with the marked Hackensack patrol unit at Ross and Summit Avenues, according to Acting Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir Grewal. A police officer in the cruiser was hospitalized with non life-threatening injuries.
A second city police officer arrived at the crash and immediately started tending to Parham and the injured patrolman, the prosecutor's office said in a statement. Parham, who lived about three blocks from the scene, later died at Hackensack University Medical Center from unspecified injuries.
The Hackensack police car involved in the crash was heading to a separate accident in Maywood, near the city line, according to authorities.
That wreck involved 31-year-old Salvatore Deangelis, who earlier "sped away" from officers in Paramus that afternoon, Grewal added. He crashed his motorcycle with another vehicle at Spring Valley Avenue and Coles Street in Maywood.
Deangelis, of Harriman, New York, was thrown from his bike on impact and suffered lower back injuries, authorities said. He was listed in stable condition at Hackensack University Medical Center and charged with eluding.
The two crashes came after Paramus police briefly chased Deangelis on his motorcycle Thursday afternoon, according to authorities.
Paramus police first tried to stop Deangelis after they saw him speeding and zig-zagging between lanes on a 2016 Yamaha R1 motorcycle, traveling on Route 17 northbound around 2 p.m., Chief Kenneth Ehrenberg said Thursday night.
Ehrenberg and the prosecutor said Paramus police called off the chase and broadcast an alert before the wrecks. Witnesses reported the motorcycle was not being chased when it crashed in Maywood, according to the chief.
"After a brief period, this pursuit was terminated on Route 4 in Paramus due to the speed and recklessness exhibited by Deangelis," the prosecutor's statement said.
Meanwhile, the prosecutor's office said its Fatal Accident Investigations Unit was continuing to probe the deadly wreck involving the patrol. The agency did not release further details, including if the patrol car had its emergency lights and sirens turned on.
Hackensack Mayor John Labrosse told News 12 New Jersey on Thursday that the patrol car's lights and sirens were activated. Parham's sedan, the mayor said, pulled out from a side street and was struck by the police car.
City officials have referred questions to the prosecutor's office.
Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
WAKE FOREST, N.C. - In the end, they were just doing what all families do.
"They were being together and living life together," said Pastor Mike Fry, delivering the eulogy for Elaine, Sandy and Stephenie Mazzella, who were all shot to death March 25 in Wake Forest, N.C.
The Mazzellas, all former New Jersey residents, were slain in what law enforcement has said is the result of a feud with a neighbor, Jonathan Frederick Sander.
Sander, 52, is jailed on three counts of first-degree murder.
More than 150 mourners gathered Friday for a service in the Richland Creek Community Church, where Elaine Mazzella, 76, has worshipped with her husband, Salvatore, 78, for the past seven years.
Three caskets were at the head of the church under framed photos of each victim. The women's caskets were white. Sandy's was brown.
Photos of the family members at various stages in their lives played on a loop with gentle music before the service began.
"The love they had for family was incredible," Fry said, adding that Elaine wanted to spend all her time with family.
"Sal knows he's a blessed man," Fry said. "Elaine loved people and clearly loved life. Sal said that she would not even allow him to kill a fly. And even if it was picking figs from the tree in the yard, she wanted to spend all her time with Sal."
Stephenie, who was originally from Chicago but grew up in Jefferson Township, liked to play the flute and was involved in the marching band, the pastor said.
"She was bold and loved adventure and trying new things," he said.
Stephenie graduated from Felician College in Bergen County and Bloomfield College. She worked for a time as a nurse in Clara Maas before moving to the Poconos and then to North Carolina. At the time of her death, she was a nurse in the intensive care unit of WakeMed hospital.
Salvatore Mazzella gave an emotional speech, telling the mourners how much he loved his wife and son. And he told them he thought of Stephenie as his daughter.
"She called me 'Pop,'" he said.
During his remarks, Sal Mazzella referred to the alleged killer as "the evil one," and as the caskets were removed from the church, repeated outside: "The evil one did this, took my wife and family from me."
Winn Crenshaw, ministry director, said during the service that Sandy Mazzella was a successful businessman.
"Sandy was rare because he was an entrepreneur," said Winn Crenshaw, ministry director. "It takes real courage to start something from scratch, to build something from nothing."
Sandy and Stephenie Mazzella leave behind two children, ages 14 and 10.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that money be donated to the Mazzella GoFundMe account or to the Richland Creek Messianic Fellowship, 3229 Burlington Mills Road, Wake Forest, N.C. 27587.
Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
'Can't believe it happened,' says family of boyfriend shot dead in Algiers
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.
The gamble that pays off for local charities
The Ontario Lottery Gaming announced this past week that more than $100 million has been raised through Ontario Charitable Gaming and 1,800 charities have benefitted from gaming since 2005.
Catherine Savorie, executive director, and Vincent Bol of the Sudbury Action Centre for Youth, accept a donation from Nathalie Dube, the charity co-ordinator with Boardwalk Gaming in Val Caron. Supplied photo
The Ontario Lottery Gaming announced this past week that more than $100 million has been raised through Ontario Charitable Gaming and 1,800 charities have benefitted from gaming since 2005.
In Sudbury, local charity gaming centres Boardwalk Gaming Sudbury and Boardwalk Gaming Val Caron have provided more than $2.3 million to 144 local charities this past year alone.
Gaming has a mandate to ensure that the proceeds remain in the community to benefit the community and its citizens through charitable giving.
The most significant element of Boardwalk Gaming providing more than $2.3 million to local community charities is that all charities polled agree that without the revenue from Boardwalk Gaming, they would not have another revenue source to fill the large funding void that Boardwalk provides to support their services.
Many charities like the Sudbury Food Bank receive no form of government funding and rely heavily on the funds generated through Boardwalk Gaming to supplement their critical services to their member agencies.
While canned goods are important to our member agencies, it is the cash donations that the Sudbury Food Bank distributes to our member agencies that helps them purchase fresh produce and high-quality protein for local families who dont have adequate food,said Dan Xilon, General Manager of the Sudbury Food Bank.
The Food Bank distributes over $550,000 in cash to member agencies for fresh meat and produce each year, with Boardwalk Gaming centres supplying almost $125,000 or 25 per cent of that revenue ... thats significant.
Leo Therrien, executive director of Maison Vale Hospice, said the $20,000 yearly contribution goes directly to palliative care.
We are very grateful for the money we receive from Boardwalk Gaming, said Therrien. "Boardwalk has been donating to the Hospice for more than 20 years."
Thanks to a $110,000 donation from the Lions Club District A5, parents of premature babies in the northeast won't have to travel to Toronto to initially diagnose the growth of their eye vessels.
Thanks to a $110,000 donation from the Lions Club District A5, parents of premature babies in the northeast won't have to travel to Toronto to initially diagnose the growth of their eye vessels.
The club's donation has allowed Health Sciences North to purchase an advanced diagnostic tool called a RetCam.
With a RetCam, a registered nurse can take a 130-degree image of a child's eye to help physicians diagnose the organ's development.
Premature babies, in particular, can be at risk of abnormal eye vessel growth, which the RetCam can identify.
Abnormal vessel growth can lead to potential blindness, said Debi Lahti, clinical manager of Health Sciences North's Family and Child program.
But with early interventions, and laser surgery, damage to a child's eye, and potential blindness, can be prevented.
Health Sciences North sends it RetCam images to specialists at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children through the secure Ontario Telemedicine Network.
Suzanne Lacroix, a registered nurse with the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit, said Health Sciences North has had an older RetCam for about eight years, but the new unit will allow for more exams.
In the last year, she said the hospital did between 20 and 30 RetCam exams.
Gerry Bertrand, governor of the District A5 Lions Club, said 53 clubs donated to the fund to purchase the RetCam.
Bertrand said Lions Clubs have been dedicated to eye health since 1925, when Hellen Keller promoted the cause.
Crown Point Crown Point Tri Kappa sorority chapter donated 40 Easter baskets full of gifts for children, including books, jump ropes, and other toys; for clients of St. Clare Health Clinic and its Prenatal Assistance program. The clinic was excited to able to share this generous donation with the children of the clinic for Easter. All of the families of the clinic feel blessed to be given this opportunity to celebrate Easter through the thoughtfulness of Tri Kappa, said Julie Mallers, nurse practitioner-clinic manager. Tri Kappa member Heather Punak said the sorority chose St. Clare for the donation because it values the clinics mission and was excited to make Easter a little brighter for the little ones. St. Clare, located at 1121 S. Indiana Ave., Crown Point, is under the auspices of Franciscan St. Anthony Health. It provides free primary health care for area residents who fall within established income guidelines, are uninsured and are not eligible for government assistance. For more information or to make a donation, call (219) 663-2160.
Ahead of the April 19 primary, it was a frontal assault from the Clintons, who see with alarm the prospect of Bernie Sanders winning the state they now call home, and where Hillary Clinton represented for eight years in the U.S. Senate. Our Josh Robin reports.
Call it the Clinton double team: Hillary in Westchester County, and Bill in Manhattan four times in a single day.
The assault stemmed from an increasingly clear belief: New York cannot be lost, for fear of what would come next.
"In Pennsylvania and the Atlantic states, in West Virginia and Kentucky, and then in California, and the other states to vote out West we have got to get a big turnout," Bill Clinton said in Manhattan on Thursday. "That depends on you."
Both Clintons stressed Hillary's time as a U.S. senator, but they also sharply knocked her current competitor.
Their warning to voters who Bernie Sanders is seducing is something along the lines of, "Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good" like about a recent pact on global warming that President Obama negotiated.
"My opponent Senator Sanders said he didn't agree with it. It didn't go far enough. I'm you tell you, people, we actually have to do something, not just complain about what is happening," Hillary Clinton said. "We have to improve it, and move it, and get things done."
Global warming also factored in to an unscripted moment of anger, when an environmental activist apparently asked Clinton about contributions she takes from energy firms:
"I am so sick of the Sanders's campaign lying about that," Hillary Clinton said to an activist. "I'm sick of it."
In fact, Clinton largely doesn't limit her contributors, although neither did Obama.
Still, with Sanders and his supporters attacking, the Clintons are eager to turn the focus.
They say, sure, fall in love with the 74-year-old teen idol, but marry the steady hand even Republicans grudgingly admire.
"There's a big difference in talking and doing. And every New Yorker knows that she had their back as a senator and she was effective in a Republican Congress and a Democratic Congress," Bill Clinton said about his wife, speaking in front of the Service Employees International Union. "Think what she can do if you made her president and we were all to rise together."
Bill Clinton also went on the attack against Democratic presidential opponent Bernie Sanders.
He said Sanders's idea of single-payer health care failed when the governor of Vermont implemented it.
The former president also said some states are unlikely to pay their share to support Sanders's tuition-free college education plan.
With so much at stake, expect to see much more of Bill and Hillary Clinton before the April 19 New York primary.
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Company announced on Thursday the sale of its 70 percent stake in the French fashion company SMCP Group to one of Chinas largest textile producers, Shandong Ruyi, the latest in a series of acquisitions by Chinese investors in the European luxury market.
A statement released by Shandong Ruyi, Kohlberg Kravis and SMCP said that Kohlberg Kravis, the American private equity firm, would retain a minority interest in the group and that SMCPs founders and management would reinvest alongside Shandong Ruyi. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
SMCP, which owns the contemporary fashion brands Sandro, Maje and Claudie Pierlot and operates 1,118 stores in 34 countries, is considered a major contender in the so-called accessible luxury sector. Its core brands are aimed at professional women in their 20s and 30s.
The labels price points are above those of fast-fashion giants like Zara and H&M but below those of elite brands like Gucci and Louis Vuitton. SMCP had record results in 2015, including a 33 percent increase in sales to 675 million euros, or about $766 million.
Privately-held Theranos has become known for its claim of being able to perform numerous medical tests using only a finger prick of blood. Its founder, a 32-year-old Stanford dropout named Elizabeth Holmes, has graced various magazine covers and is a billionaire on paper.
But news reports have raised questions about whether Theranos can do what it says it can.
Earlier this week, researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai published the first independent assessment of Theranos, finding that it produced more irregular results than two more conventional laboratories.
The new inspection report followed a much shorter one released by federal regulators in January, which cited Theranos for various deficiencies, including one that posed immediate jeopardy to patient health and safety.
The new inspection report is revealing because it contains data from Theranoss own internal testing. However, some of the data is redacted to protect what Theranos views as its confidential information, making it difficult in some cases to tell what test is being referred to and whether the testing was done using Theranoss proprietary technology or machines it bought from lab equipment suppliers like Siemens.
Perhaps the most serious findings involve a test of blood clotting used on patients who take the blood thinner warfarin. Too much warfarin can lead to internal bleeding and too little can leave a patient with an increased risk of a stroke. Theranos executives have acknowledged this was the test cited for the immediate jeopardy to patients.
TOKYO When Natsuko Minegishi set out to study a traditional Japanese craft, she had no idea that it would one day lead to a career in accessories.
She had always been interested in lacquerware, so after graduating from Musashino Art University here with a degree in industrial, interior and craft design, she headed to one of Japans lacquerware hubs: Kagawa Prefecture.
Located on the island of Shikoku in southwestern Japan, the small region is known for its style of lacquerware, which involves layering colors and then filing or carving patterns to reveal various colors depending on the depth of the cuts.
Ms. Minegishi, now 39, spent three years studying at a research institute and then two years as apprentice to a master before returning to her hometown outside Tokyo, somewhat uncertain of what to do next. I wanted to make something in my own special way, she said, something that was unique to me.
PARIS For six generations, in the foothills of the Italian Alps, the Loro Piana family has been spinning wool from cashmere goats, Merino sheep and Andean vicuna into some of the most expensive yarn in the world.
Now, for the first time, the companys Roccapietra mill will open its doors to the public. It will happen on May 20-22, part of Les Journees Particulieres, a three-day event in which the French luxury giant LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton lifts the curtain on some of the studios and workshops of its 70 brands.
In 2011 and 2013, more than 100,000 visitors watched shoemakers add the final flourishes to custom Berluti shoes, horologists piece together TAG Heuer watches and petites mains embroider beads onto the bodices of Dior gowns. (The event is held irregularly.)
The idea is a play on the Journees du Patrimoine, or Heritage Days, held in France, when official buildings like the Palais de Congres and the Elysee Palace are opened to the public.
Times Insider delivers behind-the-scenes insights from The New York Times. Below are highlights from television and radio interviews featuring Times reporters, columnists and executives.
Image Amy Chozick on Charlie Rose: The Week.
Amy Chozick, a national political reporter for The Times who has been closely covering Hillary Clintons campaign, joined PBSs Charlie Rose: The Week for a discussion on the latest news about the 2016 presidential race:
[Hillary Clinton] has been very cautious not to distance herself from the White House in which she served as secretary of state. I would say she has called for an acceleration of what the White House has already proposed. Certainly any success President Obama can have fighting terrorism will help Hillary Clinton, who has been very cautious not to break with him.
The Timess national security correspondent, David Sanger, and the Opinion columnist Nicholas Kristof joined MSNBCs The Last Word With Lawrence ODonnell to discuss Donald J. Trumps relationship with the media and his recent comments on foreign policy:
Kristof: One of the things that is striking about Trump is he never really talks about policies; he talks about outcomes. O.K., you know, were going to solve the deficit, were going to stop immigration. Were going to have a great relationship with China. But he never talks about how we actually get there. And its really important in Maggie and Davids interview ... to watch him being pushed.
Peter Baker, The Timess chief White House correspondent, joined PRI Radios To the Point to discuss President Obamas recent comments about the state of journalism:
What has the medias role been in the rise of Donald Trump? Is there something we should be thinking about how we have performed our job? Have we performed it as well as we should? And that kind of introspection is pretty good. Its a healthy thing for any industry, and particular journalists, to rethink what weve done and engage in some healthy criticism.
Rukmini Callimachi, a Times correspondent, joined MSNBCs Andrea Mitchell Reports to discuss her recent article on the evolution of the Islamic State and its spread across the world:
The New York City Board of Elections has a proofreading problem and even small mistakes are turning out to be costly.
The board was forced to spend more than $200,000 in overnight postage last month to send corrected absentee ballots for the coming presidential primary, after it discovered an error in the Spanish version of the ballot.
The mistake was discovered around the same time the board realized it had made another error: A recent notice sent to 60,000 newly registered voters included the wrong date for a Sept. 13 primary election for state and local offices. The board then mailed out a correction that may have inadvertently confused voters about the date of the higher-profile presidential primary on April 19.
Those incidents follow a major mistake in the Chinese translation that appeared on ballots for the states election in November 2013, which led to the firing of one translator and the resignation of another.
A developers plan to silence one of the last great mechanical tower clocks in New York City an officially designated landmark, at that has been thwarted.
Justice Lynn R. Kotler of State Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that the citys Landmarks Preservation Commission had a power that the commission says it did not have: to require the owners of the Clock Tower Building at 346 Broadway to maintain the 19th-century mechanical works at the heart of the four-faced clock that overlooks the civic center in Lower Manhattan.
The imposing E. Howard & Company timepiece at the buildings summit was restored in 1980 by Marvin Schneider, who was subsequently appointed the citys official clock master, and his colleagues. Ever since, Mr. Schneider, Forest Markowitz and others have faithfully rewound the half-ton weight that drives the clocks hands, in two-second pulses governed by elaborate gear works at the heart of the tower.
Last year, the landmarks commission granted a certificate of appropriateness to a plan by the Peebles Corporation and El Ad Group to convert the clock tower into a private apartment. The clock faces were to be preserved, restored and protected, as was the physical mechanism. But the works were to be electrified, eliminating the need for Mr. Schneider or anyone else to come trooping through the apartment.
It has been a sore point for the leaders of New York Citys opt-out movement that Mayor Bill de Blasio, who promised to be an advocate for public-school parents, has not fully embraced their protest against state tests.
They got the chance on Wednesday to express their concerns to the mayor directly, when a half-dozen parents and a principal who has criticized the tests met with Mr. de Blasio at City Hall.
The meeting took place a few hours after opt-out advocates held a news conference on the steps of City Hall, where they accused the city of failing to inform low-income parents of their right to refuse to have their children sit for the tests.
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Good morning.
Heres what you need to know:
A Republican summit.
What was billed as a unity meeting on Thursday between Donald J. Trumps inner circle and the Republican National Committees high command was more of a clearing of the air over the candidates criticisms of the party leadership.
The closed-door session took place amid signs of a backlash against Mr. Trump in Wisconsin, which holds its primary on Tuesday. After Wisconsin, the next major primaries are in New York, where Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders will be campaigning today.
Like many political junkies, Ive been spending far too much time looking at polls and trying to understand their implications. Can Donald Trump really win his partys nomination? (Yes.) Can Bernie Sanders? (No.) But the primaries arent the only things being polled; were still getting updates on President Obamas overall approval. And something striking has happened on that front.
At the end of 2015 Mr. Obama was still underwater, with significantly more Americans disapproving than approving. Since then, however, his approval has risen sharply while disapproval has plunged. Hes still only in modestly positive territory, but the net movement in polling averages has been about 11 percentage points, which is a lot.
Whats going on?
Well, one answer is that voters have lately been given a taste of what really bad leaders look like. But Id like to think that the public is also starting to realize just how successful the Obama administration has been in addressing Americas problems. And there are lessons from that success for those willing to learn.
I know that its hard for many people on both sides to wrap their minds around the notion of Obama-as-success. On the left, those caught up in the enthusiasms of 2008 feel let down by the prosaic reality of governing in a deeply polarized political system. Meanwhile, conservative ideology predicts disaster from any attempt to tax the rich, help the less fortunate and rein in the excesses of the market; and what are you going to believe, the ideology or your own lying eyes?
Now comes another scary prediction: If carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels continue unabated, the vast West Antarctic ice sheet could begin to disintegrate, causing the sea to rise by five to six feet by the end of the century, destroying coastal cities and low-lying island nations and creating environmental devastation within the lifetimes of children born today.
The startling new finding was published Wednesday in the journal Nature by two experts in ice-sheet behavior: Robert DeConto of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and David Pollard of Pennsylvania State University. It paints a grimmer picture than the one presented only three years ago by a United Nations panel that forecast a maximum sea level rise of three feet by 2100. But that projection assumed only a minimal contribution from the massive ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica. And things could get worse in the centuries to come the melting from Antarctica alone, not counting other factors like thermal expansion, could cause the seas to rise by nearly 50 feet by 2500, drowning many cities.
But the report also contains what passes for good news nowadays: The collapse of Antarctica is not inevitable, it says, and could be prevented with an aggressive global effort to keep greenhouse gases at or below the levels called for in Paris, where leaders embraced a goal of holding warming well below an increase of two degrees Celsius compared with preindustrial levels.
But the pledges made by individual countries will not come close to meeting those targets, which means a great deal more work lies ahead for all nations particularly big emitters like China, the European Union and the United States to avoid trigger points at which the big ice sheets will begin to melt.
Image
He (Kind of) Kept Quiet
To no ones surprise, Slimane did little press after accepting the Saint Laurent post, instead letting the critics do the talking, and many had harsh words about his first collection. Cathy Horyn, reporting for The Times, wrote (based on images, because she wasnt invited to the show) that it was a nice but frozen vision of a bohemian chick at the Chateau Marmont. Or in St. Tropez. Mr. Slimanes clothes lacked a new fashion spirit. Indeed, it was as though he refused to interpret the YSL style, beyond updating proportions. Even the colors seemed flat, suppressed. The designer posted a response on Twitter, calling Horyn a schoolyard bully and also a little bit of a stand-up comedian, starting a long feud.
At first glance, two events this week suggest that federal regulators are losing ground against too big to fail financial institutions.
The 2008 financial crisis revealed that both banks and financial firms that were not banks like the American International Group could pose a devastating risk to the financial system and the wider economy. Congresss primary response came in 2010 with the passage of the Dodd-Frank reform law, a sweeping bill that gave regulators broad powers, including a powerful new tool. They could identify nonbanks that were systemically important, and then subject them to stricter regulation.
Some of the nonbanks given that designation, like A.I.G., dutifully complied. But another insurance firm, MetLife, fought back in the courts, and won a big victory on Wednesday. A federal judge struck down the systemically important designation for MetLife.
Its effect was immediate. Regulators for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, who had recently taken residence in the insurers offices, had to leave the premises.
Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont kicked off his effort to win the April 19 New York Democratic presidential primary with a large, boisterous rally in the Bronx on Thursday night, highlighting his local roots and telling New Yorkers that he would work to make sure people have well-paying jobs, affordable housing and access to good public education.
Mr. Sanders spoke to thousands of supporters at St. Marys Park (the campaign said 18,500 turned out), where he vowed to provide more resources to the Bronx and other communities across the country. He also told supporters at the outdoor event that they would be critical to winning the nomination and to carrying out his policies.
What this campaign is about is creating a political revolution, Mr. Sanders told his cheering supporters. You are the heart and soul of this revolution.
Judge Hufstedler was as comfortable in the cabinet as in the classroom, or trekking in the Himalayas. (A den mother gone wild was how she once described herself.) In a profile in The New York Times Magazine in 1980, Phyllis Theroux wrote that the judge was so well liked that scratching around the soil for detractors yields no worms.
Shirley Ann Mount was born of pioneer stock in Denver on Aug. 24, 1925. Her mother, the former Eva von Behren, taught in a one-room schoolhouse and then a high school in Colorado. Her father, Earl Stanley Mount, was a peripatetic building contractor whose property holdings were wiped out during the Depression.
In Albuquerque, Mr. Mount was hired to build a home for Ernie Pyle, a war correspondent, who befriended young Shirley and made her the inspiration for the girl next door in his Americana columns from New Mexico.
Pyle, she saidd, believed in me and my intellectual talents, and knew of my interests in art and literature.
She was only 19 when she graduated from the University of New Mexico in 1945 with a degree in business administration. She considered a diplomatic career but ultimately rejected one because she believed that the Foreign Service drove women into dead-end jobs. She considered becoming a doctor but could not afford medical school.
Instead, she headed for Los Angeles intending to pursue a job with an advertising agency, until she ran into the actor Burgess Meredith, to whom she had earlier been introduced by Pyle. At the time, Meredith was playing Pyle in the 1945 film The Story of G.I. Joe.
Soon Shirley Mount was working as a secretary for Meredith and his wife, the actress Paulette Goddard. She eventually gravitated to the law after seeing that the people doing well were not the movie group but their attorneys, her brother, Kenneth, once told The Associated Press.
A Virginia police trooper was killed in the midst of a training exercise at a Greyhound bus station in Richmond, Va., on Thursday after a man he had been talking to pulled out a handgun and shot him, the authorities said.
The trooper, identified as Chad Dermyer, 37, was a Marine Corps veteran who had graduated from the Virginia State Police Academy in 2014. He was a patrol officer before transferring to the terrorism and criminal interdiction unit for which he was undergoing the training.
This has been a tough evening, said Col. W. Steven Flaherty, the superintendent of the Virginia State Police, speaking at a news conference on Thursday night. It was quite a tragedy for all of us.
Colonel Flaherty said that Trooper Dermyer had been with about a dozen other State Police troopers participating in specialized training that included classroom instruction and field practicals at the bus station.
NAIROBI, Kenya A retired senior Rwandan politician has died in a Burundian jail where he was being held on suspicion of spying, both countries said on Thursday, adding to cross-border tensions that have escalated dangerously in recent months.
The politician, Jacques Bihozagara, a former Rwandan ambassador to France and Belgium, as well as a former government minister, died on Wednesday in a jail in Burundis capital, Bujumbura, where he had been held on espionage charges since December.
We assume he had a hypertension, and plan to carry out an autopsy today, Elie Ntungwanayo, a spokesman for Burundis Justice Ministry said on Thursday.
Rwanda called the death suspicious.
Jacques Bihozagara is one of many Rwandans in Burundi who died violently or suspiciously in the past months, said a Rwandan Foreign Ministry official, Eugene Ngoga.
WASHINGTON President Obama and President Xi Jinping of China said Thursday that they would sign the Paris Agreement on climate change on April 22, the first day the United Nations accord will be open for government signatures.
Officials cast the announcement as a statement of joint resolve by the worlds two largest greenhouse gas polluters, even though there are doubts about whether the United States can meet its obligations under the agreement.
In February, the Supreme Court temporarily blocked an Obama administration regulation to curb greenhouse gas pollution from power plants, the centerpiece of Mr. Obamas climate change policy and the major way for the administration to meet its targets under the Paris accord.
The two world leaders made the announcement on the sidelines of a nuclear security meeting in Washington.
Berit Viktorsson frequently traveled between her home in central Sweden and Brussels to visit her daughter.
Though she did not speak French, and barely spoke English, Ms. Viktorsson had become so adept at navigating the city that on the morning of March 22 she boarded a bus on her own from her daughters home, the daughter, Katarina Viktorsson, told a Swedish newspaper.
Soon after arriving at the airport, suicide bombers detonated two devices and killed Ms. Viktorsson, who Swedish officials said was in her 60s.
Before Ms. Viktorssons death was confirmed, Katarina Viktorsson, an administrative assistant at a law firm in Brussels, turned to social media, asking for help locating her mother in three different languages.
WARSAW When Janina Panasewicz lost her job in Poland 15 years ago, she moved to Belgium in search of work.
Despite living hundreds of miles away from her children and husband, Ms. Panasewicz, 61, remained deeply committed to her family, calling Poland every night to speak to her husband, a folk musician, said Wanda Gajewska, a friend of 40 years.
He always left the rehearsals right before 9 p.m. and hurried back home to call his Niunia over Skype, Ms. Gajewska said. Thats what he always lovingly called her: Niunia.
At the Berlin Conference of 1884-85, European powers met to divvy up Africa. In 2065 BC, the Adham Hafez Company imagines a similar conference, decades from now, in which power is reversed and African queens set out a new world order.
The Adham Hafez Company is based in Cairo, where, considering the recent history of Egypt, fantasies of the future must seem both tantalizing and treacherous. The extreme difficulties of creating independent theater there are not hard to imagine. These conditions make the intellectual energy fueling 2065 BC more remarkable and excuse some of the productions clumsiness.
The work had its United States premiere on Wednesday as part of New York Live Arts Live Ideas series, which is devoted to cultural transformation in the Middle East and North Africa. For much of the show, most of the four women who make up the cast sit at a table stacked with papers as one of them delivers a speech at a podium. Periodically the women communicate in a kind of sign language or move in choreography reminiscent of flight attendants explaining safety features, but the production is largely inert.
Fresh off the plane from Art Basel Hong Kong this week, the Chinese artist Cao Fei was stationed at MoMA PS1, ready to supervise the installation of her first United States museum retrospective. At 37, she seemed too young to warrant an extensive survey. Dressed in a black hoodie and fashionable striped pants, Ms. Cao could have been one of the characters in her early videos, teenagers influenced by hip-hop culture or 20-somethings costumed as Japanese manga characters.
But the artist often described by the art world as the embodiment of the new China has been on the scene internationally for nearly 20 years, with featured spots at the Tate Modern in London and the Venice Biennale. She has managed to encapsulate her countrys societal shifts through multimedia works, photographs, films and sculptures. And a stroll through the exhibition, which opens on Saturday, is both a tour and a critique of contemporary China, its rapid urbanization and the impact globalization has had on it.
Cao Fei visualizes the tension that a person of her age has to face in China on a daily level, said Klaus Biesenbach, director of MoMA PS1, who has worked with her throughout her career and who organized the exhibition, Cao Fei, which runs through Aug. 31. It is important for a New York audience to find out that you can find someone as cutting-edge in Beijing as you can here.
The story of Ms. Cao contrasts two generations of Chinese artists. Her father, Cao Chongen, was an accomplished realist sculptor whose statues of leaders from Mao to Deng Xiaoping appear throughout China. Coming from a landowner family that suffered greatly after the 1949 revolution, he learned to do what he was told and make whatever the Communist Party required.
The death of Zaha Hadid at 65 on Thursday has reverberated through quarters of the architecture world from Baghdad, where she was born, to New York, London and Guangzhou, China, where she built. But the sense of loss, mounting online, has been most pronounced among female architects, who saw Ms. Hadid as a rare beacon of hope for their own success in a male-dominated field and a barometer of its continuing sexism.
As a female architect, I am in shock and distressed that another brilliant creative mind has passed away, especially a woman on par with the best male architects in the world, Gisela Schmidt, an architect in Atlanta, wrote on Facebook. She was a strong woman in a profession that silences them, she added. What a loss for us!
In The Guardian, Eva Jiricna, a former president of the Architectural Association in London and a close friend of Ms. Hadids, said: I dont think any man could actually compete with her. If we can eliminate the practice of talking about female architects, it would be the greatest tribute we could give her. She added that even after advances for women in recent years, it remained more difficult for a woman than for a man to get a job in architecture and to be paid the same.
HONG KONG An obscure phrase on foreign investment tucked into Chinas insurance regulations is being viewed as stunningly cryptic by Western standards. But the collection of words not even a full sentence adds to the mystery surrounding the sudden decision by the Chinese insurer Anbang Insurance Group to walk away from a $14 billion bid for the Starwood hotel chain.
The phrase allows insurance companies to make overseas investments, provided the total does not exceed 15 percent of their assets. But the rule does not specify how to calculate the value of the foreign investments.
For example, it does not indicate whether to use historical prices or market prices, nor which exchange rate to use. The rule does not even specify how to determine an insurers assets, except to say that they shall be calculated at the end of the previous year.
So regulators have a lot of wiggle room. If the China Insurance Regulatory Commission made an unfavorable calculation, it might have raised the uncertainty for Anbang, compelling the company and its partner to withdraw the bid.
A big law firms novel lawsuit filed on behalf of a woman who says she was a victim of revenge pornography may be complicated by a decision in a related criminal case.
Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles decided last month to drop a two-year-old criminal case against the womans former boyfriend accusing him of posting sexually explicit images of her online.
The prosecutors asked a federal judge to dismiss the indictment charging David K. Elam II with stalking, aggravated identity theft and unauthorized access to the computer of the woman, whom he had met through an online dating service. On March 21, Judge Manuel L. Real of Federal District Court for the Central District of California granted the order and dismissed the case against Mr. Elam.
The end of the criminal case against Mr. Elam, 30, could pose a quandary for lawyers from the law firm K&L Gatess Cyber Civil Rights Legal Project, which has been providing legal representation to the woman and others who are say they are victims of revenge porn a type of online harassment that occurs when former lovers or hackers post sexually explicit images of people online without their permission.
Another telecommunications deal in Europe has fallen apart.
On Friday, Orange, the former French telecom monopoly, and Bouygues Telecom, a local rival, called off takeover talks after failing to agree on a proposed deal worth 10 billion euros, or $11.4 billion.
The move is the latest in a growing list of mergers in the European telecommunications industry that have faltered after the regions antitrust authorities raised questions about whether further industry consolidation would be in the best interest of customers.
Such concerns have already upended a number of proposed deals, including a prospective merger last year between two of Denmarks largest telecom operators. Potential combinations, including a much-rumored deal between Vodafone, the telecom based in London, and Liberty Global, the cable company controlled by John C. Malone, have also failed to emerge.
Antitrust concerns were raised at the time of Oranges proposed takeover of Bouygues Telecom in January, but both sides said on Friday that the failure to reach terms on the deal, and not potential competition issues, had scuttled the takeover.
Tesla Motors says its new Model 3 is, at $35,000 each, meant to bring the companys electric vehicle technology to the masses. And with more than 115,000 orders before the car was even introduced, it is well on its way.
A crowd of Tesla fans cheered as the Model 3, a sleek five-seater, was unveiled Thursday evening at the companys design studio in Hawthorne, Calif. Interested customers lined up at Tesla dealerships around the country, and the enthusiasm was matched with a torrent of comments online.
The Model 3 is the final step in the master plan, which is a mass market, affordable car, Teslas chief executive, Elon Musk, said at the unveiling. It was only possible to do after going through the prior steps.
The vehicle comes after years of lower-volume production of Teslas initial Roadster, Model S and Model X.
In September 2014, Oasis was announced as the buyer of Pabst, together with TSG. News outlets had a field day, portraying the deal as a Russian takeover of a quintessential if somewhat down-market American beer.
But a couple of months later, a different news release went out, saying that Oasis had never been the buyer of Pabst. Mr. Kashper, it said, was the buyer.
Why the mistake occurred in the first place and why it took two months to set the record straight remain mysteries. But in so many ways, it matched the history of Pabst, which is also filled with unusual twists and turns.
Image Customer art is featured on the walls of Pabst headquarters. Credit... Emily Berl for The New York Times
Founded in Milwaukee in 1844 by Jacob Best Sr., the brewery had a pretty good run for more than a century. But in the 1980s, sales began sliding, and in 1985 Pabst landed in the hands of Paul Kalmanovitz, a beer entrepreneur from California. He died shortly after acquiring the brewery but not before he had taken a hacksaw to costs.
Mr. Kalmanovitz left his money to his pets and his breweries to a charitable foundation, which sold the company to the billionaire investor C. Dean Metropoulos in 2010, when it had roughly $500 million in sales. By that time, Pabst had contracted production of its beers to MillerCoors and spent virtually nothing on marketing. Mr. Metropoulos also moved the company from Chicago to Los Angeles.
The lack of marketing became a sort of renegade promotion in and of itself, increasing Pabsts appeal among consumers who were turned off by advertising and looking for beer that was more authentic even though Pabst no longer made its own beer. Sales rose, at least slightly.
Major manufacturers of the products, which are sold under brand names like Zodiaq, Caesarstone and Silestone, include DuPont; Caesarstone Sdot-Yam, a company based in Israel; and Cosentino, which has its headquarters in Spain.
Consumers buy the countertops though retail stores, choosing the colors and styles they want from samples. An outside contractor then goes to a customers home, takes measurements, and cuts, drills and finishes the countertop in a workshop.
A 2012 article in a medical publication, Chest Journal, reported on the outbreak of silicosis in workers in Israel. Two years later, another publication, The International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health, described a similar outbreak in Spain.
In that study, researchers reported that while the overall number of silicosis cases in Spain had declined from 2003 to 2007, the number of cases had subsequently risen, driven by cases involving engineered stone. In some instances, workers needed lung transplants to survive.
The use of new construction materials such as quartz conglomerates has increased silicosis incidence due to intense occupational exposures, that study concluded.
In the United States, workplace controls are often better than those found abroad. Nonetheless, a 2013 study by researchers at the University of Oklahoma, who surveyed the safety equipment used at countertop fabrication companies in that state, found that most protections were inadequate. Such companies often employ just a handful of people.
It is unclear in how many cases engineered stone has contributed to silicosis in the United States. Two years ago, Texas health officials reported the first documented case in the country of silicosis among countertop workers. The man, Ublester Rodriguez, had spent nearly a decade working with engineered stone countertops and other products containing silica.
DETROIT Despite a steady stream of new models from a number of automakers, sales this year of electric and hybrid vehicles have failed to keep pace with the growth in the overall American market.
But if the market for electrified cars was slumbering, Tesla Motors woke it up with a jolt Thursday with the unveiling of its coming Model 3 lineup of affordable, zero-emission vehicles.
Given that electric and hybrid vehicles account for only about 2 percent of last years record-setting sales in the United States, the extraordinary reaction to Teslas first mass-market model was a vivid demonstration of the potential demand in the segment.
It shows that the future of electric vehicles is not necessarily bleak, said Alec Gutierrez, an analyst with the research firm Kelley Blue Book. Maybe weve been waiting for the right products that resonate with consumers.
Hedi Slimane, an enfant terrible of high fashion who masterminded a turnaround of fortunes at Yves Saint Laurent, has left his position as creative and image director of the house after almost four years, it was announced on Friday.
The announcement, in a joint statement by Yves Saint Laurent and Kering, its parent group, ended months of speculation that Mr. Slimane would be departing.
Protracted contract negotiations between Mr. Slimane, who is based in Los Angeles, and Kering executives, who are based in Europe, were the talk of Paris Fashion Week last month. Whispers had reached their zenith before his triumphant now final show for the house, with an 80s-inspired couture collection, no music and personalized seats for the coterie of editors and buyers invited to the private Parisian mansion where it was held.
Mr. Slimane, 47, a former mens wear designer at Dior Homme, had made a series of sweeping changes to the house since his arrival in 2012, moving the design studio to Los Angeles from Paris, renaming its ready-to-wear line Saint Laurent, redesigning its logo and creating a distinctive design aesthetic that proved phenomenally successful with shoppers. The once-sluggish Saint Laurent is now a commercial powerhouse, reporting slightly less than 1 billion euros, or about $1.14 billion, in revenue for 2015, up 38 percent from 2014. Saint Laurent now accounts for 12 percent of sales by Kerings luxury brands and 8 percent of the groups total sales.
A woman wearing a headscarf lied when she claimed she was slashed in Lower Manhattan by a man who called her a terrorist, the police said on Friday.
Robert K. Boyce, the chief of detectives for the New York Police Department, said the woman, a 20-year-old student from Egypt, would not face criminal charges because she had emotional issues. The woman, who admitted to the authorities that she had cut herself, was taken to Bellevue Hospital Center for a psychiatric evaluation, the police said.
The woman, whose name was not released, initially told investigators that she was leaving a school she attends at 65 Broadway in the financial district around 4:20 p.m. on Thursday when a white man grabbed her from behind, spun her around and slashed her across the face, the police said. But investigators found evidence that contradicted her story, and she recanted.
The authorities said surveillance video from the area showed that she had not left the building before calling the police, and Chief Boyce said investigators found blood in a bathroom on the 15th floor. The Make-up Designory, where the woman is studying cosmetology, is on the same floor.
There were clues along the way.
I stand with my then-wife Frida Baranek at Auschwitz gazing at the entangled piles of spectacles left behind by the gassed. Glasses removed for a shower form a labyrinthine mound of wire. Fridas grandmother and most of her maternal family from Poland were killed in the camps. Raised in Brazil, she has never seen this residue of mass murder. Yet her gravity-defying sculptures from the tropics resemble nothing so much as this living tangle of metal.
Some feeling had passed from her murdered grandmother of the weightlessness of life, of sightlessness, of imbalance and collapse. What it was, at the end, to crumple naked into a cold wall and scream.
My own family skirted the Holocaust. I am not strictly a child of the Holocaust perhaps a stepchild. They fled the Russian pogroms of Lithuania for the sun and gold of South Africa. My parents left the ravages of apartheid for the tolerance of England. I bounced back and forth in infancy between London and Johannesburg, before being educated at bastions of British privilege, Westminster School and Balliol College, Oxford.
Yet that old Jewish thing I never quite belonged. I left England and sotto voce Jewishness to become an American and full-throated Jew in New York. I settled in Brooklyn just in time to see the Twin Towers come down, watch the papers flutter like confetti over the East River, and inhale the acrid-sweet smell of burnt flesh below Canal Street.
Ashes again, vanishing in the air, motes of darkness.
Hatred, fomented in the name of utopian illusion, returns. It is unbearable for some to accept Kants crooked timber of humanity out of which no straight thing was ever fashioned. The essence of liberalism is acceptance of our human limits and our human differences. It is acceptance of multiple and perhaps incompatible truths. In Europe and America, liberalism is threatened today. Anger rises. Bullies have workable material.
Feeling whipsawed yet? Dont. This kind of disagreement among scientists happens every day, and when the subject is less politicized it can be fascinating to watch. This is how scientific inquiry moves forward: Putting hypotheses out there and testing them. Most days, it makes a lot more sense than politics does.
In any case, whether or not there was a pause in warming for a dozen years or so has no bearing on the underlying scientific validity of climate change. Even the lead author of the February paper that argued the pause is real says that the findings do not undermine global warming theory. Besides, record global temperatures for 2014 and 2015 suggest that warming has resumed. But even more important, the long-term trend is clear: Climate change is about the long haul, not short-term variability.
MILWAUKEE One night in April 1948, when Bernie Sanders was a 6-year-old boy in Brooklyn, Frank Zeidler was elected mayor of Milwaukee on the Socialist Party line. He would hold the office for a dozen years. Until Mr. Sanders undertook his presidential campaign, Mr. Zeidler had been the last prominent and successful Socialist politician in America.
While Mr. Sanders is a secular Jew, though, Mayor Zeidler was a devoted Christian, who remained active in the Redeemer Lutheran Church here until his death in 2006 at age 93. As Mr. Sanders brings his quest for a political revolution into the Wisconsin primary on Tuesday, Mr. Zeidlers legacy, both religious and ideological, lives on in a series of public conversations held by his lifelong church.
Perhaps it did not qualify as revolutionary, but on a balmy evening last month, the line of attendees for a discussion on the topic Interrupting Racism stretched out the back door of the Redeemer church. Hobbling on canes, hoisting backpacks and bike helmets, clad in hoodies, kente cloth and down vests, they represented a convergence of races, ages and political beliefs that is unusual in one of the nations most segregated metropolitan areas.
Eventually, more than 150 people formed discussion circles of five or six throughout the churchs rooms. For 90 minutes, they spoke, but they mostly listened about one anothers encounters with racial hate. In one group, a middle-aged white man admitted his lasting shame at not confronting a boss who made a racial slur about a black employee.
One day after the Food and Drug Administration relaxed its guidelines for use of an abortion-inducing drug, Arizonas Republican governor, Doug Ducey, signed a bill on Thursday requiring abortion clinics to follow the earlier protocol, which medical experts have described as outdated, overly restrictive and less healthy for women.
The bill to restrict so-called medication abortions had passed the Arizona Legislature before it was known that the F.D.A. would issue new guidelines for the drug, mifepristone. But the bill specified that Arizona doctors must abide by the federal guidelines as they existed on Dec. 31, 2015.
Mr. Ducey, a businessman who took office last year, signed the legislation despite the altered federal recommendations. Some changes may need to be made in a later bill because of the F.D.A.s action, the governor said. The law is not scheduled to take effect until this summer, 90 days after the legislative session ends.
Mifepristone is used in combination with other drugs to induce a miscarriage. Because it does not require surgery, the method is increasingly selected by women seeking abortions early in their pregnancies, and it now accounts for about one in four abortions nationally.
Donald J. Trump, who in recent days has mocked a political opponents wife, defended a campaign aide arrested on a charge of battery and suggested punishing women who terminate pregnancies, may have surrendered any remaining chance to rally Republicans strongly around him before the partys July convention in Cleveland.
At a moment when a more traditional front-runner might have sought to smooth over divisions within his party and turn his attention to the general election, Mr. Trump has only intensified his slash-and-burn, no-apologies approach to the campaign.
He should have started uniting the party in March, said Henry Barbour, a Republican National Committee member from Mississippi who previously supported Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, and he is making it harder on himself.
Republicans who once worried that Mr. Trump might gain overwhelming momentum in the primaries are now becoming preoccupied with a different grim prospect: that Mr. Trump might become a kind of zombie candidate damaged beyond the point of repair, but too late for any of his rivals to stop him.
The chairman of the Republican Party in American Samoa, Utu Abe Malae, began feeling the pressure almost immediately: phone calls, commitment forms, anything the presidential campaigns could do, say or send to nail down his support as a delegate.
Ken Callahan, a district chairman for the North Dakota Republican Party, is perpetually fielding calls not just from the campaigns, but also from neighbors and friends who, excited by the process that is starting to unfold, are interested in becoming delegates themselves. I receive, I would say, 10 to 15 calls a day, he said, and it doesnt stop on weekends, either.
And Holland Redfield, a Republican delegate and former lawmaker in the Virgin Islands, had a special call-in guest on his radio program the other day: Gov. John Kasich of Ohio, who promised more than just lip service to the islands if he became president. After years of being treated like second-class citizens by mainland politicians, Mr. Redfield said, we are in the catbird seat. Theres going to be some hard bargaining.
Suddenly, they matter: For the first time in 40 years, the delegates to the Republican National Convention could be more than just a rubber stamp on their partys nomination process.
Mr. Wagner was then filmed scrawling a chalk message of his own: Emory stands for free expression!
The debate over pro-Trump chalking has attracted its critics, who feel that students who are upset by the chalk should get a thicker skin. The case at Emory especially garnered attention after the schools student government offered emergency funds to student groups wanting to respond to the incident, and offered open hours to meet with students. (The school offers counseling services to all students, Ms. Seideman said.)
One high-profile critic is Newt Gingrich, a former House speaker and a longtime Georgia congressman. He is also an Emory alum.
As an Emory alum I am worried about the fragility and timidity of some students. In the age of ISIS how can a name in chalk be frightening? Mr. Gingrich wrote on Twitter on Thursday, adding, Emory has me worried because I thought college was a place to grow up and explore ideas not a place to hide and be intimidated by trivia.
Isabelle Saldana, a 21-year-old junior at Emory, said that the discussion about diversity and inclusion on college campuses shouldnt be limited to chalking. She said minority students have been in conflict with their administration for over a year over what they see as a lack of fair treatment in comparison with other groups on campus, and the percentage of minority faculty members.
Its less about the actual chalkings, she said. This isnt something thats unique to Emory. This is a national conversation, even an international conversation, on the value of black and brown people.
College students have long clashed with school officials and each other over issues of censorship, but Mr. Trump has been something like an accelerant on a simmering fire, said Samantha Harris, a lawyer and the director of policy of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education.
With the Trump candidacy, this is the first time weve sort of seen calls for censorship of, literally, support for a candidate, Ms. Harris said. For a long time theres been a sense by students that they have a right not to be uncomfortable. You do have a right not to feel unsafe. The question is: What does unsafe mean?
Because of the Armys strong interest in maintaining good order and discipline, the Army intends to develop clear, uniform standards applicable to soldiers who have received religious accommodation, Debra S. Wada, the assistant secretary of the Army for manpower and reserve affairs, wrote in a memo to the captain released on Friday. Until those standards are in place, she said, Captain Singh will be expected to appear in a neat and conservative manner with a black or camouflage turban.
On Friday, Captain Singh talked about his decision to accept the ban when he entered West Point and his effort to find a way to serve the Army and follow his religion.
Q. You had to shave when you entered West Point 10 years ago. Why were you willing to do that?
A. It was a very difficult decision for me. I had to choose between serving my country and my faith. I was 18 years old and I didnt really know what to do, or who to go to, to try to change things. As terrible as it sounds when I showed up at West Point, I accepted defeat. But I promised myself I would find a way back to my roots while also serving my country. I knew I would figure out a way. See, for me, the Sikh faith is all about justice, tolerance, equality, sticking up for the oppressed all the things the U.S. Army also stands for. Im just glad I could finally fit those two parts of my world together.
Q. The Army now allows you to express your religion in a way that is neat and conservative. What does that mean?
A. I can wear a black turban or a camouflage pattern turban with my rank on it. When I wear a helmet, I have a smaller turban that can go underneath and doesnt affect the fit. My beard cant be more than two inches. Mine is only about one and an half inches now. But if it is longer, I would have to tie it under. I do that anyway now. I take a rubber band and roll it up and tie it underneath. Then I use a little hair spray to keep it neat and organized.
In their last conversation, Jeffrey Pendleton told his father that he was doing well, living in New Hampshire with a woman and working at a Burger King restaurant.
About four months later, a different story unfolded. Mr. Pendleton was homeless, and on March 13 he was found dead in a jail cell in Manchester, where he was being held for a misdemeanor because he could not pay the $100 bail.
The police told me to talk to the detective in New Hampshire, Mr. Pendletons father, Joseph, said Friday from his home in Palestine, Ark. He said they did a cell check, and found him unconscious. Then two hours later he was dead.
His family buried him last week in Palestine, but the authorities are still investigating how the 26-year old black man who had no known health problems died so suddenly.
WASHINGTON An American drone strike in Somalia is believed to have killed a key leader of the Shabab militant group, a United States government official said Friday, as the Obama administration continued its intensified air campaign against the group.
First word of the strike came when the Pentagon press secretary, Peter Cook, said in a statement emailed to reporters that the American military, in cooperation with the government of Somalia, was still assessing whether Thursdays attack had succeeded in killing Hassan Ali Dhoore, described as an important member of the Shabab security and intelligence wing. Defense Department officials said he was involved in two high-profile attacks in Mogadishu more than a year ago in which Americans were killed.
But one United States official, speaking on condition of anonymity to describe initial assessments of the attack, said the military believed that Mr. Dhoore and two others had been killed in the strike, which occurred near Jilib, south of Mogadishu.
In his statement, Mr. Cook said the Shabab leader played a direct role in the Dec. 25, 2014, attack on Mogadishu International Airport, resulting in the death of several African Union Mission in Somalia personnel and one U.S. citizen. He said Mr. Dhoore was also directly responsible for the March 2015 attack on the Maka al-Mukarram Hotel in Mogadishu, which resulted in the deaths of 15 people, including one Somali-American. Officials said Mr. Dhoore was also involved in the assassination of a dual-citizen member of the Somali Parliament.
Both lions were killed south of the park, which has become surrounded by human settlement since it was established in 1946.
Before construction started in the park, the lions were not escaping, so there are indications that the noise and blasting is affecting their movements, Robert Ndetei, species conservation manager at the World Wildlife Funds Nairobi office, told Reuters.
The killings drew outrage in Kenya and online, and they highlighted the threat posed to wildlife by the loss of their habitat to expanding development.
I had not fully appreciated the depth of my feelings about animals and the outdoors until I saw the video of that ranger slaughtering the lion in Isinya on Wednesday, wrote Mutuma Mathiu in a column for The Daily Nation, Kenyas largest newspaper, on Thursday. I felt as if he had, without cause, killed a close relative.
Wildlife rangers discovered Lemeks speared body under a large thicket beside a dry riverbed near Old Kitengela township, 12 miles south of Nairobi, the service said in a statement. The area is roughly two miles south of the parks southern tip.
CAIRO The leaders of Libyas fragile new unity government cautiously expanded their authority in Tripoli on Friday, venturing from their fortified base in the city port to make public appearances in a downtown mosque and square, while political factions from nearby towns pledged their allegiance.
The unity government, which landed in Tripoli by boat on Wednesday in defiance of warnings and an air blockade imposed by hostile armed groups, is seeking to establish its own authority. Although formed under United Nations auspices in December, and enjoying strong backing from the United States and its European allies, it has faced bitter opposition from rival Libyan factions that, until this week, left it languishing in five-star hotels in neighboring Tunisia.
Worries that the sudden arrival of Prime Minister Fayez Serraj and six others from the unity governments nine-member Presidency Council would plunge the capital into violence dissipated somewhat on Friday, amid signs that the unity government was gaining momentum.
Key militias in Tripoli sided with the new administration and 10 coastal towns near Tripoli, including Sabratha, where American warplanes in February bombed an Islamic State training camp, pledged their fealty to the new administration.
JOHANNESBURG A day after South Africas highest court ruled that he had violated the Constitution in a long-running scandal involving government money spent on upgrades to his homestead, President Jacob G. Zuma said Friday that he would pay back part of it in accordance with the ruling, but that he had never meant to undermine the Constitution.
In a televised address on Friday evening, Mr. Zuma offered the nation an apology but stopped short of taking responsibility for his actions and blamed advisers for his legal problems.
The violation of the Constitution, he said, happened because of a different approach and different legal advice.
It all happened in good faith and there was no deliberate effort or intention to subvert the Constitution on my part, Mr. Zuma said.
As Brazilians have protested corruption scandals in their government and called for the impeachment of their president, a Dutch artist has mounted a singular protest of his own. He says the giant yellow rubber duck that protesters have hauled into the streets as a makeshift mascot in the past month is too similar to his own creation.
The duck used in the demonstrations has Xs in place of its eyes and a Portuguese slogan across its chest that says: We wont pay for what is not our fault anymore. But representatives for the Dutch artist, Florentijn Hofman, who is known for his outsize creations depicting animals, say they saw too many similarities between his rubber duck and the one used in Brazil and they are not amused.
Mr. Hofmans six-story-tall version of the bathtub toy appeared in a harbor in Hong Kong as part of an art festival in 2013. A Brazilian industrial group, FIESP, used a similar rubber duck in the demonstrations, and Mr. Hofmans representatives say that it featured the same design and technical patterns of the previous work and that its just odd that the protest duck was produced in the same factory where Mr. Hofmans art duck was created.
A spokeswoman for Mr. Hofman, Kim Engbers, said in an email: Of course we want to emphasize that it is a shame that this parody is used for propaganda. Our project is meant to be nonpolitical.
HONG KONG It was not intended as a joke. But on April Fools Day, its hard to be certain.
On Friday, the Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua, which is not known for its sense of humor, explained how the nation should view the Wests so-called Fools Day.
Fools Day is not in line with our countrys traditions and socialist core values, Xinhua said in a message posted on its Weibo account Friday morning. We hope you will not believe, create or spread rumors.
The message quickly received thousands of reposts and comments. Some people endorsed the rejection of a Western celebration, while others embraced April Fools. Many did not take the state news agency seriously.
Xinhua is in fact celebrating Fools Day itself, wrote Zhao Yan, a television writer in Guangdong Province.
KOLKATA, India The police in Kolkata on Friday filed a criminal complaint of culpable homicide and criminal breach of trust against the company that was building an elevated highway that collapsed on Thursday, and then detained eight of the companys executives.
As rescue workers continued to look through the rubble and cut into trapped vehicles with blowtorches and other equipment, the company, IVRCL, came under intense scrutiny, with reports that it had run into problems with at least two states and a publicly owned company under the Indian Ministry of Railways.
At least 23 people were killed in the accident in the crowded Ganesh Talkies area of Kolkata, formerly Calcutta, and 85 people were injured, the police said. Five hundred people in various rescue capacities were working at the site Friday night, said a Kolkata police sergeant, S. Satgava, adding, We cannot tell how many more are trapped. One person was rescued Friday evening, he said.
SEOUL, South Korea South Korea said on Friday that North Korea had tried to jam GPS signals in the South, a form of sabotage it has attempted before, but that no disruption of mobile communications or of air or ship traffic had resulted.
The Pyongyang government has made several similar attempts since 2010, according to South Korean officials. In 2012, jamming signals sent by the North forced 252 commercial flights to turn off their GPS and use an alternate navigation tool. The latest signals, detected on Thursday, were not as strong as in past attempts, the South Korean Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning said in a statement.
South Korea traced the signals to Haeju, a town on North Koreas southwestern coast, and to Diamond Mountain in the countrys southeast, the Science Ministry said. The jamming signals were still being sent on Friday, said Moon Sang-gyun, a spokesman for the Souths Defense Ministry. The Defense Ministry and the Souths Unification Ministry called them a provocation and called on the North to stop them.
Last week, Alison Evans, a senior analyst and East Asia expert for IHS, a research organization in London, said North Korea was likely to attempt cyberattacks or try to disrupt GPS signals in the South to show its displeasure with annual United States-South Korean joint military exercises that have been underway since early March. But she said Pyongyang was likely to try to manage the risk of escalation while doing so.
PARIS Violent clashes erupted in Greek refugee camps among panicked migrants as Greece and the European Union pressed ahead on Friday with their intention to expel them from Europe and deport thousands back to Turkey, despite strong objections from rights groups and United Nations relief officials who say the plan is illegal and inhumane.
Hundreds of migrants broke out of an overcrowded detention center on the Greek island of Chios and began walking to the port to protest a European Union deal that went into effect in March, authorizing Greece to return them to Turkey if their applications for asylum in Europe were not accepted. The deportations officially begin on Monday.
Video clips in the Greek media showed migrants streaming away from the camp unhindered by the police, hours after a brawl broke out at the camps registration center. Several refugees were taken to a hospital after the riot police used stun grenades, and a help center run by Doctors Without Borders was destroyed, forcing the aid group to abandon its work. More than 1,500 migrants were being held at the center, designed for 1,200. Three people were also reported stabbed during a migrant riot on the island of Samos, where another detention facility operates.
Major humanitarian groups, including Doctors Without Borders, the United Nations refugee agency and the International Rescue Committee, recently suspended some work at detention centers to protest the European Union deal, which they say violates international law.
PARIS Concerns over security at Brussels Airport have delayed its reopening, the airport operator said on Friday, more than a week after two suicide bombers heavily damaged the departure terminal.
Florence Muls, a spokeswoman for the airport, said that it was unclear whether it would be able to open on Saturday morning.
We are still waiting for a green light from the federal police, Ms. Muls said, adding that airport security was not directly managed by the airport authorities. She said the reopening would depend on the outcome of labor negotiations between unions representing police officers at the airport and the Interior Ministry.
The unions have been discussing their security concerns with senior management in the Belgian federal police before and after the terrorist attack on March 22, in which two suicide bombers detonated explosives in the departure hall just before 8 a.m. The unions have threatened not to go back to work if their requests for additional safety measures are not addressed.
The allegations come amid growing trepidation over a deal concluded in March between Turkey and the European Union that allows Greece to send refugees back to Turkey. European leaders, hoping to stop millions of migrants who are trying to reach their shores, have framed the agreement as an effort to dissuade refugees from making the perilous sea journey. But relief agencies and human rights groups have warned that several factors, including a continuing security crisis, make Turkey ill-equipped to carry out the deal or cope with large numbers of migrants.
There has also been consternation over the lengths European leaders have been willing to go to keep migrants away including offering billions in aid to Turkey to conclude the agreement, while ignoring an increasingly harsh crackdown on President Recep Tayyip Erdogans opponents by the Turkish authorities.
In their desperation to seal their borders, E.U. leaders have willfully ignored the simplest of facts: Turkey is not a safe country for Syrian refugees and is getting less safe by the day, Amnestys director for Europe and Central Asia, John Dalhuisen, said in the report.
Also on Friday, the United Nations refugee agency warned that Greeces overburdened asylum system lacked the capacity to process and register all the refugees seeking international protection, adding to concerns about the agreement. The agency called on the European Union and Turkey to ensure all safeguards are in place before any returns begin.
The allegations that Syrians were being forcibly returned highlighted the increasing hostility toward the refugees in the countries bordering Syria, particularly in Turkey and Jordan, which for years had been willing to absorb large numbers of refugees from Syrias civil war, human rights groups said.
WASHINGTON President Obama on Friday questioned Donald J. Trumps fitness for office after statements from the Republican front-runner that the United States and its allies should move away from decades of constraints on the use of nuclear weapons. We dont want somebody in the Oval Office who doesnt recognize how important that is, Mr. Obama said.
Speaking to reporters at the end of a summit meeting devoted to nuclear security, the president said the comments by Mr. Trump reflected a person who doesnt know much about foreign policy or nuclear policy or the Korean Peninsula or the world generally.
Mr. Obama has not hesitated to criticize Mr. Trump for contributing to a coarse tone and circuslike atmosphere on the campaign trail. But his criticism of the candidates comments on nuclear proliferation was not about public language or personal style, but about one of the gravest responsibilities of an American president. It carried an extra edge because it involved an issue that Mr. Obama has made a central goal of his presidency.
He said world leaders and other participants at the conference had expressed concerns about Mr. Trumps comments during private conversations with him at the summit meeting, which gathered more than 50 world leaders to discuss ways to reduce the threat of a nuclear attack, whether from the leakage of nuclear fuel or the theft of a bomb by a terrorist group.
There are longer-term worries as well. A recent study by the consultants McKinsey warned that with more than half of Saudi Arabias population under 25, a surge of young people was likely to enter the work force in the coming years. This will require the creation of almost three times as many jobs for Saudis as the kingdom created during the 2003-13 oil boom.
Prince Mohammed, a son of the monarch, King Salman, is leading the effort to find solutions as the head of council that oversees economic policy. Although only about 30 years old and relatively unknown before his father became king last year, he is also the countrys defense minister, at a time of great regional instability and with Saudi forces at war in neighboring Yemen.
The princes intention, analysts say, appears to be to create a vehicle that would make direct investments in companies outside of Saudi Arabia as well as inside. The idea would be to use these holdings to generate income at a time when oil prices are low and to develop business relationships that would lead to investments in Saudi Arabia.
In initiating the changes, Saudi Arabia trails behind some other countries. The Public Investment Fund, for instance, has about $5 billion in assets, according to the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute, a research organization.
The full plan to restructure the Saudi economy has yet to be released, but the announcements touched on central aspects of it.
Shares of the parent company of Saudi Aramco, widely believed to be the worlds most valuable company, as well as shares of its subsidiaries, could be sold to the public on the Saudi stock exchange as early as next year, Prince Mohammed said. But the shares would be for less than 5 percent of the company, he said.
Assets raised from the stock sales would be routed into the Public Investment Fund, which could grow to hold more than $2 trillion, the prince said. The fund currently has $5 billion in assets and includes shares in a large Saudi chemical manufacturer and the kingdoms largest lender.
THE last thing that borrowers struggling with student debt need is to pay for something they could get free. But that has happened to borrowers who have been misled by shady student debt relief companies.
The companies, preying on holders of the $1.3 trillion outstanding in student debt, offer to help borrowers obtain lower student loan payments or a reduction in debt. Their pitches may show up in web searches for terms like student loan forgiveness. But in reality, the companies are charging for federal loan assistance programs that borrowers can enroll in on their own, without any fees. Often, the sites imply they are affiliated with the federal Department of Education.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau this week acted to halt the activities of one such company, Student Aid Institute, saying that the company, based in San Diego, illegally tricked borrowers into paying fees for federal benefits. It was the latest in a series of actions against debt relief firms over the last two years.
We see more and more companies and websites demanding large upfront fees to help student loan borrowers enroll in income-driven plans that are available for free, the bureaus director, Richard Cordray, said in a statement.
What do The Girlfriend Experience, the new Starz television show about prostitution, and The Girlfriend Experience, the 2009 Steven Soderbergh film about prostitution, have in common?
A title, a subject, the main characters names (personal and professional) and Mr. Soderbergh. From there, though, the differences are significant. The Chelsea of the film, played by the adult-movie star Sasha Grey, was a young but experienced New York escort already approaching the downslope of her career. The TV series character, played by Riley Keough of Magic Mike and Mad Max: Fury Road, is a Chicago law student and legal intern who has not yet begun, when the show opens, to work as a prostitute.
We agreed that the best version of it would be to take the title but start over again, Mr. Soderbergh said by phone a few weeks before the April 10 premiere of the show, on which he serves as an executive producer. Come up with a new character, a new location.
The changes in the story are minor, though, compared to what Mr. Soderbergh engineered offscreen. Not wanting to revisit the material himself I certainly didnt feel that I had anything else to say about it but wanting to give the series a distinctive look and feel, he devised a highly unusual approach to its creation and production.
In the years that followed, whenever an item about child abduction came on television, which it frequently did this was the era of the Atlanta child murders and the disappearance of Etan Patz the author would feel an icy stillness envelop us. The family didnt talk about Jonathan; a violent death removes the possibility of sharing stories, laughs, memories, Kushner writes, because the pain was too great.
Nonetheless, Kushners parents were determined not to warp their youngest sons childhood by overprotecting him. (Parents reading this book will feel their stomachs clench at the fact that after his brothers murder, the author was still permitted to roam on his bike, a freedom now largely denied young children.) The parents emerge as the real heroes of the book. Gilbert Kushner, a professor of anthropology at the University of South Florida, coped with his sons murder by, as he himself described it, studying the development and characteristics of individuals and peoples who have transformed the experience of suffering into positive approaches to surviving. Lorraine Kushner, a Lamaze instructor, turned to the community for love and support. Together, they started one of the countrys first chapters of Compassionate Friends, a support group for parents who have lost children. A story that might otherwise have been too dark to bear is instead shot through with light.
One of the central questions of Alligator Candy is whether it is better to know or not to know. Which is the more haunting, the imagined or the real? All my life I had wanted the details, Kushner writes of his brothers death, and then he discovers them and isnt sure hes better off. When school bullies taunted the author, as a child, that his brother had been cut up and put in a pickle jar, it wasnt a million miles from the truth.
The book strains, at times, to extrapolate broader lessons from what happened. It neednt; the study of a family in extremis is enough. I long for this kid, my Jon, part of me, Kushners mother writes in her journal, six months after the murder. One of the questions raised by the author is, How does one survive the worst thing? The only answer is this: A mother writing to her son, years after his death, Do you still know that you are loved?
STOKELY: A Life, by Peniel E. Joseph. (BasicCivitas, $18.99.) After the deaths of Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Stokely Carmichael, who embodied the black power movement, was considered an heir apparent in the battle for civil rights. His life is a crucial, if sometimes overlooked, part of the route black America took to its present understanding of itself and its complex relationship to this country, our reviewer, William Jelani Cobb, wrote.
THE HARDER THEY COME, by T. Coraghessan Boyle. (Ecco/HarperCollins, $15.99.) Boyles novel explores the noxious combination of anger, paranoia and power through the stories of three characters: Sten, a Vietnam War veteran hailed as a hero after killing a robber in Central America; Adam, Stens mentally ill son with a propensity for violence; and Sara, Adams lover, who is also a member of an anarchist group. After Adam shoots two people and flees, a manhunt ensues, and leads Sten to reconsider how best to relate to his son.
ORDINARY LIGHT: A Memoir, by Tracy K. Smith. (Vintage, $16.) Smith, a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, reflects on the forces that shaped her, including her childhood years in Northern California, an early visit to relatives in Alabama, and her literary influences. At the heart of the memoir is Smiths fierce bond with her mother, and her reflections on her identity as a black American and a woman.
THE VILLAGE, by Nikita Lalwani. (Random House, $16.) In Lalwanis second novel, a young BBC documentary filmmaker and her bickering crew travel to a small Indian village, Ashwer, in pursuit of her next topic. The town is an experimental prison village, where violent criminals are permitted to live with their families and are allowed to seek daywork outside the village confines.
Yesterday I tried to kill myself. That sour sneer of a voice belongs to Bernie Gunther, the Prussian homicide cop who survived World War II as the house detective at Berlins fashionable Adlon Hotel. The war has been over for more than 10 years in Philip Kerrs new book, THE OTHER SIDE OF SILENCE (Marian Wood/Putnam, $27). Bernie is currently a concierge at the Grand Hotel du Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, just another deracinated wanted man living quietly and under a false name, like so many other expat denizens of the French Riviera. He even has a wonderful cover story for anyone impolite enough to ask how he spent the war as a captain in the army Catering Corps, he swears.
Bernies skill as a bridge player is all that keeps him sane in these stultifying surroundings. Its a harmless pastime, he thinks, this hushed ceremony, the perfect game for people who have something to hide. That tranquillity is compromised when Anne French, an English writer scheming to become W. Somerset Maughams biographer, asks Bernie to teach her to play bridge so she can attend the cutthroat games that the aging author hosts at his fabulous Villa Mauresque. But its Bernies bridge game that wins over Maugham, who has played with great wits like Dorothy Parker and appreciates an intellectual sourpuss.
Youre bitter. I like that, he observes of Bernie. Bitter and maudlin. I like that, too. After declaring his visitor an even bigger cynic than I am, he invites him to join his bridge group and, incidentally, to deal with his latest blackmailer. The closeted Maugham is accustomed to buying off indiscreet playmates. But this new threat focuses on pool parties at Villa Mauresque with those infamous Cambridge spies Anthony Blunt and Guy Burgess, whose recorded testimony could damage the authors career. The intricacies of the plot, partly based on Maughams history as a British spy in charge of a team of secret agents, make this one of Kerrs best technical efforts. But its the characterization of Maugham and the sound of his voice Its just too awful to be blackmailed by a chap who goes to the same shoemaker as oneself that makes this novel memorable.
Inspector Amaia Salazar, the Spanish detective in Dolores Redondos challenging procedural THE INVISIBLE GUARDIAN (Atria, $24.99), is stumped. Teenage girls from the town of Elizondo are being killed in some kind of macabre purification rite and their bodies provocatively posed by the river that carves its path through the town. Whenever shes baffled, the homicide detective tends to seek inspiration in church or from the tarot cards. This being Basque Country, where what is now considered mythology was originally a religion, Amaia does both.
You dig things up at your peril, and a thousand movies tell you why: Buried scandals come back, along with half-dead monsters, jewels with curses and far too many Egyptian queens. John Prestons subtle novel The Dig imagines something even more remarkable: an excavation that carefully, gently exposes the searchers own lives and feelings to the light, just as they brush sand away from buried treasure. He has written a kind of site report that shimmers with longing and regret.
This is daring, because hes playing with facts: the great discoveries in 1939, just before the outbreak of World War II, at Sutton Hoo on the eastern bump of England. There a sandy burial mound was opened, and it proved an archaeological event almost as glamorous as the finding of Tutankhamen.
The shape of a great ancient ship had to be reconstituted from the faint traces it left inside the mound, and inside the outline of that ship there were two kinds of treasure. The first was physical: silver, gold, jewels, left to accompany a king on his way to the next world. But there was also the revelation of a culture long underestimated, proof of the unexpected art and riches of Anglo-Saxon England during the so-called dark ages. The past demanded to be recognized. It even showed its faces, carved in stone.
Turn up the volume and theres all the raw material for a thriller: the hunt for treasure, clue by clue, guess by guess, among rumors of ghostly dancers around the burial mounds and even a spectral white horse. Preston loves the procedural, and it gives his story an understated energy: the ferretlike man who can smell each change in the soil, the danger when earth slips down on the diggers, the way a rainstorm or a wrong step can ruin the chance of ever knowing certain things.
With the issue of guns in America a hot topic on social media, op-ed pages and presidential debate stages, a new book shows how much of this is in fact old news. Peter Manseaus Melancholy Accidents reprints newspaper reports, spanning the years 1739 to 1916, about accidental shootings, inadvertent suicides and other firearm-related deaths in this country. The book takes its title from the phrase that was regularly used to describe these incidents.
Taken together, Manseau writes in his introduction, the news items might be seen as a forgotten mode of American storytelling. Typical of the tone is a report from The Pennsylvania Packet in 1789, about a sea-faring lad who accidentally shot a servant-girl. The bullet lodged in the poor creatures head; she instantly expired. In 1754, a 13-year-old girl was shot dead in Philadelphia by a Dutchman carelessly handling a gun. People were felled hunting deer, squirrels and pigeons. One man shot his teenage son to death, having mistaken him for a turkey in a tree. (On occasion an entry is only tangentially gun-related, as when a woman in Georgia died after sparks from a fire she was carrying to guide her way to an outhouse fell into a 20-pound keg of gunpowder.)
In his introduction, Manseau bemoans the state of our political approaches to gun violence: There are certain categories of senseless tragedy we will simply continue to choose to live with. But the debate will continue, as it did in 1788, after an 8-year-old boy killed his younger sibling. In its report of the shooting, a newspaper in Northampton, Mass., asked: Query, ought a gun to be kept charged except in danger of enemies?
Deep are the worlds oceans. Deeper still are our fears. And fear is what I felt crossing the Atlantic on my way to Brazil. Adding to my longstanding fear of plane travel was the ludicrous discomfort created by not flying above solid ground.
This time, however, yet another fear weighed on me. Before I left Mozambique to give a talk on its Portuguese-language literature one of my daughters had tormented me for days on end about the mortal dangers that awaited me in Sao Paulo. In Maputo, where we all live, she gathered stories from the newspapers, recorded TV news programs and collected essays to compile a hefty dossier on crime in the Brazilian city. A long list of kidnappings, robberies, rapes and murders, each distinguished by its own unique form of cruelty. My daughters prognostication was dire: My chances of returning alive were minimal at best. Or perhaps I would come back a cripple, following some terrifying ordeal that would haunt me for the rest of my life.
After listening to this litany of grave warnings, a certain anxiety overtook me. To such an extent that, stepping off the plane in Sao Paulo, I began asking myself all sorts of questions: Will there be, as the organization that invited me here promised, someone waiting to pick me up? There was. Holding a sign with my name written on it. But my sign was different from all the others I saw: It was more improvised, a combination of misshapen letters scrawled on a piece of cardboard. Whoever wrote it didnt know my name exactly. The man waiting for me had such a dubious air about him that I overcame my good manners to question him about his identity.
Im not the person who was originally supposed to pick you up, he said. Someone else sent me.
I confess I wasnt wild about this phrase, Someone else sent me. The ghosts of fear immediately began to make their presence known. Truth be told, I found this sudden attack of fear very odd. In Mozambique, Id lived through a civil war that lasted 16 years. I should have grown accustomed to fateful twists and turns between life and death. Above all, I should have had a very different first encounter with the country that had been such a force in my development as a writer. My greatest influences are Brazilian poets and novelists. My landing in the country of Jorge Amado was certainly worthy of a good story but not the one that was beginning to take shape.
The Cottage, a new restaurant in Westport, is well named. It is small, cozy and very homey, very much like a New England seaside cottage, with sprays of pussy willows on counters and duck motifs wandering along the walls.
But the menu is far more sophisticated than its simple setting would suggest. It is the work of its chef and owner, Brian Lewis, who is the former chef and owner of Elm in New Canaan, and a former executive chef at the Bedford Post Inn in Westchester County. While the menu may be a bit showoffish, the food itself, a patchwork of many cultures, is expertly prepared. We didnt have any disappointments, at either dinner or brunch.
In a phone interview after my visits, Mr. Lewis said he had chosen the name Cottage to evoke the calm and peace of a place near the water. To me, a cottage suggests the serendipity of such a place, he said.
Image Stinging nettle tortelloni with soft ripened Italian robiola cheese and sage crumbs. Credit... Lisa Wiltse for The New York Times
While his Cottage, because the room is small, gets noisy and busy at peak times, the decor does indeed speak of the serenity of the New England coastline. In addition to creating the menu, Mr. Lewis does the shopping (for mostly local ingredients) and much of the cooking, and he makes all the desserts.
If many customers dont fully remember their evening at Pocha 32, where dinner frequently begins after 2 a.m. and nearly always includes the Korean spirit soju, they can at least leave behind proof that they were there.
The walls of Pocha are draped with green fishnet, which has slowly accumulated hundreds of paper wrappers from diners wooden chopsticks, most inscribed with cartoonish self-portraits or a reason to celebrate. (Its my b-day!)
The first note appeared in the netting one night about four years ago, said Kyungsoo Jang, a manager and longtime server. Today the netting has become a shrine to Koreatown memories, forming a cozy tent around the diners, who squeeze in at tables made from repurposed oil drums.
The rough decor is meant to evoke the tented carts and makeshift taverns in South Korea called pojangmacha covered wagon or pocha for short.
The Barbie doll and her brand of ideal beauty debuted in 1959, and since then she sometimes has been at the center of a debate about societys depictions of women. Critics have complained that Barbie conveys harmful messages about body image to impressionable girls, while others have defended the petite blonde as a miniature representation of an adult woman who breaks glass ceilings.
In January, Mattel made Barbie more diverse, saying it would make her look more like real women. The new 2016 Barbie Fashionistas doll line includes four body types (the original and three new bodies), seven skin tones, 22 eye colors, 24 hairstyles and countless on-trend fashions and accessories, the toymaker said, adding, Because With Barbie You Can Be Anything!
Mattel tied the no-limits sentiment to the idea that girls everywhere will have infinitely more ways to spark their imagination and play out their stories, leaving room for hope of an understanding that self-esteem, confidence, respect and success do not depend on having a perfect body or hewing to societys worship of surface beauty.
Love or hate Barbie, the issues the doll represents remain fertile ground for artists, as demonstrated in a powerful show at ArtsWestchester in White Plains called SHE: Deconstructing Female Identity.
All this momentum might seem startling at a time when the traditional union movement is on its heels, with the percentage of private-sector workers in unions sliding to 6.7 percent. Indiana, Michigan, West Virginia and Wisconsin have all enacted anti-union, right-to-work laws since 2011. At least the Supreme Courts 4-4 decision last week saved the nations public-sector unions from a crushing defeat that would have hobbled their finances.
Theres still a lot of pro-labor, pro-worker sentiment, said Michael Kazin, a historian at Georgetown University who has written about populism and popular movements. Inequality is a big issue nowadays. The Fight for $15 has become the way that civil rights was in the early 60s its an issue you cant avoid. For politicians or at least Democratic politicians you want to be on the right side.
Fifty-nine percent of Americans, including 84 percent of Democrats and 58 percent of independents, support a $15 minimum wage, according to a survey by the Public Religion Research Institute, a nonpartisan research group. Just 32 percent of Republicans do.
The movement for a $15 floor has been partly fueled by the same frustration over wage stagnation and income inequality that has spurred the campaigns of Donald J. Trump and Bernie Sanders. More than 50 million workers earn less than $15 an hour, and many Americans are upset about the loss of millions of factory jobs and the explosion of low-paying service-sector jobs. Mr. Sanders has championed a $15 minimum, but Mr. Trump has attacked the idea, at one point saying that wages are too high. Hillary Clinton has called for a $12 minimum, leaving states and cities to go to $15 if they like.
The issue has motivated thousands of protesters to join the Fight for $15s periodic strikes: What started in one city ultimately swelled to protests in 150 American cities. By many measures, it has become the biggest labor protest in decades, with a wide spectrum of supporters, from college students and inner-city workers to janitors and nursing-home aides. The movement helped to get voters in the Seattle suburb of SeaTac to approve a $15 minimum wage, and not long after in Seattle itself and San Francisco, followed by Los Angeles and Pasadena.
Its not only opposition parties that are against the bill: The government-appointed Council of Islamic Ideology has also declared it repugnant to our religion and culture. The councils main task is to ensure that all the laws in the country comply with Shariah. But basically its a bunch of old men who go to sleep worrying that there are all these women out there trying to trick them into bed. Maybe thats why there are no pious old women on the council, even though theres no shortage of them in Pakistan.
The councils past proclamations have defended a mans right to marry a minor, dispensed him from asking for permission from his first wife before taking a second or a third, and made it impossible for women to prove rape. Its probably the most privileged dirty old mens club in the country.
Some of us routinely condemn these pious old men, but it seems they are not just a bunch of pampered religious nuts. In fact, they are giving voice to Pakistani mens collective misery over the fact that their women are out of control. Look at university exam results; women are hogging all the top positions. Go to a bank; there is a woman counting your money with her fancy nails. Turn on your TV; there is a female journalist questioning powerful men about politics and sports.
One of these journalists recently was grilling a famous mufti opposed to the bill. Bewildered, the mufti said: Are you a woman, or are you a TV journalist? She was professional enough not to retort: Are you a mufti, or just another old fart?
It wasnt supposed to be like this. Three decades ago, most Pakistani women who had paid jobs worked at menial tasks, and the others were confined to traditional professions like medicine or teaching or, occasionally, law. There was a small and brave womens movement. Women were writing novels and making movies, but they were few in number. Now they are flying planes, heading companies, policing the streets, climbing mountains and winning Oscars and Nobel Prizes. There are millions of women across the country running little beauty parlors from their homes, employing other women and gaining a measure of independence.
Two nearly identical apartments more than midway up 432 Park Avenue, the tallest residential tower in the Western Hemisphere, topping out at 1,396 feet, have sold, according to city records, and were the most expensive transactions of the week.
These purchases bring to 25 the number of official closings at the 96-story concrete-and-glass-clad condominium between 56th and 57th Streets, on what is known as Billionaires Row. So far, a little more than 70 percent of the 104 units in the building are under contract, a spokesman for 432 Park said.
The pricier of the two closings, No. 67B on the 67th floor, sold for $26,619,461.66 to a buyer identified as MINA NY LLC. The other unit, two floors below, No. 65B, sold for $25,601,211.66 to the more whimsically named limited liability company Why the Face.
Each of the sponsor units measures 4,019 square feet and has three bedrooms, four and a half baths and a library, with 10-by-10-foot square windows that provide open views south to the Statue of Liberty, west to New Jersey and north to the George Washington Bridge. The units also have private elevator landings, windowed eat-in kitchens and 12.6-foot ceilings.
An explosion of data has already changed how we market products and politicians. Now a similar innovation is beginning to change how we combat poverty around the world.
Consider an unlikely problem: finding the poor. Even in a world riddled with poverty, nearly every government, nonprofit and aid agency struggles with this issue. Where in Kigali should the Rwandan health ministry place a new health clinic? Which rural districts in India should receive rice at subsidized prices? All these decisions require not just knowing poverty exists, but pinpointing areas of greatest need.
But until very recently, the data commonly used to answer these questions came almost exclusively from countrywide surveys, which are expensive and logistically challenging. It is very difficult to randomly sample people in the rural areas of Bihar in India or in a slum like Kibera in Nairobi, Kenya, where even just mapping the streets is its own project.
These challenges make new kinds of data information that can be gathered indirectly using algorithms and novel sources particularly valuable. Google searches and Twitter and Facebook posts, which are very useful in the United States, are unlikely to help us in Kibera or Dhaka, Bangladesh. But the core idea behind these sources of data measuring without asking people directly can be enormously helpful.
PARIS The Paris art market, though far smaller than that of New York and London, is where collectors go for speciality events and dealers they cannot find anywhere else.
Drawings and design have been traditional Parisian strengths, and this week the boutique fairs Salon du Dessin, Drawing Now Paris and the Pavilion of Art and Design Paris, celebrated significant anniversaries.
Whether this model can thrive at a time when buying art, for many, has become more about investing than collecting and when the top end of the market has taken a dip is an open question.
The hundreds of French and international visitors who crammed into the Palais Brongniart, the old Paris bourse, on Tuesday night for the preview of the 25th Salon du Dessin, featuring 39 dealers, seemed to indicate that there is still life left in the market for master drawings, at least.
$30 Million Will Go Mainly for Scholarship Aid For First-Generation Nursing College-Goers
School to Be Renamed in Honor of Rory Meyers
NYU today announced a gift of $30 million from Howard and Rose-Marie Rory Meyers to its College of Nursing, the largest gift to an established school of nursing in the history of nursing education. Three-quarters of the gift - $22.5 million will be endowed as a fund for scholarships for low-income, first-generation college-goers with strong academic credentials, with the remainder to be used for academic and faculty support.
In recognition of the Meyers generosity, the school will be renamed the NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing in honor of Ms. Meyers, who is a nurse, and was the first in her immediate family to go to college. Mr. Meyers -- a 1964 graduate of NYUs Stern School, an NYU Trustee, and a member of the Stern Schools Board of Overseers is chairman and CEO of Quexco Inc.
The Meyers gift is the largest donation for undergraduate scholarship aid to NYUs Momentum Campaign, which aims to raise $1 billion for scholarships. The campaign has now raised over $565 million.
NYU President Andrew Hamilton said, I am not certain I have ever been involved in a philanthropic gift that is more fitting and, indeed, more loving than this. In honoring Rory in this fashion, the Meyers family in a single act strengthens a noble profession; makes a nursing degree affordable to those with great talent and modest means; supports academic excellence at NYUs nursing college; and, most importantly, honors Rorys life as a nurse for all time. Thanks to Rory and Howard Meyers generosity, generations of new students will join the profession, helping to alleviate not just patients suffering but also the professions shortage. NYU is very grateful to the Meyers for their generosity and for their faith in the College of Nursing.
The NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing with some 1,600 students, including over 700 undergraduates is one of the foremost schools of nursing in the U.S., and has been ranked in the top eight nationally in NIH funding in each of the last four years. Its students pass rate on the national license exam is routinely higher than national or state averages. And over 91% of the Class of 2015 was employed or in graduate school within six months; the average starting salary was over $80,000.
Eileen Sullivan-Marx, Dean of NYU Meyers College of Nursing, said, "This transformational gift is thrilling for our students, alumni, faculty, and the entire newly named Rory Meyers College of Nursing. We are immensely grateful for the confidence and support that this scholarship funding will bring to us for students most in need, enabling us to catalyze our efforts to further our research, education, and service to society. I love that Rory Meyers is a nurse and that her family sought to honor her by naming an established leader among schools of nursing."
Rory and Howard Meyers said, We know what it is like to be the first in your family to go to college. Its wonderful, but there can be a lot of challenges, especially financial. We couldnt be happier that our gift and the creation of the Rory Meyers Nursing Scholarship Fund will fulfill the dreams of many young people who might otherwise not have pursued a nursing degree, and all that goes with it personal accomplishment, family pride, and most of all a professional career focused on caring for those in need. The Meyers Family is especially honored that the Nursing College will be named after Rory, who has always taken great pride in her chosen profession, and particularly glad to think of all the students this gift will assist for years and years to come.
About the NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing
NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing is a global leader in nursing education, research, and practice. It offers a Bachelor of Science with a major in Nursing, a Master of Science and Post-Masters Certificate Programs, a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree and a Doctor of Philosophy in nursing research and theory development.
About New York University
Founded in 1831, NYU is one of the worlds foremost research universities and is a member of the selective Association of American Universities. NYU has degree-granting university campuses in New York, Abu Dhabi, and Shanghai; has eleven other global academic sites, including London, Paris, Florence, Tel Aviv, Buenos Aires, and Accra; and both sends more students to study abroad and educates more international students than any other U.S. college or university. Through its numerous schools and colleges, NYU is a leader in conducting research and providing education in the arts and sciences, law, medicine, business, dentistry, education, nursing, the cinematic and performing arts, music and studio arts, public administration, social work, and professional studies, among other areas.
DAMASCUS, Syria With Islamic State militants on the doorstep of his hometown in eastern Syria, Yaroob al-Abdullah had little time. He had already rushed his wife and four daughters to safety. Now he had to save the thousands of ancient artifacts he loved.
In a week of furious work in summer heat, tired and dehydrated from the Ramadan fast, the head of antiquities in Deir el-Zour province and his staff packed up most of the contents of the museum in the provincial capital. Then al-Abdullah flew with 12 boxes of relics to Damascus.
The pieces included masterpieces: A nearly 5,000-year-old statuette of a smiling worshipper. A colorful mural fragment from a 2nd-century temple for the god Bel. Thousands of fragile clay tablets inscribed with cuneiform writing, including administrative records, letters and business deals that provide a glimpse at life nearly 4,000 years ago in the Semitic kingdom of Mari.
The move, carried out in 2014, was part of a mission by antiquities officials across Syria to evacuate everything that could be saved from Islamic State extremists and looters. The extent of the operation has been little known until now, but its participants described to The Associated Press a massive effort at least 29 of Syrias 34 museums largely emptied out and more than 300,000 artifacts brought to the capital.
The pieces are now hidden in secret locations known only to the few specialists who handled them, said Maamoun Abdulkarim, who as head of the Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums in Damascus oversaw the operation. Other than that, no one knows where these antiquities are not a politician, not any other Syrian.
Theres much that couldnt be saved. The damage is most symbolized by Palmyra, the jewel of Syrian archaeology, a marvelously preserved Roman-era city. Islamic State militants captured it last year and proceeded to blow up at least two of its most stunning temples. Over the weekend, Syrian government forces recaptured Palmyra from the militants and discovered they had trashed the city museum, smashing statues and looting relics though fortunately about 400 pieces had been hidden away by antiquities officials before the Islamic State takeover.
Across the country, the destruction has been tragic. Wherever they overran territory in Syria and Iraq, Islamic State jihadis relentlessly blew up, bulldozed or otherwise tore down monuments they consider pagan affronts. They and other traffickers have taken advantage of the chaos from the 5-year-old civil war to loot sites and sell off artifacts. Even in the museums that were evacuated, some items were too large to move giant statues or ancient gates and murals and fell into Islamic State hands, their fate unknown.
But the 2,500 archaeologists, specialists, curators and engineers with Syrias antiquities department, including some who defected to join the opposition, have often risked death to protect what they can.
One 25-year-old woman led a military convoy carrying antiquities out of the northern city of Aleppo, a major battleground between rebels and government forces. Out of fear for her safety, she requested anonymity.
Guards at archaeological digs and other sites in areas now under Islamic State control secretly keep tabs on the ruins and feed Abdulkarim photo updates on WhatsApp. Several of them have been killed. Khaled al-Asaad, Palmyras retired antiquities chief, was beheaded by the extremists in August after spiriting away artifacts from the citys museum.
Ziad al-Nouiji, who took over from al-Abdullah as head of antiquities in Deir el-Zour, brought a second load of relics to Damascus last June. But otherwise he has remained in the government-held part of Deir el-Zour city.
He knows the danger: Islamic State militants besieging the area are hunting for him, posting his name on their Facebook pages as a wanted man. He relocated his family abroad but is staying put. This is my duty, my countrys right. If we all left the country and our duties, who would be left? he asked.
In the rebel-held northwestern city of Maarat al-Numan, archaeologists affiliated with the opposition protected the citys museum, which houses Byzantine mosaics. There the danger was from government airstrikes, so they erected a sandbag barrier with financial and logistical support from former antiquities directorate chief Amr al-Azm, who sided with the opposition. Last June, just after the sandbagging was complete, a government barrel bomb damaged mosaics in the outside courtyard, he said.
The heroes here are the Syrian men and women on both sides who are willing to risk their lives for their heritage, al-Azm said by telephone from Shawnee State University in Ohio, where he teaches. Thats what gives me hope for the future of Syria.
The antiquities authorities didnt take any chances, even clearing museums in government-controlled areas. At the National Museum in Damascus, the halls and galleries have been empty since the artifacts were hidden away in 2013 for fear rebel shelling could hit the building. In the pottery room, dust rings mark where the pieces once stood and only the labels remain.
In 2014, with EU funding, the U.N. cultural agency UNESCO began training Syrian staff in storing artifacts and helped establish a nationwide system to document their inventory. In Damascus last month, a team of archaeologists and archivists was still processing the collection brought from the Daraa Museum in southern Syria.
With a good team, a charismatic leader and our support they managed an extraordinary feat, said Cristina Menegazzi, head of UNESCOs Syrian heritage emergency safeguard project.
A vital crossroads throughout history, Syria holds a legacy from multiple civilizations that traded, invaded and built cities across its territory the Akkadians, Babylonians and Assyrians of ancient Mesopotamia, various Semitic kingdoms, the Romans and Byzantines, and then centuries of Islamic dynasties. The country is dotted with tells, hills that conceal millennia-old towns and cities, some of which have been partially excavated and many more that are still waiting to be discovered.
Deir el-Zour, a region along the Euphrates River, is rich with such sites.
Among them is Mari, the capital of a kingdom dating back to the early 3rd millennium B.C that grew on trade between Mesopotamia and the Levant for more than 1,000 years until it was crushed by the Babylonians. Its trove of thousands of tablets in the Akkadian language has given archaeologists a rich picture of the era. Upriver is Dura Europos, a city that grew under Roman rule in the early centuries A.D. and its ruins revealed evidence of perhaps the earliest use of chemical warfare, when Parthian invaders apparently used sulfuric smoke to smother Roman defenders during a siege.
In this rich environment, al-Abdullah and his peers grew up amid a heritage that inspired them to display such bravery.
The 48-year-old al-Abdullah said he developed a passion for archaeology as a child watching American and French excavators work in the ruins of Terqa, an ancient city buried under his hometown of al-Asharah. He later led 10 archaeological expeditions along the Euphrates.
In the summer of 2014, Islamic State militants declared their caliphate stretching across parts of Syria and Iraq. They swarmed over 90 percent of Deir el-Zour province and shortly after al-Abdullahs emergency museum evacuation mission took part of Deir el-Zour city.
Al-Abdullah, now the head of the Damascus museum, says it was as natural to save his hometowns heritage as it was to save his daughters.
People who worked in digging know what it is like to look for a certain piece and then to find it, he says. We consider this piece as one of our own children. As we fear for our children and family, we fear for those antiquities.
JACKSON, Miss. Government employees and private businesses in Mississippi could deny services to same-sex couples who want to marry under a bill passed by the House on Friday one of numerous attempts across the country to enact so-called religious protection statutes after a Supreme Court ruling that effectively legalized gay marriage.
Now, Republican Gov. Phil Bryant must decide whether to sign the bill into law.
Mississippi is among 10 states that have passed or are considering such legislation. Work on this bill started months ago, but the House vote Friday came a day after a federal judge blocked Mississippi from enforcing the last state law in the nation to ban same-sex couples from adopting children.
Bryant has often said he believes marriage should be between a man and a woman, but would not say Friday whether he will sign House Bill 1523 (http://bit.ly/1Mq4DyE ).
I havent gotten to it yet. As soon as it gets to us well look at it and decide, Bryant said as he walked away from reporters after a Capitol news conference about a youth jobs program.
The governors spokesman, Clay Chandler, tried to block reporters from asking questions by saying repeatedly: Not today. Not today.
Bryant said of the bill: Im going to look at it like I do every piece of legislation and as soon as I make that decision, Ill let you know.
He signed a 2014 bill promoted by gay marriage opponents, saying government cannot put a substantial burden on religious practices. This years bill is similar to the one Georgias Republican governor vetoed Monday amid objections from businesses that said it would permit discrimination.
The Mississippi bill is also similar to North Carolinas first-in-the-nation law that limits bathroom options for transgender people in government buildings. Business executives are urging North Carolina Republican Gov. Pat McCrory to repeal the bill he signed March 23. The Mississippi bill says people could not be punished for a belief that gender is set at birth. It says schools or businesses can set gender-specific rules about how a person dresses or which bathroom a person must use.
The Mississippi House passed the final version of the bill 69-44 Friday, two days after the Senate passed it 32-17. Republicans hold a majority in both chambers. Under the margins for final passage, there would not be enough votes to override if Bryant vetoes the bill.
Some corporations in Mississippi oppose the bill, including Nissan North America, which has a plant near Jackson; MGM Resorts International, which has casinos in Biloxi and Tunica; and Huntington Ingalls Industries, which has a shipyard in Pascagoula. All three are among the states largest private employers.
Republican Rep. Andy Gipson of Braxton, an attorney and pastor of a small Baptist church, told the House on Friday that reporting about the bill has been biased against it.
Ladies and gentlemen, dont buy the deceptions, the untruths of these articles that youve seen. The talking heads theyre wrong. This is an anti-discrimination bill, said Gipson, chairman of the House Judiciary B Committee and one of the bills sponsors.
Democratic Rep. Christopher Bell of Jackson called the bill an open container for discrimination across the board.
Were asking to legalize discrimination, Bell said. What comes next? Are we going to start discriminating against interracial marriages? Are we going to start discriminating against African-Americans? Asians? Jews? When does it stop?
The bill says the state could not punish people involved with foster care or adoption who teach children that marriage should only be between a man and a woman, that sex should only take place inside such a marriage and that gender is set at birth.
For the first time in more than a decade, the prevalence of autism and related disorders among children in the U.S. has stopped climbing.
According to a new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in 68, or 1.5 percent, of children is diagnosed with autism, Asperger syndrome or a related disorder by age 8 a rate unchanged from the last survey two years ago.
Its a good sign, said Anna Laakman, director of education and training at The Center for Autism & Neurodevelopmental Disorders in Santa Ana.
But she and other officials cautioned that its too soon to tell if the prevalence of children diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder has stabilized.
What we know for sure is that there are many children living with autism who need services and support, now and as they grow into adolescence and adulthood, said Dr. Stuart Shapira, chief medical officer for the agencys National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities.
The report draws on 2012 data from communities in 11 states, not including California. While the average stayed the same, the percentage of children identified with ASD ranged widely by community 1.2 percent in parts of South Carolina compared to 2.4 percent in areas of New Jersey.
This is the sixth such study by the CDC. Over the years, the tracking system has shown the frequency of ASD nearly doubling from one in 150 in 2002 to one in 88 in 2006.
While its clear that more children than ever are being diagnosed, questions remain about what has fueled the rise. The uncertainty is especially acute because while researchers have pinpointed certain risk factors, including genes and the environment, they still dont know all of the causes.
CDC director Thomas Frieden has said the jump could be attributed to better detection.
Still, this years report also says many children may not be getting identified as early as they could be.
In Orange County, Laakman said, its her job to make sure that enough educators and health care providers are trained to treat and work specially with ASD children, and that they know the early signs.
Were seeing quite a bit of autism, she said. Our goal is to train as many people as we can. We know theres a huge need.
Contact the writer: jchandler@ocregister.com and @jennakchandler on Twitter
Buoyed by gains in national polls, Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz returned to Orange County on Thursday, predicting he could catch up to front-runner Donald Trump and win the potentially decisive California primary.
Cruz spoke to some 200 supporters at the Pacific Club in Newport Beach on Thursday, where donors paid $1,000 per person to dine on braised short ribs and a Neapolitan mousse dessert.
Earlier in the day, Cruz met at the Hotel Irvine with about 100 potential delegates to the Republican National Convention as he and his team build a strategy for what could be a contested nomination.
At this point, there are only two candidates who have any plausible path to winning the Republican nomination: Donald Trump or me, Cruz said in a brief interview with the Register after the luncheon.
Cruz contended that Californians are increasingly uniting behind his campaign because he is the only one who can stop Trump.
Nationally, 65 to 70 percent of Republicans recognize if we nominate Donald Trump, its a train wreck. Hillary wins and wins big, he said.
California is one of several states holding primaries on June 7. If Cruz carries California and other key states, he could prevent Trump from securing the 1,237 delegates necessary to clinch the GOP nomination ahead of the convention.
Cruz was on a two-day swing through Southern California that included a dinner at the Beverly Hills Hotel on Thursday night and an television appearance Wednesday on the Jimmy Kimmel Live television show, where he joked that if he were in his car, getting ready to reverse and saw Donald in the backup camera, Im not confident which pedal Id push.
The latest USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll shows that Trump continues to lead and had the support of 37 percent of the California GOP voters surveyed, up from 24 percent in September. Meanwhile, Cruz, who was in single digits in the fall poll, saw his support grow to 30 percent.
The press was not allowed into Thursdays luncheon. Afterward, Cruz said he spoke about his priorities: jobs, freedom and security.
As president, Cruz said his first priority will be to bring jobs back to America. He also repeated a pledge to repeal President Barack Obamas health care overhaul, known as Obamacare. He said he would abolish the IRS and institute a simple flat tax so Americans could file their taxes on a postcard. Cruz said he would also stop amnesty, secure the borders and end sanctuary cities.
Robert Hammond, an Orange County Board of Education member, said he liked what he heard Cruz say about new, controversial educational standards. He wants to abolish Common Core.
Assemblyman Matthew Harper, R-Huntington Beach, said Cruz delivers a consistent conservative message that Republican voters are harkening for.
Even though Orange County is no longer the conservative stronghold it once was, it is still a significant source of votes, campaign cash and influential backers for Republican candidates.
Orange County is tremendously important. It was the birthplace of the Reagan revolution, Cruz said in the interview.
Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, R-Costa Mesa, helped coordinate the luncheon fundraiser and introduced the Texas senator to the donors. He called Cruz the Ronald Reagan of this generation.
Orange County may have changed, but the issues people care about are the same. Weve got lots of people who believe in free enterprise, in business ownership, in the right to own guns, Rohrabacher said in an interview.
While television cameras flanked the entrance of the club for a peek at the presidential candidate, some parents and friends with a Boy Scout troop from Costa Mesa Calvary Chapel were excited to see their boys participate in a brief flag ceremony before the lunch.
Said Jessica Carr, 47, of Costa Mesa: Ive been praying for Ted Cruz before he even decided to run.
Contact the writer: 714-796-7829 or rkopetman@ocregister.com
WASHINGTON After dozens of contests featuring cliffhangers, buzzer-beaters and a ton of flagrant fouls, were down to the Final Four: Sanders, Clinton, Cruz and Trump. (If Kasich pulls a miracle, hell get his own column.) The world wants to know: What are their foreign policies?
Herewith, four candidates and four schools: pacifist, internationalist, unilateralist and mercantilist.
Bernie Sanders, pacifist.
His pacifism is part swords-into-plowshares utopianism, part get-thee-gone isolationism. Emblematic was the Nov. 14 Democratic debate, which was supposed to focus on the economy but occurred the day after the Paris massacre. Sanders objected to starting the debate with a question about Paris. He did not prevail, however, and answered the first question with some anti-terror pablum that immediately gave way to an impassioned attack on his usual handful of billionaires.
Sanders boasts of voting against the Iraq War. But he also voted against the 1991 Gulf War. His reaction to all such dilemmas is the same anti-imperialist/pacifist reflex: Stay away, but if we must get involved, let others lead.
Thats for means. As for ends, Sanders foreign policy objectives are invariably global and universal, beginning, above all, with climate change. The rest is foreign-policy-as-social-work do-goodism, most especially undoing the work of U.S. imperialism.
Dont be surprised if President Sanders hands Guantanamo Bay over to the Castros, although Alaska looks relatively safe for now.
Closest historical analog: George McGovern.
Hillary Clinton, internationalist.
The Clinton/Obama foreign policy from Ukraine to Iran to the South China Sea has been a demonstrable failure. But in trying to figure out what President Clinton would do, we need to note that she often gave contrary advice, generally more assertive and aggressive than President Obamas, that was overruled, most notably, keeping troops in Iraq beyond 2011 and early arming of the Syrian rebels.
The Libya adventure was her grand attempt at humanitarian interventionism. Shes been chastened by the disaster that followed.
Her worldview is traditional, post-Vietnam liberal internationalism America as the indispensable nation, but consciously restraining its exercise of power through multilateralism and near-obsessive legalism.
Closest historical analog: the Bill Clinton foreign policy of the 1990s.
Ted Cruz, unilateralist.
The most aggressive of the three contenders thus far. Wants post-Cold War U.S. leadership restored. Is prepared to take risks and act alone when necessary. Pledges to tear up the Iran deal, cement the U.S.-Israel alliance and carpet bomb the Islamic State.
Closest analog: Ronald Reagan.
Donald Trump, mercantilist.
He promises to make America strong, for which, he explains, he must first make America rich. Treating countries like companies, he therefore promises to play turnaround artist for a foreign policy that is currently a hopeless money-losing operation in which our allies take us for fools and suck us dry.
You could put the Sanders, Clinton and Cruz foreign policies on a recognizable ideological spectrum, left to right. But not Trumps. It inhabits a different space because it lacks any geopolitical coherence. Its all about money. He sees no particular purpose for allies or foreign bases. They are simply a financial drain.
The one exception to this singular focus on foreign policy as a form of national enrichment is the Islamic State. Trumps goal is simple bomb the s out of them. Yet even here he cant quite stifle his mercantilist impulses, insisting that after crushing the Islamic State, hell keep their oil. Whatever that means.
Closest historical analog: King Philip II of Spain (1556-98).
On Jan. 20, one of these four contenders will be sworn in as president. And one of these four approaches to the world will become the foreign policy of the United States.
Dont say you werent warned.
If there is one thing at which California legislators excel, its proposing superfluous laws that purport to solve a problem when, in reality, the proposed fixes do little more than give the appearance of doing something of significance.
Case in point: Assembly Bill 1695 by Assemblyman Rob Bonta, D-Oakland, and AB1869 by Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez, R-Lake Elsinore. Both bills involve common inspirations of folly in state lawmaking, guns and public safety, respectively. Both measures were approved last month by the Assemblys Public Safety Committee.
Bontas Stop Illegal Gun Sales Act purports to target the flow of guns onto the black market just like the guns used in San Bernardino, as a press release by Bontas staff claims. We cannot wait any longer. The time to act is now, and with my colleagues in the Legislature, together we will tackle the scourge of gun violence, Bonta said.
With such inspiring language, one would think the bill might actually bring a halt to illegal gun sales. Alas, this isnt so. The bill reiterates that it is illegal to falsely report a gun as stolen or lost and requires the state attorney general to mail a notice to each person who applies to buy a firearm, informing buyers of laws related to gun trafficking and safe storage.
Aside from there being very little reason to believe mailing out pamphlets is really going to stop illegal gun sales or prevent terrorist shootings, the bills toughest component is a proposal to ban people convicted of falsely reporting a stolen or lost firearm from purchasing a gun for 10 years.
As a representative of the National Rifle Association noted at the Assembly hearing, this could easily result in people being prohibited from defending themselves for the offense of simply making an error in their reports. Further, depriving someone of the right to defend themselves over a misdemeanor offense that might not have anything to do with malicious criminal activity is not only extreme, but lacking in justification.
But does anyone honestly think a pamphlet would have prevented the shootings at the Inland Regional Center? Or that gang violence would be noticeably curbed by the threat of a 10-year ban on purchasing a firearm? I doubt it.
Just as AB1695 is unlikely to make a difference in public safety, neither will AB1869, which aims to make the theft of any firearm a felony and put the matter before the voters. Thats because Proposition 47, approved by voters in November 2014, made the theft of property valued under $950 a misdemeanor, thus making it theoretically possible that someone could steal a firearm for below that amount and only be given a relative slap on the wrist.
Thats what opponents of Prop. 47 charged in the lead up to the 2014 election, when the measure was overwhelmingly approved by voters. And yet, the epidemic of stolen firearms and mass wrist slapping for stealing guns has yet to materialize.
Thats probably because it is virtually impossible to steal a firearm without committing other felonies in the process. Stealing a gun from a house involves residential burglary. Then theres auto burglary for theft of a gun from a vehicle, or second-degree burglary for stealing from a commercial establishment. Its robbery if a gun is taken from a person by force or fear. And simply having it in your possession is a felony if youre already prohibited from having a gun.
While theres reason to be worried about the implementation of Prop. 47, lawmakers would probably be better off studying the actual impacts of the law instead of trying to make an already-illegal activity even more illegal.
Clearly, everyone wants to prevent crime, gun trafficking, illegal gun sales and gun theft. Unfortunately, state lawmakers seem content proposing utterly inconsequential, duplicative laws and overstating the potential of said laws to make the public safer.
DANA POINT Jim and Susan Watson have kept an eye on the harbor and its planned progress for nearly two decades.
The couple live in walking distance and are regulars at the Coffee Importer and the Ocean Institute. Theyre excited that plans to revitalize the harbor after years of talk are actually moving forward.
Its a plum project, said Jim Watson. There should be incredible interest in this. Im wondering how widely this project is being advertised and if foreign companies are being considered.
The Watsons were among about 100 people who attended a presentation Thursday evening by Brad Gross, director of the county-owned harbor, about the countys worldwide search for a developer for the revitalization project.
The event, held at the OC Sailing and Events Center, was the first public information meeting and a kick-start to the developer selection. Attendees included locals from Dana Point, Laguna Beach and San Clemente, harbor merchants, boaters and developers.
Gross provided an overview of the nearly 20-year plan, giving a brief history of the project and explaining the time line. The developer will design, permit, fund, construct, renovate and operate improvements within the harbor. The Board of Supervisors will select the winning bidder.
Supervisor Lisa Bartlett, a 25-year resident of Dana Point, said the project estimated to cost $150 million to $200 million is expected to turn the harbor into a more prominent Orange County destination.
The harbor takes in $82 million a year and employs 1,200 people. Its a destination not only for the local community but also for tourists.
The search for the harbor developer could take as long as 24 months, Gross said.
Were looking for someone who is more than just marina-savvy, he said. Someone that has that experience but also a broader range of expertise with specialty retail and hotels.
Audience members submitted questions to Gross. Some expressed concerns about whether current merchants would be given first right-of-refusal on new leases.
Gross said a year ago, merchants were given opportunities to sign new leases. While the county could draft a contract that gives it some control over what businesses open at the harbor, he said there was no guarantee the areas existing business tenants would be included, unless their current leases extend through the project-completion date. Any lease with remaining terms on it will be honored, he said.
Tom Hogan, of Pacifica Marina Development, was among a few interested developers at the meeting. Hogan said he has built marinas from California to Hawaii and has personal experience with Dana Point Harbor. He was one of the original partners to build the harbor 44 years ago.
I think its a great opportunity, he said.
Byron Kurt, a yacht club member and frequent paddler who regularly uses the harbor, said it is time for an upgrade.
It will be a huge undertaking and there will always be public outcry, he said. But its being done for the right reason. I want to make sure it evolves properly and that its transparent.
As the meeting let out, harbor walkers were out in droves.
Jody and Ray Payne said they walk the 3-mile stretch of harbor walkways almost every day sometimes even twice a day.
Its taken so long, Im not sure what well ever see, Judy Payne said. Whats most important is that the kids can still do their programs here, Judy Payne said. Thats what makes it so friendly. They come here from all over the county.
Ray Payne said upgrades are really needed though hes not excited about the giant storage barn being considered for dry dock boats. But he is happy about new vendors coming into the harbor.
Just because youre here now doesnt give you a right to be here permanently, he said. New businesses and hotels are good.
Contact the writer: 714-796-2254 or eritchie@ocregister.com
Cal State Fullerton researchers want to break through a wall of silence that keeps many first-generation Vietnamese Americans from seeking help for depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder that stem from losing their homeland.
By deeply interviewing 30 Vietnamese American seniors, the researchers hope to learn more so barriers can be unlocked.
Mental health isnt talked about in the Vietnamese community, said Vi Pham, who grew up in Little Saigon and is a graduate student helping conduct the study. You dont discuss problems outside the family, to avoid embarrassment or shame. Mental health is a stigma.
That stigma, Pham and others say, is greater in Little Saigon than elsewhere and can be overcome only through education.
Pham will interview the seniors in their native language. The questions will be open-ended: She will describe, for example, a woman with all the symptoms of depression and then ask the participants what they think.
Then professor Yuying Tsong, using $30,000 in grants to complete the study, will analyze the data.
Once we have a clear picture of how (Vietnamese American seniors) view mental health, we can develop programs and interactions trying to offer help in a way consistent to their cultural background, said Tsong, an assistant professor of human services at Cal State Fullerton. They dont even see it as something they can change.
The Vietnam War, a 20-year conflict between the Communist North and the republican South, ended in April 1975 with thousands of Southerners fleeing for the United States. Thousands more endured re-education camps and had to wait until the 1980s to escape, sailing on flimsy boats through pirate-infested waters.
Healing those emotional scars is difficult, experts say, especially among these seniors who often view poor mental health as either not really a problem or a sign of weakness.
I dont think they understand, Leslie Le, 83, of Santa Ana said of therapists. Who are they? They dont understand the situation. They cant understand, so I dont trust them.
A former colonel in the South Vietnamese army, Le has spent years feeling guilty and angry about the troops who died under his command during a foot retreat from the highlands when, he said, American bombers failed to reinforce him.
The troops under my command suffered a lot, Le said. That stays with me forever.
Le kept much of his guilt under control until 2006 when in short succession his wife and mother died and he had open-heart surgery.
It was a combination of both, he said, referring to the war and his personal tragedies. I had depression. I had anxiety attacks.
One of his three sons, all doctors, noticed something was wrong and spoke with Les physician. Le used anti-anxiety medicine for six months.
Then he switched to Zen.
You have to control your thinking, he said. You dont let sentiment control you. You control your sentiment.
Les thoughts on mental health are not uncommon in Little Saigon.
Many dont think depression is a problem, said Lana Nguyen, a health coordinator at a clinic run by the Vietnamese Community of Orange County.
Nguyens clinic has 70-80 Vietnamese Americans in a short-term mental health program. She said it takes a lot of time to get her clients to become comfortable with discussing mental health issues.
If you mention mental health, theyll say, Im not crazy; why are you making me go (to a therapist)? she said. So we have to let them know its OK to seek help.
Like Le, Tony Nguyen, 79, of Westminster fought for the South during the Vietnam War.
He doesnt talk about his war experience except to his closest friends.
When we first met, he would cry to me about it, said his wife, Frances Nguyen, 53. Thats rare for Vietnamese men. They are too proud.
Frances Nguyen said her husband has never been to a therapist and that if something is bothering him, he wont talk about it, especially with strangers. She chalks it up to culture.
Its how we are brought up, she said. Its not that we dont want help. You just learn to leave the past behind and not talk about what hurts you.
For that reason, the Fullerton researchers said, Little Saigon has a long way to go before issues such as depression lose stigma and shame.
Said Nguyen, the health coordinator with the Vietnamese Community of Orange County, Theres a lot more to do.
Contact the writer: 714-796-6979 or chaire@ocregister.com
Before Obamacare, health insurance companies routinely refused to sell policies directly to patients who had illnesses like AIDS, hepatitis C or heart disease. It should be no surprise to anyone, then, that once the Affordable Care Act required insurers to offer insurance to sick people, a lot more sick people signed up.
That was the basic conclusion of a new report on health insurance customers from the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, which analyzed health insurance for 4.7 million Americans in all 50 states. The report, which showed that new customers were sicker and costlier than people in the old individual insurance market, made a big splash Wednesday, because it suggested that the Obamacare markets were more troubled than many had expected.
The problem with the report, however, is that it did not really tell us how Obamacare has affected the individual insurance market. It did not say how expensive it was to pay the medical bills for the whole group of people who bought their own health insurance. It also did not say whether those people were more expensive and more sick than the associations members had expected when it devised its plans and chose its premium prices.
The health law requires that companies who sell individual insurance plans in a state need to mix together all of their customers into one big pool, so the premiums for the group cover the costs of caring for all the people. The goal is to make sure that insurers arent charging higher prices to groups of people who are likely to be sicker and more costly, while charging lower prices to groups it expects will be healthy.
Blue Cross Blue Shield plans are subject to this requirement. But its report treated the longtime, healthier customers and the newer, sicker ones as if they were completely separate groups. The real question for the health of the new Obamacare markets is the costs of caring for the two groups added together.
The New York Times asked the association if it could provide those numbers, and Eric Lail, a spokesman, said it would not be possible to calculate them in time for this article. Without real numbers, a review of the information that Blue Cross Blue Shield did provide suggested that people in the individual market are spending about the same amount on health care as people in the much larger market of policies provided through an employer.
The report showed that the newer customers were more likely than longtime ones to have chronic diseases, to go to the emergency room and to take prescription drugs. That makes sense, since the established customers were offered individual insurance only if they had clean bills of health when they signed up. One of the goals of the Affordable Care Act was to make health insurance accessible to people with a history of health problems. The report showed that, indeed, once the market was opened to them, they enrolled in the coverage and used it.
The implication of the report is that the individual market has been more costly than the association expected. Blue Cross Blue Shield offers a diverse set of plans, each with its own market size and pricing strategies. Lail said he couldnt provide an overall sense of what the insurance providers expected the market to look like, so we dont know whether the companies, on average, guessed right and charged premiums that covered their costs or guessed wrong and lost money on the business.
Some individual insurance providers have made it clear that they miscalculated who would buy their insurance, and ended up with losses. Across the country, 12 startup co-op plans have gone under, after charging too little for their plans to cover their costs. And UnitedHealth Group, a large for-profit health insurer with a small footprint in the exchange business, has hinted it may leave the new marketplaces after sustaining losses on last years plans.
Probably a lot of other insurers are having a similar experience in this market, Lail said. Perhaps were going to see that everyones prices are going to go up in this market.
Perhaps. Given the public signals from Blue Cross Blue Shield, United and other competitors, it seems reasonable to expect that a lot of insurance providers will try to raise their prices substantially next year. If they succeed, the change will make Obamacare more expensive for the federal government, which pays a portion of most peoples premiums, and for the small percentage of Americans who pay full price for their insurance.
People paying full freight may think twice about renewing their plans if prices rise substantially, so higher prices could put insurance out of reach. But a large majority of people who buy their own insurance now do so on a sliding subsidy scale established by the health law. For them, the subsidy formulas mean their share of the bill wont necessarily increase, even if all the prices in their market rise.
Because of all those subsidized customers, future premium increases arent necessarily signs of trouble for the Obamacare marketplaces. In most markets outside health care, there is jostling by competitors to pick the right price and get the most customers, and many startups fail.
Obamacare set up a brand-new market, and its not necessarily surprising that some companies made some errors in pricing their products. (Insurance premiums in 2014 were nearly 15 percent lower than the Congressional Budget Office had expected, which means at least some insurance experts basically predicted this problem.) If a lot of health plans charged too little for insurance in the early years, they can increase their prices in the future.
There are plenty of signs the market will continue to stabilize, said Larry Levitt, a senior vice president at the Kaiser Family Foundation, who studies health insurance markets. He described the new reports findings as unremarkable, and the coming price increases as a market correction.
WASHINGTON World leaders declared progress Friday in securing nuclear materials worldwide but warned of a persistent and harrowing threat: terrorists getting their hands on a nuclear bomb. It would change our world, President Barack Obama said.
Obama, addressing a nuclear security summit, said there was no doubt that if madmen in the Islamic State group obtained nuclear material, they would use it to kill as many people as possible. He urged fellow leaders not to be complacent about the risk of catastrophe and called IS the most active extremist group currently menacing the planet.
So far, no terrorists have gotten a nuclear weapon or a dirty bomb, Obama said, crediting global efforts to secure nuclear material. But he said it wasnt for lack of trying: Al-Qaida has sought nuclear materials, IS has deployed chemical weapons and extremists linked to the Brussels and Paris attacks were found to have spied on a top Belgian nuclear official.
We have measurably reduced the risk, Obama said. Still, he added, the threat of nuclear terrorism persists and continues to evolve.
At this years summit Obamas last major push on denuclearization deep concerns about nuclear terrorism have tempered other, more positive signs of the world coming together to confront the broader nuclear threat.
The U.N. Security Council members who brokered a sweeping nuclear deal with Iran held up that agreement as a model for preventing nuclear proliferation, as they gathered on the summits sidelines to review implementation of the deal.
Obama also spent part of the summit huddling with the leaders of South Korea and Japan about deterring nuclear-tinged provocations from North Korea, in a powerful show of diplomatic unity with two U.S. treaty allies. Similarly, Obamas sit-down with Chinese President Xi Jinping offered the two strategic rivals a chance to illustrate their mutual concern about the North, a traditional Chinese ally.
Undeterred, North Korea only hours later fired a short-range missile into the sea and tried to jam GPS navigation signals in South Korea precisely the kind of act that South Korean President Park Geun-hye had warned would trigger even tougher sanctions and more isolation.
Aiming to show concrete action to strengthen nuclear security, leaders came to the nuclear summit with commitments in hand, known in diplomatic-speak as gift baskets. The White House spelled them out in a flurry of fact sheets.
Latin America and the Caribbean are now free of highly enriched uranium, the White House said, praising Argentina by name for converting its remaining stockpile into a less dangerous form. Fissile materials like highly enriched uranium and separated plutonium are necessary ingredients to make nuclear bombs.
The United States, in newly declassified statistics, said its own national inventory of highly enriched uranium has dropped from 741 metric tons two decades ago to 586 metric tons as of 2013. And the U.S. and Japan announced theyd finished removing hundreds of kilograms of weapons-grade material from a Japanese research reactor, and pledged to do the same at another.
On the global front, a strengthened nuclear security agreement was finally poised to take force, extending protections for nuclear materials being used, stored and transported while enacting new criminal penalties for nuclear smuggling. Those tweaks were approved in 2005, but have sat dormant awaiting ratification from a critical mass of nations, reached only in the past few days.
Still, frustration over the slow pace of reducing nuclear stockpiles shadowed the summit. The absence of key players especially Russia further underscored the lack of unanimity confronting global efforts to deter nuclear attacks.
After six years of prodding by Obama and others before him, the global stockpile of fissile material remains in the thousands of metric tons. Whats more, security officials warn that the ingredients for a dirty bomb, such as cesium and cobalt, are alarmingly insecure in many parts of the globe.
Ahead of the summit, fewer than half of the countries participating had agreed to secure their sources of radioactive substances, which are widely present in hospital, industrial and academic settings. Obama said as the Islamic State is squeezed in Syria and Iraq, the world must anticipate it will lash out elsewhere, citing recent attacks in Belgium and Turkey as examples.
Obama has held four such summits in hopes of advancing the disarmament goals he set at the start of his presidency, when he declared in Prague that nuclear weapons were the most dangerous legacy of the Cold War. There are no clear indications the meetings will continue after his presidency ends early next year.
This summit is not the end of our quest to make the world safe from nuclear terrorism, Prime Minister Mark Rutte of the Netherlands said. He said the assembled leaders were passing the baton to international organizations. Should the need arise, I know that everybody here will be ready to return.
President Vladimir Putin of Russia, whose nuclear weapons stockpile is rivaled only by the stockpile in the U.S., declined to attend this years summit. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan, another nuclear-armed country, canceled his trip following an Easter bombing that killed 72 people.
Europeans voters are loudly voicing their frustration and anger across the continent, with a series of recent elections resulting in weak ruling coalitions and unstable governments. At a time when Europe needs strong leaders capable of make making bold decisions, it must, instead, grapple with insurgent populist groups carving support away from traditional center-left and center-right parties.
The challenges facing Europe are clear militant jihadi terror, mass migration from North Africa and the Middle East and the continued fragility of the eurozone economy. Any one of these would put a serious strain on the governing skills of most mainstream politicians. Combined, they pose particularly serious risks for the continued security and prosperity of the continent.
Given the predilection of parliamentary systems to produce large numbers of parties, with none having a sufficient majority to govern by itself especially where proportional representation ensures that even small niche parties receive a certain minimum number of representatives coalitions are a recurring feature in Europe. These coalitions often can be large and unwieldy, while other times they can produce strange bedfellows, where parties with vastly different visions are forced to cooperate in order to avoid institutional paralysis.
The recent regional elections in Germany are just one example of the inability of mainstream parties to prevent the allure of anti-migrant and anti-European Union parties from draining away their support. At the national level, voters in Ireland, Portugal, Slovakia and Spain returned an array of parties to their parliaments, many openly hostile to one another and none having a convincing mandate to lead their countries. Meanwhile, Belgium, Denmark and Sweden are governed by precarious governments dependent on the whims and follies of small king-maker parties.
In Spain, for example, three months have passed since the election, and a government still has not been formed. Instead of providing a clear mandate to either of the two traditional mainstream parties, a pair of newly formed insurgent parties captured over one-third of the vote, just enough to produce a highly effective stalemate.
Consensus is proving elusive in many European countries and across the EU. As a result, fragmentation is the new normal, and parties further out on the political spectrum are proving adept at giving voice to popular frustration and gaining votes as their reward.
In addition to anti-austerity parties on the far-left, far-right parties are effectively tapping in to widespread anti-migrant sentiment. Normally dominant center-left and center-right parties are in retreat, as many voters feel these parties are no longer fit-for-purpose and lack compelling solutions to their countries pressing problems. Perversely, rather than enabling their governments to take tough, controversial decisions, voters preference to back niche protest parties actually makes the task much more difficult as parliaments fragment and grind to a halt.
If the pendulum of voter sentiment does not swing back in favor of consensus in the near-term, mainstream parties will have to greatly improve their ability to assemble effective governing coalitions from larger numbers of highly opinionated, more ideologically pure splinter groups. Failure to do so could mean inertia and indecision at just the time when the security and prosperity of Europe may face their greatest threats since 1945.
Much hand-wringing has occurred in recent months over the rise of far-right parties in many countries. Comparisons with the 1930s are frequently being made by commentators and political leaders, who look on the economic wreckage from the 2008 global financial crisis that remains strewn across the continent and worry about youth unemployment rates that range from 25 percent to 50 percent.
Nervous eyes then gaze over at the far-right parties, who have been doing increasing well lately in winning seats at elections by pointing the finger at the real causes of misery in their countries. Whether its Frances National Front or Swedens Swedish Democrats or Italys Northern League or Austrias Freedom Party of Greeces Golden Dawn or Germanys Alternative fur Deutschland, support for extreme solutions or at least the willingness to verbalize such solutions as alternatives is gaining traction.
Of course, there has also been increased anti-austerity agitation, most notable in Spain, where the Podemos group has won power by pushing for an alternative to the harsh budget cuts that many blame for the continued fragility of the European economy. But it is the populist spread of anti-migrant and anti-Brussels sentiment by the far-right that has produced the most alarmist warnings from observers.
The most crucial question facing European voters may not be whether they approve of their mainstream parties. Instead, it may simply be whether they want an effective government addressing the challenges facing their country, or an ineffective morass of niche voices more comfortable in the echo chamber of never-ending debate than in constructing and implementing public policy.
Orange County writer and attorney Timothy Spangler hosts The Bigger Picture with Timothy Spangler, Sundays, 10 p.m.-midnight on KRLA 870 AM. Twitter: @timothyspangler
Buena Park police are asking the public to help identify a suspected kidnapper who tried to snatch a 10-year-old from a park Wednesday.
The child, whose gender was not released, was sitting on a bench at 3 p.m. in San Marino Park after being released from nearby San Marino Elementary School, 6215 San Rolando Way, said police Sgt. Bret Carter.
A man approached from behind, put his hand over the childs mouth, and dragged the child several feet before the victim was able to escape. The suspect fled.
The suspect is described as a heavyset white male in his 40s, standing 6 feet tall with brown hair and a goatee. He was wearing a red shirt, jean shorts, a red hat and sunglasses.
Investigators do not know if he left in a vehicle behind or where he might have fled to.
Anyone with information on the incident is asked to contact the Buena Park Police Department at 714-213-0213.
Contact the writer: 714-796-2478 or lcasiano@ocregioster.com
As a longtime subscriber to The Orange County Register (more than 30 years), I welcome its new owners, Digital First Media. Thank you for saving one of Orange Countys premier assets. Based on what I have read about your company, the Register will now be operated on sound business practices aimed at restoring profits, and thereby, the long-term viability of the newspaper. Full speed ahead, but please keep all the staff writers and Brian Calles Opinion section as is. They are welcomed daily guests at my kitchen table and on my tablet.
Avi Crane
Laguna Hills
Wage hike stupidity
Re: Wage deal heads to floor [Front page, March 31]: Why a $15 minimum wage? Why not $20 or $25, or even $30? Whats the rationale behind $15? We have no guarantees for the future. How about businesses fleeing California, which is already happening? What rationale exists in a minimum wage, anyway? As George Carlin succinctly put it, Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups. I know he had lawmakers in mind.
Bob Underwood
Yorba Linda
Politics worse in Texas
Can any good thing come out of Texas? I know it to be possible, I know some Texans who are intelligent, kind and caring, solid citizens.
The problem lies in the people who win election to office in that state, and then run for the office of president. First they stick us with the worst president in the last hundred years, then another former governor who threatened Texas secession from the Union, trying to be the next commander in chief, and now Ted Cruz who thinks its perfectly proper to shut down the government.
Having shown what he thinks of our government, Cruz is not fit to be president. But, on election day, if the American people have a brain fade and he wins the election, I wish him all the curses, insults, scorn and hatred that have been thrown at President Obama and his lovely family for nearly eight years now. What Trump has thrown at him will pale next to what will come.
Ed Pyle
Laguna Niguel
SANTA ANA A Santa Ana man faces up to five years in prison after admitting Thursday to aiming a laser pointer at an Orange County Sheriffs Department helicopter.
Mario Deleon Lopez, 35, pleaded guilty to aiming the laser pointer at deputies who were flying over Santa Ana on Nov. 14, a U.S. Department of Justice statement says.
After the green laser illuminated the cockpit of the helicopter multiple times, the flight crew was able to direct officers on the ground to a backyard in Santa Ana. Deleon was arrested, released and later indicted.
Law enforcement officials say reports of laser attacks on aircraft have increased dramatically in recent years, as the devices have become more affordable and widespread.
The lasers can distract flight crews, particularly while they are taking off or landing.
U.S. District Judge Andrew J. Guilford is scheduled to sentence Lopez on July 18.
Contact the writer: semery@ocregister.com
Southwest Airlines will fly from Long Beach Airport to Oakland International Airport starting June 5.
Southwest will have four flights a day in each direction. To celebrate the new services, $49 one-way tickets can be bought now through April 14 for travel June 5Nov. 4.
As we bring much needed competition to Long Beach this summer, our aim continues to be offering Californians the best value in air service, said Andrew Watterson, Southwests senior vice president of network and revenue, in a statement.
Nine commercial slots opened at the Long Beach Airport in December after studies showed the airport could add the flights without violating Long Beachs noise ordinances.
Of the nine new slots, Southwest was offered four, JetBlue was offered three and Delta two.
Southwest also operates flights out of John Wayne Airport. Last summer, the airline added flights to Seattle, Portland, Ore., Chicago, Austin, Texas, and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Southwest also added two nonstop routes in late November to Kansas City and St. Louis.
Contact the writer: hmadans@ocregister.com or Twitter: @HannahMadans
A world unified by one common language may be the stuff of science fiction, but entrepreneur Kevin Strom is working to create the next best thing.
Strom founded GlobeChat, a San Juan Capistrano-based company, to eliminate the divide of language through a text messaging service that instantly translates written messages into a recipients native tongue.
Lately, everything you see in the news is negative, said Strom, 47. People are being divided by religion, by race, by culture. The way to break down the barrier is to let people communicate.
Strom won two awards at Tech Coast Angels recent Celebration of Entrepreneurship for being an audience favorite and getting the highest marks from a panel of judges at the events fast pitch competition. With those awards, GlobeChat received free office space in Newport Beach and a $20,000 check. Today, the app and website go live.
The app functions like a combination of WhatsApp, Skype and Google Translate and is available in the iOS, Android and Windows app stores.
GlobeChat is real time. That is where I became very interested, because I can see that being addictive to users, said Dave Berkus, an angel investor who took a chance on over 100 early stage tech companies and was one of the judges at the fast-pitch competition. Their presentation was excellent. The need is there. The opportunity to be exposed to these bigger players that could absorb them made it attractive to investors.
The release of this latest texting medium comes when most people have access to and depend on cellphones. A study from Portio Research, a company specializing in mobile messaging analysis, found that 6.1 billion people have text-enabled phones, or about 84 percent of all people on the planet.
Of those cellphone owners, 2.1 billion people use social chat apps like WhatsApp, WeChat and Line or apps that serve as an alternative to texting and get around messaging fees. GlobeChat works between mobile devices, tablets and laptops and is available in 41 languages. Eventually, GlobeChat will cost 99 cents a year for users, but at the outset it will be free.
HOW IT WORKS
Strom said he met with a representative of the United Nations, which has shown interest in the company.
If they send a delegation to a country like Syria, and you have 20 people from 20 different countries and maybe the team leader is from the United States, its almost impossible for them to communicate with each other, Strom said. Now one person can send a message to 20 people and theyll all receive it in their own language.
The app uses a black background with light text and highlights when users are available to chat by illuminating a users avatar with a green ring around the users face. From the start, the company aimed to build the application with a simple aesthetic that is easy to navigate.
Our goal was to make it beautiful to look at and simple, Strom said. We wanted to make it classy. A lot of apps right now appeal to young kids. We wanted something that was the W Hotel or the Virgin Airlines of the tech world.
GlobeChat translates messages using a combination of the companys patent-pending software plus Bings translation function. The company filed a patent for a multilingual simultaneous translation platform. The Bing translator isnt perfect it doesnt account for slang but Strom said the technology will continue to improve.
Remember when cellphones came out and they were as big as our heads? They improved over time, Strom said. Were as good as we can be at this point in history. Were leveraging one of the best translation services in the world.
CLEARING HURDLES
As with any company, the road to making GlobeChat was filled with hurdles. For Strom, the journey to becoming an entrepreneur began with the death of his father in 2011.
For me, it made me realize I needed to focus in my life and maybe focus on helping other people, Strom said. I just decided Im going to stop being good at a lot of things and focus on being exceptional at one thing.
At 45, Strom retired from AT&T, sold the rental properties he owned in Texas and California, and poured himself into creating an app aimed at bridging the language divide. Strom invested $800,000 of his own money into the company.
At first, Strom didnt know where to begin. He didnt know where to find a talented programmer and posted ads on Craigslist and college campuses looking for the right person to bring his idea to life. Twice the companys software development needed to be scrapped and started from scratch, and Strom had trouble finding the right partners to make his vision a viable product. He now works with the companys director of operations, Josh Lagana, and marketing manager Brian Williams out of his newly built spacious home in San Juan Capistranos Mirador development.
Theres been an incredible amount of hurdles, Strom said. We never gave up. Any time you have to start something all over when youre one year or two years into development, its painful, but there was not a second of doubt. Ever. Basically starting again from square one a couple times just made us more determined to get to our goals.
Contact the writer: 714-796-2286 or lwilliams@ocregister.com
This was a historic week for working people one that reinforces why I am so proud to be standing shoulder to shoulder with fast-food workers, nurses, teachers and firefighters in the labor movement demanding a better life for all Californians.
On Monday, the Supreme Court deadlocked on a corporate-backed challenge to labor union rights. The stalemate resulted in upholding decades of Supreme Court precedent that preserves the rights of working people who form a union to ensure that union is protected from so-called free riders who dont pay their fair share for the benefit they receive.
That same day in Sacramento, Gov. Jerry Brown stood with fast-food workers and labor leaders from across the state to announce a historic deal that would make California the first state to raise its minimum wage to $15.
If it becomes law, the deal would:
Raise the wage to $15 by 2022 by increasing the minimum wage 50 cents in each of the first two years, followed by a $1 annual increase thereafter until it reaches $15.
Allow small businesses (25 employees or less) an additional year to reach $15.
Increase the minimum wage commensurate with the consumer price index annually, with a cap of 3.5 percent each year.
The deal allows the governor to pause the program based on increasing jobless claims and a state budget shortfall. And it leaves open the possibility for the Legislature to adjust the plan in the future.
As the plan was unveiled, Burger King worker Holly Dias and Gov. Brown embraced. For Holly and other low-wage workers, this deal means that soon, no California workers employed full time will live below the federal poverty line.
On Wednesday, the Assembly Appropriations Committee heard testimony from more workers before voting to approve the plan. The committees Republicans, along with Orange Countys only Democratic assemblyman, Tom Daly, dissented, solidifying their positions on the wrong side of history.
Thursday, both houses of the Legislature overwhelmingly passed the plan, sending it to the governors desk.
Increasing the wage will have an immediate and powerful impact on the lives of more than 5.6 million people 36 percent of the states workforce according to a UC Berkeley Labor Center analysis released this week. These are not teenagers working part time. Some 96 percent are adults, and nearly half have at least some college experience. They are family breadwinners.
When working people stand together in their unions and use their strength in numbers to advocate for fairness, we make our communities better. That is our history the unions of our grandparents generation created an American middle class that was the envy of the world.
This week, in the face of that American Dream slipping away, workers clawed back ground weve lost, moving us closer to addressing the income inequality that has shamefully defined this generation.
Those who will benefit from this increase may not be part of a union, but that didnt matter to the unions who worked so hard to make this deal happen. What matters to us, what mattered this week, is our absolute belief that in our country, anyone who works full time and plays by the rules should be able to live a decent life.
Jennifer Muir is general manager, Orange County Employees Association.
Teenager Rachael Tilly is returning home to Capistrano Beach this weekend after a spring visit to Australia, competing and receiving world-title surf accolades.
At the World Surf Leagues annual banquet March 7, she was awarded a cup engraved with her name as 2015 world womens longboard champion. At the Noosa Surf Festival, she placed second to Hawaiis Honolua Blomfield, who was world International Surfing Association junior champion in 2013. At the Australian Longboard Surfing Open, Tilly won two heats to reach the final before placing third in the final on Sunday.
All of this happened before she turned 18 on Thursday. The cup that she received in Australia is identical to the one she received on Hainan Island, China, in December when she won her world title, except that the earlier cup was generic and this one has her name engraved. While she didnt win either of the contests she entered in Australia, she had newspaper write-ups and TV interviews heralding her as world champion, and the surfers who outpointed her were characterized as upset victors.
In the final at the Australian Open, Brazils Chloe Calmon and Japans Hiroka Yoshikawa placed 1-2. San Clementes Tory Gilkerson took fourth.
Tilly is set to surf for San Clemente High School at the Scholastic Surf Series state tournament April 16-17 at Oceanside and is scheduled to try to defend her WSL world title Dec. 2-3 on Hainan Island.
Contact the writer: fswegles@ocregister.com or 949-492-5127
MWW Groups Michael Kempner, a staunch supporter of Hillary Clinton, who is shown with him on Kempners Facebook page, may get a greater role if she wins the Democratic presidential nomination.
MWW, hit with bad publicity last year when it hired former U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner who resigned in 2011 after revelations he sent sexually-suggestive emails to women, appears to be adopting a lower profile.
The firm, after five years of being in the ODwyer rankings, rising to No. 7 with $51.7 million in fees, dropped out this year. It has yet to submit its entry of staff and accounts for the 2016 ODwyers online Directory of PR Firms which was due Jan. 1, 2016.
Gina Cherwin
An MWW ad schedule for ODwyers was cancelled and the firm appears to be placing no ads in other media. Reports that Kempner might be selling the firm to devote full time to Clintons campaign were dismissed by Kempner via a statement issued by chief of staff Gina Cherwin. Citing "privacy," she would not give the names of the two women shown in the photo with Clinton and Kempner. They are his daughters.
Kempner said People speculate constantly about me leaving MWWPR for the world of politics. And while I consider it flattering, I am not considering anything except growing MWWPR into the biggest and best mid-sized PR firm in the world.
Cherwin was formerly director of campaign services for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. She was a fund-raiser for former Vice President Al Gores Alliance for Climate Protection from May 2009 to May 2011. Gore led a second of two marriage ceremonies for her and Joshua Jay Cherwin May 15, 2015 in Bridgehampton, N.Y.
Kemper Top Democratic Fund-Raiser
Kempner is a top fund-raiser for President Obama and Clinton. He is listed as a Clinton Hillblazer, having raised more than $100K for her campaign in 2015. He is deputy finance chairman, Democratic National Committee, and was deputy finance director for President Obamas campaign. He is a member of the Democratic National Finance Council.
Huma Abedin
Such political activism by a PR firm CEO is almost unheard of. Firms usually steer clear of identification with any political party in order to be attractive to company and association managements of all political persuasions.
Kempers close ties to Hillary and her No. 1 aide, Huma Abedin, the wife of Weiner, got the firm a bloody PR nose last year and could be the reason for attempts to lower its profile.
Abedin has known Clinton since she was a 19-year-old college student and is sometimes referred to as Clintons surrogate daughter. She was deputy chief of staff for her when she was Secretary of State.
Abedin Helped Weiner Comeback
She was the linchpin of his attempted political comeback after Weiners resignation from Congress, said a New York Times article Jan.19, 2016. It says Abedin is best known as the closest aide to Hillary Clinton.
Republican lawmakers have questioned Abedins arrangement to accept outside income as a consultant while working for Clinton at the State Dept., said the article. The Dept. made an inquiry as to whether she was overpaid nearly $10,000 by the government while on maternity leave in 2012.
Abedin had a leading role in a film on Weiners run for mayor of New York in 2013. But instead of helping Weiner, the film gave an unfettered look at the implosion of Weiners mayoral campaign and a wrenching inside account of the couples interaction in the aftermath of his second explicit texting scandal, said NYT.
Despite those two episodes, MWW in July 2015 named Weiner to its board of advisers, saying he will provide counsel on the workings of Congress and the City of New York. He was described as a brilliant strategist [with] expertise on many issues who would be a great asset to our firm.
The New York Post story of July 23, 2015 by Carl Campanile covered details of Weiners emails for which he used the name Carlos Danger. Campanile wrote that Weiner was the last person in the world that most people would call on to dispense advice on dealing with a scandal.
Obvious conjecture is that Kemper hired Weiner as a favor to Abedin but the move backfired. Two stories ridiculing the appointment of Weiner to MWW ran in the NYP. If you find yourself in a p.r. nightmare, theres a swashbuckling new hero you can turn toCarlos Danger, wrote Campanile July 23, 2015.
Disgraced former Congressman Anthony Weiner is out of work again after just two months on the job at the powerhouse PR firm MWW, wrote NYPs Arthur Schwartz on Sept. 16, 2015.
ODwyer Editor Who Joined MWW Praised Weiner
Kevin McCauley, who joined MWW last October as VP for editorial services after 26 years with the ODwyer Co., had praised Kempner for hiring Weiner in a posting July 23, 2015.
MWWPR made a shrewd and gutsy move that puts the New Jersey born (East Rutherford) firm on the Big Apples radar, he wrote, adding, Weiner is a straight-talking no BS, street-smart guy, a personality-type found lacking in most large PR firms. Before triggering his own downfall via the texting fiasco, he was the most powerful Democratic politician in the city. Hes NYC through and through. A guy who gives street cred to MWW.
Kempners personal Facebook site has numerous political items including those about Donald Trump who may face Clinton for the Presidency in November.
Kempner Praised 2015 Chair Joe Cohen
Kempner in 2013 had high praise for 14-year staff member Joseph Cohen who was named to the PR Week/U.S. 40 under 40 list, described by the magazine as Among the industrys most prestigious honors.
Kempner himself was PR Weeks PR Professional of the Year for 2015.
Cohen in 2013 was chair-elect of PR Society of America. He supported giving Society chief of staff Bill Murray the additional title of CEO. That title is usually in the hands of the elected head of a professional association. Murray then handed in his resignation in March, 2014. Cohen's past positions at the Society are listed in his LinkedIn entry:
- National Chair (2014)
- Director, National Board (2011 to 2015)
- Tri-State District Chair (2010)
- President, New Jersey Chapter (2009)
- Vice President, New Jersey Chapter (2008)
- Board Member, New Jersey Chapter (2006/2007)
Kempner, commenting on the PRW/U.S. award in 2013, said that since joining MWW 14 years ago, Joe has risen to become a leader at MWW and in the communications Industry. He embodies MWWs culture and values which focus on providing strategic, results-driven innovative thinking that sets new best practices for our firm and our clients.
Cohen was called a shining example of MWWs ability to retain and cultivate our best talent and is a role model and aspiration to our young professionals who have seen Joe grow his career at MWW.
Cohen joined Kind Snacks, New York, in September 2014 as senior VP of communications.
Kempner, Cohen Unbothered by PRSA Boycott
Cohen, active in PRSA chapter and then national leadership since 2006, never had anything to say about nationals policies which bar reporters from accessing the audit each April and have barred the ODwyer Co. from exhibiting its five news and informational products at the national conference since before 2000. He refused to deal with any O'Dwyer staffer either by email, phone call or in-person visit during his year as chair.
A complaint charging the Society with anti-competitive activities was filed March 18 with the Federal Trade Commission. FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez on Aug. 13, 2015 announced FTC would use its Stand Alone Section 5 Authority to address unfair methods of competition. Complainants do not have to file a lawsuit to get FTC action.
The promotion of consumer welfare is a cornerstone of the FTCs antitrust enforcement, she said.
Abusive PRSA Practices Ignored
Both Kempner and Cohen must have known about the beat-you-to-a-pulp threat to Jack ODwyer by an Assembly delegate at the 2010 conference in Washington, D.C.
They must be aware of the anti-New York policies of national leadership dominated by Accredited members (who hold 16 of the 17 board seats) that has resulted in one national conference in New York since 1992a 24-year period. Nor are any planned for the future. Meanwhile, the conference has been in Washington, D.C., twice (2010 and 2014) and Philadelphia twice (2007 and 2013).
The New York chapter accepts this and other instances of being treated like a poor cousin including the 2004 move of h.q. downtown to 33 Maiden lane after being in midtown and midtown South from the Societys founding in 1947 to 2004.
Neither ODwyer reporters nor any reporters are allowed access to the annual audit published each April. Adequate coverage of the Society is not possible without access to the financials in a timely fashion. Reporters are barred from joining the Society and therefore to the 22,000 membership list. Up until 2005, when the members directory was discontinued, free copies of the directory were sent to many reporters and provided to any who asked for it.
Laura Kane, who was named chief communications officer of the Society earlier this month, has continued to enforce the ODwyer boycott, refusing to respond to phone calls or emails. She must be aware of the Societys history with the press and New York chapter and its refusal to provide timely financials to reporters.
She spent most of her career, from 2003-2014, with Aflac insurance in Atlanta, rising to VP-corporate communications. She was at Marsh (insurance) in New York from October 2014 to March 2016 (18 months) as global head of media relations and external affairs.
Fraser Seitel
Barring a last-minute Hail Mitty by panicked Republican leaders at the July Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Donald Trump will be the partys candidate for U.S. president.
On the record, Democrats voice concern that Trump has significant crossover appeal, particularly with disaffected white working men. But dont believe it. Beltway Democrat insiders dont think Trump has a prayer against Clinton in the general election.
First, according to every poll, women cant stand him. Second, according to the same polls, nonwhites and Millennials dont have much use for him either. Then there are the Hispanics, who now number 17 percent of the U.S. population and probably are a bit peeved about that wall Trump promises to build. Finally, there are the panicked Republicans whove already admitted they cant bring themselves to vote for Trump.
While Democrats wont admit it publicly, they believe absolutely, Trumps negatives will translate into their candidate sweeping traditional Democratic strongholds like California, Illinois, Michigan, New York, and New Jersey, clinching about 90% of the electoral votes needed for election.
So how then could Donald Trump possibly beat Hillary Clinton? Heres a five-part prescription, if Trump is willing to swallow it and thats a pretty big if that could make the election a lot closer.
Talk inner city job building
Trumps greatest and perhaps only strength is that he has created jobs. True, many of them have been lost through various bankruptcies and failed enterprises, but compared to Hillarys zero job creation record, Trump has the clear edge.
This is especially important in wooing the African American vote, where inner city poverty pockets from the South Bronx to Chicagos Southside to downtown Memphis to Los Angeles South Central are bereft of employment and rife with crime.
Trump should make a direct pitch to African American voters, who have remained loyal to the Clintons for a quarter century, despite lofty promises from Democrats over the decades that have failed to improve conditions. Trump should expose this and present an inner city job-building alternative, which conceivably could disrupt this traditional Democrat stronghold.
Talk trade parity
Hillary Clinton, like most establishment politicians, is ardently in favor of free trade. But Trump questions how, or even whether, free trade has benefitted U.S. labor. And his protectionist message has struck a chord, particularly with union members, another traditional Democrat voting bloc.
Free traders, of course, are apoplectic that were Trumps tough talk enacted in an inextricably interrelated commercial world, the results would be catastrophic, with important overseas markets effectively being closed to U.S. companies.
But elections are about votes. And Trumps promise to renegotiate tougher trade deals has great appeal in key swing states like Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.
Question Hillarys achievements
Its axiomatic that Americans in 2016 simply dont like politicians. Hillary Clinton is a career politician, who, according to most polls, is neither trusted nor liked by a majority of her fellow citizens.
So, Hillary is vulnerable. But that doesnt mean that Trump will win by going after her physical appearance or even her speaking style (which has been noticeably toned down in recent days). Indeed, despite the fact that Trump triumphed in the primaries by getting nasty and personal with his adversaries, he should resist bullying Hillary.
Rather, he should go after Clinton on her achievements, or lack thereof. As New York Senator, there is precious little at which to point, other than helping pass a bill benefitting Army Reservists and National Guard members. As Secretary of State, Clinton gets credit for talking about womens issues and traveling a lot. But compared with the record of her successor, John Kerry who opened Cuba, negotiated a treaty with Iran, battled the Russians in Ukraine and engaged them in Syria, traveling nonstop to world hot spots Hillarys successes seem like rather thin gruel.
In fact, after 40 years at the highest level of U.S. politics, Clinton has precious little successes to show for it, beyond a personal net worth of $30 million. And Trump should exploit her lack of tangible accomplishments.
Go After Bubba
On the other hand, if the Democrats make the mistake of allowing Bill Clinton to attack him, Trump should come out with all guns blazing.
The former Presidents embarrassing ethical record, from his liaisons as governor of Arkansas to his dalliances with interns in the Oval Office to recent accusations of his friendship with convicted pedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, are all fair game for Trump. All Bill has to do is continue his role as Hillarys attack dog, and he will face as withering and personal a counterattack as any politician has ever experienced.
And Trumps blowback on Bills record regarding the treatment of women will redound to his wifes detriment.
Talk tough internationally
Finally, Trump should double down on his tough talk about acting harshly with Americas enemies, particularly ISIS and radical Muslim extremism. On the one hand, Trumps brazen bashing of Muslims, Mexicans, and immigrants has gone way beyond the pale and must be dialed back in the general election.
On the other hand, polls indicate that after Paris, San Bernardino and Brussels, Americans consider terrorism the nations number-one problem. If Hillary isnt ready to identify radical Muslim extremism as the enemy and ratchet up the rhetoric about defeating ISIS and its sympathizers, Trump can seize the advantage.
Moreover, if, heaven forbid, there is another terrorist attack on U.S. soil before the election, it would unquestionably benefit a Trump candidacy.
Would the notoriously shallow and self-centered Trump be willing to follow advice like this? Probably not. And even if he did follow this type of campaign blueprint, would it be enough to wrest swing states like North Carolina or Colorado or Florida into the Republican column. Not likely.
On the other hand, how many people ever expected Donald Trump to be the Republican candidate for president?
* * *
Fraser P. Seitel has been a communications consultant, author and teacher for 40 years. He may be reached directly at [email protected]. He is the author of the Prentice-Hall text The Practice of Public Relations, now in its 12th edition, and co-author of Rethinking Reputation and Idea Wise.
Financial consultancy and technology communications firm Cognito has been named U.S. agency of record for business accelerator network Startupbootcamp FinTech, and will partner with that network as it launches its newest accelerator program in New York.
Startupbootcamp gives startups access to an international network of partners, investors and mentors. Primarily based in Europe with programs in Amsterdam, Berlin, Copenhagen, Eindhoven, Istanbul, Barcelona and London, as well as Singapore Startupbootcamp in November launched its New York location with a focus on financial technology. It is the networks third such program to focus on this specialty (similar programs have been established in London and Singapore). The network maintains a second U.S. location in Miami, which focuses on healthcare.
Startupbootcamp's New York program will pair startups with mentors and offer an accelerator class comprised of ten companies that will work out of Startupbootcamps Midtown office for three months, receiving mentorship, funding and investor access as teams work to build successful financial technology products.
The New York effort is backed by financial brands Rabobank, MasterCard, Thomson Reuters, Route 66 Ventures and Santander.
As part of the partnership, Cognito will help raise awareness of Startupbootcamp FinTechs brand and media profile in New York, providing marketing and communications support for the financial technology accelerator in a bid to spread its message and attract top talent.
Cognito Americas managing director Gregory Papajohn will serve on the Startupbootcamp advisory board, and will mentor companies on marketing and communications strategy. Papajohn has previsouly worked with startups such as Adyen, Marqeta, OpenFin, TickerTags, Viewpost, Wunder Capital and Xignite. He also co-founded Cognito Ventures, which was created to meet the communications needs of private, venture-backed firms.
New York-based Cognito, which was founded in 2000, currently partners with Startupbootcamps Fintech Singapore and London programs. The firm holds additional offices in London, Los Angeles and Singapore.
01/04/2016 - Tax revenues in African countries are rising as a proportion of national incomes, according to the inaugural edition of Revenue Statistics in Africa. The report, which contains internationally comparable revenue data for eight African countries, accounting for almost a quarter of Africas total GDP, will be discussed on Sunday 3 April in Addis Ababa during the 2016 African Union (AU) Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) Conference of Ministers.
In 2014, the eight countries covered by the report - Cameroon, Cote dIvoire, Mauritius, Morocco, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia - reported tax revenues as a percentage of GDP ranging from 16.1% to 31.3%. Since 2000, all of these countries experienced increases in their tax-to-GDP ratios. The size of these increases ranged from 0.9 percentage points in Mauritius to 6.7 percentage points in Tunisia. Morocco, Rwanda and South Africa had increases of around 5 to 6 percentage points. In comparison, the OECD average of 34.4% was only 0.2 percentage points higher in 2014 than in 2000.
Revenue Statistics in Africa is produced jointly by the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF), the African Union Commission (AUC), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the OECD Development Centre with the support of the European Commission. The data has been assembled and presented in close collaboration with the governments of the participating countries. The report was conceived as part of the AUCs Agenda 2063, which aims to develop and implement frameworks for Policies on Revenue Statistics and Fiscal Inclusiveness for Africa.
The increases in tax revenues in African countries reflect continuing efforts to mobilise domestic resources, as well as the result of tax reforms and modernisation of tax systems and administrations. The biggest driver of tax increases since 2000 in countries covered by the report has been rising taxes on income and profits, and more specifically increases in corporate income tax revenue. There were also substantial increases in Value Added Tax (VAT) revenues.
Some African countries are significantly dependent on non-tax revenues, and more specifically on grants such as foreign aid and resource rents together with other property income. The countries with the lowest national incomes covered by the report had relatively higher non-tax revenues, which tend to be more volatile than tax revenues, making their finances less stable and predictable.
A special chapter in the report describes the benefits and limitations of collecting comparable data and how these issues relate to Africa. The new database responds to a demand from governments, citizens and policy makers for reliable and comparable revenue data to inform fiscal policy and provide a basis for the implementation of future reforms. The eight African countries covered by the new report will be added to the existing Revenue Statistics databases, which now cover 66 countries worldwide, allowing for greater international comparison, policy dialogue and co-operation between countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean and the OECD.
KEY FINDINGS
Tax to GDP ratios
In 2014, the tax-to-GDP ratios in the eight African countries covered ranged from 16.1% to 31.3% (the OECD average is 34.4%).
Tunisia had the highest tax-to-GDP ratio in 2014 (31.3%), followed by Morocco (28.5%).
Cameroon and Rwanda had the lowest tax-to-GDP ratios in 2014, at 16.1%, followed by Cote dIvoire (17.8%).
All eight countries saw increasing tax-to-GDP ratios over the 2000-14 period. These increases ranged from 0.9 percentage points in Mauritius to 6.7 percentage points in Tunisia. Morocco, Rwanda and South Africa had increases of around 5-6 percentage points.
Tax structure
The share of taxes on incomes and profits in total tax revenues is highest in South Africa, at 51.2 % in 2014. The share of personal income taxes in South Africa is higher than the OECD average, whereas it is lower for the other participating African countries.
The shares of corporate income tax revenue to total tax revenues were significantly higher than the 8.5% OECD average. In six of the eight African countries these shares ranged between 13% and 18%.
Consumption taxes yielded the largest share of the total tax revenue over 55% - in Cameroon, Cote dIvoire, Mauritius, Rwanda and Senegal. With the exception of Cote dIvoire, more than half of this category of revenue is generated by VAT.
Tunisia and Morocco displayed a more evenly spread tax mix compared with the other countries: around 30% of tax revenues came from taxes on incomes and profits; around 35% to 40% was from consumption taxes; and 20% to 28% was from social security contributions. The share of social security contributions to total tax revenue is far smaller in the six Sub-Saharan countries, ranging from 1.5% in South Africa to 11.3% in Cote dIvoire.
Non-tax revenues
The total non-tax revenues collected as a percentage of GDP in 2014 ranged from 0.6% of GDP in South Africa to 9.5% of GDP in Rwanda.
Press contacts
African Union Commission Alix-Elodie Levry (LevryA@africa-union.org; +251 11 5517700)
ATAF Dr Nara Monkam, ATAF Director of Research (nmonkam@ataftax.org; +27 12 451 8811)
OECD Press Office Lawrence Speer (Lawrence.Speer@oecd.org; +33 1 45 24 79 70)
OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration Maurice Nettley (Maurice.Nettley@oecd.org; +33 1 45 24 96 17)
OECD Development Centre Bochra Kriout (Bochra.Kriout@oecd.org; +33 1 45 24 82 96)
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Recently, we flew to San Diego to visit my sister, and she asked me when I would let my boys fly out to see her on their own. Its a good question, and it got me thinking.
The first time I ever flew on an airplane was circa 1997, and I was a 15-year-old girl with big hair and big teeth.
Of course, I wasnt flying alone. I had a whole entourage made up of parents, a sister and even grandparents along with me. And as annoying as family can be when you are 15, I think I would have dropped dead if my parents had said they were sending me on a flight alone.
Fast forward 19 years, and Im a 30-something woman with 9 and 6-year-old boys who are already more well-traveled than I was at 15. Still, I cant imagine sending them on a flight alone just yet.
Of course, alone isnt really alone when it comes to minors flying. The airlines are happy to provide an escort for your child, and, in fact, require it in exchange for some cold, hard cash. Most major airlines charge an additional $150 each way for a minor to fly alone.
The question is, what qualifies as a minor? Thats where things get a little fuzzy. Back in the day, at the ripe old age of 15, I would have been considered an adult (or at least not a minor) when it came to flying solo on most airlines.
But according to news report from Kare11 News, the top three largest airlines have recently upped the definition of a minor, requiring escorts for children as old as 15 with some other airlines upping the age to 17.
So while the jury is still out on who officially qualifies as a minor when it comes to flying alone, the gavel has dropped in our house.
My kids wont be flying alone for a good, long time. I dont think they are mentally or emotionally ready just yet. Add to that the hefty fees for a minor flying alone, and it just seals the deal. Tickets are expensive enough the way it is!
How about you? Would you ever let your child fly alone? If so, at what age?
***
Jenni DeWitt is married and has two sons, the youngest of whom battled childhood leukemia and won. Jenni writes weekly for Momaha.com. She is the author of "Forty Days" and "Why Won't God Talk to Me?" You can read more about Jenni here.
U.S. farmers plan to sow 93.6 million acres of corn in 2016, exceeding all analyst estimates and boosting prospects for higher supplies after this years harvest.
The acreage would represent a 6.4 percent increase over last years plantings and would be the most since 2013, according to a report Thursday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Farmers also told the government that they intend to reduce soybean planting to 82.2 million acres, compared with 82.65 million in 2015.
The increase in corn acreage is mainly due to the expectation of higher returns in 2016 compared with other crops, the USDA said.
U.S. growers are facing a drop in profit for the third consecutive year to $54.8 billion as persistent surpluses depress crop and livestock prices, the USDA said in February. The hard times follow an era of record profit that peaked at $123.3 billion in 2013, when rising global demand combined with a domestic drought that crimped production.
Ample harvests since then are boosting supplies of major U.S. crops. Corn inventories as of March 1 in the United States, the worlds biggest grower, rose 0.8 percent from a year earlier to 7.81 billion bushels, the government said in a separate report. Thats the highest for this time of year since 1987.
Employees who work in the building at 6902 Pine St. will be transferred to other offices in the city, First Data said. A spokesman said there wouldnt be any jobs lost because of the sale. The company still will own the nearly 300,000-square-foot building next to the one being sold; First Data still will operate out of that building, the spokesman said.
Steve Esmond, Theresa Devine and their teenage sons were on a vacation. The Delaware family was visiting the U.S. Virgin Islands in March 2015 and was staying in a resort in St. John.
But during the Caribbean trip, a unit below the one in which the family was staying, was fumigated.
Esmond, Devine and their sons were exposed to methyl bromide, a restricted-use pesticide, which would leave them hospitalized with severe health problems, reports indicate.
Theyre just one of those families that everyone loves to be around, an acquaintance told an ABC affiliate in the wake of the familys poisoning. Its just horrible.
Terminix International Co. and its operation in the Virgin Islands have agreed to pay $10 million in penalties for using the pesticide, the Justice Department announced this week. The plea agreement, filed in the U.S. District Court of the Virgin Islands, still needs to be approved, a press release states.
When misused, highly toxic pesticides can have catastrophic consequences, and thats why those who are certified to apply them must do so responsibly and lawfully, Assistant Attorney General John Cruden said.
His statement continued: The facts in this case show the Terminix companies knowingly failed to properly manage their pest control operations in the U.S. Virgin Islands, allowing pesticides containing methyl bromide to be applied illegally and exposing a family of four to profoundly debilitating injuries.
The familys ordeal began in March 2015, when two Terminix employees visited the Sirenusa resort, according to court documents. They taped and sealed the kitchen area in a lower-level unit of a building there and released methyl bromide.
The exterminators didnt know that Esmond, Devine and their sons were staying in the upper-level unit of the building, the plea agreement states. The methyl bromide migrated to the upper unit, and a few days later, the family was hospitalized with neurological symptoms.
***
A judge stopped Anthony Garcias scheduled quadruple-murder trial in its tracks Thursday causing a spectacle rarely seen at the Douglas County Courthouse:
A high-profile defendant without a defense team.
Thats where Garcia, sitting at the end of a long courtroom table in his yellow jumpsuit, found himself Thursday.
In a hastily called afternoon hearing, Judge Gary Randall allowed two local attorneys, Dan Stockmann and Jeff Leuschen, to withdraw from Garcias defense team a move that stripped Garcias Chicago defense team of their temporary right to practice law in Nebraska.
I dont know that I have the right to tell them they cant withdraw, Randall said, citing ethical concerns raised by Stockmann and Leuschen.
He turned to the Mottas.
As of now, he said, You no longer have the right to practice law in Nebraska. Well (delay) the trial.
Garcia was supposed to go on trial Monday on charges that he, as revenge for his firing from Creighton University Medical Center, killed four Omahans associated with the program, including Dr. William Hunters 11-year-old son, the Hunters 57-year-old house cleaner, and Dr. Roger Brumback and his wife.
With Randalls decision, the trial is delayed indefinitely.
But Randalls decision didnt address the meat of the issue: whether Alison Motta, husband Robert Motta Jr. and father-in-law Robert Motta Sr. should be allowed to continue to represent Garcia.
Before Randall gets to that issue, the Mottas have to find an attorney who is willing to offer them a guest pass to practice law on that lawyers license.
If the Mottas obtain local counsel, Randall will set a hearing on the merits of whether the Mottas should remain on the case. That could happen within the next few weeks.
The case caused a stir at the courthouse. About 20 attorneys sat in the gallery and gathered in the rotunda afterward, buzzing, as the Mottas left the courthouse to begin their search.
Among them: J. William Gallup, who has been representing criminal defendants for 52 years.
Ive never seen anything like this, Gallup said. Theyre out of this case right now.
I thought it was a brilliant move by the judge that (for now) avoids all the issues that have been raised.
Thursdays derailment was a product of an unprecedented pileup of issues:
First, the Mottas declared Friday, Monday and again in a motion Thursday that DNA evidence exonerates Garcia in the March 2008 slayings of Thomas Hunter, 11, and Shirlee Sherman, 57. DNA experts say it does not.
Prosecutors filed a motion to remove the Mottas, calling those statements blatantly false. A DNA test does not link another man to the killing and thus does not exonerate Garcia, Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine wrote.
After Alison Mottas out-of-court comments, Stockmann and Leuschen said they could no longer be a part of the team, citing concerns that Alison Motta had committed ethical violations.
Randall released Stockmann and Leuschen from the case.
Alison Motta then immediately told the judge they would be able to find a local attorney in time for Mondays trial start.
Randall told her he couldnt hear the Mottas unless or until they are again able to practice law in Nebraska.
That set off a scramble for them to find a new local attorney.
Alison Motta could be heard telling Stockmann that she didnt think her comments were a big deal.
Outside court, she said: Im surprised. ... Im surprised.
The Mottas had responded to Kleines motion for sanctions against them by asking the judge to remove the County Attorneys Office from the case and appoint a special prosecutor. In making the motion, Robert Motta Jr. said Kleine had been engaging in gamesmanship designed to undermine the defense attorneys credibility in the eyes of the public.
The motion went on to repeat the contentions that have gotten the Mottas in hot water: that the DNA test is very strong evidence from which to establish the defendants innocence.
Asked about Alison Mottas statement that she could find another attorney, Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine said: She says a lot of things.
Kleine criticized the Mottas for doubling down on what he called their false statements about the DNA test.
He said his prosecutors have been, and will be, ready to try Garcia when the time comes. He said his office was in contact with victims family members, who have been extremely patient and supportive.
We cant forget what this case is about its about these four people who lost their lives, Kleine said. All of these delays are just very unfortunate. But the families are very well aware of what were doing and theyre very supportive.
World-Herald staff writer Alia Conley contributed to this report.
Contact the writer: 402-444-1275, todd.cooper@owh.com
More from the Garcia case:
COLUMBUS, Neb. (AP) -- A Columbus woman accused of using a stun gun to shock her then 13-year-old daughter has been fined $250.
Court records say 43-year-old Ruby Baeta was sentenced Wednesday. She had pleaded no contest last month to negligent child abuse after prosecutors lowered the charge.
Columbus police say the girl and her 16-year-old sister reported that their mother shocked the younger girl in July. An officer said he saw two bumps on the girl that he says could have been caused by a stun gun.
The officer said Baeta denied shocking the girl and denied owning a stun gun, but after the officer looked for a while, according to a court document filed in the case, he asked Baeta again about a stun gun. She paused for a while, the affidavit said, and then asked, "Will I get it back?"
The officer said Baeta then led him to a green stun gun marked "Undead Apocalypse Stun Gun" in a suitcase in a closet in the home.
LINCOLN The Nebraska Supreme Court has rejected the appeals of two prison inmates mistakenly released early by the state in 2013.
The rulings Friday came in appeals filed by Thomas Evans and Abdul Al-Ameen, who were returned to prison in 2014 after The World-Herald reported that hundreds of inmates release dates had been miscalculated by the state prison system.
Both Evans and Al-Ameen were released about 2 1/2 years earlier than they should have been, after the state incorrectly credited them with good time reductions in their sentences.
The court dismissed Al-Ameens appeal as moot because he has already completed his prison sentence and is now free.
But in Evans case, the court upheld the dismissal of his appeal by Lancaster County District Judge John Colborn.
Evans had argued that the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services had the legal authority to release him, and that once that happened, the state had no power to return him to prison.
But the court ruled that the department had no authorization to grant good time to Evans and thus exceeded its authority in releasing Evans 2 1/2 years earlier than his lawful sentence.
Jerry Soucie, the attorney who represented both Evans and Al-Ameen, said he was disappointed by the ruling but said it had a silver lining in that it allows the men to pursue their appeals in federal court.
I believe there are federal violations, Soucie said.
Evans, 58, was sentenced in 2004 to serve 10 to 15 years for burglary and for being a habitual criminal. He is on parole release, according to the Corrections website, and is scheduled to complete his sentence on May 23.
Al-Ameen, 71, was sentenced in 2004 to 10 to 15 years in prison for possession of a firearm by a felon and being a habitual criminal. He was released from prison in February.
Such habitual criminal offenses do not qualify for good time reductions in prison sentences. Corrections had given the men the reductions, contrary to a 2013 ruling by the Supreme Court.
Last year, Corrections officials uncovered a second batch of mistaken release dates involving improperly calculated enhanced good time. About 450 inmates were released early among more than 1,200 inmates whose release dates were wrongly calculated. It was unclear how Fridays ruling might impact those cases.
Contact the writer: 402-473-9584, paul.hammel@owh.com
'Kantara' impact: 'Daiva Narthakas' above 60 years of age to get Rs 2,000 monthly allowance
Late actor Puneeth Rajkumar to be conferred with 'Karnataka Ratna' award on Nov 1
Karnataka to strengthen ATS and up the number of prisons
Bengaluru: ABVP activists join students in protest over paper leak
Bengaluru
oi-Sandra
Bengaluru, Apr 1: A day after massive protests erupted in Bengaluru and in other parts of Karnataka over the II PUC Chemistry paper leak, ABVP activists protested outisde the PUC building here.
ABVP activists were seen protesting alongwith many students and parents in front of the office demanding action after the II PUC Chemistry paper was leaked for the second time in 10 days.
Bengaluru: Protests erupt after II PU Chemistry paper leaks for 2nd time
However, police soon detained the activists who were seen raising slogans demanding the ouster of Education minister.
Bengaluru: ABVP activists protest over Chemistry paper leak issue outside PUC building pic.twitter.com/xYI4QiMShf ANI (@ANI_news) April 1, 2016
Bengaluru: Police detain ABVP activists protesting over Chemistry paper leak issue outside PUC building pic.twitter.com/B46a0eFjlT ANI (@ANI_news) April 1, 2016
Parents and students protested against the repeated leak of the question paper following which, the re-examination had to be cancelled. The re-examination will take place on April 12.
Meanwhile, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah said on Thursday: "We will find out who is responsible for this. I have spoken to the education minister."
Many students, who had prepared for the re-examination said that they would not appear for another re-examination following the leak.
OneIndia News
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Story first published: Friday, April 1, 2016, 12:55 [IST]
'Kantara' impact: 'Daiva Narthakas' above 60 years of age to get Rs 2,000 monthly allowance
Late actor Puneeth Rajkumar to be conferred with 'Karnataka Ratna' award on Nov 1
Karnataka to strengthen ATS and up the number of prisons
Bengaluru shocker: IBM staffer stabbed to death in front of his house
Bengaluru
oi-Preeti
Bengaluru, April 1: A 30-year-old IBM call centre employee was brutally stabbed to death at least nine times, in front of his in southwest Bengaluru.
According to media reports, the shocking incident took place in Pantharapalya around 4 am on Thursday, when Abhishek Thimmarayappa was stabbed to death by four unidentified men.
Abhishek had just returned from his office after completing his shift, when assailants were keeping a watch on him and killed him near his house.
Profusely bleeding Abhishek immediately called up his uncle, who was inside the house and then he was rushed to a private hospital in Kengeri. He was declared dead by doctors in evening.
Abhishek owned New National School near Nayandanahalli and his father was the chairman of Nayandanahalli Co-operative Society, who passed away few years back.
A report published in TOI said that Abhishek got married four years ago and he has a two-year-old daughter.
According to police, Abhishek was getting threat calls from last few days and his wife told police that she heard him saying "Do what you have to do", to someone on phone.
After post-mortem, his body was handed over to his bereaved family.
Meanwhile, Byatarayanapura police is investigating the case and is questining his family members and friends. Three people have been reportedly detained on the basis of call records.
OneIndia News
Jammu admin withdraws order allowing residents of more than 1 year to become voters
Australias Patrick Farmer Completes Spirit of India Run
Feature
oi-Lisa
By Lisa
Ministry of Tourism felicitated Mr. Patrick Farmer, Ultra Marathon Runner and former Member of Australian Parliament and his Team at a function here today on successful completion of the 4600 Km. 'Spirit of India Run' from Kanyakumari to Srinagar in 64 days.
About Mr. Patrick Farmer:
Mr. Farmer is a multiple world record holder for endurance running and has run from the North Pole to the South Pole, and across Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam, the Middle East and North America.
He has served 8 years as a Member of Australia's Parliament, with 3 years as Parliamentary Secretary for Education, Science and Training.
Mr. Farmer has raised millions of dollars for worthy causes during his 20 year running career.
Mr. Farmer praised:
Addressing on the occasion, Vinod Zutshi, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism described Mr. Patrick Farmer as the "Brand Ambassador of Incredible India in Australia" as he has widely travelled India during his 4600 Km. long "Spirit of India Run" from Kanyakumari to Srinagar.
His Run will inspire people in Australia to visit India and mutual relations between India and Australia in Tourism sector will be strengthened. He also said the Festival of India in Australia is going to be held this year, which will also boost Tourism in India.
Aim of Mr. Farmer's run:
Mr. Farmer's 'Spirit of India Run' is aimed at cementing relations between India and Australia; encouraging tourism and personal relationships with a view to creating awareness of India as a 'Must Experience' destination for travellers from Australia; and supporting causes and charity which in the current endeavour is to raise funds for "Educating girl child in India".
About the run:
The Spirit of India Run was flagged off on 26th January 2016 in Kanyakumari. On this Run, Mr. Farmer traversed through the States of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, UP, Haryana, Delhi, Chandigarh, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir .
Mr. Farmer ran on an average 80 kms. per day to complete the distance of 4600 kms. in a short span of 64 Days.
The Run has received overwhelming response in all the States, he has traversed. Both domestic and Australian Media have given wide coverage to the Run.
Mr. Farmer is writing blogs of his run, highlighting the scenic beauty of the States / UT, the people, culture, cuisine, etc. in his Twitter handle, Facebook account, YouTube Channel and Instagram. At the end of the Run, the filming crew accompanying Mr. Farmer will produce a documentary for airing in the TV Networks in Australia.
The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, Ministry of External Affairs, High Commission of Australia in New Delhi along with Air India, State Governments of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir and Union Territory of Chandigarh have supported the 'Spirit of India Run' by Mr. Patrick Farmer.
The Run is also supported by the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), and other travel and hospitality associations in the country.
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DOT Remotely Activated Jointly by Narendra Modi and Charles Michel
Feature
oi-Lisa
By Lisa
Union Minister of Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Dr. Harsh Vardhan proudly addressed a distinguished gathering of scientists at the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), an autonomous research institute of Department of Science and Technology, on the occasion of the 'Remote Technical Activation' of the 3.6m diameter Devasthal Optical Telescope (DOT) at Manora Peak near Nainital.
The DOT was remotely activated jointly by Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India and Mr. Charles Michel, the Prime Minister of Belgium from Brussels, Belgium.
About the DOT:
The DOT, a product of Indo-Belgian collaboration, is the largest fully steerable optical telescope in Asia.
It has been built by the Advanced Mechanical Optical Systems (AMOS), Belgium and the first aluminsation of the primary mirror was achieved at ARIES.
The on-sky performance of telescope was successfully tested jointly by AMOS and ARIES during March 2015 to February 2016.
Till now India lacked a world-class ground-based observing facility for the spectroscopic exploration and imaging of the Milky Way as well as distant celestial objects at optical wavelengths.
Help from the DOT:
The DOT facility will fill this gap and facilitate Indian astronomers for multi-wavelength observations including follow-up studies of astronomical objects detected at radio wavelengths by the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT), Pune and at UV/X-ray wavelengths by the ASTROSAT, the first dedicated Indian multi-wavelength astronomical satellite.
The 3.6m DOT assumes global importance for observing transient celestial objects such as Gamma Ray Bursts and Supernovae as it is located in the middle of crucial longitudinal gap of twelve hours between the locations of 4m class global optical telescope observing facilities in Australia in the East and Canary Islands in the West.
Moreover, a 4m class optical telescope at a good astronomical site have several advantages over very large (10m class) and giant (30m class) ones such as in efficiency, availability, survey work, serendipitous discovery and time-critical observations.
Dr. Harsh Vardhan at the event:
Dr. Harsh Vardhan, while appreciating their efforts, congratulated the ARIES and AMOS team and encouraged them to pursue application oriented research having societal relevance using this advanced observational facility.
The Minister also witnessed the operation of the Solar telescope, the S. T. radar and visited the 1.3 M optical telescope facility during the visit.
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Story first published: Friday, April 1, 2016, 11:18 [IST]
Kolkata bridge collapse an act of man not God
Feature
oi-Vicky
By Vicky
It was a horrific sight at Kolkata. An under construction flyover collapsed yesterday leaving at least 23 dead and several more injured. As expected there was a blame game and the company which was awarded the contract, IVRCL issued a statement in which it said that the accident was an act of God.
PHOTOS: Under-Construction Flyover Collapses In Kolkata
What ever the cause may be, this accident has taken away the lives of many innocent by standers who were not aware of what was in store. The point here is that the company which was awarded the contract to build the flyover in 2009 with a deadline of 18 months. However extensions were granted by the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Corporation (KMDA) and even in the year 2016, the construction was incomplete.
Cash strapped and marred by delays:
It may be recalled that in the year 2014, the IVRCL had sought from the KDMA a bail out package. It had told the government that is was finding it difficult to complete the project and was already behind schedule. The company went on to seek an additional allocation of funds as it was facing a major budget constraint.
The request by the company could not be granted as there was no clause in the contract which provided for funds. However the KDMA did award the company four extensions. Back in 2014 itself there were allegations that the KDMA did little to monitor the progress of the work. Being the executing agency of the contract it ought to have spent more time monitoring the work with a view of ensuring that there were no further delays.
Falling short of budget:
While an inquiry would go into the cause of the collapse, it must also be noted that two years ago, the company had told the KDMA that it was finding it hard to complete the work as it was running short of a budget. It had written in the letter that there was no money to purchase material and hence the work was being delayed.
When the original contract was signed on February 24 2009, the clause was that it completed the construction within 18 months. Contracts do provide for extension, but then that needs to be limited. In this case, the extensions went on for nearly 7 years.
The flyover has been marred by problems since day one. Initially some residents went to court seeking a stay as the flyover was too close to where they reside. Further there was a delay due to a design change that had to be effected. The IVRCL had argued that there had been delays since they were given only 18 per cent of the land in the first year. Moreover there had been budgetary constraints and hence they had petitioned the government for allocation of funds.
Modi in Saudi Arabia: What to expect from the visit?
Feature
oi-Vicky
By Vicky
When Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz, the sixth king of Saudi Arabia passed, the Indian government announced a day's mourning and even sent vice president Hamid Ansari to Riyadh.
Many were surprised by this move and questions were asked about this, but the Narendra Modi government had more on its mind.
Modi visits Saudi Arabia on April 2 and 3. It is an important visit on both counts- security and economy.
One however has to bear in mind that this time around the situation may not be exactly the same as Saudi Arabia is facing issues of its own which range from the problem of extremism and also falling oil prices.
However, Modi is confident and many who are close to him tell OneIndia that this will be a crucial and successful visit.
Combating terror:
Saudi is a key player in the war against terror. Ahead of the visit by the Prime Minister Modi, the Saudi Arabia and the US jointly imposed sanctions on four persons linked to the Lashkar-e-Tayiba, Taliban and the al-Qaeda. This would no doubt please India since it has been waging a battle against these groups especially the Lashkar-e-Tayiba.
Saudi earlier was a closed country for India in the war against terror. Several operatives would committed horrendous acts of violence in India and seek shelter in Saudi Arabia. However post the 26/11 attack Saudi which was pressurised by the US began to act and began handing over terrorists seeking shelter on their land.
With Modi visiting Saudi Arabia there will be an onus on this aspect as well. Both countries apart from continuing with their cooperation to fight terror would also discuss another unique problem called the ISIS. India has been facing trouble with several youth being radicalised.
Most of the hard core elements operate out of Saudi Arabia and both nations would find a way to tackle the issue. As a first step both countries would discuss steps to curb the sectarian violence which has become the core of the problem and the strength of the ISIS.
Economic ties:
Modi would also hold talks with King Salman and discuss investments. India buys nearly 20 per cent of its oil from Saudi Arabia. Moreover, Saudi Arabia is also the four largest trade partner for India. In addition to this Saudi has also been investing in India heavily.
However, both nations would have to find a solution in the wake of the slowdown of the Gulf economy. India has at least 8 million workers in the Gulf region and if the economy continues to slow down further, then it would cause immense trouble to the Indians in the Gulf.
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How to identify extremism in kids? This is what Mothers Schools teach women
Feature
oi-Jagriti
New Delhi, Apr 1: Women without Borders, an international advocacy and research organization for women have started imparting ways among women to identify extremism in their kids.
The organisation has started concept of Mothers Schools to empower mothers to make their own solutions.
"The Mothers School Model is a pioneering family-centered security platform that strengthens existing counter violent extremism (CVE) approaches by engaging mothers as an embedded security ally," informs its website.
The curriculum of schools have been designed to strengthen women's confidence and competence to recognize and react to early warning signs of radicalization in their kids.
"The curriculum includes ten modules taught by trained local leaders who conduct home-based meetings with groups of mothers in communities at-risk."
The Mothers Schools aims to empower and enable women to become agents of peace and stability in their families and communities as corners.
The pilot project of the Mothers School was launched in Kujand, Tajikistan in February 2013 with a three-day train-the-trainer workshop. The organisation received very positive response after the introduction of Mothers Schools.
Serious extremism, terrorism problem in Pakistan: US
The innovative idea to empower women for security as an 'ally' in the home was an entirely new angle in counter radicalization efforts.
Upon the positive feedback and reception, the Mothers School concept was expanded to additional target countries including India (Kashmir), Nigeria, Pakistan, Indonesia and Zanzibar.
The Mothers School workshops have been conducted in Kashmir, Mewat in Haryana. Austrian Federal Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Consumer Protection (BMASK) has co-financed the Mothers School projects in Kashmir, Zanzibar and Indonesia.
The model will also be implemented in Europe to address the ongoing foreign fighter phenomenon, informs the organisation.
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Narendra Modi at dinner hosted by Barack Obama
Feature
oi-Lisa
By Lisa
The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, made an intervention during the dinner hosted by US President Barack Obama, on the theme of nuclear security threat perceptions.
Interacted with world leaders at the NSS dinner at the White House. Shared my thoughts on the threat of nuclear terrorism. Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 1, 2016
PM @narendramodi and @POTUS in discussion at the NSS Dinner at the White House. pic.twitter.com/bbbD0fBqcC PMO India (@PMOIndia) March 31, 2016
Appreciating the US President for putting the spotlight on nuclear security, the Prime Minister said he had, by doing so, done great service to global security.
PM @narendramodi: By putting spotlight on Nuclear Security, Prez Obama has done great service to global security. pic.twitter.com/2xSe8MrcEx Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) March 31, 2016
Referring to the recent terror attacks in Brussels, the Prime Minister said that Brussels shows us how real and immediate is the threat to nuclear security from terrorism.
Mr. Narendra Modi called for focus on three contemporary features of terrorism:
First, today's terrorism uses extreme violence as theatre.
Second, we are no longer looking for a man in a cave, but we are hunting for a terrorist in a city with a computer or a smartphone.
Third, state actors working with nuclear traffickers and terrorists present the greatest risk.
Noting that terror has evolved and terrorists are using 21st century technology, the Prime Minister observed that our responses are rooted in the past.
PM @narendramodi: Terrorism is globally networked. But, we still act only nationally to counter this threat pic.twitter.com/TZM9zKdkTj Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) March 31, 2016
He said terrorism is globally networked, but we still act only nationally to counter this threat. He added that the reach and supply chains of terrorism are global, but genuine cooperation between nation states is not.
PM @narendramodi: Without prevention and prosecution of acts of terrorism there is no deterrence against nuclear terrorism Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) March 31, 2016
The Prime Minister said that without prevention and prosecution of acts of terrorism, there is no deterrence against nuclear terrorism. He urged everyone to drop the notion that terrorism is someone else's problem and that "his" terrorist is not "my" terrorist.
PM @narendramodi: Nuclear security must remain an abiding national priority. All States must completely abide by their int'l obligations. Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) April 1, 2016
The Prime Minister said nuclear security must remain an abiding national priority, and all States must completely abide by their international obligations.
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Story first published: Friday, April 1, 2016, 12:09 [IST]
Consider paid if broken: Gujarat to not fine for traffic violation till Oct 27
Todays NAMO Pens with BJP Symbol Create Controversy in Gujarat
Feature
oi-Lisa
By Lisa
A private pen manufacturer Today's has distributed pens to Class X and XII students who are appearing for their board exams. The move has created a big controversy in Gujarat as the pens have an inscription 'I Love Modi' on it.
The NAMO pens were packaged in saffron covers and it also had picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP's party symbol lotus.
This move by Today's has been seen as a bid to attract young minds towards the BJP and Prime Minister. The pens were distributed among students before the board exams began on the 8th of March.
Report from the school principals:
Some school principals in Ahmedabad told media that they had received packets containing NAMO pens. The principals also mentioned that the pens came with a covering letter which mentioned that these pens were to be distributed among students as gift for which an approval from the Chairman of Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board (GSHSEB) R J Shah and Deputy Chairman R R Thakkar has already been obtained.
Protests against politicisation of exams:
Opposition party Congress has protested against the politicisation of exams. School authorities too seemed unhappy with it. One Principal of Ahmedabad-based school mentioned that such politicisation of exams has never been allowed in the past.
Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi lamented that instead of filling up 50,000 vacant posts of teachers in schools, BJP was allowing politicisation of education. He was also unhappy with the education board for allowing such kind of politicisation.
Board authorities say:
Gujarat state education board authorities however denied that they had given permission to Today's for distributing such pens. R R Thakkar was quoted to have said that, "The pen company had approached us some five months back with the proposal but we had refused since it involved the use of a political party's symbol".
Version of Today's:
Suresh Zaveri, head of the promotional activities of 'Todays' pens in Gujarat, informed that the company had distributed 1.50 lakh pens with 'I love Modi' message. The pens were distributed in Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar and Vadnagar.
He further informed that the company had come up with this idea three years back when Mr. Modi was Chief Minister of Gujarat. Mr. Modi had liked the idea when he was shown the samples of the pen.
Mr. Modi had then given his permission to distribute the pens and the company officials had then met Education Minister of the state Bhupendrasinh Chudasma, the Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board (GSHSEB) chairman A J Shah, and also deputy chairman R R Thakakar before distributing the pens.
Mr. Zaveri further added that Gujarat education board office bearers provided the company with a list of school where the pens can be distributed. When asked why the pens that were distributed had the BJP's symbol he said that pens distributed must be some leftovers
Promoter of the company Rajesh Drolia has made no comment on the controversy.
Today's has been selling such NAMO gift sets for Rs. 299 on online market place
http://www.shopclues.com/namo-gift-set-199-clone.html,
http://www.justdial.com/Todays-Namo-Grip-Ball-Pen/pid-11502914.
Support for BJP and PM:
Few took to Twitter to support BJP and Prime Minister. Take a look at few interesting tweets.
Congress named various universities on their ancestors,in Gujrat sm1 is distributing "namopen" den de are intolerant.#Intolerance Azad Bharat (@havefunUfcuk) March 31, 2016
I wanna "#NAMO" pen as Ahmedabad's ( Gujrat ) students....
( I love MODI ) rahul gupta (@rahulguptajune6) March 31, 2016
Some tweets were witty too:
@gsurya Instead of writing answers, students will write Mann Ki baat with NaMo pen. :) Bemused (@make_itpossible) March 31, 2016
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Story first published: Friday, April 1, 2016, 13:58 [IST]
Conspiracy to slay RTI activist Baliga was on from three months
India
oi-Shreyas
Mangaluru, April 1: The cops from the coastal district are relentlessly working to nab the bosses from whom the Supari killers took orders in connection to RTI activist Vinayak Baliga murder case. The police now hunting for Shrikanth and Shiva aka Shivu, while these suspects are still at large.
The police sources told OneIndia that they are looking for one prominent builder from Mangaluru, whose name ends with 'Shetty' and who has gone into hiding after the incident.
The police also took custody of third suspect in the case, Babu and is grilling him to take the investigation further. Babu was working for Bajrang Dal, is what sources in the police revealed.
The police expressed confidence of nabbing the builder despite political pressure, which is now emanating from a national political party.
The cops are very cautious in dealing the case and intense deliberation would be conducted before putting out any information to the media.
[RTI activist Baliga murder: Car of a prominent chartered accountant used for the crime]
A team led by ACP Tilak Chandra in the evening hours of Thursday raided house of Yuva Brigade's Naresh Shenoy, however details of the ride has not been divulged by the police to the press.
It has to be noted that Yuva Brigade has staunch links with the BJP. The police considering this aspect operating secretly with an aim to not to let the investigation hamper from political establishment.
Conspiracy to slay Baliga was on from three months
A highly placed sources said the conspiracy to kill Vinayak Baliga was on from three months, that is from the month of January. A driver, Shailesh, of a senior political leader left the job of driving three months back to join the plot. He got in connection with Shrikanth, an employee of main conspirator. It is also established that Shrikanth has close links with Naresh Shenoy.
[RTI activist Baliga murder: Police issue look out notice for two more suspects]
The sources indicate that it was not a solo show. "A slew of people joined hands to get rid off from a common enemy, RTI activist Baliga. A chartered accountant, a person from prominent construction business, an individual from North India who runs a Jewellery shop in Mangaluru joined hands with the main conspirator. The key conspirator was backed, in his alleged crime, by a senior political leader from Dakshina Kannada.
[RTI activist Baliga murder: Supari killers took indirect orders from a senior political leader?]
A person named Vignesh, employee of a person into construction business got a car (Qualis) registered in the name of him. However the car till recently (one and a half months back) belonged to the key conspirator in the case. The prime plotter saw to it that the car which will be used in the crime would be transferred to Vignesh's name.
Another car of a chartered accountant too used for this dastardly act. All these who collided together had a common enemy, Vinayak Baliga. The police now has to probe financial links all these conspirators shared.
OneIndia News
Election Commission bans exit polls from Apr 4 to May 16
India
oi-PTI
New Delhi, Mar 31: The Election Commission on Friday banned exit polls between April 4 and May 16 when Assembly elections are held in five states.
Citing provisions of electoral laws, EC said, "Exit polls cannot be conducted and publicised by means of print and electronic media or dissemination in any other manner starting from April 4 at 7 am to May 16 at 6.30 PM."
West Bengal polls: Average asset of candidates is Rs 47.88 lakh
The election timings for Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry are between 7 am and 6 pm. The timings for West Bengal and Assam would be a little different depending on the topography of the constituency and the security situation.
The Commission also said that display of "any election matter" including results of any opinion poll or any other poll survey in "any electronic media" is "prohibited during the period 48 hours, including the hour fixed for conclusion of poll in each of the phases in connection with the elections."
Assam elections: 30 out 539 candidates have pending criminal cases
Using powers under the Representation of People Act, 1951, EC bans exit polls from the time the poll begins till half-an-hour after the polling ends.
The poll panel had proposed that there should be a prohibition on publication and broadcast of the results of opinion polls starting from the date of notification of elections till the completion of the last phase of polls to Lok Sabha and state Assemblies.
The proposal is pending with the government. Existing law allows EC to ban opinion polls 48 hours prior to voting.
PTI
Flyover collapse: 3 officials held on murder charges, 24 dead
India
oi-PTI
Kolkata, Apr 1: A day after an under-construction flyover collapsed in the city leaving at least 24 dead, the police tonight arrested three top officials of a Hyderabad based company which was building the flyover and slapped murder charges on them.
Earlier the police had detained 10 officials of the construction company IVRCL's Kolkata office for questioning and later arrested three of them, a senior Kolkata Police officer said.
The three - Assistant General Manager Mallikaarjun, Assistant Manager Debjyoti Manjumdar and Structure Manager Pradip Kumar Saha - were arrested under IPC sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) and others.
They will be produced before a court tomorrow. Seven other officials of the company are still detained, the officer said, adding that a team of Kolkata Police has left for Hyderabad to meet IVRCL top bosses. Police had yesterday registered a case against the construction firm under sections 304, 308 and 407 of the IPC and sealed its local office.
The state government also suspended a chief engineer and an executive engineer of the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority who were involved in the construction of the flyover pending completion of the probe which the government ordered yesterday. It also ordered immediate inspection of the remaining portion of the flyover to ascertain its stability and safety, an official release said.
About a 60-metre-long stretch of the 2.2 km flyover under construction crashed down yesterday afternoon on a congested road intersection here. Forensic experts visited the site and collected samples of materials used for the construction for examination.
A day after an official of IVRCL dubbed the flyover collapse as an "act of God", IVRCL's legal team head P Sita said, "It is an accident". She also did not rule out sabotage and referred to a media report which said there could have been a bomb blast. "An act of God was just an expression only to describe that it is under no one's control," she said in Hyderabad.
PTI
Irom Sharmila wants to meet and question Modi. Will the PM relent?
India
oi-Oneindia
By Maitreyee Boruah
Imphal, April 1: It has been a while since the legendary Manipuri activist and poet Irom Chanu Sharmila has expressed her desire to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Once again recently when she was in Delhi, the peace activist, who has been campaigning against the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), 1958, by undertaking "fast unto death" since November 4, 2000, told journalists she wanted to meet the PM.
A court in Delhi on Wednesday (March 30) acquitted Sharmila from charges of attempt to suicide.
Metropolitan Magistrate Harvinder Singh acquitted Sharmila in the case registered in 2006.
The court on March 4, 2013 framed charges against Sharmila for attempting to commit suicide in Delhi and put her on trial after she refused to plead guilty.
Sharmila denied attempting suicide while fasting at Jantar Mantar in Delhi.
According to reports, during her stay in Delhi, police personnel did not allow activists and journalists to meet Sharmila.
However, a couple of journalists managed to speak with the peace activist.
In an interview to The Wire, Sharmila said she wanted to meet Modi.
"I really want to meet with him, irrespective of his mood. I want to influence him with my presence. I want to ask what kind of government this is, based on violence? What is their focus? The happiness index is declining in the country," she said.
"Human beings are all equal in the eyes of God," she added. "The government needs to make an effort to connect with discontented voices. Who is a terrorist? How do they come into being? As a society, we need to address the root causes of these issues. Using violence only represents hollowness," she added.
Earlier while interacting with a handful of reporters in Imphal, Sharmila said, "I want to tell the prime minister that only talks could solve all the burning problems. Besides, I want to highlight the objectionable policies of the Indian government."
OneIndia News
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Story first published: Friday, April 1, 2016, 10:17 [IST]
Kejriwal opposes Centre's move to privatise IDBI
India
oi-IANS
By Ians English
New Delhi, April 1: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday opposed the proposed privatisation of the Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) and supported its continuation in the public sector.
Kejriwal's support on the issue came after a delegation of IDBI Officers Association met him here on Friday and expressed their opposition to the Centre's reported move to dilute its stake in the bank to less than 50 percent.
"Kejriwal opposed the proposal to privatise the IDBI, which will adversely affect around 20,000 bank officers across the country. He assured the delegation that he will write to the prime minister to seek withdrawal of the proposed move," a Delhi government official said.
The delegation said union Finance Minister Arun Jaitely said in his budget speech in the Lok Sabha on February 29 that the Centre had no obligation to hold a minimum 51 percent stake in the IDBI, thereby effectively announcing the government intention to privatise it.
The delegation members said the announcement was a breach of an assurance held out in parliament by the then Atal Bihari Vajpayee government in December 2003, when the issue of IDBI privatisation was last taken up.
The delegation said that increase in the IDBI's non-performing assets was wrongly being projected as the reason to privatise it.
The IDBI officers pointed out that the NPA figures of Rs.19,000 crore were wrong since nearly 50 percent of this amount was recoverable dues and that too from big corporates.
Opposing the privatisation move, IDBI officers and other employees observed a four-day strike from March 28 to 31.
IANS
Kolkata police to arrest builders for flyover collapse, leaving 25 dead
India
oi-Pallavi
Kolkata, April 1: A day after the horrifying accident in Kolkata's Girish Park area, where an under construction flyover collapsed killing 25 people, the Kolkata Police is heading toward Hyderabad to arrest the builders.
Close to 90 people have been rescued from the rubbles, while few are still said to be stuck. 10 teams of NDRF, the paramilitary forces and the Kolkata Police are working jointly in the rescue operations of the victims, with the help of high-end tools like cranes, saws and jackhammers to look for those who may be trapped in debris.
Three cranes have been working overnight to clear the debris and speed-up the rescue operations. Meanwhile, a video went viral, showing how the flyover collapsed almost suddenly on pedestrians and vehicles on Thursday afternoon.
[Read: Kolkata bridge collapse: Left accuses TMC of stopping blood-donation camp for injured]
[Read: Kolkata mishap: Not hopeful of finding any more bodies, says Army]
The 2 kilometer bridge has been under construction since 2009 and has missed several deadlines for completion. The buiders were given an 18-month deadline and nearly Rs. 165 crore to complete the project in 2009. However, only 60% of the work has been done in the past 7 years.
Expressing grief over the incident, chief minister Mamata Banerjee said that the responsible would not be spared.
[Read: Kolkata bridge collapse an act of man not God]
OneIndia News
In a case of bad karma Taliban outs Pakistan on what India had always said on Azhar
On Maulana Azhar, the China-Pakistan bonhomie is a reality
India
oi-Vicky
New Delhi, Apr 1: Even as India handed over evidence against Maulana Masood Azhar, the chief of the Jaish-e-Mohammad, Pakistan found an ally in China to block the United Nations from declaring him a terrorist.
China obviously did not act on its own. The decision to keep the decision on hold was taken after consultations with Pakistan which is not on the UN committee.
On one hand it shows that China is ready to walk that extra mile where Pakistan is concerned. The other crucial issue here is that despite all the bon-homie that was shown by Pakistan when its team visited Pathankot, the fact is that they are in no mood to act against Azhar who is a menace for India.
On Thursday, OneIndia had reported that India should be realistic and not expect access to Maualana Masood Azhar when the NIA visits Paksitan (On Mauala Azhar, India needs to be realistic: Access to the JeM will not be granted).
China backs Pakistan
China has plenty of business interests in Pakistan. China has sought from Pakistan an assurance that its assets would be protected and the same has been reciprocated.
Pakistan will deal strongly with any outfit in its country which threatens peace, but will remain mum on outfits such as the Lashkar-e-Tayiba or the Jaish-e-Mohammad which are a threat only to India.
Following the Pathankot attack, India had renewed its call to impose a ban on Azhar and declare him a terrorist. India had submitted evidence about the involvement of the Jaish-e-Mohammad and also its leader in the Pathankot attack before the UN.
It even told the sanctions committee of the UN that not listing Azhar would expose not just India but the whole of South Asia to a potential risk.
The committee while submitting the proposal to UK, US and the other members said that if there is no objection then the decision to impose the ban would go through. However China stepped in and told the committee to place the decision on hold. It may be recalled that China had blocked India's move to ban Azhar after the 26/11 Mumbai attack.
What does this mean for India?
India was hopeful that Pakistan would assist it where Azhar is concerned. The NIA is proposing a visit to Pakistan where it would seek access to Azhar. No matter what the bonhomie is between India and Pakistan there are some in that country who will always remain off limits.
The names that come immediately to mind are Hafiz Saeed, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and Azhar. You could call them proxies of the state or assets of the ISI.
Pakistan will find a lot of ways to deny India access to Azhar and his brother Asghar who is the mastermind of the attack. Sources tell OneIndia that they are not at all hopeful of getting access. Granting access to Azhar would shake the balance in Pakistan.
Moreover if an Indian investigator speaks with Azhar there is always the danger of him seeking revenge against his own country and spilling the beans on who remote controls him (read ISI).
OneIndia News
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Story first published: Friday, April 1, 2016, 8:45 [IST]
Pathankot probe: NIA has 300 questions for Pakistan's JIT
India
oi-Vicky
Pathankot, April 1: The National Investigation Agency has handed over to the Joint Investigation Team a set of 300 questions to be answered in connection with the probe into the Pathankot attack. The JIT has assured the NIA to examine these questions and provide an answer at the earliest.
While the NIA has sought the voice samples of Abdul Rauf Asghar and Maulana Masood Azhar, the agency has however pointed out to the JIT that in the interim it would be better if the duo are questioned in Pakistan. The JIT has agreed to look into the demand and assured that the duo would be questioned by them.
300 questions for the JIT:
The JIT which will wrap up its visit today has examined the witnesses including the Gurdaspur Superintendent of Police, Salwinder Singh who was abducted by the terrorists prior to the attack. The NIA informed the JIT that the four terrorists had come from Pakistan and prima facie the latter was convinced of the same.
An NIA official informed OneIndia that the JIT seemed convinced that the terrorists had entered India from Pakistan and they did not deny the same either.
The officer also informed that the JIT has been given a set of 300 questions to be answered. If the same is answered then there would be a closure to the case. The JIT has assured to look into the same.
The way forward:
Today the JIT would wrap up its visit to India. The JIT and the NIA would hold discussions on how to take the probe forward. So far both agencies appear to be cooperating and there have been no hiccups what so ever. The visit by the NIA would largely depend on the response it gets from the JIT.
The JIT on the other hand is expected to seek some time before it could provide the relevant answers. Prior the NIA visit to Pakistan, the JIT is likely to question both Rauf and Azhar who are brothers and also masterminds of the Pathankot attack.
OneIndia News
Tarun Gogoi: PM has insulted me
India
oi-PTI
Guwahati, Apr 1: Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today accused the Prime Minister Narendra Modi of insulting him during his visit to the state to campaign for BJP for the upcoming state assembly polls and questioned his courage.
"Where did Modi get the courage to insult me in my own state, on my own land where I was born, did my studies and devoted 45 years of my life in the service of the people and the youth here?" Gogoi asked while talking to reporters here.
"He can criticise me but not insult. He must have got the courage from (BJP chief ministerial candidate) Sarbananda Sonowal and (BJP leader) Himanta Biswa Sarma," the chief minister asserted.
"Modi has become such a big dictator that he comes to Assam and insults me on my soil," Gogoi claimed referring to a speech by Modi at an election campaign rally on Saturday.
Attacking Gogoi, who is seeking a fourth straight term as Assam chief minister, Modi had said "It is no longer Tarun Gogoi, but Tarun go, go".
The prime minister had also said Gogoi would be 90 years old in a few years and he had come to Assam to pay his respects to him. Gogoi, who according to his poll affidavit is about 79 years, said disrespecting him amounted to disrespecting the people of Assam as they had elected him as their chief minister.
The Chief Minister, who belongs to the Ahom community, also commented on BJP president Amit Shah last week at a poll rally in Assam saying that Ahom king Sukaphaa had attacked and defeated the Mughals 17 times.
"They (BJP) don't know the history of Assam or the state. They haven't find out," Gogoi said. Sukaphaa had founded the Ahom kingdom in 1228 AD and died in 1268 AD, while Babur established the Mughal Empire in 1526 AD.
Gogoi's son and MP Gaurav Gogoi at a press meet in Jorhat yesterday had said the prime minister's remarks in reference to their family name 'Gogoi' was not only an insult to the chief minister but to the whole community sharing the surname.
PTI
China cabbie caught driving with facial mask on; the reason will leave you amazed
Taxi fares in Karnataka: Here is all you need to know about AC, non-AC cab fares and waiting charges
Taxi, autorickshaw unions threatens to go on strike, here's why
India
oi-PTI
New Delhi, Apr 1: Taxi and autorickshaw unions in Delhi today threatened to go on strike on April 11 if their demand to stop all app-based cab services in the city is not met.
"If government does not pay heed to our demand immediately, all taxis and autorickshaws will go off the road on April 11", Rajendra Soni, general secretary of both the unions, said.
They would also take out a protest march against the AAP government from Samta Sthal to Delhi Secretariat that day, he added.
Last month, both the unions had written to Delhi Transport Minister Gopal Rai and demanded that all app-based private cab services be stopped, asking they were taking away the livelihood of traditional black-yellow taxi and autorickshaw drivers.
There are around 13,000 black-yellow taxis and around 81,000 autorickshaws plying on the streets of the capital. "App-based taxi services are affecting our business and we cannot sit silent.
Government should stop their services as most of app-based cab operators are not following rules," Soni said.
He further said that they had to call off their proposed two-day strike starting from March 15 last month after assurance from the Delhi Transport Minister on their demand but they have not still paid heed to their issues.
PTI
Baghdadi dead? Almost 100 per cent, but there is no evidence
We know exactly who he is: Trump says US is aware of new Islamic State chief
Baghdadi was a normal family man, not a bloodthirsty terrorist, claims ISIS chiefs ex-wife
International
oi-Jagriti
Washington, Apr 1: Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi now the most wanted man in the world was not a bloodthirsty terrorist back then, this has been revealed by his ex-wife Saja al-Dulaimi.
Saja al-Dulaimi, arrested in November 2014 in relation to terror links, was released by Lebanon in a prisoner swap in December 2015.
"Baghdadi was not a bloodthirsty terrorist back then and that he a university lecturer and a family man," she was quoted as saying in an interview to CNN Swedish affiliate Expressen TV.
"He was great. He was the children's ideal father. The way he was with children ... he was a teacher you know how teachers are. He knew how to deal with children, better than how to deal with the mother," she said.
"He had a 'mysterious personality' which is why they could not talk like other couples did, while admitting that it was difficult being the second wife and that it was hard for two wives to live together," she added.
ISIS's defeat at home prompts group to terrorise Europe
Baghdadi tried to get her back several times after she ran away from him after she became pregnant.
"But I'd already made my mind up," she said.
Dulaimi and Baghdadi last spoke in 2009, when he again tried to get her back.
She is now concerned about her daughter's safety.
"If I'd wanted to live with him, I'd have lived like a princess. I could have moved in with them and had loads of money. But I don't want money. I want to live in freedom, live like everyone else," she said.
OneIndia News
EgyptAir hijacker's wife describes her marriage in hell
International
oi-Pallavi
Cyprus, April 1: The EgyptAir hijacker is not lovesick for his wife, but is mentally unstable and that is what he has been since his early years in marriage. According to his ex-wife, their marriage was a "very black period".
She went ahead and described that they had been estranged for a long time and that her marriage to the hijacker was no romantic fairy tale, but an experience of violence, torture and drug abuse.
She said,"Most of the media painted a picture of romance in which a man was trying to reach out to his estranged wife. But that couldn't be further from the truth and they would have a different opinion if they knew what he was really like. It was a very black period, full of threats, beating, torture and terror from a man who knew how to produce fear and spread unhappiness around him."
[Read: EgyptAir hijacker demands to see his ex-wife in Cyprus]
Mustafa hijacked the EgyptAir MS181 in a bid to meet his wife and seek political asylum in Cyprus. The couple married in 1980 when Ms Paraschou was just 20 years old but divorced decades ago.
Until this week's events, Mustafa had not met his wife and children for 24 years. On his insistence, the Egyptian authorities brought Paraschou to meet him and diffuse his attempts of blowing up the plane with four passengers and seven crew hostage.
[Read: EgyptAir hijack not a terrorist attack, says Cyprus president]
OneIndia News
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Story first published: Friday, April 1, 2016, 15:06 [IST]
IS 'madmen' would gladly use nukes, Obama warns summit
International
oi-PTI
Washington, Apr 1: More cooperation is needed to prevent the Islamic State group's "madmen" and other extremists from getting a nuclear weapon, US President Barack Obama warned today as global leaders met in Washington.
The threat of terrorists of using nuclear material in a "dirty bomb" -- or even obtaining an atomic weapon -- has loomed large over the summit, punctuated by revelations that IS members tracked a Belgian nuclear scientist on video.
"ISIL has already used chemical weapons, including mustard gas, in Syria and Iraq," Obama said, using an acronym for the IS group. "There is no doubt that if these madmen ever got their hands on a nuclear bomb or nuclear material, they most certainly would use it to continue to kill as many innocent people as possible."
The summit -- attended by dozens of world leaders and delegates -- is focused on securing global stockpiles of nuclear materials, much of it used in the medical and power industries. Obama said about 2,000 tons of nuclear materials are stored around the world at civilian and military facilities, some of them not properly secured. "Just the smallest amount of plutonium -- about the size of an apple -- would kill and injure hundreds of thousands of innocent people," he said.
"It would be a humanitarian, political, economic and environmental catastrophe with global ramifications for decades." The nuclear security summit comes in the wake of attacks in Paris and Brussels that have killed dozens and exposed Europe's inability to thwart destabilising attacks or track Islamic State operatives returning from Iraq and Syria.
Evidence that individuals linked to those two atrocities videotaped a senior scientist at a Belgian nuclear facility has given the threat added nuclear weight. Though the summit is focused on fissile stockpiles, other nuclear concerns inevitably have drawn broad attention, including North Korea and its continued testing of nuclear devices and ballistic missiles.
The reclusive nation fired another short-range missile off its east coast today, the latest in a series of North Korean missile launches during what has been an extended period of military tension on the Korean peninsula. In January, North Korea detonated a nuclear device -- its fourth such test -- and a month later launched a long-range rocket.
The summit opened yesterday with Obama trying to forge consensus among East Asian leaders on how to respond to Pyongyang. "We are united in our efforts to deter and defend against North Korean provocations," Obama said after meeting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Park Geun-Hye.
AFP
Take care of your minorities first: India slams Pakistan
Lahore blast victim's family harassed, to move court
International
oi-IANS
By Ians English
Islamabad, April 1: The family of one of the victims of Gulshan-e-Iqbal park attack in Lahore, capital of Punjab province of Pakistan, said it will move the court against police.
The bruised and battered family of Muhammad Yousaf, victim of the attack that left at least 72 people killed and over 250 injured, said that the police added insult to their loss by detaining some of its members, Dawn online reported.
Police had detained members of Yousaf's family after mistakenly declaring him the suicide bomber during frantic search for clues after Sunday's blast.
Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a faction of the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack and said it deliberately targeted Christians celebrating Easter.
Jindan Mai, mother of Yousaf, narrated her ordeal and said that she can never forget the treatment Yousaf's family was subjected to by police who harassed and locked them up.
She said that her pleas that the family was innocent fell on deaf ears.
Soon after the blast, police raided Yousaf's home and arrested three of his brothers and locked the women inside.
His family members were freed on Wednesday and they went to Lahore to receive the body.
On Thursday, hundreds of people attended the funeral of Yousaf as he was laid to rest.
Yousaf had gone to Lahore and visited the park with his friends Bilal Shakir and Qari Yaqoob, both from Dera Ghazi Khan city. Bilal also died while Yaqoob was injured.
IANS
No, Vienna is no more the favourite address for 'James Bonds' today; its this city
Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam to be extradited to France
International
oi-IANS
By Ians English
Brussels, April 1: The transfer of Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam to France could take place "very soon", the Belgian broadcaster RTBF reported on Thursday, citing a collaborator of his lawyer Cedric Moisse.
According to the RTBF, the agreement to transfer Salah Abdeslam to France has been notified in an official report. An order for the delivery will be officially released on Friday, but it is already enforceable.
Brussels attacks: Suspect's DNA at Paris attack sites
A hearing of the council chamber was held on Thursday afternoon to allow a Belgian federal prosecutor to hear Abdeslam who has been detained in the prison of Bruges, Xinhua reported.
The Brussels Council Chamber has not yet officially released its decision but it is no longer in doubt, according to the Belgian daily Le Soir.
The Belgian federal prosecutor didn't oppose this transfer required by France after the arrest of Abdeslam on March 18.
According to the newspaper Le Soir, in fact, Abdeslam remains suspected of organising the attacks in Brussels.
Even with the suspect imprisoned in France, it is also possible to organise a joint trial by the Belgian and French justices, the report said.
IANS
Prince William and Kate to visit Taj Mahal during India trip
International
oi-Sandra
London, April 1: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will embark on a six-day visit to India and Bhutan starting April 10.
Prince William and Kate Middleton will be visiting India for the first time but they will not be accompanied by their children, Geroge and Charlotte.
William and Kate will arrive in Mumbai on April 10 and will be staying at The Taj Hotel. While in Mumbai, they will meet and interact with the locals and will also engage in programmes organised by NGOs.
According to reports, they are likely to attend a reception, which will be held in their honour.
They will then fly to New Delhi and attend Queen Elizabeth's 90th birthday celebration at the British High Commissioner's residence in Delhi.
Prince William is expected to give a speech in honour of his grandmother at the event. Following this the royal couple will head to Assam where they will visit the Kaziranga National Park.
Wiliam and Kate will also attend the festivities here surrounding the Bohag Bihu festival and will interact with locals.
Before heading to Bhutan, the Royal couple will also visit the Taj Mahal, a place Princess Diana vistsed 24 years ago.
OneIndia News
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Story first published: Friday, April 1, 2016, 15:16 [IST]
Cornered Trump accuses Obama administration of spying on his campaign
Trump accuses China and Russia of meddling in US elections
Trumps election in 2016 was not an entertainment for many; in fact it was a trauma: Report
US presidential poll: Trump, Clinton lead nationally amid Trump-Cruz feud
International
oi-IANS
By Ians English
Washington, Mar 25: Republican and Democratic presidential frontrunners Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton hold leads in nationwide polls amid an escalating feud between the brash billionaire and rival Ted Cruz over their wives.
With the nominating primary and caucus season now past its halfway point, a CNN survey average of six recent polls found Trump holding a 12-point lead over Texas Senator Cruz, 43 percent to 31 percent.
The third Republican in the contest, Ohio Governor John Kasich, was well behind at 19 percent.
On the Democratic side Clinton topped her party rival, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, 52 percent to 43 percent.
The average suggests Clinton has expanded her lead since mid-February, when an average of national polls conducted after the New Hampshire primary found Clinton just 6 percentage points ahead of Sanders.
Trump's lead over Cruz is about the same as his lead in mid-February, but both candidates have grown their share of the vote as the field has shrunk. That poll of polls found Trump at 34 percent and Cruz at 21 percent in a field of six candidates.
US presidential elections 2016: Here is what you need to know about poll process
Meanwhile, a feud between Trump and Cruz over their wives escalated with an angry and emotional Cruz Thursday calling the real estate mogul "a snivelling coward" for attacks on wife Heidi.
"Donald, you're a snivelling coward and leave Heidi the hell alone," Cruz told reporters Thursday in Dane, Wisconsin.
But he repeatedly declined to say whether he would support Trump if he's the Republican presidential nominee. "I'm going to beat Donald for the nomination," he insisted before saying three times: "Donald Trump will not be the nominee."
In response to a Facebook ad that shows Trump's wife Melania posing nude Trump warned Cruz Tuesday night that he should "be careful" or he would "spill the beans on your wife."
On Wednesday night he retweeted a supporter who photoshopped together a villainous-looking Heidi and a smoky-eyed Melania.
"No need to 'spill the beans'" because "the images are worth a thousand words," the photo illustration said.
The ad was produced by an anti-Trump super PAC, Make America Awesome, which has no known connection to the Cruz campaign, but Trump still blamed Cruz.
"I didn't start the fight with Lyin'Ted Cruz over the GQ cover pic of Melania, he did. He knew the PAC was putting it out - hence, Lyin' Ted!" he tweeted.
Cruz Thursday attributed Trump's tweets to a broader discomfort with women, tying in his well-publicised feud with Fox News host Megyn Kelly.
"Donald does seem to have an issue with women. Donald doesn't like strong women," he said, at one point calling Trump a "loud, New York bully."
"Real men don't try to bully women. That's not an action of strength. That's an action of weakness. It's an action of fear. It's an action of a small and petty man who is intimidated by strong women."
Kelly, who rarely opines on Trump controversies, responded Thursday to the latest Trump tweet with just one word: "Seriously?"
IANS
At UNSC, US calls on world to tell Russia to stop its nuclear threats
US Senator welcomes India FDI policy in e-commerce sector
International
oi-PTI
Washington, Mar 31: A top American Senator today welcomed India's decision to loosen FDI restrictions in the e-commerce sector, saying it will help nearly 400 million Indians living in poverty access cheaper goods.
"It is a very promising sign that as Prime Minister Modi pursues his 'Digital India' initiative, US e-tailers can now compete on a level playing field in India," Senator Mark Warner, Co-Chair of the Senate India Caucus said.
"This move will benefit both US and Indian companies, and help nearly 400 million Indians living in poverty access cheaper goods and job opportunities," Warner said.
In a statement, Warner praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement that India will loosen FDI restrictions in the e-commerce sector and allow foreign companies to sell items directly to Indian consumers over the internet. Warner and Senator John Cornyn, both co-chairs of the Senate India Caucus, previously urged President Obama to request Prime Minister Modi loosen restrictions ahead of his historic trip to India in January, 2015.
PTI
Whether Left or Trinamool, Kolkata has seen big tragedies under all govts
Kolkata
oi-Shubham
Kolkata, April 1: At least 25 people were killed after a massive girder of an under-construction flyover in North Kolkata collapsed at a busy juncture on Thursday (March 31). The Army rushed in to carry out the rescue operation after the authorities failed to respond promptly. [Army resumes rescue op after temporary suspension]
This is a major tragedy that Kolkata/West Bengal has seen in the last few years.
Here are some of them:
April 2008: Bus falls in Bagjola canal in East Kolkata, at least 20 dead
In power: Left Front
The driver of a private bus lost control of the vehicle while trying to race past another bus and it plunged into the roadside Bagjola Canal, killing at least 20 people, including women and children. There were around 50 passengers in the bus at the time of the accident. Absence of an emergency exit in the vehicle resulted in more deaths. The city's ramshackle public transport vehicles came under notice for the first time after this incident.
March 2010: Fire at old building in Park Street, at least 24 dead
In power: Left Front
A massive fire broke out at the Stephen Court in Park Street area, killing at least 24 and injuring many. The police and fire brigade found it difficult to carry out the rescue operation since they did not have the building plan. The fifth and sixth floors of the 50-year-old building were constructed illegally, said the police later. At least five people had jumped to their death from the multi-storeyed building as the fire spread. Fire safety standards were clearly flouted.
December 2011: Fire at AAMRI Hospital in Dhakura, 89 killed
In power: Trinamool Congress-led alliance
Eighty-nine people, including 85 patients, died after the renowned AAMRI Hospital in South Kolkata's Dhakuria area caught fire around 3 am. Most of the patients died because of asphyxiation. It was alleged that doctors and staff members left the abandoned patients, many of who were immobile. Board members, including two industrialists, reportedly owners of the hospital, later surrendered before the police.
March 2013: A portion of a flyover in Ultadanga in East Kolkata collapsed, no casualties
In power: Trinamool Congress
A large chunk of a newly inaugurated flyover in Ultadanga in East Kolkata fell down. No life was lost since it happened around 4.30 am. A few young men raised an alarm to avert a bigger disaster. The ruling party blamed the previous Left government for the accident.
Oneindia News
West indies beat India by 7 wickets in the semi finals to enter the finals of T20. Meanwhile, Bangladesh wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim taunted the Indian team after their exit from the T20 tournament. Kolkata bridge collapse that 25 lives yesterday. It has been said that the rescue operation is almost over. The police are reportedly heading to Hyderabad to arrest officials of the construction company. Prime minister Narendra Modi urged the world to unite against terrorism. He was speaking at the working dinner hosted by US President Obama at the Nuclear Security Summit.
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Matthias Knab, Opalesque:
Concerns are mounting over the amount of methane gas that is being produced on Capitol Hill.
In November 1776, methane was first scientifically identified by Italian physicist Alessandro Volta in the marshes of Lake Maggiore straddling Italy and Switzerland. Volta was inspired to search for the substance after reading a paper written by Benjamin Franklin about "flammable air" in Washington. Volta captured the gas rising from the marsh, and by 1778 had isolated the pure gas. He also demonstrated means to ignite the gas with an electric spark.
Everyone knows D.C. was built from a "pestilent swamp," President Jimmy Carter said so. So the original sources of the gas was from the actual swamp itself.
Methane production in the area has increased to such an extent that the Capitol Dome is holding dangerous concentrations of the gas. This gas could be ignited by a single spark which would blow the dome off leaving the Capitol building to look like a decapitated egg.
An idea has been put forward to drill holes in the top of the dome which would let the gas escape into the atmosphere. But this would make the Capitol building look like a salt cellar. Environmentalists are however against the idea as methane gas is one of the gases creating the global greenhouse effect and it would be dangerous to release more into the atmosphere.
Dr A R Shole, Chairman of Taurus Orators, the radical hedge fund group and leaders of socially responsible in......................
To view our full article Click here
Congress Switchboard: 202-224-3121
"In his new book, Bottom-Up, Rob Kall's exploration of top-down and bottom-up forces in our culture, our brains, and our planet provides a deep insight into the challenges we face. He offers pathways we can use to create the changes we need to break free of the war economy and build local peace economies."
Jodie Evans, cofounder of Code Pink and Chair of the Women's Media Center
Reprinted from WSWS
All three remaining candidates for the Republican presidential nomination declined to renew their pledges to support the party's eventual standard-bearer, in back-to-back appearances Tuesday night at a town hall in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, televised over CNN.
While Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Ohio Governor John Kasich worded their statements carefully, billionaire Donald Trump, the frontrunner, flatly repudiated the declaration that he made last fall, agreeing to support the party's nominee and not to launch a third-party or independent campaign if denied the Republican nomination.
Trump told interviewer Anderson Cooper that the Republican National Committee and the Republican Party "establishment" had not treated him fairly. He claimed "you'd have a lot of very upset people" if there is a contested convention in Cleveland in July which nominates someone else.
A contested convention would take place if Trump fails to reach the required 1,237 majority of delegates required for the nomination, as is increasingly possible given the fractured voting in primaries and caucuses. Trump currently leads with 763 delegates to 463 for Cruz and 143 for Kasich.
Only four weeks ago, at a March 3 Fox News debate in Detroit, all three candidates, plus Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who was still in the race, raised their hands to declare they remained committed to support the eventual nominee, whether Trump or someone else.
Asked if he stood by that pledge, Trump said Tuesday, "No, I don't anymore." He claimed that the RNC and Republican officials were not treating him with the respect due to his first-place position. "I'm the front-runner by a lot," he boasted. "I'm beating Ted Cruz by millions of votes." Trump went on to berate Cruz, declaring that he did not need his support in the general election and would not want it.
Cruz responded in similarly bitter terms to a subsequent question about supporting Trump if he becomes the nominee, referring to a recent series of vicious Internet postings by Trump. "I'm not in the habit of supporting someone who attacks my wife and attacks my family," he said. When pressed, Cruz continued, "Let me tell you my solution to that: Donald is not going to be the GOP nominee."
Kasich said, "If the nominee is somebody I think is really hurting the country, and dividing the country, I can't stand behind them," but wouldn't say Trump's name, although that was clearly the reference. He said he had been "disturbed by some of the things I've seen" during the campaign, adding, "I want to see how this finishes out." Asked about his pledge to support Trump at the Detroit debate, he said, "Frankly, all of us shouldn't have even answered that question."
The next major contest is April 5 in Wisconsin, with polls of likely Republican voters showing Cruz with a 10-point lead over Trump, 40 percent to 30 percent, with Kasich trailing with 21 percent.
There were signs of a more concerted anti-Trump campaign in Wisconsin, where virtually the entire state Republican Party is backing Cruz, led by Governor Scott Walker, himself a failed presidential candidate, who endorsed Cruz on Monday. Not a single Republican state legislator in Wisconsin is supporting Trump, an extraordinary situation for a presidential frontrunner.
Cruz, of course, is no less reactionary than Trump on virtually every significant issue. He hailed Walker's endorsement, noting the Wisconsin governor's role in the 2011 campaign against public employees, slashing wages, benefits and union rights while the AFL-CIO unions sabotaged a mass movement by the working class to fight back.
The Texas Senator sought to outdo Trump last week in anti-Muslim vilification and paranoia, advocating a massive police mobilization in US cities to "patrol and secure Muslim neighborhoods before they become radicalized."
Another effort to produce a contested convention came from Florida Senator Rubio, who had accumulated 171 pledged delegates before he suspended his campaign after defeat in his home state primary March 15.
Rubio has now asked the Republican National Committee and 21 state committees to have his delegates bound to vote for him at the convention's first ballot, rather than allowing them to become uncommitted, and therefore available for poaching by Trump or Cruz. On Tuesday, Alaska became the first state to respond, agreeing to bind Rubio's five delegates.
There were a number of signs that the mounting political pressure is taking its toll on the Trump campaign. On Tuesday, Trump's campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, was indicted in Jupiter, Florida on charges of battery against a female reporter, Michelle Fields, then of Breitbart News, a right-wing Internet publication.
HUSH by RONCO Hearing Protection
www.ronco.ca
Superior Hearing Protection without compromising comfortConcord, Ontario March 28, 2016: Hush is Roncos brand for hearing protection and the name is synonymous with delivering superior hearing protection without compromising comfort of the users.Since the launch in 2014, Hush line has grown and now comprise a full range of disposable and reusable ear plugs and earmuffs.1. Disposable earplugs These are available in corded, uncorded and metal detectable versions. The metal detectable ear plugs are ideal for the food processing industry and applications that require keeping track of lost earplugs a metal ball bearing is enclosed allowing them to be detected by scanners, for easy compliance with food industry regulations. All of these single use ear plugs are NRR 32 rated.The most recent addition to our disposable ear plug line are the bell shaped disposable ear plugs with an NRR of 32. These are very popular ear plugs and are favoured by users for their comfort level when working over extended periods of time in noisy environment.2. Reusable earplugs These are corded and come in a small plastic case for easy, clean and hygienic storage and are NRR 25 rated.3. Earmuffs There are 2 styles of Hush earmuffs available from Ronco with 21 NRR and 31 NRR. Both styles are foldable for convenient storage. They are light-weight and provide ease of wearability for the user.Mr. Ron Pecchioli, President, Ronco said, It gives me great pride to see our brands expand and develop into complete lines. We launched Hush in the last quarter of 2014 and since then we have expanded the line to support the needs of our distribution partners and end-users.The Hush ear plugs and earmuffs come in unique bright hi-viz citron and Sky (blue) colours that make them easily identifiable. All styles of HUSH earplugs and earmuffs are ANSI and CE certified and are ideal for use in food as well as industrial environments.For more information or to order free samples, call Ronco at 905.660.6700 or send an email to info@ronco.ca. You may also visit Ronco online atAbout Ronco: Established in 1996, Ronco is a world class manufacturer of safety products. With a focus on consistent quality and outstanding customer service, RONCO has developed a strong presence across Canada for delivering Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) solutions for Hand, Head and Body, targeting the food, healthcare and industrial sectors.RONCO is the first glove manufacturer in North America to obtain ISO 22000 certification for Food Safety Management Systems.Head Office70 Planchet RoadConcord, Ontario, L4K 2C7Vani KshattriyaMarketing Manager905.660.6700 x 275vani.kshattriya@ronco.ca
Why Orlando BTL investment market is so sought-after
https://www.homeunion.com/blog/top-single-family-rental-markets-for-2016-research-report/
http://balmoralflorida.com
https://www.apartmentlist.com/rentonomics/
www.feltrimgroup.com
Orlando is set to remain among the fastest growing metros this year for family real estate rental markets, thanks to its growing leisure and hospitality sectors.Thats the view of a new report from HomeUnion () website, which says Orlandos tourism sector, which reached a record 62million in 2015, supports the regions job growth and renter household formation.HomeUnion predicts Orlando asking rents will remain strong in 2016 and will rise 6.1% to $1,431 per month in 2016.The investment market in Orlando will be one of the most sought-after in the nation in 2016 as buyers attempt to place capital in the improving region.Orlando will remain among the fastest growing metros this year as signicant additions in the leisure and hospitality; construction; and trade, transport and utilities sectors support tenant demand, says HomeUnion.The metro has already broken all national records in the last two years by welcoming over 60 million visitors annually, and will attract new visitors, employers and job seekers this year as well.Thousands of payroll additions will be required for constructing the SunRail Transit Project, Interstate 4 reconstruction, and building the University of Central Floridas new Orlando campus. In three years, the campus is expected to house 13,000 students and 1,900 staff.Garrett Kenny, Chief Executive Officer of leading Central Florida real estate specialist, Feltrim Group, agrees that real estate buy-to-let investors from around the globe are drawn to Orlandos rental sector.With Orlando expected to go on to reach new record visitor numbers in 2016 and beyond, the potential of the buy-to-let investment sector just keeps growing.Add to that double-digital increases in capital values, a robust local jobs market and increasing road and rail links and you can see why the appeal of real estate investment in Orlando is so strong.In addition, with offers like Feltrim Groups leaseback option at our luxury lakeside development, Balmoral at Waters Edge (), south of WaltDisneyWorld, Orlando, which offers 6% net for up to three years, then theres even more reason for investors to buy.The figures back up an earlier story recently covered by Feltrim Group a few weeks ago, from the ApartmentList.com () website, which suggests Orlando apartment rental returns grew at around 9% on average in the year to March 2016, placing it in the top three in the United States.Feltrim Group began almost 20 years ago with CEO Garrett Kenny's vision of operating a world class, internationally connected real estate firm.The group is headquartered in the heart of Florida in the city of Davenport and now brings together construction, real estate, management and immigration services for international and local buyers as well as investors.Feltrim Group constantly strives to embrace new technologies, social media and traditional and non-traditional advertising platforms. Feltrim has evolved with the times and now has a multinational approach to Florida real estate and US-wide immigration services.For more details, seeFeltrim Group116 Polo Park East Blvd.Davenport FloridaGarrett KennyCEO
Jewers Doors Supplies Fast Acting Swift Doors for Nine New London Fire Brigade Stations
New London Fire Brigade Stations
www.jewersdoors.co.uk
Jewers Doors have just completed the installation of forty six Swift fast acting, bi-fold doors for nine new London Fire Brigade (LFB) stations under a 51.5 million Private Finance Initiative (PFI) project constructed by Blue3 consortium, comprising Kier and DIF Infrastructure.LFB have been specifying bi-folding doors to all new and refurbishment projects for over 25 years, and Jewers have been supplying a large proportion of those projects, so Swift doors were first choice for Kier on this 28 year PFI project. commented Mark Jewers, Director of Jewers Doors. The Swift door opens fully in less than 7 seconds, making them ideal for fire stations where appliances need to exit rapidly under blue light emergency response conditions. Thats less than half the time it takes for typical vertical lifting doors to open.Swift doors are designed with safety and security as standard. Leading edges of the door are fitted with full height pressure sensitive edges, so if a door meets any resistance during closing, it immediately stops and reverses. In addition, photocell beams inside and outside, create a safe area around the door which greatly reduces the risk of an impact ever occurring. In the event of power failure, each door can be instantly and effortlessly opened by hand in around 2 seconds.Jewers added, The sideways opening action and the large vision panel within each door leaf provides the fire appliance driver full visibility of the door position and the street outside, to exit the bay safety at all times. With vertical lifting doors, it is difficult to judge when there is sufficient height clearance, and in an emergency situation, its not unknown for the appliance to hit the bottom of the door before its fully open, resulting in downtime, costly repairs to the door and often the fire engine.Manufactured as a single piece construction, Swift door panels are fully insulated with CFC-free foam materials to optimise thermal efficiency and reduce noise pollution by 25dB. Options for partial or fully glazed doors are available.The new fire stations at Mitcham, Old Kent Road, Plaistow, Orpington and Dagenham are now in full service and the remaining four stations at Leytonstone, Shadwell, Purley and Dockhead are due for completion in early 2016.endsEditor NotesHi- res images available on requestMore about Jewers DoorsEstablished in 1983 and still a family run business, Jewers Doors is a world-leading supplier of industrial doors operating from a state-of-the-art facility in the heart of Bedfordshire. With over 50 highly skilled and experienced staff, the core of the business is design, manufacture, installation and repair of industrial door solutions across all industrial sectors. The Phoenix range of doors are designed for medium to large industrial applications, while the Esavian range is recognised as one of the worlds leading range of aircraft hanger doors. Incorporating the very latest concepts and technologies, Jewers Doors have been installed not only in the UK, but also throughout the world including Europe, Middle and Far East and New Zealand.For more information visitJewers Doors LtdStratton Business ParkBiggleswadeBedfordshireUnited KingdomSG18 8QB
Ho Chi Minh City - crime rises steadily
Ho Chi Minh City at night - captured by Silvia
http://www.vietnam-visa-for-vietnam.com/ho-chi-minh-city-crime-rises-steadily.html
http://www.vietnam-visa-for-vietnam.com
Crime in biggest metropolis of Vietnam has grown steadily over the past years and continues to expand. Crimes such as theft and robbery as well others are not only more and more a problem for tourists and locals but also are new challenges for the state authorities.Mr. and Ms. Doe (name changed by the editor) are annoyed because they were victims of a robbery in the morning near Ben Thanh Market in the city center of Saigon. Muggers have stolen their handbags with cell phone and camera, as well as 500 USD cash during a robbery. Then Mr. and Mrs. Doe have been waiting for an hour at a police station in District 1 of Ho Chi Minh City to make a criminal complaint. Since Mr. and Mrs. Doe were unable to name witnesses, the local police did not accept their complaint.But not only tourists and foreign visitors to the city are frustrated about such states. Also the Saigonese have increasingly afraid to leave their houses and feel insecure in town. Looters who wreak havoc all over the city are becoming more daring and more dangerous as well more professional. Most frequented areas for the increased number of criminals among others are the city traffic at bustling streets and markets or near ATMs as well abandoned houses or apartments and hotel rooms. Robbery usually occurs at dusk but more and more also at night and day times. Criminals act as couples or in groups and in a few cases also as single individuals. Many of the robbers are on the way with motorcycles to approach the victims quickly and unnoticed. From the surprised passers then are snatched handbags and cameras as well mobile phones or even jewelry. Then the robbers disappear just as quickly as they have appeared. According to statistics of the local police 7 to 8 of 10 detained offenders are drug consumers. Drug addiction had become a further large problem in Ho Chi Minh City in recent years.A resident of the city commented about the reality as follows: "Thieves and robbers in Ho Chi Minh City disseminate alike fear among the locals and the foreign visitors. In the streets of Saigon it comes every day to robberies as well thefts and the number of criminal offenses is constantly increasing. Crimes like that got too often happen without radical prosecution by the governmental institutions. The situation becomes increasingly unbearable. Saigon is an attractive destination for tourists but if we cannot solve this bad actuality, in the future they will stay far away".The warnings about robberies in Ho Chi Minh City are not new something. The foreign representatives from Australia, Korea, Japan and as well other countries in Vietnam reflect constantly the status of their citizens which lost passports and assets etc. in cases of robbery or theft. At their nonofficial statistics of 2015 are 83 cases happens to Japanese, 73 to Australians, 10 to Koreans and 80 to Taiwanese and Chinese. The victims of the robberies got help from the Vietnamese state authorities such as police only in a very few cases. The real number is many times higher because the victims only report the damage to their Diplomatic Missions in Vietnam when passports were stolen. A significant statistics at the police of Saigon about the cases of robbery and theft is unavailable because in many cases criminal complaints either are not been made or are not been accepted and registered at the responsible police departments.The reports of Vietnamese Tourism Ministry said that the rate of to Vietnam returning tourists is recently very low. Mr. and Ms. Doe will be also counted in this group because there wasnt any Vietnamese Government Authority who cares about their matter and not because they were robbed by Vietnamese criminals. It is however not only an insecurity of foreign tourists but also the local people. This becomes right now the identity as well the face of Ho Chi Minh City and the whole country. It does not matter how beautiful the country is or how kind some people are if visitors feel unsafe and be bothered. These tourists will never come back again and if they report stories same like those about Vietnam likewise their friends will never come here. So this is really a great failure by the Ministry of Internal Affairs which effect does to the tourism industry and the whole economic in Vietnam.According to a report of the police in Ho Chi Minh City, there are monthly more than 1.000 robberies in the province. The police had clarified allegedly more than 700 of these cases and arrested about 1,030 suspects. Another report indicates that, in March 2016, the number of robberies in Ho Chi Minh City has increased by 15% to 20% over the previous month. Foreigners were the target of robberies in more than 100 cases. Nearly 60% of the cases occurred in the area of roads in District 2, which are heavily frequented by tourists. There were 109 more robberies in District 1 according to this report and in 55 of these cases the victims were tourists and expats.The social networks are full of comments from visitors which said that Saigon is a city full of energy or very interesting and worth to explore. But many of them also vowed that they never will be return to Ho Chi Minh City or to Vietnam because the robberies. Other reasons for their decisions are theft of money, credit cards or passports as well scam and cheatings. Those who have not come to Vietnam in the past are expressed concern and said they would reconsider plans to explore Saigon. I think it is time that the Vietnamese government and the state authorities to reconsider their attitude towards crime. The responsible in the government departments should finally begin every kind of crime to take seriously and to punish all criminals in Vietnam rigorously. Otherwise in the future it maybe will be too late.28.03.2016Silvia Huynh - ITI-HOLIDAYITI-HOLIDAY Germany is an online travel agency for tours in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. We are offering affordable individual tours and fair travel service for the Europeans and here especially for the German market, into the Asian regions. ITI-HOLIDAY is an specialised international tour operator with a comprehensive service for travelers in Southeast Asia and Indochina. We are present on the European travel market Since 2008. We pleased about our growing customer numbers and popularity. We set great attention to customer satisfaction, service, fair prices and to realize it, we are leveraging the long experience of ITI-HOLIDAY Asia. Our strong community of local tour operators makes it possible.ITI-HOLIDAY DeutschlandIndochina Travel IndividualKlingerstrasse 41F09117 ChemnitzGermanyProprietorHeiko GrimmTel.: +49 371 2832201Tel.: +49 371 3179571Fax: +49 3212 1415272E-Mail: info(at)iti-holiday.infoInternet:
CheepAdvisor - Traveling on a Budget Made Easy
www.cheepadvisor.com
CheepAdvisor can be considered as the Tripadvisor for frugal travellers seeking the best value for money.It took 3 years for this London based startup to find those hidden gems that thrifty tourists, and even locals, could hardly find on their own. Whether you are in London or New York, the CheepAdvisor Community does the hard job by selecting the most incredible value in four different ways:EAT: the restaurants where you can have a full sit-down meal for much less than $10. all about authentic and fresh local food. Zero fast food chains policyDRINK: the most hyped bars & pubs offering affordable drinks all night. Who said that budget conscious people cannot enjoy a boozy night out?SLEEP: those rare squeaky clean budget hotels and luxury hostels with unbeatable quality/price ratioSEE: the most acclaimed free walking tours and the best free things to do in the cityTo top it all, they have created an user interface where likeminded people can review places and contribute to the community by sharing their own "Cheep-spots".is a fresh and promising website that will help many young people to explore the world!Finally a community for travelers on a budget and frugal locals. CheepAdvisor finds the best value hidden gems in the most expensive cities of the worldCheepadvisor96 Bell st NW1 6DSLondon
nfc tag on metal for rfid inventory system(gyrfidstore)
RFID Disc Tags are widely used for inventory tracking system or Automatic production systems. The RFID Disc Tag can also work on metal surface with anti-metal layer on it, also can be attached to goods surface by adhesive layer. There are abundant size options from 12mm to 50mm. GYRFID presents several types with different material and size to suitable customers application.DIP Series- PVC Disc Tag, PVC Laminated, thickness of 1.0-1.2mmDIT Series- Clear PVC Disc Tag, clear PVC Laminated, thickness of 1.0-1.2mmFOT Series- Foil Tag, Clear PVC Sealed, Thickness of 0.45-0.7mm.STE series Epoxy PVC Sticker, the surface covered by epoxy, thickness 2.0mmTKA series- ABS Token, ultrasonic welding ABS type, various size options.TKPPS series PPS Token, ultrasonic welding, mini size 12mm.Features:Model number: DIP-FMaterial: PVC lamination + Anti-metal layer+ 3M adhesiveDimension: 13/ 14/ 15/ 17/ 18/ 20/ 22 / 25/ 30/ 35/ 40/ 50mm; thickness 1.0-1.2mmColor options: WhiteWater Proof: YesNotes: can be with anti-metal layer and 3M layerPersonalization Support: Silk-screen printing logo Thermal transfer printing Serial Number or UID Barcode printing and QR code printing, Photo printing Laser UID or Number Chip encodingApplication: NFC payments Patrol Guard Systems Logistic management Parcel tracking Inventory Control Automatic production management Asset tracking Device embeddedIC options:125KHz RFID: EM4200, EM4102, EM4100, GK4001; T5577; EM4305; Hitag1, Hitag2, Hitag S256 13.56Mhz ISO14443A: NXP MIFARE Classic 1K, MIFARE Classic 4K, MIFARE Ultralight, MIFARE Ultralight EV1, MIFARE Desfire 2K, MIFARE Desfire 4K, MIFARE Desfire 8K, MIFARE Plus, Fudan FM11RF08; NTAG203, NTAG213, NTAG215, NTAG216; LEGIC MIM256, LEGIC ATC1024, LEGIC ATC2048 13.56Mhz ISO15693: ICODE SLI; ICODE SLI-X; Tag-it 256, Tag-it 2048 840-960Mhz UHF: Alien Higgs, Monza 3, Monza 4D, Monza 4QT; NXP UCODE G2iLGYRFID STORE offers a wide range of products embedded with contact chip and contact-less chip (LF, HF, UHF), and there are some competitive products like ISO CARD, KEYFOB, WRISTBAND, DISC TAG, LAUNDRY TAG. The products are widely applied in access control, payment system, inventory control, asset tracking, and industrial managements.Should any of these items be of interest to you, please let us know. We will be happy to give you a quotation upon receipt of your detailed requirements.ADDRm1516, Qiangjin Building, QiXin Rd No.1318 ,Shanghai, 201100, China
RAANGE Interactive Secures 1 Million Customer Leads in 6 months for Retailers
Montreal-based RAANGE Interactive Inc. has launched a product that could revolutionize brick-and-mortar retail by facilitating omni-channel through personalized two-way communication. The company is already seeing success, having recently surpassed one million subscribers in only six months and having connected consumers with more than $10 million in instant savings.RAANGE is being used to purposefully bridge businesses with consumers through two-way, permission-based interaction via its mobile solutions platform.The journey for most consumers begins in the storefront. As consumers increasingly focus on their mobile phones even while shopping, store window displays and other traditional advertising signage isn't getting noticed.RAANGE has innovated an 'Interactive Sticker' - a thin, highly visible adhesive card that uses the latest in mobile technology - for retailers to showcase in-store and get shoppers' attention on the device they're already often looking at - mobile.The concept is simple and innovative. Consumers opt-in to receive communications (SMS/text messages, voice messages or email) from companies, products and services of their choosing. Companies then send the consumer offers, be it personalized instant deals, event updates, product launches and career opportunities. In the end, consumers get what they want, and retailers send personalized direct messages to consumers.According to RAANGE CEO Eric Nykamp, many display windows, counter tops and visible wall space are underutilized. RAANGE allows for a more interactive experience, increasing consumer touch points while driving more value from these underutilized spaces. Mr. Nykamp also noted that even though a large majority of consumers who enter a store don't make a purchase, they are already familiar with the store's brand and are therefore qualified leads who could be converted into customers, either in-store or online.Canadian retailers are starting to take notice of RAANGE. Business listings & monthly unique impressions on RAANGE.ME, a community and deals page free for consumers and businesses, have been growing month-over-month.The RAANGE retail solution can cut through communication clutter, providing customized messaging to consumers that is also CASL compliant. As a complement to the Stickers list building ability, they also offer a Contest Engine, and Convert and Re-Capture Technology.Whats next? Mr. Nykamp believes the technology can be successful in other industries, including automotive and food retailers. RAANGE is also working on their first generation Mobile app, soon to be launched. It will send personalized communications from retail clients directly to the RAANGE community of shoppers.For more information on RAANGE, contactMatt SeniukDirector of Marketingmatt@raange.com514-815-0952Were located in Montreal, Canada.Winters are really cold, Spring is really wet, Summers are extremely hot but, Fall is absolutely gorgeous.1 Holiday Ave.Suite 501, East TowerPointe-Claire, QuebecH9R-5N3Canada
Global Industry Analysis on Automotive Magnesium Alloy Market, 2014-2020
http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/3315
http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/3315
http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com
Automotive Magnesium Alloy is light metal alloys use extensively in automobiles original equipment manufacturing (OEM). Magnesium alloys offers higher strength, high thermal stability, rigidity, higher specific strength, ductility and it is light in weight compare to aluminium and steel.Automotive magnesium alloy are used in various vehicles interior parts, body parts, and chassis such as in crank shaft, oil pumps, mounts, brackets, housings, cylinder crankcase, and radiator support or carrier magnesium alloys also improves the aero dynamic performance of the vehicle by reducing overall weight on the front of vehicles.On the basis of various applications, the global magnesium alloy market is categorize in four different segment namely,1) Chassis: brake bracket and bracket assembly, clutch pedal bracket, air bag housing, engine cradle or sub frame.2) Interior: seat base, console bracket, instrument panel, reinforcement, console support bracket, (anti breaking system) ABS Housing, steering wheel armature, lock housing, and actuator housing and retainer3) Exterior: sun roof cover, outside mirror armature, roof and frame, and wheel frame4) Powertrain: alternator bracket, valve cover, cam cover, and transfer caseIn past few years there has been a trend towards reducing the weight of the vehicles to enhance vehicle performance such as reduces acceleration or deceleration time. Magnesium alloys also reduce front weight of the vehicle which helps in better design specification such as centre of gravity and aero dynamics of the vehicle. Automobiles parts made of magnesium alloys offers reduce noise, reduce vibration and better scratch resistance properties compare to aluminium and steel.Inconsistent properties of magnesium alloys in High Pressure Die Cast (HPDC) parts, poor corrosion resistance properties of magnesium and the consumer perception that magnesium is a flammable is acting as the major challenge for the industries.Asia Pacific is the largest market of the magnesium alloys followed by Europe and North America China and Japan are the some of the leading market in the Asia Pacific. Germany and Italy are the largest automotive magnesium alloys market in Europe. The U.S. accounts for the largest market share in North America. Asia Pacific is the fasted growing market of automotive magnesium alloys attributed to the increasing annual vehicle production and increasing demand of luxury vehicle from class A consumers in this region.Request Brochure of this Report:Some of the leading companies operating in global automotive magnesium alloy market include, Beijing Guangling Jinghua Science & Technology Co., Ltd. (Gonleer), Nanjing Yunhai Special Metals Co., Ltd., Meridian, STOLFIG, TAKATA, and Autoliv.Request to view TOC:About Us:Persistence Market Research (PMR) is an innovative provider of market research reports and consulting services. The three PMR pillars of strength that have helped us win clients for years are: Quality Research, Quick Research, and In-depth Research.PMRs team of seasoned analysts and consultants are experts in their domain. At PMR, we process complex, exhaustive primary and secondary research data into valuable insight. We uAbout Us:nderstand that each client has a unique problem statement, and address it with our strengths.Contact:Persistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA - Canada Toll Free: +1 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Market Report On Global Micro-Sprinkler Irrigation Systems Market 2016 Price and Growth to 2022
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A market study based on the "Micro-Sprinkler Irrigation Systems Market" across the globe, recently added to the repository of QY Market research, is titled Global Micro-Sprinkler Irrigation Systems Market 2016. The research report analyzes the historical as well as present performance of the global Micro-Sprinkler Irrigation Systems market, and makes predictions on the future status of Micro-Sprinkler Irrigation Systems market on the basis of this analysis.The report studies the market for Micro-Sprinkler Irrigation Systems across the globe taking the existing industry chain, the import and export statistics in Micro-Sprinkler Irrigation Systems market & dynamics of demand and supply of Micro-Sprinkler Irrigation Systems into consideration.Request For Report Sample Here:The 'Micro-Sprinkler Irrigation Systems' research study covers each and every aspect of the Micro-Sprinkler Irrigation Systems market globally, which starts from the definition of the Micro-Sprinkler Irrigation Systems market and develops towards Micro-Sprinkler Irrigation Systems market segmentations. Further, every segment of the Micro-Sprinkler Irrigation Systems market is classified and analyzed on the basis of product types, application, and the end-use industries of the Micro-Sprinkler Irrigation Systems market. The geographical segmentation of the Micro-Sprinkler Irrigation Systems market has also been covered at length in this report.The competitive landscape of the global market for Micro-Sprinkler Irrigation Systems is determined by evaluating the various market participants, production capacity, Micro-Sprinkler Irrigation Systems market's production chain, and the revenue generated by each manufacturer in the Micro-Sprinkler Irrigation Systems market worldwide.The global Micro-Sprinkler Irrigation Systems market 2016 is also analyzed on the basis of product pricing, Micro-Sprinkler Irrigation Systems production volume, data regarding demand and Micro-Sprinkler Irrigation Systems supply, and the revenue garnered by the product. Various methodical tools such as investment returns, feasibility, and market attractiveness analysis has been used in the research to present a comprehensive study of the market for Micro-Sprinkler Irrigation Systems across the globe.About Us:PR Market Web 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 Us:Joel JohnDeerfield Beach, Florida 33442United StatesToll Free: +1-855-465-4651 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-386-310-3803Web: PR Market WebEmail: sales@prmarketweb.com
Valve Market 2016 Global Industry Research Report, Analysis and Forecast
Valve Market
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A market study based on the "Valve market" across the globe, recently added to the repository of QY Market research, is titled Global Valve Market 2016. The research report analyzes the historical as well as present performance of the global Valve market, and makes predictions on the future status of Valve market on the basis of this analysis.The report studies the market for Valve across the globe taking the existing industry chain, the import and export statistics in Valve market & dynamics of demand and supply of Valve into consideration.Request For Report Sample Here:The ' Valve 'research study covers each and every aspect of the Valve market globally, which starts from the definition of the Valve market and develops towards Valve market segmentations. Further, every segment of the Valve market is classified and analyzed on the basis of product types, application, and the end-use industries of the Valve market. The geographical segmentation of the Valve market has also been covered at length in this report.The competitive landscape of the global market for Valve is determined by evaluating the various market participants, production capacity, Valve market's production chain, and the revenue generated by each manufacturer in the Valve market worldwide.Do Inquiry About This Report Here:The global Valve market 2016 is also analyzed on the basis of product pricing, Valve production volume, data regarding demand and Valve supply, and the revenue garnered by the product. Various methodical tools such as investment returns, feasibility, and market attractiveness analysis has been used in the research to present a comprehensive study of the market for Valve across the globe.About Pharma Report StoreAt Pharma Report Store, we have market research reports from competent publishers. Our Research Specialists have thorough knowledge about offerings from different publishers and different reports on respective industries. They will help you refine search parameters and get desired results at your doorstep. Here you can review the complete range of available reports, review the scope of study and methodology of reports.Apart from the published market research reports, we also provide customized study on any topic to meet the varied requirements of our clients. Whether you are looking for new product trends, competitive analysis or study on existing or emerging markets, Pharma Report Store has best offerings and expertise to get the critical information for you. You can also choose the option to purchase full reports or sections from the report or only charts or tables.Contact us:Joel John3422 SW 15 Street, Suit #8138,Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442, USAUSA Tel: +1-386-310-3803GMT Tel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll Free No.1-855-465-4651
News / Africa
by Staff reporter
President Jacob Zuma is on Friday evening expected to address the nation after the Constitutional Court ruling over upgrades at his Nkandla homestead.The Presidency issued an alert stating that the president was to address the nation at 19:00.The ANC was also expected to hold a press briefing at 20:00.Further details were not immediately available.On Thursday, the Constitutional Court had ruled that the president should adhere to the remedial actions of the public protector and pay back tax payers funds which were used for non-security upgrades worth millions at his Nkandla home.The court further ruled that Zuma and the National Assembly had violated the Constitution by ignoring the public protector's report.Since the ruling, opposition parties have called for Zuma to step down.
Global Electronic Scales Industry 2016 Market Development, Research and Analysis
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Global Electronic Scales Industry 2016 Market Overview, Size, Share, Trends, Analysis, Technology, Applications, Growth, Market Status, Demands, Insights, Development, Research and Forecast 2016-2020.The Global Electronic Scales Market is well poised for growth, but will nevertheless have to contend with numerous obstacles in its path. How will these push-and-pull dynamics affect the future of the global Electronic Scales market? This is precisely what the report aims to study. Based on several hours of primary and secondary research, the market research report comprises a complete, fact-based analysis of the global Electronic Scales market.The projected growth of the market also naturally means that numerous investment opportunities and development plans are in the offing. This report helps clients clearly see these opportunities and decide whether these fit into their long-term growth plans. The report is useful for both new companies and existing players in the global Electronic Scales market. Heres what buyers of this report can expect: Attain their growth targets wit definitive and verifiable research data to back their growth strategy. A thorough and objective analysis of the current and projected market size as well as the reasons driving this growth. A highly detailed segmentation of the global Electronic Scales market so as to spot opportunities that lie deep below whats visible on the surface. A comparative analysis of regional markets and how growth trends are swinging between these markets.Where required, we can also assist clients with customization requests. This service is especially useful in the event where clients wish to know more about a high-growth-potential area within the market.The findings of this report will help companies formulate timely R&D projects, understand whats changing on buyers side, create marketing strategies that precisely target the intended consumers, and help improve the overall return on investment. This complete, well-packaged coverage of the global Electronic Scales market will thus bring unmatched value to companies wanting to improve their market presence.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @QYResearchReports.com is the trusted source of market research reports among clients that include prestigious Chinese companies, multinational companies, SMEs, and private equity firms. Our market research reports focus on categories including but not limited to: Chemicals, Energy, Alternative and Green Energy, Machinery, Manufacturing, Glass, Pharmaceuticals and Materials.Contact US:1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-618-1030Web:Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com
New Report on Global Expansion Tank Market 2015 and Analysis to 2019 By 9Dimen Group
http://www.9dimengroup.com/market-analysis/global-expansion-tank-market-2015-industry-growth-size.html
http://www.9dimengroup.com/report/56415/request-sample
http://www.9dimengroup.com/
9Dimen Group has recently announced the addition of new report "Global Expansion Tank Market 2015 Industry Growth, Size, Trends, Share, Opportunities and Forecast to 2019" to their offering.2015 Global Expansion Tank Industry Report is a professional and in-depth research report on the world's major regional market conditions of the Expansion Tank industry, focusing on the main regions (North America, Europe and Asia) and the main countries (United States, Germany, Japan and China).Get Complete Report with TOC:The report firstly introduced the Expansion Tank basics: definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain overview; industry policies and plans; product specifications; manufacturing processes; cost structures and so on. Then it analyzed the world's main region market conditions, including the product price, profit, capacity, production, capacity utilization, supply, demand and industry growth rate etc. In the end, the report introduced new project SWOT analysis, investment feasibility analysis, and investment return analysis.Request Sample:The report includes six parts, dealing with: 1.) basic information; 2.) the Asia Expansion Tank industry; 3.) the North American Expansion Tank industry; 4.) the European Expansion Tank industry; 5.) market entry and investment feasibility; and 6.) the report conclusion.Table of ContentPart I Expansion Tank Industry OverviewChapter One Expansion Tank Industry Overview1.1 Expansion Tank Definition1.2 Expansion Tank Classification Analysis1.2.1 Expansion Tank Main Classification Analysis1.2.2 Expansion Tank Main Classification Share Analysis1.3 Expansion Tank Application Analysis1.3.1 Expansion Tank Main Application Analysis1.3.2 Expansion Tank Main Application Share Analysis1.4 Expansion Tank Industry Chain Structure Analysis1.5 Expansion Tank Industry Development Overview1.5.1 Expansion Tank Product History Development Overview1.5.1 Expansion Tank Product Market Development Overview1.6 Expansion Tank Global Market Comparison Analysis1.6.1 Expansion Tank Global Import Market Analysis1.6.2 Expansion Tank Global Export Market Analysis1.6.3 Expansion Tank Global Main Region Market Analysis1.6.4 Expansion Tank Global Market Comparison Analysis1.6.5 Expansion Tank Global Market Development Trend AnalysisChapter Two Expansion Tank Up and Down Stream Industry Analysis2.1 Upstream Raw Materials Analysis2.1.1 Upstream Raw Materials Price Analysis2.1.2 Upstream Raw Materials Market Analysis2.1.3 Upstream Raw Materials Market Trend2.2 Down Stream Market Analysis2.1.1 Down Stream Market Analysis2.2.2 Down Stream Demand Analysis2.2.3 Down Stream Market Trend Analysis9Dimen 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.comWeb:
Three-phase Gear-motors Industry 2016 Global Trends, Market Investments, Growth Advancements, SWOT Analysis & Research Objectives
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http://www.qyresearchreports.com/report/global-three-phase-gear-motors-consumption-industry-2016-market-research-report.htm
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The report analyzes the global Three-phase Gear-motors market by taking into consideration the data received from conducting both primary as well as secondary research. This report on the Three-phase Gear-motors market studies the prevailing market dynamics and also predicts the growth opportunities for the market by the end of the forecast horizon. In addition, the major companies operating in the market, their development strategies, key players, grey areas, prime regions, competitive analysis, and trends influencing their business decisions have also been studied in this report.The report also includes product classifications, industry chain structure, product definition, key applications, product innovations, and product specifications. The report also evaluates the prime segments in the market. The key segment in the market and its predicted state by the end of the forecast horizon also form an integral part of this study. In the same way, the key region dominating the global Three-phase Gear-motors market and the regions expected to register impressive growth rate in the coming years have also been mentioned in this study.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @The market landscape section of the report comprises the leading players in the market and also presents their capacity production, company profile, key products, geographical evaluation, product specifications, SWOT analysis, and the status of their export and import. The key strategies adopted by the leading players have also been elaborated upon. These strategies help the upcoming players to get a better penetration in the market.The report also studies the impact of Porters five forces on the prevailing operations in the global Three-phase Gear-motors market. The latest industry news and the key opportunities in the market have also been elaborated in detail under this study. This part of the report also throws light on the countermeasures taken by the major players for tackling any kind of economic impact along with presenting the feasibility study of new project investment.Browse Complete Report with TOC @QYresearchreports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations. Reports from QYReseachReports.com feature valuable recommendations on how to navigate in the extremely unpredictable yet highly attractive Chinese market.QYResearchReports1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-618-1030Web:Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com
Home Energy Management Systems (HEMS) Market Size, Segmentation To 2020: Grand View Research, Inc.
http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/smart-home-energy-management
The Global Home Energy Management Systems (HEMS) Market is expected to exceed USD 2 billion by 2020, according to a new study by Grand View Research, Inc. Owing to increasing energy cost coupled with growing environmental concerns, energy management has emerged as a significant priority, which is expected to fuel the HEMS market. The need to conserve and optimize energy utilization is expected to serve as a key market driver. Increased connectivity and widespread adoption of smartphones is also expected to favorably impact the market growth. Energy management products demand has gained momentum over the last few years owing to use of variable pricing schemes offered by service providers. Favorable regulatory initiatives in the U.S. pertaining to energy conservation are expected to propel regional HEMS market growth.High installation cost coupled with system complexity is expected to pose a challenge to market growth over the forecast period. Lack of consumer awareness regarding home energy management systems and the benefits they offer may also hinder the HEMS market. Technological proliferation along with decreased sensor and display costs, improved device-level information processing capability, and roll-out of smart utility meters provide avenues for market growth.Browse full research report on Global Home Energy Management Systems (HEMS) Market:Further key findings from the study suggest: Wi-Fi emerged as the dominant segment in 2013; it is expected to continue accounting for considerable market share over the forecast period. ZigBee, a standard for wireless networks, is expected to be a high growth segment over the forecast period. This can be attributed to its ability to support needs of various utilities, government groups and product manufacturers. The HEMS market is dominated by control devices and systems; these include thermostats, whole home lighting systems and home automation systems. Enabling technologies are expected to witness high growth over the next six years due to popularity of technologies such as home area network, ZigBee and sensing. On account of favorable government initiatives and growing need to address issues related to aging infrastructure, North America is expected to emerge as the most dominant regional market over the forecast period. Smart meter mandates by utilities is primarily expected to drive the HEMS market in Europe. Key market participants include Intel Corporation, Panasonic Corporation, Cisco Systems Inc, General Electric Co. and Honeywell International. Innovations and extensive product development are expected to be the key growth strategies over the forecast period.For the purpose of this study, Grand View Research has segmented the global HEMS market on the basis of technology, component and region:HEMS Technology Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2012 - 2020) Wi-Fi ZigBee Wireless M-Bus HomePlug Z-Wave OthersHEMS Component Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2012 - 2020) Enabling Technologies User Interface Control DevicesHEMS Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2012 - 2020) North America Europe Asia Pacific RoWGrand View Research, Inc. is a U.S. based market research and consulting company, registered in the State of California and headquartered in San Francisco. The company provides syndicated research reports, customized research reports, and consulting services. To help clients make informed business decisions, we offer market intelligence studies ensuring relevant and fact-based research across a range of industries, from technology to chemicals, materials and healthcare.Sherry JamesCorporate Sales Specialist, USAGrand View Research, Inc
Packingsupply introduces sample kits
Halol, India, 21st Dec 2015: Packingsupply launches sample kits, a new way to help customers to buy packaging materials with ease. The sample kits introduced are very much useful for the customers who first wishes to check, evaluate their requirement, analyze and then order in bulk. There are mainly five types of sample kits introduced. Each sample kit contains its respective packaging material with all the available variants. Following are the details of each sample kit:1. Flipkart Packaging Sample KitThe Flipkart Packaging sample kit includes Flipkart branded envelopes and courier bags, Flipkart branded bubble envelopes and corrugated boxes. The sample kit includes the samples of all the available sizes of each packaging material.2. Amazon.in Premium Packaging Sample KitThis sample kit includes Amazon.in branded premium courier bags and corrugated boxes with the samples of all the available sizes.3. Amazon.in Economy Packaging Sample KitThe economy range of Amazon.in branded packaging materials include envelopes and corrugated boxes with all the available sizes.4. Envelopes Sample KitThis sample kit includes various types of envelopes like plastic envelopes, transparent envelope, Single side transparent envelopes and bubble envelopes. The packaging products in this sample kit are our classic products that are plain without any branding that are apt in use for shipping, storage, promotional, storing fragile valuables and much more. Available in a range of sizes to select from.5. Courier Bags Sample KitThe Courier bags sample kit includes tamper proof courier bags and bubble courier bags that are available with POD jacket. This sample kit includes samples of available sizes.The packaging products sample kit helps the customer confirm the sizes required for packaging their products, check the quality of the product, evaluate and decide if their products are fragile and require extra care for the packaging. These evaluations will help customers later buy packaging materials in bulk as per their requirement.Packingsupply.in is a new initiative by market experts Dynaflex having three-decade-old experience in printing and packaging. It is a one stop online destination for all your packaging materials requirements helping you to buy high-quality packaging material at the ease of your fingertips, shipped straight to your homes. The best part about the website is that the buying quantity for the shopping website is as low as 100 pieces delivered at the address of your choice in minimum 3 working days.Packingsupply.in,A Venture by Dynaflex Private Limited,Plot No. 321,322 & 318/4,PO: Baska, Ta: Halol, District: Panchmahal,Vadodara-Halol Road,Halol-389350, Gujarat, India.
News / Local
by Walter Dlamini
Comments
People's Democratic Party (PDP) Secretary General, Dr. Gorden Moyo says the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) must engage Civic Society Organisations (CSOs), members of the public and parties set to contest in the 2018 presidential elections, in selecting an independent body or set of individuals to oversee the use of the biometric voting system which it intends to adopt for the forth coming elections.In an interview Dr Moyo said it is a pity that the technology which can be used to ensure efficiency and effectiveness of the electoral process can also be tempered with, hacked and used to rig elections if the use of the machinery is not monitored.The biometric system which the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) plans to introduce for 2018 elections, it is a technology which involves the scanning for either fingerprints or the iris in conducting voter registration, voting and it can also be used in the process of counting of votes in order to ensure efficiency and effectiveness of the electoral process.Dr Moyo said if the technology is properly used, it will go a long way in curbing cases of rigged elections which he claims have happened in the country over the years in the past elections."As a representative of PDP I am speaking for the whole party when I say we need this technology to take effect, to put an end to rigging of elections which has been done by the Zanu PF party in the past years."He said since the biometric voting system is new in Zimbabwe, the commission must not rush to fully implement it."We must carefully monitor the first steps to see what results it is going to bring, however I suggest that it be used in the registration process to come up with a proper voter's roll, then we take it fromthere," said Dr Moyo.Meanwhile Dr Moyo said biometric voting is going to be a challenge to use in some remote areas which he highlighted long distances and unavailability of electricity as challenges which are going to be faced in the use of the biometric technology or any other electronic voting method."Zimbabwe has outlying areas which are very far some which over the years we have had a challenge in reaching, for example I can account for a place in Gokwe where ballot papers had to be transported using helicopters during the 2008 elections."At least 25 African countries are said to have tried using the Biometric Voting System and some are claimed to have failed "spectacularly".
A Washington County man accused of planning to meet a 15-year-old California boy for sex was arrested last week at the Portland International Airport, deputies said.
David James McHarg of Aloha, 57, was charged Thursday with first-degree online sexual corruption of a child and luring a minor, court records show. Washington County sheriff's detectives assumed the identity of the 15-year-old boy and had been communicating with McHarg online, the sheriff's office said in a news release.
Detectives started investigating McHarg in February after a member of his family reported his allegedly "suspicious predatory behavior," according to the sheriff's office.
Detectives said he was communicating electronicallly with boys, mostly using Facebook, according to the sheriff's office. They then assumed the identity of the 15-year-old California boy and started talking with McHarg, who allegedly arranged to meet the boy at Portland International Airport.
The sheriff's office said McHarg "attempted to engage in inappropriate sexual conduct with at least one underage male" -- presumably the California boy -- and that detectives think McHarg may have victimized other people.
Detectives arrested him at the airport without incident on March 24, according to the sheriff's office.
McHarg, who was convicted in 2009 for second-degree sexual abuse, is booked in the Washington County Jail, according to court and jail records.
The sheriff's office asks anyone who has information about other victims to call its detective division at 503-846-2500.
-- Jim Ryan
jryan@oregonian.com
503-221-8005; @Jimryan015
For the planners in the audience, these are the beer and cider events that are on the radar for April, at least at this point. As more events come in, I'll add them and publish shorter calendar reminders by the week. So, stay tuned.
Grand opening, Portland Cider Co. taproom in Clackamas
noon to 11 p.m., Friday-Saturday, April 1-2
Free
Portland Cider Company has moved to its new taproom and cidery in Clackamas. To celebrate, they're throwing a party that will feature two limited release ciders, one is a blend of cider infused with spicy chai leaves, according to a press release. They'll also have food trucks and live music. Find more details here, including the food truck and music lineup.
The new taproom will have 12 ciders on tap, including the flagship ciders, seasonals and four rotating taps devoted to craft beer. Portland Cider Co. also has a taproom on Southeast Hawthorne with 28 ciders on tap.
Selfie Fest Launch
Begins at 3 p.m. Saturday, April 2
Imperial Bottle Shop & Taproom, 3090 S.E. Division St.
Come raise a glass to the breweries that do it all. These jack-of-all-trades men and women brew the craft beer, market it and distribute it as well. You can meet these hardworking types from these breweries and compliment them on their craft:
Baerlic
Bent Shovel Brewing
Wolf Free Brewery
13 Virtues Brewing
Sasquatch Brewing
Vanguard Brewing
Gateway Brewing
3rd Annual Hophouse Ciderfest
2-7 p.m., Saturday-Sunday, April 2-3
15th Avenue Hophouse, 1517 NE Brazee
For its third year, the Hophouse Ciderfest moves to a tent at the 15th Avenue Hophouse in Northeast Portland. More than 30 cideries are expected, including 2 Towns, Angry Orchard, Reverend Nat's, Portland Cider, Anthem and Hi-Wheel. The cider makers, mostly local or from the Pacific Northwest, will be pour their ciders and answering questions.
Aaron Hill pours ciders on tap. Imperial Bottleshop and Taproom is located at 3090 SE Division St. They can bottle beers on tap to take home using a Blichmann BeerGun.
Base Camp and Culmination tap takeover
6-9 p.m., Friday, April 1
Imperial Bottle Shop & Taproom, 3090 S.E. Division St.
Base Camp Brewing and Culmination Brewing are taking over the taps at Imperial Bottle Shop & Taproom. (Let's hope this is not an April Fools' joke.) Each will be pouring their take on a collaboration beer, among others. I'll let them describe the collaboration, but here's the deal on California Common: It's an American-style lager usually made with a yeast that works better at warm temperatures, sometimes called steam beer until Anchor Steam Brewing Co. trademarked that term.
Armory XPA six-pack launch party
Begins at 11 a.m., Friday, April 1
Deschutes Brewery Portland Public House, 210 N.W. 11th Ave.
Armory XPA was the first beer to be brewed at the Deschutes brewery in the Pearl District. And now it will be available in six-packs. Deschutes is celebrating all day and offering samples of XPA with food pairing and swag giveaways.
Double Mountain Pale Death party
5 p.m., Friday, April 1
Loyal Legion, 710 S.E. Sixth Ave
Pale Death, a Belgian style double IPA, is back and brings 11 of its fellow Double Mountain beers to Loyal Legion for a meet the brewer and giveaway event.
Lompoc Hip Hop IPA Night
4 p.m.-1 a.m., Wednesday, April 6
Lompoc Tavern, 1620 N.W. 23rd Ave.
Lompoc, which is known for themed IPA series, has five Hip Hop-themed IPAs, and they'll all be on tap. "If someone suggests a theme, and it sounds like fun, we'll do it," head brewer Bryan Keilty said in a press release.
For Hip Hop IPA night, the beers are, in order:
World Class Wreckin Brew
Mama Said Hop You Out
Hotel Motel Holiday Inn
MCA IPA
Hopster's Paradise.
Compare them in a taster tray or by the pint. A Gin & Juice cocktail featuring Aria Portland Dry Gin, which is distilled across the street, will also be available.
Ecliptic beer and food pairing
6:30 p.m.,Wednesday, April 6
Ben's Bottle Shop, 8052 E. Mill Plain Blvd, Vancouver
Tickets $40
Ecliptic, a brewery that wants to be known as much for its food as for its beer, is pairing four Ecliptic beers with four dishes created by its chef. Brewer John Harris will be on hand to talk about beer. Attendees are automatically entered in a raffle for beer swag. The grand prize winner will receive a brewery tour and tasting with Harris.
2016 Nano Beer Fest
noon-8 p.m. Saturday, noon-6 p.m. Sunday
Saturday-Sunday, April 9-10
John's Marketplace
3535 S.W. Multnomah Blvd.Tickets $20
For its eighth year, the Nano Beer Fest, or attend what could be called the "World's Largest Nano Beer Fest," will have more than 30 brewers of small quantities of beer, cider, mead or soda. (Here's the full list). Besides several meet-the-brewer opportunities and tastings, they will raffle off rare bottles of beer, memorabilia and other prizes hourly. Bonus: The raffles benefit the Oregon Humane Society, which will have adoptable dogs there Saturday, noon-3 p.m. There's a preview party, 5-10 p.m., Friday, April 8, at The Commons, with six of the participating nano-breweries.
Ground Control release
You may recall that in 2014, Ninkasi Brewing Co. of Eugene, through its Ninkasi Space Program, shot six vials of brewer's yeast into space, 77.3 miles above earth. When it came back, they brewed Ground Control, an Imperial Stout released in 2015. This year, Ground Control returns as a bourbon-barrel-aged Imperial Stout, aged in Old Forester barrels to be precise. It will be available in 22-ounce bottles beginning April 12. Here's where you can find it.
Old Town Pizza 42nd Anniversary and Bottle Release
Begins at 6 p.m., Thursday, April 14
Old Town Pizza, 226 N.W. Davis St.
It will be like 1974 all over again when Old Town Pizza celebrates its 42nd anniversary with a party at the original location in Old Town. The beer? Summer of '74, their newest bottled beer named for the year they opened. The food will be at 1974 prices and a DJ will be playing 1974 hits, a little "The Way We Were" anyone? More details here.
Sour, tart, barrel-aged beer. They pioneered the Northwest-style sour beer, so why not get it at the source? According to their website, they serve more than 18 rotating taps, with a predominantly sour lineup at any given time. They don't call it the House of Sour for nothing.
Collab Cascade Blend Debut
6 p.m., Friday, April 15
Cascade Brewing Barrel House, 939 S.E. Belmont St.
Do two sour beer brewers make one sweet collaboration? The odds are good.
Cascade Brewing Barrel House, known for its Northwest sour ales, and Bruery Terreux, a craft brewery from Orange County, Calif., that specializes in farmhouse-style wild and sour ales, have announced a collaboration project.
It all starts with a party at Cascade Brewing. The evening begins with a live barrel tapping and continues with a six-beer lineup from Bruery Terreux.
According to a press release, the five sours are:
Filmishmish
Humulus Terreux
Oude Tart with Cherries
Sourrento
Blue BBLS
White Chocolate (the one not-sour beer).
Pro tip: Look for the collaboration blend the breweries made for this event. They made 10 gallons, so it won't last too long.
Bruery Terreux brewers will come to Portland to design a beer with Cascade, and Cascade brewers will head to California in May to continue the collaboration. The resulting beer will be bottled and released by the two breweries in 2017.
Hood River Hard-Pressed Cider Fest
Noon-7 p.m., Saturday, April 16
3315 Stadelman Drive, Hood River.
Tickets $10, $5 for entry only.
Hood River, home to more than 440 orchards and 11 cideries, is also home to a cider scene that's busting out like blossoms in spring. And where there's cider, there's a cider fest, the Hood River Hard-Pressed Cider Fest. This year, its third, the festival is offering more than 30 ciders from more than 20 Oregon and Washington cideries. This festival gives seasoned cider drinkers as well as novices a chance to taste cider from Hood River County and beyond set among the apple, pear and cherry orchards. To go with the local cider, they'll have local food, local bands and place for the kids to play.
Brewed Food Dinner
Begins at 6 p.m., Tuesday, April 19
Simpatica Dining Hall, 828 S.E. Ash
There are beer dinners and there are beer dinners. This is the later. Chef and Cicerone Jensen Cummings and chefs from Biwa are pairing beers from Base Camp Brewing Co. and New Belgium Brewing with a five-course dinner menu that begins with ocean trout sashimi in a boysenberry brew sauce with cumber, pig heart yakitori with malted barley miso and funky daikon. That's paired with a Base Camp sour ale: "B" is for Boysenberry Brettanomyces Sour ale.
Brewed Food, according to its website, is a collective pop-up group that's dedicated to pushing the boundaries of the beer and food world by bringing you special events, catering, educational platforms and producing digital media.
99 bottles of art of the wall
Begins at 7 p.m., Thursday, April 21
Baerlic Brewing Co., 2235 S.E. 11th Ave.
Drinking and drawing ... what could go wrong? With a beer in one hand and a Sharpie in the other, you turn a blank screen-printed 32-ounce growler into a piece of beer bottle art. It's all part of Design Week Portland.
Reinheitsge-Not Fest
noon-5 p.m., Saturday, April 23
Baerlic Brewing Co, 2235 S.E. 11 th Ave
There are beer rules, the Reinheitsgebot, which dates back to 1516 and mandate that beer be made from only water, barley, hops and yeast. What better way to honor those rules on their 500th birthday than to break them? More than 14 breweries are on board with beers that bust the rules, including:
Breakside Brewery
Ex Novo Brewing
Fat Head's Portland
Gigantic Brewing
Hopworks Urban Brewery
Occidental Brewing
Here's the event page.
Family Meal #2
Begins at 10:30 p.m.
Ex Novo Brewing, 2326 N. Flint Ave.
Tickets $15
Ex Novo is hosting a new event series called "Family Meal," and this is the second round. The after-hours party features two Portland chefs, given secret ingredients, competing to impress the judges. Take that, "Top Chef." This round squares off chef Han Hwang of Kim Jong Grillin' against chef Jason Myers of Basilisk. Proceeds benefit The Portland Kitchen.
Homebrew Battle for the Columbia
Begins at 1 p.m., Saturday, April 30
Columbia River Brewing Co., 1728 N.E. 40 th Ave.
Tickets $15
Fifteen homebrewers will duke it out for the glory of the People's Choice and prizes at the Homebrew Battle for the Columbia. The judges, that's you, will sample all the homebrews from your commemorative cup and vote for the winner. All entry fees go to the Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership.
Here are 20 authors who'll be appearing in Portland in April.
Also coming to town
Augusten Burroughs:
Bill Walton:
Rob Spillman, editor, Tin House
Title: "All Tomorrow's Parties" (Grove Press, 400 pages, $25)
Genre: Memoir
Kirkus Reviews starred review: "Musically and culturally astute, this well-structured book is a delightful coming-of-age story couched within a travel narrative that deftly evokes one of the major historical moments of the 20th century."
In town: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 5, Powell's City of Books, 1005 W. Burnside St.
Danielle Dutton, founder of small press Dorothy
Title: "Margaret the First" (Catapult, 176 pages, $15.95)
Genre: Fiction
Publishers Weekly starred review: "Dutton's remarkable second novel is as vividly imaginative as its subject, the 17th-century English writer and eccentric Margaret Cavendish."
In town: 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 6, in conversation with Portland writer Alexis M. Smith, Annie Bloom's Books, 7834 S.W. Capitol Highway, Portland.
Title: "The Ugly Dumpling" (Mighty Media Kids, 32 pages, $15.95)
Genre: Picture books
Kirkus Reviews starred review: "Specifically told without gendered pronouns, this is simply a story about love."
In town: Book launch party and storytime, 11 a.m. Saturday, April 9, Powell's City of Books, 1005 W. Burnside St.
Deborah Hopkinson and Rosanne Parry, Oregon children's authors
Titles:
Hopkinson: "A Bandit's Tale: The Muddled Adventures of a Pickpocket" (Knopf Books for Young Readers, 304 pages, $16.99)
Parry: "The Turn of the Tide" (Random House, 304 pages, $16.99)
Genre: Children's fiction
About: "A Bandit's Tale," a Junior Literary Guild selection, focuses on young 19th-century immigrants and social reform movements in New York. "The Turn of the Tide," about an earthquake and tsunami that affect two cousins on opposite sides of the Pacific Ocean, received a starred review from Booklist.
In town: 4 p.m. Saturday, April 9, A Children's Place, 1423 N.E. Fremont St., Portland.
Title: "Septimania" (Overlook Press, 324 pages, $27.95)
Genre: Fiction
Kirkus review: "In Levi's long-awaited second novel, a failed Ph.D. candidate, expelled from Cambridge's Trinity College, learns he's king of Septimania, the land given to the Jews of eighth-century France by Charlemagne."
In town: 7:30 p.m. Monday, April 11, Powell's Books on Hawthorne, 3723 S.W. Hawthorne Blvd.
Peter Rock, English professor, Reed College
Title: "Klickitat" (Amulet Books, 240 pages, $17.95)
Genre: Young adult fiction
School Library Journal: "...the book features themes that teens can easily relate to: developing one's identity, coping with distant parents, questioning authority, and rejecting "the way things are."
In town: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 13, Powell's City of Books, 1005 W. Burnside St.
Floyd McKay, retired KGW-TV news analyst and Oregon Statesman reporter
Title: "Reporting the Oregon Story: How Activists and Visionaries Transformed a State" (Oregon State University Press, 288 pages, $21.95)
Genre: History
Back cover blurb: "Floyd's love of Oregon blends flawlessly with his commitment to tell this story with accuracy and heart." - Former Oregon Gov. Barbara Roberts
In town: 7 p.m. Thursday, April 14, at Powell's Books on Hawthorne, 3723 S.E. Hawthorne Blvd.
Stephen O'Connor, Sarah Lawrence College, Master of Fine Arts Writing Program
Title: "Thomas Jefferson Dreams of Sally Hemings" (Viking-Penguin, 624 pages, $28)
Genre: Fiction
Publisher's blurb: "(A) profound exploration of the ways in which the institution of slavery warped the human soul."
In town: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 14, Powell's City of Books, 1005 W. Burnside St.
Rita Dove, former Poet Laureate of the United States
Occasion: 2016 recipient of Oregon State University's Stone Award for Lifetime Literary Achievement
Genre: Poetry
Honors: 1987 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry, 1996 National Humanities Medal, 2011 National Medal of Arts.
In town: In conversation with Karen Holmberg, associate professor of English and creative writing at Oregon State University, 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 15, First Congregational United Church of Christ, 1126 S.W. Park Ave., Portland.
Hope Jahren, geochemist and geobiologist
Title: "Lab Girl" (Alfred A. Knopf, 290 pages, $26.95)
Genre: Memoir
Back cover blurb: " 'Lab Girl' ... introduced me to an inspiring woman - a scientist so passionate about her work I felt myself vividly with her on every page." - Cheryl Strayed
In town: 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 15, Powell's City of Books, 1005 W. Burnside St.
A.M. O'Malley, Portland writer
Title: "Expecting Something Else" (University of Hell Press, 79 pages, $15)
Genre: Prose poems
Back cover blurb: "By carefully destroying and restorying prior texts, she brilliantly opens up possibilities of meaning-making that made me swoon." - Lidia Yuknavitch
In town: Release party 7 p.m. Friday, April 15, Mother Foucault's Bookshop, 523 S.E. Morrison St.
Alison Stewart, television journalist
Title: "Junk: Digging Through America's Love Affair With Stuff" (Chicago Review Press, 304 pages, $26.99)
Genre: Current events/sociology
Jacket blurb: "When journalist and author Alison Stewart was confronted with emptying her late parents' overloaded basement, a job that dragged on for months, it got her thinking: How did it come to this?"
In town: 7:30 p.m. Monday, April 18, Powell's Books on Hawthorne, 3723 S.W. Hawthorne Blvd.
Krista Tippett, host, "On Being," National Public Radio
Title: "Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living" (Penguin Press, 288 pages, $28)
Genre: Religion and spirituality
Back cover blurb: "With this book, (Tippett) has gathered all her years of learning and listening to create a masterpiece of philosophical and spiritual reflection." - Elizabeth Gilbert
In town: 7 p.m. Monday, April 18, Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, 3415 S.W. Cedar Hills Blvd.
Felicia Day, actress and comedian
Title: "You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost)" (Touchstone, 272 pages, $16 paperback)
Genre: Memoir
Forbes.com review: "Relentlessly funny and surprisingly inspirational to anyone who grew up a geek and continually doubts themselves to this day."
In town: Book signing only, 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 20, Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, 3415 S.W. Cedar Hills Blvd.
Diana Abu-Jaber, writer in residence, Department of English, Portland State University
Title: "Life Without a Recipe" (W. W. Norton & Company, 272 pages, $26.95)
Genre: Memoir
Kirkus Reviews: "A delectably warm and wise memoir."
In town: In conversation with Portland writer Lidia Yuknavitch, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 26, at Powell's City of Books, 1005 W. Burnside St.
Gene Luen Yang, Library of Congress' National Ambassador for Young People's Literature
Title: "Secret Coders" (First Second Books, 96 pages, $9.99)
Genre: Graphic mystery
Wired magazine: "(L)ike Harry Potter, but with computers instead of wands."
In town: Book sale and signing, 7 p.m. Thursday, April 28, Alberta Rose Theatre, 3000 N.E. Alberta St., Portland.
Jim Lynch, Seattle novelist and former Oregonian reporter
Title: "Before the Wind" (Knopf, 304 pages, $26.95)
Genre: Fiction
Amazon blurb: "A grand and idiosyncratic family saga that will stand alongside Ken Kesey's 'Sometimes a Great Notion.' "
In town: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 28, Powell's City of Books, 1005 W. Burnside St.
Stewart O'Nan, novelist
Title: "City of Secrets" (Viking, 208 pages, $22)
Genre: Fiction
Amazon blurb: "A timely moral thriller of the Jewish underground resistance in Jerusalem after the Second World War."
In town: 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 29, Powell's City of Books, 1005 W. Burnside St.
Title: "Upside-Down Magic" (Scholastic Press, 208 pages, $14.99)
Genre: Children's fiction
Claim to fame: The book is a 2017 Oregon Battle of the Books selection.
In town: 4 p.m. Saturday, April 30, A Children's Place, 1423 N.E. Fremont St., Portland.
-- Amy Wang
awang@oregonian.com
503-294-5914
@ORAmyW
new building
A rendering released last summer of a new 19-story tower planned along Southwest Broadway between Southwest Clay and Columbia streets.
(Courtesy of BPM Real Estate Group)
A 19-story tower planned for a lot on Southwest Broadway in Portland has landed a hotel tenant.
The building's first eight floors will be home to the United States' second Radisson "RED" hotel, according to a news release from the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, which owns the Radisson brand. It is scheduled to open in 2018.
The 180-room Radisson RED won't have a front desk and will use technology "to simplify the experience and provide efficiencies including keyless guest room entry," according to the release. Guests will use an app to enter their rooms and order food. The hotel will include a bar, a restaurant, a fitness center and conference rooms.
There are 15 Radisson RED hotels in development around the world, according to the release, including one in Minneapolis that will open late this year.
The Portland building - dubbed the Broadway Tower - was announced last summer and will also include ground-floor retail space and 10 floors of office space above the hotel. It's slated to rise on property owned by the Goodman family along Broadway between Southwest Columbia and Southwest Clay streets, half a block from the South Park Blocks. The Goodmans tend to retain ownership of their land and enter into long-term leases with developers interested in building on the property.
The developer, BPM Real Estate Group, plans to break ground this summer. BPM is also finishing the nine-story Pearl West office tower at Northwest 14th Avenue and Irving Street.
A rendering of the 19-story tower proposed for Southwest Broadway between Southwest Columbia and Southwest Clay streets.
"We are excited to partner with Carlson Rezidor to bring this exciting new brand to life in downtown Portland," said Walter C. Bowen, BPM's president, in the news release. "RED is bold and alive, much like our city, making it the perfect match and amenity to the office component of the project. Broadway Tower will generate over 1,700 direct and induced jobs."
When BPM initially announced the tower, it was to have 20 stories rather than 19, and 170 rather than 180 hotel rooms.
The project, designed by Portland-based GBD Architects, will require demolition of a two-story building at the corner of Broadway and Clay - the former Oregonians Credit Union. The city issued a demolition permit Aug. 10. The rest of the half-block includes parking space. (The Broadway Tower will include underground parking for 210 cars and 132 bikes.)
To win density bonuses for the tower, the developer has proposed either paying into the city's affordable housing and parks funds, or building a residential project by July 2020 on the adjacent quarter-block at Southwest Park Avenue and Columbia Street. The residential building would have at least 60 multifamily units, at least 33 percent of which would be affordable to those making 80 percent of the area's median family income.
The Portland Design Commission has still not approved the tower and is set to reconsider the project on April 21, the Daily Journal of Commerce reported.
-- Luke Hammill
lhammill@oregonian.com
503-294-4029
@lucashammill
jeld-wen_file.JPG
The company was long headquartered in Klamath Falls, but Jeld-Wen's corporate offices moved to North Carolina last summer.
(Oregonian file photo)
Longtime Oregon door and window manufacturer Jeld-Wen plans an initial public stock offering as early as this spring, according to Bloomberg.
The wire service reported Jeld-Wen is looking to raise around $500 million in an IPO that would value the company at around $5 billion overall.
Jeld-Wen has been preparing an IPO since last summer but Bloomberg reported that only nine companies have listed on U.S. exchanges this year amid market turmoil.
The company was long headquartered in Klamath Falls, but Jeld-Wen's corporate offices moved to North Carolina last summer. The company endured a precipitous decline in business during the Great Recession, which coincided with the 2010 death of co-founder Richard Wendt.
Ownership salvaged Jeld-Wen by selling most of the business to a Canadian private equity firm called Onex for $871 million. If investors accept Jeld-Wen's $5 billion valuation, the new owners will be reaping a tremendous profit.
Jeld-Wen still has a substantial presence in Klamath Falls. Bloomberg said it's working on the IPO with bankers at Credit Suisse Group, Barclays and Citigroup.
-- Mike Rogoway
mrogoway@oregonian.com
503-294-7699
@rogoway
lightbar
A 29-year-old man with serious injuries went to the hospital Friday morning after he was struck by a car Thursday night in Vancouver, police said. The crash occurred around 10:30 p.m. at the 500 block of NE 112th Avenue. The driver's age is 25, and he cooperated with officers, police said.
(The Oregonian/OregonLive/file)
Andrew Miller
UPDATE: Off-duty Vancouver firefighter struck, killed by car
Correction appended
Update: 3:05 p.m.: The Vancouver Fire Department has identified the pedestrian who was fatally hit by a car in Vancouver as off-duty firefighter Andrew Miller. He was 27.
Update 11:22 a.m.: The pedestrian was an off-duty firefighter. His identity will not be released until the family has been notified.
Update 9:02 a.m.: The pedestrian has died from his injuries, police said in an update.
A 29-year-old man with serious injuries went to the hospital after he was struck by a car Thursday night in Vancouver, police said.
The pedestrian's condition is unknown, police said in a news release early Friday morning. The crash occurred around 10:30 p.m. at the 500 block of NE 112th Avenue.
The driver's age is 25, and he cooperated with officers, police said. Alcohol or high speed do not appear to be factors, police said. No arrests have been made.
During the response, an officer assigned to traffic control was almost hit by a person suspected of driving under the influence of intoxicants. That incident will be investigated separately, police said.
A previous version of this report incorrectly referred to Andrew Miller's age, due to incorrect information from a source. Miller was 27 years old.
-- Tony Hernandez
thernandez@oregonian.com
503-294-5928
@tonyhreports
Jim Ryan of The Oregonian/OregonLive staff contributed to this report
Correction appended
Fire officials identified on Friday the man who was hit and killed by a car in Vancouver the night before as off-duty firefighter Andrew Miller.
Miller, 27, had worked for the Vancouver Fire Department since 2011, the agency said in a news release. He's a Spokane native and graduated from Spokane Community College with an associate degree in fire science and general studies, firefighters said.
"We are proud of Andrew and all that he accomplished. The news is a tremendous loss to both Andrew's family and the Vancouver Fire Department family," Vancouver Fire Chief Joe Molina said in a statement.
Miller, who worked as a firefighter and emergency medical technician, was hit at about 10:25 p.m. while walking near his home in the 500 block of Northeast 112th Avenue, fire officials said. He was taken to a Vancouver hospital and died at about midnight.
"This is a very sad day for the city. The entire Vancouver City Council extends our condolences to the Miller family," Vancouver Mayor Timothy D. Leavitt said in a statement.
Miller was also part of the Vancouver Firefighter's Union, Local 452, and was previously a resident firefighter for Spokane County Fire District 10 in Airway Heights, according to Vancouver fire.
The driver who hit Miller cooperated with officers, Vancouver police said in a news release. Alcohol or high speeds don't appear to be factors in the collision, police said.
They said the driver, a 25-year-old Vancouver man, hasn't been arrested. The crash is under investigation.
-- Jim Ryan
jryan@oregonian.com
503-221-8005; @Jimryan015
A previous version of this report incorrectly referred to Andrew Miller's age, due to incorrect information from a source. Miller was 27 years old.
News / National
by Thobekile Zhou
Zanu PF members are ready to stand trial for alleged human rights abuses, however, only in Zimbabwe and not abroad, party spokesperson Simon Khaya Moyo has said.Khaya Moyo said there were no "untouchables" in Zimbabwe, but President Robert Mugabe who is protected against prosecution by the law.Said Khaya Moyo "It is only the President that cannot be taken to court. That is the law, but the rest of us are subject to trial for any crimes committed."We have court systems in Zimbabwe which are working well, actually, they are regarded as some of the best in the world."If people know of such characters in the party (who committed human rights crimes), why are they not reporting them to be dealt with by our courts? There are no untouchables. We have efficient, legal and professional court systems in Zimbabwe."Mugabe has been pushing African ICC member states to pull out of the organisation citing its alleged bias against African leaders
As previously communicated, Government is paying the 2015 bonus payments on a staggering basis, with the first instalment having being made end February 2016.
"The next proposed payment date is set for end March 2016.In this regard, 2015 Bonus Payments for members of the Zimbabwe Republic Police are being made tomorrow (today), 1 April 2016.To allow for mobilisation of additional resources, 2015 Bonus payment to members of the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services and stuff under the Health sector will be made on Thursday 7 April 2016.The 2015 bonus payment for the Education sector and the rest of the civil service remain as previously communicated, that is, 30 April 2016 and 31 May respectively.Treasury sincerely regrets all the inconveniences caused.
News / National
by Stephen Jakes
"Almighty God, in whose hands our future lies, I salute the national flag. Respecting the brave fathers and mothers who lost lives in the Chimurenga/ Umvukela. We are proud inheritors of the richness of our natural resources. We are proud creators and participants in our vibrant traditions and cultures. So I commit to honesty and the dignity of hard work."
MDC-T official in Bulawayo Felix Mafa Sibanda has lambasted the government for introducing the national pledge which must be recited by all pupils in schools saying the move was unconstitutional.The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education introduced what it calls a 'National Pledge' which according to the Ministry officials should be recited by the students daily before they begin lessons 'just as they recite the Lord's Prayer and then sing the National Anthem'."The Ministry has also reported that this pledge shall begin on the opening of schools for 2016 second term and to show their seriousness schools are already forced to ensure that they teach the students the pledge," Sibanda said."Whilst the idea of a National Pledge is laudable by some sections of our society, it needs to be categorically made clear that this National Pledge violates both the Biblical teachings and principles as well as the Constitutional Rights of children."The words of the National Pledge are:He said by way of definition, a pledge is a solemn promise, a vow, a commitment, an oath, a covenant, a bond, a guarantee. He said a pledge or commitment is physical as it is emotional and spiritual."So the Ministry is forcing children to make an oath and a vow and the truth is these children are below the majority age and our Constitution and laws say they are below the age of consent and they are not in the age where they can make vows and oaths," he said."This pledge/vow/oath/covenant, they are making it to the Almighty God and this presents two critical issues. Firstly, God through His Word the Bible clearly instructed us Christians not to swear. By forcing the children to swear, the Minister is forcing them to commit a sin before God and unfortunately the wages of sin is death (Roman 6 v 23) and those wages will be on the children not on the Ministry. In Leviticus 19 v 22 it says "And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I [am] the LORD," Sibanda said."In Matthew 5 v 33 - 37 Jesus Christ said "Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.' But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let what you say be simply 'Yes' or 'No'; anything more than this comes from evil."He said in James 5 v 12 the Bible says "But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and [your] nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.""Apart from the act of the pledge on its own being a sinful act before God, the Ministry is putting our children under the curse because Biblical when you make a covenant you should keep it. These children because of their age and because of lack of understanding, they are likely not to keep or abide by the pledge's committals and thus they become cursed. This is a double curse considering that just by making the oath they have subjected themselves to a curse," Sibanda said."Constitutionally this 'National Pledge' violates children's rights as Chapter 2 Section 19 Subsection (3)(b) of the Constitution clearly stipulates that "The State must take appropriate legislative and other measures to ensure that children are not required or permitted to perform work or provide services that are inappropriate for the children's age; or place at risk the children's well being, education, physical or mental health or spiritual, moral or social development."He said this 'pledge' further violates the Constitution's Fundamental Human Rights especially the Right to Freedom of Conscience as elaborated in Chapter 4 Section 60 (2) which says "No person may be compelled to make an oath that is contrary to their religion or belief or take an oath in a manner that is contrary to their religion or belief"."That section of the Constitution further puts a burden on the parents and guardians to ensure that minor children have the right to determine, in accordance with their beliefs, the moral and religious upbringing of their children. Spread the gospel and send this message to all u know," he said."As the MDC-T we saying this so called National pledge is unconstitutional and uncalled for in a democracy . The constitution of Zimbabwe protects all fundamental rights of people and let alone of children . There's freedom of conscience /worshiping and many others in chapter (IV) (60)and sections ( 75) and (81). As a matter of urgency parents are called upon to challenge this latest evil by zanu pf administration ."Sibanda said children are minor hence are ignorant of the implications of the so called national pledge."Anyone below the age of 18 does not take any legal or social responsibly on self .So who does at the end of the channel ? Therefore ,this is "the moment of madness " manifested by Robert Mugabe fractured government," he said."Zimbabwe is a country of diverse faiths ,cultures and social backgrounds hence that social fibre must be maintained at all coats."
News / National
by VOA
WASHINGTON DC - Zimbabweans have expressed mixed views over President Robert Mugabe's remarks that he remains popular in a nation that he has ruled for almost 36 years with the opposition urging him to step down for failing to properly run the country.Mr. Mugabe made the remarks in Japan where he is on an official state visit. He also told Japanese journalists that he will contest the 2018 presidential election. The president will be 94 in 2018.His supporters say President Mugabe got it right as he was given the mandate by a majority vote to lead the country in the 2013 general elections. The opposition claims that the polls were allegedly rigged by the ruling Zanu PF party.For perspective Studio 7 reached Zanu PF lawmaker, Joseph Tshuma, and Zapu member. Strike Mnkandla.Tshuma said President Mugabe is popular in Zimbabwe and is currently exercising his constitutional mandate to govern the country."I think it must be pretty obvious and common knowledge (that) political leadership and leaders are put by people through votes. So, the president is simply alluding to a fact that is there going back to the elections of 2013 where he was resoundingly elected into that office So he was elected by the people not by certain individuals but the generality of the population in Zimbabwe."He noted that those who are urging him to go were part of the regime change agenda being "supported" by the West."In other words you (those who think that it's time for the president to go) are implying that people are stupid in putting him into that office."Reacting to these remarks, Mnkandla said, "I think that if the will of the people is expressed one would need to cut office terms to that a person who is in charge is given a specific time to rule. If the person is popular he can then be asked by people to run for another term (depending on constitutional provisions)."He said it is clear that the president was not elected by the majority and people right now want him to leave claiming that he is responsible for the country's current economic decay.Mugabe has ruled Zimbabwe for almost 36 years.
Sometimes I have discovered the most interesting and fun foods quite by accident.
As the weather took a turn for the worse last Wednesday, my wife, Susanne, and I starting talking about one bus ride we took a little over six years ago. At the time we were spending Spring Break in the Central American nation of Belize. Soon after we arrived there, we found out that there was daily bus service to a city just north of the Mexican border. Since neither of us had ever been to that part of Mexico we decided to go.
Our destination in Mexico, not far from the border with Belize, was the city of Chetumal. People in Belize had spoken of Chetumal because they enjoy shopping and eating there. After all, Chetumal has a large mall and McDonalds, neither of which exist in Belize. But there is more to the area than that. Chetumal is actually the capital of the state of Qunitana Roo, the same state where Cancun is located. It is an important gateway for trade from Belize and home to a very nice Museum of Mayan Culture.
The bus ride from the Belizean capital Belize City to Chetumal took about 4 hours, including the time we spent at both border posts officially leaving Belize and entering Mexico. After Susanne and I arrived in Chetumal we looked for a hotel to spend the night. Our taxi driver recommended the Hotel Los Cocos in the center of town and that is where we stayed. Since we were hungry we looked for a place where we could get something local to eat. The restaurant we chose offered various national and local dishes. It was interesting to be in a part of Mexico where we had never been. I found all sorts of interesting types of local foods on the menu I had heard of but never tasted. There were local enchiladas with a sauce prepared with ground pumpkin seeds, all sorts of fish dishes, and many specialties garnished with the regional specialty, pickled red onions. I decided to try the salbutes. They are similar to tostadas but the tortillas are not baked or cooked before they are fried. The end result means the tortillas that are fried while still raw puff up a bit. The salbutes were topped with shredded chicken, finely chopped cabbage, tomatoes, avocadoes, pickled red onions and some pickled peppers. The salbutes (pronounced sahl-boo-tays) were great. I put a little of the local salsa on them but they were actually just fine without it. And I found the salsa to be extremely spicy!
After spending several hours discovering the town and enjoying a drink at the side of the hotel pool, it was time to find a place for dinner. Walking up and down the streets of the center of town is interesting since there are so many shops open at night. And that night there were also a good number of Beliezean tourists who has come to Chetumal looking for some good buys. Susanne and I quickly found a nice restaurant that advertised both national and local Mexican specialties. After ordering a glass of wine from our favorite Mexican winery, L.A. Cetto, Susanne and I ordered dinner. Since there were so many fish dishes, Susanne ordered fish. It was grilled with a combination of spices, vegetable oil and lime. She loved it. I chose the local tamales de chaya. Tamales are mounds of masa dough (made with a special corn flour traditional in Mexico and Central America) spread inside corn husks or banana leaves and then usually filled with various ingredients. In this case, the dough was prepared with the local chaya a vegetable that has a taste similar to spinach. The tamales were delicious!
Before we returned to Belize the next day, we decided to go to one more restaurant for a snack before leaving. We were offered all sorts of appetizers, most of which were fish. Some was fried, some was grilled. It was all good and certainly filled us up before our ride back to Belize on a old US school bus. Even though our stay in Chetumal was short, Susanne and I enjoyed the opportunity to discover the local culture. We have returned there during subsequent visits to Belize and Mexico and have always found something new to enjoy each time.
Since that first visit to Chetumal, I have found it fun to prepare some of the dishes Susanne and I tasted there. Although many call for red pickled onions the dishes can be prepared without them and still taste just fine. Have fun trying the recipe for salbutes.
Greg Lopez is a Midlander who enjoys food and travel. He combines both in a monthly column for the Daily News.
Salbutes - Yucatecan tostadas
6 uncooked corn tortillas
2 cups vegetable oil for frying
paper towels to drain the tortillas
2 cups finely chopped white cabbage
3 cups finely shredded chicken (leftover roasted chicken is good for this - if it is spicy, so much the better)
1 medium tomato, washed and dried, cut into thin rounds
1 medium avocado, peel and seed removed, and cut into thin slices
1 small onion, peel removed, and cut into very fine round slices
a few finely sliced pickled jalapeno peppers
Heat the vegetable oil in a large saucepan. Place one uncooked corn tortilla in the hot oil and turn over once using kitchen tongs. The tortilla is cooked when it is stiff and crispy. This takes less than a minute per tortilla depending on the heat of the oil and the thickness of the tortillas. Place tortillas on paper towels to drain. When all the tortillas are done, place a little cabbage, a good deal of shredded chicken, tomato and avocado on each tortilla. Finish with a few rounds of onion and peppers if you like. Serve right away! White rice is nice with these. Note: If you cannot find uncooked corn tortillas, purchase a bag of masa (in the Hispanic section of local grocery stores) and prepare the tortillas according to the instructions on the bag. Prepare each round tortilla and then fry according to the instructions in the recipe above.
Alpena Regional Medical Center has joined MidMichigan Health, an affiliate of the University of Michigan Health System, making it the fifth medical center in the MidMichigan Health system.
To reflect the hospital joining MidMichigan, ARMC has changed its name to MidMichigan Medical Center-Alpena.
What an incredible milestone this marks in the history of Alpena Regional Medical Center as we have now become MidMichigan Medical Center-Alpena. We wish to thank our board of trustees, employees, providers, volunteers and donors, the county commissioners, legislators, and above all, our community for the support they have given to us throughout this journey, said Eric Smith, board chair of MidMichigan Medical Center-Alpena. Bringing together our medical center with MidMichigan Health and the University of Michigan Health System creates a unique opportunity for residents in and around Alpena to receive outstanding care from the physicians they know and trust, and from those who bring additional medical expertise and advanced technology with these strong health systems. This partnership ensures a strong and viable future for our organization for years to come.
Diane Postler-Slattery, president and CEO of MidMichigan Health, said, Adding Alpena to MidMichigan Health and our strong family of medical centers in Alma, Clare, Gladwin and Midland is an honor to which we are all so proud. The employees and medical staff of Alpena share our mission of providing excellent health services to improve the quality of life for people in our communities. We look forward to working with them to enhance the depth and breadth of services available to area residents and beyond.
With the affiliation complete, MidMichigan Medical Center-Alpena is now the second-largest subsidiary of MidMichigan Health with 139 licensed-beds, followed by MidMichigan Medical Center in Alma with 79 beds, the Medical Center in Clare with 49 beds, and the Medical Center in Gladwin with 25 beds. MidMichigan Medical Center-Midland is the largest hospital with 328 licensed beds. In addition to the medical centers, MidMichigan Health also includes urgent care centers, home care, physicians, medical offices and other specialty health services.
Our hospital has been a valued part of our community for decades. We intend to reinforce and continue to build upon the connection we have to our residents, patients, health care providers, employees and volunteers, said Karmon Bjella, president of MidMichigan Medical Center-Alpena. This affiliation with MidMichigan Health moves us forward in a powerful way. It enables us to be better positioned to provide patient care that is safer, more effective and well-coordinated. Together, we will offer more convenient access and navigation to treatment and care that is not locally available.
MidMichigan Medical Center-Alpena offers inpatient and outpatient health care services to a broad region, which includes 24 zip codes in Alpena, Alcona, Iosco, Montmorency, Oscoda and Presque Isle counties. The medical center has about 1,000 employees, 200 volunteers and about 100 physicians.
Since October 2015 when Alpena announced they selected MidMichigan Health as a partner after evaluating several proposals, a letter of intent was signed, an extensive due-diligence process was completed, and a definitive agreement was signed. Numerous actions have also occurred involving legislative changes, approvals by the Alpena County Board of Commissioners, as well as formal actions taken by the Alpena Regional Medical Center Board of Trustees and MidMichigan Health Board of Directors.
As a result of the affiliation, the MidMichigan Health Board of Directors will increase by two members from Alpena and will include Eric Smith and Jim Arbuckle. The MidMichigan Medical Center-Alpena board will increase by two members to include Postler-Slattery and Greg Rogers, senior vice president of MidMichigan Health and president of MidMichigan Medical Center-Midland.
Hospitals and health systems across the nation are entering a new era of medicine as we all thrive, live and grow in a challenging health care environment that demands continuous progression, said Glenn Smith, board chair of MidMichigan Health. Together, we will be stronger than ever, working together to provide highly specialized, expert health care to the people who reside in our communities.
The Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum has received a $2,000 grant from the Saginaw Community Foundation for a Veterans Mural Grant Project.
The Museum and Saginaw Valley State Universitys Community Mural Workshop class, taught by Professor Mike Mosher, are working with veterans from SVSUs Military Student Affairs and the Saginaw Vet Center to create a digital mural. Two duplicates of the mural will be placed at the SVSU Military Student Affairs office and the Saginaw Vet Center.
Students and veterans will brainstorm mural ideas and create drawings to be implemented in the digital mural. The Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum will be one of the mural brainstorming locations providing inspiration and atmosphere in creating mural imagery, said Andrea Ondish, museum curator of education and project coordinator.
Ondish and Mosher have collaborated in the past with Saginaw Community Foundation-funded murals, created by SVSU students and community youth at the Trinity Center, Good Neighbors Mission and Saginaw County Juvenile Detention Center. Those murals and others can be seen by visiting the SVSU Community Arts Research website at svsu.edu/care.
Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam
Where the deer and the antelope play;
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word,
And the sky is not cloudy all day.
This imagery of an American West of old, penned in the early 1870s, is sure to bring a gentle yearning for years gone by.
That range was forever changed when buffalo were hunted to near-extinction in the late 1800s by European settlers as they advanced across the once-open American West.
But today, descendants of a bison herd captured and sent to Canada more than a century ago will be relocated to a Montana American Indian reservation sometime this month, says an Associated Press story published Wednesday in the Daily News.
The 89 plains bison, also known as buffalo, will form the nucleus of a herd that tribal leaders envision will soon roam freely across a vast Montana landscape more than 4,000 square miles combined.
Most of the buffalo that survive today are in commercial herds, raised for their meat and typically interbred with cattle, according to the AP story.
The lineage of the genetically-pure bison from Albertas Elk Island National Park, which experts say are free of cattle genes, traces back to a small group of animals captured more than100 years ago by several American Indians on Blackfeet Indian Reservation land, just south of Canada, and later sold to two men, Charles Allard and Michel Pablo. After U.S. 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 where they have remained for generations, according to park officials and Western historians.
And, now they are coming home to a land where they once roamed by the millions.
Theyve made a big circle, but now theyre coming home, said Ervin Carlson, a Blackfeet member and president of the Intertribal Buffalo Council.
A thought sure to bring a gentle smile.
(Editor's Note: Senior Airman Emmanuel Taveras is deployed from the 35th Maintenance Squadron at Misawa Air Base, Japan)
Twin brothers often share the same experiences from birth to high school graduation. However, few can claim to serve in the same deployed unit at the same time.
Senior Airman Emmanuel Taveras, 379th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron electrical and environmental journeyman, and his twin brother, Senior Airman Carlos Taveras, 379 EMXS aircraft structural maintenance apprentice, can.
The brothers are assigned to the same maintenance unit, work in the same building and arrived at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar in January 2016, only six days apart.
Emmanuel said serving in a deployed location with his brother is a dream come true.
We always wanted this, to be assigned to the same base, Emmanuel said. Its unique to have that happen, especially at a deployed location; were so thankful.
We are going to go on as many trips and explore as much of Qatar as we possibly can, Emmanuel added.
Carlos said there are benefits to serving in a deployed location with his brother.
Having him here makes the experience so much easier to deal with, he said. It can be stressful at times, but having my brother around makes things better.
The Taveras brothers were born in Puerto Rico and moved to the Dominican Republic when they were 4-years-old. At the age of 10, they moved to the Bronx, New York, where they lived until each of them made the decision to join the U.S. Air Force, following in their Uncle Juans footsteps.
My uncle served in the Air National Guard and he was my motivation, Emmanuel said. He pushed us to consider serving in the USAF and stressed the education benefits and travel opportunities Airmen have.
I wanted to be just like my uncle, said Carlos. I never considered joining the military until he did; the military provided me with an opportunity to explore and see things we didnt get to see.
Emmanuel enlisted in June 2011, foregoing his last two years of college, while Carlos enlisted two years later after earning his bachelor degree in graphic design.
I was a little jealous when (Emmanuel) joined, Carlos said. At that time, I was thinking about joining. When I heard he was joining and later got orders to Germany, it kinda made me lose my mind, because I wanted to travel and see the world.
Both Taveras brothers like to travel and expressed an interest in experiencing different cultures. The duo credit the Air Force with allowing them to pursue their dreams. Between the two, theyve traveled to 13 countries.
Prior to deploying to AUAB, Carlos was assigned to McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas, while Emmanuel, was assigned to Misawa Air Base, Japan.
Carlos said he was very excited when he learned he would deploy.
I volunteered for any deployment available because I needed a change of pace, but several people volunteered ahead of me, Carlos said. So, I held on to hope. Then in October, my shop chief said he needed someone to fill in for someone else who couldnt deploy. I quickly said yes.
While Carlos learned he was deploying to AUAB in October 2015, Emmanuel was already scheduled to arrive at Al Udeid in August. Both brothers volunteered for their respective deployments and that decision, ultimately brought them together to serve in the same unit.
Emmanuel said hes hopeful he and his brother will be assigned together again in the future.
Hopefully, we can get assigned to the same base in Europe or another one in Asia, he said. That way we could travel to so many more countries together.
Carlos joked that Emmanuel could serve as his tour guide, since hes already been assigned to Germany, Korea and Japan.
Sure thing, Emmanuel said.
News / National
by Freeman Razemba
THE Zanu-PF Youth League has drawn up ambitious plans for a "one million man march" in Harare to show support for President Robert Mugabe.Kudzai Chipanga, the Zanu-PF deputy youth secretary, said they planned to bus in 100,000 youths from each of the country's 10 provinces for the march which is scheduled for May."The Youth League is going to have a one million man march in solidarity with the President in May, at a date to be advised. We're encouraging all members of the party to come in their numbers and we're targeting 100,000 youths in each province to come to Harare so that we have this march," he said."This march is meant for the youth to reaffirm its support for the President RG Mugabe, not any other business which is being purported by so-called media which are saying we're trying to mobilise youths targeting some certain leaders within the party, that's not true, that's wrong."The Daily News claimed yesterday that Zanu-PF youths were planning a massive demonstration against Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa. The newspaper claimed it was a grand plan by a purported Zanu-PF faction called "G40" to force Mnangagwa out of the party.Chipanga said the march was only in solidarity with President Mugabe, insisting there were systems to get rid of individuals who are not wanted in the party, which do not need people to march in huge numbers."The [Zanu-PF] constitution is very clear, if the party needs to suspend some members you just need to follow proper constitutional procedures whereby the appropriate organ of the party will execute such a mandate," he said."We're going to have this march, a peaceful one and a constitutional one."He said the Youth League was empowered by the party constitution to have such programmes as part of their mobilisation strategy.Chipanga urged the main wing, Women's League, war veterans and war collaborators to join in their programme.The first "million man march", inspired and led by the American preacher Louis Farrakhan, was held in Washington DC on October 16, 1995. On that day, more than a million black men gathered to "convey to the world a vastly different picture of the black male" and to unite in self-help and self-defence against economic and social ills plaguing the African-American community.
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (NNS) -- Senior military leaders from U.S. 7th Fleet and the Sri Lanka navy and air force met to discuss operational topics aboard the Fleet's flagship USS Blue Ridge, March 29.
Sixteen officials from Sri Lanka attended the bilateral meeting hosted by 7th Fleet, designed to share knowledge and discuss lessons learned within the Indo-Asia-Pacific.
"I hope that we can have something constructive so that we can follow up for months and years to come," said Director General Operation for Sri Lanka Navy Rear Adm. Dharmendra Wettewa, who attended the bilateral meeting.
There were also discussions about potential bilateral training between the U.S. and Sri Lanka during Pacific Partnership, a joint effort between the United States, foreign militaries, and other organizations to conduct civil-military operations including humanitarian and civic assistance, as well as veterinary, medical, dental and civil engineering support.
Blue Ridge and embarked 7th Fleet staff are in Sri Lanka conducting a port visit to build new ties and promote peace and stability in the Indo-Asia-Pacific.
"This is the very first visit by a United States warship in five years," said U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Atul Keshap, during a reception aboard Blue Ridge the previous day. "We hope it will be the first of many to come," Keshap said.
7th Fleet Commander Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin envisions a stronger partnership with Sri Lanka. "We would like to come back and bring more of our 7th Fleet ships to Colombo and to Sri Lanka," Aucoin said.
The U.S. 7th Fleet conducts forward-deployed naval operations in support of U.S. national interests in the Indo-Asia Pacific area of operations. As the U.S. Navy's largest numbered fleet, 7th Fleet interacts with 35 other maritime nations to build maritime partnerships that foster maritime security, promote stability and prevent conflict.
JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii -- The 2015-2016 Antarctic research season concluded March 12 following the redeployment of U.S. Air Force C-17 Globmaster III aircraft to Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, and Stewart Air National Guard Base, New York, and LC-130 Skibird aircraft to the 109th Airlift Wing at Stratton Air National Guard Base, New York.
This iteration of the operation marked the 60th Anniversary of Operation Deep Freeze (ODF), the militarys logistical support to the National Science Foundation-managed U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP), which first began in 1955.
Through six decades of continuous support, ODF has evolved to meet todays logistics requirements of the USAP. Joint Task Force Support Forces Antarctica, headquartered at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, executes inter- and intra-theater airlift, tactical LC-130 deep field support, aeromedical evacuation support, search and rescue, sealift, seaport access, bulk fuel supply, port cargo handling and transportation requirements at NSFs request in order to support the USAP.
This has been a successful season that presented numerous challenges with weather, logistics, and maintenance, said U.S. Air Force Col. Mark Doll, JTF-SFA deputy commander. Every day, JTF-SFA personnel were confronted with choices and decisions to overcome the complexities of operating in the southern-most continent. All of this was accomplished by the Airmen, Sailors, Coast Guardsmen and Soldiers of JTF-SFA -- a dedicated group of men and women working in an unforgiving environment. The high level of operational experience in polar environments, combined with the appropriate risk-mitigation procedures, led to the successful outcome of this season. Three words on the back of the Antarctica Service Medal say it best: COURAGE, SACRIFICE and DEVOTION.
Throughout the 2015-2016 season, JTF-SFA directed more than 350 inter/intra-theater airlift missions, moving over 6.5 million pounds of material and transporting approximately 5,500 passengers.
The 139th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, comprised of personnel and LC-130s from the 109th AW, delivered personnel, cargo and fuel to the South Pole and several other deep-field camps.
The 304th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, comprised of personnel and a C-17 from the 62nd and 446th Airlift Wings from JBLM, provided strategic airlift into NSFs McMurdo Station, Antarctica, as well as night-vision goggle capabilities to perform nighttime winter flights and offer emergency airdrop capabilities to the South Pole or any other location on the continent.
As part of the joint effort, the U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker POLAR STAR, a 399-foot polar class icebreaker with a 150-person crew, arrived in McMurdo Sound in January to cut the channel through seven-foot-thick ice to the McMurdo ice pier.
The POLAR STAR cleared a path for Military Sealift Command operations in the port and departed McMurdo Station in February with the final MSC ship to ensure clear passage to the open waters of the Ross Sea.
MSC charter cargo vessel OCEAN GIANT arrived in McMurdo toward the end of January to deliver 16.5 million pounds of cargo. The U.S. Navys Naval Cargo Handling Battalion-1 from Williamsburg, Virginia, performed the cargo offload.
Over 1,000 pieces of cargo were moved during the ships seven-day stop at the pier. Following the OCEAN GIANTs departure, the MSC charter fuel tanker MEARSK PEARY arrived and completed the offload of 4.8 million gallons of fuel and departed McMurdo Station with the POLAR STAR in February.
Soldiers from the U.S. Armys Public Health Command conducted inspections of the food storage, handling and service programs.
U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Dirk D. Smith, JTF-SFA commander, traveled to Christchurch, New Zealand, and Antarctica to witness operations and assess the redeployment phase. Smith visited operations and maintenance areas, interacted with military personnel from all work centers in Christchurch and on the ice at McMurdo and Amundsen-Scott South Pole stations and met with senior NSF officials.
JTF-SFA is committed to sustaining an active and influential presence in Antarctica, supporting NSFs mission, Smith said. As the logistics backbone of the mission, our dedicated team of joined forces provides a mature, well-run program supporting world-class science in Antarctica. I was able to witness firsthand the harsh and challenging conditions faced by the JTF team and USAP members. It is clear these selfless professionals are doing critically important strategic work for our nation.
JTF-SFA remains active to support short-notice requirements and to commence plans for the next season. The next Operation DEEP FREEZE event is a mid-winter C-17 (NVG equipped) mission in early June to McMurdo Station.
OSAN AIR BASE, South Korea Soldiers with 2nd Battalion, 1st Air Defense Artillery Regiment partnered with aviators from B Company, 2-2 Assault Helicopter Battalion, during sling load training, March 30, 2016, at Camp Carroll, South Korea.
Sling load operations are a source of aerial transport during combat operations.
The whole point of this training is to airlift missile reloads. It really provides another degree of transportation and portability for air defenders, Capt. John Lucero, battle captain, 2-1 ADA said. The Soldiers connected a Missile Round Trainer during the training exercise to simulate a live Patriot missile round.
The unit utilized air assault qualified personnel well versed in helicopter transport operations to train non air assault qualified Soldiers as preparation for the training mission. Spc. Meredith Wilkins, Patriot launching station enhanced operator/maintainer, Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 2-1 ADA Battalion, is one of those individuals who assisted with the class.
Yesterday, in order to prepare for todays training, we held a class where we went over hand and arm signals to safely guide the helicopter, tying down parts of the package after identifying anything that could get damaged during flight, and then inspecting all of it, Wilkins said.
Wilkins went into detail about one very important safety tactic used for the ropes of the sling set known as the legs. The sling set is what connects the cargo, or package to the helicopter.
Another important step is to lightly tape the legs of the sling set together and create what is called a break-away, she said. By taping the legs together the risk of tangling during initial lifting is controlled and once the cargo is off the ground, the tape breaks away.
The prep class had a broader purpose according to the Battalion Operations Officer, Maj. Carina Kelley.
The battalion tasked a noncommissioned officer and two Soldiers from several batteries then integrated our air assault qualified personnel to create a train the trainer situation, Kelley said. This is important in case this skill is ever needed in the real world, we have a wider range of trained soldiers.
Wilkins said she felt a sense of pride during the training.
Its good to recap my training and then be able to teach others what I have learned, she said.
Lucero added the air crew from 2-2 ASLT, transported the MRT 150 kilometers to Kunsan Air Base, completing all training objectives required for the exercise.
1. Today in Washington, D.C., on the occasion of the fourth Nuclear Security Summit (NSS), we, the United States and China, declare our commitment to working together to foster a peaceful and stable international environment by reducing the threat of nuclear terrorism and striving for a more inclusive, coordinated, sustainable and robust global nuclear security architecture for the common benefit and security of all.
2. The United States and China, in this regard, are announcing the successful completion of the inaugural round of bilateral discussions on nuclear security that took place on February 20, 2016, in Stockholm, Sweden. We plan to continue this dialogue on an annual basis, so as to intensify our cooperation to prevent nuclear terrorism and continue advancing Nuclear Security Summit goals.
3. We further demonstrate today our conviction that strong communication and cooperation are essential to nuclear security by committing to continue strong support for the work of relevant international agencies on nuclear security, in accordance with their respective mandates, through engagement of our experts as well as financial and in-kind contributions.
4. Together we continue to collaborate on key areas of nuclear security. In particular, we recognize significant accomplishments and ongoing engagement in the following areas:
5. On conversion of Miniature Neutron Source Reactors (MNSR) from highly enriched uranium (HEU) fuel to low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel, the United States and China express satisfaction on the recent LEU start-up of the prototype MNSR reactor near Beijing, China. Building on this successful collaboration, China commits to work with the United States to convert its remaining MNSR reactors at Shenzhen University. Further, the United States and China together commit to work through the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to support the conversion of MNSR reactors in Ghana and Nigeria as soon as possible. China reaffirms its readiness, upon the request of respective countries, to convert all remaining Chinese-origin MNSRs worldwide.
6. On nuclear security training and best practices, the United States and China express satisfaction on the successful completion and official opening of the nuclear security Center of Excellence (COE) in Beijing, China on 18 March, 2016. The COE is a world-class venue to meet China's domestic nuclear security training requirements, as well as a forum for bilateral and regional best practice exchanges, and a venue for demonstrating advanced technologies related to nuclear security. The United States and China commit to continued engagement on nuclear security training and best practices to maximize the use and effectiveness of the COE. China further commits to sponsor training programs at the COE for regional partners and other international participants to further global nuclear security awareness and engagement.
7. On counter nuclear smuggling, the United States and China state our enduring commitment to prevent terrorists, criminals, or other unauthorized actors from acquiring nuclear or other radioactive materials. Recognizing the need for strengthened international cooperation to counter nuclear smuggling, we will continue to seek opportunities to deepen our joint efforts to investigate nuclear and radioactive material smuggling networks; detect, recover and secure material out of regulatory control; and successfully arrest and prosecute the criminals involved. The United States and China will continue to coordinate efforts to strengthen counter nuclear smuggling capabilities and share best practices with the international community, taking full advantage of the training programs sponsored by the China Customs Training Center for Radiation Detection. We further commit to continuing a discussion in 2016 on counter nuclear smuggling where our two countries can exchange views on the nuclear smuggling threat, effective tools to counter this threat, and how our governments could strengthen collaboration in this area.
8. On the security of radioactive sources, the United States and China express satisfaction on the fruitful cooperation between the two sides in enhancing the security of radioactive sources, in particular regarding recovery of disused sources and transport security of radioactive sources. We commit to further strengthen cooperation in this regard, and facilitate the sharing of experiences and best practices with other countries.
9. The United States and China also express satisfaction on the recent signature of the Statement of Intent on Commodity Identification Training Cooperation between the General Administration of Customs of China and the Department of Energy of the United States.
10. The United States and China express their strong commitment to addressing the evolving nuclear security challenge through continuing activities sustained efforts after the current Nuclear Security Summit process concludes.
A young female pilot showed her then 91-year-old guest the F-16 Fighting Falcon she flew at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz. The younger pilot thanked Betty Tack Blake several times as she talked about her job, so Blake finally asked the young captain why she was thanking her.
Because you started it, the captain said. If you hadnt been successful, we wouldnt be doing what were doing today.
Blake, who died April 9, 2015 at the age of 94, was believed to be the last surviving graduate of the first Womens Airforce Service Pilot (WASP) training class during World War II.
I feel very blessed to have been there at the beginning and gotten in, said Blake in an interview with Airman magazine before her death. Its been an exciting life from a little kid who grew up on the beach in Honolulu.
The WASPs flew aircraft ferrying and delivery missions, towed aerial targets, and participated in flight testing and evaluation of advanced jet and rocket-powered aircraft. The women replaced male pilots so they could fill combat roles.
Bernice Bee Falk Haydu, another Womens Airforce Service pilot who now lives in New Jersey, served in the training command while Blake was in the Ferry Command, but she recalled her as a very accomplished pilot.
She liked to tell the story about how she and about 20 male pilots were delivering (Vultee BT-13 Valiants) some place, Haydu said. They were flying as a group and then youd have to land before sunset, not ferrying at night, and then youd have to find a hotel, and it was difficult. But advance information had been sent that this group was coming and that they would need hotel rooms.
So they all got the same key for the same room. She went down to the desk and she said, I dont want to sleep with 20 men. So they said, Well, well see if we can get you something else. All of the other hotels were booked, so she said she went up, got in her bunk and she didnt take one stitch of clothes off. She slept in her clothes all night.
Thats the way things were in those days.
Blakes class began with 38 women pilots on Nov. 16, 1942, but only 23 graduated on April 24, 1943. They werent known as WASPs until the merging of the Womens Flying Training Detachment and Womens Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron on Aug. 5, 1943.
We were an experiment, Blake said. We were a guinea pig class, as they called us, because they didnt think women could learn to fly military planes.
Blake began flying at the age of 14 in 1934, and became even more interested in airplanes when she met Amelia Earhart at the University of Hawaii in January 1935. Earhart traveled to the islands on her quest to become the first pilot to solo the 2,408 miles across the Pacific Ocean between Honolulu and Oakland, Calif. Blake was the only child in the audience, so she was seated in the front row for Earharts speech. Afterward, Earhart sat beside Blake and invited her to the airport to see the twin-engine Beechcraft she would be flying the following day.
She was very excited to know I was learning to fly, Blake said. She told me to keep going and do something exciting and show that women could fly. She had a lot of people fighting against her who didnt think women could do it.
Blake flew tourists around the Hawaiian island of Oahu in an open-canopy biplane before the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941. She recalls the time as two different lives, before and after Dec. 7, 1941.
The night before the attack, she was invited by Navy ensigns to the officers club to celebrate her 21st birthday. The next morning, she watched the attack from the balcony of her family home on a hill above Pearl Harbor.
My family didnt drink, so Id never had a drink in my life, Blake said. That was my first taste of liquor (at the party). The next morning, when Pearl Harbor happened, I was in bed with the worst hangover I ever had.
My younger brothers woke me up, and we all went to the balcony of my house, and we watched all these planes coming over the mountain behind us going toward the ocean. When the planes went over us, they looked like AT-6s (Texans), but they were (Japanese Mitsubishi A6-M) Zeroes. They had big orange suns painted on the bottom of their wings. Then, we saw them as they started diving toward the ocean in front of us. Their machine guns started going off, and you could see the bullets hitting the water and bouncing up.
We had been having so much fun before Pearl Harbor. We were having fun every night, and suddenly it stopped.
Two ensigns Blake dated were killed at Pearl Harbor, and a third, who became her first husband several months later, also would have died if her father hadnt intervened. He had invited Robert Tackaberry to spend the night after the party so his daughter wouldnt have to drive him back to his ship at night.
It saved his life, Blake said. His cabin on the (USS) California was below the water line, and they dropped a bomb right in the water beside the ship. His roommate was asleep, and it killed him. So my father always reminded my future husband hed saved his life.
Blake, who worked at Pearl Harbor as a secretary before she married Tackaberry, moved to the East Coast when he was reassigned to a ship stationed in Erie, Penn. A couple of years later, she was selected for the first womens pilot training class in Houston, Tex. near Ellington Field.
Unlike the casual way women pilots are regarded today, Blake recalls a much different attitude during World War II. However, she had an advantage her fellow classmates didnt. She was already accustomed to getting along with men from growing up with two brothers in a neighborhood filled with boys.
I got along fine with them because Id grown up with boys, Blake said. I knew how to joke, spit through my teeth and crack my jaws with them. That was very fortunate because some of the girls were in tears if a boy made a crack. I just joked back. They were always my pals.
But a lot of the men were not happy having the women fly the same planes they were flying. They watched us like hawks, and if we did anything wrong, it was back at our base before we could get back.
After completing training, the graduates from the first class were given their choice of assignment and job. Blake chose ferry command at Long Beach, Calif., because she figured shed be able to fly home to Honolulu. She never got the opportunity, but met her second husband, who was also assigned to Long Beach. Blake was part of a group of pilots who shuttled aircraft from factories to sites where they could be sent overseas. There was some discussion of using WASP pilots as co-pilots for overseas flights, but the war in Europe ended before it could happen.
So, I didnt get checked out in a lot more planes that I wouldve liked to have flown because they brought all the men pilots back and didnt need us anymore, she said. They gave us three days notice, and it was, Goodbye, girls.
Blake ferried about 35 aircraft models, in addition to the AT-6 and others she flew in during training. But one airplane still remains her favorite even today.
The P-51 (Mustang) was definitely my favorite, she said. Whenever one goes overhead, and there are still a few of them flying around, I hear that sound and instantly know its a P-51. It was reliable. I liked the engine, and I just felt safer in it than anything else.
USS Hawaii Holds Change of Command Ceremony at Historic Battleship Missouri Memorial By LTJG Samuel Boyle Submarine Forces Pacific
JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR HICKAM, Hawaii The Virginia-class fast-attack submarine USS Hawaii (SSN 776) held a change of command ceremony at the Battleship Missouri Memorial at Ford Island, Hawaii, March 30.
Commander John C. Roussakies, from Homosassa, Fla., properly relieved Cmdr. William A. Patterson, from Holliston, Mass., and assumed the duties and responsibilities as the commanding officer of USS Hawaii.
The ceremonys guest speaker, Rear Adm. Richard A. Correll, Director of Joint and Maritime Operations U.S. Fleet Forces Command, was Pattersons commanding officer when they served aboard the Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS Topeka (SSN 754).
Bill was the navigator, senior watch officer, and essentially ran the ship as a department head, said Correll about his experience serving with Patterson. I have had a great sense of admiration and pride as Ive watched Bill Patterson excel in command of Hawaii.
Under Patterson's leadership, USS Hawaii completed a successful Western Pacific deployment, was awarded the Navys Retention Excellence award for three consecutive years in a row and 11 Sailors were advanced to chief petty officer.
Patterson praised the USS Hawaiis crew for their success and encouraged them to hold onto their warrior spirit.
Hawaii is a great ship. To become a great ship, you need a great chiefs quarters, a fantastic wardroom and outstanding men, said Patterson. I could not have been luckier with the leaders that the Navy has provided as my supporting cast.
In one of his last acts as commanding officer of USS Hawaii, Patterson emphasized his boats special connection to the island by having the warship blessed by Hawaiian priest, Kahu Kordell Kekoa.
What truly makes commanding USS Hawaii special is the engagement with the state of Hawaii and the community at large, said Patterson to a crowd which included former Hawaii governor Linda Lingle and current governor David Ige. The Hawaii ohana is something special.
Patterson's next assignment will be in Yokosuka, Japan where he will assume the position of deputy director of operations for Commander, Submarine Group Seven.
As Roussakies assumed command, he congratulated Patterson on his successful deployment and assured him he would maintain the honor of USS Hawaii.
I will lead this team with the same passion and dedication as you and all of the previous Hawaii commanding officers, said the new commanding officer. I am honored and humbled to join this elite fraternity as a commanding officer of a United States fast-attack submarine.
Roussakies graduated from the University of Florida in 1998 with a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering and was commissioned through the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps program. He holds a Master of Science degree in mechanical engineering from the Naval Post Graduate School, as well as completing the Naval War College Non-Resident program.
Roussakies' operational tours include serving as division officer aboard USS West (SSBN 736) (Gold Crew), executive officer aboard Submarine NR-1, and executive officer aboard USS Houston (SSN 713).
Ashore, Roaussakies served as the operations officer at Submarine Squadron 4, deputy chief of staff for Country Engagement, Plans and Exercises at Submarine Group 7 and deputy commander at Submarine Squadron 21.
Commissioned on May 5, 2007, USS Hawaii is the third submarine of the Virginia class and is the first commissioned warship named after the Aloha State. She spans a length of 377 feet and displaces 7,800 tons. Submarines of this class are expertly employed for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, anti-submarine warfare and strike missions.
For more news from Commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, visit www.csp.navy.mil.
25ID Soldier Reflects on Past, Future During Jungle Training By Staff Sgt. Chris Hubenthal Defense Media Activity - Forward Center Hawai'i
EAST TRAINING RANGE CENTER, Hawaii If you asked 1st Lt. Joseph Ross, Alpha Company, 29th Engineer Battalion, 25th Infantry Division, what influenced his decision to join the military he would probably bring up his heritage.
Ross grew up in York, Pennsylvania with two generations before him having served.
What drove me to join the military was probably my grandfather, Ross said. Hes a World War II Veteran in his early 90s right now. My father was in the Coast Guard so its kind of gone down the blood lines a little bit.
With an interest in the military at a young age, Ross eventually joined the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) at his college and later took the oath of office where he eventually became a platoon leader under the 29th Engineer Battalion.
Since serving as a platoon leader at the Battalion, Ross has reflected on what he likes most about being an officer in the Army.
What I enjoy the most in the Army are the different opportunities you have to travel the world, Ross said. Right now Im in Hawaii and I never thought Id be in Hawaii. Im from the East Coast and its been pretty neat to move around to all the different bases and different types of training.
Training that Ross has had the opportunity to test his skills in since arriving in Hawaii was the 25th ID Lightning Academys Jungle Operations Training Course (JOTC) where he led a squad through three weeks of training in the jungle, a type of terrain not uncommon in U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM).
It gives you more of a broadened look at the country as a whole, Ross said. It makes you think about other people rather than just yourself. Serving under PACOM is a great way to broaden our training ability as an Army. Were so used to, as of now, being over in the Middle East, and being out here in Hawaii and moving over toward the Philippines and Thailand, its just a different method of training and a different way to broaden our skills as an entire Army.
The leadership experience tested both himself and his Soldiers in a jungle environment where they were tasked to operate in the thick, unforgiving terrain. During the training, Ross reflected on his time growing up in Pennsylvania and how it attributed to his experience.
I did go outdoors a lot, I was big on the outside, but the environment out here is definitely a lot different than it is back out in Pennsylvania, Ross said. My aunt and uncle would teach us a lot about outdoors survival so it was really neat being out here and being able to see that kind of transition. Obviously out here its a little more cutthroat than being back with your family and stuff but its neat to see yourself improve as you move along.
Being in the jungle training environment with his squad also reminded him of times he spent back home.
Earlier this week we built fires and built our own shelters and it was definitely neat to kind of remember it a little bit, Ross said. We were all sitting around after we had built the shelter and built our fire and talked about how we as kids had been outside, and had hiked and built shelters somewhat similar but definitely not as good as what we built out here.
Ross said that parts of the JOTC course reminded him of his family and youth but that what he is walking away with after conquering the jungle will strengthen both his and his teams future endeavors.
What Im going to take from being out here is just the adaptability it gives you, Ross said. We stay outside every day and with the weather out here in Hawaii youre almost always guaranteed rain and I think for some of the guys who havent been out here or who havent been to many schools or deployed or anything to really realize hey, youre kind of living on what you can pack, on what you can carry. It will help them in the future when we go onto more missions and more training to kind of realize what theyre able to bring and what they are going to need to fight the fight.
From the rolling hills, plateaus and ridges of Pennsylvania to the gulches and valleys of Hawaiis jungles, Ross continues to follow his familys military heritage. Ross said he has enjoyed his military career so far but hopes to expand his experience in the Army in the future.
I havent been out anywhere in the Pacific, Ross said. Looking forward to maybe getting that possibility as I know the 25th ID does [Pacific Pathways]. I know our battalion is coming up on another rotation. Hopefully someday Ill get the chance to head out and support that mission.
News / National
by Staff reporter
VICE President Emmerson Mnangagwa cut a lone figure during his visit to Mutare yesterday as no Government or Zanu-PF officials pitched up to welcome him on his arrival at the Golden Peacock and Amber hotels, where he addressed a consultative workshop on human rights and captains of industries, respectively.Mnangagwa, who was on official Government business, first went to Golden Peacock Hotel where he arrived in a convoy of two vehicles, disembarked and walked all the way up to the hotel conference room with his aides only.At Amber Hotel, the Minister of Industry and Commerce, Mike Bimha, was the only senior Government official to receive him together with a few officials from the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI).Key absentees at the CZI indaba included the Minister of State for Manicaland Provincial Affairs, Mandi Chimene, who was supposed to deliver welcome remarks, Provincial Administrator Fungai Mbetsa and the Zanu-PF provincial leadership.Zanu-PF provincial chairperson Samuel Undenge, who is also Energy and Power Development Minister, only pitched up in the afternoon during a tour of Quest Motors and Cairns Foods.
When are the people of Illinois going to wake up and call for the impeachment of the maniac that they elected governor? This man is holding the state budget, and also the state, hostage, to further his own agenda. He wants right-to-work, worker's compensation, and anti-union laws put into place to further enhance his, and his businessmen friends' positive bottom line, otherwise known as profits.
He cares nothing about the state of Illinois or its citizens. He also want to freeze property taxes because he knows that if he gets right-to-work in Illinois that wages will go down and spendable income will drop, thus property values will drop, so property taxes would drop. If he freezes them now we will be paying property taxes on housing values that are not there, thus lowering our income even more.
Also, since I am a union member I can honestly say that I never once was forced to pay union dues at any time, for any reason. I gladly paid my dues for the benefits that I received by being a union member. The recent Supreme Court ruling, or lack thereof, says that people working under a collective bargaining agreement should pay union dues for that privilege. If they do not want to pay dues for this then they should have to bargain for their own working conditions.
I think in this world, you get what you pay for, and if you don't pay for union privileges then you should not receive them.
Lee Weber, Pontiac
News / National
by Staff reporter
President Robert Mugabe's latest trip to Asia has stirred fresh controversy after he was recorded apparently dozing in front of cameras during a Press briefing with his Japanese counterpart, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, with the video going viral on the Internet and social media.Mugabe was in Japan at the invitation of Abe, who is seeking to deepen the two countries' trade relations, and yesterday, the Zimbabwean leader left that country, again for Singapore.The 92-year-old leader was caught on camera and somewhat appeared like snoozing, as he stood by the podium. In the video, Mugabe walks slowly and unsteadily to the podium and then appears to snooze, while Abe delivers a statement to the Press.It is not clear whether Mugabe also made a statement, as the video cuts at the end of Abe's speech before the two leaders shake hands.
Children with dyslexia aren't the only ones having a hard time in school. Their parents who watch their children getting behind on their school work because of their learning disability are suffering the same amount, if not more than they are. However, that may eventually come to an end soon as lawmakers passed a bill that would require district schools in Tennessee to screen children of learning disabilities as early as possible.
Tennessee bill would require dyslexia screening https://t.co/avPYxaZE3C BA Haller (@Mediadisdat) March 28, 2016
Julya Johnson has watched her son having a hard time progressing from K-2 all the way to second grade because he has been struggling with his reading skills. Johnson's son, David has had so much exposure to reading. He and Julya have practiced reading together but it still wasn't enough. Julya later followed through on an advice given by a fellow parent to test David for any learning disability. The test opened up a lot of doors for David to get the support he needed for what they learned was dyslexia, the Tennessean reported.
Johnson and other parents of children with the same disability as well as dyslexia support groups really hoped that one day there would be a bill that will help students get screened for dyslexia as early as possible. Dyslexia is a learning disability that usually causes the child to have a poor writing and reading ability.
According to WKRN reported that the bill would create a dyslexia advisory council and require the state department of education to provide training on identifying and addressing dyslexia. Tim Odegard who serves as chair of excellence in dyslexia studies for the Tennessee Center for the Study and Treatment of Dyslexia said that as many as one in five kids has dyslexia.
It was also explained that at least 80 to 90 percent of children with learning disabilities will have dyslexia, according to Odegard, who happens to be a psychology professor at Middle Tennessee State University.
"For many individuals with dyslexia these word-level reading deficits result from a deficit in how they process the sound structure of our language at the word level. It is not a problem with seeing or seeing letters backwards. And it is not the fault of the child being lazy," Odegard wrote.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Joe Pitts, D-Clarksville, advanced through the state House Education Administration and Planning Committee and the Senate Education Committee this week. If this bill is passed the screening toll for dyslexia will be used in an already existing framework called Response to Instruction and Intervention. This framework used to be used to identify specific learning disabilities.
"With the appropriate implementation of RTI2 to identify dyslexia we will be providing all students in the state of TN with the best reading instruction," Odegard said.
Driverless cars or robot cars will soon be the next big thing in the Singaporean market. This new trend in the automotive industry is expected to help the country compete or even beat the United States.
According to Asia Times, some car companies like Nissan and Cadillac will introduce driverless vehicles come 2020. With this plan, Singapore is said to be the target for this development in the industry.
"We're making a big BET ON Singapore," said Doug Parker, the chief operating officer of startup company nuTonomy. The firm specializes in developing the software to be used for self-driving cars.
Parker explained that the Southeast Asian country will be the first in the entire world to "adopt autonomous cars at scale." He noted that robot cars could be available in Singapore's market by a year or two.
"Singapore is an economic powerhouse but it's also a smaller nation," Parker noted. "They can move quickly. They can institute things that, at a federal level in the United States, would be very difficult."
BBC News said the research on developing robot cars in Singapore started with the desire of the government to encourage people to use public transport. It was explained that the idea behind robot cars is for these vehicles to drive people to bus or public utility vehicle stations.
"We've got strong political support ... and even favorable geography. There are no earthquakes here," Parker explained in a PRI report. he noted that they have well maintained roads and few challenges for drivers along the way.
For his part, A*STAR director Lee Shiang Long expressed confidence that Singapore will be the first country to have this kind of technology. "This is because unlike trials in other countries, which are left pretty much to the private sector, the government is behind the efforts here," he added.
Aside from Singapore, PRI said the same technology is also being studied and tested in other countries like Japan and Germany. A Japanese firm is said to be taking residents from a town to the city center using automated cabs.
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News / National
by Staff reporter
Opposition MDC and MDC-T ministers in the then Government of National Unity (GNU) lost connection with the poor when they started dipping their hands into the Zanu PF gravy train, a former Cabinet minister has said.Former National Healing minister Moses Mzila-Ndlovu, speaking at a Heal Zimbabwe Trust public meeting on healing and reconciliation, said the opposition became interested in luxuries dished out by the government and immediately lost touch with reality.Ndlovu said while the opposition was vocal against the frequent travels by President Robert Mugabe, alleging this drained Treasury, once inside, they also became obsessed with travelling.But former ICT minister Nelson Chamisa said while he never travelled much during his days in government, he was unaware of any such huge financial pickings.
A South American urban hub with extensive European influence, Buenos Aires, Argentina is nothing short of a world-class city. Truly a city that never sleeps, Buenos Aires is overflowing with spectacular architecture, political history, mouthwatering food, and fine art to spare. If you visit the Paris of South America (warning: never actually use that phrase in Buenos Aires), these nine spots will allow you to explore some of the best of what this magnificent capital city has to offer.
1. Plaza de Mayo
One of the most historically and politically important spots in the city (which is saying quite a lot), is Plaza de Mayo, the site of the May Revolution in 1810. Since its establishment, Plaza de Mayo has been the site of nearly every major political event in the history of the country and is one of the oldest plazas in Buenos Aires. Plaza de Mayo is also home to La Casa Rosada (pictured at top), which is where Argentinas president works; presidents are also prone to give public addresses from the Casas famous Evita balcony. If you visit the plaza every day for a week, youre almost guaranteed to see a protest.
2. El Ateneo Grand Splendid
Bibliophiles, rejoice! Argentines are an exceptionally well-read group and the number of bookshops you will find in Buenos Aires reflects this love for reading. In particular, El Ateneo Grand Splendid, which is one of the largest bookstores in South America, is a perfect illustration of Portenos love for reading. Formerly a theater, El Ateneo maintained the architectural integrity of its interior, filling the seating areas with shelves and shelves of books. The stage is now a small cafe where shoppers can sip cafe con leche and peruse their new purchases. This site is hands down one of the most beautiful bookstores you can find anywhere in the world.
Even in a genre as reliant on suspension of disbelief as the superhero sub-genre, Netflixs Daredevil requires a pinch of salt. Consider the premise for its recently-launched second season: Seeking revenge for the murder of his wife and children, PTSD-dazzled vet Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal) storms NYCs Hells Kitchen to execute the criminal gangs that run the city and slaughtered his family. When the might of the law fails to successfully apprehend Castle, it comes down to none other than the legally blind Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox)lawyer by day, non-sighted spandexed crimefighter by nightto bring him down.
That the core conceit is this ridiculous is a big part of why Daredevil can be forgiven for so much. Its an imperfect stab at making a grown-up comic book saga, for older graphic novel enthusiasts and once-teens, now into adulthoodthose who grew up witnessing superhero cinemas initial explosion in the early aughts. The dialogue is patchy, the mixture of tones isnt always harmonious, and the action is hit-or-miss depending on whos directing. Meanwhile the shows cast can be the greatest in one scene (up until only very recently, you wouldnt have seen actors of Vincent DOnofrio and Jon Bernthals calibre teaming up to defeat a cabal of magic ninjas on the small screen) and the worst in the next (hello, Elden Henson and Elodie Yung).
Daredevil is a glossy, yet uneven pulp noir, but the very set-up means you never take it seriously enough to count its transgressions. Its a show about an attorney-cum-urban warrior with a strict no-kill policy, singlehandedly defeating New Yorks criminal fraternity with a billy club and a fast pair of fists. Once youve accepted that, you can deal with a few stale lines of dialogue and the occasional wooden performer.
There is, however, one problem with Daredevil thats difficult to overlook.
In Season One, Daredevils writers went to great lengths to elicit compassion for their baddie, Vincent DOnofrios refined crime boss Wilson Fisk. He was the shows MVP, a rare Marvel screen villain more interesting and often more sympathetic than the hero. But while Season One stopped short of glamorizing its bad guy, Daredevils second run plainly appears to enjoy Frank Castles pathological rampage. With the PG-13 restrictions reserved for its big-screen Marvel counterparts lifted, Daredevil revels in violence and darkness. The shows writers obviously enjoy the freedom theyve been given to explore taboo territory for the genre (Drugs! Swearing! Car door-based decapitations!), but their enjoyment comes, arguably, at the expense of their shows hero.
Daredevil was supposed to be about due process and the value of law and order, as much as it was to be about R-rated superheroics. But by Season Two, the violence has become doubly gratuitous, the lawyering side of Matt Murdocks life is almost irrelevant (unlike in Season One, zero justice is done in Daredevils second season by legal means) and the show becomes markedly more exciting and focused whenever its villains are on-screen.
More than it likes the American legal system, more than it even likes its own hero, Daredevil loves characters who take the law into their own hands to maim, torture and kill. It fetishizes characters who give in to darker urgescharacters like Frank Castle, Wilson Fisk and Scott Glenns doomy fundamentalist Stick, all of whom get the most badass lines and the swaggiest finishing moves. Facing them, you have Matt Murdock, preaching about his no-murder rule and lecturing those who disagree with him on how they ought to behave. Murdock has alone decided what justice is, and his mission in life is to stop the very stylized bloodshed that Daredevil specializes in. He is effectively the buzz kill of his own show.
It doesnt help Murdock that Daredevils key rogues are played by the series three best actors, who add heft in a way that the likeable yet lightweight Charlie Cox cant. But regardless, their characters have been developed with much more enthusiasm than has the Devil of Hells Kitchen. Frank Castle could be described as a better-equipped Travis Bickle; Wilson Fisk is a troubled, manic-depressive that thirsts for love and affection; while Stick is an old drifter, brainwashed by his own ideology, stuck in a war hes resigned himself to fighting alone. Where these are well-drawn people, Matt Murdock remains after two seasons little more than a symbol. And the show doesnt always appear to agree with what he stands for.
While Daredevil the show glamorizes vigilantism, Matt Murdock is, like Bruce Wayne, a man that considers cleaning up the streets a duty, but not one that he necessarily enjoys. He self-flagellates and reminds those around him constantly that his actions dont make him a good person. In effect Matt Murdock admonishes viewers for trying to take any pleasure from his story. Hes a square-jawed comic book hero, so of course he has to suffer in his guilt, in order to separate him from the bad guys. Daredevils villains meanwhile are free to run wild, and the shows writers clearly have more fun exploring them than they do trying to do anything new with the virtuous superhero type. Its a case of Dark Knight Syndrome, where the hero gets pushed to the sidelines, as the writers fail to disguise how liberating they find developing the villain.
The scribes behind Daredevil would probably prefer it if Matt Murdock could cut loose more. But hes a good guy in a show that doesnt have much admiration for goodness. Murdocks flawed, but he can never be that flawed, and in a series as fond of the dark as this one, theres little room for a classic comic book hero to prosper.
At the end of Season Two, Murdock finds himself giving his blessing to Frank Castle and his brand of ultimate vigilante justice (maybe killing big bad The Blacksmith is the right way to go, he relents), as well as fighting alongside hesitant accomplice Elektra as she embarks on a ninja murder rampage. Here we find the writers losing interest in their good guys principles: Murdock has become complicit in the brutality and the merciless killing, and its suddenly as though his code never meant anything at all. While Frank Castle at first serves as Season Twos chief antagonist, by episode 13after hours of bloody massacringCastle has become the hero right alongside Murdock, with all his crimes apparently excused. Its a peculiar message, to say the least, for a show that purports to be a champion of law and order.
Brogan Morris is a UK-based freelance writer, as seen on the Guardian, Little White Lies, Flavorwire, the BFI, the New Humanist and more. Opinions range from ridiculous to passable. You can follow him on Twitter.
NOTE: This is not an April Fools joke.
Big news on the geek horizon today, as Rifftrax, the movie-riffing team composed of former Mystery Science Theater 3000 cast members/writers Michael J. Nelson, Bill Corbett and Kevin Murphy, hit its latest Kickstarter goal to riff a former classic MST3k episode, Time Chasers. Bigger news than that single show, however, is the bonus that comes along with the Rifftrax eventa full MST3k cast reunion, which is happening on June 28, livecast to theaters around the country. The Kickstarter cruised pretty easily past its $225,000 goal, currently sitting at $288,000 with a full week left to pad its total. Its not quite the record-breaking $6.3 million that the new MST3k reboot brought in at the end of 2015, but its no small chunk of change, either.
A full MST3k cast reunion has long been an ephemeral, hard-to-broach topic and goal. Its the kind of cult show where fans have endlessly speculated in the years since its cancellation about hurt feelings, invisible feuds and etc, etc, etc. As original hosts Joel Hodgson and Mike Nelson each formed their own post-MST3k riffing projects, a certain combativeness was always implied, even if it didnt exist. But now, finally, the whole group will be brought back together for what will surely be an emotional reunion. Those members will include:
Joel Hodgson (Joel Robinson)
Michael J. Nelson (Mike Nelson)
Kevin Murphy (Tom Servo),
Bill Corbett (Crow T. Robot),
Frank Conniff (TVs Frank),
Trace Beaulieu (Dr. Clayton Forrester, Crow T. Robot),
Mary Jo Pehl (Pearl Forrester)
Bridget Nelson (Nuveena, Mr. B Natural)
Jonah Ray (Jonah Heston, new character on the MST3k reboot)
Quite the all-star lineup. According to the Rifftrax Kickstarter, the live-streamed show will primarily focus on riffing short films, in the style that MST3k loved to eviscerate, ala Hired! or A Date With Your Family.
Tickets will go on sale April 15 through Fathom, in the same style as any of the previous Rifftrax Live events. And check out our November interview with Joel Hodgson for more information on the upcoming MST3k reboot series that were intensely anticipating.
Donald Trump finds support among Iran's far-right wing
04/01/16 Source: Radio Zamaneh
Iran's ultraconservatives have sounded the trumpet of support for Donald Trump's promise to rescind the nuclear agreement with Iran in case he succeeds in his run for the U.S. presidency.
Hossein Shariatmadari (file photo)
Hossein Shariatmadari, the head of the Keyhan daily who has been a staunch critic of the nuclear agreement, said on Thursday March 31: "The wisest action of this mad Trump would be tearing up the Joint Plan of Action."
Shariatmadari described the nuclear agreement as the "most bitter" event of the past year.
Hossein Shariatmadari's cartoon by Farsheed Rajabali, Ghanoon daily
Donald Trump has said that one of the priorities of his foreign policy as U.S. president would be the cancellation of the nuclear agreement with Iran.
Last July, Iran and the 5+1 signed the Joint Plan of Action in Geneva, putting an end to over a decade of nuclear disputes and ending international sanctions against Iran in exchange for a series of concessions regarding the curbing of Iran's nuclear program.
The Next American President And Iran
04/01/16
By Kambiz Zarrabi
These days better than 80 percent of news flooding the airwaves is about what the Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump, trumpeted and what he might have meant by it. The media anchors and their invited guests spend hours dissecting and scrutinizing every word Mr. Trump utters and project how this potential next President of the most powerful empire on earth might put those words into action if he sits at the White House.
But Trump is not the only one whose utterances are weighed and measured; Ted Cruz and John Kasich, not to overlook their Democrat rivals, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, are also making statements during their campaign tours that do deserve attention, but are being eclipsed by the Billionaire businessman's obnoxious and unmeasured statements.
My focus here is away from the domestic policy statements regarding such issues as immigration, abortion, jobs, education, health, etc., even though practically all the bickering among both Party's candidates is quite rightly over such subjects. My primary focus is, instead, on these presidential hopefuls' foreign policy agendas, and specifically with regard to America's potential attitude and relations with Iran.
Of course, we should not be naive enough to think that campaign rhetoric would necessarily translate into real action once the competition is over and the choice for the new Commander-in-Chief is voted into office. What is worth being concerned about is that any campaign rhetoric is aimed at gaining public support and winning the greatest number of delegates for the party nomination. And, what is alarmingly sad here is the fact that all our candidates, Republicans and Democrats, have been singing the same negative tune about Iran without the slightest hesitation or reservation, with not even a question or challenge by the powerful and opinion-molding American media pundits. What this means is that a negative portrayal of Iran seems to be quite appealing to the American public at large, and catering to such pervasive sentiment is regarded as a useful tactical approach by all candidates.
How this negative portrayal has been perpetuated is a subject that I have been addressing for nearly thirty years of lecturing and writing and I do not intend to bore the readers here and now.
A recent article by Philip Giraldi about the recent theatrical performances by all the candidates, minus Bernie Sanders, at the Israel lobby, AIPAC, in Washington, DC, where they each tried to outdo the others in their worship of the Jewish state and the hatred of Iran, is a wonderful expose of what is going on. Let us not forget that even the only left-liberal socialist candidate, Mr. Sanders, has called Iran a promoter of terrorism and regional instability, at least once that I happened to have heard! After all, as dim as his chances are, he is, nonetheless, running his campaign, too!
The sad reality is that anyone running for office at any level here cannot go wrong by showing disdain or at the very least a great suspicion against Iran.
It is quite interesting, at the same time, that the Iranian government and media are not trying to reciprocate with anything like the vulgarity and venom spewed from here, outside of some rather mild and much more mature criticism as would be the case of an older adult admonishing a group of misbehaving children. Do they know something?! Perhaps they do.
Mr. Trump seems at this time to be the most likely Republican candidate that would challenge Hillary Clinton in the general elections, come November. He is a somewhat illiterate businessman with excellent business instincts, reminiscent of Iran's old Hojabre Yazdani. His cunning and manipulative instincts and financial successes have given him the sense of confidence or invulnerability that enables him to throw out whatever comes to his mind with no concern about its consequences. What he says has no depth or roots embedded inside a sophisticated and well-informed brain; he assumes that he could always twist and turn his statements around through doubletalk and his characteristic non sequiturs to the satisfaction of his flocks of equally uninformed supporters.
The positive thing about Donald Trump, the billionaire businessman, is that he is not stupid, an ideologue, nor a bought-and-paid-for politician. If he tries to run a nation's internal, as well as its foreign, policies as a true businessman, he would certainly not overestimate his own knowledge and expertise, but would surround himself with the most capable advisors without prejudice, as would a capable mega corporate CEO such as himself.
The other potential Republican Party nominee, Ted Cruz, is a totally different story, especially regarding America's future foreign policies. Cruz is delusional enough to believe that he is God's gift to God's own chosen nation, America and, by extension, Israel. I just wonder what Mr. Cruz sees when he looks at himself in the mirror every morning! He has already picked his foreign policy advisory team, a bunch of Israel-firster, Iran-hater, radical neocons whose Zionist affiliations, as their records show, far outweigh their national interests. Cruz would tear up the nuclear agreement reached between the P5+1 and Iran as he has repeatedly stated, even though such action would hurt America's national interests and actually boost Iran's standing in the international community. Cruz's attitude toward the Islamic World, if he manages to implement his diabolical and apocalyptic plans against the objections of the Pentagon and his military advisors, would prove catastrophic for the United States and especially for his beloved Israel. Donald, the big mouth, might say he would tear up that agreement, but retract it once in power, but Cruz would actually attempt that stupid (and illegal) act.
Mrs. Clinton, who I believe will be the next Commander-in-Chief, made some of the most incendiary anti Iran comments at the recent AIPAC gathering. But for an experienced, brilliant politician the path to victory in a presidential election is quite clear: First, you have to get the votes toward the party nomination. When it comes to foreign policy, you must sound as tough and belligerent as the toughest of your rivals. When you know the power, money and influence of the Jewish lobby and its widespread tentacles, including the Zionist owned mass media, you kiss ass and lick up more convincingly than anyone, (you can always wash and disinfect your face later in private!) Second, as a consummate politician and diplomat, you use your great talent and mastery at the art of hypocrisy; say, show or advocate something that suits the time and the place, and do something else as the situation demands! Hillary Clinton is not a closed-minded bigot like Ted Cruz, or an ideologue like Bernie Sanders, or an uninformed, play-it-by-ear political novice like Trump.
It is my opinion that, should Hillary Clinton end up in the Oval Office, her tough rhetoric against Iran would gradually soften up and fall into grove with President Obama's approach once the heat of the campaign subsides. No doubt the superficial mistrust and animosity toward the Islamic Republic of Iran will continue to appease the public opinion, but behind-the-scene efforts towards a rapprochement will continue. This is good politics, not because America should feel sorry or need to show sympathy for the Iranian nation, but simply and pragmatically because such policy would be beneficial for America's own strategic interests.
About the author:
Kambiz Zarrabi is the author of In Zarathushtra's Shadow and Necessary Illusion.He has conducted lectures and seminars on international affairs, particularly in relation to Iran, with focus on US/Iran issues. Zarrabi's latest book is Iran, Back in Context.
Desalination of Persian Gulf waters proposed as solution for Iran's water crisis
04/01/16 Source: Radio Zamaneh
Iran's minister of power announced that the government will be implementing a project to produce drinking water from the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman for transfer to 17 provinces in Iran's central plateau.
Geography of Iran
In a report on Nasim online on Thursday March 31, Hamid Chitchian Iran Minister of Power said the project aims at providing drinking water for 45 million people in 17 provinces.
He explained that at the first stage water will be "desalinated in Bandar Abbas and then transferred to Kerman".
He added that permits for transfer of water form Kerman to Yazd, Isfahan and Fars have been issued and the project is to be funded through "a number of banks and government sources".
He pointed to "50 desalination plants along the coast of the Sea of Oman and the Persian Gulf" to provide drinking water for cities of the region which have been facing water shortage in recent years. He added however that the water needs to be also transferred to other regions since water shortage is a more widespread concern in the country.
General decline in precipitation and years of mismanagement of water resources have led to a widespread shortage of water in Iran and made the water crisis a top priority for the government.
Iranian American Organizations Host Norooz Reception In Washington, D.C.
04/01/16
On March 17, 2016, ten Iranian American organizations came together to co-host the second community-wide annual Norooz (Iranian new year) reception in Washington, D.C. In alphabetical order, these were the Aryan Hope Foundation, Children of Persia, Iranian Alliances Across Borders, Iranian American Bar Association, Iranian American Community Center, the Iranian American Medical Society of Greater Washington, National Iranian American Council, Pars Equality Center, the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans, and the West Asia Council.
The event featured live Persian classical music as well as authentic cuisine. Among U.S. Government officials in attendance were Valerie Jarrett, Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs, and Leon Rodriguez, Director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services at the Department of Homeland Security. Numerous officials from the U.S. Departments of State and Treasury, as well the Library of Congress attended the event, which featured over 300 guests.
Dr. Alidad Mafinezam, the event's co-organizer and emcee opened the event by stressing that, We are here as Americans, and the fact that the US and Iran have a fraught diplomatic relationship should not detract from the ability of this distinguished community to establish itself as full-fledged Americans in this lovely country.
Ms. Jarrett, who was born in Iran to American parents, spoke about her childhood memories of celebrating Norooz in the city of Shiraz. Mr. Rodriguez addressed the common immigrant experience as well as the vibrancy, success, and meaningful contributions that the Iranian-American community make to the multicultural fabric of the United States. Jarrett called Norooz is a celebration of renewal that unites people from across the globe. Because I was born in Shiraz, Iran, the Norooz festivities are among my earliest and fondest memories as a child. I remember the weather being perfect in Shiraz, and we celebrated and had joyful experiences in my parents home, where people brought me gifts- one of my clearest memories as a child.
Upon complimenting the Iranian-American community, Director Rodriguez said The story of immigration is a story often of the sufferings that we leave behind in the countries that we came from. But it is also a story of the hopes and dreams that we have here. And [they are] hopes and dreams that dont just speak one language, dont just look one way, dont just pray to one God, dont just come from one place. In fact, it is the whole world that brings its talent, its energy, and its love here.
News / National
by Staff reporter
The Zanu-PF Harare Province commissariat department has called on Zimbabweans living in the capital and surrounding areas to come in their numbers to welcome President Robert Mugabe at the Harare International Airport tomorrow.Zanu-PF Harare Provincial Political Commissar, Shadreck Mashayamombe said people should come to show support and solidarity with President Mugabe after his mission in Japan where he courted investors while strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries.Mashayamombe said buses will be provided at usual pick up points at 0830 hours.
Intel continues to jack up the number of CPU cores in its chips, on Thursday releasing Xeon E5-2600 processors that have up to 22 cores.
Intel packed more cores into the chips in response to growing demand for cloud and mobile services. The greater number of cores will allow cloud providers to stream more movies or applications from each individual server.
The chips, based on Intels Broadwell microarchitecture, will also go into workstations. Paired with a high-end graphics processor, workstation users will be able to develop virtual reality applications and edit 4K video. Those workstations will likely use the quad- and six-core variants of the new chips.
The Xeon E5-2600 v4 lineup includes 27 chips and boasts many improvement that make the chips faster than their predecessors. Each core is roughly 5 percent faster than those based on the prior, Haswell architecture.
Based on standard SAP benchmarks for the Linux OS, Dell found the new chips were 28 percent faster than their Haswell equivalents.
But cooling could be an issue for chips that have so many cores. Intel dialed down the frequency of the monster 22-core Xeon E5-2699 v4 to 2.2GHz, which draws about 145 watts of power. It has 55MB of cache, up from 44MB of cache in its fastest predecessor. The 22-core chip is priced at $4,115.
The new chips are primarily targeted at cloud service providers. Applications are moving into public, private and hybrid clouds, and the chips are tuned to speed up and secure hosted applications, said Matt Lane, director of Xeon marketing at Intel.
In 2015, most of Intels top seven cloud customers upgraded to servers with more cores, Lane said. Cloud providers want servers with more computing power, in order to rent out more virtual servers and pack more cloud services onto each one, Lane said.
Cloud providers like Google and Facebook build vast data centers based on Intel chips, but theyre also considering alternative architectures like ARM and IBM Power. Qualcomm is making a 24-core ARM server chip that reportedly has support from Google.
Intel is sitting pretty today, with some 90 percent of the server market. ARM and Power have virtually no market share, but theyre getting enough attention for Intel to be concerned and take action to retain customers.
Intel will customize the new Xeons for larger customers, Lane said.
In addition to cloud providers, the new chips are targeted at companies running databases, analytics and ERP (enterprise resource planning) applications.
The chips plug into sockets in existing servers currently using the Xeon E5-2600 v3 chips based on Haswell, which started shipping last year. As a result, Dell is providing incremental upgrades to existing servers like its PowerEdge R730, which received a cooling system upgrade to handle new chips with more cores. Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Lenovo and others are also expected to announce servers with the new parts.
Some of the chip improvements are reflected in the finer details. Some Xeon chips will support a version of DRAM DIMMs in which memory chips are stacked on top of each other in a 3D format. That memory type will be available in the future.
The Xeons also have new instructions that speed up security tasks like encryption and decryption. Lane said security tasks are being processed 70 percent faster.
Another interesting feature is the Resource Director Technology, which helps speed up virtualization. The technology has a cache allocation feature, which can give guaranteed cache space for high-priority virtual machines. It also helps in software-defined networking and NFV (network-function virtualization) environments, where high-priority data packets can be moved into the cache ahead of others.
An add-on card available at a later date will allow the implementation of Intels proprietary OmniPath fabric interconnect, which boosts data transfer speeds between storage, memory, processors and other components. Intel has not shared details on the underlying technologies in OmniPath, which is targeted mostly at high-performance computing.
The chips integrated networking, storage and I/O support are almost identical to the predecessor Haswell server chips. Thats a trade-off Intel had to make to keep the new chips compatible with existing sockets in Haswell-based servers so upgrades are less costly for customers.
Linuxs Bash shell is coming to Windows, courtesy of a collaboration between Microsoft and Ubuntu-creator Canonical. Type bash into Windows 10s Start menu, and youll be able to instantly get a full Linux command-line environment.
Many developers prefer Linuxand even Mac OS X, which also includes the Bash shellbecause of its access to a whole universe of utilities that often dont work on Windows. Adding the Bash shell to Windows is just another way Microsoft is trying to make Windows more attractive to Linux developers. Remember, Microsofts Azure cloud hosting service can run Linux servers, too.
Its not a virtual machine or container
Before this, you could use Bash on Windows, but through heavy virtual machines or by remotely accessing a Bash session running on a remote server somewhere. Theres also Cygwin, a hacky solution featuring a variety of Linux tools recompiled for Windows. Many people assumed Windows 10s rumored Linux compatibility would be something along these lines. But they were wrong. Its more awesome.
This solution will be an app available in the Windows Store, and it will provide a full Ubuntu image that runs in userspace as a program on your desktop. Programs compiled for Linux will just run without even needing to be recompiled for Windows. You can use Ubuntus apt-get command to download and install programs, and itll just work. Developers can write Bash scripts and run them on Windows. Its reportedly just as fast as running the same utilities natively on Ubuntu Linux.
This is all thanks to a new subsystem quietly placed into Windows 10 build 14251 back in January. The lxcore.sys and lxss.sys files form the new Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL).
Canonicals Dustin Kirkland is thrilled about the technology, and explains it this way: A team of sharp developers at Microsoft has been hard at work adapting some Microsoft research technology to basically perform real time translation of Linux syscalls into Windows OS syscalls. Linux geeks can think of it as sort of the inverse of wineUbuntu binaries running natively in Windows.
Dustin Kirkland Apt-get works just like it does on Ubuntu, with access to the same software packages.
Microsofts solution is surprisingly capable. You get the exact same Linux utilities and theyll run on your Windows system directly. Although Bash is sandboxed, you can access your file system via the shell and work with the files and folders on your computer. Both your Linux utilities and Windows programs will have access to the same set of files.
But it has some limitations. It will be beta technology when it launches, and not everything will work properly out of the gate.
As Microsoft notes, This is a developer toolset to help you write and build all your code for all your scenarios and platforms. Its not a full Ubuntu virtual machine. You cant use it to host servers, as you could on Linux. If you need that, you can always install Linux in a virtual machine using Microsofts Hyper-V technology, VirtualBox, VMware, or something similar.
Dont expect a graphical Linux desktop, either. We are also only working on command line, says Microsofts Russ Alexander in a video. This is all about the developer.
Lastly, these Bash tools wont be able to interact directly with any Windows tools. You cant run a Bash command from PowerShell, or a Windows command from within Bash. This means you cant use Bash scripts to automate Windows commands, unfortunately. Bash command-line tools get access to the same files Windows does, but thats it!
Microsoft Bash commands can interact with your normal Windows file system.
Heres how you can get it
This feature isnt out yet, but its on its way. It will be part of the stable version of Windows when Windows 10s Anniversary Update is released this summer. Until then, youll need to be on the Insider Preview track to get the latest unstable version of Windows 10 Redstone.
An Ubuntu 14.04 LTS-based Bash application will shortly be added to the Windows Store, followed by a Ubuntu 16.04 LTS-based application once Ubuntu 16.04 LTS launches on April 21.
Want to learn more? Theres a lot of information out there now. Microsofts announcement covers the basics and Microsofts Scott Hanselman provides some background. Canonicals Dustin Kirkland provides an explanation targeted at readers familiar with Linux. You can also watch an informative 30-minute video featuring Hanselman, Kirkland, and others who worked on the project.
Teslas $35,000 Model 3 wont be out until late 2017, and yet its reveal Thursday night at the companys Hawthorne, California design studio put all other electric vehicles on notice. We have an amazing product to show you tonight. I think youre going to be blown away, Tesla CEO Elon Musk promised. Unless something even more amazing comes out in the next year, the Model 3 will be the EV to beat.
Full specs were not immediately available, but heres what we do know:
The base model will cost $35,000 before any federal or state incentives. As with other Tesla models, youll be able to choose pricier upgrades.
The EV range will be at least 215 miles, Musk saida little more than the expected EV range for the Chevrolet Bolt. The 200-mile mark is widely considered to be the point at which people lose EV range anxiety. Musk still seemed hungry for more: These are minimum numbers; we hope to exceed them. The cars will have access to Teslas supercharging network.
Why this matters: The Model 3 emerges at a crucial time for electric vehicles. EV drivers have suffered long enough with cars that last 100 miles or less. The Model 3s 215-mile range and reasonably affordable price could make EVs appealing to more people. It remains to be seen, however, whether those people will wait for the Model 3 or buy the Chevrolet Bolt, which will be first out of the gate later this year.
A Tesla through and through
Musk emphasized that the Model 3 was every inch a Tesla despite being smaller in size. (Dimensions were not available, but the photos indicate a shorter nose and tail than the Model S.) For instance, it will go from 0 to 60 mph in less than 6 seconds. At Tesla we dont make slow cars, Musk emphasized. The Model 3 will also be very safe, Musk assured us: not just five-star on average, but five-star in every category.
Tesla Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the Model 3 would have five-star safety ratings across the board.
The Model 3 will seat five adults comfortablyand the fifth seat will be welcoming, Musk said, not punishing, as it can often be in compact cars. Musk described how the Model 3s designers compressed the instrument panel and moved the front seats forward to give the rear passenger area more legroom. The rear roofs continuous pane of glass also adds to the roomy feeling, Musk said.
With the same front and rear trunk layout as the larger Model S, the Model 3 will have more cargo capacity than any car in its class. Musk even addressed a customer query, confirming that the car could hold a seven-foot surfboard inside.
Tesla This shot of the interior of the Tesla Model S shows a large tablet above the dashboard.
The Model 3s ship date could slip, though. Its advertised as late 2017, but Musk himself, in his presentation, qualified it like this: I do feel fairly confident they will be next year.
Tesla has two big projects in progress to support the anticipated higher volume of the Model 3. One is its huge Gigafactory in Reno, Nevada. Musk said the Gigafactory, which is already in operation, will have the largest footprint of any building on Earth, and itll have the capacity to produce more lithuim-ion batteries than all the other Li-ion battery factories in the world combined50GWh (gigawatt hours) per year, Musk said.
Tesla Tesla will become the largest manufacturer of lithium-ion batteries in the world once its Gigafactory kicks into full swing.
Tesla will also need to increase its production volume significantly. Musk set an ambitious goal of 500,000 units per year from its Fremont, California plant. We think we can do it, Musk hedged.
Of course, the Model 3 is gorgeous. Its sleek design cues closely follow those of the Model S and Model X.
Tesla Tesla didnt reveal the exact dimensions of the Model 3, but its expected to be noticeably smaller than the Model S or Model X.
Teslas Model 3 once again proves that Elon Musk knows something other automotive CEOs dont. While other car companies EVs and hybrids languish in the face of low oil prices, people lined up early at Tesla stores to preorder the Model 3 in person Thursday morning. Thousands more put in their names and $1,000 deposits online. Preorders exceeded 115,000 in 24 hours.
Time is the Model 3s enemy, though. Some of these eager depositors may bolt for the Chevrolet Bolt, which is due to ship by the end of 2016. Itll have about the same price and EV range as the Model 3, if not the same level of cachet. Well keep following the Model 3 and its competitors and will keep you posted.
John Kasich named Rick Caruso to be his California co-chair Thursday in the Ohio governors bid to be the Republican nominee for president.
But Kasichs hope of carrying the GOP banner is tied to an extraordinary political event that could unfold in Cleveland this summer: a contested or brokered Republican National Convention. That hasnt happened since 1976.
Caruso said that is essentially the Kasich plan and its based on the premise that Kasich is the only GOP hopeful polling well enough against Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton to potentially beat her in November.
Nobody is going to have the delegate math, so its going to be some sort of brokered convention, Caruso said by phone Thursday. Its going to the floor. Nobody will win the first ballot and on the second ballot, they will vote for someone who is qualified and someone who would win the general election.
The move to bring Caruso in as California co-chair had been in the works for weeks, with Kasich meeting privately with the billionaire real estate developer over several occasions while Caruso acted as fundraising bundler. Caruso is known in Southern California for developing The Grove in Los Angeles, the Americana at Brand in Glendale and the Commons at Calabasas. He also flirted with a run for mayor of L.A. in 2013 and served on the Los Angeles Police Commission.
Kasich heads into Tuesdays Wisconsin primary with 143 delegates, according to Real Clear Politics. Donald Trump has 736 and Ted Cruz sits at 463. To avoid a contested convention, a candidate must have 1,237 delegates to win the nomination outright.
California allocates its 172 delegates largely by congressional districts and Caruso said the large populations in the Bay Area and Los Angeles favor Kasich because of the candidates moderate stances on issues like immigration.
California Republicans dont vote until June 7, but Thursday saw a flurry of activity from the other campaigns as well.
Cruz held a fundraiser in Newport Beach. He was joined by fellow Republican stars, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and former Hewlett-Packard head Carly Fiorina. Both sought the GOP presidential nomination, but were knocked out early in the race by the political force that has sent the party into a bit of an identity crisis: the Trump candidacy. A day earlier, Cruz made a stop in Hollywood to tape an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Trump on Thursday tapped U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-San Diego, to be his House Leadership Committee co-chair. Hunter, an early endorser of Trump, will try to corral support and endorsements for the former reality television host and real estate developer among his colleagues.
Dan Schnur, director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at USC, said the activity in California is a signal that the state may not send a nominee to Cleveland, but the states Republican voters may be the ones to stop Trump from reaching the 1,237 mark.
California is beginning to look a lot like Donald Trumps last chance to put a majority of delegates together, Schnur said.
Schnur said the only way for Kasich to get the nomination is to be the second-ballot nominee. But, he said, that second-ballot nominee could come from other names that have been bandied about including House Speaker Paul Ryan and two-time presidential nominee Mitt Romney.
Ryan has said he isnt interested in running for president, but Schnur pointed out that Ryan said he wasnt interested in being House Speaker when John Boehner stepped down last year. Romney gave a speech in Salt Lake City last month urging the party to stop Trump, but he said in an interview on NBCs Today show that he wasnt looking to be the alternate.
Im not running for president and I wont run for president, he said. Since he made those remarks, Rubio has dropped out of the presidential race.
Caruso said it cant be Cruz because polling shows the Texas senator trailing Clinton in a general election.
In seven polls taken this month, Kasich beats Clinton by an average of 6.2 points, according to Real Clear Politics. In five polls, however, Kasich trails Sanders by an average of one point.
Both Trump and Cruz trail Clinton and Sanders in polling.
Youre not the natural choice if you cant beat the opponent, Caruso said. The point of the race is to win, not come in second.
Contact the writer: david.montero@langnews.com or @DaveMontero on Twitter
The cash-strapped city of Canyon Lake is officially pursuing a one-year extension of its contract with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Cal Fire for fire and paramedic services. The ongoing saga of the citys ability to pay for such services in the face of increasingly limited resources has been a frustrating exhibition of the failure of government to behave responsibly and realistically.
Last year, the city decided it didnt want to extend its contract, declared a state of emergency and insisted it would pursue creating its own fire department. The problem Canyon Lake ran into was the realization that forming a fire department typically requires years of planning, development and implementation.
Backed into a corner, the city reluctantly accepted a watered-down version of its prior Cal Fire contract, which resulted in the closure of its only fire station and made the city reliant on fire stations in surrounding cities. This arrangement has apparently irked some Lake Elsinore council members, who argue that the arrangement has them effectively subsidizing Canyon Lake.
Meanwhile, Canyon Lake received a much anticipated consultants report two weeks ago. It urged the city to think carefully about its future. In November 2014, Canyon Lake residents narrowly approved an increase in the utility tax, which has become the sole buffer between the city going bankrupt or disincorporating and continuing to function. The problem, though, is that the tax increase will expire by the end of 2020.
Without that revenue, or something in its place, the city simply cant continue to exist.
Of course, city leaders have long contended they might not be in this situation were it not for the countys requirement that all fire engines be staffed with three, rather than two, firefighters. Perhaps greater staffing flexibility might make sense, particularly for smaller cities.
But on the other hand, the staffing requirements were what they were, and Canyon Lake officials, unfortunately, waited for their finances to go from bad to worse before having more sober conversations about te citys future.
These days, talk of disincorporation seems to be a recurring point of discussion at council meetings. At the very least, the council should continue to host vital community debates about the viability of proceeding as a city. Just as importantly, we hope more discussions spring up about ways of making fire and paramedic service delivery cheaper while still being effective. After all, providing public safety services is the primary responsibility of local governments.
A developers strategy of seeking voter approval to pave the way for its massive master-planned community in Lake Elsinore is headed for a court battle.
City Attorney Barbara Leibold filed a complaint this week asking a Riverside County judge to block the voter initiative process from going forward.
The lawsuit contends the proposed Alberhill Villages development plan and agreement that voters would be asked to approve violates state law because it would circumvent the citys land-use authority, the public review process, environmental review requirements and other provisions.
In filing the complaint, Leibold is requesting suspension of a notice filed with the city that proponents planned to circulate a petition among registered Lake Elsinore voters with the goal of getting enough signatures to put the initiative on a future ballot.
It is well accepted that pre-election review of ballot measures is appropriate where the validity of a proposal is in serious question, and where the matter can be resolved as a matter of law before unnecessary expenditures of time and effort have been placed into a futile election campaign, the complaint states.
Thomas Hiltachk, attorney for lead proponent Dana Mark Coon, disputed the contention that the city attorney has the right to withhold issuance of a title and summary on the petition, which authorizes its circulation and signature-gathering.
Ive rarely seen a city attorney ever do this, he said. In the one or two examples in which they have in the 20-plus years Ive been doing this, courts have routinely ordered them to issue a title and summary.
Hiltachk said he believes the city attorneys action is a delaying tactic.
The concept of the voters taking a land-use decision directly to the ballot has been the law of California for decades, and its not the city attorneys job to decide the legality of that, and certainly not the city attorneys job to decide the legality right now, he said.
Ironically, Alberhill Villages developer Castle & Cooke was potentially on the precipice of winning the City Councils approval for its plan, which calls for the construction of more than 8,000 residential units and 4 million square feet of retail, office and institutional space on 1,400 acres. The property is south of Interstate 15 and east of Lake Street and encompasses the Pacific Clay mining operation owned by Castle & Cooke.
The proposed master-planned community, which has been in the works for years, received the Lake Elsinore Planning Commissions endorsement Feb. 16 and was scheduled for a City Council hearing in April.
However, Castle & Cooke asked that the project be held in abeyance, according to the lawsuit. Coon filed a notice with the city clerk on March 2 that he intended to circulate a petition. Because of some errors in the filing, the notice was withdrawn and a new notice was submitted March 14, along with a revised 266-page plan.
I partnered with Castle & Cooke to promote this initiative because I know that my family and neighbors want to see this project built, Coon said recently in an emailed response. We are tired of being bypassed by our own people to get to our neighboring communities to shop, eat and live. I want to be proud of my city.
Going the voter initiative route could conceivably take much longer than through government channels, with no assurance the measure would pass.
If approved, one possible benefit to Castle & Cooke would be that much of the citys control over the development would be removed, according to Leibolds filing, which was authorized by the City Council in a closed-door session.
I really believed that when (the project) went though the Planning Commission, we were on the right track and this thing was going forward, so I think everyone is frustrated, Lake Elsinore Mayor Brian Tisdale said.
Contact the writer: 951-368-9690 or michaelwilliams@pressenterprise.com
Rep. Duncan Hunters support for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has paid off with Trump naming the Alpine Republican a co-chairman of his campaigns U.S. House Leadership Committee.
Congressmen Hunter and (Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y., who also endorsed Trump) will lead outreach effort to their fellows (sic) Members of Congress in support of Mr. Trumps message to Make America Great Again, read a Trump news release.
Mr. Trump stated, Congressman Hunter and Congressman Collins are conservative stalwarts. I am honored to have the support of these two well respected Members of Congress who share my vision of securing our borders, strengthening our military, treating our veterans with the respect and care they deserve and putting Americans first again.'
Hunter, who represents Temecula, was one of the first congressmen to endorse Trump. We dont need a policy wonk as president. We need a leader as president, he told POLITICO in February.
Hunters new role comes as Trump tries to solidify ties with the Republican National Committee and establishment Republicans. While hes leading the delegate race, its possible he may fall short of the 1,237 delegates needed to win the GOP presidential nomination, leading to the prospect of a brokered Republican National Convention in July to choose the nominee.
If thats the case, Trump will be counting on Hunter and other supporters to drum up enough delegates to win the nomination and turn back Republicans who are staunchly opposed to his candidacy.
SeaWorld and the Humane Society of the United States are asking President Barack Obama to pressure Japan to end its commercial whaling activities.
SeaWorld CEO Joel Manby and Humane Society CEO Wayne Pacelle sent Obama a letter Thursday urging him to treat the end of commercial whaling as a much stronger priority for action within the context of Americas diplomatic relationship with Japan.
The letter accuses Japan of flouting international law and world opinion. It also points out that the United States has the power to lead a comprehensive effort in ending the practice.
The partnership between SeaWorld and The Humane Society comes just weeks after the theme park company announced that it would no longer breed orcas in captivity and would soon stop making them perform.
News / Press Release
by Settlement Chikwinya - PDP Secretary for Elections
The shocking videos coming from Japan clearly showing Robert Mugabe unable to walk to a podium and sleeping at a press conference are disturbing and unwelcome.It is so clear that Mugabe is not in a state to govern and let alone participate in the duties of a president.Whilst we hold no brief for Mugabe, we hold him totally responsible of ruining the country.However, the People's Democratic Party (PDP) is a social democracy party that believes that Mugabe is entitled the right to dignity as protected in the Zimbabwe Constitution.Evidence from the recent past months shows that Mugabe is no longer fit to govern.We make reference to his fall on arrival to the AU summit last year at the Harare International Airport in February last year and his complete failure to comprehend what is happening around him as shown by reading wrong speeches.We make reference to the incoherence and confusion as shown during Mugabe's recent visits to Japan and India.We make reference of Mugabe's infinite visits to Singapore for medical treatment and in the past three weeks, he has visited that country twice and all occasions he has had to create false trips to Japan and India in an effort to hide the real destination of visiting Singapore.The Constitution of Zimbabwe provides for the right of the elderly people.Section 82 of the Zimbabwe Constitution states the people over the age of 70 have a right to receive reasonable care from their families and the state.It is clear to us that Grace Mugabe and the rest of the Mugabe family are abusing Mugabe and failing to take care of him as required by the Constitution.The state itself, is also failing to afford Mugabe his right under Section 82 of the Constitution.More fully, the country is being brought into disrepute by Mugabe's antics at home and abroad.The man and his age have become the favourite butt-end of jokes and snide remarks in embassies and every gathering of diplomats.Even little children now recognise Mugabe as a fossil, which is slowly decomposing to the chagrin and embarrassment of the state.We thus call on Mugabe to do the right thing and resign.More importantly, we call on the Parliament to serve us from this national embarrassment by proceeding to remove Mugabe from office in terms of Section 97 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.This provision of the Constitution of Zimbabwe allows Parliament to remove from office the President if he is unable to perform his duties because of mental or physical capacity.Quite clearly, Mugabe is no longer fit for office.The danger that Zimbabwe faces from this situation is that because the President is incapacitated, some unelected lunatic has now filled the void and is clearly running the country.Regrettably, that person can only be the First Lady, Grace Mugabe.We must end this charade and obscene status quo. Robert Mugabe must resign and resign immediately.
As a licensed marriage family therapist, Temecula resident Cathryn Leff is trained to deal with traumatic events. That definitely helped her Monday, March 28 in the nationals capital.
At the entrance to the Capitol Hill Visitor Center, Leff was going through the south entrance checkpoint about 2:40 p.m., when everything broke loose.
I was just going through security and had just put my belongings on the conveyor belt when I heard shouts, Active shooter. Active shooter, and it was just chaos, Leff said. Then, the police said, Run! Run for your lives. People were running and screaming.
As the world would learn later, U.S. Capital Police shot and wounded Larry Russell Dawson, 66, of Antioch, Tenn. after he reportedly drew a weapon at the security station at the visitor centers north entrance.
Dawson was charged with two federal offenses Thursday. He was hospitalized and has not yet appeared in court.
According to court paperwork, Dawson went through a metal detector, which indicated the presence of metal at his waist. He spread his arms in response to an officers request, but then suddenly reached into the area of his waist and removed what appeared to be a black handgun. Dawson took a hand-held metal detector from the officer and threw it onto the floor. He then pointed the weapon at the officer, who drew his own weapon. Dawson ignored officers commands to drop the weapon and was shot twice, according to court paperwork provided by prosecutors.
The gun resembled in color, shape, weight, and other outward appearances a semi-automatic handgun, the document said. It turned out to be a BB gun.
That checkpoint Dawson entered was on the opposite side and a short way from the entrance where Leff and a contingent of several fellow therapists on a lobbying trip were entering the compound.
After the group fled, an officer ordered them to duck down behind a nearby wall for fear they might get caught in a cross-fire, while he guarded them with a gun drawn, she said.
The Capitol Police were awesome, Leff said. They were on it right away and made us feel safe. It was just that first 15 seconds that were terrifying, but once the police took control, you thought, They know what theyre doing. Were safe.
Leff is the founder and past president of the Southwest Riverside County Chapter of Marriage and Family Therapists and a board member of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists. She joined colleagues in Washington urging Southern California legislators to support bills that would allow more marriage and family therapists to be employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs and to be Medicare providers.
Amid their activities, they decided to return to the site of Mondays havoc to desensitize themselves of the trauma. Leff said in the aftermath she felt a sense of heightened alertness in situations when she would not normally be alarmed.
I have a new appreciation for the word chaos, because you really feel so ungrounded, she said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Contact the writer: 951-368-9690 or michaelwilliams@pressenterprise.com
Update: Authorities investigating potential for larger crime.
A fight in a Corona parking lot alerted police to four stolen Honda cars, three of which they soon found, investigators say.
The incident began at 11:29 a.m. Wednesday, March 30, outside Burlington Coat Factory, 720 N. Main Street, about 1-1/4 miles northwest of the Corona freeway interchange.
Two men armed with a screwdriver and a handgun escaped.
But 40-year-old James Michael Inman was arrested at 3:32 p.m. near Elizabeth Street and Oleander Avenue in Mead Valley and booked for investigation of auto theft, jail records show. His bail is $5,000.
Inman was caught after police spotted a green Honda Civic that had been reported stolen hours earlier in Corona, Corona police Sgt. Paul Mercado said Thursday.
Police are still piecing together the circumstances surrounding the car thefts.
Mercado confirmed via text message Friday that an investigator was working to find whether the suspects were involved in a chop shop or crime ring of some kind.
But Mercado said this much appears certain:
The parking lot fight began after woman finished shopping at Burlington Coat Factory and spotted someone walking through the parking lot carrying stereo equipment that apparently had been stripped from the couples silver Honda Accord.
The Accord also is considered to have been stolen because someone had driven it about a block to a former Social Security office along the 1000 block of West 10th Street, apparently to facilitate the stereo theft, Mercado said.
During the parking lot fight, one of the apparent thieves wielding a screwdriver tried to stab the male victim, Mercado said. And an accomplice with a gun stole the purse of the victims wife.
One thief escaped in a champagne-colored Honda. His accomplice fled in another Honda that had been reported stolen the previous day in a Riverside. That car was still missing Friday, Mercado said.
Officers investigating the parking lot crimes discovered discarded paperwork that pointed them to the 900 block of Wakefield Avenue in central Corona where the green Honda involved in Inmans arrest had just been reported stolen, Mercado said.
The case became curiouser when a relative of that green Hondas owner called police saying they were following the familys stolen car as it was being driven near La Sierra Avenue and Cajalco Road, just southwest of Lake Mathews.
A Riverside police helicopter crew and sheriffs deputies spotted that car in Mead Valley. Two occupants ran away. But officers soon arrested Inman a short distance away, Mercado said.
Though police were still looking for a second suspect Thursday, Mercado said detectives had no name or detailed description of that man. The investigation is continuing.
Synagogue to hold baking class, more
Temple Beth Am, a reform Jewish congregation in the San Jacinto Valley, will host a workshop on making matzah at 6:30 p.m. Friday, April 8 and a community Passover seder at 7 p.m. on April 22.
To make a reservation, call 951-445-0502 or email templebethamsanjacinto@yahoo.com. A $20 fee covers the cost of the Passover meal, while the workshop for making matzah is free.
Information: templebethamsj.org
Manny Otiko
St. Martha Catholic Church in Murrieta is beginning a program for new or returning Catholics. A news release says the program is in response to Catholics who may feel alienated from the church or wish to update their understanding of the faith.
Sessions will run for six weeks at 10:30 a.m. Saturdays beginning April 9 and will include time for food and fellowship. St. Marthas is at 37200 Whitewood Road.
Information: Kristen at 951-698-818 or kirsten.stmartha@gmail.com
Staff report
Contact the writer: community@pressenterprise.com
On a recent afternoon at Eleanor Roosevelt High School, students scrolled through their phones while lounging on red brick benches under swaying palms at the front of the Eastvale school.
It had been about a week since a sex tape that may involve Roosevelt students started making the rounds on campus via social media. Despite teachers efforts to quell the gossip, nearly everyone was talking about it, sophomore Ian Naguna said.
I think teenagers these days dont really understand the full extent of their actions, Naguna said. Once something is on the Internet, you cant get it back.
Officials havent said whether the video shows a consensual encounter or if the pair knew they were being taped. Regardless of how the video made its way online, its a reminder of how sharing explicit photos through texts and smart phone applications can lead to harmful consequences.
Examples abound of victims who have suffered severe mental health problems after unwittingly seeing their nude image distributed. Youths who peddle these photos can face jail time and fines for distributing child pornography. With phones in so many teens pockets it can be nearly impossible to monitor their online activity. But schools across the country and Inland area are hosting community meetings about the dangers of sharing nude photos online, and a California lawmaker has introduced a bill that would require such talks in sexual health courses.
Jan Stets, a social psychologist at UC Riverside, said those measures and others are needed to stop the dangerous trend of bullying behind the curtain of a screen.
In face-to-face interactions, were confronted with our victims and tempered by that, said Stets, the author of an upcoming book on social medias effect on identity. Now were seeing a lack of monitoring and self-control because you dont see the people being victimized. I think it needs to come into conversations in the classroom, in the home. It has to involve mentors and parents and educators asking (students) to really think about what it is theyre doing on their phones, and encouraging them to reflect more.
IT DOESNT GO AWAY
Corona-Norco Unified School District officials learned of the sex tape in March.
School and law enforcement officials say the incident involves teens engaged in sexual activity at a private home outside school hours. Riverside County sheriffs Deputy Armando Munoz said the investigation continues, and no more details would be released. So far, no arrests have been made.
Still, legal trouble may loom for those involved with the video.
Riverside County District Attorneys Office spokesman John Hall, said in general that juveniles who film, distribute or possess nude photos or videos of minors can be charged with felony distribution of child pornography that could lead to years in a youth detention center.
Charges vary depending on the suspects age and what they plan to do with the material. State law calls for more severe penalties for those distributing illicit photos designed for clearly defined deviant sexual groups. If the case doesnt involve sexual assault, convicted juveniles are often sentenced to probation, Hall said.
The potential for jail time isnt the only deterrent. There can be serious, sometimes fatal, consequences.
In 2008, 18-year-old Ohio teen Jesse Logan killed herself after an ex-boyfriend sent nude photos of her to classmates. A year later in Florida, 13-year-old Hope Witsell hanged herself when a topless photo shed sent to a boy she liked began began circulating at a nearby school.
The fact that it doesnt go away means that person gets victimized over and over again, Stets said. Anyone can see it. I dont think people think about that when they post these sorts of things.
In the years since those deaths, 20 states have adopted more lenient sexting laws with reduced penalties for juveniles. Arkansas, Hawaii and New Mexico now have laws saying youths can escape conviction if they complete community service or agree to delete nude photos.
Amy Hasinoff, a communications professor at the University of Colorado, Denver, who wrote a book on sexting in 2015, told the Associated Press that the practice was the modern version of a love letter or sexy Polaroid picture.
Sexting is often portrayed as something thats harmful, but were not seeing a lot of evidence of that, Hasinoff said.
PART OF TEEN CULTURE
Nancy Jo Sales, a writer for Vanity Fair and author of the 2016 book American Girls: Social Media and the Secret Lives of Teenagers, said posting questionable photos even illegal pornography has become commonplace in teen culture.
Its been normalized to share naked pictures of girls non-consensually, without ever asking her whether shed like people to see it, Sales said after hearing of the Roosevelt incident. Thats not even a consideration to people.
As many as 33 percent of teens admit to receiving sexually suggestive images on their phones, and about 20 percent admit to sending them, according to KidsHealth.org, a pediatrician-led nonprofit devoted to improving childrens health. A 2010 FBI report had similar findings.
Those statistics are no secret to school administrators. Linda Bardere, San Bernardino City Unified School District spokeswoman, said students are told at the beginning of every school year to report sexually explicit or threatening online posts. Though the districts police department doesnt track such incidents, she said the constant threat has required a consistent effort to deter students that includes cyberbullying workshops and counseling for victims.
New online applications are making it tougher to monitor youths online activities. One app, called Kik, allows users to send photos, videos and messages anonymously without tracking mechanisms. According to the site, Kik is used by roughly 240 million people, including 40 percent of U.S. teens.
Boys say things online that they would never say in person, Sales said. Theres more aggression from behind the screen. Theres a releasing of ethical standards Its much easier for someone to do something like send out a sex tape.
Other apps combat sexting. A free one called SentTell can be installed on a childs phone and sends a duplicate copy of any photo taken to the parents email.
SCHOOLS, LAWMAKERS TAKE AIM
Though its difficult to monitor what teens do with their smart phones, school and other officials are doing what they can.
Michael Cobarrubias, deputy superintendent in the Corona-Norco Unified School District which includes Roosevelt said many of these prurient activities happen off campus. Over the past two years, officials have increased efforts to educate parents and students about the potential dangers of sexting sending sexually explicit photos or messages by phone and other questionable uses of technology.
The district has hosted dozens of assemblies, Cobarrubias said. In October, an adults-only meeting at Roosevelt covered topics such as communicating with your teen and managing social media.
Corona-Norco students are allowed to carry phones at school, but cant use them during class, district policy states. Phones may not be used to support illegal activity, violate school rules, create an unsafe environment or threaten to disrupt instruction. Violations can result in confiscation of the device and disciplinary action.
In the Roosevelt case, district officials say they will wait until the law enforcement investigation is complete before determining if school rules have been broken.
A bill, introduced in February by Assemblyman Ed Chau, D-Monterey Park, would give schools the right to expel students for sending sexually explicit images electronically with the purpose of humiliating or harassing a pupil.
For offenses that arent considered criminal, Assembly Bill 2536 would give school districts a way to discipline students. The law would apply to students who sext on campus or at events endorsed by the school.
The bill would also require California schools to address sexting in sexual health courses. Discussions would include potential consequences such as the effect on relationships, loss of educational and employment opportunities, and being barred or removed from school programs, the bill states.
Marilyn Martinez, a 17-year-old Roosevelt junior, said she knows the female in the illicit video.
Though she hasnt seen the footage herself, Martinez said many of her friends have, and she expects the incident could change the habits of people sending nude photos via text and online apps.
I think this will make people think twice about what theyre posting, Martinez said. Eventually theyll start thinking Why did I do that?
RELATED
EASTVALE: Alleged Roosevelt High student sex tape sparks probe
Contact the writer: 951-368-9644, poneill@pressenterprise.com, @PE_PatrickO
Clutching a tissue soaked with tears, Mary Hargrove of Hemet viewed the casket of U.S. Marine Staff Sgt. Louis F. Cardin on the steps of the Temecula Civic Center on Friday.
She said she was there at the public service to offer the same support that she received when her son, Lance Cpl. Justin Swanson, of Anaheim, was killed in Afghanistan in 2009.
He (Cardin) went to boot camp with my son, she said, tears still welling in her eyes.
Hundreds of area residents joined Hargrove in paying their last respects to Cardin during a closed casket ceremony. A 2006 Chaparral High School graduate, Cardin died in Iraq last month from injuries suffered during an Islamic State missile attack on a military base.
The ceremony featured speeches from area dignitaries, including Temecula Mayor Mike Naggar, and Manny Toledo, a family representative.
The family is holding a private funeral for Cardin, who was known for his infectious wit and his commitment to the Corps, on Saturday at Riverside National Cemetery.
That made Fridays event the only opportunity for many in the area to say goodbye to the Riverside native, who moved to Temecula in the mid-2000s with his large family to attend local schools.
Some of the people who attended the ceremony stopped by on their way to work. Others made special trips from neighboring cities. And there was a strong contingent of Cardins friends from his days at Camp Pendleton.
Gabriel Cardin, a younger brother who followed Louis at Chaparral, said the family appreciated the ceremony staged by the city, the first of its kind for a fallen member of the military.
It helps with the grieving process, he said.
At 10 a.m., Marines performed a crossed cannons ceremony, which involves pounding nails into the cover of the casket with heavy mallets. Many in the audience stood at attention during the somber moment.
Taps was played at noon to conclude the memorial.
Riverside County Supervisor Chuck Washington, who spoke during the opening portion of the ceremony, said he noted how personal the tragedy was for his family and the city.
Washingtons daughter and son-in-law both attended Chaparral and although they didnt go to school at the same time as Cardin, the Cardin family was well known at the school.
In his role as a staff sergeant, Cardin was leading a group of Marines during a March 19 battle at an Iraqi base. Washington said that from what hes heard, Cardin was making sure everyone was sheltered in a bunker as the bombs fell.
He said it reminded him of the Marines he served with as a member of the Navy.
People fighting to the end to preserve life, Washington said.
A Marine pays last respects to Staff Sgt. Louis Cardin, who died last month while serving in Iraq. pic.twitter.com/i4j761TB8A PE_Claverie (@PE_Claverie) April 1, 2016
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RELATED
Fallen Marine remembered for wit, commitment to Corps
Temecula Marine killed in Islamic State rocket attack
Hundreds line streets to support fallen Marine Louis Cardin
A Riverside man was arrested Wednesday, March 30, on suspicion of stealing more than $1,000 in California Lottery tickets.
Police believe Kevin Williams, 22, stole the tickets from his work at a store in the 8900 block of Trautwein Road in Riverside, according to a police news release. The owner of the store contacted police after confronting Williams about the tickets which went missing over the past two weeks.
Williams admitted to the owner that he had stolen the tickets, the news release said.
Williams was on probation for a previous robbery conviction when the incident occurred, the news release said. Police acting on the search terms of Williams probation searched his home, and later contacted him.
Williams confessed to police that he had stolen the tickets. He was taken into custody and booked into jail on suspicion of embezzlement and violating probation.
An adult desert tortoise weighs about 12 pounds and can take days to travel a mile, yet the reptiles have managed to get one of most formidable forces on earth the United States Marine Corps to reconsider a large training mission.
The Marines plan to conduct live ammunition training in August, using tanks and other heavy weaponry at their Air Ground Combat Center at Twentynine Palms.
To prevent harming about 1,400 tortoises living in this stretch of the Mojave Desert, the military now plans to limit operations in its combat center expansion area in the Johnson Valley northwest of Landers.
The Marines had hoped to airlift the reptiles this spring to federally managed habitat land near Barstow to get them safely out of the way.
But military officials and federal land mangers recently announced that the relocation cant proceed until they analyze how the move would affect tortoises and other wildlife already living in the recipient areas.
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The spring move was canceled shortly after an environmental group, the Center for Biological Diversity, filed a legal challenge to it. Desert Tortoises are protected by the Endangered Species Act because they are listed as threatened with extinction.
Marine Capt. Justin E. Smith, a spokesman for Twentynine Palms, said by email that the extend of the use of 88,000-acre Johnson Valley expansion has not been determined, but training will not negatively impact the desert tortoise species.
The Marines will comply with all environmental management requirements.
Brian Croft, a biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services, said he expects to talk with the Marines about how to avoid harming tortoises. The Marines, for example, may keep tanks and other motorized vehicles on designated roadways when traveling through tortoise areas.
The August training will be a large-scale, live-ammunition operation involving three battalions operating in extreme desert heat in real world warfare conditions, said Smiths email. Last years exercises included troops from Canada and the United Kingdom.
The Johnson Valley has traditionally been an off-road-vehicle recreation area managed by the federal Bureau of Land Manage. But in late 2013, Congress added the valley to the Air Ground Combat Center.
Marine and BLM officials will hold a public meeting to discuss the Johnson Valley situation from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, April 2, at the Lucerne Valley Community Center in Lucerne.
RELATED
DESERT TORTOISE: Marines to move hundreds from training area
CALIFORNIA DESERT: Tortoise relocations challenged
MOJAVE DESERT:Tortoises born in captivity released into the wild
ENVIRONMENT:Desert tortoise gets 7,400 acres
DROUGHT:Lack of water threatens desert tortoise
FORT IRWIN:Relocation of desert tortoises OK to resume
Contact the writer: 951-368-9471 or ddanelski@pressenterprise.com
Since the FBI dropped its lawsuit earlier this week against Apple after they managed to crack into the San Bernardino shooters iPhone all by themselves, the world has been waiting for details with growing trepidation.
Would they reveal how they did it? (No.) Would they at least tell Apple how they did it, thereby allowing them to fix this flaw in their technology? (No.) And now they knew how to do it, would they break into other iPhones?
Well, yes, as it turns out.
The Associated Press reports that the FBI has agreed to assist an Arkansas prosecutor unlock the iPhone and iPod belonging to an 18-year-old and 15-year-old, who are accused of killing the 15-year-olds adoptive grandparents.
The defendant told AP that they were not concerned about anything on that phone, but prosecutors believe the iPod may contain damning evidence, including communications about the homicide plans.
It doesnt look like this will be an isolated case, either; NPR reports that the FBI were flooded with requests from prosecutors round American after their victorious announcement.
Its unclear at this stage if the FBI will use the same method to crack the iPod / iPhone, or even what that remotely looks like. An Israeli newspaper reported that the FBI had been assisted by an Israeli company called Cellebrite, but anonymous law enforcement officials told USA Today this was straight up not correct.
The point is, its a great terrible day for privacy all round, really.
Source: AP / NPR.
Photo: Pexels.
Here it is, the statement thats either going to make you love or hate Sydney-based writer and performer Ally Garrett: she has a giant tattoo of Kim Kardashian, her personal hero.
In September last year, Melbourne tattoo artist Clare Hampshire of Hot Copper Studio spent five hours etching Kims face in the style of Guadalupe (religious patron of Mexico) or a 14th century Madonna on the side of her right thigh.
I was inspired to portray Kim using religious iconography by New York artist Hannah Kunkle, whose exhibit The Passion of Kim Kardashian that depicted Kim as religious figures like the Virgin Mary, Joan of Arc and Jesus because shes the patron saint of pop culture, Ally told PEDESTRIAN.TV when we hung out with her at artist Scott Dooleys giant mural of a nude Kimmy K in Sydneys Chippendale. That description that resonated with me so much. Its also kind of ironic to portray her as a virgin when she gets slut-shamed so hard.
Underneath is a banner that reads Can I live?!?!, a ref to the classic Kim-response to cropping daughter North out of a photo on Insta.
Behold:
Her eyes were closed and I was feeling my look! Can I live?!?! Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) December 15, 2014
This tweet to me, was ultimate Kim Kardashian. Funny, self-aware and unapologetic, says Ally.
So, why did she want Kims face etched on her 4lyf? Check out our interview (and the epic tatt) with Ally HERE:
Why I Got A Giant Kim Kardashian Tattoo Tfw Kim Kardashian Wests face is on your body. For life. Posted by pedestrian.tv on Thursday, March 31, 2016
Photo: PEDESTRIAN.TV.
Taylor Kinney, Lady Gaga
FILE - In this Dec. 7, 2014 file photo, Taylor Kinney and Lady Gaga attend the 37th Annual Kennedy Center Honors in Washington. Lady Gaga announced on her Instagram account Monday, Feb. 16, 2015 that she and Kinney are engaged. Her representative confirmed. Kinney stars in the NBC series "Chicago Fire" and also had a role in the film "Zero Dark Thirty." Gaga's hits include "Poker Face," "Bad Romance" and "Applause." She recently won her sixth Grammy Award this month for her album with Tony Bennett, "Cheek to Cheek." (Photo by Greg Allen/Invision/AP, File)
(Greg Allen)
The news about Lady Gaga and Taylor Kinney getting married in Italy isn't true, the actor said on Tuesday's episode of LIVE with Kelly and Michael.
"I keep hearing about wedding plans through the media," said Kinney, who's from Lancaster. "I guess I'm getting married in Italy. It's more interesting that whatever the heck I'll come up with."
The couple has been "pretty busy," and they're still narrowing down the details of their wedding, he said during the interview. They have talked about possibly getting married in New York or Los Angeles during the summer or Christmas.
One thing's for sure, though. Lady Gaga told Ryan Seacrest that she wants a "family" wedding -- nothing over the top -- during an interview on On Air with Ryan Seacrest. She added that the women in her family all have a hand in planning the big day.
"I think if I were to deny the women of my life the planning of the wedding, they would probably just kill me," she told Seacrest.
Lady Gaga, whose real name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, was engaged to Kinney on Valentine's Day last year, according to Us Weekly. The couple met on the set of Lady Gaga's 2011 music video "You and I" in Nebraska and started dating several months later, according to the magazine.
The couple was spotted with matching gold bands at Lady Gaga's 30th birthday party in Los Angeles earlier this week, sparking rumors of a "secret wedding," according to Glamour. Kinney had previously given Lady Gaga a heart-shaped diamond engagement ring, which she showed to her fans on Instagram.
2016 has started out big for Lady Gaga with her Golden Globe win for her role in American Horror Story: Hotel in January; and her tribute performance to David Bowie at the at the 58th annual Grammy Awards in February.
But her performance of "Til It Happens to You" at the 88th Academy Award was especially emotional for her, Lady Gaga told Seacrest. Her experience of being raped when she was 19 years old inspired the song, according to Time.
After the awards show, Gaga took to Instagram to talk about how the sexual assault impacts her relationship with Kinney.
"I never thought anyone would ever love me because I felt like my body was ruined by my abuser," according to her post. "But he loves the survivor in me. He's stood by me all night proud and unashamedly. THATS a real man."
She told Howard Stern in 2014 that a man who was 20 years older took advantage of her but added that she didn't want to be "defined by it," according to Vanity Fair.
While it was difficult for her to perform the song at the Oscars, without crying Lady Gaga told Seacrest that it was important for her to put on a brave face for other sexual assault survivors.
"I said I got to go out there, and I have to be strong," she told Seacrest. "And I have to get through this and really stand up to this person."
News / Regional
by Richard Muponde
The Matabeleland South chapter of the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans' Association (ZNLWVA) replaced deposed provincial chairperson, Obedingwa Mguni, with Eyer Moyo as the provincial chairperson at an inter district meeting held in Gwanda on Wednesday.Five districts attended the meeting, Gwanda, Matobo, Insiza, Beitbridge and Umzingwane.Bulilima and Mangwe where Mguni hails from were conspicuous by their absence.The delegates at the meeting resolved to be led by Moyo who previously contested the position in the August 8 election last year and lost to Mguni.Mguni and two other officials, Cdes Smart Tshuma and Otillia Sibanda lost their positions in the provincial executive for allegedly denigrating President Mugabe and the First Lady and participating in an illegal meeting called by war veterans chairman Chris Mutsvangwa in Harare recently.The war veterans have also recalled Cdes Dennis Ndlovu and Ntombiyakhe Ndlovu from the national executive for working with Mutsvangwa.Ernest Ncube, Mhlawempi Tshuma, Christopher Mlilo and Taruona Masendeke were ousted from the provincial executive at the same meeting joining Cdes Mguni, Smart Tshuma and Sibanda who were kicked out a week earlier.The war veterans put their weight behind the leadership of President Robert Mugabe, his family and Zanu-PF.Addressing the delegates soon after assuming the chair, Moyo urged the former freedom fighters to make sure that Zanu-PF and President Mugabe remain in power."Let's defend the revolution and defend the party and make sure it remains in government. Let's solve our problems amicably and give each other cover as we used to do in the front during the liberation struggle. Let's defend each other and let's defend President Mugabe because he is a revolutionary icon," said Moyo.He dissuaded his colleagues from involvement in politics for money."We spent many years in the war without a salary and our resolve was to liberate this country. Benefits will only come when Zanu-PF is in government," he said.Mutsvangwa was sacked early last month as War Veterans Minister by President Mugabe, a position now held by Tshinga Dube.In a parting shot, Mutsvangwa launched a diatribe at the President, comparing him to a frog in a sink that "adjusts as the water gets hotter . . . to death.""The man I had trusted and served for 40 years was no longer there," he said of his last meeting with President Mugabe.
At the Blue Ridge Family Restaurant in Susquehanna Township, the lengthy menu includes sandwiches such as the Corned Beef Explosion and the Hanukkah Bombshell.
The sandwiches are intended to appeal to the local Jewish population. So far, they are big sellers.
"It works. Believe it or not, a lot of people go for the names," said Rego Reyad, one of Blue Ridge's partners.
The restaurant opened in March at the former Isaac's Deli at 4408 Oakhurst Blvd. The owners also operate the nearby Gordon's Family Restaurant in Lower Paxton Township which opened five years ago.
Reyad and partner and brother-in-law, Amir George, said they were looking to open a second restaurant and stumbled upon the vacant space in the Village of Oakhurst. They transformed the former Isaac's Deli, renovating it from floor to ceiling.
The restaurant is carved into several rooms all with names such as the Flower Room and the Manhattan Room. There is a small counter located just inside the lobby.
Paintings on the wall are for sale and the work of local artist Ann Weiss. One thing, diners will notice is the restaurant is spacious.
"What I did here I didn't want the people to be really close," George said. "My main thing here is I wanted it to be roomy."
They said they are appealing to both residential and business clientele in the area off of Linglestown Road.
"There's nothing really big here. It needed something," George added.
As for the sandwiches, the Hannukah Bombshell is made from pastrami, coleslaw, Swiss cheese with homemade dressing on sourdough bread while the Corned Beef Explosion is corned beef with coleslaw, Swiss cheese and dressing on sourdough bread.
The menu covers plenty of territory. It's the type of place where you can order a burger, falafel platter or filet mignon. Middle Eastern specialties are one of the signature items with beef shish kabobs, chicken shawarma and Mediterranean liver making the menu.
Prices range from $1.49 for a breakfast special up to $23 for a broiled seafood combination meal. The restaurant offers delivery.
It's open 6 a.m.-10 p.m. daily. Phone is 717-963-7482.
The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture oversees restaurant inspections in the state. Inspection reports are "snapshots" of the day and time the inspections took place. In many cases, violations are corrected on site prior to the inspector leaving.
The following restaurants and other establishments in Lebanon County that handle food were inspected during the week of March 6 and March 12 and were recorded as of March 31.
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CORNWALL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
45 BURD COLEMAN ROAD, CORNWALL
Regular inspection
Observed a water stain on ceiling tile above the mechanical dishwasher; torn door curtain in the walk-in cooler; the hand-wash sink located in the employee restroom does not have water at a temperature of at least 100degF.
FUNCK'S RESTAURANT
1805 N STATE RTE 934, ANNVILLE
Loose/torn door gaskets observed on the Trauslen refrigerator/freezer; observed corroded shelves inside upright Trauslen refrigerator/freezer.
MINER'S PUB
201 IRON VALLEY ROAD, CORNWALL
Regular inspection
Hot water mechanical ware-washing machine an irreversible registering temperature indicator is not provided for measuring the utensil surface temperature.
PIZZA TOWN II INC.
2 MICRO DRIVE, JONESTOWN
Regular inspections
Soap was not available at the hand-wash sink located behind service counter; Observed pans of raw chicken stored directly on the floor in the walk-in cooler, rather than six inches off of the floor as required; commercially processed refrigerated, ready to eat, time/temperature control for safety food (non-exempt cheese and deli meats), held more than 24 hours, is not being marked with the date it was opened; observed food particles and debris behind chest freezers
HOSS'S STEAK & SEA HOUSE No. 42
1235 E. MAIN ST., ANNVILLE
Complaint inspection
No violations
ANNVILLE SENIOR COMMUNITY CENTER
200 S. WHITE OAK ST., ANNVILLE
Regular inspection
No violations
SCHWALM'S CLEONA RESTAURANT
213 E. PENN AVE., CLEONA
Regular inspection
No violations
WAL-MART No. 2888
100 N. LONDONDERRY SQUARE, PALMYRA
Complaint inspection
No violations
WASHINGTON -- Claims submitted to the Army for damage caused by a wayward blimp that crashed in October in central Pennsylvania now top $1.5 million.
As of Friday, 28 claims had been filed totaling $1,554,393, spokesman Dov Schwartz said.
He did not provide details, but said the Army is working to finalize them. He had said in November the Army intended to act quickly on them.
Since the Army in December reported claims totaling approximately $350,000, PPL Electric Utilities submitted one for its damage.
Approximately 35,000 customers in Columbia, Montour and Schuylkill counties lost power due to snapped lines.
The more than a mile-long tether caused the damage as the aerostat, as the Army calls it, descended in central Pennsylvania and crashed in western Montour County.
The 243-foot-long blimp, containing sophisticated surveillance equipment, broke loose from its mooring at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland on Oct. 28.
The aerostat was part of a three-year Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System (JLENS) exercise to assess its ability to contribute to the North American Aerospace Defense Command cruise missile defense.
The exercise was suspended after the incident and there is no money in this fiscal year to resume it.
Investigators determine a malfunction of a pressure-sensing device caused the aerostat to become unstable.
The increase in wind drag and subsequent loss of aerodynamic efficiency increased the tether tension to the point of breakage, they said.
The Army will accept damage claims for two years from the date of the incident, Schwartz said.
WILLIAMSPORT -- What caused a young man with a good background and a good education who had developed traits to survive in this world to turn to crime?
That was the question Lycoming County Judge Marc F. Lovecchio asked Jordan Christopher Smith, 22, of West Hanover Twp., Friday before sentencing him.
Smith had pleaded guilty to two felony counts of criminal mischief for attempting with a college roommate to break into two bank automatic teller machines with an acetylene torch.
It was one of the most "ridiculous, stupid things you could do," the judge said. "This is Bonnie and Clyde stuff."
Lovecchio said he could see it if Smith was strung out on heroin or he was a career criminal.
Smith replied that he had no excuse. It was the first time he was not working to bring in money and student loans were piling up, he told the judge. He called participating in the scheme a "moronic decision" saying he "succumbed to some form of peer pressure."
Smith pleaded guilty to the same charges Neiko Alexander Pratt of Moreland, Montgomery County, did in March.
A jury in January acquitted their third roommate at the Pennsylvania College of Technology, Meade Hamilton Lewis of Port Matilda. All are former students.
Charges against Lewis included a weapon of mass destruction, possession of explosive material, possession of an instrument of crime and reckless endangering another person.
Pratt, who is a welder, and Smith admitted trying to break into ATMs at the Wyrope Williamsport Federal Credit Union in South Williamsport on Dec. 4, 2013, and at West Milton State Bank near the West Milton interchange of Route 15 four days later using an acetylene torch.
They were arrested shortly after the West Milton attempt because the alarm system was activated.
Lewis was accused of helping plan those attempts and making an explosive device that failed to detonate in an unsuccessful attempt to break into the Muncy Bank & Trust ATM in Montoursville on Nov. 1, 2013.
Despite the seriousness of the crime, Lovecchio said Smith earned a favorable plea agreement because of good deeds he did before the attempted break-ins and what he has done since.
Smith, who recently became a father, was placed on eight years' probation but he has the opportunity to cut it in half if Pratt and he pay in full the $72,500 restitution for the damage to the ATMs.
As long has Smith is working two jobs, Lovecchio said he will not have to perform any community service. But if he has only job he must do 50 hours.
The judge also ordered a mental health assessment for Smith.
Pratt was sentenced to 30 days to two years minus a day followed by six years supervision. He had already served the minimum so he was paroled. He must perform 100 hours of community service.
Assistant District Attorney Nicole M. Ippolito said both cooperated and testified against Lewis. Their cooperation is the reason neither was charged with the attempted break-in to the ATM in Montoursville, she said.
It's about a half-hour drive between Hershey and Camp Hill, but for John Kasich it was a world away.
The presidential candidate was seemingly in a roomful of supporters and moderates during his Hershey town hall Friday morning.
Hours later, Kasich was in Cruz Country.
When the Ohio governor walked into the Pennsylvania Leadership Conference Friday afternoon, he entered a larger crowd than the town hall and one that waved signs of support for Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.
He did get some applause and a few laughs, but mostly it was combative.
"I hear murmurs in the crowd, and I love it," Kasich said in response to some jeers.
That came after he pierced the ideological souls of the most conservative in the room by saying teachers are underpaid.
It prompted the Pennsylvania Democrats to ask on Twitter, "So why did he slash Ohio's education budget?"
Some in the crowd also questioned Kasich's education record in Ohio, and that also did not go well.
He tried to answer before a woman said, "Not true, governor. Not true."
"I just need you to listen for a second. You don't have to agree with me," Kasich said.
The woman quickly said, "I don't."
Kasich offered a soft laugh as he pointed out that he hadn't said anything yet.
The candidate soon tried to pivot the conversation away from teachers, saying he would take the millions paid to athletes and give it to nurses.
Another conference guest asked him what sets him apart from his challengers, Cruz and Donald Trump, and Kasich gave an abbreviated, curt response.
"Look at the records...figure it out," he said.
People are getting to know him through the town halls and other events, and that's why he believes he's "in a dead heat with Donald Trump" in Pennsylvania, Kasich said.
He also said he's the only Republican candidate who can beat Hillary Clinton in a general election.
When someone asked him for his definition of beating her, Kasich said, "What's my definition of beating her? Getting more votes!"
Kasich also accused Clinton of changing positions based on polling. "I don't cave in."
There weren't many, but a few positions did work with the conservative crowd.
The applause was plenty when Kasich took on Democratic Sen. Bernie Sanders.
"Do any of you believe we can have free college? Let's be realistic, folks," he said.
Kasich also got applause when he said he wants Republican incumbent Pat Toomey to stay in the Senate.
"You nominate the wrong Republican candidate who divides the country, and we'll lose the U.S. Senate as well as the White House," he said.
But his best moments of the afternoon came when he was telling his personal story, talking about growing up near Pittsburgh and naming Roberto Clemente, legendary right fielder for the Pittsburgh Pirates, as his childhood hero.
Sticking to a theme of refusing to take "the low road to the highest office," he shared messages of optimism.
"Where I grew up, we didn't wait for someone to come in from Washington...we took care of things where we lived," Kasich said. "The spirit of our country, it's in our neighborhoods."
Moments later, Kasich pointed to a small group of young people in the first row: "We're counting on you to change the world."
But the governor didn't seem to change any minds by the time his speech was over.
"He's a progressive," some said about Kasich as they waved Cruz signs. "Go back to Ohio."
School resource officers Hbg.jpg
Harrisburg School District parent Thanaaa Bey told school board members in January 2015 that they should be more focused on education, not school resource officers or metal detectors.
(Christine Vendel)
HARRISBURG- When Gabriel Olivera started an assignment as a school resource officer in Harrisburg in 2000, he was among 15 police officers assigned to work inside the city's schools.
The number of school resource officers dwindled over the following years down to 11, then six, then none in 2009 as the city's finances crumbled.
The city hasn't had a school resource officer program since. Meanwhile, youth truancy and troubles have increased, Olivera said.
Harrisburg Police Capt. Gabriel Olivera talked with reporters about school resource officers Friday, April 1, 2016.
As the city faces a surge of shootings in recent weeks, Harrisburg officials said reviving a school resource officer program is key to helping reduce youth violence and keep kids in school.
The topic arose during a panel discussion for building community partnerships at an education conference Friday at the Hilton Hotel in downtown Harrisburg.
"We've got to keep them in school before they drop out," Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse said. "I see a key part of this being the school resource officers program, having that regular connection to that face, knowing an officer, having that officer have time to develop connections between that youth and family. That is going to be important to combatting the problems we currently have."
But school officials are less enthusiastic about the idea of bringing armed police officers into schools.
Papenfuse and Police Chief Thomas Carter first proposed resurrecting the city's school resource officer program in 2014. At that time, school board members worried the officers would criminalize youthful behavior. School officials also resented that city officials asked them to pick up the $1.4 million tab to hire six full-time officers over three years with vehicles and equipment.
The local NAACP chapter held public hearings and expressed opposition to bringing police officers into schools. The school board eventually shot down the idea last year and instead investigated whether to start an internal police department.
School District Superintendent Sybil Knight-Burney on Friday declined to comment about school resource officers. But School Board Vice President Jim Thompson said school board members still have concerns.
"We need to find a way to improve safety on our streets, but I'm not sure (the SRO program) is the vehicle," Thompson said. "I'm not opposed to the SRO program, but I think some of the communities have legitimate concerns."
The school board is a much different body this year, after an election and several resignations, so different conclusions could be reached, Thompson said. But serious questions would need to be asked about: "What's the purpose for having the officers in the schools?"
As it stands, police officers are already welcome to volunteer in the schools, Thompson said.
"Are they spending time with the kids?" he said. "If there's no money involved, they're not really interested."
Papenfuse said city officials are willing to share the costs or try to find grant funding for the program. The program could start small, even in one school, "just to prove the benefits," Papenfuse said.
"We're having a continuing dialogue with the school district," he said. "We're trying to move away from the heated rhetoric of the past."
The city's police force was slashed in recent years as the city struggled to overcome crushing debt. The city simply doesn't have enough officers now to be able to track truancy or develop relationships with large numbers of youths during regular duties, Papenfuse said.
"Fighting truancy and getting at the root causes and keeping kids in school before they drop out is a key part of combatting violence, especially youth violence in the city," he said.
But many parents and school officials are sensitive about officers handling things differently inside the school than school officials would.
"Some of the kids already try to push the teachers' buttons," Thompson said. "What happens when they push the officers' buttons? We deal with issues one way, but police don't deal with issues the same way. They respond very differently."
School officials, for example, may refer a disruptive student to an alternative education program, whereas police may feel the need to slap on handcuffs, Thompson said.
But Olivera said the school rescource program was never focused on arresting students, although at times officers did have to address issues with guns and drugs inside schools.
Instead, he said, officers acted as mentors and developed relationships with the students and their families.
"We would be the ones who would help them out when they needed help," Olivera said. "All the excuses that are being given now (against the SRO program) are the same as in 2000 when we started the program. But all of those people who were initially against us were the ones fighting to keep us when the program ended."
When John Kasich was a Republican leader in the U.S. House, he voted for the 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban.
Now, the Ohio governor and presidential candidate is saying that law had virtually no impact.
In the wake of another Harrisburg shooting, Kasich said while on the campaign trail in Hershey that he doesn't support stricter gun control.
"The mental illness issue is a big one and we need to be dealing with that," he said late Friday morning.
"In terms of banning guns, I don't favor that," Kasich said.
Weighing in on another Pennsylvania issue, he said he could support the legalization of medical marijuana.
"My view is, if it's written appropriately and we really need it, I'd be for it," he said.
Kasich said he's looking into the issue and wants to make sure it's not creating any loopholes that promote illegal drug use, which is a problem nationwide.
Like many other politicians, he called the heroin epidemic a crisis.
Solving that crisis takes a lot of collaboration, but the biggest mission is to educate kids, he said.
"When kids hear they shouldn't do drugs, there's a 50 percent rate chance they wont do it," Kasich said.
The anti-drug message should be integrated in health classes, and for adults there need to be guidelines for how many opioids should be prescribed, he said.
"We're making gains," Kasich said of efforts in Ohio where doctors and pharmacies follow strict guidelines.
When the moderate Republican talked about the severance tax, he found some common ground with Pennsylvania's Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf.
Kasich, who has been at the helm during the fracking boom in Ohio, said he supports a severance tax on natural gas drilling.
"It just has to be reasonable," he said. "I do it to cut the income tax. I don't use it for more government."
Drilling has had a marginal impact on Ohio, Kasich said.
The state is up 15,000 jobs out of 415,000, he said.
"We're trying to get a cracker facility, which would lead to the development of plastics, which is where the real jobs are, but, you know, it's been good," Kasich said. "I'm glad we have the industry, but there's no panacea with it."
The candidate preferred to stick to the issues, and that has attracted the support of other moderate Republicans, such as U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent. The Lehigh Valley Republican said he supports Kasich because he's the candidate who can beat Hillary Clinton and has stayed out of the mud fight.
Kasich stayed out of that mud fight Friday, offering short answers to any questions about Donald Trump and Ted Cruz.
When asked about Trump's recent comments about women being punished for having abortions, Kasich offered a brief response.
"He's taken them back," he said of women. "I disagree with him on it, and that's all been litigated out there in the press."
Downtown Carlisle
Downtown Carlisle, site of 'The Most Amazing Race' on April 9. It will take place in and around the historic downtown part of downtown. Signups will run until April 7.
(PennLive archives)
BY Mario Marroquin for PennLive
Teams of two will face off in a five-mile course at downtown Carlisle on April 9 as part of "The Most Amazing Race" fundraising event hosted by the Salvation Army. The event, which is inspired by CBS's "Amazing Race" and is sponsored by the Carlisle Regional Medical Center, aims to showcase the historic Carlisle district while raising funds for the Salvation Army in a unique way.
"It is an opportunity to bring something new and exciting to our community that will be fun, but also brings together agencies in collaboration," Major Alma Riley, corps officer for the Salvation Army at Carlisle and the coordinator of the event, said Friday.
The five-mile circuit will begin at the Carlisle Fairgrounds on 100K Street at 9 a.m. Competitors will face eight different challenges scattered throughout the downtown area.
The Salvation Army has kept the location of each challenge a secret. Alexandra Ferber, the public relations manager for the Salvation Army at Carlisle, described the challenges as physical, mental and sometimes silly.
Said Lauren Sheeler, business associate for the Carlisle Salvation Army, "The challenges are not just about who can complete them the fastest, but they [the competitors] are going to determine how fast they complete them based on whether they think about them for a while or whether they just jump in and react."
For the 19 participants who have registered so far, the competition began weeks ago. In order to register, teams were asked to raise $250, but the Salvation Army will also award "advantages" the day of the race to the top three teams that raise the most money.
Registration for the event is open through 4 p.m. April 7 and is open to people who are 16 or older.
The five-mile course will conclude at the Carlisle Fairgrounds, where the top three teams will be awarded medals and cash prizes.
"I want to encourage people to tap into their adventurous side because I know it's going to be a lot of fun." Sheeler said Friday.
In addition to the "Most Amazing Race," the Salvation Army will host a spring book sale on April 22 and 23 and a mother-daughter tea on May 1.
On June 2, the organization will host its annual dinner at Dickinson College where it will honor Paul Strickler, a life member of the Carlisle Salvation Army Advisory Board.
dominick cruz.png
Dominick Cruz, 39, was arrested in Lancaster Friday on homicide and attempted homicide charges stemming to an incident in upstate New York on Jan. 10.
(U.S. Marshals)
A man wanted for a murder in upstate New York was arrested in Lancaster Friday afternoon, according to a Fox43 news report.
Officials said Thursday they believed Dominick Cruz, 39, who was wanted for the murder of a 25-year-old man in upstate New York in January, was hiding out in Lancaster.
He was.
Members of the U.S. marshals fugitive task force took Cruz into custody without incident at a home in the first block of Hershey Avenue just before 4 p.m., the report said.
Cruz is accused of shooting Mark Sternin, 25, on Jan. 10 in Tonawanda, N.Y. He also is accused of shooting Tyler Sadauskas, 24, in the same parking lot attack.
Cruz has been charged with homicide, attempted homicide, assault and criminal possession of a weapon.
The Pennsylvania State Police have announced a toll-free tip line for information related to alleged cheating scandal and other issues related to the academy in Hershey.
"I remain committed to ensuring a full and comprehensive investigation that is in the best interest of both the State Police and the people of Pennsylvania," said Commissioner Tyree Blocker, in a written statement. "I want to leave no stone unturned, so I encourage anyone with information to contact the Inspector General without hesitation."
In December, an internal probe was prompted by the discovery of a "cheat sheet" following what cadets described as an open-book exam. Several dozen cadets were dismissed or voluntarily resigned in the intervening months.
A number of cadets and other state police officials told PennLive that dysfunction at the academy went beyond any one cheating incident. They described tests that were recycled year after year, instructors who shared answers directly with students and study guides that were passed down between classes.
Last month, the state police called for an independent investigation through the Office of Inspector General, which in turn set up the line and will be collecting information through it.
Anyone with information related to the investigation can call the tip line at 1-844-307-9997 or submit an online form.
This story was updated to reflect that the OIG set up the tipline.
News / Regional
by Staff reporter
ZANU-PF political commissar Saviour Kasukuwere has warned ambitious party leaders bent on turfing aside President Robert Mugabe from power before his term is out that their actions will be resisted.Kasukuwere said President Mugabe remained the best leader for both party and country, insisting Zanu-PF would win the 2018 elections with him at the helm."President Mugabe's term of office runs until 2018 and any talk or discussion questioning his legitimacy borders on treason," said Kasukuwere, who was addressing party supporters in Dotito, Mashonaland Central Province, on Wednesday."Let's continue supporting the founder of our nation until his job is done. With our President, Zimbabwe will succeed, black Africans will succeed and Zanu-PF will succeed."In his birthday interview with the ZBC aired early last month, President Mugabe said any discussion about his succession was misplaced considering that he was given the mandate by the majority of Zimbabweans to rule until 2018.He said he could have not accepted the mandate if he knew he would not be able to complete his term."When we went to Congress in 2014, and the people said you're the candidate in 2018, I didn't say I was a candidate to retire, only to retire mid-way," he said."I was a candidate for the term, the term is a five-year term."On Tuesday, President Mugabe told journalists in Japan, where he is on a State visit, that challenging his constitutional mandate was tantamount to rejecting the wishes of Zimbabweans. With health permitting, he would stand for another term in 2018, he said.Kasukuwere said Zanu-PF had confidence in their leader and the party was optimistic he would be able to stand for another term in 2018 and win.He told party supporters not to be moved by opposition parties, particularly Joice Mujuru's Zimbabwe People First."Who can beat him [Mugabe]? Nobody! President Mugabe will win the election in 2018 come what may. He's an icon, he has worked very hard for the country and defending the gains of the liberation."We've heard some people saying let's 'BUILD' [Mujuru's 'Blueprint to Unlock Investment and Leverage for Development']. Build what? What have you built before? Show us your previous works," said Kasukuwere.
A bill to legalize medical marijuana in Pennsylvania is expected to face another vote next week. Supporters, who continue to sit on pins and needles, can only hope it's the last one -- or even that the end of their long fight is near.
As of Friday morning, state Senate leaders and state House leaders were still discussing possible changes to the legalization bill passed by the House two weeks ago, according to Fred Sembach, chef of staff for state Sen. Mike Folmer, R-Lebanon, a key figure in the legalization effort.
The discussions centered on whether the House is willing to pass a bill containing changes being mulled in the Senate.
That situation is making medical marijuana supporters nervous, and causing them to keep their fingers crossed.
The Senate overwhelming passed a legalization bill nearly a year ago. But then the bill ran into long delays in the House, and it wasn't until about two week ago that the House approved the bill, also by a wide margin.
The House bill, while cheered by medical marijuana supporters, was substantially different from the Senate bill. That required it to go back to the Senate, setting the stage for yet another critical vote.
Sembach said there are assorted parts of the House bill that could pose barriers to having a medical marijuana program that actually runs as envisioned.
One involves the fact that doctors who want to recommend medical marijuana would have to register with the state and undergo four hours of training. Senate leaders are concerned the requirement will severely limit the supply of doctors able to care for patients in need of medical marijuana.
That has been the case in states including New York, where the number of people obtaining medical marijuana is well short of expectations.
Sembach said assorted other aspects of the House bill also are problematic or unclear, and could make it difficult for patients to obtain medical marijuana even after it's legal.
Some of are somewhat arcane, including a requirement that growers/processors, as part of proving their qualifications, must put $500,000 into a bank account. With the federal government still regarding medical marijuana as a highly dangerous Schedule I drug, there's concern banks will have issues with holding money from growers/processors.
In discussing his concerns about such aspects of the bill, Folmer has compared it to giving a Christmas gift, but not supplying the batteries to make it work.
Jennifer Kocher, a spokeswoman for Senate leaders said in an email Friday, "The Senate returns to session next week and the hope is to have the review finalized then. It's unclear what if any changes are going to be needed in the final draft at this point. Most of what we are considering are technical in nature - dotting the I's and crossing the t's. Outside of the budget process, this is the biggest policy change in the state since the gaming legislation was enacted. We want to be sure we have the best bill possible to the Governor for his signature."
Meanwhile, supporters of the bill, including many parents of children with severe seizures that can't be well-controlled with available drugs, worry that hard-won progress will be lost, and the Senate is inviting more delays and uncertainty.
Worse, they worry that with some leaders in both the House and Senate against the bill, every change to the bill creates an opportunity for opponents.
Many of them said the recently-approved House version of the bill, while not perfect, provided a good foundation, and hoped the Senate would quickly approve it and send it to Gov. Tom Wolf, who has promised to sign it.
They believe problems with the bill can be tweaked later on, through regulations, or by amending the bill.
"All we are arguing is that perhaps all of these changes don't have to be made right now," said Latricia Bentch of Swatara Township, who wants medical marijuana to treat her daughter's severe seizures.
But Sembach said putting off important fixes has possible pitfalls, such as a badly needed change ending up in the committee of a House or Senate member who opposed legalization and refuses to hold a vote, as happened when the Senate bill first reached the House.
"There are a lot of fears," Sembach said. "The question is do you try to address the flaws in the bill now, or do you do it down the road? ... Doing it down the road is also a risk."
Bentch and another mother of a sick child were the ones who persuaded Folmer to sponsor a legalization bill, thus overcoming the obstacle of finding a key Republican ally in an issue that hadn't been popular among conservative Republicans.
Since then, she and others parents have spend untold hours lobbying at the Capitol, sometimes bringing their children to give lawmakers a close-up look at the suffering.
While she said Friday morning she hopes the Senate will chose a path that involves minimal resistance, she also promised that she and other fight will fight through every obstacle.
"We're gonna roll with whatever punches come in our direction. That's what got us this far," she said.
After a bill is signed by the governor, it's expected to take at least 18 months before the program is supplying medical marijuana to patients.
With a state investigation under way in the shooting death of 12-year-old Ciara Meyer in Perry County, a group is calling for reforms in the state's children and youth services.
CeCe's Children's Justice Alliance will hold its next meeting April 3.
Ciara Meyer, whose nickname was CeCe, was struck by a bullet Jan. 11 after her father pointed a loaded gun at a constable who came to evict her family. Constable Clarke Steele fired at Donald Meyer Jr., 57, and the bullet went through his arm and struck Ciara, who was behind him. Meyer was charged with homicide, and his preliminary hearing is set for April 5.
CeCe's Children's Justice Alliance seeks to give a voice to abused and neglected children who have been failed by the system designed to protect it, said Cindy Weesner of Cumberland County, one of the organizers.
The group advocates:
Support for family members who offer safe haven to abused children.
Holding abusers accountable for passing and completing counseling, with consequences should they fail.
Setting long-term follow-up goals for families in the system.
More training for caseworkers and ChildLine workers.
Improvements in technology in the child welfare system.
On April 4, members plan to attend a state House Children and Youth Legislative Committee hearing at the Capitol and submit written testimony, Weesner said. This hearing, the first in a series, will focus on caseworker complement, turnover, retention and professionalizing the career path.
Ciara's death is the subject of a child fatality review led by the Department of Human Services, which is a state-mandated process. The review can take up to six months and has not yet been completed, said Cathy Utz, deputy secretary in the Office of Child, Youth and Families in DHS. The report will be made public when it is finished.
Weesner said CeCe's Alliance started as "a grassroots effort to put a voice and a face to Ciara Meyer and the Jared Tutkos of the world who needed protection from the system that had repeatedly been in touch with their lives, and had failed them."
It includes family members of children touched by children and youth services, along with teachers, health care and child welfare system employees, she said.
"What we want to do is give abused and neglected children a voice along with grandparents, aunts, uncles who can give them safe haven," Weesner said, but that the system doesn't always allow to do so. "We want to facilitate change in a system that is clearly so tangled and broken."
Seeking more follow-up
Weesner cited the case of Ciara, who had been cared for by her grandmother for several months while her parents were dealing with health issues. The girl was later returned to her parents, and Children & Youth Services in both Dauphin and Perry counties had contact with her family.
She said the goal of reunification of families doesn't always serve children well.
"By virtue of shared DNA alone, children keep getting put back into places where they are endangered," Weesner said.
"Abusers are usually liars and manipulators," Weesner said, adding that more followup is needed to ensure that parenting classes or counseling has resulted in real change in behavior before children are returned.
In a recent case of a man beating a dog in York County, Weesner said, the animal was taken away.
"They removed the dog -- they didn't give it back because he promised not to hit it again," she said.
Addressing root causes
Annmarie Kaiser, director of Dauphin County Children & Youth, said it is true that reunification is a main goal in dealing with families and their children.
The agency tries to provide families with the services needed to provide a safe environment for the child.
"At the same time, we have a concurrent goal in the event that reunification is not possible, and this includes other family members. This is a state requirement," Kaiser said.
"Counties don't return children if they don't believe it would be safe to do so," said Utz.
Utz noted that unless a family is willing to give up a child, court approval is needed to remove the child from a family. The case is reviewed at least every six months, which includes risk assessments and developing an improvement plan.
Kaiser said the challenge is in trying to find the right services to address the root cause of the issues.
"The follow-up varies program to program, and we often conduct evaluations to identify the root causes. We are required to follow up with a family when they are open for service. However, we may see a particular family more often, depending upon the level of risk," she said.
Family members are not mandated reporters, Utz said, "but their information is taken seriously," Utz said. "Family members may not feel they are being taken seriously, because we don't always do what they think we should do, but we have to do we are legally required to do."
Strong tradition of parents' rights
Cathleen Palm, founder of the non-profit Center for Children's Justice, said there is a strong tradition in our nation that parents have the right to raise their children as they see fit.
"Can we keep this family together and still keep this child safe" is the question, Palm said. "There is always a healthy tension between the rights of parents and the safety of a child. That requires really good facts, really well-trained people to sort through," Palm said.
It is critical that those deciding whether to return a child to a family "have enough facts and are they clear enough about what the goal is," she said.
Deciding whether a child is safe in a home needs a team of people with expertise in mental health, social service, drug abuse, domestic violence and more, Palm said.
Weesner said caseworkers need to have access to information on mental health, drug addiction and weapons in homes, among other things.
One thing missing in Pennsylvania, Palm believes, is an ombudsman office to review situations and address questions regarding children and youth services' decisions.
Ironically, when a child dies, there is plenty of teaming during the Act 33 child fatality review, Palm said.
Reporting and measuring
With new laws enacted in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal that emphasize reporting, Palm said, "Lots of reports come in, but you have to measure what we do in response to those reports. If Children & Youth Services are overwhelmed, or parents say the system does not respond, then people have less confidence in the system overall."
Utz said there aren't ombudsmen, but there are four regional offices that review children and youth agencies. Quality service reviews are also done of families who receive assistance.
How to get involved
About a dozen members of the alliance met last month with state Sen. Rob Teplitz, D-Dauphin County.
He said he listened to their concerns, which centered on reforms needed in the child welfare system and gave them suggestions on how to proceed.
"They raised some very fair issues," Teplitz said. "I was very impressed by their knowledge, both in terms of personal experience and what they've studied," he said. "I think they are embarking on a very worthy cause."
Those seeking more information about the alliance or who want to attend the April 3 meeting of the group may email Weesner at ctweesner@comcast.net.
Current caseworker training
Caseworkers now receive this training:
120 hours of training through the state Child Welfare Resource Center, and 20 hours annually. Also, managers help new caseworkers apply classroom knowledge to actual cases in the field.
Dauphin also has Field Safety Awareness training to provide caseworkers with hands-on training in entering homes, engaging families and assessing the environment.
ChildLine workers receive two to five months training, which varies on their skill level. That is in addition to three hours of training for abuse reporting.
Hiring more caseworkers with degrees in social work is being emphasized, Utz said, along with other related skills.
Turnover rates are high, Utz said, due to the demands of the job. The April 4 hearing will focus on how to increase retention and boost recruitment.
Harman well.jpg
Lewis Harman stands next to the natural gas well Range Resources drilled on his farm in the Hughesville area. The Department of Environmental Resources claims the well has caused elevated levels of methane in water wells in the valley below.
(John Beauge special to PennLive)
WILLIAM SPORT -- It has been nearly 10 months since the Department of Environmental Protection notified a Texas natural gas driller it was facing a $8.957 million fine for alleged violations at a well in eastern Lycoming County.
But the fine has yet to be assessed.
The reason, according to DEP Press Secretary Neil Shader, is that Range Resource-Appalachia appealed the notice to the Environmental Hearing Board.
Range argues the amount of the proposed penalty is an unreasonable exercise of DEP's enforcement authority, is contrary to law, unsupported by fact and an abuse of discretion.
It is one of two appeals Range has pending before the board stemming from DEP's allegations about the gas well on the Lewis Harman property outside Hughesville.
The state in May charged Range with violating the Clean Streams Law and the Oil and Gas Act.
It alleges the inactive gas well on the Harman property is the cause of high levels of methane in residential water wells in Green Valley below.
In its appeal, Range contends DEP failed to identify any alleged violations associated with the well.
Range, headquartered in Fort Worth, and Harman claim naturally forming methane existed before the well was drilled in 2011.
The driller has given DEP a complete isotopic analysis that it claims proves what is in the water did not come from the gas well.
Range has provided purification systems to five residents in Green Valley explaining it acts first and investigates later when a situation with water develops.
The hearing board has directed Range and DEP to file by April 22 a joint status report on that appeal. Discovery in the appeal of the fine notice is to be completed by July 11.
Range also had challenged actions DEP wanted taken at the same well, including flaring.
It withdrew the appeal in February after DEP told the driller it either had completely addressed them or they were rendered moot. It dropped the demand for flaring.
No gas has been extracted from the well, which is on an 8-acre site, because it is not connected to a pipeline.
FRIARS
Many of the victims in the clergy sex abuse cases in Pennsylvania - Philadelphia and Altoon-Johnstown, have "timed out" of the legal system. Advocates want to reform the law to give them a chance to have legal recourse. Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane in March announced criminal charges against these three Franciscan Friars in Johnstown. The three, Giles Schinelli, 73, Robert D'Aversa, 69 and Anthony Criscitelli, 61, are charged with allowing the sexual abuse of more than 100 children by the late Brother Stephen Baker. Mark Pynes | PennLive
(Mark Pynes/PennLive)
Just one month after a grand jury report shed light on the latest systemic child abuse case in a Pennsylvania Catholic diocese, the Legislature may be poised to reform some of the laws that extend rights to victims of sexual abuse to seek legal recourse.
The legislation likely to come out of the General Assembly may not be the overhaul reform advocates have been looking for, but the final product could just be a workable compromise.
According to state Rep. Mark Rozzi, (D-Berks), the House Judiciary Committee could next week advance on to the House floor for a vote a bill that would eliminate all criminal and civil statutes of limitations going forward.
The committee's chairman, Rep. Ron Marsico, has, according to Rizzo, placed HB 655 on the calendar for Tuesday. PennLive made several attempts to speak to Marsico but requests for interview were denied. A representative from his office told PennLive that the Dauphin County Republican planned to put a written statement with regards to the statute of limitations.
The bill on the calendar for Tuesday, which is sponsored by Rep. Ed Gainey, D-Allegheny,would eliminate all civil and criminal statutes of limitations on sex crimes here on out. The bill would have no retroactive component, meaning that adults who were sexually abused as children would still get no recourse under the law.
The Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in downtown Altoona, Pa. was the site of clergy child sexual abuse, according to a grand jury investigation announced in March by Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane. None of the priests named in the report can be prosecuted because the statutes have expired. Mark Pynes | mpynes@pennlive.com
Rozzi said he is under the impression that Marsico is using Gainey's bill as a placeholder, and that the chairman of the committee will likely offer up his own legislation. That legislation will likely reduce the civil statute to age 50, Rozzi said.
That bill more than likely will make it out of the judiciary committee and onto the House floor for a vote - as early as Wednesday. That's when, Rozzi said, he will introduce an amendment to extend the current civil statutes to age 50.
Rozzi, who has unsuccessfully introduced his own reform legislation, most recently backed proposed legislation from colleague Rep. Tom Murt (R- Montgomery/Phila.) Murt's bill would have provided a two-year window suspending statutes to give victims who have "timed out" of the legal system to bring their predators to court.
Rozzi explained that advocates are willing to sacrifice the two-year window in exchange for "getting something done here."
State Rep. Mark Rozzi (D-Berks)
"I think if we push for a two-year window that we will possibly get pushback," Rozzi said. "That won't allow us to get something done. I think this is a fair negotiated agreement. It's not the best for this side, but it's a compromise and I can live with that. We have to get something done."
Rozzi, a survivor of child sexual abuse whose right to take his predator to court expired, said he was confident the House would agree to a compromise extending the retroactive age limit for civil action to 50.
"We are just looking at a procedural change for civil," he said. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled unconstitutional the reviving of expired criminal statutes.
"I'm saying that right now but there's always that piece of me who thinks there is someone who will stand up and try to defend the church on this on its constitutionality," Rozzi said.
Rozzi said he was confident the House leadership and caucuses wanted to advance the reform and put it behind.
Demands for reform in the law reached high pitch in recent weeks in the wake of a grand jury report that found that hundreds if not thousands of children in the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese had been abused for decades by more than 50 priests. Investigators found that church leaders and officials knew about the abuse but concealed it, and continued to assign abusive priests to posts that would give them access to children.
In the wake of the report, Rep. Thomas Caltagirone, (D-Berks), long opposed to reforming the law came out in support of a full wholesale change to the statute of limitations.
Victims advocates have in recent years, in the wake of three grand jury reports out of the Philadelphia Archdiocese and the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse case, garnered some changes to the law, but they have long been clamoring for additional changes to accommodate victims who fall out of the parameters of the law.
Under current law, victims of child sexual abuse are barred from seeking civil action after they reach the age of 30. That leaves out many of the victims from Philadelphia and Altoona-Johnstown.
Victims can bring criminal charges against offenders until they reach 50 years of age -- but only if the victim turned 18 years old after Aug. 27, 2002. The law allows victims older than that to report until their 30th birthday.
Victims and their advocates, have long pointed to Marsico as being one of the key obstacles in getting reform through the Legislature. Marsico, they say, is beholden to the powerful Pennsylvania Catholic Conference and the insurance industry lobbyists.
House Majority Leader David Reed said he was confident a bill would come out of the House in April.
Reed said it was an "unfair characterization" to say Marsico was an obstacle in reforming the law.
"This issue was there before he became chair," he said. "I think he's been trying to do his due diligence to try to get a solution. It takes time to do so. You are dealing with an issue that has been ongoing for decades. In the end, folks may want to point to Ron, but I think it's an unfair characterization."
Rozzi warned he would not settle for a bill that failed to address the concerns of victims who have timed out of the system.
"If they were to defeat us on the floor and that bill passes...we're not done," he said. "We're not done until justice is served for all those victims. That has to include retroactive."
In a written statement, Amy Hill, spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference, the legislative branch of the church, said the organization was reviewing all legislative proposals concerning statutes of limitation for sex abuse.
She explained that the conference subscribes to the position taken by the Task Force for Child Protection, which was appointed in the wake of the Sandusky case and recommended a sweeping overhaul of state child protection statutes, many of which were enacted.
The task force did not recommend changes to the statute of limitations, citing fairness as a major concern, especially "the potential for staleness of evidence and possible constitutional concerns."
"We can all agree that anyone who sexually abuses a child should be severely punished by the law," Hill wrote. "Sexual predators should be locked behind bars and removed from society so they cannot hurt anyone else."
She pointed out that since 2002, the Catholic Church has had zero-tolerance for child sexual abuse and has aggressively responded to any such allegations.
In March, Attorney General Kathleen Kane announced criminal charges against three members of a Catholic religious order based in Blair County for having knowingly assigned - and concealed - a sexually predatory priest to posts that gave him access to children as recently as 2010. Stephen Baker, who killed himself in 2013, was assigned to a high school for years.
Pro-choice advocates took their time in Harrisburg Friday tearing apart the Republican presidential candidates for their so-called "extreme anti-choice" views on abortion.
The press conference, led by the Dauphin County Democratic Committee, came after leading GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump said Wednesday that women who have an abortion should face "some form of punishment" should the practice be outlawed. His views -- which he later walked back from -- has received widespread condemnation.
But pro-choice advocates argued that his "extreme anti-choice" views are shared by others in the Republican presidential field -- including Ted Cruz and John Kasich.
"He was simply saying out loud what anti-abortion politicians have been doing for years," said Sari Stevens, executive director of Planned Parenthood Pennsylvania Advocates.
"Since 2011, states have passed nearly 300 laws restricting access to abortion across the country."
On Friday, a bill that would amend Pennsylvania's Abortion Control Act was forwarded to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Health Committee. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Kathy Rapp, R-Warren County, would no longer allow abortions past 20 weeks.
"These laws dismiss women's health and safety and the politicians that are pushing for them hope women aren't paying attention," Stevens said. "I promise you, the more candidates embrace these extreme positions, the more they make themselves unelectable in November."
Karen Ritter, representative for NARAL Pro-Choice America, said Republican presidential candidates have a history of disrespecting women and trivializing women's health care.
Ritter noted that Kasich, who was campaigning in Hershey on Friday, has worked to shut down abortion clinics in Ohio and Trump, who has publicly insulted women, has a commitment to misogyny.
"These politicians undermine women at every turn," said Ritter, a former state representative.
Rogette Harris, chairwoman of the Dauphin County Democratic Committee, said women need a president that will support women's issues in the White House.
Several of the Republican presidential candidates, she said, are actively trying to close down abortion clinics and Planned Parenthood offices that are trying to help women.
"Women are hurting," Harris said, "and they still want to spread their wrongheaded policies across the country."
commonwealth court
A woman who quit her job as a dental office receptionist after three weeks because she didn't think she was receiving adequate training isn't eligible for unemployment compensation, a Commonwealth Court panel ruled.
Simply put, Karen A. West's reason for resigning wasn't good enough, the judges found.
Under state law, workers who quit must have "necessitous and compelling" reasons for doing so, such as drastic reductions in work hours or pay or abusive treatment, in order to qualify for jobless aid. Simply disagreeing with an employer's policies doesn't make that list.
According to the Commonwealth Court opinion President Judge Mary Hannah Levitt issued this week, West was hired by Warminster Dental Associates on Dec. 29, 2014 and quit on Jan. 20, 2015. In applying for unemployment comp, the Philadelphia woman said she left because the training was inadequate and because a supervisor "commented negatively about her job performance."
West claimed she asked her employers to provide her with more training, but they said they were too busy to do so.
Levitt noted that West wasn't a newbie to the dental business, since she had 30 years of experience, mostly as a dental hygienist. As a receptionist, one of her tasks was to handle insurance deductibles for patients.
A key factor in the decision to deny West jobless aid was the fact that she didn't even serve out her 90-day probation period, the judge wrote. Therefore, Levitt found, she didn't prove she made a reasonable effort to preserve her employment.
Even Donald Trump couldn't call this one low energy.
If someone walked into the grand ballroom of the Radisson Hotel in Camp Hill on Friday afternoon, they might have thought Sen. Ted Cruz just won the presidency.
According to polls, the Texas Tea Party senator is trailing third in Pennsylvania among Republican candidates, but voters reacted to his words like they were part of a victory speech.
They're hoping he can repeat results from the 2012 Senate election when Cruz won against long odds.
The senator was also quick to point out that he has defeated frontrunner Donald Trump in 10 states.
That line got applause, as did many others, and brought some voters to their feet. It was, indeed, the Cruz crowd that Kasich couldn't win over earlier in the day.
This election, Cruz said is about three things: jobs, freedom and security.
On the former, the senator is reaching out to blue-collar workers, the laborers with "calluses on their hands."
A Cruz presidency would help those workers and their employers, he said.
"If you want to unleash the economy, you take the boot off the backs of the necks of small businesses," Cruz said.
And then chanting a familiar refrain, he said, "When I'm president, we will repeal every word of Obamacare."
The more intense the rhetoric, the louder the applause.
One of his loftier promises brought the crowd to its feet: "We will abolish the IRS."
Clinging to his Texas roots, Cruz also positioned himself as the energy candidate.
If Democratic hopefuls Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders win the White House, "tens of thousands" of coal miners and oil and gas workers will lose their jobs when liberals listen to "enviros," he said, referring to environmentalists.
A Cruz presidency will add jobs in those industries. He didn't mention the current downturn in the oil and gas industry.
The senator also reiterated the importance of this presidential election by telling the crowd, "We are one Supreme Court justice away from radical, left-wing control."
Trump, who Cruz accused of supporting liberal Democrats for 40 years, shouldn't be the person making that appointment, he said.
Cruz also said he will not compromise "your right to religious liberty" or "your right to keep and bear arms."
But the biggest reaction from the crowd and longest standing ovation came when Cruz said, "As president, I will not be neutral. America will stand unapologetically with the nation of Israel."
Repeating one of his positions, he said he would strengthen the military and mimic former President Ronald Reagan in his approach to fighting ISIS.
"Reagan bankrupted the Soviet Union and won the Cold War. I intend to do the same with Islamic terrorists," Cruz said. "We will utterly destroy ISIS."
The crowd responded with "Amen!" and "We love you, Ted!"
That love was palpable.
Regardless of which candidate voters were supporting in that room - and most of them seemed to be supporting Cruz - they were mostly excited to have a relevant Republican primary in Pennsylvania again.
Primary day in the state is April 26.
Cruz said his mission between now and then is simple - to unite the Republican Party.
It took former Democratic President Jimmy Carter to give us Reagan, Cruz said. And he's convinced President Barack Obama will inspire a new brand of Republican leadership.
"We're gettin' you in there, Ted," a man said, referring to the White House. And then the crowd started chanting "Cruz! Cruz! Cruz!" before he ended his speech to a standing ovation and a long line of supporters eager to shake his hand.
It remains to be seen if Cruz can win Pennsylvania, but he just won the Radisson ballroom.
Just inside the cemetery gates, the destruction is unmistakable.
Row upon tangled row of crumbling headstone lay toppled and heaped like dominoes. Those still standing often lean precariously close to the craggy turf. Others are shattered. Almost all appear forgotten.
This is St. Mary's Roman Catholic Cemetery in Lancaster, the nearly 300-year-old burial ground for some of the city's earliest denizens, and notable figures like former mayor Frank B. McClain (1864-1925) and congressman Thaddeus Stevens' housekeeper.
In the decades and centuries since their deaths, this final resting place has failed to withstand the test of time.
It joins historic cemeteries across the country -- from Baltimore County, Md., to Texas, from Jacksonville, Fla. to Albuquerque, NM. -- that have fallen into disrepair after prolonged periods of neglect, with little in the way of funding to sustain them. Many have also felt the squeeze of growing development demands, the loss of dedicated caretakers and the apathy of subsequent generations.
But unlike many of the others, St. Mary's Cemetery, located in the city's northeast, enjoys the patronage of the Catholic Church, or more specifically, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg.
Spokesman Joe Aponick acknowledged a change in the cemetery's condition, but said there is little the Diocese can do.
Aponick said much of the problem owes to the lack of durability built into older graves, which through the years have been subjected to repeated freeze-thaw cycles and repeated vandalism. The cemetery includes a walking path connecting New Holland and Park avenues. It is open to the public.
"Back then, sometimes they just dug a hole and sometimes only rocks were put in, and so with freeze-thaw cycles, foundations will move and there's settlement and stones will tip and sometimes fall and that's part of the reason for the breakage," Aponick said. "There is vandalism, but there is damage because of the age of things."
Asked if it should be the Diocese's responsibility to repair graves under its management, Aponick said ownership technically belongs to the families.
"[Grave] stones are basically 'property away from home,' meaning they basically belong to the family of the deceased and are not the property of the cemetery," he said. "It's kind of [the family's] responsibility to follow up and that kind of thing. The cemetery does some of that, but basically it's not the cemetery's property to re-erect or fix."
Aponick said while small repairs have been made through the years, more extensive fixes would likely prove too costly.
"It gets quite expensive to reset footers," he said. "Some sealing of stones, for example, runs several hundred dollars per stone."
As for the involvement of family members, ties to the people buried here have likely faded long ago, along with the epitaphs engraved on their tombstones.
Adding to the difficulty is the inconsistency of historical record keeping often needed to identify descendants.
"We can try to find family but that would be very difficult because of the age and because records weren't as good then," Aponick said. "And that's the 'cause of some of the issues that you might see in a cemetery at this age."
Life of a cemetery
St. Mary's Roman Catholic Cemetery was founded by the namesake church on Lancaster's Prince Street in 1742.
In 1853, a piece of ground adjoining the nearby Lancaster Cemetery on Park Avenue, roughly 10 blocks away, was donated by a member of the parish. It was to be used as a new cemetery.
Burial began there soon after, and in the 1860's bodies from the cemetery on Prince Street began to be transferred to the new location.
All of the remaining bodies that could be found in the graveyard were disinterred and moved to the new cemetery.
Irish surnames mark many of the graves, with St. Mary's Church then a predominantly Irish congregation. It would have likely remained so after a smattering of German congregants broke off to form their own church in the city, St. Joseph's on the eponymous street, in order to hold Mass in their native tongue.
In 2009, St. Mary's Church was granted a special spiritual bond with the St. Mary Major Basilica in Rome and designated a pilgrim site by the Catholic Church. But the nearby cemetery bearing its name lacks any historical designation.
Under Pennsylvania law, a cemetery is only considered "historic" if there have been no burials there for at least 50 years and will be no future burials.
But burials continue at St. Mary's Cemetery to this date, although they are far less common than they used to be.
"It's not a common place for burials, but we do do them there," said Eileen Trimble at the Andrew T. Scheid Funeral Home in Lancaster.
"In those cases, the family usually requests that cemetery because they may have had a plot there for many years."
The Cemeterians
Nationwide, groups of archaeologists, anthropologists and historians are at the forefront of a movement to save some of the nation's oldest cemeteries from ruin.
Sarah Miller, a public archaeology director with Flagler College in St. Augustine, Fla., America's oldest city, is one of them. She explains why by quoting founding father Ben Franklin who famously said, "One can tell the morals of a culture by the way they treat their dead."
If Franklin were alive today, he would most likely be deeply disturbed by the state of America's burial grounds.
This, as Miller said almost every historic cemetery she knows of is in an advanced state of decay: "All of them. Even the ones that are loved and maintained."
In most cases, family ties have all but vanished.
"I have some graves that are 20 years old and nobody comes," she added. "It just perpetuates."
Meanwhile, she said listings on historic registries often fail to offer tangible protections from the threat of development or neglect. That registration process also varies from state to state.
The best shot at rehabilitation, Miller said, is the formation of groups of concerned citizens and community members, groups that she said can work with churches or cemetery owners, if any exist, to host fundraisers and cleanup days. They can also ensure a regular presence at the cemeteries which helps cut down on vandalism and crime.
"It's a great reflection on any community, how it takes care of its cemeteries," she said. "And being a good member of a living community also means taking care of sacred areas in town and advocating for those that can't speak for themselves anymore."
KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. (AP) -- A suburban Philadelphia woman with several baby gift registries was charged Friday with kidnapping a newborn at a shopping mall after befriending the mother.
This image made from a surveillance video provided by the Upper Merion Township Police Department shows a woman leaving the King of Prussia Mall with 7-week-old Ahsir Simmons on Thursday, March 31, 2016, near Philadelphia.
Media alerts about the kidnapping on Thursday led the suspect's family to contact authorities, and the 7-week-old boy was back in his mother's care by that night.
Cherie Amoore, 32, was charged Friday with kidnapping, child concealment and other offenses. She remained in custody pending a scheduled afternoon court appearance. It's not clear if she has a lawyer to comment on her behalf, and messages left with relatives were not returned.
Police said that Amoore struck up a conversation with the baby's mother at the King of Prussia Mall. When the baby became fussy, she asked if she could hold him while the mother took a phone call and tended to another child. After the mother agreed, Amoore walked off with the baby, authorities said.
The infant, Ahsir Simmons, was found after 10 p.m. at her nearby apartment in Tredyffrin Township, more than four hours after he went missing.
Online store registries for Amoore seek baby gifts that include a $62 engraved silver frame and a baby shower date of Dec. 19. At least some of the items had been purchased.
From WPVI in Philadelphia:
According to police documents, Amoore told detectives she gave birth to a boy on February 11th, but the baby only lived a few hours, and she never told anyone the child had died.
She then allegedly told police, "I don't know why I did it. I can't explain it. I held him and all those feelings rushed back. I just wanted my baby. I felt like I was holding my son again. It felt so good. I didn't want to lose that feeling. I was crazy. I never intended to do anything like this."
Messages left with Amoore's family were not returned on Friday.
The infant's mother, Malika Turner, thanked police and people on social media who helped reunite her with her son.
"I would like to thank God for allowing my baby to come back. And, I want to thank the Upper Merion Police Department, and everybody on social media that helped me get my baby back," Turner told WPVI-TV late Thursday.
Prior court records for Amoore show only a handful of traffic violations.
EAST PENNSBORO Twp.
_ The groans came right after John Kasich called teachers "the most underpaid people on the face of the Earth."
"There are murmurs in the crowd, I love it," the Ohio governor quipped as he stalked through a ballroom full of Ted Cruz- and Donald Trump-friendly conservatives at the Radisson Hotel and Conference Center.
Kasich might not have liked the murmurs for long.
The groans grew louder and deeper in their intensity as the Republican presidential candidate tried to explain his support for tougher standards for Ohio public school students.
When Kasich said "higher standards," the conservative activists who thronged together for this weekend's annual Pennsylvania Leadership Conference, heard something else.
That was "Common Core." And that word is anathema.
"Not true, Governor, not true," some of the pro-Cruz camp chanted back at him as Kasich argued his education record in front of a crowd scarcely half-sold on him to begin with.
Cruz, who took the stage about three hours later, was at the receiving end of chants, too. But this time -- it was from a rapturous audience repeating his last name over and over again.
"Cruz, Cruz, Cruz," they said.
The Texas senator fed the crowd the reddest of red meat, doubling down, and then doubling down again, with tough talk on taxes, terrorism and Trump.
"As President, we will defeat radical Islamic terrorism and we will utterly destroy ISIS," Cruz said, his voice rising. "And to the jihadists across the globe who are encouraged by the trembling of this president, let me tell you, in 2017, your day of reckoning is coming."
And he smacked Trump, with whom he has bitterly sparred over the last week.
Reinforcing his support for Israel, Cruz charged that "Anyone who can't the difference between our friends and enemies, anyone who can't tell the difference between Israel and the Islamic terrorists who want to kill us, doesn't have the fitness to be commander-in-chief."
Kasich was also on offense, scoffing at Trump's proposed ban on Muslim travel to the United States, dismissing it as harmful to relations with the Muslim community in America and abroad
"We're not going to bring the world together by imposing a religious test," he said. "We're not going to bring the world together by going into neighborhoods and hunting for people who came here illegally."
The appearances capped a long day of central Pennsylvania barnstorming for Cruz and Kasich.
And the candidates' back-to-back appearances here illustrated the stark choices in tone, style and personality facing Republican voters in a primary season that has become increasingly fractious.
Kasich, who has positioned himself as the grown-up in the room, kept to the folksy style that has served him well in recent weeks. Cruz, more animated, spoke with the cadences of the pastor. He declared himself the only candidate capable of defeating Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton.
Both men have vowed to pursue the Republican nomination all the way to the GOP convention in Cleveland in July. And both appeared confident of winning Pennsylvania's April 26 primary.
Trump, who currently commands a large advantage in the all-important delegate count, has vowed to fight any effort to deprive him of what seems to see as his rightful prize.
And the prospect of a contested convention - and the fallout from it -- has Pennsylvania's party elders worried.
"I am extremely concerned about the fragmentation of the Republican Party and the likelihood there will be unity," veteran conservative activist Fred Anton said, arguing that only a unified GOP could both win the White House and send U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., back to Washington in the fall.
It's broadly accepted that the road to the White House runs through Pennsylvania, where 71 Republican delegates are at stake. But the road is as bumpy as ever.
"I don't like what's going on," Irene Harris, a Cruz supporter from Selinsgrove, said. "... We have to get away from the kindergarten stuff."
That's easier said than done. But another veteran Republican says the party doesn't have any choice.
"We cannot afford four years of Hillary Clinton. It will be truly unbearable for us as a nation," veteran U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-3rd District, said.
"We know what we have to do to right things again," Kelly continued. "My question is whether we have the will to win. Everyone says they want to win. But are you willing to spend what needs to be spent not to lose?"
It's not going to be easy.
Reflecting nationwide trends, the GOP primary race in Pennsylvania remains volatile.
In a Franklin & Marshall College poll released last week, Trump topped the GOP primary pack with 33 percent.
Kasich, a native of McKees Rocks in Allegheny County, trails at 30 percent support. Cruz finishes third at 20 percent.
Still, about one in six (17 percent) Pennsylvania Republican primary voters remain undecided with about a month remaining before the April 26 GOP primary.
Clinton, the former Secretary of State, carried Pennsylvania in her 2008 primary duel with President Barack Obama. Former President Bill Clinton also won here in 1992 and 1996. No Republican has won Pennsylvania since former President George H.W. Bush carried it in 1988.
In the Franklin & Marshall poll, Clinton beats Trump 46 percent to 33 percent in a hypothetical, head-to-head match up. She bests Cruz 45 percent to 35 percent. The Franklin & Marshall poll did not test Kasich in a head-to-head against Clinton.
"We need to nominate someone who can win," former Congressman Phil English said.
The Erie Republican said he hasn't settled on a candidate, but he believes the plain-spoken Kasich, with his deep ties in western Pennsylvania, could fit the bill in the closely fought GOP primary.
Like many Republicans, English lamented the state of the race.
"I think we've seen a departure from [Ronald] Reagan where we talked about issues and principles. This is a very different vibe from those years."
State Rep. Kristin Hill, a freshman GOP lawmaker from York County, said she's grown weary of the "posturing" on the campaign trail.
"I prefer addressing the issues and not getting into all these other things," she said.
Still, at least one Republican, who knows from hardball, thinks the party will pull together after this summer's Republican National Convention in Cleveland.
"We just need to get the fight over with," said the famously pugilistic Sen. Scott Wagner, R-York County. "We'll be fine. There's a lot at stake."
It's a long time until April 26 ... We'll find out.
News / Regional
by Patrick Chitumba
A MAN using an expired passport claimed and was wrongly given US$429 from a government disaster fund for victims of a horror bus crash which killed 32 people in Kwekwe on March 3.Investigators now believe the man could have connived with a police officer and employees at the District Administrator's office to pull off the cruel con.After President Robert Mugabe declared the-PFochez bus crash a national disaster, the government chipped in with $300 while the bus operator contributed $129 towards the burial and funeral costs of the victims."On March 8, a man who said he was Norbert Majoni approached a police officer identified only as Constable Romilio who was stationed at Kwekwe Hospital Mortuary to vet relatives of the deceased so they could get the burial funds," a police source told The Chronicle.Majoni claimed a body that had been decapitated and was missing a leg, saying it belonged to his niece. The body has still not been claimed from the mortuary."Cst Romilio, whether knowingly or out of sheer incompetence, allegedly assisted Majoni to fill in a '231' police form which is used to facilitate the death registration of the deceased," said the source.Majoni then registered the name of the dead person on the form as Isaac Godfrey Paradza ID number 63-042091N63.Majoni, said the source, was assisted by the police officer without presenting any form of identification either of himself or that of the deceased.Majoni went to the Kwekwe Registrar General's office were he was issued with an Order for Burial registration 16/17 on the strength of the '231' form from the police."Majoni, using one Shepard Paradza's expired passport, approached the office of the District Administrator and claimed $429 for funeral assistance on March 9 before disappearing and leaving the body uncollected. He should not have been allowed to do so without valid identification."Midlands provincial administrator Cecelia Chitiyo confirmed that the funeral assistance fund for the remaining body was looted.She absolved officers from the DA's office of wrong-doing, saying the police cleared the person who collected the money."Yes, we understand that some funds from the funeral assistance were stolen and a body is still unclaimed at the mortuary," she said."However, please note that it's not the duty of the office of the DA to clear people to collect the body. It's done by the police."Chitiyo said she had heard that the police had made headway into the matter, adding that the culprit would be brought to book soon.The police officer commanding operations in Kwekwe, an Inspector Kasamba, confirmed the incident but said he was in Harare and had no information on the matter.The Chronicle visited Kwekwe Hospital and learnt that Cst Romilio has since been transferred from the mortuary.Meanwhile, sources at the hospital said there was a sack with dismembered body parts from the accident.They said some families could have just buried their relatives with missing parts to avoid the trauma of sifting through the body parts.
Hillary Clinton
Democratic presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, speaks at the Univision, Washington Post Democratic presidential debate at Miami-Dade College, Wednesday, March 9, 2016, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
(Wilfredo Lee)
Hillary Clinton spoke to an American Israel Public Affairs Committee gathering on March 21.
Astoundingly, it was much the narrative of her conservative adversaries, and opposite her and the current Administration's contrarian Israeli policies.
She departed on two noticeable issues.
First, her favorability of nuclear agreement with Iran (but was vigorous about renewed sanctions if "needed").
And, second, her intention to develop a peaceful solution in the crisis between Israel and the Palestinians.
The agreement is undesirable to the Israeli Administration; and, the latter, is her usual pandering to the crowd to "fight"for unacheivable goals.
The woman is a prevaricating chameleon. She will say anything favorable, and even lie, to support the "group thought" of her audience.
She has slid "left, middle and right" throughout her life, especially in her two campaigns for the presidency.
She's in full display of a life-long absence of a firm stance on most major issues. She will do anything to get elected, and if elected, salt every policy with political expediency for her favor-- the nation's, only if coincides with hers.
She'll not be indicted for providing terrorists a four year espionage opportunity with her private internet server.
President Barack Obama won't allow it--justice means nothing to either. And yet, it's entirely possible her server provided terrorists information to plan the Benghazi attack.
The President invoked executive privilege to avoid "smoking-gun"evidence on the Mexican gun-running issue; and, it's not unlikely he covered-up his and her culpability for Benghazi tragedy by declaring "Privileged Emails" between them. Past behaviors of both, lend to that plausible assumption.
JERRY DONATUCCI, Upper Allen Twp.
Donald Trump, John Kasich, Ted Cruz
Which one of these guys - Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and John Kasich -- will win Pennsylvania?
(Alan Diaz)
Want to know how Donald Trump affects some female voters?
A long-time friend, who swears she's "not a single-issue voter," is considering changing that stance in 2016 to send a message on women's issues.
Another friend beseeches me, "Please tell me he's not going to be our next president."
Still another, a lifelong Republican, just shakes her head in sadness and frustration whenever Trump's name is brought up in conversation.
"It can't happen," she says.
Can someone actually win the presidency when better than half the electorate doesn't like him?
With control of the White House, the U.S. Senate and now, maybe even the U.S. House, on the line, that's the challenge facing national Republicans as the frankly misogynistic front-runner marches ever closer to the GOP's presidential nomination.
"We already had a gender gap to make up. Trump has dug that hole deeper," Ana Navarro, a Republican analyst in Florida, told The Boston Globe recently.
What's the case against Trump? Consider just these few examples:
You can start with his dismissive language regarding the Fox New anchor Megyn Kelly.
Or his statements about former GOP candidate Carly Fiorina, who brilliantly called him out for it in an early debate.
Or there's his victim-shaming of a former Breitbart News reporter who's accused Trump's campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, of simple assault.
Or how about his disgusting decision to retweet an unflattering photo of Heidi Cruz, wife of GOP rival Ted Cruz, alongside one of his former supermodel wife, Melania?
The latest offense came Wednesday when Trump, in an interview with MSNBC's Chris Matthews, suggested that women seeking an abortion would need to be punished if the procedure were ever banned nationwide.
That Trump later clunkily walked back his remarks, courtesy of a pair of statements, to clarify that only doctors performing abortions would be punished, didn't matter.
The damage had been done.
How bad are things for Trump among women now?
He's lost Ann Coulter.
Ann Coulter.
That's like The Penguin shunning The Joker at the annual Batman Villains' Summer Picnic.
"I'm a little testy with our man right now," Coulter told Breitbart's Milo Yiannopoulos, according to The Washington Post. "Our candidate is mental. Do you realize our candidate is mental? It's like constantly having to bail out your 16-year-old son from prison!"
"Everything else I could defend," she added, which included Trump's frontal assault on former Breitbart journalist Michelle Fields. "He has been more a victim than victimizer. ... This is the worst thing he's done."
The polling data isn't much better.
Barely a quarter of women in an ABC News/Washington Post poll released in early March had a favorable opinion of Trump.
And that was before the gaffe with Mrs. Cruz or the latest abortion debacle.
Again, this isn't some fringe demographic. Women make up a make up a majority of the electorate and they are more enthusiastic voters than men.
While Trump led the GOP primary pack in a March 21 CNN/Orc poll, a deeper dive into the numbers provides a more detailed glimpse of the Republicans' current gender gap.
Fifty-nine percent of the women who responded to the CNN/Orc poll said they'd either be "enthusiastic," or "satisfied, not enthusiastic," if Trump wins the party nomination. Forty percent said they'd be "dissatisfied" or "upset" if Trump got the party nod.
Compare that to the 72 percent to 28 percent split among male voters who answered the same way in the CNN/Orc poll.
And in a recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, 47 percent of Republican women said they would not support Trump, The Boston Globe reported.
Voters in Wisconsin head to the polls on Tuesday, where Trump is running behind Cruz. New York is next on the primary calendar on April 19, where Trump is leading.
Pennsylvania, where Trump is running neck-and-neck with Ohio Gov. John Kasich, holds its primary on April 26. Republican insiders give the edge to Kasich.
While Trump could perform well among rural Republicans, who share both his protectionist views on trade and hard-line on illegal immigration, his statements on women will cause him trouble in the more moderate Philadelphia suburbs.
"I'm concerned any time a candidate says stuff like this and then has to go back and clarify it," Patricia Poprik, the veteran chairwoman of Bucks County's Republican Party, said.
"There are a lot of people who likes what he says," Poprik said of Trump's more inflammatory public statements. "But he has to learn to moderate it. He needs to think it through."
As toxic as Trump is among female voters, is there a possibility - however remote - that the former reality TV star is simply playing to the cameras? Is he courting controversy simply to win headlines?
One loyalist thinks so.
"He's calm and measured [in private]," said Jeffrey Lord, of Camp Hill, a CNN analyst and Trump supporter. "You can't build the kind of organization he has without it.
One Republican woman isn't buying it.
Brittney Parker is a Harrisburg native, a lifelong Republican, self-identified conservative and a Latina.
She's the kind of voter that Republicans need to keep onside if the party hopes to flourish in the coming decades.
She's not with Trump - and she's a perfect illustration of the GOP's current problem.
"I support defending the lives of the unborn," she said.
But "Trump's remarks illustrate his lack of credibility on this issue - he's not genuinely pro-life," she continued. "This is a man who previously described himself as 'very pro-choice.' To be pro-life is to be compassionate toward not only the unborn, but the mothers as well."
And if there's one thing Trump needs more than the support of women voters, it's Pennsylvania. All roads to the White House pass through it.
And right now, the Manhattan real estate mogul is facing a significant road block.
Donald Trump, John Kasich, Ted Cruz
Pictured from left to right are, Republican presidential candidates, Donald Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Ohio Gov. John Kasich. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)
(Alan Diaz)
The 54 delegates that we Republicans "elect" on primary day, April 26th, are not required to vote on the first ballot at the Cleveland convention for the candidate we "elect". They are unbound. Who knew?
The decision for this failure of "representation" can be corrected by the GOP State Committee of which Rob Gleason is chair (Curiously it is impossible to find out who serves on the PA State Committee by looking at their web site www.pagop.org).
Not sure what is on the Democrats' side with their "superdelegates" but it is probably just as worrisome. These are party rules not law. They can be changed.
So if you are getting the impression that under current rules, your PA GOP vote won't count much -- you may be right.
JUDY SCHAEFER, Lower Paxton Twp.
We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!
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Pauloosie Keeyootak poses in this undated handout photo. A Nunavut politician lost for eight days on the tundra with two companions had to build igloos and hunt caribou to survive. Pauloosie Keeyootak, his son and his nephew got lost during a blizzard when they were snowmobiling between two Nunavut communities last week. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO - Legislative Assembly of Nunavut
Philippine National Police clear the highway off of blood and debris following a violent protest along a national highway in Kidapawan city southern Philippines Friday April 1, 2016. Officials say at least two people have been killed and dozens wounded when gunfire erupted as police attempted to clear a 4-day-old protest by farmers, who have been demanding government financial aid in the wake of a seven-month drought in the province. A journalist at the site counted 13 injured protesters. (AP Photo/Williamor Magbanua)
News / Religion
by Tebego Motalaote
POPULAR Nigerian prophet, Temitope Balogun Joshua, commonly referred to as T.B. Joshua, predicted trouble for a southern African president between February and April this year.In a televised prophecy on January 3rd, 2016 to thousands of his congregants gathered at The Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) in Lagos, Nigeria, T.B. Joshua said prayer sessions needed to be arranged for the region's leaders because of peculiar' challenges ahead."I am being careful so that the press does not misquote me because the message is very sensitive," T.B. Joshua said. "Ending of February to April are very peculiar months in the Southern African sub-region. Let us observe prayer sessions at the beginning and end of the month for our leaders."He said he would not reveal anything further regarding the problem about to befall a Southern African leader because the message was highly sensitive.However, the clear warning not to misquote him seemed to be ignored by the international press as headlines recently proclaimed how Malawian President, Peter Mutharika, alleged that T.B. Joshua prophesied he would die before April 1st, 2016.The Malawian President said, "I'm told there is a man in Nigeria called Joshua and he is saying that Zimbabwe President, Robert Mugabe and Malawian President, Peter Mutharika will die before April 1st. Let me tell you, Joshua you will fail. What you did in 2012 will not happen again this year."The paranoid Mutharika even scheduled to attend a night of prayer on April 1st because of the rumoured prophecy, recalling that in 2012, the controversial Nigerian preacher reportedly predicted the death of his brother.Bingu Mutharika, who was President at the time, died within the time frame predicted by Joshua, causing his fame to spread rapidly in Malawi.However, unfolding events point increasingly to the travails currently being experienced by South African President Jacob Zuma as the subject of T.B. Joshua's prophecy.On March 31st, South Africa's highest court ruled that Zuma violated the constitution when he failed to repay government money spent on his private home.Zuma is now being called on to step down by South Africa's opposition parties as he is faced with the biggest controversy of his presidency."It is very difficult to see how the ANC can continue to have President Zuma at the helm, following the stinging rebuke he received from the Constitutional Court," wrote the BBC as speculations heighten that Zuma's presidency may forcibly be cut short."It's very likely that TB Joshua's prophecy was about Jacob Zuma and not the other two we thought," wrote Max Chunga on Facebook at the news of Zuma's historic court ruling.
St. Mary's gets win No. 300, Felten sets 8-man kicking record
What could have been a game to overlook was a milestone night for Gaylord St. Mary's in its final home game of the regular season.
Opinion / Columnist
An Asylum Seeker
A Refugee
Refugee Status Determination
Appeal and Review Process
Certification
Cost
He is a person who has fled his or her country of origin and is seeking recognition and protection as a refugee in the Republic of South Africa, and whose application is still under consideration.In case of a negative decision on his application, he has to leave the country voluntarily or will be deported.He is a person who has been granted asylum status and protection in terms of thesection 24 of Refugee Act No 130 of 1998.Under the 1951 United Nations Convention, a refugee can be a "convention refugee" who has left his home country and has a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or a membership in a particular social group.Under the same convention, a refugee can also be a person "in need of protection"whose removal to his home country would subject him personally to a danger of torture or to a risk to his life or a risk of cruel and unusual treatment or punishment.Role of the Government of the Republic of South AfricaThe Government of the Republic of South Africa has an obligation to grant protection to refugees and other persons in need of protection under a number of UN Conventions such as the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees.However, Convention refugees and persons in need of protection based on a risk to life, or a cruel and unusual treatment must have faced personally the risk all the way throughin the country in questionEligibility Procedure: Asylum SeekerA person enters the Republic of South Africa through a port of entry (a land border post, airport or harbor), claims to be an asylum seeker and is, therefore, issued with a section 23 Permits which is a non - renewable "asylum transit permit" of the Immigration Act.The permit is valid for a period of 14 days only and authorizes the person to report to the nearest Refugee Reception Office in order to apply for asylum in terms of section 21 of the Refugee Act.The asylum seeker is required to furnish:- A section 23 permit- Any proof of identification from the country of origin- A travel document if in possession of oneThe asylum seeker lodges in person his application at a designated Refugee Reception Office where an admissibility hearing takes place.The following are done:- Applicant's fingerprints taken in the prescribed manner- Interpreter if secured (if necessary )- First interview conducted by a Refugee Reception Officer (RRO) and BI-1590 form duly completed- Applicant's data and image captured in the refugee system.- An Asylum Seeker's permit (a section 22 permit) is printed, signed, stamped and issued to the Asylum Seeker.The section 22 permit which is valid for a period of six monthslegalizes the asylum seeker stay in the Republic of South Africa temporarily pending a final decision on his application. The permit can be extended by an RRO for a further six months while the process of status determination is in progress.The holder of section 22 permit has the right to work and study in South Africa and is protected against deportation to his country of origin.Before the permit expires, the asylum seeker reports to the Refugee Reception Office for:A second interview is conducted by a Refugee Status Determination Officer (RSDO)The RSDO proceed with a fair adjudication of the application, makes a decision on claims for asylum application and provides reasons for the decisions. The RSDO must on conclusion of the status determination hearing grant asylum; or reject the applicationas manifestly unfounded, abusive or fraudulent; or refer any question of law to the Standing Committee for Refugee Affairs (SCRA).When granted asylum (written recognition of refugee status), a refugee is generally issued with a section 24 permit, which allows such person to remain for a specified period of 2 years in South Africa, and it is renewable upon expiration of its validity after the review process by an RSDO. In this case, the refugee must write a letter requesting the extension of his or her refugee status.He is also allowed to work and study in South Africa whilst the permit is valid.Refugee Enabling DocumentsA refugee must apply for a refugee ID at any Refugee Reception Office within 15 days in the prescribed manner.After being issued with an ID, a refugee can apply for a UNCTD (United Nations Convention Travel Document) at any Refugee Reception Office in the prescribed manner.An ID is freeIn case of rejection, an asylum seeker or refugee who believes that he has a well-founded fear of persecution but whose claim has been rejected, may decide to appeal against the rejection decision of the RSDO to the Refugee Appeal Board (RAB) in the prescribed manner within 30 days after the decision has been handed over to them.The Appeal Board conducts an appeal hearing during which the appellant who is entitled to a fair hearing have the rights to be heard and to present his case fully. The Refugee Appeal Board is responsible for considering and deciding appeals on decisions made by RSDOs.The RAB may after hearing an appeal confirm or set aside or substitute the decision of the RSDO.In respect of manifestly unfounded applications, the Standing Committee for Refugee Affairs (SCRA) reviews or confirms or sets aside decisions taken by the RSDO and refer cases back to RSDO for determination within 14 days as well as monitors in general the decisions of the RSDO.The applicant must have 5 full years continuous residence in the Republic of South Africa as a formally recognized refugee not as an asylum seekerWrite an application letter explaining the reasons for applying for the certificationGo to the initial refugee reception office where application for asylum was first lodged and complete the form. The Refugee Reception Office will ensure that the applicant complies with all the requirementsThe application will be referred to the Standing Committee for Refugee Affairs which is the body established to certify or not if the applicant will remain a refugee indefinitelyIf successful, the applicant will then be issued with a "Certification" or Section 27 which will enable the applicant to apply at any Home Affairs office for an "Immigration Permit" or "Permanent Residence"Legal InstrumentsRefugee Act, 1998 (No 130 of 19998)1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees1969 OAU Convention Governing The Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa and 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees1993 Basic Agreement between the Government of South Africa and the UNHCRThe Immigration ActService StandardApplications may take up to six monthsThere is no fee payable for eligibility and status determination interviews as well as issuance or renewal of section 22, section 24 and refugee ID. Service to asylum seekers and refugees is free of charge.All asylum seeker are encouraged to report any person who exhorts money from them.Velempini Ndlovu can be contacted on veapndlovu@gmail.com or 0824407756
Colombia's oil pipeline bombers ELN rebels to begin peace talks
The guerrilla army has bombed pipelines and intercepted trucks transporting oil, spilling some 200,000 gallons.
CARACAS/BOGOTA
Petroleumworld.com 04 01 2016
The Colombian government will begin formal peace talks with lefitst National Liberation Army (ELN) rebels, moving the country a step closer to ending its five-decade-old conflict, the two sides said in joint statement on Wednesday.
The Ecuador-based negotiations, which were announced by the leaders of the peace delegations in Caracas, Venezuela, will begin within two months.
Colombia and the ELN, the Andean nation's second-largest guerrilla group, have been in preliminary talks for over two years. The group recently freed two hostages, which President Juan Manuel Santos had demanded as a condition for the start of formal talks.
"Peace is a supreme asset for every democracy," the statement said, adding that the goal of the talks was to move quickly "toward national reconciliation."
The two sides will work on a six-point agenda that includes the rights of victims, social justice and an end to the conflict, among other issues.
Cuba, Norway, Venezuela, Chile, Brazil and Ecuador will act as guarantor nations.
"It will be the end of guerrilla groups and we can all concentrate - democratically - on making our country the free, normal, modern, just and inclusive place it can and should be," Santos said during a televised address.
Negotiations with the ELN are separate from those underway in Havana with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, the country's larger rebel group.
Both organizations are considered terrorist groups by the United States and European Union.
MISSED DEADLINE
Official talks would come as approval ratings hit new lows for Santos, who replaced hard-line President Alvaro Uribe in 2010. Now an opposition senator, Uribe and his backers have harshly criticized the FARC talks, saying they will foster impunity for human rights violations.
Colombia has been negotiating with the FARC for over three years. Last week, the two sides failed to reach a self-imposed deadline for a final accord.
The 2,000-strong ELN has increased oil pipeline bombings in recent months and continued kidnappings, in what many saw as an attempt to pressure the government into talks.
Inspired by Cuba's 1959 revolution, the ELN has battled a dozen Colombian governments since it was founded by radical Catholic priests in 1964.
While many Colombians are suspicious of peace talks, they are tired of the violence that has killed more than 220,000 and displaced millions over more than half a century.
VANCOUVER, Wash.Back in 2003, Levi Bussanich had a pretty good business going at Desire Video, located at 4811 NE 94th Avenue, selling XXX-rated DVDs, novelties and other items of interest to open-minded adults. But all that changed on March 27 of that year, when arsonists Mark Fuston and Ken Courtney torched the placeyet managed to stay out of prison until Courtney turned state's evidence and implicated Fuston, who received a two-and-a-half year prison sentence in 2013.
But with Courtney having allegedly committed suicide, now that Fuston has been convicted, it's he who's doing the singing. He's implicated Daniel and Donna Cossette and Michael J. and Linda M. Wright in a conspiracy that led to the arson, leading Bussanich to file a lawsuit in federal court in Washington, charging the Cossettes, Wrights and the bookstores they own under several sections of the Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, as well as Criminal Profiteering, trespassing and property damage as a result of the arson.
Police spent a decade investigating the case, eventually getting the goods on Courtney, who then acted in an undercover capacity to help prosecutors build the case against Fuston, as well as providing information on the Cossettes and Wrights.
In the meantime, in 2005, Bussanich inquired about buying Adult Video Only, Inc., which was owned by the Cossettes and Wrights, and in the course of getting a tour of the store, learned that Adult Video Only was doing a great arcade businessand that according to Bussanich, little or none of that income was being reported on the store's tax returns. The same was apparently true of other adult businesses that the defendants owned. It's that allegation that is the basis for the RICO charges: Bussanich claims that the defendants used the unreported arcade funds to pay the arsonists who burned Desire.
Well, that, and the allegation that the defendants also had a profitable marijuana growing business whose income also was not reported, some of which funds were also allegedly used to pay Fuston and Courtney.
"This was definitely not a case of unrestrained moral outrage or some misguided attempt to protect the community from pornography or the social ills that can be connected to that industry," Fuston's prosecutor argued in court. "Rather, Mark Fuston's singular goal was to get paid."
According to a report on Vice.com, "Fuston had been wrapped up in porn mayhem before: In 1977, the career criminal was charged with trying to burn down an adult bookstore, but got off even though cops found him holding a gas can and matches at the scene. And in 1991, a man who looked an awful lot like Fuston was spotted near a Portland porn store just before it burst into flames, courtesy of a pipe bomb."
Bussanich managed to rebuild his store, which reopened under the name Taboo Video and continues to do business in Vancouver to this day.
The whole scenario is reminiscent of the adult industry's early days, when a few top moguls were alleged to have burned down competitors' businesses to increase their profitsbut that had stopped by the early 1980s, so it's sad to see that there are still places where such practices had continued into the new century.
A copy of the lawsuit can be found here.
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.In an order issued Thursday, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey S. White granted the Motion filed by Defendant California Attorney General Kamala Harris and others to dismiss the lawsuit filed by the Erotic Service Providers Legal Education Research Project (ESPLERP) and three sex workers to overturn California's laws against prostitution. The case was filed in March of last year, with ESPLERP and the other plaintiffs being represented by First Amendment attorneys H. Louis Sirkin and D. Gil Sperlein.
In dismissing the case, Judge White considered five claims stated in the complaint, the first dealing with plaintiffs' "liberty interest" to engage in paid sexual transactions as protected by the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Lawrence v. Texas, the 2003 case which legalized homosexual conduct between consenting adults, which had previously been held illegal.
"Plaintiffs contend that the Supreme Courts decision in Lawrence fundamentally changes the definition and scope of the liberty interest individuals maintain under the Due Process Clause and requires the application of strict scrutiny in this matter..." Judge White wrote. "The Courts emphasis in defining the liberty interest focused on the choices relating to protected relationships in which the intimate conduct occurs, not solely on the contours of the intimate conduct itself. The Court is not persuaded by Plaintiffs contention that the Supreme Court has shifted the definition of the protected liberty interest to comprise merely sexual or intimate conduct, as opposed to the relationship in which the sexual or intimate conduct occurs. The Court similarly is not persuaded by Defendants contention that the due process analysis here should be predicated exclusively upon an asserted fundamental right to commercial sex."
Judge White focused on the "family and other group relationships" to which the Supreme Court has directed its opinions regarding the Fourteenth Amendment's "liberty interests" and concluded that the relaitonship between a sex worker and a client just isn't "intimate" enough to invoke a "liberty interest," and therefore concluded that sex worker rights should not be analyzed under "strict scrutiny," which would require the government to state a compelling governmental interest for the prostitution laws' existence, but rather under "rational basis" (intermediate) scrutiny, which balances government interest against individual rights. As such, Judge White bought the defendants' argument that prostitution laws serve several government interests, such as preventing sex trafficking, preventing drug use, and "deterring the commodification of sex." (As part of its response to the complaint, the defendants offered as an exhibit an article by virulent anti-prostitution activist Melissa Farley linking prostitution with human trafficking.)
Building on that premise, Judge White then dismissed the plaintiffs' charge that the laws violate sex workers' rights to free speech and association, since he had already ruled that there was no constitutional right to engage in sex work. Likewise, he dismissed their claim that the laws affect sex workers' right to earn a living, stating that, "A protectable liberty interest in employment arises only 'where not affirmatively restricted by reasonable laws or regulations of general application'," and that therefore, "This Court has found as a matter of law, that Plaintiffs have failed to demonstrate that they have a protectable liberty interest in the profession of prostitution."
Judge White's full opinion can be read here (.pdf).
"Simply put, this is a deeply flawed decision; a judges bias against sex worker rights in search of a legal justification," stated ESPLERP head Maxine Doogan in a press release. "This decision flies against all legal precedent, especially Lawrence v Texas, the 2003 Supreme Court landmark decision that held that intimate consensual sexual conduct was protected by the 14th Amendment. It also ignores the recommendations of a whole series of reputable international organizations, including Amnesty International, the World Health Organization, the Lancet, Human Rights Watch, and the UN Global Commission on HIV and the Law, all of which call for the decriminalization of sex work and recognize that consenting adults have the right to be free from state criminalization of their sex lives."
"This decision is horribly mistaken," added Claire Alwyne, Board Member of ESPLERP. "The judge completely misinterprets Lawrence v Texas. He claims that Lawrence v Texas only protects sexual conduct in the context of a meaningful relationship, while in fact it protects even the most brief, casual, and impersonal sexual interactions. While he might not like it, Lawrence v Texas clearly protects sex workers and their clients."
"It is completely offensive that a federal judge says that criminalizing sex workers promotes public safety and prevents injury and coercion, declared Bella Robinson, of ESPLERP and the sex worker protection group CoyoteRI. "In real life, its the other way round. Doing sex work under the constant threat of police and jail is far from occupational safety, and violence against sex workers is very common when sex work is illegal."
Doogan stated that ESPLERP is currently consulting with its legal advisers regarding its next steps.
"We have until May 6 to file an amended complaint, but seriously doubt that we will have a fair hearing in Judge Jeffrey S. Whites court," she stated. "Given that, we may have no option but to appeal to the Ninth Circuit, where we are confident that the merits of our case will finally be recognized and we will be granted relief."
TEMPE, Ariz.The Phoenix Forum began in earnest Thursday for the 16th time, creating a festive atmosphere at the Tempe Mission Palms Hotel.
The mild forecastit was a mere 75 degrees in the mid-afternoonand the familiar surroundings for one of the industrys most popular gatherings, led to a day full of optimism as the conference began taking shape.
In one of the highlight sessions of opening day, Kristen Kaye, head of KSquared Dynamics and chief marketing officer for Fleshlight, moderated a roundtable session called Success and Adaption.
With the panelists positioned in the middle of the room and the audience members sitting theater style around them, the expert speakers shared insights about the importance of networking at shows such as TPF.
Work with every single person, said Ed Kunkel, the chief operating officer of The Dating Network whose been in adult since 1993. Get cards. It is a business first. Take risks. Its a wonderful business. Its a forgiving business. Youll find certain people who know everybody and remember everybody. Have somebody take you under their wing.
Holly Ruprecht, the senior manager of business development for LFP Internet Group, also offered sage advice.
Dont believe your own hype, no matter how big you think you are, Ruprecht said. It doesnt matter what size company you are or who you think you are, you have to be able to work with anybody.
Trans icon Buck Angel said things are looking up for the adult industry because theres more sex positivity in general in America today.
Meanwhile Wendy Nelson, the vice president of sales for Netbilling, told attendees to make sure they do their homework when choosing a billing company.
Check them out and make sure theyve been in the space for a long time, Nelson said, noting it cant be a one-way street of communication. If you havent heard from your biller in six months, thats a red flag. They need to go to you, too. You dont need to always go to the billing company.
Drawing from his own experiences of building and rebuilding various companies, The Dating Networks Kunkel suggested, You need a shit storm once in a while. It can help you to change your focus, especially if youve gotten too complacent.
The Traffic ABCs panel, moderated by Affil4you Managing Director Joey Gabra, featured comments from Paul Kluzak (CCBill), Sarah Mallie (EroAdvertising), Jeremy Wagshul (Revolution Force) and Brian Elkan (Affil4you).
"Tracking is key to successful media buying, Elkan emphasized. Its not even worth doing trials if you dont have tracking set up."
When the topic switched to ad formats, Elkan said, all traffic ad formats can work; its just a matter of your level of expertise in optimizing them.
Wagshul, the senior media buyer for the Sacramento-based Revolution Force who is at TPF for the first time, found the panel to be productive and inspiring.
I thought Joey did a really good job moderating. Its incredibly energizing to see other like-minded people that are willing to discuss topics that I think about all the time, Wagshul said afterward.
This is not a career or a job, this is a lifestyle. Thats really what it comes down to. Theres never really an end to the day. Theres never really a start to the day. Its just a constant evolution of change and basically where do you get in and how do you last in this industry?
Wagshul continued, Theres always something new thats exciting to me or something I had no idea about. For instance the ad blocking. I have a total understanding of it, but just to bring it up and think about it and try to develop a process of how I would answer that its good. It makes me learn. It makes me think about what I want to do on the forum tonightto go ahead and read a little more in depth about that so I can have similar valuable information to pass along.
A native of the Bay Area, Wagshul said he recommends starting off as an affiliate, just like he and his brother did.
Anyone who finds interest in it should push, push, push until you can get something to pop. You have to be out there. You have to exercise all possibilities, no questions asked, he said.
To complement the beginners traffic panel, TPF added a Traffic XYZs panel that included perspectives from Danny McKaren (Playgirl), Ray Kelsey (CCBill), William Soares Pinto (TheHubPeople), Chris Rodger (Payze), Lauren MacEwen (7Veils) and Yancy Naughton (HasTraffic). Nigel Williams of DigiWorldPartners moderated the session.
That one one of the most engaged panels youll see, Naughton said, noting the well-roundedness of the speakers on the stage.
In what has become an online community tradition, the spacious courtyard at the Tempe Mission Palms once again was the central hub for casual conversation for the 800-plus attendees that traveled to the Valley of the Sun from all over the world.
Representatives from the host company, CCBill, decked out in crisp, turquoise polo shirts, circulated the property throughout the day to make sure attendees were finding their destinations and all the sessions were running smoothly.
A leader in payment solutions since 1998, CCBill processes more than a billion dollars in transactions each year and is one of the largest third-party payment processors in the world.
Just after sundown, CCBill owner Ron Cadwell took the stage in the back of the courtyard, thanking attendees and showing his gratitude to the sponsors by calling them to the stage and handing each a bottle of Cristal champagne.
That set the tone for the evening, which had just begun as the Cybersocket Opening Party loomed along with what was sure to be no shortage of action in the Late Night Suites.
EUROPEThe Dads Fucking Lads studio, part of the Eurocreme Group, has flipped the script with its latest release, Fuck You Daddy.
Sometimes daddy doesnt just want to own a twinks ass, he wants their dick too.
Departing from the typical dads fucking the lads, this time the studio has spun it on its head and gives a hot show of daddies getting rammed by their young prodigies, teaching them how to fuck as well as inside knowledge on how to get fucked.
The release features handsome daddies Matthew Anders and CJ Michaels joining forces with twinks Nathan Hope hailing out of France and Russian beauty Dmitry Osten.
Fuck You Daddy is available on DVD, HD and SD downloads from EurocremeStore.com For more information on this or any other Eurocreme Production, contact [email protected]
A police officer may lie to a suspect regarding the reason for a traffic stop, even when no traffic violation was committed, if it's part of an unrelated criminal investigation, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals said in a ruling issued Thursday, reports the Yakima Herald-Republic.
The case, which originated in federal court in Montana, involved two men accused of transporting methamphetamine from the Yakima Valley in Washington to Minnesota.
Hector Magallon-Lopez argued that his right to be free from unreasonable search or seizure was violated when an officer told him hed been stopped for changing lanes without signaling. He asked that evidence be suppressed because of the supposed violation.
A federal district judge in Montana had rejected his argument, prompting the appeal.
The appeals court ruled that the misleading statements were allowable as long as an officer has sufficient evidence to support the underlying investigation.
In this case, a Drug Enforcement Administration task force had developed information through wire-tapped conversations about a drug conspiracy.
Investigators ultimately detained Magallon-Lopez and his co-defendant and discovered two pounds of methamphetamine in the car. Both are expected to be deported upon completion of their 10- and 12-year prison sentences.
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World history is rife with instances of cruelty and barbarism at the hands of Christians, but since this is America it is one of those subjects few are willing to ever mention. Sadly, there is still an inordinate amount of cruelty and barbarism attributable to Christians who also happen to be exclusively American Republicans.
Even though they are not beheading or burning their victims at the stake, they are causing undue pain and suffering to other Americans, primarily women. It is all an integral part of their cherished religious liberty and as is nearly always the case it is women taking the brunt of the inhumane cruelty.
In Texas this week, a prime example of evangelical Republican barbarism was on display. As is usually the case with religious Republicans involved, it was a woman and her husband, both Christians, who were forced to suffer due to Republicans exercising their religious freedom to be merciless and savage.
The Mahaffey family were desperate for a child and had been praying incessantly for a baby. But when 20-week pregnant Taylor learned her fetus suffered a severe complication with no possible chance of ever surviving, the young couple cried and then prayed for a humane end to their fetus suffering. In fact, doctors and the medical staff cried along with the Mahaffeys; in part because of the couples disappointment and grief, and partly because Texas Republicans passed a law mandating that the mother and fetus had to suffer because they enacted a religion-based fetal pain law.
The doctors informed the young couple that even though the fetus could never survive and would either die in utero or deliver stillborn, the couple would just have to suck it up, stop crying, let the fetus die in the womb, or endure the full nine months of torture and deliver a dead baby. If science could prove the fetus died in utero, then, and maybe only then, could the medical professionals legally deliver the carcass because of the religious Republicans fetal pain law.
One night last week, the mother experienced abnormal pain and rushed to the hospital where doctors discovered the fetus feet were pushing through the mothers cervix. Doctors tried several emergency measures to stop the preterm labor, including a procedure in which doctors stitched shut the cervix. Still, nothing worked and nothing could save the fetus; it left the Mahaffeys pleading with doctors for an acceptable and humane option to stop the torture.
The doctors told the couple The only humane thing to do would be to pop the sack, and let the fetus come into the world and die. However, due to the religious law the doctors were forbidden to induce labor because in Texas it is considered an abortion, and in Texas, abortion is illegal. They sent the couple home to either wait for the fetus to die in utero, or for the mother to begin natural labor so they could deliver the dead baby.
The religious couple prayed constantly for a miracle that might end their babys suffering. The husband was rightly worried his wife would hemorrhage to death and despite the mother had started bleeding, because the fetus heart still beat doctors could not legally interfere. This is going on while the woman was just screaming at them to get the fetus out of her.
The young woman suffered like that for four days and after her waters broke doctors delivered a dead, partially formed baby. Now, this cruelty is not down to the medical professionals in Texas; they desperately wanted to help relieve the religious couples suffering, but religious Republicans said no.
If this were a one-off occurrence, it would be bad and barbaric enough to last a lifetime, but it is not unique. Not to Texas or any one of 12 other religious Republican states that ban abortions after 20 weeks based on the wholly unscientific idea that a fetus can possibly feel pain at twenty weeks of gestation.
According to mounds of scientific research and evidence, the American Medical Association (AMA) says that fetal perception of pain is impossible before the third trimester; that is when a fetus nervous system is developed to a point it can feel anything. Still, Texas religious Republicans barbaric and cruel ban on medical professionals helping women was passed as a provision in HB2.
One of the OBGYNs at the hospital where this tragedy of suffering occurred, Bradley Price, had previously testified before Texas Republicans and criticized them for attempting to practice medicine based on religion and politics instead of sound medical science. He said,
This bill is extremely intrusive into the practice of medicine. It risked Texas womens health by denying them the benefits of well-researched safe and proven protocols.
Dr. Price even took the time to explain that most abortions performed after 20 weeks were on women whose fetuses had some kind of severe deformity or condition that was incompatible with life. He asked the religious Republicans,
If youre worried about pain at 20 weeks, what about pain at 40 weeks? Are we going to ask dead or damaged fetuses to go through the birth canal still? Is vaginal delivery out of the question? If you take it to an illogical conclusion, thats where you go.
The doctor should never have brought logic into the equation because these are religious Republicans. For dogs sake if they take the word of the Personhood movement, the Vatican, and the National Right to Life over established medical science, of course they will choose the illogical conclusion. This is the issue with well over a dozen religious Republican states who all claim that science and biology, like a womans constitutionally-protected equal rights, are irrelevant based on the feelings of the anti-choice barbarians with religious freedom.
This incident, although tragic for the young Texas couple suffering a devastating experience, is bound to continue occurring in every Republican state run by theocrats. There is no sound political, economic, or humane reason for acute barbarism and cruelty towards women except that Republicans regard them as nothing more than objects for birthing. And if the fetus is deformed, incompatible with living, or dead in the womb, religious Republicans demand that the woman still gives birth.
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So 9 out of 10 things Donald Trump says are lies; he is being sued for assault and battery as his violent rhetoric comes home to roost. He is as popular as head lice. Its hard for a Republican candidate to aspire to more, isnt it?
Yet it also turns out, according to Gallup, that 7 out of 10 women have an unfavorable opinion of him, and almost 6 out of 10 men.
How do you win a presidential election when the majority of people have an unfavorable opinion of you? And doesnt that fact alone disprove all this talk of Trump being a voice for the silent majority? About the only majority Trump speaks for is Republican men (61% favorable, 36% unfavorable).
According to Gallup,
Since last year, Trumps net favorable rating (% favorable minus % unfavorable) among all adults nationally has worsened, to -35 in March from -17 in August. But despite a nearly constant string of controversies that raise questions about Trumps attitudes toward and treatment of women, the decline in his image among men has been similar to that among women.
Gallup suggests one explanation for this gap being that more women identifying as Democrats than men, but points out that attitudes toward Republican candidates Ted Cruz and John Kasich belie this partisan explanation, because Cruz is disliked equally by men and women and Kasich seen favorably by both.
Sounds as if the Silent Majority has spoken, and its not saying good things about one Donald Trump. In fact, only 23 percent of women have a favorable view of Trump, according to Gallup.
CNN commentator Mel Roberts, a woman, has a new column asking women who love Trump to dump him, saying she liked him at first too, because (and you wonder what she saw the rest of us didnt) she said, He was so exciting, refreshing and fun.
But as we got to know him, and he started saying some pretty offensive things about just about everyone he didnt like, it got kinda old kinda fast. And when other people came to your defense saying they were worried about how he treated other women, well, he attacked them. And its only gotten worse, Jane.
As has been pointed out, if Trump is trying to lose the election, he is going about it the right way. He needs more than Fox News white Christian Republicans to win a national election. And hes done his best to piss those demographics off. If women to Trump are bimbos, fat pigs, dogs, slobs, disgusting animals and total losers, these other demographics dont come off any better, as witnessed by his characterization of Mexicans as rapists.
Gallup points out that even before Trumps abortion remarks the other day that fewer than one in four women viewed him favorably, suggesting he may already be down to a core of rock-hard supporters whose opinions arent likely to change. We wont know this is true, of course, until the race has run its course. He has plenty of time to piss people off still, after all.
No one demographic is going to win it all for a candidate on Election Day, but given Trumps propensity to champion only white males, and how he is losing to Hillary in virtually every national poll, if 7 out of 10 women vote against this misogynista, I wouldnt bet on Trump.
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Sure, black staffers are fleeing the Republican National Committee in what NBC described yesterday as a mass exodus. The endorsement of the KKK for their 2016 presidential front-runner will do that to a party.
But have no fear, Republicans. The RNC has hired a new National Director of African American Initiatives and Media.
Telly Lovelace is the man who will save the Republican Party from the white supremacy themes of Trumps campaign. Lovelace used to be the spokesman for U.S. pharmaceutical industry.
Engaging with Black voters and all diverse communities across the country is a top priority for the RNC, said Chairman Priebus in a statement. Telly is a welcome addition to our team, and Im confident his experience will help us build on our commitment to cultivate relationships and trust with Black media and Black communities.
Back in the fall of 2014, Lovelace was arguing that Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) would be a good Republican presidential candidate because of his outreach to African-American voters. I like how he has been engaging minority voters, really making a true genuine effort to reach out to African-Americans, Hispanics and all minorities across the country, Lovelace was quoted as saying of the Kentucky Republican.
The fact that the RNC is putting a black man who thought Rand Paul had a good message for African-American voters in charge of their messaging to black media is reason number one to be dubious that this will work.
A year before Lovelace announced that Paul had a message that would resonate with black voters, the Republican Senator had been busted for hiring neo-Confederate, pro-secessionist, pro-Lincoln assassination Jack Hunter as his close Congressional aide. Hunter also worked with Paul to write Pauls 2010 book The Tea Party Goes to Washington.
Hunter was also the chairman of what the Free Beacon called the implicitly racist group League of the South. Hunter used to promote himself as a shock jock wearing a confederate flag over his face and publicly championed the assassination of President Lincoln.
When all of this became public, Rand defended his hire. For days. Rand said, People are calling him a white supremacist. If I thought he was a white supremacist, he would be fired immediately. If I thought he would treat anybody on the color of their skin different than others, Id fire him immediately. Because its always up to white Republican males to inform black people when something is racist and Rand was quite sure his aide was not a racist.
Until the outrage was so loud that he had to part ways with Hunter. Then, Rands only concern then was that he hoped he hadnt harmed the Republican brand.
It doesnt take a rocket scientist to see that Rands close association with Hunter would be problematic for his message to black voters. But Lovelace didnt see it.
So Lovelace is the perfect person to carry the black media mantle for the RNC, because he seemingly understands very little about the community with whom he is challenged to connect. Republicans think that just because a person has black skin, they represent black people. See how that works? Everything is skin deep with the Republican party.
Republicans still believe that black voters supported President Obama because he is black, but this makes no sense because the same voters did not support Herman Cain. This kind of contemptuous stereotyping blinds Republicans to the fact that black voters are not voting by skin color.
Who else other than a man who saw Rand Paul as a good standard bearer for the GOP with black voters would possibly sign up to spin Donald Trumps blatant racial hatred. Its perfect.
Man Shot While Streaming On Facebook Live
Trending News: Man Streams Own Shooting On Facebook
Why Is This Important?
Because unfortunate events like this are bound to happen more and more frequently with the proliferation of live streams.
Long Story Short
A Chicago man was shot multiple times as he was live streaming a video of himself to Facebook. The video captures the shooting and the immediate aftermath.
Long Story
A 31-year-old man from West Englewood, in Chicagos South Side, is in critical condition after he was shot while live streaming a video of himself to Facebook.
The video is disturbing: it shows the man, who remains unidentified, standing at the 5800 block of South Hoyne Avenue and telling the camera jokingly that he has to find somewhere to duck and hide, to cover. Seconds later, hes shot several times.
Warning: The video is very disturbing.
Damn he ? was on LIVE ? talking ? shit with no ? burner ? and got his ? life took ?? smds shit crazy ???? . #LITERALLY Posted by TcWorld Creamer on Thursday, March 31, 2016
The victim drops the camera as more shots are heard. The shooter soon appears in the cameras frame, still firing at the man. Over a dozen shots, possibly as many as 16 or 17, are heard. After a pause, bystanders are heard calling for an ambulance as a woman screams in disbelief.
Its believed the shooter fled the scene in a nearby vehicle.
A Chicago spokesman told the Chicago Tribune that they are still trying to authenticate the video but that it is consistent with what investigators at the scene believe transpired.
The victim is recovering at a local hospital with gunshot wounds to the face and groin. According to local station WGN, the victim was a documented gang member.
Own The Conversation
Ask The Big Question: When this kind of thing starts appearing on our Facebook feeds, is it time to acknowledge that gun violence has spiraled out of control?
Disrupt Your Feed: Thats it. Im switching to Google Plus.
Drop This Fact: There have been 727 shootings in Chicago in 2016 alone. That represents a 73 per cent increase over the same period last year.
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News out just this afternoon that George Mason Universitys fine law school will be renamed the Antonin Scalia School of Law at George Mason University. I know that the law schools dynamic dean, Henry Butler, has been working on this idea for a while, and secured $30 million in new contributions to the school (which will go mostly to student scholarships).*
So congrats to Henry and GMU. And expect lefty students and faculty to take to their fainting couchesbecause Scalia!in three, two. . . [SEE UPDATE BELOW]
I propose a bumper sticker and t-shirts for the law school: El Nino Comes to George Mason! That would be a full-tilt boogie macroaggression.
And this is as good a time as any to give a shout out to George Mason Laws most unusual law review, the Green Bag. Give it a read if youve never done so.
* One of the scholarships is described thus:
F.A. Hayek Law, Legislation, and Liberty Scholarship Named in honor of the 1974 Nobel Prize winner in economics, this scholarship will be awarded to students who have a demonstrated interest in studying the application of economic principles to the law.
Another macroaggression!
UPDATE: Yup, didnt have to wait long for this:
We have written about how regionalism and its handmaiden Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) are, in effect, an attempt by the left to dictate the way Americans will live. Now, we see that they also entail an attempt to tell elected officials what they must say. This has become apparent from efforts to muzzle Westchester Country Executive Rob Astorino.
Westchester County, New York is ground zero in the lefts push for its vision of regionalism. Under Democratic leadership, the County entered into a settlement with the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The County agreed to build 750 affordable housing units, 650 of which would be in municipalities with less than 3 percent American-American population and less than 7 percent Hispanic population.
It also agreed to advertise its affordable housing units to people living outside the County. The non-residents were to be lured into the County to try to ensure that the new housing units would be filled by the desired number of members of the HUD-preferred racial and ethic groups.
Under Astorino, a Republican, the County is working to build the 750 units. However, Astorino has also been a strong critic of regionalism/AFFH. In fact, after viewing a 12 minute video of Astorino describing Westchesters battles with HUD, Goffstown, New Hampshire decided to stop applying for HUD money, which is the hook the Obama administration uses to bend local governments to its will on housing matters.
In addition, as we noted here, Astorino seeks to bring Hillary Clinton, one of his constituents, into the discussion. He has asked the Democratic frontrunner whether she thinks her hometown, Chappaqua, is discriminatory and whether she agrees with the Obama administrations efforts to force it to build a low-income housing development it doesnt want.
Astorino even held a press conference outside of Clintons home to press her on the issue. The Countess of Chappaqua has remained silent on these questions.
Astorino thus poses a double-barrel threat to the left. First, he threatens to undermine AFFH by persuading localities not to submit to the program by taking federal money. Second, he embarrasses the candidate who will carry the lefts banner this Fall and who, as president, would work to implement the lefts vision of how we should live.
Astorino will no longer pose these threats if he can be silenced. This is what James Johnson, the Federal Monitor of the settlement agreement, is trying to do.
As Stanley Kurtz explains, the Federal Monitors attempt to silence Astorino comes in the form of a report filed on March 17 in federal court. The report claims that Astorino has spread false information about Westchester Countys housing settlement and about the efforts and intentions of HUD and the Federal Monitor himself.
As a remedy, the Federal Monitor seeks the removal of press releases inconsistent with the declaration and findings written by the Federal Monitor. He also calls for the hiring of a public communications consultant that will craft a message and implement a strategy sufficiently robust to provide information broadly to the public that describes the benefits of what HUD says it is trying to accomplish.
In effect, the Federal Monitor is asking a court to order Astorino to stop criticizing Obamas HUD and start advertising HUDs own views. I agree with Kurtz that this is truly Orwellian stuff, a frightening demonstration of how the expansionist regulatory state ultimately chokes off political speech itself.
As noted above, the basis for seeking these extraordinary measures is the claim that Astorino has made false claims about the settlement and about HUDs intentions. The Federal Monitor asserts that, by making false claims, the Country is violating its obligation to act in good faith in implementing the settlement.
Astorinos claims may be controversial, but they are not factually false. In essence, Astorinos opinion is that HUD intends to use the settlement agreement to force Westchester to build many more than the 750 housing units it agreed to construct and/or to force changes in local zoning.
To be sure, the feds have never said that these are their intentions (but then, President Obama never said some people wouldnt be able to keep their doctor under Obamacare he said the opposite). However, the feds have said that Westchester is to analyze its housing needs using regional data.
Such an analysis could become the basis for insistence that Westchester build many more than 750 housing units be built, at a huge cost to the County, and at the expense of existing zoning. This, in any case, is what the County fears.
Whether Astorino is right or wrong in this prediction, the leader of a governmental unit must have the right to tell his constituents what he believes is in store for them.
It is also significant, I think, that the Anti-Discrimination Center, which is conducting its own monitoring of the settlement agreement believes that the agreement goes well beyond the obligation to build a minimum of 750 units. The Center views the 750 units as the barest beginning. As I understand it, Astorino strongly disagrees with this view of the agreement, but he reasonably fears this is where things may be headed.
The Federal Monitor relies on depositions of various county officials. He says:
The difference. . .between what county officials told the public and what county officials stated under oath in depositions with the monitor was, in many cases, stark. Once under oath, in many instances, county officials either abandoned the county executives public claims, contradicted each other, disclaimed any knowledge of facts related to those claims, or adopted facially unreasonable interpretations of documents.
If anything, this description highlights the problem with the Federal Monitors position. To the extent that various officials (some, as I understand it, Democratic holdovers) view key matters relating to the settlement differently, this shows there is more than one way of perceiving what is going on.
Astorino has a right to view the matter his way and to state his views publicly. It would be Orwellian (and, I suspect, unconstitutional) for a court to require a public official to adopt a particular side of a controversial political question.
Speaking of Orwellian, the Federal Monitor went so far as to attack Astorinos tone. Kurtz says its as if you can silence someones speech because you dont like his attitude. I say its as if the low regard for free speech that prevails on many college campuses has been imported into our politics.
A campaign as far-reaching and transformative (to use a favorite word of Obama) as regionalism/AFFH is bound to produce strong local opposition. It is likely to create an explosive political issue, much as the forced busing of school children did 45 years ago. It might even inject AFFH into the upcoming presidential election.
The left learned a lesson from the political fallout over busing. Unfortunately, the lesson it learned wasnt that it should eschew social engineering (to internalize that lesson would be to give up leftism); rather it was that those who speak out against the engineering need to be silenced.
Yesterday, President Obama commuted the sentences of 61 drug offenders. Here is a list of the 61.
I have three observations. First, Obama did not commute the sentence of Weldon Angelos, the poster child (and rightly so) of the sentencing leniency movement. Angelos was sentenced to 55 years in prison for selling marijuana. The sentencing judge, conservative Paul Cassell, followed the sentencing guidelines. He has called the sentence the must troubling of his career on the bench. In February, he asked Obama to commute it.
Yet, Angelos was not a beneficiary of Obamas largesse. Although Obama has now commuted hundreds of sentences, as far as I know Angelos remains in prison, where he has languished for more than a decade.
Could it be that Team Leniency wants Angelos locked up so it can continue to use him to support the argument for sentencing leniency?
Second, several of those whose sentences were commuted have convictions for carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime. According to a source who is investigating the records of the 61 in detail, at least one assaulted a police officer. Naturally, the White House press release doesnt mention this.
Third, all or virtually all of the offenders were dealing hard and dangerous substances. One case, that of Larry Nokes, involves conspiracy to distribute controlled substances; possession of a controlled substance. In all other cases the controlled substances are specified and are not limited to marijuana or to simple possession. In essence, the commutations are for crack, coke, and PCP dealers.
The recidivism rate for offenders who commit such crimes exceeds 75 percent within five years. And this figure only encompasses those who are caught. Drug crimes typically go unreported because dealers and customers dont report them.
The commutations thus represent wanton disregard by President Obama of, among other problems, the heroin epidemic sweeping the nation. And given that the fact that some beneficiaries engaged in firearms offenses, they also represent hypocrisy on the part of a president who purports to be concerned about Americas gun culture.
Back in late February I reported (Be Like France) how the French appeared to be taking the problem of Islamic terrorism seriously, as opposed to Obama, who thinks it a risk somewhere not far above infection from hangnails.
You can call it all off. Europe is going back to sleep. From yesterdays WSJ:
Hollande Retreats from Plan to Change French Constitution PARISFrench President Francois Hollande abandoned a plan to strengthen his hand in fighting terrorism by amending Frances constitution, showing how political pressure at home is undermining his law-and-order response to the Nov. 13 attacks. Mr. Hollande said Wednesday he would no longer seek to pass two constitutional amendments that would have enshrined the governments power to declare a state of emergency and to strip some convicted terrorists of their French citizenship. . . The groundswell of public support that buoyed Mr. Hollande in the immediate aftermath of the Paris attacks is fading. . .
Meanwhile, Belgium, whose interior minister admitted Wednesday that the government has cut security forces too much, is planning to respond to the terrorist threat with a new $448 million effort at . . . outreach:
After the Paris attacks, the Belgian government announced a 400 million ($448 million) investment in counterterrorism measures, which include significantly increasing counterradicalization efforts in Brusselss most sensitive neighborhoods.
Good luck with that.
Like France, Belgium seems unable to pass its own version of the Patriot Act:
Four months ago, the Belgian government also announced other legal measures to fight terrorism more efficiently, such as creating a better database of foreign terrorist fighters and allowing house searches 24 hours a day, and not just between 5 a.m. and 9 p.m. as under current law. Belgiums parliament is still in the process of making the necessary legal changes needed to put those measures into effect.
The interior minister also said, We will not change the rule of law in this country to be able to interrogate terrorists in a different way.
Paging Donald Trump.
In the case of the five Minnesota men charged with seeking to join ISIS that is pending trial in May, prosecutors have given notice that they intend to introduce evidence that a member of the defendant Mohamed Farahs defense team has been preaching jihad. That would be Imam Hassan Ali Mohamud, a legal assistant at the firm of P. Chinedu Nwaneri. Judge Davis ordered the parties to file their responses yesterday and set the matter for a hearing this afternoon. If the hearing takes place as scheduled, Ill be there.
In a motion filed this morning, Nwaneri says lets call the whole thing off. He seeks to withdraw as co-counsel representing Mohamed Farah.
Nwaneris co-counsel is Murad Mohammad. In his response yesterday, Mohammad argues that the prosecutors have a paranoid interpretation of jihad and that Mohamuds comments concerning jihad are in no way actionable or problematic.
Mohammad even quotes the Koran in Arabic and English to make his argument. Mohammad argues that jihad means struggle within oneself and as such is good. Defendant Mohamed Farahs alleged effort to travel to Syria to wage jihad adds an additional layer of, ah, complexity. Quotable quote: The entire conflict is a product of the Governments paranoid (or worse) imagination that any theological or historical statement that uses the Arabic term for struggle implicates a potential crime. The Governments imagination reflects nothing but their own election to present their case in somewhat phobic terms.
What did the original Muhammad mean by jihad? What did Imam Mohamud mean by jihad? What did Mohamed Farah mean by jihad?
The Star Tribune reports on yesterdays filings here. I will only add that in the land of sky blue waters, you cant tell the Muhammads without a scorecard.
Pamela Browne and Cahterine Herridge update their reportage on the little security review (as Clinton insists on calling it) that the FBI is conducting concerning Madam Hillarys use of private, unsecured email server for her official business as Secretary of State (and perhaps even her destruction of 30,000 emails stored on the server). Brownes new story is One shote at the queen: FBI, AG intensify focus on Clinton email probe. We noted Del Wilbers recent Los Angeles Times story reporting the FBI would be interviewing Clintons top aides and perhaps Clinton herself. Browne and Herridge add this:
As the FBI enters the final phases of its investigation into Hillary Clintons use of an unauthorized email server for government business, Attorney General Loretta Lynch and FBI Director James Comey are meeting frequently to discuss the progress and handling of the highly sensitive case, a source told Fox News. Among the issues discussed in the meetings, which have been taking place several times per week, are who will be interviewed and in what order, according to an intelligence source close to the ongoing case. Emails released by the State Department have already shown Clinton and several key aides used the personal, unsecured network to send more than 1,000 messages which have been deemed classified. In a case like this you get one shot at the queen, the source, who was not authorized to speak on the record, said referring to Clinton, the former secretary of state and current front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination. The pressures are enormous on the agents, as the case has to be airtight and perfect. Comey and Lynch are likely involved in daily briefings on the status of the explosive investigation, said Ron Hosko, former assistant director of the FBIs criminal investigative division.
It is not clear to me whether one shot at the queen refers to interviewing her or making a case against her.
Consistent with Wilbers article, Browne and Herridge also report that [n]early a dozen people who worked with Clinton at State, as well as others linked to the Clinton familys nonprofit foundation have received, or are expected to receive, formal interview requests from the bureau, the source told Fox News.
Thats quite a little security review theyve got going there.
PLEASE NOTE: Browne and Herridge continue to confuse matters by raising the question concerning who is or isnt a target of the investigation, as Bret Baier also did in his brief interview with Clinton last month. This is a confusion that Andrew McCarthy has sought to clarify several times, as he did recently here.
UPDATE: Those who are reading the tea leaves will not want to miss Rachel Bades Clinton aides unite on FBI legal strategy. Quotable quote from Joe diGenova: If its a serious case, you dont run the risk of having all sorts of collusion between people its just not done. If the department has accepted that, that tells me theyre walking down the line of not bringing a case, because theyre not serious if they have accepted that arrangement Theyve thrown in the towel.
PR-Inside.com: 2016-04-01 08:09:01
Synechron to Integrate Double Effect and Team Trade to Bolster Its Consulting and Technology Capabilities
Synechron
Atul Tajave
Manager - Global Marketing & Communication
synechron-mediarelations@synechron.com
Synechron, one of the fastest growing digital, business consulting and technology service providers, announced its corporate brand integration with Double Effect and Team Trade - companies it had acquired in the past few years, to further augment its consulting and technology capabilities. Post-acquisition, Double Effect and Team Trade were operating as independent entities and brands. However, this brand integration strategy will see both these entities merging into the parent company Synechron, fortifying the overall consulting and technology business/practice. As part of Synechrons recently announced Power of 3 strategy, this move is also aimed at providing all consulting and technology services combined with digital under a single brand umbrella in order to leverage Synechrons robust brand equity, also fueling its ambition of being a billion dollar company by 2020.
Founded in 2003 in Amsterdam, Double Effect houses 100+ business consultants spread across eight global locations. The Dutch consulting firm works for banking and financial institutions including corporate, investment and retail banks, asset management companies and pension as well as insurance services. In 2013, Double Effect became part of the Synechron group.
Team Trade, founded in 2000, is a Paris-based firm specializing in business consulting and financial software integration. The firm has significant presence in Paris, Luxembourg, Milan, London, New York and Singapore covering the European, North American and Asian markets. Team Trade became part of the Synechron group in December 2014.
Double Effects business consulting portfolio is perfectly aligned with the geographical, business, client and service coverage of Synechron. By operating as a consulting arm of the Synechron brand, all our client relationships and alliances will witness a greater value addition through our combined capabilities. We are very excited about this transformation, said Bas Heijnen, Managing Director, Double Effect on this occasion.
Considering the roll out of the recent business transformation strategy by Synechron, this is the right time for brand integration of Team Trade with Synechron as providing technology and consulting services under the merged identity will have a positive impact in the eyes of clients and other stakeholders, said Pascal Rellier, Managing Director, Team Trade.
For Synechron, Double Effect and Team Trade, this mutually beneficial move is a major opportunity for offering a niche, augmented set of technology as well as consulting services for the financial services industry. This brand integration will add more depth to Synechrons current value proposition and enable our global clients to avail business solutions with a 360-degree perspective, encompassing business consulting and technology combined with digital transformation services under a single roof, commented Faisal Husain, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Synechron.
This brand integration will come into effect on April 4, 2016 and will be a critical step for Synechron in order to strategically re-align its technology and consulting service capabilities in all its service lines.
About Synechron
Synechron, one of the fastest-growing digital, business consulting & technology services providers, is a $350 million firm based in New York. Since inception in 2001, Synechron has been on a steep growth trajectory. With 5,000+ professionals operating in 16 countries across the world, it has presence across USA, Canada, UK, France, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Serbia, Germany, Italy, UAE, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Australia and Development Centers in India. Visit us at www.synechron.com.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/201603310059
The Managing Director, Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), Uche Orji, on Friday said that the agency recorded a comprehensive income increase of N26.3billion in 2015, compared to N15. 7 billion recorded in 2014.
Mr. Orji stated this in Abuja while addressing journalists on the audited financial results of NSIA for the 2015 financial year.
According to him, investment income of the authority stands at N 5. 8 billion, while its total assets, which grew by 20 per cent, also stands at N213. 6 billion at the end of 2015.
Mr. Orji said that although the Federal Government approved additional capital of 25million dollars to the authority, it received the amount in February 2016.
He explained that the money would be invested within the new fiscal year, using the existing deployment ratio of 40 per cent in infrastructure fund.
The managing director said 40 per cent of the sum would be deployed in Future Generation Fund and 20 per cent in Stabilisation Fund.
Mr. Orji said in 2015, the NSIA deepened investment in Nigeria-based private equity and fund managers.
Private equities are people who seek opportunities in private markets and invest over time and get returns.
This has been one of the most successful asset classes of investment in the world, the difference, however, is that they invest over three to four years and start giving returns.
We believe it is one of those things that will help the Nigerian capital market develop significantly and will earn us significant amount of return.
So, we unbounded four Nigeria-based portfolio managers in private equity, bringing our total commitments of private equity to 24, he said.
The managing director said that one of the key things NSIA embarked upon in 2015 was the framework of co-investments to bring other investors to partner the authority to invest in projects.
The first we arrived at is on real estate and we expect that it will be operational in the second half of this year.
He said that if successful, it would be used as strategy for other segments like power, agriculture and health care to help channel investments from outside into the country.
He identified the key sectors for infrastructure investment of the NSIA as agriculture, health care, power and real estate.
Mr. Orji explained that the 2015 fiscal year was characterised by high volatility and global market uncertainty, adding that the agency still recorded an overall positive results.
(NAN)
The Nigerian government is not yet winning the war on corruption despite the overwhelming evidence available to it, human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, has said.
Delivering the keynote speech at a round table on Winning the War Against Corruption in Lagos, Thursday, Mr. Falana said the federal government was yet to understand that the anti-corruption battle could not be won through regular courts.
Apart from the class solidarity usually extended to politically exposed persons by judges in all capitalist societies, the situation is compounded in Nigeria by judicial corruption and professional misconduct on the part of senior lawyers involved in the defence of corruption cases, said Mr. Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.
Owing to lack of coordination in the trial of politically exposed persons, corruption is fighting back. Painfully, the federal government is on the defensive as it has failed to counter the deliberate manipulation of the criminal justice system by the indicted looters of the public treasury.
Mr. Falana, who was represented by Wahab Shittu, accused the regular courts of subjecting corruption and drug related cases to frivolous adjournments, rather than hearing them day by day as stipulated by the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015.
As if that is not enough, the suspects are being granted bail in their own recognizance or other ridiculously liberal terms by trial judges notwithstanding the gravity of the offences allegedly committed by them.
Some other judges are granting interlocutory or perpetual injunctions to restrain the anti-graft agencies and the police from arresting, investigation and prosecuting politically exposed persons.
The ban on granting of stay of proceedings by the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, is not being observed by the courts.
Mr. Falana also said most of the ongoing corruption cases would not be concluded before 2019.
Even if the defendants are convicted, the cases will be pursued up to the Supreme Court, he said.
If the current trend continues, some of the cases will not be concluded in the next 10 years. Therefore, the federal government should review the anti-corruption policy with a view to setting up a Special Anti-Corruption Court to try all economic and financial crimes including corruption.
The lawyer canvassed for the establishment of Special Courts to specifically handle cases of corruption, terrorism, drug trafficking, human trafficking, advanced fee fraud, and other economic crimes.
At the end of the four years of the Buhari administration, the success of the anti-corruption policy will not be measured by the number of arrests or investigations carried out by the anti-graft agencies, Mr. Falana said.
If the status quo remains unchanged, the Nigerian people and the international community will blame the administration for its inability to secure the conviction of corrupt politically exposed persons with all the evidence at its disposal.
Therefore, a special court ought to be established to deal specifically with economic and financial crimes as well as electoral offences. Otherwise, the anti-corruption policy of the federal government will not achieve its desired objectives.
Nigerian officials rose from the U.S.-Nigeria Bi-National Commission (BNC) meeting on Wednesday without committing the Buhari administration to a key demand of their American counterparts, membership of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) and the Partnership on Illicit Finance (PIF), two anti-corruption initiatives promoted by the United States government.
Launched in 2011 and 2014 respectively, OGP and PIF are multilateral initiatives that require policy and technology-backed anti-corruption framework in member countries.
OGP signatory governments are required to develop action plans that elaborate their commitment to defined standards of government integrity, citizen participation, corporate accountability, public safety and effective management of public resources, all of which are to be overseen and verified by a multi-stakeholder international steering committee of governments and leading civil society representatives.
PIF is an outcome of the historic U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit which was attended by Nigeria and 50 other countries.
It requires member nations to develop action plans to stem cross-border corruption-related financial flow which they can execute in conjunction with the United States. Nigeria currently ranks 10 on the global index of countries with high illicit financial flow.
American officials were vocal about their desire to see Nigeria join OGP and PIF preparatory to the BNC meeting.
Speaking on U.S.-Nigeria partnership at the United States Institute for Peace (USIP) two days before the meeting, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of African Affairs, praised President Buharis strong position on fighting corruption.
She pledged U.S. support for law enforcement and judicial investigation and prosecution of complex corruption cases and called on Nigeria to join the growing global community that is using OGP and PIF to strengthen transparency, accountability, and good governance.
Nigerian delegation to the BNC, led by Geoffrey Onyeama, Minister of Foreign Affairs, did not elaborate on their objection to membership of the OGP and PIF. The 19-paragraph communique issued at the end of the meeting stated that the BNC discussed the Open Government Partnership (OGP) and the Partnership on Illicit Finance (PIF) and that the U.S. delegation talked about the potential benefits to Nigeria of membership in these two initiatives.
The communique states that the Nigerian side agreed to respond to the outstanding invitations to join in due course.
Nigerian officials are not strangers to OGP requirements, in fact, they were discussed at the 2012 BNC meeting which, like this years, was held in Washington DC.
The fourth paragraph of the communique from that meeting, which was signed by delegates from both countries, affirmed their commitment to transparency and accountability at all tiers of government, in pursuit of which Nigeria intends to widen its budgetary transparency efforts to include public asset declarations by parliamentarians and other senior public officials.
Nigerian delegation to that meeting was led by Olugbenga Ashiru, then minister of foreign affairs, it included four state governors and officials from four ministries and six agencies.
They were roundly condemned by the Jonathan administration for acceding to the clause on asset declaration. President Goodluck Jonathan refused to publicly declare his assets throughout his stay in office.
After the communique from the 2012 BNC became public, he dismissed calls for asset declaration on a prime time public television program, saying that there is no legal requirement for him to do so.
The U.S. delegation to this years BNC obviously expected that their Nigerian counterparts would have no objection to joining the two anti-corruption initiatives since President Buhari and Vice-President Osinbajo have already declared their assets.
Assistant Secretary Thomas-Greenfield noted that President Buhari is following through on his anti-corruption promises including implementation of Treasury Single Account, elimination of ghost workers from civil service payroll and taking steps to ensure that no one is immune from prosecution not officials from past administrations, not officials from his own.
Many of Nigerias allies have joined the two organizations. Members of OGP grew from six founding countries to 69 in less than five years, they include Ghana and Liberia in West Africa, as well as Kenya, Malawi, South Africa, Tanzania and Tunisia. PIF members include Burkina Faso, Kenya, Mauritius, Liberia, Niger, and Senegal.
A pastor with the Christian Association of Nigeria who was kidnapped in Kaduna last week has been released, an official of the body said Thursday.
The president of TEKAN, Emmanuel Dziggau, was kidnapped alongside his vice President, Yakuba Dzarma, on March 21 in Kaduna State.
The president, National Youth Wing of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Daniel Kadzai, confirmed the rescue to PREMIUM TIMES in a telephone interview in Jos, on Thursday, but could not give further details how the clerics was rescued.
He said the clerics were rescued unhurt, and that the president performed some of his duties on Thursday.
The General Secretary of the church, Moses Ebuga, could not be reached to comment further.
The Secretary had said that the abductors of the clerics demanded a ransom of N100 million.
It was unclear whether money was paid.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has urged state governors to raise the bar of their performance in order to give new lease of life to the people.
Mr. Obasanjo made the call on Friday in Enugu, when he called on Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, after attending the burial of Ebonyi governors mother.
The former president said good governance would boost the economic growth of the nation.
He, however, commended Mr. Ugwuanyi on his good works in the state and urged him to do more as posterity would judge him.
From the reports I get, you are doing well. If out of the 36 states of the country, you can get one that is doing well, it will be encouraging to continue to work on others to do well.
By the time you can get up to 50 per cent of the states doing well, it means the country will be better. So, keep it up, Mr. Obasanjo said.
Responding, Mr. Ugwuanyi thanked the former president for his visit and promised to tap from his wealth of experience.
We are, indeed, very grateful. We will continue to benefit from your wealth of experience so that we can continue to serve our people better, Mr. Ugwuanyi said.
Mr. Ugwuanyi also played host to the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Ali Modu Sherriff, and other political stalwarts who were on transit to Ebonyi for the burial.
(NAN)
The immediate former governor of Ebonyi State, Martin Elechi on Thursday explained why he backed former Minister of Health, Onyebuchi Chukwu, as his successor instead of his erstwhile deputy and current governor, David Umahi.
He said the governor lacked the spirit of accommodation and other qualities necessary for a person occupying such position.
The former governor spoke at his country home, Echialike Ikwo, to journalists ahead of a thanksgiving church service organized by former members of his state executive council and former council chairmen and friends.
I have no apologies to anybody or to any group of people for what happened. I still stick to my conscience and to my belief that what I did in that circumstance is what I should do, he said.
Yes I made my point clear to him (Umahi) as early as September 2014 that I wouldnt support him because my observation showed me that he lacked certain qualities that we hold very high and very dear in governance; the spirit of accommodation.
That whether you are in opposition or in government you have a right to be protected, you have a right to say your mind and somebody who opposed you was not necessarily your enemy or your opponent.
We believe that everybody has the right to differ and if you dont accommodate peoples quest to differ, it is a major minus to you in governance. But having said so, your destiny is your destiny, I have no control over your destiny, if it is Gods wish that you become governor then you will be, Mr. Elechi said.
That is my position, but whether that is appreciated or not, that it is a statement of fact, that it is a statement of sincerity, I do not know.
He lamented that instead of enjoying a quiet retirement after his service to the state, his freedom has been curtailed as he now lives in bondage, having to face 54 petitions before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
Mr. Elechi, who suggested his former deputy and present governor, Mr. Umahi as the source of his ordeal, stated that he is currently on bail, and has been restricted to his home and frequent invitation to Abuja to respond to EFCC queries.
According to him, his major offense may have been his decision to anoint someone else as against his former deputy as his choice of successor in office, an action he said, triggered series of political manoeuvres that pitched him against Mr. Umahi who had support from the federal government and the party hierarchy.
He said that due to manipulations and total disregard to the Peoples Democratic Partys (PDP) constitution and disrespect to former President Goodluck Jonathans directives, the end of the battle was predictable as he was overwhelmed by the array of federal forces during the party primaries and the subsequent general elections.
Mr. Elechi however contended that there was indeed, no real elections in Ebonyi state as according to him, everything was stage-managed and skewed against his choice candidates using federal might.
He insisted that he had no regrets for his actions, and that he would still take same decisions and actions if given another opportunity with similar circumstances.
He said the question of forgiving those that might have wronged him, especially some of his trusted aides that dumped him at the moment of crisis, does not arise.
According to him, it was for those people to seek forgiveness if they felt that what they did was wrong and out of vengeance, because for him, he did not feel anybody wronged him by acting in line with their conscience and what they believed was the right course of action.
He nonetheless believed that pecuniary interests could have influenced some peoples course of action.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday in Washington DC reaffirmed Nigerias commitment to the global fight against the threat of nuclear terrorism and other forms of terrorism.
The President made this known in Nigerias country statement to the 4th President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday in Washington DC reaffirmed Nigerias commitment to the global fight against the threat of nuclear terrorism and other forms of terrorism.
The President made this known in Nigerias country statement to the 4th Nuclear Security Summit hosted by U.S. President, Barack Obama.
A statement issued in Abuja by Buharis Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, noted that the Nigerian leader also pledged continued support for all multilateral efforts aimed at promoting common approach and commitment to nuclear security at the highest levels.
He said, Nigeria accords high priority to all global efforts toward ending the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery, including nuclear weapons.
Nuclear terrorism is one of the greatest threats to international security and preventing nuclear terrorism and all forms of terrorism around the globe is of concern to all of us.
To this end, Nigeria has strengthened the legal framework for fighting terrorism through the adoption of an amendment to its Terrorism (Prevention) Act in 2013, ensuring the implementation of more robust counter-terrorism measures in the country.
President Buhari also told the gathering that Nigeria had reinforced its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United States Department of States Partnership for Nuclear Security and the World Institute for Nuclear Security in order to enhance Nuclear Security.
In addition, Nigeria has signed an agreement of cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Radiological Security to protect nuclear and other radiological materials from theft or sabotage, he added.
According to him, Nigeria intends to strengthen its partnerships with relevant international organisations to promote capacity building, particularly in the development of Nigerian Nuclear Security Support Centre, Physical Security Upgrades and Human Reliability Programmes Implementation.
The President added that Nigeria had developed a programme to ensure that radioactive sources in the country were better secured to prevent unauthorised access by terrorists and criminals.
The President commended President Obamas pace setting initiative and drive, which he said had brought the global fight against the threat of nuclear terrorism to its present level. (NAN) hosted by U.S. President, Barack Obama.
A statement issued in Abuja by Buharis Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, noted that the Nigerian leader also pledged continued support for all multilateral efforts aimed at promoting common approach and commitment to nuclear security at the highest levels.
He said, Nigeria accords high priority to all global efforts toward ending the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery, including nuclear weapons.
Nuclear terrorism is one of the greatest threats to international security and preventing nuclear terrorism and all forms of terrorism around the globe is of concern to all of us.
To this end, Nigeria has strengthened the legal framework for fighting terrorism through the adoption of an amendment to its Terrorism (Prevention) Act in 2013, ensuring the implementation of more robust counter-terrorism measures in the country.
President Buhari also told the gathering that Nigeria had reinforced its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United States Department of States Partnership for Nuclear Security and the World Institute for Nuclear Security in order to enhance Nuclear Security.
In addition, Nigeria has signed an agreement of cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Radiological Security to protect nuclear and other radiological materials from theft or sabotage, he added.
According to him, Nigeria intends to strengthen its partnerships with relevant international organisations to promote capacity building, particularly in the development of Nigerian Nuclear Security Support Centre, Physical Security Upgrades and Human Reliability Programmes Implementation.
The President added that Nigeria had developed a programme to ensure that radioactive sources in the country were better secured to prevent unauthorised access by terrorists and criminals.
The President commended President Obamas pace setting initiative and drive, which he said had brought the global fight against the threat of nuclear terrorism to its present level.
(NAN)
We in the Rights and Democracy Volunteers (RDV), an international NGO with interest in the rights of citizens for sustainable democracy, hereby alert Mr. President on what we denote to be a grand plot to sabotage the present administration by a cabal of vindictive persons led by Sen. Dino Melaye and others (Chairman, Senate Committee on the FCT and others) in the guise of restoring Abuja Master Plan.
The plot has started in earnest as the Legislature represented by Sen. Dino Melaye are tampering with Executive functions in the FCT by supervising, communicating with and giving directives to the staff of the FCT administration without recourse to the Hon. Minister, FCT. They seem to neglect their primary assignments for their constituencies by asserting more energy and steam in regular inspection of the FCT in the name of Oversight Functions through which they allegedly issue directives directly to FCTA staff to: do this; do that; provide policy documents; and issue Stop Work Orders on construction sites that even possess approvals. They are even allegedly demanding the revocation of past land allocations that usually amount to litigations against government with resultant distractions and inhibitions in the implementation of policies and programmes of Government. Senator Melaye in particular has allegedly threatened severally that heads must roll in the FCT as if he has powers to hire or fire FCTA staff. The actions of the Legislature in the FCT is constituting two parallel governments in the territory.
We in the RDV with unalloyed interest in sustainable democracy cannot fathom these acts by the Legislature in executing the functions of the Executive in the FCT. This is a misnomer under democracy where there is clear separation of powers and functions amongst the three arms of Government. Many are wondering who is the Chief Executive in the FCT the Hon. Minister or the Committees of the National Assembly or whether Mr. President has appointed Senator Melaye as Hon. Minister on operations in the FCT. Our analysis and inference indicate that the National Assembly Committees on the FCT are applying a systematic tactics of intimidating the FCT Minister; creating fear; controlling the policies and programmes of the Administration; and subsequently exploit maximally the Land Administration and Development Control systems for their benefit. We are saddened when the FCT Minister naively told the Committees during an interaction that he will implement all their recommendations line by line. This is disastrous because for any Policy Failure the buck stops at the table of the Executive.
We urge Mr. President to look into this as a matter of national interest because it is capable of creating two parallel authorities in the FCT; setting precedence; and anything otherwise in the future may lead to anarchy and capable of sabotaging the present and future Administrations. This is the major reason behind this Open Letter.
The genesis of the episode is when Senator Melaye informed the nation that the immediate past Administration of the FCT redesigned and shared green areas on Ministers Hill, Maitama District among influential members of the previous Government and urged the present Administration to revoke such allocations and demolish all the buildings developed even those with approved plans. It was observed that the Senator was brimming with steam, exuberance, seeming resentment and unforgiving vengeance during the plenary session as he stated that, the plots of land acquired by Jonathan and his ministers were designated as green areas, flood drains, city buffers, recreation, sewage lines, urban farming and city monuments. He observed that the illegally acquired areas fall within the highbrow Maitama District and described the action as satanic.
One of the on-line publications carried the story under the title: Abuja Land Grab: Senate Mulls Sanctions on Jonathan, Ex-Ministers also stated that the Senate is seeking ways of invoking sanctions on former President Goodluck Jonathan and some ministers that served under his administration for appropriating reserved plots of land in Abuja to themselves, in violation of the Federal Capital Territorys Master Plan. The senator allegedly directed the FCT Development Control Department to stop work on those areas. To our surprise, work has now stopped with palpable threat of flooding due to the non-completion of retaining walls for the flood drains!
We are surprised that the FCT Administration did not respond to this impunity, illegality and constitutional infraction, which if acceded, could attract numerous litigations against the FCT Administration. We have however recognized that the FCT Administration under its present leadership is not adequately prepared to protect the FCTA Executive authority under the Constitution. The Hon. Minister, though a gentleman with impeccable integrity has shown extreme naivety and weakness in protecting FCTA Executive powers against encroachment by the National Assembly as was done by his predecessors like Mallam El-Rufai, Sen. Aliero, Senator Bala and others.
In order to understand the extent and scope of the plot to sabotage the government, the RDV hereby highlights the concept and dynamism of the Abuja Master plan, theconflicts of interests between and among the gladiators in the present FCT governance as well as a closer look at the man leading the sabotage. It is obvious that Mr. President must take immediate action to avert cataclysmic consequences in the FCT Administration.
Concept & Dynamism of the Abuja Master Plan Reviews of FCT Master Plans:
The review of Abuja Master Plan is as old as the Master Plan itself and will continue to be so as long the Abuja project is on-going. Past and present FCT Administrations have been empowered by law to review the Master as will be discussed later. Some few examples of the past and present Master Plan reviews are highlighted as follows:
The present FCT administration is re-designing a Green Area in Guzape District to create plots that will accommodate ministers of this government. The 1978 Landuse Act has given such powers to do so.
The location of the United Nations Building used to be partly educational and Green Area. This has been donated by the Nigerian Government to the United Nations and has enhanced the dignity of Nigeria internationally.
The location of the Judges Quarters besides the Millennium Park occupied by the eminent Justices of the Supreme Court extends into a former Green Area.
The location of the present Eagle Square near the Federal Secretariat used to be a Green Area. It is now fully paved with sitting arena, used for the transition of government from military to civil rule in 1999 and still used today for important functions.
The magnificent Millennium Towers being developed to serve as a major landmark in the Abuja is located on a former Green Area.
The new Jabi Lake Mall that created several employment opportunities for many Nigerians is situated on a former Green Area adjoining Jabi Lake.
The PTDF Headquarters, Shehu Musa YarAdua Centre, Silverbird Galleria and Arts and Craft Village are all located on the former Cultural Spine designated by the Master Plan for the development of a National Theatre akin to the one in Lagos.
The Presidential Villa is not located on the plot designated by the Master Plan for that purpose. Also, the Vice Presidents residence is located on a former Green Area adjoining the Federal Court of Appeal.
The residence of Hon. Herman Hembe, Chairman, House Committee on FCT is completely located on a Green Area. Also, many occupied houses at the National Assembly quarters are on Green Areas. These include: Plots 827, 423, 461, 464, 466 and 467 amongst many others.
The Ministers Hill, Maitama was initially designated as a Green Area entirely. However, even before the last review of the layout by the immediate past FCT Administration, large residential plots were curved out and developed with infrastructures during the military era and have always been occupied as official residences of ministers that were eventually sold to them under the Government Policy on Sale of Government Houses. Without any prejudice, these plots include: 2278, 3267, 3359, 4587 and 4588 Cadastral Zone A06. The immediate past FCT Administration ONLY increased the number of plots on the Ministers Hill. It suffices to mention that presently some portions of the Ministers Hill are still left as Green Areas.
Most of the Plots, developed and occupied opposite the Ministers Hill, Maitama on the other side of Alvan Ikoku Street were obtained from erstwhile Green Areas. Without any prejudice, these plots include: 2431, 2432, 2433, 2434, 2435, 2436, 2437, 2438, 2439, 2494, 2495, 2804, 2805, 2806, 2807, 2881, 2882, 2883, 2884, 3203, 3204, 3205, 3206, 3207, 3208, 3209, 3289, 3302, 3532, 3535, 3536, 3537, 3540, 3613, 3614, 4035, 4037, 4038, 4085, 4086, 4087, 4088, 4562 and 4563, A06 amongst hundreds of others from that Green Area alone. The allotees of these plots made applications, paid government fees, were granted allocations, obtained development approvals, developed and now occupy their properties.
Green Area Plot 570, A08, Wuse 2 has been re-designed into large Plots 1784, 1785 and 1786 that are fully developed with luxurious houses and other buildings.
Substantial part of Maitama Extension Layout (Phase 1) is located on Green Area designated by the Master Plan for Sports and Recreation.
Guzape, Katampe Extension and Maitama Extension (Phase 2 popularly known as Maitama Aleiro) are not part of the initial Abuja Master Plan. They fall on the fringe of the city, which is the FCC Green Buffer Zone.
Military, security and auxiliary formations like Aguiyi Ironsi Barracks, Niger Barracks, WU Bassey Barracks, Yakubu Gowon Barracks, Lungui Barracks, DIA, NAOWA, NAFOWA, NOWA, DEPOWA, NIA and others are not part of the original Master Plan but located on part of the FCC Green Buffer Zone.
Most Green Areas in Federal Housing Authority (FHA) Estates in Gwarinpa and Lugbe have been re-designed into residential, commercial and filling stations plots. Relevant committees of the Senate or House of Representatives or even the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing have NOT made issues of public or national debate out of this. None of these committees invited or directed the Hon. Minister of Power, Works and Housing to revoke the commitments made by the FHA. The FCT Senate Committee is different and delving into Executive functions.
The Hon. Minister, FCT can request from Urban and Regional Planning Department earlier land use plans of the FCT with the various Town Planning Colour Codes for reference. The review of the Abuja Master Plan took place under various past administrations of the FCT. The above reviews were done to meet certain needs of the time; the 1978 Land Use Act empowered past and present administrations to do so and their actions were therefore not illegal.
Fighting illegalities and corruption in Nigeria by any organ of government is worthy of support but there is the need to understand what actions constitute corruption, illegality, violations or land grab in terms of any Master Plan in Nigeria, being it in the states or the FCT. Any action stipulated by law should not be categorized as illegal. For instance, the current FCT administration is re-designing a Green Area in Guzape for current ministers as mentioned above. This is not an illegality as the administration is empowered to do by the 1978 Land Use Act.
1978 Land Use Act and Powers Granted to Governors:
The 1978 Land Use Act is the Law that guides the control, management and administration of Land in the FCT and indeed Nigeria as a whole. The Hon. Minister of the FCT, like state governors, has been empowered by Provisions of the Act on land matters in the FCT. Among these powers, two are highlighted below.
Part I Section 2 (Sub-Section 1a) under General, the 1978 Land Use Act says: As from the commencement of this Act all land in urban areas shall be under thecontrol and management of the Governor of each State. In the case of the FCT, the Hon. Minister.
Part II, Section 5 (Sub-Section 1a) says: It shall be lawful for the Governor in respect of land, whether or not in an urban areas: to grant statutory rights of occupancy to any person for all purposes ; Therefore any allocation granting a piece of land to any person in Nigeria does not amount to illegality.
From the above, the state governors and FCT minister have powers to control and manage lands in the states and FCT respectively. The term control used in the law is without limits; and can include granting approvals for new design, re-design or review of existing plans subject to prevailing needs and based on the advices of relevant professionals. The power to allocate land to any person is also without limits. Where an FCT Minister grants approval to re-design existing plans or allocates land even on his last legitimate day in office such actions cannot be termed as illegal because the law provided such powers. It only becomes illegal when the actions are done without the express approval or consent of a sitting governor or FCT minister. It is inappropriate to state that the President of the Federation, Governors or FCT Minister violated Master Plans because the 1978 Landuse Act empowers them to review Master Plan or Landuse Plans; and therefore a senator has no right to state that the past Head of States/Presidents and FCT Ministers did illegal, satanic or Land Grabbing acts in the FCT; and therefore he should retract his statements. Indirectly, he is trying to usurp or reduce the powers of the Executive on land matters in Nigeria.
If Senator Melaye or any other person is bitter or perceives any illegality on land matters in the FCT by past and present administrations in the FCT, he/she should seek redress in a court of competent jurisdiction. Again, the redress should be total and holistic covering all past and present designs, re-designs and allocations without any iota of prejudice and selective justice against any person or administration.
Reasons, common sense and developmental issues should be the focus while unnecessary incitements, personal differences or settlement of old scores that are unnecessary and unhealthy to our developing democracy should be discarded as such are signs of political immaturity and can be interpreted to be politics with bitterness contrary to the famous politics without bitterness.
Land control, management and administration in the FCT are exclusive functions of the executive arm of government under the control of the President of the Federation that delegated such functions to the FCT minister. The current FCT minister should understand his powers in the control and management of land in the FCT; and he should not subjugate, degrade or rubbish such powers; he should not condole any act from any arm of government that tends to negate his powers of and to avoid any act that would ridicule past FCT ministers due to obvious incitements from the Legislative Arm of Government that he does not represent. If the FCT minister tows the line of any senator, he will soon be a tool in the hands of the Legislature. We are not advocating for friction in governance but encouraging and canvassing clear separation of power with adequate mutual respect and cooperation in line with the dictates of democracy, which our organisation seeks to uphold. Senator Melaye or the Legislature should not interfere with Executive functions as they are not empowered by the Constitution to do so neither are they appointees of the President. The Senator should therefore desist from issuing directives to the FCT Minister or any staff of the FCT Administration in any form or ratification, except through appropriate recommendations guided by the Constitution.
Functions of Committees:
It may suffice to mention that every Committee inaugurated either by the Executive, Legislature or Judiciary are to make observations, findings and proffer recommendations ONLY depending on their Terms of Reference. They have no business or right to give directives or issue orders or implement certain functions that are not stipulated. It is the authority that may consider, approve and implement the recommendations or otherwise.
Senator Melaye and his team as well as the FCT Minister should note that a committee is not a Task Force and should not pretend to be so. Every Committee under democracy should maintain some decorum and observe real rule of law.
Town Planning Schemes or Plans Preparation:
In Town Planning practice; there is a term called Process of Planning used in producing physical planning schemes like Master Plans or Landuse Plans. This process consists of 8, 10 or more steps, namely: Step 1. Establish Goals and Terms of Reference. Step 2. Organize the Work. Step 3. Analyse the Problems. Step 4. Identify Opportunities for Charge. Step 5. Evaluate Land Suitability. Step 6. Appraise the Alternatives: Environmental, Economic and Social Analysis. Step 7. Choose the Best Option. Step 8. Prepare the Landuse Plan. Step 9. Implement the Plan. Step 10. Monitor and Revise the Plan. For reference purposes, please visithttp://www.fao.org/docrep/t0715e/t0715e03.htm. It is a requirement of the Planning Process that all Planning Schemes (Master Plan or Land Use Plan) must be monitored and reviewed from time to time. The Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP) can confirmed this.
Master Plan as a Dynamic Document:
Original Master Plans or Landuse Plans did not fall from the sky. They are creations of professionals with the approvals of either the state governors or FCT minister. AnyMaster Plan in the world is not a static document but a dynamic one that can be reviewed periodically due to the exigencies of time, experience and needs. Those that conceived and designed the Master Plan at inception may not have certain information, technology or experience that can be available in the future; and when such are available, these documents can be reviewed to meet the present needs provided necessary approvals are available.
For instance, when the first Abuja Master Plan was conceived and designed, GSM was unavailable and space was not provided for such facilities. Today, GSM is available and therefore sites for GSM facilities like Telecom Masts are provided within the existing Master Plan to meet current needs. This is not a violation but necessary reviews and adjustment to accommodate the present needs of the people. Past, present and future reviews of the Abuja Master Plan is not illegal but part and parcel of the Planning Process provided it is approved by sitting States Governors or FCT Minister.
The review of the Master Plan is NOT done directly by the state governors or FCT minister but by trained professionals with appropriate recommendations. The professionals are responsible for observing all the processes of reviewing such plans. When a plan is reviewed and approved by the minister, the new Master Plan or Landuse Plan becomes the subsisting plan, it becomes a new policy document and implementable by the bureaucrats. This is not illegal. The current FCT minister has all these powers.
Constitutions, Laws and Policies are Reviewable:
The Constitution, the highest law in any country, is reviewable. The National Assembly has statutory powers to make and review laws for the Federation. It is their absolute responsibility. If they review the Nigerian Constitution or any Law of the Federation, they have not acted illegally. In the same manner, the Hon. Minister, FCT is empowered by the 1978 Land Use Act to control and manage all the land in the FCT that include the periodic review of the Abuja Master Plan, allocation of plots to any person and other related matters. Any sitting FCT minister can do so and it is not illegal because it is within the Provisions of the law.
The statement by Senator Dino Melaye that past FCT administrations had violated the Abuja Master is in error for the following reasons: (1) The Planning Process requires periodic reviews of Master Plans or Land Use Plans; (2) The 1978 Land Use Act empowers the FCT Minister to have control on land in the FCT; (3) Even the Constitution, other Laws and Policies are reviewable; and (4) Only a competent Court of Law can interpret and declare whether or not past FCT Ministers acted illegally or satanically on land matters and not Senator Melaye or the National Assembly to so declare.
FCT and Remaining Green Areas:
The previous reviews of the FCT Master Plan have not adversely impacted on Parks, Green Areas and Open Space in the Federal Capital City. For instance, the Maitama District, Cadastral Zone A06 ALONE where the Ministers Hill is located still has about 68no. Parks, Green Areas and Open Spaces with an aggregate size of 104.2 Hectares. These do not include the Green Verges with ample trees, shrubs and ornamental plants along the Roads and Avenues. Therefore all hope is not lost due to the re-designs of the Ministers Hill and other Green Areas in Maitama. In fact, the combined size of the re-designed Green Areas is insignificant compared to the remaining Green Areas still available in Abuja that are adequate enough for sustainable Eco-Friendly City even without unnecessary revocation of allocations usually accompanied with disputes and litigations.
Conflicts among Past and Present Leaderships Involved in the FCT:
Either by design or accident, the FCT Administration has found itself at the middle of sworn enemies, who are bent on undoing the acts of one another for all reasons other than altruism and patriotism. The leaderships of the Senate Committee, House Committee and Development Control are respectively embroiled in personal and political rivalries that may have dire consequences for the FCT broader governance.
The Senator representing Kogi West in the 7th National Assembly was Senator Smart Adeyemi, who was also the Chairman, Senate Committee on the FCT. Senator Dino Melaye took the seat from Senator Smart and is also the current Chairman of the same Committee on the FCT. Both Senators were in courts over the Senatorial Seat that was decided in favour of Senator Melaye.
The member of the House of Representatives from Benue State in the 7th National Assembly was Rt. Hon. Emmanuel Jime, who was also the Chairman, House Committee on the FCT. Hon. Herman Hembe also from Benue State and an arch rival of Hon. Jime, is also the current Chairman of the same Committee on the FCT.
From the above relationships and ensuing conflicts, if the new Hon. Minister, FCT and Permanent Secretary are not careful, watchful and observant they may find themselves in a web of conflicts resulting from personal interests and ego that do not concern them and will be acting scripts unknown to them under the guise of restoring the Abuja Master Plan.
These conflicts are capable of derailing and retarding the implementation of government programmes in the FCT as well as sabotaging the hard-earned goodwill of the present Administration both at the FCT and Federal levels. This is in addition to the attendant overwhelming and expensive litigations and court injunctions against the FCTA.
Observations:
The present FCT Administration and indeed Nigerians may wish to consider the following observations:
The 1978 Land Use Act empowers State Governors and FCT Minister to control, manage, administer and allocate land to any person within their territories in Nigeria. When they do so it is not illegal, satanic or land grabbing.
The same Act did not make any Provision that the States or National Assemblies should make any input in the control and management of land in the territories of the States or FCT.
The Senate or House Committees and indeed the Legislature does not have the capacity or jurisdiction to administer land or restore the Abuja Master as it is not their function. Therefore, it they are bent on doing same it implies that they will have to arm twist the Executive to do so.
Oversight Functions of the Legislature in the FCT should not usurp the statutory functions of the Executive or Judiciary as seemingly done by a senator who supervises and gives directives directly to Public Servants under the Executive and also interprets the statutory actions of the Executive on land administration and giving the verdict as illegal or satanic acts.
Rule of law and democracy stipulate clear separation of powers. The FCT Minister does NOT report to or take directives from the FCT Senate Committee or the National Assembly. The best is for the House Committees to make recommendations that the Executive may wish to implement, if suitable or effective.
The new FCT Administration has not yet initiated or commissioned any projects in the FCT and it is deemed inappropriate to commence works with revocation of land titles duly allocated to innocent Nigerians or demolition of properties in the FCT built with necessary approvals.
It is considered unnecessary to ridicule past FCT Minsters or Administrations or even Policies of Government. When the new FCT Minister reported to office after inauguration, he made a solemn pledge that he will continue from where his predecessors stopped. This was recorded and reported by the media especially the NTA. The Senate Committee on FCT should not cause the Hon. Minister to renege on this important pledge that is on the path of peace and continuity in government.
The present FCT Minister does not appear to be strong and resilient on Executive functions without the interference of the National Assembly. He listens to avalanche of rumours about FCTA Public Servants and does not trust them.
Every city, facility, device and invention is subject to periodic transformations and changes to improve their functionalities, meet contemporary needs and keep abreast with the demands of time. Living things change from their original form at birth to matured adulthood state. This is called growth and development and nothing, not even the Master Plan remain static but are subject to improvements and changes to keep abreast with current times and realities. The original Master Plan is agreeably archaic and without provisions for contemporary needs and facilities. Restoration of the old Abuja Master Plan is akin to restoring the present improved cars to their original versions of 1920s to 1970s that are archaic and good for the archives.
In terms of cost benefit analysis, restoring the Abuja Master Plan implies the identification of all plots that were not part of the original Master Plan, revoking such allocations, compensating the owners that have titles and approvals based on current values before the demolition of all affected developments. This activity may affect over five thousand houses, other buildings, telecom masts and other facilities that can cost the Government and its people trillions of Naira in compensation and losses. We in the RDV and many Nigerians want to know the cost and benefit of this activity to the Government or the people especially when recent survey indicates that Nigeria is in deficit of over 16 million houses coupled with the current economic realities.
This activity of restoring the Abuja Master Plan as hatched by Senator Melaye and others is vindictive against past administrations; an opportunity to settle old scores with their perceived foes; has no economic or developmental value; shows their ignorance on Master Plan and its review mechanisms; displays their lack of contact with the Provisions of the Land Use Act; can cause resentment against this Administration; can destroy the goodwill of this Government; and capable of sabotaging the Buhari Administration that Nigerians yearned for. The Hon. Minister, FCT seems to lack the capacity and foresight to decipher this grand plot by Senator Melaye and others with the attendant consequences as he is playing to the gallery.
Recommendations:
For the purpose of moving the FCT forward towards growth, development, peace and progress without stirring peaceful waters, disputes and litigations between the people and the administration, the following recommendations are hereby proffered.
Part V of the 1978 Land Use Act under Provisions for Revocation of Rights of Occupancy and compensation therefor has NOT provided for revocation of allocations due to re-designs of Master Plan, change of landuses or restoration of old Master Plan; and therefore any attempt to do so will amount to gross violation of this law. This FCT Administration must be seen to observe rule of law in all manners and ramifications. Also, the Administration should avoid being misled by the Legislature that will affect the goodwill of this Administration, attract torrents of disputes and litigations and sabotage the present Buhari Administration. The present FCT Administrations should not give emphasis on revocations and demolition of properties with statutory land titles and development permits as the cost benefit analysis is in the negative.
If the present FCT Administration insists on revocation of allocations on erstwhile Green Areas, it should be total including all changes to the Master Plan from inception to date. All acclaimed changes to the Master Plan that include already developed properties like the UN House, PTDF Office, Silverbird Galleria, Millennium Towers, Eagle Square, Telecom Masts, Supreme Court Judges Quarters and buildings and others mentioned above located on former Green Areas in the city must be pulled down and compensations fully and appropriately paid by the FCT Administration. Anything otherwise will amount to selective justice and witch hunting against the past Administrations. The people are watching and as an NGO we are also watching. Revocation and restoration of the Abuja Master Plan is a herculean task, expensive, was not a campaign promise and totally unnecessary to the FCTA especially in this hard time.
The present FCT Minister should be firm and resolute on executing Executive functions in the FCT and should not allow the National Assembly to usurp his powers or interfere with Executive functions. He should direct all staff of the FCTA to desist from carrying out directives directly from the National Assembly except those recommendations that came through the Ministers office with his approvals. Anything otherwise will amount to two parallel governments in the FCT.
The FCT Minister may wish to look into the welfare and interests of his staff as they are the engine room of information, knowledge and experience that are mostly undocumented and useful for positive transformation of the FCT. He should relate with them effectively, efficiently and humanely towards accomplishing his goals, objectives and aspiration for the FCT. No human is perfect but good leaders can make imperfect men better and useful. Rumours and notions about public servants are counterproductive. He should not underestimate the staff as this has led to strikes in the past that shut down FCTA businesses with the attendant losses in revenues and embarrassments to leadership.
The FCT Minister should consider the policies of past FCT administrations and weed out those that can be adopted, reviewed and implemented just as the Federal Government considered and now implements good policies of past administrations like the TSA, agricultural and other policies. This is because the present administration is focussed and not involved in witch hunting any past administrations.
The FCT minister should be focussed; avoid distractions; and come up with clear, feasible and credible roadmap that transcends city management with prioritisation of infrastructure development in both the Federal Capital City and the satellite towns for peace, progress, wellbeing and development of the FCT for the collective benefits of all.
Litigations and International Petitions:
If the present FCT administration is bent on restoring the Abuja Master Plan, it should be total and to its original design at inception without any iota of selective justice. Any perceived selective restoration will amount to injustice and litigations in Nigeria; and we as an international NGO with interest in the rights of the people for sustainable democracy will petition this administration at the International Human Rights Commission on behalf of the people for redress towards total justice.
With deep sense of loyalty and good wishes to the Buhari administration, we hereby request Mr. President to kindly look into the above observations and recommendations critically; and call the Hon. Minister FCT to order for peaceful and positive changes in the FCT.
We thank Mr. President and wish Your Excellency good health, strength and wisdom to steer FCT and indeed Nigeria to greatness and development. Long live Nigeria.
Alh. A. A. Sani
Country Director,
Rights and Democracy Volunteers (RDV)
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Polish President Andrzej Duda met with U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House on Thursday on the sidelines of a gala dinner for participants in the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington.
The two heads of state spoke about the forthcoming NATO summit in Warsaw and the situation surrounding the Constitutional Tribunal in Poland, presidential minister Krzysztof Szczerski said.
The Polish president, on a visit to the U.S. since Tuesday, attended on Thursday evening a gala dinner hosted by the U.S. president for leaders of states and organisations attending the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington.
Speaking to Polish reporters, Szczerski said that "during a meeting at the White House President Duda held a bilateral, face-to-face conversation with President Barack Obama. The talks focused chiefly on nuclear issues".
Minister Szczerski added that the two heads of state spoke also about preparations for the July NATO summit in Warsaw and the Constitutional Tribunal.
"President Duda informed President Obama about the latest developments in Poland and about a meeting of political parties - which he has welcomed with satisfaction - as well as about chances for a political compromise regarding the law on the Constitutional tribunal.
According to Szczerski, President Duda declared during a meeting with president Obama that "he would soon launch steps to regulate the system of justice in Poland and the Constitutional Tribunal in the Constitution."
Krzysztof Szczerski added that President Obama thanked Poland for its achievements in the non-proliferation of nuclear arms.
Minister Szczerski said that on Thursday evening he attended a gala dinner at the Department of State and spoke with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs at the U.S. Department of State Victoria Nuland. (PAP)
HAGERSTOWN, Md. (AP) A man accused of fatally beating his girlfriend's 9-year-old son over a missing piece of birthday cake pleaded guilty to second-degree murder Thursday and was sentenced to 30 years in prison by a judge who likened the boy's treatment to torture.
For weeks before the beating, Jack Garcia was a virtual prisoner in the Hagerstown apartment he shared with his mother, her brother and her fiance Robert Leroy Wilson, a prosecutor said. Jack was routinely deprived of food if Wilson felt the boy hadn't exerted himself enough, and he was handcuffed to a chair or beaten with a bamboo sword if he took food without permission, the evidence showed.
"What a bleak existence this little person had," said Washington County Circuit Judge M. Kenneth Long.
Wilson, 31, accepted responsibility for Jack's death but didn't acknowledge striking the blow that caused his death from a head injury July 5. In return, prosecutors dropped seven other charges of child abuse, assault, neglect and reckless endangerment.
Atlantic City man gets 20 years for forced prostitution of 7 women An Atlantic City man was sentenced Wednesday to 20 years in prison for forcing seven women i
Wilson, a restaurant cook, tearfully told the judge he had been under stress from tight finances, lack of sleep, a strained relationship with the mother of his own child and "all different things going on in the apartment about people not doing what they were supposed to."
Defense attorney Thomas Tamm said Wilson had been physically abused as child.
But Assistant State's Attorney Sarah Mollett-Gaumer said there was no excuse for the major role Wilson played in Jack's death.
"Jack was such a problem for stealing food? Well, maybe he was hungry," she said.
Jack's mother Oriana Garcia and maternal uncle Jacob Barajas are also charged with second-degree murder. They're scheduled for trial May 17. Neither has entered a plea.
Police have said Wilson beat Jack unconscious after Barajas handcuffed him to a bicycle lock attached to a chair as punishment for taking a piece of cake belonging to Wilson's 2-year-old daughter. A 10-year-old girl visiting that day told investigators she heard Wilson yelling, "Cough up the cake," in the room where Jack was beaten while the boy cried, "No! Stop!"
Prosecutors say Jack's mother allowed the abuse and delayed treatment for hours by sending away an ambulance that Barajas had called. Wilson called for another ambulance more than five hours later.
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For the New World Order, a world government is just the beginning. Once in place they can engage their plan to exterminate 80% of the world's population, while enabling the "elites" to live forever with the aid of advanced technology. For the first time, crusading filmmaker ALEX JONES reveals their secret plan for humanity's extermination: Operation ENDGAME.
Jones chronicles the history of the global elite's bloody rise to power and reveals how they have funded dictators and financed the bloodiest warscreating order out of chaos to pave the way for the first true world empire.
Watch as Jones and his team track the elusive Bilderberg Group to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III.
to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III. Learn about the formation of the North America transportation control grid, which will end U.S. sovereignty forever.
Discover how the practitioners of the pseudo-science eugenics have taken control of governments worldwide as a means to carry out depopulation.
View the progress of the coming collapse of the United States and the formation of the North American Union.
Never before has a documentary assembled all the pieces of the globalists' dark agenda. Endgame's compelling look at past atrocities committed by those attempting to steer the future delivers information that the controlling media has meticulously censored for over 60 years. It fully reveals the elite's program to dominate the earth and carry out the wicked plan in all of human history.
Endgame is not conspiracy theory, it is documented fact in the elite's own words.
DUBLIN, April 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "The Global Market for Nanocoatings" report to their offering.
There has been a huge increase in applications of new coatings technology over the past few years, across multiple industrial sectors. The global trend for the coatings industry is for multi-functional, decorative/aesthetically enhanced and service free or low maintenance coatings with enhanced protection. Environmental sustainability is also an important factor, especially in North America and Europe.
The nanocomposite coatings, nanostructured thin films and nanostructured surfaces (for the purposes of this report generically referred to as nanocoatings) market has witnessed substantial growth in the last decade. Nanocoatings are being increasingly applied in consumer electronics, exterior and interior protection coatings, solar panels, medicine and healthcare, automotive, aerospace, packaging and oil and gas industries. Nanocoatings can significantly increase the cost/benefit ratio of existing and new products, provide cost effective solutions and improve performance for longer periods, and are opening up new market opportunities in the global coatings sector. Commercial and manufacturing institutions globally are turning to nanocoatings to further enhance current commercial coating products or add completely new properties to existing surfaces.
Growth in the conventional coating industry has slowed in the past decade, but specialized coating surface engineering sectors are witnessing strong growth, driven by the needs of high-end industries, such as oil and gas and consumer electronics. Product innovation, increased need for protective and hygiene coatings and the need to meet stringent environmental regulations is driving market demand across a wide range of markets.
Global nanocoatings market drivers
In the coating sector, high transparency, water proofing, oxygen barrier function and enhanced protection against corrosion, heat, ice etc. are increasingly important requirements and have been driving the adoption of nanocoatings. The incorporation of nanomaterials into thin films, coatings and surfaces leads to new functionalities, completely innovative characteristics and the possibility to achieve multi-functional coatings and smart coatings.
The key element that nanocoatings provide is protection-from ice, pollutants, UV, fire, heat, bacteria, marine life, touch and corrosion. These factors cost global industry billions in maintenance, loss and downtime each year and can pose a significant public health hazard.
This new 754 page report is the most comprehensive yet published on the nanocoatings sector.
Report Contents Include:
- Nanomaterials utilized in coatings and films including graphene, carbon nanotubes, nano-SiO2, nano silver, nano-TiO2, nano-ZnO, dendrimers etc. - Nanocoatings market structure - Commercialization timelines - Market revenues, by nanocoatings type and target markets - Key end user markets including energy, aerospace, automotive, textiles, biomedical, marine, exteriors, interiors, electronics & optics etc. - Markets for key nanocoatings types including anti-microbial, anti-corrosion, anti-icing, barrier, anti-fingerprint, anti-reflection, UV-resistant, abrasion and wear resistant, self-cleaning, anti-fouling etc. - Over 260 company profiles including products, target market and contact details.
Key Topics Covered:
1 Research Methodology.
2 Executive Summary
3 Introduction
4 Nanomaterials Used In Coatings
5 Nanocoatings Market Structure
6 Nanocoatings Regulations
7 Market Segment Analysis, By Coatings Type
8 Market Segment Analysis, By End User Market
9 Nanocoatings Companies
For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/tfznq8/the_global_market
Media Contact:
Research and Markets
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press@researchandmarkets.com
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BRANFORD, Connecticut, April 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Wren Laboratories, a CLIA laboratory focused on the advancement of liquid biopsy based gene expression analysis assays in neuroendocrine disease, will present on Saturday, April 2, 2016, at ENDO 2016, the Endocrine Society's 98th Annual Meeting & Expo being held in Boston, MA. During this presentation Wren Laboratories will share the results of their collaborative work with the Hypertension Institute of Cardiology in Warsaw, the Maria Skodowska-Curie Memorial Cancer Center, and the University of Warmia and Mazury.
The presentation is centered on the clinical and translational research focused on the improvement in the clinical management of paragangliomas and pheochromocytomas through the early detection of disease progression. The 51-gene NETest was used in a cohort of 24 patients, and it was determined through transcript analysis that patients with progressive and metastatic disease exhibit elevated gene expression levels when compared to those with clinically stable, localized diseases.
"The notion of using a minimally invasive blood test to provide informative data about the disease status of our patients is a novel concept, and we are seeing clinical utility in this approach," stated Dr. Agnieszka Kolasinska-Cwika of the Maria Skodowska-Curie Memorial Cancer Center in Warsaw, Poland.
The NETest is an mRNA expression assay targeting 51 genes associated with the tumor metabolism and proliferation. Mathematical assessment of the 51 genes provides a score that can be used to define disease status (progressive vs stable). The NETest score was developed for well-differentiated, low grade (WHO Grade I and II) gastroenteropancreatic NETs. It is scaled from 0 (lowest risk) to 100% (highest). Its intended use is to aid clinicians in their assessment of NET tumor activity and possible disease progression.
About Wren Laboratories
Wren Laboratories is a CLIA Laboratory located in Branford, Connecticut, that collaborates with the neuroendocrine community on the improvement of patient care through the advancement of molecular diagnostics.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Janel Noblin, GEM Advertising, janel@GEM-Advertising.com, 1-844-436-8326x709
SOURCE Wren Laboratories
DALLAS, April 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- National residential mortgage lender, PrimeLending, a PlainsCapital Company and subsidiary of Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE: HTH), announced today that the Scotsman Guide's 2015 Top Loan Originators featured 23 PrimeLending mortgage originators. The following loan originators placed in the categories below.
Top Dollar Volume Most Loans Closed Top VA Loans 8, Max Leaman 1, Max Leaman 69, Barry Schutt 54, Diane Clark 43, Lisa Nicholas
103, Lisa Nicholas 55, Diane Clark Top FHA Volume 162, Brandon Moss 77, Chuck Hage 27, Lisa Nicholas 191, Raffi Bekmezian 122, Alexander Varela
215, Artin Babayan 126, Diana Dilallo-Tarzia Top USDA Volume 272, Patrick Pittman 137, Jeremy House 13, Joyce Smith 328, Mark Raskin 192, Amanda McCall 24, Natalie Reid-Loudan 408, Jeremy House 195, Myron Chamberlain
425, Alex Varela 196, Candy Buzan Top Purchase Volume 426, Myron Chamberlain 200, Scott Strouse 5, Max Leaman 441, Amanda McCall 208, Mark Raskin 11, Diane Clark 486, Diana Dilallo-Tarzia 228, Chad Trease 40, Lisa Nicholas 489, Chuck Hage 250, David Arocho
276, Kristen Heichel
280, Patrick Pittman
"At PrimeLending, we believe outstanding results are the product of hard work, a focus on our customers' needs and delivering service beyond expectations," said Scott Bristol, President of PrimeLending. "The Scotsman Guide Top Originators ranking is a perfect example of our core convictions in action. Congratulations and thank you for your commitment and incredible performance!"
These employees were ranked among entries from more than 2,400 mortgage professionals across the country. To be eligible for initial consideration in Scotsman Guide's Top Originators rankings, originators must have had at least $40 million in loan volume or 100 closed home loans for the 2015 calendar year. After receiving submissions, Scotsman Guide required written verification of top entrants' volume data from a certified public accountant, the chief financial officer at the originator's company or a similar source.
About PrimeLending - PrimeLending, a PlainsCapital Company, is a national residential mortgage originator. In 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015, PrimeLending was listed as a top 10 mortgage lender in the nation in purchase units.* Offering fixed-rate, adjustable-rate, FHA, VA, USDA and jumbo home loans, refinancing and relocation programs, PrimeLending is authorized to make loans in 50 states and the District of Columbia. Founded in 1986, PrimeLending is a member of the PlainsCapital Corporation family of companies. PlainsCapital Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE: HTH). More information at PrimeLending.com.
Scotsman Guide Media Inc. publishes a residential edition and a commercial edition of Scotsman Guide, in addition to Scotsman Guide News, Loan Post, Scotsman Guide Community and other platforms at ScotsmanGuide.com. Each month, the magazines reach tens of thousands of subscribers nationwide. Scotsman Guide is the leading resource for mortgage originators and connects mortgage originators with wholesale and commercial lenders.
* Ranked by Marketrac for purchase units nationally for Jan.-Dec. 2012-2015.
2016 PRIMELENDING A PLAINSCAPITAL COMPANY (NMLS No.: 13649). Equal Housing Lender.
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140206/DA60438LOGO
SOURCE PrimeLending
Related Links
http://www.primelending.com
His advice follows a new scientific study highlighting the many benefits of the Meal Replacement Bar Replacement Meal: Eating more fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes could save millions of lives and trillions of dollars, according to the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.
"Patients are raving that their mealsand their liveshave gone from bland and beige to delicious and dazzling on the Meal Replacement Bar Replacement Meal Plan," says Physicians Committee president Neal Barnard, M.D. "It's amazing what fruits, veggies, whole grains, and legumes can do for you."
For a copy of the video or to speak with Neal Barnard, M.D., please contact Carrie Clyne at 202-527-7339 or [email protected].
The Physicians Committee is a nonprofit health organization founded in 1985, with more than 12,000 doctor members. The organization promotes preventive medicine, conducts clinical research, and encourages higher standards for ethics and effectiveness in research. Follow the Physicians Committee @PCRM.
Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6g3lLr2fH7E
SOURCE Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
Related Links
http://www.pcrm.org
ROSEMONT, Ill., April 1, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Every hour, 24-hours-a-day, 365-days-a-year, someone dies of oral or oropharyngeal cancer (cancer of the mouth and upper throat). Yet, if oral cancer is detected and treated early, treatment-related health problems are reduced and survival rates may increase.
This year an estimated 48,2501 new cases of oral cancer will be diagnosed. Of those individuals, 40 percent will not survive longer than five years, and many who do survive suffer long-term problems, such as difficulties with eating and speaking or facial disfigurement. The death rate associated with oral and oropharyngeal cancers remains particularly high because the cancers routinely are discovered late in their development.
This April, the nation observes the 17th Annual Oral Cancer Awareness Month and the American Academy of Oral Medicine, American Academy of Periodontology, the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, the American Dental Association, and the American Dental Hygienists' Association join the Oral Cancer Foundation in its campaign to raise awareness of oral cancer screenings and the importance of early detection.
Regular oral cancer examinations performed by your oral health professional remain the best method for detecting oral cancer in its early stages.
Be mindful of symptoms
In between dental visits, the public is encouraged to regularly check for signs and symptoms, and see a dental professional if they do not improve or disappear after two-three weeks:
a sore, or soreness or irritation that doesn't go away
red or white patches, or pain, tenderness, or numbness in mouth or lips
lumps, thickening tissues, rough spots, crusty or eroded areas
difficulty chewing, swallowing, speaking or moving your jaw or tongue
a change in the way your teeth fit together when you close your mouth
HPV-caused oropharyngeal cancer may present with one or more of the following persistent (longer than two-three weeks) signs and symptoms:
a painless lump or swelling felt in the neck
sore throat, difficulty swallowing, or pain when swallowing
swelling of the tonsillar areas at the back of the mouth
Always call your dentist right away if there are any immediate concerns.
Risk Factors
Research has identified a number of factors that may contribute to the development of oral and oropharyngeal cancers. Historically, those at an especially high risk of developing oral cancer have been heavy drinkers and smokers older than age 50, but today the cancer also is occurring more frequently in younger, nonsmoking people due to HPV, the virus most commonly associated with cervical cancer.
The sexually transmitted human papillomavirus 16 (HPV) is related to the increasing incidence of oropharyngeal cancer (most commonly involving lymphoid tissue occurring in the tonsils or the base of the tongue) in a younger, non-smoking population composed of males four to one over females.
If you have never had an oral cancer examination, there is no better time to schedule one than during Oral Cancer Awareness Month in April. When you do, be sure to ask that this examination be made a routine part of all of your future dental check-ups. For a list of local dental professionals who are participating in this year's event by offering free oral cancer screenings, visit the Oral Cancer Foundation's Web site.
For more information about oral cancer and its diagnosis and treatment, visit the following organizations' Web sites.
About Oral Cancer Awareness Month
Each April, some of the nation's top dental associations join together with the Oral Cancer Foundation to raise awareness for oral and oropharyngeal cancers and remind the public that when these cancers are detected and treated early, mortality and treatment-related health problems are reduced. For more information visit the Oral Cancer Foundation Web site at www.oralcancer.org.
Sponsors include the American Academy of Oral Medicine (aaom.com), American Academy of Periodontology (perio.org), the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (MyOMS.org), the American Dental Association (ada.org), and the American Dental Hygienists' Association (adha.org)
1 SEER National Vital Statistics Reports, Dec. 2013.
SOURCE American Association of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons
Related Links
http://www.aaoms.org
ARLINGTON, Va., April 1, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, American Trucking Associations and National Fleet Services, a transportation solutions consulting company, announced the renewal of the ATA Featured Product agreement between the two groups.
American Trucking Associations is the largest national trade association for the trucking industry. Through a federation of 50 affiliated state trucking associations and industry-related conferences and councils, ATA is the voice of the industry America depends on most to move our nation's freight.Trucking Moves America Forward.
"Complying with the myriad of rules and regulations in the trucking industry can be complicated and requires fleets to allocate resources to administrative, regulatory and operational efforts, not to mention capital investments," said ATA President and CEO Bill Graves. "Many trucking companies rely on firms like National Fleet Services that can provide a bevy of consulting options to meet the countless needs of motor carriers."
"National Fleet Services is excited to be an ATA Featured Product provider again this year. As an ATA Featured Product provider, we have the opportunity to strengthen relationships within the industry and live out our company's mission," said Matthew Bowles, president and CEO of National Fleet Services. "We understand the burdens motor carriers face with ever changing regulations and tax structures. We work to understand our clients' specific needs and help implement solutions to save them money and improve efficiency."
National Fleet Services is a transportation consulting and compliance firm, providing services across North America, such as: license, title and registration, tax recovery services, business advisory, DOT compliance and cost reduction solutions for motor carriers.
National Fleet Services is a business that provides a broad range of customized solutions to hundreds of commercial fleets across the United States and Canada. With over 20 years of consulting and compliance experience, National Fleet Services has been providing client requested services including: regulatory/DOT compliance services, equipment titling & registration, and driver qualification services. As an ATA Featured Product company, we also provide leading industry Tax Recovery Services (refunds), taxation consulting, fuel tax reporting, and business advisory services aimed at reducing operating cost and improving the Operating Ratio. National Fleet Services guiding principles are integrity, education and respect. These guiding principles help the company to continually focus on our Mission Statement "Facilitating the Growth and Prosperity of the Trucking Industry."
American Trucking Associations is the largest national trade association for the trucking industry. Through a federation of 50 affiliated state trucking associations and industry-related conferences and councils, ATA is the voice of the industry America depends on most to move our nation's freight. Follow ATA on Twitter or on Facebook. Trucking Moves America Forward.
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140523/90962
SOURCE American Trucking Associations
Related Links
http://www.trucking.org
SAN FRANCISCO, March 31, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) has sided with workers and transit riders, denying a permit to Bauer's Intelligent Transportation under the city's commuter shuttle program.
The decision follows unanimous support last week by the city's Board of Supervisors for a resolution calling on the SFMTA to not grant a new permit to Bauer's. In a letter to Bauer's, the company was denied an operating permit due in part to its failure to abide by the SFMTA's recently-passed labor harmony provision.
The Teamsters Union, drivers and community supporters urged the passage of the labor harmony provision. Last summer, drivers for Bauer's Intelligent Transportation held actions along with the support of Teamsters in San Francisco, urging SFMTA to pass the labor harmony resolution. Bauer's workers faced a brutal anti-union campaign by their employer as they attempted to form their union.
"The SFMTA has sent a strong message to commuter shuttle operators that service matters, how workers are treated matters and their reputation in the community matters. Bauer's has had every opportunity to match its competition as a responsible employer, and it has failed to do so. The SFMTA and Board of Supervisors have taken appropriate and needed action to protect shuttle drivers and riders," said Rome Aloise, International Vice President and President of Teamsters Joint Council 7.
In the past year, hundreds of drivers for tech companies, including Facebook, Yahoo, Apple, eBay and others in Silicon Valley have organized with Teamsters Local 853 in San Leandro, Calif. The union has negotiated strong contracts for the commuter shuttle drivers, including good wages, benefits and workplace protections.
The Teamsters Union is part of a growing movement of labor, faith and community-based organizations and workers challenging income inequality in Silicon Valley through an innovative partnership called Silicon Valley Rising. For more information, visit http://siliconvalleyrising.org.
For more information on tech worker organizing with the Teamsters, visit: http://teamster.org/tech-drivers-deserve-union.
Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.4 million hardworking men and women throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Visit www.teamster.org for more information. Follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/teamsters.
Contact:
Doug Bloch, (510) 333-1179
[email protected]
SOURCE Teamsters Joint Council 7
Related Links
http://www.teamster.org
EDISON, N.J., April 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Daiichi Sankyo, Inc. today announced the appointment of Antoine Yver, MD, MSc, to Global Head, Oncology Research and Development, effective April 1, 2016.
In this newly created role, Dr. Yver will report to Glenn Gormley, MD, PhD, Senior Executive Officer and Global Head, Research & Development, Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd. and Chairman of the Board and President, Daiichi Sankyo, Inc., and will have responsibility for leading all of the global research and development across the oncology therapeutic area including external investments, internal pipeline decisions, and resourcing requirements.
"Antoine brings a strong track record of extensive scientific leadership in many facets of global oncology pharmaceutical research and development along with tremendous passion for science and patients," said Dr. Gormley. "We are confident that Antoine will provide great leadership and strategic insights in this new role, which underscores Daiichi Sankyo's commitment to the fight against cancer."
Dr. Yver joins Daiichi Sankyo from AstraZeneca, where he most recently served as Senior Vice President and Head of Oncology, Global Medicines Development, and Global Medicines Development China Lead across all therapeutic areas. Prior to joining AstraZeneca in 2009, he held several international oncology drug development positions at Merck/Schering-Plough, Johnson & Johnson and Rhone-Poulenc Rorer/Aventis.
"I'm excited to join such a respected company and further build its presence in this important field," said Dr. Yver. "I have been most impressed by the quality of science at Daiichi Sankyo and the company's strong commitment towards becoming an innovator in bringing new therapeutic options to people living with cancer."
A board-certified pediatric oncologist in France, Dr. Yver earned his medical degree with honors and completed a masters in pediatric oncology and immunology at Paris XI University.
About Daiichi Sankyo Oncology
Daiichi Sankyo is focused on the discovery and development of novel oncology agents with the goal of delivering first-in-class and best-in-class treatments that address unmet medical needs. The oncology pipeline of Daiichi Sankyo continues to grow and currently includes both small molecules and monoclonal antibodies with novel targets in both solid and hematological cancers.
Daiichi Sankyo currently has four compounds in phase 3 clinical development in the U.S., each with a unique mechanism of action, with three focusing on rare or orphan indications. These investigational compounds include quizartinib, an oral FLT3 inhibitor, for relapsed or refractory FLT3-ITD-positive acute myeloid leukemia (AML); pexidartinib (PLX3397), an oral CSF-1R inhibitor, for tenosynovial giant cell tumor (TGCT) being developed with Plexxikon, a member of the Daiichi Sankyo Group; tivantinib, an oral MET inhibitor, for second-line treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma in partnership with ArQule, Inc.; and patritrumab, a HER3 monoclonal antibody, for non-small cell lung cancer.
About Daiichi Sankyo
Daiichi Sankyo Group is dedicated to the creation and supply of innovative pharmaceutical products to address diversified, unmet medical needs of patients in both mature and emerging markets. With over 100 years of scientific expertise and a presence in more than 20 countries, Daiichi Sankyo and its 16,000 employees around the world draw upon a rich legacy of innovation and a robust pipeline of promising new medicines to help people. In addition to its strong portfolio of medicines for hypertension, dyslipidemia, bacterial infections, and thrombotic disorders, the Group's research and development is focused on bringing forth novel therapies in cardiovascular-metabolic diseases, pain management, and oncology, including biologics. For more information, please visit: www.daiichisankyo.com. Daiichi Sankyo, Inc., headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey, is a member of the Daiichi Sankyo Group. For more information on Daiichi Sankyo, Inc., please visit: www.dsi.com.
Contact
Kimberly Wix
Daiichi Sankyo, Inc.
[email protected]
(973) 944-2338
SOURCE Daiichi Sankyo, Inc.
Related Links
http://www.daiichisankyo.com
HOUSTON, April 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Evolution Petroleum Corporation (NYSE MKT: EPM) today declared a monthly cash dividend on its perpetual non-convertible 8.5% Series A Cumulative Preferred Stock. The dividend is for the month of April 2016 and is payable on April 29, 2016 to holders of record at the close of business on April 15, 2016. The payment will be 1/12th of the 8.5% annualized amount, or approximately $0.177083 per share, based on the $25.00 per share liquidation preference.
Expected Tax Treatment
Based on our current projections for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2016, we expect preferred stock dividends will be treated as qualified dividend income. To the extent such dividends are treated as return of capital, they will not be reported as taxable income to the recipients, but will instead generally be treated as a reduction in the shareholder's basis in the stock. We will make a final determination regarding the tax treatment of dividends for the current fiscal year when the tax reporting process is complete.
The Series A Preferred Stock is listed on the NYSE MKT under the ticker symbol "EPM.PRA."
Investor Conferences
Evolution Petroleum today announced that management is scheduled to present at the following upcoming conferences. A webcast of the presentation, if available, along with the slides can be accessed on the Company's website at http://www.evolutionpetroleum.com .
2016 IPAA OGIS New York
Sheraton New York Times Square
Monday, April 11, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. EST
New York, NY 10019
20th Annual BURKENROAD REPORTS Investment Conference
Ritz-Carlton New Orleans
Friday, April 22, 2016 at 11:00 a.m. EST
New Orleans, LA 70112
About Evolution Petroleum
Evolution Petroleum Corporation develops petroleum reserves and shareholder value by applying conventional and specialized technology to known oil and gas resources, onshore in the United States. Our principal asset is our interest in a CO 2 -EOR project in Louisiana's Delhi Field. Additional information, including the Company's annual report on Form 10-K and its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, is available on its website at www.evolutionpetroleum.com .
Cautionary Statement
All statements contained in this press release regarding potential results and future plans and objectives of the Company are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or review any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations include, but are not limited to, those factors that are disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in our documents filed from time to time with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulatory authorities. Statements regarding our ability to complete transactions, successfully apply technology applications in the re-development of oil and gas fields, realize future production volumes, realize success in our drilling and development activity and forecasts of legal claims, prices, future revenues, income, cash flows, dividends and other comments that are not historical facts contain predictions, estimates and other forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that its expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that its goals will be achieved and these statements will prove to be accurate. Many factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those included in the forward-looking statements.
Company Contact:
Randy Keys, President & CEO
(713) 935-0122
[email protected]
SOURCE Evolution Petroleum Corporation
Related Links
www.evolutionpetroleum.com
HOUSTON, March 31, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Goodrich Petroleum Corporation (OTC Markets: GDPM) (the "Company") today announced results to date and that it is extending the expiration date of its previously announced offers to exchange newly issued shares of common stock, par value $0.20 per share (the "Common Stock"), for any and all of its Existing Unsecured Notes (as defined below) (the "Unsecured Notes Exchange Offers") and for any and all shares of its Existing Preferred Stock (as defined below) (the "Preferred Exchange Offers," and together with the Unsecured Notes Exchange Offers, the "Exchange Offers"). The Company has amended the expiration of the tender offers until 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on April 8, 2016 to coincide with the Special Shareholders Meeting scheduled for the same day. All of the other terms and conditions of the Exchange Offers remain unchanged. This is the final extension.
Unsecured Notes Exchange Offer Results to Date
American Stock and Transfer & Trust Company, LLC (the "Exchange Agent"), has advised the Company that as of 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on March 31, 2016, approximately 61% of the Existing Unsecured Notes eligible for exchange have been tendered, including all convertible notes converted to Common Stock since December 31, 2015, broken out as follows:
$78,900 ,000of the 8.875% Senior Notes due 2019 (the "2019 Notes") have been validly tendered and not properly withdrawn pursuant to the tender offer, representing approximately 68% of the 2019 Notes offered for exchange;
,000of the 8.875% Senior Notes due 2019 (the "2019 Notes") have been validly tendered and not properly withdrawn pursuant to the tender offer, representing approximately 68% of the 2019 Notes offered for exchange; $103,000 of the 3.25% Convertible Senior Notes due 2026 (the "2026 Notes") have been validly tendered and not properly withdrawn pursuant to the tender offer, representing approximately 24% of the 2026 Notes offered for exchange;
of the 3.25% Convertible Senior Notes due 2026 (the "2026 Notes") have been validly tendered and not properly withdrawn pursuant to the tender offer, representing approximately 24% of the 2026 Notes offered for exchange; $2,808,000 of the 5.00% Convertible Senior Notes due 2029 (the "2029 Notes") have been validly tendered and not properly withdrawn pursuant to the tender offer, representing approximately 42% of the 2029 Notes offered for exchange;
of the 5.00% Convertible Senior Notes due 2029 (the "2029 Notes") have been validly tendered and not properly withdrawn pursuant to the tender offer, representing approximately 42% of the 2029 Notes offered for exchange; $42,788,000 of the 5.00% Convertible Senior Notes due 2032 (the "2032 Notes") have been validly tendered and not properly withdrawn pursuant to the tender offer, representing approximately 45% of the 2032 Notes offered for exchange; and
of the 5.00% Convertible Senior Notes due 2032 (the "2032 Notes") have been validly tendered and not properly withdrawn pursuant to the tender offer, representing approximately 45% of the 2032 Notes offered for exchange; and $25,106,000 of the 5.00% Convertible Exchange Senior Notes due 2032 (the "2032 Exchange Notes" and, together with the 2019 Notes, the 2026 Notes, the 2029 Notes and the 2032 Notes, the "Existing Unsecured Notes") have been validly tendered and not properly withdrawn pursuant to the tender offer, representing approximately 98% of the 2032 Exchange Notes offered for exchange.
Preferred Exchange Offer Results to Date
The Exchange Agent, has advised the Company that as of 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on March 31, 2016, approximately 42% of shares of Existing Preferred Stock eligible for exchange have been tendered, including all convertible preferred stock converted to Common Stock since December 31, 2015, broken out as follows:
268,015 shares of 5.375% Series B Cumulative Convertible Preferred Stock (the "Series B Preferred Stock") have been validly tendered and not properly withdrawn pursuant to the tender offer, representing approximately 19% of the Series B Preferred Stock offered for exchange;
1,090,025 depositary shares each representing 1/1000th of a share of the Company's 10.00% Series C Cumulative Preferred Stock (such depositary shares, the "Series C Preferred Stock") have been validly tendered and not properly withdrawn pursuant to the tender offer, representing approximately 35% of the Series C Preferred Stock offered for exchange;
1,189,613 depositary shares each representing 1/1000th of a share of the Company's 9.75% Series D Cumulative Preferred Stock (such depositary shares, the "Series D Preferred Stock") have been validly tendered and not properly withdrawn pursuant to the tender offer, representing approximately 32% of the Series D Preferred Stock offered for exchange; and
2,431,434 depositary shares each representing 1/1000th of a share of the Company's 10.00% Series E Cumulative Convertible Preferred Stock (such depositary shares, the "Series E Preferred Stock" and, together with the Series B Preferred Stock, Series C Preferred Stock and Series D Preferred Stock, the "Existing Preferred Stock") have been validly tendered and not properly withdrawn pursuant to the tender offer, representing approximately 68% of the Series E Preferred Stock offered for exchange.
Holders who have already tendered their Existing Unsecured Notes or Existing Preferred Stock do not have to re-tender their notes or shares or take any other action as a result of the extension of the tender offers.
As we have previously announced, the Company has elected to exercise its right to a grace period with respect to certain interest payments due March 15, 2016 and April 1, 2016 on our 8.875% Senior Notes due 2019, 8.00% Second Lien Senior Secured Notes due 2018, 8.875% Second Lien Senior Secured Notes due 2018, 5.00% Convertible Senior Notes due 2029, 5.00% Convertible Senior Notes due 2032 and our 5.00% Convertible Exchange Senior Notes due 2032. Such grace periods permit the Company 30 days to make the interest payments before an event of default occurs under the respective indentures governing the notes. If the Exchange Offers are unsuccessful, we are likely to seek relief under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. In such an event, we expect that the holders of our Existing Unsecured Notes, shares of Existing Preferred Stock and shares of our Common Stock would receive little or no consideration. To this end, we have engaged Lazard, as restructuring advisor, and Vinson & Elkins L.L.P., as restructuring counsel, to begin work on a plan of reorganization.
The terms and conditions of the Exchange Offers, prior to the amendment described in this release, were set forth in the Offers to Exchange, dated January 26, 2016, each as amended and restated on February 5, 2016 (the "Offers to Exchange"), and the Amended and Restated Letter of Transmittals (the "Letters of Transmittal"), and the other related materials that the Company distributed to holders of the Existing Unsecured Notes and Existing Preferred Stock, which were filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") as exhibits to the Schedule TOs on January 26, 2016 and February 5, 2016 (the "Original Tender Offer Materials"). The Original Tender Offer Materials have been amended and supplemented by Amendment No. 2 to the Schedule TOs, which were filed with the SEC on February 16, 2016, Amendment No. 3 to the Schedule TOs, which were filed with the SEC on February 25, 2016, Amendment No. 4 to the Schedule TOs, which were filed with the SEC on March 3, 2016 Amendment No. 5 to the Schedule TOs, which were filed with the SEC on March 8, 2016, Amendment No. 6 to the Schedule TOs, which were filed with the SEC on March 9, 2016, and Amendment No. 7 to the Schedule TOs, which were filed with the SEC on March 17, 2016, (collectively, the "Schedule TO Amendments"). The term "tender offer," when used in this release, shall refer to the terms and conditions described in the Original Tender Offer Materials, as amended and supplemented by the Schedule TO Amendments and this press release.
Copies of the Offers to Exchange and Letters of Transmittal may be found on the Company's website at www.goodrichpetroleum.com and may be obtained from the Exchange Agent or the Information Agent for the Exchange Offers as follows:
Georgeson, Inc., at 888-607-6511 (toll free) or www.georgeson.com
American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC, at (877) 248-6417 (toll free) or (718) 921-8317 or www.americanstocktransfer.com
THIS PRESS RELEASE IS NEITHER AN OFFER TO PURCHASE NOR A SOLICITATION TO BUY ANY OF THE EXISTING PREFERRED STOCK OR EXISTING UNSECURED NOTES NOR IS IT A SOLICITATION FOR ACCEPTANCE OF THE EXCHANGE OFFERS. THE COMPANY IS MAKING THE PREFERRED EXCHANGE OFFERS AND UNSECURED NOTES EXCHANGE OFFERS ONLY BY, AND PURSUANT TO THE TERMS OF, THE AMENDED AND RESTATED OFFERS TO EXCHANGE AND THE AMENDED AND RESTATED LETTERS OF TRANSMITTAL. THE PREFERRED EXCHANGE OFFERS AND UNSECURED NOTES EXCHANGE OFFERS, AS AMENDED, ARE NOT BEING MADE IN ANY JURISDICTION IN WHICH THE MAKING OR ACCEPTANCE THEREOF WOULD NOT BE IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE SECURITIES, BLUE SKY OR OTHER LAWS OF SUCH JURISDICTION. NONE OF THE COMPANY, THE INFORMATION AGENT OR THE EXCHANGE AGENT FOR THE EXCHANGE OFFERS MAKES ANY RECOMMENDATION IN CONNECTION WITH THE EXCHANGE OFFERS. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS NEITHER AN OFFER TO SELL NOR A SOLICITATION OF AN OFFER TO BUY ANY OF THESE SECURITIES AND SHALL NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER, SOLICITATION OR SALE IN ANY JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH OFFER, SOLICITATION OR SALE IS UNLAWFUL.
Certain statements in this news release regarding future expectations and plans for future activities may be regarded as "forward looking statements." Such forward-looking statements are subject to various risks, such as financial market conditions, changes in commodities prices and costs of drilling and completion, operating hazards, drilling risks, and the inherent uncertainties in interpreting engineering data relating to underground accumulations of oil and gas, as well as other risks discussed in detail in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014 and other subsequent filings with the SEC. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct.
Goodrich Petroleum is an independent oil and gas exploration and production company listed on the OTC Markets.
SOURCE Goodrich Petroleum Corporation
Related Links
http://www.goodrichpetroleum.com
REDWOOD CITY, Calif., April 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Guardant Health, the leader in comprehensive liquid biopsies, announced it will present data on more than 10,000 clinical Guardant360 samples at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) 2016 annual meeting.
This first-of-its-kind analysis shows high concordance between genomic alterations detected by Guardant360 and those found in tissue-based population genomics studies derived from public datasets such as The Cancer Genome Atlas and the International Cancer Genome Consortium.
Additionally, Guardant360 detected resistance alterations not seen in treatment-naive tissue cohorts, including MET amplifications and EGFR T790M. This finding suggests that sequencing archival tissue may miss important evolving alterations and hinder the selection of effective therapies for some late-stage cancer patients. The analysis also found that treatment decisions based on the detection of alterations at very low levels, even below 0.1% mutant-allele frequency, can lead to dramatic clinical response in patients.
The presentation is one of five abstracts highlighting the performance and clinical utility of Guardant Health's digital sequencing technology that have been accepted for oral and poster presentations at this year's AACR. The abstracts were submitted by researchers from Tel Aviv University, Thomas Jefferson University, Northwestern University, University of California, San Francisco, the Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, and Guardant Health.
Guardant360, the first comprehensive liquid biopsy, has been used by more than 2,000 oncologists to help match patients with advanced cancer to targeted therapies. Guardant Health's digital sequencing platform allows for comprehensive analysis of all major classes of somatic tumor alterations from a simple blood draw, with near-perfect specificity and high sensitivity.
The schedule of presentations:
Podium presentation:
Date and Time: Tuesday, April 19 4:20-4:35 pm
Title: Comparison of over 10,000 clinical NGS circulating tumor DNA profiles to tissue-derived genomic compendia
Abstract: 4343
Location: Room 243, Morial Convention Center
Poster Board Number: 22
Presenter: Oliver Zill, Guardant Health
Poster presentations:
Date and Time: Sunday, April 17 from 1-5 pm
Title: Salvage MET amplification detection and therapy through cell-free DNA NGS in a progressing lung cancer patient
Abstract: 491
Location: Section 23
Poster Board Number: 8
Presenter: Nir Peled, Tel Aviv University
Collaborators: Oncotest Teva, Teva Pharmaceuticals
Date and Time: Sunday, April 17 from 1-5 p.m.
Title: Managing metastatic breast cancer via serial monitoring with circulating cell-free tumor DNA next generation sequencing testing
Abstract: 172
Location: Section 6
Poster Board Number: 26
Presenter: Laura Austin, Thomas Jefferson University
Collaborators: Northwestern University
Date and Time: Sunday, April 17 from 1-5 p.m.
Title: Post-surgical resection monitoring in early stage colorectal carcinoma patients using a circulating cell-free DNA assay with ultra-high accuracy and specificity
Abstract: 506
Location: Section 23
Poster Board Number: 23
Presenter: Stefanie A. Mortimer
Collaborators: University of California San Francisco, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine
Date and Time: Monday, April 18 from 1-5 p.m.
Title: A case series of ERBB2 indel driver mutations in non-small cell lung cancer identified by cell-free circulating tumor DNA NGS
Abstract: 2240
Location: Section 22
Poster Board Number: 2
Presenters: Laura Austin, Thomas Jefferson University
Collaborators: Northwestern University
Guardant Health is also an exhibitor at the 2016 AACR Annual Meeting. Company representatives will be available to provide additional information on Guardant Health and its product, Guardant360, at the company's booth, #312. To learn more, visit www.guardanthealth.com.
About Guardant Health
Guardant Health, headquartered in Redwood City, Calif., is focused on developing breakthrough diagnostics that can transform cancer from a silent killer into a manageable disease. Guardant Health was founded in 2012 by a team of serial entrepreneurs with expertise in next-generation sequencing, single-cell genomics and cancer diagnostics. The team is committed to positively and significantly impacting patient health through technology that addresses long-standing unmet needs in oncology.
Media Contact:
Mark de la Vina
Consort Partners for Guardant Health
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 415-282-4795
SOURCE Guardant Health
Related Links
http://www.guardanthealth.com
BOSTON, April 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Highfields Capital Management ("Highfields"), a value-oriented investment management firm that continues to hold more than 9% of the outstanding shares of Delta Lloyd N.V. ("Delta Lloyd")(AMS: DL), today made public its letter to Delta Lloyd's Executive and Supervisory Boards in which it requests answers to a range of questions related to Delta Lloyd's 16 March Heads of Agreement ("Fubon Agreement") with Fubon Life Insurance Co. Ltd. ("Fubon") and the Extraordinary General Meeting ("EGM") held later that same day. Highfields has asked for the responses to the questions by the close of business on Monday 4 April 2016.
As was clear from the vote results, Delta Lloyd would have failed to obtain the required 67% shareholder approval for its EUR 650 million Rights Offering without the support of Fubon, which held a 7.13% ownership stake. Delta Lloyd Chairman Hans van der Noordaa secured Fubon's support barely 36 hours after Fubon had voiced its fierce opposition to the Rights Offering at a 14 March 2016 hearing at the Enterprise Chamber of the Amsterdam Court of Appeals and just hours before the shareholder vote. Highfields feels strongly that shareholders deserve clarification on the specifics of the Fubon Agreement.
In its press release, Delta Lloyd explained that, "Fubon and Delta Lloyd have agreed to explore opportunities for business co-operation for the benefit of both groups, for example asset management opportunities, reinsurance agreements and knowledge exchange." At the EGM, various shareholders including Highfields voiced serious concerns about the Fubon Agreement, the process by which it was entered into, and what was offered to Fubon for its vote. In particular, shareholders questioned whether Fubon was afforded any special privileges, advantages or consideration in exchange for its support of the Rights Offering. To date, Delta Lloyd has not provided any detailed description of the terms of the Fubon Agreement, nor has it confirmed whether the Fubon Agreement is the complete arrangement between Delta Lloyd and Fubon.
As Highfields and Fubon both argued before the Enterprise Chamber, Delta Lloyd is already adequately capitalized and has at its disposal several far less punitive actions that would increase its capital ratio even further. The fact that Delta Lloyd's management would have lost the Rights Offering vote without entering into the Fubon Agreement is further evidence that shareholders lack confidence in this management team. The Fubon Agreement and its opacity only raise additional questions.
The full text of Highfields' letter to Delta Lloyd's Executive and Supervisory Boards follows below:
[Highfields Capital Management LP Letterhead]
VIA E-MAIL
Delta Lloyd N.V.
Attn. Executive Board
Attn. Supervisory Board
Amstelplein 6
1096 BC AMSTERDAM
The Netherlands
30 March 2016
Re: Rights Offering Questions concerning EGM and Fubon Arrangement
Dear Sirs, Dear Mesdames,
As you are aware, Highfields Capital Management LP ("Highfields" or "we") has owned shares of Delta Lloyd N.V. ("Delta Lloyd" or the "Company") since September 2013. The investment funds Highfields Capital I LP, Highfields Capital II LP and Highfields Capital III L.P., all of which are managed and represented by us, currently hold over 9% of the Company's outstanding ordinary shares.
We refer to the facts previously set out in (i) our letter of 2 March 2016 ("Notice of Objections"), (ii) our request for an enquiry into the management and affairs of the Company that was submitted to the Enterprise Chamber of the Amsterdam Court of Appeals ("EC") on 4 March 2016 ("Request"), and (iii) the facts and circumstances discussed at the hearing that was held before the EC on 14 March 2016 ("Hearing") in the currently pending proceedings before the EC ("EC Proceedings").
Further, we refer to the facts and circumstances surrounding the Extraordinary Shareholders Meeting of 16 March 2016 ("EGM"), and in which, following the EC's decision of 14 March 2016 ("EC Decision"), the Company put to a vote the EUR 650 million rights offering as announced on 24 February 2016 ("Rights Offering"). Although issued share capital represented at the EGM was recorded to be 48.03%, the Company announced that the Rights Offering was approved with the 2/3rds majority vote prescribed by the Company's articles of association.
As became clear during the EGM, the Company would not have been able to secure shareholder approval for the Rights Offering without the support of Fubon Life Insurance Co. Ltd. ("Fubon"), which held a 7.13% ownership stake. As was widely reported in the press during the morning of the EGM, Delta Lloyd Chairman Hans van der Noordaa managed to secure Fubon's support barely 36 hours after the latter had voiced its fierce opposition to the Rights Offering as an interested party at the Hearing.
In a press release by Delta Lloyd that same morning, the Company announced that it had signed a heads of agreement with Fubon, in which the latter committed to exercise all the rights in respect of its shareholding and to vote in favor of the proposed Rights Offering ("Fubon Heads of Agreement"). According to the press release, the Fubon Heads of Agreement encompasses the following points:
(i) Delta Lloyd agreed to support Fubon's intention to acquire further ordinary shares of the Company and rights to ordinary shares of the Company ("Rights") in the open market or in any rump placement in connection with the Rights Offering;
(ii) subject to applicable approvals and employee consultation, Delta Lloyd agreed to nominate (through its Supervisory Board) one individual designated by Fubon for appointment to Delta Lloyd's Supervisory Board if Fubon reaches a 15% ordinary share ownership position on a fully diluted basis;
(iii) Delta Lloyd agreed to negotiate with Fubon in good faith to enter into a relationship agreement on an arm's length basis in the event that Fubon reaches a 15% ownership position; and
(iv) Fubon is allowed to act as a sub-underwriter of the Rights Offering in respect of all the rights that would be allocated to it in respect of its shareholding.
At the EGM, various shareholders including Highfields voiced serious concerns about the Fubon Heads of Agreement and the process by which it was entered into. In particular, shareholders questioned whether Fubon was afforded any special privileges, advantages or consideration in exchange for its support of the Rights Offering. This was denied at the EGM by Delta Lloyd's counsel, Mr. Jan Louis Burggraaf. A representative of the underwriters, however, acknowledged that Fubon had indeed been afforded the option to act as a sub-underwriter for the Rights Offering and that this was agreed subject to standard market conditions, indicating that Fubon was to obtain its share in the 2-3% underwriters fee.
Subsequently the prospectus that was issued on 23 March 2016 in relation to the Rights Offering ("Prospectus") included the following statement on page 6:
"Having obtained prior agreement in principle of the Joint Bookrunners, the Company agreed with Fubon in the Fubon Heads of Agreement to cause the Joint Bookrunners to include Fubon as a sub-underwriter in connection with the Offering. However, Fubon has confirmed to the Company and the Joint-Bookrunners that it decided not to participate as a sub-underwriter and, for the avoidance of doubt, will not receive any fee from the Company or Underwriters in respect of the Offering."
Although the reasons for Fubon's relinquishment of its right to act as a sub-underwriter in the Rights Offering (which in the Prospectus is called: "Offering") remain unstated, shareholders are left with the distinct impression that this was done to address the criticisms expressed by shareholders at the EGM in relation to the Fubon Heads of Agreement.
Although the Fubon Heads of Agreement is now discussed in cursory fashion in the Prospectus,1 to date the Company has not provided any detailed description of the terms of the agreement, nor has it confirmed whether the Fubon Heads of Agreement is the complete arrangement between Delta Lloyd and Fubon, or whether Fubon has been or will be provided with special incentives in exchange for its support for the Rights Offering.
In view of the absence of any meaningful disclosures, Highfields insists that Delta Lloyd provide answers to the following questions to its shareholders:
1. In the weeks leading up to the EGM, up to 32% of shareholders were reported in the press as opposing the Rights Offering. At the EGM itself, however, the group of shareholders opposing the Rights Offering seemed to have decreased significantly.
a. In relation to the EGM, what was the exact tally of proxies that were received by Delta Lloyd in advance of the EGM, i.e.:
i. What was the number of "no" votes and what was the number of "yes" votes that were received by proxy before the EGM?
ii. Excluding the aforementioned proxies, how many "no" votes and "yes" votes were actually cast at the EGM itself?
b. What date or time was the cutoff for accepting proxies, and was any distinction made between "no" votes and "yes" votes?
c. Were any proxies refused or disregarded for procedural reasons?
i. If so, for what reasons?
ii. How many of those proxies disregarded or refused concerned "no" votes?
d. How many of the "no" votes received by proxy prior to the EGM were changed to "yes" votes?
i. How many of those changed votes were provided through revised proxies?
ii. How many of those changed votes were cast at the EGM itself?
2. As far as Highfields is aware, Mr. Van der Noordaa did not await or attend the public pronouncement of the 14 March 2016 judgment of the EC, but instead travelled to Taipei the same evening to secure Fubon's support for the Rights Offering.
a. At what point in time did Delta Lloyd know that it needed to secure Fubon's support in order to gain approval for the Rights Offering?
b. To what extent was Delta Lloyd's knowledge that it needed Fubon's support for the Rights Offering based on the results of the voting proxies that Delta Lloyd received in advance of the EGM?
c. In view of the answer to the question under paragraph b. above, how is it possible that Delta Lloyd at the beginning of the EGM still claimed not to know the tally of proxies received (i.e. which proxies were in favor and which were against the Rights Offering)?
3. Was Mr. Van der Noordaa's travel to Taipei an impromptu move, made solely with a view to securing Fubon's support for the Rights Offering at the EGM, or was it the product of previously existing negotiations or a longer-term strategy?
a. If the first, why did Delta Lloyd rush into the Fubon Arrangement rather than engaging in good faith with shareholders to address their serious concerns about the Rights Offering?
b. Did Delta Lloyd explore any alternatives to the Fubon Arrangement?
i. If so, which alternatives were explored, with whom, and when?
ii. If not, why not?
4. In exchange for Fubon's support for the Rights Offering, did Delta Lloyd offer Fubon or agree with Fubon any incentives of whatever kind, whether formally or informally, whether in the Fubon Heads of Agreement or otherwise?
5. Did Delta Lloyd in advance of the EGM communicate with any other individual shareholders to persuade them to vote "yes" to the Rights Offering?
a. If yes, who were these shareholders?
b. Did Delta Lloyd offer any of these shareholders any incentives of whatever kind, whether formally or informally, in exchange for their "yes" vote?
6. When entering into the Fubon Heads of Agreement, did Delta Lloyd consider the potential consequences for (i) the likelihood of any future public bids being made by any third party, and (ii) the opportunity for Delta Lloyd's shareholders to secure a corresponding control premium?
7. Should the Fubon Heads of Agreement be seen as a long-term cooperation arrangement as defined in Article 2:107a(1)(b) Dutch Civil Code?
a. If not, why not?
b. If so, when was the Fubon Heads of Agreement submitted to the Company's Supervisory Board and when can Delta Lloyd be expected to submit the Fubon Heads of Agreement to the Company's general meeting of shareholders for approval?
8. In the Fubon Heads of Agreement, Delta Lloyd agreed to nominate through its Supervisory Board one individual designated by Fubon to the Supervisory Board and recommend that its shareholders vote in favor of, and otherwise use reasonable best efforts to cause, the election of such Fubon designee to the Supervisory Board. Delta Lloyd apparently agreed to do so as long as Fubon maintains at least a 15% ownership position on a fully-diluted basis in the Company, and subject to (i) Fubon's nominee passing the suitability test (geschiktheidstoets) and reliability test (betrouwbaarheidstoets) of DNB and ECB and (ii) finalization of the Company's mandatory employee consultation process.
a. Why did Delta Lloyd specify a 15% shareholding threshold for the Fubon nominee, and what is the arrangement for Fubon's Supervisory Board nominee if Fubon's stake at any time decreases below this threshold?
b. Did Delta Lloyd already secure any particular cooperation from the DNB and the Company's works council for the nomination process that was agreed with Fubon for the Fubon nominee?
9. According to the Prospectus, if Fubon reaches a 15% ownership position on a fully-diluted basis, Fubon and the Company are to promptly negotiate in good faith to enter into a relationship agreement on terms customary for other relationship agreements in the Dutch market ("Relationship Agreement"), including customary standstill agreements and provisions relating to the exchange of information and Fubon's nomination rights described above.
a. Is there any timeline within which Delta Lloyd expects to conclude the Relationship Agreement?
b. Will the Relationship Agreement be subject to shareholder approval as referred to in Article 2:107a(1)(b) Dutch Civil Code?
c. If so, when can the shareholders expect to be fully informed of all details of the Relationship Agreement?
10. According to the Prospectus, Delta Lloyd agreed to take all actions as may be reasonably requested by Fubon in order for Fubon to obtain clearance, including a declaration of no objection, from DNB and the ECB to increase its ownership above 10% and to reasonably support Fubon in obtaining the necessary legal and regulatory approvals in its home jurisdiction.
a. Is there any fallback arrangement with Fubon in case regulatory approval is not forthcoming?
b. Will the Company make similar commitments with respect to other shareholders that seek to increase their ownership level above 10%?
11. According to the Fubon Heads of Agreement as described in the Prospectus, all purchasers of rump shares in the Offering ("Rump Shares") will pay the same price per Rump Share.
a. Have the Company and Fubon agreed how many of the Rump Shares Fubon will buy?
b. What is the methodology by which participation in the rump offering will be conducted?
c. Will Fubon pay the same Issue Price as other shareholders purchasing Rump Shares and be subject to the same conditions?
d. If so, is there any particular quid pro quo for Fubon purchasing Rump Shares in addition to the arrangements currently known to the shareholders and the market?
12. Does the fact that Fubon apparently does not have the requisite permits to act as a sub-underwriter or is yet in the process of securing such permits play any role in its relinquishment of its right to act as such in the Rights Offering?
We look forward to your responses to the above questions by the close of business on Monday 4 April 2016.
Subject to the answers received, Highfields reserves its right to submit such additional questions and requests as it may deem necessary for shareholders to obtain a full clarification of the arrangements made between Delta Lloyd and Fubon, whether in or outside of the Fubon Heads of Agreement, and whether prior or subsequent to that arrangement.
Since Highfields is in any event entitled to ask questions and receive answers in the annual general meeting of shareholders that Delta Lloyd has scheduled for Thursday 19 May 2016 ("AGM"), we hereby request that the topic of Delta Lloyd's relations with Fubon, and in particular its deals with Fubon through the Fubon Heads of Agreement and any preceding or subsequent arrangements, be scheduled as a topic on the agenda of the AGM.
Please confirm by the close of business on Monday 4 April 2016 that the abovementioned topic will be scheduled as a topic on the agenda of the AGM.
Yours sincerely,
Highfields Capital Management LP
About Highfields Capital
Highfields Capital Management is a $12 billion value-oriented investment management firm which manages private investment funds for endowments, charitable and philanthropic foundations, pension funds and other institutional and private investors. The Highfields funds invest worldwide in public and private companies across a wide variety of industries and security types. The firm was founded in 1998 and is based in Boston, MA.
Media Contacts:
Andrea Calise or Todd Fogarty
Kekst
212-521-4845/212-521-4854
[email protected] or [email protected]
1 Prospectus, pages 5 and 6.
SOURCE Highfields Capital Management
PITTSBURGH, April 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
(in millions) Period ended December 31,
2015
2014
Operating revenue $ 17,667
$ 16,751
Operating Results:
Health Plan
Commercial Business $ 217
$ 34
Government Business (655)
(34)
Diversified Businesses 229
243
Allegheny Health Network (36)
(37)
HM Health Solutions 7
4
Parent & Other (327)
(388)
Operating loss (565)
(178)
Net investment income 294
254
Interest expense (60)
(63)
Non-operating income (expense) 5
(3)
Net assets acquired of BCNEPA 249
-
(Deficit) excess of revenue over expenses before income taxes (77)
10
Income tax provision 8
93
Deficit of revenue over expenses $ (85)
$ (83)
Highmark Health today announced financial results and performance during 2015, reporting operating revenues of $17.7 billion, an increase of 5 percent over 2014 revenues. Highmark Health also reported a deficit of revenue over expenses of $85 million, holding results flat with prior year despite losses in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) business. The enterprise had net investment earnings of $294 million in 2015, an increase of $40 million over the prior year, and a gain of $249 million associated with the acquisition of BCNEPA. These gains were offset by an operating loss of $565 million, attributable primarily to the performance of its ACA exchange products, which sustained a high level of medical costs for the duration of 2015, similar to the experience of many insurance carriers across the nation. Despite the ACA losses, the company continues to have a solid financial position, which includes $6.3 billion in cash and investments and net assets of $5.2 billion.
"Highmark Health is pleased with our strong, consistent year-over year financial performance despite the impact of the ACA population," commented David Holmberg, President and Chief Executive Officer of Highmark Health. "We continue to invest in our core and growing businesses with nearly $500 million in capital investments in 2015 to improve health care quality and access for our members and other health plan members on our platform. Our strong retention in the commercial and senior insurance markets, near record earnings in two of the diversified businesses, and the continued volume growth at Allegheny Health Network accompanied by another year of progress made in its financial turnaround is encouraging. The western Pennsylvania market has recognized the quality and value that Allegheny Health Network offers and we expect this trend to continue as the regional market shifts due to the pending expiration of the Consent Decrees in 2019. We are confident that Highmark Health is well positioned for future growth and success."
"We continue to make progress towards our goal of delivering an outstanding customer experience, all while maintaining a solid financial profile," added Karen Hanlon, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. "We are committed to stabilizing our ACA line of business and early 2016 indicators are positive as we have already achieved what we believe is an appropriate level of membership in our ACA individual plans. We also continue to take steps to recover the estimated more than $500 million in risk corridor funding due to us and are focused on sustaining the positive growth trends in all of our affiliated businesses."
The Health Plan performance in the commercial markets continued to be strong with a gain of $217 million, while the government market was significantly impacted by the ACA businesses, bringing the total health plan loss to $438 million for the year. Highmark Health continued to take a conservative position on the risk corridor reimbursement due from the federal government in 2015.
The Health Plan experienced an overall member retention rate of 95 percent across all markets. Highmark's Community Blue plan grew by 70 percent. This significant growth in the Community Blue plan is notable because it exclusively features Allegheny Health Network, along with a broad network of high-quality, lower-cost community hospitals across the state. Highmark remains the fourth-largest Blue Plan in the country, with 5.2 million members, as well as the largest health plan in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Delaware. Highmark's Pennsylvania Medicare Advantage plans continue to be ranked first in Pennsylvania and eighth in the nation.
The Diversified Businesses continued to deliver strong operating margins in 2015, with combined earnings of $229 million, driven by near record performance in the vision business and a strong turnaround at HM Insurance Group. HVHC delivered revenues of $1.5 billion and an operating gain of $122 million. Visionworks, which operates 700 retail stores in 42 states, added 56 new stores in 2015 in key metro markets such as Detroit, Michigan and the Boroughs of NYC and realized a 5.3 percent increase in comparable store retail sales. Davis Vision, the managed care component of HVHC, increased insurance enrollment by 1.9 million, putting it on track to provide coverage to more than 22 million members in 2016. HM Insurance Group delivered operating gains of $69 million, a nearly 70 percent improvement over prior year. United Concordia, Highmark's dental care provider, continued to focus on growth in 2015 while contributing $38 million in operating profits. In addition, the company was awarded the Tricare Dental Program contract as part of a 5 year, $2.9 billion contract, which is scheduled to begin in 2017. United Concordia currently provides dental care to the TRICARE Active Duty Dental Program (ADDP), which serves active duty service members in the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Navy, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and National Guard and Reserve Component Sponsors.
Allegheny Health Network continues to make progress in its turnaround, both financially and in its quality of care, recording an operating loss of $36 million, which includes significant cost increases associated with capital investments being made in the system. The performance improvement was driven by increased volumes at both Allegheny Health Network and West Penn Allegheny Health System. Allegheny Health Network had a 3.5% increase in inpatient volumes and 1.8% increase in outpatient registrations while WPAHS had a 5.1% increase in inpatient volumes and 3.3% increase in outpatient registrations. AHN's EBITDA, a measure of earnings that excludes the impact of these capital investments, was $87 million in 2015, an increase of 26% over the prior year.
Highmark Health's information technology services company, HM Health Solutions, which is focused on meeting the platform and technology needs of the Highmark Health enterprise as well as other health insurance plans, reported an operating gain of $7 million. HM Health Solutions currently has 8.3 million members on the insurance platform, a 36% increase since 2010, and is on track to add an additional 2.1 million members by early 2017.
Highmark Health paid taxes in 2015 totaling $514 million, which includes $304 million in federal, state and local taxes, more than $10 million in property taxes in Pennsylvania, and an ACA health insurer provider tax of $200 million.
About Highmark Health
Highmark Health, a Pittsburgh, PA based enterprise that employs more than 35,000 people nationwide and serves more than 50 million Americans in all 50 states, is the third largest integrated health care delivery and financing network in the nation. Highmark Health is the parent company of Highmark Inc., Allegheny Health Network, and HM Health Solutions. Highmark Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates provide health insurance to 5.2 million members in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Delaware as well as dental insurance, vision care and related health products through a national network of diversified businesses that include United Concordia Companies, HM Insurance Group, Davis Vision and Visionworks. Allegheny Health Network is the parent company of an integrated delivery network that includes eight hospitals, more than 2,500 affiliated physicians, ambulatory surgery centers, an employed physician organization, home and community-based health services, a research institute, a group purchasing organization, and health and wellness pavilions in western Pennsylvania. HM Health Solutions focuses on meeting the information technology platform and other business needs of the Highmark Health enterprise as well as unaffiliated health insurance plans by providing proven business processes, expert knowledge and integrated cloud-based platforms. To learn more, please visit www.highmarkhealth.org.
SOURCE Highmark Health
Related Links
http://www.highmarkhealth.org
SINGAPORE and PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea, April 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- InterOil Corporation (NYSE: IOC) (POMSoX: IOC) today confirmed that it has received a requisition submitted by a shareholder group, including Mr. Mulacek (collectively, the "Mulacek Group") requesting a special meeting of InterOil shareholders to consider several proposed resolutions.
The Board of Directors is reviewing the requisition and accompanying proposals and will respond in due course. Shareholders are not required to take any action at this time.
InterOil issued the following statement:
InterOil welcomes communications with its shareholders and values input toward the goal of enhancing shareholder value. The members of the Board of Directors and management team have had extensive interactions with our shareholders, including Mr. Mulacek, over the last year. The Board of Directors will review the Mulacek Group's requisition and accompanying proposals within the required timeframe and will take actions that it believes are in the best interest of InterOil and all of its shareholders.
InterOil appreciates the role Mr. Mulacek played as founder of InterOil and his contributions during his tenure. The Board will seek to engage with Mr. Mulacek constructively, consistent with the Board's obligations to all shareholders.
InterOil continues to make significant progress on the Papua LNG project while taking steps to streamline its operations and increase operating efficiency. We remain confident in our strategic plan and believe its implementation over time will achieve enhanced value for all shareholders.
About InterOil
InterOil Corporation is an independent oil and gas business with a sole focus on Papua New Guinea. InterOil's assets include one of Asia's largest undeveloped gas fields, Elk-Antelope, in the Gulf Province, and exploration licenses covering about 16,000sqkm. Its main offices are in Singapore and Port Moresby. InterOil is listed on the New York and Port Moresby stock exchanges.
Investor Contacts
Singapore Singapore North America Michael Lynn Senior Vice President Investor Relations David Wu Vice President Investor Relations Cynthia Black Investor Relations North America T: +65 6507 0222 E: [email protected] T: +65 6507 0222 E: [email protected] T: +1 212 653 9778 E: [email protected]
Media Contacts
Singapore United States Ann Lee Communications Specialist James Golden / Aaron Palash Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher T: +65 6507 0222 E: [email protected] T: +1 212 355 4449 E: [email protected]
Forward Looking Statements
This media release includes "forward-looking statements" as defined in United States federal and Canadian securities laws. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this release that address activities, events or developments that InterOil expects, believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on our current beliefs as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to the company. No assurances can be given however, that these events will occur. Actual results could differ, and the difference may be material and adverse to the company and its shareholders. Such statements are subject to a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of the company, which may cause our actual results to differ materially from those implied or expressed by the forward-looking statements. Some of these factors include the risk factors discussed in the company's filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and on SEDAR, including but not limited to those in the company's annual report for the year ended December 31, 2015 on Form 40-F and its Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2015. In particular, there is no established market for natural gas or gas condensate in Papua New Guinea and no guarantee that gas or gas condensate will ultimately be able to be extracted and sold commercially. All forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release and the fact that this press release remains available does not constitute a representation by InterOil that InterOIl believes these forward-looking statements continue to be true as of any subsequent date. Actual results may vary materially from the expected results expressed in forward-looking statements. InterOil disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable securities laws. InterOil's forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.
Investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in the company's Form 40-F, available from the company at www.interoil.com or from the SEC at www.sec.gov and its Annual Information Form available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
SOURCE InterOil Corporation
Related Links
http://www.interoil.com
The palatial estate is on the market for $200 million, and Hof sees a fantastic opportunity to use the historical location as a west coast office, entertainment facility and staging area for his seven legal brothels located just over the California border in neighboring Nevada. The sale comes with the caveat that Playboy founder Hugh Hefner is allowed to remain living in the house until his passing, but Hof doesn't see that as a problem.
"Hef and I are friends, and I've been to many of his parties over the years at the mansion," Hof said. "I wouldn't mind having his experienced eye around as I interview potential new bunnies to come work for me at my legal brothels in Nevada. He and I both know what to look for when it comes to spotting a girl with marketable sex appeal."
Hof realizes that prostitution isn't legal in California, but points to an ongoing effort to legalize it through the state's courts, and sees no legal hurdles to conducting informal job interviews. "There is so much talent in the LA area, and many of the kind of girls that we are looking for are already associated with the Playboy brand. In fact, over the years we have had numerous Playboy centerfolds come to work at The Bunny Ranch. This will just make it easier for them to get in touch with me."
With possible consideration to making the Playboy Mansion his permanent residence, Hof even relishes the idea of having a roommate with similar interests and career pursuits. "Hef and Hof could make for a great reality show," laughs the brothel baron. "We wouldn't have to worry about fighting over girls. At our house, there would always be plenty to go around."
Dennis and the Bunny Ranch girls are available for interviews by contacting [email protected], [email protected], or 775-720-9090.
Dennis Hof is the author of the best-selling autobiography, "The Art Of The Pimp," from Regan Arts. He's also currently a candidate for Nevada State Assembly district 36.
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160331/350287
SOURCE Bunny Ranch
Related Links
http://www.bunnyranch.com
WASHINGTON, April 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Navy has awarded the Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT)-led industry team a contract for one fully funded Freedom-class Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). The contract award includes funding for seaframe construction, systems integration and testing.
Leveraging savings from its block buy contract, the U.S. Navy exercised an option to build an additional Freedom-class LCS under its current block buy arrangement. LCS 25 will be the 11th ship procured under the 2010 block buy contract and the 13th Freedom-class variant overall. LCS 25 is scheduled to be delivered to the Navy in 2020.
"We are proud to continue our partnership with the U.S. Navy to build and deliver the capable Freedom-class LCS to the fleet," said Joe North, vice president and general manager of Littoral Ships and Systems. "Over 12,000 people and 500 suppliers in 37 states contribute to this critical program and will continue to do so as we transition to the new Freedom-class Frigate in the coming years."
Under the current 10-ship block buy, costs per ship have dropped significantly to half the cost of the first ships of class and two ships per year are being delivered to the Navy.
The Lockheed Martin-led industry team is currently in full-rate production of the Freedom-class variant, and has delivered three ships to the U.S. Navy to date. There are seven ships in various stages of construction at Fincantieri Marinette Marine, with three more in long-lead production.
The LCS's modular design and affordable price achieves increased capacity and capability so the Navy can provide presence where and when needed, with a level of force that will deter and defeat threats. USS Freedom and USS Fort Worth have demonstrated the Freedom-variant's value to the fleet with two successful operational deployments to Southeast Asia, sailing more than 180,000 combined nautical miles since delivery.
The Freedom-variant's steel monohull design is based on a proven, survivable design recognized for its stability and reliability. With 40 percent reconfigurable shipboard space, the hull is ideally suited to accommodate additional lethality and survivability upgrades.
Fincantieri Marinette Marine is building the Freedom-class Littoral Combat Ship in Marinette, Wisconsin, with naval architect Gibbs & Cox of Arlington, Virginia, providing engineering support. The industry team invested over $100 million to modernize the Fincantieri Marinette Marine shipyard, hire additional staff and train a new workforce.
For additional information, visit our website: www.lockheedmartin.com/lcs
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.
About Fincantieri Marinette Marine
Founded in 1942, Fincantieri Marinette Marine (FMM) is located on the Menominee River flowage into Green Bay. The largest shipyard in the Midwest, FMM has delivered more than 1,300 vessels to the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, and commercial customers, including the technologically advanced Littoral Combat Ship Freedom variant for the U.S. Navy. In 2008, FMM along with several sister shipyards also based in the Great Lakes region, became part of FINCANTIERI, one of the world's largest shipbuilding groups and number one by diversification and innovation, with almost 21,000 employees, of whom approximately 7,700 in Italy, 21 shipyards in 4 continents. FINCANTIERI operates in the United States through its subsidiary Fincantieri Marine Group, serving both civilian and government customers. Over the past five years, FINCANTIERI invested more than $100 million in both capital infrastructure and its resources to support FMM's transformation into what is now one of the best shipyards in the United States. Employing approximately 1,500 employees, today FMM is a state-of-the-art, full service new construction shipyard.
About Gibbs & Cox
Gibbs & Cox, the nation's leading independent maritime solutions firm specializing in naval architecture, marine engineering and design, is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. The company, founded in 1929, has provided designs for nearly 80 percent of the current U.S. Navy surface combatant fleet; approaching 7,000 naval and commercial ships have been built to Gibbs & Cox designs.
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SOURCE Lockheed Martin
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"The 2015 numbers show that medical care is getting more expensive for everyone. That's directly responsible for difficult choices that we've all been making between higher premiums, seeking bigger employer contributions, and unfortunately, paying even more out of pocket expenses," said Jim Schowalter, the Council's president.
Expenses exceed premiums paid by individuals who buy their own insurance
Driving the industry financials was a $351.8 million gap between premium revenue and expenses for people who buy health insurance on their own. Revenue from premiums in what's known as the individual market was $1.1 billion while medical expenses alone topped $1.4 billion.
The losses were lowered by $218.7 million that companies expect to receive from other health insurers. This is the second year of the three-year program coordinated by the federal government to ensure an insurer's policyholders aren't penalized because they need more care than people who signed up with other companies. In all, 302,169 people bought health insurance on their own.
"Insurance premiums are so expensive because medical care is so expensive," Schowalter said. "Our member health insurers continually look for ways to help make sure we get treatments and medications that are as safe, as effective and as affordable as possible. But as long as medications and other care keep getting more expensive, we all end up paying more. Later in May we hope to have more details on what's driving increases in Minnesotans' medical expenses."
Medicare, MinnesotaCare, Medicaid enrollment top 1.3 million
As leaders with the University of Minnesota's State Health Access Data Assistance Center (SHADAC) and the Minnesota Department of Health announced recently, more Minnesotans than ever before have public insurance including Medicare, Medicaid and MinnesotaCare. Enrollment in Medicare was up 7 percent to 574,012 while Medicaid and MinnesotaCare increased 10 percent to 727,932. Industry-wide, enrollment remained steady at 4.7 million people.
"We celebrate with people across the state who have worked hard to get Minnesotans health insurance. The good news is when looking behind the SHADAC data, financial help is available for most Minnesotans who still need insurance," Schowalter said. "Our challenge continues to be keeping that insurance within reach."
The Minnesota Council of Health Plans brings our country's top health insurance companies together to solve problems. We work in a space where our insurers put aside competitive concerns to work together with partners across the state to make medical care more effective and less expensive for everyone. Seven local health insurance companies that work with the Council serve local policyholders, not shareholders on Wall Street.
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SOURCE Minnesota Council of Health Plans
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http://mnhealthplans.org/
LONDON, March 31, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- INTRODUCTION
Discovered less than two decades ago, RNAi has made its presence felt in all spheres of the pharmaceutical industry. RNAi is a natural post-transcriptional process of gene silencing involving short strands of nucleic acids. It is a regulatory process that cells utilise to silence and/or inhibit gene expression through the destruction of specific mRNA molecules. One of the major advantages of RNAi is that it enables sequence specific knockdown of a target gene. Indications, such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD), hepatitis C and various forms of cancer,which are hard to address with the available therapies are being considered as potential areas that can benefit from RNAi based therapeutics.
After years of research tracing back to the 1990s, a number of novel RNAi therapeutics have finally reached a point of maturity. These promising therapeutic approaches are set to be made commercially available in the near future. Innovative research, encouraging clinical trial results and growing pipelines directed towards a variety of molecular targets across different therapeutic areas have emerged as essential growth drivers of the market. The promise has been backed by several venture capitalists and strategic investors. It is also important to highlight that partnerships amongst various stakeholders in this market have been common. Such collaborations have actively fuelled growth in the market by providing a common platform for both industry and academic research.
Several start-ups / university spin-offs have been notable flagbearers and are expected to sustain the research momentum in the coming years. The commercial success, to a certain extent, is hinged upon uncovering effective delivery routes and developing sophisticated delivery carriers for the molecules. Despite this and other associated challenges, we expect the market to make a huge leap over the coming decade.
SCOPE OF THE REPORT
The 'RNAi Therapeutics Market, 2015-2030' report provides a comprehensive analysis of the current market landscape and future outlook of the growing pipeline of RNAi therapeutics. Overall, the RNAi therapeutics market has been one of the more actively evolving markets in the past few years. However, with no marketed products till date, the market is still in its infancy.
RNAi therapeutics is characterised by a robust and opportunistic pipeline of products targeting several therapeutic areas such as oncology, genetic disorders and infectious diseases. The market has seen several collaborations between industry players aimed at the clinical and commercial development of promising candidates. Some late stage products that have emerged out of such collaborations include Patisiran/ALN-TTR02 (Alnylam Pharmaceuticals and Genzyme; based on LNP delivery platform developed by Arbutus Biopharma), Revusiran/ALN-TTRsc (Alnylam Pharmaceuticals and Genzyme; based on Alnylam's proprietary GalNAc siRNA conjugate platform), QPI-1002 (Quark Pharmaceuticals and Novartis; based on AtuRNAi platform developed by Silence Therapeutics) and PF-655 (Quark Pharmaceuticals and Pfizer; based on AtuRNAi platform developed by Silence Therapeutics). Encouraging clinical results have accelerated the progress and these therapies have emerged as one of the most effective ways of developing treatments for undruggable targets.
One of the key objectives of this study is to review and quantify the opportunities laid by the innovative programs of both small and big pharma firms. The unexploited and promising nature of this market supports the hopes pinned on multiple start-ups by several strategic investors and venture capital firms. We have presented our opinions in this report by analysing:
- The current state of the market with respect to key players, developmental stage of pipeline products (both clinical/preclinical) and target indications
- The well established and emerging technology platforms and delivery systems in the space of RNAi (nanoparticle based systems, lipid based systems and conjugated systems)
- Partnerships that have taken place in the recent past covering research and development collaborations, manufacturing agreements, license agreements specific to technology platforms, co-development and co-commercialisation of promising candidates
- Various investments and grants received by companies focused in this area
- Various service providers that are aiding the development of this area as well as providing raw materials for research
- Competitive landscape and inherent threats to the market's growth in the short and long term
- Development and sales potential based on target consumer segments, likely adoption rate and expected pricing
The study provides an estimate of the short-midterm and long term market forecast for the period 2015 - 2030. The research, analysis and insights presented in this report include potential sales of several molecules in late (phase III, II/III) and intermediate (phase II) phases of development.
With most products still in the early stage of development, we have provided three market forecast scenarios to add robustness to our model. The conservative, base and optimistic scenarios represent three different tracks of industry evolution. All actual figures have been sourced and analysed from publicly available information. The figures mentioned in this report are in USD, unless otherwise specified.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Most of the data presented in this report has been gathered via secondary research. For all our projects, we also conduct interviews with experts in the area (academia, industry, medical practice and other associations) to solicit their opinions on emerging trends in the market. This is primarily useful for us to draw out our own opinion on how the market will evolve across different regions and technology segments. Where possible, the available data has been checked for accuracy from multiple sources of information.
The secondary sources of information include
- Annual reports
- Investor presentations
- SEC filings
- Industry databases
- News releases from company websites
- Government policy documents
- Industry analysts' views
While the focus has been on forecasting the market over the coming ten years, the report also provides our independent view on various technological and non-commercial trends emerging in the industry. This opinion is solely based on our knowledge, research and understanding of the relevant market gathered from various sources of information.
CHAPTER OUTLINES
Chapter 2 presents an executive summary of the report. It offers a high level view on where the RNAi therapeutics market is headed in the mid-long term.
Chapter 3 provides a detailed introduction to RNAi therapeutics. In this section, we have discussed the discovery and evolution of RNAi and its mechanism of action. We have also highlighted the advantages and associated challenges, applications areas and the views of the regulatory authorities.
Chapter 4includes information on over 180 molecules that are currently in different stages of development (both clinical and preclinical/discovery). In this section, we have presented a detailed analysis of the RNAi development pipeline including information on the various types of molecules, most commonly targeted indications, current phases of development and the target gene.
Chapter 5provides a comprehensive view on the technology platforms and delivery systems that are currently being used in the RNAi therapeutics domain. In addition, the chapter provides an overview on patents protecting the RNAi technology and associated delivery systems, with a specific focus on siRNA.
Chapter 6provides detailed company and drug profiles of the leading players in the market. Each profile includes information such as the company'sfinancial performance, geographical presence, RNAi pipeline and recent collaborations. Within each profile, we have included detailed clinical trial information for the molecules in the clinical development phase.
Chapter 7highlights the monetary opportunity presented by these therapies. It provides a comprehensive market forecast analysis for molecules in advanced stages of development (phase III and phase II) taking into consideration the target patient population, competition, likely adoption rate and price points.
Chapter 8 highlights the promising therapeutic areas for RNAi therapeutics. These indications are the prime focus of companies developing RNAi therapeutics. The chapter also highlights the epidemiological facts and currently available treatment options for each indication.
Chapter 9discusses the use of miRNAs as potential biomarkers and enlists several miRNA biomarkers currently under investigation. In addition, the chapter provides the pipeline of diagnostic kits that have already been approved or are under development.
Chapter 10presents details on various investments and grants received by companies focused in the area of RNAi therapeutics. The analysis highlights the growing interest from the VC community and other strategic investors in this market.
Chapter 11features an elaborate discussion on the collaborations and partnerships that have been forged amongst the players in the market. We have also discussed the various partnership models in existence and the most common forms of deals/agreements that have evolved over time.
Chapter 12 provides information on the companies that are actively supporting the development of RNAi therapeutics market. These include companies such as contract manufacturers, contract researchers and other service providers.
Chapter 13 provides a SWOT analysis of the RNAi therapeutics market, giving strategic insights to the major factors that are likely to drive future growth whilst also highlighting the weaknesses and threats that may negatively impact the industry's evolution.
Chapter 14summarises the overall report. In this chapter, we provide a recap of the key takeaways and our independent opinion based on the research and analysis described in previous chapters.
Chapters 15 and 16 are appendices, which provide the list of companies and tabulated data for all the figures presented in the report.
EXAMPLE HIGHLIGHTS
1. RNAi therapeutics have emerged as a new class of potent therapies capable of targeting diseases with undruggable targets. A number of disorders that are difficult to treat using traditional approaches can be addressed using this technology.
2. During the course of our research, we identified 180 products in various phases of development. Of these, 20% are in the clinical phase of development (with five molecules in Phase III trials). A significant proportion of the molecules (80%), currently in the preclinical/discovery stages,are likely to fuel the future growth.
3. The market is predominantly being led by emerging start-ups and small companies instead of big pharma companies. Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Arbutus Biopharma (previously Tekmira), BenitecBiopharma and Quark Pharmaceuticals are some major players in this space. Other start-ups and university / industry spin offs that have come up in recent times include (in alphabetical order) Arrowhead Research, Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, Gradalis, miRagen Therapeutics, Mirna Therapeutics, RXi Pharmaceuticals, Silence Therapeutics, Silenseed, Sirnaomics and Sylentis(full list available in Chapter 4).
4. A large number of players have already collaborated for licensing technology and therapeutic candidates. We have identified and reviewed over 80 such partnerships that have taken place in the last few years. One of the major reasons behind the extensive number of collaborations is that the original trigger and other related mechanisms are well protected through a number of patents.
5. In addition, enhanced technological platforms and unexplored opportunities have yielded an intense framework of investment activity, with a sizeable number of venture capitalists actively supporting the research. Since 2013, we have traced a total investment (equity + debt) of USD 2.2 billion.
6. Over the coming decade, we expect at least 11 RNAi therapies to be made commercially available. We believe the market is likely to be worth USD 18.6 billion by 2030; the overall opportunity could be much higher and depends on a number of factors such as favourable market environment, regulatory regimes and therapeutic performance of candidates in late stages of development.
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SAINT LEO, Fla., April 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Three-quarters of Americans are concerned about global climate change according to the latest national online survey from the Saint Leo University Polling Institute. This remains similar to the same percentage reported in a 2015 survey.
Strikingly, in peninsular Florida, a parallel survey of residents found that 81.3 percent were very concerned or somewhat concerned, a marked increase from last year's poll around the same time when 67 percent felt that way. Those who said they were very concerned jumped sharply from 28 percent last year to 45.9 percent this year. Those who reported they were only somewhat concerned fell to 7.6 percent from 18 percent in 2015, and those who said they were not at all concerned declined this year to 8.3 percent compared to 14 percent last year.
Few people surveyed said they don't believe climate change is occurring: 4.1 percent nationally and 3.7 percent in Florida this year, versus 4 percent nationally and 8 percent in Florida last year.
"I think what these numbers are telling us is that awareness of global climate change is growing," said Leo Ondrovic, PhD, a Saint Leo science faculty member.
Nationally, respondents were significantly more likely to report having observed warmer temperatures, at 57.1 percent, up from 45 percent last year. Of those, 72.4 percent of those polled nationally consider climate change responsible for the warmer temperatures.
The poll also asked whether respondents agree with Pope Francis that protecting the environment is the responsibility of all Christians. And in both years, the results for those strongly or somewhat agreeing were more than 70 percent, nationally and in Florida. The broad agreement exists even though the sample included respondents from multiple religions.
"Pope Francis may be the international figure who leads on this topic," said Ondrovic. Pope Francis released a detailed encyclical (teaching document) on environmental ethics and concerns called Laudato Si in summer of 2015, and its contents received wide media coverage. The encyclical followed less detailed statements Pope Francis had released before.
The Saint Leo University Polling Institute survey results about Florida and national politics, public policy issues, Pope Francis' popularity, and other topics, can be found here: http://polls.saintleo.edu. You can also follow the institute on Twitter @saintleopolls.
SOURCE Saint Leo University Polling Institute
Related Links
http://polls.saintleo.edu
TOKYO, April 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Taiho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. of Tokyo announced on April 1 results from its Phase III TERRA study on its oral combination anticancer drug TAS-102 (product name in Japan and the U.S. LONSURF (R), nonproprietary names: trifluridine (FTD) and tipiracil (TPI)) in Asian (China, South Korea and Thailand) patients with refractory metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). The TERRA study met its primary endpoint of demonstrating improvement in overall survival (OS) in patients with refractory mCRC whose disease had progressed after approved standard therapies. In this study, TAS-102 appeared to be generally well tolerated and its toxicities were consistent with what was previously reported.
More detailed results from this study will be presented at a future international academic conference.
The Taiho team is preparing for the NDAs of TAS-102 in Asian countries.
About TERRA study
The TERRA study is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase III comparison study evaluating the efficacy and safety of orally administered TAS-102 in patients with refractory mCRC. The study enrolled 406 patients who received at least two prior regimens of standard chemotherapies for mCRC and were refractory to, or failed, those chemotherapies. The study was conducted in China, South Korea, and Thailand. Patients were randomly assigned to receive either TAS-102 or placebo in order to investigate the efficacy of TAS-102. The primary objective of the TERRA study was improvement in overall survival (OS) versus placebo. The principal researchers are Prof. Jin Li of Shanghai Tianyou Hospital and Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center (China), Prof. Tae Won Kim of Asan Medical Center (Korea), Prof. Virote Sriuranpong of Chulalongkorn University & the King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital (Thailand).
About Metastatic Colorectal Cancer in Asia
In Asia, the incidence of colorectal cancer is increasing and colorectal cancer is the fourth most common cancer cause of death after lung cancer, hepatic cancer and gastric cancer. In 2012, it is reported that 331,600 people in Asia died from colorectal cancer. (*1)
About LONSURF
LONSURF is currently available in Japan for the treatment of unresectable advanced or recurrent CRC and in the United States for the treatment of patients with mCRC who have been previously treated with fluoropyrimidine-, oxaliplatin- and irinotecan-based chemotherapy, an anti-VEGF biological therapy, and if RAS wild-type, an anti-EGFR therapy. (*2, *3) LONSURF is marketed by Taiho Pharmaceutical in Japan and by Taiho Oncology, Inc., a subsidiary of Taiho Pharmaceutical, in the U.S. In June 2015, Taiho Pharmaceutical entered into an exclusive license agreement with Servier for the co-development and commercialization of LONSURF. Under the terms of the agreement, Servier will commercialize LONSURF in Europe and other regions outside of the United States, Canada, Mexico and Asia. The application is currently under review by the European Commission after the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) where a positive opinion was adopted on February 25, recommending the granting of a marketing authorization for LONSURF (R) (trifluridine/tipiracil) for the treatment of adult patients with metastatic colorectal cancer who have been previously treated with, or are not considered candidates for, available therapies including fluoropyrimidine-, oxaliplatin- and irinotecan-based chemotherapies, anti-VEGF agents, and anti EGFR agents. (*4) LONSURF is an oral combination anticancer drug of trifluridine (FTD) and tipiracil (TPI). FTD is a thymidine-based nucleoside analog, which is incorporated directly into DNA, thereby interfering with DNA synthesis and inhibits cell proliferation. The blood concentration of FTD is maintained via TPI, which is an inhibitor of the FTD-degrading enzyme, thymidine phosphorylase.
Important Safety Information (*5)
WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS
Severe Myelosuppression: In Study 1, LONSURF (R) (trifluridine and tipiracil) caused severe and life-threatening myelosuppression (Grade 3-4) consisting of anemia (18%), neutropenia (38%), thrombocytopenia (5%), and febrile neutropenia (3.8%). One patient (0.2%) died due to neutropenic infection. In Study 1, 9.4% of LONSURF-treated patients received granulocyte-colony stimulating factors.
Obtain complete blood counts prior to and on day 15 of each cycle of LONSURF and more frequently as clinically indicated. Withhold LONSURF for febrile neutropenia, Grade 4 neutropenia, or platelets less than 50,000/mm3. Upon recovery, resume LONSURF at a reduced dose.
Embryo-Fetal Toxicity: LONSURF can cause fetal harm when administered to a pregnant woman. Advise pregnant women of the potential risk to the fetus. Advise females of reproductive potential to use effective contraception during treatment with LONSURF.
USE IN SPECIFIC POPULATIONS
Lactation: It is not known whether LONSURF or its metabolites are present in human milk. There are no data to assess the effects of LONSURF or its metabolites on the breast-fed infant or the effects on milk production. Because of the potential for serious adverse reactions in breast-fed infants, advise women not to breastfeed during treatment with LONSURF and for 1 day following the final dose.
Male Contraception: Because of the potential for genotoxicity, advise males with female partners of reproductive potential to use condoms during treatment with LONSURF and for at least 3 months after the final dose.
Geriatric Use: Patients 65 years of age or over who received LONSURF had a higher incidence of the following compared to patients younger than 65 years: Grade 3 or 4 neutropenia (48% vs. 30%), Grade 3 anemia (26% vs. 12%), and Grade 3 or 4 thrombocytopenia (9% vs. 2%).
Renal Impairment: In Study 1, patients with moderate renal impairment (CLcr=30 to 59 mL/min, n=47) had a higher incidence (difference of at least 5%) of greater than or equal to Grade 3 adverse events, serious adverse events, and dose delays and reductions compared to patients with normal renal function (CLcr greater than or equal to 90 mL/min, n=306) or patients with mild renal impairment (CLcr=60 to 89 mL/min, n=178).
Patients with moderate renal impairment may require dose modifications for increased toxicity. No patients with severe renal impairment were enrolled in Study 1.
ADVERSE REACTIONS
Most Common Adverse Drug Reactions in Patients Treated With LONSURF (greater than or equal to 5%): The most common adverse drug reactions in LONSURF-treated patients vs. placebo-treated patients with refractory mCRC, respectively, were asthenia/fatigue (52% vs. 35%), nausea (48% vs. 24%), decreased appetite (39% vs. 29%), diarrhea (32% vs. 12%), vomiting (28% vs. 14%), abdominal pain (21% vs. 18%), pyrexia (19% vs. 14%), stomatitis (8% vs. 6%), dysgeusia (7% vs. 2%), and alopecia (7% vs. 1%).
Additional Important Adverse Drug Reactions: The following occurred more frequently in LONSURF-treated patients compared to placebo: infections (27% vs. 15%) and pulmonary emboli (2% vs. 0%).
The most commonly reported infections which occurred more frequently in LONSURF-treated patients were nasopharyngitis (4% vs. 2%) and urinary tract infections (4% vs. 2%).
Interstitial lung disease (0.2%), including fatalities, has been reported in clinical studies and clinical practice settings in Asia.
Laboratory Test Abnormalities in Patients Treated With LONSURF: Laboratory test abnormalities in LONSURF-treated patients vs. placebo-treated patients with refractory mCRC, respectively, were anemia (77% vs. 33%), neutropenia (67% vs. 1%), and thrombocytopenia (42% vs. 8%).
Please see Full Prescribing Information. www.taihooncology.com/us/prescribing-information.pdf
About Taiho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Japan)
Taiho Pharmaceutical, a subsidiary of Otsuka Holdings Co., Ltd., is an R&D-driven specialty pharma focusing on the three fields of oncology, allergies and immunology, and urology. Its corporate philosophy takes the form of a pledge: "We strive to improve human health and contribute to a society enriched by smiles." In the field of oncology in particular, Taiho Pharmaceutical is known as a leading company in Japan for developing innovative medicines for the treatment of cancer. In areas other than oncology, as well, the company creates quality products that effectively treat medical conditions and can help improve people's quality of life. Always putting customers first, Taiho Pharmaceutical aims to also offer over-the-counter medicinal products that support people's efforts to lead fulfilling and rewarding lives.
For more information about Taiho Pharmaceutical, please visit: http://www.taiho.co.jp/english/.
About Taiho Oncology, Inc. (U.S.)
Taiho Oncology, Inc., a subsidiary of Taiho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. and Otsuka Holdings Co., Ltd., has established a world-class clinical development organization that works urgently to develop innovative cancer treatments and has built a commercial business in the U.S. Taiho Oncology has an oral oncology pipeline consisting of both novel antimetabolic agents and selectively targeted agents. Advanced technology, dedicated researchers, and state-of-the-art facilities are helping us to define the way the world treats cancer. It's our work; it's our passion; it's our legacy.
For more information about Taiho Oncology, please visit: www.taihooncology.com
(*1) http://globocan.iarc.fr/old/summary_table_pop-html.asp?selection=7967&title=Asia&sex=0&type=1&window=1&sort=2&submit=%A0Execute%A0 (analysed March 16th, 2016) (*2) FDA News Release. FDA approves new oral medication to treat patients with advanced colorectal cancer. 22 September 2015. Available at: http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm463650.htm Accessed March 2016 (*3) Taiho Pharmaceutical News Release. Taiho's Lonsurf (R) (trifluridine and tipiracil hydrochloride) Tablets Approved in Japan for Treatment in Advanced Metastatic Colorectal Cancer. Available at: http://www.taiho.co.jp/english/news/20140324.html Accessed March 2016 (*4) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) Summary of opinion. http://www.ema.europa.eu/docs/en_GB/document_library/Summary_of_opinion_-_Initial_authorisation/human/003897/WC500202369.pdf (*5) LONSURF Summary of Product Characteristics
SOURCE Taiho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
Related Links
http://www.taihooncology.com
BEIJING, April 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Almost every nation has a representative traditional outfit in the world, such as Kimono in Japan, Hanbok in South Korea, Ao Dai in Vietnam and Sarli in India. China, a country with five thousand years of history and civilization is undergoing its renovation, and Chinese traditional outfit is a significant icon to represent cultural implication.
To look for the fashion talents who are capable of clothing design with the ethnic Chinese characters and spirit today, the opening ceremony of Inheritance and Craftsmanship - the first Traditional Chinese Clothing Design Award kicked off in Beijing on March 22nd.
Under the guidance of China National Textile and Apparel Council, co-hosted by the Xinhua News Agency, Xinhuanet and Textile Apparel Weekly Magazine, the competition will run until October and include nationwide and overseas tours in November for outstanding works. To attract broad participation, the competition is divided into amateur and professional designers groups.
Mentors + E-commerce
National well-known designers will act as mentors in the competition, and cooperate with famous brands that provide overall support to the candidates. Under the guidance of three mentors, the top 24 finalists will have their designs modeled at a live competition, the winner of which will receive RMB150,000 ($23,100). The 24 finalists' works will also tour major cities including Suzhou, Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong and Paris. Meanwhile, the outcome of the competition will transfer to the e-commerce platform, winning designers and sponsored brands will establish "advanced new Chinese clothing customized e-commerce platform" together, to pull the production right into sales market and better increase the influence of textile and clothing industry.
A call for cultural recognition
Silk textile is a considerable element in advancing the development policy of "One Belt and One Road". This competition will collect works with the theme of "Inheritance and Craftsmanship" from both domestic and overseas fields.
"China's global influence keeps growing during the recent years, we should carry forward Chinese costume and fashion culture at the moment. Inheritance means more than imitation and reproduction, but creation. I believe this competition will play an important role in the future clothing business, especially for the current industry supply-side structural reform," Mr. Li Dangqi, Chairman of Chinese Fashion Designers Association said.
Entry requirements and application
If anyone is interested in the competition, candidate is required to provide the materials as follows:
1. Design theme: "Inheritance and craftsmanship" (3-4 outfits).
2. Color sketch effect drawing: please finish the sketch in the size of 27cm*40cm. Name of works should be marked in the top left corner. A 4cm*4cm cloth material sample should be attached to the bottom right corner. The name of candidate and works should be signed in the bottom right corner on the back side.
3. Structure drawing: please prepare the structure or craft drawing of each outfit with the explanation of theme and concept.
4. Application form: please download and print the application form in the competition official website (www.zhongguoguofu.com). Fill in the form, photos should be attached.
5. Creativity instruction:
Design rationale
Fabric description
Manufacturing techniques explanation
Unique highlights (how to correspond to the competition theme)
6. One copy of personal ID card (both sides).
Attention:
All materials above should be prepared in both electronic and paper version.Please send electronic copy to [email protected] with "designer's name + work name" as the subject.
Please send paper copy to the contact address as below:
Address: Room 1007, Zhidi Plaza, NO. 55 of Hongwu Road, Xuanwu District, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, P.R.China
Postcode: 210005
Contact person: Mrs. Lv +86 139 1448 8485, Mr. Zhang +86 150 7782 1366
Contact QQ: 3109519599
Deadline: May 31st, 2015, based on the postmark date
On the outer packing, please mark "competition", the postage is refused to pay.
If candidates have any inquiries, please contact the competition contact person via QQ.
Image Attachments Links:
http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=268508
SOURCE Inheritance and Craftsmanship-TCC Design Award Committee
After years of research and development, Titan Tire Reclamation Corp (TTRC) has developed a unique environmental solution to process giant scrap mining tires that have been accumulating in Alberta's oil sands. Until now, the recycling of scrap industrial mining tires was not possible because of their size and density. The TTRC thermal reactors transform mining tires into oil, steel and carbon black solving one of the biggest environmental problems these mines face. TTRC came up with the solution using a process originally developed by Green Carbon. Titan partnered with ACDEN (part of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation), Paul Newton, Green Carbon and Suncor to bring this to the oil sands. At full production, we estimate on a daily basis this operation is capable of converting 240,000 pounds of scrap tires to approximately 13,600 gallons of oil, 52,800 pounds of steel and 76,800 pounds of carbon black. These recycled items will be placed back into new products. The system uses 85 percent of the gas it generates to heat up the vessel containing the scrap tires.
All four of Canada's major mines were represented at the opening with several of the mine contractors also present. Attendees were able to tour the facility and view Titan's wheels, tires and undercarriage products as well as learn more about our mining services.
Chief Allen Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN) was also in attendance, showing the First Nation's support of the new technology and their partnership with TTRC. At the event, he noted the importance of protecting our environment and the economic benefit of doing so stating that reclamation is a big part of the future of this region.
The technology is also providing jobs. TTRC currently has 15 people working at the facility and the number could expand to as many as 40 employees. TTRC will be testing and developing the system and in doing so, will ramp up the entire system in an orderly manner over the next several weeks.
At the opening, Titan International Chairman and CEO Maurice Taylor shared the company's plans to expand the TTRC operations to Chile and Australia as well as Alberta. "This system is not just the only one of its kind in the Canadian industry, it's the first of its kind in the world," stated Taylor. "This venture has taken over seven years to complete from the day Titan first met with Shell Oil, but it's been two years to get it here today with Suncor. I want to thank everyone who has worked on this project and for what they have done to make this new chapter at Titan successful."
Safe harbor statement :
Certain statements and information in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The words "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "plan," "would," "could," "outlook," "potential," "may," "will" and other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, which are generally not historical in nature. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effect on us. Although we believe the assumptions upon which these forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, any of these assumptions could prove to be inaccurate and the forward-looking statements based on these assumptions could be incorrect. The matters discussed in these forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results and trends to differ materially from those made, projected, or implied in or by the forward-looking statements depending on a variety of uncertainties or other factors including, but not limited to risk factors as detailed in Titan International, Inc.'s periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015. The Company cautions that any forward-looking statements included in this press release are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties and the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements.
Company description : Titan International, Inc. (NYSE: TWI), a holding company, owns subsidiaries that supply wheels, tires, assemblies and undercarriage products for off-highway equipment used in agricultural, earthmoving/construction and consumer applications.
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160401/350388
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131018/CG00188LOGO
SOURCE Titan International, Inc.
MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif., April 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Vantage Oncology, LLC (the "Issuer") today announced that it and Vantage Oncology Finance Co. (collectively, the "Issuers") have commenced a change of control offer (the "Change of Control Offer") relating to its outstanding 9.500% Senior Secured Notes due 2017 (CUSIP Nos. 92208A AA2; U9218R AA4; 92208A AB0; U9218R AB2) (the "Notes") on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Notice of Change of Control and Offer to Purchase dated April 1, 2016 (the "Offer to Purchase").
On February 22, 2016, the Issuer's parent company, Vantage Oncology Holdings, LLC ("Holdings"), entered into a definitive merger agreement, with McKesson Corporation ("McKesson"), pursuant to which, under the terms and conditions set forth therein, McKesson would acquire Holdings (the "Acquisition"). On April 1, 2016, Holdings and McKesson completed the Acquisition.
Under the terms of the indenture governing the Notes, the Acquisition is deemed a Change of Control, and the Issuers are required to make the Change of Control Offer within 30 days following such Change of Control. The consideration for each $1,000 principal amount of notes tendered and not withdrawn, pursuant to the Change of Control Offer, subject to proration, will be $1,010 (101% of the principal amount thereof), plus accrued and unpaid interest to, but not including, the date the notes are purchased by the Issuers.
The Change of Control Offer commences on April 1, 2016 and expires at 5:00pm, New York City time, on May 2, 2016 (such time and date as the same may be extended, the "Expiration Date"). Holders may withdraw their notes at any time prior to 5:00p.m. on May 3, 2016 (such time and date as the same may be extended, the "Withdrawal Deadline"). The Issuers currently expect to purchase any Notes validly tendered by the Expiration Date, and not withdrawn by the Withdrawal Deadline, on May 5, 2016.
On April 1, 2016, the Issuers also irrevocably instructed the trustee to deliver on April 18, 2016, a notice of redemption to the holders of the Notes with respect to the optional redemption on June 15, 2016, of the Notes at a price equal to 100.000% of their aggregate principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest to, but not including, the date of redemption (the "Optional Redemption"). Any Notes not tendered into the Change of Control Offer will be subject to the Optional Redemption.
The Depositary for the Change of Control Offer is Wells Fargo Bank, National Association and can be contacted at (800) 344-5128, option 0. Copies of the Offer to Purchase and other related documents may be obtained from the Company by contacting (310) 335-4000.
This press release is for information purposes only and is not an offer to purchase, or the solicitation of an offer to purchase, the notes.
This announcement shall not constitute an offer to purchase or a solicitation of an offer to sell any securities. The Change of Control Offer is being made only through, and subject to the terms and conditions set forth in, the Offer to Purchase and related materials.
None of the Issuers, the Depositary or any affiliate of any of them makes any recommendation as to whether or not holders of the Notes should tender Notes in response to the Change of Control Offer. The Issuers make no recommendation as to whether holders of the Notes should tender their Notes into the Change of Control Offer or await the Optional Redemption, and holders of the Notes should consult their own advisors with respect to such decision. Each holder of the Notes must decide whether to tender Notes and, if tendering, the amount of Notes to tender. Holders of the Notes are urged to review carefully all information contained or incorporated by reference in the Offer to Purchase and related materials before any decision is made with respect to the tender offer.
About Vantage
Founded in October 2002, Manhattan Beach, California-based Vantage Oncology, LLC is a leading national provider of radiation oncology, medical oncology and other value-based integrated cancer care services. The company's founding principles were to address the growing need among cancer patients, hospitals and physicians for accessible and advanced cancer treatments. Vantage currently operates over 50 treatment facilities in 13 states. For more information about Vantage, visit www.vantageoncology.com.
Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Statements
Information in this release may involve outlook, expectations, beliefs, plans, intentions, strategies or other statements regarding the future, which are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. All forward-looking statements included in this release are based upon information available to us as of the date of the release, and we assume no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. The statements in this release are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results could differ materially from current expectations. Numerous factors could cause or contribute to such differences. Please refer to "Risk Factors" and "Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" in the Issuers' Annual Report dated December 31, 2014.
SOURCE Vantage Oncology, LLC
Related Links
http://www.vantageoncology.com
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Tokyo, March 29 : 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.
Patna, March 29 : Ahead of phased ban on manufacture and sale of liquor in the state, the Bihar government has decided to bring an amendment bill in the assembly on Wednesday to provide for death penalty for people found violating it.
"The state government will bring an amendment bill to include provision of death penalty for manufacturing illicit country liquor after ban comes into effect in the state from April 1," Bihar Excise and Prohibition Minister Abdul Jalil Mastan told media here on Tuesday.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar last week announced the government in the ongoing budget session of the assembly would amend law to include provision of death penalty for manufacturing and sale of illegal liquor.
Mastan said in the first phase, manufacture and sale of country and spiced liquor would be banned followed by Indian-made foreign liquor later this year.
Last year, during campaigning for the 2015 Bihar assembly elections, Nitish Kumar announced an alcohol ban to be implemented from April 1.
The state minister said the poorest of the poor were consuming liquor, leading to family problems, domestic violence and affecting their children's education. "Women are suffering more than anyone else due to increasing liquor consumption."
According to officials, the ban decision was expected to impact the state government's financial health. Bihar earns an annual revenue of around Rs.3,650 crore from liquor sale.
To provide the livelihood of those involved in the liquor business, the government has offered them to sell products of the state-run Bihar State Milk Cooperative Federation Ltd. under the brand name "Sudha Dairy".
Mumbai, March 30 : Having suffered nearly $3 billion in losses on its UK operations, Tata Steel is exploring to put its entire portfolio there up for sale, some 10 years after it forayed into Europe by acquiring Anglo-Dutch Corus for over $8.1 billion).
The decision comes less than a week after Tata Steel UK said it has reached an agreement to sell its Clydebridge and Dalzell steel facilities in Scotland to the local government, which will, in turn, hive it off to Liberty House, an international steel and non-ferrous metals group.
"The Tata Steel board today reviewed the recent performance of the European business of the, more specifically of Tata Steel UK. It noted with deep concern the deteriorating financial performance of the UK subsidiary in the last 12 months," a company statement said.
"Following the strategic view taken by the Tata Steel Board regarding the UK business, it has advised the board of its European holding company, Tata Steel Europe, to explore all options for portfolio restructuring including potential divestment of Tata Steel UK, in whole or in parts."
The company said while the global steel demand, especially in developed markets like Europe, has remained muted following the financial crisis of 2008, trading conditions in the UK and Europe have rapidly deteriorated more recently.
"These factors are likely to continue into the future and have significantly impacted on the long term competitive position of the UK operations in spite of several initiatives undertaken by the management and the workers of the business in recent years," it said.
"Even under these adverse market conditions, Tata Steel group has extended substantial financial support to the UK business and suffered asset impairment of more than A2 billion in the last five years," it said.
"Given the severity of the funding requirement in the foreseeable future, the Tata Steel Europe board will be advised to evaluate and implement the most feasible option in time bound manner."
The board also reviewed the proposed restructuring and transformation plan for strip products in UK prepared by the European subsidiary in consultation with an independent and internationally reputed consultancy firm.
The board, according to the company, came to a conclusion that the plan is unaffordable, needing material funding support in the next two years, in addition to significant capital over the long term.
Since the assumptions behind it are inherently risky, and its likelihood of delivery is highly uncertain, the board also concluded it will not be able to support the investments necessary to proceed with the proposed strip products UK transformation plan.
Tata Steel's web site says it is the second largest steel producer in Europe with a diversified presence across the continent. It has a crude steel production capacity of over 18 million tonnes per annum there -- more than two thirds of the group's total capacity.
In UK and Ireland it has three steelmaking facilities at Port Talbot, Rotherham and Scunthorpe, with a combined crude steel production capacity of 11 million tonnes per annum.
Bhubaneswar, March 30 : The Odisha government on Wednesday said a blanket ban on consumption and manufacture of liquor was "unrealistic", as consumption was a personal affair.
"It is not a realistic step to declare total prohibition in the state. Since liquor consumption is a personal affair, ban on it by the government would lead to illegal and illicit trade of liquor," Excise Minister Damodar Rout said in his reply to a written question by BJD legislator Amar Prasad Satapathy in the assembly.
Even though he admitted that use of intoxicating substances was harmful for health, the minister said the excise department was taking steps to control illicit liquor.
He said the excise directorate has no information about any bill for total prohibition in the state.
Except Bihar, there is no instance of total prohibition in neighbouring states, he said.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had earlier decided to ban alcohol in his state from April 1.
The Odisha government earned Rs.2,085.99 crore as excise revenue till February in the current financial year.
It collected Rs.2,038.79 crore in 2014-15, Rs.1,780.29 crore in 2013-14 and Rs.1,499.91 crore in 2012-13, informed Rout.
He said the state government has issued a notification in January 2014 to relocate liquor shops 50 km away from national and state highways.
Out of 704 liquor shops, the excise commissioner has issued instructions to relocate 529 shops and work was in process to move the remaining shops.
Washington, March 31 : The fear that nuclear materials may fall into the hands of Islamic State or other terrorist groups will be a major issue at this week's Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, involving more than 50 countries with the notable exception of Russia.
The biennial event was launched in 2010 at the initiative of US President Barack Obama, who pledged at the start of his term to make nuclear non-proliferation a priority.
Last week's terror attacks in Brussels have given further impetus to efforts to safeguard stockpiles of nuclear material.
The summit will begin on Thursday evening with a working dinner at the White House where Obama and the heads of the respective national delegations "will share their perspectives about the threat of nuclear terrorism", Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said.
Russia, the world's other great nuclear power along with the US, is skipping the summit to protest "a certain lack of cooperation during the preliminary stage of working on issues and topics of the summit", Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday.
Among the leaders who will attend are Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, French President FranAois Hollande, Britain's David Cameron, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Ukraine's Petro Poroshenko, and the president of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev.
Kazakhstan co-chairs with Japan the organisation pushing for implementation of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
When the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 left Kazakhstan in possession of the world's fourth-largest nuclear arsenal, the government of the newly-independent nation ordered the immediate dismantlement of the stockpile.
In 2006, Astana ratified the Central Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone and last year, Kazakhstan became the home of the International Atomic Energy Agency's Low Enriched Uranium Bank, which is meant to ensure a supply of fuel for peaceful nuclear power.
Sydney, March 31 : Women who receive seasonal influenza vaccine during pregnancy may have over 50 percent reduced risk of experiencing a stillbirth than unvaccinated mothers, says a study.
The findings not only support the safety of influenza vaccination during pregnancy, but also suggest that vaccination protects against stillbirth.
Over 3 million stillbirths occur worldwide each year, and in developed countries, stillbirths account for 70 percent of infant deaths around the time of birth, the study pointed out.
The researchers believe that establishing a connection between influenza season and stillbirth could have global implications for infant mortality.
"I'm hoping results like these can convince more pregnant women to get vaccinated each year," said study author Annette Regan from The University of Western Australia.
For the study, the Australian researchers analysed data from nearly 60,000 births that occurred during the southern hemisphere's 2012 and 2013 seasonal influenza epidemics, and found that women who received the trivalent influenza vaccine during pregnancy were 51 percent less likely to experience a stillbirth than unvaccinated mothers.
Researchers also observed that stillbirth rates increased after periods of influenza virus circulation and decreased during the months prior to the influenza season.
The study was published online in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.
"Unfortunately, we know that about 40 percent of pregnant women go unvaccinated, missing out on these benefits," Regan noted.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends annual flu vaccination for everyone 6 months of age and older, including pregnant women during any trimester of their pregnancy. Pregnancy puts women at an increased risk of developing serious complications related to influenza, including acute respiratory distress syndrome and pneumonia.
Infection during pregnancy has also been linked to fetal mortality and premature births. But concern for the safety of the fetus dissuades many expectant mothers from vaccination, the study pointed out.
Mumbai, March 31 : Interspering digital innovations and advanced technology with fashion, Germany's top high-tech digital fashion label ElektroCouture along with six other international brands showcased fascinating creations at the ongoing Summer-Resort edition of Lakme Fashion Week (LFW) here.
Pret-a-porter designs from ElektroCouture by Lisa Lang, the driving force behind the world's first ready-to-wear fashion technology brand which was established in 2014, used interactive wearable sensor technology, along with laser cut necklaces and knitted garments. The result was spellbinding -- and the use of light technology added to the experience.
Lina Wassong, the Los Angeles trained designer who studied clothing engineering in Hamburg, brought to the ramp an amazing equalizer skirt that seemed a perfect fit for a futuristic style. The skirt was an interactive piece of clothing reacting to the waves of sounds. The integrated LEDs were arranged as equalizer bars to highlight the sound-reactive behaviour.
Alienology, by Igor Knezevic, the Los Angeles based design studio's jewellery brand presented its New Age Designs that set the ramp aglow. The "Clothoid hat" was created by a mathematical curve formula in parametric CAD software.
The line of necklaces was designed entirely digitally in 3D CGI software using only thin lines as main building blocks of 3D form, as a progression in design process.
Next up were creations by Moon Berlin.
Started in 2010 by Christian Bruns, Moon Berlin showcased handbags, heated coats, illuminated business and evening wear, jewellery and scarves, which created a lot of techno glamour on the catwalk. The fashion label was interestingly distinguished due to the subtle electronic lighting effects that are integrated into some parts of the collection.
There was also an interesting showcase by London-based brand Melissa Coleman, which specialises in e-textiles and creative technology.
The brand Sensoree worked with futuristic fabrics made from sustainable materials embedded with sensitive techno touches and had several innovative techno-fashion items. Started by Kristin Neidlinger, it had the concept of designer wearable computers, which could be therapeutic.
3lectromode by Valerie Lamontagne, the techno fashion label from Montreal, Canada had several interesting fashion concepts which started with Ilinx, a performance environment device. Its 'Strokes and Dots' was a womenswear micro collection having a series of embroidered LEDs motions or light sensors and made of digitally printed silk textiles. It was part of a micro-collection inspired by early modernist representations of speed, graphic design, abstract art and technology as well as the printwork of Russian/French textile visionary Sonia Delaunay.
The designs had a series of embroidered LEDs and a motion or light sensor, transforming the rhythm and illumination of the LEDs in tandem with the wearer's movements, or by reacting to immediate environmental light fluctuations. The garments were made of digitally printed silk textiles, electronic hardware, and hand-embroidered hard and soft circuits.
(The writer's visit is at the invitation of Lakme Fashion Week organisers. Nivedita can be contacted at nivedita.s@ians.in)
Bengaluru, March 31 : The chemistry examination of the second year pre-university course (PUC) on Thursday was cancelled in Karnataka after the question paper leaked, a senior official said.
"We have cancelled the exam after police alerted us that the question paper was being circulated in Bengaluru and Tumakuru," pre-university board director Pallavi Akruthi told reporters here.
Tumakuru is about 70 km from Bengaluru.
Earlier too, the chemistry exam was cancelled on March 21 following reports that the question paper got circulated in two-three districts on Whatsapp.
Karnataka Education Minister Kimmane Ratnakar will announce by Thursday evening the new date for the exam, Akruthi said.
The paper leak and cancellation within 10 days after the first leak led to massive protests by students and parents at the board office here. The demonstrators demanded stringent action against the culprits.
The leak also rocked the state legislature, with lawmakers demanding Ratnakar's resignation and action against the board officials in-charge of conducting the re-exam.
At least 1.74 lakh students were to write the re-exam in the science subject for the PUC certificate, which is equivalent to 12th standard or second year intermediate course in other states.
Protests also erupted in Dharward, Hubbali, Mysuru, Chitradurga, Bagalkot and other districts, with hundreds of science students staging demonstrations against the question paper leak.
New Delhi, March 31 : India will seek that the threat of nuclear terrorism is addressed at the Fourth Nuclear Security Summit being held in Washington even as New Delhi hopes that the participants will uphold confidence in the safe, secure and safeguarded extension on nuclear power.
"The summit would deliberate on the crucial issue of threat to nuclear security caused by nuclear terrorism," Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is attending the summit, said in a statement ahead of his departure from New Delhi.
"Leaders would discuss ways and measures through which to strengthen the global nuclear security architecture, especially to ensure that non-state actors do not get access to nuclear material," he said.
With US Secretary of State John Kerry saying that "India has a very important role to play with respect to responsible stewardship of nuclear weapons and nuclear materials", a lot of focus during the summit will be on what New Delhi has to say.
After attending a leaders-only thematic dinner on "Nuclear security threat perceptions" hosted by US President Barack Obama on Thursday, leaders of 53 nations and four international organisations will sit across three working sessions on Friday to discuss nuclear security and various aspects associated with it.
"India expects that the summit would contribute further to raising high level awareness of the threat of nuclear terrorism and the need to strengthen international cooperation against terrorists and nuclear traffickers," Amandeep Singh Gill, joint secretary (disarmament and international security affairs) in the ministry of external affairs, said in a media briefing here on the summit.
"We also expect that the summit would help bolster legal, institutional and enforcement measures to strengthen the security of nuclear material, radioactive sources, associated facilities and technologies," he said.
Gill said India would also expect the summit to uphold confidence in the safe, secure and safeguarded extension on nuclear power which would be a critical requirement of reaching national and international goals on non-fossil fuel energy.
"To underline this point, I want to mention that in these two words, nuclear terrorism, the problem is not with the word nuclear material, facilities or technology, the problem is with the associated aspect of terrorism which we need to focus on," he said.
Thirdly, India would expect that those who have not done so would sign up to and implement the legally binding instruments related to nuclear security.
These include the International Convention on the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism, the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and its 2005 amendment, and obligatory reporting under the UN Security Council Resolution 1540, which was adopted in 2004 and which has prohibitions and obligations related to non-state actors and export controls.
According to Gill, another issue India expects is that the competent institutions -- in particular the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) -- "would be provisioned with adequate resources, both human and financial, to uphold international cooperation and to support as required national efforts to strengthen our nuclear security".
As in past summits, participating countries may project the respective steps taken by them to strengthen nuclear security since the last summit, including in the form of submissions of national progress reports.
India will also be submitting its national progress report.
This will happen in the first of Friday's three sessions.
According to external affairs ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup, India has contributed constructively during the summit's preparatory meetings from 2014 to 2016 at the level of sherpas.
He said Prime Minister Modi would be making some specific announcements and proposals with regard to nuclear security during his interventions at the summit.
In the second session over a working lunch, the focus of discussions will be on international institutional actions to strengthen nuclear security.
"The focus would be on international follow-up through institutions such as the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations, the Interpol, the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism and the G8 Global Partnership," Gill explained.
The third and final session of the summit will see the leaders engaged in a policy discussion on nuclear terrorism based on a hypothetical scenario.
"Let me just say here that this scenario would allow the leaders to have a realistic and a thoughtful conversation on and around the challenges posed by international terrorism in particular the threat of nuclear and radiological terrorism," Gill said.
The summit will then end with the participants adopting a joint communique.
The first of these biennial nuclear security summits was held in Washington in April 2010 followed by the summits in Seoul in March 2012 and The Hague in March 2014.
Kolkata, March 31 : The army has deployed four columns to rescue people trapped under a flyover under construction that collapsed here on Thursday, an official said.
"There are three medical teams with two ambulances and surgeons as well as nursing assistants. An engineer team has also reached with specialist equipment," a defence ministry spokesman said here.
The West Bengal government sought army help after the disaster left at least 14 people dead and 70 injured.
In New Delhi, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) Director General O.P. Singh said two of its teams were at the spot. "More teams are being mobilized," he said.
The state government has opened an Emergency Operations Centre, which is functioning at the state secretariat. The contact number is 1070.
Another control room with number 0332145326 has also been opened.
New Delhi, March 31 : Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju on Thursday said all possible help is being provided to the West Bengal government in the rescue and relief operations at the flyover collapse site in Kolkata.
"Central forces are already there for relief and rescue operations. It is a joint effort and whatever help will be required further will also be made available," Rijiju said.
He said providing relief to the survivors was the first priority.
"Two National Disaster Response Force teams are already there and, if necessary, more teams will be sent. Sadly, the number of casualties is substantial and there are many more injured. We have to take care of the injured," he added.
The home ministry is the nodal ministry to handle disaster situations and run relief operations.
Rijiju said all necessary help, including monetary assistance, would be released immediately.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said 14 people were killed when a portion of the flyover under construction here collapsed on Thursday afternoon, burying several vehicles.
At least 17 others were injured.
She announced a compensation of Rs.5 lakh each to the families of the dead, Rs.2 lakh each for the critically injured and Rs.1 lakh for those with minor injuries.
Bengaluru, March 31 : At least 40 officials of Karnataka pre-university board were suspended on Thursday following the leak of the chemistry question paper of the second year pre-university course (PUC) re-exam earlier in the day.
"I have suspended 40 officials of the PU examination division and ordered an inquiry into the leak of the chemistry question paper for the re-exam that was re-scheduled today (Thursday) but cancelled," Karnataka Primary and Secondary Education Minister Kimmane Ratnakar told reporters here.
The re-exam in chemistry will be held on April 12 across the state.
The cancellation and suspension came amid massive protests by hundreds of angry students and worried parents at the board office in the city and in many districts across the state.
In the state legislature, opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) lawmakers sought Ratnakar's resignation for the question paper leak just 10 days after a paper in the same subject (chemistry) got leaked and its exam held on March 21 was cancelled.
The lawmakers of the assembly and council, attending the last day of the 14-day budget session, held a protest demo at the chief minister's office in Vidhan Soudha (state secretariat) where the legislature is also located.
A rattled Chief Minister Siddaramaiah assured the opposition members of taking stringent action against the officials but rejected seeking Ratnakar's resignation.
Earlier in the day, PU board director Pallavi Akruthi cancelled the re-exam on a tip-off from the state police crime investigation department (CID) sleuths that the question paper was being circulated in Bengaluru and Tumukuru in the wee hours.
Tumakuru is about 70 km from Bengaluru.
The CID is already investigating the paper leak on March 21.
"We have cancelled the three-hour re-exam that was to be held from 9.30 a.m. in all the 30 districts across the state and directed the in-charge of the centres to convey to the students that it (re-exam) will be held on April 12," Akruthi told reporters later.
The education minister has set up a three-member committee to oversee the re-exam on April 12 and ensure that the question paper, to be set afresh, is not leaked again.
The committee will be headed by state transport secretary Rame Gowda, who was PU board director in 2013, with Akruthi and Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan joint director P.C. Jaffer as the two members.
The re-exam was re-scheduled to Thursday from Tuesday (March 29) after the exam in the subject (chemistry) was cancelled on March 21 following reports that its question paper got circulated in 2-3 districts on Whatsapp through smartphones.
At least 1.74 lakh students were to write the re-exam in the science subject for the PUC certificate, which is equivalent to 12th standard or second year intermediate course in other states.
Protests also erupted in Dharward, Hubbali, Mysuru, Chitradurga, Bagalkot and other districts across the state, with hundreds of science students staging demos against the question paper leak for the second time.
New Delhi, March 31 : Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday expressed sadness over the death of at least 14 people in the flyover collapse in Kolkata.
"Deeply saddened to know that precious lives have been lost in the Kolkata accident. My heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased," he tweeted.
The home minister later told reporters that a National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team has been sent to the site of the accident.
"The team must have reached there. This is an unfortunate incident and I express condolence from the depth of my heart," he said.
At least 14 people were killed and a hundred others injured when a portion of the flyover, still under construction, collapsed in Kolkata.
Patna, March 31 : A day ahead of a liquor ban from April 1 in Bihar, authorities destroyed more than 13 lakh bottles of liquor worth over Rs.3 crore here on Thursday, officials said.
"We used three JCB machines to destroy 13.32 lakh bottles of countrymade and spiced liquor following Patna district magistrate Sanjay Agrawal's orders," said an excise department official.
According to officials posted in the Bihar Police headquarters here, all police officials concerned have been directed to strictly enforce the liquor ban from Friday onwards.
The Bihar assembly on Wednesday unanimously passed an amendment bill providing for death penalty for people found violating the ban on manufacture of and trade in illicit liquor in the event of a hooch tragedy.
All members of both the Bihar assembly and the legislative council also unanimously adopted a resolution that they will not consume liquor. It is a first for Bihar.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who announced the alcohol ban from April 1 during campaigning for the 2015 assembly elections, was upbeat after the Bihar Excise (Amendment) Bill, 2016, was passed on Wednesday.
Bihar Excise and Prohibition Minister Abdul Jalil Mastan said the manufacture and sale of countrymade and spiced liquor would be banned in the first phase, followed by Indian-made foreign liquor later this year.
New Delhi/Thiruvananthapuram, March 31 : Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday held separate meetings with three top leaders of Kerala -- Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala and state Congress chief V.M. Sudheeran -- to sort out differences over selection of candidates for the assembly polls.
The candidate selection hit a roadblock when Sudheeran reached Delhi on Monday and told the party leadership that he wanted a few ticket hopefuls to stand down this time.
They include Excise Minister K. Babu, who is facing allegations in the bar scam, Revenue Minister Adoor Prakash, who is embroiled in a row over land transfer, Culture Minister K.C. Joseph who has been a legislator since 1982, Benny Behanan for allegedly having links with solar panel scam accused, and legislator A.T. George.
Chandy on Wednesday took a strong stand and made it clear that under no circumstances can any of these five legislators be asked to stand down.
He said that if this was to happen, he will also stand down as he was also facing allegations.
"He (Chandy) made it clear that under no circumstances can any of these sitting legislators be asked to stand down. He has convinced the party president (Sonia Gandhi) why he is standing firm," a source close to Chandy told IANS.
After meeting Gandhi, a not-too-happy Sudheeran told reporters that he only discussed with her the party's affairs in Kerala.
Chandy, according to sources, was not happy when Chennithala sought to play truce and requested the chief minister to see that things were amicably settled.
On Friday, a final meeting will be held in the presence of Gandhi, where all the issues are likely to be sorted out.
"Of the 82 seats the Congress party will contest, close to 70 seats have been cleared. In tomorrow's (Friday's) meeting, the remaining also will be sorted out," said the source.
In a lighter vein, the source added that this has been very common in the Kerala unit of the Congress for many decades.
Polls for the 140-member Kerala assembly will be held on May 16.
Seoul, April 1 : North Korea on Friday fired off a ground-to-air missile into its eastern waters, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.
The short-range missile, which flew about 100 km, was launched around 12.45 p.m. from the eastern region near the coast of Seondeok in South Hamgyeong province, Xinhua news agency reported.
The launch came just three days after Pyongyang fired one round of its new 300-mm multiple rocket launcher in north-eastern direction.
With projectile launches in recent weeks, Pyongyang has shown its protest against the ongoing US-South Korea joint military exercises and newly-adopted international sanctions on Pyongyang.
South Korean President Park Geun-hye, who is attending the two-day Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, D.C., reiterated her position on Thursday of focusing on sanctions, rather than dialogue, to make North Korea abandon its nuclear program.
This year, North Korea started off by detonating what it claimed was its hydrogen bomb on January 6, the fourth of its nuclear tests, followed by the launch of a long-range rocket, which was condemned as a disguised test of ballistic missile technology, on February 7.
Kolkata, April 1 : A petition was filed on Friday at the Calcutta High Court for a court-monitored probe into the flyover tragedy here that has claimed 24 lives so far.
Filed before the bench of Chief Justice Manjula Chellur, the PIL (public interest litigation) seeks a CBI investigation as well as a panel of experts from IIT Kharagpur to probe the causes for the collapse of Vivekananda Flyover in the busy Posta area on Thursday.
"An expert committee is required to examine whether the materials used for construction were quality checked or not, whether they were approved by the ISI as well as whether there was any flaw in the planning of the entire project," said Goutam Dey, counsel for the petitioner.
\"So we have urged the court to form a committee comprising experts from IIT Kharagpur which will work under the supervision of the court. We have also asked for a CBI probe into the whole matter," Dey said.
The petition also seeks to know the financial status of the Hyderabad-based company IVRCL that was tasked with constructing the two-km flyover that collapsed on THursday afternoon, leaving at least 24 dead and over 80 others injured.
The city police have sealed the offices of the company here and booked it under the charge of culpable homicide.
The FIR was filed following instructions of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who has promised strict action against those responsible for the tragedy.
IVRCL has been battling financial constraints and has been blacklisted by several states. It said on Thursday that the tragedy was "an act of God".
Weighed down by a loss in excess of Rs.1,500 crore by March 2015, the publicly traded company has seen its shares plummeting since Thursday's tragedy.
Imphal, April 1 : Manipur's ministers have told Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh that all of them will quit if he drops even one from the ministry to placate dissidents, a minister said on Friday.
The ministers conveyed the decision to the chief minister after a meeting amongst themselves here.
"If any minister is dropped, all of us will resign en masse," a minister who did wish to be identified by name said.
The ministers' threat is the latest crisis to hit the chief minister, who has battling mounting dissidence within the Congress legislature party.
Manipur, with a 60-member assembly, is entitled to have 12 ministers which includes the chief minister.
After the new crisis became public knowledge on Thursday night, Ibobi Singh cancelled his visit to New Delhi on Friday to submit a list of ministers who will be axed to induct new faces.
Meanwhile, Charltolian Amo, chairman of the Hill Areas Committee, has resigned from the post of vice president of the Manipur Congress unit.
Party sources said he was upset over the replacement of Gaikhangam as the Manipur Congress president by T.N. Haokip.
One Minister told IANS that the dissidents' demand was unreasonable. They want the axing of ministers whose performances was below the mark.
But the ministers argue that if any of them is dropped to accommodate the dissidents, it will give an impression that the axed ministers were involved in corruption or were non-performers or both.
This will impact their prospects in the next assembly elections.
Meanwhile, the dissident leaders have reaffirmed their stand that 11 of the 12 ministers need to go. They also want Sepaker T. Lokeswor to resign.
One dissident legislator told IANS that they have no objection to whoever the chief minister picks in the new ministry.
This is the first time in the political history of Manipur that dissidents are demanding the dropping of all ministers except the chief minister.
Ibobi Singh had said that at the end of two-and-a-half years, the ministers would be replaced by another lot. But he did not keep his word.
It is not known what the 25 dissidents would do if their demands are not conceded.
Ibobi Singh has been discussing the crisis with some senior ministers and dissident leaders but there is no visible breakthrough.
Opposition parties say the crisis in the Congress cannot be seen as "an internal matter" of the ruling party as it affects governance in the state.
New Delhi, April 1 : President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday gave his nod to an ordinance authorising expenditure beyond April 1 in Uttarakhand which is under central rule, official sources here said.
"The president signed the ordinance yesterday (Thursday)," a union home ministry official told IANS.
The union government approved an ordinance on Wednesday to authorise government expenditure in Uttarakhand from April 1 in view of President's Rule in the hill state.
A union cabinet meeting, presided over by Home Minister Rajnath Singh in the absence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, took the decision.
The budget session of parliament was prorogued on Tuesday evening to enable the government promulgate an ordinance with regard to Uttarakhand.
Moreover, as the assembly is under suspended animation, the central government only had the ordinance route to meet the state government's expenditure needs from April 2016 onwards.
Notably, the state Appropriation Bill was declared as "passed" by the Uttarakhand assembly speaker, a claim contested by Congress rebel legislators and the Bharatiya Janata Party in the assembly.
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley also called it a "failed bill".
The Congress on Thursday said it will move court if the Centre issues an ordinance to nullify the budget already passed by the Uttarakhand assembly.
Sydney, April 1 : Australian researchers have designed a small, lightweight 3D printing pen that surgeons can hold with their hand and draw human stem cells just when they need it -- during surgery.
Using a hydrogel bio-ink to carry and support living human stem cells, and a low powered light source to solidify the ink, the pen delivers a cell survival rate in excess of 97 percent, the study said.
Three dimensional bioprinters have the potential to revolutionise tissue engineering -- they can be used to print cells, layer-by-layer, to build up artificial tissues for implantation.
But in some applications, such as cartilage repair, the exact geometry of an implant cannot be precisely known prior to surgery.
This makes it extremely difficult to pre-prepare an artificial cartilage implant.
The new device could allow the surgeon unprecedented control in treating defects by filling them with bespoke scaffolds.
The device was developed out of collaboration between Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science (ACES) and researchers and orthopaedic surgeons at St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne.
Professor Peter Choong, director of orthopaedics at St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne, developed the concept with ACES director Gordon Wallace.
The device, described in the journal Biofabrication, is small, lightweight, ergonomic and sterilisable. A low powered light source is fixed to the device and solidifies the inks during dispensing.
The team designed the "BioPen" with the practical constraints of surgery in mind and fabricated it using 3D printed medical grade plastic and titanium.
Mumbai, April 1 : Former Australia pacer Brett Lee was on Friday disappointed over India's shock seven-wicket defeat to the West Indies in the World T20 semi-finals, but credited the wining team's batsmen for their performance despite hard-hitter Chris Gayle's early dismissal.
Batting first, India posted a competitive total of 192/2 in 20 overs, thanks to Virat Kohli's knock of 89 runs.
In reply, a brave Windies side -- riding on Lendl Simmons' unbeaten 83 and Johnson Charles's 52 -- chased down the total posting 196/3 in 19.4 overs.
"I was disappointed for India, of course. When Chris Gayle got out, I said 'it is going to be one way India' so it is disappointing. You got to give credit to West Indies, they played really well," Lee told reporters here after India's loss on Thursday at the Wankhede Stadium.
India's star batsman Kohli has been in sublime form in the ongoing tournament where he struck 273 runs in five innings and also took a wicket against the West Indies. The 39-year-old Lee praised Kohli for his consistent run.
"He is a world class player. The way he played last night was brilliant. They did what they could with their batting. At the end of the day, they lost in the last over, it is unfortunate for India," he said.
In the final at the Eden Gardens on April 3, the West Indies will now face England, who earlier beat New Zealand in the first semis on Wednesday.
Speaking about the much-awaited final, Lee believes that the men from the Caribbean will be hard to beat on Sunday.
"It would be pretty hard to get past the West Indies. They will be very tough to beat," Lee said.
Mumbai, April 1 : Actor Karthi, who has shared an astounding chemistry with Nagarjuna in the film "Thozha" ("Oopiri" in Telugu), hopes their "bromance" continues for years to come as they hit it off very well on the film's set.
In an interview, he spoke about the movie, his experience of working with Nagarjuna and more. Excerpts from the interview:
Q. Your bonding with Nagarjuna is fantastic?
I really enjoyed working with Nag sir. The comfort level between us was amazing. We are friends in the film. But we are now brothers in real life. We got along well from the very first day. We share a common background. We are both actors' sons. We are both qualified engineers. We were both 33 when we came back to become actors in India. We had so much to talk and share. I will make sure the bromance continues in real life.
Q. You seemed to have conquered Telugu cinema with "Oopiri". Have you dubbed your own lines?
Yes, I've dubbed my lines in Telugu. When I did my first Telugu film, someone else dubbed for me. I was very upset about that. I wanted to dub my own lines. But they didn't take my offer seriously. It was my first film in Telugu and second in Tamil. Then when I did a second Telugu film 'Awara', I offered to dub my own lines and told them they could scrap my voice if they didn't like it. They liked my Telugu and retained it. During 'Oopiri', my director Vamsi was very helpful with my dialogues. I would sometimes go for 25-30 takes until I got it right.
Q. 35 takes???
Yes, I didn't mind. The result has been overwhelming. I've been appreciated in Telugu.
Q. To what do you attribute the huge success of the film?
It's a marvellous story. When I saw the original French film "The Intouchables", I felt we needed to take the emotions to another level.
Q. How did you do that?
The emotions were extremely controlled. We had to Indianise "The Intouchables" while making sure mine and Nag sir's characters remained sensitive to the original. All the emotional angles, my character's estranged family, et al are there in the original. We only opened up the emotions.
Q. Are Tamil actors like you and Dhanush attempting to bring more realistic acting into cinema?
As an actor, it is my endeavour to be true to my character. I remember a conversation between Naseeruddin Shah and Shabana Azmi where he spoke about her trying to perform in every scene. I don't want to be caught performing. I idolise Mohanlal sir. I've grown up watching Kamal Haasan sir and Rajinikanth sir. Later on in life, I realised how underrated my dad (Sivakumar) was. His performances in some of K. Balachander's films were outstanding.
Q. Do you follow any of your idols?
As far as following anyone is concerned, I've failed whenever I've looked outwards for inspiration. I listen only to myself.
Q. How did you get into films. Apparently, your father, the great Tamil actor Sivakumar, was opposed to the idea as your elder brother Suriya was already an actor?
Yes, I did my engineering. But half-way through my course, I realised I wanted to be in the movies. I spent a lot of time watching films. I never had the guts to go out and tell my dad that I wanted to join films. He brought us up far away from the movie industry. We were not even allowed on movie sets.
Q. Why was that?
My father didn't think there was financial security in movies. He wanted me to have a Plan B ready. Unlike the belief those days, he didn't believe the uneducated become film actors. He believed a strong educational background would help me with my career in films.
Q. What was your brother Suriya's advice to you?
He told me, 'If you want to achieve something, then you should be deserving. You have to change as a person to become an actor and a star, improve yourself a lot and keep learning.' He keeps pushing the boundaries and tries out new stuff irrespective of the time it consumes and the amount of work it demands. Now that is my inspiration.
Q. When are you turning director?
I came into movies to become a director. But sadly I am not a writer. And here in Tamil cinema, a director has to be writer.
Q. Any plans of doing Hindi cinema?
I haven't really thought about. But I love the cinema of Vishal Bhardwaj. If he calls, I will go. Otherwise I am happy where I am.
New Delhi, April 1 : Condemning the ordinance authorising expenditure in Uttarakhand from Friday, the Congress on Friday termed it a "sinister conspiracy" by the Centre to obstruct and annul implementation of public welfare schemes and programmes of the previous government.
President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday gave his assent to the ordinance authorising expenditure beyond April 1 in Uttarakhand which is under central rule.
The union government on Wednesday approved the ordinance to authorise government expenditure in Uttarakhand from April 1 in view of President's Rule in the hill state.
"The Uttarakhand assembly had constitutionally passed the Appropriation Bill reflecting people's aspirations. This ordinance is nothing but Narendra Modi government's sinister conspiracy to obstruct and annul implementation of public welfare schemes and programmes, funds for which were allotted in the budget," said Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala.
"The Congress party condemns the legislative dishonesty of the BJP government to deny genuine developmental aspirations of people of Uttarakhand by first proroguing parliament and then following the ordinance route to perpetuate illegalities," he added.
Chennai, April 1 : A special court here has convicted including Indian Bank's former chairman and managing director M.Gopalakrishnan and five others in a fraud case and sentenced them to two years rigorous imprisonment, a CBI statement said.
In a statement issued here, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said a CBI court here on Thursday convicted six individuals - four bank employees and two other people, and two other companies for causing Rs.5.51 crore loss to Indian Bank.
A total fine of Rs.40,500 have been imposed on the convicted people.
According to the statement, Kiran Innovations, headed by Rajiv Batra, availed various loan facilities by submitting forged documents, in connivance with bank officials, and misutilised the same.
Islamabad, April 1 : Indian Punjabi film "Ambarsariya" has been banned in Pakistan because it makes "strong references" to the Indian intelligence agency RAW.
"The movie makes strong references to Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), which is why the panel decided against it," The Express Tribune quoted Mobasher Hasan, chairman of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), as saying.
According to Hasan, a CBFC panel first voted against the movie. After the film distributor's appeal, the full board of the CBFC reviewed it but backed the ban.
Asked if "Ambarsariya" would have been fit for release if the references to RAW had been edited out, the Tribune quoted Hasan as saying: "That would not be possible since the movie is primarily about RAW and editing would have affected its story.
"It is a film set in India and we have stopped its release because it focuses on RAW."
Starring Diljit Dosanjh, Naveet Kaur and Monica Gill in lead roles, "Ambarsariya" follows the story of a man who lives a dual life as a member of RAW and an insurance agent, the daily said.
Chennai, April 1 : Credit rating agency Moody's Investors Service (Moody's) on Friday said Tata Steel Ltd's decision to restructure its British operations is credit positive but there is no immediate impact on its ratings.
In a statement, Moody's said Tata Steels planned restructuring/divestment of its British businesses is credit positive because it will reduce some of the negative pressure on its operating performance.
But pending finalisation of the restructuring plan and the uncertainty around the extent of improvement in the credit profiles of Tata Steel and Tata Steel UK Holdings Limited (TSUK Holdings), there is no immediate impact on the ratings on Tata Steel (Ba3 negative) and TSUK Holdings (B3 negative), it said.
On March 30, Tata Steel announced that it would explore all options in restructuring its wholly-owned subsidiary, Tata Steel Europe Limited (unrated), including the potential divestment of its step-down operating subsidiary, Tata Steel UK Limited (TSUK, unrated), in whole or parts.
"The potential sale of the UK operations is credit positive for Tata Steel and TSUK Holdings, because it would dispose of loss-making assets, against the backdrop of a challenging operating environment; namely depressed steel prices and a situation where global steel supply continues to exceed demand," said Moody's vice president and senior analyst Kaustubh Chaubal.
With the impact of the loss-making TSUK operations being addressed, Moody's expects TSUK Holdings' operating performance to improve, based on the expectation that steel demand in Europe will increase by 1-1.5 percent in 2016, and the imposition of anti-dumping duties by the European Commission in February 2016 on steel imports from China and Russia.
Hyderabad, April 1 : A team of Kolkata police is at the office here of IVRCL, the firm building the flyover in Kolkata that collapsed on Thursday killing 24 people and injuring many others.
A four-member team reached the company headquarters located in posh Banjara Hills around 3 p.m. for questioning the company officials. They were being assisted by local police.
It was not clear if the top management was present in the office. Sources said the team is going through files and the relevant material as part of the investigations.
The company officials had earlier told media that they have no information about the Kolkata police team reaching Hyderabad.
"Nobody has contacted us," said IVCRL's group head, HR and administration, K. Panduranga Rao.
He had also said that their technical persons and legal experts left for Kolkata Friday morning.
"We will extend all cooperation in the investigations," he said.
Ankara, April 1 : Turkish police have detained an alleged killer of a Russian pilot along with 13 other suspected militants in the western city of Izmir, the media reported on Friday.
Alpaslan Celik reportedly came to Izmir with 13 others and was detained while dining in a restaurant in the Aegean coast city, Xinhua cited Daily Sabah as saying.
A Kalashnikov rifle, two handguns and ammunition were also seized in the operation, the report said.
Press reports said the other detainees were suspected members of the Islamic State (IS) militant group.
Celik, a Turkish national who fought inside Syria, allegedly killed a pilot of a Russian warplane after it was downed by Turkey in November last year.
"The detention of Alpaslan Celik is an important step and definitely a positive development for the amelioration of the two countries' relations," said Ismail Hakki Pekin, a retired general and former director of the intelligence department of the Turkish Joint Chief of Staff.
Ankara-Moscow ties were chilled over the downing incident, with Russia slappng a series of sanctions against Turkey.
Russia has urged Turkey repeatedly to arrest Celik and other suspects, and make a compensation and apology over the incident.
"The detention of Celik as a Turkish citizen and his trial by Turkish justice is very important to overcome the deadlock in the two countries' stalled relations," said Hasan Selim Ozertem, an expert on Russia at the International Strategic Research Organisation, a non-profit, non-governmental body in Ankara that focuses on Turkish security and cooperation.
"After all he committed a war crime," he said, adding that it will not be sufficient for normalised relations with Russia as Turkey has refused to apologise and compensate.
Beijing, April 1 : China's state-owned news agency Xinhua has urged people not to play pranks and fall for them on April Fool's Day which is not in sync with Chinese tradition and core values.
"April Fool's Day is not in accordance with our cultural tradition, or socialist core values. Please do not believe, create or spread rumours," said Xinhua's official page on Sina Weibo, China's equivalent to Twitter.
On April fool's Day, first day of the month, people play practical jokes on each other. Though celebrated for centuries, its origin is still unknown.
The post drew sharp and witty reactions from the people and users of blogging site.
"Xinhua must be joking," a journalist with a Chinese newspaper told IANS. He requested that his name not be revealed.
"This is the most serious April Fool's Day joke I've ever heard," Global Times quoted a Weibo user.
Some were serious.
"It is just a special day. If you want to celebrate it, you celebrate it; if you don't want to celebrate it, you just see it as another day. Is it necessary to raise it to the level of socialist core values?" Weibo user @saishangjiutouniao asked.
"You are talking about socialist core values when even the vaccines for our children are not safe? Every day is April Fool's Day, okay?" said another user.
Of late the communist government has stepped up censorship and vigil on dissent.
This week an editor of the newspaper quit, saying he could no longer "bear the Party's surname."
In February, sitting in an anchor's seat at a state-controlled TV news channel organisation, President Xi Jinping had asked all the media outlets to adopt the party's surname.
His reference was to the Communist Party of China which controls the government.
Beijing, April 1 : China's special representative for Korean peninsula affairs Wu Dawei will pay a visit to Japan in early April, foreign ministry spokesperson Hong Lei said on Friday.
While in Japan, Wu will hold discussions on the resumption of the six-party talks aimed at denuclearising the Korean peninsula, Xinhua quoted Hong as saying.
The six-party talks, convening North Korea, South Korea, China, the US, Russia and Japan, have been stalled since late 2008.
China has been urging a possible dialogue ever since tensions in the peninsula skyrocketed over Pyongyang's nuclear test in January -- its fourth -- and subsequent ballistic tests, the latest of which was conducted on Friday, April 1, Efe news agency reported.
While China backed the UN-imposed sanctions against North Korea for its nuclear and missile tests, it has maintained it is not an end in itself and should be accompanied by dialogue with Pyongyang to persuade the North Korean regime towards disarmament.
Beijing, historically a Pyongyang-ally and one of its main source of economic support, has also criticised the imposition of unilateral sanctions by South Korea and the US against North Korea, as also the long duration of their joint naval drills in the region.
Wu's visit is one of the first such by a senior official of the Chinese communist regime to Japan in recent years, owing to a practical freeze in ties between the two countries over territorial and historical disputes.
North Korea was also one of the main issues discussed by US President Barack Obama on Thursday, in his bilateral meetings with his Chinese, Japanese and South Korean counterparts, on the sidelines of the ongoing Nuclear Security Summit in Washington.
New Delhi : The West, with the US always in the vanguard, is wailing and screaming its heart out against the ISIS for the terrible things it has done in Paris and Brussels, but is in stunned silence at the recapture of Palmyra from Islamic State's clutches by an alliance of the Syrians, Hezbullah, Iran, all under Russian supervision.
Robert Fisk, that splendid chronicler of West Asia, is at his biting best:
"The biggest military defeat that ISIS has suffered in more than two years - the recapture of the Roman city of Empress Zenobia, and we are silent. Yes, folks, the bad guys won, didn't they? Otherwise, we would all be celebrating, wouldn't we?"
Murderers of Paris and Brussels have suffered a crushing defeat. Why then is the West and its independent press so glumly silent? Because victory was achieved by the Russian-led coalition?
It is not generally recognized that there is widespread suspicion in circles outside the Western establishment (this includes the media) that the West is not wholeheartedly in the fight to destroy the ISIS. To use a racing metaphor, the West pulls back its horses just when the ISIS is about to be trampled.
I have seen this sport at least since August 2014 when President Obama blurted out the truth in an interview with Thomas Friedman of the New York Times. Asked why he did not use air strikes against the ISIS to halt their march towards Baghdad, Obama did not mince words: "That would have taken the pressure off Nouri al Maliki."
Iraq's obstinate Shia Prime Minister was being blamed by Washington for the "anti-Sunni" policies which were being cited as one of the reasons for the rise of ISIS.
It is a convoluted argument that, by not attacking the nascent ISIS, the US was allowing the Caliphate to gain sufficient strength so that it could force Maliki to leave. This would pave the way for the next Shia Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi handpicked by the US. In other words, under certain circumstances the ISIS, like Mujahideen in an earlier game, can be a Western asset.
Terrible human dislocations and death in Syria, the refugee crisis on an epic scale in Europe, caused Obama and Vladimir Putin to agree to limit the damage. On May 12, 2015, an understanding was reached between Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
They agreed that a political solution was the only way out of the Syrian impasse. Obviously, Kerry had to sell the agreement to Riyadh, Ankara and Jerusalem by maintaining an ambiguity on President Bashar al Assad's future - he will go but "when" has to be decided. Lavrov spoke a straightforward language: Assad would stay until all inclusive elections by the Syrian people decide on their leader.
The important point is that the Washington-Moscow understanding on Syria held despite Riyadh and Ankara throwing a ginger fit. How else does one explain the presence of the Operations Rooms in Baghdad to co-ordinate military activity against the ISIS. Russian command of the Air Space over Syria would not have been possible without an understanding between the Air Commands in the region.
The Western media did yeoman service by pulling a curtain over US embarrassments in Syria. To balance its attitude it chose not to dwell Russian-Syrian victories. Secretary of Defence Ashton Carter had his face distinctly in the lower mould when US Special Forces were caught with their pants down. Arms given to the so-called "opposition" were handed to militants. The "opposition" sought safe passage to few know where.
Russian and Syrian advances against the ISIS surprised those who did much drum beating to fight the ISIS but somehow minimized participation in real combat. Meanwhile the panic stricken Turkish President, Tayyip Erdogan, by his excesses against the Kurds, pushed them into the Russian embrace. Material and military assistance flowed to the Kurds giving them muscle against Ankara which is reaping a terrible whirlwind in the form of suicide bombings and terror strikes. The Turkish leader has charged off to Washington, imploring Obama for something which has already been denied him before: a no fly zone in Northern Syria to serve as a kind of paddock where Syrian refugees can be parked.
Of course, US think tanks have been spending months in Lebanon to study if the power structure in Beirut can offer a model for Syria to follow. They have also been spending time in Iraq: is Iraq's federal structure worth emulating? Meanwhile, the Geneva process is stumbling along. Syria is promising a referendum on each issue, including agreements reached at the Geneva dialogue.
All this activity notwithstanding, an end to the Syrian crisis is not in sight. Stakeholders like Saudi Arabia, Ankara and Jerusalem have their eyes set on the US elections. These and other regional players will do whatever they can to allow the problem to linger until a new President settles in the White House. Their approach does not take into account the mounting sense of panic in Europe where each day's delay to the Syrian conflict means so many more migrants knocking at Europe's door.
(Saeed Naqvi is a commentator on political and diplomatic affairs. The views expressed are personal. He can be reached on saeednaqvi@hotmail.com)
New Delhi, April 1 : A sessions court here has sentenced a man to life imprisonment for fatally stabbing a woman neighbour he was obsessed with after her marriage was fixed elsewhere.
Convicting Rohit, in his late 20s, for murdering Rajwinder Kaur, 21, Additional District and Sessions Judge Kanwaljeet Arora on Thursday said that the convict's feelings for the woman could not be called love.
Rohit stabbed Kaur to death on August 20, 2011. The victim's mother lodged a complaint against him at the Mukherji Nagar police station that Rohit was smitten by Kaur and threatened that he would not let her marry anyone else.
Rohit said in court that he was in love with Kaur and wanted to marry her.
In its ruling, the court said Rohit could have let her go and live happily after coming to know about her engagement. "He, however, did not tread this path and chose to commit the heinous offence."
The court said Rohit's act cannot be called love. "By this act, Rohit tainted not just the idea of love as a sacrificing emotion, but also love as life-giver and not life- taker."
Mumbai, April 1 : Indian designers can achieve a lot more in the international market if they take craftsmanship to a different level and become a tad bolder and crazier with designs, says Lisa Lang, founder of Germany-based ElektroCouture, a fashion technology house which pioneered bespoke innovative electronic wearable technology for the fashion.
"I can see huge potential in Indian designers, but I would like to see them challenging themselves to be little bold and crazy. I see designers putting so much energy here, but they can do more. The great thing is you (Indian designers) have substance and infrastructure, so I just want you to go little bit more crazy," Lang told IANS on the sidelines of the ongoing Lakme Fashion Week (LFW) Summer-Resort edition.
ElektroCouture made its Indian ramp debut in association with six other international designers at LFW with a sensational high-tech digital electronic fashion fantasy show.
Lang said: "There are a couple of designers I have seen and I am going to sit down with them and talk about the future perspective with. My message to Indian designers is to be bold and be brave. If you want to lead a change, you have to take risks... You have to be brave enough to be different.
"You guys are so out there in terms of colours, but I think when it comes to tradition and mixing new patterns, you can do more. I would love to see techniques applied to more modern patterns. I am saying this in terms of international and global modernity and I think it is possible."
Lang is known for bringing creative minds together to create new, innovative and beautiful products.
Raised in a Franconian craftsman family, she has studied art, new media, and international business management. More than 10 years into her technology and media career, she has lived and worked all around the world, gaining a reputation for being a game-changer in digital product and media innovation.
Lang, who established ElektroCouture in 2014, and is also a mentor to several European hardware start-ups, says "India as a market makes absolute sense" for her brand.
"Lakme Fashion Week invited us and I can see huge potential here in the market because what we do on a daily basis is like bringing fashion and technology together and we have both of that here, so it makes total sense for us to come here.
"You have (India has) technology, a long tradition and design. I can't emphasise enough how important craftsmanship is for me, because we are into high fashion. We hand-stitch pearls as well as micro chips. I think fashion is a very emotional subject and we use emotions to produce designs."
She has loved her maiden visit to the country, and India's "patterns and bold colours" have left her spellbound.
"In Germany, people are not so bold enough, so I love colours in India and I love big and bold patterns," added Lang, who wants to stay in India longer and is hoping to associate with Indian designers.
How about bringing her forte to the world-famous Bollywood too?
"That would be so fantastic! I am such a Bollywood fan since years. If that happens, then that would be my dream come true. It's on my bucket list," she said, concluding that she has been enjoying exchanging hugs as Indian are very open to it unlike Germans who are a "bit stiff" at times.
(The writer's trip is at the invitation of Lakme Fashion Week organisers. Nivedita can be contacted at nivedita.s@ians.in)
Panaji, April 1 : Beaches in Goa will soon be WiFi-enabled and also covered by closed-circuit television, Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar said on Friday.
The state, known for its beach and nightlife, had tapped into a central government scheme to ensure internet service along the coastal hotspots, he told reporters on the sidelines of a media event here.
"All the beaches in Goa will be covered by Wi-Fi, thanks to tourism ministry's Swadesh Darshan scheme under which the Goa government has got Rs.100 crore," Parulekar said.
Goa attracts nearly 40 lakh tourists every year, including half a million from abroad.
Parulekar said under the scheme, CCTVs would be installed along the beaches for strengthening security.
New Delhi, April 1 : The National Human Rights Commission on Friday issued notices to the commerce and health ministries over reports that India has reassured the US-India Business Council to take a restrained approach in handing out licences to produce cheaper versions of drugs patented with the American firms.
Taking cognisance of the issue through media reports, the commission has observed that the step will deny the people of India access to generic medicines at affordable prices.
It has also learnt that at least two applications for compulsory licences to produce domestically generic versions of drugs patented in the US were rejected in 2015.
"The commission has called for reports within two weeks from the ministries of commerce and industries as well as health, through their secretaries in the matter," said a commission statement.
"The commission observed that the contents of the reports, if true, raise questions impinging upon right to health of citizens in India," said the statement.
Ottawa, April 1 : Qatar's Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammad bin Abdulrahman al-Thani discussed with Canadian Foreign Minister Stephane Dion ways of strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries.
The two sides here on Thursday also exchanged views on international and regional issues, particularly the fight against terrorism and the situation in Syria, Iraq and Yemen.
The Canadian foreign minister stressed the importance of the role played by Qatar in the fight against terrorism through its membership in the international coalition to fight the Islamic State militant group and its role in finding a political solution to the Syrian crisis.
New Delhi, April 1 : Haryana on Friday told the Supreme Court that 2004 Punjab law terminating all water sharing agreements with neighbouring Haryana, Rajasthan, and Delhi breached principles of separation of powers and was also contrary to the country's federal polity.
Assailing the Punjab Termination of Agreement Act, 2004, it told the constitution bench headed by Justice Anil R. Dave that the Punjab assembly can't pass a law to neutralise the judgment of the apex court in which its own executive was a party to dispute.
Addressing Punjab's contention that there was a change of circumstance, senior counsel Shyam Divan, appearing for Haryana, said the Punjab assembly was not competent to enact a law on the grounds that the dispute had already been decided by the court, the extra-territorial nature of the legislative act and the federal structure of the country's polity.
Arguing that the state could not have usurped the judiciary's authority, Haryana told the constitution bench also comprising Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose, Justice Shiva Kirti Singh, Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel and Justice Amitava Roy that the state could not be a judge of its own cause.
Referring to the apex court judgment on Cauvery water dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and dispute between Kerala and Tamil Nadu over Tamil Nadu's demand for increasing the water level in Mullaperiyar dam to 142 feet, Divan said that any change of circumstance could only be considered by the court alone and legislature can't step in.
He referred to the apex constitution court verdict of May 7, 2014 in Mullaperiyar dam case where the court had said: "The legislature cannot by invoking 'public trust doctrine' or 'precautionary principle' indirectly control the action of the courts and directly or indirectly set aside the authoritative and binding finding of fact by the court, particularly, in situations where the executive branch (government of the state) was a party in the litigation and the final judgment was delivered after hearing them."
The court had said this while holding unconstitutional the Kerala Irrigation and Water Conservation (Amendment) Act, 2006 in its application to and effect on the Mullaperiyar dam.
While Tamil Nadu had sought to increase the water level in the dam to 142 feet, Kerala had opposed it citing threat to the safety of the dam.
Haryana cited the earlier ruling in the course of the hearing of a Presidential reference seeking the court's advisory opinion on the Punjab Termination of Agreement Act, 2004.
Meanwhile Punjab represented by senior counsel Rajeev Dhavan on Friday again sought to know the central government's stand on the Punjab Termination of Agreement Act so that it could address this in the course of its arguments.
Senior counsel Ram Jethmalani also representing Punjab told the court that it should refuse to answer the Presidential reference and sought time to address the court on this point.
New Delhi, April 1 : Citing ambiguity on the enforcement of 85 percent pictorial warnings on packets of all tobacco products, the Indian tobacco industry announced on Friday that it will halt production of all its products with immediate effect.
"Manufacturers of cigarettes, beedis and smokeless tobacco products in India have decided to stop production from April 1, 2016 citing ambiguity on the policy related to Graphic Health Warnings on tobacco products," said a statement from the Tobacco Institute of India (TII) which represents the tobacco and cigarette industry.
The decision has come after the government on Friday enforced 85 percent pictorial warnings on the display area of packets of all tobacco products.
The Tobacco Institute of India (TII) comprises manufacturers who account for more than 98 percent of the country's domestic sales of duty paid cigarettes in India.
"The Indian tobacco industry had written to Ministry of Health & Family Welfare on March 15, 2016 seeking clarification on the matter," said Syed Mahmood Ahmad, director, Tobacco Institute of India, in a statement, a copy of which is with IANS.
The TII said if it stops production it will lead to an estimated loss of Rs.350 crore per day in production turnover for the Indian tobacco industry.
The tobacco producers are against the 85 percent pictorial warning which, they said, could lead to flooding of foreign cigarettes in the market.
A parliamentary committee had also recently advocated pictorial warnings on tobacco and cigarette packets to be brought down to 50 percent from 85 percent, saying that the latter figure will be too harsh on the tobacco industry.
Among the issues that have been raised by the manufacturers are that the extreme 85 percent warnings will promote illegal cigarette trade and adversely affect the livelihood of 45.7 million people dependent on the tobacco industry which included farmers, labourers, workers, trade and others.
"Illegal cigarettes account for one-fifth of the total cigarette industry resulting in annual revenue loss of Rs.9,000 crore to the national exchequer. Tobacco control policies appear to be directed by NGOs and anti-tobacco activists who are funded by overseas vested interests," said the statement.
New Delhi, April 1 : The city government has decided to revive Naini lake in Model Town locality of north Delhi.
Delhi Tourism Minister Kapil Mishra discussed with North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) mayor Ravindra Gupta the issue of revival of the lake.
"The lake will be conserved for boating and other sporting activities," a Delhi government statement said.
The government will take measures to improve bio-diversity of the pond.
"Renowned environmentalist Professor C.R. Babu's plan will ensure that rejuvenation of the lake is effective and done without any engineering reinforcement or harm to the natural bio-diversity of the lake," the statement said.
The NDMC would grant licence for boating and other activities on revenue-sharing model of 12.5 percent with the Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation.
Accra, April 1 : At least 13 people who claimed to be Islamic missionaries from Pakistan were arrested while preaching in Ghana's Assin Foso district.
All 13, who claimed to be Ahmadiya missionaries and said they arrived in the country about six months ago, were being investigated, Assin Foso Police Commander Samuel Lawson said.
The Ahmadiya Mission in Ghana has denied any knowledge of the 13 people.
"We have no such people living in the country," mission general secretary Ahmed Anderson said, adding that the police should have contacted the mission after the arrests were made.
"The mission has some Pakistanis in the country, but we do not have any record of these people being among those we have invited. They are not Ahmadiyas at all," Anderson said.
"We flatly deny any knowledge of these missionaries in Ghana."
The police have sent them to Ghana Immigration Service to check their identities and arrival dates in the country.
Washington, April 1 : Seeking to allay concerns about safety of its nuclear programme, Pakistan has asserted that, unlike India, it has never suffered an accident or breach of security.
Amidst global concerns over the safety of its nuclear weapons, Pakistan's foreign secretary Aizaz Chaudhary said the impression that Islamabad's nuclear installations were insecure was baseless, Dawn online reported on Friday.
"Pakistan's nuclear installations are not only secure but the world also acknowledges that they are," he said.
Chaudhary, who is here to attend the Nuclear Security Summit hosted by US President Barack Obama, said the International Atomic Energy Agency has recorded 2,734 nuclear incidents worldwide, including five in India, but "not a single accident or breach happened in Pakistan, although our programme is 40 years old".
The foreign secretary said it was wrong to describe Pakistan's short-range missiles or small nukes as battlefield or tactical weapons.
"Pakistan has short-range and long-range missiles, and the purpose behind both is to deter aggression," he said, adding "we want to prevent war, to prevent the space Indians created for war" by building military installations close to the Pakistani border as part of their cold start doctrine, he added.
"Calling them battlefield weapons creates a wrong perception. These are for deterrence, only and only for defence," Chaudhary said. "There is no cause for concern."
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was due to participate in the summit but he cancelled his visit in the backdrop of the deadly suicide attack at Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park in Lahore on March 27, in which at least 72 people, including 29 children, were killed and over 300 others injured.
Chaudhary is now representing Pakistan at the Summit.
The foreign secretary said Pakistan had installed radiation monitors at all sensitive facilities and planned to install more monitors at all 72 exit and entry points in the country.
"India, on the other hand, has an ambitious nuclear programme, and an equally ambitious conventional weapons programme," he added. "We have a modest programme because we feel we have the right to defend ourselves."
New Delhi, April 1 : The Congress on Friday said inconsistency and flip-flops on Modi government's part had totally destroyed India's decades-old foreign policy.
"India had a proud and consistent foreign policy, but it has been destroyed by this government's flip-flops. The humongous failures on diverse fronts underline the prime minister's (Narendra Modi) and BJP's complete incapacity and ineptitude in handling such delicate matters," Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi told reporters here.
He was reacting to coming together of China and Pakistan at the United Nations to block India's attempt for an international ban on Maulana Masood Azhar and his outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM).
"The nation sees it as a proof of a failed government policy on the issue and clumsy flip-flops of the ruling party (Bharatiya Janata Party)," Singhvi said, describing the development a negation of all incremental growths achieved by the previous governments.
"The denial of India's plea to characterise JeM and its chief Azhar as a terrorist and the failure to put him in the category of Al Qaeda and Islamic State is particularly offensive since there is overwhelming evidence to link him to the Pathankot terror attack," Singhvi said.
"The conspiratorial move in the UN demonstrate the futility and the optic value of the 'jhoola' event at Gujarat during the Chinese president's visit and the impromptu visit for the marriage reception in the family of Pakistan prime minister recently," the Congress leader said.
He said it was strange and contradictory that a senior Inter-Services Intelligence officer and other state officials were a part of the Joint Investigation Team from Pakistan that visited India to probe the Pathankot attack.
"When various anti-India terror organisations and individuals of the likes of Masood Azhar actually flourish with active patronage of the ISI and other agencies in Pakistan, we have a strange spectacle of Rajnath Singh, Manohar Parrikar and Amit Shah, senior ministers holding home and defence portfolios and the BJP president respectively, exhorting Indians to have faith in Pakistan," Singhvi said.
The Congress insisted that India's worst fears had come true because the Pakistan team obediently and dutifully did its masters' bidding by giving a clean chit to Jaish-e-Mohammad, ISI and all other actors in its report.
London, April 1 : "Hamlet", one of William Shakespeare's most famous tragedies, is being translated into the Black Country dialect as part of a project that aims to record, celebrate and preserve the distinctive language of the area.
"Yamlet" incorporating the Black Country word 'yam' will see the titular characters perform the translated excerpts portrayed by postgraduate students of Birmingham School of Acting.
The Black Country dialect is spoken in the boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton Black Country area.
"Playing Yamlet will be a great opportunity. I've picked up a few words and phrases from the script that I'd never heard before. It'll be really interesting to see what people who are from the Black Country and people who aren't will make of it," said Stuart Ash, studying for a masters in acting student at Birmingham City University.
The work has been inspired by the upcoming 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death.
"Yamlet' is designed to take a step towards making Shakespeare more accessible by relocating sections of his most famous play to the Black Country - in terms of language, space and performer - and also through non-theatre-based distribution platforms," said Philip Holyman, Co-Director, Birmingham School of Acting in a statement.
The distinctive dialect and language of the Black Country has preserved many archaic traits from Early Modern English and Middle English and is thought to be one of the last forms of early English still spoken today.
New Delhi, April 1 : The government on Thursday issued a travel advisory to all Indian nationals travelling to strife-torn Yemen.
"The security situation in Yemen continues to remain fragile," the external affairs ministry said in a statement.
"In light of the recent terrorist attacks in Aden, which resulted in killing of an Indian nun and abduction of one priest, Indian nationals are again strongly advised to avoid travelling to Yemen under any circumstances by any means for any purpose till further notice," it said.
In an attack on an old-age home in the Yemeni port city of Aden run by the Kolkata-based Missionaries of Charity early last month, 16 people were killed, including Cecilia Minz, an Indian nun.
Father Tom Uzhunallil, an Indian priest, was also abducted after the attack.
Friday's advisory is the latest in a series of such advisories issued by the government wherein Indian nationals have been advised to refrain from undertaking travel to Yemen in view of the precarious security situation in the country.
Kolkata, April 1 : The city police have brought murder charges among others against the Hyderabad-based IVRCL and detained at least ten of its employees in connection with the flyover collapse in the city that has claimed at least 24 lives so far, police said on Friday.
The Vivekananda Road flyover under construction collapsed on the busy Posta area of the city on Thursday killing at least 24 people and injuring many more.
Following instruction of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, police registered a first information report against the company subsequent to the tragedy.
"The charges brought against the company include murder, attempt to murder and criminal conspiracy among others. So far 10 people including R K Gopal Nanduri - regional business head have been detained," said Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Debashish Boral.
He also said a 23 member special investigation team (SIT) has been constituted to probe the matter.
Besides sealing off the company's city offices, a Kolkata police team reached the company headquarters in Hyderabad during the day for questioning the company officials.
Meanwhile, Army teams which have been carrying out rescue operations returned to bases after completing the tasks assigned to them.
"The army rescue team has been derequisitioned today after the clearance of the debris that was impacting on the flow of traffic. The task that was set out for the army was achieved within 24 hours. The soldiers and all other teams have returned to their bases. The remaining work is being undertaken by the civil administration," said an army spokesperson.
The army had deployed nearly 500 personnel including teams of medics and ambulances while General Officer Commanding (GOC) Bengal Area Lt. General Rajeev Tewary personally supervised the rescue operation.
According to city Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar, the official death toll stood at 24 with over 80 people injured.
Washington, April 1 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned global leaders from over 50 nations gathered here to discuss nuclear terrorism that state actors working with nuclear traffickers and terrorists present the greatest risk.
"Terrorism is globally networked. But, we still act only nationally to counter this threat," he said at a working dinner hosted by President Barack Obama on Thursday night to kick off the two-day Nuclear Security Summit.
Obama, who is hosting his fourth and last such summit to discuss how to prevent terrorists and other non-state actors from gaining access to nuclear materials, was flanked by Modi on the right and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the left.
Modi, who has come to the summit meeting in the shadow of Brussels and Lahore terror attacks, from the Belgian capital said, "Brussels shows us how real and immediate is the threat to nuclear security from terrorism.
"Terror has evolved. Terrorists are using 21st century technology. But our responses are rooted in the past," he said asking the leaders to focus on three contemporary features of terrorism.
"First, today's terrorism uses extreme violence as theatre. Second, we are no longer looking for a man in a cave, but we are hunting for a terrorist in a city with a computer or a smart phone.
"And third, State actors working with nuclear traffickers and terrorists present the greatest risk."
In what was seen as an unmistakable reference to Pakistan, Modi also gave a call to drop the notion that terrorism is someone else's problem and that "his" terrorist is not "my" terrorist.
"Nuclear security must remain an abiding national priority," Modi told the world leaders. "All states must completely abide by their international obligations."
"Without prevention and prosecution of acts of terrorism there is no deterrence against nuclear terrorism," he said.
"But the reach and supply chains of terrorism are global, genuine cooperation between nation states is not," lamented Modi.
India has long asked Islamabad to take action against Pakistan-based terror groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba(LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), responsible for the Mumbai and Pathankot terror attacks. But the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks remain unpunished.
On the eve of the summit, India's National Security Advisor Ajit Doval discussed counterterrorism cooperation, including against LeT and JeM, with his US counterpart Susan E. Rice at the White House.
In a meeting with Doval, Secretary of State John Kerry praising "India's record of being a leader, of being responsible," told him "India has a very important role to play with respect to responsible stewardship of nuclear weapons and nuclear materials".
"And it is particularly important right now at a time when we see in the region some choices being made that may accelerate possible arms construction, which we have serious questions about," he had said in another reference to Pakistan.
The US has time and again expressed concern at Pakistan's deployment of weapon-grade nuclear weapons.
"Our concerns regarding the continuing deployment of battlefield nuclear weapons by Pakistan relate to a reality of the situation," Rose Gottemoeller, under secretary of state for arms control and international security, told reporters on the eve of the summit.
"When battlefield nuclear weapons are deployed forward, they can represent an enhanced nuclear security threat," she said.
However, Pakistan Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhary on Thursday claimed that its "modest" nuclear programme was "essentially for its defence and not to threaten anyone".
"Pakistan's nuclear installations are not only secure but the world also acknowledges that they are," he told reporters at the Pakistan embassy here. "India, on the other hand, has an ambitious nuclear programme."
(Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)
Washington, April 1 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is here to attend the Fourth Nuclear Security Summit, on Friday held a meeting with his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau during the course of which both the leaders discussed bilateral ties.
"Canadian connect... today's meetings commence with an interaction with Canada's PM @JustinTrudeau. Both PMs discuss India-Canada relations," the Prime Minister's Office tweeted.
During Modi's visit to Canada in April last year, India clinched a multi-million dollar deal for uranium to power its civilian nuclear programme for five years and also inked 13 agreements on skill development.
After talks with then Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper, Modi sought Canada's "cooperation and investment in every area of India's national development priority".
Modi arrived here on Wednesday night on the second leg of his three-nation tour from Brussels where he attended the 13th India-European Union (EU) Summit and also held a bilateral meeting with Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel.
On Thursday, he held a bilateral meeting with New Zealand Prime Minister John Key here.
He also attended a leaders-only thematic dinner on "Nuclear security threat perceptions" hosted by US President Barack Obama at the White House.
Later on Friday, Modi will attend the plenary sessions of the nuclear security summit.
This year's summit is the last of the biennial affairs that started in 2010.
On his way back to India, Modi will pay a two-day bilateral visit to Saudi Arabia starting Saturday.
Washington, April 1 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday attended the opening plenary session of the Fourth Nuclear Security Summit here.
"A careful examination of #nuclearsecurity issues on the agenda as PM arrives for Opening Plenary of #NSS2016," external affairs ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup tweeted as Modi joined leaders of 50 nations at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center here.
In his opening remarks, US President Barack Obama said that 102 countries have till now ratified the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPNM).
In the opening session, Modi is expected to share India's progress report on the work it has done since the last summit and also give his suggestions in the form of interventions.
In the second session over a working lunch, the focus of discussions will be on international institutional actions to strengthen nuclear security.
The third and final session of the summit will see the leaders engaged in a policy discussion on nuclear terrorism based on a hypothetical scenario.
This year's summit is the fourth and final of the biennial affairs.
The first summit was held in Washington in April 2010 followed by the summits in Seoul in March 2012 and The Hague in March 2014.
New Delhi, April 1 : Eight states, including Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, have issued bonds of nearly Rs.1 lakh crore in 2015-16 under the UDAY scheme for debt restructuring of distressed state distribution companies (discoms), Power Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday.
"Another target achieved: UDAY bonds worth almost Rs 1 lakh crore issued in the last financial year helping achieve 24X7 affordable power for all," he said in a tweet.
Goyal also welcomed Uttarakhand joining the scheme.
"Congratulations to the people of Uttarakhand on the Govt. of India, State and DISCOMs signing UDAY MoU to ensure power for all," he added, on the state signing the Uday MoU here on Thursday.
"Under UDAY, ten states have signed MoU till date. The combined discom debt that would be restructured in respect of these states is around Rs.1.96 lakh crore, which is approximately 45 percent of the total outstanding discom debt of Rs.4.3 lakh crore as on 30th September, 2015," a power ministry release said.
The scheme envisages taking over 75 percent of discoms' cumulative debt by March next year. States would issue loans against the debt at prevailing market rates. The balance 25 percent would be issued as sovereign backed bonds by discoms.
New Delhi, April 1 : The Congress on Friday demanded the expulsion of minister of state (MoS) in the Prime Minister's Office Jitendra Singh from parliament on the charge of unethical conduct in public and meeting a person declared a proclaimed offender at his residence.
The Congress made the demand in a letter submitted to the Lok Sabha's Ethics Committee chairman and senior BJP leader L.K. Advani.
"The facts in the public domain are of serious nature having adverse impact on the dignity of the parliament, a prime constitutional institution.
"In 2013, communal violence took place in Kishtwar, Jammu and Kashmir. The local police also registered an FIR. It is revealed that a local Bharatiya Janata Party leader from Paddar, namely Hari Krishnan alias Kasooru, and nine others are accused of murdering 52-year-old Lassa Khandey during the said violence," read the complaint.
The Congress also furnished a court order that directed and empowered the police to arrest the accused (Hari Krishnan).
"It is unbelievable that Dr Jitendra Singh has no acquaintance or familiarity with the said Hari Krishnan, more so when he is a local BJP leader of Paddar, which is a part of his parliamentary constituency and has campaigned for him along with other BJP leaders, including MLAs.
"Dr Jitendra Singh cannot be unaware of the fact that the said Hari Krishnan was involved in 2013 communal violence and declared a proclaimed offender," read the complaint.
It further added: "Dr Jitendra Singh met the local BJP MLAs and other BJP leaders, including Hari Krishnan, at his official residence in Delhi on or about March 13, 2016. It is therefore, requested that the committee may kindly take cognizance of the facts and expel him as member of parliament or pass any other order as may be considered appropriate keeping in view the nature of allegation."
New Delhi, April 1 : The central government is on a sticky wicket over its decision to impose President's Rule in Uttarakhand, Congress sources said here on Friday.
The sources insisted that state governor Krishan Kant Paul had not recommended the dismissal of the Harish Rawat-led government in his report.
"Nowhere in his report has the governor recommended President's Rule under Article 356 of the constitution," said a Congress leader in the know about the cases pending in the Uttarakhand High Court.
"In fact, the governor never revoked his order for the government to go for a floor test in the assembly. He had written in this regard thrice, recommending a floor test for the government," said the Congress leader who did not wish to be named.
He accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of negating the authority of the governor.
"The central government is standing on a sticky wicket technically," the Congress leader said.
He also claimed that the nine rebel Congress MLAs were disqualified by the assembly speaker before the imposition of President's Rule.
"All the nine MLAs were served with disqualification notices in their hostels and constituency offices by 2.45 p.m. on March 27. The information was gazetted by 4.45 p.m. the same day while the notification regarding the President's Rule came in between 5.30 p.m. and 5.45 p.m.," he said.
The Congress leader said the disqualification of the MLAs gets applied retrospectively once it gets notified.
"Thus, their disqualification will be applicable from March 19," he said.
BJP leaders, including Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, had justified President's Rule in the hill state.
"After the assembly has been put under suspended animation and the decision has been made public, the speaker (Govind Singh Kunjwal) has decided to disqualify some members. The constitutional breakdown has been compounded further by this action," Jaitley wrote in his blog.
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.
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.
New Delhi, April 1 : Indian Railways will transport water to drought affected areas in the country, an official statement said here on Friday.
Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has directed the railway administration to make necessary arrangements in this regard, the statement said.
"On a request from Maharashtra Government and Central Railway Zone, Railway Ministry has arranged two goods trains consisting of 50 tanker like wagons each for the purpose of loading and transporting water in the drought-affected areas of Latur district in Maharashtra," the statement said.
Kota workshop of Indian Railways has been directed to undertake steam cleaning of wagons for the purpose of loading drinking water. The two goods trains will be deployed in Pandharpur-Latur section of Solapur division.
The first goods train consisting of 50 wagons will be ready for water loading after steam cleaning from Kota workshop on April 8, and the second train is expected to be ready around April 15.
These will be deployed in Latur during the summer season of the financial year 2016-17. The trips of the goods trains will be arranged as per requirement.
Earlier in January this year many goods trains were deployed to transport water from Nasirabad to Bhilwada in Ajmer Division, after demands by the Rajasthan Government and North Western Railway Zone.
The water carrying capacity is around 55,000 litres per wagon which means around 275,0000 litres per train.
Rescue operations underway at the site where a part of a portion of Vivekananda Flyover collapsed in Kolkata on April 1, 2016. Image Source: Kuntal Chakrabarty/IANS
Rescue operations underway at the site where a part of a portion of Vivekananda Flyover collapsed in Kolkata on April 1, 2016. Image Source: Kuntal Chakrabarty/IANS
Kolkata, April 1 : Heart-wrenching cries of relatives taking custody of the dead and anguished kins waiting for the latest update on the grievously injured were the recurrent scenes in hospitals here as the toll in Kolkata's worst flyover tragedy rose to 24 on Friday.
Among the dead were three women while one body was too mutilated to ascertain the gender. Sixteen of the 67 rescued battled for life in hospitals, a day after an under-construction flyover collapsed, crushing people and flattening vehicles in the congested Posta area.
Three of the deceased were 25 years old while six others were in their 30s. The ghastly tragedy left behind a trail of devastation and raised unanswered questions about a project that was on for seven years.
Asha Joshi, 65, was the oldest among the dead, the West Bengal government said.
Relatives of Sabana Bano, who perished at the Medical College and Hospital, were inconsolable.
"She had called us repeatedly from her mobile after she got trapped when the bridge collapsed. She pleaded that we rescue her but we could not do anything," moaned a family member.
Three bodies were still to be identified.
Going into the reasons for the flyover crash, a government statement said: "It is apprehended that one cantilever pier no 40 has shifted due to which two spans covering three piers were affected."
Meanwhile, the police filed murder charges against top officials of the joint venture company, Hyderabad-based IVRCL Infrastructure, which was executing the flyover project and detained at least 10 of its employees.
"The charges brought against the company include murder, attempt to murder and criminal conspiracy. So far 10 people, including R.K. Gopal Nanduri, regional business head, have been detained," Joint Commissioner of Police Debashish Boral said.
Three of them - senior assistant general manager M. Mallikarjun, structural manager Pradip Kumar and assistant manager (administration) D. Majumdar - were subsequently arrested.
A 23-member special investigation team (SIT) has been set up to probe the disaster. A police team reached the company headquarters in Hyderabad to question its officials.
The chief engineer and an executive engineer of the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority - the state government unit in charge of the JNNURM project - have been placed under suspension.
An IANS correspondent who visited the site found cranes busy clearing mounds of debris, dust rising from ongoing demolition and fear of eviction loomed large on those living in the vicinity.
The area is still littered with shattered glass and splinters of iron and steel. There were also plastic bottles, a slipper and a children's notebook, strewn next to a truck.
With the government asking 62 families in houses close to the spot to vacate their premises for the removal of the collapsed span, the residents were frantically searching for new addresses.
Many of the residents of the sardine-packed multi-storeyed houses and numerous commercial establishments lining K.K. Tagore Street - right under the flyover - were still in a state of shock.
"I get goose-bumps every time there is a loud noise... This used to be a bustling route. I hope the authorities deal with the mess swiftly and avoid another disaster," said Hari Shaw, caretaker of a small temple.
Army teams which had been carrying out rescue operations have returned to the barracks.
The KMDA has ordered the immediate inspection of the flyover to ascertain its safety and stability.
A petition was filed in the Calcutta High Court for a court-monitored probe into the tragedy.
Filed before the bench of Chief Justice Manjula Chellur, the PIL (public interest litigation) seeks a CBI investigation as well as a panel of experts from IIT Kharagpur to probe the causes for the flyover collapse.
With the ruling Trinamool Congress facing flak, it field its local MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay, who argued the project was flawed since its inception during the Left Front's tenure but could not be discarded or remodelled due to financial implications.
The Bharatiya Janata Party sought a CBI probe, calling the incident an "act of fraud protected by the West Bengal government".
New Delhi, April 1 : Hero MotoCorp Ltd (HMCL), the world's leading two-wheeler manufacturer, on friday reported a 14 percent growth in sales in March 2016.
"HMCL sold 606,542 units in March, with a 14 percent growth over the corresponding month last year when the company had sold 531,750 units," it said in a statement.
Apart from March, the two-wheeler maker also exceeded 6 lakh plus monthly sales in October and September in the 2015-16 fiscal.
It sold 6,632,322 units of two-wheelers during 2015-16 as compared to 6,631,826 units in 2014-15, the company said.
"FY'16 has also been a landmark year. We launched our first in-house developed products and commissioned our first overseas manufacturing facility began operations at our centre of innovation and technology at Jaipur," said company's chairman and managing director and CEO Pawan Munjal.
"The industry witnessed mixed fortunes in FY '16 with sales looking up in the second half of the year. Timely measures by the government and a good monsoon will be essential in sustaining this positive trend," he said.
The company's global footprint also expanded to 30 countries.
Washington, April 1 : Amid speculation about Tata Steel's plans to close down its operations in Britain, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday held a bilateral meeting with his British counterpart David Cameron on the sidelines of the Fourth Nuclear Security Summit here.
"Enhancing a vibrant partnership... PM @narendramodi & PM @David_Cameron talk India-UK ties," the Prime Minister's Office tweeted.
The meeting assumes significance as Tata Steel, after having suffered nearly $3 billion in losses on its British operations, is exploring to put its entire portfolio there up for sale, some 10 years after it forayed into Europe by acquiring Anglo-Dutch Corus for over $8.1 billion.
With around 40,000 jobs at stake, Cameron was expected to take up the matter with Modi during the bilateral meeting here, according to media reports.
However, steel sector analysts are of the view that it is going to be difficult for the Indian group to find a buyer at this juncture when the sector is facing a downturn.
The decision comes less than a week after Tata Steel UK said it has reached an agreement to sell its Clydebridge and Dalzell steel facilities in Scotland to the local government, which will, in turn, hive it off to Liberty House, an international steel and non-ferrous metals group.
Earlier on Friday, Modi held a bilateral meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
In Friday's nuclear security summit, Modi is expected to share India's progress report on the work it has done since the last summit and also give his suggestions in the form of interventions.
This year's summit is the fourth and final of the biennial affairs.
The first summit was held in Washington in April 2010 followed by the summits in Seoul in March 2012 and The Hague in March 2014.
London, April 1 : British Secretary of State for Business Sajid Javid on Friday tried to reassure the workers at Tata Steel Ltd's plant in Port Talbot about future of steel production in the country, said media reports.
Javid, who rushed back from Australia soon after Tata Steel announced its decision to put on block its operations in Britain owing to huge losses and bleak prospects, expressed confidence that there will be a buyer for Tata Steel in Britain and also promised the workers that everything possible would be done to protect their jobs.
He said the British government will work closely with the buyer who comes forward to buy the Tata Steel operations, reported the Guardian.
Sticking to his position Javid ruled out nationalisation of Tata Steel's plants in the country and also denied that the government was going easy on Chinese dumping of steel.
According to him, the immediate thing is that Tata Steel has to set out its offer document so that a potential buyer can study the same and do the due diligence.
He also hoped Tata Steel would give sufficient time to find a new buyer.
Responding to Javid's visit to the Port Talbot steel plant, Roy Rickhuss, general secretary of Community, the steel workers union, said: "It is promising that the business secretary has taken the time to listen directly to the concerns of steelworkers in Port Talbot. His colleagues should remember that this is a national steel crisis."
"We need concerted action between the government and unions at a national level to ensure that Tata is a responsible seller and we secure a future for steelmaking in the UK," he said in a statement.
According to Rickhuss with the minister hearing the workers directly, he and Prime Minister David Cameron need to get a grip of the situation.
"We do not need more false claims from ministers that they have done all they can for the UK steel industry. This is quite clearly not the case when they are ringleading opposition to Europe imposing higher tariffs on unfairly traded steel," he added.
Mumbai, April 1 : TV actress Pratyusha Banerjee, known for her role of adult Anandi in the popular serial "Balika Vadhu", allegedly committed suicide here on Friday, police said. The news has left the industry shocked.
Pratyusha hanged herself from a fan at her Kandivali residence but was detected and taken to the Kokilaben Ambani Hospital where she succumbed.
Confirming the news, Mumbai police spokesperson Dhananjay Kulkarni said that the hospital has sent a report on the Jamshedpur-born actress's death.
Police are investigating the probable cause that may have spurred Pratyusha to resort to the extreme step.
Her colleagues from the industry and her fans are in complete disbelief with news that the talented young girl, all of 24, is no more.
Veteran actress Surekha Sikri, who played 'Dadisa' to Pratyusha's character in "Balika Vadhu", told IANS: "I am absolutely shocked. I knew her, she was very sweet. She was a sensitive person, she must have taken something to heart and must have got really emotional."
According to Tanuj Garg, former CEO of Balaji Motion Pictures, she had plans to marry her beau Rahul Singh.
"Terrible, terrible news about Pratyusha Banerjee. Met her once at a party. How extreme must pressures be to drive one to take one's own life. Friends met Pratyusha Banerjee and her boyfriend Rahul (who owns a production house) on Holi and they seemed happy. They were to get married," Garg shared on Twitter.
The virtual world went into a tizzy once the news of Pratyusha's suicide surfaced, with many hoping that it is an April Fools' joke.
Hailing from Jharkhand, Pratyusha catapulted to fame with her role in "Balika Vadhu" between 2010-2013.
She was later seen in the reality dance show "Jhalak Dikhla Jaa 5", "Bigg Boss 7" and hosted some episodes of "Savdhan India". She recently appeared in "Sasural Simar Ka".
Pratyusha was earlier dating businessman named Makrand Malhotra, with whom she had a bitter break-up and against whom she had lodged a complaint for abusive behaviour.
Earlier this year, Pratyusha had filed an FIR against eight men, including three policemen, claiming they tried to barge into her residence here in relation with a car loan that her boyfriend Rahul Singh had taken from a bank.
Lucknow, April 1 : The one-day meeting of the BJP's Uttar Pradesh executive ended here on Friday, with party leaders asking workers to ensure that it wins the 2017 assembly elections.
National vice president Om Mathur told said the BJP's coming to power in the state was a certainty.
"All I can say is that we need to work hard. And if we follow what Prime Minister Narendra Modi asks us to, our return to power in UP is sure," he said.
Union minister Kalraj Mishra said the party leaders and workers in the state should tell the people about the major steps the central government has taken for their welfare.
The meeting passed resolutions against the state government on what it said was poor law and order, farmer problems, corruption, unemployment and lack of safety for women in Uttar Pradesh.
Uttar Pradesh BJP president Laxmikant Bajpayi said the central government would give Rs.80 lakh for the development of every village.
Mumbai, April 1 : Actress Bhumi Pednekar, who turned showstopper for the first time in Lakme Fashion Week Summer Resort Collection, expressed her admiration for stunning actress Kareena Kapoor.
"I think Kareena is gorgeous and beautiful! She is such a diva and I admire her a lot. Look at the way I am speaking about her! I am a big fan of Kareena," Bhumi said while interacting with media.
The actress was looking extremely beautiful in a embellished bespoke lantern lehenga with handcrafted bustier and jacket of beige colour from designers Sonam and Paras Modi's collection.
Speaking about her personal style statement, the "Dum Lagake Haisha" actress said: "I dress by my mood. Someday when I feel lazy, I would like go for easy dress like just a jeans and Tshirt, other day I may go for a glam look. I can sacrifice comfort for fashion."
The 26-year old actress who loves to wear a lot of understated colors in summer, said that pastels and beige were her favourites.
After wooing the audience with her sincere performance in "Dum Laga ke Haisha", Bhumi is paired again with Ayushmann Khurrana for "Manmarziyan". The film is produced by "Tanu Weds Manu Returns" fame Aanand L. Rai, and helmed by Sameer Sharma, who made his directorial debut with "Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana".
Washington, April 1 : India on Friday invited Canadian faculty members to teach in its institutes of higher learning at short stretches.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during a bilateral meeting with his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau here on the sidelines of the Fourth Nuclear Summit here, said that Canada had a surplus of human resource capital.
"He said that Canadian professors and teachers, including retired faculty members, could consider coming to India during the harsh winter months in Canada and teaching at Indian universities for periods ranging from three to six months under the GIAN (Global Initiative of Academic Networks)," external affairs ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup said at a media briefing here following the meeting.
GIAN is a programme under the union human resources ministry that aims at tapping the talent pool of academia and scientists internationally to encourage their engagement with institutes of higher education in India.
Modi said that this would help India receive quality education, according to Swarup.
Trudeau concurred immediately, saying that he had himself been a schoolteacher.
"So there is a real potential, he said, for harnessing the opportunity of helping so many young people in India get better skills and Canada would also be happy to provide help in education and infrastructure support," Swarup stated.
During Modi's visit to Canada in April last year, a number of agreements on skill dvelopment were signed between India and Canada.
Modi also talked about the flagship development programmes in India.
"He talked about the 500 cities where, as you know renewable energy, infrastructure has to be built in terms of waste management, converting waste into energy," the spokesman said.
"He also talked about the smart cities project, the project to bring metro transport to as many as 50 cities in India and said that all this would lead not only to better quality of life for India citizens but also the introduction of ecologically friendly technologies."
Modi said that Canadian companies stood a very good chance to bag contracts if they were to invest in these sectors in India.
Trudeau, on his part, talked about Canadian expertise in environmental-friendly technologies, dealing with climate change, anti-poverty strategies, and innovations which could help the global economy, according to Swarup.
"Prime minister (Modi) said that poverty alleviation was an important plank for his government and till the benefits reach the last person in the society, we cannot say that we have been successful," the spokesman stated.
Modi also referred to the "progressive policies" in the hydrocarbon sector, in particular for deep sea and high temperature exploration, announced in the last union budget.
"He (Modi)said that these sectors have now been opened up. The sectors will be entirely market-driven and the policies would allow top companies from abroad to participate in the Indian market," Swarup said.
Trudeau talked about the possibility taking forward the Foreign Investment Promotion Agreement (FIPA) and the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).
Modi also extended an invitation to Trudeau to visit India which the latter.
This was the first meeting between the two leaders after Trudeau became prime minister in November last year.
In his visit to Canada last year, Modi had met Trudeau who was the leader of the opposition then.
Bengaluru, April 1 : Karnataka Pre-University (PU) board director Pallavi Akurathi was transferred on Friday night a day after chemistry question paper of the second year PUC re-exam was leaked on Thursday.
According to an official order, Akurathi, a 2009 IAS batch officer, has been transferred with immediate effect and posted as deputy secretary in the department of personnel and administrative reforms.
State Transport and Road Safety Commissioner Ramegowda will concurrently be the new PU board director.
Ramegowda, a 2004 IAS batch officer, who was PU board director in 2003, has been also appointed as head of a three-member team to oversee the re-examination of chemistry paper on April 12.
Akurathi's transfer was made along that of eight other senior IAS officers in various other departments.
Akurathi cancelled the chemistry exam held on March 21 after some students alerted her that its question paper was leaked at Ballari in the state's northern region, and Kolar, about 100km away from here.
Though the re-exam was re-scheduled to March 31 from March 29, a tip-off by CID sleuths early Thursday that even a hand-written version of the re-exam question paper was being circulated in Bengaluru and Tumakuru through WhatsApp, forcing the board to cancel it two hours before it was to commence at 9 a.m..
About 40 officials of the board from joint director to peon were suspended and the CID, which is already probing the March 21 paper leak, has been told to inquire into the leak of the re-exam paper.
Earlier in the day, the CID questioned about 20 officials of the board's exam division on the entire process of framing the question paper to printing and its distribution to the exam centres in each of the 30 districts across the state.
New Delhi, April 2 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi will underline that India will continue to reflect its nuclear obligations to the international community through its national actions at the Fourth Nuclear Security Summit here on Friday.
In the national progress report on the work India has done in terms of nuclear security in the two years since the last summit, Modi would underline the continued priority the country attached to nuclear security at home, Amandeep Singh Gill, joint secretary (disarmament and international security affairs) at the ministry of external affairs, said at a media briefing here as the summit started.
This, Gill said, would be done "by strengthening the institutional framework, by strengthening the independence of our regulator, by devoting resources for training people in nuclear security, and by continuing to reflect our international obligations in our national actions".
"Second, the prime minister will underline the continued priority we attach to the technology direction of nuclear security," he said.
"This means that we will advance the technologies to reprocess to reuse philosophy, the development proliferation-resistant cycles, and the shift away from vulnerabilities associated with radioactive sources."
As an example, Gill said that India has stopped using Cesium 137.
"It is a highly radioactive source in powdered form or in liquid form and we will only be vitrified forms of Cesium 137 in medical applications," he said.
Apart from this, he said India would make another contribution of $1 million to the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) nuclear security fund.
India had made a similar contribution in the Seoul nuclear security summit in 2012.
"Significantly, we will engage with the IAEA on its nuclear security advisory service called IPPAS," Gill said.
India would also join the Trilateral Initiative which is the joint statement of the previous three co-chairs of the nuclear security summit which has been circulated in the form of a document.
"So, this group of countries which India is joining are committed to holding the bar high on nuclear security," the joint secretary said.
"We will also be joining three other 'gift baskets' in priority areas like counter nuclear smuggling, the sharing of best practices through centres of excellence such as GCNEP (Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership), and finally NSS follow-up through contact group in Vienna," he said.
India also intends to hold some meetings in the coming days to strengthen international cooperation in this area.
"One is with Interpol on counter nuclear smuggling. Another is hosting a meeting of Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism in 2017," Gill said.
This year's summit is the fourth and final of the biennial affairs.
The first summit was held in Washington in April 2010 followed by the summits in Seoul in March 2012 and The Hague in March 2014.
Cairo, April 2 : At least 65 alleged terrorists were killed on Friday in military operations carried out by the Egyptian army in the north of the Sinai peninsula, according to a statement by army spokesperson Mohamed Samir.
The statement explained that the terrorists were killed in a "successful pre-emptive strike, in which the armed forces destroyed several shelters, caches of arms and ammunition, as well as fuel tanks of the terrorist groups".
The operations, which involved the Egyptian Air Force, took place in the city of Rafah, bordering the Palestinian Gaza Strip, and the town of Sheikh Zuweid.
Samir added that the ongoing operations in Sinai comes in the framework of "The Martyr's Right" military campaign against the terrorists.
At least 60 terrorists were killed on March 25 in Rafah and Sheikh Zuweid, while 27 vehicles were destroyed.
Jihadi attacks in Egypt, carried out mainly by the Egyptian branch of the Islamic State group, are concentrated in Sinai, which has become the scene for several military operations as a result.
Washington, April 2 : India's move to get Pathankot terror attacks mastermind, Jaish-e-Mohamed chief Masood Azhar, banned by the UN was rebuffed for the second time by China, a close friend of Pakistan. New Delhi has slammed the move.
India had approached the UN in February to include Masood Azhar in the UN Security Council's 1267 sanctions list, in the aftermath of the January 2 terror attack on the Pathankot air base by Pakistan-based JeM terrorists.
However, China requested the UN sanctions committee to keep on hold the move to ban Masood Azhar.
India on Friday voiced disappointment at the "technical hold" put on its application to include the name of Azhar, in the UN sanctions list, and criticised the UN sanctions committee for adopting a "selective approach to combating terrorism".
In a statement, the ministry of external affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup said: "We find it incomprehensible that while the Pakistan based JeM was listed in UN Security Council Committee established under UNSCR 1267/1989/2253 as far back as 2001 for its well known terror activities and links to the Al Qaeda, the designation of the group's main leader, financier and motivator has been put on a technical hold."
"The recent terror attack in Pathankot on January 2 has shown that India continues to bear the dangerous consequences of not listing Masood Azhar . Given the global networking of terrorist groups, this has implications for the entire international community," the statement said.
"It needs no emphasis that the UNSCR 1267 regime is an important building block of the UN global counter terrorism strategy that should aim to protect all member states and their citizens from the activities of terror groups such as JeM and its leader Mohamad Masood Azhar."
"Its working methods, based on the principles of unanimity and anonymity, is leading the Committee to adopt a selective approach to combating terrorism. This does not reflect well on the determination that the international community needs to display to decisively defeat the menace of terrorism," the statement said.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hong Lei, answering a question on blocking the ban on Azhar, indicated that it did not have all the facts to support the ban.
Hong said that "China opposes all forms of terrorism, supports the UN in playing a central and coordinating role in global counter-terrorism cooperation, and plays an active part in this area.
"China deals with the listing matter of the 1267 Committee on the basis of facts and in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions and relevant rules of procedure. China remains in contact with all relevant parties on this matter."
The UN had banned JeM in 2001 but India's effort to ban Azhar after the 2008 Mumbai terror attack was not successful as China, one of the five permanent members of the UN group with veto powers, didn't allow the ban apparently at the behest of Pakistan again.
The blocking of India's move to get a ban slapped on the terrorist came as Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in the US, to attend a Nuclear Security Summit where he spoke out strongly against terrorism and on the need for countries to unite against the menace. Modi said the world needs to drop the notion that terrorism is someone else's problem and that "his" terrorist is not "my" terrorist.
In June last year, China blocked India's move in the UN demanding action against Pakistan over release of Mumbai attack mastermind and LeT commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi as it contended that India had provided insufficient information.
"Alto-Shaam is honored to have been recognized as Wisconsin Manufacturer of the Year." - Steve Maahs, President, Alto-Shaam Inc.
The award was for large manufacturing companies with 300-750 employees. Highlights from the award include:
Innovation
Alto-Shaam continues to embrace technology as a way to enhance the companys manufacturing velocity, while still keeping employees and job growth top of mind. Over the last five years, this innovation has provided an up-tick in sales, as well as impressive employee growth, with the company having increased headcount by 50 percent.
Culture
Employees are empowered to be the pulse of their success through the companys focus on culture and top-down and bottom-up leadership which bridges the gap between the shop floor and front office. Additionally, each employee is invested in the financial health of the organization through participation in the companys gain sharing program, which rewards employees for their contribution to overall corporate objectives.
Growth
Alto-Shaam continues to see organic growth of the business at a rate of more than 15 percent annually since 2010. Through new product development, customer channel growth and superior customer service, the company continues to be a top performer in global markets.
Recognized for its commitment to innovation, philanthropy, technological advances, commitment to customer satisfaction and quality jobs, Alto-Shaam was one of six Wisconsin companies to be honored this year.
Alto-Shaam is honored to have been recognized as Wisconsin Manufacturer of the Year, said Steve Maahs, president, Alto-Shaam Inc. Im grateful to our employees whose combined efforts have helped us get to where we are today and drive Alto-Shaam to continue as a leader in the industry.
Founded more than 60 years ago in a garage, Jerry Maahs, Alto-Shaam founder, was just looking for a way to deliver hot chicken to customers during Wisconsin's frigid winters when he developed the first Alto-Shaam oven.
Since then, Alto-Shaam has continually responded to industry needs to ensure that all foodservice providers have access to high-quality cooking equipment. Alto-Shaam has grown to become a worldwide leader and innovator in the global commercial foodservice equipment industry.
My dad had a true entrepreneurial spirit, Steve Maahs said. The Wisconsin Manufacturer of the Year award allows us to honor his spirit and contributions to the regional manufacturing community. My dad started with nothing, but he created something special for the workers of Wisconsin and foodservice operators throughout the world.
For more information, visit http://www.alto-shaam.com. Contact Sarah Millard at sarahm(at)alto-shaam(dot)com for more information.
About Wisconsin Manufacturer of the Year
Celebrating its 28th year, the Manufacturer of the Year Award program recognizes manufacturers of all sizes and industries for all that they do to drive the Wisconsin economy. Companies were evaluated in areas such as financial growth or consistency, technological advances, product development, environmental solutions and sustainability, operational excellence/continuous improvement, commitment to employees and effective research and development. The Wisconsin Manufacturer of the Year award winners were selected by an independent panel of judges.
The accounting and advisory firm of Baker Tilly, the law firm of Michael Best & Friedrich LLP, and the business association Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce sponsor the MOTY awards program. Additional information can be found online at http://www.wimoty.com or by calling (800) 362-7301.
About Alto-Shaam, Inc.
Alto-Shaams corporate headquarters, worldwide manufacturing facility, Culinary Institute and Technical Institute are based in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. For more than 60 years, Alto-Shaam has been a recognized leader and innovator in the global commercial foodservice equipment industry. With a core business in primary cooking equipment, Alto-Shaam offers an expanded product portfolio that includes award-winning Combitherm ovens, Halo-Heat cook & hold ovens, Xcelerate Hi-Speed ovens, smoker ovens, heated holding technologies, heated display and merchandising solutions, QuickChiller rapid chill units, FryTech high-efficiency fryers, rotisserie ovens, convection ovens, and drop-in hot and cold wells. Alto-Shaam is also the industry leader in providing integrated food production systems for cook/chill, banqueting and rethermalization applications.
A statewide provider of medical waste management services recently confirmed its commitment to quality and compliance. South Lyon-based Med Legal Medical Waste Services LLC, whose service extends as far west as Grand Rapids, recently announced that it passed an onsite facility audit conducted by the Oakland County and Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.
The successful audit which scrutinizes packaging, storage and labeling practices, in addition to record keeping and the facilitys overall medical waste management plan certifies Med Legals wide range of quality services for an additional three years.
In addition to adhering to all current requirements and expectations for industry inspections, Med Legal continues to seek out new avenues in which to more effectively streamline the disposal of medical waste both efficiently and safely.
ABOUT MED LEGAL MEDICAL WASTE SERVICES
Med Legal is one of the top names in the medical waste disposal business, both in the Metro Detroit area and throughout the state of Michigan. The South Lyon-based service stresses compliance to state and federal laws, affordable pricing for its clients (i.e. hospitals, doctors offices, etc.) and on-time delivery of service.
As a leading provider of environmentally friendly disposal, Med Legal offers a full menu of medical waste disposal services in addition to training and education programs to allow clients to practice safe waste storage and disposal.
Available for comment, representatives at Med Legal may be reached at 877-283-2787; or visit MedLegalServices.net.
ISBN: 978-0-9969-9580-1 Anything but the usual how-to-achieve-success-and-wealth CEO story
University of Illinois Press and the Give Something Back Foundation (GSBF) today announced the release and distribution of Through the Fires: An American Story of Turbulence, Business Triumph and Giving Back by Robert Owen Carr, founder of Heartland Payment Systems (NYSE: HPY) and president of the Give Something Back Foundation.
"Through the Fires defines what it means to overcome adversity in business and life, said Mitch Albom, The New York Times bestselling author of Tuesdays with Morrie and The Five People You Meet in Heaven.
Chronicling his hardscrabble childhood and professional setbacks, Robert Owen Carr, chairman and CEO of Heartland Payment Systems, offers inspiration that an idealistdespite being repeatedly knocked down along the waycan ultimately thrive and do a bit to make the world a little better.
From his start as an entrepreneur operating on a shoestring, Carr founded Heartland, one of the largest debit and credit card transaction companies in America. Just as important, he earned a national reputation as a trailblazer for ethical reform of the payments industry.
Carr describes his experience of being scorned and ridiculed by an abusive father, while he pays tribute to his hardworking mother, a night shift waitress, whose wisdom and sense of fairness helped shape the ethic and culture of his flourishing company.
Anything but the usual how-to-achieve-success-and-wealth CEO story, said Tony Robbins, #1 New York Times bestselling author, life and business strategist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. Rather, a story of a never-give-up entrepreneur who triumphs after age fiftyand the life-changing reason he is giving away a fortune.
As a high school senior living in a financially struggling household, Carr received an unexpected $250 scholarship, which he used towards his tuition at the University of Illinois. Carr promised that when able, he would pay it forward.
Today Carr ranks among the nations most respected and successful businessmen, yet he never forgot his commitment to give back. Carr established the Give Something Back Foundation, which has distributed more than $20 million in scholarshipsand has pledged at least $20 million moreto help underserved students attend college and graduate debt free.
President Barack Obama recently named Carr to a key post on the National Infrastructure Advisory Council.
Originally released in 2014, the new edition of Through the Fires features a photo essay and updates of the impact Carrs foundation has had on several of the GSBF scholars, as well as reflections from some of Heartlands more than 4,600 employees. All proceeds from the sales of this book will be donated to the Give Something Back Foundation.
About Robert Carr
Carr built Heartland from a modest start-up with 25 employees in 1997 into a Fortune 1000 company that today employs more than 4,600. Heartlands clients range from major retail chains to restaurants to mom-and-pop stores and websites to colleges and school districts in some of Americas largest cities.
In an age of increasing cyber assaults, Carr has led Heartland to become a gold standard in security strategy. After a remarkable recovery from the 2008 international hacking conspiracy, Heartland emerged as a champion in the fight against cybercrime. The companys Merchant Bill of Rights has been lauded for its transparency in payments billing.
In 2015, Global Payments Inc., an Atlanta-based worldwide provider of payment technology services, announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Heartland for $4.3 billion, and Robert Carr announced he would devote his time to work directly with the Give Something Back Foundation, which was started in 2003 and incorporated in 2006.
Carrs next book, which will be released later this year, is entitled Working-Class to College and it is about the obstacles that stand in the way of a college degree for people of modest economic backgrounds.
About The Give Something Back Foundation
The Give Something Back Foundation works with high school administrators and community leaders to select ninth graders who show academic promise and whose family income level qualifies them to receive a Federal Pell Grant. The goal of GSBF is to help students who may not have considered college an achievable option to get the guidance they need to complete a college degree in four years, debt free. For more information visit http://www.givesomethingbackfoundation.org.
Country Aire Retirement Estates
Country Aire Retirement Estates invites families in Lewistown, Missouri to visit an all-new mobile friendly website to learn more about retirement living and skilled nursing care in Lewistown, Missouri.
Nestled within the picturesque landscape of Northeast Missouri, Country Aire Retirement Estates offers residents and families a beautiful and tranquil environment to live independently. At Country Aire, residential care rooms are available for residents who require a little extra assistance with daily activities. Country Aire caters toward residents on a personalized level, ensuring safety, fulfillment, and the highest level of care while maintaining dignity at all times.
There was nowhere else I wanted to go but Country Aire because everyone there became my friends and family, says Sharon G. Its the place I call home.
Quality of life is often measured by the ease with which daily activities can be enjoyed. At Country Aire, residents have access to a wide array of amenities designed exclusively with this in mind. Private suites, private dining rooms, complimentary transportation, laundry service, a barber/beauty shop, and a state of the art therapy gym are just a few of the modern amenities available to residents on a daily basis. Readers are invited to visit the following link to learn more about the amenities offered at Country Aire Retirement Estates.
For those in need of skilled care, Country Aire offers professionals and individualized services to promote health and well-being to each resident. Programs are tailored to meet the evolving needs of residents, with skilled care services including intravenous therapy, enteral feeding, peritoneal dialysis, extensive wound care, and pain management. Additional services include individualized restorative programs, lab and x-ray services, hospice care, short-stay respite care, optometry, and dental care, among many others. Readers are invited to visit the following link to learn more about services offered at Country Aire Retirement Estates.
Schedule a Visit with Country Aire Retirement Estates
This spring, families are invited to visit http://www.countryairecare.com to learn more about retirement and nursing care services in Lewistown, Missouri. Country Aire Admissions Team is available to answer questions and provide additional assistance at 573-215-2216.
Everyday moms are being pulled in a million directions and too often dont have a moment to take for themselves. The Share the Love campaign is our way to show our appreciation for all they do, and to provide an extra special moment for mom to enjoy.
Bonne Maman, producers of 100% all-natural preserves, are proud to announce the Share the Love sweepstakes in honor of Mothers Day. The sweepstakes, now in its second year, seeks to honor and celebrate all that our moms do for us by offering her a chance to win a $4,500 day off. The Share the Love sweepstakes will run from April 1- October 31, 2016. Entries can be submitted through the Bonne Maman website (http://www.bonnemaman.us) via the sweepstakes page .
Bonne Maman is built on a history of family traditions, love, and cherishing each moment. What better time to honor that history than Mothers Day? Did you know Bonne Maman means Granny or Grandmother? said Sharon Sawyer, Sr. Marketing Manager for Bonne Maman. Everyday moms are being pulled in a million directions and too often dont have a moment to take for themselves. The Share the Love campaign is our way to show our appreciation for all they do, and to provide an extra special moment for mom to enjoy.
Everyone who enters the Share the Love sweepstakes will be able to download a $2 off coupon for their next Bonne Maman purchase. One grand-prize winner will win $4,500 from Bonne Maman to take a day off doing whatever shed like.
To enter the sweepstakes and for more details on the full terms and conditions of the sweepstakes, please visit http://www.bonnemaman.us/bonne-maman-mothers-day-sweepstakes/ beginning April 1st, 2016.
About Bonne Maman
Bonne Maman is the fastest growing preserves brand in the U.S. and #3 selling brand of preserves in the US*. The brand provides consumers with products of the highest quality in the finest French culinary tradition. All Bonne Maman Preserves and Jellies are Non-GMO Project Verified. Bonne Maman produces 16 varieties of preserves from the original Strawberry to the newest flavor, Mango-Peach Preserves, plus 4 flavors of jelly. Bonne Maman Preserves, produced in France, are all-natural, no high fructose corn syrup, no artificial additives, and no preservatives added. Everything in Bonne Maman Preserves could easily be found in grandmas kitchen cabinet. To learn more about Bonne Maman, visit http://www.bonnemaman.us
*IRI, 52 weeks ending 1/24/16
Executives of Realogics Sothebys International Realty (RSIR) are pleased to announce a new branch office in Madison Park within its expanding global brokerage network. The branch will be comprised of a boutique retail storefront called The Park House located at 4031 East Madison Street with an administrative annex located across the street at 4020 East Madison Street that offers room to grow. Operations at the annex will begin in April 2016 as the retail experience center is currently under renovation. The Park House welcomes the following brokers as Founding Members: Carrie DeBuys, Laura Halliday and Hoady Spencer. Together these three are resident experts who live and specialize within their immediate communities and beyond including Capitol Hill, Broadmoor, Madison Park, Madison Valley, Denny Blaine, Madrona, Leschi, Mount Baker and Seward Park, among others. Additional broker appointments will be announced as the branch operations expand.
We are proud to become a long term member of the community and will offer real estate excellence through our resident experts that live and work in these neighborhoods, said Dean Jones, President and CEO of RSIR. The Park House is offered as a retail living room but it will also be a venue for special events. We will showcase homes from around the corner and around the globe with a focus on sun, snow and surf destinations where our network is especially well-positioned to represent second home lifestyles and investment opportunities.
Now that real estate values are setting new benchmarks in the region, Jones notes an increasing trend for downsizing empty-nesters divesting from larger estates in search of a lock and leave condominium or townhome lifestyle while exploring a second home purchase elsewhere. To be sure, the greater central and eastside markets of Seattle witnessed tightening supply so far in 2016. According to RSIR research, median home values in the area (NWMLS areas #380 and #390) skyrocketed by 24-percent for the first quarter 2016. With fewer listings there have been fewer sales overall, however in the luxury segment above $1 million, the total sales increased from 39 homes in 2015 to 49 in 2016 for an increase of more than 25-percent year-over-year.
There will be sustained demand for Seattles infill neighborhoods by virtue of local job growth and a maturing professional demographic creating household formation and insurmountable traffic congestion despite recent announcements by Sound Transit, adds Jones. I believe this is a point of inflection and The Park House will be a timely addition to our regional network as these trends play out.
Jones points to massive employment in downtown Seattle thats drawing thousands of new residents each quarter in addition to job transfers, such as Expedia, which will increasingly relocate 3,000+ positions from downtown Bellevue to Interbay by 2019. Meanwhile, he says a new cycle of condominium developments in downtown Seattle will help compel a growing migration of downsizers while a new generation of homebuyers will seek these family homes within Seattles most nostalgic communities.
RSIR offers new both construction services to developers and a resale brokerage division servicing at all property types and price points throughout the central Puget Sound region. Its strategy to build out premier retail branches within key growth markets in downtown Seattle, Bainbridge Island, Kirkland, Issaquah and now Madison Park are attracting top-producing brokers. Since forming in 2010, RSIR consistently posts the greatest average production on a per agent basis with the highest average selling prices amongst the top ten largest real estate brands in the region. Its robust marketing department has been innovative in the industry creating unique platforms such as the Asia Services Group targeting the rise of in-bound investment from overseas buyers as well as focused campaigns such as the #NoPlaceLikeOwn initiative that is helping renters understand the benefits of being a homeowner. As the largest affiliate for Sothebys International Realty in Washington State, executives at RSIR recently appointed Jennifer Johnsen to Vice President of Brand Development focused on broker membership and growth management for the expanding real estate network.
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About Realogics Sothebys International Realty (http://www.RSIR.com) - Artfully uniting extraordinary homes with extraordinary lives, Realogics Sothebys International Realty is a leading global sales and marketing brokerage firm in the Pacific Northwest. Recognized by the Puget Sound Business Journal amongst the fastest-growing private companies in Washington State for 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 the boutique real estate firm of 160+ brokers consistently ranks among the top producing firms within the markets that it serves with branches in downtown Seattle, Bainbridge Island, Kirkland, Issaquah and now Madison Park.
EDITORS NOTES: For high-resolution photography contact Andrea Savage at 206.448.5752 or email Andrea(dot)Savage@RSIR.com.
Agaram Technologies is are proud to announce that EIT+ Wroclaw Research Centre, Poland has successfully implemented QuaLIS LIMS platform across their organisation. With 26 labs in their Research Centre, EIT+ at any point in time manages over 50+ research projects. This resulted in extensive operational challenges in terms of managing and reporting on the status of the various projects. The management at EIT+ decided to automate the operations to overcome the above challenge. Keeping this need in mind, EIT+ evaluated suitable systems from across the globe and chose to go with QuaLIS LIMS from Agaram Technologies. EIT+ chose QuaLIS LIMS over competition due to its easy to use interface facilitating higher and faster user adoption, rich functionality, excellent Management Information System. The modular design of QuaLIS LIMS ensured that custom functionality could be built with ease to meet EIT+'s specific needs. It is now 3 months since the system went LIVE and the 250+ users of the system unanimously vouch for choosing QuaLIS LIMS. Overall, the management at EIT+ is very happy that the productivity of their team and visibility into the work being carried out for their customers have improved tremendously since the system went LIVE.
EIT+ Wroclaw Research Centre is the largest research facility in East Central Europe. To know more about them, please visit http://www.eitplus.pl/en/
Agaram Technologies is a global provider of enterprise class products like Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS), Electronic Lab Notebook (ELN) and Scientific Data Management System (SDMS). Agarams QuaLIS LIMS, LogiLab ELN, LogiLab SDMS, InterFACER middleware for instrument interface are focused towards global pharmaceutical and life sciences industry. Agaram also delivers LIMS across other industry verticals like petroleum, chemical, food, dairy, government, commercial labs, environmental, high end clinical labs and clinical research. Agaram headquartered in Chennai, India, employs the finest technology talent and is a market leader in this space. Agaram has direct presence in Europe and United States and has partners in other regions of the globe. To know more, please visit http://www.agaramtech.com.
We feel that supporting those who have served our country is an important ongoing endeavor.
Festiva, the developer for the Festiva hotel and resort properties and the Festiva Adventure Club, has donated $1,500 to the Asheville-Buncombe Community Christian Ministries (ABCCM) Veterans Restoration Quarters. These funds will go toward providing homeless veterans with stability, skill building, educational and training opportunities that will lead to employment, housing and the restoration of personal dignity.
We feel that supporting those who have served our country is an important ongoing endeavor. Were proud to have an organization like ABCCM in our community and are more than happy to contribute to their efforts in aiding veterans, said Kristen Shiring, Festiva Charitable Fund committee member.
With an operational office and its parent companys corporate office in Asheville, Festiva is a regular supporter of numerous humanitarian non-profit and charitable organizations in the Asheville area and has supported various divisions and programs of the ABCCM through volunteer opportunities, fundraisers and other donations.
Festiva began a flexible endowment fund in 2006 with the intent of providing permanent charitable resources for all the communities where Festiva employees live and work. The primary focus of the Festiva Charitable Fund is to promote education for youth and to assist in efforts to eliminate poverty in its communities. The charitable fund is also used to respond to extraordinary global events.
About Festiva
Festiva is a family of boutique vacation ownership resorts located in some of the most popular destinations in the United States and Caribbean. Along with efforts to support local communities where the company operates, Festiva constantly looks for new ways to offer exciting vacation opportunities to its members, while treating every guest like family. More information can be found at http://www.festiva.com. #Festiva #FestivaAdventureClub
One bag, several functions & looks.
MERIKH is a new concept & lifestyle brand, shape shifting leather bags for men & women, even some styles for pet owners. Timeless design with over 5 looks & 10 using options. One bag, suitable for many occasions. http://merikh.com
Classic bags with option to vary the look via attaching a Multifunctional bag in several different ways. This option is handy, as the Multibag can be used separately as a handbag/purse, or attached as: Belt bag, Pet leash bag, Bicycle bag, Motorcycle bag, Buggy bag etc.
MERIKH is a Scandinavian brand, it was officially launched 2014 by Hannele Merik. Hannele is born and raised in Stockholm Sweden, she has been traveling and living around the world, and collecting inspiration & experience. She has always had a passion for business, creativity & traveling, and has worked many years as a Buyer and Production Manager. The idea of the concept got started from a NEED. "Every time when I had a walk with my dog, I always had plenty things in my hands which occasionally fell on the ground... I wanted to enjoy a walk or a ride without having anything in my hands. says Hannele. This is how the idea got started, an elegant little handbag with multifunction. Today the Multibag is the key item of MERIKH's unique concept & brand niche.
MERIKHs vision is that the bags will be loved and enjoyed whether going to a nightclub, gym, work, traveling, walking a pet, riding a bicycle, shopping etc.The current collection has been successfully sold in over 15 countries. The Autumn collection is now available for pre-orders via Indiegogo campaign. All PERKS have "early bird" discount, and special backers offers.
For more information: https://igg.me/at/merikhbags/
BlackDoctor.org (BDO), the leading online health destination for African Americans, and the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Disparities Solutions announced today that Bob Oliver, President & COO of Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc., will keynote the 3rd Annual Top Blacks in Healthcare Awards Gala on Thursday, April 21, 2016 from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the Four Seasons Hotel in Baltimore, MD.
I am honored to be a part of such an esteemed group being recognized at the Top Blacks in Healthcare Awards Gala, said Bob Oliver, President and COO, Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. He added, Id like to thank BlackDoctor.org for the instrumental role they have played in activating leaders and the healthcare community around this critical mission. Addressing disparity is essential to advancing healthcare equality, from the boardrooms to the hospital rooms. I, similar to the other honorees, am proud to stand tall with BlackDoctor.org so we can reduce disparity and increase opportunity.
The 3rd Annual Top Blacks in Healthcare Awards Gala will honor 24 individuals who have made outstanding contributions to medicine and health. These highly esteemed and accomplished individuals were identified and selected by alumni from the 2014 and 2015 Top Blacks in Healthcare Awards recipients as well as key individuals from partner organizations such as the National Medical Association, Johns Hopkins University and the American Hospital Association.
Bob Oliver is a 25 year veteran of the pharmaceutical industry. In his current role, Mr. Oliver manages a diverse portfolio of marketed and pipeline products across the neuroscience, cardiovascular, oncology and medical devices markets. He also leads the efforts in the emergence of Digital Medicine solutions.
Bob Oliver exemplifies all of the unparalleled qualities that define our honorees, past and present. BlackDoctor.org looks forward to setting the tone for the evening, and for our collective work beyond the celebration, with his address, shared Reggie Ware, CEO of BlackDoctor.org.
The 2016 Top Blacks in Healthcare Awards Gala Sponsors are Bayer Corporation, Novartis, Eli Lilly & Company, and Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc., (OAPI).
For the second year, Blackdoctor.org will have legendary BET host and radio personality, Donnie Simpson, as Master of Ceremonies.
For more information, please visit: http://blackdoctor.org/481996/blackdoctor-org-and-johns-hopkins-center-for-health-disparities-solutions-announce-3rd-annual-top-blacks-in-healthcare-awards-gala-honorees/
About Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc
Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. (OAPI) is an innovative, fast-growing healthcare company that commercializes Otsuka-discovered and in-licensed products in the U.S., with a strong focus on neuroscience, oncology, cardio-renal, and medical devices. For more information, visit http://www.otsuka-us.com.
OAPI is a subsidiary of Otsuka America, Inc. (OAI), a holding company established in the U.S. in 1989. OAI is wholly owned by Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., a global healthcare company with the corporate philosophy: 'Otsuka-people creating new products for better health worldwide.'
Otsuka Pharmaceutical is a leading firm in the challenging area of mental health and also has products and research programs for several under-addressed diseases including tuberculosis, a significant global public health issue. These commitments illustrate more powerfully than words how Otsuka is a big venture company at heart, applying a youthful spirit of creativity in everything it does.
Otsuka Pharmaceutical and its affiliates employ approximately 30,000 people globally, and the company welcomes you to visit its global website at: http://www.otsuka.co.jp/en/index.php.
About BlackDoctor.org
BlackDoctor.org (BDO) is the world's most comprehensive online health resource for Black consumers. With a monthly total audience reach of 24 million, BDO is the leading producer of targeted and culturally accurate health and editorial content for African Americans. BDO's users appreciate receiving health information in an environment they trust and in a language and context they understand. BDO also boasts the largest online database of Black physicians and dentists as part of its free doctor search tool, and a medical expert panel including many of the most respected and accomplished experts in their field. Learn more about BlackDoctor.org at http://www.BlackDoctor.org and follow us on Twitter @BlackDoctor, and Facebook at facebook.com/BlackDoctor.org.
Measured Progress, Inc. is pleased to announce a partnership with Activate Learning to combine high-quality, standards-based science assessments with a world-class science curriculum. The announcement will be made from the National Science Teachers Associations (NSTA) annual conference being held in Nashville, TN.
Activate Learnings IQWST (Investigating & Questioning our World Through Science & Technology), is a rigorous investigation-centered science curriculum designed to challenge and engage middle school students in grades 6 through 8. With the addition of Measured Progress STEM Gauge assessment materials to IQWST, science and engineering educators across the country will now have access to NGSS-aligned science assessment materials to support the curriculum they have already implemented in their classrooms.
We are very enthusiastic about what this partnership can do for science and STEM educators, said Eric Johnson, CEO of Activate Learning. We have been deeply committed to the goals and practices of the NGSS for some time. Our partnership with Measured Progress allows us to combine our leading NGSS curriculum with the finest NGSS-aligned assessments available and provide teachers with a fantastic new way to evaluate students learning with integrated assessments.
School districts have voiced the need for NGSS-aligned assessments since the standards were introduced in April 2013. Eighteen states and the District of Columbia have adopted the NGSS, with some districts pushing to adopt the standards regardless of their state affiliation.
Activate Learning is known for its real-world pedagogical approach, said Measured Progress CEO Martin Borg. Pairing our expertise of rigorous assessment development with Activate Learnings research-based curriculum makes for an appealing combination: to engage students to learn science while also assisting teachers in the transition to the new, more challenging science standards.
Measured Progress STEM Gauge is a formative assessment resource that supports classroom instruction in the transition to NGSS. STEM Gauge provides students with opportunities to demonstrate understanding of the three dimensions of NGSS performance expectations while instruction occurs. Teachers who use IQWST will now be able to support their middle school students learning over time, and check for evidence of learning through STEM Gauge formative support tools and assessment questions.
ABOUT MEASURED PROGRESS
Measured Progress, a not-for-profit organization, is a pioneer in authentic, standards-based assessments. For more than 30 years, we have been connecting the K12 educational community with innovative and flexible assessment solutions. Our goal is to provide meaningful information about student progress to improve teaching and learning. For more information, visit http://www.measuredprogress.org. Its all about student learning. Period.
ABOUT ACTIVATE LEARNING
Activate Learning is a mission-driven company that believes quality, investigation-centered science education is the key to sustained prosperity. Our focus is on elementary and middle school science education in the United States. With the help of strong leadership and a distinguished advisory board, our science programs are growing rapidly in districts across the U.S. For more information, visit http://www.activatelearning.com.
Whilst setting up a business in a new country can be an incredibly exciting time, it invariably presents many challenges, such as large amounts of paperwork, unfamiliar administrative procedures, legalities, language barriers and cultural differences to navigate.
Having years of experience in reducing the administrative burden on entrepreneurs, freeing their time so they can focus on running their businesses, Euro Start Entreprises is offering one of its highly regarded company formation packages to one lucky winner.
The prize will allow the winner to take their business to the next level and hit the ground running hassle-free in Paris. It includes:
Full support from the expert bilingual Euro Start Entreprises team to set up a business in Paris.
Company registration in France.
Setting up a business bank account and additional financial framework.
Legal publicity.
Tax registration.
Registered business address for one year.
Paris is now one of the top European locations for successful startups thanks to the huge influx of funding and emerging talent in the capital as well as the introduction ofthe worlds largest digital business incubator at Halle Freyssinet. Creating a startup in Paris is a prime opportunity to become part of this exciting scene.
For more details on the competition and to enter, visit: http://www.eurostartentreprises.com/startup-competition
The competition is open until 22nd April 2016 and the winner will be announced on the 29th April 2016.
Katya Puyraud, co-owner of Euro Start Entreprises said: Theres never been a better time to expand your business into France. As the worlds sixth largest economy, its wonderful to see that more and more entrepreneurs are embracing the growing opportunities available here. Were excited to be part of this community and very happy to give someone a chance to help their business step up to the next level.
About Euro Start Entreprises
Since 2007 Euro Start Entreprises has been helping entrepreneurs open and expand their businesses all over the globe. And we understand what its like to build a business up from nothing because we did that too.
Euro Start Entreprises started off in a little back office in the 10th arrondissement in Paris, sharing office space with a record company. We began by just offering company formation services in France and the UK, but very soon our reputation for being quick, efficient and friendly helped us to expand to new territories. Within a few years we were able to say goodbye to the record company office and set ourselves up in the very beautiful Avenue George V, just off the famous Champs-Elysees.
We have now established a network of offices and agents in over 30 countries, enabling us to provide not only company formation services but accountants, serviced offices, foreign exchange services, company checks, business insurance and telecommunications services to name but a few.
But not only do we provide all these services, we pride ourselves in giving the peace of mind that entrepreneurs need when theyre taking the very big step of expanding abroad. These are just some of the reasons our customers choose us to help them with this task:
We provide a unique one-stop shop solution to opening a business abroad providing expert help and advice in setting up your company from start to finish
We will hold your hand every step of the way throughout the incorporation process
We take care of everything from paperwork to translations, tax solutions to accounting so you can relax knowing our experts will organise everything for you
For more information, please call us on 0033 (0) 1 53 57 49 10 or email us on info(at)eurostartentreprises(dot)com.
Cox Target Media is proud to announce that David Ferguson has joined the company as Sales Director of Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) Accounts. He is responsible for developing new business relative to print circulars, digital print-at-home coupons and targeted direct mail campaigns within the CPG industry.
Ferguson has over 15 years of experience in consultative selling within the marketing services industry, sharpening his leadership skills in building new business relationships and client partnerships. He joined Cox Target Media from Synergistic Marketing, a leading brand activation media company, where he was Southeast Sales Director.
Prior to that, Ferguson spent over 18 years with Valassis, consistently increasing his responsibility and in-depth industry knowledge with positions ranging from in-store marketing and field sales to retail and services sales divisions. He exceeded his formal annual sales objectives 10 times and has been recognized for extraordinary sales performance with multiple awards. Ferguson has a bachelors degree in food marketing and masters degree in advertising and public relations, both from Michigan State University.
Extend yourselves, imagine, think creatively about the problems in the world that you want to solve. With technology, you can achieve that.
On March 16, TheAppLabb CEO Kundan Joshi delivered the keynote speech at Tuni Talks 41. Joshi walked the crowd through what's in store for "Future of Apps" with a dynamic presentation that explained why people should operate based on where the market is going to be in the future, instead of where it is today.
Speaking to a packed house at Hotel Ocho in downtown Toronto, Joshi briefly discussed the history of apps, showing the first app to capture widespread attentionNokia's snake gamebefore diving into what's to come in the future for apps and technology. He covered the history of apps before demonstrating how much apps have replaced in daily life, from simple calculators to family photos to entire books.
Next, Joshi dove into the top trends for the future including artificial intelligence, virtual & augmented reality, autonomous cars, the Internet of Things and wearables. He explained how Moore's Law, the idea that computing power will double every two years, will lead to exponential achievements in technology in the coming years. He then talked about the upcoming trends in the world of apps such as hyper-personalized apps tailored to individual preferences, needs and location, seamless connect between the real & digital worlds, fully integrated voice assistance across all apps, and app streaming. He gave a brief overview of where the Internet of Things is today before giving the audience a glimpse of how it will evolve, from mobile controlled lighting & devices to efficient smart homes with automated lighting, fitness tracking wearables to connected wellness monitoring, mobile keyless entry to smart walls that control security & events, and more.
He indicated that artificial intelligence will soon become a regular part of daily life. In the near future, when people go to their favourite retail stores, it's likely the store will be staffed by Pepper the Robot, a robot powered by IBM's Watson AI that perceives human emotion, recognizes faces and makes conversation. Home lives will be changed, as well. JIBO, the world's first social robot, can read & tell stories to children, proactively take photos at family gatherings, deliver hands-free messages and remind owners of tasks. Cubic, a personal AI, makes lives easier by controlling all a user's devices & apps with speech recognition, and can hold conversations including delivering traffic updates in the car, ordering delivery and adjusting the temperature in your home.
Joshi talked about how user interfaces will continue to evolve based on a user's demands, with gesture controlled interfaces, smart contact lenses and augmented reality devices. Nanobots will no longer be a science-fiction concept, as their medical application will become an integral part of improving human health.
As technology has become such a part of everyday life, it is more important than ever to look ahead to see where technology & innovation are going, and how much further they can go. Joshi ended his presentation with a thought-provoking challenge to the audience, saying "We are at a stage where science and technology has progressed to a point where our only constraint is imagination. Extend yourselves, imagine, think creatively about the problems in the world that you want to solve. With technology, you can achieve that."
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About TheAppLabb
TheAppLabb is a dynamic global tech company that has built over 450 mobile apps for clients like Unilever, Samsung, Dell, HBC and TIFF, among others. They are a leader in product innovation, passionate about harnessing the power of technology to to make people's lives better. Headquartered in Toronto and with offices in New York, Hong Kong, Australia, Malaysia and India, TheAppLabb works with global brands, agencies and tech start-ups and contributes to their success by understanding their unique needs and creating business value through innovative solutions with a comprehensive 360-degree product development process that includes ideation, research, app strategy, design development, maintenance and customer acquisition. Find out more at http://www.theapplabb.com.
StraighterLine and Olivet are partnering to serve adult and non-traditional learners by offering a wide range of online courses and programs.
StraighterLine, the fastest-growing provider of affordable, high quality online general education courses, has partnered with Olivet Nazarene University, one of the nations top Christian universities providing education with a Christian purpose since 1907. Olivet offers programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels, with several online degree options that begin regularly throughout the year. In addition to regular course offerings, Olivet specializes in programs designed to meet the needs of adult learners.
This partnership with Olivet Nazarene University opens up additional credit pathways for college students, said StraighterLine Founder and CEO Burck Smith. Together, StraighterLine and Olivet are making a real difference in the lives of college students by offering a flexible, affordable way to earn their degree.
StraighterLine and Olivet are partnering to serve adult and non-traditional learners by offering a wide range of online courses and programs.
Olivet has long made it their mission to offer the very best programming to our students across growing areas of impact, said Dr. Ryan Spittal, Vice President for Strategic Expansion. One of these critical areas of growth is our adult learners and through this partnership, Olivet will be better able to serve this expanding student population through quality online education.
The School of Graduate and Continuing Studies currently enrolls thousands of students, with more new students starting every day. Recently, Olivet launched ONU Global as a means to oversee this growing area of impact. The majority of ONU Global students are non-residential, non-traditional students.
ONU Global currently has a physical presence in three states including Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan and offers more than 30 undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs. Programs may be completed on-ground, online, or a combination of both. ONU Global is approved for online programming in 46 states and offers 14 programs fully online with plan to expand in the future through the partnership with StraighterLine.
About Olivet Nazarene University
Founded in 1907, Olivet Nazarene University has a long history of helping students succeed. With online programs and over 200 cohort locations throughout Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan, the School of Graduate and Continuing Studies has provided education to thousands of adult learners throughout the Midwest. With regional accreditations from the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), Olivets programs offer high quality education that will help students achieve their personal and career goals.
Olivet is committed to student success and offers a comprehensive array of support services. As an added benefit for students who take StraighterLine courses for transfer to Olivet, the university offers a 20% discount and the $50 application fee will also be waived.
Olivet Nazarene University is an accredited Christian, liberal arts university offering more than 120 areas of undergraduate and graduate study, including the Doctor of Education in ethical leadership. Olivets 250-acre park-like main campus is in Bourbonnais, Illinois, 50 miles south of Chicago. Additional sites are in Rolling Meadows and Oak Brook, Illinois; Indianapolis, Indiana; Grand Rapids and Grand Ledge, Michigan; Hong Kong; and more than 100 School of Graduate and Continuing Studies learning locations throughout Chicagoland and the Midwest. From Oxford to Tokyo, hundreds of Olivet students also experience the global classroom each year through study abroad opportunities, internships and worldwide mission trips.
About StraighterLine
StraighterLine solves the #1 issue facing students today the skyrocketing cost of college with low-cost online courses that prepare students for success. StraighterLine combines a $99 a month course subscription with guaranteed credit pathways to accredited degree programs to save students up to 60% on the total cost of their degree. More than 10,000 students got started with StraighterLine last year. StraighterLine takes the worry out of credit transfer with a College Savings Network of nearly 100 accredited colleges that guarantee acceptance of StraighterLine courses. Having also been evaluated and recommended by the American Council on Educations College Credit Recommendation Service (ACE CREDIT), StraighterLine courses will also be considered by more than 2,000 other colleges and universities for transfer to their degree programs upon request.
Emma Dunlavey has become well known for her professional photographic work. She often uses her images as a point of inspiration for creating large-scale multilayered art pieces with resin and mixed media. By incorporating 3-D objects into her pieces, Dunlaveys artwork utilizes both visual and tactile elements to engage the viewer. This exhibit will showcase her David Bowie collection and previously unseen works featuring Pamela Anderson. Recently, Emma Dunlavey and Pamela Anderson collaborated on the book RAW, a collection of 300 photographs shot by Dunlavey spanning 20 years of friendship between the two.
Francois Duerinckxs body of work Fashion Show Pop Models Art celebrates the varied, harmonious, and elegant female form through sculpture that evokes a renewed vision of Pop Art. His work pays homage to haute couture, catwalks, models, while juxtaposing popular brands with a rebellious sensibility and experimentation. Duerinckxs mannequin-like models are created with molded fiberglass, meticulously sanded and painted, taking nearly 300 hours to complete. Strong, resilient, elegant, and sexy, Duerinckxs work celebrates the female form in a hyper realistic fashion.
Mercedes Lasarte, influenced by her studies in French Impressionism and Post-Impressionism creates paintings in oil utilizing bold color palettes. Her work captures the spirit of painters Matisse and Gauguin, employing "cloisonnisme" to cover swaths of canvas with bright strokes of paint that employ an emotional response and sense of color. Her pieces evoke memories, personal experiences, and longing, choosing to focus on the composition as a whole rather than solely one form.
About Macaya Gallery:
Macaya Gallery's owner Patrick Glemaud is a corporate attorney whose passion for contemporary art inspired him to leave the corporate world and immerse himself into the exciting world of creative expression now known as Macaya Gallery. Located in Wynwood, Miami Art District, Macaya Gallery is a contemporary art gallery that represents, promotes, and showcases world-renowned, mid-career, as well as emerging talent from the disciplines of art, design, and passionate manufacturing, with exhibits ranging from paintings, photography, mixed media and sculpture.
For more information about Macaya Gallery, visit http://www.macayagallery.com. Follow the gallery on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/MacayaGallery/ and on Instagram at http://www.instagram.com/macayagallery/.
Founded by Marlissa Gardner in 2013, Emillions Art advises and curates artwork for private buyers, collectors, investors, retail, corporate, hospitality, and residential environments drawing upon its roster of both emerging and established artists. By cultivating long-standing relationships with galleries and artists, Emillions Art builds and maintains an expansive collection with access to rare and contemporary artworks. Their goal is to find and acquire the perfect original artwork reflective of their clients vision, architectural style, and design terrain.
To inquire about the VIP opening reception invitations, contact Patrick(at)macayagallery(dot)com or call (347)681-9658.
Macaya Gallery 145NW 36th Street, Miami FL, 33131. (786)577-0322
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
Morgan & Morgan is proud to announce that famed environmental attorneys Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Kevin J. Madonna of Kennedy & Madonna, LLP will now be of counsel to the firm.
This partnership stems from the two firms successful collaboration on the case against SoCalGas Company following the Aliso Canyon gas well blowout in California.
Morgan & Morgan is committed to holding companies accountable when negligence results in devastating environmental consequences. In addition to the firms work on behalf of Porter Ranch residents who suffered as a result of the gas well blowout, Morgan & Morgan previously, and successfully, took on BP after the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
Morgan & Morgan is honored to continue to work closely with these premier environmental litigators who have dedicated their careers to protecting the environment and communities affected by pollution.
John Morgan, who founded Morgan & Morgan in 1988, praised both men for their lifelong work protecting the environment and their instrumental role in the fight on behalf of Porter Ranch residents.
We are now representing almost 3000 homeowners and the occupants of those homes, said Morgan. Kennedy and Madonna were instrumental, he continued, as they share a passion for the environment and civil justice.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has long been a staunch advocate for the environment. His role in helping Riverkeeper fight to restore the Hudson River earned him a spot on Time Magazines Heroes of the Planet list. Mr. Kennedy also played a key role in negotiating the New York City watershed agreement, which is regarded as an international model for deals of its kind.
Aside from being a world famous environmental lawyer, Mr. Kennedy is also a prolific author. He has published several political books, as well as three childrens books and has had articles published in many of the countrys most notable newspapers and magazines.
Kevin J. Madonna has served as the Executive Director of the Waterkeeper Alliance, and worked with organizations like the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the United Nations Environment Programme, and the United States Environmental Protection Agency, to name a few.
Morgan & Morgan looks forward to working closely with Kennedy and Madonna in the ongoing battle to protect the environment from corporate greed and carelessness.
The California State Teachers Retirement System today announced the appointment of Sandy Blair to Director of Retirement Readiness. In her new role, Ms. Blair, the director of CalSTRS Defined Contribution Solutions business unit since 2013, will also oversee CalSTRS member benefits education efforts, field benefits operations, and member and employer outreach activities.
Sandy brings extensive expertise in all facets of the Retirement Readiness divisions lines of business, especially in providing valuable member outreach and financial awareness education, said CalSTRS Chief Operating Officer Cassandra Lichnock. She has an impressive record of results in the defined contribution program where participation has soared under her leadership.
Sandy brings a high level of professional competence as well as continuity to her new responsibilities, said CalSTRS Benefits and Services Executive Officer Andrew Roth, She is widely recognized for her forward-thinking abilities and CalSTRS members stand to benefit greatly from her experience and leadership.
Ms. Blair began her CalSTRS management career in 2009 in the client outreach and guidance business area, where she was instrumental in establishing the model of CalSTRS first Member Service Center in West Sacramento. She became a field manager, overseeing centers in West Sacramento, Glendale and Santa Clara. Under Ms. Blair's leadership, the CalSTRS defined contribution plan, Pension2, experienced tremendous growth. It currently administers nearly $600 million in assets on behalf of more than 10,000 plan participants.
Prior to joining CalSTRS, Ms. Blair worked in the private sector in consumer banking, finance and tax preparation. She holds a Bachelor of Science in business administration and finance from California State University, Sacramento.
The California State Teachers Retirement System, with a portfolio valued at $178.7 billion as of February 29, 2016, is the largest educator-only pension fund in the world. CalSTRS administers a hybrid retirement system, consisting of traditional defined benefit, cash balance and voluntary defined contribution plans. CalSTRS also provides disability and survivor benefits. CalSTRS serves California's 896,000 public school educators and their families from the states 1,700 school districts, county offices of education and community college districts. Follow us on Twitter @CalSTRS
Mike Heyn joins the Curve Dental Team as Director of Sales. The cloud-based dental software market is quickly growing and with Mike's experience and leadership, Curve Dental will capture a majority share.
Curve Dental, the leading developer of cloud-based dental software, announced Mike Heyn will join the company in a newly created position as Director of Sales and a member of the senior management team, reporting to President and COO, Ian Zipursky. Heyn will have direct responsibility for Curve Dentals sales organization and activities.
Mikes decision to join us is absolutely incredible, said Ian Zipursky, president and COO of Curve Dental, Inc. Mikes core background and experience has been focused on dental software sales management. He has repeatedly demonstrated his ability to build an effective sales channel and significantly grow market share. The cloud-based dental software market is quickly growing and with Mikes experience and leadership, Curve Dental will capture a majority share.
Heyns resume includes more than 23 years of sales management experience in the dental profession with varied organizations. He began his career with Dentrix Dental Systems, and then Henry Schein, Inc., as an Area Sales Manager and General Manager for DENTRIX and Easy Dental, respectfully. Later, he joined Aribex, Inc. and under Heyns sales leadership, the company significantly increased sales volumes and broadened its sales reach to include every major dealer. Most recently, Heyn acted as the NOMAD Business Unit Director worldwide for the Kavo Kerr Group.
I am thrilled to join the Curve Dental team, says Mike Heyn. I firmly believe the cloud is the current technology standard and Curve Dental is the clear leader in providing cloud-based dental software due to their experience and innovation. I am impressed with the management team at Curve Dental, the organizational structure, and the way in which the company has positioned itself in the market. I feel my contributions can further accelerate the growth the company has experienced and look forward to much success. Its going to be a lot of fun.
About Curve Dental, Inc.
Founded in 2004, Curve Dental provides web-based dental software and related services to dental practices within the United States and Canada. The company is privately-held, with offices in Orem, Utah and Calgary, Alberta. The company strives to make dental software less about computers and more about the user experience. Their creative thinking can be seen in the design of their software, thats easy to use and built only for the web. Dentists can call 888-910-4376 or visit http://www.curvedental.com for more information.
I set about 6 different alarms this morning to wake up and purchase tickets because I knew they were going to move quickly.
TEDxASUs event Outliers: Embracing Your Vision, being held at Arizona State University in April, sold out in under five minutes.
According to event organizers, anticipation had been building for the event since early January, when it was announced that TEDx was coming to Arizona State University (ASU). General admission tickets went on sale Monday morning, March 28, through the TEDxASU website; they sold out in under five minutes.
Ammar Tanveer, the ASU TEDx organizer, says having the tickets sell out so quickly was both energizing and humbling.
Without the support of the community, I have no idea what this event would be looking like right now, says Tanveer. Im going to continue to give this event my everything so that at the end of this event, everyone will know TEDxASU is truly here to stay.
Since January, the groups Facebook page has had over 500,000 visitors, with 8,000 people opting in to receive updates on the event and hoping to purchase tickets.
However, TEDx restricts the number of attendees to 100 people for first-time TEDx events. This led to many people with hopes of securing tickets going to great lengths in order to ensure that they would, indeed, be able to attend the event on April 23rd held in ASUs Marston Exploration Theater.
ASU graduate, Taylor Willis-Highers, 23, of Chandler, AZ., was one of those who planned ahead for the release. I set about 4 different alerts on the event: the Facebook event, any commentary, any chatter on the ticket release, she said. I set about 6 different alarms this morning to wake up and purchase tickets because I knew they were going to move quickly.
Willis-Highers was one of the fortunate few who was able to secure tickets to the event. However, many others were not so lucky. Because so many people were unable to purchase tickets, organizers announced that video of TEDxASU will be live streamed on their website, http://www.tedxasu.com. The ASU Student Creative Services will provide videography and livestreaming for this event.
Information can be found on https://www.facebook.com/events/1667297800192432/permalink/1677739139148298/.
For media inquiries about TEDxASU, contact Melody Serafino at TEDxPR(at)ted(dot)com.
About LeadershipYOU
The goal of LeadershipYOU is to help individuals have an amazing life. The project uses multiple media platforms including a book, website, and MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) to guide, and inspire, individuals on their journey to living a life in which they will find satisfaction and success. The LeadershipYOU project was created by author, speaker, entrepreneur, doctor, pilot Dr. John Shufeldt, MD, JD, MBA, FACEP, who shares inspirational and instructional stories not only from his own life, but also of other self-leaders. Using a variety of communication platforms, Dr. Shufeldt breaks down the leadership qualities and skills necessary for attaining ones most amazing future. You can find more information on LeadershipYOU at http://ingredientsofoutliers.com/leadership-you-online-courses/.
Event Information
The theme of the event is Outliers: Embracing Your Vision. Four speakers have been announced so far: speaker, author, pilot, and entrepreneur, Dr. John Shufeldt, MD, JD, MBA, FACEP, will be speaking on The Question We Need to Stop Asking Our Children; a talk focused on broadening horizons as it relates to career choices. Dean of the Mary Lou Folton Teachers College, Dr. Mari Koerner will be speaking on engagement in the classroom. Dr. Bertram Jacobs, professor of Virology and Director of the School of Life Sciences at ASU will be giving a talk titled, Viruses: Infectious Medicine, aimed to inform audiences about the usefulness of viruses in medicine, and theoretical physicist Dr. Maulik Parikh will be speaking about black holes. More speakers will be announced soon.
About TEDxASU
Arizona State University is the New American University, a model developed by ASUs President Michael Crow that re-conceptualizes the current standard of higher education. With this model, ASU seeks to be defined by the students it includes rather than excludes, its impact on the public good and its responsibility for the broader community. In this spirit of innovation, ASU brings together brilliant thinkers from a host of fields to discuss their groundbreaking research and ideas in TEDxASU. This eye-opening, half-day conference offers its attendees the opportunity to listen to individuals who have redefined their respective fields. It is our hope that participants will leave with the desire to become disruptive leaders in their corresponding disciplines.
About TEDx, x = independently organized event
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TED Talks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized. (Subject to certain rules and regulations.)
About TED
TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading, usually in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or fewer) delivered by today's leading thinkers and doers. Many of these talks are given at TED's annual conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, and made available, free, on TED.com. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Nandan Nilekani, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Sal Khan and Daniel Kahneman.
Hair Illusion is a well-known grooming brand that originated in Boston, Massachusetts and has quickly helped changed the way people take care of their hair loss. Hair Illusion is a patent pending cosmetic hair application made from 100% real human hair that allows men and women to conceal the appearance of thinning hair and bald spots.
Creator business mogul, Ronnie Passariello, experienced hair loss and thinning and decided to fix his situation with an amazing solution. Hair Illusion is a quick, easy, and painless way, to end suffering from hair loss whether its Alopecia, or if youre experience hair thinning and balding. Hair Illusion does not re-grow hair nor does it stop hair loss; it is only a cosmetic product that camouflages bald spots and thinning, while giving the illusion of full healthy hair. Hair Illusion is the only known product that uses natural human hair to hinder the appearance of hair loss.
I want people who experience hair loss to feel at ease knowing there is a product that will give them relief. says Ronnie Passariello, Founder and CEO of Hair Illusion. We are excited about this new journey and our expansion to the Beverly Hills area.
Hair Illusion is a simple to use product that is undetectable to the naked eye. Generously shake Hair Illusion over the balding or thinning areas and thousands of microscopic fibers will fill in the necessary bald or thinning spots with the help of magnetized static electricity. Hair Illusion is so secure that it will NOT fly off in the wind or during a workout.
About Hair Illusion:
With years of experience, Ronnie Passariello has created a solution to end hair loss issues. Hair Illusion is a cosmetic product made from 100% real human hair that allows men and women to conceal the appearance of thinning hair and bald spots, giving the impression of natural human hair. Regardless of age, thinning or balding hair doesnt have to be a problem. For more information, http://www.hairillusion.net.
Call Answering Were very excited to add this to our menu of services for small and medium businesses
Conversational, a virtual receptionist and support service provider, recently announced the inclusion of booking and appointment services to their Starter, Business, and Enterprise level packages.
The addition is expected to appeal to a broader client base, including real estate agents, medical practices, law firms, sales teams, and small businesses that take and book appointments.
The announcement comes hot on the heels of Conversationals recent launch of live chat support for law firms, a major sector of their client base. The addition is part of a company-wide strategic push to offer a complete support service package to new and existing clients.
Adding appointment and booking services was a natural progression for the company. Conversational CEO Tanya Lamont notes, Our clients have inquired about appointment-setting services many times over the years, so we knew it would be warmly received. Were very excited to add this to our menu of services for small and medium businesses.
The new booking and appointment services are offered to Conversational clients who select the Starter, Business, or Enterprise level call answering packages.
The plans offer varying levels of support that are designed to appeal to small and medium businesses, from 100 minutes of call time each month on the Starter plan to 500 minutes each month on the Enterprise plan. All packages include email delivery of messages and voicemails, warm call transfers, unlimited talk time after transfer, and now bookings and appointments.
A recent study by Conversational compared the appointment accuracy and volume of no-shows of clients using the companys appointment services to the clients previous accuracy and no-show volume.
The results showed that inclusion of the appointment booking services reduced no-shows by up to 75%. The dramatic decrease in no-shows is attributed to Conversationals practice of confirming appointments and sending appointment reminders.
For more information about Conversational, please visit:
https://www.conversational.com
For Media Inquiries, please contact:
Conversational
(855) 933-3826
Eagle Eye Networks, Inc. announced today that it has funded the Drako Cloud Security Grant for Schools for up to $1M; individual schools who are awarded the grant will receive a fully functional security camera system -- including cloud management and recording, mobile phone remote access applications, cameras, networking equipment to connect IP cameras, and secure gateways to the cloud -- at no cost for 1 year. Eligible schools include accredited private and public schools in the United States: elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, and colleges.
Communities Prefer Video Recording to be Mix of Cloud and On-site Storage
A recent survey showed that that 72 percent of adults in the United States favor the use of security cameras to improve safety in schools. Further, a majority (56 percent) of adults favor that schools maintain a mix of cloud and on-premise video storage. The top reasons for mixed cloud and on-site storage include: preventing video loss and tampering; providing greater storage flexibility; and delivering better remote access.
We are funding this cloud security grant to make it easier for more schools to provide the highest level of safety to their students and staff, said Dean Drako, president & CEO, Eagle Eye Networks. Eagle Eye Networks cloud surveillance offers many benefits to improve campus security, including flexible retention, leading mobile access, scalability, and an overall lower total cost of ownership.
$1,000,000 Drako Cloud Security Grant for Schools - Details
Grant winners will receive a grant for one full year of funding for the cloud-based Eagle Eye Security Camera Video Management System (VMS) and associated components. The solution includes cloud recording services, centralized management, gateways, cameras, and necessary networking equipment. Encrypted retention of up to 1 year for all the video is available for each camera. Optionally, schools can use their existing security cameras, and convert their surveillance system to the Eagle Eye cloud-based VMS.
The cloud-based Eagle Eye VMS is cyber-secure and simple to use both locally and remotely, through web browsers or the Eagle Eye mobile applications. It includes the ability to assign viewing and download permissions, including first responder emergency video.
The Drako Cloud Security Grant for Schools is appealing to help schools offset costs, as more districts move to include security camera coverage on campuses, and wish to ensure their surveillance systems allow first responder emergency access. Further, some states require schools with security cameras to maintain the recordings for a certain time period; as the laws change, the flexible retention offered by a cloud-managed video surveillance system can reduce the need for additional equipment purchases.
The Eagle Eye Security Camera VMS will work with a broad array of IP and analog cameras. School grant recipients who wish to add new cameras are responsible for the cost of camera wiring and installation; Eagle Eye Networks can refer the school to a Certified Dealer if desired. At the end of the 12 months, if the school chooses to continue using the Eagle Eye VMS, they would purchase the equipment and start their Eagle Eye Cloud VMS subscriptions. The school also has the option to remove the equipment and return it to Eagle Eye Networks, at no charge.
Grant applications will be accepted starting March 31, 2016. Application deadline is July 1, 2016. Grant winners will be selected based on the merits and timeliness of their application.
To learn more and apply for the grant, please visit: Eagle Eye Networks Drako Cloud Security Grant for Schools at: http://www.eagleeyenetworks.com/school-security-grant-video-surveillance/
Public & Private School Case Studies on Cloud Surveillance & Eagle Eye Networks
Fairfield Community Schools: Public school district, four campuses, ~2100 students
The Fairfield community school district selected the Eagle Eye Security Camera Video Management System (VMS) for all four of our school campuses, with 2100 students. We wanted a cloud video surveillance system to reduce our IT infrastructure and costs, said Steve Thalheimer, Superintendent, Fairfield Community School District. Eagle Eyes off-site cloud video storage will save our district the complex IT overhead of setting up our own local video storage and managing disaster recovery solutions. Further, Eagle Eye Networks CEO Dean Drako is also the founder and former CEO of Barracuda Networks, so we have confidence Eagle Eye has the expertise necessary to create a cyber-secure, cloud-based system.
Thalheimer added, Our school districts top priority is to protect our students and staff. Eagle Eye Networks cloud-based system will allow our staff and law enforcement to have as much information as possible in any situation. We can use their First Responder Real-time Video Access to immediately give first responders access.
For a detailed school case study, please visit Security Camera System Reviews at: http://www.eagleeyenetworks.com/surveillance-security-camera-video-management-system-review/
Brentwood Christian School: Private PreK-12 school, 50 acre campus, 800 students
We chose the Eagle Eye Security Camera VMS to help us provide the safest environment possible for our 800 students in grades Pre K-12 on our 50 acre campus, covering campus entry points as well as our hallways. Their cloud-based surveillance system lets us direct our technology budget towards the classroom, to enhance our students educational experience, rather than towards building a large technical support infrastructure, said Wayne Marks, CTO, Brentwood Christian School.
Marks continued: One example of the robustness of Eagle Eye Networks system is their First Responder Real-time Video Access feature. If we ever have an emergency situation, we can use the Eagle Eye Viewer mobile app or a web browser to give first responder immediate access to our cameras. The first responders would not need any special equipment to see the video in such an emergency situation.
In other news today, Eagle Eye Networks announced its School Security Camera System Report which compiles a comprehensive analysis of 1500 adult survey respondents throughout the United States. Please visit: http://www.eagleeyenetworks.com/school-security-camera-system-report/
About Eagle Eye Networks
Eagle Eye Networks delivers the first on-demand cloud based security and operations video management system (VMS) providing both cloud and on-premise recording. Eagle Eye also provides a cloud video API for integrations and application development. The Eagle Eye Platform offers secure, encrypted recording, camera management, mobile viewing and alerts, and first responder real-time video access all 100% cloud managed. The Eagle Eye Cloud Security Camera Video Management System supports a broad array of IP and analog cameras while using Intelligent Bandwidth Management, making it easy to deploy at single and multiple sites. The API platform uses the Eagle Eye Big Data Video Framework, with time based data structures used for indexing, search, retrieval and analysis of the live and archived video. Eagle Eye Networks sells through authorized reseller and installation partners. The headquarters is at 4611 Bee Caves Rd, suite 200, Austin, Texas, 78746. For more information please visit http://www.eagleeyenetworks.com or call +1-512-473-0500.
While these new regulations do not alter existing law, they were created to clarify already existing obligations of employers to take reasonable steps to prevent and promptly correct harassment in the workplace, said Kantolas CEO Allen Noren.
Effective April 1, 2016, new regulations issued by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) apply to employers subject to the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). To aid California-based employers, and entities that have a legal footprint in California, Kantola Training Solutions has posted What You Need to Know About Californias New DFEH Regulations, as well some of the required resources.
While these new regulations do not alter existing law, they were created to clarify already existing obligations of employers to take reasonable steps to prevent and promptly correct harassment or discrimination in the workplace, said Kantolas CEO Allen Noren. To help accelerate California entities in complying, we have made resources available, such as a downloadable brochure-equivalent they can distribute to managers, supervisors, and employees.
Kantola has also posted a 2016 DFEH Compliance Checklist that helps businesses and organizations comply with these new regulations.
COMPLIANCE TRAINING RESOURCES
In California, to meet the requirements for AB 1825, AB 2053 and SB 292, training is mandatory for supervisory personnel in companies with 50 or more employees. This training must last a minimum of two hours. Kantola provides eLearning and video training that helps employers meet state compliance guidelines. These courses include stand-alone two-hour eLearning that fulfills State requirements, video training that can be used as part of a two-hour training led by a qualified trainer to meet requirements, and training for all non-supervisory employees. It also includes a free Learning Management System that tracks and records employee responses.
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ABOUT KANTOLA PRODUCTIONS
Winner of multiple Telly and Golden Eagle Awards for exceptional media content, Kantola Productions compliance and soft-skills training videos are built upon the knowledge that managers and employees learn best when they can see and model ideal behavior. Our online videos, interactive e-learning, DVDs, and supplementary tools are used by the Fortune 100 and in businesses, non-profits, and government agencies of all sizes around the world. Located in Mill Valley, California, Kantola was founded in 1985 by social psychologist Steve Kantola, Ph.D., to bring the best of high quality video production and workplace-based scenarios to employers who seek to maximize employee performance, potential, and safety.
2016 Sea Island and SA Food Bank Fiesta Medal Its an incredible effort to set the table for 58,000 people each week. What better partner in that effort than Sea Island. We are grateful for their partnership and their commitment in helping us fight hunger. says Eric S. Cooper, President and CEO.
Medals are available for purchase at every Sea Island restaurant in San Antonio and New Braunfels and The Fiesta Store. They are also available online at http://www.shrimphouse.com and http://www.fiesta-sa.org.
This isnt the first time Sea Island has teamed up with the Food Bank. During their 50-year anniversary celebration last July, Sea Island donated 50 cents for every Fresh at 50! menu item sold, resulting in a $5,000 donation. Its always an honor working with the San Antonio Food Bank, said Barclay Anthony, Sea Island CEO. Their tireless efforts in our community do not go unnoticed, and we are proud to help raise funds to feed those in need, said Anthony.
The San Antonio Food Bank fights hunger in Southwest Texas through food distribution, programs, education and advocacy. One dollar donated to the SAFB creates seven meals for Southwest Texas families. Last year alone, nearly 62 million pounds of food was provided by the organization. Its an incredible effort to set the table for 58,000 people each week. What better partner in that effort than Sea Island. We are grateful for their partnership and their commitment in helping us fight hunger, says Eric S. Cooper, President and CEO.
Sea Island is an Official Partner of Fiesta San Antonio and the San Antonio Spurs and has been serving scratch cooked, wild-caught, sustainable seafood since 1965. Sea Island has won numerous restaurant awards including Best Seafood Restaurant in the San Antonio Express-News Readers Choice Awards.
Sea Island Shrimp House and Tiago's Cabo Grille are restaurant brands of Sea Island Development Company, headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. For more information, please visit http://www.shrimphouse.com.
All too often, companies are uncertain about when to changes casting suppliers, and as a result, they receive less than optimal quality, service and value
Pennsylvania Precision Cast Parts (PPCP), an industry-leading investment casting company located in Lebanon, Pa., has released its list of Seven Critical Factors for Determining When to Change Investment Casting Foundries. PPCPs recommendations focus on the factors that have the greatest impact on a customers operation.
All too often, companies are uncertain about when to change casting suppliers, and as a result, they receive less than optimal quality, service and value, says Andrew Miller, President and CEO of PPCP. The guidelines we are providing can help in the decision-making process.
According to PPCP, there are no firm metrics that apply to all companies and situations, but the factors are clearly definable. The Seven Critical Factors for Determining When to Change Investment Casting Foundries are:
On-Time Delivery is your foundry consistently delivering your castings on time?
Quality are you returning an unacceptable percentage of substandard parts?
Customer Service is your foundrys service highly responsive, proactive and accessible?
Order Fulfillment are you getting full orders of quality castings every time?
Lead Times does the time period from order to delivery fit your requirements?
Pricing are your foundrys prices competitive and commensurate with the quality of the castings?
Expediting Orders is your foundry willing to fast-track orders when necessary to meet your special needs?
A foundry needs effective quality and production systems to ensure that these factors are favorable, says Miller. Thats essential to delivering what they promise their customers. At PPCP, its a top priority for us.
Company Information - Pennsylvania Precision Cast Parts (PPCP) is an industry-leading manufacturer of top-quality investment castings for a broad range of parts, industries and applications. PPCP has the experience, technical expertise and quality-assurance processes necessary to consistently and reliably deliver castings up to 250 pounds in an extensive array of alloys, from steel and aluminum to highly specialized materials. Located in Lebanon, PA., PPCP has two fully equipped facilities, cutting-edge equipment and technology, advanced processes and one of the most experienced teams in the industry. PPCP delivers investment casting excellence through exceptional People, Process and Performance.
On Tuesday, March 29th, ERASE Racism held a community briefing, in collaboration with the Concerned Citizens of North Park, exposing the lack of Sandy remediation in Channel Park Homes, a public housing development in the historic African American community of North Park in Long Beach. Findings from the report, North Park Left Out and Denied: A Study of Remediation Efforts Post Superstorm Sandy, were released to the residents of Channel Park Homes and media.
Results from ERASE Racism's door-to-door survey of residents in the public housing development revealed that proper remediation post-Superstorm Sandy has not taken place for an overwhelming majority of the units despite the State's statement that Channel Park Homes had been repaired and reoccupied and that only "some" mitigation was needed.
Click here for a photo, taken in 2015, of possible mold growth inside a closet within a residential unit of Channel Park Homes.
See the attachments for a copy of the report and an infographic summarizing the study findings.
The briefing included testimony from residents of Channel Park Homes directly impacted by the lack of proper repair and remediation of their apartments after Superstorm Sandy, and concluded with next steps for community advocacy.
ERASE Racism has filed a request for records, pursuant to the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL), with the City of Long Beach Housing Authority. The request seeks documents related to funds received and expended by the Housing Authority for Sandy remediation at Channel Park Homes and the remediation completed in this public housing development. A courtesy copy of the FOIL request was also delivered to the City of Long Beach and the Governors Office of Storm Recovery. ERASE Racism is pursuing other avenues to gain additional information.
Over 45 individuals attended the event. Also in attendance were two members of the Long Beach City Council, City Council Vice President Anthony Eramo and City Council Member Anissa Moore. Regional media outlets covered the event.
In addition to the findings, the report outlines ERASE Racism's recommendations for the City of Long Beach and the Governor's Office of Storm Recovery, an entity which is responsible for the oversight and supervision of New York State's operations and that of its sub-contractors to provide for nondiscriminatory Superstorm Sandy relief.
Photos and video clips from the event will be available on ERASE Racisms website shortly.
For more information contact Nuzhat Quaderi at nuzhat(at)eraseracismny.org or (516) 921-4863 ext. 13.
About ERASE Racism: ERASE Racism is a regional organization that leads public policy advocacy campaigns and related programmatic initiatives to promote racial equity in areas such as housing, public school education and healthcare. It engages in a variety of research, education and consulting activities to identify and address institutional and structural racism, primarily on Long Island.
Centric 8 software helps to speed up the development process. As a fashion company, it's really important because time to market is essential.
Centric is proud to release its first success story video with its trusted German customer and partner, MUSTANG.
MUSTANG, a German men's and womens jeans brand, was Centrics first customer in Germany. Long after the go-live, MUSTANG and Centric continue to work well together. Discover how Centric 8 PLM helps MUSTANG streamline product development, increase productivity and improve collaboration. Centric 8 software helps to speed up the development process. As a fashion company, it's really important because time to market is essential," says Julia Dubowy, Director of Operations at MUSTANG.
We are proud of the close relationship weve built with MUSTANG over the years. Centric 8 PLM supports this leading denim brand to bring quality products to the market faster and we look forward to continuing this successful partnership," adds Centric CEO and President Chris Groves.
Watch the video to learn more.
MUSTANG (http://www.mustang-jeans.com)
MUSTANG, based in Germany, is one of the leading jeans brands in Europe. Founded in 1932, MUSTANG launched the first womens jeans and the first corduroy jeans in Europe. Besides the main product MUSTANG Jeans, the MUSTANG Group is also licensee for the brands Bogner Jeans and Sansibar Denim.
Centric Software, Inc. (http://www.centricsoftware.com)
From its headquarters in Silicon Valley and offices in trend capitals around the world, Centric Software builds technologies for the most prestigious names in fashion, retail, footwear, luxury and consumer goods. Its flagship product lifecycle management (PLM) platform, Centric 8, delivers enterprise-class merchandise planning, product development, sourcing, business planning, quality and collection management functionality tailored for fast-moving consumer industries. Centric Cloud packages extended PLM including innovative technology and key industry learnings tailored for small businesses.
Centric Software has received multiple industry awards, including the Frost & Sullivan Global Product Differentiation Excellence Award in Retail, Fashion and Apparel PLM. Red Herring named Centric to its Top 100 Global list in 2013 and 2015.
Centric is a registered trademark of Centric Software. All other brands and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Media Contacts:
Centric Software
Americas: Jennifer Forsythe, Centric Software, jforsythe(at)centricsoftware.com
Europe: Maria teresa Rubino, Simply MOD, +39 389 457 3163, mariateresarubino(at)simplymod.it
Asia: Emilie Gao, Centric Software, +86 186 1651 9769, egao(at)centricsoftware.com
MUSTANG
Press Contact: Jana Drews, MUSTANG, jana.drews(at)mustang.de
We essentially showed that incentives may be able to help people jumpstart behavior changes, but that changes in key psychological factors help people maintain the behavior when the incentives end.
Monetary rewards for healthy behavior can pay off both in the pocketbook and in positive psychological factors like increased internal motivation, according to a new University of Colorado Boulder study.
While programs involving monetary incentives to encourage healthy behavior have become more popular in recent years, until now the evidence has been mixed as to how they can be most effective and how participants fare once the monetary incentives stop, said CU-Boulder doctoral student Casey Gardiner, who led the new study.
The study--which encouraged daily consumption of fruits and vegetables in exchange for payment--not only showed monetary incentives worked, but also showed that participants increased their internal motivation to eat fruits and vegetables over time.
Some psychological research and theories suggest that if individuals have external motivations like payment to perform tasks, their internal or intrinsic motivation can be undermined, said Gardiner, of the psychology and neuroscience department. But in our study the subjects who had been assigned to receive payment for eating fruits and vegetables were still consuming more of them than usual two weeks after the study ended.
In the study, 60 adults were randomly assigned to three different groups. Individuals in one group received $1 for every serving of fruits and vegetables they reported consuming daily over a three-week period, with the money delivered daily by PayPal.
People in the second group accrued $1 for every serving of fruits and vegetables eaten, with the money delivered in a lump sum at the end of the study. Participants in the third group reported their fruit and vegetable consumption daily for three weeks with no incentives.
Participants who received daily monetary incentives had the greatest increase in their fruit and vegetable consumption, Gardiner said.
This finding highlights the importance of incentive design in health programs, she said. Differences in the timing or type of incentive can alter their effectiveness.
Gardiner will present the study results Saturday from 10:15 to 11:15 a.m. ET during a poster session at the Society of Behavioral Medicines 37th Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions, being held in Washington, DC, at the Washington Hilton. Gardiner is a society member. The research won a society Citation Award and Meritorious Student Award.
The poster is tied to an upcoming paper on the subject by Gardiner and CU-Boulder professor Angela Bryan, of the psychology and neuroscience department.
One of our goals in the study was to look at potential psychological mechanisms that underlie incentive-induced changes in behavior, Gardiner said. We essentially showed that incentives may be able to help people jumpstart behavior changes, but that changes in key psychological factors help people maintain the behavior when the incentives end.
Increased fruit and vegetable consumption by participants was associated with more positive attitudes and self-efficacy--the confidence in ones own ability to succeed--regarding the consumption of such produce, Gardiner said.
The research was supported by a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship and the Beverly Sears Graduate Student Grant Program.
The Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM) is a 2,200-member organization of scientific researchers, clinicians and educators. They study interactions among behavior, biology and the environment, and translate findings into interventions that improve the health and well-being of individuals, families and communities (http://www.sbm.org).
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New Jersey law firm Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman announces that on March 29, 2016, the New Jersey Appellate Division issued an Opinion affirming the February, 2013 jury verdict in favor of South Dakota residents Linda and Jeff Gross, against Johnson & Johnson and its wholly owned subsidiary Ethicon. The case is titled Linda Gross and Jeffrey Gross v. Gynecare, Ethicon, and Johnson & Johnson, A-0011-14T2, and the decision was issued on March 29, 2016.
The decision discusses the verdict, returned after a two month trial, found J & J and Ethicon failed to adequately warn physicians, and fraudulently deceived Linda Gross, about the risks and complications caused by Ethicons Prolift Pelvic Floor Repair System, and awarded punitive damages. The jury awarded $3.35 Million in compensatory damages, for pain and suffering, medical costs, and lost income, and $7.76 Million in punitive damages.
Adam Slater, who was lead trial counsel for the plaintiffs, and argued the appeal, commented on the decision. First and foremost, this is an important day for Linda and Jeff Gross, who have endured almost ten years of devastation to their day to day quality of life, and uprooted themselves from their home and their lives to go to trial and stand up against these enormous corporations in New Jersey for two months. The verdict and this decision is a testament to their toughness and sense of justice. The Appellate Division decision presents in fine detail the events that led to this verdict, and the unimaginable injuries suffered by Linda as a result of the Prolift mesh implanted in her pelvis.
The Appellate Division panel of three Judges ruled in a unanimous decision that the verdict was supported by the evidence, and found that the jury was correctly instructed by the trial judge. The Grosss attorney, Adam Slater, commented on the decision: Among the findings in the decision, the appeals court found that the jury was correctly instructed that it could consider what Mrs. Gross would have done if given accurate warnings and information. The Court rejected the argument by J & J and Ethicon that the patients decision was not relevant to the jurys finding of whether proper warnings would have led Mrs. Gross to undergo a different and safer alternative. And that makes perfect sense, because a patient has to consent to surgery, the doctor or the manufacturer do not make the choice for the patient.
Mr. Slater, who is co-liaison counsel for the more than 9000 pelvic mesh cases filed in New Jersey state court against Johnson & Johnson, Ethicon, Bard, American Medical Systems, Boston Scientific, Coloplast, and Caldera, observed: The importance of this decision goes beyond this case. The decision provides a carefully reasoned roadmap of the relevant evidence and the law, and this will be very valuable to the thousands of other women who have cases in line for trial in New Jersey, where we have over 8000 cases, and around the country.
For more information, please contact Adam M. Slater, Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman, 103 Eisenhower Parkway, Roseland, New Jersey, 07068; 973-228-9898; Aslater(at)mskf(dot)net.
Gao's Histogram By creating a single-bin histogram, all data distributions are reduced to a single parameter, called n, which drastically simplifies the analysis.
The world leader in process improvement and advanced analytics, ISSISSIPPI, has announced the winner of the 2016 Thales Award for Excellence in Statistical Analysis. The 2016 award honors the groundbreaking work of Alan Gao, a statistician and developer at MoreSteam.com, for the creation of Gaos Histogram, a game-changing approach to the graphical analysis of complex data sets.
The prestigious Thales Award was named after the ancient Greek philosopher and mathematician Thales of Miletus, considered to be one of the Seven Sages and an early father of statistical analysis. The Thales trophy honors significant achievement in the science of data analysis and the advancement of data visualization. It has been awarded every year since 2016.
Zoltan Minsky, President of ISSISSIPPI, discussed the importance of Gaos discovery in a recent interview: Gaos new histogram is truly revolutionary. Mr. Gaos brilliance lies in the insight that the central problem in the comparative analysis of data sets which are very different is the degree of difference. By creating a single-bin histogram, all data distributions are reduced to a single parameter, called n, which drastically simplifies the analysis. This is the type of focused analysis that really resonates with business leaders looking for simple solutions to complex problems. I couldnt be more excited.
Here is an illustration of the brilliant simplicity of Gaos Histogram: Envision standard histograms of two data sets that have very different shapes, which dramatically complicates any comparison. By applying Gaos algorithm, each of the histograms is reduced to a single bin, such that the height of the bar is the only comparative element. See an example of this technique in the full article on the ISSISSIPPI.org website.
Upon receiving the award, Gao was speechless for several minutes. He commented: Ive been working on the concept of a statistical singularity ever since my first statistics class. The singularity is a point where all analysis becomes self-evident, in a break from the paradox of Skrivaneks Inevitability; i.e., every level of analysis leads to a deeper and even more inscrutable level of analysis in a never ending cycle of despair. Until now, the singularity was only a theoretical prediction of the standard model of statistics. Now we have evidence that we can move beyond the event horizon toward that singularity. My mom will be so happy.
When asked Whats next? after reaching the pinnacle of theoretical statistics, Mr. Gao shed some light on his plans for the future: Im working on a book using my discovery as a theme. It will be an action-adventure novel. And if I get it right, I think I can reduce it to a single page.
About ISSISSIPPI
(pronounced Eye-Ess-Ess-Eye-Ess-Ess-Eye-Pea-Pea-Eye like Mississippi without the M)
The International Six Sigma Institute and Secret Society for Imperious Professionals of Process Improvement (ISSISSIPPI) was founded on April 1, 2008 by Zoltan Minsky. Minskys vision is to harness the power of science to provide reliable objective skill assessments using advanced methods which entail little or no time, trouble, or cost. In doing so, he has zeroed in on becoming the ultimate source of Lean Six Sigma professional credentials and process improvement tools. Additional innovative products launched by the Institute include: Lean Six Sigma belt certification by brain scan, Constrix process shapewear, and the really Big Data Tool.
About MoreSteam.com
MoreSteam.com is the leading global provider of online Lean Six Sigma training and Blended Learning technology, serving over 2,500 corporate clients and over 50% of the Fortune 500 with a full suite of Lean Six Sigma e-Learning courses, including content available in German, French, Portuguese, Chinese and Spanish. MoreSteam recommends and provides EngineRoom data analysis software, TRACtion online lean six sigma project tracking software, Crucible online testing, and SigmaSim online DMAIC simulations and games. Launched in the year 2000, MoreSteam has now trained over 500,000 Lean Six Sigma professionals.
The U.S. Army Medicine Civilian Corps is seeking health care professionals with its 2016 recruitment efforts. U.S. Army Medicine Civilian Corps medical facility staffing goals are to provide Soldiers and their families convenient access to quality health care. Employees are not subject to military requirements, such as enlistment or deployment.
Weve seen a growing need for additional healthcare professionals to staff our Army hospitals and clinics worldwide. We encourage all professionals in the healthcare arena to submit their information for our available positions, says Joseph Harrison, Jr. Ph.D., Chief, Recruitment and Retention, Headquarters U.S. Army Medical Command, Civilian Human Resources Division.
Our civilians continue to make a difference in Army Medicine by providing exceptional healthcare services to our uniformed members, beneficiaries, and their families. Our healthcare professionals are encouraged to devote some time getting to know patients on a more personal level to help establish a trusting relationship and contribute to a rewarding career.
Approximately 45,000 civilians make up 60% of the Army Medical Commands workforce, playing a huge role in serving our country by caring for our service members. The Civilian Corps has hundreds of job openings in 25 different medical, dental, and behavioral health professions. Employees receive excellent benefits, including flexible work schedules, competitive salaries, health, dental and vision insurance and access to travel opportunities and state-of-the-art training.
The Civilian Corps asks that interested healthcare professionals please visit http://www.CivilianMedicalJobs.com for more information about available positions and how to apply.
Adults who have been blind since birth use gestures similar to those used by sighted adults speaking the same language, despite never having seen these gestures as children, a researcher at Georgia State University and her colleagues have found.
The study, Is Seeing Gesture Necessary to Gesture Like A Native Speaker? was published this month in the journal Psychological Science.
In the study, Seyda Ozcalskan, associate professor of psychology at Georgia State, and her collaborators, Che Lucero and Susan Goldin-Meadow of the University of Chicago, examined the gestures used by English- and Turkish-speaking adults who have been blind since birth.
Their gestures were compared with those of their fellow language speakers who are sighted. The sighted adults in each language were divided into two subgroups, one group who wore blindfolds and one who didn't.
In both English and Turkish, blind individuals produced gestures that resembled the gestures of sighted individuals who spoke the same language. The results suggest that hearing a particular language is sufficient to gesture like a native speaker of that language, Ozcalskan and Goldin-Meadow said.
I think what was surprising was the strength of the link between gesture and speech, Ozcalskan said. It shows how speech drives patterns of gesture production, both in the blind and the sighted.
Children first use gestures to help them communicate meanings they cannot yet do with speech, and these gestures might help with the childs linguistic and cognitive development. Even as adults, we continue to use gestures while talking in order to convey meanings alongside speech.
Although all of the adults speaking the same language produced gestures similar to one another, those who spoke English used gestures in different patterns than those who spoke Turkish.
This, Ozcalskan explained, comes from how spoken languages differ in the way they describe certain information, such as how a person or object moves.
Its a matter of what information is placed where in a sentence, the researcher said. English speakers, for example, typically would say he ran into the house, while a Turkish speaker often would say he entered the house by running."
These language-specific patterns were evident not only in the speech but also the gestures produced by blind and sighted individuals within their respective languages, she said.
Ozcalskan, whose previous research examined gestures role in language learning in typically developing children and children with developmental disorders, said she and her colleagues would like to explore the link between gesture and speech in blind children learning structurally different languages.
While the research shows the emergence of gesture doesnt require the opportunity to view others gestures, Ozcalskan and Goldin-Meadow said they want to investigate whether the ability to see others gesture affects how children develop those gestures, and possibly even speech itself.
"To go to the U.S., perform and bring Israeli culture to American audiences is important to me, Kleinstein says.
Pico Union Project and the Israeli American Council are proud to present: legendary Israeli artist, Rami Kleinstein! Rami will be performing live at Pico Union Project On April 9, 2016 at 8:30pm.
Triple-platinum selling artist, Rami Kleinstein, was originally born in New York. At the age of eight, Ramis family moved to Israel. "To go to the U.S., perform and bring Israeli culture to American audiences is important to me, Kleinstein says. "I tell them stories about Israel, about myself and my aliyah." Rami has written music with American icon Bob Dylan and weaves together American and Israeli cultures by writing his own lyrics to popular American songs. His soothing piano playing and love ballads often garner comparisons to Billy Joel and Elton John and he is considered one of Israels greatest composers.
The evening will begin with a performance by special guest, Ronny Weinrich, an Israeli/American artist based here in Los Angeles. Ronny was born in Tel Aviv and served as a tank commander in the IDF. He was injured in Lebanonan experience which ultimately gave rise to his musical career. Ronnys songs reveal raw and humbling insight into the human experience and span across the musical genres of rock, pop, and soul.
Craig Taubman, founder of the Pico Union Project, says We are so excited to welcome Rami to the Pico Union Projects historic Sanctuary space.
Prior to becoming the Pico Union Project, 1153 Valencia Street was home to the first Jewish synagogue in LA before it became a Welsh Presbyterian Church. Craig Taubman bought the vacant building in 2012 and decided to launch Pico Union Project: a multi-faith, multi-cultural arts center. He has put significant energy into revitalizing a Jewish presence in the neighborhood while simultaneously encouraging those of all faiths and cultures to come and experience stellar musical acts. Rami Kleinstein joins other notable Israeli artists such as Noa and Baladino in gracing the stage at the Pico Union Projects Sanctuary.
Erez Goldman, Regional Director at Israeli American Council Los Angeles says, "The IAC loves partnering with Pico Union Project in bringing the Israeli-American community together around music and culture. The venue is such a unique place and Craig Taubman is an ideal partner for us. We're looking forward to a memorable evening and many more collaborations."
Ticket prices range from $45-$75 and are available at http://israeliamerican.org/los-angeles/iac-events/iac-and-pico-union-project-present-rami-kleinstein
The BAE Audio 1066DL Equaliser Premium analogue gear manufacturer BAE Audio unleashes its brand new lineup of vintage analogue audio gear at Musikmesse Frankfurt, the world renowned international trade fair for musical instruments and audio technology.
Premium analogue gear manufacturer BAE Audio unleashes its brand new lineup of vintage analogue audio gear at Musikmesse Frankfurt, the world renowned international trade fair for musical instruments and audio technology. Between April 7 and 10, the compay will be demonstrating its new 10DCF compressor, as well as its 1066DL and 1023L 500 series vintage equalisers at Hall 9, Level 1, Stand C15.
"We are excited to bring our entire range of new products at Musikmesse next month," commented BAE Audio President Mark Loughman. "Having introduced the 10DCF at AES in New York in October and our new 500 series equalisers at NAMM in Los Angeles last February, we look forward to bringing these innovative units to an entirely new segment of musicians, studio musicians and live performers."
10DCF Compressor
The 10DCF, which builds on the capabilities of BAE Audio's10DC compressor/limiter, features the same build quality and attention to detail as its other rack gear, and includes Carnhill and Jensen transformers, all discrete circuitry and a brand new, inductor-based bypass filter. The 10DCF is shipping now, and pricing is set at $1,900 for a single unit without power supply, $2,100 with power supply, and $4,000 for a pair with power supply.
The new bypass filter delivers increased flexibility while recording low frequency ranged instruments, and engages at 50, 80, 160 and 300 Hz perfect for users who want to compress a broad frequency range while leaving lower frequencies uncompressed. The 10DCF units are also stereo linkable, making them the perfect complement for the output stage of a mixer.
1066DL and 1023L 500 Series Preamplifiers
Meantime, the new1066DL and 1023L units take the beloved vintage sound and feature sets of BAE Audios 1066D and 1023 preamplifiers and make them available to fans of the popular lunchbox format, while maintaining the same hand-wired circuitry and premium components of their 19-inch cousins. The new products are a new, significant addition to BAE Audios growing portfolio of high-quality 500 series signal processing. The 1066DL is available now, and retails for $2,100 US, and the 1023L retails for $2,400 US.
The 1066DL is based on the classic 1066, which features the same mic-line preamplification stage as the 1073, but features different frequency selections in its EQ for a whole new sonic palette. The available frequencies on the 1066 are especially well suited to guitar applications because of its unique midrange. The 1023L based on the classic 1023 takes the preamp and EQ from the 1073 and expands upon it with significantly more frequency options in the high and mid sections, even allowing users to play the mid bell curve directly against the high and low shelves where they overlap.
For more information on the 10DCF, please visit http://www.baeaudio.com/products/10dcf. For more information on the 1066DL, visit http://www.baeaudio.com/products/1023l or visit http://www.baeaudio.com/products/1066dl to learn more about the 1023L.
Mobile Health, New York NY The launch of the new location finder is the biggest development update on Mobile Healths public website in over three years. It is a culmination of feature requests and focus group polling to find the best user experience possible.
Mobile Health is inviting Northeast employers to visit and explore its new website and location finder feature. The new website has been designed from the ground-up to provide a friendly user experience, quicker navigation, and brand new functionality. Since over 45% of Mobile Health website visitors are mobile users, the new website has built-in responsive design styling to adapt to any phone or tablet.
The improved website has a new location finder where Mobile Healths 50+ occupational health centers are now easily found via a map search using an address or zip code. The locations can also be found in the occupational health directories, organized by state, county, or city.
The site also includes extensive location details to help users understand all the occupational health services available at each location. The Mobile Health Marketing and Operations team will continue to work closely together to maintain up-to-date listing information including operating schedule and service availability to all clients and patients.
Rafael Landeiro, the Marketing Manager shares: The launch of the new location finder is the biggest development update on Mobile Healths public website in over three years. It is a culmination of feature requests and focus group polling to find the best user experience possible. We expect to see user engagement and utilization increase significantly with the new features and options on the website.
With the user experience as a primary focus, the website is designed using the latest HTML5, CSS, and jQuery technology available. Flash is not required to use the website, and creative development is compatible with all browsers, including Internet Explorer 11 and above.
The new location finder was designed to help Mobile Health clients and patients can now find the closest occupational health office to their work, home, or any other address. Using the Google Maps API, users can use the familiar interface of Google Maps, but on Mobile Healths website to find Mobile Healths occupational health locations.
A new addition as well is a rotating testimonial section which features feedback from both clients and patients who have used Mobile Health.
Mobile Health is an occupational health provider focusing on employee screening services. For over 30 years, employers and employees trust Mobile Health to provide consistent and professional medical service at all their locations across the Northeast. Their top services include employment physicals, drug tests, tuberculosis test, vaccines, and other workplace wellness programs. Clients use an online client portal to schedule appointments and retrieve their results.
S&P Global Market Intelligence
According to SNL Kagan, a group within S&P Global Market Intelligence, estimates announced today, U.S. broadcast station M&A volume reached $4.70 billion in the first quarter of 2016, excluding construction permits (CPs) and partial deals. Almost the entire TV volume of $4.61 billion was attributable to Nexstar Broadcasting Group Inc.'s January 27 definitive agreement to acquire all of Media General Inc.'s assets a deal which subsequently terminated Media General's pending $3.10 billion merger agreement with Meredith Corp., announced back on September 8.
Nexstar's acquisition, at $4.60 billion the fourth-largest TV deal in U.S. history, accounted for 97% of first quarter TV deal volume. The remaining 3%, or $13.1 million, came from a few small transactions filed before the FCC Incentive Auction quiet period, initiated on January 12. Until the auction runs its course, which could take six to nine months or more, the FCC will not approve any applications for broadcast transactions involving full-power or Class A TV stations.
Radio reached a volume of $89.5 million, representing the lowest quarterly radio deal volume since the first quarter of 2012. However, with CBS Corp.'s announcement, made at the company's March 15 Investor Day, of a possible sale or spinoff of CBS Radio, there has been much speculation as to radio buyers potentially interested in top-market CBS Radio stations.
With the Nexstar/Media General merger remaining the only cash flow transaction in the TV realm, the 8.5x forward buyer's multiple of that transaction is also the quarterly average. The radio market closed the quarter with an average 6.5x multiple slightly lower than 2015's 6.7x.
The top radio deal of the quarter was the $10.0 million sale of non-commercial KUHA-FM in the Houston-Galveston, Texas, market, followed by another non-commercial transaction, the $8.0 million sale of FM stations KPLI, KPLU, KPLI and KVIX as well as seven translators and one translator construction permit in the Seattle-Tacoma, Wash., market from Pacific Lutheran University Inc. to University of Washington.
In addition, $8.0 million was paid in radio's largest cash flow deal of the quarter. KFWB-FM in Los Angeles was sold by CBS Corp. to Universal Media Access KFWB-AM LLC for an estimated 6.3x forward seller's multiple.
The biggest development in the radio market was a surge of FM translator sales sparked by the FCC's AM Revitalization initiative. This act allows AM licensees to buy or arrange to program an FM translator to rebroadcast an AM station. Translators can be moved up to 250 miles and are permitted to change frequencies as long as these are vacant and do not interfere with other stations.
On January 29, the first AM station filing window opened, and through the end of March a total of 435 applications for modification of FM translators were granted (not counting applications for FM translators transmitting signals of FM stations). Almost three-quarters of these applications (318) require a change of ownership. In 214 cases (121 construction permits and 93 licensed stations), the change of ownership happened immediately after the application was granted. Counting all FM translator sales, 447 FM translators (including 237 construction permits) were sold in the first quarter 2016. For comparison, in all of 2015, 453 FM translators (including 189 CPs) changed hands.
About S&P Global Market Intelligence
S&P Global Market Intelligence, formerly S&P Capital IQ and SNL Financial, is a division of McGraw Hill Financial (NYSE:MHFI). The firm is a leading provider of financial and industry data, research, news and analytics to investment professionals, government agencies, corporations, and universities worldwide. S&P Global Market Intelligence integrates news, comprehensive market and sector-specific data and analytics into a variety of tools to help track performance, generate alpha, identify investment ideas, understand competitive and industry dynamics, perform valuation and assess credit risk. For more information, visit http://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence.
Copyright 2016 S&P Global Market Intelligence. All rights reserved. The information contained in this Press Release and any referenced reports are for information purposes only. S&P Global Market Intelligence Parties assume no obligation to update the information contained herein or in any referenced reports (Content) following publication in any form or format. The Content is provided on an as is basis.
Media Contact
Christina Twomey
S&P Global Market Intelligence
+1 (212) 542.8033
ctwomey(at)snl.com
Logitech ConferenceCam Kit with Connect Camera and Intel NUC The Logitech ConferenceCam Kit includes an HD video camera, an Intel NUC (next unit of computing) mini-PC, a wireless keyboard and more.
IP Phone Warehouse, the leading online reseller of business communications technology, is proud to announce the simplest way to set up a professional-grade video conferencing system, the Logitech ConferenceCam Kit.
The Logitech ConferenceCam Kit includes an HD video camera, an Intel NUC (next unit of computing) mini-PC, a wireless keyboard and more. The ConferenceCam Kit comes in two formats distinguished by their cameras:
Logitech ConferenceCam Kit with Connect Camera and Intel NUC: for huddle rooms and other smaller spaces. The Connect is a 1080p Full HD camera with 4x digital zoom with a wide field of view, crucial for tight spaces. Highly portable, the camera incorporates a microphone and speaker array in its base, providing 360 coverage in a 12 foot range.
Logitech ConferenceCam Kit with GROUP Camera and Intel NUC: for conference rooms and other midsize spaces. The GROUP is a 1080p Full HD camera with motorized pan-tilt-zoom functionality, including 10x lossless HD zoom for focusing on speakers. The GROUP speakerphone is connect to the camera via a cable, and provides 360 coverage in a 20 foot range.
Perhaps the most important component of the Logitech ConferenceCam Kit is the Intel NUC. Teleconferences are resource intensive, and the Intel NUC5i5MYHE provides the user with a dedicated computer that can be used specifically for video conferencing. This way, there will never be resource or processing conflicts with other workstations. It can even run conferences over multiple 4k resolution monitors.
The kits also includes advanced software to ease deployment, including Microsoft Windows 10, Iluminari Quicklaunch SE, a configurable user interface, and Intel Unite, a meeting room application. Logitech ConferenceCam Kits come with a Logitech K400 Plus wireless keyboard with touchpad interface to control the Intel NUC.
IP Phone Warehouse is proud to announce that both formats of the Logitech ConferenceCam Kit are now available for pre-order. Contact IP Phone Warehouse by phone at (888) 201-9056 or by email at service (at) ipphone-warehouse (dot) com to learn more about the Logitech ConferenceCam Kit with Intel NUC.
About IP Phone Warehouse:
IP Phone Warehouse is the most trusted online reseller of VoIP technology. We are authorized online resellers of IP phones, IP-PBXs, video conferencing equipment, network security cameras, and much more. With expert pre- and post-sales customer support, same day shipping, and unbeatable prices, IP Phone Warehouse is the website of choice for businesses looking to acquire the many benefits of enterprise VoIP.
Aarki Encore Lifts ROI With Aarki Encore, advertisers can now take campaign transparency to the next level by tracking campaign performance in real-time by publisher and by creative.
Aarki, a leading provider of programmatic advertising for mobile apps, today announced several features that are designed to increase campaign transparency. By using the self-serve analytics dashboard in Aarki Encore, advertisers can now exercise even greater control on their day-to-day ad spending.
The new self-serve analytics dashboard in Aarki Encore retrieves and aggregates real-time data from various sources to show campaign level performance. Campaign costs are also rolled up at the campaign level to provide advertisers complete visibility into their advertising return on investment. The dashboard also provides detailed insights on performance drivers including top publisher placements and best performing ad creative variants.
Users can customize the dashboard to set the preferred time interval for updates and to show detailed data points on hover. They can also see all the creative variants tested on their campaign, results of multivariate creative optimization, and details of the active flights snapshot. The new dashboard also enables users to easily download reports.
Transparency is key to the success of a programmatic advertising campaign. In a completely transparent environment like Aarki Encore, advertisers can see exactly where their ad is running, what audience is seeing their ad, and understand exactly what they are getting for their money. As a result, changes and adjustments to campaign parameters can be made in real-time.
The new dashboard also keeps track of campaign costs based on time, region, and sub campaigns - making it especially attractive to large, internationally focused clients with multiple goals and divisions.
Advertisers want complete transparency into the placement and performance of their ads. With Aarki Encore, they can now take campaign transparency to the next level by tracking campaign performance in real-time by publisher and by creative.
We are already deploying vastly superior unified optimization technology for programmatic advertising, which is a game changer in mobile app marketing, said Sid Bhatt, CEO of Aarki, This analytics dashboard allows our customers to see the impact of this technology and to exercise complete control over their campaigns in real-time.
For more information on Aarki Encore, please contact Raj Misra at media(at)aarki(dot)com.
About Aarki
Aarki is transforming mobile app marketing through unified optimization of creative and media. It delivers superior results using proprietary machine learning technology for performance optimization. The company's customer base includes leading brands, agencies, and app developers. Headquartered in Mountain View, California, Aarki is a global company with offices in Beijing, Manila, Tokyo, and Yerevan. For more information, please visit http://www.aarki.com or follow us on Twitter: @aarkimobile.
ScribeAustralia Healthcare hosted presentations at two key healthcare conferences in late March where they discussed the benefits of medical scribes to top healthcare executives and medical practitioners.
In response to demand for new solutions to an increasingly complex healthcare environment, ScribeAustralia attended the Australian Private Hospitals Associations 35th National Congress in Gold Coast and Criterion Conferences Driving Quality in Emergency Departments event in Sydney. Over the course of these two events, ScribeAustralia representatives met with over 25 hospital and health system leaders.
Hosted by ScribeAustralias CEO, Dr. Michael Murphy, and Director of Clinical Affairs, Dr. Jacqui Irvine, the presentations introduced the concept of medical scribes and discussed how scribes can help meet the increased demands facing doctors.
We understand the increased pressures weighing on providers, whether its the amount of documentation, electronic documentation systems or additional ancillary duties, said ScribeAustralias founder and CEO, Dr. Michael Murphy. Scribes help doctors get back to the bedside, drive productivity and ultimately help improve patient care.
ScribeAustralia Healthcare, a division of ScribeAmerica, introduced medical scribe services to the Australian marketplace in March 2016. With over eleven years of industry leading experience, and a footprint spanning over 1,300 sites in the United States, ScribeAmerica is the largest independent provider of scribe talent and management. Over the past year, the company has expanded into new international markets, including Canada and Australia, and introduced several new innovative services that address the needs of a rapidly-evolving healthcare landscape.
About ScribeAustralia Healthcare
ScribeAustralia Healthcare was established to address a pressing problem in healthcare: how to deliver personalised, high quality and cost-efficient care in an ever more complex healthcare environment.
The demands of an increasingly data-driven and bureaucratically accountable healthcare system place a heavy documentation and administrative burden on doctors. ScribeAustralia Healthcare a division of ScribeAmerica, the largest scribe provider in the U.S. was created to bring clinicians back to the bedside, to drive productivity and above all improve patient care.
One of the smokers in the hydrothermal vent field at Niua South, Lau Basin. Being able to view the whole system has evaded most scientists as they are unable to experience this deep sea environment, until now.
After 13 days at sea, chief scientist Dr. Tom Kwasnitschka from GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, along with other members of the team, will depart research vessel Falkor making history. Over 48 hours of underwater robotic diving with ROV ROPOS allowed the science team to study a rarely visited hydrothermal vent field at the Niua volcano in the Northern Lau Basin. Using newly constructed imaging equipment, the science team was able to reconstruct the vent site in 3D using virtual reality technology. This will allow scientists all over the world to study this unknown environment without having to leave their labs.
There are still many mysteries surrounding seafloor hydrothermal vent complexes, said Dr. Kwasnitschka. The biological, chemical and geological relationships in these areas are complicated and intricate, in ways that are not completely understood. Being able to view the whole system has evaded most scientists as they are unable to experience this deep sea environment, until now.
The scientists mapped the entire vent region and captured 4K video sequences for immersive hemispherical or virtual reality display in real time. The primary goal of this study was to create a series of 1-cm resolution 3D models of vent groups that can be used as an environmental map at unprecedented resolution. Simultaneously, the team was also able to characterize the geological, biological and hydrochemical features of the Niua site.
To better protect deep-sea hydrothermal systems, new survey technologies are needed that will allow quantifiable and high-resolution monitoring for investigations of these remote environments. Huge changes for the ecosystems and geography of seafloor hydrothermal vent systems could be in the very near future. However, if these areas are not explored, investigated, and recorded before change arrives, then we may never know what was there. By using the cutting-edge 3D survey tools, the Virtual Vents team has opened this remote environment to the public in a way that has never before been possible.
This innovative research approach has sparked a new strategy for ocean floor research and created an immersive tool for public engagement. The team shared this experience with the public in real time, making all ROV dives publicly available, and drawing in over 16,000 viewers from 95 countries.
Schmidt Ocean Institute will be heading to the northeastern Lau basin in just a few weeks with chief scientist Dr. Charles Fisher and his team to further examine the biological activity of similar extreme yet delicate deep-sea ecosystems.
Guests work on derby car for Great Maker Race
Attention all makers, tinkerers, inventors, hackers and do-it-yourselfers: the call for entries is now open for Maker Faire Detroit 2016 at The Henry Ford. Now in its seventh year, the two-day, family-friendly event promises to bring makers from all over the nation to celebrate their unbridled creativity and resourcefulness through unique displays and hands-on activities. New this year, a 15-foot-tall giant robot will be brought to life as Megabots, Inc. makes its Maker Faire Detroit debut. Maker Faire Detroit will be held July 30-31, 2016, from 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m.
For its seventh year, Maker Faire Detroit will be bringing in a giant-sized internally piloted humanoid robot from Megabots, Inc. to Henry Ford Museum. Using cutting-edge technology, this robot typically fights in epic-scale arena combat the likes of which the world has never seen before. Standing at 15-feet-tall, the robot can fire cannonball-sized paintballs at speeds of over 120 miles per hour.
Megabots will join the hundreds of makers from around the country that assemble at The Henry Ford each year for this wildly popular event. Maker Faire Detroit is looking for a wide variety of eclectic, diverse and out-of-the-box ideas that highlight the DIY and tinkerer spirit. Exhibits and displays can range from student projects, robotics, 3D printers and CNC mills, textile arts and crafts, home energy monitoring, rockets and R/C toys, sustainability, green tech, radios, vintage computers and game systems, electronics, electric vehicles, biology/biotech and chemistry projects, puppets, kites, bicycles, shelter (tents, domes, etc.), and unusual tools or machines.
To participate in Maker Faire Detroit, an entry form must be completed at http://www.makerfairedetroit.com/call-for-makers. Entries can be submitted by individuals or by groups, such as hobbyist clubs and schools. The Henry Ford particularly encourages exhibits that are interactive and that highlight the process of making things. The closing date for all entries is June 1, 2016.
For more information, visit our website at http://www.makerfairedetroit.com or like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/makerfairedetroit. Maker Faire Detroit is independently produced by The Henry Ford in collaboration with Maker Media.
About The Henry Ford
The Henry Ford in Dearborn, Michigan is an internationally-recognized history destination that explores the American experience of innovation, resourcefulness and ingenuity that helped shape America. A national historic landmark with an unparalleled Archive of American Innovation, The Henry Ford is a force for sparking curiosity and inspiring tomorrows innovators. More than 1.7 million visitors annually experience its five attractions: Henry Ford Museum, Greenfield Village, The Ford Rouge Factory Tour, The Benson Ford Research Center and The Henry Ford Giant Screen Experience. A continually expanding array of content available online provides anytime, anywhere access. The Henry Ford is also home to Henry Ford Academy, a public charter high school which educates over 500 students a year on the institutions campus. In 2014, The Henry Ford premiered its first-ever national television series, The Henry Fords Innovation Nation, showcasing present-day change-makers and The Henry Fords artifacts and unique visitor experiences. Hosted by news correspondent and humorist, Mo Rocca, this Emmy-winning weekly half-hour show airs Saturday mornings on CBS. For more information please visit our website thehenryford.org.
About Maker Faire:
Maker Faire is the Greatest Show (and Tell) on Eartha family-friendly showcase of invention, creativity and resourcefulness, and a celebration of the Maker Movement. Its a place where people show what they are making, and share what they are learning. Makers range from tech enthusiasts to crafters to homesteaders to scientists to garage tinkerers. They are of all ages and backgrounds. The aim of Maker Faire is to entertain, inform, connect and grow this community. The original Maker Faire event was held in San Mateo, CA and in 2014 celebrated its ninth annual show with some 1100 makers and 130,000 people in attendance. World Maker Faire New York, the other flagship event, has grown in four years to 600+ makers and 80,000 attendees. Detroit, Kansas City, Atlanta, Milwaukee, Orlando, Silver Spring, Paris, Rome, Oslo, Trondheim, Tokyo, Newcastle (UK), and Shenzhen are the home of larger-scale, featured Maker Faires and over 120 community-driven, independently organized Mini Maker Faires are now being produced around the United States and the world.
Curemark, a drug research and development company focused on the treatment of neurological diseases for unmet medical needs, announced today that it has partnered with Autism Speaks, the worlds leading autism science and advocacy organization, on a multi-regional level to support the Autism Speaks Walk program. Curemark will kick off its participation on April 2nd, Autism Awareness Day, at the Los Angeles Walk in Pasadena, California.
At Curemark, we are focused on autism and supporting the children and families impacted by this disorder, says Dr. Joan Fallon, founder and CEO of Curemark. We are proud to partner with Autism Speaks to aid in their incredible efforts to raise awareness around autism.
The Autism Speaks Los Angeles Walk is one of 62 around the country. In addition to participating in the walk on April 2nd, Curemark is a Visionary Sponsor in other cities as well. Curemark will support walks in California, Texas, Ohio, New York, and Connecticut as well as in other locations throughout the U.S. To learn more about Autism Speaks Walk program visit http://www.autismspeakswalk.org.
About Curemark
Curemark, LLC is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel therapies for the treatment of neurological disorders. Curemarks pipeline includes preclinical and clinical-stage programs for the treatment of Autism, ADHD, addiction, Schizophrenia and Parkinsons disease. For additional information, please visit http://www.curemark.com or follow @curemark on Twitter.
About CM-AT
CM-AT, Curemarks lead drug candidate, has been granted Fast Track designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the investigation of Autism. The company is currently enrolling a Phase III double blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial (known as the Blum Study) to examine the effect of CM-AT in children ages 3-8 with Autism. The trial is enrolling in over 20 sites across the United States. For additional information, please see: http://www.blumstudy.com.
About Autism
Autism is a general term used to describe a group of complex developmental brain disorders autism spectrum disorders caused by a combination of genes and environmental influences. These disorders are characterized, in varying degrees, by communication difficulties, social and behavioral challenges, and repetitive behaviors.
About Autism Speaks
Autism Speaks is the worlds leading autism science and advocacy organization. It is dedicated to funding research into the causes, prevention, treatments and a cure for autism; increasing awareness of autism spectrum disorders; and advocating for the needs of individuals with autism and their families. Autism Speaks was founded in February 2005 by Suzanne and Bob Wright, the grandparents of a child with autism. Since its inception, Autism Speaks has committed more than $570 million to its mission, the majority in science and medical research. On the global front, Autism Speaks has established partnerships in more than 70 countries on five continents to foster international research, services and awareness. To learn more about Autism Speaks, please visit AutismSpeaks.org.
Ida. G. Israel Community Health Center, built off-site by NRB Inc. and Axis Construction Time was of the essence. We involved NRB early in the design process and the results were as we expecteda beautiful new facility delivered on time and on budget.- John Buongiorno, Director, Axis Modular Division.
The health center that was celebrated last July by thousands of Coney Islanders who had spent two and a half years choosing between a mobile van and a hospital to meet their day-to-day healthcare needs has been toasted again.
The Ida G. Israel Health Center, which replaces a building destroyed by Superstorm Sandy in 2012, earned first place in the Permanent Healthcare category at the World of Modular conference in March.
The clinic was built off site by Pennsylvania-based modular manufacturing company, NRB. It meets stringent Federal Emergency Management Agency standards, ensuring it can weather any future storm, and was installed onsite in less than 30 hours. Watch a time lapse video of building installation at youtube.com/watch?v=Nu52gKI5LZo (the video also won an award).
This medical building was critically needed. Time was of the essence, says John Buongiorno, director of the modular division of Axis Construction, the general contractor on the project. We involved NRB early in the design process and the results were as we expecteda beautiful new facility delivered on time and on budget.
Permanent modular construction is a process, not a product. By building a project off-site, owners can open their doors up to 50 per cent sooner, with improved quality, less waste and better site safety and security, all without compromise to architectural excellence and design sophistication.
NRB also won first place for the BASIS Independent school in Brooklyn. The visually stunning six story building, designed by Partners For Architecture of Stamford, CT, features complex angles, glass curtain walls, open concept interiors and an outdoor terrace overhung by cantilevered upper stories. The top five levels, or about 70 per cent of this school was built off site by NRBa choice motivated by the site, which is on a brownfield and flood plain in a dense urban neighbourhood.
Another first place win for NRB was a combination convenience store and A&W owned by Suncor and built outside Toronto. The building is bright, beautiful and well branded, but speed of construction made the project a real winner. The priority of anyone in retail is generating revenue faster, says NRBs vice president of sales and marketing, Laurie Robert. When you use off-site construction theres a wow factor. Suddenly theres a building where yesterday there was nothing. Its all about time to market.
The goal of the Modular Building Institutes Awards of Distinction is to showcase excellence in off-site construction, including design, technical innovation, sustainability and cost effectiveness. Award judges represent a cross-section of the construction industry, from academics and architects to contractors and green energy experts. NRB has won every year the awards have been held.
For high-resolution project photographs, contact NRB.
About NRB
NRB is an off-site construction company that manufactures modular buildings for commercial, institutional, industrial and multi-family residential clients in Canada and the U.S. Were in the business of off-site construction, but were also in the business of changing minds. We want people to think differently about construction, and thats where our entrepreneurial spirit and can-do attitude come in. Tell us about a project and we almost never say no. Well figure out how to deliver it with all the advantages of modular construction while staying true to the original design vision. For more information, visit nrb-inc.com.
Personal Business Advisors Millennials We encourage, teach and help our younger generation to become self-reliant
During a recent presentation to his entire Executive Team, Uwe Brettmann, Chairman and CEO of Personal Business Advisors, LLC, spoke of the need to help our children to overcome a more challenging future than any of our generations has ever faced before.
"Here's what we were taught: Graduate from a good school, find employment in Corporate America, succeed by having a rewarding career, and provide for oneself and ones family. Gone are the days where this was a guaranteed formula said Brettmann.
Todays Millennial Generation in the US is approximately 87 million strong. The percentage of young people languishing in low-skill, low-paying jobs is 44%, a 20-year high. Many college graduates work in jobs that do not require a four-year degree. The tragedy here is that those graduates have accumulated student loan debt and lost those years they dedicated to college that could have been used to earn a full-time income.
A survey by Bankrate.com found that 56% of people aged 18 to 29 have put off major life events like getting married, purchasing a car or home, or saving for retirement, because of student debt.
Steve Jobs once said, Were here to put a dent in the universe. Otherwise why else even be here? I believe his quote is right on target, says Brettmann, which is why we are now offering to the entire Millennial generation the same proven services which previously were only available to Senior-Level Executives.
By helping them to start their own businesses we encourage, teach and help our younger generation to become self-reliant and independent from an ever increasingly volatile job market so they can provide for themselves and their loved ones tomorrow.
Brettmann estimated the total economic impact of these businesses to eventually reach in excess of two billion dollars and create over 200,000 new jobs with the corresponding increase in purchasing power of their employees.
In a recent Personal Business Advisors conference, Brettmann proposed the initiative and closed by stating, This shows how something that starts quite small can have far reaching, and most importantly, long-lasting positive effects. It helps and supports individuals, their families, the communities they live in, as well as entire nations. I ask you to support us and this generation in this new endeavor, so we can all look back and say we answered the call and made a difference when it mattered.
All attendees received Brettmanns proposal enthusiastically and accepted unanimously.
Personal Business Advisors delivers its unique service through a network of over 250 offices located throughout North America. With the demand for their services increasing dramatically, the demand to become a partner at Personal Business Advisors has also increased.
Personal Business Advisors is the world's largest provider for alternatives to traditional employment, providing a fast and proven executive "matchmaking" service that connects the preferences, background and needs of their peers with the many thousands of opportunities available to the white-collar community with six-figure income needs, at no cost to the candidates.
The company serves clients from all industry sectors, operating from a base of partner-operated offices in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Spain, the U.K. and Singapore. Personal Business Advisors' innovative matchmaking service is a fast, accurate and proven way to turn a traditional job search into a successful entrepreneurial future.
Visit the Personal Business Advisors Millennial Division or the Personal Business Advisors Senior Executive Division for more information. Find more on Facebook and Linkedin about Millennial challenges.
California Casualty Auto and Home Insurance Content that resonates with our target audience generates trust in our brand. Thats why we are inviting views on all relevant topics so we can better serve these occupations.
When a teacher needs ideas on classroom management or a firefighter wants to learn more about dealing with the stress of the job, they can now find help from California Casualty.
California Casualty is putting out the call to influencers and advocates from the key professions they serve to become brand ambassadors, sharing their observations, articles or information that is top-of-mind to their specific audience. Their valuable insights have provided topics such as:
Classroom discipline
The epidemic of firefighter suicides
Exercise and fitness recommendations to help meet the physical demands of first responders
How nurses can fight fatigue while meeting patient needs
Others are invited to offer pieces at http://mycalcas.com.
California Casualty provides auto and home insurance to specific affinity groups: educators, law enforcement officers, firefighters and nurses. To better serve these professions, the company is striving to be a valuable resource too. Whether its a Facebook post, Twitter tweet, company blog posting or supplied article in a trade publication, California Casualty is dedicated to providing relevant, real-life content that benefits the members and groups they serve.
Content that resonates with our target audience generates trust in our brand, said California Casualty Sr. Vice President Mike McCormick. Thats why we are inviting views on all relevant topics so we can better serve these occupations.
As an insurance provider, California Casualty also helps consumers preserve their most value assets with guidance on protecting homes against fires, tornadoes or hurricanes; home maintenance lists; and preparation and safety advice for all driving seasons. Offering important information like this promotes engagement and adds value to the audience that California Casualty has developed through long standing relationships.
Learn how California Casualty curates this exciting, proactive brand of marketing that benefits member groups and their respective audiences by viewing the catalog of material at http://mycalcas.com.
Headquartered in San Mateo, CA, with Service Centers in Arizona, Colorado and Kansas, California Casualty provides auto and home insurance to educators, firefighters, law enforcement and nurses across the country. Celebrating 100 years of service, California Casualty has been led by four generations of the Brown family. To learn more about California Casualty, or to request an auto insurance quote, please visit http://www.calcas.com or call 1.800.800.9410.
Ammonia refrigeration plant - Star Refrigeration for Hunstman We have been working closely with the Huntsman engineering team for a number of years prior to this replacement project and offered a number of alternative schemes before the direct refrigerant system was accepted.
Star Refrigeration, the cooling company renowned for environmentally friendly innovations in the field of industrial refrigeration, has recently carried out a major overhaul at Huntsman Pigments and Additives' factory in Greatham. The new zero carbon and energy efficient ammonia refrigeration plant is expected to future-proof the business for the next two decades.
Huntsman has been at the forefront of the manufacturing of differentiated chemicals since 1970. The UK based company is most renowned for being a leading supplier of Titanium Dioxide pigment, which is used to add brightness, whiteness and opacity to thousands of consumer products manufactured across the globe.
Huntsman's existing refrigeration plant used R22, an ozone depleting refrigerant which has been phased out. Huntsman was looking for a replacement solution that would not only stay in line with the companys sustainability strategy, but also prove to be low cost and long lasting.
Star proposed a cost effective solution with the lowest life cycle costs, involving the use of an ammonia system located inside a purpose built plant room. The use of the zero GWP refrigerant ammonia means that the system is safe from environmental legislation and will effectively minimise Huntsmans carbon footprint.
David Laws, Stars Sales Manager Process Industries, said, We have been working closely with the Huntsman engineering team for a number of years prior to this replacement project and offered a number of alternative schemes before the direct refrigerant system was accepted.
In a GAP analysis of the project specifications carried out pre-contract, Star highlighted the importance of the heat exchanger design to ensure that it matched the site installation configuration and the ammonia refrigeration packages were mounted with an explosion proof plant room.
All equipment is suitable for Hazardous Area Zone 2 11A T1 regulations to meet Huntsman site safety and compliance standards. Star also allowed for easy integration of the entire refrigeration plant with their existing site control system.
Laws added, One of the key features of the bespoke direct refrigeration system is the high integrity construction of the process heat exchangers and materials used to prevent any cross-contamination between the ammonia and process gas. All components are built to industrial quality standards, increasing plant reliability and longevity and minimising the need for ongoing maintenance and repairs.
This is not the first project that Star executed for Huntsman Pigments and Additives on Teesside, with the company previously installing an NH3 refrigeration/chilling system in 2002. This indirect system used brine cooled by an ammonia refrigeration plant. The brine was then circulated to cool the product.
Star has also been providing Huntsman with onsite maintenance since 2001.
For more information on Star Refrigerations natural cooling solutions visit http://www.star-ref.co.uk
About Star Refrigeration
Star Refrigeration is well known for a series of leading edge technologies, including the first use of carbon dioxide in a freeze drying application (2001), the first distribution warehouse with a cascade ammonia/carbon dioxide system (2002) and the first use of carbon dioxide in IT cooling (2005). More recently Star has developed a family of natural heat pumps for industrial and district heating applications and a range of low charge ammonia products to provide efficient, safe alternatives to end users faced with R-22 phase out requirements. To find out more about Star Refrigeration, visit the website at http://www.star-ref.co.uk
New B2B Marketplace for Beauty Buyers The Marketplace will initially focus on Korean and Asian beauty products but will expand to brands from North America and Europe.
Landing International LLC announces today the launch of its Marketplace, the first online platform for retailers to discover new beauty brands from all across the world. Marketplace enables buyers to identify and connect with innovative brands to differentiate their retail environment, compete with alternative sales channels and drive sales. The platform exponentially increases the number of beauty brands that retailers can access and reduces time spent on due diligence, ordering, payment and replenishment.
The Marketplace will initially focus on Korean and Asian beauty products but will expand to brands from North America and Europe. The U.S. market for Korean beauty is projected to grow exponentially over the next few years. The American consumer is already purchasing five times the Korean beauty products they were than a decade ago. The advanced technology of Korean skincare is well established in the beauty industry and has led to new product categories (BB creams, CC cream, cushion compacts, and overnight creams) resulting in millions in retail sales.
Our goal is to be the most efficient and enjoyable sales platform for retailers and brands to connect and transact. The current process for beauty buying has not kept up with the pace of consumer awareness and demand for new products. Consumers are driving demand for brands not readily available in their favorite stores, says Sarah Chung, CEO of Landing International LLC.
Landings executive and advisory team has experience in launching global beauty brands to new markets, growing niche domestic brands to successful exits and working with leading retailers such as Sephora, Ulta, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdales, Macys, CVS, and Target.
HOW THE MARKETPLACE WORKS
Brands create profiles with products, marketing materials, sales channels, pricing, ingredient lists and relevant certifications. Retailers create profiles on current brands, categories, and customers. Search capabilities are available on both sides, using filters like price, trend, region, and product. Once brands and retailers are matched, Landing offers tools to manage the buying process. Landing replicates as closely as possible the experience of shopping on an e-commerce site.
About Landing International
Founded in 2014, Landing International LLC is the first online platform for retailers and distributors to discover new brands and for consumer product companies to launch, manage and grow in new markets. Landing partners with buyers and sellers of well-made products that are good for people and planet, and believes in the power of commerce to positively impact lives. The company has offices in Los Angeles and Seoul. For more information, visit: http://www.landinginternational.com
The Swedenborg Foundation offers books, webcasts, and social media communities based on eighteenth-century philosopher and Christian spiritual teacher Emanuel Swedenborgs interfaith theology. The offTheLeftEye YouTube channel has over 29,800 subscribers, generating an average of 325,000 views and 2.5 million minutes watched each month.
Every Monday night at 8 p.m. ET, in a small broadcast studio just north of Philadelphia, 31-year-old Curtis Childs talks to hundreds of people of various faiths and backgrounds from all over the world about how to unite in a world caught up in political, religious, and economic turmoil. The hour-long web show called Swedenborg and Lifewhich will broadcast its 100th episode on May 9this inspired by the work of eighteenth-century spiritual explorer, philosopher, and writer Emanuel Swedenborg. Each week, Curtis guides YouTube viewers through a different facet of Swedenborgs interfaith theology in an effort to explore the spiritual nature of everything in life.
Curtis, who has a down-to-earth approach to talking about the complex and taboo topics that exist within faith and spirituality, particularly with Gen Xers and Millennials, is seen as a local celebrity in his suburban Philadelphia community. His passion and talent is reaching people in countries throughout the world as part of the Swedenborg Foundation, boosted by the popularity of the offTheLeftEye YouTube channel and his appearances on international radio shows, podcasts, and other YouTube channels.
The offTheLeftEye YouTube channel has over 29,800 subscribers, generating an average of 325,000 views and 2.5 million minutes watched each month. One of the channels most watched short videos is You Are the Lungs with 335,000+ views and their most popular Swedenborg and Life video is Why Dont Those Whove Died Communicate With Us More Often with 2.3 million watch-time minutes. With other popular episodes like Modern Spiritual Experiences and How to Love and notable guests like best-selling author Raymond Moody, the channel is well on its way to becoming one of the leading creators of video content within the spirituality and theology genres on the worlds most popular video hosting site.
The upcoming 100th episode milestone marks the perfect opportunity for media coverage from a human interest perspective. Curtis and his small and talented behind-the-scenes team of script writers and graphic animators from the Swedenborg Foundation are available any day from now until May 9th to show reporters and camera crews their studio space and take them through the preparations and filming of a successful YouTube show. Curtis is also available for interviews with print, TV, and online publications, as well as radio shows and podcasts looking to cover stories about spirituality, faith, and a young mans mission to unite.
About offTheLeftEye and the Swedenborg Foundation
The offTheLeftEye YouTube channel explores faith and spirituality through video. Thanks to a small team of graphic animators and script writers, the channel has been providing hope and meaning to a worldwide audience from a small production studio in Montgomery County, PA since 2010. Creator, producer, and host Curtis Childs joined the Swedenborg Foundation based in West Chester, PA in 2012 because of their mutual goal to share the work of eighteenth-century spiritual teacher, philosopher, and writer Emanuel Swedenborg with the world. Together, they created Swedenborg and Life in 2014 which streams live every Monday at 8:00 p.m. ET. The addition of the hour-long weekly web series added depth to the channels pre-existing short video repertoire, as well as viewing consistency for its 29,800+ subscribers. The Swedenborg Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, independent, educational organization.
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Shelley Jessica Kincaid had faced down a moment like this one once before: after writing six novels she couldnt sell, she was one week away from graduating from nursing school in 2011 and having to, in her own words, become an adult and get a real job. Then her next manuscript, lucky number 7, Insignia, sold to HarperCollins. It grew into a trilogy published under the name S.J. Kincaid which kept Kincaid writing and off the hospital ward.
It was like the universe sparing potential patients from me, she recalled.
But after completing that series, Kincaid wrote a new novel that she couldnt sell. Then another. Then another. Tons of ideas; no sales. She was forced to confront the nursing option again. Last fall, she enrolled in a refresher course after having sent one last attempt to her agent, Holly Root of Waxman Leavell, not confident that this novel, The Diabolic, would sell either. The main character is a trained killer and not very relatable, Kincaid said. I just crossed my fingers and hoped Holly would find one editor out there who would find this kind of story appealing.
I can tell you exactly that Holly sent me the manuscript on September 9, with a message that said, You have to read this right now, recalled Justin Chanda, who as v-p and publisher of Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers oversees five imprints and the publication of 350 books a year but also edits about 15 titles himself. I finished it that day and I went crazy for it. I asked 10 or so key people on my staff to dip in as much as they could overnight, and preempted it on September 10. Ive heard stories like this happening to other editors but it had never happened to me. It was one of those kismet moments.
It now also looks like a shrewd decision since The Diabolic, a stand-alone thriller that will be released in the U.S. on November 1, has already been licensed for 17 foreign-language editions including Hungarian, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Hebrew, Polish, Portuguese, Serbian, Spanish, Romanian, Turkish, and Swedish.
The majority of those sales were auctions and the majority of them happened within a month of our acquiring the manuscript, Chanda said. S&S will take the book to Bologna where Chanda says they hope to pick up the rest of the world.
Its certainly reassuring when you start hearing that other publishers from all over the world are snapping this up, Chanda said. It affirms weve got something amazing here.
Kincaids unrelatable main character is also the title character. Diabolics are genetically created killing machines, bought by the rich to serve as bodyguards. The one at the heart of her novel, named Nemesis, has been assigned to protect Sidonia, the daughter of an outer space senator who is at odds with the Emperor. When Sidonia, is summoned to the Emperors court as a way of keeping her father in line, Nemesis goes in her place and must fool her captors into believing not only that she is a pampered rich girl, but also that she is human.
Kincaids inspiration began with Robert Gravess I, Claudius, the faux memoir about the Roman emperor who hid his intellect in order to survive within a murderous family, and an idea that surfaced while writing one of the manuscripts that hadnt sold, which featured automaton soldiers. The character who would later become Nemesis encounters Sidonia for the first time, and the thing she notices is that Sidonia has a nose that had never been broken, Kincaid said. I was intrigued enough by that idea to want to know more why that particular thought would have come into her head.
What appealed most to Chanda about the novel was the intricate palace intrigue. Ive heard a lot of good elevator pitches for this one but my favorite is probably Terminator meets House of Cards, he said. Cathy Berner, the childrens/young adult specialist at Houstons Blue Willow Books who received an early copy of Kincaids manuscript, agrees. Its a great political thriller, something I dont think we see enough of in YA lit, she said, adding, And as of now, its a standalone thriller. From a booksellers point of view, thats a huge positive!
Simon & Schuster will be bringing Kincaid to BEA to meet booksellers. Meanwhile, the California-based author is hoping she can shelve her anatomy textbooks for good. I liked the helping people aspect of it but so much of nursing is about the technical proficiency and procedural memory, and I am not so good at that, she said. You might have to give a patient 15 medications crush these pills, cut this one in half and somewhere along the way I would lose focus. Its better for everybody if I write.
In a long-awaited decision, a federal court has once again found that Georgia State Universitys use of digitized course readings known as e-reserves is protected by fair use. In a 220-page decision in Cambridge University Press v. Patton (known as the GSU e-reserves case) Judge Orinda Evans found that 41 of 48 alleged infringements considered at trialand reconsidered on remandwere protected by fair use, and declared GSU the prevailing party in the case.
"We are extremely disappointed by the district courts decision on remand, which perpetuates its earlier fundamental misconceptions of the application of copyright law and the fair use doctrine to the higher education setting," reads a statement, from the Association of American Publishers. "Together with the publishers who have served as plaintiffs, we will be considering our appellate options."
Indeed, the ruling is yet another blow for the publisher plaintiffs. First filed in April, 2008, by three academic publishers (Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press and Sage Publications, with support from the Copyright Clearance Center and the AAP) the suit alleges that GSU administrators systematically encourage faculty to offer unlicensed digital copies to students as a no-cost alternative to traditionally licensed coursepacks.
In 2012, Judge Evans ruled against the publishers, finding GSU's copying was protected by fair use in all but five of 48 instances presented at trial. In October, 2014, however, the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit reversed and sent the case back to Evans with instructions for a new four-factor fair use analysis. But in her remand decision, Evans found just seven cases of infringement this time around (six of which come from Sage Publications, of which five infringements stem from editions of the same title, The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research; One infringement is from an Oxford title: C. Wright Mills' 1956 classic, The Power Elite).
Making matters worse for the publishers, by once again declaring GSU the prevailing party, GSU is again entitled to collect costs and legal fees from the publishersin 2012, that was more than $3 million, a figure that is likely to go up following the appeals process.
After the 2014 reversal, publishers had high hopes of prevailing in the case, which AAP president Tom Allen had called "a test case that would inform application of fair use in the academic setting."
In their remand brief filed last July, the publishers had argued that the appeals court decision directed Evans to be primarily concerned with the effect of GSUs copying on the publishers.
In their reply brief, lawyers for GSU countered that any "slight diminution" of the publishers' licensing income was "negligible" when the publishers' entire market is considered, and the educational use of the digitized excerpts was factored in.
Barring a settlement, the case could still be far from over. Having prevailed on seven counts, the publishers once again will have a chance to propose injunctive relief, which they must file with the court within 20 days. They could also appeal Evans' ruling again, and at the very least are likely to contest the payment of GSU's legal fees and costs.
"Overall it's a big and important win, again, for universities and libraries," said Brandon Butler, Director of Information Policy, at the University of Virginia Library, who has written extensively on the case for the Association of Research Libraries. "The court told us, again, that there must be room for educational fair use, even if it means publishers make a little less money on licensing."
Well, Jim Harrison died last weekend. Its the sort of news where you hear it and your first thought is something like Goddamn and your second is Goddamn, surprised it took this long. He was 78, but he crammed at least double that in. You can get a taste of his exuberance in this profile we ran of him ten years ago.
In the office here, I sit next to a poet, who reminded me on Monday when we were talking about Harrisons death that Harrison was a poet, which he was, but he was also, more importantly, a crazy-faced, bug-eyed genius lunatic whose whole existence, it seemed, was some kind of sloppy running, flying, bellyflop into a vat of caviar and foie gras, a giant spoon in one hand and a damaged volume of Rimbaud in the other. He was famous, of course, for his appetites: there was nothing he wouldnt eat or drink or (probably) shoot and then cook, or maybe just eat raw.
Somewhere between shooting and eating a lot of grouse and other game meat, he wrote some brilliant novels, and a lot of stories and novellas, a form he excelled at. Burly narratives, super disciplined and yet shaggy and rangy, drenched in experience and rarely without with some compressed rhapsodizing about nature. He always left you full but wanting more.
And so it was his 2006 novel, Returning to Earth, that creeped into mind first: its an excellent, crushing, arguably underrated novel about a 45-year-old guy dying of Lou Gehrigs disease. Its tremendously, tremendously sad. Which is kind of the anti-Harrison, who was all about life, and living, and underlining it and shooting stuff.
But this week I went back to The Raw and the Cooked, a collection of his writings about food and eating and drinking and over-indulging in food and drink. A great piece in there is his essay about gout, which youll not be surprised to hear he suffered from. Comprised as it is of mostly pieces that appeared in magazines, you can dip in and out of the book with a ten-minute commitment here and there. Its great. Read it and then do as Harrison would have done if he had a job-job: sneak out of the office for two-martini-plus-a-bottle-of-Bordeaux lunch, somewhere French. And let me know where youre going: Ill meet you there.
The Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) is holding its annual conference and bookfair in the L.A. Convention Center in downtown Los Angeles Thursday through Saturday. According to AWP director of conferences Christian Teresi, "close to 11,000" people had registered for the conference by midday. Panels were filled with eager audiences, and the book fair hummed as attendees checked out the offerings of more than 800 exhibitors, a record number, according to Teresi.
Exhibitors ranged from tiny Unnamed Books, which was launched in L.A. two years ago by former Skylight Books bookseller Chris Heiser and is celebrating its first anniversary this week being distributed by PGW, to Penguin Random House, which took a booth at AWP for the first time this year; in prior years, it sent "scouts" to the conference. "AWP is growing and innovating by leaps and bounds," PRH vp of account marketing Ruth Liebmann told PW, "So we want to play in their sandbox." She described AWP attendees as literary "tastemakers."
PRH is partnering with Skylight Books, AWP's official bookseller, which has a booth at the bookfair and is operating a satellite pop-up store in the lobby: if a customer purchases a PRH title from any of Skylight's two AWP stores, they can come to PRH's booth and pick up a free Advance Readers Copy of "some of our hottest spring and fall titles," such as The Nix (Knopf) by Nathan Hill, recently named a BEA 2016 Editor's Buzz title. PRH also expanded the presence of its speakers bureau at AWP with about 20 authors making presentations, including Emily St. John Mandel, Kelly Link, and Ruth Ozeki, who are appearing together Friday afternoon in a PRH-sponsored reading and conversation.
One of the most visible exhibitors at the Bookfair, and also one of the busiest Thursday, is nonprofit poetry publisher Copper Canyon Press, which at midday, had three employees selling books at its triple-size booth to long lines of customers. Among their hot titles were Then Come Back: The Lost Neruda Poems, translated by Forrest Gander, and Night Sky With Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuong.
Pasadena's Red Hen Press also had a triple-size booth at AWP. This year, wanting to take advantage of their close proximity to the conference, Red Hen released 23 spring titles across its seven imprints, which is twice as many as it typically publishes per season. Red Hen is giving away chocolate bars with a wrappers replicating the cover art of each of its spring books. It is also hosting 28 authors signing books, and displaying prominently its most recent release, an anthology by local Red Hen authors, LA Fiction. Publisher Mark Cull described AWP 2016 as "fantastic," noting that Red Hen was able to bring "a lot more" titles to the bookfair and part-time staff in addition to the seven full-time employees who usually attend.
While all of the exhibitors PW interviewed spoke of being happy to be at AWP, the two employees of the University of Akron Press staffing its booth had an even more visceral response to being in Los Angeles this week: "We honestly thought we'd never be back here," University of Akron Press' poetry editor Mary Biddinger told PW, referring to the 2015 layoff of the press' employees by the University of Akron that was reversed after a huge outcry from literary advocates all over the country. "We are overwhelmed and uplifted. We had no idea that so many people cared about poetry." To celebrate the press' resurrection, it was giving away buttons reading, "Poetry Lives."
Dennis Johnson, Melville House publisher, may have put his finger on why AWP kicked off with such a huge burst of energy Thursday morning: Los Angeles isn't just about movie stars and beaches: it's also a book town. Introducing four local booksellers (Dan Graham of Book Soup, Mary Williams of Skylight Books, Alex Maslansky of Stories Books & Cafe, and John Evans of Diesel) on a morning panel, "Independent Bookselling: Opportunities for Authors," Johnson told the audience of about 120 to count themselves fortunate to find themselves in "one of the greatest bookstore cities in the country."
When Niabi Zoo opens on April 11, an appropriate theme for its 2016 season is change -- lots of it.
Some will be quickly apparent to zoo-goers. For example, the appearance of a baby Amur Leopard, one of the rarest cats in the world, a new exhibit featuring a trio of captivating slender-tailed meerkats, and a new gift shop.
Other changes will not be nearly as obvious, but they are likely to have a welcome and far more long-lasting impact as Rock Island County leaders continue their journey toward private, professional management of this more than half-a-century old Q-C gem.
Consider, for example that the Niabi Zoo Oversight Committee marked its first six months with significant progress toward hiring a new director to lead this taxpayer-owned animal preserve near Coal Valley into a better future.
Joe Taylor, who chairs the oversight panel, said 26 candidates applied for the position. Five were selected for interviews with the committee, zoo staff, and the Niabi Zoological Society.
Finalists are expected to be asked back for a return trip and the panel hopes to have a new director in place by late May or early June, said Mr. Taylor, who also serves as president and CEO of the Quad Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau.
That committee, which also includes forest preserve director Jeff Craver, Terry Brahm, Michael Byrne and Thomas Jarrett, also has begun seeking out best practices from other zoos. For example, Mr. Taylor says, thanks to the efforts of Zoological Society president John Ferrell, committee members visited the Columbus Zoo. Other such visits also are in the works.
We applaud the oversight panel, the Forest Preserve Commission and its leadership for continuing the effort to make our zoo the best it can be. That effort also requires public support and, Niabi is again offering great reasons to visit.
Baby leopard Zeke makes his grand entrance on April 11. Roughly 60 to 70 Amur leopards are left in the wild, and were incredibly lucky to have Zeke here with us at Niabi, says Dan Meates, interim zoo director.
His presence also will bolster Niabis big cat pack, which recently lost Jackson, the jaguar who has called our zoo home since 1995. We may also soon bid farewell to Mufasa, the African lion born and raised at Niabi. He turns 21 this year. Age is taking its toll Mufasa means a lot to visitors at the zoo, said Mr. Meates. He has lived an incredible life at Niabi and has played an extraordinarily important role in conservation efforts and raising awareness of his species among the public. Hes a very special animal.
Mr. Meates said, Mufasa is more than a lion. Hes the communitys lion. Zoo-goers who think so, too, should visit the zoo to say goodbye and then to sign the Mufasa Memorial Banner Niabi intends to erect to its amazing ambassador, when hes gone.
Musafa also is just one reason to visit Niabi. There are a host of others. For example, visitors can meet the zoos beautiful giraffes, and even feed them. They can ride the train or hop aboard a real pony or ride Niabis carousel. To find out more visit Niabis website at niabizoo.com or its Facebook page.
Then make a date to visit the zoo and help support the communitys zoo and the efforts to make it even better tomorrow.
DAVENPORT After telling her difficult story in a documentary last year, Davenport native Vanessa McNeal has a new film that recounts experiences of eight other survivors of sexual violence.
"We Are Survivors" (15 minutes) will be shown today at 5:30 p.m., for free, at Birchwood Fields Learning Center, 4620 E. 53rd St., Davenport, in cooperation with the Child Abuse Council and Family Resources. Ms. McNeal a 2015 Iowa State University alum and current grad student at University of Northern Iowa will speak at the event.
She will join a panel discussion with other survivors and representatives of local violence prevention agencies to discuss ways to support, encourage and empower survivors in the Quad-Cities community. Resources and referrals to violence prevention initiatives and survivor services will be available throughout the evening.
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month and Child Abuse Prevention Month.
"Her story is incredibly brave, and all these survivors stepping out, it allows our community to realize and recognize the prevalence" of child abuse, Angie Kendall, development director for the Moline-based Child Abuse Council, said this week. "We respect, honor and appreciate their bravery going forward, to help prevent abuse and neglect."
"One of best things we can do is build a connected community, build strong relationships with kids, and educate the community on the prevalence, which survivors are helping us do," she said.
"It's such an ugly thing, it's easy for people to overlook it, to pretend that it doesn't happen in their community. It happens in every single community," Ms. Kendall said. "When you put a face to it, you realize it does exist, and we have a responsibility to keep people safe."
Last summer, Ms. McNeal released a one-hour documentary, "I Am," consisting of interviews with her, like "We Are Survivors," co-produced with Iowa State alum Michael Phipps and former ISU student and graduate of the Carolina Film Institute Quinton Wayne.
She was sexually molested by her older sister, starting when she was in middle school, and that continued for years. Her sister had mental health problems, and was institutionalized, Ms. McNeal said. A graduate of Davenport Central, Ms. McNeal was 15 when she said she was sexually assaulted by another high-school student at an Upward Bound program in Branson, Mo., in their hotel. She suffered anxiety and depression, and attempted suicide when she was 17.
"It's bigger than me. When people watched my story, it was like, 'That's unfortunate.' But when you see other faces, it's like an epidemic," she said recently of other survivors reaching out to her. "It's not just a sad story. It's a tragic story, and it's happening to people from all walks of life."
Of the eight featured in the new film, three are UNI students, two are current Iowa State students and three ISU alumni. "I saw people actually cared what I had to say, and I didn't know that was possible. I wanted to give other people the opportunity to have a voice, to say their story and show that people care," Ms. McNeal said.
"A lot of them experienced two forms of violence in their lives, a lot from family," she said, noting she met the UNI students in a support group they're all in.
"People feel so alone, they feel isolated. Being part of that builds a sense of community, and solidarity, I think. It helps develop a normalcy," said Ms. McNeal, who is pursuing a master's in social work, and wants to work with survivors of sexual violence after earning her degree in 2017.
She said her biggest accomplishment so far is appearing in the the Iowa State Lecture Series, which chose her to speak at its Great Hall Thursday (March 31), to introduce the film. She was also part of a panel discussion that focused on ways to support, encourage and empower survivors.
"That's a big deal to get the Great Hall and have the Lecture Series pick you," Ms. McNeal said. "It's really cool. I'm like, 'yes!'" The short film also is being shown at UNI on April 5.
One in four girls will be sexually abused before they turn 18, according to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center. More than 90 percent of all abuse occurs at the hands of someone the child knows, loves and trusts, Ms. Kendall said, noting prevention is crucial.
Ms. McNeal will be the featured speaker at the Child Abuse Council's annual fundraiser on April 28 at 5:30 p.m. at the iWireless Center in Moline. She has a donation page on her website (vanessamcneal.com), to support her effort to continue producing films on the issue.
Ms. McNeal is already thinking about doing a film on male victims. "People don't acknowledge men as survivors. I think it'll be very challenging to find male survivors, but I'm up for the challenge and I think it's a story that needs to be heard."
The annual Holocaust Film Series, presented by the Jewish Federation of the Quad Cites, is now named the Lloyd M. Burstein Holocaust Film Series.
Mr. Burstein (1920-2008) was born in Granville, Ill., to Latvian parents fleeing religious persecution in the pre-World War I Baltic state. During the Depression, he worked to keep his siblings together as they lived in a cooperative Jewish children's orphanage in Southern California, and simultaneously he took night classes to earn an undergraduate degree in physics, according to the federation.
Mr. Burstein served in the Army during World War II and afterward continued his career as a systems engineer in the D.C. area. In 1957, he and his family settled in Vienna, Va., where he was active in uplifting the inner-city community through the integration of schools, equal educational opportunities, and civil rights initiatives, the federation said. In 1999, Mr. Burstein received the Human Rights Award from the Fairfax County Human Rights Commission.
This year's films (admission $7 adults, $6 for seniors (60 and older) and military, and free for students), at the Figge Art Museum, 225 W. 2nd St., Davenport, are:
-- Sunday at 4 p.m.: "The Last Mentsch" (90 min., German/English/Hebrew with English subtitles, 2014 drama). Born Menahem Teitelbaum, Marcus Schwarz has denied his Jewish heritage all his life. After surviving the horrors of Auschwitz, he sought to forget the trauma by creating a new identity for himself in Germany, one without Jewish friends or ties. Now faced with his own mortality, he suddenly decides he wants to be buried in a Jewish cemetery.
-- Sunday, April 17 at 4 p.m.: "Labyrinth of Lies" (124 min., German with English subtitles, 2015 drama). The year is 1958. Johann Radmann is a young and idealistic public prosecutor who takes an interest in the case of Charles Schulz, a former Auschwitz extermination camp commander, who is now teaching at a school in Berlin. Radmann is determined to bring Schulz to justice, but he finds his efforts frustrated because many former Nazis serve in the government, and they look out for each other.
-- Wednesday, April 20 at 7 p.m.: "No Asylum" (73 min., English, 2015 documentary). Based on recently discovered documents, the film sheds new light on the struggle of Otto Frank to secure visas for his family against the backdrop of anti-refugee sentiment in the United States. This film adds to our understanding of the plight of the Frank family.
Paula Fouce, the director of "No Asylum," will be present to discuss the film.
-- Sunday, May 15 at 4 p.m.: "Kapo In Jerusalem" (93 min., Hebrew with English subtitles, 2015 drama; U.S. premiere). In 1946, a pair of Auschwitz survivors arrives in Jerusalem. Bruno is a doctor and Sarah a pianist. They are trying to rehabilitate their lives and love in a city under siege during the War of Independence. Upon their arrival, a rumor spreads that Bruno was a sadistic bloc head (Kapo) in Auschwitz who abused prisoners and even killed a few.
For more information, call 309-793-1300 or visit jfqc.org.
ALEDO -- William Ashby, 25, made his first Mercer County court appearance Thursday on four Class X felony counts of child pornography, a Class X felony count of aggravated criminal sexual assault and a Class 3 felony count of bestiality.
Mr. Ashby, whose last known address was Rock Island, informed the judge his family will provide an attorney for him. Public defender Nate Nieman was temporarily appointed to the case. Mr. Ashby remained in custody Thursday on a $250,000 bond. His next hearing is scheduled April 19.
Mercer County Sheriff Dave Staley said Mr. Ashby was attempting to flee when Illinois State Police got a tip on his whereabouts and arrested him in Peoria on Tuesday night.
A second man, Aaron Beauchamp, 37, of Matherville, also faces five related charges of Class X felony child pornography, two Class 3 felony counts of aggravated domestic battery and a Class 4 felony count of unlawful restraint.
Dan Dalton has been appointed to represent Mr. Beauchamp. He remained in custody Thursday evening on $200,000 bond.
Assistant Mercer County States Attorney Meeghan Lee said the allegations against the men came to light after a woman crawled out a back window at Mr. Beauchamp's residence and went to the police.
I believe we have an extremely strong case, with video and photographic evidence," Ms. Lee said. "The state feels very strongly we will be successful in prosecution.
Ms. Lee also said Mr. Ashby has former Rock Island County convictions for aggravated battery, larceny, drugs and assaults.
A Rock Island man is charged with committing sex crimes against two children.
George L. Koenig, 53, made an initial appearance Tuesday in Rock Island County Circuit Court on two counts of predatory criminal sexual assault, one count of child pornography and one count of aggravated criminal sexual abuse.
The first three charges involving the same alleged victim accuse Mr. Koenig of sexually assaulting the child in February and March and taking a "lewd" photograph of her. The fourth count alleges Mr. Koenig sexually abused a second child during March.
Both alleged victims are younger than 10.
Mr. Koenig remained in custody Thursday on a $200,000 bond, 10 percent -- or $20,000 -- of which would need to be posted for his release. If released, he has been ordered to have no contact with either child.
Mr. Koenig is represented by the Rock Island County Public Defender's Office and scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Tuesday.
Predatory criminal sexual assault is a Class X felony offense, punishable by prison terms of up to 60 years on the first count and up to 30 years on the second. Child pornography is a Class X felony that carries a prison term of up to 30 years. Aggravated criminal sexual abuse is a Class 2 felony, punishable by up to seven years in prison.
Foss Park District Commissioner Susan Dixon was convicted Thursday of felony theft of government property. The Lake County News-Sun reports that she faces up to three years in prison or 30 months of probation.
Prosecutors said Dixon used her position as commissioner to take at least 28 toys during the three-day event held by the park district. Dixon's attorney said she was taking the toys for five grandchildren who were signed up to receive toys through the event.
Dixon was one of six defendants charged in the case, but charges were dropped against three of them.
She's scheduled to return to court May 3.
KEWANEE If Black Hawk College decides to start on its new master plan for capital improvements next winter, it will do so with a lower bond rating, driving up the cost.
Financial officer Steve Frommelt told trustees Thursday night that Moodys Investor Service has lowered the colleges rating one step. He noted the states rating is Baa1negative, which he said is three steps below the colleges.
He said of three important factors, declining enrollment was the one the college has some control over. The other two main factors were the college not receiving its state aid since last June and the possibility of pension liability being transferred from the state to the district. He said a court order that the state keeps the pension liability did not change the rating services opinion.
Black Hawk was among the first community colleges to be re-evaluated, according to Mr. Frommelt. Of four others, only one with only $4.3 million in debt had no change. Black Hawk has a more typical debt level of $29.4 million. The other three had either one- or two-step downgrades.
A lot of those were in very affluent areas. The fact they dropped was a surprise to me, said Mr. Frommelt. Stay tuned the next two months, and I think well see a lot more of that.
President Bettie Truitt said the college will focus on recruitment and unveil a strategic enrollment management plan at the April 18 meeting.
Board president David Emerick mentioned a new study and a Senate bill regarding the possibility of community colleges being able to offer baccalaureate nursing programs. He said in discussions statewide, there has been concern funding the programs could unfairly shift money to some institutions and away from others. He said another concern from community colleges statewide is that they would not want to go against a four-year institution or a hospitals program.
Ms. Truitt said the funding mechanism could come from the students. She said the argument exists that four-year programs simply couldnt handle the increase in the students that need the baccalaureate degree.
In my mind it would be an excellent opportunity for students to take advantage of the high-quality, low-cost education Black Hawk offers in the nursing area, she said.
Trustee Fritz Larsen thanked the administration and prior boards for being good stewards of resources with sufficient reserves to ensure a bit of financial solvency.
Mr. Larsen shared conversations he had with trustees from other community colleges at a recent seminar, saying a number of districts are selling bonds to cover operating expenditures, and noted an incredible depth of despair theyre going through.
Not that were not going to get there, he added.
A budget workshop was set for April 18. Ms. Truitt also said the administration will have emergency plans by the end of June in case state funding doesnt come through. Right now the budget calls for state funding at 75 percent of normal. Mr. Frommelt said Thursday the college is now owed $6.8 million from the state since July 1; the bulk of the college's revenue comes from tuition and property taxes.
ROCK ISLAND -- Police harassing the citizens of the Muslim nations helped to spark the uprisings and leadership being overthrown during the Arab Spring of 2011, according to history professor Juan Cole.
A panel discussion, The Arab Spring: Five Years Later, was held Thursday evening at the Hanson Hall of Science, Augustana College, 726 35th St..
Juan Cole, a history professor at the University of Michigan, and Maytha Alhassen, a University of Southern California provost Ph.D. fellow in American Studies and Ethnicity, led the panel discussion.
On Dec. 18, 2010, a wave of riots, demonstrations and civil wars ensued in the Middle East. By February 2012, several countries in the region had their governments thrown out of power, including Egypt, Yemen, Tunisia and Libya. In Syria, civil uprisings occurred.
Mistrust of the West in the Muslim nations dates back to issues of occupancy during the colonial days. Mr. Cole noted the "Europeans were not there for their health."
"My own view is that democracy was given a bad name in colonial societies because it was brought by the colonial occupiers," Mr. Cole said. "You know those nice, bicycle-riding, pot-smoking, long-haired Dutch? We think of them as harmless, but they were really mean in Egypt. They killed a lot of people to get the oil."
Mr. Cole said the uprisings stemmed from corruption of the governments in the Muslim nations.
"It was one thing to be ruled by the colonels and the generals if they were standing against colonial domination and if they were actually, you know, improving their lives," Mr. Cole said. "It's another thing if they are like living in castles and having private jets and exploiting people, and ordinary people stopped getting raises."
Ms. Alhassen also has been a writer for CNN and contributed an essay called "I Speak For Myself" to a book published about American Muslim women's stories.
For her part of the panel, she analyzed how the colonial period had played a part in the uprisings in Syria and what life was like for her father who grew up there.
Mr. Cole has published many books about the Middle East and North Africa. His most recent book, published in 2014, is titled "The New Arabs: How the Millennial Generation is Changing the Middle East."
The departments of political science and religion made the event possible through the Schalk Lectureship in Political Science established in 1989.
Today is Friday, April 1, the 92nd day of 2016. There are 274 days left in the year.
1866 -- 150 years ago: The Davenport papers announced that steamboats now could land at that place.
1891 -- 125 years ago: Last night, the annual parish meeting and election of officers was held at Trinity Episcopal Church.
1916 -- 100 years ago: Former President William Taft has asked Mayor William McConochie to represent Rock Island at the first national Assemblage of the League to enforce Peace at Washington on Friday and Saturday, May 26 and 27.
1941 -- 75 years ago: The Milan village board passed a resolution against rebuilding the Taxman Oil Company, which was destroyed by fire Saturday.
1966 -- 50 years ago: Eighty Boy Scouts held their own city council meeting this afternoon in the regular council chambers, Rock Island City Hall, winding up citizenship day activities.
1991 -- 25 years ago: Hundreds of people jammed the gaming tables as The Diamond Lady launched the rebirth of Riverboat gambling in the Quad-Cities this morning.
As the 1980s moved past their midpoint, the Quad-Cities reeled from the collapse of the farm-equipment industry.
Farmall closed. Case closed. Deere shrank. So did their large network of Quad-Cities suppliers. More than 20,000 jobs, mostly good-paying ones in the factories, disappeared.
The unemployment rate hit 22 percent. People with no job and no hope for one departed by the thousands, many abandoning homes they could neither pay for nor sell. The many business failures ranged from mom-and-pops to banks caught with too many mortgages turned bad.
It was in this time of despair and desperation that the idea of riverboat gambling as economic savior took hold.
First proposed in Iowa in 1986 and in Illinois the following year, bills that would make riverboat gambling legal were promoted by supporters who declaimed on the economic benefits of picturesque Mississippi River gambling boats and the millions (yes, millions) of tourists who would pour in from all around the country, the world even, to enjoy them.
The boats, they said, would bring thousands of jobs.
The boats, they said, would be centerpieces of booming commerce, with hotels, shopping centers and theaters springing up all around them.
The boats, they said, would be a rich source of revenue for state governments and the locales from which the boats sailed.
Not everyone caught the fever. Skeptics contended that the benefits were overstated, that gambling was immoral, as would be a government that used it a revenue source. The dangers of gambling addiction and its corrosive effects were explored and debated.
One expert warned that any community that welcomed legalized gambling was agreeing to accept some consistent, if low, level of casualties among those who cannot stop until they are broke, in debt, in jail or dead.
In the end, rosy promises won out. Though it took repeated efforts over four years, the Iowa legislature in April 1989 passed the Gambling Boat, Gambling Structure and Racetrack Regulation Act into law. The Illinois version, backed most fervently by state Sen. Dennis Jacobs, of East Moline, the "father of riverboat gambling," was approved in January 1990.
A melee ensued as promoters and operators sought one of the limited number of licenses to be made available. Since the Iowa law emphasized the importance of related economic development proposals, the promises flowed ever more grandiosely.
In the end, a Pittsburgh, Pa., entrepreneur named John Connelly got the Davenport license. He converted the President, a 3,000-passenger cruise boat working the St. Louis market, into a floating casino and brought it to town.
Local businessman Bernie Goldstein, adding gambling boats to his barge fleet, won the Bettendorf slot for the Diamond Lady, newly built especially as a casino.
Both boats made their initial gaming voyages 25 years ago today, on April Fools' Day in 1991, to much hoopla, all duly recorded by hordes of reporters, including all four national television networks then in existence. Hotels reported huge streams of reservations, and the casino parking lots overflowed with hundreds of tour buses.
One year later, the President and the Diamond Lady were joined in the middle of the Mississippi by Illinois' entry in the market, the Casino Rock Island, owned by Jim Jumer, the Peoria hotelier who won the Rock Island license.
The joint cruise had something of a triumphal air, with smaller boats clustering about sounding their horns, balloon launches and much cheering.
A great deal has changed in the ensuing 25 years. What started in Iowa as river cruises featuring low-stakes "recreational" gambling with a $5 limit on bets and a $200 limit on daily losses has morphed into land-based casinos with no limits except those the owners choose to impose.
Along the way, some of many promises made to Quad-Citians in the bright morning of optimism worked out, to some degree or another. Others died aborning. Others failed to materialize as more and more states joined the gambling rush, leaving most boats everywhere with little more than their local market to sustain them.
The Dispatch and The Rock Island Argus are marking the 25th anniversary with a look at the impact of that 1986 decision to seek economic haven in gambling. In the coming days, look for these stories:
Saturday: Money for the community: How much, how is it used
Sunday: Disappointments: spillover economic benefits a no-show
Monday: The jobs: How many, how they pay
Tuesday: The human toll: The addicted live their hell.
Wednesday: Is there a future in gambling?
Both companies specialize in providing electronic security solutions for their customers. The terms of the deal between the two companies were not disclosed. The addition of Northern Wisconsin Security & Sound, Inc. to the Per Mar customer base continues to build Per Mars presence in Wisconsin. Ben and Robert Berray have joined the Per Mar team, and will continue operations in the Arbor Vitae office. Per Mar will continue providing sound and other low voltage services offered by Northern Wisconsin Security & Sound Inc. It is always great to be able to join forces with a company that has great employees and has always taken exceptional care of their customers, said Brian Duffy, President of Per Mar Security Services Electronic Division.
The jihadist network is considered responsible by Ankara for four out of six suicide attacks in the country since last summer, the most recent March 12 in Istanbul, where a suicide bombing killed four tourists on Istikal Street. It was the second time tourists were targeted in the city, coming just months after a Jan. 12 attack that killed a dozen German tourists in one of Istanbul's most historic areas. Turkish authorities have blamed the group for two other attacks that killed a total of 136 people.
The acceleration of suicide bombings in Turkey comes after the country increased its involvement in the U.S.-led campaign against the Islamic State group in Syria and amid renewed conflict between Turkish security forces and militants linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, which Ankara and its allies label as a terrorist organization. Analysts question whether Turkey has concentrated its counterterrorism efforts too narrowly on the Kurdish threat.
"When most of the resources are focused on the rising threat of the PKK, that might provide some opening for IS to perpetrate its attacks," said Sinan Ulgen, chairman of Edam, a liberal-leaning think tank based in Istanbul.
Security was tight in Istanbul ahead of the March attack but mainly out of concern that violence could flare during Newroz, a spring festival observed by Kurds, which the authorities banned in most places. That fear was partly rooted in two deadly suicide bombings in Ankara this year, both claimed by a PKK-offshoot. The latest bomb attack against security forces by Kurdish rebels, on Thursday, killed 7 police officers and injured 27 others.
But IS, which has never claimed attacks on Turkish soil, seems to be fast becoming an equal if not greater threat not only to Turkey's security and stability, but also its economy.
"The Islamic State is now having a major negative impact on the economy, in particularly damaging the tourism sector which constitutes for 12 percent of the economy," says Fadi Hakura, an expert on Turkey at Chatham House in London. Tourism Ministry figures show 1.24 million arrived in Turkey in February, a 10 percent decline compared to the same month in 2015.
Analysts view the IS attacks as an outcome of Turkey's policy in Syria, which has favored opposition factions striving to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad. According to them, from 2011 to 2014 Ankara largely turned a blind eye to the cross-border activities of rebels, allowing jihadists to flock to Syria and paving the way for IS to establish a so-called caliphate in Syria and clandestine cells in Turkey.
The government denies the accusation and has long called for closer cooperation with Western intelligence agencies to identify potential threats. The country has deported about 3,250 "foreign terrorist fighters" in the past five years, according to foreign ministry figures. As of March 2016, Turkey's no entry list included nearly 38,000 names, while risk analysis units have screened 9,500 people and denied entry to 2,000.
Last week, on the heels of the Brussels attacks which killed 35 people and injured 270 others, Erdogan revealed that one of the suspected bombers of Belgian nationality had been picked up by Turkey and deported to the Netherlands at the bomber's request. He faulted both European nations for failing to address the possible threat.
Turkey is seen as particularly vulnerable due to its proximity to IS-held territory and its participation in the U.S.-led coalition against the group, which responds to territorial setbacks in Syria and Iraq by staging sensational attacks against its enemies abroad.
"Turkey singlehandedly attempted to shape the outcome of the Syrian war and now Turkey is suffering due to the fallout of this ill-executed policy," says Soner Cagaptay, director of the Turkish research program at the D.C.-based Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Domestically, Ankara has prioritized other battles, cracking down on opponents and dissidents of all stripes. Considerable resources have been devoted to settling scores with the Fethullah Gulen Hizmet movement, which is led by a U.S.-based cleric who fell out with the Turkish president. And there has been a purge in the ranks of law enforcement.
As for Turkey's war on terror, officials have repeatedly stressed that they considered the PKK threat to its national interests equal in magnitude to IS. That view is the result of a decades-old conflict with Kurdish insurgents that killed more than 40,000 and resumed last summer.
During the violent decades of the 80s and 90s, the primary security threat came from the PKK, a group the EU and the U.S. also list as a terrorist organization. Back then Turkey was surrounded by strong and stable neighbors. Today it faces multiple threats and spillover from the conflicts in neighboring Syria and Iraq.
Critics see this as a problem of Ankara's own making, arguing Turkey facilitated the rise of IS with its open door policy which led to the country sheltering 2. 7 million Syrian refugees while failing to do enough to keep potential terrorists from coming into the country. But under pressure from the West, Turkey has changed course and regularly deports suspected IS members or sympathizers from its airports
Since 2014, Turkey has stepped up controls along its border with Syria, with varying consistency and success, according to international observers. By the summer of 2015, Ankara was on board as an active partner in the U.S.-led coalition against IS, opening up its Incirlik air base for allied jets to carry out bombing runs in Syria.
While IS has responded with increased acts of aggression on Turkish soil, some analysts say it is no coincidence that it is picking "soft targets," including left-wing and Kurdish activists and foreigners - over symbols of the state or military installations. Most of of the attacks in Turkey have been carried out by Turkish nationals, according to the authorities.
"IS is very careful not to target areas where mass Sunni Turkish casualties will emerge as a consequence of the attack perpetrated," because it doesn't want to alienate potential supporters, said Ahmet Kasim Han, an international relations expert at Kadir Has University in Istanbul.
Han noted that Turkey has always been a target for IS, which featured the country in its Turkish-language magazine Konstantiniyye as well as its English-language glossy Dabiq as an area for expansion.
"Istanbul is seen as the second Rome and vanquishing Rome is an important step in this apocalyptic ideological path that IS embarked on," he said.
Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain. Iowas state motto is powerful and succinct. This motto has seemingly been Iowas guiding star since our founding. Iowa eliminated a ban on interracial marriage in 1851. Iowa granted its Black citizens the right to vote years before the federal government. Iowa fought for liberty during the Civil War, sending more troops per capita than any other state to end the scourge of slavery, and played a role in the Underground Railroad. Iowa was among the earliest signers of the 19th Amendment granting women the right to vote. Iowa became the first state to desegregate our schools, was one of the earliest states to recognize marriage equality and until recently was ranked among the most accessible states for voting access.
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It is now 25 years since the European Union drew up plans for a common signalling and train control system for Europe, and while GSM-R, the telecoms element of ERTMS, has been rolled out successfully across Europe, progress with ETCS has been painfully slow and there are still major issues which need to be resolved.
The release of Baseline 3 software for ETCS Levels 1 and 2 is a major achievement as it should bring stability to the system and give more confidence to infrastructure managers planning to install ETCS. However, several speakers called for a freeze on the specification for Baseline 3 to aid deployment, with one speaker arguing it should be frozen for 10 years. Whilst a temporary freeze would be welcome, it is unrealistic to consider freezing the specification for several years given the need to correct any major faults and the pace of software development. It would also hold back the necessary evolution of ETCS.
Another concern is the lack of off-the-shelf ETCS products, resulting in high costs which in turn jeopardises the business case for investing in ETCS, particularly for private operators who simply cannot afford the huge cost of retrofitting a locomotive, which can range from e300,000 to e1m. This needs to be addressed urgently by manufacturers and perhaps the arrival of Baseline 3 will spur them into action.
Another issue is the failure to develop a high-density ATO version of ETCS comparable with CBTC which is starting to be used by mainline railways on urban lines where a high frequency and sometimes automation is required. Italian Rail Network (RFI) is addressing this by developing its own solution, while in Mexico Alstom is pioneering ATO over ETCS Level 2 on a new commuter line.
Mr Michel Ruesen, director of the ERTMS Users' Group, said this concept is still under development in Europe due to the need to be able to apply it to a whole network rather than a single line.
This requirement to develop ETCS as a fully interoperable system is one of the main reasons why the deployment of ETCS has been so slow in Europe and explains one of the paradoxes of ETCS that it finds greater favour outside Europe than within.
Another factor is the reluctance of networks in Britain, France, Germany and Poland to adopt it. While Spain has installed ETCS on its high-speed network it usually maintains a backup conventional system which increases costs. RFI has sufficient confidence in ETCS to install it without a backup on all of its new high-speed lines. Italy's national SCMT train control system was developed with ETCS in mind which has made it easier to produce a comprehensive strategy for deploying ETCS on different types of line (page 36) as well as a low-cost satellite version for rural lines.
Conversely, the smaller railway networks - Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg and Switzerland - are pushing ahead with system-wide deployment of ETCS. Here, the rationale is either to boost safety, as with Belgium, or because the conventional signalling system has reached the end of its life and needs replacement anyway.
Hopefully, it will not take another 25 years to see major progress with the deployment of ETCS across Europe in order for railways to reap the benefits of the original concept for an interoperable network.
April 2016 will be remembered decades from now as the month when Rollin Bredenberg retired as V.P., Capacity Planning & Operations Research at BNSF Railway.
Rollins contributions to the rail industry have earned respect and praise from the highest corporate offices, as well as from historically minded railway enthusiasts. Rollin says, My planned last day in the office is 4/1/16, but hell continue lending his unique insights well beyond that date for the benefit of BNSF.
During his college years in the 1960s, Rollin worked the summer months as a brakeman for Southern Pacific Railroad in Texas. His sharp comprehension of the geography, mechanics, and business of railroading elevated him to General Manager of SPs Eastern Region in 1982 and then G.M of the Western Region in 1984. In the early 1990s, he was in charge of a special SP team dedicated to expanding business across the U.S.-Mexico border, a position where his fluent Spanish gained the confidence of Mexican railway officials and their shippers.
Rollin joined Santa Fe Railway in 1994, shortly before its merger with Burlington Northern Railroad. He became BNSFs V.P. of Service Design & Performance in 1999, then V.P. of Capacity Planning & Operations Research in 2011. For evidence of Rollins guiding hand in the successful state of BNSF compared to other railroads right now, simply take note of the billions of dollars invested annually toward carefully-placed segments of new main track and sidings on both the Northern and Southern corridors, as well as changes to operations that have maximized traffic flow through areas where assets were previously being underutilized or overloaded. During a phone conversation some time ago, when asked whether his prior years at SP (which later merged with Union Pacific) have given him an upper hand in knowing the ground game at BNSFs chief Western rival, his response was something to the tune of, absolutely.
Perhaps unbeknownst to many of the readers of Railway Age, Rollin Bredenberg possesses a deep, almost spiritual passion for railroading itself. His intuitive sense of the business has been every bit as important as the numerical, nuts and bolts grasp of it all. Over the years, when time and opportunity permitted, Rollin quietly inserted himself into the comings and goings of steam excursions that happened to be traveling across his companys property. Acting as both a volunteer crew member and corporate liaison, Rollin became the eyes and ears of the host railway in order to ensure the steam trains and their passengers received swift, safe handling while also minimizing the adverse impact of those special trains to ordinary freight operations.
It was under such circumstances that I first spoke with Rollin, back on July 20, 2000. BNSF was running an Employee Appreciation Special throughout the Northwest, powered by legendary Southern Pacific 4-8-4 steam locomotive 4449. On that sunny July morning, the EAS was preparing to depart Spokane, Wash., for Pasco. There were two possible routes the special could take on its way out of Spokane, so it was imperative I find out which one in order to position myself properly for photographs.
I recognized Rollin (having seen him years before on a prior 4449 trip) standing near the train at Spokanes Yardley terminal and promptly introduced myself. I asked him if he knew which way the train would be leaving town, via the high side or the low side. He answered with a question of his own: Whats the difference? This was, after all, the first time the 4449 had been anywhere near Spokane since its nationwide Freedom Train tour of 1975-76. And for Rollin, learning the nuance about a pair of grade-separated main tracks on the outskirts of a mid-sized Northwest city had been far less critical during the first few years after the BNSF merger than the construction of a refueling facility at nearby Hauser Yard and the addition of new sidings and double track in eastern Washington and northern Idaho.
The high side, I explained, was the route normally used by westbounds heading to Pasco. It lifted trains gracefully out of Spokane on the high-flying Latah Creek Bridge, in full view of Interstate 90, then aimed them southwest into Marshall Canyon on a relatively fast alignment with just a couple miles of 0.8% ascending grade tapering off to 0.4% or less. The low side, used mainly by eastbounds approaching Spokane, would have sent the steam special out of town on a 1.0% descending grade, bottoming out on the valley floor, then immediately digging in for a slow but manageable climb into Marshall Canyon on grades reaching 1.2%. The low side would produce a more dramatic show of 4449 struggling uphill for railfans waiting in the canyon, while the high side would give this historic steam engine and its consist of BNSF double-decked passenger cars maximum public exposure.
Problem was, a surfacing gang had been working on the high side much of the week leading up to the steam trains departure, forcing westbounds to either wait it out or tackle the low side, often with a manned helper added to the rear. So there was reason to question which way the steam special would run.
After our conversation, Rollin stepped away to make a phone call. Then he turned, gave me a thumbs up, and headed off to board the train. Within minutes, the dispatcher could be heard on the radio asking the surfacing gang to clear up between switches on the main at Overlook, just a few miles west of Spokane. The special would be taking the high side after all, running through the siding at Overlook to get around the work gang and charging around the broad curve at Marshall, where dozens of folks were waiting on the overpass with cameras in hand.
Since that summer day in 2000, Rollin has continued to be an incredible source of insight into the operations and upcoming plans at BNSF. He even took time during the busy Christmas week of 2015 to talk about the state of the industry, about BNSFs outlook for 2016, and about his upcoming retirement. The main topic of that conversation, however, was Canadian Pacifics bid for Norfolk Southern, and how CPs management and performance differed from BNSF.
Rollin said, When [Warren] Buffett bought us, he liked how Matt [Rose] was running this railroad. Rollin noted the value of investing heavily into the physical plant. Our Northern route looks more like our Southern transcon than it ever did. And he emphasized the advantage of having a multi-faceted corridor with optional routing via partners like Montana Rail Link. We can actually run Z trains through Glendive and Laurel [Montana] and make schedule like we do running them through Havre. Redundancy is valuable for keeping business fluid. No excuses need to be made to customers when you can re-route.
When asked for final comment on the eve of his retirement, Rollin said, I really dont have any last words except that I have the same passion for my family that I have had for the railroad. I would not have been able to spend the last couple of decades going strong were it not for my wife Diane. Now that we have ten grandchildren I do not have time to do the things we need to do and still go to work every day. Diane does not get to retire, so now it is my turn to support her activities with a wonderful family.
Union Pacific Railroad's Denver Service Unit, which includes about 1,700 miles of track across Colorado and parts of Wyoming, Utah and Kansas, improved community and employee safety in 2015, UP reported on March 31, 2016. The service unit reported 36% fewer railroad crossing incidents in 2015 versus 2014, reflecting progress educating the driving public about rail safety. Additionally, the service unit's reportable employee injury rate improved 27% from 1.82 in 2014 to 1.32 in 2015, demonstrating progress toward achieving zero employee injuries.
A railroads reportable injury rate is the total number of injuries reported to the Federal Railroad Administration per 200,000 employee hours, which is equivalent to 100 employees working a full year.
Employees are committed to safety as our No. 1 priority, said Ron Tindall, Denver Service Unit Superintendent. They are dedicated to working safely, keeping their peers safe and educating their communities how to behave safely around railroad tracks.
The Denver Service Unit is focused on employee engagement and several related initiatives as the foundation of its safety success:
Total Safety Culture (TSC), an employee-owned, voluntary process that includes training, observations and feedback. In TSC, employees compliment each other on safe behaviors, while intervening in a positive way to address at-risk behaviors.
Courage to Care, a personal pledge to safety that represents personal accountability and strengthens the degree to which each and every employee prioritizes safety as an issue. Many Denver Service Unit employees have embraced this pledge go home safe for the sake of themselves and their families.
UPs Denver Service Unit employees also committed to educating the public about railroad safety. The Service Unit utilized employee-led quarterly awareness campaigns, coordinated community outreach with Operation Lifesaver, and utilized data to direct their outreach activities to appropriate grade crossing locations.
Additionally, UP launched an online railroad safety campaign on social media in October 2015. The campaigns key message is Your Life is Worth the Wait, urging drivers and pedestrians to think about their personal safety first and wait at grade crossings. A series of videos depict scenarios in which a jogger, young couple and father and son are stopped, waiting for a train to pass. When the arms lift, each proceeds safely toward a spectacular future.
UP employees set a system wide all-time reportable personal injury rate record in 2015, improving 11 percent from 2014 to 0.87, making UP the safest Class I railroad in the United States, according to data reported by the FRA. UPs railroad system includes more than 40,000 employees operating in 23 states and 7,300 communities.
Metrolinks mobile ticketing app, which allows riders the option to purchase their ticket on a smartphone, tablet or other mobile device, is now available for all Metrolink trips, including trips connecting to Los Angeles Union Station, the agency reported on March 31, 2016.
A mobile ticketing pilot started earlier this month on Metrolinks Inland Empire-Orange County line. Since March 1, the Metrolink app was downloaded more than 7,000 times with more than 4,700 tickets purchased, accounting for 13% of all tickets sold on the line.
The app is available in both Google Play and the Apple App stores and allows passengers to connect to participating bus operators including Metro Bus.
Initially, riders who transfer to Metro Rail, Corporate QuickCard users and Metrolink riders who take part in the Rail 2 Rail program with Amtrak should continue to use paper tickets from Metrolinks ticket vending machines.
Metrolink will introduce improvements to make these options available through mobile ticketing in the future. This fall, barcode readers will be installed on the Metro Rail fare gates, enabling passengers throughout the Metrolink system to buy tickets through the Metrolink App and continue their commute on Metro Rail and at no additional cost. Metrolink is also working with Amtrak to eventually allow mobile tickets to be scanned by Amtrak conductors.
The Metrolink Mobile App uses the Masabi JustRide mobile ticketing system, which is used by other transportation providers, including the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), MTS, and both Metropolitan Transportation Authoritys (MTA) Metro-North and Long Island Railroad, across the U.S. and Europe.
The systemwide launch is in time for Metrolinks Angels Express, where fans can take the train from L.A. Union Station or Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo to all Angels weekday home games starting at 7:05 p.m. on Metrolinks Orange County Line. For Friday night home games at 7:05 p.m., there is also train service from Riverside on the Inland Empire-Orange County Line.
The Angels home opener and the Angels Express train service begins Monday, April 4 with the opening-game kickoff event starting at 4:30 p.m. at the Irvine Metrolink Station. The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) is hosting the event.
As an Angels fan, I am looking forward to seeing people use the app to take the train to and from home games to complement our regular-service riders, said Chair of the Metrolink Board of Directors Shawn Nelson, who is also an Orange County Supervisor representing communities along Metrolink rail lines. Metrolink is making it easier than ever to use public transportation in Southern California.
The Angels Express train service will run to the Anaheim-ARTIC Station, next to Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Angels Express trains arrive at least 30 minutes before game time and the return trains leave 30 minutes after the final out. Fans returning to Los Angeles will take Amtrak train 595 with a scheduled departure from Anaheim-ARTIC of 11:06 p.m. The train will not stop at either the Buena Park or Norwalk/Santa Fe Springs stations.
The regular price for the Angels Express train is $7 round-trip, with discounts for seniors and riders with disabilities ($6), and children ages 6 to 18 years ($4). Children 5 and under ride free with an adult fare.
Since the agencys inception in 1991, passengers purchasing tickets and passes at stations only had the option of going to a ticket vending machine. Mobile ticketing is Metrolinks first step toward revolutionizing how riders pay to ride the train. In the coming months, Metrolink expects to deliver continued enhancements, such as the ability to buy tickets online for delivery to mobile devices. Tickets and passes will continue to be available at station ticket machines.
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Russian aggression in Ukraine and nuclear saber rattling are jeopardizing the very global nonproliferation efforts that this week's Nuclear Security Summit in Washington seeks to further. Moscow's actions deserve a stronger response than they have received, not least to deter potential proliferators and reduce the risk of nuclear terrorism.
In some respects, Russia has been a responsible nuclear steward. Contrary to fears, no former Soviet nuclear weapon is known to have gone missing. During and after the Soviet collapse in 1991, Russia, with U.S. help, removed nuclear weapons from every former Soviet republic. The Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program and other U.S. initiatives have helped Russia dismantle nuclear missile silos, bombers and submarines; improve the security of nuclear weapons; and install technology to detect nuclear smuggling. The scale of these U.S.-Russian cooperative endeavors has only one parallelU.S. aid to the Soviet Union under the Lend-Lease Act, which was the principal means for providing aid to foreign countries during World War II. Today, Russia and America co-lead the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism, a voluntary partnership of eighty-six nations and five international organizations, and have concluded accords to reduce strategic nuclear forces.
Since Vladimir Putin returned to the presidency in 2012, however, Russia's record in lessening nuclear dangers has been checkered. Moscow played a key role in the P5+1 talks held in November, which reached a historic deal to constrain Iran's nuclear weapons potential. On the negative side, Russia has flight-tested at least one missile banned by the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.
Moscow's greatest nuclear transgression concerns Ukraine. To help quell serious debate in Ukraine about the risks of future Russian aggression, Moscow, London and Washington signed the Budapest Memorandum of Security Assurances in 1994. The three pledged to respect the independence, sovereignty and existing borders of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine, and refrain from the threat or use of force against them. Separately, France and China offered similar assurances.
In December 2014, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said it would be irresponsible for his country to seek nuclear weapons, but many political and diaspora leaders wish Ukraine had retained former Soviet nuclear weapons. This would have been dangerous. Ukraine lacks the capability to maintain such weapons, which is vital for preserving safety. Kyiv would have had difficulty establishing survivable basing and secure command and control, thereby enhancing preemption risks. Russia's cyber espionage and jamming of Ukraine's wartime communications illustrate some of the challenges. There was also the hazard of Russia penetrating Ukraine's security and military sectors....
The remainder of this commentary is available on nationalinterest.org.
William Courtney, adjunct senior fellow at the nonprofit, nonpartisan RAND Corporation, was U.S. ambassador to Kazakhstan, Georgia and a U.S.-Soviet commission to implement the Threshold Test Ban Treaty. John Herbst, director of the Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center at the Atlantic Council, was U.S. ambassador to Ukraine and Uzbekistan.
Commentary gives RAND researchers a platform to convey insights based on their professional expertise and often on their peer-reviewed research and analysis.
The Iran nuclear deal has been the subject of strong criticism from U.S. presidential candidates, including promises to scrap the agreement in favor of taking a much tougher stance with Iran. But should a president tear up the deal on his or her first day in office? What would be the outcome for the United States?
That's just a horrible idea, said Alireza Nader, senior international policy analyst at the RAND Corporation, and author of The Days After a Deal With Iran: Continuity and Change in Iranian Foreign Policy.
As part of an ongoing Conversations at RAND series, Nader was joined by Dan Simpson, associate editor of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and a former U.S. ambassador, on March 30 at RAND's Pittsburgh office. The series highlights important and timely research activities at RAND.
While the U.S. can't tear up an international agreement, also signed by the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia, and China, it could stop enforcing the deal, Nader said.
Hypothetically let's say President X of the United States decides to stop enforcing the agreement, Nader said, then Iran technically can say that it can expand the nuclear program, and when the U.S. asks countries like China to enforce new sanctions, they can say, 'Why would we penalize our trading partner when you violated the agreement yourself?'
The agreement had ended 36 years of estrangement between the United States and a key country in the Middle East, Simpson said, and called it a very significant achievement.
Nader called the deal historic and said: This was really the chief issue affecting not only U.S. national security, but international security for the past 10 years, if not more. I wouldn't have thought 2 years ago that we would be where we are today.
Since the agreement was signed in July, Iran has shipped 98 percent of its enriched uranium to Russia, dismantled 6,000 centrifuges, reconfigured a heavy water reactor to close the plutonium path to weapons, and agreed to very intrusive inspections, Nader said.
Those actions moved Iran from being within a month of nuclear weapons capability when negotiations began, to a year away, should Iran restart the program today. Had the deal not been reached, Nader said, the U.S. would have had to decide to accept a nuclear-weapons capable Iran, or go to war with Iran.
The release of $50 billion in Iranian assetsoften described by critics as a payment for Iran, but in fact the return of its own moneywas a key factor in reaching agreement, Nader said. That money will go into domestic projects, including improving the energy sector and buildings schools, but some could also be spent on defense and support for Iran's regional allies. Release of the funds also reduces the chance of Iran cheating on the agreement, according to Nader. Cheating is not in its interests, because it wants the economic benefits, he said.
The deal has political and popular support in Iran, where it has been accepted by the political system in Tehran and widely welcomed by the public.
But the overall economic outlook for Iran is still poorlow oil prices are hampering the recovery, and foreign investment has been slow to materialize. Corruption and red tape are significant barriers to private investment, and while nuclear sanctions have been lifted, primary sanctions in place since the 1980s are still in force, limiting the ability of U.S. companies to engage Iran economically, Nader said.
It's going to take some time for the potential to be tapped into, Nader said.
And when the agreement ends in 15 years? The Obama administration has argued future administrations will then have vast insight into Iran's activities, and could respond militarily or through other means, if needed.
Today we know a lot about Iran's nuclear activities, Nader said. In the future we're going to know even more, and some aspects of the program last 20 to 25 years.
Heather McCracken
Even as the United States and its allies carry out aerial bombardments in Iraq and Syria, their target, the Islamic State (ISIS), may be preparing to retaliate on another front. By taking the battle into cyberspace, ISIS would gain many of the advantages of asymmetric warfare unless the US organizes itself to counter the group's efforts.
The entry barriers to cyber warfare are remarkably low, even for non-state actors. Even if ISIS does not currently have the capability to carry out cyber-attacks, it is unlikely to find it difficult to recruit followers with the requisite expertise; in the past, other terrorist and insurgent organizations, including Al Qaeda, have done just that. There are bound to be cyber mercenaries, sympathizers, and freelancers available if the price is right.
Experts have cautioned that ISIS could strike unprotected infrastructure or private residences. Hundreds of thousands of industrial and commercial control systems, including the rapidly growing Internet of Things, are leaving ever-wider swaths of everyday life vulnerable to disruption. And far more troubling is the warning by the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a nonprofit devoted to strengthening global security, that many civilian and military nuclear facilities are inadequately protected against cyber-attacks.
Late last year, computer and network security researchers revealed, to little surprise or fanfare, that ISIS was active on the so-called dark web. These websites, which are invisible to search engines and accessible only through specialized software, are often havens for purveyors of child pornography, drugs, or other illicit products, including hacking services and malicious software. This development was the first sign that ISIS was actively seeking to develop a cyber capability that it could deploy even if it loses its footing on the ground.
So far, terrorists have lagged behind their criminal counterparts in adopting virtual currencies like the peer-to-peer currency Bitcoin. But this could change if Western countries are successful in countering ISIS's current sources of funding, including oil smuggling and extortion. Indeed, ISIS has allegedly already solicited Bitcoin donations.
The group is also using the dark web to recruit and disseminate its propaganda to aspiring jihadists. For sympathetic audiences, an online push can sometimes be enough to spark violent action. This is especially true for individuals who are already radicalized, such as Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik, the husband and wife who opened fire on a holiday party in San Bernardino, California, in December.
Perhaps most troubling from an operational perspective is the possibility that ISIS could use the dark web to coordinate with operatives to plan and plot a major attack in Europe or the US. Terrorists are always seeking to stay one step ahead of law enforcement and intelligence services; so ISIS can be expected to seek software that encrypts a user's IP address and routes Internet traffic through a series of anonymized servers.
To be sure, ISIS's foray into cyberspace creates opportunities for Western law enforcement and intelligence agencies to conduct surveillance, if they can develop the capacity to do so. Just as ISIS has proved far from omnipotent on the physical battlefield, it can also be defeated in cyberspace. To fight effectively in this borderless domain, the US will have to work closely with its international partners. But there are steps that it can take on its own.
Recently, Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter urged US Cyber Command the arm of the military dedicated to cyberspace operations to intensify the fight against ISIS. But the US would be wise to consider expanding the fight by recruiting civilian volunteers.
When it comes to cyber-attacks, numbers matter. Other countries, such as Iran, China, and North Korea, already boast large cyber armies, with tens of thousands of recruits who can monitor, track, counter, and mitigate threats to the country.
In the US, the Michigan Cyber Civilian Corps has organized itself to respond to cyber-attacks. Replicating this program described as something between a volunteer fire department and the national guard on a national level could bolster US capabilities. The Department of Homeland Security has already considered creating a cyber reserve of computer experts, and a report by Booz Allen Hamilton, a technology and security firm, suggested similar efforts to provide the US with more cyber warriors in the event of an attack.
To prevail against ISIS, the US and its cyber soldiers will have to be capable of reacting quickly, while being guided by an overarching strategy. Countering ISIS online will require a continuously adaptive response. And it will require the manpower to make that possible.
Colin P. Clarke is an associate political scientist and Isaac R. Porche III is a senior engineer at the nonprofit, nonpartisan RAND Corporation.
This op-ed originally appeared on www.project-syndicate.org.
Commentary gives RAND researchers a platform to convey insights based on their professional expertise and often on their peer-reviewed research and analysis.
CARTA was holding a public hearing at the Chattanooga Library on Thursday afternoon to unveil proposed service changes that will be effective May 8.
CARTA also has four new payment options.
The service changes include:
- #2 North Chattanooga - The route will utilize the Olgiati Bridge instead of the Market Street Bridge. Service to the North Chattanooga Youth & Family Development center will be via Manning Street and will no longer circle the center.
The inbound routing from North Market and Sawyer will continue on North Market Street to Cherokee Boulevard.#3E-ER Enterprise South/Eastgate & East Ridge - The time point will be the Brainerd Walmart, but the buses will serve Eastgate going outbound to Camp Jordan.#4 Eastgate/Hamilton Place - The stop will be near Entrance H by the state of Tennessee offices at Eastgate Town Center. The buses will turn right at the First Tennessee Bank and travel Eastgate Loop on the front side of Eastgate, and will no longer travel on the back side by Starbucks and EPB. The time point will be at the Brainerd Walmart.#5 North Brainerd - The time point will be at the Brainerd Walmart.Reservations will be required for service to Eastgate on route #5.#8 Eastdale - The #8 route will serve the new Walmart Neighborhood Store at the corner of Shallowford & North Moore Roads going inbound to Brainerd and Germantown Roads, after leaving Dee Drive and Emma Kate. The route frequency will adjust to every 40 minutes from every 30 minutes.#10 Campbell Street - There will be an earlier afternoon outbound trip added leaving from downtown.#15 St. Elmo - This run will be adjusted to provide weekday commuter service for customers to get downtown in the morning and return to St. Elmo in the afternoon. The last morning trip from downtown will be at 9:40 a.m., the first afternoon trip from downtown will be at 2:40 p.m., and there will be NO service on Saturdays.#19 Cromwell Road There will be two trips added in the middle of the day so that the route will be more consistent and will give customers better access to the new Walmart Neighborhood Store on Shallowford and North Moore Roads.
CARTA will be introducing by the end of September four new payment options:
- Seven-day Unlimited Ride Pass that will cost $15..
- Reduced seven-day Unlimited Ride Pass for students/elderly/disabled customers that will cost $7.50. The customers must show their Special Fare ID card or Student Bye Pass card to purchase the Reduced Seven Day Unlimited Ride Pass.
- A stored value card that will allow customers to put $5 up to $30 on the card and only be charged for each bus ride.
- Reduced 31 Day Unlimited Ride Pass for students/elderly/disabled customers that will cost $25. The customers must show their Special Fare ID card or Student Bye Pass card to purchase the Reduced 31-day Unlimited Ride Pass.
Al Jazeera English's content is now available worldwide on Opera TV's network of over-the-top (OTT) partners, through a newly developed app using Opera TV's Snap technology.
The Al Jazeera English TV Snap app will include live broadcasted stream, video clips from latest news and full episodic content with multi-tier category navigation for easy access. The app will join the Opera TV content portfolio for smart TVs, set-top boxes and Blu-ray disc players from pay-TV operators and manufacturers including Sony, Samsung and TiVo."The challenge broadcasters face today to deploy smart TV apps due to the platform fragmentation can be time consuming and costly. In our conversations with Al Jazeera, it was clear our latest Opera TV Snap would address the challenges and provide a robust, future proof solution that can be deployed on millions of devices immediately" said Daniel Nordberg, VP, Content Acquisition for Opera TV. "We are excited to bring such a leading, prestigious news outlet as Al Jazeera to Opera TV and that we made it possible for them with the Opera TV Snap innovation."Established in 2006, Al Jazeera English has continued to grow in reach and popularity due to its global coverage, especially from underreported regions. The international news channel currently broadcasts to over 260 million households across 130 countries.
After announcing a number of deals in the MENA region, satellite operator Eutelsat has now announced a win much closer to home with France Televisions.
The French public broadcaster will be taking capacity on the EUTELSAT 5 West A satellite allowing it to upgrade all of France 3's regional channels to HD from 5 April.The 24 regional channels will be available for the two million homes receiving Fransat, Eutelsats free-to-view TV platform for French homes. The move is part of the complete switch of Frances DTT channels to MPEG4-HD in the night of 4 to 5 April. Fransat viewers will be the first satellite viewers to experience the benefits of enhanced sound and video quality of France 3's full roster of regional channels.The change in standard is a major challenge for France Televisions , requiring uninterrupted broadcasting of a line-up comprising five national channels namely France 2, France 3, France 4, France 5, France O and the 24 regional channels of France 3. Eutelsat adds that video, audio, data used for audio description and connected TV services will all benefit from improved quality optimised for TV viewers.
In the latest post-acquisition development, Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN) has bought international distribution rights to the portfolio of Channel 5s in-house production arm 5Production.
VIMN says that the exclusive agreement will add a significant volume of fresh UK content to its multi-brand catalogue, which includes titles spanning MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, Spike, TV Land, BET, CMT and VH1.The deal also extends to third-party commissions where Channel 5 controls the rights, such as the Viacom-owned format Lip Sync Battle UK, made by Whizz Kid Productions on Channel 5s behalf. The deal covers all international territories outside of the UK and Ireland.Effective immediately, VIMNs in-house International Programme Sales arm will distribute popular titles including 5Productions most recent original UK commission for Channel 5, Tattoo Disasters. Following the seriess success in the UK which debuted in March 2016 and is currently outperforming the 9pm slot average for 16-34 year olds by 88% - VIMN has already confirmed an early deal for the show with Australia's ABC.We are incredibly excited to add the Channel 5 portfolio of quality content to our slate ahead of MIPTV 2016, commented Caroline Beaton, VIMN SVP international programme sales. This agreement sees us cementing our productive collaboration with our colleagues at Channel 5...With a vast range of captivating, creative and beautifully-produced programmes, we look forward to bringing these shows to screens all around the world.
Duty Free operator wins lawsuit against caviar supplier
MOSCOW, April 1 (RAPSI) The Ninth Commercial Court of Appeals in Moscow on Friday upheld the lower courts ruling to recover 2.06 million rubles ($30,746) from Russian Caviar House in favor of Aerofirst company, a former Duty Free operator in Sheremetyevo airport, the court ruling reads.
Russian Caviar House and Aerofirst made a deal on October 24, 2011 with the former company taking an obligation to provide the latter with the sturgeon granular caviar.
On December 9, 2014 Aerofirst received caviar amounting to 6.7 million rubles ($100,000) and paid for it on the same day. However, the company found out that quality of caviar was subpar and was not up to the agreements quality standards. According to the expertise conducted by a third party, caviar in question was indeed of poor quality and dangerous for health.
On July 20, 2015 Aeroferst demanded from Russian Caviar House to return 2.06 million rubles because of subpar product provision, but the latter company refused to grant the request, making Aerofirst turn to bring the matter to court.
realclearworld Newsletters: Mideast Memo
A familiar face re-emerged on the Iraqi scene this week.
Firebrand cleric Muqtada al-Sadr -- perhaps best known for leading a Shiite insurgency against Western forces following the 2003 invasion of Iraq -- began a sit-in Sunday inside Baghdad's well-fortified Green Zone in protest of the Iraqi government's inability to deliver on long-delayed Cabinet reforms promised by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.
Although al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia was officially disbanded in 2008, the group -- much like its founder -- never truly went away, but rather repurposed itself to provide social services and security to its Shiite constituency in the suburbs of Baghdad and southern Iraq. The Mahdi Army also morphed into a political force in the years that followed, and in 2014 the Sadrist Al-Ahrar bloc secured 34 seats in the Iraqi parliament.
That same year presented al-Sadr with yet another political opportunity. That summer, the Sunni militant organization known as the Islamic State group spread out across much of northern Iraq, conquering many of the cities and provinces in its path. For al-Sadr and his disciples, the prospect of a revanchist Sunni army marching on Baghdad created an opening for greater influence in national politics. Al-Sadr rebranded the Mahdi Army as the "Peace Companies," and he deployed his armed loyalists to protect Shiite holy sites and communities from ISIS's Sunni insurgents.
While this certainly wouldn't be the first time that the popular cleric has wrapped himself in the Iraqi flag, al-Sadr has gone out of his way in recent weeks to pose first and foremost as an Iraqi federalist.
Late last month, tens of thousands of al-Sadr supporters rallied in Baghdad demanding that the government follow through on reform measures promised last year following a wave of summertime protests. The Sadrists waved Iraqi national flags, and called on the prime minister to make good on his promises to end corruption and improve basic services. Al-Sadr recently moved to Baghdad from the holy city of Najaf to be closer to the political action in the capital, and his armed Peace Companies have worked with the government-sanctioned Popular Mobilization Forces in their campaign against ISIS.
Behind the veneer of nationalism lies an implicit threat, however: reform, or else.
"If al-Abadi's cabinet reshuffle plan stalls or fails to pass in Parliament, he risks open confrontation with al-Sadr," writes Iraq analyst Omar Al-Nidawi. "In the most extreme case, this could mean thousands of al-Sadr's followers storming the Green Zone, but will in any case ... increase in public outrage."
At the heart of al-Sadr's latest move is an effort to maintain access and influence in the Iraqi government. The scion of a prominent clerical dynasty, al-Sadr remains a popular figure among Iraq's Shiite majority, especially among the pious and poor concentrated in the south of the country. But independence from Washington in Baghdad has, consequently, allowed for a greater amount of Iranian influence in Iraqi affairs. The mobilization forces, or Hashd, have grown into a powerful parallel force to the Iraqi military, and al-Sadr's own militia -- while ostensibly aligned with the Hashd -- has engaged in intermittent clashes with rival members of the umbrella organization whose loyalties, some fear, reside in Tehran rather than Baghdad. These very same Iran-backed militias enjoy increasing political support among certain factions of Iraq's splintered Shiite factions, posing a direct threat to al-Sadr's own Shiite powerbase.
Prime Minister al-Abadi finds himself stuck in the middle of this sectarian tug-o-war. While the premier has been pushing for months now to implement a slate of political reforms, he has repeatedly encountered resistance from entrenched factions that have dominated the politics of post-war Iraq. His proposal to replace Cabinet members with a list of technocrats has met equal resistance by pols seeking to maintain access to a patronage system rife with corruption. (Cabinet posts are typically filled through a sectarian quota system.)
With al-Sadr positioned right at his front door, and many more of the cleric's supporters assembled in protest around the capital, al-Abadi has been forced to pull soldiers away from the Iraqi army's critical campaign to retake Mosul, the country's second largest city and the center of Iraq's Sunni heartland.
It is imperative that the Iraqi government regain control of its own territories and, perhaps more importantly, all of its oil infrastructure. The downturn in the global crude market has put a strain on Iraqi coffers, as has the war against ISIS. A confrontation in Baghdad will only further deplete a Mosul campaign already reportedly suffering from desertions and low morale.
Muqtada al-Sadr has never wasted a good Iraqi crisis, and with al-Abadi reportedly rushing to reshuffle his cabinet for an all-important Saturday vote of approval, the shrewd Shiite cleric appears poised for a successful resurgence, and possibly a big political victory.
More on this:
The Unquiet Cleric -- The Economist
The Most Dangerous Man in Iraq, Again -- New Arab
Shia-Centric State Building in Iraq -- Carnegie Endowment
The Worst Job in the Middle East -- RealClearWorld
Feedback
Questions, comments, or complaints? Feel free to send us an email, or reach out on Twitter @kevinbsullivan.
And be sure to check for all of the latest news and analysis on the Middle East at RealClearWorld.com.
The European Union has more than enough to worry about -- terrorism, Brexit, the migrant crisis -- without its Eastern powerhouse taking an unwanted turn. But since the Law and Justice party, known by its Polish acronym, PiS, took power last October, Poland has moved sharply away from the steady path it was on, much to Europe's dismay. The government's latest headline-grabbing move has been to accuse Lech WaA?A?sa -- Nobel Prize winner and hero of the Solidarity movement - of spying for the very Communist government he helped bring down. Poland's president, Andrzej Duda -- a former PiS member who ran as an Independent -- is in Washington this week, but no meeting with U.S. president Barack Obama has been scheduled. Many believe this to be due to the recent turn in Polish policy.
Not your standard Left-Right split
But where exactly is PiS taking Poland? The Western media has branded the party as ultra-conservative, far right, and much worse, but PiS's politics don't land neatly along any point on the usual left-right spectrum. In post-Communist Poland, nearly every party is some shade of right on economic policy, social issues, or both. A better way to make sense of PiS's politics is to look at where it stands on three key points of Polish politics: its relationship to the Catholic church; its strategy for dealing with the geopolitics of being stuck between Russia and Europe; and the place of PiS politicians in a web of personal intrigues, affairs, and conspiracies that has plagued Poland since the fall of the Berlin wall.
Looking at it from these angles, PiS appears as fiercely traditionalist, unapologetically Euro-Realist, and loyally centered around JarosA?aw Kaczynski. If you recognize his name or his face, that is because JarosA?aw is the identical twin brother of Poland's deceased former President, Lech Kaczynski. In 2010, Lech and other top officials of the Polish government died in a plane crash over Russia. They were on their way to a ceremony commemorating the mass execution of Polish officers by the Soviet secret police at KatyA? in 1940, and the subsequent cover-up. Many still believe the crash was no accident.
On religion, PiS's Catholicism is less about its links to the organized church, and more a matter of pushing policies that favor traditional values. In a stroke of generous welfare policy, PiS promised every Polish family an entitlement of 500 zloty ($125) per month for each baby born after their first until it reaches the age of 18 -- never mind that such a policy would bankrupt the country. PiS politicians have also historically opposed LGBT rights: As Mayor of Warsaw, Lech Kaczynski banned gay rights marches in the capital.
The party finds strong support for such policies among the electorate that brought it to power: middle-aged and older Poles who feel left behind in the new system. They've been dubbed "mohair berets" after the hats lower-middle class and middle-aged women often wear to church. They present a stark contrast to the generation of young Poles who travel freely around the European Union, work and study abroad, and eagerly embrace the lifestyles of their peers in Western Europe. PiS voters have lived most of their lives in an isolated, Soviet-controlled country where censorship and repression were rampant. Norms such as multiculturalism or LGBT rights that the rest of Europe has had decades to develop, debate, and embrace remain very new and controversial for large parts of Poland. But in addition to being viewed as new or foreign, these norms are also difficult for an older generation to accept because they are hard to reconcile with two cherished institutions that got them through the Communist era and helped bring it down: church and family.
Much of PiS's electorate sees the individualism, secularism, and liberalism of the West not as social ideals that come with freedom and democracy, but as just another threat. In a much-derided interview with Germany's Bild, Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski cast Western social norms as a new incarnation of the menace from which Poland thought it had freed itself:
"The previous government implemented a left-wing concept, as if the world had to move using a Marxist model in only one direction: towards a mixture of cultures and races, a world of cyclists and vegetarians, who only use renewable energy sources and combat all forms of religion. This has nothing in common with traditional Polish values.
"This is against what most Poles have at heart: tradition, historical consciousness, love of the country, faith in God and a normal family life run by a man and a woman."
Borderlands
The traditional character of PiS's policies and the party's bristling at homosexuality have sometimes earned PiS the label of "Putinist." However, when it comes to foreign policy, PiS could not be farther from the Russian behemoth.
Poland is on permanent alert against threats from the East. Surrounded by seas and friendly neighbors, much of the European Union can easily forget that Poland shares a 1,200-kilometer border with three problematic non-EU states: Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia itself through Kaliningrad, a Russian enclave on the Baltic sea. When the Cold War was freshly over, concerns about Russia seemed unrealistic, nationalistic, or mere expressions of historical paranoia. But since Russia annexed Crimea, Poland has felt its fears about territorial integrity to be fully justified.
East Ridge officials pledged on Thursday night to keep a close eye on the Superior Creek Lodge site to assure it does not again become a major nuisance. The former extended stay motel near the key Exit 1 was closed by inspectors with all four buildings condemned, but there is now a new owner from Atlanta.
Former Vice Mayor Jim Bethune said many residents were concerned that the same old problems, including 2,800 police calls in four years, would crop back up at the site.
He asked, "What is the difference between what we had and what we're getting?"
Mayor Brent Lambert said, "We're all in the same camp. We don't want a repeat of what happened."
Officials said the site lost its "grandfathered" status after being closed for more than 180 days and can no longer operate as an apartment with unlimited resident stays.
City Attorney Hal North said the maximum stay allowed will be 90 days. He said an upcoming ordinance will state that a person will be able to stay there only a single 90-day period in a year.
Also, he said residents in extended stays will not be allowed to bring their own furnishings.
Attorney North said the tighter regulations would state that if an owner violated the 90-day limit for a resident there would be a 120-day probationary period.
A second offense would bring a loss of the occupancy license for 30 days.
A third offense would bring a loss of the occupancy license for 12 months.
Interim City Manager Mike Williams said the current buildings could not go back into use unless inspectors find they have been rehabbed to a certain standard. He said they were condemned - and hundreds of residents suddenly displaced - after some siding was removed and "life safety" issues were revealed.
He said the population at the Superior Creek Lodge was between 750-800, which he said was "the most people in that small a space in the state of Tennessee."
Curtis Baker said the Superior Creek Lodge occupants were "just not the caliber of people we want in East Ridge."
Officials cited the La Quinta motel as one that has really cleaned up its act. Mayor Lambert said it won an award for the upgrades.
Two council members - Denny Manning and Jacky Cagle - were critical of Interim City Manager Williams, saying he was hard to reach and would not return their calls.
Councilman Manning had an item on the agenda for "a discussion of the interim city manager," but that was moved to the next meeting on April 14.
One councilman - Larry Sewell - was absent.
Mayor Lambert praised Mr. Williams, saying, "I think you're doing a good job, and I appreciate you."
Councilman Manning said when he goes to put an item on the agenda that employees tell him they have to run it by the city manager first. He said that never happened in the past.
He asked, "Are we the boss of the city manager, or is he our boss?"
The council at the next meeting will also discuss applicants for city manager.
The council was told that the group putting on the Christmas Nights of Lights wants out of its contract because of flooding problems. The group said it might come back if those woes are cured with the new development next to the park.
The council agreed to let the group out of the contract.
Walgreens at Germantown and Ringgold Road asked for a variance to be able to sell beer. The store is 173 feet of a church. The required distance is 250 feet.
Mayor Lambert said he wanted to talk to the church's new pastor "to see if he has a tremendous problem with it."
The mayor recommended that the council pay Diane Qualls an additional amount for stepping up to serve as city treasurer after Thad Jablonski departed last September to be assistant city manager at Columbia, Tn.
That will be decided at a later meeting.
Mayor Lambert also said he would like to see city employees get three-percent raises if they further their education and get degrees. The city already reimburses employees tuition costs if the schooling is related to their job.
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District Attorney General Stephen Crump said he has initiated an investigation of a courtroom incident that occurred during Thursdays docket of the Bradley County General Sessions Court.
He said, "Chief Deputy Brian Smith informed this office of an incident involving a corrections officer and an inmate late yesterday afternoon and stated that Sheriff Eric Watson was requesting that this office initiate an investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Based upon the sequence of events as described by Chief Deputy Smith and Sheriff Watson, this office initiated an investigation by the TBI yesterday.
"The investigation centers on whether excessive or illegal force was used by a corrections officer on an inmate who was appearing in the General Sessions Courtroom.
"No further statements will be made by this office until the conclusion of the investigation. We expect to move expeditiously and conclude the investigation in the very near future."
The deputy has been suspended pending the outcome of the investigation.
The 2016 Shepherds Men Run from Boston to Atlanta will be from March 26 through April 3, and will have a stop in Chattanooga. Gunnery Sgt. Troy Campbell, Procurement Chief, Marine Corps Recruiting Command, is running with 12 other participants.
Sgt. Campbell and the other Shepards Men will run 22 kilometers while wearing a 22-pound flak jacket daily through 10 cities in order to raise $1 million and awareness for the 22 veterans who commit suicide per day.
Funds will be donated to the SHARE Military Initiative, a program that treats military veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars who suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and traumatic brain injuries.
Throughout their journey, runners will stop in Newport, R.I., New York, N.Y.; Gettysburg, Pa.; Lynchburg, Va.; Knoxville; Nashville; Chattanooga; and Athens, Ga. In each city, they will meet with veterans groups, police officers, firemen and other local organizations to raise awareness for the combat veterans of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom who need treatment.
For more information, visit www.shepherdsmen.com.
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April 20, or 4/20, is known as National Weed Day in popular culture, in which individuals gather to celebrate by smoke and celebrate marijuana. Athens C.A.R.E. Project, a subset of the Georgia C.A.R.E. Project, used the day to campaign for the decriminalization and legalization of the drug.
The 19-member Board of Regents decides whether undocumented immigrants can attend the University of Georgia, whether smoking will be allowed on campuses, who the president of each state university will be and whether tuition rates will rise for the 318,164 students in the system.
Hyangsoon Yi always knew she wanted to be a teacher.
All my life I wanted to be a scholar first. And, for me to be a good scholar, I had to be a teacher. Only when I teach, I know what I know and what I dont know and teaching is an important and critical part of my scholarship, said Yi, Director of the University of Georgia's Center for Asian Studies.
This is the first Q&A in a series with the Student Government Association Executive ticket candidates.
The month of March is celebrated as Womens History month, a time reserved to celebrate the past and contemporary achievements of women.
Plan and discuss ahead of time to get on the same mental page to head off headaches. (Photo courtesy Fotolia/TNS)
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By Alison Bowen, Chicago Tribune
Two times, Dena Roche realized boyfriends were going to become breakups while traveling.
The first time, her plus-one got jealous when someone pulled her onto the dance floor in Belize, revealing an insecure side I hadnt seen before, she said.
Next, during a Hawaii vacation, a man took advantage of an all-you-can-eat situation to a repulsive degree.
I actually faked being sick on this trip to avoid him touching me, said Roche, who lives in Phoenix and writes The Travel Diet.
Whether its a best friend or a romantic getaway, travel for two can bring obstacles more unique than solo or groups.
We talked to experts to find out potential plane, train or automobile pitfalls and what to tackle before you go.
MONEY
Talk about cash. And not just an overall budget.
Do you prefer a $2 lunch of street food, or an expensive three-course dinner with a skyline view? The answer matters, because money is where you decide how you want to spend the trip.
When traveling with her partner, Approach Guides co-author Jennifer Raezer makes sure to discuss meals, excursions and transportation.
These are critical items to get out of the way before taking off, so you dont spend your vacation discussing money issues or missing an experience because youre worried about cash, she said.
Sure, at home, you may decide easily enough whether to order Thai or pizza. But those decisions amplify when its the one night youll spend in a locale, or debating different price points.
For example, said Stacie Krajchir, author of The Itty Bitty Guide to Business Travel, Do you want to alternate paying for meals as we go rather than split the check at every meal?
Having different budgets isnt a deal-breaker. Consider getting groceries at a local store so you can splurge on meals when you want to, suggests Jetta Bates, who runs Jettasetting.com and is on Bravos Tour Group show following travelers.
Without chatting before, the person that is in a place to really spend on vacation will feel stifled and perhaps a bit obligated to pick up the check, she said.
STYLE OF TRAVEL
Make sure to compare organization and research styles. Do you want to sleep in, or get up early and attack the day?
Liz Dahl, a former travel agent who founded Boomer Travel Patrol, advises people to compare sleeping and eating expectations. Three meals a day or snacks? Chat about whether you want to sit on the beach or visit museums.
All of these activities are great, but know this before you go so you can compromise and make sure each person has a good time, she said.
Whether planning with a romantic partner or friend, talking about it before embarking on your fifth museum is key, said Colin Matthes, who runs Stamped Travel with his girlfriend, Jenoa Esplin.
Some people are very good at improvising and making plans as they go, he said, Other people love having an entire day planned out.
One option is for each person to pick a No. 1 thing they want to do during the trip. Prioritize those.
And think through stressful triggers that will put you in a tense spot waiting for baggage, standing in lines.
For example, John and Luisa Rasiej, who have been married for more than 25 years and help couples travel together, suggest that one person get the luggage, letting the other relax with an airport cappuccino.
THOUGHT PROCESS
What are you both expecting from the trip? For example, said Mark Jackson, travel editor for Brads Deals, if one persons plotting a romantic getaway, it never hurts to compare notes.
I have heard many a tale of potential lovers not being on the same page before departing, he said.
Traveling together can boost, or crumble, a relationship. Either way, youll probably see each other at your worst.
Krista Canfield, at travel website Gogobot, and her fiance took a trip three months into dating. They planned to hike in Kauai, Hawaii, and summit Mount Fuji in Japan.
We knew an epic excursion together would either break or cement our relationship, Canfield said. Sitting next to each other on long-haul flights helped them bond, she said.
Finally, embrace the unexpected.
Beth Santos, founder of Wanderful, was in Istanbul with her husband for just 24 hours and her husband decided to use precious moments for a haircut.
At first I was fuming, she recalled. But then it turned out to be one of the best experiences ever to watch him get his hair cut by a tiny barber in the streets of Istanbul.
Plan and discuss ahead of time to get on the same mental page to ensure a great trip and head off headaches.
As Roche learned, Its really hard to ask someone to find their way to an airport three hours away.
2016 Chicago Tribune
Visit the Chicago Tribune at www.chicagotribune.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Practical tips can help your loved one with Alzheimer's maintain a sense of independence and dignity. (Photo courtesy Fotolia/TNS)
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By Mayo Clinic News Network
Anyone caring for a loved one with Alzheimers disease likely can relate to former first lady Nancy Reagan, who called the illness suffered by former President Ronald Reagan a truly long, long goodbye.
Mrs. Reagan, who died Sunday at age 94, was a tireless advocate for Alzheimers patients and their families, recalls Mayo Clinic neurologist Dr. Ronald Petersen, who knew the Reagans well.
In many respects, Mrs. Reagan was the optimal caregiver, providing love and support for the president in a fashion similar to many other Americans whose families deal with this difficult diagnosis, he said.
In 2015, an estimated 5.3 million Americans had Alzheimers disease, according to the Alzheimers Association. As the disease progresses, once-simple tasks become difficult or impossible.
Practical tips can help your loved maintain a sense of independence and dignity.
To limit challenges resulting from Alzheimers:
Schedule wisely.
Establish a routine to make each day more predictable and less confusing. Schedule the most difficult tasks, such as bathing or medical appointments, for the time of day when your loved one is most calm.
Adapt your routine, as needed.
For example, if your loved one insists on wearing the same outfit every day, consider buying a few identical outfits. When your loved one is bathing, switch the worn outfit for a clean one.
Take your time.
Expect things to take longer than they once did. Schedule more time to complete tasks, so you dont need to hurry your loved one.
Involve your loved one.
Allow your loved one to do as much as possible with the least amount of assistance. For example, perhaps your loved one can dress alone if you lay out the clothes in the order they go on.
Limit choices.
The fewer the options, the easier it is to decide. For example, provide two outfits to choose between not a closet full of clothes. Eliminate belts or accessories that are likely to be put on incorrectly.
Reduce distractions.
Turn off the TV, and minimize distractions at mealtime and during conversations, so your loved one can better focus on the task at hand.
To keep your loved one with Alzheimers safe:
Prevent falls.
Avoid scatter rugs, extension cords and any clutter that could cause your loved one to trip or fall. Install handrails or grab bars in critical areas.
Use locks.
Install locks on cabinets that contain anything potentially dangerous, such as medicine, alcohol, guns, toxic cleaning substances, dangerous utensils and tools.
Check water temperature.
Lower the thermostat on the hot-water heater to prevent burns.
Take fire safety precautions.
Keep matches and lighters out of reach. If your loved one smokes, make sure he or she does so with supervision. Have an accessible fire extinguisher and smoke alarms with fresh batteries.
Caring for the CaregiverAlzheimers caregivers need all the support they can get. If you know someone whos caring for a loved one who has Alzheimers disease, heres how to help:
Be specific when you offer help:
If you want to support a friend caring for a loved one, make a concrete offer. For example:
Im going to the grocery store. What can I pick up for you?
Ive got a few free hours tomorrow. May I sit in for you, while you run errands or take time for yourself?
I doubled my meatloaf recipe, so I could share with you. I brought enough to last you for several meals.
Does your yard need to be mowed? Id be happy to take care of it this weekend.
Check in with the caregiver:
Sending a card or calling a caregiver can be a meaningful way to show support. Emails and text messages work, too; however, personal visits can be better. Contact with the outside world can lift a caregivers spirits.
Firefighters on the scene this morning of a house fire on Russell Street in Redding.
A morning fire gutted a reported vacant home early Friday on Russell Street in the Parkview neighborhood near Redding City Hall.
No one was inside the home when firefighters arrived, though initially reports indicated someone may have been staying inside the home that was supposed to be empty, according to reports.
An official cause remained under investigation Friday morning.
The fire broke out just after 6:30 a.m. and responding crews were able to knock down the flames at the small, single-story home within 20 minutes.
"Because of the size they were able to knock it down pretty quick," said Battalion Chief Sean Coleman of the Redding Fire Department.
The fire had burned about 75 percent of the house when crews arrived, Coleman said.
No injuries were reported. Russell Street remained closed until just before 9 a.m. when firefighters concluded the incident.
The neighborhood is the same area recently visited by the Redding Fire Department and Red Cross of Northeastern California as part of a campaign to prevent house fires, Redding Fire Chief Gerry Gray said on Twitter.
Greg Barnette/Record Searchlight file photo Redding Police Chief Robert Paoletti speaks during a quarterly town hall meeting held at the Redding Civic Auditorium.
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Redding Police Chief Robert Paoletti will resume his quarterly town hall meetings Thursday night.
The Record Searchlight will have live coverage from the event starting at 6:00 p.m. Readers can follow along with hashtag #rpdtalk on Twitter or here through our ScribbleLive stream.
Paoletti will address issues from the audience, present crime statistics and updates from his department.
The town hall will begin at 6:00 p.m. at Sequioa Middle School's McLaughlin Auditorium, 1805 Sequioa St. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m.
Members of the community and business leaders are encouraged to attend. The last time Paoletti hosted a town hall was in 2014 at the same location.
Nathan Byers, front, and Richard Hiers pleaded guilty Friday in Shasta County Superior Court to voluntary manslaughter and assault.
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Two Redding men who had been set to begin standing trial next week for murder were both sentenced today to eight years in prison after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter and assault.
Nathan Robert Byers, 21, and Richard James Hiers, 24, entered their guilty pleas as part of a plea bargain that called for the agreed upon eight-year prison sentences.
They must serve 85 percent of their sentences before being eligible for parole, or about 6.8 years, but they are also being credited with the 620 days that they have served in jail since their 2014 arrests.
Under their plea deal, Hiers and Byers pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in connection with the death of Claude Alexander Schmies, 48, who died July 22, 2014, at Mercy Medical Center in Redding.
They also pleaded guilty to assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury.
That assault charge stems from the injuries suffered by a second victim, John Raymond Fritz, 30, who is currently serving a four-year sentence at Ironwood State Prison in Blythe in an unrelated felony case.
Additionally, Hiers and Byers admitted guilt to a related enhancement.
The four men became embroiled in a deadly July 20, 2014 fight on Spruce Street that police said broke out after Schmies reportedly drove too close to Hiers and Byers while they were walking near Veda and Elmwood streets.
Schmies aggressively backed up, and he and his passenger, Fritz, got out of the vehicle, police have said.
Hiers and Byers reportedly told police that Schmies and Fritz jumped them and that they acted in self-defense during the altercation, police have said.
Shasta County Deputy District Attorney Emily Mees, who called the four-man fight mutual combat, said all of them were to blame for the violence.
All four initiated the fight, she said. This entire thing could have been avoided by anyone just walking away. Its a sad situation that didnt need to happen.
Police have also said it appeared alcohol contributed to the fight.
According to a police report, a teenager who witnessed a portion of the fight said it appeared that the injured Schmies could not defend himself and fell to the ground.
At that point, the teen said, a man who police said fit the description of Hiers stomped on the side of the downed mans face four to five times and kicked him once in the ribs.
The Tennessee Supreme Court has appointed former judge and Williamson County attorney Robert E. Lee Davies to the position of senior judge.
Judge Davies practices family law, personal injury, and business litigation in Williamson County. He served from 2000-2008 as a circuit court judge in the 21st Judicial District, handling both civil and criminal cases. He also has served as special judge for the Tennessee Court of Appeals.
The people of Williamson County have received the benefit of Judge Davies experience and expertise and now these resources will be available all across Tennessee, Chief Justice Sharon Lee said. Judge Davies replaces Judge Ben Cantrell, who has served as a senior judge for the past four years, following a 30-year career at the trial and appellate level.
In addition to his legal practice, Judge Davies teaches family law at Nashville School of Law and is a Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 31-listed mediator.
Judge Davies is a member of the Williamson County Bar Association and the Tennessee Bar Association, as well as the Tennessee Bar Foundation and the Tennessee John Marshall Chapter of the American Inn of Court. He received his law degree from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville in 1982 and has a bachelors degree from Washington & Lee University. Judge Davies and his wife, Robin Denton Davies, live in Franklin.
Senior judges are employed by the Supreme Court to hear cases in which other judges cannot serve because of a conflict, or in courts where there is a vacancy. Tennessee state law authorizes the Supreme Court to appoint senior judges to promote the effective administration of justice. Other senior judges in Tennessee are Judge Don Ash, Judge Paul Summers and Judge William Acree.
A sign on the Shasta Lake city limit sign along Shasta Dam Blvd. reminds of residents and visitors of the district's ongoing water woes. City officials earlier this year bought about 900 acre feet of water from the McConnell foundation after allocations from the Bureau of Reclamation, which runs Shasta Dam, were cut by about 50 percent.
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By Joe Szydlowski of the Redding Record Searchlight
Shasta Lake is in the years-long process of putting in $15 million to $20 million in upgrades to its wastewater treatment plant a remodeling that one City Council member says would be unnecessary but for recently tightened regulations.
And the cost will be passed on to ratepayers.
"What we're putting in the creek is cleaner than the natural creek water," said Greg Watkins, a Shasta Lake councilman, referring to studies comparing organisms in the treated water and the creek water released through the city's current treatment processes.
The city has to do the upgrade or its wastewater treatment center won't be able to discharge into Churn Creek, thanks to a March 28 ruling by the Central Valley Water Quality Control Board.
It started when wastewater treatment plants had to examine as part of a report how long it takes for the reclaimed wastewater to mix in thoroughly with stream water, said Tom Chism, director of Shasta Lake's wastewater treatment plant, near Knauf Fiberglass' plant. That distance is measured as double the stream or river's width.
"If the Sacramento is 200 feet wide, you have 400 feet of water to mix," he said. "Ours is 7 feet wide and has to mix within 14 feet."
Another issue is dilution for every 1 gallon of treated sewage put in the creek, there must be 10 gallons in the stream.
The board gave Chism a few options most of which were unfeasible or unaffordable.
The plant's remodeling seemed the best option to avoid shutting down, Chism said.
So, the water board agreed to a conditional permit for the plant to operate from October until April as long as it gets those improvements, according to the permit.
But that irks Watkins in part because testing shows the plant's water is already more pure than the creek's, he said.
That's based on results from tests of three species of animals placed in treated water, the creek water and a mixture of the two, Chism said.
"The fish always do really, really good in our water and, in some test parameters, they don't do as well in Churn Creek," he said, though he added contaminants that may be flowing into the creek upstream.
However, Chism notes the upgrades at the plant will give it the ability to process water year-round without dilution standards. That means treated sewage water, instead of languishing in a 400 acre-foot reservoir, can be sent back into the stream. The other option is for customers to reuse it, but there aren't enough people using reclaimed water.
The remodeled system will also pull out a lot more contaminants, such as ammonia levels.
Watkins said the board should have made an exception because of the purity. But, barring that, any state organization that introduces new requirements should help pay for them.
"They just give an edict and there is no appeal and there is no way around it. It's terrible," he said.
About $4 million would come in as a state grant, but that leaves around $12 million left to pay. The city will look to use state loans, which likely means higher costs for consumers.
Chism said he understands the water board wants to improve quality but agrees that the state should help pay for it.
He is awaiting reviews of the plans by various agencies. He estimates construction would take about 18 months.
Three calls to the Central Valley Water Board's Redding office were not returned Thursday.
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By Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times
LOS ANGELES Almost two-thirds of California voters believe that illegal immigration is a major problem in the state, but by even larger majorities they reject the idea of mass deportations and favor allowing those currently living in the country without authorization to stay and apply for citizenship.
The latest University of Southern California Dornsife/Los Angeles Times statewide poll found that 62 percent of voters said they believed illegal immigration in California is at least a major problem, with 23 percent calling it a crisis. By contrast, 36 percent said the issue was a small problem or not a problem at all.
But the states voters reject the sorts of measures proposed by Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump, who has called for a deportation force to expel the estimated 11 million immigrants living in the country illegally.
More than three-fourths of voters said they believed immigrants who are already here should be allowed to stay. Sixty-five percent said such immigrants should be allowed to apply for U.S. citizenship, while 14 percent said they should be allowed to stay and work legally in the country but not apply for citizenship. Only 16 percent said that they should be required to leave the country.
By more than 2 to 1, voters said they opposed building a wall along the southern U.S. border to prevent immigrants from entering illegally, another hallmark of Trumps campaign.
A lot of what has been talked about doesnt seem viable to most voters, said pollster Randall Gutermuth of the Republican polling firm American Viewpoint, part of the bipartisan team that conducted the survey for the Times and USC.
Just 36 percent of Republican voters likely to participate in the states primary in June said immigrants already here should be required to leave, he noted. Only 8 percent of likely voters in the Democratic primary took that position.
It is definitely not accurate to say that this mass-deportation language is the majority opinion, including of the Republican Party in California, Gutermuth said.
Republicans, however, are far more likely to see illegal immigration as a serious problem, with half of likely primary voters viewing it as a crisis and another 42 percent calling it a major problem.
The poll showed that opinions on illegal immigration vary widely depending on age. The significant generational divide suggests immigration could be among the issues that are separating the GOP from younger voters in California.
Older Californians are much more likely than their younger counterparts to view illegal immigration as a crisis, the poll found. While more than a third of voters 65 and older think illegal immigration is a crisis, just 8 percent of voters age 18 to 29 think that. One in five voters 65 and older favor requiring immigrants in the country illegally to leave, compared with 1 in 10 of those 18 to 29.
That can partly be explained by the fact that younger voters in the state are more likely to be minorities. But even among white voters, there is a big age gap.
Just 10 percent of whites aged 18 to 29 said they felt there was an immigration crisis, according to the poll, compared with 76 percent of whites over the age of 64.
Manuel Pastor, director of USCs Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration, said younger voters are more likely to be open-minded toward immigration in part because of how and where they grew up.
People of color have been the majority in the state of California since 1999, Pastor said. Really the debate about immigrants is a debate about identity. And younger people are much more likely than older generations to have experienced some diversity in their schools and their own life.
That is the case for Jonathan Danielson, 28, a poll respondent who grew up in Palo Alto alongside immigrants and the children of immigrants from Asia and the Middle East. Now an Army officer stationed in Alaska, Danielson serves alongside a diverse group of soldiers who have helped shape his views on immigration, he said.
He believes immigrants who entered the country illegally or overstayed visas should be allowed to stay and apply for citizenship.
If theyre here, and theyre contributing, they deserve a shot, he said. I was just born here; that doesnt make me any better than somebody who risked their lives and traveled thousands of miles to come here.
For Danielson, even illegal immigration is a positive sign for the country.
The fact that the U.S. is a draw for people looking to improve their situation seems like a good sign for us, he said. Having different perspectives gives you better solutions.
A Democrat, Danielson said he and some of his peers are turned off from the Republican Party in part because leaders like Trump have demonized immigrants.
Its definitely a part of it, Danielson said. These guys are still spouting this rhetoric about nameless, faceless immigrants, and were going, These people are our friends, we grew up with them, he said.
That is starkly different than the views embraced by John Leary, 71, a retired aerospace engineer who lives outside San Jose and who also responded to the poll.
These people are criminals. They dont respect the country, Leary said of immigrants in the U.S. illegally. I want them to be put in jail or thrown out of the country. I dont want to be a person who is supporting criminal activity.
Leary, who grew up in what he described as a racially insular neighborhood in Philadelphia and moved to California as a young man, said he has been dismayed as the state has grown more Latino.
Its rapidly becoming Hispanic because we have huge numbers of criminal Hispanics in the country as a result of illegal immigration, he said.
Leary said he believes younger voters dont care as much about illegal immigration because they arent shouldering the costs.
The older voters are paying the taxes, he said. The younger generation doesnt have the responsibilities.
The California poll findings echoed those of a recent national poll that showed that a generational split on immigration is present among Republican voters across the country.
That poll, published this week by the Public Religion Research Institute, found that younger Republicans are much more likely to have favorable views of immigration and to support a path to citizenship for immigrants in the United States illegally than are older Republican voters. A similar generational divide has shown up among Republicans on issues such as same-sex marriage, polls have shown.
Dan Schnur, director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at USC, said the USC/Times polls findings on immigration could present some opportunities for Republicans.
While the poll found that a majority of voters dont support mass deportation or a border wall, it highlighted voter concerns about state resources going to immigrants in the country illegally.
The poll found 50 percent of voters opposed allowing immigrants in the country illegally to qualify for student loans at state universities, compared with 46 percent who support that. It found that by 52 percent to 43 percent, voters opposed extending Medi-Cal, the state health care program for low-income families, to all immigrants living here illegally, rather than only children, as is now the law.
Forty-seven percent of voters supported a ban on sanctuary cities, which refuse to hand immigrants suspected of being in the U.S. without permission over to federal immigration authorities for deportation after they have been arrested for crimes. Forty-four percent opposed such a ban.
Those findings suggest there could be support for Republicans who oppose such measures, Schnur said.
The USC Dornsife/Times poll was taken by telephone, calling landlines and cellphones, from March 16 through March 23 among 1,503 registered California voters. It was conducted by the Democratic polling firm of Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research and the Republican firm American Viewpoint. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points for the full sample, with higher error margins for sub-samples.
2016 Los Angeles Times
Visit the Los Angeles Times at www.latimes.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
WASHINGTON After dozens of contests featuring cliffhangers, buzzer- beaters and a ton of flagrant fouls, we're down to the Final Four: Sanders, Clinton, Cruz and Trump. (If Kasich pulls a miracle, he'll get his own column.) The world wants to know: What are their foreign policies?
Herewith, four candidates and four schools: pacifist, internationalist, unilateralist and mercantilist.
(1) Bernie Sanders, pacifist.
His pacifism is part swords-into-plowshares utopianism, part get-thee-gone isolationism. Emblematic was the Nov. 14 Democratic debate which was supposed to focus on the economy but occurred the day after the Paris massacre. Sanders objected to starting the debate with a question about Paris. He did not prevail, however, and answered the first question with some anti-terror pablum that immediately gave way to an impassioned attack on his usual "handful of billionaires."
Sanders boasts of voting against the Iraq War. But he also voted against the 1991 Gulf War. His reaction to all such dilemmas is the same anti-imperialist/pacifist reflex: Stay away, but if we must get involved, let others lead.
That's for means. As for ends, Sanders' foreign policy objectives are invariably global and universal, beginning above all with climate change. The rest is foreign-policy-as-social-work do-goodism, most especially undoing the work of U.S. imperialism.
Don't be surprised if President Sanders hands Guantanamo Bay over to the Castros, although Alaska looks relatively safe for now.
Closest historical analog: George McGovern.
(2) Hillary Clinton, internationalist.
The "Clinton/Obama" foreign policy from Ukraine to Iran to the South China Sea has been a demonstrable failure. But in trying to figure out what President Clinton would do in the future, we need to note that she often gave contrary advice, generally more assertive and aggressive than President Obama's, that was overruled, most notably, keeping troops in Iraq beyond 2011 and early arming of the Syrian rebels.
The Libya adventure was her grand attempt at humanitarian interventionism. She's been chastened by the disaster that followed.
Her worldview is traditional, post-Vietnam liberal internationalism America as the indispensable nation, but consciously restraining its exercise of power through multilateralism and near-obsessive legalism.
Closest historical analog: the Bill Clinton foreign policy of the 1990s.
(3) Ted Cruz, unilateralist.
The most aggressive of the three contenders thus far. Wants post-Cold War U.S. leadership restored. Is prepared to take risks and act alone when necessary. Pledges to tear up the Iran deal, cement the U.S.-Israel alliance and carpet bomb the Islamic State.
Overdoes it with "carpet" it implies Dresden although it was likely just an attempt at rhetorical emphasis. He's of the school that will not delay action while waiting on feckless allies or farcical entities like the U.N.
Closest analog: Ronald Reagan.
(4) Donald Trump, mercantilist.
He promises to make America strong, for which, he explains, he must first make America rich. Treating countries like companies, he therefore promises to play turnaround artist for a foreign policy that is currently a hopeless money-losing operation in which our allies take us for fools and suck us dry.
You could put the Sanders, Clinton and Cruz foreign policies on a recognizable ideological spectrum, left to right. But not Trump's. It inhabits a different space because it lacks any geopolitical coherence. It's all about money. He sees no particular purpose for allies or foreign bases. They are simply a financial drain.
Imperial Spain roamed and ravaged the world in search of gold. Trump advocates a kinder, gentler form of wealth transfer from abroad, though equally gold-oriented.
Thus, if Japan and South Korea don't pony up more money for our troops stationed there, we go home. The possible effects on the balance of power in the Pacific Rim or on Chinese hegemonic designs don't enter into the equation.
Same for NATO. If those free-riding European leeches don't give us more money too, why stick around? Concerns about tempting Russian ambitions and/or aggression are nowhere in sight.
The one exception to this singular focus on foreign policy as a form of national enrichment is the Islamic State. Trump's goal is simple "bomb the s out of them." Yet even here he can't quite stifle his mercantilist impulses, insisting that after crushing the Islamic State, he'll keep their oil. Whatever that means.
Closest historical analog: King Philip II of Spain (1556-1598).
On Jan. 20, one of these four contenders will be sworn in as president. And one of these four approaches to the world will become the foreign policy of the United States.
Don't say you weren't warned.
Charles Krauthammer's email address is letterscharleskrauthammer.com.
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When the University of California threatened a tuition hike last year in a bid for more state funding, lawmakers bristled at what seemed to them an act of impudence.
Once a stately dance in which the UC essentially took what the governor and Legislature offered, higher education appropriation became a high-profile standoff. Old resentments were aired: the backslide in state support, the salaries of UC administration, the snootiness of the UC crowd, the California kids (and politicians) who didn't get into their first-choice campus.
But when Gov. Jerry Brown and UC President Janet Napolitano announced a deal that gave UC more money, kept tuition flat and enrolled more in-state students, it appeared the political potshots were over.
As a UC undergraduate might put it, LOL.
This week the state auditor issued a blistering report, charging that the university is admitting too many out-of-state students, to the detriment of Californians.
Ordered up in the heat of last year's battle by Assemblyman Mike Gipson, D-Carson, the audit fed the canard that the university, in its hunger for money and refusal to curb spending, has somehow allowed rich outsiders to crowd out deserving in-state kids.
That's just not so. UC enrollment remains overwhelmingly Californian, even at internationally known campuses UCLA and UC Berkeley. Last fall, about 31,000 nonresidents were among the 168,000 or so undergrads enrolled in the system.
Every California student whose grades meet the in-state criteria still gets a spot at some UC campus, and two-thirds get into at least one of the campuses they've chosen. Californians pay far less to go to a UC than nonresidents.
And out-of-state enrollment, even at Cal and UCLA, is still far below that of comparable public institutions, such as the universities of Oregon and Michigan.
Out-of-state enrollment has spiked, to the point that, last year, Napolitano capped it at UCLA and Berkeley. Systemwide, the auditor found that it rose 82 percent between 2010 and 2014, a numerical increase of about 18,000 undergrads.
The auditor blamed policy changes that let campuses keep more of the supplemental fees charged to nonresident students, and noted a drop of about 2,200 in-state students during the same time frame. She also found that thousands of nonresidents were admitted even though their grades and test scores were below the median for Californians.
Those are disturbing charges, if true, though like most of the audit, the UC vehemently disputes them. Admissions criteria, they say, have been made more "holistic" for all students, and the extra revenue from out-of-state fees subsidizes Californians whom they couldn't afford to let in otherwise.
Gipson and company are right to look out for Californians. Out-of-state students shouldn't be getting in with subpar grades and test scores, and in-state students who worked hard enough to make the cut shouldn't be left with no choice other than the newbie campus, UC Merced.
But nonresident enrollment isn't a bad thing. And last year's power struggle shouldn't be reignited just because some lawmaker might need an issue to run on.
Californians have some real decisions to make about how to preserve this state's system of public higher education. These decisions are already emotional; just ask those kids waiting by their mailboxes. Debating them in a crossfire won't make them easier.
The Sacramento Bee
With Rajendra Prasad, S Radhakrishnan, K R Narayanan, V V Giri and A P J Abdul Kalam on my mind, the image of my beloved hero dancing ungainly to Merey angney main tumharra kya kaam hai, doesn't make for a smooth transition, says Sudhir Bisht.
Amar Singh is back with a bang. He has been itching for some time to get back into the news and when the protest march against those returning the awards, alongside Anupam Kher, didn't work out, he went back to using the name of his former 'elder brother,' the one and only Amitabh Bachchan.
Singh claims to have inside information about Prime Minister Narendra Modi thinking of 'nominating' Bachchan as the next President of India.
We all recall that Amar Singh had conducted a similar campaign in 2007, but those were different times. Amar Singh was genuinely rooting for Bachchan to be nominated as the Presidential candidate by all parties. He was still a member of the kingmaker circle of politicians and he was still friends with Big B and his wife.
Life has since taken several twists and turns. Amar Singh no longer enjoys even a fraction of the power that he once enjoyed nor is he a close friend of Bollywood's first family anymore.
But Amar Singh has once again hogged the limelight by telling the world that Big B could be our next President when the incumbent retires next year.
When my wife, a diehard Bachchan fan, heard this, she jumped with joy. I thought she was taking her adulation for Big B a bit too far. I agree that the man is a phenomenal talent when it comes to acting and that his baritone remains unmatched. I also agree that he is seen as one superstar who makes all the right noises, endorses all the right social causes and even waives off his stupendous per-minute fees for lending support to developmental campaigns.
I tell my wife that while I agree that there hasn't been an artist as loved and worshipped across India as Amitabh Bachchan, I can't see him fitting into the role of the President of India.
'Whenever the name Amitabh Bachchan comes up, I think of a young Amitabh dancing to the raunchy number Merey angney mein, tumhara kya kaam hai,' I tell her.
'That's the problem with you and not with Amitabh. Change your mindset. If Arnold Schwarzenegger could become a multiple term governor of California and if Ronald Reagan could become president of America for two terms, why can't Mr Bachchan be the President of India?' she asks angrily
'Is it because he is a movie star and hence his contribution to India's progress is considered less than that of a scientist or a banker or an industrialist? I believe that he is quite an educated person. Even though it may not matter in our country where someone without a basic degree could become a HRD minister! And weren't two other movie stars, Vinod Khanna and Shatrughan Sinha, ministers in Vajpayee's government? Then why can't Mr Bachchan become President?'
The lady wasn't giving up easily but my mind refuses to let go of that image of Bachchan etched in my mind. I can never imagine him in the seat that was once occupied by President A P J Abdul Kalam.
I may concede that in recent times Amitabh may have contributed to the development of brand India more than anyone else. He may even be the best-known Indian after Bapu. He is more popular than even Modi on Twitter and that's awesome.
Amitabh is arguably one of the greatest entertainers and his contribution to cinema is great but is it greater than that of Satyajit Ray or Bimal Roy or Raj Kapoor or V Shantaram? Amitabh has been an immensely popular actor, but does he have the versatility of a Sanjeev Kumar or the intensity of an Om Puri or even the histrionic abilities of a Rajnikanth? He has given several hits, but what about the number of flops he churned out?
And even if his contribution to Indian cinema is the greatest, does it make him suitable for the post of President of India? A position that eluded Mohammed Hidayatullah and may well elude Lal Krishna Advani?
Our first President Dr Rajendra Prasad spent his lifetime fighting the British occupation of India and his life was an example of sacrifice and simplicity. It is on record that he didn't allow his children and grandchildren to leverage his name in their day-to-day lives. He believed that becoming the President, the first of free India, was not reward for the sacrifices he made for his country.
He believed that becoming the President was a responsibility that was given to him to serve the nation. He represented the common man; he may have lived in the vast presidential palace, but his heart still beat for the poor peasants, skinny workers and the malnourished children of India. Dr Prasad was a true Head of India.
It is difficult to say if Indians loved their first President more or their first prime minister more. The common man's President was always seen at par in terms of the love earned and respect commanded, with the hugely popular and princely Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
Rajendra Babu was succeeded by Dr S Radhakrishnan, an acclaimed teacher and a keen scholar, much in the mould of a revered saint who represented the spiritual and philosophical contribution of India to the world civilisation.
Our third President, Dr Zakir Hussain, was an educator and social reformer who founded the Jamia Millia Islamia, one of the best universities in India.
We also had Presidents like V V Giri, the great labour leader whose life's mission was to accord dignity and ensure payment of fair wages to the workers in the largely unorganised labour sector.
India had Presidents like Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy who spent several years in jail fighting the British regime.
Even the much mocked Giani Zail Singh, who made some very subservient statements when nominated by his party to the post of President, had a very distinguished service record in the service of the nation.
As a young freedom fighter he suffered extreme torture at the hands of dictatorial regimes in Punjab during the freedom struggle. He was incarcerated by the rulers of Faridkot for five years. One of the images that comes to my mind is that of Zail Singh tied to a giant wheel by the despot of Faridkot. Such sufferings can break an ordinary mortal, but Zail Singh suffered all punishments courageously for the sake of his country.
We were lucky to have Ramaswamy Venkataraman as our President. His entire life was devoted to public service and in the service of the nation.
The illustrious K R Narayanan was born in a Dalit family and suffered insults and ignominy throughout his life. I once read in The Hindu that at the University of Travancore, Narayanan was denied a permanent teaching job that was the norm for toppers at the time.
Hurt and agitated, the young Narayanan boycotted the convocation ceremony and refused to accept his degree certificate.
Fifty years later, when he was President, his certificate was handed over to him at a special function. This kind of struggle is something that gives me goose flesh. How fortunate were we to have such a man as our President!
President Kalam was a national hero, a true idol, a man like us but worthy of emulation. Kalam's contribution to India's missile programme was something that made him a super achiever in his chosen field. And his spartan lifestyle, even when he became President, inspired us to give precedence to simplicity over superfluous things.
With the images of Rajendra Babu, Radhakrishnan, K R Narayanan, V V Giri and Kalam in my mind, I then think of my beloved hero dancing ungainly to Merey angney main tumharra kya kaam hai. It somehow doesn't make for a smooth transition.
I visualise Amitabh collecting crores of rupees for the roles that he essayed on screen. I also see him signing cheques for the winners of Kaun Banega Crorepati and in the process making his own millions. But can I recall any sacrifice that my favourite matinee idol has made for the nation?
I think Amitabh has done well for himself. He has entertained us, but we too have given him whatever was his due. We still line up outside his homes in Mumbai to wish him a long life on his birthday. And I daresay that we sometimes suffer him gladly just for old times' sake.
I see him endorsing a cement brand, trying to convince us to buy a product that he knows nothing of. I also think of Amitabh selling us maida noodles that our kids should have only sparingly. I also see him selling us that cola, a bottle of which contains nearly seven teaspoons of sugar. I also see him selling an incense stick here, an expensive basmati rice variety there and some real estate somewhere.
In between he also entreats you to stay in Gujarat and not to miss the polio drops. But that's the part of preserving the image of a good man so that the brand can last longer and longer.
I think the President should not be someone who while dancing in Mumbai's studios claimed to be a farmer just to be able to buy a plot of land.
We may have had buffoons as MPs and powerbrokers as ministers, but if there is one elected office in our country which is extremely sacrosanct, it is that of the President of the Republic of India. It may be a decorative position mostly, but is the nation's top position none the less.
And frankly, Amitabh Bachchan doesn't measure up to any of our past Presidents. So here's wishing Mr Bachchan a long and healthy life, but sans the Presidency, please.
Sudhir Bisht, who lives in New Delhi, is an author and columnist.
Given the subdued pre-poll voter-behaviour in the state over the past couple of decades and more, and the inability of individual political parties to cobble together an alliance and announce candidates, or both, to launch grassroots-level campaigns early on, close fights with landslide victory is an equal possibility, N Sathiyamoorthy.
Will elections 2016 throw up the first-ever hung assembly in Tamil Nadu after the linguistic reorganisation of states in 1956? Will it thus also produce the first-ever coalition government in the state since the first, post-reorganisation elections of 1957?
Tamil Nadu is poised for multi-cornered contests in all 234 constituencies, and this could throw up either or both possibilities.
Yet, given the subdued pre-poll voter-behaviour in the state over the past couple of decades and more, and the inability of individual political parties to cobble together an alliance and announce candidates, or both, to launch grassroots-level campaigns early on, close fights with landslide victory is an equal possibility.
The results this time could prove if the 2014 AIADMK sweep in the parliamentary polls, where party leader Jayalalithaa was not being projected as a prime ministerial possibility as in 1996, was the emergence or re-emergence of an electoral reality in the state -- or, if it was only an aberration, particularly in terms of a stand-alone party sweeping the polls, both in terms of vote-share and seat-share.
Its the 2014 results, and the BJP-NDA combines more-than-respectable 17.5 per cent vote-share, and the DMK combines 26-plus percentage points against the AIADMKs 45 per cent, that are at the current arguments that a split in the anti-incumbency votes would help the ruling party.
Its also the reason why the DMK was eager to have the DMDK, and has roped in the Congress, even more.
Despite multi-cornered contests this time, early whisper campaigns had put the ruling party, with its incumbency advantages, at the front.
They had also sought to drown the traditional, yet invisible, anti-incumbency factors influencing the voters.
There is also the conventional belief that in a multi-cornered contest, the anti-incumbency votes (alone) get split.
The state is active in the former department. The results have often proved the latter right -- with the near-singular exception of the 2014 parliamentary elections.
It is also the latest in the states poll series.
Independent of the results this time, the ground situation is more complex than to warrant and/or justify any one-sided prediction of any kind.
For starters, the AIADMK and the DMK continue to dominate the poll scene.
The BJP ruling the Centre, the five-party alliance now led by Vijaykanth, and the go-it-alone PMK can play spoilers, jointly and severally, for the Big Two Dravidian parties, but not always in conventional terms.
From within the five-party PWF-DMDK combine, Vijayakanth may have lost much of the karuppu MGR votes to the AIADMK and Jayalalithaas charisma long ago.
Among the four PWF partners, VCK leader Thol Thirumavalavan lost his native Chidambaram (SC) seat in the DMKs company by a huge margin in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
His partys contribution to the alliance kitty in the northern districts was equally abysmal.
These votes were believed to have gone the AIADMK way, after the Jayalalithaa government took courage to arrest PMK founder Ramadoss over alleged attacks on Dalits.
This time, Jayalalithaas stoic silence over the daylight murder of Dalit youth Sankar in Udumalpet in the West for marrying a higher caste Thevar girl from the southern districts, has not gone unnoticed.
Its another matter if the VCK with its political base in the northern Adi Dravidar community could capitalise either on this, or the earlier one, particularly after their failure to do so for the DMK combine in the aftermath of the Ilavarasan incident in Dharmapuri, months ahead of the 2014 polls.
The Puthiya Tamizhagam of medical doctor, K Krishnaswamy, against the Thevar domination over the southern Dalit sub-sect, namely the Devendra Kula Vellalar, too has lost the script and direction, over the past decade-plus.
So much so, neither of the Dravidian majors, nor the Vijayakanth combine, has shown any interest in the party.
If the VCK however is in electoral reckoning of some kind, it owes possibly more to party leader Thol Thirumavalavan taking a joint initiative in forming the PWF early on -- than its own relevance to the two Dravidian majors.
That way, the second of the PWF partner, MDMK -- whose founder Vaiko is also its convenor -- has seemingly lost a part of the negative votes against the DMK, back to the parent party.
A part of the pan-Tamil constituency vote went the AIADMK way after he aligned with the BJP in 2014.
The MDMK could witness further loss, to the more strident pan-Tamil party in filmmaker-politician Seemans Naam Thamizhar Katchi (We, the Tamils party).
Considering that the MDMKs vote-share was only around five per cent at the peak of its popularity in 1996, its all saying a lot.
There is nothing much to write home about the two communist parties in the PWF.
Contesting the polls alone and together for the first time in decades, they polled the lowly vote-share of one per cent in 2014.
Among the two other national parties, the BJP had its traditional two per cent vote-share go up to about seven, in the party-led NDA alliance in 2014.
This time, the BJP is expected to lead a truncated NDA in the state, with no other alliance partner bringing in too many votes.
The possibilities are limited. If PM Modis campaign in the state is effective, the party may retain some or all of the seven per cent vote-share from 2016.
If this happens, the AIADMK might be the loser. If it does not, then alone could the AIADMK hope for additional votes from this kitty.
For the rival DMK combine, the Congress partner seems to be seeking more seats than its proven 4.5 per cent vote-share in 2014 might justify.
Yet, the DMK leadership seems to hope that an alliance with the Congress could help consolidate secular and minority votes in the state, numbering around 12 per cent.
Of this, Muslims and Christians account for six per cent each. Both communities are also concentrated mostly in specific revenue districts/taluks and assembly constituencies.
Yet, the DMK also has to reckon with the post-2014 split in the Congress, but can still try and take heart that the rival AIADMK has thus far not taken in the revived Tamil Maanila Congress, which has broken away from the Congress parent twice in as many decades.
However, the TMCs vote-share within the minimal Congress share would be nowhere compared to the minority vote-bank that the DMK combine hopes to garner.
Sharper the secularism vs intolerance debate between the BJP and the Congress gets during the poll campaign in the state, the greater could be the consolidation of minority votes.
The minority vote-share for the Vijayakanth combine, despite the presence of the two communist parties in it, could not be comparable.
It does not mean a counter consolidation of Hindu votes in BJP-NDAs favour, despite PM Modis possible campaign.
Instead, it could only mean a loss of AIADMK votes to the BJP.
That leaves the PMK, which at the peak of its early, independent electoral existence again had polled around six per cent votes in the nineties.
Much of it had been traditional DMK votes.
Today, having alternated in alliance with the DMK and the AIADMK, the party seems to have lost a substantial portion of its Vanniar caste-based votes to the other two parties.
By contesting alone, and declaring former Union minister and incumbent Lok Sabha member, Anbumani Ramadoss, as chief minister candidate, the party seems to recapture the community imagination and original vote-share and more, before possibly re-launching again for a major role in state politics and elections on a future day.
Image: Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Mukul Wasnik meeting DMK Chief M Karunanidhi at his residence in Chennai recently. Karunanidhi's daughter Kanimozhi is in the background. Photograph: PTI Photo
N Sathiya Moorthy, veteran journalist and political analyst, is the Director of the Observer Research Foundation, Chennai Chapter.
To be concluded.
'The government is having the right approach, where Aadhaar is voluntary.'
'By the time I stepped down as UIDAI chairman, over 300 million were getting Aadhaar-linked cash transfers.'
'I think PM is very technology-savvy person who understands how to use technology for governance.'
Former chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India Nandan Nilekani, tells Nitin Sethi and Sahil Makkar how Aadhaar could become the spine for alternative banking and could replace government services with cash benefits.
Excerpts from the interview.
The Congress, which had introduced the UIDAI, is now opposing the Aadhaar Bill.
I dont want to get into the political discussion. The fact of the matter is that the vision of Aadhaar was a United Progressive Alliance vision.
It began in 2006 and, in 2009, they notified the UIDAI and appointed me in July 2009. They gave me the complete support to implement it.
By the time I stepped down as UIDAI chairman, over 300 million were getting Aadhaar-linked DBT cash transfers.
I think they (the UPA) gave UIDAI a great foundation. They had the vision to start the scheme and the National Democratic Alliance has the wisdom to continue the scheme. Aadhar is a truly a bipartisan instrument.
Have you needed to talk to the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to convince him about the scheme?
I met the PM once on July 1, 2014, after the elections and discussed with him what Aadhaar can do.
He had a fairly good idea because he had implemented it in Gujarat. After that I had no further discussion with him.
What transpired in the meeting that Modi who was initially opposed to Aadhaar made a complete u-turn?
I will not give myself too much credit. I think PM is very technology-savvy person who understands how to use technology for governance and so on.
My meeting was to tell him my point of view and what I have learnt doing the project.
Do you think we need a separate privacy law as opposition parties have been voicing privacy concerns in the current Aadhaar Bill?
I was the first person to ask for a privacy law. When I came to government then I wrote a letter to then prime minister in May 2010 stating that we need a privacy law for Aadhaar and many other things.
You have the issue of phone tapping and more and more organisations are collecting data like health care records and financial records.
We need an overall privacy law for the country. As far as Aadhaar is concerned, it is the best in class in terms of privacy protection.
The Aadhaar Bill clearly limits the usage of data and it can be shared only with the consent of the user. These are strong and robust privacy protection measures.
The criticism is that a joint secretary can ask for data in the name of national interest. Shouldnt the government take prior permission of the court?
It is in the interest of national security, which is different from national interest.
The database can be opened if there is a national security situation. There are lots of safeguards. Decision of a joint secretary has to be ratified by three-member committee. There are checks and balances in the bill.
In the name of national security whoever takes the decision has to justify it later on.
You have recently written that Aadhaar can provide spine for the alternative banking system. How feasible it is given the credit crunch in the market?
The current banking system will take many years to unwind. This crisis has been created by about 50 institutions -- 25 banks on one side and 25 business groups on other side. And if you put all the agencies on the bankers be it CBI, ED, CVC, SC, television anchors and all that I guess you are freezing the decision making ability of bankers.
They will neither give loans nor settle old loans.
So, we have created an extended freeze of the banking system, which means if the banking system is frozen from giving credits then the wheels of business will not work. This is not the problem which you solve through monetary or fiscal policy.
This is like pouring sands into wheels of growth. What I proposed through my article was that with technology you can build a delivery system on to a small business or consumers smart phone, where he can get his loans approved in a minute using data and algorithm.
Coming back to your question whether there is enough capital to fund this, in my view there is a lot of fresh capital. For example, 21 new banks which are coming up will bring in fresh capital. There are lots of healthy incumbents; there are lots of NBFCs coming in.
There will be no shortage of lending if you have robust lending system. My suggestion involves alternate capital and alternate consumption by small businesses, consumers and world class technology driven ecosystem.
I mean you have to have a plan B. How will you get a high economic growth until you create multiple channels of credit delivery?
The last mile banking correspondent is not functioning on the ground. Are we putting technology before putting other infrastructure?
All these things have to happen simultaneously. In my previous report on payment infrastructure five-six years ago, we had talked about BCs to get adequate commission which is 3.14 per cent with a cap of Rs 15 per transaction.
That recommendation has not been implemented. If you dont give adequate commission to the BCs through consumers, and instead give it through banks we will not even know if the commission is reaching the BCs.
Hundreds and thousands BCs will come up if the commission is directly paid to them through the consumers.
The consumers can be provided this commission amount along with their other payments or subsidies.
What is the one billion figure means to you personally?
It is satisfying feeling that it in five-six years it has become a live project with billion users from a well-drafted cabinet note.
What are the three big steps required for the Aadhaar to actually take off besides enrolling one billion people?
One thing is to get every subsidy like kerosene, LPG, food and fertilizer in the country to either a cash transfer or BAPU (biometric authentication for physical update) kind of transaction at the Central level and electricity and water at the state level. Then buy the wheat and rice at the market price and give cash support to the farmer through DBT.
Second is the use of Aadhaar platform to create high volume low cost technology enabled credit distribution infrastructure, which will provide credit to those who dont get credit today.
Third is using Aadhaar for India stat, which allows doing authentication, KYC, and digital storage, to see how Indias government and business can be re-imagined to make it paperless, presence-less and cashless. This will have dramatic impact on productivity, inclusion and economic growth.
As we move forward, do you think Aadhaar be made mandatory?
The government is having the right approach, where Aadhaar is voluntary. It is like having a passport, if you want to travel abroad you need a passport or to drive you need a driving license.
Similarly, if you want a subsidiary from the government you need Aadhaar. It is a perfectly reasonable argument.
Are saying it should be mixed, where government services are involved it should be made mandatory?
No. Only where subsides are involved. If the government wants to streamline the subsidy system, genuine people get the benefits, there is no corruption and wastage is eliminated so thats a reasonable exemption.
So for services like marriage certification, land records it should not be made mandatory?
I would look at the things where there are some value additions. For land registration one can still argue that it will reduce benami transactions.
Do you foresee the prospects of your coming back to the politics?
I have done my bit and I had an excellent stint. I think it is time for me to go back to private life.
China on Friday defended its decision to once again block Indias bid at the United Nations to ban Jaish-e-Mohammad chief and mastermind of the Pathankot terror attack Masood Azhar, saying that it acts on such issues based on facts and rules in an objective and just manner.
Asked about Chinas reported last minute move putting a technical hold on Indias submission which Indian officials say was armed with strong evidence of the JeMs terror activities and its role in the Pathankot attack, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said here that China supports UN playing a central and coordinating role in international cooperation against terrorism.
We always deal with the listing issue (banning militant groups and their leaders) under the UN Security Council committee established under resolution 1267 based on facts and relevant rules of procedures in an objective and just manner, he said.
The Chinese side has always been in communication with relevant parties on the listing issue, he said hinting that China is also in touch with India on the issue.
This is not the first time China has blocked Indias bid to get Pakistan-based militant groups and leaders proscribed by the UN.
The UN had banned the JeM in 2001 but India's efforts for a ban on Azhar after the 2008 Mumbai terror attack also did not fructify as China, one of the five permanent members of the UN group with veto powers, didnt allow the ban apparently at the behest of Pakistan again.
Last July, China had similarly halted Indias move in the UN to take action against Pakistan for its release of Mumbai terror attack mastermind Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, saying that its stand was based on facts and in the spirit of objectiveness and fairness with Beijing again claiming at the time that it was in touch with New Delhi.
Stating that China is opposed to all forms of terrorism, Hong said, China has also taken active part in international counter terrorism corporation.
To another question about Prime Minister Narendra Modis comments at the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington on Thursday that the world community should drop the notion that terrorism is someone elses problem and that his terrorist is not my terrorist, Hong said, China opposes double standards on the issue of terrorism.
We believe that all parties should enhance communication in a bid to forge counter-terrorism synergy to work together with entire international community including India to jointly fight against the threat of terrorism and safeguard peace and stability of the region and beyond, he said.
Five officials of the Hyderabad-based IVRCL construction firm were detained on Friday in connection with Thursdays flyover collapse in the city even as three more bodies were pulled out of the debris taking the toll to 25.
The police had on Thursday registered a case against the construction firm under Sections 304, 308 and 407 of the Indian Penal Code and sealed its local office.
A day after an official of IVRCL dubbed the flyover collapse as an act of God, its legal team head P Sita said, It is an accident.
She also did not rule out sabotage and referred to a media report which said there could have been a bomb blast.
An act of God was just an expression only to describe that it is under no ones control, she told reporters in Hyderabad.
Showing a photograph of the mishap site published in a newspaper, she said that it looked like a site of bomb blast. There were various aspects which should be looked into.
Sita also claimed, ...100 per cent no issues with regard to quality. It is the same material, as was used to construct the 59 sections earlier with approval, with which the 60th section (which collapsed) was built ... Unfortunately it collapsed.
IVRCL will cooperate with all the authorities in investigating this accident. We are trying to ascertain the reasons for the occurrence of this accident. We have asked all our officials concerned to be available with the investigating authorities, she said.
Around 90 people were injured in the collapse and the condition of seven of them was stated to be very critical.
Agencies engaged in rescue work said that there was a possibility of a person being trapped inside a truck which is still under a girder.
Armymen along with Kolkata Police, disaster management team, the National Disaster Response Force and fire brigade personnel engaged in rescue work throughout the night, pulled out three more bodies from under the rubble of concrete, a police officer said on Friday.
Nobody alive has been rescued... Two mangled autorickshaws apart from a few other vehicles have been pulled out. One lorry is still stuck inside... Whether there is anybody trapped inside cannot be certain, he said.
About a 60-metre-long stretch of the 2.2 km flyover under construction crashed down on afternoon on a congested road intersection in Kolkata. Forensic experts visited the site and collected samples of materials used for the construction for examination.
Meanwhile, a four-member police team from West Bengal reached Hyderabad during the day as part of its probe to question officials of IVRCL after the flyover it was constructing collapsed in Kolkata.
The West Bengal government has already ordered a high-level probe into the incident that triggered a blame game with the Opposition accusing the Mamata Banerjee government of callousness.
A senior police officer said, The main road crossing near Ganesh Talkies would hopefully be cleared by tomorrow. But the rest like the iron piers, iron pillars, broken concrete parts will be cleared in a step-by-step process.
Its a very very congested area with buildings so close to the flyover. And most of the buildings are very old. So we must keep in mind that in order to remove the damaged portions of the flyover another mishap does not take place, he said.
Image: Firefighters and rescue workers search for victims at the site of an under-construction flyover after it collapsed in Kolkata on Thursday. Photograph: Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters
No, you won't find any specific name in this as it is intended to be very "general". And I am far too old to gain anything by pandering to anyone who might be considered "rich". So let me start this out where I have often started in the past: almost every time I got a painting project such as a mural or an historical painting to do, I started at our superb downtown public library.
I will wager that every local person reading this has stood at the check-out desk on the ground floor and perused the large bronze plaque, loaded with names of the many contributors to its building fund. It reads like the Social Register of the City of Chattanooga! We need to thank those generous people who "forked over the cash" to build that fine structure, and from which we can all benefit. I know for a fact that raising all that money took some urging, but it ultimately came through. Chattanooga has been blessed with many people of that "generous" ilk through the years, and, through my work I have been able to know a few of them, "up close and personal".
The ones I have known have all been very down-to-earth and not the least bit snobby. They share many of the exact same problems as we poorer people do - like how to get the kids to and from school in inclement weather - or what to do with a child who gets a sudden injury on the playground. Money can bail you out of a lot of problems, for sure, but it can't instantly cure a broken arm or a dread disease. The rich have all the same human problems as us poorer people, PLUS the constant vigilance required to maintain their status AS "rich". (The higher you climb the ladder, the more wobbly it gets!)
Anyway, one time, some 40 years ago, I was in a home on the West Brow of the mountain and soon noticed that I was the only male in a room full of school girls of widely varying ages. "Mama" (Grandmama, actually) was seated at a small writing desk. I was there to see that good lady, but she had other business to attend to first. After a few minutes I figured it out - that she was writing each of her granddaughters a check - an allowance of some sort - about which all seemed quite pleased. And I thought, "How nice!", and that everyone could benefit by having a "Mama" such as she to hand out free money! I would have liked to do the same for my own two grandsons...
I knew a very prominent local artist many years ago - and who is dead now. He had been commissioned to paint a small mural in a house on one of the mountains. The family represented "Old Money" and my friend was delighted to receive the commission. He was shown the room and the wall area which he was going to paint, setting up the necessary work table, etc. He got to work early and painted all morning. When 12 noon arrived, instead of inviting him to join the family in the dining room (or even around the kitchen table), they sent him a plate instead! OH! the chagrin and embarrassment that caused him! He only passed that story to one or two trusted friends, in the strictest confidence. (I only heard it second-hand years after the event from one of the confidantes - a well-known art director of the time).
That is definitely how some rich people have been: somewhat reclusive to avoid close scrutiny except by their own families or class; afraid to allow others to see how common an ordinary life they actually lead. Misers exist, that is true, but the overwhelming number of rich people are altruistic and good-hearted, wishing to see their cities or towns appear prosperous as a matter of their own social (or civic) pride. It is a bit far-fetched, perhaps, to think of how the good Jewish Rothschild family paid for the total reconstruction of (Christian) St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna at the end of WW2, but it happened, pleasing both Rothschild and Citizens. Old Vienna would not have looked or felt "right" with that huge church missing. Numerous other examples abound.
My point is that it is very easy to bash the rich, but they are human, too. If you ever stop by the Association for Visual Arts on Frazier Avenue, ask to see one of their brochures which gives a respectable listing of local businesses and Foundations which support them. Behind every one of those businesses is at least ONE LIVING PERSON who wishes to help improve our total civic environment.
Be grateful for our goodly number of wealthy people, folks, - the Library donors and others - for, rich or poor, we all share the same basic goals!
(Chester Martin is a native Chattanoogan who is a talented painter as well as local historian. He and his wife, Pat, live in Brainerd. Mr. Martin can be reached at cymppm@comcast.net )
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Friday engage with top world leaders including from Canada, Britain, Japan in a series of bilateral meets in Washington, DC on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit, where he would outline Indias roadmap and measures taken to ensure nuclear security.
He is expected to start the day with a bilateral meeting with Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau, which would be Modis first meeting with Trudeau after he was recently elected as Canadas prime minister.
This would be followed by back-to-back meetings with British Prime Minister David Cameron and Argentinian President Mauricio Macri.
Cameron is meeting Modi at a time when he is facing the prospect of job loss to some 20,000 people after Indias Tata Steel decided to sell its loss-making UK businesses.
After the three bilateral meetings, Modi would participate in the three separate sessions of the Nuclear Security Summit, which kicked off with a White House dinner on Thursday night.
The sessions are on national actions to enhance nuclear security, international and institutional actions to strengthen nuclear security and scenario-based policy discussion.
The prime minister will be outlining Indias roadmap, Indias vision and the measures India has taken to ensure nuclear safety and security, External Affairs Ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup told reporters.
Later, Modi is scheduled to meet Switzerland President Johann N Schneider-Ammann.
He would conclude his two-day trip to Washington by meeting his close friend and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Modi arrived in the United States on Thursday morning for the Nuclear Security Summit being convened by US President Barack Obama and attended by leaders from more than 50 countries, with heads of state from over 20 nations.
On Thursday, the prime minister had a bilateral meeting with his New Zealand counterpart John Key.
At the White House dinner hosted by Obama for visiting leaders, Modi in an intervention said that without prevention and prosecution of acts of terrorism, there is no deterrence against nuclear terrorism.
Interacted with world leaders at the NSS dinner at the White House. Shared my thoughts on the threat of nuclear terrorism, Modi tweeted late in the night on his return from the dinner.
Soon after his meeting with Abe, Modi would leave for a two-day state visit to Saudi Arabia.
Image: Prime Minister Narendra Modi with US President Barack Obama in Washington, DC on Thursday. Photograph: @MEAphotogallery/Flickr
The meeting between Indian and Pakistani investigators has been positive and the Pakistani side has not contradicted Indias findings in the Pathankot airbase attack probe, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Friday said.
He, however, said no date has been fixed for the visit of the Indian investigation team to the neighbouring country.
The meeting between Indian and Pakistani investigators is positive. They (Pakistani team) have not contradicted our findings, the minister of state for home told reporters.
Rijiju was replying to a question on the visit of a Pakistani Joint Investigation Team to India in the Pathankot terror case during which they recorded the statements of the witnesses.
It all went well and satisfactorily. Our agencies have done whatever was necessary, he said.
The Pakistani team was also handed over some more documents which included DNA report of the four terrorists killed in the 80-hour gun battle with security forces.
Asked when an Indian team will visit Pakistan to probe the January 2 attack on the strategic airbase, Rijiju said no date has been fixed for the visit to the neighbouring country.
Rijiju earlier had defended the decision to allow a Pakistani team to visit the Indian Air Force base to probe the terror strike saying no one should do politics on national security issues.
Congress, Aam Aadmi Party and Shiv Sena had criticised the government for allowing the Pakistani team to visit the forward airbase in Punjab.
Amidst global concerns over the safety of its nuclear weapons, Pakistan on Friday claimed that its modest nuclear programme was accident-free, unlike that of India.
Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhary, who is in Washington, DC to attend the Nuclear Security Summit, hosted by United States President Barack Obama, said that the International Atomic Energy Agency has recorded 2,734 nuclear incidents worldwide, including five in India, but not a single accident or breach happened in Pakistan, although our programme is 40 years old.
Pakistan has a modest nuclear programme with full ownership of its people, essentially for its defence and not to threaten anyone, he told reporters at the Pakistan embassy in Washington, DC.
Pakistans nuclear installations are not only secure but the world also acknowledges that they are. Pakistan has worked very hard to ensure their security. he said.
India, on the other hand, has an ambitious nuclear programme and an equally ambitious conventional weapons programme, he said, adding, We have a modest programme because we feel we have the right to defend ourselves.
Pakistan has short-range and long-range missiles, and the purpose behind both is to deter aggression, he said.
He said Pakistan was working with the international community to ensure the security of its nuclear installations, which were always in safe hands.
The National Command Authority, headed by the prime minister, is fully in charge, he said.
He said the perception created in the media that Pakistan had the fastest-growing nuclear programme was wrong, and pointed that several studies showed that India had a bigger nuclear programme.
He said Pakistans preparedness was tied to the threat posed by India and the deterrence varied accordingly. If the threat level increases we have to meet that and their conventional and nuclear levels are increasing too, he said.
The US had in February expressed concern over the security of Pakistans tactical nuclear weapons.
State Department deputy spokesman Mark Toner had said that the US was concerned both about the security of those nuclear weapons, and that has been a common refrain in our discussions with Pakistan.
The issue also figured in the US presidential debates. Two days ago, Republican frontrunner Donald Trump said that a nuclear-armed Pakistan is a very, very vital problem and that the country needs to get a hold of its situation.
A National Investigation Agency team will visit Pakistan to further probe the terror attack on the Indian Air Force base in Punjab's Pathankot earlier this year, the central agency announced on Friday.
"We told them we want to send a team to Pakistan. They have welcomed the idea," NIA Director General Sharad Kumar said.
The NIA visit to the neighbouring country follows a similar exercise by Pakistan's Joint Investigation Team, which visited Pathankot earlier this week to probe the attack on the IAF base in which seven security personnel were killed.
The Pakistani JIT on Friday concluded its six-day discussions with the NIA on the probe into the Pathankot terror attack even as the visiting officials recorded statements of witnesses and collected DNA report of slain terrorists.
On the proposal for an NIA team's visit to Pakistan, the JIT has welcomed it, saying mutually convenient dates will be worked out.
The team was given a detailed presentation on the probe conducted so far and it was taken to the crime scene in Pathankot. It has also been handed over some more documents which included DNA report of the four terrorists killed in the 80-hour gun battle with security forces.
The Pakistani team, headed by Additional Inspector General of Police, Counter Terrorism Department, Muhammad Tahir Rai and including Inter-Services Intelligence's Lt Col Tanvir Ahmed, began their day by recording the statements of witnesses in the case, National Investigation Agency sources said.
The team arrived in India on March 27.
They recorded statements of 16 witnesses, including Superintendent of Police-rank officer of Punjab Salwinder Singh, his jeweller-friend Rajesh Verma and cook Madan Gopal.
The three were kidnapped by the Pathankot attack perpetrators belonging to the banned Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed on the intervening night of December 31 and January 1.
The Pakistani JIT had asked NIA to hand over swabs of the four terrorists, identified as Nasir Hussain (Punjab province), Abu Bakar (Gujranwala) and Umar Farooq and Abdul Qayum (both from Sindh).
However, the Indian anti-terror probe agency handed over to the visitors the DNA report of the terrorists and asked them to match those with their family members, the NIA sources said.
Besides recording the statement of the three, the JIT also spoke to the caretaker of a shrine visited by Singh before he was kidnapped, policemen and residents who spotted the vehicle of the police officer after it was abandoned by the attackers.
Statements of doctors who conducted the post-mortem on the bodies were also recorded.
The JIT, which arrived in Pathankot on March 27, interacted on the case with NIA officials which included a visit to the IAF base where they were shown the scene of crime as well as the location from where the terrorists sneaked in and hid.
They also visited the spot where Ikagar Singh's vehicle was snatched, where he was murdered, and the spot from where the terrorists hijacked the SUV of SP Salwinder Singh, Kumar said, adding the route taken by the terrorists was also shown to the JIT.
"These are part of the standard legal procedure of investigation followed in both nations," he said.
On JIT's request, the NIA provided certified copies of postmortem reports, call data record, DNA reports of four terrorists and the seizure memo of articles from the scene of crime.
The Pakistan JIT was given access to 16 witnesses including Salwinder Singh, his cook, Rajesh Verma and some witnesses as per agreed terms of reference and extant legal provisions.
"The JIT informed us that they were collecting admissible evidence outside Pakistan under the provision of Section 188 of the CrPC of Pakistan, that will legally enable them to be used in prosecution," he said.
JIT was also requested to verify the various articles seized from the terrorists including arms and ammunition as mentioned in the Letters Rogatory sent earlier to Pakistan.
The NIA shared with JIT the identity and the address of the 4 terrorists and requested that the JIT confirm the same.
A day after an under-construction flyover collapsed in the city leaving at least 24 dead, the police on Friday night arrested three top officials of a Hyderabad based company which was building the flyover and slapped murder charges on them.
IMAGE: A general view of the under-construction flyover that collapsed in Kolkata, India. Photograph: Rupak De Chowdhuri/ Reuters
The 10 IVRCL detainees include a few engineers, managers and vice-president of the construction company, a Kolkata police official said.
"We are questioning them to find out what went wrong before the flyover collapsed. Strict action will be taken against them," the officer said, adding that a police team has reached Hyderabad to meet the top bosses of the company.
The state government on Friday suspended two engineers of the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority who were involved in the construction of the flyover.
IMAGE: Firefighters, soldiers and rescue workers search for victims at the site of an under-construction flyover after it collapsed in Kolkata. Photograph: Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters
"The concerned chief engineer and the concerned executive engineer of KMDA have been placed under suspension pending completion of the probe," a statement from the state secretariat 'Nabanna' said.
It also ordered immediate inspection of the remaining portion of the flyover to ascertain its stability and safety.
Police had on Thursday registered a case against the construction firm under sections 304, 308 and 407 of the IPC and sealed its local office.
Around 90 people were injured in the collapse and the condition of seven of them was stated to be "very critical".
Agencies engaged in rescue work said that there was a possibilty of a person being trapped inside a truck which is still under a girder.
IMAGE: Authorities are using cranes and heavy earth movers to dig out people from under the debris. Photograph: PTI
Armymen along with police, disaster management team, NDRF and fire brigade personnel engaged in rescue work throughout the night, pulled out three more bodies from under the rubble of concrete, a police officer said on Friday.
"Nobody alive has been rescued... Two mangled autorickshaws apart from a few other vehicles have been pulled out. One lorry is still stuck inside... Whether there is anybody trapped inside cannot be certain," he said.
About a 60-metre-long stretch of the 2.2 km flyover under construction crashed down on Thursday afternoon on a congested road intersection in Kolkata.
Forensic experts visited the site and collected samples of materials used for the construction for examination.
A day after an official of IVRCL dubbed the flyover collapse as an "act of God", IVRCL's legal team head P Sita said, "It is an accident". She also did not rule out sabotage.
"An act of God was just an expression only to describe that it is under no one's control," she told reporters in Hyderabad.
IMAGE: Relatives of a person injured in the flyover collapse crying at a city hospital in Kolkata. Photograph: PTI
Showing a photograph of the mishap site published in a newspaper, she said that it looked like a site of bomb blast. There were various aspects which should be looked into.
Sita also said, "...100 per cent no issues with regard to quality. It is the same material, as was used to construct the 59 sections earlier with approval, with which the 60th section (which collapsed) was built ... Unfortunately it collapsed."
The West Bengal government has already ordered a high-level probe into the incident that triggered a blame game with the Opposition accusing the Mamata Banerjee government of callousness.
Trinamool Congress and the BJP were engaged in a slanging match after Union Minister M A Naqvi accused the state government of "criminal negligence" in relief work, which the TMC described as "cheap politics".
Naqvi, Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, said that the TMC government showed "criminal negligence" in ensuring relief work and engaging in a "competition on corruption" with the previous Left Front government which resulted in the flyover collapse.
IMAGE: A rescue worker cuts iron rods amidst the debris at the site of an under-construction flyover that collapsed on Thursday in Kolkata. Photograph: Rupak De Chowdhuri/ Reuters
TMC national spokesperson Derek O' Brien termed Naqvi's statements as "cheap politics" in the election season.
"Just saw a BJP Minister's statement. Reeks of cheap politics in election season. Army came at state's request. Army belongs to nation, not the BJP," Brien said.
Naqvi also reiterated the party's demand for a CBI probe into the collapse.
Meanwhile, a senior police officer said, "The main road crossing near Ganesh Talkies would hopefully be cleared by Saturday. But the rest like the iron piers, iron pillars, broken concrete parts will be cleared in a step-by-step process."
KMDA had entered into a joint venture with IVRCL for constructing the 2.2-km-long Vivekananda Road flyover in north Kolkata.
Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd has been assigned the task of removing the collapsed spans on Kali Krishna Tagore Road, the statement from state secretariat said.
The statement said 62 families in neighbouring houses have been requested to vacate their premises temporarily to enable the safe removal of the collapsed span.
More than two dozen countries in the world have nuclear power, but only a few have nuclear weapons or are suspected of pursuing nuclear weapons, a latest report by the Federation of American Scientists has revealed.
The United States, Russia and the United Kingdom are reducing their warhead inventories, but the pace of reduction is slowing compared to the past 25 years. France and Israel have relatively stable inventories, while China, Pakistan, India and North Korea are increasing their warhead inventories.
We bring forth to our readers the list of nations sitting on a nuclear stockpile, based on the study findings:
1) RUSSIA
IMAGE: Within the next decade, all Soviet-era nuclear weapon systems will be phased out and replaced with new ones. All photographs: Reuters
Estimated warheads: 7,300
Operational: 1,790
Reserve: 2,700
First test: 1949
Last test: 1990
Total tests: 715
In addition to the 4,490 in the military stockpile, an estimated 2,800 retired warheads are estimated to be awaiting dismantlement. Details are scarce, but Russia is dismantling approximately 500 retired warheads per year, according to the report.
2) United States
IMAGE: In the previous two decades, the US approach to modernisations mainly consisted of upgrading existing weapons instead of fielding new or significantly enhanced types.
Estimated Warheads: 7,650
Operational: 2,150
Reserve: 2,500
First test: 1945
Most recent test: 1992
Total tests: 1,054
The US government declared in April 2015 that its stockpile included 4,717 warheads as of September 2014. Since then, a small number of warheads are thought to have been retired.
In addition to the roughly 4,670 warheads in the military stockpile, the US government in April 2015 announced that approximately 2,500 retired warheads at that time were awaiting dismantlement.
3) France
IMAGE: France is in the final phase of a comprehensive modernisation of its nuclear forces intended to extend the arsenal into the 2050s.
Estimated warheads: 300
Operational: 280
First test: 1960
Most recent test: 1996
Total tests: 210
Only weapons for Frances single aircraft carrier are not considered deployed, although it is possible that warhead loadings on some submarines missiles have been reduced.
It seems likely, however, that in addition to the operational stockpile of warheads deployed on ballistic missiles and in storage facilities with operational forces, a small number of additional warheads are present in the maintenance cycle of the industrial complex either as new warheads, warheads undergoing repairs, or retired warheads awaiting dismantlement, according to the report.
4) China
IMAGE: China is the only member of the P5 that is increasing its nuclear arsenal, albeit slowly.
Estimated warheads: 260
Operational: Unknown
First test: 1964
Most recent test: 1996
Total tests: 45
China is thought to have several hundred warheads, far less than the 1,600-3,000 that have been suggested by some. None of the warheads are thought to be fully deployed but kept in storage under central control.
The existence of a Chinese non-strategic nuclear arsenal is uncertain. The Chinese arsenal is increasing with production of new warheads for DF-31/31A and JL-2 missiles.
5) United Kingdom
IMAGE: The current stockpile of approximately 225 British nuclear weapons is scheduled to decline to about 180 by the mid-2020s.
Estimated Warheads: 215
Operational: 120
Reserve: 95
First test: 1952
Most recent test: 1991
Total Tests: 45
The UK has lowered the number of warheads on submarines from 48 to 40. This has lowered the number of operationally available warheads from 160 to 120.
By the mid-2020s, the stockpile will be reduced to not more than 180. This reduction is already underway.
6) Israel
IMAGE: The Israeli nuclear arsenal appears to be relatively steady in size but is also rumored to be undergoing modernisation.
Estimated Warheads: 80
First test: No confirmed test
Most recent test: No confirmed test
Total tests: No confirmed test
Although the Israeli government neither confirms nor denies that it possesses nuclear weapons, it is generally accepted by friend and foe alike that Israel is a nuclear-armed state and has been so for nearly half a century.
Israel has produced enough plutonium for 100-200 warheads, but the number of delivery platforms and estimates made by the US intelligence community suggest that the stockpile might include approximately 80 warheads.
7) Pakistan
IMAGE: Pakistan has, for its size, the world's most quickly expanding nuclear arsenal.
Estimated Warheads: 110-130
Operational: 0
First test: 1998
Most recent test: 1998
Total tests: 6
Pakistan has a nuclear weapons stockpile of 110 to 130 warheads, an increase from an estimated 90 to 110 warheads in 2011.
With several delivery systems in development, four operating plutonium production reactors, and uranium facilities, the countrys stockpile will likely increase over the next 10 years, but by how much will depend on many things. Two key factors will be how many nuclear-capable launchers Islamabad plans to deploy, and how much the Indian nuclear arsenal grows.
None of Pakistans warheads are thought to be deployed but kept in central storage, most in the southern parts of the country. More warheads are in production.
8) India
IMAGE: India is entering an important new phase of its nuclear modernization program with development of longer-range missiles focussed on targetting China.
Estimated Warheads: 100-120
Operational: 0
First test: 1974
Most recent test: 1998
Total tests: 6
With several long-range ballistic missiles in development, the Indian nuclear posture is entering an important new phase. After nearly two decades of focusing on nuclear competition with Pakistan, New Delhi seems to now be paying attention to its future strategic relationship with China.
India is estimated to have produced approximately 540 kilograms of weapon-grade plutonium, enough for 135 to 180 nuclear warheads, though not all of that material is being used.
9) North Korea
IMAGE: Little is known about the nuclear capability of North Korea's military forces.
Estimated Warheads: Unknown
First test: 2006
Most recent test: January 6, 2016 (claimed)
Total tests: 3
Despite three North Korean nuclear tests, there is no publicly available evidence that North Korea has miniaturised and operationalised its nuclear weapons capability.
A 2013 world survey by the US Air Force National Air and Space Intelligence Center did not credit any of North Koreas ballistic missiles with any nuclear capability.
Here's a chart that explains the the estimated nuclear warhead inventories
It seems nobody is ready to take the responsibility of a tragedy that killed at least 25 people and injured more than twice that number. Given the fact that the West Bengal is going to polls next month, it was expected that the opposition parties will come down heavily on the Mamata Banerjee government after the Kolkata flyover collapse.
However, the way the chief minister responded to the allegations levelled by the Opposition, and the way the contractors building the flyover refused to consider themselves responsible for the mishap was saddening.
Heres a list of a few remarks which added to the anguish of people in the aftermath of the tragedy.
Rescue operations going on at the spot where an under-construction flyover collapsed on Vivekananda Road in Kolkata on Friday. Photogrpah: PTI Photo
It's an accident, how can we fix responsibility?
We are also shocked that flyover collapsed and want to know why it happened. This is an accident, how can we fix responsibility on someone, P Sita, the legal team head of IVRCL, the company building the flyover, said on Friday.
She added that the incident was not a case of negligence. The material used in constructing 59 pillars was used in the 60th pillar also. Unfortunately, it collapsed, he said.
God is responsible, not us
Its nothing but a Gods act, was how a senior official of IVRCL reacted after the collapse. Its nothing but a Gods act. So far in 27 years, we have constructed several number of bridges...such accident never happened, K Panduranga Rao, group head (human resource and admin) of the Hyderabad-based company said.
Not a quality issue
Another IVCRL official denied any quality or technical issue as the cause behind the incident. Its not due to any quality issue, nor any technical issue, as of now, director
(operations),A G K Murty said. Murty said that 70 per cent of work on construction of the flyover had been completed, and on Thursday 60th slab was being done (when it collapsed).
Knew nothing about the tender: CM
In response to the allegations levelled by the Opposition, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said the previous Left Front government, during whose rule the construction of the flyover began, was responsible for the collapse. The tender was awarded during the Left rule. We did not know anything about it, the CM said.
Unfair to blame us
Trinamool Congress MP Sudip Bandopadhyay said its unfair to blame the party. He said it was not an MP's responsibility to see bridge built.
The woman says she worked closely with the former TERI chief for four months in 2008
In more embarrassment for former The Energy and Resources Institute boss R K Pachauri, a European woman who claimed to be his former secretary, has now accused him of sexual harassment, after two women who worked at the environment think tank levelled similar charges against him.
In a letter to well-known advocate Vrinda Grover, who is representing the complainant in the sexual harassment case against the eminent environmentalist, the woman said she had worked at TERI as Pachauris secretary in 2008. She had contacted Grover in February 2015 after she came to know of an FIR against Pachauri in a sexual harassment case.
When contacted, Pachauri refused to comment but his lawyer Ashish Dixit termed it as a conspiracy to defame his client and questioned why every time such a case came up it was Grover who gave statements and there were no police complaints.
Grover sent to media houses the statement of the woman who said, I remember that in the third week of February 2015, I had read some news reports which said that an employee of TERI had filed a criminal complaint against R K Pachauri for sexually harassing her.
On reading these news reports, I was 0 per cent surprised. I can very much relate to what the other women wrote in her statement.
The woman, who claimed she was 19 when Pachauri harassed her, will be represented by Grover and another lawyer Ratna Appnender.
Appnender said that although the police was informed about the statement and told that the woman was ready to present herself before them, they did not make any effort to contact her.
The woman, whose exact nationality was not revealed, said she noticed a big difference in the way Pachauri behaved with her and Indian men with whom he maintained a polite distance.
When contacted, Pachauri said,Please talk to my lawyer Ashish Dixit. My lawyer will speak on the subject.
Dixit said, It is a conspiracy by Vrinda Grover to defame Pachauri. Everytime a woman is said to make allegations, it is only to press, not to police or court.
Why is that every woman comes and reports to Vrinda Grover. There is some conspiracy. It only happens when there is some court hearing. There is a matter coming up. To prejudice the judges these types of reports are aired, he said.
The serious question is why every girl who has no identity approaches Grover and she is the one who gives statement to media. Is there no police or no court, he said.
The woman alleged that the tipping point came when Pachauri asked her to join him at his summer residence outside Delhi which is when she spoke out and asked him to be more professional towards him after which she was transferred to another department of TERI.
I left New Delhi a few weeks after that. During these weeks I spoke quite openly about my experience and I found out from many sources that this was nothing new and that Pachauri has been involved in many similar situations, she said.
She said that her contract, which was for a period of one year, was abruptly terminated after a period of just four months and, after the termination, she did not think there was any point in contesting it. I also felt very relieved that I would not have to face Pachauris sexual harassment any longer. I left New Delhi a few weeks after this and returned to Europe, she said.
Amid mounting outrage over Pachauris conduct following allegations of sexual harassment by a TERI woman employee, in connection with which he is facing a court case, another former employee of the think tank had in February made similar accusations against him.
Pachauri quit as chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change after the case was registered against him.
There is sufficient evidence against Pachauri that he sexually harassed, stalked and threatened his former woman colleague, the Delhi Police had said in its chargesheet filed before a court early this month.
Photograph: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
A war of words erupted on Friday over the flyover collapse between the Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party with Union Minister M A Naqvi accusing the state government of criminal negligence, which the TMC described it as cheap politics.
Naqvi, union minister of state for parliamentary affairs, said that the TMC government showed criminal negligence in ensuring relief work and engaging in a competition on corruption with the previous Left Front government which had resulted in the flyover collapse claiming 24 lives.
TMC national spokesperson Derek O Brien termed Naqvis statements as cheap politics in the election season.
The chief minister and the ruling Trinamool Congress have indulged in petty politics of accusing the previous Left Front government. It is not the time to accuse the previous government. If the previous Left Front government had indulged in corruption, then why didnt the TMC government stop it after coming to power? It seems a competition on corruption was on between the two. And the flyover collapse is a result of it, Naqvi told reporters.
We feel that the state government was casual in its approach in conducting the relief work. Had they been more pro-active, the relief work could have started much earlier. It is a clear case of criminal negligence on the part of the state government, Naqvi said.
Brien countered Naqvis comment by saying that the army belongs to the nation and not to the BJP.
Just saw a BJP ministers statement. Reeks of cheap politics in election season. army came at states request. army belongs to nation, not the BJP, Brien said.
The death toll in the tragedy rose to 25 as more bodies were recovered from under the debris of concrete and iron girders. About a 60-metre portion of the flyover under construction came down a little after Thursday afternoon.
Naqvi also reiterated the demand for a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the collapse.
We feel that a CBI inquiry should be ordered in order to book the culprits. All the culprits, however big they may be, should be arrested. The state should request for a CBI inquiry. This incident is a clear case of rampant corruption in the construction of the bridge, Naqvi said.
Tennessee Highway Patrol Sergeant Jeff Reed, of the Lawrenceburg District, is being hailed as a hero, after rescuing a woman and two children Thursday night.
The Giles County area experienced a severe weather event, consisting of high winds and strong rains. The THP dispatchers alerted Sgt. Reed that US Highway 31 in Giles County was flooded and there were vehicles in the area. The sergeant proceeded directly to the area and noticed that a vehicle was trapped in deep water with a lady waving her hands frantically out the window.
Sergeant Reed waded through approximately four feet of water to get to the vehicle. Once he reached the vehicle he removed a baby, young boy and a woman from the water-trapped vehicle to safety. Officials said, "The actions displayed by Sergeant Reed were heroic in a time of imminent crisis." Sergeant Reed said, I was just doing my job and trying to help them.
Colonel Tracy Trott said, This was an outstanding job, there is no doubt that Sergeant Reed saved lives last night! Im very proud of his actions and his reaction to duty before self. He is a tremendous representation of our department and I am very proud to serve with him.
Commissioner Bill Gibbons said, In such turbulent times where law enforcement face extreme challenges daily it is an honor to be affiliated with men/women like Sergeant Reed.
Kazakhstan: Good Friday in Almaty
Publisher Forum 18 Author Felix Corley Publication Date 31 March 2016 Cite as Forum 18, Kazakhstan: Good Friday in Almaty, 31 March 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fe102a4.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.
Police and officers of other security agencies raided 11 church premises and homes of the leaders of New Life Pentecostal Church in Kazakhstan's commercial capital Almaty on 25 March, the day the Church was commemorating Good Friday. This was the first the Church knew of a criminal case of alleged large-scale fraud opened against it in May 2015. The criminal investigation follows alleged complaints from individuals "about the fraudulent appropriation by the pastors of the local religious organisation of large financial sums, as well as moveable and immoveable property, received under the guise of offerings", police claimed in a statement. "We're not fraudsters," one church member told Forum 18 News Service following the raids. "On the contrary, we help people. We've been working here in Kazakhstan for 26 years." Asked by Forum 18 if any other criminal cases have been opened against the Church, Adet Doskeyev of the city's Religious Affairs Department responded: "It's a secret."
The Lee University chapter of Alpha Chi, an upperclassmen honor society, will host its annual Academic Showcase on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. in the Jones Lecture Hall, located in the School of Religion.
The Academic Showcase is something that I look forward to each year, said Dr. Tom Pope, sponsor for Lees Alpha Chi chapter. It is one of the few times that we have the opportunity to observe what excellent scholarship looks like within the various disciplines offered at Lee. Our students are incredibly talented and this is a rare chance to witness the fruits of their labor firsthand.
Each year, students from across Lees campus submit academic and artistic work to be considered for the showcase. Students then present their work in front of their peers and a panel of faculty judges. The winners are chosen based on a combination of audience votes and judge choices.
While the judges deliberate, the audience will be treated to an address from this years guest speaker Dr. Randy Wood, chair of the Department of History, Political Science, and Humanities.
Academic Showcase not only provides practical experience for studentsespecially those wanting to go into grad schoolbut is also an exciting opportunity to share one's research and abilities in front of professors and peers, said Eliza Wells, president of Lees Alpha Chi chapter. Alpha Chi's mission is to promote 'academic excellence and exemplary character,' and the showcase creates a space for both of those things to happen.
Cash prizes will be awarded for first, second, and third place presenters in the academic category and for first and second place in the artistic category.
Alpha Chi is a coeducational academic honor society which accepts the top 10 percent of juniors, seniors, and graduate students at those colleges and universities that have a chapter. The society was established in 1922 in order to promote academic excellence and exemplary character among college and university students and to honor those who achieve such distinction.
The event is free, non-ticketed, and open to the public. For more information about Alpha Chi, visit www.alphachihonor.org.
For more information about the Academic Showcase, contact thomaspope@leeuniversity.edu.
Security Council calls for regional solutions to challenges facing Africa's Great Lakes nations
Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 31 March 2016 Cite as UN News Service, Security Council calls for regional solutions to challenges facing Africa's Great Lakes nations, 31 March 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fe136e40d.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.
31 March 2016 - The Security Council today expressed regret over the limited progress in implementing national and regional commitments under the peace, security and cooperation framework for Africa's Great Lakes region, stressing that signatory States must carry out those obligations in order to achieve lasting peace.
Adopting a Presidential Statement, the 15-nation Council spotlighted, among other things, cross-border issues, including the large flows of natural resources, migrants and refugees, as well as the activities of armed groups and criminal networks in and around the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Solutions to the prevailing situation in the Great Lakes region should come within a regional perspective, by addressing the root causes of conflicts, many of which are regional in nature, the Council underscored.
The Council expressed grave concern over the continued illicit exploitation of natural resources and their trade in the eastern DRC, urging coordinated efforts by the signatory States of the Peace, Security and Cooperation (PSC) Framework, regional organizations and the international community to undercut the economic lifelines of armed groups benefitting from those activities.
Today's adoption of the text followed the 21 March Council open debate on the prevention and resolution of conflicts in the Great Lakes region, held under Angola's presidency for the month.
On the security front, the Council reiterated the importance of neutralizing all armed groups in country's eastern part, particularly the Forces Democratiques de Liberation du Rwanda (FDLR), Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and the various Mai Mai groups, in accordance with resolution 2277 (2016).
Noting the announcement of the resumption of joint military operations between the DRC's Government and the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in DRC (MONUSCO), the Council called for immediate restart of such activities in earnest to completely neutralize those armed groups.
Turning to the political front, the Council urged regional support for initiatives aimed at promoting inclusive dialogue amongst national stakeholders and stressed the importance of enabling the full and free participation of peaceful political parties, civil society and the media in the political process.
The Great Lakes region includes Burundi and Rwanda as well as Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.
While welcoming the credible and peaceful conduct of elections in some States in the region, the Council noted that the recent and ongoing electoral processes in other States raise deep concerns about the risk of instability, human rights and humanitarian law violations and abuses, and further displacement of people.
The Council called on States in the region to take steps to ensure that electoral processes promote peace and security through timely, peaceful, inclusive and credible elections.
UN tribunal acquits Vojislav Seselj of war crimes in the Balkans
Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 31 March 2016 Cite as UN News Service, UN tribunal acquits Vojislav Seselj of war crimes in the Balkans, 31 March 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fe141340c.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.
31 March 2016 - The United Nations tribunal for the former Yugoslavia today acquitted Vojislav Seselj of war crimes and crimes against humanity in connection with actions committed by the Serbian forces between August 1991 and September 1993.
Mr. Seselj was accused of having directly committed, incited, aided and abetted those crimes and to have been part of their commission through his participation in a joint criminal enterprise, according to the trial judgement.
He had faced three counts of crimes against humanity, including persecution, deportation and inhumane act of forcible transfer, and six counts of war crimes, which comprise of murder, torture and cruel treatment, and destruction, among others.
The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) cleared Mr. Seselj of all the charges but the decision was not unanimous.
The Majority, led by presiding Judge Jean-Claude Antonetti, found that the Prosecution had failed to prove the existence of a criminal purpose, which is required to convict someone of participation in a joint criminal enterprise.
In her partially dissenting opinion , Judge Fkavua Lattanzi wrote that that the Majority failed to take into consideration the climate of intimidation to which Mr. Seselj subjected the witnesses, and claimed that there was ample evidence that a joint criminal enterprise existed with the purpose to force the non-Serbs, through the perpetration of crimes, to leave parts of the territory of the former Yugoslavia.
Reacting to the verdict, the Prosecutor in the case, Serge Brammertz told UN Radio Russian that the acquittal would upset some people but please others.
We see, that the circumstances which led to the creation of the Tribunal, are increasingly viewed with nationalistic and politicized positions, he said.
The parties have a right to appeal the verdict.
The Court's decision comes one week after the conviction of Radovan Karadzi, on charges related to 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.
Virtual Tour of Courtroom I
Republic of Congo: End wave of opposition arrests following the Presidential elections
Publisher Amnesty International Publication Date 31 March 2016 Cite as Amnesty International, Republic of Congo: End wave of opposition arrests following the Presidential elections, 31 March 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fe16b44.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.
Authorities in the Republic of Congo should release political opponents detained for peaceful criticism of the recent elections, put an end to arbitrary arrests and detentions, and avoid any repression of peaceful protest, human rights organisations Amnesty International, Observatoire Congolais des Droits de l'Homme (OCDH), Association pour les Droits de l'Homme et l'Univers Carceral (ADHUC), and Rencontre pour la Paix et les Droits de l'Homme (RPDH) said today.
Since the results of the 20 March Presidential election in Republic of Congo were rejected by the opposition, the Congolese authorities have conducted a series of arrests against leading opposition figures, including senior campaign officials of candidates Jean-Marie Michel Mokoko and Okombi Salissa, accusing them of compromising national security.
"The arrest and detention of those involved in peaceful protest violates the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. Anyone imprisoned on this basis should be released immediately", said Stephen Cockburn, Deputy Regional Director for Amnesty International in West and Central Africa.
The arrests also came ahead of Tuesday's 'ville morte' protest in which opposition parties called for citizens to stay at home and not go to work. There has been a heavy presence of security forces in towns and cities across Congo since the elections.
Those arrested include Jean Ngouabi, Anatole Limbongo Ngoka. Christine Moyen and Dieudonne Dhird from Jean-Marie Michel Mokoko's campaign team, and Raymond Ebonga and Serge Blanchard Oba from the campaign team of Okombi Salissa. All of those arrested are currently being held at the 'Direction General de surveillance du territoire' (DGST) in Brazzaville, and none have had access to their families or lawyers.
Other activists and protestors have also been arrested and detained, including those arrested by security forces when opposition candidates attempted to hold a press conference in Brazzaville on 25 March. In Pointe Noire at least 10 young activists have been arrested since the elections.
The human rights organisations have also called on authorities to respect the right to peaceful protest. In particular, they must ensure there is no repeat of excessive force against demonstrators, such as that seen in October 2015 when security forces killed at least 18 people involved in demonstrations against a referendum to change the country's constitution.
"There will be no sustainable solution to Congo's political crisis if the rights to freedom of expression and assembly are repressed. The authorities must rein in the security forces to avoid the arbitrary, abusive and deadly force that characterised the repression of the October demonstrations. Instead of trying to crush nonviolent dissent, they should uphold their duty to respect and facilitate peaceful protest," said Tresor Nzila, Executive Director of OCDH.
The elections were held on 20 March under a total communications blackout, with telephone and internet connections cut. A number of leading political figures, including Paulin Makaya, leader of 'Unis Pour le Congo' (UPC), and Serge Matsoule, Federal Secretary for 'Convention d'action pour la democratie et le developpement' (CADD), were also arrested ahead of the elections and remain in detention.
"The authorities should respect the right to information, which means guaranteeing unhindered access to telecommunications, especially during key periods in public life. The State should also guarantee a peaceful environment, and political leaders should prioritize dialogue over force", said Christian Mounzeo, President of RPDH
Amnesty International attempted to travel to Republic of Congo before the elections to monitor the human rights situation, but was refused entry at the border, despite possessing the right visas and official invitations. The organization was told that its presence in the country was undesirable in the election context.
Copyright notice: Copyright Amnesty International
Hard Work, Low Pay for Afghan Wool Workers
Publisher Institute for War and Peace Reporting Author Sodaba Ahrari Publication Date 27 March 2016 Citation / Document Symbol ARR 541 Cite as Institute for War and Peace Reporting, Hard Work, Low Pay for Afghan Wool Workers, 27 March 2016, ARR 541, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fe19034.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.
Fatima, 60, works in a grimy, reeking basement cleaning sheep wool from seven am until four pm each day.
She separates the brown, white and black fibres, known as karakul, with hands that are covered in wounds and scratches. As she works, she covers her nose and mouth with her scarf to block out the dust and odour from the wool, as well as the noxious fumes of the chemical agents she uses to clean it.
"I am in this dust from morning to late afternoon, and the wool's bad smell really bothers me. But I have no other choice but to work here, otherwise, who will pay for my needs and support my grandsons?" she asked.
At her age, Fatima continued, she needed some rest. But she could not afford to retire, even though she only earned two dollars a day, wages she complains are too low considering the miserable conditions she has to endure.
"I can't talk to my boss about my wages," Fatima said. "If I do, I will get fired. And then I will go hungry."
Herat's karakul industry employs up to 400 women who must endure poor conditions, long hours and low wages. Officials say that factory owners are exploiting their overwhelmingly female workforce, while employers argue that they are providing work to needy women at a time of rampant unemployment in Afghanistan.
Ghulam Sideeq Nazari, deputy head of the Nazari Company, manages a karakul processing factory in Herat province.
He agreed that the work was hard and the wages low, although he added that employees received two free meals a day.
"At least this way we provide these women with work," he said. "Although we understand their economic problems, we cannot afford to pay them more."
Human rights officials say that the situation has been made worse due to the lack of an official minimum wage.
Abdul Qahar Rahimi, head of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) in Heart, said that the government needed to tackle this issue.
"Unfortunately, we do not have a mechanism to calculate [fair] wages and pay the labourers on hourly basis. Therefore employers exploit their authority and the economic needs of their staff to squeeze the labourers," he said.
It was very hard to intervene in such situations, Rahimi continued, adding, "The department of labour and social affairs should try harder in this area to improve employment conditions."
However, Wakeel Ahmad Sohail - head of the provincial department for labour, social affairs, martyrs and the disabled - said they were doing all they could.
"We have held meetings with managers to explain the labour law and give them advice," he said, lamenting that his department lacked the power to implement the law itself.
As well as long hours and poor wages, workers face risks to their health, he continued, adding, "Hard labour, night shifts and work that endangers health and is carried out in basements are the jobs for which, according to law, women cannot be hired."
Health authorities say that few employers took the trouble to minimise risk to their employees.
Mohammad Asif Kabeer, acting head of Herat's department of public health, said that karakul processing could lead to problems including skin diseases and tuberculosis.
"Those who work in karakul cleaning and similar places face many health risks," he said.
One worker, Kareema, is well aware of the dangers associated with handling with sheep's wool. But she said that she had no choice but to continue working.
"This work caused me to develop tuberculosis," Kareema explained. "I can't breathe properly as I walk, even now. But what can I do?"
Afghan labour law mandates that employers need to provide "proper clothing, special shoes, masks, glasses, gloves, and other necessary protective work equipment" for free in environments where this is required.
Nazari, the manager of a Karak factory in Herat, said that they did make some safety equipment available but that workers chose not to use it.
"It is true to say that we do not provide employees with gloves, because then they cannot work properly," he said. "However, they are provided with other equipment for their use like masks. We fired four women workers [for not wearing masks] some days ago."
Provincial council member Sakeena Hosaini rejected such claims, arguing that factory inspectors had found no sign of any safety measures.
"When we visited and asked the labourers, we unfortunately found that these firms have not budgeted even one Afghani to buy masks and other equipment."
Women's rights activist Tahira Sajadi said that the government was not fulfilling its responsibilities to women, which included facilitating employment.
"Women's economic burdens are among the reasons that employers can abuse them," she said.
Sajadi said that rights activists had been prevented from researching working conditions at karakul processing firms.
"When we make arrangements to meet the labourers, ahead of time employers threaten their workers that if they complain to us they will be fired. This is why they can't share their problems with us."
The hundreds of women cleaning karakul each day in Herat have little hope that their situations will improve.
Lal Bibi, 60, said that she was struggling to work each day, despite her ill health, because she did not have the time or sufficient funds to seek medical treatment.
"I earn two dollars a day, and this is why I have not been able to visit a doctor," she said.
"For the last few months I have had difficulty breathing, and coughing doesn't help either. I get weaker and weaker by the day," Lal Bibi, continued. "God knows that I am not well enough to work."
Copyright notice: Institute for War & Peace Reporting
Central Asian Migrants Face Prejudice in Russia
Publisher Institute for War and Peace Reporting Publication Date 22 March 2016 Citation / Document Symbol RCA 784 Cite as Institute for War and Peace Reporting, Central Asian Migrants Face Prejudice in Russia , 22 March 2016, RCA 784, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fe1aa74.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.
There are some three million registered labour migrants in Russia, largely from the former Soviet Union. They form an important part of the labour market but domestic attitudes toward these workers are often negative, fed by rhetoric in the media and from public officials.
The case of an Uzbek nanny accused of beheading a four-year-old girl in Moscow last January will only exacerbate these tensions, according to Vladimir Mukomel, head of the department for the research of migration and integration at the Institute of Sociology of Russian Academy of Sciences.
Gulchehra Bobokulova told a court last month that "Allah" had ordered her to kill the child and take her severed head to a Moscow metro station.
Although Russian media has played down the incident, Mukomel told IWPR that the consequences could be grave.
IWPR: What is the common image of a migrant in Russia?
Mukomel: Crimes and acts of violence committed by foreign nationals are no more common than those committed by Russian citizens.
[However,] journalists paint the portrait of a migrant, and usually it's a negative one. Whenever migrants and other foreign nationals appear in the news, it's most likely in stories of them committing crimes and rapes.
The media forms public opinion, yet they are not alone. The speeches of public figures and representatives of public authorities also add to this portrait. And sometimes we can observe how public figures engage in xenophobic statements that are offensive to immigrants. Recalling the mayoral campaign in Moscow in the summer of 2013, the rhetoric of all candidates was xenophobic. They knew quite well that the population would support such statements.
Unfortunately, the population is economically illiterate and does not realise how [much] migrant workers contribute to the Russian economy.
Bobokulova was arrested wearing hijab and shouting Islamic statements. Has the incident stirred up Islamophobia in Russian society?
If we talk about social networks on the internet, the case certainly became a way of stirring anti-Muslim and anti-ISIS sentiment.
This story was not broadcast by mainstream TV channels for a few days after the tragedy. This may be because the authorities truly feared the growth of xenophobia and social tensions in Russian society, as no one knows where this may lead.
Right now it is unlikely that the authorities would be interested in attracting attention and raising any issues of internal political life of Russia. Instead, it is easier to eliminate all the topic of migrants from the media and focus on foreign policy topics: Ukraine, Syria, Turkey. This is what has been done for the past one-and-a-half years. That is what we observe on Russian channels every day.
How do you think the case will affect how migrant workers are seen in Russian society?
There is no doubt that it will reflect [on the migrants] in the most negative way I think that after this incident the situation will only get worse. There could be organised attacks on migrants. This might also be reflected in the attitude of ordinary Russians toward the migrants they meet in their everyday life; in markets, shops, in the streets or anywhere else. It is very likely that the migrants will feel some tension.
Despite the fact that the mainstream [TV] media is trying not to focus on the case, such issues are nevertheless addressed in social networks with claims that 'they', the migrants, are different from 'us' and 'they' do such things.
Currently Central Asian citizens, except from Turkmenistan, can enter Russia without a visa. Instead, they are required to register with the police after a certain period of time. What is your take on calls for a new visa regime to be instituted?
This is a senseless measure that does not solve any problem, regardless of how it is formulated.
If it is regarding the fact that this measure will somehow make the flow of migrants more transparent, then there is no need for it. Migrants [from Uzbekistan and Tajikistan] arrive with their foreign passports anyway. [Kazakstan and Kyrgyzstan are members of the Moscow-led Eurasian Economic Union, so their citizens can enter Russia with ID-cards]
Second, it is also unlikely that this measure will decrease the influx of migrants. The reason is simple: those who want to come will come.
The third factor is that we do not take into account the fact that a significant portion of migrant workers are a temporary work force. According to one of our major studies, one-third of foreign migrant workers do not leave Russia within 14 months of arriving. For instance, Tajik migrants are mainly employed in trade. And these are the jobs where an employer is interested in workers' permanence. A decent job requires constant presence. Migrants take leave at the end of the year and go back home, spending one or two months there, then come back again.
[If a visa regime is ever implemented] at first, all of these procedures will hinder the influx of migrants, but later everything will go back to the way it was. Not to mention the corruption component of this measure. It is clear that there is a huge sum of money at stake for state employees in both the sending and the receiving side.
What is the current demand for migrant workers in the Russian labour market?
Migrant labour is just as much demand in Russia as it was a year ago or even five years ago. Another issue is that the labour market itself is dynamically changing. The devaluation of the ruble has made it less profitable to work in Russia. In my opinion, the recent drop in the number of migrants from Central Asia is not very significant, in the range of 10-15 per cent. I think that migrants are responding to this crisis in the same way that they responded to the crisis of 2007-2009. Considering that it is quite difficult to find a job back home and wages are [still] significantly lower compared to Russia, some migrants try to wait out this period, while others go home and then return to Russia anyway.
The migration legislation has changed. Legalising one's labor activity now involves obtaining additional documents: confirmation of Russian language skills, medical insurance, etc.
Tajik migrants, in particular, seem especially vulnerable to unfair treatment by Russian law enforcement agencies. Why is that?
Unfortunately, Tajik labour migrants often face not only unfair treatment, but also humiliation and direct extortion by law enforcement agencies. However, Tajik migrants are not an exception. I know of cases where Belarusian workers, who do not need any permits for labour activity on the territory of Russia, experienced the same problems. Any foreigner from a former Soviet state could face these problems. This is a matter for the public authorities. This problem is linked to the fact that the work of the police is not sufficiently supervised by state authorities. And unfortunately, civil society institutions cannot carry out this level of surveillance.
If we had a well-honed judicial system, where foreign citizens could make an appeal on violation of the law by the authorities and representatives of the state, this phenomenon would not likely be as prevalent as it is today. Unfortunately, we have problems not only with the judicial system, but also with the procedures of access to the system by foreign nationals.
How effective are human rights organisations protecting the rights of labour migrants? What are the challenges they face?
The majority of organisations dealing with migrants are pointless. There are some successful groups that exist thanks to enthusiasm of their leaders and foreign funding. The main problem faced by these organisations is a lack of stable funding and a consequent lack of skilled staff such as lawyers and social workers.
Copyright notice: Institute for War & Peace Reporting
Explaining Azerbaijan's Surprise Prisoner Amnesty
Publisher Institute for War and Peace Reporting Author Afgan Mukhtarli Publication Date 22 March 2016 Citation / Document Symbol CRS 810 Cite as Institute for War and Peace Reporting, Explaining Azerbaijan's Surprise Prisoner Amnesty, 22 March 2016, CRS 810, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fe1baf4.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.
Analysts say that a mass prisoner amnesty in Azerbaijan may be intended as a concession ahead of President Ilham Aliyev's upcoming visit to the US, where Congress is considering sanctions against senior regime figures.
More than a dozen political prisoners were among the 148 detainees pardoned by a presidential decree signed on March 17, on the eve of the spring Novruz holiday.
They included the prominent human rights defenders Anar Mammadi and Rasul Jafarov as well as figures from the opposition Musavat party including deputy chairman Tofig Yagublu.
International bodies including the European Union and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) welcomed the amnesty.
"This is a positive, welcome step by Azerbaijan in relation to the countrys OSCE commitments," said Michael Georg Link, director of the organisation's office for democratic institutions and human rights, in a March 19 press release.
But Link noted that many other human rights defenders were still at risk.
"I would call on the authorities to review the cases of others either currently imprisoned or under such restrictive orders, including Intigam Aliyev, Khadija Ismayilova, Ilgar Mammadov and Ilkin Rustamzada," he said.
Four members of the NIDA youth organisation - Rashadat Akhundov, Mammad Azizov, Rashad Hasanov and Omar Mammadov - were also freed.
NIDA board member Ulvi Hasanli said that while he was delighted by the release of his colleagues, much more remained to be done.
"There is a need for fundamental changes in the country, freedom of assembly, the media Arresting people on false charges, then to pardon them after five to six years and release them cannot be considered an example of humanitarianism," Hasanli told IWPR.
Repression has been on the rise ever since the last presidential election in October 2013. Dissenting journalists, rights activists and opposition politicians have been harassed or imprisoned, while international NGOs have had to close their offices.
Many in the West have condemned these measures. In mid-December, Republican lawmaker Chris Smith introduced a landmark bill in the House of Representatives that would deny US visas to senior members of the Azerbaijani government and their relatives due to Bakus human rights violations.
Akif Gurbanov, head of the Institute for Democratic Initiatives, theorised that Aliyev had pardoned the political prisoners to avoid Azerbaijan being hit by sanctions.
"On March 31, Ilham Aliyev is to take part in the [nuclear] security summit, which takes place in America," Gurbanov told IWPR. "The president could not go to such an important event empty-handed because the results could be very bad for the authorities. Therefore, Ilham Aliyev decided to show an act of humanitarianism' and release a number of political prisoners.
"Unfortunately, this is just for show for the West, but in fact the authorities are not prepared for national reconciliation," he concluded.
"Only 10 per cent of the political prisoners were released," agreed Ogtay Gulaliyev, head of the social alliance Azerbaijan Without Political Prisoners, according to the news website panorama.am.
Fresh arrests were made regularly, he continued.
"That is why the number of the political prisoners in Azerbaijan has remained at around 100 for five or six years already," Gulaliyev said.
As if to illustrate this process, another opposition figure was sentenced to three years in jail just before the amnesty. Mammad Ibrahim, an adviser to the leader of Azerbaijans opposition Popular Front Party, was found guilty of hooliganism by a district court in Baku on March 15. Ibrahim, who was arrested last September, pleaded not guilty and said the case against him was politically motivated.
On the day the amnesty was announced, the appeals court in Baku threw out the six-year jail term handed to journalist Rauf Mirkadirov last December on charges of spying for Armenia.
Mirkadirov was detained in Turkey in April 2014, where he worked as the correspondent of the Baku-based Russian-language Zerkalo (Mirror) daily, and deported to Azerbaijan.
He was released directly from the courtroom last week after being handed a five-year suspended sentence.
As he left, he told reporters that he rejected the charges against him and would fight for his full rehabilitation.
"Neither during the investigation nor in court was any proof presented of my treason, my collaboration with the special services of Armenia," he said. "The rational of the prosecution was fully denied by my lawyers. The main thing is that in my social and journalist activity, I did not communicate with the special services of any country,"
His lawyer, Fuad Agayev, told Meidan TV that they had asked for a full acquittal.
"We do not agree with the sentence. Although this sentence is better than the first - at least Rauf was released," he said.
Human rights defenders Leyla and Arif Yunus were also accused of espionage for Armenia and detained in April 2014. According to their indictments, Leyla Yunus recruited individuals who provided a variety of information to the Armenian security services. Mirkadirov was allegedly one of them.
In August 2015, Leyla Yunus was sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in jail and her husband Arif to seven years, later reduced for both to five years on probation.
However neither have been allowed to leave the country to seek urgent medical treatment
"Their condition is very serious," said their lawyer Elchin Sadigov, who is to lodge an appeal. "The illnesses of both can be life threatening."
Gurbanov said that the cases of Mirkadirov and the Yunuses illustrated how the regime was only willing to make gestures towards change.
"The authorities of the country maneuver as always and do not show their true intentions. To free Mirkadirov and not acquit him, release Leyla and Arif Yunus and not let them out of the country, to pardon those political prisoners who have already served a lot of time," he continued. "To appease the west, the authorities of Azerbaijan are only ready for such a small compromise. The authorities are not even thinking about real change and about real democratisation."
Copyright notice: Institute for War & Peace Reporting
Uzbek-Kyrgyz Border Spat Highlights Tensions
Publisher Institute for War and Peace Reporting Author Timur Toktonaliev Publication Date 24 March 2016 Citation / Document Symbol RCA 784 Cite as Institute for War and Peace Reporting, Uzbek-Kyrgyz Border Spat Highlights Tensions, 24 March 2016, RCA 784, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fe1bf44.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.
Kyrgyzstan has accused Uzbekistan of deploying troops at a disputed section of their shared border in retaliation for Bishkek's continued control of a key reservoir.
The two countries have had a difficult relationship since the collapse of the Soviet Union, particularly where competition over natural resources has been concerned.
On March 18 Uzbekistan deployed several armoured vehicles and 40 military personnel on a road between the Kyrgyz villages of Ala Buka and Kerben in the southern Jalalabad region.
Kyrgyzstan reacted by also moving its own armoured vehicles to that part of the border.
"Kyrgyz citizens travelling through this area are stopped by the Uzbek border guards who tell them 'Welcome to Uzbekistan' and let them continue their journey to Kyrgyz territory," said Guljan Altymyshbaeva, a Kyrgyz journalist who visited the area.
The Uzbek national security service border committee said that the deployment was part of a routine reinforcement due to Navruz, a public holiday celebrated on March 21.
However, Kurbanbay Iskandarov, the Kyrgyz state representative on border affairs, told the Kloop news agency that the Uzbek action might have been connected with Bishkek's recent refusal to let Uzbek specialists inspect and repair the Orto-Tokoy water reserve.
This reservoir, completed in 1954, is located in Kyrgyzstan but was built with Uzbek resources, and Iskandarov noted that Tashkent had repeatedly claimed it had rights to its waters.
Talks between the two sides led to the number of military personnel being reduced to eight from each side, and the situation was "relatively stable", a spokesman for the Kyrgyz state border service told IWPR on March 22.
POWER STRUGGLES
Border areas in the Ferghana Valley, which straddles eastern Uzbekistan, southern Kyrgyzstan and northern Tajikistan, have been a regular source of tension.
Transport hubs and water supplies there are closely inter-connected, a legacy of the Soviet Union when the region used to be a single economic entity.
Uzbekistan, a country of 29 million residents, is much larger than Kyrgyzstan, with only six million citizens.
However Uzbekistan is located downriver of the region's water supplies and lacks irrigation capacity for its agriculture, while Kyrgyzstan controls one third of Central Asia's water sources.
Hydroelectricity is considered to be Kyrgyzstan's principal national resource. (See: The Cost of Privatising Power in Kyrgyzstan)
A large-scale dam project Kyrgyzstan is planning on the Naryn river is of particular concern to Tashkent.
The Kambarata scheme is designed to produce hydro-energy for export to neighbouring states, which will give Kyrgyzstan significant leverage over Uzbekistan.
Uzbekistan has long been a vocal opponent of Kambarata as it fears it will limit or disrupt the flow of irrigation water essential to its farming sector.
Emil Juraev, political lecturer at the American University of Central Asia, said that the recent Uzbek move was meant to clearly signal Uzbekistan's superior might.
He noted that Kyrgyz president Almazbek Atambaev had chosen to champion the cause of energy independence, a strategy which irritated Tashkent.
"[The military deployment] could have been done for several reasons to show how vulnerable Kyrgyzstan is to its neighbor [Kyrgyz] hydro-power projects may be another reason for that. We declared we are going to build [Kambarata] hydropower station whatever it takes, and Uzbekistan strongly disagrees with that."
There are also tensions over other energy resources.
Following independence, Uzbekistan sold gas to the southern regions of Kyrgyzstan and used this as an effective way of leveraging negotiations over water and other issues.
In late 2013, Bishkek sold its shares in state gas provider KyrgyzGas to Russian monopoly Gazprom, handing it the responsibility for providing gas to Kyrgyzstan. (See: Russia Factor Shifts Kyrgyz-Uzbek Power Balance)
Once this agreement came into power in summer of 2014, Uzbekistan terminated its gas supply to Kyrgyzstan with the explanation that it had to sign a fresh deal with the newly- established Gazprom-Kyrgyzstan.
However, this has yet to be agreed.
While northern Kyrgyzstan still receives fuel from Kazakstan as it always has, the supply in southern regions has had to be supplemented through gas cylinders.
Andrei Grozin, head of the Central Asia department at the Institute for Countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States in Moscow, said that Uzbekistan's border maneuver was a further way of reminding Kyrgyzstan of its interests.
"You should always keep your neighbours in place and remind them from time to time that the Uzbek army is stronger than the Kyrgyz and Tajik ones combined," Grozin told IWPR.
"This power play has been Uzbekistan's standard position towards its weaker neighbours for the past 25 years," he added.
In turn, Kyrgystan has explored ways of using diplomatic pressure to sanction Uzbekistan over the most recent incident.
On March 22 the Moscow-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) accepted a Kyrgyz request to hold an urgent meeting to discuss the border situation.
Uzbekistan withdrew from the post-Soviet regional security pact in June 2012, but Juraev said that Tashkent remained an important partner for all this body's member states.
Kyrgyzstan was testing the water to whether CSTO could help it out, he suggested, but the bloc members confined themselves to issuing a statement that they were concerned and would continue to monitor the situation.
"The CSTO meeting is a purely technical thing, it's a discussion," said Grozin, adding that Moscow favoured the current pro-Kremlin political regime in Kyrgyzstan. Tashkent was well aware of this, he added.
At the same time, added Juraev, "despite the difficult personalities of the Uzbek leader and his circle, Russia is trying to build partner relations [in Central Asia] without irritating the Uzbek side, and it considers Uzbek interests, including the hydro-energy sphere".
"The Kremlin values its relations with Tashkent at times even more than it does those with Bishkek and [the Kyrgyz] shouldn't be deluded about that," he continued.
In this context, the regional security pact was unlikely to take action to protect Kyrgyzstan from Uzbekistan.
"The only thing CSTO can do in this situation is to serve as a mediator," Juraev concluded.
Copyright notice: Institute for War & Peace Reporting
Karadzic Guilty of Genocide
Publisher Institute for War and Peace Reporting Author Daniella Peled Publication Date 24 March 2016 Cite as Institute for War and Peace Reporting, Karadzic Guilty of Genocide, 24 March 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fe1c4e4.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.
Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic has been sentenced to 40 years in jail after being found guilty of war crimes including the Srebrenica genocide.
ICTY judges handed down the sentence this week after convicting the 70-year-old on 10 of the 11 counts against him.
Following the verdict, the tribunal's chief prosecutor Serge Brammertz said, "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 judgement shows that it is possible to deliver it."
Karadzic was arrested in July 2008 after 13 years on the run and transferred to The Hague shortly afterwards. The five-year trial ended in October 2014.
He was accused of planning and overseeing the 44-month siege of Sarajevo that left nearly 12,000 people dead, as well as the massacre of more than 7,000 men and boys at Srebrenica in July 1995.
Prosecutors had also alleged that, as president of the self-declared Republika Srpska (RS) from 1992 to 1996, he was responsible for crimes that "contributed to achieving the objective of the permanent removal of Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats from Bosnian Serb-claimed territory".
Finding him guilty of genocide in Srebrenica, Presiding Judge O-Gon Kwon said that Karadzic was the only person within the RS who had had "the power to intervene to prevent the Bosnian Muslim males from being killed".
However, he cleared him of responsibility for genocide in other areas municipalities where Croats and Bosnians were driven out.
Karadzic, who represented himself throughout his trial, has always maintained his innocence and insisted that his actions were only ever intended to protect his own people.
Copyright notice: Institute for War & Peace Reporting
Alarm Over Armenia's Construction Boom
Publisher Institute for War and Peace Reporting Author Armen Karapetyan Publication Date 25 March 2016 Cite as Institute for War and Peace Reporting, Alarm Over Armenia's Construction Boom, 25 March 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fe1c854.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.
Yerevan resident Ashot Kilikyan points towards new buildings made out of reinforced concrete, separated by a narrow passage from his two-storey house.
"I have no doubts that within a few years the whole area will be filled with such similar square, cold boxes," the 83-year-old said.
Kilikyan's home was built in the second half of the nineteenth century and is one of the few old buildings left in the centre of the capital.
A Soviet-era inscription, which reads "protected by the state", is still visible on a wall of the house where he has lived with his family for many years.
But the modern-day state is no longer interested in its preservation. The government has given permission for its demolition and the land has been sold to a high-rise construction company.
"The Bolsheviks believed this house was of historical value and did not touch it for 70 years," Kilikyan said. "However, the current government, of independent Armenia, thought that this house and similar neighbouring houses are no longer of historical value."
In recent years, ambitious building projects have been rolled out in the centre of Armenia's largest city.
According to the National Statistical Service (NSS), more than 2.6 million square metres of housing was built in the capital between 2005 and 2015, nearly six times more than between the post-independence years of 1991 and 2004.
Urban development has become an attractive alternative source of income for a country where the economy is based on mining, agriculture and trade.
The wealthy elite and the Armenian diaspora are particularly keen to acquire newly-built flats or offices in the centre of Yerevan.
Some locals complain that this not only shows a disregard for the value of historical buildings and the rights of local residents, but may also pose a danger.
Armenia is prone to earthquakes and experts warn that buildings are not being constructed or adapted in line with safety requirements.
According to Armenia's National Survey for Seismic Protection, earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.5 or greater recur every 30 to 40 years. The last such earthquake took place 28 years ago in December 1988 in the city of Spitak, 100 kilometres north of Yerevan.
The quake had a magnitude of 6.8 and killed around 25,000 people, leaving over 500,000 homeless.
Experts believe there could have been fewer victims if the Soviet-era buildings had met seismic stability standards and if residents had not made dangerous adaptations to their flats.
Yerevans housing stock is effectively the same as in Spitak, with much of it dating from the Soviet period.
According to the ministry of emergency situations, 80 per cent or around 3,500 multi-storey buildings in the capital do not meet safety requirements.
"Seismic safety requirements were tightened after the 1988 Spitak earthquake," explained Grigor Azizyan, director of the ArmProject Institute, an architectural company.
Before then, a building needed to be able to withstand shocks of a magnitude up to 7.8 based on the international MSK-64 scale. Now, they need to withstand shocks of a magnitude up to nine.
New multi-storey buildings, referred to as "elite houses", are replacing one or two-storey houses in the old districts. Sometimes, these new blocks are squeezed into the passages between Soviet-era buildings.
In the event of an earthquake, the dense arrangement of old and new buildings could be another serious threat to residents, Azizyan said.
Many city-dwellers also take creative liberties when it comes to maximising the comfort of their homes. Some people put in new windows and interior doors without regard to the integrity of supporting walls. Others build an extra floor on the roof to increase their living space.
The chairman of Armenias Union of Architects, Mkrtich Minasyan, said that construction was not only disfiguring the city but also weakening the stability of its buildings.
Minasyan added that the government was not ensuring that that "the seismic demands of the new buildings are being observed when [it] allows to erect one, two or sometimes three floors on the roof of 70 to 80-year-old buildings".
Anahit Bkhshyan, an opposition member of Yerevan City Council, shared his concerns.
"I have repeatedly demanded a response from the relevant city officials as to why they give permission for the construction of one, two and sometimes three new floors on the roofs of buildings constructed during the Soviet era," she told IWPR.
"Despite assurances from the authorities that these buildings are seismically resistant and new floors do not affect the stability of the building, I am very sceptical," she continued, adding, "In my opinion, there may be risks associated with corruption."
Narek Sargsyan, the minister of urban development, said that he understood such fears.
"Generally, there is a problem with seismic safety, as the buildings have been worn down over the years, and it is advisable to limit dense construction," he told IWPR.
But he said there were few risks in building extensions on top of Soviet-era buildings.
"If such developments are organised by specialists, based on [the plans of] a qualified engineer, then there should be no problems," he said.
Government officials have promised that the buildings most vulnerable to earthquakes are to be demolished after their current residents are moved to new specially-built housing.
However, as this initiative is run and also funded by the state, it has been progressing very slowly.
Minasyan said that over the past 15 years, about four dozen examples of classic architecture had been demolished in the centre of Yerevan. He added that almost all these demolitions had been motivated by business interests.
"We are concerned that Yerevan's historical monuments are disappearing. These monuments are being destroyed, and this impoverishes our city," Minasyan continued.
"Sometimes, they retain only the facade of a historical building, but this is not a solution and cannot be considered the way to preserve the monument. It should have been necessary to develop a general concept from the start, which was not done."
Sargsyan said that the government was sympathetic to such complaints and acknowledged that many local people were unhappy about the pace of construction.
As a result a bill on the urban development of central Yerevan was due to be discussed by the National Assembly on March 14.
"It sets forth strict formula, particularly on density. In the centre, such concentrated construction will be strictly limited," he said.
"After the law is passed, such additional developments will be prohibited."
Copyright notice: Institute for War & Peace Reporting
Sparking Up Kfar Nabel's Power Supply
Publisher Institute for War and Peace Reporting Author Mostafa al-Jalal Publication Date 22 March 2016 Cite as Institute for War and Peace Reporting, Sparking Up Kfar Nabel's Power Supply, 22 March 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fe1d904.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.
Saeed takes a car battery to work with him every day. He doesn't own a vehicle, but needs some way to power the lights in his house. So the 33 year-old carries the cumbersome piece of equipment every time he travels from his home in a remote village to his job in a city bakery. There, he can charge the battery ready for his long commute home again.
Saeed has been doing this for over two years, ever since the government bombed Zayzun power plant, previously the main source of electricity in Idlib province.
Now, thanks to an initiative being rolled out in Kfar Nabel, things are about to change. Saeed's remote house will soon be receiving electricity provided by a local generator.
This project was launched in early October 2015 by Kfar Nabel's local council in collaboration with the Syria Regional Program (SRP) run by Chemonics International.
It aims to supply electricity to Idlib and its rural areas, with a special focus on houses in more remote parts of the province.
"The project will cover 60 per cent of Kfar Nabel, where generators are being installed according to population density. These areas were identified by a survey conducted by Kfar Nabel's local council in November 2014," project director Ziad al-Raslan told Damascus Bureau.
The SRP has allocated 188,000 US dollars for the project. Initially, five generators will be installed, along with circuit breakers and cables stretching over 18 kilometres of ground.
Each generator has a capacity of 170 kilovolt-ampere (kVA) and will supply at least 250 houses.
"The total number of generators to be installed by the completion of the project will be 22 generators," al-Raslan added.
Kfar Nabel's local council advertised the newly created positions, and by the time the first five generators had arrived a competent workforce had been hired.
The team comprises of a deputy director, an electrical technician, a mechanical technician, and a number of operators and administrators.
DEMAND AND SUPPLY
The project has already proved extremely popular.
"We are finding it hard to cope with the increasing demand for our services," deputy director Abdalla al-Jalal told Damascus Bureau.
The project was especially attractive due to its ability to reach remote houses, and the steady stream of electricity that could not be tampered with.
One generator has been set aside for use during major breakdowns that require more than 24 hours of repair work. This means that subscribers are guaranteed a daily five-hour uninterrupted supply of electricity.
"We are currently providing the maximum number of houses with electricity, any increase would put pressure on our production capacity. Therefore we can no longer accept new subscribers, which leads to frustration amongst them," added al-Jalal.
The team is also struggling to ensure clients keep up with their payments. Many subscribers are failing to keep up with their monthly subscription fee.
Mustafa al-Sheikh, a finance officer with the local council, stressed that subscription holders had to cooperate with the project administration to ensure the electricity supply.
"The local council has warned its subscribers that those who do not pay their fees will be referred to court," he said.
SERVING CITIZENS
Electricity provided by Kfar Nabel's new generators is allocated strictly for private households and small businesses.
One woman, Umm Muhanad, said that it has already had a huge impact on her life.
"I was exhausted from washing my household laundry by hand," the 26 year-old said. "Now I can use my washing machine again."
Her six year-old son Muhanad was thrilled to once again be able to watch his favourite cartoons on TV, a pleasure he had been deprived of for a very long time.
Another subscriber, Abu Saeed, praised the service for offering good value for money.
"The generators are brand new which means they rarely break down. In contrast, private generators are old and frequently break down, especially with the poor quality of the fuel they run on," the 54 year-old said.
However, some local residents disagreed.
"Services provided by the private sector are always better than those provided by the public sector," said 35 year-old Ziad.
"The local council is a public institute and therefore any instability on the ground could affect it. I am worried that if something goes wrong, I will be deprived of the electricity supplied by both sectors".
For his part, Abu Mohammed, 29, said he was grateful to the project administration for the service it had provided.
The weak power provided by private generators had not been enough to run his fridge and washing machine, he said, although he blamed the strong supply from the council's generators for damaging several of his electrical appliances.
Nevertheless, he said it was a relief to no longer be at the mercy of the owners of private generators.
Project director al-Raslan said that their ultimate aim is to ensure all private houses could access the power supply, and even cater for large institutions such as bakeries and hospitals in the future.
Copyright notice: Institute for War & Peace Reporting
Here is the upcoming City Council agenda for Tuesday:
I. Call to Order.
II. Pledge of Allegiance/Invocation (Chairwoman Berz).
III. Minute Approval.
IV. Special Presentation.
Mayors Council for Women History
V. Ordinances Final Reading:
PUBLIC WORKS AND TRANSPORTATION
Transportation
a. An ordinance granting unto E. 10th Street RSD, LLC, a franchise to
maintain installed concrete footings extending one (1) foot into the rightof-way
along University Street, Douglas Street, and an unnamed ten (10)
foot alleyway, and to maintain a stormwater structure and water quality
unit within the City right-of-way on East 10th Street, as shown on the maps
and diagrams attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference,
subject to certain conditions. (District 8)
VI. Ordinances First Reading:
PUBLIC WORKS AND TRANSPORTATION
Transportation
a. An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 24,
Article VIII, Sections 24-242(4), 24-501, and 24-502, relating to Speed on
Through Streets.
VII. Resolutions:
PUBLIC WORKS AND TRANSPORTATION
Public Works
a. A resolution authorizing the City Finance Officer to execute any
documents necessary related to a loan agreement with the Tennessee
Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) for financing of
capital construction projects required by the Consent Decree for the
Interceptor Sewer System (ISS), in the amount of $42.5 million. (Districts
1, 3, 5 & 8)
Transportation
b. A resolution authorizing the Administrator for the Department of
Transportation to renew Contract No. E-12-025-201 with Jarrett Builders
for the fourth year, Infrared Repairs, for an amount not to exceed
$250,000.00.
VIII. Departmental Reports:
a) Police.
b) Fire.
c) Economic and Community Development.
d) Youth and Family Development.
e) Transportation.
f) Public Works.
g) Finance.
h) IT.
i) Human Resources.
j) General Services.
IX. Purchases.
X. Other Business.
a) PUBLIC HEARING HIDDEN ACRES APARTMENTS
A resolution regarding Hidden Acres Apartments and Public
Finance Authority MultiFamily Housing Revenue Bonds
(Dogwood Housing, Inc. Southeast Portfolio Project) Series 2016.
(Deferred from 3/29/2016)
XI. Committee Reports.
XII. Agenda Session for Tuesday, April 12, 2016.
XIII. Recognition of Persons Wishing to Address the Council on Non-Agenda
Matters.
XIV. Adjournment.
TUESDAY, APRIL 12, 2016
CITY COUNCIL AGENDA
6:00 PM
1. Call to Order.
2. Pledge of Allegiance/Invocation (Councilman Anderson).
3. Minute Approval.
4. Special Presentation.
5. Ordinances Final Reading:
PUBLIC WORKS AND TRANSPORTATION
Transportation
a. An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 24,
Article VIII, Sections 24-242(4), 24-501, and 24-502, relating to Speed on
Through Streets.
6. Ordinances First Reading:
PLANNING
a. 2016-042 Field, LLC, Gabe Thomas, and Jennifer Langworthy (R-1
Residential Zone to UGC Urban General Commercial Zone). An ordinance
to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance, so
as to rezone properties located at 721, 725, and 729 North Market Street;
14, 16, 18, and 20 Peak Street; and 718 Spears Avenue, more particularly
described herein, from R-1 Residential Zone to UGC Urban General
Commercial Zone, subject to certain conditions. (District 1)
(Recommended for approval by Planning and Staff)
2016-042 Field, LLC, Gabe Thomas, and Jennifer Langworthy (R-1
Residential Zone to UGC Urban General Commercial Zone). An ordinance
to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance, so
as to rezone properties located at 721, 725, and 729 North Market Street;
14, 16, 18, and 20 Peak Street; and 718 Spears Avenue, more particularly
described herein, from R-1 Residential Zone to UGC Urban General
Commercial Zone. (Applicant Version)
b. 2016-037 Eric Emery/Tammy Cagle/Greg Brock/Norma Mahaffey (R-2
Residential Zone and C-5 Neighborhood Commercial Zone to C-5
Neighborhood Commercial Zone). An ordinance to amend Chattanooga
City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance, so as to rezone
properties located at 5116 and 5120 Highway 58, more particularly
described herein, from R-2 Residential Zone and C-5 Neighborhood
Commercial Zone to C-5 Neighborhood Commercial Zone. (District 5)
(Recommended for approval by Planning and Staff)
2016-037 Eric Emery/Tammy Cagle/Greg Brock/Norma Mahaffey (R-2
Residential Zone and C-5 Neighborhood Commercial Zone to C-5
Neighborhood Commercial Zone). An ordinance to amend Chattanooga
City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance, so as to rezone
properties located at 5116 and 5120 Highway 58, more particularly
described herein, from R-2 Residential Zone and C-5 Neighborhood
Commercial Zone to C-5 Neighborhood Commercial Zone and M-2 Light
Industrial Zone. (Recommended for denial by Planning and Staff)
(Applicant Version)
c. 2016-033 Wallace Braud (Amend Condition). An ordinance to amend
Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance, so as to
amend Condition No. 2 from Ordinance No. 12841 of previous Case No.
2014-046 regarding signage replacement and design restrictions of
property located at 1349 Gunbarrel Road, being more particularly
described herein. (District 6) (Recommended for approval by
Planning and Staff)
d. 2016-35 Miller Industries Towing Equipment, Inc./Amon A.C. and Doris
York (R-1 Residential Zone to M-1 Manufacturing Zone). An ordinance to
amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance, so
as to rezone properties located at 8534 Ooltewah-Harrison Road and
5226 and 5242 Tracie Lane, more particularly described herein, from R-1
Residential Zone to M-1 Manufacturing Zone. (District 6)
(Recommended for approval by Planning) (Staff recommended for
denial of M-1 Manufacturing Zone and approval of M-2 Light
Industrial Zone)
e. 2016-023 Wanda Threat (R-1 Residential Zone to C-5 Neighborhood
Commercial Zone). An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II,
Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance, so as to rezone property located at 6420
Shallowford Road, more particularly described herein, from R-1
Residential Zone to C-5 Neighborhood Commercial Zone. (District 6)
(Recommended for approval by Planning) (Staff recommended
denial)
f. 2016-031 Silverdale Baptist Church, Inc. (R-1 Residential Zone to C-2
Convenience Commercial Zone). An ordinance to amend Chattanooga
City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance, so as to rezone part of
property located at 2916 Silverdale Road, more particularly described
herein, from R-1 Residential Zone to C-2 Convenience Commercial Zone.
(District 6) (Recommended for approval by Planning) (Staff
recommended denial)
g. 2016-036 ALC Holdings, LLC (R-1 Residential Zone, R-2 Residential Zone,
and UGC Urban General Commercial Zone to R-T/Z Residential
Townhouse/Zero Lot Line Zone). An ordinance to amend Chattanooga
City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance, so as to rezone
properties located at 1605 and 1691 West 39th Street, 109 Old Mountain
Road, and 1690 Silvels Lane, more particularly described herein, from R-1
Residential Zone, R-2 Residential Zone, and UGC Urban General
Commercial Zone to R-T/Z Residential Townhouse/Zero Lot Line Zone.
(District 7) (Recommended for approval by Planning and Staff)
h. 2016-024 Belle Investment Company/Third Street Partners/Jimmy & Molly
Seal (R-4 Special Zone to C-3 Convenience Commercial Zone). An
ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, Zoning
Ordinance, so as to rezone properties located at 1028 and 1042 East 3rd
Street and 1039, 1043, and 1047 East 4th Street, more particularly
described herein, from R-4 Special Zone to C-3 Convenience Commercial
Zone, subject to certain conditions. (District 8) (Recommended for
approval by Planning and Staff)
2016-024 Belle Investment Company/Third Street Partners/Jimmy & Molly
Seal (R-4 Special Zone to C-3 Convenience Commercial Zone). An
ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, Zoning
Ordinance, so as to rezone properties located at 1028 and 1042 East 3rd
Street and 1039, 1043, and 1047 East 4th Street, more particularly
described herein, from R-4 Special Zone to C-3 Convenience Commercial
Zone. (Applicant Version)
i. An ordinance to amend the Charter of the City of Chattanooga, and all
acts, ordinances, and other Charter provisions amendatory thereof,
pursuant to the provisions of Article XI, Section 9, of the Constitution of
the State of Tennessee (Home Rule Amendment) so as to change the City
Charter by amending the provision related to the Management Analyst
position in the interest of the public policy and to generally improve the
Charter.
j. An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 11, adding
Article XVII, to include regulations for the proper disposal of tires and
registration of certain tire businesses and tire haulers within the City of
Chattanooga.
7. Resolutions:
PLANNING
a. 2016-040 Joseph Ingram/Marcus Jones/Magnolia Investors, LLC/Jack
Thompson/Allen Headrick (Special Exceptions Permit). A resolution
approving a Special Exceptions Permit for a Residential Planned Unit
Development for properties located at 604 and 638 Samoyed Trail, 1038
Meroney Street, 1400 Hamilton Avenue, and unnumbered Wert Street.
(District 2)
8. Departmental Reports:
a) Police.
b) Fire.
c) Economic and Community Development.
d) Youth and Family Development.
e) Transportation.
f) Public Works.
g) Finance.
h) IT.
i) Human Resources.
j) General Services.
9. Purchases.
10. Other Business.
a) Election of New Council Chair Person for 2016-2017.
11. Committee Reports.
12. Agenda Session for Tuesday, April 19, 2016.
13. Recognition of Persons Wishing to Address the Council on Non-Agenda
Matters.
14. Adjournment.
Russian Opposition Meets Abroad, Calls for Greater Democratization and Federalism at Home
Publisher Jamestown Foundation Author Vadim Shtepa Publication Date 25 March 2016 Citation / Document Symbol Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 13 Issue: 59 Cite as Jamestown Foundation, Russian Opposition Meets Abroad, Calls for Greater Democratization and Federalism at Home, 25 March 2016, Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 13 Issue: 59, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fe22434.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.
Link to original story on Jamestown website
The first ever meeting of the Forum of Free Russia took place on March 9-10, in Vilnius, Lithuania. It was a unique public event, featuring a direct dialogue between Russian political emigrants and oppositional activists still residing in Russia. Such a conference would be impossible to hold in present-day Russia. And indeed, many of its exile participants are afraid to return to their home country for fear of political persecution (Grani.ru, March 9).
More than 200 people participated in the Forum. Several thematic sessions were organized on various aspects of the current situation in Russia, including human rights activities, the fight against corruption, problems of Russian journalism and society, the foreign policy of Vladimir Putin's Russia, and international security (Forumfreerussia.org, accessed March 23). One of the sessions, originally unplanned, but held at the request of the participants coming from the Russian regions, was called "The Regional Aspect of Reforms in Russia." It gathered about 50 civil society activists-from St. Petersburg to Siberia. These activists generally had no relation to the current government, but instead represented numerous independent networks or social movements inside Russia that are seeking to increase regional autonomy within the Russian Federation.
The format of this session was also different from the rest. There were no speakers on the stage. Instead, the session was organized as an interactive round table, where all the participants could speak out. In general, they mostly spoke cautiously out of fear that upon their return home, they could face prosecution on criminal charges for "appeals to violate the territorial integrity of Russia." It is significant that this law in Russia was adopted in December 2013 and entered into force in May 2014, shortly after the Russian Federation forcibly annexed Ukraine's Crimean peninsula (Rossiyskaya Gazeta, December, 30, 2013).
Shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union, on March 31, 1992, the new Russian government signed the Federal Treaty. It established the contractual principle of the Russian Federation and delegated many powers to the regions. Yet, this new power arrangement codified an inherent inequality among Russia's federal entities: the ethnic-based republics were granted sovereignty, while the oblasts were not. However, with the adoption of the Russian Constitution in 1993, the contractual principle of the federation was largely nullified, and the mention of the sovereignty of the republics disappeared. A further legal evolution of Russia was characterized by the increasing centralization under the presidency of Vladimir Putin, which found its ultimate expression in the so-called "vertical of power," which canceled direct elections of governors and local leaders of the Russian regions. Instead, under the Putinist "power vertical" system, the Russian president was given the power to nominate regional governors (to be rubberstamped by the local legislatures), who in turn would nominate local mayors.
Direct elections of regional governors were reinstated on June 1, 2012, following Putin's return to the Kremlin. But these electoral contests cannot be considered truly free or fair. Candidates are nominated by political parties and they have to be agreed on by the local legislative assemblies. And because every Russian region is dominated by the ruling United Russia party, the results for gubernatorial elections across the country are generally always a foregone conclusion, thus precluding the election of candidates opposed to the Kremlin. Thus, the current system basically maintains the "vertical of power," just in a different form. The economic and tax systems in Russia are also centralized. Even in the cultural sphere, a unitary Russification policy is being implemented, even though more than 100 ethnic groups live in Russia (see EDM, October 27, 2015; Jamestownfoundation.blogspot.com, June 26, 2013, September 30, 2015; Windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com, September 7, 2015). The main exception to this trend in Russia has been Ramzan Kadyrov's Chechnya, which was allowed wide autonomy in exchange for its loyal pro-Kremlin policies.
The participants of the "The Regional Aspect of Reforms in Russia" session in Vilnius earlier this month strongly opposed such centralization of the Russian Federation. One of the session moderators, Viktor Korb, the director of the Omsk-based Agency for Regional Studies, spoke of the need to restore civil self-government in all Russian regions. This, he said, should include free elections of authorities at all levels-regional and municipal. Another moderator, Ilya Lazarenko, the chief editor of the web magazine Russian Fabula, insisted on the need to transform all Russian regions into equal republics, thus turning Russia into a symmetric federation (Russkaya Fabula, March, 17). Viktor Nikolaev, a journalist from St. Petersburg, even suggested a possible future name for the country-the United States of Russia.
The presence of activists from St. Petersburg at the Freedom of Russia Forum is an interesting factor. In St. Petersburg today, there is an active, though informal regionalist movement calling for the unification of St. Petersburg city with the surrounding Leningrad region into a "Republic of Ingria," which would enjoy greater self-government. "Ingria" is a historical name referencing this area's name of Ingermanland, before it became a part of Russia during the 15th-18th centuries. Indeed, once inside Tsar Peter I's Russian Empire, this area's name was initially the Ingermanland Governorate. Today, supporters of the Ingrian regionalist movement often hold marches and brandish Ingrian flags (Facebook.com/groups/ingria, accessed March 23).
The organizers of the Forum of Free Russia were, in fact, its main speakers-Garry Kasparov and Andrey Illarionov-along with other well-known Russian opposition leaders. However, the details regarding the financial backing for the Forum has been spotty; most of the participants arrived at their own expense. Reportedly, the Lithuanian foreign ministry also provided some support, in the form of a welcome reception and by providing the venue for the event. Paradoxically, the Forum's expat Russian organizers preserved a largely Moscow-centric mindset that political change must be top-down (Forumfreerussia.org, accessed March 23).
Contemporary Russian regionalism is largely an intellectual project. But if it is ever given the opportunity for political self-realization (for example, in the form of regional political parties, which are now banned), it could radically change the political map of Russia. Debate over the revival of Russian federalism is becoming increasingly popular among the Russian opposition. Organizers of the March gathering in Vilnius promised to hold the next Forum in September. The project of a new, equitable Federal Treaty in Russia will likely be discussed.
Of course, an oppositional Forum held abroad calling for greater democratization and federalization of Russia is unlikely to directly influence current policy in Moscow. But the topics discussed in the Lithuanian capital earlier this month have hit upon a serious double standard in Russia. The Kremlin offers "federalization" for Ukraine and Syria, while maintaining strong unitarism and centralism at home. And such a sharp contrast could encourage a domestic backlash that would undermine the Putinist system.
Copyright notice: 2010 The Jamestown Foundation
Number of People Registered in Russia as Extremists Continues to Grow
Publisher Jamestown Foundation Author Mairbek Vatchagaev Publication Date 24 March 2016 Citation / Document Symbol North Caucasus Analysis Volume: 17 Issue: 6 Cite as Jamestown Foundation, Number of People Registered in Russia as Extremists Continues to Grow, 24 March 2016, North Caucasus Analysis Volume: 17 Issue: 6, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fe230c4.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.
Link to original story on Jamestown website
In an attempt to decrease tensions in the North Caucasus, the Russian authorities set out to register all potential extremists who might carry out a terrorist attack, in the opinion of the police and the Federal Security Service (FSB). Since the start of 2016, reports started to emerge detailing the number of extremists and their locations. In Dagestan alone, the authorities reportedly registered 14,000 people as potential extremists (Riadagestan.ru, March 3). According to the Prosecutor General's Office of Dagestan, the authorities registered at least 15,000 potential extremists (Chernovik.net, March 1). A member of the Council for Human Rights under the President of Russia, Maksim Shevchenko, says the Dagestani authorities registered about 100,000 people as potentially unreliable (Echo.msk.ru, February 25).
The estimates of extremists in Dagestan are quite high, especially given that there are about 21,000 police officers in the republic. As a rule, the police registers individuals who have disagreements with the government as unreliable and extremist. In Makhachkala alone, the police registered 1,581 followers of extremist religious teachings, more than half of whom-862 individuals-were registered in 2014. The police took DNA samples from 105 followers of non-traditional Islam. The police also identified 31 individuals who went to fight in Syria and put them on the wanted list (Kavpolit.com, March 4).
According to official statistics, the number of crimes committed by the armed underground in the North Caucasus has been declining every year. At the same time, the number of terrorist crimes appears to be increasing. For example, the government reported 365 terrorist crimes in 2013, while the number of terrorist crimes rose to 473 in 2014 and to 679 in 2015. These figures do not include less serious terrorism-related crimes, such as extremism. In 2015, 82 extremism-related crimes were registered in Russia. The rise in terrorism-related crimes indicates that tensions in society are growing-something that can also be seen in the growth of a number of armed incidents, from 1,558 in 2013 to 2,039 in 2015.
Evidence suggests that the situation is unfolding in unexpected ways. On February 25, the National Assembly of Dagestan passed, in its first reading, a law titled "On the Prophylactic of the Extremist Activities in the Republic of Dagestan." The new legislation is supposed to replace an old law that made Wahhabism illegal. The Dagestani government banned Wahhabism at the start of the second Russian-Chechen war in 1999. During a discussion of the new legislation, Dagestan's government told members of the republic's parliament that it was designed to replace the 1999 law, saying it was legally flawed. The Dagestani parliament had tried to abolish it two years earlier (Dagestanpost.ru, May 15, 2014).
However, references to abolishing the previous legislation outlawing Wahhabism somewhat disappeared from the draft law that was published on the republican parliament's website. It appears that the republican government decided it was too early to abolish the outlawing of Wahhabism in the republic (the law of the Republic of Dagestan passed on September 22, 1999, "On the Ban of Wahhabi and other Extremist Activities on the Territory of the Republic of Dagestan") (Nsrd.ru, March 2).
The authorities compile lists of extremists not only in Dagestan but across the Russian Federation. According to the head of the government agency Rosfinmonitoring (the Russian Federal Financial Monitoring Service), Yuri Chikhanchin, the government last year alone put 1,500 individuals on the terrorist watch list (Echo.msk.ru, March 9). That is most likely only the tip of the iceberg, because the number of individuals returning from the Middle East to Russia who are put on the list of extremists is constantly growing. Those people who fight for Russian interests in Ukraine are excluded from the list. At the start of 2016, Russia's Ministry of Interior and the FSB jointly monitored over 2,800 Russian citizens who went to Syria and Iraq to fight. Additionally, the authorities launched criminal investigations targeting 889 militants who returned to Russia and identified 92 recruiters for illegal foreign armed groups (Rbc.ru, December 25, 2015).
The number of militants who returned from Syria to Russia is a quite impressive figure that indicates how large the threat to Russia is. Since some of the militants who return will remain unknown to the government, the risk that radicals of the so-called Islamic State will strike Russia is quite high. During a meeting with President Vladimir Putin, Rosfinmonitoring head Chikhanchin said that Russians send the equivalent of several hundred thousand dollars abroad each year to help Islamists (Newsru.com, March 9). It is quite striking that people in Russia are still financing Islamic State members outside the country despite the high risks in doing so.
Registering everybody who wears a beard or hijab and identifying them as supporters of radical Islam is unlikely to help Russia improve the security situation in the North Caucasus. Currently, ordinary police officers decide who is radical, which indicates that Russia has no methods of identifying supporters of radical teachings. So-called specialists on Islam often put disenfranchised individuals, whose rights or whose relatives' rights were violated by the government, on the list of radicals. The Russian government appears to be rushing from one extreme to another, without realizing that everything it does is harming Russia itself.
Copyright notice: 2010 The Jamestown Foundation
Kazakhstan Faces Militarization of the Caspian
Publisher Jamestown Foundation Author George Voloshin Publication Date 24 March 2016 Citation / Document Symbol Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 13 Issue: 58 Cite as Jamestown Foundation, Kazakhstan Faces Militarization of the Caspian, 24 March 2016, Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 13 Issue: 58, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fe23744.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.
Link to original story on Jamestown website
In late February, Russian TV channel Zvezda, which is wholly owned by the Ministry of Defense, broadcast a video about a new type of assault boat that will be commissioned next year as part of Russia's strategy to boost its coastal defense. The Murena-class fast assault air-cushion craft will run on a couple of high-temperature gas turbine engines, 10,000 horsepower each, and will be capable of transporting troops and equipment during rapid response operations of an unspecified nature. The new boat will notably be deployed to the Caspian Sea (Zvezda, February 26; RIA Novosti, February 28).
Following the March 2014 annexation of Crimea, tensions are high between Russia and Ukraine in the Black Sea, where Moscow has since considerably reinforced its military presence. Another area of brewing geopolitical tensions is the eastern Mediterranean, largely because of the Vladimir Putin government's direct military support to the embattled regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The Russian Armed Forces operate a logistics facility at the Syrian port of Tartus, in addition to an airbase in Latakia. Both facilities continue to service Russian combat troops, despite Putin's recent announcement of a partial withdrawal from Syria (Tvc.ru, March 17, 2016; Korrespondent.net, October 2, 2015; UNIAN, September 14, 2014).
Two weeks after Zvezda showed off the Russian navy's projected assault capabilities, neighboring Kazakhstan's media reported that a company called Ziksto was ready to build a prototype naval mine for the Kazakhstani navy. Based in Petropavlovsk, northern Kazakhstan, Ziksto was established in the 1940s on the basis of a Russian defense manufacturer, whose personnel had been evacuated from Moscow during World War II. The company currently belongs to Kazakhstan Engineering, the main state-owned entity responsible for the development of domestic military technologies. "There are ongoing discussions about the strengthening of Kazakhstan's coastline against a potential attack by a foreign enemy. We would be happy to provide our assistance," Ziksto CEO Valery Spitsyn was quoted as telling the media (Express-k.kz, Inform.kz, March 9).
These reports have prompted rumors about whether an upcoming addition to the Russian Caspian Flotilla's combat force could in any way jeopardize the security or even the sovereignty of other littoral states, such as Kazakhstan. What many observers have overlooked so far is that Ziksto also has an existing contract with Russia, which it recently signed within the framework of the Moscow-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). The contract provides for the delivery of the same or closely related naval mine technology to Russia by a Kazakhstan-based manufacturer. Kazakhstan Engineering and the Russian defense ministry clinched the deal last year in what appears to be a normal working procedure as applicable to bilateral military cooperation (Ke.kz, Mod.gov.kz, March 9).
Earlier, in January 2016, it was reported that a shipyard near St. Petersburg was putting the finishing touches on a brand-new minesweeper provisionally called Alatau, after a mountain range in southern Kazakhstan's Almaty Region, for the Kazakhstani Caspian fleet. The ship was first launched in the water in October 2015 and it has since been subjected to several stages of testing aimed at calibrating it for real-life conditions. As in the case of the naval mine project pioneered by Ziksto, the construction of Alatau is based on bilateral military cooperation and technological transfers under the CSTO's aegis. The initial contract was signed back in 2013 and implies the construction of not one, but several ships, all of which will be used on the Caspian, the only sea Kazakhstan has access to (Inform.kz, Lenta.ru, January 6).
Kazakhstan is actively pursuing the modernization of its naval forces and has a special government-funded program to that effect until 2020. The navy currently comprises three missile boats named Kazakhstan, Oral (the Kazakh name of the Ural River, which passes close to the western border with Russia), and Saryarka (the name of the steppe in the center of the country). The western Kazakhstan-based Zenit shipyard is further working on the design of a series of smaller boats. In the past, the government made acquisitions from Turkey, South Korea and the United States, although Russia remains its closest partner on naval issues. Overall, Kazakhstan lags significantly behind other Caspian states in terms of seaborne offensive and defensive capacity. With Russia at the top of the five-country list, Iran, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan all have invested substantial amounts of money into the modernization of their respective navies (Korabli.eu, March 23; see EDM, April 24, 2013).
While Russian-Kazakhstani military cooperation still reflects the trust that the two countries have in each other's intentions, Russia's growing bellicosity clearly stands as a source of worries for Kazakhstan. Last October and November, Russian ships fired a salvo of ship-launched cruise missiles from the Caspian against targets in Syria. The missiles traveled approximately 1,500 kilometers and hit several dozen facilities belonging to the Islamic State extremist group. Most experts agree that Russia could have done the same at a much lower cost by deploying its Syria-based planes to drop bombs on the Islamic State, but the purpose of this campaign was most likely to show the world what Russia was capable of (RIA Novosti, November 30, 2015; Lenta.ru, October 8, 2015). For Kazakhstan, that means not only that it increasingly has to deal with an unpredictable, saber-rattling ally but also that other Caspian countries are themselves likely seek to beef up their defenses in a bid to contain Russia.
Copyright notice: 2010 The Jamestown Foundation
The Brussels Terrorist Attacks: An Opportunity to Promote Putin's Agenda
Publisher Jamestown Foundation Author Pavel Felgenhauer Publication Date 1 March 2016 Citation / Document Symbol Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 13 Issue: 58 Cite as Jamestown Foundation, The Brussels Terrorist Attacks: An Opportunity to Promote Putin's Agenda, 1 March 2016, Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 13 Issue: 58, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fe23e34.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.
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Following the March 22 terrorist attacks in Brussels, which killed over 30 people and injured hundreds, Russian officials responded by calling for unity in opposing the Islamic State (IS). They proposed burying the hatchet on all other issues to concentrate on fighting terrorism. The chair of the Duma foreign relations committee, Alexei Pushkov, spoke about "NATO [the North Atlantic Treaty Organization] fighting a nonexistent Russian threat, while bombs are exploding under its nose in Brussels." NATO headquarters are not too far from the Brussels international airport, where two bombs went off last Tuesday, in the check-in area. Duma deputies called for better cooperation between Russia and the West on fighting terrorism: "We face a common enemy but are disunited" (Kommersant, March 22). According to Lieutenant Colonel (ret.) Alexi Filatov, the West must study Russian know-how of over 20 years of fighting jihadists and Chechen separatists in the North Caucasus: "The international community and the United States helped us to win the Second Chechen war [in the 2000s] and ensure order in the North Caucasus. Now they are in trouble, and we are ready to share our vast practical experience. Only together we may prevail" (Aif.ru, March 23). Filatov is a security expert and a former special forces member of Alpha, the elite antiterrorist unit of the Federal Security Service (FSB).
Opposing voices also entered the discussion. The flamboyant extreme nationalist politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky, speaking in the parliament, opposed the move by the Duma speaker Sergei Naryshkin to express condolences to the Brussels victims by a moment of silence. In preparation for the upcoming Duma elections next fall, Zhirinovsky is using extreme anti-Western nationalistic rhetoric to ensure his Liberal-Democratic Party (LDPR) receives enough votes to stay in the legislature. According to Zhirinovsky, Westerners have only themselves to blame if they are attacked by terrorists. He added, "I do not know of any instance when a foreign parliament held a moment of silence to commemorate Russian dead-we must act accordingly." Naryshkin, a close associate of President Vladimir Putin, rebuked Zhirinovsky: "For us, the security of Europe is indivisible" (Mk.ru, March 23)
The formation of a grand antiterrorist coalition has been Putin's pet idea for some time (see EDM, September 17, 2015; October 29, 2015). Speaking at the United Nations, in New York, last September, just a couple of days before Russian jets began a relentless bombing campaign over Syria to reinforce the regime of Bashar al-Assad, Putin called for the formation of a "broad antiterrorist coalition" and compared it with the coalition against Adolf Hitler, formed during World War II. Despite the call for unity, Putin's speech at the UN was mostly an attack on the West, which he denounced for causing world-wide chaos by promoting democratic change in Asian and African nations. But the need to counter a common foe must prevail and Putin began his UN address by recalling the 1945 Yalta summit of the "Big Three" leaders of the anti-Hitler coalition-Josef Stalin, Theodor Roosevelt and Winston Churchill. Putin praised the "Yalta system," which "saved the world from havoc for the last 70 years" (Kremlin.ru, September 28).
In Yalta, in 1945, the "Big Three" carved up Europe into distinct spheres of dominance, leaving Central European nations, which are now members of the European Union and NATO, under the Soviet thumb until the end of the Cold War and the collapse of Communism, in 1991. For those nations and for many in the West, the "Yalta system" of world order is a slur word, but not at all in the Kremlin today. Putin's proposed new "anti-Hitler coalition" could itself lead to a new Yalta: to a new world order based on the same principles of great powers deciding the plight of lesser nations without their consent or consultation. The Kremlin could even provide the same Yalta premises in freshly annexed Crimea for a new get-together. The Islamic State's dramatic terrorist attacks in Europe and Russia's apparent military success in Syria (see EDM, March 17) seem to provide a good background that may induce the West to agree.
It is highly important for the Kremlin to prove, in practical terms, that the principle of concert of great powers works and may help solve complicated international issues. A bilateral concert of the US and Russia-resembling the Cold War superpowers' dealings-is seen as especially good: it makes Moscow an equal to Washington and creates tensions between the US and its various international allies. The visit this week to Moscow of US Secretary of State John Kerry to hold talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, along with a late night meeting with Putin, is seen as significant. The official Kremlin-controlled media express hope of an emerging understanding between Moscow and Washington, though "any real breakthrough may happen only after a new administration is in the White House next year" (RIA Novosti, March 24).
Moscow is ready to adapt its policies in Syria and Ukraine to accommodate the US, but no compromises on principle are forthcoming. Russia expects the US to rein in Turkey and the Syrian opposition to stay put as al-Assad and other Russian allies in Syria grow stronger and expand their territorial control. Russian special interests and military bases in Syria must be guaranteed. Moscow expects Washington to begin closer military-to-military cooperation in Syria, allowing the Russian Armed Forces still there to use force to compel the Syrian opposition to bow to al-Assad. Russia also expects the US to put more pressure on the government in Kyiv to legalize the Moscow-backed Donbas separatists (Vesti.ru, March 24).
Maria Zakharova, the official spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told journalists in a TV interview this week that she supports Donald Trump's assessment of NATO as an organization in crisis (Vesti.ru, March 22). In the future, when a more isolationist administration may take over in Washington (preferably Trump's), the Kremlin is ready to help the US disentangle itself from the troublesome Middle East and cut back on its international commitments to Europe and NATO as well as other parts of the world. Meanwhile, Russia will seek to expand its presence in all those regions. Russian soldiers fighting in Syria and in Donbas are building the foundation of a new world order and-from Moscow's point of view-succeeding.
Copyright notice: 2010 The Jamestown Foundation
The Chinese People's Armed Police in a Time of Armed Forces Restructuring
Publisher Jamestown Foundation Author Zi Yang Publication Date 24 March 2016 Citation / Document Symbol China Brief Volume: 16 Issue: 6 Cite as Jamestown Foundation, The Chinese People's Armed Police in a Time of Armed Forces Restructuring, 24 March 2016, China Brief Volume: 16 Issue: 6, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fe24644.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.
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When China is at peace, foreigners will submit willingly. Therefore, if one wants to repel external threats, he must first bring internal peace.
-Zhao Pu (922-992), Prime Minister of the Northern Song Dynasty
China's People's Armed Police, or PAP, is the world's largest internal security force. Last reported to number 660,000, PAP units are quartered across China at every echelon of administration from the county-level up. [1] The PAP is one component of China's armed forces (), along with the army and militia, though it receives little attention from international media compared to the People's Liberation Army (PLA). But the ongoing armed forces reforms championed by President Xi Jinping have placed the PAP under the spotlight. Questions are being raised about the future of the PAP, making it a suitable moment to revisit the organization, especially when previous military reforms that aimed to reduce the size of Chinese armed forces instead increased the size of the PAP. Given the PAP's core mission of maintaining social stability ()-the elimination or containment of any genuine threat to public or state security-the PAP is likely to retain its size and develop further as an important tool in guaranteeing the Communist Party's rule of China.
Mission and Esprit de Corps
The history of China's internal security forces before the advent of the PAP is characterized by volatility. During the upheavals of the Mao-era, the security force's official designation and chain of command swung according to the ever-changing political climate. [2] Yet its mission remained constant; to preserve the State against any sign of trouble. The PAP in its present form was created in 1982 with PLA personnel-two years after Deng Xiaoping's first military reform campaign-to combat vices associated with China's economic liberalization (Sohu News Online, September 4, 2015; Law Science Magazine, no. 7 July, 2015). Although more than 280 regulations and policy papers regarding the PAP were issued since its founding, a comprehensive, publically available law detailing the role and mission of the PAP was formulated only 27 years later during the administration of Hu Jintao to delimit the power of Zhou Yongkang-a bitter rival who headed the Political and Legal Affairs Commission () overseeing China's public security system (). [3]
The "PAP Law" of August 2009 explicitly stated that the organization's raison d'etre is to serve as the guardian of state security. Guo Shengkun, China's Minister of Public Security who simultaneously holds the titles of PAP First Political Commissar and First Party Committee Secretary (, ), left nothing to the imagination, stating that the "The PAP is an armed force under the absolute leadership of the Party, so it must prioritize obedience to the Party's command" (Ministry of Public Security, May 10, 2013). Further clarifying the PAP's role, Xi Jinping, while touring a Beijing armed police unit, differentiated the PAP from traditional order police, calling it as "first and foremost a fighting force" that must "steadfastly follow the core demands of safeguarding state security and social stability" (Legality Vision, no. 5, May 2014).
The PAP's Organization
"The PLA and the PAP are twin brothers." Like the PLA, members of the PAP are active duty servicemen (CNKI, 1985). The ranking systems of the two forces are identical. During a time of war, the PAP serves as an auxiliary to the PLA. [4] But the PAP's chain of command is much more complex given its multifaceted internal security duties; it follows a dual command system known in official Chinese parlance as "integrating the vertical and horizontal" (). The power to command the PAP is divided between the State Council, the highest State organ in China headed by the Premier, and the Central Military Commission (CMC), the highest military organ chaired by the Party General Secretary. Although the PAP is recognized by a 1995 regulation as part of the State Council's order (), the ultimate authority, as always the case in China, rests with the Party leadership, in this instance the CMC Chairman who simultaneously holds the title of Party General Secretary. [5] The State Council and CMC are tasked with setting general policy agenda for the PAP and taking charge during a national emergency, hence their "vertical" power. For everyday affairs, local government wielding the "horizontal" power commands PAP units at the corresponding level.
The Armed Police General Headquarters (GHQ) is the highest leadership body within the PAP system. The GHQ is made up of nine organs: the command staff, the political department, the logistics department, the 14 mobile divisions, and a command center for each of the PAP's five branches-the Internal Security Troops, the Gold Troops, Hydropower Troops, Transport Troops, and the Forestry Troops. [6] In addition, the PAP advises the Public Security Active Service Troops that are separately commanded by the Ministry of Public Security (China Public Education Online, [accessed March 1]).
Backbone of the PAP: the Internal Security Troops
The Internal Security Troops (IST; ), constitutes about half of the PAP's total personnel. Present in every Chinese administrative division except Hong Kong and Macau, IST zongdui (; equivalent to a PLA division) are stationed at the provincial-level, zhidui (; regiment) at the prefectural-level, dadui (; battalion) and zhongdui (; company) at the county-level. The main task of the IST is to deal with internal security contingencies ranging from hostage situations to riot control. During natural disasters, the IST, along with other PAP, army and militia units are required to participate in disaster relief missions.
Befitting a combat-focused unit, IST training is completed both on base and in field exercises. A recent exercise, conducted by the Ningxia provincial zongdui included items such as organized river-crossing, chemical warfare training, log PT, manhunt in mountainous areas, team combat, field medical training, ruck march, mountain climbing, close quarters combat in water, etc. [7] Contests, at the national and provincial-level are held periodically to increase competitiveness. The 2013 PAP national contest lasted for 11 months and pitted the IST's best soldiers against each other in competitions that lasted well up to 14 hours a day (CNKI, 2015).
The education of PAP officers occurs at a number of colleges and academies administered by the GHQ. But PAP schools do suffer from issues that negatively influence the quality of education. An article by a staff of the Shenyang Command Academy reveals its library is underfunded and understaffed, pointing to larger deficiencies within the broader PAP education structure. A consortium system does not exist. And decision-making is entirely dictated by the will of the library manager (Caizhi, No. 4, 2011). Grassroots education of IST troopers is also lacking. Despite the law-enforcement role of PAP units, a survey of 20 zhongdui in Shandong and Shaanxi Province shows legal education is close to nonexistent. Only a few textbooks on law relate to the work of the PAP. In more than three-quarters of the time, the format of instruction remains old-fashioned monologue and note taking. [8]
The Economic Construction Corps
Four other PAP branches are dedicated primarily to economic construction in geographically challenging areas of the country. The Gold Troops (GT) is the most unique among its peers. Founded in March 1979 as part of the PLA, the GT transferred to the PAP in 1985. [9] Its duties include, conducting geological surveys for gold and other precious minerals, guarding goldmines, and mining gold in remote and difficult areas. When called upon, the GT, like all other PAP units must serve as emergency responders to deal with internal security contingencies.
The GT has its own technical school and geological research institute and is organized as three zongdui, under each there are 12 zhidui (Gold Science and Technology, no. 4, August, 2012) .Since its establishment to 2012, the GT has completed 1,600 geological surveys and discovered more than 200 gold deposits of various sizes totaling 1,851.581 tons. Although second in total known deposits, China has led the world in gold production for close to a decade, due in large part to the Gold Troops (Wall Street Information, June 7, 2014; U.S. Geological Survey, January 2015).
Guarding strategic infrastructure is an important part of PAP duties. Given that China is the world's largest consumer of hydroelectric power, the PAP's Hydropower Troops (HT) are tasked with building, guarding, and repairing levees, reservoirs, hydropower stations, transformer substations, and electric lines (Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering, 2013). Currently, the HT owns 3,042 pieces of equipment used in dam construction with a combined value of $220 million, and have participated in more than 60 national key projects. Two-thirds of China's land is under threat from flood and flood-related disasters, the HT is tasked with emergency relief missions. Zhang Rongshan, a senior engineer of the HT, has lodged a series of criticisms of the HT's limits in professional training, cutting-edge equipment, and research and development geared toward bettering its disaster relief capacity.
Connecting China's western provinces with the rest of the country is of utmost importance to the State. Not only is infrastructure an economic project, it is equally significant in political terms. Greater integration of Xinjiang and Tibet means the State can better assert its authority. The Transport Troops (TT) exists for this purpose. Similar to its peers, the TT builds and maintains roads and bridges in geographically challenging places, especially in western China (PLA Life, March 2015).
Garrisoned in a dozen of China's provinces, the Forestry Troops (FT) have four main tasks-to conserve forest resources, suppress wildfire, protect wildlife and disseminate information on fire prevention. [10] Currently, FT units are present in six national forests, eight virgin forests, 18 natural heritage sites, and 183 wildlife and plants protection area. While the FT's primary focus is forestry matters; it also participates in internal security missions when called upon. The Tibet zongdui for example, assisted in securing key installations in Lhasa during the 2008 riots.
The Mobile Divisions
During the PLA reform of 1996, 14 grade-B () PLA infantry divisions were transferred to the PAP and placed under the direct command of the GHQ as mobile divisions (MD). In contrast to ISTs, the MDs are fully equipped army divisions in every aspect but name only. MDs act as rapid reaction troops in the case of a large-scale disturbance, and are enforcers of martial law. Each MD division is composed of the following combat arms: infantry, artillery, armor, engineers, chemical defense, communications, and special forces (Journal of Equipment Academy, no. 2, April, 2015). A typical MD, such as Division 63 garrisoned in Pingliang City of Gansu Province has a long combat history dating back to the Chinese Civil War. At present, Division 63 is the only MD in the Gansu-Shaanxi-Ningxia-Qinghai quad-state area, and is on standby for any signs of trouble in Xinjiang or Beijing (Tie Jun, December 2015). However, from publically available literature, it appears that MDs also participate in civil missions. Servicemen of Division 63 also assist their PAP comrades in suppressing wildfire and snow removal. Chemical defense personnel of MD Division 81, for example, participated in putting out fires during the August 2015 Tianjin explosions (Youth Journalist, September 2015).
Conclusion
Despite cuts to the army and militia in armed forces restructurings of the past, Chinese leaders have expressed a particular fondness for the PAP-preserving, if not augmenting its size during a time of austerity. An answer to this puzzle is as simple as the Chinese adage "keeping internal peace is required in repelling external threats" (). A review of Chinese history shows internal factors brought down the vast majority of dynasties. The Chinese Communist Party, in fact, came to power at a time when a weak central government and local power vacuums created fertile ground for revolutionary activities. The history of the world communist movement only reinforced this established belief among Chinese leaders-communist states collapsed in the late 1980s and early 1990s due to domestic opposition. Thus, keeping a strong security force presence at all stratums of society is of vital importance for regime survival. As a result, Xu Guangyu, a retired PLA General and frequently quoted commentator speculated Xi Jinping will eventually integrate a large number of soldiers trimmed from the army during the present round of personnel cuts into the PAP (Takungpao, September 4, 2015).
Another concern regarding the PAP's future is the current command system. As recently discussed in China Brief, there is a possibility the dual command of the PAP will change as part of ongoing military reforms (China Brief, February 4). The personification of the "leader as the state" has defined the Xi Jinping era; the Chinese President have so far demonstrated clear ambition in political centralization and breaking up old power blocs, made evident with the gerrymandering of PLA command theaters and purge of the officer corps under the guise of anti-corruption (The Diplomat, December 17, 2014). A fundamental reworking of the PAP's dual command structure is probable according to General Sun Sijing, the PAP Political Commissar, who indicated in a recent speech of the need to institute the "CMC chairman responsibility system" () where all functional departments respond directly to Xi and the CMC (Caixin News Online, December 24, 2015; QQ News Online, March 7). But questions remain on how this will influence the principle of "integrating the vertical and horizontal" and the PAP's performance in future internal security missions. Granting the GHQ total autonomy is unlikely because that would be against Xi's goal of political centralization. Yet a complete integration of the PAP into the CMC's chain of command means the latter must divert valued time and resources to deal with complex everyday internal security issues, which contradicts the stated goal of making the PLA a more combat-capable force (Xinhua, September 3, 2015). The rationale behind the "vertical and horizontal" system is to allow State organs maximum autonomy in exercising its governance expertise while enabling the Party a high degree of control. For example, the IST must work with officers of the local public security bureau. The local forestry bureau, specialized in forest management, is best to advise the FT. The CMC, staffed with PLA officers trained in the art of war, lacks the specialty in internal security or economic construction.
The PAP, as a favored wing of the Party, is positioned to survive another round of force reduction unscathed. Groomed to defend the Party-state from any threats, the PAP will likely be increased in size as China's economic growth slows and the possibility of social unrest rises.
Zi Yang is a M.A. candidate at Georgetown University's Asian Studies Program.
Notes
1. Dennis J. Blasko, The Chinese Army Today: Tradition and Transformation for the 21st Century (New York: Routledge, 2012), p. 27.
2. Xuezhi Guo, China's Security State: Philosophy, Evolution, and Politics (Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2012), p. 187.
3. Ruojin Ma, " [Brief Discussion on the Study of the PAP Law in Our Country]," Legality Vision, no. 2 (January 2015), p. 181; A number of PAP regulations and policy papers regarding the PAP are still classified, according to Li, p. 25. For an English translation of the "PAP law," see: Peking University Law.
4. Blasko, p. 28.
5. Qiliang Wang, "-- [Modern Armed Police Force Strategy in the Perspective of National Security-Origin, Function and Direction]," Military Politics Review, no. 1 (March 2015), p. 111.
6. The latter four branches of the PAP are dually commanded by State organs and respective GHQ command centers. The Gold Troops responds to the Ministry of Land and Resources. The Hydropower Troops responds to the Ministry of Water Resources. The Transport Troops responds to the Ministry of Transport. The Forestry Troops answers to the State Forestry Administration.
7. Tiefei Lei and Dengyuan Ma, "-- [Field Excercise under the Helan mountains-PAP Ningxia Zongdui Raises Fighting Capability by Actual Combat Training]," Ningxia Pictorial, 1 (February 2015), pp. 50-53.
8. Yuanhai Shen, " [Study on Legal Education at the PAP's Grassroots Zhongdui]," Legality Vision, no. 15 (May 2015), p. 200.
9. Guo Sun, " [Discover the PAP Gold Troops]," General Review of the Communist Party of China, no. 9 (September 2010), p. 36.
Delong Cong and Zheng Tie, " [A Brief Analysis On Characteristic Culture of The Armed Police Forest Force]," Green China, no. 7 (April 2015), p. 63.; Ibid, p. 64. Ke Wang, "-- [The Proud Eagle That Soars above the Snowy Land's Azure Sky-on Xu Xiongguang, the Deputy Commander of the PAP Tibet Zongdui]," Ecological Culture, no. 4 (August 2014), p. 28.
Copyright notice: 2010 The Jamestown Foundation
China's Fourth Evil: Drug Trafficking in the PRC
Publisher Jamestown Foundation Author David Volodzko Publication Date 24 March 2016 Citation / Document Symbol China Brief Volume: 16 Issue: 6 Cite as Jamestown Foundation, China's Fourth Evil: Drug Trafficking in the PRC, 24 March 2016, China Brief Volume: 16 Issue: 6, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fe24c94.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.
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Cai Dongjia, party secretary for Boshe village in Lufeng, Guangdong province, and a man otherwise known as "the Godfather of Meth," was sentenced to death last week (Guangdong Courts, March 7). Cai was arrested in 2014 when 3,000 police raided his village, confiscating three metric tons of methamphetamine and uncovering the involvement of over one-fifth of the households in Boshe village, leading reports to compare it to the television show "Breaking Bad" (South China Morning Post, January 6, 2014). Two weeks ago, police in Harbin-in China's northeastern Heliongjiang province-apprehended three methamphetamine traffickers after a dramatic car chase ended in a collision later described as a scene from another American series, Fast & Furious (Harbin News, March 9). Although drug busts like these are encouraging and the press they receive is welcomed by the government, they indicate the emergence of unconventional vectors and the unprecedented quantities of locally produced narcotics, two factors that may require Beijing to adopt a new approach, namely, enhanced government transparency and direct coordination with foreign agencies at both the national and local levels.
One of China's biggest anti-narcotics victories was the recent capture of Sai Naw Kham, formerly a thug whose loyalty belonged to the Shan warlord and opium trader Khun Sa, but who later became head of the drug trafficking organization, Hawngleuk Militia, and as a result, arguably Burma's most powerful druglord. After initially denying the charges, Kham pled guilty to killing 13 Chinese sailors and was executed in Kunming, the capital of China's Yunnan province, in 2013 (CCTV, September 20, 2012; Xinhua, September 21, 2012; People's Daily, March 1, 2013). According to Ai Zhen, a foreign affairs official for Yunnan's Xishuangbanna, which borders Burma, Naw Kham's group was the "most powerful" in the entire Mekong region (China Daily, September 20, 2012).
Other recent victories include a number of major busts. Last year, Beijing Customs officials caught two Tanzanians smuggling 155 heroin capsules in their bodies, 2015's largest bust (China Daily, March 4). Last month, Nanning officials seized 40 kilograms of drugs including ecstasy, ketamine and nimetazepam (China Daily, February 22). Last week, Bao'an police seized 2.1 kilograms of methamphetamine (Yangcheng Evening News, March 8). As police improve at catching culprits, the culprits learn to evade police. However, now there is an online drug trade through Chinese websites such as Qinjiayuan, which mimic the Silk Road website, which served as the first modern internet marketplace for drugs (Global Times, July 7, 2015).
Prosecuting Drug Crimes
According to Sun Jungong, spokesman for the Supreme People's Court, from 2007 to 2011, the number of drug-related trials increased by roughly 80 percent (Xinhua, June 26, 2012). Last year, 1.06 million drug users were arrested in China, representing a 20 percent increase from the year before and constituting 14 percent of all criminal cases. Half of these were first-time offenders, 73.2 percent were amphetamine users, 60.6 percent of all users were between 18 and 35 years old and notably, 80 percent of traffickers were farmers or unemployed (South China Morning Post, February 18). In China, drug trafficking is predominantly a young farmer's game. As the problem continues to explode, it is therefore China's poorest who will likely suffer most while authorities redouble their efforts, as seen by their execution of individuals found guilty of drug crimes (China Daily, May 28, 2015). Given that these are members of the one-child generation, their executions extinguish family lines, reinforcing the cycle of poverty that likely drove these youths to try their hand at drug trafficking in the first place.
Moreover, as pointed out in an earlier issue of China Brief, China is currently suffering a serious security vacuum whereby law enforcement has become more and more concentrated in urban centers, leaving rural areas increasingly open to criminal activity and putting rural residents, and therefore China's poorest communities, at greater risk than ever before (China Brief, September 4, 2015). Beijing's harsh policing and punishment of drug-related crimes may exacerbate ethnic conflict in rural regions without addressing the fact that, in addition to national security concerns, the illicit drug market is also fueling a looming health crisis. For example, methamphetamine use is currently contributing to a spike in HIV cases (China Daily, February 24).
Beijing also uses its media control to promote anti-drug films, television shows, radio programs, and to extract confessions from celebrities found guilty of illegal drug use. In August 2014, Jaycee Chan, Jackie Chan's son, was caught in Beijing with over 100 grams of marijuana; individuals found possessing more than 50 grams potentially face the death penalty (China Radio International, August 18, 2014). He later made a taped confession, featured on CCTV 13, expressing his regret to family and fans, saying, "I made a big mistake I did something wrong" (Hong Kong Free Press, February 8). He was released after seven months in prison and his father is now making an anti-drug film entitled Polar Night (Mtime News, June 12, 2015).
As the situation worsens, its transnational nature will require greater collaboration by Beijing with the international community. China's illegal drug market is presently dominated by heroin, ketamine, methamphetamine, other amphetamines, and cannabis. Each of these is on the rise. From 2014 to 2015, for instance, ketamine seizures increased 140 percent (South China Morning Post, March 4). Liu Yuejin, China's first counterterrorism chief, said in a statement last year that most opioids in China come from the Golden Triangle (the mountains of Burma, Laos, and Thailand) and the Golden Crescent (the mountains of Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan), while the primary domestic sources for methamphetamine and ketamine are Sichuan and Guangdong (China Radio International, June 24, 2015). North Korea is also a significant source for methamphetamine (Vice China, March 20, 2014). Thus, it is imperative to work together in order to staunch the flow of narcotics into China.
Domestic seizures are only half the battle. To strangle the demand that drives the drug trafficking market, China must also tackle exports, since not all drug trafficking within the nation is for domestic consumption. In the first half of last year, New Zealand authorities seized methamphetamine shipments from China totaling over $163 million (USD), a record figure (Global Times, July 22, 2015). Last month, Australian authorities found $900 million worth of liquid methamphetamine-the largest such case in Australian history-hidden in the bras of four Chinese nationals (China Daily, February 16). Days later, Sydney police made the largest methamphetamine seizure in Australian history, intercepting a shipping container from Hong Kong (South China Morning Post, February 20). Further evidence of the international nature of the beast is given by the fact that, of China's five Interpol Red Notices for drug smuggling, two are ethnic Koreans, one is Nigerian, one is Iranian and one is a Canadian of Iranian descent (Interpol, 2016).
In 2015, following the 11th UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, Xie Bohua, the Chinese delegation's counsellor, addressed Chairman Hu Jintao, saying, "to have a drug-free world, the international community must implement international drug control conventions in a comprehensive and effective manner" (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, October 7, 2005). He stressed the importance of working together to stop the flow of precursor chemicals, as well as the duty developed countries have to provide financial and technical assistance to source nations. That year, Hu initiated the Peoples' War on Drugs and the government passed laws that, to this day, actively inhibit the precursor black market (Ministry of Commerce, November 5, 2015).
International Cooperation
China also works to help less developed countries answer the call. To this end, it has signed memoranda of understanding with Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and the United Nations (China Daily, December 16, 2011). In 2012, China gave $600,000 to Laos for the development of drug rehabilitation centers and $47.62 million to subsidize the farming of crops other than poppy in Burma and Laos (Xinhua, June 5, 2012). Also that year, Beijing and Moscow agreed to work together to combat drug trafficking within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (SCO/RATS); Sergei Liu Jianing, director of the Russian Academy of Sciences' Far East Institute, commented at the time that the sangu shili (; three evils, i.e. terrorism, separatism and religious extremism) was an outmoded concept because it didn't include drug trafficking (Russia Beyond the Headlines, September 26, 2012).
In 2008, the Tenth National People's Congress promulgated the nation's Narcotics Law (Central People's Government, December 29, 2007). Also, the National Narcotics Control Commission (NNCC; ), founded in 1990, implements drug policies, coordinates with relevant Chinese departments and international agencies, works to meet China's obligations under international drug control conventions and operates its own website to help raise public awareness (Xinhua, April 24, 2015; NNCC). According to its 2015 drug report, in 2014 Chinese authorities captured 68.95 tons of illicit drugs including four tons of marijuana, 9.3 tons of heroin, 11.2 tons of ketamine and 25.9 tons of methamphetamine; including chemical precursors, the net capture was 3,847 tons (State Council Information Office, December 19, 2015).
China also works to cultivate international efforts with Western agencies. It participates in Operation Purple, an intergovernmental tracking system for potassium permanganate, a precursor used in the production of cocaine, and plays a role in Operation Topaz, an intergovernmental effort to restrict the flow of heroin precursors (People's Daily, 2002 [accessed March 10]). Last year, Minister of Justice Wu Aiying led a delegation to the 13th UN Conference on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, and this year, the US-China Joint Liaison Group on Law Enforcement Cooperation, which deals with anti-drug criminal justice, will convene its 14th session (China Daily, May 31, 2015).
Historical Context
Beijing's strong stance on drugs had led to criticism that the sentences meted out are too draconian, although there is historical warrant for such severity; drugs are associated with periods of colonial aggression, such as the two Opium Wars, and national weakness, as exemplified by the bainian guochi (; Century of Humiliation).
China has zero tolerance for certain drug offenses and makes liberal use of the death penalty in curbing the spread of narcotics, regardless of an offender's nationality. Juliana Lopez, a Colombian model and television presenter, currently faces the death penalty for smuggling drugs inside her laptop during a recent shopping excursion to China (Chinese Radio International, August 2, 2015).
Last year, President Xi Jinping said, "drugs are a menace for society and a significant issue concerning public security." He added that the government would strengthen its stance against drugs in the future, observing, "a firm opposition to drugs is the routine standpoint of the Party and the government" (China Daily, June 26, 2015).
Conclusion
But Chinese still faces several challenges, one being corruption. A 2006 report by the U.S. embassy in Beijing noted, "corruption in far-flung drug producing and drug transit regions of the PRC limit the accomplishments of dedicated enforcement officials," and as the drug market grows, this problem only worsens (U.S. Embassy, Beijing, 2006). Indeed, Cai Dongjia isn't the only Party member to use illegal drugs; 41 members were expelled for drug use in Yunnan where, according to Yang Fuquan, vice president of the Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences, drug use is a chief cause of corruption (China Daily, December 11, 2014).
In fact, the Guangdong methamphetamine market depends on the availability of certain licit chemical precursors that are only made available to methamphetamine cooks thanks to corruption within China's pharmaceutical industry (South China Morning Post, February 22, 2015). Along with Yunnan and Guangdong, China's third major drug center is Fujian, where for instance, last year Fujian police seized one metric ton of narcotics in a single raid (Sina, October 19, 2015). As one author bluntly wrote on the popular message board site Tianya Club, "Fujian is a hotbed of drug corruption" (Tianya Club, July 2, 2006).
Another problem is inefficiency. The sledgehammer is inferior to the scalpel, yet particular aspects of Chinese bureaucracy prevent the NNCC from operating with anything like surgical precision. Principally, its lack of transparency perpetually hinders international collaboration. For instance, bilateral cooperation with U.S. drug enforcement officials remains hamstrung by China's restrictions on intelligence sharing, even concerning arrests made possible by U.S.-developed leads. Chinese policy also requires that all communication be routed through Beijing, a far less efficient process than direct communication with Chinese agents on the ground (U.S. State Department, March 1, 2010; U.S. State Department, 2015). Beijing must decide whether it wishes to keep a grip on weiwen (socio-political stability) by continuing to hold its cards close to its chest or to instead prioritize victories against the illegal drug market, which is eroding that status quo.
David Volodzko is the national editor for the JoongAng Daily, a writer for The Diplomat, where he covers matters related to Chinese politics and society, and a former university lecturer.
Copyright notice: 2010 The Jamestown Foundation
International Crisis Group: Russia Deliberately 'Exported' Jihadis to Middle East
Publisher Jamestown Foundation Author Valery Dzutsati Publication Date 23 March 2016 Citation / Document Symbol North Caucasus Analysis Volume: 17 Issue: 6 Cite as Jamestown Foundation, International Crisis Group: Russia Deliberately 'Exported' Jihadis to Middle East, 23 March 2016, North Caucasus Analysis Volume: 17 Issue: 6, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fe252b4.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.
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On March 16, the International Crisis Group (ICG) presented a report titled "The North Caucasus Insurgency and Syria: An Exported Jihad?" According to the ICG, the Russian security services opened the borders to allow radicals from the North Caucasus to travel freely to the Middle East in 2013-2014. Thus, in the lead-up to the 2014 Sochi Olympics, Moscow to an extent resolved its insurgency problem in the North Caucasus. After the Olympics, in the second half of 2014, the Russian government passed tough laws against unwanted mercenaries that practically barred rebels from returning home without facing serious repercussions. As a result of the Russian government's maneuvering, the radicals were supposed to stay outside Russia, which, in turn, would help Moscow in dealing with the few remaining militants in the North Caucasus (Crisisgroup.org, March 16).
The ICG's report claims to explain how and why the Russian authorities managed to avoid violent attacks during the Olympics in Sochi, in 2014. In addition, the level of violence in the North Caucasus also dropped in the past two years, so Moscow has partially resolved the radicalization issue in the region. For example, there were 258 victims of insurgency-related violence (both killed and wounded) in 2015, a more than two-fold decline from the previous year, when there were 525 victims (Kavkazsky Uzel, February 10). However, it is unclear how sustainable that effect will be. Many militants have already returned from the Middle East to the North Caucasus. The Islamic State (IS) has also coopted the majority of former members of the once most powerful insurgent group in the region, the Caucasus Emirate. Russia now has to deal with the IS in the North Caucasus even though no massive influx of IS fighters from abroad has taken place.
After President Vladimir Putin unexpectedly announced the withdrawal of Russian forces from Syria, some Russian analysts were hoping that the IS would stop targeting Russia. However, a well-known Russian expert on Islam of Dagestani origin, Ahmed Yarlykapov, warned that the IS is likely to continue targeting Russia regardless of the change of policy in Syria. Yarlykapov said that recent attacks by a rebel group affiliated with the IS in southern Dagestan indicated how serious the threat is. He said the government should avoid cracking down on Muslim groups simply because it does not like them. Instead of dividing Muslims into "good" and "bad," he said, the government should distance itself equally from all Muslim groups and fight only those that are aggressive and truly radical (Kavkazskaya Politika, March 17) The ICG also suggests that the Russian authorities should protect moderate Muslim clerics. However, a recent attack on the Ingush Salafist cleric Khamzat Chumakov indicates that Moscow's approach toward religious figures it does not fully control remains quite harsh (Kavkazsky Uzel, March 16).
The Russian government appears to be acting contrary to what the experts are urging. On March 10, following a controversial trial in Moscow, the authorities sentenced six Dagestani nationals to lengthy prison terms. Prosecutors said that the group had planned terrorist attacks in 2014, learning how to make improvised explosive devices (IED) and buying the necessary equipment. However, their lawyer claimed the investigators found fingerprints on the IED that did not belong to any of the suspects. The suspects also had no address in their browsing history of the website they allegedly accessed to obtain the information on making IEDs. A friend of the suspects told the newspaper Kommersant that all six individuals came from three small villages in Dagestan's Khiva district and were related to each other. Moreover, the suspects were apparently related to one of the most notorious insurgent leaders in southern Dagestan, Gasan Abdullaev (a.k.a. Abu Yasir), who is known for a failed attempt to derail a high-speed train in the Moscow region back in 2011. He also allegedly recruited and used suicide bombers. The police reportedly have been hunting for Abdullaev for the past seven years and carried out dozens of special operations targeting him and his group. Having failed to catch Abdullaev, the Dagestani police reportedly took revenge on his relatives by providing some compromising information on them to the Russian authorities (Kommersant, March 11).
After Russian authorities "exported" part of southwestern Russia's rebel population to the Middle East, the security situation in the North Caucasus evidently improved. An additional "benefit" for Russia was that the North Caucasian militants contributed to the havoc in the Middle East, which in turn helped create the European refugee crisis. However, it is unclear whether the Russian government will now be able to keep the hardened North Caucasian militants out of the country. Depending on the situation in the Middle East, some of the militants may want to return home. Militants from abroad may also support the North Caucasian branch of the IS, which makes the Russian strategy of exporting militants to the Middle East a shortsighted policy.
Copyright notice: 2010 The Jamestown Foundation
Belarus-Ukraine Relations Beyond Media Headlines
Publisher Jamestown Foundation Author Yauheni Preiherman Publication Date 23 March 2016 Citation / Document Symbol Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 13 Issue: 57 Cite as Jamestown Foundation, Belarus-Ukraine Relations Beyond Media Headlines, 23 March 2016, Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 13 Issue: 57, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fe25864.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.
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Belarus-Ukraine relations are often ignored as a crucial factor for regional developments in Europe's East, as well as for each country's foreign policy. For example, the recently released study "Ukrainian Prism: Foreign Policy in 2015" does not mention Belarus among Ukraine's key foreign policy partners (Ukrainian Prism, March 21). Also, the media tend to present a chaotic and contradictory picture of the relationship. In reality, however, there is a great deal of coherence and strategic significance in Belarus-Ukraine relations, even despite multiple difficulties.
Minsk has become the main venue for diplomatic negotiations aimed at resolving the crisis and war in Donbas. It held two top-level summits-in August 2014 (European Union-Ukraine-Eurasian Economic Union format) and in February 2015 (Normandy format)-and it hosts regular meetings of the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine. The implications of the Minsk peace process for Ukraine's interests remain hotly debated (see EDM, February 19, 23; Ukrainskaya Pravda, January, 29); yet, the Minsk talks have undoubtedly become a central factor for the Ukrainian government's internal and foreign policies.
Moreover, Belarus's diplomatic role in the protracted Ukrainian peace process is, in fact, more meaningful than just offering coffee and a round table for discussions. At the February 2016 conference of the Minsk Dialogue track-II initiative, Belarusian Foreign Minister Uladzimir Makei stated that Minsk is ready to provide all of the logistical, secretariat and protocol functions to the Trilateral Contact Group (Mfa.gov.by, February 11). In fact, the Belarusian foreign ministry already unofficially performs most of these functions and, thus, has an indirect influence on the flow of the peace process, according to a Ukrainian diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity (Author's interview, February 11). This fact alone makes Belarus a crucial partner for Kyiv.
At the bilateral level, Belarus-Ukraine relations sometimes appear shakier than they truly are. Public disagreements on minor issues happen often, and these become exaggerated in the media. A recent case has to do with Minsk's refusal to allow Ukrainian citizens from entering Belarus with new plastic ID cards; referring to the Visa-Free Agreement between the two countries, the Belarusian authorities require that Ukrainian visitors carry their paper passport booklets (Tut.by, March 5). In its turn, Ukraine's foreign ministry adheres to a differing interpretation of the agreement (Tut.by, March 6). Even though this dispute will almost certainly end after a round of diplomatic consultations, it has already been presented as a row by some media (BelTA, March 6).
Where bilateral relations really become difficult from time to time is in the economic realm. Public disagreements and even mini-scandals repeatedly erupted before the outbreak of the Ukrainian Revolution of Dignity and consequent replacement of Viktor Yanukovych's government, in February 2014 (Obolon, January 14, 2011; Onliner, April 19, 2013; Zn.ua, May 17, 2013). And such disputes also occur now, in most cases resulting from protectionist policies.
A fresh such dispute involved mutual threats to introduce extra duties on each other's goods. It broke out in August 2015, after the Belarusian government adopted a decree subjecting all foreign goods, including Ukrainian but excluding those originating from the Eurasian Economic Union, to mandatory sanitary and hygienic certification (Thinktanks.by, January 14). Kyiv retaliated by proposing a special 39.2 percent duty on certain Belarusian goods (Nasha Niva, January 14). After long discussions and public arguing, the parties announced that they would abstain from any counter sanctions. Moreover, Belarus did not introduce trade restrictions on Ukrainian goods after the free trade pact between Ukraine and the EU entered into force on January 1, 2016.
Yet, the Belarusian authorities watch the implementation of the EU-Ukraine free trade agreement with caution. The inflow of European goods to the Ukrainian market (about 70 percent of EU goods are now duty free) is often seen as a potential challenge to low-competitive Belarusian producers (Naviny.by, January 6). Together with the problem of small arms trafficking, it makes the Ukrainian border, in President Lukashenka's opinion, a major source of threat to Belarus's national security (BelTA, December 16, 2015).
A governmental working group was set up to monitor imports from Ukraine during the first quarter of 2016. However, the Belarusian authorities, unlike their Russian colleagues, do not perceive the situation in strictly black-and-white tones. Rather, they are considering new opportunities that might be available as a result of the EU-Ukraine trade deal and Ukraine-Russia sanctions. One such potential opportunity is to fill the share of the Russian market formerly held by Ukrainian producers. In 2014, Ukraine's main exports to Russia consisted of machines and equipment, metal, chemical products, and food. Here, only the food sector is promising for Belarus. Another opportunity is to create joint companies with Ukraine, in Belarus, in order to access the Eurasian Union market, and in Ukraine, with an eye toward selling to the EU (Naviny.by, January 6).
The military sphere is another topic in Belarus-Ukraine relations that the media often misrepresents. Since the war in Donbas broke out, Belarus has been working on securing its border with Ukraine. On February 3-5, a large-scale military drill with the use of artillery and missiles took place. In particular, Belarusian forces employed Tochka-U tactical missile complexes, Smerch, Uragan and Belgrade multiple launch rocket systems, as well as long-range cannons (Belinstitute.eu, March 14).
However, Ukrainian experts and diplomats did not express much concern about the drill. Military expert Dmytro Tymchuk, Ukrainian parliamentarian and coordinator of the Information Resistance blog, opined that, "at the moment, Ukraine cannot consider Belarus as a source of potential military threat" (Obozrevatel, February 5). According to him, his team had conducted an analysis of a hypothetical scenario whereby Belarus is used as a base of attack by the Russian military. They came to the conclusion that this is improbable. In his words, the dense forests and swamps of Belarus's southern Polesie region, which borders on Ukraine, would make such an invasion corridor extremely difficult for Russian forces to utilize. For this reason, that area was not affected by large-scale fighting in World War II. The aforementioned Ukrainian diplomat expressed similar views (Author's interview, February 11).
Media narratives often distort the reality of Belarus-Ukraine relations. Some observers explain this and the fact of recurring economic disputes by the absence of a "strategic vision for a long-term relationship" (Inosmi, November 30, 2015). To a certain degree, they are right. But this is also a typical feature of inter-state relations in the post-Soviet space, where politics is mainly about tactics, and fighting protectionist trade wars is part of the political culture.
Copyright notice: 2010 The Jamestown Foundation
Domestic Political Issues Hinder Georgia's Progress Toward NATO
Publisher Jamestown Foundation Author Giorgi Menabde Publication Date 22 March 2016 Citation / Document Symbol Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 13 Issue: 56 Cite as Jamestown Foundation, Domestic Political Issues Hinder Georgia's Progress Toward NATO, 22 March 2016, Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 13 Issue: 56, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fe26164.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.
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Georgia is gearing up for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) upcoming summit in Warsaw, hoping to receive a "strong message" from the Alliance about strengthening their mutual ties (see EDM, March 11). Georgian leaders have accepted that Tbilisi will most likely not receive a Membership Action Plan (MAP) from NATO this time either. Nevertheless, the Georgian government expects to develop alternative joint programs with the North Atlantic Alliance, such as the substantial package of cooperation offered to Georgia at the Wales summit in 2014 (Civil Georgia, August 27, 2015).
The majority of Georgian politicians and analysts, however, think that none of the alternatives offered by the Alliance, including the NATO-Georgian Joint Training and Evaluation Center, which was opened last August just outside of Tbilisi (Civil Georgia, August 27, 2015), will be able to substitute MAP as a "one way ticket into NATO." Countries that receive MAP are not simply Alliance aspirants, but official candidates for NATO membership.
In his recent visit with Georgian Foreign Minister Mikheil Janelidze, in Washington, US Secretary of State John Kerry reiterated Georgia's significant contribution to NATO's mission in Afghanistan (Civil Georgia, March 16). Yet, the Russian factor and the West's unwillingness to "tease" Vladimir Putin are the most commonly cited causes for NATO's "skepticism" toward Georgia's membership, despite the country's often lauded role as an important and loyal partner of the Alliance. The United States' ambassador to Georgia, Ian Kelly, said that too much NATO activity in Georgia could put the small country in jeopardy. Apart from that, Georgia has failed to resolve its territorial problems-conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia (see EDM, March 11).
Yet, as some Georgian experts assert, foreign challenges and a difficult geopolitical situation are not the only factors blocking Tbilisi's smooth entry into the Alliance. Rather, domestic political instability, endless conflicts, public debates within the ruling Georgian Dream coalition about crucial foreign policy issues, as well as overly frequent replacements of ministers of defense also caution the West against welcoming Georgia into NATO.
According to analyst Vakhtang Maisaia, "During the rule of the Georgian Dream coalition in 2012-2015, two ministers of defense resigned. Now a third defense minister, Tinatin Khidasheli, is in office. This creates the sense of instability in Georgian politics among our partners, especially as the trend is similar to what happened during the previous administrations of Mikheil Saakashvili and Eduard Shevardnadze. Since 2004, Georgia has changed its minister of defense six times." The expert said that under normal conditions, such frequent replacements of the head of the Ministry of Defense is acceptable. However, Georgia's "defense system and the armed forces do not function in a stable form. Apart from that, Georgia is encountering existential threats, [thus] stability and predictability of the country are especially important for its partners" (Author's interview, March 19).
"Georgia is in the process of building its armed forces, not simply reforming them. This is especially important after the military conflict with Georgia in 2008. We are in transition, and frequent changes of the ministers of defense, each of whom had his or her own vision of building the army, does not help to build effective armed forces," Maisaia argued. And as other experts pointed out, such instability is not only plaguing the top officials of the defense ministry and the military, but also the middle- and lower-rank officers (Author's interviews, March 19).
The ongoing debate within the governing coalition regarding fundamental questions of foreign policy and the country's geopolitical orientation are also raising doubts among Georgia's Western partners. For example, two leaders of the ruling Georgian Dream coalition, Minister of Defense Tinatin Khidasheli and businessman Gogi Topadze, recently engaged in a public debate over Georgia's security alignment (Dfwatch.net, March 16). Topadze has repeatedly stated in the past that the United States was a harmful partner and that Georgia should improve its relations with Russia, instead of pursuing endless and futile attempts to join NATO (Vestnik Kavkaza, March 24, 2015). Apart from that, Topadze previously expressed his sympathies for Joseph Stalin and said that the Soviet tyrant set the right example for other politicians (Rustavi2, October 28, 2015).
Gogi Topadze's party colleagues often criticize him for such statements. Indeed, Georgian Dream parliamentarian and Soviet-era dissident Levan Berdzenishvili expressed his bewilderment at Topadze's statements and denounced the latter's "demands to hang the portrait of the Soviet dictator in every government office" (Author's interview, February 27). Still, Topadze remains one of the key leaders of the Georgian Dream coalition. Defense Minister Khidasheli has tried to publicly condemn Topadze's remarks about both Russia and Stalin, but Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili warned her that the head of the defense ministry cannot engage in on-the-record discussions with Georgian Dream coalition members and make political statements, because such behavior "politicizes the army" (Kommersant, March 4).
Such foundational differences between domestic elites regarding Georgian values and the country's geopolitical orientation raise doubts among Georgia's Western partners about this nation's willingness to move in the direction of building a Western-style society. And these concerns are especially legitimate when various leaders of the ruling coalition simultaneously articulate values that are entirely incompatible with each other.
Diplomatic Academy of Georgia Rector Joseph Tsintsadze thinks that for a small country under existential risk, a consolidated position by the authorities is especially important. "The Georgian government is not consistent toward Russia, either," he noted. "For example, while the prime minister and the foreign minister emphasize the need for building a partnership with Moscow without rejecting [Georgia's] course toward Euro-Atlantic integration, the minister of defense and the president make another round of militant statements about Russia," Tsintsadze said (Author's interview, March 19).
The Georgian authorities' publicly aired differences over core issues lead to particularly negative consequences. First, Western skepticism is growing about Georgia's commitment to the values it declares, thus raising questions about the wisdom of establishing closer ties with this South Caucasus country. But at the same time, Georgian-Russian relations are themselves degrading. Several days ago, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin, who oversees Moscow's relations with other post-Soviet states, issued a warning to Georgia's president and defense minister, asking them to "slow down on their anti-Russian rhetoric" (Eadaily.com, March 17). "Russia's patience is not limitless," the Russian diplomat threatened (Accent.com.ge, March 17). Such worrying statements coming out of Moscow will only strengthen the positions of those in the West who are skeptical about Georgia's Euro-Atlantic prospects.
Copyright notice: 2010 The Jamestown Foundation
Rebranding Russia's Military Operations in Syria
Publisher Jamestown Foundation Author Roger McDermott Publication Date 22 March 2016 Citation / Document Symbol Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 13 Issue: 56 Cite as Jamestown Foundation, Rebranding Russia's Military Operations in Syria, 22 March 2016, Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 13 Issue: 56, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fe26634.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.
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President Vladimir Putin has created a storm of speculation concerning his decision to wind down Russian operations in Syria by announcing that a withdrawal would commence on March 15, involving the "main group" of forces (see EDM, March 15, 17, 21). Reaction in the Russian media was favorable, while much reporting centered on what seemed to be a relatively successful campaign. According to Viktor Ozerov, the head of the defense and security committee of the Federation Council (Russia's upper chamber of parliament), air defense systems will stay in place in Syria to cover Russian military facilities, the main body of troops is to be withdrawn, while the naval group in the Mediterranean Sea will remain in place (Nezavisimoye Voyennoye Obozreniye, March 18; Krasnaya Zvezda, The Moscow Times, March 15).
On March 16, Dmitry Peskov, the presidential press secretary, confirmed that Russia's military facilities in Syria will continue to be protected by "land, sea and air," as Putin had instructed, but the Kremlin spokesman quibbled on the issue of referring to Tartus or the airbase at Latakia as "bases." Technically, Peskov is correct, at least about Tartus. The Latakia facility is covered by a standard basing agreement that appears consistent with Russian airbases abroad. However, the Tartus facility is certainly not a naval base, and to characterize it as such would be entirely mistaken. Tartus serves as a Material-Technical Support Point (Punkt Material'no-Tekhnicheskogo Obespecheniya-PMTO). In other words, the depot at Tartus functions as a logistical hub for the Russian naval group in the Mediterranean Sea, which serves as a better option than returning to base for repair and maintenance. It also acts as a hub in the Russian supply lines to Syria, both for the transfer of weapons and equipment to the Syrian regime, support for the Russian operations that began in September 2015, and ongoing support for the military facilities, including the airbase at Latakia (RIA Novosti, March 16; Interfax, October 14, 2015).
Conflicting Russian media reports and confused Western coverage differed on the speed of withdrawing strike aircraft, with the Pentagon reportedly assessing that most strike platforms had been removed by March 19. Nonetheless, the Russian defense ministry continued to confirm the Aerospace Forces' (Vozdushno Kosmicheskikh Sil-VKS) involvement in close air support (CAS) missions around Palmyra to aid the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) in its ground offensives. Indeed, the VKS may well have pulled some high-profile assets from Latakia, but it also inserted other sophisticated platforms, such as the Mi-28N and Ka-52 helicopters-though these are being deployed in small numbers rather than to "replace" other assets (Livejournal, March 17). The appearance of the new generation helicopter assets is consistent with Russia's propensity to carry out combat testing of advanced systems during the Syrian intervention. The overall cost of the operation to date stands at $460 million (TASS, March 17).
During a ceremony to decorate service personnel for the operation in Syria, Putin said the number of sorties had declined by two thirds and noted that operations against the Islamic State (IS) and al-Nusra would endure in support of the SAA (Kremlin.ru, March 17). The General Staff confirmed, on March 18, that the VKS delivers strikes against various targets, making around 20-25 daily sorties in support of SAA operations in Palmyra. Lieutenant-General Sergey Rudskoy, the chief of the main operations department of the Russian General Staff, said, "A large-scale operation to free the city of Palmyra has been carried out recently by government forces and patriotic forces with support from Russia's Aerospace Forces," adding, "Conditions have been created for encircling and routing the armed units of ISIS [the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria-former name for the IS] in Palmyra." Rudskoy also explained that operations against the IS and al-Nusra would, indeed, continue (TASS, March 18).
While Rudskoy stated that some operations would persist in support of the SAA, he also stressed that assets were being withdrawn by sea. He noted that the VKS's commander-in-chief, Colonel-General Viktor Bondarev, had asserted completion of withdrawing the main part of the strike group: Su-24Ms, Su-25s and Su-34s. When the process is finished, the airbase at Latakia will still have some Su-24 bombers and Mi-24 and Mi-35 attack helicopters, as well as Su-30SM and Su-35 multirole fighters (Vedomosti, March 16). Rudskoy commented on the use of air and sea routes to complete the task of moving the main part of the forces out of Syria: "Part of [the] equipment and cargoes will be transported by planes of Military Transport Aviation, another part-by ship transport" (TASS, March 18). In Turkey, local observers of Russian ship movements along what is termed the "Syrian Express" noted no surge in northbound traffic. On March 20, the Black Sea Fleet's Dvinitsa-50 cargo ship was the first moving north since Putin's announcement-returning empty to its base in the Black Sea (YouTube, March 20).
The question of withdrawing the main group for Syria remains clouded in mystery, with sources close to the Russian defense ministry saying that the "first stage" will involve a 50 percent reduction to around 30 fixed-wing and helicopter air assets staying in Syria for an indeterminate period. Colonel (retired) Viktor Murakhovsky, the editor of Arsenal Otechestva, sees the key result of the operation as the defense and expansion of regime-controlled territory, which will allow the SAA time to prepare fresh offensives. But Murakhovsky was elusive on the precise meaning of Putin's withdrawal (Vedomosti, March 15).
Vasily Kashin, a leading researcher at the Institute of Far Eastern Studies, sees Putin's announcement in terms of marking the beginning of a new phase; in effect the first phase of the initial operation is actually over. This will mark a new and much longer campaign. Putin's plan is to reduce the "main part" of the strike group, but the target numbers set to remain have not been disclosed. A large part of it will likely stay in place at Latakia, as will the Tartus PMTO, as well as the naval group in the Mediterranean Sea. The latter was first assembled in 2011-2012, during the early stages of the conflict in Syria, and has since been reinforced. This drives the underlying requirement for maintaining air defenses (RBK, March 16).
It appears that VKS operations will continue, albeit in a muted form and probably couched in terms of the details of the cessation of hostilities agreement that allows pursuit of the IS and al-Nusra. This longer phase of the VKS operation is likely to be portrayed as a response to other parties violating the present "ceasefire" terms.
Copyright notice: 2010 The Jamestown Foundation
China-Indonesia Relations Heat Up Along the Third "Dash"
Publisher Jamestown Foundation Author Peter Wood Publication Date 25 March 2016 Citation / Document Symbol China Brief Volume: 16 Issue: 6 Cite as Jamestown Foundation, China-Indonesia Relations Heat Up Along the Third "Dash", 25 March 2016, China Brief Volume: 16 Issue: 6, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fe27b44.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.
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On March 19, Chinese and Indonesian media reported that a confrontation had taken place between Chinese fishing boats and an Indonesian Fisheries Ministry ship near the Natuna Islands, in the South China Sea (Guancha, March 21; Konpas [Indonesia], March 21). Indonesian media reported that the country's foreign minister, Retno L.P. Marsudi, had summoned China's charge d'affaires in Jakarta to lodge a letter of protest (Konpas [Indonesia], March 22).
When questioned about whether the Chinese fishing ship was in Chinese or Indonesian waters, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Hua Chunying responded that the vessel was in "traditional Chinese fishing waters" (MFA [China], March 21). China concedes that the Natuna Islands, a small archipelago nearby, is not Chinese territory. However, the fact that the incident occurred within "traditional Chinese fishing grounds," combined with the ambiguity of the nine-dash line that China uses to demarcate its territorial claims in the South China Sea, creates the potential for conflict.
The waters and island territories along the third and fourth "dashes" of China's "nine-dash line" have traditionally been the calmest area of the otherwise contentious region. Though similar confrontations occurred in 2010 and 2013, China's relations with nearby Indonesia and Malaysia, the countries whose claims overlap with the third and fourth dashes, have generally been characterized by greater coordination and less strident rhetoric than China's relations with its closer neighbors, Vietnam and the Philippines. However, the size of China's Navy and Coast Guard have both expanded greatly in the intervening years, and the construction on Cuarterton and Fiery Cross Reefs, roughly four hundred miles to the northeast, means that Chinese influence in the region is stronger than ever.
This dispute has occurred during what has been an otherwise positive upswing for China-Indonesia diplomatic relations. Whereas China has frequent, vocal and intense disagreements with its close neighbors, Vietnam and the Philippines over fishing vessels and government statements, Indonesia and China have instead chosen to downplay their bilateral tensions (see Vietnam MFA, March 17). In late February, Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla said that he did not believe it was China's intention to take territory by force (Konpas, [Indonesia] February 29). However, this relatively sober relationship might now be changing, due in part to a stronger Chinese ability to deploy forces to the region by air and sea.
China has been rapidly expanding its Coast Guard forces by converting a number of aging navy destroyers and corvettes to Coast Guard use in order to bolster the already large numbers of Chinese Coast Guard vessels (China Brief, May 15, 2015).
Earlier, in late February, U.S. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper wrote an open letter to members of Congress in which he emphasized that China has greatly expanded its "installed surveillance systems" on islands and artificial features throughout the South China Sea (USNI, March 8). Director Clapper further emphasized, "Once these facilities are completed by the end of 2016 or early 2017, China will have significant capacity to quickly project substantial offensive military power to the region."
Economically, China and Indonesia had high hopes for further integration. A high-speed rail project worth $5.5 billion, for example, was frequently cited as a hallmark of China's Belt and Road Initiative, meant to provide affordable infrastructure for other countries and help China build demand for its industries (China Brief, October 10, 2013). The project has since run into problems, mirroring a larger trend toward slackening bilateral trade (Jakarta Post [Indonesia], January 26). With slowing Chinese growth and the accompanying fall in Chinese demand for commodities, China's trade with Indonesia has slid dramatically. Minerals, which previously occupied more than 30 percent of Indonesia's total trade and more than half of its trade with China, dropped from a high in 2013 of $3.6 billion to below $1 billion in 2015 (World Bank, [accessed March 23]). According to the latest available statistics, Indonesia's exports to China over the first six months of 2015 only totaled $7.5 billion, a decrease of 19.3 percent compared to the preceding year (Chinese Ministry of Commerce, [accessed March 23]).
Indonesian President Joko Widodo is unlikely to want to see Indonesia dragged into a confrontation with China over fishing rights. Widodo's campaign for the presidency in 2014 was based on fighting corruption and ensuring economic growth.
China's artificial islands close to Indonesia are no longer mere heaps of sand, and are instead home to runways, hangers and radar stations. With fewer potential business deals with China in the offing, it remains to be seen how Jakarta will move forward with its relationship with China.
Copyright notice: 2010 The Jamestown Foundation
Circassians Propose New Independent Cross-Regional Group in the North Caucasus
Publisher Jamestown Foundation Author Valery Dzutsati Publication Date 28 March 2016 Citation / Document Symbol Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 13 Issue: 60 Cite as Jamestown Foundation, Circassians Propose New Independent Cross-Regional Group in the North Caucasus, 28 March 2016, Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 13 Issue: 60, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fe2e564.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.
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On March 17, Circassian organizations in Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachaevo-Cherkessia unveiled plans to establish a new independent cross-regional organization. The move by Circassian activists followed an announcement by the government of Karachaevo-Cherkessia that it would shut down the republic's Circassian organization, the Adyge Khase-Circassian Parliament. "The Circassians from different regions perceived the government attempt to shut down the organization with extreme pain," said Timur Zhuzhuev, the head of the Adyge Khase youth group. "Many people wanted to come to Karachaevo-Cherkessia from Adygea and Kabardino-Balkaria, but the reasonable decision of the court has reduced the degree of tension, so only the delegation from Kabardino-Balkaria arrived." Previously, the Adyge Khase-Circassian Parliament received an extension period to allow it to correct the alleged violations of the law. Karachaevo-Cherkessia's justice ministry asked the organization to present, before April 7, documents proving the organization had corrected the infractions (Kavkazsky Uzel, March 19).
According to the Circassian activists, the government put pressure on the organization in Karachaevo-Cherkessia for political reasons. Last year, Circassian organizations in Karachaevo-Cherkessia and Adygea denounced the reelection of Khauti Sokhrokov as head of the International Circassian Association. Many Circassian activists criticized Sokhrokov for his complacency and reluctance to defend Circassian interests. A critic of Sokhrokov in Adygea, Adam Bogus, was forced to resign from his position in the republican Circassian organization. According to the Circassian activists, the authorities in Karachaevo-Cherkessia, decided to disband the organization altogether. The government accused the Adyge Khase-Circassian Parliament in Karachaevo-Cherkessia of "violations of the statutes of the organization," "violations of the equality of the rights of members of the organization," and so on. Further, an official from Karachaevo-Cherkessia's justice ministry claimed that the package they received from the organization contained "blank sheets of paper." The leader of the organization, Mukhamed Cherkesov, has denied any wrongdoing and claimed that the organization fully complied with government requirements. According to Cherkesov, the republican authorities have disliked the Adyge Khase of Karachaevo-Cherkessia since it was established in 2002; but this is the first time they have tried to shut it down (Natpressru.info, March 11).
Regional governments in the North Caucasus tend to control civic organizations quite tightly, and Circassian organizations are no exception. The administration of Karachaevo-Cherkessia is reportedly weighing its options in appointing the leader of the ethnic Abaza, while activists of the organization argue that only the Abaza should decide who will lead it (Politika09.com, March 22). The Abaza are another minority in Karachaevo-Cherkessia who have autonomy within the republic. The Abaza are linguistically related to the Circassians and the Abkhaz. However, unlike most of the other republics in the North Caucasus, Karachaevo-Cherkessia is politically fragmented. It is one of the most ethnically diverse parts of the North Caucasus. Besides ethnic Karachays, a Turkic-speaking ethnic group, the republic is home to the Circassians (a.k.a. Cherkes), Abaza, Nogais and ethnic Russians. The republic's political fragmentation allows civic organizations to operate slightly more freely than elsewhere in the region.
Many Circassian activists have expressed their disappointment with the activities of the International Circassian Association for its "betrayal" of Circassian interests. For example, the ICA supported the Sochi Olympics in 2014, contrary to the expectations of many Circassians, who fiercely opposed the event on the land where the Russian armies exterminated their ancestors in the 19th century.
Since the protests did not succeed in changing the ICA's leadership, Circassian activists across the North Caucasus are now committed to establishing another network organization. Circassian organizations from Adygea, Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachaevo-Cherkessia, Krasnodar region and other areas will be part of the new organization. The organizers say that Circassians across these regions share the same language and culture-which, in the words of one activist, Aslan Beshto, makes it only natural to unite "for the common growth of culture in a united cultural space." The organizers are careful not to offend the ICA, which apparently has powerful allies in the government. Instead, Beshto emphasized that the ICA is a "higher level" organization while the new organization that the Circassian activists propose establishing will work at the grassroots level (Kavkazsky Uzel, March 19).
Many Circassian activists have lamented the fact that the Russian government's "divide-and-rule" policy has prevailed in their areas. Ethnic Circassians currently live in at least five neighboring regions and only comprise a majority in one of them-Kabardino-Balkaria. The new organization, if successful, will help to coordinate the efforts of the Circassians across the administrative borders of the North Caucasian regions. It is highly likely, however, that the government will try either to prevent such an organization from forming or heavily infiltrate it with government agents.
Paradoxically, while Moscow often talks about friendship between different groups and peace in the North Caucasus, which is rife with interethnic tensions, it dislikes horizontal ties between the regions. Thus, there are practically no cross-regional independent newspapers or organizations. The political structure of the Russian state is built on the premise of a single political center, Moscow, which centrally manages each region and does not allow the formation of regional groups that could potentially challenge the central state. If it is formed, the Circassian interregional organization may become the first of its kind in the North Caucasus, which is bound to have a significant impact on the situation in the region.
Copyright notice: 2010 The Jamestown Foundation
Moldova's Chief of General Staff Dismissed After Long Feud With Defense Minister
Publisher Jamestown Foundation Author Mihai Popsoi Publication Date 28 March 2016 Citation / Document Symbol Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 13 Issue: 60 Cite as Jamestown Foundation, Moldova's Chief of General Staff Dismissed After Long Feud With Defense Minister, 28 March 2016, Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 13 Issue: 60, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fe2ea84.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.
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On March 18, the Moldovan government initiated the dismissal of the commander of the National Army, Brigadier General Igor Gorgan, after a months-long feud with Defense Minister Anatol Salaru (Deschide.md, March 18). Once approved by the president, this would be the fourth reshuffle of the army's leadership since the pro-European three-party coalition came to power in 2009. The Ministry of Defense has also been affected by high turnover at the top, with four ministers being nominated in the last six years. Soon after incumbent Minister Anatol Salaru's (Liberal Party) appointment on July 30, 2015, he found himself at loggerheads with the chief of the General Staff, Igor Gorgan, a Liberal Democratic Party appointee. In fact, Salaru tried to dismiss Gorgan earlier, but the latter was shielded by his fellow party member, then-prime minister, Valeriu Strelet (Deschide.md, February 19). A Prosecutor General's report citing a 40 percent increase in crime within the Armed Forces served as a formal reason for the dismissal (Realitatea.md, February 18). However, the animosity between the two has been as political as it has been personal.
From a political standpoint, Gorgan no longer enjoys the backing from either the government or the parliament, as the Liberal Democratic Party is now in the opposition. The local political culture in Moldova continues to politicize all major state institutions, including the military; thus, it was only a matter of time before Gorgan would have had to go. After all, it was Gorgan who pushed his predecessor out in a similar power struggle back in 2013. On a personal level, the fact that General Gorgan publicly challenged Defense Minister Salaru's authority, criticizing his lack of military credentials, did not help his case either. The two have exchanged accusations of nepotism, corruption and incompetence (Unimedia.info, March 2; Jurnal.md, March 3). The scandal further undermines both the army's prestige and morale at a time of continuous regional geopolitical volatility.
Former United States ambassador to Ukraine John E. Herbst has warned that the ceasefire in Syria would turn Vladimir Putin's attention back to Ukraine (Kyiv Post, February 29). As Russia scales down its presence in Syria, Romanian analyst Dan Dungaciu echoes Herbst's concern that the Kremlin may now refocus on Kyiv and Chisinau, using hybrid warfare to influence election outcomes and impose its federalization agenda (Adevarul.ro, March 20). Minister Salaru appears to shares these concerns. In fact, he publicly raised the issue of Russian hybrid warfare, called for the replacement of Russian peacekeepers in Transnistria with a United Nations mission, and questioned Moldova's posture of neutrality, advocating for closer ties with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) (Publika.md, February 29). These remarks prompted a critical response from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (RIA Novosti, March 2). Conversely, aiming at counterbalancing Russian media influence in Moldova, the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted the inaugural session of the Romania-Moldova Mass-Media Consultative Council, on February 29 (Mae.ro, February 29). Attending the event, Moldova's ambassador to Romania, Mihai Gribincea, earlier an envoy to NATO, equated the risk posed by "Russian propaganda to that of Russian troops in Transnistria" (Timpul.md, March 1).
Salaru was an active member of Moldova's national liberation movement of the late 1980s. And soon after his appointment to head the country's defense ministry in mid-2015, Salaru announced plans for a museum dedicated to the Soviet occupation and started collecting exhibits by taking down an old T-34 tank from a Soviet-era monument in Chisinau (Publika.md, September 16, 2015), much to Moscow's indignation (TASS, September 23, 2015). Salaru even criticized the current draft of Moldova's National Security Strategy for not being explicit enough about the threat posed by Russia (Europalibera.org, March 4). Unsurprisingly, Salaru's anti-Russian rhetoric prompted a no-confidence motion initiated by the Communists on February 22, but which failed on March 11 as only the Socialists joined in to dismiss the minister (Jurnal.md, Ria.ru, March 11). Yet, the timing of the motion could also be seen as a response to Salaru's attempt to dismiss the Army commander and boost his own influence. Socialist parliamentarian and analyst Bogdan Tirdea suggested that the motion was, in fact, an attempt by the Democratic Party, the senior coalition partner, to "scare Salaru rather than actually censure him" (Vedomosti.md, March 15). Even if, the Democrats did not orchestrate the motion, one can see how problematic Salaru's rhetoric can be at a time when the Democratic Party is trying to mend relations with Moscow. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin is scheduled to visit Chisinau on March 28-30, indicating some improvement in bilateral ties, despite Russian trade restrictions and Moldova having expelled 76 Russian citizens in 2015, including journalists and soldiers (Deschide.md, March 21). Still, the Moldovan government hopes for better trade relations and progress on the Transnistrian front.
Nonetheless, Minster Salaru's recent inauguration of a permanent exhibition on "Soviet Occupation" at the National Military Museum (Army.md, March 26) cements his "bad cop" image, while Democrats act as the "good cop" in relations with Moscow. The opposite dynamic is employed with regard to the West, particularly NATO. On March 24, Salaru welcomed the first visit to Moldova by General Philip Breedlove, NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) and Commander of the United States European Command (USEUCOM). Apart from the defense minister, Gen. Breedlove only met with President Nicolae Timofti, reaffirming US and NATO support to Moldova, including plans for a NATO Liaison Office in the country (Deschide.md, RIA Novosti, March 24). He also toured the Bulboaca National Training Center, where the US is supporting renovations to create a modern training facility (Army.md, March 24). Moldovan soldiers have recently taken part in a number of military exercises and trainings along with their US and NATO partners, both in Moldovan and abroad: "Mission Readiness Exercise," "Agile Hunter 2016" and "Joint Combined Exchange Training 2016" (Army.md, February 26, March 7, 11, 22). These opportunities are important in maintaining the army's preparedness and increasing interoperability with NATO forces, particularly in light of Moldova's growing budgetary constraints. However, at the same time, the scandal surrounding the dismissal of the head of the General Staff and the increased politicization of the military needlessly tarnishes the image of the army, which is one of the few institutions Moldovans still trust.
Copyright notice: 2010 The Jamestown Foundation
The Influence of Russian Military Reform on PLA Reorganization
Publisher Jamestown Foundation Author Yevgen Sautin Publication Date 28 March 2016 Citation / Document Symbol China Brief Volume: 16 Issue: 6 Cite as Jamestown Foundation, The Influence of Russian Military Reform on PLA Reorganization, 28 March 2016, China Brief Volume: 16 Issue: 6, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fe2f1a4.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.
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The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) is in the midst of the biggest reorganization and reform effort since the 1980s. Among the major changes announced, the country's primary nuclear deterrent, the Second Artillery Corps, was upgraded to a separate service branch called the PLA Rocket Force (PLARF). In addition, the PLA Strategic Support Force (PLASSF) was set up to bolster space, cyber, electronic warfare, and other high-tech military capabilities. Finally, the ground forces received their own, separate headquarters to improve combat effectiveness. In February, China consolidated seven military regions () into five brand-new theater commands () (China Brief, February 4). Perhaps most importantly, the PLA plans to cut 300,000 personnel. More changes are expected in the next few years; the PLA's military education system, command structure, and logistics and supply systems are all likely to be overhauled.
The reorganization accompanies and complements a modernization program intended to create a 21st century fighting force that is better equipped, modular and able to meet a wide range of objectives. These reforms and the planning for them did not take place in a vacuum. Chinese military thinkers have keenly watched military modernization programs in other nations. The experience of Russia's military reforms in the wake of the 2008 invasion of Georgia have been of particular interest, and Chinese planners have closely followed Russia's reforms and adopted some of their signature concepts. Compounding Russian influence, Russia's military industrial sector is expected to play an important role in the PLA's modernization, with Russian and Soviet legacy designs making up key components of China's newest forces.
Russia's Military Reforms (2008-Present)
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, in 1991, the Russian military has been in a state of constant flux. The Kremlin recognized that major reforms were urgently needed to account for changing demographics and the growing sophistication of modern combat, but the economic turmoil of the 1990s combined with the Chechen Wars doomed several reform efforts.
Although combat readiness had improved in the 2000s, the 2008 Georgian War revealed many of the Russian military's shortcomings. Orders were slow to travel down the chain of command, a lack of coordination between the air force and troops on the ground led to higher casualties, and a breakdown in intelligence and planning resulted in the Russian air force losing several aircraft to Georgia's anti-aircraft missile batteries. Russian troops were able to overwhelm the overmatched Georgian army, but the after-action review left little doubt that changes were badly needed.
Shortly after the Georgian war Russia's Defense Minister Anatoliy Serdyukov launched a sweeping reorganization of the army. Although Serdyukov's (2008-12) reorganization is only one component of a broader, ongoing three-stage plan of rearming and modernizing Russia's military by 2020, the reorganization has been by far the most controversial aspect of the modernization. In the span of four years, the Russian military did away with many of its long-held practices. Russia significantly reduced the size of its officer corps; the military moved away from a Soviet divisional model of organization to a NATO-like brigade structure. [1] Supply and logistics jobs were outsourced to private contractors; and the military education system was radically altered.
Proponents of the reform argue that the changes improved the combat readiness and professionalism of the army. Opponents counter that while reform was necessary, Serdyukov's initiatives were poorly thought-out and resulted in widespread chaos and demoralization. Serdyukov's reforms were met with fierce opposition from Russia's military establishment and remain a source of derision. And while Western analysts dismissed the criticism as personal resentment over losing coveted sinecures, there is anecdotal evidence that the transition to private contractors led to serious service and supply disruptions (Ekho Moskvy [Russia], June 3, 2015). Moreover, even defenders of the reforms have admitted that the army continues to lack the promised high-tech and high-precision weaponry (Nezavisimoe Voennoye Obozrenie [Russia], July 23, 2010). The controversy surrounding the changes ultimately proved to be Serdyukov's undoing; he was sacked in 2012 and tried for corruption. Serdyukov's dismissal and trial seem to have placated critics of the reforms; his successor, Sergei Shoigu, has managed to keep most of the changes made by his predecessor.
Following Russia's sudden annexation of Crimea and the ongoing campaign in Syria, pundits have been quick to declare the Russian military to be a revamped, modern fighting machine-seemingly vindicating Serdyukov. Some Chinese commentators have also expressed admiration for Russia's latest military reforms and have openly urged the PLA to use the reforms as a model for their own efforts (People's Daily Online, October 5, 2015). Such views are by no means universal; PLA National Defense University Professor Wang Baofu has pointed out that in both Ukraine and Syria Russia is mostly using Soviet-era weaponry and technology. A combination of troop reductions and the increase in military elan has given Russia some renewed military success, but its army is still largely a conscript force reliant on outdated weaponry (PLA Daily, November 27, 2015). Russia's large-scale snap exercises such as Vostok and Zapad have also impressed both domestic and foreign observers, but the 2014 Vostok exercises in the Far East exposed persistent problems in coordination and an acute shortage of modern military equipment (RIA Novosti, September 23, 2014).
On the surface, the PLA's reorganization and reform plan overlaps with several key objectives of Russia's recent military reorganization. Military strategists in both countries agree that organizing rapid reaction forces with an integrated command-and-control structure is a top priority. Even though Chinese military experts do not believe that copying the U.S. military model is feasible for either China or Russia, the Western brigade structure of command is generally favored (NetEase, February 16).
Personnel Reforms
China has closely followed the evolution of Western armies and there is speculation that China will transition from a mixed division/brigade structure toward one predominantly made up of brigades. In 1999, two divisions within the 20th Group Army, the 58th Mechanized Infantry Division and the 60th Motorized Infantry Division, were reorganized into brigades. Both units had a decorated history starting from the Korean War and were chosen to be part of an experiment into using a brigade-level command structure. Russia's experience with moving to a brigade structure has been more contentious, and since 2013 two elite divisions, the 4th Guards Kantemirovskaya Tank Division and the 2nd Guards Tamanskaya Motor Rifle Division have been reconstituted. Ostensibly the move was made to preserve historical traditions of legendary units, but there is reason to believe that Russian commanders have not entirely bought into the Western-style brigade system of command. Indeed, the creation of an additional three divisions in the Western military district was announced in January of this year (EDM, January 19).
The announced troop reductions may be the most important element of the PLA reforms. So far, only the Nanjing Military Region Art Troupe has been axed, but there are plans to do away with units that have outdated equipment, and personnel that serve in various non-combat related capacities. The cuts along with the creation of new theater commands necessitate major changes in army billeting. The changes may prove to be painful in the short term; Russia's experience in consolidating its military districts led to significant resentment over inadequate military housing. To create a more efficient command structure, the PLA must trim its officer ranks and increase the number and quality of non-commissioned officers (NCOs), another priority shared with Russia (EDM, April 17, 2012; China Brief, October 28, 2011). This will be a difficult endeavor; at the battalion-level, units are often understaffed, while higher up there is a proliferation of noncombat headquarters that are staffed by both commanding officers and Political Commissars ().
Little is known about the plans to "deepen the reform of army colleges" and the wider military education system, but changes will have to be made to better prepare officers for the demands of modern warfare. Today's officers are expected to learn several increasingly complicated weapons systems over the course of their careers, something that requires strong fundamentals. The Chinese military education system differs from both the U.S. and Russian models, and is often criticized as being too theoretical and lacking realistic practical experience. Serdyukov's attempts at revamping the Russian military education system were rolled back by his successor, and there is little to indicate that China's efforts will be any easier.
Hardware Modernization
Another daunting aspect of the reforms is the need to replace outdated weapons systems and equipment. Despite the growth in defense spending and procurement, many PLA units continue to use Cold War-era relics. During the latest Stride-2015 () military exercises in Zhurihe (), Type 59 tanks (in service since 1959) were deployed alongside more modern equipment (NetEase, February 16). Such outdated equipment is impossible to integrate into modern communication systems, and the vast quantity of antiquated weapons will take years to replace. Making matters worse, the Chinese arms industry has struggled to produce indigenous high-quality weaponry. In the crucial sphere of air-defense, despite making gains in the last fifteen years, China still suffers from inadequate capabilities. The Chinese HQ-9 (-9) SAM system has been billed to be an improvement over the U.S. MIM-104 Patriot and the Russian S-300, but China has struggled to attract foreign buyers (Sina, April 8, 2015). China has been able to copy the Russian S-300, but according to Russian experts the reverse-engineered model is inferior to the original (Nezavisimoe Voennoye Obozrenie [Russia], November 27, 2015). Beijing is still covered by Russian-made S-300 systems.
China's R&D allocations have grown from $3.1 billion in 1997 to an estimated $40 billion in 2013 (amidst an almost exponentially growing defense budget), but China continues to trail both Russia and the United States in crucial technologies such as stealth and aircraft engines (USNI News, November 10, 2014). [2] To address the technology gap, China has turned to both espionage and leveraging the private sector through the strategy of "integrating the army and the people, locating military potential in civilian capabilities" (, ). [3] One area where Chinese manufacturers have been able to make gains is in guided missile technology; according to Chinese sources, Chinese know-how now surpasses that of the Russians (Sina Military, March 4). China is also ahead in developing a fifth-generation fighter plane, the J-20. Overall, China's defense industry is encountering a similar problem to Russia's: more spending does not necessarily result in the procurement of new equipment in the quantity needed for true rearmament. With the Russian armament industry backed-up with domestic orders, the PLA will have to largely rely on Chinese capacity to meet ambitious refurbishment goals.
The political dimension of the unfolding PLA reforms is also worth comparing to Russia's efforts. President Xi Jinping has stressed that China needs to build a modernized, powerful army with Chinese characteristics that is loyal to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and able to protect national security and national interests (People's Daily Online, March 3). The CCP's direct command of the PLA has always been a non-negotiable aspect of China's system, and there is no indication that Xi Jinping wishes to attenuate the party's guiding role as part of the PLA's modernization. In terms of geostrategic vision, Beijing has voiced concerns that the international environment is becoming increasingly uncertain and that dangers posed to Chinese security have grown (People's Daily Online, March 3). On the surface such a view of the world is largely in congruence with the Kremlin's position, but that is where the similarities end. Beijing has shown no indication it wants to be a standard-bearer for any putative anti-Western bloc. Instead and despite the occasional tough rhetoric, Beijing has opted for a gradual chipping away of the status quo where it sees it to be unfair to China's long-term interests. That said, some PLA officers have called for greater protection of "overseas Chinese and overseas Chinese interests," in a language uncannily similar to Putin's justification for the Georgian War and Crimea's annexation (Global Times, October 25, 2011). Analogous language was included in China's 2015 Defense White Paper (China Daily, May 26, 2015). Whether PLA's reforms lead to an increase in assertiveness remains to be seen.
One area where decades-long doctrinal views may finally shift is in regard to foreign bases. The Chinese anti-piracy efforts off the Horn of Africa demonstrated the difficulty of repairing and supporting ships out at sea, and to that end China has already reached an agreement with Djibouti to establish its first foreign base (China Brief, January 26). Traditional reluctance notwithstanding, China's growing naval capabilities, coupled with growing international responsibilities and interests in potentially unstable developing countries, may result in a more active Chinese global military presence.
Conclusion
The PLA has embarked on an ambitious course of reform and restructuring. Replacing outdated equipment alone will be a major challenge that will stretch far beyond 2020. China has closely studied the successes and mistakes of Western and Russian military reform efforts, gaining insight into best practices and potential pitfalls. While it is too early to render any judgment, the PLA should not be underestimated in its capability to carry out big changes; it successfully carried out major troop reductions in the 1980s and 1990s, rebuilt the military education system after the Cultural Revolution, and gave up control over many sectors of the Chinese economy.
Notes
1. The Soviet army was organized into divisions that were usually comprised of 5-6 regiments, including support and fire regiments. The total number of soldiers varied from as few as 5,000 to upwards of 20,000, with most divisions having around 12,000 troops. The NATO brigade structure typically has three battalions plus supporting units. Usually a brigade consists of approximately 3,200 to 5,500 troops, roughly half the size of a Soviet division.
2. Roy Kamphausen and David Lai (Editors) The Chinese People's Liberation Army in 2025, (Strategic Studies Institute and U.S. War College Press: 2015), p. 145.
3. Ibid.
Yevgen Sautin currently works in the financal sector. He received an M.A. from the University of Chicago and speaks and reads Chinese and Russian. Mr. Sautin was a David L. Boren Fellow at the National Taiwan University and a Junior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Copyright notice: 2010 The Jamestown Foundation
Russia's Asymmetric Military Power in Recapturing Palmyra
Publisher Jamestown Foundation Author Roger McDermott Publication Date 29 March 2016 Citation / Document Symbol Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 13 Issue: 61 Cite as Jamestown Foundation, Russia's Asymmetric Military Power in Recapturing Palmyra, 29 March 2016, Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 13 Issue: 61, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fe2f624.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.
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On March 27, following months of preparation and Russian-led coalition military action, Damascus finally announced the recapture of Palmyra by government forces. President Vladimir Putin congratulated his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad as Russian media noted a sea change in Western media coverage of the conflict. Of course, the strategic and symbolic significance of the regime's most impressive success to date against the Islamic State (IS) was made possible by the close-air-support (CAS) operations and airstrikes of the Russian military, as well as Russian-supplied weapons, hardware and training to the Syrian Arab Army (SAA). How Moscow has engineered this advance, trained and equipped the SAA units, and provided continued airpower input into the assault on Palmyra is instructive in terms of Russia's experimental use of asymmetric military power to further its strategic and operational aims (Vesti, March 28; Interfax, TASS, March 27).
Russian military specialists noted that the terms of the "cessation of hostilities" in Syria allowed the Aerospace Forces (Vozdushno Kosmicheskikh Sil-VKS) to pursue sorties against the IS and other groups. The withdrawal of fixed-wing assets from the airbase at Latakia was never calculated to mark Russian forces abandoning Syria per se (see EDM, March 17); the base levels seemed geared to return to around levels witnessed in October 2015. The Moscow-based military expert Aleksei Ramm suggested that the target figure for VKS aircraft at Latakia might be a reduction to 30-35, with continued triple-layer air defense, including the high-profile advanced S-400 system. Ramm also highlighted the role of attack helicopters in flying missions from Latakia against targets; since early 2016, the General Staff had pondered deploying new Ka-52 and Mi-28N attack helicopters to strengthen the squadron already operating there. The more recent decision to deploy these assets and test them in combat was driven by the need for all-weather and 24-hour capability provided by these helicopters (Voyenno Promyshlennyy Kuryer, March 23).
Putin, in the aftermath of implementing the cessation of hostilities with the support of the United States and following his well-publicized "withdrawal" from Latakia, said that the conditions had been created by the VKS to rid Palmyra-a "pearl of world civilization"-from the Islamic State. The Russian president told military personnel returning from Syria: "I am sure that soon we will see major new successes in the fight against terrorism, [by] the patriotic forces." Consistent with this message, the top brass soon echoed the presidential assessment of the imminent fall of Palmyra. Lieutenant-General Sergei Rudskoy, the chief of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff, confirmed that 20-25 daily VKS sorties were aiding this mission. Dmitry Peskov, the presidential press secretary, asserted that the SAA was capable of "independently" continuing ground offensives (Vzglyad, March 20).
On March 18 the Russian Ministry of Defense admitted that operations were in progress in support of the SAA. With warnings from Moscow that the bulk of the fixed-wing assets being withdrawn from Syria could return within a few hours, it appeared that contingency plans were in place should the operation in Palmyra fail (Polit.ru, March 19; Vzglyad, March 18). Indeed, the SAA advance received not only air support from the Syrian Air Force and the VKS, but also assistance from friendly militias and foreign special forces. This included Syrian "National Self-Defense Forces" and "Desert Falcons"; foreign forces were provided by Hezbollah as well as Iraqi Shiite militias and Iranian special forces (Riafan.ru, March 21).
Russia's defense ministry expressed satisfaction with the overall results of the VKS air campaign, maintaining that the ongoing operation to support the SAA was consistent with the provisional ceasefire deal (BMF, March 18). Yet, as the fall of Palmyra neared, the VKS also increased to 40 per day its sorties and CAS for the SAA and friendly coalition militias. Syrian media reported that the large-scale advance had involved air cover by the VKS and "massed artillery strikes," with attacks to the west and southeast of Palmyra. By March 26, as the operation intensified, Syrian special forces "Tigers" and allied units advanced in the northwest countryside of Palmyra, preparing to enter the IS stronghold (Rusvesna, March 19).
Lieutenant-General (retired) Yury Netkachev, the former commander of Russia's 14th Army, highlighted a number of aspects of the Russian participation in recapturing Palmyra. In his view, this was about more than the Russian use of airpower, it also reflected military assets transferred to the regime successfully using Smerch multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) and attacking targets with the heavy flamethrower system TOS-1A, using thermobaric munitions-particularly effective against heavily fortified defenses. Netkachev added that Russian systems and hardware, including T-90 tanks and MRLSs had helped the SAA, but the fundamental issue was the involvement of Russian military advisers to train Syrian forces in their use (Nezavisimoye Voyennoye Obozreniye, March 25).
In terms of the use of VKS airpower, after the March 14 "withdrawal," the combat exploitation of the Ka-52 and Mi28N certainly helped. These assets added to the capability to strike in desert conditions, with reported gaps in the SAA and coalition advances offset by afternoon attacks from VKS helicopters and strike aircraft, as well as night-time air operations. However, Netkachev noted that night sorties against enemy infrastructure had been exploited by Russian forces in Chechnya, raising questions as to what precisely was "new" in these Russian operations above Syria (Nezavisimoye Voyennoye Obozreniye, March 25). In recent months, a number of MSTA-B howitzers were also delivered to strengthen Syrian artillery strike options. This fits a broader picture of Russian military advisors aiding Syrian counterparts on the ground in order to effectively train these personnel in using the systems.
In addition to conducting a successful "train-and-equip" program to bolster the combat capabilities of the SAA, the Russian military used the operations in Syria to test a broad range of advanced systems and assets. It tested unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), communications and intelligence resources, and a cluster of fixed-wing and helicopter platforms, in addition to electronic warfare (EW) systems. The former commander of the Ground Forces, Army-General (retired) Vladimir Boldyrev, explained that the Russian Armed Forces received "invaluable experience in the transportation of troops, creation of groups abroad, joint actions of different arms and services," while "pilots had to learn a completely new theater of war" (Kommersant, March 21). But it was the relatively small, low-risk use of conventional military power to facilitate local forces that marks a successful adoption of asymmetry as a tool of Russian state power.
Copyright notice: 2010 The Jamestown Foundation
Implications of Azerbaijan Moving Closer to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization
Publisher Jamestown Foundation Author John C. K. Daly Publication Date 29 March 2016 Citation / Document Symbol Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 13 Issue: 61 Cite as Jamestown Foundation, Implications of Azerbaijan Moving Closer to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, 29 March 2016, Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 13 Issue: 61, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fe2fb74.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.
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On March 14, Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadiarov signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) granting it the status of a dialogue partner in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). The SCO's Secretary General Rashid Alimov told journalists, "Azerbaijan's SCO dialogue partner status will allow it, by participating in the SCO's structures, to quickly join the organization's multifaceted and diverse activities" (TASS, March 14). Meanwhile, Mammadiarov indicated that Azerbaijan has priorities above and beyond SCO dialogue status, telling journalists after signing the MoU, "So, as you know, Azerbaijan has considerably higher ambitions than just the status of dialogue I think that today's document, signed here, gives us the opportunity to start a dialogue with a very important, very interesting organization" (Vzgliad, March 14).
The primary goals of the SCO are combating the "three evils" of terrorism, separatism, and extremism. For Baku, SCO membership will provide a new forum for discussing its most intractable foreign policy issue, its relations with Armenia, which, in the government's eyes, embody all of the "three evils."
The SCO was established in 2001, and consists of six member states-China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan-with India and Pakistan additionally expected to accede later this year. There are now 18 countries involved in the SCO as members, observer states or dialogue partners (Sectsco.org, accessed March 23). In its 15-year existence, the SCO has tripled in size, begun to hold joint military exercises and promoted increased trade among its members. Azerbaijan applied for SCO observer status in 2012.
The SCO created the affiliation of observer status in 2004, which allowed qualifying states and international organizations to attend open meetings, to participate (pending approval) in SCO discussions without the right to vote, and to have access to SCO documents and decisions. Four years later the SCO established dialogue partner status, which gave qualifying states the right to participate in meetings of SCO heads of ministries of member states, meetings of working groups and scientific and expert forums, as well as conferences and workshops (Hrichina.org, March 2011). Dialogue status will, thus, allow Azerbaijan to actively participate in SCO meetings rather than merely observe.
What SCO observers and dialogue partners share, however, is that neither can prepare, vote upon or sign SCO decisions (Europarl.europa.eu, June 2015). Accordingly, Azerbaijan will need full SCO membership if it wishes to introduce governmental policy initiatives for the organization's consideration.
One major impetus for Azerbaijan moving closer toward the SCO has been the lack of progress by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's (OSCE) Minsk Group on resolving the Karabakh conflict. But Baku has also been experiencing rising dissatisfaction with European and Euro-Atlantic institutions for their perceived bias toward Armenia and their criticism over the human rights situation inside Azerbaijan. Mubariz Ahmedoglu, the head of the Center for Political Innovation and Technology (TSPIT), praised the news of Azerbaijan's closer relations with the SCO as an "interesting and profitable step for Azerbaijan," seeing increased links with the SCO as a counterweight to "biased" European institutions, remarking, "On the basis of its national interests, Azerbaijan has always tried, as much as possible, to cooperate with a number of international institutions. For a long time, the West pursued unreasonable policies against Azerbaijan. [] Seeing the attitude of the Western partners, Azerbaijan's government has long sought additional defensive organizations. In my opinion, the SCO is a worthy alternative to many European institutions. From its inception, the SCO has proved one of the most influential organizations promoting regional peace, security and stability" (Ekho, March 19). Azerbaijani economist Oktaio Akhverdiev has also approved Baku deepening its relationship with the SCO, listing the multilateral grouping among the 25 most important major international organizations Azerbaijan is affiliated with (Ekho, April 21, 2015).
The most vital SCO principles for Azerbaijan-which has suffered from over two decades of occupation of its western territories by Armenia-include respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty, counter-terrorism measures, and opposition to extremism and separatism. In the June 2015 Ufa Declaration, the SCO reiterated its allegiance to all accepted norms and principles of international law, the United Nations Charter, mutual inviolability of borders, territorial integrity and sovereignty, non-interference in internal affairs, as well as the non-use of force or threat of force. The ability to attract the attention of another authoritative international organization, like the SCO, to the problem of the Karabakh conflict is, therefore, a good opportunity for Baku to urge Yerevan to act responsibly (Trend, March 14).
As such, Baku can be fully expected to raise the Karabakh issue at the upcoming Tashkent summit (June 23-24), which would be the first time Caucasian issues received such a high priority by the SCO. Yet, Azerbaijan will not have things all its own way, as SCO dialogue partner Armenia will undoubtedly defend its own agenda regarding Karabakh. What is most notable about Azerbaijan's pursuit of closer links to the SCO is that it has effectively discounted the OSCE Minsk Group's efforts, which included US and European participation, in favor of a Eurasian-based organization that effectively precludes them.
If the SCO were to actually involve itself in restarting the Karabakh peace talks, Azerbaijan will have acquired a forum led by two powerful international members-China and Russia. Azerbaijan's concerns are unlikely to entirely dominate the SCO's agenda in the short term, however, as against the larger backdrop of counterterrorism, Afghanistan's stability remains a major concern for SCO members. Of all the countries bordering Afghanistan, only Turkmenistan is not an SCO member or observer state, while Afghanistan is an SCO observer itself. Thus, should Afghanistan's security fall apart following the end of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission, the SCO would be on the front lines of the disaster. Whereas, the Azerbaijani-Armenian dispute, at present, remains effectively "frozen"-continual violent incidents and violations along the line of contact notwithstanding (News.am, March 26).
Baku's push for more direct involvement by the SCO is a message to both the West and the East. While Western fiscal assistance developed Azerbaijan's economic infrastructure, the West's plodding diplomatic efforts have not resolved the conflict with Armenia. Perhaps new SCO initiatives, spearheaded by Eurasia's two most powerful entities, Russia and particularly China, will be more successful. And by gradually incorporating Azerbaijan, the SCO is also seemingly sending a message to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO): namely, that two can play the alliance expansion game, and that both Moscow and Beijing are quite capable of looking after their Heartland's defense.
Copyright notice: 2010 The Jamestown Foundation
New Momentum in the Russia-China Partnership
Publisher Jamestown Foundation Author Stephen Blank Publication Date 30 March 2016 Citation / Document Symbol Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 13 Issue: 62 Cite as Jamestown Foundation, New Momentum in the Russia-China Partnership, 30 March 2016, Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 13 Issue: 62, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fe30004.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.
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Many observers of the Russo-Chinese relationship continue to believe that it is merely a marriage or axis of convenience, which will only last as long as it does not damage its two players' other rational interests. This attitude clearly embodies the distinctive belief, particularly prevalent in the United States, that all governments-Moscow and Beijing included-are merely calculating Realists with no other motive. However, mounting evidence shows that this view fails to capture the growing closeness of Russian and Chinese positions on many global issues. Moreover, proponents of this perspective fail to see that China continues to make material concessions to Russia to keep it on China's side, whereas Russia is also willing to take steps damaging to its relations with third parties in order to please China (see EDM, March 16).
Notably, Chinese President Xi Jinping recently urged both governments to strengthen communication and coordination in international security and on regional issues (presumably Korea, Southeast Asia, Japan, the Middle East and Ukraine) to achieve political solutions. He also reiterated that bilateral Sino-Russian cooperation plays a key role in safeguarding peace and stability in Asia and in the world more generally (China Daily, Xinhua, March 26). Beyond that, China's Deputy Prime Minister Zhang Gaoli recently met with Gazprom head Alexander Miller and vowed to improve bilateral energy cooperation (Xinhua, March 22). To mollify Russia, China recently lent Gazprom $2.17 billion; and it appears that further loans to Russian energy companies as well as further Chinese investment in them will be forthcoming, thus representing a tangible manifestation of Chinese support for Russia against the West (see EDM, March 16). Indeed, China has already become the largest consumer of Russian crude oil (RT, March 14).
This cooperation is not only occurring in the energy sphere. China has now made advance payments for Russia's high-tech S-400 surface-to-air anti-aircraft missile system, which it should begin receiving in 2017. While the specific missile that will be sold as part of the S-400 system has not yet been conclusively revealed, if it is the 40N6 model, it will provide China with the capability to cover a range of up to 400 kilometers. That will allow China to strike over all of Taiwan as well as reach targets as far as New Delhi, Calcutta, Hanoi, Seoul and all of North Korea. Armed with 40N6 missiles, Beijing's S-400 launchers would also be able to fully protect the Yellow Sea and China's Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) in the East China Sea. But even a shorter-range missile would represent a significant upgrading of China's capability for anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) operations (TASS, March 21; The Diplomat, March 22). This will certainly upset the military balance in the region, which is not necessarily in Moscow's interest. Yet, Russian defense expert Vasily Kashin, of the Moscow-based Center for the Analysis of Strategies and Technology, a think tank closely tied to the defense industrial complex, has simultaneously advocated for still more enhanced military cooperation with China. Furthermore, Kashin has advocated for strong Russo-Chinese industrial cooperation in electronics and mining (Xinhua, March 25).
On a different note, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced plans to continue its major military buildup on the Kurile Islands, the southernmost of which are claimed by Japan. In particular, Moscow is looking to deploy Bal-E and Bastion-P mobile coastal defense missile systems, anti-ship missiles, as well as Eleron-3 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). Russia is also considering setting up a naval base on those islands (Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, March 25).
It should be clear to any observer that this announcement regarding the further militarization of the Kuriles is a direct insult to Japan and its leader, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The timing of the announcement is particularly damaging to Moscow-Tokyo ties, as Abe is planning to travel to Russia to try and bring about a normalization of bilateral relations based on a transfer of at least two of the Kuriles back to Japan. Evidently, Russia is not prepared to make any meaningful concessions to Japan at the expense of Moscow's ties to Beijing-Tokyo's arch-rival in East Asia. And this decision, represents a practical response by Russia to the closer coordination on regional security that Xi has called for. China and Russia's joint opposition to the US decision to deploy the THAAD missile defense system to South Korea against a North Korean threat provides another notable example (see EDM, March 16). Similarly, with regard to competing territorial claims in the South China Sea, while Russia says it would like to see these issues resolved peacefully and is unlikely to be enthusiastic about Chinese dominance there, its officials have now moved to follow China's line by calling for the United States to stay out of the region. Indeed, Russian authorities have even declared that US presence in the South China Sea could constitute a threat to Moscow (RIA Novosti, December 8, 2015; Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, FBIS SOV, January 7, 2015).
Given all these signs of ever-closer rapprochement between Moscow and Beijing, even at the expense of their other interests, is it really possible-let alone useful-to continue to cling to the belief that the Sino-Russian relationship is merely a temporary marriage of convenience?
Copyright notice: 2010 The Jamestown Foundation
Freedom Day and Belarus's Ongoing Quest for Identity
Publisher Jamestown Foundation Author Grigory Ioffe Publication Date 30 March 2016 Citation / Document Symbol Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 13 Issue: 62 Cite as Jamestown Foundation, Freedom Day and Belarus's Ongoing Quest for Identity, 30 March 2016, Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 13 Issue: 62, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fe30954.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.
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On March 25, opposition-minded Belarusians celebrated Freedom Day (Dzen Voli). On that day, in 1918, the Belarusian People's Republic (BPR) was proclaimed in Minsk, under German military occupation. The quasi-state lasted barely eight months, when, on December 10, 1918, the Red Army recaptured Minsk. The Belarusian opposition has always claimed that the BPR laid the foundation for Belarusian statehood and that without it there would have been no Soviet Belarus (Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic-BSSR). The latter, they argue, was Moscow's response to a call for self-determination first embodied in the formation of the BPR. This year, about 1,500 people participated in the Freedom Day rally, which was permitted by the authorities (Charter 97, March 25; Svaboda.org, March 28).
Two aspects of the event are noteworthy: the fight for establishing historical facts, and the significance of the BPR for Belarusian identity. Concerning historical facts, Belarus's official standpoint on the BPR currently is that it was "an important but controversial" hallmark of Belarusian history (Svaboda.org, March 28). Thus, its significance is no longer rejected out of hand, as it used to be, but it is not promoted either. Pro-government analysts, however, still try to deny its importance. Thus, Aleksei Dziermant of the Citadel group claims that the BPR was actually an exercise in collaborationism that was elevated to a higher stage during World War II (Dziermant, March 27). Dziermant invokes a 2009 article by Vadim Gigin, now the dean of the Philosophy and Social Science School of the Belarusian State University and a TV anchor, which cast doubt on the BPR-BSSR lineage thesis (Belaruskaya Dumka, December 2009).
The role of the BPR in shaping Belarusian identity is arguably a more significant issue than just establishing historical facts, however. First, a relationship between national mythology and facts has always been ambiguous, and this ambiguity is by no means endemic to Belarus. Second, Belarusian identity is still feeble. Even the Belarusian Popular Front, the country's oldest opposition party and one most dedicated to the idea that Belarusians' cultural essence is unique and has nothing to do with that of Russia, recently referred to a "not fully formed national consciousness" of the Belarusians. The group made this statement in its appeal to the government to not facilitate "the mass acceptance of economic migrants from a different civilizational milieu" (Tut.by, March 19). Third, the number of options for nationally conscious Belarusians in the area of historical memory is fairly limited, so it is hardly surprising that the BPR and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania are persistently invoked in an attempt to boost that memory and, consequently, Belarusians' sense of their unique historical path. The official reading of history only makes a desire for such additional references unavoidable. After all, according to the official ideology, Belarusian statehood began with the BSSR, created by the Bolsheviks in 1919, and the Belarusians' greatest achievement was the victory in the Great Patriotic War (the Russian name for World War II). Moreover, the Bialoviezh agreement, which did away with the Soviet Union, is treated as a grave mistake. This is hardly a winning strategy, if the government's aim is to foster allegiance to a nation by invoking not so much its own unique experiences as those inseparable from other national communities-Russians in the first place, who are culturally close to Belarusians anyway and are, therefore, destined to play the role of the meaningful other.
In the words of Yury Drakakhrust of Radio Liberty, the sustainability of a resulting construct of national identity raises doubts. So what was the basis for the resounding "no" to Vladimir Putin's 2002 suggestion that Belarus stop pulling its own and everybody's leg and each of its six regions simply join Russia one by one? Given the limitations imposed by the official ideology, the only response was President Alyaksandr Lukashenka's famous dictum that Belarusians are "Russians of better quality." To wit, Russians sold out to their oligarchs and sharks of global capitalism, whereas Belarusians remained loyal to fairness, soulfulness and equality, the argument goes. This reasoning, which Drakakhrust exposed in an article he wrote in 2008 (Neprikosnovennyi Zapas, 2008), is not in itself particularly convincing.
It is, therefore, noteworthy that under a new geopolitical situation shaped by the war in Ukraine and economic decline in Belarus, Freedom Day has stopped being a divisive line between the government and the opposition. Minsk now needs to boost national identity; and guardedly but persistently it is changing tack both at home and abroad. In his recent talk with Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski, President Lukashenka clearly expressed his major foreign policy credo of rejecting all zero-sum approaches to dealing with East and West. "If the partners with whom we are conducting a dialogue," said Lukashenka, "are going to insist that we choose whom we side with-either East or West, that is, either Russia or the European Union-if they continue to face us with that choice, this is not for us. I think more than anybody else, Poland is interested in Belarus remaining not only an independent state but also a stable one. I think that one more unstable [neighbor], in addition to Ukraine, is of no use to Poland" (Tut.by, March 23). Incidentally, on March 1, Poland opened four visa processing centers in Minsk, Brest, Grodno and Gomel. Four more visa centers-in Pinsk, Baranovichi, Lida and Mogilev-will open soon (Naviny.by, February 25).
Undoubtedly, Poland's dramatic shift in its erstwhile confrontational approach to the "Lukashenka regime" proves that "the last dictator of Europe" is no "loser," despite what Guido Westerwelle, Karl Bildt, Radosaw Sikorski and Karel Schwarzenberg had argued in their December 2010 article, "Lukashenka the Loser" (New York Times, December 24, 2010).
Copyright notice: 2010 The Jamestown Foundation
Lezgin Leader Assassinated in Dagestan
Publisher Jamestown Foundation Author Mairbek Vatchagaev Publication Date 31 March 2016 Citation / Document Symbol Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 13 Issue: 63 Cite as Jamestown Foundation, Lezgin Leader Assassinated in Dagestan, 31 March 2016, Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 13 Issue: 63, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fe31374.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.
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The Lezgin ethnic group has been divided between southern Dagestan, in Russia, and northern Azerbaijan since the breakup of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Although the division between the Lezgins during the Soviet period was purely formal, after the demise of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the restoration of Azerbaijan's independence, the Lezgins were faced with being divided between two separate countries. Nobody but the Lezgins cares about this divided status, and they blame both Moscow and Baku for their travails (Lezgistan.tv, March 19, 2012). The Lezgins would like to create autonomous zones on both sides of the Russian-Azerbaijani border, in the areas where they are concentrated (Lenta.ru, March 21). Lezgin activists have been trying to raise the issue at the international level, engaging in discussions at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the United Nations (Onkavkaz.com, October 21, 2015).
The latest census in Russia put the number of Lezgins in the country at 473,722 (Gks.ru, 2010), while approximately 200,000 Lezgins reside in Azerbaijan (Demoscope.ru. March 12, 2001). Despite their small numbers, the Lezgins are well represented in the government of Dagestan and Azerbaijan, but they consider their representation as insufficient.
The death of the leader of the international Lezgin movement "Sadval," Nazim Gajiev, shows that being the leader of a Lezgin organization is difficult and dangerous. Gajiev was found stabbed to death in his apartment in Dagestan's capital Makhachkala on March 20 (Kavkazsky Uzel, March 21). Gajiev was born in Dagestan, in 1944. In 1967, he set up an organization called the Lezgin Autonomous Republic (LAR), which remained active until 1976. At the beginning of the 1990s, the Lezgin activist became a member of the board of the Sadval movement and chairman of its committee for ethnic affairs. Since its inception in 1991, the Sadval organization has advocated strongly for the unification of Lezgins across the Russian-Azerbaijani border. Analysts, including Lezgins, are cautious about drawing conclusions about the reasons for Gajiev's murder, since they do not rule out non-political reasons for the crime (Onkavkaz.com, March 21).
However, some experts insist the Lezgin leader was assassinated for political reasons. The chairman of the Coordination Council of Nonprofit Organizations of Dagestan, Shamil Khadulaev, thinks the murder was scheduled to coincide with the Nowruz holiday, which Lezgins, unlike the other ethnic groups in Dagestan, widely celebrate. Moreover, Khadulaev is one of the few experts who has tied Gajiev's murder to the death of the previous leader of Sadval organization, Ruslan Magomedragimov. The previous leader of the organization was also killed on Nowruz in 2015 (Lezgi-yar.ru, March 22). The then Sadval leader Ruslan Magomedragimov was found dead next to his car in the city of Kaspiisk on March 24, 2015. The crime was not solved, but the members of Sadval are convinced that their leader was murdered. In particular, they say there were needle marks on Magomedragimov's neck. In any case, the death of two leaders of the same organization within one year has raised questions among its members. The Azerbaijani authorities accused Sadval of organizing a terrorist attack in the Baku metro back in 1994, which killed 14 people and wounded 49. Authorities in Baku strongly dislike Sadval, even though it became known four years ago that Sadval was reportedly not involved in the 1994 Baku terrorist attack (Lezgistan.tv, October 7, 2012). Thus, the announcement by Lezgin activists in 2012 that they were relaunching Sadval caused Azerbaijani authorities some distress (Echo.az, July 27, 2012).
The Lezgins are both an ethnic and a religious minority in Azerbaijan. Lezgins are Sunni while the majority of Azerbaijan's population is Shia. Furthermore, the salience of Islam is growing among the Lezgins, which creates potential risks for both Moscow and Baku (Caucasustimes.com, July 8, 2012).
An ethnic Lezgin, Ilgar Mollachiev (a.k.a. amir Abdul-Majid) led the Islamist armed underground movement in Dagestan from October 2007 to September 2008. Mollachiev managed to organize the Sumgait jamaat among Azerbaijani Sunnis. The insurgent leader came from a Lezgin-populated area in Azerbaijan and used that background to establish a cell there. Authorities in Baku were forced to deal with Mollachiev's supporters long after he was killed (see EDM, April 12, 2012).
Azerbaijani officials along with those in the North Caucasus, have encountered the same problem: namely, that some of their residents are traveling to the Middle East to join the Islamic State. Given the divide between the Sunnis and Shiites in the Middle Eastern conflict and the domestic divisions between Azerbaijan's Shia and Sunni populations, the conflict in the Middle East may have especially serious consequences for Azerbaijan (Haqqin.az, April 29, 2015).
It is in both Baku's and Moscow's best interests to find the real killers of the Sadval leader, in order to avoid further complications. However, Russian authorities rarely solve high-profile crimes, which means that the government is likely to use the killing to further crack down on the Sadval organization itself while the real culprits in the assassination go uncaught.
Copyright notice: 2010 The Jamestown Foundation
Kyrgyzstan Targets Wrong Enemy in Its Latest Border Crisis With Uzbekistan
Publisher Jamestown Foundation Author Fozil Mashrab Publication Date 31 March 2016 Citation / Document Symbol Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 13 Issue: 63 Cite as Jamestown Foundation, Kyrgyzstan Targets Wrong Enemy in Its Latest Border Crisis With Uzbekistan, 31 March 2016, Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 13 Issue: 63, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fe31914.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.
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The Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) convened an extraordinary session, on March 22, at its headquarters in Moscow, at the request of the Kyrgyz Republic's government. Its members-Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan-came together to discuss the latest border crisis between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. After two days of discussions, the CSTO secretariat expressed its concern over the latest crisis and agreed to dispatch its senior envoy, Armenian permanent representative Ara Badalyan, to study the circumstances on the ground (Kabar.kg, March 23).
According to Bishkek, the latest border crisis started on March 18, when Uzbekistan's military stationed two armored personnel carriers, a military truck and around 40 soldiers at one of the disputed areas along the two countries' shared border in the Ferghana Valley. Kyrgyzstani officials claimed these military actions were not agreed upon in advance by both governments, thus violating international law prohibiting the deployment of any troops to disputed areas pending their final demarcation (Kabar.kg, March 18).
According to Kurbanbai Iskandarov, Bishkek's special envoy on border issues, Uzbekistan's actions amounted to an attempted land grab. On the other hand, Tashkent explained that the increase in the military presence in the area was a temporary and routine security measure necessitated by the celebration of the Navruz spring festival. Uzbekistan, which usually closes or strengthens its borders during public holidays, denied that its military entered the disputed area (Sputnik.kg, March 18).
The latest border crisis received hardly any media coverage in Uzbekistan itself, but it generated a major showdown between the government and the extra-parliamentary opposition in Kyrgyzstan. Some of these opposition members accused the government of not being firm enough in defending Kyrgyzstan's national interests; while officials struggled to prevent the raucous opposition from provoking a real conflict with the neighboring country (Gezitter.org, March 28).
Amid this domestic confrontation, the story underwent an additional twist when Kyrgyzstan's State Committee for National Security claimed that it obtained secret telephone conversation recordings of some Kyrgyzstani opposition leaders purportedly discussing a plan to overthrow the government in Bishkek by inciting anti-government demonstrations (Gezitter.org, March 22).
Some Kyrgyz media also suggested that Navruz was just a diplomatically convenient excuse for Uzbekistani officials to justify the deployment of heavy military equipment and military personnel to the border, while the main worry was the possibility of political instability breaking out in the south of Kyrgyzstan where a disgruntled, non-systemic opposition was planning to hold a major anti-government rally in Jalalabad on March 24 (Vesti.kg, March 23).
To lend some credence to these claims, Uzmetronom.com, an unofficial Uzbek website widely believed to regularly receive sensitive information from Uzbekistan's security services, made a similar argument. The site claimed that the deployment of heavy military equipment to the border on the eve of Navruz was not only due to routine prophylactic measures but out of fear that Kyrgyzstan might again experience a forceful removal of a legitimate government through another revolution (Uzmetronom.com, March 28).
Furthermore, Uzmetronom.com also bragged that the sudden military deployment just days before the major opposition rally in southern Kyrgyzstan disrupted the Kyrgyzstani opposition's plans. The website alluded that the secret telephone recordings exposing the conspiracy to overthrow the government were first seized and made public by Uzbekistan's special services in order to prevent renewed bloodshed in the Kyrgyz Republic, which has already experienced two revolutions, in 2005 and 2010 (Uzmetronom.com, March 28).
Eventually, on March 26, after several days of negotiations between the heads of the two countries' border control agencies, the border crisis was resolved amicably. No shots were fired, and nobody was hurt. Meanwhile, following up on the allegations of a domestic opposition conspiracy to overthrow the legitimate government of Kyrgyzstan, at least three of the opposition leaders who figured in the secret telephone conversations were taken into custody while others went into hiding; their alleged planned anti-government rallies have been canceled (24.kg, March 24).
With the benefit of hindsight, it seems Kyrgyzstan's government might have targeted the wrong enemy in the latest border crisis with Uzbekistan. At the same time, the political damage from President Almazbek Atambaev's various fiery statements uttered during the crisis could have serious repercussions to Biskhek's already strained relations with Tashkent.
In the broader context, Kyrgyzstan's efforts to confront Uzbekistan by touting its CSTO membership has also demonstrated that Russia, as the only real military power behind this organization, might face a dilemma if such a crisis reoccurs in the future since both conflicting parties are officially considered Moscow's allies. Even though Uzbekistan withdrew from the CSTO in 2012, it still has a Strategic Partnership Agreement and a Treaty on Allied Relations with Russia, which are mentioned at every bilateral summit (Kommersant.uz, December 8, 2015).
During a press conference on March 24, President Atambaev was asked whether it was really necessary for the CSTO to become involved in Kyrgyzstan's latest dispute with Uzbekistan, since such border crises occur fairly regularly but are eventually always resolved through bilateral talks. He told reporters that these kinds of border conflicts sometimes involve violent shootouts and casualties, so it is always better to be safe than sorry. Moreover, he asserted that Bishkek expects its allies to come to its assistance only in the event of aggression (24.kg, March 24).
To the Kyrgyzstani officials' dismay, some Russian experts openly questioned the necessity of dragging the CSTO (read Russia) into a border dispute between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. According to Arkadiy Dubnov, a Kremlin-connected Russian expert on Central Asia, Bishkek's attempt to increase the stakes by trying to insert the CSTO into its border conflict with a neighboring state was not a wise decision. The Moscow-led alliance's involvement, he argued, will not help to resolve such disputes and might further complicate the already-tense relations and lack of trust between the leaders of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan (Ng.ru, March 23).
It is somewhat ironic that of all the CSTO functionaries that might be picked to address the latest border dispute between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, the alliance secretariat specifically chose the Armenian permanent representative. Each of the Central Asian members of the CSTO-Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan-had previously bluntly stated that they had no intention of ever coming to Armenia's assistance in its own territorial dispute with Azerbaijan (Times.am, December 28, 2015). Such statements, combined with the aforementioned negative arguments by Russian experts like Arkadiy Dubnov, thus raise serious questions about the possibility that the CSTO would ever come to aid of any of its members in a true time of need.
Copyright notice: 2010 The Jamestown Foundation
Kenya: Proposed Amendments to Parliament Standing orders must be dropped
Publisher Article 19 Publication Date 30 March 2016 Cite as Article 19, Kenya: Proposed Amendments to Parliament Standing orders must be dropped, 30 March 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fe33094.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.
ARTICLE 19 is concerned by suggested amendments to standing orders regarding media activities in the precincts of Parliament, proposed by the joint Parliamentary Committee on Broadcasting and Library.
We call upon the Senate and National Assembly to reject these proposals, and uphold the freedom and independence of the media, as articulated in Article 34 of Kenya's constitution.
"We call upon parliament to reject the proposed amendments to the standing orders. They are not in the public interest and if passed, they will unjustifiably limit freedom of expression, which is already under severe pressure in Kenya," said Henry Maina, ARTICLE 19's Eastern Africa Regional Director.
If these proposals were adopted, requests to conduct media related activity would be handled by the Speaker of the Senate, or the Speaker of the National Assembly.
Parliamentary reporters are currently accredited by the Media Relations Office, who issue photo identity cards and grant access to the precincts of Parliament for the purposes of covering interviews and committee meetings. However, the new proposals would remove this mandate, and place it with the Speaker of the Senate or National Assembly. The proposals furthermore suggest that the Speakers themselves should ensure that media activities comply with standing orders, and that media activities serve an educational, cultural, or news purpose.
Under the proposals, cameramen and photographers would be required to report to the head of security before they could take photographs or videos, as well as requiring the prior permission of the person they are filming or photographing.
Violation of the new restrictions could result in denial of access during a sitting day, suspension of an individual's pass for a day, denial of access to the press gallery for three days for a media house or any other penalty the Speaker may deem fit. Repeated violations could result in a one-month suspension for the media house, or suspension of the individual's pass for the same period.
ARTICLE 19 is concerned that these proposals would unduly restrict freedom of expression and journalists' right to collect information. The requirement that media activity within Parliament should serve an educational, cultural or news purpose constitutes an excessive restriction on media content contrary to Article 34 (2) of the Constitution which protects media from external interference and control.
ARTICLE 19 opposes vesting Senate and National Assembly Speakers with powers to approve media activity and impose sanctions. Furthermore, the proposed sanctions are disproportionate and could be misused to prevent critical or independent journalists from publishing what is happening within the precincts of Parliament. This concern is reinforced by lack of clarity on the process for arriving at a decision regarding sanctions, and whether there is any appeal process.
ARTICLE 19 recommends that complaints of unprofessional conduct should be handled by the Media Council of Kenya, which enforces journalists' code of conduct.
Copyright notice: Copyright ARTICLE 19
UNHRC 31: Egypt-led "terrorism" resolution is a danger to human rights
Publisher Article 19 Publication Date 31 March 2016 Cite as Article 19, UNHRC 31: Egypt-led "terrorism" resolution is a danger to human rights, 31 March 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fe336d4.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.
ARTICLE 19 is deeply concerned by an Egypt-led resolution on "the effects of terrorism on the enjoyment of human rights", adopted by vote at the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) on 24 March. The resolution threatens international human rights law, including on freedom of expression, providing potential justification for abusive "counter-terrorism" measures.
The resolution fails to meet the needs of the victims of terrorism, and instead instrumentalises their suffering to distract international scrutiny from the deteriorating human rights situation in Egypt and elsewhere.
The serious and global challenges which terrorist attacks pose require a united response from the UN that safeguards and strengthens the international human rights system. This divisive resolution does the opposite, and should be abandoned in favour of the consensus-based approach in the parallel resolution on countering terrorism and human rights, led by Mexico.
The resolution "on the effects of terrorism on the enjoyment of human rights" (A/HRC/31/L.13) was led by Egypt with a core group of Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Morocco, Libya, and Jordan. It was adopted by a vote, with 14 States voting against, 5 abstaining, and 28 States voting in favour.[i]
As ARTICLE 19 advocated during the 31st Session of the HRC, the resolution suffers from four serious defects:
1. It does not make it explicitly clear that counter-terrorism measures should always comply with international human rights law. The sponsors of the resolution refused to clarify language that may be interpreted to justify counter terrorism measures that violate States' international human rights law obligations.[ii] The qualification "as applicable" in relation to almost all references to international human rights law may further imply that these obligations are optional.[iii] Language implying the creation of new rights that are not recognized under international human rights law creates further ambiguity.[iv] These formulations threaten to undermine the clarity and balance struck in previous consensus-based resolutions on these issues across the United Nations.
2. It attacks freedom of expression, in particular for the media and online. It portrays independent media and information communications technologies as threats to national security. This includes:
The encouragement of States to "refrain from supporting terrorist groups in establishing propaganda platforms, such as electronic or satellite platforms of any other media on their territory for disseminating hatred or instigation."[v] This ambiguous terminology, together with the absence of safeguards for the right to freedom of expression, threatens independent media. Media outlets are increasingly smeared as "propagandists" or "instigators" of hatred, merely for critically reporting on matters related to national security and providing information to the public that governments would rather supress.
The incorporation, with substantial modifications, of carefully negotiated UN Security Council language expressing concern on the criminal use of the Internet by terrorist groups.[vi] The modifications undermine clarity in the original language that any "preventative measures" to address this issue, which would include any collaboration with the private sector, must comply with international human rights law. Though positive reference to the Internet is made, this is not premised in rights-based language, and is made problematic by reference to the "constructive role" of the "Cyber Observatory of Takfiri Fatwas of Egypt". This opaque and government-affiliated institution should not be cited as good practice, given the rapid deterioration in respect for freedom of expression in Egypt.
The failure to address the abuse of legal frameworks in the name of national security to attack protected expression.[vii] On the contrary, the resolution makes positive reference to "incitement to terrorism" provisions, which are often broadly framed or interpreted expansively, in violation of international human rights law, to supress freedom of expression.
3. It takes a security-focused approach inappropriate to the HRC's mandate. In spite of concessions made throughout the negotiation process, the resolution is still severely imbalanced towards the protection of national security at the expense of (rather than bolstered by) protections for human rights. The limited attention given to the issue of human rights is under-inclusive, with attention only on the right to life, liberty and security (Article 3 UDHR), without due regard to other protections such as the absolute prohibition on torture, or the targeting by terrorists of human rights defenders and journalists for exercising their right to freedom of expression.
4. It fails to respond to the needs of victims of terrorism, instead instrumentalising their suffering to weaken the international human rights system that is designed for their protection. It calls for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to produce a report on the effects of terrorism that is unnecessary, as it is duplicative of recent reports from OHCHR and the HRC's special procedures.[viii]
These concerns are made particularly acute by the crackdown on civil society and independent voices in the States in the core group backing the resolution, in particular the intensification of repressive measures against civil society in Egypt.
Egypt's assault on independent civic organising continues on the pretext of protecting "national security". Human rights organisations such as the Nadeem Center are facing forced closure for activities protected by international human rights law, while media outlets are banned on reporting on it. Asset freezes, travel bans and "foreign funding" investigations have become the preferred mode of stifling the work civil society organisations. For this reason, ARTICLE 19 was one of several organisations calling for the HRC to condemn Egypt's actions.
In this context, Egypt's resolution appears to be a deliberate ploy to distract the international community from the deteriorating human rights situation at home as well in other countries.
Although the resolution was adopted, ARTICLE 19 welcomes that many HRC Member States voted against it, responding to the concerns of civil society outlined in a joint letter. Notably, opposition to the initiative came from States across all UN regions.
Belgium was among the States to vote against the resolution only days after terrorist attacks in Brussels killed and injured people of 49 different nationalities. In a powerful intervention leading up to the vote, Bertrand de Crombrugghe, the Ambassador of Belgium, urged that the response of the international community "cannot be guided by fear" but must "pursue the establishment of a framework which preserves our values". The Ambassador called on all States to vote against the resolution.
Concerns on the resolution were also reported in Turkish media, where media freedom has come under increasing pressure following recent terrorist attacks in Istanbul, Ankara, and Suruc.
In contrast, the long running Mexican-led resolution on "the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism" (A/HRC/31/L.3) was adopted again by consensus at the 31st Session of the Human Rights Council, extending the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on this issue for another three years. The Special Rapporteur has, appropriately, devoted particular attention to the international human rights obligations of States vis-a-vis the victims of terrorism, as well addressing comprehensively the importance of counter-terrorism initiatives complying with international human rights law.
ARTICLE 19 calls on States that cosponsored the resolution on "the effects of terrorism on human rights" to withdraw their support, and to seek to close this initiative in favour of united support for the resolution on "the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism".
[i] 14 States voted against the resolution (Albania, Belgium, France, Germany, Latvia, Mexico, Netherlands, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Slovenia, South Africa, Switzerland, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, The United Kingdom of Greater Britain and Northern Ireland); 5 States abstained (Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Namibia, Panama), and 28 States voted in favour (Algeria, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Botswana, Burundi, China, Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Maldives, Morocco, Nigeria, Paraguay, Philippines, Qatar, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Togo, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela, Viet Nam).
[ii] See, for example, operational paragraph 4 "Urges States, while countering terrorism, to respect and protect all human rights, bearing in mind that certain counter-terrorism measures may have an impact on the enjoyment of those rights;"
[iii] See, for example, operative paragraph 8: "Urges States to take appropriate measures to duly investigate the incitement, preparation or commission of acts of terrorism, and to bring to justice those engaged in such acts in accordance with national criminal laws and procedures and international human rights law, as applicable".
[iv] See, for example, preambular paragraph 5: "Reaffirming also the right of the people to live in peace, freedom and security and their right to be protected at all times from the threat of terrorism".
[v] Operational Paragraph 7. This paragraph was added to the tabling version of the resolution despite not being recommended by any State or openly discussed in previous informal negotiations.
[vi] Operational Paragraph 10.
[vii] See, for example, operational paragraph 8, which contains language implying that national criminal laws need to comply with international human rights law only "as applicable".
[viii] The HRC received the views of victims of terrorism through a Panel on the topic in 2011 (Report A/HRC/19/38, 7 December 2011), and this was the focus of Ben Emmerson's first report as Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism (A/HRC/20/14, 4 June 2012). The OHCHR has already set-out standards in their Fact Sheet No. 32 on "Human Rights, Terrorism and Counter-terrorism", though the latter is not referenced in the resolution.
Copyright notice: Copyright ARTICLE 19
Yemen: Baha'i Adherent Faces Death Penalty
Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 1 April 2016 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Yemen: Baha'i Adherent Faces Death Penalty, 1 April 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fe36b44.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.
Yemeni authorities should drop all charges against a member of the Baha'i faith detained since December 2013, apparently for his religious beliefs. Prosecutors are expected to seek the death penalty for Hamed Kamal Muhammad bin Haydara in a court hearing scheduled for April 3, 2016.
Yemeni authorities should stop the persecution of the country's Baha'i community, Human Rights Watch said.
"The Yemeni authorities have committed an injustice by prosecuting Haydara for his religious beliefs and compounding that injustice by seeking to execute him," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director. "The charges should be dropped and Haydara should be released."
Haydara was detained on December 3, 2013, by officers from Yemen's National Security Bureau (NSB), an intelligence agency. He was held in an NSB detention center in the capital, Sanaa, for almost a year, as officers beat him and subjected him to electric shocks and other mistreatment.
On January 8, 2015, the Specialized Criminal Court prosecutor issued an indictment claiming that Haydara was an Iranian citizen, using a false name, who arrived in Yemen only in 1991. Yet photocopies of his Yemini ID and passport provided by his wife show he was born in Yemen in 1964. The prosecutor also charged him with collaborating with Israel by working for the Universal House of Justice, the Baha'i supreme governing institution, which is based in Haifa, Israel. The prosecutor also alleged that Haydara lured potential Muslim converts to the Baha'i faith through charitable giving and tried to "establish a homeland for the followers of the Baha'i faith" in Yemen.
In the indictment, which Human Rights Watch reviewed, the prosecutor charges Haydara under Yemen's penal code with committing, among other crimes, "an act that violates the independence of the republic, its unity, or the integrity of its lands," "working for a foreign state's interests," "insulting Islam," and "apostasy." The prosecutor is seeking "the maximum possible penalty," which for some of these charges is death, as well as confiscation of his property.
Four members of the Baha'i community who have been monitoring the court proceedings told Human Rights Watch that since Haydara's 2013 arrest, his case has had 13 court hearings, but he has only been allowed to attend three. The local human rights group Mwatana monitored the most recent hearing, on February 28, 2016, for which Haydara was absent. The director of Mwatana, Radhiya al-Mutawakil, who was at the session, said the judge asked the prosecutor, Rajeh Zayyed, about Haydara's absence, but received no explanation.
Zayyed claims to have had 14 interrogation sessions with Haydara, but according to Haydara's lawyer, Abdulkarim al-Hamadi, the prosecution only interrogated Haydara twice, and brought him to the prosecutor's office twice more but then did not question him. Al-Hamadi has only been allowed to communicate with his client by phone.
At the February 28 hearing, Zayyed reiterated that the prosecution is seeking the death penalty. Human Rights Watch opposes the death penalty in all circumstances as an inherently cruel form of punishment.
Haydara's wife, Elham Muhammad Hossain Zara'i, told Human Rights Watch that in a September 4 meeting with one of the judges presiding over the case, he threatened her with prison because of her faith and told her that all Baha'is should be in prison.
Since the Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah, took control of Sanaa and other areas of Yemen in September 2014, the judiciary has significantly slowed its processing of cases, though many employees within the judiciary system have remained the same.
Most of the charges against Haydara relate to his practice of the Baha'i faith. They violate the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which Yemen ratified in 1987. Article 18 states: "Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right shall include freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice, and freedom, either individually or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching."
Yemen's penal code includes provisions that impose criminal penalties for renouncing Islam as well as attempting to convert Muslims to other faiths.
About 1,000 Baha'i members live in Yemen. The case against Haydara is not the first of its kind, representatives of the global Baha'i community said. In June 2008, National Security officers arrested Behrooz Rouhani, a Baha'i man, and two visiting Baha'i friends, all of whom carried Iranian passports, at Rouhani's home in Sanaa. Rouhani told Human Rights Watch that the officers handcuffed and blindfolded them and then searched his home, confiscating many Baha'i books, video cassettes, and documents. They said they were kept handcuffed and blindfolded the first two days of their detention.
Officers arrested a fourth Baha'i man, who carried an Iraqi passport, the next day. Rouhani said that officers interrogated him about his faith the first week every night for five or six hours, accusing him of trying to convert Muslims and of collaboration with Israel. The four were released without charge after 120 days. The authorities told them to leave Yemen within two months, but this order was later revoked and two of them still live in Yemen.
A person who was at the trial told Human Rights Watch they heard the prosecutor, Zayyed, use derogatory language against the Baha'i community, saying that its members committed hostile acts toward Yemen.
Immediately after an earlier hearing in Haydara's case, on March 8, 2015, Zayyed apprehended two members of the Baha'i community who had been monitoring the trial, Nadim al-Sakkaf and his brother, Nader Tawfiq al-Sakkaf, both told Human Rights Watch. They said that Zayyed tried to get the judge to issue a court order to formalize the arrest but he refused, so after checking their names off a list of members of the Baha'i community and holding them in the courthouse guard booth for two hours, he transferred them to the Political Security Organization's headquarters. Security forces held them for two days, interrogating them several times about their faith and asking for names of other members, then released them without charge.
Local human rights activists have reported that past Yemeni governments also imposed unlawful restrictions on other religious minorities, including Christian, Jewish, and Ismaili individuals. Based on comments she said she heard from NSB officers, Zara'i fears authorities may deport Haydara to Iran. Punishing citizens with exile is a violation of fundamental rights under international law. Article 12 of the ICCPR states, "No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of the right to enter his own country." The United Nations Human Rights Committee, the international expert committee that monitors compliance with the ICCPR, has interpreted article 12 to mean that this includes exiling or banning citizens based on repressive domestic laws. The committee concluded that, "There are few, if any, circumstances in which deprivation of the right to enter one's own country could be reasonable. A State party must not, by stripping a person of nationality or by expelling an individual to a third country, arbitrarily prevent this person from returning to his or her own country."
Even if Haydara were found not to be a Yemeni citizen, under international law he still may not be deported to a country where he faces persecution or abuse. Because of his Baha'i faith, Haydara would probably face persecution in Iran, Human Rights Watch said.
Haifa, in present-day Israel, has been the Baha'i faith's administrative headquarters since 1868, when the city was under Ottoman rule. The Iranian government, like the Yemeni authorities in Haydara's case, routinely uses the connection to accuse Baha'is in Iran of spying for Israel, with which Iran has hostile relations. The Baha'i faith originated in Iran, but its members suffer severe persecution there, including arbitrary detention and prosecution related solely to their religious activities, restrictions on access to higher education, confiscation of property, and destruction and desecration of their cemeteries. Iran's judiciary often charges and convicts Baha'is of unlawful links with foreign governments, including Israel. Seven leaders of the Iranian Baha'i community are serving prison sentences, ranging from seven to 20 years, on charges that include propaganda against the state and espionage on behalf of foreign governments.
"The prosecution of Hamed Kamal Haydara is symbolic of the broader attack on Yemen's Baha'i community," Stork said. "If the current authorities want to show the world that they represent an inclusive Yemen, they need to release him and anyone else being held for their opinions and beliefs."
Copyright notice: Copyright, Human Rights Watch
It may be old news (it happened Tuesday night), but the Reporter-News team of three won the Adult Literacy Council's Spell Abilene! adult spelling bee.
Yes, I happened to be one of the three. The other members of the Double V's Double T's team were Tim Chipp and Tim Ritter thus the Double T's.
I've been in a couple of spelling bees as an adult, once when I was at the newspaper in Bakersfield, California, and once in Abilene, maybe 2005 or 2006.
Greg Jaklewicz sent out emails asking people to volunteer to represent the Reporter-News. I waited a couple of weeks, but when only two other people stepped up, I agreed to do it.
It was about supporting the newspaper, being a good advocate for our company. So I was a little surprised when I arrived at the second-floor auditorium at the downtown Abilene Public Library.
There were a lot of people. Really. Just about every seat was filled. So, a little intimidating.
We had to draw numbers to see who went first. We got third. Much better than first, or so I thought.
Then we sat in our assigned seats, which faced the audience. We were smack dab in the middle, front row, right behind the speakers making introductions and reading the rules.
No hiding in the back for us, blast it.
George Levesque was in charge of reading the words and, if necessary, giving a definition or using the word in a sentence. He started with "Your word is " and then read the word.
When one team got the word "culottes," they asked for the word to be used in a sentence.
George replied, "Your word is culottes," earning a big laugh from the audience.
Speaking of the audience, they were wonderful, lots of cheers and clapping after each proper spelling.
Every team made it through the practice round, which was all bee-related words like "swarm," "honey" and "pollen."
But three teams crashed and burned in the first round, including people from certain local television news programs.
As one might expect, there's just a touch of competition between the newspaper and the TV and radio news outlets. After all, we all want to be the first to break a story.
So there was more than a little satisfaction when the Reporter-News team outlasted the two TV teams and the two radio teams.
Somewhere during the third round, Tim Chipp leaned over and whispered, "If we go out now, I'm OK with that."
My response?
"I want to win this."
Anyone who has ever played a board game with me will attest to my competitive nature. I don't know what happens to me, but I get a little, shall we say, spirited.
But with each progressive round and each correct answer, the event got more fun, which I didn't expect, but enjoyed. The audience got more excited and the competitors sat up taller and really focused on figuring out the words.
Each team had three saves: a Stinger, which allowed us to pass a word to the team of our choice; a Lifeline, which let the team ask three sixth-grade spellers to give the team what they thought was the correct answer; or the Buzz, which let a team pass on a word and take the next.
The Buzz was the only one the ARN team used, to pass on "tambourine."
The team that passed on "culottes" ended up getting "peignoir," and was eliminated.
The teams showed a lot of class and none cheered another team's failures. But soon enough, it was down to a team from First Financial Bank and us.
We moved to a speed round, during which Levesque gave a word and the first team to ring the bell had five seconds to answer.
The word was "gesundheit" and we rang the bell, answered it correctly and victory was ours.
The event was to raise awareness of the Adult Literacy Council, and the bee was all in good fun. But that didn't make victory taste any less sweet.
SATURDAY
Breakfast at the DAC
DESDEMONA 'Breakfast at the DAC' will be served from 7-10 a.m. at the Desdemona Activity Center. The suggested donation is $7.
5K run
Friends of Abilene State Park will conduct a 5K run at 9 a.m. at Abilene State Park. Registration will begin at 8:30 a.m. Race day registration is $20, and park admission is $5.
Free tax assistance
The AARP will offer free assistance in preparing income tax forms for low- and middle-income taxpayers from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Mockingbird Branch of the Abilene Public Library, 1214 N. Mockingbird Lane. Doors will open at 9 a.m. Space is limited, and help will be provided on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Quilt show
SAN SABA The third annual San Saba County Quilt Show will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the San Saba Civic Center. A variety of exhibits and vendors will be available. For more information, go to sansabacountyquiltshow.com.
Outlaws & Legends
The sixth annual Outlaws & Legends Music Festival will be from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. at the Back Porch of Texas, 3350 N. Clack St. Proceeds will go to the Ben Richey Boys Ranch. For more information, or for tickets, go to www.outlawsandlegends.com.
'Pinkalicious, The Musical'
As part of the Children's Performing Arts Series, 'Pinkalicious, The Musical' will be presented at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. at the Paramount Theatre, 352 Cypress St. Tickets are $9. For tickets, go to abilenecac.org/cparts or call 325-677-1161.
Other ...
Overeaters Anonymous, 10 a.m., Shades of Hope, 402A Mulberry St., Buffalo Gap. 800-588-4673.
Abilene Society of Model Railroaders, 10 a.m. to noon, 2043 N. Second St.
SUNDAY
Veterans ceremony
A ceremony commemorating Operation Restored Hope, which was conducted in Somalia in the 1990s, will begin at 1:30 p.m. at VFW Post 6873, 1049 Veterans Drive.
MONDAY
Resume class
A free resume class will begin at 10 a.m. at the Mockingbird Branch of the Abilene Public Library, 1214 N. Mockingbird Lane. Participants should bring their job history information and a personal email address. To register, call 325-437-7323.
Tree class
Bruce Kreitler will present a workshop on spring tree care at 6:30 p.m.at the Abilene Public Library, 202 Cedar St. Admission is free.
Other ...
Blood drive, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Colorado City High School.
Overeaters Anonymous, noon, Hinds Square Building, 100 Chestnut St., Room 112.
Schizophrenia Support Group, 1-2 p.m., Mental Health Association of Abilene, 333 Orange St. 325-673-2300.
Free swim class for people with multiple sclerosis, 5:30 p.m., YMCA, 3250 State St.
Anorexics Bulimics Anonymous, 6 p.m., Shades of Hope, 402A Mulberry St., Buffalo Gap. 800-588-4673.
Central Texas Gem & Mineral Society of Abilene, 7 p.m., 7607 Highway 277 South. 325-692-0063.
Abilene Toastmaster's Club 1071, 7 p.m., Conference Center, Texas State Technical College, 650 E. Highway 80. 325-692-7325 or abilene.toastmastersclubs.org.
Al-Anon, 7 p.m., First United Methodist Church, 1501 N. Broadway, Ballinger. 817-689-2810 or 325-977-1007.
Mid-City Al-Anon, 7 p.m., First Christian Church. 325-670-4304.
Memory Men (4-part a cappella singing), 7 p.m., Calvary Baptist Church, 1165 Minter Lane. Park on east side, enter through kitchen. 325-676-SING.
Taylor County Libertarian Party, 7 p.m., Winery at Willow Creek, 4353 S. Treadaway Blvd. 325-675-0266.
Abilene Community Band rehearsal, 7:30 p.m., Bynum Band Hall, McMurry University. 325-232-7383.
South Pioneer Al-Anon Group, 8 p.m., 3157 Russell Ave.
Alcoholics Anonymous/Narcotics Anonymous, 8 p.m., Avoca United Methodist Church. 325-773-2611.
Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse Group. 325-676-1400.
TUESDAY
Piano concert
Dr. Mark Puckett will present a piano concert at 7:15 p.m. in the Woodward-Dellis Recital Hall at Hardin-Simmons University.
Other ...
Veterans benefit meeting, 10 a.m. to noon, Disabled American Veterans, 2555 Grape St. 325-793-9699 or 325-480-6175.
Mission on the Move Soup Kitchen, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Southwest Drive Community United Methodist Church, 3025 Southwest Dr.
Abilene Southwest Rotary Club, noon, Beehive Restaurant, 442 Cedar St.
High Noon Al-Anon, noon, Southern Hills Church of Christ, 3666 Buffalo Gap Road (south end; follow the yellow signs).
Stroke/Aphasia Recovery Program support group, 1:30-2:30 p.m. West Texas Rehabilitation Center boardroom, 4601 Hartford St. 325-793-3535.
Dystonia Support Group, 5:15-6:15 p.m., Not Without Us, 3301 N. First St. Suite 117.
Take Off Pounds Sensibly (TOPS), 5:30 p.m., Brook Hollow Christian Church, 2310 S. Willis St. 325-232-7444.
Legacies Al-Anon Family Group, 5:30-6:30 p.m., Open Door Building, 3157 Russell Ave. 325-280-7584.
Dining For Women Abilene Chapter, 6 p.m., First Christian Church, 1420 N. Third St.
Family (of Mental Health Consumers) Support Group, 6-7 p.m., Mental Health Association in Abilene, 333 Orange St. 325-673-2300.
MHAA Bipolar/Depression Peer Support Group, 6-8 p.m., Ministry of Counseling & Enrichment, 1502 N. First St. 325-673-2300.
Free certified nurturing parent class (pregnancy to toddler), 6-8 p.m., Mission Church, North Third and Mockingbird streets. 325-672-9398.
Abilene Star Chorus, 6:15 p.m., First Baptist Church, 1333 N. Third St. 325-829-1470.
Overeaters Anonymous, 6:30-7:30 p.m., Exodus Metropolitan Community Church, 1933 S. 27th St.
Al-Anon Parents Group, 7 p.m., Hillcrest Church of Christ, 650 E. Ambler Ave. Use Church Street entrance.
Al-Anon, 7 p.m., Doug Meinzer Activity Center, Knox City. 940-658-3926.
Abilene Society of Model Railroaders, 7-8:30 p.m., 2043 N. Second St.
Parents, Family, Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) of the Big Country, 7-9 p.m., Unity Church, 2842 Barrow St. 325-232-4726, www.pflagbc.weebly.com.
Unity Group of Alcoholics Anonymous, 8 p.m., Episcopal Church of the Heavenly Rest, 602 Meander St.
WEDNESDAY
Free tax assistance
The AARP will offer free assistance in preparing income tax forms for low- and middle-income taxpayers from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Abilene Public Library, 202 Cedar St. Doors will open at 9 a.m. Space is limited, and help will be provided on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Other ...
Overeaters Anonymous, 8 a.m., Hinds Square Building, Room 112, 100 Chestnut St.
Veterans Association Club, 10 a.m., Rose Park Senior Citizens Center (in Rose Park, South Seventh and Barrow streets).
Blood drive, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Hamlin High School.
Abilene Cactus Lions Club, 11:45 a.m., Cotton Patch Cafe, 3302 S. Clack St.
Abilene Wednesday Rotary Club, noon, Abilene Country Club, 4039 S. Treadaway. $12 for lunch. Jo Ann Wilson, 325-677-6815.
Kiwanis Club of Abilene, noon, Abilene Country Club, 4039 S. Treadaway Blvd.
Clearly Speaking Toastmaster Club, noon, Westgate Church of Christ, 402 S. Pioneer Drive. 325-795-5570.
Retired Military Wives Club business meeting, 1 p.m., Rose Park Senior Activity Center, 2625 South Seventh St. 325-677-9656 or 325-793-1490.
Free swim class for people with multiple sclerosis, 5:30 p.m., YMCA, 3250 State St.
Veterans Peer Support Group, 6 p.m., 765 Orange St. 325-670-4818.
Mid-week Al-Anon Family Group, 6-7 p.m., Open Door Building, 3157 Russell Ave. 325-698-4995.
Advanced Square Dancing, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Wagon Wheel.
Al-Anon, 7 p.m., First United Methodist Church, 1501 N. Broadway, Ballinger. 817-689-2810 or 325-977-1007.
DivorceCare support group, 7 p.m., Hillcrest Church of Christ, 650 E. Ambler Ave. 325-691-4200.
Old Town Abilene Neighborhood Association, 7 p.m., Shining Star Baptist Church, 302 Palm St. 325-676-4068.
Big Country Audubon Society, 7 p.m., Rose Park Senior Citizens Center.
Key City Coin Club, 7 p.m., Rose Park Senior Citizens Center, Room B. 325-675-0266.
American Legion Post and Auxiliary 661 meeting, 7 p.m., Lueders Legion Hall, Highway 6, Lueders.
THURSDAY
Free tax assistance
The AARP will offer free assistance in preparing income tax forms for low- and middle-income taxpayers from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Abilene Public Library, 202 Cedar St. Doors will open at 9 a.m. Space is limited, and help will be provided on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Spring festival
A spring festival will be presented from 6-8:30 p.m. at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, 1718 Pine St. Games, food, balloon animals, face painting and health screenings will be available. For more information, call 325-676-7948.
'The Shadow Box'
A production of 'The Shadow Box' will be presented at 7:30 p.m. in Van Ellis Theatre at Hardin-Simmons University. Tickets are $8 for adults, $5 for students, seniors and military, and free for HSU faculty, staff and students.
Other ...
Chronic Pain and Depression Group, 11 a.m. to noon, Mental Health Association of Abilene, 333 Orange St., 325-673-2300.
Abilene Founder Lions Club, 11:30 a.m., Al's Mesquite Grill, 4801 Buffalo Gap Road.
Kiwanis Club of Greater Abilene, noon, Beehive Restaurant, 442 Cedar St. 325-695-0092.
Mental Illness Open Support Group, 1-2 p.m., Mental Health Association of Abilene, 333 Orange St. 325-673-2300.
Blood drive, 1-6 p.m., First Baptist Church, Albany.
Abilene 42 Club, 6 p.m., Rose Park Senior Center.
Teen Recovery Group, 6-7 p.m., Mission Abilene, 3001 N. Third St.
Free certified nurturing parent class (all ages), 6-8 p.m., Mission Church, North Third and Mockingbird streets. 325-672-9398.
Take Off Pounds Sensibly, 6:30 p.m. Brook Hollow Christian Church. Weigh-in begins at 5:30 p.m. 325-665-5052.
Free swim class for people with multiple sclerosis, 6:30 p.m., YMCA, 3250 State St.
Gambler's Anonymous, 6:30 p.m., Unity Spiritual Living Center, 2842 Barrow St. 325-338-2575.
Round Dancing, 7 p.m., Wagon Wheel. 325-829-1517.
South Pioneer Al-Anon Group, 8 p.m., 3157 Russell Ave.
Unity Group of Alcoholics Anonymous, 8 p.m., Episcopal Church of the Heavenly Rest, 602 Meander St.
FRIDAY
Free tax assistance
The AARP will offer free assistance in preparing income tax forms for low- and middle-income taxpayers from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Mockingbird Branch of the Abilene Public Library, 1214 N. Mockingbird Lane. Doors will open at 9 a.m. Space is limited, and help will be provided on a first-come, first-serve basis.
'Hidden Jewel in the Recital Hall'
Abilene Christian University Opera will present 'Hidden Jewel in the Recital Hall' at 7:30 p.m. in the recital hall on campus.
'San Francisco'
As part of the Paramount Film Series, a showing of 'San Francisco' will begin at 7:30 p.m. at the Paramount Theatre, 352 Cypress St. Robert Holladay will give a lecture on the film at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $6 for adults and $5 for students, seniors, military and children. For more information, visit paramount-abilene.org.
'Hands on a Hardbody'
A production of the musical 'Hands on a Hardbody' will be presented at 7:30 p.m. in Fulks Theatre at Abilene Christian University. Tickets are $15. For more information, go to www.acu.edu/academics/cas/music.
'The Shadow Box'
A production of 'The Shadow Box' will be presented at 7:30 p.m. in Van Ellis Theatre at Hardin-Simmons University. Tickets are $8 for adults, $5 for students, seniors and military, and free for HSU faculty, staff and students.
Other ...
Blood drive, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Abilene State Supported Living Center, 2180 Maple St.
Overeaters Anonymous, noon, Hinds Square Building, 100 Chestnut St., Room 112.
Abilene Chinese Corner, 5:30-6:30 p.m., Abilene Christian University library. lld09a@acu.edu.
Disabled American Veterans and Auxiliary, 6 p.m., 2555 Grape St. 325-793-9699 or 325-480-6175.
Mid-City Al-Anon, 7 p.m., First Christian Church. 325-670-4304.
Recording and producing a music CD costs a lot of money $15,000.
That's the goal for the Revolution Recording Project, a fundraising effort that includes an evening featuring the Quebe Sisters, a fiddle group from the Metroplex, as well as performances by Revolution Strings.
Revolution Strings, directed by Darcy Radcliffe and David Keown, is a group of Abilene ISD music students. The group has toured in China and Europe, and has a trip to Australia loosely scheduled for 2017.
Revolution, which has not recorded an album in 10 years, has planned a new album that will feature a mix of songs from artists ranging from legendary Western swing artist Bob Wills to contemporary composer Mark O'Connor and a lot of artists in between.
The fundraiser will take place April 8 at the Abilene Woman's Club.
The Quebe (rhymes with maybe) Sisters, a trio now in their 20s, began playing the fiddle as tweens or earlier the youngest, Hulda, was just 7 eventually adding singing to their performances, capitalizing on their sisterly harmonies.
Hulda Quebe spoke to the Reporter-News right after South by Southwest in Austin in March. The sisters performed every day of the festival and watched as many other bands as they could during the 10-day event.
"We saw everybody heavy metal, electronica, acoustic," Hulda Quebe said with a laugh. "I'm looking at my desk and it's covered with wristbands."
One highlight was seeing Loretta Lynn perform. Quebe said she and her sisters knew they had to make that happen.
"She's getting up there in age; we really didn't know what to expect," Quebe said. "What a stage presence. She's just snappy and witty. She was funny."
The sisters grew up in Burleson, south of Fort Worth, and started taking fiddle lessons at the same time, even though they were different ages.
"We all progressed together," Quebe said. "Our understanding of music grew together.
"We always had an ear for harmony, so singing was a natural transition from instruments. We're also starting to write songs."
In the beginning, they learned Western swing and listened to a variety of musicians, including Merle Haggard, Buck Owen and Ray Price. She also mentioned a newer artist, Mo Pitney.
"The other music we listen to is swing, jazz and big band," Quebe said. "There's a great hip-hop radio station in Dallas."
She said she is catching up on the music of the 1980s and '90s.
Quebe said she's looking forward to the Abilene event and meeting the members of Revolution.
"We've been tweeting each other back and forth," she said. "I hope lots of people come they seem like a really cool group."
Radcliffe said she contacted the Quebes and asked if they would be willing to perform at the fundraiser. It just took one call, she said.
The agency that handles The Quebe Sisters also handles Riders in The Sky, with whom Revolution has worked with in the past.
The group will be recording the album at 7 Pillar Studios in Cisco.
"It's the only studio in the region big enough to accommodate our group," Radcliffe said, including enough headsets and space.
With close to two dozen student musicians, including violinists, violists, cellists, a bass player, a guitarist and a drummer, Revolution makes up quite a crowd. The students come from Abilene High, Cooper High, the Academy of Math, Engineering, Technology & Science, and Holland Medical Early College High schools.
With the recording costs so high about $200 an hour and most songs require six to eight hours in the studio Radcliffe has reached out to the community, as well as writing grant requests.
Thus far, the group has received a $500 grant from the Dian Graves Owen Foundation.
Revolution has toured extensively around Texas. The group has played on "From the Top," a National Public Radio program and at the Association of Secondary School Principals' national convention and the Texas Music Educators Association's convention.
"They are kind of an Abilene treasure," Radcliffe said about her students. "We go out and represent our town. I think we're a positive representation."
IF YOU GO:
What: The Quebe Sisters, with Revolution Strings The Quebe Sisters, with Revolution Strings
When: 6:30-9:30 p.m. April 8
Where: The Abilene Womans Club, 3425 S. 14th St.
Admission: $75; for tickets or more information call Darcy Radcliffe at 325-691-1000, ext. 2284, or visit www.revolutionstrings.com
Members of Revolution Strings
VIOLINS
Daniella Martinez
Cassidy Forehand
Lauren Pybus
Ernesto Mendoza
Celeste Sanchez
Faith Fang
Marcelo Ordonez
Gabe Tolentino
Kathyanne Best
Lexi Townsend
Danny Gil
JaiMalee Cordova
VIOLAS
Logan McFall
Teran Hall
James Gumawid
CELLOS
Kenny Waldrop
Jeremy Valdez
GUITAR
Christina Dooley
DRUMS
Andrew Miller
DIRECTORS
Darcy Radcliffe and David Keown
Connecting Caring Communities is reshaping itself and will have a new look within the year.
Changes announced Thursday during the annual Good Neighbor Breakfast include focusing on one neighborhood instead of the current three and moving the office from First Christian Church to what is now the North Park Friendship House located at 2701 Hickory St.
The Hickory Street location is in the College Heights neighborhood that Connecting Caring Communities will concentrate on, said Lori Thornton, executive director. The change will allow for better use of financial resources, Thornton said, and will make it easier for community coordinators to follow up on contacts with residents of the area.
"That has been a challenge," Thornton said, with staff spread over the three neighborhoods.
The College Heights neighborhood runs from Ambler Avenue to North First Street and from Grape Street to Pine Street. Some of CCC's major supporters are located in that area Hardin-Simmons University, First Baptist Church, Hendrick Medical Center and First Financial Bank.
CCC began in 2000 as an initiative of Hardin-Simmons and became an incorporated nonprofit with its current name in 2005. The nonprofit has expanded greatly since its beginning, Thornton said.
"We have grown boldly and successfully," she said.
Now, it is time to take a new look at the nonprofit's structure and make some changes. CCC is a neighborhood renewal program that seeks to get residents of an area to work together for improvements. It does that in several ways, with the most visible being the Friendship House initiative. The houses are owned by CCC and occupied by a community coordinator and his or her family. The house serves as a hub for neighborhood activities.
Currently, CCC owns three Friendship Houses North Park; Valley View, located at 2234 N. Eighth St; and College Heights, with a new home being built at 1518 Orange St. The new house, which will be occupied in April by Aaron and Arielle Shaver and their daughter, replaces an older house previously owned by CCC.
Valley View Friendship House is occupied by Doug and Janet Mendenhall and North Park is occupied by Dusty and Kathy Garison. The Mendenhalls and Garisons will purchase their own homes in the College Heights area and their current homes, owned by CCC, will be sold, Thornton said. A fourth community coordinator, Drew Bowen, also lives in the College Heights neighborhood but doesn't occupy a Friendship House.
Even after the Valley View and North Park Friendship Houses are vacated, Connecting Caring Communities will still have a presence in those neighborhoods, Thornton said. The CCC office will be in the North Park Friendship House. In the Valley View neighborhood, the CCC initiative has worked so well that residents have formed a new neighborhood association that is affiliated with the city. It is called the Cobb Park Neighborhood Association, named for the city park in the neighborhood.
The formation of the neighborhood association is a positive sign, Thornton said, because it means a core group of neighbors has transitioned into a leadership team one of the goals of Connecting Caring Communities.
Under the leadership of Janet Mendenhall, residents of the Valley View neighborhood formed several partnerships for community renewal, Thornton said, including the Cobb Park Recreation Center.
"That will, of course, continue," Thornton said.
Connecting Caring Communities' partnership with the Abilene Neighborhood Initiative, a program facilitated by the city and the Abilene Police Department, will not change, Thornton said. The neighborhoods that are the focus of ANI are Alameda, Holiday Hills, Stevenson, Carver and Butternut/Chestnut.
"We still have a lot that we're doing with that," Thornton said.
CCC's four community coordinators, under the leadership of Bowen, work with churches, the city and police department in those neighborhoods.
Thursday's Good Neighbor Breakfast also included a video with testimonials from people who work with or are served by Connecting Caring Communities. Linda Carleton, who started the Hardin-Simmons neighborhood initiative in 2000 when she was dean of students, told what the experience has meant to her.
She said she realized that even though she worked at Hardin-Simmons, she didn't know anything about the residents of the neighborhoods around the university. So, one day she decided to walk the streets around the campus, introducing herself to the residents.
The journey from that experience to today's Connecting Caring Communities has been amazing and rewarding.
"It is such a joy to see people love one another," Carleton said.
Editor's note: Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders spoke Wednesday in Kenosha, Wisconsin, at Carthage College, where contributing columnist Arthur Cyr is a professor of political science.
Democratic presidential contender Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont delivered a rousing campaign address to a large crowd Wednesday at Carthage College, underscoring both his radical reform message, and the importance of Tuesday's Wisconsin primary.
Vocal animal rights advocates briefly interrupted the proceedings, and were escorted out by police.
Sanders' policy address frequently was interrupted by powerful applause. Much of his remarks addressed economic concerns, including in particular the income divide between the very richest and the rest of the population.
Inequality was described as greater than at any time since 1928. He cited dramatic contrasts between rich and poor, including the point that the richest twenty people people, not percent in the U.S. have as much wealth as the entire bottom half of our nation's population.
The senator attacked a 'rigged economy,' where powerful financial and industrial interests dominate the system. He singled out the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission, which has ended any restrictions on political campaign funding by corporations, unions and other interests.
References to opponent Hillary Clinton generally were cast in economic policy terms. They included the point that she has received honoraria of $225,000 per speech by Wall Street groups. He urged that the transcripts of those speeches be released.
The Clinton campaign has fundraising super PACs while the Sanders campaign has none. Sanders received six million contributions over the past 11 months, at an average amount of $27.
Sanders touched on a range of additional reform topics. They include 'Medicare for all,' equality regarding gender and race, and free university tuition. He contrasted his vote against invading Iraq in 2003 with support for the war by then-Senator Clinton.
The Wisconsin presidential primary historically has often been a good indicator of success in securing the party nomination. In 1960, Sen. John F. Kennedy emphasized the state. Wisconsin victory, followed by another big win in West Virginia, gave JFK clear front-runner status. In 2004, Sen. John Kerry received a boost from Wisconsin and went on to secure the Democratic presidential nomination. In 2008, Republican Sen. John McCain and Democratic Sen. Barack Obama were nominated following Wisconsin wins.
Republican presidential candidate Dwight D. Eisenhower achieved an enormous gain through winning the 1952 Wisconsin primary. Ike's great popularity often obscures the fact that initially he faced an uphill battle to secure the nomination from Sen. Robert Taft.
Defeat in Wisconsin, or fear of defeat there, has also significantly influenced presidential politics. Wendell Willkie, the Republican nominee who ran against President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1940, had similar aspirations in 1944 until his defeat in Wisconsin. President Lyndon Johnson, following a relatively poor showing in the New Hampshire primary against insurgent Sen. Eugene McCarthy, decided to withdraw from the campaign and retire from the White House after polls indicated certain defeat in Wisconsin.
Wisconsin early in the 20th century established the first mandatory presidential primary, and one of the very first in the nation. Since then, primaries have become pervasive, yet Wisconsin continues to play often distinctive roles in the nomination process.
According to the Marquette Law School Poll, Sanders narrowly leads Clinton in Wisconsin.
Email Arthur I. Cyr is Clausen, Distinguished Professor at Carthage College, at acyr@carthage.edu
Elections are about enthusiasm.
Pundits will tell you, for example, that Virginia is a purple state. They are wrong. Virginia is sometimes a red state and sometimes a blue state but never a purple state.
An unenthusiastic Virginia when only 2.2 million people vote is red. Any Democrat will have an extremely difficult time breaking 50 percent statewide when turnout is 2.2 million voters. Thus in the 2013 governor's race, Terry McAuliffe actually lost the overall vote by about 5 percentage points, when 2.2 million voted, but the non-Democratic vote was split between a Republican and a tea partyer (who got 6.5 percent of the vote) running on the Libertarian line, giving McAuliffe his 2.5-percentage-point win. And in 2014, another unenthusiastic year, more or less the same 2.2 million voted, making Virginia again a red state. Democratic Sen. Mark Warner the most popular politician statewide lost the overall vote by more than a percentage point. But the tea partyer again ran and got 2.4 percent of the vote, giving Warner his slim win over Republican Ed Gillespie.
But an enthusiastic Virginia with turnout of more than 3.6 million, which is more than 50 percent larger than the unenthusiastic showing is a blue state. No Republican can win a majority of those 3.6 million-plus Virginians. Thus Virginia was a blue state in the two Obama presidential elections, in 2008 and 2012. And, thus, in 2008, Warner, running with Obama, won by 31 percentage points (almost the same margin of victory he would have had in 2014 if he could have added in his 80 percent share of the more than 1.4 million Virginians who didn't turn out). And in 2012, Tim Kaine, also running with Obama, won by six percentage points.
The same is true of many supposedly swing or purple states. They swing with turnout. They swing with enthusiasm.
Which is bad news for Hillary Clinton. Some people like her and many more tolerate her, but virtually no one is enthusiastic about her. Clinton still talks about glass ceilings rather than gig economies, and everyone has heard her by now, on many occasions. It was largely the expectation of Clinton's 'same pitch, different day' that led cable networks to cover Donald Trump's long post-Michigan infomercial rather than Clinton's victorious-sounding concession speech.
This lack of enthusiasm for Clinton known as the 'enthusiasm gap' presents a serious threat to her candidacy, as the election necessarily will largely be about turnout and demographics. With no boots-on-the-ground war and unemployment at 4.9 percent, these factors will hold far more sway over the outcome than candidates' stances on any of the existing nonissues.
It requires enthusiasm to turn demographics into votes. Giving millions of potential voters little reason to go to the polls is a foolproof formula for increasing the number of red states. The 2016 Democratic nominee surely will need the same type of enthusiasm that Obama used to spur those additional 1.4 million voters to the polls in Virginia and turn the state blue. But this is exactly what Clinton lacks.
Could Trump bridge the enthusiasm gap for Clinton? Could he drive people to the polls merely to vote against him? Will those extra 1.4 million Virginians, who may yawn at the thought of Clinton Hispanics, blacks and other minorities; the unemployed; the working poor; and all the rest of the Trump-offended work up enough enthusiasm against Trump to turn the state blue? And, if so, could that pattern repeat in enough other swing states, so that in the end Clinton might not actually win the election as much as Trump might lose it?
Of course, we have not gotten to this question quite yet. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. remains in the Democratic race, and what he arguably lacks in common-sense policies, he makes up for in his ability to generate enthusiasm. Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas still has a shot to topple Trump. But while he, too, has a likability problem, no one could generate the type of broad-based negative enthusiasm that Trump seems to engender. And if the Republicans somehow find their way to Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin or Mitt Romney, Clinton will have to face down her enthusiasm gap all on her own.
But if we get there, if Clinton faces off against Trump, we probably will know everything we need to know once the Virginia voter turnout numbers begin to roll in.
Howard Gutman was U.S. ambassador to Belgium from 2009 to 2013 and is managing director of the Gutman Group, an international consulting and investment group.
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This just in...
Man Shot While Live Streaming On Facebook
By Rachel Cromidas in News on Apr 1, 2016 2:44PM
Still from Facebook video of shooting.
A gruesome video posted online Thursday afternoon appears to show a man recording himself with his cellphone moments before being gunned down by an unknown gunman In West Englewood.
In the video, a Chicago man appears to be recording himself as gunfire goes off and he falls to the ground, around 4 p.m. in the 5500 block of South Hoyne Avenue. As the video continues, the apparent shooter stands overhead, fires several more rounds at an unknown target, and then steps out of view of the camera. The video continues for about another minute, showing clouds pass above a stop sign.
The man is 31, according to authorities, and was brought to Mt. Sinai hospital in critical condition, where he underwent surgery to treat his injuries. He was one of several people shot Thursday afternoon in ChicagoTwo people were killed and one was wounded in a Garfield Park shooting around the same time. Police told WGN they are investigating the video.
(Warning: This video depicts a shooting)
Hong Kong's judicial chief said on Friday that free speech has its limits despite constitutional protections, and that the city's police would consider investigating members of a new political party advocating independence for the former British colony.
A new political group, the Hong Kong National Party (HKNP), announced on Sunday it would campaign in the forthcoming legislative elections on a pro-independence platform and against the Basic Law
The announcement sparked horrified responses from Chinese officials.
Hong Kong's Special Administrative Region (SAR) government was quick to chime in with a vague warning of "action according to law" in a statement earlier this week.
Basic Law limits speech
"Freedom of expression is not without limits," Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen told reporters on Friday, when asked if the government will uphold the basic freedoms promised in the city's mini-constitution, the Basic Law, which has formed the basis for Hong Kong's legal system since the 1997 handover to China.
"One cannot use freedom of speech as a shield to defend suggestions which are contrary to the fundamental principle expounded in the Basic Law," Yuen said.
Speaking after the government's Companies Registry refused to register the HKNP, Yuen said: "People should not confuse freedom of expression with a suggestion which is quite blatantly contrary to the Basic Law."
Yuen said he didn't rule out the possibility of a police investigation into the party and its founders.
"Since someone has openly come out to suggest that they are going to act contrary to our Basic Law, therefore, I think ... the law enforcement agencies would decide whether or not to conduct an investigation," he said.
"We would look at it," Yuen said. "My colleagues would consider the applicable law and the evidence and then will decide what to do."
"As a responsible government ... I think we would have to closely monitor the situation."
The HKNP has said it will campaign against the Basic Law, which it called "a draconian law" drafted without any input from the people of Hong Kong.
"We will fight this draconian law all the way ... and campaign alongside the people of Hong Kong for independence," it said in a statement on its Facebook page this week.
Independence promotion is wrong
Hong Kong second-in-command Carrie Lam repeated the government line on Friday, saying that the city is "an inalienable part" of the People's Republic of China, and that calls for independence are against the Basic Law.
"Any promotion of independence is wrong," she told reporters.
While there are currently no laws forbidding the advocacy of independence on Hong Kong's statute books, Article 23 of the Basic Law requires the city to enact laws "to prohibit any act of treason, secession, sedition, subversion against the Central People's Government," which could be interpreted as a ban on such speech.
An attempt to bring in such legislation in 2002 sparked a massive demonstration on July 1, 2003, hastening the departure of then chief executive Tung Chee-hwa and an embarrassing withdrawal of the proposed law.
However, there are now concerns that Beijing may step up the pressure on Hong Kong.
Beijing's chief envoy in Hong Kong, Zhang Xiaoming, said in a TV interview that there must be "a bottom line" which cannot be crossed.
"We must stand firm on our principles ... we can't allow such boils to fester," he told Phoenix TV on Thursday.
Hong Kong University law professor Eric Cheung said the emergence of the HKNP had likely rung loud alarm bells in Beijing.
"There was no mention of forbidding advocacy of Hong Kong independence during the 2003 draft legislation under Article 23," he said. "But this has touched a nerve in Beijing, so it may still come to that."
"It's even possible that they could enact Article 23 legislation into Chinese law," Cheung said.
Chinese officials have warned that Beijing could enact laws governing subversion in Hong Kong, and extend them to cover the city by decree of the country's parliament, the National People's Congress (NPC).
China's official media have already slammed the HKNP, with officials saying it threatens the stability and prosperity of Hong Kong, as well as China's national sovereignty and security.
T-shirt democracy
And there are signs that Beijing's views on the manner have been taken to heart at all levels of government in Hong Kong with the refusal of the HKNP's company registration bid.
The head of the youth group Youngspiration, Baggio Leung, a prominent voice in the "localist" movement rejecting Beijing's influence in Hong Kong, said his group had also been denied permission to register as either a company or a community group.
"I think it's highly unlikely [the HKNP] will be able to register as a community group if they can't even get registered as a company," Leung said.
He said groups not approved by the government had to find ways around local laws governing fund-raising, however.
"It's possible to get around illegal fund-raising rules in Hong Kong by selling T-shirts; you have to sell them quite dearly, and then that is your funding," he said.
Reported by Lin Jing for RFA's Cantonese Service. Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie.
Worried parents from mainland China are flooding across the internal immigration border into Hong Kong in the wake of the country's latest tainted vaccine scandal, in a bid to get their children immunized safely, the government said on Friday.
Hong Kong health officials hastily slapped a quota system on child vaccinations this week, in a bid to protect supplies for children resident in the city after reports of child deaths began to emerge linked to recent vaccinations.
Now, the city's vaccination quota of 120 per month for non-resident children has already been filled for April at half of the city's 31 public health centers, officials said.
The authorities have set up a hotline to handle bookings from non-Hong Kong residents, saying that service for local families will be unaffected by the scare, government broadcaster RTHK reported.
China last week launched a nationwide probe of hundreds of people believed to be involved in an illegal vaccine-selling operation that was found to be peddling out-of-date or improperly stored vaccines, amid reports of child and infant deaths following immunizations.
But medical professionals and parents across the country have said there isn't enough transparency around the investigation to enable them to make informed decisions, including weeding out tainted batches of vaccine from existing stocks.
An all-time low
Rights activist Yang Zhanqing, who has previously helped the families of children injured by tainted vaccines to pursue legal action, said public confidence in the safety of Chinese medicines is at an all-time low.
"The authorities are being pretty useless, because there is a greater risk of harm to someone for every day that these vaccines remain in circulation," Yang told RFA.
"The government very seldom admits that vaccines can cause harm ... There is a lot of fear among parents when it comes to vaccines now, because a lot of children have died or been crippled by them," he said.
Yang said attempts by health officials to reassure the public that remaining supplies of vaccines are safe have largely failed.
"The government has itself admitted that they were past their expiry date, which by definition means that they don't pass [quality controls]," he said. "And yet they are still saying they are harmless."
Chongqing-based rights activist Zhang Qi, who is also a trained pharmacist, said problems with medicine safety are endemic in China's healthcare system.
"China has had a problem with medicine safety for a very long time, and the vaccine scandal is just the tip of the iceberg," he said.
"There are even more serious issues with other pharmaceuticals in China."
"We can only guess at ... how many strange diseases in China were caused by the misuse of pharmaceuticals," he said.
Demand for new procedures
A group of Chinese lawyers penned an open letter to China's cabinet, the State Council, on Monday, calling on the government to release a list of companies involved in the 570 million yuan (U.S. $88,123) scam.
The letter joined medical professionals in calling for the release of a list of companies implicated in the scandal, which went public with the arrest of two businesswomen surnamed Pang in the eastern province of Shandong last week.
It also demanded that new procedures be put in place for the monitoring of vaccine storage in the private sector.
The vaccine scare isn't the first time mainlanders have sought to tap higher public safety standards in the former British colony.
Since 2008, mainland Chinese bulk traders have sought to buy up supplies of infant milk formula in the city following the melamine-tainted milk scandal that killed at least four infants and sickened hundreds more.
Hong Kong authorities have imposed a two-tin limit on nonresidents buying infant formula in Hong Kong following growing public anger and fears that supplies would run out for local families.
Reported by Xin Lin and Qiao Long for RFA's Mandarin Service, and by Lin Jing for the Cantonese Service. Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie.
Myanmars upper house of parliament on Friday passed a bill to create a special advisory role for Aung San Suu Kyi in the new democratically elected government run by her party, despite objections by military deputies who called the motion unconstitutional.
The position would give Aung San Suu Kyi, who has vowed to rule Myanmar from a position above her proxy president Htin Kyaw, considerable influence over the president and parliament and authority to conduct meetings.
The motion passed 137-70 in a secret ballot vote with two deputies abstaining, said upper house speaker Mahn Win Khaing Than. The lower house still needs to pass the bill, which like the upper house is dominated by National League for Democracy (NLD) lawmakers.
Military lawmaker Brigadier-General Khin Maung Aye opposed the bill, arguing that it went against the constitution and would create conflicts of interest for Aung San Suu Kyi, who holds other positions in the new government, the online journal The Irrawaddy reported.
Military deputies Colonel Myint Swe and Colonel Hla Win Aung objected to the bill because they said it would put the president on the same level as the state counselor and could disrupt the balance of power in the government, Agence France-Presse reported.
NLD lawmaker Zaw Min, who chairs the upper house bill committee, dismissed objections that the bill is unconstitutional and said the matter was one for the Constitutional Tribunal to handle.
Juggling her roles
It remains unclear, however, how 70-year-old Aung San Suu Kyi, who is head of the foreign affairs, education, electric power and energy, and Presidents Office ministries, will juggle all her roles, along with her position as NLD chairwoman and the state counselor post, if the bill is approved.
The NLD issued a statement on Friday citing provisions in the constitution that even though the president, vice presidents and cabinet ministers are prohibited from campaigning for the party, they need not relinquish their positions in the NLD. This would effectively let Aung San Suu Kyi retain her position as NLD chairwoman.
With regard to Aung San Suu Kyi, the president and the ministers, once they assume their positions they should not be involved in party activities, NLD Central Information Committee member Monywa Aung Shin told RFAs Myanmar Service.
This is the kind of question that was asked by the NLD during the first session of Pyithu Hluttaw [lower house of parliament], and it was answered in the same wayno mention was made of resignation or retirement.
Last week, jurist Than Maung told RFA that if Aung San Suu Kyi was appointed to one or more ministerial posts, she would have to forfeit her status as NLD chairwoman, according to the constitution.
He also pointed out that the constitution forbids political party members who become government ministers from holding positions of responsibility in their party during their ministerial term.
Contentious relationship
Aung San Suu Kyi has had a contentious relationship with the military-backed opposition Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) as well as the powerful military itself, which dominated Myanmar for more than a half-century and kept her under house arrest for 15 years over a 21-year period.
When the military junta that formerly ruled the country drafted the constitution in 2008, it inserted a provision preventing anyone with foreign-born relatives from becoming president. This included Aung San Suu Kyi, whose two sons are British nationals, as was her late husband.
Lawmakers under the previous USDP government rejected attempts last year by Aung San Suu Kyi to change the provision and to reduce the influence of the military, which controls a quarter of the seats in parliament by appointment and wields veto power over proposed constitutional changes.
But after the NLD uprooted the USDP by winning a landslide victory in general elections last November, she vowed to lead the nation from a position above the president.
She then picked as her proxy her close aide Htin Kyaw, who was sworn in Wednesday as Myanmars first civilian president in more than a half-century.
In a speech to lawmakers on Wednesday, Htin Kyaw said he would work for a democratic constitution based on a federal union in keeping with the ambition of the NLDan indication that the party-led government still intends to change the charter.
Reported by Win Ko Ko Latt for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Nyein Shwe. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
Buddhist monks line up in Bylakuppe, India, to cast their votes for a Tibetan government-in-exile, March 20, 2016.
Authorities in northwestern Chinas Qinghai province have detained three Tibetans for allegedly discussing on social media the recent elections for the Tibetan government in exile, RFAs Tibetan service has learned.
The three were taken into custody in Chugo Desar village in Matoe (in Chinese, Maduo) county in Golog (in Chinese, Guoluo) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture by four local Chinese police officers on March 30 at around 10 a.m.
Samdrup, a prominent 40-year-old from Chugo Desar village; Lhadon, whose family name is Namgyal; and Rongsher, a 29-year-old, are being held at the People's Court in Matoe county, sources told RFA.
"Three locals, including Samdrup, a local leader, Rongsher, and Lhadon were forcibly detained without explanation by four Chinese policemen," an anonymous source from inside Tibet told RFA.
According to the source, "they were detained for taking part in a group chat on social media, likely on the popular WeChat platform.
All three are alleged to have participated in a group discussion about the recent 2016 election of the Tibetan political leader-in-exile known as the Sikyong that took place at 85 locations around the world.
They are being detained in the People's Court in Matoe county, and until now their family members have not been allowed to meet or contact them, the source said.
Samdrup has acted for many years as a leader of the sixth camp of the Chugo Desar settlement, and is a deputy head of 150 households in the villages first, third, and fifth camps.
Lhadon, family name Namgyal, is the mother of one son, Tsegyalmo, and one daughter, Darkar, aged 8 and 11.
Rongsher, a 29 year old is married without children.
On March 20, Tibetans elected a Sikyong responsible for political and diplomatic decisions for the Dharamsala, India-based government-in-exile known as the Central Tibetan Administration.
The Tibet Sun and Phayul.com have reported that incumbent Lobsang Sangay has a substantial lead over parliamentary speaker Penpa Tsering in the race for Sikyong, or the top leader of the government-in-exile. The official election results are scheduled to be released on April 27.
Exiled Tibetans see the CTA as their legitimate government, despite the Chinese governments attempt to marginalize it. It is based in Dharamsala, India, where a community of Tibetans lives with their spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.
Reported by Sonam Wangdu for RFA's Tibetan Service. Translated by Rigdhen Dolma. Written in English by Brooks Boliek.
Tibetan villagers in western Chinas Sichuan province were fired on by police this week after the group confronted Chinese Muslims who they accused of stealing livestock to take to a slaughterhouse, sources in the region and in exile said.
At least three Tibetans were badly hurt in the shooting, with two later taken to a hospital in the provincial capital Chengdu for treatment, sources said.
The March 30 incident near Horshul village in Serthar (in Chinese, Seda) county in the Kardze (Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture followed the discovery by local herders that over 10 of their animals had gone missing, a Tibetan living in Switzerland told RFAs Tibetan Service, citing contacts in Serthar.
When the owners went looking for their animals, they found them loaded onto vehicles, and when they made enquiries they learned that the culprits were Muslims who steal animals for their slaughterhouse, RFAs source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
When local police intervened in the dispute, the animals owners could not clearly communicate their concerns, and the police opened fire on the Tibetans, the source said.
This resulted in severe injuries on the Tibetan side.
When I spoke to my contact in Serthar, he said that at least three Tibetans were badly wounded, and that one of them was seriously hurt, he said.
Thieves helped by police
As many as 30 yaks, a significant source of wealth for herding families, may have been stolen in the theft that sparked the shooting, a second European-based Tibetan source told RFA, also citing local contacts.
Later, the Tibetans found them in vehicles owned by Muslims, the source, named Golok Jigme, said.
When the Tibetan owners asked them to say who had sold the animals to them, they refused to tell the truth, and the Muslims called for help from the police.
Police then fired on the Tibetans, Jigme said, and in the process two Tibetans named Ngakge and Soephel were badly wounded.
They could not be treated at the hospital in Serthar and had to be moved to a hospital in Chengdu for further treatment, Jigme said.
Frequent clashes
Conflicts over the operation of slaughterhouses in Tibetan areas have led to frequent clashes between Tibetans and Chinese in recent years.
On Nov. 29, 2011, Tibetan herders angered at the theft of their livestock attacked a Chinese-owned slaughterhouse in Sichuan, demolishing the building and scattering meat along the road.
The incident sparked a clash between Tibetans and local police, with protesters seizing and destroying police weapons and damaging vehicles.
In a 2007 report, No One Has the Liberty to Refuse, New York-based Human Rights Watch noted spreading concerted protests by Tibetans against Chinese-operated slaughterhouses being built in Tibetan areas.
Local people in areas where these incidents took place claim that they have been ordered to donate animals for slaughter on a per-household basis, the report said.
In some cases, local protests have been led by religious figures, who have spoken against the killing of animals for their meat.
Reported by Dawa Dolma and Sonam Wangdu for RFAs Tibetan Service. Translated by Karma Dorjee. Written in English by Richard Finney.
A Tibetan man detained by Chinese police on unknown charges has killed himself in custody to end brutal torture at the hands of his jailers, according to a source living in the region.
Tashi, a member of the Deyang family aged in his 30s, died on March 11 in the Tsangshul detention center in Markham (in Chinese, Mangkang) county in the Chamdo (Changdu) prefecture of the Tibet Autonomous Region, a local source told RFAs Tibetan Service.
He had been taken into custody by police shortly before the March 10 anniversary of a failed 1959 Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule, RFAs source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
He was severely beaten and tortured while in detention, and became so desperate that he ended his life, the source said. It was not clear how he took his life.
Following Tashis death, a group of local Tibetans staged a protest in front of the Chinese police station, and authorities later detained everyone whose images they had captured on video, the source said.
All Tibetan businessmen and women working outside Markham have now been ordered to return to their homes within 15 days, he added.
Internet blocked
News of Tashis death was briefly delayed in reaching outside contacts because of a strict communications clampdown imposed by Chinese authorities in the area, and the reasons for Tashis detention were not immediately clear.
The Internet has been blocked in Markham county for quite some time, and it has been difficult to get more information on why Tashi was detained by the police, the source said.
The number of Tibetans taken into custody for protesting Tashis death is also not clear, he said.
Members of government task forces assigned to different areas of Markham are now investigating and monitoring the activities of Tibetan families, he added.
Sporadic demonstrations challenging Beijings rule and calling for the return of exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama have continued in Tibetan-populated areas of China since widespread protests swept the region in 2008.
Reported by Dawa Dolma for RFAs Tibetan Service. Translated by Karma Dorjee. Written in English by Richard Finney.
Boats in this undated file photo are shown in the South China Sea near Da Nang, Vietnam
Four Vietnamese citizens are scheduled to be tried next month on charges that they masterminded an attempt to get their extended family to flee the country for Australia in 2015, RFAs Vietnamese service has learned.
Tran Thi Lua, Nguyen Minh Quyet, Huynh Thi Kieu, Nguyen Dinh Quy, and Nguyen Minh Quyet are scheduled to be tried on April 5 on charges they violated article 275 of Vietnams penal code, Tran Thi Lua, told RFA in March 29 telephone interview.
The four face from two to seven years in jail for violating the law that makes organizing and/or coercing other persons to flee abroad or to stay abroad a crime. Article 275 is one of the laws the nation uses to combat human trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation.
According to the investigatory report, 46 people including 15 children, fled Vietnam by boat on July 1, 2015, and arrived in Australias waters on July 21. They were interrogated by Australian authorities and were returned to Vietnam on July 25.
Tran Thi Lua told RFA she expected to get a four-year sentence for organizing the attempt.
I was the one who initiated the trip so I will get four years, she said. The others will get three years.
Tran Thi Lua told RFA that she wasnt involved in human trafficking, but was searching for a better life for her family.
We are not traffickers, she said. Our lives here are so difficult. It is so hard to make enough to raise our children. That was why we decided to leave.
She said they split the 440 million Vietnamese dong (U.S. $17,600) needed for the boat, fuel, and food for the trip.
We chipped in, she said. Those who had more contributed more, while those who had less contributed less.
Broken promises
Tran Thi Lua and the other three charged with a crime have been interrogated many times by the police since they returned, despite assurances when they came back to Vietnam that they wouldnt be punished, she said.
When we arrived at the airport, one policewoman told us that on behalf of the government of Vietnam, they had pardoned us, she said. They said they would let us come back to live with our community and nobody would be jailed, but they detained us, and now they prosecute us.
According to the prosecutors report, the four were arrested in August. Lua was released in November for a health issue. Huynh Thi Kieu was not detained because she has three small children, but her husband, Quy is in detention, Lua told RFA.
In April 2015 another boat carrying another group of 46 Vietnamese refugees was also returned by Australia to Vietnam.
Doan Viet Trung, former chairman of a Vietnamese community organization in Australia, told RFA that a source in Vietnam told him at least two of those people are in detention awaiting a trial.
We think when Australia returned the Vietnamese refugees, they definitely forced some people to jail, Doan Viet Trung told RFA. As an Australian, I think this is a wrong thing to do.
While waiting for the trial, Lua told RFA she is very worried about her future and her children as there is no one to care for them while she is in jail.
The Australian government said that they would return us, and that they and the Vietnamese government had agreed not to jail us and let us live with our community, but now they treat us like this, she said.
Reported and translated by Viet Ha for RFA's Vietnamese Service. Written in English by Brooks Boliek.
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
Georgian Dream -- Democratic Georgia (GD-DG), the senior member of the country's five-party ruling coalition, will participate separately in the parliamentary ballot due in October, Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili announced on March 31 following talks with the unequivocally pro-Western Republican Party.
Just hours earlier, Republican Party chairwoman Khatuna Samnidze had similarly announced that her party had decided four days previously to contest the ballot independently, but had delayed going public with that decision at Kvirikashvili's request.
At the same time, Kvirikashvili told journalists that the Republicans' decision does not necessarily imply either that the party's immediate withdrawal from the parliament's majority faction, in which the Republicans hold 10 mandates and chair two parliamentary committees (on legal affairs and European integration), or the resignation from his cabinet of the three Republican ministers. He stressed the importance of "the stability of the government, regardless of party affiliations."
Addressing journalists jointly with Kvirikashvili, Parliament speaker Davit Usupashvili (Republican) said that henceforth the two parties will be both partners and competitors. He explained that the reason the Republican Party will not move immediately into opposition is in order not to "damage stability" and call into question the prospects for the country's development.
In a written statement, however, the Republican Party clarified that while its three ministers (of defense, environmental protection, and reconciliation and civic equality) will continue "to implement the government's program endorsed by the parliament," its 10 lawmakers will not necessarily always vote in tandem with the other coalition members.
The statement did not specify potential divisive issues, but the Republicans are reported to have reservations about supporting Kvirikashvili's proposed constitutional amendment defining marriage as "the union of a man and a woman," even though the party does not support the legalization of same-sex marriages.
The Republicans' decision to participate independently in the October parliamentary ballot came as little surprise in the light of a recent public disagreement between Defense Minister Tinatin Khidasheli (Usupashvili's wife) and the brewery magnate Gogi Topadze, head of the Industrialists faction, one of the smaller coalition members, that impelled Kvirikashvili to reprimand both of them.
Following a subsequent meeting with Kvirikashvili, Usupashvili told journalists that the two parties would finalize "very soon" an agreement on continuing "strategic, not just short-term" cooperation in the run-up to the October parliamentary election and beyond.
'Beginning Of The End'
As for GD-DG's decision to cut free from its other coalition partners and run independently in the October ballot, Kvirikashvili explained that "the situation was different" in the run-up to the previous parliamentary election in 2012. On that occasion, several disparate political forces aligned with GD-DG, the creation of billionaire businessman Bidzina Ivanishvili, with the express intention of defeating then-President Mikheil Saakashvili's United National Movement (ENM).Today, by contrast, Kvirikashvili continued, "the electoral process is much more democratic and transparent."
At the same time, he noted that it is still premature to speak about possible forms of post-election cooperation, but said "it is normal" to form a coalition government -- thus leaving the door open for renewed cooperation with the Republican Party in the event of a GD-DG victory.
Energy Minister Kakha Kaladze, who is general secretary of GD-DG, was quoted several days ago as saying that "it would not be a bad thing" if the various parties aligned in the current coalition participated individually in the October ballot and then formed a new coalition. Other coalition members, including Topadze, reportedly concurred.
Republican parliamentarian Vakhtang Khmaladze said that one of the factors behind his party's decision was GD-DG's clear desire to participate independently in the upcoming election, a desire he attributed to that party's "discomfort" with other coalition partners. (He did not elaborate, or name them.)
Referring to recent opinion polls, GD-DG executive secretary Irakli Kobakhidze expressed confidence on March 31 that the party has the necessary resources to run independently and win.
Some political analysts, however, see the other coalition members' willingness to contest the ballot individually as fraught with risk. Zurab Abashidze, a leading member of the Free Democrats who quit the GD coalition in late 2014, opined in early March that any of the smaller coalition parties that chose to run separately would find it difficult to garner the minimum 5 percent of the vote required to win representation under the proportional system.
ENM parliamentarian Davit Bakradze, for his part, described the twin statements by Kvirikashvili and the Republican Party with barely disguised schadenfreude as "the beginning of the end" of GD as a political force.
Activists Say Sex Worker Was 'Wrongfully' Convicted Of Murder In South Side Stabbing
By Mae Rice in News on Apr 1, 2016 4:32PM
The demonstration at Daley Plaza (photo courtesy of Erica Friscioni)
On Thursday, about 20 sex workers and sex worker allies took to Daley Plaza to show solidarity with Alisha Walker, a 23-year-old woman sentenced to 15 years in prison after fatally stabbing a client while working as a sex worker in 2014. Walker was convicted of second-degree homicide in the case, though her attorneys argue that she stabbed Alan Filan, a 61-year-old teacher at South Side Catholic school Brother Rice High School, in self-defense.
The group of demonstrators met at Daley Plaza's Picasso sculpture at 1 p.m. to "show our solidarity with our sister who was wrongfully convicted," they said in a statement. They spent "a good hour" in the plaza, Erica Friscioni, a spokesperson for the event and a sex worker herself, told Chicagoist.
At the demonstration, Friscioni held a sign that read "Demand respect for sex workers"; her friend had an "amazing" sign, she added, that read "Radical Hoe Union Now." "As with any other kind of job," Friscioni said, sex workers need to "help protect each other [and] have people who stand for us."
"Sex workers... we're everywhere," Friscioni continued. "It's not always the stereotype situation you would think of. We are not looking to hurt people. Clients don't hire us, and we want to stab them... that's never the motivation."
Instead, many sex workers get into the industry as "a way to survive" and "stabilize your economic situation" in a world where a "living wage" is hard to come by, Friscioni said. (She believes this is why Walker became a sex worker.) However, sex work can be dangerous, for women and especially for transgender women; Friscioni noted that sex workers are often raped and murdered, and "it's hard to even keep stats on that," as many crimes against sex workers go unreported. This is in part because sex workers receive very limited legal protection.
The demonstration at Daley Plaza Thursday (photo courtesy of Erica Friscioni)
"We could all be Alisha," Cathryn Berarovich, 25, told the Tribune at the Daley Plaza demonstration. "Because our work is criminalized, there is no recourse for when bad things happen to us. We're standing up for someone who did what she had to do to survive, then was punished for surviving."
In their statement before the demonstration, Friscioni and her fellow activists attributed what they view as Walker's wrongful conviction to anti-sex-worker bias in the legal system and the media, calling out the Sun-Times report on Walker's sentencing, in particular, for its "whorephobic and shaming" language.
In that piece, the paper described Walker with terms like "the prostitute" and "hooker." ("Hooker" was originally used in the article's headline and has since been replaced with "prostitute," but the term "hooker" is still visible in the article URL.) The Sun-Times article referred to Filan, meanwhile, as a "wonderful father," in a quote from Filan's brother, lobbyist William Filan. The harshest terminology the piece used for him is "less than an ideal citizen." This is in spite of the fact that Walker alleges Filan was the aggressor in their confrontation, threatening her with a kitchen knife because she and another woman declined to have unprotected sex with him. Filan had also reportedly been drinking at the time of their confrontation.
The already-biased Sun-Times piece reported similarly anti-sex-worker language and reasoning from the judge in Walker's case, Cook County Judge James Obbish. As he handed down Walker's sentence last week, the Sun-Times reports:
The judge noted Walkers lack of remorse immediately after the incident, but he also waxed on at length about her decision to work as a prostitute even though she had been arrested for walking the streets before. Obbish berated Walker for choosing a dangerous, unsavory lifestyle and for expressing loyalty to her pimp who was nothing but as animal who sucked money out of her while she humiliated herself by performing sex acts with strangers. If Walker hadnt been concerned about handing off money to her pimp, perhaps Filan would be alive, Obbish said. She wasnt walking out of there without her money, and thats why were here today, the judge said.
Sex Workers Outreach Project (SWOP) released a statement on Walker's case Thursday, too, expressing solidarity with her and the Daley Plaza demonstrators, noting the ways the legal process was biased against Walker because of her profession, and calling out the larger ramifications of this bias.
"Ultimately, we are concerned that a marginalized woman was not given fair treatment by our justice system," the SWOP statement reads. It goes on, "This bias contradicts social justice principles and the core values of American society, and it deters people involved in the sex trade and members of other marginalized groups from reaching out to law enforcement and social services when they have been the victim of violence, and ultimately promotes violence against them."
Walker's confrontation with Filan took place on Jan. 18, 2014. Three days after that date, Filan's body was found, stabbed repeatedly. (The Sun-Times reports he was stabbed 14 times; the Tribune, 13.)
The incident began when Filan invited Walker and another woman to his Orland Park home, and agreed to pay them both for half an hour of sex. Then, according to Walker's attorneys, she stabbed him in self-defense. Prosecutors, on the other hand, won the case arguing that Walker was the aggressor in the confrontation, and stabbed Filan in a dispute over money.
A new television channel in the Crimean Tatar language has started satellite broadcasts from Russia-annexed Crimea where the Russia-imposed government has shut down virtually all independent Crimean Tatar news organizations.
Ruslan Balbek, a deputy prime minister of the de facto government, said the aim of the Millet (Nation) channel was to counter "anti-Russian propaganda."
The Crimean Tatar community protested in August when the channel was official registered, labeling it a "pro-Kremlin propaganda tool." The channel began test broadcasting in September.
Its programs will now be transmitted via Russia's Yamal 401 satellite to Russia, Ukraine, Central Asia, and Turkey, the channel's Director General Seyran Mambetov said on April 1.
Exactly one year ago, on April 1, 2015, Crimea's Russia-backed authorities shut down Crimean Tatars' long-serving television channel, ATR TV, and its several affiliates.
That move was condemned by the United States, European Union, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and Amnesty International as further intimidation of the peninsula's Crimean Tatars.
Based on reporting by Rossiya 24 and TASS
The Daily Vertical is a video primer for Russia-watchers that appears Monday through Friday. Viewers can suggest topics via Twitter @PowerVertical or on the Power Vertical Facebook page.
A transcript of today's Daily Vertical can be found here.
Every once in awhile, a voice of reason and truth can be heard -- even on Russian state television.
What? You don't believe me?
Well, look, I saw it with my own eyes and heard it with my own ears -- and I don't think I was hallucinating.
Appearing on a talk show on Channel One earlier this week, liberal politician Leonid Gozman said some remarkable things.
He said Russia was responsible for a war in eastern Ukraine that has killed more than 8,000 people and as a citizen of the Russian Federation, he bears responsibility for this.
He emphatically called on Vladimir Putin to release Ukrainian military pilot Nadia Savchenko.
And he appealed to Ukrainians, saying that all Russians do not support the "barbarism and cruelty" that Moscow has unleashed on their country.
Bravo.
Now Gozman, of course, was quickly shouted down by the host and other guests -- which is something of a metaphor for anybody expressing dissenting views in Russia today.
But his voice was heard.
He managed to hijack a talk show on national television and get his message out to the whole country.
And as a result, others who agree, others who have been intimidated into silence and conformity, others who are ashamed about what is being done in their name, might finally have the courage to speak out themselves.
In Russia, television has become a substitute for reality. And Leonid Gozman has bravely just made it a little bit more real.
Keep telling me what you think on The Power Vertical's Twitter feed and on our Facebook page.
U.S. President Barack Obama says it will take time for Iran to rejoin the global economy after the international community lifted sanctions on Tehran in exchange for Iran curbing its controversial nuclear program.
"It will take time for Iran to reintegrate into the global economy, but Iran is already beginning to see the benefit of this deal," Obama said at a meeting of world powers in Washington on April 1.
Tehran has complained that continuing U.S. restrictions on banks have prevented it from getting the full benefit of economic relief that was supposed to come from the lifting of nuclear-related sanctions in January.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei recently accused the United States of failing to follow the terms of the July 2015 landmark nuclear agreement between Iran and the world powers.
Khamenei said Washington has lifted sanctions "on paper" but "in fact, they are working to prevent the lifting of sanctions from taking effect."
Some opinion polls in Iran also showed skepticism about the country's economic situation following decades of sanctions.
Many nuclear-related sanctions on Iran ended when the deal was implemented on January 17.
Obama's administration is reportedly considering easing restrictions that prohibit foreign firms from doing transactions with Iran in the U.S. dollar, the world's main business currency. The move likely would help Iran's troubled economy.
Based on reporting by AFP, AP, and Reuters
Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi has named 14 new cabinet ministers who he said are the kinds of policy experts protesters have been demanding for months to fight corruption in the government.
Abadi presented his choices to the parliament, where they could meet resistance from politicians who prefer the system of political patronage that has helped many of them acquire power and wealth.
"They were chosen on the basis of professionalism, competence, integrity, and leadership ability," Abadi said of the proposed candidates, one of whom is a descendant of Iraq's deposed king.
In announcing the sweeping change, Abadi said he is reducing the number of cabinet ministers to 16 from 21. The only two ministers who were not replaced were the defense and interior ministers, "given the hard situation" they face in waging a new offensive against the Islamic State militant group to recapture the northern city of Mosul, he said.
The announcement prompted influential Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to end a two-week sit-in by his followers in Baghdad's Green Zone, where they had been demanding the replacement of political cronies in the cabinet with technocrats.
Sadr praised Abadi's "brave step" and urged lawmakers to quickly vote on the new lineup. He warned legislators that they would face street protests if they attempt to block the government overhaul.
Lawmakers, who thwarted previous efforts at reform proposed by Abadi, said they would take up to 10 days to respond to the new cabinet plan.
Sadr's followers erupted into celebration in the streets when they heard the news.
Among key appointments, Nizar Salem al-Numan was named oil minister, prominent Shi'ite politician Ali Allawi was named finance minister, and Sharif Ali bin al-Hussein, a relative of Iraq's king deposed in 1958, was given the slot of foreign minister, state television reported.
Abadi's move delivers on his promises to hire people and enact sweeping measures to fight corruption that is pervasive in Iraq's government. Iraq ranks among the lowest countries worldwide in measures of government integrity.
"Most of [the nominees] have academic credentials, but they all have experience of working in a senior executive position, managing or administrating," Sajad Jiyad, an Iraqi political analyst, told Reuters.
Numan, the candidate for oil minister, is a Kurd from the town of Dohuk, where he has held several administrative positions at Dohuk University.
Allawi, the finance nominee, would be coming back to a post he filled a decade ago in Iraq's transitional government following the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. The U.S.-educated former banker also served as minister of trade and minister of defense in a previous cabinet.
"The IMF will be immensely happy with Allawi," said Jiyad.
The International Monetary Fund said this week it could approve as early as June a standby arrangement with Iraq, unlocking $15 billion in badly needed international assistance over the next three years.
Hussein, the prospective foreign minister, worked as an investment banker in London before the 2003 invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. He briefly advocated a return to monarchical rule and heads the Constitutional Monarchy Movement.
With reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP
ASTANA -- Beijing has handed over to Kazakhstan two Kazakh women who were convicted in China on charges of drug trafficking.
Kazakhstan's Prosecutor-General said on April 1 that the Kazakh citizens will serve their prison terms in Kazakhstan. (http://prokuror.gov.kz/eng/news/press-releases/press-release-transfer-nationals-kazakhstan-sentenced-chinese-courts-further-1)
The convicts' identities and prison terms were not provided.
Kazakh officials said earlier that nine Kazakh citizens convicted in China for various crimes had been transferred to Kazakhstan since August 2015 to serve their prison terms at home.
An agreement between Kazakhstan and China on the repatriation of imprisoned nationals was signed in 2011 and ratified by Kazakhstan in November 2013 and China in July 2015.
Moldova's parliament has announced the country will hold a presidential election on October 30, the first time the public, and not parliament, will pick the head of state of the small, impoverished European country since 2001.
A court in early March ruled in favor of having a direct national election to choose a president rather than a vote in parliament -- a concession to protesters who have been demonstrating for months against the political elite.
The four-year term of the current president, Nicolae Timofti, expired in March, but he will continue to carry out his duties until his successor is sworn in.
In a related development, Moldova's parliament on March 31 approved a statement to pursue tougher legislation to punish those who undermine the country's "sovereignty, independence, and permanent neutrality."
The parliamentary action came after a large rally in the capital, Chisinau, on March 27 to demand Moldova's "reunification" with Romania.
Most of todays Moldova was before WWII part of Romania, with which it shares a common language and culture.
Based on reporting by RFE/RL's Moldovan Service, Interfax, and Reuters
A well-known independent Russian journalist has been found dead in his apartment in St. Petersburg.
Investigators said on April 1 that Dmitry Tsilikin, 54, had suffered multiple stab wounds and appeared to have been dead for at least two days.
His body was found on March 31 by relatives -- and his laptop computer and mobile phone were missing, according to the city Investigative Committee.The death was being investigated as a murder, it said.
Relatives told the St. Petersburg news portal Fontanka.ru that they had last been in contact with him last week, as he returned from a work trip to Riga, Latvia.
Tsilikin reported on culture and music and also contributed to independent media outlets, writing mainly about social issues and civil rights.
His articles were published in popular newspapers such as Chas Pik, Kommersant, The Moscow News, and Vedomosti, among others.
He was also a host of two popular programs on Russias RTR television channel in 2001-2003.
Tsilikin appeared frequently on roundtable discussions and other programs hosted by RFE/RL's Russian Service.
A total of 36 journalists have been murdered in Russia since 1992, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Many of the masterminds behind the killings have never been identified.
A poster of "London Has Fallen". [Photo: mtime.com]
New Hollywood action thriller "London Has Fallen" -- the sequel to 2013's "Olympus Has Fallen" has premiered in Beijing.
Director Babak Najafi and lead actor Gerard Butler have met with media in Beijing to promote the movie.
Gerard Butler reprises his role as secret service agent Mike Banning who once again single-handedly protects the US President.
However, Butler says his relationship with president in the sequel is different from the previous movie:
"I think that the first movie was more a story of redemption. Because as we start the movie I was no long the president's head of secret service, so I have to fight my way back in and show my loyalty and courage. But in the second movie, we are already tight. So I'm now his right hand man. But it's all but bond and relationship and trust"
Gerard Butler's portrait of strong man King Leonidas in 2006 fantasy war film"300" has made him very popular in China.
Meanwhile, Swedish director Babak Najafi has replaced Antoine Fuqua to take the helm of the sequel.
Najafi says he's hoping to work with Chinese kung fu star Jackie Chan.
"I was actually years ago practicing wushu. The reason I got started was obviously Jackie Chan. He also inspired me to work in movies. So that was 20 years ago still today I'm dreaming about doing that."
"London Has Fallen" opens in Chinese theaters next Friday.
Russia is preparing an "asymmetrical" response to the increase in NATO troop rotations in Eastern Europe, and in particular what it called U.S. military presence near Russian borders, Russia's ambassador to NATO said on March 31.
"Of course, our response will be completely asymmetrical. It will be calibrated to match our ideas about the degree of military threat, to be most efficient and not overly expensive," Aleksandr Grushko said on Rossia-24 television.
"We can see that the United States continues to increase its military presence in Europe with an emphasis on the eastern front... We are not passive observers. We consistently implement all those military measures that are necessary to offset this totally unjustified increased military presence," he said.
In an interview with the Izvestia newspaper, Grushko said that Russia views the troop rotations as a violation of a 1997 NATO-Russia agreement in which NATO said that "in the current and foreseeable security environment," it would refrain from "additional permanent stationing of substantial combat forces" in eastern member states.
"We've said more than once that an indefinite rotation is in no way different from permanent deployment," he said.
NATO says it has not violated the 1997 Founding Act, and that both NATO-supported infrastructure and reinforcements are "explicitly permitted" by the pact.
Western officials also say Russia has altered the security environment in Europe by seizing Crimea -- in part through military force -- and backing separatists in a deadly conflict in eastern Ukraine. Those Russian actions have prompted NATO to take additional steps to ensure security of members in the east.
Based on reporting by TASS and Interfax
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has dismissed as "dirty leaks" reports of an alleged agreement between Russia and the United States on the future of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
"Our American partners cannot publicly call into question this formula that...only the people of Syria decide all the questions about the future of Syria," Lavrov told a news conference in Moscow on April 1.
The Arabian newspaper Al-Hayat reported on March 31 that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry had told several Arab countries that Russia and the United States had reached an understanding on the future of Syria's peace process, including Assad's departure to another country at some unspecified stage.
Based on reporting by Reuters and TASS
International monitors in eastern Ukraine have reported an intense spike in fighting between government forces and Russia-backed separatists as the second year of a shaky truce begins.
"We have seen in the past days and weeks a high number of cease-fire violations, namely in the Donetsk region," Alexander Hug, deputy chief of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine, told RFE/RL on March 30.
Hug said the worst fighting is located between the government-controlled city of Avdiyivka and the town of Yasynuvata, which is held by the separatists. The area is located 17 kilometers north of the city of Donetsk, the regional capital.
"Avdiyivka-Yasynuvata had always been an area that was troublesome, but these types of kinetic activity that we are seeing now is indeed new," said Hug, who added that the overall number of cease-fire violations observed by OSCE monitors began to trend upward in mid-January.
More than 9,100 people have been killed in the fighting in Ukraines eastern Donbas region and some 21,000 wounded since the conflict broke out in 2014.
"We have seen all types of different weapons -- we have seen lots of proscribed weapons such as artillery and mortars that should not be there and, of course, not used [based on the Minsk agreement]," Hug said. "We have seen recoilless guns, automatic grenade launchers, heavy machine guns, and small-arms fire there -- and thats in the hundreds [of firings and explosions] on a daily basis [just in the Avdiyivka-Yasynuvata area]."
Hug added that even "very heavy weapons" -- what he called "the very indiscriminate weapons, the Grad [multiple-rocket launch] systems" -- have been observed by OSCE monitors being used in recent weeks.
The daily violence in the Avdiyivka-Yasynuvata area of the security zone makes up more than half of all the recorded cease-fire violations in the entire Donetsk region, Hug said.
The security zone is a stretch of land that extends 15 kilometers on each side of the line of contact, which was defined in the cease-fire agreement forged in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, by the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Germany, and France in February 2015.
A key road that snakes past Avdiyivka-Yasynuvata and connects the separatist-controlled cities of Donetsk and Horlivka gives the area a high strategic importance. Another important road heads through the area and goes north.
The area also includes an industrial zone on the edge of Avdiyivka that has been fought over furiously since February, when it was seized by Ukrainian troops.
A map of the security situation in eastern Ukraine on April 1, according to the National Security and Defense Council:
Hug said there is also a water-filtration station near the fighting in Avdiyivka that worries OSCE observers because it provides water to some 400,000 people in the region, on both sides of the line of contact. Chemicals needed for the water station are stored at the site -- including chlorine -- and OSCE officials are concerned that an explosion could ignite the chemicals and lead to an environmental disaster that would also endanger local residents.
"What is happening is that both sides are moving closer to one another toward and onto the contact line, and that brings them too close to each other...and that leads to high tension, which often then erupts into serious fighting," said Hug.
He added that similar tense situations exist near the remains of the Donetsk airport, at a site north of Horlivka, and in the village of Kominternove -- near the southern port city of Mariupol.
"[These] sides [in these areas] are too close to each other, which means they often see each other [from a distance of] less than 50 meters in some places," Hug said.
The one bit of welcome news in the Donbas region, according to the OSCE daily reports, is that there are far fewer cease-fire violations by government troops and the separatists in the Luhansk region.
Another main component of the cease-fire agreement, which is known as Minsk II, is the pullout of heavy weapons from the security zone.
Although the complete withdrawal of heavy weapons by both sides was supposed to be completed more than one year ago, compliance has been spotty.
Hug said that while many of the weapons have been pulled back from the security zone and placed in storage, "we have also seen the reverse trend -- we have seen weapons disappearing from these storage sites and we have seen weapons popping up again in areas where they shouldn't be."
Hug said there have been fewer casualties and less damage to property and infrastructure because of the partial withdrawal of heavy weapons.
The Kremlin has long denied charges by Ukraine, NATO, and many Western countries that Russia has armed the separatists in Donbas and has sent troops there to combat Ukrainian forces.
Hug caused a stir in the Ukrainian media on March 25 when he said at a press conference in Odesa that OSCE monitors in eastern Ukraine had observed evidence of Russian soldiers and weapons "since the beginning of the conflict" that was reflected in the daily reports the monitors compile each day.
Such evidence included, Hug said, "armed people with Russian insignia" on their uniforms and fighters captured by Ukrainian forces "who told us that they are Russian soldiers."
He said OSCE observers had also "seen the tire tracks, not the vehicles themselves, but the tracks of vehicles crossing the border [between Russia and Ukraine]," the Kyiv Post reported.
Hug declined to discuss those comments in a March 30 interview with RFE/RL.
He said the OSCE monitoring mission "reports what it sees" but added that "we don't draw any conclusions and therefore I cannot comment on what the media made out of our [published reports]."
In the summer of 1985, a young commercial attache at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow sat down with two representatives of the California computer company Apple who were visiting the heart of the Soviet empire. One was an older guy, the attache, Mike Merin, recalls. The other was this lanky, thin guy with this straight hair, and kind of impatient.
The older mans business card identified him as Apples general counsel, which I figure is a big deal, Merin tells RFE/RL. And the other one...it doesnt give me a title, and I dont think anything more of it.
The visitors, Merin says, told him of their plan to open a manufacturing facility in the Soviet Union to produce Apple computers. He says he warned them this would violate massive numbers of export regulations aimed at keeping sophisticated technology out of the hands of the United States Cold War enemy.
This did not sit well with the younger man.
This tall lanky guy stands up and starts yelling at me: Who are you? Youre just a bureaucrat! You dont know what youre doing! says Merin, who was 25 at the time. The older man, Al Eisenstat, stepped in to calm his colleague down.
Speaking on the eve of the 40th anniversary of Apples founding, Merin chuckles when he recalls the incident. Only after taking the two men to an exclusive Georgian restaurant that evening and talking up the South Caucasus nations famous meat dishes, Merin says, did it register that the younger man whose business card hed ignored was Apples visionary co-founder, a renowned vegetarian.
He says: I think Im going to get a salad, Merin recalls. And then the lightbulb goes off, you know, fool that I was: 'Oh my god, this is Steve Jobs...' I thought [he] was this young guy who was sort of tailing along, you know, who didnt really know how to behave with the older guy, who was the lead guy.
Merins encounter with Jobs came during the tech virtuosos first and only visit to the Soviet Union. Since Jobss death in 2011 at the age of 56, a handful of fresh details have emerged about his trip to Moscow shortly after reformist leader Mikhail Gorbachev's rise to power.
Here are five more things to know about Jobss Soviet sojourn:
KGB Or CIA?
Jobs told U.S. Defense Department investigators in 1988 that during his trip to the Soviet Union he dealt with an international lawyer he felt either worked for the CIA or the KGB. These were among the details in a Pentagon background check -- a copy of which was obtained by Wired magazine in 2012 under the Freedom of Information Act -- that Jobs was subjected to for Top Secret security clearance. The name of the lawyer is redacted in the publicly released document, though it cites the Apple co-founder as saying the individual was from Paris and helped communication between the United States and the Soviet Union. Jobs noted, however, that he had no evidence of the man's potential ties to intelligence.
Jobs also suspected that a television repairman who came to his Moscow hotel room unsolicited, for no apparent reason was spying on him, journalist Alan Deutschman writes in his 2000 biography, The Second Coming Of Steve Jobs.
The Mac Revolution
Prior to arriving in Moscow for his two-day trip in early July, Jobs attended a Paris trade show, where then-U.S. Vice President George Bush encouraged him to get computers into Russia in order to "foment revolution from below, author Walter Isaacson writes in his authorized 2011 biography, Steve Jobs. Merin confirms to RFE/RL that during their Moscow meeting, Jobs told him of this conversation with Bush, as well.
Jobs had already been stripped of major responsibilities at Apple amid the companys flagging sales. Months later, he would resign as Apple chairman, only to return more than a decade later and launch the series of products, including the iPhone and iPad, that would revolutionize consumer electronics.
Jobs had pitched [Bush] this idea, which was to try and get Macs throughout the Soviet Union, because if the Soviets had them, the Russian people had it, there would be the possibility of newsletters, and printing things, fomenting revolution, and, you know, all this stuff that would help the United States, Merin tells RFE/RL.
At the time, however, Washington had restricted Apple sales of its new Macintosh computers in the Soviet Union, though the less powerful Apple II was not restricted. Isaacson quotes Jobs as telling Merin at the Georgian restaurant: How could you suggest this violates American law when it so obviously benefits our interests?
Bicycle Of The Mind
While in Moscow, Jobs delivered a lecture to computer science students in Moscow. Its unclear whether any full transcript of his talk exists. But in 2011, veteran computer scientist Viktor Zakharov of the Russian Academy of Sciences published a partial version of the lecture, which he attended.
The accuracy of Zakharovs Russian-language translation of the talk is also unclear, but the broad strokes appear consistent with Jobss typical talking points. It includes one of his favorite spiels about computers, based on a science article about the efficiency of animal movements he had read several years earlier.
The condor came in first place, Zakharov quotes Jobs as saying. But a human on a bicycle also becomes remarkably efficient, the Russian scientist adds in his transcript.
To anyone familiar with the Steve Jobs canon, this is the set-up to one of the computer visionarys favorite metaphors when discussing Apple, the company he co-founded on April 1, 1976: the computer as a "bicycle for our minds."
A Trotskyite Abroad
While in Moscow, Isaacson writes in his biography, Jobs insisted on talking about Leon Trotsky, the Bolshevik leader later forced into exile as an enemy of the people and assassinated in Mexico on Soviet dictator Josef Stalins orders. Isaacson writes that a KGB agent who was assigned to Jobs during the trip suggested the Apple chairman tone down his fervor.
You dont want to talk about Trotsky, the agent is quoted as saying. Our historians have studied the situation, and we dont believe hes a great man anymore.
Isaacson writes that this only made Jobs more eager to discuss the revolutionary.
When they got to the state university in Moscow to speak to computer students, Jobs began his speech by praising Trotsky, he writes.
If the speech in question is the same one attended by Zakharov, the computer scientist from the Russian Academy of Sciences, there is no mention of Trotsky in the partial transcript he published.
Dacha Disqualification
Isaacson notes that Jobs and Eisenstat, the lawyer that Merin met together with the Apple co-founder in Moscow, attended the U.S. Embassy's Fourth Of July party during his trip. Merin, however, recalls that Soviet authorities prevented Jobs and other U.S. executives from attending a separate celebration at the U.S. ambassadors dacha outside Moscow.
They wouldnt let Americans, especially the businessmen, get out to the ambassadors dacha. And that was kind of a big deal, Merin tells RFE/RL.
They were just being difficult, he says. It was another irritant in the relationship. It wasnt a big deal, but it was just something else to say, you know, we can do it, and were going to.
ON MY MIND
So another report has come out about corruption in Vladimir Putin's inner circle. Truth told, they're all beginning to blur into each other. It's almost become a ritual. The "shocking" report. The attention-grabbing headlines. (The Property Manager And Putin's Friends.) The Kremlin's denunciation of an information war by the West. And then? Nothing.
The corruption of this regime has been well documented -- in Russia and in the West and in ways big and small -- for years. But allegations that would bring down any Western government, and even some non-Western governments, just doesn't ever seem to resonate with the Russian public.
Part of this is cynicism. Corruption is part of the fabric of Russian politics and most people just accept this. Part of it is propaganda. The Kremlin has successfully dismissed these reports as foreign attacks on Russia. And part of it is nihilism. There is a belief among Russians, encouraged by the regime's spin masters, that every government is corrupt and theirs is no different.
But with the economy deteriorating, you have to wonder when people will begin to get angry at the kleptocracy that governs them. Or if they ever will.
IN THE NEWS
The Russian Embassy in London has expressed "surprise" over British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond's remarks this week that Russia is a threat to the world.
A Russian journalist has been found dead of stab wounds in St. Petersburg.
Moscow has promised an "asymmetric response" to NATO's military buildup in Eastern Europe.
Russian and Serbian foreign ministers meet in Moscow.
Russia's Supreme Court is holding a hearing on a challenge to a European Court ruling.
The Security Council is considering a proposal to make the Federal Migration Service and the Federal Antinarcotics Service part of the Interior Ministry.
WHAT I'M READING
Wow! The Truth On Russian Television
I did today's Daily Vertical on liberal politician Leonid Gozman's remarkable comments on Russian television in which he said Russia was responsible for a war in eastern Ukraine that has killed thousands of people and that as a citizen of the Russian Federation, he bears responsibility for this.
Before being shouted down by guests, Gozman also called on Vladimir Putin to release Ukrainian military pilot Nadia Savchenko and appealed to Ukrainians, saying that all Russians do not support the "barbarism and cruelty" that Moscow has unleashed on their country.
You can watch the whole exchange here.
News Flash! Putin Is Corrupt
So now we know what Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was probably talking about when he said the Western media is preparing an "information attack" on Vladimir Putin and his cronies.
Separate reports by Reuters and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) look at the activities of Grigory Baevsky, a 47-year-old business associate of Putin's judo partner Arkady Rotenberg.
"Baevsky not only helped Putin handle some of his most delicate personal situations but also made a fortune from questionable deals with the Russian state," according to the OCCRP report.
And Reuters noted that he "provided properties to multiple women who share one common theme: President Vladimir Putin."
Nuclear Insecurity
Vladimir Putin's absence from this week's nuclear summit in Washington is raising eyebrows.
John Herbst, former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, has a piece in The National Interest titled How Russia Undermines Nuclear Security.
And Foreign Policy has a report on: U.S.-Russia Tensions Jeopardize Effort to Lock Down Loose Nukes.
New Charges For Ukraine Library Director
New charges have been filed against the director of the Library of Ukrainian Literature in Moscow that could land her a five-year prison sentence. Natalya Sharina initially faced charges of "extremism" and "incitement." But those charges have been dropped and she is now being charged with misappropriating 1.4 million rubles of state funds.
The new charges were first reported by LifeNews, which is widely reputed to have ties to the security services.
Beware Of April Fools
The funny thing about April Fools' jokes in the Russian media is that, lately, it's difficult to tell if they are true or not. Case in point: This "report" in Gazeta.ru about how Moscow is exploring the legal possibilities of reclaiming Alaska from the United States. They actually had me for a few seconds -- which is a sign of the times.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will hold talks in Moscow with Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic on April 1.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said the ministers will discuss joint projects in trade and investment.
On March 31, Dacic met with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
Rogozin said they worked on an agreement between the state corporation Rostech and the Serbian government on supplying automobile spare parts. They also discussed an agreement for Russia to import Serbian foodstuffs.
At the meeting with Shoigu, Dacic discussed Serbian participation in operations to clear mines from the Syrian historic site of Palmyra that was rescued from the Islamic State extremist group this week.
"In the past, we have done mine-clearing in Serbia," Shoigu noted.
Based on reporting by TASS
One Ukrainian soldier has been killed and eight wounded in fighting with pro-Russia separatists in eastern Ukraine over the past 24 hours.
In announcing the news on April 1, a Ukrainian military spokesman said the overall situation along the front line had "escalated."
The spokesman, Andriy Lysenko, also accused the separatists of using heavy weapons, which should have been pulled back according to the cease-fire agreement, known as Minsk II.
Lysenko said fighting was reported at many spots along the front line in the Donetsk region, but most intense around the government-controlled city of Avdiyivka and Zaitseve.
He said pro-Russia separatists had used mortars, antiaircraft systems and other weapons in the Popasna district in Luhansk region. That, Lysenko said, had forced Ukrainian authorities to suspend operations at the newly opened Zolote checkpoint.
Lysenko said Ukrainian forces had also come under fire 26 times around Mariupol, a key city on the Sea of Azov.
More than 9,100 people have been killed in the fighting in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region and some 21,000 wounded since the conflict broke out in 2014.
Based on reporting by Interfax and TASS
The White House announced that it will provide Ukraine with $335 million more in "security assistance" after a meeting on March 31 between U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.
The aid is badly needed as Ukraine has faced an acute economic crisis since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 and fomented a separatist revolt in Ukraine's east.
While Washington supports Ukraine's pro-Western government, it has been concerned about corruption in Kyiv. Those concerns were addressed in part earlier this week when Ukraine's parliament sacked the country's chief prosecutor, who allegedly was stalling high-profile corruption investigations.
The White House said Biden told Poroshenko that more aid will come if he keeps up efforts to install a new reform-minded government.
An attempt earlier this week to form a new governing coalition failed after one faction raised demands that would have rolled back some reforms sought by the West.
"The vice president welcomed the efforts...to form a stable, reform-oriented government, and stressed that this step, as well as the enactment of needed reforms, are critical to unlocking international economic assistance, including the third $1 billion U.S. loan guarantee," the White House said.
Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP
United States Attorney Peter Neronha speaking about the dangers of butane hash oil (BHO) laboratories at a press conference held Wednesday. To the left of Neronha is West Warwick Police Chief Colonel Richard Silva. Other two are West Wariwick Police Chief Colonel Richard Silva
PLA soldiers carry caskets containing remains at the airport in Shenyang on Thursday. [Photos provided to China Daily and Wang Tian / For China Daily]
A funeral service will be held in Shenyang, Liaoning province, on Friday morning for 36 Chinese soldiers who died in the Korean War (1950-53), after their remains were returned from South Korea the previous day.
The service at the Korean War Martyrs' Cemetery will be attended by government officials, People's Liberation Army officers and representatives from veterans' families, according to local authorities.
The 36 soldiers were members of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army. Their remains were found in South Korea over the past year and were handed over to a Chinese delegation led by Dou Yupei, vice-minister of civil affairs, at a ceremony on Thursday morning at Incheon International Airport in South Korea.
At a brief memorial service at the airport, Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Qiu Guohong placed Chinese national flags on the caskets holding the remains, before they were flown home aboard a Chinese military transport plane.
Two J-11 fighter jets of the PLA Air Force escorted the plane when it entered Chinese airspace. After the transport aircraft landed at Shenyang Xiantao International Airport, the remains were received by PLA officers in ceremonial uniforms.
Shin Bong-sup, South Korea's consul-general in Shenyang, said on Thursday: "South Korea and China were once in a war fighting each other, but that was in the past. Returning the remains will help to heal the wounds of history between the two countries and strengthen friendship among the people."
Under an agreement between China and South Korea, officials from the two countries consult each other every year on handing over remains found in South Korea.
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Politics is indeed a strange business. The actions of Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, who is no friend of gun rights, have earned praise from groups such as the National Rifle Association and the Virginia Citizens Defense League and the ire of the Michael Bloomberg-financed Everytown for Gun Safety. Has McAulliffe changed his positions or are his actions misunderstood? His vetoes of two gun-rights bills last week suggest his views regarding firearms are consistent.
What McAulliffe has done is to set the parameters for the next gun control debate closing the gun show loophole and universal background checks. While it seems incongruous to many on both sides of the debate, the loophole means that federally licensed dealers operating at gun shows must conduct a background check on buyers prior to selling. This is the same as they are required to do at their shops. Private sellers at gun shows are not required to conduct a background check, which is no different than the policy for selling from their home.
Closing the loophole was the Holy Grail for gun-control advocates before they began pushing for universal checks. In terms of impact, our best evidence, though dated, is that a very small percentage of crime guns are purchased at gun shows. An extremely small percentage of those who are denied purchase, similar to those at gun shops, are prosecuted, so they are free to pursue their firearms elsewhere. In simple terms, this is a fight over very little. Closing the loophole would inconvenience a few buyers and sellers and frighten some law-abiding citizens because the government would have a record that they own a firearm, but it would make virtually no difference to gun violence. Symbolically, however, it is very important.
The story began with the decision of Attorney General Mark Herring, made after undoubtedly consulting with the governor, to no longer recognize the concealed carry permits issued by many other states whose standards for issuance do not match those of Virginia. This meant that permits held by many Virginians would no longer be valid in those states due to the Old Dominions termination of the reciprocity agreements. Those out-of-state permit holders were deemed to be dangerous despite no evidence of crimes they had committed and in the face of research demonstrating that permit holders are more law-abiding than average citizens. The decision appeared to be little more than an attempt to further irritate gun-rights supporters by the McAuliffe administration.
Subsequently, McAuliffe announced that he had reached a deal with Republican lawmakers that would restore all of those agreements and add some new ones, in return for legislation that would terminate gun rights for those under a permanent protective order and for state police to be present at gun shows in Virginia to conduct voluntary background checks for private citizens firearms at those venues. Current rights were expanded for concealed permit holders, to the great dismay of Everytown and other supporters of stricter gun laws.
While some suggest that those out-of-state permit holders pose a threat to Virginians, John W. Jones, executive director of the Virginia Sheriffs Association and a supporter of the deal, wrote that in my 38 years of representing Virginia sheriffs, I have never encountered a public safety threat caused by anyone carrying a concealed weapon legally from another state.
The NRA referred to the deal as historic pro-gun legislation, while the VCDL wrote, We have gained important ground! Everytown felt compelled to state its objections in a full-page ad in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
McAuliffe should be the darling of those who want stricter laws. He changed the landscape of the debate, and he gave away virtually nothing. Gun-rights supporters are slightly better off than they were prior to Herrings announcement. Virginias citizens were never in significant danger from those out-of-state permit holders, so there is no damage done there. And those subject to permanent protective orders have to surrender their firearms. Few are unhappy with that restriction, but we know that those individuals often ignore protective orders, so confiscating their guns may not be as helpful as we would hope.
McAuliffe, who should win an award for politician of the year, is the debates real winner, however. He convinced his fiercest opponents that they got a good deal and his friends that they are losers. It appears that McAuliffe is so good that he hoodwinked everyone!
So do you think guns should be allowed at the Republican National Convention?
Granted, the question is moot. On Monday, the Secret Service announced that only its agents and Cleveland police will be allowed to bring firearms into Quicken Loans Arena when the GOP assembles there this summer. But moot is not the same as irrelevant.
As you may know, the Secret Service put its foot down because of a petition at Change.org demanding that convention goers be allowed to bring weapons to the Grand Old Party. The fact that the arena does not allow weapons, says the petition, is a direct affront to the Second Amendment and puts all attendees at risk.
It goes on to say: As the National Rifle Association has made clear, gun-free zones ... are the worst and most dangerous of all lies. The NRA, our leading defender of gun rights, has also correctly pointed out that gun-free zones ... tell every insane killer in America ... (the) safest place to inflict maximum mayhem with minimum risk.
The petition adds that because Cleveland ... is consistently ranked as one of the top 10 most dangerous cities in America and because of the possibility of an ISIS terror attack on the arena, convention goers must be allowed to bear arms.
As of Tuesday, over 50,000 people had signed.
Presumably, at least some of them recognized the petition as a pitch-perfect satire, albeit from a man whose sense of humor is drier than saltines in the Sahara. CBS News has identified the author, who styles himself the hyperationalist, as a fellow named Jim he would give no last name or city of origin who told the network hes a liberal Democrat. But, he said, Im 100 percent sincere in my conviction that guns should be allowed at the GOP convention. (It would be a reflection of) the policies they sought to impose around the nation.
Hes right, of course. The Republican Party has marched in lockstep with the NRA for many years, pushing an agenda of guns everywhere for all people at all times.
So why not guns inside the Republican Convention? If its OK to have guns in schools, bars and churches, then why not there? If Republicans in Iowa think blind people should have guns and Republicans in Alabama want little kids to have guns, then why not sighted adults? If, as Republicans routinely argue, more guns equal greater safety, why shouldnt convention goers be armed? Wouldnt this provide better protection for their candidates?
So far, the party has declined to answer. Ohio Gov. John Kasich, in whose open-carry state the convention will be held, told reporters he would defer to the Secret Service. Ditto Ted Cruz, who once gleefully ate bacon cooked on the barrel of an AR-15 rifle. Donald Trump said that before he comments, he will need to read the fine print; the petition is 799 words long.
The partys silence magnifies its hypocrisy. If Republicans believe what they say, they should demand the right to cram as many firearms into that 20,000-seat arena as it will hold. This is shaping up as the tensest, angriest, most contentious convention of modern times. By GOP reasoning, it would be safer if handguns, machine guns and the odd bazooka were added to the mix. It should tell you something that no Republican will say that now.
For years, they have promoted their cynical, dangerous policy of pushing guns into every cranny of American life. The rest of us have argued against it with limited success. But now, along comes Jim, eviscerating both party and policy in a single brilliant stroke and reminding us that when people make foolish arguments, sometimes its better not to fight them.
Sometimes, its more damning if you just take them at their word.
A Virginia state trooper was fatally shot and his attacker killed by officers who returned fire Thursday afternoon at Richmonds Greyhound bus station, where the state police were conducting a training exercise, the agencys top officer said.
Two women, one a track athlete from Binghamton (N.Y.) University headed to the College of William and Mary for a meet, suffered injuries that were described as not life-threatening.
Virginia State Police Superintendent W. Steven Flaherty told reporters at an evening briefing that trooper Chad P. Dermyer, 37, died from his wounds after being taken to VCU Medical Center following the 2:40 p.m. attack.
Police had earlier announced that the gunman also died at the hospital. Dermyer, a Marine Corps veteran and native of Jackson, Mich., graduated from the state police academy in 2014 and had been transferred to a counter-terrorism and criminal interdiction unit after serving on patrol in the Newport News and Hampton areas. A former Jackson and Newport News police officer, Dermyer was married with two children.
This has been a tough evening, a tough afternoon, Flaherty said. Its quite a tragedy.
Dermyer was in a criminal interdiction training exercise at the bus station with about a dozen other officers who had recently completed classroom instruction when he approached the man and was shot multiple times, Flaherty said. Dermyer and the gunman had been talking only moments before the man drew a firearm, Flaherty said.
After shooting Dermyer, the gunman continued firing and moved toward the restaurant area of the bus terminal before officers were able to take him into custody.
Why he reacted, why he had a gun in his waistband, we dont know, Flaherty said.
The shooter had a history of criminal charges but Flaherty said authorities had not yet determined how many resulted in convictions. He was not immediately identified, pending notification of family. His body was taken to the state medical examiners office.
Flaherty said it was too early in the investigation to say who fired the shots that injured the two women. The attackers gun was recovered at the scene. Dermyer was not wearing a protective vest, Flaherty said. The equipment is optional in this case, Flaherty said, and indicated Dermyer may have chosen to not wear one because it was a training exercise.
What started as a training mission turned into a massive police presence that drew officers from the city of Richmond, Henrico County, state police, FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the U.S. Marshals Service.
Traffic backed up on the Boulevard, a main gateway into the city via the nearby Interstate 95 interchange. At VCU Medical Center, meantime, state police and other law enforcement officials arrived through the afternoon, and no one was allowed in the area other than hospital workers.
Four ambulances arrived at the hospital in the immediate aftermath of the shooting. State police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said the department was taking the lead role in the investigation. Flaherty praised the immediate and continuing work of Richmond police and the other agencies. A canine team swept the bus station and interviews began immediately with witnesses.
A shaken Richmond City Councilwoman Reva M. Trammell, chairwoman of the councils public safety committee, talked with reporters near the bus station and said the senseless act was one of the saddest days Ive ever seen in the city of Richmond.
Mayor Dwight C. Jones was fully briefed on the shooting, said Tammy D. Hawley, the mayors press secretary, and was in constant contact with Police Chief Alfred Durham. Gov. Terry McAuliffes office said the governor was also in contact and offered whatever state resources may be necessary to respond to this situation.
McAuliffe described the shooting as a loss that impacts us all. It should inspire prayers for the family, friends and fellow troopers who are mourning tonight, and gratitude for those who protect and serve.
Across the busy bus station and commercial area, workers, travelers and others recounted what they heard and saw as the violence broke out. Two workers landscaping at The Diamond where the practicing Virginia Commonwealth University baseball team was taken off the field as a precaution said they saw a man running across the street from the bus station and screaming something.
Next a state police trooper pulled up to the scene and then chaos erupted as people started streaming out of the Greyhound building. Reshad Williams, 24, of Washington said he was leaning against a wall outside the bus station when he heard two shots and then almost immediately saw about 10 people run out of the station. He said he sprinted from the area and heard more shots as a growing number of people ran from the terminal in panic.
Williams estimated that from the time he heard the first gunshots, police were on the scene within a minute. Craig Kostiuk, 41, of Chesterfield County said he was across the street when he saw about 20 police officers swarm the scene some quickly getting out of the cars with guns drawn.
He said an estimated 20 officers then quickly formed a single-file line and went into the main entrance of the building. About two minutes later, Kostiuk said, he saw at least two or three people being taken out of the building on stretchers.
Brendan Hamilton, 28, who is visiting Richmond from Baltimore, said he was about to walk into the bus station about 2:50 p.m. when he heard two loud bangs and then started seeing flashes of light along with about five to 10 more banging noises.
People began running out of nearly all of the doors of the building, Hamilton said. At this point it became clear to him that shots were being fired, and he sprinted from the scene. The emergency extended across the street to The Diamond, said Todd Parney Parnell, vice president and general manager of the Richmond Flying Squirrels.
As soon as officials learned what was going on at the bus station, he said, everyone was pulled inside, including the VCU baseball team that was practicing at the stadium that is also its home field. Pete Woody, public relations and communications manager at neighboring Sports Backers Stadium, said that facility locked its doors and advised anyone with business there to stay away from the area. Greyhound staffs the station with security personnel, but they were not on duty at the time the incident occurred, said Lanesha Gipson, a national Greyhound spokeswoman. Gipson said no employees were injured during the incident. We are fully cooperating with authorities and providing any information they may need, including video surveillance that was captured, she said. Greyhound suspended service at the station indefinitely, rerouted inbound buses to the companys Richmond garage, and offered counseling to employees as well as customers who were at the station at the time of the shootings.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulates Greyhound, as it does with all bus operators, but only in regard to the operation and maintenance of the buses, as well as the certification of drivers and oversight of their hours, said spokesman Duane DeBruyne.
There are no regulations directly regarding security at the bus stations, he said. Gipson said Greyhound employs security measures at its terminals that include random baggage searches and wanding of travelers to ensure customers dont attempt to bring any items that are not permitted onboard.
Security guards and employees always have heightened sensitivity to suspicious behaviors and activity, and will notify local authorities if suspicious behavior or unaccompanied packages are observed, she said. Greyhound said it enforces a zero-tolerance policy on unruly or aggressive customers and prohibited items such as firearms and other weapons, drugs, and alcohol. When prohibited items or unruly customers are observed, security will remove the customer from the property, Gipson said. If need be, they will contact local authorities for assistance.
At the evening news conference, Flaherty noted that earlier in the afternoon he had been at a meeting of an international police association and participating in a ceremony to honor officers who lost their lives in the line of duty.
Trammell, the city councilwoman, noted with sadness that the attack occurred on the Boulevard, a street with many attractions and one on which the city has pinned many hopes for continued revitalization. Where does this take us now? she asked. Trammell said she spoke with officers at the scene. For us to lose a state trooper, what about their families, their friends? Trammell said. I would never believe this.
Members of the Richmond Police Departments SWAT team headed to their vehicles after Thursdays shooting. The incident remains under investigation.
Police gathered Thursday outside the Greyhound bus station after a gunman opened fire, fatally wounding a Virginia State Police trooper. The shooter later died.
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Google CEO Sundar Pichai (R) plays with top Go player Ke Jie during his visit to Nie Weiping Go School in Beijing, March 31, 2016. [Photo: chinadaily.com.cn]
A team from China plans to challenge Googles AlphaGo, the artificial intelligence program that beat a world-class player in the ancient board game Go, Shanghai Securities News reported yesterday.
Scientists from the China Computer Go team will issue a challenge to AlphaGo by the end of 2016, said attendees at an event in Beijing organized by the Chinese Go Association and the Chinese Association for Artificial Intelligence, according to the report.
It did not elaborate on the nature of the challenge.
The event was The Forum for Understanding the AlphaGo War between Man and Machine and Chinese Artificial Intelligence, Shanghai Securities News reported on its website.
AlphaGo, developed by Google subsidiary DeepMind, shocked audiences when it beat South Korean professional Go player Lee Sedol in Seoul earlier this month.
The program made history last year by becoming the first machine to beat a human pro player, but 33-year-old Lee, one of the worlds top players, was seen as a much more formidable opponent.
Go, most popular in countries such as China, South Korea and Japan, involves two contestants moving black and white stones across a square grid, aiming to seize the most territory.
Until AlphaGos victory last year, experts had not expected an artificial intelligence program to beat a human professional for at least a decade.
Also, Google CEO Sundar Pichai visited one of Chinas top Go training schools yesterday.
A spokesman at Google, a unit of Alphabet Inc, said Pichai was in China to develop his understanding of Go.
Chinese companies like Baidu Inc, the countrys nearest equivalent of Google, are also working on developing AI.
Baidu in 2014 hired former Google engineer Andrew Ng, who had helmed the US search giants Google Brain AI efforts.
A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
LEXINGTON A top Federal Reserve official said his agency handled the 2008 financial crisis with aplomb and is even better prepared for the next crisis.
There are going to be future financial crises. Of that I am confident, said William Dudley, president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
But Dudley said he believes new rules, including higher capital requirements, and annual stress tests have fortified large financial institutions making them less vulnerable to collapse. If one does, other measures should limit the spread of calamity to the system as a whole, the head of the Feds New York regional bank told the Virginia Association of Economists.
A questioner asked whether federal officials still believe in the use of extraordinary measures to prevent the failure of certain corporations that are so large their demise would bring about disaster the too big to fail dynamic that defined multibillion-dollar transfers to stabilize such entities as AIG.
Too big to fail is not acceptable, its just not acceptable. It sort of warps justice, right? Dudley told a packed auditorium at Virginia Military Institute, where the economists met. Why should certain people by benefit of their size be treated differently than people that are smaller? That doesnt make any sense.
He reported major progress in moving away from that approach. This includes financial entity restrictions put in place since the crisis, which Dudley, a former Goldman Sachs executive, said contain capital and liquidity rules, stringent testing and controls on capital outlays.
If an institution needs to fail, officials now believe they can allow that to happen without jeopardizing the system, he said.
There is work to do yet. We have made much progress, he said.
Dudley, whose talk was deemed by the Fed to be educational and not a policy statement, described the Federal Reserves intervention in 2008 as successful in moderating the financial crisis now known as the Great Recession, during which unemployment doubled to 10 percent as of fall 2009, home prices fell 30 percent from mid-2006 to mid-2009 and stocks plummeted. Dudley said he believes the Feds actions averted setting in motion a global depression.
He warned against too much tinkering with the 103-year old Fed, citing a current proposal by critics who think the Fed has too much power and believe that decision-makers should come under new rules. That would be like flying on autopilot, Dudley said, a bad idea for an organization tasked with managing an economy as complex as this one.
How many people would be comfortable flying in a plane without any pilots on board? Dudley asked.
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.
A woman was awarded 60,000 yuan (US$9,300) in compensation from a US-based maternity tourism operators local branch in an appeal after she tried to cancel her childbirth service contract but was refused, Shanghai No.1 Intermediate Peoples Court said yesterday.
The woman, surnamed Liang, wanted to terminate her contract with the company because she learned that one of its overseas maternity homes was raided by US federal police.
The appeal court ruled that since the maternity home is under investigation, Liang had every reason to believe that it could not provide a secure environment for giving birth and therefore her request was justified.
Under Chinese contract law, if one party of a contract finds that the others reputation has been seriously tarnished or that they will be unable to meet their obligations, they have a right to terminate.
According to the court, Liang, who wanted to deliver a baby in the US, signed a contract with the operators local branch Shanghai Meilu Business Consulting Co, for its overseas childbirth service in January last year and gave it a down payment of 36,000 yuan.
However, one month later, she learned that its parent firm in the US, USA Happy Baby Inc was being investigated by federal agencies and that many pregnant women were forced to leave the home where they were to give birth. She then visited the company several times asking for a termination of her contract as well as compensation.
But her request was turned down by Meilu, which told her that USA Happy Baby had two maternity homes in the US and the one that was raided was not where she would be staying.
Liang then filed a lawsuit against the firm.
The court ruled that the firm must refund only half the down payment, saying that it could not be considered at fault because the request was based on unfounded concerns. Unsatisfied with the verdict, she filed an appeal.
Eight people have submitted applications seeking appointment to the Roanoke School Board.
Current member Annette Lewis is seeking a second three-year term on the board, and seven others with deep ties to schools and the city are contending for seats as well.
Two seats are available: The seat held by Lewis, and the seat held by board Chairwoman Suzanne Moore, who is wrapping up her third and final term on the board.
Lewis, the president and CEO of Total Action for Progress, was among the first to submit an application. On the board, Lewis has served as its point-person for legislative issues and organizes annual lobbying events such as Take Your Legislator to School Day. She also serves on the districts Equity Task Force.
The other applicants include
n Lutheria Smith, the director of human resources for Draper Aden Associates. Smith has been a member of the PTA at each of her childrens schools and has volunteered at other schools in the district as well. Her two children attend Patrick Henry High School.
n Siclinda Canty-Elliott, an adjunct instructor at Virginia Western Community College. Canty-Elliott wrote in her application that she has been active in the PTA at various schools and helped implement programs to incorporate diversity into school curriculum.
n Wilton Kennedy, a physician assistant and an associate professor at the Jefferson College of Health Sciences. Kennedys two grown children attended Roanoke schools and he founded Carilions Hispanic Pediatric Clinic.
n Ryan LaFountain, a financial services officer with Blue Eagle Credit Union. LaFountain is a volunteer with Junior Achievement and says his business experience would be an asset on the board.
n Stephanya Shear, a substitute teacher in Roanoke employed by Source4Teachers. Shear is a physician and volunteers her services at the Bradley Free Clinic. She also is a fitness educator at the YMCA and has served as a substitute guidance counselor since September. Shear said in her application she values the inclusiveness of public schools.
n Chris Craft, a Roanoke graduate and school volunteer. Craft serves on several committees related to safety and special education and on the districts Central Council PTA. Craft applied for the school board last year but was not appointed.
n Sue Reese is a regional director for the Virginia Department of Social Services. On her application, Reese listed volunteer work with the PTA programs at Fairview Elementary School, William Ruffner Middle School and William Fleming High School. Reese also applied for the school board last year.
David Bustamante, the vice president of housing for the Roanoke Development and Housing Authority, submitted an application but was deemed ineligible by the City Clerks office because he does not live in Roanoke.
You never know whos on the other side of your front door, said Debra Morrison. She learned that when James Robert Vermillion knocked on the door of her Vinton residence Thursday night.
Vermillion, 37, told her he had gotten into an argument with his girlfriend and accidentally crashed a car, so he needed to use her phone to call a friend, Morrison said Friday. She knew who he was, but she wouldnt call him a friend. But she figured he could come in and use her phone.
Minutes later, about 6:45 p.m., Morrison heard her dog growling at the front door. Police had swarmed around her two-story rental home in the 400 block of Pine Street.
I was not aware he was a fugitive when he got to my house, she said.
A police officer escorted Morrison and her dog out of the house, and she followed a trail of Vermillions blood up a hill. She spent the next 14 hours watching and waiting for a couple of dozen police officers to arrest him after he barricaded himself in her basement.
Police tried to arrest Vermillion earlier that day on an outstanding warrant, but the failed attempt led to a multi-agency chase across the small town of Vinton during rush hour and a carjacking in Bedford County.
Vermillion was taken into custody Friday morning at 8:51 after police used lengthy negotiations and tactical extraction techniques to get him out of the house, Vinton police said.
He was treated at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital for an injury sustained prior to his arrest, Vinton police Chief Thomas Foster said. Police did not elaborate on how he got the injury.
The ordeal began almost 16 hours before Vermillion left the Pine Street house.
Officers responded to a report of a wanted person inside a home in the 1200 block of Ruddell Road, police said. Foster said he had an outstanding warrant from Roanoke related to an abduction and protective order.
An armed man was inside the house with a woman. Police safely removed her, but the man escaped by approaching police with a gun to his head while walking to a Honda Prelude parked next to the home, police said.
Vinton officers followed him into Bedford County on Hardy Road but lost sight of his vehicle near Timberline Road, police said.
Police began pursuing him again after he crashed at the intersection of Stewartsville Road and Beagle Club Road, where police say he stole a black Nissan Frontier pickup truck from someone at the scene of the crash.
The stolen pickup was later found abandoned at the intersection of Jefferson Avenue and Chestnut Street in Vinton, just up the road from Morrisons house.
Investigators eventually determined that the man was at the Pine Street house. Officers from Roanoke, Roanoke County and Virginia State Police, as well as the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force, surrounded the house and began attempts to contact him by 9:10 p.m., police said.
Police evacuated several nearby homes. Jennifer Nelson, whose mother lives next door to the house where the standoff took place, said her mother had just arrived home from work when police knocked on her door and urged her to leave. She was unable to take anything with her and had to leave her dog behind. Nelson said her mother stayed at her house for the night, less than a mile from the standoff.
No warning, no nothing. She didnt even have shoes on, Nelson said. I was like, Can we get anything? Her car? And she said, No, cause theyre using it as a shield.
While police worked to establish communication with the man inside, Nelson and her mother stayed up and hoped for news that they could return to the area.
Since it happened, [my mother] has been crying, Nelson said. Its upsetting for a woman in her 60s, for something like this to happen.
Thursdays incident was seemingly another link in a chain of violent incidents involving Vermillion, stretching to 2013, when he was convicted of abduction and assault and battery.
A police officers incident report said in April of that year, Vermillion fought with his girlfriend at his home on Archbold Avenue in northwest Roanoke. When she tried to flee, the officer wrote, Vermillion chased her into the street, put her in a chokehold and dragged her back inside. The girlfriend told police hed brandished a hunting knife to keep her from leaving overnight, but she was later able to get out.
In October 2013, online records show Vermillion pleaded no contest to those charges in Roanoke Circuit Court and got one year and six months in active time, with three years suspended and two years of probation, which started in August 2014.
Within six months of his release, according to a probation report, Vermillion was in Roanoke Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court and would appear there twice more during 2015.
In February, he was charged with destruction of property, ordered to pay $100 and received a 30-day suspended sentence. In August, he was charged with assault and battery of a family member and again got 30 days suspended. And a few days after that he appeared on a charge of profane language over the airways, but its not clear how that case was concluded.
The officer said Vermillion had failed to report those incidents which constituted additional violations and had also failed a drug screen, testing positive for cocaine in May.
The probation report said that on Dec. 21, 2015, in Roanoke Circuit Court, Vermillions revocations were all taken under advisement and he was ordered to obtain an assessment from Blue Ridge Behavioral Healthcare, evaluating his need for anger management and substance abuse. He was also ordered to work 40 hours a week or to perform an equal amount of community service.
Vermillion stopped reporting in after that, his case worker wrote, and he didnt show up for a review hearing in February. It appears he remained at large until his arrest Friday morning. Police are unsure of Vermillions current address.
Vermillion is being held at the Roanoke County-Salem Jail. According to online booking records and Foster, Vermillion is charged with possession of a firearm as a convicted felon, disregarding or eluding a law enforcement command, pointing or brandishing a firearm, two counts of probation violation, violation of a protective order and failure to appear in court for misdemeanor offense. The Bedford County Sheriffs Office is investigating the carjacking.
Now, Morrison and her mother, Kathy Jones, are trying to recover from the shock of the standoff and clean up the mess left behind by Vermillion and police attempts to extract him. The bottom window of Morrisons house was broken out when police threw in gas canisters and flash grenades.
Had we known about all of his past history, we wouldnt have let him cross the driveway, said Jones, who was at work when the standoff began.
Researcher Belinda Harris contributed information to this report.
RICHMOND In case anyone didnt get the message in English, Gov. Terry McAuliffe turned to Spanish in his veto of bills that sought to prevent sheriffs and jail superintendents from releasing inmates that federal immigration authorities had asked to be detained beyond their sentences.
Gov. Terry McAuliffe Friday vetoed legislation that would prohibit sheriffs and jail superintendents from releasing inmates at the request of federal immigration authorities, which the governor said would usurp local authority and stigmatize many of those who are caught up in a broken immigration system.
Virginia law already leaves it to the discretion of state and local law enforcement officials how to respond to lawful detainer orders received by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he said in a veto issued in both English and Spanish. This bill does nothing other than subject non-citizens in legal disputes with federal immigration officials to inequitable treatment.
Rather than stoking irrational fears of non-citizens present in the commonwealth, the General Assembly should be focused on substantive policies to improve public safety in Virginia, he said.
SB 270, introduced by Sen. Tom Garrett, R-Buckingham, and HB 481, sponsored by Del. Bob Marshall, R-Prince William, tried to circumvent a 2014 opinion by Attorney General Mark Herring that advised sheriffs they have no legal authority to hold inmates beyond their release dates even if federal immigration officials ask for them to be detained.
Claire Guthrie Gastanaga, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia, said the legislation contradicted itself by prohibiting sheriffs and jail authorities from releasing inmates subject to federal immigration detaining requests, but at the same acknowledging the prisoners could not be held beyond their release dates.
Its a circular nullity, Gastanaga said. It says you shall hold them but you cant hold them. Its a bill that doesnt do anything and cant do anything.
The ACLU asked Virginia sheriffs in mid-2014 not to honor requests by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain people in your custody who are otherwise free to be released.
After Virginia Beach Sheriff Ken Stolle, a former state senator, asked the attorney general for an opinion on the issue, Herring advised early last year that an ICE detainer is merely a request, not a legal requirement.
It does not create for a law enforcement agency either an obligation or legal authority to maintain custody of a prisoner who is otherwise eligible for immediate release from local or state custody, Herring told Stolle in a letter on Jan. 5, 2015.
CHRISTIANSBURG The final two candidates still in the running for the Democratic nomination in the 9th District Congressional race laid out their thoughts on health care, education and economic development during a forum Thursday.
Bill Bunch, a Tazewell County farmer and retired postal worker who aligns with Bernie Sanders, called for a single-payer health care system, more opportunities for free college tuition and an embrace of green energy jobs.
If elected, he said hed draw on his experience mediating disputes as a union steward in the postal service to try to build consensus across the aisle.
You had to meet with people from the other side, weigh the evidence and try to do the right thing, he said of that job. I would take that attitude to Congress.
Derek Kitts, a decorated veteran and self-described Blue Dog Democrat from Christiansburg, said the passage of the Affordable Care Act created a great starting point that needs to be improved upon by taking steps like negotiating lower prices for prescriptions for consumers.
On economic development, Kitts said hed work with other Appalachian state representatives to push for an infrastructure bill that creates incentives for companies to expand cellphone and high-speed internet service in the region.
Better connectivity helps businesses and students alike, he said, and will be key for Southwest Virginia as it works to build a ready workforce and attract new jobs.
Kitts, who served three tours in Iraq and another in Afghanistan, said he brings a hard-earned leadership record to the race and a willingness to find a middle ground something he said has grown all too rare in Congress.
Thats a problem because, the last time I checked, the majority of us were somewhere in the middle, he said.
Thursday nights forum was organized by the Montgomery County Democratic Committee and attended by about 40 people. The event was recorded and will be posted online by the committee.
The 9th District Democrats will gather at a convention in Wytheville on May 21 to pick their nominee. The winner will face off with three-term incumbent U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, in the fall elections.
Another contender who had been seeking the Democratic nomination dropped out Thursday morning. D. Clay Pugh, a clergyman and Christian mystic from Smyth County, announced he was suspending his campaign and endorsing Griffith for re-election.
During Thursdays forum, Bunch and Kitts both spoke against rigid education standards that force teachers to teach to the test and said more needs to be done to boost teacher salaries.
Both agreed there need to be tougher penalties for white-collar crimes.
The candidates split over the legalization of marijuana. Bunch supported it, saying it would bring in tax revenue, was less dangerous than alcohol, and would eliminate prosecutions that disproportionately target minorities and the low-income.
Kitts opposed it, saying he was concerned about the slippery slope it could start and adding the country hasnt yet seen how it will play out long term in states like Colorado.
The two also staked out different positions on gun control. Kitts advocated for universal background checks, more safety training and better enforcement of existing laws. But he didnt back proposals to put new restrictions on high-capacity magazines or assault-style weapons; such proposals run counter to the Second Amendment, he said.
Bunch said hes pro-Second Amendment, but would vote for limiting magazine sizes and assault-style weapons.
In his closing remarks, Kitts vowed to always be honest, even if a stance is unpopular.
You might not always like what I have to say, but you can respect me because you know Im going to be honest and straightforward, he said. Im not going to lie or BS you.
Bunch pledged to always act in the peoples best interest.
I am an honest person, and Im sincere and real when I come to you and tell you that I want to be your representative, he said. Even more than that, I want to see this end of the state recognized by the rest of the state and even our own party. ... They think we cant win. Im here to tell you we can.
Betty Reed Foy, 84, has left her life of service in this earthly home to continue her eternal life of joy with the Father. She died peacefully at home after a six month illness, on Wednesday, March 30, 2016 in Roanoke Virginia.Betty is survived by her devoted family, husband, Chester "Larry" Foy of the home; her son, Richard Foy (Cindy) of Richmond, VA; daughter, Martha Foy (Jim White) of Roanoke, VA; grandson, Steven Foy (Caity DiSanza) of McAllen, Texas; granddaughters, Melissa Foy of Nashville, Tenn., and MaryWilla Foy and Margaret Foy of Roanoke, VA. She is also survived by her youngest sister, Patti Reed Gentry of Kingsport, Tenn.; and several nephews and in laws whom she loved. Betty was preceded in death by her parents, Gillis and Flora Belle Reed, and special aunt, Lena Reed, all of Richlands, VA. She was also preceded in death by four siblings, Jack Reed of Pennsylvania, Lenora Ann Reed Sandridge of Pennsylvania, Sue Reed Huels of Tennessee, and James Reed of Texas.Betty was born November 2, 1931 in the mining camp of Jewell Ridge, VA and moved to Richlands as a child. She graduated from Richlands High School in 1949 and then moved to Knoxville, TN to pursue her successful career in nursing. She graduated from the Knox General Hospital School of Nursing in 1952 and went on to work in various nursing positions in Tennessee, Missouri, California, Maryland, and Virginia. Most of her nursing work was in Public Health and she was always known for being thorough, dependable, kind, and compassionate. In addition to serving her patients well, Betty also served her family, community, and church selflessly. Betty was not only hardworking, she also had the gift of hospitality. She hosted hundreds of people in her home over the years, for meals and overnight from the Blacksburg and Virginia Tech communities, and several others from abroad for much longer periods. In her roles as a faculty wife and as an elder's wife, she put others at ease and their needs before her own. While Betty was proud of being a good nurse and hostess, she was most proud of her 62 year marriage to her sweetheart Larry and of their children and grandchildren. Her unconditional love, loyalty, generosity and support make her irreplaceable, and she will be greatly missed by family and friends.A celebration of Betty's life will be held at the McCoy funeral home in Blacksburg, VA. Family visitation will occur on Friday, April 1, 2016 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the funeral home, and a service of remembrance will be held on Saturday, April 2, 2016 at 2 p.m. with family receiving friends for the hour prior to the service. Minister and longtime friend Tom Gilliam will officiate. Burial will follow the service at the Westview Cemetery in Blacksburg. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the the Roanoke Church of Christ for the Betty Foy Benevolence Fund , in honor of Betty's life of service. The family wishes to express appreciation to all of those who have shown support recently and throughout the years: Shirley Ballantyne, Amy Carper, and Clara Crowder from Carillon Clinic Hospice, the Brandon Oaks community, Dr. Scott Jamison of Christiansburg, the Blacksburg Church of Christ family, the Roanoke Church of Christ family, and many other friends. The master said, 'Well done, my good and faithful servant'".
Jimmy Woodrow Noell, of Bedford, died Thursday, March 31, 2016 at his home from complications after heart surgery. He was the son of Woodrow Noell and Ella May Crouch Noell of Montvale who preceded him in death. Also preceding him in death was his son, Chad Michael Noell. He is survived by his wife, Rebecca; his daughter, Amanda Noell Stanley and her husband, Scott; his two grandsons, Owen and Jeb Stanley; and his sister Linda Noell Harris of Midlothian and her family.Jimmy served his country for 22 years in the United States Air Force after completing a two-year degree from Ferrum College. After retirement from the military, he returned to Bedford and served his community in many capacities including the Bedford Life Saving Crew and Bedford Memorial Hospital. He was a member of Bedford Presbyterian Church. He was also active in the Loyal Order of Moose, Airplane Modelers Club & the Bedford YMCA. Jimmy enjoyed riding motorcycles, flying airplanes, and tinkering with his model trains. He took pride in his beautiful yard, well-maintained cars, and his family name. His greatest joy was playing with his grandchildren who adored him. He was a man of courage and conviction who served his family, community, and country well. He lived a full life-suffering great losses and sharing meaningful joy with those he loved and touched.In lieu of flowers, the family requests gifts be made in his memory to the Bedford Lifesaving Crew, P. O. Box 161, Bedford, VA 24523.A Funeral Service will be held at 4 p.m. on Sunday, April 3, 2016 at Bedford Presbyterian Church with the Rev. John T. Salley officiating. Interment, with military honors by Seymour Johnson Air Force Base Honor Guard will follow in Walnut Grove Union Church Cemetery. The family will receive friends Saturday from 2 to 4 p.m. at Updike Funeral Home & Cremation Service, Bedford.
Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) confirmed Thursday that a two-and-half-year-old male lion called "Lemek" was speared to death after it strayed out of the Nairobi National Park early Thursday.
KWS spokesman Paul Udoto said patrol rangers discovered Lemek's speared carcass near Old Kitengela township, about 20km south of Nairobi.
"The offenders of this act, which is forbidden under the Wildlife and Conservation Management Act, 2013, could not be immediately identified. Investigations are underway to establish the parties responsible," Udoto said in a statement issued in Nairobi.
Udoto said a KWS team working in collaboration with the local administration discovered Lemek's body under a large thicket beside a dry riverbed.
The wildlife agency had earlier Thursday received a report of two or three lions sighted in the Oleshei area near Old Kitengela Township, which prompted KWS to mobilize aerial search.
Udoto said the search, which was intended to observe and drive the reported lions back to the park, lasted three hours and yielded no results.
"KWS is currently establishing if Lemek was one of the lions reported earlier in the day," said Udoto, noting that a community meeting will be held next week to explore ways in which KWS can better work with communities living near Nairobi National Park to mitigate human-lion conflict.
The latest incident came just a day after KWS rangers killed another lion, Mohawk, that pounced on a man in a crowd in the same location after it escaped from a park.
The death of the 13-year-old Mohawk, so named because of the shape of his black mane, sparked an outcry from Kenyans and African conservationists, who said it heavily dents the lion conservation spirit in the country.
In the space of two months, there have been at least three confirmed cases of lions coming into contact with people in Nairobi and the surrounding areas.
In an emergency session, the Republican-controlled legislature of the state of North Carolina recently passed a bill preventing cities from passing anti-discrimination ordinances whose intent is to protect people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender.
The bill was immediately signed into law by the states Republican governor Pat McCrory. Many corporations such as Apple, Dow Chemical, Biogen, PayPal, and American Airlines immediately condemned the law and the NCAA is reviewing the situation with an eye toward cancelling future events in the state.
Missing among these corporate leaders is BB&T bank, which is headquartered in Winston-Salem and has a significant presence in the Roanoke Valley. When I contacted my local BB&T branch at Towers to find out how the bank planned to handle this issue, I was informed by the branch manager that BB&T has a policy of not involving itself in political matters.
Really?
An entire group of human beings is being denied basic protection under the law and BB&T refuses to become involved? Exactly what would it take for the bank to move from its position of neutrality to one of supporting human rights?
The answer to that is simple if its bottom line were threatened. Businesses such as BB&T position themselves as politically neutral only because they fear a principled stance could have a negative impact on their profits. This is simple cowardice. Either youre part of a community or youre not.
A recent visit to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum left a moral truth etched in my brain what I do matters. Please join with me in urging BB&T to become an engaged corporate citizen rather than a bystander who refuses to confront an obvious injustice.
ROBERT GUTHRIE
ROANOKE
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Obituaries 10-21-22 Advisory: Obituary information will only be accepted if sent through a funeral home or cemetery. The Wave does not assume responsibility for any incorrect information that is printed in the obituary section John E. Hynes...
Obituaries 10-7-22 Advisory: Obituary information will only be accepted if sent through a funeral home or cemetery. The Wave does not assume responsibility for any incorrect information that is printed in the obituary section John F. Keane...
Flash
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Thursday blamed the United States for escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula, citing the U.S. nuclear threat, U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises and sanctions against Pyongyang as examples.
An unnamed spokesman for the DPRK Foreign Ministry attributed the current tense situation to the United States in a statement carried by the official KCNA news agency.
"The U.S. nuclear threat and blackmail, joint military exercises, sanctions and other moves to stifle the DPRK are the root cause of pushing the situation on the peninsula to the brink of a clash of nuclear weapons," the statement said.
The statement condemned the United States for making the DPRK a target for "preemptive nuclear attack," adding that the threat from the United States has existed for the past several decades.
On March 7, the United States and South Korea kicked off their joint annual war games "Key Resolve" and "Foal Eagle," which Pyongyang said were rehearsals for northward invasion.
The "Key Resolve" command post exercise ended earlier this month, but the "Foal Eagle" field training exercise is scheduled to last until April 30.
The DPRK on Tuesday fired a short-range projectile in an apparent show of force toward the ongoing U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises and sanctions against Pyongyang over its nuclear test and long-range rocket launch.
Including the Tuesday launch, the DPRK has fired a total of 16 short- and medium-range projectiles in 2016.
Flash
Russia on Thursday denied media reports that Moscow and Washington had reached an agreement on ousting Syria's President Bashar al-Assad.
"The difference between the Russian side and other countries lies in the fact that Russia does not discuss the issue of self-determination of third countries, including Syria, via diplomatic or other channels," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
"The al-Hayat newspaper has published information that does not correspond to reality," Peskov was quoted as saying by Tass news agency.
The London-based newspaper recently quoted diplomatic sources in the UN Security Council, saying U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told leaders of several Arab countries that Russia and the United States had reached an understanding that Assad would leave his post and move to another country in the process of peaceful settlement in Syria.
Russian officials have refused to exclude Assad from his country's process of political settlement, saying Syrians themselves should decide the future of their country.
Russia has been supporting the Assad government in Syria, while the United States and its allies have insisted that Assad step down.
Flash
At least 20 people have been killed and more than 150 others injured in a under-construction flyover collapse in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata Thursday.
Indian rescue workers and volunteers try to free people trapped under the wreckage of a collapsed fly-over bridge in Kolkata, capital of eastern Indian state West Bengal, March 31, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]
"The flyover, which has been under construction in the middle of a crowded commercial area in central Kolkata for the past six years, came crashing down around 12.30 p.m. (local time). So far, 20 bodies have been pulled out of the debris," a police official said, on condition of anonymity.
All those injured and rescued alive from the debris by the rescuers have been admitted to a local hospital where the condition of some are said to be serious, he said, adding the death toll may go higher in the evening.
Apart from the disaster management personnel, police, firefighters and local residents, some five columns of the Indian Army has been called out to pitch in for what is turning out to be a colossal rescue effort. Sniffer dogs have also been pressed into service.
Local TV channels showed footage of rescuers trying with their bare hands to pull out those still trapped under chunks of concrete and metal, and blood stained bodies being retrieved from under the debris as well as cars buried under the collapsed bridge being pulled out by cranes.
Chief Minister of the eastern Indian state of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, cancelled her campaign for the upcoming assembly polls and rushed to the scene to survey the damage. She announced compensation for the families of those killed and the injured.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is currently in the United States, has also expressed his shock over the tragic incident.
"Shocked & saddened by collapse of under construction flyover inKolkata. Took stock of the situation & rescue operations," Modi tweeted. "My thoughts are with the families of those who lost their lives in Kolkata. May the injured recover at the earliest," he added.
Flyover collapses are not uncommon in India mainly due to the use of sub-standard materials and lack of adherence to safety standards.
THOUSANDS of Rotherham workers livelihoods were under threat this week after steel giant Tata decided to pull the plug on its UK operation.
Business leaders said more than 400 companies - from raw materials firms to cafes - would be hit hard if the Aldwarke, Moorgate and Templeborough plants shut.
Almost 500 job losses were announced last autumn, with many of those affected completing their last shifts this week.
The remaining workforce was plunged into fresh uncertainty by the news that the Indian giants board had voted to divest its UK plants, including a massive facility with 5,000 employees in the Welsh town of Port Talbot.
Furious John Healey said it appeared Tata had thrown in the towel, while chamber of commerce boss Andrew Denniff proposed a management buyout as a viable option to save the key Rotherham employer.
Mr Healey, MP for Wentworth and Dearne, called the news a huge shock and a body blow.
Nationalisation was suggested as a possible way of saving the industry, but business secretary Sajid Javid appeared to rule that move out, saying it was rarely the answer, particularly if you take into account the big challenges the industry faces.
Reeling from this weeks news, Mr Healey said: We thought the board in India were looking at the future of Port Talbot, but this seems to suggest they have thrown in the towel on UK steelmaking.
We have in South Yorkshire with speciality steels some of the best steelmaking, the best quality and the highest performing, anywhere in the world.
There has got to be a future for steelmaking in South Yorkshire and we cannot sit by and allow this to be the end of steelmaking in the UK.
You cannot have an advanced economy without a steelmaking base to support your manufacturing base.
Mr Healey, who hosted Labour leader Jeremy Corbyns visit to Rotherham last week, said: He wanted to know what personal problems people were dealing with as they face the uncertainty over whether they have got a job or not.
Its been one blow after another and this shock overnight coming from the board in India is just one more.
The Labour MP said the Government needed to step up and get a grip.
I want to see the Prime Minister saying to the Community union: Yes, I will meet you, yes, I will discuss the future of steelmaking in this country, because it is too important for us to lose, he said.
Mr Healey also condemned the Government for dragging their feet over energy bill help for the steel industry and stopping cheap Chinese imports.
He said: We need to know that they are considering all options, including being ready to back a buyout if management and workers want to do that, including taking temporary ownership if that is required to see these plants safeguarded until they can be sold on to buyers who are prepared to invest and stick with British steelmaking for the long-term.
Tata said following Tuesdays board meeting in Mumbai that it would explore all options for restructuring, including the partial or full sale of its UK factories.
The company said trading conditions in the UK and Europe had rapidly deteriorated due to a global oversupply of steel and high costs and currency rates.
A statement added: These factors are likely to continue into the future and have significantly impacted the long-term competitive position of the UK operations in spite of several initiatives undertaken by the management and the workers of the business in recent years.
Rotherham Borough Council leader Cllr Chris Read said: Its upsetting and frustrating and I cant imagine how it feels for the guys that are working there.
Weve just come through the last round of the 700 job losses. The last guys were expecting to finish on Wednesday or Thursday.
We were at the point where we were hoping there would be a period of calm, where Tata was able to put together a business plan and look at how to move forward. Then we get this awful news this week.
See this week's Advertiser for a full special report.
Chinese companies are showing interest in buying Russian state assets such as ALROSA as the government privatizes some of the nations largest publicly owned businesses, news agency TASS reported.
Generally the interest is there, the Russian news service cited Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich as saying at the Boao Forum for Asia in Chinas Hainan Province March 24. He said it is too early to speak about particular companies, according to the report the same day.
More than ten banks, including ones based outside Russia, have displayed interest in handling the privatization of ALROSA, VTB Bank and oil company Bashneft, according to an earlier TASS report.
The Russian government is currently considering the potential sale of a 10.9-percent stake in ALROSA, the miners management confirmed in a presentation to investors earlier this month.
Separately, the Moscow Exchange is considering a proposal from ALROSA to develop an exchange trade in diamonds, TASS cited the bourses chief executive officer Alexander Afanasyev as saying.
We are discussing this issue with ALROSA, Afanasyev said, according to the report. It is premature to speak about its implementation now because there is still a lot of interesting questions technical, technological, regulatory and particularly taxation ones," Afanasyev was cited as saying.
"There is a need to create the so-called investment diamond. This is closer to the exchange product, he added.
Ahmed Bin Sulayem, the 2016 chair of the Kimberley Process (KP) and executive chairman of the Dubai Multi-Commodities Centre, who is in discussions with miners to discuss diamond industry matters, met with Philippe Mellier, CEO, De Beers on 24 March 2016 in the companys headquarters in London.
Speaking about the meeting, Ahmed Bin Sulayem said, "As part of our ongoing dialogue with stakeholders across the diamond sector, last week we met with the De Beers Group, the worlds largest diamond company. We look forward to continuing our engagement with other stakeholders in the coming weeks. Insights from the world's most prominent mining corporations such as De Beers Group on imminent industry matters is crucial in our collective efforts to strengthen the KPCS."
Aruna Gaitonde, Editor-in-Chief of Asian Bureau, Rough & Polished
The Zimbabwe government has said that it will soon investigate the disappearance of billions worth of Marange diamonds.
President Robert Mugabe recently said that Harare earned about $2 billion from $15 billion earned from the sale of Marange diamonds since 2009.
"Yes, we were given the instructions. We are appointing some companies to conduct a forensic audit of all the companies in order to establish how the companies mined the diamonds in the last five to six years depending on when they started operations," Mines minister Walter Chidhakwa was quoted as saying by New Zimbabwe.com.
He said the audit would look at how companies marketed their gems and establish how the funds were misappropriated.
"It's something that we are working on and soon the report will be out," said Chidhakwa.
Government recently cancelled permits of firms that were mining diamonds in Marange and formed the Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC).
Companies such as Mbada and Anjin challenged Harare in the court over the seizure of their concessions.
However, the High Court granted a reprieve to Mbada to access and safeguard its properties at their mining concessions but not to mine the gems.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished
ALROSA reviews production results in 2015
01 april 2016 News
On April 1, 2016, the 20th meeting of the active functionaries of ALROSA Group was held in Mirny. The results of the Company's operations and production in 2015 and priority tasks for 2016 were discussed at the meeting.
Over 500 representatives from all ALROSA's subdivisions and affiliates attended the anniversary meeting. Among other participants of the meeting were the Chairman of the State Assembly (Il Tumen) Mr. Alexander Zhirkov, Chairman of the Government of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) Ms. Galina Danchikova, ALROSA President Mr. Andrey Zharkov, people's deputies of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), heads of ministries and administrations of Yakutia, administration of Mirny District and the town of Mirny, heads of municipal entities-founders of the Company, and chairmen of primary trade union organizations of labor collectives.
ALROSA President, Mr. Zharkov, delivered the key address. He reported that the Company diamond mining plan in 2015 of over 38 million carats was accomplished in its entirety and overrun the results of 2014 by 6%. According to Mr. Zharkov, ALROSA ramped up production due to putting into operation of Botuobinskaya pipe in Yakutia, growing production at Severalmaz in the Arkhangelsk region, and increasing diamond mining at Mir and Udachny underground mines in Yakutia. At the same time, in 2015, ALROSA had to bring down the prices for its assortment on average by 15% because of the market slump. However, the market rallied starting since January this year, and over the past two months the Company ramped up diamond sales proceeds by 25 percent.
Mr. Zharkov reported that diamond mining by the Group in 2016 may fall within the range from 37 million to 39 million carats. He stressed that possible reduction in diamond mining will have no impact on the employees, and the Company management has no plans to introduce downtime at the enterprises. Reduction in diamond mining will be achieved through the implementation of the employees' leave schedule. Mr. Zharkov noted that real volumes of diamond mining will hinge on the global demand for rough diamonds.
"Despite the fact that the first quarter of this year was rather positive, and the demand for rough diamonds exceeded the planned target, we are rather conservative as regards the whole year 2016, and we consider one of the key priorities for our sales is not to accumulate stocks. To react to the market conditions adequately, we are considering the diamond mining scenario for 2016 within the range from 37 million to 39 million carats," said Mr. Zharkov.
The agenda of the meeting also included addresses delivered by representatives of ALROSA's subdivisions and affiliates. The speakers touched upon achievements of their collectives and acute social problems, such as quality of public health in the district, speed of construction of new housing, and others.
In conclusion of the meeting, awards were presented to ALROSA's best employees of the year.
ALROSA is the world's largest producer of rough diamonds in carats. ALROSA is engaged in exploration, mining and sales of diamonds. The Company's operations are located in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) and the Arkhangelsk Region of Russia. In 2015, the Company produced 38.3 million carats of rough diamonds; 2014 revenue was RUB 224.5 billion.
Union Pacific's Denver Service Unit, which includes about 1,700 miles of track across Colorado and parts of Wyoming, Utah and Kansas, improved community and employee safety in 2015.
The service unit reported 36 percent fewer railroad crossing incidents in 2015 versus 2014, reflecting progress educating the driving public about rail safety. Additionally, the service units reportable employee injury rate improved 27 percent from 1.82 in 2014 to 1.32 in 2015, demonstrating progress toward achieving zero employee injuries.
Employees are committed to safety as our number one priority, said Ron Tindall, Denver Service Unit superintendent. They are dedicated to working safely, keeping their peers safe and educating their communities how to behave safely around railroad tracks.
The Denver Service Unit is focused on employee engagement and several related initiatives as the foundation of its safety success including Total Safety Culture (TSC), an employee-owned, voluntary process that includes training, observations and feedback. In TSC, employees compliment each other on safe behaviors, while intervening in a positive way to address at-risk behaviors. Another UP initiative is its Courage to Care, a personal pledge to safety that represents personal accountability and strengthens the degree to which each and every employee prioritizes safety as an issue. Many Denver Service Unit employees have embraced this pledge go home safe for the sake of themselves and their families.
UPs Denver Service Unit employees are also committed to educating the public about railroad safety. The service unit utilized employee-led quarterly awareness campaigns, coordinated community outreach with Operation Lifesaver and utilized data to direct their outreach activities to appropriate grade crossing locations.
In other UP safety news, the railroads Council Bluffs Service Unit, which includes about 600 miles of track across Iowa and eastern Nebraska, improved employee safety in 2015 and recorded the groups best ever annual safety performance.
The service units reportable employee improved 10 percent, from 0.85 in 2014 to 0.76 in 2015, demonstrating progress toward achieving zero employee injuries.
Managers in the Council Bluffs Service Unit focus on consistent and timely two-way communication with the groups roughly 1,000 employees working in several job crafts, including train crew, engineering and mechanical. Like the Denver Service Unit, many Council Bluffs employees have embraced the Total Safety Culture initiative and have taken the Courage to Care personal safety commitment to look out for their peers and go home safe at the end of every day. Both initiatives empower and engage employees to take the safe route, while maintaining a safety focus despite Mother Nature, shifts in business levels and customer demands.
Additionally, Union Pacific launched an online railroad safety campaign on social media in October 2015. The campaigns key message is Your Life is Worth the Wait, urging drivers and pedestrians to think about their personal safety first and wait at grade crossings. A series of videos depict scenarios in which a jogger, young couple and father and son are stopped, waiting for a train to pass. When the arms lift, each proceeds safely toward a spectacular future.
Union Pacific employees set a systemwide all-time reportable personal injury rate record in 2015, improving 11 percent from 2014 to 0.87, making Union Pacific the safest Class 1 railroad in the United States, according to data reported by the Federa Railroad Administration. Union Pacifics railroad system includes more than 40,000 employees operating in 23 states and 7,300 communities.
Iron Mountain Inc. (IRM) announced outcomes with competition and antitrust regulators in the United States and Canada related to its proposed acquisition of Recall Holdings Limited (REC.AX) by way of a Scheme of Arrangement and the associated changes to synergy and accretion assumptions.
Iron Mountain has agreed to divest portions of Recall's in the United States, portions of both its and Recall's businesses in Canada and the majority of Iron Mountain's records management business in Australia, and to place Recall's entire business in the UK in a hold separate arrangement from the closing until the conclusion of the CMA's review.
Upon closing of the proposed acquisition and after giving effect to required divestitures, Iron Mountain expects to continue to provide information management services, data management services and information destruction services to the respective customers of Iron Mountain and Recall in each market and country where they collectively provide service today.
The the United States Department of Justice or DOJ'S approval of the proposed Recall acquisition is conditioned upon Iron Mountain's agreement to divest, to a single buyer pre-approved by the DOJ, Recall's records and information management facilities in the following 13 U.S. cities: Buffalo; Charlotte; Detroit; Durham; Greenville/Spartanburg; Kansas City; Nashville; Pittsburgh; Raleigh; Richmond; San Antonio; Tulsa; and San Diego.
The DOJ's approval is also conditioned on Iron Mountain's agreement to divest, to a buyer or buyers subject to the DOJ's approval, Recall's records and information management facility in Seattle and certain of Recall's records and information management facilities in Atlanta.
Following implementation of the Scheme and these divestitures, Iron Mountain's operations in the United States will include both Recall's and Iron Mountain's existing operations in all but these 15 U.S. locations.
Iron Mountain has reached an agreement to divest the assets in the 13 initial divestiture cities noted above to Access CIG, LLC, a privately held provider of information management services throughout the United States approved by the DOJ as a buyer for these divestitures, for total consideration of $80 million, subject to adjustments.
In addition, Iron Mountain is in discussions with potential buyers for the facilities and related assets in Seattle and Atlanta.
the Canada Competition Bureau or CCB's approval is based upon Iron Mountain's agreement to divest Recall's records and information management facilities in Edmonton and Montreal (Laval), and certain of Recall's records and information management facilities in Calgary and Toronto. In addition, Iron Mountain has agreed to divest one of its records and information management facilities in Vancouver (Burnaby) and two of its records and information management facilities in Ottawa.
As disclosed on March 30, 2016, Australian Competition and Consumer Commission or ACCC's decision not to oppose the Scheme is contingent on Iron Mountain's undertaking to divest Iron Mountain's Australian business other than its data management business throughout Australia and its records and information management and data management businesses in the Northern Territory of Australia, except in relation to customers who have holdings in other Australian states or territories (Retained IRM Australian Business).
The statutory deadline for completion of the United Kingdom (UK) Competition and Markets Authority or CMA's Phase 2 Review is June 29, 2016, with the provisional findings due in late April 2016, and no definitive view can be given at this stage as to its outcome or the scope and timing of any divestitures required. On March 30, 2016, the CMA granted its conditional consent for the Scheme to be implemented prior to the issuance of its final decision following its Phase 2 Review. After completion of the CMA's review, the CMA may order divestitures of UK assets by the combined business as an appropriate remedy.
However, Iron Mountain believes that the maximum scope of any divestitures required in the UK is likely to be less than operations and assets that generated 1% of the combined companies' pro forma revenue for the year ended December 31, 2015. Iron Mountain remains confident that the CMA Review will result in significantly less divestitures in the UK than the estimated maximum. As a result, Iron Mountain's operations in the UK are expected to consist of Iron Mountain's entire UK operations as they stood prior to implementation of the Scheme and the majority of Recall's UK business.
Iron Mountain estimates annual net synergies as a result of the Recall acquisition will be $105 million per year when fully achieved. When the transaction was originally announced in June 2015, Iron Mountain estimated annual net synergies of $155 million, which assumed divestitures of businesses with approximately $30 million of annualized OIBDA.
The difference between these estimates is primarily due to an estimated reductionin the total amount of annual OIBDA related to anticipated divestitures of $75 million. The $75 million consists of $35 million of divested OIBDA and $40 million reduction in annualized OIBDA due to a loss in potential synergies resulting from divestitures in geographies that generally have more overlap between Iron Mountain's and Recall's businesses and would therefore provide more integration benefits.
Iron Mountain estimates that approximately 90% of these expected synergies will be achieved in the first three years following implementation of the Scheme, with approximately $80 million realized in calendar year 2017 and $100 million realized in calendar year 2018. Iron Mountain continues to estimate total costs of approximately $300 million in one-time costs to integrate the businesses, achieve the expected synergies and complete the required divestitures, with approximately $220 million expected to be treated as operating expenses and $80 million expected to be treated as capital expenditures.
Iron Mountain has previously communicated its intent to pursue additional value creating initiatives such as its transformation plan and expanded multi-year plans for developed , emerging markets, and adjacent businesses and real estate portfolio expansion. Iron Mountain estimates these initiatives will create approximately $60 million of additional earnings by 2018 with a proportional increase in Normalized FFO and AFFO. Therefore, when Iron Mountain's forecast is updated with these initiatives, the estimated realized accretion from the proposed Recall acquisition will, on a percentage basis, be lower than accretion estimates that do not include these initiatives in the base assumptions. As a result, Iron Mountain expects Adjusted EPS accretion in 2018 when giving effect to these initiatives to be 10%, as compared with 15% accretion on the same basis as the original transaction announcement in June 2015.
Additional information related to accretion on the original basis can be found in Iron Mountain's Current Report on Form 8-K which will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission tomorrow morning, and details related to accretion, including Iron Mountain's expanded growth plan, as well as updates to Iron Mountain's 2016 guidance can be found in the investor presentation available HERE.
Iron Mountain estimates it will receive approximately $220 million in proceeds from the divestitures resulting from the Scheme. Iron Mountain anticipates that for every $25 million change in proceeds, Adjusted EPS accretion will shift approximately 0.3% in the same direction. Upon successful completion of these divestitures, Iron Mountain anticipates using the net proceeds to repay its long term debt obligations and/or outstanding borrowings under its Revolving Credit Facility and ultimately reinvest those proceeds in the business.
Iron Mountain intends to declare and pay its regular second quarterly dividend in the latter portion of the second quarter, including on shares of common stock issued to Recall shareholders in the Recall transaction, assuming the Recall transaction closes on or prior to the record date for such dividend.
In addition, the company is reiterating its expectations for dividend growth and deleveraging consistent with the 2020 targets originally presented.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Business News
Flash
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Friday fired off a ground-to-air missile into eastern waters, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.
The short-range missile, which flew about 100 km, was launched at around 12:45 p.m. local time (0345 GMT) from the eastern region near the coast of Seondeok in South Hamgyeong province.
The launch came just three days after Pyongyang fired one round of its new 300-mm multiple rocket launcher in northeastern direction.
With projectile launches in recent weeks, Pyongyang has shown its protest against the ongoing U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises and newly-adopted international sanctions on the DPRK.
South Korean President Park Geun-hye, who attended the two-day nuclear security summit in Washington, reiterated her position on Thursday of focusing on sanctions, rather than dialogue, to make the DPRK abandon its nuclear program.
The DPRK started off a new year by detonating what it claimed was its hydrogen bomb on Jan. 6, the fourth of its nuclear tests, followed by the launch of a long-range rocket, which was condemned as a disguised test of ballistic missile technology, on Feb. 7.
UN Security Council unanimously adopted tougher-than-ever sanctions on Pyongyang on March 2, and South Korea introduced its standalone restrictions on its northern neighbor such as a ban on foreign ships staying at the DPRK ports from entering the South Korean territory.
Annually-held spring war games between Seoul and Washington kicked off on March 7. The Key Resolve command post exercise ended 12 days later, but the Foal Eagle field training exercise would last until later this month.
Pyongyang has denounced the U.S.-South Korea military exercises as a dress rehearsal for northward invasion.
By SA Commercial Prop News
Headlining the property auction is a landmark retail and office centre - Price City - situated at 350 Umgeni Road in the established commercial suburb of central Durban known as Old Fort.
Aucor Property will hold its April multiple commercial auction in Johannesburg on the 14th of April 2016 at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Rosebank at 12h00.
The auction is set to feature 19 different properties located across the country. Headlining the auction is a landmark retail and office centre - Price City - situated at 350 Umgeni Road in the established commercial suburb of central Durban known as Old Fort.
Warren Aronson, Business Development Executive for Aucor Property comments, This property is ideally suited to investor looking to expand a portfolio into the Durban CBD area. The major attraction on this particular lot is that there is a lease in place until January 2020 with the Department of Home Affairs. The lease has a negotiated gross monthly rental income amounts to R299 000 per month, with this tenant drawing high volumes of feet to the property, which the other tenants benefit from. The property has a gross annual income of just over R7,200,000.00
Situated on just under 15,000sqm on Umgeni Road, which is a major arterial route that links the Durban CBD to Durban North and the N2 highway, the property benefits from excellent exposure onto Umgeni Road, as well as the Durban Train Station in close proximity to the site. As a result of this there is high volumes of both passing vehicular and foot traffic. The property is currently zoned for commercial, retail and service industry purposes. The total GLA is 9,812m
The property features three buildings and has 3 major tenants, being the Department of Home Affairs; Trans-Natal Butchery and Abattoir, who have been tenants for 18 years and Trademore Cash & Carry. The Home Affairs portion of the building was recently renovated has various waiting room areas, offices and 5 central air-conditioning units. The remainder of the building is fitted to tenant requirements.
Aronson concludes, It is not often that a property of this calibre in this location comes onto the market and the combination of a long term and entrenched tenant, solid annual income figures and the excellent location in an established and busy commercial node has made this property extremely desirable to investors.
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 ...
Dear Editor,
Well it goes back to that question What does China get out of these projects?
Quite a few people automatically go to the usual brain dead reply that China wants Samoas land.
No, what china gets out of these deals is that their workers are employed working on it and it is their companies that get the deals from the Chinese government to build these things.
If China is going to pay $400 million up front to make this airport happen, then their government wants something out of it for the benefit of their people.
Samoa doesnt have a cool $400 million lying around. There are certainly not enough taxpayers in Samoa to pay enough tax to fund something like this up front.
There are no other regional financial institutions or governments that would ever agree to building something like this in Samoa.
So yes, this is exactly what China gets out of it. It is either that or you can wait another 50 years for enough money to be saved up for Samoa to build an airport like this where Samoa can dictate that its workers work on it.
What does Samoa get out of it?
Samoa gets a modern airport built. This airport becomes a catalyst for economic growth because it facilitates more aircraft and flights and therefore more people flying into Samoa.
Already Tahiti Nui has signed up to fly into Samoa several times a week, including direct flights to Asia and the US mainland, as well as providing competition for Air New Zealand on the Auckland-Apia route.
Those people come with foreign cash to spend in Samoas economy and it is that money that goes into Samoan pockets.
The tourism earnings for Samoa are already at over $300 million a year. This will only grow in years to come. The capacity of the current airport cannot handle 2 flights at once. In fact, it can barely handle 1 big flight.
What else does Samoa get out of it?
The increased retail space at the airport is able to provide for ways for the airport to pay for itself (hence the loan repayments). Samoan products and retailers to market their wares to an increased market.
Furthermore, the development loan is at something like 2% concessional rates and with long grace periods. Tell me what commercial bank would ever loan out at such stupidly low rates and long grace periods?
PS Jeffrey
If this is not enough to make one believe, then I dont know what else to prove to the unbelievers and evil-doers. Believe and have faith. Stigmata is for real. Im envious of this young woman
A Samoan woman claiming to have suffered stigmata -- the injuries Jesus suffered when he was crucified -- has become the subject of hot debate.
People in Samoa are divided in belief after a 23-year-old woman was pictured with wounds on her feet and the palms of her hands.
Media named her as Toaipuapuaga Opapo Soanai, and she bore injuries to her side and forehead.
The wounds mirror those Christ suffered before and during his crucifixion. His side was pierced and a crown of thorns was pushed on to his head, causing him to bleed.
The woman, who is the daughter of a church minister, told local media she began seeing visions days before Easter.
She played the part of Jesus in a Sunday School Easter play, during which church members noticed wounds appearing on her body.
Video footage of the play show congregation members approaching the front of the church, where she had collapsed, to fan her.
Her claims have sparked huge debate in the highly religious island nation.
Members of the public have taken to social media to discuss the authenticity of the womans claims.
Many people are backing Ms. Soanai, calling the event a miracle.
If this is not enough to make one believe, then I dont know what else to prove to the unbelievers and evil-doers, one woman wrote.
Believe and have faith. Stigmata is for real. Im envious of this young woman, another wrote.
Many others, however, are skeptical, and many are calling the woman a hoax.
One man said people were become gullible and blind.
My newsfeed is blowing up with this stigmata case in Samoa. I dunno. Lets take it with a grain of salt, he wrote.
This could likely be just a very vulnerable girl who is self-harming and were just feeding into the delusion. Another said: Most stupidest thing Ive ever seen. For one, Jesus died once and for all, so that we dont suffer and be spiritually dead. No human being can ever fathom the pain he went through when being crucified.
Video footage of Ms Soanai, who spoke to TV1 Samoa about her experience, was posted on the group Samoa Mo Samoa.
As of this afternoon, the footage had been viewed more than 20,000 times and attracted hundreds of comments.
Cases of stigmata have been heard of in many parts of the world over the years, particularly with people connected to the Roman Catholic Church.
The Cox family from the United States of America has arrived in Samoa bearing gifts for the children of Pesega Fou Primary School.
The presentation was done on Thursday at the schools campus with the Cox Family personally presenting about US$1,500 worth of goods to the children.
We brought with us a lot of dental kits; mostly tooth brushes, toothpaste and dental floss. We also brought five laptops with some English learning software for the school to use and lots of books for the library here, family member, Curtis Cox said.
The American family is no stranger to Samoa.
We came over to Samoa in 1978-1980, my father was a school teacher here in the islands at C.C.W.S and weve always wanted to return here for a long time, he said.
They had four kids with me being the oldest of my siblings and we all started school here.
The family has been waiting to come back and to hopefully give back to the Samoan community.
We really wanted to come back here and we know that there is a lot of need in Samoa. So we came up with a service project to see how we can help; we placed our focus on the children here, Mr. Cox said. I was a child of Samoa back in the days which is what gives me the heart for the children here.
When asked for future plans Mr. Cox said the desire to help is still strong.
We want to continue doing this in the future especially me I love this country. We have been back before and we did similar projects in the past. I would like to come back here and continue helping where were needed, theres a lot of good people in America that want to help through donations.
The family was successful with rallying support of other Americans.
We got a lot of good responses from people who wanted to help through donations. I would love to come back in the future and to help more people.
Being in the school to present the gifts brought back many fond memories for Mr. Cox.
I was in the old Pesega School and coming back here brings so many great memories especially seeing the uniforms that I once wore, he said.
I remember watching rugby a lot by the field; I also remember a lot of chickens and dogs running around the school; I remember the beautiful singing by the school children; and I remember going to the beach a lot with my family.
Mr. Cox concluded with a word of thanks.
Were just grateful to be here and I want to say thank you to everyone who made this possible. We are excited to be able to help the students here and we have a great love for the Samoan people.
Members of Parliament have been urged to address the issue of child labour among other challenges to protect and promote human rights in Samoa.
The call comes from the Ombudsman and Commissioner of Human Rights, Maiava Iulai Toma, who was one of several guest speakers during a Parliament symposium held at Tuanaimato media center on Thursday.
The symposium was guided by the theme Samoa: 53 years and 16 Parliaments on Leadership, Governance & the Rule of Law.
Maiava highlighted some of the issues and recommendations from the 2015 State of Human Rights Report. One of them is child labour.
Common issue survey participants identified that needs to be addressed is children as street vendors, he said.
Many children themselves indicated that one of the things they would like to see changed in Samoa is kids selling goods at the market. Despite these strong measures to combat this form of child labour, enforcement is weak and children are still seen engaging in street vending during school hours.
The Ombudsman said the issue here was to unpack why child street vending is still a challenge despite the regulatory efforts to prevent it.
Child labour is largely driven by vulnerabilities caused by economic vulnerabilities and deprivation, he explained.
The N.H.R.I (National Human Rights Institution) recognises the potential of education to break intergenerational cycles that hold people down. Unless families are empowered to choose education over exploitative labour, this issue will continue to be a challenge.
In every problem there is always a solution.
A recommendation that Maiava challenged M.Ps to take onboard is for government, communities and families must address barriers to education through the recognition of a collective responsibility for the welfare of children.
By doing this government needs to ensure that S.S.F.G.S (Secondary School Fee Grant Scheme) is continued and sustainable, extended through year 13 and to consider increasing public expenditure one education in general.
Maiava also pointed to communities particularly attendance officers need to take a more active role in preventing child street vending.
He added families have to prioritise the education of their children.
Another issue that the Ombudsman stressed is the rights of a child and correcting the misunderstanding about the rights of a child.
Consultation indicated widespread misconceptions about the implications of human rights for Samoas children, explained Maiava.
These factors are commonly raised concern in focus group discussions was that human rights give children the freedom to misbehave and disobey their parents.
Secondly, traditional status of a Samoan child within the family is that the child must obey and do as she/he is told by their parents without further discussion.
Lastly, children themselves have misunderstood what their rights are, which further adds to the concerns raised by parents.
Maiava suggested to dispel the misconception about the rights of the child for both parents and children through community education campaigns and programmes led by the N.H.R.I in collaboration with Ministry of Women, Education and relevant N.G.Os.
The Ombudsman also touched on the rights of people with disabilities.
He said in order for people with disabilities to participate fully in all aspect of life, the government must take appropriate measures to facilitate all forms of access on an equal basis with others.
These forms range from environment to transportation, information and communication to other facilities and services open or provided to the public both in urban and rural areas.
Maiava made it clear that the importance of protecting and promoting human rights does not rest solely with his office.
As parliamentarians you make laws, as lawmakers and as elected representatives you can play a key role in upholding the rule of law by ensuring that domestic legislation is compatible with constitution and international human rights obligations.
It is up to you as parliamentarians to introduce, debate and ultimately pass legislation with respect to Samoas aforementioned human rights obligationsnot all legislation that is passed by this parliament will involve actively protecting human rights.
However, Maiava believes that it is also just as important that the parliament ensures that all the legislation which is introduced and passed is not ever in contravention of the obligation contained within human rights treaties that Samoa has become a signatory to.
It is crucial as Members of Parliament that you are aware of these obligations and I have instructed the Office of the Ombudsman and the N.H.R.I to look for ways in which we can work with the Office of the Speaker to hold information sessions to assist members of parliament in understanding these important international obligations.
Santino Barros has come a long way to achieve a qualification.
The man from the Island of Timor Leste was among 200 hundred graduates who celebrated sweet success at the National University of Samoa yesterday (see story pages 4 and 5).
Mr. Barros graduated with a Post Graduate Diploma in Development Studies.
Timor Leste, also known as East Timor, is located in the South Asian Seas separating Australia and Indonesia.
For Mr. Barros, yesterday was a proud moment.
The process in which led me to get this far has been a huge struggle, he admits during an interview with the Weekend Observer.
Not only am I in a foreign country away from my family but the language barrier was a real challenge for me.
I struggled with the English language and communicating with Samoans who sometimes have limited English as well. It was very tough for me.
But to his credit, he conquered the odds and was all smiles yesterday.
But this is just the beginning for a man who has his eyes set on a Masters level qualification.
When the plane brought me to Samoa last year February, I promised myself that I would reach the sun but right now I have only reached the moon, he said.
The sun represents a Masters level degree and the moon is the Post Graduate level which I have just completed. I know I will get to the sun one day.
So far, he says his time here in Samoa is something he will remember forever.
Although I did not complete my goal of getting a Masters I am still happy with my one year here in Samoa. The good times that I have spent with my Samoan friends, learning the way of life here and the Faasamoa.
Life back in my country is similar to Samoa. Throughout my time here I missed my family, friends and country but I knew that I had to finish what I started.
Now Samoa is my second home and half of my heart belongs here; I will miss Samoa when I go back.
Mr. Barros added that he has been waiting a long time to graduate and to become an official member of N.U.Ss Alumni.
Today is a joyous day for me, my family and my country. I was meant to go back in December last year but I wanted to stay a little longer and to be a N.U.S Alumni. I have been waiting for four months to officially graduate.
But none of this would have been possible without the help and support of friends and loved ones.
Firstly I would like to give thanks to the source of all knowledge and strength who is God, we are nothing without him, he said.
Secondly I want to say thank you to my Samoan friends who I see as my family now. They supported and helped me throughout the one year that I stayed here and I dont know what I would do without them.
Mr. Barros concluded with a message to all the students still working hard.
Nowadays education is important all over the world especially for developing countries. So its important that those who have finished school pursue higher level educations.
Recently violence has cast the spotlight on Taiwans death penalty and its mental health support services effectiveness. Rev. Kou Shaoen, a well-known Chinese pastor in Taiwan, calls for church to take her responsibility in Society of Taiwan.
The beheading of a 4-year-old girl in Taiwan has sparked calls to make greater use of the islands death penalty.
The said attacks came as investigators said a man suspected of beheading a 4yo girl on Monday was mentally ill. This has triggered heated discussion on responsibility to this kind of issue.
A well-known Chinese Pastor, Rev. Kou Shaoen shared his thoughts on this heated issue. As many people discussing who would be responsible for this, Rev Kou claims that churches in Taiwan should take this responsibility.
Its not the family, says Rev. Kou, but the church, that should be responsible for this.
Rev. Kou shares a story of a young preacher. The said young preacher is doing mission currently, who used to be covered in wounds.
The said preachers father used to be married for ten times! So the preacher have no idea about his mother, even he doesnt know who his mother is! He suffered a lot due to his step-mother(s).
At his age of 15, the suffered boy converted to Christianity, in a nightclub. Since then his life has totally changed. In church, covered by the love of God, he was healed.
Up to now he is a great father of two.
He used to be a poor boy, a potential twisted, marginalized people. However, by the great power of Gospel, he became a preacher to save so many souls.
Sharing this true story, Rev. Kou calls for the churches and Christians in Taiwan not only to care for themselves, but to meet the deep need of the world and society, to be the salt and light of the world.
Translated by: Elianna
Xcel Energy on Friday filed a request with the Wisconsin Public Service Corporation for a 2.4 percent rate increase for electricity and a 3.9 percent increase for natural gas.
The utility said for the typical residential customer that translates into an increase of $1.73 a month for electricity and $2.49 for natural gas.
The increases would generate the utility $17.4 million for electricity and $4.8 million for natural gas.
The rate increase application is about a month earlier than normal, said Donald F. Reck, regional vice president of rates and regulatory affairs for Xcel Energy. If the PSC approves, Reck said the new rates would go into effect in January 2017.
Xcel Energy has 247,000 electric customers in Wisconsin and 107,000 natural gas customers.
Its true that natural gas prices are near 15 year lows, Reck said.
But fuel prices arent why the utility are asking for the electric increase.
The main driver of this request are capital investments, he said.
For example, about 40 percent of the request is for transmission and distribution. Items such as poles get old and need replacement, he said.
Another 25 percent of the natural rate hike would go to investments in regional service centers, such as updating ones in Hudson and Ironwood, Michigan.
Buying updated software applications take up another 20 percent,and the remainder pays for the generation of electricity, such as a new wind farm in Stutsman County, North Dakota and additional investments in the utilitys Prairie Island Nuclear Power Plant near Red Wing, Minnesota.
Half of the utilitys energy output will not generate carbon, and the company intends to push that up to 63 percent by 2030.
Reck said the utilitys request for a natural gas rate hike is tied to the cleanup of its site in Ashland. The utility bought the site in the 1980s and didnt know the extent of the cleanup that would be needed.
We need to clean this up and clean up the right way, Reck said. The cost of the cleanup will be spread over 10 years.
Reck said unlike last year, the utilitys rate increase requests will not involve increasing the monthly fixed rate.
One item the utility is delaying is a solar energy operation in the town of Wheaton.
Were not proceeding as fast as we first anticipated, Reck said, saying Congress has extended the investment tax credit for solar energy. That credit had been set to end this year.
Xcel has a conditional use permit from Chippewa County for the project, but the utility wanted more time to check how the facility should be operated. For example, Reck said a third party could own the facility while Xcel could buy the energy being generated.
By Marianne Ratcliff
Santa Paula News
By Marianne Ratcliff
For the Santa Paula Times
After blowing into a trumpet, 8-year-old Emma Ruiz rubbed her lips. It makes them feel very strange, she said.
Grace Thille School third-graders banged on drums and xylophones, blew into trumpets, trombones, French horns, flutes and piccolos, ran bows over violins and cellos and tried even more instruments from the woodwind, brass, strings and percussion families on Monday, March 3. Ojai Music Festivals BRAVO! Music Van made a lot of noise on its first visit to Santa Paula. The Santa Paula connection continues June 12 when the Ojai Music Festival brings a community street party to Santa Paulas Main Street.
Yahir Montiel, 8, had just one word before racing to the next instrument: Fun!
Nine-year-old Jared Camarillo, a natural on the French horn and trumpet, had an ear-to-ear smile.
Erick Alejos, 8, looked like a violin maestro.
The Music Van, on loan from the Santa Barbara Symphony Music Education Center, usually takes instruments and volunteers from the Ojai Music Festival and Ojai Womans Committee to Ojai schools and two Ventura schools. I am so pleased the students have this opportunity that we are piloting for third-graders at Grace Thille, said Kathy Thorne, Santa Paula Unified School District elementary school band director. This hands-on experience will motivate them. This is going to spark their interest in playing in band.
By Peggy Kelly
Santa Paula News
The Ventura County District Attorneys Office will seek the death penalty against an Oxnard man awaiting trial for murder in the shooting death of a Santa Paula woman more than two years ago.
Andres Rene Rodriguez, now 31, is charged with murder in the July 2013 death of 33-year-old Angela Bryant at a friends residence on Ojai Road in Santa Paula.
Rodriguez is also charged with the attempted murder of a second victim and the kidnapping and robbery of a third victim in a three-day crime spree in Santa Paula.
Bryant, the mother of young children, was found July 17, 2013 with a single gunshot wound to the head in a home in the 600 block of Ojai Road. She died shortly later at Ventura County Medical Center.
Rodriguez, a longtime member of the Colonia Chiques gang, is accused of robbing Bryant, a man and another woman at gunpoint July 15, 2013. According to the investigation, later that day Rodriguez found his property was missing and he allegedly was led to believe that Bryant had been involved in a retaliatory theft.
Two days later, Rodriguez entered the Ojai Road home and opened fire on a man and Bryant who were attempting to hide in the bathroom; the man escaped through a window and was not wounded.
Rodriguez, who knew all three victims, fled to Mexico where he remained until being caught and deported back to the United States.
A pretrial conference in the murder case is set for June.
Rodriguez remains in jail and while he technically has bail listed at $3.1 million due to his status as a violent criminal and gang member he cannot be released.
Santa Paula News
Agriculture students Santa Paula High School learn to graft apples with a Learn by Doing demonstration from the members of the California Rare Fruit Growers (CRFG) of the Ventura County Chapter. Agromin generously donated 60 bags of soil and Otto & Sons Nursery donated 125 one gallon pots to help conduct the workshop. The Santa Paula High School agriculture program recently purchased semi-dwarf apple rootstocks from the CRFG. These rootstocks are then grafted over the students favorite variety of apple. Grafting is common in the fruit orchard and the nursery to produce trees and fruit, which are true to form and taste.
The members of the CRFG assist with the grafting process and provide the semi-dwarf rootstock. Students learn about the various career and education opportunities. Students can attend Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, Fresno State or UC Davis and major in fruit and crop production, environmental horticulture, or agriculture education. High school instructor, Mr. Flores, said It is a great way for our students to learn to graft and understand the process of propagation. In a way, they are cloning their favorite apple tree. In addition, the price is right! The rootstock will produce a semi-dwarf apple tree, which will grow to be about 70% as tall as a full sized tree.
The grafting technique is not a difficult one. It involves the use of a very sharp knife to expose both the rootstock and the dormant top, called a scion. These two plants then heal together and grow into a single tree. Students will know if their graft is successful in just a few short weeks when the top begins to grow new leaves. In one year, the trees will grow to 3-5 feet tall. These will be planted or moved to a larger container. The tree will be allowed to set only one apple in their second year because the goal is to produce a big strong tree at an early age rather than produce 5 to 10 apples! Bill Brandt, member of the CRFG said, We enjoy going to different schools to teach this vital skill. Many students dont know how our food is grown and conducting this workshop allows them learn hands-on how to grow a fruit tree.
Santa Paula News
Santa Paula Latino Town Hall, Nueva Vista Media, and Santa Paula High M.E.Ch.A students will be bringing El Bracero Mariachi Opera to the Santa Paula High School Auditorium on March 31st at 7p.m. as part of Cesar Chavez Day celebrations.
Set in the 1950s at the height of the Bracero program, El Bracero is a dynamic one-act Mariachi Opera which fuses mariachi music, ballet folklorico, and powerful opera style set pieces. El Bracero highlights the challenges and injustices workers faced in the U.S. and focuses on the bracero camps in Ventura County in the 1950s.
Were proud to bring El Bracero to Santa Paula in honor of Cesar Chavez Day, says Lorenzo Moraza, President of Santa Paula Latino Town Hall. El Bracero dramatically portrays the obstacles legal farmworkers faced in Oxnard, Fillmore, Santa Paula and throughout the state, says Moraza.
El Bracero was written by Rosalinda Verde from Visalia, CA and made its theatre debut on January 16, 2016, at the Oxnard College Performing Arts Center. The performance was sold out and two Encore performances held on February 6, 2016 were sold out. The play is performed in Spanish with English subtitles.
By Peggy Kelly
Santa Paula News
A Santa Paulan showed up in a Ventura County Superior court Thursday with $4,600, the first payment for embezzling funds from the Santa Paula High School Band Booster Club.
The sentencing hearing for Michael Suniga was held March 17; Suniga pled guilty late last year to one count of grand theft embezzlement.
Suniga, 31, a Santa Paula High School graduate and band member who stayed active in the program, was sentenced to 330 days in county jail and 5 years probation.
According to Santa Paula Police Sgt. Cody Madison, A restitution hearing has yet to be held but Suniga did agree to pay back at least $17,000 and appeared in court with $4,600 cash.
The Santa Paula Police Department would like to thank the Ventura County District Attorney prosecutors and investigators for their assistance in this case, added Madison.
The case surfaced on April 28, 2014 when members of the SPHS Band Booster Club, an organization separate from the school district, reported their concern to the SPPD that they had been victimized by a member, Suniga, the clubs treasurer.
By Peggy Kelly
Santa Paula News
Almost a dozen Santa Paulans told the City Council Monday that a proposed power peaker plant that filed an application to be built just west of the city has targeted the city with a project that more than one speaker said represents environmental racism.
At the March 21 meeting the council received an update on the proposed Mission Rock Energy Center and efforts by its owner, Texas based Calpine Corp. to build the peaker plant south of Highway 126 just west of Briggs Road.
City Manager Jaime Fontes told the council Calpine purchased the land in 2013 and was unsuccessful in winning the SCE (Southern California Edison) energy bid; but he added the site could become an alternative location if an existing proposal for a peaker plant in Oxnard fails. The Oxnard site has been the focus of California Public Utilities Commission hearings.
The six phase process takes years and Fontes said Calpine in an abundance of caution filed the application which would add value to the almost 10 acres they now own.
He noted that the Calpine representative Mitch Weinberg would be receiving a CD of the meeting so he could familiarize himself with public and council comment before making an appearance at the April 4 meeting.
Councilwoman Ginger Gherardi said she came across the application filed December 31, 2015 by accident and was upset that although the city is not considered in the locations jurisdiction as the proposed plants closest neighbor the city should be consulted.
We already had to respond out there, to the November 2014 Santa Clara Waste Water Green Compass chemical explosions and fire where three Santa Paula firefighters were injured and have yet to return to duty; one has since retired.
If theres an incident, at the location Gherardi said the city would again be the first responder based on proximity although it is outside the citys jurisdiction.
It will be a long process, she noted, but were now at the table
Public speakers included Maricela Morales, executive director for CAUSE, who noted its opposition to new fossil fuel projects in general and those now primarily located in low-income communities specifically such as Oxnard. Santa Paula also has more than its share of polluting projects and she said energy companies prey on low income communities and communities of color as such projects are not seen in wealthier, less diverse areas.
Nate Pidduck, a Santa Paula native whose family has farmed in the valley for five generations, urged the council to strongly oppose the Mission Rock Energy Center, and to focus on the facts and science behind this outdated and inefficient technology and not be misled or swayed by the unsubstantiated and often never to be seen promises of future philanthropic benefits that will be directed to Santa Paula if they support this peaker power plant.
He asked the council to focus on the danger of such a facility and The harm it will cause any future positive growth to Santa Paula, focus on the air pollution rates that will increase over Santa Paula, focus on the public health harm that increased particulate matter in the air will cause including asthma, focus on the 24-hour light pollution that will illuminate the entire valley, focus on the science. The rest of California is moving away from this type of outdated, inefficient and dangerous gas fueled peaker power plant technology.
Pidduck also criticized Councilman Jim Tovias for his support of the project and Limoneira Co., which had entered into an agreement to sell the facility annually 170-acre-feet of recycled water.
Sheryl Hamlin addressed several facets of the project and process and noted that Calpine acknowledged that Foothill Road and Highway 126 are eligible for official scenic driver designations. They were never granted as requested by the Heritage Valley Tourism Bureau, which Hamlin said could be the justification for Calpines obstruction of views in these areas.
Even the CPUC she added has made the astounding decision to delay the hearings on the proposed Oxnard facility due to social justice issues.
AE Group President Phil White, a Santa Paula native, was formerly the director of the countys Air Pollution Control District. He urged the council to promote alternatives and Solarize Santa Paula as other cities have been doing.
Peaker plants said White are a major source of nitrogen, oxide and air particulates that are particularly harmful to children and the elderly.
The county already exceeds federal and state air quality standards and White told the council Others have spoken up, so should you
Gail Pidduck said that although she is an area native with at times strong views she has never addressed the council but this issue is too serious to ignore.
She said even SCE considers such plants outdated and, as a Limoneira stockholder, she has expressed her disappointment to the company.
Overall, said Pidduck, Give us a say in the health of our town
Four Santa Paula High School students addressed the council including Maria Elena Terrazas, who said certain particulates cannot be filtered and poisonous air created by the plant would affect the lungs of those outside. Protection and restoration of the Santa Clara River would be sacrificed by those just to make a buck and she suggested solar and windmill technology that could be placed in the areas orchards.
Nicole Enriquez, an officer in SESPEA (Students Encouraging Social, Political & Environmental Action), was one of the first to publicly mention the proposed project after she learned of it at a hearing for the Oxnard plant which she also opposes.
She told the council the states goal of 50 percent renewable energy by 2030 and said the plant would work against this goal while being a dangerous eyesore.
Mirelle Vargas and Larry Renteria, also SPHS students, also offered comments about their objections to the plant noting its impact on agriculture, danger from leaks such as Porter Ranch and the historical culture of the river valleys agriculture.
Jim Procter thanked the council for bringing this matter to our attention and noted he had a few questions for Calpine including how many tons of pollutants including greenhouse gases would be emitted into the air.
By Peggy Kelly
Santa Paula News
New charges were filed against four Santa Clara Waste Water - Green Compass officials as well as the business entities for a variety of alleged offenses, ranging from handling hazardous waste causing unreasonable risk and withholding information regarding a substantial danger to public safety to conspiracy and beyond.
District Attorney Greg Totten announced the new charges March 23 after the businesses along with Chairman Douglas Edwards, CEO William Mitzel, Assistant General Manager Marlene Faltemier and Vice President Charles Mundy were named in an indictment issued by a Grand Jury late last week.
The companies and the four officials were charged with handling hazardous waste causing unreasonable risk, disposal of hazardous waste, failure to update business plan, failure to update hazardous material inventory, withholding information regarding a substantial danger to public safety, submission of false statements, interference of enforcement and conspiracy.
Tottens statement noted that, by proceeding via indictment, no preliminary hearing will be held and all charges currently pending may be consolidated and set for jury trial.
Prosecutors said the alleged charges stem from a search by District Attorney investigators on November 5 at the SCWW facility west of Santa Paula.
Investigators had been tipped off that the company was allegedly storing hazardous materials in a storage trailer; what they allegedly found was more than 5,000 gallons of a highly corrosive chemical that the company had not previously reported to county environmental regulators as required by law.
During the search it was reported that one person received a burn injury from coming into contact with the material, identified by prosecutors as Saxon 10-81/Petromax, which they described as a corrosive chemical cleaning agent.
The allegations in the indictment replace those claimed in a felony complaint filed December 11 against the businesses, Mitzel and Faltemier, which was based on the same search.
New evidence led to the indictments of Edwards and Mundy, according to Senior Deputy District Attorney Karen Wold.
The four as well as other SCWW-GC officials and the businesses are facing a 71-count indictment issued in August. Now, by proceeding with the new case via indictment, prosecutors may be able to get the charges consolidated with the earlier case stemming from the November 2014 explosions at the facility that left dozens injured some seriously.
APRIL FOOLS (No Joke): Atheists fume after school censors sexually suggestive literature 01 April, 2016 by Gregory Tomlin , |
DELTA, Colo. (Christian Examiner) A school district in Colorado is scheduled to allow students access to atheist and Satanic literature April 1, but the atheist group that pushed for entry to the schools is crying foul after administrators chose to censor two of its pamphlets.
The Wisconsin-based Freedom from Religion Foundation is providing much of the literature, which will appear alongside literature from the Western Colorado Atheists and Freethinkers and the Satanic Temple. The two pamphlets in question, however, will not appear as they were originally offered.
One, An X-Rated Book: Sex and Obscenity in the Bible, features a cartoon of an angry Bible groping a woman. What Does the Bible Say About Abortion? the second pamphlet features a woodcutting of Adam and Eve on its cover. Both figures are nude.
"It is inappropriate in a school setting; we would not allow any of the high school students to wear or otherwise display such a cartoon," Aaron Clay, an attorney for the school district, said in response to the atheist group. "Why would we allow them to carry it in the building? It may also qualify as hate literature, demeaning women."
Censoring the materials in this case falls squarely within the school district's rights and its policies. While the district notes it cannot discriminate by refusing to allow the groups to offer free literature to students, they can limit the offerings if the materials promote or depict violence or are obscene or pornographic, a news release from the district said.
Controversy began in the small Colorado town when a teacher took students to the library in one of the schools in December. The teacher informed students during the visit that the Gideons International had provided Bibles for them in English and Spanish if they wanted to take one. According to FFRF, the Bibles were positioned near the door so students would have to make a choice as they left the room.
Many students took a Bible. However, one student objected to the giveaway, snapped a photo of the stacks of red and blue Bibles on her cell phone, and sent it to her mother. The mother then contacted FFRF, alleging that students who did not take a Bible were bullied or "shamed" by other students. FFRF objected to the Gideons' distribution of Bibles and later requested the opportunity to submit materials for students to review.
On Feb. 29, Clay responded in a letter on behalf of the district. He said the district was "not disqualifying the Gideons from making their materials available" and explained that any error in how the Bibles were distributed was on the part of school personnel and not the Gideons International. He also claimed the atheist group could "directly submit any materials you wish to have made available to students" to Superintendent Caryn Gibson.
It is inappropriate in a school setting; we would not allow any of the high school students to wear or otherwise display such a cartoon. ... Why would we allow them to carry it in the building? It may also qualify as hate literature, demeaning women.
On March 3, FFRF's attorney Andrew Seidel sent the district a list of materials it would be providing for students. On the list was the pamphlet about the "X-rated" sexual practices contained in the Bible and a Satanic coloring book. The Satanic coloring book will be allowed.
FFRF, however, claims the school district now should bow to its wishes and allow its full complement of literature. According to the atheist group's co-president, Annie Laurie Gaylor, the district's leadership "misses the point entirely."
"The cover image [on the "X-rated Bible" pamphlet] is a feminist cartoon whose message is that the Bible itself demeans women," Gaylor said.
The group's attorney also weighed in on the notion that some of the literature could be described as hate literature and pornography. The image on the abortion piece is from a famous woodcutting by German artist Albrecht Durer.
"The idea that that the pamphlet qualifies as hate literature is absurd, and if you're banning it on those grounds, then the district must ban the Bible too," Seidel said. "If you actually examine the pamphlet, you will see that it is comprised almost entirely of Bible quotes. There is absolutely no way for the district to exclude the pamphlet and allow the Bible to be distributed."
"The school has no ability to censor any materials based on their viewpoint once it opens a forum," Seidel also said. "That is why open forums in public schools are such a bad idea. If you want to open a forum, you do not get to determine what is acceptable and not."
Rather than keep the pamphlet out of the schools, FFRF has announced it modified the cover of the "X-rated Bible" booklet with a sticker covering the feminist cartoon. It reads "Censored by order of Delta County Schools." The district has not said yet if it will ultimately allow the work.
In addition to the placement of atheist and Satanic literature in the schools, members of the Western Colorado Atheists and Freethinkers will host a forum for students called, "Ask an Atheist." The purpose of the program is to "dispel some of the myths about atheism." In the eyes of the FFRF, such a presentation is acceptable, though they would likely object to a similar Christian presentation.
The school district has issued a notice of its policy. In it, it claims there will "possibly be non-curricular materials that are distributed" in middle and high schools on April 1. According to the policy, only school employees will be allowed to oversee the presentation of the literature. It also claims, "Non-curricular literature is optional for students. It is not a requirement at any time."
By Peggy Kelly
Santa Paula News
Its time for the City Council to again invest in the economic future of the Heritage Valley by promoting tourism the representative of the area visitors bureau said at the March 21 meeting.
The Heritage Valley Tourism Bureau, according to Executive Director Talia Wunder, was created in 1997 as a economic initiative to promote tourism in our valley, including Santa Paula, Fillmore, Lake Piru and the nationally designated historic landmark Rancho Camulos.
The concept of turning the Santa Clara River Valley into a cultural tourism draw was supported by One-hundred percent of travel industry experts that toured the area and would support the area as a tourism destination.
Wunder said It was a simple goal but very dauntingalmost twenty years later some things have changed, some have stayed the same but what hasnt changed is the importance of promoting the Heritage Valley, as a tourist destination.
The potential she added is tremendous but its surface has just been scratched: The United States Travel Association promotes, tourism as an industry that spurs job growth, jobs that cant be outsourcedlocal spending brings higher tax revenues.
Wunder, who is also the film liaison for the city, said she has experienced firsthand the impression Santa Paula makes on filmmakers who often come back to the city after work is done.
Weve had film crews coming back to Santa Paula, to eat and relax, including one party of about 40 that later visited Rabalais after noticing it while on an area film shoot.
Tourism in 2014, said Wunder generated $1.4 billion in revenue nation wide, Enough to pay every firefighter and police officer in the county
In recent years Santa Paulas reputation has suffered: Oxnard has suffered a similar reputation of gang violence as Santa Paula has in the past, but you would never know it if you search online, and read the glowing reports of travelers.
Oxnard said Wunder, Has done a wonderful job of promoting themselves, as a destination including their numerous large festivals.
In addition to building a strong tax base, tourism attracts more visitors and more businesses and more people who live hereI hear all the time from people that visited Santa Paula, and said they would like to move to the city.
By Peggy Kelly
Santa Paula News
There was Rustee, Cigfa and Teddy all lined up for an evening of learning about the aftermath of emergency or disaster and all three of the dogs a vital component of healing. And a representative of the Red Cross also spoke of emergency and disaster response, all the focus of the March 8 program sponsored by the Santa Paula Citizens Corps featuring HOPE Animal-Assisted Crisis Response (AACR).
The free program was held at the Santa Paula Community Center where members of the public got to meet and hear about HOPE dogs, second responder teams that take care of emotional needs in the time of need.
HOPE dogs and their handlers, all volunteers, are involved in the Pacific Southwest Region.
HOPE, according to the organizations website, provides wordless love, quiet companionship, and a brief respite for those affected by crisis
Pam Bertz and Rustee, Constance Howell and Cigfa as well as Katherine Jarrett and Teddy socialized with attendees before the program started including Mayor Martin Hernandez, Vice Mayor Jenny Crosswhite and Councilman John Procter.
There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face, are the wise words of author Ben Williams, the catchphrase of HOPE.
Organizer Samantha Frady introduced Hernandez who welcomed the guests and said although he was pleased to learn about HOPE, Hopefully well not need to invite them back here for any kind of response, due to an emergency or disaster.
Unlike Santa Paula Police and Fire, several that attended the meeting, HOPE comes in after the first responders to deal with peoples emotional needs.
The organization has responded to school campuses to help students and staff deal with the sudden death of a teacher or student, visited major disaster areas where destruction and death is wide spread and dealt with school shooter incidents. There is no response too big or too small for HOPE dogs and their handlers.
Laura Hernandez outlined LISTOS, a Spanish-speaking program for emergency preparedness that recently drew hundreds of people to the community center for a meeting about El Nino.
Howell and Bertz told of HOPE: Its not a first responder, said Howell. our mission is to comfort people, following disaster or trauma.
Our animals are not service dogs, and we must be asked to come, in response to an incident.
Founded in 1998, HOPE is vigilant about making sure they can spot the signs of stress in the dogs as well as their handlers, all whom are volunteers, a necessity after teams responded to the World Trade Center terrorist attacks.
There are now about 250 HOPE teams certified in the United States broken into five regions; handlers must attend continuing education.
Bertz noted HOPE has worked with the American Red Cross although the organization has a policy of not letting animals into shelters.
Tampere, Finland -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/01/2016 -- Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM), a Malaysian public broadcaster has announced tender for HbbTV (Hybrid Broadcast Broadband Television) platform and services in 2015. The tender included the HbbTV carousel insertion system, applications with content creation tools and supporting services to be delivered to RTM Hybrid TV interactive services development platform in preparation for Malaysian DVB-T2 digital television network launch.
Sofia Digital Ltd., a world-leading HbbTV applications and services provider based in Finland, with Malaysian company NU-SECURE NET- 360 Sdn Bhd were awarded to provide the HbbTV solution for RTM. Requested system was delivered and installed to RTM interactive broadcasting department during middle of year 2015 and system was fully available already in September 2015. The system consists of Sofia Backstage HbbTV Platform together with integration into RTM's back-end services. The core of Sofia Digital HbbTV applications include Red-button interactivity, Main service menu, Electronic TV guide, Catch-Up TV / Video / Radio services and 'Superteks' digital teletext news service. These services are available over the broadband Internet and some selected services can be offered using the Digital TV delivery network if there is no Internet connection available at the TV household. RTM's HbbTV solution is currently in trial phase.
Cekal Perangsang Sdn Bhd (CPSB), a Malaysian Broadcast System Integrator is a representative of Sofia Digital Ltd. in Malaysia. CPSB together with NU-SECURE NET- 360 has successfully delivered HbbTV platform to RTM. CPSB has the expertise and ability to give local support and attend to RTM's HbbTV when needed. Another important point is the CPSB's ability to create new HbbTV trial services and possibility to easily edit existing services with Sofia Backstage HbbTV Authoring tool without any coding skills or deep knowledge of HbbTV standard.
RTM has been actively participating in the further development and roadmap of the HbbTV Authoring Tool requirements and has given good ideas for different services, which can be created with this tool. The development of Authoring Tool has been done in good faith among all partners and now RTM is able to create and publish new services easily for their HbbTV trial service menu to be accessed using the remote controller's "red button". Sofia Backstage HbbTV Authoring tool is provided as a web based service to use with any standard PC with Internet HTML browser and it allows template-based application development and editing of existing published applications. New templates will be added regularly to support RTM in their service development.
During the first half of 2016, RTM MyKlik video services will be integrated on the HbbTV trial platform to enable TV viewers to watch RTM TV programs at any time over broadband Internet connection with HbbTV compatible receivers. The interactive HbbTV services of RTM will be expected to be part of Malaysian Digital Television platform launch which is happening right now to reach over 80% of the Malaysian population, and expanding during later this year.
Contact:
Company Name: Sofia Digital Ltd
Phone: +358 10 850 55 50
Address: Tampere, Finland
Email: info@sofiadigital.com
Website: http://www.sofiadigital.com
A team of researchers led by Purdue University scientists Michael Rossmann and Richard Kuhn is the first to determine the structure of the Zika virus, which reveals insights critical to the development of effective antiviral treatments and vaccines. A paper detailing the findings was published online this week in the journal Science.
Zika virus is an emerging mosquito-borne flavivirus closely related to dengue virus. It was first identified in a rhesus monkey from Zika forest in Uganda in 1947 and in mosquitoes Aedes africanus in the same forest in 1948. It was subsequently identified in humans in 1952 in Uganda and Tanzania.
Outbreaks of Zika virus disease have been recorded in Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific.
Zika virus is transmitted to people through the bite of an infected mosquito from the Aedes genus, mainly Aedes aegypti in tropical regions. This is the same mosquito that transmits dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever.
Some evidence suggests the virus can also be transmitted to humans through blood transfusion, perinatal transmission and sexual transmission. However, these modes are very rare. For example, sexual transmission of Zika virus has been described in two cases, and the presence of the Zika virus in semen in one additional case.
The incubation period of Zika virus is typically between 2 and 7 days. Infection is characterized by low grade fever (less than 101.3 degrees Fahrenheit, or 38.5 degrees Celsius) frequently accompanied by a maculopapular rash.
Other common symptoms include muscle pain, joint pain with possible swelling, headache, pain behind the eyes and conjunctivitis. As symptoms are often mild, infection may go unrecognized or be misdiagnosed as dengue.
The ongoing Zika virus epidemic is of special concern because of apparent links to congenital microcephaly, a medical condition in which the brain does not develop properly, resulting in a smaller than normal head, as well as the autoimmune-neurological Guillain Barre syndrome.
To learn more about the structure of the virus and possible ways to therapeutically target it, Dr. Rossmann, Dr. Kuhn and their colleagues used cryo-electron microscopy to analyze a strain isolated from an infected patient during the French Polynesia epidemic in 2013-14.
We were able to determine through cryo-electron microscopy the virus structure at a resolution that previously would only have been possible through X-ray crystallography, Dr. Rossmann said.
The analysis reveals that the structure of Zika virus is very similar to that of other flaviviruses, and particularly similar to dengue.
The scientists also identified regions within the virus structure where it differs from other flaviviruses.
According to the team, the difference is in a region of the E glycoprotein that flaviviruses may use to attach to some human cells.
The variation in the E glycoprotein of Zika virus could explain the ability of the virus to attack nerve cells, as well as the associations of Zika virus infection with birth defects and the Guillian-Barre syndrome.
The structure could inform vaccine development, as the Zika E glycoprotein is a key target of immune responses against the virus.
The information may also be useful for designing treatments such as antiviral drugs or antibodies that interfere with E glycoprotein function.
Further, details on the structural differences between the Zika E glycoprotein and the same protein in dengue virus may make it possible to create diagnostic tests that can distinguish Zika virus infection from dengue infection, a critical need in countries where both Zika and dengue viruses are circulating.
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Devika Sirohi et al. The 3.8 A resolution cryo-EM structure of Zika virus. Science, published online March 31, 2016; doi: 10.1126/science.aaf5316
[MANILA] A tripartite alliance between the World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) is targeting mass dog vaccination in at-risk areas to combat rabies, which kills annually nearly 70,000 people worldwide, mostly children in developing countries.
Rabies is a viral disease that affects the central nervous system of mammals, including humans. Once symptoms appear, the disease is always fatal. Rabies is present on all continents except Antarctica, but according to the WHO, more than 95 per cent of human deaths caused by rabies occur in Africa and Asia.
To target high risk areas, the OIE regional vaccine bank recently enabled the procurement and delivery of canine rabies vaccines to Indonesia (with the support of the Australian government), the Philippines (with purchases made by the WHO) and Tunisia (with funding from the European Union).
Mass dog vaccination is critical to reducing and eventually eliminating rabies from a few defined areas where it is present at low levels, Ronald Schultz, founding chair of the Department of Pathobiological Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine, tells SciDev.Net.
Schultz explains that while eliminating rabies will be impossible where it is endemic in wildlife, it is vital to continue the support of mass vaccinations of domestic dog populations as one step towards significant reduction of the disease.
According to the OIE, mass dog vaccinations have proven to be successful in Mexico, where the number of rabid dogs has nearly dropped to zero after mass dog vaccination campaigns, with a parallel decrease in human cases.
Barbara Hasler, lecturer in agrihealth at the Royal Veterinary College in the United Kingdom, says that both upwards and downwards trends of the disease are possible. This depends strongly on the implementation of effective control strategies, she tells SciDev.Net.
Hasler cites targeted, large-scale rabies control programmes by the Global Alliance for Rabies Control (GARC) such as in the challenging mountainous terrain of Sorsogon province in the Philippines, one of the top ten countries with rabies problem. The 1,251 volunteer vaccinators, composed of village health workers, agricultural and fishery workers and local youth council members, have achieved dog vaccination coverage of 64 per cent, or about 34,500 dogs.
Sarah Jayme, Philippine country representative of GARC, says that mass dog vaccination of at least 70 per cent remains the most cost effective means to control rabies at source while citing the economic cost of rabies annually which is at US$8.6 billion.
The WHO, FAO and OIE anti-rabies alliance has also made making human vaccines and antibodies affordable and ensuring that people who get bitten receive prompt treatment as additional key factors in eliminating the disease.
Louise Taylor, scientific director at GARC, notes, For some travellers, such as those likely to be in close contact with animals, or travelling to very remote areas, vaccination before you travel is recommended. For most, the advice is to understand how to quickly get help in the event that you are bitten. Even with vaccination, you still need to get booster shots.
This piece was produced by SciDev.Nets South-East Asia & Pacific desk.
The 60th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women wrapped up in New York, United States, last week, with a call for a gender-responsive approach to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. States should recommit to their pledges on gender equality, said UN Women director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka pledges where womens employment rights and labour access feature heavily.
But beyond such proclamations, what will it take to achieve the 50:50 world activists strive for, and how can businesses play their part?
People come at debates on women in the workplace from different, often conflicting, angles. For many decades, development economists and gender economists have argued that bringing women into the workforce is a key stimulant of economic growth. Because research has historically shown that educating women increases their access to jobs, many development organisations have focused on investments in girls and womens education as the ticket to broader economic empowerment.
Employers should establish industry-wide, women-only mentoring conferences and give employees time off from work to attend them. Maha Rafi Atal
But that approach may be oversimplistic. Recent research suggests that even where women match men in educational attainment, barriers to equal employment remain and limit the developmental value of womens education. And while culture can explain some of this gap, employers have a role to play too.
The Arab world is a case in point. The Brookings Institution reports that women in the Arab world are now matching or surpassing men in academic achievement. A World Bank report on women in science in Jordan found similar results: over two-thirds of graduates in the natural sciences and medicine are women. Across the region, women now outnumber men in science courses subjects traditionally dominated by men.
Yet these reports conclude that educational gains are not translating into jobs, echoing a 2012 Gallup report showing two-thirds of young Arab women remain outside the workforce. They attribute the gap to social norms that emphasise early marriage and childrearing, and argue that government policy can help change patriarchal cultures that keep women at home.
But if families in the Arab world are choosing to educate their girls and young women to university level, then culture is already changing.
Womens own ambitions dont seem to be the barrier. For example, a World Bank survey of Jordanian women leaving tertiary education showed that 76 per cent of them intended to work full-time.
Something other than cultural hang-ups keep women who complete these courses from professional success three other reasons, in fact.
First, the last few years have been tough economically worldwide, but particularly in resource-rich states in the Middle East. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has shown that women are more likely than men to be fired or have their hours cut when jobs are scarce. [1] Employers are often called upon to pursue gender-equal hiring policies, but they should also be encouraged to consider the gender imbalances of retrenchment policy.
Second, Middle Eastern countries lag behind global and developing country averages for spending on family benefits such as paid parental leave or childcare . The IMF study also found that countries in this region spend less than 0.1 per cent of GDP on such policies. [1] Both employers and governments need to substantially increase that amount if womens employment is to rise.
Third, lack of female professional achievement can be self-fulfilling. Where women lack role models or mentors, navigating the job market can be daunting. Employers should establish industry-wide, women-only mentoring conferences and give employees time off from work to attend them. In sectors with few senior women in the Arab world, virtual mentoring courses such as TechWomen can help.
Maha Rafi Atal is a PhD candidate at the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom, where she is researching the political effects of multinational firms acting as public service providers in the developing world. She was previously a journalist, including at Forbes, where she covered the intersection of business, development and international affairs. You can contact her on [email protected] or follow her on Twitter: @MahaRafiAtal
By the end of this year, miners expect to begin unearthing potentially billions of dollars in gold north of Camden after nearly a decade of efforts.
OceanaGold., an Australian-headquartered company, has cleared parts of its mining site, begun construction of a mill and started excavating mining pits near the town of Kershaw, company officials said.
Once work crews scrape away rock that sits atop the gold, OceanaGold will begin extracting the precious metal and processing it in the mill, officials said at a geology conference Thursday in Columbia. OceanaGold should be pulling gold from the first of eight mining pits within eight months, officials said. A tailings waste pond also is under construction. We went from exploration, where we were employing a hundred people, until now, when the job site is four times busier, OceanaGolds James Berry told The State newspaper. Were getting ready to get to the ore.
The company, which led a tour of the site Wednesday for more than 30 visiting geologists, provided a brief update Thursday during the Geological Society of Americas southeastern conference at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center. After the meeting, Berry said the company still has plans to mine up to 2 million ounces of gold. The company has located another 2 million ounces that could be mined later. At more than $1,200 per ounce, the value of the gold identified in Kershaw would be nearly $5 billion.
Efforts to open the mine began about nine years ago when an exploration company located substantial deposits at the site of the historic Haile Gold Mine, Berry said. But the initiative took years, in part because OceanaGolds predecessor, Romarco Minerals Inc., had to secure an array of environmental permits. The companys proposal sparked large community meetings, questions from state and federal regulators, and skepticism from environmental groups.
The OceanaGold mine, with pits of more than 800 feet deep, would be the largest mining operation of its kind in the eastern United States. It will extract gold from open pits, but also has considered a shaft mine.
Conservationists were hesitant to endorse the project because it could destroy as many as 1,100 acres of wetlands and increase the chances that acid would drain from the mining operation into groundwater and streams. But Romarco secured its final environmental permit early in 2015 and within six months had merged with OceanaGold, which also operates mines in Asia.
Many environmental groups backed away from their opposition after Romarco agreed to buy nearly 5,000 acres of land near Columbia and Kershaw for use as nature preserves. The state Sierra Club was the lone holdout, eventually challenging a mining permit. The club settled the case after Romarco agreed to double the amount of cash it would post for an environmental cleanup. Romarco agreed to post $10 million in cash as part of the settlement.
Berry said the company today has taken extra precautions to protect the environment, including a system to control acid drainage. He also said the mines economic impact is helping the town of Kershaw.
The former textile town had one of the highest unemployment rates in the area at one time. The company has said it expects to employ up to 800 workers through the projects entire 13-year life.
CHARLESTON, S.C. After nearly 73 years, Sgt. John Charlton Holladay is home.
A flag-covered casket carrying the body of the Florence Marine who was killed in action on July 20, 1943 during World War II arrived Friday at the Charleston International Airport.
His remains were found several years ago by a local in the Bairoko Harbor on New Georgia Island in the Soloman Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. With recent advances in DNA technology, the remains were able to be identified.
Members of Holladays family, the U.S. Marine Corps, the Patriot Guard and several others gathered at the airport to greet the body.
Upon its arrival, the casket was removed from the airplane and carried directly to a white hearse by a group of Marines as the family watched. A motorcade then wrapped around the airport and lined up at the Delta Air Cargo area on the far side of the grounds.
It feels good. I had chill bumps, said Pam Scott, a relative of Holladays who never met the soldier but heard many a story.
When she heard the news of Holladay's return, she set on a mission to let everyone know about her family's good fortune and spent a lot of time emailing various news outlets, friends and more.
Scott did not go to meet the plane on the tarmac but instead waited at the air cargo area for the motorcade to ride through.
The motorcade was led by local law enforcement, followed by the hearse and members of the family and Patriot Guard. As the hearse rounded the corner, the motorcyclists from the Patriot Guard and members of a nearby Air Force base stood in salute.
Flags blew in the wind on the back of each motorcycle as the procession then took off for Florence, where the body will be buried Monday at the Florence National Cemetery in a graveside service with full military honors.
Before the plane landed, members of the extended Holladay family, some of whom had not seen each other in years, congregated for the occasion. They shared stories of Sgt. John Charlton Holladay, who was known as John in the military and as Charlton by his family.
It was a gloomy day, and a slow drizzle fell for much of the time, but the mood was anything but dreary.
For most, it was a joyous and proud occasion instead of a sad or mournful one.
Dan Holladay, a nephew from Florence, said being able to bring his uncle home makes everything right.
I can be sad thinking about it, but Im just glad to have him home, he said.
Act Now to Save Christians from Genocide
WASHINGTON, April 1, 2016 / Christian Newswire / -- Contact the State Department and Congress, mobilize your friends, and SIGN THE PETITION now to support Congressman Dana Rohrabacher's "Save Christians from Genocide Act" H.R. 4017 www.christianfreedom.org/action-center
This bill is vitally important to the future of millions of persecuted Christians.
For centuries, millions of Christians have been the victims of religious persecution in numerous countries around the world. However, in recent months brutality against members of the Christian faith in Iraq and Syria has been escalated beyond every historical level by the Islamic terror group ISIS. Christians and Yazidis in Syria and Iraq have been forced from their homes, abducted, tortured, raped and murdered. Throughout a region spanning Iraq, Syria, Libya, Iran and Pakistan ISIS and al-Qaida repeatedly declare their intention to exterminate believers of every other faith.
On Easter Sunday, a most sacred day to Christians everywhere, a Taliban faction in Pakistan sent a suicide bomber into an amusement park full of Christians- mostly women and children--just to make the statement that they are now in the area. 74 people have died and hundreds more were injured. "The target was Christians," spokesman for the faction, Ehsanullah Ehsan reportedly said. "We want to send this message to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif that we have entered Lahore."
It is appalling that under the current administration, our government does not consider these grievous acts sufficient to offer the sanctuary of asylum to human beings targeted for death because of their faith in Christ.
Last November, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher introduced legislation that designates Christians, Yazidis, and other religious minorities in the Middle East as targets of genocide. The bill provides for the expedited processing of 'immigrant and refugee status' for such individuals.
According to CFI president Jim Jacobson, "the Obama Administration makes it impossible for persecuted Christians to seek asylum in the U.S. At the same time, the Obama Administration is allowing tens of thousands of Muslims to pour into the country."
Here is the Bill summary written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress:
The Department of Homeland Security shall provide for expedited visa processing and shall ensure that such applications receive first priority among refugee and (family- or employment-based) immigrant applications for an alien who: is a citizen or national of Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, Iran, or Libya, or in the case of an alien having no nationality, whose country of last habitual residence was Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, Iran, or Libya; is a Christian or Yazidi; and is seeking refugee or immigrant admission to the United States.
"Congress should act immediately to save as many Christians as possible," says Jacobson.
Send Congress, the President, and Secretary of State Kerry the message that Christians suffering genocidal persecution deserve at least the same consideration as other refugees.
Christian Freedom International is a non-denominational 501c3 human rights organization for religious liberty providing real solutions to conditions of human misery caused by religious persecution.
The man accused in the death of Angie Pipkin will be tried in a different court.
Randy Gale Robinson, 48, of Murrells Inlet, is charged with murder and obstructing justice in the 2014 death of Aynor woman Pipkin. He remains at J. Reuben Long Detention Center without bond.
Administrative Judge Larry Hyman recused the 15th Circuit Solicitors Office from the case because Chris Helms an attorney who now works for the Solicitors Office used to work for the Public Defenders Office, according to a motion filed March 14.
Robinsons defense attorney, Morgan Martin, filed a motion in December after Helms, who was previously a public defender on Robinsons case, was hired in the Solicitors Office.
We believe the mere fact that Helms and Robinson had a personal relationship is enough, Martin said during a January bond hearing.
Helms met with Robinson once after Pipkin disappeared but before he was arrested, Helms said during court. Helms met Robinson through a mutual friend who knew Helms was working as a public defender, and Helms was eventually appointed to Robinson.
Helms met with Robinson again at J. Reuben Long Detention Center after Robinson was charged with murder, and they discussed certain matters, Helms said. That meeting was in April 2014, and the two spoke on the phone several times afterward, he said.
During that hearing, Judge Steven John closed the hearing to the public and media halfway through so Martin Robinsons attorney could ask Helms what Robinson disclosed about the case. The hearing was closed for about 30 minutes.
Judge Hyman recused the Solicitors Office because of concern that Helms may be privy to confidential information about Robinsons case, according to the motion.
The court has received no information that Mr. Helms has divulged confidential information and makes no such finding, the motion said. However, out of an abundance of caution and to avoid even the appearance of any possible impropriety, I will recuse the [Solicitors Office].
Hyman also told the Solicitors Office it should be recused because of the possibility of a life sentence or death penalty for Robinson, according to the motion.
Its certainly one [a case] we wouldve liked to have handled, Horry County Solicitor Jimmy Richardson said.
He pointed out that the judge recused his office on the appearance of impropriety, not impropriety itself.
I can tell you with absolute certainty that Ive never talked to him [Chris Helms] about past cases, Richardson said.
Hyman signed an order recusing Robinsons case along with two others. The two others are tied together and are co-defendants in a manslaughter case; however, Helms only represented one of the co-defendants in the case, Richardson said, and he isnt concerned that there will be issues with any of Helms other past cases.
Authorities filed Robinsons obstruction charge after they said on Jan. 26, 2014 Robinson gave false, misleading or inaccurate information about Pipkins disappearance and his activities during the evening of Jan. 16, 2014, when Pipkin was last seen, police said.
Pipkin was reported missing by her mother, who told police that Pipkins father took her to the IGA grocery store in Aynor to meet a friend, and Robinson is listed in the original police report, but it is not clear if he was the friend Pipkin was planning to meet.
Her remains were found in May 2014 in a Florence County wooded area at a private hunting camp about five miles south of the U.S. 76 bridge over the Great Pee Dee River.
Claire Byun: 843-626-0381, @Claire_TSN
Three College of Charleston students have created an online program that would educate and prepare South Carolina residents for earthquakes, especially in high-risk parts of the state.
Lance Foxworth, Dante Curcio and Griffin Scott, all undergraduates at the downtown Charleston college, worked last summer to build an online slide show explaining how earthquakes happen and how residents should respond to them. They also created a walking tour through Charleston that illustrates the devastating 1886 earthquake at roughly two dozen stops in the city.
We need to be as prepared as possible for the next big earthquake, Curcio said Thursday in Columbia while presenting the project during a Geological Society of America conference, because it will come.
The students work, paid for by the state Emergency Management Division, is important because of South Carolinas earthquake risk, their professor said.
People in South Carolina do not realize that South Carolina has a fairly good-sized risk, said Norman Levine, a College of Charleston geology professor and director of the Lowcountry Hazards Center. And that risk isnt just for a 7.0 (magnitude) earthquake. A 7.0, yes, is not going to happen in our lifetimes, more than likely ... but if a 5.0 or a 5.5 does happen, which is markedly smaller, its still going to do massive amounts of damage in that region.
The state experiences between two and five felt earthquakes per year, but those typically are between 2.0 and 4.5 magnitudes, according to the students team. The most recent notable earthquake came in February 2012, when a 4.1 magnitude quake centered near Edgefield could be felt throughout South Carolina and Georgia.
The 1886 Charleston quake was in the neighborhood of a 7.0 magnitude and is considered the most damaging earthquake to shake the southeastern United States.
The students program is already in use in some home school, high school and college classrooms in South Carolina, Levine said. Some introductory geology classes at College of Charleston are using the program and taking the walking tour through the city, Foxworth said.
Its basically a chapter of a textbook, Levine said.
Foxworth said they expect more people to become aware of the program as other teachers start to use it.
It will educate countless numbers of people on what to do during an earthquake, what to do after, what to do before an earthquake, Curcio said. And it will also teach people about the geology of the world they live in. Anyone who lives in South Carolina, if they look at our story map, theyll be able to know whats going on under the surface of the earth, maybe have a better understanding of why earthquakes happen. And throwing in all that information on the 1886 earthquake puts into perspective how damaging an earthquake truly can be.
Once you have that Wow factor, that Oh, no factor, thats what gets people to truly understand and comprehend whats going on.
For now, the program already is paying dividends for the students.
Curcio, a senior majoring in geology, said the work last summer helped him earn a full ride to graduate school at Indiana University. And presenting the program at a Geological Society of America conference as an undergraduate wont look bad on a resume, either.
When I was visiting graduate schools, one of their selling points would be to say: You might be able to present at GSA. You might be able to, Curcio said. The College of Charleston does a great job of getting us these opportunities.
Avery G. Wilks: 803-771-8362, @averygwilks
Film Premiere and New Spiritual Warfare Thriller
SHARPTOWN, Md., April 1, 2016 / Christian Newswire / -- Maryland filmmakers announce the premiere on their short film Masquerade on Friday April 8th in Columbia Maryland at Bridgeway Community Church's Nexus facility (9179 Red Branch Road Columbia, Maryland 21045). The non-profit media ministry raised $15,000 using the popular Kickstarter.com funding platform. The short film's plot is about a pastor and his family who discovers that living out their faith with consistency is easier said than done. While Pastor Chris Billings thinks that "phonies" are everywhere, he discovers all he really needs to do to find one is look in the mirror. The filmmakers will also use their premiere to kick start their next fundraiser for a feature length film about spiritual warfare. This next project will also be available on Kickstarter with a goal to raise $117,000 in just about one month. The project's website can be found at www.kickstartthebattle.com
The filmmakers are part of a non-profit media ministry called Christian Walk Alive or CWA for short. CWA's goal is to make full length feature films that will be available for wide release. CWA previously released a feature film called Homecoming in 2012 and aired a Christian radio drama for nearly ten years on stations across the country. Masquerade will be distributed by Bridgestone multimedia group in the coming months. The DVD will also feature a Bible study for small groups.
According to CWA president Larry Amon, "Christian audiences are looking for authentic as well as exciting films. Our next movie will do just that. It will also appeal to general audiences based on content that everyone will find entertaining and interesting. We are involved in a spiritual battle, and this film will portray that in ways not previously shown in Christian films."
If the goal for the next film is reached, CWA will start filming in summer or early fall in Maryland, from Baltimore to the Eastern Shore. They will be seeking local actors and volunteers to help make the project a success. The film will be biggest project to date and should have a wider release than their previous films.
About Christian Walk Alive
Christian Walk Alive (CWA) is a 501c3 Non-profit organization. It was started in the year 2000 to create media that would entertain and build others up while spreading the message of the Gospel.
To learn more, please contact
Christianity Today Celebrates 60th Anniversary
Contact: Cory Whitehead, Executive Director of Communications and Development, Christianity Today, 630-260-6200 ext. 4220, cwhitehead@christianitytoday.com
CAROL STREAM, Ill., April 1, 2016 /Christian Newswire/ -- 2016 marks the 60th anniversary of Christianity Today, the global media ministry founded by Billy Graham in 1956. To honor this occasion, Christianity Today has released a digital booklet tying Graham's original vision to the work of the ministry today.
Billy Graham felt the urgent need for balanced reporting, biblical commentary, and a loving posture on the social, cultural, and theological trends facing Christians. His unique vision led him to start a magazine in 1956 when he proclaimed, "Christianity Today should take the responsibility of leading in love, what so much of our evangelical work has failed to do in fighting and name calling."
Since Graham started Christianity Today, the magazine and ministry have helped shape the minds and hearts of millions of pastors, thought leaders, and culture makers around the world. One reader, author Michelle Van Loon shares, "Christianity Today has played a key role in my journey, helping me see what it can look like to follow Jesus into the world he loves via conversation, service, worship, vocation, presence, and the classroom."
Today the ministry reaches over four million leaders monthly like Michelle through a variety of media, including the original flagship magazine CT.
President and CEO Harold Smith says, "Under the banner of Beautiful Orthodoxy, Christianity Today and its sister publications and websites are honoring our founder's original vision by consistently demonstrating how the true, good, and beautiful gospel of Jesus Christ can not only transform lives but bring hope and flourishing to individuals, cultures, and communities."
The new digital booklet, A Vision for Christianity Today, walks readers through the ministry's rich history, celebrates how God is using it to influence the church and the culture, and shares plans for the ministry's future.
Browse the digital booklet here: www.christianitytoday.org/go/vision
To request printed copies, contact Cory Whitehead, Executive Director of Communications and Development at cwhitehead@christianitytoday.com.
Hong Kong-listed CMHI, majority controlled by China Merchants Group, said the new name will better reflect the current strategy of the company to focus on ports and port-related businesses, providing a clearer identification and image for the company.
In recent years, the group has been divesting its non-core businesses and it has been the groups strategy to strengthen and develop its ports and port-related businesses (both domestic and overseas) through investment in new projects or acquisition of high quality port-related businesses and assets, CMHI said.
The new name China Merchants Port Holdings is subject to approval by shareholders at the next annual general meeting of the company.
The Indonesia Single Risk Management policy is meant to standardize and streamline procedures across 18 institutions or ministries that currently evaluate imports and exports and should hopefully minimize conflicting decisions among the officials, which often delays clearance, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Darmin Nasution said.
Key agencies, the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) and Customs and Excise will first integrate their systems under a single platform to effectively assess and allow the import of raw material for drugs, drinks and food. The scheme will be expanded to include the Trade Ministry and Agriculture Ministry in August.
The streamlined process is expected to cut vessel dwelling time to 3.7 days from 4.7 days, Darmin said. Jakarta is ultimately aiming to reduce national dwelling time average to 3.5 days by the end of this year and eventually three days in 2017.
AFRICA
Central African Republic
Expected Council Action
In April, Special Representative Parfait Onanga-Anyanga will brief on the forthcoming report on the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA). The Council will renew MINUSCA, which expires on 30 April, probably extending the mandate only through July, to allow more time to adapt the mandate to the post-transition situation.
Key Recent Developments
March marked the end of the transitional political government in the Central African Republic (CAR), which began in April 2013 and was initially due to expire after 18 months.
On 1 March, the Constitutional Court confirmed that former Prime Minister Faustin Archange Touadera was elected president after winning a runoff election on 14 February against Anicet-Georges Dologuele. Dologuele, who led the first round of voting on 30 December 2015, conceded the election an hour after the results were announced.
The results of legislative elections held on 30 December 2015 were nullified by the transitional constitutional court on 27 January because of massive irregularities. A first round of new legislative elections for the National Assembly took place on 14 February, and at press time, a second round was scheduled for 27 March. The new government and National Assembly are supposed to be confirmed by the end of April.
The UN, AU, Economic Community of Central African States, and the EU welcomed the final results of the presidential election on 4 March. They further reiterated their commitment to continued efforts to support the completion of the transition period, including through the holding of the second round of legislative elections.
The proper conduct of the elections was a matter of disagreement between Council members in January during the negotiations over resolution 2262 which renewed the CAR sanctions regime. Council members were unable to agree on whether to commend the conduct of the elections or simply take note of them. A compromise was found by avoiding both options and instead focusing on the forthcoming conduct of free and fair legislative elections and the second round of the presidential elections.
A similar disagreement occurred during negotiations of a draft press statement circulated by France on 14 December 2015 over whether to welcome or take note of the constitutional referendum. In that case, however, a compromise was not possible, and the press statement was eventually abandoned.
The new president will face many issues, including the fact that Muslim-dominated ex-Seleka and Christian anti-Balaka factions still control vast parts of the country, and some of their elements have been unwilling to engage in dialogue with transitional authorities. Disarming and reintegrating these elements while holding perpetrators of crimes accountable will be a key priority. Reviving defunct state institutions and addressing the high levels of poverty and needs for humanitarian assistance are also immediate tasks for the new government.
On the issue of sexual exploitation and abuse, the 2015 annual Secretary-Generals report on this issue identified 22 allegations specific to UN peacekeepers in MINUSCA. By the end of February 2016, the UNs conduct and discipline unit registered 22 new allegations against personnel of MINUSCA, which was the only mission explicitly mentioned in resolution 2272 of 11 March 2016 on sexual exploitation and abuse. In January the Democratic Republic of the Congo contingent to MINUSCA was repatriated.
On 31 March, Under-Secretary-General for Field Support Atul Khare briefed Council members under any other business on further allegations of sexual misconduct by international forces in the CAR.
On 17 March, Council members discussed the MINUSCA mandate renewal under any other business. France proposed to extend MINUSCAs current mandate until the end of July in a technical rollover. France reasoned that this would allow time for consultations between MINUSCA and the incoming government on adapting the missions mandate to the post-transition period. It would also allow time for a strategic review of MINUSCA to inform Council members deliberations on a new mandate.
At the request of the Secretary-General, the Council adopted resolution 2264 on 9 February to increase the number of corrections officers in MINUSCA from 40 to 108.
Sanctions-Related Developments
Resolution 2262 renewed the arms embargo, travel ban and assets freeze until 31 January 2017 and the mandate of the Panel of Experts until 28 February 2017. The Panel will be asked to submit its midterm report to the 2127 CAR Sanctions Committee on 30 July 2016 and a final report to the Security Council, after discussion with the Committee, by 31 December 2016.
On 7 March, at the request of France, the UK and the US, the 2127 Committee added the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) and its leader, Joseph Kony, for whom there is an outstanding ICC arrest warrant, to the CAR sanctions list. According to the 2127 Committee, the LRA under Konys leadership has engaged in the abduction, killing and mutilation of thousands of civilians across Central Africa, including in the CAR. The Committee held a meeting on 9 March with Onanga-Anyanga (via video teleconference from Bangui) and a representative of the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) to discuss the sanctions-monitoring mandate of MINUSCA and the role of UNMAS in the management of weapons and ammunition in the CAR. On 18 March, the 2127 Committee met with its Panel of Experts to discuss their tentative programme of work for the next year.
Human Rights-Related Developments
The independent expert on the situation of human rights in the CAR, Marie-Therese Keita Bocoum, visited the country from 1 to 10 March and released a statement on 11 March commending the holding of elections and the improving security situation. She warned that the situation remains precarious, with pockets of insecurity and violence, particularly in inland regions. The statement encouraged the government to continue focusing on the immediate implementation of the disarmament, demobilisation, reintegration and repatriation agreement; security sector reform; improving prison conditions; and the fight against impunity.
Key Issues
Renewing MINUSCAs mandate will be an immediate task for the Council in April.
With the end of the transition period, monitoring the security situation and political developments closely and reconfiguring MINUSCAs mandate accordingly will be an ongoing issue.
Adapting the mandate to take into account the expected reduction or complete draw down of troops in the French parallel force assisting stabilisation efforts in Bangui is a related issue.
Options
The most likely option is for the Council to adopt a short-term renewal of MINUSCAs current mandate that will allow for the new CAR government to be up and running before full consideration of MINUSCAs mandate. Such a resolution may also ask for a strategic review of the MINUSCA mandate and a report back to the Council after consultations with the CAR authorities.
Another option is to renew MINUSCAs mandate for a year while adjusting the mandate in order to take into account the pending formation of a new government and the end of the transition period.
Council and Wider Dynamics
It seems that several Council members take a positive view of the French proposal of a technical rollover, feeling that it will allow for a more thorough assessment as to what adjustments to MINUSCAs mandate are necessary after the elections and how its tasks and priorities for the short, middle and long term should be configured. For some Council members, an important aspect in consultations with the new government will be its attitude towards some of MINUSCAs existing tasks that were based on the request of the transitional authorities, such as its mandate to undertake urgent temporary measures on an exceptional basisto arrest and detain in order to maintain basic law and order and fight impunity.
Despite a difference of views concerning the conduct of the elections, all Council members are hoping that the end of the transition period and a newly elected government will provide momentum to address some of the fundamental issues facing the country, including constructive dialogue with armed groups and their disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration and, later on, security sector reform programs, accountability measures and re-establishing state authority and institutions, including incarceration facilities and judicial institutions.
UN Documents on the CAR
This was a resolution to increase the number of corrections officers in MINUSCA from 40 to 108. This resolution renewed the CAR sanctions regime until 31 January 2017. This was a press release on the CAR Sanctions Committees meeting with the head of MINUSCA, Parfait Onanga-Anyanga (via video teleconference from Bangui), and a representative of UNMAS. This was a press release announcing the addition of the LRA and Joseph Kony to the CAR sanctions list. This was the final report of the 2127 Sanctions Committees Panel of Experts. This press statement condemned attacks on IDPs and MINUSCA peacekeepers.
AFRICA
Cote dIvoire
Expected Council Action
In April, the Council is expected to receive a briefing by Ambassador Elbio Rosselli (Uruguay), chair of the 1572 Cote dIvoire Sanctions Committee, regarding the final report of the Group of Experts, which is due on 8 April. The Council is also expected to receive a briefing on the Secretary-Generals report on the strategic review of the UN Operation in Cote dIvoire (UNOCI), due on 31 March.
The Council is likely to adopt resolutions on the drawdown of UNOCI and the termination of the sanctions regime.
Key Recent Developments
The Council last met on Cote dIvoire on 20 January when it adopted resolution 2260, which mandated the decrease of UNOCIs military component from 5,437 to 4,000 military personnel by 31 March. The resolution set the same deadline for the Secretary-General to provide the Council with recommendations on the further downsizing of UNOCI based on the conditions on the ground and the ability of Cote dIvoires government to take over security responsibilities from the mission.
The successful conduct of the 25 October 2015 presidential elections was one of the main preconditions set by the Council and the Secretary-General before further consideration would be given to the downsizing and possible termination of UNOCI. In resolution 2260, Council members commended the government of Cote dIvoire for facilitating free and peaceful elections, as a result of which Alassane Ouattara was elected to a second term in office.
In January, Ouattara appointed a new cabinet, making changes from the previous cabinet to certain key positions. Although Daniel Kablan Duncan was reappointed as prime minister, Ouattara replaced his foreign and justice ministers as well as several deputy ministers including of finance and defence.
On 28 January, the joint trial of the former president of Cote dIvoire, Laurent Gbagbo, and former youth leader Charles Ble Goude began at the ICC for their role in the violence following the 2011 election, during which around 3,000 people died in clashes between Gbagbos forces and Ouattaras supporters. Gbagbo is the highest-ranking official and the first head of state to stand trial at the ICC. On the opening day of the trial, both Gbagbo and Ble Goude said they were innocent of the charges against them, which include crimes against humanity, including murder, rape and persecution.
Some of Gbagbos supporters in Cote dIvoire have voiced their discontent with the ICC indictment and expressed concern that none of Ouattaras supporters have been prosecuted for their role in the post-election violence. Prior to the start of Gbagbos trial, chief ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda told the media that prosecutors have intensified investigations involving Ouattaras supporters. Nonetheless, the ICC still has not brought charges against any of Ouattaras supporters.
Following the meeting with French President Francois Hollande on 4 February in Paris, Ouattara reiterated that he would not be sending any more Ivorians to the ICC now that the country has an operational justice system and is ready to try cases in domestic courts. This led some in the political opposition to reiterate their claims that Ouattara is actively trying to protect his supporters who may have played a role in violent clashes during the crisis in 2011.
On 18 February, the military court in Cote dIvoire sentenced three high ranking military officials to life imprisonment for their role in the 2002 murder of Robert Guei, former junta leader, and briefly president of Cote dIvoire. All three military officials were close associates of Gbagbo.
Although the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Gbagbos wife, Simone Gbagbo, in 2012, the Ivorian government refused to transfer her to the ICC and instead decided to try her in Cote dIvoire. Simone Gbagbo is set to face trial in Cote dIvoire on 25 April for charges of crimes against humanity. In March 2015, a court in Cote dIvoire sentenced Simone Gbagbo to 20 years in prison for undermining state security.
Regarding regional cooperation, the presidents of Liberia and Cote dIvoire held a second Joint Council of Chiefs and Elders Meeting. They agreed to strengthen their cooperation on issues of mutual concern, which include security and stability in cross-border areas, further political cooperation and resettlement of refugees in collaboration with the UN Refugee Agency. On 7 March, Liberia and Cote dIvoire reopened a humanitarian corridor between the countries and officially began a family re-unification program with the assistance of the ICRC.
On 13 March, three attackers opened fire in the tourist resort town of Grand-Bassam, killing at least 16 people and injuring more than 30. Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) claimed responsibility for the attack. All three assailants were killed by Cote dIvoire security forces. The following day, President Ouattara held an emergency meeting of his cabinet at Grand-Bassam, after which he gave assurances that this attack would not impair Cote dIvoires ongoing economic resurgence.
Though this was the first time AQIM had struck Cote dIvoire, there has been an upsurge in AQIM activity in the region. The group carried out terrorist attacks in neighbouring Mali in November 2015 and in Burkina Faso in January. The Council reacted to the March attack by issuing a press statement that condemned the attack and stressed the need to strengthen regional and international efforts to combat violent extremism and terrorism.
Economic growth in Cote dIvoire continues to be robust for the fourth year in a row. According to the findings of an International Monetary Fund evaluation mission conducted in March, the economy grew at a steady rate of 8.6 percent in 2015, with similar growth anticipated for this year.
Human Rights-Related Developments
The Human Rights Council considered the report of the independent expert on capacity-building and technical cooperation with Cote dIvoire in the field of human rights, Mohammed Ayat, during its 31st session in March (A/HRC/31/78). The report, which covers the period from 1 September to 31 December 2015, applauds the holding of peaceful presidential elections on 25 October 2015, and concludes that the main challenges facing the country are consolidating the national reconciliation process and maintaining peace and security. The report includes recommendations to strengthen the rule of law, reinforce the reconciliation process and improve prison conditions, and it reaffirms the importance of maintaining UNOCI until the achievements of Cote dIvoire in maintaining security and making progress towards greater respect for human rights are properly consolidated.
Key Issues
At the moment, the main issue for the Council is the future of UNOCI, including further drawdown of the mission and its subsequent termination.
A related issue for the Council will be assessing the usefulness of continuing the sanctions regime given the improved stability and security in the country, particularly after the successfully organised presidential elections in October 2015.
Following recent terrorist attacks in Grand-Bassam, a related issue is the threat of terrorism and its implications on the security situation in the country and the wider region.
Political tensions resulting from the ICC trial of Gbagbo could be a future issue for the Council.
Options
With respect to sanctions, the most likely option is for the Council to terminate the 1572 Cote dIvoire sanctions regime, which includes an arms embargo, asset freeze and travel ban. Alternatively, the Council could choose to renew the sanctions regime for a specified time period while making certain modifications to the regime. In addition, the Council could request a strategic review of the sanctions regime before considering its termination. Considering current Council dynamics, the most unlikely option would be to renew the regime in its current form.
Regarding UNOCI, an option would be to renew the mandate of UNOCI for a period of one year, after which the mission would be terminated. The Council could also recommend gradually downsizing the mission in the next year while setting a specific time period for ending it.
Looking ahead, over the longer term the Council could discuss the options for the future UN presence in country. To this end, the Council could consider the possibility of establishing a special political mission that would succeed UNOCI and could support the government in areas such as security sector reform; disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration; human rights; and political processes including reconciliation and national dialogue.
Council Dynamics
There seems to be overwhelming support among Council members for the drawdown of UNOCI and its subsequent withdrawal. Within the Council, France, the former colonial power and penholder, is the strongest advocate for both withdrawal of UNOCI and termination of the sanctions regime. Most Council members share the view that Cote dIvoire is a well-functioning country with a vibrant economy and that its security forces are capable of maintaining security in the country. This view was further reinforced by the successful organisation and execution of the presidential elections in October 2015. The Secretary-Generals report with his recommendations following the strategic review of the mission, which is due on 31 March, is expected to play an important role in shaping the positions of Council members regarding the further actions on downsizing the mission.
France is the penholder on Cote dIvoire while Uruguay serves as the chair of the 1572 Sanctions Committee.
UN Documents
This was a resolution extending the mandate of UNOCI for an additional year. This was a resolution renewing sanctions measures (partial arms embargo, travel ban and asset freeze) until 30 April 2016 and renewing the mandate of the Group of Experts until 30 May 2016. This was a press statement on the terrorist attack in Cote dIvoire. This was on the situation in Cote dIvoire. This was a briefing by the chairs of subsidiary bodies.
THE SECURITY COUNCIL
In Hindsight: Making Effective Use of Any Other Business
Over the last year, there has been a marked increase in the use of the agenda item any other business (AOB) by Council members. As a standing agenda item for any consultations, it allows Council members to discuss a range of issues. In 2015, there were 56 substantive discussions under AOB relating to issues on the Councils agenda as well as some that were not. This was more than double the number in 2014, and it appears to be a growing trend: there were 14 substantive AOB discussions this February.
There are a number of reasons for the greater use of the AOB format. In part, this trend can be traced to a renewed interest in making better use of conflict prevention tools at the Councils disposal and the discontinuation of the Secretariat providing horizon-scanning briefings, which were used to bring emerging issues to the Councils attention. While the formal request to discuss an issue comes from a Council member, the Secretariat has initiated a briefing under AOB more than 20 times in the last two years. The most recent was its request to brief on Western Sahara on 18 March, when Morocco announced that it intended to reduce the civilian component of the UN mission there. Secretariat requests are in line with the spirit of Article 99 of the UN Charter, which states that the Secretary-General may bring to the Security Councils attention any matter that may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security.
Over the years, Council members have used AOB to introduce drafts, discuss specific incidents, or allow chairs of subsidiary bodies to brief on a particular issue. While it is still used for these reasons, there has been a significant increase in substantive briefings under AOB. The humanitarian situations in Palestine, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria and Yemen have recently been covered under AOB. Political developments, particularly related to elections or the implementation of peace agreements, prompted requests for AOB briefings on the Central African Republic (CAR), Guinea-Bissau, Libya and Mali. Among the situations that had at least four AOB briefings in 2015 were Burundi, CAR, Mali, Syria and Yemen.
This format was also used to keep abreast of developments regarding situations not on the Councils agenda, such as Burkina Faso, Guinea and Nepal. Discussing the appointment process for the next Secretary-General under AOB provided a way to informally exchange initial views on how the process might develop.
The mix of issues suggests that, while there are times this format is used as a conflict prevention tool, its regular use has been for additional discussions on issues that are already full-blown conflicts, such as Mali, Syria and Yemen.
The AOB format has also been used to get information that could impact upcoming Council decisions. For example, Council members were briefed in January under AOB on the Secretary-Generals request for the Council to authorise a troop increase for the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the CAR, as some members wanted more information on why this increase was needed. In 2015, the AOB format was used to introduce draft texts on Boko Haram, the interdiction of vessels involved in smuggling migrants in the high seas of the Mediterranean by the EU Naval Force and the Iran nuclear deal. This format has also been used to try to resolve differences that have arisen during negotiations of draft texts, as was seen recently on the appointment of the prosecutor for the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals.
One reason this format is used for some issues already on the agenda is that it is conducive to discreet discussions of more sensitive matters. There is no public record of AOB topics and fewer Secretariat officials are present. For example, Myanmar, which has been on the Councils agenda since 2006, has been addressed exclusively under AOB since 2014, largely because China has made it clear that this is its preferred format for discussing the issue. Since February 2015 there have been four AOBs on Myanmar.
In the last two years, Council members have used the AOB format to monitor regularly situations that were deteriorating rapidly. This was the case for Burundi, CAR and Yemen last year. Getting timely information has the potential to allow the Council to deal with critical situations that could require changes to the UN presence on the ground or new Council decisions. However, as these discussions now often involve full briefings by those who would brief in consultations, including at times by video teleconference, there is little to distinguish them from informal consultations. As a result, some members are beginning to question if the AOB format is the most appropriate for these types of briefings.
In recent months, a disturbing trend has emerged, with some requests for AOB discussions appearing to be driven by motivations other than a real desire for useful information or to enable a better Council response. Several members see Russias request for briefings on Turkeys activities in relation to Syria and Iraq in this light. There is also a growing sense that this format is being used by some members to highlight other members positions on issues such as Palestine, Syria and Yemennot necessarily to encourage Council action but to score political points. Back-to-back requests for briefings on Syria, in the context of Russian air-strikes, and on Yemen, in the context of air-strikes by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition supported by the UK, US and others, could be seen in this context. Some members questioned Venezuelas reasons for requesting three briefings related to Palestine during its presidency in February.
While creative and flexible use of this format should be encouraged, a more selective and interactive approach would enable it to serve as a more useful forum for constructive informal discussions, as well as for possible early warning briefings by the Secretariat.
Israel/Palestine
Expected Council Action
In April, the Council will hold its quarterly open debate on the Middle East, with a focus on the situation in Israel/Palestine and the absence of a path toward a political solution.
Key Recent Developments
The situation in Israel/Palestine remains tense as the recent wave of violence that began in late September continues. Since then, stabbings, car-rammings and shooting attacks by Palestinians have killed 28 Israelis and two American tourists. Israeli forces have killed 182 Palestinians, including 135 who Israel alleged were attackers.
Israels expropriation of land also continues. On 15 March, Israel announced the appropriation of 579 acres (234 hectares) of land in the occupied West Bank near Jericho, the largest seizure of West Bank land in recent years. In response, Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat called on the international community to press Israel to stop land confiscations. The US State Department criticised the move, saying that continuing expropriations and settlement expansion were fundamentally undermining the prospects for a two-state solution. Russia urged all the sides to refrain from unilateral steps that undermine the prospects of the Palestinian issue settlement on the internationally recognised basis. An EU statement said the move calls into question Israels commitment to a two-state solution.
On 20 March, a Palestinian delegation met with an ICC prosecution delegation in Amman, Jordan for three days of meetings discussing allegations of Israeli war crimes. The delegations discussed Israeli settlements, Israels large scale military offensive in the Gaza Strip in 2014 and settler crimes, including the arson attacks by Israelis against Dawabsha family, in which a young child and his parents were burned to death.
On Fatah-Hamas reconciliation, negotiators for both parties met for talks beginning on 7 February in Doha. Negotiators said the sides reached agreement on a limited practical perception as to how to solve their dispute and implement previous reconciliation accords, but the talks were considered unsuccessful as major differences remain. In , particular, Hamas refuses to accept the formation of a unity government on the basis of the political program of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, which accepts a two-state solution and calls for a negotiated settlement with Israel. Hamas also rejects Fatahs offer to retain control over the finance, foreign affairs and security ministries.
Regarding Gaza, the Egyptian military in mid-March reportedly discovered tunnels large enough for trucks to pass through underneath the Sinai-Gaza border. Some of the tunnels stretch for more than three kilometres. Egypt and Israel claim that through these tunnels weapons are entering the Sinai to be used by extremist groups, and that ISIS members in the Sinai have entered Gaza to receive medical treatment. Tunnels traversing Gaza and the Sinai have long been used to facilitate the flow of building materials, medicine and humanitarian goods into the besieged Gaza strip.
On 15 March, a Hamas delegation visited Cairo, seeking to mend tense relations and requesting that Egypt allow more traffic through the Rafah border crossing with Gaza, the enclaves only transit point not controlled by Israel. According to Hamas, the crossing was open for only 21 days in 2015. On 21 March, it was reported that Hamas had removed all banners displaying the images of senior Muslim Brotherhood leaders, including Egyptian Brotherhood founder Hassan al-Banna and ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, in an apparent gesture to improve relations with Cairo.
Since the last quarterly debate on Israel/Palestine on 26 January, Council members have met on several occasions to consider the situation. In February, three briefings were held on Israel/Palestine under any other business, all at the request of Venezuela, the Council president in February.
On 5 February, Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Miroslav Jenca briefed Council members on illegal settlements and the demolition of Palestinian houses. Following the meeting, Venezuela circulated a draft press statement to Council members. Among other things, the initial draft expressed concern about the recent home demolitions and the expulsion of Palestinians by Israeli authorities. It also rejected Israels appropriation of 370 acres in the area of Jericho, in the West Bank, as state property as well as the policies of establishment and expansion of illegal settlements in Palestinian territories.
Several Council members expressed their support for the Venezuelan initiative. New Zealand, supported by Egypt and Malaysia, suggested that a press statement might be too weak an outcome on such major issues and suggested that a presidential statement or resolution might be more appropriate. Egypt proposed strong language reaffirming the principle of the inadmissibility of the acquisition of land by force and reiterating that Israels appropriation of land in Palestinian and other Arab territories has no legal validity. Malaysia, Spain and Russia provided comments. Venezuela put a revised draft statement under silence on 9 February. Silence was broken by the US, which proposed extensive changes to the original text. Venezuela withdrew the draft, saying that consensus could not be reached on the statement. (For more details, see our 17 February story Middle East Briefing and Press Statement in Whats In Blue.)
On 16 February, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman briefed Council members under any other business on Israeli settlements in the occupied territories, and on international protection to Palestinian people there, as had been called for by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Feltman referred to the Secretary-Generals letter dated 21 October 2015, transmitting an internal review of historical precedents for regimes that have been devised to provide varying forms of protection for areas and their inhabitants. This review was undertaken in response to a 2014 letter from Abbas that requested that the territory of the State of Palestine be placed under an international protection system, with the aim of ensuring the protection of the Palestinian people
A third briefing under any other business was held on 25 February, when OCHA head Stephen OBrien briefed on the humanitarian situation and the situation of Palestinian children.
On 24 March, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov briefed the Council in the regular monthly meeting, where he warned that amid escalating violence, the international community must move beyond mere condemnations and send a clear message to both sides that a two-State solution was the best road to peace, but acknowledged that the possibility of a two-state solution was diminishing. He also reported that the Middle East Quartet, stepping up efforts to break the political impasse, have begun work on a report that would review the situation on the ground, identify dangers to a two-State solution and provide recommendations on the way forward.
Human Rights-Related Developments
The Human Rights Council considered three reports on Israel/Palestine during its 31st session in March. The first was the report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the implementation of the recommendations contained in the fact-finding missions report that investigated the implications of Israeli settlements. The implementation report addressed continued Israeli settlement activity; settler violence and lack of accountability; issues related to Palestinian detainees, including children in Israeli custody; and business and human rights in relation to the settlements (A/HRC/31/42). The report of the Secretary-General on Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory included developments concerning the establishment and expansion of Israeli settlements, and updates and analysis of the effects of related house demolitions, evictions, settlement expansion, settler violence, discriminatory zoning and planning policies on the economic, social and cultural rights of Palestinians (A/HRC/31/43). The report of the Secretary-General on the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory examined how the occupation and associated measures restrict freedom of movement and how those restrictions impact Palestinians enjoyment of their economic, social and cultural rights (A/HRC/31/44).
Key Issues
The immediate issue is determining how to de-escalate tensions. The overarching issue is how to urge the parties to cease actions that hinder the resumption of negotiations on a two-state solution, such as settlement building, acts of violence and other provocative acts.
Options
There are several issues related to Israel/Palestine that the Council could choose to address.
One option would be to adopt a resolution outlining parameters for a final status agreement.
Another option would be to take a piecemeal approach and pursue an outcome on areas where agreement can be found among Council members. Issues such as settlements or the idea of an international protection plan could be addressed in this manner.
Council and Wider Dynamics
The negotiations on the draft press statement in February demonstrated that, though consensus could not be reached, several Council members including Egypt, Malaysia, New Zealand, Russia, Spain and Venezuela are keenly interested in using the tools available to the Council to move the sides towards peace.
Egypt has expressed its intention to push for a Council outcome on Israel/Palestine before the end of the year. Egypt, while aware of the difficulties, is nevertheless interested in pursuing a Council product substantial enough to help the Palestinians return to the negotiating table, but which will not invite a veto by the US. While Egypt demonstrated a strong stance against settlement expansion during the February press statement negotiations, its approach to issues pertaining to Gaza remains to be seen and is likely to be complicated by its security concerns in the Sinai.
It is generally accepted that the fate of any Council outcome on Israel/Palestine lies ultimately with the US. While US reluctance to use the Council has often made Council action on the issue impossible, recent reports suggest that US President Barack Obama is exploring options for addressing the conflict before the end of his second term, and the US has indicated that it is considering changing its policy of opposition to using the Council as an avenue for resolving the conflict.
With US-led talks having fallen apart nearly two years ago, P5 member France is lobbying to hold an international peace conference before May that would outline incentives and give guarantees for Israelis and Palestinians to resume face-to-face talks before August to try to end the conflict. While Abbas welcomes the initiative, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has voiced opposition, insisting on direct talks between the parties without pre-conditions and preferring less international involvement.
UN Documents
This was a monthly briefing on Israel/Palestine. This was a letter from the Secretary-General, which contained a summary of a 2014 review by the Secretariat of a number of historical precedents for the administration of territory by the League of Nations and the UN. This was a letter from Abbas requesting that the territory of the State of Palestine be placed under an international protection system by the UN.
AFRICA
Mali
Expected Council Action
In April, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Herve Ladsous will brief the Council on the work of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA). MINUSMAs mandate expires on 30 June 2016.
Key Recent Developments
Council members conducted a visiting mission to West Africa in early March, including Mali from 4 to 6 March, followed by Guinea-Bissau and UNOWAS in Dakar. During the Mali leg, led by Senegal and France, they urged the government of Mali and the Platform and Coordination coalitions of armed groups to accelerate the implementation of the 20 June 2015 peace agreement. While acknowledging progress, Council members emphasised in their meetings with Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and Prime Minister Modibo Keita the need to make political and institutional advances that can provide concrete peace dividends to the population, such as national reconciliation and decentralisation. Both the president and prime minister expressed the governments commitment to the full implementation of the agreement.
In a joint meeting with Council members, the coalitions of armed groups expressed the need to advance the decentralisation process before moving ahead on the security provisions of the agreement, such as cantonment and the deployment of mixed patrols, as well as the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration of armed combatants.
On 9 and 10 March, the main follow-up mechanism for the implementation of the agreement, the Comite de Suivi de lAccord, held its seventh meeting. In addition to assessing progress and settling long-standing issues, such as adopting a budget and agreeing on representation of certain armed groups, participants agreed on prioritising the establishment of interim administrations for the northern regions and setting up mixed patrols in the coming weeks. They also welcomed the holding of a Peace Forum in Kidal in late March to discuss the situation in the north. (The forum, which was expected to include the armed groups and the government, started on 28 March without the presence of government representatives.)
From 13 to 20 March, Assistant Secretary-General of Peacekeeping Operations El-Ghassim Wane led a strategic review of MINUSMA. The review is expected to provide guidance on such issues as prioritisation of the missions good offices mandate, increasing the troop ceiling, and whether to change the posture of the mission and its force layout. During a meeting with Council members in Bamako, Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop elaborated on the need for MINUSMA to prepare its exit strategy. Diop proposed establishing benchmarks to assess performance and provide for an exit for the mission once commonly agreed objectives have been attained.
Terrorism in Mali continues to be a threat to the stability of the country and the region, and to the mission: some 52 MINUSMA peacekeepers have died as a result of malicious acts against the mission since its establishment in 2013. Briefing the Council on 16 March, French Ambassador Francois Delattre stated that during the mission the Council offered its support to the Malian forces that are at the front line of the fight against terrorism, particularly in central Mali, which has been destabilised by an increase in terrorist attacks since early 2015. He highlighted how all stakeholders in Mali loudly called for MINUSMA to be strengthened so that it can meet the asymmetric challenges it is facing. On 21 March, a terrorist attack against the Bamako headquarters of the EU Training Mission in Mali was repelled.
At a 2-4 September 2015 AU meeting in Bamako focusing on security cooperation in the Sahelo-Saharan region, the AU said that establishing an intervention force brigade to combat terrorism in northern Mali should be considered. In November 2015, the Group of Five for the Sahel (or the Sahel G5: Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger) proposed to deploy a joint regional force with the same objective. A joint UN-AU technical assessment mission to assess the feasibility of such an AU force was conducted in late March.
On 22 March, the Department of Political Affairs held an informal briefing for Council members on UN support to regional response and coordination regarding counter-terrorism in West Africa and the Sahel. On youth radicalisation, at the first meeting of the 2242 Informal Experts Group on women, peace and security in late February, Council members were informed that many of the recruitment messages reaching disenfranchised youth in the north specifically used anti-gender equality and anti-womens rights language to lay the groundwork for recruitment and radicalisation.
Human Rights-Related Developments
The Human Rights Council considered the report of the independent expert on the situation of human rights in Mali (A/HRC/31/76) during its 31st session in March. The report, covering May to December 2015, found that armed and extremist groups in the north of Mali continue to be involved in human rights violations, including violations of the right to life; abductions; cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment; unlawful detention; the recruitment and use of children; and looting. The report also expressed concern about the increasing number of inter- and intra-communal conflicts, the lack of progress in combating impunity and the need to reform the National Human Rights Commission. On 2 March, New Zealand and Uruguay co-hosted an Arria-formula meeting of Council members with the heads of human rights components of five UN peace operations, including MINUSMA.
Key Issues
An overarching issue is the slow implementation of the agreement and the lack of progress in such areas as confidence-building measures, reconciliation, return of basic services to the north and decentralisation. Ensuring that cantonment, disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration take place within a broader context of security sector reform and accountability for human rights violations is an important issue. Addressing the grievances and frustrations of different communities that are not seeing the impact of the peace dividends in their daily lives, including youth at risk of being recruited by violent groups, is a related issue. The limited mobility of MINUSMA and its insufficient capacities and resources to fulfil its mandate in the current context is a key issue.
The marked increase in terrorist attacks and their reach, the deliberate targeting of MINUSMA and the safety concerns of troop- and police-contributing countries are further key issues for the Council to address.
Options
The Council could engage in early brainstorming on the recommendations of the strategic review ahead of the June renewal of MINUSMAs mandate, including in consultations with troop contributors. The Council could also issue a statement that:
calls on the parties to act in good faith and with the spirit of compromise in the discussions regarding the implementation of the agreement;
urges the Malian government to swiftly implement the provisions of the peace agreement within its purview, such as the establishment of interim administrations for the northern regions; and
reiterates the Councils support of MINUSMAs good offices mandate to encourage and support the full implementation of the peace agreement.
Council and Wider Dynamics
Council members remain united in support of accelerating the implementation of the agreement, and this was the main message conveyed during their visiting mission to Mali. As a result of the mission, Council members might be amenable to recommendations of the strategic review of MINUSMA regarding the need to match and adapt MINUSMAs mandate to the needs currently identified on the ground. It seems that these might include increasing MINUSMAs troop ceiling, adapting the forces layout to address the increasing reach of terrorist groups and widespread banditry in places like Mopti in central Mali, and clarifying the posture or prioritising the mandated tasks of the mission. It remains unclear, however, how these recommendations might be perceived given some Council members concern at rising peacekeeping costs and in light of the governments call for the missions exit strategy. Despite calls by Malian stakeholders for a more robust mandate for the mission, most Council members seem to be of the opinion that the mandate is already exceptionally robust. The AU and Sahel G5 proposed initiatives to combat terrorism in northern Mali have raised questions regarding the possibility of them operating effectively alongside French forces, MINUSMA and the Malian Defence and Security Forces.
Council members continue to be worried about attacks targeting MINUSMA in northern Mali. During the visiting mission, Council members were briefed on MINUSMAs shortfalls in operational capacity. For example, given the security situation and the risks of improvised explosive devices, the limited number of armoured personal carriers remains a key limiting factor for the mission. MINUSMAs exceptionally high number of fatalities and casualties has led to an increasing divide between the troop contributors willing to deploy their forces in the most dangerous territory and other, more risk-averse contributors. France is the penholder on Mali.
UN DOCUMENTS ON MALI
This was a resolution renewing MINUSMA. This was a press statement condemning a complex terrorist attack against MINUSMA in Kidal, during which seven peacekeepers from Guinea were killed. This was a letter containing the terms of reference of the visiting mission to West Africa in early March 2016 to Mali, Guinea-Bissau and UNOWAS in Dakar. This was a briefing on the visiting mission to West Africa in early March 2016 to Mali, Guinea-Bissau and UNOWAS in Dakar. Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations HervA Ladsous briefed the Council on the latest MINUSMA report (S/2015/1030).
Overview
During its April presidency of the Security Council, China plans to organise two open debates, one on the issue of counter-terrorism and another with a focus on piracy in the Gulf of Guinea in the context of peace consolidation in West Africa.
Early in the month the Council is expected to adopt a resolution on the review of the UN peacebuilding architecture, which member states have been negotiating since mid-January. It will be adopted as concurrent resolutions in both the Security Council and the General Assembly.
Sudan/South Sudan issues will feature prominently on the Councils programme of work. Council members are considering whether to impose an arms embargo on South Sudan to put pressure on the parties to comply with the August 2015 peace agreement. It is unclear if any of the longstanding divisions among Council members regarding a possible arms embargo can be overcome by the time the 2206 sanctions regime expires on 15 April. There will also be the regular meetings to discuss developments in relation to UNAMID in Darfur, UNMISS in South Sudan and UNISFA in Abyei.
Other African issues the Council will consider in April are:
Central African Republic, the renewal of MINUSCA;
Cote dIvoire, the activities of UNOCI and action on the 1572 sanctions regime;
Mali, the activities of MINUSMA; and
Western Sahara, the renewal of MINURSO which is expected to be particularly contentious following the evacuation of dozens of mission staff in March at Moroccos request.
Council members will continue to monitor Syria, including the talks in Geneva, how the cessation of hostilities is holding and humanitarian access. Council members will receive their regular monthly briefings on the political, chemical weapons and humanitarian tracks in Syria.
Other Middle East issues that will be considered this month are:
Israel/Palestine, the quarterly open debate; and
Yemen, the regular briefing held every other month.
In late March France revived negotiations on a Council outcome on Burundi, circulating a draft resolution expressing the Councils intention to strengthen the UNs presence there through a police component. The text was originally circulated as a draft presidential statement in February, but consensus could not be reached.
Finally, Council members will be closely following efforts to form a government of national accord in Libya.
AFRICA
South Sudan
Expected Council Action
In April, the Council is expected to adopt a resolution renewing the South Sudan sanctions regime and the mandate of the related Panel of Experts. The Council will consider the Secretary-Generals report on the implementation of the mandate of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), which expires on 31 July 2016, and a report on the technical assistance provided by the Secretary-General to the AU for the implementation of Chapter V (i.e. justice and reconciliation) of the August 2015 peace agreement to end the civil war, including the establishment of a hybrid court for South Sudan.
Key Recent Developments
A security, humanitarian and human rights catastrophe continues to unfold in South Sudan, while implementation of the August 2015 peace agreement continues to falter. According to OCHA, there are now 1.69 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in South Sudan, and more than 640,000 have fled to neighbouring countries as a result of the conflict that started in December 2013. Meanwhile, approximately 2.8 million people confront severe food insecurity in the country. In recent months, violence with both political and inter-communal overtones has continued to be reported in various parts of South Sudan.
On 17-18 February, fighting in the UNMISS protection of civilians site in Malakal led to the deaths of 25 people and injuries to more than 50. The incident was marked by clashes between the Dinka and Shilluk communities, with reports that armed individuals wearing the uniform of the Sudan Peoples Liberation Army (SPLA)the army of the South Sudan governmententered the camp, fired on civilians and burned IDP shelters. Several thousand members of the Dinka, Nuer and Shilluk communities fled the camp as a result of the violence. Council members issued a press statement on 19 February, in which they condemned the violence and emphasised that attacks against civilians and United Nations premises may constitute war crimes. On 11 March, DPKO forwarded to the Council a confidential note with the findings of a preliminary investigation on the incident. Also on 11 March, Stephane Dujarric, the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, announced that DPKO and the DFS would convene an independent high-level board of inquiry to carry out an in-depth investigation of UNMISSs response to the violence.
On 19 March, fighting broke out among Nuer inhabitants at a protection of civilians site in Juba. One person was killed and scores injured. UNMISS issued a press release on 20 March stating that the mission was working with Community Watch Group leaders to ascertain the reasons for the altercation and mediate between the parties.
On 21 January, the SPLA clashed with the South Sudan National Liberation Movement, an armed opposition group, in Western Equatoria state, south of the town of Yambio. The hostilities soon extended to Yambio itself, where according to Human Rights Watch, there is evidence that government soldiers burned and looted civilians homes during and after the fighting in Yambio, driving thousands of people to flee. Fighting in Western Equatoria began in May 2015 after SPLA soldiers were accused of supporting Dinka pastoralists moving into the area against the interests of local Equatorian farmers.
In recent months, violence has been reported in Western Bahr el-Ghazal state. In mid-December 2015, UNMISS received reports that government troops had burned and looted homes in an area 13 kilometres south of Wau town. UNMISS received reports of violence against the Fertit community in Wau county in January, while OCHA reported increased fighting in Wau town in February. Thousands have been displaced by the recent violence in Western Bahr el-Ghazal.
Clashes were reported on 7-8 March in Unity states Koch county between the SPLA and the SPLA in Opposition forces. Both sides accused the other of initiating the fighting.
Some steps have been taken towards implementation of the August 2015 peace agreement. On 7 January, the parties agreed on ministerial positions for the envisioned transitional government of national unity, based on ratios established in the agreement: Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), 16 positions; SPLM/A in Opposition, ten positions; the former detainees, two positions; and other political parties, two positions. On 11 February, President Salva Kiir reappointed SPLA in Opposition leader Riek Machar as first vice president, in keeping with the August agreement.
However, the formation of the transitional government of national unity continues to be delayed amidst ongoing violations of the ceasefire agreement. In early March, a security detail of 1,370 was supposed to arrive in Juba in preparation for Machars return. At press time, this had yet to happen, though in late March, 25 South Sudanese rebel generals had arrived in Juba. The government has also been unwilling to reconsider Kiirs October 2015 decree increasing the number of states in the country from ten to 28. This decision violates the August 2015 agreement, which is based on power-sharing ratios in ten states. Furthermore, it has aroused the ire of minority ethnic communities, who view the decision as an effort to confiscate some of their land and power for the benefit of the Dinka, Kiirs ethnic group.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met with President Kiir in Juba on 25 February. During the meeting, he underscored the importance of implementing the August 2015 peace agreement, including the establishment of the transitional government of national unity with Machar.
Kiir issued a decree on 23 March dismissing Foreign Minister Barnaba Benjamin. While no reason for the dismissal was cited, Benjamin had recently been criticised for stating that Luka Biong Deng, a well-known academic and Abyei native, is a Sudanese national. This was controversial because Abyei is a territory disputed by Sudan and South Sudan.
On 19 February, the Council held a briefing, followed by consultations, on the situation in South Sudan and UNMISS. Briefers included Ambassador Fode Seck of Senegal, the Chair of the South Sudan Sanctions Committee, and three officials who appeared via video teleconference: Chairman of the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Committee (JMEC) Festus Mogae, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for South Sudan Moustapha Soumare and Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Ivan Simonovic. Mogae emphasised that implementation of the agreement continued to lag behind schedule, while expressing concern about rising violence in Western Equatoria and Western Bahr el Ghazal states. Soumare expressed concern about the violence in the Malakal protection of civilians site, fighting between government and anti-government forces in Western Bahr el Ghazal and intercommunal conflict in Jonglei, Lakes and Warrap states. He said that the mission was responding to the insecurity through long-duration patrols and temporary operating bases. Simonovic said that the parties to the conflict continued to attack, kill, abduct, rape, arbitrarily detain and forcefully displace civilians and pillage and destroy their property. He emphasised the importance of establishing the mechanisms outlined in Chapter V of the peace agreementthe Commission for Truth, Reconciliation and Healing, the Hybrid Court for South Sudan and a compensation and reparation authorityin a way that is consistent with international norms and standards to combat impunity in South Sudan.
On 2 March, the Council adopted a technical rollover resolution renewing the South Sudan sanctions regime for an additional six weeks until 15 April and the mandate of the Panel of Experts for 10 weeks until 15 May.
The Council adopted a presidential statement on South Sudan on 17 March. The statement expressed deep concern that the parties have not fully adhered to their commitments to implement the August peace agreement. It stated that the Council will review progress by 31 March on five steps: adhering to the permanent ceasefire; completing the implementation of security arrangements for Juba; filling the positions of president, first vice president and vice president in the transitional government of national unity; abiding by and taking no action inconsistent with the January 2016 communique of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, which urged an inclusive national boundary commission to review the proposal to increase the number of states and their boundaries; and protecting civilians and civilian facilities, while allowing for full, safe and unhindered humanitarian access.
On 31 March, the Council met to follow-up progress made by the parties since its 17 March presidential statement. The briefing took place in the context of Council members consideration of expanding sanctions measures against South Sudan, particularly the discussions relating to whether to impose an arms embargo.
Sanctions-Related Developments
Ambassador Seck, the Chair of the South Sudan Sanctions Committee, provided the Council with an overview of the Panel of Experts final report on 19 February. In particular, he highlighted the Panels conclusion that, given the weight of the evidence, senior government and opposition officials maintained command-and-control responsibility for actions and policiesthat are grounds for designation for sanctions. In mid-March, Angola, China and Russia objected to a US proposal to impose targeted sanctions on Paul Malong Awan, chief of the Sudan Peoples Liberation Army (SPLA), and Johnson Olonyi, an SPLA in Opposition general who had previously fought on the government side. This means that the proposal was rejected, given that the committee operates by consensus. The proposal to sanction Malong Awan and Olonyi was initiated in September 2015 but was put on hold at the request of Angola, China, Russia and Venezuela. On 14 March, Leila Zerrougui, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, briefed during joint informal consultations of the South Sudan Sanctions Committee and the Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict. She confirmed that the SPLA, the SPLA in Opposition and other armed groups have been recruiting child soldiers in South Sudan (SC/12298).
Human Rights-Related Developments
The Human Rights Council (HRC) considered during its 31st session in March, the report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights containing the principal findings of the comprehensive assessment conducted by the Office of the High Commissioner into allegations of violations and abuses of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law in South Sudan since the outbreak of violence in December 2013, as requested in HRC resolution 29/13 (A/HRC/31/49). The report, compiled by an assessment team deployed by the High Commissioner to South Sudan from October 2015 to January, focuses primarily on violations and abuses committed by state actors and non-state armed groups in 2015 in the worst affected states of Unity and Upper Nile States, as well as Western and Central Equatoria, where the conflict has spread. The report finds that killings, sexual violence, displacement, destruction and looting continued unabated through 2015, with state actors bearing the greatest responsibility for violations during 2015, some of which may constitute war crimes and/or crimes against humanity. The report contains harrowing accounts of civilians suspected of supporting the opposition, including children and the disabled, killed by being burned alive, suffocated in containers, shot, hanged from trees or cut to pieces. Recommendations made to the HRC include that it consider the establishment of a dedicated mechanism on South Sudan and that it share the report with the Security Council. Recommendations made to the Security Council include that it consider expanding the sanctions regime by imposing a comprehensive arms embargo and consider referring the matter to the ICC, failing the expeditious establishment of the Hybrid Court. The government of South Sudan responded to the report in a letter to the Office of the High Commissioner calling it inaccurate and denying its findings of government responsibility for violations, as well as opposing the appointment of a special rapporteur. On 23 March, the HRC adopted a resolution, without a vote, that established a three- member Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, for a renewable period of one year, to monitor and report on the situation of human rights; make recommendations for its improvement; and present a written report at the HRCs 34th session (A/HRC/31/L.33). The draft resolution introduced by the US, UK, Paraguay and Albania initially referred to the establishment of a special rapporteur for a period of 30 months, but after last minute oral amendments, the text adopted established the Commission instead of a special rapporteur. South Sudan welcomed the resolution adopted and pledged it would cooperate with the Commission. China and Venezuela dissociated themselves from the consensus.
Key Issues
The key issue for the Council is how to exert leverage on the parties to ensure that they fulfil their obligations under the August 2015 peace deal. Since the signing of the agreement, its implementation has been slow, and questions remain regarding the parties commitment to peace.
A related key issue for the Council is whether to make adjustments to the sanctions regime. In large part, the technical rollover resolution adopted in February was intended to give the Council more time to consider its options and present a more unified position at a critical moment in the peace process. However, divisions remain regarding the appropriate approach to sanctions.
Another significant issue is how to ensure that UNMISS is better able to protect civilians. This has been a long-standing challenge for the mission, given the high rates of displacement and the massive human rights violations since the start of the civil war in December 2013. Furthermore, the deadly 17-18 February incident at the Malakal protection of civilians site underscores the difficulties of providing security and keeping thousands of people safe at sites never intended, and therefore poorly equipped, for that purpose.
The question of justice and accountability is another important issue for the Council. Some, including Simonovic in his 19 February briefing to the Council, have argued that a lack of accountability in South Sudan has contributed to ongoing violence, with perpetrators permitted to act with impunity.
Options
One option for the Council is to dispatch a small emergency mission to South Sudan to discuss implementation of the peace agreement with UNMISS Special Representative Ellen Margrethe Lj, Intergovernmental Authority on Development-plus representatives and Mogae. This visiting mission could include meetings with Kiir and Machar to push for the agreements implementation.
With regard to the 2206 sanctions regime, the most likely option is for the Council to renew the regime and the mandate of its Panel of Experts. In doing so, the Council could impose an arms embargo on South Sudan and consider giving the Panel a specific directive to investigate the sources of corruption in South Sudan and corruptions impact on the stability of the country.
The Council could consider requesting a briefing from Simonovic on the Human Rights Councils recent report.
Another option would be to hold an informal interactive dialogue with the AU to discuss next steps with regard to the establishment of the hybrid court for South Sudan and other options for justice, accountability and reconciliation in the country.
Council Dynamics
While all members of the Council are concerned about the situation in South Sudan, differences remain regarding the course of action the Council should pursue. Several members emphasise the importance of pressuring the parties to comply with the August 2015 peace agreement through the threat of appropriate measures, such as targeted sanctions. Others believe that threatening measures at this critical juncture, when there has been some, albeit limited, progress in the implementation of the agreement, could be counter-productive. There are also longstanding divisions among members on a possible arms embargo.
There have been different perspectives on how to move forward with accountability issues as well. When the Council negotiated the most recent UNMISS resolution in December 2015, there was considerable disagreement on the language related to the hybrid court for South Sudan called for in the peace agreement. In the initial draft of that resolution, the US added language on accountability in reference to the hybrid court; this was eventually deleted, apparently as a concession to Angola, Russia and Venezuela, which have argued that under the peace agreement issues pertaining to the court are the responsibility of the AU and not the UN.
The US is the penholder on South Sudan.
UN Documents
This resolution was a technical rollover extending the South Sudan sanctions regime for six weeks. This resolution increased the force structure of UNMISS to a ceiling of 13,000 troops and 2,001 police, while adding additional tasks to the mandate. This statement called on the parties to take certain measures and indicated that the Council would review progress by 31 March. This was a briefing, followed by consultations, on the situation in South Sudan. This was a briefing, followed by consultations, on the situation in South Sudan and on UNMISS, as well as on the work of the 2206 South Sudan Sanctions Committee. This was the final report of the South Sudan Sanctions Committee Panel of Experts.
Status Update
Libya
On 2 March, the head of UNSMIL Martin Kobler briefed the Council on the Secretary-Generals latest report (S/2016/182) and recent political developments (S/PV.7640). The chair of the 1970 Libya Sanctions Committee, Ambassador Ramlan Ibrahim (Malaysia), briefed as well. On 3 March, the 1970 Libya Sanctions Committee met to discuss the final report of its Panel of Experts (S/2016/209). On 14 March, Council members issued a press statement calling for the Presidency Council to take steps to rapidly start working from the capital, Tripoli (SC/12280). On 15 March, the Council adopted resolution 2273, renewing UNSMIL until 15 June. On 31 March, the Council adopted resolution 2278 renewing the sanctions regime for a year.
Arria-Formula Meeting on Human-Rights
On 2 March, New Zealand and Uruguay co-hosted a closed Arria-formula meeting on human rights in peace operations with the heads of human rights components of five UN peace operations: MONUSCO in the DRC; UNAMID in Darfur; UNAMI in Iraq; MINUSMA in Mali; and MINUSCA in the CAR.
DPRK
On 2 March, the Council adopted resolution 2270 condemning in the strongest terms the nuclear test conducted by the DPRK on 6 January and its ballistic missile launch of 7 February, and demanded that it comply immediately with its international obligations. On 18 March, Council members held consultations on the DPRK and issued a press statement condemning the ballistic missile launches of 10 and 18 March (SC/12293). On 24 March, the Council adopted resolution 2276 extending the mandate of the Panel of Experts assisting the 1718 DPRK Sanctions Committee, and deciding that the Panels mandate should apply with respect to measures imposed in resolution 2270. The renewal of the Panels mandate was originally scheduled for 17 March but was delayed by China, which wanted the USs assistance on the removal of four of the ships listed in resolution 2270 as subject to the asset freeze. On 21 March, the 1718 Committee de-listed the four ships following assurances from China that the ships would no longer use crew from the DPRK (SC/12296).
Council Visiting Mission
Council members undertook a visiting mission to West Africa in early March to Mali, Guinea-Bissau and UNOWAS in Dakar (S/2016/215). Council members visited Mali from 4 to 6 March, urging acceleration of the implementation of the 20 June 2015 peace agreement. Council members arrived in Guinea-Bissau on 7 March, where they urged political leaders to resolve its prolonged political crisis through dialogue and based on the countrys laws and constitution. On 8 March, Council members visited UNOWAS and were briefed on the offices conflict prevention efforts and its monitoring of elections across the subregion; the increasing threat of terrorism to West Africa; the Boko Haram conflict; and the merger of the UN Office for West Africa and the Office of the Special Envoy for the Sahel. On 16 March, the Council held a briefing on the visiting mission (S/PV.7647).
Counter-Terrorism
On 8 March, Council members condemned the terrorist attack in Tunisia (SC/12273). On 14 March, the Department of Political Affairs briefed Council members under any other business on the terrorist attacks in Cote dIvoire and Turkey, issuing a press statement on the Cote dIvoire attack (SC/12279). On 22 March, Council members condemned the terrorist attacks in Brussels for which ISIL claimed responsibility (SC/12297). On 28 March, Council members condemned the terrorist attack in Lahore, Pakistan for which Tehrik-e-Taliban claimed responsibility (SC/12306). Regarding the work of the Councils subsidiary bodies, on 23 March, the 1373 Counter-Terrorism Committee held an informal meeting on Iraqs technical assistance needs. On 29 March, the 1267/1989/2153 Al-Qaida/ISIL Sanctions Committee was scheduled to be briefed by its Monitoring Team on the global implementation of resolution 2178 on foreign terrorist fighters and resolution 2199 on countering ISILs illicit financing networks.
Peacekeeping
On 10 March, the Secretary-General briefed the Security Council on his annual report (A/70/729) to the General Assembly on special measures for protection from sexual exploitation and abuse (S/PV.7642). The next day, the Council adopted resolution 2272 addressing sexual exploitation and abuse in peace operations (S/PV.7643). The adoption was slightly delayed as Egypt, in a rare procedural move, requested a separate vote on its amendment (S/2016/239) to the draft resolution. Angola, China, Egypt, Russia and Venezuela supported the amendment, Senegal abstained and the remaining nine Council members voted against. Egypts amendment did not receive nine positive votes and was not accepted. The Council then voted on the un-amended draft resolution that was adopted with 14 votes in favour, and one abstention by Egypt. On 31 March, under any other business, the Department of Field Support briefed Council members on new allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse in the CAR.
Iran
On 14 March, Council members met in consultations to discuss Irans ballistic missile launches on 8 and 9 March. It was the first formal discussion among Council members concerning Iran since the provisions under resolution 2231 went into effect on 16 January, terminating the Iran sanctions regime.
Afghanistan
On 15 March, the Council held its quarterly debate on Afghanistan (S/PV.7645) which focused on the most recent report of the Secretary-General on UNAMA (S/2016/218). Special Representative and head of UNAMA Nicholas Haysom briefed. The Council adopted resolution 2274, renewing the mandate of UNAMA for one year.
Lebanon
Council members were briefed on 16 March by Special Coordinator for Lebanon Sigrid Kaag on the implementation of resolution 1701 and the most recent Secretary-Generals UNIFIL report (S/2016/189). Assistant Secretary-General for the Rule of Law in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations Dimitry Titov also briefed. The following day they issued a press statement, reaffirming deep concern over the 21-month vacancy in the presidency of Lebanon and the current political stalemate (SC/12287).
Liberia
On 17 March, the Council was briefed (S/PV.7649) by Special Representative and head of UNMIL Farid Zarif on the most recent Secretary-Generals UNMIL report (S/2016/169). The head of UN Women, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, also briefed along with Ambassador Olof Skoog (Sweden), Chair of the Liberia configuration of the Peacebuilding Commission. The main focus of the discussion was the upcoming transfer of security responsibilities from UNMIL to the government of Liberia.
Haiti
On 17 March, Special Representative Sandra Honore briefed the Security Council (S/PV.7651) and presented the Secretary-Generals most recent MINUSTAH report (S/2016/225). Her briefing took place amidst continuing uncertainty about the timeline for the completion of the long delayed elections, following the failure to elect a new president before the end of Michel Martellys term on 7 February. The next day Council members issued a press statement that expressed concern regarding the continued suspension of electoral rounds in Haiti and called for the completion of the electoral cycle without further delay (SC/12290).
Burundi
On 18 March, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad Al Hussein and Ambassador Jurg Lauber (Switzerland), chair of the Burundi configuration of the Peacebuilding Commission, briefed the Council on the situation in Burundi (S/PV.7652). The Burundian Minister for External Relations and International Cooperation, Alain Nyamitwe, and Ambassador Tuvako Manongi (Tanzania) also addressed the Council.
Human Rights in Crimea
On 18 March, Ukraine organised an Arria-formula meeting on the human rights situation in Crimea. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad Al Hussein, Commissioner of the President of Ukraine for the Affairs of Crimean Tatars Mustafa Dzhemilev, head of the Board of the Human Rights Information Centre Tetiana Pechonchyk and head of the Crimea Human Rights Group Olga Skrypnyk briefed. Mark Lagon, the President of Freedom House, moderated the discussion that followed.
Great Lakes Region
On 21 March, the Council held an open debate on conflict prevention in the Great Lakes Region. Angola circulated a concept note ahead of the debate (S/2016/223). The Secretary-General, Special Envoy Said Djinnit, AU Commissioner for Peace and Security Smail Chergui and World Bank representative Vijay Pillai briefed the Council (S/PV.7653). On 31 March, the Council adopted a presidential statement on conflict prevention in the region (S/PRST/2016/2).
Democratic Republic of the Congo
On 23 March, Special Representative Maman Sidikou briefed the Council (S/PV.7654) on the most recent MONUSCO report (S/2016/233) and the report on the Peace, Security, and Cooperation Framework for the DRC (S/2016/232). DRCs Foreign Minister Raymond Ntungamulongo also participated. The Council adopted resolution 2277 on 30 March, renewing the mandate of MONUSCO for a year. The 1533 DRC Sanctions Committee was briefed by Sidikou and Sebastian Fasanello, Chief of MONUSCOs Joint Mission Analysis Centre, on 1 March on MONUSCOs arms embargo-monitoring mandate. Paul Heslop, Chief of the UN Mine Action Service Programme Planning & Management Section, briefed on issues of weapons management in the DRC.
Somalia
The Council adopted resolution 2275 on 24 March, extending the mandate of UNSOM. The resolution emphasises the importance of UNSOMs support to the political process, particularly support to the government for the completion of the state formation and constitutional review processes, as well as for preparation of the electoral process.
Food Security
On 29 March, Ambassador Ismael Gaspar Martins (Angola) and Ambassador Roman Oyarzun (Spain) co-chaired an Arria-formula meeting on interlinkages between food security and peace. The briefers were: Jose Graziano da Silva, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization; Sakiko Fukuda-Parr, a former World Bank economist and now a professor at The New School; and Sarah F. Cliffe, Director of New York Universitys Center on International Cooperation.
Women, Peace, and Security
On 28 March, at the initiative of Angola, the Security Council held an open debate on the role of women in conflict prevention and resolution in Africa (S/PV.7658). Angola circulated a concept note in preparation for the open debate (S/2016/219). Maria Filomena Delgado, Angolas Minister for Family and the Promotion of Women, presided. The Executive Director of UN Women, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, briefed along with Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Taye-Brook Zerihoun and Ambassador Macharia Kamau of Kenya in his capacity as Chair of the Peacebuilding Commission. Paleki Ayang, Executive Director of the South Sudan Womens Empowerment Network, addressed the Council as a civil society representative.
Golan Heights
On 30 March, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations briefed Council members in consultations on the Secretary-Generals latest UNDOF report (S/2016/242).
AFRICA
Sudan (Darfur)
Expected Council Action
In April, the Council will receive a briefing, followed by consultations, on the Secretary-Generals quarterly report on the AU/UN Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID), which was published in late March. Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Herve Ladsous is expected to brief.
The mandate of UNAMID expires on 30 June.
Key Recent Developments
Since mid-January, heavy fighting has been reported between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the Sudan Liberation Army-Abdul Wahid (SLA-AW) rebel movement in the Jebel Marra, a region that straddles North, South and Central Darfur. As of 10 March, more than 105,000 civilians had reportedly been displaced by this violence, according to OCHA. Government-imposed access restrictions have prevented the UN and its partners from attending to the needs of thousands of displaced persons in parts of the Jebel Marra in Central and South Darfur. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and AU Commission Chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma issued a joint UN-AU press statement on 3 March expressing deep concern about the impact on civilians of the recent fighting between government forces and the SLA-AW.
Inter-communal clashes have continued to be reported in Darfur. On 9 January, an armed militia from the Beni-Halba ethnic group attacked Mouli village in West Darfur after finding the body of a member of their group in the vicinity. The attack caused the displacement of a significant number of the villages inhabitants, who were largely from the Massalit community. The displaced civilians made their way to the nearby capital of West Darfur, El Geneina, demonstrating at the governors office on 10 January. Media reports indicate that the protestors set fire to government facilities and clashed with Sudanese security personnel, who fired on them with live ammunition. Several people reportedly died in this incident and in clashes with government security forces during a funeral for the initial victims on 11 January.
Fighting between the Salamat and Falata ethnic groups broke out on 14 February in South Darfurs Buram locality, resulting in some 20 people reportedly losing their lives. Violence has recurred between the two groups since a cattle-raiding incident in March 2015. Shortly after the 14 February incident, the Sudanese government arrested 32 leaders from the two groups.
The AU High-level Implementation Panel produced a roadmap agreement for peace in Sudan that was signed by the government on 21 March. The roadmap calls for a cessation of hostilities with rebel groups in Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile, with separate negotiations to ensue with the Darfur groups and with the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) regarding South Kordofan and Blue Nile. The rebel groupsincluding the Justice and Equality Movement, the Sudan Liberation Army-Mini Minawi and SPLM-N have yet to sign the roadmap. They are concerned that the government is attempting to include them in a national dialogue process that is designed to prop up the regime rather than initiate real political reform.
On 9 March, UNAMID personnel accompanying a humanitarian convoy were attacked by unidentified assailants in North Darfur, and one UNAMID peacekeeper was killed. Council members condemned the attack in a 10 March press statement.
On 25 January, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Herve Ladsous briefed the Council on UNAMID. Ladsous expressed concern about the impact of the renewed upsurge in fighting on civilians in the Jebel Marra region of Darfur. He described the difficulties in the political process between the government and the armed groups. He noted that visa denials by the government had resulted in a high vacancy rate in key substantive sections of UNAMID, including those relevant to the protection of civilians.
Human Rights-Related Developments
In a 5 February statement, the independent expert on the situation of human rights in Sudan, Aristide Nononsi, called for an immediate end to hostilities that have triggered new protection and humanitarian concerns in Darfur. He referred to the escalation of violence in the Jebel Marra area, noting that the government of Sudan has a duty to facilitate free, full and unhindered access to all conflict-affected areas by UNAMID, UN agencies and other humanitarian organisations. The statement indicated that ongoing hostilities between government forces and the SLA-AW have resulted in human rights violations and abuses and violations of international humanitarian law, including destruction of civilian property, considerable displacement of civilians and an unspecified number of civilian casualties.
Key Issues
The underlying issue for the Council is the continuing instability of the security and humanitarian environment in Darfur, without progress on the political front.
An additional important matter is the difficult relationship of host country Sudan with UNAMID. Ongoing challenges include restrictions imposed on the access and movement of UNAMID and its humanitarian partners and delays in issuing visas to mission personnel.
Options
One option would be to adopt a resolution or presidential statement that encourages a removal of bilateral sanctions on Sudan and debt relief for the government, contingent on meaningful cooperation with UNAMID. On the governments side, this cooperation would entail:
ending access restrictions for the mission and its humanitarian partners;
issuing visas for UN personnel and individuals from NGOs in a more timely fashion;
stressing that an exit strategy for the mission must be conditioned on significant progress in achieving UNAMIDs benchmarks (i.e. an inclusive peace process, protection of civilians, unhindered humanitarian access and prevention and mitigation of community conflict).
The Council could give the government a time period within which to make progress on these issues, and indicate that it will consider additional measures (e.g. further sanctions) in case of a lack of cooperation.
Council Dynamics
The Council is divided with respect to Darfur. Some members tend to be critical of Sudan for human rights abuses, aerial bombardments, lack of compliance with the ICC and lack of cooperation with UNAMID. Others have a more sympathetic view of Sudan, maintaining that the government is doing what it can to promote stability in the region in the face of an ongoing insurgency. Among this second group is Russia, which has espoused debt forgiveness and an end to bilateral economic sanctions against Sudan as a means to help the country address economic challenges in Darfur, which it has argued are exacerbating the conflict.
The UK holds the pen on Darfur, and Venezuela is the chair of the 1591 Sudan Sanctions Committee.
UN DOCUMENTS ON DARFUR
This was a resolution renewing the mandate of UNAMID for an additional year. The Council was briefed on UNAMID by Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Herve Ladsous. This statement condemned the 9 March attack on UNAMID peacekeepers in North Darfur.
AFRICA
Sudan/South Sudan
Expected Council Action
In April, the Council will hold consultations on the Secretary-Generals report on the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA), which is expected to be published by 15 April.
The UNISFA mandate expires on 15 May.
Key Recent Developments
Fundamental differences remain between Sudan and South Sudan with regard to Abyei. The two countries have not made any progress in addressing the final status of this disputed territory, which straddles the border of both countries. Sudan continues to maintain police around the Diffra oil facility in contravention of several Security Council resolutions. Temporary administrative and security units envisaged by the 20 June 2011 agreement between Sudan and South Sudan to provide stability in the region until its final status can be determinedincluding the Abyei Area Legislative Council, the Abyei Area Administration and the Abyei Police Servicehave not been established.
On 26 November 2015, unidentified assailants attacked the home of the Ngok-Dinka paramount chief Pagot Deng. The incident, which Council members condemned in a 27 November press statement, resulted in the deaths of a UN peacekeeper and a child.
In February, the nomadic Misseriya began their seasonal migration through Abyei in search of grazing land for cattle. In the past, this annual migration has caused friction with members of the Ngok-Dinka community, who reside in the Abyei region and consider it their ancestral homeland. On 25 February, a peace conference was held in the Nyong area of Abyei that included the participation of more than 700 Ngok-Dinka and Misseriya. Deng said that the meeting was designed to promote peaceful relations between the two communities and to discuss safe migration routes for Misseriya pastoralists through Abyei.
Council members were last briefed on UNISFA in consultations on 24 November 2015. During the briefing, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Herve Ladsous told members that the security situation in Abyei had generally been calm, as difficulty in movement during the rainy season helped keep the Ngok-Dinka and Misseriya communities separated. He noted UNISFAs effort to promote reconciliation efforts between the two communities at the local level. Ladsous reiterated that the UN could not invest further in infrastructure for the Joint Border Verification and Monitoring Mechanism, which is designed to monitor the Sudan/South Sudan border and which UNISFA has a mandate to support, until the parties demonstrate greater cooperation with its implementation.
On 15 December 2015, the Council adopted resolution 2251, which renewed the mandate of UNISFA for five months. The resolution welcomed UNISFAs efforts to strengthen community protection committees in Abyei to assist in maintaining law and order in the region.
Key Issues
One key issue is what role the Council can play in compelling Sudan and South Sudan to establish temporary administrative and legal institutions in the area, given the lack of progress in determining Abyeis final status.
Getting Sudan and South Sudan to cooperate with UNISFA in a more meaningful way is another key issue. Sudan has restricted the shipment to Abyei of construction materials that could be used to develop infrastructure such as roads that could be beneficial to the work of the mission. Meanwhile, South Sudan has restricted flight and landing permissions for aerial monitoring as a part of the operations of the Joint Border Verification and Monitoring Mission.
Options
An option for the Council is to adopt a presidential statement that:
urges Sudan and South Sudan to convene Abyei Joint Oversight Committee meetings on a regular basis, as these meetings could provide a forum for constructive dialogue on unresolved issues and have occurred only infrequently in recent years;
urges more consistent and meaningful cooperation with the mission by the governments; and
encourages efforts by the Ngok-Dinka and the Misseriya, with the assistance of UNISFA, to promote inter-communal reconciliation.
Council Dynamics
There are no fundamental differences of view on the UNISFA mandate. However, while there is recognition that both Sudan and South Sudan face their own domestic crises, several members have been frustrated by the lack of progress made by the parties in resolving their differences with regard to Abyei.
One area where members have disagreed is with regard to earthwork excavation that Sudan has carried out near the Diffra oil facility. This excavation is a violation of the 20 June 2011 agreement between Sudan and South Sudan, as it constitutes the development of security infrastructure, according to the Secretary-Generals last UNISFA report. In the negotiations on the last UNISFA resolution, the US was critical of Sudan on this issue, while Russia, supported by China and Venezuela, maintained that this criticism was unduly antagonistic to Khartoum. It seems that Russia did not believe that the excavation could be considered a threat to peace and security.
Members have differed on the appropriate length of the UNISFA mandate. Countries such as Russia and Venezuela have in the past espoused a mandate of six months duration, which the Secretary-General has recommended in recent reports. The US, however, has generally supported mandate renewals of shorter duration, perhaps in an effort to pressure the parties to enhance their negotiations on Abyei. The current mandate duration is five months.
The US is the penholder on UNISFA.
UN Documents on Sudan/South Sudan
This resolution extended the mandate of the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei until 15 May 2016. This report was on UNISFA. This press statement condemned the attack on the home of the Ngok-Dinka Paramount chief.
MIDDLE EAST
Syria
Expected Council Action
Council members will continue to monitor the intra-Syrian talks in Geneva, how the cessation of hostilities is holding and humanitarian access to hard-to-reach and besieged areas in Syria.
Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura is expected to brief in mid-April in what is now the monthly update on the implementation of resolutions 2254 on the political process and 2268 on the cessation of hostilities. Council members will also receive their regular monthly briefings on the chemical weapons and humanitarian tracks in Syria.
Key Recent Developments
On 14 March, the UN-facilitated intra-Syrian proximity talks began, after having been abruptly suspended in early February due to the governments Aleppo offensive, backed by Russian airstrikes. Subsequently, intense diplomatic activity between Russia and the US had culminated in the agreement on a cessation of hostilities that was endorsed by the Security Council in resolution 2268.
Russias military activity in Syria helped the government consolidate its control of territory from Damascus north through Homs to the Latakia coastal plain ahead of peace talks. On the same day that talks in Geneva began, Russia announced a drawdown of its forces from Syria. The timing of Russias announcement appeared to be a clear message to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad that Russian military support was not open-ended and that the only way forward was to engage in the peace talks. On the other hand, the drawdown preserves Russias capabilities for rapid redeployment, maintains its capacity to strike armed opposition groups in Syria, and does not weaken its posture vis-a-vis NATO in the Mediterranean.
Russian air support for the government offensives against ISIS is ongoing and Palmyra was recaptured by 28 March. This effort is distinct from that of the US-led anti-ISIS coalition. ISIS has lost 40 percent of their territory in Iraq and 20 percent in Syria.
Also on 14 March, de Mistura briefed Council members via video teleconference from Geneva after the first day of talks. He reported that the cessation of hostilities had lowered overall levels of violence, and characterised the Russian drawdown as a significant development that would have a positive impact on the negotiations. On the issue of aerial bombardment, de Mistura said that the Syrian minister of defence had assured his Russian counterpart that Syria would not arbitrarily use weapons. In November 2015, de Mistura had reported a similar commitment made by the government directly to his office. However, that commitment was in fact a letter denying the governments arbitrary use of weapons, saying it would never do so.
Regarding the participation of Syrian Kurdish groups, particularly the Democratic Union Party (PYD), in the intra-Syrian talks, it seems that de Mistura sought Council members guidance on whether to include the PYD. The issue has gained increasing prominence in light of the 17 March decision by Kurdish groups to establish a federal system of governance in areas they control along the northern border. Even prior to this decision, the PYDs participation has been resisted by Turkey, which opposes any Kurdish separatist movements along its border. The Riyadh-based umbrella Syrian opposition group, the High Negotiations Committee, which controls much less territory, has signalled the need for de-centralised governance, but does not support a federal structure. Meanwhile, the Syrian government has rejected the concept and is frustrated by Russias support of a federal structure for Syria.
The first round of talks ended on 24 March. As with previous rounds of talks in 2012 and 2014, the UN mediator hit an impasse over the issue of political transition and the fate of Assad. Addressing the issue of presidential elections within 18 months, as endorsed in resolution 2254, was not acceptable to the government, which continues to argue that discussion of presidential elections is premature. In an unusually strong statement, de Mistura said that what premature means for Syria means imminent as far is the UN is concerned.
Unlike in 2012 or 2014, Russia and the US have invested more political capital in the success of these talks. US Secretary of State John Kerry met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on 24 March. There was general agreement that both Russia and the US would use their influence with the parties to support the cessation of hostilities, expand humanitarian access, stop attempts to gain additional territory, and work toward the release of detainees. On the issue of Assad, Kerry said he believed Russia would help Assad make the right decision and commit fully to the talks and a genuine transition. Lavrov was more circumspect, commenting that the process should end with Syrians agreeing on how they want to see their country. The next day, Russias deputy foreign minister said that Russia and the US had agreed that the issue of Syrias president should not be on the agenda at this stage. De Misturas 24 March paper that describes commonalities between the parties references elections, but there is no specific reference to presidential elections.
The issue of political transition is expected to be the focus of the second round of talks, set to resume on 9 April. Some media reports indicate there might be a delay, to 14 April, the day after the parliamentary elections which were announced by the regime on 22 February, hours after Russia and the US had agreed on the cessation of hostilities.
On the humanitarian track, Jan Egeland, who is de Misturas adviser to the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) humanitarian task force, has stressed the need for the government to permit access to the remaining six of 18 besieged areas. On 23 March, Egeland announced that the government had given verbal assent to access to three to four more areas, but not to Darayya and Douma near Damascus, both besieged by government forces and believed to be in very dire straits. In addition, he stressed that getting medical relief into these areas, even if other aid was permitted, remained the single most difficult access issue.
OCHA head Stephen OBrien briefed the Council on 30 March, presenting the latest Secretary-Generals report that described improving access and reiterating the goal for aid to reach 1.1 million people by the end of April. He also focused on the work of the ISSG humanitarian task force and how it coordinates with the UN.
On the chemical weapons track, Acting UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Kim Won-soo briefed Council members on 23 March.
Key Issue
The essential issue for the Councilentering the sixth year of a war that has exacted a death toll of 470,000, injured one million and displaced half of the Syrian population, including 4.8 million refugeesis to build on the momentum of resolutions 2254 and 2268, and exert effective leadership in supporting a cessation of hostilities and efforts to implement a political solution.
Options
The ISSG and resolutions 2254 and 2268 have identified roles for the Council in the event that talks in 2016 produce concrete results towards a national ceasefire and a parallel political process, including elections. How such a ceasefire and elections would be monitored would require more consideration by the Council. In the near term, however, the options for the Council are limited as the day-to-day oversight of resolutions 2254 and 2268 has been outsourced to the ISSG broadly, and P5 members Russia and the US in particular.
Council Dynamics
When resolution 2268 was adopted a little more than an hour before the cessation of hostilities went into effect on 27 February, it was unclear to many Council members whether it was a pivotal moment in the trajectory of the Syrian conflict, or whether the momentum would falter. A month later, Council members are cautiously optimistic, observing that the cessation of hostilities has lowered overall levels of violence, allowed increasing flows of humanitarian aid, and created a more conducive environment for a political process.
Nevertheless, divisions remain. Russias position has consistently sought for the US to (1) be less vocal about Assads departure from power; and (2) increase cooperation on counter-terrorism efforts with Moscow, resulting in de-facto coordination with Damascus. On Assad, some Council members are of the view that the Russian and the US positions have quietly moved closer together, in that Assad would have a role in the transition but would not stand for re-election. It remains unclear whether Iran shares that position. The US has been more resistant to direct coordination of counter-terrorism efforts in Syria. This dynamic was demonstrated when Council members were unable to reach agreement on a draft press statement on the governments defeat of ISIS in Palmyra. The P3 wanted to expand the statement to include other victories against ISIS made by the US-led coalition in Iraq and Syria, but that was rejected by Egypt, Russia and Venezuela.
Most outcomes on the Syria political track are agreed between Russia and the US prior to agreement by the Council, as was the case with resolutions 2254 and 2268. Egypt, New Zealand and Spain lead on humanitarian issues.
UN Documents
Endorsed the cessation of hostilities and called for the resumption of political talks. This was the first resolution focused exclusively on a political solution to the Syrian crisis. It was adopted unanimously. This was the regular monthly humanitarian briefing by OCHA. This was the Secretary-Generals monthly report on the humanitarian situation. This was the 29th OPCW report on chemical weapons.
AFRICA
Western Sahara
Expected Council Action
In April, the Council is expected to adopt a resolution extending the mandate of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO). The Council will also be watching the situation on the ground closely following the evacuation of dozens of MINURSO staff at Moroccos request.
Key Recent Developments
The fate of the MINURSO mission has been called into question after a public dispute between Morocco and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon over comments made by Ban during his early-March visit to the region. The Secretary-General had been trying for several months to arrange a visit that would include meetings in Rabat, and a visit to MINURSOs headquarters in Laayoune, on the Moroccan-controlled side of the berm. In February, Morocco invited Ban to meet the King on the sidelines of the Arab League summit in Rabat scheduled for 7 April, which would have been after the drafting of the annual report of the Secretary-General on Western Sahara. The Secretary-General decided to travel to the region on 2-7 March, but the King was not available to meet him and Morocco did not agree to him visiting the Laayoune headquarters. Following a visit by his Personal Envoy Christopher Ross to lay the groundwork for the Secretary-Generals trip, Ban instead visited the Smara refugee camp, near Tindouf, Algeria, and a MINURSO team site in Bir Lahlou, in the Polisario-controlled Western Sahara, with the intention of visiting Rabat and Laayoune in July. In remarks made during the visit, Ban referred to Moroccos occupation of Western Sahara, triggering an angry backlash from authorities in Rabat. On 15 March Morocco requested that 84 international staffers be removed from the civilian component of MINURSO within three days.
On 17 March, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman briefed members in consultations. He said Morocco had escalated the situation without first attempting diplomatic measures. Feltman reported that the staff members involved perform a wide range of duties, including crucial logistical tasks, and that in their absence the mission could not operate.
Due to divisions in the Council, there was no agreement on issuing a statement. Instead, Council President Ismael Abraao Gaspar Martins (Angola) addressed the media with elements to the press that said that the Council had expressed serious concerns and had decided that members should engage bilaterally in order to ensure the MINURSO mission can continue its work.
On 18 March, Dmitry Titov, Assistant Secretary-General for the Rule of Law and Security Institutions in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, briefed Council members under any other business on the implications of a staff pullout. On 20 March it was reported that 73 staff members had left the mission.
At the 21 March noon press briefing, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General Farhan Haq echoed Feltmans point that MINURSO could no longer fully function. He said the UN complied due to logistical and security concerns but compliance does not constitute a determination that Morocco has sovereignty over the territory. Haq added that Morocco had violated its status of mission agreement, and obligations under Article 25 of the UN Charter. He stated that the Secretary-General had not made a mistake in using the term occupation and that the term had been used in General Assembly resolutions in 1979 and 1980.
At an informal meeting of Council permanent representatives that same day, Angola proposed a press statement, which it later circulated. The draft press statement expressed deep concern at the departure of a large contingent of MINURSOs staff in response to the 16 March note verbale by Morocco to the Secretary-General; acknowledged that such actions disrupt MINURSOs ability to effectively carry out its mission; underscored that the Council deploys peacekeepers to carry out critical functions and that peacekeeping cannot function if member states unilaterally demand the withdrawal of all civilians from missions established by the Council; urged parties to address the circumstances that led to the situation and urged Morocco to allow MINURSOs staff to return so that MINURSOs activities can continue; and reiterated its full support for the Secretary-General, his Personal Envoy Christopher Ross and Special Representative and head of MINURSO Kim Bolduc.
Such a statement was unacceptable to several Council members whose assessment of what precipitated the crisis differed fundamentally from those expressed in the Angolan statement. Egypt, supported by Senegal, suggested an amendment that added that Moroccos note verbale followed an unfortunate misrepresentation of the UNs official position on the question of Western Sahara and removed the language urging Morocco to allow MINURSOs staff to return to the territory. Consensus was not reached on the draft, and negotiations were briefly suspended. On 23 March, Angola circulated a revised draft incorporating some of Egypts revisions, but also retaining original language that some members had objected to. This version was put under silence procedure, but several members apparently asked for more time. Later that evening, New Zealand circulated a shorter version of the press statement that included more neutral language and omitted direct reference to both the Secretary-General and Morocco.
Also on 23 March, Herve Ladsous, head of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, briefed Council members under any other business. Ladsous delivered a strong message that the military component of MINURSO could not operate without the evacuated civilian staff, and that in the Secretariats estimation this situation was unacceptable.
Council members met on 24 March under any other business to discuss the New Zealand draft. It seemed that the majority of Council members were amenable to this draft, with the exception of Egypt, France and Senegal who argued that the timing was not right. Council members agreed to meet again later in the day after Moroccan Foreign Minister Salaheddine Mezouar had made a statement in Rabat. In his statement Mezouar asserted that Moroccos decision was sovereign and irreversible. He said that military contacts with MINURSO had not been disrupted, that Morocco was committed to cooperation to ensure the continuity of the ceasefire, and that it was ready for serious talks but would not ignore the reasons for the current situation.
In their subsequent consultations, members agreed to narrow the discussion to issues directly related to MINURSO, and not the precipitating events, in an effort to find common ground. Finally members were able to agree on press elements based on the New Zealand statement. The agreed press elements stated that members of the Council: had held several meetings on Western Sahara and expressed serious concerns about developments; discussed the issue of the departure of 73 personnel from MINURSO civilian staff; had taken due note of the Secretariats briefings on the impact which the continuation of this situation could have on the effective functioning of the mission; recalled that peacekeeping operations and other missions are deployed by the council to carry out critical tasks around the world to maintain international peace and security; and stressed the importance of addressing in a constructive, comprehensive and cooperative manner the circumstances that led to this situation so that MINURSO may resume its full capacity to carry out its mandate as contained in several resolutions. (Fuller details on the Councils deliberations can be found in our 26 March 2016 Whats In Blue story Council discussions on Western Sahara.)
The Polisario has responded to the events by condemning Moroccos decision. On 21 March Saharawi Foreign Minister Mohamed Salem Ould Salek warned that through its decision Morocco was pushing the Saharawi people to take up arms.
Key Issues
The immediate concern for the Council at this time is to determine how best to manage the crisis surrounding MINURSO in a manner that allows the mission to continue to operate as mandated.
Another main issue is that in light of these heightened tensions, the resumption of armed conflict cannot be ruled out, and the Council may need to focus on how best to mitigate that threat.
The underlying issue is that the parties remain deadlocked and the political process has stalled due to the fact that the parties proposals for the basis of a political solution as outlined in 2007 are mutually exclusive. Ascertaining what the Council can do to break the deadlock between the parties and determining whether an alternative approach ought to be adopted by Ross are key issues.
A wider issue is the implications of allowing a member state to insist on the removal of parts of a Council-mandated mission, especially from disputed territory.
Options
Concerning the current crisis, one option would be for the Council to issue a statement urging Morocco to reverse its decision in order to allow MINURSO to continue its work unhindered. Another option would be to agree to a demarche by the Council president. However, given the deep divisions among Council members on how to interpret the situation, this option seems unlikely. A more likely scenario is that Council members will continue to engage bilaterally.
On the mandate renewal, one option is for the Council to merely renew the mandate of MINURSO for a period of 12 months, maintaining language similar to that of the current mandate. Alternatively it could renew the mandate for a shorter period, and set up a process to review MINURSO, which has been a longstanding stagnant mission, in order to determine if the mission should continue in this form given the lack of forward movement in the peace process.
Looking at the situation as a whole, and perhaps with a renewed sense of urgency to resolve the political stalemate, a further option would be for the Council to engage in a comprehensive review of the framework that it provided for the negotiating process in 2007, as recommended by the Secretary-General in his 2014 report.
Council and Wider Dynamics
The Council is deeply divided on both the nature of the wider conflict and on the current impasse between Morocco and the Secretary-General. Such divisions have long rendered the Council impotent on the matter and have in recent years impeded efforts by members interested in making changes to the mandate of MINURSO.
Council members who support the Moroccan position include Egypt, France, Senegal and Spain, and it appears that their views cannot be reconciled with those of some other members, particularly those which recognise the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR). Three Council members have recognised SADR: Angola, Uruguay and Venezuela. Angola and Uruguay also maintain diplomatic relations with Morocco, while Venezuela does not.
These different positions came out clearly in the discussions over a possible statement. Members supportive of Morocco felt strongly the matter was between Morocco and the Secretary-General and did not want the Council to get involved. Even a private Council demarche was unacceptable to these members, who argued that any sort of outcome would hamper bilateral negotiations aimed at calming the situation. These members were also averse to the Council putting pressure on Morocco to reverse its decision. They viewed the crisis as having been precipitated by Bans comments and therefore resisted any expression of support for the Secretary-General.
Other members argued that the Council needed to show its support for the Secretary-General, that its credibility was on the line, and one member state could not be allowed to dismantle a Council-mandated mission. These members, who viewed Moroccos move as a unilateral expulsion of UN staff, argued that allowing such conduct could set a dangerous precedent for UN peacekeeping operations.
The US, which is the penholder on Western Sahara, has recently expressed its support for MINURSO publicly while also saying that it considers Moroccos autonomy plan serious, realistic and credible, according to a 19 March post on Twitter by the US Mission to the UN.
The current situation has created tensions between the Council and the Secretariat, which has requested that Morocco reverse its decision to expel the MINURSO staff and has unsuccessfully sought the Councils support in echoing this request as well as in expressing support for the Secretary-General.
UN Documents
This was a resolution extending the mandate of MINURSO until 30 April 2016. This was the report of the Secretary-General on the situation concerning Western Sahara. This was a report of the Secretary-General on Western Sahara. This was a letter from South Africa to the Council transmitting the Polisario plan. This was a letter from Morocco to the Council transmitting the Moroccan plan. This was a resolution that referred to the continued occupation of Western Sahara by Morocco. This resolution referred to the continued occupation of Western Sahara by Morocco.
Other Documents
Note from the Executive Office of the Secretary-General to the Kingdom of Morocco (22 March 2016) that conveyed the Secretariats deep concern with respect to Moroccos decision that is contrary to the international legal obligations of the Government.
MIDDLE EAST
Yemen
Expected Council Action
In April, the Secretary-Generals Special Envoy for Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, is expected to brief the Council.
Key Recent Developments
Nearly a year after the Saudi Arabia-led coalition intervened to restore the government of transition president Abdo Rabbo Mansour Hadi, there appeared to be a greater commitment by the warring parties towards ending Yemens conflict. In early March, reports surfaced that talks were being held between the Houthis, a Zaydi-Shia rebel group, and Saudi Arabia, outside of the UN mediation process. These produced agreement on several confidence-building measures, including prisoner exchange, aid deliveries and a significant de-escalation in Houthi cross-border attacks and coalition bombing in Yemens northern border region.
Further signs of a possible de-escalation occurred on 18 March when coalition-spokesman General Ahmed al-Asseri said the coalition would scale down its military operations. Saudi Arabia had similarly announced that major combat operations were ending in late April 2015.
On 23 March, the Special Envoy announced that a cessation of hostilities would start on 10 April followed by a new round of talks in Kuwait on 18 April. He said the talks would seek to reach a comprehensive agreement and would focus on five main areas: the withdrawal of militias and armed groups; the handover of heavy weapons to the state; interim security arrangements; the restoration of state institutions and political dialogue; and the creation of a committee for prisoners and detainees. Council members later that day issued a press statement welcoming the announcement, urging all parties to reduce violence and refrain from provocative action ahead of the cessation of hostilities.
Earlier in March, Council members had begun discussing elements of a Yemen humanitarian resolution, including issues of access for humanitarian aid and protection of civilians, but the resolution has been put on hold in light of political developments.
Meanwhile, heavy fighting has continued across much of the country. Criticism of Saudi Arabia intensified as coalition airstrikes continued to be responsible for the majority of civilian casualties. This included a 27 February airstrike on a marketplace in Sanaa that killed at least 32 civilians and a 15 March airstrike on a marketplace in Hajjah that according to media reports killed at least 106 people. The EU parliament adopted a non-binding resolution on 25 February calling for an arms embargo on Saudi Arabia. On 22 March, eight NGOs, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, issued a joint statement calling on all governments to cease the supply of arms to the parties of the conflict. At a press conference, Human Rights Watch stressed in particular that the P3 Council members, the US, UK and France, should stop sending arms to Saudi Arabia until it ends unlawful airstrikes and credibly investigates alleged violations.
The UN Inspection and Verification Mechanism (UNVIM)created to facilitate commercial shipping to Yemenwas officially established with headquarters in Djibouti on 12 February, and was expected to be fully operational soon. The 2016 Yemen humanitarian response plan was launched on 18 February, with an appeal for $1.8 billion to support 13.4 million people. OCHA head Stephen OBrien referred to both developments during his last Council briefing on 3 March, when he stressed that airstrikes and random shelling of civilians and civilian areas violate cardinal rules of international humanitarian law and constitute unlawful conduct of hostilities.
Sanctions-Related Developments
Ambassador Motohide Yoshikawa (Japan), the chair of the 2140 Yemen Sanctions Committee, briefed the Council with the Special Envoy on 17 February. Yoshikawa focused on the 22 January final report of the 2140 Committees Panel of Experts. On 24 February, the Council adopted resolution 2266, which extended financial and travel ban measures and the targeted arms embargo on the Houthis and forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh until 26 February 2017. It further extended the mandate of the Panel of Experts until 27 March 2017. A new five-person Panel of Experts was proposed following criticism by Committee members, of whom only its coordinator, Ahmed Himmiche, was a member of last years Panel. Four of the five experts were appointed by the Secretary-General on 29 March. At press time, the Committee was considering a new candidate to serve as the international humanitarian law expert after Egypt rejected the individual that the Secretariat had initially proposed.
Human Rights-Related Developments
In the wake of the deadly airstrike that killed at least 106 civilians in a crowded village market in north-western Yemen, High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad Al Hussein released a statement on 18 March that condemned the repeated failure of the coalition forces to take effective actions to prevent the recurrence of such incidents, and the failure to publish the results of transparent and independent investigations into incidents that have already occurred. According to the statement, the UN Human Rights Office has recorded a total of just under 9,000 casualties, including 3,218 civilians killed and 5,778 injured, since the beginning of the conflict a year ago. Looking at the figures, it would seem that the coalition is responsible for twice as many civilian casualties as all other forces put together, virtually all as a result of airstrikes, the High Commissioner said, adding [it] would appear to be the case that the distinction between legitimate military targets and civilian ones, which are protected under international law, is at best woefully inadequateand at worst, we are possibly looking at the commission of international crimes by members of the coalition.
Key Issues
A key issue will be whether the parties remain committed to the announced cessation of hostilities and talks in Kuwait, and how the Council can keep this process on track. A related issue is how the Houthi-Saudi Arabia track can complement UN-brokered negotiations between the Yemeni parties.
An ongoing concern is the humanitarian crisis and widespread human rights violations. Whether and when the Council should address this through a separate humanitarian resolution is a related issue.
An additional key issue is the expansion in Yemen of Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula and the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham.
Options
One option is for the Council to monitor developments and adopt an outcome supporting any new agreements.
The Council might, alternatively, be more proactive and adopt a resolution ahead of the planned negotiations calling on all parties to respect the cessation of hostilities and to engage in the upcoming talks without preconditions and in good faith.
If current political initiatives do not materialise or fail to stem the fighting and its impact on civilians, the Council could move forward on a humanitarian resolution that:
calls on all parties to allow immediate and unhindered humanitarian aid, ensure the safety of humanitarian personnel and end attacks on medical facilities, schools and civilian infrastructure;
urges parties to cooperate fully with UNVIM and ensure delivery of commercial goods, including food, fuel and medical supplies;
expresses concern over widespread violations of international human rights and international humanitarian law; and
demands an end to attacks against civilians.
Additionally, the Council may reiterate that violations of international human rights and international humanitarian law are part of the designation criteria in resolution 2140 and express its readiness to apply sanctions against any parties committing such violations.
Council and Wider Dynamics
Members agree that the conflict can only be solved through political negotiations. They also share concern over the humanitarian crisis and the need for the parties to do more to uphold international humanitarian law and protect civilians. However, the close relations of many members, particularly the P3 and Egypt, with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries has restrained the Councils ability to address these issues more forcefully. In general, the Council has relied on the Special Envoys mediation efforts, with members hoping for progress on a political process that the Council can then support.
However, frustration with the stalled political process and the deteriorating humanitarian situation led some members in mid-February to express support for a separate humanitarian resolution on Yemen. New Zealand, which first raised the idea, suggested elements that were discussed among the full membership at the beginning of March. The UK, which is the penholder on Yemen, offered to prepare a text after most members supported the idea. However, consideration of a resolution, which Saudi Arabia has said is unnecessary, was put on hold as progress was made on the political front. The Council could return to the proposal if the new cessation of hostilities and talks are unsuccessful.
A new dynamic, providing hope that upcoming political talks could be more successful than previous ones, is the Houthi-Saudi Arabia dialogue. Doubts remain, however, about the commitment of leaders to a political solution or the opportunity for the sides to reach common ground.
In addition to several elected members support for a humanitarian resolution, Russia has continued to play a leading role in focussing the Council on the humanitarian situation. Egypt has championed the positions of Saudi Arabia and the coalition, of which it is a member.
UN DOCUMENTS ON YEMEN
This was a resolution renewing the Yemen sanctions measures until 26 February 2017, and the mandate of the Panel of Experts until 27 March 2017. This press statement welcomed the Special Envoys announcement of a cessation of hostilities and peace talks. This was a briefing by OCHA head Stephen OBrien. This was a briefing by the Secretary-Generals Special Envoy for Yemen, Ismael Ould Cheikh Ahmed. This was a briefing from OCHA head Stephen OBrien on the humanitarian situation in Yemen. This was the final report of the Yemen Panel of Experts.
Press Release
April 1, 2016 CHIZ CONDEMNS VIOLENT DISPERSAL OF PROTESTING
FARMERS IN KIDAPAWAN Independent vice-presidential candidate Sen. Francis "Chiz" Escudero condemned in the strongest terms the violent dispersal of farmers, mostly lumads, who gathered along the Cotabato-Davao highway in Kidapawan City to protest and demand for immediate relief from the devastating effects of El Nino. Initial reports indicate that one person was confirmed dead and eight were seriously injured in the dispersal. There were also reports that victims include children. "I believe that every citizen has a right to freedom of assembly and the concerns of these poor farmers are valid. The least the government could do is listen to their concerns and do something about it," Escudero said. The farmers were dispersed on the third day of their protest after they rejected an offer of three kilos of rice quarterly. Their immediate demand was for 15,000 sacks of rice to stave off hunger until they can resume planting. They also asked for free seeds and other agricultural inputs so they can replace the crops they have lost since the drought struck in November, as well as reasonable increase in the market prices of their produce. Escudero, who tops all pre-election surveys as the most preferred candidate for vice president, said authorities should have exercised maximum tolerance and facilitated peaceful dispersal, considering that those farmers have "all the right to gather and speak freely on matters that affect their livelihood and well-being." "The government must be reminded that violence can never be a solution to any perceived differences since there are other peaceful and constructive means of resolving differences," Escudero pointed out. Escudero has been pushing the government to download funds in order to assist farmers affected by the long-drawn dry spell since the state weather bureau started issuing warnings as early as last year. The agriculture sector hosts 60 percent of the poorest in the country, and Escudero said there is a need to increase the budget allocation for farmers and fisherfolk to at least P300 billion annually to help improve their plight and increase their household income. If elected in May, Escudero said the "Gobyernong may Puso" will build more farm-to-market roads to increase by at least 7 percent the income of farmers, grant more subsidies, increase support services and provide free irrigation system. Under the P3.02-trillion budget of the administration, the sector gets only P94 billion.
Press Release
April 1, 2016 BONGBONG MARCOS CONDEMNS VIOLENT DISPERSAL OF BARRICADING FARMERS IN MINDANAO Vice presidential candidate Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" R. Marcos Jr. today condemned the violent dispersal of the drought-hit farmers barricading in a highway in Kidapawan City saying the use of bullets was "completely unnecessary." "I deplore the use of bullets to answer legitimate demands of our farmers and their families in North Cotabato. They are hungry and they are just asking for food so they can feed their families. The violent dispersal was completely unnecessary," he said adding that the police should have instead negotiated with the protesters. Reports have indicated that at least one person was killed and 8 others, all identified as farmers, have been shot and wounded during the dispersal by Kidapawan City police forces. The famine-hit farmers complaining of hunger have set up barricades at the Davao-Cotabato Highway in Kidapawan City since Wednesday. They were asking for the release of the province's calamity fund and rice supplies as well as other government support to their condition. Marcos then urged the creation of an inter-agency committee to address the situation and start a dialogue. "Cooler heads must take the lead so we can come up with a win-win solution to their plight. The farmers are just asking for food to feed their children and it is lamentable that the government has answered them with bullets," he said. Marcos, who had repeatedly made calls to the Department of Agriculture (DA) to speed up programs to help farmers in the drought-hit areas in the country, especially in Mindanao, said the farmers' resort to blocking the Davao-Cotabato national highway in Kidapawan to demand rice distribution is a manifestation that the government has not done enough to address their condition. "It is an act of desperation and I could not blame them. They are hungry for months, their crops are gone, damaged by El Nino. This should be a wake-up call to our government, our DA officials especially to double their efforts to help them," he said. Marcos said the DA should account for the P2.1 billion specially earmarked to assist farmers affected by the drought conditions caused by El Nino and spur agricultural production in the first quarter of 2016. "The question now is, how is the DA spending the P2.1 billion budget set to help our drought-affected farmers? The DA should explain so that the government can fine-tune the programs set and if needed, allocate more funds to augment it," he pointed out.
Press Release
April 1, 2016 BONGBONG MARCOS ASKS DOF TO ASSIST OFWS AS REMITTANCE CENTERS ABROAD SHUT DOWN Vice presidential candidate Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" R. Marcos, Jr. today urged the government to put up a contingency plan to provide alternative ways to enable Overseas Filipino Workers to continue remitting their earnings in case more local banks close their remittance shops abroad. "The government should immediately put up a contingency plan to cushion the impact of possible shut down of more money transfer operations abroad to help our OFWs," Marcos said. Marcos aired the call following the warning of the Department of Finance of possible closure of remittance shops of local banks abroad after the Philippines was involved in the $81 million Bangladesh Bank cyber heist. DOF Secretary Cesar Purisima had bared that several foreign banks have recently closed accounts of money transfer operators that service OFWs and if the trend continues OFWs might have to pay double for sending their money to their families here in the Philippines. Marcos cited reports that Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC), where the $81 million fund was funneled, and the Bank of the Philippine Islands were forced to close shops in Rome and Milan. Although it was claimed that the closure was not related to the money-laundering scandal, Marcos said the timing is alarming and should prompt the DOF to ready possible measures to assist OFWs in case the remittance situation worsens. "We call our OFWs our modern day heroes because their remittances are the main driving force of our economy. We must do everything possible to ensure our OFWs would be able to send their money home easily and without added cost, as much as possible," said Marcos. The DOF had sought the amendment of Republic Act No. 9160, or the Anti-Money Laundering Act to show to foreign banks that OFW money should not be confused with dirty money. However, Marcos said this could take some time. "Until the law is amended what would be the recourse of our OFWs in case more remittance centers abroad close shop? They can avail of reputable private online money transfer services but we should at least provide them with information and guidelines to prevent them from falling victim to fraudulent online schemes," said Marcos.
Press Release
April 1, 2016 HIGHWAY BARRICADE OF DROUGHT-HIT FARMERS IN MINDANAO SHOULD BE WAKE-UP CALL FOR GOV'T - BONGBONG MARCOS Vice presidential candidate Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" R. Marcos Jr. said the protest action taken by thousands of drought-hit farmers in Mindanao should be a wake-up call for the government to take more decisive actions to address the El Nino phenomenon and its effects on the agricultural sector. Marcos, who had repeatedly made calls to the Department of Agriculture (DA) to speed up programs to help farmers in the drought-hit areas in the country, especially in Mindanao, said the farmers' resort to blocking the Davao-Cotabato national highway in Kidapawan to demand rice distribution is a manifestation that the government has not done enough to address their condition. "It is an act of desperation and I could not blame them. They are hungry for months, their crops are gone, damaged by El Nino. This should be a wake-up call to our government, our DA officials especially to double their efforts to help them," he said. The Davao-Cotabato national highway in Kidapawan was crippled Wednesday after thousands of hungry farmers set up barricades to demand rice distribution as well as government intervention and subsidy to increase production. Marcos said the DA should account for the P2.1 billion specially earmarked to assist farmers affected by the drought conditions caused by El Nino and spur agricultural production in the first quarter of 2016. "The question now is, how is the DA spending the P2.1 billion budget set to help our drought-affected farmers? The DA should explain so that the government can fine-tune the programs set and if needed, allocate more funds to augment it," he pointed out. The senator then expressed hope that the distribution of the earmarked funding has not been affected by the political season as some politicians are known to request the diversion of funds to their areas at the expense of specific beneficiaries who need it the most. "With the onset of the political season the DA must take special care to ensure that mitigation efforts for El Nino must be directed to those who really need it most and not just because some politician requested to divert the assistance programs in their areas," Marcos said. The DA has pegged El Nino's damage to crops and other agriculture produce at P4.002 billion with the corn sector recording the biggest loss at 195,694 metric tons (MT) valued at P2.36 billion, followed by palay with 94,934 MT or P1.62-billion. 30 areas or 36 percent of the country experienced drought with Regions 2 and 12 suffering the most damage. Marcos said the DA should act fast to avert the ill-effects of El Nino to farmers. "A lot of farmers and their families in the provinces affected by El Nino are suffering and are going to suffer more hardships if the DA won't be able to deliver on its promise," he said.
Press Release
April 1, 2016 To fight sickness, money laundering, make PhilHealth card 'national ID' A day after the country's corporate watchdog batted for a national identification system to ease financial transaction and combat money laundering, a proposal has been made in the Senate to elevate the PhilHealth card as the "pambansang ID." Senate President Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto said a Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) identification card is now honored as a valid government-issued identity document, "so the only thing left is to update its features and expand its distribution." PhilHealth cards, he added, have also been accepted, pursuant to a Central Bank circular, in all banking transactions as a document to verify and establish a person's identity. "The beauty of adopting the PhilHealth card as the Filipino ID is its high social acceptability," Recto said. "The benefits one may derive from a PhiHealth card are clear to the bearer, unlike a card which was conceived with the security of the state in mind," he added. "People will be happy carrying this card because it will help them in a medical emergency. They will not leave home without it," Recto said. Recto said Republic Act 7875, the National Health Insurance Act of 1995, which birthed PhilHealth, calls for the issuance of a "Health Insurance ID Card" to a member. And because membership in PhilHealth is "universal and compulsory, then all Filipinos should get one." RA 7875 requires all "citizens to enroll in the National Health Insurance System." Once enrolled, the member will be given a "Health Insurance ID Card", which, according to the PhilHealth charter, shall be issued by the local office of PhilHealth so that it can "identify the member, verify his eligibility, and record his utilization of benefits." Also under the said law, a member who transfers residence must inform PhilHealth of his new address, "thus meeting the monitoring requirements of an ideal national ID," Recto explained. While it guarantees health insurance, the PhilHealth card does not invade one's privacy, Recto said. "The information supplied there is limited to basic ones so that the card doesn't appear as a curriculum vitae." Recto, however, conceded that the PhilHealth card "may need some tweaking if biometric features of the holder will be included." On Thursday, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Teresita Herbosa, also co-chair of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), called for a biometrics-based national ID system to deter the creation of fictitious banking accounts like the ones used in laundering the loot from the Bangladesh cyberheist. "Kung sa Comelec meron na, so hindi na bago 'yang biometrics sa atin," he said. "The card can be reconfigured so it can truly become a 'one card, fits all' document. "Ang hanap natin ay ang Swiss knife version ng ID, with multiple uses." But Recto said the presentation of a PhilHealth card is not needed by senior citizens - all of whom are covered by PhilHealth due to a law he authored - in accessing and enjoying PhilHealth benefits. "Magpakita lang sila ng ID bilang patunay na sila'y senior citizen at matatanggap na nila mula sa ospital ang karampatang benepisyong laan sa mga miyembro ng PhilHealth," Recto said. This is one of the provisions in the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the Recto-authored RA 10645 which made senior medicare coverage universal by removing the qualification that a senior citizen has to be an indigent before he or she can be enrolled by the government in PhilHealth for free. Recto said making the PhilHealth card as the "pambansang ID" will also spur the government to place all Filipinos under PhilHealth coverage. As of latest count, PhilHealth only insures about 90 percent of the population. Pending in the Senate is Recto's bill, SB No. 2859, creating a "benefits-laden" National ID Card out of the PhilHealth membership card.
Press Release
April 1, 2016 MIRIAM CONDEMNS COTABATO VIOLENCE Presidential candidate Miriam Defensor Santiago called inhuman the deadly dispersal of farmers and indigenous peoples who barricaded a Kidapawan City highway on Friday in protest of insufficient food supply in their areas. Santiago, a constitutional expert, said the government should be held accountable for the violence that killed one person and wounded some 30 others, adding that the act violated the constitutional right to freedom of assembly. She was referring to the Constitution, Article 3, Section 4, which guarantees, along with the freedom of speech, of expression, and of the press, "the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances." "It is vile enough that this administration has failed to support the farmers and lumads of Kidapawan during the prolonged drought in Mindanao. But it is downright inhuman for them to shoot at the same people begging for help," the senator said. Media outfits reported that the violence erupted after police and security personnel attempted to disperse the groups blockading the Cotabato-Davao Highway. When the protesters resisted, the armed personnel allegedly opened fire. Santiago said the incident should immediately be investigated and those guilty be swiftly brought to justice. She also urged the administration to improve support for the agriculture sector to consistently ensure sufficient food supply. "In the first place, there would not have been a protest if only these people felt compassion from their leaders. This government cannot claim to be pro-poor when it answers pleas for help with bursts of gunshot," the senator said. Santiago also lamented the death of her proposed Right to Adequate Food Framework Act (Senate Bill No. 2137), which could have helped put in place mechanisms to ensure food supply despite dry spells and other phenomena. The bill seeks to establish a Commission on the Right to Adequate Food, which will be tasked, along with the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, to manage food supply during emergencies. It also seeks to impose the penalty of imprisonment of six years and one day to 12 years against any public or private person who deliberately starves or denies access to food to any individual or group.
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Americans may have a constitutional right to engage in consensual, intimate relationships, but that doesnt mean they have a right to buy or sell sex, a Bay Area federal judge ruled Thursday in upholding Californias 144-year-old ban on prostitution.
In a lawsuit filed a year ago, the plaintiffs three former prostitutes, a would-be client, and the Erotic Service Provider Legal, Education & Research Project, a San Francisco organization that seeks to empower the erotic community and advance sexual privacy rights invoked the U.S. Supreme Courts 2003 ruling that overturned state laws against gay sexual activity.
In that ruling, the Supreme Court said the Constitution gives adults substantial protection ... in deciding how to conduct their private lives in matters pertaining to sex.
But U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White of Oakland said Thursday that the court was referring to intimate relationships and not merely to sexual activity.
He said the high court, in the 2003 ruling, disavowed any intention to legalize prostitution. White also cited a 1988 ruling by the federal appeals court in San Francisco that observed the relationship between a paid escort and a client possesses few, if any, of the aspects of an intimate association. It lasts for a short period and only as long as the client is willing to pay the fee.
Established legal authority dictates that the intimate association between a prostitute and client, while it may be consensual and cordial, has not merited the protection of the Due Process Clause, which requires the government to follow legal standards when restricting individual liberty, White said.
California made prostitution a crime in 1872, defining every common prostitute as a vagrant subject to a $500 fine and six months in jail.
The law was updated in 1961 to define prostitution or soliciting prostitution as disorderly conduct punishable by a $1,000 fine and six months in jail.
Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.
White said the state offered adequate justifications for the ban, such as promoting public safety and preventing injury and coercion, in the words of a 2008 ruling from another state. He cited the states arguments that commercial sex creates a climate that encourages violence against women, increases the risk of sexually transmitted diseases and may lead to human trafficking.
He also rejected arguments that the ban interferes with freedom of speech and the right to earn a living, saying those do not apply to illegal activity.
Louis Sirkin, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said they were disappointed but not defeated and would decide on further appeals in a few weeks.
Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @egelko
Imagine a state water policy that mandates all residents of Los Angeles must turn on their taps and let water run for three straight months but denies water to every San Franciscan during the same period.
Crazy, right? Yet this is remarkably similar to Californias water supply policy, a hodgepodge of discordant federal and state programs.
Case in point: After five long years of drought, we finally have some relief. In response, the state Department of Water Resources increased its water delivery estimate to a 45 percent allocation for State Water Contractors, and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced an initial 30 percent allocation for farmers on the east side of the southern San Joaquin Valley.
But on the west side of the valley, water contractors are being warned to expect a zero allocation.
Our unbalanced and uncoordinated water policy creates some winners and multiple losers. The California congressional delegation and our Legislature indeed, every Californian should demand to know why, now that we have water, it is not being pumped where its needed.
Heres the nonsensical answer. Since Dec. 1, 2015, more than 779,000 acre feet, or more than 200 billion gallons, of water has been flushed into the ocean. Thats enough water for almost 1.5 million families for an entire year and this is only water we could have pumped, not all the water flowing to the ocean.
Letting water flow to sea is required under federal biological opinions designed to protect native fish species such as the endangered delta smelt; water pumping to the San Joaquin Valley is restricted to support the smelt, the legal indicator of the deltas environmental health. But even these efforts have failed. Since 2008, government regulators have flushed almost 2 trillion gallons of water into the San Francisco Bay, yet biological sampling in the delta consistently yields fewer than a dozen smelt, with virtually none found sucked into the pipes that pump water to the San Joaquin Valley.
Theories abound for their continued decline inadequate rainfall, warmer water, predation but no new policies are being advanced to revisit the pumping restrictions. In the meantime, our water policy demands that we continue to carelessly direct water out to sea.
Last month, Sen. Dianne Feinstein sent a letter requesting that President Obama order federal agencies to maximize pumping in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to the maximum level allowed under the Endangered Species Act and the biological opinions. Feinstein observed that the agencies operate the system in a manner that may be contrary to the available data, and to the detriment of the 69 communities in the southern San Joaquin Valley.
Like all farmers, Im aware that the long-term survival of food production capability depends on the effective management of Californias water resources, so we prioritize good water stewardship and management; irrigation efficiencies; a proactive approach to groundwater management; and environmental stewardship. But we are stymied by the dysfunctional federal Central Valley Project. Californias overall approach to water management must contain enough flexibility so that in times of water wealth, we receive an allocation that considers our important role in food production.
After the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989, our state came together under extraordinary measures to address the emergency. Similarly, in these years of drought, we all worked to preserve precious water. Now, its a wet year, and the reality for many Californians remains dire. Do we have the same determination the same political grit to fix to our broken water delivery system?
William Bourdeau is the executive vice president of Harris Farms in Coalinga (Fresno County), which grows lettuce, tomatoes, onions, melons, almonds, pistachios and grapes.
La Dolce and Gabbana ruled the Legion of Honor at last nights Mid-Winter Gala. How could it not, with the glamorous Italian brand as the lead sponsor and designer Domenico Dolce in attendance? Approximately 350 guests channeled the vibe in an array of romantic lace, bright florals and vibrant striped gowns. Those who chose classic black tie accessorized with plenty of jewels and fur wraps. Even the female DJ who played everything from opera to Marvin Gaye to Lana Del Rey got into the act with blingy headphones. After a leisurely, jam-packed cocktail reception, guests trickled into the claret-tented Thinkers Court, where candelbra-like centerpieces filled with red roses set a dramatic scene for a classic multi-course Italian meal Caprese salad, penne pomodoro, roasted sea bass and tiramisu served in tea cups, and copious amounts of Hess Collection vino. Auction items included a trip to Milan for Dolce & Gabbanas fall 2017 fashion show, and a Tomales Bay Oyster feast. Proceeds from this fundraiser, put on by the Junior Committee, benefit the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco. Domenico Dolce told Style in December that California is a very important market, especially due to the booming technological industry, which created a supply and demand for luxury products. And a Whos Who of Bay Area tech CEOs rubbed elbows with stars, society swans and deep-pocketed arts supporters. Click through our gallery to see who made the scene.
Laura Compton, lcompton@sfchronicle.com
Liz Hafalia/The Chronicle
A clear, pleasant spring weekend for the Bay Area is on tap, but warm weather next week could make some parts of the region feel like mid-summer, forecasters said Friday.
The weekend should bring clear, sunny conditions with temperatures around 65 degrees in San Francisco, said Larry Smith, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Monterey. But by Tuesday, temperatures are forecast to tick up to 72 degrees in San Francisco and 76 on Wednesday, he said.
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This article originally appeared on KCRA.com. Click here to read the full original story or check for updates.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KCRA) The number of people who have died in the Sacramento region as a result of fentanyl overdoses rose to nine Friday, with 36 total cases reported, according to the Sacramento County Department of Health and Human Services.
Eight people died in Sacramento County and one person died in Yolo County, health officials said.
The people who have become sick range in age from 18 to 59 years old, with half of those being men and the other half women, the department said.
Initial reports came in Thursday advising of overdoses related to what was thought to be Norco pills bought on the street. However, it was later discovered the pills were actually an opioid known as fentanyl made to look like Norco tablets, according to toxicology reports.
Fentanyl is estimated to be 80 times as potent as morphine and hundreds of times more potent than heroin.
Jerome Butler, a Sacramento father of three, was taken off life support after ingesting a pill a friend had given him, Butler's family told KCRA 3.
El Dorado Hills resident George Berry, 18, died as a result of taking a counterfeit fentanyl pill, officials said.
A woman in Manteca told KCRA 3 her husband, David Alfaro, suffered from chronic pain due to a leg injury several years ago and bought what he thought were Norco pills to help his pain.
She said the 53-year-old took a pill March 25 that cost him his life, although the health department has not confirmed his death as a result of the drug.
A photo was released Thursday of a pill that looks very similar to the ones that seem to be circulating around the region.
"Fentanyl is being produced to a large extent in China. We believe from there it is being shipped to Mexico to drug trafficking organizations who are smuggling it into the United States," said Special Agent Casey Rettig, with the Drug Enforcement Administration.
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UC Berkeley was among a handful of universities whose printers freely accessible on the open Internet spewed neo-Nazi flyers this week and last at the behest of a notorious hacker.
The incident came a month after a breach of the universitys financial system compromised data on 80,000 current and former students and employees. And while the hate-message printing event wasnt a hack per se since the affected printers were connected to the Internet by design it is further fodder for UC Berkeleys information technologists to strengthen the networks security perimeter.
In todays cybersecurity world, the approach that UC Berkeley has taken in the past has to be modified, said Paul Rivers, the chief information security officer on campus. Its shifting the collective mental model of what the security threats are in this day and age.
Students and professors at colleges across the country, including UC Davis, were surprised to find flyers coming out of university printers on Friday and over the weekend that advertised a neo-Nazi website. The flyers contained swastikas and read, White man are you sick and tired of the Jews destroying your country through mass immigration and degeneracy?
The memos were found just days after the University of California approved the contentious Principles Against Intolerance, which condemn anti-Semitism.
We were worried thinking it was someone in the building, said Geert de Vreede, a UC Berkeley graduate student who came across one of the first batches of flyers. It was pretty disturbing.
Andrew Auernheimer a self-described Internet troll who goes by the hacker handle Weev took responsibility for the printing attack. In an interview with The Chronicle, he said his work was useful in exposing poor cyber hygiene.
Printers are devices that should not be on the Internet, Auernheimer said. Now that thousands of them are not, as a result of his efforts, thats a good thing, no doubt about it.
He said the small print job was tame compared with what he could have done. If he were especially malicious, Auernheimer said, he could have written a command for the devices to endlessly print flyers.
FBI spokesman Prentice Danner said the agency is monitoring the incident. Federal and university officials are still determining whether a crime actually occurred and could not speak to whether an arrest or fines would be sought.
University leaders including UC Berkeleys Chancellor Nicholas Dirks denounced the printing strikes.
We are committed to ensuring a safe working and learning environment for everyone here at UC Berkeley and see these flyers as offensive and in grave opposition to the values of our campus, Dirks wrote in an email to the campus. While these attacks demonstrate the pervasive ugliness of discrimination, they also highlight the resiliency and deep commitment that our community has to creating a campus with respect for all.
UC Berkeley, which had at least 17 printing locations hit, has moved to sever the connections of certain devices to the open Internet.
As part of its efforts to beef up tech security over the last three years, Rivers said, portions of the campus network will need to be more centrally controlled, rather than by individual departments, and the security perimeter around the networks border will need tightening. The cost of the proactive security steps is not known but will be worked out over the next six months, he added.
The measures could come up against issues of academic freedom and open access, sometimes at odds with cybersecurity concerns.
If theres a silver lining, Rivers said, its that maybe it makes people recognize the reality of todays cybersecurity threats and the dark underbelly of the Internet.
Kimberly Veklerov and Sean Sposito are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: kveklerov@sfchronicle.com ssposito@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kveklerov @seansposito
For almost six decades, it was missing, all 400-plus revealing, handwritten pages. The diary of Alfred Rosenberg, a Nazi theorist whose views on race are thought to have helped incite Hitlers persecution of Jews, vanished after its author was convicted of war crimes and hanged at Nuremberg in 1946.
It would take two men a former FBI agent who specialized in recovering stolen art and the former chief archivist at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington a dozen years to track down the elusive artifact, one of few known diaries by a member of Hitlers inner circle.
Working with federal investigators, they found it in 2013, in the offices of a publishing house in upstate New York, a place far more modest than the Bavarian castle atop a hill, Kloster Banz, where the diary had been first discovered in a vault after the war.
The recovery of the diary, now held by the Holocaust Museum, was announced three years ago. But the story of the hunt for it, of the tip that finally panned out, of the undercover work to track it and the crucial role played by Homeland Security investigators and a federal subpoena, is now being discussed in a new book, The Devils Diary: Alfred Rosenberg and the Stolen Secrets of the Third Reich (Harper), by the former FBI agent, Robert K. Wittman, and the journalist David Kinney.
It really was like catching a tiger by the tail, a big one, Wittman said in an interview.
The diary starts in 1934 and spans 10 years in the life of Rosenberg, who had a sizable influence on Hitler but was less well known than other aides like Heinrich Himmler and Joseph Goebbels, whose diary has also been found. Rosenberg also wrote The Myth of the Twentieth Century, a book that espoused Aryan supremacy and anti-Semitic beliefs and was second in sales only to Hitlers book, Mein Kampf, during the Nazi period. Rosenberg, who was close in age to Hitler, also edited a Nazi newspaper and oversaw the widespread theft of art by the Nazis and the brutal occupation of the Soviet Union.
Evolution of attitudes
The diary has been published, in German, by the Holocaust Museum, and a typed transcript, also in German, has been posted online by the museum, which said it hoped that it would be analyzed further by historians and other scholars. In the diary, Rosenberg recalls his conversations with Hitler. He recounts how he convinced Hitler that the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia was connected to a global conspiracy by Jews. For that reason, and others, Rosenberg wrote, Jews were a threat to Germany.
The diary also reveals Rosenbergs role in the deportation of German, Austrian and Czech Jews, and it shines a light on the infighting and struggles within the upper echelons of the Third Reich to secure Hitlers favor.
What led us to believe this was potentially of extreme historical importance, said Henry Mayer, the archivist who tracked the diary with Wittman, is the rarity of having a diary from someone of Rosenbergs stature in the Nazi hierarchy and his close association with Hitler and his positions as looter in chief and murderer in chief and possibly a witness to the actual order from Hitler authorizing the final solution.
Wittman noted, though, that while the diary documents the evolution of attitudes that would lead to the Holocaust, it does not detail the specific plan for it.
There is no place in the diary where we have Rosenberg or Hitler saying that the Jews should be exterminated, he said. All it said was move them out of Europe.
The diary is considered federal property, but investigators say Robert Kempner, a Nuremberg prosecutor, held onto it after the tribunal concluded. After Kempners death in 1993, his heirs turned over his papers to the Holocaust Museum but, still, the diary was not among them.
After years of false leads, Mayer, who lost relatives in the Holocaust, said that in 2012 he finally called again on Wittman, now retired from the FBI and an art security consultant, to see if he might make one last push to find it. Wittman pursued a tip that had come to Mayer from the sister of Kempners onetime secretary and mistress. The sister said she had overheard her sibling tell a German reporter that the diary had been given for safekeeping to a religious studies scholar, Herbert Richardson, who ran a publishing house in Lewiston, N.Y., about a 20-minute drive from Niagara Falls.
Wittman said he went to the area, scouted around and felt he had good reason to believe that Richardson might have the diary. He called in Homeland Security investigators who traveled to see Richardson in February 2013.
He agreed to be interviewed, but he was not helpful, said David Hall, a former federal prosecutor who was involved in the case. According to Homeland Security case reports, Richardson said he did not know where such a diary was. The investigators told him that possessing it was a potential crime and presented him with a grand jury subpoena for the diary, according to court records.
And we suggested that he get a lawyer, Hall said.
Feeling of satisfaction
Weeks later, Richardsons lawyers told federal officials that the diary had been found.
In an interview, a lawyer for Richardson, Vincent Doyle III of Buffalo, said that his client had not realized the diary was among a bunch of papers inside boxes that he had that were related to Kempner. Richardson found it, Doyle said, in a taped bag from a German store that was inside a box.
Mr. Richardson is a publisher and scholar, and if he knew that he had it, he probably would have published it, Doyle said.
The diary and some other papers were turned over to federal officials in April 2013.
Mayer said he could still remember the relief he felt after such a tough slog to find it.
I kept telling myself, Dont let the bastards win, he recalled. I felt a great deal of satisfaction. It was my white whale.
FLAX art & design, a venerable establishment displaced from Market Street in San Francisco by yet another condo project, has found new life in Oakland, with Thursday's opening of a spacious and light-drenched store.
"It's just another sign that people are recognizing the incredible value, vitality and hotness of this city," Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf told KQED's Tara Siler at the opening-day celebration. "And FLAX is really meant for Oakland ... this is a family-owned business ... so it's perfect to place this in a city with so much artistic energy and legacy so close to public transportation and in the center of the Bay Area, where all artistic souls can get here conveniently."
The store's third-generation owner, Howard Flax, said: "This is definitely an underserved market and the more that we talk to different people in the community, and the more that we get to know Oakland and the greater East Bay, there are a lot of pockets of artists here. And we just look forward to connecting with each and every one of them, and partnering and collaborating to grow the arts in the East Bay."
The beloved family-owned business has been around for almost 100 years, starting out in New York City in 1918. Its first San Francisco shop opened in 1938 on Kearny Street. A few incarnations later, it moved to Market Street in 1981, but its lease expired last year. A Fort Mason store debuted in November. The 15,000-square-foot Oakland location, a former auto repair shop at 15th Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Way, offers storage, a back parking lot and proximity to public transit all things that Flax was looking for.
"We were displaced from Market Street and here we are and there's no going back," Flax said. "There's no bittersweet feelings on my part. It's the end of an era. ... We attained that iconic status in San Francisco and that's what we plan on building here in Oakland as well."
Schaaf said the opening is a "happy story" for the city in all respects.
"We cannot have new people come here at the expense of our longtime businesses, artists, residents," she said. "But we also have to make sure that we build places for them to come to. One of the things that's exciting about this store is it is in a new part of town. It did not displace another small business."
Devin Katayama, who covers Oakland for KQED, said the move by FLAX is symbolic of a massive shift of art and artists in the Bay Area. Many have been priced out of San Francisco, and now Oakland is also becoming unaffordable.
Katayama interviewed Chloe Veltman, senior arts editor at KQED, for her take on the departure of FLAX, which had searched for sites to relocate in San Francisco but couldn't find anything.
Describing FLAX as a true "gem" in the art-supply world, she said, "It wasn't the cheapest place to buy supplies in town, but nevertheless the community supported it and loved it because it wasn't a chain and had been around for so long."
For starters, it means fewer places in the city to buy art supplies. Beyond that, it's a sign of the "relentless displacement" of San Francisco's arts community.
"On the one hand, we're seeing a lot of exciting movement in some ways, like the development of Minnesota Street Projects a facility in Dogpatch which houses many cutting-edge studios and galleries," Veltman said. "And, of course, big, flashy, attention-grabby things like the reopening of SFMOMA, the rebooting of the Bay Lights. But, on the other hand, it continues to be extremely difficult for local artists and organizations to thrive in this climate."
For example, the San Francisco Arts Commission heard from nearly 600 artists last summer that either live or recently resided in San Francisco, Veltman said. The survey found that over 70 percent of the respondents had been, or were being, displaced from their workplace, home or both.
"Libby Schaaf spoke of the hotness and vitality of Oakland," Veltman said. "Well, artists have played an immense role in making Oakland vital and hot look at the gallery and theater and music clubs and restaurant scene, the thriving First Fridays, etc. And now everyone wants to live there."
This story originally appeared on KQED.org.
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The Zika virus is gaining little traction in Bexar County, where Metropolitan Health District reports 14 people have tested negative for the illness so far.
Only three cases of the virus have been confirmed in San Antonio so far. All of those cases were reported in February in people who became infected while traveling abroad. No additional cases have surfaced here since Feb. 10.
Metro Health reports that 30 people in Bexar County are still waiting for their test results.
A total of 28 people across Texas have tested positive for the virus. The most cases 11 in all have surfaced in Harris County, where Houston is located. In addition to Bexar and Harris counties, Zika virus cases also have been confirmed in Dallas, Tarrant, Travis, Fort Bend, Grayson and Wise counties.
One of the Texas patients who tested positive for the virus is pregnant, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. Where that pregnant woman resides was not immediately available from state health officials.
More than 300 cases of the Zika virus have been diagnosed in the continental United States, and 27 of them were in pregnant women, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nationally, the virus has spread from coast to coast.
Zika presents a special danger to pregnant women because the virus can spread from expectant mothers to their unborn babies. Health officials have suspected Zika could be linked to birth defects in places where the virus is more prominent, such as South America. Brazil has experienced a surge in the number of infants born with microcephaly, a condition where a babys head is abnormally small and the brain is underdeveloped.
Health officials have strongly urged pregnant women to avoid traveling abroad to areas where the Zika virus has been much more prominent, such as Mexico, Central America, South America and the Caribbean. Pregnant women who cannot avoid traveling to those areas should take extra precautions to protect themselves against mosquito bites since Zika is primarily spread in those regions through bites from infected mosquitoes.
There has not yet been a case where someone has been infected with the virus through a mosquito bite that occurred within the continental U.S.
Zika is rarely fatal. Most people infected wont show any symptoms. Those who do become ill usually experience only mild symptoms, such as a low-grade fever, a headache, a rash, aching muscles, joint pain or red eyes.
pohare@express-news.net
A paroled high-risk sex offender will not be living in Petaluma after objections by police and outraged residents prompted the hotel he booked to cancel his reservation, authorities said.
Johnathan Michael Hoppner, 23, was recently released from jail to his county of last legal residence, Sonoma, said Jeffrey Callison, assistant secretary of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The corrections department informed Petaluma police Thursday that Hoppner planned to stay at a hotel in Petaluma, and police quickly alerted the public.
The move triggered objections from the police and outrage from Petaluma citizens. At 4 p.m. Friday, the Petaluma Police Department, which conceded it had no legal authority to dictate where this subject lives sent out a statement announcing it had been informed by the corrections department that Hoppner WILL NOT BE RELEASED in Petaluma.
Callison said Hoppner is now a transient and that authorities are tracking his whereabouts with an electronic monitoring device hes required to wear at all times.
Our department did not make a decision to not release Hoppner to Petaluma, said Callison, correcting what Petaluma police had relayed to the public. He said corrections officials only informed the police Hoppner was headed there and then contacted them again when he suddenly couldnt find accommodations.
A hotel had agreed to house Hoppner, Callison said. But as a result of the publicity surrounding his release and plans for accommodations, the hotel then declined to accept him. As a result, Hoppner will register as a sex offender, per Megans Law, as a transient.
Hoppner was convicted of child molestation and sexual battery and is said to have targeted victims between the ages of 15 and 50. He has done prison time, but his most recent incarceration was in a jail, Callison clarified.
He will be electronically monitored, will receive rehabilitative treatment in the community, and parole agents and community organizations will work with him to find appropriate housing, said Callison, adding that it remains unclear which community Hoppner will end up in.
Last week, 51-year-old Robert Bates, a man classified as a sexually violent predator, was released in Concord and was said to be living in a rental unit there.
Kale Williams is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kwilliams@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @sfkale
A Richmond man who choked a woman over a reclined seat on a San Francisco-bound Southwest Airlines flight last year was convicted of assault in federal court, prosecutors announced Thursday.
A jury found Lawrence Wells, Jr., 54, guilty of federal misdemeanor assault Wednesday afternoon in the United States District Court. He was acquitted of a felony count of assault causing serious bodily injury.
Wells attorney Alan Eisner said his client wanted to accept responsibility and plead guilty very early in the case and was pleased with the lessened assault charge.
Thats the charge thats appropriate, Eisner said Thursday. We feel that the jury vindicated our position, and we are relieved about that. They found that it was not serious bodily injury and we argued that from the get-go.
United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker denounced Wells outburst in a statement on Thursday.
Defendants violent reaction to the frustrations of air travel was beyond the bounds of civilized behavior, she said. The victim was fortunate that she did not suffer greater injuries, because she had no way to defend herself from this defendants attack.
The attack started on a delayed Southwest Airlines flight from Los Angles to San Francisco on Oct. 18. Flight 2010 was scheduled to leave Los Angeles International Airport at 7:10 pm. but did not take off until 10:30 p.m. due to delays in boarding and on the tarmac.
The victim, who sat directly in front of Wells, reclined her seat during the tarmac wait, causing him to fetch a flight attendant as he angrily pointed at the victims reclined seat, according to a Department of Justice statement.
The flight attendant asked the victim to return her seat to an upright position. She did, but later reclined her seat again a few minutes after takeoff. This time, Wells reached around the womans chair, choked her for five to 10 seconds, and punched her in the head.
The pilot returned the flight to Los Angeles International Airport, and an FBI investigation into the case followed.
Attorneys said the victim testified that she suffered a concussion and experienced persistent nausea, dizziness, headaches, neck pain, loss of appetite, significant anxiety, and ringing in her ear, among other symptoms after the assault.
Wells sentencing is set for June 27. He faces up to six months in federal prison.
Jenna Lyons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jlyons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JennaJourno
Ron Chapple/Getty Image
South San Francisco police shot and wounded a man Thursday night after he allegedly brandished a gun at officers, who were called to a house to investigate a fight, authorities said.
Just after 10:15 p.m., officers went to the 600 block of Hemlock Avenue after a woman called to report that two men had gotten into a physical altercation inside a house, police said in a statement.
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An auto theft suspect who was recorded being beaten by Alameda County sheriffs deputies in a Mission District alley in November was arrested Friday afternoon as FBI and San Francisco police raided a Visitacion Valley house he was in the same site where a man was shot earlier in the day.
Stanislav Petrov, 29, was taken into custody after FBI agents and police served a warrant at a house on Teddy Avenue around 3 p.m., said Prentice Danner, an FBI spokesman. Around 6:50 p.m., federal agents were seen handcuffing and taking away a man and a woman. Officials said multiple people, possibly four in total, were arrested.
Neighbors say the house is frequented by Petrov, the man seen in a widely circulated video being beaten with batons by two deputies on Stevenson Street after he crashed his car and ran after a cross-bay chase.
Police on the scene Friday said the FBI action was related to a 2 a.m. shooting in front of the house. Danner said Petrovs complaint was still sealed, so his charges were not immediately known.
The shooting victim, a 27-year-old man, was standing outside the house when four to five shots were fired. Neighbors said the man fell to the ground in the gutter and was picked up by three men, put into a silver BMW and driven away.
Weve got to get him out of here. Weve got to get him out of here. The cops are coming, a neighbor, who spoke anonymously to The Chronicle, said he heard the men yelling.
Police officials confirmed the man was shot multiple times in his upper body and driven to a hospital by friends. Police said the victim, whose name was not released, had life-threatening injuries.
It was unclear whether a man and woman taken into custody were arrested in the shooting.
Petrov arrived at the house Friday afternoon while a Chronicle reporter was there but said he knew nothing about the shooting.
Asked if he was one of the men who drove the victim to the hospital, Petrov said, Thats completely incorrect. He walked into the house and shut the door.
Two Alameda County deputies were placed on paid leave after the November release of surveillance video showed one of them tackling Petrov and punching him twice while he was on the ground. The second deputy then pulled out his baton and struck Petrov on the head. The video jumped 10 seconds to show both deputies hitting Petrov repeatedly with their batons as he struggled on his knees and screamed for help.
Officials said the beating occurred after deputies spotted Petrov in a stolen car and chased him from Castro Valley over the Bay Bridge and into San Francisco. 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 beating sparked public outcry. Upon learning of the video, Alameda County Sheriff Gregory Ahern opened an internal investigation. The incident is also being investigated by San Francisco police and the San Francisco district attorney.
On Tuesday, Michael Haddad, a civil rights attorney, filed a claim against Alameda County on behalf of Petrov, alleging deputies used excessive force. The claim, a legal precursor to a suit, also contends that a third deputy stole a gold chain and medallion and cash from Petrov and gave it to some homeless witnesses to buy their silence.
Petrov is expected in court Monday for an initial appearance in his Friday arrest.
Chronicle staff writer
Michael Cabanatuan contributed to this report.
Jenna Lyons and Hamed Aleaziz are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: jlyons@sfchronicle.com, haleaziz@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JennaJouno @haleaziz
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Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman, who played God twice on the big screen, channels him once again in a sweeping and visually stunning TV quest to understand the worlds spiritual beliefs.
Freeman, who portrayed the supreme being in the comedy Bruce Almighty and its sequel, hosts The Story of God with a combination of reverence, curiosity and humor. It debuts at 8 p.m. Sunday on National Geographic Channel.
The six-part series, which also is executive-produced by Freeman, takes viewers all over the world from the pyramids of Egypt to the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem to Aztec ruins in Mexico to Joel Osteens megachurch in Houston exploring every kind of religious experience and ritual.
Hitting closest to home here is a segment in the series opener, Beyond Death, which covers the greatest question we ask ourselves, Freeman says. What happens when we die?
A particularly colorful segment consists of a celebration very familiar to San Antonians: Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). As is explained in the episode, the Mexican holiday allows believers to spend an entire night with the souls of their deceased ancestors sharing food, photographs and joyful stories.
The colorful altars, feasts and processions are in striking contrast to horrific descriptions of another ritual that took place in Mexico during ancient times: human sacrifices performed by Aztec priests that involved pulling out a victims heart while it was still beating.
Much of the series, in fact, illustrates how war, torture and bloodshed are as much a part of the history of religion as is the exuberance and peace of prayer and meditation.
Of his travels to nearly 20 cities in seven different countries, Freeman says: Ive sung the call to prayer at a mosque in Cairo, taken meditation lessons from the Buddhist leader of the oldest line of reincarnating Lamas, discussed Galileo with the head of the Papal Academy of Sciences and explored the first instructions for the afterlife rendered in hieroglyphs inside the pyramids.
He was particularly struck by people who embraced suffering as part of their beliefs.
We were at the holy shrine where Siddhartha had found enlightenment at the foot of the Bodhi Tree, Freeman told TV critics at a recent press session. You will see men prostrating themselves, standing up, prostrating, stand up, prostrate 300, 400, 500 times in a day.
And priests, they give up everything. No worldly goods, he added. For me, that would be suffering.
In the series, Morgan says he found answers in some places but in others, more questions.
The constant through it all, he says, is that were all looking to be part of something bigger than us.
One man who became a firm believer in something bigger tells Freeman of his own brush with death and the light that led him back to life.
Research diver David Bennett recalls how his boat was overtaken by huge waves, sweeping him into the ocean. After getting tumbled and tossed about like a rag doll, he eventually let go, he says, breathed in salt water and lost total awareness of his body.
Bennett was able to see something, however, which he describes as a fragmented light of many colors. It was a relationship much deeper than what I knew here, he says. The light spoke, saying, This is not your time. Suddenly, the floating wreckage was pounding his body, pushing the salt water out of my lungs.
The crew said I was under for 15 to 18 minutes, Bennett says.
Needles to say, he believes in an afterlife: I believe our being and soul live on and have opportunities to come back.
Part history, part dramatization and part anecdote, the series shines because of poignant moments like this.
Who is God? the third part, which airs April 17 is particularly entertaining. The hour examines, as Freeman puts it, all the ways people around the world connect to God. For the Navajos in New Mexico, its through the warm light of the sun; in Mississippi and New Orleans, its the religious experience of music; and in Houston, theres the all-out spectacle of Lakewood Church.
Ive come to see how 10,000 Christians can all have a personal, meaningful experience with their God, Freeman said of his visit to the megachurch, which was electrified by gigantic screens, dancing and bands and presided over by pastors Joel and Victoria Osteen.
Executive producer James Younger described the Houston visit as mind-blowing.
I just thought this was going to be televangelism, Younger said. I was very skeptical. I thought that it was going to be some manufactured, watered-down version of religion, (but) it was such a great party and uplifting. I challenge any atheist to go in there and not have a good time.
Jeanne Jakles column appears Wednesdays and Sundays in mySA, and she blogs at Jakles Jacuzzi on mySA.com. Email her at jjakle@express-news.net.
Shawn Gordon was 40 years old when he got out of federal prison. The Hunters Point native had spent his 20s and 30s in and out of the system, an angry young man reacting to a traumatic childhood filled with drugs, alcohol, gang violence and physical abuse. But during his final stint in prison, he says, something happened to my heart. When he was released, he teamed up with a local pastor and created Project Bayview, a faith-based organization that helps former drug addicts, convicts and gang members rebuild their lives.
As executive director, Gordon works hard to create a self-sufficient program that contributes to the Bayview-Hunters Point community in meaningful ways. One of these endeavors is Huli Huli Hawaiian Grill, a restaurant on the ground floor of the Project Bayview building on Third Street that turns a year old in April.
Its staffed entirely by program members, and the men work instead of paying dues or membership fees. This means that Gordon can invest what would be labor costs into fresh, organic ingredients and still keep prices for most dishes under $10 important in a neighborhood where affordable, high-nutrition food can be hard to find.
Huli huli rotisserie chicken is a popular dish in the islands. Huli means turn in Hawaiian, and Gordon chose the name for its symbolic meaning more than the literal one. The restaurant doesnt have a rotisserie, but it does serve grilled chicken lacquered in teriyaki sauce, with meat moist from a 24-hour, gingery marinade. That same ginger and teriyaki treatment also works to great effect on thin, tender curls of grilled beef. Both come with macaroni salad, white rice and grilled vegetables, and make a filling and fairly nutritious lunch for around $7.
Gordon went to culinary school after prison and draws on his Samoan background for inspiration youll find solid renditions of loco moco, Spam musubi and shave ice along with the lunch plates.
Jen Fedrizzi/Special to the Chronicle
But the menu doesnt cleave to tradition entirely. All of the meats can be ordered in burrito form, and every dish comes with a creamy kimchi aioli that acts as both hot sauce and dip.
House-made kimchi is also the essential ingredient in the fiery and fragrant kimchi fried rice, studded with vegetables and Portuguese sausage. Its good as a side, but even better as breakfast with an egg or two on top.
Not everything on the menu was a success. The short rib was disappointingly tough, and the chicken katsu was admirably crispy but tasted of nothing but the frying oil. Kalua pork was overpowered by smoke flavor, though some of that dissipated when it was delivered within a burrito.
But I found that regardless of the food, Huli Huli was a pleasant place to spend time. The dining room has high ceilings, pale yellow walls and light pouring in through windows accentuated by window boxes full of succulents. You order at the counter and get your meal in a to-go box even if youre eating in more cost-cutting measures but the tables are full of people lingering with the newspaper over breakfast and coffee, or immersed in a meeting at lunch.
Jen Fedrizzi/Special to the Chronicle
Most of all, the restaurant has a palpable sense of community, which Gordon continues to nurture and grow. Were not here to kill it financially, he says. Were here to be a light in our community and change the trajectory of these guys lives in our program. And if they can bring great barbecue chicken and kimchi fried rice to the Bayview while they do it, all the better.
Anna Roth is a freelance writer in San Francisco. Email: food@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @annaroth
What to order: Kimchi fried rice ($6.75), barbecue chicken ($7.25), teriyaki beef ($8.25), loco moco ($6.75), passion fruit shave ice with sno cap ($2.25)
Where: Huli Huli Hawaiian Grill, 4100 Third St. (at Hudson Avenue), San Francisco, (415) 970-1990. www.hulihulisf.com.
When: 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Friday.
GREENBELT, Md. A former Maryland judge who pleaded guilty to a civil rights violation for ordering a defendant to be physically shocked in his courtroom will have to take anger-management classes as part of his sentence.
Robert Nalley of La Plata, Md., was sentenced Thursday in federal court to the classes along with a $5,000 fine and a year on probation.
JACKSON, Miss. A federal judge has overturned Mississippis ban on allowing same-sex couples to adopt children.
U.S. District Judge Daniel Jordan, in a preliminary injunction issued Thursday, ruled the ban is unconstitutional after the U.S. Supreme Courts decision in June that effectively legalized gay marriage and benefits for gay couples. He ordered John Davis, executive director of the Department of Human Services, to stop enforcing it.
I am overwhelmed with joy, Hattiesburg resident Kathy Garner said. She and her wife, Susan Hrostowski, sued to allow Hrostowski to adopt 16-year-old Hudson Garner. For us, this has been a long time in the making.
Hudson was more understated.
He had a typical 16-year-old response, Kathy Garner said. He said, Cool. Then he said congratulations. Then he said he was going to take a nap.
Jordan wrote that the U.S. Supreme Courts ruling applied to benefits associated with marriage, such as adoption.
It also seems highly unlikely that the same court that held a state cannot ban gay marriage because it would deny benefits expressly including the right to adopt would then conclude that married gay couples can be denied that very same benefit, he wrote.
Roberta Kaplan, the lawyer representing the plaintiffs, expressed confidence that any appeal would be fruitless.
The ban is effectively over, she said. DHS will have a very, very hard time convincing a judge on appeal.
WASHINGTON President Obama heads to law school next week to push his nomination of Judge Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court.
Obama adviser Brian Deese said Friday that Obama will return Thursday to the University of Chicago Law School to argue for Senate consideration of the appeals judges nomination. Obama taught constitutional law at the university for several years before he entered politics. Its also the political backyard of endangered Illinois GOP Sen. Mark Kirk, who met with Garland this week.
The White House and the Senate are in a standoff over how to proceed on Garland, Obamas choice to succeed the late conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, who died in February.
Republican senators insist they will hold no hearings or a confirmation vote on the nomination in a presidential election year, though some GOP lawmakers have expressed a willingness to at least meet with Garland. Republicans say the next president should get to choose the next justice. Obama insists the Senate has a constitutional responsibility and plenty of time to consider Garland.
Democrats claim they have gained momentum and turned the heat up on Republicans during the past two weeks of Senate recess. Opinion polls show the public supports hearings on Garlands nomination and senators like Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley of Iowa have been confronted on the topic by their constituents.
We are making steady but significant progress, said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., on a media call organized by liberal activists. Hopefully Judge Garland will turn into Justice Garland in the coming months.
Garland has met with mostly Democratic senators on Capitol Hill. Next week, he will meet with two other Republican senators: Susan Collins of Maine and John Boozman of Arkansas. Hes also set to meet with a full roster of Democrats such as Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Dianne Feinstein of California and Dick Durbin of Illinois.
Schumer noted that pro-Republican groups have been running ads attacking Garland as a liberal. If they want to debate his record or qualifications to be a justice, thats great, Schumer said. Lets do it in a hearing.
After the stop in Chicago, Obama will continue to Los Angeles for a fundraiser Thursday night. Obama also plans to headline fundraisers Friday in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
NEW YORK John Kasich seized an opportunity to blast rival Donald Trump Thursday as unprepared for the presidency after comments about abortion ignited a fresh round of controversy this week about the Republican front-runner.
Donald Trump is clearly not prepared to be president, Kasich said at a news conference in New York. He argued that Trump becomes unmoored when pressed about his positions and then corrects himself, as Trumps campaign did Wednesday after he suggested punishing women for having abortions if they were to become illegal.
Presidents, Kasich added, dont get do-overs.
The Ohio governor, who is far behind Trump and rival Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in the GOP contest, largely avoided sparring with Trump through much of the campaign. But he began aiming heavy criticism at the New York real estate magnate after violence outside a planned Trump rally in Chicago this month.
After seeming to relish reaction to his provocative positions during much of the campaign, Trump faced condemnation from both sides of a divisive social issue after saying Wednesday that women who have abortions should receive some form of punishment if the procedure is ever outlawed, as Trump would like. His campaign quickly backtracked, saying only people who perform abortions would be held legally responsible.
Those remarks put women in a very difficult position, said Kasich, who describes himself as pro-life and said Thursday that you can be a defender of life while respecting women.
He also ticked off other Trump ideas he portrayed as objectionable, alarming, unrealistic or all three: banning foreign Muslims temporarily from entering the U.S., scaling back the nations role in NATO, making Mexico pay for a fortress-like border wall, and not taking any cards off the table when asked if he would use nuclear weapons in the Middle East or Europe, among other comments.
Leading the world in fighting terrorism takes cooperation. It takes restraint. It takes judgment. It takes experience not wild-eyed suggestions, Kasich said.
Kasich argues that his 18 years in Congress and two terms as governor show he has a record of making change and that hes the only Republican hopeful who can win the general election. He said Thursday that having Cruz or Trump as nominee would endanger not only the GOPs presidential hopes but its majority in the U.S. Senate, where some Republicans are in tight races.
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Americans may have a constitutional right to engage in consensual, intimate relationships, but that doesnt mean they have a right to buy or sell sex, a Bay Area federal judge ruled Thursday in upholding Californias 144-year-old ban on prostitution.
In a lawsuit filed a year ago, the plaintiffs three former prostitutes, a would-be client, and the Erotic Service Provider Legal, Education & Research Project, a San Francisco organization that seeks to empower the erotic community and advance sexual privacy rights invoked the U.S. Supreme Courts 2003 ruling that overturned state laws against gay sexual activity.
In that ruling, the Supreme Court said the Constitution gives adults substantial protection ... in deciding how to conduct their private lives in matters pertaining to sex.
But U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White of Oakland said Thursday that the court was referring to intimate relationships and not merely to sexual activity.
He said the high court, in the 2003 ruling, disavowed any intention to legalize prostitution. White also cited a 1988 ruling by the federal appeals court in San Francisco that observed the relationship between a paid escort and a client possesses few, if any, of the aspects of an intimate association. It lasts for a short period and only as long as the client is willing to pay the fee.
Established legal authority dictates that the intimate association between a prostitute and client, while it may be consensual and cordial, has not merited the protection of the Due Process Clause, which requires the government to follow legal standards when restricting individual liberty, White said.
California made prostitution a crime in 1872, defining every common prostitute as a vagrant subject to a $500 fine and six months in jail.
The law was updated in 1961 to define prostitution or soliciting prostitution as disorderly conduct punishable by a $1,000 fine and six months in jail.
White said the state offered adequate justifications for the ban, such as promoting public safety and preventing injury and coercion, in the words of a 2008 ruling from another state. He cited the states arguments that commercial sex creates a climate that encourages violence against women, increases the risk of sexually transmitted diseases and may lead to human trafficking.
He also rejected arguments that the ban interferes with freedom of speech and the right to earn a living, saying those do not apply to illegal activity.
Louis Sirkin, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said they were disappointed but not defeated and would decide on further appeals in a few weeks.
Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @egelko
WESTPORT Since 2003, Blue Lemon has been a staple among the often-changing players in the downtown dining scene. On April 9, chef/owner Bryan Malcarney will close the restaurant doors after 13 years while he continues to run his other restaurant, Rorys in Darien.
The owners of the Le Penguin Bistro in Greenwich are expected to take over Blue Lemons Sconset Square space and open a French bistro.
Malcarney, born in New Jersey, grew up in Wilton after moving there as a second-grader, said his mothers cooking had a profound impact on his interest in the culinary field. Through high school and college, he worked at restaurants and bars in various capacities.
After graduating from St. Lawrence University, Malcarney attended the French Culinary Institute in Manhattan to hone his skills. He worked as a chef at Pietros in New York City and in Anguilla. When he returned from the Caribbean, he opened Blue Lemon and bought Rorys in 2008.
In a recent interview with the Westport News, Malcarney talked about his experiences running a restaurant in Westport.
Westport News: Where did your interest in cooking start?
Malcarney: I learned to cook with my mom more or less. Started cooking with her when I was a kid whatever she was making. She was into making everything from scratch. If we had Mexican food, she would make her own tortillas. She just taught herself to cook. I kinda always wanted to have my own restaurant so thats kind of the way it evolved.
WN: What was the impetus for closing Blue Lemon?
Malcarney: Ive been here 12 and a half years, its kind of one of those things we needed to either re-invent the place or sell, and its been a long time, I dont have the energy really to put into re-inventing this place. I would like to work a little less, see my kids.
WN: Whats one of your fondest memories about Westport?
Malcarney: I loved working with the DMA (Downtown Merchants Association) and doing a lot of their events. I think in the time that I was here they did a lot of great stuff like the Blues and BBQ Festival, when they closed Main Street and did that Art About Town. I think thats unique stuff where it really kind of puts Westport on the map.
WN: Are you going to miss the clientele?
Malcarney: Oh yeah, theyre great, I mean we have some great regulars. I appreciate all the people who have been coming here for years. Ive had customers who have been my customers since the day we opened and they still come now and thats really nice to see. They become your friends.
WN: What aspects keep you interested and motivated to run a restaurant?
Malcarney: Its cool to go to the Westport Farmers Market and see what vegetables are coming around in season and using those vegetables to make a special that night or different fish coming in a season, or its winter and you start doing more stews, so I think thats the fun stuff. What drives me is making people happy. By far the part I enjoy the most is the cooking which in turn makes the customer happy, which is what I like.
WN: Do you feel that all the downtown construction has adversely affected business?
Malcarney: I think one problem is that theres been a large number of restaurants that have opened in Westport and those have diluted the pool. Theres only a finite number of people in Westport. How can those people support all the restaurants? So I think its hard. Im sure the construction hurts some, its hard to park. When its done theyre going to have more restaurants. I think one challenge that almost all the towns around Fairfield County are facing is how do they grow responsibly, thats a tough thing. I think Westport should close Main Street and make it a pedestrian walkway and have some trees in the middle and benches. They way the town is growing you want Main Street to be a focal point and it seems like its getting lost a little due to everything.
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Bauers Intelligent Transportation, a private bus company that transports tech workers to their jobs in Silicon Valley, will no longer be allowed to use Muni bus stops and participate in the citys shuttle program, the Municipal Transportation Agency announced Thursday.
The decision is a blow for Bauers, which has faced criticism from the Teamsters Union and the Board of Supervisors because of its conflict with drivers over pay, benefits and unionization efforts. The supervisors passed a resolution last week urging the MTA to remove Bauers from the shuttle program.
Bauers said it would appeal the MTAs decision revoking its permit.
In a letter to Bauers on Thursday, the MTA said its decision was based largely on factors unrelated to the labor dispute.
It criticized the companys repeated failure to comply with traffic laws, noting that while Bauers service constitutes about 10 percent of commuter shuttle stops, 34 percent of complaints were related to Bauers vehicles. Half of those complaints pertained to Bauers buses driving on streets with weight restrictions. Another large number of complaints were about the buses stopping in unauthorized locations.
Bauers continued violations of these requirements has contributed to unacceptable traffic congestion on weight-restricted streets and impeded safe and efficient Muni operations by blocking access to Muni stops, wrote Tom Maguire, director of the MTAs Sustainable Streets division. These results are inconsistent with the goals and purpose of the commuter shuttle program.
Gary Bauer, CEO of the bus company, attributed the high number of complaints to people assuming every shuttle bus was from Bauers. The company is getting punished for doing a good job branding the company, he said.
Bauer said the Teamsters were the real driver in the MTAs decision to revoke his companys permit. Its more about the union than anything else, he said.
Indeed, the MTA referred to the union dispute in its letter revoking Bauers permit. It said the company had an insufficient service disruption prevention plan that would allow the buses to maintain consistent and efficient service. In other words, the companys dispute with Teamsters was likely to result in more protests and pickets, in turn causing disruption to city buses.
Granting a commuter shuttle permit to Bauers under these circumstances could lead to further disruptions in Muni service, blockage of bicycle and travel lanes, and safety hazards for San Francisco transit riders and road users, Maguire wrote.
Emily Green is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: egreen@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @emilytgreen
Federal biologists Thursday confirmed the presence of a lethal fungus known as white-nose syndrome in Washington, the first occurrence in Western North America of the disease that has killed roughly 7 million bats.
The discovery of white-nose syndrome in a little brown bat in North Bend, Wash., about 30 miles east of Seattle, is a setback for cooperative conservation measures, such as restricting human access to bat roosting sites, to slow the spread of the epidemic that was first documented in 2007 in New York.
Since then, the disease that gets its name from the powdery white substance that appears around muzzles, ears and wings of affected bats has swept across 28 states and five Canadian provinces.
We are extremely concerned about the confirmation of white-nose syndrome in Washington state about 1,300 miles from the previous westernmost detection of the fungus that causes the disease, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe said.
Bats are a crucial part of our ecology and provide essential pest control for our farmers, foresters and city residents, he said, so it is important we stay focused on stopping the spread of this fungus.
Bats feast on such night-flying insects as mosquitoes, which transmit West Nile virus, and agricultural pests damaging to cotton and corn crops. They also pollinate plants, including the saguaro cactus.
The current value of pest control provided by bats each year is at least $3.7 billion nationwide.
White-nose syndrome has killed mostly little brown bats, which have lost more than 20 percent of their population in the northeastern U.S. over the past nine years. Mortality rates among colonies of some species in eastern states, such as northern long-eared bats, have reached 99 percent.
There was no reason to believe that the disease wouldnt eventually make its way to the West Coast. However, biologists did not expect it to spread across geographic barriers such as the Rocky Mountains so quickly.
We had hoped that the disease would stay out of the West long enough to get promising potential treatments up and running, said Mollie Matteson, a bat specialist at the Center for Biological Diversity. Now it looks like its here to stay.
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Husband and wife Nick Karvounis and Bessma Khalaf of Oaklands Light Dark Studio first got the idea of transferring silk prints to scarves from a gift Karvounis sent to Khalaf three years ago when they were living on separate coasts.
We met as grad students at California College of the Arts in San Francisco, Khalaf says. And then Nick went back to teaching at Maryland Institute College of Art. He knew I needed bandannas for riding my motorcycle, and he sent me a tube that had 50 bandannas he made that had unique screen prints on them. It was amazing.
Although Khalaf and Karvounis were already practically engaged, that show of devotion helped cement the relationship and eventually became the foundation of the business that is now Light Dark Studio. Khalaf, a photographer, and Karvounis, a silk-screen printmaker, eventually married their two skill sets and passions in the accessory realm. Today, their large-scale hand-printed scarves are the product of that collaboration.
The scarves prints range from near life-size re-creations of classical statuary to manipulated florals and close-ups of fibers and hair. The pair already have fans in San Francisco fashionistas Ben and Chris Ospital, the brother and sister owners of the Modern Appealing Clothing boutiques, who have been carrying the scarves in their two stores since the fall.
What Nick and Bessma do is very unique, says Ben, who recently featured a scarf in a shoot he and Chris styled for New Yorks Paper magazine. We met them when Nick came in shopping for his wedding suit. These are the kind of pieces men or women can collect and wear forever.
After slightly burning out from the fine art scene, as the couple put it, they wanted to find a way to work together that utilized both their talents.
Also, we had to pay the rent, Khalaf says with a laugh. Thats when they remembered the bandannas and started experimenting.
Eventually, we figured out different dye-ink possibilities and different materials, Karvounis says.
They also discovered they were really attracted to scale.
We just kept trying to see how much bigger we could go making framing and actually making the prints ourselves, Khalaf says. We were extending squeegees, practically getting on top of the pieces we were screening.
Eventually, we figured out a way to do it together.
The couple also sell the pieces on their website. The 35-by-35 inch pieces sell for $175-$225; the 42-by-78 inch pieces start at $350. Customer response has been positive.
There was something really fun about the idea of taking your artwork and being able to take it out and wear it and show it to people, Khalaf says. People liked that it wasnt just hanging on their walls.
Tony Bravo is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: tbravo@sfchronicle.com
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WASHINGTON Acting as much like a head of state as the head of a state, Gov. Jerry Brown joined President Obama and leaders of more than 50 nations in Washington on Thursday for a two-day global summit aimed at stopping nuclear proliferation.
Brown shares with Obama a deep concern about the threats posed by both nuclear arms and climate change, which Obama also addressed Thursday during a simultaneous bilateral summit with Chinese president Xi Jinping. The two world leaders pledged to sign the global climate accord reached last year at talks in Paris which Brown also attended on April 22, Earth Day.
Speaking to young activists at a panel discussion, Brown recalled his tangible fear during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, when as a law student at Yale University he considered fleeing to Vermont, thinking it might be slightly safer.
Brown also said a video created by a fellow panelist, former Clinton Defense Secretary William Perry, scared the hell out of him. Called Nuclear Nightmare in Washington, the video depicts a terrorist setting off a nuclear explosive on Pennsylvania Avenue, killing tens of thousands of people and decapitating the government.
Its goodbye America as a democracy, Brown said, adding that such an event would put the country under military control.
The fact that you dont hear a lot about it doesnt mean it isnt real, Brown said of the threat. He cited the terrorist attack in San Bernardino by a county employee, Syed Rizwan Farook, and his wife, Tashfeen Malik.
Farooks fellow workers gave him a baby shower, and he comes back and kills 14 of them ... there are people who want to do this, he said.
Perry, who now heads the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, told the group that the danger from nuclear weapons is higher now than it was during the Cold War, because more countries have the weapons and terrorists are trying to get them.
The event was sponsored by the Atlantic Council and Global Zero, a group pushing for the elimination of nuclear weapons. It was one of several events outside the summit where critics said Obama has not done enough to fulfill his pledge seven years ago to help rid the world of nuclear weapons. Ploughshares Fund, a San Francisco anti-nuclear group, said the administration has laid the groundwork to spend $1 trillion over the next 30 years updating the nuclear arsenal.
But in an op-ed in the Washington Post published Thursday, Obama singled out the potential for nuclear catastrophe as the most dangerous immediate threat to global security.
Brown, an intellectual politician who ran for president three times, is not shy about mingling with world leaders.
Asked whether attending nuclear summits in Washington is part of his job, he replied: It is my job as the highest elected executive outside the president. We also have our own weapons labs. This is a matter of democratic concern, and it isnt just for the elites.
The White House Nuclear Security Summit, the fourth held by the administration, focused this year on confronting North Koreas nuclear provocations, including a recent nuclear test, and on preventing the Islamic State from obtaining nuclear weapons, a rising concern following the terrorist groups deadly attacks on Brussels and Paris.
The summit came two days after GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump suggested in a televised town hall that Japan, South Korea and Saudi Arabia be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons.
Carolyn Lochhead is the San Francisco Chronicles Washington correspondent. Email: clochhead@sfchronicle.com
WASHINGTON World leaders declared progress Friday in securing nuclear materials worldwide but warned of a persistent and harrowing threat: terrorists getting their hands on a nuclear bomb. It would change our world, President Obama said.
Obama, addressing a nuclear security summit, said there was no doubt that if madmen in the Islamic State group obtained nuclear material, they would use it to kill as many people as possible. He urged fellow leaders not to be complacent about the risk of a catastrophe he said would have global ramifications for decades.
IDOMENI, Greece Through the coils of razor wire and a fence that stretches across green fields, the gathered people can see what has become a forbidden land Macedonia and its still-snow-capped mountains, the route they had hoped to take on their journey through the Balkans to the more prosperous heartland of Europe.
The gate in the fence has been sealed for nearly a month to the thousands of refugees and other migrants whose desperate dash across the continent left Europe scrambling for a coherent response to its largest refugee crisis since World War II. The decision that eventually came was to close the western Balkan route, stranding more than 51,000 people in Greece, the vast majority of them war refugees.
Despite the closure, more than 11,000 remain in what was once a transit camp near the village of Idomeni on the Greek-Macedonian border. The camp has long since overflowed, with men, women and children enduring deplorable conditions in howling winds and pouring rain for days and weeks.
While hundreds have boarded buses heading to other, more organized camps that Greek authorities have been frantically setting up across the country, many insist they will not leave. They still hope against hope and against all indications that Europe will relent and reopen the borders.
More than anything, they fear the unknown: of being sent to camps where their movements are restricted, where they might not be able to leave, where the conditions might be even worse.
I dont know what will happen. I am confused a little, like everyone here, said Ahmad, a 30-year-old mechanical engineer from Daraa in Syria who would not give his surname to protect his family. Having fled Syria about two months ago, he has been in Idomeni for roughly 40 days and says he doesnt want to move to another camp.
The other camps will be the same. So I just wait here.
His dream is the same as those of countless others who have passed through these fields. To have a safe life, in a safe country without any troubles.
With time, the Idomeni camp has become a small community, gradually assuming the trappings of semi-permanence. Although the nights and dawn are still frigid, the rain has, at least for now, given way to warm spring days that are baking the mud dry.
The situation here ... its reasonable. Its safe, and the general atmosphere is great, said Saleh Abdi, a 23-year-old from the Syrian capital, Damascus, hoping to reach his 15-year-old brother who made it to the Netherlands. So I dont want them to move me to another place. ... Here I am free. Nobody can tell me to do this or that.
Abdi has been in the camp for 15 days and says hell wait for another 15 or possibly more before seeking other options.
Report: Prisoner Van Drivers to be Fired
Dan Boyd reports, The New Mexico Corrections Department apparently
who were on duty last month when a pair of violent inmates escaped from a prison transport van that had stopped to refuel in Artesia."
Opting Out
State Sen. Howie Morales, D-Silver City, wants Attorney General Hector Balderas to issue
this spring.
Campaign Appeal
Deborah Baker reports, A judge in Santa Fe is scheduled to hear an appeal next week from former state Rep. Sandra Jeff, a Crownpoint Democrat who says Secretary of State Brad Winter
her from running for a Senate seat this year.
Hot Water
KOAT reports, People in Santa Fe are
because they received two water bills in one month.
Gas Prices Jump
Fuel prices are
in New Mexico.
Disturbing Video
The Albuquerque Police Department released
from that cop-on-cop shooting in January 2014 a day after settling Jacob Grants lawsuit for $6.5 million.
Sunport Police
At the same time, the APD will take over supervision of the airport police department, since its
for both violating policy and potential criminal wrongdoing.
Best Outreach
New Mexicos Veterans Business Outreach Center is getting some
from the Small Business Administration for its programs that show vets how to start and management businesses.
That's it for this week. Have a wonderful weekend, and thanks, Joe Fatton, for your eagle-eye copy editing every morning.
Santa Fe Reporter
Credit rating agency Fitch Ratings said continued growth in European milk production to ramp up exports will further delay a recovery in global milk prices until beyond the end of this year.
The supply growth has been compounded by weak demand, mainly due to subdued Chinese demand and a Russian embargo on major Western dairy exporters.
Average prices on the GlobalDairyTrade auction fell by around 38 percent in 2014/15 and around 20 percent in the 2015/16 season to mid-March.
Fitch said that price volatility will continue in the medium term due to regulatory changes, geo-political factors, and the global imbalance between milk supply and demand since 2014.
The absence of short-term incentives and only a modest supply response so far are likely to prolong a recovery in prices beyond 2016, the ratings agency said. Longer term, we believe the fundamentals of dairy demand remain strong.
That doesnt bode well for cash-strapped Kiwi farmers who are more exposed than most to the global dairy market due to New Zealands high number of exports and small domestic market.
Last years removal of milk production quotas in Europe is the main reason milk supply has been slow to decrease as the European manufacturers utilise existing production capacity and export more, Fitch said.
European Union exports increased by 6 percent in milk equivalent in 2015 despite Russia, which used to import about 1.5 percent of European milk output, shutting its doors. Europe remains the worlds largest dairy exporter accounting for nearly a third of global export sales.
Elsewhere producers have responded to lower prices with New Zealand, the worlds second-largest dairy exporting nation, dropping production this season as farmers reduced feed and culled more cows to cut costs.
Fonterra Co-operative Group has reported a 4 percent decline year-on-year in its New Zealand milk collection this season.
Across the Tasman Australian dairy producers have responded similarly, with Dairy Australia forecasting a decline in milk production of 1 to 2 percent in the 2015/16 season. In the US, dairy production continues to increase, although strong domestic demand has reduced dairy exports.
On the demand side, Fitch said the imbalance is mainly led by the largest and formerly second-largest importers, China and Russia, buying less. Increases in other markets such as Japan and south-east Asia have only partially offset those large declines.
Chinas demand for whole milk powder fell 47 percent in the October 2015 year, which was a major contributor to the overall 8 percent decline in the countrys dairy imports.
The embargo on Western milk imports to Russia, now extended until August, resulted in a 75 percent decline in imports over the October year.
(BusinessDesk)
BusinessDesk.co.nz
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